Homer, Iliad VI 466-502

ὣς εἰπὼν οὗ παιδὸς ὀρέξατο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ:

ἂψ δ᾽ ὃ πάϊς πρὸς κόλπον ἐϋζώνοιο τιθήνης

ἐκλίνθη ἰάχων πατρὸς φίλου ὄψιν ἀτυχθεὶς

ταρβήσας χαλκόν τε ἰδὲ λόφον ἱππιοχαίτην,

δεινὸν ἀπ᾽ ἀκροτάτης κόρυθος νεύοντα νοήσας.470

ἐκ δ᾽ ἐγέλασσε πατήρ τε φίλος καὶ πότνια μήτηρ:

αὐτίκ᾽ ἀπὸ κρατὸς κόρυθ᾽ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ,

καὶ τὴν μὲν κατέθηκεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ παμφανόωσαν:

αὐτὰρ ὅ γ᾽ ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἐπεὶ κύσε πῆλέ τε χερσὶν

εἶπε δ᾽ ἐπευξάμενος Διί τ᾽ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσι:475

Ζεῦ ἄλλοι τε θεοὶ δότε δὴ καὶ τόνδε γενέσθαι

παῖδ᾽ ἐμὸν ὡς καὶ ἐγώ περ ἀριπρεπέα Τρώεσσιν,

ὧδε βίην τ᾽ ἀγαθόν, καὶ Ἰλίου ἶφι ἀνάσσειν:

καί ποτέ τις εἴποι πατρός γ᾽ ὅδε πολλὸν ἀμείνων

ἐκ πολέμου ἀνιόντα: φέροι δ᾽ ἔναρα βροτόεντα480

κτείνας δήϊον ἄνδρα, χαρείη δὲ φρένα μήτηρ.

ὣς εἰπὼν ἀλόχοιο φίλης ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκε

παῖδ᾽ ἑόν: ἣ δ᾽ ἄρα μιν κηώδεϊ δέξατο κόλπῳ

δακρυόεν γελάσασα: πόσις δ᾽ ἐλέησε νοήσας,

χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζε:485

δαιμονίη μή μοί τι λίην ἀκαχίζεο θυμῷ:

οὐ γάρ τίς μ᾽ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν ἀνὴρ Ἄϊδι προϊάψει:

μοῖραν δ᾽ οὔ τινά φημι πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι ἀνδρῶν,

οὐ κακὸν οὐδὲ μὲν ἐσθλόν, ἐπὴν τὰ πρῶτα γένηται.

ἀλλ᾽ εἰς οἶκον ἰοῦσα τὰ σ᾽ αὐτῆς ἔργα κόμιζε490

ἱστόν τ᾽ ἠλακάτην τε, καὶ ἀμφιπόλοισι κέλευε

ἔργον ἐποίχεσθαι: πόλεμος δ᾽ ἄνδρεσσι μελήσει

πᾶσι, μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐμοί, τοὶ Ἰλίῳ ἐγγεγάασιν.

ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας κόρυθ᾽ εἵλετο φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ

ἵππουριν: ἄλοχος δὲ φίλη οἶκον δὲ βεβήκει495

ἐντροπαλιζομένη, θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσα.

αἶψα δ᾽ ἔπειθ᾽ ἵκανε δόμους εὖ ναιετάοντας

Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο, κιχήσατο δ᾽ ἔνδοθι πολλὰς

ἀμφιπόλους, τῇσιν δὲ γόον πάσῃσιν ἐνῶρσεν.

αἳ μὲν ἔτι ζωὸν γόον Ἕκτορα ᾧ ἐνὶ οἴκῳ:500

οὐ γάρ μιν ἔτ᾽ ἔφαντο ὑπότροπον ἐκ πολέμοιο

ἵξεσθαι προφυγόντα μένος καὶ χεῖρας Ἀχαιῶν.

Hector takes his child in his arms and prays for him. He comforts Andromache and sends her home. As Andromache returns home the whole household laments Hector as if he were already dead.

Hector reaches out for his son, but his helmet, with its menacing plume, frightens the infant, who shrinks back into the bosom of his nurse, a brief comic respite for his parents and for us. Yet even this fleeting moment of relief is shadowed by the unrelenting sadness of Hector’s isolation from those he loves. The helmet becomes, in this scene, a symbol of the war and its terrors, which Hector has brought with him into the city. [read full essay]

468: ἐκλίνθη: “shrank back,” 3rd sg. aor. > κλίνω, the aorist ending -θην is intransitive rather than passive (Graziosi-Haubold). ὄψιν: “at the sight of” + gen. ἀτυχθεὶς: nom. aor. pass. ptc. > ἀτύζομαι

470: δεινὸν: “terribly,” adverbial acc. νεύοντα: ptc. modifies understood λόφον.

