The Homer Reader The Iliad & Odyssey · Greek and English

δύστηνος

dystenos

wretched, unhappy, unfortunate, disastrous

Appears 22 times across Homer's epics.

Frequency by work

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Dictionary (LSJ)

δύστηνος, Dor. δύστᾱνος, ον, A. wretched, unhappy, unfortunate, disastrous, poet. Adj.: 1. mostly of persons, as always in Hom. and mostly Trag., A. Pers. 909 (anap.), etc.; δυστήνων δέ τε παῖδες ἐμῷ μένει ἀντιόωσιν unhappy are they whose sons . . , Il. 6.127. 2. of sufferings and the like, μόχθος δ. Pi. P. 4.268; θέρος A. Ag. 1655; αἰκίαι S. El. 511 (lyr.); ὄνειδος Id. Aj. 1191 (lyr.); ὄνειρος Ar. Ra. 1333 (lyr.); πάθος D.H. 6.20. Adv., Sup. δυστανοτάτως γηράσκω E. Supp. 967 (lyr.). II. after Hom., in moral sense, wretched, S. El. 121 (Sup., lyr.), Ph. 1016; λόγοι E. HF 1346.—Rare in Prose, though D. 19.255 has δ. λογάρια, in latter sense: Sup. (v. supr. 1); no Comp. is found. (Cf. ἄστηνος.)
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