ἦ ῥα, καὶ ἐκ χειρὸς χεῖρα σπάσατʼ Ἀντινόοιο
ῥεῖα· μνηστῆρες δὲ δόμον κάτα δαῖτα πένοντο.
οἱ δʼ ἐπελώβευον καὶ ἐκερτόμεον ἐπέεσσιν.
ὧδε δέ τις εἴπεσκε νέων ὑπερηνορεόντων·
"ἦ μάλα Τηλέμαχος φόνον ἡμῖν μερμηρίζει.325
ἤ τινας ἐκ Πύλου ἄξει ἀμύντορας ἠμαθόεντος
ἢ ὅ γε καὶ Σπάρτηθεν, ἐπεί νύ περ ἵεται αἰνῶς·
ἠὲ καὶ εἰς Ἐφύρην ἐθέλει, πίειραν ἄρουραν,
ἐλθεῖν, ὄφρʼ ἔνθεν θυμοφθόρα φάρμακʼ ἐνείκῃ,
ἐν δὲ βάλῃ κρητῆρι καὶ ἡμέας πάντας ὀλέσσῃ."330
ἄλλος δʼ αὖτʼ εἴπεσκε νέων ὑπερηνορεόντων·
"τίς δʼ οἶδʼ, εἴ κε καὶ αὐτὸς ἰὼν κοίλης ἐπὶ νηὸς
τῆλε φίλων ἀπόληται ἀλώμενος ὥς περ Ὀδυσσεύς;
οὕτω κεν καὶ μᾶλλον ὀφέλλειεν πόνον ἄμμιν·
κτήματα γάρ κεν πάντα δασαίμεθα, οἰκία δʼ αὖτε335
τούτου μητέρι δοῖμεν ἔχειν ἠδʼ ὅς τις ὀπυίοι."
ὣς φάν, ὁ δʼ ὑψόροφον θάλαμον κατεβήσετο πατρὸς
εὐρύν, ὅθι νητὸς χρυσὸς καὶ χαλκὸς ἔκειτο
ἐσθής τʼ ἐν χηλοῖσιν ἅλις τʼ ἐυῶδες ἔλαιον·
ἐν δὲ πίθοι οἴνοιο παλαιοῦ ἡδυπότοιο340
ἕστασαν, ἄκρητον θεῖον ποτὸν ἐντὸς ἔχοντες,
ἑξείης ποτὶ τοῖχον ἀρηρότες, εἴ ποτʼ Ὀδυσσεὺς
οἴκαδε νοστήσειε καὶ ἄλγεα πολλὰ μογήσας.
κληισταὶ δʼ ἔπεσαν σανίδες πυκινῶς ἀραρυῖαι,
δικλίδες· ἐν δὲ γυνὴ ταμίη νύκτας τε καὶ ἦμαρ345
ἔσχʼ, ἣ πάντʼ ἐφύλασσε νόου πολυϊδρείῃσιν,
Εὐρύκλειʼ, Ὦπος θυγάτηρ Πεισηνορίδαο.
τὴν τότε Τηλέμαχος προσέφη θαλαμόνδε καλέσσας·
"μαῖʼ, ἄγε δή μοι οἶνον ἐν ἀμφιφορεῦσιν ἄφυσσον
ἡδύν, ὅτις μετὰ τὸν λαρώτατος ὃν σὺ φυλάσσεις350
κεῖνον ὀιομένη τὸν κάμμορον, εἴ ποθεν ἔλθοι
διογενὴς Ὀδυσεὺς θάνατον καὶ κῆρας ἀλύξας.
δώδεκα δʼ ἔμπλησον καὶ πώμασιν ἄρσον ἅπαντας.
ἐν δέ μοι ἄλφιτα χεῦον ἐϋρραφέεσσι δοροῖσιν·
εἴκοσι δʼ ἔστω μέτρα μυληφάτου ἀλφίτου ἀκτῆς.355
αὐτὴ δʼ οἴη ἴσθι· τὰ δʼ ἁθρόα πάντα τετύχθω·
ἑσπέριος γὰρ ἐγὼν αἱρήσομαι, ὁππότε κεν δὴ
μήτηρ εἰς ὑπερῷʼ ἀναβῇ κοίτου τε μέδηται.
