Agamemnon Refuses to Yield (1.285--303)

τὸν δ' ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων: [285]
ναὶ δὴ ταῦτά γε πάντα γέρον κατὰ μοῖραν ἔειπες:
ἀλλ' ὅδ' ἀνὴρ ἐθέλει περὶ πάντων ἔμμεναι ἄλλων,
πάντων μὲν κρατέειν ἐθέλει, πάντεσσι δ' ἀνάσσειν,
πᾶσι δὲ σημαίνειν, ἅ τιν' οὐ πείσεσθαι ὀΐω:
εἰ δέ μιν αἰχμητὴν ἔθεσαν θεοὶ αἰὲν ἐόντες [290]
τοὔνεκά οἱ προθέουσιν ὀνείδεα μυθήσασθαι;

τὸν δ' ἄρ' ὑποβλήδην ἠμείβετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς:
ἦ γάρ κεν δειλός τε καὶ οὐτιδανὸς καλεοίμην
εἰ δὴ σοὶ πᾶν ἔργον ὑπείξομαι ὅττί κεν εἴπῃς:
ἄλλοισιν δὴ ταῦτ' ἐπιτέλλεο, μὴ γὰρ ἔμοιγε [295]
σήμαιν': οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγ' ἔτι σοὶ πείσεσθαι ὀΐω.
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δ' ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσι:
χερσὶ μὲν οὔ τοι ἔγωγε μαχήσομαι εἵνεκα κούρης
οὔτε σοὶ οὔτέ τῳ ἄλλῳ, ἐπεί μ' ἀφέλεσθέ γε δόντες:
τῶν δ' ἄλλων ἅ μοί ἐστι θοῇ παρὰ νηῒ μελαίνῃ [300]
τῶν οὐκ ἄν τι φέροις ἀνελὼν ἀέκοντος ἐμεῖο:
εἰ δ' ἄγε μὴν πείρησαι ἵνα γνώωσι καὶ οἵδε:
αἶψά τοι αἷμα κελαινὸν ἐρωήσει περὶ δουρί.


Translation:

The ruler Agamemnon answered him and said:

No doubt, old man, you have shaped each word right and true.
But this man wants to surpass all the others—
he wants to be greater than them, to rule over them all,
to order them all about. But I don’t think I’ll be obeying him.
So what if the deathless gods made him a warrior—does that
give him the right to hurl insults like this?

But godlike Achilles cut him right off and answered:

Call me a coward and a man of no worth whatsoever
if I ever submit to you in anything you ever proclaim.
Bid the other men in these matters, but don’t you ever
order me about—I won’t be obeying you again.
I’ll tell you another thing, and you keep it in mind:
I refuse to fight you or any other man for the sake of the girl
since those who once gave her to me now take her away.
But as for the rest of what I keep by the swift black ships,
do not seize and carry off a single thing without my consent—
or go ahead and try it so that everyone here can see
your black blood gushing out around my spear!