Book 16 (Π）
[7] τίπτε § 48) δεδάκρυσαι, ‘why pray are you in tears?’
[9] εἱανοῦ, cf. “ἑανοῦ, Γ” 385.
[11] Πάτροκλε, but “Πατρόκλεες” (l. 7), § 102.
[16] ‘At the death of both of whom we should be exceedingly distressed.’
[20] ‘O knight Patroclus,’ the poet says with sympathy, directly addressing him.
[24] κέαται, § 142, § 4, b; 29.
25, 26. βέβληται and οὔτασται: see note on O 745.[27] Of Machaon, about whose wounding Patroclus had been sent to make inquiry of Nestor (11.608-615), he says not a word. Nor does Achilles question him about the errand.
[29] ἀμήχανος, ‘unmanageable,’ ‘proof against entreaty,’ ‘unyielding.’
[31] τί σευ ἄλλος κτλ., ‘what good shall another—even a late-born man —have of you?’ Neither your services nor your helpful example will make posterity grateful to you.
[33] ‘Pitiless! It seems then that your father is not the knight Peleus.’ Cf. note on 3.183.
Vergil imitates as followsFalse as thou art, and more than false, forsworn; Not sprung from noble blood, nor goddess-born, But hewn from harden'd entrails of a rock; And rough Hyrcanian tigers gave thee suck.—Dryden.“Nec tibi diva parens, generis nec Dardanus auctor,
perfide, sed duris genuit te cautibus horrens
Caucasus Hyrcanaeque admorunt ubera tigres.
”
[36] Lines 36-45 are taken, with necessary changes, from 11.794-803; the former scene is the tent of Nestor whither Patroclus had been sent by Achilles to inquire after the wounded man (cf. p. 114). The lines are a part of Nestor's advice.
θεοπροπίην, cf. I 410-416.[40] ‘And give me these arms of yours to gird on my shoulders.’
[43] ὀλίγη δέ τ᾽（ε) “κτλ.”, the meaning is somewhat obscure, and capable of more than one interpretation: ‘for short is the time to recover the breath in war,’ or ‘for only a little time is yet a chance to recover the breath in war.’
τ᾽（ε) marks the gnomic character of the statement.[46] ἦ γὰρ ἔμελλεν ... λιτέσθαι, ‘for really he was fated to pray for evil death and doom for himself’; i. e. really what he was praying for was fated to be his own doom.
[54] ὅ τε may be for “ὅς τε”, with “ἀνήρ” (l. 53) for its antecedent; or it may be for “ὅτι τε”, ‘because.’
[57] The city was Lyrnessus according to B 690.
[59] Cf. I 648.
μετανάστην conforms to the case of an understood “με”, one object of the verb of depriving (“ἕλετο”, l. 58).[60] προτετύχθαι, προ-τεύχω.
ἐάσομεν may be aorist subjunctive. The sense is: ‘let us suffer these wrongs to be things of the past.’ Tennyson has the phrase in The Princess: “and let old bygones be.” οὐδ᾽ ἄρα πως ἦν, ‘for, it seems [“ἄρα”], it is not possible in any way’; cf. l. 33.[61] ἦ τοι ἔφην γε, ‘yet I thought surely.’
[62] ἀλλ᾽ ὁπότ᾽ ἄν, ‘until.’ For the thought cf. I 650-653.
[69] Τρώων κτλ., ‘the whole city of the Trojans is come against us, full of confidence.’
[70] θάρσυνος = “τεθαρσηκυῖα”.
71-73. τάχα κτλ., ‘quickly would they flee and fill the watercourses with their corpses, if lord Agamemnon were gentle-hearted toward me.’ These lines (with 52-61 and particularly 84-87) have given much trouble, and critics generally have regarded them as quite inconsistent with the embassy of Book IX. Cauer however observes that the attitude of Achilles here harmonizes with his own words at the conclusion of the embassy (I 615 and 646 ff.). “Achilles is in fact not satisfied with the reparation offered [in Book IX]; there is no reparation for him; he ignores the attempt to make one” (Cauer, Homerkritik, p. 280).[73] ἤπια εἰδείη, see note on E 326; and on the condition, § 207.1.
