"μητέρα τ᾽ Οἰδιπόδαο ἴδον, καλὴν Ἐπικάστην,
ἣ μέγα ἔργον ἔρεξεν ἀιδρείῃσι νόοιο
γημαμένη ᾧ υἷι· ὁ δ᾽ ὃν πατέρ᾽ ἐξεναρίξας
γῆμεν· ἄφαρ δ᾽ ἀνάπυστα θεοὶ θέσαν ἀνθρώποισιν.
ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν ἐν Θήβῃ πολυηράτῳ ἄλγεα πάσχων275
Καδμείων ἤνασσε θεῶν ὀλοὰς διὰ βουλάς·
ἡ δ᾽ ἔβη εἰς Ἀίδαο πυλάρταο κρατεροῖο,
ἁψαμένη βρόχον αἰπὺν ἀφ᾽ ὑψηλοῖο μελάθρου,
ᾧ ἄχεϊ σχομένη· τῷ δ᾽ ἄλγεα κάλλιπ᾽ ὀπίσσω
πολλὰ μάλ᾽, ὅσσα τε μητρὸς Ἐρινύες ἐκτελέουσιν.280
καὶ Χλῶριν εἶδον περικαλλέα, τήν ποτε Νηλεὺς
γῆμεν ἑὸν διὰ κάλλος, ἐπεὶ πόρε μυρία ἕδνα,
ὁπλοτάτην κούρην Ἀμφίονος Ἰασίδαο,
ὅς ποτ᾽ ἐν Ὀρχομενῷ Μινυείῳ ἶφι ἄνασσεν·
ἡ δὲ Πύλου βασίλευε, τέκεν δέ οἱ ἀγλαὰ τέκνα,285
Νέστορά τε Χρόνιον τε Περικλύμενόν τ᾽ ἀγέρωχον.
τοῖσι δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ἰφθίμην Πηρὼ τέκε, θαῦμα βροτοῖσι,
τὴν πάντες μνώοντο περικτίται· οὐδ᾽ ἄρα Νηλεὺς
τῷ ἐδίδου ὃς μὴ ἕλικας βόας εὐρυμετώπους
ἐκ Φυλάκης ἐλάσειε βίης Ἰφικληείης290
ἀργαλέας· τὰς δ᾽ οἶος ὑπέσχετο μάντις ἀμύμων
ἐξελάαν· χαλεπὴ δὲ θεοῦ κατὰ μοῖρα πέδησε,
δεσμοί τ᾽ ἀργαλέοι καὶ βουκόλοι ἀγροιῶται.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ μῆνές τε καὶ ἡμέραι ἐξετελεῦντο
ἂψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι,295
καὶ τότε δή μιν ἔλυσε βίη Ἰφικληείη,
θέσφατα πάντ᾽ εἰπόντα· Διὸς δ᾽ ἐτελείετο βουλή.
καὶ Λήδην εἶδον, τὴν Τυνδαρέου παράκοιτιν,
ἥ ῥ᾽ ὑπὸ Τυνδαρέῳ κρατερόφρονε γείνατο παῖδε,
Κάστορά θ᾽ ἱππόδαμον καὶ πὺξ ἀγαθὸν Πολυδεύκεα,300
τοὺς ἄμφω ζωοὺς κατέχει φυσίζοος αἶα·
οἳ καὶ νέρθεν γῆς τιμὴν πρὸς Ζηνὸς ἔχοντες
ἄλλοτε μὲν ζώουσ᾽ ἑτερήμεροι, ἄλλοτε δ᾽ αὖτε
τεθνᾶσιν· τιμὴν δὲ λελόγχασιν ἶσα θεοῖσι.
τὴν δὲ μέτ᾽ Ἰφιμέδειαν, Ἀλωῆος παράκοιτιν305
εἴσιδον, ἣ δὴ φάσκε Ποσειδάωνι μιγῆναι,
καί ῥ᾽ ἔτεκεν δύο παῖδε, μινυνθαδίω δ᾽ ἐγενέσθην,
Ὦτόν τ᾽ ἀντίθεον τηλεκλειτόν τ᾽ Ἐφιάλτην,
οὓς δὴ μηκίστους θρέψε ζείδωρος ἄρουρα
καὶ πολὺ καλλίστους μετά γε κλυτὸν Ὠρίωνα·310
ἐννέωροι γὰρ τοί γε καὶ ἐννεαπήχεες ἦσαν
εὖρος, ἀτὰρ μῆκός γε γενέσθην ἐννεόργυιοι.
