Homer, Iliad VI 232-262

ὣς ἄρα φωνήσαντε καθ᾽ ἵππων ἀΐξαντε

χεῖράς τ᾽ ἀλλήλων λαβέτην καὶ πιστώσαντο:

ἔνθ᾽ αὖτε Γλαύκῳ Κρονίδης φρένας ἐξέλετο Ζεύς,

ὃς πρὸς Τυδεΐδην Διομήδεα τεύχε᾽ ἄμειβε235

χρύσεα χαλκείων, ἑκατόμβοι᾽ ἐννεαβοίων.

Ἕκτωρ δ᾽ ὡς Σκαιάς τε πύλας καὶ φηγὸν ἵκανεν,

ἀμφ᾽ ἄρα μιν Τρώων ἄλοχοι θέον ἠδὲ θύγατρες

εἰρόμεναι παῖδάς τε κασιγνήτους τε ἔτας τε

καὶ πόσιας: ὃ δ᾽ ἔπειτα θεοῖς εὔχεσθαι ἀνώγει240

πάσας ἑξείης: πολλῇσι δὲ κήδε᾽ ἐφῆπτο.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ Πριάμοιο δόμον περικαλλέ᾽ ἵκανε

ξεστῇς αἰθούσῃσι τετυγμένον: αὐτὰρ ἐν αὐτῷ

πεντήκοντ᾽ ἔνεσαν θάλαμοι ξεστοῖο λίθοιο

πλησίον ἀλλήλων δεδμημένοι, ἔνθα δὲ παῖδες245

κοιμῶντο Πριάμοιο παρὰ μνηστῇς ἀλόχοισι,

κουράων δ᾽ ἑτέρωθεν ἐναντίοι ἔνδοθεν αὐλῆς

δώδεκ᾽ ἔσαν τέγεοι θάλαμοι ξεστοῖο λίθοιο

πλησίον ἀλλήλων δεδμημένοι, ἔνθα δὲ γαμβροὶ

κοιμῶντο Πριάμοιο παρ᾽ αἰδοίῃς ἀλόχοισιν:250

ἔνθά οἱ ἠπιόδωρος ἐναντίη ἤλυθε μήτηρ

Λαοδίκην ἐσάγουσα θυγατρῶν εἶδος ἀρίστην:

ἔν τ᾽ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζε:

τέκνον τίπτε λιπὼν πόλεμον θρασὺν εἰλήλουθας;

ἦ μάλα δὴ τείρουσι δυσώνυμοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν255

μαρνάμενοι περὶ ἄστυ: σὲ δ᾽ ἐνθάδε θυμὸς ἀνῆκεν

ἐλθόντ᾽ ἐξ ἄκρης πόλιος Διὶ χεῖρας ἀνασχεῖν.

ἀλλὰ μέν᾽ ὄφρά κέ τοι μελιηδέα οἶνον ἐνείκω,

ὡς σπείσῃς Διὶ πατρὶ καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισι

πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δὲ καὐτὸς ὀνήσεαι αἴ κε πίῃσθα.260

ἀνδρὶ δὲ κεκμηῶτι μένος μέγα οἶνος ἀέξει,

ὡς τύνη κέκμηκας ἀμύνων σοῖσιν ἔτῃσι.

After Glaucus and Diomedes exchange armor, the scene shifts to Hector, who enters Troy. He is beset by Trojans keen for news, but soon proceeds to the house of Priam, where he meets his mother Hecuba. She offers wine, both to offer to Zeus and to restore himself, and asks Hector why he has left the field.

The rest of Book Six will be Homer’s full-length portrait of Hector, building on material from Book Three. It is also, we discover, the hero’s farewell to his people. We might wonder why these scenes appear where they do, why in particular Homer put the poignant exchange between Hector and Andromache here and not closer to the final duel with Achilles. The answer is that all of this pain must be in our minds as we see Hector make his way toward death. [read full essay]

232-3 φωνήσαντεἀΐξαντε: dual aor. ptc. λαβέτην: 3rd pers. dual aor. act. > λαμβάνω. πιστώσαντο: “made a commitment to one another,” 3rd pl. aor. mid. > πιστόω. The middle denotes reciprocity.

232: καθ᾽: “down from,” = κατὰ, elision before aspiration, gen. of place from which (Monro 213.1).

234: ἐξέλετο: “stole away the wits,” aor. mid. > ἐξαιρέω.

234: Γλαύκῳ: “(took away the wits) from Glaucus,” a rare use of dat. of person with ἐξ-αιρέω, though it may also serve as possessive dat. personal pronoun with φρένας (Monro 143.1). 

235: πρὸς Τυδεΐδην Διομήδεα: “with Diomedes, son of Tydeus,” the preposition is an alternative of the dative of person used in 6.230.

236: χαλκείων, ἐννεαβοίων: gen. of price or value (Goodell 513). χρύσεα, ἑκατόμβοι᾽: acc. direct objects.

237: ὡς: “when.” Σκαιάς τε πύλας καὶ φηγὸν: accusative of direction without a preposition

238: θέον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf. > θέω, not to be confused with θεόν, “god.”

