ἤτοι γὰρ πατέρ᾽ ἁμὸν ἀπέκτανε δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,
ἐκ δὲ πόλιν πέρσεν Κιλίκων εὖ ναιετάουσαν415
Θήβην ὑψίπυλον: κατὰ δ᾽ ἔκτανεν Ἠετίωνα,
οὐδέ μιν ἐξενάριξε, σεβάσσατο γὰρ τό γε θυμῷ,
ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα μιν κατέκηε σὺν ἔντεσι δαιδαλέοισιν
ἠδ᾽ ἐπὶ σῆμ᾽ ἔχεεν: περὶ δὲ πτελέας ἐφύτευσαν
νύμφαι ὀρεστιάδες κοῦραι Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο.420
οἳ δέ μοι ἑπτὰ κασίγνητοι ἔσαν ἐν μεγάροισιν
οἳ μὲν πάντες ἰῷ κίον ἤματι Ἄϊδος εἴσω:
πάντας γὰρ κατέπεφνε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς
βουσὶν ἐπ᾽ εἰλιπόδεσσι καὶ ἀργεννῇς ὀΐεσσι.
μητέρα δ᾽, ἣ βασίλευεν ὑπὸ Πλάκῳ ὑληέσσῃ,425
τὴν ἐπεὶ ἂρ δεῦρ᾽ ἤγαγ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἄλλοισι κτεάτεσσιν,
ἂψ ὅ γε τὴν ἀπέλυσε λαβὼν ἀπερείσι᾽ ἄποινα,
πατρὸς δ᾽ ἐν μεγάροισι βάλ᾽ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα.
Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σύ μοί ἐσσι πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ
ἠδὲ κασίγνητος, σὺ δέ μοι θαλερὸς παρακοίτης:430
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε νῦν ἐλέαιρε καὶ αὐτοῦ μίμν᾽ ἐπὶ πύργῳ,
μὴ παῖδ᾽ ὀρφανικὸν θήῃς χήρην τε γυναῖκα:
λαὸν δὲ στῆσον παρ᾽ ἐρινεόν, ἔνθα μάλιστα
ἀμβατός ἐστι πόλις καὶ ἐπίδρομον ἔπλετο τεῖχος.
τρὶς γὰρ τῇ γ᾽ ἐλθόντες ἐπειρήσανθ᾽ οἱ ἄριστοι435
ἀμφ᾽ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ ἀγακλυτὸν Ἰδομενῆα
ἠδ᾽ ἀμφ᾽ Ἀτρεΐδας καὶ Τυδέος ἄλκιμον υἱόν:
ἤ πού τίς σφιν ἔνισπε θεοπροπίων ἐῢ εἰδώς,
ἤ νυ καὶ αὐτῶν θυμὸς ἐποτρύνει καὶ ἀνώγει.
τὴν δ᾽ αὖτε προσέειπε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ:440
ἦ καὶ ἐμοὶ τάδε πάντα μέλει γύναι: ἀλλὰ μάλ᾽ αἰνῶς
αἰδέομαι Τρῶας καὶ Τρῳάδας ἑλκεσιπέπλους,
αἴ κε κακὸς ὣς νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο:
οὐδέ με θυμὸς ἄνωγεν, ἐπεὶ μάθον ἔμμεναι ἐσθλὸς
αἰεὶ καὶ πρώτοισι μετὰ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι445
ἀρνύμενος πατρός τε μέγα κλέος ἠδ᾽ ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ.
εὖ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόδε οἶδα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν:
ἔσσεται ἦμαρ ὅτ᾽ ἄν ποτ᾽ ὀλώλῃ Ἴλιος ἱρὴ
καὶ Πρίαμος καὶ λαὸς ἐϋμμελίω Πριάμοιο.
