The
Iliad of Homer
translated into English Accentuated Hexameters
by John F. W. Herschel
London 1866
[Sample
from the Opening of the Poem]
THE
ILIAD
BOOK
I.
BOOK
THE FIRST
ARGUMENT.
APOLLO
at the prayer of his priest Chryses, whose daughter Agamemnon refuses to
release, send a pestilence on the Greek army. At
the instance of Achilles a council is called, in which Agamemnon agrees to
resign his captive, but declares his intention to seize Briseis the captive of
Achilles as an equivalent. A
violent quarrel ensues between the Kings. Achilles
resigns his captive but withdraws his support from the cause of the Greeks. Briseis
is restored to her father, and sacrifice being made, Apollo is appeased. Thetis
the mother of Achilles, moed by his prayers, petitions Zeus to avenge on the
Greeks the insult thus offered to her son. He
consents. Hera
remonstrating, receives a rebuke in presence of the assembled Gods. Hephæstus
consoles her.
ILIAD. BOOK
I.
SING,
clestial Muse! the destroying wrath of Achilles,
Peleus’ son: which myriad mischiefs heaped on the Grecians,
Many a valiant hero’s soul dismissing to Hades;
Flinging their corses abroad for a prey to dogs and and
to vultures,
And to each bird of the air. Thus
Jove’s high will was accomplished.
Ev’n from that fateful hour when opposed in angry contention
Stood forth Atreides, King of men, and godlike Achilles.
Say,
then! which of the Gods involved these two in their conflict?
JOVE’S and Leto’s Son! For
he, with the leader offended
Sent on his army a plague, and his people were perishing round him:
For that Atreides his sacred Priest
had rudely dishonoured; (11)
Chryses, who suppliant came
to the swift-sailing ships of the Grecians
Eager to rescue his daughter, and proff’ring unlimited ransom.
Wreaths in his hands he bore of the bright far-darting Apollo
Circline a sceptre of gold. Then
thus besought he the Grecians
All; but th’ Atreidæ first, the two great arrayers of nations:
“O
ye Atreidæ! and you, ye bright-armed Greeks, to our valour
May the great Gods,
who dwell in the lofty Olympian mansions
Grant the destruction of Troy, and a safe return to your country!
Only restore me my darling child, and accept what I offer (20)
Ever revering the Son of
Zeus, far-darting Apollo.”
Then
loud shouted the Greeks in assent: “Let her go! Let
Apollo
Glorified be in his priest! Take,
take the magnificent ransom!”
But Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, disdained his
petition.
Roughly he drove him forth, and sternly rebuked him at
parting.
“Hence!
Let me catch thee no more, old man, in our camp either ling’ring
Here round our hollow keeled ships, or returning again on
thine errand.
Scarce should Apollo then,
or his wreath, or sceptre, avail thee.
No! Set
her free be thou sure I
will not! till age overtake her
There in our palace at home, in Argos; far from her country, (30)
Weaving the web, and performing th’ accustomed rites of my chamber.
Hence! I
say.—Anger me not!—Thy retreat may so be the safter.”
Thus
spake the King: and the old man feared and shrank from the mandate.
Silent he crept by the loud-roaring sea, till far from the vessels
Then to Apollo supreme, the offspring of fair-haired Latona,
Thus in his anguish he
prayed, with earnest and long
supplication:—
“Hear
me! Thou of
the silver bow!—Thou guardian of Chrysa!
Thou who encompassest Cilla the sacred! Thou
whose dominion
Tenedos trembling owns!—O Smintheus! Hear
me.—If ever
Decking thy temple with festive c rowns
I have burned on thine altar
Thigh of the bull or fat of the goat—oh! grant my petition: (41)
Let thin arrows requite to the Greeks these tears I am shedding.”
Thus, loud sobbing, he
prayed; and his prayer reached Phœbus Apollo.
Down from the lofty crest
of Olympus he plunged on the
instant,
Ire in his heart. On
his shoulders his bow was slung, and his quiver
Gorgeously wrought, and the shafts clashed loud as
he moved in his anger.
Down he swept, like the presence
of night, and approaching alighted
Somewhat apart from the ships, and among them sent forth an arrow.
Dire was the twang of the silver bow! Then spread
the contaigon
First among mules, and the lazy dogs that prowled round
the vessels. (50)
Next came a piercing shaft which, winged with
bitterer vengeance
Flew through the ranks; and the funeral pyres blazed fast and unceasing.
Review Comment
Herschel
offers an interesting Preface, in which he mounts a stout defence of the
hexameter as the most appropriate metre for translating Homer. He
also explains his own approach to the task of translating Homer’s Greek:
“Though a careful interpretation of the Greek it does not profess to be
minutely close, much less a strictly literal translation: while on the other
hand it eschews altogether any attempt to clothe the simple and rude majesty of
the great original in such amplitude of decorated wording as to conceal its
outlines.” Of
the recurring epithets, he has this to say, “But to be systematical reminded
of these particulars almost whenever the persons or things so characterized are
mentioned, is assuredly more in the nature of a blemish than a beauty.” Herschel
is also one of the very few translators who with the use of italics deliberately
calls attention to his additions to the text: “good faith both to the original
and the reader requires that expletory words or phrases should be distinguished
by some typographical difference.” The
translation, as a whole, is not particularly inspiring or memorable and does
little to demonstrate the poetic superiority of the hexameter.
Those
who would like to access the full text of Herschel’s text should use the
following link: Herschel’s
Iliad.
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