The Homeric poems are among the most read, admired and discussed works of literature. They are credited to a poet about whom nothing certain is known, but who apparently lived around 850 B.C. in one of the Asiatic Greek cities, probably Smyrna (Izmir) or Chios. Every Greek schoolboy is said to have known them, as have many in the western world until recent times. Their origin has been the subject of much discussion. By investigating Yugoslav oral poets of his day Milman Parry (1902-35) established the view that they were the results of a long tradition in which bards recited or sang shorter poems or lays that were the basis of longer poems, such as the Homeric epics. Such epics were recited by outstanding poets like Homer, and might later be fixed by written versions. Parry's contributions are readily available in {The Making of Homeric Verse The Collected Papers of Milman Parry}, ed. Adam Parry (New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). According to ancient tradition, the Homeric poems were first written down by Pisistratus in the sixth century B.C. They were later studied, especially by the Alexandrian grammarians, among whom the great critic, Aristarchus of the second century B.C., produced an edition that has been the basis of the poems ever since. The lines of the {Iliad} and the {Odyssey} are composed in dactylic hexameter, with a caesura typical after the fourth member, and a spondee [- -] rather than a dactyl [- v v] in the fifth. Among characteristics of epic verse are formulae, such as @di^os )Axilleu/s@ of line 7 below and @e(khbo/lou )Apo/llwnos@ of line 14, in a different case in line 21. Parry published two long "Studies in the Epic Technique of Oral Verse-Making" (1987: 266-364). Especially the second of these with the sub-title "The Homeric Language as the Language of an Oral Poetry" may be consulted for further details. Reading and Textual Analysis The theme of the {Iliad} is given in the preamble of seven lines. It is the anger of Achilles. This was first directed at Agamemnon as they were besieging the city of Troy. But after the death of his friend, Patroclus, it was directed at his slayer, Hector, the prime warrior of the city. The poem deals with other combat during the intervening three weeks, such as that between Paris, son of Priam, head of Troy, and Menelaus, husband of Helen whom Paris had abducted, thereby causing the attack by the Greeks. The poem concludes with the death of Hector at the hands of Achilles, and his burial. __________________________________________________________________________________ Introduction file ends above; Text/Glosses file starts below __________________________________________________________________________________ Mh^nin a)/eide, qea/, Phlhia/dew A)xillh^os @ - - - mh^nin @n.; acc.sg.fem. of anger@ [anger] a)/eide @vb.; 2 sg.imper. of sing, chant@ [sing] qea/ @n.; voc.sg.fem. of goddess@ [oh goddess] Phlhia/dew @n.; gen.sg.masc. of son of Peleus@ [son of Peleus] A)xillh^os @n.; gen.sg.masc. of of Achillles@ [Achilles] ----- ou)lome/nhn, h(/ muri/' A)xaioi^s a)/lge' e)/qhke, @ # Note that final vowels may be elided to provide regular meter (herein, @muri/'@ and @a)/lge'@ have lost final @a@). - - - ou)lome/nhn @adj.; acc.sg.fem. of destructive, baneful@ [baneful] h(/ @rel.pron.; nom.sg.fem. of who@ [that] muri/' @adj.; acc.pl.nt. of countless@ [countless] A)xaioi^s @n.; dat.pl.masc. of Achaean@ [on the Achaeans] a)/lge' @n.; acc.pl.nt. of woe@ [woes] e)/qhke @vb.; 3 sg.aor. of put, place@ [brought] ----- polla\s d' i)fqi/mous yuxa\s Ai(/di proi/ayen @ - - - polla\s @adj.; acc.pl.fem. of many@ [many] d' @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] i)fqi/mous @adj.; acc.pl.fem. of valiant@ [valiant] yuxa\s @n.; acc.pl.fem. of soul@ [souls] Ai(/di @n.; dat.sg.masc. of Hades@ [to Hades] proi/ayen @vb.; 3 sg.aor. of send forth@ [sent forth] ----- h(rw/wn, au)tou\s de\ e(lw/ria teu^xe ku/nessin @ - - - h(rw/wn @n.; gen.pl.masc. of hero@ [of warriors] au)tou\s @pron.; acc.pl.masc. of oneself, he@ [those] de\ @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] e(lw/ria @n.; acc.pl.nt. of spoils, booty@ [spoils] teu^xe @vb.; 3 sg.imp. of make ready, make@ [made] ku/nessin @n.; dat.pl.masc. of dog@ [for dogs] ----- oi)wnoi^si/ te pa^si, Dio\s d' e)telei/eto boulh/, @ - - - oi)wnoi^si/ @n.; dat.pl.masc. of large bird, bird of prey@ [for the birds of prey] te @conj.; and@ [and] pa^si @adj.; dat.pl.masc. of all@ [for all the] Dio\s @n.; gen.sg.masc. of Zeus@ [of Zeus] d' @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] e)telei/eto @vb.; 3 sg.imp.pass. of fulfill, complete@ [was fulfilled] boulh/ @n.; nom.sg.fem. of will@ [the will] ----- e)c ou(^ dh\ ta\ prw^ta diasth/thn e)ri/sante @ - - - e)c @prep.; out of@ [from] ou(^ @rel.pron.; gen.sg.nt. who@ [that (time)] dh\ @pcl.; indeed@ [indeed] ta\ @art.; acc.pl.nt. of the@ [the] prw^ta @adv.; acc.pl.nt. of first@ [first] diasth/thn @vb.; 2.dual.aor.mid. of separate, strive@ [they separated] e)ri/sante @vb.; 2 dual.aor.ptc. of quarrel@ [quarreling with one another] ----- A)trei/dhs te a)/nac a)ndrw^n kai\ di^os A)xilleu/s. @ - - - A)trei/dhs @n.; nom.sg.masc. of son of Atreus@ [the son of Atreus] te @conj.; and@ [and] a)/nac @n.; nom.sg.masc. of ruler@ [ruler] a)ndrw^n @n.; gen.pl.masc. of man@ [of men] kai\ @conj.; and@ [and] di^os @adj.; nom.sg.masc. of godlike, noble@ [noble] A)xilleu/s @n.; nom.sg.masc. of Achilles@ [Achilles] ----- Ti/s t' a)^r' sfwe qew^n e)/ridi cune/hke ma/xesqai; @ - - - ti/s @int.pron.; nom.sg.masc. of who, what@ [who] t' @conj.; and@ [...] a)^r' @int. pcl.; then@ [...] sfwe @pron.; acc.dual masc. of those two@ [the two of them] qew^n @n.; gen.pl.masc. of god@ [of the gods] e)/ridi @n.; dat.sg.fem. of strife@ [in strife] cune/hke @vb.; 3.sg.aor. of bring together@ [brought together] ma/xesqai @vb.; inf.mid. of fight, quarrel@ [to quarrel] ----- Lhtou^s kai\ Dio\s ui(o/s! o( ga\r basilh^i xolwqei\s @ - - - Lhtou^s @n.; gen.sg.fem. of Leto@ [of Leto] kai\ @conj.; and@ [and] Dio\s @n.; gen.sg.masc. of Zeus@ [of Zeus] ui(o/s @n.; nom.sg.masc. of son@ [the son] o( @artp.; nom.sg.masc. of the@ [he] ga\r @conj.; for@ [for] basilh^i @n.; dat.sg.masc. of king@ [the king] xolwqei\s @vb.; nom.sg.masc. of aor.ptc.pass. of anger@ [angered at] ----- nou^son a)na\ strato\n w)^rse kakh/n, o)le/konto de\ laoi/, @ - - - nou^son @n.; acc.sg.fem. of sickness@ [a sickness] a)na\ @prep.; on@ [on] strato\n @n.; acc.sg.masc. of army@ [the army] w)^rse @vb.; 3 sg.aor. of stir up@ [brought about] kakh/n @adj.; acc.sg.fem. of evil, poor@ [evil] o)le/konto @vb.; 3 pl.imp.pass. of kill@ [were perishing] de\ @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] laoi/ @n.; nom.pl.masc. of people@ [people] ----- ou(/neka to\n Xru/shn h)ti/masen a)rhth^ra @ - - - ou(/neka @conj.; because@ [because] to\n @art.; acc.sg.masc. of the@ [the] Xru/shn @n.; acc.sg.masc. of Chryses@ [Chryses] h)ti/masen @vb.; 3 sg.aor. of dishonor@ [he had dishonored] a)rhth^ra @n.; acc.sg.masc. of priest@ [priest] ----- A)trei/dhs: o( ga\r h)/lqe qoa\s e)pi\ nh^as A)xaiw^n @ - - - A)trei/dhs @n.; nom.sg.masc. of son of Atreus@ [the son of Atreus] o( @artp.; nom.sg.masc. of the@ [he] ga\r @conj.; for@ [for] h)/lqe @vb.; 3 sg.aor. of come@ [came] qoa\s @adj.; acc.pl.fem.; of fast@ [the fast] e)pi\ @prep.; on@ [to] nh^as @n.; acc.pl.fem. of ship@ [ships] A)xaiw^n @n.; gen.pl.masc. of Achaean@ [of the Achaeans] ----- luso/meno/s te qu/gatra fe/rwn t' a)perei/si' a)/poina, @ - - - luso/meno/s @vb.; nom.sg.masc. of pres.ptc.mid. of loosen, free@ [to free] te @conj.; and@ [and] qu/gatra @n.; acc.sg.fem. of daughter@ [his daughter] fe/rwn @vb.; nom.sg.masc. of pres.ptc. of bear@ [bearing] t' @conj.; and@ [and] a)perei/si' @adj.; acc.pl.nt. of countless@ [countless] a)/poina @n.; acc.pl.nt. of ransom@ [ransom] ----- ste/mmat' e)/xwn e)n xersi\n e(khbo/lou A)po/llwnos @ - - - ste/mmat' @n.; acc.pl.nt. of wreath, garland@ [garlands] e)/xwn @vb.; nom.sg.masc. of pres.ptc. of have@ [having] e)n @prep.; in@ [in] xersi\n @n.; dat.pl.fem. of hand@ [his hands] e(khbo/lou @adj.; gen.sg.masc. of far-shooting@ [of far-shooting] A)po/llwnos @n.; gen.sg.masc. of Apollo@ [Apollo] ----- xruse/w| a)na\ skh/ptrw|, kai\ li/sseto pa/ntas A)xaiou/s @ - - - xruse/w| @adj.; dat.sg.nt. of golden@ [golden] a)na\ @prep.; on@ [on] skh/ptrw| @n.; dat.sg.nt. of sceptre@ [sceptre] kai\ @conj.; and@ [and] li/sseto @vb.; 3 sg.imp. of
  • pray@ [prayed] pa/ntas @adj.; acc.pl.masc. of all@ [all] A)xaiou/s @n.; acc.pl.masc. of Achaean@ [Achaeans] ----- A)trei/da de\ ma/lista du/w, kosmh/tore law^n: @ - - - A)trei/da @n.; acc.dual.masc. of son of Atreus@ [sons of Atreus] de\ @pcl.; on the other hand@ [but] ma/lista @adv.; sup. of very much, chiefly@ [chiefly] du/w @num.; two@ [the two] kosmh/tore @n.; acc.dual.masc. of commander@ [commanders] law^n @n.; gen.pl.masc. of people@ [of the peoples] ----- "A)trei/dai te kai\ a)/lloi eu)knh/mides A)xaioi/, @ - - - A)trei/dai @n.; voc.pl.masc. of son of Atreus@ [Sons of Atreus] te @conj.; and@ [and] kai\ @conj.; and@ [and] a)/lloi @adj.; voc.pl.masc. of other@ [other] eu)knh/mides @adj.; voc.pl.masc. of well-greaved@ [well-greaved] A)xaioi/ @n.; voc.pl.masc of Achaean@ [Achaeans] ----- u(mi^n me\n qeoi\ doi^en O)lu/mpia dw/mat' e)/xontes @ - - - u(mi^n @pron.; dat.pl.masc. of you@ [to you] me\n @pcl; on the one hand@ [indeed] qeoi\ @n.; nom.pl.masc. of god@ [the gods] doi^en @vb.; 3 pl.opt. aor. of give@ [may . . .grant] O)lu/mpia @adj.; acc.pl.nt. of Olympian@ [Olympian] dw/mat' @n.; acc.pl.nt. of house, home@ [homes] e)/xontes @vb.; nom.pl.masc. of pres.ptc. of have@ [who have] ----- e)kpe/rsai Pria/moio po/lin, eu)/ d' oi)/kad' i(ke/sqai! @ - - - e)kpe/rsai @vb.; aor.inf. of destroy@ [that you destroy] Pria/moio @n.; gen.sg.masc. of Priam@ [of Priam] po/lin @n.; acc.sg.fem. of city@ [the city] eu)/ @adv.; well@ [safely] d' @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] oi)/kad' @adv.; home@ [home] i(ke/sqai @dep.vb.; inf.aor.mid. of reach@ [return] ----- pai^da d' e)moi\ lu/saite fi/lhn, ta\ d' a)/poina de/xesqai, @ - - - pai^da @n.; acc.sg.fem. of child@ [child] d' @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] e)moi\ @pron.; dat.sg.masc. of I@ [to me] lu/saite @vb.; 2 