BOOK XV

The Achaeans Desperate

When the Trojans had scrambled through trench and sharp

stakes, and many

Had died at the hands of the Danaans, terrified still

They came to a halt beside their chariots, their faces

A ghastly pale olive with fear. And Zeus woke up

Where he lay beside golden-throned Hera, high on a peak

Of Mount Ida. At once he sprang up and saw what was happening,

Trojans chaotically fleeing and Argives pursuing,

With lord Poseidon among them. And then he saw Hector

Stretched on the plain with his comrades sitting around him,

Great Hector gasping for breath, half conscious, and vomiting

Blood, for it was by no means the feeblest Achaean

Of all who had dealt him the blow. Seeing him thus,

The Father of gods and men felt compassion for him,

And sternly scowling at Hera he spoke to her, saying:

“Hera, impossible goddess! surely your own

Evil tricks have put noble Hector out of the action

And driven the host in retreat. Truly I do not

Know but that you shall yet be the first to reap

The fruits of your miserable malice and plotting—when I

Put stripes on you with a whip! Can it be that you’ve really

Forgotten when I hung you high with an anvil suspended

From each of your ankles and a band of unbreakable gold

About your wrists? And you hung far up in the air

Among the clouds, and the gods throughout high Olympus,

Though greatly indignant, were none of them able to get

Close to you and release you. And any of them I got hold of

I seized and hurled from my threshold, so that when he reached earth

He just lay there too weak to move. Even so, my heart

Still hurt for godlike Heracles, whom you, in league

With the blasting North Wind, had sent in accord with your evil

Contriving far over the barren and unresting sea

To the populous island of Cos. Him I brought back

From there, safe to horse-pasturing Argos, though only

After his toils had been many and painful. Of this

I remind you once more to put an end to your wiles

And make you see how little real good it does you

To come here apart from the other immortals and subtly

Seduce me to lie with you and make love.”¹ 1

At this

The heifer-eyed queenly Hera shuddered, and answered

In these winged words: “Now then, to this let earth

Be my witness and broad heaven above and the tumbledown waters

Of subterranean Styx—which to the gods

Is the oath most great and terrible-and your own divine head

And the marriage bed of us both, by which I would never

Swear falsely, that it is by no will of mine that Poseidon,

Creator of earthquakes, does damage to Trojans and Hector

And nothing but good for their foes.² I think that he saw

The Achaeans worn out and despairing beside their vessels

And pitied them so much that his own soul urged him and told him

To help. But to you, 0 god of the gathering storm,

I say I myself would counsel Poseidon to go

Wherever you told him to go.”

She spoke, and the Father

Of gods and men smiled, and answered in these winged words:

“If truly, 0 heifer-eyed queenly Hera, our thoughts

Hereafter agree, as you sit among the immortals,

Then surely Poseidon will bend his mind to ours,

Regardless of how disinclined he may be. So if

You are frank and sincere in what you have said, go now

To the family of gods and send Iris here along with

Bow-famous Apollo, that she may go mid the host

Of bronze-clad Achaeans and bid lord Poseidon drop out

Of the fight and go home. And Phoebus Apollo must rouse up

Hector to action again, breathing strength back into

His body and making him quickly forget the pains

That are now unnerving his spirit. Then let Apollo

Put cowardly panic in all the Achaeans and hurl them

Back in headlong retreat on the many-oared ships

Of Peleus’ son Achilles, who then will rouse up

His comrade Patroclus. Him resplendent Hector

Will kill with his spear in full view of Troy, but only

After Patroclus has slain many other young men,

Including my own noble son Sarpedon. And Achilles

The kingly, raging in wrath for Patroclus, shall end

The life of Hector, from which time I’ll cause a constant

Retreat of the Trojans away from the ships till at last

The Achaeans shall take steep Troy with the help of a plan

From Athena. Until then, though, I will not cease my anger,

Nor will I allow any other immortal to help

The Danaans, not till Achilles has had his desire

Fulfilled, as I at first promised and bowed my head

In assent on the day the goddess Thetis embraced

My knees, pleading with me to honor her son,

Achilles, taker of towns.” ³

He spoke, and the white-armed

Goddess Hera did not disobey him, but went

From the mountains of Ida to the heights of lofty Olympus.

And quick as the thoughts of a much-traveled man who often

Wishes himself here or there, remembering richly

And thinking, “I wish I were this place, or that”: even

So swiftly Queen Hera eagerly flew till she came

To steep Olympus and found the immortal gods

Together in Zeus’s palace. At sight of her there

They all sprang up and pledged her with cups of welcome.

But she passed all of them by save pretty Themis,^as

Whose cup she accepted, for Themis was first to run up

And greet her, speaking to her these winged words:

“Hera, why do you come here like one distraught?

Surely the son of Cronos has frightened you badly,

And he your own husband!”

Then Hera, the white-armed goddess,

Replied: “Do not ask me to go into that, divine Themis.

