Agamemnon and the other wounded chiefs visit the battle with Nestor.
Juno, having borrowed the cestus of Venus, first obtains the assistance
of Sleep, and then hastens to Ida to inveigle Jove. She prevails, Jove
sleeps, and Neptune seizes the opportunity to aid the Trojans.
But the shouting did not entirely escape the notice of Nestor, although
drinking, but he addressed winged words to the son of Æsculapius:
“Consider, noble Machaon, how these things will be; greater, certainly,
[grows] the shouting of the blooming youths at the ships. But sitting
here at present, drink indeed the dark wine, until fair-haired Hecamede
has warmed the tepid baths, and washed away the bloody gore; whilst I,
going with speed to a watchtower, will gain information.”
So saying, he took the well-made shield of his own son, horse-breaking
Thrasymedes, [which was] lying in the tent, all shining with brass (for
he had the shield of his sire); and seized a strong spear, pointed with
sharp brass; and stood without the tent, and soon beheld an unseemly
deed,—these [the Greeks] in confusion, and those, the haughty Trojans,
routing them in the rear; but the wall of the Greeks had fallen. And as
when the vast deep blackens with the noiseless 454 wave, foreboding
with no effect, the rapid courses of the shrill blasts, nor yet is it
rolled forwards or backwards, before some decisive blast comes down
from Jove: so meditated the old man, distracted in his mind between two
opinions: whether he should go amongst the throng of fleet-horsed
Greeks, or to Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, shepherd of the people. But
to him thus reflecting, it appeared better to go in quest of the son of
Atreus. Meanwhile they kept slaughtering each other, contending, and
the solid brass around their bodies rang, as they were stricken with
the swords and two-edged spears.
Footnote 454: (return) Literally, “deaf.” So “surdi fluctus,” Ovid,
Epist. xviii. 211; “Omnia surda tacent,” Propert. iv. 3, 53; “Surdaque
vota condidit Ionio,” Pers. Sat. vi. 28.
But the Jove-cherished kings, coming up from the vessels, met Nestor,
as many as had been wounded with the brass,—Tydides, and Ulysses, and
Agamemnon, the son of Atreus. Their ships indeed were drawn up upon the
shore of the hoary deep, very far away from the battle; for they had
drawn the first as far as the plain, and had built a wall at their
sterns. For, broad as it was, the shore was by no means able to contain
their vessels, and the people were crowded. Wherefore they drew them up
in rows one behind the other, and filled the wide mouth of the whole
shore, as much as the promontories enclosed. There then were they
walking together, leaning upon the spear, in order to behold the tumult
and the battle; and the heart in their bosoms was grieved. But aged
Nestor met them, and terrified the souls in the breasts of the Greeks:
whom first king Agamemnon addressing, said:
“O Neleïan Nestor, great glory of the Greeks, why, leaving the
man-destroying battle, comest thou hither? Truly I fear lest impetuous
Hector make good his speech, as once he threatened, haranguing among
the Trojans, that he would not return to Ilium from the ships, before
that he had burned the ships with fire, and slain us also: thus indeed
he harangued; and now are all things fulfilling. Ye gods, surely the
other well-greaved Greeks, as well as Achilles, store up wrath against
me in their minds; nor are they willing to fight at the sterns of the
ships.”
But him the Gerenian knight Nestor then answered: “Assuredly these
things are in active accomplishment, nor could even lofty-thundering
Jove himself contrive them otherwise; for the wall, in which we trusted
that it would be an impregnable defence to the ships and to ourselves,
has now fallen. But they are sustaining an obstinate contest at the
swift ships; nor couldst thou any longer distinguish, though examining
particularly, on which side the Greeks, confounded, are routed; so
promiscuously are they slain, whilst the shout reaches heaven. Let us,
however, deliberate how these things will be, if counsel avail
anything; although I advise not that we enter the battle; for it is by
no means proper that a wounded man should fight.”
