ὥς ἄρα φωνήσασα θεὰ παρέθηκε τράπεζαν

ἀμβροσίης πλήσασα, κέρασσε δὲ νέκταρ ἐρυθρόν.

αὐτὰρ ὁ πῖνε καὶ ἦσθε διάκτορος ἀργεϊφόντης.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δείπνησε καὶ ἤραρε θυμὸν ἐδωδῇ,95

καὶ τότε δή μιν ἔπεσσιν ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπεν·

"εἰρωτᾷς μ᾽ ἐλθόντα θεὰ θεόν· αὐτὰρ ἐγώ τοι

νημερτέως τὸν μῦθον ἐνισπήσω· κέλεαι γάρ.

Ζεὺς ἐμέ γ᾽ ἠνώγει δεῦρ᾽ ἐλθέμεν οὐκ ἐθέλοντα·

τίς δ᾽ ἂν ἑκὼν τοσσόνδε διαδράμοι ἁλμυρὸν ὕδωρ100

ἄσπετον; οὐδέ τις ἄγχι βροτῶν πόλις, οἵ τε θεοῖσιν

ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι καὶ ἐξαίτους ἑκατόμβας.

ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ οὔ πως ἔστι Διὸς νόον αἰγιόχοιο

οὔτε παρεξελθεῖν ἄλλον θεὸν οὔθ᾽ ἁλιῶσαι.

φησί τοι ἄνδρα παρεῖναι ὀιζυρώτατον ἄλλων,105

τῶν ἀνδρῶν, οἳ ἄστυ πέρι Πριάμοιο μάχοντο

εἰνάετες, δεκάτῳ δὲ πόλιν πέρσαντες ἔβησαν

οἴκαδ᾽· ἀτὰρ ἐν νόστῳ Ἀθηναίην ἀλίτοντο,

ἥ σφιν ἐπῶρσ᾽ ἄνεμόν τε κακὸν καὶ κύματα μακρά.

ἔνθ᾽ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἀπέφθιθεν ἐσθλοὶ ἑταῖροι,110

τὸν δ᾽ ἄρα δεῦρ᾽ ἄνεμός τε φέρων καὶ κῦμα πέλασσε.

τὸν νῦν σ᾽ ἠνώγειν ἀποπεμπέμεν ὅττι τάχιστα·

οὐ γάρ οἱ τῇδ᾽ αἶσα φίλων ἀπονόσφιν ὀλέσθαι,

ἀλλ᾽ ἔτι οἱ μοῖρ᾽ ἐστὶ φίλους τ᾽ ἰδέειν καὶ ἱκέσθαι

οἶκον ἐς ὑψόροφον καὶ ἑὴν ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν."115

ὣς φάτο, ῥίγησεν δὲ Καλυψώ, δῖα θεάων,

καί μιν φωνήσασ᾽ ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·

"σχέτλιοί ἐστε, θεοί, ζηλήμονες ἔξοχον ἄλλων,

οἵ τε θεαῖς ἀγάασθε παρ᾽ ἀνδράσιν εὐνάζεσθαι

ἀμφαδίην, ἤν τίς τε φίλον ποιήσετ᾽ ἀκοίτην.120

ὣς μὲν ὅτ᾽ Ὠρίων᾽ ἕλετο ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,

τόφρα οἱ ἠγάασθε θεοὶ ῥεῖα ζώοντες,

ἧος ἐν Ὀρτυγίῃ χρυσόθρονος Ἄρτεμις ἁγνὴ

οἷς ἀγανοῖς βελέεσσιν ἐποιχομένη κατέπεφνεν.

ὣς δ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ Ἰασίωνι ἐυπλόκαμος Δημήτηρ,125

ᾧ θυμῷ εἴξασα, μίγη φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ

νειῷ ἔνι τριπόλῳ· οὐδὲ δὴν ἦεν ἄπυστος

Ζεύς, ὅς μιν κατέπεφνε βαλὼν ἀργῆτι κεραυνῷ.

ὥς δ᾽ αὖ νῦν μοι ἄγασθε, θεοί, βροτὸν ἄνδρα παρεῖναι.

τὸν μὲν ἐγὼν ἐσάωσα περὶ τρόπιος βεβαῶτα130

οἶον, ἐπεί οἱ νῆα θοὴν ἀργῆτι κεραυνῷ

Ζεὺς ἔλσας ἐκέασσε μέσῳ ἐνὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ.