εἶμι γὰρ ἐς Σπάρτην τε καὶ ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα
νόστον πευσόμενος πατρὸς φίλου, ἤν που ἀκούσω."360
ὣς φάτο, κώκυσεν δὲ φίλη τροφὸς Εὐρύκλεια,
καί ῥʼ ὀλοφυρομένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
"τίπτε δέ τοι, φίλε τέκνον, ἐνὶ φρεσὶ τοῦτο νόημα
ἔπλετο; πῇ δʼ ἐθέλεις ἰέναι πολλὴν ἐπὶ γαῖαν
μοῦνος ἐὼν ἀγαπητός; ὁ δʼ ὤλετο τηλόθι πάτρης365
διογενὴς Ὀδυσεὺς ἀλλογνώτῳ ἐνὶ δήμῳ.
οἱ δέ τοι αὐτίκʼ ἰόντι κακὰ φράσσονται ὀπίσσω,
ὥς κε δόλῳ φθίῃς, τάδε δʼ αὐτοὶ πάντα δάσονται.
ἀλλὰ μένʼ αὖθʼ ἐπὶ σοῖσι καθήμενος· οὐδέ τί σε χρὴ
πόντον ἐπʼ ἀτρύγετον κακὰ πάσχειν οὐδʼ ἀλάλησθαι."370
τὴν δʼ αὖ Τηλέμαχος πεπνυμένος ἀντίον ηὔδα·
"θάρσει, μαῖʼ, ἐπεὶ οὔ τοι ἄνευ θεοῦ ἥδε γε βουλή.
ἀλλʼ ὄμοσον μὴ μητρὶ φίλῃ τάδε μυθήσασθαι,
πρίν γʼ ὅτʼ ἂν ἑνδεκάτη τε δυωδεκάτη τε γένηται,
ἢ αὐτὴν ποθέσαι καὶ ἀφορμηθέντος ἀκοῦσαι,375
ὡς ἂν μὴ κλαίουσα κατὰ χρόα καλὸν ἰάπτῃ."
notes
321 ἦ: ἦ: third singular imperfect active of ἠμί. This is the only form of ἠμί that Homer uses, doing so only at the end of a speech.
322 δόμον κάτα: = κατὰ δόμον the accent of the preposition has moved from the last to the first syllable ("anastrophe"), as usual in Homer when most disyllabic prepositions follow their object (Monro 180).
323 οἱ: “him” (that is, Telemachus), dative with compound verb ἐπελώβευον.
324 εἴπεσκε: an iterative imperfect.
325 ἦ: particle (“truly,” “in fact”).
327 ἐπεί νύ περ ἵεται: Monro (365 N) notes this as a rare exception to the rule that when περ and γε belong to the first word in a clause they precede all other particles.
327 ἵεται “is eager” (Cunliffe sense 2 under ἵημι(2), and LSJ II.2 under ἵημι).
328 Ἐφύρην: Ephyre is also where Athena, disguised as Mentes, claims that Odysseus unsuccessfully sought poison for his arrows (1.259).
329 ἐνείκῃ: aorist active subjunctive third singular from φέρω.
330 ἐν . . . βάλῃ: aorist active subjunctive third singular from ἐμβάλλω (in tmesis).
332 εἴ κε καὶ . . . “whether he might even. . .,” indirect question with potential optative, embedded in a direct question (τίς δ᾽ οἶδ(α);). This entire utterance, from 332–36, imagines a less vivid (potential) future outcome.
334 ὀφέλλειεν “would increase,” potential optatrive from ὀφέλλω (LSJ ὀφέλλω B).
335 κεν . . . δασαίμεθα: aorist optative from δατέομαι. The potential optative expresses conditional obligation: “(if he were to die), we would have to divvy up . . .”
336 ἔχειν: infinitive of purpose (Monro 231).
336 ὅς τις ὀπυίοι: understand a dative antecedent, such as ἐκείνῳ, parallel with μητέρι. Future less vivid conditional relative clause.
337 ὁ δ᾽: Telemachus.
337 θάλαμον “storeroom.”
