The Iliad
Book XI
And now as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus, harbinger of light
alike to mortals and immortals, Jove sent fierce Discord with the ensign
of war in her hands to the ships of the Achaeans. She took her stand by
the huge black hull of Ulysses′ ship which was middlemost of all, so that
her voice might carry farthest on either side, on the one hand towards
the tents of Ajax son of Telamon, and on the other towards those of Achilles-
for these two heroes, well-assured of their own strength, had valorously
drawn up their ships at the two ends of the line. There she took her stand,
and raised a cry both loud and shrill that filled the Achaeans with courage,
giving them heart to fight resolutely and with all their might, so that
they had rather stay there and do battle than go home in their
ships.
The son of Atreus shouted aloud and bade the Argives gird themselves
for battle while he put on his armour. First he girded his goodly greaves
about his legs, making them fast with ankle clasps of silver; and about
his chest he set the breastplate which Cinyras had once given him as a
guest-gift. It had been noised abroad as far as Cyprus that the Achaeans
were about to sail for Troy, and therefore he gave it to the king. It had
ten courses of dark cyanus, twelve of gold, and ten of tin. There were
serpents of cyanus that reared themselves up towards the neck, three upon
either side, like the rainbows which the son of Saturn has set in heaven
as a sign to mortal men. About his shoulders he threw his sword, studded
with bosses of gold; and the scabbard was of silver with a chain of gold
wherewith to hang it. He took moreover the richly-dight shield that covered
his body when he was in battle- fair to see, with ten circles of bronze
running all round see, wit it. On the body of the shield there were twenty
bosses of white tin, with another of dark cyanus in the middle: this last
was made to show a Gorgon′s head, fierce and grim, with Rout and Panic
on either side. The band for the arm to go through was of silver, on which
there was a writhing snake of cyanus with three heads that sprang from
a single neck, and went in and out among one another. On his head Agamemnon
set a helmet, with a peak before and behind, and four plumes of horse-hair
that nodded menacingly above it; then he grasped two redoubtable bronze-shod
spears, and the gleam of his armour shot from him as a flame into the firmament,
while Juno and Minerva thundered in honour of the king of rich
Mycene.
Every man now left his horses in charge of his charioteer to hold
them in readiness by the trench, while he went into battle on foot clad
in full armour, and a mighty uproar rose on high into the dawning. The
chiefs were armed and at the trench before the horses got there, but these
came up presently. The son of Saturn sent a portent of evil sound about
their host, and the dew fell red with blood, for he was about to send many
a brave man hurrying down to Hades.
The Trojans, on the other side upon the rising slope of the plain,
were gathered round great Hector, noble Polydamas, Aeneas who was honoured
by the Trojans like an immortal, and the three sons of Antenor, Polybus,
Agenor, and young Acamas beauteous as a god. Hector′s round shield showed
in the front rank, and as some baneful star that shines for a moment through
a rent in the clouds and is again hidden beneath them; even so was Hector
now seen in the front ranks and now again in the hindermost, and his bronze
armour gleamed like the lightning of aegis-bearing Jove.
And now as a band of reapers mow swathes of wheat or barley upon
a rich man′s land, and the sheaves fall thick before them, even so did
the Trojans and Achaeans fall upon one another; they were in no mood for
yielding but fought like wolves, and neither side got the better of the
other. Discord was glad as she beheld them, for she was the only god that
went among them; the others were not there, but stayed quietly each in
his own home among the dells and valleys of Olympus. All of them blamed
the son of Saturn for wanting to Live victory to the Trojans, but father
Jove heeded them not: he held aloof from all, and sat apart in his all-glorious
majesty, looking down upon the city of the Trojans, the ships of the Achaeans,
the gleam of bronze, and alike upon the slayers and on the
slain.
Now so long as the day waxed and it was still morning, their darts
rained thick on one another and the people perished, but as the hour drew
nigh when a woodman working in some mountain forest will get his midday
meal- for he has felled till his hands are weary; he is tired out, and
must now have food- then the Danaans with a cry that rang through all their
ranks, broke the battalions of the enemy. Agamemnon led them on, and slew
first Bienor, a leader of his people, and afterwards his comrade and charioteer
Oileus, who sprang from his chariot and was coming full towards him; but
Agamemnon struck him on the forehead with his spear; his bronze visor was
of no avail against the weapon, which pierced both bronze and bone, so
that his brains were battered in and he was killed in full
fight.
