THE SLAYING OF HECTOR
While these things were doing, Achilles ceased not to pursue and slay
the men of Troy, and Priam stood on a tower of the wall and saw the
people. Sore troubled was he, and he hastened down to the gates and
said to the keepers, "Keep the gates open, that the people may enter
in, for they fly before Achilles." So the keepers held the gates
open, and the people hastened in, wearied with toil and thirst, and
covered with dust, and Achilles followed close upon them. And that
hour would the Greeks have taken the city of Troy, but that Apollo
saved it. For he put courage into the heart of Agenor, standing also
by him, that he should not be slain. And Agenor thought within
himself:--
A-ge'-nor.
"Shall I flee with these others? Nay, for Achilles will take me and
slay me, and I shall die as a coward dies. Or shall I flee across
the plain to Ida, and hide me in the thickets, and come back at
nightfall to the city? Yet should he see me he will overtake me and
smite me, so swift of foot is lie and strong. But what if I stand to
meet him before the gates? He, too, is a mortal man, and his flesh
may be pierced by the spear."
Wherefore he stood till Achilles should come near. And when he came
he cast his spear, striking the leg below the knee, but the greave
turned off the spear, so strong was it. And when Achilles would have
slain him, lo! Apollo lifted him up and set him within the city. And
that the men of Troy might have time to enter, he took upon him
Agenor's shape. And the false Agenor fled, and Achilles pursued.
But meanwhile the men of Troy flocked into the city, nor did they
stay to ask who was safe and who was dead, in such haste and fear did
they flee. Only Hector remained outside the walls, standing in front
of the great Scæan gates. But all the while Achilles was fiercely
pursuing the false Agenor, till at last Apollo turned and spake to
him:--
"Why dost thou pursue me, swift-footed Achilles? Hast thou not yet
found out that I am a god, and that all thy fury is in vain? And now
all the sons of Troy are safe in their city, and thou art here, far
out of the way, seeking to slay me, who cannot die."
In great wrath Achilles answered him: "Thou hast done me wrong in so
drawing me away from the wall, great archer, most mischief-loving of
all the gods that are. Had it not been for this, many a Trojan more
had bitten the ground. Thou hast robbed me of great glory, and saved
thy favourites. O that I had the power to take vengeance on thee!
Thou wouldst have paid dearly for thy cheat!"
Then he turned and rushed towards the city, swift as a race-horse
whirls a chariot across the plain. Old Priam spied him from the
walls, with his glittering armour, bright as that brightest of the
stars--men call it Orion's dog--which shines at vintage-time. And
the old man groaned aloud when he saw him, and stretching out his
hands, cried to his son Hector, who stood before the gates, eager to
do battle with this dread warrior:--
O-ri'-on.
"Wait not for this man, dear son, wait not for him, lest thou die
beneath his hand, for indeed he is stronger than thou. Come within
the walls, dear child; come to save the sons and daughters of Troy;
come in pity for me, thy father, for whom, in my old age, an evil
fate is in store, to see sons slain with the sword, and daughters
carried into captivity, and babes dashed upon the ground."
And his mother besought him also, but in vain. He was still minded
to abide the coming of Achilles. Just as in the mountains a great
snake at its hole abides the coming of a man; fierce glare its eyes,
and it coils its tail about its hole: so Hector waited for Achilles.
And Achilles came near, brandishing over his right shoulder his great
spear, and the flash of his arms was as the flame of fire, or as the
rising sun. And Hector trembled when he saw him, nor dared to abide
his coming. Fast he fled from the gates, and fast Achilles pursued
him, as a hawk, fastest of all the birds of the air, pursues a dove
upon the mountains. Past the watch-tower they ran, past the
wind-blown fig tree, along the wagon-road which went about the walls,
and they came to the fair-flowing fountain where from two springs
rises the stream of eddying Scamander.
