ὣς φάτο, τῇ δ᾽ ἀσπαστὸν ἐείσατο κοιμηθῆναι.
τὼ δ᾽ ἐς δέμνια βάντε κατέδραθον· ἀμφὶ δὲ δεσμοὶ
τεχνήεντες ἔχυντο πολύφρονος Ἡφαίστοιο,
οὐδέ τι κινῆσαι μελέων ἦν οὐδ᾽ ἀναεῖραι.
καὶ τότε δὴ γίγνωσκον, ὅ τ᾽ οὐκέτι φυκτὰ πέλοντο.
ἀγχίμολον δέ σφ᾽ ἦλθε περικλυτὸς ἀμφιγυήεις,300
αὖτις ὑποστρέψας πρὶν Λήμνου γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι·
Ἠέλιος γάρ οἱ σκοπιὴν ἔχεν εἶπέ τε μῦθον.
βῆ δ᾽ ἴμεναι πρὸς δῶμα φίλον τετιημένος ἦτορ·
ἔστη δ᾽ ἐν προθύροισι, χόλος δέ μιν ἄγριος ᾕρει·
σμερδαλέον δ᾽ ἐβόησε, γέγωνέ τε πᾶσι θεοῖσιν·305
"Ζεῦ πάτερ ἠδ᾽ ἄλλοι μάκαρες θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες,
δεῦθ᾽, ἵνα ἔργα γελαστὰ καὶ οὐκ ἐπιεικτὰ ἴδησθε,
ὡς ἐμὲ χωλὸν ἐόντα Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη
αἰὲν ἀτιμάζει, φιλέει δ᾽ ἀίδηλον Ἄρηα,
οὕνεχ᾽ ὁ μὲν καλός τε καὶ ἀρτίπος, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ γε310
ἠπεδανὸς γενόμην. ἀτὰρ οὔ τί μοι αἴτιος ἄλλος,
ἀλλὰ τοκῆε δύω, τὼ μὴ γείνασθαι ὄφελλον.
ἀλλ᾽ ὄψεσθ᾽, ἵνα τώ γε καθεύδετον ἐν φιλότητι
εἰς ἐμὰ δέμνια βάντες, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ὁρόων ἀκάχημαι.
οὐ μέν σφεας ἔτ᾽ ἔολπα μίνυνθά γε κειέμεν οὕτως315
καὶ μάλα περ φιλέοντε· τάχ᾽ οὐκ ἐθελήσετον ἄμφω
εὕδειν· ἀλλά σφωε δόλος καὶ δεσμὸς ἐρύξει,
εἰς ὅ κέ μοι μάλα πάντα πατὴρ ἀποδῷσιν ἔεδνα,
ὅσσα οἱ ἐγγυάλιξα κυνώπιδος εἵνεκα κούρης,
οὕνεκά οἱ καλὴ θυγάτηρ, ἀτὰρ οὐκ ἐχέθυμος."320
ὣς ἔφαθ᾽, οἱ δ᾽ ἀγέροντο θεοὶ ποτὶ χαλκοβατὲς δῶ·
ἦλθε Ποσειδάων γαιήοχος, ἦλθ᾽ ἐριούνης
Ἑρμείας, ἦλθεν δὲ ἄναξ ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων.
θηλύτεραι δὲ θεαὶ μένον αἰδοῖ οἴκοι ἑκάστη.
ἔσταν δ᾽ ἐν προθύροισι θεοί, δωτῆρες ἑάων·325
ἄσβεστος δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐνῶρτο γέλως μακάρεσσι θεοῖσι
τέχνας εἰσορόωσι πολύφρονος Ἡφαίστοιο.
ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκεν ἰδὼν ἐς πλησίον ἄλλον·
"οὐκ ἀρετᾷ κακὰ ἔργα· κιχάνει τοι βραδὺς ὠκύν,
ὡς καὶ νῦν Ἥφαιστος ἐὼν βραδὺς εἷλεν Ἄρηα330
ὠκύτατόν περ ἐόντα θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν,
χωλὸς ἐὼν τέχνῃσι· τὸ καὶ μοιχάγρι᾽ ὀφέλλει."