ἔνθ᾽ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες ἀπέφθιθεν ἐσθλοὶ ἑταῖροι,

τὸν δ᾽ ἄρα δεῦρ᾽ ἄνεμός τε φέρων καὶ κῦμα πέλασσε.

τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ φίλεόν τε καὶ ἔτρεφον, ἠδὲ ἔφασκον135

θήσειν ἀθάνατον καὶ ἀγήραον ἤματα πάντα.

ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὔ πως ἔστι Διὸς νόον αἰγιόχοιο

οὔτε παρεξελθεῖν ἄλλον θεὸν οὔθ᾽ ἁλιῶσαι,

ἐρρέτω, εἴ μιν κεῖνος ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει,

πόντον ἐπ᾽ ἀτρύγετον· πέμψω δέ μιν οὔ πῃ ἐγώ γε·140

οὐ γάρ μοι πάρα νῆες ἐπήρετμοι καὶ ἑταῖροι,

οἵ κέν μιν πέμποιεν ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης.

αὐτάρ οἱ πρόφρων ὑποθήσομαι, οὐδ᾽ ἐπικεύσω,

ὥς κε μάλ᾽ ἀσκηθὴς ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται."

    Hermes delivers Zeus's message to Kalypso, who reluctantly agrees to release Odysseus.

    Homer has just given us a glimpse of his hero, weeping on the shore of the island, longing for home. Now, after Calypso offers the proper gestures of hospitality, the two gods get down to business.

    read full essay

    The exchange that follows is the first in a series of delicate character studies, far richer than might be required to move the plot along. Hermes begins somewhat nervously—we can almost see him shifting in his seat. Calypso has asked him “god-to-god” (97), and he will tell her the unerring truth, since she has urged him to do so. He has not come willingly, for who would want to travel so far over the vast deep ocean? There are no cities nearby, no humans available to offer sacrifices! Clearly anxious about the nymph’s response to his news, he finally delivers the message: she must send Odysseus home. Hermes’ discomfort at bearing the bad news might prompt us to ask why he, an immortal god, would be afraid of a minor nymph. He is only following orders, after all. But Homer’s light touch urges us to view the exchange through the lens of human relationships, complicated, often driven by undercurrents that go unspoken. The tone here is of a brother treading ever so lightly with a touchy sister. By establishing this context for the conversations that follow, the poet creates a charming atmosphere for these important negotiations. At the same time, he allows himself to work the boundary between human and divine while exploring his main theme, the crucial interaction of divine will and human choice.

    Calypso is angry. The male gods are cruel, jealous of goddesses who take mortal lovers while they themselves do so with impunity. She cites the examples of Eos and Demeter, both of whom took mortal lovers who were then killed by the gods, but—perhaps calculating how far to push things—does not mention the number-one offender among the males, Zeus. She tells the story of how she saved Odysseus as he clung to the keel of his ship, the rest of which Zeus had destroyed along with his shipmates. Then come two startling verses:

    "τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ φίλεόν τε καὶ ἔτρεφον, ἠδὲ ἔφασκον
    θήσειν ἀθάνατον καὶ ἀγήραον ἤματα πάντα."

    “I loved him and nursed him and told him
    I would make him immortal and ageless forever.”

    Odyssey 5.135–36

    This is not the picture of an all-powerful being snatching a boy toy for her amusement. She loved Odysseus and nursed him and wanted him beside her forever. Now the poet’s phrasing in verses 1–2 echoes in our ears. Calypso is not Eos, cruelly entombing her lover in endless decay because of her careless request to Zeus. She wanted Odysseus—still wants him—because she loves him. Her tenderness contrasts with the rapacious arrogance of male gods. We are witnessing powerful emotions.

    As soon as Calypso speaks, we begin to move beyond the familiar paradigm of the seductive, detaining woman who would keep the hero from completing his mission. Her name, transparently allegorical (“I will cover up,” from the verb καλύπτω), points toward such a figure, but as he often does, the poet plays against our expectations. The character of Circe, another detaining woman whom, as we will learn, Odysseus has already encountered earlier in his return journey, has its origins in myth and folktale, a version of the powerful witch who might beguile the unsuspecting hero or even an Indo-European mistress of animals. Calypso has no such analogue and seems to be Homer’s invention, a strikingly original figure whose portrayal is at the heart of a delicately nuanced episode. What we learn from Odysseus’s encounter with her will resonate throughout the rest of the poem.