οἵ ῥα καὶ ἀθανάτοισιν ἀπειλήτην ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ
φυλόπιδα στήσειν πολυάικος πολέμοιο.314
Ὄσσαν ἐπ᾽ Οὐλύμπῳ μέμασαν θέμεν, αὐτὰρ ἐπ᾽ Ὄσσῃ
Πήλιον εἰνοσίφυλλον, ἵν᾽ οὐρανὸς ἀμβατὸς εἴη.
καί νύ κεν ἐξετέλεσσαν, εἰ ἥβης μέτρον ἵκοντο:
ἀλλ᾽ ὄλεσεν Διὸς υἱός, ὃν ἠύκομος τέκε Λητώ,
ἀμφοτέρω, πρίν σφωιν ὑπὸ κροτάφοισιν ἰούλους
ἀνθῆσαι πυκάσαι τε γένυς ἐυανθέι λάχνῃ.320
notes
The parade of famous women continues.
A darker mood descends with the appearance of Epikaste, mother of Oedipus, wife of Laius, known in later versions as Jocasta. Her story continues the Theban cycle that began with Antiope and is full of troubling details. She is an unwittingly dangerous wife, whose husband has unwittingly killed his father. Her suicide left him to rule while “suffering pains…through the destructive counsels of the gods” (275–76).
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Pero, daughter of Chloris and Neleus, was a woman besieged by suitors, whose father sets up a contest for her hand, one featuring cattle rustling and more constraints from divine will. Leda gave birth to Castor and Pollux, two young men whose death at Troy the poet commemorates with passages paralleled in the Iliad (cf. 3.237, 243), whose days alternate between the living and the dead. What the poet’s audience does not hear but probably knows is that Leda is also the mother of Helen and Clytemnestra, two more faithless wives. The series concludes with Iphimedeia, whose sons planned to storm Olympus and presumably overthrow the rightful rulers.
The last section of the catalogue mentions two groups of three women, Phaedra, Procris, and Ariadne, then Maera, Clymene, and Eriphyle. Picking up speed as he heads for the interlude on Scheria, Homer tells us only the stories of Ariadne and Eriphyle, though some of the other heroines in this series are well known in other sources. The overriding message is that women can be dangerous, when pursuing their own goals (Helen, Clytemnestra, Phaedra, Procris, Eriphyle) or when caught up in the power struggles of others (Epikaste, Pero, Ariadne). They may wittingly or unwittingly threaten their husbands (Jocasta, Pero, Clytemnestra, Helen), or produce offspring who threaten their parents (Jocasta, Clytemnestra).
Despite the qualms of some scholars about the authenticity of the Catalogue of Heroines, the stories behind it are directly relevant to the mission of Odysseus in the poem. Women, as we have seen, are always potentially threatening to the heroic mission of a masculine hero, but the particular stories the poet touches on are especially resonant. Like Oedipus, Odysseus’s kingship brings him suffering and the unwelcome attentions of the gods. Otis and Ephialtes model the arrogant suitors, whose selfish excesses in Ithaka threaten to overthrow the established order. Pero, like Penelope, prompts a violent and eventually deadly struggle to win her hand. Both Clytemnestra and Jocasta give birth to children who will supplant their parents as rulers, reflecting the potential threat that Telemachus represents to Odysseus’s kingship. And most prominently, Phaedra, Helen, and Clytemnestra, as faithless and treacherous wives, set a dark precedent for Penelope, one that informs the entire story of Odysseus’s return and will surface again in his encounter with Agamemnon’s ghost. In the poem’s very first scene, Zeus points to the paradigm set by Clytemnestra’s complicity in the murder of her husband and Orestes’s revenge against her and Aegisthus (1.32–44). From then on, the story prompts urgent questions: Will Penelope remain faithful to Odysseus? Can Odysseus prevail over the interloping suitors for her hand? Will Telemachus be a worthy son who avenges wrongs against his father?
272 μέγα ἔργον: “a monstrous deed” (see LSJ μέγας II.5).
272 ἀϊδρείῃσι: dative of manner.
272 νόοιο: gen. > νοῦς.
273 ᾧ: “her.” dat., with the participle γημαμένη ( > γαμέω).
273 ὃν: “his.”
