Homer
Wrote in Greek
The Iliad
Written 800 B.C.E
Translated by Samuel Butler
The Iliad
By Homer
Book I
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless
ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to
Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so
were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus,
king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one
another.
And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was
the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence
upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured
Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to
free his daughter, and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he
bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath
and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus, who
were their chiefs.
"Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods
who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach
your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her,
in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove."
On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting
the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon,
who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. "Old man," said he,
"let me not find you tarrying about our ships, nor yet coming hereafter.
Your sceptre of the god and your wreath shall profit you nothing. I will
not free her. She shall grow old in my house at Argos far from her own
home, busying herself with her loom and visiting my couch; so go, and do
not provoke me or it shall be the worse for you."
The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he spoke, but went
by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart to King Apollo whom lovely
Leto had borne. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest
Chryse and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos with thy might, hear me oh thou
of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, or burned
your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer, and let your
arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He came down furious
from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiver upon his shoulder,
and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage that trembled within him.
He sat himself down away from the ships with a face as dark as night, and
his silver bow rang death as he shot his arrow in the midst of them. First
he smote their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts
at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead were
burning.
For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people, but upon
the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly- moved thereto by Juno,
who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes and had compassion upon them.
Then, when they were got together, he rose and spoke among
them.
"Son of Atreus," said he, "I deem that we should now turn roving
home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by war and
pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet, or some reader of
dreams (for dreams, too, are of Jove) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo
is so angry, and say whether it is for some vow that we have broken, or
hecatomb that we have not offered, and whether he will accept the savour
of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take away the plague from
us."
With these words he sat down, and Calchas son of Thestor, wisest
of augurs, who knew things past present and to come, rose to speak. He
it was who had guided the Achaeans with their fleet to Ilius, through the
prophesyings with which Phoebus Apollo had inspired him. With all sincerity
and goodwill he addressed them thus:-
"Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger
of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that
you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I shall
offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans are
in subjection. A plain man cannot stand against the anger of a king, who
if he swallow his displeasure now, will yet nurse revenge till he has wreaked
it. Consider, therefore, whether or no you will protect
me."
And Achilles answered, "Fear not, but speak as it is borne in upon
you from heaven, for by Apollo, Calchas, to whom you pray, and whose oracles
you reveal to us, not a Danaan at our ships shall lay his hand upon you,
while I yet live to look upon the face of the earth- no, not though you
name Agamemnon himself, who is by far the foremost of the
Achaeans."
Thereon the seer spoke boldly. "The god," he said, "is angry neither
about vow nor hecatomb, but for his priest's sake, whom Agamemnon has dishonoured,
in that he would not free his daughter nor take a ransom for her; therefore
has he sent these evils upon us, and will yet send others. He will not
deliver the Danaans from this pestilence till Agamemnon has restored the
girl without fee or ransom to her father, and has sent a holy hecatomb
to Chryse. Thus we may perhaps appease him."
With these words he sat down, and Agamemnon rose in anger. His
heart was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire as he scowled on Calchas
and said, "Seer of evil, you never yet prophesied smooth things concerning
me, but have ever loved to foretell that which was evil. You have brought
me neither comfort nor performance; and now you come seeing among Danaans,
and saying that Apollo has plagued us because I would not take a ransom
for this girl, the daughter of Chryses. I have set my heart on keeping
her in my own house, for I love her better even than my own wife Clytemnestra,
whose peer she is alike in form and feature, in understanding and accomplishments.
Still I will give her up if I must, for I would have the people live, not
die; but you must find me a prize instead, or I alone among the Argives
shall be without one. This is not well; for you behold, all of you, that
my prize is to go elsewhither."
And Achilles answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond
all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find you another prize? We have no
common store from which to take one. Those we took from the cities have
been awarded; we cannot disallow the awards that have been made already.
Give this girl, therefore, to the god, and if ever Jove grants us to sack
the city of Troy we will requite you three and fourfold."
Then Agamemnon said, "Achilles, valiant though you be, you shall
not thus outwit me. You shall not overreach and you shall not persuade
me. Are you to keep your own prize, while I sit tamely under my loss and
give up the girl at your bidding? Let the Achaeans find me a prize in fair
exchange to my liking, or I will come and take your own, or that of Ajax
or of Ulysses; and he to whomsoever I may come shall rue my coming. But
of this we will take thought hereafter; for the present, let us draw a
ship into the sea, and find a crew for her expressly; let us put a hecatomb
on board, and let us send Chryseis also; further, let some chief man among
us be in command, either Ajax, or Idomeneus, or yourself, son of Peleus,
mighty warrior that you are, that we may offer sacrifice and appease the
the anger of the god."
Achilles scowled at him and answered, "You are steeped in insolence
and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do your bidding,
either on foray or in open fighting? I came not warring here for any ill
the Trojans had done me. I have no quarrel with them. They have not raided
my cattle nor my horses, nor cut down my harvests on the rich plains of
Phthia; for between me and them there is a great space, both mountain and
sounding sea. We have followed you, Sir Insolence! for your pleasure, not
ours- to gain satisfaction from the Trojans for your shameless self and
for Menelaus. You forget this, and threaten to rob me of the prize for
which I have toiled, and which the sons of the Achaeans have given me.
Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans do I receive
so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that do the better part
of the fighting. When the sharing comes, your share is far the largest,
and I, forsooth, must go back to my ships, take what I can get and be thankful,
when my labour of fighting is done. Now, therefore, I shall go back to
Phthia; it will be much better for me to return home with my ships, for
I will not stay here dishonoured to gather gold and substance for
you."
And Agamemnon answered, "Fly if you will, I shall make you no prayers
to stay you. I have others here who will do me honour, and above all Jove,
the lord of counsel. There is no king here so hateful to me as you are,
for you are ever quarrelsome and ill affected. What though you be brave?
Was it not heaven that made you so? Go home, then, with your ships and
comrades to lord it over the Myrmidons. I care neither for you nor for
your anger; and thus will I do: since Phoebus Apollo is taking Chryseis
from me, I shall send her with my ship and my followers, but I shall come
to your tent and take your own prize Briseis, that you may learn how much
stronger I am than you are, and that another may fear to set himself up
as equal or comparable with me."
The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within his shaggy
breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the others aside, and
kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself and check his anger. While
he was thus in two minds, and was drawing his mighty sword from its scabbard,
Minerva came down from heaven (for Juno had sent her in the love she bore
to them both), and seized the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible
to him alone, for of the others no man could see her. Achilles turned in
amaze, and by the fire that flashed from her eyes at once knew that she
was Minerva. "Why are you here," said he, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove?
To see the pride of Agamemnon, son of Atreus? Let me tell you- and it shall
surely be- he shall pay for this insolence with his
life."
And Minerva said, "I come from heaven, if you will hear me, to
bid you stay your anger. Juno has sent me, who cares for both of you alike.
Cease, then, this brawling, and do not draw your sword; rail at him if
you will, and your railing will not be vain, for I tell you- and it shall
surely be- that you shall hereafter receive gifts three times as splendid
by reason of this present insult. Hold, therefore, and
obey."
"Goddess," answered Achilles, "however angry a man may be, he must
do as you two command him. This will be best, for the gods ever hear the
prayers of him who has obeyed them."
He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword, and thrust
it back into the scabbard as Minerva bade him. Then she went back to Olympus
among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing
Jove.
But the son of Peleus again began railing at the son of Atreus,
for he was still in a rage. "Wine-bibber," he cried, "with the face of
a dog and the heart of a hind, you never dare to go out with the host in
fight, nor yet with our chosen men in ambuscade. You shun this as you do
death itself. You had rather go round and rob his prizes from any man who
contradicts you. You devour your people, for you are king over a feeble
folk; otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward you would insult no man. Therefore
I say, and swear it with a great oath- nay, by this my sceptre which shalt
sprout neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left
its parent stem upon the mountains- for the axe stripped it of leaf and
bark, and now the sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians
of the decrees of heaven- so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter
they shall look fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day
of your distress, when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector,
you shall not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with rage
for the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the
Achaeans."
With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on
the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning fiercely
from his place upon the other side. Then uprose smooth-tongued Nestor,
the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the words fell from his lips sweeter
than honey. Two generations of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away
under his rule, and he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity
and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:-
"Of a truth," he said, "a great sorrow has befallen the Achaean
land. Surely Priam with his sons would rejoice, and the Trojans be glad
at heart if they could hear this quarrel between you two, who are so excellent
in fight and counsel. I am older than either of you; therefore be guided
by me. Moreover I have been the familiar friend of men even greater than
you are, and they did not disregard my counsels. Never again can I behold
such men as Pirithous and Dryas shepherd of his people, or as Caeneus,
Exadius, godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals.
These were the mightiest men ever born upon this earth: mightiest were
they, and when they fought the fiercest tribes of mountain savages they
utterly overthrew them. I came from distant Pylos, and went about among
them, for they would have me come, and I fought as it was in me to do.
Not a man now living could withstand them, but they heard my words, and
were persuaded by them. So be it also with yourselves, for this is the
more excellent way. Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not
this girl away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to
Achilles; and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man
who by the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon.
You are strong, and have a goddess for your mother; but Agamemnon is stronger
than you, for he has more people under him. Son of Atreus, check your anger,
I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles, who in the day of battle
is a tower of strength to the Achaeans."