ὣς οἱ μὲν τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον·
Ἑρμῆν δὲ προσέειπεν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς Ἀπόλλων·
"Ἑρμεία, Διὸς υἱέ, διάκτορε, δῶτορ ἑάων,335
ἦ ῥά κεν ἐν δεσμοῖς ἐθέλοις κρατεροῖσι πιεσθεὶς
εὕδειν ἐν λέκτροισι παρὰ χρυσέῃ Ἀφροδίτῃ;"
τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα διάκτορος ἀργεϊφόντης·
"αἲ γὰρ τοῦτο γένοιτο, ἄναξ ἑκατηβόλ᾽ Ἄπολλον·
δεσμοὶ μὲν τρὶς τόσσοι ἀπείρονες ἀμφὶς ἔχοιεν,340
ὑμεῖς δ᾽ εἰσορόῳτε θεοὶ πᾶσαί τε θέαιναι,
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν εὕδοιμι παρὰ χρυσέῃ Ἀφροδίτῃ."
notes
The song of Demodocus, continued. The male gods assemble, and Poseidon agrees to pay Ares' penalty for him.
The guilty lovers, caught in Hephaestus’s ingenious net, fuel the smith god’s anger: Aphrodite wants Ares for his muscles and handsome face, while her husband’s misshapen limbs get no respect from her. It’s all his parents’ fault and he is going to demand his bride price back from Zeus!
read full essay
His wife is beautiful but lacks self-control. Homer does not let the lovers speak and the trap will not let them move, so they provide a frozen tableau. (The poet does not tell us if they were caught in flagrante delicto or during foreplay.) Other male gods gather to enjoy the show, though the goddesses stay away out of modesty, so the gathering becomes a kind of stag party, complete with leering and winking from Hermes and Apollo.
The tone here remains entirely bourgeois, like a scene from a racy sitcom. Though the Odyssey has come to be called a comedy (see Introduction: Narrative Form), it has few scenes that could provoke laughter, and Demodocus’ song has remained an audience favorite. We have noted that the entire episode offers a paradigm for later events in Ithaka. Looking at the language more closely, we can see some darker aspects of the passage that offer insights into the poet’s other aims in creating it besides entertainment.
ἀμφὶ δὲ δεσμοὶ
τεχνήεντες ἔχυντο πολύφρονος Ἡφαίστοιο,
οὐδέ τι κινῆσαι μελέων ἦν οὐδ᾽ ἀναεῖραι.
The cunningly wrought
chains of subtle Hephaestus poured down around them,
and they could not move their limbs nor get up.
Odyssey 8.296–98
The verb ἔχυντο is telling. The chains settle all around the two lovers like sleep (19.590), gently falling leaves (5.483, 487; 19.443), or the soft mist that Athena sheds over Odysseus (7.143). Pouring down, the chains suggest a soft blurring of the bed’s edges. The action of Hephaestus’ trap recalls another kind of blurring, when Odysseus hears the voices of Nausicaa and her maids on the seashore, “surrounding” him: ὥς τέ με κουράων ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀυτή (6.122). The verb ἀμφήλυθε carries the same flavor as ἔχυντο, the soft edged power also present in Calypso’s name (“I will smother”) (see essay on Book 9.47–81). Hephaestus has caught Ares in a humiliating situation, making him an object of ridicule by his fellow gods. But the cuckold’s revenge has other dimensions: by immobilizing Ares, Hephaestus nullifies the war god’s swift motion, something Hephaestus cannot ordinarily match; with chains that drift down and surround the lovers like the voices of nymphs or Calypso’s amorphous, feminine power, he emasculates his tormentor.
The amusement of Hermes and Apollo seems lighthearted enough, in tune with the overall tone of the episode, but again, some of the language here prompts further thought.
ἄσβεστος δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐνῶρτο γέλως μακάρεσσι θεοῖσι
τέχνας εἰσορόωσι πολύφρονος Ἡφαίστοιο.
ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκεν ἰδὼν ἐς πλησίον ἄλλον·
"οὐκ ἀρετᾷ κακὰ ἔργα· κιχάνει τοι βραδὺς ὠκύν,
ὡς καὶ νῦν Ἥφαιστος ἐὼν βραδὺς εἷλεν Ἄρηα
ὠκύτατόν περ ἐόντα θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν,
χωλὸς ἐὼν τέχνῃσι· τὸ καὶ μοιχάγρι᾽ ὀφέλλει."
