"ὣς ἐφάμην, οἱ δ᾽ ὦκα ἐμοῖς ἐπέεσσι πίθοντο,
ἐκ δὲ καλυψάμενοι παρὰ θῖν᾽ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο
θηήσαντ᾽ ἔλαφον· μάλα γὰρ μέγα θηρίον ἦεν.180
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τάρπησαν ὁρώμενοι ὀφθαλμοῖσιν,
χεῖρας νιψάμενοι τεύχοντ᾽ ἐρικυδέα δαῖτα.
ὣς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
ἥμεθα δαινύμενοι κρέα τ᾽ ἄσπετα καὶ μέθυ ἡδύ·
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠέλιος κατέδυ καὶ ἐπὶ κνέφας ἦλθε,185
δὴ τότε κοιμήθημεν ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης.
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
καὶ τότ᾽ ἐγὼν ἀγορὴν θέμενος μετὰ πᾶσιν ἔειπον·
‘κέκλυτέ μευ μύθων, κακά περ πάσχοντες ἑταῖροι·
ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ τ᾽ ἴδμεν, ὅπῃ ζόφος οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἠώς,190
οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἠέλιος φαεσίμβροτος εἶσ᾽ ὑπὸ γαῖαν,
οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἀννεῖται· ἀλλὰ φραζώμεθα θᾶσσον
εἴ τις ἔτ᾽ ἔσται μῆτις. ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὔκ οἴομαι εἶναι.
εἶδον γὰρ σκοπιὴν ἐς παιπαλόεσσαν ἀνελθὼν
νῆσον, τὴν πέρι πόντος ἀπείριτος ἐστεφάνωται·195
αὐτὴ δὲ χθαμαλὴ κεῖται: καπνὸν δ᾽ ἐνὶ μέσσῃ
ἔδρακον ὀφθαλμοῖσι διὰ δρυμὰ πυκνὰ καὶ ὕλην.’
ὣς ἐφάμην, τοῖσιν δὲ κατεκλάσθη φίλον ἦτορ
μνησαμένοις ἔργων Λαιστρυγόνος Ἀντιφάταο
Κύκλωπός τε βίης μεγαλήτορος, ἀνδροφάγοιο.200
κλαῖον δὲ λιγέως θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέοντες·
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ γάρ τις πρῆξις ἐγίγνετο μυρομένοισιν.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼ δίχα πάντας ἐυκνήμιδας ἑταίρους
ἠρίθμεον, ἀρχὸν δὲ μετ᾽ ἀμφοτέροισιν ὄπασσα·
τῶν μὲν ἐγὼν ἦρχον, τῶν δ᾽ Εὐρύλοχος θεοειδής.205
κλήρους δ᾽ ἐν κυνέῃ χαλκήρεϊ πάλλομεν ὦκα·
ἐκ δ᾽ ἔθορε κλῆρος μεγαλήτορος Εὐρυλόχοιο.
notes
After wailing over the trials they have faced thus far, Eurylochus and half of the comrades of Odysseus start off to explore the island.
For two days and nights the Greeks rest and refresh themselves on the beach of Circe’s island, feasting on the huge stag Odysseus has killed on the way home from a scouting expedition. During that foray, from his perch high on a hill, he sees smoke rising from Circe’s house, which is—perhaps not surprisingly—deep in a dark wood. He ponders whether to go himself to investigate, but, true to his past practice, decides to feed his men and then send them out to investigate, another fateful choice for his unlucky crew. After presenting the men with his hunting trophy, he reminds them they are not dead yet and urges them to dig in. (Vergil will make this brief and unremarkable pep talk the basis for a much more resonant speech by Aeneas to his crew on the shores of Libya (Aen. 1.198–209)).
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The next eight verses describe the preparations for the feast, followed by a tranquil night’s sleep:
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ τάρπησαν ὁρώμενοι ὀφθαλμοῖσιν,
χεῖρας νιψάμενοι τεύχοντ᾽ ἐρικυδέα δαῖτα.
