The fighting starts in this book (see p. xxxiv) . When battle is joined, the warrior advances to battle in a two-horse chariot driven by his charioteer. He fights from his chariot, or dismounts to fight on the ground with the chariot in close attendance. He fights mainly with the spear, either ‘hitting’ with a throw from long range, or ‘stabbing’ from short range.
Two types of battle are distinguished: the standing fight, when both sides advance and retreat, and the ‘panic’ or ‘rout’, when one side turns tail and runs for it. Homer carefully indicates what stage the battle is at; for example, when one side is on the retreat, they die from wounds in the back. The general mass of warriors fighting on foot receives only occasional background mention. Battle encounters are dramatic and highly charged moments. They attract a large number of similes, which seem to cluster at such points (see p. xxxvii).
1–72: ZEUS wonders whether HERA and ATHENE would agree to making peace between the Greeks and Trojans. The goddesses, who hate the Trojans, refuse, and ATHENE descends to restart the fighting.
73–219: ATHENE persuades the Trojan archer Pandarus to shoot Menelaus. ATHENE herself takes care to deflect the shot, so that it only grazes him.
220–421: Agamemnon surveys his troops, praising Idomeneus, Ajax, Teucer and Nestor, but rebuking Menestheus, Odysseus and Diomedes.
422–544: Battle is joined. APOLLO and ATHENE urge on the two sides.
The gods, meanwhile, had sat down in assembly with Zeus on Olympus’ golden floor. Lady Hebe served them with nectar, and they drank each other’s health from cups of gold as they looked out over the Trojans’ town.
Zeus son of Cronus now tried to irritate Hera by needling her, though he did not really mean what he said:
ZEUS proposes Ilium’s survival; HERA disagrees
‘Two of the goddesses are on Menelaus’ side – Hera from Argos and Athene from Alalcomenae. But they are happy just (10) to sit up here and watch; whereas laughter-loving Aphrodite is always at Paris’ side, shielding him from death. Only a moment ago she whisked him off when he thought his end had come. Nevertheless, victory has certainly gone to warlike Menelaus, and we should now consider what to do next. Are we to stir up evil war again, with all the sound and fury of battle, or shall we make peace between the two sides? Subject to your approval, this would mean that lord Priam’s town would survive, and Menelaus take Helen back ...’
(20) So he spoke, and Athene and Hera muttered darkly to each other. They were sitting close together, plotting trouble for the Trojans. Athene held her tongue and said nothing, but glared at Father Zeus, seething with indignation. Hera, however, could not contain her rage and spoke out:
‘Dread son of Cronus, what are you suggesting now? How can you think of making all my efforts count for nothing, the pains I took, the sweat that poured from me as I toiled round in my chariot and gathered the army to make trouble for Priam and his sons? Do what you like, then: but not all the rest of us gods will approve.’
(30) Angrily, Zeus who marshals the clouds replied:
‘You are impossible! What injury can Priam and his sons have done you, to account for the vehemence of your desire to sack the well-built town of Ilium? You would satisfy your rage only if you stormed through the gates and long walls and ate up Priam, his children and the rest of the Trojans raw. Act as you see fit. I don’t wish this difference of ours to develop into a serious breach.
‘But I will tell you something else, and you bear it in mind. (40) When it is my turn to desire the sack of a town and I choose one where favourites of yours are living, make no attempt to curb my anger, but let me have my way, since I have given in to you this time of my own accord, though much against my inclination. For of all the towns that mortal men live in under the sun and starry sky, I prized sacred Ilium closest to my heart, with Priam and the people of Priam of the good ash spear. My altar never lacked its share of generous offerings, libations of wine and the fat from burnt sacrifice, the honour that gods have been granted as our right.’
(50) Ox-eyed lady Hera replied:
‘The three towns I love best are Argos, Sparta and Mycenae with its broad streets. Sack those, whenever they incur your hatred. I shall not make a stand on their behalf nor begrudge them to you. But even if I do object and refuse to permit their destruction, I shall achieve nothing – you are far too strong for me. And yet my efforts must not count for nothing, because I too am divine, and our parentage is one. Further, among all the (60) daughters of sickle-wielding Cronus I take precedence in two respects – because I am the eldest by birth, and also because I am your acknowledged wife and you are lord of all the gods.
