ἦ ῥ᾽ ὃ γέρων, πολιὰς δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀνὰ τρίχας ἕλκετο χερσὶ
τίλλων ἐκ κεφαλῆς: οὐδ᾽ Ἕκτορι θυμὸν ἔπειθε.
μήτηρ δ᾽ αὖθ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ὀδύρετο δάκρυ χέουσα
κόλπον ἀνιεμένη, ἑτέρηφι δὲ μαζὸν ἀνέσχε:80
καί μιν δάκρυ χέουσ᾽ ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα:
Ἕκτορ τέκνον ἐμὸν τάδε τ᾽ αἴδεο καί μ᾽ ἐλέησον
αὐτήν, εἴ ποτέ τοι λαθικηδέα μαζὸν ἐπέσχον:
τῶν μνῆσαι φίλε τέκνον ἄμυνε δὲ δήϊον ἄνδρα
τείχεος ἐντὸς ἐών, μὴ δὲ πρόμος ἵστασο τούτῳ85
σχέτλιος: εἴ περ γάρ σε κατακτάνῃ, οὔ σ᾽ ἔτ᾽ ἔγωγε
κλαύσομαι ἐν λεχέεσσι φίλον θάλος, ὃν τέκον αὐτή,
οὐδ᾽ ἄλοχος πολύδωρος: ἄνευθε δέ σε μέγα νῶϊν
Ἀργείων παρὰ νηυσὶ κύνες ταχέες κατέδονται.
90
ὣς τώ γε κλαίοντε προσαυδήτην φίλον υἱὸν
πολλὰ λισσομένω: οὐδ᾽ Ἕκτορι θυμὸν ἔπειθον,
ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γε μίμν᾽ Ἀχιλῆα πελώριον ἆσσον ἰόντα.
ὡς δὲ δράκων ἐπὶ χειῇ ὀρέστερος ἄνδρα μένῃσι
βεβρωκὼς κακὰ φάρμακ᾽, ἔδυ δέ τέ μιν χόλος αἰνός,
σμερδαλέον δὲ δέδορκεν ἑλισσόμενος περὶ χειῇ:95
ὣς Ἕκτωρ ἄσβεστον ἔχων μένος οὐχ ὑπεχώρει
πύργῳ ἔπι προὔχοντι φαεινὴν ἀσπίδ᾽ ἐρείσας:
notes
Hecabe begs Hector to come back within the walls. In an interior monologue Hector considers the shame of retreat and decides to meet Achilles face to face.
Hecabe’s plea follows Priam’s and is just as intimate in its own way. Holding out her naked breast, she conjures the image of Hector as a nursing infant. Mothers in the epic tradition are associated with nurture, with unquestioning love and support for their children.
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Masculine heroes in ancient Mediterranean myth must separate themselves from this nurture to enter adulthood by reaching an accommodation with their father’s world. Hector’s life as we see it does not dramatize that struggle as, for instance, Achilles’ does. He is a fully-formed adult male when we meet him. His deafness to his mother’s pleas here is an extension of his gentle disengagement from her in Book 6. He has already entered his father’s world and struggles to carry its burdens.
The exchanges between Hector, Priam, and Hecabe are part of the overarching theme of parents and children that informs the entire Iliad, beginning with the priest Chryses’ struggle to ransom his daughter in Book 1, which sparks the conflict animating the poem’s central plot, and ending with Priam’s journey to retrieve Hector’s corpse for burial in Book 24. In between, we see a constant stream of parents grieving their lost children, from the otherwise obscure mothers and fathers of the battle scenes, waiting back home, to Zeus himself, weighing whether to bend the cosmic order to save Sarpedon (16.433–38), or Thetis, mournfully releasing Achilles to his death (24.100–19). Unlike the later stories in Athenian tragic drama, where intergenerational conflict is a source of energy for the plot, the relation between parents and children in the Iliad is consistently benign and affectionate.
While reaffirming Hector’s maturity, the scene with Priam and Hecabe also prepares us for his poignant monologue. Physical vulnerability, signified by their aged, naked bodies, makes their emotional vulnerability to the fear of losing everything and everybody they love yet more vivid. Achilles is coming not only for Hector but for them too, and all the Trojans who will soon be defenseless before his fury. Later, in the final moments before his death, Hector imagines himself naked “like a woman” before Achilles, hoping to somehow bargain with the implacable killer. For a fleeting instant, this fantasy seems to offer some escape from the unrelenting pressure always to be in the forefront of battle, never to bend, never to run.
Hector does not respond to his parents’ pleas, but waits for Achilles, who is πελώριον ἆσσον ἰόντα, “coming closer, gigantic” (92). Πελώριος is cognate with πέλωρ, the noun used of Polyphemus and Scylla in the Odyssey (9.428; 12.87). To Hector, Achilles looks not just huge, but unnatural. Homer continues to manipulate our perspective, beginning with his own omniscient view, then letting us look through Priam’s eyes, and now through Hector’s. The shifting focus allows the poet to characterize both Achilles and those who see him coming across the plain. To the poet he is extraordinarily bold, arrogant in the face of divine power; to Priam, something beyond all ordinary creatures, animal or human, a vengeful cosmic force; to Hector, a monster.