[75] ἀμῦναι expresses purpose.
[77] κεφαλῆς, ‘throat’ here.—With Ἕκτορος supply “ὄψ”, subject of “περιάγνυται”.
[78] ἀλαλητῷ, cf. B 149.
[81] πυρός, for construction cf. B 415, I 242.
[83] μύθου τέλος, my ‘chief injunction,’ with reference to l. 87. For a similar expression see I 56.
θείω, § 149 (2).[84] For ὡς ἄν with subjunctive, § 196.
[86] πότι δ᾽（έ), ‘and besides.’ For the apparent ignorance of the embassy and the offerings described in Book IX, see the note on l. 71.
[90] θήσεις, ‘you would make’ in our idiom. Achilles is not jealous of any success that may come to Patroclus, of course. But he is apprehensive that, should such success be pushed too far, the Greeks would forget their helplessness and be less inclined to make him due amends. His wounded pride is always uppermost in his mind.
[94] ἐμβήῃ, formed like “δώῃ” (l. 88) and “θήῃς” (l. 96), § 149 (1).
[96] τοὺς δέ, the Trojans and the rest of the Greeks.
97-100. This unnatural prayer was regarded as an interpolation in ancient times also (by the Alexandrians Zenodotus and Aristarchus). The invocation of Apollo is very strange, for Apollo is a partizan of the Trojans (l. 94). νῶιν seems to be a blunder for “νῶι”. Cf. § 110. It must be translated as nominative, subject of ἐκδυῖμεν, which is an optative of wish.[100] κρήδεμνα λύωμεν, ‘unloose the head-dress,’ said metaphorically; the head-dress of Troy is the “Πέργαμος ἄκρη, Ζ” 512 (“ἱερή”, E 446), where are the seats of the gods and the “Πριάμοιο μέλαθρον” which Agamemnon (B 414) wishes to destroy (Studniczka)
[102] At this point the poet returns to the battle being waged about the ship of Protesilaus, mentioned at the end of the preceding book
[105] ἔχε, ‘was making,’ ‘gave out.’
[106] κάπ, § 47. The shield of Ajax is thus described
‘Ajax came near with his tower-like shield, bronze-covered, of seven oxhides, which Tychius had wrought for him with pains—Tychius, who was far the best of the leather-workers and who dwelt in Hyle; he had made for him the shimmering shield of seven hides from well-fed bulls, and over all he forged an eighth layer of bronze.’“Αἴας δ᾽ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθε φέρων σάκος ἠύτε πύργον,
χάλκεον ἑπταβόειον, ὅ οἱ Τυχίος κάμε τεύχων,
σκυτοτόμων ὄχ᾽ ἄριστος, Ὕλῃ ἔνι οἰκία ναίων:
ὅς οἱ ἐποίησεν σάκος αἰόλον ἑπταβόειον
ταύρων ζατρεφέων, ἔπι δ᾽ ὔγδοον ἤλασε χαλκόν.
”
[108] Supply “σάκος” as object of πελεμίξαι.
[109] ἔχετ᾽（ο), ‘was oppressed by,’ ‘suffered from.’
κάδ, § 47.[111] ἀμ-πνεῦσαι, for the prefix, § 47.—πάντῃ κτλ., ‘and on all sides evil was set upon evil.’ “Ill strengthen'd ill” (Chapman).
παρὰ καυλόν, ‘by the end of the shaft.’[117] αὔτως, ‘in vain.’
μάχης ἐπὶ μήδεα κεῖρεν, ‘thwarted [literally ‘mowed over,’ ‘cut short’] his plans for battle.’[126] ὄρσεο, § 153. So too “δύσεο” (l. 129).
[127] πυρὸς ... ἰωήν, ‘the flare of fire.’
[128] “May they not (as I fear they may) seize the ships and make it no longer possible to escape” (GMT. 261). For another example of this same subjunctive cf. B 195.
[129] θᾶσσον, ‘the sooner the better,’ ‘with all haste.’