You yourself know what kind of spirit he has,

How haughty, harsh, and unyielding. But go take your place

And begin for the gods the abundant feast in these halls,

And then you shall certainly hear, along with all

Of the other immortals, what evil things Zeus declares

He will do. My news will not, I believe, make everyone

Equally glad, whether mortals or gods, if indeed

There is anyone now who can dine in anything like

A good mood!”

So saying, Queen Hera sat down, and wrath

Arose in all of the gods throughout the great hall

Of Zeus. And Hera laughed with her lips, but the frown

Froze hard on her forehead above the dark brows, as vexed

With them all she spoke out among them: “Fools! how childish

And thoughtless we were to vent our rage against Zeus.

Yet truly we’re still just as eager to go up to him

And thwart his will, either by words or by force.

But he sits apart and gives no one here so much as

A second thought, so sure he is that his power

And strength are supreme among the immortals. Therefore,

Take with patience whatever bad things he sends you.

Already, I think, keen pain has been fashioned for Ares,

Since his own son, to him the dearest of men,

Has fallen in battle, Ascalaphus, he whom huge Ares

Claims as his own.”^at

So she, and Ares slapped

His brawny big thighs with the flat of his hands, and angrily

Spoke out, crying: “Do not now blame me,

O you that have homes on Olympus, if I go down

To the ships of Achaea and take revenge on the Trojans

For killing my son, even though my fate be to fall

A victim of Zeus’s bright bolt, and to lie mid the dead

Stretched out in the blood and the dust.”

He spoke, and at once

Gave orders to Panic and Rout to harness his horses,

While he put on his all-shining armor. Then greater,

More miserable wrath and resentment would surely have been

Stirred up between Zeus and the other immortals, if Athena

Had not been seized with fear for them all. Leaving

The chair she sat in, she shot through the door and removed

The helmet from Ares’ head and the shield from his shoulders.

Then taking the bronze-headed spear from his powerful hand,

She stood it aside and thus rebuked the impulsive,

Furious War-god:

“You stupid, maniacal fool!

Yes you will be utterly ruined. Surely you have ears

To hear with, but now all your sense and self-control

Have left you. Didn’t you hear what the white-armed goddess

Hera just said, she who has newly returned

From Olympian Zeus? And now do you really wish

To bring all these woes on yourself, and so, grieving still,

Be forced back up to Olympus, having sowed the seeds

Of many great evils for all the rest of us here?

So saying, she made

Impetuous Ares sit down again in his chair.

Then Hera requested Apollo and Iris, the immortal

Gods’ messenger, to go with her from the hall, and once

Outside she came to the point in these winged words:

“Zeus says for you both to go with all speed to Mount Ida.

When you have arrived and looked on his face, carry out

Whatever he then may urge and command you to do.”

Having thus delivered her message, Queen Hera returned

To her throne, but Apollo and Iris took off at once

And flew on their way When they came to well-watered Ida,

Mother of wilderness creatures, they found far-thundering

Zeus, where he sat on the summit of Gargarus peak,

While about him wreathed a cloud of fragrant mist.

Then the two of them stood in the presence of Zeus, collector

Of clouds, and he was by no means displeased to see them,

For they had promptly obeyed the words of his wife.

And first to Iris he spoke in these winged words:

“Fly swiftly, quick Iris, and carry this message in full

To lord Poseidon, and see that you do not speak falsely.

Tell him to leave the battle at once, and either

Rejoin the family of gods, or shroud himself deep

In his own sacred sea. And if he will pay no attention

To these words of mine, but chooses instead to ignore them,

Let him consider in mind and heart whether he

Will be able to stand against an attack by me,

Regardless of how great his strength. For I declare myself

Much his better in might, and the elder besides,

Though he thinks nothing of calling himself the equal

Of Zeus, whom all of the other immortals regard

With an awesome deep dread.”

He spoke, and wing-footed Iris

Did not disobey, but swiftly flew down from the range

Of Ida to sacred Ilium. And as when snow

Or freezing hail falls fast from the clouds, driven on

By hard blasts of the sky-born North Wind, even so swiftly

Quick Iris flew eagerly down, and coming up close

To the world-renowned shaker of shores, she spoke to him thus:

“O blue-haired embracer of earth, I come here to you

With a message from Zeus, who bears the aegis. He says

For you to leave the battle at once, and either

Rejoin the family of gods, or shroud yourself deep

In your own sacred sea. And if you will pay no attention

To these words of his, but choose instead to ignore them,

He threatens to come here at once and pit his might

Against yours in an all-out fight. But he warns you to keep yourself

Well out of reach of his hands, for he declares himself

Much your better in might, and the elder besides,

Though you think nothing of calling yourself the equal

Of Zeus, whom all of the other immortals regard

With an awesome deep dread.”

Then fiercely indignant, the world-renowned

Shaker of shores spoke thus: “Outrageous, outrageous!

Truly a haughty and arrogant message, no matter

How strong he may be, if he really thinks he can force one

Equal in honor with him to do as he wishes.

For we are the sons of Cronos and Rhea—Zeus,

Myself, and the third is Hades, King of the nether

Dead. And the world is divided three ways among us,

And each has his own domain. When the lots were shaken,

I won the gray sea as my home and realm forever,

And Hades won the deep nether gloom, while Zeus

Was allotted broad heaven, the clouds and clear upper air,

But the earth and lofty Olympus are common to all.

