ἦ ῥα καὶ ἐς θρόνον ἷζε παρ᾽ Ἀλκίνοον βασιλῆα·

οἱ δ᾽ ἤδη μοίρας τ᾽ ἔνεμον κερόωντό τε οἶνον.470

κῆρυξ δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθεν ἄγων ἐρίηρον ἀοιδόν,

Δημόδοκον λαοῖσι τετιμένον· εἷσε δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ αὐτὸν

μέσσῳ δαιτυμόνων, πρὸς κίονα μακρὸν ἐρείσας.

δὴ τότε κήρυκα προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς,

νώτου ἀποπροταμών, ἐπὶ δὲ πλεῖον ἐλέλειπτο,475

ἀργιόδοντος ὑός, θαλερὴ δ᾽ ἦν ἀμφὶς ἀλοιφή·

"κῆρυξ, τῆ δή, τοῦτο πόρε κρέας, ὄφρα φάγῃσιν,

Δημοδόκῳ· καί μιν προσπτύξομαι ἀχνύμενός περ·

πᾶσι γὰρ ἀνθρώποισιν ἐπιχθονίοισιν ἀοιδοὶ

τιμῆς ἔμμοροί εἰσι καὶ αἰδοῦς, οὕνεκ᾽ ἄρα σφέας480

οἴμας μοῦσ᾽ ἐδίδαξε, φίλησε δὲ φῦλον ἀοιδῶν."

ὣς ἄρ᾽ ἔφη, κῆρυξ δὲ φέρων ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκεν

ἥρῳ Δημοδόκῳ· ὁ δ᾽ ἐδέξατο, χαῖρε δὲ θυμῷ.

οἱ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,485

δὴ τότε Δημόδοκον προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

"Δημόδοκ᾽, ἔξοχα δή σε βροτῶν αἰνίζομ᾽ ἁπάντων.

ἢ σέ γε μοῦσ᾽ ἐδίδαξε, Διὸς πάϊς, ἢ σέ γ᾽ Ἀπόλλων·

λίην γὰρ κατὰ κόσμον Ἀχαιῶν οἶτον ἀείδεις,

ὅσσ᾽ ἔρξαν τ᾽ ἔπαθόν τε καὶ ὅσσ᾽ ἐμόγησαν Ἀχαιοί,490

ὥς τέ που ἢ αὐτὸς παρεὼν ἢ ἄλλου ἀκούσας.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε δὴ μετάβηθι καὶ ἵππου κόσμον ἄεισον

δουρατέου, τὸν Ἐπειὸς ἐποίησεν σὺν Ἀθήνῃ,

ὅν ποτ᾽ ἐς ἀκρόπολιν δόλον ἤγαγε δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς

ἀνδρῶν ἐμπλήσας οἵ ῥ᾽ Ἴλιον ἐξαλάπαξαν.495

αἴ κεν δή μοι ταῦτα κατὰ μοῖραν καταλέξῃς,

αὐτίκ᾽ ἐγὼ πᾶσιν μυθήσομαι ἀνθρώποισιν,

ὡς ἄρα τοι πρόφρων θεὸς ὤπασε θέσπιν ἀοιδήν."

ὣς φάθ᾽, ὁ δ᾽ ὁρμηθεὶς θεοῦ ἤρχετο, φαῖνε δ᾽ ἀοιδήν,

ἔνθεν ἑλὼν ὡς οἱ μὲν ἐυσσέλμων ἐπὶ νηῶν500

βάντες ἀπέπλειον, πῦρ ἐν κλισίῃσι βαλόντες,

Ἀργεῖοι, τοὶ δ᾽ ἤδη ἀγακλυτὸν ἀμφ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα

ἥατ᾽ ἐνὶ Τρώων ἀγορῇ κεκαλυμμένοι ἵππῳ·

αὐτοὶ γάρ μιν Τρῶες ἐς ἀκρόπολιν ἐρύσαντο.