ἀγείρω, subjunctive. 131-133 = 3.330-332. 135-139 = 3.334-338, with slight changes in last line.[139] ἄλκιμα, though plural, is used with “δοῦρε”. Patroclus apparently takes his own two spears.
[144] ἔμμεναι denotes purpose.
[147] μεῖναι ὁμοκλήν, ‘to await the word of command.’ While the warrior fought afoot, his charioteer held the chariot near by and waited intently for orders.
[150] ἅρπυια, ‘the storm-wind,’ personified as female.
[152] ‘And in the side-traces he harnessed blameless Pedasus.’ Why the extra horse was taken, is a difficult question. Under ordinary circumstances it might be supposed that the trace-horse would take the place of one of the regular pair, in case either of the latter should be wounded; but here the regular pair were immortal. Yet, as an ancient commentator suggests, if Homer permitted the immortal gods to be wounded (as in Book V) why not immortal horses as well?
[156] οἳ δέ, the verb of the predicate does not appear until l. 166, “ῥώοντ᾽”（“ο”), before which the subject is repeated in “ἡγήτορες κτλ.”, l. 164.
[157] τοῖσίν τε πέρι κτλ., ‘in whose hearts is exceeding great strength,’
πέρι is probably an adverb, ‘exceedingly.’[160] ἀπὸ κρήνης μελανύδρου is to be translated with “λάψοντες” (l. 161).
[162] ἄκρον, with “μέλαν ὕδωρ” (l. 161), ‘the dark water at its surface.’— φόνον αἵματος = “αἷμα φόνου”, ‘the blood of slaughter.’
[163] περιστένεται δέ, ‘although’ etc.
[199] κρίνας, ‘separating,’ ‘marshaling.’ Cf. B 446.
δέ, § 31.[200] μοι, ‘I pray you.’
[202] ὑπό, ‘during.’
[203] χόλῳ, ‘on gall’ (Attic “χολῇ”), instead of milk, is the traditional interpretation; but “χόλος” has its usual meaning in l. 206, and possibly here too. T. L. Agar (Classical Review, vol. xiii, p. 43) says: “‘In wrath’ is all that “χόλῳ” need imply. The child is supposed to inherit the mood of the mother at the time she suckles it.”
[207] μ̓ stands for “μοι” (or perhaps “με”) which is to be translated with “ἐβάζετε”. See note on I 59.
πέφανται, cf. note on B 122.[208] ἕης, solitary instance of this form, § 123.2.
[209] ἔνθα, ‘therefore.’
τις, ‘every man,’ as often.[211] ἄρθεν (“ἀραρίσκω”), ‘were fitted together,’ ‘pressed close.’ The second aorist active of the same verb occurs as transitive in l. 212 (“ἀράρῃ”), but intransitive in l. 214 (“ἄραρον”).
[213] βίας ἀνέμων ἀλεείνων, ‘trying to escape the violent assaults of the winds.’
[215] The idea is imitated by Vergil （Aen. X, 361): “haeret pede pes densusque viro vir.”
‘Foot presses on foot, and closely man on man.’[216] λαμπροῖσι φάλοισι, ‘with splendid horns.’ Cf. Introduction, 33.
[217] νευόντων, ‘as the warriors nodded.’
[224] οὔλων ταπήτων, ‘fleecy coverlets,’ for beds and chairs.
[225] τετυγμένον, ‘well wrought.’
[227] Hurried on by his quick imagination the poet does not trouble himself about strictly logical expression at this point.
ὅτι μή, ‘except.’[231] The poet imagines the lodge of Achilles, like Homeric houses in general, opening on an enclosure which contained an altar of “Ζεὺς ἑρκεῖος”.
[233] Achilles prays to the great god of his own far distant land. The oracle of Zeus at Dodona is referred to in the Odyssey (Od. 14.327, Od. 19.296) as a place where his counsel is learned from a high-leafed oak; that is, from the sounds given by the rustling leaves. Its antiquity is mentioned by Herodotus (II, 52), who says that the oracle of Dodona was regarded as the oldest among the Greeks.
ἄνα, vocative of “ἄναξ”.[234] Σελλοί (another reading is “σ᾽ Ἑλλοί”) probably has an etymological connection with “Ἕλληνες”.
