The Iliad
Book X
Now the other princes of the Achaeans slept soundly the whole night through,
but Agamemnon son of Atreus was troubled, so that he could get no rest.
As when fair Juno′s lord flashes his lightning in token of great rain or
hail or snow when the snow-flakes whiten the ground, or again as a sign
that he will open the wide jaws of hungry war, even so did Agamemnon heave
many a heavy sigh, for his soul trembled within him. When he looked upon
the plain of Troy he marvelled at the many watchfires burning in front
of Ilius, and at the sound of pipes and flutes and of the hum of men, but
when presently he turned towards the ships and hosts of the Achaeans, he
tore his hair by handfuls before Jove on high, and groaned aloud for the
very disquietness of his soul. In the end he deemed it best to go at once
to Nestor son of Neleus, and see if between them they could find any way
of the Achaeans from destruction. He therefore rose, put on his shirt,
bound his sandals about his comely feet, flung the skin of a huge tawny
lion over his shoulders- a skin that reached his feet- and took his spear
in his hand.
Neither could Menelaus sleep, for he, too, boded ill for the Argives
who for his sake had sailed from far over the seas to fight the Trojans.
He covered his broad back with the skin of a spotted panther, put a casque
of bronze upon his head, and took his spear in his brawny hand. Then he
went to rouse his brother, who was by far the most powerful of the Achaeans,
and was honoured by the people as though he were a god. He found him by
the stern of his ship already putting his goodly array about his shoulders,
and right glad was he that his brother had come.
Menelaus spoke first. "Why," said he, "my dear brother, are you
thus arming? Are you going to send any of our comrades to exploit the Trojans?
I greatly fear that no one will do you this service, and spy upon the enemy
alone in the dead of night. It will be a deed of great
daring."
And King Agamemnon answered, "Menelaus, we both of us need shrewd
counsel to save the Argives and our ships, for Jove has changed his mind,
and inclines towards Hector′s sacrifices rather than ours. I never saw
nor heard tell of any man as having wrought such ruin in one day as Hector
has now wrought against the sons of the Achaeans- and that too of his own
unaided self, for he is son neither to god nor goddess. The Argives will
rue it long and deeply. Run, therefore, with all speed by the line of the
ships, and call Ajax and Idomeneus. Meanwhile I will go to Nestor, and
bid him rise and go about among the companies of our sentinels to give
them their instructions; they will listen to him sooner than to any man,
for his own son, and Meriones brother in arms to Idomeneus, are captains
over them. It was to them more particularly that we gave this
charge."
Menelaus replied, "How do I take your meaning? Am I to stay with
them and wait your coming, or shall I return here as soon as I have given
your orders?" "Wait," answered King Agamemnon, "for there are so many paths
about the camp that we might miss one another. Call every man on your way,
and bid him be stirring; name him by his lineage and by his father′s name,
give each all titular observance, and stand not too much upon your own
dignity; we must take our full share of toil, for at our birth Jove laid
this heavy burden upon us."
With these instructions he sent his brother on his way, and went
on to Nestor shepherd of his people. He found him sleeping in his tent
hard by his own ship; his goodly armour lay beside him- his shield, his
two spears and his helmet; beside him also lay the gleaming girdle with
which the old man girded himself when he armed to lead his people into
battle- for his age stayed him not. He raised himself on his elbow and
looked up at Agamemnon. "Who is it," said he, "that goes thus about the
host and the ships alone and in the dead of night, when men are sleeping?
Are you looking for one of your mules or for some comrade? Do not stand
there and say nothing, but speak. What is your business?"
And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean
name, it is I, Agamemnon son of Atreus, on whom Jove has laid labour and
sorrow so long as there is breath in my body and my limbs carry me. I am
thus abroad because sleep sits not upon my eyelids, but my heart is big
with war and with the jeopardy of the Achaeans. I am in great fear for
the Danaans. I am at sea, and without sure counsel; my heart beats as though
it would leap out of my body, and my limbs fail me. If then you can do
anything- for you too cannot sleep- let us go the round of the watch, and
see whether they are drowsy with toil and sleeping to the neglect of their
duty. The enemy is encamped hard and we know not but he may attack us by
night."