    The intimacy we sense in Calypso’s relationship with Odysseus comes not just from Homer’s use of the verb φίλεόν (135). She becomes emotionally accessible to Odysseus—and so to us—because she wants something important to her that she cannot have. That frustrated desire makes her vulnerable, emotionally needy, feelings with which we humans can readily identify. Homeric deities are usually remote figures precisely because, being omnipotent, they are rarely denied something important to them. They may be temporarily annoyed by events on Earth or Olympus, but finally nothing can disturb their blissful existence for long. Only one other prominent scene in Homeric poetry parallels the exceptional dynamic at work in the Calypso episode, when Zeus looks down on the battlefield in Iliad 16 and realizes his mortal son Sarpedon is about to die at the hands of Patroclus:

    τοὺς δὲ ἰδὼν ἐλέησε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω,
    Ἥρην δὲ προσέειπε κασιγνήτην ἄλοχόν τε:
    "ὤ μοι ἐγών, ὅ τέ μοι Σαρπηδόνα φίλτατον ἀνδρῶν
    μοῖρ᾽ ὑπὸ Πατρόκλοιο Μενοιτιάδαο δαμῆναι.
    διχθὰ δέ μοι κραδίη μέμονε φρεσὶν ὁρμαίνοντι,
    ἤ μιν ζωὸν ἐόντα μάχης ἄπο δακρυοέσσης
    θείω ἀναρπάξας Λυκίης ἐν πίονι δήμῳ,
    ἦ ἤδη ὑπὸ χερσὶ Μενοιτιάδαο δαμάσσω."

    Seeing them, the son of devious Kronos
    felt pity, and spoke to Hera, his wife and sister:
    “Ah me, Sarpedon, the dearest to me of all men,
    is fated to die at hands of Patroclus, son of Menoitios.
    My heart is divided in two ways as I ponder,
    whether I should snatch him alive from the sorrowful battle
    and set him down in the fertile land of Lycia,
    or kill him at the hands of the son of Menoitios.”

    Iliad 16.431–38

    We might suppose that Homer is about to settle a vexed question: Can Zeus change fate (μοῖρα)? Typically for Homeric poetry, the apparently clear outlines of this metaphysical question are blurred in the event. Hera tells Zeus to go ahead and save his son, but none of the other gods will approve of him. Exerting his unconquerable will in this case will breed resentment among the other Olympians. Instead of the supreme deity of the universe, Zeus here appears as the father of a fractious family, trying to keep the peace.

    Zeus decides to let Sarpedon die, a decision that prompts him to shed tears of blood on the battlefield. After Patroclus kills Sarpedon, Zeus arranges for the twin deities, Sleep and Death, to carry his corpse home to Lycia. There he will be accorded a hero’s burial, marked by some of Homer’s most sublime verses, a haunting prelude to the funeral of Hector that ends the poem:

    καὶ τότ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνα προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς:
    "εἰ δ᾽ ἄγε νῦν φίλε Φοῖβε, κελαινεφὲς αἷμα κάθηρον
    ἐλθὼν ἐκ βελέων Σαρπηδόνα, καί μιν ἔπειτα
    πολλὸν ἀπὸ πρὸ φέρων λοῦσον ποταμοῖο ῥοῇσι
    χρῖσόν τ᾽ ἀμβροσίῃ, περὶ δ᾽ ἄμβροτα εἵματα ἕσσον:
    πέμπε δέ μιν πομποῖσιν ἅμα κραιπνοῖσι φέρεσθαι
    ὕπνῳ καὶ θανάτῳ διδυμάοσιν, οἵ ῥά μιν ὦκα
    θήσουσ᾽ ἐν Λυκίης εὐρείης πίονι δήμῳ,
    ἔνθά ἑ ταρχύσουσι κασίγνητοί τε ἔται τε
    τύμβῳ τε στήλῃ τε: τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ θανόντων."