But him then answered Agamemnon, king of men. “Nestor, since they are
combating at the sterns of the ships, and the constructed rampart
avails not, nor the ditch, at which the Greeks suffered much, and hoped
in their minds that it would be an impregnable defence to the ships and
to themselves, surely it will be agreeable to all-powerful Jove that
the Greeks perish here, inglorious, far away from Argos. For I was
conscious when he willingly gave assistance to the Greeks, and I now
know that he honours those [the Trojans] equally with the happy gods,
but hath fettered our courage and our hands. But come, let us all obey
as I shall advise. Let us draw down the ships, as many as are drawn up
first near the sea, and launch them all into the vast ocean. Let us
moor them at anchor in the deep, till mortal-deceiving 455 night
arrive, if even then the Trojans may abstain from battle, and then we
may perhaps draw down all the vessels; for there is no disgrace in
flying from evil, not even during the night. It is better for a flying
man to escape from evil, than to be taken.”
Footnote 455: (return) ‘Αβρότη is akin to ἤμβροτον from άμαρτάνω, and
therefore = “making mortals go astray,” or else = άμβροσιη in ii. 57.
See Buttm. Lexil. p. 82. Or it may be regarded as the “nox intempesta,”
_i.e._ “muita nox, qua nihil agi tempestivum est,” Censorinus de Die
Nat. xxiv.
But him sternly regarding, wise Ulysses then addressed: “Son of Atreus,
what speech hath escaped thy lips? Lost man! thou shouldst command some
worthless army, and not rule over us, to whom Jove hath granted, from
youth even unto old age, to accomplish toilsome wars, until we, each of
us, shall perish. Dost thou then desire thus to leave wide-wayed Troy,
on account of which we have endured so many woes? Be silent, lest some
other of the Greeks hear a speech, which a man ought not to have
brought through his mouth, whoever understands in his mind how to speak
prudent things, who is a sceptre-bearer, and whom so many people obey,
as many as thou dost govern among the Greeks. For now do I reprobate
thy judgment, in what thou hast said; who commandest us, whilst the war
and battle are waged, to draw down the well-benched ships to the sea,
in order that the wishes of the Trojans may be still better fulfilled,
victorious though they be, and dire destruction fall upon us: for the
Greeks will not maintain the fight whilst the ships are being dragged
to the sea, but will look back, and retire from the combat. Then will
thy counsel be injurious, O leader of the people.”
But him Agamemnon, the king of men, then answered: “Much, O Ulysses,
hast thou touched me to the soul with thy severe reproof; yet I
commanded not the sons of the Greeks against their will to draw the
well-benched ships down to the sea. But now would that there were one,
either young or old, who would deliver an opinion better than this; it
would be to my joy.” 456
But among them Diomede, valiant in the din of battle, also spoke: “The
man is near, we need not seek far, if indeed ye are willing to be
persuaded; and do not find fault each through wrath, because I am by
birth the youngest amongst you; for I boast that my race is from a
noble sire, Tydeus, whom the heaped-up earth 457 covers at Thebes. For
to Portheus were born three distinguished sons, and they dwelt in
Pleuron and lofty Calydon: Agrius and Melas, but the third was the
knight Œneus, the father of my father, who was conspicuous among them
for valour. He indeed remained there, but my father, as an exile, dwelt
at Argos, for so Jove willed and the other gods. But he married [one]
of the daughters 458 of Adrastus, and he inhabited a mansion opulent in
resources, and corn-bearing fields were his in abundance, and there
were many rows 459 of plants around him. Numerous were his herds, and
he surpassed the Greeks in the use of the spear; but these things ye
ought to know, since it is a truth. Do not, therefore, dispute the
opinion freely delivered, which I give advisedly, deeming that I am
base by birth, and unwarlike. Come, then, let us go to battle, wounded
as we are, from necessity. There, then, let us ourselves approach the
combat, out [of the reach] of weapons, lest any one receive wound upon
wound; and, encouraging others, we will urge them on, who hitherto,
gratifying their souls, have stood apart, nor fought.”
Footnote 456: (return) For this use of the dative, cf. Plato Phædon, §
24. So Tacit. Agric. “Quibus bellum volentibus erat.”—Kennedy. Cf.
Æsch. Prom. s.i., ἀσμένῳ δέ σοι Ἡ ποικιλείμων νῦζ ἀποκρύψει φάος.
Footnote 457: (return) See my note on Od. ii. p. 21, n. 35, ed. Bohn,
and an admirable dissertation on these classic barrow-tombs in
Stephen’s notes on Saxo-Grammaticus, pp. 90-92.
