begrimed with dust, she tore her hair, and shrieked aloud, and tossed far
away her glistening veil. And his father, King Priam, wailed and mourned;
and with him all the men and women in the city, as if the beetling towers
of Ilium were already smouldering in fire. Hardly could they keep the aged
father from rushing through the gates; for he threw himself in the dust
and supplicated each man by name: "O friend, forbear! and if you love me,
let me go to the ships of the Achaians, and pray to this arrogant, this
fearful man!" Thus wailed old Priam; and the men wailed with him. And
Queen Hecuba led the loud lamentations of the women. "Why," she cried,
"should I yet live, when thou, my son, my boast, my glory, art dead? the
pride and blessing of all, both men and women of the city, who honored
thee as a god; for in thy life thou wert an honor to them all!" Thus
mourned his unhappy mother.
But to his wife, the noble, beautiful, tender-hearted Andromache, no
messenger had brought the fearful tidings that Hector had remained without
the gates. All unconscious, she was sitting in the inner chamber of her
lofty palace, weaving a purple web of double woof, and embroidering it
with many flowers. And she was ordering her handmaids to prepare a warm
bath for her dear husband, when he should return from the battle; poor
child! little knowing that the fierce-eyed Athene had treacherously slain
him, by the hand of Achilles! But when she heard shrieks and lamentations
from the walls, she reeled, and the shuttle dropped from her hands. And
she spake again to her fair-haired maidens: "Surely, that was the cry of
Hector's noble mother! Some terrible thing must have befallen my godlike
husband! Come, then, follow me, that I may learn what has happened; I
greatly fear that he has been cut off from the city by Achilles; for he
would never retreat among the throng, or yield to any man, in his high
courage."
And she rushed, all frantic, through the house, followed by her maidens,
and came to the walls, and saw Hector dragged through the dust, towards
the black ships of the Achaians. Then darkness shrouded her fair eyes, and
she fell backwards in a swoon. And when roused, she tore from her head the
net, the fillet, and the nuptial veil which golden Venus had given her,
when noble Hector of the shining helm led her forth, from King Eëtion's
palace, as his bride. And the sisters-in-law of her dear husband gathered
round her, and raised her from the ground, all distracted as she was and
nigh unto death. When she had recovered from her swoon, she sobbed and
wailed, crying, "O Hector! to the same evil fate were we twain born, thou
in Troy, and I in Thebes, where my great father, Eëtion, reared me as a
little child. Would that I had never been born, since thou leavest me a
hapless widow! And our son, thine and mine, ill-fated one! is but a little
child; and thou canst no more profit him, nor he be a joy to thee, since
thou art dead! A helpless orphan, he is cut off from his playmates; and if
he pluck the robe of his father's friends, one may, in pity, just hold the
cup to his lips, but give him not to satisfy his hunger and his thirst;
while other children, whose parents still live, will drive him from their
feast, with taunts and blows, saying, 'Away with thee! thou hast no father
at our table!' Then will he come back to me, his lonely mother; he, who so
lately sat on his father's knee, and fed on the choicest of food! and when
sleep fell upon him, tired with his childish play, he nestled in a soft
bed in his nurse's arms. But now that his father is no more, he shall
suffer untold griefs, even he whom the Trojans called 'Astyanax,' king of
the city, because thou, O my beloved lord! wert the sole defense and glory
of their lofty walls." Thus wailed the fair Andromache; and the women
moaned around her.
THE FUNERAL GAMES IN HONOR OF PATROCLUS
By Walter C. Perry
The noble Achilles could not do enough in honor of his lost friend,
Patroclus, and he had determined to hold games, of every kind, in which
the mail-clad Achaians might compete for prizes; and to this end he had
brought goodly treasures from his ships,--tripods, and caldrons, horses,
mules, and oxen, well-girdled women, and hoary iron. The first and most
important contest was a chariot race, for which he offered a woman skilled
in needlework, and a two-handled tripod, holding two-and-twenty
measures--these, for the best man of all; the second prize was a mare, six
years old, with a mule foal; the third prize was a fair new caldron, of
four measures; the fourth was two talents of bright gold; the fifth was a
two-handled vase, untarnished by the fire.
And Achilles addressed the chiefs, and said, "If the race were in honor of
some other warrior, then should I enter the lists, and bear away the
prize; for ye know that my horses are immortal, and by far the best;
Neptune, the Earth-Girdler, gave them to my father, and he to me. But I
and they will stand aside; for they have lost a noble and gentle driver,
who oft-times washed them with clear water and then poured soft oil upon
their goodly manes! And now they stand with sorrow in their breasts, and
their full long manes are trailing on the earth. But now, let whoever of
you trusteth in his horses and his strong chariot take his place in the
lists!"
