1–261: The Trojans retreat in panic from the Greek camp. ZEUS wakes up, furious, and turns on HERA, who claims innocence. ZEUS foretells the deaths of Patroclus and Hector, calls off POSEIDON (who reluctantly obeys) and orders APOLLO to revive Hector and restore the Trojans’ victorious assault.
262–389: Hector returns invigorated to battle. The Greeks panic and run. APOLLO kicks down the Greek defences, and the Trojans swarm round the ships.
390–405: Patroclus, hearing the noise, leaves the wounded Eurypylus and returns to Achilles.
405–564: Hector and Ajax rally their own sides: general fighting.
565–746: ZEUS spurs on Hector, and the Greeks retreat further back among their ships. Ajax defends the ships with a huge pike, but slowly has to yield.
The fleeing Trojans re-crossed the stakes and ditch, many falling at the hands of the Greeks, and did not stop till they reached their chariots. As they paused there, panic-stricken and pale with terror, Zeus, who was still lying on the heights of Mount Ida beside Hera of the golden throne, awoke and leaping to his feet took in the situation – the Trojans thrown back and the Greeks in hot pursuit; lord Poseidon helping in the chase; and Hector lying on the ground with his comrades sitting round him.
(10) Hector was breathing in some discomfort and coughing up blood. He was still dazed, since the man who had hit him was by no means the feeblest in the Greek ranks. The Father of men and gods was filled with pity at the sight of him. He gave Hera a terrifying black look and spoke his mind:
ZEUS accuses HERA of deception
‘Hera, you are incorrigible. It is through your treacherous tricks that godlike Hector has been stopped from the fighting and the Trojans routed. I have half a mind to give you a good thrashing and let you be the first to enjoy the consequences of your wretched antics again. Have you forgotten the time when I strung you up with a couple of anvils hanging from your feet and your hands (20) lashed together with a golden chain you could not break? There you dangled, up in the air and in among the clouds; and the gods on high Olympus, though they stood around you in despair, found it impossible to set you free. I seized anyone I caught in the attempt; I hurled him from my threshold and, when he reached the ground, the breath was knocked right out of him.
‘But even that did not relieve the heartache I felt for godlike Heracles when you, after persuading the gales to help you in your evil schemes, had sent him scudding over the murmuring sea before a northerly gale. You swept him off in the end to the prosperous island of Cos. But I rescued him from Cos and (30) brought him back to Thessaly where the horses graze, after all he’d been through.
‘I am reminding you of this to put a stop to your deceptions and to teach you how little good has come of that love-making of yours, which you tricked me into when you came here from Olympus.’
So he spoke, and ox-eyed lady Hera shuddered and spoke winged words:
‘Now let my witnesses be Earth, and the broad skies above, and the falling waters of Styx – the greatest and most solemn oath the blessed gods can take – and your sacred head, and our (40) own bridal couch, by which I would never dare to perjure myself: it is not my fault that Poseidon the earthshaker is doing Hector and the Trojans harm and helping the Greeks. I can only suppose he was sorry for the Greeks when he saw them hard-pressed beside the ships and felt it necessary to take action. Indeed, I would be quite ready to advise him to go wherever you told him to, Zeus who darkens the clouds.’
So she spoke, and the Father of men and gods smiled and, replying, spoke winged words:
ZEUS foretells Achilles’ return (15.596)
(50) ‘Ox-eyed lady Hera, if from now on I could count on you to support me in the council of the gods, Poseidon would soon come round and see eye to eye with you and me, however much he might be otherwise inclined. However, if you have told me the full, exact truth, go back now to the gods and order Iris and Apollo the renowned Archer-god to come here. I want Iris to visit the bronze-armoured Greeks and tell lord Poseidon to stop fighting and go home; and Phoebus Apollo to bring Hector back (60) into the battle after breathing new energy into him and making him forget the pain that is causing him such distress.
‘Phoebus must then sow panic among the Greeks and make them run for it. They will fall back as far as the many-benched ships of Achilles son of Peleus, who will send his companion Patroclus into the fight. Patroclus, after killing a number of his brave enemies, including my own son godlike Sarpedon, will fall to the spear of glorious Hector in front of Ilium; and godlike Achilles, infuriated at Patroclus’ death, will kill Hector himself. (70) From that moment on, I will arrange a steady Greek counter- attack from the ships till the day when the Greeks capture steep Ilium, helped by Athene’s advice.
‘But in the meantime I remain hostile to the Greeks and will not permit any other of the immortals to come down to their assistance until the wishes of Achilles are fulfilled, in accordance with the promise I gave him (and confirmed with a nod of my head) that day when the goddess Thetis put her arms round my knees and supplicated me to give honour to her son Achilles, sacker of cities.’