Therefore I refuse to do as Zeus says I should.

Let him abide in peace in his third of the world,

No matter how strong he may be. And let him stop trying

To scare me with threats of superior might, as though

He thought me some cowardly weakling. For him it would be

Far better to hurl his blustering threats at his own

Sons and daughters, those he sired himself, who have

No choice in the matter, but have to do as he bids.”

To which wind-footed swift Iris replied: “Can it be,

O blue-haired embracer of earth, that you really wish me

To go back to Zeus with this answer so hostile and harsh?

But since the great are never rigid, will you

At all change your mind? The Furies, you know, always

Favor the elder.”

And again earth-shaking Poseidon:

“Divine Iris, your point is well taken, and surely it is

A fine thing when a messenger speaks with such understanding.

But still most bitter resentment comes over my heart

And soul whenever Zeus hurls harsh words at another

His peer in every respect and to whom has fallen

An equal share. For now, though, I yield, in spite of

My deep indignation. But let me add this, a threat

Straight out of my wrath—if ever apart from me

And the spoil-driving goddess Athena, and Hera, Hermes,

And lord Hephaestus, Zeus shall decide to spare

Steep Troy and not lay it waste, nor give the Argives

Great power, then truly the rancorous breach between us

Will not be subject to healing!”⁴

So saying, the Earthshaker

Left the Achaean ranks and shrouded himself

In the sea, and sorely those warring heroes missed him.

Then Zeus, who gathers the clouds, spoke thus to Apollo:

“Go now, dear Phoebus, straight to bright-helmeted Hector,

For now the embracer and shaker of earth has entered

His sacred sea, avoiding our ruinous wrath.

Had he not, others too would have heard of our feud, even

Those nether gods in the gloomy world about Cronos.

But this way is better far for me, as well as

Himself, that he should have yielded to my strong hands

In spite of his bitter resentment, since not without sweat

Would the issue have been decided. But you take up

The tasseled aegis and shake it wildly above

The warring Achaeans to stir up panic among them.

And then, far-smiter, take care of glorious Hector

And waken huge might in him until the Achaeans

Shall come in their flight to the ships and the Hellespont stream.

From that time on I myself will decide what things

Must be said and done to give the Achaeans new wind

And respite from war.”

He spoke, and Apollo did not fail

To heed the words of his Father, but darted down

From the mountains of Ida with all the speed of a falcon,

Killer of doves and swiftest of birds. He found

Prince Hector, son of wise-hearted Priam, no longer

Sprawled out on the ground, but now sitting up, since from

The moment Zeus willed to revive him he had begun

To regain his great heart and to know his comrades about him,

And so his gasping and sweating had finally ceased.

Far-working Apollo came up to him close and spoke thus:

“Hector, son of Priam, why are you sitting

Apart here, weak and unable to rise? Can it be

That some great pain has recently overwhelmed you?”

Bright-helmeted Hector weakly answered him, saying:

“Which of the gods, 0 mightiest one, are you?

Aren’t you aware that back at the sterns of the ships,

As I was killing his comrades, fierce-screaming Ajax

Struck me hard on the chest with a stone and took

All the fight from my furious spirit? Indeed, I thought

That surely I’d see the dead and Hades’ house

This very day, when once I had breathed my last.”

Then lordly far-working Apollo replied: “Be strong,

For strong indeed is the helper whom Zeus has sent down

From Ida to stand by your side and assist you, even I,

Phoebus Apollo, god of the golden sword,

Who have always protected both you and your steep citadel.

But up now, and order your numerous charioteers

To drive their fast horses straight for the hollow ships,

And I will go in the lead and level the way

For the horses and cars, and also I’ll turn back in flight

The fighting Achaeans.”

So saying, Apollo inspired

The Trojan commander-in-chief with powerful strength.

As when a horse at the manger eats his fill

Of barley, breaks his halter, and thunders away

On the plain, eager to splash in the rippling river—

He throws back his head, and his mane streams over his shoulders

As he exults in his splendor and gallops full speed

For the grazing ground of mares—so Hector, once

He had heard the god’s voice, ran hard through the Trojan ranks

Urging on his charioteers. And as when farm-hands

And dogs pursue a horned stag or wild goat and lose

Their quarry among the sheer rocks or in the dark woods,

And suddenly then a bearded lion, aroused

By their cries, appears in their path, and they quickly forget

Their ardor and, turning, take to their heels, so now

The Danaans thronged in pursuit of the Trojans, constantly

Thrusting at them with swords and two-pointed spears,

But once they saw Hector ranging the ranks they were all

Unmanned by terror, and their hearts sank down to their heels.

Then Thoas, son of Andraemon, spoke out among them.

He was by far the most gifted of all the Aetolians,

Skillful in hurling the lance and just as good

In hand-to-hand combat, nor were there many Achaeans

Who could defeat him when in the place of assembly

The young men strove in debate. Now he, in an effort

To help, spoke to them, saying:

“Amazing! this is

A truly great marvel my eyes behold—huge Hector,

Risen again, somehow escaping the fates.

