"ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας πόρε φάρμακον ἀργεϊφόντης

ἐκ γαίης ἐρύσας, καί μοι φύσιν αὐτοῦ ἔδειξε.

ῥίζῃ μὲν μέλαν ἔσκε, γάλακτι δὲ εἴκελον ἄνθος·

μῶλυ δέ μιν καλέουσι θεοί· χαλεπὸν δέ τ᾽ ὀρύσσειν305

ἀνδράσι γε θνητοῖσι, θεοὶ δέ τε πάντα δύνανται.

Ἑρμείας μὲν ἔπειτ᾽ ἀπέβη πρὸς μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον

νῆσον ἀν᾽ ὑλήεσσαν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἐς δώματα Κίρκης

ἤια, πολλὰ δέ μοι κραδίη πόρφυρε κιόντι.

ἔστην δ᾽ εἰνὶ θύρῃσι θεᾶς καλλιπλοκάμοιο·310

ἔνθα στὰς ἐβόησα, θεὰ δέ μευ ἔκλυεν αὐδῆς.

ἡ δ᾽ αἶψ᾽ ἐξελθοῦσα θύρας ὤιξε φαεινὰς

καὶ κάλει· αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν ἑπόμην ἀκαχήμενος ἦτορ.

εἷσε δέ μ᾽ εἰσαγαγοῦσα ἐπὶ θρόνου ἀργυροήλου

καλοῦ δαιδαλέου· ὑπὸ δὲ θρῆνυς ποσὶν ἦεν·315

τεῦχε δέ μοι κυκεῶ χρυσέῳ δέπᾳ, ὄφρα πίοιμι,

ἐν δέ τε φάρμακον ἧκε, κακὰ φρονέουσ᾽ ἐνὶ θυμῷ.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δῶκέν τε καὶ ἔκπιον, οὐδέ μ᾽ ἔθελξε,

ῥάβδῳ πεπληγυῖα ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζεν·

‘ἔρχεο νῦν συφεόνδε, μετ᾽ ἄλλων λέξο ἑταίρων.’320

ὣς φάτ᾽, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἄορ ὀξὺ ἐρυσσάμενος παρὰ μηροῦ

Κίρκῃ ἐπήιξα ὥς τε κτάμεναι μενεαίνων.

ἡ δὲ μέγα ἰάχουσα ὑπέδραμε καὶ λάβε γούνων,

καί μ᾽ ὀλοφυρομένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·

‘τίς πόθεν εἶς ἀνδρῶν; πόθι τοι πόλις ἠδὲ τοκῆες;325

θαῦμά μ᾽ ἔχει ὡς οὔ τι πιὼν τάδε φάρμακ᾽ ἐθέλχθης·

οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ τις ἄλλος ἀνὴρ τάδε φάρμακ᾽ ἀνέτλη,

ὅς κε πίῃ καὶ πρῶτον ἀμείψεται ἕρκος ὀδόντων.

σοὶ δέ τις ἐν στήθεσσιν ἀκήλητος νόος ἐστίν.

ἦ σύ γ᾽ Ὀδυσσεύς ἐσσι πολύτροπος, ὅν τέ μοι αἰεὶ330

φάσκεν ἐλεύσεσθαι χρυσόρραπις ἀργεϊφόντης,

ἐκ Τροίης ἀνιόντα θοῇ σὺν νηὶ μελαίνῃ.

ἀλλ᾽ ἄγε δὴ κολεῷ μὲν ἄορ θέο, νῶι δ᾽ ἔπειτα

εὐνῆς ἡμετέρης ἐπιβείομεν, ὄφρα μιγέντε

εὐνῇ καὶ φιλότητι πεποίθομεν ἀλλήλοισιν.’335

ὣς ἔφατ᾽, αὐτὰρ ἐγώ μιν ἀμειβόμενος προσέειπον·

‘ὦ Κίρκη, πῶς γάρ με κέλεαι σοὶ ἤπιον εἶναι,

ἥ μοι σῦς μὲν ἔθηκας ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἑταίρους,

αὐτὸν δ᾽ ἐνθάδ᾽ ἔχουσα δολοφρονέουσα κελεύεις

ἐς θάλαμόν τ᾽ ἰέναι καὶ σῆς ἐπιβήμεναι εὐνῆς,340

ὄφρα με γυμνωθέντα κακὸν καὶ ἀνήνορα θήῃς.