And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you have said is true, but
this fellow must needs become our lord and master: he must be lord of all,
king of all, and captain of all, and this shall hardly be. Granted that
the gods have made him a great warrior, have they also given him the right
to speak with railing?"
Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean coward," he cried,
"were I to give in to you in all things. Order other people about, not
me, for I shall obey no longer. Furthermore I say- and lay my saying to
your heart- I shall fight neither you nor any man about this girl, for
those that take were those also that gave. But of all else that is at my
ship you shall carry away nothing by force. Try, that others may see; if
you do, my spear shall be reddened with your blood."
When they had quarrelled thus angrily, they rose, and broke up
the assembly at the ships of the Achaeans. The son of Peleus went back
to his tents and ships with the son of Menoetius and his company, while
Agamemnon drew a vessel into the water and chose a crew of twenty oarsmen.
He escorted Chryseis on board and sent moreover a hecatomb for the god.
And Ulysses went as captain.
These, then, went on board and sailed their ways over the sea.
But the son of Atreus bade the people purify themselves; so they purified
themselves and cast their filth into the sea. Then they offered hecatombs
of bulls and goats without blemish on the sea-shore, and the smoke with
the savour of their sacrifice rose curling up towards
heaven.
Thus did they busy themselves throughout the host. But Agamemnon
did not forget the threat that he had made Achilles, and called his trusty
messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates. "Go," said he, "to the
tent of Achilles, son of Peleus; take Briseis by the hand and bring her
hither; if he will not give her I shall come with others and take her-
which will press him harder."
He charged them straightly further and dismissed them, whereon
they went their way sorrowfully by the seaside, till they came to the tents
and ships of the Myrmidons. They found Achilles sitting by his tent and
his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he beheld them. They stood fearfully
and reverently before him, and never a word did they speak, but he knew
them and said, "Welcome, heralds, messengers of gods and men; draw near;
my quarrel is not with you but with Agamemnon who has sent you for the
girl Briseis. Therefore, Patroclus, bring her and give her to them, but
let them be witnesses by the blessed gods, by mortal men, and by the fierceness
of Agamemnon's anger, that if ever again there be need of me to save the
people from ruin, they shall seek and they shall not find. Agamemnon is
mad with rage and knows not how to look before and after that the Achaeans
may fight by their ships in safety."
Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him. He brought Briseis
from the tent and gave her over to the heralds, who took her with them
to the ships of the Achaeans- and the woman was loth to go. Then Achilles
went all alone by the side of the hoar sea, weeping and looking out upon
the boundless waste of waters. He raised his hands in prayer to his immortal
mother, "Mother," he cried, "you bore me doomed to live but for a little
season; surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus, might have made that little
glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, has done me dishonour,
and has robbed me of my prize by force."
As he spoke he wept aloud, and his mother heard him where she was
sitting in the depths of the sea hard by the old man her father. Forthwith
she rose as it were a grey mist out of the waves, sat down before him as
he stood weeping, caressed him with her hand, and said, "My son, why are
you weeping? What is it that grieves you? Keep it not from me, but tell
me, that we may know it together."
Achilles drew a deep sigh and said, "You know it; why tell you
what you know well already? We went to Thebe the strong city of Eetion,
sacked it, and brought hither the spoil. The sons of the Achaeans shared
it duly among themselves, and chose lovely Chryseis as the meed of Agamemnon;
but Chryses, priest of Apollo, came to the ships of the Achaeans to free
his daughter, and brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in
his hand the sceptre of Apollo, wreathed with a suppliant's wreath, and
he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus who were
their chiefs.
"On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for respecting
the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not so Agamemnon,
who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away. So he went back in
anger, and Apollo, who loved him dearly, heard his prayer. Then the god
sent a deadly dart upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another,
for the arrows went everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans. At
last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared to us the oracles
of Apollo, and I was myself first to say that we should appease him. Whereon
the son of Atreus rose in anger, and threatened that which he has since
done. The Achaeans are now taking the girl in a ship to Chryse, and sending
gifts of sacrifice to the god; but the heralds have just taken from my
tent the daughter of Briseus, whom the Achaeans had awarded to
myself.
"Help your brave son, therefore, if you are able. Go to Olympus,
and if you have ever done him service in word or deed, implore the aid
of Jove. Ofttimes in my father's house have I heard you glory in that you
alone of the immortals saved the son of Saturn from ruin, when the others,
with Juno, Neptune, and Pallas Minerva would have put him in bonds. It
was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed
monster whom gods call Briareus, but men Aegaeon, for he is stronger even
than his father; when therefore he took his seat all-glorious beside the
son of Saturn, the other gods were afraid, and did not bind him. Go, then,
to him, remind him of all this, clasp his knees, and bid him give succour
to the Trojans. Let the Achaeans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships,
and perish on the sea-shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their
king, and that Agamemnon may rue his blindness in offering insult to the
foremost of the Achaeans."
Thetis wept and answered, "My son, woe is me that I should have
borne or suckled you. Would indeed that you had lived your span free from
all sorrow at your ships, for it is all too brief; alas, that you should
be at once short of life and long of sorrow above your peers: woe, therefore,
was the hour in which I bore you; nevertheless I will go to the snowy heights
of Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove, if he will hear our prayer: meanwhile
stay where you are with your ships, nurse your anger against the Achaeans,
and hold aloof from fight. For Jove went yesterday to Oceanus, to a feast
among the Ethiopians, and the other gods went with him. He will return
to Olympus twelve days hence; I will then go to his mansion paved with
bronze and will beseech him; nor do I doubt that I shall be able to persuade
him."
On this she left him, still furious at the loss of her that had
been taken from him. Meanwhile Ulysses reached Chryse with the hecatomb.
When they had come inside the harbour they furled the sails and laid them
in the ship's hold; they slackened the forestays, lowered the mast into
its place, and rowed the ship to the place where they would have her lie;
there they cast out their mooring-stones and made fast the hawsers. They
then got out upon the sea-shore and landed the hecatomb for Apollo; Chryseis
also left the ship, and Ulysses led her to the altar to deliver her into
the hands of her father. "Chryses," said he, "King Agamemnon has sent me
to bring you back your child, and to offer sacrifice to Apollo on behalf
of the Danaans, that we may propitiate the god, who has now brought sorrow
upon the Argives."
So saying he gave the girl over to her father, who received her
gladly, and they ranged the holy hecatomb all orderly round the altar of
the god. They washed their hands and took up the barley-meal to sprinkle
over the victims, while Chryses lifted up his hands and prayed aloud on
their behalf. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest
Chryse and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might. Even as thou
didst hear me aforetime when I prayed, and didst press hardly upon the
Achaeans, so hear me yet again, and stay this fearful pestilence from the
Danaans."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. When they had done
praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they drew back the heads of the
victims and killed and flayed them. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped
them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat on the top
of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over
them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their
hands. When the thigh-bones were burned and they had tasted the inward
meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon the spits, roasted
them till they were done, and drew them off: then, when they had finished
their work and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his
full share, so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough
to eat and drink, pages filled the mixing-bowl with wine and water and
handed it round, after giving every man his drink-offering.
Thus all day long the young men worshipped the god with song, hymning
him and chaunting the joyous paean, and the god took pleasure in their
voices; but when the sun went down, and it came on dark, they laid themselves
down to sleep by the stern cables of the ship, and when the child of morning,
rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared they again set sail for the host of the Achaeans.
Apollo sent them a fair wind, so they raised their mast and hoisted their
white sails aloft. As the sail bellied with the wind the ship flew through
the deep blue water, and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward.
When they reached the wide-stretching host of the Achaeans, they drew the
vessel ashore, high and dry upon the sands, set her strong props beneath
her, and went their ways to their own tents and ships.
But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his anger. He went not
to the honourable assembly, and sallied not forth to fight, but gnawed
at his own heart, pining for battle and the war-cry.
Now after twelve days the immortal gods came back in a body to
Olympus, and Jove led the way. Thetis was not unmindful of the charge her
son had laid upon her, so she rose from under the sea and went through
great heaven with early morning to Olympus, where she found the mighty
son of Saturn sitting all alone upon its topmost ridges. She sat herself
down before him, and with her left hand seized his knees, while with her
right she caught him under the chin, and besought him,
saying-
"Father Jove, if I ever did you service in word or deed among the
immortals, hear my prayer, and do honour to my son, whose life is to be
cut short so early. King Agamemnon has dishonoured him by taking his prize
and keeping her. Honour him then yourself, Olympian lord of counsel, and
grant victory to the Trojans, till the Achaeans give my son his due and
load him with riches in requital."
Jove sat for a while silent, and without a word, but Thetis still
kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a second time. "Incline your
head," said she, "and promise me surely, or else deny me- for you have
nothing to fear- that I may learn how greatly you disdain
me."
At this Jove was much troubled and answered, "I shall have trouble
if you set me quarrelling with Juno, for she will provoke me with her taunting
speeches; even now she is always railing at me before the other gods and
accusing me of giving aid to the Trojans. Go back now, lest she should
find out. I will consider the matter, and will bring it about as wish.
See, I incline my head that you believe me. This is the most solemn that
I can give to any god. I never recall my word, or deceive, or fail to do
what I say, when I have nodded my head."
As he spoke the son of Saturn bowed his dark brows, and the ambrosial
locks swayed on his immortal head, till vast Olympus
reeled.