Unquenchable laughter rose up among the blessed immortals,
as they looked upon the contrivance of crafty Hephaestus.
And thus one would look at the one next to him and say,
“Wrongdoing doesn’t prosper. The slow one has overtaken
the swift, as the slow-footed Hephaestus has run down Ares,
who is the fastest of the gods who hold Olympus,
even though he is lame, and Ares must pay the penalty for adultery.”
Odyssey 8.326–32
Compare the gods’ tone here with their response to Hephaestus on another occasion upon Olympus near the beginning of the Iliad. Zeus has agreed to help Thetis by making the Greeks suffer for not giving Achilles what he wants, provoking a jealous tirade from Hera, in turn prompting an angry exchange between the two. Hephaestus, alarmed at the prospect of a major brawl, urges his mother to calm down and have a drink:
ὣς φάτο, μείδησεν δὲ θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
μειδήσασα δὲ παιδὸς ἐδέξατο χειρὶ κύπελλον:
αὐτὰρ ὃ τοῖς ἄλλοισι θεοῖς ἐνδέξια πᾶσιν
οἰνοχόει γλυκὺ νέκταρ ἀπὸ κρητῆρος ἀφύσσων:
ἄσβεστος δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐνῶρτο γέλως μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν
ὡς ἴδον Ἥφαιστον διὰ δώματα ποιπνύοντα.
ὣς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
δαίνυντ᾽, οὐδέ τι θυμὸς ἐδεύετο δαιτὸς ἐΐσης,
οὐ μὲν φόρμιγγος περικαλλέος ἣν ἔχ᾽ Ἀπόλλων,
Μουσάων θ᾽ αἳ ἄειδον ἀμειβόμεναι ὀπὶ καλῇ.
So [Hephaestus] spoke, and white-armed Hera smiled,
and smiling she took the goblet out of her son’s hand.
Then starting from the left, Hephaestus served the other gods,
pouring sweet nectar for each from the wine jar.
And unquenchable laughter rose among the blessed immortals,
as they saw Hephaestus bustling through the house.
And so all day until the sun went down, they feasted,
neither was anyone’s hunger denied a fair serving,
nor the gloriously beautiful sound of Apollo’s lyre,
and the Muses sang in harmony with their lovely voices.
Iliad 1.595–604
The “unquenchable laughter” of the Homeric gods in both passages has a cruel edge, prompted by their amusement at the limitations of others. Hephaestus’s disability is the direct cause of their merriment in the Iliad. While the derision in Demodocus’ song is aimed at Ares, part of the fun for the immortal audience comes from the unlikely victory of their diminished sibling. We are reminded that while both scenes seem to resemble human experience, it is only a superficial likeness. The laughter of Homer’s gods always carries a cruel edge because their nastiness never has any consequence for them. To put it more succinctly, only the fact of mortality requires us to have virtue.
Further Reading
Carson, A. “Putting Her in Her Place: Women, Dirt, and Desire.” In Before Sexuality: The Construction of Erotic Experience in the Ancient World, D. Halperin, J Winkler, and F. Zeitlin, (eds), 135–169. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Tracy, S. 1990. The Story of the Odyssey, 51–52. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
295 τῇ δ᾽ ἀσπαστὸν ἐείσατο: “it seemed welcome to her.”
296 τὼ … βάντε κατέδραθον: dual.
296 κατέδραθον: 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > καταδαρθάνω.
296 ἀμφὶ: “around them.”
298 οὐδέ … ἦν: “it was impossible” (LSJ εἰμί A.IV).
298 μελέων: partitive genitive with τι > μέλος (LSJ μέλος A).
299 γίγνωσκον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf.
299 ὅ τ᾽: “when” = ὅτε.
299 φυκτὰ: either understand the noun δέσματα (line 278), or in place of an abstract noun ("when there was no longer any escape," Stanford).
300 ἀγχίμολον … σφ(ι): “near to them,” adverbial accusative with dative.
300 ἀμφιγυήεις: epithet of Hephaistos.
302 οἱ: “for him,” dative of interest.
302 σκοπιὴν ἔχεν: “kept watch” (LSJ σκοπιά II).
303 βῆ δ᾽ ἴμεναι: “he started out,” unaugmented 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > βαίνω, with ἴμεναι: infin. > εἶμι (Cunliffe βαίνω B.4).