274 γῆμεν: unagumented aor. Understand “her” as the object.
274 ἀνάπυστα … θέσαν: “made (these things) known,” “revealed these things.”
276 Καδμείων ἤνασσε: the verb ( > ἀνάσσω), takes a genitive, in this case Καδμείων.
276 θεῶν: modifies βουλάς.
277 εἰς Ἀΐδαο: εἰς δόμον Ἀΐδαο
279 ᾧ ἄχεϊ: dative of cause.
279 ᾧ: “her.”
279 τῷ: “for him” (i.e., Oedipus).
279 κάλλιπ(ε): aor. > καταλείπω; the subject is Epicaste.
279 ὀπίσσω: “in the future.”
280 ὅσσα τε: “as many as.” The τε is untranslatable (Smyth 2970).
280 μήτρος Ἐρινύες: "a mother's Furies" (i.e, the Furies that execute a mother's curses).
282 ἑὸν διὰ κάλλος: διὰ ἑὸν κάλλος.
282 πόρε: = ἔπορε, unaugmented aor.
284 ἄνασσεν: unaugmented impf. > ἀνάσσω.
285 βασίλευε: “was ruler of,” unaugmented impf, with genitive.
285 τέκε: = ἔτεκε, unaugmented aor. > τίκτω.
285 οἱ: "to him" (i.e., to Neleus).
287 τοῖσι δ᾽ ἐπ᾽: “in addition to these.”
289 τῷ: “to that one.” The antecedent of ὃς in the following relative clause.
289 ὃς μὴ … ἐλάσειε: “unless he drove….” Conditional relative clause, like the protasis of a past general conditional.
289 ἕλικας: “with twisted horns.”
290 βίης Ἰφικληείης: “of strong Iphicles.” periphrastic (lit., “of the strength of Iphicles”).
291 τὰς: “them” (i.e., the cattle).
291 ὑπέσχετο: aor. mid. > ὑπισχνέομαι.
291 μάντις: the unnamed seer was Melampus.
292 ἐξελάαν: aor. infin. > ἐξελαύνω.
292 θεοῦ … μοῖρα: “fate of a god,” “divine decree.”
292 κατὰ …πέδησε: either tmesis > καταπεδάω, or κατά may be used adverbially as an intensifier (Monro 211). Understand “him” (i.e., the seer) as the object of the verb.
293 ἀγροιῶται: "rustic," a masculine noun, but used adjectivally, or in apposition to βουκόλοι ("cowherds, rustics, ...")
294 ἐξετελεῦντο: “were completed,” 3rd pl. impf. pass. > ἐκτελέω.
295 ἂψ περιτελλομένου ἔτεος: “when a year came around again,” “at the end of a year.” Genitive absolute (Monro 246)
296 βίη Ἰφικληείη: "the strength of Iphicles," "the Iphiclean strength." See line 290.
297 εἰπόντα: “after he told….” acc., agreeing with μιν.
297 ἐτελείετο: 3rd sing. impf. pass.
299 ὑπὸ Τυνδαρέῳ: “by Tyndareus.”
299 γείνατο: "bore," unaugmented, transitive aor. > γίγνομαι (see LSJ γείνομαι).
299 κρατερόφρονε … παῖδε: dual.
300 πὺξ ἀγαθὸν: “good with the fist” (i.e., a good boxer).
301 τοὺς ἄμφω: “them both,” dual.
301 κατέχει: “covers,” “holds.”
302 νέρθεν: ἔνερθεν, “beneath,”’ with genitive.
302 πρὸς Ζηνὸς: “from Zeus.”
303 ἄλλοτε … ἄλλοτε: “sometimes…at other times….” Castor and Polydeuces (Pollux) are part-time immortals, taking turns being alive and dead on alternate days.
304 λελόγχασιν: 3rd pl. pf. act. > λαγχάνω.
304 ἶσα θεοῖσι: “equal to the gods.”
304 ἶσα: neut. acc. pl., properly adverbial (“equally”) rather than directly modifying the feminine accusative τιμὴν.
306 (ἐ)φάσκε … μιγῆναι: “said that she…,” indirect discourse with infinitive.
307 παῖδε … γενέσθην: the forms are dual.
309 οὓς ... μηκίστους: "the tallest whom..."
309 θρέψε: unaugmented aor. > τρέφω.
310 μετά: “after,” “second only to.”