And first came forward Eumelus, son of Admetus; next came the mighty
Diomedes, with the famous horses of Tros, which he had taken from Æneas;
then arose Menelaus,--the fair-haired, godlike Menelaus, with Aithe,
Agamemnon's mare, and his own horse, Podargus; and the fourth was
Antilochus, son of the wise Nestor, who yoked swift Pylian horses to his
chariot.
His father Nestor, son of Neleus, stood by Antilochus, and gave him good
advice, although he himself was wise. "Antilochus, my son," he said,
"though thou art young, yet Zeus and Neptune have loved thee, and made
thee a perfect horseman; and there is little need for me to teach thee.
But the other horses are better than thine; and I fear that much trouble
is in store for thee. But skill and cunning are better than force, and so
one charioteer defeats another. Look well to the posts at either end, and
run closely by them. Now I will tell thee another thing. Some six feet
above the ground, there stands the withered stump of a tree, with two
white stones, on either side; this is the mark fixed by the swift-footed
Achilles. Do thou drive thy horses hard by this, and lean slightly to the
left, and lash the off horse and give him rein; but let the near horse so
closely skirt the post that the nave of the wheel of thy car may seem to
graze the stone; but beware of touching it!"
Next, Meriones made ready his chariot; and so did the others. Then they
mounted their cars, and drew lots for their places. Great Diomedes drew
the best. Achilles ranged them all side by side, and pointed to the
turning-post, in the plain, near which he posted old Phoenix, as umpire.
Then, at a signal from the son of Peleus, they raised their long whips,
together, standing upright, and lashed their horses, and encouraged them
by hand and voice. And the chariots now ran evenly on the ground, and now
bounded high in air. But when they entered the last part of the course,
driving towards the sea, the fleet mares of Eumelus, grandson of Pheres,
rushed to the front; and next came Diomedes, with the stallions of Tros,
so near that they seemed to be mounting the car of Eumelus, and with their
hot breath covered his back and shoulders. Then Tydides would either have
gained a victory, or it would have been at least a dead heat; but Phoebus
Apollo was angry with him, and dashed his shining whip from his hand. He
shed hot tears of fury, when he saw that the mares of Eumelus were still
at their utmost speed, while his own horses slackened their speed, no
longer feeling the lash. But, luckily for Diomedes, his constant friend
Athene marked the trick of Apollo; and, speeding after Diomedes, she gave
him back the scourge, and put fresh mettle into his steeds. She then
pursued Eumelus, and brake the yoke of his horses; they bolted from the
course, and he was hurled off his car into the dust. Meanwhile, Tydides
rushed on before the others, for Athene was shedding glory on his head.
Next to him ran the horses of Menelaus, son of Atreus. Then came
Antilochus, son of Nestor, who spake thus to his father's Pylian horses:
"I do not ask you to contend with Tydides, whose horses Athene herself is
speeding; but I pray you to catch up the chariot of Atrides; and be not
beaten by Aithe, lest she, who is only a mare, pour ridicule upon you."
Thus spake Antilochus, and his horses were afraid, and sped on more
swiftly. But Antilochus noted a narrow gully, where the rain had collected
and had carried away a part of the course. There Menelaus was driving,
when Antilochus turned his horses out of the way, and followed him at one
side. Then Menelaus, fearing a collision, shouted loudly to the son of
Nestor: "Antilochus, hold in thy horses! and drive not so recklessly!
close ahead there is a wider space, where we can pass one another!" But
Antilochus, as if he heard him not, drove on more madly than ever and
plied the lash; and the golden-haired son of Atreus called again to him,
reproving him: "Antilochus, there is no man more spiteful than thou; away
with thee! wrongly have we called thee _wise_!" Then he called on his
horses, and they increased their speed, fearing the anger of their lord,
and quickly overtook the others.
Now the Argive chiefs sat together, watching the race as the chariots flew
along the course. The first to see them coming was Idomeneus, the Cretan
prince, the son of Deucalion; he was sitting apart from the rest on the
highest place, and he could distinguish the voices of the drivers. He
noticed a chestnut horse, with a white star on his forehead, round like
the full moon; and he stood up and spake: "Friends and Counselors of the
Argives! can ye see the horses as I do? To me, there appeareth a new
chariot and horses; and the mares which led at the start I can no longer
see."
