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OH MY GOD, y'all, I started a project and didn't abandon it immediately! of course, there is still plenty of time to abandon it yet, but whatever. So.
BOOK II
Sorrow then came into the heart of fair-haired Menelaus,
But he put it off, for there was great need before him.
Yet within himself he wept, as when the lake is frozen
The dark water yet springs forth: thus were the tears
Of spear-famed Menelaus. But taking heart,
He gathered the assembly again, summoning slaves
To attend to the body of great-hearted Agamemnon.
And they came and took him to his tents and black ships;
Then the man of many wiles and the counselor Nestor
Dissolved the counsel of the Achaeans,
So that only the kings remained,
Diomedes and Odysseus and Nestor and Idomeneus.
Then the brother of Agamemnon, spear-famed Menelaus spoke,
Addressing the sons of the Achaeans:
“You well-greaved Achaeans, you have seen
How the son of Peleus, god-like Achilles
Drew his sword from its sheath and slew
My brother, Agamemnon, shepherd of the people.
Now my heart turns between sorrow and wrath:
But I put both aside, for we must now consider what to do:
Whether god-like Achilles will return home to Phthia,
Or whether he will stay, opposing us in battle;
Whether we shall continue to fight the Trojans
Or breaking up the host of the Achaeans, return home.
For my part, I would stay here, nor leave
A single stone of Troy upon another.
You have all come here obedient to your oath to me,
And not for the pride of wide-ruling Agamemnon.
Helen resides still with Alexandros, son of Priam,
And Alexandros, son of Priam, still lives.
Now let us send Chryseis to her father, and a faultless hecatomb
So that the farshooter Apollo will favor us again;
Let Odysseus or Idomeneus or Ajax go with the ship.”
Then spoke the councilor, horseman Nestor:
“I applaud the words of fair-haired Menelaus;
And further I say that we should leave god-like Achilles alone:
For he was angered only with Agamemnon,
And does not desire war with the sons of the Achaeans.
Menelaus, son of Atreus, master of the war-cry,
If god-like Achilles should repent, sending a ransom,
Do you accept, not holding wrath in your heart:
For even for a child or a brother does a man accept ransom [poiné].
The son of Peleus is the best of us, and without him,
I do not know that Zeus will grant that we sack the city of Troy.
Among Zeus-loved kings, he is the most beloved,
Except only wide-ruling Agamemnon;
The gods alone may grant that we sack well-settled Troy;
So, let us gratify them with many sacrifices,
Burying the lord of men, Agamemnon.”
Thus he spoke. But the son of Atreus in his shaggy heart
Was displeased, and spoke angry words:
“Son of Neleus, what kind of word have you spoken?
For god-like Achilles has slain my only brother,
Son of my father, companion of my youth,
And the heart in my breast wavers amid sorrow and wrath.
I shall not forgive the son of Peleus,
Not if he should bring me all the booty of all the cities
That he has sacked, and all the gold of well-settled Troy,
Not if he should give me fair-cheeked Briseis,
His own prize, and many other neat-ankled women,
Lesbian women, skilled in many arts,
Not if he should give me his own friend,
Patroclus, to be a grave-companion for my brother,
Not even so would I accept his ransom.
But go, son of Neleus, and ready your people;
For we shall fight against the Myrmidons on the morrow;
And I shall go round to the chieftains of the Achaeans,
And speaking to them, encourage their hearts.”
Thus spoke the fair-haired son of Atreus.
But Odysseus, man of many wiles, spoke answering him:
“Menelaus, do not allow your anger to blind you.
For Ate has blinded even Zeus; but you, son of Atreus,
Be wiser than even he. Though you are greatly wronged,
Forgive his wrongdoing; for he too was stirred up in his heart.
Your brother was great among the Achaeans,
And I fear lest our undertaking come to nothing without him;
Yet certainly without the son of Peleus are our hopes destroyed;
For whether he sits, remaining by his tents and dark ships,
Or, betraying us, should join the Trojans, tamers of horses
We shall get no profit of him, and perhaps harm.
But if he should come hither to the tents and ships of the king,
Bearing ransom for Agamemnon, best of the Achaeans,
And is willing to join the Argives again,
Hear him well, and do not disdain him, but accept the shining ransom.
And do not trouble him with battle on the morrow.”
Thus he spoke: but within him his heart was different:
For he had decided to seek out the son of Peleus,
Persuading him to offer great ransom for the son of Atreus,
In hopes that even the high heart of Menelaus might be persuaded.
