The Iliad

Sing, goddess, the rage of Peleus' son Achilles —the deadly rage that brought the Achaeans thousands of sorrowsand threw many brave souls of heroes down to Hades,leaving their bodies for dogs and all birds to eat.The will of Zeus was done,from the day Atreus' son, lord of men Agamemnon, and brilliant Achillesfirst fell out and fought each other.

Which god set them against each other?The son of Zeus and Leto, Apollo.He was angry at the king and sent a deadly sicknessthrough the army, and men died, because Atreus' sonhad disgraced Chryses the priest.Chryses had come to the Greek fast shipsto buy his daughter back, carrying the wreathed staffof the Far-Shooter with the sacred ribbons. All the Greeksbegged the king to respect him — but Agamemnonliked it better to disgrace him, and shouted:"Old man, don't let me catch you hanging around these ships,now or ever again — or your god's staff won't save you.I won't free her. She'll grow old in Argos, in my house,working at my loom, sharing my bed. Get out — don't make me angry."The old man went, afraid, walking in silence by the shore.But once he was far from camp, he prayedto Lord Apollo, son of fair-haired Leto:"Hear me, silver-bow god, protector of Chryse and holy Killa,mighty lord of Tenedos. If I ever built you a temple that pleased you,if I ever burned the fat thighs of bulls and goats for you,grant my prayer: make the Greeks pay for my tearswith your arrows." Phoebus heard him.He came down from Olympus angry, bow and quiver on his back;the arrows rattled on his shoulder as he walked, angry as night itself.He knelt apart from the ships and shot. The silver bowtwanged terribly. First he hit the mules and dogs,then shot the men — and the funeral fires of the deadburned day after day without end.

For nine days the arrows tore through the army. On the tenth,Achilles called an assembly: Hera put the idea in his heart —she pitied the Greeks dying. When everyone had gathered,Achilles stood up: "Son of Atreus, I think we'll have to sail home —if we don't die here first, war and sickness together.Come on: let's ask a priest or a prophet or a dream-reader —dreams come from Zeus too — why Apollo is this angry:is it a sacrifice he wants? Maybe the smoke of lambs and goatswould make him lift this plague from us."He sat down, and Calchas, son of Thestor, stood up —by far the best reader of birds, who knew present, future, and past,the man who had guided the Greek ships to Troywith the second sight Apollo gave him. He said kindly:"Achilles, you ask me to explain Apollo's anger.I'll tell you — but first promise me and swear:by this staff, which will never grow leaves againnow that it's been cut from its tree,the staff the Greek judges carry when they hand down justice —you'll protect me with your ships, your word, and your strength,even though Agamemnon will be furious,since he's the top king here."Achilles answered: "Speak up — say what you see. I swear by Apollo,whom you serve: no man on this beach will lift a hand against youwhile I'm alive — not even Agamemnon himself."Then the prophet found his courage: "The god isn't angryabout missed sacrifices. He's angry about his priest.Agamemnon disgraced him and refused to free his daughter.That's why the Far-Shooter is punishing us — and he'll keep punishing usuntil we give the girl back to her father, free, no payment —and send a hundred sacred oxen to Chryse.Then maybe he'll calm down."He sat. Agamemnon stood up, furious,his heart black with rage, his eyes like fire.He went at Calchas first: "You prophet of doom —you've never once brought me good news.You love predicting disaster. Now you tell the Greeksit's the Far-Shooter tormenting us — because I refusedthe prize money for Chryseis. Yes, I want her in my house.I like her better than Clytemnestra, my own wife —she's her equal in beauty, body, brains, and skill. But fine —I'll give her back if that's best for everyone. I want the army alive,not wiped out. But prepare me another prize, immediately,so I'm not the only one here without honor — everyone can seemy prize is leaving."Achilles fired back: "Son of Atreus — most glorious, most greedy.How can the Greeks hand you a prize? There's no big pileof common loot lying around. Everything from captured citieshas already been divided. Handing back divided loot isn't right.So send the girl to the god now — and we'll pay you backthree or four times over, if Zeus lets us sack Troy."Agamemnon answered: "Don't try to trick me, Achilles.You won't out-talk me. What do I get if you keep your prizewhile I sit here with nothing? Are you planning to keep yoursand leave me short? If the Greeks hand me a prize I like,worth the same — fine. If not, I'll come take one myself:yours, or Ajax's, or Odysseus'. Whoever I come to will be angry.We'll deal with that later. Right now: drag a black ship to the sea,find rowers, load a hundred oxen, and put Chryseis aboard,with a leader — Ajax, Idomeneus, Odysseus — or you, son of Peleus,most violent man alive. Go make the god an offering and calm him down."Achilles glared at him: "Shameless, scheming, dog-eyed, deer-hearted!You've never once armed yourself with the men for battle,never gone on an ambush raid. Coward's work, to you.It's easier to walk through camp stealing the prizeof anyone who talks back to you. King who feeds on your people:you command nobodies, that's all. Otherwise this would be your last insult.But hear me — I swear it on this staff:the staff that will never bud or leaf again,cut from its mountain tree; the staff the Greek judges carrywhen they hand down Zeus's justice —just as surely as that wood will never grow again,the Greeks will beg for Achilles, one day.And your grief will have no cure, no matter how sorry you are,when the war god cuts your army down — and you,choked with rage at yourself, grind your heart,because you honored the best Greek here not at all."He threw the gold-studded staff to the ground and sat.Agamemnon burned with rage. But Nestor rose between them,the smooth-tongued speaker of Pylos, whose voicepoured out sweeter than honey. Two generations of menhad already passed away, born and raised in Pylos,and now he ruled among the third. He spoke kindly:"Terrible grief for the land of Greece!Priam and his sons would cheer,and every Trojan would celebrate,if they heard you two fighting — you two,the best in council, the best in battle. Listen to me: you're both younger than I am.I've walked with better men than you,men who never looked down on me. I'll never see their like again:Perithous, Dryas the shepherd of armies,Caineus, Exadius, godlike Polyphemus,and Aegeus, who looked like an immortal.They were the strongest men on earth, the strongest,and they fought the wild mountain Centaurs — destroyed them.I was with them, called from far-off Pylos.Even they took my advice. Listen to me too: it's better.Don't take the girl. Leave her — the army picked her out first.But you, son of Peleus: don't fight a king, force against force.A scepter-carrying king, honored by Zeus,has no equal. You're stronger, and a goddess bore you —but he rules more men. Son of Atreus, hold back your anger.I beg you: go easy on Achilles, who isa great wall of defense for all the Greeks in this war."Agamemnon answered: "Old man, well said.But this man wants to be above everyone —to rule all of us, command all of us. Not me.If the gods made him a fighter — is that his excuseto insult me?" Achilles cut in: "I'd be a cowardand a nobody if I took orders from you on everything.Give orders to other men. I won't obey you anymore.And listen carefully: I won't fight over this girl —not against you, not against anyone. You gave her; you can take her.But touch anything else of mine — my swift black ships —against my will, and come try it in front of everyone:your blood will run around my spear."So they fought with words. Then they stoodand broke up the assembly by the ships.

Achilles went back to his huts and ships with Patroclusand their men. Agamemnon had a fast ship dragged to the water,picked twenty rowers, loaded a hundred sacred oxen,put Chryseis aboard with Odysseus in command —and they sailed out over the open sea.Then Agamemnon ordered the whole army to purify itself.They washed, threw the filth into the sea,and burned a hundred oxen and goats for Apolloalong the beach; the smoke rose straight to heaven.The army worked at this. But Agamemnon hadn't forgottenhis threat: fair-cheeked Briseis. He calledhis heralds Talthybios and Eurybates:"Go to Achilles' hut. Take fair-cheeked Briseis by the handand bring her here. If he won't give her up,I'll come myself with a bigger force — and it will be worse for him."They walked along the shore, hating the errand,and found him sitting by his hut and black ship.He saw them coming from far off, and they stood thereashamed, afraid to speak. He knew what they were feeling:"Welcome, heralds, messengers of Zeus and men. Come near.You two aren't to blame — Agamemnon is,who sent you for Briseis. Patroclus, my friend,bring the girl out and give her to them. But let them both be witnessesbefore the gods and men — before that ruthless king —if the day ever comes when they need meto hold back disaster. He's drunk on his own rage;he can't look ahead or behind, and seehow the Greeks can fight safely by their ships."Patroclus did as his friend asked. He led Briseis outand handed her to the heralds, and she went with them unwillingly.Achilles, weeping, left his friends,sat down alone on the beach, staring at the gray sea.He stretched out his hands and prayed to his mother:"Mother — since you gave birth to me for a short life,the thundering Olympian owes me honor.And he hasn't given me any. Agamemnonhas disgraced me: he took my prize and keeps it, ripped it away."His noble mother heard him weeping,deep in the sea beside her old father.She rose through the gray water like a mist, sat downin front of him, stroked him with her hand: "My child —why are you crying? What pain is in your heart?Tell me. Don't hide it from me."Achilles groaned: "You know everything — why should I tell you?We sacked Thebe, Eetion's holy city, and took everything.The Greeks divided the spoils fairlyand set aside Chryseis, the lovely girl, for Agamemnon.Then Chryses, priest of Apollo, came to the shipsto ransom her, bringing a fortune in ransom,holding Apollo's wreathed staff and the sacred ribbons,begging all the Greeks — but Agamemnon most of all:'Sons of Atreus, Greeks all — may the gods on Olympuslet you sack Priam's city and get home safe.Free my daughter. Take the ransom. Respect Apollo's son.'All the Greeks shouted yes — respect the priest,take the ransom. Agamemnon said no.He shouted the old man away with threats.The old man left, furious — and Apollo heard him,because he loved him, and shot his arrows at the Greeks.Men died, one after another; the god's shaftswent everywhere through the wide army.Then the Far-Shooter's oracle told us: send back the girl, angry as he was.Agamemnon did send a herald straightaway to take Briseis.So — do something, if you can. Protect your son.Go up to Olympus. Remind Zeus — if you've everpleased him with a word or deed. I've heard you boasting at homethat you alone, of all the gods, saved Zeusfrom disgrace — the day the other Olympianstried to chain him: Hera, Poseidon, Pallas Athena.You came, goddess, and you unbound him —you called the hundred-handed giant up to Olympus,the one the gods call Briareos and men call Aegaeon,stronger than his own father.He sat beside Zeus, proud, and the godswere too scared to try chaining him again.Remind Zeus of all this. Sit beside him, hold his knees,and beg him to help the Trojans —pin the Greeks back at their ships, killing them,so they all learn what their king is worth,so Agamemnon himself understands his blindness:that he honored the best Greek here not at all."His mother answered, tears on her cheeks:"Oh my child — why did I raise you for so much pain?I wish you could stay by your ships without tears or sorrow —your whole life is so short, and now you'refated to die young and suffer more than anyone.I bore you under a curse. But I'll go to Zeusand say all this to him: he'll listen. Meanwhile —stay by your ships, furious at the Greeks. Don't fight at all.Zeus left yesterday for Ocean, to feast with the blameless Ethiopians —all the gods went with him. In twelve days he'll be home.Then I'll go to his bronze-floored house, hold his knees,and I think I'll win him over." She left him there,heartbroken over the fair-girdled girl they'd taken.

Odysseus brought the hundred oxen to Chryse.They sailed into the deep harbor, furled the sails,stowed them, lowered the mast into its cradle, and rowed to the mooring.Anchors down, ropes fast, they went ashoreand carried the hundred oxen out for Apollo,and brought Chryseis off the ship. Odysseus led herto the altar and put her in her father's arms: "Chryses —Agamemnon sent me to bring your daughter home,and a hundred oxen for the Far-Shooter,so the god will calm down and stop grieving the Greeks."He put her in her father's hands, and the old man rejoiced,praising the god aloud: "I pray to you, lord Apollo:let the Greeks find what they pray for."Apollo heard him. Then they prayed, scattered barley,pulled the victims' heads back and cut their throats, flayed them,cut out the thigh bones, wrapped them in fat,and the old man burned them on split wood, pouring wine on top,while the young men stood by with five-pronged forks.When the thigh bones were burned and everyone had tasted the organs,they cut up the rest, spitted it, and roasted it carefully.Then they feasted, everyone full of meat and wine,and the young men filled the wine bowls to the brimand poured cups for everyone. All day longthe young Greeks sang to please the god —a beautiful hymn to the Far-Shooter —and he listened with joy. When the sun went down,they slept by the ship's ropes. At dawn,when rosy-fingered Dawn appeared, they sailed for home.Apollo sent them a fair wind; they raised the mast,spread the white sails, and the wind filled them,the bright waves roaring around the keel as the ship ran.Back at camp they hauled the black ship up the beach,propped it with long timbers, and everyone went to their own tent.But Achilles, the fast runner, son of Peleus,sat by his ships, feeding his rage.He never went to the assembly, never went to battle —he sat there eating his own heart, longingfor the war cry and the fight.

On the twelfth morning the gods returned to Olympus, Zeus at their head.Thetis hadn't forgotten her son's request. She rose out of the seaat dawn, climbed to great Olympus, and found Zeussitting alone on the highest ridge. She sat in front of him,grabbed his left knee with her left hand, his chin with her right,and prayed: "Father Zeus, if I've ever helped youamong the gods, in word or deed — grant me one thing:honor my son, who is fated to die sooner than anyone.Agamemnon has disgraced him — seized his prize and keeps it.Honor him, Zeus: give the Trojans strengthuntil the Greeks repay my son and shower him with gifts."Zeus said nothing, a long time. Thetis held his knee,pressed, asked again: "Promise me plainly. Bow your head —or refuse. You have nothing to fear. Then I'll knowexactly how much the gods despise you." Zeus, troubled, said:"This is a bad business. You'll set me against Hera —she'll insult me forever. She already accuses meof helping the Trojans. Go now, before she sees you.Leave it all to me. I'll bow my head to you, so you can believe it:nothing I promise with a nod can be taken back,or lied about, or left undone." He spoke —and bent his dark brows. The deathless hair of the kingfell forward from his deathless head, and Olympus shook.They parted: she dove from Olympus into the deep sea;Zeus went to his own hall. All the gods rose from their seatswhen they saw him coming: nobody dared stay seated.He sat on his throne. Hera saw him — and knew at oncethat silver-footed Thetis had been scheming with him. She went at him:"Which god has been whispering with you now, you schemer?You love sneaking off, making secret plans —never telling me a thing, never, willingly."The father of gods and men said: "Hera,don't expect to know everything I say. It's too much for you,wife or no wife. Whatever is fit for others to hear,no god or man hears before you. What I plan alone —stop asking. Stop prying."Hera answered: "What a thing to say, dread son of Cronus!I've never questioned you, never pried. But nowyou plan in peace without me. I'm afraid —Thetis, the Old Man of the Sea's daughter, rose with you at dawn.I saw her. And now you've nodded yes to her:you promised to honor her son Achillesand slaughter Greeks by the ships."Zeus said: "Wife, you see everything, and you see nothing.You haven't heard my plan — and you won't. No immortal,no human, learns my mind before it happens. Not even Hera,though she fights me on everything. Be quiet,sit down beside me, and do as I say — or all the godson Olympus together won't save youwhen I come over and lay these unbreakable hands on you."Hera was afraid. She sat in silence, swallowing her anger.All the gods in the house were upset. Then the famous smithHephaestus stood up to help his white-armed mother:"This is a disaster. Unbearable. If you twofight like this over mortals, and drag the gods into it,there's no pleasure in the feast — bad wins. Mother,listen to me — you know I'm right: be sweet to Zeus,so he doesn't start scolding you again and ruin dinner.If the thunder lord decides to tie us all up —who's going to stop him? Remember last time?I tried to save you, grabbed his knees —he grabbed my foot and threw me off the threshold.I fell all day and landed on Lemnos at sunset,barely alive. The Sintian men took me in."Hera smiled, took the double cup from her son's hand.He poured sweet wine for all the gods, left to right,scooping nectar from the bowl — and the gods roared with laughter,helpless, watching Hephaestus hustle around the hall.So they feasted all day until sunset,no one short of a fair share, nobody missingthe lovely lyre in Apollo's hands, or the Musessinging in answer, one to another. When the sun's light went down,each went home to sleep, each to the housethe famous lame smith had built him with his craft.And Zeus, lord of lightning, went to his bed —the bed where he always slept when sweet sleep came. He climbed in,and slept, and golden-throned Hera lay beside him.