Footnote 458: (return) Deipyle. See Scholiast.
Footnote 459: (return) Not “gardens.” Schol. Theocrit. i. 48. Ὄρχατον
τὴν ἐπιστιχον φυτείαν ... καὶ Αριστοφάνης τὸ μεταξὺ τῶν φυτῶν
μετόρχμιον ἐκάλεσεν ἐν τοῖς γεωργοῖς’ καὶ Ἡσίοδος ὄρχον λέγει τὴν
ἐπιστιχον τῶν ἀμπέλων φυτείαν. Cf. Schol. on Lycophr. 857; Hesych. t.
ii. p. 792.
Thus he spoke; and to him they all listened readily, and obeyed.
Wherefore they hastened to advance, and the king of men, Agamemnon, led
them.
Nor did the illustrious Earth-shaker keep a negligent look-out, but he
went amongst them like unto an aged man, and he caught the right hand
of Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, and addressing him, spoke winged
words:
“Son of Atreus, now perchance the revengeful heart of Achilles rejoices
in his breast, beholding the slaughter and rout of the Greeks; since
there is no feeling in him, not even a little. May he, however, thus
perish, and may a god cover him with disgrace. But with thee the
blessed gods are not yet altogether enraged, but again the leaders and
chiefs of the Trojans will perchance raise the dust upon the wide
plain, and thou wilt behold them flying towards the city from the ships
and the tents.”
So saying, he shouted aloud, rushing over the plain. As loud as nine or
ten thousand men shout, beginning the contest of Mars, so loud a cry
did king Neptune send forth from his breast; and he cast great
resolution into every heart among the Greeks, to war and to fight
incessantly.
But golden-throned Juno, standing, looked down with her eyes from the
summit of Olympus, and immediately recognized her own brother, [who
was] also her brother-in-law, exerting himself through the glorious
battle, and she rejoiced in her mind. She also beheld Jove sitting upon
the highest top of many-rilled Ida, and he was hateful to her soul.
Then the venerable large-eyed Juno next anxiously considered how she
could beguile the mind of ægis-bearing Jove. And now this plan appeared
best to her mind, to proceed to Ida, having well arrayed herself, if
perchance he might desire to lie beside her form 460 in dalliance, so
that she might pour upon his eyelids and vigilant mind careless and
genial sleep. And she proceeded to her chamber, which Vulcan, her dear
son, had made for her, and had fitted the thick doors to the lintels
with a secret bolt; 461 and this no other god could remove. There
entering in, she closed the shining doors. First she washed all
impurities from her lovely person with rich oil, ambrosial, 462 and
anointed herself with rich oil, ambrosial and agreeable, 463 which was
odoriferous to her; and the perfume of which, when shaken in the
brazen-floored 464 mansion of Jove, reached even to earth and to
heaven. With this having anointed her body, and having also combed her
hair, with her hands she arranged her shining locks, beautiful,
ambrosial, [which flowed] from her immortal head. Next she threw around
her an ambrosial robe, which Minerva had wrought 465 for her in
needlework, and had embroidered much varied work upon it, and she
fastened it upon her breast with golden clasps. Then she girded herself
with a zone, adorned with a hundred fringes, and in her well-perforated
ears placed her triple-gemmed, elaborate, 466earrings, and much grace
shone from [her]. From above she, divine of goddesses, covered herself
with a veil, beautiful, newly wrought, and it was bright as the sun;
and beneath her shining feet she fastened her beautiful sandals. But
when she had arranged all her ornaments around her person, she
proceeded straight from her chamber; and having called Venus apart from
the other gods, addressed her in speech:
Footnote 460: (return) Construe παραδραθέειν ᾖ χροιῇ.
Footnote 461: (return) Respecting the different meanings of κλεὶς, see
Kennedy.
Footnote 462: (return) See Buttm. Lexil. p 81, 3.
Footnote 463: (return) Buttmann, p. 242, regards έδανὸς as “perhaps a
stronger and higher meaning of ἐός, or ἒός, _good_, which may be
compared with οὐτιδανός, μηκεδανός.”
Footnote 464: (return) See my note on Od. ii. 2.
