ἧος ὁ ταῦθ᾽ ὥρμαινε κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμόν,

ὦρσε δ᾽ ἐπὶ μέγα κῦμα Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων,

δεινόν τ᾽ ἀργαλέον τε, κατηρεφές, ἤλασε δ᾽ αὐτόν.

ὡς δ᾽ ἄνεμος ζαὴς ἠΐων θημῶνα τινάξῃ

καρφαλέων· τὰ μὲν ἄρ τε διεσκέδασ᾽ ἄλλυδις ἄλλῃ·

ὣς τῆς δούρατα μακρὰ διεσκέδασ᾽. αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς370

ἀμφ᾽ ἑνὶ δούρατι βαῖνε, κέληθ᾽ ὡς ἵππον ἐλαύνων,

εἵματα δ᾽ ἐξαπέδυνε, τά οἱ πόρε δῖα Καλυψώ.

αὐτίκα δὲ κρήδεμνον ὑπὸ στέρνοιο τάνυσσεν,

αὐτὸς δὲ πρηνὴς ἁλὶ κάππεσε, χεῖρε πετάσσας,

νηχέμεναι μεμαώς. ἴδε δὲ κρείων ἐνοσίχθων,375

κινήσας δὲ κάρη προτὶ ὃν μυθήσατο θυμόν·

"οὕτω νῦν κακὰ πολλὰ παθὼν ἀλόω κατὰ πόντον,

εἰς ὅ κεν ἀνθρώποισι διοτρεφέεσσι μιγήῃς.

ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὥς σε ἔολπα ὀνόσσεσθαι κακότητος."

ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἵμασεν καλλίτριχας ἵππους,380

ἵκετο δ᾽ εἰς Αἰγάς, ὅθι οἱ κλυτὰ δώματ᾽ ἔασιν.

αὐτὰρ Ἀθηναίη κούρη Διὸς ἄλλ᾽ ἐνόησεν.

ἦ τοι τῶν ἄλλων ἀνέμων κατέδησε κελεύθους,

παύσασθαι δ᾽ ἐκέλευσε καὶ εὐνηθῆναι ἅπαντας:

ὦρσε δ᾽ ἐπὶ κραιπνὸν Βορέην, πρὸ δὲ κύματ᾽ ἔαξεν,385

ἧος ὃ Φαιήκεσσι φιληρέτμοισι μιγείη

διογενὴς Ὀδυσεὺς θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξας.

ἔνθα δύω νύκτας δύο τ᾽ ἤματα κύματι πηγῷ

πλάζετο, πολλὰ δέ οἱ κραδίη προτιόσσετ᾽ ὄλεθρον.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ τρίτον ἦμαρ ἐυπλόκαμος τέλεσ᾽ Ἠώς,390

καὶ τότ᾽ ἔπειτ᾽ ἄνεμος μὲν ἐπαύσατο ἠδὲ γαλήνη

ἔπλετο νηνεμίη: ὁ δ᾽ ἄρα σχεδὸν εἴσιδε γαῖαν

ὀξὺ μάλα προϊδών, μεγάλου ὑπὸ κύματος ἀρθείς.

ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν ἀσπάσιος βίοτος παίδεσσι φανήῃ

πατρός, ὃς ἐν νούσῳ κεῖται κρατέρ᾽ ἄλγεα πάσχων,395

δηρὸν τηκόμενος, στυγερὸς δέ οἱ ἔχραε δαίμων,

ἀσπάσιον δ᾽ ἄρα τόν γε θεοὶ κακότητος ἔλυσαν,

ὣς Ὀδυσῆ' ἀσπαστὸν ἐείσατο γαῖα καὶ ὕλη,

νῆχε δ᾽ ἐπειγόμενος ποσὶν ἠπείρου ἐπιβῆναι.

ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε τόσσον ἀπῆν ὅσσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας,400

καὶ δὴ δοῦπον ἄκουσε ποτὶ σπιλάδεσσι θαλάσσης:

ῥόχθει γὰρ μέγα κῦμα ποτὶ ξερὸν ἠπείροιο

δεινὸν ἐρευγόμενον, εἴλυτο δὲ πάνθ᾽ ἁλὸς ἄχνῃ·

οὐ γὰρ ἔσαν λιμένες νηῶν ὄχοι, οὐδ᾽ ἐπιωγαί.

ἀλλ᾽ ἀκταὶ προβλῆτες ἔσαν σπιλάδες τε πάγοι τε·405

καὶ τότ᾽ Ὀδυσσῆος λύτο γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἦτορ,

ὀχθήσας δ᾽ ἄρα εἶπε πρὸς ὃν μεγαλήτορα θυμόν·

    Poseidon keeps up the pressure on Odysseus, who puts on the veil given to him by Ino. Athena calms the winds, but Odysseus continues to drift until he finally sees the rocky coast of Phaeacia.

    Poseidon’s storm finishes the dismantling of the fragile boat, scattering the shattered timbers he had so carefully crafted into the vehicle for his return to human civilization. Odysseus has reached a low point in his journey. Instead of a boat, he is reduced to riding a passing spar like a horse, a conveyance that no one except Poseidon would find useful in the middle of the sea.

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    Faced with annihilation once again, he must let go of his resistance to trusting Ino. He accepts the bargain she offers, shedding Calypso’s clothing, the last vestiges of her control over him, and wraps himself in Ino’s veil. With this new leverage, he once again begins the long climb back from powerless anonymity to heroic glory.

    Satisfied that he has inflicted as much suffering as possible on Odysseus, Poseidon rolls away over the waves. The hero does not have to wait long for help:

    αὐτὰρ Ἀθηναίη κούρη Διὸς ἄλλ᾽ ἐνόησεν.
    ἦ τοι τῶν ἄλλων ἀνέμων κατέδησε κελεύθους,
    παύσασθαι δ᾽ ἐκέλευσε καὶ εὐνηθῆναι ἅπαντας:
    ὦρσε δ᾽ ἐπὶ κραιπνὸν Βορέην, πρὸ δὲ κύματ᾽ ἔαξεν,
    ἧος ὃ Φαιήκεσσι φιληρέτμοισι μιγείη
    διογενὴς Ὀδυσεὺς θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξας

    But Athena, daughter of Zeus, had other plans.
    She restrained the flow of all the other winds
    and told them to settle down and go to sleep.
    Then she roused the swift north wind and broke down the waves,
    until Zeus-born Odysseus might mingle with
    the oar-loving Phaeacians, escaping death and destruction.

    Odyssey 5.382–87 

    A symmetrical divine response to Odysseus continues, Poseidon attacking, Athena defending. The inverted gender implications of the imagery in the two interventions repay closer inspection. Poseidon, male god of the sea, brings chaos and disorder, smashing the boat and undercutting the masculine project of channeling natural forces to create human civilization. His subversive acts reflect his annoyance at being left out of the deliberations on Olympus. Athena, the warrior goddess born from Zeus’s head without benefit of a mother, gets the masculine project back on track by restraining the winds and cutting a path through the waves to afford a straight course toward the human civilization of the Phaeacians. At the same time, she “puts the winds to sleep,” like an indulgent mother, a role she will play for Odysseus more than once in the poem. Though feminine forces have often been the source of obstacles in Odysseus’s journey homeward, at this moment we seem to have reached a turning point: Calypso’s lingering hold on the hero slips away with the clothes he sheds, and both Ino and Athena play a supportive maternal role, buoying him up as he reemerges from the primal sea to be reborn on shore.