So he spoke, and the goddess white-armed Hera complied (80) and set out from Mount Ida for high Olympus. Like the speed of thought of a man who has travelled widely and in his sharp mind thinks ‘I wish I were there, or there’, and instantly brings it all to mind, so quickly the eager lady Hera flew.
On reaching the peak of Olympus, she presented herself to the immortal gods who were assembled in the palace of Zeus. When they saw her, they all leapt to their feet and drank her health. Ignoring the rest, Hera accepted a cup from fair-cheeked Themis, who was the first to come running up to her and speak to her with winged words:
(90) ‘Hera, what brings you here? You look flustered. You must be beating a hasty retreat from your husband, the son of Cronus!’
The goddess white-armed Hera replied:
‘Divine Themis, no questions about that. You know yourself how arrogant and uncompromising he can be. But if you will give a lead by beginning the gods’ feast in the palace, you and the rest shall hear all about the wicked schemes Zeus is contemplating. And in case anyone is sitting happily down to feast, I can assure them that the news will not please everybody, man or god.’
(100) With these words the lady Hera took her seat, and up and down the hall of Zeus the gods were filled with consternation, for though there was laughter on Hera’s lips, there was no warmth in her forehead or dark brows. Angrily she addressed the company:
HERA warns of ZEUS’ will
‘What fools we have been! What idiots, to quarrel with Zeus! Yet here we are, still determined to have a go at stopping him, if not by talking, then by force. And all the while he simply sits there, by himself, showing not the slightest interest. He could not care less about us. He knows that, for sheer brute force, he is without question first among the gods. As a result, you all have to take whatever troubles he may send you lying down! For example, if I am not mistaken, a (110) calamity has already overtaken Ares. A son and favourite of his, Ascalaphus, has fallen in action. Imperious Ares does claim to be his father, does he not?’
So she spoke, and Ares slapped his sturdy thighs with the flat of his hands and in anguish said:
‘Gods who live on Olympus, don’t get angry with me now if I go down to the Greek ships and avenge the slaughter of my son, even if it is my destiny to be struck down by Zeus’ thunderbolt and join the bodies in the blood and dust.’
So he spoke and called to his sons Panic and Rout to yoke his (120) horses, while he himself put on his glittering armour.
ATHENE prevents ARES’ revenge (13.519)
And now another quarrel, even greater and more disastrous than the last, would have broken out between Zeus and the immortals, if Athene in her terror for the whole divine community had not leapt from her chair and dashed out after Ares through the porch. She snatched the helmet from his head, the shield from his shoulders and put away the bronze spear she took from his sturdy hand. She then gave the wild War-god a piece of her mind:
‘You maniac! You idiot! You’re done for. You clearly don’t (130) have ears to hear with. Reason, restraint – all gone. Did you not hear what we were told by Hera, who has come straight from Olympian Zeus? Or do you really wish to get a thrashing for yourself and to be chased back to Olympus with your tail between your legs, while the rest of us reap the whirlwind you’ve sown? I tell you, Zeus will leave those proud Trojans and Greeks without a moment’s thought, come straight here to Olympus and cause absolute mayhem, seizing each of us in turn, innocent and guilty alike. Take my advice, then, and forget your anger for your son. Many a finer and stronger man than he has been (140) killed before now and will be killed in the future. It would be very difficult to protect the family and children of every man on earth.’
With these words Athene led the wild War-god back to his chair. Hera then called Apollo and Iris, who is messenger of the immortal gods, out of the palace and spoke winged words:
‘Zeus requires you two to go with all speed to Mount Ida. When you have reached the palace and appeared before him, you will carry out whatever orders he gives you.’
With these words the lady Hera went back in again and sat (150) down on her throne, and the pair flew off at speed. When they reached Mount Ida of the many springs, mother of sheep, they found far-thundering son of Cronus sitting on the summit of Gargarus, enveloped in a perfumed mist. They came and stood before Zeus who marshals the clouds. He had no fault to find with them, since they had carried out his wife’s instructions promptly. He first spoke to Iris with winged words:
‘Off with you, swift Iris. Inform lord Poseidon of everything (160) POSEIDON told not to help the Greeks I say and tell him no lies. Instruct him to stop fighting, retire from the battlefield and either rejoin the company of the gods or withdraw into his own bright sea. If he chooses to ignore my explicit commands, let him think carefully about it and consider whether, powerful though he is, he would be able to resist an attack from me, who is by far the stronger god and his senior by birth. Not that he hesitates on that account to behave as my equal, even though the other gods all live in terror of me.’