ἀλλ᾽ οὔ μοι Τρώων τόσσον μέλει ἄλγος ὀπίσσω,450
οὔτ᾽ αὐτῆς Ἑκάβης οὔτε Πριάμοιο ἄνακτος
οὔτε κασιγνήτων, οἵ κεν πολέες τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ
ἐν κονίῃσι πέσοιεν ὑπ᾽ ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν,
ὅσσον σεῦ, ὅτε κέν τις Ἀχαιῶν χαλκοχιτώνων
δακρυόεσσαν ἄγηται ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας:455
καί κεν ἐν Ἄργει ἐοῦσα πρὸς ἄλλης ἱστὸν ὑφαίνοις,
καί κεν ὕδωρ φορέοις Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης
πόλλ᾽ ἀεκαζομένη, κρατερὴ δ᾽ ἐπικείσετ᾽ ἀνάγκη:
καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσιν ἰδὼν κατὰ δάκρυ χέουσαν:
Ἕκτορος ἥδε γυνὴ ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι460
Τρώων ἱπποδάμων ὅτε Ἴλιον ἀμφεμάχοντο.
ὥς ποτέ τις ἐρέει: σοὶ δ᾽ αὖ νέον ἔσσεται ἄλγος
χήτεϊ τοιοῦδ᾽ ἀνδρὸς ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἦμαρ.
ἀλλά με τεθνηῶτα χυτὴ κατὰ γαῖα καλύπτοι
πρίν γέ τι σῆς τε βοῆς σοῦ θ᾽ ἑλκηθμοῖο πυθέσθαι.465
notes
Andromache continues her appeal to Hector: Achilles has killed her whole family. Hector should stay within the walls. Hector refuses. He imagines a time when a Greek has taken her captive, and prays to die before that day.
Achilles returns to the forefront of our attention as Andromache recalls how he wiped out her entire family, mother, father, and seven brothers. But this is a different Achilles from the one we have come to know.
read full essay
He killed Andromache’s father, but did not strip off his armor to keep as a trophy, the standard practice in poem’s battle scenes. Instead, he “respected him in his heart” (417), burning Eëtion’s body with his armor and piling up a funeral mound over it. He killed all of her brothers, as they were tending flocks on a hillside, then took her mother as a war prize, but later sold her back for ransom, allowing her to die a gentle death at home. We are reminded that the world was not always a place without pity, that Achilles, though relentless as a warrior, once recognized limits. A serene vignette from Eëtion’s burial captures the fleeting change in mood:
And nymphs from the mountains, daughters
of aegis-bearing Zeus, planted elm trees all around the grave.
Iliad 6.419–20
Burial scenes, as opposed to the battles that necessitate them, are moments of rest in the Iliad. The terrible strain of battle subsides in death’s aftermath, when single combat gives way to communal suffering and the prospect of healing. This fleeting moment of peace foreshadows the string of burials, of increasing importance to the poem’s meaning, in Books 16–24, as Sarpedon, Patroclus, and finally Hector are laid to rest.
Andromache’s memories are for us, since Hector presumably knows about her past life. Now we know that the stakes for Hector are even more personal than we thought. As if to drive that point home, Andromache ratchets up the pressure on her husband yet more:
Hector, you are my father and my revered mother
and my brother; you are my young husband.
Iliad 6.429–30
The viselike grip of Hector’s responsibilities tightens as Andromache drives home her utter dependence on him. Using this emotional leverage, she crosses into his world by giving him tactical advice. Why not pull back to the most defensible place on the city walls? That way he can protect his family while staying near them. The advice seems sensible. Apparently the Greeks, led by the best of their warriors, have tried unsuccessfully three times to breach the wall at that spot.
Hector will not even consider this promising plan, for reasons that take us to the heart of his torturous dilemma:
My dear, all these things are a care to me also, but I would be
deeply ashamed before the Trojans and the Trojan women with trailing robes,
if like a coward I were to shrink back from battle;
nor does my heart so urge me, since I have learned to be brave
and always to fight in the forefront of battle with the Trojans,
winning glory for myself and for my father.