Nestor replied, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
Jove will not do all for Hector that Hector thinks he will; he will have
troubles yet in plenty if Achilles will lay aside his anger. I will go
with you, and we will rouse others, either the son of Tydeus, or Ulysses,
or fleet Ajax and the valiant son of Phyleus. Some one had also better
go and call Ajax and King Idomeneus, for their ships are not near at hand
but the farthest of all. I cannot however refrain from blaming Menelaus,
much as I love him and respect him- and I will say so plainly, even at
the risk of offending you- for sleeping and leaving all this trouble to
yourself. He ought to be going about imploring aid from all the princes
of the Achaeans, for we are in extreme danger."
And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, you may sometimes blame him justly,
for he is often remiss and unwilling to exert himself- not indeed from
sloth, nor yet heedlessness, but because he looks to me and expects me
to take the lead. On this occasion, however, he was awake before I was,
and came to me of his own accord. I have already sent him to call the very
men whom you have named. And now let us be going. We shall find them with
the watch outside the gates, for it was there I said that we would meet
them."
"In that case," answered Nestor, "the Argives will not blame him
nor disobey his orders when he urges them to fight or gives them
instructions."
With this he put on his shirt, and bound his sandals about his
comely feet. He buckled on his purple coat, of two thicknesses, large,
and of a rough shaggy texture, grasped his redoubtable bronze-shod spear,
and wended his way along the line of the Achaean ships. First he called
loudly to Ulysses peer of gods in counsel and woke him, for he was soon
roused by the sound of the battle-cry. He came outside his tent and said,
"Why do you go thus alone about the host, and along the line of the ships
in the stillness of the night? What is it that you find so urgent?" And
Nestor knight of Gerene answered, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, take
it not amiss, for the Achaeans are in great straits. Come with me and let
us wake some other, who may advise well with us whether we shall fight
or fly."
On this Ulysses went at once into his tent, put his shield about
his shoulders and came out with them. First they went to Diomed son of
Tydeus, and found him outside his tent clad in his armour with his comrades
sleeping round him and using their shields as pillows; as for their spears,
they stood upright on the spikes of their butts that were driven into the
ground, and the burnished bronze flashed afar like the lightning of father
Jove. The hero was sleeping upon the skin of an ox, with a piece of fine
carpet under his head; Nestor went up to him and stirred him with his heel
to rouse him, upbraiding him and urging him to bestir himself. "Wake up,"
he exclaimed, "son of Tydeus. How can you sleep on in this way? Can you
not see that the Trojans are encamped on the brow of the plain hard by
our ships, with but a little space between us and them?"
On these words Diomed leaped up instantly and said, "Old man, your
heart is of iron; you rest not one moment from your labours. Are there
no younger men among the Achaeans who could go about to rouse the princes?
There is no tiring you."
And Nestor knight of Gerene made answer, "My son, all that you
have said is true. I have good sons, and also much people who might call
the chieftains, but the Achaeans are in the gravest danger; life and death
are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor. Go then, for you are younger
than I, and of your courtesy rouse Ajax and the fleet son of
Phyleus."
Diomed threw the skin of a great tawny lion about his shoulders-
a skin that reached his feet- and grasped his spear. When he had roused
the heroes, he brought them back with him; they then went the round of
those who were on guard, and found the captains not sleeping at their posts
but wakeful and sitting with their arms about them. As sheep dogs that
watch their flocks when they are yarded, and hear a wild beast coming through
the mountain forest towards them- forthwith there is a hue and cry of dogs
and men, and slumber is broken- even so was sleep chased from the eyes
of the Achaeans as they kept the watches of the wicked night, for they
turned constantly towards the plain whenever they heard any stir among
the Trojans. The old man was glad bade them be of good cheer. "Watch on,
my children," said he, "and let not sleep get hold upon you, lest our enemies
triumph over us."
With this he passed the trench, and with him the other chiefs of
the Achaeans who had been called to the council. Meriones and the brave
son of Nestor went also, for the princes bade them. When they were beyond
the trench that was dug round the wall they held their meeting on the open
ground where there was a space clear of corpses, for it was here that when
night fell Hector had turned back from his onslaught on the Argives. They
sat down, therefore, and held debate with one another.