[235] ἀνιπτόποδες, χαμαιεῦναι. “The Selli at Dodona were “χαμαιεῦναι”, i. e. abstained from sleeping in a bed, probably for the reason that the bed would become too holy for anyone else to occupy afterwards. They were also “ἀνιπτόποδες”, and the priest and priestess of Artemis Hymnia did not wash like other people [Pausanias, viii, 13, 1], doubtless because of the excessive sanctity of their persons, just as the Arabians of old might not wash or anoint the head.”—F. B. Jevons, Introduction to the History of Religion (London and New York, 1896), p. 63; from the chapter on Taboo: its Transmissibility.
236-238. Cf. A 453-455. εὐξαμένοιο agrees with the genitive (“ἐμοῦ”) implied in “ἐμόν”.[239] νηῶν ἐν ἀγῶνι, ‘in the gathering place of the ships.’
[242] ὄφρα, ‘in order that,’ followed by future indicative, “εἴσεται” (from “οῖδα”), with essentially the same force as the subjunctive. GMT. 324.
[243] ἤ ῥα καὶ οἶος κτλ., ‘whether our squire will be able [‘understand how’] to fight alone, or then only his hands rage invincible, when I myself go into the moil of war.’
[250] Vergil imitates
‘Apollo heard and silently granted half his prayer, the other half he scattered to the fleet winds: he assented to his entreaty that he might strike down the bewildered Camilla in unexpected death; he did not grant that the lofty home of his fathers should witness his return, but the blasts carried his words forth on the breezes.’“Audiit et voti Phoebus succedere partem
mente dedit, partem volucres dispersit in auras:
sterneret ut subita turbatam morte Camillam.
annuit oranti; reducem ut patria alta videret,
non dedit, inque notos vocem vertere procellae.
”
[252] ἀπονέεσθαι, for long “α_” cf. B 113, I 20.
μέγα φρονέοντες, ‘in high spirits.’[260] ἔθοντες, ‘as their custom is.’
[261] A probable interpolation, because, as the ancient commentators observed, the line is tautological: “αἰεί” is practically equivalent to “ἔθοντες”, “κερτομέοντες” to “ἐριδμαίνωσιν, ὁδῷ ἔπι” to “εἰνοδίοις”. Besides, “κερτομέοντες”, which elsewhere means to ‘vex by words,’ here has the special meaning of ‘torment by acts.’ Translate, ‘always tormenting wasps that have their nests by the road.’
[262] ‘They make a common pest for many men.’
τιθεῖσιν, for “τιθέ-νσιν”. Cf. B 255, “διδοῦσιν, Γ” 152, “ἱεῖσιν”. 263, 264. παρά goes with “κιών”. ‘If a wayfaring man passes by and unwittingly disturbs them.’—For the omission of “κε”（“ν”) before κινήσῃ see § 197.[265] The verbs πέτεται and ἀμύνει agree with the adjective “πᾶς” (‘every one’), instead of the real subject. πᾶς itself is in partitive apposition to “οἵ” (l. 264).
[266] τῶν, ‘of these,’ i. e. the wasps.
[271] τιμήσομεν, what mood and tense? § 145, § 196.
[272] With θεράποντες supply “ἄριστοί εἰσιν”, ‘and whose squires are best.’
273, 274 = A 411, 412.[278] The poet in his omniscience naturally says that it was Patroclus whom the Trojans saw; it is not necessary to understand, however, that the Trojans at once recognized the man in Achilles's armor as Patroclus; indeed, l. 281 implies that they thought he was Achilles. But as a matter of fact, the poet lays no further stress on the disguise, which was apparently of little effect.
[280] ὀρίνθη, ‘was shaken,’ ‘was dismayed.’
[281] ἐλπόμενοι, ‘believing’; the participle agrees with “φάλαγγες” except in gender, in respect to which it follows the sense.
[289] ὦμον, construction, § 180.
[290] μιν ἀμφί, for “ἀμφί μιν”. Cf. § 168.
φόβηθεν, ‘fled. See note on Z 278.[294] λιπετο, ‘was left,’ § 185.
