DOCSLIB.ORG

143697085.23.Pdf

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
143697085.23.Pdf 'JIMkfi -rr-rrTnT;mpriinBBirMiirniii i i. — ■ mrrnmimmmaiUumu/m 1 '**' i L' i \nmmi \ ***■— ^ -yi^rry-.ar' *??• “*ae «■ ‘ 1 rmvtimriiiimnmihaii:-^ ■ ; ' J J T H g BRITISH POETS. VOL. XXIII. EDINBURGH: Printed for A. KINCAID and W. C R E E C H, and J. BALFOUR. M, DCC, LXXIII. i THE ILIAD O F HOMER, TRANSLATED FROM THE GREEK BT ALEXANDER POPE, E% VOLUME r. Te fequor, O Graiae gentis decus! inquc tuis nunc Fixa pedum pono preffis venigia llgnis: Hon ita certandi cupidus, quam propter amorem, Quod te imitari aveo- Luc RET. EDINBURGH: Printed for A. KINCAID and W. CREECH, and J. BALFOUR. M, DCC, LXXIIL THE ILIAD. BOOK I. THE ARGUMENT. The contention of Achilles and Agamemnon. In the war of Troy, the Greeks having facked feme,of the neighbouring towns, and taken from thence two beautiful captures, Chryfeis and Brifeis, allot- ted the firft to Agamemnon, and the laft to Achil- les. Chryfes, the father of Chryfeis, and the priefl: of Apollo, comes to the Grecian camp to ranfom her ; with which the attion of the poem opens, in the tenth year of the liege. The pried being re- fufed, and infolently difmilled by Agamemnon, in- treats for vengeance from his god, who inflhds a pedilence on the Greeks. Achilles calls a council, and encourages Calchas to declare the caufe of it; who attributes it to the refufal of Chryfeis. The king being obliged to fend back his captive, enters into a furious conted with Achilles, which Nedor « ARGUMENT. pacifies: However, as he had the abfolute command of the army, he feizes on Brifeis, in revenge. A- ehilles in difcontent withdraws himfelf and his for- ces from the reft of the Greeks; and complaining to Thetis, fhe fupplicates Jupiter to render them fenfible of the wrong done to her fon, by giving victory to the Trojans. Jupiter granting her fuit, incenfes Juno, between whom the debate runs high, till they are reconciled by the addrefs of Vul- can. The time of two and twenty days is taken up in this book ; nine during the plague, one in the council and quarrel of the princes, and twelve for Jupiter’s flay with the Ethiopians, at whofe return Thetis prefers her petition. The feene lies in the Grecian camp, then changes to Chryfa, and laftly to Olym- pus. BOOK I. A C HILLES’ wrath, to Greece the direful fpring Of woes unnumber’d, heav’nly Goddefs, fing ; That wrath which hurl’d to Pluto’s gloomy reiga The fouls of mighty chiefs untimely flain; Whole limbs unbury’d on the naked fhore, Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore : Since great Achilles and Atrides flrove, Such was thefov’reign doom, andfuch the will of Jove Declare, O Mufe! in what ill-fated hour Sprung the fierce ftrife, from what offended pow’r ! Latona’s fon, a dire contagion Ipread, And heap’d the camp with mountains of the dead; The king of men his rev’rend prieft defy’d; And for the king’s offence the people dy’d. For Chryfes fought with coftly gifts to gain His captive daughter from the viftor’s chain. Suppliant the venerable father (lands, Apollo’s awful enfigns grace his hands : By thefe he begs : And lowly bending down, Extends the fcepter and the laurel crown. He fu’d to all, but chief implor’d for grace The brother-kings, of Atreus’ royal race. Ye kings and warriors! may your vows be crown’d, And Troy’s proud walls lie level with the ground. May Jove reftore you, when your toils are o’er, Safe to the pleafures of your native Ihore. But oil ! relieve a wretched parent’s pain, And give Chryfeis to thefe arms again ; A 4 8 H 0 M E R’s ILIAD. ifj. If mercy fail, yet let my prefents move ; And dread avenging Phoebus, fon of Jove. The Greeks in (bouts their joint afTent declare, The pried to rev’rence, and releat'e the fair : Not fo Atrides : He, with kingly pri de. Repuls’d the facred fire, and thus reply’d. Hence, on thy life, and fly thefe hoflile plains. Nor a(k, prefumptuous, uhat the king detains : Hence with thy laurel crown, and golden rod, Nor trurt too far thofe enfigns of thy God. Mine is thy daughter, pried, and ihall remain ; And pray’rs, and tears, and bribes ihall plead in vain Till time (hall rifle ev’ry youthful grace, And age difmifs her from my cold embrace. In daily labours of the loom employ’d. Or doom’d to deck the bed (he once enjoy’d. Hence, then, to Argos Ihall the maid retire, Far from her native foil, and weeping fire. The trembling pried along the fhore