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-The Project Gutenberg EBook of Stories from the Iliad, by H. L. Havell
-
-This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
-almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
-re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
-with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
-
-
-Title: Stories from the Iliad
-
-Author: H. L. Havell
-
-Release Date: October 22, 2013 [EBook #43993]
-
-Language: English
-
-Character set encoding: ASCII
-
-*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK STORIES FROM THE ILIAD ***
-
-
-
-
-Produced by Al Haines
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-[Frontispiece: "Athene shot down from Olympus like a falling star"
-(Patten Wilson)]
-
-
-
-
-STORIES
-
-FROM THE ILIAD
-
-
-RETOLD BY
-
-H. L. HAVELL B.A.
-
-  AUTHOR OF "STORIES FROM HERODOTUS" "STORIES FROM GREEK TRAGEDY"
-  "STORIES FROM THE AENEID" "STORIES FROM THE ODYSSEY"
-  "STORIES FROM DON QUIXOTE" "STORIES FROM
-  THUCYDIDES" "STORIES FROM XENOPHON"
-
-
-"_A nation without fancy, without some romance, never did never can,
-never will, hold a great place under the sun....  What enchanted us in
-our childhood, and is captivating a million of young fancies now, has,
-at the same blessed time of life, enchanted vast hosts of men and women
-who have done their long day's work and laid their grey heads down to
-rest._"
-
-CHARLES DICKENS
-
-
-
-
-  GEORGE G. HARRAP & CO. LTD.
-  LONDON BOMBAY SYDNEY
-
-
-
-
-  First published February 1908
-  by GEORGE G. HARRAP & COMPANY
-  39-41 Parker Street, Kingsway, London, W.C.2
-
-  Reprinted: August 1908; February 1909; May 1910; July 1913;
-  July 1916; July 1917; August 1919; April 1922; April 1924;
-  March 1926; April 1928; November 1929
-
-
-
-  Printed in Great Britain by The Riverside Press Limited
-  Edinburgh
-
-
-
-
-CONTENTS
-
-
-Introduction--
-
-  I.  The Story
-  II.  The Divine Characters
-  III.  The Human Characters
-  IV.  The Similes
-
-The Quarrel
-
-The Dream: The Muster of Greeks
-
-Greeks and Trojans Face to Face: The Duel
-
-The Breaking of the Truce
-
-The Exploits of Diomede
-
-The Battle continued: Hector and Andromache
-
-Second Battle: Repulse of the Greeks
-
-The Embassy to Achilles
-
-The Night Raid on the Trojan Camp
-
-The Brave Deeds of Agamemnon: Reverses of the Greeks
-
-The Attack on the Grecian Camp
-
-Poseidon aids the Greeks
-
-Zeus is Beguiled by Hera
-
-The Last Battle by the Ships
-
-Achilles sends Patroclus to Battle
-
-The Fight for the Body of Patroclus
-
-The News is brought to Achilles
-
-The Shield of Achilles
-
-The Reconciliation
-
-Achilles in the Battlefield
-
-The Death of Hector
-
-The Funeral Games of Patroclus
-
-Priam Ransoms the Body of Hector
-
-Pronouncing List of Names
-
-
-
-
-ILLUSTRATIONS
-
-
-"Athene shot down from Olympus
-    like a falling star" (_Patten Wilson_) _Frontispiece_
-
-The Leaders of the Greeks (_Christian G. Heyne_)
-
-Paris (_Vatican, Rome_)
-
-Helen on the Walls of Troy (_Lord Leighton_)
-
-Hector's Farewell (_Friedrich Preller, Jr._)
-
-Menelaus (_Vatican, Rome_)
-
-Homer Hymning the Fall of Troy (_Baron H. de Triqueti_)
-
-Captive Andromache (_Lord Leighton_)
-
-
-
-
-INTRODUCTION
-
-I. THE STORY
-
-In order to understand the structure of the _Iliad_, we must keep fast
-hold of the guiding clue which is supplied by the author in the first
-line of his poem.  The subject, he tells us, is the _Wrath of
-Achilles_.  The motive of the greatest of epics is _wrath_--blind,
-unreasoning fury, which knows no law, and acknowledges no right.
-Keeping this in view, we are able to explain what seems at first sight
-to be a strange anomaly in the conduct of the story--the absence of the
-hero from the scene of action during three-fourths of the narrative.
-For Achilles is not less the hero of the _Iliad_ than Odysseus is the
-hero of the _Odyssey_, and in both cases the character of the man
-determines the structure of the poem.  Odysseus is a man of middle age,
-in the maturity of his splendid powers, with his judgment refined by
-experience, and his passions cooled by time.  From the moment when he
-sets sail from Troy he remains faithful to the fixed desire of his
-heart.  All the malice of Poseidon, all the spells of Circe, all the
-loveliness of Calypso, cannot shake him from his resolve to return to
-his home in Ithaca, and live out his life in calm domestic happiness
-and peace.  Yet he is entirely free from the narrowness which commonly
-belongs to a fixed idea.  He knows the uncertainty which attaches to
-all human hopes, and is as ready to enjoy the passing hour as the
-youngest sailor of his crew.  He has the hungry intellect, which would
-fain take all knowledge into its compass, and the spirit of soaring
-enterprise, which delights in discovery and daring adventure.  But
-above all he has the patient, constant human heart, faithful through
-all turns of fortune to one sober ideal.  It is this steadfastness of
-purpose and sweet reasonableness in the hero which gives to the
-narrative of the _Odyssey_ its smooth and pellucid flow, and makes it
-the most delightful of all story-books.
-
-Achilles, on the other hand, is the incarnation of the spirit of youth,
-with its passionate pride, its acute sensibility, and its absorption in
-self.  He is like one of the great forces of nature--unreasoning,
-elemental, mighty to create or destroy.  His inaction is as tremendous
-as his action.  He is offended, and the Greeks, deprived of his aid,
-are brought to the brink of ruin--his friend is slain by Hector, and
-the current of his fury, thus directed into a new channel, sweeps the
-whole Trojan army before it in havoc and rout.
-
-This, then, is the plan of the _Iliad_--to describe the effects of
-Achilles' anger, first on the Greeks, then on the Trojans.  A brief
-review of the story will show how the plan is worked out.  In the ninth
-year of the war, the Greeks have taken a small town in the
-neighbourhood of Troy, and Agamemnon has received a maiden named
-Chryseis as his share of the spoil.  Chryses, the maiden's father,
-comes to the Grecian camp to ransom his child, but he is rudely
-repulsed by Agamemnon, and invokes the vengeance of Apollo, whose
-priest he is, on the Greeks.  Apollo sends a pestilence on the camp,
-and Agamemnon is compelled in consequence to restore Chryseis, but he
-recompenses himself by seizing another maiden, named Briseis, awarded
-to Achilles as a prize at the capture of the same city.  Achilles vows
-vengeance on the whole Greek army for this outrage, and Thetis, his
-mother, obtains a promise from Zeus, the supreme god of Olympus, that
-her son's vow shall be fulfilled to the letter.  Accordingly Zeus sends
-a false dream to Agamemnon, bidding him lead the whole army against
-Troy, with the assurance of a decisive victory.  Agamemnon obeys the
-summons in all good faith, and the two armies meet on the plain before
-the city.  But just as the general encounter is about to begin, Paris
-offers to meet Menelaus in single combat, and a truce is made in order
-that the duel may take place.  They fight, and Menelaus is victorious,
-but Paris is saved from death or capture by the intervention of
-Aphrodite.
-
-Menelaus now claims the fulfilment of the conditions of the truce--the
-restoration of Helen with all her wealth.  But before the point can be
-debated, Pandarus, a Trojan, at the instigation of Athene, aims an
-arrow at Menelaus, and wounds him in the side.  This treacherous act
-leads to an immediate renewal of hostilities, and in the battle which
-follows the Trojans are reduced to such straits by the powers of
-Diomede that Hector goes on a mission to the city, to institute a
-solemn supplication in the temple of Athene, in the vain hope of
-diverting her anger from the Trojans.  Having accomplished his errand,
-he returns to the field, bringing with him Paris, who, since his defeat
-by Menelaus, has been dallying in Helen's bower; and then follows a
-duel between Hector and Ajax, in which the Greek champion has the
-advantage.  At the suggestion of Nestor, the Greeks fortify their camp
-with a moat and rampart; and this brings us to the end of the seventh
-book.
-
-Hitherto the Greeks have had a decided advantage in battle with the
-Trojans, and nothing has been done to carry out the promise which Zeus
-made to Thetis.  But now the father of gods and men begins to take
-decisive measures to fulfil his pledge; the gods are forbidden to
-interfere between the rival armies, and in the next day's battle the
-Greeks are driven back in panic to their camp, while the Trojans,
-contrary to their custom, keep the field all night, intending to attack
-the Greek stronghold in full force next day.  So despondent are the
-Greeks that an embassy is sent with an offer of magnificent gifts to
-Achilles, if he will lay aside his anger and come to the help of his
-distressed countrymen.  Achilles refuses all compromise, and the rest
-of the night is occupied by the bold raid undertaken by Diomede and
-Odysseus on the Thracian camp.
-
-At the opening of the eleventh book our attention is concentrated on
-the valorous exploits of Agamemnon, who is at length compelled to
-retire by a severe wound in the arm; Diomede is pierced through the
-foot by an arrow from the bow of Paris, and Odysseus, Machaon, and
-Eurypylus are also disabled.  Patroclus is sent by Achilles to inquire
-of Nestor concerning the fortunes of the Greeks, and Nestor then makes
-the suggestion which marks the turning-point in the first act of the
-great epic drama: if, he says, Achilles will not go to the field
-himself, at least let him send Patroclus to lead the Myrmidons[1]
-against the Trojans.  Nothing comes of the proposal for the present,
-but it is to bear fatal fruit both for Patroclus and Achilles in the
-near future.  The Greeks are again driven behind their defences, and a
-furious struggle ensues, at the end of which the gates of the camp are
-demolished, and the Trojans, led by Hector, are on the point of setting
-fire to the ships.
-
-
-[1] The followers of Achilles
-
-
-At this moment the attention of Zeus is withdrawn from the battle, and
-Poseidon seizes the opportunity to interfere in favour of the Greeks.
-By his influence the scale is turned again, Hector receives fearful
-injuries from a huge stone hurled by Ajax, and the Trojans are driven
-headlong across the plain.  Zeus is lulled to sleep by the contrivance
-of Hera, and when he awakens it is to find his whole scheme of
-vengeance on the point of being frustrated.  In great anger he sends a
-peremptory message to Poseidon to withdraw from the battle, and lays
-his commands on Apollo, who brings back Hector, healed and whole, to
-the field, and leads the Trojans once more to the assault of the camp.
-In spite of the desperate valour of Ajax, the Greeks are driven back to
-their ships, and the Trojans bring torches, with the intention of
-burning the whole fleet.
-
-Then at last Achilles, yielding to the earnest entreaty of Patroclus,
-sends him to the aid of the Greeks, equipped in his own armour, and
-leading the whole force of the Myrmidons.  Patroclus easily drives the
-Trojans back from the camp, and slays Sarpedon, one of the bravest
-warriors among the allies of Troy; but he himself falls by Hector's
-hand, and the armour of Achilles passes into the possession of his
-slayer.  A tremendous struggle ensues over the body of Patroclus, which
-is only ended by the appearance of Achilles himself, who comes,
-attended by strange prodigies, to the wall, and, by the mere terror of
-his presence, scares the Trojans from the field, and saves his friend's
-body from outrage.
-
-The rest of the story may be briefly told.  By the intercession of
-Thetis, Hephaestus, the divine smith, makes a splendid suit of armour
-for Achilles, and, after a solemn scene of reconciliation with
-Agamemnon, Achilles leads the Greeks to battle.  The whole torrent of
-his fury is now turned upon the Trojans, and, after a wholesale
-massacre of lesser victims, he meets Hector in single combat, slays
-him, and drags his body behind his chariot to the camp.  The funeral
-obsequies of Patroclus are celebrated with great pomp, and then
-Achilles, who is possessed by a demon of rage and grief, continues for
-a space of twelve days to wreak his vengeance on the lifeless body of
-Hector, which he drags repeatedly behind his car round the tomb of
-Patroclus.  The gods interpose to make an end of this senseless fury,
-and Hector's body, which has been miraculously preserved from harm, is
-restored to Priam, who comes in the night, under the conduct of Hermes,
-and redeems the corpse with a heavy ransom.  With the burial of Hector
-the poem reaches its conclusion.
-
-Such, in the briefest and baldest outline, is the story of the _Iliad_.
-Space does not allow us to discuss the various objections which have
-been raised against some of the details of the narrative, still less to
-enumerate the reconstructions and mutilations to which the great epic
-has been subjected in the dissecting-room of criticism.  Where opinion
-is still so much divided, we may be allowed to state our conviction
-that the _Iliad_, though wanting the structural perfection of the
-_Odyssey_, is one poem, and the work of one master mind.
-
-
-II. THE DIVINE CHARACTERS
-
-The gods in the _Iliad_ play a very active and human part, and indeed
-they may be said in a sense to be more human than the men themselves.
-They are passionate, sensual, vindictive; they have no sense of fair
-play, but are always ready to help their favourites by all means, fair
-or foul.  When Patroclus is to die, he is stripped of his armour and
-beaten half senseless by Apollo, and delivered over in this helpless
-state to Euphorbus and Hector; and Hector, in his turn, is cheated and
-beguiled to his death by Athene.  In the chariot race which is
-described in the twenty-third book Athene wrecks the car of Eumelus to
-secure the victory for Diomede; and the same goddess interferes in the
-foot race on behalf of Odysseus, whom she loves like a mother.  We have
-already remarked, in the Introduction to the _Odyssey_, that the only
-humorous scenes in the _Iliad_ are those in which the gods play the
-chief or sole part.  And, in fact, the want of dignity and decorum
-which we find in these mighty beings is simply astonishing.  The battle
-of the gods, which is introduced with such pomp and parade, ends in the
-broadest farce.  In the fifth book, Ares roars and bellows like a beast
-when he is wounded by the spear of Diomede, and Aphrodite, whose hand
-has been scratched, goes whimpering and whining to her mother for
-comfort.  Only in a few passages do we find a great and worthy
-conception of the divine nature--as in the famous lines in the first
-book, when Zeus nods his immortal head confirming his oath to Thetis,
-and in the sublime description of Poseidon at the beginning of the
-thirteenth book.
-
-At the head of the Olympian hierarchy stands Zeus the lord of the sky,
-who divides with his brothers, Hades and Poseidon, the empire of the
-universe.  He is the highest in power and authority, and with him rests
-the final decision in all the disputes of Olympus.  But this genial and
-patriarchal deity is not without his troubles: he rules over a
-disorderly household, and his purposes are constantly thwarted by the
-lesser powers who reign under him.  In his heart of hearts he favours
-Priam and the Trojans, but he is a fond and indulgent father and
-husband, and Hera, his wife, and Athene, his daughter, cherish an
-implacable hatred against Troy and all things Trojan.  The reason for
-this bitter animosity does not appear: for the judgment of Paris, which
-is the cause assigned by later legends, is only mentioned in one
-passage, of doubtful authenticity.  Hera is described as a lady of
-shrewish and vixenish temper; she will never be satisfied, says Zeus,
-until she has gone down into Troy and eaten Priam and all his people
-raw!  Her human counterpart is Hecuba, who would like, she says, to
-tear out the heart of Achilles, and devour it.  On the side of the
-Trojans are Apollo, Artemis, Hephaestus, the river-god Scamander, and
-Leto.
-
-Such are the gods of Homer, and such the national divinities of Greece.
-For the poems of Homer and Hesiod, as Herodotus informs us, are the
-chief sources of the popular theology.  Small wonder, then, that the
-more earnest minds of a later age were much occupied by the endeavour
-to raise and purify the accepted mythology, or that Plato excludes
-Homer, "the great magician," from his scheme of reformed education.
-
-
-III. THE HUMAN CHARACTERS
-
-Of Achilles and Odysseus we have already spoken at some length, so that
-we have only to notice briefly the other chief characters.  At the head
-of the Greek army stands Agamemnon, whose authority rests on his
-personal prowess, his vast wealth, and the extent of his dominions.  In
-the absence of Achilles he shares with Ajax and Diomede the highest
-place among the warriors of Greece.  A certain strain of weakness runs
-through his character.  He is jealous of his authority, and somewhat
-covetous, and at moments of crisis and peril he is always foremost in
-the counsels of despair.  Next to him in rank comes Menelaus, his
-brother, an amiable but somewhat feeble prince, to whom the poet shows
-a certain playful tenderness, such as is felt by chivalrous natures
-towards a woman or a child.
-
-The most knightly figure on the Greek side is the young Diomede, whose
-wonderful exploits fill so large a space in the earlier part of the
-poem.  His gallant and buoyant spirit shines brightest when the
-fortunes of the Greeks are at their lowest ebb; and the beautiful
-episode of his meeting with Glaucus on the battlefield is a rare
-exception to the savage ferocity of Homeric warfare.
-
-After Achilles, the mightiest champion of Greece is the great
-Telamonian Ajax.  He is a giant in stature and strength, and is the
-chief bulwark of the Greeks against the impetuous valour of Hector.  In
-character, he is modest and unassuming; he lacks the brilliant
-qualities of Achilles, though equal to him in sheer physical force.  He
-is the type of the rugged soldier, such as we find among the Spartans
-of a later date, loyal to his prince, a faithful comrade, ever at the
-post of danger, ever prompt to help where the need is sorest.  His
-plain, frank nature views with contempt the fantastic pride of
-Achilles, whose frightful egoism, and indifference to the sufferings of
-his countrymen, revolt and disgust him.
-
-[Illustration: The Leaders of the Greeks (Christian G. Heyne)]
-
-This list may fitly be closed with the name of Nestor, "the
-clear-voiced orator, from whose lips flowed eloquence sweeter than
-honey."  As becomes his age, he assumes the office of peacemaker
-between Agamemnon and Achilles; in spite of his eighty years, he still
-takes the field and fights in the van, though his arm is now of less
-value than his head.  With regard to his eloquence, it can hardly be
-said, judging by the specimen preserved, that he is quite worthy of his
-reputation.  He is, in fact, garrulous, rambling, and tedious--though
-in these qualities he is even surpassed by the aged Ph[oe]nix, who has
-played the part of male nurse to Achilles, and excels in a style of
-oratory dear to the professional guardians of childhood.
-
-The great champion of the Trojans is Hector, the son of Priam and
-Hecuba.  His character is, in every respect, a contrast to that of
-Achilles.  With him the claims of king and country ever come first,
-though he is not indifferent to personal distinction.  He falls very
-far short of the ideal knight--without fear and without reproach.  In
-these qualities he seems to be eclipsed by Glaucus and Sarpedon, the
-princes of Lycia, whose beautiful friendship finds its most illustrious
-record in the immortal lines of the twelfth book,[2] the finest
-exposition in the world of the principle involved in the words
-_noblesse oblige_.  Hector, on the other hand, is full of weakness: at
-one time he is faint-hearted, and has to be recalled to the duties of
-his great position by the reproaches of those who serve under him; at
-another time he is overbold, and his rashness brings upon the Trojans
-overwhelming disaster.  Yet with all this, his character is full of
-interest.  In his greater moments he rises to sublime heights of
-heroism.  He does not shrink from the consequences of his actions, but
-goes to certain death with the spirit of a patriot and martyr.  He is
-the mirror of knightly courtesy, kind and gentle even to the guilty and
-the fallen; and his last meeting with Andromache is hardly to be
-matched for beauty and pathos in all literature.
-
-
-[2] See p. 107.
-
-
-A bare mention must suffice for Priam, the white-haired King, and the
-most tragic figure in the poem; Paris, the curled darling of Aphrodite,
-a mere beautiful animal, without soul or conscience, and the lovely
-passion-stricken Helen, whose strange story seems to have a closer
-affinity with mediaeval romance than with classical antiquity.
-
-
-IV. THE SIMILES
-
-One word must be added on the frequent comparisons, or similes, which
-form one of the most characteristic features of the poem.  At least
-half the _Iliad_ is occupied with descriptions of battle, and Homeric
-warfare is exceedingly simple and uniform, consisting almost entirely
-of single combats between individual chieftains, or wholesale slaughter
-wrought by some puissant arm on the promiscuous herd of soldiers.  To
-render so unpromising a theme interesting and attractive must have
-taxed the skill and invention of the poet to their utmost limit; and
-his principal resources for attaining this end is in the lavish use of
-the simile.  In those parts of the poem where much is to be told in
-little space this ornament occurs rarely, or not at all.  In the first
-book, which is crowded with incidents, not a single simile is used.
-But where the action is to be delayed or elaborated, and especially in
-the battle pieces, the similes are flung broadcast, shining like stars
-among the racing clouds of a stormy sky.  Every corner of nature, and
-every province of human life, are ransacked to furnish illustrations of
-the eternal drama of "battle, and murder, and sudden death."  In a
-moment we are rapt by the magic of the poet from the steam and squalor
-of slaughter to some busy scene of human industry, or some living
-picture, grand, lovely, or terrible, drawn from the great panorama of
-nature.  Nothing is too great, nothing too little, to furnish material
-for this splendid treasury of poetry.  It would be easy to discourse
-for pages on this fascinating subject; but we must content ourselves
-with the above brief hint, and will conclude our remarks by declaring
-our full agreement with those who regard the similes in the _Iliad_ as
-the chief glory and beauty in the first and greatest of epic poems.
-
-
-
-
-STORIES FROM THE ILIAD
-
-
-
-
-The Quarrel
-
-I
-
-The scene of our story is laid in the north-western corner of Asia
-Minor, where the blue waters of the Hellespont mingle with the waves of
-the AEgaean.  The whole coast is lined with a multitude of war galleys,
-drawn up, row behind row, for a space of several miles; and behind them
-are thousands and thousands of wooden huts, affording shelter to a
-whole nation of warriors, with their slaves and followers.  For nine
-years the Greeks have lain here encamped, striving in vain to sack the
-ancient city of Troy, whose towers and battlements, some five miles
-distant, can be seen from the elevated parts of the camp.  The whole
-surrounding country has been laid waste, and town after town has been
-visited by all the horrors of war; but the walls of Troy still stand
-firm against all assault, and the end seems as far off as ever.
-
-The chiefs are assembled in council, and in their midst sits Agamemnon,
-the mightiest prince in Greece, whose nod a hundred thousand warriors
-obey.  Suddenly, a voice is heard on the outskirts of the crowd which
-surrounds the circle of elders, and an aged man, clad in the long
-flowing robes of a priest, is led into the royal presence.  In his hand
-he carries a rod, adorned with studs of gold, and wreathed with olive
-leaves.  "A boon, great king, a boon!" he cries, lifting the rod on
-high.  "Speak," answers Agamemnon.  "What wouldst thou have of me?"
-"Give me back my child, my daughter Chryseis," answers the priest.
-"Thou hast sacked my city, thou hast burnt my home; restore unto me my
-child, and leave me not altogether desolate in mine old age."
-
-Dark was the brow of Agamemnon when he heard these words, and short and
-stern was his answer.  "Let me not find thee," he said, "lingering here
-in the camp, and come not hither again on such an errand.  Thy daughter
-thou shall not see again; she is mine, the captive of my bow and of my
-spear, and shall be my slave until the day of her death."  In vain the
-old man urged him with entreaty, and offered a rich ransom to redeem
-his child from bondage.  "Talk not to me of ransom," answered
-Agamemnon: "not all the gold of thy temple shall purchase liberty for
-the maiden, for she hath found favour in my sight.  Get thee gone at
-once, and provoke me no further."
-
-Then the priest, whose name was Chryses, feared for his own life, and
-fled from the angry face of the King.  Down to the margin of the sea he
-went, and gazing with tear-dimmed eyes over the heaving waters, thus he
-prayed to Apollo, his protector and lord: "Hear me, god of the silver
-bow, whose altar steams day and night with offerings from the choicest
-of the flock.  Remember my faithful service, and let thine arrows
-avenge my tears on the Greeks."
-
-So he prayed, and Apollo heard him, and down from the peaks of Olympus
-he sped.  In his hand he bare his mighty bow, and the arrows in his
-quiver made an angry rattling as he swooped down on the Grecian camp,
-swift and sudden as the southern night.  He took his stand on a hill,
-and loosed an arrow from the string; and dire was the twang of the
-silver bow.  First, he sent his shafts among the dogs and mules; then
-he changed his aim, and rained destruction among the men; and the whole
-place was filled with the smoke of funeral pyres.
-
-For nine days the deadly shower fell without ceasing; but on the tenth,
-Achilles summoned a general gathering of the host, to inquire into the
-causes of the calamity which had fallen on his countrymen.  The chiefs
-met in full conclave, and about them were gathered the meaner sort in
-their tens of thousands.  When the clamorous cries of the multitude
-were stilled, Achilles rose in his place, and addressing himself
-directly to Agamemnon said: "Son of Atreus, how long wilt thou suffer
-thy people to perish?  Is it not enough that our blood is poured forth
-every day in battle with thy foes, but must pestilence also make havoc
-among our ranks?  This is Apollo's work, and it is time to ask some
-priest or soothsayer how we have offended the god, that we may appease
-his anger with the fat of goats and lambs, and save ourselves from
-further harm."
-
-Among the elders sat Calchas, the chief seer of the Greeks; who knew
-all things--what was, and had been, and was to come--and was the chosen
-leader of the army in matters of religion.  Seeing all eyes turned upon
-him he stood up and answered the challenge of Achilles, though with
-manifest reluctance and constraint.
-
-"Illustrious chieftain," he said, "thou hast asked the cause of
-Apollo's anger, and I know that thou lookest to me for an answer.  But
-swear unto me first that thou wilt defend me in word and in deed; for I
-fear that, by revealing the counsels of the god whom I serve, I shall
-offend one who is the greatest and mightiest among us."
-
-"Tell us what thou knowest, and fear nothing," answered Achilles;
-"while I live no one shall lift his hand against thee, no, not
-Agamemnon himself."
-
-Thus encouraged, Calchas spoke out, and declared that the only means of
-staying the pestilence was by sending back Chryseis to her father,
-without price or ransom, and offering a costly sacrifice of atonement
-to Apollo in his temple at Chrysa.  It was not without reason that the
-prudent seer had appealed to Achilles for protection; for no sooner had
-his words been uttered than Agamemnon sprang from his seat, with fury
-in his looks, and overwhelmed the prophet with a torrent of reproaches.
-"Ill fare thy prophecies, thou prophet of ill!" he cried.  "Not one
-good word have I ever heard from thy lips; but this is the worst that
-ever thou hast spoken.  Hard and bitter is the charge which thou hast
-laid upon me, bidding me restore this maiden, fairer and dearer to me
-than Clytaemnestra, my wedded wife.  Nevertheless I will send her back,
-if I cannot save my people otherwise; but look ye to it, princes and
-councillors of Greece, that I find fit recompense for my loss; for she
-was a choice prize of war, set apart for me as a gift of privilege and
-honour."
-
-"And thinkest thou," said Achilles, roused at once to opposition by
-this unwarrantable claim, "that it befits thine honour as a king to be
-covetous of thy people's goods?  Be generous; let thy prize go, and
-when next we divide the spoil of a captured town we will repay thee
-threefold and fourfold for thy loss."
-
-"Payment I will have, and that right speedily," answered Agamemnon,
-with darkening brow.  "See that ye find means to fill the place of this
-maiden, or one of you shall yield up his prize to me, whether it be
-Ajax, or Odysseus, or thou Achilles, who art so bold of speech, that
-thou mayest learn that I am king indeed.  But concerning this we can
-speak again hereafter; our present task is to restore Chryseis to her
-father, and appease the god with sacrifice."
-
-Agamemnon thought perhaps by his last words to avert the anger of the
-fiery young prince, whose eyes flashed fire when he heard the King's
-threat.  But if such was his purpose it failed altogether.  No sooner
-had he ended than the full tempest of Achilles' wrath fell upon his
-head.  "Thou soul of avarice!" he cried, "clad in shamelessness as with
-a garment, was it for thee that we crossed all those weary leagues of
-water to make war on the men of Troy?  I have no quarrel with the
-Trojans; they have not lifted my cattle, or driven off my horses, for
-my home is far beyond their reach, divided from Asia by shadowy
-mountains and sounding seas.  For thee, thou dog, and for thy brother
-have I toiled, and in the division of the spoil 'tis but little that I
-win as the price of my sweat and my blood; and thou seekest to rob me
-of that little, to add to thine own monstrous hoard.  I will go back
-forthwith to my native land of Phthia, for I have no mind to abide here
-in dishonour and heap up treasure for thee."
-
-"Go when thou wilt," answered Agamemnon, in scornful tones.  "Heaven
-forbid that I should hinder thee!  Most hateful to me art thou of all
-the chivalry of Greece, for thou hast a heart full of hatred and
-malice.  Go and lord it over thine own tribe; I am the master here, and
-as sure as I am a crowned and anointed king I will take thy prize, even
-the maiden Briseis, and lead her to my tent, that thou mayest learn to
-curb thy saucy tongue in the presence of thy lord."
-
-Thus publicly insulted and defied, Achilles sat speechless with rage,
-fighting against the passion which shook his mighty frame.  At last it
-seemed that he had resolved to let his fury have full scope; slowly he
-drew his sword from its scabbard, his mouth was opened for the battle
-cry, and in another moment the haughty King would have lain weltering
-in his blood; but in the very act of springing on his foe he felt
-himself restrained from behind, and turning to confront this new
-assailant he stood face to face with the goddess Athene.  Unseen and
-unheard by the rest, the grey-eyed goddess spoke, bidding him to desist
-from his murderous purpose.  "Put up thy sword," she said; "speak
-daggers to him, if thou wilt, but use none.  Thine honour is safe in
-the hands of Zeus, and the day of reckoning shall come, when that proud
-head shall be humbled to the very dust before thee."
