Excerpt from the Odyssey
Hope Jensen
Editors’ note: In this excerpt from a longer translation, Jensen offers
the moment in Homer’s epic poem the Odyssey in which Odysseus encounters Polyphemus, the Cyclops. Here, Odysseus introduces himself by the term Οὖτιν, or “Nobody.”
“Οὖτις ἐμοί γ ̓ὄνομα· Οὖτιν δέ με κικλήσκουσι
μήτηρ ἠδὲ πατὴρ ἠδ ̓ἄλλοι πάντες ἑταῖροι.”
“Nobody is my name; Nobody is what I am called by my mother and father and all my many companions.”
ὣς ἐφάμην, ὁ δέ μ ̓αὐτίκ ̓ἀμείβετο νηλέι θυμῷ·
“Οὖτιν ἐγὼ πύματον ἔδομαι μετὰ οἷς ἑτάροισιν,
τοὺς δ ̓ἄλλους πρόσθεν· τὸ δέ τοι ξεινήϊον ἔσται.
Thus I spoke, and he immediately responded with pitiless heart;
“I will eat Nobody last with all your many companions before; this is my host gift.”
ἦ καὶ ἀνακλινθεὶς πέσεν ὕπτιος, αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
κεῖτ ̓ἀποδοχμώσας παχὺν αὐχένα, κὰδ δέ μιν ὕπνος
ᾕρει πανδαμάτωρ· φάρυγος δ ̓ἐξέσσυτο οἶνος
ψωμοί τ ̓ἀνδρόμεοι· ὁ δ ̓ἐρεύγετο οἰνοβαρείων.
So in truth and reclining on his back he lay turned sideways,
and his thick neck seized in his sleep and all subduing;
wine and morsels of men rushed out from his throat when he belched out.
καὶ τότ ̓ἐγὼ τὸν μοχλὸν ὑπὸ σποδοῦ ἤλασα πολλῆς,
ἧος θερμαίνοιτο· ἔπεσσι δὲ πάντας ἑταίρους
θάρσυνον, μή τίς μοι ὑποδείσας ἀναδύη.
And with this I drove the bar until it was warm with much ash;
all of the companions tried to encourage us with words lest anyone withdraw and become afraid.
ἀλλ ̓ὅτε δὴ τάχ ̓ὁ μοχλὸς ἐλάινος ἐν πυρὶ μέλλεν
ἅψεσθαι, χλωρός περ ἐών, διεφαίνετο δ ̓αἰνῶς,
καὶ τότ ̓ἐγὼν ἆσσον φέρον ἐκ πυρός, ἀμφὶ δ ̓ἑταῖροι
ἵσταντ ̓· αὐτὰρ θάρσος ἐνέπνευσεν μέγα δαίμων.
But then as soon as the bar of olive wood was about to be kindled in the fire; through it glowed terribly green and yellow, and at this I carried it nearer out of the fire, and my companions were
standing around, but great courage was breathed upon us by a divine being.
οἱ μὲν μοχλὸν ἑλόντες ἐλάινον, ὀξὺν ἐπ ̓ἄκρῳ,
ὀφθαλμῶ̣ἐνέρεισαν· ἐγὼ δ ̓ἐφύπερθεν ἐρεισθεὶς ͅ
δίνεον, ὡς ὅτε τις τρυπῷ δόρυ νήϊον ἀνὴρ τρυπάνῳ,
οἱ δέ τ ̓ἔνερθεν ὑποσσείουσιν ἱμάντι
ἁψάμενοι ἑκάτερθε, τὸ δὲ τρέχει ἐμμενὲς αἰεί.
They saw to it the bar of olive wood with a sharp point thrust into the eye; I, above, leaned and pressed as the men below would drill timber for a ship, shook a leather strap, grabbing onto either side and running it unceasingly forever.
ὣς τοῦ ἐν ὀφθαλμῷ πυριήκεα μοχλὸν ἑλόντες
δινέομεν, τὸν δ ̓αἷμα περίρρεε θερμὸν ἐόντα.
