ἀμφὶ δέ μιν γαλόῳ τε καὶ εἰνατέρες ἅλις ἔσταν,
αἵ ἑ μετὰ σφίσιν εἶχον ἀτυζομένην ἀπολέσθαι.
ἣ δ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὖν ἔμπνυτο καὶ ἐς φρένα θυμὸς ἀγέρθη475
ἀμβλήδην γοόωσα μετὰ Τρῳῇσιν ἔειπεν:
Ἕκτορ ἐγὼ δύστηνος: ἰῇ ἄρα γεινόμεθ᾽ αἴσῃ
ἀμφότεροι, σὺ μὲν ἐν Τροίῃ Πριάμου κατὰ δῶμα,
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ Θήβῃσιν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ
ἐν δόμῳ Ἠετίωνος, ὅ μ᾽ ἔτρεφε τυτθὸν ἐοῦσαν480
δύσμορος αἰνόμορον: ὡς μὴ ὤφελλε τεκέσθαι.
νῦν δὲ σὺ μὲν Ἀΐδαο δόμους ὑπὸ κεύθεσι γαίης
ἔρχεαι, αὐτὰρ ἐμὲ στυγερῷ ἐνὶ πένθεϊ λείπεις
χήρην ἐν μεγάροισι: πάϊς δ᾽ ἔτι νήπιος αὔτως,
ὃν τέκομεν σύ τ᾽ ἐγώ τε δυσάμμοροι: οὔτε σὺ τούτῳ485
ἔσσεαι Ἕκτορ ὄνειαρ ἐπεὶ θάνες, οὔτε σοὶ οὗτος.
ἤν περ γὰρ πόλεμόν γε φύγῃ πολύδακρυν Ἀχαιῶν,
αἰεί τοι τούτῳ γε πόνος καὶ κήδε᾽ ὀπίσσω
ἔσσοντ᾽: ἄλλοι γάρ οἱ ἀπουρίσσουσιν ἀρούρας.
ἦμαρ δ᾽ ὀρφανικὸν παναφήλικα παῖδα τίθησι:490
πάντα δ᾽ ὑπεμνήμυκε, δεδάκρυνται δὲ παρειαί,
δευόμενος δέ τ᾽ ἄνεισι πάϊς ἐς πατρὸς ἑταίρους,
ἄλλον μὲν χλαίνης ἐρύων, ἄλλον δὲ χιτῶνος:
τῶν δ᾽ ἐλεησάντων κοτύλην τις τυτθὸν ἐπέσχε:
χείλεα μέν τ᾽ ἐδίην᾽, ὑπερῴην δ᾽ οὐκ ἐδίηνε.495
τὸν δὲ καὶ ἀμφιθαλὴς ἐκ δαιτύος ἐστυφέλιξε
χερσὶν πεπλήγων καὶ ὀνειδείοισιν ἐνίσσων:
ἔρρ᾽ οὕτως: οὐ σός γε πατὴρ μεταδαίνυται ἡμῖν.
δακρυόεις δέ τ᾽ ἄνεισι πάϊς ἐς μητέρα χήρην
Ἀστυάναξ, ὃς πρὶν μὲν ἑοῦ ἐπὶ γούνασι πατρὸς500
μυελὸν οἶον ἔδεσκε καὶ οἰῶν πίονα δημόν:
αὐτὰρ ὅθ᾽ ὕπνος ἕλοι, παύσαιτό τε νηπιαχεύων,
εὕδεσκ᾽ ἐν λέκτροισιν ἐν ἀγκαλίδεσσι τιθήνης
εὐνῇ ἔνι μαλακῇ θαλέων ἐμπλησάμενος κῆρ:
νῦν δ᾽ ἂν πολλὰ πάθῃσι φίλου ἀπὸ πατρὸς ἁμαρτὼν505
Ἀστυάναξ, ὃν Τρῶες ἐπίκλησιν καλέουσιν:
οἶος γάρ σφιν ἔρυσο πύλας καὶ τείχεα μακρά.
νῦν δὲ σὲ μὲν παρὰ νηυσὶ κορωνίσι νόσφι τοκήων
αἰόλαι εὐλαὶ ἔδονται, ἐπεί κε κύνες κορέσωνται
γυμνόν: ἀτάρ τοι εἵματ᾽ ἐνὶ μεγάροισι κέονται510
λεπτά τε καὶ χαρίεντα τετυγμένα χερσὶ γυναικῶν.
