Homer, Iliad VI 1-36

The gods depart from the battlefield. The Achaeans, led by Telemonian Ajax, defeat a series of Trojans, some of whom are given short biographies. 

In these first duels, Homer underscores the gravity of the Trojans’ situation by showing us all of the principal Greek warriors (Ajax, Diomedes, Odysseus, and Agamemnon), killing Trojans. Translations can sometimes make battle narratives seem dull and repetitive, but reading the Greek lets us see the marvelous variety and inventiveness in these encounters. [read full essay]

1: οἰώθη: “was abandoned,” by the gods, 3rd sg. aor. dep. pass. > οἰόομαι.

2: πολλὰ: “many times, often,” adverbial acc. (Goodell 230); ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθ’: “here and there”; πεδίοιο: “on the plain,” Homeric 2nd decl. gen. sg., gen. of place within which, depending on ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα (Goodell 515).

3: ἀλλήλων ἰθυνομένων … δοῦρα: “each side driving straight their spears,” gen. absolute (Goodell 590). χαλκήρεα: uncontracted acc. neut. pl. δοῦρα: acc. neut. pl., the most common plural form of singular δόρυ/δοῦρο (Graziosi-Haubold), though Homer also uses the full form δούρατα, e.g., Il. 5.656 (Monro 107).

5: ἕρκος Ἀχαιῶν: in apposition to Αἴας

6: ῥῆξε: “broke,” unaugmented aor. > ῥήγνυμι (Monro 69). φόως: “light” of safety, or a hole in the enemy line, neuter accusative > φάος or φόως, (dat. φάει, nom./acc. pl. φάεα). ἐτάροισιν: Homeric dat. pl. (Monro 93). ἔθηκε: “made,” aor. > τίθημι (Goodell 373).

7: βαλὼν: masc. nom. sg. aor. ptc. > βάλλω. ὅς: “who...,” ὅς (often a demonstrative pronoun) here functions as a relative pronoun, whose antecedent is ἄνδρα (Monro 266). ἐνὶ: “among” = ἐν, a common alternative spelling. Θρῄκεσσι: Aeolic 3rd decl. dat. pl. τέτυκτο: “was,” unaugmented 3rd sg. plpf. > τεύχω (Monro 69).

8: υἱὸν: in apposition to ἄνδρα and Ἀκάμαντ’.

9: τὸν: “him,” or “this man,” personal pronoun or demonstrative. ὅ, ἥ, τό is rarely a “pure article” and instead generally has a demonstrative function in Homer (Monro 256). ἔβαλε: governs two accusatives, first of the person (τόν), then of the part of the body (or, in this case, attire: φάλον), as often in Homer (Graziosi-Haubold; see Monro 141). φάλον: “on the crest” of his helmet. The φάλος was apparently something on the helmet that carried the plume.

10: πῆξε: “stuck,” “planted,” unaugmented aor. > πήγνμι (Monro 69).

11: τὸν … ὄσσε: “his eyes.” ὄσσε: “(two) eyes,” neut. acc. dual., a noun found in Homer only in the dual (Monro 107.1).

12: ἔπεφνε: “killed,” “slew,” 3rd sg. reduplicated aorist > θείνω, aor. ἔπεφνον or πέφνον, infin. πεφνέμεν (Monro 36.5). βοὴν: “in/at the battle cry,” acc. of respect is common after an adj., here ἀγαθός (Goodell 537).

13: ὅς: “who,” relative pronoun. Ἀρίσβῃ: ancient Arisbe, modern Musaköy, was located in the Troad region of Asia Minor, not far from Troy.

14: ἦν: 3rd sg. impf. > εἰμί (Goodell 384)

15: φιλέεσκεν: “used to show hospitality to,” “used to entertain” + acc.; -σκ- indicates iterative impf., like ἔσκεν in line 19 (Monro 48-9). ὁδῷ ἔπι: “on the roadway,” = ἑφ’ ὁδῷ (anastrophe). οἰκία: acc. neut. pl. > οἰκίον, which is formally a diminutive of οἶκος, but the implication is that Axylos’ house was grand, since he habitually entertained travelers.

