Homer, Iliad, 24.372

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The herald, Argus-queller, answered him:

490

"I see that thou wouldst prove me, aged man,

By questions touching Hector, whom I oft

Have seen with mine own eyes in glorious fight,

Putting the Greeks to rout and slaying them

By their swift ships with that sharp spear of his.

495

We stood and marvelled, for Achilles, wroth

With Agamemnon, would not suffer us

To join the combat. I attend on him;

The same good galley brought us to this shore,

And I am one among his Myrmidons.

500

Polyctor is my father, who is rich,

And now as old as thou. Six are his sons

Beside me, I the seventh. In casting lots

With them, it fell to me that I should come

To Ilium with Achilles. I am here

505

In coming from the fleet, for with the dawn

The dark-eyed Greeks are planning to renew

The war around the city. They have grown

Impatient of long idleness; their chiefs

Seek vainly to restrain their warlike rage."

510

Iliad. Homer. Boston. 1870.

Current edition Experimental

English (William Cullen Bryant, 1870) (OCR draft) (English) (English (William Cullen Bryant, 1870))

Provisional text from uncorrected OCR; expect errors.

Editions (1)

Ἰλιάς Perseus (Homer. Homeri Opera, Volumes 1-2. Monro, D. B. (David Binning), editor; Allen, Thomas W. (Thomas William), editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1908-1920.) — 24.372 focus

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα γέρων Πρίαμος θεοειδής·

οὕτω πῃ τάδε γʼ ἐστὶ φίλον τέκος ὡς ἀγορεύεις.

ἀλλʼ ἔτι τις καὶ ἐμεῖο θεῶν ὑπερέσχεθε χεῖρα,

ὅς μοι τοιόνδʼ ἧκεν ὁδοιπόρον ἀντιβολῆσαι

375

αἴσιον, οἷος δὴ σὺ δέμας καὶ εἶδος ἀγητός,

πέπνυσαί τε νόῳ, μακάρων δʼ ἔξεσσι τοκήων.

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε διάκτορος ἀργεϊφόντης·

ναὶ δὴ ταῦτά γε πάντα γέρον κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπες.

ἀλλʼ ἄγε μοι τόδε εἰπὲ καὶ ἀτρεκέως κατάλεξον,

380

ἠέ πῃ ἐκπέμπεις κειμήλια πολλὰ καὶ ἐσθλὰ

ἄνδρας ἐς ἀλλοδαποὺς ἵνα περ τάδε τοι σόα μίμνῃ,

ἦ ἤδη πάντες καταλείπετε Ἴλιον ἱρὴν

δειδιότες· τοῖος γὰρ ἀνὴρ ὤριστος ὄλωλε

σὸς πάϊς· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι μάχης ἐπιδεύετʼ Ἀχαιῶν.

385

τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα γέρων Πρίαμος θεοειδής·

τίς δὲ σύ ἐσσι φέριστε τέων δʼ ἔξεσσι τοκήων;

ὥς μοι καλὰ τὸν οἶτον ἀπότμου παιδὸς ἔνισπες.

τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε διάκτορος ἀργεϊφόντης·

πειρᾷ ἐμεῖο γεραιὲ καὶ εἴρεαι Ἕκτορα δῖον.

390

τὸν μὲν ἐγὼ μάλα πολλὰ μάχῃ ἔνι κυδιανείρῃ

ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ὄπωπα, καὶ εὖτʼ ἐπὶ νηυσὶν ἐλάσσας

Ἀργείους κτείνεσκε δαΐζων ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ·

ἡμεῖς δʼ ἑσταότες θαυμάζομεν· οὐ γὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς

εἴα μάρνασθαι κεχολωμένος Ἀτρεΐωνι.

395

τοῦ γὰρ ἐγὼ θεράπων, μία δʼ ἤγαγε νηῦς εὐεργής·

Μυρμιδόνων δʼ ἔξειμι, πατὴρ δέ μοί ἐστι Πολύκτωρ.

ἀφνειὸς μὲν ὅ γʼ ἐστί, γέρων δὲ δὴ ὡς σύ περ ὧδε,

ἓξ δέ οἱ υἷες ἔασιν, ἐγὼ δέ οἱ ἕβδομός εἰμι·

τῶν μέτα παλλόμενος κλήρῳ λάχον ἐνθάδʼ ἕπεσθαι.