    And then Zeus the Cloudgatherer spoke to Apollo:
    “Go now, dear Phoibos, and rescue Sarpedon
    from the battle and cleanse away the dark blood,
    then bear him further off and bathe him in the streams of the river;
    anoint him with ambrosia, wrapping him in in immortal garments.
    Then send him to be carried by two swift messengers,
    the twin brothers Sleep and Death, who will
    set him down in the rich countryside of broad Lycia,
    where his brothers and countrymen will give him proper burial,
    with a funeral mound and marker; for this is gift of honor for the dead.”

    Iliad 16.667–75

    As we witness Zeus struggling over his decision, he moves closer to us because he faces, as humans so often do, a painful, and apparently unavoidable, loss. That his decision casts him in the role of a loving father tangled in the crosscurrents of familial conflict, as opposed to the male boss of the universe, and makes him emotionally available to us as he is nowhere else in the poem.

    Homer creates the same dynamic in his portrait of Calypso. She wants Odysseus and cannot have him, and that loss colors all of her interactions with him. She accedes to Zeus’s orders, as she must, but grudgingly:

    "ἀλλ᾽ ἐπεὶ οὔ πως ἔστι Διὸς νόον αἰγιόχοιο
    οὔτε παρεξελθεῖν ἄλλον θεὸν οὔθ᾽ ἁλιῶσαι,
    ἐρρέτω, εἴ μιν κεῖνος ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει,
    πόντον ἐπ᾽ ἀτρύγετον· πέμψω δέ μιν οὔ πῃ ἐγώ γε·
    οὐ γάρ μοι πάρα νῆες ἐπήρετμοι καὶ ἑταῖροι,
    οἵ κέν μιν πέμποιεν ἐπ᾽ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης.
    αὐτάρ οἱ πρόφρων ὑποθήσομαι, οὐδ᾽ ἐπικεύσω,
    ὥς κε μάλ᾽ ἀσκηθὴς ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται."

    “But since there is no way for another god
    to get around or render useless the purpose of cloud-gathering Zeus,
    let him be gone, if he himself asks for and urges it,
    upon the barren sea. I will not send him anywhere!
    For there are no oared ships and sailors here with me,
    who would carry him on the broad back of the sea.
    I will, however, freely counsel him, nor will I hold anything back,
    so that he might arrive safely at his own native land.”

    Odyssey 5.137–44

    The language here brims with anger but also a certain forlorn resignation. What I have translated as “let him be gone” (ἐρρέτω, 139) carries a darker tone, something like, “to Hell with him!” Achilles uses the same verb in angrily refusing to accept any apology from Agamemnon when the embassy of his fellow warriors comes to beg him to return to the battle (Il. 9.377). The nymph’s injured feelings make her petulant, unable to yield gracefully. She offers some self-justification—she has no ships and sailors here—but then bows to the inevitable: she will give him advice and at least not hinder him.

    The modulation of the emotional register in this exchange is so masterful that we don’t notice that the transaction of Zeus’s command—tell the nymph to release him—has occupied our imagination far longer than would be necessary to advance the plot. But Homer will use all of this rich material in the exchanges between Odysseus and Calypso that follow. For the moment, we wonder whether this anger and hurt will spill over onto Odysseus and how he will find his way around them if it does.

     

    Further Reading

    Clay, J. 1983. The Wrath of Athena: Gods and Men in the Odyssey, 213–239. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Peradotto, J. 1990. The Man in the Middle: Name and Narration in Homer’s Odyssey, 102–106. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Segal, C. 1992. “Divine Justice in the Odyssey: Poseidon, Cyclops, and Helios.” American Journal of Philology 113: 489–518.

    Thalmann, W. 1992. The Odyssey: An Epic of Return, 47–50. New York: Twayne Publishers.

    Tracy, S. 1990. The Story of the Odyssey, 30–33. Princeton: Princeton University Press.

    Van Nortwick, T. 1992. Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Second Self and the Hero’s Journey in Ancient Epic, 58–59. New York: Oxford University Press.

    ———. 2008. The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer’s Odyssey, 16–17; 53–57. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.

     

    92  τράπεζαν: the object of both παρέθηκε and πλήσασα.

    93  πλήσασα ἀμβροσίης: “having filled it with (full of) ambrosia.” πίμπλημι regularly takes a genitive (Smyth 1369).

