ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἡγήσατο, τοὶ δ᾽ ἅμ᾽ ἕποντο
σκηπτοῦχοι· κῆρυξ δὲ μετῴχετο θεῖον ἀοιδόν.
κούρω δὲ κρινθέντε δύω καὶ πεντήκοντα
βήτην, ὡς ἐκέλευσ᾽, ἐπὶ θῖν᾽ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί ῥ᾽ ἐπὶ νῆα κατήλυθον ἠδὲ θάλασσαν,50
νῆα μὲν οἵ γε μέλαιναν ἁλὸς βένθοσδε ἔρυσσαν,
ἐν δ᾽ ἱστόν τ᾽ ἐτίθεντο καὶ ἱστία νηὶ μελαίνῃ,
ἠρτύναντο δ᾽ ἐρετμὰ τροποῖς ἐν δερματίνοισι,
πάντα κατὰ μοῖραν, ἀνά θ᾽ ἱστία λευκὰ πέτασσαν.
ὑψοῦ δ᾽ ἐν νοτίῳ τήν γ᾽ ὥρμισαν· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα55
βάν ῥ᾽ ἴμεν Ἀλκινόοιο δαΐφρονος ἐς μέγα δῶμα.
πλῆντο δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ αἴθουσαί τε καὶ ἕρκεα καὶ δόμοι ἀνδρῶν
ἀγρομένων· πολλοὶ δ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἔσαν, νέοι ἠδὲ παλαιοί.
τοῖσιν δ᾽ Ἀλκίνοος δυοκαίδεκα μῆλ᾽ ἱέρευσεν,
ὀκτὼ δ᾽ ἀργιόδοντας ὕας, δύο δ᾽ εἰλίποδας βοῦς·60
τοὺς δέρον ἀμφί θ᾽ ἕπον, τετύκοντό τε δαῖτ᾽ ἐρατεινήν.
κῆρυξ δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθεν ἄγων ἐρίηρον ἀοιδόν,
τὸν πέρι μοῦσ᾽ ἐφίλησε, δίδου δ᾽ ἀγαθόν τε κακόν τε·
ὀφθαλμῶν μὲν ἄμερσε, δίδου δ᾽ ἡδεῖαν ἀοιδήν.
τῷ δ᾽ ἄρα Ποντόνοος θῆκε θρόνον ἀργυρόηλον65
μέσσῳ δαιτυμόνων, πρὸς κίονα μακρὸν ἐρείσας·
κὰδ δ᾽ ἐκ πασσαλόφι κρέμασεν φόρμιγγα λίγειαν
αὐτοῦ ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς καὶ ἐπέφραδε χερσὶν ἑλέσθαι
κῆρυξ· πὰρ δ᾽ ἐτίθει κάνεον καλήν τε τράπεζαν,
πὰρ δὲ δέπας οἴνοιο, πιεῖν ὅτε θυμὸς ἀνώγοι.70
οἱ δ᾽ ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον.
αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ πόσιος καὶ ἐδητύος ἐξ ἔρον ἕντο,
μοῦσ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἀοιδὸν ἀνῆκεν ἀειδέμεναι κλέα ἀνδρῶν,
οἴμης τῆς τότ᾽ ἄρα κλέος οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἵκανε,
νεῖκος Ὀδυσσῆος καὶ Πηλεΐδεω Ἀχιλῆος,75
ὥς ποτε δηρίσαντο θεῶν ἐν δαιτὶ θαλείῃ
ἐκπάγλοις ἐπέεσσιν, ἄναξ δ᾽ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων
χαῖρε νόῳ, ὅ τ᾽ ἄριστοι Ἀχαιῶν δηριόωντο.
ὣς γάρ οἱ χρείων μυθήσατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων
Πυθοῖ ἐν ἠγαθέῃ, ὅθ᾽ ὑπέρβη λάινον οὐδὸν80
χρησόμενος· τότε γάρ ῥα κυλίνδετο πήματος ἀρχὴ
Τρωσί τε καὶ Δαναοῖσι Διὸς μεγάλου διὰ βουλάς.
notes
Preparations for Odysseus's departure and for the feast. The bard Demodocus sings about a quarrel between Odysseus and Achilles at the start of the war.
