ὀχθήσας δ᾽ ἄρα εἶπε πρὸς ὃν μεγαλήτορα θυμόν:
ὤ μοι ἐγών, εἰ μέν κε πύλας καὶ τείχεα δύω,
Πουλυδάμας μοι πρῶτος ἐλεγχείην ἀναθήσει,100
ὅς μ᾽ ἐκέλευε Τρωσὶ ποτὶ πτόλιν ἡγήσασθαι
νύχθ᾽ ὕπο τήνδ᾽ ὀλοὴν ὅτε τ᾽ ὤρετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.
ἀλλ᾽ ἐγὼ οὐ πιθόμην: ἦ τ᾽ ἂν πολὺ κέρδιον ἦεν.
νῦν δ᾽ ἐπεὶ ὤλεσα λαὸν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ἐμῇσιν,
αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους,105
μή ποτέ τις εἴπῃσι κακώτερος ἄλλος ἐμεῖο:
Ἕκτωρ ἧφι βίηφι πιθήσας ὤλεσε λαόν.
ὣς ἐρέουσιν: ἐμοὶ δὲ τότ᾽ ἂν πολὺ κέρδιον εἴη
ἄντην ἢ Ἀχιλῆα κατακτείναντα νέεσθαι,
ἠέ κεν αὐτῷ ὀλέσθαι ἐϋκλειῶς πρὸ πόληος.110
εἰ δέ κεν ἀσπίδα μὲν καταθείομαι ὀμφαλόεσσαν
καὶ κόρυθα βριαρήν, δόρυ δὲ πρὸς τεῖχος ἐρείσας
αὐτὸς ἰὼν Ἀχιλῆος ἀμύμονος ἀντίος ἔλθω
καί οἱ ὑπόσχωμαι Ἑλένην καὶ κτήμαθ᾽ ἅμ᾽ αὐτῇ,
πάντα μάλ᾽ ὅσσά τ᾽ Ἀλέξανδρος κοίλῃς ἐνὶ νηυσὶν115
ἠγάγετο Τροίηνδ᾽, ἥ τ᾽ ἔπλετο νείκεος ἀρχή,
δωσέμεν Ἀτρεΐδῃσιν ἄγειν, ἅμα δ᾽ ἀμφὶς Ἀχαιοῖς
ἄλλ᾽ ἀποδάσσεσθαι ὅσα τε πτόλις ἥδε κέκευθε:
Τρωσὶν δ᾽ αὖ μετόπισθε γερούσιον ὅρκον ἕλωμαι
μή τι κατακρύψειν, ἀλλ᾽ ἄνδιχα πάντα δάσασθαι120
κτῆσιν ὅσην πτολίεθρον ἐπήρατον ἐντὸς ἐέργει:
ἀλλὰ τί ἤ μοι ταῦτα φίλος διελέξατο θυμός;
μή μιν ἐγὼ μὲν ἵκωμαι ἰών, ὃ δέ μ᾽ οὐκ ἐλεήσει
οὐδέ τί μ᾽ αἰδέσεται, κτενέει δέ με γυμνὸν ἐόντα
αὔτως ὥς τε γυναῖκα, ἐπεί κ᾽ ἀπὸ τεύχεα δύω.125
οὐ μέν πως νῦν ἔστιν ἀπὸ δρυὸς οὐδ᾽ ἀπὸ πέτρης
τῷ ὀαριζέμεναι, ἅ τε παρθένος ἠΐθεός τε
παρθένος ἠΐθεός τ᾽ ὀαρίζετον ἀλλήλοιιν.
βέλτερον αὖτ᾽ ἔριδι ξυνελαυνέμεν ὅττι τάχιστα:
εἴδομεν ὁπποτέρῳ κεν Ὀλύμπιος εὖχος ὀρέξῃ.130
notes
Hector considers the possibility of negotiating with Achilles on the return of Helen, only to dismiss it as fantasy. If he puts down his weapons Achilles will slaughter him where he stands. He must fight.
