Classical Greek Online

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 a dactyl [- v v] rather than a spondee [- -] in the fifth. Among characteristics of epic verse are formulae, such as δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς of line 7 below and ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος 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.

Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλλῆος

• μῆνιν -- noun; accusative singular feminine of <μῆνις> anger -- anger
• ἄειδε -- verb; 2nd person singular imperative of <ἀείδω> sing, chant -- sing
• θεά -- noun; vocative singular feminine of <θεά> goddess -- oh goddess
• Πηληιάδεω -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Πηληιάδης> son of Peleus -- son of Peleus
• Ἀχιλλῆος -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Ἀχιλλεύς> Achilles -- of Achilles

οὐλομένην, ἥ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε,
# Note that final vowels may be elided to provide regular meter (herein, μυρί' and ἄλγε' have lost final α).

• οὐλομένην -- participle; accusative singular feminine of present participle middle of <ὀλόω> to destroy -- baneful
• ἥ -- relative pronoun; nominative singular feminine of <ὅς> who, which -- that
• μυρί' -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <μυρίος> countless -- countless
• Ἀχαιοῖς -- noun; dative plural masculine of <Ἀχαιός> Achaean -- on the Achaeans
• ἄλγε' -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <ἄλγος> woe -- woes
• ἔθηκε -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <τίθημι> put, place -- brought

πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Αἵδι προίαψεν

• πολλὰς -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <πολύς> many -- many
• δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• ἰφθίμους -- adjective; accusative plural feminine of <ἴφθιμος> valiant -- valiant
• ψυχὰς -- noun; accusative plural feminine of <ψυχή> soul -- souls
• Αἵδι -- noun; dative singular masculine of <Αἵδης> Hades -- to Hades
• προίαψεν -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <προιάπτω> send forth -- sent forth

ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν

• ἡρώων -- noun; genitive plural masculine of <ἥρως> hero -- of warriors
• αὐτοὺς -- pronoun; accusative plural masculine of <αὐτός> oneself, he -- those
• δὲ -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• ἑλώρια -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <ἑλώριον> spoils, booty -- spoils
• τεῦχε -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <τεύχω> make ready, make -- made
• κύνεσσιν -- noun; dative plural masculine of <κύων> dog -- for dogs

οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι, Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή,

• οἰωνοῖσί -- noun; dative plural masculine of <οἰωνός> large bird, bird of prey -- for the birds of prey
• τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
• πᾶσι -- adjective; dative plural masculine of <πᾶς> all, every -- for all the
• Διὸς -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Ζεύς> Zeus -- of Zeus
• δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• ἐτελείετο -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect passive of <τελείω> fulfill, complete -- was fulfilled
• βουλή -- noun; nominative singular feminine of <βουλή> will -- the will

ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε

• ἐξ -- preposition; <ἐξ> from, out of -- from
• οὗ -- relative pronoun; genitive singular neuter <ὅς> who, which -- that (time)
• δὴ -- particle; <δή> indeed -- indeed
• τὰ -- article; accusative plural neuter of <ὁ> the -- the
• πρῶτα -- adverb; accusative plural neuter of <πρῶτος> first -- first
• διαστήτην -- verb; 2nd person dual aorist middle of <δι-ίστημι> separate, strive -- they separated
• ἐρίσαντε -- verb; 2nd person dual aorist participle of <ἐρίζω> quarrel -- quarreling with one another

Ἀτρείδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.