ἀλλ᾽ ἤτοι τάδε πάντα καταφλέξω πυρὶ κηλέῳ
οὐδὲν σοί γ᾽ ὄφελος, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἐγκείσεαι αὐτοῖς,
ἀλλὰ πρὸς Τρώων καὶ Τρωϊάδων κλέος εἶναι.
515
ὣς ἔφατο κλαίουσ᾽, ἐπὶ δὲ στενάχοντο γυναῖκες.
notes
Andromache laments the death of her husband, speaking especially of the wretched fate that awaits their son Astyanax as an orphan.
Andromache’s lament for Hector brings Book Twenty-Two to a close. As so often, the poet uses traditional forms to create a vividly individual portrait. [read full essay]
473: ἔσταν: root aor. > ἵστημι.
474: αἵ: “who,” relative. ἑ: = αὐτήν, Andromache. μετὰ σφίσιν εἶχον: “were holding (her) between them.” σφίσιν: dat. pl. 3rd pers. pronoun > σφεῖς (Monro 102). ἀτυζομένην ἀπολέσθαι: “shocked almost to death,” a loosely attached, blended infinitive of purpose/result (de Jong; see Goodell 565).
475: ἔμπνυτο: “she began to breath in,” “she revived,” inceptive aor. mid. with no difference from the active (Goodell 464). ἐς φρένα θυμὸς ἀγέρθη: when a person faints, the thumos is weakened, but does not leave the body. Upon regaining consciousness, the thumos is collected again (de Jong). ἀγέρθη: 3rd sg. aor. pass. > ἀγείρω.
477: δύστηνος: predicate, supply εἰμί. ἄρα γεινόμεθ᾽: “it turns out, we were born,” ἄρα + impf. indicates that the predestination of an event is realized ex post facto (de Jong on line 356). ἰῇ … αἴσῃ: “for one and the same lot,” “for a single fate,” dat. of accompanying circumstance (de Jong). ἰῇ: fem. dat. sg. of εἷς, μία, ἕν.
478: σὺ μὲν … αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ: “you … but I.”
479: Θήβῃσιν: “in Thebe,” dat. place where without preposition. Thebe is attested in both singular and plural. Thebe, modern Edremit, (not to be confused with either Egyptian or Boeotian Thebes), was a city in the so-called Plain of Thebe, south of Troy. See 6.397.
480: ὅ: “who,” demonstrative pronoun as relative, masc. sg.
481: ὡς μὴ ὤφελλε τεκέσθαι: “how I wish he had never begotten me,” impossible past wish introduced by ὡς + aor. > ὀφέλλω (Att. ὀφείλω), with aor. mid. inf. > τίκτω (see LSJ s.v. ὀφείλω II.3)
482: νῦν δὲ: “but as it is,” “but now," commonly follows past potential and contrary-to-fact conditions to return the reader to what is, in fact, true. δόμους: acc. place to which without preposition (Goodell 533). ὑπὸ κεύθεσι γαίης: “down in the recesses of the earth,” best taken as an apposition to δόμους.
483: ἔρχεαι: = ἔρχε(σ)αι, 2nd sg. pres. > ἔρχομαι. στυγερῷ ἐνὶ πένθεϊ: “wrapped in hateful mourning,” the otherwise rare use of the preposition + dat. πένθεϊ here makes the picture more graphic (de Jong).
484: χήρην: “as a widow,” predicative of ἐμέ. νήπιος αὔτως: “just an infant,” see 6.400.
485: ὃν: “whom.” τέκομεν: aor. > τίκτω. τ’… τε: “both … and.”
485–486: τούτῳ, οὗτος: i.e. Astyanax, the πάϊς δ’ ἔτι νήπιος of line 484, dat. of interest (Goodell 523).
486: ἔσσεαι: = ἔσσεσαι, 2nd sg. dep. mid fut. > εἰμί. ὄνειαρ: neut. sg. nom. predicate. ἐπεὶ: “since.” θάνες: unaugmented 2nd sg. aor. > θνήσκω.
487–489: ἤν περ: “even if,” περ introduces a concessive condition. ἤν περ … φύγῃ … ἔσσοντ᾽: “even if he escapes at least from the war with the Greeks, he will,” ἤν (= ἐάν) + aor. subj. > φεύγω introducing a future-more-vivid condition (εἰ κε/ἄν + subj., fut. ind. > εἰμί).
488: τοι: “to be sure, you know,” particle.
489: ἔσσοντ᾽: = ἔσσονται, “(there) will be.” οἰ … ἀρούρας: “his fields,” possessive dat. sg. personal pronoun.