Hector’s monologue expresses everything we have learned about him: his bravery and fears, his determination and regret. Yet in a way that is peculiar to Homeric poetry it is both an extraordinarily revealing portrait and the realization of a recurring type scene, “the lone fighter surrounded by enemies.” [read full essay]
98: ὀχθήσας: “becoming distressed” (angry, indignant, grieved), ingressive nom. sg. aor. act. ptc. > ὀχθέω (Goodell 464). ὃν: “his,” = ἑόν, 3rd pers. sg. acc. of the possessive pronoun (Goodell 204), thus θυμόν is the obj. of πρὸς. Hector is debating the matter with himself.
99: ὤ μοι: “Ah me!” exclamatory. ἐγών: = ἐγώ, final -ν avoids elision.
99–100: εἰ … κε … δύω, ἀναθήσει: “if I enter…, will lay upon,” future-more-vivid condition (εἰ + κε/ἄν + subj., fut. indicative), δύω is pres. subj. and ἀναθήσει is fut. indic. > ἀνατίθημι (Goodell 650).
100: πρῶτος: adverbial
101: ὅς: “who,” relative. ἐκέλευε: “kept urging,” “kept bidding,” an iterative impf. is appropriate here. Τρωσὶ: dat. obj. of ἡγέομαι. ποτὶ: = πρός. ἡγήσασθαι: “to lead, direct,” see 18.254 ff. (Monro).
102: νύχθ᾽ ὕπο τήνδ᾽ ὀλοὴν: “during this destructive night,” = ὑπὸ νύκτα. νύχθ᾽ is acc. sg. with elision before aspirated vowel (Monro 203.2). ὅτε τε: an irregular use of epic τε, which normally occurs in omnitemporal contexts, here in connection with one specific event (de Jong, with Monro 332.b). ὤρετο: "rose up" in a hostile sense, "hurled himself, pounced, attacked," aor. mid., see LSJ s.v. ὄρνυμι A.1.
103: πιθόμην: unaugmented aor. mid. > πείθω. ἦ τ’: “and yet.” ἂν … ἦεν: “it would be,” ἄν + impf. indic. > εἰμί, Att. ἦν, in a present contrary-to-fact construction (with implied protasis “if I had obeyed”).
104: νῦν δ᾽: “but as it is,” commonly follows contrafactuals. ὤλεσα: 1st sg. aor. act. > ὄλλυμι. ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ἐμῇσιν: “because of my folly,” dat. of cause (Goodell 526.a).
105: αἰδέομαι: “I feel shame before” + acc.
106: μή … εἴπῃσι: “lest … say,” clause of fearing, μή + subj., here 3rd sg aor. thematic subjunctive with athematic ending > εἶπον (Goodell 611.b). κακώτερος: comparative. κακός in Homer is not a moral term (“bad”), but it refers to a cowardly, socially inferior, or harmful person (de Jong). ἐμεῖο: “than me,” Att. ἐμοῦ, gen. of comparison (Goodell 517).
107: ἧφι βίηφι: “his might.” ἧφι = ἑῇ, dat. sg. obj. of πιθήσας (“trusting in”). ὤλεσε: 3rd sg. aor. > ὄλλυμι.
108: ἐρέουσιν: “they will say,” i.e. Trojans in general, fut. > εἴρω. ἂν … εἴη: “it would be,” potential opt. (ἄν + opt.), 3rd sg. pres. opt. > εἰμί (Goodell 479).
109: ἄντην: “facing” (Achilles). This is the important word, the meaning being that it is better to face Achilles, whether the consequence is victory or death (Monro). ἢ … ἠέ: “either … or.” Ἀχιλῆα κατακτείναντα νέεσθαι: “to return (home) having slain Achilles.” κατακτείναντα: aor. ptc., antecedent an understood μέ, the acc. subject of νέεσθαι. As often in impersonal constructions like κέρδιον εἴη, the grammar shifts between an understood acc. subject (thus the acc. participle) and the dat. (see αὐτῷ in line 110, below) (Monro 240).
110: κεν: superfluous repetition of ἂν above. αὐτῷ:“or die myself,” predicative dat. in agreement with ἐμοί. ὀλέσθαι: “to perish,” aor. mid. inf. > ὄλλυμι. πρὸ πόληος: gen. > πόλις, Att. πόλεως. The literal meaning (“in front of”) and figurative one (“in defence of”) coincide (de Jong).