Agamemnon stripped their shirts from off them and left them with
their breasts all bare to lie where they had fallen. He then went on to
kill Isus and Antiphus two sons of Priam, the one a bastard, the other
born in wedlock; they were in the same chariot- the bastard driving, while
noble Antiphus fought beside him. Achilles had once taken both of them
prisoners in the glades of Ida, and had bound them with fresh withes as
they were shepherding, but he had taken a ransom for them; now, however,
Agamemnon son of Atreus smote Isus in the chest above the nipple with his
spear, while he struck Antiphus hard by the ear and threw him from his
chariot. Forthwith he stripped their goodly armour from off them and recognized
them, for he had already seen them at ships when Achilles brought them
in from Ida. As a lion fastens on the fawns of a hind and crushes them
in his great jaws, robbing them of their tender life while he on his way
back to his lair- the hind can do nothing for them even though she be close
by, for she is in an agony of fear, and flies through the thick forest,
sweating, and at her utmost speed before the mighty monster- so, no man
of the Trojans could help Isus and Antiphus, for they were themselves flying
panic before the Argives.
Then King Agamemnon took the two sons of Antimachus, Pisander and
brave Hippolochus. It was Antimachus who had been foremost in preventing
Helen′s being restored to Menelaus, for he was largely bribed by Alexandrus;
and now Agamemnon took his two sons, both in the same chariot, trying to
bring their horses to a stand- for they had lost hold of the reins and
the horses were mad with fear. The son of Atreus sprang upon them like
a lion, and the pair besought him from their chariot. "Take us alive,"
they cried, "son of Atreus, and you shall receive a great ransom for us.
Our father Antimachus has great store of gold, bronze, and wrought iron,
and from this he will satisfy you with a very large ransom should he hear
of our being alive at the ships of the Achaeans."
With such piteous words and tears did they beseech the king, but
they heard no pitiful answer in return. "If," said Agamemnon, "you are
sons of Antimachus, who once at a council of Trojans proposed that Menelaus
and Ulysses, who had come to you as envoys, should be killed and not suffered
to return, you shall now pay for the foul iniquity of your
father."
As he spoke he felled Pisander from his chariot to the earth, smiting
him on the chest with his spear, so that he lay face uppermost upon the
ground. Hippolochus fled, but him too did Agamemnon smite; he cut off his
hands and his head- which he sent rolling in among the crowd as though
it were a ball. There he let them both lie, and wherever the ranks were
thickest thither he flew, while the other Achaeans followed. Foot soldiers
drove the foot soldiers of the foe in rout before them, and slew them;
horsemen did the like by horsemen, and the thundering tramp of the horses
raised a cloud of dust frim off the plain. King Agamemnon followed after,
ever slaying them and cheering on the Achaeans. As when some mighty forest
is all ablaze- the eddying gusts whirl fire in all directions till the
thickets shrivel and are consumed before the blast of the flame- even so
fell the heads of the flying Trojans before Agamemnon son of Atreus, and
many a noble pair of steeds drew an empty chariot along the highways of
war, for lack of drivers who were lying on the plain, more useful now to
vultures than to their wives.
Jove drew Hector away from the darts and dust, with the carnage
and din of battle; but the son of Atreus sped onwards, calling out lustily
to the Danaans. They flew on by the tomb of old Ilus, son of Dardanus,
in the middle of the plain, and past the place of the wild fig-tree making
always for the city- the son of Atreus still shouting, and with hands all
bedrabbled in gore; but when they had reached the Scaean gates and the
oak tree, there they halted and waited for the others to come up. Meanwhile
the Trojans kept on flying over the middle of the plain like a herd cows
maddened with fright when a lion has attacked them in the dead of night-
he springs on one of them, seizes her neck in the grip of his strong teeth
and then laps up her blood and gorges himself upon her entrails- even so
did King Agamemnon son of Atreus pursue the foe, ever slaughtering the
hindmost as they fled pell-mell before him. Many a man was flung headlong
from his chariot by the hand of the son of Atreus, for he wielded his spear
with fury.
But when he was just about to reach the high wall and the city,
the father of gods and men came down from heaven and took his seat, thunderbolt
in hand, upon the crest of many-fountained Ida. He then told Iris of the
golden wings to carry a message for him. "Go," said he, "fleet Iris, and
speak thus to Hector- say that so long as he sees Agamemnon heading his
men and making havoc of the Trojan ranks, he is to keep aloof and bid the
others bear the brunt of the battle, but when Agamemnon is wounded either
by spear or arrow, and takes to his chariot, then will I vouchsafe him
strength to slay till he reach the ships and night falls at the going down
of the sun."
Iris hearkened and obeyed. Down she went to strong Ilius from the
crests of Ida, and found Hector son of Priam standing by his chariot and
horses. Then she said, "Hector son of Priam, peer of gods in counsel, father
Jove has sent me to bear you this message- so long as you see Agamemnon
heading his men and making havoc of the Trojan ranks, you are to keep aloof
and bid the others bear the brunt of the battle, but when Agamemnon is
wounded either by spear or arrow, and takes to his chariot, then will Jove
vouchsafe you strength to slay till you reach the ships, and till night
falls at the going down of the sun."