Preparations for the stranger’s journey proceed in regular fashion (πάντα κατὰ μοῖραν, 54). Traditional language and phrasing dominate the first sixty verses of the book, a style that reinforces the sense of orderly occasion informing this opening scene. Playing against this measured pace is the energy of the crew as they get ready to sail.
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We know that the long-awaited return of Odysseus to Ithaka is coming, and our expectation adds an undercurrent of urgency. The poet has us right where he wants us now, and proceeds to tease us, delaying the hero’s departure for over 2500 verses.
Once the ship is in the water, Alkinous summons everyone to the feast. The bard is led in with much ceremony and settled in his silver chair. Once filled to their satisfaction, the guests sit back for the concert, which is to feature the “glorious deeds of men,” (κλέα ἀνδρῶν, 54), songs celebrating the heroic adventures of men like Achilles, Agamemnon, or Odysseus. Demodocus will be a significant part of what transpires in the royal palace. His role in the poem puts him in two overlapping categories, as someone who makes music and as a storyteller. Both are central to the poem’s meaning.
There are two types of music in the Odyssey, either the songs of bards like Demodocus or Phemius, the singer we meet in Ithaka during the poem’s opening scenes (1.153–55; 325–44), or the mysterious music made by female characters (see essay on Book 5.43–91). The narrative songs of bards recount the lives of heroes, agents of civilization, as the Greeks understood that project. In this perspective, human civilization is the masculine product of imposing limit on the power of extra-human forces in the universe, usually portrayed as embodying disorder. Thus, the Olympian regime is the result of Zeus defeating Typhoeus, a storm god, and Apollo’s sanctuary at Delphi is founded on the rotting body of the monstrous serpent, Pytho. When Demodocus sings, he celebrates by implication the orderly and just society of the Phaeacians. Phemius’ songs, by contrast, play against the evident disorder in Ithaka with Odysseus gone (1.325–59).
The second kind of music in the poem comes from singers like Calypso and Circe, whose voices seem to have a mysterious power to control other creatures (1.59–74; 10.221–24). This power is not in the service of human order. On the contrary, the sound blurs the clear boundaries that demarcate human experience and can lure heroes from their appointed tasks. The most dangerous example of subversive music is the Sirens, who call men to their deaths with seductive singing. Their art is especially nefarious, as they appeal to men with the promise of imparting knowledge about the Trojan War, a heroic project if ever there was one, but in the end offer only oblivion (12.166–200). When Odysseus first lands on the beach at Scheria, he hears the voices of Nausicaa and her maidens playing:
"ὤ μοι ἐγώ, τέων αὖτε βροτῶν ἐς γαῖαν ἱκάνω;
ἦ ῥ᾽ οἵ γ᾽ ὑβρισταί τε καὶ ἄγριοι οὐδὲ δίκαιοι,
ἦε φιλόξεινοι καί σφιν νόος ἐστὶ θεουδής;
ὥς τέ με κουράων ἀμφήλυθε θῆλυς ἀϋτή:
νυμφάων, αἳ ἔχουσ᾽ ὀρέων αἰπεινὰ κάρηνα
καὶ πηγὰς ποταμῶν καὶ πίσεα ποιήεντα.
ἦ νύ που ἀνθρώπων εἰμὶ σχεδὸν αὐδηέντων;
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγ᾽ ἐγὼν αὐτὸς πειρήσομαι ἠδὲ ἴδωμαι."
Oh no! What sort of people are these, whose land I’ve reached?
Are they arrogant, fierce, or lacking in justice?
Or kind to strangers, with intelligence like the gods’?
That’s the voice of girls wafting around me
or nymphs, who haunt the steep summits of the mountains
and springs of rivers and the grassy meadows.
Am I near people who speak my language?
Come now, I’ll see for myself.
Odyssey 6.119–26
The girls’ voices drifting down around Odysseus (ἀμφήλυθε,122), carry the same power to blur edges that Calypso’s name (“I will smother”) commemorates. The music of Demodocus would appear to be safe for Odysseus to hear, though it makes trouble nonetheless, as we will see.