    95  ἤραρε: "provided," "satisfied" (LSJ ἀραρίσκω A.III.2).

    97  εἰρωτᾷς μ᾽ ἐλθόντα: The verb εἴρω can take a double accusative, “to ask (accusative of person questioned) about (accusative of thing asked)" (Smyth 1628).

    97  θεὰ θεόν: in apposition with the subject (“you”) and object (“me”) of the verb. Could almost be translated “god to god” “one god to another.”

    98  ἐνισπήσω: 1st sing. fut. act. indic. > ἐνέπω.

    99  ἐλθέμεν: aor. infin. > ἔρχομαι.

    100  τίς δ᾽ ἂν …: “who would…?” Direct question with potential optative.

    101  ἄγχι: “is nearby,” supply the verb ἐστί.

    101  οἵ: the antecedent is βροτῶν.

    102  ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι: “perform sacrifices.”

    103  οὔ πως ἔστι … ἄλλον θεὸν: “it is not at all possible for another god to …” The accent on ἔστι indicates that it means “it is possible.”

    103  Διὸς νόον: the object of the infinitives in line 104.

    105  φησί: introducing indirect discourse with accusative (ἄνδρα) and infinitive (παρεῖναι).

    105  τοι … παρεῖναι: “is with you.”

    106  τῶν ἀνδρῶν: in apposition to ἄλλων (“than others, than the men…”).

    107  δεκάτῳ: “in the tenth (year),” dative of time when.

    109  σφιν: dative of disadvantage (Smyth 1481). The pronoun is usually plural, but here is singular and refers to Odysseus.

    110  ἀπέφθιθεν: 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > ἀποφθίνω.

    112  τὸν ... σε: τὸν is the object of ἀποπεμπέμεν and σε is the object of ἠνώγειν.

    112  ἠνώγειν: “he (Zeus) ordered…” 3rd sing. plupf. act. indic. > ἄνωγα, with imperfect force.

    113  οἱ … αἶσα: “his fate,” the dative is a dative of possession.

    113  τῇδ᾽: “here.”

    113 ἀπονόσφιν: takes a genitive and follows the noun it modifies.

    115  ἑὴν: “his,” possessive adj.

    118  ἔξοχον ἄλλων: “above all others.”

    119  θεαῖς ἀγάασθε … εὐνάζεσθαι: “you are jealous that goddesses go to bed…” (LSJ ἄγαμαι II). The apodosis of a present general conditional.

    120  ἤν: = ἐάν, with the (short vowel) subjunctive ποιήσεται, forming the protasis of a present general conditional.

    120  φίλον ποιήσετ᾽ ἀκοίτην: “makes her beloved her husband.” ποιοῦμαι can take a double accusative, as here, where ἀκοίτην is a predicate (Smyth 1613).

    121  ὅτ(ε): “when…”

    121  Ὠρίων(α): acc. See Orion in Smith’s Dictionary.

    122  τόφρα … ἧος: “so long … until …” τόφρα (“so long”) is usually correlative with ὄφρα, but here pairs with ἧος (ἕως).

    122  οἱ ἠγάασθε: “were jealous of her” (LSJ ἄγαμαι II).

    124  οἷς: “with her…,” possessive adj.

    124  ἐποιχομένη κατέπεφνεν: “came along and killed (him).” Understand “him” (i.e., Orion) as the object of the verb.

    125  Ἰασίωνι: dat., with μίγη (“mingled with”) in line 126. See Iasion in Smith’s dictionary.

    126  ᾧ θυμῷ εἴξασα: “having given way to him in her heart.” 

    126  εἴξασα: aor. act. ptc. fem. nom. sing. > εἴκω.

    126  μίγη: 3rd sing. aor. indic. pass. > μ(ε)ίγνυμι.

    126  φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ: dative of manner and place where.

    127  ἦεν: = ἦν.

    127  ἄπυστος: In the active sense, "unaware of," "not having heard about" (LSJ ἄπυστος II).

    128  μιν: the object of both κατέπεφνε and βαλὼν (“having struck”).

    129  μοι ἄγασθε … βροτὸν ἄνδρα παρεῖναι: “you are jealous that I have a mortal with me” (LSJ ἄγαμαι II).