239: εἰρόμεναι: pres. mid. dep. ptc. > εἴρομαι

240: πόσιας: 3rd declension acc. pl. > πόσις. ὃ δ᾽: “but he….” Τhe article functions here (as often in Homer) as a demonstrative pronoun (Monro 265).

241: πάσας: “all (the Trojan women).” ἑξείης: i.e. he asks each one after another. πολλῇσι κήδε’ ἐφῆπτο: “suffering was imposed upon many.” πολλῇσι: dat. governed by ἐπί of ἐφ-άπτω (Monro 145.6). ἐφῆπτο: 3rd sg. plpf. mid. > ἐφ-άπτω, with neut. pl. κήδεα as subject.

242: ὅτε δὴ: “just when.” δὴ implies exactness. περικαλλέ’: uncontracted acc. sg. with elision of α.

243: τετυγμένον: pf. pass. ptc. > τεύχω. αὐτῷ: the δόμος.

244: ἔν-εσαν: “were within,” 3rd pl. impf. act.> ἔνειμι (Monro 12).

245: δεδμημένοι: pf. pass. ptc. > δέμω. ἔνθα: “there.”

246: ἐναντίοι: supply θάλαμοι from line 244.

248: ἔσαν: 3rd pl. impf. > εἰμί, Attic ἦσαν (Monro 12).

249: δεδμημένοι: see note for line 245 above.

251: οἱ: “his,” = αὐτῷ, dat. with ἐναντίη. ἤλυθε: = ἦλθε, aor. act. > ἔρχομαι.

252: ἐσ-άγουσα: nom. sg. pres ptc. > εἰσ-άγω. εἶδος: "in appearance," acc. of respect.

253: ἔν τ᾽ ἄρα οἱ φῦ χειρὶ: “firmly clasped his hand,” literally “grew into his hand.” ἐνφῦ: 3rd sg. root aorist > ἐμφύω. ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽: “began to speak a word,” impf. mid. with no difference in meaning from the active. ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζε: “called (him) out by name,” understand Hecabe as subject.

254: τίπτε: = τί ποτε, “why ever?” λιπὼν: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > λείπω. εἰλήλουθας: pf. act. > ἔρχομαι.

255: ἦ μάλα δὴ: “no doubt” (Graziosi-Haubold).

256: ἀνῆκεν: 3rd sg. 1st aor. > ἀν-ίημι (Goodell 374).

257: ἐλθόντα: aor. ptc. > ἔρχομαι with σὲ. ἀνασχεῖν: aor. infin. of purpose > ἀν-έχω (Goodell 565.a).

258: μέν᾽: = μένε, 2nd sg. imperative > μένω. ὄφρά κέ ... ἐνείκω: “while I bring” or “so that I may bring” (see 6.113). The basic sense is temporal, but ὄφρα κε also conveys purpose (Graziosi-Haubold, see Monro 287.1.b). ἐνείκω: 1st sg. aor. subj. > φέρω, Attic ἐνέγκω. τοι: “to you,” = σοι, dat. indirect object.

259: ὡς σπείσῃς: “so that…,” purpose clause, 2nd sg. aor. subj. > σπένδω.

260: πρῶτον: adverbial acc. καὐτὸς: “you yourself as well,” crasis (contraction of vowels across parts of compounds; see Smyth 6269, Goodell 35) for καὶ αὐτὸς. ὀνήσε(σ)αι: “you help yourself,” either 2nd sg. aor. mid. subj. > ὀνίνημι, continuing the purpose clause of 6.259 (Stoevesandt, see Monro 80), or 2nd sg. fut. mid. indic., introducing a new main clause and forming the protasis of a future-more-vivid condition (Graziosi-Haubold). αἴ κε: = ἐάν. πίῃσθα: 2nd sg. aor. subj. > πίνω. A condition with subj. + κε/ἄν indicates that a particular future occasion is contemplated (Monro 292.b).

261: κεκμηῶτι: “being weary,” dat. sg. pf. ptc. > κάμνω, modifying ἀνδρὶ, dat of interest (Goodell 523). μέγα: adverbial acc. ἀέξει: = αὐξάνει.

262: ὡςκέκμηκας: “since you are weary,” 2nd sg. pf. > κάμνω. τύνη: = σύ, emphatic.

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.

φωνέω, aor. φώνησεν: to speak

ἀίσσω [ᾄσσω], aor. ἠίξα, ἀίξας, aor. pass. as mid. ἠίχθη: to rush, hasten; καθ᾿ ἵππων ἀίξαντε, leaping down from the chariot; χαῖται ἀίσσονται, the (hair) mane floats

πιστόω, aor. mid. (ἐ)πιστώσαντο, aor. pass. subj. dual πιστωθῆτον, inf. -ῆναι: (mid.) to bind oneself or each other mutually (by oath or pledge); (pass.) to be pledged, trust

αὖτε: again, on the other hand, however, but

Γλαῦκος -ου ὁ: Glaucus, the brave leader of the Lycians and the grandson of Bellerophon

Κρονίδης and Κρονίων -ωνος ὁ: son of Cronus, Zeus

φρήν φρενός ἡ: heart, mind 

ἐξαιρέω, aor. ἐξείλετο or ἐξέλετο: to take out of, take from

Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus, son of Cronus, the husband and brother of Hera and the wisest and mightiest of the gods.