return’d. And in the anguifh of a father mourn’d. Difconfulate, nor daring to complain, Silent he wander’d by the founding main : Till, fate at didance to his God he prays, The God who darts around the world his rays. O Smintheus! fprung from fair Latona’s line. Thou guardian pow’r of Cilia the divine. Thou fource of light! whom Tenedos adores, And whofe bright prefence gilds thy Chryfa’s (bores If e’er with wreaths I hung thy facred fane, Or fed the flames with fat of oxen (lain ; God of the filver bow ! thy (hafts employ. Avenge thy fervant, and the Greeks dedroy. H 0 M E R’s ILIAD. <Ji. Thus Chryfes pray’d ; the fav’ring povv’r attends, And from Olympus’ lofty tops defcends. Lent was his how, the Grecian hearts to wound; Fierce as he mov’d, his filver (hafts refound. Breathing revenge, a Bidden night be fpread. And gloomy darknefs roll’d about his head. The fieet in view, he twang’d his deadly bow, And hiding flv the feather’d fates below. On mules and dogs th’ infedtion drfl began ; And lad, the vengeful arrows fix’d in man. For nine long nights, thro’ all the dulky air The pyres thick-flaming (hot a dilmal glare. But ere the tenth revolving day was run, Infpir’d by Juno, Thetis’ godlike fon Conven’d to council all the Grecian train; For much the goddefs mo»rn’d her hqroes flain. Th’ affembly feated, riling o’er the reft, Achilles thus the king of men addreft. Why leave we not the fatal Trojan thore, And meafdre back the feas weerofs’d before ? The plague deftroying whom the fword would fpare ’Tis time to have the few remains of war. But let fome prophet, or fome facred fage, Explore the caufe of great Apollo’s rage ; Or learn the wafteful vengeance to remove, By royftic dreams, for dreams defeend from Jove. If broken vows this heavy curfc have laid. Let altars fmoke, and hecatombs be paid. Lo heav’n aton’d (hall dying Greece reftore, And Phoebus dart his burning (hafts no more. He faid, and fat: When Calchas thus reply’d ; Caichas the wife, the Grecian prieft and guide, 16 H 0 M E R’s ILIA D. 93. That facred fecr, wbofe comprehenfive view The pall, the prefent, and the future knew : L'prillng flow, the venerable fage. Thus fpoke the prudence and the fears of age. Belov’d of Jove, Achilles 1 would’ft thou know Why angry Phoebus bends his fatal bow ? Firft give thy faith, and plight a prince’s word Of Pure proteftion, by thy power and fword. For I mufl /peak what wifdom would conceal, And truths, invidious to the great, reveal. Bold is the talk, when fubjefts grown too wife, Inltruft a monarch where his error lies; For tho’ we deem the fhort-liv’d fury part, ’Tis Pure the mighty will revenge at laft. To whom Pelides. From thy inmoft foul Speak what thou know’ll, and Ppeak without controul. Ev’n by that God I fwear, who rules the day, To whom thy hands the vows of Greece convey, And whofe blePs’d oracles thy lips declare ; Long as Achilles breathes this vital air, No daring Greek of all the num’rous band, Againft his pried (hall lift an impious hand : Not even the chief, by whom our hods are led. The king of kings, (hall touch that Pacred head. Encourag’d thus, the blamelefs man replies : Norvows unpaid, nor llighted facrifice. But he, our chief, provok’d the raging ped, Apollo’s vengeance for his injur’d pried. Nor will the God’s awaken'd fury ceafe, But plagues (hall fpread, and fun’ral fires incrcafc, Till the great king, without a ranfom paid, To her own ChryPa Pend the black-ey’d maid. tl 0 M E R’s ILIAD. U5* II Perhaps, with adding facrifice and pray’r, The prieft may pardon, and the god may fpare. The prophet fpoke; when with a gloomy frown The monarch darted from his fhining throne : Black choler fill’d his bread that boil’d with ire, And from his eye-balls flalh’d the living fire. Augur accurs’d, denouncing mifchief dill. Prophet of plagues, for ever boding ill! Still mud that tongue fome wounding meflage bring, And dill thy priedly pride provoke thy king ? For this are Phoebus’ oracles explor’d, To teach the Greeks to murmur at their lord ? For this with falfehoods is my honour dain’d. Is heav’n offended, and a pried profan’d; Becaufe my prize, my beauteous maid I hold, And heav’nly charms prefer to proffer’d gold ? A maid, unmatch’d in manners as in face, Skill’d in each art, and crown’d with ev’ry grace.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • The Consolations of Death in Ancient Greek Literature
