"αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἐπὶ νῆα κατήλθομεν ἠδὲ θάλασσαν,
νῆα μὲν ἂρ πάμπρωτον ἐρύσσαμεν εἰς ἅλα δῖαν,
ἐν δ᾽ ἱστὸν τιθέμεσθα καὶ ἱστία νηὶ μελαίνῃ,
ἐν δὲ τὰ μῆλα λαβόντες ἐβήσαμεν, ἂν δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
βαίνομεν ἀχνύμενοι θαλερὸν κατὰ δάκρυ χέοντες.5
ἡμῖν δ᾽ αὖ κατόπισθε νεὸς κυανοπρῴροιο
ἴκμενον οὖρον ἵει πλησίστιον, ἐσθλὸν ἑταῖρον,
Κίρκη ἐϋπλόκαμος, δεινὴ θεὸς αὐδήεσσα.
ἡμεῖς δ᾽ ὅπλα ἕκαστα πονησάμενοι κατὰ νῆα
ἥμεθα· τὴν δ᾽ ἄνεμός τε κυβερνήτης τ᾽ ἴθυνε.10
τῆς δὲ πανημερίης τέταθ᾽ ἱστία ποντοπορούσης:
δύσετό τ᾽ ἠέλιος σκιόωντό τε πᾶσαι ἀγυιαί.
ἡ δ᾽ ἐς πείραθ᾽ ἵκανε βαθυρρόου Ὠκεανοῖο.
ἔνθα δὲ Κιμμερίων ἀνδρῶν δῆμός τε πόλις τε,
ἠέρι καὶ νεφέλῃ κεκαλυμμένοι: οὐδέ ποτ᾽ αὐτοὺς15
ἠέλιος φαέθων καταδέρκεται ἀκτίνεσσιν,
οὔθ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἂν στείχῃσι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα,
οὔθ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἂψ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἀπ᾽ οὐρανόθεν προτράπηται,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ νὺξ ὀλοὴ τέταται δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι.
νῆα μὲν ἔνθ᾽ ἐλθόντες ἐκέλσαμεν, ἐκ δὲ τὰ μῆλα20
εἱλόμεθ᾽· αὐτοὶ δ᾽ αὖτε παρὰ ῥόον Ὠκεανοῖο
ᾔομεν, ὄφρ᾽ ἐς χῶρον ἀφικόμεθ᾽, ὃν φράσε Κίρκη.
ἔνθ᾽ ἱερήια μὲν Περιμήδης Εὐρύλοχός τε
ἔσχον· ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἄορ ὀξὺ ἐρυσσάμενος παρὰ μηροῦ
βόθρον ὄρυξ᾽ ὅσσον τε πυγούσιον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα,25
ἀμφ᾽ αὐτῷ δὲ χοὴν χεόμην πᾶσιν νεκύεσσι,
πρῶτα μελικρήτῳ, μετέπειτα δὲ ἡδέι οἴνῳ,
τὸ τρίτον αὖθ᾽ ὕδατι· ἐπὶ δ᾽ ἄλφιτα λευκὰ πάλυνον.
πολλὰ δὲ γουνούμην νεκύων ἀμενηνὰ κάρηνα,
ἐλθὼν εἰς Ἰθάκην στεῖραν βοῦν, ἥ τις ἀρίστη,30
ῥέξειν ἐν μεγάροισι πυρήν τ᾽ ἐμπλησέμεν ἐσθλῶν,
Τειρεσίῃ δ᾽ ἀπάνευθεν ὄιν ἱερευσέμεν οἴῳ
παμμέλαν᾽, ὃς μήλοισι μεταπρέπει ἡμετέροισι.
τοὺς δ᾽ ἐπεὶ εὐχωλῇσι λιτῇσί τε, ἔθνεα νεκρῶν,
ἐλλισάμην, τὰ δὲ μῆλα λαβὼν ἀπεδειροτόμησα35
ἐς βόθρον, ῥέε δ᾽ αἷμα κελαινεφές· αἱ δ᾽ ἀγέροντο
ψυχαὶ ὑπὲξ Ἐρέβευς νεκύων κατατεθνηώτων.
