All 50 Uses of
strife
in
The Iliad by Homer - (translated by: Edward)
- Say then, what God the fatal strife provok'd?†
Chpt 1.1 *strife = violent conflict or angry disagreement
- Of all the Heav'n-born Kings, thou art the man
I hate the most; for thou delight'st in nought
But war and strife: thy prowess I allow;
Yet this, remember, is the gift of Heav'n.†Chpt 1.1
- the strife began:
Could we be friends again, delay were none,
How short soe'er, of Ilium's final doom.†Chpt 1.2
- But from the battle-strife these all abstain'd,
Since none there was to marshal their array.†Chpt 1.2
- At Priam's gate, in solemn conclave met,
Were gather'd all the Trojans, young and old:
Swift Iris stood amidst them, and, the voice
Assuming of Polites, Priam's son,
The Trojan scout, who, trusting to his speed,
Was posted on the summit of the mound
Of ancient AEsuetes, there to watch
Till from their ships the Grecian troops should march;
His voice assuming, thus the Goddess spoke:
"Old man, as erst in peace, so still thou lov'st
The strife of words; but fearful war is nigh.†Chpt 1.2
- Meantime to white-arm'd Helen Iris sped,
The heav'nly messenger: in form she seem'd
Her husband's sister, whom Antenor's son,
The valiant Helicaon had to wife,
Laodice, of Priam's daughters all
Loveliest of face: she in her chamber found
Her whom she sought: a mighty web she wove,
Of double woof and brilliant hues; whereon
Was interwoven many a toilsome strife
Of Trojan warriors and of brass-clad Greeks,
For her encounter'd at the hand of Mars.†Chpt 1.3
- But have thy will, lest this in future times
'Twixt me and thee be cause of strife renew'd.†Chpt 1.4
- Her tassell'd aegis round her shoulders next
She threw, with Terror circled all around;
And on its face were figur'd deeds of arms,
And Strife, and Courage high, and panic Rout;
There too a Gorgon's head, of monstrous size,
Frown'd terrible, portent of angry Jove:
And on her head a golden helm she plac'd,
Four-crested, double-peak'd, whose ample verge
A hundred cities' champions might suffice:
Her fiery car she mounted: in her hand
A spear she bore, long, weighty, tough; wherewith
The mighty daughter of a mighty sire
Sweeps down the ranks of those her hate pursues.†Chpt 1.5
- Whom answer'd thus the Cloud-compeller, Jove,
With look indignant: "Come no more to me,
Thou wav'ring turncoat, with thy whining pray'rs:
Of all the Gods who on Olympus dwell
I hate thee most; for thou delight'st in nought
But strife and war; thou hast inherited
Thy mother, Juno's, proud, unbending mood,
Whom I can scarce control; and thou, methinks,
To her suggestions ow'st thy present plight.†Chpt 1.5
- From his encounter in the glorious fight,
Superior far to thee, Achilles shrinks;
But thou amid thy comrades' ranks retire;
Some other champion will the Greeks provide;
And, fearless as he is, and of the fight
Insatiate, yet will Hector, should he 'scape
Unwounded from the deadly battle-strife,
Be fain, methinks, to rest his weary limbs.†Chpt 1.7
- Then thus again Gerenian Nestor spoke:
"Shake then the lots; on whomsoe'er it fall,
Great profit shall he bring to Grecian arms,
Great glory to himself, if he escape
Unwounded from the deadly battle strife."†Chpt 1.7
- This said, he sat; and aged Priam next,
A God in council, Dardan's son, arose,
Who thus with prudent speech began, and said:
"Hear now, ye Trojans, Dardans, and Allies,
The words I speak, the promptings of my soul:
Now through the city take your wonted meal;
Look to your watch, let each man keep his guard:
To-morrow shall Idaeus to the ships
Of Greece, to both the sons of Atreus, bear
The words of Paris, cause of all this war;