    $B 44 125 The Consolations of Death In Ancient Greek Literature By SISTER MARY EVARISTUS, MA. of THE SISTERS OF CHABITY, HALIFAX, N. S. A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Catholic Sisters College of the Catholic University of America in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2007 with funding from Microsoft Corporation http://www.archive.org/details/consolationsofdeOOmorarich The Consolations of Death In Ancient Greek Literature SISTER MARY EVARISTUS, M.A. of THE SISTERS OF CHARITY, HALIFAX, N. S. A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Catholic Sisters College of the Cathoh University of America in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy NA.ICXAI SA'.TAL PICS' 'MC , WA'iUNOTON, D. C. TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Introduction 7 CHAPTER I The Inevitableness of Death 10 Universality of death a motive for consolation. Views of death in Homer. Homeric epithets for death. No power can ward off death. Consolation afforded by the thought that it cannot come before the appointed time. Inevitableness of death as depicted in the Lyric Poets, * Tragedians, Plato, Lysias, Apollonius Rhodius, ps.- Plutarch, Plutarch. CHAPTER II Others Have Had to Die 19 Treatment of t&kos in Homer, ov <roi /xopoj. Tragic Poets, Plutarch, ps.-Plutarch. Examples of those who have borne sufferings nobly. Extension of t&kos. Even better men have died. CHAPTER III Death the Payment of a Debt to Nature 26 Should not complain when loan is claimed. Simonides of Ceos. Euripides. Plato. ps.-Plutarch. CHAPTER IV Death Not to be Regarded as Unexpected 28 Nothing ought to appear unexpected.
    [Show full text]
  • Homer's Asymmetrical Gods
    HOMER'S ASYMMETRICAL GODS APPROVED; Major Professor // / / JS Minor Professor oi English f Dean of the Graduate School HOMER'S ASYMMETRICAL GODS THESIS Presented to the Graduate Council of the North Texas State University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree of MASTER OF ARTS By William H. Thrash, B. A. , B. D. Denton, Texas August, 1968 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Chapter I. INTRODUCTION . 1 II. HOMER'S GODS--THE MULTIPLE VIEWS OF THE CRITICS 18 III. HOMER'S USES OF THE GODS IN SPECIFIC EPISODES OF THE ILIAD--AN EXPLICATION 49 IV. FATE AND DEATH: THEIR CENTRALITY IN HOMER'S PORTRAYAL OF ACHILLES 71 V. THE HUMAN MOTIVATION OF THE ILIAD 84 BIBLIOGRAPHY 91 in CHAPTER I ' INTRODUCTION Reading Homer's critics, one surmises that almost every theory that has been promoted in regard to Homer's use of the gods in the Iliad is credible; every critical commentary concerning Homer's gods does make sense. Far instance, it is true to say that Homer's gods are artistic tools In the hands of the poet--tools to save the action of the 1 \ poem, to keep it going by having the gods intervene, on sometimes unlikely occasions, in the actions of men. Too, it is believable to say that the gods are projections of man's feelings; somtimes Aphrodite is 2 - . 3 personified love, Ares, per sonified hate. Credible is the conception 4 of Homer's gods as being fellow sufferers with man, for they do, at times, weep with man, and occasionally in the course of their intervention into the war, the gods suffer physical woundings.
    [Show full text]
  • Classical Reception in Contemporary Women's
    CLASSICAL RECEPTION IN CONTEMPORARY WOMEN’S WRITING: EMERGING STRATEGIES FROM RESISTANCE TO INDETERMINACY by POLLY STOKER A thesis submitted to the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Classics, Ancient History, and Archaeology School of History and Cultures College of Arts and Law University of Birmingham April 2019 University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. ABSTRACT The reader who rewrites remains a vital interlocutor between the classical past and the modern classicist. However, the neglect of the female reader in classical reception studies is an omission that becomes ever more conspicuous, and surely less sustainable, as women writers continue to dominate the contemporary creative field. This thesis makes the first steps towards fashioning a new aesthetic model for the female reader based on irony, ambivalence, and indeterminacy. I consider works by Virginia Woolf, Alice Oswald, Elizabeth Cook, and Yael Farber, all of whom largely abandon ‘resistance’ as a strategy of rereading and demand a new theoretical framework that can engage with and recognize the multivalence of women’s reading and rewriting.