So the son of Atreus, fair-haired Menelaus,
Went round to tents and the ships of the Achaeans,
Speaking mighty words to them, and encouraging them,
First to Diomedes, son of Tydeus, the great spearman he came,
And spoke winged words: “Diomedes, son of Tydeus,
Surely you are a lesser son of a mighty father!
For he was a small man of stature, but brave of heart;
And he did not shrink from the battle, where men win glory,
But you wait here, and do not go against shining Achilles.”
Then answering spoke the son of Tydeus:
“Son of Atreus, what kind of a word have you spoken?
For you will see on the morrow whether the heart in me
Is coward or no; for I swear that tomorrow I shall slay
Any of the Myrmidons who come against me,
Even godlike Achilles himself, if he should dare it.”
Then the son of Atreus laughed loud, being well satisfied;
And he left the tents of Diomedes the powerful,
And came unto Odysseus, the man of many wiles,
And addressed him, speaking winged words:
“The heart in your breast is sorrowful, I know,
For the deeds of the son of Peleus and for my grief;
But nonetheless take heart, and fight with me tomorrow;
For I know you are a mighty man, and strong with the bow,
And Atrytone*, daughter of Zeus, holds you dear to her heart.
We shall destroy the camp of Achilles, so that he die
And never returns to deep-hilled Phthia.”
Then answering spoke resourceful Odysseus:
“The heart in me is strong, though I sorrow;
Yet even now you are deceived in the madness of your grief.
I ask you once more, not to go to Achilles,
But to hear if he should come to you, bearing a ransom.”
But the son of Atreus was silent, and passed on,
Going to the tents and ships of the Cretan Idomeneus.
And he spoke to him, encouraging him, saying:
“Son of Deucalion, take heart! For I think tomorrow
We shall defeat arrogant Achilles, son of Peleus:
He is strong, but the god will favor us,
Since we have not offended Zeus the Councilor, as he has done,
Killing one of the scepter-bearing kings.”
Then answering spoke Cretan Idomeneus:
“I applaud your words, o King, and indeed,
My heart stirs me to fight against valiant Achilles,
That we may test his strength, and that of the Myrmidons;
For though he is brave in battle, you, o King,
Command many more men than he does,
And I think that we shall destroy him on the morrow.”
Thus he spoke, and Menelaus the fair-haired
Went to all the kings thus and encouraged them,
Going in the well-built chariot of Agamemnon.
But when he returned to his tents and dark ships he wept,
Bewailing the death of his brother, the shepherd of the people.
*an epithet of Athena
Book I
BOOK II
Sorrow then came into the heart of fair-haired Menelaus,
But he put it off, for there was great need before him.
Yet within himself he wept, as when the lake is frozen
The dark water yet springs forth: thus were the tears
Of spear-famed Menelaus. But taking heart,
He gathered the assembly again, summoning slaves
To attend to the body of great-hearted Agamemnon.
And they came and took him to his tents and black ships;
Then the man of many wiles and the counselor Nestor
Dissolved the counsel of the Achaeans,
So that only the kings remained,
Diomedes and Odysseus and Nestor and Idomeneus.
Then the brother of Agamemnon, spear-famed Menelaus spoke,
Addressing the sons of the Achaeans:
“You well-greaved Achaeans, you have seen
How the son of Peleus, god-like Achilles
Drew his sword from its sheath and slew
My brother, Agamemnon, shepherd of the people.
Now my heart turns between sorrow and wrath:
But I put both aside, for we must now consider what to do:
Whether god-like Achilles will return home to Phthia,
Or whether he will stay, opposing us in battle;
Whether we shall continue to fight the Trojans
Or breaking up the host of the Achaeans, return home.
For my part, I would stay here, nor leave
A single stone of Troy upon another.
You have all come here obedient to your oath to me,
And not for the pride of wide-ruling Agamemnon.
Helen resides still with Alexandros, son of Priam,
And Alexandros, son of Priam, still lives.
Now let us send Chryseis to her father, and a faultless hecatomb
So that the farshooter Apollo will favor us again;
Let Odysseus or Idomeneus or Ajax go with the ship.”
Then spoke the councilor, horseman Nestor:
“I applaud the words of fair-haired Menelaus;
And further I say that we should leave god-like Achilles alone:
For he was angered only with Agamemnon,
And does not desire war with the sons of the Achaeans.
Menelaus, son of Atreus, master of the war-cry,
If god-like Achilles should repent, sending a ransom,
Do you accept, not holding wrath in your heart:
For even for a child or a brother does a man accept ransom [poiné].
The son of Peleus is the best of us, and without him,
I do not know that Zeus will grant that we sack the city of Troy.
