1. Achilles said, O Odysseus my dear friend
Listen, for I have much to express

2. I have something to say, I will not turn from it
So pay attention and dismiss your doubts

3. Whoever says what they have not pondered deeply
Is to me among the worst of hell's masses

4. What I have declared openly to you all
I will not go back on, for all the Greeks

5. I have never wronged the warriors' rights
Whether stubborn hero or coward guard

6. To them the coward's arrow is the same
As the thunderous arrow of the bold man

7. Ruin reaps them equally, both the fearful
And the reckless daring sentry

8. What benefit did I gain by conquering myself
And daring perils, fighting fiercely?

9. I was like a bird bringing food
To its young, depriving itself

10. How many nights I stirred up, how many days
I wore down my spear point in the fray

11. All to protect your women's honor
And for you I braved the vicious Amazons

12. Twelve cities by the sea I took
Then troubled Troy, wandering afoot

13. There ten hamlets I destroyed
And their treasures I seized by force

14. To Atreides I brought all the spoils
While he stayed safe among the ships

15. Enjoying the game and fatted calves
Basking in the abundance of the loot

16. Of it all, only my own arrow he seized
As if he had taken more than I did

17. And to my wife he stretched out - leave him
To enjoy her company and compete!

18. Why then did the Greeks rage and fuss
And rouse to war on Troy so rash?

19. Was it not for Helen that Atreides
Came with curled-haired whores and paramours?

20. Every hero woos his own bride
He was not bound to Atreides' women

21. While I was tasked with my own wedding
Though she was but a lowly captive

22. Atreides has robbed my arrow from me
Just as he deceived me - he'll not trick me!

23. Odysseus, by you and the kings, to redress
His wrong, let councils be convened

24. After my absence, much went awry
He built up the wall, dug up the trench

25. Then erected the gates - but I see him
Cowering from Hector the destroyer

26. Never did Hector of the girdle breach
Either wall or gate of Scaean Ilion

27. Rather before the ramparts he lingered
When I was among the champion warriors

28. Lying in wait to meet me in combat
Almost scorched, but he slipped away and escaped

29. Still I do not wish him any more fighting
After me - let him return to the sheep pens!

30. To Zeus and the gods tomorrow at dawn
I will sacrifice before I depart

31. And if you wish, watch my ship
Plow the sea's swell - what a marvelous sight!

32. Laden with treasures she will plow the waters
And rowdy slave women pierce the sea

33. And if Phoebus on the third day grants
Calm sailing to Euboea's shores

34. In her I will depart with ample wealth
And to it I will add even more gain

35. Shining gold, iron, and yellow ore
And the slender-waisted slave women

36. All this I won by my righteous arrow
While Agamemnon seized wrongfully

37. Go tell that mule my words openly so he will be shamed
If after this he still dares slithering tricks

38. However brashly he comes, unafraid,
Let him not presume to approach or get near me

39. Let him not speak to me nor act rashly again
Nor spin long pointless words

40. Let him walk the path to ruin readily
For Zeus has stripped him of his wits

41. He is to me like a worthless hair
While I am all that he gained by deceit

42. Had the gods given me ten or twenty times more
Than what he hoped for and achieved in deed

43. Or as much as my treasures hold in Orchomenus
Or wealthy Thebes of the hundred gates

44. There the gates are so wide
That chariots can pass through side by side

45. Two hundred warriors on chariots
And horses - guards at each gate

46. Or had they given me as many as the sands and dust,
Still I would not turn from shunning him

47. I will not set foot among his comrades until
The worst ruin befalls those disgraces

48. If his daughter were fair as Aphrodite
Or wise Athena in splendor

49. Still I would not pursue her - let another
Compete with him among the slave women!

50. When I return home safely to my land
There I will find a wife to suit my every desire

51. Among the Phthiotian and Euboean girls
None lack beauty or grace

52. I will choose as I wish from among them
And in the prime of youth take pleasure

53. She will warmly comfort me in my old age
That cherished, gentle and familiar wife

54. No riches can match life itself
Taken amid the teeth on the bloody day

55. My mother Thetis spoke truly to me
That I have two paths to destruction

56. To live forever if I avoid the spear
Or return home forsaking glory

57. My desire is to urge the sheep
To turn back in retreat to their lands

58. Go and tell our countrymen outright
They will not take Troy by force

59. Zeus has cast fear upon their hearts
And stays above them, guarding them

60. Take word - for the old speak wisdom
Let them reconsider their unwise opinion

61. Then they may yet escape, though they erred
In seeking me - I'll not be buried amongst them!

62. Phoenix may lodge here tonight or
Return with me tomorrow - that would be best

63. I will sail off at dawn for certain
In my ship, not hesitating