471: ἐκ δ᾽ἐγέλασσε: “laughed out,” tmesis, ingressive aor. (Goodell 464). The plural subject πατήρ καὶμήτηρ is felt as a single subject (Stoevesandt).

472: κρατός: gen. > κάρη, head. κόρυθ᾽: = κόρυθα, acc. sg. ἀπόεἵλετο: aor. mid. > ἀφαιρέω (stem ἑλ-).

473: τὴν μὲν: “this,” i.e. the fem. κόρυθα.

474: ὃν: “his,” = ἑὸν, possessive pronoun > ἑός. κύσε: kissing is mentioned in but two other passges of the Iliad, and those both refer to the acts of suppliants (Seymour). πῆλε: “lifted and swayed,” aor. > πάλλω. The verb normally describes the swaying of a missile before it is thrown, the brandishing of  shield, or the shaking of lots in a helmet. χερσὶν: dat. pl. of means > χείρ.

476: Ζεῦθεοὶ: vocative direct address. δότε: “grant that,” 2nd pl. aor. imperative > δίδωμι. δὴ: lends emphasis to the imperative, translated as “just grant” or “grant now.” γενέσθαι: aor. inf. > γίγνομαι, τόνδε (with παῖδα ἐμὸν in apposition) is acc. subject. and ἀριπρεπέα is acc. predicate.  For this prayer, cf. that of Ajax for his boy, ὦ παῖ, γένοιο πατρὸς εὐτυχέστερος, | τὰ δ’ ἄλλ’ ὅμοιος· καὶ γένοι’ ἂν οὐ κακός Sophocles Ajax 550 f. (Seymour).

477: ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ περ: “just as I in fact,” καὶ is adverbial, περ emphasizes ὡς, “in the very way,” cf. ὥσπερ.

478: ὥδε: same sense as ὡς καὶ ἐγὼ above. βίην: acc. respect with ἀγαθόν. Ἰλίου: gen. with ἀνάσσω (which takes a dative of persons ruled, and genitive of place ruled, se LSJ s.v. ανάσσω). Observe the reference to the name Astyanax (Seymour).

479: εἴποι: opt. of wish. πατρός: gen. of comparison (Goodell 509.b). ὅδε: “this here one (is),” i.e. Astyanax. πολλὸν: “by far,” “far,” adverbial (acc. of extent) modifies comparative ἀμείνων.

480: ἀνιόντα: “(seeing him) as he comes back from,” pres. ptc. > ἄν-ειμι (Graziosi-Haubold). φέροι: opt. of wish, as εἴποι above. Astyanax is the subject.

481: κτείνας: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > κτείνω. χαρείη: “may rejoice,” 3rd sg. aor. pass. deponent opt. > χαίρω. φρένας: “in her heart,” acc. of respect. χαρείη κ.τ.λ. is closely connected in thought with the first half of the verse. The mother is to rejoice in the bloody spoils with which her son returns, as proof of his bravery. As Hector thinks of his son, he forgets his ill-bodings. (Seymour)

482: ὣς: “thus.” χερσὶν: dat. pl. > χείρ. ἀλόχοιο: this is a delicate touch of the poet, that Hector does not return the child to the nurse (from whom he took him, 466 ff.), but gives him into the arms of his wife, instructing him to her care. (Seymour)

483: ἣ δ᾽ἄρα: “and she,” “and this one.” δέξατο: unaugmented 3rd sg. aor. dep. mid. > δέχομαι. κόλπῳ: dat. place where, without preposition.

484: δακρυόεν γελάσασα: adverbial acc. sg. neut. adj. and aor. ptc. looking back to ἣ. This marks the last moment of–tarnished–happiness for Andromache, who here breaks down under the strain of conflicting emotions (Stoevesandt).

485: κατέρεξεν: aor. > καταρρέζω. ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατο … ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζε: see 6.253. Hector is the subject.

486: μήτιἀκαχίζεο: “don’t at all…,” negative command, 2nd sg. pres. dep. mid. imperative. θυμῷ: dat. place where without preposition.

