"ἔνθ᾽ ἐπεὶ ἐς λιμένα κλυτὸν ἤλθομεν, ὃν πέρι πέτρη

ἠλίβατος τετύχηκε διαμπερὲς ἀμφοτέρωθεν,

ἀκταὶ δὲ προβλῆτες ἐναντίαι ἀλλήλῃσιν

ἐν στόματι προύχουσιν, ἀραιὴ δ᾽ εἴσοδός ἐστιν,90

ἔνθ᾽ οἵ γ᾽ εἴσω πάντες ἔχον νέας ἀμφιελίσσας.

αἱ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἔντοσθεν λιμένος κοίλοιο δέδεντο

πλησίαι· οὐ μὲν γάρ ποτ᾽ ἀέξετο κῦμά γ᾽ ἐν αὐτῷ,

οὔτε μέγ᾽ οὔτ᾽ ὀλίγον, λευκὴ δ᾽ ἦν ἀμφὶ γαλήνη·

αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν οἶος σχέθον ἔξω νῆα μέλαιναν,95

αὐτοῦ ἐπ᾽ ἐσχατιῇ, πέτρης ἐκ πείσματα δήσας·

ἔστην δὲ σκοπιὴν ἐς παιπαλόεσσαν ἀνελθών.

ἔνθα μὲν οὔτε βοῶν οὔτ᾽ ἀνδρῶν φαίνετο ἔργα,

καπνὸν δ᾽ οἶον ὁρῶμεν ἀπὸ χθονὸς ἀίσσοντα.

δὴ τότ᾽ ἐγὼν ἑτάρους προΐειν πεύθεσθαι ἰόντας,100

οἵ τινες ἀνέρες εἶεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ σῖτον ἔδοντες,

ἄνδρε δύω κρίνας, τρίτατον κήρυχ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ὀπάσσας.

οἱ δ᾽ ἴσαν ἐκβάντες λείην ὁδόν, ᾗ περ ἄμαξαι

ἄστυδ᾽ ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλῶν ὀρέων καταγίνεον ὕλην,

κούρῃ δὲ ξύμβληντο πρὸ ἄστεος ὑδρευούσῃ,105

θυγατέρ᾽ ἰφθίμῃ Λαιστρυγόνος Ἀντιφάταο.

ἡ μὲν ἄρ᾽ ἐς κρήνην κατεβήσετο καλλιρέεθρον

Ἀρτακίην· ἔνθεν γὰρ ὕδωρ προτὶ ἄστυ φέρεσκον·

οἱ δὲ παριστάμενοι προσεφώνεον ἔκ τ᾽ ἐρέοντο

ὅς τις τῶνδ᾽ εἴη βασιλεὺς καὶ οἷσιν ἀνάσσοι·110

ἡ δὲ μάλ᾽ αὐτίκα πατρὸς ἐπέφραδεν ὑψερεφὲς δῶ.

οἱ δ᾽ ἐπεὶ εἰσῆλθον κλυτὰ δώματα, τὴν δὲ γυναῖκα

εὗρον, ὅσην τ᾽ ὄρεος κορυφήν, κατὰ δ᾽ ἔστυγον αὐτήν.

ἡ δ᾽ αἶψ᾽ ἐξ ἀγορῆς ἐκάλει κλυτὸν Ἀντιφατῆα,

ὃν πόσιν, ὃς δὴ τοῖσιν ἐμήσατο λυγρὸν ὄλεθρον.115

αὐτίχ᾽ ἕνα μάρψας ἑτάρων ὡπλίσσατο δεῖπνον·

τὼ δὲ δύ᾽ ἀίξαντε φυγῇ ἐπὶ νῆας ἱκέσθην.

αὐτὰρ ὁ τεῦχε βοὴν διὰ ἄστεος· οἱ δ᾽ ἀίοντες

φοίτων ἴφθιμοι Λαιστρυγόνες ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος,

μυρίοι, οὐκ ἄνδρεσσιν ἐοικότες, ἀλλὰ Γίγασιν.120

οἵ ῥ᾽ ἀπὸ πετράων ἀνδραχθέσι χερμαδίοισιν

βάλλον· ἄφαρ δὲ κακὸς κόναβος κατὰ νῆας ὀρώρει

ἀνδρῶν τ᾽ ὀλλυμένων νηῶν θ᾽ ἅμα ἀγνυμενάων·

ἰχθῦς δ᾽ ὣς πείροντες ἀτερπέα δαῖτα φέροντο.

