The assembly of the Gods · 4264 dagen geleden by Ad van den Ende
1.
Ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα,
The man! Sing of him, Muse,
πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ
the clever man, who, again and again,
πλάγχθη,
was beaten back,
ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν·
after he had sacked the sacred city of Troy;
πολλῶν δ᾽ ἀνθρώπων
Of many men
ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,
he saw the cities and learnt the mind,
πολλὰ δ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐν πόντωι πάθεν ἄλγεα
and on the sea he suffered many woes
ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,
in his heart,
5.
ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν
fighting for his life
καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.
and the return of his comrades.
ἀλλ᾽ οὐδ᾽ ὣς
But not
ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ·
he saved his comrades, how much striving for it;
αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρηισιν ἀτασθαλίηισιν
for because of their own un-wisdom
ὄλοντο, νήπιοι,
they died, the fools,,
οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο ἤσθιον·
who did eat the cattle of de sun god;
αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο
but he denied them
νόστιμον ἦμαρ.
the day of return.
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τῶν ἁμόθεν γε,
Of these things, beginning where you will,
θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν.
goddess, daughter of Zeus, tell us too.
ἔνθ᾽ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες,
Then all the others
ὅσοι φύγον αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,
who had escaped the great destruction
οἴκοι ἔσαν,
were at home,
πόλεμόν τε πεφευγότες ἠδὲ θάλασσαν·
who had run away from war and sea;
τὸν δ᾽ οἶον νόστου κεχρημένον ἠδὲ γυναικὸς
him alone, longing for return and wife,
νύμφη πότνι᾽ ἔρυκε
a respectable nymph stopped,
Καλυψὼ δῖα θεάων
Calypso, the most glorious of the goddesses
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ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι,
in a hollow cavern,
λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι.
desiring him to be her husband.
ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε δὴ ἔτος ἦλθε
But when the year had come
περιπλομένων ἐνιαυτῶν,
of the revolving seasons
τῶι οἱ ἐπεκλώσαντο θεοὶ
that for him the gods had chosen
οἶκόνδε νέεσθαι εἰς Ἰθάκην,
to return home to Ithaka,
οὐδ᾽ ἔνθα πεφυγμένος ἦεν ἀέθλων
not even then he had escaped the troubles,
καὶ μετὰ οἷσι φίλοισι.
even in the midst of his friends.
θεοὶ δ᾽ ἐλέαιρον ἅπαντες
All the gods pitied him
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νόσφι Ποσειδάωνος·
except Poseidon;
ὁ δ᾽ ἀσπερχὲς μενέαινεν
he was without ceasing angry
ἀντιθέωι Ὀδυσῆι
with the godlike Odysseus
πάρος ἣν γαῖαν ἱκέσθαι.
until he reached his own land.
ἀλλ᾽ ὁ μὲν Αἰθίοπας μετεκίαθε
But he had gone to the Aitiopians,
τηλόθ᾽ ἐόντας,
far away living,
Αἰθίοπας τοὶ διχθὰ δεδαίαται,
the Aitiopians who are divided in two parts,
ἔσχατοι ἀνδρῶν,
the most remote of all people,
οἱ μὲν δυσομένου Ὑπερίονος
some of whom (live) were the sun sets,
οἱ δ᾽ ἀνιόντος,
the others were he rises,
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ἀντιόων ταύρων
to accept a solemn sacrifice of bulls
τε καὶ ἀρνειῶν ἑκατόμβης.
and rams.
ἔνθ᾽ ὅ γ᾽ ἐτέρπετο
There he enjoyed himself
δαιτὶ παρήμενος·
sitting at the meal.
οἱ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι
But the other (gods),
Ζηνὸς ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν Ὀλυμπίου
in the halls of the Olympian Zeus
ἁθρόοι ἦσαν.
they had gathered.
τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε πατὴρ
To them he began to speak, the father
ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·
of men and gods.