Demodocus is also a storyteller, an art form even more central to the Odyssey’s meaning than music. Everywhere we look in the poem, we see the power of stories. The principal storyteller is Homer, orchestrating his vast and intricate design, but within that edifice, many others hold forth, Phemius, “Mentes,” Nestor, Menelaus, Helen, Demodocus, Eumaeus, Theoclymenus, Penelope, and the master of the form, Odysseus. Between these two levels, the poet and his characters, there is yet another story being told, if we believe Zeus:
"τέκνον ἐμόν, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων.
οὐ γὰρ δὴ τοῦτον μὲν ἐβούλευσας νόον αὐτή,
ὡς ἦ τοι κείνους Ὀδυσεὺς ἀποτίσεται ἐλθών;
Τηλέμαχον δὲ σὺ πέμψον ἐπισταμένως, δύνασαι γάρ,
ὥς κε μάλ᾽ ἀσκηθὴς ἣν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηται,
μνηστῆρες δ᾽ ἐν νηὶ: παλιμπετὲς ἀπονέωνται."
"My child, what kind of word has escaped the barrier of your teeth?
Haven’t you yourself arranged this plan,
that Odysseus would return to punish these men?
Contrive to send Odysseus back—you can do it—
so he arrives safely in his own fatherland,
and the suitors struggle back to port."
Odyssey 5.22–27
Athena has been complaining that the gods are doing nothing to release Odysseus from Calypso’s clutches. In answer, Zeus is essentially saying that she has already arranged for him to succeed in his mission. To put it another way, there is another story being told that has already been composed by Athena, the heroic return of her favorite. The tension in the poem between the goddess’s story and the wider world that Odysseus encounters on the way home is a major source of energy in the poem.
Demodocus first sings a song about something that appears nowhere else in Greek epic, a quarrel between Achilles and Odysseus at a banquet of the gods, which delights Agamemnon because it has been prophesied by the oracle at Delphi and from which follows some kind of catastrophe for Greeks and Trojans. The song and its meaning in the context of the banquet at Scheria are obscure at best and have prompted much speculation from scholars about where it might fit in the epic tradition. For our purposes here, what is important is the effect that the story has on Odysseus. His reaction is part of an intricate web of associations that depend on the kind of repeated narrative structures that characterize Homeric poetry.
Further Reading
Mackie, H. 1997. “Song and Storytelling: An Odyssean Perspective.” Transactions of the American Philological Association 127: 77–95.
Nagler, M. 1977. “Dread Goddess Endowed with Speech.” Archaeological News 6: 77–85.
Pucci, P. “The Song of the Sirens.” Arethusa 12: 121–132.
Tracy, S. 1990. The Story of the Odyssey, 50–54. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Van Nortwick, T. 2008. The Unknown Odysseus: Alternate Worlds in Homer’s Odyssey, 27–28. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Wohl, V. 1993. “Standing by the Sthamos: The Creation of Sexual Ideology in the Odyssey. Arethusa 26: 23; 34.
48 κούρω: dual (see line 35).
48 κρινθέντε: dual aor. pass. ptc. > κρίνω.
49 βήτην: dual aor. act. indic. > βαίνω.
49 ἐκέλευσ(ε): the subject is Alcinous, referring to his orders in lines 34–40.
51 οἵ γε: "some of them"
52 ἐν … ἐτίθεντο: “they placed (acc.) in (dat.),” tmesis, 3rd pl. impf. mid./pass. indic. > ἐντίθημι.
53 ἠρτύναντο: 3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. > άρτύνω.
53 τροποῖς ἐν δερματίνοισι: “in the leather straps” with which the oar is fastened to the thole pin.
54 ἀνά … πέτασσαν: "spread," tmesis, 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > ἀναπετάννυμι.
55 ὑψοῦ δ᾽ ἐν νοτίῳ: “and well out in the water,” see LSJ νότιος I.
55 τήν: i.e, the ship.
56 βάν ῥ᾽ ἴμεν: “they started out,” unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > βαίνω, with ἴμεν: infin. > εἶμι (Cunliffe βαίνω B.4).