• Ἀτρείδης -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <Ἀτρείδης> son of Atreus -- the son of Atreus
• τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
• ἄναξ -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <ἄναξ> ruler -- ruler
• ἀνδρῶν -- noun; genitive plural masculine of <ἀνήρ> man -- of men
• καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
• δῖος -- adjective; nominative singular masculine of <δῖος> godlike, noble -- noble
• Ἀχιλλεύς -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <Ἀχιλλεύς> Achilles -- Achilles

Τίς τ' ἆρ' σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι;

• τίς -- interrogative pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <τίς> who, what -- who
• τ' -- conjunction; <τε> and -- ...
• ἆρ' -- interrogative particle; <ἆρα> then -- ...
• σφωε -- pronoun; accusative dual masculine of <σφωε> those two -- the two of them
• θεῶν -- noun; genitive plural masculine of <θεός> god -- of the gods
• ἔριδι -- noun; dative singular feminine of <ἔρις> strife -- in strife
• ξυνέηκε -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <συνίημι> bring together -- brought together
• μάχεσθαι -- verb; infinitive middle of <μάχομαι> fight, quarrel -- to quarrel

Λητοῦς καὶ Διὸς υἱός; ὁ γὰρ βασιλῆι χολωθεὶς

• Λητοῦς -- noun; genitive singular feminine of <Λητώ> Leto -- of Leto
• καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
• Διὸς -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Ζεύς> Zeus -- of Zeus
• υἱός -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <υἱός> son -- the son
• ὁ -- article used as pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <ὁ> the -- he
• γὰρ -- conjunction; <γάρ> for -- for
• βασιλῆι -- noun; dative singular masculine of <βασιλεύς> king -- the king
• χολωθεὶς -- verb; nominative singular masculine of aorist participle passive of <χολόω> anger -- angered at

νοῦσον ἀνὰ στρατὸν ὦρσε κακήν, ὀλέκοντο δὲ λαοί,

• νοῦσον -- noun; accusative singular feminine of <νούσος> sickness -- a sickness
• ἀνὰ -- preposition; <ἀνά> on -- on
• στρατὸν -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <στρατός> army -- the army
• ὦρσε -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <ὄρνυμι> stir up -- brought about
• κακήν -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <κακός> evil, poor -- evil
• ὀλέκοντο -- verb; 3rd person plural imperfect passive of <ὀλέκω> kill -- were perishing
• δὲ -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• λαοί -- noun; nominative plural masculine of <λαός> people -- people

οὕνεκα τὸν Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν ἀρητῆρα

• οὕνεκα -- conjunction; <οὕνεκα> because -- because
• τὸν -- article; accusative singular masculine of <ὁ> the -- the
• Χρύσην -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <Χρύσης> Chryses -- Chryses
• ἠτίμασεν -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <ἀτιμάζω> dishonor -- he had dishonored
• ἀρητῆρα -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <ἀρητήρ> priest -- priest

Ἀτρείδης· ὁ γὰρ ἤλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν

• Ἀτρείδης -- noun; nominative singular masculine of <Ἀτρείδης> son of Atreus -- the son of Atreus
• ὁ -- article used as pronoun; nominative singular masculine of <ὁ> the -- he
• γὰρ -- conjunction; <γάρ> for -- for
• ἤλθε -- verb; 3rd person singular aorist of <ἔρχομαι> come, go -- came
• θοὰς -- adjective; accusative plural feminine; of <θοός> fast -- the fast
• ἐπὶ -- preposition; <ἐπί> on, about -- to
• νῆας -- noun; accusative plural feminine of <ναῦς> ship -- ships
• Ἀχαιῶν -- noun; genitive plural masculine of <Ἀχαιός> Achaean -- of the Achaeans

λυσόμενός τε θυγάτρα φέρων τ' ἀπερείσι' ἄποινα,

• λυσόμενός -- verb; nominative singular masculine of future participle middle of <λύω> loosen, free -- to free
• τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
• θυγάτρα -- noun; accusative singular feminine of <θυγάτηρ> daughter -- his daughter
• φέρων -- verb; nominative singular masculine of present participle of <φέρω> bear, bring, carry -- bearing
• τ' -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
• ἀπερείσι' -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <ἀπερείσιος> countless -- countless
• ἄποινα -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <ἄποινα> ransom -- ransom