ὄφρ᾽ οἱ τοὺς ὄλεκον λιμένος πολυβενθέος ἐντός,125

τόφρα δ᾽ ἐγὼ ξίφος ὀξὺ ἐρυσσάμενος παρὰ μηροῦ

τῷ ἀπὸ πείσματ᾽ ἔκοψα νεὸς κυανοπρῴροιο.

αἶψα δ᾽ ἐμοῖς ἑτάροισιν ἐποτρύνας ἐκέλευσα

ἐμβαλέειν κώπῃς, ἵν᾽ ὑπὲκ κακότητα φύγοιμεν·

οἱ δ᾽ ἅλα πάντες ἀνέρριψαν, δείσαντες ὄλεθρον.130

ἀσπασίως δ᾽ ἐς πόντον ἐπηρεφέας φύγε πέτρας

νηῦς ἐμή· αὐτὰρ αἱ ἄλλαι ἀολλέες αὐτόθ᾽ ὄλοντο.

    Odysseus and his men encounter the Laestrygonians, where King Antiphates make Odysseus’ men his dinner. As the men flee, the Laestrygoninas sink the ships with boulders. Only the ship of Odysseus manages to escape.

    Chagrined by the cost of their carelessness, the Greeks press on, arriving next at the island of the Laestrygonians. The shape of the island’s harbor receives close attention:

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    There we entered a splendid harbor, with
    a towering cliff running all around both sides;
    two thrusting promontories, facing each other,
    jut out into the mouth, and the entrance is narrow…

    Odyssey 10.87–90

    The setting reflects its inhabitants. Imagery suggesting female sexuality—the curving embrace of the harbor with its narrow entrance and deceptively welcoming calm—always signals potential danger for the Greek masculine hero. Like the caves of Calypso and Polyphemus—and the house of Circe to come—this enclosed space lures the Greeks sailors to their doom, all but Odysseus, who characteristically distances himself from his companions, anchoring outside the cliffs.

    Odysseus sends out an advance party to scout, an assignment that never ends well for his sailors. They meet a stout (ἰφθίμῃ, 106) young woman drawing water from a well, the daughter of the king Antiphates, who directs them to her father’s house. Once inside, they meet not Antiphates but his queen. This sequence of events mirrors almost exactly Odysseus’s arrival at the island of the Phaeacians: a royal princess near water, who directs the traveler to the king’s palace (in Book 6 the role is doubled, first Nausicaa and then Athena in disguise), there to encounter the queen first, then the king. This latter version is stripped down, with none of the characteristic Homeric elaboration that marks the earlier episode, the lively and informative exchanges with both Nausicaa and Athena, a full genealogy of the royal family, detailed description of the palace and its surroundings. The poet takes care to link this episode to the interlude on Scheria but seems disinclined to develop the situation beyond the bare bones.

    Once the scouts reach the queen, things take a disastrous turn. Unlike the wise and commanding Phaeacian royal spouse Arete, this queen is gigantic, as “big as mountain” and the visitors are “horrified,” κατὰ δ᾽ ἔστυγον (113) at the sight of her. From this point on, the pace of the narrative speeds up even more, now echoing the Cyclops episode, with a crewman eaten by the king, then all the ships and their sailors inside the harbor destroyed by boulders hurled from the cliffs by more giants. Odysseus, having hedged his bets when arriving, now escapes with just one ship.

    What are we to make of this curiously spare interlude? The pace of the story and lack of thematic elaboration create the feeling that Homer is in a hurry. Scholars have puzzled over details of the geography—what does Τηλέπυλον (82) mean? Where is this island, in the extreme west, the far north, or somewhere in the Euxine Sea east of Troy? The first option appears in an early Greek source, the pseudo-Hesiodic Catalogue of Women, which places both the Cyclopes and the Laestrygonians in Sicily; the description of the shepherds who pass each other, one going out to the pasture, another coming in, where “the courses of day and night lie close together” (86), suggests a place with long northern nights; finally, the name of the spring, Ἀρτακίη (109) is thought to come from an early version of the story of Jason and the Argonauts, which would put it in the east. However interesting, none of this speculation takes us very far in understanding the function of the episode. As we have said, the geography of the Odyssey between the time the Greeks pass Kythera until they reach Ithaka does not bear much inspection. Homer draws freely on various sources for his stories, without being too fastidious about whether the journey follows any recognizable path across the sea. The whole point, as we have said, is that these exotic places are not part of the everyday world of the audience.