νύμφαι τ᾽ ἠίθεοί τε πολύτλητοί τε γέροντες
παρθενικαί τ᾽ ἀταλαὶ νεοπενθέα θυμὸν ἔχουσαι,
πολλοὶ δ᾽ οὐτάμενοι χαλκήρεσιν ἐγχείῃσιν,40
ἄνδρες ἀρηίφατοι βεβροτωμένα τεύχε᾽ ἔχοντες·
οἳ πολλοὶ περὶ βόθρον ἐφοίτων ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος
θεσπεσίῃ ἰαχῇ· ἐμὲ δὲ χλωρὸν δέος ᾕρει.
δὴ τότ᾽ ἔπειθ᾽ ἑτάροισιν ἐποτρύνας ἐκέλευσα
μῆλα, τὰ δὴ κατέκειτ᾽ ἐσφαγμένα νηλέι χαλκῷ,45
δείραντας κατακῆαι, ἐπεύξασθαι δὲ θεοῖσιν,
ἰφθίμῳ τ᾽ Ἀΐδῃ καὶ ἐπαινῇ Περσεφονείῃ·
αὐτὸς δὲ ξίφος ὀξὺ ἐρυσσάμενος παρὰ μηροῦ
ἥμην, οὐδ᾽ εἴων νεκύων ἀμενηνὰ κάρηνα
αἵματος ἆσσον ἴμεν, πρὶν Τειρεσίαο πυθέσθαι.50
notes
Odysseus and his crew arrive at the entrance to the Underworld and perform animal sacrifices to the dead.
The long narrative arc that began with the Calypso episode ends as the Greek sailors sit dutifully in their ship, guided by the gods, heading for the land of the dead. Major themes have surfaced in various forms: the existential choice of Odysseus to forego timeless bliss with Calypso and plunge back into the world of death and change, the evolving threat of suffocating oblivion embodied by Calypso, Nausicaa, Polyphemus, and Circe, the repeated journey of Odysseus from anonymous stranger to glorious hero.
read full essay
Though probably already known from earlier myths and folktales, the hero who inhabits this poem has been created afresh from his encounters along the way, specific to this story and its rhetorical imperatives. He is a complex figure, articulated through various polarities: sometimes secretive and detached from others, sometimes glorying in heroic renown; masculine in his relentless self-control, feminine (as the Greeks saw it) in his wily, subversive behavior; fiercely determined to survive and reclaim his rightful place in Ithaka, determined to experience the unknown, sometimes at the expense of his mission and crew. Now the poet will put him next to other illustrious heroes, comparing his character and achievements with theirs.
True to her word, Circe sends a helping wind to fill the sails. She is, once again, δεινὴ θεὸς αὐδήεσσα (11.8), as she was when the Greeks arrived on Aiaia (10.136). The rare epithet is used elsewhere only of Calypso (12.449), and Ino, “the White Goddess,” (5.334). All these figures seem to preside over the boundary between mortals and immortals in the poem, with αὐδήεσσα meaning in this context, “speaking to mortals.” In the background is Siduri, the barkeep who sends Gilgamesh on his way to the Land of Dilmun (The Epic of Gilgamesh X.iii; see the essay on 10.133–177). Circe will reappear when the Greeks return from the underworld in Book Twelve, telling Odysseus more about how he can reach Ithaka alive and thus framing the entire adventure from the land of the dead. The resulting structure, usually called “ring form,” is often used by early Greek poets to mark off significant sections of a narrative. Book Eleven becomes in this perspective an “epyllion,” a miniature epic, framed by encounters with Circe. And the adventures in Books Nine through Twelve are themselves framed in the same way by Odysseus’s encounter with the Phaeacians.
When we look at it from this larger perspective, the disarming of Circe and her transition from dangerous seductress to friendly helpmeet in Book Ten becomes part of the poet’s narrative strategy for a major part of the poem. The concentric forms of the story reinforce parallels between characters and situations, building meaning by repetition, a central feature of Homer’s poetic technique. Scholars have suggested that the use of repeated forms on various levels, words, phrases, and larger narrative structures, reflects the composition of Homeric epic without the aid of writing. That seems likely, but our grasp of the poems now, as fixed, written works of art, depends on being able to understand how the artist who created the versions we now have used that repetition to build meaning.