When she had thus spoken Iris left him, and Hector sprang full
armed from his chariot to the ground, brandishing his spear as he went
about everywhere among the host, cheering his men on to fight, and stirring
the dread strife of battle. The Trojans then wheeled round, and again met
the Achaeans, while the Argives on their part strengthened their battalions.
The battle was now in array and they stood face to face with one another,
Agamemnon ever pressing forward in his eagerness to be ahead of all
others.
Tell me now ye Muses that dwell in the mansions of Olympus, who,
whether of the Trojans or of their allies, was first to face Agamemnon?
It was Iphidamas son of Antenor, a man both brave and of great stature,
who was brought up in fertile Thrace the mother of sheep. Cisses, his mother′s
father, brought him up in his own house when he was a child- Cisses, father
to fair Theano. When he reached manhood, Cisses would have kept him there,
and was for giving him his daughter in marriage, but as soon as he had
married he set out to fight the Achaeans with twelve ships that followed
him: these he had left at Percote and had come on by land to Ilius. He
it was that naw met Agamemnon son of Atreus. When they were close up with
one another, the son of Atreus missed his aim, and Iphidamas hit him on
the girdle below the cuirass and then flung himself upon him, trusting
to his strength of arm; the girdle, however, was not pierced, nor nearly
so, for the point of the spear struck against the silver and was turned
aside as though it had been lead: King Agamemnon caught it from his hand,
and drew it towards him with the fury of a lion; he then drew his sword,
and killed Iphidamas by striking him on the neck. So there the poor fellow
lay, sleeping a sleep as it were of bronze, killed in the defence of his
fellow-citizens, far from his wedded wife, of whom he had had no joy though
he had given much for her: he had given a hundred-head of cattle down,
and had promised later on to give a thousand sheep and goats mixed, from
the countless flocks of which he was possessed. Agamemnon son of Atreus
then despoiled him, and carried off his armour into the host of the
Achaeans.
When noble Coon, Antenor′s eldest son, saw this, sore indeed were
his eyes at the sight of his fallen brother. Unseen by Agamemnon he got
beside him, spear in hand, and wounded him in the middle of his arm below
the elbow, the point of the spear going right through the arm. Agamemnon
was convulsed with pain, but still not even for this did he leave off struggling
and fighting, but grasped his spear that flew as fleet as the wind, and
sprang upon Coon who was trying to drag off the body of his brother- his
father′s son- by the foot, and was crying for help to all the bravest of
his comrades; but Agamemnon struck him with a bronze-shod spear and killed
him as he was dragging the dead body through the press of men under cover
of his shield: he then cut off his head, standing over the body of Iphidamas.
Thus did the sons of Antenor meet their fate at the hands of the son of
Atreus, and go down into the house of Hades.
As long as the blood still welled warm from his wound Agamemnon
went about attacking the ranks of the enemy with spear and sword and with
great handfuls of stone, but when the blood had ceased to flow and the
wound grew dry, the pain became great. As the sharp pangs which the Eilithuiae,
goddesses of childbirth, daughters of Juno and dispensers of cruel pain,
send upon a woman when she is in labour- even so sharp were the pangs of
the son of Atreus. He sprang on to his chariot, and bade his charioteer
drive to the ships, for he was in great agony. With a loud clear voice
he shouted to the Danaans, "My friends, princes and counsellors of the
Argives, defend the ships yourselves, for Jove has not suffered me to fight
the whole day through against the Trojans."
With this the charioteer turned his horses towards the ships, and
they flew forward nothing loth. Their chests were white with foam and their
bellies with dust, as they drew the wounded king out of the
battle.
When Hector saw Agamemnon quit the field, he shouted to the Trojans
and Lycians saying, "Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanian warriors, be men,
my friends, and acquit yourselves in battle bravely; their best man has
left them, and Jove has vouchsafed me a great triumph; charge the foe with
your chariots that. you may win still greater glory."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and as a
huntsman hounds his dogs on against a lion or wild boar, even so did Hector,
peer of Mars, hound the proud Trojans on against the Achaeans. Full of
hope he plunged in among the foremost, and fell on the fight like some
fierce tempest that swoops down upon the sea, and lashes its deep blue
waters into fury.
What, then is the full tale of those whom Hector son of Priam killed
in the hour of triumph which Jove then vouchsafed him? First Asaeus, Autonous,
and Opites; Dolops son of Clytius, Opheltius and Agelaus; Aesymnus, Orus
and Hipponous steadfast in battle; these chieftains of the Achaeans did
Hector slay, and then he fell upon the rank and file. As when the west
wind hustles the clouds of the white south and beats them down with the
fierceness of its fury- the waves of the sea roll high, and the spray is
flung aloft in the rage of the wandering wind- even so thick were the heads
of them that fell by the hand of Hector.
All had then been lost and no help for it, and the Achaeans would
have fled pell-mell to their ships, had not Ulysses cried out to Diomed,
"Son of Tydeus, what has happened to us that we thus forget our prowess?