Iliad 6.440-46
Hector is not going to argue tactics with his wife. There may, in fact, be more than one way to defend the city and its people, but for him this is about something much more personal. To retreat to the city would be a betrayal of his very identity as a man. Avoiding shame by winning glory, and thus the admiration and approval of one’s fellows, is the strongest imperative in the masculine code of conduct that informs the Iliad. Hector cannot stay with the people he loves most and still think of himself as a man.
The word ἐσθλός (443) carries tremendous weight here, encompassing the whole complex of masculine heroic values, the need to separate from the mother and come to terms with the world of the father, understanding your identity as the product of imposing your will on the world outside yourself, becoming the person you are supposed to be by working your will in the world (see Introduction: The Hero’s Return and the Gift of Life). Achilles is the most egregious example of this code in the poem, but Hector’s words and actions here place him squarely in the same arena. What makes his story so painful is that unlike Achilles, whose arrogance and willfulness blind him (until the very end of the poem) to the suffering he is visiting on himself and others in pursuit of these goals, Hector knows the consequence yet still feels he must carry on.
As if following this line of thought out to its inevitable conclusion, Hector now affirms what we already know: one day, Troy will be destroyed and along with it, Priam and his people. Not only do we know that Troy is doomed, but Hector knows it too. From now on, everything he says and does will be in the shadow of his impending death. In this sense, Hector’s story is the essence of a tragic narrative, showing us an admirable man doing his best against the backdrop of the inevitable fact of human mortality. In this crucible, the impact of every act is intensified, pointing us toward a richer understanding of the meaning of human existence.
Just such an intensity seems to invest Hector’s mind now, as he looks ahead to the world he will leave behind in death. No loss is as painful for him to contemplate as the specter of Andromache, a captive of some Greek warrior, under a κρατερὴ ἀνάγκη, “powerful necessity” (458), a polite way to describe sexual slavery. His next words are revealing:
And then someone, seeing you weeping, would say,
“This was the wife of Hector, who was the bravest fighter
of the horse-taming Trojans, when they fought around Ilion.”
Iliad 6.459–61
Even as he contemplates the most wrenching of all his losses, the thought of what someone else will say about him surfaces. Such is the grip of the heroic shame culture. He ends his dismal vision with the now familiar wish to be buried before he can hear her screams as she is dragged away. Burial, at least, would bring rest.
414: ἁμὸν: “our,” i.e. “my,” an archaic form of the 1st pers. plural (ἡμέτερος), which was then understood also as a 1st pers. sg. (Graziosi-Haubold, see Goodell 204). ἀπέκτανε: 2nd aor. > ἀποκτείνω.
415: ἐκ … πέρσεν: “he utterly laid waste,” aor. > ἐκπέρθω in tmesis; the prefix ἐκ- often suggests completion. πόλιν … Κιλίκων: see 6.397. εὖ ναιετάοντας: “well-peopled,” “well-built.”
417: σεβάσσατο: “shrink from” + acc., aor. dep. mid. > σεβάζομαι. τό γε: “that in particular,” “that in fact,” namely stripping off Eetion’s armor. θυμῷ: “in his heart,” dat. of place where without preposition.
418: κατέκηε: “burned completely,” aor. > κατα-καίω.
419: ἠδ’: “and.” ἐπὶ … ἔχεεν: impf. > χέω. περὶ δὲ: “and all around (it),” i.e. the mound.
421–2: οἳ δέ … οἳ μὲν πάντες: “but as for the seven brothers who….” The first οἳ is relative (with ἑπτὰ κασίγνητοι in apposition), the second demonstrative (Stoevesandt).
421: μοι: “to me were” = “I had,” dat. of possession with ἔσαν, impf. > εἰμί, Attic ἦσαν (Goodell 524.a).
422–5: οἳ μὲν … μητέρα δ᾽: “these … but my mother,” pointing a contrast between Achilles’ treatment of her brothers and mother.
