τὸν δ' ἠμείβετ' ἔπειτα ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων:
φεῦγε. μάλ'. εἴ τοι θυμὸς ἐπέσσυται: οὐδέ σ' ἔγωγε:
λίσσομαι εἵνεκ' ἐμεῖο μένειν: παρ' ἔμοιγε καὶ ἄλλοι
οἵ κέ με τιμήσουσι: μάλιστα δὲ. μητίετα Ζεύς:
ἔχθιστος δέ μοι ἐσσὶ διοτρεφέων βασιλήων:
αἰεὶ γάρ τοι ἔρις τε φίλη πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε:
εἰ μάλα καρτερός ἐσσι: θεός πού σοὶ τό γ' ἔδωκεν:
οἴκαδ' ἰὼν σὺν νηυσί τε σῇς καὶ σοῖς ἑτάροισι
Μυρμιδόνεσσιν ἄνασσε: σέθεν δ' ἐγὼ οὐκ ἀλεγίζω
οὐδ' ὄθομαι κοτέοντος: ἀπειλήσω δέ τοι ὧδε:
ὡς ἒμ`' ἀφαιρεῖται Χρυσηΐδα Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων.
τὴν μὲν ἐγὼ σὺν νηΐ τ' ἐμῇ. καὶ ἐμοῖς ἑτάροισι
πέμψω. ἐγὼ δέ κ' ἄγω Βρισηΐδα καλλιπάρηον
αὐτὸς ἰὼν κλισίην δὲ τὸ σὸν γέρας: ὄφρ' ἐῦ εἰδῇς
ὅσσον φέρτερός εἰμι σέθεν: στυγέῃ δὲ καὶ ἄλλος
Then the king of men, Agamemnon, answered him: "Flee then, if your heart urges you; I do not beg you to remain for my sake. With me are others who will honour me, and above all Zeus, the lord of counsel. Most hateful to me are you of all the kings that Zeus nurtures, for always strife is dear to you, and wars and battles. If you are very strong, it was a god, I think, who gave you this gift. Go home with your ships and your companions and lord it over the Myrmidons; for you I care not, nor take heed of your wrath. But I will threaten you thus: as Phoebus Apollo takes from me the daughter of Chryses, her with my ship and my companions I will send back, but I will myself come to your tent and take the fair-cheeked Briseis, your prize, so that you will understand how much mightier I am than you, and another may shrink from declaring himself my equal and likening himself to me to my face."