‘However, let us yield to one another in these matters, I to you and you to me. The rest of the immortal gods will then follow our example. Now immediately instruct Athene to visit the Trojan and Greek battle lines, and try to arrange for the Trojans to be the first to break the oaths made with the proud Greeks.’
So she spoke, and the Father of men and gods complied. At once he spoke to Athene with winged words:
(70) ‘Off with you immediately to the Trojan and Greek battle front, and try to arrange for the Trojans to be the first to break the oaths made with the proud Greeks.’
With these words he encouraged Athene, who had already set her heart on action. She came swooping down from the heights of Olympus like a meteor that Zeus, son of sickle-wielding Cronus, discharges as a warning to sailors or to some great army on the land: blazing, it shoots out a mass of sparks. That was how Pallas Athene looked as she sped to earth and leapt in (80) among the troops. The horse-taming Trojans and Greek men-at-arms were awe-struck at the sight. They looked at each other and said as one man:
‘This means dreadful war and all the sound and fury of battle are on us again, or Zeus, controller of war on earth, is to make peace between us.’
So Greeks and Trojans talked. Meanwhile Athene disguised herself as a man and slipped into the Trojan ranks in the likeness of Laodocus, a mighty spearman. She was trying to find godlike Pandarus and she found him, the handsome and (90) mighty son of Lycaon, standing there beside the powerful shield-bearing force that had come under his command from the River Aesepus. She went up to him and spoke winged words:
ATHENE tells Pandarus to shoot at Menelaus
‘Pandarus, shrewd son of Lycaon, you should do what I say. If you could bring yourself to shoot a flying arrow at Menelaus, you would cover yourself in glory and put every Trojan in your debt, lord Paris most of all. He would be the first to come forward with splendid gifts, if he saw Menelaus warlike son of Atreus brought down by a shot from you and laid out on the sad funeral (100) pyre. Come, shoot at illustrious Menelaus and promise the renowned Lycian-born Archer-god Apollo an impressive offering of first-born lambs when you get back home to sacred Zeleia.’
So spoke Athene, and she persuaded the fool. Then and there he unsheathed his polished bow. It was made from the horns of a full-grown wild goat that he himself had shot in the chest. He had been lying in wait for the animal and hit it as it emerged from its rocky hiding place; there it fell, on its back. The horns (110) on its head, measuring over a metre across, had been prepared by a craftsman in horn who fitted them into the wooden bow-stave, made it all smooth and put a golden hook for the bowstring at the end.
Pandarus then placed the bow firmly against the ground, bent and strung it, while his brave troops surrounded him with their shields to protect him from attack by the warlike Greeks before he could get a shot at Menelaus. Then he took off the lid of his quiver and picked out a feathered arrow, as yet unused, black pain concealed within it. He quickly fitted the sharp arrow to the string and promised the renowned Lycian-born (120) Archer-god Apollo an impressive offering of first-born lambs when he got back home to sacred Zeleia. He notched the arrow into the ox-gut string, gripped it by the end and drew it back, till the string was touching his chest and the arrow’s iron tip lay alongside the bow. When he had bent the great bow into a circle, it gave a crisp twang, the string sang out, and the sharp arrow leapt into the air, eager to wing its way into the enemy ranks.
ATHENE protects Menelaus
But the blessed immortal gods did not forget you, Menelaus, and first of these was the war-leader Athene, daughter of Zeus, who took her stand in front of you and warded off the piercing missile, (130) turning it away just so much from your flesh, like a mother brushing a fly away from her gently sleeping child. With her own hand she guided it instead to where the golden buckles of the belt fixed together and the body-armour overlapped. So the sharp arrow struck the fastened belt. It punched through this ornate belt and drove on through both the richly worked body-armour and through the kilt that Menelaus wore as a last line of defence against flying weapons. This did more than all the rest to save him, though the arrow did penetrate that too. In the (140) end the arrow just grazed his mortal flesh, and at once the dark blood came flowing from the wound.