pl.opt.aor. of loose@ [free] fi/lhn @adj.; acc.sg.fem. of dear@ [dear] ta\ @art.; acc.pl.nt. of the@ [the] d' @pcl.; on the other hand@ [and] a)/poina @n.; acc.pl.nt. of ransom@ [ransom] de/xesqai @vb.; inf. of receive@ [receive] ----- a(zo/menoi Dio\s ui(o\n e(khbo/lon A)po/llwna." @ - - - a(zo/menoi @vb.; nom.pl.masc. of pres. ptc. mid. of stand in awe of@ [respect with fear] Dio\s @n.; gen.sg.masc. of Zeus@ [of Zeus] ui(o\n @n.; acc.sg.masc. of son@ [the son] e(khbo/lon @adj.; acc.sg.masc. of far-shooting@ [far-shooting] A)po/llwna @n.; acc.sg.masc. of Apollo@ [Apollo] __________________________________________________________________________________ Text/Glosses file ends above; Grammar Points file starts below __________________________________________________________________________________ Sing, oh goddess, of the wrath of Achilles, son of Peleus, the baneful wrath, which brought countless woes on the Achaeans and sent many valiant souls of heroes to Hades; But it made them themselves spoils for dogs and all kinds of birds, while the wish of the god was fulfilled. (Sing) from the time when, quarreling with one another, they first separated, the son of Atreus, ruler of men, and noble Achilles. Who now of the gods brought those two to quarrel in strife? The son of Leto and Zeus! For he, angered at the king, brought about an evil sickness on the army, and the people were perishing, because the son of Atreus had dishonored Chryses, the priest. For he had come to the swift ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, bearing countless ransom and having in his hands on a golden scepter garlands of far-shooting Apollo. And he requested of all the Achaeans, but chiefly the two sons of Atreus, commanders of the people: "Sons of Atreus and other well-greaved Achaeans, may the gods, who have Olympian homes, grant to you that you destroy the city of Priam and return safely home. But free my child to me, and receive the ransom, in awe of far-shooting Apollo, son of Zeus." Grammar 6. Conjunctions and Particles. As these texts exemplify, Greek makes great use of conjunctions and particles. These may have basic meanings, but many of them simply suggest relationships between syntactic units, so that they vary in use and may even not need to be translated. The most common conjunction is @kai/@, with a basic meaning of 'and' but also 'even' and at times 'but'. Another common conjunction is @ga/r@, with a basic meaning of 'for' but also 'now', or it may be added simply to strengthen questions. Particles typically stand right after the first content word in sentences. Among the particles, @de/@ is very common, as in our texts; it has a basic adversative meaning and may often be translated 'but' or 'on the other hand', but is often redundant. In a different meaning it is attached to names of places that are in the accusative, and then means 'to'. In addition it may be added to pronouns to strengthen their meaning. The particle @te@ is also very common, and has the meaning 'and'; it is often used after both nouns that are conjoined. Moreover, in epic poetry it is added to other particles or to pronouns without adding to their meaning. The particle @me/n@ often stands in clauses that are followed by other clauses including @de/@, where it means something like 'one the one hand'; it may also be combined with other particles, as in @me\n a)/ra@, where it means 'and'. The particle @dh/@ indicates emphasis, as on the word preceding it. In short, particles often supply meaning much as intonation does in English. The meaning of the content words in sentences may be a guide to interpretation of the particles included in them. 7. Participles. Participles are often used to function as verbs of modifying clauses. These modifying clauses may correspond to relative clauses, as does @e)/xontes@ in line 18 of the {Iliad} text. The relationship to a principal clause may require a further interpretation, as does that of the participle @luso/menos@ in line 13 or that of @a)zo/menos@ in line 21. On the other hand, they may be treated as participles in English, as for example @fe/rwn@ in line 13. They may also be adjectival; an example is @ou)lome/nhn@ in line 2. The interpretations will generally be clear from the contexts in which they are found. 8. Nouns in consonantal declension. Nouns in the consonantal declension often have the final consonant elided before the nominative ending, so that their stem form must be determined from the genitive or other oblique cases. Examples are given here of nouns with stems ending in -@d@- and -@r@-. @@ Masculine Feminine Feminine Nom sg @o( pai^s@ 'child' @h( E(/llas@ 'Hellas' @h( quga/thr@ 'daughter' Gen sg @tou^ paido/s@ @th^s E(lla/dos@ @th^s qugate/ros@ Dat sg @tw^| paidi/@ @th^| E(lla/di@ @th^| qugate/ri@ Acc sg @to\n pai^don@ @th^n E(lla/da@ @th^n qugate/ra@ @@ Nom pl @oi( pai^des@ @@ @ai( qugate/res@ Gen pl @tw^n pai/dwn@ @@ @tw^n qugate/rwn@ Dat pl @toi^s pai^si@ @@ @tai^s qugate/rsi@ Acc pl @tou\s pai^das@ @@ @ta\s qugate/ras@ 9. Personal pronouns. The first and second personal pronouns have enclitic forms in the oblique cases of the singular, which are given here after the regular forms; they have no accent. The third person forms, for 'he, she, it', are supplied by the intensive pronoun meaning 'self'; the genitive singular forms would have the meanings 'of him, of her, of it', the dative singular forms would have the meanings 'to him, to her, to it', and so on. @@ 1st Person 2nd Person @@ 3rd Person @@ @@ @@ Masculine Feminine Neuter Nom sg @e)gw/@ @su/@ @au)to/s@ @au)th/@ @au)to/@ Gen sg @e)mou^, mou@ @sou^, sou@ @au)tou^@ @au)th^s@ @au(tou^@ Dat sg @e)moi/, moi@ @soi/, soi@ @au)tw^|@ @au)th^|@ @au)tw^|@ Acc sg @e)me/, me@ @se/, se@ @au)to/n@ @au)th/n@ @au)to/@ @@ Nom pl @h(mei^s@ @u(mei^s@ @au)toi^@ @au)tai^@ @au)ta/@ Gen pl @h(mw^n@ @u(mw^n@ @au)tw^n@ @au)tw^n@ @au)tw^n@ Dat pl @h(mi^n@ @u(mi^n@ @au)toi^s@ @au)tai^s@ @au)toi^s@ Acc pl @h(ma^s@ @u(ma^s@ @au)tou/s@ @au)ta/s@ @au)ta/@ 10. The Present System of verbs. The present system includes five categories of forms: the present indicative, the imperfect, the subjunctive, the optative, and the imperative. In addition there is an infinitive and also a participle. The first two categories have been given in Lesson 1; the others are given here using the verb [infinitive] @paideu/ein@. @@ Subjunctive Optative Imperative 1 sg @paideu/w@ @paideu/oimi@ 2 sg @paideu/h|s@ @paideu/ois@ @pai/deue@ 3 sg @paideu/h|@ @paideu/oi@ @paideude/tw@ @@ 1 pl @paideu/wmen@ @paideu/oimen@ 2 pl @paideu/hte@ @paideu/oite@ @paideu/ete@ 3 pl @paideu/wsi@(@n@) @paideu/oien@ @paideuo/ntwn@ The participial forms, nominative and genitive singular, are as follows. @@ Masculine Feminine Neuter Nom sg @paideu/wn@ @paideu/ousa@ @paideu^on@ Gen sg @paideu/ontos@ @paideuou/shs@ @paideu/ontos@