An Odyssey (1:11-15)

ἔνθʼ ἄλλοι μὲν πάντες, ὅσοι φύγον αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον,

οἴκοι ἔσαν, πόλεμόν τε πεφευγότες ἠδὲ θάλασσαν·

τὸν δʼ οἶον νόστου κεχρημένον ἠδὲ γυναικὸς

νύμφη πότνιʼ ἔρυκε Καλυψὼ δῖα θεάων

ἐν σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι, λιλαιομένη πόσιν εἶναι.

Then all the others, all who escaped sheer ruin,

were at home, having escaped the war and the sea.

He alone, denied homecoming and wife,

Mistress nymph Calypso, godlike among goddesses, 

kept in a hollow caves, longing for him to be her husband.

11

ἔνθʼ - here it is temporal (then) but it can also be spatial (there)

αἰπὺν - high and metaphorically steep, sheer. West says metaphor is unclear.

ὄλεθρον - ruin

12

ἠδὲ - and, but also 'both... and...'

13

οἶος is "of which sort", whereas οἶος (smooth breathing) is "only, single" - so 'the only one' here?

ὅσοι (line 11) is "as many as"

κεχρημένον - perfect mediopassive participle (accusative) - unusual meaning in this tense "in want of". Normal meaning of χράω (active) is to proclaim.

This whole line is the object of the following verb

14

πότνιᾰ - mistress, lady

ἔρυκε - held

δῖα - divine

15

σπέσσι γλαφυροῖσι - caves (σπεος) hollowed (γλαφυρος)

λιλαιομένη - present participle (reduplicated verb λῐλαίομαι, NOT a perfect) "longing"

πόσιν - husband

An Odyssey (1:6-10)

6-10

ἀλλʼ οὐδʼ ὣς ἑτάρους ἐρρύσατο, ἱέμενός περ·

αὐτῶν γὰρ σφετέρῃσιν ἀτασθαλίῃσιν ὄλοντο,

νήπιοι, οἳ κατὰ βοῦς Ὑπερίονος Ἠελίοιο

ἤσθιον· αὐτὰρ ὁ τοῖσιν ἀφείλετο νόστιμον ἦμαρ.

τῶν ἁμόθεν γε, θεά, θύγατερ Διός, εἰπὲ καὶ ἡμῖν.

6

ὣς - what is this doing? "He did not thus save his companions"? - West has "not even thus"

ἱέμενός περ - Middle sense (LSJ II.2) metaphorical use of ἵημι present participle "hastening himself" so this phrase = "eager though he was"

7

σφετέρῃσιν - Homeric "their"

ἀτασθαλίῃσιν - wickedness, always plural in Homer. Usually used of the suitors' conduct

ὄλοντο - aorist middle 3rd plural of ... ὄλω? No - ὄλλυμι in middle "be lost, perish", active "lose, destroy"

8

νήπιοι - Nom pl of νεπιος? Yes - "foolish, childish" - does this attach to αὐτῶν? The foolish among them? or more likely αὐτῶν repeats σφετέρῃσιν their wickedness. West says this is unusual word order to have the genitive before the possessive.

κατὰ - what is it doing here? "Fed upon?" - yes says West

9

αὐτὰρ - adversative particle (but) - or transition (moreover). This is Achaean and coexists with Ionic ἀτάρ in Homer.

ὁ - Odysseus or Helios?

ἀφείλετο - Aorist Middle 3rd singular of αφειλω or 3rd singular of αφειλομαι - no it's ἀφαιρέω to deprive of (+accusative)

νόστιμον ἦμαρ - day of homecoming

ἦμαρ - day (accusative here) - an archaicism in Homer but metrically useful.

10

τῶν - referring to 'of these things' or 'of these men'?

ἁμόθεν - from some place or other (in this story)

καὶ ἡμῖν - 'even to us'? - West says force of καὶ is unclear. 'Tell us, too'

But even so he did not save his comrades, eager though he was;

For they, the foolish ones, were destroyed by their wickedness,

who feasted upon the cows of Hyperean Helios;

Indeed, he deprived them of their homecoming day.