    Homer’s vision here is, as often, thrown into relief when compared to Virgil’s later reworking of the same material in the Aeneid, in the storm that Juno sends to keep the Trojans from reaching Carthage. Poseidon’s anger stems from a specific act by Odysseus, the blinding of his son, Polyphemus, while Athena loves the hero because he embodies traits that remind her of herself (cf. 13.287–310). The consequences of these divine attitudes are grave for Odysseus and those he meets, but not cosmic in their reach. Aeneas, by contrast, carries the burden of Juno’s anger not because of who he is or anything he chose willingly to do, but because he is dutifully headed for Carthage, a favorite city of Juno’s which, centuries in the future, his descendants will destroy. Juno’s anger will cause her to harry the Trojans across the Mediterranean, as Poseidon’s resentment periodically punishes Odysseus and his crew. But the reach of the Roman goddess’s rage is much wider and deeper, sweeping up whole civilizations in its wake.

    Juno’s anger has its roots in the judgment of Paris, an event that precedes the Trojan War:

    Arma virumque canō, Trōiae quī prīmus ab ōrīs
    Ītaliam fātō profugus Lāvīniaque vēnit
    lītora, multum ille et terrīs iactātus et altō
    vī superum, saevae memorem Iūnōnis ob īram,
    …………………………………………………..
    necdum etiam causae īrārum saevīque dolōrēs
    exciderant animō; manet altā mente repostum
    iūdicium Paridis sprētaeque iniūria fōrmae…

    I sing of arms and a man, who first from the shores
    of Troy came to Italy and Lavinia’s shores,
    a fugitive by fate, much tossed on land and sea
    by the force of savage Juno’s unforgetting anger.
    …………………………………………………..
    not yet had the cause of her anger and savage grief
    left her soul; there lingered deep in her mind
    the judgment of Paris and the insult to spurned beauty…

    Virgil, Aeneid 1.1–4, 25–27

    In Virgil’s vision, Juno’s malignant rage stands behind all the subsequent suffering in the poem, the fall of Troy, the destruction of Dido, the subjugation of the native Italian people whom the Trojans will defeat. Its baleful effects stretch across the entire poem, fueled by jealousy and spite, producing immense suffering. Poseidon’s anger, which surfaces in the first divine assembly of Book 1, has a much more limited scope. He is understandably angry about his son Polyphemus being blinded and makes some short-lived meteorological mischief for Odysseus but acquiesces in Zeus’s verdict soon enough.

    In the Odyssey, both Poseidon’s and Athena’s responses send mixed signals in terms of the traditional gender categories we have seen in the poem. The Sea God undermines the masculine order with his vengeful storm, while Athena steps in to restore masculine order. Virgil’s deities conform more strictly to expected behavior. The sources of disorder are invariably feminine, of order, masculine. The first scenes of the Aeneid reflect this pattern clearly: Juno’s rage drives her to seek out Aeolus, the minor deity in charge of the winds; she bribes him to send a storm to wreck the Trojan fleet by offering him a nymph to “marry”; he is outranked in the divine hierarchy and complies; Neptune, Aeolus’s male superior, then calms the winds and rolls away across the waves in his chariot, these last verses clearly modeled on Poseidon’s exit in Odyssey 5 (Aen. 1.51156; Od. 5.380–81).

    A gendered division of human experience informs Virgil’s vision of the world in his poem, surfacing insistently throughout. The Odyssey reflects the same distinctions, but the boundaries are more fluid, allowing the poet to focus our attention on them to explore the varieties of human experience more fully. That Athena is a female deity and yet champions the male hero, sometimes acting as the agent of masculine order against feminine disorder, sometimes as a maternal protectress, expands the paradigms of gendered behavior in ways that provoke further reflection on their meaning. Odysseus himself embodies both masculine and feminine traits, as the Greeks saw them, boldly challenging sea monsters (e.g., 12.225–33) but also resorting to deception to outmaneuver more powerful adversaries. Much of the darkness in the Aeneid comes from the iron grip of higher powers who enforce the boundaries of human action to preserve their cosmic order. As we watch Aeneas and the Trojans respond to these forces, we learn about how human life can be destroyed but also ennobled by their struggles. The world of the Odyssey, by contrast, is a wide-open space for us to contemplate how our received ideas about human experience might be enriched by our loosening our grip on them.