When the pair had thus laid their plans, they parted- Jove to his
house, while the goddess quitted the splendour of Olympus, and plunged
into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their seats, before the
coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to remain sitting, but all
stood up as he came among them. There, then, he took his seat. But Juno,
when she saw him, knew that he and the old merman's daughter, silver-footed
Thetis, had been hatching mischief, so she at once began to upbraid him.
"Trickster," she cried, "which of the gods have you been taking into your
counsels now? You are always settling matters in secret behind my back,
and have never yet told me, if you could help it, one word of your
intentions."
"Juno," replied the sire of gods and men, "you must not expect
to be informed of all my counsels. You are my wife, but you would find
it hard to understand them. When it is proper for you to hear, there is
no one, god or man, who will be told sooner, but when I mean to keep a
matter to myself, you must not pry nor ask questions."
"Dread son of Saturn," answered Juno, "what are you talking about?
I? Pry and ask questions? Never. I let you have your own way in everything.
Still, I have a strong misgiving that the old merman's daughter Thetis
has been talking you over, for she was with you and had hold of your knees
this self-same morning. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising
her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people at the ships of
the Achaeans."
"Wife," said Jove, "I can do nothing but you suspect me and find
it out. You will take nothing by it, for I shall only dislike you the more,
and it will go harder with you. Granted that it is as you say; I mean to
have it so; sit down and hold your tongue as I bid you for if I once begin
to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would
profit you nothing."
On this Juno was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and
sat down in silence. But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout
the house of Jove, till the cunning workman Vulcan began to try and pacify
his mother Juno. "It will be intolerable," said he, "if you two fall to
wrangling and setting heaven in an uproar about a pack of mortals. If such
ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have no pleasure at our banquet.
Let me then advise my mother- and she must herself know that it will be
better- to make friends with my dear father Jove, lest he again scold her
and disturb our feast. If the Olympian Thunderer wants to hurl us all from
our seats, he can do so, for he is far the strongest, so give him fair
words, and he will then soon be in a good humour with
us."
As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and placed it in his
mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother," said he, "and make the best
of it. I love you dearly, and should be very sorry to see you get a thrashing;
however grieved I might be, I could not help for there is no standing against
Jove. Once before when I was trying to help you, he caught me by the foot
and flung me from the heavenly threshold. All day long from morn till eve,
was I falling, till at sunset I came to ground in the island of Lemnos,
and there I lay, with very little life left in me, till the Sintians came
and tended me."
Juno smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her
son's hands. Then Vulcan drew sweet nectar from the mixing-bowl, and served
it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed gods
laughed out a loud applause as they saw him ing bustling about the heavenly
mansion.
Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they
feasted, and every one had his full share, so that all were satisfied.
Apollo struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted up their sweet voices, calling
and answering one another. But when the sun's glorious light had faded,
they went home to bed, each in his own abode, which lame Vulcan with his
consummate skill had fashioned for them. So Jove, the Olympian Lord of
Thunder, hied him to the bed in which he always slept; and when he had
got on to it he went to sleep, with Juno of the golden throne by his
side.
The Iliad
By Homer
Book II
Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly, but
Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to Achilles, and
destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In the end he deemed
it would be best to send a lying dream to King Agamemnon; so he called
one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to the ships of the Achaeans,
into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to him word to word as I now bid you.
Tell him to get the Achaeans instantly under arms, for he shall take Troy.
There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them
to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans."
The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached
the ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found
him in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his head
in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured above
all his councillors, and said:-
"You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his
host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear
me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who, though he be not
near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get the Achaeans
instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no longer divided
counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her own mind, and
woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this, and when you
wake see that it does not escape you."
The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were, surely
not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was to take
the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind of Jove, who
had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for Danaans and Trojans.
Then presently he woke, with the divine message still ringing in his ears;
so he sat upright, and put on his soft shirt so fair and new, and over
this his heavy cloak. He bound his sandals on to his comely feet, and slung
his silver-studded sword about his shoulders; then he took the imperishable
staff of his father, and sallied forth to the ships of the
Achaeans.
The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might
herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent the criers
round to call the people in assembly; so they called them and the people
gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of the elders at the
ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when they were assembled he laid a cunning
counsel before them.
"My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead
of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It hovered
over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the
welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock
his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger from Jove, who, though
he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get
the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There are no
longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them over to her
own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove. Remember this.'
The dream then vanished and I awoke. Let us now, therefore, arm the sons
of the Achaeans. But it will be well that I should first sound them, and
to this end I will tell them to fly with their ships; but do you others
go about among the host and prevent their doing so."
He then sat down, and Nestor the prince of Pylos with all sincerity
and goodwill addressed them thus: "My friends," said he, "princes and councillors
of the Argives, if any other man of the Achaeans had told us of this dream
we should have declared it false, and would have had nothing to do with
it. But he who has seen it is the foremost man among us; we must therefore
set about getting the people under arms."
With this he led the way from the assembly, and the other sceptred
kings rose with him in obedience to the word of Agamemnon; but the people
pressed forward to hear. They swarmed like bees that sally from some hollow
cave and flit in countless throng among the spring flowers, bunched in
knots and clusters; even so did the mighty multitude pour from ships and
tents to the assembly, and range themselves upon the wide-watered shore,
while among them ran Wildfire Rumour, messenger of Jove, urging them ever
to the fore. Thus they gathered in a pell-mell of mad confusion, and the
earth groaned under the tramp of men as the people sought their places.
Nine heralds went crying about among them to stay their tumult and bid
them listen to the kings, till at last they were got into their several
places and ceased their clamour. Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his
sceptre. This was the work of Vulcan, who gave it to Jove the son of Saturn.
Jove gave it to Mercury, slayer of Argus, guide and guardian. King Mercury
gave it to Pelops, the mighty charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd
of his people. Atreus, when he died, left it to Thyestes, rich in flocks,
and Thyestes in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon, that he might
be lord of all Argos and of the isles. Leaning, then, on his sceptre, he
addressed the Argives.
"My friends," he said, "heroes, servants of Mars, the hand of heaven
has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel Jove gave me his solemn promise that
I should sack the city of Priam before returning, but he has played me
false, and is now bidding me go ingloriously back to Argos with the loss
of much people. Such is the will of Jove, who has laid many a proud city
in the dust, as he will yet lay others, for his power is above all. It
will be a sorry tale hereafter that an Achaean host, at once so great and
valiant, battled in vain against men fewer in number than themselves; but
as yet the end is not in sight. Think that the Achaeans and Trojans have
sworn to a solemn covenant, and that they have each been numbered- the
Trojans by the roll of their householders, and we by companies of ten;
think further that each of our companies desired to have a Trojan householder
to pour out their wine; we are so greatly more in number that full many
a company would have to go without its cup-bearer. But they have in the
town allies from other places, and it is these that hinder me from being
able to sack the rich city of Ilius. Nine of Jove years are gone; the timbers
of our ships have rotted; their tackling is sound no longer. Our wives
and little ones at home look anxiously for our coming, but the work that
we came hither to do has not been done. Now, therefore, let us all do as
I say: let us sail back to our own land, for we shall not take
Troy."
With these words he moved the hearts of the multitude, so many
of them as knew not the cunning counsel of Agamemnon. They surged to and
fro like the waves of the Icarian Sea, when the east and south winds break
from heaven's clouds to lash them; or as when the west wind sweeps over
a field of corn and the ears bow beneath the blast, even so were they swayed
as they flew with loud cries towards the ships, and the dust from under
their feet rose heavenward. They cheered each other on to draw the ships
into the sea; they cleared the channels in front of them; they began taking
away the stays from underneath them, and the welkin rang with their glad
cries, so eager were they to return.
Then surely the Argives would have returned after a fashion that
was not fated. But Juno said to Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing
Jove, unweariable, shall the Argives fly home to their own land over the
broad sea, and leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen,
for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their
homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by
man, that they draw not their ships into the sea."
Minerva was not slack to do her bidding. Down she darted from the
topmost summits of Olympus, and in a moment she was at the ships of the
Achaeans. There she found Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, standing alone.
He had not as yet laid a hand upon his ship, for he was grieved and sorry;
so she went close up to him and said, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, are
you going to fling yourselves into your ships and be off home to your own
land in this way? Will you leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still
keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy,
far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak fairly
to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the
sea."
Ulysses knew the voice as that of the goddess: he flung his cloak
from him and set off to run. His servant Eurybates, a man of Ithaca, who
waited on him, took charge of the cloak, whereon Ulysses went straight
up to Agamemnon and received from him his ancestral, imperishable staff.
With this he went about among the ships of the Achaeans.
Whenever he met a king or chieftain, he stood by him and spoke
him fairly. "Sir," said he, "this flight is cowardly and unworthy. Stand
to your post, and bid your people also keep their places. You do not yet
know the full mind of Agamemnon; he was sounding us, and ere long will
visit the Achaeans with his displeasure. We were not all of us at the council
to hear what he then said; see to it lest he be angry and do us a mischief;
for the pride of kings is great, and the hand of Jove is with
them."
But when he came across any common man who was making a noise,
he struck him with his staff and rebuked him, saying, "Sirrah, hold your
peace, and listen to better men than yourself. You are a coward and no
soldier; you are nobody either in fight or council; we cannot all be kings;
it is not well that there should be many masters; one man must be supreme-
one king to whom the son of scheming Saturn has given the sceptre of sovereignty
over you all."
Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people
hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as
the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all
the sea is in an uproar.