So he spoke, and swift Iris, quick as the wind, complied and (170) set out from Mount Ida for sacred Ilium. Like snow or chilling hail that falls from the clouds at the onset of a bitter north wind, so quickly the eager Iris flew. She went straight up to the famous earthshaker and said:
‘Sable-haired god, you who encircle the world, I have come here with a message from Zeus who drives the storm-cloud. He orders you to stop fighting, retire from the battlefield and either rejoin the company of the gods or withdraw into your own bright sea. If you choose to ignore his explicit commands, he (180) threatens to come here and take you on in person. He instructs you not to engage in combat with him, since he is by far the stronger god and your senior by birth. Not that you hesitate on that account to behave as his equal, even though the other gods all live in terror of him.’
Indignant, the famous earthshaker replied:
‘This is outrageous! Zeus may be powerful but it is sheer arrogance for him to talk of forcing me, his equal in prestige, to bend my will to his. There are three of us brothers, all sons of Cronus and Rhea: Zeus, myself and Hades, the lord of the dead. Each of us was given his own domain when the world was (190) divided into three parts. We cast lots, and I received the grey sea as my inalienable realm, Hades drew the darkness below and Zeus was allotted the broad sky in the upper air among the clouds. But the earth was left common to all of us, and high Olympus too.
‘So I am not going to live at Zeus’ beck and call. Powerful though he is, let him stay quietly in his own third of the world. And don’t let him try to scare me with threats of violence, as if I were some out-and-out coward. He’d do better to issue his nasty threats to his own sons and daughters. He is their Father, and they are duty bound to listen when he orders them about.’
(200) Swift Iris, quick as the wind, replied:
POSEIDON reluctantly agrees to desist
‘Sable-haired god, you who encircle the world, do you really wish me to convey this blunt and uncompromising reply back to Zeus? Won’t you change your mind a little? It is the mark of a noble mind to be swayed. And you know how the avenging Furies always support elder brothers.’
Poseidon the earthshaker said:
‘Goddess Iris, all that is very true. It is noble, too, for a (210) messenger to show such tact. But it really hurts to be insulted and bullied by a god with whom destiny has decreed that I should share the world on equal terms. However, I will give in now, though not without resentment. But I will tell you something else, and this is a serious word of warning. If Zeus, against my wishes and those of the war-leader Athene, Hera, Hermes and lord Hephaestus, spares high Ilium and will not have it sacked, giving the Greeks a resounding victory, let him know there will be an irreparable breach between the two of us.’
With these words the earthshaker left the Greek army and withdrew into the sea. The Greek warriors missed him badly.
(220) Then Zeus who marshals the clouds addressed Apollo:
APOLLO told to restore Hector (14.412)
‘Go now, dear Phoebus, to bronze-armoured Hector. The earthshaker who encircles the world has by now retired into the bright sea to avoid the full weight of my anger. Indeed, if we had come to blows, everyone would have heard of it, even the gods who live with Cronus in the world below. But it was a far better thing for both of us that, resentful though he was, he should have yielded to me without taking me on – otherwise there would certainly have been much sweat before matters could have been settled.
‘Now take my fringed aegis in your hands, give it a fierce
(230) shake and strike panic into the Greek warriors. And make glorious Hector your special concern, Archer-god. Fill him with tremendous energy until such time as the Greeks reach their ships and the Hellespont in panic. At that point, I myself will decide what must be said and done to give them a breathing-space from battle.’
So he spoke, and Apollo turned no deaf ear to his father’s words but swooped down from the mountains of Ida with the speed of a dove-destroying hawk, which is the fastest thing on wings. Godlike Hector, son of wise Priam, was no longer (240) prostrate when he found him, but sitting up. He had just regained consciousness and could recognize the friends about him, having ceased to pant and sweat from the moment when Zeus who drives the storm-cloud had willed his recovery. The Archer-god Apollo came up to him and said:
‘Hector son of Priam, why are you sitting here away from your troops and in such a sad state? Have you been hurt?’
In a feeble voice Hector of the flashing helmet replied:
‘What god are you, my lord, and why do you come to me for news? Don’t you know that, as I was killing Greeks by the outer line of ships, Ajax, master of the battle-cry, hit me on the chest (250) with a lump of rock and knocked all the fight out of me? Indeed, I thought I was going to breathe my last today and descend among the dead in Hades’ halls.’
Lord Apollo the Archer-god replied:
‘Take heart! Trust the ally that Zeus son of Cronus sends you from Mount Ida to take his place beside you and protect you – myself, Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who in days gone by have saved not only you but your lofty citadel as well. Up, now! Command your many charioteers to drive at the gallop (260) right up to the hollow ships, and I will go ahead of them, making a way over the ditch for the horses and putting the Greek warriors to flight.’
With these words he breathed tremendous energy into this shepherd of the people. As a stabled horse breaks his halter at the manger where he feeds and, hooves thudding, gallops off across the fields to his usual bathing-place in the sweet-flowing river, exultant; he tosses his head; his mane streams in the wind
along his shoulders; he knows how beautiful he is, and his feet carry him skimming over the ground to the horses’ haunts and (270) pastures – so Hector lightly and easily now sprinted off when he heard the god speak, urging on his charioteers.