οὐδ᾽ ἂν ἐγώ γ᾽ ἐθέλοιμι τεῆς ἐπιβήμεναι εὐνῆς,

εἰ μή μοι τλαίης γε, θεά, μέγαν ὅρκον ὀμόσσαι

μή τί μοι αὐτῷ πῆμα κακὸν βουλευσέμεν ἄλλο.’

    Odysseus meets Circe, protected from the same potion that turned his men into swine. Circe learns of Odysseus’s identity and invites him to her bed. Odysseus makes her swear an oath that will protect him from any harm.

    We might here pause to think about how the poet orchestrates this part of his story. Why two expeditions to Circe’s house? Looking ahead, we note that Odysseus is to meet Circe, an important boundary figure in his trip to the Underworld, but cannot be turned into a pig, since none of his crewmen appear to be powerful or resourceful enough to get him back to human form.

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    The poet might have simply skipped the first expedition under Eurylochus and passed directly to the encounter with Hermes, which would still provide the hero with the requisite defense against the witch’s magic. But while this version would get Odysseus where he has to go, it would forfeit the shock of witnessing the crewmen’s transformation from human to animal. (Homer’s version of “show, don’t tell.”) Lost too would be the underlying message about the cost to men of giving over control of their bodies to a seductive woman, a concrete realization of the threat that we see Odysseus guarding himself against all through the story. His own meeting with the witch will focus on this peril.

    Hermes harvests some moly for Odysseus but offers no instruction on how to use the magic herb. As the god wafts away toward Olympus, Odysseus makes his way through the dark woods to Circe’s house. In case we had any doubt about the nature of the coming encounter, the poet once again sounds the fateful phrase, θύρας ὤιξε φαεινὰς (312), as the witch welcomes the hero into her lair. Following the correct protocol for entertaining guests, the Circe offers refreshment before asking any questions. The next six verses take us to the heart of the encounter: moly blocks the witch’s potion, Odysseus whips out his sword, and Circe kneels, grasping the hero’s knees. The symbolism of these acts signals a straightforward power negotiation. Having offered herself by opening up her “shining doors,” a powerful female tries to negate the hero’s masculine force with magic; the hero responds with his own power move, wielding his phallic sword and reducing the dangerous witch to the position of supplicant; that she eventually invites him to bed makes the connection between power and sex explicit.

    Hovering behind the overt symbolism of these verses lies another potent thematic paradigm. The offer of a seat and a drink is the first part of a traditional sequence of gestures in early Greek hexameter poetry associated with the representation of grief. The person grieving is shown to be refusing to accept the finality of her/his loss by abstaining from the tokens of participation in the ongoing processes of the life cycle, forgoing food, sleep, and sex. Those who would console the suffering person offer a seat and a drink. Acceptance of both tokens signals a readiness to let go of the dead and reenter the flow of life. The pattern plays a crucial role in the thematic resolution of the Iliad in Book 24, when Achilles and Priam console each other for the death their loved ones, Patroclus and Hector (Il. 24.477–643). The full sequence also appears in the Homeric Hymn to Demeter, a hexameter poem probably composed soon after the Odyssey, focusing on the rape of Persephone by Hades and its cosmic repercussions (Homeric Hymn to Demeter 188–211).

