Book 17

Not unnoticed by the son of Atreus, Menelaus dear to Ares,was Patroclus, brought low by the Trojans in the press of war.He strode through the foremost fighters, helmed in blazing bronze,and about him he paced as a mother paces about her calf,a first-born, lowing, who has never known the pangs of birth;so about Patroclus paced the fair-haired Menelaus.Before him he held his spear and his shield that is equal on every side,burning to slay whoever might come to face him.Nor did the spear-famed son of Panthous take no heedthat blameless Patroclus had fallen; and close beside himhe stood, and spoke to Menelaus dear to Ares:"Son of Atreus, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, leader of hosts,give way, leave the corpse, abandon the blood-stained spoils;for no man of the Trojans or their famed alliesstruck Patroclus with the spear in the strong encounter;so let me win brave glory among the Trojans,lest I strike you and take away your honey-sweet life."Then greatly vexed, fair-haired Menelaus answered him:"Father Zeus, no fine thing is it to boast beyond measure.Not so great is the fury of a leopard, nor of a lion,nor of a boar, the destroyer-minded wild swine, whose greatestspirit in his breast exults in its own strength,as the sons of Panthous, famed for the spear, are minded.Yet not even the might of horse-taming Hyperenortook joy of his youth, when he made light of me and withstood meand said that I was among the Danaans the most contemptible of warriors;yet I say he did not go back upon his own feetto gladden his dear wife and his honoured parents.So truly I shall loose your fury too, if you stand upagainst me; but I bid you, drawing back,go into the throng, and do not stand to face mebefore you suffer some evil; the fool learns it once the deed is done."So he spoke, but did not persuade him; and answering he addressed him:"Now indeed, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, you will surely payfor my brother, whom you slew, and you speak your boasts over him,and you made his wife a widow in the recess of her new bridal chamber,and you brought on his parents lamentation and grief to be prayed for.Truly I might become a stopping of their lament, wretched as they are,if I could carry off your head and your armourand place them in the hands of Panthous and divine Phrontis.But no longer, surely, shall this toil be left untried,nor longer undecided between valour and flight."So speaking he struck him on the shield that is equal on every side;but the bronze did not break it, and the point was bent backin the strong shield; and a second time he rushed on with the bronze,the son of Atreus, Menelaus, praying to father Zeus:and as he drew back, at the very base of the throathe stabbed him, and leaned upon it with his heavy hand trusting in his strength;and clean through his tender neck the spearpoint passed,and he fell with a thud, and his armour rang upon him.His hair was drenched with blood, like the Graces,and his tresses, which were bound tight with gold and silver.As when a man nurtures a luxuriant olive saplingin a lonely place, where water wells up in abundance,fair and flourishing; and the blasts of all manner of windsshake it, and it swells with white blossom;but suddenly a wind comes with a great hurricaneand uproots it from its trench and stretches it out upon the ground;such was the son of Panthous, Euforbus of the good spear,when the son of Atreus, Menelaus, had slain him and was stripping his armour.As when a mountain-bred lion, trusting in his strength,from a grazing herd seizes a cow, whichever is the best;first he breaks her neck, gripping it with his strong teeth,then he devours her blood and all her innards,tearing them: and about him dogs and men, the herdsmen,cry out very loudly from afar, and have no wishto come against him; for pale fear takes hold of them;so in the breast of none of them did the heart dareto come against glorious Menelaus.Then easily would the son of Atreus have carried off the glorious armour of the son of Panthous,had not Phoebus Apollo begrudged it to him,who roused Hector against him, the peer of swift Ares,likened to a man, the leader of the Cicones, Mentes;and he spoke winged words to him:"Hector, now you run like this, chasing unattainable things,the horses of the warlike son of Aeacus; but they are hardfor mortal men to master and to drive,save for Achilles alone, whom an immortal mother bore.Meanwhile Menelaus dear to Ares, the son of Atreus,bestriding Patroclus, has slain the best of the Trojans,the son of Panthous, Euforbus, and stayed his furious valour."So speaking, the god went back again into the toil of men;and dread grief shrouded Hector's dark mind all about,and he looked through the ranks, and straightway knewthe one stripping off the glorious armour, and the other upon the groundlying; and the blood was flowing through the wounded wound.He strode through the foremost fighters, helmed in blazing bronze,crying shrilly, like the flame of Hephaestusunquenchable; and his sharp cry did not escape the son of Atreus;and vexed, he spoke to his own great-hearted spirit:"Alas for me, if I leave behind the fair armourand Patroclus, who lies here for my sake and my honour,some one of the Danaans will blame me, whoever sees it.But if I fight alone against Hector and the Trojans,out of shame, then perhaps many may ring me round, one against many;for resplendent-helmed Hector leads all the Trojans here.But why has my own heart debated these things with me?When a man is minded to fight against a godwhom a god honours, swiftly a great woe rolls upon him.Therefore none of the Danaans will blame me, whoever sees it,that I gave way before Hector, since he wars with the help of the gods.But if I could hear of Ajax of the good war-cry,then the two of us, going back, might remember our battle-joy,even against a god, if somehow we might drag away the corpsefor Peleus' son Achilles; that would be the best of evils."While he was pondering these things in his heart and spirit,meanwhile the ranks of the Trojans came on; and Hector led them.But he gave way backward and left the corpse,turning as he went, like a bearded lionwhom dogs and men drive from the farmsteadwith spears and shouting; and in his heart his valiant spiritfreezes, and unwillingly he goes from the cattle-yard;so from Patroclus went fair-haired Menelaus.He stood and turned about when he came to the host of his comrades,peering about for Ajax, the great son of Telamon.He marked him very quickly on the left of all the battleencouraging his comrades and urging them to fight;for Phoebus Apollo had cast a wondrous panic into them;he went at a run, and standing straightway beside him spoke a word:"Ajax, this way, dear friend, let us hurry for dead Patroclus,if perhaps we may bring the corpse to Achilles,stripped bare; but the armour gleaming-helmed Hector holds."So he spoke, and stirred the spirit in warlike Ajax;and he strode through the foremost fighters, and with him fair-haired Menelaus.Hector, when he had stripped the glorious armour from Patroclus,dragged him, to cut the head from the shoulders with the sharp bronze,and to give the corpse to the Trojan women to be dragged to the dogs.But Ajax came near, bearing his shield like a tower;and Hector drew back, going again into the throng of his comrades,and leapt up onto the chariot; and he gave the fair armourto the Trojans to carry to the city, to be a great glory to him.And Ajax, covering the son of Menoetius about with his broad shield,stood like a lion about its own cubs,whom men, hunters, come upon in the woodas he leads his unweaned young; and he exults in his strength,and he draws all his brow down over his eyes, hiding them;so Ajax bestrode the hero Patroclus.And on the other side the son of Atreus, Menelaus dear to Ares,stood, rearing great grief in his breast.And Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, leader of the Lycian men,looking at Hector from under his brows, rebuked him with a harsh word:"Hector, best in form, in battle then you fell far short.Yes, idle glory holds you, since you are a runaway.Look now to how you may save the city and the townyourself alone with the people who were born in Ilion;for none of the Lycians will go to fight the Danaansfor the city, since there was no gratitude at allfor warring against foemen unceasingly, always.How would you save a lesser man amid the throng,cruel one, when Sarpedon, your guest-friend and comrade,you left to the Argives to become spoil and plunder,who was a great help to you and to your citywhile he lived; but now you did not dare to ward off the dogs from him.Therefore now, if any of the Lycian men will hearken to me,we shall go home, and sheer ruin will appear over Troy.For if the Trojans now had valour full of courage,unshaken, such as comes into men who for their fatherlandmake toil and strife against hostile men,we should soon drag Patroclus into Ilion.But if this man should come to the great city of lord Priamdead, and we should drag him from the battle,soon would the Argives loose the fair armour of Sarpedon,and we would lead him into Ilion;for such a man's attendant he was, who was by far the bestof the Argives by the ships and of their hand-to-hand attendants.But you did not dare to stand against great-hearted Ajaxfacing him, looking in his eyes in the din of battle,nor to fight him straight on, since he is better than you."Then, looking at him from under his brows, resplendent-helmed Hector answered:"Glaucus, why have you, being such as you are, spoken so overweeningly?Ah me, I thought you were beyond others in understandingof all who dwell in fertile Lycia;but now I blame your understanding utterly, since you said such a thing,you who say that I cannot withstand enormous Ajax.I have not shuddered at battle nor at the thunder of horses;but always the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus is stronger,who puts even a valiant man to flight and takes victory from himeasily, and at another time himself urges him to fight.But come now, dear friend, stand by me and see the deed,whether I shall be a coward all day long, as you say,or I shall hold back some Danaan, even one very eager for valour,from defending dead Patroclus."So speaking he called to the Trojans with a loud shout:"Trojans and Lycians and Dardanians who fight close at hand,be men, dear friends, and