The Greeks were like rustics with a pack of hounds chasing an antlered stag or wild goat. It takes refuge in some well-shaded wood or steep rocky outcrop: it was not, after all, destined to be caught by them. Then suddenly a bearded lion, roused by their cries, appears in their path and, for all their determination, sends them running – so the Greeks had been advancing steadily in mass formation, stabbing with their swords and curved spears. But when they saw Hector once more marshalling his (280) men, they were filled with consternation, and their hearts sank.
Thoas, Andraemon’s son, then addressed the Greeks. He was by far the finest of the Aetolians, skilled with the spear and a good man in a standing fight. Moreover, there were few Greeks who could get the better of him in the assembly when they competed to give the best advice. He had their interests at heart as he rose and addressed them:
Thoas prepares the Greeks to face Hector
‘Well, well, what a miracle – Hector risen from the dead! Just when we were all thinking that Ajax son of Telamon had (290) finished him off, some god has taken him in hand and brought him back to life, as though he hadn’t killed enough of us already. And there is more of that to come. Hector would not be back in the front line threatening us like this, if loud-thundering Zeus had not put him there.
‘So I suggest we all do what I now propose. Let the main body retreat to the ships, while we that claim to be the best men in the army make a stand, with our spears up at the ready, in the hope of holding Hector’s first attack. For all his determination, I have an idea he’ll think twice about engaging with such a Greek force.’
(300) So he spoke, and they heard and agreed. They gathered in their best men to form a closed battle-line against Hector and his Trojans, under the leadership of Ajax, lord Idomeneus, Teucer, Meriones and Meges. Behind them, the main force retreated to the Greek ships.
APOLLO routs the Greeks
The Trojans advanced in a mass and Hector led them, striding confidently forward. In front of him, with a mist round his shoulders, went Phoebus Apollo, holding the lively aegis, grimly resplendent (310) with its fringe, the very aegis that the bronzesmith Hephaestus had given to Zeus to strike panic into men. With this in his hand, Apollo led the Trojan army.
But the Greeks awaited them in mass formation. A deafening roar went up from either side, and arrows leapt from the string. Many spears launched from strong arms landed in young warriors’ bodies, while many others fell short before they could enjoy white flesh and stuck in the earth, thirsting to take their fill.
As long as Phoebus Apollo kept the aegis steady in his hands, volley and counter-volley found their mark and men kept falling. (320) But the moment came when, looking the Greeks full in the face, he shook the aegis at them and gave a great shout. Then their hearts were bewildered, and all the fight went out of them. As two wild animals stampede a herd of cows or some great flock of sheep in the depths of the dark night, emerging all of a sudden when the herdsman is not there, so the demoralized Greeks were routed. It was Apollo himself who had unleashed panic among them and gave the Hector and his Trojans the glory.
Trojans kill eight Greeks
Having broken the Greek ranks, the Trojans began to pick off the Greeks one by one. Hector killed Arcesilaus and Stichius, one a leader of the bronze- (330) armoured Boeotians and the other a loyal follower of greathearted Menestheus. Meanwhile Aeneas slew Medon and Iasus. Medon was an illegitimate son of godlike Oïleus and so a brother of Ajax; but he lived in Phylace a long way from the land of his fathers, because he had killed a kinsman of his step-mother Eriopis, Oïleus’ wife. Iasus was one of the Athenian leaders and his father was Sphelus. Polydamas killed Mecisteus; Polites (340) killed Echion in the front line; and godlike Agenor slew Clonius. Deiochus, as he joined the other front ranks in their flight, was hit from behind at the base of the shoulder by Paris, whose bronze spear passed clean through him.
While the victors were stripping the dead men of their arms, the Greeks, dashing in panic this way and that and entangled in their own ditch and palisade, were forced to take refuge behind the wall. Seeing this, Hector called out to the Trojans in a loud voice:
‘On to the Greek ships! Forget about seizing the bloodstained armour! Any straggler I see, anyone who does not follow me (350) there, I’ll put to death on the spot. What’s more, he’ll get no funeral from his relatives and womenfolk. The dogs will tear his body in front of Ilium.’
With these words, and swinging his arm right back, he whipped on his horses and sent a great cry across the Trojan ranks. His charioteers to a man gave an answering shout and with a mighty roar drove on their horses and chariots.
APOLLO kicks down the Greek defences
In front of them Phoebus Apollo easily kicked in the banks of the deep ditch and piled them into the middle, making a broad and ample causeway, wide as the distance a man throws a spear when he is testing his strength. Here they poured across rank (360) after rank, led by Apollo, holding up his precious aegis. Then, with equal ease, the god knocked down the Greek wall, as a boy at the seaside knocks down a sandcastle: he builds it to amuse himself, as children do, and then with his hands and feet wrecks the whole thing for fun – so you, Apollo, wrecked the Greeks’ arduous efforts and sowed panic among them.