    The sequence can also appear in a slightly altered form, while still carrying its core significance. When Zeus decides to prod Priam and Achilles toward reconciliation in Book 24, he summons Thetis to Olympus. The goddess is given a seat and offered a drink, both of which she accepts. Here the symbolism of the gestures is proleptic—a preview of something that has not yet happened—since the loss she is prompted to accept is the coming death of her son Achilles, whom she has hoped would somehow escape the limits of mortality (Il. 24.93–140). When Hector returns to Troy in Book 6, the elements of the sequence are separated. First, he meets his mother, who offers him wine. He refuses, saying that wine would rob him of his fighting spirit and in any event, he could not offer a libation to Zeus with the blood of battle on his hands. Later, as he stands on the threshold of Paris’s bedroom, Helen urges him to sit and rest, a gesture carrying the fragrance of seduction (Il. 6.251–68, 342–62). He refuses, citing his need to return to the battlefield. Again, the symbolism of the sequence points forward. When Hector leaves his mother, his brother and sister-in-law, and his wife, each parting has an air of finality. As the consolation motif suggests, these will be his last goodbyes to those he loves. The death he refuses to accept for now is his own and by extension, Troy’s.

    If we assume the consolation pattern is active in Odysseus’s negotiations with Circe, then what is the loss he is invited to accept? Given the fate of his crew members, what is at stake here is not only the hero’s masculine power, but his every existence as a human being. The orchestration of the exchange reflects the narrative goals of the Odyssey as opposed to the Iliad. In the latter poem, the acceptance of mortality generates the thematic synthesis that brings the story to a satisfying—if melancholy—conclusion. Here, the survival of the hero is prerequisite to the restoration of order, the ultimate goal of the poem’s narrative. Though Odysseus seems to accept Circe’s offer, with all it portends for his identity as hero and human being, Hermes’ preemptive intervention shields him from the outcome the narrative pattern usually forecasts.

    The particular form of Odysseus’s brush with oblivion here once again prompts comparison with the Calypso episode. In both cases, a seductive goddess would control the hero, erasing his very identity as hero, Hermes plays the role of divine liberator, and a negotiation over power occurs that is represented as fundamentally sexual. The crucial difference between the two episodes is the order in which these elements appear. Calypso has already kept Odysseus for seven years when Hermes arrives to set him free. She reluctantly obeys Zeus’s command to release Odysseus, helping him build a boat and giving him supplies for the journey, including some “fragrant clothing” (5.264). Poseidon sends a storm that breaks up his boat, ripping off the sails and upper decks and throwing Odysseus into the sea. He struggles to surface again, because the cloak that Calypso gave him is pulling him down under the water. After he finally surfaces and grabs onto what is left of the boat, a friendly nymph, Ino, comes to him in the shape of a bird and gives him lifesaving advice: he should throw away Calypso’s clothing and instead tie the nymph’s κρήδεμνον, “veil” (5.346), around his chest. He does so and manages to survive another storm, struggling to the shore of Scheria (Od. 5.282–493).

    Calypso’s clothing drags him down toward nameless oblivion, a concrete representation of the “covering up” her name implies, then Ino’s veil saves him. A woman’s veil is the symbol in Homeric poetry for her modesty or chastity. When Andromache sees Hector’s corpse being dragged around the walls of Troy, she tears off her veil and throws it over the walls, a symbol of her coming violation and the penetration of Troy’s battlements, κρήδεμνα, “head binders” (Il. 22.467–72). When Nausicaa and her maids decide to play catch by the shore, they throw off their veils, making themselves vulnerable to strange men (6.99–100). What we see, then, in Odysseus’s exchanges with Calypso and Ino is the same kind of symbolic power negotiation as we find in Odysseus’s conquering of Circe: The sacrifice of Ino’s modesty counterbalances the sexual hold of Calypso.

    In the Circe encounter, Odysseus is protected in advance from the erasure that we have witnessed him undergoing at the hands of Calypso. This preemptive strike sets the stage for the entire episode. Once the threat of being unmanned is removed, Odysseus and his men will spend an entirely serene interlude with Circe, a benign helper in the mold of Siduri the barkeep.

     

    Further Reading

    Nagler, M. 1974. Spontaneity and Tradition: The Oral Art of Homer,174–198. Berkeley: University of California Press. 