Sailing on through the day and into darkness, the Greeks reach the land of the Cimmerians,
ἠέρι καὶ νεφέλῃ κεκαλυμμένοι: οὐδέ ποτ᾽ αὐτοὺς
ἠέλιος φαέθων καταδέρκεται ἀκτίνεσσιν,
οὔθ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἂν στείχῃσι πρὸς οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντα,
οὔθ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἂψ ἐπὶ γαῖαν ἀπ᾽ οὐρανόθεν προτράπηται,
ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ νὺξ ὀλοὴ τέταται δειλοῖσι βροτοῖσι.
smothered by clouds and fog; not ever on them
does the shining sun look down with its rays,
not when it makes its way across the starry heavens,
nor when it travels back again to earth from the sky,
but always grim night stretches over wretched mortals.
Odyssey 11.15-19
The participle κεκαλυμμένοι sets the tone: Odysseus is sailing straight into the oblivion he has been struggling to avoid. Calypso’s cloak, dragging him down into the dark sea (5.321–322), now reappears as a mantle of darkness that smothers him completely, no escape. The “Cimmerians” inhabit no place we can identify. The historical people with that name apparently settled in what is now Ukraine, while Homer’s Cimmerians live in the far West on the edge of the ocean that they imagined encircling the earth. As usual, the geography is mythical and largely symbolic. The entrance to the land of the dead is important as a physical manifestation of the nothingness that threatens Odysseus all the way home. It’s hardly surprising that the home of dead people should play this role. What is striking is how the poet links this darkness to those still in the world of the living.
The prayers and sacrifice in lines 22-33 reflect rituals found in Greek culture when mortals found themselves near the world of the dead. It’s often been noted that Odysseus does not, in fact, ever enter the underworld, but summons the ghosts to the blood-filled ditch on the edge. This detail should not keep us from thinking about the episode as an example of the katabasis motif with all its associations. The permanent, cloaking darkness in the land of the Cimmerians has already invoked the symbolism of the underworld and connected it to the oblivion that threatens Odysseus elsewhere. The energy in the episode comes from the encounters that Odysseus has with various figures. That these meetings happen on the boundary makes the episode a particularly momentous liminal experience, on the edge of the known and unknown, the living and the dead.
The ghosts crowd around the bloody ditch, a cross-section, in the language of early Greek poetry, of humanity: young and old, men and women, soldiers full of stab wounds. They rush back and forth, filling the air with θεσπεσίῃ ἰαχῇ, “a bewildering noise” (43). Still in control even in the underworld, Odysseus keeps them at a distance with his sword, waiting for Teiresias.
Further Reading
Dimock, G. 1989. The Unity of the Odyssey, 133–140. Amherst, MA: University of Massachusetts Press.
Edwards, M.W. 1987. Homer: Poet of the Iliad, 61–77. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press.
Heubeck, A. and Hoekstra, A. ed. 1989. A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, vol. II, Books IX–XVI, 75-79. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Morrison, J. 2003. A Companion to Homer’s Odyssey, 103–104. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press.
Nagler, M. 1996. “Dread Goddess Revisited.” In Schein, S. 1996. Reading the Odyssey. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 141–162.
Reinhardt, K. 1942. “The Adventures in the Odyssey.” In Schein, S. 1996. Reading the Odyssey. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 104–110.
Thalman, W. 1992. The Odyssey: an epic of return, 88–93. New York: Twayne Publishers.
1 ῥ᾽: ἄρα.
1 νῆα: ναῦν in Attic Greek, > νηῦς.
2 ἐρύσσαμεν: aorist, > ἐρύω
3 ἐν…τιθέμεσθα: ένετιθέμεθα, tmesis (separation of the preposition and verb in a compound verb), imperfect > ἐντίθημι, “to place in,” with the dative νηΐ μελαίνῃ
4 ἐν…ἐβήσαμεν: “caused to enter,” “loaded,” tmesis > ἐμβαίνω, 1st aorist. The 1st aorist of βαίνω is transitive (Smyth 819).
4 τὰ μῆλα: the sheep that Circe provided for sacrifice in 10.572.
