Homer

c.800 BC

THE ILIAD

translated by Samuel Butler

BOOK XV

BUT when their flight had taken them past the trench and
the set stakes, and many had fallen by the hands of the Danaans, the Trojans
made a halt on reaching their chariots, routed and pale with fear. Jove now woke
on the crests of Ida, where he was lying with golden-throned Juno by his side,
and starting to his feet he saw the Trojans and Achaeans, the one thrown into
confusion, and the others driving them pell-mell before them with King Neptune
in their midst. He saw Hector lying on the ground with his comrades gathered
round him, gasping for breath, wandering in mind and vomiting blood, for it was
not the feeblest of the Achaeans who struck him.

The sire of gods and men had pity on him, and looked
fiercely on Juno. “I see, Juno,” said he, “you mischief-making trickster, that
your cunning has stayed Hector from fighting and has caused the rout of his
host. I am in half a mind to thrash you, in which case you will be the first to
reap the fruits of your scurvy knavery. Do you not remember how once upon a time
I had you hanged? I fastened two anvils on to your feet, and bound your hands in
a chain of gold which none might break, and you hung in mid-air among the
clouds. All the gods in Olympus were in a fury, but they could not reach you to
set you free; when I caught any one of them I gripped him and hurled him from
the heavenly threshold till he came fainting down to earth; yet even this did
not relieve my mind from the incessant anxiety which I felt about noble Hercules
whom you and Boreas had spitefully conveyed beyond the seas to Cos, after
suborning the tempests; but I rescued him, and notwithstanding all his mighty
labours I brought him back again to Argos. I would remind you of this that you
may learn to leave off being so deceitful, and discover how much you are likely
to gain by the embraces out of which you have come here to trick me.”

Juno trembled as he spoke, and said, “May heaven above and
earth below be my witnesses, with the waters of the river Styx–and this is the
most solemn oath that a blessed god can take–nay, I swear also by your own
almighty head and by our bridal bed– things over which I could never possibly
perjure myself–that Neptune is not punishing Hector and the Trojans and helping
the Achaeans through any doing of mine; it is all of his own mere motion because
he was sorry to see the Achaeans hard pressed at their ships: if I were advising
him, I should tell him to do as you bid him.”

The sire of gods and men smiled and answered, “If you,
Juno, were always to support me when we sit in council of the gods, Neptune,
like it or no, would soon come round to your and my way of thinking. If, then,
you are speaking the truth and mean what you say, go among the rank and file of
the gods, and tell Iris and Apollo lord of the bow, that I want them–Iris, that
she may go to the Achaean host and tell Neptune to leave off fighting and go
home, and Apollo, that he may send Hector again into battle and give him fresh
strength; he will thus forget his present sufferings, and drive the Achaeans
back in confusion till they fall among the ships of Achilles son of Peleus.
Achilles will then send his comrade Patroclus into battle, and Hector will kill
him in front of Ilius after he has slain many warriors, and among them my own
noble son Sarpedon. Achilles will kill Hector to avenge Patroclus, and from that
time I will bring it about that the Achaeans shall persistently drive the
Trojans back till they fulfil the counsels of Minerva and take Ilius. But I will
not stay my anger, nor permit any god to help the Danaans till I have
accomplished the desire of the son of Peleus, according to the promise I made by
bowing my head on the day when Thetis touched my knees and besought me to give
him honour.”

Juno heeded his words and went from the heights of Ida to
great Olympus. Swift as the thought of one whose fancy carries him over vast
continents, and he says to himself, “Now I will be here, or there,” and he would
have all manner of things–even so swiftly did Juno wing her way till she came
to high Olympus and went in among the gods who were gathered in the house of
Jove. When they saw her they all of them came up to her, and held out their cups
to her by way of greeting. She let the others be, but took the cup offered her
by lovely Themis, who was first to come running up to her. “Juno,” said she,
“why are you here? And you seem troubled–has your husband the son of Saturn
been frightening you?”

And Juno answered, “Themis, do not ask me about it. You
know what a proud and cruel disposition my husband has. Lead the gods to table,
where you and all the immortals can hear the wicked designs which he has avowed.
Many a one, mortal and immortal, will be angered by them, however peaceably he
may be feasting now.”