400

νῦν δʼ ἦλθον πεδίον δʼ ἀπὸ νηῶν· ἠῶθεν γὰρ

θήσονται περὶ ἄστυ μάχην ἑλίκωπες Ἀχαιοί.

ἀσχαλόωσι γὰρ οἵδε καθήμενοι, οὐδὲ δύνανται

ἴσχειν ἐσσυμένους πολέμου βασιλῆες Ἀχαιῶν.

Translations (7)

Iliad Perseus (Homer. The Iliad, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1924-1925.) — 24.372 focus

Then the old man, godlike Priam, answered him:

Even so, dear son, are all these things as thou dost say. Howbeit still hath some god stretched out his hand even over me, 375 seeing he hath sent a way-farer such as thou to meet me, a bringer of blessing, so wondrous in form and comeliness, and withal thou art wise of heart; blessed parents are they from whom thou art sprung.

Then again the messenger, Argeiphontes, spake to him:

Yea verily, old sire, all this hast thou spoken according to right. 380 But come, tell me this, and declare it truly, whether thou art bearing forth these many treasures and goodly unto some foreign folk, where they may abide for thee in safety, or whether by now ye are all forsaking holy Ilios in fear; so great a warrior, the noblest of all, hath perished, 385 even thy son; for never held he back from warring with the Achaeans.

And the old man, godlike Priam, answered him:

Who art thou, noble youth, and from what parents art thou sprung, seeing thou speakest thus fitly of the fate of my hapless son?

Then again the messenger, Argeiphontes, spake to him: 390

Thou wouldest make trial of me, old sire, in asking me of goodly Hector. Him have mine eyes full often seen in battle, where men win glory, and when after driving the Argives to the ships he would slay them in havoc with the sharp bronze; and we stood there and marvelled, 395 for Achilles would not suffer us to fight, being filled with wrath against the son of Atreus. His squire am I, and the selfsame well-wrought ship brought us hither. Of the Myrmidons am I one, and my father is Polyctor. Rich in substance is he, and an old man even as thou, and six sons hath he, and myself the seventh. 400 From these by the casting of lots was I chosen to fare hitherward. And now am I come to the plain from the ships; for at dawn the bright-eyed Achaeans will set the battle in array about the city. For it irketh them that they sit idle here, nor can the kings of the Achaeans avail to hold them back in their eagerness for war.

Iliad Perseus (Homer. The Iliad of Homer, rendered into English prose for the use of those who cannot read the original. Butler, Samuel, 1835-1902, translator. London: Longmans, Green, and Co, 1898.) — 24.378 focus

378 Then said the slayer of Argos , guide and guardian, "Sir, all that you have said is right; but tell me and tell me true, are you taking this rich treasure to send it to a foreign people where it may be safe, or are you all leaving strong Ilion in dismay now that your son has fallen who was the bravest man among you and was never lacking in battle with the Achaeans?"

386 And Priam said, "Who are you, my friend, and who are your parents, that you speak so truly about the fate of my unhappy son?"

389 The slayer of Argos , guide and guardian, answered him, "Sir, you would prove me, that you question me about noble Hektor. Many a time have I set eyes upon him in battle when he was driving the Argives to their ships and putting them to the sword. We stood still and marveled, for Achilles in his anger with the son of Atreus suffered us not to fight. I am his squire [ therapôn], and came with him in the same ship. I am a Myrmidon, and my father's name is Polyktor: he is a rich man and about as old as you are; he has six sons besides myself, and I am the seventh. We cast lots, and it fell upon me to sail hither with Achilles. I am now come from the ships on to the plain, for with daybreak the Achaeans will set battle in array about the city. They chafe at doing nothing, and are so eager that their princes cannot hold them back."

405 Then answered Priam, "If you are indeed the squire [ therapôn] of Achilles son of Peleus, tell me now the Whole truth. Is my son still at the ships, or has Achilles hewn him limb from limb, and given him to his hounds?"

410 "Sir," replied the slayer of Argos , guide and guardian, "neither hounds nor vultures have yet devoured him; he is still just lying at the tents by the ship of Achilles, and though it is now twelve days that he has lain there, his flesh is not wasted nor have the worms eaten him although they feed on warriors. At daybreak Achilles drags him cruelly round the sepulcher [ sêma] of his dear comrade, but it does him no hurt. You should come yourself and see how he lies fresh as dew, with the blood all washed away, and his wounds every one of them closed though many pierced him with their spears. Such care have the blessed gods taken of your brave son, for he was dear to them beyond all measure."

