Brave as she was beautiful, the queen of the Amazons scorned to remain
behind the shelter of walls, and so, leading her valiant band of women
out through the gates, she made a fierce attack on the Greeks. A
terrific battle then began, and many warriors on both sides were laid
in the dust. Penthesilea herself was slain by Achilles. The hero was
unwilling to fight with a woman, and he tried to avoid meeting the
queen, but she attacked him so furiously, first hurling her spear, and
then rushing upon him sword in hand, that he was obliged to strike in
self-defense. With a thrust of his lance he gave her a mortal wound, and
the brave heroine fell, begging Achilles to permit her body to be taken
away by her own people.
[Illustration: COMBAT OF THE AMAZONS.
_Painting by Michelena._]
Filled with pity for the unfortunate queen, and with admiration for her
courage and beauty, the hero granted the request. He even proposed that
the Greeks should perform funeral rites and build a tomb in her honor.
The foul-mouthed Thersites (mentioned in a previous chapter as having
been chastised by Ulysses) scoffed at this proposal, and ridiculed
Achilles, saying that he was not so soft-hearted in his treatment of
Hector. Enraged at his insulting words, the chief of the Myrmidons
struck him dead with a mighty blow of his fist.
Now Diomede was a relative of the unfortunate Thersites, and he demanded
that Achilles should pay to the family of the dead man the fine required
by Greek law for such offenses. Achilles refused, and he was about to
retire again in anger from the war, and even to return home. But
Ulysses persuaded Diomede to withdraw his claim, and so made peace
between the two chiefs.
Another ally, and a very powerful one, now came to help the Trojans.
This was Memʹnon, king of Ethiopia, and nephew of Priam, being the son
of Priam's brother Ti-thoʹnus, and Au-roʹra, goddess of the dawn. With
an army of ten thousand men he arrived at Troy, and immediately entered
the field to do battle with the Greeks. Again there was great slaughter
of heroes on both sides. Memnon killed Antilochus, the son of Nestor,
and Nestor challenged Memnon to single combat. But on account of the
great age of the venerable Greek, the Ethiopian warrior declined to
fight him. Achilles then challenged Memnon, and the two heroes fought in
presence of both armies. The conflict was long and furious, for Memnon,
too, had a suit of armor made for him by Vulcan, at the request of his
goddess mother Aurora, and in strength and courage he was almost equal
to Achilles. Once more, however, fortune favored the chief of the
Myrmidons. The brave Memnon was slain, and Aurora bore away his body
that funeral rites might be performed.
But the time was now at hand when the great warrior who so far had
conquered in every fight was to meet his own doom. We have seen that
Hector, as he lay dying in front of the Scæan Gate, warned Achilles
that he himself should fall by the hand of Paris. This prophecy was
fulfilled.
By the death of Memnon the Trojans were much discouraged. Their powerful
allies had been defeated, and they were no longer able to hold the field
against the enemy. Soon after the death of Memnon there was a great
battle, in which the Greeks, headed by Achilles, drove them back to the
city walls. Through the Scæan Gate, which lay open, the Trojans rushed
in terror and confusion, the Greeks pressing on close behind. Achilles
reached the gate, and was about to enter, when Paris aimed at him with
an arrow. Guided by Apollo, the weapon struck the hero in the heel, the
only part in which he could be fatally wounded.
The warrior fell to the ground, whereupon the Trojan prince hastened up
and slew him with his sword. A terrific struggle took place over the
body of the dead chief, but by mighty efforts Ajax Telamon and Ulysses
succeeded in gaining possession of it, and carrying it to the Grecian
camp. Deep was the grief of the Greeks at the death of their great
champion. Magnificent funeral rites and games were celebrated in his
honor, his goddess mother, Thetis, presiding over the ceremonies. After
the body had been burned in the customary manner, the bones were placed
in a vase of gold, made by Vulcan, and a vast mound was raised on the
shore as a monument to the hero.
The sacred army of the warlike Greeks
Built up a tomb magnificently vast
Upon a cape of the broad Hellespont,
There to be seen, far off upon the deep,
By those who now are born, or shall be born
In future years.
BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book XXIV.
The armor of Achilles was offered as a reward for the warrior who had
fought most bravely in rescuing the body, and who had done most harm to
the Trojans. To decide the question which of the Greek chiefs deserved
this honor, it was resolved to take the votes of the Trojan prisoners
then in the Greek camp, who had witnessed the struggle at the Scæan
Gate. The majority of votes were in favor of Ulysses, and to him,
therefore, the splendid shield and corselet and helmet and greaves, made
by Vulcan for the son of Thetis, were given. Ajax was so disappointed
and grieved at not having obtained the coveted prize that he became
insane, and in his frenzy he slew himself with his own sword.
The Greeks had now lost their two most powerful warriors, and they began
to think that it was impossible for them to take Troy by force, and
that they must try other methods. So the wise Ulysses then set his
brain to work to devise some stratagem by which the city might be taken.
The first thing he did was to capture the Trojan prince and soothsayer,
Helenus, who had gone out from the city to offer sacrifices in the
temple of Apollo on Mount Ida. Calchas, the Greek soothsayer, had said
that Helenus was the only mortal who knew by what means Troy could be
conquered, and so Ulysses made him prisoner and threatened him with
death if he did not tell.
Then Helenus told the Ithacan chief that before Troy could be taken
three things must be done. First, he said, the Greeks must get the
arrows of Hercules; next, they must carry away the sacred Palladium, for
as long as it remained within the walls the city was safe; and, lastly,
they must have the help of the son of Achilles.
Now the arrows of Hercules could be obtained only from Phil-oc-teʹtes, a
Greek chief who received them from Hercules himself. These arrows had
been dipped in the blood of the hydra, a monster Hercules had slain.
This made them poisonous, so that wounds inflicted by them were fatal.
Philoctetes was with his countrymen at Aulis when they set sail for
Troy, but he was bitten on the foot by a serpent, and the smell of the
injured part being so offensive that his comrades could not endure it,
he had been left behind, on the advice of Ulysses.
Far in an island, suffering grievous pangs,--
The hallowed isle of Lemnos. There the Greeks
Left him, in torture from a venomed wound
Made by a serpent's fangs. He lay and pined.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.
Ulysses now resolved to get Philoctetes to come to Troy, if he were
still alive, and so, taking Diomede with him, he set out for Lemnos.
They found him at the cave where they had left him ten years before. The
wound was not yet healed, and he had suffered much, having had no means
of existence except game which he had to procure himself.
Exposed to the inclement skies,
Deserted and forlorn he lies;
No friend or fellow-mourner there,
To soothe his sorrows and divide his care.