Ἰέννι· Τὸν Ῥογῆρον χαίρειν. πόθεν τὰ νῦν ἡμῖν ἐπιδεδήμηκας; ἆρα οἴκοθεν ἐκ Μεξικουπόλεως;
Greetings to you, Rogelio! Where do you come from now? From your hometown, Mexico City?
Ῥογῆρος· Οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ ἀπὸ τῶν Σελιανιτικῶν ἐκ μαθημάτων τινῶν τὸ θέρος γενομένων.
Not at all, but from Selianitika from some summer classes.
Ἰέννι· ἆ, μῶν καὶ μαθήματα τοῦ Ἑλληνίζειν ἠγάγετε, σὺ καὶ Μίχαηλ ὁ Ἄγροικος;
So did you not also lead courses about speaking Greek, you and Michael from „Agros“?
Ῥογῆρος· καὶ ὀλίγα γε περὶ τῆς μετρικῆς τε καὶ τῆς μουσικῆς τέχνης.
Even some about metric and music.
Ἰέννι· μὴν πολλάκις γε ἐθαύμασα ὑμᾶς τοὺς ποιητάς, ὦ Ῥογῆρε, τῆς θείας μοίρας.
Indeed, I often admired you poets, Rogelio, for your divine fate.
Ῥογῆρος· οὐκ εὐφημήσεις; οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγε ποιητής εἰμι.
Won’t you be quiet? I am not a poet!
Ἰέννι· οὔ; τίνος οὖν ἐπιστήμων εἶ;
No? So what is your craft? [lit. „About what are you knowledgeable?“]
Ῥογῆρος· γραμματικός εἰμι· διατρίψας οὖν πολὺν χρόνον ἐν ἄλλοις καὶ πολλοῖς ποιηταῖς ἐκμεμάθηκα οὐ μόνον τὰ ἔπη ἀλλὰ καὶ τὰς διανοίας αὐτῶν.
I am a philologist. So by spending a lot of time in (the books of) many different poets I came to learn not only their words but also their thoughts.
Ἰέννι· ζηλωτόν ἐστιν.
That’s enviable!
Ῥογῆρος· καὶ μάλα γε!
Yep.
Ἰέννι· οὕτως οὖν ἅπερ ἄρτι ᾖδες ἅμα κρούων τὴν λύραν οὐκ αὐτὸς ἐποίησας;
So what you just sung while playing the lyre… you have not composed it yourself?
Ῥογῆρος· οὐ δῆτα, οὐκ ἔγωγε.
Oh no, I didn’t!
Ἰέννι· τίς οὖν ἐποίησε;
So who did?
Ῥ· ὁ Ὅμηρος ἐποίησε ταῦτα.
Homer composed this.
Ἰ· ὁ Ὅμηρος… ἆρα εἷς τῶν φίλων οὗτος ὁ ἀνήρ;
Homer… Is this one of your friends?
῾Ρ· ἐν τοῖς φιλτάτοις καταριθμῶ τὸν Ὅμηρον, ἄριστος γὰρ καὶ θειότατος ἐστὶ τῶν ποιητῶν, οὐδέποτε δὲ συνεγενόμην τῷ ἀνδρί, ἤκμασε γὰρ κατὰ τὸ ψλον ἔτος πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Χριστοῦ γενετῆς, ἢ πολλῷ ἔμπροσθεν κατὰ τὸν ιβον ἢ ιαον αἰῶνα. ἀμφισβητεῖται γάρ.
I consider Homer to be one of my dearest friends, for he is the best and most divine of the poets, but I have actually never met the man, since he flourished around 730 BC, or much earlier in the 12th or 11th century. This is under discussion.
Ἰ· ἀμφισβητεῖται πότε ἤκμασε;
It is under discussion when he flourished?
῾Ρ· καὶ δὴ καὶ ἀμφισβητεῖται πότερον ἐβίω ποτέ.
It is even under discussion whether he ever lived at all.
Ἰ· βραδέως συνίημι, οὗτος οὖν ὁ Ὅμηρος, καίπερ ὢν ἐλλόγιμος καὶ φανός, σκοτεινός πώς ἐστιν·καὶ ἄδηλος. σὺ δὲ λέγεις, οὐδὲν ἧττον, ὅτι ἔχεις ἐξηγεῖσθαι καὶ ἑρμηνεύειν τὰ τοῦ Ὁμήρου;
Slowly I understand. So this Homer, even though he is famous and illustrious, is somehow dark and obscure. But you say, nonetheless, that you can interpret and explain the works of Homer?
῾Ρ· ἔγωγε.
Yes.
Ἰ· εἰπὲ οὖν πρῶτον· τίνι διαλέκτῳ ἔγραψε ὁ Ὅμηρος;
So tell me first: In which dialect did Homer write?
Ῥ· τῇ ὁμηρικῇ διαλέκτῳ.
In the Homeric dialect.
Ἰ· βαβαί, ἰδίαν διάλεκτον ἔχει οὗτος; θαυμάζω. τί δὲ λέγει ἐν τῷ ποιήματι;
Wow, this guy has his own dialect?! Amazing! But what does he say in the poem?