Among Zeus-loved kings, he is the most beloved,
Except only wide-ruling Agamemnon;
The gods alone may grant that we sack well-settled Troy;
So, let us gratify them with many sacrifices,
Burying the lord of men, Agamemnon.”
Thus he spoke. But the son of Atreus in his shaggy heart
Was displeased, and spoke angry words:
“Son of Neleus, what kind of word have you spoken?
For god-like Achilles has slain my only brother,
Son of my father, companion of my youth,
And the heart in my breast wavers amid sorrow and wrath.
I shall not forgive the son of Peleus,
Not if he should bring me all the booty of all the cities
That he has sacked, and all the gold of well-settled Troy,
Not if he should give me fair-cheeked Briseis,
His own prize, and many other neat-ankled women,
Lesbian women, skilled in many arts,
Not if he should give me his own friend,
Patroclus, to be a grave-companion for my brother,
Not even so would I accept his ransom.
But go, son of Neleus, and ready your people;
For we shall fight against the Myrmidons on the morrow;
And I shall go round to the chieftains of the Achaeans,
And speaking to them, encourage their hearts.”
Thus spoke the fair-haired son of Atreus.
But Odysseus, man of many wiles, spoke answering him:
“Menelaus, do not allow your anger to blind you.
For Ate has blinded even Zeus; but you, son of Atreus,
Be wiser than even he. Though you are greatly wronged,
Forgive his wrongdoing; for he too was stirred up in his heart.
Your brother was great among the Achaeans,
And I fear lest our undertaking come to nothing without him;
Yet certainly without the son of Peleus are our hopes destroyed;
For whether he sits, remaining by his tents and dark ships,
Or, betraying us, should join the Trojans, tamers of horses
We shall get no profit of him, and perhaps harm.
But if he should come hither to the tents and ships of the king,
Bearing ransom for Agamemnon, best of the Achaeans,
And is willing to join the Argives again,
Hear him well, and do not disdain him, but accept the shining ransom.
And do not trouble him with battle on the morrow.”
Thus he spoke: but within him his heart was different:
For he had decided to seek out the son of Peleus,
Persuading him to offer great ransom for the son of Atreus,
In hopes that even the high heart of Menelaus might be persuaded.
So the son of Atreus, fair-haired Menelaus,
Went round to tents and the ships of the Achaeans,
Speaking mighty words to them, and encouraging them,
First to Diomedes, son of Tydeus, the great spearman he came,
And spoke winged words: “Diomedes, son of Tydeus,
Surely you are a lesser son of a mighty father!
For he was a small man of stature, but brave of heart;
And he did not shrink from the battle, where men win glory,
But you wait here, and do not go against shining Achilles.”
Then answering spoke the son of Tydeus:
“Son of Atreus, what kind of a word have you spoken?
For you will see on the morrow whether the heart in me
Is coward or no; for I swear that tomorrow I shall slay
Any of the Myrmidons who come against me,
Even godlike Achilles himself, if he should dare it.”
Then the son of Atreus laughed loud, being well satisfied;
And he left the tents of Diomedes the powerful,
And came unto Odysseus, the man of many wiles,
And addressed him, speaking winged words:
“The heart in your breast is sorrowful, I know,
For the deeds of the son of Peleus and for my grief;
But nonetheless take heart, and fight with me tomorrow;
For I know you are a mighty man, and strong with the bow,
And Atrytone*, daughter of Zeus, holds you dear to her heart.
We shall destroy the camp of Achilles, so that he die
And never returns to deep-hilled Phthia.”
Then answering spoke resourceful Odysseus:
“The heart in me is strong, though I sorrow;
Yet even now you are deceived in the madness of your grief.
I ask you once more, not to go to Achilles,
But to hear if he should come to you, bearing a ransom.”
But the son of Atreus was silent, and passed on,
Going to the tents and ships of the Cretan Idomeneus.
And he spoke to him, encouraging him, saying:
“Son of Deucalion, take heart! For I think tomorrow
We shall defeat arrogant Achilles, son of Peleus:
He is strong, but the god will favor us,
Since we have not offended Zeus the Councilor, as he has done,
Killing one of the scepter-bearing kings.”
Then answering spoke Cretan Idomeneus:
“I applaud your words, o King, and indeed,
My heart stirs me to fight against valiant Achilles,
That we may test his strength, and that of the Myrmidons;
For though he is brave in battle, you, o King,
Command many more men than he does,
And I think that we shall destroy him on the morrow.”
Thus he spoke, and Menelaus the fair-haired
Went to all the kings thus and encouraged them,
Going in the well-built chariot of Agamemnon.
But when he returned to his tents and dark ships he wept,
Bewailing the death of his brother, the shepherd of the people.
*an epithet of Athena
Book I