Further Reading
Redfield, J. 1975. Nature and Culture in the Iliad, 193–202. Chicago and London: University of Chicago Press.
Schein, S. 1984. The Mortal Hero: An Introduction to Homer’s Iliad, 150–152. Berkeley: University of California Press.
Van Nortwick, T. 2008. Imagining Men: Ideals of Masculinity in Ancient Greek Culture, 7–8. Westport, CT: Praeger.
Whitman, C. 1958. Homer and The Heroic Tradition, 143–144. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
77: ἦ: “spoke,” 3rd sg. impf. > ἠμί (Goodell 383). ἀνὰ … ἕλκετο: “pulled up (and out),” so-called tmesis.
78: Ἕκτορι: dat. of possession with θυμόν.
79: αὖθ’: “in turn,” = αὖτε. It usually (as here) introduces a shift in focus, though it also often functions as a continuative (Monro 337).
80: ἀνιεμένη: “loosening,” i.e. “undoing,” pres. mid. > ἀν-ίημι; “throwing back, opening” (Monro). ἑτέρηφι: “with the other (hand).” The suffix -φι often is instrumental or locative in force, but may substitute as a general dative (here dative of means).
81: μιν: “him,” Hector, = αὐτόν (Goodell 19.f). ἔπεα: neuter acc. pl. > ἔπος. προσηύδα: “began to address (+ acc) to (+ acc.),” = προσηύδαε, 3rd sg. inchoative (see 22.7) impf. with double acc. (Monro 70).
82: τάδε: “these,” i.e. her breasts, acc. obj. αἴδεο: = αἴδε(σ)ο, pres. mid. imperative. ἐλέησον: aor. act. imperative.
83: αὐτήν: intensive pronoun with με. τοι: = σοι, dat. governed by ἐπί of ἐπ-έχω (Monro 145.6).
84: τῶν: “these,” genitive with a verb of remembering (Goodell 511.b). μνῆσαι: aor. mid. imperative > μιμνήσκω.
85: τείχεος ἐντὸς: anastrophe. ἐών: nom. ptc. > εἰμί, Att. ὤν. μὴ … ἵστασο: pres. mid. imperative > ἵστημι. τούτῳ: “against this one,” or “before this one.” πρόμος (= πρόμαχος) governs a dat., which may be construed as a dat. of compound adj. (Smyth 1554) or dat. with adj. of fighting (i.e. “to fight against this one”) (Goodell 525).
86: σχέτλιος: “relentless,” “unkind,” must be understood as in 22.41, of the obduracy of Hector (Monro). εἴ περ: “even if.” κατακτάνῃ: 3rd sg. aor. subj. > κατα-κτείνω, εἰ + subjunctive without ἄν/κε is naturally employed by a speaker who does not wish to imply that the occasion will actually arise (Monro 292.a). οὔ … ἔτ᾽: “no longer,” “not still.”
87: ὃν: “whom,” relative. τέκον: unaugmented aor. > τίκτω.
88: ἄλοχος: supply κλαύσεται from above. ἄνευθε … μέγα νῶϊν: “very far from us two.” μέγα “greatly,” is an adv. acc., νῶϊν is a 1st pers. dual pronoun, gen. obj. with ἄνευθε.
90: ὣς: “thus.” τώ γε κλαίοντε προσαυδήτην: “these two addressed him in tears,” dual demonstrative pronoun, dual nom. ptc., and dual 3rd pers. impf. verb. The narrator stresses that the parents work together and increases the effect of Hector not heeding their combined plea (de Jong). φίλον υἱὸν: “(their) dear son.” φίλος carries the sense of a possessive, “their own.”
91: πολλὰ: “intensively,” adverbial accusative. λισσομένω: dual nom. dep. mid. ptc. > λίσσομαι. Ἕκτορι: dat. of possession with θυμόν (Monro 143.1).
92: ἀλλ᾽ὅ γε: “but he in fact.” μίμν᾽: = μίμνε, “waited for,” unaugmented 3rd sg. transitive impf. > μίμνω, Attic μένω. ἰόντα: acc. sg. masc. ptc. > εἶμι.
93: ὡς δὲ: “just as,” introducing a simile. ἐπὶ: “over,” “near,” + dat. of place where. μένῃσι: 3rd pers. sg. pres. thematic subjunctive > μένω, with athematic ending, in an iterative subjunctive without ἄν. A simile in Homer is often in the subjunctive, and is viewed as indefinite and recurring (Monro 285.3.a).
94: βεβρωκὼς: nom. sg. pf. ptc. > βιβρώσκω. φάρμακ᾽: = φάρμακα, implying the belief that snake venom comes from the snake's consumption of poisonous plants. ἔδυ δέ τέ: 3rd sg. root aor. indicative > δύω, gnomic aorist with epic τε (see 22.22, with Monro 78.2).