On this Juno sat down, and the gods were troubled
throughout the house of Jove. Laughter sat on her lips but her brow was furrowed
with care, and she spoke up in a rage. “Fools that we are,” she cried, “to be
thus madly angry with Jove; we keep on wanting to go up to him and stay him by
force or by persuasion, but he sits aloof and cares for nobody, for he knows
that he is much stronger than any other of the immortals. Make the best,
therefore, of whatever ills he may choose to send each one of you; Mars, I take
it, has had a taste of them already, for his son Ascalaphus has fallen in
battle–the man whom of all others he loved most dearly and whose father he owns
himself to be.”

When he heard this Mars smote his two sturdy thighs with
the flat of his hands, and said in anger, “Do not blame me, you gods that dwell
in heaven, if I go to the ships of the Achaeans and avenge the death of my son,
even though it end in my being struck by Jove’s lightning and lying in blood and
dust among the corpses.”

As he spoke he gave orders to yoke his horses Panic and
Rout, while he put on his armour. On this, Jove would have been roused to still
more fierce and implacable enmity against the other immortals, had not Minerva,
alarmed for the safety of the gods, sprung from her seat and hurried outside.
She tore the helmet from his head and the shield from his shoulders, and she
took the bronze spear from his strong hand and set it on one side; then she said
to Mars, “Madman, you are undone; you have ears that hear not, or you have lost
all judgement and understanding; have you not heard what Juno has said on coming
straight from the presence of Olympian Jove? Do you wish to go through all kinds
of suffering before you are brought back sick and sorry to Olympus, after having
caused infinite mischief to all us others? Jove would instantly leave the
Trojans and Achaeans to themselves; he would come to Olympus to punish us, and
would grip us up one after another, guilty or not guilty. Therefore lay aside
your anger for the death of your son; better men than he have either been killed
already or will fall hereafter, and one cannot protect every one’s whole
family.”

With these words she took Mars back to his seat. Meanwhile
Juno called Apollo outside, with Iris the messenger of the gods. “Jove,” she
said to them, “desires you to go to him at once on Mt. Ida; when you have seen
him you are to do as he may then bid you.”

Thereon Juno left them and resumed her seat inside, while
Iris and Apollo made all haste on their way. When they reached many-fountained
Ida, mother of wild beasts, they found Jove seated on topmost Gargarus with a
fragrant cloud encircling his head as with a diadem. They stood before his
presence, and he was pleased with them for having been so quick in obeying the
orders his wife had given them.

He spoke to Iris first. “Go,” said he, “fleet Iris, tell
King Neptune what I now bid you–and tell him true. Bid him leave off fighting,
and either join the company of the gods, or go down into the sea. If he takes no
heed and disobeys me, let him consider well whether he is strong enough to hold
his own against me if I attack him. I am older and much stronger than he is; yet
he is not afraid to set himself up as on a level with myself, of whom all the
other gods stand in awe.”

Iris, fleet as the wind, obeyed him, and as the cold hail
or snowflakes that fly from out the clouds before the blast of Boreas, even so
did she wing her way till she came close up to the great shaker of the earth.
Then she said, “I have come, O dark-haired king that holds the world in his
embrace, to bring you a message from Jove. He bids you leave off fighting, and
either join the company of the gods or go down into the sea; if, however, you
take no heed and disobey him, he says he will come down here and fight you. He
would have you keep out of his reach, for he is older and much stronger than you
are, and yet you are not afraid to set yourself up as on a level with himself,
of whom all the other gods stand in awe.”

Neptune was very angry and said, “Great heavens! strong as
Jove may be, he has said more than he can do if he has threatened violence
against me, who am of like honour with himself. We were three brothers whom Rhea
bore to Saturn–Jove, myself, and Hades who rules the world below. Heaven and
earth were divided into three parts, and each of us was to have an equal share.
When we cast lots, it fell to me to have my dwelling in the sea for evermore;
Hades took the darkness of the realms under the earth, while air and sky and
clouds were the portion that fell to Jove; but earth and great Olympus are the
common property of all. Therefore I will not walk as Jove would have me. For all
his strength, let him keep to his own third share and be contented without
threatening to lay hands upon me as though I were nobody. Let him keep his
bragging talk for his own sons and daughters, who must perforce obey him.”

