by Homer
nor of speaking in assembly, where men develop distinction;
for that reason he sent me out to teach you all these things,
to be both a speaker of words and a performer of deeds.
So therefore, dear child, I would not willingly be left behind
away from you, not if a very god should give me promise
to scrape old age away and render me fresh flourishing with youth,
as I was when I first left Hellas, the land of lovely women,
fleeing the hostility of my father, Amyntor son of Ormenos,
who was enraged with me on account of his mistress, she of the fine hair,
whom he lay with in love, and dishonored his wife,450
my mother; she constantly begged me, at my knees,
to have intercourse with the mistress, so that she would hate the old man.
I obeyed her and did this; my father immediately suspecting
prayed and prayed for a curse upon me, and called upon the loathsome Furies,
that he might never set upon his knees any dear child
born of me; and the gods fulfilled his curse,
both Zeus of the underworld and dread Persephone.
I was ready to kill him with a sharp bronze sword;
but some one of the immortal gods turned my wits, who put me in mind
of people’s opinion and the censure of mankind,460
that among the Achaeans I might not be called a parricide.
Then no longer at all could the spirit in my chest be restrained
to wander along our halls, with my father angered;
true it is that many times kinsmen and cousins living around
restrained me with their pleas there in the halls;
many fat sheep and shambling twist-horned cattle
they slaughtered, many pigs luxuriant with fat
were singed and stretched across the fire of Hephaestus,
and much wine was drunk from the vats of the old man;
nine nights they kept watch close about me,470
and taking turns they held guard, nor ever did the fires go out—
one beneath the entrance of the well-guarded courtyard,
the other in the alcove before my bedroom doors.
But when the tenth night came upon me with its murky darkness,
then I smashed the close-fitted doors of my chamber,
went out, and leapt over the courtyard wall
easily, escaping notice of the men on guard and household women.
Then I fled far away, through Hellas’ wide country,
and arrived at Phthia of the rich soil, mother of flocks,
into the house of lord Peleus; and he willingly received me480
and loved me, as a father loves his child,
his only child late-born to many properties;
and he made me rich, and gave me as a gift the rule of many people,
and I lived on the border of Phthia, ruling the Dolopes.
And you I made as great as you are, godlike Achilles,
loving you from my heart, for with no other man were you willing
to go out to the feast, nor would you eat in your own halls
before I settled you on my knees
and cutting the meat first, gave you your fill and held the wine to your lips.
Many times you soaked through the tunic on my breast490
spewing forth wine in your troublesome childish way.
So I suffered much for you and labored much,
with this in mind—that the gods would not create any offspring for me
of my own; but you, godlike Achilles, I tried to make my son,
so that you might one day defend me from abject ruin.
“Come, Achilles, master your great spirit; you must not keep
your heart without pity. And even the gods themselves can be turned,
although their majesty and honor and strength are even greater;
but with burnt sacrifices and prayers of propitiation
and libation and the savor of burnt offerings men turn them around500
by praying, whenever some man has transgressed and strayed.
For Prayers of Penitence exist, daughters of great Zeus,
halting and grimacing and with squinting eyes,
their concern is to follow blind Delusion.
Delusion—she is strong and swift of foot, and thus
far outstrips all Prayers, and over every land she gets ahead
to trip up men; but Prayers of Penitence make amends thereafter.
The man who respects these daughters of Zeus when they approach,
him they greatly help and heed him as he prays;
but the man who spurns and rigidly rejects them,510
then they go and pray to Zeus the son of Cronus
that Delusion follow him, so that thwarted by his blindness, he is punished.
Come Achilles, you too grant that honor come to Zeus’ daughters,
honor that bends the will of other, even noble, men.
If the son of Atreus were not bringing gifts and naming gifts to follow,
but continued to make violent outrage,
I would not bid you cast off your wrath
to defend the Argives, despite their need.
But now he both offers many things forthwith, and promises more later,
and has dispatched the best men to make supplication520
chosen throughout the Achaean army, men who to you yourself
are dearest of the Argives; do not slight their word,
nor their journey; before, your anger was not blameworthy.
“Thus also in days of old, we have heard the famous deeds of warrior men,
when swelling anger seized them;
they were open to gifts and were moved by words.
I myself remember this deed of long ago, it is nothing new,
it was like this, I will tell it among you, all my friends;
the Curetes and the Aetolians, steadfast in battle, were fighting
around the city of Calydon, and killing each other,530
the Aetolians defending lovely Calydon, Oineus’ city,
the Curetes straining to sack it in war.
