Book 14

The cry did not escape Nestor, though he sat drinking,but he spoke winged words to the son of Asclepius:"Consider, shining Machaon, how these deeds will turn out;greater now beside the ships is the shout of vigorous young men.But you, sit here and drink the fiery wineuntil fair-haired Hekamede has heated a warm bathand washed the bloody gore from off your skin;but I will go out and soon take my stand at the lookout."So speaking he took up the well-fashioned shield of his sonthat lay in the hut of horse-taming Thrasymedes,gleaming with bronze; for his son held his father's shield.He took a sturdy spear, sharpened with keen bronze,and stood outside the hut, and soon saw the unseemly work:some rallying, and others being driven in rout behind them,the proud-hearted Trojans; and the wall of the Achaeans had fallen.As when the great sea darkens with a soundless swell,foreseeing the swift paths of the shrill winds,yet heaves to neither side of its own accord,until some settled wind comes down from Zeus,so the old man pondered, torn in his heart two ways:whether to go among the throng of the swift-horsed Danaans,or to Agamemnon, son of Atreus, shepherd of the people.And as he thought, it seemed to him betterto go to the son of Atreus. And they kept slaying one anotheras they fought; and the unyielding bronze clashed about their fleshas they stabbed with swords and two-edged spears.And the kings reared by Zeus met with Nestoras they came up from the ships — all who had been struck by bronze —the son of Tydeus, Odysseus, and Agamemnon son of Atreus.For far away from the battle the ships were drawn up,along the shore of the gray sea; for these they had drawn firstinland, and built the wall at their sterns.For not even the wide beach, broad as it was, could holdall the ships; the men were crowded together.So they had drawn them out in rows, and filled the wholelong mouth of the shore, as far as the headlands enclosed.So they, longing to look upon the war-cry and the battle,leaning on their spears, came on in a body; and their heartgrieved in their breasts. And the old man Nestor met them,and the heart in the breasts of the Achaeans was shaken.And lord Agamemnon spoke to him, saying:"O Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Achaeans,why have you left the man-destroying war and come here?I fear that mighty Hector may fulfill his word to me,as he once threatened, speaking among the Trojans:that he would not go back to Ilios from the shipsbefore he burned the ships with fire and killed the men themselves.He spoke so; and now all of it is being brought to pass.Alas — surely the other well-greaved Achaeansare casting wrath against me in their hearts, like Achilles,and will not fight beside the stern-most ships."Then the Gerenian horseman Nestor answered him:"Truly these things are ready and accomplished, nor could Zeushigh-thundering himself have fashioned them otherwise.For the wall has fallen, in which we trustedthat it would be an unbreakable bulwark for the ships and ourselves;and they keep up an unceasing battle at the swift ships,without pause; and you could no longer tell, though you peered hard,from which side the Achaeans are attacking and being routed,so mixed are the killings, and the cry reaches heaven.But let us consider how these deeds shall be,if any counsel avails; and I do not bid usenter the battle; for a wounded man cannot fight."Then Agamemnon, lord of men, spoke to him again:"Nestor, since they are fighting at the stern-most ships,and the well-built wall has not helped, nor the trench either,for which the Danaans suffered much, and hoped in their heartsit would be an unbreakable bulwark for the ships and themselves:so it must be dear to Zeus the over-mightythat the Achaeans perish here, nameless, far from Argos.For I knew when he willingly defended the Danaans,and I know now that he honors them like the blessed gods,but he has bound our might and our hands.But come, let us all be persuaded as I say.As many ships as are drawn up first near the sea,let us drag down, and haul them all into the bright salt sea,and moor them out upon their anchor-stones, until nightthe gentle night comes, in which even the Trojans may hold off from war;and then we might haul up all the ships.For there is no shame in fleeing ruin, not even by night.Better the man who flees and escapes ruin than one who is caught."Then much-devising Odysseus, glaring at him, said:"Son of Atreus, what word has escaped the fence of your teeth?Accursed — would that you commanded some other unseemly army,and were not king over us, whom Zeusfrom our youth gave the task to wind out to old agethese painful wars, until each of us perishes.Is it your desire to abandon the broad-streeted city of the Trojans,for whose sake we endure many evils?Be silent, lest some other of the Achaeans hear this word,which no man should ever bring through his mouth,whoever knows in his mind how to speak fittinglyand holds a scepter, and the people obey him,as many as you rule among the Argives.But now I utterly blame your mind, for what you have said.You, who bid us, when war and the battle-cry are joined,to drag the well-benched ships to the sea, so that it may becomesomething prayed for by the Trojans, who are winning as it is,and sheer destruction may lean upon us. For the Achaeanswill not hold the war once the ships are dragged to the sea,but will look away and give way from the fight.Then your counsel will do harm, leader of the people."Then Agamemnon, lord of men, answered him:"Odysseus, you have stung my heart deeply with yourpainful rebuke; but I do not bid the sons of the Achaeansdrag the well-benched ships to the sea against their will.Now let there be one who can speak better counsel than this,young or old; and I would be glad of it."And among them good at the war-cry Diomedes spoke:"The man is near; we shall not seek long — if you are willingto be persuaded, and none of you takes offense in angerbecause I am the youngest in birth among you.But I too boast to be of a good father's lineage,of Tydeus, whom the heaped earth covers at Thebes.For three blameless sons were born to Portheus,and they dwelt in Pleuron and steep Calydon:Agrios and Melas, and the third was horseman Oeneus,my father's father; and he was outstanding among them in valor.But he stayed there, while my father settled in Argos,driven there; for so Zeus willed, I think, and the other gods.He married one of Adrastos' daughters, and lived in a houserich in substance, and he had plenty of wheat-bearing fields,and many orchard rows of plants around,and many were his flocks; and he surpassed all the Achaeansin the spear. You are likely to have heard of it, if it be true.So you would not, saying that my birth is base and cowardly,dishonor the word I speak well, once it