487 ff.: “I shall not be killed unless this is fated; and if death is appointed for me now, I cannot escape it.” (Seymour)

487: τίς: “any,” τις before enclitic με, modifying ἀνήρ. ὑπὲρ αἶσαν: “beyond what is due” (see 6.333). προϊάψει: “will send me to,” fut. > προ-ϊάπτω + acc. and dat. of compound verb.

488: πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι: = πεφευγέναι, “has escaped from” and thus “is safe from,” periphrastic perfect infinitive denoting a state achieved. οὔ τινάἀνδρῶν: "no one," which is the subject of the infin. πεφυγμένον ἔμμεναι. μοῖραν is object, positioned first for emphasis. 

489: κακὸν, ἐσθλὸν: modify τινά ἀνδρῶν. οὐδὲ μὲν: “and neither,” emphatic negative. ἐπὴν: = ἐπεὶ + ἄν, general temporal clause (Goodell 629). τὰ πρῶτα: “first,” adverbial acc. γένηται: “is born,” “comes to be,” aor. subj. > γίγνομαι.

490: αὐτῆς: in agreement with the σοῦ implied in σά. (Seymour)

491: ἀμφιπόλοισι: dat. object of κέλευε.

493: πᾶσι: dat. pl. > πᾶς. τοὶ: “who,” relative. ἐγγεγάασιν: “are born in,” “are native to” + dat., 3rd pl. pf. > ἐγ-γίγνομαι.

494: φωνήσας: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > φωνέω.

495: βεβήκει: “turned her step,” “approached,” unaugmented 3rd sg. plpf. act. > βαίνω.

496: κατὰχέουσα: “pouring down,” tmesis, fem. ptc. modifies missing ἄλοχος.

497: ἔπειθ᾽: = ἔπειτα. εὖ ναιετάοντας: “well-peopled,” “well-built.”

498: κιχήσατο: aor. mid. (act. in sense) > κιχάνω.

499: τῇσινπάσῃσιν: “in whom all,” i.e., “in all of whom,” relative pronoun, dat. governed by ἐν in compound ἐν-όρνυμι (Monro 145.6). ἐνῶρσεν: aor. > ἐν-όρνυμι.

500: αἳγόον: “these (women) … wailed for,” 3rd pl. impf. or possibly aor. of the verb γοάω. ᾧ: “his own,” = ἑῷ, dat. sg. possessive pronoun > ἑός.

501: οὐἔτι: “no longer,” modifies ἵξεσθαι. ἔφαντο: “thought,” 3rd pl. impf. mid. > φημί.

502: ἵξεσθαι: fut. inf. > ἱκνέομαι in indirect discourse, governed by subj. acc. μιν. προφυγόντα: 2nd aor. ptc. with μιν.

ὀρέγω: to reach, stretch, stretch out

φαίδιμος -ον: illustrious, glorious

Ἕκτωρ ‑ορος ὁ: Hector

ἄψ: backwards, back, back again

κόλπος -ου ὁ: bosom

εὔζωνος: well-girdled

τιθήνη: a nurse

κλίνω, aor. ἔκλιναν, pf. partic. κεκλιμένος, aor. pass. ἐκλίνθη: to lean, turn aside, put to flight; (pass.) bend aside (or back), rest

ἰάχω: to cry, shout, shriek

φίλος -η -ον: friend; loved, beloved, dear

ὄψις -ιος ἡ: sight, aspect

ἀτύζω: to be distraught from fear, amazed, bewildered

ταρβέω, aor. τάρβησεν: to be frightened, fear

χαλκός -οῦ ὁ: bronze

ἰδέ: and

λόφος -ου ὁ: neck of a man or a horse; crest of a helmet, made from a horse's mane; hillock, high place, hill

ἱππιοχαίτης -ου ὁ: shaggy with horsehair

ἄκρος -α -ον: uttermost, topmost, highest, at the top, end, edge, or surface of; πόλις ἄκρη, ἄκρη πόλις, 'upper city' (=ἀκρόπολις)470