57 πλῆντο: unaugmented 3rd pl. aor. pass. indic. > πίμπλημι.
58 ἀγρομένων: masc. gen. pl. aor. mid. ptc. > ἀγείρω.
59 τοῖσιν: dative of interest.
61 δέρον: unaugmented 3rd sing. impf. act. indic. > δέρω.
61 ἀμφί θ᾽ ἕπον: “dressed” the meat, unaugmented 3rd sing. aor. act. indic., tmesis > ἀμφιέπω (LSJ ἀμφιέπω II)
61 τετύκοντό: “prepared,” reduplicated 3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. > τεύχω. The subject is all of the Phaeaecians present, not just Alcinous. Several verbs in Homer form the second aorist with reduplication (Smyth 549D). For this form, see Autenrieth τεύχω.
63 πέρι: “above all others.”
63 δίδου: 3rd sing. impf. act. indic. > δίδωμι. The subject is μοῦσ(α).
64 ἄμερσε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἀμέρδω, with genitive.
65 τῷ: “for him,” dative of interest.
67 κὰδ … κρέμασεν: "hung up," tmesis, 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > κατακρεμάννυμι.
68 αὐτοῦ: “there,” adverbial, further explained by ὑπὲρ κεφαλῆς.
68 ἐπέφραδε χερσὶν ἑλέσθαι: “pointed out to him how to grasp it with his hands.”
68 ἐπέφραδε: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > φράζω. For the reduplicated second aorist form, see Smyth 549D. "The action of φράζω … probably means here that he [the herald] guided Demodocus' hand to the place where the harp was hanging” (Merry).
68 ἑλέσθαι: aor. mid. infin. > αἱρέω.
69 πὰρ δ᾽: “beside him,” “nearby,” here and in line 70.
70 πιεῖν: infinitive of purpose, aor. infin. > πίνω.
70 ὅτε … ἀνώγοι: general temporal clause, with optative in secondary sequence.
71 ἐπ᾽ ὀνείαθ᾽ ἑτοῖμα προκείμενα χεῖρας ἴαλλον: “they put their hands to the food that was prepared and ready.” A common formula in Homer (LSJ ἰάλλω). ὀνείαθ᾽ = ὀνείατα, which in the context of this formula means “food.” The subject is the assembled Phaeaecians.
72 ἐξ … ἕντο: tmesis, 3rd pl. aor. mid. indic. > ἐξίημι.
73 ἀνῆκεν: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ἀνίημι (LSJ ἀνίημι II.2).
73 ἀειδέμεναι: pres. act. infin.
74 οἴμης τῆς … κλέος: “(to sing) from the song, the fame of which …” The verb ἀείδω can take an accusative object (κλέα, line 73) or a genitive οἴμης could be taken as a genitive of source (Smyth 1410).
75 νεῖκος: in apposition to κλέα, defining the theme of Demodocus’s song.
76 ὥς: “how.”
78 χαῖρε: unaugmented 3rd sing. impf. act. indic.
78 νόῳ: dative of place where.
78 ὅ τ(ε): “because” (Smyth 2240a).
79 οἱ χρείων: “announcing to him,” masc. nom. sing. pres. act. ptc. > χράω. The verb is used of oracles, the active voice meaning “announce” (with the oracle as the subject), the middle voice meaning “consult” (with the petitioner as the subject), as in line 81, below (LSJ χράω B.I).
80 ὅθ᾽: ὅτε, "when."
80 ὑπέρβη: 3rd sing. aor. act. indic. > ὑπερβαίνω.
81 χρησόμενος: nom. masc. pl. fut. mid. ptc. > χράω; future participle expressing purpose (Smyth 2065)
81 κυλίνδετο: “was rolling into motion,” unaugmented impf.