     

    Further Reading

    Dimock, G. 1989. The Unity of the Odyssey, 70–73. Amherst: The University of Massachusetts Press.

    Van Nortwick, T. 1992. Somewhere I Have Never Travelled: The Second Self and the Hero’s Journey in Ancient Epic, 89–94. New York: Oxford University Press.

     

    366  ἐπὶ: "overhead," adverbial.

    368  ὡς: introducing a simile.

    368  ἠΐων … / καρφαλέων: “of dry chaff” > τὰ ἤϊα, in this sense only in this passage.

    368  τινάξῃ: 3rd sing. aor. act. subj. The aorist is common in similes (Smyth 1935), as is the subjunctive (Smyth 2483).

    369  ἄλλυδις ἄλλῃ: “in all directions.”

    370  ὡς: “so…,” marking the end of the simile.

    370  τῆς: i.e., of the raft (τῆς σχεδίης).

    371  ἀμφ᾽ ἑνὶ δούρατι βαῖνε: “went astride (ἀμφί) one (ἑνὶ) plank.” ἑνὶ > εἷς.

    371  κέληθ᾽ ὡς ἵππον ἐλαύνων: “as if riding a horse.” 

    371  κέληθ᾽: = κέλητα, masc. acc. sing. > κέλης.

    373  Odysseus finally follows the instructions Ino gave him in line 346.

    374  ἁλὶ: dative of place where.

    374  κάππεσε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > καταπίπτω.

    375  νηχέμεναι: pres. act. infin. > νήχω. Complementary infinitive with μεμαώς.

    375  μεμαώς: masc. nom. sing. ptc. > μέμαα.

    375  ἴδε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > *εἴδω.

    376  a repetition of line 285, introducing Poseidon’s second soliloquy.

    377  ἀλόω: 2nd sing. pres. mid./pass. dep. imperat. > ἀλάομαι.

    378  εἰς ὅ κεν … μιγήῃς: “until you come into contact with (mix with)…” General temporal clause (κεν + subj.). 

    378  μιγήῃς: 2nd sing. aor. pass. subj. > μ(ε)ίγνυμι.

    379  οὐδ᾽ … σε ἔολπα ὀνόσσεσθαι: indirect discourse introduced by ἔολπα and followed by an accusative (σε) and infinitive (ὀνόσσεσθαι) construction. As Stanford points out, Poseidon is being sarcastic here.

    379  ἔολπα: 1st sing. pf. act. indic. > ἔλπω, with present force.

    379  ὀνόσσεσθαι: fut. mid. infin. > ὄνομαι (“to find fault with”).

    379  κακότητος: “with your evils,” genitive with ὀνόσσεσθαι.

    382  ἄλλ(α) ἐνόησεν: “had other ideas.”

    385  ὦρσε δ᾽ ἐπὶ: "roused," tmesis > ἐπόρνυμι.

    385  πρὸ δὲ κύματ᾽ ἔαξεν: “and broke the waves in front (of him),” tmesis > προάγνυμι.

    386  ἧος ὃ … μιγείη: “until he comes into contact with …,” indefinite temporal clause with optative in secondary sequence (Smyth 2399).

    388  πλάζετο: “was beaten by …,” unaugmented impf. pass. > πλάζω.

    389  πολλὰ: “many times.”

    389  οἱ: dative of possession with κραδίη.

    389  προτιόσσετ(ο): “foresaw” > προτιόσσομαι.

    391  γαλήνη / ἔπλετο νηνεμίη: lit., “the stillness of the sea became calm.”

    392  εἴσιδε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > *εἰσείδω.

    393  ὀξὺ: "keenly," adverbial.

    393  προϊδών: masc. nom. sing. aor. act. ptc. > *προείδω.

    393  ὑπὸ: with genitive, expresses the personal agent of a passive verb (in this case, ἀρθείς: aor. pass. ptc. > αἴρω), but in this instance is used with a “personified” natural phenomenon, the wave (κύματος). See Smyth 1698, N.1 (3).