στέμματ' ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος

• στέμματ' -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <στ́εμμα> wreath, garland -- garlands
• ἔχων -- verb; nominative singular masculine of present participle of <ἔχω> have -- having
• ἐν -- preposition; <ἐν> in -- in
• χερσὶν -- noun; dative plural feminine of <χείρ> hand -- his hands
• ἑκηβόλου -- adjective; genitive singular masculine of <ἑκηβόλος> far-shooting -- of far-shooting
• Ἀπόλλωνος -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Ἀπόλλων> Apollo -- Apollo

χρυσέῳ ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ, καὶ λίσσετο πάντας Ἀχαιούς

• χρυσέῳ -- adjective; dative singular neuter of <χρύσεος> golden -- golden
• ἀνὰ -- preposition; <ἀνά> on -- on
• σκήπτρῳ -- noun; dative singular neuter of <σκήπτρον> sceptre -- sceptre
• καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
• λίσσετο -- verb; 3rd person singular imperfect of <λίσσομαι> pray -- prayed
• πάντας -- adjective; accusative plural masculine of <πᾶς> all, every -- all
• Ἀχαιούς -- noun; accusative plural masculine of <Ἀχαιός> Achaean -- Achaeans

Ἀτρείδα δὲ μάλιστα δύω, κοσμήτορε λαῶν·

• Ἀτρείδα -- noun; accusative dual masculine of <Ἀτρείδης> son of Atreus -- sons of Atreus
• δὲ -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- but
• μάλιστα -- adverb; superlative of <μάλα> very -- chiefly
• δύω -- number; dual of <δύο> two -- the two
• κοσμήτορε -- noun; accusative dual masculine of <κοσμήτωρ> commander -- commanders
• λαῶν -- noun; genitive plural masculine of <λαός> people -- of the peoples

"Ἀτρείδαι τε καὶ ἄλλοι εὐκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί,

• Ἀτρείδαι -- noun; vocative plural masculine of <Ἀτρείδης> son of Atreus -- Sons of Atreus
• τε -- conjunction; <τε> and -- and
• καὶ -- conjunction; <καί> and -- and
• ἄλλοι -- adjective; vocative plural masculine of <ἄλλος> other -- other
• εὐκνήμιδες -- adjective; vocative plural masculine of <εὐκνῆμις> well-greaved -- well-greaved
• Ἀχαιοί -- noun; vocative plural masculine of <Ἀχαιός> Achaean -- Achaeans

ὑμῖν μὲν θεοὶ δοῖεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες

• ὑμῖν -- pronoun; dative plural masculine of <σύ> you -- to you
• μὲν -- particle; <μέν> on the one hand -- indeed
• θεοὶ -- noun; nominative plural masculine of <θεός> god -- the gods
• δοῖεν -- verb; 3rd person plural optative aorist of <δίδωμι> give -- may . . .grant
• Ὀλύμπια -- adjective; accusative plural neuter of <Ὀλύμπιος> Olympian -- Olympian
• δώματ' -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <δῶμα> house, home -- homes
• ἔχοντες -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle of <ἔχω> have -- who have

ἐκπέρσαι Πριάμοιο πόλιν, εὔ δ' οἴκαδ' ἱκέσθαι!

• ἐκπέρσαι -- verb; aorist infinitive of <ἐκπέρθω> destroy -- that you destroy
• Πριάμοιο -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Πρίαμος> Priam -- of Priam
• πόλιν -- noun; accusative singular feminine of <πόλις> city -- the city
• εὔ -- adverb; <εὔ> well -- safely
• δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• οἴκαδ' -- adverb; <οἴκαδε> home -- home
• ἱκέσθαι -- deponent verb; infinitive aorist middle of <ἱκνέομαι> reach -- return

παῖδα δ' ἐμοὶ λύσαιτε φίλην, τὰ δ' ἄποινα δέχεσθαι,

• παῖδα -- noun; accusative singular feminine of <παῖς> child -- child
• δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• ἐμοὶ -- pronoun; dative singular masculine of <ἐγώ> I -- to me
• λύσαιτε -- verb; 2nd person plural optative aorist of <λύω> loosen, free -- free
• φίλην -- adjective; accusative singular feminine of <φίλος> dear, friend -- dear
• τὰ -- article; accusative plural neuter of <ὁ> the -- the
• δ' -- particle; <δέ> and, on the other hand -- and
• ἄποινα -- noun; accusative plural neuter of <ἄποινα> ransom -- ransom
• δέχεσθαι -- verb; infinitive of <δέχομαι> receive -- receive

ἁζόμενοι Διὸς υἱὸν ἑκηβόλον Ἀπόλλωνα."