82 Τρωσί τε καὶ Δαναοῖσι: datives of interest.
vocabulary
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
φωνέω φωνήσω ἐφώνησα πεφώνηκα πεφώνημαι ἐφωνήθην: make a sound, speak
σκηπτοῦχος –ον: bearing a staff
κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald
μετοίχομαι μετοιχήσομαι μετῴχημαι: to have gone after, to have gone in quest of
ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard
κοῦρος –ου ὁ: [Ep. and Ion.] boy
πεντήκοντα: fifty
θίς θινός ὁ: shore, beach
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
ἀτρύγετος [–η] –ον: yielding no harvest, unfruitful, barren
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently 50
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
κατέρχομαι κατελεύσομαι/κάτειμι κατῆλθον κατελήλυθα ––– –––: to go down, descend; to go towards the shore
ἠδέ: and
μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure
ἅλς ἁλός ὁ: salt (m.); sea (f.)
βένθος –ους τό: the depth
εἰρύω/ἐρύω ἐρύσω/ἐρύω εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα εἴρυσα/ἔρυσα/ἔρυσσα –– –– εἰρύσθην: to pull, draw, drag; to guard, protect
ἱστός –οῦ ὁ: mast, beam; loom
ἱστίον –ου τό: a sail
μέλας μέλαινα μέλαν: black, dark, obscure
ἀρτύνω ἀρτυνῶ ἤρτυνα – – ἀρτύνθην: to arrange, prepare, devise
ἐρετμόν –οῦ τό: oar
τροπός –οῦ ὁ: a twisted leathern thong
δερμάτινος –η –ον: of skin, leathern
μοῖρα –ας ἡ: part, portion, lot, fate
ἱστίον –ου τό: a sail
λευκός –ή –όν: white; light, bright
πεταννύω/πετάννυμι πετῶ ἐπέτασα πεπέτακα πέπταμαι ἐπετάσθην: to spread out
ὑψοῦ: aloft, on high, afloat 55
νότιος [–α] –ον: wet, moist, damp; southernly
ὀρμίζω ὁρμιοῦμαι ὥρμισα – ὥρμισμαι ὡρμίσθην: to bring (a ship) into harbor; (mid.) to come to anchor
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
δαίφρων –ον: fiery-hearted, warlike
δῶμα –ατος τό: house (often in plural)
πίμπλημι πλήσω ἔπλησα πέπληκα πέπλησμαι ἐπλήσθην: to fill
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
αἴθουσα –ης ἡ: the corridor
ἕρκος –ους τό: a fence, hedge, wall, barrier
δόμος –ου ὁ: house, home
ἀγείρω ἀγερῶ ἤγειρα ἀγήγερμαι ἠγέρθην: gather, collect
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἠδέ: and
Ἀλκίνοος –ου ὁ: Alcinous, king of the Phaeacians in Scheria, a grandson of Poseidon
δυοκαίδεκα: twelve
μῆλον –ου τό: sheep or goat, (plur.) flock; apple
ἱερεύω ἱερεύσω ἱέρευσα: to slaughter
ἀργιόδους –όδοντος: white-toothed, white-tusked 60
ὗς (or σῦς) ὑός (or συός) ὁ/ἡ: swine, hog; (f.) sow
εἰλίπους –ποδος: with a tottering gait (of bovines)
δέρω δερῶ ἔδειρα – δέδαρμαι ἐδάρθην: to skin, flay
ἕπω ἕψομαι ἑσπόμην: to be about, be busy with
τεύχω τεύξω ἔτευξα τέτευχα τέτυγμαι ἐτύχθην: to make, build, prepare, fasten; to bring about; (pass.) to be brought about, to be
δαίτη –ης ἡ: a feast, banquet
ἐρατεινός –ή –όν: lovely, charming
κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald
ἐγγύθεν: close, nearby, alongside
ἐρίηρος –ον: faithful, devoted, trusty
ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard
Μοῦσα –ης ἡ: the Muse
φιλέω φιλήσω ἐφίλησα πεφίλημαι ἐφιλήθην: to love, hold dear; to entertain as a guest
ἀμέρδω ἀμέρσω ἤμερσα – – ἠμέρθην: to deprive of, bereave of
ἀοιδή –ῆς ἡ: song, a singing
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus 65
Ποντόνοος –ου ὁ: Pontonous, a herald of Alcinous
θρόνος –ου ὁ: arm-chair
ἀργυρόηλος –ον: silver-studded
δαιτυμών –όνος ὁ: one that is entertained, an invited guest
κίων –ονος ἡ: a pillar
ἐρείδω ἐρείσω ἤρεισα ἤρεικα ἐρήρεισμαι ἠρείσθην: to cause to lean, prop; (mid. and pass.) to prop oneself, to lean on
πάσσαλος –ου ὁ: a peg
κρεμαννύω/κρεμάννυμι κρεμάσω ἐκρέμασα κεκρέμακα κρέμαμαι ἐκρεμάσθην: to hang, hang up
φόρμιγξ –ιγγος ἡ: the phorminx
λιγύς –εῖα –ύ: sharp-sounding, shrill, loud, clear
κῆρυξ –υκος ὁ: messenger, herald
κάνεον –ου τό: basket, usually of reed
τράπεζα –ης ἡ: table; dinner
δέπας –αος τό: drinking cup, beaker 70
οἶνος –ου ὁ: wine
ἀνώγω: to command, order
ὄνειαρ –ατος τό: advantage, profit; (pl.) good things, food
ἑτοῖμος –η –ον: at hand, ready, prepared
πρόκειμαι προκείσομαι ––– ––– ––– –––: to be set before one
ἰάλλω ἰαλῶ ἴηλα ––– ––– –––: to throw, hurl, fling
ἀτάρ (or αὐτάρ): but, yet, consequently
πόσις –ιος/–εως ὁ: drink
ἐδητύς –ύος ἡ: meat, food
ἔρος –ου ὁ: love, desire
Μοῦσα –ης ἡ: the Muse
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
ἀοιδός –οῦ ὁ: a singer, minstrel, bard
ἀνήκω ἀνήξω ἀνῆξα: to urge, set on
ᾄσομαι ᾖσα ᾖσμαι ᾔσθην: sing
κλέος –ους τό: glory
οἴμη –ης ἡ: a song, lay
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
κλέος –ους τό: glory
εὐρύς –εῖα –ύ: broad
ἱκάνω ––– ––– ––– ––– –––: to come to, arrive at, reach
νεῖκος –ους τό: a quarrel, wrangle, strife
Ὀδυσσεύς –έως ὁ: Odysseus, king of Ithaca, hero of the Odyssey
Πηλεΐδης –ου ὁ: son of Peleus 75
Ἀχιλλεύς –έως ὁ: Achilles, son of Peleus and Thetis, prince of the Myrmidons
δηριάομαι δηριήσομαι ἐδηρισάμην: to contend, wrangle
δαίς δαιτός ἡ: feast, banquet, meal
θάλεια (fem.): blooming, luxuriant, goodly, bounteous
ἔκπαγλος –ον: terrible, fearful
ἄναξ –ακτος ὁ: ruler, lord
Ἀγαμέμνων –ονος ὁ: Agamemnon
νόος νόου ὁ: mind, perception
Ἀχαιός –ά –όν: Achaean, Greek
δηριάομαι δηριήσομαι ἐδηρισάμην: to contend, wrangle
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
μυθέομαι μυθήσομαι μεμύθημαι ἐμυθήθην: speak or talk of, describe, explain, relate
Φοῖβος –ου ὁ: Phoebus, epithet of Apollo, probably as god of light
Ἀπόλλων –ωνος ὁ: Apollo
Πυθώ –οῦς ἡ: Pytho, the region of Delphi 80
ἠγάθεος –α –ον: very divine, most holy
ὑπερβαίνω ὑπερβήσομαι ὑπερέβην ὑπερβέβηκα ––– –––: to step over, mount, scale
λάϊνος –η –ον: of stone
οὐδός –οῦ ὁ: a threshold
χράω χρήσω ἔκρησα κέχρηκα ––– –––: to fall upon, attack, assail; deliver an oracle, (mid.) consult an oracle
ἄρα: now, then, next, thus
κυλίνδω ἐκύλισα κεκύλισμαι ἐκυλίσθην: to roll, roll along; to wallow
πῆμα –ατος τό: suffering, misery, calamity, woe, bane; cause of suffering
Τρώς Τρωός ὁ: Trojan
Δαναοί –ῶν οἱ: the Danaans
Ζεύς Διός ὁ: Zeus