THE RANSOMING OF HECTOR
When the burial of Patroclus was ended, the gods held council about
Hector, for Achilles did despite to the body of Hector, dragging it
about the tomb of his friend, but the gods had pity on the dead man,
because in his life he had ever honoured them.
Then did Zeus send for Thetis, and when she was come to Olympus, he
said: "Get thee to the camp, and bid thy son give up Hector for
ransom, for I am wroth with him because he doth despite to the dead."
So Thetis went to Achilles, and found him weeping softly for his dead
friend, for the strength of his sorrow was now spent, and she said to
him: "It is the will of the gods that thou give up the body of
Hector, and take in exchange the ransom of gold and precious things
which his father will give thee for him."
And her son answered, "Be it so, if the gods will have it."
Then Zeus sent Iris, who was his messenger, to King Priam, where he
sat with his face wrapped in his mantle, and his sons weeping about
him, and his daughters wailing through the chambers of his palace.
Then Iris spake: "Be of good cheer, Priam, Zeus has sent me to thee.
Go, taking with thee such gifts as may best please the heart of
Achilles, and bring back the body of thy dear son Hector. Go without
fear of death or harm, and go alone. Only let an aged herald be with
thee, to help thee when thou bringest back the body of the dead."
Then Priam rose with joy, and bade his sons bring forth his chariot;
but first he went to his chamber, and called to Hecuba, his wife, and
told her of his purpose, nor heeded when she sought to turn him from
it, but said: "Seek not to hold me back, nor be a bird of evil omen
in my house. If any prophet or seer had bidden me do this thing, I
should have held it a deceit; but now have I heard the very voice of
the messenger of Zeus. Wherefore, I shall go. And if I die, what
care I? Let Achilles slay me, if only I embrace once more the body
of my son."
Then he bade put into a wagon shawls and mantles that had never been
washed, and rugs, and cloaks, and tunics, twelve of each, and ten
talents of gold, and two bright three-footed caldrons, and four
basins, and a cup of passing beauty which the Thracians had given
him. The old man spared nothing that he had, if only he might buy
back his son. None of the Trojans would he suffer to come near him.
"Begone," he cried, "ye cowards! Have ye nothing to wail for at
home, that ye come to wail with me? Surely, an easy prey will ye be
to the Greeks, now that Hector is dead."
Then the old man mounted his chariot in haste, and drove forth from
the palace. Before him the mules drew the four-wheeled wagon, and
these the herald Idæus guided. But his chariot the old King drove
himself. And all his kinsfolk went with him, weeping as for one who
was going to his death. But when they came down from the city to the
plain, Priam and the herald went towards the ships of the Greeks, but
all the others returned to Troy.
But Zeus saw him depart, and said to Hermes: "Hermes, go guide King
Priam to the ships of the Greeks, so that no man see him before he
comes to the tents of Achilles."
Then Hermes fastened on his feet the fair sandals of gold with which
he flies, fast as the wind, over sea and land, and in his hand he
took the rod with which he opens and closes, as he wills, the eyes of
men. And he flew down and lighted on the plain of Troy, taking on
him the likeness of a fair youth.
But when they had driven past the great Tomb of Ilus, they stopped
the horses and the mules, to let them drink of the river. And
darkness came over the land; and then the herald spied Hermes, and
said:--
Her'-mes.
"Consider, my lord, what we shall do. I see a man, and I am sore
afraid lest he slay us. Shall we flee on the chariot, or shall we go
near and entreat him, that he may have pity upon us?"
Then the old man was sore troubled, and his hair stood up with fear.
But Hermes came near and took him by the hand and said:--
"Whither goest thou, old man, with thy horses and mules through the
darkness? Hast thou no fear of these fierce Greeks, who are close at
hand? If any one should see thee with all this wealth, what then?
And thou art not young, nor is thy attendant young, that ye should
defend yourselves against an enemy. But I will not harm thee, nor
suffer any other, for thou art like my own dear father."
"It is well, my son," said the old man. "Surely one of the blessed
gods is with me, in causing me to meet such an one as thou, so fair
and so wise. Happy the parents of such a son!"