ὣς ὁ μὲν ἑστήκει, τοὶ δ᾽ ἄκριτα πόλλ᾽ ἀγόρευον505

ἥμενοι ἀμφ᾽ αὐτόν· τρίχα δέ σφισιν ἥνδανε βουλή,

ἠὲ διαπλῆξαι κοῖλον δόρυ νηλέι χαλκῷ,

ἢ κατὰ πετράων βαλέειν ἐρύσαντας ἐπ᾽ ἄκρης,

ἢ ἐάαν μέγ᾽ ἄγαλμα θεῶν θελκτήριον εἶναι,

τῇ περ δὴ καὶ ἔπειτα τελευτήσεσθαι ἔμελλεν·510

αἶσα γὰρ ἦν ἀπολέσθαι, ἐπὴν πόλις ἀμφικαλύψῃ

δουράτεον μέγαν ἵππον, ὅθ᾽ ἥατο πάντες ἄριστοι

Ἀργείων Τρώεσσι φόνον καὶ κῆρα φέροντες.

ἤειδεν δ᾽ ὡς ἄστυ διέπραθον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν

ἱππόθεν ἐκχύμενοι, κοῖλον λόχον ἐκπρολιπόντες.515

ἄλλον δ᾽ ἄλλῃ ἄειδε πόλιν κεραϊζέμεν αἰπήν,

αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσῆα προτὶ δώματα Δηιφόβοιο

βήμεναι, ἠύτ᾽ Ἄρηα σὺν ἀντιθέῳ Μενελάῳ.

κεῖθι δὴ αἰνότατον πόλεμον φάτο τολμήσαντα

νικῆσαι καὶ ἔπειτα διὰ μεγάθυμον Ἀθήνην.520

    Odysseus and the Phaeacians feast. Demodocus sings a song about the Trojan horse.

    Demodocus now sings his final song, about the Greeks in their wooden horse and the destruction of Troy. Like his first song, it brings tears to the hero’s eyes. Homer has been teasing us with the prospect of Odysseus emerging from his disguise into his full heroic glory, and this time he will deliver.

    read full essay

    In retrospect, we might say that Book 8 is structured around the three concerts, beginning with the obscure tale of a quarrel between Achilles and Odysseus, followed by the interlude on Olympus, which provides some comic relief after the tension arising from the games, and now reaching a crescendo with the exploit that defines Odysseus’s great strength as a hero, his cunning intelligence and self-control. This last song reaches back again to Sparta and Helen’s memory of Odysseus, disguised as a beggar to spy on the Trojans (4.244–64), but also looks forward to Ithaka, where disguised as a beggar, he will penetrate the royal household, gathering intelligence for his final conquest of the suitors.

    The sacking of a city in war was one of the most powerful narratives in the imagination of the Greeks. It encompassed wholesale destruction, with fire and bloodshed, but also the terrible aftermath, with the looting of precious treasure, male captives slaughtered, and women enslaved. Surprisingly, neither of the Homeric epics offers a full description of Troy’s destruction. Not until Book 2 of Virgil’s Aeneid do we see the full horror of Troy’s fall. But the specter of that catastrophe looms over the Iliad from beginning to end. And the nostoi, or “stories of heroes returning from Troy,” one of the most popular topics in Greek literature, all begin with the sack of Troy. The Odyssey, the most famous of those returns, recreates the event metaphorically, with Odysseus as the disguised agent, penetrating his own palace and destroying the corrupt regime of the suitors from within.

    Homer invokes images of fertility in the bard’s song and puts them to ironic use:

    Ἀργεῖοι, τοὶ δ᾽ ἤδη ἀγακλυτὸν ἀμφ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα
    ἥατ᾽ ἐνὶ Τρώων ἀγορῇ κεκαλυμμένοι ἵππῳ·

    The Argives were already sitting around famous
    Odysseus, hidden by the horse, in the Trojans’ assembly grounds.

    Odyssey 8.502–3

    The Greeks are “hidden” in the horse’s belly, as if it were about to give birth to the death of Troy. The soldiers are its deadly children, ready to pour down out of the womb (ἐκχύμενοι, 515), like the deceptive chains of Hephaestus (ἔχυντο, 297; see essay on Book 9.250–94). Cloaked (κεκαλυμμένοι, 503) in their secret lair, which the Trojans have benightedly enclosed (ἀμφικαλύψῃ, 511) in their citadel. The participle κεκαλυμμένοι, from καλύψω, is freighted with meaning in the poem, conjuring up the threat for males of being smothered, erased, by powerful female forces (cf. ἀμφικαλύψας, 5.493; see essay on Book 5.408–493). Odysseus has just escaped from the embodiment of that power and struggled almost all the way back to his heroic self on Scheria. The female power to create and nurture is also, in the imagination of the Greeks, potentially annihilating.

