Jeremy Steinberg
1 May 2015
Iliad Π.439–458 Commentary
Artistic Translation
Then bright-eyed Queen Hera answered him:
“Most awesome son of Cronus, what are you saying?
A man condemned long ago by fate to die –
Do you want to release him from the terrors of death?
Do it. But all the other gods oppose you.
I ask another thing; consider it wisely:
If you whisk Sarpedon, living, homeward,
Beware lest another of the gods
Wish also to spare his son from the ferocity of battle.
For outside the great city of Priam fight
Many sons of the immortals: you will incite the gods.
But if he is dear to you, mourn his passing,
But permit that in the ferocity of battle
He be destroyed at the hands of Patroclus Menoetiades.
But when life and soul have left him,
Send him death and sweet sleep to carry him
Going homeward into the wide land of Lycia,
Where his kindred and countrymen will bury him,
Erecting a tomb and stele. This is the honor due the dead.”
Thus she spoke; the father of men and gods did not disobey.
1
Descriptive Analysis
In Iliad Π.439–458, a speech given by Hera to Zeus treats three major themes: the
appropriate role of the gods in human affairs, how the gods interact with one another, and how
humans mark the transition from life to death. The speech takes place in heaven, but it (along
with surrounding context) comprises an isolated snapshot of heaven, contrasting with the battle
below. Combat rages between Greeks and Trojans, and Patroclus is on the verge of killing
Sarpedon when Zeus interrupts the narrative flow to consider rescuing Sarpedon. It is at this
juncture when Hera gives her speech. Although the speech itself belongs to this single moment in
time, the themes it handles — the proper role of the gods, relationships between the gods, and the
honors due to the dead — are timeless.
The passage’s style and tone are formal, as befitting a speech by the Queen of the Gods.
From another speaker (particularly a mortal) the same plea would be fraught with passion; Hera,
however, is conspicuously rational and unemotional. The first and last lines, bracketing the
speech, follow formulaic structures common in the Iliad, as do some lines within the speech
itself. The others, all in Hera’s voice, employ structured syntax: most lines are end-stopped, few
lines are enjambed, emotive techniques such as alliteration are used sparingly, and the syllabic
and metrical arrangement similarly fails to arouse emotion. The two notable exceptions are the
spondaic lines in 447 and 451, concluding in 447 with κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης (the same phrase
appears in the dative in 451), in which the repeated long syllables emphasize the violent and
chaotic nature of the “fierce battle” being described.
The passage divides neatly into five thematic sections. The opening line, in the narrator’s
voice, introduces Hera as the speaker. In the second section (440–3), the first in Hera’s voice,
Hera reminds Zeus that although it would be within his power to rescue Sarpedon, such an
intervention in mortal affairs would be contrary to fate and thus a violation of the appropriate
role of the gods. In the third section (444–52), Hera raises the question of relationships between
the divinities: if Zeus can rescue his son from battle, why should the other gods not? Many of the
heroes fighting in the Troad are demigods; the intervention of the gods on behalf of all of their
sons would prevent the war from being fought. The fourth section (453–7) transitions from the
Troad to Sarpedon’s homeland in Lycia, where Hera describes the honors and rites that
Sarpedon’s family will perform at his burial. In the final line, the narrator takes over again as
Zeus gives his assent, permitting Sarpedon’s death. Altogether, the passage forms a bell curve in
terms both of emotion and the length of each section, as the passage builds up to its climax as
Hera describes the battle below and then decrescendos through the end of her speech.
Though the speech itself takes place in heaven, vivid imagery in the third and fourth
sections translates the reader onto the earth below. In the third, Hera paints a striking picture of
the battle raging below her, as “outside the great city of Priam fight / Many sons of the
immortals” (448–9). This stands in stark contrast to the quiet, somber scene depicted in the
fourth section, in which Sarpedon rests in the sweet sleep of death while his kith and kin in Lycia
bury him with the tomb and stele that mark a hero’s gravesite. The vividness of these two
sections, as compared to the non-imagic nature of the other three, allows the reader to visualize
the human realm but not the divine, giving therefore an optical difference between the two to
accompany the distinctions drawn in words.