Then the son of Oïleus, Ajax, rebuked him in boorish fashion: "Idomeneus,
why chatterest thou before the time? Thou art not one of the youngest, nor
are thine eyes of the sharpest. The same mares of Eumelus are still
leading, and he is standing up in the chariot."
And the great chief, Idomeneus, answered in great wrath, "Ajax, ever ready
to abuse, inconsiderate slanderer! thou art in all respects inferior to
the other Argives, for thy mind is rude."
Thus spoke the Cretan hero. And the son of Oïleus rose again, to reply
with scornful words; but Achilles himself stood forward and said, "No
longer, Idomeneus and Ajax, bandy insulting words with one another; for it
is not meet! Sit ye still, and watch; and soon will ye know which horses
are leading." He spake; and straightway Tydides came driving up in his
fair chariot, overlaid with gold and tin, which ran lightly behind the
horses, and scarcely left a trace in the fine dust of the plain. Checking
his horses in the middle of the crowd, he leapt to the ground and claimed
the splendid prize; and the gallant Sthenelus made no delay, but gave to
his victorious comrade the woman and the tripod to bear away.
Next to Diomedes came the son of Nestor, Antilochus, who had passed by
Menelaus by a clever stratagem, though his horses were inferior; but even
so, Menelaus had pressed him hard, and was behind him only so far as a
horse is from the wheel of the chariot which he draweth.
But Meriones, the brave charioteer of Idomeneus, came in about the cast of
a lance behind Menelaus; for his horses were the slowest, and he was
himself but a sluggish driver. Last of all came Eumelus, the son of
Admetus, dragging his broken chariot. The swift-footed Achilles, son of
Peleus, pitied him, and spake winged words to the chiefs: "Lo! the best
man of all comes last; but let us give him a prize--the second! And let
Tydides bear away the first!"
All the Achaians heard him, and shouted applause; and the noble Achilles
would have given him the mare had not Antilochus, son of the wise and
glorious Nestor, stood up in defense of his claim: "O Achilles!" he said,
"justly shall I be wroth with thee, if thou takest away the prize which I
have fairly won. Thou thinkest only of the unlucky chance which hath
befallen Eumelus and his horses; but he ought to have made prayer to the
deathless Gods, and then he would not have come in last of all. If thou
pitiest him, there is much treasure in thy house,--gold, and bronze, and
sheep, and handmaids, and horses. Give him, if it pleaseth thee and the
Achaians, a still richer prize. But I will not give up the mare; for she
is _mine_."
And Achilles smiled on his comrade Antilochus, whom he dearly loved, and
answered him, "Antilochus, I will do as thou sayest: I will give him the
bronze cuirass, edged with shining tin, which I took from Asteropæus."
But the great Menelaus arose, filled with insatiable wrath against
Antilochus. The herald placed a sceptre in his hand, and called for
silence. Then the godlike king made harangue, and said, "Antilochus! thou
who wert once accounted wise--what is this that thou hast done? Thou hast
disgraced my skill, and discomfited my horses, by thrusting thine, which
are far worse, in front of them. Come then, great chiefs of the Argives!
give judgment, without favor, between him and me! That no one may say
hereafter, that ye favored me for my power and rank, I will myself set the
issue before you; so that no one may reproach me. Stand forth, Antilochus,
before thy chariot; and take thy whip, and lay thy hand upon thy horses,
and swear by the great Girdler and Shaker of the Earth, that thou didst
not, by set purpose and malice, hinder my chariot in the course!"
Then Antilochus made prudent answer, "Be patient with me, King Menelaus!
for I am younger, and thou art in all respects my better. Bear with me,
then: and I will myself give thee the mare, my prize, rather than lose my
place in thy heart, O thou beloved of Zeus!" Thus spake the noble-minded
son of Nestor; and he gave the mare to Menelaus, king of men.
And the heart of the son of Atreus rejoiced, as the ripe ears of corn,
when the dew descendeth upon them, in the glistening cornfield. And he
spake kindly to Antilochus, and said, "Lo! at once do I put away my anger;
for of old thou wert never rash or light-minded; but now thy reason was
overborne by the impetuosity of youth. Therefore I grant thy prayer, and
will even give thee the mare; for I am in no wise covetous or
unforgiving."
He spake, and gave the mare to Noëmon, the comrade of Antilochus, to lead
away; but he took the bright caldron to himself. And Meriones, who came in
fourth, took the two talents of gold. But the fifth prize, a vase with two
handles, was not obtained; and the noble Achilles gave this to Nestor,
and, standing by him, uttered winged words:--
"Let this, O Father! be for thee an heirloom, and a memorial of Patroclus'
funeral games--of him, whom thou wilt never see again! I give it to thee
since thou mayest not contend in boxing, nor in wrestling, nor in throwing
the lance, nor in the foot-race; for rueful old age weigheth heavily upon
thee."