μνήσατο γὰρ κατὰ θυμὸν
For he remembered in his heart
ἀμύμονος Αἰγίσθοιο,
the prominent Aigisthos,
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τόν ῥ᾽ Ἀγαμεμνονίδης τηλεκλυτὸς
whom the far-famed son of Agamemnon,
ἔκταν᾽ Ὀρέστης·
Orestes, had killed;
τοῦ ὅ γ᾽ ἐπιμνησθεὶς
thinking of him
ἔπε᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μετηύδα·
he spoke these words to the immortals:
ὢ πόποι, οἷον δή νυ
Incredible, how nowadays
θεοὺς βροτοὶ αἰτιόωνται·
mortals blame the gods;
ἐξ ἡμέων γάρ φασι
for from us they say that
κάκ᾽ ἔμμεναι, οἱ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
their troubles come, though they
σφῆισιν ἀτασθαλίηισιν
through their own reckless deeds
ὑπὲρ μόρον ἄλγε᾽ ἔχουσιν,
beyond what is fated find suffering,
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ὡς καὶ νῦν Αἴγισθος
such as now Aigisthos,
ὑπὲρ μόρον
beyond what was fated,
Ἀτρεΐδαο γῆμ᾽ ἄλοχον μνηστήν,
merried the lawfully wedded wife of Atreus’ son,
τὸν δ᾽ ἔκτανε νοστήσαντα,
and he killed him, when he came back,
εἰδὼς αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,
though he knew the threatening ruin,
ἐπεὶ πρό οἱ εἴπομεν ἡμεῖς,
since in advance we told him,
Ἑρμείαν πέμψαντες,
sending Hermes,
ἐύσκοπον ἀργεϊφόντην,
the keen-eyed Argoskiller,
μήτ᾽ αὐτὸν κτείνειν
not to kill him
μήτε μνάασθαι ἄκοιτιν·
and not to merry his wife;
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ἐκ γὰρ Ὀρέσταο
for from Orestes
τίσις ἔσσεται
the revenge would come
Ἀτρεΐδαο,
for (the murder) of the son of Atreus,
ὁππότ᾽ ἂν ἡβήσηι
as soon as he would reach manhood
τε καὶ ἧς ἱμείρεται αἴης.
and would long for his own land.
ὣς ἔφαθ᾽ Ἑρμείας,
So Hermes told him,
ἀλλ᾽ οὐ φρένας Αἰγίσθοιο
but the heart of Aigisthus
πεῖθ᾽ ἀγαθὰ φρονέων·
he did not persuade, meaning it well;
νῦν δ᾽ ἁθρόα πάντ᾽ ἀπέτισεν.
and now he has paid the price for it all.
τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα θεά,
Him answered then the goddess,
γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
the owl-eyed Athene:
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ὦ πάτερ ἡμέτερε Κρονίδη,
Father of us all, son of Kronos,
ὕπατε κρειόντων,
highest of the rulers,
καὶ λίην κεῖνός γε
certainly he
ἐοικότι κεῖται ὀλέθρωι·
lies down in a deserved ruin;
ὡς ἀπόλοιτο καὶ ἄλλος,
so let each other be destroyed
ὅτις τοιαῦτά γε ῥέζοι·
who does such things;
ἀλλά μοι ἀμφ᾽ Ὀδυσῆι δαΐφρονι
but for the brave Odysseus
δαίεται ἦτορ,
my heart is being torn,
δυσμόρωι, ὃς δὴ δηθὰ
the unhappy man, who allready longtimes
φίλων ἄπο πήματα πάσχει
far from his friends suffers troubles
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νήσωι ἐν ἀμφιρύτηι,
on an island bathed by the sea,
ὅθι τ᾽ ὀμφαλός ἐστι θαλάσσης.
where is the middle of the sea.
νῆσος δενδρήεσσα,
An island, densely wooded,
θεὰ δ᾽ ἐν δώματα ναίει,
a goddess lives on it in a big house,
Ἄτλαντος θυγάτηρ ὀλοόφρονος,
the daughter of pernicious Atlas,
ὅς τε θαλάσσης πάσης βένθεα οἶδεν,
who of the whole sea knows the depths,
ἔχει δέ τε κίονας αὐτὸς μακράς,
he himself has the great columns
αἳ γαῖάν τε καὶ οὐρανὸν ἀμφὶς ἔχουσιν.
that separate earth and heaven.
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τοῦ θυγάτηρ δύστηνον ὀδυρόμενον κατερύκει,
His daughter detains that unlucky, sorrowful man,
αἰεὶ δὲ μαλακοῖσι
allways with soft
καὶ αἱμυλίοισι λόγοισιν θέλγει,
and flattering words she tries to bewitch him,
ὅπως Ἰθάκης ἐπιλήσεται·
in order that he will forget Ithaka;
αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεύς, ἱέμενος
but Odysseus, craving
καὶ καπνὸν ἀποθρώισκοντα νοῆσαι
to see if only the smoke rising from
ἧς γαίης, θανέειν ἱμείρεται.
his country, longs to die.
οὐδέ νυ σοί περ
Even not now
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ἐντρέπεται φίλον ἦτορ,
your heart is moved,
Ὀλύμπιε; οὔ νύ τ᾽ Ὀδυσσεὺς
Olympian? Did Odysseus win no favour
Ἀργείων παρὰ νηυσὶ χαρίζετο ἱερὰ ῥέζων
with the sacrifices he made you by the Argive ships
Τροίηι ἐν εὐρείηι;
on the wide plain of Troy?
τί νύ οἱ τόσον ὠδύσαο, Ζεῦ;
Why was you so angry at him, Zeus?
