τὴν δὲ βαρὺ στενάχων προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς:
μῆτερ ἐμὴ: τὰ μὲν ἄρ μοι Ὀλύμπιος ἐξετέλεσσεν:
ἀλλὰ τί μοι τῶν ἦδος ἐπεὶ φιλος ὤλεθ' ἑταῖρος
Πάτροκλος, τὸν ἐγὼ περὶ πάντων τῖον ἑταίρων
ῗσον ἐμῇ κεφαλῇ. τὸν ἀπώλεσα: τεύχεα δ' Ἕκτωρ
δῃώσας ἀπέδυσε πελώρια, θαῦμα ἰ̈δέσθαι.
καλὰ. τὰ μὲν Πηλῆϊ θεοὶ δόσαν ἀγλαὰ δῶρα
ἤματι τῷ ὅτε σε βροτοῦ ἀνέρος ἔμβαλον εὐνῇ:
αίθ' ὄφελες σὺ μὲν αὖθι μετ' ἀθανάτῃς ἁλίῃσι
ναίειν. Πηλεὺς δὲ θνητὴν ἀγαγέσθαι ἄκοιτιν:
νῦν δ'. ἵ̈να καὶ σοὶ πένθος ἐνὶ φρεσὶ μυρίον εἴη
παιδὸς ἀποφθιμένοιο, τὸν οὐχ ὑποδέξεαι αῦτις
οἴκαδε νοστήσαντ'. ἐπεὶ οὐδ' ἐμὲ θυμὸς ἄνωγε
ζώειν. οὐδ' ἄνδρεσσι μετέμμεναι. αἴ κε μὴ Ἕκτωρ
πρῶτος ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ τυπεὶς. ἀπὸ θυμὸν ὀλέσσῃ.
Πατρόκλοιο δ' ἕλωρα Μενοιτιάδαο ἀποτίσῃ:
τερπόμενοι: δοιὼ δὲ κυβιστητῆρε κατ' αὐτοὺς
Then groaning heavily swift-footed Achilles answered her: "My mother, these prayers verily hath the Olympian brought to pass for me, but what pleasure have I therein, seeing my dear comrade is dead, even Patroclus, whom I honoured above all my comrades, even as mine own self? Him have I lost, and his armour Hector that slew him hath stripped from him, that fair armour, huge of size, a wonder to behold, that the gods gave as a glorious gift to Peleus on the day when they laid thee in the bed of a mortal man. Would thou hadst remained where thou wast amid the immortal maidens of the sea, and that Peleus had taken to his home a mortal bride. But now—it was thus that thou too mightest have measureless grief at heart for thy dead son, whom thou shalt never again welcome to his home; for neither doth my own heart bid me live on and abide among men, unless Hector first, smitten by my spear, shall lose his life, and pay back the price for that he made spoil of Patroclus, son of Menoetius."