-
-To those who were looking on it seemed that Achilles had fallen into a
-sudden trance of thought, from which he started abruptly, and,
-thrusting back his sword into its sheath, resumed the war of words with
-Agamemnon.  "Thou drunkard," he cried, "with eye of dog and heart of
-deer, foremost in the revel and last in the fray!  Thou of the itching
-palm, who lovest the chink of stolen gold, but turnest pale at the
-clash of steel!  False shepherd, that devourest thy flock!  Cowardly
-master of cowardly sheep!  Now by this sceptre I swear, by this symbol
-of justice which the elders hold in their hands when they give judgment
-before the people, the day is not far distant when all this host shall
-be filled with longing for me, to save them from Hector's destroying
-arm, when their bravest and their strongest are falling beneath his
-spear.  Then shalt thou learn thy folly too late, and drink to the
-dregs the bitter cup which thou hast filled for me."
-
-With that he flung the sceptre at Agamemnon's feet, and sat down again
-in his place.  Then arose Nestor, the clear-voiced orator of Pylos,
-from whose lips flowed eloquence sweeter than honey.  Two generations
-of men had lived and died since his birth, and he still dwelt in kingly
-honour among the third.  And thus he spake, striving to make peace
-between the two angry chieftains: "Alas! what sorrow has come upon the
-sons of Greece!--sorrow to us, but joy unto Priam and the sons of
-Priam, when they hear of the feud which hath arisen between ye twain.
-Be guided by me; I am older than ye, and before ye were born I moved as
-an equal among heroes mightier than ye, and was second to none in
-council and in fight.  Hearken therefore to me, even as they did.  Seek
-not, Agamemnon, to take from Achilles his prize of honour; and thou,
-Achilles, provoke not the King to anger by thy bitter words, for as
-thou art our bulwark in war, so he sits higher than thou in sceptred
-majesty."
-
-"Thou sayest well," answered Agamemnon, "but this man's insolence is
-not to be borne.  Because he is a stout spearman he thinks that he can
-lord it over us all.  But there are some here who will not brook his
-tyranny."
-
-"There is one here," retorted Achilles, "who refuses to be thy slave.
-But enough of this--I will waste no more words on thee.  Come and take
-away my prize, if those who stand here suffer thee to do this wrong;
-but touch not aught else of my possessions, or thy blood shall pay the
-price."
-
-With these words the stormy debate, so fruitful in disaster to the
-Greeks, came to an end.
-
-
-II
-
-Agamemnon's first task, when he returned to his tent, was to send back
-Chryseis, under the charge of Odysseus, to her father.  This done, he
-at once took steps to secure possession of Briseis, the captive maiden
-who had been bestowed on Achilles as his prize of honour.  Talthybius
-and Eurybates, the royal heralds, were sent to the quarters of Achilles
-to demand the surrender of Briseis.  "And if he will not give her up to
-you," added the King, "I will come myself and take her by force."  So
-they went with slow and reluctant steps on their thankless errand; and
-they found Achilles sitting alone by his ship, where it was drawn up on
-the beach.  Awestruck and silent they stood in the presence of that
-great chief, unable to utter a sound; but he knew full well why they
-had come, and greeted them with courtesy and kindness.  "Draw near," he
-said, "and fear nothing from me.  I respect your office, and impute not
-to you your master's guilt.  Patroclus my comrade shall deliver unto
-you the maiden, and be ye my witnesses in this matter, when it is asked
-why I threw down my sword and refused to fight any longer in
-Agamemnon's cause."
-
-So saying he summoned Patroclus, and bade him bring forth Briseis from
-the tent; and Patroclus went, and presently returned, leading the
-weeping maiden by the hand, and gave her in charge of the heralds.
-When they were gone, Achilles wandered away by the margin of the sea,
-nursing his wounded spirit, and full of angry and bitter thoughts.
-Presently he came to a stand, and, stretching out his hands towards the
-sea, cried like a child in pain to Thetis, his mother: "Short is the
-term of years which Fate has vouchsafed to me, and therefore thou hast
-promised me honour from the hands of Zeus.  But now is mine honour
-turned to infamy, and I am become a very scorn of men, and an outcast
-among the people."  His words were broken by sobs and tears, for he was
-but a boy in years, and was smarting with an agony of wounded pride.
-And his mother heard him where she sat in her crystal cave in the
-depths of the sea; for she was a goddess, and daughter of the sea-god,
-Nereus.  Swiftly she rose, "like an exhalation," to the surface of the
-sea, and came and stood by her young hero's side.  "Why weepest thou,
-my child?" she asked, with a tender caress.  "Tell thy mother all thy
-pain, that she may bear the burden with thee."
-
-"Thou knowest full well," replied Achilles, with a groan; "what boots
-it to repeat to thee the story of my shame?"  Nevertheless he went on
-to pour out all the tale of injury and outrage; for sorrow grows
-lighter in the telling.  "Thou alone," he added, when he had finished
-the recital, "canst heal this deadly hurt to mine honour.  I have often
-heard thee boast of an old service rendered to Zeus, when the other
-Olympians rose up in revolt against him, and he was in sore straits.
-Go, therefore, to Olympus, and remind him of the debt which he owes
-unto thee, and ask him in requital to lend aid to the Trojans, that the
-Greeks may be hurled back in rout upon their ships, and Agamemnon may
-learn what it means to deal despitefully with the best warrior in his
-camp."
-
-"It shall be done as thou sayest," answered Thetis; "Leave everything
-in my hands, and thou shalt have atonement in full measure.  Until
-twelve days are passed I can do nothing, for Zeus has gone on a far
-journey, to partake of a banquet in the land of the Ethiopians.  When
-he returns I will lay thy case before him; and meanwhile sit thou idle
-here, and go not into battle, but leave me to champion thy cause."
-With this promise she left him, and he sat down to digest his anger,
-and wait for the day of redress.
-
-
-III
-
-On the dawn of the twelfth day Thetis rose again from her cavern into
-mid-air, and was borne by the breezes unto Olympus.  She found the lord
-of heaven sitting apart on the topmost peak of the mountain, and
-kneeling before him she preferred her request.  When Zeus heard what
-she desired he fell into a muse, and answered not a word; but Thetis
-remained kneeling at his feet, and, clinging to him with both hands,
-repeated her prayer.  Being urged thus with importunity, at last the
-sire opened his mouth, and answered in heavy tones: "Thou wilt put
-enmity between me and Hera, my wife; already she upbraids me for
-showing favour to the Trojans, and thou askest me to take sides openly
-with them against the Greeks.  But go to, what care I for the wrath of
-Hera?  Nevertheless, get thee gone speedily, lest she find us together.
-Howbeit, thou shalt have thy wish; behold, I swear it, and confirm it
-with my nod, and whatsoever I have thus confirmed cannot be annulled or
-unfulfilled."
-
-Thereupon the monarch of the sky bowed his immortal head, with all its
-dark and waving locks, and shook the mountain to its base.
-
-Having thus attained her purpose, Thetis departed, and as soon as she
-was gone Zeus joined the assembly of the gods in the high palace of
-Olympus.  All the gods rose from their seats to pay him homage as he
-entered and took his place on the royal throne.  But the sharp eyes of
-Hera had spied out his conference with Thetis, and forthwith she
-assailed her indulgent lord in mocking tones: "What plot hast thou been
-hatching now, thou god of craft?  I know that thou art keeping some
-mischief from me, thy lawful wife."
-
-"Daughter of Cronos," answered Zeus, avoiding her piercing glance,
-"thou canst not expect that I should share all my counsels with thee.
-Whatever it is meet for thee to know thou shall learn; but I have some
-secrets which are not for thy ear."
-
-"Thou must keep thy secrets more carefully," said Hera, with a bitter
-smile, "if thou wouldst deceive me.  Listen, ye gods, while I tell you
-this fine secret!  Zeus has promised Thetis that the Greeks shall
-suffer defeat, to avenge the insult put upon her son."
-
-"And if such be my will, who shall say me nay?" replied Zeus, with a
-stern look.  "I warn thee not to thwart my purpose, or all the gods who
-sit here shall not save thee from chastisement."
-
-Then fear fell upon Hera, and she sat biting her lips, venturing no
-reply.  And all the gods sat silent, glancing anxiously at one another,
-when they heard the angry tones of the Olympian sire.
-
-At last Hephaestus, the lame god of fire, came to his mother's relief.
-Rising from his seat, he took a goblet of nectar from the hands of
-Hebe, who was serving drink to the gods, and went hobbling to the place
-where Hera sat.  "Mother mine," said, he, as he offered her the cup, "I
-counsel thee to give way, and not provoke our father to anger.  Shall
-we, the sons and daughters of heaven, brawl over our cups for the sake
-of miserable mortals?  Let Zeus have his way--for what can we do
-against him?  Hast thou forgotten how he served me when I presumed to
-stand between thee and his ire?--how he caught me by the foot, and
-flung me forth from the open portals of Olympus, as a boy slings a
-stone?  From morn till eve I fell, and at the setting of the sun I
-struck on Lemnos, the AEgaean isle."
-
-Hera smiled at her ungainly son; and when she had drunk of the nectar
-he took the cup, and went limping round the circle of the gods,
-offering them to drink.  And all the immortals laughed loud and long,
-to see the huge, hairy god engaged in the office of the lovely Hebe.
-Then music and song came to crown the banquet, as Apollo led the choir
-of the Muses on his golden harp.
-
-
-
-
-The Dream: The Muster of Greeks
-
-I
-
-Agamemnon lay sleeping in his tent, and in a dream he saw Nestor, the
-son of Neleus, who addressed him in these words: "Sleepest thou, son of
-Atreus?  It is not meet that thou, on whom lies the weight of a mighty
-monarchy, shouldst slumber all night long.  Hearken now to my words: I
-am the bearer of a message from Zeus, who bids thee summon the whole
-host of Greeks, and lead them against Troy.  Her hour is come at last,
-and the gods with one consent have decided that she shall fall."
-
-Agamemnon awoke, and behold it was a dream.  But the words had sunk
-deep into his heart, and he deemed that the vision had spoken truth.
-In that vain belief he arose from his couch, clothed himself in a fair
-linen tunic and a woollen robe, and, taking his sceptre in his hand,
-went to rouse Nestor and tell him his dream.  Then the whole body of
-the chiefs met in council, and the heralds were sent round to proclaim
-a general assembly of the army.  The people came flocking at the
-summons, numberless as bees which hover round the flowers in spring;
-and nine heralds went about among the multitude, marshalling the
-clamorous commons in their places, and commanding silence, that the
-counsel of the King might be heard.
-
-As this was a great occasion, it had been resolved, in the private
-meeting of the elders, to try the temper of the people before
-disclosing to them the real purpose of their leaders.  Accordingly,
-when silence had been obtained, Agamemnon rose up in his place, holding
-in his hand his ancestral sceptre, the symbol of his great office,
-which had descended from father to son since the days of Pelops, the
-founder of the royal house of Argos.  Planting the sceptre firmly
-before him, and leaning upon it, thus spake the King, to prove the
-heart of his people.
-
-"Friends and comrades in war, I have heavy news to tell you.  Zeus
-brought us hither under a solemn promise that in the end we should take
-the sacred city of Priam.  But now he hath revoked his promise, and
-bids us sail back to Greece, for all our toil is vain.  Shame and
-dishonour must be our portion, now and hereafter, when our sons' sons
-shall hear how we, the embattled host of Greece, outnumbering the
-citizens of Troy by ten to one, fought against them for nine long
-years, and then departed, as beaten and broken men.  But such is the
-will of Zeus, and none can gainsay it.  Therefore I bid you hoist sail
-and away, for we are not destined to take the town of Troy."
-
-At these words of the King there arose a wild commotion among his
-hearers, and the vast multitude swayed to and fro like the waves of the
-AEgaean driven this way and that by shifting gusts of wind.  Then, as a
-wide field of corn bends down before the strong breath of the west, the
-whole host turned seaward, and with a mighty shout they rushed downward
-to the shore, and began to launch their ships.
-
-Agamemnon, and those who were in his confidence, were thunderstruck by
-the tremendous effect of his speech, and stood helpless and amazed in
-the midst of this scene of tumult.  The first to recover himself was
-Odysseus, the wisest and the firmest spirit among all the chieftains.
-Flinging off his mantle he went to Agamemnon, and took from his hand
-the royal sceptre.  Armed with this symbol of authority he hurried
-hither and thither among the excited throng, urging each man by threats
-or entreaties to return to the place of assembly, and wait there for
-further instructions from the recognised leaders of the host.
-
-To those of rank and character he spoke courteously, urging them to use
-their influence among their followers, and check the general flight;
-while with the baser sort he used rougher means of persuasion, striking
-them with the sceptre and rebuking them fiercely.  Others among the
-chiefs followed his example, and at length the tumult was stayed, and
-the fickle mob swept back into the camp with a roar like the billows
-breaking on a long line of rocky shore.
-
-[Illustration: Paris.  Vatican, Rome.  Photo Anderson]
-
-At length that vast audience was seated, and waiting attentively to
-hear the counsels of the King.  But one unruly knave remained standing,
-and poured out a torrent of abuse against Agamemnon and the other
-chiefs.  This fellow's name was Thersites, and of all the Greeks who
-came up against Troy he was the foulest, both in aspect and in speech.
-His huge misshapen head, sparsely covered with thin, downy hair, sat
-awry on his stooping shoulders.  He was bandy-legged, and lame of one
-foot.  And he was the sworn enemy of the valiant, the noble, and the
-wise.  This low-born railer now began to shriek out insults in a
-hideous voice against Agamemnon, his sovereign lord.  "Son of Atreus,"
-he bawled, "what lackest thou yet?  Thy tents are full of gold, and
-crowded with slaves, which we have won for thee with our swords and our
-spears.  Lustest thou yet after more gold, the ransom of Trojan
-captives?  Or dost thou want more Trojan dames to be thy handmaids?
-Up, sirs, let us be gone, lest we be called women, and not men, if we
-remain here to heap up riches for this greedy tyrant.  Have we not seen
-him put public dishonour on our bravest warrior, taking from him his
-lawful prize?  Surely Achilles lacks gall to make oppression bitter,
-seeing that he has suffered this bitter wrong to go unavenged.  Were he
-of like mind with me, the ruffian king would not have survived to
-commit further outrages."
-
-A stern voice here broke in upon the seditious harangue, and Thersites
-perceived with alarm that Odysseus was standing by him, staff in hand.
-"Peace, saucy knave!" said the Prince of Ithaca, in threatening tones.
-"How darest thou, the very scum and refuse of the army, to hold such
-language against our exalted leader?  If I find thee uttering thy mad
-folly again, may my head be smitten from my shoulders, and may I never
-more be called the father of Telemachus, if I do not strip thee naked
-and drive thee forth from among the people with blows like this."  And
-suiting the action to the word he laid the heavy staff with no gentle
-hand across the deformed shoulders of Thersites.  The wretch shrank
-beneath the blow with a cry of pain, and the golden staff left its
-print in a crimson weal on his back.  So he sat huddled together, with
-distorted face, wiping away his tears, and spoke not another word.
-
-Having thus silenced that loose tongue, Odysseus mounted a platform,
-whence he could be seen and heard of all the host, and lifting up his
-mighty voice he began to rebuke the people for their weakness and want
-of faith.  "Must I speak to you," he said, "as to homesick women and
-children, or as to veteran warriors bound by an oath to follow their
-great captain for weal or for woe?  Not that I blame you overmuch, for
-indeed your service has been both long and hard.  For nine long years
-we have toiled in vain, and the cordage of our ships is rotten, and
-their timbers are warped.  Nevertheless, endure yet a little while,
-until we have learnt whether the son of Cronos is a true prophet or no.
-Ye cannot have forgotten the day when our ships were assembled at
-Aulis, or the portents vouchsafed us there at a solemn sacrifice to the
-gods.  The altar was raised in the shadow of a goodly plane-tree, near
-a running water; and in the tree was a nest of sparrows, a mother with
-eight young, cheeping and cowering beneath the leaves.  Just as we were
-kindling the altar fire, a great serpent, with blood-red back, darted
-up from the altar into the tree and pounced upon the sparrows' nest.
-The mother-bird fluttered anxiously around, uttering piteous cries to
-see the monster devouring her young; and the serpent, when he had
-swallowed up the nestlings, caught their mother by the wing as she
-hovered near, and swallowed her also.  Then we beheld a wonder: for the
-serpent, when he came down from the tree, was turned into a stone.  And
-while we stood amazed Calchas declared unto us the meaning of that
-omen: "Why stand ye thus amazed, ye warriors of Greece?  That which ye
-have seen is a sign from Zeus, and this is the interpretation thereof:
-the nine birds are the nine years, during which we shall lay siege to
-Troy, and the serpent is the tenth year, in which Troy shall fall!
-Therefore abide steadfast, my comrades, for the nine years are passed,
-and we are nearing the end of our labours."
-
-Odysseus ended, and a great roar of acclamation went up from a hundred
-thousand throats, and rolled like thunder along the hollow shore.  The
-next speaker was Nestor, who addressed Agamemnon, and bade him command
-an immediate muster of the whole army, and lead a general attack upon
-the Trojans.  "Let the people," said he, "be ordered according to their
-several tribes and clans, that thou mayest distinguish the
-faint-hearted from the loyal and valiant.  Thus shall thou learn, if
-disaster befalleth thee, to whom it is due--whether to adverse heaven,
-or to the cowardice and weakness of thine allies."
-
-"Thou speakest ever to the purpose," answered Agamemnon; "and would
-that I had ten such counsellers as thee!  Then would Priam's royal city
-soon bow her head, sunk in the dust beneath our victorious hands.  But
-the son of Cronos hath sown division among us, and put enmity between
-me and my bravest champion.  But to our task: let the people now get
-their morning meal, and then prepare for battle.  Let every man whet
-his spear, and look to the fastenings of his shield; let every steed be
-fed, and every chariot set in order, that we may fight all day till the
-going down of the sun.  There shall be no rest or respite till darkness
-puts an end to the fray.  Many a shield strap shall drip with sweat,
-and many a hand ache with holding the spear, and the steeds shall droop
-with weariness, ere the day be done.  And if I find any man skulking
-among the ships, I will give his flesh to feed the dogs and vultures."
-
-Then the people arose and scattered among their tents, and soon the
-smoke of a thousand fires went eddying up into the still morning air.
-And every warrior lifted up his heart in prayer to heaven, that he
-might return safe and sound from the great perils which lay before him.
-
-Agamemnon slaughtered an ox five years old, and summoned the noblest of
-the chiefs, among whom were Nestor, Idomeneus, the two princes named
-Ajax, Diomede, and Odysseus, to take their meal with him.  In those
-days every meal was a sacrifice, and this was the manner in which it
-was performed: the company stood round the ox, holding in their hands a
-portion of barleymeal.  Then the giver of the feast addressed a prayer
-to Zeus, the meal was sprinkled between the horns of the victim, and
-after that the beast was slaughtered and flayed.  Portions of the meat
-were then cut off from the carcass, wrapped in a double layer of fat,
-and burnt as an offering to the gods.  When all religious rites had
-been duly paid, the choicer parts of the meat were broiled in thin
-slices over the fire, and eaten with wheat or barley bread.  The flesh
-of beeves and swine, or less commonly of sheep and goats, with bread
-and wine, formed almost the sole diet of the Homeric heroes.
-
-When they had finished a copious repast, Nestor, who, despite his
-eighty years, was as keen and alert as the youngest soldier, sprang
-from his seat, and cried: "To arms, comrades, to arms!  Agamemnon, bid
-the heralds summon the host to the field."
-
-The King gave the order required, and forthwith the heralds, who were
-chosen for the power and reach of their voices, went about in the camp,
-and called the people to arms.  Then every captain called his company
-together, and led them to the place appointed for the general array.
-And by degrees a strange fire spread from rank to rank, kindling in
-every breast a fierce longing for battle.  All softer emotions, all
-homesick longings, were forgotten; for a mysterious influence was at
-work, due to the unseen presence of Athene, who was there with her
-wondrous, immortal shield, with its fringe of golden tassels.  None
-beheld her, but all felt her power, and the boldest grew bolder, and
-the weakest were inspired with a valour not their own.
-
-Like a fire blazing among the thickets high up on a mountainside, so
-blazed the sunlight on shield and helmet, as those countless thousands
-poured forth into the plain of Scamander, and the earth shook beneath
-the tramp of steeds and men.  On and still on streamed the tide of
-warriors, unnumbered as the leaves in spring, or as flies that buzz
-round the milkpails on a sunny day, when the goats are milked by a
-hundred hands.
-
-And as the shepherd numbers his sheep, for he knoweth them every one,
-so moved the captains with mastery, each among his own people, and
-marshalled them in their ranks.  Conspicuous among all was seen the
-majestic form of Agamemnon, to whom it seemed that every god had on
-that day bestowed some peculiar grace, to make him the observed of all
-observers, and give the world assurance of a king.
-
-But what tongue can count the myriads brought together by the word of
-power on Scamander's plain, or what memory can hold the names of the
-nations assembled there?  All the chivalry of Greece had obeyed the
-summons of the monarch, sent forth nine years before, and they had come
-flocking in their thousands from the broad plains of Thessaly; from the
-mountain dells of Locris and of Phocis; from the fat fields of
-B[oe]otia; from Attica, with her thin soil and bright, pellucid air;
-from Salamis, the mother of heroes; from storied Argos and renowned
-Sparta; from the western islands, and from Creta, the cradle of gods.
-It would be a weary task to tell over all the heroic titles in that
-muster-roll of fame, but a few must be mentioned, as being the prime in
-valour and in worth.
-
-From Locris came the lesser Ajax, son of Oileus.  He was small of
-stature, but swift of foot, and the most skilful spearsman among all
-the Greeks.  His greater namesake, Ajax, son of Telamon, and cousin to
-Achilles, came from Salamis; he was a giant in stature and in strength,
-and, next to Achilles, the greatest warrior in all the host.
-
-The ancient city of Tiryns in Argos, with its massy walls, built by a
-mighty race in the very dawn of time, sent forth a goodly company in
-eighty ships; and these were commanded by Diomede, son of Tydeus, a
-gallant and youthful prince, whose deeds fill many a page in the tale
-of Troy divine.  And from the neighbouring city of Mycenae, the royal
-seat of the line of Pelops, came Agamemnon himself, at whose imperial
-nod whole nations flew to arms.  His brother, Menelaus, the husband of
-Helen, on whose account the war had arisen, brought sixty ships, manned
-by the warriors of Sparta, of which city he was king.  He was a mild
-and gentle prince, and a zealous leader, though in valour and prowess
-not of the first rank.
-
-Ninety ships formed the contingent led by Nestor, the aged King of
-Pylos, the most venerable figure, and the wisest head, among all those
-who fought in the cause of Helen.
-
-Of those who came from the islands the most famous were Odysseus, King
-of Ithaca, the hero of another famous story, mighty in word and in
-deed, and, after Nestor, the sagest counsellor in the Grecian camp; and
-Idomeneus of Crete, a grey-haired veteran who had proved his valour on
-many a hard-fought field.
-
-Among others singled out for special mention are Nireus, renowned for
-his wonderful beauty, but otherwise a weakling; Philoctetes, now living
-in lonely exile on the island of Lemnos, where he had been left by the
-Greeks on account of a dreadful wound, which rendered his presence in
-the camp unbearable, and Protesilaus, who had been the first to leap on
-to the Trojan shore, and had been struck down by a Trojan in the very
-act.
-
-These two were missing in the grand review of the forces which was now
-held in anticipation of a victorious march upon Troy, and their places
-were supplied by others.  But there was one whose place none could
-fill, and whose absence was soon to make itself felt in dire and deadly
-fashion.  Achilles sat idle in his tent, brooding over the insult which
-he had received two weeks before.  His ponderous spear, which none but
-he could wield, was resting from slaughter, and his squires were
-polishing the armour which he was not to wear that day.  He started
-when he heard the great shout of the Greeks, as the word was given to
-march, and his heart burned with longing for battle; but remembering
-his wrongs, he sank back in his seat, frowning darkly, and muttered the
-single word "Revenge!"
-
-
-
-
-Greeks and Trojans face to face: The Duel
-
-I
-
-Priam was sitting in council with all his elders before the doors of
-his palace, when a messenger rushed breathless up with the tidings that
-the Greeks were marching in full force against the city.  Instantly the
-meeting broke up, and the Trojan leaders, with Hector at their head,
-set out with the whole body of native warriors and their allies to bar
-the way of the invader.
-
-Halting before a solitary mound, the tomb of the Amazon Myrine, within
-sight of the walls of Troy, they drew up their forces in order of
-battle.  The native Trojans, who fought under Hector, son of Priam,
-formed the flower of the army; but in numbers they were far exceeded by
-the troops which had assembled, at the call of Priam, from the adjacent
-provinces and coastlands of western Asia--from Lydia, Mysia,
-Paphlagonia, and far-off Lycia--from Sestos and Abydos and Thrace.
-After Hector, the most famous leaders were AEneas, son of Anchises and
-Aphrodite; Pandarus, unrivalled for his skill in archery; Paris, whose
-crime had brought all these woes on his country, and above all the two
-captains of the Lycians--Sarpedon, the son of Zeus, and Glaucus, the
-most knightly figure among all the heroes of Greece and Troy.
-
-When the various members of that motley host had taken their appointed
-stations, the defenders of Troy advanced with clamour and with tumult,
-like flocks of cranes winging their way to the shores of the ocean
-stream to make war on the Pygmies.  Presently the van of the Greeks
-came in sight, moving on in silence, like men with one mind and one
-heart.
-
-Foremost among the Trojan champions was seen the gay and beautiful
-Paris.  He was clad in a panther's skin, over which hung his bow and
-arrows, and besides these weapons, in the use of which he excelled, he
-was armed with two long spears and a sword.  Menelaus marked him as he
-came on with long strides, and rejoiced in spirit, like a hungry lion
-when he catches sight of his prey; and leaping down from his car he
-advanced with uplifted spear to take vengeance on his treacherous foe.
-But when Paris saw him coming his guilty heart quailed within him, and
-he shrank back among the ranks of his comrades, like one who has
-trodden on a snake while walking in a mountain glen.
-
-"Now curse on thy fair, false face!" cried Hector to his cowardly
-brother, "thou carpet-knight, thou foul deceiver!  Better for thee to
-have died childless and unwed than thus to bring shame on thy father
-and all thy kinsfolk and people.  Thou art a fit foe for women, whom
-thou beguilest with witchcraft of thy wit, and wicked gifts; but all
-thy gifts--thy curling locks, thy smooth, white brow, thy sweet voice,
-and cunning minstrelsy--avail thee naught when thou lookest upon the
-face of a man.  Verily the Trojans are as dastardly as thyself, or long
-ere this thou wouldst have put on a doublet of stone[1] for all the
-ills that thou hast wrought."
-
-
-[1] That is, "Wouldst have been stoned to death."
-
-
-"I have deserved thy rebuke," answered Paris.  "Keen as the blade of an
-axe, which bites deep into the heart of an oak, when wielded by a
-sinewy arm, so is the keenness of thy spirit, and thou knowest not
-fear.  Nevertheless, mock me not for the lovely gifts of Aphrodite, for
-the gifts of heaven are not to be despised.  And if thou desirest me to
-take up this quarrel with Menelaus thou hast thy wish.  I will fight
-against him hand to hand, and he who is victor shall be lord of Helen
-and all her possessions.  So shall the long strife have an end, and
-peace shall dwell again within our borders."
-
-When Hector heard his brother's bold words he was glad, and gave the
-word to make the Trojans sit down in their ranks.  At first the Greeks
-did not understand what was happening, and pressed onward to the attack
-with a shower of stones and arrows; but Agamemnon soon perceived that
-Hector had something to propose, and gave the signal for a general halt.
-
-Then Hector, standing midway between the two armies, made known the
-offer of Paris, and asked for an armistice, that the two champions
-might try the issue between them.  All eyes were now turned on
-Menelaus, who responded boldly to the challenge.  "I am well content,"
-said he, "that this quarrel should be decided by the hands of us twain;
-for it grieves my heart that so many should suffer for the sake of my
-private wrong.  Let two lambs be brought--a white ram as an offering to
-the sun, and a black ram as an offering to the earth; and go some of
-you to fetch Priam, that he may preside at the treaty.  His sons we may
-not trust, for they are hot-blooded and faithless; but an old man's
-head is cool, and his eye looks before and after."
-
-Right pleased were both Greeks and Trojans when the order was sent
-round to dismount from their cars and pile their arms; for they thought
-that the end of their bitter feud was near.  Two heralds were
-despatched to bring down Priam from the city, and Agamemnon sent
-another for a victim to be sacrificed on behalf of the Greeks.
-
-
-II
-
-Helen was sitting in her chamber, weaving a fair tapestry, on which
-were wrought the famous deeds done in her cause by Greek and Trojan
-heroes, when her task was interrupted by the sudden entrance of her
-kinswoman, Laodice, a daughter of Priam.  "Make haste, dear sister,"
-said the lady, "come with me, and see the wonderful thing which has
-been brought to pass.  Greeks and Trojans are sitting down in amity
-together, and Paris and Menelaus are to fight with long spears for the
-mastery; and he that prevaileth shall call thee his wife."
-
-When she heard that, a great longing came into the heart of Helen for
-her Spartan home and her former lord.  With one tearful glance at the
-speaker she rose from her seat, veiled her face, and made her way to
-the high tower above the gate where Priam was sitting with the elders
-of Troy.  The shrill, piping voices[2] of the old men struck upon her
-ears as she stepped out upon the turret; and when they saw her they put
-their heads together, and whispered their admiration of her wondrous
-loveliness.  "How fair, how very fair she is!" murmured one
-white-bearded veteran.  "Is she not worthy to be the arbitress of life
-and death to a whole generation of heroes!  Nevertheless let her
-depart, and breed no further mischief to us and our children."
-
-
-[2] Compared by Homer to grasshoppers.
-
-
-Then Priam called to her, and beckoned her with a courteous gesture to
-take her place by his side.  "Come hither, dear daughter," he said,
-"where thou canst see thy former husband, and thy kinsfolk and friends.