Others, both the gods and the chariot-fighting men,slept all night, but sweet sleep did not hold Zeus;instead he was pondering in his heart how he might honor Achillesand destroy many men beside the ships of the Achaeans.This plan seemed best to him in his heart:to send an evil dream to Agamemnon son of Atreus.He spoke to it and addressed it with winged words:"Go, evil dream, to the swift ships of the Achaeans.Go into the hut of Agamemnon son of Atreusand tell him everything exactly as I command.Tell him to arm the long-haired Achaeanswith all speed; for now he could take the wide-wayed cityof the Trojans; for the immortals who hold the Olympian hallsno longer think separately; Hera has bent them allby her begging, and troubles hang over the Trojans."So he spoke, and the dream went when it heard that word.Quickly it reached the swift ships of the Achaeans,and went to Agamemnon son of Atreus; it found himsleeping in his hut, and immortal sleep was poured around him.It stood above his head, looking like the son of Neleus,Nestor, whom Agamemnon honored most of the old men.Looking like him, the divine dream spoke to him:"You are asleep, son of Atreus, tamer of horses, skilled in war.A man who gives counsel should not sleep all night,one who has peoples entrusted to him and so much to care for.Now listen to me quickly; I am a messenger from Zeus,who, though far from you, cares greatly for you and pities you.He tells you to arm the long-haired Achaeanswith all speed; for now you could take the wide-wayed cityof the Trojans; for the immortals who hold the Olympian hallsno longer think separately; Hera has bent them allby her begging, and troubles hang over the Trojansfrom Zeus. But keep this in your mind, and do not let forgetfulnesstake hold of you when honey-sweet sleep lets you go."With these words it went away and left him therethinking in his heart of things that were never to happen.For he thought he would take the city of Priam that very day,fool, and he did not know what deeds Zeus was planning;for he was still to bring pains and groanson Trojans and Danaans through hard battles.He woke from sleep, and the divine voice was poured around him.He sat up straight and put on a soft tunic,a fine new one, and threw a big cloak around him;under his shining feet he tied fine sandals,and over his shoulders he hung a silver-studded sword.He took up the scepter of his fathers, forever undying,and with it he went along the ships of the bronze-clad Achaeans.Dawn the goddess went up to tall Olympusto bring light to Zeus and the other immortals.But he ordered the clear-voiced heraldsto call the long-haired Achaeans to assembly.They called them, and the men gathered very quickly.First he sat down a council of great-hearted old menbeside the ship of Nestor, the king born in Pylos.He called them together and made ready a careful council:"Listen, friends. A divine dream came to methrough the immortal night; and most of all it looked likegodlike Nestor in shape, size, and build.It stood above my head and said to me:'You are asleep, son of Atreus, tamer of horses, skilled in war.A man who gives counsel should not sleep all night,one who has peoples entrusted to him and so much to care for.Now listen to me quickly; I am a messenger from Zeus,who, though far from you, cares greatly for you and pities you.He tells you to arm the long-haired Achaeanswith all speed; for now you could take the wide-wayed cityof the Trojans; for the immortals who hold the Olympian hallsno longer think separately; Hera has bent them allby her begging, and troubles hang over the Trojansfrom Zeus. But keep this in your mind.' So it spokeand went off flying away, and sweet sleep let me go.But come, let us somehow arm the sons of the Achaeans.First I myself will test them with words, as is right,and I will tell them to flee with the many-benched ships;and you, from one side and another, hold them back with words."So he spoke and sat down, and among them stood upNestor, who was lord of sandy Pylos,and with good will he spoke to them and said:"Friends, leaders and rulers of the Argives,if some other one of the Achaeans had told this dream,we would call it a lie and turn away from it all the more;but now the man who claims to be far the best of the Achaeans has seen it.But come, let us somehow arm the sons of the Achaeans."With these words he led the way out of the council,and they stood up and obeyed the shepherd of the people,the scepter-bearing kings; and the people hurried along.As the swarming tribes of bees go outfrom a hollow rock, always coming on fresh,and fly in clusters over the spring flowers,some swarming here in crowds, some there,so the many tribes of them marched from the ships and hutsin front of the deep shore,in troops to the assembly; and among them Rumour burned,the messenger of Zeus, urging them to go; and they gathered.The assembly was in an uproar, and the ground groaned beneath themas the people sat down, and there was a din; and nineheralds shouting held them back, to see if they mightstop their shouting and hear the kings brought up by Zeus.With an effort the people sat down and were held in their seats,stopping their clamor; and lord Agamemnon stood upholding the scepter that Hephaestus had worked to make.Hephaestus gave it to Zeus the lord, son of Cronos,and then Zeus gave it to the guide, the killer of Argus;and lord Hermes gave it to Pelops, the driver of horses,and then Pelops in turn gave it to Atreus, shepherd of the people,and Atreus, dying, left it to Thyestes rich in sheep,and then Thyestes in turn left it to Agamemnon to carry,to rule over many islands and all of Argos.Leaning on it he spoke his words to the Argives:"Friends, heroes, Danaans, servants of Ares,Zeus the son of Cronos has tied me up in heavy ruin,cruel god, who before promised me and nodded his headthat I would sack well-walled Ilion and come home;but now he has planned a wicked trick, and he tells meto come back to Argos in disgrace, since I have destroyed so many men.This is probably how it pleases Zeus the all-powerful,who has already pulled down the tops of many citiesand will pull down more; for his power is the greatest.For this is a shameful thing even for people in the future to hear,that so great and so many a host of the Achaeansshould wage a war that comes to nothing and fightagainst fewer men, and no end has yet appeared.For if we Achaeans and the Trojans were willingto cut faithful oaths and be counted, both sides,and count the Trojans, all who have homes there,and if we Achaeans were arranged in groups of ten,and each ten picked one Trojan man to pour their wine,many groups of ten would go without a wine-pourer.That is how many more, I say, the sons of the Achaeans arethan the Trojans who live in the city; but there are alliesfrom many cities, men who shake the spear,and they trouble me greatly and do not let me, though I want to,sack the well-settled citadel of Ilion.Nine years of great Zeus have already gone by,and already the timbers of the ships have rotted and the ropes have come loose;and our wives and our little childrensit in our halls waiting for us; and the work we came here foris still unfinished.But come, let us all be persuaded by what I say:let us flee with the ships to our dear native land;for we will not take wide-wayed Troy any more."So he spoke, and he stirred the heart in the breastsof all in the crowd who had not heard the council;and the assembly was moved like the long waves of the sea,the Icarian sea, which the East Wind and the South Windrouse when they rush down from the clouds of father Zeus.And as when the West Wind comes and moves the deep grain field,blowing hard, and the ears of grain bow down,so their whole assembly was moved; and with a shoutthey rushed toward the ships, and under their feet the duststood rising up; and they called out to one anotherto take hold of the ships and drag them to the bright sea,and they cleared the slipways; and the cry reached heavenas they hurried home; and they took out the props from under the ships.Then a homecoming beyond what was fated would have come to the Argivesif Hera had not spoken a word to Athena:"Alas, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, tireless one,will the Argives really flee home to their dear native landover the broad back of the sea,and would they leave a boast for Priam and the Trojans,Helen of Argos, for whose sake many of the Achaeanshave died in Troy, far from their dear native land?But come now, go through the host of the bronze-clad Achaeans,hold back each man with your gentle words,and do not let them drag the curved ships to the sea."So she spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena did not disobey,and she rushed down from the peaks of Olympus.Quickly she reached the swift ships of the Achaeans.Then she found Odysseus, equal to Zeus in counsel,standing there; he was not touching the black well-benched ship,since grief had reached his heart and spirit.Standing near him, bright-eyed Athena spoke:"Son of Laertes, born of Zeus, Odysseus of many devices,will you really flee home to your dear native land,falling into the many-benched ships,and would you leave a boast for Priam and the Trojans,Helen of Argos, for whose sake many of the Achaeanshave died in Troy, far from their dear native land?But come now, go through the host of the Achaeans, do not hold back any longer,and hold back each man with your gentle words,and do not let them drag the curved ships to the sea."So she spoke, and he understood the voice of the goddess speaking,and he ran; he threw off his cloak, and it was picked upby the herald Eurybates of Ithaca, who served him.He himself went to meet Agamemnon son of Atreusand took from him the scepter of his fathers, forever undying.With it he went along the ships of the bronze-clad Achaeans.Whatever king or notable man he came up to,he would stand beside him and hold him back with gentle words:"You strange man, it is not right for you to be frightened like a coward;but sit down yourself and make the other people sit;for you do not yet clearly know what the mind of the son of Atreus is.Right now he is testing us, and soon he will press the sons of the Achaeans.And we did not all hear what he said in the council.Do not let him, in his anger, do some harm to the sons of the Achaeans.The temper of kings brought up by Zeus is great,and their honor comes from Zeus, and Zeus the counselor loves them."But when he saw a man of the people and found him shouting,he would drive him with the scepter and scold him with a word:"You strange man, sit still and hear the words of others,who are better than you, while you are unwarlike and weak,counted as nothing either in war or in council.We Achaeans certainly will not all be kings here.Many rulers is not a good thing. Let there be one ruler,one king, to whom the son of crooked-counseling Cronos gavethe scepter and the laws, so that he may give counsel for them."So he, taking command, ordered the army; and they rushed backto the assembly again from the ships and hutswith a shout, like when the wave of the loud-roaring searoars on a great shore, and the sea resounds.The others sat down and were held in their seats;but Thersites alone, endless in speech, kept shouting,who knew in his mind many disorderly words,at random, and not in order, to quarrel with the kings,but whatever seemed to him laughablefor the Argives; and he was the ugliest man who came to Ilion.He was bandy-legged, lame in one foot; and his two shoulderswere hunched, drawn together over his chest; and abovehis head was pointed, and thin woolly hair grew on it.He was the most hateful to Achilles and to Odysseus.For he used to quarrel with those two; and then he spokesharp insults against godlike Agamemnon, shouting out; and the Achaeanswere terribly angry with him and resented it in their hearts.But he, shouting loudly, insulted Agamemnon with words:"Son of Atreus, what are you complaining about now, or what do you want?Your huts are full of bronze, and there are many womenpicked out in your huts, whom we Achaeansgive to you first whenever we take a city.Or do you still want gold, which one of thehorse-taming Trojans will bring from Ilion as ransomfor his son, whom I may tie up and bring, or another of the Achaeans may,or a young woman, to sleep with in love,whom you keep apart for yourself? It is not rightfor a leader to bring troubles on the sons of the Achaeans.You cowards, base reproaches, women of Achaea, no longer men,let us go home with the ships, and leave this manhere in Troy to chew over his prizes, so that he may seewhether we help him in any way too or not.He has now dishonored Achilles, a man far better than himself;for he took away his prize and holds it, having seized it himself.But there is no anger at all in Achilles' heart; he just lets things go.For otherwise, son of Atreus, you would have done shameful things for the last time."So Thersites spoke, insulting Agamemnon, shepherd of the people.And godlike Odysseus quickly stood beside him,and looking at him from under his brows he rebuked him with a harsh word:"Thersites, loose in speech, though you are a clear-voiced speaker,hold back, and do not want to quarrel alone with kings.For I say that there is no other mortalmore worthless than you among all who came to Ilion with the sons of Atreus.So you should not talk about the kings with your mouth,nor bring insults against them, nor watch for the homecoming.For we do not yet know clearly how these things will be,whether we sons of the Achaeans will get home well or badly.So now you sit and insult Agamemnon son of Atreus, shepherd of the people,because the heroes, the Danaans, give him many things;and you speak mockingly.But I will tell you, and this will also come true:if I catch you still raving like this now,then let not the head of Odysseus stay on his shoulders,and let me not be called the father of Telemachus any more,if I do not take you and strip off your dear clothing,the cloak and the tunic, which cover your shame,and send you crying to the swift ships,beaten out of the assembly with shameful blows."So he spoke, and he struck his back and shoulders with the scepter.And he doubled over, and a big tear fell from him;a bloody welt rose up on his backfrom the golden scepter; and he sat down and was afraid,and in pain he wiped away the tear, looking helpless.And they, though grieved, laughed sweetly at him;and one of them spoke like this, looking at the man near him:"Well now, truly Odysseus has done countless good things,leading good counsels and arming war;but now he has done this, by far the best thing among the Argives,who has stopped this foul-mouthed slanderer from the assemblies.Surely his proud spirit will not send him back againto insult the kings with insulting words."So the crowd said; and city-sacking Odysseus stood upholding the scepter; and beside him bright-eyed Athena,looking like a herald, ordered the people to be silent,so that at the same time both the first and the last of the sons of the Achaeansmight hear the word and think about the plan.He, with good will toward them, spoke and said:"Son of Atreus, now the Achaeans, my lord, want to make youthe most shameful of all mortal men,and they will not carry out the promise that they madewhen they came here from horse-pasturing Argos,that they would sack well-walled Ilion and come home.For like young children or widowed womenthey wail to one another to go home.And truly it is a weariness to go home after being vexed;for a man who stays one month away from his wifegrows fretful with his many-benched ship, when winter stormsand the stirred-up sea hold him back.But for us this is the ninth turning yearthat we have been waiting here; so I do not blame the Achaeansfor being fretful beside the curved ships; but even soit is a shame to wait a long time and go home empty.Endure, friends, and wait a while, so that we may knowwhether Calchas prophesies truly or not.For we know this well in our minds, and you are allwitnesses, those whom the fates of death have not come to carry off.It was yesterday and the day before, when the ships of the Achaeanswere gathered at Aulis, bringing evils to Priam and the Trojans,and we around a spring on the sacred altarswere making full hecatombs to the immortalsunder a fair plane tree, from which bright water flowed.Then a great sign appeared: a snake with a blood-red back,terrible, which the Olympian himself sent into the light,darting out from under the altar and rushing toward the plane tree.There were the young of a sparrow, infant children,crouching under the leaves on the highest branch,eight of them, and the mother was the ninth, the one who bore the chicks.Then he ate them piteously as they twittered;and the mother flew around, mourning her dear children;and he coiled and seized her by the wing as she screamed.But when he had eaten the children of the sparrow and her too,the god who had shown him made him very visible;for the son of crooked-counseling Cronos turned him to stone;and we stood and marveled at how it had happened.So when these terrible portents came into the hecatombs of the gods,Calchas at once spoke, prophesying:'Why have you become speechless, long-haired Achaeans?Zeus the counselor has shown us this great sign,late in coming, late in fulfillment, whose fame will never perish.As this one ate the children of the sparrow and her too,eight of them, and the mother was the ninth, the one who bore the chicks,so we shall fight for that many years here,and in the tenth we shall take the wide-wayed city.'That is how he spoke; and now all these things are being fulfilled.But come, all you well-greaved Achaeans, waithere until we take the great city of Priam."So he spoke, and the Argives shouted aloud, and around them the shipsrang terribly as the Achaeans shouted,praising the word of godlike Odysseus.And among them Gerenian horseman Nestor also spoke:"Well now, in the assembly you behave like young children,infants who do not care at all about warlike deeds.Where will our agreements and oaths go?Let the counsels and the plans of men go into the fire,and the unmixed drink-offerings and the right hands we trusted in;for in this way we quarrel with words, and we cannotfind any remedy, though we have been here a long time.Son of Atreus, you, still keeping your firm counsel as before,lead the Argives through the mighty battles,and let those one or two men be destroyed, who make plansapart from the Achaeans; there will be no accomplishment from them.But before going back to Argos, and before we knowfrom aegis-bearing Zeus whether the promise is a lie or not,for I say that the all-powerful son of Cronos nodded his headon that day when we stepped into the swift-sailing ships,we Argives bringing slaughter and death to the Trojans,flashing lightning on the right hand and showing favorable signs.So let no one hurry to go homebefore he has slept with a Trojan's wife,and has taken vengeance for the struggles and groans of Helen.But if anyone very much wants to go home,let him take hold of his own black well-benched ship,so that before the others he may meet death and fate.But you, my lord, plan well yourself and obey another;the word I speak will not be one to be thrown away:sort the men by tribes and by clans, Agamemnon,so that clan may help clan, and tribe may help tribe.And if you do this and the Achaeans obey you,then you will know which of the leaders is bad and which of the men,and which may be good; for they will fight by themselves.You will also know whether you fail to sack the city by divine power,or because of the cowardice of the men and their ignorance of war."And in reply lord Agamemnon spoke to him:"Truly, old man, in the assembly you surpass the sons of the Achaeans.I wish, father Zeus, and Athena, and Apollo,that I had ten such counselors among the Achaeans.Then the city of lord Priam would soon bow its head,taken and sacked by our hands.But aegis-bearing Zeus the son of Cronos has given me grief,who throws me into fruitless strifes and quarrels.For I and Achilles fought with each other over a girlwith hostile words, and I was the first to grow angry.But if ever we plan as one, then there will no longer beany delay of the evil for the Trojans, not even a little.But now go to dinner, so that we may join battle.Let each man sharpen his spear well, and set his shield well,and let each give dinner to his swift-footed horses,and let each look well to his chariot and care for war,so that all day long we may stand in hateful battle.For there will be no rest at all, not even a little,unless night comes and separates the fury of men.The strap of the man-covering shield will sweat around someone's chest,and his hand will grow weary around the spear;and someone's horse will sweat as it pulls the well-polished chariot.But whoever I notice away from the battle, wantingto linger beside the curved ships, it will not beenough for him to escape the dogs and the birds."So he spoke, and the Argives shouted aloud, like when a waveon a high shore, when the South Wind comes and stirs itagainst a jutting rock; the waves never leave it,from all sorts of winds, whenever they come from here or there.They stood up and rushed, scattering to the ships,and they made fires in the huts, and took dinner.And each man sacrificed to a different one of the eternal gods,praying to escape death and the turmoil of Ares.But Agamemnon, lord of men, sacrificed a bull,a fat five-year-old, to the all-powerful son of Cronos,and he called the elders, the best of all the Panachaeans:Nestor first of all and lord Idomeneus,and then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus,and sixth Odysseus, equal to Zeus in counsel.And Menelaus good at the war-cry came to him of his own accord;for he knew in his heart how his brother was laboring.They stood the bull around, and took up the barley grains,and in prayer lord Agamemnon spoke among them:"Zeus, most glorious, greatest, black-clouded, dwelling in the sky,let the sun not go down and darkness not comebefore I throw down the smoking hall of Priamin ruins, and burn its doors with hostile fire,and cut the tunic of Hector on his chestin pieces with bronze; and many companions around himmay fall face down in the dust and bite the earth."So he spoke, but the son of Cronos did not yet fulfill it for him,but he received the sacrifices, and added undreamed-of labor.But when they had prayed and thrown the barley grains,they first drew back the head and slaughtered it and skinned it,and cut out the thighs and covered them with fat,making a double fold, and placed raw pieces on top.And they burned these on leafless sticks,and spitted the innards and held them over the fire of Hephaestus.But when the thighs were burned and they had tasted the innards,they cut up the rest and pierced it on spits,and roasted it carefully and drew it all off.But when they had stopped working and prepared the feast,they feasted, and