311 ἐννέωροι: “at nine years old.”
311 τοί: “they,” “these boys.”
312 εὖρος … μῆκός: “wide … tall,” accusatives of respect.
313 ἀπειλήτην: impf. dual > ἀπειλέω.
314 στήσειν: “to cause," fut. infin. > ἵστημι; complementary infinitive with απειλήτην.
315 ἐπ᾽: “on top of.”
315 θέμεν: aor. infin. > τίθημι.
316 ἵν᾽ … εἴη: purpose clause with optative in secondary sequence.
316 ἀμβατὸς: = ἀναβατός, “able to be climbed.”
317 κεν ἐξετέλεσσαν, εί … ἵκοντο: past contrary to fact conditional.
317 ἥβης μέτρον: “the prime of youth.”
318 Διὸς υἱός: i.e., Apollo.
319 ἀμφοτέρω: dual, direct object of ὄλεσεν.
319 πρίν … ἀνθῆσαι πυκάσαι τε: “before….” The infinitives in this construction take a subject accusative (ἰούλους).
319 σφωϊν: dual; dative of interest.
320 γένυς: fem. acc. pl. The quantity of the -υ- is long.
vocabulary
Οἰδιπόδης –ου ὁ (= Οἰδίπους): Oedipus, king of Thebes, son of Laius and Epicaste, and father of Eteocles, Polynīces, and Antigone
Ἐπικάστη –ης ἡ: Jocasta, the mother of Oedipus, in the tragic poets Jocasta
ῥέζω ῥέξω ἔρρεξα – – ἐρρέχθην: to do, accomplish; to offer (sacrifice)
ἀϊδρείη –ης ἡ: want of knowledge, ignorance
γαμέω γαμῶ ἔγημα γεγάμηκα γεγάμημαι –––: marry
ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own
ἐξεναρίζω ἐξεναρίξω ἐξενάριξα: to strip off the armor; to kill
γαμέω γαμῶ ἔγημα γεγάμηκα γεγάμημαι –––: marry
ἄφαρ: straightway, forthwith, at once, quickly, presently
ἀνάπυστος –ον: ascertained, notorious
Θήβη –ης ἡ: Thebes (usu. plural) 275
πολυήρατος –ον: much-loved, very lovely
ἄλγος –ους τό: pain
Καδμεῖος –α –ον: Cadmean, Theban
ἀνάσσω ἀνάξω ἤναξα: to be king, lord, or master of, rule over, reign
ὀλοός –ή –όν: destroying, destructive, fatal, deadly, murderous
ᾍδης –ου ὁ: Hades
πυλάρτης –ου ὁ: gate-fastener, he that keeps the gates of hell
κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty
ἅπτω ἅψω ἧψα ––– ἧμμαι ἥφθην: to fasten; to kindle; (mid.) to touch (+gen.)
βρόχος –ου ὁ: a noose
αἰπύς –εῖα –ύ: steep, high; total
ὑψηλός –ή –όν: high, lofty, high-hearted
μέλαθρον –ου τό: roof beam, roof, house
ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own
ἄχος –ους τό: anguish, distress
ἄλγος –ους τό: pain
καταλείπω καλλείψω κάλλιπον καταλέλοιπα καταλέλειμμαι κατελείφθην: to leave behind
ὀπίσω or ὀπίσσω: backwards, behind; in the future
Ἐρινύες –ῶν αἱ: the Furies, Erinyes 280
ἐκτελέω ἐκτελῶ ἐξετέλεσα ἐκτετέλεκα ἐκτετέλεσμαι ἐξετελέσθην: to bring quite to an end, to accomplish, achieve
Χλωρίς –ίδος ἡ: Chloris
περικαλλής –ές: very beautiful
Νηλεύς –έως ὁ: Neleus, father of Nestor
γαμέω γαμῶ ἔγημα γεγάμηκα γεγάμημαι –––: marry
ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own
κάλλος –ους τό: beauty pl. beautiful things
πόρω ––– ἔπορον ––– ––– –––: to offer, furnish, supply, give; (pf. pass. 3 sing.) it is fated
μυρίος –α –ον: numberless, infinite
ἕδνον –ου τό: a wedding-gift
ὁπλότατος –η –ον: youngest
κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter
Ἀμφίων –ονος ὁ: Amphion
Ἰασίδης –ου ὁ: Iasides, son of Iasus
Ὀρχομενός –οῦ ὁ: Orchomenus, a city in Boeotia
Μινύειος –α –ον: Minyan
ἶφι: strongly, stoutly, mightily > ἴς
ἀνάσσω ἀνάξω ἤναξα: to be king, lord, or master of, rule over, reign
Πύλος –ου ἡ: Pylos, a city in Elis 285
βασιλεύω βασιλεύσω ἐβασίλευσα βεβασίλευκα βεβασίλευμαι ἐβασιλήθην: to be king, become ruler of (+ gen.)