Come, my good fellow, stand by my side and help me, we shall be shamed
for ever if Hector takes the ships."
And Diomed answered, "Come what may, I will stand firm; but we
shall have scant joy of it, for Jove is minded to give victory to the Trojans
rather than to us."
With these words he struck Thymbraeus from his chariot to the ground,
smiting him in the left breast with his spear, while Ulysses killed Molion
who was his squire. These they let lie, now that they had stopped their
fighting; the two heroes then went on playing havoc with the foe, like
two wild boars that turn in fury and rend the hounds that hunt them. Thus
did they turn upon the Trojans and slay them, and the Achaeans were thankful
to have breathing time in their flight from Hector.
They then took two princes with their chariot, the two sons of
Merops of Percote, who excelled all others in the arts of divination. He
had forbidden his sons to go to the war, but they would not obey him, for
fate lured them to their fall. Diomed son of Tydeus slew them both and
stripped them of their armour, while Ulysses killed Hippodamus and
Hypeirochus.
And now the son of Saturn as he looked down from Ida ordained that
neither side should have the advantage, and they kept on killing one another.
The son of Tydeus speared Agastrophus son of Paeon in the hip-joint with
his spear. His chariot was not at hand for him to fly with, so blindly
confident had he been. His squire was in charge of it at some distance
and he was fighting on foot among the foremost until he lost his life.
Hector soon marked the havoc Diomed and Ulysses were making, and bore down
upon them with a loud cry, followed by the Trojan ranks; brave Diomed was
dismayed when he saw them, and said to Ulysses who was beside him, "Great
Hector is bearing down upon us and we shall be undone; let us stand firm
and wait his onset."
He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled it, nor did he miss
his mark. He had aimed at Hector′s head near the top of his helmet, but
bronze was turned by bronze, and Hector was untouched, for the spear was
stayed by the visored helm made with three plates of metal, which Phoebus
Apollo had given him. Hector sprang back with a great bound under cover
of the ranks; he fell on his knees and propped himself with his brawny
hand leaning on the ground, for darkness had fallen on his eyes. The son
of Tydeus having thrown his spear dashed in among the foremost fighters,
to the place where he had seen it strike the ground; meanwhile Hector recovered
himself and springing back into his chariot mingled with the crowd, by
which means he saved his life. But Diomed made at him with his spear and
said, "Dog, you have again got away though death was close on your heels.
Phoebus Apollo, to whom I ween you pray ere you go into battle, has again
saved you, nevertheless I will meet you and make and end of you hereafter,
if there is any god who will stand by me too and be my helper. For the
present I must pursue those I can lay hands on."
As he spoke he began stripping the spoils from the son of Paeon,
but Alexandrus husband of lovely Helen aimed an arrow at him, leaning against
a pillar of the monument which men had raised to Ilus son of Dardanus,
a ruler in days of old. Diomed had taken the cuirass from off the breast
of Agastrophus, his heavy helmet also, and the shield from off his shoulders,
when Paris drew his bow and let fly an arrow that sped not from his hand
in vain, but pierced the flat of Diomed′s right foot, going right through
it and fixing itself in the ground. Thereon Paris with a hearty laugh sprang
forward from his hiding-place, and taunted him saying, "You are wounded-
my arrow has not been shot in vain; would that it had hit you in the belly
and killed you, for thus the Trojans, who fear you as goats fear a lion,
would have had a truce from evil."
Diomed all undaunted answered, "Archer, you who without your bow
are nothing, slanderer and seducer, if you were to be tried in single combat
fighting in full armour, your bow and your arrows would serve you in little
stead. Vain is your boast in that you have scratched the sole of my foot.
I care no more than if a girl or some silly boy had hit me. A worthless
coward can inflict but a light wound; when I wound a man though I but graze
his skin it is another matter, for my weapon will lay him low. His wife
will tear her cheeks for grief and his children will be fatherless: there
will he rot, reddening the earth with his blood, and vultures, not women,
will gather round him."
Thus he spoke, but Ulysses came up and stood over him. Under this
cover he sat down to draw the arrow from his foot, and sharp was the pain
he suffered as he did so. Then he sprang on to his chariot and bade the
charioteer drive him to the ships, for he was sick at
heart.
Ulysses was now alone; not one of the Argives stood by him, for
they were all panic-stricken. "Alas," said he to himself in his dismay,
"what will become of me? It is ill if I turn and fly before these odds,
but it will be worse if I am left alone and taken prisoner, for the son
of Saturn has struck the rest of the Danaans with panic. But why talk to
myself in this way? Well do I know that though cowards quit the field,
a hero, whether he wound or be wounded, must stand firm and hold his
own."
