ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.
ἔνθά κεν αὖτε Τρῶες ἀρηϊφίλων ὑπ᾽ Ἀχαιῶν
Ἴλιον εἰσανέβησαν ἀναλκείῃσι δαμέντες,
εἰ μὴ ἄρ᾽ Αἰνείᾳ τε καὶ Ἕκτορι εἶπε παραστὰς75
Πριαμίδης Ἕλενος οἰωνοπόλων ὄχ᾽ ἄριστος:
Αἰνεία τε καὶ Ἕκτορ, ἐπεὶ πόνος ὔμμι μάλιστα
Τρώων καὶ Λυκίων ἐγκέκλιται, οὕνεκ᾽ ἄριστοι
πᾶσαν ἐπ᾽ ἰθύν ἐστε μάχεσθαί τε φρονέειν τε,
στῆτ᾽ αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαὸν ἐρυκάκετε πρὸ πυλάων80
πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενοι πρὶν αὖτ᾽ ἐν χερσὶ γυναικῶν
φεύγοντας πεσέειν, δηΐοισι δὲ χάρμα γενέσθαι.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε φάλαγγας ἐποτρύνητον ἁπάσας,
ἡμεῖς μὲν Δαναοῖσι μαχησόμεθ᾽ αὖθι μένοντες,
καὶ μάλα τειρόμενοί περ: ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει:85
Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σὺ πόλιν δὲ μετέρχεο, εἰπὲ δ᾽ ἔπειτα
μητέρι σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ: ἣ δὲ ξυνάγουσα γεραιὰς
νηὸν Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ
οἴξασα κληῗδι θύρας ἱεροῖο δόμοιο
πέπλον, ὅς οἱ δοκέει χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος90
εἶναι ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί οἱ πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ,
θεῖναι Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο,
καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ
ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κ᾽ ἐλεήσῃ
ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα,95
ὥς κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς
ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο,
ὃν δὴ ἐγὼ κάρτιστον Ἀχαιῶν φημι γενέσθαι.
οὐδ᾽ Ἀχιλῆά ποθ᾽ ὧδέ γ᾽ ἐδείδιμεν ὄρχαμον ἀνδρῶν,
ὅν πέρ φασι θεᾶς ἐξέμμεναι: ἀλλ᾽ ὅδε λίην100
μαίνεται, οὐδέ τίς οἱ δύναται μένος ἰσοφαρίζειν.
ὣς ἔφαθ᾽, Ἕκτωρ δ᾽ οὔ τι κασιγνήτῳ ἀπίθησεν.
αὐτίκα δ᾽ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,
πάλλων δ᾽ ὀξέα δοῦρα κατὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο πάντῃ
ὀτρύνων μαχέσασθαι, ἔγειρε δὲ φύλοπιν αἰνήν.105
οἳ δ᾽ ἐλελίχθησαν καὶ ἐναντίοι ἔσταν Ἀχαιῶν:
Ἀργεῖοι δ᾽ ὑπεχώρησαν, λῆξαν δὲ φόνοιο,
φὰν δέ τιν᾽ ἀθανάτων ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος
Τρωσὶν ἀλεξήσοντα κατελθέμεν, ὡς ἐλέλιχθεν.
Ἕκτωρ δὲ Τρώεσσιν ἐκέκλετο μακρὸν ἀΰσας:110
Τρῶες ὑπέρθυμοι τηλεκλειτοί τ᾽ ἐπίκουροι
ἀνέρες ἔστε φίλοι, μνήσασθε δὲ θούριδος ἀλκῆς,
ὄφρ᾽ ἂν ἐγὼ βείω προτὶ Ἴλιον, ἠδὲ γέρουσιν
εἴπω βουλευτῇσι καὶ ἡμετέρῃς ἀλόχοισι
δαίμοσιν ἀρήσασθαι, ὑποσχέσθαι δ᾽ ἑκατόμβας.115
notes
Hector’s brother Helenus urges him and Aeneas to stop the Trojan rout. Hector is then to withdraw to Troy and tell Hecabe to arrange formal prayers to Athena in her temple. The troops rally and Hector leaves for Troy. (Kirk)
The danger facing the Trojans comes vividly before us. As is usual for Homer, the peril is conveyed not by naming it, but by describing its effects.