16–17: “but this time (τότε) none of them (οὔ τις τῶν) warded off grim destruction from him (οἱ) by coming to meet the enemy (ὑπαντιάσας) out in front (πρόσθεν).” οἱ: = αὐτῷ, 3rd pers. sg. dat. of the personal pronoun (Monro 99), dative of interest with ἤρκεσε (Goodell 523). ὑπαντιάσας: “come to meet,” i.e. to meet the enemy and defend a man, masc. nom. sg. aor. ptc. > ὔπαντιάζω. ἄμφω θυμὸν ἀπηύρα: “robbed the two of life,” double acc. after ἀπαυράω (Goodell 534). ἀπηύρᾱ: root aor. of a defective verb, with a final long α. At some point the form must have been interpreted as an imperfect on the model of ἐτίμᾱ (= ἐτίμα-ε).

18: αὐτὸν: “Axylos himself.” τόθ᾽: = τότε, elision before an aspirated vowel.

19: ἔσκεν: “was,” iterative impf. of εἰμί, compare φιλέεσκεν in line 15. τὼ: “these,” dual nom. pl. demonstrative pronoun modifying ἄμφω. ἐδύτην: “went beneath,” “entered,” i.e. to the underworld, 3rd dual aor. act. > δύω.

21: βῆ: = ἔβη, unaugmented 3rd sg. root aor. > βαίνω (Goodell 366). μετ᾽: “after,” i.e. in pursuit, = μετὰ. νύμφη / νηῒς: “water nymph,” the female presiding spirit of a local spring.

22: τέκ᾽: “bore to” = τέκε, unaugmented 3rd sg. aor. > τίκτω. Βουκολίωνι: dat. of interest (Goodell 523).

24: γενεῇ: “in birth (order),” specifying dative (Goodell 527.b). ἑ: “him,” = αὐτόν (Monro 97), 3rd sg. personal pronoun, acc. obj. σκότιον: “in the dark,” “in secret,” compare σκότος, -εος, τό, darkness, gloom.

25: “while shepherding his flocks he lay with the nymph in love.” ἐπ᾽ὄεσσι: “over the sheep.” ὄεσσι: Aeolic dat. pl. (Monro 102). μίγη: “he mingled,” i.e. “had sexual intercourse with,” 3rd sg. aor. pass. > μίγνυμι. φιλότητι … εὐνῇ: “in love and bed” (i.e. in the bed of love, hendiadys), specifying dative (Goodell 527.b).

26: ἥ δ᾽: “and she,” “this one.” διδυμάονε … παῖδε: dual acc. (Goodell 114).

27: τῶν: “of these,” i.e. twins, demonstrative pronoun. μένος … γυῖα: neuter acc.

28: τεύχε᾽ = τεύχεα, uncontracted acc. pl. > τὸ τεῦχος.

30: Περκώσιον: “from Percote,” another city located in the Troad.

31: Τεῦκρος: understand ἐξενάριξεν from line 30. Teucer, founder of Salamis on Cyprus and half-brother of Ajax, was famous for his archery.

32: ἐνήρατο: unaugmented aor. mid. > ἐναίρω, “kill,” with no difference in meaning from the active.

33: Ἀγαμέμνων: understand ἐνήρατο.

34: ναῖε: “he used to dwell in” + acc. of the place (Πήδασον), unaugmented impf. Elatus is subject. δέ: suggests a change of subject from the previous line. ἐϋρρείταο: gen. sg. > ἐϋρρείτης/ἐϋρρεής “fair-flowing,” “well-flowing,” an epithet of rivers (Monro 98).

35: Πήδασον: not to be confused with the city in the Peneloponnese, but rather a minor town in the southern Troad, located close to the river Satnioeis. ἕλε: “took,” i.e. killed, unaugmented 3rd sg. aor. > αἱρέω.