is spoken.Come, let us go to war, wounded as we are, by necessity.Then let us keep ourselves clear of the fighting,out of the missiles, lest anyone add wound upon wound;but urging on the others we shall set them forward — those who before now,gratifying their own hearts, stand aside and do not fight."So he spoke, and they heard him and obeyed him gladly;they went forward, and Agamemnon, lord of men, led them.Nor was the famous Earth-shaker unseeing,but he came among them, like an old man,and took the right hand of Agamemnon son of Atreus,and spoke to him winged words:"Son of Atreus, now surely Achilles' destructive heartrejoices in his breast at the slaughter and rout of the Achaeans,as he looks on, since there are no wits in him, not even poor ones.But may he perish so, and may a god humble him.Yet the blessed gods are not yet utterly angry with you,but still, I think, the leaders and lords of the Trojansshall dust the broad plain, and you yourself shall see themfleeing toward the city, away from the ships and the huts."So saying he shouted aloud, rushing over the plain.As nine thousand or ten thousand menshout in war, joining the strife of Ares,so great a voice did the lord Earth-shaker send from his chest,and he cast great strength into the heart of each of the Achaeans,to war and fight without ceasing.And golden-throned Hera saw with her eyes,standing on a peak of Olympus; and she knew at oncethat he was busying himself through the man-glorifying battle,her own brother and husband, and she rejoiced in her heart.And she saw Zeus on the topmost peak of many-fountained Idasitting, and he became hateful to her heart.Then ox-eyed lady Hera ponderedhow she might deceive the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus;and this counsel seemed best to her in her heart:to go to Ida, having adorned herself well,if perhaps he might desire to lie beside her in lovebecause of her body, and she might pour upon his eyesand his shrewd mind a sleep painless and soft.She went to her chamber, which her dear sonHephaestus had built for her, and fitted close-fitting doors to the doorpostswith a secret key, which no other god could open;and entering there she shut the shining doors.First with ambrosia she cleansed all the stainsfrom her lovely body, and anointed herself richly with oil,ambrosial and sweet, which was fragrant for her;and when it was stirred, in the bronze-floored house of Zeusits scent reached both earth and heaven.With that she anointed her fair skin, and combing her hairwith her hands she braided shining tresses,lovely, ambrosial, from her immortal head.Then she put on an ambrosial robe, which Athenahad carded and worked for her, setting in it many cunning designs;and she pinned it across her breast with golden brooches.She girded herself with a girdle fitted with a hundred tassels,and put earrings in her well-pierced ears,triple-dropped, mulberry-shaped; and much grace shone from her.Then the shining goddess of goddesses veiled herself above with a headdress,a lovely new one; and it was bright as the sun.And under her shining feet she bound fair sandals.But when she had placed all her adornment about her body,she went from the chamber, and calling Aphroditeapart from the other gods, she spoke to her:"Dear child, will you do something for me, whatever I say,or will you refuse, angry with me in your heart,because I help the Danaans and you help the Trojans?"Then Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, answered her:"Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Cronos,say what you have in mind; my heart bids me do it,if I can do it, and if it can be done at all."Then lady Hera, planning guile, spoke to her:"Give me now love and desire, with which you subdueall the immortals and mortal men.For I am going to see the limits of the much-nourishing earth,and Ocean, the begetter of the gods, and mother Tethys,who raised me well in their halls and nurtured me,receiving me from Rhea, when Zeus the wide-seeingset Cronos beneath the earth and the barren sea.I am going to see them, and I shall loose their endless quarrels;for already for a long time they have held apart from one anotherin bed and love, since anger fell into their hearts.If I could persuade them with words and set their dear heartsto go to bed and be joined in love,I would always be called dear and honored by them."Then laughter-loving Aphrodite spoke to her:"It is not possible, nor is it fitting, to refuse your word;for you sleep in the arms of Zeus the best."She spoke, and loosed from her breast the embroidered band,the dappled one, in which all charms were fashioned:therein was love, therein desire, therein lovers' converse,beguilement, which steals the mind even of the very wise.She put it into her hands and spoke, and named her:"Take now this band and lay it in your bosom,the dappled one, in which all things are fashioned; and I say you will notgo back without accomplishing whatever you desire in your mind."So she spoke, and ox-eyed lady Hera smiled,and smiling she laid it in her bosom.So Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, went to her house,and Hera, darting away, left the peak of Olympus,and stepping over Pieria and lovely Emathiashe sped to the snowy mountains of the horse-breeding Thracians,the topmost peaks; and her feet did not touch the ground.From Athos she came over the swelling sea,and reached Lemnos, the city of godlike Thoas.There she met Sleep, brother of Death,and she clung to his hand and spoke, and named him:"Sleep, lord of all gods and all men,if ever before you heard my word, so now tooobey me; and I will be grateful to you all my days.Lull to sleep for me the bright eyes of Zeus beneath his brows,as soon as I lie down beside him in love.And I will give you a gift: a beautiful throne, forever imperishable,of gold; and my son Hephaestus, the lame god,shall craft it skillfully, and put a footstool beneath for your feet,on which you may rest your shining feet while you feast."Then sweet Sleep answered her and said:"Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Cronos,another of the ever-living gods I could easilylull to sleep, even the streams of the riverOcean, who is the beginning of all things;but I would not come near Zeus the son of Cronos,nor lull him, unless he himself should bid it.For already before now your command taught me a lesson,on the day when that high-hearted son of Zeussailed from Ilios, after sacking the city of the Trojans.I for my part lulled to sleep the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus,poured softly around him; but you planned evil in your heart,rousing painful blasts of winds upon the sea,and then you carried him away to well-peopled Cos,far from all his friends. And he woke and was angry,hurling the gods about the house, and