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The Iliad Calchas Quotes

Calchas rose among them,
Thestor’s son, the clearest by far of all the seers
who scan the flight of birds. He knew all things that are,
all things that are past and all that are to come,
the seer who had led the Argive ships to Troy
with the second sight that god Apollo gave him.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 79-84. Calchas is a very valued seer in the Greek army who watches birds and other signs of the will of the gods that controls the fate of humans. He guides the Argive ships to Troy and makes a major contribution to the war effort. The god Apollo has blessed him with second sight.

And the matchless runner reassured him: "Courage!
Out with it now, Calchas. Reveal the will of god,
whatever you may know. And I swear by Apollo
dear to Zeus, the power you pray to, Calchas,
when you reveal god’s will to the Argives – no one,
not while I am alive and see the light on earth, no one
will lay his heavy hands on you by the hollow ships.
None among all the armies. Not even if you mean
Agamemnon here who now claims to be, by far,
the best of the Achaeans."

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 1, lines 99-108. Achilles moves to reassure Calchas who is fearful of explaining Apollo’s anger in sending the plague. The courageous Achilles lives up to his hero reputation by promising that he will protect Calchas even if it is from King Agamemnon.
in the tenth we'll take her broad streets - Odysseus

Calchas swiftly revealed the will of Zeus:
"Why struck dumb now, my long-hatred Achaeans?
Zeus who rules the world has shown us an awesome sign,
an event long in the future, late to come to birth
but the fame of that great work will never die.
As the snake devoured the sparrow with her brood,
eight and the mother made the ninth, she’d borne them all,
so we will fight in Troy that many years and then,
then in the tenth we’ll take her broad streets."

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 2, lines 381-389. Odysseus shows his credentials as a leader and hero by trying to rally the troops to fight, after they indicate their desire to return home. In this passage he quotes the prophesy by Calchas that the Achaean troops would fight in Troy for nine years and in the tenth they would be victorious by taking her streets. Before they reached Troy, the army witnessed a snake crawl up a tree to swallow eight baby sparrows and their mother in a nest, then turn to stone. Calchas interpreted this as a sign that Troy is fated to fall after the ninth year of battle. Odysseus’s speech succeeds in ralling the armies and Calchas’s interpretation turns out to be correct. The snake and the sparrows is one of the many epic similes used by Homer in the Iliad.

Ajax. Ajax!
Both of you – fight to save the Achaean armies.
call up your courage, no cringing panic now!
At other points on the line I have no fear
of the Trojans’ hands, invincible as they seem –
troops who had stormed our massive wall in force –
our men-at-arms will hold them all at bay.
But here 1 fear the worst, I dread a breakthrough.
Here this firebrand, rabid Hector leads the charge,
claiming to be the son of high and mighty Zeus.
But the two of you, if only a god could make you
stand fast yourselves, tense with all your power,
and command the rest of your men to stand fast too –
then you could hurl him back from the deep-sea ships,
hard as he hurls against you, even if Zeus himself
impels the madman on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 13, lines 58-73. God of the sea Poseidon, who is on the side of the Greeks in the Trojan War, emerges from the sea disguised as the Greek seer Calchas. In this passage he urges Great Ajax and Little Ajax to fight to save the Achaean armies and stand strong against Hector, whom he calls a madman. Even if Zeus himself impels Hector on, they can hurl him back from the ships, Poseidon says.
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