As a woman from Caria or Maeonia stains ivory with purple dye to make a cheek-piece for a horse; it is put in store, and every charioteer prays to see it on a horse of his; but it is in store to delight a ruler, as an adornment for his horse and badge of honour for his charioteer – so, Menelaus, blood stained your handsome thighs and shins and ran down to your fine ankles.
Agamemnon lord of men shuddered when he saw the dark (150) blood streaming from the wound. Warlike Menelaus himself shuddered too, though when he saw that the arrow-head and its bindings had not sunk in, he recovered his composure. But lord Agamemnon gave a deep groan, as did his men, took Menelaus by the hand and said:
Agamemnon laments Menelaus’ wound
‘My dear brother, it was your death, then, that I swore to when I took the oath and sent you out alone to fight for us against the Trojans, who have shot you now and trampled on the sacred oaths. But oaths sealed by our right hands and solemnized with libations of wine and the blood of lambs cannot have been sealed in vain. (160) Olympian Zeus may postpone the penalty, but he exacts it, in full, in the end, and oath-breakers pay a heavy price – they pay with their own lives and their wives’ and children’s too. But deep in my heart I know well the day is coming when sacred Ilium will be destroyed, together with the people of Priam and Priam himself of the good ash spear. Zeus son of Cronus, from his high throne in Olympus where he lives, will himself shake out the dark aegis of destruction over all of them in his anger at this perjury of theirs. All this will happen without fail.
(170) ‘Yet if you die, Menelaus, if your life has really run its destined course, how bitterly I shall lament you. And what a storm of criticism I would face on my return to dusty Argos! For the Greeks will at once be set on getting home. We should be forced to abandon Helen here for Priam and his men to boast over, while the earth would rot your bones as you lay here in Troy, the site of your failed mission. Some arrogant Trojan will jump up and down on the tomb of illustrious Menelaus and say ‘‘May every quarrel picked by Agamemnon end like this – a failed (180) expedition, retreat in empty ships and brave Menelaus left behind!’’ That is how they will talk – and I shall pray for the broad earth to swallow me.’
Auburn-haired Menelaus comforted him and spoke:
‘Put your mind at rest and don’t alarm the men. The sharp arrow did not reach a vital spot. Before it got so far, it was stopped by my metal belt, the body-armour underneath and the kilt which bronze-smiths made for me.’
Lord Agamemnon replied and said:
(190) ‘If only you are right, dear Menelaus! But a healer will treat the wound and apply herbs to relieve the pain.’
Machaon is called to heal Menelaus
He spoke and addressed Talthybius the godlike herald:
‘Talthybius, fetch Machaon here as quickly as possible, son of the matchless healer Asclepius, to see Menelaus. Some Trojan or Lycian archer who knows his business well has hit him with an arrow: glory for him, grief for us.’
So he spoke, and the herald heard, complied and made his (200) way through the ranks of bronze-armoured Greeks, searching for the warrior Machaon. He found him standing with his men, the powerful shield-bearing force that had come under his command from Tricce where the horses graze. He went up to him and spoke winged words:
‘Quick, Machaon, son of Asclepius, lord Agamemnon has sent for you to see Menelaus. Some Trojan or Lycian archer who knows his business well has hit him with an arrow: glory for him, grief for us.’
So he spoke, and his words went straight to Machaon’s heart. He set off through the ranks of the great Greek army. When (210) they reached the spot where Menelaus lay wounded, with all the commanders gathered round him in a circle, Machaon took his place in the middle and at once extracted the arrow from the close-fitting belt, though the pointed barbs broke as the head was pulled out. Then he undid the metal belt, the body-armour underneath and the kilt which bronze-smiths had made. When he found the place where the sharp arrow had pierced the flesh, he sucked out the blood and skilfully applied soothing herbs from the supply with which the sympathetic centaur Cheiron had once equipped his father Asclepius.
(220) While they were attending to Menelaus, master of the battle-cry, the ranks of shield-bearing Trojans advanced to the attack. The Greeks once more put on their armour, their will to fight renewed.