-I blame thee not at all because of this war which the gods have brought
-upon me in mine old age.  Now tell me," he continued, pointing with his
-finger towards the Greek army, which lay in full view upon the plain,
-"who is that stately man to whom all the other chieftains seem to pay
-homage?  Ne'er saw I one of so kingly a mien."
-
-"I dread thy presence, father," answered Helen, glancing in the
-direction indicated, and then casting down her eyes.  "I tremble before
-thee, kind as thou art, for I feel all the wrong which I have done unto
-thee and thine.  And as touching him of whom thou askest, that is
-Agamemnon, son of Atreus, lord of a wide empire, a righteous king, and
-a valiant warrior.  Once I called him brother," she added, with a sigh.
-
-"'Tis then as I thought," rejoined Priam, "for there is sovereignty in
-his look.  And who is he who stands next to Agamemnon, in stature less
-than he, but broader of shoulder and deeper of chest?  Methinks he is
-like a stately ram, who stalks majestic before the flock as they go to
-pasture."
-
-"That is Odysseus, son of Laertes," answered Helen, "bred in the rugged
-isle of Ithaca.  All Greece cannot show his equal in wisdom and
-eloquence."
-
-"Lady," said Antenor, an elder of high rank.  "herein thou hast spoken
-the very truth.  I entertained him of whom thou speakest as my guest
-when he came hither on an embassy with Menelaus, and I heard them both
-speaking before the assembly of the Trojans.  When they stood up
-together Menelaus was by far the taller; but when they were seated
-there was greater dignity in Odysseus.  Then as to eloquence, Odysseus
-bore away the palm from all--though Menelaus spoke both fluently and to
-the purpose.  At first, when Odysseus rose to speak, we wondered to see
-how ungracefully he stood, leaning heavily on his sceptre, with eyes
-fixed upon the ground.  He seemed a very churl, unskilled in all
-courtesy and the arts of civil life.  But when he lifted up his mighty
-voice, and his words floated about us like the snowflakes of winter, we
-knew that we were listening to a divinely gifted man."
-
-At Priam's request Helen named the other chieftains of the Greeks, Ajax
-and Idomeneus, and the rest; and when the recital was ended she
-remained gazing wistfully at the dense masses of fighting men who sat
-waiting on the plain.  "I cannot see them," she murmured sadly: "they
-are not there."  "Of whom speakest thou?" asked Priam.  "Of Castor and
-Polydeuces," she answered, "the bold rider, and the stout boxer, my own
-brothers, born of the same mother with me.  Perchance they sailed not
-in the fleet to Troy, or perchance they have remained behind in the
-camp, in sorrow for their sister's shame."
-
-[Illustration: Helen on the Walls of Troy.  Lord Leighton.  By
-permission of Henry Graves & Co., Ltd.]
-
-Ah!  Helen, thy brothers are lying where shame and sorrow can reach
-them no more, sleeping in their quiet graves, in Lacedaemon, their
-native land.
-
-
-III
-
-While Priam was still conversing with Helen, a herald entered with the
-startling news that his presence was required in the field, to settle
-the conditions of the single combat between Paris and Menelaus.  Some
-natural pangs he felt, when he heard of the danger which threatened his
-son.  Nevertheless he set out at once, taking with him the victims
-required for the sacrifice.  When he came to the open space between the
-two armies he found all things ready for the solemn rite.  The chiefs
-stood waiting in a circle, and in their midst was Agamemnon, who acted
-as priest.  The heralds mingled two portions of pure[3] wine in a bowl,
-and poured water over the hands of the chieftains.  Then Agamemnon drew
-a sharp knife, which hung at his girdle by his ponderous sword, and
-cutting off a few hairs from the foreheads of the victims gave them to
-the heralds to distribute among the princes.  When this was done,
-amidst a general hush he uttered this solemn prayer: "Father Zeus, Lord
-of Ida, most glorious, most mighty, ye rivers, and thou earth, and ye
-dread powers beneath, who take vengeance after death on all those who
-swear a false oath, be ye all the witnesses and guardians of our
-treaty.  If Paris slays Menelaus he shall keep Helen for his wife, with
-all her goods; but should Paris fall Helen shall go back to Menelaus,
-her lawful lord.  Let the war be decided by the issue of this combat,
-and Heaven defend the right!"  Therewith he cut the throats of the
-victims, and laid their quivering bodies on the ground.  Then the
-drink-offering was poured, with this awful imprecation on those who
-should break the treaty: "If any man violate our sworn oath, may his
-brains be poured out, even as this wine, and may his wife and children
-be sold into bondage."
-
-
-[3] In sacrifices pure wine was used; wine for drinking was always
-mixed with water.
-
-
-Priam now took his departure from the field, for he could not bear to
-see his son in deadly combat with Menelaus.  When he was gone, Hector
-and Odysseus measured out the ground for the duel, and shook the lots
-in a helmet, to see who should be the first to cast his spear; and the
-lot fell on Paris.  Meanwhile Paris was putting on his armour; for he
-had come lightly equipped as an archer into the field.
-
-The two rivals took their stand on either side, clad in their brazen
-harness, and armed with sword and spear.  And first Paris cast his
-spear, which struck upon the shield of Menelaus, and did him no harm.
-Then Menelaus lifted up his spear, and murmured a prayer to Zeus:
-"Grant me, O King, to take vengeance on him who brought dishonour on my
-home, where he dwelt as my honoured guest."  As he spoke, he flung his
-good ashen spear, which clove its way through the shield of Paris, and
-tore his tunic close to his side; but Paris swerved aside and escaped a
-wound.  Before he could recover himself Menelaus was upon him, sword in
-hand, and struck him with all his force upon the helmet; but once more
-fortune favoured the Trojan, for the blade was shivered on the ridge of
-the helmet, and Menelaus grasped a useless hilt.  "Curse on thee,
-treacherous steel!" cried he, and, seizing Paris by the helmet, began
-to drag him towards the ranks of the Greeks.  This time he would have
-succeeded, and taken his enemy captive, had not the strap which held
-the helmet given way under the strain, so that the brazen headpiece
-came away empty in his hand.
-
-Menelaus flung the helmet towards his friends, and picking up his spear
-turned again upon his cowardly foe, with purpose to slay him.  But
-Paris was nowhere to be seen: an invisible hand had caught him up, and
-carried him away from the righteous hand of the avenger.  For
-Aphrodite, the soft goddess of love, had been hovering near to protect
-her favourite.  She it was who had caused the helmet strap to break,
-and now she saved him a second time, and bore him swiftly to his house
-in Troy.  There he was presently visited by the lovely Helen, who,
-though she scorned him in her heart, was drawn thither by a fatal spell
-which she could not resist; and in the sunshine of her smiles he soon
-forgot dishonour and defeat.
-
-All this time Menelaus was raging about the field, like a tiger robbed
-of his prey, and calling upon the Trojans to surrender the recreant to
-his vengeance; and they would gladly have done so, if they had known
-where to find him, for they hated him worse than death.  And Agamemnon,
-amid general applause, demanded the surrender of Helen, according to
-the terms of the treaty.
-
-
-
-
-The Breaking of the Truce
-
-I
-
-The gods were met in full assembly in their golden palace, pledging one
-another in full cups of nectar, and looking down upon the great drama
-which was being enacted on the plains of Troy.  Then Zeus began to
-speak, casting a sly glance at his fair consort, Hera: "Menelaus has
-two stout backers among the gods, Hera, Queen of Argos, and Athene,
-strong to defend.  But they seem to have renounced his cause, for they
-have suffered Aphrodite to steal away Paris when death stared him in
-the face.  'Tis well, then, Menelaus has the victory, and naught
-remains but to give back Helen, and put an end to the war."
-
-At this most unwelcome proposal Athene frowned angrily at her father,
-but said nothing; Hera, however, could not contain her wrath, and
-raised her voice in indignant protest: "Out upon thee, son of Cronos,
-what a word hast thou spoken!  Is this to be the end of all my toil and
-my sweat, when I travelled without ceasing, until my steeds were
-well-nigh foundered, to gather this host against Troy?  Do as thou
-wilt; but know this, that, if thou doest this thing, not one of us
-shall praise thee, no, not one."
-
-"What strange passion possesses thee?" answered Zeus, in tones of
-displeasure, "Why harbourest thou this deadly rancour against Priam and
-the sons of Priam?  Methinks thou couldst find it in thy heart to go
-down into the city, and feast on the raw flesh of the men of Troy,
-until thou hadst devoured them all.  Howbeit, let there be peace among
-us; I give thee leave to work thy will upon this king and his people;
-only remember that I have yielded to thee in this, and when I am minded
-to destroy some city which is dear to thee stand not thou in my way.
-For I love the towers of holy Ilios, and they that dwell therein, for
-they have paid me faithful worship, with meat-offering and with
-drink-offering, with reverence and with prayer."
-
-"Take Argos," replied the impetuous Hera.  "Take Sparta or Mycenae, the
-three choicest jewels in my crown; burn, waste, and destroy them, if
-such be thy pleasure.  Only grant me this boon, and let me wreak my
-fury upon Troy.  If thou consentest to this, lay thy command upon thy
-daughter, Athene, that she may go down among the Greeks and Trojans,
-and make an end of this detested truce."
-
-Zeus nodded in token of approval, and Athene, who was only waiting for
-the signal, shot down from Olympus like a falling star, and alighted in
-the space between the two armies.  Arrived there, she put on the form
-of Laodocus, a noble Trojan youth, and went in search of Pandarus, a
-famous bowman, and a favourite of the archer-god Apollo.  And when she
-had found him, she spake unto him in this wise: "Bold son of Lycaon,
-art thou man enough to do a great deed, and win praise and reward from
-all the Trojans, but especially from Paris?  If thou art, take thine
-arrows and thy bow, and aim a shaft at Menelaus, having first vowed a
-vow to Apollo that when thou returnest to thy home among the rich
-pastures of Ida, thou wilt offer him a sacrifice of lambs, the
-firstlings of the flock."
-
-So spake Athene, tempting him; and he hearkened unto her in his folly,
-and began to take the cover from his bow.  It was a powerful weapon,
-formed from the horns of a great ibex, which he himself had brought
-down by a skilful shot long ago.  The horns, each sixteen palms in
-length, were set firmly in a solid bridge, and tipped at each end with
-gold.  Resting the lower end of the bow against his foot, he leaned
-upon it, and strung it, and laying it down took off the lid of his
-quiver, and selected an arrow.  Then he took up the bow again, and set
-the arrow on the string.  His companions, who had been covering him
-with their shields while he was making his preparations, now stepped
-aside, and he, having made his vow to Apollo, lifted up his bow, drew
-the arrow to his ear, and shot.  The bow twanged loud and clear, and
-the arrow leapt hissing towards the Grecian ranks.
-
-Then ill had it fared with thee, Menelaus, had not Athene been standing
-at thy side, to guard thee from fatal hurt.  And as a mother brushes a
-fly from the face of her babe, lying in sweet slumber on her lap, so
-Athene suffered not the arrow to reach any vital part, but guided it to
-the place where the plates of his corslet met at his side.  Through the
-girdle pierced the shaft, through the brazen corslet, and through the
-taslet which covered his loins; the point just grazed the surface of
-his flesh, and the red blood began to flow, staining his thighs, and
-trickling down to his ankles.
-
-When Agamemnon saw his brother wounded and bleeding, he ran to his
-side, and taking him by the hand began to deplore the evil issue of
-their treaty.  "Must thy life pay the forfeit for the perjured men of
-Troy, who have trampled our covenant underfoot?  I know indeed that
-vengeance will overtake them in the end from the hands of Zeus, whose
-name they have taken in vain; yea, well I know that the day shall come
-when holy Ilios shall fall, involved with all her people in one common
-doom.  But what will that avail, if I lose thee, my brother?  My army
-will desert me, for they cannot fight without a cause, and thou art the
-cause which brought them hither.  Troy's doom will be wrought by other
-hands, and I shall go back to Argos, a beaten man, leaving thy bones to
-rot in a foreign grave."
-
-"Speak not so loud," said Menelaus, when Agamemnon paused at last;
-"thou wilt cause a panic in the army.  There is no ground for alarm;
-the wound is not deep.  Send for Machaon, the skilled leech, that he
-may draw out the arrow, and stanch the flow of blood."
-
-Then Agamemnon was comforted, and sent Talthybius the herald to bring
-the leech, who was a son of Asclepius, the most famous physician of
-those times.  After some delay, Machaon came to the place where
-Menelaus was standing, leaning on his brother's arm, and surrounded by
-an anxious group of his friends.  With firm but gentle hand the leech
-drew out the arrow, and, removing the prince's armour, exposed the
-wound to view.  Then he applied healing herbs, and bade the patient be
-of good cheer, for his hurt was but slight.
-
-
-II
-
-The truce having been broken by the treacherous act of Pandarus, both
-sides prepared for an immediate assault.  Agamemnon, as soon as he was
-assured that his brother was in no danger, summoned his chariot, and,
-bidding the driver keep within call, went on foot up and down the ranks
-of the Greeks, encouraging those whom he saw pressing forward to the
-attack with promises of favour and reward, and upbraiding those who
-hung back with taunts and rebukes.  His heart rejoiced when he saw the
-towering form of Ajax, who was hurrying to battle, followed close by a
-stout troop of spearsmen, with shield pressing on shield, and bristling
-spears.  Near him was Idomeneus, the grizzled captain of the Cretans,
-with his comrade, Meriones, at the head of a numerous and
-well-appointed troop.  And after these he came to the men of Nestor,
-who were receiving instructions from their veteran leader how to bear
-themselves in the battle.  "Keep your ranks," he was saying, "and fight
-shoulder to shoulder, the horsemen in the van, and the infantry ready
-to support them behind.  And let no one be carried away by his zeal to
-engage singlehanded with the enemy, for union is strength, and weakness
-comes of division."
-
-These were the foremost, but there were others, and among them some of
-the most valiant leaders in the army, whose station was more remote,
-and who had not yet heard of the breaking of the truce.  One of these
-was Diomede, and when Agamemnon found him standing inactive, he rebuked
-him harshly, reminding him of his father's prowess, and calling him an
-unworthy son.  The young chieftain deigned no answer to the unmerited
-reproach, but at once put his men in motion to join the encounter.
-
-The whole army was now advancing, rank pressing on rank, and column on
-column, like the waves rushing landward along a wide-watered shore.
-The Greeks came on in silence, broken only by the short, sharp words of
-command; but the Trojans, whose army was made up of a motley throng of
-many nations, rushed to the onset with multitudinous cries, like ewes
-at milking-time in the folds of a wealthy sheep master, when they hear
-the voices of their lambs.  On the Trojan side was Ares, and on the
-side of the Greeks stern-eyed Athene, with whom were seen Panic and
-Flight, and insatiable Strife, who is small of stature at the beginning
-of a fray, but grows and grows as the feud proceeds, until her head
-presses against the sky as she stalks along the earth.
-
-Then the air was rent with a deafening crash, as the two armies met,
-and shield was dashed against shield, and brazen armour was dinted by
-spear and axe and sword.  Shouts of triumph arose, and cries of
-anguish, as the wild _melee_ swayed to and fro, and the ground ran with
-blood.  As two torrents descending from copious springs high up in the
-mountains, and swollen high by winter rains, mingle their waters with a
-roar at a place where two glens meet--such was the roar which went up
-to heaven, at the conflict of those mailed hosts.
-
-Among the many victims of that bloody day, some are singled out for
-especial mention.  One of these was Simocisius, a tall and comely
-youth, so named because he was born on the banks of the Simocis, when
-his mother went to visit her parents on their farm.  Ajax marked him as
-he came on, and smote him in the breast with his spear; and down he
-fell, like a tall poplar, which rears its stately height in a meadow by
-the riverside, until it is hewn down by a wheelwright to make a felly
-for a chariot; and there it lies seasoning on the banks of the stream.
-So lay the young Simocisius, and Ajax stripped him of his armour.
-While he was thus engaged, Antiphus, a son of Priam, flung a javelin at
-him, but, missing him, struck down Leucus, a comrade of Odysseus, who
-had laid hold of the corpse to hale it away.  Odysseus was exceeding
-wroth at the fall of his comrade, and stepping forward he flung his
-spear, and smote Democoon, a natural son of Priam, in the temple.  The
-Trojan champions fell back before him, and the Greeks rushed forward
-and gained possession of the dead.  Apollo, who sat watching the battle
-from the citadel of Troy, was indignant when he saw the Trojans give
-ground, and shouted to them in a loud voice, crying: "Up, ye horsemen
-of Troy, and fly not from these Greeks, for their flesh is not of stone
-or of iron, to resist the thrust of your spears.  Now is your time,
-while Achilles is absent, chewing the cud of his ire among the ships."
-
-The Trojans rallied at the cry of the god, and the battle was resumed
-with fresh fury on both sides.  It was no child's play, no holiday
-tilting, which was seen that morning on the Trojan plain, but the dire
-and dreadful game of war, with Ares and Athene for players, and the
-blood of heroes for the stakes.
-
-
-
-
-The Exploits of Diomede
-
-I
-
-Agamemnon's taunts had sunk deep into the heart of Diomede, and he went
-into battle with a stern resolve to vindicate his manhood in the eyes
-of all Greece.  A fierce light blazed from his helm and shield as he
-rushed, like a living engine of destruction, into the thickest of the
-fight.  The first to feel the weight of his arm was a young Trojan
-named Phegeus, son of Dares, a priest of Hephaestus.  Mounted on the
-same car with his brother Idaeus, he drove furiously at Diomede, who was
-fighting on foot, and aimed a blow at him with his spear; but the
-weapon went wide of the mark, and the next moment he rolled from his
-car, pierced through the breast by the spear of Diomede.  Idaeus sprang
-to the ground and fled, leaving car and horses as a spoil to his
-brother's slayer.
-
-While Diomede was disposing of his booty, the Greeks pursued their
-advantage, and there was not a chieftain of name among them who failed
-to slay his man.  Then fell Scamandrius, a famous Trojan hunter, and
-the favourite of Artemis, pierced in the back by the spear of Menelaus,
-and Phericlus, whose father, Tecton, had built the fatal ships which
-bore Paris and his retinue to Greece, and many more, of whose names
-there is no record.
-
-Back to the field came Diomede, sweeping all before him like a river in
-flood, which breaks down dyke and dam, and covers the smiling fields
-with ruin.  So impetuous were his movements as he darted to and fro in
-pursuit of the flying Trojans, that it was hard to see on which side he
-fought; but, wherever he passed, his path was strewn with Trojan dead.
-
-At last he received a check from Pandarus, the archer whose treacherous
-hand had broken the truce an hour or two before.  Watching him from a
-safe distance, Pandarus shot an arrow, which pierced clean through
-Diomede's right shoulder, staining his corslet with blood.  Loud was
-the joy of Pandarus when he saw the success of his archery: "Turn
-again," he shouted, "ye horsemen of Troy!  Back to the fray, every one!
-The bravest of the Greeks is wounded unto death."
-
-The boast of Pandarus was premature, for the wound was not severe,
-though sufficient to disable the hero's arm for the moment.  Diomede
-drew back out of the press, and with the assistance of Sthenelus, his
-charioteer, drew out the arrow which was galling his shoulder.  Then he
-stood apart and prayed to Athene, the patron goddess of his mighty
-father, Tydeus.  And she heard him, and came and stood before him in
-all her divine majesty, and said: "Take heart, son of Tydeus, for I am
-ever near thee, and I have put into thy heart all the valour of thy
-sire.  And I have taken from thine eyes the darkness which before lay
-upon them, that thou mayest look upon the gods and know them, face to
-face.[1]  If thou seest any of the other gods, avoid them, and presume
-not to fight against the children of heaven; but if Aphrodite, Jove's
-froward daughter, comes into the battle, have at her, and strike, and
-fear nothing."
-
-
-[1] Compare "Stories from the AEneid," p. 18.
-
-
-Athene vanished as she spoke, but Diomede felt her influence working
-powerfully within him, and in an instant the flow of his blood was
-stanched, and he felt no more pain from his wound.  Then like a lion
-who has been grazed by the shepherd's spear as he leaps into a lonely
-sheepfold, and is but provoked to new rage by that slight wound, so
-that he falls upon the helpless flock, and gluts himself with carnage,
-while the shepherd cowers away in terror--so Diomede returned with new
-fury to the slaughter, and drove the Trojans in rout before him.  Like
-hammer on anvil, so rained his strokes among the ranks of the foe.
-With one blow he sent his spear through the breast of a tall Trojan;
-with the next his keen falchion shore oft the arm and shoulder of
-another.  Leaving these where they lay, he went in pursuit of Abas and
-Polyidus, the sons of Eurydamas, a famous seer and interpreter of
-dreams.  Often had they listened to their father's lore, and brought
-their dreams to him to expound unto them.  But the worst dream they
-ever had now came upon them; and when they awoke they were on the banks
-of the Styx.  Yet another Trojan father had cause to mourn that
-day--Phaenops, a man of wealth, who sent two sons, the children of his
-old age, to the war.  But never again did his aged eyes brighten to
-behold the face of his children, and all his wealth was divided among
-strangers.
-
-When AEneas observed the havoc which was wrought by the arm of Diomede
-he went to Pandarus, and said to him: "Where is thy boasted skill in
-archery, that thou sufferest this man to hew down our ranks, and never
-liftest thy bow against him?  Come, shoot me an arrow at the breast of
-Diomede, and first utter a prayer to Zeus, that we may know if the gods
-are indeed against us."
-
-"If that be Diomede," answered Pandarus, "there is something divine in
-this frenzy of his; methinks he is some god, who has put on the
-likeness of Diomede.  But now, I aimed an arrow at him, and struck him
-fairly in the right shoulder.  I thought that he was already a
-passenger to Hades, but, lo! he comes forth stronger and more terrible
-than before.  In an evil hour I took my bow from the wall, when I came
-to fight on the side of Priam; and I hearkened not to my father's words
-when he bade me fight like the rest with chariot and with horses,
-whereof he had goodly store.  Twice have I drawn my bow this day
-against the noblest of the Greeks, Menelaus, and Diomede, and struck
-them fair, and made their blood to flow; but it hath naught availed.
-If ever I get safely home again, I will offer my head to be severed
-from my shoulders by the meanest churl, if I do not break this accursed
-bow of mine in pieces, and burn it with fire."
-
-"This is idle talk," answered AEneas.  "We must meet this man face to
-face and hand to hand if we would stay his fury.  Come, mount my car
-with me, that thou mayest see of what mettle are these steeds of mine,
-unrivalled in flight or in pursuit.  If thou wilt, take the reins, and
-I will stand by thy side to wield the spear; or if thou preferrest it,
-I will drive and thou shalt fight."
-
-"Drive thou," replied Pandarus, mounting by the side of AEneas, "so that
-if there be need of hasty flight, the steeds may not fail us, knowing
-their master's hand."  "Thou sayest well," said AEneas, and, lashing the
-horses to a gallop, drove rapidly towards the place where Diomede was
-fighting.
-
-"Back, Diomede!" shouted Sthenelus, in alarm, when he saw them
-approaching.  "I see two mighty men coming against us--Pandarus, son of
-Lycaon, and AEneas, whose mother is the goddess Aphrodite.  Mount the
-car, and let us retreat."
-
-"How darest thou name retreat to me," answered Diomede sternly, "I
-scorn thy counsels, and will go to meet these champions even as I am,
-on foot; both of them shall not return alive.  And now mark my words,
-and do as I shall bid thee: if these twain fall beneath my spear, leave
-thou the horses which thou art driving, and, having mounted the car of
-AEneas, drive with all speed to the rear.  For these steeds are of blood
-divine, descended from those which Zeus gave unto Tros as a recompense
-for the loss of Ganymede his son.  If we can capture them it will be a
-splendid prize."
-
-So saying, he turned to meet the Trojan chieftains, who were now close
-at hand.  Pandarus held his weapon ready poised, and when he came
-within throwing distance he cast his lance, crying: "Take that, bold
-son of Tydeus!  Perchance I shall have better luck with the spear."
-The weighty spear, thrown by no feeble hand, pierced through the shield
-of Diomede, and struck against his breastplate, but there stopped
-short, without inflicting a wound.  "Thou hast no luck to-day, Sir
-Pandarus," said Diomede, smiling grimly.  "Now see how thou likest the
-taste of Grecian steel," and as he spoke he hurled with all his force,
-right in the face of Pandarus.  The keen point struck him just beneath
-the eye, and passing downwards clove through his tongue at the root,
-and came out under his chin; and the false Trojan fell with a crash on
-the plain, and died as he fell.
-
-AEneas had now but one thought--to save his comrade's body from outrage
-at the hands of the Greeks; for it was the cruel custom of those days
-to mutilate the bodies of slaughtered enemies.  Valiantly he took his
-stand, bestriding the fallen Pandarus, holding his shield before him,
-and armed with two spears.  But Diomede picked up a huge stone, and
-flung it at AEneas; and the jagged missile struck him on the hip, just
-at the socket of the thigh, bruising the sinews and lacerating the
-flesh.  AEneas sank down on one knee, sick and giddy with the pain of
-that dreadful blow; and that would have been his last hour had not his
-goddess mother perceived his evil plight, and come to her son's relief.
-Swiftly she flew to the place where he lay, and, throwing her white
-arms about him, bore him from the field, covered by the folds of her
-robe.
-
-Sthenelus had not forgotten his friend's command, and as soon as he saw
-the car of AEneas deserted he made fast the reins of his own steeds to
-the chariot rim, and mounting the Trojan car drove at a gallop towards
-the rear.  Meeting a comrade he gave the captured chariot into his
-charge, and returned with all speed to the support of Diomede, who was
-in hot pursuit of the tender goddess and her wounded son.  Presently he
-caught her in the midst of the press, and, thrusting with his spear,
-wounded her on the hand, in the thick part of the thumb.  The ichor[2]
-flowed forth in a purple stream, and stained her immortal vestments,
-wrought for her by the Graces; and with a loud shriek she let fall her
-son, who was picked up and borne to a place of safety by Apollo.
-
-
-[2] The blood of the gods was so called.
-
-
-"Hast thou had enough of war, daughter of Zeus?" shouted Diomede as she
-fled; "go and make war on cowardly women--they are thy proper prey."
-
-
-II
-
-The beautiful, tender goddess of love, who was a stranger to wounds and
-pain, was found by Iris wandering about the battlefield in a distracted
-state, with livid face and shaking limbs.  Iris took her by the hand,
-and brought her to the place where Ares was sitting, outside the roar
-and tumult of battle.  When she saw her brother, Aphrodite fell on her
-knees before him, and begged him to lend her his car, and Ares having
-readily consented, she mounted the golden chariot with Iris, and was
-driven through the air till she came to Olympus.  There she sought her
-mother Dione, who received her with sweet words of comfort, and asked
-who had handled her so roughly?  "It was that unmannerly Greek, the son
-of Tydeus," answered Aphrodite pettishly, "for the Greeks have left off
-butchering the Trojans, and are making war on the gods."
-
-"Take heart, my child," said Dione, "and be not overmuch dismayed, for
-many of us, the children of heaven, have suffered at the hands of
-mortals, for whose sake we afflict one another.  Ares was bound and
-held captive by the giant sons of Aloeus, and would have perished in
-his bonds, had not Hermes stolen him away.  Hera was wounded in the
-breast with an arrow by Hercules; and Hades came groaning to Olympus,
-hurt in the shoulder by the same presumptuous hand.  And thou hast
-suffered through the spite of Athene, who set on the son of Tydeus to
-assail thee.  Rash fool!  He knows not that he who fights with gods is
-doomed to an early grave.  Let him take heed lest the young wife whom
-he left at home in Argos be made a widow untimely, and rouse her
-household at dead of night, weeping and wailing for her fallen lord."
-
-Then she laid a healing finger on her daughter's wound, and the hand
-was made whole, and the bitter pangs were stilled.  Athene had been
-watching the scene, and now she said mockingly to her father: "Be not
-wroth, dread sire, at what I shall say!  Surely Aphrodite hath been
-seeking to beguile some Grecian dame on behalf of her darling Trojans,
-and amidst her soft caresses has scratched her slender hand on the pin
-of the lady's brooch."
-
-Zeus smiled at his daughter's words, and calling Aphrodite to him he
-took her in his fatherly arms and said: "Not for thee, my child, are
-wars and fightings; leave these to Ares and Athene, and keep to thine
-own province of love and marriage."
-
-
-III
-
-When Diomede saw his prey snatched from him a second time he was very
-wroth, and followed close on Apollo, who was bearing AEneas towards the
-city.  Three times he sprang upon the god, and three times Apollo
-hurled him back; and he was preparing to make a fourth assault, when
-Apollo rebuked him sternly, and bade him stand off.  Remembering the
-words of Athene, who had warned him not to meddle with any other god
-save Aphrodite, Diomede drew back, and AEneas was carried in safety to
-the shelter of the citadel.
-
-Apollo was highly incensed at the presumption of Diomede, and leaving
-AEneas in good hands he hastened back to the battlefield, and roused
-Ares to take up the cause of insulted heaven, and chastise the impious
-man who twice that day had pointed his weapon against the person of a
-god.  Ares readily took up the challenge, and putting on the likeness
-of a Trojan he flung himself in the path of the panic-stricken
-fugitives, shouting: "Where are the sons of Priam, and why suffer they
-the people to be slaughtered like sheep?"
-
-"Hearest thou what he saith?" cried Sarpedon, the giant leader of the
-Lycians, to Hector, who had been dismayed, like the rest, by the
-prowess of Diomede.  "What art thou doing, thou and thy brethren, that
-ye leave the brunt of battle to be borne by your allies?  Have we not
-left home and country, our wives and our little ones, to pour out our
-blood in defence of thy city?--and wilt thou not play thy part, when
-honour and duty call thee--when the very stones of thy streets cry
-aloud to thee to be the first in the onset, the last to retreat?"
