19.148–189 | Dickinson College Commentaries

ὣς ἐφάμην, τοῖσιν δʼ ἐπεπείθετο θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ.

ἔνθα καὶ ἠματίη μὲν ὑφαίνεσκον μέγαν ἱστόν,

νύκτας δʼ ἀλλύεσκον, ἐπεὶ δαΐδας παραθείμην.150

ὣς τρίετες μὲν ἔληθον ἐγὼ καὶ ἔπειθον Ἀχαιούς·

ἀλλʼ ὅτε τέτρατον ἦλθεν ἔτος καὶ ἐπήλυθον ὧραι,

μηνῶν φθινόντων, περὶ δʼ ἤματα πόλλʼ ἐτελέσθη,

καὶ τότε δή με διὰ δμῳάς, κύνας οὐκ ἀλεγούσας,

εἷλον ἐπελθόντες καὶ ὁμόκλησαν ἐπέεσσιν.155

ὣς τὸ μὲν ἐξετέλεσσα, καὶ οὐκ ἐθέλουσʼ, ὑπʼ ἀνάγκης·

νῦν δʼ οὔτʼ ἐκφυγέειν δύναμαι γάμον οὔτε τινʼ ἄλλην

μῆτιν ἔθʼ εὑρίσκω· μάλα δʼ ὀτρύνουσι τοκῆες

γήμασθʼ, ἀσχαλάᾳ δὲ πάϊς βίοτον κατεδόντων,

γιγνώσκων· ἤδη γὰρ ἀνὴρ οἷός τε μάλιστα160

οἴκου κήδεσθαι, τῷ τε Ζεὺς κῦδος ὀπάζει.

ἀλλὰ καὶ ὥς μοι εἰπὲ τεὸν γένος, ὁππόθεν ἐσσί.

οὐ γὰρ ἀπὸ δρυός ἐσσι παλαιφάτου οὐδʼ ἀπὸ πέτρης.

τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·

ὦ γύναι αἰδοίη Λαερτιάδεω Ὀδυσῆος,165

οὐκέτʼ ἀπολλήξεις τὸν ἐμὸν γόνον ἐξερέουσα;

ἀλλʼ ἔκ τοι ἐρέω· ἦ μέν μʼ ἀχέεσσί γε δώσεις

πλείοσιν ἢ ἔχομαι· ἡ γὰρ δίκη, ὁππότε πάτρης

ἧς ἀπέῃσιν ἀνὴρ τόσσον χρόνον ὅσσον ἐγὼ νῦν,

πολλὰ βροτῶν ἐπὶ ἄστεʼ ἀλώμενος, ἄλγεα πάσχων·170

ἀλλὰ καὶ ὣς ἐρέω ὅ μʼ ἀνείρεαι ἠδὲ μεταλλᾷς.

Κρήτη τις γαῖʼ ἔστι, μέσῳ ἐνὶ οἴνοπι πόντῳ,

καλὴ καὶ πίειρα, περίρρυτος· ἐν δʼ ἄνθρωποι

πολλοί, ἀπειρέσιοι, καὶ ἐννήκοντα πόληες.

ἄλλη δʼ ἄλλων γλῶσσα μεμιγμένη· ἐν μὲν Ἀχαιοί,175

ἐν δʼ Ἐτεόκρητες μεγαλήτορες, ἐν δὲ Κύδωνες,

Δωριέες τε τριχάϊκες δῖοί τε Πελασγοί.

τῇσι δʼ ἐνὶ Κνωσός, μεγάλη πόλις, ἔνθα τε Μίνως

ἐννέωρος βασίλευε Διὸς μεγάλου ὀαριστής,

πατρὸς ἐμοῖο πατήρ, μεγαθύμου Δευκαλίωνος.180

Δευκαλίων δʼ ἐμὲ τίκτε καὶ Ἰδομενῆα ἄνακτα·

ἀλλʼ ὁ μὲν ἐν νήεσσι κορωνίσιν Ἴλιον ἴσω

ᾤχεθʼ ἅμʼ Ἀτρείδῃσιν, ἐμοὶ δʼ ὄνομα κλυτὸν Αἴθων,

ὁπλότερος γενεῇ· ὁ δʼ ἄρα πρότερος καὶ ἀρείων.