    130  περὶ τρόπιος βεβαῶτα: “while he was bestriding (the keel) and being carried along with it” (Cunliffe βαίνω I.3.a). 

    130  βεβαῶτα: masc. acc. sing. pf. act. ptc. > βαίνω.

    131  οἱ νῆα: “his ship,” dative of possession.

    132  ἔλσας: “having pinned down,” masc. nom. sing. aor. act. ptc. > εἴλω.

    133  a repetition of line 110.

    134  a repetition of line 111.

    135  φίλεόν: unaugmented 1st sing. impf. act. indic.

    135  ἔφασκον: “I was promising to …,” with future infinitive.

    136  θήσειν: “to make (him),”  fut. infin. > τίθημι, with predicate accusative adjectives.

    137  a repetition of line 103 (with ἐπεὶ instead of μάλ᾽).

    138  a repetition of line 104.

    139  ἐρρέτω: “let him be gone,” 3rd sing. pres. act. imperat. > ἔρρω.

    139 ()κεῖνος: i.e., Zeus.

    140  οὔ πῃ: “in no way.”

    141  πάρα: πάρεισι.

    142  οἵ κέν μιν πέμποιεν: "who could send him," "to send him," final (purpose) relative clause after a principal clause of negative meaning (Monro 304.1.b). Repeated from 5.17.

    143  οἱ … ὑποθήσομαι: “I will advise him …,” 1st sing. fut. mid. indic. > ὑποτίθημι.

    144  ὥς κε … ἵκηται: purpose clause. For the inclusion of κε, see Smyth 2201.

    144  ἣν: “his.”

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    φωνέω φωνήσω ἐφώνησα πεφώνηκα πεφώνημαι ἐφωνήθην: make a sound, speak

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    παρατίθημι παραθήσω παρέθηκα παρατέθηκα ––– παρετέθην: to place beside, provide, set before

    τράπεζα –ης ἡ: table; dinner

    ἀμβροσίη –ης ἡ: ambrosia

    πίμπλημι πλήσω ἔπλησα πέπληκα πέπλησμαι ἐπλήσθην: to fill

    κεραννύω/κεράννυμι κερῶ ἐκέρασα κεκέρακα κέκραμαι ἐκεράσθην/ἐκράθην: to mix, mingle

    νέκταρ –αρος τό: nectar

    ἐρυθρός –ά –όν: red

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    ἔσθω φαγήσω/ἔδομαι ἔφαγον ἐδήδοκα ἐδήδεμαι/ἐδήδεσμαι ἠδέσθην: to eat

    διάκτορος –ου ὁ: the Messenger

    Ἀργειφόντης –ου ὁ: slayer of Argus, epithet of Hermes

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently95

    δειπνέω δειπνήσω ἐδείπνησα δεδείπνηκα δεδείπνημαι ἐδειπνήθην: eat (dinner)

    ἀραρίσκω/ἄρω ἄρσω ἦρσα ἄραρα/ἄρηρα ἀρήρεμαι ἤρθην: to fit together, join, furnish

    ἐδωδή –ῆς ἡ: food, meat, victuals

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ἀμείβω ἀμείψω ἤμειψα ἤμειφα ἤμειμμαι ἠμείφθην: to respond, answer; to exchange; (mid.) to take turns, alternate; to change, place, pass

    προσεῖπον (aor. 2 of προσαγορεύω and προσφωνέω); Εp. προσέειπον: to speak to one, address, accost

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    νημερτής –ές: unerring, infallible

    μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story

    ἐνέπω ἐνισπήσω/ἐνίψω ἔνισπον ––– ––– –––: to tell, tell of, relate, describe

    κέλομαι κελήσομαι ἐκελησάμην ἐκεκλόμην: command, urge on, exhort, call to

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    ἀνώγω: to command, order

    δεῦρο: here, to this place

    ἑκών –οῦσα –όν: willing, of free will, readily100

    τοσόσδε –ήδε –όνδε: so strong, so able

    διατρέχω διαδραμοῦμαι διέδραμον διαδεδράμηκα: to run across

    ἁλμυρός –ά –όν: salt, briny

    ἄσπετος –ον: immense, abundant, infinite

    ἄγχι: near

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    ἱερά -ων τά: offerings

    ῥέζω ῥέξω ἔρρεξα – – ἐρρέχθην: to do, accomplish; to offer (sacrifice)