    [Show full text]
  • Homer's Iliad: a Discussion Guide
    Homer’s Iliad: A Discussion Guide By David Bruce SMASHWORDS EDITION Copyright 2013 by Bruce D. Bruce Thank you for downloading this book. You are welcome to share it with your friends. This book may be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the book remains in its complete original form. If you enjoyed this book, please return to Smashwords.com to discover other works by this author. Thank you for your support. Preface The purpose of this book is educational. I have read, studied and taught Homer’s Iliad, and I wish to pass on what I have learned to other people who are interested in studying Homer’s Iliad. In particular, I think that the readers of this introduction to Homer’s Iliad will be bright high school seniors and college first-year students, as well as intelligent adults who simply wish to study the Iliad despite not being literature majors. This book uses a question-and-answer format. It poses, then answers, relevant questions about Homer, background information, and the Iliad. This book goes through the Iliad book by book. I recommend that you read the relevant section of the Iliad, then read my comments, then go back and re-read the relevant section of the Iliad. However, do what works for you. Teachers may find this book useful as a discussion guide for the epic poem. Teachers can have students read books from the epic poem, then teachers can ask students selected questions from this study guide. It helps to know something about Homer’s Odyssey, Virgil’s Aeneid, Greek and Roman mythology, and Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but this background reading is not strictly necessary.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iliad of Homer by Homer
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Iliad of Homer by Homer This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The Iliad of Homer Author: Homer Release Date: September 2006 [Ebook 6130] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ILIAD OF HOMER*** The Iliad of Homer Translated by Alexander Pope, with notes by the Rev. Theodore Alois Buckley, M.A., F.S.A. and Flaxman's Designs. 1899 Contents INTRODUCTION. ix POPE'S PREFACE TO THE ILIAD OF HOMER . xlv BOOK I. .3 BOOK II. 41 BOOK III. 85 BOOK IV. 111 BOOK V. 137 BOOK VI. 181 BOOK VII. 209 BOOK VIII. 233 BOOK IX. 261 BOOK X. 295 BOOK XI. 319 BOOK XII. 355 BOOK XIII. 377 BOOK XIV. 415 BOOK XV. 441 BOOK XVI. 473 BOOK XVII. 513 BOOK XVIII. 545 BOOK XIX. 575 BOOK XX. 593 BOOK XXI. 615 BOOK XXII. 641 BOOK XXIII. 667 BOOK XXIV. 707 CONCLUDING NOTE. 747 Illustrations HOMER INVOKING THE MUSE. .6 MARS. 13 MINERVA REPRESSING THE FURY OF ACHILLES. 16 THE DEPARTURE OF BRISEIS FROM THE TENT OF ACHILLES. 23 THETIS CALLING BRIAREUS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF JUPITER. 27 THETIS ENTREATING JUPITER TO HONOUR ACHILLES. 32 VULCAN. 35 JUPITER. 38 THE APOTHEOSIS OF HOMER. 39 JUPITER SENDING THE EVIL DREAM TO AGAMEMNON. 43 NEPTUNE. 66 VENUS, DISGUISED, INVITING HELEN TO THE CHAMBER OF PARIS.
    [Show full text]
  • The Ancient Critic at Work
    This page intentionally left blank THE ANCIENT CRITIC AT WORK The large but underrated corpus of Greek scholia, the marginal and interlinear notes found in manuscripts, is a very important source for ancient literary criticism. The evidence of the scholia significantly adds to and enhances the picture that can be gained from studying the relevant treatises (such as Aristotle’s Poetics): scholia also contain con- cepts that are not found in the treatises, and they are indicative of how the concepts are actually put to use in the progressive interpretation of texts. The book also demonstrates that it is vital to study both ancient terminology and the cases where a particular phenomenon is simply paraphrased. Nineteen thematic chapters provide a repertoire of the various terms and concepts of ancient literary criticism. The relevant witnesses are extensively quoted in Greek and English translation. A glossary of Greek terms (with translation) and several indices enable the book also to be used for reference. renen´ unlist¨ is Associate Professor of Classics at Brown University, Rhode Island. Publications include Poetologische Bildersprache in der fruhgriechischen¨ Dichtung () and a new co-authored commentary on Homer’s Iliad (–). THE ANCIENT CRITIC AT WORK Terms and Concepts of Literary Criticism in Greek Scholia RENEN´ UNLIST¨ Brown University CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paulo Cambridge University Press The Edinburgh Building, Cambridge CB2 8RU, UK Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9780521850582 © Cambridge University Press 2009 This publication is in copyright.