Τυδεΐδης: son of Tydeus235

Διομήδης -εος ὁ: Diomedes, son of Tydeus, king of Argos, one of the bravest and mightiest of the Achaeans fighting in Troy

τεῦχος -εος τό: (pl.) arms, armour

ἀμείβω, aor. ἀμείψατο: to change, exchange; (mid.) to answer, reply

χρύσε(ι)ος -η -ον: golden, of gold

χάλκεος or χάλκειος: of bronze, bronze, bronze pointed (of a spear)

ἑκατόμβοιος: worth a hundred cattle

ἐννεάβοιος: worth nine cattle

Ἕκτωρ ‑ορος ὁ: Hector

πύλη -ης ἡ: one wing of a pair of double gates; (pl.) gate

φηγός: oak

ἱκάνω: to come, arrive

μιν: him, her, it

Τρῶες: Trojans

ἄλοχος -ου ἡ: wife 

θέω θεύσομαι: to run

ἠδέ: and

κασίγνητος: brother

ἔτης -ου ὁ: clansmen

πόσις -ιος ὁ, dat. πόσεϊ, acc. pl. πόσιας: husband240

εὔχομαι, aor. εὔξαντο: to profess, boast, exult, vow, pray; εὐχόμενος, in prayer

ἄνωγα (perf. as pres.), impf. ἄνωγον, plpf. as impf. ἠνώγει or ἀνώγειν: to command, order, bid

ἑξῆς: one after another, in order, in a row

κῆδος -εος τό: grief, sorrow, woe

ἐφάπτω, perf. pass. ἐφῆπται: to fasten upon; (pass.) to impend, hang over

Πρίαμος: Priam, son of Laomedon. King of Troy.

δόμος -ου, ὁ: a house, home

περικαλλής -ές: very beautiful

ξεστός: smoothed, polished, wrought

αἴθουσα: a roofed space outside the main hall of the house, portico, corridor

τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make ready, make, build, work

ἀτάρ: but, yet

πεντήκοντα: fifty

ἔνειμι, 1st pl. ἔνειμεν, opt. ἐνείη, impf. ἐνῆεν and ἔνεσαν (εἰμί): to be within

θάλαμος: women's apartment, chamber (esp. of married people), storeroom

πλησίος -α -ον: near, close to245

δέμω, perf. pass. δεδμημένοι: to build

κοιμάω, aor. κοιμήσαντο: to lay to rest; (mid.) lie; (aor.) lay down to rest

μνηστός: wooed and won, wedded

κόρη or κούρη: maiden, girl, daughter

ἑτέρωθεν: from the other side

ἔνδοθεν: from within

αὐλή: the court-yard of a house

δώδεκα/δυώδεκα: twelve

τέγεος -ον: located under the roof, on the top floor

γαμβρός: connection by marriage, daughter's husband, sister's husband

αἰδοῖος: revered, honored, modest250

οἱ (enclitic, dat. 3rd pers. pron.): (to) him, (to) her 

ἠπιόδωρος: kindly-giving, kindly, generous

Λαοδίκη: Laodice, daughter of Priam

εἰσάγω: to lead in, bring before

τίπτε: why? (τί ποτε)

θρασύς -εῖα -ύ: bold, spirited, courageous, confident

τείρω: to oppress, press hard, weigh heavily upon, distress255

δυσώνυμος: cursed

Ἀχαιός: Achaian

μάρναμαι: to fight, contend

ἄστυ ἄστεος τό: a city, town

ἐνθάδε: thither, hither

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

ἄκρα or ἄκρη ἡ (fem. of ἄκρος): highest or farthest point 

ἀνέχω, fut. ἀνέξομαι and ἀνσχήσεσθαι, aor. ἀνέσχον: to hold up, lift, raise; (mid.) to hold up under, be patient, endure, suffer, allow; draw up

ὄφρα: in order that; as long as, until

μελιηδής: honey-sweet

οἶνος -ου ὁ: wine

σπένδω σπείσω ἔσπεισα ἔσπεισμαι: to pour a libation, (mid.) to make a treaty

ἀθάνατος -ον: undying, immortal, imperishable. οἱ ἀθάνατοι: the immortals 

ὀνίνημι, fut. ὀνήσειν, ὀνήσεαι, aor. ὄνησα or ὤνησας: to help, profit, please260

κάμνω, fut. καμεῖται, aor. (ἔ)καμον, perf. κεκμηῶτι: to labor, be weary, make with toil; καμόντες, who became weary

μένος -εος τό: might, force, strength, prowess, courage

ἀέξω: to increase, enlarge, foster, strengthen

ἀμύνω, aor. ἄμυνεν: to ward off, keep off, protect, defend, with dat. of interest or ablatival genitive.

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Suggested Citation

Thomas Van Nortwick and Geoffrey Steadman, Homer: Iliad 6 and 22. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2018. ISBN: 978-1-947822-11-5.https://dcc.dickinson.edu/homer-iliad/homer-iliad-vi-232-262