The rest now took their seats and kept to their own several places,
but Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue- a man of many
words, and those unseemly; a monger of sedition, a railer against all who
were in authority, who cared not what he said, so that he might set the
Achaeans in a laugh. He was the ugliest man of all those that came before
Troy- bandy-legged, lame of one foot, with his two shoulders rounded and
hunched over his chest. His head ran up to a point, but there was little
hair on the top of it. Achilles and Ulysses hated him worst of all, for
it was with them that he was most wont to wrangle; now, however, with a
shrill squeaky voice he began heaping his abuse on Agamemnon. The Achaeans
were angry and disgusted, yet none the less he kept on brawling and bawling
at the son of Atreus.
"Agamemnon," he cried, "what ails you now, and what more do you
want? Your tents are filled with bronze and with fair women, for whenever
we take a town we give you the pick of them. Would you have yet more gold,
which some Trojan is to give you as a ransom for his son, when I or another
Achaean has taken him prisoner? or is it some young girl to hide and lie
with? It is not well that you, the ruler of the Achaeans, should bring
them into such misery. Weakling cowards, women rather than men, let us
sail home, and leave this fellow here at Troy to stew in his own meeds
of honour, and discover whether we were of any service to him or no. Achilles
is a much better man than he is, and see how he has treated him- robbing
him of his prize and keeping it himself. Achilles takes it meekly and shows
no fight; if he did, son of Atreus, you would never again insult
him."
Thus railed Thersites, but Ulysses at once went up to him and rebuked
him sternly. "Check your glib tongue, Thersites," said be, "and babble
not a word further. Chide not with princes when you have none to back you.
There is no viler creature come before Troy with the sons of Atreus. Drop
this chatter about kings, and neither revile them nor keep harping about
going home. We do not yet know how things are going to be, nor whether
the Achaeans are to return with good success or evil. How dare you gibe
at Agamemnon because the Danaans have awarded him so many prizes? I tell
you, therefore- and it shall surely be- that if I again catch you talking
such nonsense, I will either forfeit my own head and be no more called
father of Telemachus, or I will take you, strip you stark naked, and whip
you out of the assembly till you go blubbering back to the
ships."
On this he beat him with his staff about the back and shoulders
till he dropped and fell a-weeping. The golden sceptre raised a bloody
weal on his back, so he sat down frightened and in pain, looking foolish
as he wiped the tears from his eyes. The people were sorry for him, yet
they laughed heartily, and one would turn to his neighbour saying, "Ulysses
has done many a good thing ere now in fight and council, but he never did
the Argives a better turn than when he stopped this fellow's mouth from
prating further. He will give the kings no more of his
insolence."
Thus said the people. Then Ulysses rose, sceptre in hand, and Minerva
in the likeness of a herald bade the people be still, that those who were
far off might hear him and consider his council. He therefore with all
sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus:-
"King Agamemnon, the Achaeans are for making you a by-word among
all mankind. They forget the promise they made you when they set out from
Argos, that you should not return till you had sacked the town of Troy,
and, like children or widowed women, they murmur and would set off homeward.
True it is that they have had toil enough to be disheartened. A man chafes
at having to stay away from his wife even for a single month, when he is
on shipboard, at the mercy of wind and sea, but it is now nine long years
that we have been kept here; I cannot, therefore, blame the Achaeans if
they turn restive; still we shall be shamed if we go home empty after so
long a stay- therefore, my friends, be patient yet a little longer that
we may learn whether the prophesyings of Calchas were false or
true.
"All who have not since perished must remember as though it were
yesterday or the day before, how the ships of the Achaeans were detained
in Aulis when we were on our way hither to make war on Priam and the Trojans.
We were ranged round about a fountain offering hecatombs to the gods upon
their holy altars, and there was a fine plane-tree from beneath which there
welled a stream of pure water. Then we saw a prodigy; for Jove sent a fearful
serpent out of the ground, with blood-red stains upon its back, and it
darted from under the altar on to the plane-tree. Now there was a brood
of young sparrows, quite small, upon the topmost bough, peeping out from
under the leaves, eight in all, and their mother that hatched them made
nine. The serpent ate the poor cheeping things, while the old bird flew
about lamenting her little ones; but the serpent threw his coils about
her and caught her by the wing as she was screaming. Then, when he had
eaten both the sparrow and her young, the god who had sent him made him
become a sign; for the son of scheming Saturn turned him into stone, and
we stood there wondering at that which had come to pass. Seeing, then,
that such a fearful portent had broken in upon our hecatombs, Calchas forthwith
declared to us the oracles of heaven. 'Why, Achaeans,' said he, 'are you
thus speechless? Jove has sent us this sign, long in coming, and long ere
it be fulfilled, though its fame shall last for ever. As the serpent ate
the eight fledglings and the sparrow that hatched them, which makes nine,
so shall we fight nine years at Troy, but in the tenth shall take the town.'
This was what he said, and now it is all coming true. Stay here, therefore,
all of you, till we take the city of Priam."
On this the Argives raised a shout, till the ships rang again with
the uproar. Nestor, knight of Gerene, then addressed them. "Shame on you,"
he cried, "to stay talking here like children, when you should fight like
men. Where are our covenants now, and where the oaths that we have taken?
Shall our counsels be flung into the fire, with our drink-offerings and
the right hands of fellowship wherein we have put our trust? We waste our
time in words, and for all our talking here shall be no further forward.
Stand, therefore, son of Atreus, by your own steadfast purpose; lead the
Argives on to battle, and leave this handful of men to rot, who scheme,
and scheme in vain, to get back to Argos ere they have learned whether
Jove be true or a liar. For the mighty son of Saturn surely promised that
we should succeed, when we Argives set sail to bring death and destruction
upon the Trojans. He showed us favourable signs by flashing his lightning
on our right hands; therefore let none make haste to go till he has first
lain with the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and sorrow that
he has suffered for the sake of Helen. Nevertheless, if any man is in such
haste to be at home again, let him lay his hand to his ship that he may
meet his doom in the sight of all. But, O king, consider and give ear to
my counsel, for the word that I say may not be neglected lightly. Divide
your men, Agamemnon, into their several tribes and clans, that clans and
tribes may stand by and help one another. If you do this, and if the Achaeans
obey you, you will find out who, both chiefs and peoples, are brave, and
who are cowards; for they will vie against the other. Thus you shall also
learn whether it is through the counsel of heaven or the cowardice of man
that you shall fail to take the town."
And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, you have again outdone the sons
of the Achaeans in counsel. Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo,
that I had among them ten more such councillors, for the city of King Priam
would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack it. But the
son of Saturn afflicts me with bootless wranglings and strife. Achilles
and I are quarrelling about this girl, in which matter I was the first
to offend; if we can be of one mind again, the Trojans will not stave off
destruction for a day. Now, therefore, get your morning meal, that our
hosts join in fight. Whet well your spears; see well to the ordering of
your shields; give good feeds to your horses, and look your chariots carefully
over, that we may do battle the livelong day; for we shall have no rest,
not for a moment, till night falls to part us. The bands that bear your
shields shall be wet with the sweat upon your shoulders, your hands shall
weary upon your spears, your horses shall steam in front of your chariots,
and if I see any man shirking the fight, or trying to keep out of it at
the ships, there shall be no help for him, but he shall be a prey to dogs
and vultures."
Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans roared applause. As when the waves
run high before the blast of the south wind and break on some lofty headland,
dashing against it and buffeting it without ceasing, as the storms from
every quarter drive them, even so did the Achaeans rise and hurry in all
directions to their ships. There they lighted their fires at their tents
and got dinner, offering sacrifice every man to one or other of the gods,
and praying each one of them that he might live to come out of the fight.
Agamemnon, king of men, sacrificed a fat five-year-old bull to the mighty
son of Saturn, and invited the princes and elders of his host. First he
asked Nestor and King Idomeneus, then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus,
and sixthly Ulysses, peer of gods in counsel; but Menelaus came of his
own accord, for he knew how busy his brother then was. They stood round
the bull with the barley-meal in their hands, and Agamemnon prayed, saying,
"Jove, most glorious, supreme, that dwellest in heaven, and ridest upon
the storm-cloud, grant that the sun may not go down, nor the night fall,
till the palace of Priam is laid low, and its gates are consumed with fire.
Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector about his heart, and
that full many of his comrades may bite the dust as they fall dying round
him."
Thus he prayed, but the son of Saturn would not fulfil his prayer.
He accepted the sacrifice, yet none the less increased their toil continually.
When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal upon the victim,
they drew back its head, killed it, and then flayed it. They cut out the
thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat, and set pieces of
raw meat on the top of them. These they burned upon the split logs of firewood,
but they spitted the inward meats, and held them in the flames to cook.
When the thigh-bones were burned, and they had tasted the inward meats,
they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon spits, roasted them till
they were done, and drew them off; then, when they had finished their work
and the feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share,
so that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink,
Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak. "King Agamemnon," said he, "let
us not stay talking here, nor be slack in the work that heaven has put
into our hands. Let the heralds summon the people to gather at their several
ships; we will then go about among the host, that we may begin fighting
at once."
Thus did he speak, and Agamemnon heeded his words. He at once sent
the criers round to call the people in assembly. So they called them, and
the people gathered thereon. The chiefs about the son of Atreus chose their
men and marshalled them, while Minerva went among them holding her priceless
aegis that knows neither age nor death. From it there waved a hundred tassels
of pure gold, all deftly woven, and each one of them worth a hundred oxen.