their hearts lacked nothing of the equal feast.But when they had put away their desire for drink and food,Gerenian horseman Nestor began to speak among them:"Most glorious son of Atreus, lord of men, Agamemnon,let us no longer talk here now, nor put offthe work any longer, which the god is putting into our hands.But come, let the heralds of the bronze-clad Achaeansgather the host, calling them along the ships,but let us, gathered here, go through the wide host of the Achaeansso that we may rouse sharp Ares the sooner."So he spoke, and Agamemnon, lord of men, did not disobey him.At once he ordered the clear-voiced heraldsto call the long-haired Achaeans to war.They called them, and the men gathered very quickly.And around the son of Atreus the kings brought up by Zeusrushed about, sorting them, and with them bright-eyed Athenacarrying her honored aegis, ageless and immortal,from which a hundred golden tassels hang,all well-woven, and each worth a hundred oxen.With it she darted flashing through the host of the Achaeans,urging them on, and she roused strength in the heart of each manwithout pause, to wage war and to fight.And at once war became sweeter to them than to go homein the hollow ships to their dear native land.As a raging fire burns over the endless foreston the mountain tops, and its glare is seen from far away,so from the bronze, as they marched, the wonderfulall-shining gleam went through the clear air to the sky.And as the many tribes of birds that fly,of geese or cranes or long-necked swans,in the Asian meadow by the streams of the Cayster,fly this way and that, glorying in their wings,settling down with cries, and the meadow echoes,so their many tribes poured out from the ships and the hutsinto the plain of Scamander; and under them the earthrang terribly under the feet of the men and the horses.They stood in the flowery meadow of Scamander,countless, as many as the leaves and flowers that grow in season.As the many tribes of swarming fliesthat hover around a shepherd's foldin the spring season, when the milk soaks the pails,so many long-haired Achaeans on the plaintook their stand against the Trojans, eager to break them.And as goatherds easily separate wide flocks of goatsonce they have mixed in the pasture,so their leaders put them in order here and thereto go into battle; and among them lord Agamemnon,like Zeus who delights in thunder in eyes and head,in waist like Ares, in chest like Poseidon.As a bull stands far the foremost of all the herd,for he stands out among the gathered cattle,such did Zeus make the son of Atreus on that day,striking among many and outstanding among the heroes.Tell me now, Muses who hold the Olympian halls,for you are goddesses and are present and know everything,while we hear only report and know nothing,who they were, the leaders and lords of the Danaans.The crowd I could not tell or name,not even if I had ten tongues and ten mouths,and a voice that never broke, and a heart of bronze in me,unless the Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus,reminded me of all who came to Ilion.But I will tell the leaders of the ships and all the ships together.Of the Boeotians Peneleos and Leitus led,and Arcesilaus and Prothoenor and Clonius,and those who lived in Hyrie and rocky Aulis,Schoenus and Scolus and many-ridged Eteonus,Thespia and Graia and wide Mycalessus,and those who lived around Harma and Eilesium and Erythrae,and those who held Eleon and Hyle and Peteon,Ocalea and well-built Medeon,Copae and Eutresis and Thisbe full of doves,and those of Coroneia and grassy Haliartus,and those who held Plataea and those who lived in Glisas,and those who held Hypothebae, the well-built town,and sacred Onchestus, the shining grove of Poseidon,and those who held Arne rich in grapes, and those of Mideaand holy Nisa and Anthedon at the far edge.Of these fifty ships went out, and in eacha hundred and twenty young Boeotians stepped aboard.And those who lived in Aspledon and Minyan Orchomenus,of these Ascalaphus and Ialmenus led, the sons of Ares,whom Astyoche bore in the house of Actor son of Azeus,a modest girl who had gone up to the upper roomto mighty Ares; and he lay with her in secret.With them thirty hollow ships were drawn up.And of the Phocians Schedius and Epistrophus led,the sons of great-hearted Iphitus son of Naubolus,those who held Cyparissus and rocky Pytho,and holy Crisa and Daulis and Panopeus,and those who lived around Anemoreia and Hyampolis,and those who lived beside the divine river Cephisus,and those who held Lilaea at the springs of the Cephisus;with them forty black ships followed.These set up the ranks of the Phocians, looking after them,and close beside the Boeotians on the left they armed themselves.And of the Locrians swift Ajax son of Oileus led,the lesser one, not as tall as Telamonian Ajax,but far smaller; he was a little man in a linen corselet,yet with the spear he outdid all the Hellenes and Achaeans,those who lived in Cynus and Opoeis and Calliarus,and Bessa and Scarphe and lovely Augeae,and Tarphe and Thronium around the streams of Boagrius;with him forty black ships followedof the Locrians, who live across from sacred Euboea.And those who held Euboea, the Abantes breathing might,and Chalcis and Eretria and vine-rich Histiaea,and Cerinthus by the sea and the steep town of Dion,and those who held Carystus and those who lived in Styra,of these Elephenor led, the offspring of Ares,son of Chalcodon, leader of the great-hearted Abantes.With him the swift Abantes followed, their hair long behind,spearmen eager with outstretched ash spearsto break the breastplates on the chests of the enemy;with him forty black ships followed.And those who held Athens, the well-built town,the people of great-hearted Erechtheus, whom once Athena,the daughter of Zeus, raised, and the grain-giving earth bore him,and she set him down in Athens in her own rich temple,where the young men of the Athenians win him over with bulls and ramsas the years come around;of these Menestheus, the son of Peteos, led.No man on earth was ever like himat setting horses and shield-bearing men in order;only Nestor could compete with him, for he was the older born;with him fifty black ships followed.And Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis,and he brought them and set them where the ranks of the Athenians stood.And those who held Argos and walled Tiryns,Hermione and Asine, which lie on the deep gulf,Troezen and Eiones and vine-clad Epidaurus,and those who held Aegina and Mases, the young men of the Achaeans,of these Diomedes good at the war-cry led,and Sthenelus, the dear son of famous Capaneus;and with them a third came, Euryalus, a man like the gods,the son of Mecisteus, son of lord Talaus;and over them all Diomedes good at the war-cry was leader;with them eighty black ships followed.And those who held Mycenae, the well-built town,and rich Corinth and well-built Cleonae,and lived in Orneae and lovely Araethyrea,and Sicyon, where Adrastus was king first,and those of Hyperesia and steep Gonoessa,and those who held Pellene and lived around Aegium,and all along the coast and around wide Helice,of these a hundred ships lord Agamemnon led,the son of Atreus; with him by far the most and the bestof the men followed; and he himself put on the gleaming bronze,glorying, and he stood out among all the heroes,because he was the best and led by far the most men.And those who held hollow Lacedaemon full of gullies,and Pharis and Sparta and Messa full of doves,and lived in Bryseae and lovely Augeae,and those who held Amyclae and Helos, the town by the sea,and those who held Laas and lived around Oetylus,of these his brother led, Menelaus good at the war-cry,with sixty ships; and they armed apart from the others.And he himself went among them, trusting in his own eagerness,urging them on to war; and most of all he longed in his heartto take revenge for the struggles and the groans of Helen.And those who lived in Pylos and lovely Arene,and Thryon, the ford of Alpheus, and well-built Aepy,and lived in Cyparisseis and Amphigeneia,and Pteleos and Helos and Dorion, where the Musesmet Thamyris the Thracian and stopped him from singingas he came from Oechalia, from Eurytus of Oechalia;for he boasted that he would win, even if the Musesthemselves sang, the daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus.And they in anger made him crippled, and his wonderful songthey took away, and made him forget how to play the lyre;of these Gerenian horseman Nestor led,and with him ninety hollow ships were drawn up.And those who held Arcadia under the steep mountain of Cyllene,beside the tomb of Aepytus, where men fight hand to hand,and those who lived in Pheneus and Orchomenus rich in sheep,and Rhipe and Stratie and windy Enispe,and held Tegea and lovely Mantinea,and held Stymphalus and lived in Parrhasia,of these lord Agapenor, the son of Ancaeus, led,with sixty ships; and many in each shipwere Arcadian men who stepped aboard, skilled in war;for Agamemnon, lord of men, himself gave themwell-benched ships to cross the wine-dark sea,the son of Atreus, since the works of the sea were not their concern.And those who lived in Buprasium and divine Elis,as far as Hyrmine and Myrsinus at the edgeand the rock of Olenus and Alesium shut in within,of these there were four leaders, and with each man tenswift ships followed, and many Epeians stepped aboard.Of these Amphimachus and Thalpius were the leaders,sons, one of Cteatus and the other of Eurytus, the two Actoriones;and over the third led Diores, mighty son of Amarynceus;and over the fourth led godlike Polyxenus,the son of Agasthenes, son of lord Augeas.And those from Dulichium and the sacred Echinaeislands, which lie across the sea facing Elis,of these Meges led, a match for Ares,the son of Phyleus, whom horseman Phyleus, dear to Zeus, fathered,who once moved away to Dulichium in anger at his father;with him forty black ships followed.And Odysseus led the great-hearted Cephallenians,who held Ithaca and Neritum shaking with leaves,and lived in Crocyleia and rugged Aegilips,and those who held Zacynthus and those who lived around Samos,and those who held the mainland and lived in the land facing it;of these Odysseus led, equal to Zeus in counsel;with him twelve ships followed, red-cheeked.And of the Aetolians Thoas led, the son of Andraemon,those who lived in Pleuron and Olenus and Pylene,and seaside Chalcis and rocky Calydon;for the sons of great-hearted Oeneus were no longer there,nor was he himself still alive, and fair-haired Meleager had died;so everything had been handed over to him, to rule over the Aetolians;with him forty black ships followed.And of the Cretans Idomeneus, famous for the spear, led,those who held Cnossus and walled Gortyn,Lyctus and Miletus and gleaming Lycastus,and Phaestus and Rhytium, well-settled cities,and the others who lived around Crete of a hundred cities;of these Idomeneus, famous for the spear, was the leader,and Meriones, a match for Enyalius, the killer of men;with them eighty black ships followed.And Tlepolemus, the son of Heracles, both noble and tall,brought nine ships from Rhodes, of the proud Rhodians,who lived around Rhodes, drawn up in three groups,Lindus and Ialysus and gleaming Cameirus;of these Tlepolemus, famous for the spear, led,whom Astyocheia bore to the might of Heracles,whom he brought from Ephyra, from the river Selleeis,after he had sacked many cities of men brought up by Zeus.And when Tlepolemus had been raised in the well-built hall,he straightway killed his own father's dear uncle,Licymnius, already growing old, the offspring of Ares;and at once he built ships, and gathering a great hosthe went in flight over the sea; for the others threatened him,the sons and the sons' sons of the might of Heracles.And he came to Rhodes, wandering and suffering hardships;and they settled in three groups by tribes, and they were lovedby Zeus, who rules over gods and men,and the son of Cronos poured wonderful wealth over them.Nireus again brought three well-balanced ships from Syme,Nireus, the son of Aglaea and of lord Charops,Nireus, who came to Ilion the most beautiful man of allthe other Danaans, after the blameless son of Peleus;but he was weak, and few men followed him.And those who held Nisyros and Crapathos and Casos,and Cos, the city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnian islands,of these Pheidippus and Antiphus were the leaders,the two sons of Thessalus, the son of lord Heracles;with them thirty hollow ships were drawn up.Now again, all those who lived in Pelasgian Argos,and those who lived in Alos and Alope and Trachis,and those who held Phthia and Hellas, the land of fair women,and were called Myrmidons and Hellenes and Achaeans,of these Achilles was the leader of fifty ships.But they gave no thought to hateful-sounding war,for there was no one to lead them into the ranks;for swift-footed godlike Achilles lay among the ships,angry over the fair-haired girl Briseis,whom he had taken from Lyrnessus after much hard work,when he had sacked Lyrnessus and the walls of Thebe,and laid low Mynes and Epistrophus, spearmen,the sons of Evenus, son of lord Selepius;over her he lay grieving, and soon he was going to rise up again.And those who held Phylace and flowery Pyrasus,the sacred precinct of Demeter, and Iton, mother of sheep,and seaside Antron and grassy Pteleos,of these warlike Protesilaus ledwhile he was alive; but by then the black earth already held him.And his wife was left in Phylace, her cheeks torn with grief on both sides,and his house half-finished; him a Dardanian man killedas he leapt from his ship, by far the first of the Achaeans.Nor were they without a leader, though they longed for their leader;but Podarces put them in order, the offspring of Ares,the son of Iphiclus, son of Phylacus of many flocks,own brother of great-hearted Protesilaus,younger in birth; and the other was both older and better,the hero Protesilaus, warlike; and the people lacked nothingof a leader, though they longed for him, good man that he was;with him forty black ships followed.And those who lived in Pherae beside the Boebean lake,Boebe and Glaphyrae and well-built Iolcus,of these the dear son of Admetus led eleven ships,Eumelus, whom the most divine of women bore to Admetus,Alcestis, the fairest in form of the daughters of Pelias.And those who lived in Methone and Thaumacia,and held Meliboea and rugged Olizon,of these Philoctetes led, well skilled in the bow,with seven ships; and in each fifty oarsmenstepped aboard, well skilled with the bow to fight mightily.But he lay on an island suffering terrible pains,in sacred Lemnos, where the sons of the Achaeans left himwasting with the evil wound of the deadly water-snake;there he lay grieving; and soon the Argives were going to rememberlord Philoctetes beside the ships.Nor were they without a leader, though they longed for their leader;but Medon put them in order, the bastard son of Oileus,whom Rhene bore to Oileus, the sacker of cities.And those who held Tricca and rocky Ithome,and those who held Oechalia, the city of Eurytus of Oechalia,of these the two sons of Asclepius were the leaders,good healers, Podaleirius and Machaon;with them thirty hollow ships were drawn up.And those who held Ormenium, and those of the spring Hypereia,and those who held Asterium and the white peaks of Titanus,of these Eurypylus led, the shining son of Euaemon;with him forty black ships followed.And those who held Argissa and lived in Gyrtone,Orthe and Elone and the white city of Oloosson,of these Polypoetes, firm in battle, led,the son of Peirithous, whom immortal Zeus fathered;him famous Hippodameia bore to Peirithouson the day when he took revenge on the shaggy Centaursand drove them from Pelion and pushed them back to the Aethices.Not alone, for with him came Leonteus, the offspring of Ares,the son of high-hearted Coronus, son of Caeneus;with them forty black ships followed.And Gouneus brought two and twenty ships from Cyphus;with him the Enienes followed and the firm Perrhaebians,who had set their homes around wintry Dodona,and those who worked their fields around lovely Titaresius,which sends its fair-flowing water into the Peneus;yet it does not mix with the silver-eddied Peneus,but flows over it like olive oil;for it is a branch of the dread water of Styx, the water of oaths.And of the Magnetes Prothous led, the son of Tenthredon,who lived around the Peneus and Pelion shaking with leaves;of these swift Prothous was the leader,and with him forty black ships followed.These then were the leaders and the lords of the Danaans.Who then was by far the best of them? Tell me, Muse,of the men themselves and of the horses that followed with the sons of Atreus.The horses of the son of Pheres were by far the best,which Eumelus drove, swift-footed as birds,alike in coat, both mares, equal in age, level along the back;the silver-bowed Apollo raised them in Pereia,both female, carriers of the terror of Ares.And of the men by far the best was Telamonian Ajax,so long as Achilles kept his anger; for he was far the greatest,and the horses that carried the blameless son of Peleus.But he lay among the curved sea-crossing ships,raging in anger at Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,the son of Atreus; and his men beside the breaking of the seatook their pleasure in discus and in javelin throwingand with bows; and the horses, each beside his own chariot,cropping the lotus and the marsh-grown parsley,stood still; and the well-covered chariots of the lords layin the huts; and they, longing for their warlike leader,wandered here and there through the camp and did not fight.And they marched as though the whole earth were being eaten by fire;and the ground groaned beneath them, as beneath Zeus who delights in thunderin his anger, when he lashes the earth around Typhoeus,in the land of the Arimoi, where they say the couches of Typhoeus are;so the earth groaned mightily beneath their feetas they came; and very quickly they passed across the plain.To the Trojans came a messenger, swift-footed wind-swift Iris,from aegis-bearing Zeus with a message of grief.They were holding an assembly at the doors of Priam,all gathered together, both young and old;and standing near, swift-footed Iris spoke to them,and she made her voice like that of Polites, the son of Priam,who sat as a lookout for the Trojans, trusting in his swiftness,on the topmost tomb of old Aesyetes,watching for the moment when the Achaeans would set out from the ships;making herself like him, swift-footed Iris spoke:"Old man, your words are always dear to you and endless,as once in time of peace; but war has risen that cannot be avoided.Truly I have gone into many battles of men,but never yet have I seen such a host as this.For very like leaves or grains of sandthey come across the plain to fight against the city.Hector, to you above all I give this charge, to do as follows:for many allies are throughout the great city of Priam,and the language of men scattered far is different for different peoples;let each man give the signal to those over whom he rules,and let him lead them out, having put his townsmen in order."So she spoke, and Hector did not fail to notice the word of the goddess,and at once he broke up the assembly; and they rushed to arms.All the gates were opened, and the host rushed out,both foot and horse; and a great noise arose.There is a certain steep mound before the city,in the plain, apart, running around on either side,which men indeed call Batieia,but the immortals call it the tomb of much-leaping Myrine;there then the Trojans and the allies were sorted apart.Of the Trojans great Hector of the shining helmet led,the son of Priam; with him by far the most and the bestof the men armed themselves, eager with their spears.And of the Dardanians the noble son of Anchises led,Aeneas, whom divine Aphrodite bore to Anchises,a goddess who lay with a mortal in the foothills of Ida;not alone, for with him came two sons of Antenor,Archelochus and Acamas, well skilled in all battle.And those who lived in Zeleia beneath the lowest foot of Ida,wealthy, drinking the dark water of Aesepus,Trojans, of these the shining son of Lycaon led,Pandarus, to whom Apollo himself gave the bow.And those who held Adresteia and the country of Apaisus,and held Pityeia and the steep mountain of Tereia,of these Adrestus led and Amphius of the linen corselet,the two sons of Merops of Percote, who beyond all menknew the arts of prophecy, and would not let his sonsgo to man-destroying war; but the two did not at allobey him, for the fates of black death led them on.And those who lived around Percote and Practius,and held Sestos and Abydos and divine Arisbe,of these Asius led, the son of Hyrtacus, leader of men,Asius son of Hyrtacus, whom from Arisbe his horses carried,tawny, huge, from the river Selleeis.And Hippothous led the tribes of the Pelasgians, spearmen,those who lived in Larisa of the rich soil;of these Hippothous led and Pylaeus, the offspring of Ares,the two sons of Lethus the Pelasgian, son of Teutamus.And Acamas and the hero Peiroos led the Thracians,as many as the strong-flowing Hellespont shuts in.And Euphemus was the leader of the Ciconians, spearmen,the son of Troezenus, Zeus-nurtured son of Ceas.And Pyraechmes led the Paeonians of the curved bows,from far away, from Amydon, from the wide-flowing Axius,the Axius whose water is the fairest that spreads over the earth.And of the Paphlagonians led Pylaemenes of the shaggy heart,from the land of the Eneti, where the breed of wild mules comes from;they held Cytorus and lived around Sesamus,and around the river Parthenius they had their famous homes,and Cromna and Aegialus and the high Erythini.And of the Halizones Odius and Epistrophus led,from far away, from Alybe, where silver is born.And of the Mysians Chromis led and Ennomus the bird-diviner;but he did not ward off black death by his birds of omen,but was overcome by the hands of the swift-footed descendant of Aeacusin the river, where he was cutting down the Trojans and others.And Phorcys led the Phrygians and godlike Ascaniusfrom far Ascania; and they were eager to fight in battle.And of the Maeonians Mesthles and Antiphus were the leaders,the two sons of Talaemenes, whom the Gygaean lake bore,and they led the Maeonians who were born beneath Tmolus.And Nastes led the Carians of barbarian speech,who held Miletus and the mountain of Phthires with its countless leaves,and the streams of the Maeander and the steep peaks of Mycale;of these Amphimachus and Nastes were the leaders,Nastes and Amphimachus, the shining children of Nomion;and he went to war carrying gold like a girl,fool, and it did not save him from wretched destruction,but he was overcome by the hands of the swift-footed descendant of Aeacusin the river, and warlike Achilles carried off the gold.And Sarpedon led the Lycians and blameless Glaucus,from far Lycia, from the eddying Xanthus.