    The encounter with Laestrygonians does not particularly enrich the familiar themes it touches on, rushing through them with just enough detail to hold the audience’s attention. Rather, Homer seems to be working primarily to create a slightly longer pause between his big showpieces, the Cyclops and Circe episodes, where the poem’s major themes are richly elaborated. Coming upon Circe too soon after Polyphemus would diminish the impact of both encounters. One of Homer’s great strengths as a storyteller is his sense of pacing in the narrative. We are looking for the climactic duel between Hector and Achilles as early as the end of Book 18 of the Iliad, but the poet makes us wait for over 1,500 verses, teasing us with near misses, giving us a glimpse into the souls of both warriors, so when the great chase begins in Book 22 we are hanging on every syllable. Likewise, the slow approach of Odysseus to Penelope, from Book 18–23, builds the suspense to a fever pitch. Given the origins of the Odyssey in a rich oral tradition, those in the audience of the earliest performances of the poem might well have known that Circe was lying in wait for the hero, making the Laestrygonians the same kind of tease.

    Meanwhile, we should pause to consider that eleven of the twelve ships in Odysseus’s original fleet, plus all their sailors, are now gone. That the poet marks the sailors’ passing so cursorily reminds us of their minimal importance to the poem’s message. Like the suitors, they exist primarily to model their inferiority to Odysseus, marked by their inability to control their baser impulses.

     

    Further Reading

    Page, D. 1973. Folktales in Homer’s Odyssey, 25–48. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

     

    87  ὃν πέρι: “around which,” anastrophe (the preposition follows its noun, causing the accent on the preposition to fall back onto the first syllable).

    88  τετύχηκε: “extends," pf. > τυγχάνω, translated as present (Smyth 1946).

    88  διαμπερὲς ἀμφοτέρωθεν: "without a break on either side," that is, the wall of stone is continuous and unbroken around the inside of the harbor from one headland to the other.

    89  ἐναντίαι ἀλλήλῃσιν: “facing each other”

    90  ἐν στόματι: “at the mouth (of the harbor)”

    90  προύχουσιν: “jut out” > προέχω

    91  οἵ: Odysseus’s crew

    91  ἔχον: “were holding," in the sense of "holding" the ships' course.

    92  αἱ: the ships

    92  ἔντοσθεν: “inside,” with the genitive.

    92  δέδεντο: “were tied up,” unaugmented plupf. pass. > δέω (LSJ δέω Α, "to bind," not to be confused with δέω Β "to lack, need").

    93  πλησίαι: “side by side”

    93  ἐν αὐτῷ: i.e., in the harbor

    94  ἀμφὶ: "all around," adverbial.

    95  σχέθον: “moored” (lit., “held”), Epic aor. > ἔχω.

    96  πέτρης ἐκ: anastrophe

    96  δήσας: “tying” > δέω A

    97  ἔστην: "I stood," 1st sing. aor., intransitive > ἵστημι

    98  φαίνετο: unaugmented  impf. pass.; singular verb with neuter plural subject.

    99  οἶον: “only,” “nothing but”

    99  ὁρῶμεν: unaugmented 1st plural impf. > ὁράω. Note the shift from the 1st singular in line 97 to the 1st plural here, indicating that Odysseus's men have joined him on the headland.

    99  ἀΐσσοντα: “rising up”

    100  προΐειν: 1st sing. impf. > προίημι.

    100  πεύθεσθαι: “to learn,” infinitive of purpose > πεύθομαι. This line and the following are the same as 9.88–89.

    101  οἵ τινες … εἶεν: indirect question with optative in secondary sequence.

    101  σῖτον ἔδοντες: “eating food” (i.e., mortal)

    102  κρίνας: “choosing,” aor. act. ptc. > κρίνω. The antecedent is Odysseus.

    102  τρίτατον κήρυχ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ὀπάσσας: “sending a third along with them as a herald” ( > ὀπάζω, “to send along as a companion”). This line is the same as 9.90.

    103  ἴσαν: 3rd pl. impf. > εἶμι.

    103  λείην ὁδόν: “along a smooth road,” accusative of extent of space.

    103  : “by which,” dative of means

    104  καταγίνεον: unaugmented, uncontracted impf.