From some point or other goddess, daughter of Zeus, tell us too of these things.

An Odyssey: List of Resources

 Resources for reading the Odyssey in Greek

Interlinear with highlighted translation: https://www.alpheios.net/alpheios-texts/Perseus.text.1999.01.0135/book1_card1.html 

An Odyssey: The Beginning (1:1-5)

Lines 1-5

ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε, μοῦσα, πολύτροπον, ὃς μάλα πολλὰ

πλάγχθη, ἐπεὶ Τροίης ἱερὸν πτολίεθρον ἔπερσεν·

πολλῶν δʼ ἀνθρώπων ἴδεν ἄστεα καὶ νόον ἔγνω,

πολλὰ δʼ ὅ γʼ ἐν πόντῳ πάθεν ἄλγεα ὃν κατὰ θυμόν,

ἀρνύμενος ἥν τε ψυχὴν καὶ νόστον ἑταίρων.

1

ἄνδρα μοι ἔννεπε - ἐνέπω in the 2nd person imperative - "tell of" with the accusative. Merry - "It seems rather to be compounded of ἐν and ἔπω, ie. βέπω, and the second ν represents the original digamma"

πολύτροπον is uncertain - much turned, much traveled, wily, complicated, shifty etc.

μάλα - strengthening adverb. Very, greatly, modifying πολλὰ. μάλα πολλὰ here is, I think, "very much", so "wandered very much". 

2

πλάγχθη - πλάζω aorist passive with dropped augment. In passive, πλάζω is "wander, roam" while in the active voice it is "to turn away from" 

πτολίεθρον - Epic for city

ἔπερσεν - πέρθω to sack/destroy. θ + σ = σ 

3

ἴδεν - Epic aorist (without ε) of εἶδον, which is already an aorist. Highly irregular with other parts provided by different verbs (ὁράω and ὄψομαι)

νόον - attitude, way of thinking - Fritz

ἔγνω - 3rd person aorist of γιγνώσκω. Very irregular.

4

ὅ γʼ - the ὅ refers to the previous subject and it is often used with γε or δε in Homer as a strengthener.

πάθεν - missing augment

ὃν κατὰ θυμόν - I'm not sure what the ὃν is doing here. Look this up later.

5

ἀρνύμενος  - ἄρνυμαι present participle. Gaining, struggling, trying to gain,

ἥν - possessive pronon = ἑήν. So ἥν τε ψυχὴν = his life/soul/spirit

ἑταίρων - of his companions

Christmas, by Luke - Part IV

Happy New Year! This is Part IV in a series of new translations of the nativity story from Luke. To read from the beginning, go to Part I , Part II and Part III.

PART IV : THE  SHEPHERDS ARRIVE

And this will be a sign to you: you will find a baby wrapped up in cloth in a manger. Suddenly, alongside the angel a great host from heaven appeared, praising God and saying

“Glory in the highest to God,
and on earth good will to men.”

And when the angels had passed back into heaven, the shepherds spoke to each other: “Let’s go to Bethlehem to see this thing which the Lord has made known to us.”
So they departed with great haste and found Mary, Joseph and the baby lying in the manger. Having seen him, they went out and spread the word; what they had been told about this child, and everyone who heard it was amazed at what the shepherds told them. Mary kept all these things and pondered them in her heart. And the shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things they had heard and seen, which were exactly what they had been told they would be.