While he was thus in two minds, the ranks of the Trojans advanced
and hemmed him in, and bitterly did they come to me it. As hounds and lusty
youths set upon a wild boar that sallies from his lair whetting his white
tusks- they attack him from every side and can hear the gnashing of his
jaws, but for all his fierceness they still hold their ground- even so
furiously did the Trojans attack Ulysses. First he sprang spear in hand
upon Deiopites and wounded him on the shoulder with a downward blow; then
he killed Thoon and Ennomus. After these he struck Chersidamas in the loins
under his shield as he had just sprung down from his chariot; so he fell
in the dust and clutched the earth in the hollow of his hand. These he
let lie, and went on to wound Charops son of Hippasus own brother to noble
Socus. Socus, hero that he was, made all speed to help him, and when he
was close to Ulysses he said, "Far-famed Ulysses, insatiable of craft and
toil, this day you shall either boast of having killed both the sons of
Hippasus and stripped them of their armour, or you shall fall before my
spear."
With these words he struck the shield of Ulysses. The spear went
through the shield and passed on through his richly wrought cuirass, tearing
the flesh from his side, but Pallas Minerva did not suffer it to pierce
the entrails of the hero. Ulysses knew that his hour was not yet come,
but he gave ground and said to Socus, "Wretch, you shall now surely die.
You have stayed me from fighting further with the Trojans, but you shall
now fall by my spear, yielding glory to myself, and your soul to Hades
of the noble steeds."
Socus had turned in flight, but as he did so, the spear struck
him in the back midway between the shoulders, and went right through his
chest. He fell heavily to the ground and Ulysses vaunted over him saying,
"O Socus, son of Hippasus tamer of horses, death has been too quick for
you and you have not escaped him: poor wretch, not even in death shall
your father and mother close your eyes, but the ravening vultures shall
enshroud you with the flapping of their dark wings and devour you. Whereas
even though I fall the Achaeans will give me my due rites of
burial."
So saying he drew Socus′s heavy spear out of his flesh and from
his shield, and the blood welled forth when the spear was withdrawn so
that he was much dismayed. When the Trojans saw that Ulysses was bleeding
they raised a great shout and came on in a body towards him; he therefore
gave ground, and called his comrades to come and help him. Thrice did he
cry as loudly as man can cry, and thrice did brave Menelaus hear him; he
turned, therefore, to Ajax who was close beside him and said, "Ajax, noble
son of Telamon, captain of your people, the cry of Ulysses rings in my
ears, as though the Trojans had cut him off and were worsting him while
he is single-handed. Let us make our way through the throng; it will be
well that we defend him; I fear he may come to harm for all his valour
if he be left without support, and the Danaans would miss him
sorely."
He led the way and mighty Ajax went with him. The Trojans had gathered
round Ulysses like ravenous mountain jackals round the carcase of some
homed stag that has been hit with an arrow- the stag has fled at full speed
so long as his blood was warm and his strength has lasted, but when the
arrow has overcome him, the savage jackals devour him in the shady glades
of the forest. Then heaven sends a fierce lion thither, whereon the jackals
fly in terror and the lion robs them of their prey- even so did Trojans
many and brave gather round crafty Ulysses, but the hero stood at bay and
kept them off with his spear. Ajax then came up with his shield before
him like a wall, and stood hard by, whereon the Trojans fled in all directions.
Menelaus took Ulysses by the hand, and led him out of the press while his
squire brought up his chariot, but Ajax rushed furiously on the Trojans
and killed Doryclus, a bastard son of Priam; then he wounded Pandocus,
Lysandrus, Pyrasus, and Pylartes; as some swollen torrent comes rushing
in full flood from the mountains on to the plain, big with the rain of
heaven- many a dry oak and many a pine does it engulf, and much mud does
it bring down and cast into the sea- even so did brave Ajax chase the foe
furiously over the plain, slaying both men and horses.
Hector did not yet know what Ajax was doing, for he was fighting
on the extreme left of the battle by the banks of the river Scamander,
where the carnage was thickest and the war-cry loudest round Nestor and
brave Idomeneus. Among these Hector was making great slaughter with his
spear and furious driving, and was destroying the ranks that were opposed
to him; still the Achaeans would have given no ground, had not Alexandrus
husband of lovely Helen stayed the prowess of Machaon shepherd of his people,
by wounding him in the right shoulder with a triple-barbed arrow. The Achaeans
were in great fear that as the fight had turned against them the Trojans
might take him prisoner, and Idomeneus said to Nestor, "Nestor son of Neleus,
honour to the Achaean name, mount your chariot at once; take Machaon with
you and drive your horses to the ships as fast as you can. A physician
is worth more than several other men put together, for he can cut out arrows
and spread healing herbs."
Nestor knight of Gerene did as Idomeneus had counselled; he at
once mounted his chariot, and Machaon son of the famed physician Aesculapius
went with him. He lashed his horses and they flew onward nothing loth towards
the ships, as though of their own free will.