111–121: εἰ … κεν … καταθείομαι, ἔλθω, ὑπόσχωμαι, ἕλωμαι: lengthy protasis of a future-more-vivid condition that breaks off without an apodosis in line 121 in anacolouthon. Aorist subjunctives > κατατίθημι, ἔρχομαι, ὑπισχνέομαι, and αἱρέω.
111: καταθείομαι: aor. subjunctive with short thematic vowel; -ει- is due to metrical lengthening to avoid four short elements (de Jong).
112: πρὸς: “on the side of.”
113: αὐτὸς ἰὼν: “going on my own, just like that,” i.e. without armor. “In person,” not through herald or messenger (Monro). ἀντίος: postpositive, governs a gen.
114: οἱ: = αὐτῷ, 3rd pers. sg. dat. of the personal pronoun (Monro 99), indirect object with ὑπόσχωμαι. ὑπόσχωμαι: governs complementary infins. δωσέμεν and ἀποδάσσεσθαι in lines 117–118. κτήμαθ᾽: = κτήματα. αὐτῇ: Helen.
115: πάντα … ὅσσα: “quite all, as much as,” i.e. “everything that.” The governing verb is δωσέμεν in 117. νηυσὶν: “ships.”
116: ἠγάγετο: aor. mid. > ἄγω. Τροίηνδ': “to Troy.” The suffix -δε designates a place to which (Monro 335.2). ἥ τε: “which,” relative attracted to the gender of ἀρχή and referring to all that preceded, i.e., Paris taking with him Helen and captured goods. τε does not have here its normal frequentative or generalizing force. ἔπλετο: “became,” “turned out to be.”
117: δωσέμεν: “to give,” Aeolic future infinitive, Att. δώσειν (Monro 85.2) is governed by ὑπόσχωμαι above and in turn governs Ἑλένην … πάντα as a direct object. Ἀτρεΐδῃσιν: dat. indirect object. ἄγειν: “to carry off,” infin. of purpose (Goodell 565). ἅμα δ᾽: an adverb, not a preposition. ἀμφίς: “in two parts.” Some take it to mean “separately,” sc. that the treasure brought by Paris was not to count in the division of the Trojan possessions: but this is less natural. (Monro).
118: ἄλλ᾽: ἄλλα, neuter acc. direct object. ἀποδάσσεσθαι: fut., parallel to δωσέμεν. κέκευθε: “holds,” “contains,” pf. > κεύθω.
119: γερούσιον ὅρκον: an orath pledged by the Trojan elders in the name of the entire population (de Jong). ἕλωμαι: “I will exact” (de Jong).
120: κατακρύψειν … δάσασθαι: infinitives explaining the oath (Goodell 565). δάσασθαι: aor. dep. mid. inf. > δατέομαι, though some editors print the fut. infin. δάσεσθαι in agreement with κατακρύψειν.
121: κτῆσιν: acc. obj. modifed by πάντα. ὅσην: “as much as.”
122: τί ἤ: “why truly?” strengthened form of τί. Hector breaks the future-more-vivid condition off without an apodosis and poses a question. μοι: the dative of the personal pronoun is often used in place of a possessive (Monro 143.1). φίλος: “my own,” adj. used alongside μοι to strengthen the possessive.
123: μή … ἵκωμαι, ὁ δέ οὐκ ἐλεήσει: an example of parataxis, lit. “(I fear) that I come to him, and he will not pity me,” i.e. “I fear that if I will come up to him, he will not pity me.” ἵκωμαι: “come as a suppliant,” aor. dep mid. subj. > ἱκνέομαι, fearing clause in an independent construction (Monro 278.b). μιν: “him,” Achilles, = αὐτόν, acc. of direction without preposition. ἰών: nom. sg. pres. ptc. > εἶμι. ὃ δέ: “but he…,” Achilles.
124: οὐδέ τί: “nor at all,” “and not a bit.” τι is adverbial accusative (Goodell 540) before enclitic με. κτενέει: uncontracted fut. > κτείνω.