-
-Stung by Sarpedon's reproaches, Hector leapt from his car, and exerted
-all his authority to rally the flying Trojans.  By his efforts the
-flight was checked, and the Trojans wheeled their chariots and returned
-to the charge.  The ranks of the Greeks grew white from the clouds of
-dust thrown up by their chariot wheels as they came on like a
-whirlwind, with Ares in their van.  Presently, to the equal delight and
-amazement of the Trojans, the princely form of AEneas was seen
-glittering among the foremost champions; and his step was as light, and
-his arm as firm, as when the fight began.  They would have learnt, if
-they had asked, that this was the work of Apollo; but they had no time
-to question him, for by this time the storm of battle was raging with
-redoubled fury.
-
-Like clouds which lie heavy on the mountain-tops, when all the winds
-are sleeping, so steadfast stood the Greeks to abide the shock of that
-charge.  And Agamemnon strode up and down the armed files, crying as he
-passed: "Stand firm, and play the man!  Before you lies the path of
-honour, but behind is shame and defeat."
-
-Long the contest swayed to and fro with doubtful issue, and many a
-Greek, and many a Trojan, named or unnamed, received the wages of the
-sword.  At last Diomede, whose vision had been purged by Athene,
-recognised Ares under his disguise; then even he began to lose heart,
-and cried out to the Greeks: "We must retreat!  Ares is fighting
-against us.  Fall back upon the ships, keeping your faces to the foe."
-And slowly, step by step, disputing every inch of ground, the Greeks
-began to retire.
-
-Hitherto Hera and Athene had remained inactive spectators of the
-struggle: but when they saw that the tide of battle had turned they
-resolved to make a vigorous stand against the victorious career of
-Ares.  With her own hand Hera harnessed the steeds to her royal car,
-which was the work of no mortal artist, with its brazen wheels and axle
-of iron.  The body of the car was cunningly wrought with bands of gold
-and silver; the pole was a solid bar of silver, and the yoke was of
-gold.  Meanwhile Athene was arming herself for the conflict.  First she
-put on a coat of mail, not to be pierced by any mortal weapon; on her
-head she placed a helmet, glittering with symbols of war and death;
-then she grasped her shield, the immortal aegis, of "ethereal temper,
-massy, large, and round," on which were pictured Panic and Strife,
-Defence and Pursuit, and all the dread powers whose realm is the
-battlefield; and in the midst glared the Gorgon's head, with its awful
-eyes, which freeze the blood and paralyse the limbs.
-
-Having asked and obtained permission of Zeus, they mounted the car,
-Hera guiding the fiery coursers of heaven, and Athene standing, spear
-in hand, at her side.  In another moment they drew up before the cloudy
-portals of Olympus, which are given in charge of the mystic Daughters
-of Time, to open and to shut.  Wide flew the gates, with muttered roar,
-at the summons of the queen of heaven; and forth they leapt into the
-void and cavernous vault of air.  Far as a man can see into the dim
-distance, when he stands on some skyey peak and gazes across the purple
-sea--so wide is the space traversed by the heavenly steeds at a single
-stride.
-
-When they came to the place where Simoeis and Scamander mingle their
-waters in one stream, they drew up their car, and dismounted, leaving
-the steeds in charge of the river-god Simoeis, whose banks put forth
-ambrosial herbs for them to feed upon.  Then, walking delicately, like
-a pair of doves,[3] but with no tender thoughts in their breasts, they
-went and joined the ranks of the Greeks, where they stood at bay round
-Diomede, like boars or lions hard pressed by the hunters.  Standing in
-their midst, Hera took the form and the voice of Stentor, whose shout
-was as the shout of fifty men.  "Shame on you, ye Greeks!" she
-thundered.  "As long as Achilles fought among you, the Trojans never
-ventured beyond their gates; but now they are fighting at the very
-confines of your camp."
-
-
-[3] I have preserved the language of the original, which seems to have
-a touch of irony.
-
-
-Diomede had drawn back from the fighting-line, for his arm was lamed by
-the wound which he had received from Pandarus, which now began to
-stiffen and grow painful.  In this state he was found by Athene, just
-as he was lifting up his shield strap to wipe away the blood from his
-shoulder.  Laying her hand on the yoke of his car she said: "The son of
-Tydeus is most unlike his sire, who was little of stature, but mighty
-of heart.  With him I needed the curb to restrain his fiery spirit,
-which prompted him to fight against any odds.  But thy sluggish nature
-ever wants the goad.  Say, art thou weary, or art thou afraid?"
-
-"It is not fear that has made me shrink," answered Diomede.  "I am but
-obeying thy behest, when thou forbadest me to resist any god, save only
-Aphrodite.  And thou seest Ares is lending aid to the Greeks."
-
-"Fear neither Ares, nor any other god," replied Athene.  "Mount thou
-thy car with me, and thou shalt see whether this turncoat, this fickle,
-furious, bloodthirsty god of war, will brook thy onset when I am by thy
-side.
-
-Thereupon she thrust down Sthenelus from the chariot, and taking his
-place beckoned to Diomede to mount with her.  Diomede obeyed, and the
-beechen axle groaned beneath the weight of the hero and the goddess.
-Athene plied the lash, and drove straight at Ares, who was stooping to
-strip off the armour of a Greek champion whom he had just slain with
-his own hand.  The goddess had put on the helmet of Hades, which made
-her invisible to the eyes of Ares; and he, when he saw Diomede coming
-against him, left off stripping the corpse, and charged with levelled
-spear.  But Athene caught the weapon by the shaft, and turned the point
-aside.  Then Diomede thrust at Ares with his spear, Athene aiding him,
-and wounded him in the side.  And as the roar of ten thousand men in
-the full fury of battle, so was the roar of Ares when he felt that
-wound.
-
-Like a heavy thundercloud, which hangs black and threatening when
-heaven is overcast, and a storm is brewing on a sultry day, such
-appeared the giant form of Ares as he fled darkling across the sky to
-Olympus; and when he reached the seat of the gods he sat down near
-Zeus, his father, and showed him the immortal blood flowing from his
-wound.  "What thinkest thou," he said, speaking in a pitiful voice, "of
-these deeds of violence?  Thou art the author of this wound; for it is
-thy weak indulgence which makes thy daughter, Athene, so violent and
-unruly.  Nothing but the speed of my feet saved me from worse outrage."
-
-But the injured Ares found scant sympathy from his father.  "Come not
-to me," he said sternly, "with thy whining complaints.  Blame thy
-mother for what thou hast suffered; for to her thou owest the froward
-temper which makes thee the most hateful to me of all my children.
-Nevertheless I will not leave thee in pain, for thou art my son, the
-child of my wedded love.  Were it not so, I would have found thee a
-place in the dungeons where the Titans groan."  Then he laid his
-commands upon Paean, the god of healing, who sprinkled powerful remedies
-on the wound, which gave instant relief.  Swift as is the action of the
-fig-juice when it falls with eager droppings[4] into milk, and turns it
-to curd, so quickly closed the wound under the skilful hands of Paean.
-And when he had bathed, Ares sat down, hale and whole, by his father's
-side.
-
-
-[4] Used as rennet.  "Eager droppings" is from Hamlet.
-
-
-
-
-The Battle Continued: Hector and Andromache
-
-I
-
-Having driven Ares from the field, Hera and Athene returned to Olympus,
-leaving the battle to be decided by human strength and valour.  Soon
-the numbers and prowess of the Greeks began to prevail, and the Trojans
-were gradually forced back towards their walls.  At this critical
-moment Hector, who hitherto had played but a secondary part in the
-battle, was suddenly inspired with almost superhuman courage and
-energy, and by his example the Trojans were saved from a general rout.
-Having allayed the panic, he left the other leaders to make head
-against the enemy, and went himself into the city, with the purpose of
-ordering a general sacrifice and supplication, to avert the anger of
-Athene.
-
-Both armies were growing weary of the long struggle, and during
-Hector's absence the work of slaughter ceased for a time by mutual
-consent.  Diomede alone kept the field, and stalked about in the space
-between the two armies, eyeing the ranks of the Trojans, and seeking
-for a foeman worthy of his steel.  Glaucus, the Lycian captain, marked
-his defiant attitude, and strode forward undaunted to the encounter.
-When they were met in the middle of the plain, Diomede accosted him
-with haughty mien, and said: "Who art thou, bold sir, that hast dared
-to match thyself with me?  Unhappy are the parents whose sons affront
-my might.[1]  If thou be a god, I will not meddle with thee, for I fear
-to lift my hand again to fight with the sons of heaven.  But if thou
-art of the race of men, that live by bread, come on, and I will give
-thee to thy doom.  But first tell me thy name and thy race."
-
-
-[1] "And with their darkness durst _affront_ his light."--Milton,
-_P.L._ i.
-
-
-"Valiant son of Tydeus," answered Glaucus, "why askest thou my race?
-As the leaves which clothe the woods in spring, to be scattered by
-autumn winds, such are the generations of men: one riseth up, and
-another is passing away.  Nevertheless, if thou desirest to know my
-race, know that I am sprung from the line of Sisyphus, through my
-grandsire Bellerophon, who came as an exile to Lycia, banished from his
-native Corinth by a woman's spite.  For, while he was dwelling as a
-guest in the house of Pr[oe]tus, King of Corinth, the Queen Anteia
-poisoned her husband's ears against him, because he had refused to be
-her partner in crime, and Pr[oe]tus believed her lying tale, and sought
-opportunity to destroy Bellerophon.  So he sent him on an embassy to
-the King of Lycia, the father of Anteia, and gave him a sealed packet
-to take with him.  Bellerophon set sail, and after a fair voyage he
-landed in Lycia, and went up to the palace of the King.  Then for nine
-days the King made good cheer, and invited the highest in the land to
-meet his noble guest; and on the tenth day he asked concerning the
-business which had brought him to Lycia.  Bellerophon gave him the
-packet, and he opened it privately, and found within it a folded
-tablet, whereon were written these words: _Bellerophon is a traitor,
-and hath sought to bring dishonour on our house: he must die_.
-
-"When he had read the message from his son-in-law the King was wroth,
-and devised means to compass Bellerophon's death.  First, he bade him
-slay the Chimaera, a dreadful monster, with the head of a lion, the body
-of a goat, and a long coiling tail like a vast serpent.  The gods
-helped Bellerophon to slay this monster, and the King then sent him to
-fight against the Solymi, a fierce and warlike tribe.  But neither they
-nor the Amazons, with whom also the King bade him fight, could work any
-mischief on that valiant champion.  Yet a fourth time the King tried to
-take his life, and sent an ambush of picked men to slay him by
-treachery on his way back to Lycia; and Bellerophon killed them all.
-
-"Being now assured that his guest was the favourite of heaven, the King
-retained him in his house as an honoured guest, and gave him his
-daughter to wife; and he received a fair appanage of cornland and
-vineyard, and three children were born to him, one of whom,
-Hippolochus, is my father.  Thus have I told thee my lineage and my
-race."
-
-Diomede had listened with deep attention to the Lycian chieftain's
-story, and when he had heard him to the end he came forward with
-outstretched hands and cordial words of greeting: "Thou art a friend,"
-he said, "of my father's house, for [OE]neus, my grandsire, long ago
-welcomed Bellerophon as his guest, and entertained him for many days.
-I have still among my treasures a golden cup which Bellerophon gave to
-his host as a parting gift.  Therefore let us remember the ancient tie
-which connects our families, and avoid each other's spears when we meet
-in the press of battle.  And let us now change armour, that all these
-may know that we are friends, both we and our fathers."
-
-So for a while that knightly pair stood with hand clasped in hand, and
-gazed into each other's faces with eyes of kindness, joined for a few
-brief moments by an ancient tie of amity, but soon to be parted by
-national feud.  Then Glaucus took off his golden armour, and gave it to
-Diomede, without grudging, though he received in exchange armour of
-brass.
-
-
-II
-
-We must now follow Hector on his errand of piety to the town.  As he
-entered the gates, an anxious crowd of Trojan women pressed round him,
-with eager questions about brothers, husbands, or sons.  He put them
-gently aside, bidding them pray to the gods, and made his way through
-the streets until he came to the vast pile of the royal palace, where
-dwelt Priam and his fifty sons and twelve daughters, with their wives
-and husbands.  Hecuba, his mother, saw him coming, and hastened to meet
-him, taking with her Laodice, the fairest of her daughters.  "What has
-brought thee hither, my son?" said she, holding his hand, "is it that
-the Trojans are hard pressed by the Greeks, and thy spirit moved thee
-to go up to Jove's holy temple and pray?  Wait awhile, till I bring
-thee a cup of wine, that thou mayest pour a drink-offering and then
-take a comfortable draught, to refresh thee after thy sore toils."
-
-"I will drink no wine, mother," answered Hector, "lest I dull my
-spirit, and unnerve mine arm.  Neither may I pour a drink-offering with
-hands defiled by blood and the soil of battle.  But go thou to the
-temple of Athene, thou and the venerable mothers of Troy, and take with
-thee a robe, the largest and the most precious which thou hast, that
-thou mayest lay it on the knees of the goddess, as an offering meet for
-her.  Do this, and vow a sacrifice of twelve yearling heifers that have
-never felt the goad, if so be that she will take pity on us and our
-wives and little ones, and save us from the fury of Diomede.  As for
-me, I go to find Paris, and rouse him to play a man's part among the
-defenders of Troy."
-
-Having despatched his mother on that bootless errand, Hector went to
-visit Paris in his luxurious home, which was built on the same hill
-where stood the palace of Priam.  Clad in all his brazen mail, and
-carrying in his hand a spear eleven cubits long, he crossed the
-threshold, and passed on to Helen's bower, where Paris was sitting,
-with his armour strewn around him, fitting new feathers to his arrows.
-The great warrior stood awhile, gazing in silence at his unworthy
-brother; then smiling bitterly he said: "I perceive that thou art wroth
-with thy poor countrymen seeing that thou leavest them to perish, while
-thou art dallying here.  Rouse thee, Paris," he added, changing his
-tone; "the flames of war, which thou hast kindled, are blazing round
-our walls.  Shake off this unmanly sloth, and play the man for once."
-
-"Hector, I feel the justice of thy reproaches," answered Paris.  "But
-it was sorrow, not anger, that kept me in my chamber.  But away with
-regrets!  My turn will come, and I am resolved to go back to the
-battle, urged thereto both by Helen's entreaties and by thy biting
-words.  Wait while I don my armour--or go thou first, and I will
-overtake thee."
-
-Hector turned to go, without answering a word; but Helen, who was
-present with her handmaids, laid her hand upon his arm, and said:
-"Leave me not thus, dear brother!  Kill me not by thine accusing
-silence!  Unhappy that I am, the sport and victim of evil powers, given
-over to perdition from my birth!  And if I needs must sin, could I not
-at least have sinned for a man, and not have wrecked my life for a
-caitiff like this, without conscience, without heart?  But sit thee
-down, Hector, and rest awhile, for on thee lies heaviest the burden
-which has been laid upon thy city for my sake, and for the sake of
-Paris, an ill-starred pair, whose evil fate shall be a theme of song in
-days to come."
-
-"Seek not to detain me, Helen," answered Hector gently; "my duty calls
-me hence, and I must join my faithful comrades, whom I left in the toil
-and heat of the fray.  Thither am I bound, when I have taken one
-look--it may be for the very last time--at my house, and my wife, and
-my little child.  Look thou that Paris keeps his word, and joins me
-before I quit the town."
-
-With hasty step Hector left the house, and went to his own home, which
-was close by.  Learning there from a handmaid that Andromache had gone
-with her child and his nurse to watch the battle from the tower of the
-citadel, he went back to look for her there.  As he ascended the steep
-path which led to the tower, the quick ear of Andromache recognised his
-footstep, and she ran to meet him, followed by the nurse, who carried
-the little Astyanax, a lovely boy, fair as the morning star, the sweet
-pledge of their wedded love.  She clasped her husband's hand, and said,
-with a look of fond reproach in her tearful eyes: "Rash man, it will be
-thine undoing, this hardy spirit of thine!  At thee every spear is
-pointed, when thou goest into battle, and soon, very soon, the Greeks
-will take thy life.  Then who shall be my defender, and who shall guard
-thy child, when thou art gone?  I shall be left alone in the world, for
-all my kith and kin have perished.  My father, Eetion, was slain by
-Achilles, when he sacked my native city, the stately town of Thebes;
-and his tomb lies in the shadow of a fair grove of elms, planted there
-by the nymphs to do him honour.  Seven brothers I had, who grew up with
-me in my home; and they were slain by Achilles in a cattle raid, and
-one grave received them all.  My mother Achilles released for gold, and
-she went back to her father's house; but she also is no more, slain by
-the gentle shafts of Artemis.
-
-[Illustration: Hector's Farewell.  Friedrich Preller, Jr.  By
-permission of F. Bruckmann, Munich]
-
-"Hector, thou art my father, my mother, my brother, my husband, my
-life, my all!  Leave me not to perish in lonely widowhood with a
-fatherless child.  Call the people within the walls, and fight no more
-in the open plain.  Why wilt thou hazard thy life against such fearful
-odds?"
-
-"Dear love, it cannot be," answered Hector sadly; "what would my
-brethren say, if I bade them skulk like cowards behind their walls?
-No; I must go where honour calls me, though I know that Troy is doomed
-with all her sons.  Yea, the day shall dawn when temple and tower shall
-go down, and these streets shall run with Trojan blood.  Then many a
-noble dame shall be led away captive, and among them--bitter, bitter
-thought!--thou shalt go, to eat the hard bread of bondage, and do
-menial service under a haughty mistress.  Methinks I see thee, stooping
-under thy burden, as thou bearest water from some Grecian spring, while
-men point the finger at thee, and cry in scorn: 'Hail, Andromache, wife
-of Hector, Troy's bravest champion!'  May death overtake me, and hide
-me deep in darkness and the grave, before ever I see thee dragged into
-slavery by ruffian hands."
-
-A long silence followed, broken only by the sobs of Andromache, who was
-overpowered by the dreadful picture conjured up by her husband's words.
-At last Hector beckoned to the nurse, who had been standing a little
-apart, to bring him the child, and stretched out his arms to receive
-him; but the little one clung crying to his nurse's breast, affrighted
-by the brazen helmet and its nodding plume.  His father and mother
-exchanged a loving smile, and Hector removed his helmet, and, laying it
-on the ground, took the boy in his arms, kissed him, and fondled him,
-and then put up this prayer to heaven: "Father Zeus, and all ye gods,
-grant that this, my child, may be strong and valiant in fight, even as
-I am, and win him honour among the Trojans; and may his mother's heart
-be glad when he comes back from the war laden with the spoils of the
-foe."
-
-Then he gave the child to his mother, who pressed him to her bosom with
-a tearful smile.  "Now I must leave thee," he said, with a tender
-gesture: "and mourn not overmuch for me.  I shall not die before my
-day: every man has his appointed time, be he noble or base.  Thou hast
-thy tasks, I mine; let us both play our part bravely, and leave the
-rest to heaven."
-
-With many a pause and many a backward glance Andromache left him, and
-went back to her house, with her heart full of sad foreboding.  When
-she was gone, Hector remained standing for awhile, lost in sorrowful
-thought.  He was about to turn away when he heard the clatter of
-hurrying feet, and Paris came running up, glittering in his
-new-burnished armour, and tossing his plume, like some wanton,
-stall-fed steed.  For he was a stout fellow, though a coward at heart,
-and was full of vigour and animal spirits after his long rest.  "Who is
-the laggard now?" cried the gay holiday soldier, with a loud laugh.
-"Art thou ready to go, or shall I wait for thee awhile?"
-
-"Forget my harsh words," answered Hector mildly.  "I was vexed on thy
-account, when I saw thee hanging back, and heard the Trojans speak evil
-of thee.  Let us forget our quarrels, and fight side by side for hearth
-and home; perhaps we may yet live to see happier days."
-
-
-
-
-Second Battle: Repulse of the Greeks
-
-I
-
-The result of the first day's fighting had been all in favour of the
-Greeks, but, as many had fallen on both sides, a truce was made by
-mutual consent for the next day, to enable both armies to bury their
-dead.  By the advice of Nestor the Greeks dug a trench and threw up a
-rampart for the defence of their camp, and by the zealous labour of
-that vast multitude the work was finished on the same night.
-
-Zeus had not forgotten his promise to Thetis, and on the morning of the
-third day he summoned all the gods to council, and thus declared his
-will: "Hear me, all ye gods and goddesses, and let none dare to cross
-my purpose.  I forbid any among you to take part in the battle to-day,
-and if any disobey me I will take him and fling him into Tartarus, the
-black and gloomy pit, as far beneath Hades as heaven is above the
-earth.  Then shall ye learn how much mightier am I than ye all
-together."
-
-Without waiting for question or reply, the lord of Olympus mounted his
-car, and swept along his airy road until he came to the mountain-range
-of Ida, overlooking the Trojan plain.  There he halted and took his
-station on Mount Gargarus, the highest peak of Ida, from which he had a
-complete view of Troy and the Grecian camp.
-
-Forth sallied the rival hosts, and soon the clash of arms rang through
-the cool morning air, as Greek grappled with Trojan in deadly conflict.
-All through the long hours, until noon, the issue remained doubtful;
-but when the sun stood at the zenith Zeus lifted a pair of golden
-scales, and weighed the fates of Greeks and Trojans; and the scale
-which held the fate of the Greeks sank down, heavy with defeat and
-disaster.  Then Zeus thundered with a mighty peal from Ida, and hurled
-his bolt among the thronging ranks of the Greeks; and they were sore
-amazed, and pale Fear gat hold of them.  Not one among them dared to
-stand his ground, neither Ajax, nor Idomeneus, nor Agamemnon himself.
-Only Nestor lagged behind, for he was hindered by the fall of one of
-his horses, which had been pierced through the brain by Paris with an
-arrow.  Nestor sprang down, and began cutting through the traces with
-his sword; and while he was thus engaged, Hector came thundering past
-in hot pursuit of the Greeks, and seeing Nestor's plight turned aside
-to slay him.  Diomede saw the old man's danger, and lashing his horses
-to a gallop drove instantly to his aid.  "Mount, mount," he cried,
-"with me, and leave to my squires these sorry steeds of thine.  Take
-thou the reins, and we will see if we can check the onset of the
-Trojans, and arrest Hector's destroying arm."
-
-Nestor was not slow to obey the summons, and mounting by the side of
-Diomede he drove straight at Hector.  Then Diomede flung his spear, and
-struck down Hector's charioteer, and, pursuing his advantage, he fell
-fiercely on the broken columns of the Trojans, scattered in wild
-pursuit of the enemy.  Already the Greeks were beginning to rally, when
-Zeus hurled a second bolt, which crashed down before the feet of the
-horses of Diomede.  "We must fly," said Nestor; "heaven is against us,"
-and wheeling the affrighted steeds he followed the main body of the
-Greeks, who were now in full retreat towards the ships.  That was a
-bitter moment for the gallant Diomede, when he heard the exulting voice
-of Hector, calling him coward, minion, woman.  But peal after peal came
-from the frowning peak of Ida, now wrapped in black clouds; and that
-proud spirit was forced to bow to a higher power.
-
-"On, Trojans, on!" shouted Hector, pushing on at full speed to head the
-pursuit.  "Zeus favours our cause, and the Greeks are doomed.  Neither
-walls, nor moat, nor all their sorry devices, shall stay our fury, but
-we will burn their ships and cut them off to a man."  So on they sped,
-driving the Greeks before them across the plain, even to the very gates
-of the camp.  Here the leaders turned at bay, and Agamemnon succeeded
-by desperate efforts in restoring some order in the panic-stricken
-host.  Foremost among the defenders of the camp were Ajax, the greater
-and the less, Idomeneus and his comrade, Meriones, Diomede, and Teucer
-the half-brother of the greater Ajax.  Teucer especially, who was a
-famous archer, did splendid service to the Greeks in that dreadful
-strait.  Crouched behind the vast orb of his mighty kinsman's shield he
-watched his opportunity, and shot down man after man as the Trojans
-came rushing to the assault.
-
-"Well done, brave bowman!" cried Agamemnon, who was standing near, as
-the eighth victim to Teucer's skill bit the dust.  "Now aim an arrow at
-yonder mad dog"; and he pointed at Hector, who was leading the attack.
-Again the bow twanged, but this time he missed his mark, and instead of
-Hector struck another son of Priam, who was fighting by his brother's
-side.  And as droops the poppyflower in a fair garden plot, heavy with
-its seed-pod, and drenched with the summer rains, so drooped that
-comely head, oppressed by the weight of its helmet.
-
-"Nine have I slain," cried Teucer, in triumph.  "Now let me see if my
-tenth arrow will bring down this noble quarry"; and once more he
-pointed a shaft at Hector's breast.  But a second time the arrow went
-amiss, and pierced through the heart of Hector's charioteer.
-Cebriones, Hector's brother, succeeded to this dangerous office, thus
-twice left vacant on one day; while Hector himself sprang to the
-ground, and picking up a stone hurled it at Teucer, who was just
-fitting another arrow to his bowstring.  The stone struck Teucer on the
-collar-bone, breaking the bowstring, and paralysing his arm.  Ajax
-sprang forward to cover his injured brother, who was carried, groaning
-with pain, to the shelter of the ships.
-
-The fall of Teucer struck fresh dismay into the Greeks, who now shrank
-back behind their defences, Hector following them close, and cutting
-down the stragglers, like a hound hanging on the flanks of a wild boar.
-When the last man had passed the barriers the gates were shut, and
-Hector was left outside, glaring with baffled rage.
-
-
-II
-
-Deep was the wrath of Hera when she saw her darling Greeks driven like
-sheep before the exultant Trojans, and huddled in wild disorder behind
-their ramparts.  As the voice of Hector rang out above the din, like a
-trumpet sounding the charge, she rocked herself with fury in her seat,
-and at last, being able to contain herself no longer, she cried to
-Athene: "I will not endure it!  Come what may, I will save my Greeks
-from perishing by the hands of that mad Trojan."
-
-"It is the hand of Zeus," answered Athene, "that hath brought these
-foul deeds to pass, in fulfilment of the promise which he made to
-Thetis, when she clasped his knees, and besought him to honour her son.
-Graceless, thankless god!  Did I not serve him day and night, when I
-watched like a mother over Heracles, his favourite son, and saved him
-from a thousand perils?  And this is my reward, to be crossed in all my
-designs, and robbed of my just revenge, by him, my false father, who
-fools me with his caresses, and calls me his dear, grey-eyed maid!  But
-go thou and harness our steeds, while I put on my armour, and we will
-try whether Hector will blench or not when he sees my spear flashing
-among the dykes of war,[1] and the Trojans falling thick and fast, to
-glut the dogs and vultures with their fat and their flesh."
-
-
-[1] The armed columns, which keep back the _flood_ of battle.
-
-
-Not a minute elapsed before the rebellious goddesses were equipped for
-battle, and ready to swoop like eagles on the heads of the hated
-Trojans.  But Zeus had been watching their movements, and summoning
-Iris he sent her with a stern, imperious message to his mutinous wife
-and child.  Prompt at his command, Iris sped on her rainbow wings to
-Olympus, and met the angry pair as they were issuing from the gates.
-"Are ye mad?" she said, confronting them with warning looks.  "Listen
-to my message, and get ye back the way ye came.  Thus saith the son of
-Cronos, and his words shall surely come to pass: he will maim the swift
-steeds which draw your car, and blast you with his lightnings, and
-shatter your chariot wheels, and for ten long years ye shall not be
-healed of the wounds from those corrosive fires.  Then shall thou
-learn, thou grey-eyed maid, what it means to fight with thy sire."
-
-Both Hera and Athene knew full well how far they might presume on the
-indulgence of Zeus, and without another word they turned back to
-Olympus, unyoked their steeds, and with quaking hearts joined the
-company of the gods.  Soon after, the monarch of Olympus entered, and
-took his seat on his exalted throne; for he had returned from Ida when
-his business for the day was ended.  Not a word, not a look, did he
-receive in greeting from his wife and daughter; but he knew their
-thoughts, and said: "Why sit ye thus dismayed, Hera and Athene?  It
-cannot be that ye are wearied from doing battle with the Trojans,
-against whom ye have so dire a grudge, for ye were seized with
-trembling before ever ye had looked into the face of war.  And well for
-you that it was so!--or your warring should have had a fearful end."
-
-Athene remained cowed and silent, but the shrewish Hera, though she too
-was scared by her husband's anger, could not hold her peace, but
-muttered a few words of complaint and remonstrance, of which only the
-words "faithful Greeks" and "unmerited disaster" were audible.  But
-Zeus was in no mood for contradiction, and he cut her short with this
-peremptory announcement of his purpose: "To-morrow, if thou wilt, thou
-shalt see thy 'faithful Greeks' plunged yet deeper in 'unmerited
-disaster.'  They shall have no respite from slaughter and defeat until
-the swift-footed son of Peleus shall once more be roused to arms.  Go
-then, and fill heaven and earth with thy rage and thy fury--go down to
-Tartarus, if thou choosest, and tell thy wrongs to the demons who dwell
-in that sunless den."
-
-
-III
-
-Night fell at last, bringing relief to the sore-stricken Greeks, and
-compelling the reluctant Trojans to suspend their attack on the camp.
-Hector drew off his forces, and pitched his camp by the riverside.
-This was a sign of great confidence on the part of the Trojans, who
-hitherto had rarely ventured outside their walls, and had always
-returned to the city at nightfall.  But now the besiegers had become
-the besieged, and active preparations were made for a campaign in the
-open field.  Orders were sent to the city for supplies of corn and wine
-and cattle to victual the camp, and the elders of Troy were warned to
-keep a vigilant watch during the night, to guard against surprise.