Footnote 465: (return) “The proper sense of ἔξυσε is, _scraped_ or
_rubbed over_ and its use here is best explained by supposing a
reference to some process among the ancients whereby a shining
appearance was given to their vestments, as by _calendering_ or
_glazing_ with us.”—Kennedy.
Footnote 466: (return) Μορόεντα, περὶ ἃ ἐμόρησεν ὁ τεχνίτης.—Schol.
“Wilt thou now be at all obedient to me, dear child, in what I shall
say? Or wilt thou refuse, enraged in thy mind on this account, because
I aid the Greeks whilst thou [aidest] the Trojans?”
But her Venus, the daughter of Jove, then answered: “Juno, venerable
goddess, daughter of mighty Saturn, declare whatsoever thou dost
meditate; for my mind urges me to accomplish it, if indeed I can
accomplish it, and if it be practicable.”
But her the venerable Juno, meditating guile, addressed: “Give now to
me that loveliness and desire with which thou dost subdue all,
immortals, and mortal men; for I go to visit the limits of the fertile
earth, and Oceanus, the parent of the gods, and mother Tethys; who,
receiving me from Rhea, nurtured and educated me with care in their
abodes, when far-resounding Jove cast down Saturn beneath the earth and
the fruitless sea. These I go to visit, and I will put an end to
eternal quarrels. 467 For already have they abstained for a length of
time from the couch and embrace of each other, since anger fell upon
their mind. But if, by persuading their hearts by my words, I should
lead them back to the bed, to be united in love, then should I always
be called by them beloved and revered.”
Footnote 467: (return) These passages were regarded by the ancients as
referring to the perpetual strife of the elements. Thus Plato, in
Theætet. says: Ὅμηρος εἰπὼν, Ὠκεανόν τε θεῶν γένεσιν, καὶ μητέρα Τηθὺν,
πάντα εἴρηκεν ἔκγονα ροῆς τε καὶ κινήσεως. See Sextus Empir. adv.
Grammat. i. 13, p. 280, ed. Fabr.; Stobæus, Ecl. i. 11. Grote, vol. i.
p. 16, note, observes that, “Oceanus and Tethys seem to be presented in
the Iliad as the primitive father and mother of the gods,” although he
says that “Uranos and Gæa, like Oceanus, Tethys, and Nyx, are with
Homer great and venerable gods, but neither the one nor the other
present the character of predecessors of Kronos and Zeus.”
But her laughter-loving Venus in turn addressed: “It is not possible
nor becoming to refuse thy request, for thou reclinest in the arms of
mightiest Jove.”
She said, and loosed from her bosom the embroidered, variegated cestus;
468 where all allurements were enclosed. In it were love, and desire,
converse, seductive speech, which steals away the mind even of the very
prudent. This then she placed in her hands, spoke, and addressed her:
“Take 469 this, now place in thy bosom this variegated belt, in which
all things are contained; and I think that thou wilt not return with
thy object unaccomplished, whatsoever thou desirest in thy mind.”
Footnote 468: (return) I have avoided translating “cestus,” as it is
very doubtful what is meant by it. It could not have been an ordinary
girdle, since it was to be hidden in the bosom (ver. 219), and since
its power appears to have been secret. See Heyne’s note.
Footnote 469: (return) Τῆ is an old imperative from a root ΤΑ—“formed
like ζῆν, according to Doric analogy.... In all cases it stands either
quite absolute, that is, with the object understood, or the accusative
belongs to a verb immediately following.”—Buttm. Lexil. pp. 505, sq.
Thus she spake, and the large-eyed, venerable Juno smiled, and smiling,
then placed it in her bosom. But Venus, the daughter of Jove, departed
to the palace; and Juno, hastening, quitted the summit of Olympus, and,
having passed over Pieria and fertile Emathia, she hastened over the
snowy mountains of equestrian Thrace, most lofty summits, nor did she
touch the ground with her feet. From Athos she descended to the foaming
deep, and came to Lemnos, the city of divine Thoas, where she met
Sleep, the brother of Death; to whose hand she then clung, and spoke,
and addressed him:
“O Sleep, 470 king of all gods and all men, 471 if ever indeed thou
didst listen to my entreaty, now too be persuaded; and I will
acknowledge gratitude to thee all my days. Close immediately in sleep
for me the bright eyes of Jove under his eyelids, after I couch with
him in love; and I will give thee, as gifts, a handsome golden throne,
for ever incorruptible. And my limping son, Vulcan, adorning it, shall
make it, and below thy feet he shall place a footstool, upon which thou
mayest rest thy shining feet while feasting.”