422: ἰῷ ἤματι: “on one and the same day.” ἰῷ: neut. dat. sg. > εἷς, μία, ἕν, Attic ἑνί (Goodell 187). ἤματι: dat. of time when. κίον: 3rd pl. aor. of defective verb. Ἄϊδος εἴσω: “into the house of Hades,” = εἰς Ἄϊδος, (anastrophe), εἰς + gen. = “into the house of” (Goodell 507.a).
424: ἐπὶ: “over…,” Achilles killed the brothers as they looked after the flocks of animals.
425: ἥ: “who,” relative pronoun.
426: τὴν: μητέρα. δεῦρο: “to here,” i.e. for ransom. ἤγαγε: 2nd aor. > ἄγω.
427: ὄ γε: “he,” Achilles, γε emphasizes the clause. λαβὼν: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > λαμβάνω.
428: βάλ᾽: = βάλε, aor. > βάλλω.
429: μοι: dat of interest (Goodell 523). ἐσσι: 2nd sg. pres. > εἰμί, Attic εἶ.
430: σὺ: supply ἐσσί.
431: ἄγε: “come now,” as often, grabbing one’s attention before an imperative (see 6.340). αὐτοῦ: “here,” “in this very place.” μίμν’: = μίμνε, 2nd sg. imperative > epic, reduplicated μίμνω, Attic μένω.
432: μὴ θήῃς: “don’t make,” “you should not make” + double acc., 2nd sg. aor. act. prohibitive subj. > τίθημι (Goodell 473).
433: στῆσον: “set up,” “make stand,” 1st aor. active causal imperative > ἵστημι.
434: ἀμβατός: “mountable,” = ἀνα-βατός. ἔπλετο: “has proved to be” and thus “is,” aor. > πέλομαι, aor. in form but pres. in sense.
435: τῇ γε: “at that particular point,” dat. place where (Graziosi-Haubold). ἐπειρήσανθ’: “made an attempt,” = ἐπειρήσαντο, aor. mid. > πειράω.
436: ἀμφ’: = ἀμφὶ + acc., of attendants or followers (Monro 183.2). Αἴαντε: dual acc. > Αἴας. There are two Greek heroes named Ajax: son of Oileus and son of Telamon.
437: ἠδ’: = ἠδέ, “and.” Τυδέος … υἱον: Diomedes.
438: ἤ … ἤ: “either … or.” τίς: = τις, followed by an enclitic. σφιν: = αὐτοῖς. ἔνισπε: aor. > ἐν-έπω. εἰδώς: “being knowledgeable about,” “well skilled in” + gen.
439: νυ: = νῦν.
441: καὶ: “also,” adv. μέλει: “are a concern,” neuter pl. subject, not impersonal, as this verb often is. γύναι: vocative sg. in direct address.
443: αἴ κε … ἀλυσκάζω: “if … I avoid,” protasis in a present general condition (εἰ/αἰ + κε/ἄν + subj. in protasis, pres. indicative αἰδέομαι in apodosis). Hector is describing a general fact, not a hypothetical situation (Goodell 650). κακὸς ὣς: “as a coward,” = ὡς κακός τις. πολέμοιο: gen. of separation with νόσφιν.
444: ἄνωγεν: 3rd sg. pf. with pres. sense. ἐπεί: “since.” μάθον: “internalize” (i.e. learn and make one’s own), unaugmented aor. > μανθάνω (Graziosi-Haubold). ἔμμεναι: inf. > εἰμί, Attic εἶναι, governs predicate nom. ἐσθλὸς.
445: μετὰ: "among," + dat. of accompaniment (rather than dative with verb of fighting). πρώτοισι: “foremost,” “leading,” with Τρώεσσι.
446: ἐμὸν αὐτοῦ: “of my very own,” genitive of possession with implied κλέος. The neuter possessive adjective ἐμὸν and the genitive intensive pronoun αὐτοῦ are put side by side as equivalent constructions (Goodell 559).