While Hera’s plea may seem to be an appeal directly to logic, a brief investigation of the
surrounding context reveals information contrary to her arguments. Although Hera claims that
sparing Sarpedon would both interfere with fate and tempt the other gods to do the same, the
reader has already seen the same action occur elsewhere in the text: Aphrodite rescues two men,
Paris (Γ.451–4) and her son Aeneas (Ε.359–67), and no god objects on either occasion. That
Aphrodite is allowed to rescue her preferred mortals but Zeus is not reveals a flaw in Hera’s
argument. Why would Hera mislead Zeus? Such an act does not come unexpected to the reader
because Hera, staunchly favoring the Argives, has already once tricked Zeus into giving the
Argives a military advantage (Ξ.430–4). It is also worth noting that just before the passage in
question, Zeus refers to Sarpedon as “the man I love the most, my own son” (Π.433). That
Sarpedon is mortal means that he is not Zeus’ son by Hera; his very existence therefore reminds
Hera of Zeus’ marital infidelity. As a result, it is highly understandable that Hera would want
Sarpedon killed.
Hera’s speech in Iliad Π.439–458 uses an appeal to logic, emphasizing such themes as
the role of the gods with regard to humans, the role of the gods with regard to one another, and
the honors due the human dead, to convince Zeus not to hinder Sarpedon’s death.
Commentary
439. Tὸν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη: “Then ox-eyed mistress Hera answered
him.” This formulaic line appears in its entirety 5 times in the Iliad (e.g. A.551); the phrase
τὸν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα (including variants τὴν and ἔπειθ’), with varying subjects and
epithets, appears 63 times.
440. ποῖον τὸν μῦθον ἔειπες: Although written as a statement, this idiomatic phrase is best
translated as a question: “What are you saying?”
441. πεπρωμένον: Masculine accusative singular perfect passive participle, from πόρον (2nd
aorist verb with no present), “destined.”
αἴσῃ: Dative of agent with perfect participle πεπρωμένον. αἴσῃ translates to “(doomed) to
fate,” but the reader can substitute “death.”
ἄνδρα … ἄλλοι (443): These three lines appear again verbatim in Χ.179-81, where Athena
substitutes for Hera as the goddess persuading Zeus not to spare a Trojan/allied soldier and
Hector replaces Sarpedon as the fighter in question.
443. οὔ τοι πάντες ἐπαινέομεν θεοὶ ἄλλοι: It is left to the reader’s discretion whether to pair οὐ
with ἐπαινέομεν or with πάντες … θεοὶ ἄλλοι. I personally prefer the former, rendering the
phrase, “all of the other gods will not approve.”
ἐπαινέομεν: First person plural future verb, from ἐπ-αὶνέω, “we will approve”; Hera, the
speaker, is one of the πάντες …θεοὶ ἄλλοι who comprise the subject of this verb.
444. ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σύ δ’ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν: Another formulaic line (“I ask another
thing, consider this in your heart”), used when the speaker is trying to convince the listener
to do something; it appears 7 times in the Iliad (e.g. A.297).
445. αἴ κε … πέμψῃς: The protasis of a future more vivid conditional (“if you send Sarpedon
home living”). The apodosis (446) is an imperative with implied future force.
ζῶν: Some editors replace ζῶν, “alive” (accusative of ζῶς), with σάον, “safe” (accusative of
σάος). Either reading is justified within the context of the line.
446. μή … ἐθέλῃσι: ἐθέλῃσι is in the subjunctive because it expresses “a concern lest
something may take place” (Benner 393).
447. κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης: Line 447 ends with two spondees and is therefore referred to as a
“spondaic line.” The heavy sounds made by the orator in uttering the four long syllables that
conclude line 447 emphasize the chaotic harshness of “fierce battle.”
448. ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο: Including the variant Πριάμου, Troy receives this epithet, “the great
city of Priam,” 9 times in the Iliad (e.g. Β.332).
449. υἱέες ἀθανάτων: One of just two enjambments in the entire passage (along with line 457),
the placement of this clause emphasizes that those fighting around Troy are not just ordinary
people, but “sons of the immortals.”