With this she darted furiously everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans,
urging them forward, and putting courage into the heart of each, so that
he might fight and do battle without ceasing. Thus war became sweeter in
their eyes even than returning home in their ships. As when some great
forest fire is raging upon a mountain top and its light is seen afar, even
so as they marched the gleam of their armour flashed up into the firmament
of heaven.
They were like great flocks of geese, or cranes, or swans on the
plain about the waters of Cayster, that wing their way hither and thither,
glorying in the pride of flight, and crying as they settle till the fen
is alive with their screaming. Even thus did their tribes pour from ships
and tents on to the plain of the Scamander, and the ground rang as brass
under the feet of men and horses. They stood as thick upon the flower-bespangled
field as leaves that bloom in summer.
As countless swarms of flies buzz around a herdsman's homestead
in the time of spring when the pails are drenched with milk, even so did
the Achaeans swarm on to the plain to charge the Trojans and destroy
them.
The chiefs disposed their men this way and that before the fight
began, drafting them out as easily as goatherds draft their flocks when
they have got mixed while feeding; and among them went King Agamemnon,
with a head and face like Jove the lord of thunder, a waist like Mars,
and a chest like that of Neptune. As some great bull that lords it over
the herds upon the plain, even so did Jove make the son of Atreus stand
peerless among the multitude of heroes.
And now, O Muses, dwellers in the mansions of Olympus, tell me-
for you are goddesses and are in all places so that you see all things,
while we know nothing but by report- who were the chiefs and princes of
the Danaans? As for the common soldiers, they were so that I could not
name every single one of them though I had ten tongues, and though my voice
failed not and my heart were of bronze within me, unless you, O Olympian
Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, were to recount them to me. Nevertheless,
I will tell the captains of the ships and all the fleet
together.
Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor, and Clonius were captains
of the Boeotians. These were they that dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis,
and who held Schoenus, Scolus, and the highlands of Eteonus, with Thespeia,
Graia, and the fair city of Mycalessus. They also held Harma, Eilesium,
and Erythrae; and they had Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon; Ocalea and the strong
fortress of Medeon; Copae, Eutresis, and Thisbe the haunt of doves; Coronea,
and the pastures of Haliartus; Plataea and Glisas; the fortress of Thebes
the less; holy Onchestus with its famous grove of Neptune; Arne rich in
vineyards; Midea, sacred Nisa, and Anthedon upon the sea. From these there
came fifty ships, and in each there were a hundred and twenty young men
of the Boeotians.
Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Mars, led the people that dwelt
in Aspledon and Orchomenus the realm of Minyas. Astyoche a noble maiden
bore them in the house of Actor son of Azeus; for she had gone with Mars
secretly into an upper chamber, and he had lain with her. With these there
came thirty ships.
The Phoceans were led by Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of mighty
Iphitus the son of Naubolus. These were they that held Cyparissus, rocky
Pytho, holy Crisa, Daulis, and Panopeus; they also that dwelt in Anemorea
and Hyampolis, and about the waters of the river Cephissus, and Lilaea
by the springs of the Cephissus; with their chieftains came forty ships,
and they marshalled the forces of the Phoceans, which were stationed next
to the Boeotians, on their left.
Ajax, the fleet son of Oileus, commanded the Locrians. He was not
so great, nor nearly so great, as Ajax the son of Telamon. He was a little
man, and his breastplate was made of linen, but in use of the spear he
excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans. These dwelt in Cynus, Opous,
Calliarus, Bessa, Scarphe, fair Augeae, Tarphe, and Thronium about the
river Boagrius. With him there came forty ships of the Locrians who dwell
beyond Euboea.
The fierce Abantes held Euboea with its cities, Chalcis, Eretria,
Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus upon the sea, and the rock-perched town
of Dium; with them were also the men of Carystus and Styra; Elephenor of
the race of Mars was in command of these; he was son of Chalcodon, and
chief over all the Abantes. With him they came, fleet of foot and wearing
their hair long behind, brave warriors, who would ever strive to tear open
the corslets of their foes with their long ashen spears. Of these there
came fifty ships.
And they that held the strong city of Athens, the people of great
Erechtheus, who was born of the soil itself, but Jove's daughter, Minerva,
fostered him, and established him at Athens in her own rich sanctuary.
There, year by year, the Athenian youths worship him with sacrifices of
bulls and rams. These were commanded by Menestheus, son of Peteos. No man
living could equal him in the marshalling of chariots and foot soldiers.
Nestor could alone rival him, for he was older. With him there came fifty
ships.
Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis, and stationed them alongside
those of the Athenians.
The men of Argos, again, and those who held the walls of Tiryns,
with Hermione, and Asine upon the gulf; Troezene, Eionae, and the vineyard
lands of Epidaurus; the Achaean youths, moreover, who came from Aegina
and Mases; these were led by Diomed of the loud battle-cry, and Sthenelus
son of famed Capaneus. With them in command was Euryalus, son of king Mecisteus,
son of Talaus; but Diomed was chief over them all. With these there came
eighty ships.
Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, rich Corinth and Cleonae;
Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastus reigned of old; Hyperesia,
high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium and all the coast-land round about Helice;
these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon, son of
Atreus. His force was far both finest and most numerous, and in their midst
was the king himself, all glorious in his armour of gleaming bronze- foremost
among the heroes, for he was the greatest king, and had most men under
him.
And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon, lying low among the hills,
Pharis, Sparta, with Messe the haunt of doves; Bryseae, Augeae, Amyclae,
and Helos upon the sea; Laas, moreover, and Oetylus; these were led by
Menelaus of the loud battle-cry, brother to Agamemnon, and of them there
were sixty ships, drawn up apart from the others. Among them went Menelaus
himself, strong in zeal, urging his men to fight; for he longed to avenge
the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the sake of
Helen.
The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the
river Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos,
and Dorium, where the Muses met Thamyris, and stilled his minstrelsy for
ever. He was returning from Oechalia, where Eurytus lived and reigned,
and boasted that he would surpass even the Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing
Jove, if they should sing against him; whereon they were angry, and maimed
him. They robbed him of his divine power of song, and thenceforth he could
strike the lyre no more. These were commanded by Nestor, knight of Gerene,
and with him there came ninety ships.
And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene,
near the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men
of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and
bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia;
of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had sixty
ships. Many Arcadians, good soldiers, came in each one of them, but Agamemnon
found them the ships in which to cross the sea, for they were not a people
that occupied their business upon the waters.
The men, moreover, of Buprasium and of Elis, so much of it as is
enclosed between Hyrmine, Myrsinus upon the sea-shore, the rock Olene and
Alesium. These had four leaders, and each of them had ten ships, with many
Epeans on board. Their captains were Amphimachus and Thalpius- the one,
son of Cteatus, and the other, of Eurytus- both of the race of Actor. The
two others were Diores, son of Amarynces, and Polyxenus, son of King Agasthenes,
son of Augeas.
And those of Dulichium with the sacred Echinean islands, who dwelt
beyond the sea off Elis; these were led by Meges, peer of Mars, and the
son of valiant Phyleus, dear to Jove, who quarrelled with his father, and
went to settle in Dulichium. With him there came forty
ships.
Ulysses led the brave Cephallenians, who held Ithaca, Neritum with
its forests, Crocylea, rugged Aegilips, Samos and Zacynthus, with the mainland
also that was over against the islands. These were led by Ulysses, peer
of Jove in counsel, and with him there came twelve ships.
Thoas, son of Andraemon, commanded the Aetolians, who dwelt in
Pleuron, Olenus, Pylene, Chalcis by the sea, and rocky Calydon, for the
great king Oeneus had now no sons living, and was himself dead, as was
also golden-haired Meleager, who had been set over the Aetolians to be
their king. And with Thoas there came forty ships.
The famous spearsman Idomeneus led the Cretans, who held Cnossus,
and the well-walled city of Gortys; Lyctus also, Miletus and Lycastus that
lies upon the chalk; the populous towns of Phaestus and Rhytium, with the
other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete. All these were
led by Idomeneus, and by Meriones, peer of murderous Mars. And with these
there came eighty ships.
Tlepolemus, son of Hercules, a man both brave and large of stature,
brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes. These dwelt in Rhodes
which is divided among the three cities of Lindus, Ielysus, and Cameirus,
that lies upon the chalk. These were commanded by Tlepolemus, son of Hercules
by Astyochea, whom he had carried off from Ephyra, on the river Selleis,
after sacking many cities of valiant warriors. When Tlepolemus grew up,
he killed his father's uncle Licymnius, who had been a famous warrior in
his time, but was then grown old. On this he built himself a fleet, gathered
a great following, and fled beyond the sea, for he was menaced by the other
sons and grandsons of Hercules. After a voyage. during which he suffered
great hardship, he came to Rhodes, where the people divided into three
communities, according to their tribes, and were dearly loved by Jove,
the lord, of gods and men; wherefore the son of Saturn showered down great
riches upon them.
And Nireus brought three ships from Syme- Nireus, who was the handsomest
man that came up under Ilius of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus-
but he was a man of no substance, and had but a small
following.
And those that held Nisyrus, Crapathus, and Casus, with Cos, the
city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnian islands, these were commanded by Pheidippus
and Antiphus, two sons of King Thessalus the son of Hercules. And with
them there came thirty ships.