he sought me above all others,and would have hurled me from the bright air into the sea, unseen,if Night, the subduer of gods and men, had not saved me.I fled to her, and he ceased, though still angry;for he feared to do what was hateful to swift Night.And now again you bid me accomplish this other impossible thing."Then ox-eyed lady Hera spoke to him again:"Sleep, why do you ponder these things in your mind?Do you think that wide-seeing Zeus will help the Trojansas he was so angry over Heracles his own son?But come, and I will give you one of the younger Gracesto marry and to be called your wife."So she spoke, and Sleep rejoiced, and answered and said:"Come now, swear to me by the inviolable water of Styx"— and with one hand he took the much-nourishing earth,with the other the gleaming sea, so that all the godsbeneath, who are around Cronos, might be witnesses to us two —"that you will indeed give me one of the younger Graces,Pasithea, whom I myself long for all my days."So he spoke, and the white-armed goddess Hera did not disobey,but swore as he commanded, and named all the godsbeneath Tartarus, who are called the Titans.But when she had sworn and completed the oath,the two went on, leaving the city of Lemnos and of Imbros,clothed in mist, swiftly speeding on their way.They came to Ida, many-fountained, mother of beasts,to Lectum, where they first left the sea; and over the landthey went, and the topmost forest shook beneath their feet.There Sleep waited, before the eyes of Zeus could see him,climbing into a towering fir, which then on Ida,grown tallest, pierced the ether through the mist;there he sat, hidden in the fir branches,like a shrill bird, which in the mountainsthe gods call chalkis, and men call kymindis.And Hera swiftly mounted the top of Gargaron,the height of lofty Ida; and Zeus the cloud-gatherer saw her.And as he saw her, so desire wrapped around his close-packed mind,just as when they first mingled in love,going to bed, unseen by their dear parents.He stood before her and spoke, and named her:"Hera, where are you hurrying, that you have come down from Olympus?And there are no horses here, nor a chariot for you to mount."Then lady Hera, planning guile, spoke to him:"I am going to see the limits of the much-nourishing earth,and Ocean, the begetter of the gods, and mother Tethys,who raised me well in their halls and nurtured me.I am going to see them, and I shall loose their endless quarrels;for already for a long time they have held apart from one anotherin bed and love, since anger fell into their hearts.And my horses stand at the foot of many-fountained Ida,which will carry me over dry land and sea.But now for your sake I have come down here from Olympus,lest you be angry with me afterwards, if I goin silence to the house of deep-flowing Ocean."Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her:"Hera, you can set out for there later too;but come, let us two take our pleasure in love, lying together.For never yet has desire for a goddess or a womanpoured around and overcome the heart in my breast thus,not when I loved the wife of Ixion,who bore Peirithoos, a counselor equal to the gods;nor when I loved Danae of the fair ankles, daughter of Acrisios,who bore Perseus, most famous of all men;nor when I loved the daughter of far-famed Phoenix,who bore me Minos and godlike Rhadamanthys;nor when I loved Semele, nor Alcmene in Thebes,who bore Heracles, the stout-hearted son;and Semele bore Dionysos, a joy to mortals;nor when I loved Demeter, the lovely-haired queen,nor glorious Leto, nor you yourself,as I love you now, and sweet desire seizes me."Then lady Hera, planning guile, spoke to him:"Most dread son of Cronos, what a word you have spoken.If now you long to lie in loveon the peaks of Ida, where everything lies open to view,how would it be if some one of the ever-living godsshould see us sleeping, and going to all the godsshould tell them? I would not go to your house,rising from the bed; it would be a thing to be blamed.But if you do wish it, and it is dear to your heart,there is a chamber for you, which your dear sonHephaestus built, and fitted close doors to the doorposts;let us go there and lie down, since bed pleases you."Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her:"Hera, do not fear that any god or any manwill see it; I will wrap around us such a cloud,a golden one; not even Helios could break through it,whose light is the sharpest to see with."So spoke the son of Cronos, and caught his wife in his arms;and beneath them the shining earth grew fresh-blooming grass,and dewy lotus, and crocus, and hyacinth,thick and soft, which lifted them up from the ground.There they lay, and they drew over themselves a cloud,beautiful and golden; and glistening dew fell down.So the father slept quietly on the top of Gargaron,overcome by sleep and love, holding his wife in his arms.And sweet Sleep went running to the ships of the Achaeansto bring the message to the Earth-holder, the Earth-shaker;and standing near he spoke winged words:"Poseidon, now eagerly help the Danaans,and grant them glory for a little while, while Zeus still sleeps,since I have poured a soft sleep around him;and Hera beguiled him to lie down in love."So saying he went off to the famous tribes of men,and he urged him on still more to defend the Danaans.And at once, springing out greatly among the front ranks, he called:"Argives, are we again to yield victory to Hector,the son of Priam, so that he may take the ships and win glory?But he says and boasts that Achillesstays by the hollow ships, angry at heart;but there will not be much longing for him, if we othersbestir ourselves to defend one another.But come, let us all obey as I say:let us put on the shields that are best in the army and largest,and hide our heads in all-gleaming helmets,and taking in our hands the longest spears,let us go; and I will lead, and I no longer thinkthat Hector son of Priam will stand his ground, much as he longs to.And whoever is a man who stands firm in battle and has a small shield on his shoulder,let him give it to a worse man, and let that man put on the larger shield."So he spoke, and they heard him and obeyed gladly;the kings themselves arrayed them, though themselves wounded —the son of Tydeus, Odysseus, and Agamemnon son of Atreus;going through all the ranks they exchanged the war-gear:the good man put on the good gear, and gave the worse to the worse man.But when they had put the flashing bronze about their bodies,they went forward; and Poseidon the Earth-shaker led them,holding in his stout hand a terrible long-edged sword,like lightning; and it is not lawful to meet himin the grim fight, but fear holds men back.And on the other side glorious Hector arrayed the Trojans.Then indeed they stretched the most dread