But when they had drawn themselves up, each group with its leader,the Trojans came with shouting and war-cries, like birds,just as the cry of cranes rises up before the sky,and when they have escaped the winter and the endless rain,they fly with cries toward the streams of Ocean,carrying slaughter and death to the Pygmy men;and in the mist they bring their evil quarrelling.But the Achaeans came in silence, breathing fury,eager in their hearts to defend one another.As when the South Wind pours mist over the mountain tops,no friend at all to shepherds, but better than night for a thief,and a man can see only as far as he throws a stone,so under their feet a whirling cloud of dust rose upas they came on; and very quickly they swept across the plain.But when they were close, coming at one another,godlike Alexandros came out as champion for the Trojans,with a leopard's skin on his shoulders and curved bowsand a sword; and two spears tipped with bronzehe brandished, and he challenged all the best of the Argivesto fight him face to face in the grim battle.When Menelaos, dear to Ares, noticed himcoming out in front of the crowd with long strides,just as a lion rejoices when it comes upon a big carcass,having found a horned stag or a wild goatwhile it is hungry; for it eats it eagerly, even though swift dogsand strong young hunters drive it on;so Menelaos rejoiced when he saw godlike Alexandroswith his eyes; for he thought he would punish the guilty man.At once he jumped from his chariot with his armour down to the ground.But when godlike Alexandros noticed himappearing among the front fighters, his own heart was struck with fear,and he shrank back into the crowd of his comrades, avoiding death.Just as when a man sees a snake and steps back away from itin the mountain glens, and trembling seizes his limbs,and he retreats, and pallor takes his cheeks,so again Alexandros sank back into the crowd of the proud Trojans,afraid of the son of Atreus, Alexandros of godlike face.When Hektor saw him, he scolded him with shameful words:Wretched Paris, best in looks, mad after women, deceiver,if only you had never been born, or had died without marrying!That is what I would wish, and it would be far betterthan that you should be such a disgrace and looked down on by others.Surely the long-haired Achaeans are laughing out loud,thinking he is a champion, because he has a fineappearance; but there is no strength in his heart and no fighting spirit.Was it as such a man that, in your sea-crossing ships,sailing the sea and gathering your trusty comrades,you mixed with foreigners and brought back a beautiful woman,from a distant land, the daughter-in-law of warrior men,a great sorrow to your father and to your city and to all your people,a joy to your enemies, and a shame to yourself?Would you not then stand and face Menelaos, dear to Ares?You would find out what kind of man it is whose blooming wife you have.Your lyre would not help you, nor the gifts of Aphrodite,nor your hair, nor your looks, when you are mixed with the dust.But the Trojans are great cowards; surely by nowyou would have worn a tunic of stone for all the evils you have done.Godlike Alexandros answered him again:Hektor, since you have blamed me justly and not beyond what is just,your heart is always like an unyielding axethat goes through timber in a man's hands, when he by his skillcuts out ship-building wood, and it drives the man's stroke on;so in your breast your mind is fearless.Do not throw the lovely gifts of golden Aphrodite in my face;the glorious gifts of the gods are not to be thrown away,whatever they themselves give; no one would choose them of his own will.But now, if you want me to make war and fight,make the other Trojans and all the Achaeans sit down,and put me in the middle, and Menelaos dear to Ares,and let us two fight for Helen and all the treasures.And whichever of the two wins and proves the better,let him take all the treasures and lead the woman home.And let the rest of you, after cutting faithful oaths of friendship,live in fertile Troy, and let those others go hometo horse-pasturing Argos and Achaea, land of beautiful women.So he spoke, and Hektor rejoiced greatly when he heard the words,and going into the middle he held back the ranks of the Trojans,taking his spear by the middle; and they all sat down.But the long-haired Achaeans kept shooting arrows at him,aiming with arrows, and throwing stones at him.Then Agamemnon, lord of men, shouted loudly:Hold, Argives; do not shoot, you sons of the Achaeans;for Hektor of the shining helmet promises to say something.So he spoke, and they held off from battle and fell silentat once; and Hektor spoke to both sides:Hear me, Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans,the words of Alexandros, on whose account the quarrel has arisen.He asks the other Trojans and all the Achaeansto lay their fine armour down on the much-nourishing earth,and that he himself in the middle, and Menelaos dear to Ares,should fight alone for Helen and all the treasures.And whichever of the two wins and proves the better,let him take all the treasures and lead the woman home;and let the rest of us cut faithful oaths of friendship.So he spoke, and they all became hushed in silence;and Menelaos, good at the war-cry, spoke among them:Hear me also now; for grief comes most of allto my heart, and I think that they should now be separated,the Argives and the Trojans, since you have suffered many evilsbecause of my quarrel and because Alexandros began it.And whichever of us two has death and fate appointed,let him die; and let the rest of you be separated at once.Bring lambs, one white, and the other black,for Earth and Sun; and for Zeus we will bring another.And bring mighty Priam, so that he may cut the oathshimself, since his sons are arrogant and untrustworthy,in case someone by breaking faith harms the oaths of Zeus.The minds of younger men are always fluttering about;but when an old man is there, he looks both forward and backward,to see how things may turn out best for both sides.So he spoke, and the Achaeans and the Trojans rejoiced,hoping to stop the wretched war.And they checked their horses by the ranks, and got out themselves,and took their armour off; they laid it on the groundclose to one another, and the space between was small.And Hektor sent two heralds to the cityquickly, to bring the lambs and to call Priam.And lord Agamemnon sent Talthybiosto go to the hollow ships, and he told him to bringa lamb; and he did not disobey godlike Agamemnon.And Iris came as a messenger to white-armed Helen,looking like the wife of the son of Antenor, her husband's sister,whom lord Helikaon, son of Antenor, had as his wife,Laodike, the fairest in looks of Priam's daughters.She found her in the hall; and she was weaving a great cloth,a double-folded purple one, and she was embroidering into it many strugglesof the horse-taming Trojans and the bronze-clad Achaeans,which they suffered for her sake at the hands of Ares.And standing near her, swift-footed Iris spoke:Come here, dear lady, so that you may see the wondrous deedsof the horse-taming Trojans and the bronze-clad Achaeans,who before were bringing tearful war on one anotheron the plain, longing for the destroying war.They now sit in silence, and the war has stopped,leaning on their shields, and beside them their long spears are planted.But Alexandros and Menelaos dear to Areswill fight with long spears over you;and whichever one wins, you will be called his dear wife.So she spoke, and the goddess threw a sweet longing into her heartfor her former husband, and her city, and her parents.And at once she covered herself with shining linenand hurried from her room, shedding a soft tear,not alone, for two serving women followed with her,Aithra, the daughter of Pittheus, and ox-eyed Klymene.And quickly then they came to where the Scaean Gates were.And gathered around Priam were Panthoos and Thymoitesand Lampos and Klytios and Hiketaon, a branch of Ares,and Oukalegon and Antenor, both of them prudent,sitting as the elders of the people at the Scaean Gates,by then stopped from war by old age, but good speakers,like cicadas, which in the forest,sitting on a tree, send out a lily-like voice.Such were the leaders of the Trojans sitting on the tower.And when they saw Helen coming up to the tower,softly they spoke winged words to one another:There is no blame that the Trojans and the well-greaved Achaeansshould suffer troubles for a long time over such a woman.She is terribly like the immortal goddesses to look at.But even so, though she is such, let her go home in the ships,and not be left as a sorrow to us and our children later on.So they said, and Priam called Helen with his voice:Come here and sit beside me, dear child,so that you may see your former husband, and your in-laws, and your friends.You are not to blame in my eyes; the gods are to blame for me,who stirred up against me the tearful war with the Achaeans.So tell me the name of this enormous man too,who this Achaean is, so goodly and so tall.Indeed others are even taller by a head,but a man so handsome I have never yet seen with my eyes,nor so majestic; for he looks like a king.Helen, shining among women, answered him with words:You are respected by me, dear father-in-law, and I fear you.If only evil death had pleased me when I came here,following your son, leaving my marriage room and my own peopleand my tender child and my lovely companions of my own age.But those things did not happen; and so I have wasted away with weeping.And this I will tell you, what you are asking and inquiring about.This is the son of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon,both a good king and a strong spearman;and he was my brother-in-law, shameless as I am, if indeed he ever was.So she spoke, and the old man marvelled and said:O blessed son of Atreus, born for what fate gives, happy and fortunate,surely many sons of the Achaeans are subdued under you.I once entered vine-rich Phrygia too,where I saw the greatest number of Phrygian men with nimble horses,the hosts of Otreus and of godlike Mygdon,who were then encamped beside the banks of the Sangarios;for I too was counted among them as an allyon the day when the Amazons, a match for men, came.But not even they were as many as the glancing-eyed Achaeans.Second, the old man asked, when he saw Odysseus:Come, tell me, dear child, who this one is.He is shorter by a head than Agamemnon, son of Atreus,but broader in the shoulders and the chest to look at.His armour lies on the much-nourishing earth,but he himself goes up and down the ranks of men like a ram;I myself compare him to a thick-fleeced ramthat goes through a great flock of white sheep.Then Helen, born of Zeus, answered him:This is the son of Laertes, wily Odysseus,who was raised in the land of Ithaca, though it is rugged,knowing all kinds of tricks and close-kept plans.Then prudent Antenor spoke to her in answer:Woman, truly you have spoken this word without error.For godlike Odysseus came here once too,on an embassy for your sake, with Menelaos dear to Ares;and I entertained them and welcomed them in my halls,and I learned the build of both of them and their close-kept plans.But when they mixed in the assembly of the Trojans,when they stood, Menelaos overtopped him with his broad shoulders,but when both were seated, Odysseus was the more majestic.But when they wove words and plans before everyone,Menelaos indeed spoke fluently,few words, but very clearly, since he was not a man of many wordsand did not misspeak; and he was also younger by birth.But when wily Odysseus jumped up,he would stand and look down, fixing his eyes on the ground,and he did not swing the staff backward or forward,but held it firmly, like a man who knows nothing;you would say he was some sullen man and simply stupid.But when he sent his great voice out from his chest,and words like snowflakes in winter,then no other mortal could compete with Odysseus;and then we did not marvel at the appearance of Odysseus when we saw it.Third, the old man asked, when he saw Aias:Who then is this other Achaean, so goodly and so tall,outstanding among the Argives in head and broad shoulders?Helen of the long robe, shining among women, answered him:This is the enormous Aias, the wall of the Achaeans;and Idomeneus stands over on the other side among the Cretans like a god,and around him the leaders of the Cretans are gathered.Often Menelaos, dear to Ares, entertained himin our house, whenever he came from Crete.But now I see all the other glancing-eyed Achaeans,whom I could recognize well and tell the name of;but two I cannot see, the marshals of the peoples,Castor, tamer of horses, and Polydeukes, good with the fists,my own brothers, whom one mother bore to me.Either they did not come from lovely Lacedaemon,or they did come here in the sea-crossing ships,but now they do not want to go down into the battle of men,afraid of the shames and the many reproaches that are mine.So she spoke, but the life-giving earth already held themthere in Lacedaemon, in their own dear native land.And the heralds brought the faithful oaths of the gods through the city,two lambs and wine, the gladdening fruit of the field,in a goatskin; and the herald Idaios brought a shining mixing bowland golden cups;and standing beside the old man he urged him on with words:Rise up, son of Laomedon, the best men are calling you,of the horse-taming Trojans and the bronze-clad Achaeans,to come down to the plain, so that you may cut the faithful oaths.For Alexandros and Menelaos dear to Areswill fight with long spears over the woman;and the woman and the treasures will go with whichever one wins.And let the rest of us, after cutting faithful oaths of friendship,live in fertile Troy, and let those others go backto horse-pasturing Argos and Achaea, land of beautiful women.So he spoke; the old man shuddered, and told his companionsto yoke the horses; and they obeyed readily.Priam climbed up, and pulled the reins back;and beside him Antenor stepped into the very beautiful chariot;and the two drove their swift horses through the Scaean Gates out onto the plain.But when they came among the Trojans and the Achaeans,getting down from the chariot onto the much-nourishing earth,they walked into the middle of the Trojans and Achaeans.And at once Agamemnon, lord of men, rose up,and wily Odysseus too; and the noble heraldsgathered the faithful oaths of the gods, and mixed wine in the bowl,and poured water over the hands of the kings.The son of Atreus, drawing the knife with his hands,which always hung beside his great sword sheath,cut hair from the heads of the lambs; and thenthe heralds handed it out to the best of the Trojans and Achaeans.And among them the son of Atreus prayed loudly, lifting up his hands:Father Zeus, ruling from Ida, most glorious, most great,and Sun, who see all things and hear all things,and rivers, and earth, and you two who beneath the earthpunish men who have died, whoever swears a false oath,be witnesses, and guard the faithful oaths.If Alexandros kills Menelaos,then let him himself have Helen and all the treasures,and let us go home in our sea-crossing ships.But if fair-haired Menelaos kills Alexandros,then the Trojans must give back Helen and all the treasures,and pay the Argives whatever payment is fitting,which may also be told among men who come later.But if Priam and the sons of Priam are not willingto pay me the payment when Alexandros has fallen,then I myself will fight even after that for the compensation,staying here, until I reach the end of the war.He spoke, and cut the throats of the lambs with the pitiless bronze;and he laid them on the ground gasping,lacking life; for the bronze had taken away their strength.And drawing wine from the bowl into cupsthey poured it out, and prayed to the gods who live forever.And one of the Achaeans and Trojans would say this:Zeus, most glorious, most great, and you other immortal gods,whichever side first does harm against the oaths,so may their brains pour to the ground like this wine,theirs and their children's, and may their wives be taken by other men.So they spoke, but the son of Kronos did not yet bring it to pass for them.And Dardanid Priam spoke a word among them:Hear me, Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans.I am going back to windy Ilion,since I will not endure to see with my eyesmy dear son fighting with Menelaos dear to Ares.Zeus surely knows this, and the other immortal gods,to whichever of the two the end of death is fated.He spoke, and the godlike man put the lambs in the chariot,and he himself climbed up, and pulled the reins back;and beside him Antenor stepped into the very beautiful chariot.And the two went back toward Ilion;and Hektor, the son of Priam, and godlike Odysseusfirst measured out the ground, and thentaking lots they shook them in a bronze helmet,to see which of the two should throw his bronze spear first.And the people prayed, and lifted up their hands to the gods,and one of the Achaeans and Trojans would say this:Father Zeus, ruling from Ida, most glorious, most great,whichever of the two brought these deeds about between the two sides,grant that he, having perished, go down inside the house of Hades,and that for us there be friendship and faithful oaths.So they spoke, and great Hektor of the shining helmet shook the lots,looking away; and the lot of Paris jumped out quickly.Then they sat down along the ranks, where for each manhis high-stepping horses and his dappled armour were lying;and he put the fine armour on over his shoulders,godlike Alexandros, the husband of fair-haired Helen.First he put the greaves around his shins,fine ones, fitted with silver ankle clasps;second, he put the corselet around his chest,the one of his own brother Lykaon; and it fitted him.And he threw a silver-studded sword over his shoulders,a bronze one, and then a big and sturdy shield;and on his strong head he set a well-made helmetwith a horse-hair crest; and the plume nodded terribly above it;and he took a strong spear, which fitted his hands.In the same way Menelaos, dear to Ares, put on his armour.And when they had armed themselves on either side of the crowd,they walked into the middle of the Trojans and Achaeans,glaring terribly; and amazement took hold of those watching,both the horse-taming Trojans and the well-greaved Achaeans.And they stood near each other in the measured space,shaking their spears at each other in anger.First Alexandros threw his long-shadowed spear,and struck the shield of the son of Atreus, which was equal on every side,but the bronze did not break it, and the point was bent backin the strong shield; and he rose up second with the bronze,Menelaos son of Atreus, after praying to father Zeus:Lord Zeus, grant that I punish him who did evil to me first,godlike Alexandros, and bring him down under my hands,so that even among men born later one may shudderto do evil to a host who has offered him friendship.He spoke, and swinging it he threw his long-shadowed spear,and struck the shield of the son of Priam, which was equal on every side;the mighty spear went straight through the shining shield,and was driven through the richly-worked corselet;and straight on past his flank the spear cut through his tunic,and he leaned aside and avoided black death.And the son of Atreus, drawing his silver-studded sword,struck, raising it, the horn of the helmet; but on itthe sword broke in three and in four pieces and fell from his hand.And the son of Atreus groaned, looking up to the wide sky:Father Zeus, no other of the gods is more destructive than you.Truly I thought I would punish Alexandros for his wickedness;but now the sword has broken in my hands, and the spearhas flown from my hands for nothing, and I did not hit him.He spoke, and rushing at him he caught the horse-haired helmet,and twisted it and dragged him toward the well-greaved Achaeans;and the richly-embroidered strap was choking him under his tender throat,which was stretched under his chin as the holder of the helmet.And now he would have dragged him and won boundless glory,if the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite, had not noticed it sharply,who broke the strap for him, made of a bull killed by force;and the empty helmet followed along with his thick hand.Then the hero whirled it and threw it among the well-greaved Achaeans,and his trusty comrades caught it up.But he sprang back at him, eager to kill himwith the bronze spear; but Aphrodite snatched him away,very easily, as a god can, and covered him in thick mist,and set him down in his fragrant, sweet-smelling room.And she herself went to call Helen; and she found heron the high tower, and around her the Trojan women were in crowds;and with her hand she caught and shook her fragrant robe,and looking like an old woman born long ago, she spoke to her,a wool-worker, who while she lived in Lacedaemonused to work fine wool, and she loved her most of all.Looking like her, shining Aphrodite spoke to her:Come here; Alexandros is calling you to come home.He is there in the room, on the inlaid bed,shining in beauty and in his clothes; you would not saythat he had come from fighting a man, but rather that he is goingto a dance, or has just sat down from a dance.So she spoke, and stirred the heart in her breast;and when she noticed the goddess's very beautiful neckand her lovely breasts and her flashing eyes,then she was amazed, and spoke a word and called her by name:Strange goddess, why do you want to deceive me in this way?Will you lead me somewhere further, to some well-peopled city,either in Phrygia or in lovely Maeonia,if there too some man of the mortal races is dear to you?Because now Menelaos has beaten godlike Alexandros,and wants to lead me, hateful as I am, home,is that why you have now come here with a deceitful mind?Go and sit beside him, and give up the way of the gods,and may you never again turn back to Olympus on your feet,but always grieve for him and watch over him,until he makes you either his wife or his slave.But I will not go there; that would be a thing to be blamed for,looking after his bed; and the Trojan women will all blame mefrom now on; and I have endless griefs in my heart.Then shining Aphrodite, angry, spoke to her:Do not provoke me, you wretch, in case in my anger I let you go,and hate you as terribly as I have loved you up to now,and plan bitter hatreds between both sides,the Trojans and the Danaans, and you may die an evil death.So she spoke, and Helen, born of Zeus, was afraid,and she went, covering herself with her shining white robe,in silence, and she went unnoticed by all the Trojan women; and the goddess led the way.And when they came to the very beautiful house of Alexandros,the serving women then turned quickly to their work,but she, shining among women, went into the high-roofed room.And smiling Aphrodite took a chair and brought itand set it down for her facing Alexandros;there Helen sat down, the daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis,turning her eyes away, and she scolded her husband with words:You have come from the war; if only you had died there,brought down by the strong man who was my husband before.Surely before this you used to boast that in your strength and hands and spearyou were better than Menelaos dear to Ares.But go now, challenge Menelaos dear to Aresto fight against him again; but I for my parttell you to stop, and not with fair-haired Menelaosto wage opposing war and to fightfoolishly, in case you are quickly brought down by his spear.And Paris answered her with words and said:Do not, woman, scold my heart with harsh reproaches.For now Menelaos has won with Athena,but I will beat him in turn; for the gods are with us too.But come, let us enjoy love, lying together;for never yet has desire so wrapped itself around my mind,not even when at first from lovely LacedaemonI sailed, having seized you, in my sea-crossing ships,and on the island of Cranae I joined with you in love and in bed,as now I long for you, and sweet desire takes hold of me.He spoke, and led the way to the bed; and his wife followed with him.So the two lay down in the pierced bed,while the son of Atreus went up and down the crowd like a wild beast,in case he might catch sight of godlike Alexandros somewhere.But none of the Trojans or the famous allies was ableto point out Alexandros then to Menelaos dear to Ares;for they were not hiding him out of friendship, if anyone had seen him;for he was hated by them all equally with black death.And among them spoke Agamemnon, lord of men:Hear me, Trojans and Dardanians and allies.The victory is shown to be that of Menelaos, dear to Ares.And you must give up Argive Helen and the treasures along with her,and pay whatever payment is fitting,which may also be told among men who come later.So spoke the son of Atreus, and the other Achaeans approved.