read full essay
Nestor rouses the Greeks, and the Trojans are on the verge of fleeing back into the city. At this moment another one of Priam’s many sons, Helenos the seer, steps forward to assume the role of adviser to Hector and his cousin Aeneas. His plan has several parts: because they have borne so much defending Troy, Hector and Aeneas should be the ones to rouse the Trojans, lest they “fall into the arms of their wives” (6.81–82). Meanwhile, the rest of the Trojan warriors will stay and fight. Finally, Hector must go back to Troy to get his mother to lead the older Trojan women in offering sacrifices to Athena, so the goddess will protect the city.
The passage repays careful attention. We might begin by looking at Helenos. Though he is a seer, we are not told whether a vision has prompted what he says to Aeneas and Hector. He offers what looks like some sound advice in the face of the imminent threat from the Greeks: get moving and hold the city. But as we have said, the idea of sending your best fighter off the field at this critical moment might seem questionable, so he opens with detailed battlefield tactics, always an acceptably heroic discourse. Only after he has apparently arranged to cover for Hector’s absence—without saying so directly—does he urge the return to Troy.
The exchange between Hector and Helenos is an “adviser scene,” a recurring motif in the poem. Here Hector follows the advice of his brother. Later in the story, Poulydamas will assume the adviser role and Hector will ignore his urging of caution, plunging after the Greeks and eventually facing death at Achilles’ hands in Book 18 (249–309). In his poignant monologue at 22.99–130, Hector says it would have been much better for him to follow Poulydamas’s advice, since his recklessness will now destroy his people.
In these scenes, Homer is not inviting us to judge Hector so much as to dramatize a significant moment of choice, in which we see a character faced with making a decision from which will follow significant consequences, for him and for others. Rather than simply telling us that Hector is a good man who takes his responsibilities seriously, the poet shows him doing so. We observe that, faced with this kind of situation, he is the sort of person who chooses to act in a certain way. We form our opinion of moral character by witnessing such moments, and Hector’s character is the one we will be most concerned with for the rest of Book 6.
Helenos’s fear that the Trojan fighters will flee and “fall into the arms of their wives” is significant on more than one level. Since this is exactly what Hector seems about to do, we wonder what Homer is up to in having Helenos suggest it. Though the seer seems to be implying that the men who flee before the Greeks here are unmanly, hiding behind the city walls with their wives, are we to see Hector as cowardly too? What we in fact have here is a good example of Homer’s rich and subtle understanding of human character. Hector will flee before Achilles in the last moments of his life in Book 22. We will not be invited to think of him as a coward there, but simply human, in the face of the demonic ferocity of Achilles. But the resonance of the phrase in question here also sounds more immediately, pointing toward the terrible dilemma Hector will find himself facing in his last moments with Andromache, to stay inside the walls with his wife and child or return to battle.
Helenos’s use of the phrase is yet more ambiguous if we consider that the usual way for soldiers in the Iliad to end up in the arms of their wives is as a corpse, being prepared for burial by women. While soldiers always face the specter of death on the battlefield, Homer seems to be suggesting that there is more than one way to die, bravely, defending one’s city, or of shame, the avoiding of which is ultimate motivation for Homeric soldiers. If we follow the implications of Helenos’s ambiguous phrase, allowing the possibility that even Hector might be found wanting in manliness, and that this quality is for a Homeric warrior a kind of death, our ears will be attuned to an important motif that runs through Hector’s visit to Troy and then resurfaces in Book 24: the consolation of those who are grieving someone’s death.
Helenos tells Hector that he must get his mother to arrange an offering of beautiful clothing to Athena in her temple, so that the goddess might hold off the “powerful spearman” Diomedes, who he says is the “most powerful of the Achaeans,” even more feared than the semi-divine Achilles. Diomedes “raves” (μαίνεται, 6.101) too much and no one can equal his strength (6.96–101).
