In the English equivalent of Greek epic meter, each line consists of six feet. The first five feet may be dactyls, spondees, or trochees; and the sixth and final foot must be a spondee or a trochee. This is slightly different than the Greek, which only admits dactyls and spondees in the first five syllables, but the extra flexibility of the trochee is necessary in English, in my opinion, in order for the verse to sound a bit more natural. See, for instance, Longfellow's Evangeline as a famous example of the epic meter in English.
Because I'm highlighting the first syllable of each foot, there will always be six highlighted syllables per line. Finally, note that scansion can be somewhat subjective, depending on how a given reader tends to read a given sentence. The way I've marked the lines does not always represent the only possible way to read them. I invite questions, comments, and criticism on this matter.
Sing of
the wrath,
my goddess,
of Peleus’
son Achilles,
doomed
and destructive,
which gave
the Achaeans
numberless
sorrows,
sending
so many
robust
souls down
to the house
of Hades,
spirits
of heroes,
but bodies
abandoned
as meat
for the dogs
and
flesh
for the birds,
and the will
of God
was all
but accomplished
right at
the outset
of strife,
at the moment
they clashed,
when the conflict
7 parted Atrides, master
of men,
from god-like
Achilles.
Which of
the gods
had brought
them together
to wage
such a quarrel?
Leto and
Zeus’s
son Apollo:
enraged
at the king,
he
stirred
up a plague
through the army;
and people
all over
were dying,
all
because Atreus’
son
had dishonored
the priest
of Apollo,
Chryses,
who’d come
to the swift
Greek ships
to buy back
his daughter,
13 bearing
a boundless
ransom,
and holding
a golden
scepter
tied
with the banner
of far-shooting
archer
Apollo—he
pled
with
all the
Achaeans,
but most
of all
he beseeched
the Atridae,
both of
the sons
of Atreus,
marshals
of men
and the people:
“Sons of Atreus, and you other Achaeans
with strong
greaves,
truly,
may all
of the gods
who dwell
on Olympus
give
you
19 Priam’s city to plunder,
and then
safe passage
homewards;
but, may
you
let my child
go free,
and accept
this ransom,
honoring
Zeus’s
son,
the far-shooting
archer
Apollo.”
Then all
the other
Achaeans
cried out
with shouts
of approval,
out of
respect
for the priest,
and to reap
the magnificent
ransom;
but, unmoved in
his heart,
the king
Agamemnon
Atrides
25 harshly
dismissed
him, and speaking
with powerful
words,
he commanded:
“Don’t
let me find
you again,
old man,
by the hollow
vessels—
lingering
here
today,
or returning
again
tomorrow—
or else
the scepter
and banner
of god
will no longer
protect
you.
As for
the girl,
I will never
set
her free
until old
age
comes to
her, back
in my house
in Argos,
far
from her homeland,
31 working
away
at the loom,
and sharing
my bed
beside
me.
Leave
us, and try
not to vex
me, so you
may return
in safety.”
So he spoke;
and the old
man feared
him, obeyed
his commandment,
silently
walking
away
by the shore
of the rumbling
ocean.
Then,
going farther
away
from them, over
and over
the old
man
prayed
to the Lord
Apollo,
whom fair-haired
Leto gave
birth
to:
37 “Hear me,
god
of the silver
bow, who
keeps watch
around Chryse,
sacrosanct
Cilla,
and Tenedos,
where
you reign
with power:
Smintheus,
if I
ever built
you a roof
on your beautiful
temple,
or if I ever
have burned
you the slivers
of rich
fat thighs
of
bulls
and of goats,
then you
can accomplish
for me
this one
prayer:
make the
Danaans
pay
for each
of my tears
with your arrows.”
43 So he spoke in
his prayer;
and Phoebus
Apollo
had heard
him.