Past these springs they ran, one fleeing, the other pursuing; brave
was he that fled, braver he that pursued; it was no sheep for
sacrifice or shield of ox-hide for which they ran, but for the life
of Hector, the tamer of horses. Thrice they ran round the city, and
all the gods looked on.
And Zeus said: "This is a piteous sight that I behold. My heart is
grieved for Hector--Hector, who has ever worshipped me with
sacrifice; and now the great Achilles is pursuing him round the city
of Priam. Come, ye gods, let us take counsel together. Shall we
save him from death, or let him fall beneath the hand of Achilles?"
Then Athene said: "What is this that thou sayest, great sire?--to
rescue a man whom fate has appointed to die? Do it, if it be thy
will; but we, the other gods, approve it not."
Zeus answered her: "My heart is loath; yet I would do thee pleasure.
Be it as thou wilt."
Then Athene came down in haste from the top of Olympus, and still
Hector fled and Achilles pursued, just as a dog pursues a fawn upon
the hills. And ever Hector made for the gates, or to get shelter
beneath the towers, so that those that stood upon them might defend
him with their spears; and ever Achilles would get before him, and
drive him towards the plain. So they ran, one making for the city,
and the other driving him to the plain.
Now Achilles had beckoned to the Greeks that no man should throw his
spear at Hector, lest, perchance, he should be robbed of his glory.
And when the two came in their running for the fourth time to the
springs of Scamander, Zeus held out the great balance of doom, and in
one scale he put the fate of Achilles, and in the other the fate of
Hector; and lo! the scale of Hector sank down to the realms of death,
and Apollo left him.
Then Athene lighted down from the air close to Achilles and said:
"This, great Achilles, is our day of glory, for we shall slay Hector,
mighty warrior though he be. For it is his doom to die, and not
Apollo's self shall save him. But stand thou still and take breath,
and I will give this man heart to meet thee in battle."
So Achilles stood leaning upon his spear. And Athene took the shape
of Deiphobus, and came near to Hector and said:--
De-iph'-o-bus.
"Achilles presses thee hard, my brother, pursuing thee thus round the
city of Priam. Come, let us make a stand and encounter him."
Then Hector answered him, "Deiphobus, I always loved thee best of all
my brothers; but now I love thee yet more, for thou alone, while all
others remained within, hast ventured forth to stand by my side."
But the false Deiphobus said: "Much did father and mother and all my
comrades beseech me to remain. But my heart was sore troubled for
thee, and I could not stay. But let us stand and fight this man, and
see whether he shall carry our spoil to the ships, or we shall slay
him here."
Then the two chiefs came near to each other, and Hector with the
waving plume spake first, and said: "Thrice, great Achilles, hast
thou pursued me round the walls of Troy, and I dared not stand up
against thee; but now I fear thee no more. Only let us make this
covenant between us: if Zeus give me the victory, I will do no
dishonour to thy body; thy arms and armour will I take, and give back
thy body to the Greeks; and do thou promise to do likewise."
But Achilles scowled at him and said: "Hector, talk not of covenants
to me. Men and lions make no oaths between each other, neither is
there any agreement between wolves and sheep. So there shall be no
covenant between me and thee. One of us two shall fall; and now is
the time for thee to show thyself a warrior, for of a truth Athene
will slay thee by my spear, and thou shalt pay the penalty for all my
comrades whom thou hast slain."
Then he threw the mighty spear, but Hector saw it coming and avoided
it, crouching on the ground, so that the mighty spear flew above his
head and fixed itself in the earth. But Athene snatched it from the
ground and gave it back to Achilles, Hector not perceiving.
Then Hector spake to Achilles: "Thou hast missed thy aim, great
Achilles. Now look out for my spear. Would that it might bury
itself in so thy flesh! The battle would be easier for the men of
Troy were thou only out of the way."