Again, we can discern multiple purposes here. Diomedes is about to come before us again, after a brief hiatus. The peaceful end of his impending encounter with Glaucus, which is also the end of his aristeia, will be all the more striking because he is referred to here as a madman on the battlefield. At the same time, we are reminded that Achilles is out of action and again wonder when he will return. As previously noted, the parallels between Diomedes in Books 5 and 6 and Achilles in Books 18–22 are an important part of Homer’s characterization of the latter as he rages across the battlefield in search of Hector. Where Diomedes is a fierce fighter who nonetheless observes certain limits, Achilles always goes too far, challenging the very contours of human existence in his thirst for vengeance. When Athena tells Diomedes in Book 5 that he may pursue any human opponent but must not challenge gods except Aphrodite and Ares (5.124–32), he dutifully complies, backing away from a confrontation with Apollo. In Book 21, Achilles will not back down before the god of the river Scamander, though he nearly dies as a result (21.214–26).
Further Reading
Graziosi, B. and Haubold, J. ed. 2010. Homer: Iliad, Book VI, 17; 34. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge University Press.
Horsfall, N. 1979. “Some Problems in the Aeneas Legend.” Classical Quarterly 29: 372–90.
Owen, E.T. 1946. The Story of the Iliad, 58. Toronto: Clark and Irwin.
72: ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν: “aroused the force and heart.” Nestor’s speech had the desired effect. ὄτρυνε: = ὄτρῡνε, unuagmented aorist (versus imperfect with short υ).
73-74: ἔνθα: “at that point,” “then.” κεν … εἰσανέβησαν, εἰ μὴ … εἶπε: “would have gone up to, if … had not spoken (as follows),” introducing the speech of Helenus, past contrary-to-fact condition (Goodell 649). ἀναλκείῃσι δαμέντες: “vanquished by their lack of courage,” Ionic dat. pl. > ἀν-άλκεια (Monro 102). δαμέντες: aor. pass. ptc. > δαμνάω (= δάμνημι = δαμάζω).
75: παραστὰς: nom. sg. aor. act. ptc. > παρα-ίστημι
77: ὔμμι: dat. pl. of the 2nd pl. personal pronoun > ὑμεῖς (Monro 102). πόνος: struggle, war effort.
78: ἐγκέκλιται: “rests on you,” literally “is leaned on you” + dat., pf. pass. > ἐγ-κλίνω.
79: πᾶσαν ἐπ᾽ ἰθύν: “in every attempt,” literally “in every going straight-on.” ἐστε: 2nd pl. pres. > εἰμί. μάχεσθαι … φρονέειν: explanatory (epexegetical) infinitives, equivalent to acc. of respect, which qualifies ἄριστοι (Goodell 565).
80–81: στῆτ᾽ αὐτοῦ: “hold your ground.” στῆτε: 2nd pl. 2nd aor. imperative > ἵστημι. αὐτοῦ: “here,” “in this very place,” adverb > αὐτός (Goodell 228.b). λαὸν ἐρυκάκετε ... πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενοι: “go everywhere and keep the army back.” ἐρυκάκετε: reduplicated aor. imperative > ἐρύκω.
81–82: πρὶν αὖτ᾽ ἐν χερσὶ γυναικῶν / φεύγοντας πεσέειν: “before they fall in flight back into the womenfolk’s arms,” πρίν + uncontracted 2nd aor. inf. > πίπτω (Goodell 568, Monro 85.2). αὖτ’: “again,” = αὖτε, which usually introduces a shift in focus, though it also often functions as a continuative (Monro 337). δηΐοισι: “for the enemy,” dat. pl. of interest. γενέσθαι: inf. > γίγνομαι, following πρίν.
83: ἐπεί κε ... ἐποτρύνητον: “when you have roused.” ἐπεί κε = ἐπειδάν. ἐποτρύνητον: 2nd person dual aor. subjunctive > ἐπ-οτρύνω. The subjunctive is future in sense.
84: ἡμεῖς μὲν: in contrast with ἀτὰρ σὺ in 86. αὖθι: = αὐτόθι, “on the spot, here.”