The Greeks did not stop till they reached the ships. There they halted, calling to one another for help, and every man lifted up his hands and poured out prayers to all the gods, none more (370) fervently than Gerenian Nestor, guardian of the Greeks, who stretched out his arms to the starry sky:
‘Father Zeus, if ever any of us back in Greece with its rich cornfields burnt you the fat thigh of an ox or sheep as he prayed for a safe return, and you promised it to him with a nod of your head, remember that moment now, Olympian; save us from this day of death; and don’t let the Trojans overwhelm the Greeks so completely.’
So he spoke in prayer, and Zeus wise in counsel thundered loud when he heard the prayer of the ancient son of Neleus.
(390) But when the Trojans heard the thunderclap of Zeus who (380) drives the storm-cloud, they fell on the Greeks more fiercely than ever, their will to fight renewed. As a great roller on the high seas tumbles over the sides of a ship when a storm whips up the waves and drives them on, so with a roar the Trojans swept across the wall, lashing their horses on. In a moment they were fighting hand to hand by the ships, the Trojans from their chariots with their curved spears, and the Greeks from high up on the black sterns where they had climbed, with the great pikes – built up in sections and tipped with bronze – which they kept on board for fights at sea.
Patroclus leaves Eurypylus (11.843)
Now Patroclus, so long as the Greeks and Trojans were fighting for control of the wall and were some way from the ships, sat with amiable Eurypylus in his hut and, while entertaining him with his talk, applied herbs to his ugly wound to soothe away the pain. But when he saw the Trojans swarming across the wall and heard the Greeks yelling and panicking, he gave a groan, slapped his thighs with the flat of his hands and said in his distress:
‘Eurypylus, I can’t stay here with you any longer, however (400) much you need me. It’s critical out there. Your attendant must look after you while I hurry back to Achilles and do my best to make him fight. Who knows? With some divine help, my suggestions might stir him to change his mind. A friend’s advice is often the most effective.’
Even as he spoke, his feet were on the move.
Meanwhile the Greeks resolutely resisted the oncoming Trojans but, though they outnumbered them, were unable to drive them back from the ships. Nor, for their part, were the Trojans able to break the Greek lines and get through to their ships and (410) camp. As a string stretched along a ship’s timber enables a skilful carpenter who has mastered his trade under the guidance of Athene to draw a straight line, so battle was pulled tight, neither front line yielding an inch.
Ajax vs. Hector; Caletor killed
While parties of his men attacked at other ships, Hector made straight for illustrious Ajax and the two of them fought it out over the one vessel. Hector could not drive Ajax off it and set it on fire, and Ajax was equally unable to repel Hector once the god had brought him (420) to the spot. Then glorious Ajax hit Caletor in the chest with a spear as he was carrying fire to the ship. Caletor thudded to the ground, and the brand dropped from his grip. Hector, seeing his cousin fall in the dust in front of the black ship, called out to the Trojans and Lycians in a loud voice:
‘Trojans, Lycians and you Dardanians that like your fighting hand to hand, don’t yield an inch in this narrow space we are in! Caletor’s been killed in action round the ships! Rescue him, or the Greeks will have his armour off him!’
(430) Lycophron and Cleitus killed With these words he flung a glittering spear at Ajax, but missing him, he struck Lycophron from Cythera, Ajax’s attendant, who had come to live with him after killing a man in sacred Cythera. Lycophron was standing by Ajax when Hector’s sharp bronze spear struck him on the head above the ear. He tumbled backwards from the ship’s stern to the ground and crumpled up in the dust. Ajax shuddered and called to his brother:
‘Dear Teucer, we’ve lost our faithful friend Lycophron, who came from Cythera to live with us; and we thought as much of (440) him as we did of our own parents. Great-hearted Hector has just killed him. Where are your deadly arrows and the bow you had from Phoebus Apollo?’
So he spoke, and Teucer understood him and, running to his side with his curved bow and full quiver, began at once to direct his arrows at the Trojans. The first man he hit was Cleitus, an attendant to noble Polydamas. Teucer hit him with the reins in his hands. He was in trouble with his horses, having driven them into the thick of the foot-soldiers where the fighting was at its most confused, with the idea of doing Hector and the Trojans a (450) good turn. He met disaster at once from which no one could save him, though they would have wanted to. The fatal arrow struck him in the back of the neck and brought him crashing down from his chariot. His horses shied and ran away, with the empty chariot rattling off behind them, till lord Polydamas, who had been the first to notice what had happened, intercepted them. He handed them over to Astynous and urgently told the man to watch his movements and keep the horses close at hand. Then he went and engaged once more with the front ranks.
