- everywhitheradverbChapter 1 →
In every direction at once; to all places across a wide area. Used here to show arrows flying out randomly across the entire crowd.
“Then the god sent a deadly dart upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another, for the arrows went everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans.”
- gold-bestuddedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Decorated all over with gold studs or nail-like ornaments fixed into the surface, giving a rich, ornamented appearance.
“With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning fiercely from his place upon the”
- hundred-handedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Having a hundred hands; used here as an epithet for a mythological giant of extraordinary power, whose many hands made him virtually unstoppable in battle.
“It was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed monster whom gods call Briareus, but men Aegaeon, for he is stronger even than his father; when”
- smooth-tonguedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Skilled at speaking in a pleasing, flattering, or persuasive way; able to talk people around with clever, agreeable words.
“Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the words fell from his lips sweeter than honey.”
- five-prongedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Having five pointed tines or prongs, like a fork with five spikes, used here to describe the skewers for roasting meat over a fire.
“top of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands.”
- ill-affectedadjectiveChapter 1 →
Hostile in feeling or disposition; bearing ill will toward others and prone to stirring up quarrels or resentment.
“There is no king here so hateful to me as you are, for you are ever quarrelsome and ill-affected.”
- bandy-leggedadjectiveChapter 2 →
Having legs that curve outward at the knees so the feet are closer together than the knees, giving an ungainly, bowed appearance.
“He was the ugliest man of all those that came before Troy—bandy-legged, lame of one foot, with his two shoulders rounded and hunched over his chest.”
- householdersnounChapter 2 →
The male heads of individual households; here used as the unit by which the Trojans counted their fighting force, one man per family.
“solemn covenant, and that they have each been numbered—the Trojans by the roll of their householders, and we by companies of ten; think further that each of our companies desired”
- shamefacednessnounChapter 3 →
A feeling of deep shame and embarrassment that shows on a person's face; the state of being unable to hold one's head up out of disgrace.
“a lovely woman wedded among a people of warriors—to bring sorrow upon your father, your city, and your whole country, but joy to your enemies, and hang-dog shamefacedness to yourself?”
- love-tricksnounChapter 3 →
The arts and stratagems used to attract or charm a lover; flirtatious skills and seductive behaviour used to win someone's affection.
“Where indeed would be your lyre and your love-tricks, your comely locks and your fair favour, when you were lying in the dust before him?”
- transgressedverbChapter 3 →
Broken or violated a solemn agreement, law, or oath; gone beyond what was permitted by a binding rule or sacred covenant.
“that he may swear to the covenant himself; for his sons are high-handed and ill to trust, and the oaths of Jove must not be transgressed or taken in vain.”
- cheek-piecenounChapter 4 →
A shaped piece attached to the side of a helmet or bridle; here it is a curved piece of ivory fitted to the side of a horse's headgear.
“Caria strains purple dye on to a piece of ivory that is to be the cheek-piece of a horse, and is to be laid up in a treasure house—many a”
- give-and-takephraseChapter 4 →
A mutual exchange of concessions or benefits between two parties; a deal where each side gives something up and receives something in return.
“Let it be a case, then, of give-and-take between us, and the rest of the gods will follow our lead.”
- archer-queennounChapter 6 →
An epithet for the goddess Diana (Artemis), who was worshipped as a divine huntress carrying a bow, and as the queen or mistress of the hunt.
“Placus—he brought hither with the spoil, and freed her for a great sum, but the archer-queen Diana took her in the house of your father.”
- introductionnounChapter 6 →
Here specifically a written letter of introduction — a document carried by a traveller that introduces him to a host and vouches for him, used here deceitfully to carry a death warrant.
“was angered, but shrank from killing Bellerophon, so he sent him to Lycia with lying letters of introduction, written on a folded tablet, and containing much ill against the bearer.”
- frankincensenounChapter 9 →
A fragrant resin burned as incense in religious rituals; the sweet smoke that rises when it is burned on an altar was considered an offering pleasing to the gods.
“and if a man has sinned he prays the gods, and reconciles them to himself by his piteous cries and by frankincense, with drink-offerings and the savour of burnt sacrifice.”
- halcyon-birdnounChapter 9 →
The kingfisher, a bird whose plaintive, mournful cry was associated in ancient myth with grief and lamentation, especially a mother's mourning for a lost child.
“fair Marpessa’s sake; her father and mother then named her Alcyone, because her mother had mourned with the plaintive strains of the halcyon-bird when Phoebus Apollo had carried her off.”
- clan-gatheringsnounChapter 10 →
Formal assemblies or social feasts held by a tribe or kin group; occasions where members of the same clan meet together for community business or celebration.
“would each of them give him a black ewe with her lamb—which is a present of surpassing value—and he would be asked as a guest to all feasts and clan-gatherings.”
- apothecariesnounChapter 16 →
Medical practitioners who compound and apply medicines and herbs to treat wounds; in this context, battlefield healers who dress and treat injuries with medicinal plants.
“have received sword-wounds; Eurypylus again has been struck with an arrow in the thigh; skilled apothecaries are attending to these heroes, and healing them of their wounds; are you still”
- gore-bedrabbledadjectiveChapter 13 →
Spattered and smeared with blood; covered in gore so that the surface is wet and dirty with it.
“he was coming towards him, on the forehead, just at the rise of his nose; the bones cracked and his two gore-bedrabbled eyes fell by his feet in the dust.”
- compunctionnounChapter 14 →
A feeling of guilt or moral unease about doing something wrong; a scruple or twinge of conscience that makes a person hesitate before acting.
“daughter of mighty Saturn, I would lull any other of the gods to sleep without compunction, not even excepting the waters of Oceanus from whom all of them proceed, but”
- clubfootedadjectiveChapter 14 →
Born with a deformed foot that is twisted or misshapen, causing a limp; used here as a physical epithet for the smith-god Vulcan.
“I will give you a beautiful golden seat, that can never fall to pieces; my clubfooted son Vulcan shall make it for you, and he shall give it a footstool”
- winnowing-shovelnounChapter 13 →
A broad, flat tool like a large shovel or fan used to toss grain into the air so the wind blows away the light chaff, leaving the heavier grain to fall back down.
“As black beans or pulse come pattering down on to a threshing-floor from the broad winnowing-shovel, blown by shrill winds and shaken by the shovel—even so did the arrow glance”
- crest-socketnounChapter 17 →
The hollow fitting on top of a helmet that holds the upright plume or crest in place; a small tube or slot through which the decorative crest is inserted.
“about the point of the weapon, struck at once by the spear and by the strong hand of Ajax, so that the bloody brain came oozing out through the crest-socket.”
- saffron-mantledadjectiveChapter 23 →
Wearing or wrapped in a robe of deep golden-yellow, the colour of saffron; used as an epithet for the goddess of dawn, whose appearance fills the sky with that warm golden hue.
“At length as the Morning Star was beginning to herald the light which saffron-mantled Dawn was soon to suffuse over the sea, the flames fell and the fire began to”
The IliadNovel by Homer