ἕ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
ἀγλαός –ή –όν: splendid, shining, bright
Νέστωρ –ορος ὁ: Nestor, the aged king of Pylos, son of Neleus and Chloris
χρόνιος –α –ον: after a long time, late
Περικλύμενος –ου ὁ: Periclymenus, son of Neleus, an Argonaut, defended Thebes against the Seven
ἀγέρωχος –ον: high-minded, lordly
ἴφθιμος [–η] –ον: strong, robust, vigorous
Πηρώ –οῦς ἡ: Pero, daughter of Neleus by Chloris
θαῦμα –ατος τό: wonder
βροτός –οῦ ὁ: mortal
μνάομαι (Ion. μνῶμαι) μέμνημαι μεμνήσομαι ἐμνήσθην: be mindful of; woo
περικτίονες –ων οἱ: dwellers around, neighbors
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
Νηλεύς –έως ὁ: Neleus, father of Nestor
ἕλιξ –ικος: with curving horns; twisted, curving
εὐρυμέτωπος –ον: broad-fronted, wide-faced
Φυλάκη –ης ἡ: Phylace 290
βίη –ης dat. βίηφι ἡ: violence, force
Ἰφικλήειος –α –ον: of Iphiclus
ἀργαλέος –α –ον: hard to endure or deal with, difficult
οἶος –α –ον: alone
ὑπέχω ὑποσχήσω/ὑφέξω ὑπέσχον ὑπέσχηκα ὑπέσχημαι ὑπεσχέθην: to hold under, uphold; to undergo, suffer, be accountable
μάντις –εως ὁ: prophet
ἀμύμων –ον: blameless, noble, excellent
ἐξελαύνω ἐξελῶ ἐξήλασα ἐξελήλακα ἐξελήλαμαι ἐξηλάθην: to drive out, lead away
μοῖρα –ας ἡ: part, portion, lot, fate
πεδάω ––– ἐπέδησα ––– ––– πεδάθην: to bind with fetters, to bind fast, make fast
δεσμός –οῦ ὁ (pl. δεσμά): a bond
ἀργαλέος –α –ον: hard to endure or deal with, difficult
βουκόλος –ου ὁ: cowherd, herdsman
ἀγροιώτης –ου ὁ: a countryman; rustic
μείς μηνός ὁ: month
ἐκτελέω ἐκτελῶ ἐξετέλεσα ἐκτετέλεκα ἐκτετέλεσμαι ἐξετελέσθην: to bring quite to an end, to accomplish, achieve
ἄψ: back 295
περιτέλλομαι ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to go
ἐπέρχομαι ἔπειμι ἐπῆλθον ἐπελήλυθα ––– –––: to approach, arrive; to encounter, come up against, attack
ὥρα –ας ἡ: time, season, climate
μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself
βίη –ης dat. βίηφι ἡ: violence, force
Ἰφικλήειος –α –ον: of Iphiclus
θέσφατος –ον: fated, decreed, ordained, appointed
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus
τελέω τελῶ or τελέσω ἐτέλεσα τετέλεκα τετέλεσμαι ἐτελέσθην: to finish, complete, carry out
Λήδη –ης ἡ: Leda, the wife of Tyndareus, mother by Zeus of Helen, Castor, and Polydeuces, and of Clytaemnestra by Tyndareus
Τυνδάρεος –ου ὁ: Tyndareus, husband of Leda
παράκοιτις –ιος ἡ: a wife, spouse
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
κρατερόφρων –ον: stout-hearted, dauntless
γείνομαι ––– ἐγεινάμην ––– ––– –––: to be born; to beget, give birth to
Κάστωρ –ορος ὁ: Castor, son of Zeus and Leda, brother of Polydeuces and Helen, or, son of Hylacus 300
ἱππόδαμος –ον: tamer of horses
πύξ: with the fist
Πολυδεύκης –ους ὁ: Polydeuces (Pollux), son of Zeus and Leda, twin brother of Castor
ἄμφω ἀμφοῖν: both (dual)
ζωός (Ion. ζώς) –ή –όν: alive, living
κατέχω καθέξω (or κατασχήσω) κατέσχον κατέσχηκα ––– –––: to hold back; to possess, occupy, cover, hold