490: τίθησι: “makes (x) (y),” pres. > τίθημι + double acc. (Goodell 534).
491: πάντα δ’ ὑπεμνήμυκε: “he is downcast utterly.” πάντα is adverbial acc., ὑπεμνήμυκε is most likely pf. with reduplication > ὑπ-ημύω, though this compound occurs only here (de Jong). δεδάκρυνται: “are covered in tears,” pf. pass.
492: δευόμενος: “lacking (food and drink),” the verb is often used in connection with food (de Jong). ἄνεισι: 3rd sg. fut. > ἄν-ειμι.
493: ἄλλον … ἄλλον: “one … another.” χλαίνης, χιτῶνος: genitives after verb of touching or grabbing, ἐρύω (Monro 151.a).
494: τῶν δ᾽ ἐλεησάντων: “(one of) these, taking pity.” τῶν, the demonstrative pronoun, is a partitive genitive with τις, modified by aor. ptc. ἐλεησάντων.
495: ἐδίην(ε) … ἐδίηνε: aorists > διαίνω, the repetition intensifies the picture of the boy only wetting his lips but not really quenching his thirst (de Jong).
496: τὸν δὲ: “this one,” Astyanax. καὶ: “even,” adverbial. ἀμφιθαλὴς: “(someone) with both parents,” the only occurrence of this term in Homer.
497: πεπλήγως: nom. sg. reduplicated aor. ptc. > πλήσσω. ὀνειδείοισιν: "with reproachful (words)," "with insults."
498: ἔρρ’ οὕτως: “get lost,” lit. “go as you are,” = ἔρρε, pres. imper. > ἔρρω, according to the scholia, this expression is coarse and colloquial. σός γε πατὴρ: “your father,” emphatic. ἡμῖν: “among us,” dat. governed by μετα- of μεταδαίνυται.
499: ἄνεισι: see line 492.
500: πρὶν: “previously,” adverbial.
501: οἶον: “only,” modifies μυελὸν. ἔδεσκε: “would/used to eat,” -σκ- indicates iterative impf. and customary action (Monro 48–49). οἰῶν: “of sheep,” accent may be on penult or ultima, gen. pl. either οἴων or οἰῶν. δημόν: “fat,” (not δῆμον, “people”).
502: ὅθ᾽: = ὅτε, “whenever,” ὅτε + aor. opt. ἕλοι > αἱρέω, in a general temporal clause in secondary sequence (Monro 308.1d). ἕλοι: supply Astyanax as missing direct object. παύσαιτό: aor. opt. in same general temporal clause, governing a supplementary ptc.
503: εὕδεσκ᾽: = εὕδεσκε “would/used to sleep,” another iterative impf., here > εὕδω.
504: εὐνῇ ἔνι: = ἐν εὐνῇ, anastrophe. θαλέων: > θάλεα, “good cheer, happy thoughts,” gen. with ἐμπλησάμενος. κῆρ: “heart,” not to be confused with κήρ, “death.”
505: ἂν … πάθῃσι: “he will suffer,” anticipatory subj. (an independent equivalent to a future-less-vivid condition), thematic aor. subjunctive with athematic ending > πάσχω, see lines130, 244, 246 (Monro 292.b). ἀπὸ … ἁμαρτὼν: > ἀφαμαρτάνω, “lose, be deprived of,” tmesis, nom. sg. 2nd aor. ptc.
507: σφιν: dat. of interest. οἶος γάρ ἔρυσο: “for you alone protected,” 2nd aor. mid. > ῥύομαι.
509: ἐπεί κε κορέσωνται: “when(ever) the dogs have their fill.” ἐπεί κε = ἐπειδάν, the subjunctive is future in sense (Monro 296).
510: γυμνόν: warriors lacking armor are called “naked.” τοι: = σοι, possessive dat. sg. personal pronoun. κέονται: pres. 3rd pl. > κεῖμαι.
511: τετυγμένα: pf. pass. ptc. > τεύχω. χερσὶ: dat. pl. of means > χείρ.
512: πυρὶ κηλέῳ: “in blazing fire,” dat. of means or place where.
513–514: “(an act which is) no benefit to you (apposition), since you will not lie in them, but in order for there to be kleos (for you) on the part of the Trojan men and women (final-consecutive infinitive)” (de Jong; see Smyth 2011).