Ῥ· ναί, εἰ βούλει, ἅμα σκεψώμεθα ἀπ’ ἀρχῆς.
Yes, if you want to, let’s take a look together from the start.
Ἰ· ναί, βούλομαι.
Yes, I want to!
Ῥ· εὖ. λέγει οὖν ὁ Ὅμηρος· ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, Μοῦσα, πολύτροπον.
Good. So Homer says:
Ἰ· τίς δέ ἐστιν οὗτος ὁ ἀνήρ;
Who is this man?
Ῥ· οὗτος ὁ Ὀδυσσεύς ἐστιν, ἀνὴρ μέν ἐστι τῆς Πηνελόπης, πατὴρ δὲ τοῦ Τηλεμάχου, βασιλεὺς τῆς Ἰθάκης, μέγας ἥρως.
This is Odysseus: He is the husband of Penelope, father of Telemach, king of Ithaca, a great hero.
Ἰ· καλῶς. τί δὲ σημαίνει τὸ ἔννεπε; καὶ διὰ τί χρείαν ἔχει ὁ ποιητὴς τῆς Μούσης;
OK. But what does ἔννεπε mean? And why does the poet need the muse?
Ῥ·κατεχόμενος οὖν ὁ ποιητὴς ὑπὸ τῆς Μούσης λέγει τὰ ἔπη· ἡ γὰρ Μοῦσα ἔνεστι ἐν τῷ ποιητῇ, καὶ ἐκεῖθεν ἐμπνεῖ τὰ ἔπη αὐτῷ, ὁ δ’ αὖ ποιητὴς λέγει ἡμῖν εἶτα.
Overcome by the Muse the poet says his words: For the Muse is within the poet and from there breathes („inspires“) the words to him, the poet in turn tells them to us, then.
Ἰ·καλὴ ἡ συνεργία αὐτῶν. διὰ τί δὲ ὁ ποιητὴς τὸν Ὀδυσσέα λέγει πολύτροπον εἶναι;
A nice synergy between them! But why does the poet say that Odysseus is „much turned“ (πολύτροπος)?
Ῥ· δυοῖν θάτερον· εἴτε ὅτι ἀεὶ πολλοὺς τρόπους μηχανᾶται ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς, εὐπορεῖ γὰρ μηχανημάτων, εἴτε ὅτι πολὺ ἐτρέφθη [βέλτιον· ἐτράπη] ἤτοι ἐπλανήθη κατὰ γῆν καὶ κατὰ θάλατταν.
One of two (reasons): Either because Odysseus always comes up with many turns/ideas, for he has plenty of ideas, or because he was „turned around“ or wandered around a lot on land and sea.
Ἱ· μανθάνω, καὶ τὸ ἐπλανήθη βούλεται τὸ αὐτὸ ὥσπερ πλάγχθη;
I get it: ἐπλανήθη (“he wandered around”) means the same as πλάγχθη?
Ῥ· οὕτως.
Right.
Ἱ· συνίημι. τί μετὰ τοῦτο λέγει ὁ Ὅμηρος;
I understand. What does Homer say after this?
Ῥ·πολλῶν δ’ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω.
Ἰ· τὸ ἴδεν ἐστὶ εἶδεν;
ἴδεν is (the same as) εἶδεν?
Ῥ· οὕτως.
Right.
Ἰ· εἶδεν οὖν ὁ Οδυσσεὺς τὰς πόλεις καὶ τὰ ἤθη τῶν ἀνθρώπων.
So Odysseus saw the cities and customs of the people?
Ῥ· μάλιστα.
Exactly.
Ἰ· τί ἔτι γέγραπται;
What else is written there?
Ῥ· πολλὰ δ’ ὅ γ’ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν.
Ἰ· πολλὰ οὖν ἔπαθε ὁ τλήμων Ὀδυσσεύς;
So poor Odysseus suffered a lot?
Ῥ· κατὰ τὸν ἑαυτοῦ θυμόν. ἡ γὰρ ἀντωνυμία ἐνταῦθα δεικτική τις ἢ ἀντανακλωμένη ἐστίν.
In his own soul. The pronoun here is either a demonstrative or a reflexive (pronoun).
Ἰ· μανθάνω. τί δὲ μετὰ τοῦτο;
I understand. But what (comes) after this?
Ῥ· ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.
Ἰ· Τίς ἐστι ἡ διάνοια τούτων;
What is the meaning of that?
Ῥ· ἁπλῶς γε τόδε· ὅτι ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς ἐβούλετο σῶσαι ἑαυτὸν καὶ τοὺς ἑταίρους.
Simply this: That Odysseus wanted to save himself and his comrades.
Ἰ· ἀλλὰ λέγεται τὸ „νόστον ἑταίρων”.
But it says: “νόστον of the comrades”.
Ῥ· ὁ νόστος σημαίνει τι ὡς τὴν οἴκαδε πορείαν.
νόστος means something like the journey home.
Ἰ· οὐκ οὖν οἴκαδε ἐπανῆλθεν ὁ Ὀδυσσεύς;
So Odysseus didn’t get back home?
Ῥ· ἐπανῆλθε, ἀλλὰ μετὰ δέκα ἔτη.