447: τόδε: “the following,” “this here,” anticipating the second line. κατὰ: “in,” “within.”
448: ἔσσεται: “there will be,” fut. deponent > εἰμί, Attic ἔσται. ὅτε ἄν: “when,” ἄν + subjunctive in a future temporal clause, corresponding to a future-more-vivid condition (Goodell 627, Smyth 2401). ὀλώλῃ: intransitive 3rd sg. pf. subjunctive > ὄλλυμι. ἱρὴ: = ἱερὴ, with Ἴλιος, fem. sg.
449: ἐϋμμελίω: = gen. sg. > ἐϋμμελίης (ἐϋμμελίω > ἐϋμμελί-ᾱο), cf. gen. Ἀτρείδαο (Monro 98).
450: Τρώων: “for the Trojans,” objective gen. with ἄλγος, just as σεῦ in 6.454. οὐ … τόσσον: “is not so much a concern for me,” adverbial internal acc. μέλει: “is a concern” + dat., ἄλγος is subject.
451: Ἑκάβης … κασιγνήτων: objective genitives after ἄλγος, in apposition to Τρῶων.
452-3: κεν … πέσοιεν: “might fall,” aor. potential opt. (> πίπτω) as a more indefinite alternative to fut. indicative. πολέες: “many,” = πολλοί, 3rd decl. nom. pl. > πολύς.
453: ὑπό: + dat., “under the influence of,” approximating an instrumental dative (Stoevesandt).
454: ὅσσον: “as much as,” correlative with τόσσον in line 450, supply μέλει ἄλγος from line 450. σεῦ: = σοῦ, objective gen. with ἄλγος. ὅτε κέν: “whenever,” ἄν + pres. pass. subj. > ἄγω in a general temporal clause (see 6.225) (Goodell 627).
455: ἀπούρας: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > ἀπηύρα, root aor. of defective verb (see 6.16–17).
456-7: καί κεν … ὑφαίνοις … καὶ κεν … φορέοις: potential opt. ἐοῦσα: fem. nom. sg. ptc. > εἰμί. πρὸς ἄλλης: “at the bidding of another,” “(bidden) by another,” gen. of agent (see 6.57).
457: φορέοις: 2nd sg. pres. opt. > φορέω, frequentative of φέρω. Μεσσηΐδος ἢ Ὑπερείης: “from the Messeis and Hypereia,” gen. of place from which. The names are generic, “Middle and Upper Spring,” as Hector imagines a non-specific location in Greece.
458: πόλλ’: = πολλά, “very," "much” adv. acc., see LSJ s.v. πολύ III.a. ἐπικείσετ’: = ἐπικείσετ(αι), dep. mid. fut., supply dat. obj. σοι.
459: εἴπῃσιν: “will say,” anticipatory aor. subj. denotes imminent future action (Monro 275b). ἰδὼν: nom. sg. aor. ptc. > εἶδον (see 6.176). κατὰ … χέουσαν: “pouring down,” tmesis, fem. ptc. modifies missing fem. acc. σε. δάκρυ: collective singular (see 6.405).
460: ἥδε: “this here,” supply ἐστί. ἀριστεύεσκε: “used to,” “was accustomed to be the best,” -σκ- indicates iterative impf. (see 6.15). μάχεσθαι: “at fighting,” explanatory inf. (Goodell 565).
461: Τρώων ἱπποδάμων: “among...” (see 6.208).
462: ὥς … ἐρέει: “will speak thus,” 3rd sg. fut. > εἴρω, Att. ἐρεῖ, concluding what began in line 459. σοὶ: dat. of possession.
463: χήτεϊ: “for lack of,” “bereft of,” dat. sg. modifying σοὶ. ἀμύνειν δούλιον ἧμαρ: infin. of purpose following closely after ἀνδρός.