strife of war,dark-haired Poseidon and glorious Hector,one helping the Trojans, the other the Argives.And the sea surged toward the huts and the shipsof the Argives; and they clashed with a great war-cry.Not so loud does the wave of the sea roar against the land,rising from the deep with the painful blast of the north wind;nor so loud is the roar of blazing firein the glens of a mountain, when it rises to burn the forest;nor does the wind howl so loudly about the high-crowned oaks,the wind that roars loudest in its wrath,as was the voice of the Trojans and Achaeansas they shouted terribly, when they rushed upon one another.Glorious Hector first cast his spear at Ajax,since he had turned straight toward him, and he did not miss,there where two straps were stretched across his chest,one of the shield, the other of the silver-studded sword;these saved his tender skin. And Hector was angry,that the swift missile had flown from his hand in vain,and he drew back into the throng of his comrades, avoiding death.Then as he was going back, great Telamonian Ajaxwith a stone — and there were many of them, props of the swift ships,rolling about at the feet of the fighters; lifting one of these,he struck his chest above the rim of the shield, near the neck,and sent him spinning like a top, and it whirled round every way.As when an oak falls under the stroke of father Zeus,uprooted, and a terrible smell of sulfur comesfrom it, and no courage holds the man who sees itstanding near — so dread is the thunderbolt of great Zeus —so quickly did Hector's strength fall to the ground in the dust;the spear fell from his hand, and his shield was pressed upon himand his helmet, and his dappled armor clanged around him.And the sons of the Achaeans rushed on with a great shout,hoping to drag him off, and they cast their spears thick and fast;but no one was able to wound or strike the shepherd of the people,for before that the best men stood about him:Poulydamas, Aeneas, and shining Agenor,Sarpedon leader of the Lycians, and blameless Glaucus.Nor did any of the others neglect him, but they heldtheir well-rounded shields before him. And his comradeslifted him in their arms and carried him out of the struggle, until he came to the swift horseswhich stood behind the battle and the war,with their charioteer and the dappled chariot;they carried him toward the city, groaning heavily.But when they came to the crossing of the fair-flowing river,of eddying Xanthos, whom immortal Zeus begot,there they brought him down from the horses to the ground, and poured waterover him; and he revived and opened his eyes,and sitting up on his knees he vomited the dark blood;then he sank back to the ground, and his two eyesblack night covered; and the weapon still mastered his spirit.But when the Argives saw Hector gone away,they rushed the more upon the Trojans, and remembered their fighting spirit.There by far the first, swift Ajax son of Oileuswounded Satnios with his sharp spear, leaping after him,the son of Enops, whom a blameless nymph boreto Enops as he herded cattle by the banks of the Satnioeis.Him the famous son of Oileus, coming near with his spear,stabbed in the flank; and he fell backward, and around himTrojans and Danaans joined in strong battle.Then Poulydamas of the ashen spear came as his avenger,son of Panthoos, and struck Prothoenor on the right shoulder,son of Areilykos, and through his shoulder the mighty spearpierced, and he fell in the dust and grasped the earth with his palm.And Poulydamas boasted terribly, shouting aloud:"I do not think that the spear from the strong handof the great-hearted son of Panthoos leapt in vain,but some one of the Argives has taken it into his body, and I thinkhe will go down leaning on it into the house of Hades."So he spoke, and grief came upon the Argives at his boast;and above all he stirred the heart of warlike Ajax,the son of Telamon; for he had fallen nearest to him.And quickly, as he went back, he cast at him with his shining spear.But Poulydamas himself avoided black death,springing sideways, and the son of Antenor took it —Archelochos; for the gods had planned destruction for him.He struck him where head and neck join,the lowest vertebra, and cut through both tendons;and his head, mouth, and nostrils fell far forwardand hit the ground before his shins and knees as he fell.Then Ajax shouted to blameless Poulydamas:"Consider, Poulydamas, and tell me truly:is not this man, measured against Prothoenor,worthy? He does not seem to me base, nor born of base parents,but a brother of horse-taming Antenor,or his son; for he looked in birth most like him."So he spoke, knowing well; and grief seized the hearts of the Trojans.There Acamas wounded Boeotian Promachos with his spear,standing over his brother; and he was dragging him by the feet.Then Acamas boasted terribly, shouting aloud:"Argives, archers, insatiate of threats,the toil and misery will not be for us alone,but some day you too will be killed like this.Think how Promachos lies here overcome by my spear,so that the price for a brother may notlong remain unpaid; and so indeed a man praysthat a brother be left in his halls to ward off ruin."So he spoke, and grief came upon the Argives at his boast;and above all he stirred the heart of warlike Peneleos;he rushed at Acamas; and he did not await the onrushof lord Peneleos; and he wounded Ilioneus,son of Phorbas of the many flocks, whom above all othersHermes loved among the Trojans, and gave him wealth;and to him his mother bore Ilioneus as her only son.Him then he struck under the brow, at the base of the eye,and knocked out the eyeball; and the spear went through the eyeand through the back of the head, and he sat down stretching out both hands;and Peneleos, drawing his sharp sword,struck him in the middle of the neck, and cut his head to the groundtogether with the helmet; and still the mighty spearwas in the eye; and he lifted up the head like a poppy head and showed it,and spoke to the Trojans and boasted:"Tell it to the father and mother of noble Ilioneus,to weep in their halls;for the wife of Promachos, son of Alegenor,will not rejoice when her dear husband comes home,when the sons of the Achaeans sail home from Troy with their ships."So he spoke, and trembling seized the limbs of all of them,and each man looked about for where he might escape sheer destruction.Tell me now, Muses who hold Olympian homes,who was the first to take the bloody spoils of a slain manamong the Achaeans, when the famous Earth-shaker tilted the battle.Ajax son of Telamon first wounded Hyrtios,son of Gyrtios, leader of the stout-hearted Mysians;and Antilochos stripped Phalces and Mermeros;and Meriones killed Morys and Hippotion,and Teucer slew Prothoon and Periphetes;and then the son of Atreus wounded Hyperenor, shepherd of the people,in the flank, and the bronze tore through his gutsas he slew him; and his soul rushed out through the wounded wound,hurrying, and darkness covered his eyes.And swift Ajax, son of Oileus, took the most of all;for there was no one like him to follow on footamong men in rout, when Zeus stirs up fear.