[296] ὅμαδος κτλ., ‘incessant din arose.’
[297] The appropriateness of the simile is emphasized by the fact that the poet has already alluded to the Trojans as a ‘dark cloud’ (l. 66).
[298] κινήσῃ, ‘drives,’ ‘banishes’ with the wind.
299, 300. ‘And there shine forth all the outlooks and jutting peaks and the dells, and from heaven the vast ether shows through the riven clouds’ (literally ‘breaks forth beneath’). Tennyson renders the parallel passage (8.557, 558): “And every height comes out, and jutting peakAnd valley, and the immeasurable heavens
Break open to their highest.
” ἔφανεν (l. 299) and ὑπερράγη (l. 300) are gnomic aorists § 184）
[302] ἐρωή, ‘respite,’ cessation.’ See note on B 179.
[303] οὐ γάρ πώ τι, ‘for not yet in any degree.’
ὑπ᾽ Αχαιῶν, ‘driven by the Achaeans.’[422] αἰδώς, nominative used in exclamation, § 170.
θοοί, ‘quick’ for battle.[423] δαείω, ‘learn,’ § 149 (a); formed like “δαμείω”.—Presumably Sarpedon knows that the man is not Achilles.
[424] ὅς τις ὅδε, ‘who this man is that.’
[430] κεκλήγοντες, a perfect participle (cf. “κλάζω”) inherited from the Aeolic songs. Such perfect participles, with the inflection of the present, were regular in the Aeolic dialect (Cauer, Homerkritik, pp. 38, 101).
[432] κασιγνήτην ἄλοχόν τε, Vergil's “Iovisque et soror et coniunx” （Aen. I, 46 f.).
[433] For ὤ μοι ἐγών Plato (Republic, III, 388 C) has “αἲ αἲ ἐγών”, an expression useful as an interpretation: ‘woe, woe is me!’ i. e. to me.
μοι is a dative of the person interested; ἐγών is nominative in exclamation. ὅ τε = ‘that.’[434] μοῖρ᾽（ά) (“ἐστι”), ‘'tis fated.’ Even Zeus himself feels subject to the decrees of fate; his only query is whether he shall delay the fulfilment.
[438] ἤδη ... δαμάσσω, ‘shall at once allow him to be slain.’
[441] πάλαι πεπρωμένον αἴσῃ, ‘long since doomed to fate,’ i. e. to death.
[442] ἄψ implies a reversal of the doom.
[443] ἐπαινέομεν, future, § 151.
[445] ζών = “σάον” (a reading introduced by some editors).
[446] φράζεο, μή τις ... ἐθέλησι καὶ ἄλλος, ‘see to it that no one else too shall desire.’ This negative object clause is equivalent to the familiar Attic “ὅπως μή” with the future indicative (GMT. 341,352). The latter (Attic construction) Homer never uses.
ἐνήσεις (“ἐνίημι”), ‘will arouse in.’ Such sons of immortals were lalmenus, son of Ares; Menesthius, son of Spercheius; Eudorus, son of Hermes; Achilles, son of Thetis; and Aeneas, son of Aphrodite.[454] ‘Send [i. e. ‘command to go’] Death and sweet Sleep to carry him.’
Θάνατον and Ὕπνον are subjects of φέρειν, on which see § 211.[455] εἰς ὅ κε = Attic “ἕως ἄν”.
[456] In the pre-Homeric days of Greece it is probable that bodies were embalmed (Helbig, Hom. Epos^{2}, pp. 51-56). This is a natural inference from the remains found preserved at Myeenae, after three thousand years. And the following reminiscences of the custom appear in the Homeric poems: “ταρχύω” (ll. 456, 674; H 85) is undoubtedly another form of the later “ταριχεύω”, ‘embalm’ (cf. “τάριχος”, ‘mummy’), used by Herodotus, for example, in his description of the Egyptian process of mummifying (Herod. II, 85 ff.); the body of Patroclus was preserved by a sort of em balming, T 38, 39; the body of dead Hector was not burned until twenty-two days after his death (24.31, 413, 664, 784), and Achilles's body was kept seventeen days (Od. 24.63); jars of honey were laid away with the ashes of the dead (23.170, Od. 24.68), the significance of which act lies in the fact that honey was anciently used as a preservative.—In Homeric times the dead were burned and their ashes, gathered in urns, were buried. So “ταρχύειν” came to mean simply ‘bury.’ Over the ashes a mound of earth (“τύμβος”, l. 457) was raised, and surmounted by an upright gravestone (“στήλη”, l. 457).— In historical times cremation seems to have given way largely, but by no means entirely, to ordinary interment.