424 The old man was comforted as he heard him and said, "My son, see what a good thing it is to have made due offerings to the immortals; for as sure as that he was born my son never forgot the gods that hold Olympus , and now they requite it to him even in death. Accept therefore at my hands this goodly chalice; guard me and with heaven's help guide me till I come to the tent of the son of Peleus."

432 Then answered the slayer of Argos , guide and guardian, "Sir, you are tempting me and playing upon my youth, but you shall not move me, for you are offering me presents without the knowledge of Achilles whom I fear and hold it great guiltless to defraud, lest some evil presently befall me; but as your guide I would go with you even to Argos itself, and would guard you so carefully whether by sea or land, that no one should attack you through making light of him who was with you."

440 The bringer of good luck then sprang on to the chariot, and seizing the whip and reins he breathed fresh spirit into the mules and horses. When they reached the trench and the wall that was before the ships, those who were on guard had just been getting their suppers, and the slayer of Argos threw them all into a deep sleep. Then he drew back the bolts to open the gates, and took Priam inside with the treasure he had upon his wagon. Ere long they came to the lofty dwelling of the son of Peleus for which the Myrmidons had cut pine and which they had built for their king; when they had built it they thatched it with coarse tussock-grass which they had mown out on the plain, and all round it they made a large courtyard, which was fenced with stakes set close together. The gate was barred with a single bolt of pine which it took three men to force into its place, and three to draw back so as to open the gate, but Achilles could draw it by himself. Hermes opened the gate for the old man, and brought in the treasure that he was taking with him for the son of Peleus. Then he sprang from the chariot on to the ground and said, "Sir, it is I, immortal Hermes, that am come with you, for my father sent me to escort you. I will now leave you, and will not enter into the presence of Achilles, for it might anger him that a god should befriend mortal men thus openly. Go you within, and embrace the knees of the son of Peleus: beseech him by his father, his lovely mother, and his son; thus you may move him."

English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Butler, rev. Nagy et al., 2020)) — 24.372 focus

It is indeed as you say, my dear son; nevertheless some god has held his hand over me, in that he has sent such a wayfarer as yourself to meet me so opportunely; [375] you are so comely in mien and figure, and your judgment [ noos] is so excellent that you must come of blessed parents.”

Then said the slayer of Argos, guide and guardian, “Sir, all that you have said is right; [380] but tell me and tell me true, are you taking this rich treasure to send it to a foreign people where it may be safe, or are you all leaving strong Ilion in dismay now that your son has fallen [385] who was the bravest man among you and was never lacking in battle with the Achaeans?”

And Priam the godlike said, “Who are you, my friend, and who are your parents, that you speak so truly about the fate of my unhappy son?”

The slayer of Argos, guide and guardian, answered him, [390] “Sir, you would prove me, that you question me about glorious Hector. Many a time have I set eyes upon him in battle when he was driving the Argives to their ships and putting them to the sword. We stood still and marveled, [395] for Achilles in his anger with the son of Atreus suffered us not to fight. I am his attendant [ therapōn], and came with him in the same ship. I am a Myrmidon, and my father’s name is Polyktor: he is a rich man and about as old as you are; he has six sons besides myself, and I am the seventh. [400] We cast lots, and it fell upon me to sail here with Achilles. I am now come from the ships on to the plain, for with daybreak the glancing-eyed Achaeans will set battle in array about the city. They chafe at doing nothing, and are so eager that their princes cannot hold them back.”

[405]

English (Alexander Pope, 1720, ed. Watson, 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Alexander Pope, 1720, ed. Watson, 1857)) — 24.372 focus

‘Thy words, that speak benevolence of mind,

‘Are true my son!’ (the godlike sire rejoin'd:)

460

‘Great are my hazards; but the gods survey

‘My steps and send thee, guardian of my way.

‘Hail! and be blest; for scarce of mortal kind

‘Appear thy form, thy feature, and thy mind.’

‘Nor true are all thy words, nor erring wide,’

465

(The sacred messenger of heaven replied:)

‘But say, convey'st thou through the lonely plains

‘What yet most precious of thy store remains,

‘To lodge in safety with some friendly hand?