ἔνθʼ Ὀδυσῆα ἐγὼν ἰδόμην καὶ ξείνια δῶκα.185

καὶ γὰρ τὸν Κρήτηνδε κατήγαγεν ἲς ἀνέμοιο,

ἱέμενον Τροίηνδε παραπλάγξασα Μαλειῶν·

στῆσε δʼ ἐν Ἀμνισῷ, ὅθι τε σπέος Εἰλειθυίης,

ἐν λιμέσιν χαλεποῖσι, μόγις δʼ ὑπάλυξεν ἀέλλας.

notes

Penelope tells about her weaving and the stranger launches into his story.

149 ὑφαίνεσκον: “I would weave,” iterative impf.

150 ἀλλύεσκον: 1st sing. iterative impf. act. indic., apocope > ἀναλύω.

150 παραθείμην: “I had (acc.) placed before me,” aor. mid. (LSJ παρατίθημι B.1).

151 ἔληθον: 1st sing. impf. act. indic. > λανθάνω.

152 ἐπήλυθον: “came around again,” 3rd pl. aor. act. indic. > ἐπέρχομαι (LSJ ἐπέρχομαι II.1).

153 μηνῶν φθινόντων: genitive absolute.

153 περὶ … ἐτελέσθη: “were completed in a circle,” 3rd sing. aor. pass. indic., temesis > περιτελέω.

154 διὰ: “thanks to (acc.)” (LSJ διά B.III.1).

158 ἔθ᾽: ἔτι.

159 γήμασθ᾽: = γήμασθαι, infin. > γαμέω.

159 ἀσχαλάᾳ: “is distressed by (genitive).”

159 κατεδόντων: “them devouring,” masc. gen. pl. pres. act. ptc. > κατέδω.

160 οἷός τε: “is able to (infin.).”

161 οἴκου: gen., with κήδεσθαι (Smyth 1356).

161 τῷ: the antecedent is either (1) ἀνὴρ, “to whom” (Russo/Heubeck) or (2) οἴκου, “to which” (Merry, Stanford).

163 παλαιφάτου: “legendary,” “spoken of long ago.” Stanford and others regard this line as proverbial. The meaning is something like, “you didn’t just appear out of thin air.”

166 ἀπολλήξεις: fut. > ἀπολήγω. The verb is followed by a supplementary participle (LSJ ἀπολήγω I.2, Smyth 2098).

167 ἔκ…ἐρέω: tmesis > ἐξερέω.

167 δώσεις: “you will deliver (acc.) to (dat.),” in the sense of: “you will cause (acc.) (dat.)” (LSJ δίδωμι II.1).

168 ἡ γὰρ δίκη: supply ἐστί. “It’s the custom,” meaning, “that’s the way it is …” (LSJ δίκη I.1).

169 ἀπέῃσιν: 3rd sing. pres. act. subj. > ἄπειμι. Subjunctive in a general temporal clause introduced by ὁππότε.

172–79 these lines constitute the earliest description of Crete.

173 ἐν: “in it are …”

175 ἄλλη δ᾽ ἄλλων: “one … with the others …”

175 Ἀχαιοί: Greeks.

176 Ἐτεόκρητες … Κύδωνες: the “Eteocretans,” or True Cretans, were evidently the original, pre-Greek inhabitants of Crete, possibly (according to Herodotus) desendents of the Minoans, occupying the eastern part of the island. The Cydonians occupied the northwestern part of the island (Kydonia is identified with Chania, see ToposText Kydonia).

177 Δωριέες: Dorians.

177 τριχάϊκες: either (1) “with waving plumes” (Autenrieth τριχάικες) or (2) “divided into three tribes” (LSJ τριχάϊκες).

177 Πελασγοί: “Pelasgians,” possibly Ionian Greeks.

179 ἐννέωρος βασίλευε: either “(Minos) was king in nine-year cycles,” or, (2) taking it with ὀαριστής, “(Minos) was king, taking counsel with Zeus every ninth year” (LSJ ἐννέωρος 1, citing Plato, Minos 319c).

187 παραπλάγξασα: “driven of course past (gen.),” > παραπλάζω.

188 στῆσε: “he stood (stopped, anchored),” understand νῆας as object.

189 Ἀμνισῷ: Amnissos, east of Heraklion, was a Minoan port serving the city of Knossos (ToposText Amnissos).

189 σπέος Εἰλειθυίης: the cave of Eileithyia lies about a kilometer inland in the area of Amnissos.

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