303 φίλον τετιημένος ἦτορ: “sorrowing in his heart.” φίλον … ἦτορ is an accusative of respect. In Homer, the verb τετίημαι only appears in the participial form, as in this common line-ending formula.
304 ᾕρει: 3rd sing. impf. act. indic. > αἱρέω.
305 σμερδαλέον: adverbial acc.
307 ἵνα … ἴδησθε: purpose clause.
307 οὐκ ἐπιεικτὰ: “intolerable things” > ἐπιεικτός.
308 ὡς: “how …,” explaining the substantives in line 307.
310 οὕνεχ᾽: “because” (οὕνεκα).
311 οὔ τί: “not at all.”
311 μοι αἴτιος: “to blame for me.”
312 τοκῆε: dual > τοκεύς.
312 τὼ: dual nom. rel. pron.
312 μὴ γείνασθαι ὄφελλον: “if only they hadn’t given birth (to me),” unattainable wish (Smyth 1781 and LSJ ὀφείλωII.3).
313 ἵνα: “where.”
313 καθεύδετον: dual pres. indic. act. > καθεύδω.
314 ἀκάχημαι: “I am vexed,” “I am grieving.” 1st sing. pf. pass. indic. > ἀχεύω (LSJ) or *ἀκαχέω(Cunliffe).
315 οὐ… ἔολπα: “I don’t expect (acc.) to (fut. infin.),” 1st sing. pf. act. indic. > ἔλπω.
315 κειέμεν: fut. infin. > κείω. The verb is “a future with desiderative force: wish to sleep” (Autenrieth κείω).
316 ἐθελήσετον: dual fut. act. indic. > ἐθέλω.
317 σφωε: acc. dual.
318 εἰς ὅ: “until,” introducing a temporal clause with κε + subj. (Smyth 2426).
318 ἀποδῷσιν: 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. > ἀποδίδωμι.
321 ποτὶ: = πρὸς.
321 δῶ: = δῶμα.
324 μένον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf.
324 αἰδοῖ: “out of modesty,” dative of cause (Smyth 1517) > αἰδώς.
324 οἴκοι: “at home,” adv. (locative).
325 ἑάων: “of good things,” gen. pl. > ἐΰς, with rough breathing.
326 ἐνῶρτο: 3rd sing. aor. mid. indic. > ἐνόρνυμι.
327 εἰσορόωσι: dat. masc. pl. pres. act. ptc. > εἰσοράω, agreeing with μακάρεσσι θεοῖσι.
328 εἴπεσκεν: iterative impf.
328 πλησίον ἄλλον: “the one standing next to him.”
329 ἀρετᾷ: 3rd sing. pres. act. indic. > ἀρετάω, with a neuter plural subject.
329 κιχάνει: “overtakes.”
329 τοι: “let me tell you,” the particle.
329 βραδὺς ὠκύν: substantives.
330 εἷλεν: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > αἱρέω.
332 χωλὸς ἐὼν: “though being lame,” concessive participle.
332 τέχνῃσι: dative of means with the verb εἷλεν.
332 τὸ: “wherefore,” “as a result of which” (LSJ ὁ A.VIII.3).
332 ὀφέλλει: the subject is Ares.
336 κεν … ἐθέλοις: potential optative in a question (Smyth 1831).
339 αἲ γὰρ τοῦτο γένοιτο: optative of wish; αἲ = εἰ.
340 τρὶς τόσσοι: “three times as many.”
340 ἔχοιεν: optative of wish, explaining τοῦτο in line 339. Understand με as the object of the verb.
341 εἰσορόῳτε: 2nd pl. pres. act. opt., optative of wish.
342 εὕδοιμι: optative of wish.
vocabulary
ἀσπαστός –ή –όν: welcome 295
εἴδομαι εἴσομαι εἰσάμην: to be visible, appear; to seem; to know, understand
κοιμάω κοιμήσω ἐκοίμησα κεκοίμηκα κεκοίμημαι ἐκοιμήθην: (act.) to put to bed, lull; (mid. and pass.) to go to bed, lay down
δέμνιον –ου τό: bed
καταδαρθάνω καταδαρθανῶ κατέδαρθον καταδεδάρθηκα – κατεδάρθην: to fall asleep
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
τεχνήεις –εσσα –εν: cunningly wrought; skillful
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
πολύφρων –ον: much-thinking, thoughtful, ingenious, inventive
Ἥφαιστος –ου ὁ: Hephaestus, god of fire
μέλος –ους τό: a limb
ἀναείρω ἀναερῶ ἀνάειρα: to lift up
φυκτός –ή –όν: to be shunned, be avoided
πέλω ––– ἔπλον ––– ––– –––: to be (the aor. has pres. signif.)