    394  ὡς δ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἂν …: “just as whenever …,” introducing a simile. The aorist is common in similes (Smyth 1935). ὅτ᾽ ἂν introduces a general temporal clause with subjunctive (φανήῃ: 3rd sing. aor. pass. subj. > φαίνω).

    394  ἀσπάσιος: predicate after φανήῃ.

    396  οἱ ἔχραε: “assails him,” 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > χράω (LSJ χράω A), with dative.

    397  κακότητος ἔλυσαν: “release from evil (hardship),” genitive of separation (Smyth 1392). The aorist can be translated as a present in a simile (Smyth 1935).

    398  ὡς: “so…,” marking the end of the simile.

    398  Ὀδυσῆ(ϊ): dat.

    398  ἐείσατο: 3rd sing. aor. mid. indic. > εἴδομαι. The two singular nominatives, γαῖα καὶ ὕλη, are the subjects of the singular verb.

    399  ποσὶν ἠπείρου ἐπιβῆναι: “to set foot on the land with his feet.” ποσὶν is pleonastic.

    400  ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε τόσσον ἀπῆν ὅσσον τε γέγωνε βοήσας: “but when he was as far away as he made himself heard when shouting,” i.e., when he was within shouting distance.

    401  ποτὶ: = πρὸς, “against,” with dative.

    401  θαλάσσης: with δοῦπον rather than σπιλάδεσσι.

    402  ῥόχθει: unaugmented 3rd sing. impf. act. indic.

    402  ποτὶ ξερὸν ἠπείροιο: “against the dry land.”

    403  εἴλυτο: 3rd sing. plupf. pass. indic. > εἰλύω, with past meaning.

    403  πάνθ': "completely," adverbial.

    406  λύτο: 3rd sing. aor. pass. indic. > λύω. γούνατα καὶ φίλον ἦτορ are the subjects of the singular verb.

    ὁρμαίνω ὁρμανῶ ὥρμηνα: to turn over

    φρήν φρενός ἡ: diaphragm; heart, mind, wits

    ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    Ποσειδῶν (or Ποσειδάων) –ῶνος ὁ: Poseidon

    ἐνοσίχθων –ονος ὁ: earth-shaker (epithet of Poseidon)

    ἀργαλέος –α –ον: hard to endure or deal with, difficult

    κατηρεφής –ες: covered over, vaulted, overhanging

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    ζαής –ές: strong-blowing, stormy

    ἤια –ατος τό: chaff

    θημών –ῶνος ὁ: a heap

    τινάσσω τινάξω ἐτίναξα ––– τετίναγμαι ἐτινάχθην: to shake

    καρφαλέος –α –ον: dry, parched

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    διασκεδάννυμι διασκεδῶ διεσκέδασα ––– διεσκέδασμαι διεσκεσάσθην: to scatter abroad, scatter to the winds, disperse

    ἄλλυδις: elsewhere, here and there, in another direction

    ἄλλῃ: in another place, elsewhere

    δόρυ δόρατος τό: spear; timber, beam (of a ship)370

    διασκεδάννυμι διασκεδῶ διεσκέδασα ––– διεσκέδασμαι διεσκεσάσθην: to scatter abroad, scatter to the winds, disperse

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

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

    δόρυ δόρατος τό: spear; timber, beam (of a ship)

    κέλης –ητος ὁ: a courser, riding-horse

    εἷμα –ατος τό: clothing

    ἐξαποδύνω – – – – : to put off

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

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

    δῖος –α –ον: divine, godlike, shining

    Καλυψώ –οῦς ἡ: Calypso, a goddess, daughter of Atlas

    κρήδεμνον –ου τό: a veil

    στέρνον –ου τό: chest

    τανύω τανύσω ἐτάνυσα – τετάνυσμαι ἐτανύσθην: to stretch, extend, lie (in a geographical sense); to set up; to strain

    πρηνής –ές: with the face downwards, head-foremost

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)