τοῖσιν: Context suggests that the antecedents of this pronoun are the immortals, not their
sons, as Zeus’ actions would “arouse terrible rancor” in the gods rather than in those mortals
who are already fighting.
450. τεὸν: Accusative form of the second person singular Ionic possessive pronoun.
451. ἔασον: Second person singular aorist imperative verb, from ἐάω, “permit.”
κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ: A spondaic line like 447, with the same concluding phrase (here, in the
dative); this clause re-illustrates the destructive cacophony ongoing on earth below this
heavenly conversation.
452. Μενοιτιάδαο: The final two letters of Patroclus’ patronymic are scanned as separate
syllables rather than a diphthong; the alpha is long and the omicron short.
453. ἐπὴν: A contraction of ἐπεί and ἄν, meaning “when.” It takes a subjunctive verb (λίπῃ).
τόν: The antecedent of τόν is Sarpedon, not Patroclus.
ψυχή τε καὶ αἰών: Together these two elements comprise the Greek conception of life.
αἰών is a masculine singular nominative noun, from αἰών (gen. αἰῶνος), meaning “life” or
“lifetime.” The durational aspect of αἰών can be contrasted with the metaphysical nature of
ψυχή, which is usually translated as “soul.”
454. πέμπειν: Infinitive acting as an imperative.
θάνατον … καὶ … ὕπνον: It is common to personify these two forces as Death and Sleep;
some renderings of the Greek will write these words as Θάνατον and Ὕπνον.
φέρειν: The infinitive φέρειν expresses purpose, explaining why its twin subjects θάνατον
and ὕπνον were sent.
νήδυμον: Masculine singular accusative adjective, from νήδυμος, “sweet.”
455. εἰς ὅ κε: An Ionic equivalent to the Attic ἑὼς ἄν, meaning “until.”
εὐρείης: Feminine singular genitive adjective, from εὐρύς, “wide.” The epithet Λυκίης
εὐρείης appears (including its dative variant) just 6 times in the Iliad; three relating to the
death of Sarpedon here in Book Π and the other three in Book Ζ, when Sarpedon’s
countryman and comrade Glaucus gives Diomedes a description of his heritage as the two
are preparing to engage in battle (Ζ.173).
456. ταρχύσουσι: Third person plural masculine future verb, from ταρχύω, “they will bury.”
Benner (308) comments that pre-Homeric Greek funerary practices likely centered on the
act of embalming, an activity which is preserved in the common linguistic heritage of the
words ταρχύω and τάριχος, meaning “mummy.” In the Iliad the bodies of Patroclus and
Hector are temporarily preserved through mummification; so too must have the body of
Sarpedon been preserved if it were to be transported to Lycia before proper funeral rites
could be undertaken. In Homeric times a corpse was not buried immediately but was rather
cremated; the ashes would be collected in urns and buried. The word ταρχύω came to denote
this new funerary practice. A mound of earth, or tomb (τύμβος), was piled over the ashes,
and the burial site was marked with a stone marker called a stele (στήλη).
κασίγνητοί τε ἔται τε: “Cousins and kin.” For a man of such κλέος as Sarpedon, many
Lycians, not just his immediate family, would participate in his burial rites.
457. τύμβῳ τε στήλῃ τε: Dative of means. The second and final enjambment in the passage, this
phrase serves to clarify the act of ταρχύσουσι in line 456. It also provides the reader with a
visual presentation of the burial of Sarpedon.
τὸ: The antecedent for this pronoun is the concept of burial with tomb and stele; such burial
indeed “is the honor of the dead.”
458. Ὣς ἔφατ’, οὐδ’ ἀπίθησε: This formulaic phrase, meaning “thus he or she [Hera] spoke; he
or she [Zeus] did not disobey” appears (including the variant with a ν-movable) 21 times in
the Iliad (e.g. Β.166).
πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε: This epithet for Zeus, the “father of gods and men,” appears 12
times in the Iliad (e.g. Α.544).
Bibliography
Benner, Allen Rogers. Selections from Homer’s Iliad. Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma,
2001.
Kahane, Ahuvia and Martin Mueller, ed. “The Chicago Homer.” Accessed 27 April 2015.
http://homer.library.northwestern.edu/.