Nestor spoke first. "My friends," said he, "is there any man bold
enough to venture the Trojans, and cut off some straggler, or us news of
what the enemy mean to do whether they will stay here by the ships away
from the city, or whether, now that they have worsted the Achaeans, they
will retire within their walls. If he could learn all this and come back
safely here, his fame would be high as heaven in the mouths of all men,
and he would be rewarded richly; for the chiefs from all our ships would
each of them give him a black ewe with her lamb- which is a present of
surpassing value- and he would be asked as a guest to all feasts and
clan-gatherings."
They all held their peace, but Diomed of the loud war-cry spoke
saying, "Nestor, gladly will I visit the host of the Trojans over against
us, but if another will go with me I shall do so in greater confidence
and comfort. When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity
which the other has not caught sight of; if a man is alone he is less full
of resource, and his wit is weaker."
On this several offered to go with Diomed. The two Ajaxes, servants
of Mars, Meriones, and the son of Nestor all wanted to go, so did Menelaus
son of Atreus; Ulysses also wished to go among the host of the Trojans,
for he was ever full of daring, and thereon Agamemnon king of men spoke
thus: "Diomed," said he, "son of Tydeus, man after my own heart, choose
your comrade for yourself- take the best man of those that have offered,
for many would now go with you. Do not through delicacy reject the better
man, and take the worst out of respect for his lineage, because he is of
more royal blood."
He said this because he feared for Menelaus. Diomed answered, "If
you bid me take the man of my own choice, how in that case can I fail to
think of Ulysses, than whom there is no man more eager to face all kinds
of danger- and Pallas Minerva loves him well? If he were to go with me
we should pass safely through fire itself, for he is quick to see and
understand."
"Son of Tydeus," replied Ulysses, "say neither good nor ill about
me, for you are among Argives who know me well. Let us be going, for the
night wanes and dawn is at hand. The stars have gone forward, two-thirds
of the night are already spent, and the third is alone left
us."
They then put on their armour. Brave Thrasymedes provided the son
of Tydeus with a sword and a shield (for he had left his own at his ship)
and on his head he set a helmet of bull′s hide without either peak or crest;
it is called a skull-cap and is a common headgear. Meriones found a bow
and quiver for Ulysses, and on his head he set a leathern helmet that was
lined with a strong plaiting of leathern thongs, while on the outside it
was thickly studded with boar′s teeth, well and skilfully set into it;
next the head there was an inner lining of felt. This helmet had been stolen
by Autolycus out of Eleon when he broke into the house of Amyntor son of
Ormenus. He gave it to Amphidamas of Cythera to take to Scandea, and Amphidamas
gave it as a guest-gift to Molus, who gave it to his son Meriones; and
now it was set upon the head of Ulysses.
When the pair had armed, they set out, and left the other chieftains
behind them. Pallas Minerva sent them a heron by the wayside upon their
right hands; they could not see it for the darkness, but they heard its
cry. Ulysses was glad when he heard it and prayed to Minerva: "Hear me,"
he cried, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, you who spy out all my ways
and who are with me in all my hardships; befriend me in this mine hour,
and grant that we may return to the ships covered with glory after having
achieved some mighty exploit that shall bring sorrow to the
Trojans."
Then Diomed of the loud war-cry also prayed: "Hear me too," said
he, "daughter of Jove, unweariable; be with me even as you were with my
noble father Tydeus when he went to Thebes as envoy sent by the Achaeans.
He left the Achaeans by the banks of the river Aesopus, and went to the
city bearing a message of peace to the Cadmeians; on his return thence,
with your help, goddess, he did great deeds of daring, for you were his
ready helper. Even so guide me and guard me now, and in return I will offer
you in sacrifice a broad-browed heifer of a year old, unbroken, and never
yet brought by man under the yoke. I will gild her horns and will offer
her up to you in sacrifice."