Teucer aimed his next arrow at bronze-armoured Hector. He (460) would have put an end to the battle by the Greek ships had he struck and killed Hector in the hour of his glory. But Zeus, who is too wary to be caught, was looking after Hector and had kept an eye on Teucer. He robbed him of his triumph by snapping the twisted string of his trusty bow as he was taking aim at his man. The bronze-weighted arrow swerved off-course and the bow fell from his hand. Teucer shivered and said to his brother Ajax:
Teucer abandons his broken bow
‘Damn! Some evil power is thwarting everything we try in battle today! It has knocked the bow out of my hand and broken the fresh string I bound on this morning to take the strain of my leaping arrows.’
(470) Great Ajax son of Telamon replied:
‘Well, old friend, abandon your bow and all those arrows, now that some god with a grudge against the Greeks has made them of no use. Pick up a spear instead, sling a shield over your shoulder and so meet the enemy – and give a lead to the rest of our men. Let’s call up our will to fight and, even if the Trojans defeat us, make them pay heavily for our ships.’
So he spoke, and Teucer laid his bow down in his hut and (480) slung a shield of fourfold leather on his shoulder. On his mighty head he placed a well-made helmet with a horsehair crest, the plume nodding frighteningly from the top. Then he took up a powerful spear tipped with sharp bronze and, setting out at a run, was soon at Ajax’s side.
When Hector saw Teucer’s weapons were out of commission, he called out to the Trojans and Lycians in a loud voice:
Hector and Ajax rally their sides
‘Trojans, Lycians, and you Dardanians that like your fighting hand to hand, be men, my comrades, and call up that fighting spirit of yours here by the hollow ships! I saw with my own eyes how one of their best men was stopped by Zeus from shooting any more. (490) There is no mistaking help from Zeus. He makes it plain, both to the side for whom he is planning victory and to those he is weakening and refusing to help. See how he is weakening Greek resistance and supporting us! Mass together, then, and attack the ships. If anyone is hit or stabbed and meets his fated end, so be it. He will have fallen for his country, and that’s no dishonourable death. He will leave his wife and children safe for the future and his house and land secure, once these Greeks have sailed back to the land of their fathers.’
(500) So Hector spoke and put fresh heart and courage into every man. Ajax on his side immediately called out to his followers:
‘Shame on you, Greeks! Today we have no choice but to perish here or save the ships and live. Or do you think you’ll all get home on foot if Hector of the flashing helmet takes the ships? He is desperate to set them on fire – can’t you hear him driving his whole army on? And believe me, he’s not inviting them to a dance but to fight. Our only hope, our only strategy, is to face (510) them in battle, hand to hand, and man to man. Whether we live or die, it’s better to settle the matter once and for all than let a weaker enemy squeeze the life out of us in the heat of the battle by the ships.’
Otus and Croesmus killed
So Ajax spoke and put fresh heart and courage into every man. Now Hector killed Schedius, a Phocian chieftain; Ajax killed noble Laodamas, an infantry commander; and Polydamas slew Otus from Cyllene, a leader of the great-hearted Eleans and a friend of Meges. (520) Meges, when he saw this, leapt at Polydamas, but Polydamas avoided his attack by recoiling – Apollo was not going to let him fall in the front line – and Meges missed.
Meges then stabbed Croesmus full in the chest with his spear. Croesmus thudded to the ground, and Meges began to strip the armour from his shoulders. But as he did so, he was assaulted by Dolops who was an expert with the spear. This man was a son of Lampus – the best son he had and a practised fighter – and grandson of Laomedon. Attacking at close range, Dolops pierced the centre of Meges’ shield with his spear. But Meges (530) was well served by the stout body-armour he was wearing, with its metal plates. His father Phyleus had brought this armour from Ephyre and the River Selleïs, where his host, Euphetes lord of men, had made him a gift of it to wear when he went to war and protect him from his enemies. Now it also saved his son from destruction.
Dolops killed
Meges stabbed with his sharp-pointed spear at the plumed crown of Dolops’ bronze helmet and sheared the horsehair crest clean off the top. The whole ornament, resplendent in its fresh purple dye, fell in the dust. But Dolops did not despair of winning; he stood his ground and fought on. What (540) he did not notice was that warlike Menelaus, spear in hand, had come to Meges’ help and crept up on his flank. Menelaus hit him in the shoulder from behind, and the eager spear-point forced its way through and came out at his chest. Dolops fell headlong, and Menelaus and Meges rushed in to strip the bronze armour from his shoulders.
Hector called on all his relatives to rally and singled out mighty Melanippus for rebuke. This man, before the invasion, had lived at Percote where he grazed his shambling cattle. But when the Greeks arrived in their rolling ships, he returned to (550) Ilium, distinguished himself among the Trojans and lived with Priam who treated him like one of his own children. Hector shouted angrily at him:
Hector and Ajax rally men
‘Melanippus, are we to take things lying down like this? Is it nothing to you that they have killed your cousin Dolops? Or don’t you see them helping themselves to his armour? Come with me now. We can’t grapple at long range with these Greeks any longer – either we destroy them or they destroy lofty Ilium from top to bottom and slaughter all our people.’