4 ἂν…βαίνομεν: ἀνεβαίνομεν, tmesis, imperfect.
4 καὶ αὐτοὶ: “(we) ourselves also.”
5 κατὰ…χέοντες: tmesis > καταχέω.
6 ἡμῖν: dative of interest.
6 κατόπισθε: “behind,” with a genitive object.
6 νεὸς: = νῆος, νεώς in Attic Greek, > ναῦς
7 ἴκμενον: “favorable,” “fair,” adjective.
7 ἐσθλὸν ἑταῖρον: in apposition to οὖρον.
9 κατὰ: “throughout,” with an accusative object.
9 πονησάμενοι: "busying ourselves with" (with accusative)
10 τὴν: “it” (i.e., the ship)
11 τῆς: “its” (i.e., of the ship).
11 πανημερίης: where in English an adverb would be used ("all day long"), Greek uses a predicate adjective which can be translated in the same way.
11 τέταθ᾽: "were stretched tight," that is, full of wind, = τέταται, > τείνω, perfect passive. Singular verb with the neuter plural subject ἱστία.
13 ἡ: “it” (i.e., the ship).
13 πείραθ᾽: = πείρατα, accusative plural, > πείραρ
14 ἔνθα: supply the verb ἐστί
14 Κιμμερίων: historically, a people called the Cimmerians occupied the Eurasian Steppe (primarily north of the Caspian Sea) 8th and 7th centuries BCE, and their name may be etymologically related to Crimea. Homer's Cimmerians, however, should undoubtedly be taken as mythical people.
17 οὔθ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἂν…οὔθ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν: “neither whenever…nor whenever…,” two general temporal clauses (Smyth 2409) joined by the disjunctives οὔτε…οὔτε, “neither…nor…”. The subject of the verbs in both clauses is ἠέλιος.
17 στείχῃσι: 3rd person singular subjunctive, > στείχω.
18 ἀπ᾽ οὐρανόθεν: the ἀπό is redundant, -θεν is a directional suffix.
18 προτραπήται: 3rd person singular aorist middle subjunctive, > προτρέπω.
19 ἐπὶ…τέταται: tmesis > ἐπιτείνω, perfect passive. The compound verb takes a dative object.
20 ἐκ…εἱλόμεν: “we unloaded,” > ἐξαιρέομαι
21 παρὰ: “beyond”
22 ᾔομεν: 1st person plural imperfect active indicative, > εἶμι
24 παρὰ μηροῦ: “from beside my thigh”
25 ὄρυξ(α): 3rd singular aorist indicative, unaugmented, > ὀρύσσω. In lines 25-33, Odysseus carries out the instructions give to him by Circe in 10.513-525.
25 ὅσσον τε πυγούσιον ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα: “a cubit square." Compare 10.517. The relative clause is attracted to the accusative case of the antecedent, βόθρον (Monro 271.1; Smyth 2532). The τε is untranslatable (Monro 332; Smyth 2970).
26 χεόμην: imperfect middle/passive, unaugmented (> χέω).
28 ἐπὶ: “on top,” adverbial.
28 πάλυνον: unaugmented imperfect, > παλύνω.
29 γουνούμην: "I entreated ..., vowing to ..." imperfect middle/passive, unaugmented, > γουνόομαι. The verb seems to imply both an entreaty and a vow (Cunliffe).
29 νεκύων ἀμενηνὰ κάρηνα: a periphrasis (Smyth 3041) for ψυχαί.
30 ἐλθὼν: “when I come,” agreeing with the subject of γουνούμην (i.e., Odysseus).
30 ἥ τις ἀρίστη: “whichever one is best,” understand the verb ἐστι.
31 ῥέζειν…ἐμπλησέμεν…ἱερευσέμεν: understand these three infinitives as being introduced by a participle, such as “vowing (to),” implied by the verb γουνούμην.
31 ἐμπλησέμεν: “to fill (accusative) with (genitive),” future infinitive, > ἐμπίμπλημι
32 ἀπάνευθεν: “separately.”