    ἔξαιτος –ον: much asked for, much desired, choice, excellent

    ἑκατόμβη –ης ἡ: an offering of a hundred oxen

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    νόος νόου ὁ: mind, perception

    αἰγίοχος –ον: aegis-holding

    παρεξέρχομαι παρελεύσομαι/πάρειμι παρῆλθον παρελήλυθα ––– –––: to go out beside, slip past

    ἁλιόω ἁλιώσω ἡλίωσα: to make fruitless, frustrate, disappoint

    ὀιζυρός –ά –όν: woeful, pitiable, miserable105

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    Πρίαμος –ου ὁ: Priam

    εἰναετής –ές: of nine years

    πέρθω πέρσω ἔπραθον ––– ––– –––: to devastate, put to fire and sword, sack

    οἴκαδε: homeward

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    νόστος –ου ὁ: return (home)

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

    ἀλιταίνω ἀλιτήσω ἤλιτον: to sin; to be offended

    σφεῖς: they

    ἐπόρνυμι ἐπόρσω ἐπῶρσα: to stir up, arouse, excite

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ἀποφθίνω ἀποφθίσω ἀπέφθισα/ἀπέφθιθον ἀπέφθικα ἀπέφθιμαι –––: to perish utterly, die away 110

    ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    δεῦρο: here, to this place

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    πελάζω πελάσω ἐπέλασα ––– ––– ἐπελάσθην: (trans.) to bring, carry, conduct (to an indicated place); (intrans.) to draw near, approach

    ἀνώγω: to command, order

    ἀποπέμπω ἀποπέμψω ἀπέπεμψα ἀποπέπομφα ἀποπέπεμμαι ἀπεπέμφθην: send away

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    τῇδε: here, thus

    αἶσα –ης ἡ: destiny; norm, rule; portion, share

    ἀπονόσφι: aside, far apart (adv.); away from (+ gen.)

    ὄλλυμι ὀλῶ ὤλεσα (or ὠλόμην) ὀλώλεκα (or ὄλωλα) ––– –––: to demolish, kill; to lose, suffer the loss of (+ acc.); (mid.) to die, perish, be killed

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    μοῖρα –ας ἡ: part, portion, lot, fate

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

    ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach

    ὑψόροφος –ον: high-roofed, high-ceiled115

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ῥιγέω ῥιγώσω ἐρρίγωσα ἐρρίγωκα: to shiver

    Καλυψώ –οῦς ἡ: Calypso, a goddess, daughter of Atlas

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    φωνέω φωνήσω ἐφώνησα πεφώνηκα πεφώνημαι ἐφωνήθην: make a sound, speak

    πτερόεις πτερόεσσα πτερόεν: winged

    προσαυδάω προσαυδήσω προσηύδησα προσηύδηκα προσηύδημαι προσηυδήθην: to speak to, address, accost

    σχέτλιος –α –ον: strong, unwearying; stubborn, cruel, merciless

    ζηλήμων –ον: jealous

    ἔξοχον or ἔξοχα: (adv.) specially, preeminently

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    ἄγαμαι ἀγασθήσομαι ἠγασάμην ἠγάσθην: to wonder, be astonished; to be jealous

    εὐνάζω εὐνάσω εὔνασα/ηὔνασα ––– ηὔνασμαι εὐνάσθην: to lay

    ἀμφάδιος –α –ον: public120

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

    ἀκοίτης –ου ὁ: a bedfellow, spouse, husband

    Ὠρίων –ωνος ὁ: Orīon, the mighty hunter, beloved of Eos

    ῥοδοδάκτυλος –ον: rosy-fingered

    ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn; Dawn

    τόφρα: at that very moment, so long; tόφρα … ὄφρα, as long as … until

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ἄγαμαι ἀγασθήσομαι ἠγασάμην ἠγάσθην: to wonder, be astonished; to be jealous

    ῥεῖα: easily, lightly

    ζῶ (or ζώω) ζήσω ἔζησα (or ἔζωσα) ἔζηκα: live

    ΄Oρτυγία –ας ἡ: Ortugia

    χρυσόθρονος –ον: gold-enthroned

    Ἄρτεμις –ῐδος ἡ: Artemis

    ἁγνός –ή –όν: holy

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    ἀγανός –ή –όν: mild, gentle, kindly