[457] τὸ γὰρ γέρας κτλ., Vergil's “qui solus honos Acheronte sub imo est” (Aen. XI, 23), ‘for this is the only boon in deepest Acheron.’
[465] τόν repeats the object, “Θρασύμηλον”.
[467] δεύτερος ὁρμηθείς: Patroclus was first to attack, Sarpedon ‘second’ (“δεύτερος”).
ὃ δέ continues the same subject, contrary to later usage. Cf. A 191.—Perhaps οὔτασεν is here used for “ἔβαλεν”: if so, the usage is exceptional. See note on O 745.[470] τὼ δὲ διαστήτην, ‘the two other horses [the immortal pair] sprang apart.’
[471] σύγχυτ᾽（ο) (“συγχέω”), ‘were entangled.’
παρήορος, the ‘tracehorse,’ Pedasus.[472] τοῖο κτλ., ‘for this [the disorder of horses and reins] Automedon found an end,’ i. e. ‘remedy.’
[473] ἄορ is a synonym of “ξίφος” and “φάσγανον”. See notes on O 711 and 714.
παρὰ μηροῦ, ‘from the thigh,’ because the sheath of the sword hung by the thigh.[474] οὐδ᾽ ἐμάτησεν, ‘without delay.’ Others render, ‘nor did he labor in vain.’
[475] ‘The two horses were set straight [in line with the pole of the chariot] and were pulled up tight in the reins.’
[476] συνίτην, σύνειμι (“εἶμι”).
[477] Presumably it is the second of his two spears that Sarpedon now uses, unless the first was recovered (l. 466). The Homeric warrior regularly carried two spears (3.18, 11.43, 16.139).
[479] ὤρνυτο, cf. note on 3.349.
[481] ἔρχαται (“ἔργω” or “ἐέργω”), § 142.4, c; literally ‘are confined.’ ‘He hit him just where the midriff is locked about the throbbing heart.’—On ἁδινόν see B 87.
[482] The second ἤριπε（ν) is to be translated as present, § 184.
[484] νήιον εἶναι, ‘to be a ship-timber.’
[487] ἀγέληφι, dative here, § 155.1.
[491] μενέαινε, ‘was filled with fury.’
[492] πέπον, cf. I 252.
[494] τοι ἐελδέσθω κτλ., ‘let your yearning be for grievous battle.’
[496] Σαρπηδόνος, for “ἐμεῖο”, with emphasis.
ἀμφί, § 168; the genitive with “ἀμφί” is found also 16.825, 18.20, etc.[501] ἔχεο κρατερῶς, ‘hold out stoutly.’
502, 503. μιν ... ὀφθαλμούς, § 180.[506] ἵππους, that had belonged to Sarpedon and Thrasymelus.
[507] ἐπεὶ λίπεν ἅρματ᾽ ἀνάκτων: either ‘since the chariot of their masters had been abandoned’ or ‘since the chariot had been bereft of its masters,’ as suggested in the scholia.
λίπεν (=“ἐλίπησαν”) in sense of “ἐλείφθησαν” is a solitary and suspicious instance of this form. ἅρματα seems to be plural used for singular, as illustrated in 3.29, “ὀχέων”, and A 14, “στέμματ᾽”（“α”).[663] οἳ δ᾽（έ), Patroclus and his companions.
κελαινεφὲς αἷμα to “Σαρπηδόνα” (l. 668), ‘cleanse the dark blood from Sarpedon, when you have gone out of the range of missiles.’ κάθηρον takes two accusatives, like a verb of depriving.[671] ‘Send him to be [i. e. ‘let him be’] borne along with’ etc.
