22.260-288

Achilles angrily refuses to make any kind of agreement with Hector. He throws a spear, which Hector dodges and Athena returns to him, unbeknownst to Hector. Hector criticizes Achilles for overconfidence and prepares to hurl his own spear. In his reply Achilles himself assumes the persona of wild animal, first lion to Hector’s human, then wolf to Hector’s lamb, confirmation that this battle will be fought well outside the constraints that Hector vainly imagines might govern the encounter.

260: ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν: “looking from under gathered and lowered brows,” nom. aor. ptc. > εἶδον, which supplies the aorist of ὁράω (Goodell 391), see LSJ s.v. ὑπόδρα. It indicates irritation and anger with an element of threat. It prefaces a speech which expresses implacable hatred, desire for vengeance, and determination utterly to extinguish the prestige that Hector has won in killing Patroclus. (de Jong).

261: Ἕκτορ: voc. direct address. μή … ἀγόρευε: negative imperative. ἄλαστε: “unforgettable,” i.e., not to be forgiven or forgotten by Achilles. Voc. direct address.

262: ὡς: “just as.” οὐκ ἔστι: “there does not exist.” λέουσι, ἀνδράσιν: “between” or “for,” either dat. of reference (“there does no exist trusted oaths for lions and men”) or possession (“lions and humans do not have…”).

264: κακὰ φρονέουσι: “they devise evil things.” κακὰ is acc. pl. substantive adjective, serving as object.

265: ὣς: “so,” closing the simile. οὐκ ἔστ(ι): “it is not possible that” + acc. subj. + inf. φιλήμεναι: “to be friends,” = φιλεῖν (Monro 85.2). οὐδέ τι: “nor at all,” adverbial acc. νῶϊν: “for the two of us,” 1st pers. dual pronoun either dat. of reference or possession (see 22.262).

266: ἔσσονται: fut. dep. mid. > εἰμί.

266–267: πρίν … ἕτερον … ἆσαι: “before one of us, at least, falls and satiates Ares with his blood.” πρίν clause with subj. acc. (modified by πεσόντα, aor. act. ptc. > πίπτω) and aor. inf. > ἄω (de Jong). ἆσαι: “sate (acc.) with (gen.).” “There will be no treaty between us before one of us falls”; an ironical way of saying that there can be no treaty (Monro).

267: Ἄρηα: acc. obj. of inf. > ἆσαι.

268: παντοίης ἀρετῆς: “prowess of every sort” (Monro), genitive with a verb of remembering (Goodell 511.b). μιμνήσκεο: = μιμνήσκε(σ)ο, pres. mid. imperative.

269: τ᾽… καὶ: “both … and,” joining two acc. predicates of the inf. ἔμεναι: pres. inf. > εἰμί, Att. εἶναι.

270: οὔ … ἔτ᾽: “no longer.” τοι: = σοι, dat. of reference. ἔσθ᾽: “there is,” = ἔστι.

271: ἔγχει ἐμῷ: dat. of means. δαμάᾳ: 3rd sg. fut. > δαμνάω (= δάμνημι = δαμάζω).

272: κήδε’ ἐμῶν ἑτάρων: in apposition to πάντα. ἐμῶν ἑτάρων is objective genitive, “for my comrades” (Monro). οὓς: “whom,” relative. ἔκτανες: aor. > κτείνω.

273: ἦ: “he spoke,” 3rd sg. impf. > ἠμί. ἀμπεπαλὼν: nom. sg. reduplicated aor. ptc. > ἀνα-πάλλω, with apocope and assimilation. προΐει: = προΐε-ε, 3rd sg. impf. > προίημι.

274–275: “and Hector avoided it: for he crouched down, and it flew over him, the bronze spear” (de Jong). τὸ μὲν … τὸ δ᾽: “but,” a strong contrast, which may be left untranslated, lit. “in this respect on the one hand … in that respect on the other hand.” ἄντα ἰδὼν: “looking face-to-face,”  i.e. straight on without fleeing. ἠλεύατο: aor. > ἀλέομαι, "avoid."

276: ἐπάγη: 3rd sg. 2nd aor. pass. > πήγνυμι. ἀνὰ δ᾽ἥρπασε: aor. > ἀν-αρπάζω. 

277: Ἀχιλῆϊ: dat. indirect object. δίδου, λάθε δέ = διδοῦσα ἔλαθε (Monro). δίδου: = δίδο-ε, 3rd sg. impf. > δίδωμι. λάθε: unaugmented aor. > λανθάνω.

279: ἤβμροτες: 2nd sg. Aeolic 2nd  aor. > ἁμαρτάνω. ἐπιείκελ᾽: = ἐπιείκελε, voc. direct address. Ἀχιλλεῦ: voc. direct address.

280: ἐκ Διὸς: “from Zeus,” gen. of source. οὐδ’ … ἠείδης: “you didn’t know,” 2nd sg. plpf. > οἶδα with simple past sense (ἠ- is a temporal augment before missing digamma). ἦ τοι ἔφης γε: “though you thought so” (Monro). φημί can indicate a range of subjective claims (“think,” “imagine,” “declare,” “claim”). In speech-capping formulas it has weakened to neutral “say” (de Jong).

281: τις: “someone,” predicate of ἔπλεο “you were.” ἐπίκλοπος … μύθων: “cunning in words,” “trickster in speech,” adj. governs explanatory genitive.

282: ὄφρα … λάθωμαι: “so that I would forget” + gen., ὄφρα + subj. (aor. mid. > λανθάνω) without κεν/ἄν in pure purpose clause (Monro 287.1.b).

283: οὐ μέν: “not,” emphatic denial. ἐν δόρυ πήξεις = δόρυ ἐμπήξεις (> ἐμπήγνυμι, fix or plant in + dat.), so-called tmesis.

284: ἰθὺς μεμαῶτι: “as I make straight towards you,” “as I press straight on” to meet you (Benner). ἰθὺς: “straight on,” adverb. μεμαῶτι: dat. sg. ptc. > μέμονα, reduplicated perf. with pres. sense (Monro 36.5), agrees with μοι in 283. στήθεσφιν: the suffix -φιν forms the equivalent to a genitive plural στηθέων. ἔλασσον: aor. imperative > ἐλαύνω, with metrical doubling of σ. Understand δόρυ.

285: εἴ τοι ἔδωκε θεός: in ironical reference to lines 270 ff., where Achilles boasts of Athena as his ally. τοι: = σοι. ἄλευαι: aor. mid. imperative > ἀλέομαι, “avoid.”

286: ὡς … κομίσαιο: “would that you may receive it,” aor. mid. opt. of wish. > κομίζω, introduced by ὡς. μιν πᾶν: “it entire(ly),” μιν (= αὐτό, 3rd sg. personal pronoun), refers to δόρυ, πᾶν is a neuter adjective, best translated as an adverb.

287: κεν … γένοιτο: “would be,” potential opt., which gains the sense of a result clause with the καί introducing the main clause (de Jong). ἐλαφρότερος: comparative, pred. adj.

288: σεῖο καταφθιμένοιο: gen. absolute. σεῖο: = σοῦ. σὺ: “you (are),” supply linking verb ἐσσί. σφισι: dat. pl. 3rd pers. personal pronoun > σφεῖς (Monro 102), dat. of interest (Goodell 523).