2.12 καὶ τοῦτο ὑμῖν τὸ σημεῖον, εὑρήσετε βρέφος ἐσπαργανωμένον ἐν φάτνῃ. 2.13 καὶ ἐξαίφνης ἐγένετο σὺν τῷ ἀγγέλῳ πλῆθος στρατιᾶς οὐρανίου αἰνούντων τὸν θεὸν καὶ λεγόντων· 2.14 δόξα ἐν ὑψίστοις θεῷ καὶ ἐπὶ γῆς εἰρήνη ἐν ἀνθρώποις εὐδοκίας. 2.15 Καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἀπῆλθον ἀπ’ αὐτῶν εἰς τὸν οὐρανὸν οἱ ἄγγελοι, οἱ ποιμένες ἐλάλουν πρὸς ἀλλήλους· διέλθωμεν δὴ ἕως Βηθλεὲμ καὶ ἴδωμεν τὸ ῥήμα τοῦτο τὸ γεγονὸς ὃ ὁ κύριος ἐγνώρισεν ἡμῖν. 2.16 καὶ ἦλθαν σπεύσαντες, καὶ ἀνεῦραν τήν τε Μαριὰμ καὶ τὸν Ἰωσὴφ καὶ τὸ βρέφος κείμενον ἐν τῇ φάτνῃ· 2.17 ἰδόντες δὲ ἐγνώρισαν περὶ τοῦ ῥήματος τοῦ λαληθέντος αὐτοῖς περὶ τοῦ παιδίου τούτου. 2.18 καὶ πάντες οἱ ἀκούσαντες ἐθαύμασαν περὶ τῶν λαληθέντων ὑπὸ τῶν ποιμένων πρὸς αὐτούς· 2.19 ἡ δὲ Μαρία πάντα συνετήρει τὰ ῥήματα ταῦτα συνβάλλουσα ἐν τῇ καρδίᾳ αὐτῆς. 2.20 καὶ ὑπέστρεψαν οἱ ποιμένες, δοξάζοντες καὶ αἰνοῦντες τὸν θεὸν ἐπὶ πᾶσιν οἷς ἤκουσαν καὶ ἴδον καθὼς ἐλαλήθη πρὸς αὐτούς.

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[The Adoration of the Magi - Peter Paul Rubens, c.1634 - King's College Chapel, Cambridge]

(Frame model's own)

Consummatum Est

Christmas, by Luke - Part III

This is Part III in a series of new translations of the nativity story from Luke. To read from the beginning, go to Part I and Part II.

PART III : JESUS IS BORN

In those days Caesar Augustus sent out a decree that a census should be taken of the inhabited world; the first one since Quirinius had become governor of Syria. Everyone went to their own city to register for the census. And Joseph went out of  Galilee, going from Nazareth to Judea, and into Bethlehem, the city of David, because he was a descendant of David. He went to register with Mary, who was engaged to him, and was pregnant. While they were there, the time came for her to give birth. She had her first son, wrapped him up and laid him in a manger, because there was no room available at the inn.
   And there were shepherds in the same region living outdoors and keeping watch over their flock through the night. An angel of the Lord was sent upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them; and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Don't be afraid; I have come bearing the good news of great joy, a joy that will be for every people. Today, for you, a saviour who is Christ and lord has been born in the the city of David.