‘Prepar'd perchance to leave thy native land?

470

‘Or fly'st thou now? What hopes can Troy retain,

‘Thy matchless son, her guard and glory, slain?’

The king, alarm'd: ‘Say what, and whence thou art,

‘Who search the sorrows of a parent's heart,

‘And know so well how godlike Hector died?’

475

Thus Priam spoke, and Hermes thus replied:

‘You tempt me, father, and with pity touch:

‘On this sad subject you inquire too much.

‘Oft have these eyes the godlike Hector view'd

‘In glorious fight, with Grecian blood imbrued:

480

‘I saw him, when, like Jove, his flames he toss'd

‘On thousand ships, and wither'd half a host:

‘I saw, but help'd not, stern Achilles' ire

‘Forbade assistance, and enjoy'd the fire.

‘For him I serve, of Myrmidonian race;

485

‘One ship convey'd us from our native place;

‘Polyctor is my sire, an honour'd name,

‘Old, like thyself, and not unknown to fame;

‘Of seven his sons, by whom the lot was cast

‘To serve our prince, it fell on me the last.

490

‘To watch this quarter my adventure falls;

‘For with the morn the Greeks attack your walls;

‘Sleepless they sit, impatient to engage,

‘And scarce their rulers check their martial rage.’

English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (Thomas Hobbes, 1667, ed. Molesworth 1843)) — 24.372 focus

And Priam then to Mercury replied:

'Tis true you say; and yet the Gods a care

Have of me still, to send me such a guide,

340

So great a man, so comely, and so wise,

That blessed are the parents you begat.

And Mercury to him again replies :

Indeed, old man, you say the truth in that.

But whither bear you your best goods away ?

345

To some strange city, till the war be done ?

Or are the Trojans all now leaving Troy,

Since killed is the best of them, your son,

That might with any of the Greeks compare?

Tell me, said Priam, pray ye, who are you,

350

And whence ye come, and who your parents are,

And how my son and his hard fate you knew ?

You mean to try me now, said Mercury.

At th' Argive ships I Hector frighted saw,

And how he made the Greeks before him fly,

355

And how he toss'd them in the field like straw,

Where we stood by, with wonder looking on ;

Achilles had forbidden us to fight.

His man am I, by birth a Myrmidon,

And stood amongst the rest to see the fight.

360

My father is Polyctor, very rich,

But now an old man is, and like to you.

And seven sons he has in all, of which

I am the last. And lots at home we drew,

Which of us with Achilles should be sent

365

To th' war of Troy. The lot then fell to me,

And with Achilles in his ship I went,

And hither come the place of fight to see.

The Greeks by break of day will hither come,

And try if now the city they can win ;

370

Impatient of their stay at Ilium,

They cannot by their leaders be kept in.

English (George Chapman, 1611, ed. Hooper 1857) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (George Chapman, 1611, ed. Hooper 1857)) — 24.372 focus

He answer'd: "The degree

Of danger in my course, fair son, is nothing less than that

330

Thou urgest; but some God's fair hand puts in for my safe state,

That sends so sweet a guardian in this so stern a time

Of night, and danger, as thyself, that all grace in his prime

Of body and of beauty show'st, all answer'd with a mind

So knowing, that it cannot be but of some blessed kind

335

Thou art descended." " Not untrue," said Hermes, " thy conceit

In all this holds; but further truth relate, if of such weight

As I conceive thy carriage be, and that thy care conveys

Thy goods of most price to more guard, or go ye all your ways

Frighted from holy Ilion, so excellent a son

340

Being your special strength) fallen to destruction,

Whom no Greek better'd for his fight?" "O, what art thou," said he,

"Most worthy youth, of what race born, that thus recount'st to me

My wretched son's death with such truth?" "Now, father," he replied,

"You tempt me far, in wond'ring how the death was signified

345

Of your divine son to a man so mere a stranger here

As you hold me, but I am one that oft have seen him bear

His person like a God in field; and when in heaps he slew

The Greeks, all routed to their fleet, his so victorious view

Made me admire, not feel his hand, because Aeacides,

350

Incens'd, admitted not our fight, myself being of access

To his high person, serving him, and both to Ilion

In one ship sail'd. Besides, by birth I breathe a Myrmidon,

Polyctor, call'd the rich, my sire, declin'd with age like you.

