Homeric Iliad Translated by Samuel Butler Revised by Soo-Young Kim, Kelly McCray, Gregory Nagy, and Timothy Power Contents Rhapsody 1 Rhapsody 2 Rhapsody 3 Rhapsody 4 Rhapsody 5 Rhapsody 6 Rhapsody 7 Rhapsody 8 Rhapsody 9 Rhapsody 10 Rhapsody 11 Rhapsody 12 Rhapsody 13 Rhapsody 14 Rhapsody 15 Rhapsody 16 Rhapsody 17 Rhapsody 18 Rhapsody 19 Rhapsody 20 Rhapsody 21 Rhapsody 22 Rhapsody 23 Rhapsody 24 Homeric Iliad Rhapsody 1 Translated by Samuel Butler Revised by Soo-Young Kim, Kelly McCray, Gregory Nagy, and Timothy Power [1] Anger [mēnis], goddess, sing it, of Achilles, son of Peleus— 2 disastrous [oulomenē] anger that made countless pains [algea] for the Achaeans, 3 and many steadfast lives [psūkhai] it drove down to Hādēs, 4 heroes’ lives, but their bodies it made prizes for dogs [5] and for all birds, and the Will of Zeus was reaching its fulfillment [telos]— 6 sing starting from the point where the two—I now see it—first had a falling out, engaging in strife [eris], 7 I mean, [Agamemnon] the son of Atreus, lord of men, and radiant Achilles. 8 So, which one of the gods was it who impelled the two to fight with each other in strife [eris]? 9 It was [Apollo] the son of Leto and of Zeus. For he [= Apollo], infuriated at the king [= Agamemnon], [10] caused an evil disease to arise throughout the mass of warriors, and the people were getting destroyed, because the son of Atreus had dishonored Khrysēs his priest. Now Khrysēs had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom [apoina]: moreover he bore in his hand the scepter of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant’s wreath [15] 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 destroy the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; [20] but free my daughter, and accept a ransom [apoina] for her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Zeus.” Then the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon, son of Atreus [25] who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. “Old man,” said he, “let me not find you tarrying about our ships, nor yet coming hereafter. Your scepter of the god and your wreath shall profit you nothing. I will not free her. She shall grow old [30] in my house at Argos far from her own home, busying herself with her loom and visiting my bed; so go, and do not provoke me or it shall be the worse for you.” The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he spoke, but went by the shore of the sounding sea [35] and prayed apart to King Apollo, whom lovely fine-haired Leto had borne. “Hear me,” he cried, “O god of the silver bow, you who protects Khrysē and holy Killa and rules Tenedos with your might, hear me O Sminthian God of Plague Apollo. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, [40] or burned your thigh- pieces in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer, and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans.” Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He came down furious from the summits of Olympus, [45] with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder, 46 and on his shoulders the arrows made a sound with the rage 47 that trembled within him; his face was as dark as night. 48 He sat himself down away from the ships, and he shot his arrow in the midst of them: 49 there was a terrible [deinos] sound from the silver bow. [50] First he smote their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead were burning. For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people, but upon the tenth day Achilles called them together in assembly— [55] moved to do so by Hera, the white-armed goddess, who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes and had compassion upon them. Then, when they were assembled, fleet Achilles rose and spoke among them. “Son of Atreus,” said he, “I deem that we should now [60] turn roving home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet [mantis], or some reader of dreams (for dreams, too, are of Zeus) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo is so angry, and say [65] whether it is for some vow that we have broken, or hecatomb that we have not offered, and whether he will accept the savor of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take away the plague from us.” With these words he sat down, and Kalkhas son of Thestor, wisest of seers, [70] who knew things past present and to come, rose to speak. He it was who had guided the Achaeans with their fleet to Ilion, through the prophecies with which Phoebus Apollo had inspired him. With all sincerity and goodwill he addressed them thus: “Achilles, beloved of Zeus, you bid me tell you about the [75] anger [mēnis] of King Apollo, the Arch-Destroyer, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans are in subjection. [80] A plain man cannot stand against the anger of a king, who even if he swallows his displeasure now, will yet nurse revenge till he has taken it. Consider, therefore, whether or not you will protect me.” And Achilles, the great runner, answered, [85] “Fear not, but speak as it is given to you by the gods. I swear by Apollo, Kalkhas, to whom you pray, and whose oracles you reveal to us, that not a Danaan at our ships shall lay his hand upon you, while I yet live to look upon the face of the earth— [90] no, not even if you name Agamemnon himself, 91 who now boasts to be by far the best of the Achaeans.” At that the brave seer [mantis] spoke boldly. “The god,” he said, “is not angry about either a vow or a hecatomb, but for his priest’s sake, whom Agamemnon has dishonored, [95] in that he would neither free his daughter nor take a ransom [apoina] for her. 96 For that reason the far-shooter gave—and will give—pains [algea] upon us, 97 and he will not remove the disgraceful devastation [loigos] from the Danaans 98 until Agamemnon has restored the girl without fee or ransom [apoina] to her father, and has sent a holy hecatomb [100] to Khrysē. Thus we may perhaps appease him.” With these words he sat down, and the warlord Agamemnon, son of Atreus, rose in anger. His heart was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire [105] as he scowled at Kalkhas and said, “Seer [mantis] of evil, you never yet prophesied good things concerning me, but have always loved to foretell that which was evil. You have brought me neither comfort nor performance; and now you come prophesying among the Danaans, and saying [110] that Apollo has plagued us because I would not take a ransom [apoina] for this girl, the daughter of Khrysēs. I have set my heart on keeping her in my own house, for I prefer her to my own wife Clytemnestra, whom I courted when young, whose peer she is in [115] both form and feature, in intelligence and accomplishments. Still I will give her up if I must, for I want the people to live, not die; but you must find me a prize [geras] instead, or I alone among the Argives shall be without one. This is not well; [120] for you see, all of you, that my prize [geras] is to go elsewhere.” And swift godlike Achilles answered, “Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond all humankind, how shall the magnanimous Achaeans find you another prize [geras]? We have no common store from which to take one. [125] Those we took from the cities have been divided up; we cannot disallow the awards that have been made already. Give this girl, therefore, to the god, and if ever Zeus grants that we destroy the city of Troy we will requite you three and fourfold.” [130] Then the warlord Agamemnon said, “Achilles, valiant though you be, you shall not thus get the better of me in matters of the mind [noos]. You shall not overreach and you shall not persuade me. Are you to keep your own prize [geras], while I sit tamely under my loss and give up the girl at your bidding? [135] Let the Achaeans find me a prize [geras] in fair exchange to my liking, or I will come and take your own, or that of Ajax or of Odysseus; and to whomsoever I may come shall regret my coming. [140] But of this we will take thought hereafter; for the present, let us draw a ship into the sea, and find a crew for her expressly; let us put a hecatomb on board, and let us send Khrysēis of the lovely cheeks also; further, let some chief man among us be in command, [145] either Ajax, or Idomeneus, or godlike Odysseus, or yourself, son of Peleus, mighty warrior that you are, that we may offer sacrifice and appease the anger of the Arch-Destroyer god.” Achilles scowled at him and answered, “You are steeped in insolence and lust of gain.