And ask besides, if from the deadly strife
Such truce they will accord us as may serve
To burn the dead; hereafter we may fight
Till Heav'n decide, and one with vict'ry crown."†Chpt 1.7
- he will not restore:
Then bids me ask, if from the deadly strife
Such truce ye will accord us as may serve
To burn the dead: hereafter we may fight
Till Heav'n decide, and one with vict'ry crown.†Chpt 1.7
- Outcast from kindred, law, and hearth is he
Whose soul delights in fierce internal strife.†Chpt 2.9
- For better far is gentle courtesy:
And cease from angry strife, that so the Greeks
The more may honour thee, both young and old.'†Chpt 2.9
- He said, and with the pliant lash he touch'd
The sleek-skinn'd horses; springing at the sound,
Between the Greeks and Trojans, light they bore
The flying car, o'er bodies of the slain
And broken bucklers trampling; all beneath
Was plash'd with blood the axle, and the rails
Around the car, as from the horses' feet,
And from the felloes of the wheels, were thrown
The bloody gouts; yet on he sped, to join
The strife of men, and break th' opposing ranks.†Chpt 2.11
- Why shouldst thou tremble at the battle strife?†
Chpt 2.12
- When Jove had Hector and the Trojans brought
Close to the ships, he left them there to toil
And strife continuous; turning his keen glance
To view far off th' equestrian tribes of Thrace,
The warlike Mysians, and the men who feed
On milk of mares, thence Hippemolgi term'd;
A peaceful race, the justest of mankind.†Chpt 2.13
- He said, and to the strife of men return'd.†
Chpt 2.13
- Whom answer'd thus the sage Meriones:
"Nor are my tent and dark-ribb'd ship devoid
Of Trojan spoils; but they are far to seek;
Nor deem I that my hand is slack in fight;
For 'mid the foremost in the glorious strife
I stand, whene'er is heard the battle cry.†Chpt 2.13
- Bristled the deadly strife with pond'rous spears,
Wielded with dire intent; the brazen gleam
Dazzled the sight, by flashing helmets cast,
And breastplates polish'd bright, and glitt'ring shields
Commingling; stern of heart indeed were he,
Who on that sight with joy, not pain, could gaze.†Chpt 2.13
- This way and that they tugg'd of furious war
And balanc'd strife, where many a warrior fell,
The straining rope, which none might break or loose.†Chpt 2.13
- To noble Menelaus stood oppos'd
Peisander, to the confines dark of death
Led by his evil fate, by thee to fall,
Great son of Atreus, in the deadly strife.†Chpt 2.13
- Standing on high Olympus' topmost peak,
The golden-throned Juno downward look'd,
And, busied in the glory-giving strife,
Her husband's brother and her own she saw,
Saw, and rejoic'd; next, seated on the crest
Of spring-abounding Ida, Jove she saw,
Sight hateful in her eyes!†Chpt 2.14
- When with their dazzling armour all were girt,
Forward they mov'd; th' Earth-shaker led them on:
In his broad hand an awful sword he bore,
Long-bladed, vivid as the lightning's flash:
Yet in the deadly strife he might not join,
But kindled terror in the minds of men.†Chpt 2.14
- Th' Earth-shaker said, and from the field withdrew
Beneath the ocean wave, the warrior Greeks
His loss deploring; to Apollo then
The Cloud-compeller thus his speech address'd:
"Go straight to Hector of the brazen helm,
Good Phoebus; for beneath the ocean wave
Th' Earth-shaker hath withdrawn, escaping thus
My high displeasure; had he dar'd resist,
The tumult of our strife had reach'd the Gods
Who in the nether realms with Saturn dwell.†Chpt 2.15
- His pray'rs and off'rings ended, to the tent
Achilles turn'd again, and in the chest
Replac'd the cup; then issuing forth, he stood
Before the tent; for much he long'd to see