Thus they prayed, and Pallas Minerva heard their prayer. When they
had done praying to the daughter of great Jove, they went their way like
two lions prowling by night amid the armour and blood-stained bodies of
them that had fallen.
Neither again did Hector let the Trojans sleep; for he too called
the princes and councillors of the Trojans that he might set his counsel
before them. "Is there one," said he, "who for a great reward will do me
the service of which I will tell you? He shall be well paid if he will.
I will give him a chariot and a couple of horses, the fleetest that can
be found at the ships of the Achaeans, if he will dare this thing; and
he will win infinite honour to boot; he must go to the ships and find out
whether they are still guarded as heretofore, or whether now that we have
beaten them the Achaeans design to fly, and through sheer exhaustion are
neglecting to keep their watches."
They all held their peace; but there was among the Trojans a certain
man named Dolon, son of Eumedes, the famous herald- a man rich in gold
and bronze. He was ill-favoured, but a good runner, and was an only son
among five sisters. He it was that now addressed the Trojans. "I, Hector,"
said he, "Will to the ships and will exploit them. But first hold up your
sceptre and swear that you will give me the chariot, bedight with bronze,
and the horses that now carry the noble son of Peleus. I will make you
a good scout, and will not fail you. I will go through the host from one
end to the other till I come to the ship of Agamemnon, where I take it
the princes of the Achaeans are now consulting whether they shall fight
or fly."
When he had done speaking Hector held up his sceptre, and swore
him his oath saying, "May Jove the thundering husband of Juno bear witness
that no other Trojan but yourself shall mount those steeds, and that you
shall have your will with them for ever."
The oath he swore was bootless, but it made Dolon more keen on
going. He hung his bow over his shoulder, and as an overall he wore the
skin of a grey wolf, while on his head he set a cap of ferret skin. Then
he took a pointed javelin, and left the camp for the ships, but he was
not to return with any news for Hector. When he had left the horses and
the troops behind him, he made all speed on his way, but Ulysses perceived
his coming and said to Diomed, "Diomed, here is some one from the camp;
I am not sure whether he is a spy, or whether it is some thief who would
plunder the bodies of the dead; let him get a little past us, we can then
spring upon him and take him. If, however, he is too quick for us, go after
him with your spear and hem him in towards the ships away from the Trojan
camp, to prevent his getting back to the town."
With this they turned out of their way and lay down among the corpses.
Dolon suspected nothing and soon passed them, but when he had got about
as far as the distance by which a mule-plowed furrow exceeds one that has
been ploughed by oxen (for mules can plow fallow land quicker than oxen)
they ran after him, and when he heard their footsteps he stood still, for
he made sure they were friends from the Trojan camp come by Hector′s orders
to bid him return; when, however, they were only a spear′s cast, or less
away form him, he saw that they were enemies as fast as his legs could
take him. The others gave chase at once, and as a couple of well-trained
hounds press forward after a doe or hare that runs screaming in front of
them, even so did the son of Tydeus and Ulysses pursue Dolon and cut him
off from his own people. But when he had fled so far towards the ships
that he would soon have fallen in with the outposts, Minerva infused fresh
strength into the son of Tydeus for fear some other of the Achaeans might
have the glory of being first to hit him, and he might himself be only
second; he therefore sprang forward with his spear and said, "Stand, or
I shall throw my spear, and in that case I shall soon make an end of
you."
He threw as he spoke, but missed his aim on purpose. The dart flew
over the man′s right shoulder, and then stuck in the ground. He stood stock
still, trembling and in great fear; his teeth chattered, and he turned
pale with fear. The two came breathless up to him and seized his hands,
whereon he began to weep and said, "Take me alive; I will ransom myself;
we have great store of gold, bronze, and wrought iron, and from this my
father will satisfy you with a very large ransom, should he hear of my
being alive at the ships of the Achaeans."
"Fear not," replied Ulysses, "let no thought of death be in your
mind; but tell me, and tell me true, why are you thus going about alone
in the dead of night away from your camp and towards the ships, while other
men are sleeping? Is it to plunder the bodies of the slain, or did Hector
send you to spy out what was going on at the ships? Or did you come here
of your own mere notion?"