ὣς τότε μὲν πρόπαν ἦμαρ ἐς ἠέλιον καταδύντα
ἥμεθα δαινύμενοι κρέα τ᾽ ἄσπετα καὶ μέθυ ἡδύ:
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠέλιος κατέδυ καὶ ἐπὶ κνέφας ἦλθε,
δὴ τότε κοιμήθημεν ἐπὶ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης.
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
καὶ τότ᾽ ἐγὼν ἀγορὴν θέμενος μετὰ πᾶσιν ἔειπον:
But when they had enjoyed looking at the stag,
they washed their hands and prepared a glorious meal.
Then all day until the setting of the sun,
we sat feasting on the unlimited meal and sweet wine.
And when the sun went down and darkness fell,
we lay down to sleep on the edge of the sea.
But when rosy-fingered, early-born Dawn appeared,
I assembled the men and spoke to them:
Odyssey 10.181–88
The measured pace of these verses, with their high degree of coincidence between verse structure and sentence structure (that is, no harsh enjambment) and concentration of traditional, formulaic phrases (marked in bold typeface), give the passage a serene tone. We find a similar style in the last verses of the Iliad, as Homer describes the funeral of Hector, a soothing diminuendo after the tense and dramatic scenes in the hut of Achilles:
ἦμος δ᾽ ἠριγένεια φάνη ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠώς,
τῆμος ἄρ᾽ ἀμφὶ πυρὴν κλυτοῦ Ἕκτορος ἔγρετο λαός.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἤγερθεν ὁμηγερέες τ᾽ ἐγένοντο
πρῶτον μὲν κατὰ πυρκαϊὴν σβέσαν αἴθοπι οἴνῳ
πᾶσαν, ὁπόσσον ἐπέσχε πυρὸς μένος: αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
ὀστέα λευκὰ λέγοντο κασίγνητοί θ᾽ ἕταροί τε
μυρόμενοι, θαλερὸν δὲ κατείβετο δάκρυ παρειῶν.
καὶ τά γε χρυσείην ἐς λάρνακα θῆκαν ἑλόντες
πορφυρέοις πέπλοισι καλύψαντες μαλακοῖσιν.
αἶψα δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἐς κοίλην κάπετον θέσαν, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε
πυκνοῖσιν λάεσσι κατεστόρεσαν μεγάλοισι:
ῥίμφα δὲ σῆμ᾽ ἔχεαν, περὶ δὲ σκοποὶ ἥατο πάντῃ,
μὴ πρὶν ἐφορμηθεῖεν ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί.
χεύαντες δὲ τὸ σῆμα πάλιν κίον: αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
εὖ συναγειρόμενοι δαίνυντ᾽ ἐρικυδέα δαῖτα
δώμασιν ἐν Πριάμοιο διοτρεφέος βασιλῆος.
When early-born, rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,
then the people gathered around the pyre of famous Hector;
but when they were gathered in one place and all together,
first they quenched the fire’s embers with gleaming wine,
all of it, as much as the force of the fire held; but then
Hector’s brothers and companions gathered the white bones,
grieving, and warm tears flowed down their cheeks.
And lifting them they placed them in a golden urn,
covered all around with soft purple robes.
Swiftly they set the urn into a hollow grave,
and over it they piled huge, closely-packed stones;
quickly they poured a funeral barrow; around it guards sat
all night, lest the well-greaved Achaeans attack too soon.
They piled up the grave barrow and went away; but then
coming together they enjoyed a glorious meal
in the home of Priam, the king nourished by Zeus.
So they buried Hector, tamer of horses.
Iliad 24. 788–804
In both cases, the rhythmic and linguistic modulation lowers the tension of the passages, a respite for the audience after the dramatic scenes that precede them. Like the variation in the scale of successive episodes, this stylistic variation is further evidence of Homer’s skill at keeping his audience engaged in his long and complex narrative.