464: τεθνηῶτα: acc. sg. pf. ptc. > θνήσκω. χυτὴ … γαῖα: nom. subj. κατὰ … καλύπτοι: “may… cover!” opt. of wish (as often with independent clauses in the optative without ἄν) in tmesis, κατά is extensive, “over.”
465: πρὶν … πυθέσθαι: “before (I) hear” + gen., governs an aor. infin., which in turn governs a gen. (Goodell 568). γε: “at least,” restrictive and emphatic.
466: οὗ: “his,” = ἑοῦ, possessive pronoun > ἑός. ὀρέξατο: “reached for” + quasi-partitive gen. (Monro 151.c).
vocabulary
ἤτοι: now surely, truly, = μέν
ἁμός: my, (pl.) our
ἀποκτείνω ἀποκτενῶ ἀπέκτεινα ἀπέκτονα: to kill, slay
δῖος -α -ον: divine, noble, illustrious; marvelous, magnificent
Ἀχιλλεύς ‑έως or -ῆος ὁ: Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, leader of the Myrmidons and Hellenes in Thessaly, the mightiest warrior before Troy, and the principal hero of the Iliad.
πέρθω, aor. πέρσεν: sack, destroy415
Κίλιξ ‑ικος ὁ: (pl.) Cilicians, but not the historical nation of that name. In Homer they live in Greater Phrygia near Troy, in two nations. One king, Eetion, Andromache's father, reigned at Theba. Another, Mynes, at Lyrnessus.
ναιετάω: to dwell
Θήβη: Theba, a Cilician town in the Troad (at the foot of Mt. Placus, an eastern spur of Mt. Ida), under the rule of Andromache's father Eetion; it was sacked by Achilles.
ὑψίπυλος: high-gated
κτείνω, aor. subj. κτείνῃς, aor. (ἔ)κτανε(ν) and ἔκτα, aor. mid. as pass. κτάμενος: to slay, kill
Ἠετίων, -ωνος: Eetion, king of Hypoplacian Theba near Troy, father of Hector's wife Andromache; slain by Achilles on the capture of Theba.
μιν: him, her, it
ἐξεναρίζω, aor. ἐξενάριξε(ν): to strip of armor, despoil; to lay low
σεβάζομαι: to fear, dread, feel misgiving
ἄρα, ῥά (enclit.), ἄρ, ῥ᾿: so, then, as you know, you know, it seems. Very often it marks an action as natural, or reminds of something recently said. It also marks transitions.
κατακαίω aor. κατέκηε: to burn down, consume by fire
ἔντεα ‑έων τά: weapons, armor
δαιδάλεος: richly ornamented
ἠδέ: and
σῆμα -ατος τό: a sign, mark, token, character, monument, mound, portent
χέω, aor. ἔχεεν or ἔχευε, χύντο, perf. κέχυνται, plpf. κέχυτο: to pour, heap (of a funeral mound), throw into a heap; σὺν ὅρκια ἔχευαν, broke (threw into a disorderly heap) the oaths; ἀμφὶ υἱὸν ἐχεύατο πήχεα, threw (her) arms about (her) son; δάκρυ χέων, weeping
πτελέη: an elm tree
φυτεύω, aor. ἐφύτευσαν: to plant
νύμφη: nymph420
ὀρεστιάς -άδος: of the mountains
κόρη or κούρη: maiden, girl, daughter
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus, son of Cronus, the husband and brother of Hera and the wisest and mightiest of the gods.
αἰγίοχος -ον: Aegis-bearing, freq. epithet of Zeus. The aegis was the shield of Zeus, made by Hephaestus, described at Iliad 5.738 ff. Athena also holds it (or one).
κασίγνητος: brother
μέγαρον -ου τό: large room, main hall (in the center) of the house; (pl.) dwelling, house, palace.
κίω: to go
ἦμαρ -ατος τό: day
ᾍδης, gen. Ἀίδεω and Ἄϊδος, dat. Ἄϊδι, Ἀϊδωνῆι: Hades, god of the unseen lower world. His realm is the home of the dead, and in the Iliad it is beneath the earth, while in the Odyssey Odysseus sails to it, across Oceanus, and finds in it a faint, ghostly imitation of life on earth.