remember your furious valour,until I put on the armour of blameless Achilles,the fair armour, which I stripped when I slew the strength of Patroclus."So speaking, resplendent-helmed Hector went awayfrom the deadly war; and running he reached his comradesvery quickly, not yet far off with his swift feet,who were carrying the glorious armour of the son of Peleus toward the city.Standing apart from the tearful battle he changed his armour:on the one hand he gave his own for the war-loving Trojansto carry to holy Ilion, and on the other he put on the immortal armourof Peleus' son Achilles, which the gods, the Uranians,gave to his dear father; and he in turn passed it on to his own sonin his old age; but the son did not grow old in his father's armour.And when Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, saw him from afararming himself in the armour of godlike Peleus' son,he shook his head and spoke to his own heart:"Ah, wretch, death is not at all in your mind,which is now near you; and you put on immortal armourof a most valiant man, before whom others also tremble;whose comrade you slew, kindly and strong,and you took the armour unseemly from his head and shoulders;yet now I shall put great might into your hands,as a recompense for this, that never, returning from battle,shall Andromache receive the glorious armour of the son of Peleus."So he spoke and nodded with his dark brows, the son of Cronus.And the armour fitted Hector's skin, and Ares entered him,dread Enyalius, and his limbs were filled withinwith valour and strength; and he went among the famous allieswith a loud shout; and he appeared to them allshining in the armour of the great-hearted son of Peleus.He urged each man on, going to them with words,Mesthles and Glaucus and Medon and Thersilochusand Asteropaeus and Deisenor and Hippothousand Phorcys and Chromius and Ennomus the augur;urging these on he spoke winged words:"Hear me, countless tribes of neighbouring allies;for it was not because I sought or needed a multitudethat I gathered each of you here from your cities,but so that you would eagerly defend the wives of the Trojans and their young childrenfrom the war-loving Achaeans.With that in mind I wear you out with gifts and food,and I increase the spirit of each of you.Therefore let each man now turn straight ahead and either perishor be saved; for such is the converse of war.And whoever drags Patroclus, even though he is dead, neverthelessamong the horse-taming Trojans, and Ajax gives way before him,for him I shall divide half of the spoils, and half I myselfshall keep; and his glory shall be as great as mine."So he spoke, and they charged straight at the Danaans,raising their spears; and greatly did their hearts hopeto drag the corpse away from Ajax, son of Telamon,fools; for indeed he took the life from many over him.And then Ajax spoke to Menelaus of the good war-cry:"Dear friend, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, no longer do I,I think, even we two ourselves, expect to return from the war.I do not fear so much for the corpse of Patroclus,which will soon glut the dogs and birds of the Trojans,as I fear for my own head, lest it suffer something,and for yours, since a cloud of war covers all things round about,Hector, and sheer ruin appears before us again.But come, call the best of the Danaans, if any may hear."So he spoke, and Menelaus of the good war-cry did not disobey,but shouted piercingly, calling aloud to the Danaans:"Friends, leaders and counsellors of the Argives,you who with the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus,drink the public wine and each give the signto the people; from Zeus honour and glory follow.Hard for me it is to look out for eachof the leaders; for so great a strife of war has blazed up;but let each man come himself, and feel shame in his heartthat Patroclus become a plaything for the Trojan dogs."So he spoke, and Oileus' swift Ajax heard him sharply;and he was the first to come against them, running through the battle-din,and after him Idomeneus and Idomeneus' companionMeriones, the peer of Enyalius, the slayer of men.And of the others, who could name them with his own mind,all the Achaeans who roused the battle behind them?But the Trojans pressed on in a body; and Hector led them.As when at the mouths of a river fed by Zeusa great wave roars against the stream, and the headlandsand shores cry out around as the sea bellows from without,with such a shout the Trojans came on. But the Achaeansstood about the son of Menoetius, of one spirit,fenced in with bronze-shod shields; and about themwith their shining helmets the son of Cronus poured much mist,since he did not hate the son of Menoetius even before,while he lived and was the attendant of the son of Aeacus;but he hated that he become spoil for the dogs of the foe,the Trojan dogs; so he roused his comrades to defend him.The Trojans first pushed back the glancing-eyed Achaeans,and they left the corpse and gave way, and none of themdid the high-hearted Trojans seize with their spears, though they strove,but they dragged the corpse; and for a little while the Achaeanswere ready to be away from it; for very swiftly did he wheel them round,Ajax, who was made peerless in form and peerless in deedsof the other Danaans, after blameless Peleus' son.He rushed through the foremost fighters, like a boar in valour,a wild boar, who in the mountains dogs and lusty young meneasily scatters, wheeling through the glens;so the son of glorious Telamon, shining Ajax,easily following up, scattered the ranks of the Trojanswho stood about Patroclus, and were minded mostto drag him to their own city and win glory.Then the shining son of Lethus the Pelasgian,Hippothous, was dragging him by the foot through the strong encounter,having bound him with a strap about the sinews by the ankle,to please Hector and the Trojans; but quickly upon himcame evil, which no man could hold off, though they strove.And the son of Telamon, leaping at him through the throng,struck him hand to hand on his helmet through the bronze-cheeked,and the horse-plumed helmet broke about the spearpoint,struck by the great spear and the heavy hand,and the brains ran up out of the wound beside the spear-shaftbloody; and his strength was loosed there, and from his handshe let the foot of great-hearted Patroclus down to the groundto lie; and he fell close beside him, face down upon the corpse,far from fertile Larisa, and to his parentshe did not repay their nurture, and his life was short,slain by the spear of great-hearted Ajax.And Hector again hurled at Ajax with his bright spear;but he, seeing it in front, shunned the bronze speara little; and he struck Schedius, the son of great-hearted Iphitus,by far the best of the Phocians, who in famous Panopeusdwelt in his house, ruling over many men,and he struck him beneath the middle of the collar-bone; and clean throughthe bronze point came out at the bottom of his shoulder;and he fell with a thud, and his armour rang upon him.And Ajax again struck Phorcys, the warlike son of Phaenops,who bestrode Hippothous, in the middle of the belly:and he broke the plate of the corselet, and through it the bronzelet out his guts; and he fell in the dust and clutched the earth with his palm.And the foremost fighters gave way, and shining Hector with them;and the Argives shouted aloud, and dragged away the corpses,both Phorcys and Hippothous, and loosed the armour from their shoulders.Then would the Trojans have gone up into Ilionbeneath the war-loving Achaeans, subdued by their cowardice,and the Argives would have won glory even beyond the will of Zeusby their own might and strength; but Apollo himselfroused Aeneas, likened in body to Periphasthe herald, son of Epytus, who beside his old fathergrew old as herald, knowing kindly counsels in his heart;likened to him, the son of Zeus, Apollo, spoke:"Aeneas, how could you even against a god defendsteep Ilion? As indeed I have seen other mentrusting in might and strength and manhoodand in their own multitude and holding an over-proud people;but for us Zeus wills victory far more than for the Danaans;yet you yourselves tremble unutterably and do not fight."So he spoke, and Aeneas knew the far-shooter Apollowhen he looked at him face to face, and shouted loudly to Hector:"Hector, and you other leaders of the Trojans and allies,indeed this is shame now, to go up into Ilionbeneath the war-loving Achaeans, subdued by cowardice.But still, some one of the gods says to me, standing near,that Zeus the highest, the deviser, is a helper of the battle;therefore let us go straight at the Danaans, and let not thembring dead Patroclus near the ships at their ease."So he spoke, and springing far out before the foremost fighters he stood;and they wheeled about and stood facing the Achaeans.Then Aeneas wounded Leocritus with his spear,the son of Arisbas, the good comrade of Lycomedes.And fallen, he was pitied by Lycomedes dear to Ares,who came and stood very close, and hurled with his bright spear,and struck Apisaon, son of Hippasus, shepherd of the people,in the liver beneath the midriff, and straightway loosed his knees,who had come from fertile Paeonia,and was foremost in fighting after Asteropaeus.And fallen, he was pitied by warlike Asteropaeus,and he too rushed eagerly to fight the Danaans;but he could not at all, for they were fenced in with shields on every side,standing about Patroclus, and holding their spears before them.For Ajax went about among them all, giving many commands,and he did not bid any man give way back from the corpsenor any man fight out in front of the other Achaeans,but to stand very close about him, and fight at close quarters.So enormous Ajax commanded, and the earth was drenchedwith dark blood, and they fell thick upon one another,corpses together of Trojans and high-hearted alliesand Danaans; for they too did not fight without blood,but far fewer of them perished; for they always rememberedto ward off sheer slaughter from one another throughout the throng.So they fought, in body like fire, and you would not saythat either the sun or the moon was safe;for they were held in mist on the field of battle, all who were beststood about the dead son of Menoetius.But the rest, the Trojans and the well-greaved Achaeans,fought at their ease under the clear sky, and the beamof the sun spread sharp, and no cloud appeared