For it happened that Artemis of the golden throne had stirred up evil among them
in anger, as Oineus made no offering of first fruits to her
on the high ground of his orchard—the other gods shared in sacrificial hecatombs,
but to her alone, the daughter of great Zeus, he had not offered sacrifice.
Either he had forgotten or he had not thought of it, in the great delusion
of his heart.
In her anger, she, child of Zeus who showers arrows,
incited a wild boar, foaming mad, with flashing tusks,
who did much evil to Oineus’ orchard, as boars do;540
many the tree he hurled to the ground, trunks and all, great trees
with their very roots and the blossoms of their fruit.
Meleager the son of Oineus killed it,
having gathered the hunting men of many cities
and their dogs; for in truth he could not have killed it with few;
so great it was, it brought many to the sorrow of the funeral pyre.
And then over its body the goddess incited much uproar and cry for battle,
concerning the head of the boar and its bristled hide,
between the Curetes and the great-hearted Aetolians.
Then so long as Meleager beloved of Ares went to battle,550
so long things went badly for the Curetes, nor could they
stand their ground outside the wall, for all their numbers;
but when anger entered Meleager, anger that also swells
in the breasts of other men, even those of good understanding and shrewd mind,
why then, angered in his heart at his own mother Althaia
he lay apart with his wedded wife, beautiful Cleopatra,
<
br /> the daughter of Marpessa—she of the slender ankles, the child of Euenos
and of Idas, who was the strongest of men upon earth
at that time, and even raised his bow against lord
Phoebus Apollo for the sake of this maiden with slender ankles—560
after that, within their home her father and lady mother
used to call her name Halcyon, for her
mother shared the halcyon’s fate, the sorrowing sea bird,
weeping, because Phoebus Apollo who works from afar had snatched her daughter away;
it was with this Cleopatra that Meleager lay brooding on his heart-grieving rage,
raging at his mother’s curses, because she
in anguish over his slaying of her brother, made prayer again and again to the gods,
again and again beating the nourishing earth with her hands,
calling on Hades and dread Persephone,
sitting bent-kneed, her bosom soaked with tears,570
to send death to her child; and Erinys who walks in darkness
heard her from the nether dark of Erebus, and her heart is implacable.
“And soon around the gates arose the roar of the Curetes, the din
of towers being assailed; and the Aetolian elders beseeched Meleager,
and sent the gods’ noblest priests
to come out and defend them, pledging a great reward:
wherever lay the richest field in lovely Calydon,
there they urged him to take for himself a piece of land, of surpassing beauty,
and mark off from the common lot fifty acres,
one half for vineyards, one half open field for plowing.580
Again and again the aged horseman Oineus entreated him,
standing on the threshold of his high-roofed chamber,
shaking the fitted doors, pleading with his son,
time and again his sisters and lady mother
entreated him; but he denied them vehemently; time and again did his companions,
who were the most devoted and dearest to him of all men;
but not even so did they win over the heart in his breast,
until that moment when his chamber was hammered with close blows, and the Curetes
were scaling the walls and setting fire to the great city.
And then his fair-belted wife supplicated Meleager590
as she wept, and went through everything for him,
all the sufferings that come to those whose city is taken;
they kill the men and fire reduces the city to dust,
strangers lead off the children and slender-waisted women.
And as Meleager heard tell of these evil deeds, his heart was stirred,
and he went and clad his body in his glittering armor.
So he beat back from the Aetolians their day of evil,
yielding to his own heart; but they never paid him the gifts,
the many splendid and welcome gifts—and he averted the evil to no end.
“But you Achilles, do not think such things in your mind, nor let some dark spirit600
turn you that way, dear one; it would be less worthy
to defend the ships once they are burning. But come while there are gifts;
the Achaeans will honor you like a god.
But if without gifts you enter the man-destroying battle,
you will no longer be so honored, for all you beat back the war.”
Then answering him, Achilles of the swift feet spoke:
“Phoinix, old father, cherished by Zeus, in no way do I have need
of such honor—I think I am honored by the just measure of Zeus,
which would keep me by the curved ships, as long as life’s breath
remains in my breast and my knees have motion.610
And I will tell you something else and put it away in your mind;
do not confound my heart with your weeping and groaning,
carrying favor for the warrior son of Atreus; you should not
hold him so dear, lest you become hateful to me who love you.
It is fitting for you to join me to trouble him who troubles me.
Rule equally with me, and share half my honor.
These men will take my message, but you stay and take your rest
on a soft bed here; when the dawn shows forth
we will consider, whether we will return with our men, or stay.”