Then Cebriones seeing the Trojans in confusion said to Hector from
his place beside him, "Hector, here are we two fighting on the extreme
wing of the battle, while the other Trojans are in pell-mell rout, they
and their horses. Ajax son of Telamon is driving them before him; I know
him by the breadth of his shield: let us turn our chariot and horses thither,
where horse and foot are fighting most desperately, and where the cry of
battle is loudest."
With this he lashed his goodly steeds, and when they felt the whip
they drew the chariot full speed among the Achaeans and Trojans, over the
bodies and shields of those that had fallen: the axle was bespattered with
blood, and the rail round the car was covered with splashes both from the
horses′ hoofs and from the tyres of the wheels. Hector tore his way through
and flung himself into the thick of the fight, and his presence threw the
Danaans into confusion, for his spear was not long idle; nevertheless though
he went among the ranks with sword and spear, and throwing great stones,
he avoided Ajax son of Telamon, for Jove would have been angry with him
if he had fought a better man than himself.
Then father Jove from his high throne struck fear into the heart
of Ajax, so that he stood there dazed and threw his shield behind him-
looking fearfully at the throng of his foes as though he were some wild
beast, and turning hither and thither but crouching slowly backwards. As
peasants with their hounds chase a lion from their stockyard, and watch
by night to prevent his carrying off the pick of their herd- he makes his
greedy spring, but in vain, for the darts from many a strong hand fall
thick around him, with burning brands that scare him for all his fury,
and when morning comes he slinks foiled and angry away- even so did Ajax,
sorely against his will, retreat angrily before the Trojans, fearing for
the ships of the Achaeans. Or as some lazy ass that has had many a cudgel
broken about his back, when he into a field begins eating the corn- boys
beat him but he is too many for them, and though they lay about with their
sticks they cannot hurt him; still when he has had his fill they at last
drive him from the field- even so did the Trojans and their allies pursue
great Ajax, ever smiting the middle of his shield with their darts. Now
and again he would turn and show fight, keeping back the battalions of
the Trojans, and then he would again retreat; but he prevented any of them
from making his way to the ships. Single-handed he stood midway between
the Trojans and Achaeans: the spears that sped from their hands stuck some
of them in his mighty shield, while many, though thirsting for his blood,
fell to the ground ere they could reach him to the wounding of his fair
flesh.
Now when Eurypylus the brave son of Euaemon saw that Ajax was being
overpowered by the rain of arrows, he went up to him and hurled his spear.
He struck Apisaon son of Phausius in the liver below the midriff, and laid
him low. Eurypylus sprang upon him, and stripped the armour from his shoulders;
but when Alexandrus saw him, he aimed an arrow at him which struck him
in the right thigh; the arrow broke, but the point that was left in the
wound dragged on the thigh; he drew back, therefore, under cover of his
comrades to save his life, shouting as he did so to the Danaans, "My friends,
princes and counsellors of the Argives, rally to the defence of Ajax who
is being overpowered, and I doubt whether he will come out of the fight
alive. Hither, then, to the rescue of great Ajax son of
Telamon."
Even so did he cry when he was wounded; thereon the others came
near, and gathered round him, holding their shields upwards from their
shoulders so as to give him cover. Ajax then made towards them, and turned
round to stand at bay as soon as he had reached his
men.
Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. Meanwhile the
mares of Neleus, all in a lather with sweat, were bearing Nestor out of
the fight, and with him Machaon shepherd of his people. Achilles saw and
took note, for he was standing on the stern of his ship watching the hard
stress and struggle of the fight. He called from the ship to his comrade
Patroclus, who heard him in the tent and came out looking like Mars himself-
here indeed was the beginning of the ill that presently befell him. "Why,"
said he, "Achilles do you call me? what do you what do you want with me?"
And Achilles answered, "Noble son of Menoetius, man after my own heart,
I take it that I shall now have the Achaeans praying at my knees, for they
are in great straits; go, Patroclus, and ask Nestor who is that he is bearing
away wounded from the field; from his back I should say it was Machaon
son of Aesculapius, but I could not see his face for the horses went by
me at full speed."
Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him, and set off running
by the ships and tents of the Achaeans.
When Nestor and Machaon had reached the tents of the son of Neleus,
they dismounted, and an esquire, Eurymedon, took the horses from the chariot.
The pair then stood in the breeze by the seaside to dry the sweat from
their shirts, and when they had so done they came inside and took their
seats. Fair Hecamede, whom Nestor had had awarded to him from Tenedos when
Achilles took it, mixed them a mess; she was daughter of wise Arsinous,
and the Achaeans had given her to Nestor because he excelled all of them
in counsel. First she set for them a fair and well-made table that had
feet of cyanus; on it there was a vessel of bronze and an onion to give
relish to the drink, with honey and cakes of barley-meal. There was also
a cup of rare workmanship which the old man had brought with him from home,
studded with bosses of gold; it had four handles, on each of which there
were two golden doves feeding, and it had two feet to stand on. Any one
else would hardly have been able to lift it from the table when it was
full, but Nestor could do so quite easily. In this the woman, as fair as
a goddess, mixed them a mess with Pramnian wine; she grated goat′s milk
cheese into it with a bronze grater, threw in a handful of white barley-meal,
and having thus prepared the mess she bade them drink it. When they had
done so and had thus quenched their thirst, they fell talking with one
another, and at this moment Patroclus appeared at the
door.
