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Three Millennia of Greek Literature
 

Homer Bilingual Anthology : THE UNDERWORLD - 9

From Homer's Iliad, * Rhapsody 11. 1-332, 385-640, * Translated by S. Butler, * Greek Fonts 


ELPENOR EDITIONS IN PRINT

Then he dived under the sea, and she in due course bore Pelias and Neleus, who both of them served Jove with all their might. Pelias was a great breeder of sheep and lived in Iolcus, but the other lived in Pylos. The rest of her children were by Cretheus, namely, Aeson, Pheres, and Amythaon, who was a mighty warrior and charioteer.

Next to her I saw Antiope, daughter to Asopus, who could boast of having slept in the arms of even Jove himself, and who bore him two sons Amphion and Zethus. These founded Thebes with its seven gates, and built a wall all round it; for strong though they were they could not hold Thebes till they had walled it.

Then I saw Alcmena, the wife of Amphitryon, who also bore to Jove indomitable Hercules; and Megara who was daughter to great King Creon, and married the redoubtable son of Amphitryon.

I also saw fair Epicaste mother of king Oedipodes whose awful lot it was to marry her own son without suspecting it. He married her after having killed his father, but the gods proclaimed the whole story to the world; whereon he remained king of Thebes, in great grief for the spite the gods had borne him; but Epicaste went to the house of the mighty jailor Hades, having hanged herself for grief, and the avenging spirits haunted him as for an outraged mother--to his ruing bitterly thereafter.

ὣς εἰπὼν ὑπὸ πόντον ἐδύσετο κυμαίνοντα. ἡ δ΄ ὑποκυσαμένη Πελίην τέκε καὶ Νηλῆα͵ τὼ κρατερὼ θεράποντε Διὸς μεγάλοιο γενέσθην ἀμφοτέρω· Πελίης μὲν ἐν εὐρυχόρῳ Ἰαολκῷ ναῖε πολύρρηνος͵ ὁ δ΄ ἄρ΄ ἐν Πύλῳ ἠμαθόεντι. τοὺς δ΄ ἑτέρους Κρηθῆϊ τέκεν βασίλεια γυναικῶν͵ Αἴσονά τ΄ ἠδὲ Φέρητ΄ Ἀμυθάονά θ΄ ἱππιοχάρμην. 

τὴν δὲ μέτ΄ Ἀντιόπην ἴδον͵ Ἀσωποῖο θύγατρα͵ ἣ δὴ καὶ Διὸς εὔχετ΄ ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσιν ἰαῦσαι͵ καί ῥ΄ ἔτεκεν δύο παῖδ΄͵ Ἀμφίονά τε Ζῆθόν τε͵ οἳ πρῶτοι Θήβης ἕδος ἔκτισαν ἑπταπύλοιο πύργωσάν τ΄͵ ἐπεὶ οὐ μὲν ἀπύργωτόν γ΄ ἐδύναντο ναιέμεν εὐρύχορον Θήβην͵ κρατερώ περ ἐόντε. 

Tὴν δὲ μετ΄ Ἀλκμήνην ἴδον͵ Ἀμφιτρύωνος ἄκοιτιν͵ ἥ ῥ΄ Ἡρακλῆα θρασυμέμνονα θυμολέοντα γείνατ΄ ἐν ἀγκοίνῃσι Διὸς μεγάλοιο μιγεῖσα· καὶ Μεγάρην͵ Κρείοντος ὑπερθύμοιο θύγατρα͵ τὴν ἔχεν Ἀμφιτρύωνος υἱὸς μένος αἰὲν ἀτειρής.

μητέρα τ΄ Οἰδιπόδαο ἴδον͵ καλὴν Ἐπικάστην͵ ἣ μέγα ἔργον ἔρεξεν ἀϊδρείῃσι νόοιο γημαμένη ᾧ υἷϊ· ὁ δ΄ ὃν πατέρ΄ ἐξεναρίξας γῆμεν· ἄφαρ δ΄ ἀνάπυστα θεοὶ θέσαν ἀνθρώποισιν. ἀλλ΄ ὁ μὲν ἐν Θήβῃ πολυηράτῳ ἄλγεα πάσχων Καδμείων ἤνασσε θεῶν ὀλοὰς διὰ βουλάς· ἡ δ΄ ἔβη εἰς Ἀΐδαο πυλάρταο κρατεροῖο͵ ἁψαμένη βρόχον αἰπὺν ἀφ΄ ὑψηλοῖο μελάθρου ᾧ ἄχεϊ σχομένη· τῷ δ΄ ἄλγεα κάλλιπ΄ ὀπίσσω πολλὰ μάλ΄͵ ὅσσα τε μητρὸς ἐρινύες ἐκτελέουσι.

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