ἀγχίμολος –ον: coming near 300
σφεῖς: they
περικλυτός –ή –όν: heard of all round, famous, renowned, glorious
Ἀμφιγυήεις –εντος: with both feet crooked, lame
αὖθις: again, in turn
ὑποστρέφω ὑποστρέψω ὑπέστρεψα ὑπέστροφα ὑπέστραμμαι ὑπεστρέφθην/ὑπεστράφην: to turn round about, turn back
Λῆμνος –ου ἡ: Lemnos, the island west of the Troad, with probably in Homerʼs time a city of the same name
γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
σκοπιά –ᾶς ἡ: a lookout-place, a mountain-peak
μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
τετίημαι (perf. with no pres. in use): to be sorrowful, to sorrow, mourn
ἦτορ τό: the heart
πρόθυρον –ου τό: the front-door, the door leading from the αὐλή
χόλος –ου ὁ: gall, bitterness
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
ἄγριος –α –ον: savage; wild; fierce
σμερδαλέος –α –ον: dreadful 305
βοάω βοήσομαι ἐβόησα βεβόηκα βεβόημαι ἐβοήθην: to shout, roar
γέγωνα (perf. of γεγωνέω): to shout, cry out
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
ἠδέ: and
μάκαρ μάκαρος: blessed, happy; blessed ones, gods
δεῦτε: hither! come on! come here!
γελαστός –ή –όν: laughable
ἐπιεικτός –ή –όν: yielding
χωλός –ή –όν: lame
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
Ἀφροδίτη –ης ἡ: Aphrodite
ἀτιμάζω ἀτιμάσω ἠτίμασα ἠτίμακα ἠτίμασμαι ἠτιμάσθην: to fail to honor, dishonor
φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest
ἀΐδηλος –ον: making unseen, annihilating, destructive
Ἄρης –εως ὁ: Ares
οὕνεκα: on account of which, wherefore 310
ἀρτίπους –ουν: sound of foot
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
ἠπεδανός –ή –όν: weakly, infirm, halting
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
τοκεύς –έως ὁ: parent
γείνομαι ––– ἐγεινάμην ––– ––– –––: to be born; to beget, give birth to
ὀφέλλω/ὀφείλω ὀφειλήσω ὠφείλησα/ὤφελον ὠφείληκα – ὠφειλήθην: [Epic, Aeolic] owe > ὀφείλω
καθεύδω (imperf. ἐκάθευδον or καθηῦδον) καθευδήσω — — — -: to lie down to sleep, sleep
φιλότης –ητος ἡ: love, friendship
δέμνιον –ου τό: bed
ἄχομαι and ἄχνυμαι: to afflict, sadden, trouble, grieve
σφεῖς: they 315
ἔλπω – – – – –: to hope
μίνυνθα: a little, very little; a little while
κείω – – – – –: to lie down
φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest
τάχα: quickly; perhaps
ἄμφω ἀμφοῖν: both (dual)
εὕδω εὑδήσω εὕδησα: sleep, lie down to sleep
σφεῖς: they
δόλος –ου ὁ: scheme, plot, deception, trickery
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
ἐρύκω ἐρύξω ἔρυξα/ἤρυξα/ἐρύκακον/ἠρύκακον: to keep in, hold back, keep in check, curb, restrain
ἕδνον –ου τό: a wedding-gift
οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
ἐγγυαλίζω ἐγγυαλίξω ἠγγυάλιξα: to put into the palm of the hand, put into one's hand
κυνώπης –ου: the dog-eyed
κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter
οὕνεκα: on account of which, wherefore
οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself 320
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
ἐχέθυμος –ον: master of one's passion
ἀγείρω ἀγερῶ ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: gather, collect
χαλκοβατής –ές: standing on brass, with brasen base