κόρυς -υθος ἡ: a helmet

νεύω, aor. νεῦσε: to nod

νοέω, aor. ἐνόησε: to perceive, observe, look, devise, plan

γελάω, aor. ἐγέλασσε, aor. partic. γελάσασα: laugh

πότνια: mistress, honored

κάρη κρατός τό: head

κατατίθημι: to lay down, set down

χθών χθονός ἡ: the earth, ground

παμφανόων -ωσα: shining, bright

ἀτάρ: but, yet

ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her own

κυνέω, aor. κύσε: to kiss

πάλλω, aor. πῆλε: to brandish, shake, cast (of lots), toss

ἐπεύχομαι, aor partic. ἐπευξάμενος: to pray, boast over, exult475

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

ἀριπρεπής -ές: distinguished, preeminent

Τρῶες: Trojans

βίη: bodily strength, force, power, might; (pl.) violence

Ἴλιος -ου ἡ: Ilius or Ilium, the city of Ilus, Troy 

ἶφι: strongly, stoutly, mightily

ἀνάσσω: to be lord or master, dominate, rule  

ἄνειμι, pres. partic. ἀνιόντα: to come back, return480

ἔναρα ‑ων τά: spoils, armor taken from a slain foe

βροτόεις -εντος: gory, bloody

κτείνω, aor. subj. κτείνῃς, aor. (ἔ)κτανε(ν) and ἔκτα, aor. mid. as pass. κτάμενος: to slay, kill

δάιος: hostile, destructive; (pl.) enemies

φρήν φρενός ἡ: heart, mind

ἄλοχος -ου ἡ: wife 

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.

μιν: him, her, it

κηώδης -ες: fragrant

δακρυόεις: tearful, weeping

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

ἐλεέω, aor. ἐλέησε: to pity, take pity

καταρρέζω or καρρέζω, aor. κατέρεξεν: to stroke, caress485

δαιμόνιος: supernatural, marvelous, extraordinary; excellent, admirable; striken by (adverse) fate, miserable, unfortunate 

λίαν: very, exceedingly

ἀχεύω or ἀχέω: to grieve, be in sorrow, be troubled

αἶσα: share, lot, allotted portion, term of life. κατὰ αἶσαν: as is due.

ᾍδης or Ἀϊδωνεύς (root ϝιδ, god of the unseen world), gen. Ἀίδᾱο, Ἀίδεω, Ἄιδος, dat. Ἄιδι, Ἀίδῃ, Ἀιδωνῆι, acc. Ἀίδην: Hades

προϊάπτω, fut. προϊάψει, aor. προΐαψεν: to send forth, send off

μοῖρα -ας ἡ: portion, fate, lot

σθλός -ή -όν: good, decent, honorable, noble, generous; capable, able; (of things) good, useful; (of words) wise, sensible 

ἐπήν = ἐπεὶ ἄν: when, after

στός ‑ο : anything set upright: ship's mast; beam of a loom; loom 

491

ἠλακάτη: a spindle

ἀμφίπολος -ον: servant, handmaid 

ἐποίχομαι, impf. ἐπῴχετο: to go towards, approach

μέλω, fut. μελήσει and μελήσεται, perf. μέμηλε: to be a care, be an object of concern. (1) The object of concern is put in the nom. and the person who feels the concern in the dat. (2) The verb is impersonal and takes the object of concern in the gen.

Ἴλιος -ου ἡ: Ilius or Ilium, the city of Ilus, Troy

ἐγγίγνομαι: to be native, live in

φωνέω, aor. φώνησεν: to speak

ἵππουρις ‑ιδος ἡ: with a horse-hair crest, crested495

ἐντροπαλίζομαι: to turn around often

θαλερός: vigorous, flourishing, blooming

δάκρυον ‑ου τό, also δάκρυ ‑υος τό: 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 

αἶψα: quickly, at once

ἱκάνω: to come, arrive

δόμος -ου, ὁ: a house, home

ναιετάω: to dwell

ἀνδροφόνος: man-slaying

κιχάνω, fut. κιχήσεσθαι, aor. κιχήσατο, aor. subj. κιχείω [κιχῶ], aor. partic. κιχήμενον: to find, come to, overtake

ἔνδοθι: within, at home

γόος -ου, ὁ: groaning, lamentation

ἐνόρνυμι, aor. act. ἐνῶρσεν, aor. mid. ἐνῶρτο: to arouse among; (mid.) to arise among

ζωός or ζώς: alive, living 

500

γοάω: to wail, groan, weep

ὑπότροπος: returning

ἱκνέομαι and ἵκω, fut. ἵξομαι, aor. ἵκετο and ἷξε(ν), aor. subj. ἵκωμαι and ἵκηαι: to come, arrive at, reach

προφεύγω, aor. partic. προφυγόντα: to escape

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

Ἀχαιός: Achaian

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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-466-502