over allthe earth or the mountains; and resting in turns they fought,avoiding one another's grievous shafts,standing far apart. But those in the middle suffered painsfrom the mist and the war, and were worn by the pitiless bronze,as many as were best; and two men had not yet learnedof it, two glorious men, Thrasymedes and Antilochus,that blameless Patroclus was dead, but still thoughthe was alive and fought the Trojans in the foremost throng.So those two, watching for the death and the rout of their comrades,fought apart, since Nestor had so commanded them,urging them to war away from the dark ships.For them, all day long, a great quarrel of strife had arisen,grievous; and with toil and sweat unceasingly alwaystheir knees and shins and the feet beneath each manand hands and eyes were bespattered, as the two foughtabout the good attendant of the swift-footed son of Aeacus.As when a man gives out the hide of a great bullto his people to stretch, soaked with fat;and they, taking it, stand apart in a circle and stretch it,and straightway the moisture goes out, and the fat sinks in,as many pull, and it is stretched out entirely through;so they, this way and that, in a small space,dragged the corpse, both sides; and greatly their hearts hoped,the Trojans to drag it to Ilion, but the Achaeansto the hollow ships; and about it a wild battle-press arose,wild; nor could Ares, the rouser of hosts, nor Athenaseeing it, blame it, not even if great anger came upon her;such an evil toil did Zeus over Patroclus, of men and horses,stretch out on that day; and not yet at alldid godlike Achilles know that Patroclus was dead;for far away from the swift ships they foughtbeneath the wall of the Trojans; he never hoped in his heartthat he was dead, but that he would come back alive, having pressed against the gates,that he would return; since he did not expect this at all,that he would sack the city without him, nor with him either;for often he heard it from his mother, hearing it apart,who used to report to him the mind of great Zeus.But then his mother did not tell him an evil as great as came to pass,that his much dearest comrade had perished.And they, always holding sharpened spears about the corpse,unceasingly pressed on and slew one another;and thus one after another of the bronze-clad Achaeans spoke:"Friends, it is surely no glory for us to returnto the hollow ships, but here let the black earthgape for us all; that would be far better for us at oncethan that we should let this man go to the horse-taming Trojansto drag to their own city and win glory."And thus again one after another of the great-hearted Trojans said:"Friends, even if it is fated for us to be subdued beside this man,all alike, let no man yet draw back from the war."So each spoke, and roused the valour of each man.So they fought, and the iron dinreached the bronze sky through the unharvested ether;and the horses of the son of Aeacus, being apart from the battle,wept, when they first learned of their charioteerhaving fallen in the dust under man-slaying Hector.Truly Automedon, the valiant son of Diores,tried much striking with the swift whip,and much he spoke softly, and much he threatened;but the two would neither go back to the ships on the broad Hellespontnor into battle with the Achaeans,but as a pillar stands firm, which on the tombof a dead man or a woman has been set,so they stood unmoving, holding the very beautiful chariot,leaning their heads upon the ground; and tears for themhot from their eyelids flowed to the ground, as they lamented,with longing for their charioteer; and their luxuriant mane was defiled,falling out of the yoke-strap, on both sides of the yoke.And seeing the two lamenting, the son of Cronus pitied them,and shaking his head he spoke to his own heart:"Ah, wretched pair, why did we give you two to lord Peleus,a mortal, when you two are ageless and immortal?Was it so that you might have griefs among wretched men?For truly there is nothing anywhere more pitiful than a manof all that breathe and creep upon the earth.But never shall Hector, son of Priam, drive you twoand your cunning-wrought chariot; for I shall not allow it.Is it not enough that he holds the armour and boasts so?But I shall cast strength into your knees and into your spirit,so that you may save Automedon too from the war,to the hollow ships; for I shall still stretch out glory to themto slay, until they come to the well-benched shipsand the sun sets and holy darkness comes on."So speaking, he breathed good strength into the horses.And the two, shaking the dust from their manes to the ground,swiftly bore the swift chariot among the Trojans and Achaeans.And Automedon fought upon them, grieving though for his comrade,rushing with his horses like a vulture after geese;for easily he would flee from under the din of the Trojans,and easily he would rush upon them, driving through the great throng.But he did not take men when he sped in pursuit;for it was in no way possible, being alone in the sacred chariot,to rush on with the spear and to hold back the swift horses.But at last a comrade man saw him with his eyes,Alcimedon, son of Laerces, son of Haemon:and he stood behind the chariot and spoke to Automedon:"Automedon, what god has put a profitless counselin your breast, and taken away your good wits?How is it that you fight the Trojans in the foremost throngalone; and your comrade has been killed, and Hectorhimself wears his armour on his shoulders and exults, the armour of the son of Aeacus."And Automedon, son of Diores, answered him:"Alcimedon, what other of the Achaeans is like youto hold the mastery and the spirit of immortal horses,except Patroclus, a counsellor like the gods,while he lived? But now death and fate have overtaken him.But do you take the whip and the shining reins,and I shall step down from the horses, so that I may fight."So he spoke, and Alcimedon, springing onto the chariot that answers the war-cry,quickly took the whip and reins in his hands,and Automedon leapt down; and shining Hector marked it,and straightway spoke to Aeneas, who was near:"Aeneas, counsellor of the bronze-clad Trojans,these two horses I have marked, of the swift-footed son of Aeacus,appearing in the war with sorry charioteers;these I might hope to take, if you in your heartare willing, since the two of us rushing on they would notdare to stand and fight face to face with Ares."So he spoke, and the good son of Anchises did not disobey.And the two went straight on, wrapped in their shields of ox-hidedry and stiff; and much bronze had been hammered on them.And with them went Chromius and godlike Aretus,both of them; and greatly their hearts hopedboth to kill those men and to drive off the high-necked horses;fools, for they were not to go back without bloodshedagain from Automedon. And he, praying to father Zeus,was filled with valour and strength about his dark mind;and straightway spoke to Alcimedon, his faithful comrade:"Alcimedon, do not hold the horses far from me,but breathe right on my back; for I do not thinkthat Hector, son of Priam, will hold back from his fury,before he has mounted the fair-maned horses of Achilles,having killed us two, and put the ranks of men to flight,the Argives, or himself be caught among the foremost."So speaking, he called to the two Ajaxes and Menelaus:"Ajaxes, leaders of the Argives, and Menelaus,to the corpse entrust the men who are the bestto stand about it and to ward off the ranks of men,but for us two who live, ward off the pitiless day;for here they have pressed heavily in the tearful war,Hector and Aeneas, who are the best of the Trojans.But these things lie indeed on the knees of the gods;for I too shall cast my spear, and Zeus will care for all."He spoke, and brandishing it sent forth his long-shadowed spear,and struck the shield of Aretus, that is equal on every side;and it did not keep out the spear, but the bronze passed clean through,and drove through his belt into his lower belly.As when a lusty man, holding a sharp axe,strikes from behind the horns of a field-ranging oxto cut through all the sinew, and it falls forward and collapses,so he fell forward and fell on his back; and in him the spearvery sharp, quivering in his vitals, loosed his limbs.And Hector hurled at Automedon with his bright spear;but he, seeing it in front, shunned the bronze spear;for he ducked forward, and the long spear behind himwas fixed in the ground, and the butt-end quiveredof the spear; and there mighty Ares let loose his fury.And now they would have rushed hand to hand with swords,had not the two Ajaxes, eager, parted them,who came through the throng as their comrade called.Fearing them, they gave ground back again,Hector and Aeneas and godlike Chromius,and left Aretus there, his heart torn,lying; and Automedon, the peer of swift Ares,stripped his armour and spoke a word in boasting:"Truly now I have eased my heart a little of grieffor the dead son of Menoetius, though I have killed a lesser man."So speaking, he took the blood-stained spoils and placed them in the chariot,and himself climbed up, with feet and hands abovebloody, as when a lion has fed upon a bull.And back over Patroclus the strong encounter was stretched,grievous and full of tears, and Athena roused the strife,having come down from heaven; for wide-thundering Zeus sent herto rouse the Danaans; for his mind had turned.As when Zeus stretches a purple rainbow for mortalsout of heaven, to be a portent either of waror of a bitterly cold storm, which stops menfrom their work upon the earth, and troubles the flocks,so she, shrouding herself in a purple cloud,entered the host of the Achaeans, and roused each man.And first, urging him on, she spoke to the son of Atreus,the mighty Menelaus; for he was near her;likened to Phoenix in body and unwearying voice:"For you, Menelaus, there will be dejection and reproachif the faithful comrade of glorious Achillesthe swift dogs of the Trojans drag beneath their wall.But hold fast strongly, and urge on all the host."And Menelaus of the good war-cry answered her:"Phoenix, aged father, born long ago, if only Athenawould give me strength, and keep off the rush of missiles;then I would wish to stand by him and defendPatroclus; for dead he has greatly touched my heart.But Hector has the dread fury of fire, and does not ceasewreaking havoc with the bronze; for Zeus grants him glory."So he spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena rejoiced,because he prayed to her first of all the gods.And she put strength in his shoulders and in his knees,and put into his breast the daring of a fly,which, even when driven away from a man's skin,is eager to bite, and man's blood is sweet to it;with such daring she filled his dark mind,and he went at Patroclus, and hurled with his bright spear.And there was among the Trojans Podes, son of Eetion,rich and good; and Hector honoured him mostof the people, for he was his dear comrade at the feast;him fair-haired Menelaus struck on the beltas he sprang in flight, and drove the bronze clean through;and he fell with a thud; and the son of Atreus, Menelaus,dragged the corpse out from under the Trojans to the host of his comrades.And Apollo, standing near, urged on Hector,likened to Phaenops, son of Asius, who was to himthe dearest of all his guest-friends, dwelling in his house at Abydos;likened to him, the far-shooting Apollo spoke:"Hector, what other of the Achaeans would still fear you?You have fled from Menelaus, who before thiswas a soft spearman; and now he has gone off, having alone liftedthe corpse out from under the Trojans, and has killed your faithful comrade,the good Podes, son of Eetion, among the foremost."So he spoke, and a black cloud of grief covered him,and he strode through the foremost fighters, helmed in blazing bronze.And then the son of Cronus took up his tasselled aegis,gleaming, and covered Ida with clouds,and flashing he thundered greatly, and shook the aegis,and gave victory to the Trojans, and put the Achaeans to flight.First Peneleos the Boeotian began the flight.For he was struck on the shoulder with a spear, ever facing forward,a glancing blow on the tip; and it grazed his bonethe point of Polydamas; for he struck him, coming near.And Hector wounded Leitus close by, on the wrist of his hand,the son of great-hearted Alectryon, and stopped him from battle;and he shrank back, peering about, since no longer did he hope in his heartto fight the Trojans holding a spear in his hand.And Idomeneus, as Hector rushed after Leitus,struck him on the corselet, on the chest beside the nipple;and the long spear broke at the socket, and the Trojans shouted;and he hurled at Idomeneus, son of Deucalion,as he stood on his chariot; and he missed him by a little;but he struck Meriones' companion and charioteer,Coeranus, who had followed him from well-built Lyctus;for on foot at first, having left the curved ships,he had come, and would have given the Trojans great might,had not Coeranus quickly driven the swift-footed horses;and to him light came, and he warded off the pitiless day,but he himself lost his life under man-slaying Hector;he struck him beneath the jaw and the ear, and drove the spearclean through, and cut his tongue in the middle.He fell from the chariot, and let the reins fall to the ground.And Meriones took them in his own hands,stooping down from the plain, and spoke to Idomeneus:"Whip now, until you reach the swift ships;for you yourself know that the strength of the Achaeans is no more."So he spoke, and Idomeneus lashed the fair-maned horsesto the hollow ships; for fear had fallen on his heart.Nor did it escape great-hearted Ajax and Menelausthat Zeus was giving the Trojans victory that turns the scale.And among them great Telamonian Ajax began the words:"Ah me, now even one who is very foolishwould know that father Zeus himself is helping the Trojans.For of them all the missiles hit home, whoever throws them,whether a coward or a brave man; and Zeus anyway directs all;but for us all alike they fall vainly to the ground.But come, let us ourselves devise the best plan,both how we may drag the corpse away, and also how we ourselvesmay become a joy to our dear comrades when we return,who, I suppose, looking this way are grieving, and think no longerthat the fury and the invincible hands of man-slaying Hectorwill be held back, but that they will fall upon the black ships.And would that some comrade might report most quicklyto the son of Peleus, since I do not think he has even heardthe grievous message, that his dear comrade has perished.But I cannot see any such man of the Achaeans;for they are held in mist, both they themselves and their horses.Father Zeus, but do you rescue the sons of the Achaeans from the mist,and make clear weather, and give us to see with our eyes;and in the light destroy us, since so it pleases you."So he spoke, and the father pitied him as he shed tears;and straightway he scattered the mist and drove off the fog,and the sun shone out, and all the battle was shown clear;and then Ajax spoke to Menelaus of the good war-cry:"Look now, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, whether you can seeAntilochus, the son of great-hearted Nestor, still alive,and urge him to go quickly to warlike Achillesto tell him that his much dearest comrade has perished."So he spoke, and Menelaus of the good war-cry did not disobey,and he went as a lion goes from the cattle-yard,who, when he has grown weary rousing dogs and men,who will not let him take the fat of the cattle,watching all night; and he, longing for flesh,rushes straight on, but achieves nothing; for thick javelinsfly against him from bold hands,and burning torches, which he shuns though eager;and at dawn he goes off with a grieving heart;so from Patroclus Menelaus of the good war-crywent much against his will; for he feared lest the Achaeansin grievous flight might leave him as spoil to the foe.And he laid many commands on Meriones and the two Ajaxes:"Ajaxes, leaders of the Argives, and Meriones,let each man now remember the kindliness of wretched Patroclus;for he knew how to be gentle to allwhile he lived; but now death and fate have overtaken him."So speaking, fair-haired Menelaus went away,peering everywhere like an eagle, which they sayis the sharpest-sighted of the birds under heaven,whom, even when he is on high, the swift-footed hare does not escape,lying beneath a leafy bush, but he swoops upon it,and quickly seizing it takes away its life.So then, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, your bright eyesturned everywhere through the host of many comrades,if anywhere he might see the son of Nestor still alive.He marked him very quickly on the left of all the battleencouraging his comrades and urging them to fight,and standing near, fair-haired Menelaus spoke:"Antilochus, come here, Zeus-nurtured, so that you may learna grievous message, which ought never to have been.I think that you yourself, looking on,already know that a god rolls disaster upon the Danaans,and victory is the Trojans'; and the best of the Achaeans has been slain,Patroclus, and a great longing has come upon the Danaans.But do you quickly run to Achilles at the ships of the Achaeansand tell him, so that as quickly as may be he may save the corpse to the ship,stripped bare; for the armour resplendent-helmed Hector holds."So he spoke, and Antilochus was stricken as he heard the word;and long speechlessness of words seized him, and his two eyesfilled with tears, and his full voice was checked.But even so he did not neglect the command of Menelaus,but went at a run, and gave his armour to his blameless comradeLaodocus, who turned his single-hoofed horses near him.And his feet bore him, shedding tears, from the warto Peleus' son Achilles, to tell the evil word.And your heart, Menelaus, Zeus-nurtured, was not willingto defend the weary comrades, from whereAntilochus had gone, and a great longing came upon the Pylians;but he sent godlike Thrasymedes to them,and himself went back to the hero Patroclus,and running he stood beside the two Ajaxes, and straightway spoke:"I have sent that man to the swift shipsto go to swift-footed Achilles; but I do not thinkhe will come now, though he is very angry with godlike Hector;for he could not in any way fight the Trojans stripped bare.But let us ourselves devise the best plan,both how we may drag the corpse away, and also how we ourselvesmay escape death and doom from the battle-cry of the Trojans."And great Telamonian Ajax answered him:"All that you have said is fitting, glorious Menelaus.But do you and Meriones stoop down very quickly,lift the corpse and carry it out of the toil; but behind youwe two shall fight the Trojans and godlike Hector,having equal spirit, we two namesakes, who before nowhave stood fast side by side awaiting sharp Ares."So he spoke, and they lifted the corpse from the groundhigh and mightily; and the Trojan host shouted behindwhen they saw the Achaeans lifting the corpse.They rushed on like dogs, which upon a wounded boarspring, before the young hunters;for a while they run eager to tear him apart,but when he wheels among them, trusting in his strength,they draw back, and flee this way and that, each separately.So the Trojans followed in a body for a while,stabbing with swords and double-edged spears;but when the two Ajaxes turned about against themand stood, their colour changed, and no man daredspring forward and contend over the corpse.So they, eager, carried the corpse out of the warto the hollow ships; and war was stretched out upon themwild as fire, which rushing on a city of menleaps up suddenly and burns, and the houses dwindlein the great blaze, and the force of the wind thunders upon it.So for them the unceasing din of horses and spearmencame upon them as they went;and they, as mules putting on their mighty strengthdrag from a mountain down a rugged patha beam or a great ship's timber; and in them the spiritis worn out with toil and sweat as they hurry;so they, eager, carried the corpse. But behindthe two Ajaxes held them back, as a headland holds back water,a wooded one, lying right across the plain,which holds back even the grievous streams of mighty rivers,and straightway turns the flow of them all into the plain,driving it aside; and the rivers in their strength do not break it;so the two Ajaxes always held back the battle behind them,the Trojans; and they followed along, and two among them most of all,Aeneas, son of Anchises, and shining Hector.And as a cloud of starlings or of jackdaws comes on,screaming shrilly, when they see cominga hawk, which brings slaughter to the small birds,so before Aeneas and Hector the young men of the Achaeanswent screaming shrilly, and forgot their battle-joy.And many fair pieces of armour fell round about the trenchas the Danaans fled; and there was no rest from war.