674, 675 = 456, 457.[687] The conclusion of a past contrary to fact condition.
κῆρα ... θανάτοιο, ‘fate of death.’ 689, 690. These gnomic lines are wanting in some MSS., including the best, Venetus A. They look like an interpolation from another passage (P 177. 178).[690] ὁτὲ δ᾽（έ), ‘and then again,’ ‘and at another time.’
[692] Cf. Vergil
Who foremost, and who last, heroic maid, On the cold earth were by thy courage laid?—Dryden.“Quem telo primum, quem postremum, aspera virgo,
deicis? aut quot humi morientia corpora fundis?
”
[700] ἐυδμήτου ἐπὶ πύργου, perhaps the famous tower over the Scaean gate (3.149).
[706] δεινὰ δ᾽ ὁμοκλήσας, see note on E 439.
[707] οὔ νύ τοι αἶσα, ‘not at all is it your portion,’ ‘it is not decreed.’
[720] μιν, object of “προσέφη”.
[721] οὐδέ τί σε χρή, ‘it becomes you not at all’ to withdraw; ‘it ill becomes you.’ Cf. I 496.
[722] ‘Oh that I were as much superior to you [in position and power] as I am your inferior!’ Attic Greek would require “ἦν” rather than “εἴην”, Cf. § 202.
[723] τῷ, ‘then.’
στυγερῶς, ‘hatefully’; here, ‘to your hurt.’[724] ἔφεπε, ‘drive ... after,’ has “ἵππους” as direct object and “Πατρόκλῳ” dependent on the prefix.
[727] Κεβριόνῃ, Hector's charioteer.
[735] τόν οἱ περὶ χεὶρ ἐκάλυψεν = “χειροπληθῆ” (cf. Xen. Anab. III, 3, 17), ‘filling the hand,’ ‘as large as his hand could hold.’
οὐδὲ δὴν χάζετο φωτός, a somewhat obscure parenthesis: ‘nor long did he hold back from his man’ (probably Hector), i. e. ‘no laggard was he in the attack.’[738] ἀγακλῆος, like “Πατροκλῆος”, § 102.
[740] οὐδέ ... ἔσχεν ὀστέον, ‘nor did the bone hold,’ i. e. ‘stay fast.’
[742] αὐτοῦ, ‘there.’
[743] εὐεργέος, three syllables, § 43.
[745] The speech of Patroclus is of course ironical.
ὡς, ‘how,’ introducing an exclamation.[747] Perhaps additional point is given to Patroclus's sarcasm by picturing Cebriones in the act of seeking what was to the Homeric Greeks an ignoble food. Homeric warriors eat beef and pork, but no shellfish; neither in the diet of the luxurious Phaeacians nor in that of the suitors of Penelope are shellfish included. The companions of Odysseus ate shellfish when half-starved only.
[753] ἔβλητο, ‘is struck,’ ‘is wounded,’ gnomic aorist, with passive meaning, § 184, § 185.—ἑῄ τέ μιν κτλ., ‘and his own might is his undoing.’
[757] κταμένης (“κτείνω”), another aorist middle with passive meaning, § 185.
[758] μέγα φρονέοντε, cf. l. 258.
[761] ἵεντ᾽（ο) (“ϝίεμαι”), ‘strove.’ This verb is to be kept distinct from the middle of “ἵημι”, with which it has two tenses, present and imperfect, identical in inflection. The Homeric aorist is “εἰσάμην” or “ἐεισάμην”.
[762] κεφαλῆφιν, § 172.—The object of λάβεν, μεθίει, and ἔχεν (l. 763) is “Κεβριόνην” understood.
[764] σύναγον ... ὑσμίνην, Latin committebant proelium.
[769] πάταγος, supply “γίγνεται”.—With ἀγνυμενάων understand the genitive plural of the trees mentioned in l. 767. Vergil imitates by “stridunt silvae” (Aen. II, 418).
[771] οὐδ᾽ ἕτεροι, ‘and neither side.’
[772] ἄμφ̓, with “Κεβριόνην”. For accent see § 168.