    βέλος –ους τό: arrow

    ἐποίχομαι ἐποιχήσομαι ἐπῴχημαι: to go towards, approach; to ply (the loom)

    κατέπεφνον (aor. of θείνω): to kill, slay

    ὁπότε: when125

    Ἰασίων –ωνος ὁ: Iasion, a mortal beloved by Demeter, and slain by the thunderbolt of Zeus

    ἐϋπλόκαμος –ον: fairhaired

    Δημήτηρ –τρος ἡ: Demeter

    εἴκω εἴκξω εἶξα ––– ––– –––: to yield (+ dat.)

    φιλότης –ητος ἡ: love, friendship

    εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors

    νειός –οῦ ἡ: fallow land

    τρίπολος –ον: thrice ploughed

    δήν: long, for a long while

    ἄπυστος –ον: (act.) without hearing of; (pass.) not heard of

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    κατέπεφνον (aor. of θείνω): to kill, slay

    ἀργής –ῆτος: bright, glancing

    κεραυνός –οῦ ὁ: a thunderbolt

    ἄγαμαι ἀγασθήσομαι ἠγασάμην ἠγάσθην: to wonder, be astonished; to be jealous

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    μέν: on the one hand, on the other hand130

    τρόπις –εως ἡ: keel (of a ship)

    οἷος –α –ον: (such a kind) as; for οἷός τε see οἷος III.2

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    θοός –ή –όν: swift

    ἀργής –ῆτος: bright, glancing

    κεραυνός –οῦ ὁ: a thunderbolt

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    εἴλω εἰλήσω εἴλησα ––– εἴλημαι εἰλήθην: to roll up, pack, shut in, corral, crowd together

    κεάζω κεάσσω ἐκέασσα – – ἐκεάσθην: to split, cleave

    οἶνοψ –οπος: wine-coloured, wine-dark

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    ἀποφθίνω ἀποφθίσω ἀπέφθισα/ἀπέφθιθον ἀπέφθικα ἀπέφθιμαι –––: to perish utterly, die away

    ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    δεῦρο: here, to this place

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    πελάζω πελάσω ἐπέλασα ––– ––– ἐπελάσθην: (trans.) to bring, carry, conduct (to an indicated place); (intrans.) to draw near, approach

    μέν: on the one hand, on the other hand135

    φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest

    ἠδέ: and

    φάσκω impf. ἔφασκον ––– ––– ––– –––: to say, affirm, think, deem

    ἀθάνατος –ον: immortal, deathless; (plur.) the gods

    ἀγήραος –ον: unaging, undecaying

    ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    νόος νόου ὁ: mind, perception

    αἰγίοχος –ον: aegis-holding

    παρεξέρχομαι παρελεύσομαι/πάρειμι παρῆλθον παρελήλυθα ––– –––: to go out beside, slip past

    ἁλιόω ἁλιώσω ἡλίωσα: to make fruitless, frustrate, disappoint

    ἔρρω ἐρρήσω ἤρρησα ἤρρηκα ––– –––: to be gone

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ἐποτρύνω ἐποτρυνῶ ἐπώτρυνα: to urge on, extort; (mid.) hasten on with

    ἀνώγω: to command, order

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea140

    ἀτρύγετος [–η] –ον: yielding no harvest, unfruitful, barren

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    πη πῃ: somehow, to some place

    ἐπήρετμος –ον: at the oar

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    εὐρύς –εῖα –ύ: broad

    νῶτον –ου τό (or νῶτος ὁ): the back

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    πρόφρων –ον: kindly-spirited, well-intentioned; ready for action, purposefully, intentionally

    ὑποτίθημι ὑποτιθήσω ὑπέθηκα ὑποτέθειμαι ὑπετέθην: to place under, to suggest

    ἐπικεύθω ἐπικεύσω ἐπέκευσα: to conceal, hide

    ἀσκηθής –ές: unhurt, unharmed, unscathed

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach

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    Suggested Citation

    Thomas Van Nortwick and Rob Hardy, Homer: Odyssey 5–12. Carlisle, Pennsylvania: Dickinson College Commentaries, 2024. ISBN: 978-1-947822-17-7 https://dcc.dickinson.edu/homer-odyssey/v-92-144