Footnote 470: (return) Cf. Hesiod, Theog. 214. The dying words of
Gorgias of Leontium are very elegant: Ἤδε με ὁ ὕπνος ἄρχεται
παρακατατίθεσθαι τῶ ἀδελφῳ.—Ælian, Var. Hist. ii. 35.
Footnote 471: (return) So in the Orphic hymn: Ὕπνε, ἄναξ πάντων
μακάρων θνητῶν τ’ άνθρώπων.
But her sweet Sleep answering, addressed: “Juno, venerable goddess,
daughter of great Saturn, any other of the everlasting gods could I
easily lull to sleep, and even the flowing of rapid Ocean, who is the
parent of all; but I could not approach Saturnian Jove, nor lull him to
sleep, unless, at least, he himself command me. For once already, at
least, has he terrified me by his threats, on that day when the
magnanimous son of Jove (Hercules) sailed from Ilium, having sacked the
city of the Trojans. Then I lulled the mind of ægis-bearing Jove, being
poured gently around him, whilst thou wast planning evils in thy mind
[against the hero], rousing the blasts of bitter winds over the deep;
and thou didst afterwards carry him away apart from all his friends to
well-inhabited Cos. But he, when awakened, was enraged, hurling about
the gods through his mansion, and me chiefly of all he sought, and
would have cast me down, a lost one, from the æther into the deep, had
not Night, vanquisher of gods and men, preserved me, to whom I came
flying. So he restrained himself, angry as he was; for he dreaded lest
he should do things which were disagreeable to swift 472 Night. And now
again dost thou urge me to perform this another dangerous deed.”
But him the venerable large-eyed Juno in turn answered: “Ο Sleep, why
thinkest thou these things within thy mind? Canst thou suppose that
far-sounding Jove favours the Trojans, as he was enraged on account of
Hercules, his own son? But come, [do this], and I will give thee one of
the younger Graces to wed, and to be called thy spouse, Pasithea, 473
whom thou fondly desirest day after day.”
Footnote 472: (return) But see Buttm. Lexil. p. 369. Translate, “quick
and fearful night.”
Footnote 473: (return) The most beautiful of the Graces,—“blandarum
prima sororum,” according to Statius, Theb. ii. 286. Cf. Virg. Æn. i.
267, sqq.
Thus she spoke; but Sleep was delighted, and, answering, addressed her:
“Come now, swear to me by the inviolable water of the Styx, and touch
with one hand the fertile earth, and with the other the marble sea; so
that all the gods beneath, around Saturn, may be witnesses between us,
that thou wilt surely give me one of the younger Graces, Pasithea, whom
I will desire all my days.”
Thus he spoke, nor did the white-armed goddess Juno disobey, but she
swore as he desired, and named all gods who dwell under Tartarus, which
are called Titans. 474 When then she had sworn, and performed her oath,
they both proceeded, leaving the city of Lemnos and Imbrus, mantled in
haze, quickly making their way; and they came to Ida of many rills, the
mother of wild beasts, to Lectos, where first they quitted the sea: but
they both advanced over the land, and the summit of the wood was shaken
beneath their feet. There Sleep on his part remained, before the eyes
of Jove should perceive him; ascending a lofty fir, which then growing
the highest upon Ida, sprung up through the air to the clouds. There he
sat, thickly covered with the fir branches, like unto a shrill bird,
which, living in the mountains, the gods call Chalcis, and men
Cymindis.
Footnote 474: (return) On this oath, see Grote, vol. i. p. 17.
But Juno proceeded hastily to Gargarus, the summit of lofty Ida, and
cloud-compelling Jove beheld her. But the instant he beheld her, that
instant 475 desire entirely shadowed around his august mind, just as
when they first were united in love, retiring to the bed, without the
knowledge of their dear parents. And he stood before her, and spoke,
and addressed her:
“Wherefore hastening from Olympus, Juno, comest thou hither, but thy
horses and chariot are not near, which thou mayest ascend.”