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
Ποσειδῶν (or Ποσειδάων) –ῶνος ὁ: Poseidon
γαιήοχος –ον: that holds the earth (epithet of Poseidon)
ἐριούνης –ου and ἐριούνιος –ου ὁ: the ready helper, luckbringer (?) epithet of Hermes
Ἑρμῆς (or Ἑρμείας) –οῦ ὁ: Hermes, herm
ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord
Ἑκάεργος –ου ὁ: the far-working
Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo
θῆλυς θήλεια θῆλυ: female, feminine, soft
θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess
αἰδώς αἰδοῦς ἡ: a sense of shame, shame, modesty, self-respect
οἴκοι: at home, in the house
πρόθυρον –ου τό: the front-door, the door leading from the αὐλή 325
δωτήρ –ῆρος ὁ: a giver
ἐΰς ἐΰ (gen. ἑῆος): good, brave, noble
ἄσβεστος [–η] –ον: unquenchable, inextinguishable
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἐνόρνυμι ἐνόρσω ἐνῶρσα: to arouse, stir up in
γέλως –ωτος ὁ: laughter
μάκαρ μάκαρος: blessed, happy; blessed ones, gods
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
πολύφρων –ον: much-thinking, thoughtful, ingenious, inventive
Ἥφαιστος –ου ὁ: Hephaestus, god of fire
πλησίος –α –ον: near
ἀρετάω ἀρετήσω ἠρέτησα: to be proper, have a good result
κιχάνω κιχήσομαι ἔκιχον: to reach, overtake, meet with (+ acc.)
τοι: let me tell you, surely
βραδύς –εῖα –ύ: slow
ὠκύς ὠκεῖα ὠκύ: quick, swift, fast
Ἥφαιστος –ου ὁ: Hephaestus, god of fire 330
βραδύς –εῖα –ύ: slow
Ἄρης –εως ὁ: Ares
ὠκύς ὠκεῖα ὠκύ: quick, swift, fast
Ὄλυμπος –ου ὁ: Mount Olympus
χωλός –ή –όν: lame
μοιχάγρια –ων τά: a fine imposed on one taken in adultery
ὀφέλλω/ὀφείλω ὀφειλήσω ὠφείλησα/ὤφελον ὠφείληκα – ὠφειλήθην: [Epic, Aeolic] owe > ὀφείλω
ἀγορεύω ἀγορεύσω ἠγόρευσα ἠγόρευκα ἠγόρευμαι ἠγορεύθην: to speak, say
Ἑρμῆς (or Ἑρμείας) –οῦ ὁ: Hermes, herm 335
προσεῖπον (aor. 2 of προσαγορεύω and προσφωνέω); Εp. προσέειπον: to speak to one, address, accost
ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo
Ἑρμῆς (or Ἑρμείας) –οῦ ὁ: Hermes, herm
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
διάκτορος –ου ὁ: the Messenger
δωτήρ –ῆρος ὁ: a giver
ἐΰς ἐΰ (gen. ἑῆος): good, brave, noble
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty
πιέζω πιέσω ἐπίεσα πεπίεκα πεπίεσμαι ἐπιέσθην: to press, squeeze, press tight
εὕδω εὑδήσω εὕδησα: sleep, lie down to sleep
οἰωνός –οῦ ὁ: a large bird, bird of prey
χρύσεος –η –ον: golden, gold-inlaid
Ἀφροδίτη –ης ἡ: Aphrodite
ἀμείβω ἀμείψω ἤμειψα ἤμειφα ἤμειμμαι ἠμείφθην: to respond, answer; to exchange; (mid.) to take turns, alternate; to change, place, pass
διάκτορος –ου ὁ: the Messenger
ἀργειφόντης –ου ὁ: slayer of Argus, epithet of Hermes
ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord
ἑκατηβόλος –ον: far-shooting
Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
τρίς: thrice 340
τόσος –η –ον: so great, so vast
ἀπείρων –ον: without experience, ignorant; boundless, countless, inextricable
ἀμφίς: on both sides; apart, asunder
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
θέαινα –ης ἡ: a goddess
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
εὕδω εὑδήσω εὕδησα: sleep, lie down to sleep
χρύσεος –η –ον: golden, gold-inlaid
Ἀφροδίτη –ης ἡ: Aphrodite