125: αὔτως ὥς τε: “in the same way as,” simile introduced by epic τε (Monro 332.b). ἐπεί κ᾽: “when,” subjunctive (> δύω) + κε/ἄν in a general temporal clause of indefinite frequency (Goodell 629). ἀπὸ … δύω: “take off.”
126: οὐ μέν … ἔστιν: “it is not … possible.” οὐ μέν (= μήν) suggests an emphatic denial. ἀπὸ δρυὸς … ἀπὸ πέτρης: although the precise meaning of the obviously proverbial “from oak or from rock” is lost, it here means something like “(to talk about) irrelevant, fanciful things.” See Odyssey 19.163 and Hesiod, Theogony 35, where the meaning is somewhat different.
127: τῷ: “with this one,” Achilles. ὀαριζέμεναι: "to gossip," "to "chat confidentially," inf. subject with impersonal ἔστιν (Goodell 574).
127–128: Hector lets his thoughts trail, and the construction changes in the course of the sentence: “to talk, as girl and boy (do), (as) girl and boy talk with each other” (de Jong).
128: ἅ τε: “just as,” “like,” Att. ἅτε, acc. neut. pl. in an accusative of respect (“in respect to which things”) > ὅστε, the relative pronoun with epic τε in generalizing relative clauses. παρθένος ἠΐθεός τε: “a maiden and a young man,” repeated for emphasis at the beginning of 128, in an example of epanalepsis, which Eustathius suggests gives expression to Hector’s fear and nervousness (de Jong). ὀαρίζετον: dual 3rd pers. pres. ἀλλήλοιιν: dual dat. reciprocal pronoun (Goodell 202).
129: βέλτερον: “(it is) better.” ἔριδι: “in…,” specifying dative (Goodell 527.b). ὅττι τάχιστα: “as quickly as possible.”
130: εἴδομεν: “let us know,” 1st pl. hortatory subjunctive > οἶδα, Attic εἰδῶμεν, here with the short thematic vowel (Monro 80). ὁπποτέρῳ: “to whichever one,” dat. indirect obj. κεν … ὀρέξῃ: “will hold out,” anticipatory subj. indicating limitation to circumstances in the future (Goodell 283b). εὖχος: “a reason to boast,” i.e. “glory,” neuter acc. object.
vocabulary
ὀχθέω, aor. ὤχθησαν, aor. partic. ὀχθήσας: to be vexed; to be troubled, be distressed
ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her own
μεγαλήτωρ -ορος: great-hearted, heroic
πύλη –ης ἡ: one wing of a pair of double gates; (pl.) gate
Πουλυδάμας: Polydamas, a Trojan, son of Panthous.100
ἐλεγχείη: reproach, disgrace
ἀνατίθημι: to heap upon
Τρῶες: Trojans
ὀλοός: destroying, destructive, fatal, deadly, murderous
ὄρνυμι: to stir, stir up
δῖος –α –ον: divine, noble, illustrious; marvelous, magnificent
κερδίων -ον: more profitable, more advantageous, better; (superl.) κέρδιστος, the slyest
ὄλλυμι, fut. ὀλεῖται, ὀλέσεις, aor. ὤλεσα, ὀλέσ(σ)ῃς, ὄλοντο, οὐλόμενος, perf. ὀλώλῃ: to ruin, destroy, kill, lose; mid. and perf. to be destroyed, perish, die
λαός –οῦ ὁ: the people
ἀτασθαλία: presumptuous sin, recklessness, arrogance
Τρώϊος: Trojan105
ἑλκεσίπεπλος: with trailing robes
βία –ας ἡ: bodily strength, force, power, might
ἄντην: adv. face to face
νέομαι: to go
εὐκλεής –ές: famous, glorious110
ἀσπίς –ίδος ἡ: shield
κατατίθημι: to lay down, set down
ὀμφαλόεις: bossed, studded
κόρυς –υθος ἡ: a helmet
βριαρός: heavy
δόρυ, gen. δόρατος or δουρός: timber, beam, spear
ἐρείδω: to lean, prop, support
Ἀχιλλεύς -έως or -ῆος ὁ: Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, leader of the Myrmidons and Hellenes in Thessaly, the mightiest warrior before Troy, and the principal hero of the Iliad.