When the old man saw him he sprang from his seat, seized his hand,
led him into the tent, and bade him take his place among them; but Patroclus
stood where he was and said, "Noble sir, I may not stay, you cannot persuade
me to come in; he that sent me is not one to be trifled with, and he bade
me ask who the wounded man was whom you were bearing away from the field.
I can now see for myself that he is Machaon shepherd of his people. I must
go back and tell Achilles. You, sir, know what a terrible man he is, and
how ready to blame even where no blame should lie."
And Nestor answered, "Why should Achilles care to know how many
of the Achaeans may be wounded? He recks not of the dismay that reigns
in our host; our most valiant chieftains lie disabled, brave Diomed son
of Tydeus is wounded; so are Ulysses and Agamemnon; Eurypylus has been
hit with an arrow in the thigh, and I have just been bringing this man
from the field- he too wounded- with an arrow; nevertheless Achilles, so
valiant though he be, cares not and knows no ruth. Will he wait till the
ships, do what we may, are in a blaze, and we perish one upon the other?
As for me, I have no strength nor stay in me any longer; would that I Were
still young and strong as in the days when there was a fight between us
and the men of Elis about some cattle-raiding. I then killed Itymoneus
the valiant son of Hypeirochus a dweller in Elis, as I was driving in the
spoil; he was hit by a dart thrown my hand while fighting in the front
rank in defence of his cows, so he fell and the country people around him
were in great fear. We drove off a vast quantity of booty from the plain,
fifty herds of cattle and as many flocks of sheep; fifty droves also of
pigs, and as many wide-spreading flocks of goats. Of horses moreover we
seized a hundred and fifty, all of them mares, and many had foals running
with them. All these did we drive by night to Pylus the city of Neleus,
taking them within the city; and the heart of Neleus was glad in that I
had taken so much, though it was the first time I had ever been in the
field. At daybreak the heralds went round crying that all in Elis to whom
there was a debt owing should come; and the leading Pylians assembled to
divide the spoils. There were many to whom the Epeans owed chattels, for
we men of Pylus were few and had been oppressed with wrong; in former years
Hercules had come, and had laid his hand heavy upon us, so that all our
best men had perished. Neleus had had twelve sons, but I alone was left;
the others had all been killed. The Epeans presuming upon all this had
looked down upon us and had done us much evil. My father chose a herd of
cattle and a great flock of sheep- three hundred in all- and he took their
shepherds with him, for there was a great debt due to him in Elis, to wit
four horses, winners of prizes. They and their chariots with them had gone
to the games and were to run for a tripod, but King Augeas took them, and
sent back their driver grieving for the loss of his horses. Neleus was
angered by what he had both said and done, and took great value in return,
but he divided the rest, that no man might have less than his full
share.
"Thus did we order all things, and offer sacrifices to the gods
throughout the city; but three days afterwards the Epeans came in a body,
many in number, they and their chariots, in full array, and with them the
two Moliones in their armour, though they were still lads and unused to
fighting. Now there is a certain town, Thryoessa, perched upon a rock on
the river Alpheus, the border city Pylus; this they would destroy, and
pitched their camp about it, but when they had crossed their whole plain,
Minerva darted down by night from Olympus and bade us set ourselves in
array; and she found willing soldiers in Pylos, for the men meant fighting.
Neleus would not let me arm, and hid my horses, for he said that as yet
I could know nothing about war; nevertheless Minerva so ordered the fight
that, all on foot as I was, I fought among our mounted forces and vied
with the foremost of them. There is a river Minyeius that falls into the
sea near Arene, and there they that were mounted (and I with them) waited
till morning, when the companies of foot soldiers came up with us in force.
Thence in full panoply and equipment we came towards noon to the sacred
waters of the Alpheus, and there we offered victims to almighty Jove, with
a bull to Alpheus, another to Neptune, and a herd-heifer to Minerva. After
this we took supper in our companies, and laid us down to rest each in
his armour by the river.
"The Epeans were beleaguering the city and were determined to take
it, but ere this might be there was a desperate fight in store for them.
When the sun′s rays began to fall upon the earth we joined battle, praying
to Jove and to Minerva, and when the fight had begun, I was the first to
kill my man and take his horses- to wit the warrior Mulius. He was son-in-law
to Augeas, having married his eldest daughter, golden-haired Agamede, who
knew the virtues of every herb which grows upon the face of the earth.
I speared him as he was coming towards me, and when he fell headlong in
the dust, I sprang upon his chariot and took my place in the front ranks.