Down
from the heights
of Olympus
he came,
with rage
in his heart,
his
bow in
his hand,
and a covered
quiver
slung
on his shoulder,
arrows
behind
him clattering
as he
departed
with fury,
plummeting
forth,
and the raging
god
came down
like nightfall.
Out by
the ships
he descended,
and kneeling,
let fly
an arrow—
49 with it,
a terrible
clang
pealed out
from the bow
of silver.
First he
fell
on the mules
and the circling
dogs;
but thereafter,
launching
a piercing
shaft
at the Greeks
themselves,
he struck
them.
Piles
and piles
of corpses
were burning
on funeral
pyres.
Nine
days long
did the arrows
of god
rain down
on the army;
but on
the tenth,
Achilles
called all
of the ranks
to a muster—
55 white-armed
Hera
had put
the idea
in his mind,
for the goddess
pitied
the Danaans,
after
she saw
that so many
were dying.
Once
they had all
been assembled,
and all
were together
in one
place,
nimble-footed Achilles stood up
among
them to speak
out:
“Son of Atreus, now that
we’ve lost
our ground,
I suppose
that
we
should return
to our homes,
if at least
we should ever
escape
death,
61 that is,
if warfare
and pestilence
both
are to vanquish
Achaeans.
No, but
come on:
let us ask
some diviner,
or
some priest,
or
even a dream interpreter,
since
our dreams
are from Zeus
too—
someone
who’ll tell
us why Phoebus
Apollo
is furious
with
us,
whether
he blames
us because
of a vow,
or a sacrifice
maybe;
or, if
the savory
smoke
of our lambs
and billygoats
reach
him,
67 whether
the god
would be willing
to possibly
ward
off our ruin.”
Thus
having spoken,
he sat
back down. But arising among them,
Calchas
the son
of Thestor,
by far
the best
of the augurs,
he who
had known
what is,
what would
be, and what
had once
been,
he who
had led
the Achaeans
to Ilium
in
their warships
using
the art
of foresight
which Phoebus
Apollo
had given—
73 keeping
the good
of the Argives
in mind,
he began
to address
them:
“O Achilles,
beloved
of Zeus,
you compel
me to answer
as to
the wrath
of the Lord
Apollo,
the far-shooting
archer.
So I
shall tell
you. But listen—you have to swear to protect me,
you must
be ready
to come
to my aid
with your words
and your hands
both,
yes, for
I fear
I will anger
a man
with enormous
power,
79 lord
over all
of the Argives,
and all
the Achaeans
obey
him.
For,
when a king
is enraged
at a subject,
is he
not stronger?
Even if,
somehow,
he swallows
his anger
at least
for the first
day,
still he
will harbor
resentment
deep
in his chest
’til it bursts
out.
Think it
over,
Achilles,
and tell
me if you
will defend
me.”
Nimble-footed Achilles
responded
at once
to the seer:
85 “Courage! Whatever you know, you can say what the god has shown you.
Now by Apollo,
beloved
of Zeus,
to whom you,
O Calchas,
pray
when the will
of the gods
is revealed
to the Danaans
through
you:
no one,
as long
as I live
on the earth
and my eyes
see the daylight,
no one
will lay
heavy hands
on you
by the hollow
vessels,
none of
the Danaans,
even
if you
were to name
Agamemnon,
91 who can
now claim
that he
is the greatest
of all
the Achaeans.”
Therefore
the innocent
seer
took courage
and spoke
to the Argives:
“Not for
a sacrifice,
nor
for a vow,
does Apollo
blame
us.
Rather,
he blames
us because
of the priest
Agamemnon
dishonored—
he wouldn’t
free
his daughter,
nor would
he take
his ransom.
That’s
why the far-shooting
archer
has given
us grief,
and he still
will;
97 nor will
he drive
this shameful
destruction
away
from the Argives
’til we
have given
the bright-eyed
girl
to her loving
father,
free,
without ransom,
and driven
a hundred
sacred
oxen
over to Chryse;
and having
appeased
him, perhaps
we’ll persuade
him.”
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