Nestor heard the shouting, even though he was drinking,and he spoke to Machaon, son of Asclepius:"Think, Machaon, about how this is going to turn out.The shouting by the ships is louder now — those young men are fighting hard.You sit here and drink your red wineuntil Hekamede with the lovely hair has heated a bathand washed the bloody gore off you.I'll go out and take a quick look from the high point."With that he picked up the well-made shield of his son,which was lying in the tent of Thrasymedes, tamer of horses,shining with bronze; his son was carrying his father's shield.He took a strong spear tipped with sharp bronze,stood outside the tent, and quickly saw the ugly work:some men rallying, others being driven back,the proud Trojans pushing; and the Achaean wall had fallen.Just as the great sea darkens with a silent swell,waiting to see which way the sharp winds will blow,and it rolls neither this way nor thatuntil a decided wind comes down from Zeus,so the old man's heart was torn two ways— whether to go into the crowd of the fast-horsed Greeks,or to Agamemnon, son of Atreus, shepherd of the people.As he thought it over, it seemed better to himto go to Agamemnon. And the two sides kept killing each otheras they fought, and the hard bronze rang against their skinas they stabbed with swords and double-edged spears.The kings raised by Zeus met up with Nestoras they came up from the ships — all of them hit by bronze:Diomedes son of Tydeus, Odysseus, and Agamemnon son of Atreus.Their ships were drawn up far back from the fighting,along the shore of the gray sea. They had dragged those first onesinland, and built the wall at their sterns.The wide beach, big as it was, couldn't hold all the ships,and the men were packed tight.So they had dragged them out in rows, and filledthe whole long stretch of shore between the headlands.So there they were, wanting to see the fighting and the battle,leaning on their spears, coming on together; their heartsgrieved in their chests. And old Nestor met them,and the hearts in the Achaeans' chests were shaken.Lord Agamemnon spoke to him:"Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Greeks,why have you left the man-destroying battle and come here?I'm afraid mighty Hector may make good on what he told me,what he once threatened when he spoke among the Trojans:that he wouldn't go back to Troy from the shipsuntil he burned the ships with fire and killed the men too.That's what he said; and now it's all happening.Damn it — surely the other well-armed Greeksare throwing their anger at me in their hearts, just like Achilles,and they won't fight by the backmost ships."Then Nestor the horseman of Gerenia answered him:"Yes, all that has come true, and Zeusthe high-thunderer himself couldn't have arranged it otherwise.The wall has fallen — the wall we trustedwould be an unbreakable shield for the ships and for us.And they keep up a battle at the swift shipswith no letup. You couldn't tell anymore, even squinting hard,which side the Greeks are pushing and which way they're being driven,the killing is so mixed up, and the shouting reaches heaven.But let's figure out how this is going to go,if any plan can help. I'm not telling usto go into the battle; a wounded man can't fight."Then Agamemnon, lord of men, answered him:"Nestor, since they're fighting at the backmost ships,and the wall we built hasn't helped, nor the ditch either —the ditch the Greeks suffered so much for, and hoped in their heartsit would be an unbreakable shield for the ships and for us —this must be what Zeus the all-powerful wants:that the Greeks die here, forgotten, far from Argos.I knew when he gladly defended the Greeks,and I know now that he honors them like the blessed godswhile he has tied up our strength and our hands.But come on, let's all do what I say.As many ships as are drawn up first near the sea,let's drag them down, and haul them all into the bright salt water,and anchor them out on their moorings, until nightcomes on gently, when even the Trojans may stop fighting.Then we could haul up all the ships.There's no shame in running from disaster, not even by night.Better to run and escape disaster than to be caught."Then clever Odysseus looked at him sideways and said:"Son of Atreus, what kind of word has escaped your teeth?Damn you — I wish you commanded some other worthless army,and weren't king over us, men Zeusgave the job of wearing out in painful warsfrom our youth into old age, until each of us dies.Do you really want to abandon the wide-streeted city of Troy,the city we've suffered so many troubles for?Shut up, in case some other Greek hears thisspeech, which no real man should ever let out of his mouth,a man who knows in his mind how to speak properlyand holds a scepter, and the people obey him,as many as you rule among the Greeks.Right now I completely blame your thinking, for what you just said.You, who tell us, with the war and the fighting already joined,to drag the well-benched ships to the sea — which would give the Trojanseven more of what they pray for, when they're already winning,and would tilt sheer destruction onto us. The Greekswon't keep fighting once the ships are dragged to the sea;they'll look away and back off from the fight.Then your plan will do us harm, leader of the people."Then Agamemnon, lord of men, answered him:"Odysseus, you've hit my heart hard with thatpainful scolding. But I'm not ordering the Greeksto drag the well-benched ships to the sea against their will.Now let there be someone who can give better advice than this,young or old; I'd be glad to hear it."Then Diomedes, good at the war-cry, spoke up among them:"The man is right here. We won't have to look long — if you're willingto listen, and none of you gets offended in angerbecause I'm the youngest among you by birth.But I too claim to come from a good father's line,from Tydeus, whom the piled earth covers at Thebes.Three blameless sons were born to Portheus,and they lived in Pleuron and steep Calydon:Agrios and Melas, and the third was Oeneus the horseman,my father's father; he stood out among them for bravery.He stayed there, but my father settled in Argos,driven there — that's what Zeus wanted, I suppose, and the other gods.He married one of Adrastos' daughters, and lived in a houserich in everything; he had plenty of wheat fieldsand many rows of orchards all around,and many flocks. He was famous among all the Greeksfor the spear. You've probably heard of it, if it's true.So