Odysseus’s next words to his crew shatter the temporary calm:
ὦ φίλοι, οὐ γάρ τ᾽ ἴδμεν, ὅπῃ ζόφος οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἠώς,
οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἠέλιος φαεσίμβροτος εἶσ᾽ ὑπὸ γαῖαν,
οὐδ᾽ ὅπῃ ἀννεῖται: ἀλλὰ φραζώμεθα θᾶσσον
εἴ τις ἔτ᾽ ἔσται μῆτις. ἐγὼ δ᾽ οὔκ οἴομαι εἶναι.
O friends, we know neither where the darkness is nor the dawn,
nor yet where the sun, which brings light to mortals, goes down,
nor where it rises. Still, we must find out as quickly as we can
if there is still any way out for us. But I do not think there is.
Odyssey 10. 190–93
Not the speech one wants to hear from the captain of the ship. In the context, μῆτις (193) could mean “plan, or “strategy,” but after the Polyphemus episode, we inevitably think of the hero’s crafty triumph over that powerful monster. Insofar as that echo is in our minds, we might conclude that not only does Odysseus fear that a similar cleverness may be unavailable, but that given the punning wordplay in the episode, Homer is hinting that the trickster who embodied it will also be absent. In the event, the interlude on Aiaia will turn out to be much less threatening to the hero and his crew than they might fear. Though Circe resembles Calypso at first, with frightening consequences for some of the crew, a critical divine intervention will change the atmosphere in the witch’s domain radically, as Circe becomes part of the next big adventure, the trip to the Underworld.
But for the moment, the poet hints at a dark and threatening future for the Greeks. By the end of Odysseus’s speech, the crew is already filled with dread, remembering what happened when they went to investigate the Cyclopes and Laestrygonians. Undaunted, the hero divides his men into two groups, one led by Eurylochus, the other by himself. Though the choice of which group will go first to scout the house in the woods is decided by lot, we are perhaps not surprised to hear that Odysseus’s group will stay behind.
Further Reading
Edwards, M.W. 1987. Homer: Poet of the Iliad, 55–60. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
———. 2002. Sound, Sense, and Rhythm: Listening to Greek and Latin Poetry, 1–37. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
179 ἐκ … καλυψάμενοι: “uncovering themselves,” tmesis > ἐκκαλύπτω. The men’s heads had been covered with their cloaks (like Odysseus himself in line 10.53).
180 θηήσαντ(ο): 3rd pl. aor. mid. > θεάομαι
181 τάρπησαν: “they were cheered up,” unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. pass. > τέρπω.
181 ὀφθαλμοῖσι: with verbs of seeing, ὀφθαλμοῖσι (“with the eyes”) is a common pleonasm (Smyth 3042).
182 τεύχοντ(ο): “prepared,” or “began to prepare,” inchoative unaugmented impf. (Smyth 1900).
183 Lines 183–87 are highly formulaic (see, for example, 9.556–60).
185 ἐπὶ κνέφας ἦλθε: “darkness came around again,” tmesis (separation of the preposition and verb in a compound verb) > ἐπέρχομαι.
186 κοιμήθημεν: “we fell asleep,” unaugmented aor. pass. > κοιμάω.
188 ἀγορὴν θέμενος: “calling an assembly,” “setting up an assembly”
189 κέκλυτέ: reduplicated aor. imperat.
189 μευ: μου
189 μύθων: object of κέκλυτε, genitive of source
190 ὅπῃ: "where," interrogative in indirect question introduced by ἴδμεν.
190 ζόφος: “dusk,” supply ἐστί.
191 εἶσ(ι): > εἶμι
192 ἀννεῖται: “rises” > ἀνανέομαι
192 φραζώμεθα: “let us figure out,” hortatory subj.
192 θᾶσσον: "(as) quickly (as possible)," comparative adv. > ταχύς.
193 εἴ …: “whether …,” indirect question
193 μῆτις: "plan," i.e., a plan for how to proceed.
193 εἶναι: infinitive in indirect discourse introduced by οἴομαι
195 νῆσον: direct object of εἶδον
195 τὴν πέρι: anastrophe (the preposition follows its noun, causing the accent on the preposition to fall back onto the first syllable). The antecedent of τὴν is νῆσον (fem.).