-
-When these measures of prudence were completed, Hector, who had been
-the leading spirit through all this eventful day, summoned the Trojan
-chieftains to a council of war.  High and proud was his glance, as he
-stood leaning on his tall spear, with its point of tempered bronze and
-its socket of gold; for he dreamt of nothing less than the total rout
-and discomfiture of the Greeks.  And he found ready hearers in the
-leaders of the Trojans and their allies, who read in his looks an
-augury of triumph and victory.  "This day," he said, "I thought to have
-destroyed the Grecian fleet and army, and to have offered thanks to the
-gods of our country in the Trojan citadel.  For this time night has
-saved them from utter ruin; but the blow is only delayed, not averted,
-and to-morrow we will set the finish to this glorious work.  Let every
-man now get to his supper with good heart and hope, and look ye to it
-that numerous fires be lighted in the camp, sufficient to illuminate
-all the country round, as far as to the fleet.  For I fear that these
-hounds will try to escape under cover of night, and I would not that
-they should leave us without some token of our loving-kindness--some
-deep mark in their flesh from Trojan arrow or spear to remember us by
-when they reach their homes in Greece.  If they abide here till
-to-morrow, the better for us, and the worse for them!  Then shall
-Diomede, the mighty son of Tydeus, pay the price of the lives which he
-has taken, and to-morrow's sun shall behold him lying stiff and stark,
-with all his comrades heaped in slaughter around him."
-
-Having listened to the words of their great captain, the leaders
-dispersed to their several quarters to carry out his orders.  And the
-swift southern night came down, wrapping sea and land in shadow.  But
-soon the realm of darkness was invaded by the flame of a thousand
-fires.  Thick as are the stars which cluster round the moon on a
-windless summer night, gladdening the shepherd's heart as he keeps his
-lonely vigil among the hills, so thick shone the fires of the Trojans
-in the space between the river and the ships.  By every fire sat fifty
-men, and their horses stood near at hand, tethered to the cars,
-cropping their barley and waiting for the dawn.
-
-
-
-
-The Embassy to Achilles
-
-I
-
-So the Trojans held their bivouac, and whiled away the time with
-drinking, and music, and song.  Far other were the feelings of the
-cowed and beaten Greeks.  Many a warrior lay sleepless on his uneasy
-couch, tossed on a troubled sea of anxiety and dread.  Among the
-leaders there was no thought of rest, and they soon received a hasty
-summons to attend a council in Agamemnon's quarters.  Small comfort had
-they to receive from the lips of their king, who was utterly broken and
-cast down, and had nothing to advise but instant flight.  A long
-silence followed his despairing words, and the first to speak was
-Diomede, whose young and elastic spirit made him a bright exception
-amid the general despondency of his comrades.  Indignantly rejecting
-the cowardly counsels of Agamemnon, he avowed his intention of
-remaining and carrying on the war with his single troop, if all the
-rest of the Greeks deserted their posts.  His bold words rekindled the
-courage of the rest, and they all joined their voices in a fixed
-resolution to remain and fight out their quarrel to the last.
-
-"'Tis well," said Nestor, who was the next to speak.  "Thou art a
-proper youth, young son of Tydeus, worthy to take the lead in council
-and in fight.  But now listen to an old man's advice.  The Trojans are
-holding their leaguer within sight of our gates, and may make an onfall
-at any moment; therefore let a watch be set by the moat outside the
-camp, and let this charge be given to the young men.  We, the elders,
-have a graver matter to consider--how we may end the lamentable feud
-which has brought division among us, and made us an easy prey to our
-enemies."
-
-The matter thus obscurely hinted at by Nestor was, of course, the
-quarrel between Achilles and Agamemnon; and as soon as the watch was
-set, and left under the charge of Antilochus, Nestor's eldest son, the
-old King of Pylos reopened the debate with these words: "To thee,
-mighty son of Atreus, I will address myself, for thou art the
-vicegerent of Zeus, and holdest the sceptre of righteousness which thou
-hast received from his hands.  Great is thy place, and high the trust
-imposed in thee--even the lives and fortunes of all this people.
-Therefore will I speak roundly with thee, concealing nothing which is
-in my heart.  Thou hast erred, great sovereign, thou hast erred
-grievously, in putting public dishonour on the bravest and most
-illustrious champion in all thy host.  It is thine act which hath
-brought us to this pass; and it is for thee to make restitution, that
-he may cease from his sore anger, and incline his heart unto us again."
-
-Far from showing any resentment at Nestor's plain speaking, Agamemnon
-freely confessed his fault.  "I have sinned," he said, "yea, I have
-sinned grievously, in the great blindness of my heart.  But, thanks be
-to heaven!  I am both able and willing to atone for the wrong which I
-have done.  Attend, while I declare unto you the ransom which I will
-pay unto Achilles to wipe out the stain upon his honour.  Vessels of
-silver will I give him, and vessels of bronze, ten talents of gold, and
-twelve steeds, all prizewinners, which have won me much wealth by the
-speed of their feet.  Also I will give him seven women, my
-bondservants, skilled in all manner of needlework, whom I won at the
-sack of Lesbos; and with them shall go Briseis, who, since I took her
-from him, has lived in all honour with the ladies of my retinue.  And
-if ever the gods grant us to capture the city of Priam he shall have a
-shipload of treasure, and twenty Trojan ladies, the noblest and the
-fairest, as his share of the spoil.  Moreover, when we return home from
-the war, he shall be as a son of my house, and I will give him one of
-my daughters in marriage, without money and without price,[1] and will
-add a rich dower besides.  And he shall be a prince of my land, and
-lord of seven fair cities, honoured and obeyed as a god by those that
-dwell therein.  Surely, if he hath a human heart, he cannot turn away
-from me, his monarch, and his elder, when I come to him with full
-hands, beseeching him to forgive."
-
-
-[1] In Homeric times wives were bought by their husbands.
-
-
-The King's magnificent offer drew warm words of praise from the chiefs,
-and nothing now remained but to choose those who were to be entrusted
-with this important embassy.  At the suggestion of Nestor it was
-decided to send Ph[oe]nix, an aged noble, who was connected with
-Achilles by close ties of early affection, Odysseus, and the greater
-Ajax.  After a few words of warning and counsel from Nestor, they were
-despatched forthwith to the tent of Achilles, and with them went two
-heralds, to give greater solemnity to their mission.
-
-
-II
-
-So together they passed along the level sand, with many a prayer to
-Poseidon, lord of the sea, that they might easily persuade the mighty
-heart of AEacides.[2]  And when they came to the tents and ships of the
-Myrmidons, they found Achilles sitting at the door of his tent, and
-soothing his troubled spirit with song, and the clear music of a harp,
-which he had taken among the spoil of Eetion's city.  Opposite to him
-sat Patroclus, the most beloved of his comrades, waiting until Achilles
-should have finished his lay, whose theme was the deeds of famous men.
-And they came and stood before him, with Odysseus at their head.  When
-Achilles saw them he gave a cry of surprise, and sprang from his seat,
-harp in hand; and Patroclus rose up with him.  Then, greeting them with
-a courteous gesture, he said: "Welcome, dear friends!  Most welcome are
-ye of all the Greeks, even in this hour of my displeasure.  Be seated.
-I know why ye have come hither--sore indeed is the need."  So saying,
-he led the way into the tent, and as soon as they were seated he called
-to Patroclus, saying: "Set forth the largest bowl, and open the oldest
-cask of wine, to do honour to the dear guests who have come under my
-roof."
-
-
-[2] Grandson of AEacus, the father of Peleus.
-
-
-Therewith he placed a table, in the light of the fire, and on it he
-laid the loin of a sheep and another of a fat goat, and the chine of a
-hog.  Automedon, his squire, held the meat, and Achilles with his own
-hands cut it into slices, spitted it, and roasted it over the glowing
-embers.  When all was ready, they feasted sumptuously, and drank of the
-rich wine which Achilles poured out without stint.  The banquet being
-ended, Ajax made a sign to Ph[oe]nix; but Odysseus took the word from
-him, and, rising with a full cup in his hand, pledged Achilles, and
-said: "I drink to thee, son of Peleus, and thank thee for thy good
-cheer.  Never have I tasted choicer fare, not even in the tent of
-Agamemnon himself.  But, alas! my noble host, we have little heart for
-feasting and making merry, for we stand on the very brink of ruin, and
-thou alone canst save us.  The Trojans have pitched their camp before
-our very gates, and it will not be long before they sweep us into the
-sea.  Zeus hath openly taken sides with our foes, and affrights us with
-thunders and with lightnings; and Hector, full of mad presumption, is
-breathing out threatenings and slaughter against us.  I fear--yea, I
-fear exceedingly--that the god will accomplish his threats, and that we
-are indeed doomed to perish in the land of Troy, far from our native
-Argos.  Up, then, and gird thee to the fight, if thou art minded to
-save the sons of Greece, even in the eleventh hour.  If thou wait
-longer the mischief will be done, and thou wilt repent of thy
-stubbornness too late.  Remember the words of thy father, Peleus, when
-he sent thee to the war: 'My son, thou art very strong, but this good
-gift thou owest to heaven.  Do thou curb thy haughty spirit, and turn
-thee to thoughts of kindness, if thou wouldst be honoured of old and
-young.'  Thou hast forgotten the good words of thy father, and given
-place to malice and uncharitableness.  Quit this froward mood, and mark
-while I tell thee the brave gifts which Agamemnon offers as the price
-of thy good will."
-
-Accordingly Odysseus went on to recite the whole tale of the royal
-bounty, and when the list was complete he wound up his speech by
-appealing at once to the humanity, the pride, and the ambition of
-Achilles.  "If thou despisest Agamemnon and his gifts, take pity on thy
-poor countrymen, who will honour thee as a god, and glorify thee as
-their preserver.  And now thou mayest slay Hector, for assuredly he
-will not refrain from thee in the frenzy which possesseth him, boasting
-that there is none to match him among all the Greeks who sailed to
-Troy."
-
-Odysseus resumed his seat, and amidst a breathless silence Achilles
-rose up and began to speak, calmly at first, but rising in passion as
-he proceeded.  "Most noble son of Laertes, I will answer thee bluntly
-and to the purpose, that ye may know my mind, and may not come hither
-on this errand again.  For hateful to me, even as the gates of death,
-is the man who hides one thing in his heart, and speaks another.  Hear,
-then, what I have to say.  Neither Agamemnon, nor all the Greeks
-together, shall turn me from my purpose.  I have fought--thou knowest
-how I have fought--against the common foe; and what my reward hath been
-thou knowest also.  Like a mother bird, who flies to and fro, never
-weary, never resting, carrying morsels to her nestlings, while she
-remains empty herself, so have I passed my days in war and bloodshed,
-and my nights in sleepless watchings, putting my life in jeopardy, for
-the sake of another man's wife.  Twelve cities have I sacked, sailing
-the sea in my ships, and eleven on land, within the realm of Troy.
-First the toil, which was mine, and after that the spoil, which was
-his.  I brought it all, and laid it at his feet, and he kept the
-greater part by far, giving me back a little--a very little--for all my
-pains.  And that little he hath taken away.  Let him keep it, and joy
-go with it!  I loved the maid Briseis, yea, dearly I loved her!
-Thinketh he that he alone and his brother love their wives?  She was my
-prize, my bride: he hath torn her from mine arms, and that foul deed I
-will never forgive.
-
-"And as to the gifts which he offers, let him know that I came here to
-fight for honour, not for pelf.  He hath denied mine honour, and now he
-would bribe me to erase that dark record with a purse of gold.  But I
-will not be bribed.  Away with his gifts!  I value them not a straw.
-Not though he offered me ten times and twenty times as much--all the
-wealth that he hath, or ever shall have--not for all the riches of
-Egyptian Thebes, which sends forth ten thousand warriors, with
-chariots, and with horses, from its hundred gates--no, not for
-treasures unnumbered as the sands and dust of the earth--could he buy
-pardon of me, until he hath suffered the full penalty of the outrage
-which devours my heart.
-
-"Long ago my mother gave me the choice of two diverse fates--short life
-with honour, or long life without a name.  Mine honour is
-lost--therefore I will cling to my life, and live it out to the end.
-Thy miser king holds that men's lives are to be bought and sold, as the
-lives of sheep and oxen; but herein he is mistaken again.  Wealth may
-be won, and lost, and won back again, seized by the strong hand, or
-heaped up slowly by plodding industry; but the breath of our life
-cannot be called back again, when once it hath passed the door of our
-lips.  Therefore I am determined to end my days in peace and quietness
-among my own people, and quit these brawls, which concern not me.  And
-I counsel all the rest to do the same, for it is clear that Troy's
-overthrow is not to be wrought by you.
-
-"Ye have heard my answer; go tell it to the chiefs, and bid them be
-assured that they have naught to hope from me."
-
-Deep was the disappointment of the three envoys, as they followed the
-wild eloquence of that fierce and implacable man.  For a long time not
-a word was spoken, for it seemed vain to argue against such passion and
-pride.  At last the venerable Ph[oe]nix rose feebly from his place, and
-in a voice broken with sobs and tears began a discourse of immense
-length, full of tender personal reminiscence and old-world legend.
-This old man had a curious history.  Born to wealth and power, he
-became an exile in his youth, having been cursed by his father, whom he
-had bitterly provoked in the course of a family feud.  In consequence
-of the curse he remained a childless man, and, finding a new home in
-the land of Peleus, he lavished more than a father's tenderness on
-Achilles, Peleus' infant son.
-
-These incidents from his own life, which he dwelt on with the fond
-garrulity of an old nurse, furnished a copious theme to Ph[oe]nix in
-the first part of his harangue.  "I little thought," he said, "when I
-set thee on my knee, a little, helpless babe, and fed thee with choice
-morsels of meat, and held the cup to thy lips, and thou wouldst spill
-the wine over my gown in thy childish weakness--I little thought to see
-thee grow up to be so pitiless and inflexible, more hard to move than
-the gods themselves, whom we approach with prayer and sacrifice, and
-with bended knees.  Beware of the vengeance which waits upon a stubborn
-and unforgiving heart.  Swift and strong is the dread goddess Ate, who
-prompts man to give and take offence; but Penitence is an old and
-wrinkled goddess, who goes halting behind her, to heal the mischief;
-and if he who is wronged will not listen to her voice he himself
-becomes the offender, and the whole guilt of the quarrel rests on his
-head.  Hearken thou, therefore, to her gentle pleading, and receive the
-bountiful gifts of Agamemnon, or the day will come when thou wilt take
-thy sword perforce, and fight the battles of the Greeks without reward."
-
-Achilles listened with manifest impatience to the rambling appeals of
-Ph[oe]nix; and when at length the old man had finished, he replied
-briefly: "I seek no reward but the favour of Zeus, which I have, and
-shall not cease to have as long as the breath of life is in me.  Vex me
-no more with thy vain repinings; my purpose is fixed, and it is for
-thee to choose whether thou wilt be friends with Agamemnon or with me.
-If thou art on my side remain here for the night, and to-morrow we will
-consider whether we will go or stay."
-
-The conference was brought to a close by a few words from Ajax, whose
-frank and soldierly heart was hot with indignation at the vindictive
-temper of Achilles.  Turning to Odysseus, he said: "Noble son of
-Laertes, let us be going.  Words are wasted on this fierce and froward
-man.  Surely he has a heart of stone, which no kindly thought, no
-gentle memory of ancient comradeship, can soften.  All the homage of
-his countrymen, all the loving-kindness of his friends, are as dirt
-beneath his feet.  Many a man hath accepted a price for the blood of a
-son or brother slain, and suffered the slayer to remain unharmed in the
-land; but thou, Achilles, hast scorned the most princely offers for the
-sake of one captive maid.  O yet at last be moved!  Bring not scorn
-upon us, thy guests, thy friends, but give us a gentle answer to take
-back to our countrymen in their dire need."
-
-These manly and moving words had some effect on Achilles, half maddened
-as he was by wounded pride.  Yet still he would not yield, though his
-answer showed that he had not been in earnest when he spoke of
-abandoning the war.  "Thou hast spoken well, Ajax," he said, "and there
-is much reason in what thou sayest.  But my heart boils with rage when
-I think of the contumely which was heaped upon me before the eyes of
-all Greece, as though I were some beggared and nameless outcast; and I
-will not put on mine armour again, until I see the smoke arising from
-the Grecian ships, and Hector drawing near to my galleys with sword and
-fire.  Then, methinks, his career of victory will end."
-
-After this final declaration of his purpose by Achilles, Ajax and
-Odysseus took their leave, and returned to the assembled chieftains,
-who still sat anxiously awaiting the result of the mission.  Ph[oe]nix
-remained behind, having resolved to cast in his lot with Achilles.
-
-
-
-
-The Night Raid on the Trojan Camp
-
-I
-
-Uneasy lay the head of Agamemnon the King that night, and, thick as
-lightnings which herald the storm, thronging cares shot through his
-brain, forbidding all repose.  As often as he opened his eyes he saw
-the red gleam of the Trojan watchfires; and the hum of the armed
-multitude, mingled with the strains of flute and pipe, filled his ears.
-After an hour of weary tossing he left his couch, and wandered out into
-the camp, until he came to the quarters of Menelaus, and, finding him
-also afoot, he sent him to call up Ajax and Idomeneus, and went himself
-to summon Nestor, intending to hold a midnight council, and devise some
-plan of relief in this hour of general depression and dismay.
-
-On the way he was joined by Diomede and Odysseus, and when they all met
-it was resolved to pay a visit to the sentinels and see if they were
-faithful to their trust.  When they came to the place where the pickets
-were stationed, outside the barriers, they found the whole troop
-keeping watch and ward with sleepless vigilance, like dogs in charge of
-a sheep-fold when they hear a lion prowling without.  Every man was on
-the alert, with his face towards the Trojan leaguer, as if expecting an
-instant attack.  Nestor's long experience of war now enabled him to
-make a suggestion which led to one of the most famous adventures in the
-whole course of the war.  "Is there one among you bold enough," he
-said, "to go and spy out the movements of the Trojans in their camp,
-and bring back a report of what they design against us?  'Twould be a
-noble enterprise, and would bring both fame and profit to him who
-should accomplish it."
-
-There was a short pause, and then Diomede declared himself willing to
-undertake this perilous adventure, "But will not one of you go with
-me?" he asked.  "Two heads are better than one, and I may find myself
-in a strait in which I should need a comrade's help and advice."
-
-Six of the leaders at once offered to accompany Diomede, and among
-these were Menelaus, Odysseus, and Antilochus, the captain of the
-outpost, who was especially eager to go.  "Choose him whom thou
-thinkest best fitted for the task, without respect to rank or birth,"
-said Agamemnon, in fear lest he should name Menelaus for his companion.
-"Well, then," answered Diomede, "I choose Odysseus, the hardiest and
-the shrewdest spirit among us all, and the darling of Athene.  With him
-at my side I will go through fire and water without scathe."
-
-"A truce to thy praises," said Odysseus, "and let us away, for the
-night is far spent, and the day is at hand."
-
-
-II
-
-Lightly armed and equipped, the stout-hearted pair passed out of the
-light of the watchfires, and set their faces towards the Trojan camp.
-Just as they were starting they heard the cry of a heron flying on the
-right, and Odysseus was glad, for he knew it was a sign sent by Athene,
-promising success to their journey.  Murmuring a prayer, they stepped
-forward boldly, like two lions bound on a midnight foray, and crossed
-the battlefield of yesterday, over corpses and broken armour and pools
-of blood.  Suddenly Odysseus came to a halt, and laying his hand on
-Diomede's arm whispered: "I hear a footstep as of one coming this way,
-whether to spy out our camp, or to plunder the dead, I know not.  Let
-us allow him to go by us, and then spring upon him as he passes."
-
-Crouching down among the heaps of slain, they waited until the man had
-passed in the direction of the ships, and then leapt from their ambush
-and gave chase.  When he heard them he hesitated a moment, doubting
-whether they were friends or foes; then, recognising them as Greeks, he
-bounded away at full speed, Odysseus and Diomede following hard behind,
-like two hounds on the track of a doe or hare.  But the fellow was a
-fleet runner, and would have been fairly driven into the hands of the
-Greek sentinels, if Diomede had not raised his spear, and sent it
-whizzing close to the ear of the fugitive, crying as he did so: "Halt!
-whoever thou art, or my next cast shall bring thee down."
-
-Then the wretch was afraid, and stood still, in obedience to the
-summons, with knees knocking together and chattering teeth; and the two
-Greeks ran up, panting for breath, and seized him by the arms.  Weeping
-with terror he began to beg for his life.  "Make me your prisoner," he
-faltered, "and I will pay you a heavy ransom, for my father's house is
-full of silver and gold, and vessels of iron,[1] choicely wrought, and
-he will pay you a heavy price when he hears that I am alive."
-
-
-[1] Iron was scarce and highly prized among the Homeric Greeks.
-
-
-"Have no fears for thy life," said Odysseus; "only answer me truly, and
-thou art safe.  Why art thou wandering here in the dead of night?  Art
-thou on an adventure of thine own, or did Hector send thee to spy out
-the Grecian camp?"
-
-"It was Hector who beguiled me to commit this folly," answered the
-captive, whose name was Dolon; "for he bribed me with a great bribe,
-promising to give me the steeds of Peleus' haughty son, if I would go
-down to the fleet, and bring back information whether you were
-preparing to fly from our shores in the night."
-
-"Thou art ambitious, I see," replied Odysseus, smiling.  "Bold must be
-thy heart, and firm thy hand, if thou wouldst drive the steeds of
-AEacides, which are of no mortal breed.  But tell me now, and answer me
-truly, where is Hector stationed in the Trojan camp, and in what order
-have the others pitched their tents?"
-
-"Hector and the chiefs," answered Dolon, still shaking with mortal
-dread, "have their quarters by the tomb of Ilus, and round them lie the
-native Trojans, keeping good watch.  The allies are encamped about
-them, in no fixed order, and they are all asleep.  On the very
-outskirts of the camp lie the Thracians, and Rhesus their king; and if
-ye are minded to make an onfall on their leaguer ye may do it in
-safety, and win a rare prize.  For Rhesus hath a pair of milk-white
-coursers, unmatched in strength and speed, and a car richly adorned
-with silver and gold.  Likewise he hath a suit of golden armour, fit
-for the gods to wear.  And all this ye may win without a blow.  Now
-leave me in the custody of your comrades, or bind me fast here, that ye
-may know when ye return whether I have spoken the truth."
-
-But that night was to afford a second instance of broken faith, hardly
-less infamous than the first.  Having tempted this poor caitiff to
-betray his comrades by promising him his life, they now gave him the
-traitor's wage.  "Thou must die, Dolon," said Diomede coldly, "for all
-thy good news.  Thou art a foe, delivered into our hands, and thou
-shalt never spy upon us or fight with us again."  Dolon clung to him
-with cries of anguished entreaty, pleading for his life; but Diomede,
-with one downward stroke of his sword, swept off his head, which
-rolled, with lips still moving, in the dust.  Then stripping off his
-armour, he hung it in a tamarisk tree, and, having marked the place,
-went forward with Odysseus in the direction of the Thracian camp.
-
-When they came to the quarters of Rhesus, they found him lying in the
-midst of his men, with his famous steeds standing near, tethered to
-their car.  All the troop was sleeping heavily, for they were newly
-arrived at Troy, and had travelled far and fast the day before.  "There
-he is," whispered Odysseus, "and these are his steeds, a glorious pair!
-Now to work!  Slay me a score of these sluggards while I loose the
-steeds."
-
-Thereupon Diomede drew his sword, and struck right and left like a
-headsman, until he had slain some dozen of the sleeping Thracians; and,
-as he proceeded, Odysseus dragged the slaughtered men out of the way,
-to make a path for the horses, which were young, and unused to such
-sights.  Diomede's last victim was the giant Rhesus, who was breathing
-heavily, and dreaming of his home; but a Grecian blade cut short his
-dreams, and his fleet coursers now found a new master.  While Diomede
-was thus busy, Odysseus untethered the steeds, and coupling them
-together by their harness drove them out of the camp, striking them
-with a bow which he carried; for he had forgotten to take up the whip.
-Diomede still lingered, meditating some final act of daring, to crown
-the night's adventure.  Beneath him lay the corpse of Rhesus, and his
-golden armour, and he was hesitating whether to take these, or slay a
-few more Thracians, when Odysseus gave a low whistle, warning him that
-it was time to be going.  The next moment he heard the sound of
-hurrying footsteps, and, perceiving that the alarm had been given, he
-joined Odysseus, and mounting one of the horses seized the other by the
-bridle, and rode at a rapid trot towards the sea.  Odysseus ran by his
-side, holding on by the harness, for he was no rider,[2] but a swift
-and enduring runner.
-
-
-[2] Riding was little practised among the Homeric heroes.
-
-
-They had no sooner departed than a wild commotion arose behind them in
-the awakened Thracian camp, but increasing their pace they soon reached
-the spot where they had left the unhappy Dolon, and, having paused for
-a moment to take up his armour, they hurried forward, and before long
-they were within hail of the Grecian outposts, where the whole company
-of the leaders was still assembled, anxiously awaiting their return.
-
-Nestor was the first to hear the sound of the horses' feet, and
-thinking that the Trojans were attacking he ran to raise the alarm.
-But he was soon reassured when he heard the voice of Diomede, followed
-a moment later by the arrival of the hardy adventurers with their
-splendid booty.  Joyful were the greetings on both sides, and when the
-story of that great exploit had been briefly told they all dispersed to
-their quarters, to snatch a few hours of sleep before the toils of the
-coming day.
-
-
-
-
-The Brave Deeds of Agamemnon: Reverses of the Greeks
-
-In the still hours of the dawn the Greeks were startled from their
-slumbers by a loud and fearful cry, which came from no mortal lips, but
-from Eris, the dread goddess of strife, who had been sent down by Zeus
-to give the signal for battle.  The first to obey that awful summons
-was Agamemnon; for this was to be his great day, and his heart was
-aflame with the lust of slaughter.  Springing from his couch he began
-to don his armour.  First he put on his greaves, which were made of
-pliant white metal, with ankle pieces of silver.  Then he took up his
-corslet, with a glance of pride, for it was of choice and costly
-workmanship, cunningly fashioned of thin strips or courses of metal.
-Ten courses were of blue steel, and ten of gold, and twenty of tin; and
-round about the corslet wound three serpents, wrought in divers
-colours, like the rainbow, with their heads meeting where the corslet
-narrowed at the neck.  His sword glittered with golden ornaments, and
-the scabbard was of silver, and the baldric of gold.  On his shield,
-which had ten circles of brass, were twenty bosses of white tin, and in
-the centre a boss of blue steel; and it bore an image of the Gorgon's
-head and the dreadful faces of Rout and Panic.  Attached to it was a
-silver strap, bearing the device of a serpent with three heads.
-
-Glittering in this gorgeous panoply, brandishing two spears, and
-raising his battle cry, Agamemnon rushed to the gates of the camp, and
-placed himself at the head of his bravest champions, who were mustering
-there with the flower of the Greek army, prepared for the expected
-attack.  They had not long to wait; hardly had they set their ranks in
-order, when the Trojans appeared on the summit of the slope which ran
-down to the shore.  And like a star which appears and disappears on a
-stormy night, when the sky is covered with scudding clouds, so
-glittered the mailed form of Hector, as he ranged in and out among the
-advancing columns, marshalling his men to the fight.
-
-Then like two lines of reapers working together on opposite sides of a
-deep field of wheat or barley, so met Greeks and Trojans on the plain
-before the camp, and war's dread harvest began.  None of the gods were
-present, save only Eris, whose savage heart was glad when she smelt the
-smell of blood.  And Zeus sat apart on a lonely peak, looking down upon
-Troy and the Grecian fleet and the two warring nations in the space
-between.
-
-The Brave Deeds of Agamemnon: Reverses of the Greeks
-
-I
-
-In the still hours of the dawn the Greeks were startled from their
-slumbers by a loud and fearful cry, which came from no mortal lips, but
-from Eris, the dread goddess of strife, who had been sent down by Zeus
-to give the signal for battle.  The first to obey that awful summons
-was Agamemnon; for this was to be his great day, and his heart was
-aflame with the lust of slaughter.  Springing from his couch he began
-to don his armour.  First he put on his greaves, which were made of
-pliant white metal, with ankle pieces of silver.  Then he took up his
-corslet, with a glance of pride, for it was of choice and costly
-workmanship, cunningly fashioned of thin strips or courses of metal.
-Ten courses were of blue steel, and ten of gold, and twenty of tin; and
-round about the corslet wound three serpents, wrought in divers
-colours, like the rainbow, with their heads meeting where the corslet
-narrowed at the neck.  His sword glittered with golden ornaments, and
-the scabbard was of silver, and the baldric of gold.  On his shield,
-which had ten circles of brass, were twenty bosses of white tin, and in
-the centre a boss of blue steel; and it bore an image of the Gorgon's
-head and the dreadful faces of Rout and Panic.  Attached to it was a
-silver strap, bearing the device of a serpent with three heads.
-
-Glittering in this gorgeous panoply, brandishing two spears, and
-raising his battle cry, Agamemnon rushed to the gates of the camp, and
-placed himself at the head of his bravest champions, who were mustering
-there with the flower of the Greek army, prepared for the expected
-attack.  They had not long to wait; hardly had they set their ranks in
-order, when the Trojans appeared on the summit of the slope which ran
-down to the shore.  And like a star which appears and disappears on a
-stormy night, when the sky is covered with scudding clouds, so
-glittered the mailed form of Hector, as he ranged in and out among the
-advancing columns, marshalling his men to the fight.
-
-Then like two lines of reapers working together on opposite sides of a
-deep field of wheat or barley, so met Greeks and Trojans on the plain
-before the camp, and war's dread harvest began.  None of the gods were
-present, save only Eris, whose savage heart was glad when she smelt the
-smell of blood.  And Zeus sat apart on a lonely peak, looking down upon
-Troy and the Grecian fleet and the two warring nations in the space
-between.
-
-Until the hour of noon the battle was waged with equal fortune on both
-sides.  But just at the time when a woodman in some mountain glen
-breaks off his labour to prepare his midday meal, having wearied his
-hands with holding the axe, the Greeks made a vigorous charge, and
-broke through the Trojan line.  Agamemnon fought in advance of all the
-rest, and recognising among the enemy two sons of Priam, who had
-formerly been taken captive by Achilles and let go for a ransom, he
-slew them both, and stripped off their armour.  And as a lion slays two
-hapless fawns, while their dam, who is feeding near, flies sweating
-with terror from the onslaught of the mighty beast, so the Trojans saw
-their young princes slain, but were helpless to aid them, being
-themselves hard pressed by the victorious Greeks.