Agamemnon surveys the troops
Then you would not see godlike Agamemnon dozing or hiding or unwilling to fight, but eager for the battle where men win glory. He decided not to use his horses and bronze-inlaid chariot. So the pair were led aside by his attendant Eurymedon, son of Ptolemy, snorting as they went. But Agamemnon was careful to instruct the man (230) to keep them close at hand, in case he grew weary at any point while he worked his way as commander round the great army. Then he set out on foot to make his tour of inspection of the troops.
When he came upon any of his Greeks with their swift horses who were up and doing, he stopped and encouraged them:
‘Greeks, never relax that fighting spirit of yours! Perjurers will get no help from Father Zeus. The men who first broke the oaths are going to have their own smooth flesh devoured by vultures, while we will carry off their dear wives and little children on board our ships, when we have sacked their citadel!’
(240) On the other hand, if he found any shrinking from the ugly business of war, he turned on them sharply and angrily:
‘Greeks, you despicable loud-mouths, have you no shame? Why do you stand there, bewildered, like fawns that dash across the plain and exhaust themselves and stop, because they have no more will to resist? That’s what you look like, standing there, bewildered, instead of fighting. Or are you waiting for the Trojans to threaten our well-built ships drawn up on the grey sea-shore in the hope that Zeus will lay a protecting hand over you?’
(250) So he made his commander’s tour of inspection of the troops. In his tour of the throng of men, he came upon the Cretans, the troops that armed for battle under warlike Idomeneus. In the forefront was Idomeneus himself, brave as a boar; while Meriones urged on the troops at the rear. Agamemnon lord of men was delighted when he saw them and at once spoke warmly to Idomeneus:
Idomeneus
‘Idomeneus, of all my Greeks with their swift horses, there is not one I honour more than you, on the battlefield, on other missions and at feasts for senior advisers (260) when the Greek leaders mix themselves sparkling wine. When the rest of the long-haired Greeks have drunk up their portion, your cup stands full, like mine, to drink from as you wish. Off, then, into battle and be the man you have always said you were!’
Idomeneus commander of the Cretans said in reply:
‘Son of Atreus, you can rely on my loyal support and the solemn assurance I gave you when this business began. Inspire the rest of the long-haired Greeks, so that we can join battle at (270) once, now that the Trojans have broken their oaths. As for them, they can look forward to nothing but death and disaster, since they first broke the oaths.’
Ajax and Teucer
So he spoke, and Agamemnon passed on, well pleased. In his tour of the throng of men, he came upon the two brothers, Ajax and Teucer. The pair were putting on their helmets and had a cloud of infantrymen at their back. As a goatherd in his lookout sees a cloud approaching across the sea, driven by a roaring west wind; the goatherd is some way off but, black as pitch, the cloud advances at him across the sea bringing a great whirlwind in its wake, and he (280) shudders when he sees it and drives his flocks into a cave – such were the close-packed ranks of Olympian-bred young men under the two brothers, dark, bristling with shields and spears as they moved off into battle. Lord Agamemnon was delighted to see them and spoke winged words:
‘Ajax and Teucer, leaders of the bronze-armoured Greeks, I have no orders – encouraging you would be quite out of place! Your very leadership inspires your men to fight their best. Father Zeus, Athene and Apollo, if only everyone had your attitude! (290) The town of lord Priam would soon be captured, sacked and turned over to Greek hands.’
Nestor
With these words Agamemnon left them and moved on to the others. There he came across Nestor the clear-voiced speaker from Pylos, whom he found preparing his men to fight and marshalling them under their leaders, great Pelagon, Alastor and Chromius, lord Haemon and Bias shepherd of the people. Nestor stationed his charioteers with their horses and chariots in the front and at the back his many brave foot-soldiers, to serve as rearguard. He placed his inferior (300) troops in the middle so that even the unwilling would be forced to fight. He told his charioteers, whom he was instructing first, to keep control of their horses and not get entangled in the mêlée:
‘Don’t think bravery and skill entitle a charioteer to charge forward and fight the Trojans on his own. And don’t let anyone drop behind and weaken the whole force. When a man in his own chariot comes within reach of the enemy, he should try a spear-thrust. That is the best tactic. This is the discipline and courage that enabled our forefathers to storm towns and fortifications.’