The Epeans fled in all directions when they saw the captain of their horsemen
(the best man they had) laid low, and I swept down on them like a whirlwind,
taking fifty chariots- and in each of them two men bit the dust, slain
by my spear. I should have even killed the two Moliones sons of Actor,
unless their real father, Neptune lord of the earthquake, had hidden them
in a thick mist and borne them out of the fight. Thereon Jove vouchsafed
the Pylians a great victory, for we chased them far over the plain, killing
the men and bringing in their armour, till we had brought our horses to
Buprasium rich in wheat and to the Olenian rock, with the hill that is
called Alision, at which point Minerva turned the people back. There I
slew the last man and left him; then the Achaeans drove their horses back
from Buprasium to Pylos and gave thanks to Jove among the gods, and among
mortal men to Nestor.
"Such was I among my peers, as surely as ever was, but Achilles
is for keeping all his valour for himself; bitterly will he rue it hereafter
when the host is being cut to pieces. My good friend, did not Menoetius
charge you thus, on the day when he sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon?
Ulysses and I were in the house, inside, and heard all that he said to
you; for we came to the fair house of Peleus while beating up recruits
throughout all Achaea, and when we got there we found Menoetius and yourself,
and Achilles with you. The old knight Peleus was in the outer court, roasting
the fat thigh-bones of a heifer to Jove the lord of thunder; and he held
a gold chalice in his hand from which he poured drink-offerings of wine
over the burning sacrifice. You two were busy cutting up the heifer, and
at that moment we stood at the gates, whereon Achilles sprang to his feet,
led us by the hand into the house, placed us at table, and set before us
such hospitable entertainment as guests expect. When we had satisfied ourselves
with meat and drink, I said my say and urged both of you to join us. You
were ready enough to do so, and the two old men charged you much and straitly.
Old Peleus bade his son Achilles fight ever among the foremost and outvie
his peers, while Menoetius the son of Actor spoke thus to you: ′My son,′
said he, ′Achilles is of nobler birth than you are, but you are older than
he, though he is far the better man of the two. Counsel him wisely, guide
him in the right way, and he will follow you to his own profit.′ Thus did
your father charge you, but you have forgotten; nevertheless, even now,
say all this to Achilles if he will listen to you. Who knows but with heaven′s
help you may talk him over, for it is good to take a friend′s advice. If,
however, he is fearful about some oracle, or if his mother has told him
something from Jove, then let him send you, and let the rest of the Myrmidons
follow with you, if perchance you may bring light and saving to the Danaans.
And let him send you into battle clad in his own armour, that the Trojans
may mistake you for him and leave off fighting; the sons of the Achaeans
may thus have time to get their breath, for they are hard pressed and there
is little breathing time in battle. You, who are fresh, might easily drive
a tired enemy back to his walls and away from the tents and
ships."
With these words he moved the heart of Patroclus, who set off running
by the line of the ships to Achilles, descendant of Aeacus. When he had
got as far as the ships of Ulysses, where was their place of assembly and
court of justice, with their altars dedicated to the gods, Eurypylus son
of Euaemon met him, wounded in the thigh with an arrow, and limping out
of the fight. Sweat rained from his head and shoulders, and black blood
welled from his cruel wound, but his mind did not wander. The son of Menoetius
when he saw him had compassion upon him and spoke piteously saying, "O
unhappy princes and counsellors of the Danaans, are you then doomed to
feed the hounds of Troy with your fat, far from your friends and your native
land? say, noble Eurypylus, will the Achaeans be able to hold great Hector
in check, or will they fall now before his spear?"
Wounded Eurypylus made answer, "Noble Patroclus, there is no hope
left for the Achaeans but they will perish at their ships. All they that
were princes among us are lying struck down and wounded at the hands of
the Trojans, who are waxing stronger and stronger. But save me and take
me to your ship; cut out the arrow from my thigh; wash the black blood
from off it with warm water, and lay upon it those gracious herbs which,
so they say, have been shown you by Achilles, who was himself shown them
by Chiron, most righteous of all the centaurs. For of the physicians Podalirius
and Machaon, I hear that the one is lying wounded in his tent and is himself
in need of healing, while the other is fighting the Trojans upon the
plain."
"Hero Eurypylus," replied the brave son of Menoetius, "how may
these things be? What can I do? I am on my way to bear a message to noble
Achilles from Nestor of Gerene, bulwark of the Achaeans, but even so I
will not be unmindful your distress."
With this he clasped him round the middle and led him into the
tent, and a servant, when he saw him, spread bullock-skins on the ground
for him to lie on. He laid him at full length and cut out the sharp arrow
from his thigh; he washed the black blood from the wound with warm water;
he then crushed a bitter herb, rubbing it between his hands, and spread
it upon the wound; this was a virtuous herb which killed all pain; so the
wound presently dried and the blood left off flowing.
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