"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

    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).

    read full essay

    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  : “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  : “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.

    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

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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/xi-271-320