(310) So old Nestor used the experience he had gained in battles long ago to inspire his troops. Lord Agamemnon was delighted to see him and spoke winged words:
‘Venerable sir, how happy I could be if your spirit were matched by the vigour of your limbs, and your strength was unimpaired! But age, which no one can escape, lies heavy upon you. If only you could pass it on to someone else and rejoin the ranks of youth!’
Then Nestor the Gerenian charioteer replied to him:
‘Son of Atreus, I too could wish most heartily to be the man (320) I was when I killed godlike Ereuthalion. But the gods do not grant us all their favours at one time. I was a young man then; now age presses hard upon me. Yet for all that I shall still be with my charioteers and in command. Their tactics and orders come from me – that’s the privilege of age – even if the spear is left to younger men than myself, who can rely on their muscle.’
So he spoke, and Agamemnon moved on, well pleased. Next he found Peteos’ son the horse-driver Menestheus. This man and his Athenian troops, champions of the battle-cry, were (330) standing idle; and nearby was quick-thinking Odysseus with his Cephallenian troops, a substantial force, standing idle too. The call to battle had not yet reached their ears, since the Trojan and Greek troops had only just begun to move into action. So they stood there and waited for some other Greek contingent to advance against the Trojans and signal the start of the fighting. When he noticed this, Agamemnon lord of men attacked them and spoke winged words:
Odysseus
‘You, Menestheus, son of a noble father, and you, Odysseus, master of sharp practice, always looking (340) out for number one, why are you hanging back like this and leaving others to advance? You ought to be taking your place in the front line, ready to bear the heat of battle. You two are the first to get an invitation from me when we lay on a feast for the senior advisers. On such occasions you’re quite happy to take your fill of roast meat and sweet wine for as long as you want. But now you seem happy to stand by and watch while ten contingents of Greeks fall on the enemy with their spears before you make a move.’
Quick-thinking Odysseus gave him a black look and replied:
(350) ’Son of Atreus, why do you say such a thing? How can you maintain that, when we Greeks unleash the dogs of war against the horse-taming Trojans, we shirk the fighting? You’ll have your wish, if that’s what is troubling you, and see the father of Telemachus at grips with the front ranks of these horse-taming Trojans. As for you, you’re all hot air.’
When lord Agamemnon realized that Odysseus was angry, he smiled and answered with an apology:
‘Olympian-born son of Laertes, resourceful Odysseus, I am not really attacking you and I have no more orders to give. I (360) know in your heart of hearts you are well disposed to me. In fact, we see eye to eye. On, then; I’ll make up for it later if I have said anything offensive. May the gods scatter it to the winds.’
With these words Agamemnon left them and moved on to the others. He found Tydeus’ son great-heated Diomedes stationary there among the horses and finely built chariots. Sthenelus son of Capaneus stood close at hand. Seeing him, Agamemnon lord of men attacked him and spoke winged words:
Diomedes (contrasted with Tydeus)
(370) ‘Diomedes son of that dauntless charioteer Tydeus, what can I say? Why are you hanging back like this, just eyeing the lines of battle? It was not your father Tydeus’ habit to hang back but to come to grips with the enemy way out in front of his men. That is what people say who saw the man at work. They say he was the best of them all. I myself never met or saw him, though he did come to Mycenae once, not to fight but on a personal mission with godlike Polyneices in search of reinforcements. It was the time they were attacking the sacred walls of Thebes to drive out (380) Eteocles. They entreated our people to provide adequate support, and our people were sympathetic and promised all they asked for.
‘But Zeus made us change our minds with some unfavourable omens. So Tydeus and his men left Mycenae. When they had gone some way along the road and reached the meadows and reedy banks of the River Asopus near Thebes, the Greeks sent Tydeus with a message into the town. He entered and found a large group of Thebans, the people of Cadmus, feasting in the palace of their leader, mighty Eteocles. But even as a visitor, alone among a crowd of Thebans, Tydeus showed no fear. He challenged them to athletic contests and won easily in every (390) case, since he had Athene to help him.
