Odyssey 2.181 · Book 2, lines 181–186

Not every bird is a sign

ὄρνιθες δέ τε πολλοὶ ὑπʼ αὐγὰς ἠελίοιο φοιτῶσʼ, οὐδέ τε πάντες ἐναίσιμοι· αὐτὰρ Ὀδυσσεὺς ὤλετο τῆλʼ, ὡς καὶ σὺ καταφθίσθαι σὺν ἐκείνῳ. ὤφελες οὐκ ἂν τόσσα θεοπροπέων ἀγόρευες, οὐδέ κε Τηλέμαχον κεχολωμένον ὧδʼ ἀνιείης, σῷ οἴκῳ δῶρον ποτιδέγμενος, αἴ κε πόρῃσιν.

Many birds fly beneath the rays of the sun, and not all are fateful; but Odysseus perished far away, as even you ought to have died with him. You would not speak out so many prophecies, nor stir up Telemachus, so angered, awaiting a gift for your house, in case he might give one.

Word by word

ὄρνιθεςórnithesbirdsδέdé(and)τεte(and)πολλοὶpolloìmanyὑπʼhyp’beneathαὐγὰςaugàsthe raysἠελίοιοēelíoioof the sunφοιτῶσʼphoitôs’fly to and fro,οὐδέoudéand notτεteand (τε … καί both…and)πάντεςpántesallἐναίσιμοιenaísimoi[are] fateful·αὐτὰρautàrbutὈδυσσεὺςOdysseùsOdysseusὤλετοṓletoperishedτῆλʼtêl’far away,ὡςhōsasκαὶkaìevenσὺsỳyouκαταφθίσθαιkataphthísthaito have perishedσὺνsỳnwithἐκείνῳekeínōihim.ὤφελεςṓphelesoughtοὐκouknotἂνàn(modal particle) would, could, mightτόσσαtóssaso manyθεοπροπέωνtheopropéōnprophesyingἀγόρευεςagóreueswould you speak out,οὐδέoudénorκεke(epic modal particle) = ἄνΤηλέμαχονTēlémachonTelemachusκεχολωμένονkechōloménonangeredὧδʼhōd’soἀνιείηςanieíēswould you stir up,σῷsôifor yourοἴκῳoíkōihouseδῶρονdôrona giftποτιδέγμενοςpotidégmenosawaiting,αἴaíifκεke(epic modal particle) = ἄνπόρῃσινpórēisinhe might give [one].

The setting

Eurymachus, wealthiest of the suitors, is answering the old seer Halitherses, who has just read an eagle-omen as a warning of Odysseus's return and the suitors' doom. Eurymachus waves the reading away.

A note on this passage

Eurymachus rebuts the seer point for point. Birds fly everywhere, he says, and not all of them mean anything; Odysseus is dead abroad, and the old man had better have died with him. Then the sneer that follows every prophet in Homer: you only prophesy so freely because you are angling for a gift out of Telemachus's house.

The poem has already ratified the omen — the eagles were Zeus's own sign, sent moments earlier. So the suitor who calls the true reading a fraud is himself the one who cannot read. Reducing prophecy to a cash motive is the standard slander against seers, and here it marks the speaker, not the seer: Eurymachus is confidently wrong in a scene the audience knows is true.

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Odyssey 2.181 — The Great Library Project interlinear edition · greatlibraryproject.com/book/odyssey/2.181/