And as he spake he threw his long-shafted spear. True aim he took,
for the spear struck the very middle of Achilles' shield. It struck,
but pierced it not, but bounded far away, for the shield was not of
mortal make. And Hector stood dismayed, for he had not another
spear, and when he called to Deiphobus that he should give him
another, lo! Deiphobus was gone. Then Hector knew that his end was
come, and he said to himself: "Now have the gods called me to my
doom. I thought that Deiphobus was near; but he is within the walls,
and the help which he promised me was but a cheat with which Athene
cheated me. Zeus and Apollo are with me no more; but if I must die,
let me at least die in such a deed as men of after time may hear of."
So he spake, and drew the mighty sword that hung by his side: then as
an eagle rushes through the clouds to pounce on a lamb, he rushed on
the great Achilles. But he dealt never a blow; for Achilles charged
to meet him, his shield before his breast, his helmet bent forward as
he ran, with the long plumes streaming behind, and the gleam of his
spear-point was as the gleam of the evening star, which is the
fairest of all the stars in heaven. One moment he thought where he
should drive it home, for the armour which Hector had won from
Patroclus guarded him well; but one spot there was, where by the
collar-bone the neck joins the shoulder (and nowhere is the stroke of
sword or spear more deadly). There he drave in the spear, and the
point stood out behind the neck, and Hector fell in the dust.
Then Achilles cried aloud: "Hector, thou thoughtest in the day when
thou didst spoil Patroclus of his arms that thou wouldst be safe from
vengeance. And lo! thou art fallen before me, and now the dogs and
vultures shall devour thee, but to him all the Greeks shall give due
burial."
But Hector, growing faint, spake to him: "Nay, great Achilles, by thy
life, and by thy knees, and by thy parents dear, I pray thee, let not
the dogs of the Greeks devour me. Take rather the ransom, gold and
bronze, that my father and mother shall pay thee, and let the sons
and daughters of Troy give me burial rites."
But Achilles scowled at him, and cried: "Dog, seek not to entreat me!
I could mince that flesh of thine and devour it raw, such grief hast
thou wrought me. Surely the dogs shall devour thee, nor shall any
man hinder. No ransom, though it were ten times told, should buy
thee back; no, not though Priam should offer thy weight in gold."
Then Hector, who was now at the point to die, spake to him: "I know
thee well, what manner of man thou art, that the heart in thy breast
is iron only. Only beware lest some vengeance from the gods come
upon thee in the day when Paris and Apollo shall slay thee, for all
thy valour, by the Scæan gates."
So speaking, he died. But Achilles said, "Die, hound; but my fate I
meet when Zeus and the other gods decree."
Then he drew his spear out of the corpse, and stripped off the arms;
and all the Greeks came about the dead man, marvelling at his stature
and beauty, and no man came but wounded the dead corpse. And one
would say to another, "Surely this Hector is less dreadful now than
in the day when he would burn our ships with fire."
Then Achilles devised a ruthless thing in his heart. He pierced the
ankle-bones of Hector, and so bound the body with thongs of ox-hide
to the chariot, letting the head drag behind, the head that once was
so fair, and now was so disfigured in the dust. So he dragged Hector
to the ships. And Priam saw him from the walls, and scarce could his
sons keep him back, but that he should go forth and beg the body of
his dear son from him who had slain him. And Hecuba, his mother,
also bewailed him, but Andromache knew not as yet of what had
befallen. For she sat in her dwelling, weaving a great purple mantle
broidered with flowers. And she bade her maidens make ready a bath
for Hector, when he should come back from the battle, nor knew that
he should never need it more. But the voice of wailing from the town
came to her, and she rose up hastily in great fear, and dropped the
shuttle from her hand, and called to her maidens:--
"Come with me, ye maidens, that I may see what has befallen, for I
heard the voice of Queen Hecuba, and I fear me much that some evil
has come to the children of Priam. For it may be that Achilles has
run between Hector and the city, and is pursuing him to the plain,
for never will Hector abide with the army, but will fight in the
front, so bold is he."
Then she hasted through the city like as she were mad. And when she
came to the wall, she stood and looked; and lo! the horses of
Achilles were dragging Hector to the ships. Then did darkness come
on her, and she fell back fainting.