And Hermes said: "Come, tell me true, old man. Are you sending away
all these treasures that they may be kept safe for you far away? or
are all the men of Troy leaving the city, seeing now that Hector, who
was their bravest warrior, is dead?"
Then Priam answered, "Who art thou, my son, and what thy race, that
thou speakest so truly about my hapless son?"
"Often," said Hermes, "have I seen Hector in the battle, both at
other times, and when he drove the Greeks before him at the ships.
We, indeed, stood and watched and marvelled at him, for Achilles
would not suffer us to fight, being wroth with King Agamemnon. Now I
am a follower of Achilles, coming from Greece in the same ship with
him."
Then said Priam, "If thou art an attendant of Achilles, tell me true,
is my son yet by the ships, or have the dogs devoured him?"
And Hermes answered: "Nor dogs nor vultures have devoured him. Still
he lies by the ships of Achilles; and though this is the twelfth day
since he was slain, no decay has touched him. Nay, though Achilles
drags him round the tomb of his dear Patroclus, yet even so does no
unseemliness come to him. All fresh he lies, and the blood is washed
from him, and all his wounds are closed--and many spear-points
pierced him. The blessed gods love him well, dead man though he be."
This King Priam was well pleased to hear. "It is well," he said,
"for a man to honour the gods; for, indeed, as my son never forgot
the dwellers on Olympus, so have they not forgotten him, even in
death. But do thou take this fair cup, and do kindness to him, and
lead me to the tent of Achilles."
"Nay," answered Hermes; "thou speakest this in vain. No gift would I
take from thy hand unknown to Achilles; for I honour him much, and
fear to rob him, lest some evil happen to me afterwards. But thee I
will guide to Argos itself, if thou wilt, whether by land or sea, and
no one shall blame my guiding."
Then he leapt into the chariot of the King and caught the reins in
his hand, and gave the horses and the mules a strength that was not
their own. And when they came to the ditch and the trench that
guarded the ships, lo! the guards were busy with their meal; but
Hermes made sleep descend upon them, and opened the gates, and
brought in Priam with his treasures. And when they came to the tent
of Achilles, Hermes lighted down from the chariot and said:--
"Lo! I am Hermes, whom my father Zeus hath sent to be thy guide.
And now I shall depart, for I would not that Achilles should see me.
But go thou in, and clasp his knees, and beseech him by his father,
and his mother, and his child. So shalt thou move his heart with
pity."
So Hermes departed to Olympus, and King Priam leapt down from the
chariot, leaving the herald to care for the horses and the mules, and
went to the tent. There he found Achilles sitting; his comrades sat
apart, but two waited on him, for he had but newly ended his meal,
and the table was yet at his hand. But no man saw King Priam till he
was close to Achilles, and caught hit knees and kissed his hands, the
dreadful, murderous hands that had slain so many of his sons, and
Achilles wondered to see King Priam, and his comrades wondered,
looking one at another. Then King Priam spake:--
"Think of thy father, godlike Achilles, and pity me. He is old, as I
am, and, it may be, his neighbours trouble him, seeing that he has no
defender; yet so long as he knows that thou art alive, it is well
with him, for every day he hopes to see his dear son returned from
Troy. But as for me, I am altogether wretched. Many a valiant son I
had,--nineteen born to me of one mother,--and most of them are dead,
and he that was the best of all, who kept our city safe, he has been
slain by thee. He it is whom I have come to ransom. Have pity on
him and on me, thinking of thy father. Never, surely, was lot so sad
as this, to kiss the hands that slew a son."
And the words so stirred the heart if Achilles that he wept, thinking
now of Patroclus, and now of his old father at home; and Priam wept,
thinking of his dead Hector. But at last Achilles stood up from his
seat and raised King Priam, having pity on his white hair and his
white beard, and spake:--
"How didst thou dare to come to the ships of the Greeks, to the man
who slew thy sons? Surely, thou must have a heart of iron. But sit
thou down: let our sorrows rest in our hearts, for there is no profit
in lamentation. It is the will of the gods that men should suffer
woe, but they are themselves free from care."
But Priam answered: "Make me not to sit, great Achilles, while Hector
lies unhonoured. Let me ransom him, and look upon him with my eyes,
and do thou take the gifts. And the gods grant thee to return safe
to thy fatherland."
