I
Having achieved his purpose, Apollo now resumed his own shape, and
halting before Achilles thus addressed him: "Knowest thou not me,
Achilles? See, the Trojans are safe from thy fury, gathered within
their gates. What wouldst thou have? Is it my life thou seekest?
Cease, presumptuous mortal, and remember what thou art!"
"Thou hast foiled me, archer-god," answered Achilles, perceiving that
he had been tricked. "Thou hast robbed me of my prey, or many another
Trojan would have bitten the dust. I would make thee rue this wrong to
mine honour had I but the power." Then, like a fiery courser starting
in the race, he sped away towards the city, bent on high designs. Like
the red rays of that sultry star whose rising heralds in the fierce
heat of summer, the season of drought and fever, such was the bright
but fearful gleam which flashed from his armour as he ran.
Priam was the first who saw that ill-omened ray, from the place where
he stood, on the wall above the gate. And when he marked the
destroyer's approach he groaned aloud, and beat his head, and then,
stretching out his hands over the battlements, thus spake unto Hector,
beseeching him earnestly, and with tears: "O Hector, my son, my son,
remain not there, thus deserted and alone, to abide the coming of that
fearful man, seeing that he is mightier far than thou. He hath robbed
me of many a noble son, whom he hath killed or sold into captivity in
distant isles. Spare me this last and bitterest blow! Fling not thy
life away, to bring glory on Pelides, and on us sorrow and loss
unspeakable. Alas! will it never cease, the storm of misery which
rains without pause on this white, distracted head! No, I see them
flocking, the spectres of worse evils yet to come, sorrow on sorrow,
and woe on woe--murdered sons and daughters dragged into bondage, a
violated home, and little children dashed to the ground in the fury of
battle. Last scene of all--an old man slaughtered on his own
hearthstone, and the dogs who fed at his table and guarded his door now
maddened by sights and sounds of horror, and lapping his blood!"
The old man broke off, overpowered by the dark vision which his fancy
had conjured up; and the appeal was taken up by Hecuba, the venerable
Queen of Troy. "By this breast which nourished thee," she cried, "by
the sacred name of mother, I implore thee to abandon thy rash purpose.
Fly from this man, or he will slay thee, and dogs will devour thy flesh
in the Grecian camp."
But all the anguished entreaties of his father and mother had no power
to shake the resolution of Hector. He could not go back now; he had
rejected with scorn the prudent advice which Polydamas had given the
night before, and had thereby caused the death of a legion of Trojans.
How could he face the taunts of the women whom his rashness had made
widows, and the mute reproaches of the children now orphaned by his
act? He had openly defied Achilles, and it was too late to recall the
challenge. A wild plan crossed his mind, only to be instantly
rejected: should he lay aside shield, and helmet, and spear, and go
unarmed to Achilles, offering to make an end of this lamentable war at
the cost of half the city's goods, and the free restitution of Helen
with all her wealth? "No," he said, convinced at once of the desperate
folly of such an enterprise: "I should then be guilty of self-murder:
he would butcher me without mercy, before I had time to utter a word.
This is no time for gentle parley, as between maid and youth sitting in
soft dalliance under rock or tree: I must meet him with sword and
spear, for victory or death."
Achilles was now close at hand, with the mighty Pelian ash swaying on
his right shoulder, and his armour blazing like the light of the rising
sun. When Hector saw him advancing, like an incarnate spirit of
vengeance, all his heroic resolves forsook him, and seized with sudden
terror he turned and fled. And as a falcon swoops down on a hare, and
pounces, and pounces again, as his victim leaps and doubles, to escape
from the fatal clutch, so Achilles darted after Hector, following all
the turns and windings of his flight. Past a low hill they went,
whence the Trojan scout had espied the advance of the Greeks not many
days before, and past the wild fig-tree, following a beaten road, which
led to two fair springs, the double source of eddying Scamander. One
of the springs is of hot water, and a cloud of steam hangs over it,
like the smoke of a burning fire; but the other is cold as ice. Here
were broad washing-pits, lined with stone, in which the wives and
daughters were wont to tread the clothes, in the old peaceful days,
before ever the Greeks had landed on the shores of Troy. Leaving these
behind them, they sped on, and still on, pursuer and pursued. Noble
was the quarry, but the hunter was nobler far, and never before had he
run in so keen a chase. Like mettled steeds, which strive for the
mastery, where the prize is a vessel of gold or of silver, they flew;
but here they were running for a far higher stake, even the very life
of Troy's bravest son.
Three times they compassed the whole circuit of the walls, and again
and again Hector tried to draw his pursuer within range of the spears
of the Trojans who lined the battlements; but each time his effort was
defeated by Achilles, who barred his way to the city, and drove him
back into the open plain.
As one who pursues his enemy in a dream, and cannot catch him, though
he seems ever within reach, so was Achilles ever baffled, when he
strove to overtake Hector, and Hector, when he strove to escape. All
the Greeks stood near in their ranks, watching the chase--and many a
time a spear was levelled at Hector, to strike him down; but Achilles
beckoned with his hand, and forbade his comrades to come between him
and his victim.
For the fourth time they came to the place of the washing-pits, and
here by mutual consent they paused to draw breath; for both were sore
spent with running, and could not go a step farther. As Achilles stood
panting, and leaning on his spear, Athene drew near to him, unseen of
all the rest, and said: "He cannot escape us now, though Apollo should
grovel in the dust at the feet of Zeus, begging for his life. Remain
awhile and recover thy strength, and I will go and persuade him to
fight thee face to face."
