THE BATTLE OF THE GODS
When the River saw that Asteropæus was dead, he took upon him the
shape of a man, and spake to Achilles, saying: "Truly, Achilles, thou
excellest all other men in might and deeds of blood, for the gods
themselves protect thee. It may be that Zeus hath given thee to slay
all the sons of Troy; nevertheless, depart from me and work thy will
upon the plain; for my stream is choked with the multitude of
corpses, nor can I pass to the sea. Do thou, therefore, cease from
troubling me."
To him Achilles made answer: "This shall be as thou wilt, O
Scamander. But the Trojans I will not cease from slaying till I have
driven them into their city and have made trial of Hector, whether I
shall vanquish him or he shall vanquish me."
And as he spake he sped on, pursuing the Trojans. Then the River
cried to Apollo: "Little thou doest the will of thy father, thou of
the Silver Bow, who bade thee stand by the men of Troy and help them
till darkness should cover the land." And he rushed on with a great
wave, stirring together all his streams. The dead bodies he threw
upon the shore, roaring as a bull roareth; and them that lived he hid
in the depth of his eddies. And all about Achilles rose up the
flood, beating full upon his shield, so that he could not stand fast
upon his feet. Then Achilles laid hold of a lime tree, fair and
tall, that grew upon the bank; but the tree brake therefrom with all
its roots, and tare down the bank, and lay across the River, staying
its flow, for it had many branches. Thereupon Achilles leapt out of
the water and sped across the plain, being sore afraid. But the
River ceased not from pursuing him, that he might stay him from
slaughter and save the sons of Troy. So far as a man may throw a
spear, so far did Achilles leap. And still as he fled the River
pursued after him with a great roar.
And when Achilles would have stood against the River, seeking to know
whether indeed all the gods were against him, then the great wave
smote upon his shoulders; and when he leapt into the air, it bowed
his knees beneath him and devoured the ground from under his feet.
Then Achilles looked up to heaven and groaned, crying out: "O Zeus,
will none of the gods pity me, and save me from the River? I care
not what else may befall me. Truly my mother hath deceived me,
saying that I should perish under the walls of Troy by the arrows of
Apollo. Surely it had been better that Hector should slay me, for he
is the bravest of the men of Troy, but now I shall perish miserably
in the River, as some herdboy perisheth whom a torrent sweepeth away
in a storm."
So he spake; but Poseidon and Athene stood by him, having taken upon
them the shape of men, and took him by the hand and strengthened him
with comforting words, for Poseidon spake, saying: "Son of Peletis,
tremble not, neither be afraid. It is not thy fate to be mastered by
the River. He shall soon cease from troubling thee. And do thou
heed what we say. Stay not thy hands from the battle, till thou
shalt have driven all the sons of Troy that escape thee within the
walls of the city. And when thou shalt have slain Hector, go back to
the ships; for this day is the day of thy glory."
Then the two departed from him. Now all the plain was covered with
water, wherein floated much fair armour and many dead bodies. But
Achilles went on even against the stream, nor could the River hold
him back; for Athene put great might into his heart. Yet did not
Scamander cease, from his wrath, but lifted his waves yet higher, and
cried aloud to Simois: "Dear brother, let us two stay the fury of
this man, or else of a surety he will destroy the city of Priam.
Come now, fill all thy streams and rouse thy torrents against him,
and lift up against him a mighty wave with tree-trunks and stones,
that we may stay this wild man from his fighting. Neither his might,
nor his beauty, nor his fair form shall profit him, for they shall be
covered with much mud; and over him will I heap sand beyond all
counting. Neither shall the Greeks be able to gather his bones
together, with such a heap will I hide them."
Si'-mo-is.
Then he rushed again upon Achilles, swelling high with foam and blood
and dead bodies of men. Very dark was the wave as it rose, and was
like to have overwhelmed the man, so that Hera greatly feared for
him, lest the River should sweep him away. And she cried to
Hephæstus, her son, saying: "Rouse thee, Haltfoot, my son! Come,
help us, and bring much fire with thee; and I will call the west wind
and the south wind from the sea, with such a storm as shall consume
the sons of Troy, both them and their arms. And do thou burn the
trees that are by the banks of Xanthus, yea, and the River himself.
And let him not turn thee from thy purpose by fury or by craft; but
burn till I shall bid thee cease."
Then Hephæstus lit a great fire. First it burned the dead bodies
that lay upon the plain, and it dried all the plain, as the north
wind in the autumn time dries a field, to the joy of him that tills
it. After this it laid hold of the River. The lime tree and the
willows and the tamarisks it burned; also the plants that grew in the
streams. And the eels and the fishes were sore distressed, twisting
hither and thither in the water, being troubled by the breath of
Hephæstus. So the might of the River was subdued, and he cried
aloud: "O Hephæstus, no one of the gods can match himself with thee.
Cease now from consuming me; and Achilles may drive the men of Troy
from the city if he will. What have I to do with the strife and
sorrow of men?"
And Queen Hera heard him, and called to Hephæstus, saying: "Cease, my
son; it doth not beseem thee to work such damage to a god for the
sake of a mortal man."
So Hephæstus quenched his fire, and the River flowed as he flowed
before.
But among the other gods there arose a dreadful strife, for they were
divided, the one part against the other. With a great crash they
came together, and the broad earth resounded, and the heavens rang as
with the voice of a trumpet; and Zeus heard it as he sat on Olympus,
and was glad in heart to see the gods join in battle.
First of all, Ares, the shield-piercer, rushed against Athene,
holding his spear in his hand, and cried: "Why dost thou make the
gods to strive in battle, thou that art bold as a fly and shameless
as a dog? Dost thou not remember how thou didst set Diomed, the son
of Tydeus, upon me to wound me, and how thou didst take his spear in
thy hand, so that all might see it, and drive it through my thigh?
Now will I repay thee for all that thou hast done."
And he smote on the shield--the mighty shield that not even the
thunder of Zeus can break. But Athene took up in her hand a great
stone that lay upon the plain. Black it was and rough, and very
great, that men of old had set for a boundary of the field. With
this she smote Ares on the neck, that his knees failed beneath him.
He lay along the ground, a hundred feet and more, and Athene laughed
when she saw him, and cried: "Fool! hast thou not yet learned how
much stronger I am than thou, that thou matchest thy might against
me? Lie there and suffer the curses of thy mother; for she is wroth
because thou hast betrayed the Greeks and helpest the men of Troy."
But Aphrodite took him by the hand, and would have led him away; deep
did he groan, and scarce could he gather his spirit together. And
when Hera saw it, she cried to Athene, saying: "See now, how
Aphrodite would lead Ares out of the battle! Pursue her now, and
hinder her."
So Athene pursued after her, and smote her on the breast with her
heavy hand; and her knees failed beneath her. So these two lay upon
the earth, and Athene cried over them: "Now would that all who help
the sons of Troy were as brave and strong as these two. Long since
had we ceased from war and destroyed the fair city of Troy."