    καταπίπτω καταπεσοῦμα κατέπεσον καταπέπτωκα: to fall

    πεταννύω/πετάννυμι πετῶ ἐπέτασα πεπέτακα πέπταμαι ἐπετάσθην: to spread out

    νήχω νήξομαι ἐνηξάμην: to swim375

    μάω – – – – –: be eager, press on

    κρείων fem. -ουσα: commanding, kingly; (as subst.) ruler

    ἐνοσίχθων –ονος ὁ: earth-shaker (epithet of Poseidon)

    κάρα –ατος τό: the head

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    μυθέομαι μυθήσομαι μεμύθημαι ἐμυθήθην: speak or talk of, describe, explain, relate

    ἀλάομαι ἀλήσομαι ἀλάλημαι ἠλήθην: to wander, stray

    πόντος –ου ὁ: sea, open sea

    Διοτρεφής –ές: cherished by Zeus

    ἔλπω – – – – –: to hope

    ὄνομαι ὀνόσσομαι ὠνοσάμην – – ὠνόσθην: to blame, find fault with, throw a slur upon, treat scornfully

    κακότης –ητος ἡ: badness

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus380

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

    ἱμάσσω ἱμάσω ἵμασα: to flog

    καλλίθριξ -τριχος: with beautiful fleece or hair

    ἱκνέομαι ἵξομαι ἱκόμην ––– ἷγμαι –––: to come, reach

    Αἰγαί –ῶν αἱ: town in Achaea, seat of worship of Poseidon

    ὅθι: where

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    κλuτός –ή –όν: illustrious, glorious

    δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)

    ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently

    Ἀθήνη –ης ἡ: Athena

    κόρη (or κούρη) –ης ἡ: girl, maiden; daughter

    Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus

    νοέω νοοῦμαι ––– ––– ––– –––: perceive, observe, think

    τοι: let me tell you, surely

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    καταδέω καταδεήσω κατεδέησα καταδεδέηκα καταδεδέημαι κατεδεήθην: to bind, take prisoner, convict, cast a spell on

    κέλευθος –ου ἡ: path, with neuter plural κέλευθα

    εὐνάω εὐνάσω εὔνασα/ηὔνασα ––– ηὔνασμαι εὐνάσθην: to cause to lie down; (pass.) to lie down, go to bed (of sexual relations)

    ὄρνυμι ὄρσω ὦρσα ὄρωρα ὀρώρεμαι –––: to stir up, move; (mid.) to rise, get up385

    κραιπνός –ή –όν: rapid, rushing

    Βορέης Βορέαο ὁ: Boreas, North Wind

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ἀγνύω/ἄγνυμι ἄξω ἔαξα ἔαγα: to break, smash

    Φαίαξ –ακος ὁ: a Phaeacian

    φιλήρετμος –ον: loving the oar

    διογενής –ές: sprung from Zeus (epithet of Odysseus)

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

    κήρ κηρός ἡ: doom, death, fate

    ἀλύσκω ἀλύξω ἤλυξα ––– ––– –––: to flee from, shun, avoid, forsake

    ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    πηγός –ή –όν: well put together, compact, strong

    πλάζω πλάγξομαι ἔπλαγξα ––– ––– ἐπλάγχθην: to make to wander

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    καρδία –ας ἡ: heart

    προτιόσσομαι – – – – –: to look at

    ὄλεθρος –ου ὁ: ruin, destruction, death

    ἦμαρ –ατος τό: day390

    ἐϋπλόκαμος –ον: fairhaired

    τελέω τελῶ or τελέσω ἐτέλεσα τετέλεκα τετέλεσμαι ἐτελέσθην: to finish, complete, carry out

    ἠώς ἠοῦς ἡ: dawn; Dawn

    ἄνεμος –ου ὁ: wind

    ἠδέ: and

    γαλήνη –ης ἡ: stillness of the sea, calm

    πέλω ––– ἔπλον ––– ––– –––: to be (the aor. has pres. signif.)

