Βρισηὶς δ' ἄρ ἔπειθ' ἱκέλη χρυσῇ Ἀφροδίτῃ:
ὡς ἴδε Πάτροκλον δεδαϊγμένον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ
ἀμφ' αὐτῷ χυμένη λίγ' ἐκώκυε: χερσὶ δ' ἄμυσσε
στήθεά τ' ἠδ' ἁπαλὴν δειρὴν: ἰδὲ καλὰ πρόσωπα:
εἶπε δ' ἄρα κλαίουσα γυνὴ εἰκυῖα θεῇσι
Πάτροκλέ μοι δειλῇ πλεῖστον κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ:
ζωὸν μέν σ' ἔλειπον ἐγὼ κλισίηθεν ἰοῦσα
νῦν δέ σε τεθνηῶτα κιχάνομαι ὄρχαμε λαῶν.
ἂψ ἀνιοῦσ' ὥς μοι δέχεται κακὸν ἐκ κακοῦ αἰεὶ.
ἄνδρα μὲν ᾧ ἔδοσάν με πατὴρ καὶ πότνια μήτηρ.
εἶδον προ πτόλιος δεδαϊγμένον ὀξέι χαλκῷ:
τρεῖς τε κασιγνήτους τούς μοι μία γείνατο μήτηρ:
κηδείους: οἳ πάντες ὀλέθριον ἦμαρ ἐπέσπον:
οὐδὲ μὲν οὐδέ μ' ἔασκες ὅτ' ἄνδρ' ἐμὸν ὠκὺς Αχιλλεὺς
ἔκτεινεν πέρσεν δὲ πόλιν θείοιο Μύνητος
κλαίειν: ἀλλά μ' ἔφασκες Ἀχιλλῆος θείοιο
κουριδίην ἄλοχον θήσειν: ἄξειν δ' ἐνὶ νηυσὶν
ἐς Φθίην. δαίσειν δὲ γάμον μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσι:
τῷ σ' ἄμοτον κλαίω τεθνηότα: μείλιχον αἰεί:
But Briseis, that was like unto golden Aphrodite, when she had sight of Patroclus mangled with the sharp bronze, flung herself about him and shrieked aloud, and with her hands she tore her breast and tender neck and beautiful face. And amid her wailing spake the woman like unto the goddesses: "Patroclus, dearest to my hapless heart, alive I left thee when I went from the hut, and now I find thee dead, thou leader of hosts, as I return thereto: thus for me doth evil ever follow hard on evil. My husband, unto whom my father and queenly mother gave me, I beheld mangled with the sharp bronze before our city, and my three brethren whom mine own mother bare, brethren beloved, all these met their day of doom. But thou, when swift Achilles slew my husband, and laid waste the city of godlike Mynes, wouldst not even suffer me to weep, but saidest that thou wouldst make me the wedded wife of Achilles, and that he would bear me in his ships to Phthia, and make me a marriage-feast among the Myrmidons. Wherefore I wail for thee in thy death and know no ceasing, for thou wast ever kind."