Those again who held Pelasgic Argos, Alos, Alope, and Trachis;
and those of Phthia and Hellas the land of fair women, who were called
Myrmidons, Hellenes, and Achaeans; these had fifty ships, over which Achilles
was in command. But they now took no part in the war, inasmuch as there
was no one to marshal them; for Achilles stayed by his ships, furious about
the loss of the girl Briseis, whom he had taken from Lyrnessus at his own
great peril, when he had sacked Lyrnessus and Thebe, and had overthrown
Mynes and Epistrophus, sons of king Evenor, son of Selepus. For her sake
Achilles was still grieving, but ere long he was again to join
them.
And those that held Phylace and the flowery meadows of Pyrasus,
sanctuary of Ceres; Iton, the mother of sheep; Antrum upon the sea, and
Pteleum that lies upon the grass lands. Of these brave Protesilaus had
been captain while he was yet alive, but he was now lying under the earth.
He had left a wife behind him in Phylace to tear her cheeks in sorrow,
and his house was only half finished, for he was slain by a Dardanian warrior
while leaping foremost of the Achaeans upon the soil of Troy. Still, though
his people mourned their chieftain, they were not without a leader, for
Podarces, of the race of Mars, marshalled them; he was son of Iphiclus,
rich in sheep, who was the son of Phylacus, and he was own brother to Protesilaus,
only younger, Protesilaus being at once the elder and the more valiant.
So the people were not without a leader, though they mourned him whom they
had lost. With him there came forty ships.
And those that held Pherae by the Boebean lake, with Boebe, Glaphyrae,
and the populous city of Iolcus, these with their eleven ships were led
by Eumelus, son of Admetus, whom Alcestis bore to him, loveliest of the
daughters of Pelias.
And those that held Methone and Thaumacia, with Meliboea and rugged
Olizon, these were led by the skilful archer Philoctetes, and they had
seven ships, each with fifty oarsmen all of them good archers; but Philoctetes
was lying in great pain in the Island of Lemnos, where the sons of the
Achaeans left him, for he had been bitten by a poisonous water snake. There
he lay sick and sorry, and full soon did the Argives come to miss him.
But his people, though they felt his loss were not leaderless, for Medon,
the bastard son of Oileus by Rhene, set them in array.
Those, again, of Tricca and the stony region of Ithome, and they
that held Oechalia, the city of Oechalian Eurytus, these were commanded
by the two sons of Aesculapius, skilled in the art of healing, Podalirius
and Machaon. And with them there came thirty ships.
The men, moreover, of Ormenius, and by the fountain of Hypereia,
with those that held Asterius, and the white crests of Titanus, these were
led by Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon, and with them there came forty
ships.
Those that held Argissa and Gyrtone, Orthe, Elone, and the white
city of Oloosson, of these brave Polypoetes was leader. He was son of Pirithous,
who was son of Jove himself, for Hippodameia bore him to Pirithous on the
day when he took his revenge on the shaggy mountain savages and drove them
from Mt. Pelion to the Aithices. But Polypoetes was not sole in command,
for with him was Leonteus, of the race of Mars, who was son of Coronus,
the son of Caeneus. And with these there came forty
ships.
Guneus brought two and twenty ships from Cyphus, and he was followed
by the Enienes and the valiant Peraebi, who dwelt about wintry Dodona,
and held the lands round the lovely river Titaresius, which sends its waters
into the Peneus. They do not mingle with the silver eddies of the Peneus,
but flow on the top of them like oil; for the Titaresius is a branch of
dread Orcus and of the river Styx.
Of the Magnetes, Prothous son of Tenthredon was commander. They
were they that dwelt about the river Peneus and Mt. Pelion. Prothous, fleet
of foot, was their leader, and with him there came forty
ships.
Such were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans. Who, then, O Muse,
was the foremost, whether man or horse, among those that followed after
the sons of Atreus?
Of the horses, those of the son of Pheres were by far the finest.
They were driven by Eumelus, and were as fleet as birds. They were of the
same age and colour, and perfectly matched in height. Apollo, of the silver
bow, had bred them in Perea- both of them mares, and terrible as Mars in
battle. Of the men, Ajax, son of Telamon, was much the foremost so long
as Achilles' anger lasted, for Achilles excelled him greatly and he had
also better horses; but Achilles was now holding aloof at his ships by
reason of his quarrel with Agamemnon, and his people passed their time
upon the sea shore, throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark, and
in archery. Their horses stood each by his own chariot, champing lotus
and wild celery. The chariots were housed under cover, but their owners,
for lack of leadership, wandered hither and thither about the host and
went not forth to fight.
Thus marched the host like a consuming fire, and the earth groaned
beneath them when the lord of thunder is angry and lashes the land about
Typhoeus among the Arimi, where they say Typhoeus lies. Even so did the
earth groan beneath them as they sped over the plain.
And now Iris, fleet as the wind, was sent by Jove to tell the bad
news among the Trojans. They were gathered in assembly, old and young,
at Priam's gates, and Iris came close up to Priam, speaking with the voice
of Priam's son Polites, who, being fleet of foot, was stationed as watchman
for the Trojans on the tomb of old Aesyetes, to look out for any sally
of the Achaeans. In his likeness Iris spoke, saying, "Old man, you talk
idly, as in time of peace, while war is at hand. I have been in many a
battle, but never yet saw such a host as is now advancing. They are crossing
the plain to attack the city as thick as leaves or as the sands of the
sea. Hector, I charge you above all others, do as I say. There are many
allies dispersed about the city of Priam from distant places and speaking
divers tongues. Therefore, let each chief give orders to his own people,
setting them severally in array and leading them forth to
battle."
Thus she spoke, but Hector knew that it was the goddess, and at
once broke up the assembly. The men flew to arms; all the gates were opened,
and the people thronged through them, horse and foot, with the tramp as
of a great multitude.
Now there is a high mound before the city, rising by itself upon
the plain. Men call it Batieia, but the gods know that it is the tomb of
lithe Myrine. Here the Trojans and their allies divided their
forces.
Priam's son, great Hector of the gleaming helmet, commanded the
Trojans, and with him were arrayed by far the greater number and most valiant
of those who were longing for the fray.
The Dardanians were led by brave Aeneas, whom Venus bore to Anchises,
when she, goddess though she was, had lain with him upon the mountain slopes
of Ida. He was not alone, for with him were the two sons of Antenor, Archilochus
and Acamas, both skilled in all the arts of war.
They that dwelt in Telea under the lowest spurs of Mt. Ida, men
of substance, who drink the limpid waters of the Aesepus, and are of Trojan
blood- these were led by Pandarus son of Lycaon, whom Apollo had taught
to use the bow.
They that held Adresteia and the land of Apaesus, with Pityeia,
and the high mountain of Tereia- these were led by Adrestus and Amphius,
whose breastplate was of linen. These were the sons of Merops of Percote,
who excelled in all kinds of divination. He told them not to take part
in the war, but they gave him no heed, for fate lured them to
destruction.
They that dwelt about Percote and Practius, with Sestos, Abydos,
and Arisbe- these were led by Asius, son of Hyrtacus, a brave commander-
Asius, the son of Hyrtacus, whom his powerful dark bay steeds, of the breed
that comes from the river Selleis, had brought from
Arisbe.
Hippothous led the tribes of Pelasgian spearsmen, who dwelt in
fertile Larissa- Hippothous, and Pylaeus of the race of Mars, two sons
of the Pelasgian Lethus, son of Teutamus.
Acamas and the warrior Peirous commanded the Thracians and those
that came from beyond the mighty stream of the Hellespont.
Euphemus, son of Troezenus, the son of Ceos, was captain of the
Ciconian spearsmen.
Pyraechmes led the Paeonian archers from distant Amydon, by the
broad waters of the river Axius, the fairest that flow upon the
earth.
The Paphlagonians were commanded by stout-hearted Pylaemanes from
Enetae, where the mules run wild in herds. These were they that held Cytorus
and the country round Sesamus, with the cities by the river Parthenius,
Cromna, Aegialus, and lofty Erithini.
Odius and Epistrophus were captains over the Halizoni from distant
Alybe, where there are mines of silver.
Chromis, and Ennomus the augur, led the Mysians, but his skill
in augury availed not to save him from destruction, for he fell by the
hand of the fleet descendant of Aeacus in the river, where he slew others
also of the Trojans.
Phorcys, again, and noble Ascanius led the Phrygians from the far
country of Ascania, and both were eager for the fray.
Mesthles and Antiphus commanded the Meonians, sons of Talaemenes,
born to him of the Gygaean lake. These led the Meonians, who dwelt under
Mt. Tmolus.
Nastes led the Carians, men of a strange speech. These held Miletus
and the wooded mountain of Phthires, with the water of the river Maeander
and the lofty crests of Mt. Mycale. These were commanded by Nastes and
Amphimachus, the brave sons of Nomion. He came into the fight with gold
about him, like a girl; fool that he was, his gold was of no avail to save
him, for he fell in the river by the hand of the fleet descendant of Aeacus,
and Achilles bore away his gold.
Sarpedon and Glaucus led the Lycians from their distant land, by
the eddying waters of the Xanthus.
The Iliad
By Homer
Book III
When the companies were thus arrayed, each under its own captain, the Trojans
advanced as a flight of wild fowl or cranes that scream overhead when rain
and winter drive them over the flowing waters of Oceanus to bring death
and destruction on the Pygmies, and they wrangle in the air as they fly;
but the Achaeans marched silently, in high heart, and minded to stand by
one another.