Surely we all were hoping that Hector had died

At the hands of Ajax, son of Telamon. Now, though,

Some god has saved and delivered the man, who has

Already relaxed the limbs of many a Danaan,

Nor has he, I think, ended his slaughter yet,

Since he would not be out there as the eager champion

Of Troy if bolt-crashing Zeus had not so willed it.

But come, let everyone do as I say. Let most

Of the army go back to the ships, but we who claim

To be bravest and best, let us make a stand against him

And hold him off with our outheld, thrusting spears.

No matter how hot his fury, I do not believe

He has the courage to charge headlong into

Such a band of Danaans.”

With this, having listened closely,

They gladly agreed. Then those who rallied round Ajax

And King Idomeneus and Teucer, Meriones, and Meges,

Peer of the War-god, braced themselves for the clash,

Calling out to the other champions to come and face

The oncoming Hector and army of Trojans, while behind them

Most of the men made their way back to the ships.

And the Trojans came on in close-ordered ranks with Hector

Rapidly striding before, while ahead of him

Went Phoebus Apollo, his shoulders wreathed in mist,

Bearing the awesome tasseled aegis, gleaming

And grim, that Hephaestus the smith had given to Zeus

To awaken panic in warriors. Apollo bore this

In his hands as he went at the head of the host.

And the Argives

Stood still in close-ordered ranks, awaiting the clash,

And the piercing war-scream went up from both sides, as arrows

Leaped from the bow-strings and many a spear, hurled hard

By some brawny arm, sank home in the flesh of a fast-fighting

Youthful warrior, while many another stuck up

In the ground midway, nor ever reached the white flesh

For which it so lusted. Now just as long as Apollo

Held the aegis motionless in his hands,

The shafts of both sides hit their marks and fighters kept falling.

But when he glared straight in the horse-loving Danaans’ faces

And shook the dread aegis, while shouting fiercely at them,

Then their hearts quailed in their breasts, and quickly they lost

Their impetuous valor. Like a herd of cattle or large flock

Of sheep stampeded at night in the murky darkness

By two wild beasts that suddenly spring out at them

And find no herdsman nearby, so now the Achaeans

Lost their nerve and fled, for Apollo filled them

With panic, that he might give glory to Hector and the Trojans.

Then, as the Argives scattered, the Trojans cut them down

Singly. Hector killed Stichius and Arcesilaus,

The first a trusted companion of great-souled Menestheus,

The other a captain of bronze-clad Boeotians. And Aeneas

Boldly cut down and stripped both Medon and Iasus.

This Medon was King Oïleus’ bastard and thereby

The brother of Ajax, but since he had killed a kinsman

Of his stepmother Eriopis, wife of Oïleus,

He lived far from home in Phylace. And Iasus served

As a captain among the Athenians, he the son

Of Sphelus and grandson of Bucolus. And Polydamas killed

Mecisteus, while in the first charge Polites laid Echius

Low, and noble Agenor accounted for Clonius.

Meanwhile, Paris struck down Deïochus, trying

To flee mid the foremost fighters, hitting him hard

At the base of the shoulder and driving the bronze clean through.

Now while they were stripping the war-gear from these, the

Achaeans

Were scrambling this way and that through the trench and sharp

stakes,

Forced to take cover behind their wide wall. Then Hector

Called out to the Trojans: “Let the bloody spoils be

And charge on the ships! Anyone I see holding back

Over here, away from the vessels, I’ll kill on the spot,

Nor shall his kin, neither men nor women, give him

His due funeral fire later on, but dogs shall rip up

His body in front of our city!”

So saying, he brought

The lash down on his horses and sent a great shout ringing all

Up and down the ranks of the Trojans, and they, returning

His cry, drove onward with him in the midst of incredible

Clamor. Going before them, Phoebus Apollo

Easily bridged the deep trench by kicking the banks down

Into the middle, thus building a causeway across,

A way long and wide, as wide, in fact, as a strong man

Testing his strength can hurl a javelin. Over this

They streamed, rank after rank, with Apollo still

Before them, sternly bearing the awesome aegis.

And he with great ease knocked down a long length of the Argive

Wall, as when a small boy at play by the sea

Scatters the mansion of sand that he with much pleasure

Has built, gleefully knocking it down with his hands

And his feet. With equal ease, 0 powerful Phoebus,

You undid the Achaeans’ hard toil and filled them with panic.⁵

Then the Danaans halted beside their ships, and calling

For help to one another each of them lifted

His arms in loud and fervent prayer to all

Of the gods. But surely Gerenian Nestor prayed hardest,

He the Achaeans’ old sentinel, lifting his hands

To the starry sky and praying:

“O Father Zeus,

If ever a man of us back in wheat-wealthy Argos

Burned to you fat pieces of thigh from bull

Or ram while making a prayer for his safe return

Which then you promised, nodding your head in assent,

Remember those offerings now and ward off from us,

O Olympian, the ruthless day of our doom, nor allow

The Achaeans thus to be overwhelmed by the Trojans.”