    Van Nortwick, T. 1992. Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Second Self and the Hero’s Journey in Ancient Epic, 76–77. New York: Oxford University Press.

     

    302 πόρε: “gave (me),” unaugmented impf.

    302  ἀργεϊφόντης: an epithet of Hermes.

    303 ἐρύσας: “having pulled it.”

    304 ῥίζῃ: “at the root,” dative of place (Monro 145; Smyth 1531).

    304  ἔσκε: “was,” iterative impf. > εἰμί (Smyth 495).

    304  γάλακτι: dative with εἴκελον (“similar to”).

    305  μῶλυ … μιν: object (μιν) and predicate accusative (μῶλυ) with καλέουσι.

    305  χαλεπὸν: understand ἐστί.

    305  δέ τ(ε): both here and in the next line the τε is the untranslatable Homeric τε (Monro 332; Smyth 2970).

    306  πάντα: “completely,” adverbial neut. acc. pl.

    309  ἤϊα: 1st sing. impf. > εἶμι.

    309  πολλὰ: “much,” “with respect to many things.”

    309  πόρφυρε: “was troubled” (lit., “grew dark,” like the sea when a storm is approaching).

    310  εἰνὶ: ἐν.

    311  μευ: “my” (μου).

    311  αὐδῆς: genitve object of ἔκλυεν (genitive of source).

    312  repetition of line 10.230.

    313  κάλει: ἔκαλει, unaugmented impf.

    313  ἦτορ: accusative of respect.

    314  εἷσε: “she made me sit down,” causal > ἵζω. Compare line 10.233.

    315  ὑπὸ: "underneath," adverbial.

    315  ποσὶν: “for my feet”; dat. pl. >πούς.

    315  ἦεν: ἦν > εἰμί.

    316  τεῦχε: “she prepared,” unaugmented 3rd sing. impf.

    316  ὄφρα πίοιμι: purpose clause with optative in secondary sequence, > πίνω.

    317  ἐν: i.e., in the cup.

    317  ἧκε: “placed,” 3rd sing. aor. > ἵημι.

    319  πεπληγυῖα: fem. nom. sing. pf. act. ptc. > πλήσσω / πλήττω.

    319  ἔπος τ᾽ ἔφατ᾽ ἔκ τ᾽ ὀνόμαζε: according to Cunliffe, a formula “apparently meaning no more than ‘to address’” (lit., “he said a word and called out loud by name”). See line 10.280.

    320  ἔρχεο: imperat. > ἔρχομαι.

    320  συφεόνδε: “to the pigsty.” -δε is a directional suffix.

    320  λέξο: aor. mid. imperat. > λέγω, “to lie down.”

    321–22  fulfilling the instructions given by Hermes in lines 10.294–95.

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

    321  παρὰ μηροῦ: “from beside your thigh.”

    322  ἐπήϊξα: 1st sing. aor. > ἐπαΐσσω, with dative object.

    322  ὥς τε: “as if.”

    322  κτάμεναι: aor. infin. > κτείνω, complementary with μενεαίνων.

    323  μέγα: “loudly.”

    323  ὑπέδραμε: “ducked in under (my sword),” aor. > ὑποτρέχω.

    323  γούνων: object (partitive genitive) of λάβε (ἕλαβε) (Monro 151; Smyth 1346).

    325  τίς πόθεν: “who on earth …?” On the form of the double question (or "question within a question"), see Smyth 2646.

    325  εἶς: 2nd sing. > εἰμί.

    325  ἀνδρῶν: partitive genitive.

    325  τοκῆες: “parents.”

    326  ὡς: “that.”

    326  ἐθέλχθης: 2nd sing. aor. pass. > θέλγω.

    327  οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ: “for no….” Treat as a single negative (Monro 357; Smyth 2761).

    327  ἀνέτλη: “withstood.” This verb (given as an aorist infinitive, ἀνατλῆναι, in the vocabulary) appears only in the aorist and the future middle.

    328  ὅς κε πίῃ … ἀμείψεται: present general conditional relative clause (κε / ἄν + subj.).