    104  ὕλην: “firewood”

    105  κούρῃ: dative with a compound verb

    105  ξύμβληντο: “encountered,” 3rd pl. aor. mid. > συμβάλλω.

    105  ὑδρευούσῃ: pres. ptc. ( > ὑδρεύω, “to draw, or fetch, water”).

    106  θυγατέρ(ι): dat., in apposition to κούρῃ

    108  φέρεσκον: “they (i.e., the Laestrygonians) were used to carrying,” unaugmented iterative impf. Note the shift from the 3rd singular, referring to the girl, to the 3rd plural, referring to the Laestrygonians in general.

    109  οἱ: the men sent by Odysseus.

    109  παριστάμενοι: “approaching” > παρίστημι

    109  ἔκ … ἐρέοντο: “came right out and asked.” ἐκ, used adverbially, indicates an “absence of restraint” (Cunliffe).

    110  ὅς τις … εἴη …ἀνάσσοι: indirect questions with optatives in secondary sequence.

    110  οἷσιν ἀνάσσοι: “over whom he rules.” ἀνάσσω takes a dative object.

    111  ἐπέφραδεν: “showed them,” = Att. ἔφρασαν, 3rd sing. Epic reduplicated aor. > φράζω.

    111  δῶ: δῶμα

    113  ὅσην: “as tall as,” the relative clause is attracted to the case of the antecedent, τὴν γυναῖκα (Monro 271.1; Smyth 2532).

    113  κατὰ … ἔστυγον: “shuddered at,” “were horror-struck by,” tmesis (separation of the preposition and verb in a compound verb) > καταστυγέω, with accusative.

    115  ὃν: "her," possessive adjective.

    115  τοῖσιν: "for them," that is, for Odysseus's men.

    115  ἐμήσατο: “devised,” “contrived” > μήδομαι

    116: ὡπλισσατο: “prepared.” Compare this line with 9.311.

    117  τὼ δὲ δύ᾽: “those (other) two,” dual

    117  ἀΐξαντε: dual nom. aor. ptc. > ἀϊσσω (“to leap up”)

    117  φυγῇ: “in flight,” “fleeing,” dative of manner

    117  ἱκέσθην: dual aor. mid. indic. > ἱκνέομαι

    118  : the Laestrygonian

    118  τεῦχε: ἔτευχε, “made”

    119  φοίτων: unaugmented 3rd pl. impf. > φοιτάω

    119  ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος: “from all directions”

    120  ἐοικότες: “like,” “resembling,” with dative.

    121  ἀπὸ πετράων: i.e., from the cliffs above the harbor

    122  βάλλον: “were hitting us with” (+ dat.), unaugmented 3rd pl. impf.

    122  κατὰ νῆας: “among the ships,” “over the ships.” Notice the alliteration of κακὸς κόναβος κατὰ, perhaps mimicking the sound of rocks hitting the ships.

    123  θ᾽: τε

    124  ἰχθῦς δ᾽ ὣς πείροντες: “spearing them like fish," simile.

    124  ἰχθῦς: acc. pl.

    124  ἀτερπέα δαῖτα: "as a joyless feast," predicate.

    124  φέροντο: "they carried them (home)," that is, the Laestrygonians carried Odysseus's dead comrades back to the city to feast on them.

    125-26  ὄφρ᾽ … / τόφρα: “while … meanwhile …,” correlatives

    125  οἱ τοὺς: οἱ refers to the Laestrygonians, τοὺς to Odysseus’s men.

    125  ἐντός: with the genitive.

    126  ἐρυσσάμενος: “drawing,” aor. mid. ptc. > ἐρύω

    126  παρὰ μηροῦ: “from beside my thigh”

    127  τῷ: “with it” (the sword)

    127  ἀπὸ … ἔκοψα: tmesis > ἀποκόπτω, “to cut off”

    128  ἐμοῖς ἑτάροισιν: both ἐποτρύνω and κελεύω take a dative object.

    129  ἐμβαλέειν κώπῃς: “to fall on their oars” (i.e., to row).

    129  κώπῃς: = κώπαις, dative with compound verb.

    129  ἵν᾽ … φύγοιμεν: purpose clause with optative in secondary sequence.

    130  ἀνέρριψαν: “tossed up,” “churned up” (i.e., with their oars).

    131 φύγε: = ἔφυγε, unaugmented aor.