Such was his prayer, and Zeus the contriver, hearing

The words of Neleus’ aged son, mightily

Thundered. But when the Trojans heard the loud clap

Of aegis-great Zeus, they felt more warlike than ever

And charged harder still on the Argives. As when a huge wave

Of the far-journeyed sea, driven on by the force of the wind,

Best raiser of waves, washes over the side of a ship,

So now the war-screaming Trojans poured over the ruins

Of the rampart, driving their chariots up to the sterns

Of the ships, where they fought in close combat with two-pointed

spears—

Still in their cars, though now the Achaeans had climbed

High up on the decks of the drawn-up black ships, and from there

They were fighting with long-jointed, bronze-headed pikes that lay

At hand on the ships to be used in battles at sea.

Now Patroclus, so long as Achaeans and Trojans fought

Round the wall away from the ships, sat in the lodge

Of kindly Eurypylus, cheering him up with talk

And applying ointments to his severe wound to deaden

The piercing dark pangs. But when he saw troops pouring in

Through the wall and the panicking Danaans fleeing with screams

Of terror, he groaned aloud and slapped his thighs

With the flat of his hands,⁶ sadly, anxiously saying:

“Eurypylus, I cannot stay with you here any longer,

Great though your need surely is. For now a huge fight

Is upon us. Let your squire, then, take care of you here, while I

Run back to Achilles and urge him to enter the battle.

Who knows but that with God’s help my persuasion may work?

The advice of a friend is frequently most effective.”

While he was still speaking, he started out for Achilles.

Meanwhile, the other Achaeans staunchly fought back

At the charging soldiers, but though the Trojans were fewer,

They could not drive them back from the vessels, nor could

The Trojans break through the Danaan ranks and get in

Among the shelters and ships. The line of battle

Was drawn so even it made one think of the line

A skillful carpenter, taught in his craft by Athena

Herself, uses to cut a ship’s timber straight.

So evenly then the two warring sides were strained.

Others were fighting round various ships, but Hector

Singled out flashing-bright Ajax, and these two fought

For one ship, nor could huge Hector drive Ajax back

And set the ship on fire, nor could Ajax thrust

Hector back, since a god drove him on. But Ajax threw

His spear and pierced the chest of Caletor, Clytius’

Son, as he was coming with fire for the ship,

And Caletor thudded to earth, dropping the torch

From his hand. Then Hector, seeing his cousin prone

In the dust before the black ship, called out to the Trojans

And Lycians:

“You Trojans and Lycians and dueling Dardanians,

Whatever you do, yield no ground now in this

Our time of great need, but rescue Clytius’ son

Before the Achaeans strip off his armor, now that

He lies in the dust before the long line of ships.”

So saying, he hurled his bright spear at Ajax, and missed,

But Lycophron, son of Mastor, a comrade-in-arms

Who lived with Ajax, since he in sacred Cythera

Had murdered a man—him the piercing bronze

Of Hector struck on the head just over the ear

As he stood on the deck with Ajax, and down in the dust

He toppled from high on the stern of the ship, and his limbs

Relaxed in death. Shuddering, Ajax called thus

To his brother:

“Teucer, old friend, truly now

We have lost a trusted companion, Mastor’s brave son,

Whom since the day he came to us from Cythera

We’ve honored at home in our halls as much as we have

Our own parents. Now huge-hearted Hector has killed him.

Where, then,

Are those quick-killing arrows of yours and the bow you received

From Phoebus Apollo?”

He called, and Teucer, hearing,

Took his bent bow and quiver of arrows and hurried

To take his stand beside Ajax, and at once he began

To shower his shafts on the Trojans. The first man he hit

Was Cleitus, Peisenor’s glorious son and the squire

Of Polydamas, lordly son of Panthous. Cleitus

Was busily reining his horses, trying to drive them

Where Trojan battalions were in the most trouble, thereby

Winning the thanks of Hector and all the Trojans.

But swiftly indeed he met with disaster, an evil

That no one, however zealous, could then have kept from him.

For the groan-fraught arrow pierced the back of his neck,

And Cleitus pitched from the chariot, causing the horses

To shy and run off, rattling the empty car.

But their master, princely Polydamas, quickly saw

What had happened and was first to get hold of the horses. He

turned them

Over to Astynous, son of Protiaon, giving him

Careful instructions to hold them nearby, while keeping

A sharp eye on him at the front. Then he went and rejoined

The first rank of champions.

Now Teucer took another shaft out,

This one to shoot at bronze-helmeted Hector, and he

Right then would have ended the fight by the ships of Achaea,

If only his bolt had gone true and ended the life

Of Hector raging in battle. But Teucer was not

Unobserved by the keen mind of Zeus, who protected Hector

And took that glory from Teucer. For just as he drew

His flawless bow against Hector, Zeus broke the strong-twisted

String, and the bronze-weighted arrow flipped off to one side

As the big bow dropped from his hand. Shuddering, Teucer

Spoke thus to his brother:

“Now confound it all! surely

Some god is utterly thwarting our efforts in battle,

For now he has knocked the bow from my hand, having broken

A new-twisted string that I myself tightly bound on

This morning, that it might bear well the many shafts

I then intended to shoot.”