Footnote 475: (return) Cf. Theocrit. ii. 82: Ὡς ἴδον, ώς ἐμάνην, ώς
μεῦ περὶ θυμὸς ἴάφθη. iii. 42: Ὡς ἴδον, ὡς ἐμάνη. Ovid, Epist. xii. 33:
“Ut vidi, ut perii, nec notis ignibus arsi.”
But him the venerable Juno, meditating guiles, addressed; “I go to
visit the limits of the fertile earth, and Oceanus, the parent of the
gods, and mother Tethys, who nurtured and trained me with care in their
palaces. Them I go to see, and will take away their bitter quarrels.
For already they abstain a long while from the couch and embrace of
each other; since anger has invaded their minds. But my steeds, which
will bear me over dry and wet, stand near the base of Ida with many
rills. Now, however, on thy account have I come hither from Olympus,
lest perchance thou shouldst afterwards be angry with me, were I to
depart in secret to the abode of deep-flowing Oceanus?”
But her cloud-collecting Jove answering, addressed: “Juno, thither thou
canst go even by-and-by, but come [now], let us, reclining, be
delighted with love; for never at any time did the love of a goddess or
a woman, poured around the heart within my breast, so subdue me:
neither when I loved the wife of Ixion, who bore Pirithous, a
counsellor equal to the gods; nor when [I loved] fair-ankled Danaë, the
daughter of Acrisius, who bore Perseus, most illustrious of all men;
nor when with that of the celebrated daughter of Phoenix, 476 who bore
to me Minos and godlike Rhadamanthus: 477 nor yet when [I loved]
Semele, nor Alcmena in Thebes, who brought forth my valiant son
Hercules: but Semele bore [me] Bacchus, a joy to mortals: nor when [I
loved] Ceres, the fair-haired queen: nor when glorious Latona nor
thyself; as I now love thee, and sweet desire seizes me.”
Footnote 476: (return) But Europa is generally considered to be the
daughter of Agenor. See Grote, vol. i. p. 350.
Footnote 477: (return) On the career of Rhadamanthus, who is “after
death promoted to an abode of undisturbed bliss in the Elysian plain at
the extremity of the earth,” see Grote, vol. i. p. 300.
But him venerable Juno, meditating guiles, addressed: “Most shameless
son of Saturn, what word hast thou spoken? If now thou desire to
recline in love upon the summit of Ida, where all places are exposed,
how will it be, if any of the immortal gods should perceive us
sleeping, and, going amongst all the gods, disclose it? I for my part
could never return to thy mansion, arising from the couch; for surely
it would be unbecoming. But if in truth thou desirest it, and it be
agreeable to thy soul, there is a chamber of thine which Vulcan, thy
beloved son, formed for thee, and fitted its secure doors to its
lintels. Thither let us repair, about to recline, since an embrace is
indeed thy desire.”
But her cloud-collecting Jove, answering, addressed:
“Fear not, O Juno, that any of either gods or men shall behold this.
Such a golden cloud will I spread around, that not even the Sun may see
us through it, although his eye is very keen to behold.” 478
Thus he spake, and the son of Saturn encircled his wife in his arms.
And the divine earth produced 479 fresh herbage under them, the dewy
lotus, and the crocus, and the hyacinth, close and soft, which elevated
them from the earth. Upon this [couch] they reclined, and clothed
themselves above with a beautiful golden cloud; and lucid dew-drops
fell from it.
Footnote 478: (return) On the god Hêlios, and his overseeing
influence, the student should compare Grote, vol. i. p. 466.
Footnote 479: (return) So Milton, describing the couch of our first
parents, P. L. iv. 700:—-
—— “underfoot the violet,
Crocus, and hyacinth with rich inlay,
Broider’d the ground.”
Thus quietly slumbered the sire upon the summit of Gargarus, subdued by
sleep and love, and held his spouse in his arms. But sweet Sleep
hastened to run to the ships of the Greeks, that he might deliver a
message to Neptune, the shaker of the earth. And, standing near, he
addressed to him winged words:
“Now, Neptune, heartily give aid to the Greeks, and bestow glory upon
them, at least for a little, whilst yet Jove sleeps; since I have
enveloped him in a veil 480 of soft slumber, and Juno hath deceived
[him], that he might sleep in love.”