    νηνεμίη –ης ἡ: windless calm, dead calm (in a negative sense)

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    σχεδόν: near; almost

    εἰσοράω εἰσόψομαι εἰσεῖδον εἰσεόρακα/εἰσεώρακα/εἰσόπωπα εἰσεόραμαι/εἰσεώραμαι/εἰσῶμμαι εἰσώφθην: to look into, look upon, view, behold

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    προεῖδον (aor. of προοράω): to see beforehand, catch sight of

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ἀσπάσιος [–α] –ον: well-received, welcome, pleasing; pleased, glad; (adv.) ἀσπασίως gladly, joyfully, willingly

    βίοτος –ου ὁ: life, sustenance, livelihood

    κρατερός –ά –όν: strong, powerful, mighty395

    ἄλγος –ους τό: pain

    δηρός –ά –όν: long, too long

    τήκω τήξω ἔτηξα ––– ––– –––: to melt, melt down

    στυγερός –ά –όν: hated, abominated, loathed; chilling

    οὗ, οἷ, ἕ and encl. οὑ, οἱ, ἑ: him, her, it; himself, herself, itself

    χράω χρήσω ἔκρησα κέχρηκα ––– –––: to fall upon, attack, assail; deliver an oracle, (mid.) consult an oracle

    ἀσπάσιος [–α] –ον: well-received, welcome, pleasing; pleased, glad; (adv.) ἀσπασίως gladly, joyfully, willingly

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    κακότης –ητος ἡ: badness

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

    ἀσπαστός –ή –όν: welcome

    εἴδομαι εἴσομαι εἰσάμην: to be visible, appear; to seem; to know, understand

    γαίη –ης ἡ: land, region, district

    ὕλη –ης ἡ: woods, forest; firewood

    νήχω νήξομαι ἐνηξάμην: to swim

    ἐπείγω ἐπείξομαι ἤπειξα ––– ἤπειγμαι ἐπείχθην: to press hard; (pass.) to be in a hurry

    ἤπειρος –ου ἡ: land, mainland, continent

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

    τόσος –η –ον: so great, so vast400

    ἄπειμι ἀπέσομαι ––– ––– ––– –––: to be away, be distant, be absent

    γέγωνα (perf. of γεγωνέω): to shout, cry out

    βοάω βοήσομαι ἐβόησα βεβόηκα βεβόημαι ἐβοήθην: to shout, roar

    δοῦπος –ου ὁ: any dead, heavy sound, a thud

    σπιλάς –άδος ἡ: a rock over which the sea dashes, a ledge of rock

    ῥοχθέω – – – – –: to dash with a roaring sound

    κῦμα –ατος τό: wave

    ξερόν –οῦ τό: dry land

    ἤπειρος –ου ἡ: land, mainland, continent

    ἐρεύγομαι ἐρεύξομαι ἠρευξάμην: belch out, disgorge

    εἰλύω εἰλύσω ––– ––– εἴλυμαι ἐλύσθην: to enfold, envelop; (mid. pass.) to be wrapped, covered, concealed

    ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)

    ἄχνη –ης ἡ: foam, froth

    λιμήν –ένος ὁ: harbor

    ὄχος –ους τό: a carriage, shelter

    ἐπιωγαί –ῶν αἱ: places of shelter

    ἀκτή –ῆς ἡ: headland, foreland, promontory405

    προβλής –ῆτος: forestretching, jutting

    σπιλάς –άδος ἡ: a rock over which the sea dashes, a ledge of rock

    πάγος –ου ὁ: crag, rocky hill

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

    γόνυ γόνατος (or γουνός) τό: knee

    ἦτορ τό: the heart

    ὀχθέω ὀχθήσω ὤχθησα: to be sorely angered, to be vexed in spirit

    ἄρα: now, then, next, thus

    ἑός ἑή ἑόν: his, her, own

    μεγαλήτωρ –ορος: great - hearted, proud

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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/v-365-407