195 ἐστεφάνωται: “circles (like a crown),” pf. mid./pass. The perfect denotes a permanent state (Monro 28).
196 αὐτὴ: the island.
197 ἔδρακον: 1st sing. aor. > δέρκομαι
198 τοῖσιν: dative of possession
198 φίλον ἦτορ: the singular is distributive, i.e., it can be translated as a plural (Monro 170; Smyth 998).
199 μνησαμένοις: agrees with τοῖσι in the previous line.
199 ἔργων: genitive with μνησαμένοις (Monro 151d.; Smyth 1356)
201 κλαῖον: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf.
201 λιγέως: “loudly”
201 κατὰ … χέοντες: “shedding,” tmesis > καταχέω.
202 ἀλλ(ά) … γάρ: “but in fact,” “but the truth is” (Monro 348; Smyth 2818).
202 πρῆξις: “result,” i.e., their weeping got them nowhere.
202 μυρομένοισιν: “for those weeping," substantive, dative of interest
203–4 δίχα … / ἠρίθμεον: “I counted off … into two groups.”
204 ὄπασσα: “I sent along.”
205 τῶν μὲν … τῶν δ᾽: “some … the others…,” “one group … the other group.” The genitives follow the verb ἄρχω.
206 κλήρους … πάλλομεν: “we shook lots.” Each man marked his name on a token and placed it in a helmet, which was shaken until one of the tokens was shaken out.
206 πάλλομεν: unaugmented impf.
207 ἐκ … ἔθορε: “jumped out,” tmesis > ἐκθρῴσκω.
vocabulary
ὦκα: quickly, swiftly, fast
ἐκκαλύπτω ἐκκαλύψω ἐκἐκάλυψα ἐκκεκάλυμμαι ἐκἐκαλύφθην: to uncover
θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
ἀτρύγετος [–η] –ον: yielding no harvest, unfruitful
θεάομαι θεάσομαι ἐθεσάμην ––– τεθέαμαι ἐθεσαμήθην: to look on, behold, view 180
ἔλαφος –ου ὁ/ἡ: a deer
θηρίον –ου τό: beast; wild beast
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
τέρπω τέρψω ἔτερψα ––– ––– ἐτάρφθην/ἐτέρφθην: to delight; (mid./pass.) to have one's full of
νίζω νίψω ἔνιψα ––– νένιμμαι ἐνίφθην: to wash the hands
τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make, build, prepare, fasten; to bring about
ἐρικυδής –ές: very famous, glorious, splendid
δαίς δαιτός ἡ: feast, banquet, meal
πρόπας –ασα –αν: all
ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day
καταδύω καταδύσω καταδέδυκα/κατέδυν καταδέδυμαι καταδεδύθην: to sink; (of the sun) to set
ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit
δαίνυμι δαίσω ἔδαισα: (act.) to give a banquet, distribute (food); (mid.) to share a meal; to feast (on), eat (+ acc.)