τὴν δ᾽ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
Her answering said cloud-gathering Zeus:
τέκνον ἐμόν, ποῖόν σε ἔπος φύγεν ἕρκος ὀδόντων.
‘My child, which word escapes your lips?
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πῶς ἂν ἔπειτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆος ἐγὼ θείοιο λαθοίμην,
How could I ever forget godlike Odysseus,
ὃς περὶ μὲν νόον ἐστὶ βροτῶν,
who exceeds in wisdom all mortals,
περὶ δ᾽ ἱρὰ θεοῖσιν ἀθανάτοισιν ἔδωκε,
and exceedingly gave sacrifices to the deathless gods
τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν;
who inhabit the broad heaven?
ἀλλὰ Ποσειδάων γαιήοχος ἀσκελὲς αἰεὶ
But Poseidon, the earth-shaker, allways
Κύκλωπος κεχόλωται,
is uncontrollably angry because of the cyclop
ὃν ὀφθαλμοῦ ἀλάωσεν,
whom he blinded in his eye,
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ἀντίθεον Πολύφημον,
the godlike Polyphemos,
ὅου κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον πᾶσιν Κυκλώπεσσι·
of whom the strength is biggest of all cyclops.
Θόωσα δέ μιν τέκε νύμφη,
The nymph Thoosa bore him,
Φόρκυνος θυγάτηρ ἁλὸς ἀτρυγέτοιο μέδοντος,
daughter of Phorcys who rules the barren sea,
ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι Ποσειδάωνι μιγεῖσα.
in a hollow cave after sleeping with Poseidon.
ἐκ τοῦ δὴ Ὀδυσῆα Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων
Since then Poseidon, the earth-shaker,
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οὔ τι κατακτείνει,
will not kill Odysseus,
πλάζει δ᾽ ἀπὸ πατρίδος αἴης.
but keeps him far from his native land.
ἀλλ᾽ ἄγεθ᾽, ἡμεῖς οἵδε περιφραζώμεθα πάντες
But come, let we all here plan
νόστον, ὅπως ἔλθηισι·
his return, how he might come home;
Ποσειδάων δὲ μεθήσει ὃν χόλον·
Poseidon will abandon his resentment;
οὐ μὲν γὰρ τι δυνήσεται ἀντία πάντων
since he’ll not be able to contend against all
ἀθανάτων ἀέκητι θεῶν ἐριδαινέμεν οἶος.
the deathless gods, alone.’
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τὸν δ᾽ ἠμείβετ᾽ ἔπειτα θεά, γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
Him answered then the goddess, owl-eyed Athene:
ὦ πάτερ ἡμέτερε Κρονίδη, ὕπατε κρειόντων,
‘Father of us all, son of Cronos, highest of the rulers,
εἰ μὲν δὴ νῦν τοῦτο φίλον μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν,
if it truly pleases the blessed gods
νοστῆσαι Ὀδυσῆα πολύφρονα ὅνδε δόμονδε,
that returns the wise Odysseus to his home,
Ἑρμείαν μὲν ἔπειτα διάκτορον ἀργεϊφόντην
then let us send Hermes, the messenger, slayer of Argus,
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νῆσον ἐς Ὠγυγίην ὀτρύνομεν, ὄφρα τάχιστα
to the isle of Ogygia, so that he very fast
νύμφηι ἐυπλοκάμωι εἴπηι νημερτέα βουλήν,
can tell the Nymph with the lovely tresses our unalterable decision:
νόστον Ὀδυσσῆος ταλασίφρονος, ὥς κε νέηται·
the return of the fearless Odysseus, that he may come home.
αὐτὰρ ἐγὼν Ἰθάκηνδ᾽ ἐσελεύσομαι,
But I will go to Ithaca,
ὄφρα οἱ υἱὸν μᾶλλον ἐποτρύνω
in order that I stir his son,
καί οἱ μένος ἐν φρεσὶ θείω,
and put courage in his heart
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εἰς ἀγορὴν καλέσαντα κάρη κομόωντας Ἀχαιοὺς
to call to a meeting the long-haired Achaeans
πᾶσι μνηστήρεσσιν ἀπειπέμεν,
and speak his mind to all suitors
οἵ τέ οἱ αἰεὶ μῆλ᾽ ἁδινὰ σφάζουσι
who ever slaughter his flocks of sheep,
καὶ εἰλίποδας ἕλικας βοῦς.
and his shambling cattle with twisted horns.
πέμψω δ᾽ ἐς Σπάρτην τε καὶ ἐς Πύλον ἠμαθόεντα
I will send him to Sparta and sandy Pylos
νόστον πευσόμενον πατρὸς φίλου,
to gain news of the return of his dear father,
ἤν που ἀκούσηι,
to see if he can hear something,
ἠδ᾽ ἵνα μιν κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἐν ἀνθρώποισιν ἔχηισιν.
and to win good repute among the people.’