And Telamon’s son,

Great Ajax, replied: “So be it, brother. You let

Your bow and thick-flying arrows lie where they are,

Since now some god, begrudging success to the Danaans,

Has undone their strength. But take a long spear in your hand

And a shield on your shoulder, and while you are battling the foe

Do all you can to encourage the rest of our men.

The Trojans may have the upper hand now, but let us

Remember our furious prowess and not allow them

To capture without a hard struggle our well-oared vessels.”

At this, Teucer ran and put the bow in his lodge.

Then around his shoulders he hung a hide shield of four layers,

And on his noble head he put a strong helmet

With horsehair plume defiantly waving above him,

And then, picking up a strong spear sharp-pointed with bronze,

He ran at full speed and resumed his stand beside Ajax.

When Hector saw that the arrows of Teucer had failed,

He called to the Trojans and Lycians, loudly shouting:

“You Trojans and Lycians and dueling Dardanians, now,

My friends, be men, and filled with furious boldness

Here at the hollow ships! For truly my eyes

Have just seen how Zeus brought to nothing the arrows of one

Who ranks very high. Quite easy it is to tell

Whose side Zeus is on, since he gives glory to some

And fails to help others, in fact takes their might away,

And now he takes strength from the Argives and helps us instead.

Charge, then, in close ranks at the ships, and if any of you

Stops an arrow or spear and so overtakes

His death and doom today, why then let him die!

To die in defense of one’s country is not ignoble.

And that man’s wife and children, as well as his house

And allotment of land, will then be safe and free

From all harm—if only the Argives have gone in their ships

To their own dear native land!”

Hector’s words made them fight

Even harder. And Ajax, opposite him, called

To his comrades, shouting: “For shame! you Argives. Now

It is certain that either we ourselves die, or else

Save our lives by driving this imminent evil back

From the ships. Or do you suppose that once these vessels

Are taken by yonder bright-helmeted Hector you all

Will then be able to walk your way back to the precious

Land of your fathers? Do you not hear how Hector,

Raging to burn the ships, urges on his whole army?

Believe me, it’s not a dance he’s inviting them to,

But a battle! Nor have we any way wiser or better

Than this—to try our might against theirs in hand-to-hand

Combat. Far better to find out at once whether we here

Are destined to live or die than to have our lives uselessly

Squeezed drop by drop from our bodies against these black ships

By men worse than we in this most miserable struggle!”

With this he inspired the Argives also to fight

Even harder. Then Hector killed Perimedes’ son Schedius,

Leader of Phocians, and Ajax cut down an infantry

Captain, Laodamas, splendid son of Antenor.

Polydamas laid low and stripped Cyllenian Otus,

A friend of Phyleus’ son Meges and a chief of the proud

Epeans. And Meges, seeing, lunged at Polydamas,

Who, however, caused him to miss by writhing

Out from beneath him, for Apollo did not see fit

For Panthous’ son Polydamas to be overcome

In that front rank of champions. But Meges’ spear

Sank deep in the chest of Croesmus, who no sooner crashed

To the ground than Meges was on him stripping his shoulders

Of armor. But at once the great spearman Dolops leaped

Upon him, Dolops the bravest offspring of Lampus,

Son of Laomedon. He it was, a man

Well schooled in furious fighting, who charged in close

And stabbed his spear clean through the center of Meges’ shield,

But his thickly wrought breastplate saved him, the curved one of

bronze

That he always wore. For his father Phyleus had brought it

Home from Ephyre, where flows the river Selleïs

And where Euphetes, King of his people, had made him

A present of it, that he might wear it in battle,

A guard against furious foemen. And now it kept death

From the body of Meges his son, who countered by thrusting

His keen-cutting spear at Dolops’ helmeted head.

Striking the socket on top of his bronze-plated head-gear,

He shore off the horsehair plume, which fell in the dust,

Still bright with its dye of fresh scarlet. But Dolops, yet hoping

To win, stood his ground and fought on, oblivious

Of fierce Menelaus who now came up from behind

And hurled his spear. And the bronze went in at the shoulder

Of Dolops and madly tore on through his breast. Reeling,

He pitched face down in the dust, and both Menelaus

And Meges hurried to strip from his shoulders his war-gear

Plated with bronze.

But Hector called out to his kinsmen,

A shout intended for them one and all, but first

He rebuked Hicetaon’s son, the strong Melanippus.

He, while the foe was still far away, had lived

In Percote and fed his lumbering cattle there.

But when the graceful ships of the Danaans came,

He went back to Troy, where he lived a high-ranking man

In the house of Priam, who treated him quite as well

As he did his own children. Now Hector called him by name

And chided him thus:

“Are we then to give up this way,

Melanippus? Has your heart no feeling at all for your kinsman

There in the dust? Don’t you see what they’re doing with the brazen

War-gear of Dolops? But on! For the long-distance fighting

Is over. Now we must clash hand to hand in a fight

To the finish—either we kill them, or they take our city

And utterly wipe out her people!”