In this way, in his eye with a fiery point,
we were seeing as we turned the hot blood flowing around.
πάντα δέ οἱ βλέφαρ ̓ἀμφὶ καὶ ὀφρύας εὗσεν ἀϋτμὴ
γλήνης καιομένης, σφαραγεῦντο δέ οἱ πυρὶ ῥίζαι.
All of his eyelid and all around his eyebrows were singed with flame, pupils burned and crackled by the means of the fire.
ὡς δ ̓ὅτ ̓ἀνὴρ χαλκεὺς πέλεκυν μέγαν ἠὲ σκέπαρνον
εἰν ὕδατι ψυχρῷ βάπτῃ μεγάλα ἰάχοντα
φαρμάσσων· τὸ γὰρ αὖτε σιδήρου γε κράτος ἐστίν
ὣς τοῦ σίζ ̓ὀφθαλμὸς ἐλαϊνέῳ περὶ μοχλῷ.
As when the blacksmith dips the blade of a great ax into cold water with a loud hiss to harden it; for this is the power of iron thus his eye sizzled with the fire of the olive wood bar, which, when
it was pulled out of the eye, was made wet with a lot of blood.
σμερδαλέον δὲ μέγ ̓ᾤμωξεν, περὶ δ ̓ἴαχε πέτρη,
ἡμεῖς δὲ δείσαντες ἀπεσσύμεθ ̓· αὐτὰρ ὁ μοχλὸν 3
ἐξέρυσ ̓ὀφθαλμοῖο πεφυρμένον αἵματι πολλῳ.
He cried out in grief and the rock all around us cried out and we rushed back in fear and drew out the stake now wet with blood.
τὸν μὲν ἔπειτ ̓ἔρριψεν ἀπὸ ἕο χερσὶν ἀλύων,
αὐτὰρ ὁ Κύκλωπας μεγάλ ̓ἤπυεν, οἵ ῥά μιν ἀμφὶς
ᾤκεον ἐν σπήεσσι δι ̓ἄκριας ἠνεμοέσσας.
Then at this, he threw a fit, flailing with his hands but he called out loudly in grief to the Cyclops on both sides who dwelled in the top most caves in the grotto.
οἱ δὲ βοῆς ἀίοντες ἐφοίτων ἄλλοθεν ἄλλος,
ἱστάμενοι δ ̓εἴροντο περὶ σπέος ὅττι ἑ κήδοι·
“τίπτε τόσον, Πολύφημ ̓, ἀρημένος ὧδ ̓ἐβόησας
νύκτα δι ̓ἀμβροσίην καὶ ἀύπνους ἄμμε τίθησθα;
They heard him and went to go, different cyclops from different places stopping around the cave and asking what troubled him: “Polyphemus, suffering so great a distress why did you shout in this way? You make the night immortal and sleepless for us.
ἦ μή τίς σευ μῆλα βροτῶν ἀέκοντος ἐλαύνει;
ἦ μή τίς σ ̓αὐτὸν κτείνει δόλῳ ἠὲ βίηφιν;”
Surely nobody drives away your flock unwillingly?
Surely no mortal is slaying you by treachery or by force?”
τοὺς δ ̓αὖτ ̓ἐξ ἄντρου προσέφη κρατερὸς Πολύφημος·
“ὦ φίλοι, Οὖτίς με κτείνει δόλῳ οὐδὲ βίηφιν.”
Those in the cave again spoke to strong Polyphemus:
“O friend, nobody can slay you, not even by force.”
Hope Jensen is a junior Classical Archaeology major with a double minor in English and Theology from Hamilton, Massachusetts. She is a member of the Abbey Choir, the Pep Band where she is a student Conductor, the Abbey Players where she performs and is the Director of Public Relations. She also works in the Chapel Art Center and is a Resident Assistant. In her free time she loves to read, listen to music, and spend time with her friends.