32 οἴῳ: “alone”; modifying Τειρεσίῃ
33 μήλοισι…ἡμετέροισι: dative with the compound verb μεταπρέπει
34 τοὺς δ᾽: “and them”; the direct object of ἐλλισάμην, aorist > λίσσομαι, referring to the dead (νεκρούς).
34 ἔθνεα νεκρῶν: in apposition to τοὺς.
37 Ἑρέβευς: Ionic genitive, > Ἔρεβος, τό.
37 κατατεθνηώτων: “dead”; genitive plural perfect participle, > καταθνήσκω.
38-41 νύμφαι … γέροντες ... παρθενικαί ... πολλοὶ .... ἄνδρες: all in apposition to ψυχαί in line 37
41 βεβροτωμένα: perfect passive participle, > βροτόομαι.
41 τεύχε´: τεύχεα; “armor,” “weapons.”
42 οἳ: “these”; demonstrative.
42 ἐφοίτων: 3rd plural imperfect, > φοιτάω.
42 ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος: “from all directions.”
43 χλωρὸν: “pale”; modifying the neuter nominative singular δέος.
43 ᾕρει: 3rd singular imperfect, > αἱρεω.
44 δὴ τότε: “at that very time.”
44 ἑτάροισιν ἐποτρύνας ἐκέλευσα…: “I roused my companions and ordered them to .... ” The verb κελεύω takes a dative and an infinitive: “order (dative) to (infinitive).” The participle ἐποτρύνας, >ἐποτρύνω, also takes a dative.
45-50 carrying out the instructions Circe gave in 10.532-537.
45 τὰ δὴ: “the very ones which…,” relative.
45 κατέκειτ᾽: κατέκειτο, > κατάκειμαι, singular verb with the neuter plural subject τά.
45 ἐσφαγμένα: perfect participle, > σφάζω.
47 Ἀΐδῃ…Περσεφονειῃ: in apposition to θεοῖσιν.
49 ἥμην: imperfect, > ἧμαι.
49 κάρηνα: see line 29
50 ἆσσον: “closer to,” with genitive.
50 ἴμεν: infinitive, > εἶμι.
50 Τειρεσίαο: genitive of source with πυθέσθαι, aorist infinitive > πυνθάνομαι, “to inquire of."
vocabulary
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
κατέρχομαι κατελεύσομαι/κάτειμι κατῆλθον κατελήλυθα ––– –––: to go down, descend; to go towards the shore
ἠδέ: and
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
πάμπρωτος –η –ον: first of all, the very first
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining
ἱστός –οῦ ὁ: mast, beam; loom
ἱστίον –ου τό: a sail
μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat; (plur.) flock
ἄχομαι and ἄχνυμαι: to afflict, sadden, trouble, grieve 5
θαλερός –ά –όν: blooming, fresh
δάκρυον –ου τό: a tear
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
κατόπισθεν: behind, after, in the rear
κυανόπρῳρος –ον: with dark-blue prow, dark-prowed
ἴκμενος –ον: following, favourable
οὖρος –ου ὁ: a fair wind
πλησίστιος –ον: filling the sails
ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea
ἐϋπλόκαμος –ον: fairhaired
αὐδήεις –εσσα –εν: speaking with human voice
πονέω πονέσω/πονήσω ἐπόνεσα/ἐπόνησα πεπόνηκα πεπόνημαι ἐπονήθην: to work; to labor over, prepare; (mid.) to busy oneself with; to put in order
ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit 10
ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind
κυβερνήτης –ου ὁ: a steersman, helmsman, pilot
ἰθύνω ἴθυνα ἴθυμμαι ἰθύνθην: to straighten; guide directly, steer
πανημέριος –ον: all day long
τείνω τενῶ ἔτεινα τέτακα τέταμαι ἐτάθην: to stretch
ἱστίον –ου τό: a sail
ποντοπορέω ποντοπορήσω ποντοπόρησα: to pass the sea
δὐω δύσω έδυσα/ἔδυν δέδυκα δέδυμαι εδύθην: plunge in, go into, sink