Iris fleet as the wind then answered, “Am I really,
Neptune, to take this daring and unyielding message to Jove, or will you
reconsider your answer? Sensible people are open to argument, and you know that
the Erinyes always range themselves on the side of the older person.”

Neptune answered, “Goddess Iris, your words have been
spoken in season. It is well when a messenger shows so much discretion.
Nevertheless it cuts me to the very heart that any one should rebuke so angrily
another who is his own peer, and of like empire with himself. Now, however, I
will give way in spite of my displeasure; furthermore let me tell you, and I
mean what I say– if contrary to the desire of myself, Minerva driver of the
spoil, Juno, Mercury, and King Vulcan, Jove spares steep Ilius, and will not let
the Achaeans have the great triumph of sacking it, let him understand that he
will incur our implacable resentment.”

Neptune now left the field to go down under the sea, and
sorely did the Achaeans miss him. Then Jove said to Apollo, “Go, dear Phoebus,
to Hector, for Neptune who holds the earth in his embrace has now gone down
under the sea to avoid the severity of my displeasure. Had he not done so those
gods who are below with Saturn would have come to hear of the fight between us.
It is better for both of us that he should have curbed his anger and kept out of
my reach, for I should have had much trouble with him. Take, then, your
tasselled aegis, and shake it furiously, so as to set the Achaean heroes in a
panic; take, moreover, brave Hector, O Far-Darter, into your own care, and rouse
him to deeds of daring, till the Achaeans are sent flying back to their ships
and to the Hellespont. From that point I will think it well over, how the
Achaeans may have a respite from their troubles.”

Apollo obeyed his father’s saying, and left the crests of
Ida, flying like a falcon, bane of doves and swiftest of all birds. He found
Hector no longer lying upon the ground, but sitting up, for he had just come to
himself again. He knew those who were about him, and the sweat and hard
breathing had left him from the moment when the will of aegis-bearing Jove had
revived him. Apollo stood beside him and said, “Hector son of Priam, why are you
so faint, and why are you here away from the others? Has any mishap befallen
you?”

Hector in a weak voice answered, “And which, kind sir, of
the gods are you, who now ask me thus? Do you not know that Ajax struck me on
the chest with a stone as I was killing his comrades at the ships of the
Achaeans, and compelled me to leave off fighting? I made sure that this very day
I should breathe my last and go down into the house of Hades.”

Then King Apollo said to him, “Take heart; the son of
Saturn has sent you a mighty helper from Ida to stand by you and defend you,
even me, Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who have been guardian hitherto not
only of yourself but of your city. Now, therefore, order your horsemen to drive
their chariots to the ships in great multitudes. I will go before your horses to
smooth the way for them, and will turn the Achaeans in flight.”

As he spoke he infused great strength into the shepherd of
his people. And as a horse, stabled and full-fed, breaks loose and gallops
gloriously over the plain to the place where he is wont to take his bath in the
river–he tosses his head, and his mane streams over his shoulders as in all the
pride of his strength he flies full speed to the pastures where the mares are
feeding– even so Hector, when he heard what the god said, urged his horsemen
on, and sped forward as fast as his limbs could take him. As country peasants
set their hounds on to a homed stag or wild goat–he has taken shelter under
rock or thicket, and they cannot find him, but, lo, a bearded lion whom their
shouts have roused stands in their path, and they are in no further humour for
the chase–even so the Achaeans were still charging on in a body, using their
swords and spears pointed at both ends, but when they saw Hector going about
among his men they were afraid, and their hearts fell down into their feet.

Then spoke Thoas son of Andraemon, leader of the Aetolians,
a man who could throw a good throw, and who was staunch also in close fight,
while few could surpass him in debate when opinions were divided. He then with
all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus: “What, in heaven’s name, do I
now see? Is it not Hector come to life again? Every one made sure he had been
killed by Ajax son of Telamon, but it seems that one of the gods has again
rescued him. He has killed many of us Danaans already, and I take it will yet do
so, for the hand of Jove must be with him or he would never dare show himself so
masterful in the forefront of the battle. Now, therefore, let us all do as I
say; let us order the main body of our forces to fall back upon the ships, but
let those of us who profess to be the flower of the army stand firm, and see
whether we cannot hold Hector back at the point of our spears as soon as he
comes near us; I conceive that he will then think better of it before he tries
to charge into the press of the Danaans.”

Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. Those
who were about Ajax and King Idomeneus, the followers moreover of Teucer,
Meriones, and Meges peer of Mars called all their best men about them and
sustained the fight against Hector and the Trojans, but the main body fell back
upon the ships of the Achaeans.

The Trojans pressed forward in a dense body, with Hector
striding on at their head. Before him went Phoebus Apollo shrouded in cloud
about his shoulders. He bore aloft the terrible aegis with its shaggy fringe,
which Vulcan the smith had given Jove to strike terror into the hearts of men.
With this in his hand he led on the Trojans.

The Argives held together and stood their ground. The cry
of battle rose high from either side, and the arrows flew from the bowstrings.
Many a spear sped from strong hands and fastened in the bodies of many a valiant
warrior, while others fell to earth midway, before they could taste of man’s
fair flesh and glut themselves with blood. So long as Phoebus Apollo held his
aegis quietly and without shaking it, the weapons on either side took effect and
the people fell, but when he shook it straight in the face of the Danaans and
raised his mighty battle-cry their hearts fainted within them and they forgot
their former prowess. As when two wild beasts spring in the dead of night on a
herd of cattle or a large flock of sheep when the herdsman is not there–even so
were the Danaans struck helpless, for Apollo filled them with panic and gave
victory to Hector and the Trojans.

The fight then became more scattered and they killed one
another where they best could. Hector killed Stichius and Arcesilaus, the one,
leader of the Boeotians, and the other, friend and comrade of Menestheus. Aeneas
killed Medon and Iasus. The first was bastard son to Oileus, and brother to
Ajax, but he lived in Phylace away from his own country, for he had killed a
man, a kinsman of his stepmother Eriopis whom Oileus had married. Iasus had
become a leader of the Athenians, and was son of Sphelus the son of Boucolos.
Polydamas killed Mecisteus, and Polites Echius, in the front of the battle,
while Agenor slew Clonius. Paris struck Deiochus from behind in the lower part
of the shoulder, as he was flying among the foremost, and the point of the spear
went clean through him.

While they were spoiling these heroes of their armour, the
Achaeans were flying pell-mell to the trench and the set stakes, and were forced
back within their wall. Hector then cried out to the Trojans, “Forward to the
ships, and let the spoils be. If I see any man keeping back on the other side
the wall away from the ships I will have him killed: his kinsmen and kinswomen
shall not give him his dues of fire, but dogs shall tear him in pieces in front
of our city.”

As he spoke he laid his whip about his horses’ shoulders
and called to the Trojans throughout their ranks; the Trojans shouted with a cry
that rent the air, and kept their horses neck and neck with his own. Phoebus
Apollo went before, and kicked down the banks of the deep trench into its middle
so as to make a great broad bridge, as broad as the throw of a spear when a man
is trying his strength. The Trojan battalions poured over the bridge, and Apollo
with his redoubtable aegis led the way. He kicked down the wall of the Achaeans
as easily as a child who playing on the sea-shore has built a house of sand and
then kicks it down again and destroys it–even so did you, O Apollo, shed toil
and trouble upon the Argives, filling them with panic and confusion.

Thus then were the Achaeans hemmed in at their ships,
calling out to one another and raising their hands with loud cries every man to
heaven. Nestor of Gerene, tower of strength to the Achaeans, lifted up his hands
to the starry firmament of heaven, and prayed more fervently than any of them.
“Father Jove,” said he, “if ever any one in wheat-growing Argos burned you fat
thigh-bones of sheep or heifer and prayed that he might return safely home,
whereon you bowed your head to him in assent, bear it in mind now, and suffer
not the Trojans to triumph thus over the Achaeans.”