He did get back, but after ten years.
Ἰ· τί δὲ οἱ ἑταῖροι; ἆρα οἴκαδε ἐπανῆλθον;
What about his comrades? Did they come back home?
Ῥ· οὐδαμῶς, ἀλλὰ ἰδού·
Oh no, but look:
Ἰ· μανθάνω. τί μετὰ τοῦτο γέγραπται; ἀλλ’ οὐδ’ ὥς ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ·
Ῥ· τουτέστιν· ὁ Ὀδυσσεὺς οὐκ ἐδυνήθη σῶσαι τοὺς ἑταίρους καίπερ ἐφιέμενος, καίπερ τούτου στοχαζόμενος.
I.e.: Odysseus could not save his comrades even though he wanted to, even though he endeavored to.
Ἰ· ἀλλὰ διὰ τί οὐκ ἐδυνήθη; λέγεται· „αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο“ τί ἐστι τοῦτο;
But why could he not? It says: … What is that?
Ῥ· τὸ ἀτασθαλίαι πληθυντικῶς μόνον λέγεται, ὁμοίαν δὲ δύναμιν ἔχει καὶ ἀλαζονεία ἢ ἀφροσύνη, μωρία, πονηρία, τι τοιοῦτον. Οὕτως οὖν ἀπώλοντο οἱ ἑταῖροι ἅτε μωροὶ ὄντες, αὐτοὶ οὖν αἴτιοι ἦσαν τοῦ ἑαυτῶν θανάτου.
ἀτασθαλίαι is said only in the plural. It has a similar meaning like “boastfulness”, „stupidity“, “folly”, “wickedness”, something like that. So the comrades did thus perish because they were fools: So they themselves were the reason for their own death.
Ἰ· νήπιος οὖν παρὰ τῷ Ὁμήρῳ σημαίνει τὸ αὺτὸ καὶ μωρός;
So νήπιος within Homer means the same as “stupid”?
Ῥ· εὖ λέγεις.
Correct.
Ἰ· κατέφαγον οὖν τὰς βοῦς τοῦ Ἠελίοιο, τουτέστι τοῦ Ἡλίου· καὶ σὺ οὕτως ἑρμηνεύεις;
So they ate the cattle of Ἠελίοιο, i.e. the Sun: Do you explain it like that, too?
Ῥ· ταὐτὰ λέγω· ἡ γὰρ κατάληξις εἰς -οιο εἷς τῶν πολλῶν Μυκηνισμῶν παρὰ τῷ Ὁμήρῳ.
I say the same: For the ending in -οιο is one of many Mycenism within Homer.
Ἰ· μανθάνω. καὶ διὰ τοῦτο ἀπέκτεινε αὐτοὺς ὁ ὑπὲρ ἡμᾶς ἰὼν Ἥλιος;
I understand. And because of this the Sun, “running its course above us” (= ὑπερίων), killed them?
Ῥ· εὖ, κάλλιστα· καὶ σὺ κάλλιστα ἑξηγεῖ τὰ τοῦ Ὁμήρου ἔπη.
Good, really well! You, too, explain the words of Homer really well!
Ἰ· χάριν σοι οἶδα, ἀλλὰ ἄγε δή, ἔλθωμεν πρὸς τὸ τέλος. Τί τὸ „τῶν ἁμόθεν γε, θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν“;
Thanks! But come, let us go to the end. What (means): „about these things, from wherever, goddess, daughter of Zeus, tell us, too“?
Ῥ· εἴτε ἐκ τούτων γε, εἴτε ἐξ ἐκείνων τρόπον τινὰ εἰπέ, ὦ Μοῦσα, οὐ μὴ μόνον ἔμοιγε ἀλλὰ καὶ πᾶσιν ἡμῖν.
(Starting) either from these or from those tell us somehow, o Muse, not only me but all of us.
Ἰ· ὑπερφυῶς, ὦ βέλτιστε, χαίρω μαθοῦσα τί βούλεται εἰπεῖν τὸ προοίμιον τῆς Ὁδυσσείας.
I am exceedingly glad, my friend, to have learned what the proem of the Odyssee means.
Ῥ· καλὸν γάρ τί ἐστιν. ἀλλὰ εἰπέ μοι ἔτι τόδε· ἆρα βούλοιο ἂν καὶ ἐμοὶ συνᾴδειν;
Yes, it is something beautiful. But tell me also this: Would you like to sing together with me?
Ἰ· ἀλλὰ ἥδιστα.
With pleasure!
Ῥ· κάλλιστα, εὖ, ἐπαινῶ σε. λαβοῦσα οὖν τὴν ῥάβδον καταμετρήσεις, δέομαί σου, τὸν πρῶτον χρόνον τοῦ ποδὸς τιθεῖσα τὴν ῥάβδον, τὸν δὲ ἕτερον χρόνον αἴρουσα αὐτήν.
Very well, good! I applaud you! So taking the wand you will, please, measure the first foot by moving the wand down, the second foot by lifting it.
Ἰ· καλῶς· ἔσται ταῦτα.
Good: So will it be!
Ῥ· κάλλιστα.
Great!