It did not escape the son of Atreus, Menelaus dear to Ares,that Patroclus had been beaten down by the Trojans in the fighting.He went through the front ranks, armed in flashing bronze,and he paced around him the way a mother paces around her calf,a first-born, mooing, who has not known birth before;so fair-haired Menelaus paced around Patroclus.In front of him he held his spear and his shield that is even all round,eager to kill whoever might come to face him.Nor did the son of Panthous, good with the spear, fail to noticethat blameless Patroclus had fallen; he stood close beside himand spoke to Menelaus dear to Ares:"Son of Atreus, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, leader of men,back off, leave the body, let go the bloody spoils;for no man of the Trojans or their famous alliesstruck Patroclus with a spear in the hard fighting;so let me win good glory among the Trojans,or I will hit you and take away your honey-sweet life."Then, greatly angry, fair-haired Menelaus answered him:"Father Zeus, boasting beyond measure is no fine thing.The fury of a leopard is not so great, nor of a lion,nor of a boar, the wild pig with deadly thoughts, whose greatestspirit in his chest takes pride in his own strength,as the sons of Panthous, famous for the spear, are minded.Yet not even the strength of horse-taming Hyperenorgot any joy from his youth, when he made light of me and stood up to meand said I was the most worthless fighter among the Danaans;but I say he did not go back on his own feetto gladden his dear wife and his honoured parents.So I will loosen your fury too, if you stand upagainst me; but I tell you, pulling back,go into the crowd, and do not stand to face mebefore you suffer some harm; a fool learns that once it is done."So he spoke, but did not persuade him; and answering he said:"So now, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, you will surely payfor my brother, whom you killed, and you say your boasts over him,and you made his wife a widow in the back of her new bridal room,and you made lament and grief for his parents, things to be prayed for.I might really be an end of their weeping, wretched as they are,if I could carry off your head and your armourand put them in the hands of Panthous and shining Phrontis.But this work will surely not be left untried much longer,nor undecided any longer between courage and flight."So he spoke and struck him on the shield that is even all round;but the bronze did not break it, and the point was bent backin the strong shield; and a second time he rushed at him with the bronze,the son of Atreus, Menelaus, praying to father Zeus:and as he was pulling back, at the very base of his throathe stabbed him, and leaned on it with his heavy hand, trusting his strength;and clean through his soft neck the spear point went,and he fell with a thud, and his armour rang on him.His hair was soaked with blood, hair like the Graces,and his braids, which were bound tight with gold and silver.As when a man raises a thriving young olive treein a lonely spot, where water wells up in plenty,beautiful and blooming; and the blasts of all kinds of windsshake it, and it swells with white blossom;but suddenly a wind comes with a great squalland twists it out of its trench and lays it flat on the ground;so was the son of Panthous, Euforbus good with the spear,when the son of Atreus, Menelaus, had killed him and was stripping his armour.As when a mountain-bred lion, trusting his strength,snatches a cow from a grazing herd, whichever is the best;first he breaks her neck, gripping it with his strong teeth,then he gulps down her blood and all her innards,tearing them; and around him dogs and men, the herdsmen,shout a great deal from far off, and they do not wantto come against him; for pale fear takes hold of them;so in not one of them did the heart dareto come against glorious Menelaus.Then the son of Atreus would easily have carried off the famous armour of the son of Panthous,if Phoebus Apollo had not begrudged it to him,who stirred up Hector against him, the equal of swift Ares,made to look like a man, the leader of the Cicones, Mentes;and he spoke winged words to him:"Hector, now you run like this, chasing things you cannot catch,the horses of the warlike son of Aeacus; but they are hardfor mortal men to master and to drive,except for Achilles alone, whom an immortal mother bore.Meanwhile Menelaus dear to Ares, the son of Atreus,standing over Patroclus, has killed the best of the Trojans,the son of Panthous, Euforbus, and stopped his furious courage."So he spoke, and the god went back into the struggle of men;and dreadful grief wrapped Hector's dark mind all round,and he looked through the ranks, and at once he knewthe one stripping off the famous armour, and the other on the groundlying; and the blood was running through the wounded wound.He went through the front ranks, armed in flashing bronze,crying shrilly, like the flame of Hephaestusthat cannot be put out; and his sharp cry did not escape the son of Atreus;and angry, he spoke to his own great-hearted heart:"Oh no, if I leave behind the fine armourand Patroclus, who lies here for my sake and my honour,some one of the Danaans will blame me, whoever sees it.But if I fight alone against Hector and the Trojans,out of shame, then maybe many may surround me, one against many;for Hector with the flashing helmet leads all the Trojans here.But why has my own heart argued these things with me?When a man wants to fight against a godwhom a god honours, a great trouble soon rolls onto him.So none of the Danaans will blame me, whoever sees it,that I gave way before Hector, since he fights with the gods' help.But if I could hear of Ajax of the good war-cry,then the two of us, going back, might remember our joy in battle,even against a god, if somehow we might drag the body awayfor Peleus' son Achilles; that would be the best of bad things."While he was turning these things over in his heart and mind,meanwhile the Trojan ranks came on; and Hector led them.But he gave way backward and left the body,turning as he went, like a bearded lionwhom dogs and men drive away from the farmyardwith spears and shouting; and in his heart his brave spiritfreezes, and unwillingly he goes out of the cattle yard;so fair-haired Menelaus went away from Patroclus.He stood and turned around when he reached the crowd of his comrades,looking around for Ajax, the big son of Telamon.He spotted him very quickly on the left of the whole battleencouraging his comrades and urging them to fight;for Phoebus Apollo had thrown a wondrous panic into them;he ran, and standing right beside him he spoke a word:"Ajax, over here, dear friend, let us hurry for dead Patroclus,in case we can bring the body to Achilles,stripped bare; but the armour gleaming-helmed Hector has."So he spoke, and stirred the spirit in warlike Ajax;and he went through the front ranks, and with him fair-haired Menelaus.Hector, when he had stripped the famous armour off Patroclus,dragged him, to cut the head off his shoulders with the sharp bronze,and to give the body to the Trojan women to be dragged to the dogs.But Ajax came near, carrying his shield like a tower;and Hector pulled back, going again into the crowd of his comrades,and jumped up onto the chariot; and he gave the fine armourto the Trojans to carry to the city, to be a great glory for him.And Ajax, covering the son of Menoetius all round with his broad shield,stood like a lion around its own cubs,whom men, hunters, come across in the woodsas he leads his unweaned young; and he takes pride in his strength,and he pulls his whole brow down over his eyes, hiding them;so Ajax stood over the hero Patroclus.And on the other side the son of Atreus, Menelaus dear to Ares,stood, building up great grief in his chest.And Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, leader of the Lycian men,looking at Hector from under his brows, scolded him with a harsh word:"Hector, best in looks, in battle then you came up very short.Yes, just empty glory holds you, since you are a runaway.Think now about how you might save the city and the townby yourself alone with the people born in Ilion;for none of the Lycians will go to fight the Danaansfor the city, since there was no thanks at allfor fighting enemy men without pause, always.How would you save a lesser man in the crowd,hard-hearted one, when Sarpedon, your guest-friend and comrade,you left to the Argives to become loot and plunder,who was a great help to you and to your citywhile he lived; but now you did not dare to keep the dogs off him.So now, if any of the Lycian men will listen to me,we will go home, and sheer ruin will show itself over Troy.For if the Trojans now had courage full of daring,unshaken, like what comes into men who for their own countrymake toil and conflict against hostile men,we would soon drag Patroclus into Ilion.But if this man came to the great city of lord Priamdead, and we dragged him out of the battle,soon the Argives would strip the fine armour of Sarpedon,and we would lead him into Ilion;for he was the attendant of such a man, who was by far the bestof the Argives by the ships and of his hand-to-hand attendants.But you did not dare to stand against great-hearted Ajaxface to face, looking into his eyes in the din of battle,or fight him straight on, since he is better than you."Then, looking at him from under his brows, Hector with the flashing helmet said:"Glaucus, why have you, being what you are, said such an overbearing thing?Oh my, I thought you were beyond others in understandingof all who live in fertile Lycia;but now I blame your understanding completely, since you said such a thing,you who say I cannot stand up to enormous Ajax.I have not shuddered at battle or at the thunder of horses;but always the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus is stronger,who puts even a brave man to flight and takes victory from himeasily, and at another time himself urges him to fight.But come now, dear friend, stand by me and see the deed,whether I will be a coward all day long, as you say,or I will hold back some Danaan, even one very eager for courage,from defending dead Patroclus."So he spoke and called to the Trojans with a loud shout:"Trojans and Lycians and Dardanians who fight at close