So saying, he led

And the other, godlike, followed. Meanwhile, the great

Telamonian Ajax spurred on the Argives, shouting:

“Be men, my friends, and stout of heart! Fear nothing

In this great struggle but dishonor before each other.

Of men who shun dishonor, more are saved

Than slain, but flight is a poor defense and wins

No glory of any kind!”

He spoke, and though

The men were already eager to fight for their lives,

They took his words to heart and fenced in the ships

With a wall of bright bronze. And Zeus continued to strengthen

The Trojan attack. Then King Menelaus, the loud

Battle-roarer, thus exhorted Antilochus:

“No other

Man we have, Antilochus, is younger than you,

Nor more fleet-footed than you, nor as valiant as you

In battle. Go on, then—charge out there and lay

Some Trojan man low!”

So saying, he quickly drew back

Himself, but stirred up Antilochus, son of Nestor.

He quickly sprang out in front of the foremost fighters,

Glared fiercely about him, and hurled his bright spear, and before

him

The Trojans fell back. And not in vain he threw,

But struck Hicetaon’s son, the proud Melanippus,

Just as he entered the battle, full on the breast

By the nipple, sending him thunderously down and covering

His eyes with darkness. Antilochus, then, leaped upon him,

Quick as a hound that springs on a wounded fawn,

One some hunter has happened to hit, relaxing

His limbs in death, as swiftly he sprang from his bed.

Even so nimbly on you, Melanippus, leaped Antilochus,

Staunch in battle, eager to strip off your armor.

Brave Hector, however, was not unaware of the action,

And swiftly he charged through the fighting to meet Antilochus,

Who, though fast as a fighter, would not await him,

But fled like a frightened wild beast, one that has killed

A hound or a herdsman tending his cattle, and flees

Before a great crowd of angry men can gather.

So now retreated Antilochus, son of Nestor,

Followed by inhuman screams and a shower of groan-fraught

Missiles. Nor did he turn and stand till he reached

The company of comrades.

Now the Trojans, like so many ravenous

Lions, charged at the ships, fulfilling the promise

Of Zeus, who continued to heighten their power and weaken

The hearts of the Argives, depriving them of sweet glory,

While keenly inciting the Trojans. For Zeus had decreed

In his heart to give the glory to Hector, that he

At last might hurl on the beaked black ships his god-blazing,

Tireless fire, thereby fulfilling completely

The brazen request of Thetis. So Zeus the planner

Was waiting to see the glare from a flaming ship,

For then henceforth he would cause a Trojan retreat

From the ships and give the Danaans glorious victory.⁷

With all this in mind, he was driving on at the hollow

Ships bold Priam’s son Hector, a man already

Quite eager. But now he raged like spear-wielding Ares,

Fierce as a fire on the mountains, burning the brush

And trees of a thickly grown forest. Foam formed round his mouth,

His eyes blazed madly beneath his lowering brows,

And the shining helmet about his temples shook awesomely

As he fought. For Zeus of the bright upper air was himself

His protector, pledged to glorify him alone

Mid so many other warriors. For he would not live long,

Since Pallas Athena^au was rapidly bringing closer

The day of his doom, when he would go down forever

Beneath the huge strength of Peleus’ son Achilles.

Now, though, bold Hector was eager to break the Achaean

Ranks, charging fiercely at them wherever he saw

The most men and the most splendid armor. But he, in spite of

His ardor, could not break through, for they held close together,

Tight and firm as a wall, solid and strong

As a huge beetling cliff close by the gray sea, a bulwark

Of stone that takes unshaken the many hard blasts

Of screaming wind and the blows from the swollen big waves

That boom against it. So the Danaans, unretreating,

Stood fast against the Trojans.

Then Hector, shining like fire

All over, sprang at the line of men and fell on them

Hard, like a towering, wind-swollen wave that under

The clouds rolls swiftly along to crash on a ship,

And the decks for a while disappear under foaming sea-water,

While the dread blast roars in the sail and the hearts of the sailors

Quake in their terror at thus escaping death

By so very little. Even so the hearts of Achaeans

Went all to pieces with fear. For Hector fell

On their ranks like a hugely ferocious lion that springs

Mid a great herd of cattle grazing their fill in a low-lying

Meadow—the herdsman with them is one who has never

Learned how to deal with a fierce wild beast that has just

Undone a sleek heifer. He goes with the herd, but either

Up front or behind, while the lion leaps in at the middle,

Kills a fine cow, and stampedes all of the others.

So now the Achaeans were thoroughly routed by Hector

And Father Zeus, miraculously, for Hector killed

But one man—Periphetes, Copreus’ dear son from Mycenae,

A man far better than Copreus his father, he

Who had frequently gone with orders from cruel King Eurystheus

To powerful Heracles. Surely his son Periphetes

Was better in every way, in fleetness of foot,

In fighting, and also in brains, for he was one

Of the keenest men in Mycenae. And he it was

Who enabled Hector to win and cover himself

With glory, for turning he tripped on the rim of his foot-reaching

Shield, his wall against spears, but now it served only

To trip him and send him down on his back, while about

His temples his helmet horribly rang. This attracted

The notice of Hector, who ran and standing above him

Transfixed his breast with a spear, right in among

His horrified comrades, who did him no good at all,

For they too were frozen with terrible fear of great Hector.

