Epicharmus, fr. 99 from Odysseus the Deserter
I am going to take a break and take a seat right here
And talk through how I will tell them things they believe, even the smarter ones.
“You seem wholly right and righteous to pray to the gods
But if you will only consider in what way
I risked so many things going where you ordered
How I took on sufferings away from this safety
And faced danger after danger to earn divine kleos,
Entering the enemy’s camp to learn clearly and well
To return unharmed to report back all the secrets
to the glorious Achaeans And the dear son of Atreus…”
τῆλ’ ἀπε]νθὼν τεῖδε θωκησῶ τε καὶ λεξοῦ[μ’ ὅπως
πιστά κ’ ε]ἴμειν ταῦτα καὶ τοῖς δεξιωτέροι[ς δοκῆι.
‘τοῖς θεοῖς] ἐμὶν δοκεῖτε πάγχυ καὶ κατὰ τρόπ[ον
καὶ ἐοικό]τως ἐπεύξασθ’, αἴ τις ἐνθυμεῖν γ[α λῆι,
ὅσσ’ ἐγών]γ’ ὤφειλον ἐνθ[ὼ]ν ὗσπερ ἐκελή[σασθ’ ἐμὲ
τῶν παρ’ ὑμέ]ων ἀγαθικῶν κακὰ προτιμάσαι θ’ [ἅμα
ἅμα τε κίν]δυνον τελέσσαι καὶ κλέος θεῖον [λαβεῖν,
πολεμίω]ν μολὼν ἐς ἄστυ, πάντα δ’ εὖ σαφα[νέως
πυθόμε]νος δίοις τ’ ᾿Αχαιοῖς παιδί τ’ ᾿Ατρέος φί[λωι
ἂψ ἀπαγγ]εῖλαι τὰ τηνεῖ καὐτὸς ἀσκηθὴς [μολεῖν.’
