Chryses' Prayer
Jonathan Slocum and Carol Justus
Chryses' Prayer
The first prayer in the Iliad (Book I, lines 37-42) is Chryses' prayer to Apollo to avenge the dishonor done him by Agamemnon, the leader of the Danaans (Greeks), who took Chryses' daughter as a war prize, refused to release her, and mistreated Chryses when he offered a ransom for her return. It illustrates older Indo-European prayer form and linguistic structure, as well as properly epic Greek features.
Each line is transcribed in Greek, transliterated into Roman script, briefly glossed word-for-word, then translated into English.
| κλῦθί μευ ἀργυρότοξ', ὃς Χρύσην ἀμφιβέβηκας |
| kluthi meu argurotox', hos Chrusên amphibebêkas |
| hear 2.sg. imp; me 1.sg. gen; silver-bow masc. voc.sg; that masc. nom.sg; Chryses fem. acc.sg; go-around 2.sg. perf.ind. |
| Hear me O (you with the) silver bow, who guard Chryses |
| Κίλλάν τε ζαθέην Τενέδοιό τε ἶφι ἀνάσσεις, |
| Killan te zatheên Tenedoio te iphi anasseis, |
| Cilla fem. acc.sg; and; very-sacred fem. acc.sg; Tenedos fem. gen.sg; and; mightily; rule 2.sg. pres.ind. |
| and holy Cilla and (who) rule with might over Tenedos, |
| Σμινθεῦ εἴ ποτέ τοι χαρίεντ' ἐπὶ νηὸν ἔρεψα, |
| Smintheu ei pote toi charient' epi nêon erepsa, |
| Sminthe masc. voc.sg; if; ever; you 2.sg. dat; pleasing; upon; temple masc. acc.sg; feed-on 1.sg. aor.ind. |
| O Sminthe, if I ever put a roof on a temple (that was) pleasing to you, |
| ἢ εἰ δή ποτέ τοι κατὰ πίονα μηρί' ἔκηα |
| ê ei dê pote toi kata piona mêri' ekêa |
| or; if; then; ever; you 2.sg. dat; down; fat; thigh neut. acc.pl; burn 1.sg. aor.ind. |
| or if I ever burned for you the fat thighs |
| ταύρων ἠδ' αἰγῶν, τὸ δέ μοι κρήηνον ἐέλδωρ: |
| taurôn êd' aigôn, to de moi krêênon eeldôr: |
| bull masc. gen.pl; or; goat masc. gen.pl; that; but; me 1.sg. dat; grant 2.sg. aor. imp; wish neut. acc.sg. |
| of bulls or goats, then grant me this wish: |
| τίσειαν Δαναοὶ ἐμὰ δάκρυα σοῖσι βέλεσσιν. |
| tiseian Danaoi ema dakrua soisi belessin. |
| pay-for 3.pl. aor. opt; Danaan masc. nom.pl; my neut. acc.pl; tear neut. acc.pl; your neut. dat.pl.; arrow neut. dat.pl. |
| let the Danaans pay for my tears with your arrows. |
Key to gloss abbreviations:
| Abbrev. | Meaning | |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | = | 1st (person) |
| 2. | = | 2nd (person) |
| 3. | = | 3rd (person) |
| acc. | = | accusative (case) |
| aor. | = | aorist (tense) |
| dat. | = | dative (case) |
| fem. | = | feminine (gender) |
| gen. | = | genitive (case) |
| imp. | = | imperative (mood) |
| ind. | = | indicative (mood) |
| masc. | = | masculine (gender) |
| neut. | = | neuter (gender) |
| nom. | = | nominative (case) |
| opt. | = | optative (mood) |
| perf. | = | perfect (aspect) |
| pl. | = | plural (number) |
| pres. | = | present (tense) |
| sg. | = | singular (number) |
| voc. | = | vocative (case) |