‘This infuriated the horse-racing Thebans and, when Tydeus left, they gathered and laid an ambush in his path, fifty men with two leaders, Maeon, a man like the gods, and resolute Polyphontes. But Tydeus dealt with them and brought them to a nasty end. He killed the whole party except the one he sent back to Thebes (acknowledging signs from the gods, he let Maeon go) .
‘That was Tydeus from Aetolia. You are his son. But you do (400) not fight as he did, though you may be better when it comes to talking.’
So he spoke, and mighty Diomedes made no reply. He dutifully accepted the rebuke from the leader he respected. But Sthenelus son of illustrious Capaneus replied:
Diomedes silences Sthenelus
‘Son of Atreus, you know the facts: don’t lie about them. I say we are far better men than our fathers. We did succeed in capturing seven-gated Thebes. With a weaker force, we stormed more powerful defences than they ever faced, because we trusted in Zeus’ help and the signs that the gods sent us; but our fathers were (410) destroyed through their own recklessness. So don’t talk to me about our fathers in the same breath as us.’
Mighty Diomedes gave Sthenelus a black look and said:
‘Be quiet, man, and listen to me. I am not going to quarrel with Agamemnon shepherd of the people for encouraging the Greeks to fight. It is he who will get the credit if the Greeks beat the Trojans and capture sacred Ilium; but at the same time, if the Greeks are defeated, he will also get the grief. Come: time for the two of us to call up that fighting spirit of ours!’
He spoke and, fully armed, leapt from his chariot to the (420) ground. As he charged into action, the bronze rang terrifyingly on his chest. The bravest heart might well have quailed.
As the waves of the ocean under a westerly gale race one after the other on to a booming beach; far out at sea the white horses rise, then break and crash thunderously on the shore and, arching up, climb headlands and send the salt spray flying – so, one after the other, the Greek contingents moved relentlessly into battle. Each leader was issuing orders to his own command, (430) but the men advanced in silence. You would not think so large an army was on the march or had a voice, so silent were they, in fear of their commanders. Their ornate armour glittered as they advanced, rank on rank.
As for the Trojans, like sheep that stand in their thousands in a rich man’s yard, yielding their white milk and bleating incessantly because they hear their lambs, so a hubbub went up through the great army. Their speech and dialects were all different, as they spoke a mixture of languages – the troops hailed from many parts.
The War-god Ares spurred on the Trojan forces, and grey-eyed (440) Athene the Greeks. Terror and Panic accompanied her, and so did implacably determined Strife, the sister and ally of man-slaying Ares. Small at first, she soars upward and, though her feet are still on the ground, reaches high Olympus with her head. Now she too swept in among the Trojans and Greeks, filling them with hatred of one another and ensuring the death-cries of more and more men.
Battle is joined
The armies advanced and met in a single space with a clash of shields, spears and bronze-armoured warriors. The bossed shields collided and a great roar went up – the (450) screams of the dying, the jeers of the victors – and the earth ran with blood. As two mountain rivers in winter, fed by their great springs higher up, meet in full spate in some deep ravine, while far off in the mountains a shepherd hears the thunder, such were the yelling and turmoil as the two armies came to grips.
Antilochus kills Echepolus
Antilochus was the first to kill his man, brave Echepolus, who was fighting in full armour in the Trojan front ranks. Antilochus hit him on the (460) ridge of his plumed helmet. The bronze spear hit Echepolus’ forehead and pierced right through the bone. Darkness engulfed his eyes and he crashed, like a tower, in the thick of the action.
Agenor kills Elephenor
As he fell, lord Elephenor, leader of the greathearted Abantes, seized him by the feet and tried to drag him quickly out of range, eager to strip him of his armour. But the attempt was short-lived, since Agenor saw him dragging the body away. With his bronze spear he stabbed Elephenor in the side which his shield had left exposed as he (470) bent over. Agenor brought him down, life left him, and a grim struggle between Trojans and Greeks developed over him. They leapt at each other like wolves, and man grappled with man.