σκιάω/σκιάζω σκιῶ ἐσκίασα – – ἐσκιάσθην: to overshadow
ἄγυια –ᾶς ἡ: street, highway, way
πεῖραρ –ατος τό: border, limit
ἱκάνω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to come to, arrive at, reach
βαθύρροος –ον: deep-flowing, brimming
Ὠκεανός –οῦ ὁ: Oceanus
Κιμμέριοι οἱ: the Cimmerians
ἀήρ ἀέρος ὁ: mist, vapor, haze, cloud 15
νεφέλη –ης ἡ: cloud
καλύπτω καλύψω ἐκάλυψα κεκάλυμμαι ἐκαλύφθην: to cover
φαέθω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to shine
καταδέρκομαι καταδέρξομαι κατεδερξάμην/κατεδρακόμην κατεδέρχθην/κατεδράκην: to look down upon
ἀκτίς –ῖνος ἡ: a ray, beam
ὁπότε: when
στείχω ––– ἔστειξα/ἔστιχον ––– ––– –––: to walk, march, go
ἀστερόεις –εσσα –εν: starred, starry
ἄψ: back
γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district
οὐρανόθεν: from heaven, down from heaven
προτρέπω προτρέψω πρέτρεψα προτέτροφα προτέτραμμαι πρετράφθην (or πρετράπην): (mid.) to go, turn
ὀλοός –ή –όν: destroying, destructive, fatal, deadly, murderous
τείνω τενῶ ἔτεινα τέτακα τέταμαι ἐτάθην: to stretch
δειλός –ή –όν: wretched, unfortunate, miserable; base, cowardly, vile
βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal
κέλλω κέλσω/κελῶ ἔκελσα: to bring to shore; to land, enter harbor 20
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat; (plur.) flock
αὖτε: in turn, moreover, still, again, on the other hand
ῥόος –ου ὁ: a stream, flow, current
Ὠκεανός –οῦ ὁ: Oceanus
ὄφρα: while; until; so that; ὄφρα … τόφρα, while … for so long
χῶρος –ου ὁ: place, a piece of ground
Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea
ἱερεῖον –ου τό: sacrificial victim
Περιμήδης –ους ὁ: a companion of Odysseus, or, father of Schedius
Εὐρύλοχος –ου ὁ: Eurylochus, a cousin and companion of Odysseus
ἄορ ἄορος τό: sword
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard
μηρός –οῦ ὁ: the thigh
βόθρος –ου ὁ: hole or pit dug in the ground 25
ὀρύσσω ὀρύξω ὤρυξα ὀρώρυκα ὀρώρυγμαι ὠρύχθην: to dig, dig through, quarry
πυγούσιος –α –ον: measuring the length of a πυγών, length from the elbow to the first joint of the finger, a cubit
χοή –ῆς ἡ: a drink-offering, libation
χέω χέω ἔχεα or ἔχευα κέχυκα κέχυμαι ἐχύθην: to pour, shed
νέκυς –υος τό: dead body, corpse
μελίκρητον –ου τό: a drink of honey and milk
μετέπειτα: afterwards, thereafter
οἶνος –ου ὁ: wine
αὖτε: in turn, moreover, still, again, on the other hand
ἄλφιτον –ου τό: barley flower (usually plur.)
λευκός –ή –όν: white; light, bright
παλύνω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to strew
γουνόομαι – – – – –: to clasp by the knees: implore
νέκυς –υος τό: dead body, corpse
ἀμενηνός [–ή] –όν: powerless, fleeting, feeble
κάρηνον –ου τό: head; peak, summit
Ἰθάκη –ης ἡ: Ithaca, the home of Odysseus, an island on the West coast of Greece 30
στεῖρος -α -ον: barren
ῥέζω ῥέξω ἔρρεξα – – ἐρρέχθην: to do, accomplish; to offer (sacrifice)
μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall
πυρή –ῆς ἡ: pyre
ἐμπίμπλημι ἐμπλήσω ἐνέπλησα ἐμπέπληκα ἐμπέπλησμαι ἐωεπλήθην: to fill; (mid.) to get one's fill of
ἐσθλός –ή –όν: good
Τειρεσίας –ου ὁ: Tiresias, a seer of Thebes
ἀπάνευθε: far, remote; far from, separately from (+ gen.)