95: σμερδαλέον: inner acc. neuter (“look a terrible look”) used adverbially (“terribly”). δέδορκεν: “he glares out,” pf. act. (de Jong). περὶ χειῇ: “around in his hole.”
96: ὣς: “so…,” closing the simile.
97: πύργῳ ἔπι: = ἐπὶ πύργῳ. προὔχοντι: “protruding,” “jutting out,” dat. pres. ptc. > προ-έχω, an instance of crasis (contraction of vowels across parts of compounds; see Smyth 62–69, Goodell 35).
vocabulary
ἠμί, impf. ἦ: to say, speak. ἦ καί is used after a speech that is reported, where the same subject is continued for the following verb.
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.
γέρων –οντος ὁ: an old man
πολιός: gray, hoary
θρίξ τριχός ἡ: the hair of the head
ἕλκω: to draw, drag
τίλλω: to pluck, tear out
αὖτε: again, on the other hand, however, but
ἑτέρωθεν: from the other side
ὀδύρομαι: to lament, bewail, mourn for, grieve
δάκρυον -ου τό, also δάκρυ -υος τό: a tear
χέω, aor. ἔχεεν or ἔχευε, χύντο, perf. κέχυνται, plpf. κέχυτο: to pour, heap (of a funeral mound), throw into a heap; σὺν ὅρκια ἔχευαν, broke (threw into a disorderly heap) the oaths; ἀμφὶ υἱὸν ἐχεύατο πήχεα, threw (her) arms about (her) son; δάκρυ χέων, weeping
κόλπος –ου ὁ: bosom80
ἀνίημι, 2nd. pers. ind. ἀνιεῖς, fem. partic. ἀνιεῖσα, fut. ἀνήσει, aor. ἀνῆκε or ἀνέηκεν, aor. subj. ἀνήῃ, aor. partic. ἀνέντες: to let go, free, urge on
μαζός: breast
ἀνέχω, fut. ἀνέξομαι and ἀνσχήσεσθαι, aor. ἀνέσχον: to hold up, lift, raise; mid. to hold up under, be patient, endure, suffer, allow; draw up
μιν: him, her, it
πτερόεις πτερόεσσα πτερόεν: feathered, winged
προσαυδάω: to speak to, address
αἰδέομαι and αἴδομαι, aor. pass. partic. αἰδεσθείς: to feel honorable shame or self-respect, revere, be abashed before
ἐλεέω, aor. ἐλέησε: to pity, take pity
λαθικηδής: soothing
ἐπέχω, 2nd aor. ἐπέσχον, ἐπέσχε, aor. partic. ἐπισχών: to hold to (a person or to his lips)
φίλος –η –ον: friend; loved, beloved, dear
ἀμύνω, aor. ἄμυνεν: to ward off, keep off, protect, defend, with dat. of interest or ablatival genitive.
δάιος: hostile, destructive; (pl. enemies)
ἐντός: within, inside85
πρόμος: fore-fighter, champion
σχέτλιος: persistent, stubborn, headstrong, implacable, harsh, cruel
κατακτείνω: to kill, slay, murder
κλαίω, opt. κλαίοισθα, impf. κλαῖε, fut. κλαύσομαι, κλαύονται: to weep, lament, wail90
λέχος –εος τό: a couch, bed, bier
θάλος –εος τό: shoot, scion; (metaphorically) child
ἄλοχος -ου ἡ: wife
πολύδωρος: richly dowered
ἄνευθε: without; far away (+gen)
Ἀργεῖος –η –ον: of/from Argos, Argive
κύων κυνός ὁ or ἡ: a dog
κατεσθίω, impf. κατήσθε: to eat up, devour
λίσσομαι: to beg, pray, entreat, beseech
μίμνω: to stay, stand fast, remain
πελώριος: monstrous, mighty
ἆσσον: nearer, very near
δράκων –οντος ὁ: serpent, snake
χειή: hole
ὀρέστερος: of the mountains (poet. for ὀρεινός)
βιβρώσκω, perf. partic. βεβρωκώς: to eat, feed on
φάρμακον –ου τό: herb
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
χόλος -ου ὁ: anger, rancor, bile
αἰνός –ή –όν: dread, dire, grim
σμερδαλέος: painful, dreadful, terrible95
δέρκομαι, pres. partic. δερκομένοιο, δερκόμενοι, perf. δέδορκεν: to look, gaze
ἑλίσσω, pres. mid. partic. ἑλισσόμενος: to turn around, curl, whirl around
χειά: a hole
ἄσβεστος: unquenchable, inextinguishable
μένος –εος τό: might, force, strength, prowess, courage
ὑποχωρέω, aor. ὑπεχώρησαν: to retire, withdraw
πύργος –ου ὁ : tower, turreted surrounding wall; (fig.) rampart, defense, defender
προέχω, pres. partic. προύχοντι: to project
φαεινός –ή –όν: bright, brilliant, radiant
ἀσπίς –ίδος ἡ: shield
ἐρείδω: to lean, prop, support