Nestor gladly received the splendid gift, and spake: "True and fitting are
thy words, dear friend! My limbs are no longer sound, nor do my arms move
easily from my shoulders; and I must make way for younger men. But I
accept thy free gift with joy, and rejoice that thou dost remember our old
friendship."
Then Pelides brought forward the prizes for the rough, fierce
boxing-match: a six-year-old unbroken mule for the winner; and a
two-handled goblet for the loser. Then quickly rose the famous boxer
Epeius, and laid his hand on the stubborn mule, and boasted aloud: "Let
who will bear away the goblet; but the mule is mine! for no one will beat
me with his fists!" They all kept silence, and feared. Only one came
forward, even Euryalus, the gallant son of King Mecistus. The famous
warrior Tydides made him ready for the fight, and bade him God speed. The
twain went into the ring, and fell to work; and terrible was the gnashing
of their teeth, and the sweat ran down from their limbs. Epeius came on
fiercely, and struck Euryalus on the cheek, and that was enough; for all
his limbs were loosened. As a fish on a weedy beach, in the ripple caused
by Boreas, leapeth high in air, so Euryalus leapt up in his anguish. But
the generous Epeius raised him again to his feet, and his comrades led him
away, with dragging feet and drooping head, and spitting out black blood.
Next came the terrible wrestling match; and for this the glorious Achilles
brought out two costly prizes: for the winner, a fireproof tripod, worth
twelve oxen; and for the loser, a woman skilled in handiwork, valued at
four oxen. And he cried aloud to the Achaians, "Stand forward all ye who
will enter into this contest!"
Then rose Telamonian Ajax and the crafty Ulysses, and faced each other.
And they entered the ring, and grasped each other with their strong hands,
like the rafters of a house, joined by some skillful builder to withstand
the wind. Their backbones grated and creaked beneath the strain; the sweat
poured down from their limbs, and bloody weals streaked their sides and
shoulders, as they struggled for the well-wrought tripod. But neither
could Ulysses throw the burly Ajax, nor Ajax him. And when the Achaians
grew tired of the futile contest, Ajax spake to Ulysses: "O thou offspring
of the Gods, Laertes' son! do thou lift me, or I will lift thee, and the
issue will be on the lap of Zeus!"
So saying, he raised Ulysses. But the Wily One did not forget his craft.
From behind, he struck the hollow of Ajax's knee, and threw him on his
back; and Ulysses fell upon him; and the people marveled. Then, in his
turn, Ulysses tried to lift huge Ajax, but could not; so he thrust his
crooked knee into the hollow of the other's; and they again both fell to
the ground, covered with dust. When they rose for a third bout, Achilles
restrained them. "No longer wear ye one another out, with toil and pain!
Ye both have won and shall receive equal prizes!" And they cleansed
themselves, and put on their doublets.
Then the noble son of Peleus offered prizes for the foot-race; the first,
a silver krater holding six measures, curiously chased by Sidonian
artists--by far the most beautiful mixing-cup in the whole world. For the
second he offered a stalled ox; and for the third, half a talent of gold.
The wondrous krater Phoenicians had brought by sea, and given it to Thoas,
the ruler of Lemnos; and Euneus, son of Jason, inherited it from Jason,
who received it from Thoas, his father-in-law; and Euneus gave it to the
hero Patroclus, as a ransom for Lycaon, son of Priam; this splendid goblet
was offered to the swiftest of foot.
Then three valiant heroes arose: Ajax, son of Oïleus; Ulysses, the wily
one; and Antilochus, the best runner of the youths. Achilles ranged them
side by side, and showed them the goal. All started at full speed; but
Ajax soon took the lead; and Ulysses came close behind him, near as the
shuttle to the breast of a fair-girdled woman when she is weaving,--so
near that his breath was warm on the back of Ajax. But as they neared the
goal, the wily Ulysses prayed to the fierce-eyed Athene, "O goddess, come
and help my feet!" And Athene heard her favorite, and strengthened all his
limbs. But just as they were about to pounce upon the prize, Ajax slipped
in the blood of the slaughtered oxen, and fell; his mouth and nostrils
were filled with dirt and gore. So the patient Ulysses took the priceless
krater, and Ajax the fatted ox. But Ajax, holding his prize by the horn,
and spitting the filth from his mouth, spake to the Achaians: "O fie upon
it! it was the goddess who betrayed me; she who is ever near to Ulysses,
as a mother to her child." And the Achaians laughed merrily, to see him in
such a sorry plight.