    [Show full text]
  • 2015 Florida / Georgia Certamen Advanced Round 1
    2015 Florida / Georgia Certamen Advanced Round 1 1. What son of Merope and Sisyphus was eaten by his own horses and was the father of Bellerophon? Answer: GLAUCUS B1: Who was the wife of Glaucus and the mother of Bellerophon? Answer: EURYNOME/EURYMEDE B2: What king of Lycia was the taskmaster of Bellerophon? Answer: IOBATES 2. Who wrote Oedipus, AntiCatones, and De Analogia, as well as more famous works such as one about his campaigns in Gaul? Answer: (C.) JULIUS CAESAR B1: To what orator was the De Analogia dedicated? Answer: (M. TULLIUS) CICERO B2: Give the full Latin title of Caesar’s work about his campaigns in Gaul. Answer: COMMENTARII DE BELLO GALLICO 3. Which of the following English words, if any, does not belong because of derivation: jeopardy, jewel, jostle, juggle, jocular Answer: JOSTLE B1: From what Latin verb with what meaning is “jostle” derived? Answer: IUNGO, (iungere, iunxi, iunctus)- TO JOIN B2: From what Latin verb are “dice”, “traitor”, and “betray” derived? Answer: DO, (dare, dedi, datus) 4. For the verb frango, give the 1st person plural, present, active, subjunctive. Answer: FRANGAMUS B1: Keeping all else the same, make frangamus perfect tense. Answer: FREGERIMUS B2: Keeping all else the same, make fregerimus imperfect. Answer: FRANGEREMUS 5. In 272 AD, which emperor, nicknamed “Manu ad Ferrum,” began a campaign against Palmyra? Answer: AURELIAN B1: Who was the queen of Palmyra who fought against Rome? Answer: ZENOBIA B2: What other nickname of Aurelian referred to how he had regained most of the land that Rome had lost the decade prior to his reign? Answer: RESTITUTOR ORBIS 6.
    [Show full text]
  • Apodexis Historı́as
    Apode as An Aggregate Primary Source Account of Greek History xis Historı́ Edited by E. Edward Garvin, ©2014 The purpose of a sourcebook is to allow the subjects to speak their own history and to allow the student, the reader, to gain an understanding of Greek literary works through a selective sampling. The key word is ‘selective.’ Contained herein are passages excerpted from their contexts. Without exception, this very process produces a falsehood because both the narrative and meta-narrative are destroyed when the continuity of the composition is interrupted. Nevertheless, this seems the most expedient way to expose students to a wide range of primary source material without an onerous reading list. I have tried to keep my voice out of it as much as possible and will intervene as editor (in Times New Roman font) only to give background or exegesis to the text. All of the texts contained in frames and in Goudy Old Style font are excerpts from Greek or Latin texts (primary sources) that have been translated into English. These translations were published as print books but have since fallen into Public Domain - which means that the copyright has expired. As editor of this volume, I have copied, edited and partially retranslated these texts to bring the translations up to date. The title of this collection is adapted from the opening line of Herodotus' Histories: "The results of the research (historías) of Herodotus of Halicarnassus are herein presented for public display (apodexis)." The Greek apodexis means a 'display' or 'public presentation': The word historía, when Herodotus used it, referred to a process of rational pragmatic inquiry.