Footnote 480: (return) Observe the force of περικάλυψα.
So saying, he indeed departed to the illustrious tribes of men; but he
still more impelled [Neptune] to assist the Greeks, and immediately
springing forward far into the van, he exhorted them:
“O Greeks, yet again do we yield the victory to Hector, the son of
Priam, that he may seize the ships and bear away glory? For so indeed
he supposes and boasts, because Achilles remains at the hollow ships,
enraged at heart. However, there would not be a great need of him, if
the rest of us were incited to assist one another. But come? let us all
obey as I shall advise. Let us, clad with shields, as many as are best
and greatest in the army, who are covered as to our heads with
glittering helmets, and hold the longest spears in our hands, advance,
and I will lead the way; nor do I think that Hector, the son of Priam,
will await us, though very eager. Whatsoever man also is obstinate in
the fight, and bears but a small shield upon his shoulder, let him give
it to an inferior man, and let him clothe himself in a larger shield.”
Thus he spoke; but they listened to him readily, and obeyed. The kings
themselves, Tydides, Ulysses, and Agamemnon, son of Atreus, marshalled
[the troops], wounded as they were; and, going about among them all,
exchanged their martial arms, the brave [soldier] put on the good
[armour], and the worse they gave to the inferior man. But when they
had girded the splendid brass around their bodies, they began to
advance; and earth-shaking Neptune led them on, grasping in his firm
hand a dreadful tapering sword, like unto a thunderbolt, with which
[sword] it is not possible to engage in destructive battle, for the
fear [of it] restrains men.
On the other side again illustrious Hector drew up the Trojans. Then
truly azure-haired Neptune and illustrious Hector drew forth the
severest struggle of war, the one indeed aiding the Trojans, and the
other the Greeks. But the sea was dashed up to the tents and ships of
the Greeks and they engaged with a mighty shout. Not so loudly does the
billow of the ocean roar against the main land, when driven from the
deep by the rough blast of Boreas; nor so great is the crackling of
blazing fire in the glens of a mountain, when it is raised aloft to
consume the wood; nor so loud howls the wind amidst the high-foliaged
oaks (which, in particular, loudly roars in its wrath), as was the cry
of the Trojans and Greeks shouting dreadfully, when they rushed one
upon the other.
At Ajax illustrious Hector first took aim with his spear, as he was
turned right against him; nor did he miss. [He struck him] where the
two belts were crossed upon his breast, both that of the shield and
that of the silver-studded sword; for these protected the tender skin:
but Hector was enraged because his swift weapon had fled from his hand
in vain, and he retired back into the crowd of his companions, shunning
death. At him then, retiring, mighty Telamonian Ajax [threw] with a
stone, for [stones] in great numbers were rolled about among the feet
of the combatants, props for the fleet barks; lifting up one of these,
he struck him upon the breast, above the orb of the shield, near the
neck. And, throwing, he twirled it like a top, and it (the stone)
rolled round on all sides. As when, beneath a violent stroke from
father Jove, an oak falls uprooted, and a terrible smell of sulphur
arises from it; but confidence no longer possesses the man, whosoever
being near beholds it, because the thunderbolt of mighty Jove is
terrible: so rapidly upon the ground fell the might of Hector in the
dust. And he dropped his spear from his hand, his shield and helmet
followed above him, and his armour, variegated with brass, rang upon
him. Then the sons of the Greeks, loudly shouting, rushed in, hoping to
draw him off, and they hurled numerous javelins; but no one was able
either to strike from a distance, or to smite close at hand, the
shepherd of the people, for the bravest [of the warriors], Polydamas,
Æneas, and noble Agenor, Sarpedon, leader of the Lycians, and
illustrious Glaucus, first threw themselves round him. And no one of
the rest neglected him, but they held their well-orbed shields before
him. But his companions, up-raising him in their hands, bore him out of
the conflict, till they reached his fleet horses, which stood for him
in rear of the combat and the war, holding both the charioteer and the
variegated car; which then carried him towards the city, groaning
heavily. 481