85: καὶ μάλα τειρόμενοί περ: “even though (we are) extremely worn out,” καὶ … περ = καίπερ, “although,” introducing a concessive ptc. ἀναγκαίη: = ἀνάγκη.
86: πόλινδε: “to the city”; the suffix -δὲ indicates place to which. μετέρχεο: “go” = μετ-έρχε(σ)ο, 2nd sg. pres. imperative. εἰπὲ: “tell,” 2nd sg. aor. imperative (not to be confused with εἶπε, 3rd sg. aor. indic.).
87–98: Helenus’ plan to get Hecabe to organize a prayer and sacrifice to Athena is given in a long and elaborate sentence whose essential structure is: ἣ δὲ ξυνάγουσα … θεῖναι … καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι … ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κ᾽ ἐλεήσῃ … ὥς κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ. “Let her gather … and place … and promise … to sacrifice to her, in case she might pity ... so that she might keep back the son of Tydeus (Diomedes).”
87–93: ἥ δὲ … θεῖναι καί … ὑποσχέσθαι: “let this one … place and promise”; θεῖναι and ὑποσχέσθαι are aorist infinitives used as 3rd pers. imperative. Αn imperatival infin. of the 3rd pers. with an expressed subject in the nom. is unusual (Graziosi-Haubold).
87: σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ: Helenus is Hector’s brother and has the same mother. ξυνάγουσα: fem. pres. act. ptc. > συν-άγω.
88: νηὸν: “to the temple,” = ναόν, Attic νεών, acc. place to which, without a preposition (Goodell 533).
89: κληῗδι: “with a key,” dat. of means (Goodell 526.a)
90: πέπλον: object of θεῖναι. ὅς οἱ δοκέει … εἶναι: “which seems to her (Hecuba) to be.”
91: οἱ … αὐτῇ: = ἑαυτῇ.
93 οἱ: “to her” (Athena), = αὐτῇ. δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς: twelve is a favorite epic choice for a substantial number; a prize is worth 12 oxen at 23.703, 12 horses are among the recompense offered by Agamemnon to Achilles at 9.123 etc., Neleus had twelve sons (11.692), twelve victims and twelfth dawns are common enough, and so on (Kirk).
94: ἤνῑς ἠκέστας: this phrase describing the sacrifical oxen emphasizes their high quality as victims. It probably means “one year old and not knowing the goad” (acc. plural), but this is uncertain. ἱερευσέμεν: fut. inf. with ὑποσχέσθαι (Goodell 570.a). αἴ κε ἐλεήσῃ: “in the hope that she will take pity,” further explained by Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ in line 96. In Homeric Greek, conditional clauses with verb in the subjunctive can express a purpose (Monro 293).
96: ὥς κεν … ἀπόσχῃ: “so that Athena…,” purpose clause with ὡς + ἄν/κέ and 3rd sg. aor. subj. > ἀπ-έχω. Final clauses with ὡς, unlike ἵνα, include the particle ἄν/κέ with the subjunctive. ἱρῆς: modifies fem. sg. Ἰλίου.
97: ἄγριον … φόβοιο: in apposition to υἱὸν. In Homer, φόβοιο almost exclusively refers to panicked flight.
98: ὃν δὴ: “the very one whom.” δὴ lends exactness and emphasis to the relative pronoun, which is acc. subject in indirect discourse. φημι: “I claim,” he is making an assertion.
99: οὐδε Ἀχιλῆα: “not even Achilles.” ποθ᾽: = ποτὲ, elision before aspiration. ὧδέ γ’: “in this way,” γε is here emphatic (“even”) rather than restrictive (“at least”); it is the equivalent to using italics, underlining, or saying the preceding word emphatically. ἐδείδιμεν: 1st pl. plpf. with impf. sense > δείδω.
100: φασι: 3rd pl. present > φημί. θεᾶς: “from a goddess,” gen. sg. of source with ἐκ- of ἐξέμμεναι. ἐξέμμεναι: “descends from” + gen., = ἐξεῖναι, pres. inf. (Goodell 509.a). ὅδε: Diomedes. The deictic pronoun presents Diomedes as dangerously near (Graziosi-Haubold).