you shouldn't call my family low and cowardlyand then dismiss the good advice I give, once I've said it.Come on, let's go into the battle, wounded as we are — we have to.Let's keep ourselves out of the fighting,out of range of the missiles, in case someone gets wound on top of wound.But we'll urge the others on and push them forward — the men whohave been holding back and not fighting, just to please themselves."So he said, and they listened and obeyed him gladly.They went forward, and Agamemnon, lord of men, led them.The famous Earth-shaker wasn't blind to this either;he came among them, looking like an old man,took the right hand of Agamemnon son of Atreus,and said to him:"Son of Atreus, now surely Achilles' cruel heartis glad in his chest at the slaughter and the rout of the Greeks,watching it — there's no sense in him at all, not even a little.But let him rot like that, and let a god bring him down.The blessed gods aren't really angry with you yet;I think the Trojan leaders and lordswill still be the ones who raise dust across the wide plain, and you'll see themrunning back toward the city, away from the ships and tents."With that he shouted aloud and charged over the plain.As loud as nine thousand or ten thousand menshouting in war, joining the strife of Ares,that was how loud a voice the lord Earth-shaker sent from his chest,and he threw great strength into each of the Greeks' hearts,to fight on and never stop.Golden-throned Hera saw with her eyes,standing on a peak of Olympus, and she knew at oncethat he was bustling through the man-glorifying battle,her own brother and her husband, and she was glad in her heart.But she saw Zeus sitting on the highest peak of many-springed Ida,and he became hateful to her heart.Then cow-eyed lady Hera wonderedhow she could trick the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus.This plan seemed best to her in her heart:to go to Ida, after dressing herself up nicely,in case he might want to lie with her in lovebecause of her body, and she could pour on his eyesand his sharp mind a sleep that was painless and gentle.She went to her bedroom, which her dear sonHephaestus had built for her, and fitted tight doors to the doorpostswith a secret key that no other god could open.She went in and shut the shining doors.First she cleaned all the dirt off her lovely bodywith ambrosia, and rubbed herself thickly with oil,sweet ambrosial oil that was perfumed for her.When it was stirred, the scent went through Zeus's bronze-floored houseand reached both earth and heaven.She rubbed it on her beautiful skin, and combed her hair,and braided shining locks with her hands,lovely ambrosial hair from her immortal head.Then she put on an ambrosial dress that Athenahad carded and made for her, working in many fancy patterns,and she pinned it across her chest with golden pins.She tied a belt fitted with a hundred tassels,and put earrings in her pierced ears,three-dropped and berry-shaped; a lot of grace shone off her.Then the shining goddess of goddesses covered herself with a veil,a lovely new one; it was white as the sun.She tied beautiful sandals under her shining feet.When she had put all her finery on her body,she went out of the bedroom, and called Aphroditeaway from the other gods and spoke to her:"Dear child, will you do me a favor, whatever I ask,or will you refuse, angry with me in your heart,because I help the Greeks and you help the Trojans?"Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, answered her:"Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Cronos,say what you're thinking. My heart tells me to do it,if I can do it and if it's possible at all."Then lady Hera, with trickery in mind, said to her:"Give me love and desire now, the power you use to conquerall the immortals and all mortal men.I'm going to see the edges of the life-giving earth,and Ocean, the father of the gods, and mother Tethys,who raised me well in their halls and cared for me,taking me in from Rhea, back when Zeus the far-seeingput Cronos down beneath the earth and the barren sea.I'm going to see them and settle their endless quarrel.They've been apart from each other for a long time now,apart from bed and love, ever since anger got into their hearts.If I can persuade them with words and get their dear heartsto go to bed and be joined in love,they would always call me dear and honored."Laughter-loving Aphrodite answered her:"It's impossible, and it wouldn't be right, to refuse you.You sleep in the arms of Zeus, the greatest."She spoke, and untied from her breast the embroidered strap,the patterned one, in which all kinds of charms were worked:in it was love, in it was desire, in it was sweet talk,beguiling talk, which steals the mind of even the very wise.She put it in her hands and said:"Take this strap now and put it in your bosom,the patterned one, in which everything is worked. I don't thinkyou'll come back without doing whatever you want in your heart."So she said, and cow-eyed lady Hera smiled,and still smiling she put it in her bosom.Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, went back to her house,and Hera darted off and left the peak of Olympus.She crossed over Pieria and lovely Emathiaand rushed to the snowy mountains of the horse-breeding Thracians,the very tops — her feet didn't touch the ground.From Mount Athos she crossed the swelling seaand came to Lemnos, the city of godlike Thoas.There she met Sleep, the brother of Death,and she took his hand and spoke to him:"Sleep, lord of all gods and all men,if you ever listened to me before, then now toodo what I say. I'll be grateful to you forever.Put the bright eyes of Zeus to sleep under his brows,as soon as I lie down beside him in love.I'll give you a gift: a beautiful throne, never to wear out,a golden one. My son Hephaestus, the lame god,will make it carefully, with a footstool under it for your feet,where you can rest your shining feet while you feast."Sweet Sleep answered her:"Hera, revered goddess, daughter of great Cronos,any other of the ever-living gods I could put to sleepeasily, even the streams of the riverOcean, who is the beginning of everything.But I wouldn't go near Zeus, son of Cronos,and I wouldn't put him to sleep, unless he told me to himself.Your orders taught me a lesson once already,on the day when that proud son of Zeussailed from Troy after sacking the Trojans' city.I put the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus to sleep,spreading softly over him, and you planned evil in your heart:you stirred up painful blasts of wind on the seaand carried him off to well-populated Cos,far from all his friends. He woke up furious,flinging the gods around the house, and he hunted for me above all,and he would have thrown me out of the bright sky into the sea, invisible,if Night, who