[776] λελασμένος ἱπποσυνάων, ‘forgetful of his horsemanship.’
[778] ἀμφοτέρων limits “βέλἐ”（“α”).
[789] δεινός, to be translated in the Homeric order.
ὃ μέν, Patroclus, τόν, Apollo.[790] ἀντεβόλησεν, Apollo is subject.
[794] “καναχὴν ἔχε” cf. 16.105.
[795] αὐλῶπις and τρυφάλεια, see Introduction, 33.
[796] πάρος γε μὲν οὐ θέμις ἦεν, ‘formerly however it was not natural’ or ‘usual’ (Cauer, Die Kunst des Übersetzens^{2}, pp. 25, 26).
[801] οἱ, Patroclus.—ἄγη, ἄγνυμι.
[802] κεκορυθμένον, ‘tipped with bronze’; cf. 3.18.
[808] ἡλικίην, in meaning here equivalent to “ὁμηλικίην, Γ” 175.—ἐκέκαστο, καίνυμαι.
[810] ἀφ᾽ ἵππων, ‘from their chariots.’
[811] διδασκόμενος πολέμοιο, § 174 (2).
[820] κατά, ‘down through.’
[823] σῦν, ‘wild boar.’
[826] πολλά, cognate accusative with “ἀσθμαίνοντα.”
τ᾽ may be a relic of an original “ϝ̓” (i. e. ἑ).[827] πεφνόντα agrees with “υἱόν”, one of the two objects of “ἀπηύρα” (a verb of depriving).
[833] τάων, with reference to “γυναῖκας” (l. 831); it is used with “πρόσθ᾽”（“ε”): ‘for the protection of these.’
[834] ὀρωρέχαται, ὀρέγνυμι, § 142.4, c; in meaning equivalent to “ὁρμῶνται” or “ἐκτέτανται” (“ἐκτείνω”).
[836] ἦμαρ ἀναγκαῖον = “δούλιον ἦμαρ, Ζ” 463.
[837] δείλ̓ (i. e. “δειλέ”), Latin miser.
[839] πρὶν ... πρίν (l. 840): as usual, the former “πρίν” must be omitted in translation.
ἰέναι, § 213.[841] αἱματόεντα, for construction cf. “ῥωγαλέον”, note on B 416.
[846] αὐτοί, ‘alone.’
[847] τοιοῦτοι, ‘such as you are.’
[850] Apollo overpowered Patroclus with the consent of Zeus and in accord with fate; so these three are regarded as a single cause. Euphorbus is the second agent.
[852] This prophecy accords with the ancient belief that just before death a man has an insight into the future.
οὔ θην οὐδ᾽ αὐτός, the repetition of the negative gives emphasis: ‘surely [“θην”] not even you yourself shall live for long.’ βέῃ, present with future meaning, like “δήυτε”, ‘you shall find,’ I 418, and “κακκείοντες”, ‘to go to rest,’ A 606. Compare the common Attic examples, “ἔδομαι”, ‘I shall eat,’ “πίομαι”, ‘I shall drink.’[854] δαμέντ᾽（ι) agrees with “τοι” (l. 852). “δαμῆναι” would give the sense more exactly.
[857] Compare
‘And the spirit with a sigh fled chafing to the shades below.’ Also Matthew Arnold's Sohrab and Rustum: “And from his limbs
Unwillingly the spirit fled away,
Regretting the warm mansion which it left,
And youth, and bloom, and this delightful world.
” ἀνδροτῆτα must be scanned with the initial syllable short—apparently a metrical irregularity. 860, 861. τίς δ᾽ οἶδ᾽, εἴ κ᾽ Ἀχιλεὺς ... φθήῃ ... τυπείς, ‘who knows if haply Achilles shall first be smitten,’ or in our idiom, ‘who knows whether Achilles shall not first be smitten?’ GMT. 491.
[861] ἀπὸ θυμὸν ὀλέσσαι, infinitive of result, ‘so as to lose his life.’
[867] It was Poseidon (23.277 f.) who gave these horses to Peleus on the occasion of his marriage to Thetis (18.84 f.).