κρέας κρέως and κρέατος, gen. pl. κρειῶν, τό: meat, piece of meat
ἄσπετος –ον: immense, abundant, infinite
μέθυ –υος τό: wine, mead
ἦμος: when, while 185
καταδύω καταδύσω καταδέδυκα/κατέδυν καταδέδυμαι καταδεδύθην: to sink; (of the sun) to set
κνέφας –ους τό: darkness, evening dusk, twilight
κοιμάω κοιμήσω ἐκοίμησα κεκοίμηκα κεκοίμημαι ἐκοιμήθην: (act.) to put to bed, lull; (mid. and pass.) to go to bed, lay down
ῥηγμίν –ῖνος ἡ: the sea breaking on the beach, surf
ἦμος: when, while
ἠριγένεια –ας ἡ: early-born, child of morn
ῥοδοδάκτυλος –ον: rosy-fingered
ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn; Dawn
ἀγορή –ῆς ἡ: market place, assembly
κλύω ––– κέκλυκα ––– ––– –––: to hear, listen to; to have a reputation, be judged or considered
μῦθος –ου ὁ: spoken thing, speech, plan, story
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
ὅπῃ: in which direction, where; in what way, how 190
ζόφος –ου ὁ: darkness; zone of darkness, (as a compass direction) west
ὅπῃ: in which direction, where; in what way, how
ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn; Dawn
ὅπῃ: in which direction, where; in what way, how
φαεσίμβροτος –ον: bringing light to mortals
γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district
ὅπῃ: in which direction, where; in what way, how
ἀνανέομαι – – – – –: to rise
μῆτις –ιος/–ιδος ἡ: wisdom, counsel, cunning, craft
σκοπιά –ᾶς ἡ: a lookout-place, a mountain-peak
παιπαλόεις –εσσα –εν: rugged
ἀνέρχομαι ἀνελεύσομαι/ἄνειμι ἀνῆλθον ἀνελήλυθα: to go up
πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea 195
ἀπείριτος –ον: boundless, immense
στεφανόω στεφανώσω ἐστεφάνωσα ἐστεφάνωκα ἐστεφάνωμαι ἐστεφανώθην: to surround, crown
χθαμαλός –ή –όν: near the ground, low, flat
καπνός –οῦ ὁ: smoke
δέρκομαι δέρξομαι ἐδερξάμην/ἐδρακόμην δέδορκα ––– ἐδέρχθην/ἐδράκην: to watch, observe; to see the light (be alive); to discern, notice, perceive
δρυμός –οῦ ὁ: wood, thicket, forest (neuter pl. δρυμά)
πυκ(ι)νός –ή –όν: thick, bushy, dense; prudent, wise, smart, shrewd
ὕλη –ης ἡ: woods, forest; firewood
κατακλάω κατακλάσω κατέκλασα – κατακέκλασμαι κατεκλάσθην: to break, shatter; (pass.) to be broken (figuratively of the heart or spirit)
ἦτορ τό: the heart
Λαιστρυγών –όνος ὁ: Laestrȳgon
Ἀντιφάτης –ου ὁ: Antiphates, a Trojan; a Greek, son of Melampus; or, king of the Laestrȳgons
Κύκλωψ –πος ὁ: Cyclops 200
βίη –ης dat. βίηφι ἡ: violence, force
μεγαλήτωρ –ορος: great - hearted, proud
ἀνδροφάγος –ον: eating men
κλαίω/κλάω κλαύσομαι/κλαήσω ἔκλαυσα ––– κέκλαυμαι/κέκλαυσμαι ἐκλαύσθην: weep, cry
λιγύς –εῖα –ύ: sharp-sounding, shrill, loud, clear
θαλερός –ά –όν: blooming, fresh
δάκρυον –ου τό: a tear
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
μύρομαι– – – – –: to burst into tears, shed tears, lament
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
δίχα: in two parts
ἐϋκνήμις –ιδος: having lovely greaves
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
ἀριθμέω ἀριθμήσω ἠρίθμησα ἠρίθμηκα ἠρίθμημαι ἠριθμήθην: to number, count
ἀρχός –οῦ ὁ: a leader, chief, commander
ὀπάζω ὀπάσσω ὤπασα: to make (accusative) come along as a companion, to take (accusative) with one
ἄρχω ἅρξω ἦρξα ἦρχα ἦργμαι ἦρχθην: to begin, rule (+gen.) 205
Εὐρύλοχος –ου ὁ: Eurylochus, a cousin and companion of Odysseus
θεοειδής –ές: god-like
κλῆρος –ου ὁ: lot, casting of lots, allotment
κυνέη –ης ἡ: a dog skin; cap, helmet
χαλκήρης –ες: of bronze, tipped with bronze
πάλλω –––– ἔπηλα ––– πέπαλμαι ἐπάλην: to shake; (mid.) to cast lots
ὦκα: quickly, swiftly, fast
θρῴσκω θοροῦμαι ἔθορον: to leap, spring
κλῆρος –ου ὁ: lot, casting of lots, allotment
μεγαλήτωρ –ορος: great - hearted, proud
Εὐρύλοχος –ου ὁ: Eurylochus, a cousin and companion of Odysseus