-
-Like a famished lion who has broken into a sheep-fold, and ravages the
-flock, so fell Agamemnon on the huddled masses of the Trojans, striking
-about him with sword and spear.  Presently he had an opportunity of
-gratifying his private revenge; for right before him, impeded by the
-press, he saw the two sons of Antimachus, a Trojan who was bribed with
-gold by Paris to oppose the restoration of Helen.  There they stood
-helpless, both together in one car, holding out their hands in
-supplication, and begging him to spare their lives.  "There is no mercy
-for such as you," cried Agamemnon fiercely.  "Did not your father, in
-the hearing of all the people, advise the murder of my brother,
-Menelaus, when he came on an embassy to Troy?  Die, and pay for your
-father's treachery."  With that he thrust down one of them with his
-spear, and the other, who turned to fly, he slew with his sword,
-lopping off head and arms, and spurning the trunk with his foot, so
-that it rolled like a log along the ground.  Then, raising his battle
-cry, he plunged into the thick of the fight, where the main body of the
-Trojans were flying before the Greeks, horse and foot mingled together
-in headlong rout.  And as a fire sweeps through the dry brushwood,
-borne onward by the wind, and leaving a black waste behind, so thick
-and fast fell the Trojans before Agamemnon; and many an empty car went
-rattling over the field, borne hither and thither by its affrighted
-steeds, whose master was lying where he fell, until the vultures
-assembled to the banquet at eventide.
-
-Across the plain they sped, past the tomb of Ilus and the wild
-fig-tree, making straight for the city, and as they came to the gates
-they turned at bay, and waited for those who were still flying before
-Agamemnon and the Greeks.
-
-"Now haste thee, swift Iris!" said Zeus to the maiden messenger of
-heaven, "and bear this message to Hector.  As long as he sees Agamemnon
-foremost in the slaughter, let him hold back, and leave the others to
-stem the tide of war; but when Agamemnon receives a wound, as he shall
-do soon, then let Hector take the lead again, and drive the Greeks back
-upon their ships."
-
-Hector duly received the message, as he was rallying his men to defend
-their gates; and in obedience to the command of Zeus he retired from
-the front, and waited for the promised relief.  He had not long to
-wait.  Presently Agamemnon was assailed by Iphidamas, a son of Antenor,
-one of the chief men of Troy, who charged at him, spear in hand, and
-thrusting with all his force struck him full on the breastplate.  But
-the spear point was turned on the tempered metal, and Agamemnon,
-seizing the shaft, dragged the weapon from his hands, and smote down
-the tall champion with a blow of his sword.  But as he was stooping to
-strip the armour from the corpse, Cooen, the brother of Iphidamas, crept
-up to his side, and drove his spear clean through Agamemnon's forearm.
-
-Though grievously hurt Agamemnon turned on his assailant, and cut him
-down; and having thus avenged himself he still fought on, dealing havoc
-among the Trojans with his spear and his sword, and with heavy stones.
-But presently his blood ceased to flow, and his arm grew stiff, as the
-wound began to close.  Being now in dreadful pain, he could fight no
-longer, and summoning his chariot he left the field, and drove at full
-speed back to the camp.
-
-
-II
-
-"Forward, men of Troy!" shouted Hector, rushing to the front.
-"Agamemnon is sorely wounded, and Zeus has promised us the victory."
-And as a hunter cheers on his hounds against a lion or wild boar, so
-Hector encouraged his Trojans, by word and by action, to assail the
-Greeks; and like a black squall which leaps suddenly on the AEgaean, he
-himself led the assault, strong in the support of Zeus, and confident
-of victory.
-
-Diomede marked him as he moved his way through the Grecian ranks, and
-stood to oppose him, poising his spear.  The weapon flew, and struck
-him on the helmet, but rebounded from the massive brazen ridge, and
-dropped on the ground.  Hector, though unwounded, was hurled back by
-that ponderous stroke, and sank, half-stunned, on one knee, leaning on
-his hand.  Following up his advantage, Diomede rushed forward to regain
-his spear; but meanwhile Hector had recovered from his faintness, and
-escaped in his chariot to the rear.  "Again thou hast avoided death at
-my hands, thou dog!" shouted Diomede after him.  "But I will slay thee
-yet."  And he stooped to take the armour from a Trojan whom he had
-killed.
-
-Leaning against a stone pillar, the monument of Ilus, an ancient King
-of Troy, stood the gay archer Paris; and when he saw Diomede kneeling
-by the fallen Trojan he took steady aim, and launched an arrow, which
-pierced through Diomede's right foot, and pinned him to the ground.
-"Thou art hit," he cried, springing from his ambush with a loud laugh.
-"Would that my shaft had cloven thy very heart!  So should I have given
-a breathing space to the Trojans, who cower before thee like bleating
-goats before a lion."
-
-"Out on thee, cowardly bowman!" answered Diomede, with scorn.  "Thou
-fightest thy battles from a safe distance, and shunnest the push of
-sword or spear.  And now thou art boasting aloud over this pinprick,
-which harms me not at all.  There is no force in the blow from a
-coward's arm.  But the touch of my weapon means death, and they who
-feel it need no second stroke.  Their last bed is the bare, cold
-ground, and vultures perform their obsequies."
-
-Notwithstanding these bold words, the wound was severe, and as soon as
-Odysseus, who ran to aid his friend, had drawn out the shaft, Diomede
-was obliged to retire from the battlefield.
-
-As Odysseus was about to join the ranks of the retreating Greeks he
-found himself hemmed in by a party of Trojan spearsmen, who surrounded
-him with a circle of bristling points.  Then as a wild boar issues from
-his shady lair, foaming and champing his teeth, and charges down upon
-the hounds and hunters who have beset the covert, so sprang Odysseus on
-his assailants, and in a moment four of them lay writhing at his feet.
-The last of these, a young noble named Charops, found an avenger in
-Socus, his brother, who thrust so vigorously at Odysseus with his spear
-that the point clave through shield and corslet, and made a long ragged
-wound in his side.  Socus, in his turn, who fled as soon as the blow
-was struck, was gored in the back, between the shoulders, by the spear
-of Odysseus.  But that sage and valiant warrior was now in deadly
-peril; for when the Trojans saw his blood flowing, as he drew out the
-lance from his corslet and shield, they fell upon him like one man,
-with wild cries of triumph.  Slowly he gave back before them, shouting
-aloud to his friends to come to his rescue.  Three times he cried, and
-his voice reached the ears of Menelaus, who hurried to his relief,
-bringing with him the mighty Ajax, son of Telamon.
-
-They came not a moment too soon, for Odysseus was hard beset by his
-clamorous foes, who crowded round him, like jackals round a tall
-antlered stag which has been wounded with an arrow, and has fled to the
-shelter of the woods: but while the jackals are yelping about him, up
-comes a great bearded lion, and scatters the jackals, and makes the
-stag his prey.  So when the towering form of Ajax appeared, as he
-advanced with his huge orbed shield, the Trojans abandoned their
-intended victim, and fled in dismay.  Menelaus took the wounded man by
-the hand, and led him to the place where his chariot was waiting,
-leaving Ajax occupied with a fresh column of Trojans, who came pouring
-to the attack when they saw their friends routed.  Then mightily raged
-the sword of Ajax, falling like a flail on the heads of his foes, and
-man and horse went down before him.
-
-All this time Hector had been fighting in another part of the field, at
-the extreme left of the line of battle, where the Greeks were led by
-Nestor and Idomeneus.  A lucky shot from the bow of Paris disabled
-Machaon, who, besides being a stout fighter, was the most skilful leech
-in the Greek army.  "We must save him at any cost," said Idomeneus to
-Nestor.  "A skilful physician is worth a whole troop of spearsmen.
-Mount thou thy car, and carry him with all speed to the camp."  Nestor
-did as he was advised, and Idomeneus was thus left to bear the brunt
-alone.
-
-Just at this moment Cebriones, Hector's charioteer, came galloping up
-with the news that the main body of the Trojans was suffering severely
-from the attack led by Ajax.  As the departure of Nestor and Machaon
-had left him little to do in this part of the field, Hector at once
-mounted his chariot, and directed his course towards the spot where
-Ajax was fighting.  Right between the warring lines he drove, trampling
-over corpses, helmets, and shields; and steeds and car were spattered
-with blood.  Soon he was joined by a strong troop of Trojan warriors,
-and Ajax found himself assailed by a storm of missiles.  Then even that
-mighty man felt a touch of fear, and throwing his shield behind him he
-began slowly to retire, halting at every step, and striking down some
-too daring assailant.  Like a lion who has been driven off from a
-herdsman's steading with javelins, and with stones, and with burning
-brands, yet will not leave the place, but prowls near all night,
-lusting after the flesh of the fat beeves--so Ajax, though hard beset,
-drew back reluctantly, inch by inch, before the clamour and fury of his
-foes.  Dogged he was, and hard to stir from his place, like some big
-greedy ass who has found his way into a deep field of corn, and will
-not budge till he has filled his belly, though assailed by a laughing
-crowd of children, who rain blows on his back and ribs,--even so the
-blows rained upon Ajax, who was encumbered by the weight of the spears
-which had pierced his shield.  At last, the Greeks advanced to his
-succour in close array, and joining their ranks he wheeled once more
-and faced the thronging Trojans.
-
-
-III
-
-The tide of battle had thus turned again, and the Greeks were being
-driven steadily back upon their camp.  The roar of the conflict reached
-the ears of Achilles, who was standing near his ship, peering out
-eagerly over the Trojan plain; and at the same moment he saw Nestor
-driving past in his chariot, bringing with him the wounded Machaon.
-Then he called to Patroclus, and bade him go and inquire who the
-injured man was.  "I think," he added, "that it was Machaon; but the
-car passed me in a flash, and I saw not his face.  Methinks the hour of
-my revenge is near, for the Greeks are in a sore strait."  Ah! son of
-Peleus, thy revenge is indeed near, but thou little dreamest how dearly
-thou wilt pay for that bitter morsel.
-
-When Patroclus reached the tent of Nestor he found the venerable King
-of Pylos sitting with Machaon, waiting while a handmaid prepared for
-them a slight refection.  The woman drew a table before them, and on it
-she placed a brazen dish, with onions, and honeycomb, and barley cakes.
-Then she took a massive cup, embossed with gold, resting on a double
-base, and having four golden handles, each one of which was wrought in
-the form of two doves, which seemed to be feeding from the cup.  In
-this vessel she prepared a posset, pouring in a rich red wine, into
-which she sprinkled cheese of goats' milk and white barley meal.  And
-when the posset was ready she set it on the table, and bade them drink.
-
-The cup was very weighty, and a strong hand was needed to lift it to
-the lips; but Nestor raised it easily, old as he was, and was about to
-take a draught, when, looking up, he saw Patroclus standing at the door
-of the tent.  Replacing the goblet on the table, Nestor rose to greet
-him, and taking him by the hand invited him to enter.  But Patroclus
-hesitated, wishing to return at once with the required information to
-his friend, whose impatient and exacting mood he knew and feared.  "I
-was sent," he said, "to ask the name of the wounded man, and I see that
-it is Machaon.  Achilles waits for an answer, and I dare not keep him
-waiting."  Nevertheless, he lingered awhile, and listened to the long
-harangue of that "old man eloquent," who soon wandered, according to
-his wont, into a long story of his youthful prowess, when he lived as
-the sole survivor of twelve sons in the house of his father Neleus.
-"But why," he asked, when that theme was exhausted--"why should
-Achilles inquire about one wounded Greek?  He knows not the extent of
-our mischances, nor how much cause we have to mourn.  Diomede, the
-valiant son of Tydeus, is stricken with an arrow, Agamemnon also is
-wounded, and likewise Odysseus.  Will Achilles now be satisfied, or is
-he waiting until our ships are consumed with fire, and all of us put to
-the sword?  Would that this arm of mine were as of yore, when I was the
-bulwark of my father's house, and of all my people.  But Achilles puts
-forth his might and his valour only for his own honour and glory, and
-cares not though his country perish.  Canst thou do nothing with him?
-Remember the charge which Men[oe]tius, thy father, gave thee, when we
-were sojourning, I and Odysseus, in the house of Peleus.  We came
-thither to summon thee and Achilles to the war, and ye were both fain
-to go.  And these were the parting words of Men[oe]tius to thee: "My
-son, Achilles, is far mightier than thou, but thou art the elder, and
-it is for thee to guide him, and counsel him for his good.  Be wise,
-and be kind, and he will obey thee."
-
-"Ah! take those words to heart, and reason with that wilful youth.  If
-he is obeying some oracle from Zeus, which forbids him to go into
-battle, at least let him send thee to lead the Myrmidons in his stead,
-and let him lend thee his armour, that the Trojans may be affrighted
-when they see thee, thinking that Achilles has arisen.  Thus, at least,
-we shall get a little respite, and gain time to breathe."
-
-Pondering deeply on the last words of Nestor, which were to prove so
-fatal to himself, Patroclus hastened back on the way to his own
-quarters.  But he was to be delayed a second time: for as he was
-passing the tent of Odysseus he met Eurypylus, one of the bravest of
-the Greeks, who came limping towards him, being wounded in the thigh by
-an arrow.  He was a pitiful sight, begrimed with dust and sweat, and
-bleeding copiously from his wound.  And Patroclus groaned in spirit
-when he saw him, for he was cut to the heart to find so many of his
-comrades disabled.  "Woe is me!" he said, with a glance of pity, "to
-see thee thus.  But tell me, how goes the day?"
-
-"We can keep the field no longer," answered Eurypylus.  "The Greeks
-must retire behind their barriers.  But thou seest how grievously I am
-hurt; take me with thee to thy tent, and cut the arrow out of my thigh,
-and when thou hast washed my wound with warm water, lay thereon some of
-the powerful simples which Achilles received from the wise centaur,
-Chiron.  For of the two leeches of the army one, Machaon, is in need of
-a physician himself, and Podalirius, the other, is fighting in the
-front."
-
-"I am in haste," said Patroclus, "howbeit, I will not leave thee in
-this state"; and, supporting the wounded man in his arms, he guided him
-slowly to his tent, and seating him on a couch of bulls' hides played
-the part of physician with such skill and success that the blood was
-stanched, and the sharp pain allayed.
-
-
-
-
-The Attack on the Grecian Camp
-
-The Greeks were now driven back upon their defences, and a furious
-struggle ensued for the possession of the walls.  The battle was no
-longer a succession of duels, such as we have witnessed hitherto, but a
-desperate contest for life and death, in which high and low, nobles and
-commons, had to take their share.  As before, Hector took the lead, and
-tried to force his way across the moat, and up the steep slope on the
-other side, which was topped by a wall of stone, and a stiff fence of
-palisades.  Again and again he rushed at the yawning moat in his car,
-but each time his horses refused the leap, and stood neighing and
-trembling, with their hoofs planted at the brink.
-
-At last, perceiving that he was wasting his strength to no purpose, he
-changed his method of attack, and leaving his car in charge of a squire
-prepared to lead the assault on foot.  Some time was lost while he was
-collecting a picked body of men to follow him, and instructing them how
-to proceed; and while he was taking his measures, Asius, a captain of
-the allies, made a bold attempt to carry the Greek position at a single
-blow.  Disregarding Hector's orders, he remained in his chariot, called
-to his troop to keep close behind him, and drove rapidly round the line
-of the wall, looking for a weak point where he might hope to force an
-entrance.  He succeeded beyond his hopes; for on the extreme left of
-the camp he found a gate which was still open to admit any stragglers
-who might have been left behind in the flight of the Greeks.  With a
-shout of triumph he drove straight at the open gateway, with all his
-company following pell-mell.  But just as he was about to cross the
-portals he found himself confronted by a pair of gigantic brothers, who
-stood like two mighty oaks deep-rooted on a mountain top, ready to
-dispute the way.  They were well supported by the defenders who lined
-the walls, and a hail of stones and javelins rattled down on the
-shields of Asius and his men, who were driven back with loss and
-compelled to retire out of range.  The gates were then closed and
-barred, and for this time the camp was saved.
-
-Meanwhile the Trojans under Hector's command were still hesitating on
-the brink of the moat.  For a strange portent had occurred, which gave
-them pause, just as they were rushing to the assault.  On the left hand
-of the army they saw an eagle soaring high in the air, holding a huge
-serpent in his talons, which writhed and struggled to escape.  And
-indeed the eagle had met his match, for suddenly the serpent drew back
-his head, and darting forward bit his captor in the breast.  The eagle
-gave a scream of pain, and dropping the serpent, which fell in the
-midst of the Trojans, flew swiftly away.
-
-The Attack on the Grecian Camp
-
-The Greeks were now driven back upon their defences, and a furious
-struggle ensued for the possession of the walls.  The battle was no
-longer a succession of duels, such as we have witnessed hitherto, but a
-desperate contest for life and death, in which high and low, nobles and
-commons, had to take their share.  As before, Hector took the lead, and
-tried to force his way across the moat, and up the steep slope on the
-other side, which was topped by a wall of stone, and a stiff fence of
-palisades.  Again and again he rushed at the yawning moat in his car,
-but each time his horses refused the leap, and stood neighing and
-trembling, with their hoofs planted at the brink.
-
-At last, perceiving that he was wasting his strength to no purpose, he
-changed his method of attack, and leaving his car in charge of a squire
-prepared to lead the assault on foot.  Some time was lost while he was
-collecting a picked body of men to follow him, and instructing them how
-to proceed; and while he was taking his measures, Asius, a captain of
-the allies, made a bold attempt to carry the Greek position at a single
-blow.  Disregarding Hector's orders, he remained in his chariot, called
-to his troop to keep close behind him, and drove rapidly round the line
-of the wall, looking for a weak point where he might hope to force an
-entrance.  He succeeded beyond his hopes; for on the extreme left of
-the camp he found a gate which was still open to admit any stragglers
-who might have been left behind in the flight of the Greeks.  With a
-shout of triumph he drove straight at the open gateway, with all his
-company following pell-mell.  But just as he was about to cross the
-portals he found himself confronted by a pair of gigantic brothers, who
-stood like two mighty oaks deep-rooted on a mountain top, ready to
-dispute the way.  They were well supported by the defenders who lined
-the walls, and a hail of stones and javelins rattled down on the
-shields of Asius and his men, who were driven back with loss and
-compelled to retire out of range.  The gates were then closed and
-barred, and for this time the camp was saved.
-
-Meanwhile the Trojans under Hector's command were still hesitating on
-the brink of the moat.  For a strange portent had occurred, which gave
-them pause, just as they were rushing to the assault.  On the left hand
-of the army they saw an eagle soaring high in the air, holding a huge
-serpent in his talons, which writhed and struggled to escape.  And
-indeed the eagle had met his match, for suddenly the serpent drew back
-his head, and darting forward bit his captor in the breast.  The eagle
-gave a scream of pain, and dropping the serpent, which fell in the
-midst of the Trojans, flew swiftly away.
-
-All stood amazed, and doubt and fear crept into their hearts when they
-saw the monster writhing at their feet.  At last Polydamas, a warrior
-who was famed for his skill in augury, turned to Hector, and said: "My
-prince, the sign is against us; and as the eagle was stricken, when he
-strove to carry the dappled snake to his young, so shall we also be
-stricken, if we persist in our assault on the Grecian stronghold.  Let
-us draw off our men, lest we be found fighting against the gods, and
-bring upon ourselves rout and disaster."
-
-"Polydamas," answered Hector, with bended brows, "if thou hast no
-better counsel than this thou hadst better hold thy peace, for the gods
-have marred thy wit.  Vain man! knowest thou not that we came hither
-under a sure promise from Zeus?  Are we to obey his voice, or shall we
-be cowed by the flapping of a wing?  What care I for any fowl that
-flies east or west, while I stand under the favour of heaven's high
-lord?  To the patriot all omens are good, when his country summons him
-to her defence.  A truce to thine idle prate!  Thou hast naught to
-fear, whether we fight or fly, for thou art never seen on the perilous
-edge of battle.  But keep thy cold counsels for thine own coward heart,
-or I will find means to lock thy lips for ever."
-
-Thereupon he sprang forward towards the wall, and all his men followed,
-raising a deafening shout.  And from the glens of Ida there came a
-rushing mighty wind, which bore a blinding cloud of dust into the faces
-of the Greeks, and hindered them in the work of defence.  The Trojans
-had now crossed the moat, and were striving with all their force to
-break down the wall.  Some tugged at the battlements, and tried to pull
-them down, while others brought levers to overthrow the projecting
-buttresses.  On the other side the Greeks fought stubbornly, making a
-fence with their shields along the line of the wall, and keeping up a
-shower of javelins and stones.
-
-Foremost in the defence were the greater and lesser Ajax, who hurried
-up and down the battlements, encouraging, rebuking, and threatening.
-"Stand fast!" they cried.  "This is no time for flinching.  Let every
-man do his part, whether he be weak or strong.  Your lives are in your
-own hands."
-
-As on a winter day, when Zeus has lulled the winds to sleep, and all
-the air is thick with flying snowflakes, until mountain top and jutting
-promontory, green field and black ploughland, level shore and rocky
-bay, are all hidden under the same dazzling mantle, whose fringe
-touches the cold, grey sea--so thick flew the missiles on either side,
-rattling down uninterruptedly on battlement and helmet and shield.
-
-Conspicuous among the allies of the Trojans were Glaucus and Sarpedon,
-the leaders of the Lycians.  They were bosom friends, of one heart and
-one mind; and the night before they had discoursed earnestly together
-on the duties and privileges of their rank.  The words of Sarpedon on
-this occasion are ever memorable.  "I need not tell thee, Glaucus," he
-said, "why we twain are honoured above all the rest with the highest
-seats, the costliest fare, and cups ever full, and why a fair domain of
-corn-land and olive ground and vineyard was set apart for us on the
-banks of Xanthus.  As we have received freely, so freely must we give,
-sparing not even our heart's blood in the service of those to whom we
-owe all we have.  Let us be no sluggard kings, first in the feast and
-last in the fray, but, as we are foremost in privilege, so let us be
-foremost in peril.  Man walketh as a vain shadow, and all his steps are
-encompassed by death; die he must, ere many days are passed--herein he
-hath no choice--but, unless he hath the soul of a slave, he will choose
-death with honour."
-
-Acting in the spirit of these noble words, Sarpedon, with Glaucus at
-his side, and all the chivalry of Lycia at his back, now made a
-determined attack on the part of the wall where Menestheus, the captain
-of the Athenians, was directing the defence.  Menestheus, feeling that
-he was ill provided to sustain the onset of these two famous captains,
-raised his voice to summon Ajax to his succour; but his cry was drowned
-by the tremendous din of the battle which was raging around him, and
-the thundering blows which the Trojans were now raining upon the gates.
-So he sent an urgent message by a herald, begging Ajax to come to his
-relief.  Ajax responded promptly to the call, and joined the men under
-Menestheus, bringing with him Teucer, his half-brother, who was now
-sufficiently recovered from his wound to take part in the defence.
-
-On came the storming party, with Sarpedon at their head, and they were
-already beginning to swarm up the battlements, when the arrival of
-Teucer and Ajax gave them a check.  Lifting up a ponderous stone, which
-he found lying loose by the wall, Ajax dashed out the brains of a stout
-Lycian, whose knee was already on the rampart, and down he toppled,
-plunging headforemost, like a diver, into the moat; and at the same
-moment a lucky shot from Teucer's bow struck Glaucus in the arm.
-Incensed to see his comrade wounded, Sarpedon redoubled his efforts,
-and grasping one of the battlements with both hands he wrenched it from
-its place, and sent it crashing to the ground.  But, being fiercely
-attacked by Ajax and Teucer together, he was compelled to draw back a
-little, and wait for support.  "On, Lycians!" he shouted.  "Why loiter
-ye behind?  I cannot win the wall alone."
-
-The Lycians rallied to the voice of their prince, and the battle was
-renewed with fresh fury on both sides.  Up the steep bank they swarmed
-again, and strove with all their might to drive back the defenders from
-their battlements.  But the Greeks would not yield an inch, and
-besiegers and besieged held their ground stubbornly in that grim
-controversy, like two farmers who stand, with measuring-lines in their
-hands, disputing hotly about a few inches of ground, on the boundaries
-of their fields--or like an honest labouring woman, who holds the scale
-in even balance, weighing the wool which she has spun to win a scanty
-wage wherewith to buy her children bread.[1]  So in even balance hung
-the fray, and many were the wounds given and received in back or in
-breast, until the battlements ran with blood.
-
-
-[1] The yarn is weighed to show that none of the raw wool has been
-stolen.
-
-
-But the chief honour of the day was reserved for Hector, who was the
-first to set foot within the fortress of the Greeks.  While the battle
-was still raging on the wall, he made his way to the main entrance of
-the camp, which was defended by stout oaken gates, fast closed with
-massy bolt and bar.  In front of the gates lay a huge stone, such as
-two men could hardly lift in these less heroic days.  Lifting the
-mighty boulder, he carried it, easily as a shepherd carries a fleece,
-close up to the gates.  Then, planting his feet firmly, he heaved that
-ponderous mass above his head, and flung.  Like a thunderbolt flew the
-enormous missile, dashing through panel and bolt and bar.  The gates,
-torn from their hinges, fell inward, and over the ruins sprang Hector,
-with brow black as night, and death in his glance.  Terribly gleamed
-his brazen armour as he leapt upon the foe, with a lance in each hand.
-None save the gods could have dared to face him in that hour of triumph
-and victory.  The Trojans poured in behind him, or leapt down from the
-wall, now deserted by the panic-stricken Greeks, who fled with one
-accord to the shelter of their ships.
-
-
-
-
-Poseidon aids the Greeks
-
-I
-
-The promise which Zeus had made to Thetis seemed now on the point of
-being fulfilled, and accordingly Zeus, by whose direct interference
-alone the Trojans had been able to work such havoc among the Greeks,
-relaxed his attention, and left the rival armies to fight out the issue
-between them, never dreaming that any of the gods would venture to act
-against his express command.
-
-But Poseidon, his brother, and second only to Zeus himself in power,
-was a staunch ally of the Greeks, and was bitterly indignant that they
-should suffer defeat at the hands of the hated and despised Trojans.
-As long as the eye of Zeus was on the battlefield he dared not
-interfere; but as soon as he saw his great brother engaged elsewhere he
-left his seat on the island of Samothrace, where he had been
-overlooking the battle, and sped on his way to AEgae, his sacred city on
-the shores of the Gulf of Corinth.  The mountains bowed their heads,
-and the trees vailed[1] their high tops, beneath the immortal feet of
-Poseidon, the King.  In three steps he reached his goal, and entered
-his shining, golden palace, built in the cool depths of that glassy
-bay.  There he bade harness his brazen-footed steeds, and mounting the
-car drove it across the waters.  The charmed billows parted to make him
-a path, and round him played the dolphins, and other huge children of
-the deep, as his wheels passed unwetted over that heaving, liquid
-floor.  So on they bounded, until they reached the shores of Troy.
-
-
-[1] "_Vailing_ [stooping] her high top lower than her
-ribs."--Shakespeare: _Merchant of Venice_.
-
-
-The Greeks were still flying before the victorious Trojans, who pressed
-them hard, with furious uproar, when suddenly there appeared among them
-one like unto Calchas, the prophet, in form and in voice.  "Take heart,
-comrades!" said he, addressing himself to Ajax, who, with his namesake,
-was still heading the defence; "we shall beat them yet, if only we can
-quench the fury of that madman, Hector, who bears himself like a son of
-Zeus.  Have at them, and thrust them back from the ships!"
-
-His words were common, but they were uttered by a god, and breathed a
-mysterious influence, which was aided by a light touch from the staff
-which he bore.  Instantly a strange lightness and vigour entered into
-their limbs, and when the pretended Calchas vanished as abruptly as he
-came, they knew that the words which they had heard were spoken by no
-mortal lips.
-
-Without pausing for a moment, Poseidon continued the work which he had
-begun.  From rank to rank, from leader to leader, he flew, inspiring,
-encouraging, entreating; and wherever he passed a new fire was kindled
-in every breast, so that they who but a moment before had given up all
-for lost now thought with shame of their faintheartedness, and rallied
-to the call of their leaders, resolved to conquer or die.
-
-Where Ajax and his namesake fought were mustered the choicest troops in
-the Greek army.  Shoulder to shoulder, and knee to knee, they stood,
-making a firm fence with shield overlapping shield, and bristling with
-a forest of spears.  "Stand fast!" shouted Ajax, as Hector came on with
-headlong rush, like some huge rock, which hangs threatening on a steep
-mountain-side, until it is undermined by a winter torrent, and thunders
-down the slope until it has spent its force and lies motionless on the
-plain.  So Hector hurled himself with fury against the solid phalanx of
-the Greeks, but spent his fury in vain on that hedge of iron, and could
-not break through it, for all his rage.
-
-
-II
-
-Idomeneus, the leader of the Cretans, had been absent some time from
-the battle, attending to a wounded comrade, and when he left him he
-went to his tent, to replace part of his armour, which had been damaged
-in the fight.  On reaching his quarters he was met by Meriones, his
-second in command, who had gone to fetch a fresh spear, having broken
-his own on a Trojan shield.  "What doest thou here, Meriones?" he
-asked.  "Art thou wounded, or bringest thou some message to me?"
-
-"I came to fetch a spear," answered Meriones; "my own was broken in the
-fight."  "Spears there are in plenty in my tent," said Idomeneus, "and
-helmets, and shields, and burnished corslets--the spoils of many a
-vanquished Trojan."  "And in mine too there is no lack of such,"
-replied Meriones.  "But thy tent was nearer.  Thou knowest best whether
-I do my devoir on the field of honour or not."