Ajax kills Simoïsius
Then Ajax son of Telamon hit Anthemion’s son Simoïsius, an unmarried young man at the prime of his youth. His mother bore him by the banks of the River Simoïs when she was returning from Mount Ida where her father and mother had taken her to see to their sheep. So they called him Simoïsius. His life was too short to repay his parents for their loving care, for it ended when he met the spear (480) of great-hearted Ajax. As the young man advanced among the front ranks, Ajax hit him in the chest by the right nipple. The bronze spear went clean through his shoulder, and he crashed to the ground in the dust like a poplar which grows in the hollow of a great water-meadow, its trunk trimmed and the branches sprouting out at the top. A chariot-maker cuts it down with his gleaming axe to make the wheel-rims for a beautiful chariot; but he leaves it now to lie and season on the bank. So Ajax slaughtered Anthemion’s son Simoïsius.
(490) Now Priam’s son brightly armoured Antiphus threw a sharp spear at Ajax through the crowd. Antiphus missed his man but hit Leucus, one of Odysseus’ brave comrades, in the groin as he was dragging Simoïsius away. The body fell from Leucus’ hands, and he himself came crashing down on top of it.
Antiphus kills Leucus; Odysseus kills Democoön
Odysseus was infuriated when he saw Leucus killed. His bronze armour glittering, he advanced through the front ranks up to the enemy lines, where he took his stand and, looking carefully round, threw his gleaming spear. The Trojans leapt back when they saw it coming. But Odysseus’ spear did not leave his hand for nothing. It hit Democoön, a bastard son of Priam, who had (500) joined Priam from the town of Abydus. He was standing by his horses when Odysseus, infuriated by his companion’s death, hit him with his spear on the temple, and the bronze tip passed right through and came out the other side. Darkness engulfed Democoön’s eyes; he thudded to the ground, and his armour clattered about him.
At this glorious Hector and the Trojan front ranks fell back, while the Greeks gave a great shout, dragged in the bodies and pushed forward. This filled Apollo, who was watching from Pergamus – Ilium’s highest point – with indignation, and he shouted to the Trojans:
APOLLO allies the Trojans
‘On with you, horse-taming Trojans! Never give Greeks best in your will to fight! They are not made of stone or iron. Their flesh can’t keep out penetrating spears when they are hit. And what’s more, Achilles, (510) son of lovely-haired Thetis, is not fighting, but nursing his heart-tearing anger by the ships.’
So the awe-inspiring god spoke from the citadel, while the Greeks were encouraged by Athene, Triton-born, most glorious daughter of Zeus, who went through the ranks herself spurring on any Greek she saw holding back.
Peiros kills Diores; Thoas kills Peiros
Now destiny shackled Diores. He was hit by a jagged stone on the right leg near the ankle. The man who threw it was the Thracian leader Peiros who came from Aenus. The shameless rock completely (520) shattered the two tendons and the bones; and Diores fell backwards in the dust, stretching his hands out to his friends and gasping for life. But Peiros, the man who had hit him, ran up and stabbed him by the navel with his spear. All his innards gushed out on to the ground, and darkness engulfed his eyes.
As Peiros sprang away, however, Thoas from Aetolia hit him in the chest with his spear, below the nipple, and the bronze (530) point sank into his lung. Thoas then came up to him, pulled the heavy spear from Peiros’ chest and, drawing his sharp sword, struck him full in the belly. He took Peiros’ life but he did not get his armour. For Peiros’ men, the Thracians with their hair in top-knots, surrounded him. They held their long spears steady in their hands and forced Thoas, great, powerful and noble though he was, to retreat. Shaken, he withdrew.
So these two, Peiros and Diores, lay stretched in the dust at each other’s side, one of them leader of the Thracians, the other of the bronze-armoured Eleans. And many others lay dead around them.
Indeed, this was no idle skirmish. Anyone arriving fresh in (540) the middle of this battle uninjured by throw or thrust of a sharp spear – he would have needed Athene to shield him from the hail of missiles and lead him by the hand – would have soon found that out. Trojans and Greeks that day lay there in their multitudes, stretched out alongside each other, face down in the dust.