    [Show full text]
  • Trojan) Tlepolemus (Greek
    Acamas (Trojan) Promachus (Greek) Polites (Trojan) Echius (Greek) Phaestus (Unknown) Othryoneus (Trojan) Asius (Trojan) Idomeneus (Greek) Alcathous (Trojan) Oenomaus (Trojan) Erymas killed by Idomeneus (Trojan) Thoas (Greek) Peirous (Trojan) Diores (Greek) Thrasymedes (Greek) Maris (Trojan) Dresus (Trojan) Opheltius (Trojan) Euryalus (Greek) Aesepus (Trojan) Pedasus (Trojan) Helenus (Trojan) Deïpyrus (Greek) Scamandrius (Unknown) Phlaemenes (Trojan) Menelaus (Greek) Peisander killed by Menelaus (Trojan) Hyperenor (Trojan) Dolops (Trojan) Thoas (Trojan) Hippomachus (Unknown) Antiphates (Trojan) Phegeus (Trojan) Leonteus (Greek) Menon (Trojan) Astynous (Trojan) Iamenus (Trojan) Hypeiron (Trojan) Orestes (Trojan) Abas (Trojan) Satnius (Trojan) Polyidus (Trojan) Ajax son of Oileus (Greek) Cleobulus (Trojan) Xanthus (Trojan) Astyalus (Trojan) Thoon (Trojan) Damasus (Trojan) Echemmon (Trojan) Crethon (Greek) Polypoetes (Greek) Pylon (Trojan) Chromius killed by Diomedes (Trojan) Orsilochus (Greek) Ormenus killed by Polypoetes (Trojan) Pandarus (Trojan) Aphareus (Greek) Diomedes (Greek) Aeneas (Trojan) Medon (Greek) Menesthius (Greek) Ares (God) Iasus (Greek) Paris (Trojan) Euchenor (Greek) Axylus (Trojan) Leocritus (Greek) Deïochus (Greek) Calesius (Trojan) Periphas (Greek) Automedon (Greek) Aretus (Trojan) Eniopeus (Trojan) Agelaos (Trojan) Dolon (Trojan) Menelaus (Trojan) Podes (Trojan) twelve sleeping Thracian soldiers (Unknown) Pedaeus (Greek) Thymbraeus (Trojan) Meges (Greek) Croesmus (Trojan) two sons of Merops (Trojan) Amphiclus (Trojan)
    [Show full text]
  • The Rage of Achilles
    BOOK ONE The Rage of Achilles R age-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fi ghters' souls, but made their bodies carrion, fea sts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles. What god drove them to fight with such a fury? Apollo the son of Zeus and Leto. Incensed at the king 10 he swept a fa tal plague through the army-men were dying and all because Agamemnon spurned Apoll o's priest. Yes, Chryses approached the Achaeans' fast ships to win his daughter back, bringing a priceless ransom 77 I I 78 HOM E R : THE ILI AD {14-42] I and bearing high in hand, wound on a golden staff, the wreaths of the god, the distant deadly Archer. He begged the whole Achaean army but most of all the two supreme commanders, Atreus' two sons, "Agamemnon, Menelaus-all Argives geared for war! May the gods who hold the halls of Olympus give you Priam's city to plunder, then safe passage home. Just set my daughter free, my dear one ... here, accept these gifts, this ransom. Honor the god who strikes from worlds away-the son of Zeus, Apollo!" And all ranks of Achaeans cried out their assent: " Respect the priest, accept the shining ransom!" But it brought no joy to the heart of Agamemnon.
    [Show full text]
  • Two Armies, the Troops in Divisions Under Their Commanders, The
    ILIAD BOOK 3 Two armies, The troops in divisions Under their commanders, The Trojans advancing across the plain Like cranes beating their metallic wings In the stormy sky at winter's onset, Unspeakable rain at their backs, their necks stretched Toward Oceanic streams and down To strafe the brown Pygmy race, Bringing strife and bloodshed from the sky at dawn, 10 While the Greeks moved forward in silence, Their breath curling in long angry plumes That acknowledged their pledges to die for each other. Banks of mist settle on mountain peaks And seep into the valleys. Shepherds dislike it But for a thief it is better than night, And a man can see only as far as he can throw a stone. No more could the soldiers see through the cloud of dust The armies tramped up as they moved through the plain. BOOK 3 And when they had almost closed— 20 Was it a god?—no, not a god But Paris who stepped out from the Trojan ranks, Leopard skin on his shoulders, curved bow, sword, And shaking two bronze-tipped spears at the Greeks He invited their best to fight him to the death. When Menelaus, who was Ares' darling, saw him Strutting out from the ranks, he felt As a lion must feel when he finds the carcass Of a stag or wild goat, and, half-starving, Consumes it greedily even though hounds and hunters 30 Are swarming down on him. It was Paris all right, Who could have passed for a god, And Menelaus grinned as he hefted his gear And stepped down from his chariot.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iliad of Homer
    THE ILIAD OF HOMER Rendered into English Prose for the use of those who cannot read the original by Samuel Butler BOOK I The quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles--Achilles withdraws from the war, and sends his mother Thetis to ask Jove to help the Trojans--Scene between Jove and Juno on Olympus. Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath, and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs. "Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove." On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away.
    [Show full text]