    328  ἀμείψεται ἕρκος ὀδόντων: “(the drug) passes the barrier of his teeth,.” The implied subject is φάρμακα, which means there has been an unstated change of subject from ὅς, the relative pronon which is the subject of πίῃ (an instance of anacoluthon, Smyth 3004).

    328  ἀμείψεται: 3rd sing. short vowel subj. > ἀμείβω.

    329  σοὶ: dative of possession.

    329  στήθεσσιν: Epic dat. pl., which can be translated as singular (Monro 171; Smyth 1001).

    330  ἐσσι: 2nd sing. pres. > εἰμί.

    330  ὅν: “whom,” accusative subject of the future infinitive ἐλεύσεσθαι ( > ἔρχομαι) in indirect discourse introduced by φάσκεν.

    331  φάσκεν: “kept saying,” iterative impf. > φημί (Smyth 495).

    332  ἀνιόντα: acc. sing. pres. act. ptc. > ἄνειμι, agreeing with ὅν.

    333  θέο: aor. mid. imperative > τίθημι.

    333–34  νῶϊ … / ... ἐπιβείομεν: “let us two get into,” dual subject and hortatory short-vowel subjunctive (Monro 80).

    334  εὐνῆς: the verb ἐπιβαίνω takes a genitive object, as if the object were governed by the preposition ἐπί.

    334–35  ὄφρα ... / ... πεποίθομεν: purpose clause.

    334  μιγέντε: “mingling” (implies having sex), dual nom. aor. ptc. > μίγνυμι (Smyth 307).

    335  εὐνῇ καὶ φιλότητι: “in bed and love,” an example of zeugma (Smyth 3048).

    335  πεποίθομεν: pf. short vowel subj. > πείθω (pf. πέποιθα, “to trust,” with dative).

    337  πῶς γάρ … κέλεαι: “How can you…?” πῶς γάρ indicates impossibility or surprise (Monro 348.4; Smyth 2805b).

    337  κέλεαι: 2nd sing. pres. indic. dep. > κέλομαι, followed by accusative and infinitive.

    338  σῦς: "swine," acc. pl., see LSJ ὗς.

    338  ἔθηκας: “made,” with object (ἑταίρους) and predicate accusative (σῦς); 2nd sing. aor. act. > τίθημι.

    339  αὐτὸν: “me myself.”

    340  ἐπιβήμεναι: aor. act. infin.

    341  ὄφρα … θήῃς: purpose clause. This line echoes line 10.301.

    341  θήῃς: 2nd sing. aor. subj. > τίθημι; takes an object (με) and predicate accusatives (κακὸν, ἀνήνορα).

    342  οὐδ᾽ ἂν … ἐθέλοιμι …, εἰ μὴ … τλαίης ... ὀμόσσαι: "I would not want to..., unless you dare to swear," future less vivid conditional.

    343  εἰ μή: “unless.”

    344  μή … βουλευσέμεν: “not to….” μη + infin. is used in oaths and prohibitions (Smyth 2716). βουλευσέμεν is a future infinitive. This line echoes line 10.300.

    344  τί: “any.”

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    φωνέω φωνήσω ἐφώνησα πεφώνηκα πεφώνημαι ἐφωνήθην: to make a sound, speak

    πόρω ––– ἔπορον ––– ––– –––: to offer, furnish, supply, give; (pf. pass. 3 sing.) it is fated

    φάρμακον –ου τό: drug

    Ἀργειφόντης –ου ὁ: slayer of Argus, epithet of Hermes

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

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

    ῥίζα –ης ἡ: a root

    μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure

    γάλα –ακτος τό: milk

    εἴκελος –η –ον: like

    ἄνθος –ους τό: flower

    μῶλυ –υος τό: moly, mandrake 305

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ὀρύσσω ὀρύξω ὤρυξα ὀρώρυκα ὀρώρυγμαι ὠρύχθην: to dig, dig through, quarry