The Greeks and Trojans join in battle strife.†Chpt 2.16
- As when around a lofty mountain's top
The lightning's Lord dispels a mass of cloud,
And ev'ry crag, and ev'ry jutting peak
Is plainly seen, and ev'ry forest glade;
And the deep vault of Heav'n is open'd wide;
So when the Greeks had clear'd the ships of fire,
They breath'd awhile; yet ceas'd not so the strife;
For not in headlong panic from the ships
The Trojans by the valiant Greeks were driv'n,
But, though perforce retiring, still made head.†Chpt 2.16
- that fate decrees my best-belov'd,
Sarpedon, by Patroclus' hand to fall;
E'en now conflicting thoughts my soul divide,
To bear him from the fatal strife unhurt,
And set him down on Lycia's fertile plains,
Or leave him by Patroclus' hand to fall.†Chpt 2.16
- Again in mortal strife the warriors clos'd:
Once more Sarpedon hurl'd his glitt'ring spear
In vain; above Patroclus' shoulder flew
The point, innocuous; from his hand in turn
The spear not vainly thrown, Sarpedon struck
Where lies the diaphragm, below the heart.†Chpt 2.16
- Then, to enhance the horror of the strife
Around his son, with darkness Jove o'erspread
The stubborn fight: the Trojans first drove back
The keen-ey'd Greeks; for first a warrior fell,
Not of the meanest 'mid the Myrmidons,
Epegeus, son of valiant Agacles;
Who in Budaeum's thriving state bore rule
Erewhile; but flying for a kinsman slain,
To Peleus and the silver-footed Queen
He came a suppliant; with Achilles thence
To Ilium sent, to join the war of Troy.†Chpt 2.16
- Back drew great Hector and the chiefs of Troy;
Far as a jav'lin's flight, in sportive strife,
Or in the deadly battle, hurl'd by one
His utmost strength exerting; back so far
The Trojans drew, so far the Greeks pursued.†Chpt 2.16
- This said, the God rejoin'd the strife of men;
And noble Hector bade Cebriones
Drive 'mid the fight his car; before him mov'd
Apollo, scatt'ring terror 'mid the Greeks,
And lustre adding to the arms of Troy.†Chpt 2.16
- Then was his mind bewilder'd; and his limbs
Gave way beneath him; all aghast he stood:
Him, from behind, a Dardan, Panthous' son,
Euphorbus, peerless 'mid the Trojan youth,
To hurl the spear, to run, to drive the car,
Approaching close, between the shoulders stabb'd;
He, train'd to warfare, from his car, ere this
A score of Greeks had from their chariots hurl'd:
Such was the man who thee, Patroclus, first
Wounded, but not subdued; the ashen spear
He, in all haste, withdrew; nor dar'd confront
Patroclus, though disarm'd, in deadly strife.†Chpt 2.16
- He said, and join'd again the strife of men:
Hector's dark soul with bitter grief was fill'd;
He look'd amid the ranks, and saw the two,
One slain, the other stripping off his arms,
The blood outpouring from the gaping wound.†Chpt 2.17
- Thus, furious as the rage of fire, they fought;
Nor might ye deem the glorious sun himself
Nor moon was safe; for darkest clouds of night
O'erspread the warriors, who the battle wag'd
Around the body of Menoetius' son:
Elsewhere the Trojans and the well-greav'd Greeks
Fought, undisturb'd, in the clear light of day;
The sun's bright beams were shed abroad; no cloud
Lay on the face of earth or mountain tops;
They but by fits, at distant intervals,
And far apart, each seeking to avoid
The hostile missiles, fought; but in the midst
The bravest all, in darkness and in strife
Sore press'd, toil'd on beneath their armour's weight.†Chpt 2.17
- Again around Patroclus' body rag'd
The stubborn conflict, direful, sorrow-fraught:
From Heav'n descending, Pallas stirr'd the strife,
Sent by all-seeing Jove to stimulate
The warlike Greeks; so changed was now his will.†Chpt 2.17