513: οὐδὲν … ὄφελος: neut. sg. acc. in apposition to line 512, i.e., the ritual burning will serve no benefit to Hector, who will remain without a funeral pyre. ἐπεὶ: “since.” ἐγκείσεαι: 2nd sg. fut. > ἔγ-κειμαι. αὐτοῖς: the clothing, dat. governed by ἐν- of ἔγ-κειμαι.
514: κλέος εἶναι: “to be glory,” i.e. “that there be glory (for you),” loosely attached infinitive of purpose/result, describing the intent behind the burning of the clothing. πρὸς: “in the eyes of/before…” + gen., expresses the point of view of a person (Monro 208).
515: ἔφατο: impf. mid. > φημί, mid. with no difference from the active. κλαίουσ᾽: = κλαίουσα, pres. ptc. ἐπὶ δὲ: “and in addition,” adverbial (see 22.429), “joined her in lament.”
vocabulary
μιν: him, her, it
γάλοως, dat. sing. and nom. pl. γαλόῳ, ἡ: a husband's sister, sister-in-law
εἰνάτερες: a husband's brothers' wives
ἅλις: in heaps, crowds, swarms, in abundance, in plenty
οἱ (enclitic, dat. 3rd pers. pron.): (to) him, (to) her
σφεῖς, σφείων gen., σφίσι(ν) or σφί(ν) dat., σφέας acc.: (pl. 3rd pers. pron.) them
ἀτύζω: to be distraught from fear, mazed, bewildered
ἐμπνέω: to breathe, draw breath475
φρήν φρενός ἡ: heart, mind
ἀγείρω ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: to bring together, gather together
ἀμβλήδην: adv. with sudden bursts
γοάω: to wail, groan, weep
Τρώϊος: Trojan
Ἕκτωρ: Hector, the most distinguished warrior of the Trojans, son of Priam and Hecabe, and husband of Andromache.
δύστηνος: wretched, unhappy, unfortunate
ἄρα, ῥά (enclit.), ἄρ, ῥ᾿: so, then, as you know, you know, it seems. Very often it marks an action as natural, or reminds of something recently said. It also marks transitions.
γείνομαι, aor. ἐγείναο: to be born; (aor.) begot, bore
αἶσα: share, lot, allotted portion, term of life; κατὰ αἶσαν, as is due
Τροία or Τροίη: Troy
Πρίαμος: Priam, son of Laomedon. King of Troy.
δῶμα –ατος τό: a house
ἀτάρ: but, yet
Θηβη: Theba, a Cilician town in the Troad (at the foot of Mt. Placus, an eastern spur of Mt. Ida), under the rule of Andromache's father Eetion; it was sacked by Achilles.
Πλάκος: a mountain above the city of Thebe
ὑλήεις -ήεσσα -ῆεν: woody, wooded
δόμος -ου, ὁ: a house, home480
Ἠετίων, -ωνος: Eetion, king of Hypoplacian Theba near Troy, father of Hector's wife Andromache; slain by Achilles on the capture of Theba.
τυτθός: little, small
δύσμορος: unfortunate, unhappy
αἰνόμορος: ill-starred
ὀφείλω, aor. ὄφελ(λ)ον or ὤφελ(λ)ον: should have, ought to have. With αἴθε and ὡς it is used to express a wish which cannot be realized: αἴθ᾿ ὄφελες ἄγαμος ἀπολέσθαι: if only you had died unmarried.
ᾍδης, gen. Ἀίδεω and Ἄϊδος, dat. Ἄϊδι, Ἀϊδωνῆι: Hades, god of the unseen lower world. His realm is the home of the dead, and in the Iliad it is beneath the earth, while in the Odyssey Odysseus sails to it, across Oceanus, and finds in it a faint, ghostly imitation of life on earth.
κεῦθος –εος τό: the depths
γαῖα –ας ἡ: a land, country
στυγερός: hated, abominated, loathed
πένθος –εος τό: grief, sadness, sorrow
χήρα: bereft of a husband, a widow
μέγαρον –ου τό: large room, main hall (in the center) of the house; pl. dwelling, house, palace.