    Linking Odysseus to the deceptive strategy for sacking Troy confirms the central paradox we have noted in the song of Ares and Aphrodite (cf. essay on Book 8.250–94). Odysseus, who as a famous hero struggles to escape being existentially erased by Calypso and other feminine forces who would keep him from reasserting his heroic identity in Ithaka, himself adopts the persona of the anonymous stranger, happy to use disguise to cover up his own identity if it helps him get what he wants. He is a new kind of hero in the epic tradition, nimble and sensitive to the people around him, using his intelligence and cunning to manipulate others, rather than overpowering them with physical force. Such strategies are anathema to Achilles, who never holds back whatever is inside him. Responding to Odysseus’s speech urging him to put his anger at Agamemnon aside for the sake of his fellow soldiers, he is characteristically blunt:

    ἐχθρὸς γάρ μοι κεῖνος ὁμῶς Ἀΐδαο πύλῃσιν
    ὅς χ᾽ ἕτερον μὲν κεύθῃ ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ἄλλο δὲ εἴπῃ.

    I hate like the gates of Hades that man
    who holds one thing in his mind and says another.

    Iliad 9.312–13

    In this and in other ways, Achilles and Odysseus represent starkly contrasting views of what constitutes heroism. Choosing a short but glorious life over a long but undistinguished existence defines Achilles’s essence as a hero. Odysseus, by contrast, will do or say anything to ensure that he survives to reclaim his place in Ithaka. Perhaps Demodocus’ first song is not entirely mysterious in this context. Highlighting the differences between the two heroes may be part of Homer’s larger project in Books 6–8, bringing to life before us the central character of his poem.

     

    Further Reading

    Pucci, P. 1987. Odysseus Polytropos: Intertextual Readings of the Odyssey and the Iliad. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

    Thalmann, W. 1992. The Odyssey: An Epic of Return, 61–63. New York: Twayne Publishers.

     

    469  : “he spoke,” 3rd sing. impf. act. indic. > ἤμι.

    472  λαοῖσι: dative of agent.

    472  τετιμένον: masc. acc. sing. pf. pass. ptc. > τίω.

    472  εἷσε … αὐτὸν: “sat him down,” causal aor. > ἵζω.

    475  νώτου: with ἀργιόδοντος ὑός. The genitive is governed by the ἀπο- in ἀποπροταμών.

    475  ἀποπροταμών: masc. nom. sing. aor. act. ptc. > ἀποπροτέμνω.

    475  ἐπὶ δὲ: “and on it,” i.e., on the back of the boar.

    475  πλεῖον ἐλέλειπτο: “more (meat) was left.”

    476  ἀλοιφή: “fat.”

    477  τῆ: “here!” Always followed by an imperattive in Homer.

    477  ὄφρα φάγῃσιν: purpose clause. 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. > ἐσθίω.

    479  πᾶσι … ἀνθρώποισιν ἐπιχθονίοισιν: dative of interest.

    480  τιμῆς … αἰδοῦς: genitives with ἔμμοροί, “endowed with” (Smyth 1415).

    482  φέρων ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκεν: understand κρέας as the object of the participle and verb.

    483  ἥρῳ Δημοδόκῳ: dative of possession, with χερσὶν.

    484  ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον: “they put their hands to the food that was prepared and ready.” A common formula in Homer (LSJ ἰάλλω), last seen in line 71. ὀνείαθ᾽ = ὀνείατα, which in the context of this formula means “food.” The subject is the assembled Phaeacians.

    485  a repetition of line 72. A common formulaic line.

    485  ἐξ … ἕντο: "they sent forth," "they dismissed," tmesis, 3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. > ἐξίημι.

    487  ἔξοχα: “above,” adverbial, with genitive.

    487  αἰνίζομ(αι): see LSJ αἰνέω II.

    489  κατὰ κόσμον: “in good order,” “in the right way.”

    491  ὥς: “as though.”

    492  μετάβηθι: 2nd sing. aor. act. imperat. > μεταβαίνω (LSJ μεταβαίνω 2).

    492  κόσμον: “construction.”

    492  ἄεισον: 2nd sing. aor. act. imperat. > ἀείδω.

    494  δόλον: “as a trick,” pred.

    495  ἐμπλήσας: “having filled (acc.) with (gen.),” masc. nom. sing. aor. act. ptc. > ἐμπίμπλημι. The accusative object, the horse, is unstated.

    496  αἴ κεν … καταλέξῃς: protasis of a future more vivid conditional; αἴ κεν = ἐάν.