Six sons he hath, and me a seventh, and all those six live now

355

In Phthia, since, all casting lots, my chance did only fall

To follow hither. Now for walk I left my General.

To-morrow all the sun-burn'd Greeks will circle Troy with arms,

The princes rage to be withheld so idly, your alarms

Not given half hot enough they think, and can contain no more."

360

English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey) (OCR draft) Experimental (English (William Cowper, 1791, ed. Southey)) — 24.372 focus

Whom answer'd godlike Priam, hoar with age.

470

My son! well spoken. Thou hast judged aright.

Yet even me some Deity protects

Thus far; to whom I owe it that I meet

So seasonably one like thee, in form

So admirable, and in mind discrete

475

As thou art beautiful. Blest parents, thine!

To whom the messenger of heaven again,

The Argicide. Oh ancient and revered!

Thou hast well spoken all. Yet this declare,

And with sincerity; bear'st thou away

480

Into some foreign country, for the sake

Of safer custody, this precious charge?

Or, urged by fear, forsake ye all alike

Troy's sacred towers? since he whom thou hast lost,

Thy noble son, was of excelling worth

485

In arms, and nought inferior to the Greeks.

Then thus the godlike Priam, hoary King.

But tell me first, who Thou art, and from whom

Descended, loveliest youth! who hast the fate

So well of my unhappy son rehearsed?

490

To whom the herald Mercury replied.

Thy questions, venerable Sire! proposed

Concerning noble Hector, are design'd

To prove me. Him, not seldom, with these eyes

In man-ennobling fight I have beheld

495

Most active; saw him when he thinn'd the Greeks

With his sharp spear, and drove them to the ships.

Amazed we stood to notice him; for us,

Incensed against the ruler of our host,

Achilles suffer'd not to share the fight.

500

I serve Achilles; the same gallant bark

Brought us, and of the Myrmidons am I,

Son of Polyctor; wealthy is my Sire,

And such in years as thou; six sons he hath,

Beside myself the seventh, and, (the lots cast

505

Among us all,) mine sent me to the wars.

That I have left the ships, seeking the plain,

The cause is this; the Greeks, at break of day,

Will compass, arm'd, the city, for they loath

To sit inactive, neither can the Chiefs

510

Restrain the hot impatience of the host.

New Alexandria Commentaries

Douglas Frame

brief analysis of the importance of ‘returning’ in this scene, as indicated by Athena’s words to Diomedes, nóstou dḕmnēsat

source

Gregory Nagy

The Iliad ends with the funeral of Hector, not of Achilles. And it is Hector, not Achilles, who is lamented at the end. But it is Achilles who makes it all happen, since he has transcended his rage and has shown mercy to an old father. The tears of Priam had made Achilles think of his own old father, of his own ancestors—and of Patroklos, who embodied the glories of the ancestors. Achilles was looking bad at the beginning of Iliad 23 and even at the beginning of Iliad 24, but he looks very good by the time Iliad 24 comes to a close.

draft js image error Mourners lament as Hector’s corpse is laid out in preparation for the funeral that closes Iliad Rhapsody 24. Copperplate etching (1795) by Tommaso Piroli, after a drawing (1793) by John Flaxman. Image via Wikimedia Commons.

source

While Priam mourns for his own son Hector, Achilles alternates in mourning for his own father Priam and for Patroklos as his own other self. By mourning for both his father and for Patroklos, Achilles shows the way—showing how to mourn for ancestors. Do as I do. Relevant is what the “speaking name” (nomen loquens) of Patroklos means: ‘he who has the glory [kleos] of the ancestors [pateres]’. See the comments on I.01.345, I.06.209, I.09.185–191. Such a meaning signals the basic fact that one’s father is one’s most immediate ancestor. The kleos ‘glory’ of Achilles is thus linked, for all time to come, with a poetic glory that originates from the ancestors.

source

Leonard Muellner

analysis of the emotional claim Priam makes on Achilles as effective in turning each of them toward his own pain

source

analysis of the emotional claim Priam makes on Achilles as effective in turning each of them toward his own pain

source

comment on Priam’s exceptional behavior in kissing the hands of Achilles

source

analysis of the emotional claim Priam makes on Achilles as effective in turning each of them toward his own pain

source

Homer Iliad 24.372

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