• ἁζόμενοι -- verb; nominative plural masculine of present participle middle of <ἅζομαι> stand in awe of -- respect with fear
• Διὸς -- noun; genitive singular masculine of <Ζεύς> Zeus -- of Zeus
• υἱὸν -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <υἱός> son -- the son
• ἑκηβόλον -- adjective; accusative singular masculine of <ἑκηβόλος> far-shooting -- far-shooting
• Ἀπόλλωνα -- noun; accusative singular masculine of <Ἀπόλλων> Apollo -- Apollo

Lesson Text

Μῆνιν ἄειδε, θεά, Πηληιάδεω Ἀχιλλῆος
οὐλομένην, ἥ μυρί' Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε' ἔθηκε,
πολλὰς δ' ἰφθίμους ψυχὰς Αἵδι προίαψεν
ἡρώων, αὐτοὺς δὲ ἑλώρια τεῦχε κύνεσσιν
οἰωνοῖσί τε πᾶσι, Διὸς δ' ἐτελείετο βουλή,
ἐξ οὗ δὴ τὰ πρῶτα διαστήτην ἐρίσαντε
Ἀτρείδης τε ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν καὶ δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς.
Τίς τ' ἆρ' σφωε θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνέηκε μάχεσθαι;
Λητοῦς καὶ Διὸς υἱός; ὁ γὰρ βασιλῆι χολωθεὶς
νοῦσον ἀνὰ στρατὸν ὦρσε κακήν, ὀλέκοντο δὲ λαοί,
οὕνεκα τὸν Χρύσην ἠτίμασεν ἀρητῆρα
Ἀτρείδης· ὁ γὰρ ἤλθε θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας Ἀχαιῶν
λυσόμενός τε θυγάτρα φέρων τ' ἀπερείσι' ἄποινα,
στέμματ' ἔχων ἐν χερσὶν ἑκηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος
χρυσέῳ ἀνὰ σκήπτρῳ, καὶ λίσσετο πάντας Ἀχαιούς
Ἀτρείδα δὲ μάλιστα δύω, κοσμήτορε λαῶν·
"Ἀτρείδαι τε καὶ ἄλλοι εὐκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοί,
ὑμῖν μὲν θεοὶ δοῖεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχοντες
ἐκπέρσαι Πριάμοιο πόλιν, εὔ δ' οἴκαδ' ἱκέσθαι!
παῖδα δ' ἐμοὶ λύσαιτε φίλην, τὰ δ' ἄποινα δέχεσθαι,
ἁζόμενοι Διὸς υἱὸν ἑκηβόλον Ἀπόλλωνα."

Translation

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 καί, with a basic meaning of 'and' but also 'even' and at times 'but'. Another common conjunction is γάρ, 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, δέ 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 τε 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 μέν often stands in clauses that are followed by other clauses including δέ, where it means something like 'one the one hand'; it may also be combined with other particles, as in μὲν ἄρα, where it means 'and'. The particle δή 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 ἔχοντες in line 18 of the Iliad text. The relationship to a principal clause may require a further interpretation, as does that of the participle λυσόμενος in line 13 or that of ἀζόμενος in line 21. On the other hand, they may be treated as participles in English, as for example φέρων in line 13. They may also be adjectival; an example is οὐλομένην 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 -δ- and -ρ-.

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.

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] παιδεύειν.

The participial forms, nominative and genitive singular, are as follows.