    498  ὡς: “that,” introducing indirect discourse.

    498  τοι: dat., indirect object of ὤπασε.

    499  ὁρμηθεὶς θεοῦ: “inspired by the god,” aor. pass. ptc. > ὁρμάω

    499  φαῖνε: "struck up [a song]," "brought into being," unaugmented impf. (LSJ φαίνω Α.I.2).

    500  ἔνθεν ἑλὼν ὡς: “picking up (the story at the point) where (it describes) how …”

    500  οἱ μὲν: “some…,” answered by τοὶ δ᾽ (“and others”) in line 502.

    501  ἀπέπλειον: the Achaeans set fire to their camp and sailed as far as the nearby island of Tenedos, where they hid and waited while Odysseus and his companions carried out the trick with the wooden horse.

    503  κεκαλυμμένοι: masc. nom. pl. pf. pass. ptc. > καλύπτω.

    504  μιν: i.e., the horse.

    505  ὣς ὁ μὲν ἑστήκει: “so it (i.e., the horse) stood.”

    505  ἑστήκει: 3rd sing. plupf. act. indic. > ἵστημι.

    505  τοὶ: "they," i.e, the Trojans.

    506  τρίχα: “in three ways.” The Trojans were split into three different opinions of what should be done with the horse.

    507  δόρυ: “the wood,” “the planking.”

    510  τῇ περ δὴ: “the very way in which.”

    510  καὶ ἔπειτα: “in the end” (Cunliffe ἔπειτα 7).

    510  τελευτήσεσθαι: “to come to pass,” fut. mid. infin. > τελευτάω. For μέλλω with the future infinitive, see Smyth 1959.

    511  ἐπὴν … ἀμφικαλύψῃ: temporal clause with subjunctive. ἐπὴν = ἐπεὶ ἄν. The subjunctive with ἄν (rather than optative alone) makes the clause more vivid.

    512  ὅθ(ι): “where.”

    514  διέπραθον: 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > διαπέρθω. An instance of metathesis (Smyth 492).

    515  ἱππόθεν: “from the horse.”

    515  ἐκχύμενοι: masc. nom. pl. aor. mid. ptc. > έκχέω.

    516  ἄλλον δ᾽ ἄλλῃ ἄειδε πόλιν κεραϊζέμεν αἰπήν: “he sang that another (Greek) looted the high city in another way,” i.e., each one of the Greeks looted the city in his own way. ἄειδε introduces indirect discourse with accusative (ἄλλον) and infinitive (κεραϊζέμεν > κεραίζω).

    517  Ὀδυσσῆα … / βήμεναι: accusative and infinitive, continuing the indirect discourse introduced with ἄειδε in line 516.

    518  Ἄρηα: accusative in indirect discourse, agreeing with Ὀδυσσῆα.

    519  κεῖθι … φάτο: “it was there, he said, that …,” Demodocus is the subject of the verb, which introduces indirect discourse with accusative ([Ὀδυσσῆα] τολμήσαντα) and infinitive (νικῆσαι).

    519  αἰνότατον πόλεμον: the object of τολμήσαντα.

    520  καὶ ἔπειτα: “in the end” (Cunliffe ἔπειτα 7).

    ἠμί – – – – –: I say

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    θρόνος –ου ὁ: arm-chair

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

    Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon

    μοῖρα –ας ἡ: part, portion, lot, fate 470

    νέμω νεμῶ ἔνειμα νενέμηκα νενέμημαι ἐνεμήθην: to distribute, assign, give out; to pasture or tend flocks; (mid.) to possess, enjoy, inhabit, feed upon, manage

    κεράω – – – – –: [mix >κεράννυμι]

    οἶνος –ου ὁ: wine

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    ἐγγύθεν: close, nearby, alongside

    ἐρίηρος –ον: faithful, devoted, trusty

    ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard

    Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians

    τίω τίσω ἔτισα – τέτιμαι: value, estimate; esteem, prize, honor

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    δαιτυμών –όνος ὁ: one that is entertained, an invited guest

    κίων –ονος ἡ: a pillar

    ἐρείδω ἐρείσω ἤρεισα ἤρεικα ἐρήρεισμαι ἠρείσθην: to cause to lean, prop; (mid. and pass.) to prop oneself, to lean on

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    πρόσφημι πρόσφησω προσέφησ: to speak to, address