εἴσω (ἔσω): to within, into
κατέπεφνον (aor.), subj. καταπέφνῃ: killed, slew
ποδαρκής ‑ές: agile-footed, swift of foot, epithet of Achilles
εἰλίπος -οδος dat. εἰλιπόδεσσι: crooked-gaited, trailing-footed, epithet of cattle, in contrast with ἀερσίποδες ἵπποι
ἀργεννός: white, lustrous
ὄις ὄιος: sheep
βασιλεύω: to be king or queen, rule, reign425
Πλάκος: a mountain above the city of Theba
ὑλήεις ‑ήεσσα ‑ῆεν: woody, wooded
δεῦρο: here, this way, over here
κτέαρ, dat. pl. κτεάτεσσιν, τό: possessions, property
ἄψ: backwards, back, back again
ἀπολύω, aor. ἀπέλυσε: to release, set free
ἀπερείσιος: countless
ἄποινα: a ransom
Ἄρτεμις -ιδος, ἡ: Artemis, daughter of Zeus and Leto, and twin sister of Apollo. Like her brother, she is on the side of the Trojans. Like him, she bears a bow, and she is his counterpart in several respects, sending quiet death to women, as he does to men.
ἰοχέαιρα: arrow-pourer, shooter of arrows
Ἕκτωρ ‑ορος ὁ: Hector
ἀτάρ: but, yet
πότνια: mistress, honored
θαλερός: vigorous, flourishing, blooming430
παρακοίτης: husband, spouse
ἄγε: come! come on! well!
ἐλεαίρω: to pity
αὐτοῦ: (Adv.) at the very place, just here, just there
μίμνω: to stay, stand fast, remain
πύργος -ου ὁ : tower, turreted surrounding wall; (fig.) rampart, defense, defender
ὀρφανικός: orphaned, fatherless
χήρη: bereft of a husband, widow
λαός -οῦ ὁ: the people
ἐρινεός: the wild fig-tree
ἄμβατος: to be ascended, scaled
ἐπίδρομος: approachable, to be scaled
πέλω and πέλομαι, aor. as pres. ἔπλεο, ἔπλετο: to be
τρίς: thrice, three times435
τῇ: there, at that place
Αἴας ‑αντος ὁ: Ajax
Ἰδομενεύς ‑έως ὁ: Idomeneus, leader of the Cretans, son of Deucalion, grandson of Minos, and great-grandson of Zeus and Europa; highly esteemed by Agamemnon, and by Menelaus.
Ἀτρεΐδης, gen. Ἀτρεΐδαο or Ἀτρεΐδεω: son of Atreus (either Agamemnon or Menelaus)
Τυδεύς -έος ὁ: Tydeus, son of Oeneus of Calydon, brother of Meleager, father of Diomedes. Having slain some kinsmen, he fled to Argos, where he married a daughter of King Adrastus. He was one of the Seven against Thebes.
ἄλκιμος: brave, courageous, mighty
σφεῖς, σφείων gen., σφίσι(ν) or σφί(ν) dat., σφέας acc.: (pl. 3rd pers. pron.) them
ἐνέπω: to tell, say
θεοπρόπιον: a prophecy, oracle
ἐποτρύνω, aor. subj. ἐποτρύνητον: to rouse, impel, urge on
ἄνωγα (perf. as pres.), impf. ἄνωγον, plpf. as impf. ἠνώγει or ἀνώγειν: to command, order, bid
αὖτε: again, on the other hand, however, but440
κορυθαίολος: crest-waving, gleaming-crested
μέλω, fut. μελήσει and μελήσεται, perf. μέμηλε: to be a care, be an object of concern. (1) The object of concern is put in the nom. and the person who feels the concern in the dat. (2) The verb is impersonal and takes the object of concern in the gen.