As when the south wind spreads a curtain of mist upon the mountain
tops, bad for shepherds but better than night for thieves, and a man can
see no further than he can throw a stone, even so rose the dust from under
their feet as they made all speed over the plain.
When they were close up with one another, Alexandrus came forward
as champion on the Trojan side. On his shoulders he bore the skin of a
panther, his bow, and his sword, and he brandished two spears shod with
bronze as a challenge to the bravest of the Achaeans to meet him in single
fight. Menelaus saw him thus stride out before the ranks, and was glad
as a hungry lion that lights on the carcase of some goat or horned stag,
and devours it there and then, though dogs and youths set upon him. Even
thus was Menelaus glad when his eyes caught sight of Alexandrus, for he
deemed that now he should be revenged. He sprang, therefore, from his chariot,
clad in his suit of armour.
Alexandrus quailed as he saw Menelaus come forward, and shrank
in fear of his life under cover of his men. As one who starts back affrighted,
trembling and pale, when he comes suddenly upon a serpent in some mountain
glade, even so did Alexandrus plunge into the throng of Trojan warriors,
terror-stricken at the sight of the son Atreus.
Then Hector upbraided him. "Paris," said he, "evil-hearted Paris,
fair to see, but woman-mad, and false of tongue, would that you had never
been born, or that you had died unwed. Better so, than live to be disgraced
and looked askance at. Will not the Achaeans mock at us and say that we
have sent one to champion us who is fair to see but who has neither wit
nor courage? Did you not, such as you are, get your following together
and sail beyond the seas? Did you not from your a far country carry off
a lovely woman wedded among a people of warriors- to bring sorrow upon
your father, your city, and your whole country, but joy to your enemies,
and hang-dog shamefacedness to yourself? And now can you not dare face
Menelaus and learn what manner of man he is whose wife you have stolen?
Where indeed would be your lyre and your love-tricks, your comely locks
and your fair favour, when you were lying in the dust before him? The Trojans
are a weak-kneed people, or ere this you would have had a shirt of stones
for the wrongs you have done them."
And Alexandrus answered, "Hector, your rebuke is just. You are
hard as the axe which a shipwright wields at his work, and cleaves the
timber to his liking. As the axe in his hand, so keen is the edge of your
scorn. Still, taunt me not with the gifts that golden Venus has given me;
they are precious; let not a man disdain them, for the gods give them where
they are minded, and none can have them for the asking. If you would have
me do battle with Menelaus, bid the Trojans and Achaeans take their seats,
while he and I fight in their midst for Helen and all her wealth. Let him
who shall be victorious and prove to be the better man take the woman and
all she has, to bear them to his home, but let the rest swear to a solemn
covenant of peace whereby you Trojans shall stay here in Troy, while the
others go home to Argos and the land of the Achaeans."
When Hector heard this he was glad, and went about among the Trojan
ranks holding his spear by the middle to keep them back, and they all sat
down at his bidding: but the Achaeans still aimed at him with stones and
arrows, till Agamemnon shouted to them saying, "Hold, Argives, shoot not,
sons of the Achaeans; Hector desires to speak."
They ceased taking aim and were still, whereon Hector spoke. "Hear
from my mouth," said he, "Trojans and Achaeans, the saying of Alexandrus,
through whom this quarrel has come about. He bids the Trojans and Achaeans
lay their armour upon the ground, while he and Menelaus fight in the midst
of you for Helen and all her wealth. Let him who shall be victorious and
prove to be the better man take the woman and all she has, to bear them
to his own home, but let the rest swear to a solemn covenant of
peace."
Thus he spoke, and they all held their peace, till Menelaus of
the loud battle-cry addressed them. "And now," he said, "hear me too, for
it is I who am the most aggrieved. I deem that the parting of Achaeans
and Trojans is at hand, as well it may be, seeing how much have suffered
for my quarrel with Alexandrus and the wrong he did me. Let him who shall
die, die, and let the others fight no more. Bring, then, two lambs, a white
ram and a black ewe, for Earth and Sun, and we will bring a third for Jove.
Moreover, you shall bid Priam come, that he may swear to the covenant himself;
for his sons are high-handed and ill to trust, and the oaths of Jove must
not be transgressed or taken in vain. Young men's minds are light as air,
but when an old man comes he looks before and after, deeming that which
shall be fairest upon both sides."
The Trojans and Achaeans were glad when they heard this, for they
thought that they should now have rest. They backed their chariots toward
the ranks, got out of them, and put off their armour, laying it down upon
the ground; and the hosts were near to one another with a little space
between them. Hector sent two messengers to the city to bring the lambs
and to bid Priam come, while Agamemnon told Talthybius to fetch the other
lamb from the ships, and he did as Agamemnon had said.
Meanwhile Iris went to Helen in the form of her sister-in-law,
wife of the son of Antenor, for Helicaon, son of Antenor, had married Laodice,
the fairest of Priam's daughters. She found her in her own room, working
at a great web of purple linen, on which she was embroidering the battles
between Trojans and Achaeans, that Mars had made them fight for her sake.
Iris then came close up to her and said, "Come hither, child, and see the
strange doings of the Trojans and Achaeans till now they have been warring
upon the plain, mad with lust of battle, but now they have left off fighting,
and are leaning upon their shields, sitting still with their spears planted
beside them. Alexandrus and Menelaus are going to fight about yourself,
and you are to the the wife of him who is the victor."
Thus spoke the goddess, and Helen's heart yearned after her former
husband, her city, and her parents. She threw a white mantle over her head,
and hurried from her room, weeping as she went, not alone, but attended
by two of her handmaids, Aethrae, daughter of Pittheus, and Clymene. And
straightway they were at the Scaean gates.
The two sages, Ucalegon and Antenor, elders of the people, were
seated by the Scaean gates, with Priam, Panthous, Thymoetes, Lampus, Clytius,
and Hiketaon of the race of Mars. These were too old to fight, but they
were fluent orators, and sat on the tower like cicales that chirrup delicately
from the boughs of some high tree in a wood. When they saw Helen coming
towards the tower, they said softly to one another, "Small wonder that
Trojans and Achaeans should endure so much and so long, for the sake of
a woman so marvellously and divinely lovely. Still, fair though she be,
let them take her and go, or she will breed sorrow for us and for our children
after us."
But Priam bade her draw nigh. "My child," said he, "take your seat
in front of me that you may see your former husband, your kinsmen and your
friends. I lay no blame upon you, it is the gods, not you who are to blame.
It is they that have brought about this terrible war with the Achaeans.
Tell me, then, who is yonder huge hero so great and goodly? I have seen
men taller by a head, but none so comely and so royal. Surely he must be
a king."
"Sir," answered Helen, "father of my husband, dear and reverend
in my eyes, would that I had chosen death rather than to have come here
with your son, far from my bridal chamber, my friends, my darling daughter,
and all the companions of my girlhood. But it was not to be, and my lot
is one of tears and sorrow. As for your question, the hero of whom you
ask is Agamemnon, son of Atreus, a good king and a brave soldier, brother-in-law
as surely as that he lives, to my abhorred and miserable
self."
The old man marvelled at him and said, "Happy son of Atreus, child
of good fortune. I see that the Achaeans are subject to you in great multitudes.
When I was in Phrygia I saw much horsemen, the people of Otreus and of
Mygdon, who were camping upon the banks of the river Sangarius; I was their
ally, and with them when the Amazons, peers of men, came up against them,
but even they were not so many as the Achaeans."
The old man next looked upon Ulysses; "Tell me," he said, "who
is that other, shorter by a head than Agamemnon, but broader across the
chest and shoulders? His armour is laid upon the ground, and he stalks
in front of the ranks as it were some great woolly ram ordering his
ewes."
And Helen answered, "He is Ulysses, a man of great craft, son of
Laertes. He was born in rugged Ithaca, and excels in all manner of stratagems
and subtle cunning."
On this Antenor said, "Madam, you have spoken truly. Ulysses once
came here as envoy about yourself, and Menelaus with him. I received them
in my own house, and therefore know both of them by sight and conversation.
When they stood up in presence of the assembled Trojans, Menelaus was the
broader shouldered, but when both were seated Ulysses had the more royal
presence. After a time they delivered their message, and the speech of
Menelaus ran trippingly on the tongue; he did not say much, for he was
a man of few words, but he spoke very clearly and to the point, though
he was the younger man of the two; Ulysses, on the other hand, when he
rose to speak, was at first silent and kept his eyes fixed upon the ground.
There was no play nor graceful movement of his sceptre; he kept it straight
and stiff like a man unpractised in oratory- one might have taken him for
a mere churl or simpleton; but when he raised his voice, and the words
came driving from his deep chest like winter snow before the wind, then
there was none to touch him, and no man thought further of what he looked
like."
Priam then caught sight of Ajax and asked, "Who is that great and
goodly warrior whose head and broad shoulders tower above the rest of the
Argives?"
"That," answered Helen, "is huge Ajax, bulwark of the Achaeans,
and on the other side of him, among the Cretans, stands Idomeneus looking
like a god, and with the captains of the Cretans round him. Often did Menelaus
receive him as a guest in our house when he came visiting us from Crete.
I see, moreover, many other Achaeans whose names I could tell you, but
there are two whom I can nowhere find, Castor, breaker of horses, and Pollux
the mighty boxer; they are children of my mother, and own brothers to myself.
Either they have not left Lacedaemon, or else, though they have brought
their ships, they will not show themselves in battle for the shame and
disgrace that I have brought upon them."