101: τίς: “anyone,” = τις before enclitic οἱ. οἱ: = αὐτῷ, Diomedes, dat. sg. object of a compound verb. μένος: “in strenght,” acc. of respect, qualifying ἰσοφαρίζειν.
102: ἔφαθ’: = ἔφατο, 3rd sg. impf. mid. > φημί, mid. with no difference in meaning from the active (Stoevesandt). οὔ τι: “not at all,” τι is adverbial acc (Goodell 540).
104: ὀξέα δοῦρα: Hector carries two spears, as is typical for Trojan heroes. Such is the depiction of Achilles and Ajax playing a board game on an Athenian two-handled amphora from the Archaic period (about 525–520 B.C.) by the Andokides Painter, to be seen in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. κατὰ στρατὸν: “through the army.” ᾤχετο: impf. > οἴχομαι.
105: μαχέσασθαι: “to fight,” aor. inf. of purpose (Goodell 565.a).
106: ἐλελίχθησαν: “they turned around,” “they rallied,” 3rd pl. aor. pass. The verb is best analyzed as an aorist of ἑλίσσω, “turn around,” though it is identical with the corresponding aorist of ἐλελίζω, “shake” (Graziosi-Haubold). ἐναντίοι: governs a genitive when used with a hostile sense (“facing”). ἔσταν: = ἔστησαν, 3rd pl. aor. > ἵστημι.
107: φόνοιο: “from slaughter,” gen. of separation with λῆξαν (Goodell 509.a).
108: φάν(το): “they said that,” “they thought that,” unaugmented 3rd pl. mid. impf. > φημί. τιν’ ἀθανάτων: “one of the gods,” = τιν(α) ἀθανάτων, acc. subject of κατελθέμεν, “had come down,” in the next line. This explains the retreat of the Achaeans. ἀστερόεντος: in Homer, the sky is starry even in broad daylight.
109: ἀλεξήσοντα: “to assist,” future ptc. expressing purpose, often translated as an infinitive. κατελθέμεν: aor. inf. > κατ-έρχομαι. ἐλέλιχθεν: “were rallied,” “were turned (to the enemy),” = ἐλελίχθησαν, aor. pass. > ἐλελίζω. ὡς: “thus,” “so boldly,” referring back to 6.108.
110: = 66. ἐκέκλετο: reduplicated aor. > κέλομαι. μακρὸν: “loudly,” “greatly,” adverbial cognate acc. adj. (Goodell 536.b). ἀΰσας: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > αὔω.
111: Τρῶες … φίλοι: vocative direct address.
112: ἀνέρες: = ἄνδρες, alternative nom. pl. predicate > ἀνήρ. ἔστε: 2nd pl. pres. imperative > εἰμί. μνήσασθε: aor. imper. > μιμνήσκω + gen. (Goodell 511.b).
113: ὄφρα ἂν … βείω … εἴπω: “while I go ... and tell,” “long enough for me to go and tell,” temporal clause with sense of purpose (Monro 287, who discusses this passage). βείω: 1st sg. aor. subj. > βαίνω. προτὶ = προς. γέρουσιν … βουλευτῇ … ἡμετέρῃς ἀλόχοισι: dat. pl. indirect objectσ of εἴπω. In the event he ends up speaking to the women, but not the council of elders.
114: εἴπω: “tell,” governs two infinitives, ἀρήσασθαι and ὑποσχέσθαι.