νήπιος -α -ον: infant, childish
αὔτως: in this very manner, even so, just so, as it is, merely; νήπιον αὔτως 'merely a child'
δυσάμμορος: most miserable485
ὄνειαρ –ατος τό: help, support, profit
πολύδακρυς: tearful
Ἀχαιός: Achaian
τοι: let me tell you, surely
κῆδος –εος τό: grief, sorrow, woe
ὀπίσω or ὀπίσσω: backwards, in the future
ἀπουρίζω: will mark off
ἄρουρα: cultivated land, plowed field, wheat field
ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day
ὀρφανικός: orphaned, fatherless490
παναφῆλιξ –ικος: bereft of companions
ὑπεμνήμυκε: bows his head down, is cast down
δακρύω, aor. partic. δακρύσας, perf. mid. δεδάκρυσαι, δεδάκρυνται: to weep, shed tears; to be in tears, be bathed in tears
παρειά: the cheek
ἄνειμι, pres. partic. ἀνιόντα: to come back, return
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: a comrade, companion, mate
χλαῖνα -ης ἡ: chlaena, cloak, mantle
ἐρύω: to drag, pull, tear; draw up, raise, balance
χιτών –ῶνος ὁ: chiton, tunic
ἐλεέω, aor. ἐλέησε: to pity, take pity
κοτύλη: a cup
ἐπέχω, 2nd aor. ἐπέσχον, ἐπέσχε, aor. partic. ἐπισχών: to hold to (a person or to his lips)
χεῖλος –εος τό: lip495
διαίνω, aor. ἐδίηνε(ν): to wet, moisten
ὑπερῴη: palate
ἀμφιθαλής: blooming on both sides, i.e with both parents living
δαιτύς –ύος ἡ: a feast
στυφελίζω, aor. ἐστυφέλιξε(ν), aor. inf. στυφελίξαι: to strike, smite, thrust, drive away
πλήσσω, aor. πλῆξε(ν), 2nd aor. inf. πεπληγέμεν, 2nd perf. partic. πεπληγώς: to strike, smite
ὀνείδειος:reproachful, ὀνειδείοις ἐπέεσσι with words of reproach, with insulting words
ἐνίσσω: to scold, reproach
ἔρρω, imperat. ἔρρε, ἐρρέτω, partic. ἔρρων: to go or move with difficulty; ἔρρε, off with you!
μεταδαίνυμαι: to feast with, dine with (+dat)
δακρυόεις: tearful, weeping
Ἀστυάναξ -ακτος: Astyanax, Hector's son, also known as Scamandrius500
ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her own
γόνυ, gen. γόνατος or γούνατος: knee
μυελός: marrow
ἔδω: to eat
ὄις ὄιος: sheep
πίων πίονος: fat, rich, fertile
δημός ὁ: fat
ὕπνος –ου ὁ: sleep, slumber
νηπιαχεύω: to be childish, play like a child
εὕδω, impf. εὗδε, εὗδον, iterat. εὕδεσκε: to sleep, rest
λέκτρον: a couch, bed
ἀγκαλίς –ίδος ἡ: arm
τιθήνη: a nurse
εὐνή: a bed, couch
μαλακός: soft, gentle
θάλεα –ων τά: good cheer, happy thoughts
ἐμπίμπλημι ἐμπλήσω ἐνέπλησα ἐμπέπληκα ἐμπέπλησμαι ἐωεπλήθην: fill quite full
κῆρ κῆρος τό: the heart
φίλος –η –ον: friend; loved, beloved, dear505
Τρῶες: Trojans
ἐπίκλησις: a name
οἷος –α –ον: of what sort, what kind of, what, such as, as
πύλη –ης ἡ: one wing of a pair of double gates; (pl.) gate
κορωνίς: curved
νόσφι: apart, separate, far from (+gen)
τοκεύς –ῆος ὁ: a parent
αἰόλος: quick-moving, swift, squirming
εὐλή: a worm, maggot
κύων κυνός ὁ or ἡ: a dog
κορέννυμι, aor. opt. κορέσειεν, aor. mid. κορεσσάμεθα, aor. mid. subj. κορέσωνται, perf. κεκόρησθε: to sate, satiate, satisfy; mid. to have one's fill
γυμνός –ή –όν: naked, unclad, unmarried510
εἷμα –ατος τό: a garment, clothing
λεπτός: fine, delicate
χαρίεις –ίεσσα –ίεν: graceful, beautiful, pleasing; superl. χαριέστατος
τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make ready, make, build, work
ἤτοι: now surely, truly, = μέν
καταφλέγω: to burn down, consume
κήλεος: burning, blazing
ὄφελος –εος τό: advantage, use
ἔγκειμαι: to lie in
κλέος –έος τό: glory
κλαίω, opt. κλαίοισθα, impf. κλαῖε, fut. κλαύσομαι, κλαύονται: to weep, lament, wail515
στενάχω, impf. mid. στενάχοντο: to sigh, groan