-
-"I have seen thee prove thy manly worth," said Idomeneus.  "Thou needst
-not remind me.  I have noted thy bearing in the long cold hours of the
-night, when thou wast one of a picked company lying in ambush, and
-waiting for the dawn.  This is the sternest, sharpest test of valour
-and endurance.  Mark then the coward, how he flushes, and then pales,
-shifting uneasily from one foot to another, as he cowers in his place,
-with chattering teeth and wildly beating heart, and mark the hero,
-crouched, like a good hound, motionless and silent, ready to spring at
-his enemy's throat.  None ever passed through that sharp ordeal with
-more honour than thou.  And in open battle thy face is ever to the foe,
-and thy scars are all in front.  But enough of this: here stand we
-bragging of our prowess, while our comrades are encompassed by the
-flames of war.  Let us away, and show our manhood by deeds, not words."
-
-Like murderous Ares when he arms him for battle in the savage land of
-Thrace, and by his side goes Terror, his son, whose fierce eyes appal
-the stoutest heart, so rushed Idomeneus back to the field, with
-Meriones, his trusty friend.  "Let us make for the left of the fighting
-line," cried Idomeneus.  "On the right the Trojans are weaker, and in
-the centre fights Telamonian Ajax, a pillar of strength, the equal of
-Achilles in all save speed of foot.  On the left the need is sorest,
-with most room for a leader of note."
-
-As on a wild and gusty day, when two clouds of dust are whirled
-together by conflicting winds, so met the Greek and Trojan columns,
-with clash of shield and glitter of spear, when Idomeneus and his
-comrade returned to the field.  Not in vain had Idomeneus boasted of
-his deeds of war.  Many a Trojan went down that day before his spear;
-and the first of them was Othryoneus, who was lately come to Troy, and
-was a suitor for the hand of Cassandra, the fairest of Priam's
-daughters.  Great was the price which he had promised to pay for his
-bride.  "Give me thy daughter," he said, "and I will drive these Greeks
-out of the land."  But the lance of Idomeneus cut short his wooing, and
-down he fell with a sounding crash.  "Is it thou, gallant bridegroom?"
-shouted Idomeneus, as his helmet fell off, exposing his face.  "How
-wilt thou keep thy bargain with Priam now?  That wager is lost, but
-come with me, and we will find thee a fair partner yet.  Thou shalt
-have the fairest of Agamemnon's daughters, if thou wilt aid us to sack
-the stately city of Troy.  How likest thou the terms?"
-
-Thus insulting his fallen foe, Idomeneus began to drag him away by the
-foot, intending to spoil him of his armour.  While thus employed, he
-was confronted by Asius, who came on foot against him, his squire
-following close with the chariot, so that he felt the hot breath of the
-horses on his shoulders.  But Idomeneus was too quick for him, and
-pierced him, as he stood with weapon poised, in the throat, driving the
-point clean through his neck.  Like an oak, or poplar, or tall pine,
-hewn down on a mountainside to make a ship's timber, so fell that proud
-champion, and lay in his blood at his horse's feet, moaning and
-clutching at the dust.  The charioteer was dumfoundered by his master's
-fall, and dropped the reins in his terror; and while he stood thus,
-with staring eyes and gaping mouth, Antilochus thrust him through with
-his spear, and leaping into the car drove off with his prize.
-
-Idomeneus was now fiercely assailed by a formidable antagonist, in the
-person of Deiphobus, a brother of Hector, and one of the bravest of the
-Trojans.  Idomeneus crouched low as he saw him coming with brandished
-spear; and the weapon passed over him, just grazing the rim of his
-shield, but found a victim in another Greek, who was advancing to his
-support, and received the point in his breast.  Down he went, and
-Deiphobus cried exultingly: "Not unavenged falls Asius, but I have
-given him a companion on his journey to the shades."
-
-Thus saved from his peril, the stout old Cretan glared about him,
-looking for another mark for his spear; and he found one in the young
-Alcathous, who was married to a daughter of Anchises, and was thus
-closely related to AEneas.  The youthful prince, being new to the work
-of war, was bewildered by the roar and tumult of the struggle which was
-raging around him, and stood, overpowered by sudden panic, within close
-range of the Cretan captain's lance.  "Sleepest thou, pretty lad!"
-shouted the grim veteran, "I will wake thee from thy slumber."  And he
-clove him through the breast with his spear, which stilled the last
-beatings of his heart.
-
-"Three Trojans for one Greek!" shouted Idomeneus.  "Art thou content,
-Deiphobus?  Come hither, and I will add a fourth.  It will be glory
-enough for thee to die by the hand of Idomeneus, whose grandsire was
-Minos, the very son of Zeus."
-
-Deiphobus deemed it prudent to decline the challenge, and he went in
-search of AEneas, to inform him of his kinsman's fall.  AEneas was
-loitering in the rear, for he had a grudge against Priam, which chilled
-his ardour for the battle.  But when he heard that Alcathous was slain
-his heart burned to avenge him, and he hurried to the front, where he
-was joined by Paris and a strong band of Trojans.  Idomeneus, on his
-part, was reinforced by the arrival of Meriones, Antilochus, and
-Ascalaphus, a son of Ares, with their followers; and so the fight raged
-on, and many a stout warrior went down to swell the muster-roll of
-death.
-
-There fought Helenus, the prophetic son of Priam, armed with bow and
-arrows, and wielding a mighty falchion, tempered in a Thracian forge.
-With one blow of that trenchant blade he shattered the helmet of a
-Greek warrior, a friend of Menelaus, and laid him at his feet, stunned
-and bleeding.  Menelaus sprang to his friend's relief, and flung his
-spear at Helenus; and at the same moment Helenus shot an arrow, which
-struck the prince on the breastplate, but rebounded as beans or pulse
-rebound from the winnower's shovel, while the spear of Menelaus pierced
-him through the left hand, pinning it to the bow.  Helenus retired,
-trailing the spear after him, until a comrade drew it out, and bound up
-the wounded hand with a woollen sling, which he took from his squire.
-
-Menelaus was now attacked by another Trojan chieftain, who, after
-making an abortive thrust with his spear, took in his hand an axe,
-which hung inside his shield, and, swinging the weapon over his head by
-its long shaft of olive-wood, leapt upon him with a fierce cry.  But
-before the blow could descend he received a fearful wound in the
-forehead, from the sword of the Spartan king, and fell backwards in the
-dust.  "So may all the Trojans perish!" cried Menelaus, setting his
-foot on the breast of his prostrate foe.  "Ye have robbed me of my
-wife; ye have plundered my treasure, after receiving generous welcome
-under my roof.  And now ye come hither to burn our fleet, and butcher
-us in our camp.  Great sire of heaven, men praise thy righteousness,
-and call thee wise above all gods and men: how then canst thou lend thy
-countenance to these bloodthirsty robbers, whose pastime is murder,
-whose joy is to betray?"
-
-[Illustration: Menelaus.  Vatican, Rome]
-
-Carried away by his eloquence, Menelaus failed to observe that he was
-threatened by a new assailant.  This was Harpalion, son of the King of
-Paphlagonia, who charged at him, lance in hand.  Menelaus was just in
-time to receive the blow on his shield, and before Harpalion could
-recover his weapon he was transfixed by the spear of Meriones, and lay
-writhing like a worm on the ground, until he was borne, groaning, from
-the field by his attendants, followed by his weeping father.
-
-Paris was wroth at the fall of the Paphlagonian prince, who was his
-friend and guest, and he drew his bow at a venture, and slew Euchenor,
-the son of a famous seer, who dwelt in Corinth.  Often his father had
-prophesied to him that he was destined to die either by a wasting
-disease, or on the battlefield at Troy.  He chose a warrior's death,
-and found it on that day, by the hand of Paris.
-
-
-III
-
-In the other part of the camp, near the main gate, where Hector had
-first effected an entrance, the Greeks were still fighting with
-indomitable spirit under Telamonian Ajax, and his namesake, the son of
-Oileus.  These two held together, and battled side by side, like two
-stout oxen yoked to the same plough, and toiling from dawn till sunset,
-while the sweat streams without ceasing from the roots of their horns:
-so stood they side by side, and bore the brunt, all through that long
-and bitter fray.  And behind them were arrayed the bowmen and slingers
-of Locris, whose captain was the lesser Ajax, and kept up such a shower
-of arrows and leaden bullets that the Trojans at length began to waver,
-and broke their ranks.
-
-When Polydamas, the wisest head among the Trojans, saw that the great
-assault, which had begun so boldly, was beginning to flag, he called
-Hector aside, and said to him: "Hector, thou art strong of hand, but
-weak of head.  Seest thou not that we are wasting our valour, by
-fighting thus in scattered parties, with no settled plan of attack?
-Now, hearken to me, and do as I shall say, if thou wouldst not have us
-driven back in shameful rout upon the town.  Gather all our parties
-into one strong phalanx, and charge with them all at once on one point
-in the Grecian line.  Thus, and thus only, may we hope to prevail,
-outnumbered as we are by two to one."
-
-Hector saw that the advice was good, and, leaving Polydamas to hold the
-Greeks in check, he went in search of Asius, Deiphobus, and the rest,
-who were fighting on the left.  Sore were the gaps which now appeared
-in that gallant company, and many a hero, whom he called by name, was
-lying cold in death.  Gathering such as remained, he formed them into
-one body with those whom he had left in the charge of Deiphobus, and
-with the powerful column thus formed made repeated charges, which were
-sustained with undaunted firmness by Ajax and his men.
-
-
-
-
-Zeus is beguiled by Hera
-
-I
-
-While the battle swayed to and fro, and the Greeks were enabled by
-Poseidon's aid to hold their own against the Trojans, Zeus was sitting
-on a lonely peak of Ida, wrapped in a high celestial reverie.  Hera saw
-the uxorious king from her place of outlook on Olympus, and, noting his
-abstracted mood, she resolved to play him a trick.  So she went to her
-chamber, which her son Hephaestus had made for her, and opened the door
-with a private key, which she always kept by her, so that none might
-invade her apartment in her absence.  Having locked herself in, she
-began to make her toilet with peculiar care.  First, she washed her
-person with ambrosia, and anointed herself with a fragrant oil, so rich
-and rare that, when she lifted the lid of the casket in which it was
-stored, a divine perfume filled earth and heaven with sweetness.  Then
-she dressed her lustrous hair, and put on a wondrous robe, which
-Athene's own hands had wrought for her, clasping it to her bosom with
-golden brooches.  A rich girdle confined her robe at the waist, and in
-her ears she hung earrings of costly pearl; and when she had put on her
-sandals, and thrown a glittering veil over her head, she went forth
-smiling in triumphant beauty, like a bride adorned for her husband.
-
-Having thus prepared the whole battery of her charms, she went in
-search of Aphrodite, and when she had found her she drew her apart from
-the other gods, and said: "Wilt thou grant me a boon, dear child, or
-wilt thou deny me in anger, because I favour thine enemies, the
-Greeks?"  "Name thy request, great queen of heaven," answered
-Aphrodite, "and I will grant it, if I can."
-
-Concealing her real purpose, the cunning Hera replied: "I am bound on a
-journey to the ends of the earth, to visit the ancient deity Oceanus,
-and Tethys, his wife, who have long been parted by a bitter quarrel.
-If I can bring them together in love and kindness I shall do a good
-deed, and repay part of the great debt of gratitude which I owe them.
-Therefore, lend me, I pray thee, the mighty talisman which thou hast,
-whereof neither man nor god can resist the powerful spell."
-
-"It becomes me not," answered Aphrodite, "to deny thee in this, for
-thou art the consort of high Jove."  And therewith she took from her
-bosom an amulet, in which there was a mysterious virtue, able to soften
-the hardest heart, and turn it to thoughts of love and tenderness.
-There dwelt persuasion and sweet endearment, the eloquence of silence
-and the witchery of sighs.  "Take it," she said, "and hide it in the
-folds of thy robe.  Armed with this, thou wilt accomplish all thy
-desire."
-
-Hera smiled her thanks, and taking the amulet sped away on her errand,
-which carried her, not, as she had pretended, to the distant dwelling
-of Oceanus, but to Lemnos, the AEgaean isle, the home of sleep.  Arrived
-there, she sought out the drowsy god, and found him nodding in his
-shadowy cave.  "Monarch of men and gods," she began, "Immortal Sleep,
-thou hast done me good service in the past, and I think thou wilt not
-fail me now.  I would have thee lock fast the eyes of Zeus in slumber
-deep and long.  Ask me not why, but do it, and I will give thee a
-golden throne, wrought, with a footstool, by Hephaestus, my son, whereon
-thou mayest sit in state like the Olympian king himself."
-
-"Ask me aught else," answered Sleep, lifting his heavy eyes with a look
-of fear, "only ask me not to lay Zeus in slumber against his will.
-Hast thou forgotten what wild work he made when, at thy entreaty, I
-shed my power upon him, and lulled his wits in a deep trance, that thou
-mightest wreak thy malice on his favourite, Heracles?  Then didst thou
-raise a storm, which drove Heracles far out of his course, when he was
-on his voyage from Troy.  But when thy lord awoke, and saw what thou
-hadst done, he fell to buffeting all the gods in Olympus, who had
-hidden me from his sight.  And soon they must have delivered me to his
-vengeance, and I should have been undone, but an ancient and venerable
-deity, even Night herself, came to my aid, and besought him to pardon
-me; and so he did, for he would not offend the august goddess, primeval
-Night."
-
-"Go to," said Hera.  "This is a far smaller thing than that of which
-thou speakest.  All I desire is an hour of respite for mine afflicted
-Greeks.  Come, do as I bid thee, and thou shalt have Pasiphae, one of
-the Graces, for thy wife, and so fulfil the dearest of thy desires."
-
-Then Sleep was glad, and answering said: "Swear to me, by the
-inviolable waters of Styx--placing one hand on the earth, and the other
-on the sea, that all the nether gods may be our witnesses--swear that
-thou wilt give me Pasiphae for my bride."
-
-Hera took the oath required, calling by name all the Titans that dwell
-in Tartarus.  Then together they flew across the sea to Troyland, and
-paused not till they reached the wooded hills of Ida.  Upwards then
-they soared, over the forest-clad slopes, and there was the sound of a
-going in the tree tops as they passed.  And when they came to the peak
-where Zeus was sitting, Sleep disguised himself in the form of a swift,
-and hid himself in the branches of a tall fir-tree.  But Hera went and
-stood in the presence of her lord.
-
-As soon as the god saw her he was struck with wonder at her surpassing
-beauty, and his heart overflowed with tenderness, as in the old days
-when first he made her his bride.  And the little swift shot down from
-the tree, and come flitting round the monarch's head.  "Dear lady of my
-love," said he, "sit down by me awhile, and let us hold sweet converse
-together."  So down she sat by his side, and took his hand, and
-beguiled him with her false blandishments.  Like two simple lovers they
-seemed, caught in sly Cupid's silver net--he the sovereign of earth and
-heaven, and she, his imperious queen.  And swiftly the subtle influence
-of Sleep came over him, and down he sank overpowered, couched on a soft
-bed of crocus and hyacinth and violet, which the earth put forth to
-bear up his sacred person; and on him rested a canopy of golden cloud,
-that he might slumber unobserved.
-
-
-II
-
-Safe now from the observation of Zeus, Hera descended swiftly to bear
-the news to Poseidon, and urge him to redouble his efforts on behalf of
-the Greeks.  Having brought her message, she returned to Ida, and
-remained watching by the side of Zeus, ready to give warning when he
-awoke.
-
-Poseidon was not slow to seize the occasion thus offered.  Suddenly, as
-the Greeks were preparing to receive a furious charge from the enemy,
-there appeared in their van a gigantic warrior, clad from head to foot
-in mail of proof, and wielding a sword which flashed and burned with an
-awful light.  "On, Greeks, on!" he shouted; and his voice was as the
-sound of many waters.  "Down with them, even unto the ground, that
-Hector may know that there is more than one Achilles among us."  And
-the two armies met, with a crash which was echoed by all the caverns of
-Ida, and recoiled again, each solid phalanx reeling from that
-tremendous shock.
-
-Into the space thus left sprang Hector, and hurled his spear at Ajax,
-who was stepping forth to meet him.  The weapon struck him on the
-breast, just at the point where the shield strap, heavily studded with
-metal, was crossed by the baldric of his sword; and this double
-barrier, backed by the corslet, proved an effectual defence.  Hector
-fell back, vexed at his ill-fortune, and, as he was retiring, Ajax
-picked up one of the stones which were lying around, to serve as props
-for the ships, and flinging it struck him on the back of the neck, just
-above the rim of his shield.  It was no maiden's hand which had aimed
-that blow, and Hector was sent spinning like a top.  And as an oak
-reels and staggers when struck by the bolt of Zeus, and topples
-headlong to earth, a blackened and shattered trunk, so fell the mighty
-Hector, crushed under the weight of his shield, which was pressed down
-upon him by the ponderous stone.
-
-When they saw him fall, the Greeks rushed forward, hoping to make him
-their prisoner.  But the bravest of the Trojans and their
-allies--Sarpedon, AEneas, Glaucus, and Polydamas--interposed their
-shields, giving time for the others to lift him up and carry him to the
-place where his car and horses were waiting.  Carefully they placed his
-senseless body on the chariot, and drove him towards the city, until
-they came to the ford of Scamander.  There they halted, and, laying him
-on the bank, dashed water in his face.  Presently he looked up, and
-leaning forward on his hands began to vomit blood.  Then darkness came
-over his eyes, and he fell back again in a swoon.
-
-Now that Hector was down, the Trojans had no course left to them but to
-retreat.  They still fought valiantly, and the Greeks had to pay dear
-for their success.  But slowly and surely they were being driven back
-from the camp.
-
-
-
-
-The Last Battle by the Ships
-
-Hera was watching the action with such eagerness that she had forgotten
-her charge, and was startled by the angry voice of Zeus, who had
-awakened suddenly, and was looking down upon her with lowering brows.
-"This is thy work," he said sternly, pointing to the Trojan plain,
-where Hector lay senseless, and his comrades were beginning to fly.
-"Wilt thou never be schooled to obedience, or what harder lesson
-lackest thou yet?  Dost thou remember the time when I hung thee in
-chains in the cold vault of ether, with two anvils at thy feet, and all
-the gods together were powerless to relieve thee?  This was thy reward
-for thy evil devices against my son, Heracles; but that shall be mirth
-and laughter compared with the rod which thou shall feel if thou cease
-not from thy mutiny against my sovereign will."
-
-Then Hera was sore afraid, and she answered submissively: "I swear by
-earth and heaven, and by the down-falling waters of Styx, the greatest
-and most awful thing by which a god may swear--yea, by thy sacred head
-I swear it, and by the holy bond which unites us--it was not by my
-devices that Poseidon first began to aid the Greeks, but he was led
-thereto by the thoughts of his own heart.  And, by my advice, he will
-give way to thee."
-
-Somewhat appeased by her humility, Zeus replied: "If that be so, and
-thou art willing to heal the mischief thou hast done, go and send
-hither Iris and Apollo, that they may receive my commands.  And
-understand me once for all--I will not cease from my rage and my fury
-against the Greeks, nor suffer any of the gods to aid them, until the
-vengeance of Pelides is accomplished, and the oath fulfilled which I
-sware unto his mother, Thetis, when she touched my knees and besought
-me to honour her son."
-
-Swift as is the glance of the mind when some great traveller revolves
-all his wanderings in thought, and murmurs to himself: "Would that I
-were in this place or that!" naming some distant scene which he hath
-visited, so swiftly flew Hera with her lord's message.  When she
-reached Olympus she found all the gods seated together, drinking their
-nectar from golden cups.  Smiling with her lips, but bending her dark
-brows in a gloomy frown, she said, as she eyed that festal gathering:
-"Ye are making good cheer, I see!  And ye will be cheered the more when
-I tell you what Zeus intends.  Ay, drink deep!" she continued, turning
-to Ares, who was just draining a full cup, "thou hast need of comfort,
-for thy son is slain."  And she named a Greek, Ascalaphus, son of Ares,
-who had been slain by Deiphobus in the battle.
-
-When he heard that, the god of war groaned with grief and anger, and
-crying: "I will avenge him!" rushed to seize his arms.  But Athene
-hastened after him, and finding him already equipped for battle she
-snatched the spear from his hand, and took the helmet from his head,
-saying: "Madman, wilt thou undo us all?  Go back to thy place, lest the
-wrath of Zeus descend upon the whole company of the gods, and on thee
-the first.  Better men have fallen than this son of thine, and we must
-look to our own safety, and leave mortals to their fate."
-
-While Athene was occupied in restraining the frenzy of Ares, Hera
-despatched Iris and Apollo to receive the commands of Zeus.  So they
-went forthwith to Ida, and found Zeus sitting in the place where he had
-slept, with the golden cloud still hanging above his head.  Zeus was
-well content that his wilful consort had been so prompt in his
-business, and he commanded Iris to go down to the fleet, and warn
-Poseidon to leave the battlefield.  "And thus and thus shalt thou say
-unto him," added Zeus, instructing her in the very words which she was
-to use.
-
-Iris descended to earth, walking delicately along her rainbow bridge,
-and, having found Poseidon among the warring Greeks, she said to him:
-"Thus saith Zeus, our sovereign lord and king: 'Let Poseidon leave the
-battlefield, and depart to Olympus, or to his own watery realm.  And if
-he will not obey me I will come myself, and fight against him, face to
-face.  Let him avoid my hands, for he knoweth that I am far mightier
-than he, and higher in station and in dignity.'"
-
-"What!" answered Poseidon, swelling with injured pride.  "Am I my
-brother's slave, that he sends me this haughty summons?  I am no
-subject of his, but his peer, holding a third part in our divided
-empire.  For three sons were born unto Cronos--Zeus and Hades and
-myself.  And when Cronos ceased to reign we cast lots between us, and
-Zeus obtained the throne of heaven, I of the sea, and Hades of the
-underworld; but the earth, and wide Olympus, were left common to us
-all.  Therefore I bid him keep to his own domain, and not meddle with
-me, for I will not live under his laws, nor bow to his rod, which he
-may keep for his sons and daughters."
-
-"Is this, then, the answer which I must carry back to Zeus?" asked Iris
-gravely.  "Oh, reflect a little!  Enter not into an unnatural feud with
-thine elder brother."
-
-"'Tis wisely said," replied Poseidon.  "Thou art a discreet messenger,
-and knowest how to season thy words with courtesy.  'Twere ill, as thou
-sayest, to stir up the demon of domestic strife among us.  Therefore I
-will depart, and leave him to work his will.  But, since he has used
-threats, let him hear this from me: if he seeks to avert the doom of
-Troy, he will find a cold welcome when he joins the circle of the gods
-in Olympus."
-
-It was not without relief that Zeus heard of Poseidon's submission; for
-he had feared that he would be obliged to engage in a fearful struggle,
-which would have confounded earth and heaven.  This danger being
-removed, he sent Apollo, armed with his own shield--the awful aegis,
-clothed with attributes of terror--commanding him to heal Hector of his
-hurt, and bring him back to battle.  Like a falcon stooping on his
-quarry, Apollo shot down from Ida's peak, and alighted at the ford of
-Scamander, where Hector was still lying.  By this time the stricken man
-had recovered from his swoon, and was gazing in bewilderment around him.
-
-One touch from that potent hand, one word from those immortal lips,
-sufficed to banish all the effects of the fearful blow which had left
-Hector as weak as a child.  Bounding to his feet, he cried: "Lead on,
-mighty god!  I fear no perils with thee at my side," and like a gallant
-war horse, that smelleth the battle afar off, he ran at full speed to
-rejoin the Trojans, who were now flying tumultuously from the camp.
-And as when a troop of hunters with their hounds have started a royal
-stag, and chased him with wild halloo to the thick covert of a tangled
-wood; then suddenly they shrink back with cries of dismay, for they see
-a lion standing in the path: so panic fell upon the Greeks in the midst
-of their triumph, when they saw Hector returning to battle, full of
-vigour and courage, though they had already counted him among the dead.
-
-On poured the Trojans, Hector and Apollo leading the van, and the
-Greeks gave ground before them, scared by the dread aegis, which Apollo
-shook in their faces, crying his terrible cry.  At first they yielded
-slowly, keeping their ranks, and attempting some defence; but soon the
-retreat became a rout, and the moat was filled with a struggling
-multitude, seeking the shelter of the wall and the ships.  "Kill,
-kill!" cried Hector fiercely.  "Pause not to strip the dead, but slay
-the men, and burn their ships.  Let me but see anyone skulking behind
-for plunder and he dies by my hand."
-
-With that he lashed his horses, and drove straight across the moat, the
-Trojans following him in dense column.  In front strode Apollo,
-trampling down the sides of the moat as he went, and making a path
-broad as the farthest cast of a spear.  Then he hurled himself on the
-wall, and overthrew it, as easily as a child destroys with his feet a
-castle of sand which he has raised in sport on the margin of the sea.
-
-Like a towering billow, which topples down upon a ship, crushing her
-bulwarks and flooding her with brine, so rushed the Trojans in a
-torrent over the wall, and fell upon the hindmost row of ships; and the
-Greeks on their side mounted the decks, and thrust at their assailants
-with long boarding-pikes, which lay ready to hand.
-
-Foremost among the defenders was seen the giant form of Telamonian
-Ajax; and by his side fought Teucer, whose bow had already done such
-good service to the Greeks.  But just as Teucer was aiming an arrow at
-Hector his bowstring snapped, and the arrow dropped harmless to the
-ground.  "Fate is against us to-day," he cried; "it was a new string,
-the stoutest and the best I had, which I fitted to my bow this very
-morning."
-
-"Go quickly," answered Ajax.  "And arm thyself with shield and spear;
-there is no room here for thine archery to-day."  And Teucer went and
-armed himself, and returned with all speed to his mighty brother's side.
-
-Hector was overjoyed when he saw Teucer's mishap, which he hailed as
-the direct act of Zeus himself.  "On, Trojans!" he shouted; "on, ye men
-of Lycia!  Zeus is fighting on our side.  Now is the great day of
-vengeance, after all the weary years when we were penned within our
-walls like sheep."
-
-"Why flinch ye?" cried Ajax, in his turn, to the Greeks.  "Know ye not
-that we must conquer or die to-day?  Or will we reach home on foot, if
-ye suffer your ships to be burned?  Come, join the wild dance to which
-Hector summons us.  Fight, and we will drive out this rabble yet; but
-if ye falter we shall surely perish."
-
-Again the Greeks rallied to the well-known voice of Ajax, and drew up
-in close order before the ships, barring Hector's way.  But the finger
-of Apollo had touched him, filling his breast with a divine frenzy.
-Foaming and glaring with rage, he flung himself on the solid phalanx,
-and cut down a tall champion of Mycenae, making a gap in the line.
-Before the Greeks could close their ranks the Trojans were among them,
-hewing them down as a woodman hews a path through the forest.  Forward
-and still forward they pressed, driving the Greeks before them, and
-compelling them to retire from the first line of ships.
-
-Then nothing but the tremendous valour of Ajax could have saved the
-Greek army from total rout and ruin.  Active as a panther, in spite of
-his huge bulk, he sprang from deck to deck, wielding an enormous
-boarding-pike and striking down the Trojans, as they advanced with
-lighted torches to set fire to the ships.  Like a practised rider, who
-yokes together four horses, and drives them at a gallop along a level
-highroad, leaping from one steed to another as he goes--so Ajax shifted
-his ground from one ship to another, dashing down Trojan after Trojan,
-and shouting to the Greeks to come to his support.
-
-It was a grim and desperate struggle.  There was no shooting of arrows,
-no casting of javelins now, but foot to foot, and hand to hand, they
-fought, with axe, and sword, and spear.  At last Hector forced his way
-to a beautiful galley, which had brought Protesilaus[1] to Troy, and
-laying his hand on the high, fanlike ornament of the stern he shouted:
-"Bring a torch, that I may be the first to kindle the fire which shall
-burn these accursed ships, which came here for our destruction, but
-shall now serve as a pyre for their crews."
-
-
-[1] P. 24.
-
-
-
-
-Achilles sends Patroclus to Battle
-
-I
-
-Patroclus had been long detained by Eurypylus, whose wound was severe,
-and demanded all his skill.  But when the roar of battle drew nearer
-and nearer, and he heard the voice of Hector calling for a torch, he
-would delay no longer, but sprang up and ran in headlong haste to the
-quarters of the Myrmidons.  There he found Achilles still sitting
-before his tent, and listening to the mingled cries of triumph and
-dismay which came from the distant scene of conflict.  When Patroclus
-saw him, he came and stood by his side, and lifted up his voice, and
-wept.
-
-"Why weepest thou, Patroclus," asked Achilles, "like a little maid, who
-runs by her mother's side, plucking her by the gown, and looking into
-her face with tearful eyes, begging to be carried?  What means this
-melting mood?  Hast thou ill news of thy father, or of mine, or are
-these tears for the Greeks, now perishing by their own transgression?"
-
-"Ah! son of Peleus," answered Patroclus, with a pitiful sigh, "take not
-my words amiss, but I am sore afflicted for the sake of my countrymen.
-Their best and noblest are grievously wounded, and the leeches are busy
-about them; and those that remain can no longer make head against the
-foe.  Can nothing move thee?  What avails all thy splendid manhood, if
-thou wilt sit idle here, until thine arm is palsied with age?  Oh! yet
-at last relent, if thou art indeed the son of gentle Thetis, and not
-some savage changeling, born of the rocks, and nourished by the sea!
-If thou wilt not go to the field thyself, at least let me put on thine
-armour, and lead the Myrmidons to aid our friends in their dreadful
-strait."
-
-For some time Achilles answered nothing, and it was evident that a sore
-struggle was passing in his breast.  At last he looked up, and said
-with an effort: "Thou hast prevailed, son of Men[oe]tius, though I
-vowed that I would never cease from mine anger until the fire had
-reached my own ships.  When I think of the foul outrage----  But
-enough!  Down, down, rebellious pride!"  He paused, frowning, and
-grinding his teeth; for the fierce fit had come on him again.  Then,
-mastering himself, he continued: "Thou shalt have my armour, and lead
-the Myrmidons to battle.  But take heed to what I shall say, and let
-not thine ardour carry thee too far, but when thou hast driven the
-enemy out of the camp lead thy men back, and be not tempted to fight in
-the open field, lest thou rob me of mine honour, and leave naught for
-me to do.  Remember this, and have a care for thyself, for they have a
-mighty ally on their side, even Apollo."