The gods were sitting in council beside Zeuson the golden floor, and among them lady Hebepoured the nectar; and they with golden cupsgreeted one another, watching the city of the Trojans.At once the son of Cronos tried to provoke Herawith mocking words, speaking sideways in order to sting her:Two of the goddesses are helpers to Menelaus,Hera of Argos and Alalcomenean Athena.But those two sit apart and watchand take their pleasure; while for him smile-loving Aphroditealways walks beside him and wards off his fates of death,and now she has saved him when he thought he would die.Yet the victory is Menelaus' who is dear to Ares;but let us consider how these things will be,whether we will stir up evil war and dread battle again,or throw friendship between the two sides.If somehow this could be dear and sweet to all,then let the city of lord Priam be inhabited,and let Menelaus lead Argive Helen home again.So he spoke, and Athena and Hera murmured against it;they sat near him, and were planning evils for the Trojans.Athena indeed was silent and said nothing,sullen against father Zeus, and wild anger seized her;but Hera's breast could not hold her anger, and she spoke:Most terrible son of Cronos, what a word you have spoken!How can you want to make my labor vain and unfinished,the sweat I sweated in toil, and my horses were worn outas I gathered the host, evils for Priam and his sons.Do it; but not all we other gods will praise you.Then greatly vexed, Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her:Strange lady, what have Priam and Priam's sonsdone to you, so many evils, that you rage relentlesslyto sack the well-built citadel of Ilion?If you could go in through the gates and the long wallsand eat Priam and Priam's sons rawand the other Trojans, then you might cure your anger.Do as you wish; but let this quarrel not afterwardsbecome a great strife between you and me for both of us.And I will tell you another thing; put it in your heart:whenever I too, eager to sack a city,want one where men dear to you were born,do not delay my anger, but let me have my way;for I also gave in to you willingly, though my heart was unwilling.For of all the cities under the sun and the starry skywhere men who live on the earth have settled,sacred Ilion was honored by my heartand Priam and the people of Priam of the good ashen spear.For never did my altar lack an equal feastof libation and burnt fat; that is the honor we have received.Then ox-eyed lady Hera answered him:Three cities are by far the dearest to me:Argos and Sparta and Mycenae of the broad streets.Sack them whenever they become hateful to your heart;I do not stand in your way for those, nor begrudge you.For even if I begrudge them and do not let you sack them,my grudging gets nowhere, since you are far stronger.But my labor too must not be left unfinished;for I too am a god, and my lineage is from where yours is,and crooked-counselled Cronos begot me as eldest,both in birth and because I am called your wife,and you rule among all the immortals.But in this let us yield to one another,I to you, and you to me; and the other gods will follow,the immortals. So do you quickly order Athenato go into the dread battle of Trojans and Achaeans,and to try how the Trojans may first, over the oaths,begin to do harm to the far-famed Achaeans.So she spoke, and the father of men and gods did not disobey;at once he spoke winged words to Athena:Go at once to the host, among Trojans and Achaeans,and try how the Trojans may first, over the oaths,begin to do harm to the far-famed Achaeans.So saying he urged on Athena, who was eager already,and she darted down from the peaks of Olympus.As the son of crooked-counselled Cronos sends a star,a sign to sailors or to a broad host of peoples,a bright one; and many sparks fly from it —like this Pallas Athena darted down to the earth,and leapt into the middle; and wonder seized those who saw,both the horse-taming Trojans and the well-greaved Achaeans.And one would say, looking at his neighbor:Either evil war and dread battle will come again,or Zeus is putting friendship between the two sides,Zeus, who is appointed steward of men's war.So then someone would say, of Achaeans and Trojans alike.And she, like a man, went into the throng of the Trojans,to Laodocus, son of Antenor, the mighty spearman,looking for godlike Pandarus, to see if she could find him anywhere.She found the blameless and mighty son of Lycaonstanding; and around him were the strong ranks of shield-bearingmen who followed him from the streams of Aesepus.Standing near she spoke winged words:Would you obey me in something, wise son of Lycaon?Would you dare to send a swift arrow at Menelaus,and you would win thanks and glory from all the Trojans,and most of all from King Alexander.From him you would carry off splendid gifts first of all,if he sees Menelaus, the warlike son of Atreus,subdued by your arrow, mounting the painful pyre.Come then, shoot at glorious Menelaus,and vow to Apollo, Lycian-born, famed with the bow,to offer a famous hecatomb of firstborn lambswhen you return home to the sacred city of Zeleia.So spoke Athena, and she persuaded his foolish heart;at once he drew the polished bow of a wild ibexthat he himself had once struck below the chest,waiting in ambush as it came out on a rock,and hit it in the chest; it fell on its back against the rock.Its horns grown from its head were sixteen hands long;and a horn-working craftsman had fitted them after smoothing them,and after smoothing it all well he set on a golden tip.And he set it down well, after stretching it toward the groundand leaning it aside; and his noble comrades held shields in front of himso that the warlike sons of the Achaeans would not leap up beforebefore Menelaus, the warlike son of Atreus, was struck.Then he drew the lid of the quiver and took out an arrow,unshot, winged, the bringer of black pains;swiftly he fitted the bitter shaft on the string,and vowed to Apollo, Lycian-born, famed with the bow,to offer a famous hecatomb of firstborn lambswhen he returned home to the sacred city of Zeleia.He drew together, gripping the notched end and the ox sinew;he brought the string to his breast, and the iron to the bow.But when he had bent the great rounded bow,the bow twanged, the string cried aloud, and the arrow leapt,sharp-pointed, through the throng, eager to fly.Nor did the blessed immortal gods forget you, Menelaus,and first the daughter of Zeus, the driver of spoil,who stood in front of you and warded off the bitter shaft.She kept it off from his flesh as much as a motherkeeps a fly from her child when he lies in sweet sleep,and she herself guided it to where the golden claspsof the belt held, and the doubled corselet met.The bitter arrow fell into the fitted belt;through the cunningly wrought belt it drove,and through the richly worked corselet it pressed,and through the belt-guard he wore, a defense for the flesh, a fence against spears,which protected him most; yet even through that it passed.And the arrow grazed the outermost surface of the man's flesh;and at once dark blood flowed from the wound.As when a woman stains ivory with purple dye,a Maeonian or Carian woman, to be a cheek-piece for horses;it lies in the chamber, and many horsemen have prayedto wear it; but it lies as an ornament for a king,both an adornment for the horse and a glory for the charioteer —like this, Menelaus, your thighs were stained with blood,your shapely thighs and calves and fair ankles beneath.Then Agamemnon, lord of men, shudderedwhen he saw the dark blood flowing down from the wound;and Menelaus himself, dear to Ares, shuddered too.But when he saw the sinew and the barbs outside,his spirit gathered back again in his chest.Groaning heavily, lord Agamemnon spoke to them,holding Menelaus by the hand, and his comrades groaned with him:Dear brother, I swore oaths for your deathwhen I set you alone in front of the Achaeans to fight the Trojans,and so the Trojans struck you and trampled the faithful oaths.Not at all in vain is the oath and the blood of the lambsand the unmixed libations and the right hands in which we trusted.For even if the Olympian has not accomplished it at once,he will accomplish it at last, and they shall pay a great pricewith their own heads, their wives and their children.For I know this well in my mind and heart:the day will come when sacred Ilion will perishand Priam and the people of Priam of the good ashen spear,and Zeus the son of Cronos, high-throned, dwelling in the upper air,will himself shake his dark aegis over them all,angry for this deceit; these things will not be unaccomplished.But dreadful grief will be mine for you, O Menelaus,if you die and fulfill the doom of your life.And I would come to thirsty Argos most disgraced;for at once the Achaeans will remember their native land;and we would leave as a boast to Priam and the TrojansArgive Helen; and the plowland will rot your bonesas you lie in Troy over an unfinished task.And one of the overweening Trojans will say this,leaping on the tomb of glorious Menelaus:Would that Agamemnon might so fulfill his anger on all,as now he has led the host of Achaeans here in vain,and has gone home to his dear native landwith empty ships, leaving good Menelaus.So someone will say; then may the broad earth open for me.Then fair-haired Menelaus spoke, encouraging him:Take heart, and do not yet terrify the host of the Achaeans;the sharp weapon did not stick in a vital place, but before thatthe all-gleaming belt protected me, and beneath itthe waist-guard and the belt-guard, which bronze-working men had made.Then lord Agamemnon answered him:Would that it were so, dear Menelaus;but a healer will smear the wound and lay ondrugs that will stop the black pains.He spoke, and called to Talthybius, the godlike herald:Talthybius, call Machaon here as quickly as you can,the man, son of Asclepius, the blameless healer,so that he may look at Menelaus, the warlike son of Atreus,whom someone skilled with the bow has shot and struck,of the Trojans or the Lycians — glory for him, grief for us.So he spoke, and the herald did not disobey when he heard,but went along the host of the bronze-clad Achaeanslooking around for the hero Machaon; and he noticed himstanding, with strong ranks of shield-bearingmen around him who followed from horse-pasturing Tricca.Standing near he spoke winged words:Rise, son of Asclepius, lord Agamemnon calls you,so that you may look at Menelaus, the warlike leader of the Achaeans,whom someone skilled with the bow has shot and struck,of the Trojans or the Lycians — glory for him, grief for us.So he spoke, and stirred the spirit in his chest;and they went through the throng along the broad host of the Achaeans.But when they came to where fair-haired Menelaushad been struck, and around him had gathered all the bestin a circle, and he stood among them, a man like a god,at once he drew the arrow from the fitted belt;as it was drawn out the sharp barbs bent back again.He loosed the all-gleaming belt and beneath itthe waist-guard and the belt-guard, which bronze-working men had made.But when he saw the wound where the bitter arrow had fallen,after sucking out the blood, knowing gentle drugs,he sprinkled on them, which Cheiron once gave his father in kindness.While they tended Menelaus, good at the war-cry,meanwhile the ranks of the shield-bearing Trojans came on;and they again put on their armor, and remembered their battle-fury.Then you would not see noble Agamemnon sleepingnor cowering nor unwilling to fight,but hurrying greatly into the glory-giving battle.For he left his horses and his chariot inlaid with bronze;and a squire held them apart, snorting,Eurymedon, son of Ptolemaeus, son of Peiraeus;and he charged him very much to keep them near wheneverweariness should seize his limbs as he ranged through many ranks;but he went on foot, ranging through the ranks of men.And those of the swift-horsed Danaans he saw hurrying,he encouraged greatly, standing beside them with words:Argives, do not slacken your furious valor;for father Zeus will not be a helper to liars,but those who first did harm over the oaths —their own tender flesh the vultures will eat,and we will lead away their dear wives and infant childrenin our ships, once we have taken their citadel.And any he saw slackening from hateful war,them he would rebuke greatly with angry words:Argives, archers, men of shame, are you not ashamed?Why do you stand like this, dumbfounded like fawns,which, when they are worn out running over a great plain,stand still, and no courage comes into their hearts?So you stand dumbfounded and do not fight.Or do you wait for the Trojans to come near, where the shipswith good sterns are drawn up on the shore of the gray sea,to see whether the son of Cronos holds his hand over you?So he, ranging as lord, went through the ranks of men;and he came to the Cretans, going through the throng of men.And they were arming around the wise Idomeneus;Idomeneus among the foremost fighters, like a boar in courage,and Meriones urging on the hindmost ranks.Seeing them, Agamemnon lord of men rejoiced,and at once spoke to Idomeneus with gentle words:Idomeneus, I honor you above the swift-horsed Danaansboth in war and in other work,and at the feast, when the elders' flaming winethe best of the Argives mix in the bowl.For even if the other long-haired Achaeansdrink their measured cup, your cup always standsfuller, as mine does, to drink when your heart bids.But rouse yourself to war, such as you claim to have been before.Then Idomeneus, leader of the Cretans, answered him:Son of Atreus, I will be a very trusty comradeto you, as I first promised and nodded assent;but rouse the other long-haired Achaeansso that we may fight as quickly as possible, since the Trojans have poured outthe oaths; for them death and sorrows hereafterwill be, since they first did harm over the oaths.So he spoke, and the son of Atreus passed on, glad at heart.He came to the Ajaxes, going through the throng of men;and the two were arming, and with them followed a cloud of footmen.As when from a lookout a goatherd sees a cloudcoming over the sea under the onset of the West Wind;and to him, being far off, it seems blacker than pitchas it comes over the sea, and it brings a great squall,and he shudders at the sight, and drives his flock under a cave —like this, with the Ajaxes, of Zeus-nourished young menthe dense phalanxes moved into hostile war,dark, bristling with shields and spears.And seeing them, lord Agamemnon rejoiced,and speaking he addressed them with winged words:Ajaxes, leaders of the bronze-clad Argives,you two — for it is not fitting to urge you, and I do not command it —for you yourselves bid the host fight mightily.O father Zeus, and Athena, and Apollo,may such a spirit be in the breasts of all;then the city of lord Priam would soon sinktaken and sacked beneath our hands.So speaking he left them there, and went on to others;there he found Nestor, the clear-voiced orator of the Pylians,marshalling his comrades and urging them to fight,around great Pelagon and Alastor and Chromiusand lord Haemon and Bias, shepherd of the people;first he set the horsemen with their horses and chariots,and behind them he set the footmen, many and brave,to be a fence of war; and the cowards he drove into the middle,so that even one unwilling might fight from necessity.First he charged the horsemen; for he bade themhold their swift horses in check and not be thrown into confusion in the crowd:and let no one, trusting in his horsemanship and his valor,be eager to fight the Trojans alone before the others,nor fall back; for you will be the weaker.And whichever man comes from his own chariot to another's,let him thrust with his spear, for thus it is far better.Thus did men of old sack cities and walls,holding this mind and spirit in their breasts.So the old man urged them, long skilled in wars;and seeing him, lord Agamemnon rejoiced,and speaking he addressed him with winged words:Old man, would that as your spirit is in your dear breast,so your knees might follow, and your strength be steadfast;but hateful old age wears you down. Would that some otherof men had it, and you were among the younger men.Then the Gerenian horseman Nestor answered him:Son of Atreus, I too would very much wishto be as I was when I killed noble Ereuthalion.But the gods did not give all things at once to men:if I was young then, now old age attends me.But even so I will be among the horsemen and will command themwith counsel and with words; for that is the honor of the old.The spears are wielded by the younger men, who areborn later than I and trust in their strength.So he spoke, and the son of Atreus passed on, glad at heart.He found Menestheus, son of Peteos, driver of horses,standing; and around him the Athenians, masters of the war-cry;and close by stood Odysseus of many devices,and beside him the ranks of the Cephallenians, not weak,stood; for as yet the host had not heard the war-cry,but newly moving together the phalanxes stirred,of the horse-taming Trojans and the Achaeans; and they waited, standing,for when another tower of Achaeans should come onand charge the Trojans and begin the war.Seeing them, Agamemnon, lord of men, rebuked them,and speaking he addressed them with winged words:Son of Peteos, Zeus-nourished king,and you, schooled in evil tricks, crafty-minded,why do you cower apart and wait for others?It would befit you two, being among the foremost,to stand and face the burning battle;for you two are the first to hear of my feast,whenever we Achaeans prepare a feast for the elders.Then you love to eat roast meats and to drinkcups of honey-sweet wine as long as you wish;but now you would gladly look on though ten towers of Achaeansshould fight before you with pitiless bronze.Then looking at him from under his brows, Odysseus of many devices said:Son of Atreus, what word has escaped the fence of your teeth?How can you say that we hold back from war, when we Achaeansare rousing sharp Ares against the horse-taming Trojans?You will see, if you wish and if these things are your concern,the dear father of Telemachus mingled with the foremost fightersof the horse-taming Trojans; but you speak these words idly.Then lord Agamemnon spoke with a smile,when he knew he was angry; and he took back his word:Zeus-born son of Laertes, Odysseus of many wiles,I neither rebuke you beyond measure nor command you;for I know that in your dear breast your heartknows gentle counsels; for you think the very things I think.But come, we will make these things right afterward, if any evil nowhas been spoken, and may the gods make it all as if it had never been.So speaking he left them there, and went on to others.He found the son of Tydeus, high-spirited Diomedes,standing among his horses and well-jointed chariots;and beside him stood Sthenelus, son of Capaneus.And seeing him, lord Agamemnon rebuked him,and speaking he addressed him with winged words:Alas, son of wise horse-taming Tydeus,why do you cower, why do you peer at the bridges of war?It was not dear to Tydeus to cower thus,but to fight the foe far before his dear comrades;so said those who saw him toiling; for I myselfnever met him nor saw him; but they say he surpassed the others.For indeed he came to Mycenae apart from waras a guest with godlike Polynices, gathering a host;for they were then marching against the sacred walls of Thebes,and they were begging greatly to be given famous allies;and they were willing to give and approved as they urged;but Zeus turned them aside, showing baleful signs.And when they had gone and were on their way,and came to the Asopus, deep with rushes and grassy with beds,there again the Achaeans sent Tydeus as a messenger.And he went, and found many Cadmeiansfeasting through the hall of the might of Eteocles.There, though a guest, the horseman Tydeusdid not fear, being alone among many Cadmeians,but he challenged them to contests, and won them alleasily; such a helper was Athena to him.Then the Cadmeians, angered, goaders of horses,as he went back set a close ambush, leadingfifty young men; and there were two leaders,Maeon, son of Haemon, like the immortals,and the son of Autophonos, steadfast-in-war Polyphontes.Tydeus dealt them an unseemly doom:he killed them all, and sent only one to go home —he sent Maeon forth, obeying the signs of the gods.Such was Tydeus of Aetolia; but his sonhe begot worse than himself in battle, but better in the assembly.So he spoke, and strong Diomedes said nothing to him,ashamed at the reproof of the revered king;but the son of glorious Capaneus answered him:Son of Atreus, do not lie when you know how to speak clearly;we claim to be far better than our fathers;we even took the seat of seven-gated Thebes,having led a smaller host beneath a stronger wall,trusting in the signs of the gods and the help of Zeus;but those men perished through their own recklessness;so never put our fathers in the same honor as us.Then looking at him from under his brows, strong Diomedes said:Friend, sit in silence and obey my word;for I do not blame Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,for urging the well-greaved Achaeans to fight;for glory will follow him if the Achaeanscut down the Trojans and take sacred Ilion,and great grief for him if the Achaeans are cut down.But come, let us two also take thought for furious valor.He spoke, and with his armor leapt from the chariot to the ground;and the bronze rang terribly upon the chest of the lordas he rose; fear would have seized even a steadfast-hearted man.As when on the loud-resounding shore a wave of the searises one after another when the West Wind has stirred it;on the deep it first crests, but thenbreaking on the land it roars loudly, and around the headlandsbeing curved it towers up, and spits out the brine of the sea —so then the phalanxes of the Danaans moved one after anotherceaselessly to war; and each of the leaders called to his own;and the others went in silence, nor would you thinkthat so great a host followed with a voice in their breasts,in silence fearing their commanders; and on all sidestheir varied armor shone, in which clad they marched.But the Trojans, as sheep in the yard of a man of great possessionsstand countless, being milked for white milk,bleating incessantly as they hear the voice of the lambs —so rose the war-cry of the Trojans through the broad host;for not all had the same voice nor one speech,but their tongue was mixed, being men called from many lands.Ares roused some, and owl-eyed Athena others,and Terror and Fear and Strife insatiably eager,sister and companion of man-slaying Ares,who at first rears her head small, but thenplants her head in the sky and walks upon the earth;she even then cast hateful strife into their midst,going through the throng, increasing the groaning of men.But when they came together into one place,they dashed together their shields, and their spears, and the fury of menin bronze corselets; and the bossed shieldsclashed against one another, and a great din arose.Then there was at once lamentation and boasting of men,of slayers and of the slain, and the earth ran with blood.As when winter torrents flowing down the mountainspour their violent water together into a merging gorgefrom great springs inside a hollow ravine,and a shepherd hears their roar far off in the mountains —so of them mingling there arose a cry and a toil.First Antilochus slew a helmeted man of the Trojans,noble among the foremost, Echepolus son of Thalysius;he struck him first on the ridge of his horse-haired helmet,and fixed it in his forehead, and the bronze spear pointpierced through the bone within; and darkness covered his eyes,and he fell as a tower falls in the strong clash of battle.As he fell, lord Elephenor seized him by the feet,son of Chalcodon, leader of the great-hearted Abantes,and dragged him out from under the missiles, eager to striphis armor as quickly as possible; but his onset was short-lived.For seeing him dragging the corpse, great-hearted Agenor,struck him in the side, which showed beside the shield as he stooped,with a bronze-pointed spear, and loosed his limbs.So his life left him, and over him the work of battlegrew grievous for Trojans and Achaeans; and like wolvesthey rushed at one another, and man clashed with man.Then Telamonian Ajax struck the son of Anthemion,the blooming youth Simoeisius, whom once his motherbore as she came down from Ida beside the banks of the Simoeis,when she followed with her parents to look at the flocks;therefore they called him Simoeisius; and he did not repayhis dear parents for their rearing, and his life was shortas he was subdued by the spear of great-hearted Ajax.For as he came first he struck him on the chest by the right breast,and clean through his shoulder the bronze spearwent; and he fell to the ground in the dust like a black poplarthat has grown in the meadow of a great marsh,smooth, but whose branches grow at the very top;which a chariot-making man cuts with shining iron,to bend a rim for a very beautiful chariot;and it lies drying beside the banks of the river.Such then was Anthemion's son Simoeisius, whom Zeus-bornAjax stripped; and at him Antiphus of the gleaming corselet,son of Priam, cast with his sharp spear through the throng.He missed him, but struck Leucus, the noble comrade of Odysseus,in the groin, as he was dragging a corpse aside;and he fell over him, and the corpse dropped from his hand.At him, slain, Odysseus was greatly angered in his heart,and he went through the foremost fighters, armed in blazing bronze,and came very near and stood, and cast with his shining spearafter glancing around him; and the Trojans shrank backfrom the man who had cast; and he did not hurl the shaft in vain,but struck the bastard son of Priam, Democoon,who had come to him from Abydos, from his swift mares.Him Odysseus, angered for his comrade, struck with his spearon the temple; and the bronze point passed through the other templeand darkness covered his eyes,and he fell with a thud, and his armor clattered upon him.Then the foremost fighters gave way, and glorious Hector too;and the Argives shouted aloud and dragged away the dead,and pressed far forward; but Apollo was angered,looking down from Pergamus, and he called to the Trojans, crying:Rouse yourselves, horse-taming Trojans, and do not yield the battleto the Argives, since their flesh is not stone nor ironto withstand the bronze that cuts the flesh when they are struck;and indeed Achilles, son of lovely-haired Thetis,is not fighting, but by the ships he digests his heart-grieving wrath.So spoke the dread god from the city; but the Achaeansthe daughter of Zeus, most glorious Tritogeneia, roused,going through the throng wherever she saw them slackening.Then fate bound Dioreus, son of Amarynceus:for he was struck with a jagged stone beside the ankle,on the right shin; and the leader of the Thracian men struck it,Peiroos son of Imbrasus, who had come from Aenus.Both the tendons and the bones the shameless stonecrushed utterly; and he fell on his back in the dust,stretching out both hands to his dear comrades,breathing out his life; and he who had struck him ran up,Peiroos, and stabbed him with his spear beside the navel; and allhis guts poured to the ground, and darkness covered his eyes.Then Thoas the Aetolian struck him as he rushed away with his spearin the chest above the nipple, and the bronze stuck in his lung;and Thoas came close to him, and drew out the mighty spearfrom his chest, and drew his sharp sword,and with it he smote him in the middle of the belly, and took away his life.But he did not strip his armor; for his comrades stood around,Thracians with hair on top, holding long spears in their hands,who, though he was big and mighty and proud,drove him from them; and he gave ground and staggered back.So the two lay stretched in the dust beside each other,one the leader of the Thracians, the other of the bronze-clad Epeians;and many others were slain around them.There no man who came to it could any longer find fault with the work,whoever was still unwounded and unstruck by the sharp bronze,if he turned about in the midst, and Pallas Athena led himtaking him by the hand, and warded off the rush of missiles;for many of the Trojans and Achaeans on that daylay face down in the dust beside one another.