- Accurs'd of Gods and men be hateful strife
And anger, which to violence provokes
E'en temp'rate souls: though sweeter be its taste
Than dropping honey, in the heart of man
Swelling, like smoke; such anger in my soul
Hath Agamemnon kindled, King of men.†Chpt 2.18
- His proud, impetuous spirit will spurn the plain,
Where Greeks and Trojans oft in warlike strife
Their balanc'd strength exert; if he come forth,
Our fight will be to guard our homes and wives.†Chpt 2.18
- But if indeed Achilles by the ships
Hath reappear'd, himself, if so he choose,
Shall be the suff'rer; from the perilous strife
I will not shrink, but his encounter meet:
So he, or I, shall gain immortal fame;
Impartial Mars hath oft the slayer slain.†Chpt 2.18
- And there were figur'd Strife, and Tumult wild,
And deadly Fate, who in her iron grasp
One newly-wounded, one unwounded bore,
While by the feet from out the press she dragg'd
Another slain: about her shoulders hung
A garment crimson'd with the blood of men.†Chpt 2.18
- When all the Greeks were closely throng'd around,
Up rose Achilles swift of foot, and said:
"Great son of Atreus, what hath been the gain
To thee or me, since heart-consuming strife
Hath fiercely rag'd between us, for a girl,
Who would to Heav'n had died by Dian's shafts
That day when from Lyrnessus' captur'd town
I bore her off?†Chpt 2.19
- But when th' Immortals mingled in the throng,
Then furious wax'd the spirit-stirring strife;
Then Pallas rais'd her war-cry, standing now
Beside the deep-dug trench, without the wall,
Now shouting loud along the sounding beach.†Chpt 2.20
- Whom answer'd thus the far-destroying King:
"Earth-shaking God, I should not gain with thee
The esteem of wise, if I with thee should fight
For mortal men; poor wretches, who like leaves
Flourish awhile, and eat the fruits of earth,
But, sapless, soon decay: from combat then
Refrain we, and to others leave the strife."†Chpt 2.21
- To whom the bright-crown'd Goddess of the chase:
"Thy wife, my father, white-arm'd Juno; she
Hath dealt thus rudely with me; she, from whom
All jars and strife among the Gods proceed."†Chpt 2.21
- But from the present strife we stand aloof,
My horses and myself; they now have lost
The daring courage and the gentle hand
Of him who drove them, and with water pure
Wash'd oft their manes, and bath'd with fragrant oil.†Chpt 2.23
- Freely I give it thee; for thou no more
Canst box, or wrestle, or in sportive strife
The jav'lin throw, or race with flying feet;
For age with heavy hand hath bow'd thee down.†Chpt 2.23
- Nor could Ulysses Ajax overthrow,
Nor Ajax bring Ulysses to the ground,
So stubbornly he stood; but when the Greeks
Were weary of the long-protracted strife,
Thus to Ulysses mighty Ajax spoke:
"Ulysses sage, Laertes' godlike son,
Or lift thou me, or I will thee uplift:
The issue of our struggle rests with Jove."†Chpt 2.23
- And now a third encounter had they tried
But rose Achilles, and the combat stay'd:
"Forbear, nor waste your strength, in farther strife;
Ye both are victors; both then bear away
An equal meed of honour; and withdraw,
That other Greeks may other contests wage."†Chpt 2.23
- The games were ended, and the multitude
Amid the ships their sev'ral ways dispers'd:
Some to their supper, some to gentle sleep
Yielding, delighted; but Achilles still
Mourn'd o'er his lov'd companion; not on him
Lighted all-conqu'ring sleep, but to and fro
Restless he toss'd, and on Patroclus thought,
His vigour and his courage; all the deeds
They two together had achiev'd; the toils,
The perils they had undergone, amid
The strife of warriors, and the angry waves.†Chpt 2.24