ἀμύμων –ονος: blameless, noble, excellent
ἀντίος -α or -ιη -ον: opposite, against
οἱ (enclitic, dat. 3rd pers. pron.): (to) him, (to) her
ὑπισχνέομαι, aor. imp. ὑπόσχεο, aor. inf. ὑποσχέσθαι: to promise
Ἑλένη: Helen, daughter of Zeus, sister of Castor and Polydeuces, wife of Menelaus, mother of Hermione. Famed for her beauty. Carried off by Paris, son of Priam, to Troy, which was the root cause of the Trojan War. After the capture of Ilios she returned to Sparta with Menelaus.
κτῆμα –ατος τό: a possession; (pl.) possessions, treasures
Ἀλέξανδρος –ου ὁ: Paris, son of Priam, husband of Helen, and thus the author of the Trojan War.115
κοῖλος -η -ον : hollow, hollowed
Τροίανδε: to Troy
πέλω and πέλομαι, aor. as pres. ἔπλεο, ἔπλετο: to be
νεῖκος –εος τό: a quarrel, strife
Ἀτρεΐδης, gen. Ἀτρεΐδαο or Ἀτρεΐδεω: son of Atreus (either Agamemnon or Menelaus)
ἀμφίς: apart, dividedly
Ἀχαιός: Achaian
ἀποδατέομαι, fut. ἀποδάσσομαι, fut. inf. ἀποδάσσεσθαι: to portion out, divide
κεύθω: to hide, conceal, contain
Τρῶες: Trojans
μετόπισθε: from behind, backwards, back
γερούσιος: of the elders
ὅρκος –ου ὁ: oath
κατακρύπτω, fut. inf. κατακρύψειν: to hide, conceal120
ἄνδιχα: in two parts
δατέομαι: to divide, distribute
κτῆσις –ιος ἡ: goods, possessions
πτολίεθρον: city
ἐπήρατος: lovely, charming, pleasant
ἐντός: within, inside
ἔργω, perf. pass. ἔρχαται: to press, shut in, hem in, confine, enclose, bound
τίη: why? wherefore?
φίλος –η –ον: friend; loved, beloved, dear
διαλέγομαι: to converse with, debate
μιν: him, her, it
ἱκνέομαι and ἵκω, fut. ἵξομαι, aor. ἵκετο and ἷξε(ν), aor. subj. ἵκωμαι and ἵκηαι: to come, arrive at, reach
ἐλεέω, aor. ἐλέησε: to pity, take pity
αἰδέομαι and αἴδομαι, aor. pass. partic. αἰδεσθείς: to feel honorable shame or self-respect, revere, be abashed before
κτείνω, aor. subj. κτείνῃς, aor. (ἔ)κτανε(ν) and ἔκτα, aor. mid. as pass. κτάμενος: to slay, kill
γυμνός –ή –όν: naked, unclad, unmarried
αὔτως: in this very manner, even so, just so, as it is, merely; νήπιον αὔτως 'merely a child'125
τεῦχος –εος τό: (pl.) arms, armor
δύω, fut. δύσω, aor. inf. δῦσαι, aor. mid. (ἐ)δύσετο, aor. ἔδυ, perf. δέδυκεν: to enter, go into, put on; πρὶν ἠέλιον δῦναι, before the sun set; γαῖαν ἐδύτην, (their souls) entered the earth
δρῦς –υός ἡ: an oak tree
πέτρη: rock, cliff, stone
ὀαρίζω, inf. ὀαριζέμεναι: to chat, gossip
παρθένος –ου ἡ: a maiden
ἠίθεος: (unmarried) youth
βέλτερος: better
αὖτε: again, on the other hand, however, but
ἔρις –ιδος ἡ: strife
συνελαύνω: to meet, clash
ὁππότερος: which of two130
Ὀλύμπιος: Olympian, of Olympus, dwelling on Olympus
εὖχος –εος τό: glory, honor, victory
ὀρέγω: to reach, stretch, stretch out