Then again Athena gave Diomedes, the son of Tydeus, might and courage,so that he might stand out among all the Argivesand win good glory.She made a tireless fire burn from his helmet and his shield,like the star of late summer, which most of allshines brightly when it has been washed in the Ocean;such a fire she made burn from his head and his shoulders,and she stirred him into the middle, where the most men were in the press.There was a certain Dares among the Trojans, rich and blameless,a priest of Hephaestus; and he had two sons,Phegeus and Idaeus, who knew every kind of fighting well.The two of them, separated from him, rushed out to face the enemy;they from their chariot, but he rose from the ground on foot.When they had come close, moving at each other,Phegeus first threw his long-shadowing spear;but the point of the spear went over Tydeus' son's left shoulderand did not hit him; then the son of Tydeus rose up next with the bronze.The weapon did not fly from his hand in vain,but it hit his chest between the breasts, and pushed him off his horses.Idaeus jumped down, leaving the beautiful chariot,and he did not dare to stand over his killed brother;for not even he himself would have escaped black death,but Hephaestus protected him and saved him, wrapping him in night,so that the old man would not be completely grieving.And the son of great-hearted Tydeus, driving out the horses,gave them to his companions to lead down to the hollow ships.But the great-hearted Trojans, when they saw the two sons of Dares,the one escaping and the other killed beside the chariot,the spirit of all of them was shaken; but bright-eyed Athenatook furious Ares by the hand and spoke to him in words:Ares, Ares, destroyer of men, defiled with blood, stormer of walls,would we not now let the Trojans and the Achaeansfight, to whichever side father Zeus grants the glory,while the two of us step back, and avoid the anger of Zeus?After she said this she led furious Ares out of the battle;then she seated him on the flowery bank of the Scamander,and the Danaans bent the Trojans back; and each of the leaderstook a man; and first the lord of men Agamemnonthrew great Odius, the leader of the Halizones, from his chariot.For as he first turned around he drove the spear into his backbetween the shoulders, and pushed it through his chest,and he fell with a thud, and his armor clanged over him.And Idomeneus killed Phaestus, the son of Maeonof Borus, who had come from deep-soiled Tarne.Idomeneus, famous for the spear, struck him with his long spearas he was climbing onto his horses, on the right shoulder;and he fell from the chariot, and hateful darkness took him.Then the attendants of Idomeneus stripped his armor;and the son of Strophius, Scamandrius, a keen hunter,Menelaus son of Atreus killed with his sharp spear,a good hunter; for Artemis herself had taught himto shoot every wild animal that the forest raises in the mountains;but not even Artemis, the shooter of arrows, helped him then,nor the far-shooting in which he had once excelled;but Menelaus, famous for the spear, son of Atreus,struck him in the back with his spear as he fled in front of him,between the shoulders, and drove it through his chest,and he fell face forward, and his armor clanged over him.And Meriones killed Phereclus, the son of the craftsmanHarmonides, who knew how to make with his hands every kindof cunning work; for Pallas Athena loved him especially.He also built for Alexander the balanced ships,the beginning of evils, which became a disaster for all the Trojansand for himself, because he did not know at all the decrees of the gods.When Meriones caught up with him in the chase,he struck him on the right buttock; and the pointwent straight through, right under the bone into the bladder;and he fell on his knees groaning, and death covered him.And Meges killed Pedaeus, the son of Antenor,who was a bastard, but noble Theano raised him carefully,pleasing her husband, just as much as her own dear children.The son of Phyleus, famous for the spear, going near,struck him with his sharp spear at the base of his head;and the bronze cut straight through his teeth under his tongue;and he fell in the dust and took the cold bronze in his teeth.And Eurypylus, son of Euaemon, killed noble Hypsenor,the son of high-hearted Dolopion, who had been madea priest of the Scamander and was honored by the people like a god.Eurypylus, the shining son of Euaemon,as he fled in front of him, running after him, hit him on the shoulderwith a sword as he sprang at him, and cut off his heavy arm;and the bloody arm fell on the plain; and over his eyespurple death and strong fate came.So they labored throughout the strong battle;but you could not tell which side Tydeides was on,whether he was mingling with the Trojans or with the Achaeans.For he rushed across the plain like a river filledwith a winter torrent, which flowing fast scatters the bridges;and neither do the close-packed bridges hold it back,nor do the fences of the blooming orchards contain itwhen it comes suddenly, when the rain of Zeus bears down on it;and many fine works of stalwart men fall down under it.So under Tydeides the close-packed ranks of the Trojanswere thrown into confusion, and they did not wait for him, though they were many.And when the shining son of Lycaon noticed himrushing over the plain and throwing the ranks into confusion ahead of him,he immediately stretched his curved bow against Tydeides,and hit him as he rushed at him, striking his right shoulderon the plate of his breastplate; and the bitter arrow flew through,and pierced straight through, and the breastplate was splattered with blood.Then over him the shining son of Lycaon shouted loudly:Rouse yourselves, great-hearted Trojans, drivers of horses;for the best of the Achaeans has been hit, and I do not thinkhe will hold out long against the strong arrow, if trulythe lord, the son of Zeus, urged me as I set out from Lycia.So he spoke boasting; but the swift arrow did not overcome him,but he stepped back in front of his horses and chariotand stood there, and spoke to Sthenelus, son of Capaneus:Rouse yourself, dear son of Capaneus, get down from the chariot,so that you can pull the bitter arrow out of my shoulder.So he spoke, and Sthenelus jumped down from the horses to the ground,and standing beside him he pulled the swift arrow right through his shoulder;and the blood spurted up through his woven tunic.Then indeed Diomedes, good at the war cry, prayed:Hear me, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, Atrytone,if ever you stood by my father and me with kind intentin the hostile war, now again be kind to me, Athena;and grant that I may kill the man and get within reach of my spear,who struck me first and boasts over me, and sayshe will not see the bright light of the sun much longer.So he spoke praying; and Pallas Athena heard him,and made his limbs light, his feet and hands above all;and standing near she spoke winged words:Take courage now, Diomedes, to fight against the Trojans;for into your chest I have put the might of your father,fearless, such as shield-brandishing horseman Tydeus had;and I have taken from your eyes the mist that was there before,so that you may clearly know both god and man.So now if a god comes here to test you,do not you fight face to face with anyof the other immortal gods; but if the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite,comes into the battle, wound her with the sharp bronze.After she said this, bright-eyed Athena went away,and Tydeides, going back again, mixed with the front-line fighters,though even before he had been eager in his heart to fight the Trojans.Then indeed three times as much might seized him, as a lionwhich a shepherd in the field, over his woolly sheep,has grazed as it jumped over the fold, but has not overcome;he rouses its strength, and then he does not defend the sheep,but goes to hide in the pens, and the sheep are deserted and flee;and they lie piled on one another,while he, eager, leaps out of the deep fold.So eager did strong Diomedes mix with the Trojans.Then he killed Astynous and Hypeiron, shepherd of the people,the one he hit above the nipple with his bronze spear,and the other with his great sword beside the collarbone at the shoulderhe struck, and cut the shoulder away from the neck and from the back.He left these, and he went after Abas and Polyidus,the sons of Eurydamas, an old man who interpreted dreams;but the old man did not interpret dreams for them as they came,and strong Diomedes stripped them.Then he went after Xanthus and Thoon, the two sons of Phaenops,both born late; and he was worn down with painful old age,and had fathered no other son to leave among his possessions.There he stripped them, and took away the dear lifeof both, and left behind for their father wailing and painful grief,since they did not come home alive from the battleand receive him; and strangers divided up his property.Then he caught two sons of Priam, the Dardanid,who were in one chariot, Echemmon and Chromius.As a lion leaping on cattle breaks the neckof a calf or a cow grazing in the thicket,so the son of Tydeus brought both of them down from their horses,sorely against their will, and then stripped off their armor;and he gave the horses to his companions to drive to the ships.And Aeneas saw him destroying the ranks of men,and he went through the battle and through the confusion of spearslooking for godlike Pandarus, in case he might find him somewhere;he found the blameless and strong son of Lycaon,and he stood in front of him and spoke a word to him face to face:Pandarus, where is your bow and your winged arrowsand your fame? No man here competes with you in that,nor does anyone in Lycia claim to be better than you.But come, shoot an arrow at this man, with your hands raised to Zeus,whoever this is who is master here and has already done many evilsto the Trojans, since he has loosened the knees of many good men;unless it is some god who is angry with the Trojans,enraged about sacrifices; and the anger of a god is hard.Then the shining son of Lycaon answered him:Aeneas, counselor of the bronze-clad Trojans,I liken him to Tydeides in everything, a man of war,recognizing him by his shield and his ridged helmet,and by looking at his horses; but I do not clearly know if he is a god.But if he is the man I say, the war-minded son of Tydeus,he does not rage like this without a god, but someonestands near, one of the immortals, wrapped in a cloud around his shoulders,who turned the swift arrow that reached him somewhere else.For I already shot an arrow at him, and I hit his rightshoulder right through the plate of his breastplate;and I thought I would send him down to Aidoneus,yet I did not overcome him; so some god is angry.And horses and a chariot are not here for me to mount;but somewhere in the halls of Lycaon there are eleven chariotsfine, newly built, freshly made; and around them clothsare spread out; and beside each of them paired horsesare standing, eating white barley and oats.Indeed the old spearman Lycaon gave me many instructionsas I was setting out, in his well-built house;he told me, mounted on horses and chariot,to lead the Trojans in the strong battles;but I did not obey; and it truly would have been far better;I was sparing the horses, in case they ran short of fodder,since they are used to eating their fill when men are penned in.So I left them, and I have come on foot to Ilios,trusting in my bow; but it was not going to help me.For I have already shot at two of the best men,Tydeides and the son of Atreus, and from bothI drew sure blood when I hit them, but I only roused them more.So with evil fortune I took the curved bow from its pegon that day when I led the Trojans to lovely Ilios,bringing pleasure to noble Hector.But if I return and see with my eyesmy own country and my wife and my high-roofed great house,then let a stranger cut off my head at onceif I do not put these bows into the blazing fire,breaking them with my hands; for they follow me for nothing.Then Aeneas, leader of the Trojans, answered him:Do not speak like that; there will be no other way before that,until the two of us face this man with horses and chariotand try him in arms face to face.But come, climb onto my chariot, so that you may seewhat kind of horses the Trojan ones are, knowing how over the plainto chase swiftly here and there and to flee;they will bring the two of us safely to the city, even if againZeus grants glory to Tydeides Diomedes.But come now, take the whip and the shining reins,and I will get down from the horses so that I can fight;or you take these, and I will look after the horses.Then the shining son of Lycaon answered him:Aeneas, you yourself hold the reins and your own two horses;better under a charioteer who is used to it will the curved chariotcarry us, if we flee once more from the son of Tydeus;in case the two, frightened, hold back and do not wantto carry you out of the battle, longing for your voice,and the son of great-hearted Tydeus, rushing on us,kills us both and drives off the single-hoofed horses.But do you yourself drive your chariot and your two horses,and I will receive him as he comes on with my sharp spear.After saying this, they climbed onto the dappled chariotand eagerly drove their swift horses at Tydeides.And Sthenelus, the shining son of Capaneus, saw them,and at once spoke winged words to Tydeides:Tydeides Diomedes, dear to my heart,I see two strong men eager to fight against you,possessing boundless strength; one is well skilled with the bow,Pandarus, and he claims to be the son of Lycaon;and Aeneas claims to have been born from blameless Anchises,and his mother is Aphrodite.But come, let us give way with the horses, and do notrage like this through the front ranks, in case you destroy your dear heart.Then looking darkly at him strong Diomedes said:Do not talk of fear, since I do not think you will persuade me.It is not noble for me to avoid battle and slink away,nor to cower; my might is still firm;I am reluctant to climb onto the horses, but even soI go against them face to face; Pallas Athena does not let me tremble.These two will not carry their swift horses back againboth away from us, if indeed one of them escapes.And another thing I will tell you, and do you put it in your mind:if wise Athena grants me the gloryto kill them both, then you hold back these swift horseshere, stretching the reins from the rail,and rush at Aeneas' horses, remembering them,and drive them out from the Trojans to the well-greaved Achaeans.For of that breed of which wide-thundering Zeusgave to Tros as payment for his son Ganymede, because they were the bestof horses, as many as there are beneath the dawn and the sun,of that breed the lord of men Anchises stole,secretly from Laomedon, bringing mares to breed;and of them six were born to him in his halls.Four he kept himself and raised at the manger,and two he gave to Aeneas, a bringer of panic.If we could take these two, we would win good glory.So these two spoke such words to one another,and the other two quickly came near, driving their swift horses.First the shining son of Lycaon spoke to him:Strong-hearted, war-minded son of proud Tydeus,surely the swift bitter arrow did not overcome you;now again I will try with the spear, if I can hit you.So he spoke, and swinging it he threw his long-shadowing spearand hit the shield of Tydeides; and through itthe bronze point flew and came near the breastplate;and over him the shining son of Lycaon shouted loudly:You are hit right through the flank, and I do not thinkyou will hold out much longer; and you have given me great glory.Then unafraid strong Diomedes answered him:You missed and did not hit; but I do not think the two of youwill stop before one of you at least has fallenand glutted Ares, the stubborn warrior, with blood.So saying he threw; and Athena guided the weaponby his nose beside his eye, and it went through his white teeth.The unyielding bronze cut off the root of his tongue,and the point came out by his lower jaw;and he fell from the chariot, and his armor clanged over him,dappled and flashing, and his swift-footed horsesshied away; and there his life and his strength were loosed.And Aeneas jumped down with his shield and his long spear,fearing that the Achaeans might drag off the corpse.And around him he strode like a lion trusting in its strength,and in front of him he held his spear and his shield equal on every side,eager to kill whoever came against him,crying terribly; and Tydeides took in his hand a stone,a great work which not even two men would lift,such as mortals are now; but he wielded it easily, alone.With it he hit Aeneas on the hip, where the thighturns in the hip, and men call it the socket;and he crushed his socket, and broke both tendons,and the rough stone tore away the skin; but the herofell to his knee and stayed, propped on his stout handon the ground; and black night covered his eyes.And then the lord of men Aeneas would have died,if the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite, had not quickly noticed,his mother, who bore him to Anchises the herdsman;and she poured her white arms around her dear son,and in front of him spread a fold of her shining robeto be a wall against weapons, in case any of the swift-horsed Danaansstruck bronze into his chest and took his life.So she carried her dear son out of the battle;but the son of Capaneus did not forget the commandswhich Diomedes, good at the war cry, had given him,but he held back his own single-hoofed horsesaway from the din, stretching the reins from the rail,and rushing at Aeneas' fair-maned horseshe drove them out from the Trojans to the well-greaved Achaeans.And he gave them to his dear companion Deipylus, whom beyond allof his own age he honored, because he knew in his mind the right things,to drive to the hollow ships; but the heroclimbed onto his own horses and took the shining reins,and swiftly followed with his strong-hoofed horses,eagerly; and he went after Cypris with pitiless bronze,knowing that she was a cowardly god, and not one of thosegoddesses who rule over the war of men,neither Athena nor city-sacking Enyo.But when he caught up with her, pursuing her through the great crowd,there the son of great-hearted Tydeus, reaching out,wounded the top of her hand, springing at her with his sharp spear,grazing it; and at once the spear pierced her skinthrough the immortal robe which the Graces themselves had made her,at the base of the palm; and there flowed the immortal blood of the god,ichor, such as flows in the blessed gods;for they do not eat bread, nor drink gleaming wine,and therefore they are bloodless and are called immortal.And she, crying loudly, threw her son down from her;and Phoebus Apollo drew him up in his handsin a dark cloud, in case any of the swift-horsed Danaansstruck bronze into his chest and took his life.And over her Diomedes, good at the war cry, shouted loudly:Give way, daughter of Zeus, from war and battle;is it not enough that you deceive cowardly women?But if you go into the battle, I think you will surelyshudder at war, even if you hear of it somewhere else.So he spoke, and she went away in anguish, and was terribly distressed;and Iris of the swift feet took her and led her out of the crowdburdened with pains, and her fair skin was darkened.Then she found furious Ares on the left of the battle,sitting; and his spear and his swift horses leaned in the mist;and she fell on her knees before her dear brother,and begging him much she asked for the gold-frontleted horses:Dear brother, take care of me and give me the horses,so that I may reach Olympus, where the seat of the immortals is.I am greatly burdened by the wound which a mortal man struck on me,Tydeides, who would now even fight with father Zeus.So she spoke, and Ares gave her the gold-frontleted horses;and she climbed onto the chariot, grieved in her dear heart,and Iris climbed on beside her and took the reins in her hands,and whipped them to go, and the two flew not unwilling.And quickly they came to the seat of the gods, steep Olympus;there swift Iris of the swift feet stopped the horses,loosed them from the chariot, and set immortal food before them;and the goddess Aphrodite fell at the knees of Dione,her mother; and she took her daughter in her arms,and stroked her with her hand and spoke a word and called her by name:Who now, dear child, of the heavenly ones has done such things to youfor no reason, as though you had done some evil in their sight?Then smiling Aphrodite answered her:The son of Tydeus, the overweening Diomedes, wounded me,because I was carrying my dear son out of the battle,Aeneas, who is far dearest to me of all.For the grim battle of Trojans and Achaeans is no longer that,but now the Danaans fight even with the immortals.Then Dione, shining among goddesses, answered her:Endure, my child, and bear up, though you are grieving;for many of us who hold Olympian homes have enduredharsh pains from men, bringing them on one another.Ares endured when Otus and strong Ephialtes,the sons of Aloeus, bound him in a strong bond;in a bronze jar he was bound for thirteen months;and then Ares, insatiate of war, would have died,if their stepmother, the beautiful Eeriboea,had not told Hermes; and he stole Ares awayalready worn out, and the harsh bond was overcoming him.And Hera endured, when the strong son of Amphitryonhit her right breast with a three-barbed arrow;and then incurable pain took her.And huge Hades endured among them a swift arrow,when the same man, the son of aegis-bearing Zeus,in Pylos among the dead hit him and gave him over to pains;and he went to the house of Zeus and tall Olympusgrieving at heart, pierced with pains; and the arrowwas driven into his stout shoulder, and grieved his heart.And Paieon, sprinkling pain-killing drugs on him,healed him; for he was not made mortal at all.Wretched, violent-doing, who did not care that he was doing reckless things,who with his bow grieved the gods who hold Olympus.But against you the goddess bright-eyed Athena sent this one;fool, and the son of Tydeus does not know in his mindthat he who fights with the immortals does not live long,and his children do not call him grandfatherat his knees when he comes from the battle and the dread fighting.So now let Tydeides, even if he is very strong,take thought in case someone better than you fights with him,in case wise Aegialea, the daughter of Adrastus,weeping from sleep wakes her dear household,longing for her wedded husband, the best of the Achaeans,the strong wife of horse-taming Diomedes.So she spoke, and with both hands wiped the ichor from her hand;the hand healed, and the heavy pains were soothed.And Athena and Hera, looking on,provoked Zeus the son of Cronus with mocking words.And among them the goddess bright-eyed Athena began the speech:Father Zeus, will you be angry with me for what I say?Surely Cypris, stirring up some Achaean womanto follow the Trojans, whom she now loves exceedingly,while stroking one of the well-robed Achaean women,scratched her slender hand on a golden brooch.So she spoke, and the father of men and gods smiled,and calling golden Aphrodite to him he said:To you, my child, are not given the works of war,but do you pursue the lovely works of marriage,and all these things will be the care of swift Ares and Athena.So these spoke such words to one another,and Diomedes, good at the war cry, rushed at Aeneas,knowing that Apollo himself was holding his hands over him;but he did not revere even the great god, and he kept pressing onto kill Aeneas and strip his famous armor.Three times then he rushed on, eager to kill him,and three times Apollo beat back his shining shield;but when he rushed on the fourth time, like a god,shouting terribly, far-shooting Apollo spoke to him:Take thought, Tydeides, and give way, and do notwish to think equal to the gods, since the race is never alikeof the immortal gods and of men who walk on the earth.So he spoke, and Tydeides gave back a littleavoiding the anger of far-shooting Apollo.And Aeneas Apollo set apart from the crowdin holy Pergamon, where his temple had been built.And him Leto and Artemis the shooter of arrowshealed and honored