THE BATTLE AT THE WALL
Now by this time the Trojans were close upon the trench. But the
horses stood on the brink, fearing to leap it, for it was broad and
deep, and the Greeks had put great stakes therein. Thus said
Polydamas.
Po-lyd'-a-mas.
"Surely, Hector, this is madness that we strive to cross the trench
in our chariots, for it is broad and deep, and there are great stakes
therein. Look, too, at this: even if we should be able to cross it,
how will the matter stand? If, indeed, it be the pleasure of Zeus
that the Greeks should perish utterly--it will be well. But if they
turn upon us and pursue us, driving us back from the ships, then
shall we not be able to return. Wherefore let us leave our chariots
here upon the brink, and go on foot against the wall."
So they went in five companies, and Hector led that which was bravest
and largest. And in each company they joined shield to shield, and
so went against the Greeks. And they all left their chariots by the
trench, save Asius only. But Asius drove his chariot right up to
that gate which was on the left hand in the wall. Now the gates
chanced to be open, for the warders had opened them, so that any of
the Greeks that fled might enter. Now the warders were two mighty
heroes; and these, when they saw Asius and his company coming, went
without and stood in front of the gates, just as two wild boars stand
at bay against a crowd of men and dogs. And all the while they that
stood on the wall threw heavy stones, which fell, thick as the
snowflakes fall in the winter, on the men of Troy, and loud rang the
helmets and the shields. And many fell wounded to the death, nor
could Asius, for all his fury, win his way into the walls. But
where, at another of the gates, Hector led the way, there appeared a
strange marvel in the skies, for an eagle was bearing in his claws a
great snake, which it had taken as a prey. But the snake fought
fiercely for its life, and writhed itself about, even till it bit the
eagle on the breast. Thereupon the eagle dropped it into the midst
of the host, and fled with a loud cry. Then Polydamas, the wise
counsellor, came near to Hector and said:--
A'-si-us.
"Now it will be well that we should not follow these Greeks to their
ships. For I take it that this marvel that we have seen is a sign to
us. For as this eagle had caught in his claws a snake, but held it
not, dropping it before he could bear it to his young, so shall it
fare with us. For we shall drive the Greeks to their ships, yet
shall not subdue them, but shall return in disorder by the way that
we came, leaving full many of our comrades behind us."
But Hector frowned, and answered: "Nay, but this is ill counsel,
Polydamas. Dost thou bid me forget the command of Zeus the
Thunderer, and take heed to birds, how they fly? Little care I
whether they go to the east or to the west, to the right or to the
left. Surely there is but one sign for a brave man, that he be
fighting for his fatherland. Therefore take thou heed; for if thou
holdest back from the war, or holdest back any other, lo! I will
smite thee with my spear."
Then he sprang forward, and the men of Troy followed him with a
shout. And Zeus sent down from Ida a great blast of wind, which bore
the dust of the plain straight to the ships, troubling the hearts of
the Greeks. Then the Trojans sought to drag down the battlements
from the wall, and to wrench up the posts which had been set to
strengthen it. Nor did the Greeks give way, but they joined shield
to shield, and fought for the wall. And foremost among them were
Ajax the Greater and Ajax the Less. Just as the snow falls in
mid-winter, when the winds are hushed, and the mountain-tops are
covered, and the plains and the dwellings of men and the very shores
of the sea, up to the waves' edge, so thickly fell the stones which
the Greeks showered from the wall against the men of Troy, and which
these again threw upon the Greeks. And still Hector and his men
availed not to break through the gate. But at the last Zeus stirred
up the heart of his own son, Sarpedon. Holding his shield before him
he went, and he shook in either hand a spear. As goes a lion, when
hunger presses him sore, against a stall of oxen or a sheepfold, and
cares not though he find men and dogs keeping watch against him, so
Sarpedon went against the wall.
And on the other hand the Greeks strengthened their ranks within the
wall, for the matter was of life or death. Long time they fought
with equal might, for neither could the Lycians break through the
wall of the Greeks and make a way to the ships, nor could the Greeks
drive back the Lycians from the wall. Even as two neighbours,
standing with measures in their hands, contend about some boundary,
so the Lycians and the Greeks contended for the battlements. And
many a man was wounded with the pitiless bronze, either smitten in
the back, where he was without defence, or smitten in front through
his shield; and all the battlements were bespattered with the blood
of men.
So it was till Zeus gave the glory to Hector. He leapt within the
wall, and cried to the men of Troy, "Now follow me, and break down
the wall, and burn the ships."
So he spake, and they heard his voice, and rushed together on the
wall. Now in front of the gate there lay a great stone, broad at the
base and sharp at the top. Scarce could two men of the strongest,
such as are men in these days, move it with levers on to a wagon; but
Hector lifted it easily, easily as a shepherd carries in one hand the
fleece of a sheep. Two folding doors there were in the gates, held
by bolts and a key, and at these he hurled the great stone, planting
his feet apart, that his aim might be the surer and stronger. With a
mighty crash it came against the gates. and the bolts held not
against it, and the hinges were broken, so that the folding doors
flew back. Then Hector leapt into the space, holding a spear in
either hand, and his eyes flashed as fire. And the men of Troy came
after him, some mounting the wall, and some pouring through the gates.