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

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

    ἠλίβατος –ον: high, steep, precipitous

    διαμπερές: continuous

    ἀμφοτέρωθεν: on both sides, in both directions

    ἀκτή –ῆς ἡ: headland, foreland, promontory

    προβλής –ῆτος: forestretching, jutting

    προέχω προσχήσω/προέξω προέσχον προέσχηκα προέσχημαι προεσχέθην: to be ahead, jut forward; (mid.) to hold before oneself 90

    ἀραιός –ά –όν: thin, narrow, slight, slender

    εἴσοδος –ου ἡ: a way in, entrance

    εἴσω (or ἔσω): in, into, inside

    ἀμφιέλισσα (fem. only): rowed on both sides

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἔντοσθε: (from) within

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    κοῖλος –η –ον: hollow

    πλησίος –α –ον: near

    ἀέξω ἀεξήσω ἠέξησα ἠέξηκα ἠέξημαι ἀεξήθην: to increase, enlarge, foster, strengthen

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    λευκός –ή –όν: white; light, bright

    γαλήνη –ης ἡ: stillness of the sea, calm

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet 95

    οἶος –α –ον: alone

    μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure

    αὐτοῦ: at the very place, here, there

    ἐσχατιά –ᾶς ἡ: the furthest part, edge, border, verge

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

    πεῖσμα –ατος τό: a ship's cable, cable, rope

    σκοπιά –ᾶς ἡ: a lookout-place, a mountain-peak

    παιπαλόεις –εσσα –εν: rugged

    ἀνέρχομαι ἀνελεύσομαι/ἄνειμι ἀνῆλθον ἀνελήλυθα: to go up

    καπνός –οῦ ὁ: smoke

    οἶος –α –ον: alone

    χθών χθονός ἡ: the earth, ground

    ἀίσσω ––– ἤῑξα ἀίξασκον ––– ἠίχθην: to rise up

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion 100

    προίημι προήσω προῆκα προεῖκα προεῖμαι προείθην: to send ahead; to shoot

    πεύθομαι: to find out, learn

    χθών χθονός ἡ: the earth, ground

    σῖτος –ου ὁ: grain; bread

    ἔδω ἔδομαι ἤδα ἔδηδα ἐδήδοται ἠδέσθην: to eat

    τρίτατος –η –ον: third (lengthd. poet. for τρίτος)

    κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald

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

    ἐκβαίνω ἐκβήσομαι ἐκέβην ἐκβέβηκα ––– –––: to disembark

    λεῖος –α –ον: smooth; (of places or terrain) flat, even

    ἄμαξα –ης ἡ: wagon, cart

    ἄστυδε: into, to, or towards the city

    ὑψηλός –ή –όν: high, lofty, high-hearted

    καταγινέω/κατάγω κατάξω κατῆξα/κατήγαγον κατῆχα/καταγήοχα κατῆγμαι κατήχθην: to lead or bring down; (of sailing) (mid.) to bring to land, port, put in (+ dat.)

    ὕλη –ης ἡ: woods, forest; firewood

    κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter 105

    συμβάλλω συμβαλῶ συμέβαλον συμβέβληκα συμβέβλημαι συμεβλήθην: throw together, meet, unite

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    ὑδρεύω ὑδρεύσω ὕδρευσα: to draw or fetch water

    ἴφθιμος [–η] –ον: strong, robust, vigorous

    Λαιστρυγών –όνος ὁ: Laestrygon

    Ἀντιφάτης –ου ὁ: Antiphates, a Trojan; a Greek, son of Melampus; or, king of the Laestrȳgons

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    κρήνη –ης ἡ: a well, spring, fountain

    καταβαίνω καταβήσομαι κατέβην καταβέβηκα ––– –––: step down, go down

    καλλιρέεθρος –ον: beautiful-flowing

    Ἀρτακίη –ης ἡ: Artacie, name of a fountain in the country of the Laestrȳgons

    ἔνθεν: from here, from there

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    παρίστημι παρήσω παρέστησα (or παρέστην) παρέστηκα παρέσταμαι παρεστάθην: to stand by or near

    προσφωνέω προσφωνήσω προσεφώνησα ––– ––– –––: to call

    ἀνάσσω ἀνάξω ἤναξα: to be king, lord, or master of, rule over, reign 110

    ὑψερεφής –ές: high-roofed, high-vaulted

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)

    εἰσέρχομαι εἰσελεύσομαι εἰσῆλθον εἰσελήλυθα ––– –––: go in/into, enter

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)

    κορυφή –ῆς ἡ: head, top, highest point

    καταστυγέω -στυγήσω -έστυγον: to shudder at or be horror-struck by, feel horror for (+ acc.)