With these words Hector led the way, and godlike Melanippus went with him.
(560) Meanwhile great Ajax son of Telamon was stirring up the Greeks:
‘Fellow warriors, be men, think of your reputations, and in the heat of battle fear nothing but dishonour in each other’s eyes! When warriors fear disgrace, then more are saved than killed. There is no honour or safety to be found in flight.’
So he spoke, and though they scarcely needed this encouragement to defend themselves, the Greeks took his words to heart and ringed their ships with a fence of bronze. But Zeus still urged the Trojans to attack.
Menelaus, master of the battle-cry, then spurred on Antilochus:
‘We have nobody younger than you, Antilochus, and no one (570) quicker on his feet or bolder in a fight. Why not race out and see if you can bring a Trojan down?’
Antilochus kills Melanippus
With these words Menelaus withdrew but he had inspired Antilochus. He leapt out from the front line and, looking carefully round, let fly with his glittering spear. The Trojans leapt back when they saw it coming. But his spear did not leave his hand for nothing. He caught proud Melanippus beside the nipple on his chest as he was advancing into battle. Melanippus thudded to the ground, and night enveloped his eyes. Antilochus pounced on him like a (580) hound leaping on a stricken fawn that a huntsman has killed and brought down with a lucky shot as it started from its lair. So, Melanippus, did resolute Antilochus leap at you to strip you of your arms.
But godlike Hector, who had seen what he had done, came running up through the mêlée to confront him; and Antilochus, brisk fighter though he was, did not await his arrival. He ran for it like a wild beast that has done wrong in killing a dog or herdsman and takes to its heels before a crowd is put together to chase it. So Nestor’s son Antilochus fled, pursued by deafening (590) cries and a hail of deadly missiles from the Trojans and Hector. But he turned and stood his ground when he reached his own contingent.
ZEUS spurs Hector on (15.58)
The Trojans now stormed the ships like flesh-eating lions, fulfilling the orders of Zeus who filled them with tremendous energy and bewildered the spirits of the Greeks by denying them all success and encouraging their enemies. He was planning to give Hector the glory, so that he could hurl unquenchable fire on the beaked ships and satisfy all the unreasonable demands of Thetis: Zeus (600) wise in counsel was waiting to see the blaze of a ship on fire. From that moment, he intended the Trojans to be thrust back from the ships and the Greeks to be victorious. All this was in his mind as he spurred on Hector son of Priam to attack the hollow ships.
Not that Hector lacked determination. He raged like Ares the spear-wielding War-god, or like destructive fire in the thickets of a deep forest in the mountains. There was foam on his mouth; his eyes flashed under lowering brows; and his helmet swayed (610) menacingly on his temples as he fought. Zeus himself was Hector’s ally in the sky, selecting him alone from that great crowd of men for honour and glory, since he had but a short time to live. Pallas Athene was already speeding on the day when he should fall to Achilles, mighty son of Peleus.
Hector’s aim was to break the enemy line and, wherever he saw the greatest numbers and best-armed men, he put it to the test. But he failed to break through, for all the ferocity of his assault. Packed as tight as the stones in a wall, the Greeks held (620) firm like a great sheer cliff that faces the grey sea and resists the onslaught of the howling winds and vast waves roaring on at it; so resolutely did the Greeks stand up to the Trojans and never turn to flight.
(630) At last, his fiery armour blazing all round him, Hector burst into their midst. He fell on them as a great tossing wave, whipped up by the winds and the clouds, breaks against a ship; she is completely hidden by the spray; the terrifying blast of the wind howls in her sail; and the crew, shocked and panicking, are saved from destruction by a hair’s breadth – so Greek morale was utterly shattered.
Hector kills Periphetes
Hector fell on them like a murderous lion coming across cattle grazing in numbers in the pastures of some great water-meadow; the herdsman is inexperienced in fighting off the beast from the carcass of an animal, so he keeps level with the front or rear of the herd and leaves the lion to strike at the centre and devour his kill, while the rest of the herd scatters in panic – so the whole Greek force was miraculously put to flight by Hector and Father Zeus. Hector killed just one Greek.
His victim was a Mycenean, Periphetes son of Copreus. Copreus had been the messenger of lord Eurystheus, employed (640) to deliver Eurystheus’ instructions to mighty Heracles about his labours. But this worthless father had produced a far better son in all respects: Periphetes was a fast runner, a good warrior and one of the most intelligent men in Mycenae. He now handed Hector yet greater glory. He had just turned to run when he tripped against the rim of his shield which he carried to keep missiles off and which came down to his feet. Thus entangled, he fell backwards and, as he hit the ground, his helmet clanged balefully round his temples, at once attracting Hector’s notice. (650) He ran up to him and drove a spear into his chest, killing him in the very presence of his dear companions, who could do nothing to help their comrade, for all their distress at his death, since godlike Hector had terrified them all.