He spoke, and he motioned silently with his brows to Patroclus620
to smooth the snug bed for Phoinix, so that with all speed
the others would think of going back from his shelter. And Ajax
the godlike son of Telamon spoke his word among them:
“Zeus-descended son of Laertes, Odysseus of many stratagems,
let us go; for it does not seem to me that fulfillment of our mandate
will be accomplished on this journey. We must report his word without delay,
unfavorable even as it is, to the Danaans,
who surely await us now. But Achilles
has made savage the great-hearted spirit in his breast,
he is hard, and turns his back on that friendship of companions630
for which we honored him beyond all others by the ships,
pitiless; a man will accept payment even from his brother’s killer
or for his dead child,
and the man who has paid much in penalty remains there, in his country,
and the heart and the proud spirit of the other is checked,
by accepting recompense. But in your breast the gods have placed
an implacable, a baneful spirit, for the sake of a single
girl; and now we offer you seven, exceptional, the best,
and many other things besides. Gentle your heart,
respect your house; we are under your roof640
from all the multitude of the Danaans, and beyond all others,
as many as the Achaeans are, yearn to be closest and dearest to you.”
And answering him Achilles of the swift feet spoke:
“Ajax, son of Telamon descended from Zeus, leader of the people,
you seem in a way to speak everything after my mind,
but my heart swells with rage when I recall those things—
how in the presence of the Argives he degraded me,
the son of Atreus, as if I were some worthless vagabond.
But all of you go and speak my message openly—
that I shall have no thought again of bloodstained war,650
until the son of brilliant Priam, shining Hector,
reaches the ships and shelters of the Myrmidons,
killing Argives, and smokes the ships with smoldering fire;
about my shelter and dark ship
I think, Hector, eager though he be for war, will be stopped.”
So he spoke. And the men each having taken up a double-handled cup
and having poured libations beside the ships went back, and Odysseus led.
And Patroclus bade the companions and servant women
lay out a snug bed for Phoinix forthwith;
and they in obedience lay out the bed as he commanded,660
with fleeces and a covering cloth and fine nubbed linen.
There the old man lay down and awaited the shining dawn;
but Achilles slept in the inner recess of his well-built shelter,
and with him lay a woman, one he had taken from Lesbos,
the daughter of Phorbas, Diomede of the lovely cheeks;
and on the other side lay Patroclus, and by him
Fair-belted Iphis, whom godlike Achilles gave him
when he took steep Scyros, the high city of Enyeus.
And when the others appeared inside the son of Atreus’ shelter,
then with cups of gold uplifted the sons of the Achaeans pledged them,670
rising to their feet, one after the other, and made interrogation.
And first
to make inquiry was the lord of men Agamemnon:
“Come, tell me, O illustrious Odysseus, great pride of the Achaeans,
will he beat back the blazing fire from our ships,
or did he refuse, and does rage still have hold of his great-hearted spirit?”
Then in turn much-enduring godlike Odysseus addressed him:
“Most glorious son of Atreus, lord of men Agamemnon;
the man is unwilling to quench his rage, but is all the more
filled with wrath, and rejects you and your gifts.
And he urges you yourself to consult among the Argives680
how you might save your ships and the army of the Achaeans.
He himself threatened when dawn shows forth
to haul his well-benched double-ended ships to the sea;
and he said he would advise the rest of us
to make sail for home, ‘since you will never see the fated end
of lofty Ilion; for sure it is that over it far-thundering Zeus
stretches his protective hand, and its people are now bold.’
Thus he spoke; and these men are here to confirm this, who came with me,
Ajax and the two heralds, both men of good sense.
But Phoinix the old man sleeps there, as he urges,690
in order that he may follow with him in his ships to their beloved fatherland
tomorrow, if he chooses; for he will not take him by force.”
So he spoke, and all the men were hushed in silence
amazed at his words; for he had spoken very powerfully.
For a long time the sons of the Achaeans were quiet with sorrow.
At length Diomedes of the war cry addressed them:
“Most glorious son of Atreus, lord of men Agamemnon;
you should not have beseeched the blameless son of Peleus
offering endless gifts. He is a proud man as it is;
but now you have inclined him all the more to pride.700
Come, let him be, either he will go
or he will stay. Then he will fight again, whenever
the spirit in his own breast bids him and god urges.
But come, for so I speak, and let us all be persuaded;
let us now take rest in sleep having satisfied our hearts with
food and wine, for this is our strength and courage;
but when Dawn the beautiful shows forth a finger of rosy light,
swiftly array men and horses before the ships,
urging them on, and yourself fight in the front lines.”
So he spoke, and all the princes assented,710
in admiration of the word of Diomedes breaker of horses.
Then when they had poured libations, each man went to his shelter