Then Achilles hastened from his tent, and two comrades with him.
First they loosed the horses from the chariot and the mules from the
wagon; then they brought in the herald Idæus, and took the gifts.
Only they left of them two cloaks and a tunic, wherein they might
wrap the dead. And Achilles bade the women wash and anoint the body,
but apart from the tent, lest, perchance, Priam should see his son
and cry aloud. But when it was washed and anointed, Achilles himself
lifted it in his arms and put it on the litter, and his comrades
lifted the litter on the wagon.
And when all was finished, Achilles groaned and cried to his dead
friend, saying:--
"Be not wroth, Patroclus, if thou shouldst hear in the unknown land
that I have ransomed Hector to his father: a noble ransom hath he
paid me, and of this, too, thou shalt have thy share, as is meet."
Then he went back to his tent, and set himself down, over against
Priam, and spake: "Thy son is ransomed, old man, and to-morrow shalt
thou see him and take him back to Troy. But now let us eat.
To-morrow shalt thou weep for Hector."
So they ate and drank. And when the meal was ended, Achilles sat and
marvelled at King Priam's noble look, and King Priam marvelled at
Achilles, so strong he was and fair.
Then Priam said: "Let me sleep, great Achilles. I have not slept
since my son fell by thy hand. Now I have eaten and drunk, and my
eyes are heavy."
So the comrades of Achilles made him a bed outside, where no one
might see him, should it chance that any of the chiefs should come to
the tent of Achilles to take counsel, and should espy him, and tell
it to King Agamemnon.
But before he slept King Priam said: "If thou art minded to let me
bury Hector, let there be a truce between my people and the Greeks.
For nine days let us mourn for Hector, and on the tenth will we bury
him and feast the people, and on the eleventh raise a great tomb
above him, and on the twelfth we will fight again, if fight we must."
And Achilles answered: "Be it so: I will stay the war for so long."
But while Priam slept there came to him Hermes, the messenger of
Zeus, and said: "Sleepest thou, Priam, among thy foes? Achilles has
taken ransom for thy Hector; but thy sons that are left would pay
thrice as much for thee should Agamemnon hear that thou wert among
the ships."
The old man heard and trembled, and roused the herald, and the two
yoked the horses and the mules. So they passed through the army, and
no man knew. And when they came to the river, Hermes departed to
Olympus, and the morning shone over all the earth. Wailing and
weeping, they carried the body to the city.
And straightway there was not man or woman left in the city. They
met the wagon when it was close to the gates: his wife led the way,
and his mother and all the multitude followed. And in truth they
would have kept it thus till evening, weeping and wailing, but King
Priam spake:--
"Let us pass; ye shall have enough of wailing when we have taken him
to his home."
So they took him to his home and laid him on his bed. And the
minstrels lamented, and the women wailed.
Then first of all came Andromache, his wife, and cried:--
"O my husband, thou hast perished in thy youth, and I am left in
widowhood, and our child, thy child and mine, is but an infant! I
fear me he will not grow to manhood. Ere that day this city will
fall, for thou art gone who wast its defender."
Next spake Hecuba, his mother: "Dear wast thou, my son, in life to
the immortal gods, and dear in death. Achilles dragged thee about
the tomb of his dear Patroclus, but could not bring him back, and now
thou liest fresh and fair as one whom the God of the silver bow has
slain with sudden stroke."
And last of all came Helen, and cried: "Many a year has passed since
I came to Troy--would that I had died before! And never have I heard
from thy lips one bitter word, and if others spake harshly to me,
thou wouldst check them with thy gracious words. Therefore I weep
for thee; no one is left to be my friend in all the broad streets of
Troy. All shun and hate me now."
And all the people wailed reply.
Then Priam spake: "Go, my people, gather wood for the burial, and
fear not any ambush of the Greeks, for Achilles promised that he
would stay the war until the twelfth day should come."
So for nine days the people gathered much wood, and on the tenth they
laid Hector upon the pile, and lit fire beneath it. And when it was
burnt they quenched the embers with wine. Then his brethren and
comrades gathered together the white bones, and laid them in a chest
of gold; and this they covered with purple robes and put it in a
great coffin, and laid upon it stones many and great. And over all
they raised a mighty mound; and all the while the watchers watched,
lest the Greeks should arise and slay them. Last of all was a great
feast held in the palace of King Priam.
