Homer
The Iliad
Or Achilles’ Wrath; At the Siege of Ilion
Reproduced in Dramatic Blank Verse
T. S. Norgate
Edinburgh 1864
[Sample
from the Opening of the Poem]
THE
ILIAD OF HOMER
ARGUMENT
OF THE FIRST BOOK. A.
INVOCATION
TO THE MUSE.—Chrysês, priest of Apollo, comes to the Achaian camp in hope to
redeem his daughter. Agamemnon, however, the commander in
chief, whose prize she is, spurns his petition. The
old priest prays his god to avenge him: Apollo sends a fatal pestilence into the
Achaian camp. Achillês
calls an assembly for enquiry; at which the augur Calchas declares that
Agamemnon is the cause of the plauge: Agamemnon agrees to give up the damsel,
but demands an equivalent to be given him. Achillês
accuses him of avarice: Agamemnon declares he will take an equivalent by force. Achillês
rates him roundly, and threatens to quit and go home. Agamemnon
in return threatens to take from him his prize damsel, Brisêis.—Achillês is
on the point of drawing his sword on Agamemnon, but Athênè, the goddess of
Wisdom, checks him: still they wrangle, till the assembly is broken up. Agamemnon
takes Brisêis, as he had threatened. Achillês
invokes his goddess-mother, Thetis, to ask Zeus for vengeance on Agamemnon. This
she does, and obtains his assent. Thence
arise quarrels on Olympus between Zeus and his Queen-wife, Hêrè: their
son Hephaistos restores peace between them.
ALPHA:
the prayers of Chrysès: plague breaks out aongst the Argive host; the quarrel
of their Chiefs.
Goddess!
O sing the wrath of Pêleus’ son,
Achillès
wrath,—baneful,—that on the Achaians
Brought
countless woes; and sent untimely down
Full
many a chieftain’s mighty soul to Hadès;
And
gave their bodies for a prey to dogs,
5 And
to all manner of birds: (but Jove’s high will
Was
on achievement) from the time when first
Atreidès,
chief of chiefs, and prince Achillès
Quarreleed
and were at strife. And
who of the gods,—
Who—brought
them to dispute in strife together?
The
son of Zeus and Lêto: for enraged
Against
the king was He, and he spread sore sickness
10 Throughout
the host; and men began to die;
Because
Atreidès treated, yea, his priest,
The venerable Chrysès, with dishonour:
For
come had he to the Argives’ nimble ships,—
Bearing
in hand a wreath on golden sceptre,
A
chaplet of Apollo, the Far-shooting,—
And
bringing countless ransom, to redeem
15 His
daughter; and he prayed the Achaians all,
But
most of all the marshallers of the host,
Atreus’
two sons:—“O both ye sons of Atreus,
‘And all ye fair-greaved Argives!—may the gods,
‘Who
dwell in high Olympian halls, give You
‘To sack Priam’s Town, and to return safe home!
‘But
O now stand ye in awe of Jove’s dread son,
20 ‘Apollo,
the Far-shooting,—and release
‘Unto me my dear daughter; and kindly take
‘This for
her ransom-price.”—Hereat at once
All
the other Argives shouted their assent,
Both
to revere the priest, and to accept
The
splendid ransom: this howe’er pleased not
Atreidès
Agamemnon’s heart, who harshly
25 Sent
him away, and added this rough speech:
“Let
me not here by our hollow ships, Old Man,
‘Light
upon thee,—or lingering now, or coming
‘Again
hereafter,—no, for neither sceptre,
‘Nor
the god’s chaplet, should avail thee aught.
‘But
Her I’ll not release; until old age
‘Shall
come upon her in our house at Argos,
30 ‘Far
from her fatherland; and she shall ply
‘The
loom, and share my bed. But
hie! begone!
‘Provoke
me not,—so mayst thou hence return
‘Safer
and sounder!”—Spake he thus: whereat
That
old man feared,—and straight obeyed his bidding;
And
silent—went away, along the shore
Of
the loud-sounding sea: the reverend sire,
35 Being
come afar, prayed then aloud to his lord,
Apollo,
whom the fair-haired Lêto bore:
“Hear
me, O Smintheus! Thou
of the Silver Bow!
‘Who
guardest Chrysê, and the sacred Cillè,
‘And
rul’st o’er Tenedos with mighty sway!
‘If
e’er I’ve wreathed thee a graceful temple’s roof,
40 ‘Or
if at any time I’ve burnt for thee
‘Goats’
and bulls’ goodly thigh-bones, O fulfil me
‘This
my desire: O let the Danaans pay
‘Yea
for my tears by taste of thy swift arrows!”
So
spake he praying: to whom a gracious ear
Phœbus
Apollo gave; and angry at heart
Down
from Olympus’ tops he came,—with bow
45 And
quiver covered close, upon his shoulders:
Whereat,
e’en as he moved along, his arrows
Rattled
upon his shoulders in his wrath:
And
he,—like unto night he came; then sat him,
Off
from the ships, and sent an arrow amongst them:
And
of the Silver Bow the twang was fearful.
Review
Comment
Norgate’s
translation has little to recommend it, given the deliberately archaic diction
(“damsel,” “hereat,” “rates him roundly,” and so
on) and the inert iambic pentameter rhythm padded here and there into conformity
with unnecessary words like “Yea.” The
line numbers on the left refer to the Greek text.
For
access to the complete translation, please use the following link: Norgate
Iliad.
Page loads on johnstonia web files
View Stats