The Iliad 2.207–221

thundereth on the long beach, and the deep roareth. Now the others sate them down and were stayed in their places, only there still kept chattering on Thersites of measureless speech, whose mind was full of great store of disorderly words, wherewith to utter revilings against the kings, idly, and in no orderly wise, but whatsoever he deemed would raise a laugh among the Argives. Evil-favoured was he beyond all men that came to Ilios: he was bandy-legged and lame in the one foot, and his two shoulders were rounded, stooping together over his chest, and above them his head was warped, and a scant stubble grew thereon. Hateful was he to Achilles above all, and to Odysseus, for it was they twain that he was wont to revile; but now again with shrill cries he uttered abuse against goodly Agamemnon. With him were the Achaeans exceeding wroth, and had indignation in their hearts.

ὣς ὅ γε κοιρανέων δίεπε στρατόν· οἳ δʼ ἀγορὴν δὲ αὖτις ἐπεσσεύοντο νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων ἠχῇ, ὡς ὅτε κῦμα πολυφλοίσβοιο θαλάσσης αἰγιαλῷ μεγάλῳ βρέμεται, σμαραγεῖ δέ τε πόντος. ἄλλοι μέν ῥʼ ἕζοντο, ἐρήτυθεν δὲ καθʼ ἕδρας· Θερσίτης δʼ ἔτι μοῦνος ἀμετροεπὴς ἐκολῴα, ὃς ἔπεα φρεσὶν ᾗσιν ἄκοσμά τε πολλά τε ᾔδη μάψ, ἀτὰρ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον, ἐριζέμεναι βασιλεῦσιν, ἀλλʼ ὅ τι οἱ εἴσαιτο γελοίϊον Ἀργείοισιν ἔμμεναι· αἴσχιστος δὲ ἀνὴρ ὑπὸ Ἴλιον ἦλθε· φολκὸς ἔην, χωλὸς δʼ ἕτερον πόδα· τὼ δέ οἱ ὤμω κυρτὼ ἐπὶ στῆθος συνοχωκότε· αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε φοξὸς ἔην κεφαλήν, ψεδνὴ δʼ ἐπενήνοθε λάχνη. ἔχθιστος δʼ Ἀχιλῆϊ μάλιστʼ ἦν ἠδʼ Ὀδυσῆϊ· τὼ γὰρ νεικείεσκε· τότʼ αὖτʼ Ἀγαμέμνονι δίῳ

Lattimore commentary

Thersites, with his store of abusive words, seems to be a forerunner of the satirist. Mocking poetry, called iambos, is attested as early as the seventh century in Greece. His ugliness parallels the quality of his discourse. That his usual targets were the best fighter and best planner in the army, the protagonists respectively of the Iliad and the Odyssey, suggests an old tradition of antiheroic rhetoric shadowing aristocratic epic traditions. Thersites repeats and amplifies the complaints of Achilleus in book 1 concerning Agamemnon’s rapacity and injustice. The audience may know the story of Thersites’ eventual death (narrated in the Aithiopis, an archaic continuation of the Iliad narrative): he will be slain by Achilleus for mocking him about his alleged love for the Amazon woman and Trojan ally Penthesileia.

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