2.1 Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ἐκείναις ἐξῆλθεν δόγμα παρὰ Καίσαρος Αὐγούστου ἀπογράφεσθαι πᾶσαν τὴν οἰκουμένην. 2.2 αὕτη ἀπογραφὴ ἐγένετο πρώτη ἡγεμονεύοντος τῆς Συρίας Κυρηνίου. 2.3 καὶ ἐπορεύοντο πάντες ἀπογράφεσθαι, ἕκαστος εἰς τὴν ἑαυτοῦ πόλιν. 2.4 ἀνέβη δὲ καὶ Ἰωσὴφ ἀπὸ τῆς Γαλιλαίας ἐκ πόλεως Ναζαρὲθ εἰς τὴν Ἰουδαίαν εἰς πόλιν Δαυεὶδ ἥτις καλεῖται Βηθλέεμ, διὰ τὸ εἶναι αὐτὸν ἐξ οἴκου καὶ πατριᾶς Δαυείδ, 2.5 ἀπογράψασθαι σὺν Μαριὰμ τῇ ἐμνηστευμένῃ αὐτῷ, οὔσῃ ἐγκύῳ. 2.6 Ἐγένετο δὲ ἐν τῷ εἶναι αὐτοὺς ἐκεῖ ἐπλήσθησαν αἱ ἡμέραι τοῦ τεκεῖν αὐτήν, 2.7 καὶ ἔτεκεν τὸν υἱὸν αὐτῆς τὸν πρωτότοκον, καὶ ἐσπαργάνωσεν αὐτὸν καὶ ἀνέκλινεν αὐτὸν ἐν φάτνῃ, διότι οὐκ ἦν αὐτοῖς τόπος ἐν τῷ καταλύματι. 2.8 Καὶ ποιμένες ἦσαν ἐν τῇ χώρᾳ τῇ αὐτῇ ἀγραυλοῦντες καὶ φυλάσσοντες φυλακὰς τῆς νυκτὸς ἐπὶ τὴν ποίμνην αὐτῶν. 2.9 καὶ ἄγγελος κυρίου ἐπέστη αὐτοῖς καὶ δόξα κυρίου περιέλαμψεν αὐτούς, καὶ ἐφοβήθησαν φόβον μέγαν. 2.10 καὶ εἶπεν αὐτοῖς ὁ ἄγγελος· μὴ φοβεῖσθε· ἰδοὺ γὰρ εὐαγγελίζομαι ὑμῖν χαρὰν μεγάλην ἥτις ἔσται παντὶ τῷ λαῷ, 2.11 ὅτι ἐτέχθη ὑμῖν σήμερον σωτὴρ ὅς ἐστιν Χριστὸς κύριος ἐν πόλει Δαυείδ·

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Christmas, by Luke - Part II

I'm posting a new translation of the nativity story in Luke, piece by piece, for Christmas. You can find the first part here.

PART II : MARY VISITS ELIZABETH

Mary gathered her things and hurried to a town in the hills of Judea. She went straight to Zachariah’s house, where she greeted Elizabeth. And as Mary greeted her, Elizabeth's baby kicked inside her, and she was filled with a holy spirit. She screamed out with excitement: “Mary, you are a blessed woman, and blessed is the fruit growing within you! But what have I done, to deserve the mother of my lord coming to me? As the sound of your greeting rang in my ears, my baby kicked with joy inside me! A woman such as you is truly blessed, if she believes that what the lord says to her will come true.”

And Mary said “In my soul, the lord towers over everything, and my spirit rejoices constantly in God my saviour, because he kept watch over me as I made myself humble. And from now on every generation will say I'm blessed, because his power has done such great things for me. Even his name is holy, and he is merciful, from one generation to the next, to those who fear it. He drew his mighty arm and scattered those who had proud thoughts in their heart. With one hand, he tore the powerful from their thrones, and with the other he held up the lowly. He fed the hungry with his goodness, but sent the rich away empty-handed. He even welcomed Israel back, mercifully, just like he said to Abraham and his descendants, as each generation passed."

And, when Mary had stayed with Elizabeth for three months, she returned home.