    αἶψα: rapidly, speedily, suddenly

    ἀγορή –ῆς ἡ: market place, assembly

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

    Ἀντιφάτης –ου ὁ: Antiphates, a Trojan; a Greek, son of Melampus; or, king of the Laestrȳgons

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    πόσις –ιος/–εως ἡ: drinking, drink 115

    μήδομαι μήσομαι ἐμησάμην: to meditate, prepare, plot

    λυγρός –ά –όν: sad, mournful, miserable

    ὄλεθρος –ου ὁ: ruin, destruction, death

    μάρπτω μάρψω ἔμαρψα ––– ––– –––: to catch, lay hold of, seize

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    ὁπλίζω ὁπλίσομαι ὥπλισα ὥπλικα ὥπλισμαι ὡπλίσθην: to equip, make ready; to arm

    δεῖπνον –ου τό: meal, supper

    ἀίσσω ––– ἤῑξα ἀίξασκον ––– ἠίχθην: to rise up

    φυγή –ῆς ἡ: flight, exile

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

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet

    τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make, build, prepare, fasten; to bring about

    βοή –ῆς ἡ: shout

    ἄστυ ἄστεως τό: town

    ἀΐω ἀΐσω ἤϊσα: perceive

    φοιτάω φοιτήσω ἐφοίτησα πεφοίτηκα ––– –––: to go to and fro, roam, to resort to

    ἴφθιμος [–η] –ον: strong, robust, vigorous

    Λαιστρυγών –όνος ὁ: Laestrygon

    ἄλλοθεν: from elsewhere

    μυρίος –α –ον: numberless, infinite 120

    Γίγας –αντος ὁ: the Giants

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

    ἀνδραχθής –ές: loading a man, as much as a man can carry

    χερμάδιον –ου τό: a large stone, a boulder

    ἄφαρ: straightway, forthwith, at once, quickly, presently

    κόναβος –ου ὁ: a ringing, clashing, din

    ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up

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

    ἀγνύω/ἄγνυμι ἄξω ἔαξα ἔαγα: to break, smash

    ἰχθυς –ύος ὁ/ἡ: fish

    πείρω πειρῶ ἔπειρα – πέπαρμαι ἐπάρην: to pierce quite through, fix

    ἀτερπής –ές: unpleasing, joyless, melancholy

    δαίς δαιτός ἡ: feast, banquet, meal

    ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long 125

    ὀλέκω ὀλέξω ὤλεξα ὤλεκα: to ruin, destroy, kill

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    πολυβενθής –ές: very deep

    ἐντός: within, inside

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

    ξίφος –ους τό: sword

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

    μηρός –οῦ ὁ: the thigh

    πεῖσμα –ατος τό: a ship's cable, cable, rope

    κόπτω κόψω ἔκοψα κέκοφα κέκομμαι ἐκόπην: to beat, strike, hit

    κυανόπρῳρος –ον: with dark-blue prow, dark-prowed

    αἶψα: rapidly, speedily, suddenly

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    ἐποτρύνω ἐποτρυνῶ ἐπώτρυνα: to incite, urge on; to provoke; (mid.) to speed up, make hurry

    ἐμβάλλω ἐμβαλῶ ἐνέβαλον ἐμβέβληκα ἐμβέβλημαι ἐνεβλήθην: to throw (into or onto); to cause to enter, embark, put

    κώπη –ης ἡ: hilt, handle

    ὑπέκ: out from under, from beneath, away from

    κακότης –ητος ἡ: badness

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.) 130

    ἀναρρίπτω ἀναρρίψω ἀνέρριψα ἀνέρριφα ἀνέρριμμαι ἀνερρίφθην: to toss up, churn up

    δείδω δείσομαι ἔδεισα δέδοικα (or δίδια) ––– –––: to fear

    ὄλεθρος –ου ὁ: ruin, destruction, death

    ἀσπάσιος [–α] –ον: well-received, welcome, pleasing; pleased, glad; (adv.) ἀσπασίως gladly, joyfully, willingly

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    ἐπηρεφής –ές: overhanging

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

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet

    ἀολλής –ές: all together, in throngs or crowds

    αὐτόθι: on the spot, right there

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

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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/x-87-132