    θνητός –ή –όν: mortal

    Ἑρμῆς (or Ἑρμείας) –οῦ ὁ: Hermes, herm

    ἀποβαίνω ἀποβήσομαι ἀποέβην ἀποβέβηκα ––– –––: to leave, go away

    Ὄλυμπος –ου ὁ: Mount Olympus

    ὑλήεις –εσσα –εν: woody, wooded

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)

    Κίρκη –ης ἡ: Circe, the enchantress, daughter of Helius, sister of Aeētes, dwelling in the isle of Aeaea

    καρδία –ας ἡ: heart

    πορφύρω – – – – –: to be agitated, unquiet

    κίω – – – – –: go, go away

    θύρα –ας ἡ: door 310

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    καλλιπλόκαμος –ον: with beautiful locks

    βοάω βοήσομαι ἐβόησα βεβόηκα βεβόημαι ἐβοήθην: to shout, roar

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    κλύω ––– κέκλυκα ––– ––– –––: to hear, listen to; to have a reputation, be judged or considered

    αὐδή –ῆς ἡ: the human voice, speech

    αἶψα: rapidly, speedily, suddenly

    ἐξέρχομαι ἐξελεύσομαι ἐξῆλθον ἐξελήλυθα ––– –––: to go/come out, go forth

    θύρα –ας ἡ: door

    οἴγω οἴξω ᾦξα ᾦχα ᾦγμαι ᾤχθην: to open

    φαεινός –ή –όν : bright, brilliant, radiant

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet

    ἀχεύω (or ἀχέω), aor. 2 ἤκαχε, pf. pass. ἀκάχημαι: to be afflicted, be grieved

    ἦτορ τό: the heart

    ἵζω εἵσομαι εἷσα/ἵζησα ἵζηκα: to take a seat, sit down; cause to take a seat

    εἰσάγω εἰσάξω εἰσήγαγον εἰσαγήοχα εἰσῆγμαι εἰσήχθην: to lead in, bring before

    θρόνος –ου ὁ: arm-chair

    ἀργυρόηλος –ον: silver-studded

    δαιδάλεος –α –ον: artistically crafted 315

    θρῆνυς –υος ἡ: a footstool

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

    κυκεών –ῶνος ὁ: beverage, potion

    χρύσεος –η –ον: golden, gold-inlaid

    δέπας –αος τό: drinking cup, beaker

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

    φάρμακον –ου τό: drug

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet

    ἐκπίνω ἐκπίομαι ἐκέπιον ἐκπέπωκα ἐκπέπομαι ἐκεπόθην: to drink

    θέλγω θέλξω ἔθελξα ἐθέλχθην: to bewitch

    ῥάβδος –ου ὁ: a rod, wand, stick, switch

    πλήττω πλήξω ἔπληξα πέπληγα πέπληγμαι ἐπλήγην (–επλάγην): strike, smite

    συφεός –οῦ ὁ: a hog-sty 320

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    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

    ἐπαΐσσω/ἐπᾴσσω/ἐπᾴττω ἐπᾴξω ἐπῇξα ––– ––– ἐπηίχθην: to rush at

    κτείνω κτενῶ ἔκτεινα ἀπέκτονα ––– –––: kill

    μενεαίνω – – – – –: to desire earnestly

    ἰάχω – – – – –: to cry, shout, shriek, hiss

    ὑποτρέχω ὑποδραμοῦμαι ὑπέδραμον ὑποδεδράμηκα: to run in under

    γόνυ γόνατος (or γουνός) τό: knee

    ὀλοφύρομαι ὀλοφυροῦμαι ὠλοφυράμην – – ὠλοφύρθην: to lament, wail; pity

    πτερόεις πτερόεσσα πτερόεν: winged

    προσαυδάω προσαυδήσω προσηύδησα προσηύδηκα προσηύδημαι προσηυδήθην: to speak to, address, accost

    πόθεν: from where? whence? 325

    πόθι: where?