340 ἐν: “inside,” adverbial.
342 ποτί: “against” = πρός.
342 ἀρηρότες “packed close together,” perfect active participle nominative plural masculine from ἀραρίσκω (LSJ ἀραρίσκω B.1).
342 εἴ ποτ᾽ Ὀδυσσεύς “on the chance that Odysseus ever . . .,” “in the hope that Odysseus might someday . . .” (Smyth 2354).
344 ἔπεσαν “were attached,” or simply, “there were,” imperfect third plural from ἔπειμι.
344 ἀραρυῖαι “closely fitted together,” perfect active participle nominative plural feminine from ἀραρίσκω (LSJ ἀραρίσκω B.1).
346 ἔσχ᾽ “was frequently present” (Stanford), = ἔσκε, iterative imperfect from εἰμί.
349 ἄγε “come!” paired with the imperative ἄφυσσον (Monro 327).
350 ὅτις: understand ἐστί in the relative clause.
350 μετὰ τὸν … ὅν: τόν (a demonstrative referring to οἶνον) provides the antecedent for ὅν. The word order is: ὅτις λαρώτατός (ἐστι) μετὰ τὸν (οἶνον ) ὃν . . . μετά here means “after,” “second only to.”
351 κεῖνον: Odysseus.
351 ὀιομένη “expecting” (Cunliffe οἴομαι 2.f.).
351 εἴ . . . ἔλθοι “in the hope that (Odysseus) might come . . .,” this type of object clause usually follows a past tense main verb, not a present as here (φυλάσσεις). See Monro 314.
353 ἄρσον: aorist imperative from ἀραρίσκω.
354 ἐν . . . χεῦον: imperative from ἐγχέω (in tmesis), with dative governed by the prepositional prefix ἐν–.
354 μοι: dative of interest (Monro 143).
355 ἀλφίτου ἀκτῆς “of barley meal.” Stanford (1947) reports the doubtful etymology that ἀκτή, “grain,” is derived from ἄγνυμι, “to break or smash.” Beekes (2016), following Skoda (1993), plausibly suggests the word originally referred to the spike or "ear" of grain, and is thus related to ἀκ- "sharp" (compare ἀκή and ἀκίς the "point" of a tool or weapon), but the matter is quite uncertain.
356 τετύχθω “let (nominative) be (predicate nominative)," perfect passive imperative third singular from τεύχω, with neuter plural subject.
357 ἑσπέριος: adjective used adverbially.
358 ὑπερῷ᾽: ὑπερῷα.
358 μέδηται: from μέδομαι, which takes a genitive.
360 ἤν: = ἐάν, with subjunctive, “on the chance that . . . ” (Smyth 2354).
363 φίλε τέκνον: the vocative adjective is masculine, agreeing with Telemachus’s real gender rather than with the grammatical gender of the neuter τέκνον. This is called “construction according to the sense” (Smyth 1013).
365 μοῦνος: should be taken closely with ἀγαπητός "a beloved only son," as Eurycleia knows that Telemachus will not travel alone (Heubeck, West, and Hainsworth 1988).
367 οἱ δέ: that is, the suitors.
367 τοι . . . ἰόντι: dative indirect objects of φράσσονται.
368 ὥς κε . . . φθίῃς: an object clause after a verb or phrase that already implies a purpose (κακὰ φράσσονται) (Monro 285(2)).
368 δάσονται: Merry, Riddell, and Monro (1886) see the future indicative as stating the actual result that will occur if the purpose is fulfilled.
369 μέν᾽: = μένε, imperative from μένω.
369 αὖθ᾽ “right here,” αὖθι.
369 σοῖσι: substantive (“your people,” etc.).
374 πρίν γ᾽ ὅτ᾽ ἄν “until,” with subjunctive, temporal clause, like the more common Attic πρὶν ἄν with the subjunctive (Smyth 2444b).
374 ἑνδεκάτη τε δυωδεκάτη: understand ἡμέρα.
375 ἢ αὐτὴν ποθέσαι . . . “or before she misses me …,” the construction shifts to πρίν with the infinitive and a subject accusative (Smyth 2453).
376 κατά: “completely,” “thoroughly,” adverbial.