αἰνός -ή -όν: dread, dire, grim
αἰδέομαι and αἴδομαι, aor. pass. partic. αἰδεσθείς: to feel honorable shame or self-respect, revere, be abashed before
Τρῶες: Trojans
Τρῳαί or Τρῳάδες: Trojan women
ἑλκεσίπεπλος: with trailing robes
νόσφι: apart, separate, far from (+ gen.)
ἀλυσκάζω: to escape, avoid; to bolt, withdraw; νόσφιν ἀλυσκάζω πολέμοιο, I get far away from war
ἐσθλός -ή -όν: good, decent, honorable, noble, generous; capable, able; (of things) good, useful; (of words) wise, sensible
ἄρνυμαι, aor. opt. ἄροιο: to strive to win, gain446
κλέος -έος τό: glory
φρήν φρενός ἡ: the midriff; heart, mind
ὄλλυμι, fut. ὀλεῖται, ὀλέσεις, aor. ὤλεσα, ὀλέσ(σ)ῃς, ὄλοντο, οὐλόμενος, perf. ὀλώλῃ: to ruin, destroy, kill, lose; (mid. and perf.) to be destroyed, perish, die
Ἴλιος -ου ἡ: Ilius or Ilium, the city of Ilus, Troy
Πρίαμος: Priam, son of Laomedon. King of Troy.
ἐϋμμελίης: armed with good ashen spear
τόσ(σ)ος: so great, so vast, so much, so long; adv. τόσ(σ)ον450
ἄλγος -εος τό: pain
ὀπίσω or ὀπίσσω: backwards, in the future
Ἑκάβη: Hecabe, wife of King Priam of Troy
ἄναξ -ακτος ὁ: lord, king, master
κονία or κονίη: dust, a cloud of dust
δυσμενής -ές: hostile, evil-minded; (pl.) enemies
Ἀχαιός: Achaian
χαλκοχίτων ‑ωνος ὁ/ἡ: bronze-clad
δακρυόεις: tearful, weeping455
ἀπαυράω: to take away, rob, deprive
Ἄργος -εος τό: Argos, the home of Diomedes; the realm of Agamemnon; the whole Peloponnese
ἱστός ‑οῦ ὁ: anything set upright: ship's mast; beam of a loom; loom
ὑφαίνω: to weave
φορέω, iterative impf. φορέεσκον, inf. φορέειν and φορῆναι: bear or carry habitually or repeatedly
Μεσσηίς ‑ηίδος ἡ: middle spring
Ὑπέρεια ‑ας ἡ: High-land, the abode of the Phaeacians before they migrated to Scheria, Od.6.4.2; name of a spring, Il. 6.547
ἀεκαζόμενος: against one's will, unwilling
κρατερός -ά -όν: strong, powerful, mighty
ἐπίκειμαι, fut. ἐπικείσομαι: to lie upon, rest upon
δάκρυον ‑ου τό, also δάκρυ ‑υος τό: tear
ἀριστεύω: to be the best460
ἱππόδαμος -ον: tamer of horses, epithet of heroes
Ἴλιος -ου ἡ: Ilius or Ilium, the city of Ilus, Troy
ἀμφιμάχομαι: to battle around, attack, besiege
εἴρω, fut. ἐρῶ, pf. εἴρηκα, mid. pass. εἴρημαι, ptc. εἰρημένος: speak, say, tell; (mid. pass.) to be said
χῆτος -εος τό: want, lack
ἀμύνω, aor. ἄμυνεν: to ward off, keep off, protect, defend, with dat. of interest or ablatival genitive.
δούλιος: slavish, servile
χυτός: heaped up
γαῖα -ας ἡ: a land, country
καλύπτω, aor. (ἐ)κάλυψε(ν): to cover with
βοή -ῆς ἡ: a loud cry, shout465
ἑλκηθμός -οῦ ὁ: a dragging, seizure