    ἠδέ: and

    τοκεύς –έως ὁ: parent

    θαῦμα –ατος τό: wonder

    φάρμακον –ου τό: drug

    θέλγω θέλξω ἔθελξα ἐθέλχθην: to bewitch

    φάρμακον –ου τό: drug

    ἀνατλῆναι (aor. inf.): to bear up against, endure

    ἀμείβω ἀμείψω ἤμειψα ἤμειφα ἤμειμμαι ἠμείφθην: to respond, answer; to exchange; (mid.) to take turns, alternate; to change, place, pass

    ἕρκος –ους τό: a fence, hedge, wall, barrier

    ὀδούς –οντος ὁ: tooth

    στῆθος –ους τό: breast, chest; (pl.) heart, spirit

    ἀκήλητος –ον: to be won by no charms, proof against enchantment, inexorable, uncharmable

    Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey 330

    πολύτροπος –ον: much-turned

    φάσκω impf. ἔφασκον ––– ––– ––– –––: to say, affirm, think, deem

    χρυσόρραπις –ιδος: with wand of gold

    Ἀργειφόντης –ου ὁ: slayer of Argus, epithet of Hermes

    Τροίη –ης ἡ: Troy

    ἄνειμι: go up, reach; return

    θοός –ή –όν: swift

    μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure

    ἄγε: come! come on! well!

    κολεόν –οῦ τό: a sheath, scabbard

    ἄορ ἄορος τό: sword

    εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors

    ἐπιβαίνω ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπέβην ἐπιβέβηκα ––– –––: to go on, enter, step up, mount, board (a ship) + gen.

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

    εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors 335

    φιλότης –ητος ἡ: love, friendship

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet

    μιν: (accusative singular third person pronoun) him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    ἀμείβω ἀμείψω ἤμειψα ἤμειφα ἤμειμμαι ἠμείφθην: to respond, answer; to exchange; (mid.) to take turns, alternate; to change, place, pass

    προσεῖπον (aor. 2 of προσαγορεύω and προσφωνέω); Εp. προσέειπον: to speak to one, address, accost

    κέλομαι κελήσομαι ἐκελησάμην ἐκεκλόμην: command, urge on, exhort, call to

    ἤπιος [–α] –ον: gentle, mild, kind

    ὗς (or σῦς) ὑός (or συός) ὁ/ἡ: swine, hog; (f.) sow

    μέγαρον –ου τό: a large room, hall, feast-hall

    ἑταῖρος –ου ὁ: comrade, companion

    ἐνθάδε: to here, to there

    δολοφρονέων –ουσα –ον: planning craft, wily-minded

    θάλαμος or θάλᾶμος –ου ὁ: chamber, inner part of the house (usually reserved for women); bedchamber (of the mistress of the house); nuptial chamber 340

    ἐπιβαίνω ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπέβην ἐπιβέβηκα ––– –––: to go on, enter, step up, mount, board (a ship) + gen.

    εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors

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

    γυμνόω γυμνώσω ἐγύμνωσα ––– γεγύμνωμαι ἐγυμνώθην: to strip naked

    ἀνήνωρ –ορος: unmanly

    τεός –ή –όν: = σός, 'your'

    ἐπιβαίνω ἐπιβήσομαι ἐπέβην ἐπιβέβηκα ––– –––: to go on, enter, step up, mount, board (a ship) + gen.

    εὐνή εὐνῆς ἡ: pallet, bed, den; (pl.) stones (to anchor a ship), anchors

    τλάω τλήσομαι ἔτλην τέτληκα –––– ––––: to tolerate, endure, resist; to dare; to have the courage (+ infin.); (part.) τετληώς

    θεά –ᾶς ἡ: goddess

    ὅρκος –ου ὁ: oath

    ὄμνυμι (or ὀμνύω) ὀμοῦμαι ὤμοσα ὀμώμοκα ὀμώμο(σ)μαι ὠμόθην: to swear

    πῆμα –ατος τό: suffering, misery, calamity, woe, bane; cause of suffering

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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-302-344