τῷ ὅ γ' ἐρεισάμενος. ἔπε' Ἀργείοισι μετηύδα:
ὦ φίλοι: ἥρωες: Δαναοὶ. θεράποντες Ἄρηος:
Ζεύς με, μέγα Κρονίδης ἄτῃ ἐνέδησε βαρείῃ:
σχέτλιος: ὃς πρὶν μέν μοι ὑπέσχετο: καὶ κατένευσεν
Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντ' εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι:
νῦν δὲ κακὴν ἀπάτην βουλεύσατο. καί με κελεύει
δυσκλέᾰ, Ἄργος ἱ̈κέσθαι, ἐπεὶ πολὺν ὤλεσα λαόν:
οὕτω που Διῒ μέλλει ὑπερμενέϊ φίλον εἶναι:
ὃς δὴ πολλάων πολίων κατέλυσε κάρηνα.
ἠδ' ἔτι, καὶ λύσει: τοῦ γὰρ κράτος ἐστὶ μέγιστον:
αἰσχρὸν γὰρ τόδε γ' ἐστὶ καὶ ἐσσομένοισι πυθέσθαι.
μὰψ, οὕτω, τοιόνδε τοσόνδέ τε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν
ἄπρηκτον πόλεμον πολεμίζειν ἠδὲ μάχεσθαι
ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισι: τέλος δ' οὔ πώ τι πέφανται:
εἴ περ γάρ κ' ἐθέλοιμεν Ἀχαιοί τε Τρῶές τε
ὅρκια πιστὰ ταμόντες ἀριθμηθήμεναι ἄμφω:
Τρῶας μὲν λέξασθαι ἐφέστιοι ὅσσοι ἔασιν:
ἡμεῖς δ' ἐς δεκάδας διακοσμηθεῖμεν Ἀχαιοί:
Τρώων δ' ἄνδρα ἕκαστον ἑλοίμεθα οἰνοχοεύειν.
πολλαί κεν δεκάδες δευοίατο οἰνοχόοιο:
τόσσον ἐγὼ φημι πλέας ἔμμεναι υἷας Ἀχαιῶν
Τρώων, οἳ ναίουσι κατὰ πτόλιν: ἀλλ' ἐπίκουροι
πολλέων ἐκ πολίων ἐγχεσπάλοι ἄνδρες ἔασιν:
οἵ με μέγα πλάζουσι καὶ οὐκ εἰῶσ' ἐθέλοντα
Ἰλίου ἐκπέρσαι εὖ ναιόμενον πτολίεθρον.
ἐννέα δὴ βεβάασι Διὸς μεγάλου ἐνιαυτοί.
καὶ δὴ δοῦρα σέσηπε, νεῶν, καὶ σπάρτα λέλυνται:
αἱ δέ που ἡμέτεραί τ' ἄλοχοι καὶ νήπια τέκνα
εἵατ' ἐν μεγάροις ποτιδέγμεναι: ἄμμι δὲ ἔργον
αὕτως ἀκράαντον: οὗ εἵνεκα δεῦρ' ἱ̈κόμεσθα:
ἀλλ' ἄγεθ' ὡς ἂν ἐγὼ εἴπω πειθώμεθα πάντες
φεύγωμεν σὺν νηυσὶ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν:
οὐ γὰρ ἔτι Τροίην αἱρήσομεν εὐρυάγυιαν.
Thereon he leaned, and spake his word among the Argives: "My friends, Danaan warriors, squires of Ares, great Zeus, son of Cronos, hath ensnared me in grievous blindness of heart, cruel god! seeing that of old he promised me, and bowed his head thereto, that not until I had sacked well-walled Ilios should I get me home; but now hath he planned cruel deceit, and bids me return inglorious to Argos, when I have lost much people. So, I ween, must be the good pleasure of Zeus, supreme in might, who hath laid low the heads of many cities, yea, and shall yet lay low, for his power is above all. A shameful thing is this even for the hearing of men that are yet to be, how that thus vainly so goodly and so great a host of the Achaeans warred a bootless war, and fought with men fewer than they, and no end thereof hath as yet been seen. For should we be minded, both Achaeans and Trojans, to swear a solemn oath with sacrifice, and to number ourselves, and should the Trojans be gathered together, even all they that have dwellings in the city, and we Achaeans be marshalled by tens, and choose, each company of us, a man of the Trojans to pour our wine, then would many tens lack a cup-bearer; so far, I deem, do the sons of the Achaeans outnumber the Trojans that dwell in the city. But allies there be out of many cities, men that wield the spear, who hinder me mightily, and for all that I am fain, suffer me not to sack the well-peopled citadel of Ilios. Already have nine years of great Zeus gone by, and lo, our ships' timbers are rotted, and the tackling loosed; and our wives, I ween, and little children sit in our halls awaiting us; yet is our task wholly unaccomplished in furtherance whereof we came hither. Nay, come, even as I shall bid, let us all obey: let us flee with our ships to our dear native land; for no more is there hope that we shall take broad-wayed Troy."