Very soon the Greeks were in among their ships and protected by the sterns of those that had been drawn up first. But the Trojans poured in too, and the Greeks were forced to fall back from the first line to their adjoining huts. There they re-grouped and came to a halt, not scattering all over the camp, but kept together by a sense of shame and fear and the constant encouragement they shouted to each other. In particular Gerenian (660) Nestor, guardian of the Greeks, appealed in supplication to each and every man in his parents’ name:
‘Be men, my friends, and think of your reputation among others! Each of you remember your children too and your wives, your property and your parents, whether they are alive or dead. For the sake of your absent dear ones, I beg you – stand firm! Don’t turn and run!’
So Nestor spoke and put fresh heart and courage into every man; and Athene cleared away from their eyes the strange mist that had befogged them. There was daylight now on both sides, (670) over the ships and the field of battle, that great leveller. Hector, master of the battle-cry, and his men were now visible to all the Greeks, both those who were standing unengaged in the rear as well as those fighting beside the swift ships.
Ajax desperately defends the ships
Great-hearted Ajax was not pleased by the idea of joining the Greeks who had stood back from the fighting. Instead, he kept moving up and down the raised half-decks of the ships with great strides, swinging in his hands a huge pike ten metres long, made of sections pegged together and designed for sea-battles. As an (680) expert trainer harnesses together four horses and gallops them in from the plain to a big town down a busy road: many men and women look on in admiration as he keeps jumping from one mount to another, without slipping, as they race along – so Ajax, taking enormous strides, kept moving from one ship’s deck to another, and his voice reached the sky as he exhorted the Greeks with tremendous shouts to defend their ships and huts.
Hector was equally unwilling to linger among the crowd of (690) his Trojan men-at-arms. As a tawny eagle swoops on a flock of birds – geese, cranes or long-necked swans – that are feeding by a river, so Hector dashed to the front and made straight for a blue-prowed ship. Zeus with his great hand urged him on from behind and spurred his men to follow.
So once again an intense struggle broke out around the ships. You would think they had gone fresh and unwearied into the fight, so eagerly did they come to grips. But this was the attitude (700) of the combatants: the Greeks felt they were in for disaster and would be destroyed, but every Trojan there was filled with the hope of burning the ships and killing the Greek warriors. Such were their expectations as they closed in conflict.
Hector at last got his hands on the stern of a ship. It was the speedy seafaring vessel that had brought Protesilaus to Troy, thought it never carried him home again to the land of his fathers. Round this ship the Greeks and Trojans hacked away at each other hand to hand. It was not a matter now of keeping their distance and weathering volleys of arrows or spears on (710) either side, but, united in resolution, they stood man to man and fought it out with sharp axes and hatchets, long swords and curved spears. Many a fine black-hilted sword fell to the ground from warriors’ hands, and many another was cut from their shoulders as they fought. The earth ran black with blood.
Hector calls for fire
Hector, once he had laid hold of the ship, never let go but kept his hands on the stern-post and shouted to the Trojans:
‘Bring fire! Mass and charge! This is the day, worth all the rest, when Zeus allows us to destroy their ships! They came here against the will of the gods (720) and started all our troubles. But that was through the cowardice of our elders. When I wished to carry the fighting up to the ships, they stopped me and held back my troops. But as surely as far-thundering Zeus blinded us then, he is backing us today and sweeping us on!’
So he spoke, and they fell on the Greeks with even greater ferocity. Ajax himself, overwhelmed by missiles, could no longer hold his position but, in fear of death, gave way a little and retreated from the ship’s afterdeck towards the two-metre crossbench (730) amidships. There he stood on the alert and, when any Trojan came up with a blazing torch, he fended them off from the ships with his pike. And all the time, in that terrifying voice of his, he was calling to the Greeks:
‘Friends, Greek warriors, attendants of Ares, be men, my comrades, and call up that fighting spirit of yours! Do you imagine we have allies in the rear or a better wall to keep off disaster? There is no walled town nearby with reinforcements to save the day. We are in a plain controlled by Trojan men-at-arms (740)the sea is at our backs; and the land of our fathers is a long way off. So our only salvation is to fight! There’s no tenderness in war!’
He spoke and kept thrusting furiously with his sharp pike. Whenever a Trojan came near the hollow ships with a burning brand (in the hope of gratifying Hector who was urging them on) Ajax was ready and hit him with the enormous weapon. He stabbed twelve men like that, hand to hand in front of the ships.