Dolon answered, his limbs trembling beneath him: "Hector, with
his vain flattering promises, lured me from my better judgement. He said
he would give me the horses of the noble son of Peleus and his bronze-bedizened
chariot; he bade me go through the darkness of the flying night, get close
to the enemy, and find out whether the ships are still guarded as heretofore,
or whether, now that we have beaten them, the Achaeans design to fly, and
through sheer exhaustion are neglecting to keep their
watches."
Ulysses smiled at him and answered, "You had indeed set your heart
upon a great reward, but the horses of the descendant of Aeacus are hardly
to be kept in hand or driven by any other mortal man than Achilles himself,
whose mother was an immortal. But tell me, and tell me true, where did
you leave Hector when you started? Where lies his armour and his horses?
How, too, are the watches and sleeping-ground of the Trojans ordered? What
are their plans? Will they stay here by the ships and away from the city,
or now that they have worsted the Achaeans, will they retire within their
walls?"
And Dolon answered, "I will tell you truly all. Hector and the
other councillors are now holding conference by the monument of great Ilus,
away from the general tumult; as for the guards about which you ask me,
there is no chosen watch to keep guard over the host. The Trojans have
their watchfires, for they are bound to have them; they, therefore, are
awake and keep each other to their duty as sentinels; but the allies who
have come from other places are asleep and leave it to the Trojans to keep
guard, for their wives and children are not here."
Ulysses then said, "Now tell me; are they sleeping among the Trojan
troops, or do they lie apart? Explain this that I may understand
it."
"I will tell you truly all," replied Dolon. "To the seaward lie
the Carians, the Paeonian bowmen, the Leleges, the Cauconians, and the
noble Pelasgi. The Lysians and proud Mysians, with the Phrygians and Meonians,
have their place on the side towards Thymbra; but why ask about an this?
If you want to find your way into the host of the Trojans, there are the
Thracians, who have lately come here and lie apart from the others at the
far end of the camp; and they have Rhesus son of Eioneus for their king.
His horses are the finest and strongest that I have ever seen, they are
whiter than snow and fleeter than any wind that blows. His chariot is bedight
with silver and gold, and he has brought his marvellous golden armour,
of the rarest workmanship- too splendid for any mortal man to carry, and
meet only for the gods. Now, therefore, take me to the ships or bind me
securely here, until you come back and have proved my words whether they
be false or true."
Diomed looked sternly at him and answered, "Think not, Dolon, for
all the good information you have given us, that you shall escape now you
are in our hands, for if we ransom you or let you go, you will come some
second time to the ships of the Achaeans either as a spy or as an open
enemy, but if I kill you and an end of you, you will give no more
trouble."
On this Dolon would have caught him by the beard to beseech him
further, but Diomed struck him in the middle of his neck with his sword
and cut through both sinews so that his head fell rolling in the dust while
he was yet speaking. They took the ferret-skin cap from his head, and also
the wolf-skin, the bow, and his long spear. Ulysses hung them up aloft
in honour of Minerva the goddess of plunder, and prayed saying, "Accept
these, goddess, for we give them to you in preference to all the gods in
Olympus: therefore speed us still further towards the horses and sleeping-ground
of the Thracians."
With these words he took the spoils and set them upon a tamarisk
tree, and they marked the place by pulling up reeds and gathering boughs
of tamarisk that they might not miss it as they came back through the′
flying hours of darkness. The two then went onwards amid the fallen armour
and the blood, and came presently to the company of Thracian soldiers,
who were sleeping, tired out with their day′s toil; their goodly armour
was lying on the ground beside them all orderly in three rows, and each
man had his yoke of horses beside him. Rhesus was sleeping in the middle,
and hard by him his horses were made fast to the topmost rim of his chariot.
Ulysses from some way off saw him and said, "This, Diomed, is the man,
and these are the horses about which Dolon whom we killed told us. Do your
very utmost; dally not about your armour, but loose the horses at once-
or else kill the men yourself, while I see to the horses."