All-counselling Jove thundered loudly in answer to the
prayer of the aged son of Neleus. When they heard Jove thunder they flung
themselves yet more fiercely on the Achaeans. As a wave breaking over the
bulwarks of a ship when the sea runs high before a gale–for it is the force of
the wind that makes the waves so great–even so did the Trojans spring over the
wall with a shout, and drive their chariots onwards. The two sides fought with
their double-pointed spears in hand-to-hand encounter-the Trojans from their
chariots, and the Achaeans climbing up into their ships and wielding the long
pikes that were lying on the decks ready for use in a sea-fight, jointed and
shod with bronze.

Now Patroclus, so long as the Achaeans and Trojans were
fighting about the wall, but were not yet within it and at the ships, remained
sitting in the tent of good Eurypylus, entertaining him with his conversation
and spreading herbs over his wound to ease his pain. When, however, he saw the
Trojans swarming through the breach in the wall, while the Achaeans were
clamouring and struck with panic, he cried aloud, and smote his two thighs with
the flat of his hands. “Eurypylus,” said he in his dismay, “I know you want me
badly, but I cannot stay with you any longer, for there is hard fighting going
on; a servant shall take care of you now, for I must make all speed to Achilles,
and induce him to fight if I can; who knows but with heaven’s help I may
persuade him. A man does well to listen to the advice of a friend.”

When he had thus spoken he went his way. The Achaeans stood
firm and resisted the attack of the Trojans, yet though these were fewer in
number, they could not drive them back from the ships, neither could the Trojans
break the Achaean ranks and make their way in among the tents and ships. As a
carpenter’s line gives a true edge to a piece of ship’s timber, in the hand of
some skilled workman whom Minerva has instructed in all kinds of useful
arts–even so level was the issue of the fight between the two sides, as they
fought some round one and some round another.

Hector made straight for Ajax, and the two fought fiercely
about the same ship. Hector could not force Ajax back and fire the ship, nor yet
could Ajax drive Hector from the spot to which heaven had brought him.

Then Ajax struck Caletor son of Clytius in the chest with a
spear as he was bringing fire towards the ship. He fell heavily to the ground
and the torch dropped from his hand. When Hector saw his cousin fallen in front
of the ship he shouted to the Trojans and Lycians saying, “Trojans, Lycians, and
Dardanians good in close fight, bate not a jot, but rescue the son of Clytius
lest the Achaeans strip him of his armour now that he has fallen.”

He then aimed a spear at Ajax, and missed him, but he hit
Lycophron a follower of Ajax, who came from Cythera, but was living with Ajax
inasmuch as he had killed a man among the Cythereans. Hector’s spear struck him
on the head below the ear, and he fell headlong from the ship’s prow on to the
ground with no life left in him. Ajax shook with rage and said to his brother, “Teucer,
my good fellow, our trusty comrade the son of Mastor has fallen, he came to live
with us from Cythera and whom we honoured as much as our own parents. Hector has
just killed him; fetch your deadly arrows at once and the bow which Phoebus
Apollo gave you.”

Teucer heard him and hastened towards him with his bow and
quiver in his hands. Forthwith he showered his arrows on the Trojans, and hit
Cleitus the son of Pisenor, comrade of Polydamas the noble son of Panthous, with
the reins in his hands as he was attending to his horses; he was in the middle
of the very thickest part of the fight, doing good service to Hector and the
Trojans, but evil had now come upon him, and not one of those who were fain to
do so could avert it, for the arrow struck him on the back of the neck. He fell
from his chariot and his horses shook the empty car as they swerved aside. King
Polydamas saw what had happened, and was the first to come up to the horses; he
gave them in charge to Astynous son of Protiaon, and ordered him to look on, and
to keep the horses near at hand. He then went back and took his place in the
front ranks.

Teucer then aimed another arrow at Hector, and there would
have been no more fighting at the ships if he had hit him and killed him then
and there: Jove, however, who kept watch over Hector, had his eyes on Teucer,
and deprived him of his triumph, by breaking his bowstring for him just as he
was drawing it and about to take his aim; on this the arrow went astray and the
bow fell from his hands. Teucer shook with anger and said to his brother, “Alas,
see how heaven thwarts us in all we do; it has broken my bowstring and snatched
the bow from my hand, though I strung it this selfsame morning that it might
serve me for many an arrow.”