subdues gods and men, hadn't saved me.I ran to her, and he stopped, angry as he was,because he was afraid to do what swift Night would hate.And now you're telling me to do another impossible thing."Then cow-eyed lady Hera said to him:"Sleep, why are you thinking about that?Do you really believe far-seeing Zeus will help the Trojansthe way he was so furious over Heracles, his own son?Come on — I'll give you one of the younger Gracesto marry and call your wife."So she said, and Sleep was glad, and answered:"Come on then, swear to me by the inviolable water of Styx" —and with one hand he touched the life-giving earth,with the other the gleaming sea, so that all the godsbelow, the ones around Cronos, could be witnesses for us both —"that you will really give me one of the younger Graces,Pasithea, the one I've wanted all my life."So he said, and the white-armed goddess Hera didn't refuse.She swore as he asked, and named all the godsbeneath Tartarus, the ones called the Titans.When she had sworn and finished the oath,the two of them left the cities of Lemnos and Imbrosand went on, wrapped in mist, speeding along the road.They came to Ida, full of springs, mother of wild beasts,to Lectum, where they first left the sea. They stepped onto landand the top of the forest shook under their feet.Sleep waited there, out of Zeus's sight,after climbing into a towering fir tree, which at that time on Idahad grown the tallest, poking up through the mist into the clear sky.There he sat, hidden in the fir branches,looking like a clear-voiced bird that in the mountainsthe gods call chalkis and men call kymindis.Hera climbed quickly to the top of Gargaron,the high point of Ida, and Zeus the cloud-gatherer saw her.The moment he saw her, desire wrapped around his crowded mind,just like the very first time they were together in love,going to bed without their parents knowing.He stood in front of her and said:"Hera, where are you rushing to, that you've come down from Olympus?There are no horses here, and no chariot for you to get into."Then lady Hera, with trickery in mind, said to him:"I'm going to see the edges of the life-giving earth,and Ocean, the father of the gods, and mother Tethys,who raised me well in their halls and cared for me.I'm going to see them and settle their endless quarrel.They've been apart from each other for a long time now,apart from bed and love, ever since anger got into their hearts.My horses are standing at the foot of many-springed Ida;they'll carry me over dry land and sea.But I came down here from Olympus for your sake,in case you'd be angry with me later, if I went offin silence to the house of deep-flowing Ocean."Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her:"Hera, you can go there later too.Come on, let's enjoy ourselves in love, lying together.Desire for a goddess or a woman has neverpoured over the heart in my chest and overpowered me like this,not when I loved the wife of Ixion,who bore Peirithoos, a counselor as good as the gods;not when I loved Danae of the lovely ankles, daughter of Acrisios,who bore Perseus, the most famous man of all;not when I loved the daughter of far-famed Phoenix,who bore me Minos and godlike Rhadamanthys;not when I loved Semele or Alcmene in Thebes —she bore Heracles, the strong-hearted son,and Semele bore Dionysos, a joy to mortals;not when I loved Demeter, the queen with lovely hair,not glorious Leto, not even you yourself,the way I love you now, and sweet desire takes hold of me."Then lady Hera, with trickery in mind, said to him:"Most dreadful son of Cronos, what a thing to say.If you really want to lie together in loveon the peaks of Ida, where everything is out in the open,what would happen if one of the ever-living godssaw us sleeping, and went off and toldall the gods? I wouldn't go back to your houseafter getting up from bed — that would be shameful.But if that's what you want, and it's dear to your heart,there's a bedroom that your dear sonHephaestus built, with tight doors fitted to the doorposts.Let's go lie down there, since bed is what you want."Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her:"Hera, don't be afraid that any god or any manwill see us. I'll wrap such a cloud around us,a golden one. Not even Helios could break through it,and his light is the sharpest to see with."So said the son of Cronos, and took his wife in his arms.Under them the shining earth grew fresh new grass,and dewy lotus, crocus, and hyacinth,thick and soft, which lifted them up off the ground.They lay down there and pulled a cloud over themselves,a beautiful golden one, and glistening dew dripped down.So the father slept quietly on the top of Gargaron,overcome by sleep and love, holding his wife in his arms.Sweet Sleep ran off to the ships of the Greeksto bring the news to the Earth-holder, the Earth-shaker.He stood near him and said:"Poseidon, help the Greeks eagerly now,and give them glory for a little while, while Zeus is still asleep,since I've poured a soft sleep over him,and Hera tricked him into lying down in love."With that he went off to the famous tribes of men,and he urged him on even more to defend the Greeks.Right away he sprang out in front of the front ranks and shouted:"Argives, are we going to give Hectorson of Priam the victory again, so he can take the ships and win glory?He says and boasts that Achillesis staying by the hollow ships with anger in his heart.But nobody will miss Achilles much, if the rest of usget ourselves moving and defend each other.Come on, everyone do what I say:put on the best and biggest shields in the army,hide your heads in bright shining helmets,take the longest spears in your hands,and let's go. I'll lead, and I don't thinkHector son of Priam will hold his ground, however much he wants to.Any man who's a stand-tough fighter and has a small shield on his shoulder,let him give it to a worse man, and let that one put on the bigger shield."So he said, and they listened and obeyed gladly.The kings themselves organized them, wounded as they were —Diomedes son of Tydeus, Odysseus, and Agamemnon son of Atreus.They went through all the ranks, swapping the war gear:the good man put on the good armor, the worse man got the worse.When they had put the flashing bronze on their bodies,they went forward, and Poseidon the Earth-shaker led them,holding in his thick hand a terrible long-bladed swordlike lightning. It isn't allowed to meet himin the grim fight; fear holds men back.On the other side, glorious Hector organized the Trojans.Then the two of them stretched out the most terrible strife of war,dark-haired Poseidon and glorious Hector,one helping the Trojans, the other helping the Argives.The sea surged up toward the huts and shipsof the Argives, and they crashed together with a great roar.The sea's wave doesn't