Thereon Minerva put courage into the heart of Diomed, and he smote
them right and left. They made a hideous groaning as they were being hacked
about, and the earth was red with their blood. As a lion springs furiously
upon a flock of sheep or goats when he finds without their shepherd, so
did the son of Tydeus set upon the Thracian soldiers till he had killed
twelve. As he killed them Ulysses came and drew them aside by their feet
one by one, that the horses might go forward freely without being frightened
as they passed over the dead bodies, for they were not yet used to them.
When the son of Tydeus came to the king, he killed him too (which made
thirteen), as he was breathing hard, for by the counsel of Minerva an evil
dream, the seed of Oeneus, hovered that night over his head. Meanwhile
Ulysses untied the horses, made them fast one to another and drove them
off, striking them with his bow, for he had forgotten to take the whip
from the chariot. Then he whistled as a sign to Diomed.
But Diomed stayed where he was, thinking what other daring deed
he might accomplish. He was doubting whether to take the chariot in which
the king′s armour was lying, and draw it out by the pole, or to lift the
armour out and carry it off; or whether again, he should not kill some
more Thracians. While he was thus hesitating Minerva came up to him and
said, "Get back, Diomed, to the ships or you may be driven thither, should
some other god rouse the Trojans."
Diomed knew that it was the goddess, and at once sprang upon the
horses. Ulysses beat them with his bow and they flew onward to the ships
of the Achaeans.
But Apollo kept no blind look-out when he saw Minerva with the
son of Tydeus. He was angry with her, and coming to the host of the Trojans
he roused Hippocoon, a counsellor of the Thracians and a noble kinsman
of Rhesus. He started up out of his sleep and saw that the horses were
no longer in their place, and that the men were gasping in their death-agony;
on this he groaned aloud, and called upon his friend by name. Then the
whole Trojan camp was in an uproar as the people kept hurrying together,
and they marvelled at the deeds of the heroes who had now got away towards
the ships.
When they reached the place where they had killed Hector′s scout,
Ulysses stayed his horses, and the son of Tydeus, leaping to the ground,
placed the blood-stained spoils in the hands of Ulysses and remounted:
then he lashed the horses onwards, and they flew forward nothing loth towards
the ships as though of their own free will. Nestor was first to hear the
tramp of their feet. "My friends," said he, "princes and counsellors of
the Argives, shall I guess right or wrong?- but I must say what I think:
there is a sound in my ears as of the tramp of horses. I hope it may Diomed
and Ulysses driving in horses from the Trojans, but I much fear that the
bravest of the Argives may have come to some harm at their
hands."
He had hardly done speaking when the two men came in and dismounted,
whereon the others shook hands right gladly with them and congratulated
them. Nestor knight of Gerene was first to question them. "Tell me," said
he, "renowned Ulysses, how did you two come by these horses? Did you steal
in among the Trojan forces, or did some god meet you and give them to you?
They are like sunbeams. I am well conversant with the Trojans, for old
warrior though I am I never hold back by the ships, but I never yet saw
or heard of such horses as these are. Surely some god must have met you
and given them to you, for you are both of dear to Jove, and to Jove′s
daughter Minerva."
And Ulysses answered, "Nestor son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean
name, heaven, if it so will, can give us even better horses than these,
for the gods are far mightier than we are. These horses, however, about
which you ask me, are freshly come from Thrace. Diomed killed their king
with the twelve bravest of his companions. Hard by the ships we took a
thirteenth man- a scout whom Hector and the other Trojans had sent as a
spy upon our ships."
He laughed as he spoke and drove the horses over the ditch, while
the other Achaeans followed him gladly. When they reached the strongly
built quarters of the son of Tydeus, they tied the horses with thongs of
leather to the manger, where the steeds of Diomed stood eating their sweet
corn, but Ulysses hung the blood-stained spoils of Dolon at the stern of
his ship, that they might prepare a sacred offering to Minerva. As for
themselves, they went into the sea and washed the sweat from their bodies,
and from their necks and thighs. When the sea-water had taken all the sweat
from off them, and had refreshed them, they went into the baths and washed
themselves. After they had so done and had anointed themselves with oil,
they sat down to table, and drawing from a full mixing-bowl, made a drink-offering
of wine to Minerva.
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