Ajax son of Telamon answered, “My good fellow, let your bow
and your arrows be, for Jove has made them useless in order to spite the Danaans.
Take your spear, lay your shield upon your shoulder, and both fight the Trojans
yourself and urge others to do so. They may be successful for the moment but if
we fight as we ought they will find it a hard matter to take the ships.”

Teucer then took his bow and put it by in his tent. He hung
a shield four hides thick about his shoulders, and on his comely head he set his
helmet well wrought with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above it;
he grasped his redoubtable bronze-shod spear, and forthwith he was by the side
of Ajax.

When Hector saw that Teucer’s bow was of no more use to
him, he shouted out to the Trojans and Lycians, “Trojans, Lycians, and
Dardanians good in close fight, be men, my friends, and show your mettle here at
the ships, for I see the weapon of one of their chieftains made useless by the
hand of Jove. It is easy to see when Jove is helping people and means to help
them still further, or again when he is bringing them down and will do nothing
for them; he is now on our side, and is going against the Argives. Therefore
swarm round the ships and fight. If any of you is struck by spear or sword and
loses his life, let him die; he dies with honour who dies fighting for his
country; and he will leave his wife and children safe behind him, with his house
and allotment unplundered if only the Achaeans can be driven back to their own
land, they and their ships.”

With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Ajax
on the other side exhorted his comrades saying, “Shame on you Argives, we are
now utterly undone, unless we can save ourselves by driving the enemy from our
ships. Do you think, if Hector takes them, that you will be able to get home by
land? Can you not hear him cheering on his whole host to fire our fleet, and
bidding them remember that they are not at a dance but in battle? Our only
course is to fight them with might and main; we had better chance it, life or
death, once for all, than fight long and without issue hemmed in at our ships by
worse men than ourselves.”

With these words he put life and soul into them all. Hector
then killed Schedius son of Perimedes, leader of the Phoceans, and Ajax killed
Laodamas captain of foot soldiers and son to Antenor. Polydamas killed Otus of
Cyllene a comrade of the son of Phyleus and chief of the proud Epeans. When
Meges saw this he sprang upon him, but Polydamas crouched down, and he missed
him, for Apollo would not suffer the son of Panthous to fall in battle; but the
spear hit Croesmus in the middle of his chest, whereon he fell heavily to the
ground, and Meges stripped him of his armour. At that moment the valiant soldier
Dolops son of Lampus sprang upon Lampus was son of Laomedon and for his valour,
while his son Dolops was versed in all the ways of war. He then struck the
middle of the son of Phyleus’ shield with his spear, setting on him at close
quarters, but his good corslet made with plates of metal saved him; Phyleus had
brought it from Ephyra and the river Selleis, where his host, King Euphetes, had
given it him to wear in battle and protect him. It now served to save the life
of his son. Then Meges struck the topmost crest of Dolops’s bronze helmet with
his spear and tore away its plume of horse-hair, so that all newly dyed with
scarlet as it was it tumbled down into the dust. While he was still fighting and
confident of victory, Menelaus came up to help Meges, and got by the side of
Dolops unperceived; he then speared him in the shoulder, from behind, and the
point, driven so furiously, went through into his chest, whereon he fell
headlong. The two then made towards him to strip him of his armour, but Hector
called on all his brothers for help, and he especially upbraided brave
Melanippus son of Hiketaon, who erewhile used to pasture his herds of cattle in
Percote before the war broke out; but when the ships of the Danaans came, he
went back to Ilius, where he was eminent among the Trojans, and lived near Priam
who treated him as one of his own sons. Hector now rebuked him and said, “Why,
Melanippus, are we thus remiss? do you take no note of the death of your
kinsman, and do you not see how they are trying to take Dolops’s armour? Follow
me; there must be no fighting the Argives from a distance now, but we must do so
in close combat till either we kill them or they take the high wall of Ilius and
slay her people.”

He led on as he spoke, and the hero Melanippus followed
after. Meanwhile Ajax son of Telamon was cheering on the Argives. “My friends,”
he cried, “be men, and fear dishonour; quit yourselves in battle so as to win
respect from one another. Men who respect each other’s good opinion are less
likely to be killed than those who do not, but in flight there is neither gain
nor glory.”