roar so loud against the landwhen it rises from the deep with the painful blast of the north wind;the roar of blazing fire isn't so loudin a mountain valley, when it rises up to burn the forest;the wind doesn't howl so loud around the tall-crowned oaks,the wind that roars the loudest in its fury —not as loud as the voice of the Trojans and Greeksshouting terribly when they rushed at each other.Glorious Hector threw his spear first at Ajax,since Ajax was turned straight toward him, and he didn't miss.It hit where two straps were stretched across his chest,one for the shield, one for the silver-studded sword.Those saved his tender skin. Hector was furiousthat the swift weapon had flown from his hand for nothing,and he fell back into the crowd of his friends, dodging death.Then as he was going back, big Telamonian Ajaxhit him with a stone — there were plenty of them lying around, props for the swift ships,rolling at the feet of the fighters — he picked one upand struck his chest above the shield rim, near the neck,and sent him spinning like a top; it whirled him every way.Just as an oak tree falls from the blow of father Zeus,torn up by the roots, and a terrible smell of sulfur comesoff it, so that no man who sees it nearby has any courage left— great Zeus's thunderbolt is that frightening —so Hector's strength dropped quickly to the ground in the dust.The spear fell from his hand, his shield was pressed under him,and his helmet, and his patterned bronze armor clanged all around him.The sons of the Achaeans rushed in with a great shout,hoping to drag him off, and they threw their spears thick and fast.But nobody could wound or hit the shepherd of the people,because the best men had stood around him first:Poulydamas, Aeneas, shining Agenor,Sarpedon leader of the Lycians, and blameless Glaucus.None of the others neglected him either; they heldtheir round shields in front of him. His friendslifted him in their arms and carried him out of the fighting, until he reached the swift horsesthat stood behind the battle and the war,with their driver and the patterned chariot.They carried him toward the city, groaning heavily.But when they reached the crossing of the fair-flowing river,the whirling Xanthos, whom immortal Zeus fathered,they brought him down from the horses onto the ground and poured waterover him. He came to and opened his eyes,and sitting up on his knees he threw up the dark blood.Then he sank back to the ground, and black nightcovered his eyes, and the weapon still overpowered his spirit.When the Argives saw Hector carried away,they rushed at the Trojans even harder and remembered how to fight.There, far ahead of everyone, swift Ajax son of Oileuswounded Satnios with his sharp spear, leaping at him —Satnios son of Enops, whom a blameless nymph boreto Enops while he herded cattle by the banks of the Satnioeis.The famous son of Oileus came close with his spearand stabbed him in the flank, and he fell backward, and around himTrojans and Greeks joined in hard battle.Then Poulydamas of the ashen spear came to avenge him,son of Panthoos, and he hit Prothoenor on the right shoulder,the son of Areilykos, and the mighty spear went throughhis shoulder, and he fell in the dust and clutched the earth with his hand.Poulydamas boasted terribly, shouting loud:"I don't think the spear from the strong handof the great-hearted son of Panthoos jumped out for nothing.No, some Argive took it in his body, and I thinkhe'll go down into the house of Hades leaning on it."So he said, and grief came over the Argives at his boast.Above all it stirred the heart of warlike Ajax,the son of Telamon, because he had fallen closest to him.Quickly, as Poulydamas went back, Ajax threw his shining spear at him.But Poulydamas dodged black death himself,springing sideways, and the son of Antenor took the hit,Archelochos — the gods had planned destruction for him.Ajax struck him where the head and neck meet,the lowest bone, and cut through both tendons.His head, mouth, and nose fell forwardand hit the ground before his shins and knees did as he fell.Then Ajax shouted at blameless Poulydamas:"Think about it, Poulydamas, and tell me the truth:isn't this man, set against Prothoenor,worth it? He doesn't look like a coward to me, or the son of cowards,but a brother of horse-taming Antenor,or his son — he looked a lot like him in family."He said that, knowing full well, and grief seized the Trojans' hearts.There Acamas wounded Boeotian Promachos with his spearas he stood over his brother, who was dragging him by the feet.Acamas boasted terribly, shouting loud:"Argives, you bowmen, never satisfied with threats,this hard work and misery won't belong to us alone —one day you'll be killed like this too.Think about how Promachos lies here, beaten down by my spear,so the price for my brother won't gounpaid for long. That's why a man praysto leave a brother behind in his halls to fend off ruin."So he said, and grief came over the Argives at his boast.Above all it stirred the heart of warlike Peneleos.He rushed at Acamas, and Acamas didn't waitfor lord Peneleos' charge. Peneleos wounded Ilioneus,son of Phorbas with his many flocks, the oneHermes loved most of all the Trojans and gave wealth to.His mother had borne Ilioneus as her only son.Peneleos struck him under the brow, at the base of the eye,and knocked the eyeball out. The spear went straight through the eyeand out the back of the head, and he sat down with both hands out.Peneleos drew his sharp sword,struck him in the middle of the neck, and hacked his head to the groundalong with the helmet. The mighty spear was stillstuck in his eye. He lifted the head up like a poppy and showed it,and speaking to the Trojans he boasted:"Trojans, tell the noble Ilioneus' father and motherto weep in their halls —the wife of Promachos, son of Alegenor,won't be happy when her dear husband comes home,when the sons of the Achaeans sail home from Troy with their ships."So he said, and trembling seized all their limbs,and each man looked around for a way to escape sheer destruction.Tell me now, Muses who live on Olympus,who was the first to strip the bloody armor off a slain Greekwhen the famous Earth-shaker tilted the battle?Ajax son of Telamon was first; he wounded Hyrtios,son of Gyrtios, leader of the strong-hearted Mysians.Antilochos stripped Phalces and Mermeros.Meriones killed Morys and Hippotion,Teucer killed Prothoon and Periphetes,and then the son of Atreus wounded Hyperenor, shepherd of the people,in the flank, and the bronze ripped through his gutsas he killed him, and his soul rushed out through the open woundin a hurry, and darkness covered his eyes.Swift Ajax son of Oileus took the most of all,because there was no one like him at chasing men on footwhen they were running, when Zeus stirs up panic.