range,be men, dear friends, and remember your furious courage,until I put on the armour of blameless Achilles,the fine armour, which I stripped when I killed the strength of Patroclus."So he spoke, and Hector with the flashing helmet went awayfrom the deadly war; running he reached his comradesvery quickly, not yet far off with his swift feet,who were carrying the famous armour of the son of Peleus toward the city.Standing apart from the tearful battle he changed his armour:he gave his own for the war-loving Trojansto carry to holy Ilion, and he put on the immortal armourof Peleus' son Achilles, which the gods in heavengave to his dear father; and he in turn passed it to his own sonin his old age; but the son did not grow old in his father's armour.And when Zeus, the cloud-gatherer, saw him from far offarming himself in the armour of godlike Peleus' son,he shook his head and said to his own heart:"Ah, poor wretch, death is not at all in your mind,and it is near you; and you put on immortal armourof a most valiant man, before whom others also tremble;whose comrade you killed, a kind and strong man,and you took the armour in no fit way from his head and shoulders;yet now I will put great power into your hands,as pay for this, that you will never, coming home from battle,will Andromache receive the famous armour of the son of Peleus."So he spoke and nodded with his dark brows, the son of Cronus.And the armour fitted Hector's skin, and Ares entered him,dreadful Enyalius, and his limbs were filled insidewith courage and strength; and he went among the famous allieswith a loud shout; and he seemed to them allto shine in the armour of the great-hearted son of Peleus.He urged each man on, going to them with words,Mesthles and Glaucus and Medon and Thersilochusand Asteropaeus and Deisenor and Hippothousand Phorcys and Chromius and Ennomus the seer;urging these on he spoke winged words:"Listen, countless tribes of allies from around here;it was not because I wanted or needed a crowdthat I gathered each of you here from your cities,but so that you would eagerly save the wives of the Trojans and their young childrenfrom the war-loving Achaeans.With that in mind I wear you out with gifts and food,and I build up the spirit of each of you.So let each man now turn straight ahead and either dieor be saved; for that is the talk of war.And whoever drags Patroclus, even though he is dead, all the sameamong the horse-taming Trojans, and Ajax gives way to him,to him I will give half of the spoils, and half I myselfwill keep; and his glory will be as much as mine."So he spoke, and they charged straight at the Danaans,lifting their spears; and their hearts very much hopedto drag the body out from under Ajax, son of Telamon,fools; for in fact he took the life from many over him.And then Ajax spoke to Menelaus of the good war-cry:"Dear friend, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, I no longerexpect even the two of us ourselves to come home from the war.I am not so afraid for the body of Patroclus,which will soon fill the dogs and birds of the Trojans,as I am afraid for my own head, that it may come to harm,and for yours, since a cloud of war covers everything around,Hector, and sheer ruin shows itself in front of us.But come, call the best of the Danaans, in case anyone hears."So he spoke, and Menelaus of the good war-cry did not disobey,but shouted piercingly, calling loud to the Danaans:"Friends, leaders and rulers of the Argives,you who with the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus,drink the public wine and each give the signalto the people; from Zeus honour and glory follow.It is hard for me to look out for eachof the leaders; for such a great struggle of war has blazed up;but let each man come himself, and feel shame in his heartthat Patroclus becomes a plaything for the Trojan dogs."So he spoke, and Oileus' swift Ajax heard him clearly;and he was the first to come against them, running through the battle-din,and after him Idomeneus and Idomeneus' companionMeriones, the equal of Enyalius, the killer of men.And of the others, who could name them from his own mind,all the Achaeans who stirred up the battle behind them?But the Trojans pressed on in a body; and Hector led them.As when at the mouths of a river fed by Zeusa great wave roars against the stream, and the headlandsand shores cry out around it as the sea bellows from outside,with such a shout the Trojans came on. But the Achaeansstood around the son of Menoetius, of one mind,fenced in with bronze-shod shields; and around themwith their shining helmets the son of Cronus poured much mist,since he had not hated the son of Menoetius before,while he lived and was the attendant of the son of Aeacus;but he hated that he become spoils for the dogs of the enemy,the Trojan dogs; so he stirred his comrades to defend him.The Trojans first pushed back the glancing-eyed Achaeans,and they left the body and gave way, and not one of themdid the high-hearted Trojans seize with spears, though they tried,but they dragged the body; and for a little while the Achaeanswere ready to be away from it; for he wheeled them round very quickly,Ajax, who was made peerless in form and peerless in deedsof the other Danaans, after blameless Peleus' son.He rushed through the front ranks, like a boar in courage,a wild boar, who in the mountains dogs and lusty young meneasily scatters, wheeling through the glens;so the son of glorious Telamon, shining Ajax,easily following up, scattered the Trojan rankswho stood around Patroclus, and most of all were mindedto drag him to their own city and win glory.Then the shining son of Lethus the Pelasgian,Hippothous, was dragging him by the foot through the strong fighting,having tied him with a strap around the sinews at the ankle,to please Hector and the Trojans; but quickly on himcame trouble, which no man could hold off, though they tried.And the son of Telamon, leaping at him through the crowd,struck him hand to hand on his helmet through the bronze-cheeked,and the horse-plumed helmet broke around the spear point,struck by the great spear and the heavy hand,and the brains ran up out of the wound beside the spear shaftbloody; and his strength was loosed right there, and from his handshe let the foot of great-hearted Patroclus down to the groundto lie; and he fell close beside him, face down on the body,far from fertile Larisa, and to his parentshe did not repay their raising of him, and his life was short,killed by the spear of great-hearted Ajax.And Hector again threw at Ajax with his bright spear;but he, seeing it in front, dodged the bronze speara little; and he struck Schedius, the son of great-hearted Iphitus,by far the best of the Phocians, who in famous Panopeuslived in his house, ruling over many men,and he struck him under the middle of the collarbone; and clean throughthe bronze point came out at the bottom of his shoulder;and he fell with a thud, and his armour rang on him.And Ajax again struck Phorcys, the warlike son of Phaenops,who stood over Hippothous, in the middle of the belly:and he broke the plate of the breastplate, and through it the bronzespilled out his guts; and he fell in the dust and clutched the earth with his palm.And the front fighters gave way, and shining Hector with them;and the Argives shouted loud, and dragged away the bodies,both Phorcys and Hippothous, and stripped the armour from their shoulders.Then the Trojans would have gone up into Ilionbefore the war-loving Achaeans, beaten down by their own cowardice,and the Argives would have won glory even beyond the will of Zeusby their own might and strength; but Apollo himselfstirred up Aeneas, looking in body like Periphasthe herald, son of Epytus, who beside his old fathergrew old as a herald, knowing kind counsels in his heart;made to look like him, the son of Zeus, Apollo, spoke:"Aeneas, how could you even against a god defendsteep Ilion? As indeed I have seen other mentrusting in might and strength and manhoodand in their own numbers and holding an over-proud people;but for us Zeus wants victory far more than for the Danaans;yet you yourselves tremble unutterably and do not fight."So he spoke, and Aeneas knew the far-shooter Apollowhen he looked at him face to face, and shouted loudly to Hector:"Hector, and you other leaders of the Trojans and allies,this is shame now, to go up into Ilionbefore the war-loving Achaeans, beaten down by cowardice.But still, some one of the gods says to me, standing near,that Zeus the highest, the planner, is a helper in the battle;so let us go straight at the Danaans, and let them notbring dead Patroclus near the ships at their ease."So he spoke, and springing far out in front of the front ranks he stood;and they wheeled about and stood facing the Achaeans.Then Aeneas wounded Leocritus with his spear,the son of Arisbas, the good comrade of Lycomedes.And when he fell, Lycomedes dear to Ares pitied him,and he came and stood very close, and threw with his bright spear,and struck Apisaon, son of Hippasus, shepherd of the people,in the liver under the midriff, and at once loosed his knees,who had come from fertile Paeonia,and was foremost in fighting after Asteropaeus.And when he fell, warlike Asteropaeus pitied him,and he too rushed eagerly to fight the Danaans;but he could not at all, for they were fenced in with shields all round,standing around Patroclus, and holding their spears in front of them.For Ajax went among them all, giving many orders,and he did not tell anyone to give way back from the bodynor for anyone to fight out in front of the other Achaeans,but to stand very close around it, and fight at close quarters.So enormous Ajax ordered, and the earth was soakedwith dark blood, and they fell in heaps on one another,bodies together of Trojans and high-hearted alliesand Danaans; for they too did not fight without blood,but far fewer of them died; for they always rememberedto keep sheer slaughter off one another throughout the crowd.So they fought, like fire in body, and you would not saythat either the sun or the moon was safe;for they were held in mist on the field of battle, all who were beststood around the dead son of Menoetius.But the rest, the Trojans and the well-greaved Achaeans,fought at their ease under the clear sky, and the beamof the sun spread sharp, and no cloud appeared over allthe earth or the mountains; and resting