1.39 Ἀναστᾶσα δὲ Μαριὰμ ἐν ταῖς ἡμέραις ταύταις ἐπορεύθη εἰς τὴν ὀρεινὴν μετὰ σπουδῆς εἰς πόλιν Ἰούδα, 1.40 καὶ εἰσῆλθεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον Ζαχαρίου καὶ ἠσπάσατο τὴν Ἐλισάβετ. 1.41 καὶ ἐγένετο ὡς ἤκουσεν τὸν ἀσπασμὸν τῆς Μαρίας ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, ἐσκίρτησεν τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ αὐτῆς. καὶ ἐπλήσθη πνεύματος ἁγίου ἡ Ἐλισάβετ, 1.42 καὶ ἀνεφώνησεν κραυγῇ μεγάλῃ καὶ εἶπεν· εὐλογημένη σὺ ἐν γυναιξίν, καὶ εὐλογημένος ὁ καρπὸς τῆς κοιλίας σου. 1.43 καὶ πόθεν μοι τοῦτο ἵνα ἔλθῃ ἡ μήτηρ τοῦ κυρίου μου πρὸς ἐμέ; 1.44 ἰδοὺ γὰρ ὡς ἐγένετο ἡ φωνὴ τοῦ ἀσπασμοῦ σου εἰς τὰ ὦτά μου, ἐσκίρτησεν ἐν ἀγαλλιάσει τὸ βρέφος ἐν τῇ κοιλίᾳ μου. 1.45 καὶ μακαρία ἡ πιστεύσασα ὅτι ἔσται τελείωσις τοῖς λελαλημένοις αὐτῇ παρὰ κυρίου. 1.46 Καὶ εἶπεν Μαριάμ· μεγαλύνει ἡ ψυχή μου τὸν κύριον, 1.47 καὶ ἠγαλλίασεν τὸ πνεῦμά μου ἐπὶ τῷ θεῷ τῷ σωτῆρί μου, 1.48 ὅτι ἐπέβλεψεν ἐπὶ τὴν ταπείνωσιν τῆς δούλης αὐτοῦ. ἰδοὺ γὰρ ἀπὸ τοῦ νῦν μακαριοῦσίν με πᾶσαι αἱ γενεαί, 1.49 ὅτι ἐποίησέν μοι μεγάλα ὁ δυνατός. καὶ ἅγιον τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ, 1.50 καὶ τὸ ἔλεος αὐτοῦ εἰς γενεὰς καὶ γενεὰς τοῖς φοβουμένοις αὐτόν. 1.51 ἐποίησεν κράτος ἐν βραχίονι αὐτοῦ, διεσκόρπισεν ὑπερηφάνους διανοίᾳ καρδίας αὐτῶν· 1.52 καθεῖλεν δυνάστας ἀπὸ θρόνων καὶ ὕψωσεν ταπεινούς, 1.53 πεινῶντας ἐνέπλησεν ἀγαθῶν καὶ πλουτοῦντας ἐξαπέστειλεν κενούς. 1.54 ἀντελάβετο Ἰσραὴλ παιδὸς αὐτοῦ, μνησθῆναι ἐλέους, 1.55 καθὼς ἐλάλησεν πρὸς τοὺς πατέρας ἡμῶν, τῷ Ἀβραὰμ καὶ τῷ σπέρματι αὐτοῦ εἰς τὸν αἰῶνα. 1.56 Ἔμεινεν δὲ Μαριὰμ σὺν αὐτῇ ὡς μῆνας τρεῖς, καὶ ὑπέστρεψεν εἰς τὸν οἶκον αὐτῆς. 

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Or the King James Version?

How about an interesting Greek factlet?
The original text of the New Testament has no
spaces, no punctuation... and is all
in capitals.

So my first bit would look like this:

MARYGATHEREDHERTH
INGSANDHURRIEDTOAT
OWNINTHEHILLSOFJUD
EASHEWENTSTRAIGHTT
OZACHARIAHSHOUSEW
HERESHEGREETEDELIZ
ABTETH

[The Visitation -Piero di Cosimo, c.1490 - National Gallery, Washington]

(Frame model's own)

Christmas, by Luke

Full of festive cheer, I translated the nativity story from Luke (1.26-2.20). I'll be posting it in letters, with the original Greek alongside, over the next couple of weeks.

Merry advent,

Sean.

PART I : GABRIEL APPEARS TO MARY

When Elizabeth had been pregnant for six months, the angel Gabriel was sent from God into a town in Galilee, called Nazareth. He went to speak with a virgin who was engaged to a man called Joseph (related to David, no less). The virgin’s name was Mary, and, entering her house, he announced himself, “Greetings, you blessed child! The Lord is certainly with you!” His words stunned Mary. What kind of person was this, barging into her house with such a greeting? But the angel said to her, “Don't be afraid, Mary; the grace of God is upon you. It's true! Look here, you will conceive, and when your child is born you will give him the name Jesus. That child will be great - the son of the Highest! And the lord God will give him the throne of his father David; he will be king of the people of Jacob, and his reign will never end.” Mary said to the angel, “But how, as I haven't known a man?” So the angel answered her, “A holy spirit will come upon you, and you will be enveloped in shadow by the power of the Highest; and because of that, the child shall be called holy, the son of God. Look, even your cousin Elizabeth is pregnant with a son in her old age. People called her sterile, but now she is six months pregnant. With god, everything that can be said is possible.” And Mary said, “I truly behold the servant of the lord; Please, let it be exactly as you have said.” 