in the great shrine;but silver-bowed Apollo made a phantomlike Aeneas himself and like him in armor,and around the phantom Trojans and shining Achaeanskept striking one another's ox-hide shieldswell-rounded and winged bucklers.Then Phoebus Apollo spoke to furious Ares:Ares, Ares, destroyer of men, defiled with blood, stormer of walls,Would you not then pull this man back from the battle, going after him,Tydeides, who would now even fight with father Zeus?First he wounded Cypris close up on the hand at the wrist,and then he rushed at me myself, like a god.After he said this, he himself sat down on the height of Pergamon,and baleful Ares, going after them, roused the Trojan ranks,appearing like Acamas, the swift leader of the Thracians;and he called out to the sons of Priam, raised by Zeus:O sons of Priam, of the king raised by Zeus,how long will you let your people be killed by the Achaeans?Or until they fight around your well-built gates?There lies a man whom we honored as equal to noble Hector,Aeneas, the son of great-hearted Anchises;but come, let us save our good companion from the confusion.After he said this he roused the might and spirit of each man.Then Sarpedon rebuked noble Hector greatly:Hector, where has your might gone, that you had before?You say, I suppose, that you will hold the city without the people and without allies,alone with your brothers-in-law and your own brothers.But of these I now can see and notice not one,but they cower like dogs around a lion;while we fight, who are here as allies.For I too, being an ally, have come from very far away;for Lycia is far away, on the whirling Xanthus,where I left my dear wife and my infant son,and many possessions, which a needy man longs for.But even so I urge the Lycians on and am eager myselfto fight the man; yet here I have nothing of the kindthat the Achaeans might carry off or lead away.But you stand still, and you do not order the rest of thepeople to stand firm and defend against the enemy.I fear that like fish caught in a net of all-catching meshyou will become a spoil and a prize for hostile men;and they will soon sack your well-populated city.And you must care about all this both night and day,begging the leaders of the far-famed alliesto hold firm without stopping, and to put away harsh reproach.So spoke Sarpedon, and his word bit the heart of Hector;at once he leaped from his chariot with his armor to the ground,brandishing sharp spears he went throughout the army in every direction,rousing them to fight, and he woke the dread din of battle.And they wheeled around and stood facing the Achaeans;and the Argives stood firm in a mass and did not flee.As the wind carries chaff through the sacred threshing floorsof men who winnow, when fair-haired Demeterseparates grain and chaff with the rushing winds,and the heaps of chaff grow white beneath; so then the Achaeansgrew white on top with dust, which through themthe feet of the horses beat up to the bronze-wrought sky,as they closed again; and the charioteers wheeled them around.And they carried the strength of their hands straight on; and around themfurious Ares covered the battle in night, helping the Trojans,ranging everywhere; and he carried out the commandsof Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who urged himto rouse the spirit in the Trojans, since he saw PallasAthena gone away; for she was the helper of the Danaans.And he himself brought Aeneas out of the rich shrine,and put might in the chest of the shepherd of the people.And Aeneas moved back among his companions; and they rejoiced,when they saw him alive and unharmed, coming forwardand having good might; yet they did not question him at all.For no other labor allowed it, which the silver-bowed god roused,and man-destroying Ares and Strife, insatiably eager.But the two Ajaxes and Odysseus and Diomedesurged the Danaans on to fight; and they themselvesneither shrank from the violence of the Trojans nor from their onsets,but stood like clouds which the son of Cronussets in windless weather on the towering mountainsunmoved, while the might of the North Wind sleeps and of the othershrill winds, which with clear-blowing blastsscatter the shadowy clouds as they blow;so the Danaans stood firm against the Trojans and did not flee.And the son of Atreus went through the throng, giving many commands:Dear friends, be men and take a valiant heart,and have shame before one another in the strong battles;of men who have shame, more are saved than are killed;but from men who flee neither glory arises nor any defense.So he spoke, and quickly threw his spear, and hit a front-line man,the companion of great-hearted Aeneas, Deicoon,the son of Pergasus, whom the Trojans equally with the sons of Priamhonored, since he was swift to fight among the front ranks.Him lord Agamemnon hit with his spear on the shield;it did not keep out the spear, but the bronze went right through,and drove through his belt into his lower belly;and he fell with a thud, and his armor clanged over him.Then Aeneas killed the best men of the Danaans,the two sons of Diocles, Crethon and Orsilochus,whose father lived in well-built Pherae,rich in substance, and was of the race of the riverAlpheus, which flows wide through the land of the Pylians,who fathered Ortilochus, lord over many men;and Ortilochus fathered great-hearted Diocles,and from Diocles twin sons were born,Crethon and Orsilochus, who knew all fighting well.These two, when they reached manhood, on the black shipsfollowed to horse-rich Ilios together with the Argives,seeking honor for Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons of Atreus;and there the end of death covered them.Like two lions on the peaks of a mountainthey were raised by their mother in the thickets of a deep wood;the two, seizing cattle and sturdy sheep,ravaged the folds of men, until they toowere killed in the hands of men by the sharp bronze;so the two, overcome at the hands of Aeneas,fell, like tall fir trees.And when they fell, war-loving Menelaus pitied them,and he went through the front ranks, helmeted in blazing bronze,brandishing his spear; and Ares roused his might,intending that he be overcome at the hands of Aeneas.And Antilochus, the son of great-hearted Nestor, saw him,and he went through the front ranks; for he feared for the shepherd of the peoplethat he might suffer something, and greatly rob them of their labor.So the two held their hands and their sharp spearsfacing one another, eager to fight;and Antilochus stood very near the shepherd of the people.And Aeneas did not stay, swift warrior though he was,when he saw two men standing by one another.And when they had dragged the corpses to the Achaean host,they threw the two pitiful men into the hands of companions,and the two turned around and fought among the front ranks.Then they killed Pylaemenes, the equal of Ares,leader of the great-hearted, shield-bearing Paphlagonians.Him Menelaus, famous for the spear, son of Atreus,as he stood, struck with his spear, hitting the collarbone;and Antilochus hit Mydon, his charioteer and attendant,the good son of Atymnius; and he was turning his single-hoofed horses;Antilochus hit him with a stone in the middle of the elbow; and from his handsthe white reins, studded with ivory, fell to the ground in the dust.And Antilochus rushed up and struck his temple with his sword;and he, gasping, fell from the well-built chariotheadlong into the dust on his head and his shoulders.He stood there a long time; for he hit deep mud;until his two horses struck him and threw him in the dust;them Antilochus whipped, and drove to the Achaean host.And Hector noticed them along the ranks, and rose against themshouting; and with him followed the strong ranks of the Trojans;and Ares led them and queenly Enyo,she holding Rout, the shameless, of the battle,while Ares wielded in his hands a monstrous spear,and went sometimes in front of Hector, sometimes behind.And Diomedes, good at the war cry, seeing him, shuddered;as when a man with no skill, going over a great plain,stands at a swift-flowing river running to the sea,gazing at it roaring with foam, and runs back again,so then Tydeides gave back, and spoke to the host:Friends, how we wonder that noble Hectoris a spearman and a daring warrior;but always one of the gods is beside him, who wards off ruin;and now that one is Ares, like a mortal man.But turn always backward toward the Trojans,give way, and do not desire to fight the gods with might.So he spoke, and the Trojans came very near to them.Then Hector killed two men who knew the fight,being in one chariot, Menesthes and Anchialus.And great Telamonian Ajax pitied the two fallen men;he came and stood very near, and threw with his shining spear,and hit Amphius, the son of Selagus, who in Paesuslived, rich in possessions, rich in fields; but fateled him to come to help Priam and his sons.Him Telamonian Ajax hit on the belt,and the long-shadowing spear was fixed in his lower belly,and he fell with a thud; and shining Ajax ran upto strip his armor; and the Trojans poured spears at him,sharp and flashing; and his shield received many.And he, stepping with his heel on the corpse, pulled out the bronze spear;but he could no longer take the rest of the fine armorfrom his shoulders; for he was pressed by the missiles.And he feared the strong encirclement of the proud Trojans,who stood around him, many and good, holding spears,who, though he was great and strong and proud,pushed him away from them; and he gave way and was shaken.So they labored throughout the strong battle;and Tlepolemus, the son of Heracles, good and great,strong fate roused against godlike Sarpedon.And when they were near, moving at one another,the son and the grandson of Zeus the cloud-gatherer,then Tlepolemus first spoke a word to him:Sarpedon, counselor of the Lycians, what need have youto cower here, being a man ignorant of battle?They lie who say that you are the offspring of aegis-bearingZeus, since you fall far short of those menwho were born of Zeus among earlier men;but such a one they say the might of Heracles was,my father, bold-hearted, lion-hearted;who once came here for the horses of Laomedonwith only six ships and with fewer men,and sacked the city of Ilios, and widowed its streets;but your heart is cowardly, and your people are perishing.Nor do I think you will be any defense to the Trojans,having come from Lycia, not even if you are very strong,but overcome by me you will pass through the gates of Hades.Then Sarpedon, leader of the Lycians, answered him:Tlepolemus, indeed that man destroyed holy Iliosthrough the foolishness of the proud Laomedon,who reproached him with an evil word though he had treated him well,and did not give the horses for which he had come from far away.But for you I say that here slaughter and black deathwill be brought about by me, and overcome by my spearyou will give me glory, and your soul to Hades, famous for horses.So spoke Sarpedon, and Tlepolemus raised his ashen spear;and their long spears flew togetherfrom their hands; Sarpedon hit the middle of his neck,and the painful point went right through;and dark night covered his eyes.And Tlepolemus had struck his left thigh with his long spear,and the point rushed through, eager,grazing the bone, but his father still warded off ruin.And his shining companions carried godlike Sarpedonout of the battle; and the long spear weighed him downas it was dragged; and no one thought or noticedto pull the ashen spear from his thigh so that he could stand,in their haste; for such labor they had in tending him.And on the other side the well-greaved Achaeanscarried Tlepolemus out of the battle; and shining Odysseus noticed,having an enduring spirit, and his dear heart was eager;and he pondered then in his mind and his spiritwhether he should pursue further the son of loud-thundering Zeus,or take the life from more of the Lycians.But it was not destined for great-hearted Odysseusto kill the strong son of Zeus with the sharp bronze;so Athena turned his heart toward the crowd of the Lycians.Then he killed Coeranus and Alastor and Chromiusand Alcander and Halius and Noemon and Prytanis.And shining Odysseus would have killed still more of the Lycians,if great Hector of the shining helmet had not quickly noticed;he went through the front ranks, helmeted in blazing bronze,bringing fear to the Danaans; and Sarpedon, the son of Zeus, rejoicedat his coming, and spoke a pitiful word:Son of Priam, do not leave me here to lie as a spoil for the Danaans,but defend me; and then let my life leave mein your city, since I was not going toreturn home to my dear fatherlandand gladden my dear wife and my infant son.So he spoke, and Hector of the shining helmet did not answer him at all,but he passed by, eager that as quickly as possiblehe might push back the Argives, and take the life from many.And his shining companions set godlike Sarpedonunder a beautiful oak of aegis-bearing Zeus;and from his thigh strong Pelagon, who was his dear companion,pushed the ashen spear out;and his soul left him, and a mist poured over his eyes;but he breathed again, and the breath of the North Windrevived him as it blew on him, breathing life into his badly gasping spirit.And the Argives under Ares and Hector of the bronze helmetwere never driven back to the black shipsnor ever held their ground in the fight, but always backwardthey gave way, when they learned that Ares was with the Trojans.Then whom first and whom last did they strip,Hector the son of Priam and the bronze Ares?Godlike Teuthras, and after him horse-rousing Orestes,and Trechus the spearman, the Aetolian, and Oenomaus,and Oenopides Helenus and Oresbius with the flashing belt,who lived in Hyle, caring greatly about his wealth,lying by the Cephisian lake; and beside him otherslived, Boeotians, holding a very rich land.And when the goddess, white-armed Hera, saw themdestroying the Argives in the strong battle,at once she spoke winged words to Athena:Alas, child of aegis-bearing Zeus, Atrytone,surely we promised Menelaus a worthless wordthat he would return after sacking well-walled Ilios,if we let baleful Ares rage like this.But come now, let the two of us also take thought for furious valor.So she spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena did not disobey.And Hera, the revered goddess, daughter of great Cronus,going about, harnessed the gold-frontleted horses;and Hebe quickly set on the chariot the curved wheels,bronze, eight-spoked, on either side of the iron axle.Of these the felloe is golden, imperishable, and aboveare bronze tires fitted on, a wonder to see;and the naves are of silver, running round on both sides;and the chariot is stretched with golden and silverstraps, and there are two rails running round.And its pole was of silver; and at the tipshe bound a fine golden yoke, and put on itfine golden collars; and beneath the yoke Hera ledthe swift-footed horses, eager for strife and the war cry.And Athena, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus,let fall on her father's floor her soft robe,dappled, which she herself had made and worked with her hands;and she, putting on the tunic of Zeus the cloud-gatherer,armed herself in armor for the tearful war.And around her shoulders she threw the tasselled aegis,terrible, which is crowned all over with Fear,and in it is Strife, and in it Strength, and in it cold Rout,and in it the Gorgon head of the dread monster,terrible and awful, the portent of aegis-bearing Zeus.And on her head she set a two-peaked helmet, four-crested,golden, fitted for the foot-soldiers of a hundred cities;and she stepped with her feet onto the blazing chariot, and took the spear,heavy, great, sturdy, with which she subdues the ranks of men,of heroes with whom she, the mighty father's daughter, is angry.And Hera quickly touched the horses with the whip;and the gates of heaven groaned of themselves, which the Seasons keep,to whom the great heaven and Olympus are entrusted,both to open the thick cloud and to close it.Through these they drove the goaded horses;and they found the son of Cronus sitting apart from the other godson the highest peak of many-ridged Olympus.There the goddess, white-armed Hera, stopping the horses,questioned and spoke to Zeus the highest, son of Cronus:Father Zeus, are you not indignant at these strong deeds of Ares,how many and how great a host of the Achaeans he has destroyedpointlessly and not in order? And it grieves me, while those others at easetake their pleasure, Cypris and the silver-bowed Apollo,letting this foolish one loose, who knows no laws at all.Father Zeus, will you be angry with me, if Istrike Ares wretchedly and drive him out of the battle?And answering her, Zeus the cloud-gatherer said:Come then, rouse Athena the driver of the spoil against him,who is most used to bringing grievous pains on him.So he spoke, and the goddess white-armed Hera did not disobey,but whipped the horses; and the two flew not unwillingmidway between the earth and the starry heaven.And as far as a man sees in the misty air with his eyes,sitting on a lookout, gazing over the wine-dark sea,so far do the loud-neighing horses of the gods leap at a bound.But when they came to Troy, where the two rivers flow,where Simoeis and Scamander join their streams,there the goddess white-armed Hera stopped the horses,loosing them from the chariot, and poured a thick mist around them;and for them Simoeis made immortal fodder spring up to graze.And the two went with the gait of trembling doves,eager to ward off harm from the Argive men.But when they came where the most and the beststood around the might of horse-taming Diomedes,gathered like flesh-eating lionsor like boars, whose strength is not weak,there the goddess white-armed Hera stood and shouted,appearing like great-hearted Stentor of the bronze voice,who could shout as loud as fifty other men:Shame, Argives, base reproaches, admirable in form;while noble Achilles used to go to war,never did the Trojans venture outside the Dardanian gates;for they dreaded his mighty spear;but now they fight far from the city beside the hollow ships.So saying she roused the might and the spirit of each.And the goddess bright-eyed Athena rushed at Tydeides;and she found the lord beside his horses and chariotcooling the wound which Pandarus had hit him with an arrow.For sweat was vexing him beneath the broad strapof his round shield; with this he was worn, and his hand was weary,and lifting up the strap he wiped away the black blood.And the goddess touched the yoke of the horses and spoke:Truly Tydeus fathered a son little like himself.Tydeus truly was small in body, but a fighter;and even when I would not let him fightor rage in battle, when he came apart from the Achaeansas an envoy to Thebes among the many Cadmeians,I told him to feast at ease in the halls;but he, keeping the fierce heart he had as before,challenged the young men of the Cadmeians, and conquered them alleasily; such a helper was I to him.But for you, I indeed stand beside you and guard you,and I eagerly urge you to fight the Trojans;but either weariness from much shouting has entered your limbs,or surely some spiritless fear holds you; then you areno offspring of Tydeus, the war-minded son of Oeneus.And answering her strong Diomedes said:I know you, goddess, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus;so I will speak to you readily, and I will not hide it.Neither does any spiritless fear hold me, nor any hesitation,but I still remember your commands, which you laid on me:you did not let me fight face to face with the otherblessed gods; but if the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite,should come into the battle, wound her with the sharp bronze.Therefore now I myself draw back, and I have ordered the otherArgives all to gather here;for I know that Ares is ruling over the battle.Then the goddess bright-eyed Athena answered him:Tydeides Diomedes, dear to my heart,do not you fear Ares at all, nor any otherof the immortals, for such a helper am I to you;but come, drive your single-hoofed horses at Ares first,and strike him at close range, and do not revere furious Ares,this mad one, a wrought evil, a turncoat,who just now promised, speaking to me and to Hera,that he would fight the Trojans, and would help the Argives,but now he consorts with the Trojans, and has forgotten them.So saying, she pushed Sthenelus from the horses to the ground,pulling him back with her hand, and he sprang up quickly;and she climbed onto the chariot beside shining Diomedes,the eager goddess; and the beechen axle groaned loudlyunder the weight; for it carried a dread goddess and the best of men.And Pallas Athena took the whip and the reins;at once she drove the single-hoofed horses at Ares first.And he was just then stripping huge Periphas,by far the best of the Aetolians, the shining son of Ochesius;murderous Ares was stripping him; but Athenaput on the helm of Hades, so that mighty Ares might not see her.And when Ares, the destroyer of men, saw shining Diomedes,he indeed left huge Periphas thereto lie where he first killed him and took his life,and he went straight at horse-taming Diomedes.And when the two were near, moving at one another,first Ares reached over the yoke and the reins of the horseswith his bronze spear, eager to take his life;and the goddess bright-eyed Athena caught it with her handand pushed it aside from the chariot to fly in vain.Second then Diomedes, good at the war cry, rushed onwith his bronze spear; and Pallas Athena drove it homeinto his lower flank, where he was girt with his war belt;there she hit him, and tore through his fair skin,and pulled the spear out again; and bronze Ares bellowedas loud as nine thousand or ten thousandmen cry out in war, joining the strife of Ares.And trembling seized both Achaeans and Trojansin their fear; so loud did Ares, insatiate of war, bellow.And as from the clouds a dark mist appearsfrom the heat, when a foul wind rises,so to Tydeides Diomedes did bronze Aresappear, going with the clouds into the wide heaven.And swiftly he came to the seat of the gods, steep Olympus,and sat down beside Zeus the son of Cronus, grieving at heart,and showed the immortal blood flowing down from his wound,and lamenting he spoke winged words:Father Zeus, are you not indignant as you look on these strong deeds?Always we gods endure the most dreadful thingsby one another's will, bringing favor to men.We all fight with you; for you fathered a foolish daughter,a ruinous one, whose mind is always set on reckless deeds.For all the other gods, as many as are in Olympus,obey you, and each of us is subdued to you;but her you neither rebuke in word nor in any deed,but you let her go, since you yourself fathered a child of ruin;who now has let the son of Tydeus, the overweening Diomedes,rage against the immortal gods.First he wounded Cypris close up on the hand at the wrist,and then he rushed at me myself, like a god;but my swift feet carried me away; truly I would have longsuffered pains there among the dread heaps of the dead,or lived on strengthless from the blows of bronze.Then looking darkly at him Zeus the cloud-gatherer said:Do not sit beside me, turncoat, and whimper.You are the most hateful to me of the gods who hold Olympus;for always strife is dear to you, and wars and battles.Your mother's spirit is ungovernable and not to be borne,Hera's; her I subdue with words, with effort;so I think you suffer this by her counsels.But I will no longer endure that you have pains;for you are of my race, and your mother bore you to me;but if you had been born of any other god so ruinous,you would long ago have been lower than the sons of Uranus.So he spoke, and he ordered Paieon to heal him.And Paieon, sprinkling pain-killing drugs on him,healed him; for he was not made mortal at all.And as when fig juice quickly curdles white milk,though it is liquid, and it is stirred round quickly as one stirs it,so quickly did he heal furious Ares.And Hebe bathed him, and put lovely clothes on him;and he sat down beside Zeus the son of Cronus, glorying in his splendor.And the two went back to the house of great Zeus,Hera of Argos and Athena of Alalcomenae,having stopped man-destroying Ares from the slaughter of men.