in turn they fought,keeping clear of one another's grief-giving shafts,standing far apart. But those in the middle suffered painfrom the mist and the war, and were worn down by the pitiless bronze,as many as were best; and two men had not yet learnedof it, two glorious men, Thrasymedes and Antilochus,that blameless Patroclus was dead, but still thoughthe was alive and fought the Trojans in the front ranks.So those two, watching for the death and the rout of their comrades,fought apart, since Nestor had given them that order,urging them to war away from the dark ships.For them, all day long, a great quarrel of conflict had risen,a painful one; and with toil and sweat without pause alwaystheir knees and shins and the feet under each manand hands and eyes were spattered, as the two foughtover the good attendant of the swift-footed son of Aeacus.As when a man gives out the hide of a great bullto his people to stretch, soaked with fat;and they, taking it, stand apart in a circle and stretch it,and at once the moisture goes out of it, and the fat sinks in,as many pull, and it is stretched out all the way through;so they, this way and that, in a small space,dragged the body, both sides; and their hearts greatly hoped,the Trojans to drag it to Ilion, but the Achaeansto the hollow ships; and around it a wild scuffle rose,wild; nor could Ares, the rouser of armies, nor Athenaseeing it, find fault with it, not even if great anger came on her;such an evil labour did Zeus over Patroclus, of men and horses,stretch out on that day; and not yet at alldid godlike Achilles know that Patroclus was dead;for far away from the swift ships they were fightingunder the Trojan wall; he never hoped in his heartthat he was dead, but that he would come back alive, having pressed up to the gates,that he would return; since he did not expect this at all,that he would sack the city without him, nor with him either;for often he heard it from his mother, hearing it apart,who used to report to him the mind of great Zeus.But then his mother did not tell him a trouble as great as what happened,that his by far dearest comrade had died.And they, always holding sharpened spears around the body,without pause pressed on and killed one another;and one after another of the bronze-clad Achaeans spoke like this:"Friends, it is surely no glory for us to go backto the hollow ships, but here let the black earthopen up for us all; that would be far better for us right nowthan if we let this man go to the horse-taming Trojansto drag to their own city and win glory."And again one after another of the great-hearted Trojans said:"Friends, even if it is fated for us to be beaten down beside this man,all alike, let no man yet hold back from the war."So each one spoke, and stirred up the courage of each man.So they fought, and the iron dinreached the bronze sky through the unharvested upper air;and the horses of the son of Aeacus, being away from the battle,wept, when they first learned that their charioteerhad fallen in the dust under man-slaying Hector.Truly Automedon, the brave son of Diores,tried a great deal, striking with the swift whip,and a great deal he said gently, and a great deal he threatened;but the two would neither go back to the ships on the broad Hellespontnor into battle with the Achaeans,but as a pillar stands firm, which on the tombof a dead man or a woman has been set,so they stood unmoving, holding the very beautiful chariot,resting their heads on the ground; and tears for themhot from their eyelids flowed to the ground, as they mourned,out of longing for their charioteer; and their thick mane was soiled,falling out of the yoke strap, on both sides of the yoke.And seeing the two mourning, the son of Cronus pitied them,and shaking his head he said to his own heart:"Ah, poor pair, why did we give you two to lord Peleus,a mortal, when you two are ageless and immortal?Was it so that you might have griefs among wretched men?For truly there is nothing anywhere more pitiful than a manof all that breathe and crawl on the earth.But never will Hector, son of Priam, drive you twoand your skilfully made chariot; for I will not allow it.Is it not enough that he holds the armour and boasts like that?But I will put strength into your knees and into your spirit,so that you may save Automedon too from the war,to the hollow ships; for I will still hold out glory to themto kill, until they reach the well-benched shipsand the sun sets and holy darkness comes."So he spoke, and breathed good strength into the horses.And the two, shaking the dust from their manes to the ground,swiftly carried the swift chariot among the Trojans and Achaeans.And Automedon fought over them, grieving though for his comrade,rushing with his horses like a vulture after geese;for easily he would flee from under the din of the Trojans,and easily he would rush at them, driving through the great crowd.But he did not catch men when he hurried in pursuit;for it was in no way possible, being alone in the sacred chariot,to rush on with the spear and to hold back the swift horses.But at last a comrade saw him with his eyes,Alcimedon, son of Laerces, son of Haemon:and he stood behind the chariot and spoke to Automedon:"Automedon, what god has put a profitless planin your chest, and taken away your good sense?How is it that you fight the Trojans in the front crowdalone; and your comrade has been killed, and Hectorhimself wears his armour on his shoulders and exults, the armour of the son of Aeacus."And Automedon, son of Diores, answered him:"Alcimedon, what other of the Achaeans is like youat holding the mastery and the spirit of immortal horses,except Patroclus, a planner like the gods,while he lived? But now death and fate have caught him.But you take the whip and the shining reins,and I will get down from the horses, so that I may fight."So he spoke, and Alcimedon, jumping onto the chariot that answers the war-cry,quickly took the whip and reins in his hands,and Automedon jumped down; and shining Hector noticed it,and at once spoke to Aeneas, who was near:"Aeneas, planner of the bronze-clad Trojans,these two horses I have noticed, of the swift-footed son of Aeacus,showing up in the war with sorry charioteers;these I might hope to take, if you in your heartare willing, since the two of us rushing on they would notdare to stand and fight face to face with Ares."So he spoke, and the good son of Anchises did not disobey.And the two went straight on, wrapped in their shields of ox-hide,dry and stiff; and much bronze had been hammered onto them.And with them went Chromius and godlike Aretus,both of them; and their hearts greatly hopedboth to kill those men and to drive off the high-necked horses;fools, for they were not to go back without bloodshedagain from Automedon. And he, praying to father Zeus,was filled with courage and strength in his dark mind;and at once spoke to Alcimedon, his faithful comrade:"Alcimedon, do not hold the horses far from me,but breathe right on my back; for I do not thinkthat Hector, son of Priam, will hold back from his fury,before he has mounted the fair-maned horses of Achilles,after killing us two, and put the ranks of men to flight,the Argives, or else himself be caught among the front men."So speaking, he called the two Ajaxes and Menelaus:"Ajaxes, leaders of the Argives, and Menelaus,to the body entrust the men who are the bestto stand around it and to keep off the ranks of men,but for us two who live, keep off the pitiless day;for here they have pressed hard in the tearful war,Hector and Aeneas, who are the best of the Trojans.But these things lie on the knees of the gods;for I too will throw my spear, and Zeus will take care of it all."He spoke, and swinging it he sent forth his long-shadowed spear,and struck the shield of Aretus, that is even all round;and it did not keep out the spear, but the bronze went clean through,and drove through his belt into his lower belly.As when a lusty man, holding a sharp axe,strikes from behind the horns of a farm oxto cut through all the sinew, and it falls forward and collapses,so he fell forward and fell on his back; and in him the spearvery sharp, quivering in his innards, loosed his limbs.And Hector threw at Automedon with his bright spear;but he, seeing it in front, dodged the bronze spear;for he ducked forward, and the long spear behind himwas stuck in the ground, and the butt end shookof the spear; and there mighty Ares let loose his fury.And now they would have rushed hand to hand with swords,if the two Ajaxes, eager, had not separated them,who came through the crowd as their comrade called.Fearing them, they fell back again,Hector and Aeneas and godlike Chromius,and left Aretus there, his heart torn,lying; and Automedon, the equal of swift Ares,stripped his armour and spoke a boasting word:"Truly now I have eased my heart a little of grieffor the dead son of Menoetius, though I have killed a lesser man."So speaking, he took the bloody spoils and put them in the chariot,and he himself climbed up, with feet and hands abovebloody, as when a lion has fed on a bull.And back over Patroclus the strong fighting was stretched,painful and full of tears, and Athena stirred the strife,having come down from heaven; for wide-thundering Zeus sent herto rouse the Danaans; for his mind had turned.As when Zeus stretches a purple rainbow for mortalsout of heaven, to be a sign either of waror of a bitterly cold storm, which stops menfrom their work on the earth, and troubles the flocks,so she, wrapping herself in a purple cloud,entered the host of the Achaeans, and roused each man.And first, urging him on, she spoke to the son of Atreus,the mighty Menelaus; for he was near her;looking like Phoenix in body and unwearying voice:"For you, Menelaus, there will be gloom and reproachif the faithful comrade of glorious Achillesthe swift Trojan dogs drag under their wall.But hold fast strongly, and urge on all the host."And Menelaus of the good war-cry answered her:"Phoenix, old father, born long ago, if only Athenawould give me strength, and keep off the rush of missiles;then I would want to stand by him and defendPatroclus; for dead he has touched my heart greatly.But Hector has the dreadful fury of fire, and does not stopdoing damage with the bronze; for Zeus grants him glory."So he spoke, and the goddess bright-eyed Athena rejoiced,because he prayed to her first