115: δαίμοσιν: “to the gods,” dat. pl. ὑποσχέσθαι: aor. inf. > ὑπ-ισχνέομαι. ἑκατόμβας: a general expression for the δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς of 6.93.
vocabulary
ὀτρύνω: to stir up, rouse, egg on, spur on, encourage
μένος -εος τό: might, force, strength, prowess, courage
αὖτε: again, on the other hand, however, but
Τρῶες: Trojans
ἀρηΐφιλος: dear to Ares
Ἀχαιός: Achaian
Ἴλιος -ου ἡ: Ilius or Ilium, the city of Ilus, Troy
εἰσαναβαίνω: to go up to
ἀνάλκεια: want of strength, feebleness, lack of courage
δαμάζω: to overpower, tame, conquer, subdue
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.75
Αἰνείας ‑α ὁ: Aeneas
Ἕκτωρ ‑ορος ὁ: Hector
παρίστημι: to make to stand
Πριαμίδης: son of Priam
οἰωνοπόλος: one who specializes in interpreting the flight or song of birds, an augur
ὄχα: (Adv.) by far
Λύκιοι: the Lycians
ἐγκλίνω, perf. ἐγκέκλιται: to lean on, rest upon
οὕνεκα: for which reason, on which account
ἰθύς -ύος ἡ: direction, initiative, attempt
αὐτοῦ: (Adv.) at the very place, just here, just there80
λαός -οῦ ὁ: the people
ἐρύκω: to keep in, hold back, keep in check, curb, restrain
πύλη -ης ἡ: one wing of a pair of double gates; (pl.) gate
πάντῃ: every way, on every side, everywhere
ἐποίχομαι, impf. ἐπῴχετο: to go towards, approach
δήιος: blazing, devouring, destroying, hostile; (pl.) enemies
χάρμα -ατος τό: (a source of) joy, delight
ἀτάρ: but, yet
φάλαγξ -αγγος ἡ: line of battle, battle-array
ἐποτρύνω, aor. subj. ἐποτρύνητον: to rouse, impel, urge on
Δαναοί ‑ῶν οἱ: the Danaans, name used of the Greeks generally
αὖθι: on the spot, here, there, immediately, at once
τείρω: to oppress, press hard, weigh heavily upon, distress85
ἐπείγω: to hurry, urge; (mid.) to hasten, be in haste, be eager
μετέρχομαι: to go, look for, seek
συνάγω συνάξω συνήγαγον συνῆχα συνῆγμαι συνήχθην: to bring together, gather together, collect, convene
γεραιός -ά -όν: old
Ἀθήνη and Ἀθηναίη: Athena
γλαυκῶπις -ιδος: with gleaming eyes, bright-eyed
ἄκρα or ἄκρη ἡ (fem. of ἄκρος): highest or farthest point
οἴγω or οἴγνυμι, fut. οἴξω, aor. ᾦξα: to open
κληίς -ῖδος: key
θύρη: door
δόμος -ου ὁ: a house, home
πέπλος -ου ὁ: a robe; the principal female garment, but not made to fit the person. It was a large quadrangular piece of cloth, doubled for the upper part of the body, laid around the person, and fastened by brooches (περόναι) on the shoulders, and down the side. This left the arms bare, but reached to the feet. It was gathered at the waist by a girdle (ζώνη). A πέπλος was used also for the protection of an unused chariot from dust.90
οἱ (enclitic, dat. 3rd pers. pron.): (to) him, (to) her
χαρίεις -ίεσσα -ίεν: graceful, beautiful, pleasing; superl. χαριέστατος
ἠδέ: and
μέγαρον -ου τό: large room, main hall (in the center) of the house; (pl.) dwelling, house, palace
φίλτατος -η -ον: dearest
γόνυ, gen. γόνατος or γούνατος: knee
εὔκομος: fair-haired
ὑπισχνέομαι, aor. imperat. ὑπόσχεο, aor. inf. ὑποσχέσθαι: to promise
δυοκαίδεκα: twelve
ἦνις: a year old, yearling
ἤκεστος: untouched by the goad
ἱερεύω, fut. inf. ἱερευσέμεν, aor. ἱέρευσεν: to sacrifice, offer in sacrifice; slaughter, since most of the flesh of the victims was eaten, and on the other hand no flesh was eaten until a part had been sacrificed to the gods.
ἐλεέω, aor. ἐλέησε: to pity, take pity
ἄστυ ἄστεος τό: a city, town95
ἄλοχος -ου ἡ: wife
νήπιος -α -ον: infant, childish
Τυδεύς -έος ὁ: Tydeus, son of Oeneus of Calydon, brother of Meleager, father of Diomedes. Having slain some kinsmen, he fled to Argos, where he married a daughter of King Adrastus. He was one of the 'Seven against Thebes.'