    πολύμητις –ιος: of many counsels

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

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

    ἀποπροτέμνω ἀποπροτεμῶ ἀποπροέτεμον ἀποπροτέτμηκα ἀποπροτέτμημαι ἀποπροετμήθην: to cut off from 475

    ἀργιόδους –όδοντος: white-toothed, white-tusked

    ὗς (or σῦς) ὑός (or συός) ὁ/ἡ: swine, hog; (f.) sow

    θαλερός –ά –όν: blooming, fresh

    ἀμφίς: on both sides; apart, asunder

    ἀλοιφή –ῆς ἡ: anything used for anointing, hog's-lard, grease, unguent

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    τῆ: here! there! (interjection)

    πόρω ––– ἔπορον ––– ––– –––: to offer, furnish, supply, give; (pf. pass. 3 sing.) it is fated

    κρέας κρέως and κρέατος, gen. pl. κρειῶν, τό: meat, piece of meat

    ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long

    ἔφαγον (aor. with no pres. in use): to eat, devour

    Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians

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

    προσπτύσσω προσπτύξω περιέπτυξα ––– περιέπτυγμαι προσεπτύχθην: to embrace

    ἄχομαι and ἄχνυμαι: to afflict, sadden, trouble, grieve

    ἐπιχθόνιος –ον: upon the earth, earthly

    ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard

    ἔμμορος –ον: partaking in, endued with 480

    αἰδώς αἰδοῦς ἡ: a sense of shame, shame, modesty, self-respect

    οὕνεκα: on account of which, wherefore

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    σφεῖς: they

    οἴμη –ης ἡ: a song, lay

    Μοῦσα –ης ἡ: the Muse

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

    φῦλον –ου τό: a race, tribe, class

    ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

    ἥρως ἥρωος ὁ: hero, warrior

    Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians

    ὄνειαρ –ατος τό: advantage, profit; (pl.) good things, food

    ἑτοῖμος –η –ον: at hand, ready, prepared

    πρόκειμαι προκείσομαι ––– ––– ––– –––: to be set before one

    ἰάλλω ἰαλῶ ἴηλα ––– ––– –––: to throw, hurl, fling

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently 485

    πόσις –ιος/–εως ὁ: drink

    ἐδητύς –ύος ἡ: meat, food

    ἔρος –ου ὁ: love, desire

    Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians

    πρόσφημι πρόσφησω προσέφησα: to speak to, address

    πολύμητις –ιος: of many counsels

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    Δημόδοκος –ου ὁ: Demodocus, the blind bard of the Phaeacians

    ἔξοχον or ἔξοχα: (adv.) specially, preeminently

    βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal

    αἰνίζομαι – – – – –: (αἰνέω) praise

    Μοῦσα –ης ἡ: the Muse

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo

    λίαν: a great deal, extremely; excessively, too much

    Ἀχαιός –ά –όν: Achaean, Greek

    οἶτος –ου ὁ: fate, doom

    ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing

    ἔρδω ἔρξω ἔρξα ἔοργα ––– ––– : to do 490

    μογέω μογήσω ἐμόγησα: to toil, suffer

    Ἀχαιός –ά –όν: Achaean, Greek

    ἄγε: come! come on! well!

    μεταβαίνω μεταβήσομαι μετέβην μεταβέβηκα: to pass over from one place to another

    ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing

    δουράτεος –α –ον: wooden

    Ἐπειός –οῦ ὁ: Epeius, builder of the wooden horse; an Epeian

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

    ακρόπολις –εως ἡ: the upper city, citadel; the Acropolis (the citadel of Athens)

    δόλος –ου ὁ: scheme, plot, deception, trickery

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    ἐμπίμπλημι ἐμπλήσω ἐνέπλησα ἐμπέπληκα ἐμπέπλησμαι ἐωεπλήθην: to fill; (mid.) to get one's fill of 495

    Ἴλιος –ου ἡ: Troy, Ilion

    ἐξαλαπάζω ἐξαλαπάξω ἐξαλάπαξα/ἐξηλάπαξα – – ἐξαλαπάχθην: to sack

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

    καταλέγω καταλέξω κατέλεξα κατείλοχα κατείλεγμαι κατελέχθην: to recount, tell at length and in order; (mid.) καταλέχομαι to lie down

    μυθέομαι μυθήσομαι μεμύθημαι ἐμυθήθην: speak or talk of, describe, explain, relate

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

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

    ὀπάζω ὀπάσσω ὤπασα: to make (accusative) come along as a companion, to take (accusative) with one; to grant, give

    θέσπις –ιος: having words from God, inspired

    ἀοιδή –ῆς ἡ: song, a singing

    ἄρχω ἅρξω ἦρξα ἦρχα ἦργμαι ἦρχθην: begin, rule (+gen.)