Thus did he exhort men who were already bent upon driving
back the Trojans. They laid his words to heart and hedged the ships as with a
wall of bronze, while Jove urged on the Trojans. Menelaus of the loud battle-cry
urged Antilochus on. “Antilochus,” said he, “you are young and there is none of
the Achaeans more fleet of foot or more valiant than you are. See if you cannot
spring upon some Trojan and kill him.”

He hurried away when he had thus spurred Antilochus, who at
once darted out from the front ranks and aimed a spear, after looking carefully
round him. The Trojans fell back as he threw, and the dart did not speed from
his hand without effect, for it struck Melanippus the proud son of Hiketaon in
the breast by the nipple as he was coming forward, and his armour rang rattling
round him as he fell heavily to the ground. Antilochus sprang upon him as a dog
springs on a fawn which a hunter has hit as it was breaking away from its
covert, and killed it. Even so, O Melanippus, did stalwart Antilochus spring
upon you to strip you of your armour; but noble Hector marked him, and came
running up to him through the thick of the battle. Antilochus, brave soldier
though he was, would not stay to face him, but fled like some savage creature
which knows it has done wrong, and flies, when it has killed a dog or a man who
is herding his cattle, before a body of men can be gathered to attack it. Even
so did the son of Nestor fly, and the Trojans and Hector with a cry that rent
the air showered their weapons after him; nor did he turn round and stay his
flight till he had reached his comrades.

The Trojans, fierce as lions, were still rushing on towards
the ships in fulfilment of the behests of Jove who kept spurring them on to new
deeds of daring, while he deadened the courage of the Argives and defeated them
by encouraging the Trojans. For he meant giving glory to Hector son of Priam,
and letting him throw fire upon the ships, till he had fulfilled the unrighteous
prayer that Thetis had made him; Jove, therefore, bided his time till he should
see the glare of a blazing ship. From that hour he was about so to order that
the Trojans should be driven back from the ships and to vouchsafe glory to the
Achaeans. With this purpose he inspired Hector son of Priam, who was cager
enough already, to assail the ships. His fury was as that of Mars, or as when a
fire is raging in the glades of some dense forest upon the mountains; he foamed
at the mouth, his eyes glared under his terrible eye-brows, and his helmet
quivered on his temples by reason of the fury with which he fought. Jove from
heaven was with him, and though he was but one against many, vouchsafed him
victory and glory; for he was doomed to an early death, and already Pallas
Minerva was hurrying on the hour of his destruction at the hands of the son of
Peleus. Now, however, he kept trying to break the ranks of the enemy wherever he
could see them thickest, and in the goodliest armour; but do what he might he
could not break through them, for they stood as a tower foursquare, or as some
high cliff rising from the grey sea that braves the anger of the gale, and of
the waves that thunder up against it. He fell upon them like flames of fire from
every quarter. As when a wave, raised mountain high by wind and storm, breaks
over a ship and covers it deep in foam, the fierce winds roar against the mast,
the hearts of the sailors fail them for fear, and they are saved but by a very
little from destruction–even so were the hearts of the Achaeans fainting within
them. Or as a savage lion attacking a herd of cows while they are feeding by
thousands in the low-lying meadows by some wide-watered shore–the herdsman is
at his wit’s end how to protect his herd and keeps going about now in the van
and now in the rear of his cattle, while the lion springs into the thick of them
and fastens on a cow so that they all tremble for fear–even so were the
Achaeans utterly panic-stricken by Hector and father Jove. Nevertheless Hector
only killed Periphetes of Mycenae; he was son of Copreus who was wont to take
the orders of King Eurystheus to mighty Hercules, but the son was a far better
man than the father in every way; he was fleet of foot, a valiant warrior, and
in understanding ranked among the foremost men of Mycenae. He it was who then
afforded Hector a triumph, for as he was turning back he stumbled against the
rim of his shield which reached his feet, and served to keep the javelins off
him. He tripped against this and fell face upward, his helmet ringing loudly
about his head as he did so. Hector saw him fall and ran up to him; he then
thrust a spear into his chest, and killed him close to his own comrades. These,
for all their sorrow, could not help him for they were themselves terribly
afraid of Hector.

