Note again the hidden quantity of κᾱλὴν < *κᾰλϝὴν with the Third Compensatory Lengthening of *-Ru̯- clusters (absent in Attic).
30.01.2026 16:58 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0@hesiod-bot.bsky.social
Not actually a bot. Posting excerpts from Hesiod's Theogony line-by-line curated by @mattitiahu.bsky.social. Greek text follows M.L. West. 1966. Hesiod: Theogony with Prolegomena and Commentary. Oxford: Clarendon Press.
Note again the hidden quantity of κᾱλὴν < *κᾰλϝὴν with the Third Compensatory Lengthening of *-Ru̯- clusters (absent in Attic).
30.01.2026 16:58 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0καλὴν : adj. acc. sg. f. καλός ‘beautiful’
ἐδίδαξαν : 3.pl. aor. act. ind. διδάσκω ‘teach’ (acc. of person and thing taught)
ἀοιδήν : acc. sg. f. ἀοιδή ‘song’
Vocab.
αἵ : dem. pron. nom. pl. f. ὁ, ἡ, το ‘these (goddesses)’ (i.e. the Muses), accent from following enclitic
νύ : encl. adv. ‘now’, accent from following enclitic
πο(τε) : encl. adv. ‘once’
Ἡσίοδον : PN acc. sg. m. Ἡσίοδος ‘Hesiod’
22 αἵ νύ ποθ᾽ Ἡσίοδον καλὴν ἐδίδαξαν ἀοιδήν,
/ʰaí nú po̞tʰ ʰɛːsío̞do̞n kaːlɛ̀ːn e̞dídaksan aoidɛ́ːn/
Now these (i.e. the Muses) once taught Hesiod beautiful song,
| – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Note the metrical lengthening of initial ἀ- in ἀθανάτων, which is regular in epic in order to accommodate this fairly common and important word in hexameter. Otherwise the alpha-privative ἀ- (< PIE *n̥- : Latin in-, English un-) is short.
29.01.2026 21:21 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Vocab.
ἄλλων : adj. gen. pl. m. ἄλλος ‘other’
ἀθανάτων : gen. pl. m. ἀθάνατος ‘un-dying, immortal’
ἱερὸν : adj. acc. sg. n. ἱερός ‘divine, holy, sacred’
γένος : acc. sg. n. γένος ‘race, stock, family’
αἰὲν : adv. ‘always, for ever’
ἐόντων : prs. act. ptcp. gen. pl. m. to εἰμί ‘be, exist’
21 ἄλλων τ᾽ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων.
/állɔːn t aːtʰanántɔːn ʰierò̞n gé̞nos aiè̞n e̞óntɔːn/
And the holy lineage of other immortals existing for ever.
| – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Vocab.
Γαῖάν : PN acc. sg. f. Γαῖα ‘Gaia, the Earth-goddess’
Ὠκεανόν : PN acc. sg. m. Ὠκεανός ‘Okeanos, the Ocean-god’
μέγαν : acc. sg. m. μέγας ‘big, great’
καὶ : conj. ‘and’
Νύκτα : PN acc. sg. f. Νύξ ‘Nyx, the Night-goddess’
μέλαιναν : adj. acc. sg. f. μέλας ‘black, dark’
20 Γαῖάν τ᾽ Ὠκεανόν τε μέγαν καὶ Νύκτα μέλαιναν
/gaîán tɔːke̞anó̞n te̞ mé̞gan kaì núkta mé̞lainan/
And Gaia, and great Okeanos, and black Nyx
| – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
λαμπράν : adj. acc. sg. f. λαμπρός ‘bright, brilliant, radiant’
Σελήνην : PN acc. sg. f. Σελήνη ‘Selene, the Moon-goddess’
Vocab.
Ἠῶ : PN acc. sg. f. Ἠώς ‘Eos, the Dawn-goddess’
Ἠέλιόν : PN acc. sg. f. Ἠέλιος ‘Helios, the Sun-god’
τε : encl. conj. ‘and’
μέγαν : adj. acc. sg. m. μέγας ‘big, great, large’
19 Ἠῶ τ᾽ Ἠέλιόν τε μέγαν λαμπράν τε Σελήνην
/ɛːɔ̂ː tɛːé̞lión te̞ mé̞gan lamprán te̞ se̞lɛ́ːnɛːn/
And Eos, and great Helios, and brilliant Selene
| – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Κρόνον : PN acc. sg. m. Κρόνος ‘Kronos’ (titan, son of Ouranos and Gaia, father of Zeus)
ἀγκυλομήτην : adj. acc. sg. m. ἀγκυλομήτης ‘crooked of counsel, wily’
Vocab.