    ἀοιδή –ῆς ἡ: song, a singing

    ἔνθεν: from here, from there 500

    εὔσελμος –ον: well-benched, with good banks of oars

    ἀποπλέω ἀποπλεύσομαι ἀπέπλευσα ἀπεπέπλευκα ––– –––: to sail away, sail off

    κλισία –ας ἡ: (sing.) hut, tent; (plur.) camp

    Ἀργεῖος –η –ον: Argive, of or from Argos (Greece)

    ἀγακλυτός –όν: very famous

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit

    Τρώς Τρωός ὁ: Trojan

    ἀγορή –ῆς ἡ: market place, assembly

    καλύπτω καλύψω ἐκάλυψα κεκάλυμμαι ἐκαλύφθην: to cover, enclose

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

    Τρώς Τρωός ὁ: Trojan

    ακρόπολις –εως ἡ: the upper city, citadel; the Acropolis (the citadel of Athens)

    εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard

    ἄκριτος –ον: undistinguishable, unarranged, disorderly 505

    ἀγορεύω ἀγορεύσω ἠγόρευσα ἠγόρευκα ἠγόρευμαι ἠγορεύθην: to speak, say

    ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit

    τρίχα: threefold, in three parts

    σφεῖς: they

    ἁνδάνω ἁδήσω ἅδον/ἕαδον ἅδηκα/ἕαδα: to please, delight, gratify

    ἠέ: or, whether

    διαπλήσσω διαπλήξω διέπληξα διαπέπληγα διαπέπληγμαι διεπλήγην: to break

    κοῖλος –η –ον: hollow

    δόρυ δόρατος τό: spear; timber, beam (of a ship)

    νηλής –ές: pitiless, ruthless

    χαλκός –οῦ ὁ: bronze, copper, weapon

    πέτρη –ης ἡ: rock, cliffs, shelf of rock

    εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard, protect

    ἄκρη -ης ἡ: promontory, cape; κατ' ἄκρης from over head 

    ἄγαλμα –ατος τό: glory, statue, pleasing gift

    θελκτήριον –ου τό: a charm, spell, enchantment

    τῃ (dat. fem. of ὁ): here, there 510

    αἶσα –ης ἡ: destiny; norm, rule

    ἐπήν = ἐπεὶ ἄν: when, after

    ἀμφικαλύπτω ἀμφικαλύψω ἀμφεκάλυψα ἀμφικεκάλυφα ἀμφικεκάλυμμαι ἀμφεκαλύφθην: to cover all round, enwrap, enfold, contain, overshadow

    δουράτεος –α –ον: wooden

    ὅθι: where

    ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit

    Ἀργεῖος –η –ον: Argive, of or from Argos (Greece)

    Τρώς Τρωός ὁ: Trojan

    φόνος –ου ὁ: murder, slaughter, corpse

    κήρ κηρός ἡ: doom, death, fate

    ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    διαπέρθω διαπέρσω διέπερσα/διέπραθον: to destroy utterly, sack, lay waste

    Ἀχαιός –ά –όν: Achaean, Greek

    ἱππόθεν: forth from the horse 515

    ἐκχέω/ἐκχύνω ἐκχέω ἐξέχεα ἐκκέχυκα ἐκκέχυμαι ἐξεχύθην: to pour out

    κοῖλος –η –ον: hollow

    λόχος –ου ὁ: an ambush

    ἐκπρολείπω ἐκπρολείψω ἐκπροέλιπον ἐκπρολέλοιπα: to forsake, abandon

    ἄλλῃ: in another place, elsewhere

    ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing

    κεραΐζω κεραΐσω ἐκεράϊσα: ravage, plunder

    αἰπός –ή –όν: high, lofty

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)

    δηϊφόβος –ον: scaring the foe

    ἠΰτε: as, like as

    Ἄρης –εως ὁ: Ares

    ἀντίθεος –η –ον: godlike

    Μενέλαος –ου ὁ: Menelāus, son of Atreus and brother of Agamemnon, the successful suitor of Helen

    ἐκεῖθι: there, in that place

    αἰνός –ή –όν: dread, grim

    μεγάθυμος –ον: high-minded 520

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

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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/viii-469-520