She knew not that both these heroes were already lying under the
earth in their own land of Lacedaemon.
Meanwhile the heralds were bringing the holy oath-offerings through
the city- two lambs and a goatskin of wine, the gift of earth; and Idaeus
brought the mixing bowl and the cups of gold. He went up to Priam and said,
"Son of Laomedon, the princes of the Trojans and Achaeans bid you come
down on to the plain and swear to a solemn covenant. Alexandrus and Menelaus
are to fight for Helen in single combat, that she and all her wealth may
go with him who is the victor. We are to swear to a solemn covenant of
peace whereby we others shall dwell here in Troy, while the Achaeans return
to Argos and the land of the Achaeans."
The old man trembled as he heard, but bade his followers yoke the
horses, and they made all haste to do so. He mounted the chariot, gathered
the reins in his hand, and Antenor took his seat beside him; they then
drove through the Scaean gates on to the plain. When they reached the ranks
of the Trojans and Achaeans they left the chariot, and with measured pace
advanced into the space between the hosts.
Agamemnon and Ulysses both rose to meet them. The attendants brought
on the oath-offerings and mixed the wine in the mixing-bowls; they poured
water over the hands of the chieftains, and the son of Atreus drew the
dagger that hung by his sword, and cut wool from the lambs' heads; this
the men-servants gave about among the Trojan and Achaean princes, and the
son of Atreus lifted up his hands in prayer. "Father Jove," he cried, "that
rulest in Ida, most glorious in power, and thou oh Sun, that seest and
givest ear to all things, Earth and Rivers, and ye who in the realms below
chastise the soul of him that has broken his oath, witness these rites
and guard them, that they be not vain. If Alexandrus kills Menelaus, let
him keep Helen and all her wealth, while we sail home with our ships; but
if Menelaus kills Alexandrus, let the Trojans give back Helen and all that
she has; let them moreover pay such fine to the Achaeans as shall be agreed
upon, in testimony among those that shall be born hereafter. Aid if Priam
and his sons refuse such fine when Alexandrus has fallen, then will I stay
here and fight on till I have got satisfaction."
As he spoke he drew his knife across the throats of the victims,
and laid them down gasping and dying upon the ground, for the knife had
reft them of their strength. Then they poured wine from the mixing-bowl
into the cups, and prayed to the everlasting gods, saying, Trojans and
Achaeans among one another, "Jove, most great and glorious, and ye other
everlasting gods, grant that the brains of them who shall first sin against
their oaths- of them and their children- may be shed upon the ground even
as this wine, and let their wives become the slaves of
strangers."
Thus they prayed, but not as yet would Jove grant them their prayer.
Then Priam, descendant of Dardanus, spoke, saying, "Hear me, Trojans and
Achaeans, I will now go back to the wind-beaten city of Ilius: I dare not
with my own eyes witness this fight between my son and Menelaus, for Jove
and the other immortals alone know which shall fall."
On this he laid the two lambs on his chariot and took his seat.
He gathered the reins in his hand, and Antenor sat beside him; the two
then went back to Ilius. Hector and Ulysses measured the ground, and cast
lots from a helmet of bronze to see which should take aim first. Meanwhile
the two hosts lifted up their hands and prayed saying, "Father Jove, that
rulest from Ida, most glorious in power, grant that he who first brought
about this war between us may die, and enter the house of Hades, while
we others remain at peace and abide by our oaths."
Great Hector now turned his head aside while he shook the helmet,
and the lot of Paris flew out first. The others took their several stations,
each by his horses and the place where his arms were lying, while Alexandrus,
husband of lovely Helen, put on his goodly armour. First he greaved his
legs with greaves of good make and fitted with ancle-clasps of silver;
after this he donned the cuirass of his brother Lycaon, and fitted it to
his own body; he hung his silver-studded sword of bronze about his shoulders,
and then his mighty shield. On his comely head he set his helmet, well-wrought,
with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above it, and he grasped
a redoubtable spear that suited his hands. In like fashion Menelaus also
put on his armour.
When they had thus armed, each amid his own people, they strode
fierce of aspect into the open space, and both Trojans and Achaeans were
struck with awe as they beheld them. They stood near one another on the
measured ground, brandishing their spears, and each furious against the
other. Alexandrus aimed first, and struck the round shield of the son of
Atreus, but the spear did not pierce it, for the shield turned its point.
Menelaus next took aim, praying to Father Jove as he did so. "King Jove,"
he said, "grant me revenge on Alexandrus who has wronged me; subdue him
under my hand that in ages yet to come a man may shrink from doing ill
deeds in the house of his host."
He poised his spear as he spoke, and hurled it at the shield of
Alexandrus. Through shield and cuirass it went, and tore the shirt by his
flank, but Alexandrus swerved aside, and thus saved his life. Then the
son of Atreus drew his sword, and drove at the projecting part of his helmet,
but the sword fell shivered in three or four pieces from his hand, and
he cried, looking towards Heaven, "Father Jove, of all gods thou art the
most despiteful; I made sure of my revenge, but the sword has broken in
my hand, my spear has been hurled in vain, and I have not killed
him."
With this he flew at Alexandrus, caught him by the horsehair plume
of his helmet, and began dragging him towards the Achaeans. The strap of
the helmet that went under his chin was choking him, and Menelaus would
have dragged him off to his own great glory had not Jove's daughter Venus
been quick to mark and to break the strap of oxhide, so that the empty
helmet came away in his hand. This he flung to his comrades among the Achaeans,
and was again springing upon Alexandrus to run him through with a spear,
but Venus snatched him up in a moment (as a god can do), hid him under
a cloud of darkness, and conveyed him to his own bedchamber.
Then she went to call Helen, and found her on a high tower with
the Trojan women crowding round her. She took the form of an old woman
who used to dress wool for her when she was still in Lacedaemon, and of
whom she was very fond. Thus disguised she plucked her by perfumed robe
and said, "Come hither; Alexandrus says you are to go to the house; he
is on his bed in his own room, radiant with beauty and dressed in gorgeous
apparel. No one would think he had just come from fighting, but rather
that he was going to a dance, or had done dancing and was sitting
down."
With these words she moved the heart of Helen to anger. When she
marked the beautiful neck of the goddess, her lovely bosom, and sparkling
eyes, she marvelled at her and said, "Goddess, why do you thus beguile
me? Are you going to send me afield still further to some man whom you
have taken up in Phrygia or fair Meonia? Menelaus has just vanquished Alexandrus,
and is to take my hateful self back with him. You are come here to betray
me. Go sit with Alexandrus yourself; henceforth be goddess no longer; never
let your feet carry you back to Olympus; worry about him and look after
him till he make you his wife, or, for the matter of that, his slave- but
me? I shall not go; I can garnish his bed no longer; I should be a by-word
among all the women of Troy. Besides, I have trouble on my
mind."
Venus was very angry, and said, "Bold hussy, do not provoke me;
if you do, I shall leave you to your fate and hate you as much as I have
loved you. I will stir up fierce hatred between Trojans and Achaeans, and
you shall come to a bad end."
At this Helen was frightened. She wrapped her mantle about her
and went in silence, following the goddess and unnoticed by the Trojan
women.
When they came to the house of Alexandrus the maid-servants set
about their work, but Helen went into her own room, and the laughter-loving
goddess took a seat and set it for her facing Alexandrus. On this Helen,
daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, sat down, and with eyes askance began to
upbraid her husband.
"So you are come from the fight," said she; "would that you had
fallen rather by the hand of that brave man who was my husband. You used
to brag that you were a better man with hands and spear than Menelaus.
go, but I then, an challenge him again- but I should advise you not to
do so, for if you are foolish enough to meet him in single combat, you
will soon all by his spear."
And Paris answered, "Wife, do not vex me with your reproaches.
This time, with the help of Minerva, Menelaus has vanquished me; another
time I may myself be victor, for I too have gods that will stand by me.
Come, let us lie down together and make friends. Never yet was I so passionately
enamoured of you as at this moment- not even when I first carried you off
from Lacedaemon and sailed away with you- not even when I had converse
with you upon the couch of love in the island of Cranae was I so enthralled
by desire of you as now." On this he led her towards the bed, and his wife
went with him.
Thus they laid themselves on the bed together; but the son of Atreus
strode among the throng, looking everywhere for Alexandrus, and no man,
neither of the Trojans nor of the allies, could find him. If they had seen
him they were in no mind to hide him, for they all of them hated him as
they did death itself. Then Agamemnon, king of men, spoke, saying, "Hear
me, Trojans, Dardanians, and allies. The victory has been with Menelaus;
therefore give back Helen with all her wealth, and pay such fine as shall
be agreed upon, in testimony among them that shall be born
hereafter."
Thus spoke the son of Atreus, and the Achaeans shouted in
applause.
The Iliad
By Homer
Book IV
Now the gods were sitting with Jove in council upon the golden floor while
Hebe went round pouring out nectar for them to drink, and as they pledged
one another in their cups of gold they looked down upon the town of Troy.
The son of Saturn then began to tease Juno, talking at her so as to provoke
her. "Menelaus," said he, "has two good friends among the goddesses, Juno
of Argos, and Minerva of Alalcomene, but they only sit still and look on,
while Venus keeps ever by Alexandrus' side to defend him in any danger;
indeed she has just rescued him when he made sure that it was all over
with him- for the victory really did lie with Menelaus. We must consider
what we shall do about all this; shall we set them fighting anew or |