ὄϊς ὄϊος ὁ/ἡ: sheep
ἱερεύω ἱερεύσω ἱέρευσα: to slaughter
οἶος –α –ον: alone
παμμέλας –αινα –αν: all-black
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat; (plur.) flock
μεταπρέπω μεταπρέψω μετέπρεψα: to be the best among, be conspicuous among
εὐχωλή –ῆς ἡ: a prayer, vow
λιτή –ῆς ἡ: a prayer, entreaty
νεκρός –οῦ ὁ: corpse
λίσσομαι ––– ἐλλισάμην/ἐλιτόμην ––– ––– –––: to pray, beg; to beseech with prayer 35
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat; (plur.) flock
ἀποδειροτομέω ἀποδειροτομήσω ἀπεδειροτόμησα: to slaughter by cutting off the head
βόθρος –ου ὁ: hole or pit dug in the ground
ῥέω ῥυήσομαι ––– ἐρρύηκα ––– ἐρρύην: to flow, run, stream
κελαινεφής –ές: of the black clouds, wrapped in black clouds (epithet of Zeus); black (like a cloud)
ἀγείρω ἀγερῶ ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: gather, collect
ὑπέκ: out from under, from beneath, away from
Ἔρεβος –ευς τό: Erebos, personification of darkness in Greek mythology
νέκυς –υος τό: dead body, corpse
καταθνῄσκω καταθανοῦμαι κατέθανον κατατέθνηκα ––– –––: to die
νύμφη –ης ἡ: a young wife, bride; nymph, a divinity of waters or woods
ἠίθεος –ους τό: (unmarried) youth
πολύτλητος –ον: having borne much, miserable
γέρων –οντος ὁ: old man
παρθενικά –ᾶς ἡ: unmarried girl
ἀταλός –ή –όν: tender, delicate
νεοπενθής –ές: fresh-mourning
οὐτάω οὐτήσω οὔτησα – οὔτασμαι οὐτήθην: to wound, hurt, hit 40
χαλκήρης –ες: of bronze, tipped with bronze
ἐγχείη –ης ἡ: spear
ἀρείφατος –ον: slain by Ares
βροτόομαι βροτώσομαι βεβρότωμαι: to be stained with gore
τεῦχος –ους τό: arms
βόθρος –ου ὁ: hole or pit dug in the ground
φοιτάω φοιτήσω ἐφοίτησα πεφοίτηκα ––– –––: to go to and fro, roam, to resort to
ἄλλοθεν: from elsewhere
θεσπέσιος [–α] –ον: divine; prodigious, extraordinary, supernatural; deafening
ἰαχή –ῆς ἡ: a cry, shout, wail, shriek
χλωρός –ά –όν: greenish-yellow; pale
δέος –ους τό: fear
ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion
ἐποτρύνω ἐποτρυνῶ ἐπώτρυνα: to incite, urge on; to provoke; (mid.) to speed up, make hurry
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat; (plur.) flock 45
κατάκειμαι κατακείσομαι: to lie down, lie outstretched
σφάζω σφάξω ἔσφαξα ἔσφακα ἔσφαγμαι ἐσφάχθην: to kill, slaughter
νηλής –ές: pitiless, ruthless
χαλκός –οῦ ὁ: bronze, copper, weapon
δέρω δερῶ ἔδειρα – δέδαρμαι ἐδάρθην: to skin, flay
κατακαίω κατακαύσω κατέκαυσα κατακέκαυμαι κατεκαύθην: burn completely
ἐπεύχομαι ἐπεύξομαι ἐπευξάμην/ἐπηυξάμην ἐπηῦγμαι ––– –––: to pray
ἴφθιμος [–η] –ον: strong, robust, vigorous
Ἀΐδης –ου ὁ: Hades
ἐπαινός -ή -όν: dread, terrifying, awesome (epithet of Persephone)
Περσεφόνη –ης ἡ: Persephone, Proserpine
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
ἧμαι (or κάθημαι) ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: sit
νέκυς –υος τό: dead body, corpse
ἀμενηνός [–ή] –όν: powerless, fleeting, feeble
κάρηνον –ου τό: head; peak, summit
ἆσσον: nearer, very near 50
Τειρεσίας –ου ὁ: Tiresias, a seer of Thebes