of all the gods.And she put strength in his shoulders and in his knees,and put into his chest the daring of a fly,which, even when driven away from a man's skin,is eager to bite, and man's blood is sweet to it;with such daring she filled his dark mind,and he went at Patroclus, and threw with his bright spear.And there was among the Trojans Podes, son of Eetion,rich and good; and Hector honoured him mostof the people, for he was his dear comrade at the feast;him fair-haired Menelaus struck on the beltas he sprang in flight, and drove the bronze clean through;and he fell with a thud; and the son of Atreus, Menelaus,dragged the body out from under the Trojans to the crowd of his comrades.And Apollo, standing near, urged on Hector,looking like Phaenops, son of Asius, who was to himthe dearest of all his guest-friends, living in his house at Abydos;made to look like him, the far-shooting Apollo spoke:"Hector, what other of the Achaeans would still be afraid of you?You have run from Menelaus, who before thiswas a soft spearman; and now he has gone off, having alone liftedthe body out from under the Trojans, and has killed your faithful comrade,the good Podes, son of Eetion, among the front men."So he spoke, and a black cloud of grief covered him,and he went through the front ranks, armed in flashing bronze.And then the son of Cronus took up his tasselled aegis,gleaming, and covered Ida with clouds,and flashing he thundered loudly, and shook the aegis,and gave victory to the Trojans, and put the Achaeans to flight.First Peneleos the Boeotian began the flight.For he was struck on the shoulder with a spear, always facing forward,a glancing blow on the tip; and it grazed his bonethe point of Polydamas; for he struck him, coming near.And Hector wounded Leitus close by, on the wrist of his hand,the son of great-hearted Alectryon, and stopped him from battle;and he shrank back, looking around, since no longer did he hope in his heartto fight the Trojans holding a spear in his hand.And Idomeneus, as Hector rushed after Leitus,struck him on the breastplate, on the chest beside the nipple;and the long spear broke at the socket, and the Trojans shouted;and he threw at Idomeneus, son of Deucalion,as he stood on his chariot; and he missed him by a little;but he struck Meriones' companion and charioteer,Coeranus, who had followed him from well-built Lyctus;for on foot at first, having left the curved ships,he had come, and would have given the Trojans great power,if Coeranus had not quickly driven the swift-footed horses;and for him light came, and he kept off the pitiless day,but he himself lost his life under man-slaying Hector;he struck him under the jaw and the ear, and drove the spearclean through, and cut his tongue in the middle.He fell from the chariot, and let the reins fall to the ground.And Meriones caught them in his own hands,stooping down from the plain, and spoke to Idomeneus:"Whip now, until you reach the swift ships;for you yourself know that the strength of the Achaeans is no more."So he spoke, and Idomeneus lashed the fair-maned horsesto the hollow ships; for fear had fallen on his heart.Nor did it escape great-hearted Ajax and Menelausthat Zeus was giving the Trojans victory that tips the scale.And among them great Telamonian Ajax began to speak:"Oh my, now even someone who is very foolishwould know that father Zeus himself is helping the Trojans.For of them all the missiles hit home, whoever throws them,whether a coward or a brave man; and Zeus anyway guides everything;but for us all alike they fall uselessly to the ground.But come, let us ourselves work out the best plan,both how we may drag the body away, and also how we ourselvesmay become a joy to our dear comrades when we return,who, I suppose, looking this way are grieving, and think no longerthat the fury and the unbearable hands of man-slaying Hectorwill be held back, but that they will fall on the black ships.And would that some comrade might report as quickly as possibleto the son of Peleus, since I do not think he has even heardthe painful message, that his dear comrade has died.But I cannot see any such man of the Achaeans;for they are held in mist, both they themselves and their horses.Father Zeus, but do you save the sons of the Achaeans from the mist,and make clear weather, and give us to see with our eyes;and in the light destroy us, since that is what pleases you."So he spoke, and the father pitied him as he shed tears;and at once he scattered the mist and drove off the fog,and the sun shone out, and the whole battle was shown clear;and then Ajax spoke to Menelaus of the good war-cry:"Look now, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, whether you can seeAntilochus, the son of great-hearted Nestor, still alive,and urge him to go quickly to warlike Achillesto tell him that his by far dearest comrade has died."So he spoke, and Menelaus of the good war-cry did not disobey,and he went as a lion goes from the cattle yard,who, when he has grown tired driving off dogs and men,who will not let him take the fat of the cattle,staying awake all night; and he, longing for meat,rushes straight on, but gets nowhere; for thick javelinsfly at him from bold hands,and burning torches, which he runs from though eager;and at dawn he goes off with a grieving heart;so from Patroclus Menelaus of the good war-crywent much against his will; for he feared that the Achaeansin painful flight might leave him as spoil to the enemy.And he gave many orders to Meriones and the two Ajaxes:"Ajaxes, leaders of the Argives, and Meriones,let each man now remember the kindliness of poor dead Patroclus;for he knew how to be gentle to allwhile he lived; but now death and fate have caught him."So speaking, fair-haired Menelaus went away,looking everywhere like an eagle, which they sayis the sharpest-sighted of the birds under the sky,which, even when it is up high, the swift-footed hare does not escape,lying under a leafy bush, but he swoops on it,and quickly seizing it takes away its life.So then, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, your bright eyesturned everywhere through the crowd of many comrades,in case he might see the son of Nestor still alive.He spotted him very quickly on the left of the whole battleencouraging his comrades and urging them to fight,and standing near, fair-haired Menelaus spoke:"Antilochus, come here, raised by Zeus, so that you may learna painful message, which ought never to have happened.I think that you yourself, looking on,already know that a god rolls trouble onto the Danaans,and victory is the Trojans'; and the best of the Achaeans has been killed,Patroclus, and a great longing has come on the Danaans.But do you quickly run to Achilles at the ships of the Achaeansand tell him, so that as quickly as he can he may save the body to the ship,stripped bare; for the armour Hector with the flashing helmet holds."So he spoke, and Antilochus was stunned when he heard the word;and for a long time speechlessness seized him, and his two eyesfilled with tears, and his full voice was checked.But even so he did not neglect the command of Menelaus,but went at a run, and gave his armour to his blameless comradeLaodocus, who was turning his single-hoofed horses near him.And his feet carried him, shedding tears, from the warto Peleus' son Achilles, to tell the bad news.And your heart, Menelaus, raised by Zeus, was not willingto defend the worn-out comrades, from whereAntilochus had gone, and a great longing came on the Pylians;but he sent godlike Thrasymedes to them,and himself went back to the hero Patroclus,and running he stood beside the two Ajaxes, and at once spoke:"I have sent that man to the swift shipsto go to swift-footed Achilles; but I do not thinkhe will come now, though he is very angry with godlike Hector;for he could not in any way fight the Trojans stripped bare.But let us ourselves work out the best plan,both how we may drag the body away, and also how we ourselvesmay escape death and doom from the battle-cry of the Trojans."And great Telamonian Ajax answered him:"All that you have said is fitting, glorious Menelaus.But do you and Meriones stoop down very quickly,lift the body and carry it out of the struggle; but behind youwe two will fight the Trojans and godlike Hector,having equal spirit, we two namesakes, who before nowhave stood fast side by side waiting for sharp Ares."So he spoke, and they lifted the body from the groundhigh and mightily; and the Trojan host shouted behindwhen they saw the Achaeans lifting the body.They rushed on like dogs, which on a wounded boarspring, in front of the young hunters;for a while they run eager to tear him apart,but when he wheels among them, trusting his strength,they fall back, and flee this way and that, each separately.So the Trojans followed in a body for a while,stabbing with swords and double-edged spears;but when the two Ajaxes turned around against themand stood, their colour changed, and no man daredspring forward and fight over the body.So they, eager, carried the body out of the warto the hollow ships; and war was stretched out on themwild as fire, which rushing on a city of menleaps up suddenly and burns, and the houses dwindlein the great blaze, and the force of the wind thunders on it.So for them the unceasing din of horses and spearmencame on them as they went;and they, as mules putting on their mighty strengthdrag from a mountain down a rugged patha beam or a great ship's timber; and in them the spiritis worn out with toil and sweat as they hurry;so they, eager, carried the body. But behindthe two Ajaxes held them back, as a headland holds back water,a wooded one, lying right across the plain,which holds back even the painful streams of mighty rivers,and at once turns the flow of them all into the plain,driving it aside; and the rivers in their strength do not break it;so the two Ajaxes always held back the battle behind them,the Trojans; and they followed along, and two among them most of all,Aeneas, son of Anchises, and shining Hector.And as a cloud of starlings or jackdaws comes on,screaming shrilly, when they see cominga hawk, which brings slaughter to the small birds,so before Aeneas and Hector the young men of the Achaeanswent screaming shrilly, and forgot their joy in battle.And many fine pieces of armour fell around the trenchas the Danaans fled; and there was no rest from war.