Homer's Odyssey δ 4.538-53

Recording and translation © A. P. David 2022.

Greek text hyperlinked to lexica via Perseus (perseus.tufts.edu):

ὣς ἔφατ᾽, αὐτὰρ ἐμοί γε κατεκλάσθη φίλον ἦτορ,

κλαῖον δ᾽ ἐν ψαμάθοισι καθήμενος, οὐδέ νύ μοι κῆρ

ἤθελ᾽ ἔτι ζώειν καὶ ὁρᾶν φάος ἠελίοιο.

αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ κλαίων τε κυλινδόμενός τε κορέσθην,

δὴ τότε με προσέειπε γέρων ἅλιος νημερτής:

‘μηκέτι, Ἀτρέος υἱέ, πολὺν χρόνον ἀσκελὲς οὕτω

κλαῖ᾽, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄνυσίν τινα δήομεν: ἀλλὰ τάχιστα

πείρα ὅπως κεν δὴ σὴν πατρίδα γαῖαν ἵκηαι.

ἢ γάρ μιν ζωόν γε κιχήσεαι, ἤ κεν Ὀρέστης

κτεῖνεν ὑποφθάμενος, σὺ δέ κεν τάφου ἀντιβολήσαις.’

ὣς ἔφατ᾽, αὐτὰρ ἐμοὶ κραδίη καὶ θυμὸς ἀγήνωρ

αὖτις ἐνὶ στήθεσσι καὶ ἀχνυμένῳ περ ἰάνθη,

καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδων:

‘τούτους μὲν δὴ οἶδα: σὺ δὲ τρίτον ἄνδρ᾽ ὀνόμαζε,

ὅς τις ἔτι ζωὸς κατερύκεται εὐρέι πόντῳ

ἠὲ θανών: ἐθέλω δὲ καὶ ἀχνύμενός περ ἀκοῦσαι.’

Photo by Aarón Blanco Tejedor on Unsplash

Samuel Butler’s translation with certain names Hellenised:

“Thus spoke Proteus, and I was broken hearted as I heard him. I sat

down upon the sands and wept; I felt as though I could no longer bear

to live nor look upon the light of the sun. Presently, when I had

had my fill of weeping and writhing upon the ground, the old man of

the sea said, ‘Son of Atreus, do not waste any more time in crying

so bitterly; it can do no manner of good; find your way home as fast

as ever you can, for Aegisthus be still alive, and even though Orestes

has been beforehand with you in killing him, you may yet come in for his

funeral.’

“On this I took comfort in spite of all my sorrow, and said, ‘I know,

then, about these two; tell me, therefore, about the third man of

whom you spoke; is he still alive, but at sea, and unable to get home?

or is he dead? Tell me, no matter how much it may grieve me.’