Soon the Achaeans fell back, taking cover behind

The first line of ships, but the Trojans poured in upon them

And forced them to give still further ground, but they stopped

At the first line of shelters, where all remained in a body,

Instead of scattering throughout the camp, for they constantly

Yelled at each other, and shame held them fast, and fear.

But most of all Gerenian Nestor, old sentinel

Of Achaea, besought each man by his parents, pleading:

“Be men, my friends, and don’t be disgraced in the eyes

Of others. Remember, each of you, children and wife

And possessions, and your parents living or dead. For the sake

Of those who are absent, I beg you to make a strong stand

And not to turn tail and flee!”

So saying, he strengthened

The spirit and might of all, and Athena cleared

From before them a murky thick cloud of amazing darkness,

So that daylight shone brightly, as well from the side of evil,

All-leveling battle as from that where the other ships lay.

Then all saw war-screaming Hector along with his men,

Both those who stood in the rear, inactive, and those

Who fought by the swift-running ships.

But now it no longer

Seemed good to the soul of magnanimous Ajax to stay

At the shelters where huddled the rest of the sons of Achaeans.

He much preferred to stride up and down the decks

Of the ships, wielding a long battle-pike for fighting

At sea, jointed with rings and thirty-three feet

In length. And like a trick-rider who harnesses four

Fine horses, carefully picked, and gallops toward

A great city, over a plain down a well-traveled road

Where many people, both men and women, marvel

At his performance as he continues to leap

From horse to horse while onward they fly, so Ajax,

Now, kept leaping from deck to deck of the ships,

And always his voice went up to the sky, as he

With terrible shouts cried out to the Danaans to defend

Their shelters and ships. Nor was Hector content to stay

Mid the throng of bronze-breasted Trojans, but as a flashing

Gold eagle plunges ferociously down on a flock

Of wild birds that feed by the bank of a river—whether geese

Or cranes or long-necked swans—so Hector charged straight

For a dark-prowed ship, and the huge hand of Zeus thrust him on

From behind, as that god also aroused the rest

Of Hector’s fierce army.

So again a shrill battle took place

Beside the ships, a fight so slashingly fought

That you would have said they faced each other fresh

And unwearied. But the two struggling sides did not think alike.

The Achaeans knew they were trapped and felt doom was sure,

While the Trojans hoped in their hearts to burn the ships

And destroy the Achaean army. Then Hector grasped

The stern-horn of a brine-skimming, beautiful seagoing ship,

That had brought brave Protesilaus to Troy, though it never

Carried him home to his own dear country again.

Now around his ship the Achaeans and Trojans were cutting

Each other down in close combat, since they no longer

Threw lances or shot whizzing arrows. But standing up close

In stubborn oneness of spirit they hacked at each other

With keen battle-axes and hatchets, and slashed away

With huge swords and two-pointed spears. And many indeed

Were the splendid dark-hilted blades that littered the ground,

Some falling from warriors’ hands, some cut from their shoulders,

As fiercely they fought, flooding the black earth with blood.

Now Hector, once he had seized the ship by the stern,

Would not let go the high horn he gripped, and thus

He called to the Trojans: “Bring fire, and with it your voices

All raised at once in the war-cry. For Zeus now gives us

A day worth all the rest—to take the ships

That came here to Troy against the will of the gods

And brought us innumerable woes, woes we suffered

On account of the cowardly elders, who when I was eager

To fight at the ships, held me and all the rest back.

But if far-seeing Zeus then blunted our wits,

Now of himself he urges and orders us on!”

At this they sprang at the Argives harder than ever.

But Ajax no longer remained where he was, for missiles

Rained down all around him. Expecting death any moment,

He little by little retreated on the seven-foot bridge

Amidships, leaving the deck of the well-balanced vessel.

There he stood watch, and kept from the ship any Trojan

Who tried to burn it with unwearied fire, and always

His awesome voice called out to the Danaan troops:

“O friends, heroic comrades of Ares, be men,

Dear friends, and remember your strength in the war-charge. Can it be

That we think we have reinforcements behind us, or some

Stronger wall to keep off destruction? Believe me, there is

No walled town nearby, wherein we might find reinforcements

And so, defending ourselves, succeed in reversing

The fortunes of war. No indeed! we are here on the plain

Of bronze-breasted Trojans, with nothing behind us but water!

Survival lies in the strength of our hands, not

In compassion shown toward the Trojans.”

He shouted, and all

The while kept thrusting madly away at the foe

With his keen-cutting spear. Whoever would charge at the hollow

Ships with a blazing torch in his hand, striving

To win praise from Hector, urging them on, for that man

Ajax waited and wounded him soon with a thrust

Of his lengthy sea-pike. That bronze he embedded in twelve

Trojan warriors, wounding them there in front of the ships.