ἀπέχω ἀφέξω (or ἀποσχήσω) ἀπέσχον ἀπέσχηκα: to keep off
ἄγριος -α -ον: wild, savage, harsh
αἰχμητής -οῦ ὁ: a spearman
κρατερός -ά -όν: strong, powerful, mighty
μήστωρ -ωρος ὁ: counselor; μήστωρε φόβοιο, inspirers of flight, inciters to flight; μήστωρες ἀϋτῆς, eager for the fray
κράτιστος -η -ον: strongest, mightiest
Ἀχιλλεύς ‑έως or -ῆος ὁ: Achilles
δείδω, aor. (ἔ)δεισεν, perf. δείδοικα, perf. imperat. δείδιθι, perf. partic. δειδιότες, plpf. ἐδείδιμεν: to fear, be afraid
ὄρχαμος: leader, commander
θεά -ᾶς ἡ: a goddess
ἔξειμι, inf. ἐξέμμεναι (εἰμί): to be sprung from, to be the son of100
λίαν: very, exceedingly
μαίνομαι ἔμηνα μέμηνα ἐμάνην: to rage, be furious, be frantic, rave
ἰσοφαρίζω: to equal, vie with (+ dat.)
κασίγνητος: brother
ἀπιθέω, ἀπιθήσω, aor. ἀπίθησε: disobey (+ dat., always with a negative)
ὄχος -εος τό: chariot
τεῦχος -εος τό: pl. arms, armour
ἅλλομαι, aor. 2 and 3 pers. sing. ἆλσο, ἆλτο, subj. ἅληται, ἅλεται, ptc. ἅλμενος: to spring, leap, bound
χαμᾶζε: to the ground, on the ground
πάλλω, aor. πῆλε: to brandish, shake, cast (of lots), toss
δόρυ, gen. δόρατος or δουρός: timber, beam, spear
οἴχομαι, impf. ᾤχετο: to go, go away; ᾤχετο ἀποπτάμενος, flew away
ἐγείρω ἐγερῶ ἤγειρα ἐγρήγορα --- ἠγέρθην: to awaken, wake up, rouse105
φύλοπις -ιδος ἡ: the battle-cry, din of battle, battle
αἰνός -ή -όν: dread, dire, grim
ἐλελίζω: to whirl round
Ἀργεῖος -η -ον: of/from Argos, Argive
ὑποχωρέω, aor. ὑπεχώρησαν: to retire, withdraw
λήγω, aor. 3 pl. λῆξαν: to cease, cease from, give up
φόνος -ου ὁ: murder, homicide, slaughter
ἀθάνατος -ον: undying, immortal, imperishable. οἱ ἀθάνατοι: the immortals, the gods
ἀστερόεις: starred, starry
ἀλέξω, fut. partic. ἀλεξήσοντα: to ward off, defend
κατέρχομαι, aor. κατήλυθον, infin. κατελθέμεν: to go down, come down
κέλομαι, aor. (ἐ)κέκλετο: to urge on, bid, command; freq. with dative.110
αὔω, impf. αὖον, aor. ἤῡσα or ἄῡσα, inf. ἀῦσαι, part. ἀύσᾱς: shout, call aloud
ὑπέρθυμος: high-spirited, high-minded, daring
τηλεκλειτός: far-famed
ἐπίκουρος: a helper, ally
φίλος -η -ον: loved, beloved, dear, own
θοῦρις -ιδος: impetuous, raging
ἀλκή -ῆς ἡ: strength, bravery, courage, help, defense
ὄφρα: in order that; as long as, until
γέρων -οντος ὁ: an old man (in apposition as adj., old)
βουλευτής: councillor
ἀράομαι, impf. ἠρᾶτο, aor. ἠρήσατο: to pray115
ἑκατόμβη: hecatomb; strictly a sacrifice of a hundred cattle, but the poet is not exact as to number or class of the victims, hence sacrifice.