So they buried Hector.
After these things Achilles himself perished, for he strove to break
through the Scæan gate, and there Paris wounded him to the death with
an arrow, but it was Apollo that guided the archer's hand.
And when Troy still could not be taken, the Greeks pretended to
depart, burning their camp and sailing away in their ships. But they
left behind them a great horse of wood in which the bravest of the
chiefs hid themselves. This the men of Troy drew into their city;
and at night, when their thoughts were given to feasting, for they
thought that the war was ended, the chiefs came out of the horse and
threw open the gate, so that the Greeks entered and took the city.
PRONUNCIATION OF PROPER NAMES
Pronounce _æ_ as in _Cæsar_; _ei_ as _i_ in _island_; [_oe_] as _æ_;
_y_, when accented, as _i_ in _island_; when unaccented, as _i_ in
_till_.
Pronounce _ch_ as _k_. _C_ and _g_ are soft (as _s_ and _j_) before
_ei_, _i_, _y_, _æ_, [_oe_], _eu_; otherwise, hard, as _k_ and _g_
(in _gas_).
A-chil'-les.
Æ-ne'-as.
Ag-a-mem'-non.
A-ge'-nor.
A'-jax.
An-chi'-ses.
An-dræ'-mon.
An-drom'-a-che.
An-te'-nor.
An-til'-o-chus.
Aph-ro-di'-te.
A-pol'-lo.
A'-res.
Ar'-te-mis.
A'-si-us.
As-ter-o-pæ'-us.
As-ty'-a-nax.
A-the'-ne.
A'-treus.
Au-tom'-e-don.
Ax'-i-us.
Bel-ler'-o-phon.
Bri-a'-re-us.
Bri-se'-is.
Cal'-chas.
Ceb-ri'-o-nes.
Chry'-se.
Chry-se'-is.
Chry'-ses.
Co'-on.
De-iph'-o-bus.
Di'-o-med.
Di-o'-ne.
Do'-lon.
E-pei'-us.
Eu-me'-lus.
Eu-phor'-bus.
Eu-ry'-a-lus.
Eu-ryb'-a-tes.
Eu-ryp'-a-lus.
Glau'-cus.
Ha'-des.
He'-be.
Hec'-u-ba.
Hel'-e-nus.
Hel'-les-pont.
He-phæs'-tus.
He'-ra.
Her'-mes.
Her-mi'-o-ne.
Hip-pol'-o-chus,
I-dæ'-us.
I-do'-me-neus.
I'-lus.
I-phid'-a-mas.
I'-ris.
La-er'-tes.
La-o'-di-ce.
La-o'-do-cus.
Le'-da.
Lyc'-i-a.
Lyr-nes'-sus.
Ma-cha'-on.
Men-e-la'-us.
Men-œ'-ti-us.
Me-ri'-o-nes.
My-ce'-næ.
Myr'-mi-dons.
Oe'-neus.
O-lym'-pus.
O-ri'-on.
Pæ'-on
Pan'-da-rus.
Pa-tro'-clus
Ped'-a-sus.
Pe'-leus.
Phœ'-nix.
Phthi'-a.
Po-lyd'-a-mas.
Pol-y-do'-rus.
Po-sei'-don.
Rhe'-sus.
Sa-mo-thrace'.
Sar-pe'-don.
Scæ'-an.
Sca-man'-der.
Sca-man'-dri-us.
Si'-don.
Si-do'-ni-an.
Si'-mo-is.
Sthen'-e-lus.
Tal-thyb'-i-us.
Tar'-tar-us.
Tel'-a-mon.
Teu'-cer.
Ther-si'-tes.
The'-tis.
Tho'-as.
Thra'-ci-ans.
Ty'-deus.
Xan'-thus.
As many of the Greek gods are better known under the names given to
them by the Romans, the following list is given:--
_Greek_ -- _Latin_
Zeus. -- Jupiter.
Hera. -- Juno.
(Pallas) Athene. -- Minerva.
Aphrodite. -- Venus.
Poseidon. -- Neptune.
Ares. -- Mars.
Hephæstus. -- Vulcan.
Printed In the United States of America.