φυσίζους –ουν: life-producing
αἶα –ας ἡ: land
ἔνερθε: from beneath, up from below
ἄλλοτε: at another time, at other times
ζῶ (or ζώω) ζήσω ἔζησα (or ἔζωσα) ἔζηκα: to live
ἑτερήμερος –ον: on alternate days
ἄλλοτε: at another time, at other times
αὖτε: in turn, moreover, still, again, on the other hand
λαγχάνω λήξομαι ἔλαχον εἴληχα ––– –––: to obtain by lot, have as portion; to fall by lot to
Ἰφιμέδεια –ας ἡ: Iphimedeia, wife of Alōeus, and mother of Otus and Ephialtes 305
Ἀλωεύς –έως ὁ: Aloeus, father of Otus and Ephialtes
παράκοιτις –ιος ἡ: a wife, spouse
εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold
φάσκω impf. ἔφασκον ––– ––– ––– –––: say, affirm, think, deem
Ποσειδῶν (or Ποσειδάων) –ῶνος ὁ: Poseidon
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
μινυνθάδιος –α –ον: short-lived
Ὦτος –ου ὁ: Otus, a giant, son of Poseidon and Iphimedīa, or, of Cyllēne, a chief of the Epeians
ἀντίθεος –η –ον: godlike
τηλεκλειτός [–ή] –όν: far-famed
Ἐφιάλτης –ου ὁ: Ephialtes, the giant, son of Alōeus, and brother of Otus
μήκιστος –η –ον: tallest
ζείδωρος –ον: wheat-producing, fertile
ἄρουρα –ας ἡ: plowed or arable land; πατρίς ἄρουρα fatherland, homeland
κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious 310
Ὠρίων –ωνος ὁ: Orīon, the mighty hunter, beloved of Eos
ἐννέωρος –ον: nine years old
ἐννεάπηχυς –υ: nine cubits broad
εὖρος –ους τό: width, breadth
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
μῆκος –ους τό: length, stature, distance
ἐννεόργυιος –ον: nine fathoms long
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἀθάνατος –ον: immortal, deathless; (plur.) the gods
ἀπειλέω ἀπειλήσω ἀπείλησα ––– ἀπείλημαι ἀπειλήθην: to force back
Ὄλυμπος –ου ὁ: Mount Olympus
φύλοπις –ιδος ἡ: the battle-cry, din of battle, battle
πολυάιξ –ικος: much-rushing, impetuous, furious
Ὄσσα ἡ: Ossa, a mountain in Thessaly
μάω – – – – –: be eager, press on
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet
Πήλιον –ου τό: Pelion, a mountain in Thessaly 315
εἰνοσίφυλλος –ον: shaking its leaves
ἀναβατός –όν: to be able to mount, be capable of being climbed
ἐκτελέω ἐκτελῶ ἐξετέλεσα ἐκτετέλεκα ἐκτετέλεσμαι ἐξετελέσθην: to bring quite to an end, to accomplish, achieve
ἥβη –ης ἡ: manhood, youthful prime, youth
μέτρον –ου τό: a measure, proportion, rule
ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach
ὄλλυμι ὀλῶ ὤλεσα (or ὠλόμην) ὀλώλεκα (or ὄλωλα) ––– –––: to demolish, kill; to lose, suffer the loss of (+ acc.); (mid.) to die, perish, be killed
εὔκομος –ον: fair-haired
Λητώ –οῦς ἡ: Leto (Latona), mother of Apollo and Artemis
σφεῖς: they
κρόταφος –ου ὁ: the side of the forehead
ἴουλος –ου ὁ: the first growth of beard, the whiskers
ἀνθέω ἀνθήσω ἤνθησα ἤνθηκα: to blossom, bloom 320
πυκάζω πύκασω ἐπύκασα ––– ––– –––: to cover
γένυς –υος ἡ: the jaw, side of the face, cheek
εὐανθής –ές: blooming, budding
λάχνη –ης ἡ: soft hair, down