Λητώ : PN acc. sg. f. Λητώ ‘Leto’ (mother of Apollo and Artemis)
Ἰαπετόν : PN acc. sg. m. Ἰαπετός ‘Iapetos’ (titan, son of Ouranos and Gaia)
τε : encl. conj. ‘and’
ἰδὲ : conj. ‘and’
18 Λητώ τ᾽ Ἰαπετόν τε ἰδὲ Κρόνον ἀγκυλομήτην
/lɛtɔ́ː t iːape̞tó̞n te idè̞ kró̞no̞n aŋkulo̞mɛ́ːtɛːn/
And Leto and Iapetos and wily Kronos
| – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Ἥβην : PN acc. sg. f. Ἥβη ‘Hebe’ (daughter of Zeus and Hera, cupbearer of the gods, lit. ‘youth’)
τε : encl. conj. ‘and’
χρυσοστέφανον : adj. acc. sg. f. χρυσοστέφανος ‘gold-crowned’
καλήν : adj. acc. sg. f. καλός ‘beautiful’
Διώνην : PN acc. sg. f. Διώνη ‘Dione; Ms. Zeus’
17 Ἥβην τε χρυσοστέφανον καλήν τε Διώνην
/ʰɛ́ːbɛːn te̞ kʰruːso̞stépʰano̞n kaːlɛ́ːn te diɔ́ːnɛːn/
And gold-crowned Hebe and beautiful Dione
| – – | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Vocab.
Θέμιν : PN acc. sg. f. Θέμις ‘Themis’ (goddess of divine order, justice, established custom)
αἰδοίην : adj. acc. sg. f. αἰδοῖος ‘august, venerable’
ἑλικοβλέφαρόν : adj. acc. sg. f. ἑλικοβλέφαρός ‘with ever-moving eyelids, quick-glancing’
Ἀφροδίτην : PN acc. sg. f. Ἀφροδίτη ‘Aphrodite’
16 καὶ Θέμιν αἰδοίην ἑλικοβλέφαρόν τ᾽ Ἀφροδίτην
/kaì tʰé̞min aido̞íɛːn ʰe̞liko̞blé̞pʰaró̞n t apʰro̞díːtɛːn/
And venerable Themis, and quick-glancing Aphrodite
| – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
(I'm still amazed that my logistics company has a tracker where I can see where my stuff is in real time.)
23.01.2026 19:39 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 0 📌 0Almost all of my books are either in storage or currently in transit over the Strait of Hormuz. (Please don't hurt me.)
23.01.2026 19:38 — 👍 1 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0For the metrical analysis I am *assuming* the license taken is that the -ι- in γαιήοχον is reduced to a glide in hiatus to allow ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ , but I haven't actually looked up to see what the specific rule is, or if that's actually allowed. Please yell at me if I'm wrong.
23.01.2026 19:00 — 👍 2 🔁 0 💬 1 📌 0Vocab.
ἠδέ : conj. ‘and’
Ποσειδάωνα : PN acc. sg. m. Ποσειδῶν ‘Poseidon’
γαιήοχον : adj. acc. sg. m. γαιήοχος ‘earth-moving, earth-holding, earth-carrying’
ἐννοσίγαιον : adj. acc. sg. m. ἐννοσίγαιος ‘earth-shaker’ (traditional epithet of Poseidon)
15 ἠδὲ Ποσειδάωνα γαιήοχον ἐννοσίγαιον
/ɛ̞ːdè po̞seːdáːɔːna gaiɛ́ːo̞kʰo̞n e̞nno̞sígaio̞n/
And earth-holding Poseidon, the Earth-shaker,
| – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Vocab.
Φοῖβόν : PN acc. sg. m. Φοῖβός ‘Phoebus’ (a name of Apollo)
Ἀπόλλωνα : PN acc. sg. m. Ἀπόλλων ‘Apollo’
καὶ : conj. ‘and’
Ἄρτεμιν : PN acc. sg. f. Ἄρτεμις ‘Artemis’
ἰοχέαιραν : adj. acc. sg. f. ἰοχέαιρα ‘arrow-pourer, shooter of arrows’ (traditional epithet of Artemis)
14 Φοῖβόν τ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνα καὶ Ἄρτεμιν ἰοχέαιραν
/pʰoîbó̞n tapó̞llɔːna kaì árte̞min io̞kʰé̞airan/
And Phoebus Apollo and arrow-pouring Artemis
| – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Vocab.
κούρην : acc. sg. f. κούρη ‘girl, maiden; (w/ gen. of parent) daughter’
αἰγιόχοιο : adj. gen. sg. m. αἰγίοχος ‘aegis-bearing’
Διὸς : PN gen. sg. m. Ζεύς ‘Zeus’
γλαυκῶπιν : acc. sg. f. γλαυκῶπις ‘bright-eyed’ (traditional epithet of Athena)
Ἀθήνην : PN acc. sg. f. Ἀθήνη ‘Athena’
13 κούρην τ᾽ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς γλαυκῶπιν Ἀθήνην
/kóːrɛːn t aigió̞kʰoio̞ diò̞s glaukɔ̂ːpin atʰɛ́ːnɛːn/
And bright-eyed Athena, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus,
| – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |
Vocab.
Ἀργεΐην : adj. acc. sg. f. Ἀργεῖος ‘of/from Argos, Argive’ (the largest sanctuary of Hera is situated in Argos)
χρυσέοισι : adj. dat. pl. n. χρυσέος ‘of gold, golden’
πεδίλοις : dat. pl. n. πεδίλον ‘sandals’
ἐμβεβαυῖαν : pf. act. ptcp. acc. sg. f. ἐμβαίνω ‘step in’
12 Ἀργείην, χρυσέοισι πεδίλοις ἐμβεβαυῖαν,
/argéːɛːn kʰrusé̞oisi pe̞dílois e̞mbe̞bauîan/
from Argos, who walks in golden sandals,
| – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – | – ⏑ ⏑ | – – |