Antilochus, smiling, took the last prize, half a talent of gold; and he
too spake winged words to the Argives: "My friends, ye too will agree with
me that the deathless Gods show favor to the older men. Ajax is a little
older than I; but Ulysses is of a former generation. It were not easy for
any one, except Achilles, fleet of foot, to outrun _him_."
Achilles was pleased at the honor done to his swiftness. "Not unrewarded,"
he said, "shall the praise be which thou hast bestowed on me: I give thee
another half-talent of gold." Antilochus received it gladly. Then the
assembly was dissolved, and the Achaians dispersed, each to his own ship.
THE WOODEN HORSE AND THE FALL OF TROY
By Josephine Preston Peabody
Nine years the Greeks laid siege to Troy, and Troy held out against every
device. On both sides the lives of many heroes were spent, and they were
forced to acknowledge each other enemies of great valor.
Sometimes the chief warriors fought in single combat, while the armies
looked on, and the old men of Troy, with the women, came out to watch afar
off from the city walls. King Priam and Queen Hecuba would come, and
Cassandra, sad with foreknowledge of their doom, and Andromache, the
lovely young wife of Hector, with her little son, whom the people called
the city's king. Sometimes fair Helen came to look across the plain to the
fellow-countrymen whom she had forsaken; and although she was the cause of
all this war, the Trojans half forgave her when she passed by, because her
beauty was like a spell, and warmed hard hearts as the sunshine mellows
apples. So for nine years the Greeks plundered the neighboring towns, but
the city Troy stood fast, and the Grecian ships waited with folded wings.
In the tenth year of the war the Greeks, who could not take the city by
force, pondered how they might take it by craft. At length, with the aid
of Ulysses, they devised a plan.
A portion of the Grecian host broke up camp and set sail as if they were
homeward bound; but, once out of sight, they anchored their ships behind a
neighboring island. The rest of the army then fell to work upon a great
image of a horse. They built it of wood, fitted and carved, and with a
door so cunningly concealed that none might notice it. When it was
finished the horse looked like a prodigious idol; but it was hollow,
skillfully pierced here and there, and so spacious that a band of men
could lie hidden within and take no harm. Into this hiding-place went
Ulysses, Menelaus, and the other chiefs, fully armed, and when the door
was shut upon them, the rest of the Grecian army broke camp and went away.
[Illustration: A GREAT IMAGE OF A HORSE. THEY BUILT IT OF WOOD, FITTED AND
CARVED, AND WITH A DOOR SO CUNNINGLY CONCEALED THAT NONE MIGHT NOTICE IT.
WHEN IT WAS FINISHED THE HORSE LOOKED LIKE A PRODIGIOUS IDOL, BUT IT WAS
HOLLOW, SKILLFULLY PIERCED HERE AND THERE]
Meanwhile, in Troy, the people had seen the departure of the ships, and
the news had spread like wildfire. The great enemy had lost heart,--after
ten years of war! Part of the army had gone,--the rest were going. Already
the last of the ships had set sail, and the camp was deserted. The tents
that had whitened the plain were gone like a frost before the sun. The war
was over!
The whole city went wild with joy. Like one who has been a prisoner for
many years, it flung off all restraint, and the people rose as a single
man to test the truth of new liberty. The gates were thrown wide, and the
Trojans--men, women, and children--thronged over the plain and into the
empty camp of the enemy. There stood the Wooden Horse.
No one knew what it could be. Fearful at first, they gathered around it,
as children gather around a live horse; they marveled at its wondrous
height and girth, and were for moving it into the city as a trophy of war.
At this, one man interposed,--Laocoön, a priest of Neptune. "Take heed,
citizens," said he. "Beware of all that comes from the Greeks. Have you
fought them for ten years without learning their devices? This is some
piece of treachery."
But there was another outcry in the crowd, and at that moment certain of
the Trojans dragged forward a wretched man who wore the garments of a
Greek. He seemed the sole remnant of the Grecian army, and as such they
consented to spare his life, if he would tell them the truth.
Sinon, for this was the spy's name, said that he had been left behind by
the malice of Ulysses, and he told them that the Greeks had built the
Wooden Horse as an offering to Athene, and that they had made it so huge
in order to keep it from being moved out of the camp, since it was
destined to bring triumph to its possessors.