They had now reached the ships and the prows of those that
had been drawn up first were on every side of them, but the Trojans came pouring
after them. The Argives were driven back from the first row of ships, but they
made a stand by their tents without being broken up and scattered; shame and
fear restrained them. They kept shouting incessantly to one another, and Nestor
of Gerene, tower of strength to the Achaeans, was loudest in imploring every man
by his parents, and beseeching him to stand firm.

“Be men, my friends,” he cried, “and respect one another’s
good opinion. Think, all of you, on your children, your wives, your property,
and your parents whether these be alive or dead. On their behalf though they are
not here, I implore you to stand firm, and not to turn in flight.”

With these words he put heart and soul into them all.
Minerva lifted the thick veil of darkness from their eyes, and much light fell
upon them, alike on the side of the ships and on that where the fight was
raging. They could see Hector and all his men, both those in the rear who were
taking no part in the battle, and those who were fighting by the ships.

Ajax could not bring himself to retreat along with the
rest, but strode from deck to deck with a great sea-pike in his hands twelve
cubits long and jointed with rings. As a man skilled in feats of horsemanship
couples four horses together and comes tearing full speed along the public way
from the country into some large town–many both men and women marvel as they
see him for he keeps all the time changing his horse, springing from one to
another without ever missing his feet while the horses are at a gallop–even so
did Ajax go striding from one ship’s deck to another, and his voice went up into
the heavens. He kept on shouting his orders to the Danaans and exhorting them to
defend their ships and tents; neither did Hector remain within the main body of
the Trojan warriors, but as a dun eagle swoops down upon a flock of wild-fowl
feeding near a river-geese, it may be, or cranes, or long-necked swans–even so
did Hector make straight for a dark-prowed ship, rushing right towards it; for
Jove with his mighty hand impelled him forward, and roused his people to follow
him.

And now the battle again raged furiously at the ships. You
would have thought the men were coming on fresh and unwearied, so fiercely did
they fight; and this was the mind in which they were–the Achaeans did not
believe they should escape destruction but thought themselves doomed, while
there was not a Trojan but his heart beat high with the hope of firing the ships
and putting the Achaean heroes to the sword.

Thus were the two sides minded. Then Hector seized the
stern of the good ship that had brought Protesilaus to Troy, but never bore him
back to his native land. Round this ship there raged a close hand-to-hand fight
between Danaans and Trojans. They did not fight at a distance with bows and
javelins, but with one mind hacked at one another in close combat with their
mighty swords and spears pointed at both ends; they fought moreover with keen
battle-axes and with hatchets. Many a good stout blade hilted and scabbarded
with iron, fell from hand or shoulder as they fought, and the earth ran red with
blood. Hector, when he had seized the ship, would not loose his hold but held on
to its curved stern and shouted to the Trojans, “Bring fire, and raise the
battle-cry all of you with a single voice. Now has Jove vouchsafed us a day that
will pay us for all the rest; this day we shall take the ships which came hither
against heaven’s will, and which have caused us such infinite suffering through
the cowardice of our councillors, who when I would have done battle at the ships
held me back and forbade the host to follow me; if Jove did then indeed warp our
judgements, himself now commands me and cheers me on.”

As he spoke thus the Trojans sprang yet more fiercely on
the Achaeans, and Ajax no longer held his ground, for he was overcome by the
darts that were flung at him, and made sure that he was doomed. Therefore he
left the raised deck at the stern, and stepped back on to the seven-foot bench
of the oarsmen. Here he stood on the look-out, and with his spear held back
Trojan whom he saw bringing fire to the ships. All the time he kept on shouting
at the top of his voice and exhorting the Danaans. “My friends,” he cried,
“Danaan heroes, servants of Mars, be men my friends, and fight with might and
with main. Can we hope to find helpers hereafter, or a wall to shield us more
surely than the one we have? There is no strong city within reach, whence we may
draw fresh forces to turn the scales in our favour. We are on the plain of the
armed Trojans with the sea behind us, and far from our own country. Our
salvation, therefore, is in the might of our hands and in hard fighting.”

As he spoke he wielded his spear with still greater fury,
and when any Trojan made towards the ships with fire at Hector’s bidding, he
would be on the look-out for him, and drive at him with his long spear. Twelve
men did he thus kill in hand-to-hand fight before the ships.