The dreadful fight between Trojans and Greeks was left to itself,and the battle surged this way and that across the plainas each side aimed their bronze-tipped spears at the other,between the rivers Simoeis and Xanthos.Ajax son of Telamon, the wall of the Greeks, was firstto break the Trojan ranks and bring light to his friends,striking down a man who was the best of the Thracians,the son of Eussorus, Acamas, tall and handsome.His spear hit the horsehair crest of the helmet first,drove through his forehead and passed inside the bone -the bronze point - and darkness covered his eyes.Diomedes of the good war cry killed Axylus,the son of Teuthras, who lived in well-built Arisbe,rich in everything, and loved by people.He welcomed everyone, because his house stood by the road.But none of those people saved him from miserable deathby standing in front of him; instead Diomedes took the life of both,of him and his servant Calesius, who at that timewas the driver of his chariot; and both went down into the earth.Euryalus stripped the armor from Dresus and Opheltius;then he went after Aesepus and Pedasus, whom once a nymph,Abarbarea of the water, bore to blameless Bucolion.Bucolion was the son of famous Laomedon,the eldest by birth, and his mother bore him in secret;while he was shepherding he lay with her in love,and she got pregnant and bore twin sons.Their strength and shining limbs Mekisteus' sonloosened, and he tore the armor from their shoulders.Polypoites, who stood fast in battle, killed Astyalus;Odysseus killed Pidytes of Perkote with hisbronze spear, and Teucer struck down noble Aretaon.Antilochus, son of Nestor, killed Ableruswith his shining spear, and Agamemnon killed Elatus;he lived by the banks of the fair-flowing Satnioeis,in steep Pedasus. The hero Leitus caught Phylacusas he ran; and Eurypylus killed Melanthius.Then Menelaus of the good war cry took Adrestusalive; for his two horses bolted across the plainand caught themselves on a tamarisk branch, snapping the curved chariotat the front pole, and the two horses ran offtoward the city, where the rest were fleeing in a panic;but Adrestus himself rolled out of the chariot by the wheel,headfirst in the dust, face down; and beside him stoodMenelaus, son of Atreus, holding his long-shadowed spear.Then Adrestus grabbed his knees and begged him:Take me alive, son of Atreus, and take a fitting ransom;there are many treasures in my rich father's house,bronze and gold and iron worked with great labor;my father would gladly give you endless ransom for meif he heard that I was alive by the Greek ships.So he spoke, and won over the heart in Menelaus' chest;and Menelaus was just about to hand him overto his servant to lead to the fast ships; but Agamemnoncame running up, and scolding him, said a word:Dear brother Menelaus, why do you care about these men?Did the Trojans do you the greatest favor at home?Let none of them escape sheer destructionand our hands - not even the child a mother carriesin her womb; let him not escape either, but let them alldie out of Troy together, unmourned and vanished.So he spoke, and turned his brother's mind,though Menelaus had advised what was fair; and Menelaus pushedthe hero Adrestus away from him with his hand; and lord Agamemnonstabbed him in the flank; and he fell backwards, and Agamemnonput his heel on his chest and pulled out the ash wood spear.Nestor shouted loud to the Greeks:Friends, heroes, Greeks, servants of Ares,do not let anyone hang back now grabbing for loot,trying to get the most and carry it to the ships -let us kill the men; later, at your ease,you can strip the dead bodies all across the plain.So he spoke, and stirred the strength and spirit of every man.Then the Trojans would have been driven back up into Troyby the war-loving Greeks, beaten by their own cowardice,if Helenus, son of Priam, the best of the bird-readers,had not stood beside Aeneas and Hector and said:Aeneas and Hector, since the hardest work falls on you two,of all the Trojans and Lycians, because you are the bestat fighting and at planning in every way,stand here and hold the army back in front of the gates,going everywhere, before they fall back into the arms of the womenas they run, and give our enemies a reason to cheer.Once you two have pushed all the ranks forward,we will stay here and fight the Greeks,tired as we are - because we have no choice.Hector, you go into the city, and then tellyour mother and mine: let her gather the old women,open with a key the doors of the holy temple of Athena of the bright eyesup on the city's height,and take the robe she thinks is the loveliest and biggestin her hall, and by far the dearest to her own heart,and lay it on the knees of fair-haired Athena,and promise to sacrifice twelve cows in the temple,yearlings never yoked, if the goddess will take pityon the city and the Trojan wives and their little children,and keep the son of Tydeus away from holy Troy,that savage spearman, that strong maker of panic,who I say has become the strongest of the Greeks.We never feared Achilles like this, the leader of men,though they say he is the son of a goddess; but this oneis simply insane, and nobody can match his strength.So he spoke, and Hector did not disobey his brother at all.At once he jumped from the chariot to the ground in his armor,and shaking his sharp spears he went all through the armyurging them to fight, and he woke up the dreadful battle cry.And they turned around and stood facing the Greeks;and the Greeks fell back and stopped killing,and they thought some one of the immortal gods had come downfrom the starry sky to help the Trojans, so quickly did they turn.And Hector shouted loud to the Trojans:Proud-hearted Trojans and far-famed allies,be men, my friends, and remember your charging courage,while I go to Troy and tell the elders in council,and our wives, to say prayers to the gods,and promise them sacrifices.So he spoke, and Hector of the shining helmet left;and around him the black rim of his bossed shieldbeat against his ankles and his neck as it swung at his back.And Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, and the son of Tydeuscame together into the middle between the two armies, eager to fight.When they had come close, moving at each other,Diomedes of the good war cry spoke to him first:Who are you, best of mortal men?I have never seen you in the battle where men win glorybefore now; but now you have stepped far out ahead of everyonein your courage, since you waited for my long-shadowed spear.The sons of the miserable are the ones who face my strength.But if you have come down from heaven, one of the immortals,then I would not fight with the gods in the sky.Not even Dryas' son, strong Lycurgus,lived long, and he fought with the gods in the sky;he once chased the nurses of mad Dionysusdown over holy Nysa; and they all togetherthrew their sacred wands on the ground, beatenby man-killing Lycurgus and his ox goad; and Dionysus, terrified,dove into the sea waves, and Thetis caught him in her lap,shaking with fear; a strong trembling gripped him at the man's threats.Then the gods who live at ease were angry with Lycurgus,and the son of Cronus made him blind; and he did not live long after,since he was hated by all the immortal gods.So I would not want to fight the blessed gods.But if you are one of the mortals who eat the fruit of the earth,come closer, so you reach the end of destruction faster.And the shining son of Hippolochus answered him:Great-hearted son of Tydeus, why do you ask about my family?Like the generations of leaves, so are the generations of men.The wind scatters some leaves on the ground, and the forest,blooming, grows others, and the season of spring comes;so one generation of men grows while another dies out.But if you want to know this too, so you learnmy family - many men know it -there is a city, Ephyre, in a corner of horse-pasturing Argos,and there lived Sisyphus, the craftiest of men,Sisyphus the son of Aeolus; he fathered a son, Glaucus,and Glaucus fathered blameless Bellerophon;the gods gave him beauty and lovely manhood.But Proetus planned evil in his heart against him,and drove him out of the land, because he was far strongerthan the Argives; for Zeus put him under Proetus' scepter.And Proetus' wife, noble Anteia, burned with desire for him,to sleep with him in secret; but she could notpersuade him, since blameless Bellerophon had good sense.So she lied and said to King Proetus:Proetus, either die, or kill Bellerophon,who wanted to sleep with me when I did not want it.So she spoke, and anger seized the king when he heard it;he avoided killing him, since he shrank from that in his heart,but he sent him to Lycia, and gave him deadly signs,writing many life-destroying things on a folded tablet,and told him to show them to his father-in-law, so he would die.So he went to Lycia under the blameless guidance of the gods.But when he reached Lycia and the flowing Xanthos,the king of wide Lycia honored him gladly;nine days he hosted him and sacrificed nine oxen.But when the tenth rosy-fingered Dawn appeared,then he questioned him and asked to see the signthat he had brought from his son-in-law Proetus.So when he had received the evil sign from his son-in-law,first he ordered him to kill the unconquerable Chimera,which was of divine race, not of men:a lion in front, a snake behind, a goat in the middle,breathing out the terrible force of blazing fire.And he killed it, trusting in the gods' signs.Second, he fought the glorious Solymi;he said that was the hardest battle he ever entered with men.Third, he killed the Amazons who fight like men.And as he came back, the king wove another close-laid trap:choosing the best men out of wide Lyciahe set an ambush; and none of them ever came home again,because blameless Bellerophon killed them all.But when the king knew he was noble offspring of a god,he kept him there and gave him his daughter,and gave him half of all his royal honor;and the Lycians cut out for him a plot of land beyond all others,fine with orchard and farmland, to hold as his own.And she bore three children to thoughtful Bellerophon:Isander and Hippolochus and Laodameia.And Zeus the counselor slept with Laodameia,and she bore godlike Sarpedon of the bronze helmet.But when that one too was hated by all the gods,he wandered alone across the Aleian plain,eating out his own heart, avoiding the paths of men.And Ares, who never gets enough of war, killed his son Isanderas he fought the glorious Solymi;and Artemis of the golden reins, angry, killed Laodameia.Hippolochus fathered me, and I say I am his son;and he sent me to Troy, and gave me many instructions:always to be the best and to stand above others,and never to shame the family of my fathers, who were by far the bestboth in Ephyre and in wide Lycia.From that family and blood I claim to come.So he spoke, and Diomedes of the good war cry was glad;he stuck his spear into the life-giving earth,and spoke to the shepherd of the people with gentle words:Then truly you are my old family friend from my father's time;for noble Oeneus once hosted blameless Bellerophonin his halls, and kept him twenty days;and they gave each other fine friendship gifts:Oeneus gave a belt that shone with crimson,and Bellerophon a golden two-handled cup,and I left it behind in my house when I came here.I do not remember Tydeus, since he left mewhen I was still a tiny child, when the Greek army died at Thebes.So now I am your friend in the middle of Argos,and you will be mine in Lycia when I come to that land.And let us avoid each other's spears, even in the crowd;because there are many Trojans and famous allies for meto kill, whichever god gives me and my feet catch;and there are many Greeks for you to kill, whoever you can.And let us swap our armor with each other, so that these men toomay know that we claim to be family friends.So they spoke, and leapt down from their chariots,and took each other's hands and pledged their word.Then Zeus, son of Cronus, took away Glaucus' wits,who swapped armor with Diomedes son of Tydeus,gold for bronze, worth a hundred oxen for nine.And when Hector reached the Scaean gates and the oak tree,the Trojan wives and daughters ran around him,asking about their sons, their brothers, their relatives,and their husbands; and he told them all in turnto pray to the gods; and sorrow waited for many of them.But when he reached Priam's beautiful house,built with polished colonnades - and inside itwere fifty rooms of polished stone,built close together, where Priam's sonsslept beside their wedded wives;and on the other side, facing them inside the courtyard,were twelve roofed rooms of polished stone,built close together, where Priam'ssons-in-law slept beside their honored wives;there his gentle mother met him,bringing Laodice, the most beautiful of her daughters;and she clung to his hand, and spoke and called him by name:My child, why have you left the fierce battle and come here?Surely the hated sons of the Greeks are wearing us downfighting around the city; and your heart pushed youto come up from the city's height and lift your hands to Zeus.But wait, while I bring you honey-sweet wine,so you can pour a libation to father Zeus and the other godsfirst, and then you yourself will gain, if you drink.Wine greatly builds up a tired man's strength,and you are tired, defending your own people.And great Hector of the shining helmet answered her:Do not bring me honey-hearted wine, honored mother,in case you weaken me and I forget my strength and courage;for I would be ashamed to pour bright wine to Zeus with unwashed hands;and there is no way to pray to the son of Cronus who gathers the black cloudswhen a man is spattered with blood and gore.But you go to the temple of Athena who leads the plunder,with incense, and gather the old women;and the robe that is the loveliest and biggest in your hall,and by far the dearest to your own heart,lay it on the knees of fair-haired Athena,and promise to sacrifice twelve cows in the temple,yearlings never yoked, if she takes pityon the city and the Trojan wives and the little children,and keeps the son of Tydeus away from holy Troy,that savage spearman, that strong maker of panic.But you go to the temple of Athena who leads the plunder,and I will go find Paris, to call him,if he will listen to what I say; and then may the groundopen up under him; the Olympian raised him as a great disasterfor the Trojans, and for great-hearted Priam and his sons.If I saw that man go down into the house of Hades,I would say my heart had forgotten its joyless grief.So he spoke, and she went to the hall and calledher maids; and they gathered the old women through the city.She herself went down into the fragrant storeroom,where her robes lay, the richly embroidered work of womenof Sidon, which godlike Alexander himselfhad brought from Sidon, sailing across the wide sea,on the same voyage that brought back Helen of the noble father.Hecuba took one of them and brought it as a gift to Athena,the one that was loveliest in its embroidery and the biggest,and it shone like a star; and it lay at the bottom of the others.She set off, and many old women hurried with her.When they reached the temple of Athena on the city's height,fair-cheeked Theano opened the doors for them,the daughter of Cisseus, wife of Antenor the horse-tamer;the Trojans had made her the priestess of Athena.They all lifted their hands to Athena with a cry.And fair-cheeked Theano took the robeand laid it on the knees of fair-haired Athena,and praying, she prayed to the daughter of great Zeus:Lady Athena, protector of the city, shining among goddesses,break the spear of Diomedes, and make that man himselffall face down in front of the Scaean gates,so that right now we may sacrifice twelve cows to youin your temple, yearlings never yoked, if you take pityon the city and the Trojan wives and the little children.So she spoke in prayer, but Pallas Athena shook her head no.So they prayed to the daughter of great Zeus,and Hector had gone to the house of Alexander,the beautiful one, which he himself had built with the men who thenwere the best craftsmen in fertile Troy,who made him a bedroom and a hall and a courtyardclose to Priam's house, on the city's height.Hector, dear to Zeus, went in there, and in his handhe held an eleven-cubit spear; the spear's bronze pointshone in front of him, and a golden band ran around the shaft.He found Paris in his room, busy with his beautiful armor,his shield and breastplate, and fitting his curved bow;and Argive Helen sat with her slave women,and she was telling her maids to do their famous work.Hector saw him and scolded him with shameful words:Strange man, this anger you keep in your heart is not good.The people are dying around the city and the steep wall,fighting; and because of you the war cry and the warburn around this city; and you would fight anyone elseyou saw somewhere hanging back from hateful war.Get up, before the city is burned by enemy fire.And godlike Alexander answered him:Hector, since you scolded me fairly, and not unfairly,I will answer you; and you listen and hear me.It is not so much anger or resentment at the Trojansthat kept me sitting in my room; I wanted to give in to grief.But now my wife has coaxed me with soft wordsand pushed me toward war; and it seems to me too that thiswill be better; victory passes from man to man.So come on, wait now while I put on my armor of Ares;or go, and I will follow; I think I will catch up with you.So he spoke, and Hector of the shining helmet said nothing to him;and Helen spoke to him with gentle words:Brother-in-law of mine, a dog, a horrible schemer of evil,I wish that on the day my mother first bore mea wicked blast of wind had carried me awayto a mountain or into the waves of the loud-roaring sea,where the wave would have washed me away before these things happened.But since the gods planned these evils this way,I should have been the wife of a better man,one who understood people's anger and their many shames.But this man's mind is not steady now, and it neverwill be; so I think he will pay for it.But come now, go in and sit on this chair,brother-in-law, since trouble most of all has wrapped around your heartbecause of me, a dog, and because of Alexander's ruin,on whom Zeus has laid an evil fate, so that even laterwe may be a song for men still to come.And great Hector of the shining helmet answered her:Do not ask me to sit, Helen, dear as you are; you will not persuade me;my heart already rushes ahead to defendthe Trojans, who badly miss me while I am away.But you push this man, and let him hurry himself,so he catches me still inside the city.For I will go home to seemy household, my dear wife, and my little son.For I do not know if I will come back to them again,or if the gods will strike me down under the hands of the Greeks.So he spoke, and Hector of the shining helmet left;and at once he reached his well-built house,and he did not find white-armed Andromache in the hall,but she, with her child and a well-dressed maid,stood on the tower, crying and wailing.When Hector did not find his blameless wife indoors,he stood in the doorway and spoke among the maids:Come now, maids, tell me the truth:where has white-armed Andromache gone from the hall?Has she gone to my sisters-in-law or my brothers' wives,or to the temple of Athena, where the otherfair-haired Trojan women try to please the terrible goddess?And the busy housekeeper answered him:Hector, since you ask me to tell you the truth,she has not gone to your sisters-in-law or your brothers' wives,nor to the temple of Athena, where the otherfair-haired Trojan women try to please the terrible goddess,but she went up on the great tower of Troy, because she heardthat the Trojans were hard pressed and the Greeks were much stronger.She has reached the wall, hurrying,like a woman out of her mind; and the nurse is carrying the child with her.So the housekeeper woman spoke, and Hector rushed out of the houseback along the same road through the well-built streets.When he reached the gates, passing through the great city,the Scaean gates, where he was about to go out onto the plain,there his richly dowered wife came running to meet him,Andromache, daughter of great-hearted Eetion,Eetion, who lived under wooded Plakos,in Thebe under Plakos, ruling the Cilician people;and his daughter was married to bronze-helmed Hector.She met him then, and her maid came with hercarrying the tender, innocent child on her chest,Hector's beloved son, like a beautiful star,whom Hector called Scamandrius, but everyone elseAstyanax; for Hector alone protected Troy.He smiled silently, looking at his son;and Andromache stood close to him, shedding tears,and she clung to his hand, and spoke and called him by name:Strange man, your own courage will kill you, and you do not pityyour baby son and me, unlucky, who will soon be a widowwithout you; for soon the Greeks will kill you,all rushing at you together; and it would be better for meto go down into the earth, losing you; for there will beno other comfort once you meet your death,only grief; for I have no father and no honored mother.For shining Achilles killed my father,and sacked the well-built city of the Cilicians,high-gated Thebe, and killed Eetion,and did not strip his armor, because he shrank from it in his heart,but burned him with his cunning armor,and piled a mound over him; and around it the mountain nymphs,daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, planted elm trees.And my seven brothers were in the hall,and they all went down into the house of Hades in one day;for swift-footed shining Achilles killed them allamong their rolling cattle and their white sheep.And my mother, who was queen under wooded Plakos,he brought her here with the rest of the loot,but then he set her free, taking endless ransom,and Artemis the arrow-shooter struck her down in my father's house.Hector, you are my father and my honored mother,and my brother, and my strong husband.But come now, take pity, and stay here on the tower,and do not make your child an orphan and your wife a widow.Station the army by the fig tree, where the cityis easiest to attack and the wall can be climbed.Three times the best men came there and tried it,the two Ajaxes and famous Idomeneus,and the sons of Atreus and the brave son of Tydeus;maybe someone told them, someone who knew the prophecies well,or their own hearts push and tell them.And great Hector of the shining helmet answered her:Wife, all this is my concern too; but I would be terriblyashamed in front of the Trojans and the long-robed Trojan womenif I hung back from the war like a coward;my heart does not tell me to either, since I learned to be bravealways, and to fight among the front-line Trojans,winning great glory for my father and for myself.For I know this well in my mind and heart:the day will come when holy Troy will be destroyed,and Priam and the people of Priam of the good ash spear.But I do not grieve so much for the Trojans in the future,nor for Hecuba herself, nor for King Priam,nor for my brothers, who are many and braveand will fall in the dust at the hands of enemy men -as much as for you, when some bronze-clad Greekleads you away weeping, robbing you of your free day;and in Argos, in another woman's house, you will work the loom,and you will carry water from Messes or Hypereia,much against your will, and hard necessity will press on you;and some day someone will say, seeing you weep:This is the wife of Hector, who was the best in battleof the horse-taming Trojans when they fought around Troy.So someone will say; and for you there will be new griefin needing such a man to hold off the day of slavery.But may the piled earth cover me in deathbefore I hear your scream and your being dragged away.So he spoke, and shining Hector reached out for his son;but the boy turned back to the chest of his well-girded nurse,crying, scared by the sight of his dear father,terrified of the bronze and the horsehair crest,seeing something terrible nodding from the top of the helmet.His dear father laughed, and his honored mother too;at once shining Hector took the helmet off his head,and set it on the ground, all shining;and he kissed his dear son and bounced him in his hands,and spoke, praying to Zeus and the other gods:Zeus and you other gods, grant that this son of minemay be, just as I am, outstanding among the Trojans,and strong and brave, and may he rule Troy with power;and some day let someone say, He is far better than his father,as he comes back from war; and may he carry bloody spoils,after killing an enemy man, and may his mother be glad at heart.So he spoke, and put his son in the arms of his dear wife;and she took him to her fragrant chest,laughing through her tears; and her husband felt pity when he saw it,and he stroked her with his hand, and spoke and called her by name:Strange wife, do not grieve too much in your heart;no man will send me down to Hades beyond my fate.And I say no man has ever escaped his fate,neither coward nor brave man, once he is born.But go into the house and see to your own work,the loom and the distaff, and tell your maidsto get on with their work; war will be the concern of men,all of them, and most of all of me, who were born in Troy.So he spoke, and shining Hector picked up his helmet,with its horsehair crest; and his dear wife went home,turning back again and again, shedding a thick tear.And at once she reached the well-built houseof man-killing Hector, and she found many maidsinside, and she stirred up wailing in them all.And they wailed for Hector while he was still alive in his own house;for they did not think he would come back again from the waralive, having escaped the strength and hands of the Greeks.Paris did not linger in his high house either,but once he had put on his famous armor, richly worked with bronze,he rushed through the city, trusting in his quick feet.And as when a stalled horse, fed at the manger,breaks its halter and gallops across the plain, exulting,used to bathing in a fair-flowing river,glorying; and he holds his head high, and his manetosses around his shoulders; and trusting in his own beauty,his legs carry him swiftly to the haunts and pasture of horses;so the son of Priam, Paris, from the height of Pergamus,shining in his armor, came on like the blazing sun,exulting, and his quick feet carried him; and at oncehe found shining Hector his brother, when he was just aboutto turn back from the place where he had talked with his wife.Godlike Alexander spoke to him first:Dear brother, surely I am holding you back while you hurry,by lingering, and I did not come in time the way you told me?And Hector of the shining helmet answered him:Strange man, no fair-minded mancould criticize your work in battle, since you are brave;but you hold back on purpose and do not want to fight; and my heartgrieves inside me when I hear shameful things about youfrom the Trojans, who have so much trouble because of you.But let us go; we will settle all that later, if ever Zeusgrants that we may set up a free mixing bowlfor the heavenly, ever-living gods in our halls,after driving the well-greaved Greeks out of Troy.