And the angel left.

1.26 Ἐν δὲ τῷ μηνὶ τῷ ἕκτῳ ἀπεστάλη ὁ ἄγγελος Γαβριὴλ ἀπὸ τοῦ θεοῦ εἰς πόλιν τῆς Γαλιλαίας ᾗ ὄνομα Ναζαρὲθ 1.27 πρὸς παρθένον ἐμνηστευμένην ἀνδρὶ ᾧ ὄνομα Ἰωσὴφ ἐξ οἴκου Δαυείδ, καὶ τὸ ὄνομα τῆς παρθένου Μαριάμ. 1.28 καὶ εἰσελθὼν πρὸς αὐτὴν ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν· χαῖρε, κεχαριτωμένη, ὁ κύριος μετὰ σοῦ. 1.29 ἡ δὲ ἐπὶ τῷ λόγῳ διεταράχθη, καὶ διελογίζετο ποταπὸς εἴη ὁ ἀσπασμὸς οὗτος. 1.30 καὶ εἶπεν ὁ ἄγγελος αὐτῇ· μὴ φοβοῦ, Μαριάμ· εὗρες γὰρ χάριν παρὰ τῷ θεῷ· 1.31 καὶ ἰδοὺ συλλήμψῃ ἐν γαστρὶ καὶ τέξῃ υἱόν, καὶ καλέσεις τὸ ὄνομα αὐτοῦ Ἰησοῦν. 1.32 οὗτος ἔσται μέγας καὶ υἱὸς ὑψίστου κληθήσεται, καὶ δώσει αὐτῷ Κύριος ὁ Θεὸς τὸν θρόνον Δαυῒδ τοῦ πατρὸς αὐτοῦ, 1.33 καὶ βασιλεύσει ἐπὶ τὸν οἶκον Ἰακὼβ εἰς τοὺς αἰῶνας, καὶ τῆς βασιλείας αὐτοῦ οὐκ ἔσται τέλος. 1.34 εἶπεν δὲ Μαριὰμ πρὸς τὸν ἄγγελον· πῶς ἔσται τοῦτο, ἐπεὶ ἄνδρα οὐ γινώσκω; 1.35 καὶ ἀποκριθεὶς ὁ ἄγγελος εἶπεν αὐτῇ, πνεῦμα ἅγιον ἐπελεύσεται ἐπὶ σέ, καὶ δύναμις ὑψίστου ἐπισκιάσει σοι· διὸ καὶ τὸ γεννώμενον ἅγιον κληθήσεται, υἱὸς θεοῦ. 1.36 καὶ ἰδοὺ Ἐλισάβετ ἡ συγγενίς σου καὶ αὐτὴ συνειληφυῖα υἱὸν ἐν γήρει αὐτῆς, καὶ οὗτος μὴν ἕκτος ἐστὶν αὐτῇ τῇ καλουμένῃ στείρᾳ· 1.37 ὅτι οὐκ ἀδυνατήσει παρὰ τοῦ θεοῦ πᾶν ῥῆμα. 1.38 εἶπεν δὲ Μαριάμ· ἰδοὺ ἡ δούλη κυρίου· γένοιτό μοι κατὰ τὸ ῥῆμά σου. καὶ ἀπῆλθεν ἀπ’ αὐτῆς ὁ ἄγγελος.

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How about an interesting Greek factlet?

The word for virgin in the text is 

parthenon (παρθενον), as in, yes, THE Parthenon. 

Why not read about the debate over how the two are linked,

if you have 10 minutes?

[The Annunciation - El Greco, c.1600 - Museo del Prado]

(Frame model's own)