About an arrow's flight distant, Hector had come to a standstill, and
drooped heavily, resting his hands on his knees, half strangled by his
efforts to breathe. Suddenly, to his amazement, he saw Deiphobus, his
brother, standing by his side, and heard the familiar tones of his
voice. "Dear brother," said Deiphobus, "thou art hard beset, and
driven to bay by this fierce son of Peleus. But lo! I am here to aid
thee, and I will not fail thee in this strait."
"Deiphobus," answered Hector, "thou wert ever dearest to me of all the
sons whom Hecuba bore to Priam: but now thou art dear and honoured too,
since alone of all my nation thou hast dared to leave the shelter of
the walls."
"Ay," answered the pretended Deiphobus, "my mother and my father, and
all my friends, strove to hold me back; but my heart yearned towards
thee in thy mortal need. But come with me, and together we will try
the fortune of war. Go thou first, and I will follow."
Hector accordingly advanced to meet Achilles, who was already moving
towards him. "I will fly thee no more," he said, when they were within
a spear's cast of each other, "I will either slay thee, or be slain.
But let us first make a covenant, and call the gods to witness it:
swear thou that, if I fall, thou wilt restore my body and my armour to
the Trojans--and I will swear to do the like by thee."
"Talk not to me of covenants, thou villain!" answered Achilles
fiercely. "As there is no treaty possible between lions and men, no
concord between wolves and lambs, but only fear and hatred, so is there
hate unending between me and thee, which naught but death may cancel or
abate. Summon up all thy manhood, and prepare to pay the price of my
comrades whom thou hast slain."
This said he poised and flung his spear; but Hector stooped low, and
the spear flew over his head, and sank deep into the earth. Unobserved
by Hector, Athene drew it out, and gave it back to Achilles. "Take now
my spear!" shouted the Trojan, "take it to thy heart, thou braggart,
that thinkest to dismay me with boastful words!" The weapon flew
straight to its mark, and, striking the centre of Achilles' shield,
rebounded to a distance, and fell rattling on the ground. Then Hector
called anxiously to Deiphobus, bidding him bring another lance. But no
answer came, for the real Deiphobus was safe behind the walls, and he
who had appeared to Hector was a false Deiphobus, concealing the person
of Athene.
"Alas! I have been deceived," said Hector. "My last bolt is shot, and
my fate summons me to death. Let me not die inglorious and without a
struggle, but in such wise that I shall be named with honour by
generations yet unborn."
Then, drawing his sword, he rushed upon Achilles, who came on slowly,
towering above the rampart of his shield, nodding his golden plumes and
brandishing high his spear, whose point twinkled and flashed like the
light of the evening star. Scanning every joint in Hector's armour, at
last Achilles spied a point, between the shoulder-blade and the neck,
which was undefended; and at this mark he hurled his spear with all his
force and pierced him through the neck. But the passage of his voice
was left untouched, so that he was still able to speak.
"Thou hast paid thy debt to Patroclus," said Achilles, standing over
his fallen enemy, "and now thou shalt pay the usury. Dogs and vultures
shall give thee burial, but he shall lie in an honoured tomb."
"By thy life," answered Hector faintly, "by thy father's name, I
implore thee, give not my body to be devoured by dogs, but restore it
to my friends, who will pay thee a heavy ransom, that I may receive my
due in death."
"Thou dog!" replied Achilles, with a furious look, "talk not of thy
dues, nor name my father to me! Would that I could find it in my heart
to carve and devour thy flesh, as surely as thou shalt not escape the
hounds and vultures, no, not if Priam were to offer thy weight in gold,
after what thou hast done unto me and mine."
"I knew that I should not persuade thee," said Hector, with his dying
breath. "Thou hast a heart of iron. But vengeance shall reach thee in
the day when Apollo and Paris shall subdue thee at the gates of Troy."
As he uttered this prophecy a shudder ran through his limbs, and the
gallant spirit fled to the land of shadows.
"Die!" said Achilles, as Hector uttered his last sigh. "As for me, I
am prepared to meet my fate whensoever heaven wills its accomplishment."
Then he drew out his spear, and laying it aside, began to strip off the
armour which Hector had taken from Patroclus. And the Greeks came
crowding round, to gaze on the beauty and stature of Hector, and stab
the helpless body with their spears. Far other had he seemed to them
when he came with fire and sword to burn their ships, and fill their
camp with slaughter!
When Achilles had finished stripping the corpse, he stood up and spoke
thus to the assembled host: "Princes and counsellors of the Greeks, now
that the gods have granted us to slay this mighty champion, who hath
done us more harm than all the rest together, shall we not advance in
full force against the city, and end the war at one bold stroke? But
alas! what am I saying? We have another and a sadder duty to perform.
Patroclus lies among the ships, unburied, unwept, and shall I forget
him in this hour of triumph? No; not in the hour of death, not in the
grave itself, which brings, they say, oblivion to all, shall my love
for him grow cold. Therefore follow me, sirs, to the ships, and raise
the song of victory. We have gained great glory, we have slain Troy's
chief defender, to whom all the Trojans prayed as to a god."
Then, in fulfilment of his horrible menaces, he prepared to take
hideous vengeance on his slaughtered enemy. Stooping down he pierced
the dead man's feet from heel to ankle, and passed a leathern thong
through the holes; then he made fast the thong behind the chariot, and,
taking up the armour, he sprang into the driver's place, and lashed his
horses to a gallop. So amid a swirling cloud of dust the fallen hero
was dragged along, with his dark locks streaming, and that comely head
marred and defiled; and Zeus delivered him to injury and outrage at the
hands of his enemies in his own native land.