-
-While they were thus conversing, Ajax was still keeping up an unequal
-struggle against an overpowering force.  The Trojans surrounded the
-ship on which he was fighting, and plied him with a shower of missiles,
-which rattled on his helmet, and threatened every moment to bring him
-down.  His left shoulder ached with holding his shield, which was
-thrust back upon him by a dozen spears at once.  Yet still he fought
-on, with his breath coming in heavy gasps, and the sweat pouring from
-every limb.  Then Hector aimed a blow with his sword, and cut off the
-head of the pike which Ajax was wielding.  Thus left without a weapon,
-Ajax was compelled at last to retreat, and the Trojans rushed forward,
-and set fire to the ship.
-
-Achilles saw the smoke rising, and cried: "Arm thee, Patroclus.  Make
-haste!  I will go and call up the Myrmidons."  Patroclus hurried to the
-tent, and put on the armour of Achilles--the greaves and starry
-corslet, the helmet and vast orbed shield--and girded on his great
-comrade's sword.  Only the spear of Achilles he took not, for no arm in
-all the host, save only the arm of Achilles, could wield that ponderous
-beam of ash, toughened by many a storm on the windy slopes of Pelion,
-where it grew.
-
-Meanwhile Automedon, Achilles' charioteer, was yoking to the car the
-two immortal steeds--Xanthus and Balius--offspring of the West Wind,
-and nourished on the meadows by the shores of Oceanus.  And with them
-went as a trace horse the mortal courser, Pedasus, which Achilles had
-taken among the spoils when he sacked the city of Eetion.
-
-When the Myrmidons heard their leader's voice calling them to arms,
-they rushed forth from their tents, like thirsty wolves which have
-gorged themselves with the flesh of a tall stag, and now hasten, with
-bloodstained chaps and lolling tongues, to slake their thirst in a deep
-mountain pool.  With like eagerness arose the hardy veterans, whose
-warlike spirit had been fed high by their long repose; and proud was
-the glance of Achilles, as he glanced down the armed files, marshalled
-under five famous captains, five times five hundred men.  When all were
-standing silent at their posts he addressed them briefly, and said:
-"Now is the time to make good the threats which ye uttered against the
-Trojans, during all the long time of my wrath.  Remember how ye
-murmured against me because I suffered you not to go unto battle.
-'Hard-hearted son of Peleus,' ye would say, 'surely thy mother
-nourished thee with gall, and therefore art thou so ruthless to thy
-loving comrades, keeping them here in inglorious ease.'  See that your
-deeds are as valiant as your words, and let the Trojans feel the weight
-of your arm this day."
-
-Firm and close as blocks of stone, fitted together by a master-builder
-to be the wall of some great house, so stood the warriors in that
-invincible column, shield leaning on shield, and man on man; and in the
-van were seen the tall figures of Patroclus and Automedon, two leaders
-with one heart.  Then Achilles went to his tent, and brought forth a
-golden goblet, a gift from his mother, and sacred to the service of
-Zeus.  Having purified it with sulphur, and washed it with fresh water,
-he cleansed his own hands, and filling the bowl with wine returned to
-the open space before the tent.  Then lifting up his eyes to heaven he
-poured the drink-offering, and prayed thus to the king and lord of
-Olympus: "O thou, whose ancient dwelling is in wintry Dodona, where thy
-chosen priests serve thee day and night with fasting and prayer, as
-thou hast lent thine ear to my former petition, and grievously
-afflicted the Greeks for my sake, so grant me once more my heart's
-desire.  Let thine eyes rest with favour on my noble comrade, and give
-him honour in the battle.  And when he hath driven the Trojans from the
-camp bring him back safe, with his armour, and all this company, to our
-tents."
-
-So prayed he in his ignorance, having yet to learn that Zeus is a
-jealous god, dispensing his gifts with unequal hand, two evil for one
-good.
-
-
-II
-
-Like a swarm of wasps which have their nest by the roadside, and being
-ever provoked by wanton children wreak their vengeance on some harmless
-wayfarer; so flew the Myrmidons to join the fray, and soon the Trojans
-felt their sting.  "For Achilles and for honour!" shouted Patroclus, as
-he hurled his spear, and struck down Pyraechmes, the savage leader of a
-wild mountain tribe from northern Greece.  The rude clansmen fled when
-they saw their leader fall, and soon the panic spread to the whole
-Trojan army, and they too fled, leaving the burning ship, the flames of
-which were soon quenched by a score of eager hands.  Like a cloud which
-lies heavy on a mountain top, and is then suddenly rent and dispersed,
-revealing all the long range of countless hills, peak beyond peak, far
-away to the distant sea, with green glades between, and above the
-boundless chasm of sky, up to the dazzling zenith: so was dispersed
-that cloud of Trojans which had hung about the ships, and the Greeks
-saw the fair face of Hope again.
-
-But the end of that long and bloody day was still far off.  Outside the
-barriers the Trojans rallied again, and a fearful slaughter ensued.
-There the sword of Patroclus bit deep, making dire havoc among the
-ranks of the Lycians, until Sarpedon, their leader, incensed by the
-slaughter of his men, sprang from his car, and threw himself in the
-way, to arrest that destroying hand.
-
-Like two vultures, which tear each other with beak and claw, fighting
-with loud screams on a lofty crag, so leapt the two champions, the
-Lycian and the Greek, upon each other, uttering loud their battle-cry.
-
-When Zeus saw his son Sarpedon about to engage in deadly combat with
-Patroclus he was filled with pity, for he knew that the Lycian
-chieftain was going to his doom.  "How sayest thou, Hera," he began,
-"shall I save him, and waft him away in a cloud to his fair domain in
-Lycia, or shall I leave him to his fate?"
-
-"That must not be," answered Hera.  "His thread is spun, and his life
-is forfeit; shouldst thou annul that decree it will be an evil example
-to the other gods, who will forthwith all seek to avert the stroke of
-fate from their sons, of whom many are fighting in the fields of Troy.
-If thou wouldst do him honour, send Death and gentle Sleep to bear him
-softly, after he has fallen, from the battlefield, and bring him to his
-kinsfolk in Lycia, that they may pay him the rites which are due to the
-mighty dead."
-
-"Thou hast persuaded me," answered Zeus, bowing his immortal head in
-sorrow.  And he caused a rain of blood to fall upon the earth, in sad
-tribute to the heroic spirit which was about to pass away.
-
-While this debate was proceeding, the struggle had already begun.  In
-the first cast of their spears both warriors missed their aim.
-Patroclus slew the comrade of Sarpedon, while Sarpedon's lance struck
-Pedasus, the mortal steed, in the shoulder, and he fell dead.  His
-immortal companions plunged wildly, striving to break away from the
-yoke when they saw their comrade slain.  But Automedon cut the traces
-by which the slaughtered steed was attached to the car; and, being rid
-of their sad burden, Xanthus and Balius were once more obedient to the
-rein.
-
-Again the heroes flung their spears, and the weapon of Sarpedon flew
-over his antagonist's left shoulder.  But the spear of Patroclus sank
-deep into Sarpedon's breast, and he fell, writhing in his death agony,
-and sending forth loud groans, like a bull when he feels the lion's
-claws tearing his flanks.  So raged Sarpedon in the pangs of death, and
-rolling his eyes he sought the familiar face of his beloved Glaucus.
-"Friend of my heart!" he cried, "valiant Glaucus, companion of all my
-toils, now must thou prove thy manly worth.  Rally round thee the
-stoutest of the Lycians, and let not thy foot go back, or thy hand
-cease from slaying, until thou hast saved my body from the Greeks.  To
-thee I shall be a reproach, and a hanging of the head, even unto thy
-life's end, if thou leave me, a rifled and dishonoured corpse, in the
-hands of the foe."
-
-Even as he spoke, death stopped his breath and darkened his eyes.  And
-Patroclus set his foot on the corpse, and drew forth his spear, while
-the Myrmidons took possession of the empty car with its affrighted
-steeds.
-
-Glaucus was in dire distress when he heard his dying comrade's voice.
-But he was disabled by the wound which he had received in scaling the
-wall.  Nursing his injured arm, he prayed aloud to Apollo: "Hear me, O
-King, whether thou art now in Lycia or in Troy; for thine ear is ever
-open to the cry of need, however far away.  My hand is maimed, and my
-arm is burning with sharp pains, so that I cannot wield my spear,
-though Sarpedon is fallen, and his father hath forsaken him.  So
-forsake thou not me, but heal my wound, and give me back my strength,
-that I may save his body from outrage."
-
-Apollo heard, and granted his prayer, and straightway the flow of his
-blood was stopped, and he felt in his body that he was healed of his
-hurt.  Then Glaucus was glad, and he made all haste to do his comrade's
-bidding.  First he called to the men of Lycia to do battle for their
-slaughtered captain, and then he went to rouse the Trojan leaders to do
-their duty by their great ally.  Finding Hector engaged in another part
-of the field, he reproached him for his neglect.  "Hast thou
-forgotten," he asked indignantly, "what thou owest to us, who have come
-on a far journey to shed our blood for thee and thy country?  Cold lies
-Sarpedon, chief pillar of thine allies; come, friends, and help us to
-save his corpse, or ye will be shamed for ever."
-
-This was bitter news for the Trojans, who reverenced Sarpedon as the
-chief corner-stone of their defence; and they rushed with one accord to
-avenge his death.  Patroclus on his side summoned the bravest of the
-Greeks to his aid, and the whole fury of the struggle was now centred
-in the place where the dead Sarpedon lay.
-
-The first who fell in this new battle was a friend of Patroclus, who
-years ago had found a new home in the house of Peleus, having been
-banished from his own country for the murder of his cousin.  He was now
-struck down by a stone from the hand of Hector; and Patroclus, in his
-anger at his comrade's death, made so furious an assault that the
-Trojans gave way before him about the length of a spear's cast.  Then
-Glaucus advanced again, and slew Bathycles, a man of high note among
-the Myrmidons; and Meriones on the other side killed Laogonus, the
-priest of Idaean Zeus.  AEneas, ever famed for his piety, hurled his
-spear at Meriones, hoping to avenge the fall of that sacred head; but
-Meriones stooped low, and the spear flew over his head, and sunk deep
-in the ground, with quivering shaft, just behind him.  "The Cretan can
-dance, I see!" shouted AEneas; "he comes from a land of dancers."  "Thou
-shall dance to my piping, before thou hast done," answered Meriones
-derisively.  "Thinkest thou that we owe thee a life for every cast of
-thy spear?"  "Peace!" said Patroclus, rebuking him.  "We must fight
-with our swords, not with our tongues, if we would do aught worthy
-here."
-
-Thick and fast rained the blows, on shield and helmet and mailed
-breast, as the two armies closed again, and the sound was as of an army
-of woodmen plying their axes together in a deep mountain glade.  In the
-midst lay the lifeless Sarpedon, covered from head to foot with
-javelins, and blood, and dust, so that his dearest friend could not
-have recognised his face.  Like flies buzzing round a milk pail, so
-thronged the Greeks and Trojans round the body.
-
-Zeus sat watching the battle, pondering in his heart what measure of
-glory he should mete out to Patroclus before he laid him low by the arm
-of Hector.  At last, having taken his resolve, he caused a coward
-spirit to enter into Hector's heart, and the Trojan captain wheeled his
-car, and fled towards the city.  The panic spread to the other Trojans,
-and the Lycians, and they retreated, leaving the body of Sarpedon in
-the hands of the Greeks, who despoiled it of its armour, and were about
-to do it further dishonour when a higher power intervened.  In the very
-act of violating the dead, they saw their lifeless victim snatched from
-them by an invisible hand; for Apollo had received the commands of
-Zeus, and bore away the soiled and blackened body to the riverside,
-where he washed it clean, anointed it with ambrosia, and gave it, robed
-in immortal raiment, into the charge of Sleep and Death, for safe and
-speedy conveyance to Lycia.
-
-
-III
-
-High dreams of triumph arose in the heart of Patroclus when he saw the
-enemy flying, and, forgetting the earnest injunction of Achilles, he
-bade Automedon lay on the lash, and followed in hot pursuit.  Even to
-the very walls he drove; but then he found awaiting him one mightier
-than Hector, even Apollo himself, who shook the aegis in his face, and
-warned him back.  Patroclus retired a little, and while he hesitated
-Apollo went to the gates of the city, where Hector was lingering, in
-doubt whether to continue the battle, or to withdraw behind the walls.
-
-"What doest thou here, son of Priam?" said the god; "come with me, and
-I will show thee where the path of glory lies."  When he heard Apollo's
-voice, Hector's courage returned, and he commanded Cebriones, his
-charioteer, to drive back to the battlefield.  Avoiding the other
-Greeks, Hector made straight for the place where Patroclus had been
-left standing by Apollo.  Patroclus came to meet him, holding his spear
-in his left hand, while in his right he grasped a jagged stone.  And as
-the car approached, he flung the stone with all his force, and struck
-Cebriones on the forehead, shattering the bones.  The reins dropped
-from his hands, and without a single cry he fell from the car, striking
-the ground with his head.  "How bravely the man tumbles!" cried
-Patroclus.  "He would make a rare diver, and earn a good wage by
-bringing up oysters from the sea.  I perceive that the Trojans can
-dance, as well as the Cretans."
-
-Thereupon he leapt upon the prostrate charioteer, and Hector sprang
-forward to defend his comrade's body.  So there they met, like two
-hungry lions fighting for the carcass of a stag; and the Greeks and
-Trojans thronged on either side to their support, like two winds from
-opposite quarters, which shatter the boughs of beech and ash in a
-mountain forest.  All the ground about the corpse was set thick with
-javelins and arrows, and heaped with the stones which crashed upon
-corslet and shield.  And there lay the giant Trojan, while the battle
-raged above him, mighty and mightily fallen, and all his horsemanship
-forgot.
-
-Never had the arm of Patroclus dealt such havoc among the foemen's
-ranks as then; for his doom was near, and Zeus gave him honour in this,
-his latest hour.  Thrice he made an onset, fierce as the god of war
-himself, and thrice he slew nine men.  But when for the fourth time he
-sprang to the encounter, Ph[oe]bus made after him, and smote him on the
-back with his open hand.  Patroclus reeled and grew dizzy, like one who
-has received a sunstroke.  Then Apollo struck the helmet from his head,
-and it rolled clattering among the horses' feet, that mighty brazen
-helm, whose plumes, now soiled with dust and gore, had once waved above
-the princely brow of Achilles.  The spear was shivered to pieces in his
-hand, and his shield slipped from his shoulder to the ground.  And as
-he stood thus, defenceless and amazed, a Trojan, whose name was
-Euphorbus, wounded him between the shoulders with his spear.  The blow
-was not mortal, and Patroclus drew back, to mingle with the press; but
-Hector followed after him, and drove his spear deep into his side.  And
-as a lion overpowers a wild boar, fighting with him in the lone
-mountains for the possession of a little spring, and slays him by his
-might, so slew Hector the valiant son of Men[oe]tius, and stayed the
-ravage of the Trojan ranks.
-
-"Ah!  Patroclus," said he, gazing in triumph on the dying hero, "thou
-thoughtest this day to have taken our city by storm, and led captive
-the women of Troy.  But they have in me a defender who is too strong
-for thee.  Vain man!  Achilles, I doubt not, bade thee bring back to
-him the bloody spoils of Hector, and now thou liest slain by Hector's
-hand."
-
-"Boast not," answered Patroclus faintly.  "It is small glory for thee
-to have slain the slain.  I received my death blow from Apollo and
-Euphorbus, not from thee.  And thine own fate shall overtake thee soon,
-when thou shalt die by the hands of AEacides."
-
-Even as he spake the shadow of death fell upon him, and his soul took
-wing for the realm of Hades, bewailing her lot, leaving all that beauty
-and manly bloom.
-
-
-
-
-The Fight for the Body of Patroclus
-
-I
-
-Menelaus was the first to mark the fall of Patroclus, and he came with
-a rush and stood over his body to defend it, like a young mother of the
-herd when she stands lowing plaintively over her calf, the first that
-she has borne.  Shield on shoulder and spear in hand he stood, glaring
-defiance at the foe; and Euphorbus, the Trojan who had dealt the first
-blow at Patroclus, took up the challenge, addressing Menelaus with
-these haughty words: "Make way, son of Atreus, and leave me to take my
-lawful spoil.  'Twas I that wounded Patroclus first, and his armour
-belongs by right to me.  Back, or thou shalt die the death."
-
-"If big words could kill," answered Menelaus, with scorn, "then wert
-thou and thy brethren the most dreaded warriors of all thy nation; for
-there are no such windy braggarts in Priam's army.  Away with thee, if
-thou wouldst have breath left in thee to boast again."
-
-But Euphorbus, though a boaster, and a mere novice in war, was no
-coward.  He thrust manfully at Menelaus, who parried the blow with his
-shield, and then, striking in his turn, and throwing all his weight
-into the stroke, drove his spear into Euphorbus' throat, so that the
-point came out at the back of his neck.  Down he went, and his armour
-clattered upon him, and his love locks, curiously adorned with gold and
-silver, were dabbled with blood.  As when a man tends carefully a green
-olive-shoot, in some sheltered spot, near a gushing fountain-head; and
-now it is a comely tree, just bursting into blossom, and lightly rocked
-by all the airs of heaven: then comes a sudden tempest, and uproots it
-from the soil, and all its promise is marred: so stricken and cut off
-in the dawn of his manhood lay that gallant lad.  And as a lion comes
-down from the mountains, trusting in his might, and strikes down a
-young heifer feeding in a meadow, the fairest of the herd, breaking her
-neck with his mighty teeth, and then glutting himself with her blood
-and her flesh; and the herdsmen with their hounds stand apart, making
-great uproar, but not one dares to interrupt him in his meal: so dared
-not one of the Trojans to stand against Menelaus face to face.
-
-Hector, who after slaying Patroclus had gone off in pursuit of the car
-of Achilles, was recalled from that fruitless chase by the tidings of
-Euphorbus' death.  With a loud cry of rage he turned back, and hastened
-to the place where the young Trojan lay, side by side with Patroclus.
-Menelaus stayed not to abide his coming, but fell back upon the ranks
-of his comrades, and there halted, and scanned the fighting line,
-looking for the great Telamonian Ajax.  Observing him at last on the
-extreme left of the battle, he ran up to him, crying eagerly: "Make
-haste, Ajax, and aid me to recover the body of Patroclus, that we may
-carry it back, naked as it is, to Achilles; for the armour Hector has
-taken already."
-
-So together they went, and stood side by side over the body of
-Patroclus; and Hector in his turn shrank back, when he was confronted
-by the towering form of Ajax, with his massive, sevenfold shield.  But
-he took with him the armour, and gave it to two of his men to carry to
-the city.
-
-Glaucus was full of anger when he saw Hector quail before Ajax, and he
-reproached him bitterly, calling him faint-hearted, and false to his
-great office.  "It is a thankless task," he said, "to fight under such
-a leader.  Henceforth let the Trojans make shift to defend their city
-without our aid, for we of Lycia at least will fight their battles no
-more.  Basely hast thou dealt with us, after all our good service,
-leaving our great captain Sarpedon in the hands of the Greeks.  If ye
-of Troy had the spirit of men, ye would aid us to capture the body of
-Patroclus, that we might keep it to exchange for Sarpedon's corpse.
-But thou art a prudent warrior, and fearest the face of Ajax, knowing
-him to be a far better man than thou art."
-
-"O folly of the wise!" answered Hector scornfully.  "'Tis Glaucus can
-talk thus, who hath the rarest wit, as we are told, among all the men
-of Lycia.  Come and stand by me, and thou shall see if I fear the face
-of Ajax, or any other Greek.  But first I will put on the armour of
-Achilles, which was given, men say, by the gods, as a wedding gift to
-his father Peleus."  And with that he ran and overtook the men who were
-carrying the spoils of Patroclus towards the city, and taking off his
-own armour began to put on that of Achilles.
-
-[Illustration: Homer hymning the Fall of Troy.  (Baron H. de Triqueti)]
-
-When Zeus beheld him thus gaily equipping himself in the spoils of the
-mighty, he shook his head, and spake thus to his own heart: "Ah!
-wretch, thy triumph will be short lived, and the hand of doom is
-stretched out already to take thee.  But thou shall have thine hour,
-and Andromache shall hear of thy deeds, though never more shall she
-welcome thee returning from battle."
-
-He said it, and confirmed it with a nod, and forthwith the very demon
-of war entered into the heart of Hector, and with a fierce cry he ran
-back to the field, glittering in the armour of Pelides, which seemed to
-have been wrought for himself, so well it fitted his limbs.
-
-Even the great Ajax felt a cold touch of fear as Hector bore down upon
-him, with the most famous warriors of Troy and Lycia at his back.  "We
-are lost," he said to Menelaus, "unless we can get some other succour
-to beat back this tempest of war."  Then, raising his voice, he
-shouted: "To the rescue, ye captains and princes of the Greeks!  Let
-not Patroclus become a prey to dogs in the streets of Troy."  His cry
-was heard, and soon he was joined by Idomeneus, and Meriones, and the
-lesser Ajax.
-
-Like the roar of the advancing tide, when it meets the torrent waters
-at the mouth of the mighty river, such was the shout of the Trojans as
-they rushed to the onset.  And the Greeks stood firm to meet them,
-making a fence with their shields over the body of Patroclus.  At the
-first shock of that tremendous charge they were forced to give ground a
-little, and one of the Trojans fastened a thong to the ankle of the
-corpse, and began to drag it away.  But he had not gone far when Ajax
-sprang upon him, and with one blow of his sword shivered his helmet,
-and clave him to the chin.  This gave time for the Greeks to rally, and
-the battle was renewed in that narrow space round the body of
-Patroclus, where many a valiant deed was wrought, and many a hero bit
-the dust, fighting for the possession of a helpless corpse.  Over this
-struggling mass of warriors in the centre of the field was spread a
-thick curtain of darkness, for Zeus had ordered it so, while the rest
-of the Greeks and Trojans were fighting in the broad sunlight.  Far
-away on the border of the fight were Antilochus, the son of Nestor, and
-his brother, who had not yet heard that Patroclus had been slain.
-
-But in that dark kernel of the battle the ruthless tug of war went on.
-There was no stay, no pause, while they hewed, and thrust, and strove,
-till the blinding sweat poured down into their eyes, and their knees
-shook with weariness.  As when a master currier gives to his journeymen
-a great bull's hide, well drenched with fat, to be stretched, and they
-stand in a circle, and tug with all their might, straining it equally
-on all sides, until all moisture departs from it, and the fat
-penetrates to every pore; so they tugged the body between them, this
-way and that, the Trojans haling it towards the city, and the Greeks
-towards their camp.  "Die, ye Greeks!" cried Ajax, who was fighting
-like twenty men; "die, rather than give up the body to the Trojans."
-
-
-II
-
-After the fall of Patroclus, Automedon had driven his car out of the
-press of battle, flying from the fury of Hector.  When Hector was
-recalled from the pursuit, Automedon strove in vain to stir his horses
-from the spot where he had halted.  In vain he plied the lash, in vain
-he coaxed and threatened; still as a monumental pillar on a tomb they
-stood, with their heads drooping to the earth, and their glossy manes
-streaming over their eyes, while the hot tears dropped fast in the
-dust, as they wept for the gentle prince, whom they had borne so often
-to battle.
-
-Zeus pitied them in their sorrow, and spake thus within himself: "Ah!
-hapless pair, why did we give you to a mortal master, while ye know
-neither age nor death?  What part or lot have ye with human misery, or
-with man, the most wretched thing that breathes and moves on earth?
-But Hector shall never mount the car behind you, or put the bit in your
-mouths--I will not suffer that.  Be strong, and bear your driver safe,
-until the battle be done."
-
-Therewith, he breathed new vigour into the steeds, and they shook the
-dust from their manes, and galloped lightly with the car back to the
-fighting lines.  Singlehanded, Automedon could take no part in the
-hand-to-hand battle with the Trojans, and for some time he contented
-himself with making rapid charges with his chariot, swooping down here
-and there, like an eagle pouncing on a flock of geese, and easily
-avoiding every attack.  At last he found a helper in a comrade named
-Alcimedon, and handing the reins to him he dismounted himself to fight
-on foot.
-
-When Hector saw the car of Achilles in charge of a strange driver he
-called to AEneas, and said: "See, there are the steeds of AEacides,
-ill-guided, and ill-defended; let us not miss the occasion to win so
-glorious a prize."  So together they went, AEneas and Hector, and two
-other Trojans, in high hope to slay Automedon, and take the car.  But
-Automedon, uttering a prayer to Zeus, flung his spear, and slew Aretus,
-one of his assailants; and before Hector, who missed his cast at
-Automedon, could come to close quarters with his sword, Ajax
-interposed, and drove him back.
-
-The arrival of Automedon had interrupted the struggle for the
-possession of the body of Patroclus; but it was resumed with new fury
-on both sides, and the Greeks now received a new ally in the person of
-Athene, who obtained permission from Zeus to bring aid to her old
-allies.  Disguised in the form of the aged Ph[oe]nix, she went and
-stood by the side of Menelaus, and said to him: "Courage, son of
-Atreus!  We shall win the battle yet, and save the noble comrade of
-Achilles from the foeman's hands."
-
-"Ah!  Ph[oe]nix," answered Menelaus, "I would that Athene would put
-strength into my arm; then might I, as far as it is now possible,
-retrieve the bitter loss which we have suffered this day."
-
-Athene was glad that he had named her before any other god, and she
-filled him with an indomitable spirit, and gave him the stubborn
-courage of a fly, which returns again and again to the attack, in its
-fierce desire for blood.  And, seeing a good mark for his spear in the
-back of a flying Trojan, Menelaus flung, and pierced him in the waist.
-The man whom he slew was Podes, a son of Eetion, and a friend and boon
-companion of Hector.  Provoked beyond measure by the death of his
-comrade, Hector led such a determined charge against the Greek centre
-that even the bravest began to flinch; and to affright them the more
-there came a deafening peal of thunder from the heights of Ida, now
-wrapped in a pitchy cloud.
-
-The first to fly was Peneleos, the bravest of the B[oe]otians, whose
-shoulder had been cut to the bone by the spear of Polydamas.  Then
-Idomeneus, coming to succour a wounded Greek, broke his spear on
-Hector's breastplate, and it would have gone hard with him had not
-C[oe]ranus, a Cretan, driven up to the rescue in the car of Meriones;
-for Idomeneus had come to the field on foot, leaving his own car in the
-camp.  The brave C[oe]ranus paid for this good service with his life,
-sustaining a fearful thrust from Hector's spear, which struck him just
-at the angle of the jaw, and severed his tongue at the root.  He fell
-from the car, and dropped the reins on the ground; but Meriones picked
-them up, and gave them to Idomeneus, who drove off at full speed
-towards the ships.
-
-Thus deprived of his bravest supporters, Ajax cast a glance of dismay
-at Menelaus, who was still fighting at his side, and said: "Alas! even
-a blind man might see that Zeus himself is aiding the Trojans.  Every
-weapon of theirs finds its mark, let it be hurled by ever so weak a
-hand; but our spears fall idle to the ground, one and all.  Yet,
-abandoned though we are, let us take thought how we may save the body
-of Patroclus, and ourselves return alive to gladden the eyes of our
-faithful comrades, who methinks are in sore distress, thinking that the
-might and the murderous hands of Hector shall no more be stayed until
-they have hurled destruction on our fleet.  Also I would fain despatch
-a messenger to bear the bitter tidings to Pelides, who dreams not that
-his beloved Patroclus has perished.  But I cannot see anyone to whom I
-might deliver this charge, for men and steeds alike are covered by
-thick darkness.  Dread sire of heaven, at least from darkness deliver
-the sons of Greece!  Bring back the day, and give us the sight of our
-eyes.  Slay us, if die we must--but slay us in the light!"
-
-Zeus had compassion on that brave man in his agony, and forthwith the
-thick cloud of darkness was removed, and the sun shone out, and all the
-field of battle was disclosed to view.  "Now haste, Menelaus," said
-Ajax.  "Go thou, and find Antilochus, who is very dear to Achilles, and
-bid him carry this message, which none other may dare to bring."
-
-Menelaus was very reluctant to leave his place among the defenders of
-Patroclus.  Slowly, and with many a backward glance, he turned to go,
-like a lion who is driven off at dawn by a shower of javelins and
-burning brands, after he has prowled all night round the stalls where
-fat oxen are housed.  "Ah! remember," he said earnestly, pausing once
-more, "remember how dear, how gentle he was to us all, this poor
-Patroclus, who now lies cold in death.  Forsake him not, but stand by
-him till I come back."
-
-After this fervent appeal he made all haste, and ran along the fighting
-line, looking about him with a piercing glance, like an eagle soaring
-high in the heaven, who spies out a hare as she crouches in the shadow
-of a thicket.  So did the keen eye of Menelaus soon discern where
-Antilochus was fighting, on the extreme left of the field.  "Dire is
-the news I bring," said Menelaus, halting by his side: "Patroclus is
-slain, Hector has his armour, and thou art chosen to tell Achilles of
-his loss, that if it be possible he may yet save the body."
-
-With parted lips, and eyes staring with horror, Antilochus stood gazing
-at the bringer of the message of woe.  Then dashing the tears from his
-eyes, and drawing a deep sobbing breath, he flung down his shield and
-sped away on his mournful errand.
-
-"I have sent him," said Menelaus, when he had returned with all speed
-to the defenders of the fallen Patroclus.  "I know not what Achilles
-will do--he cannot fight without armour.  But to our task."  "The
-Trojans have drawn off a little," answered Ajax.  "Now is the time: do
-thou and Meriones take the corpse on your shoulders, while I and my
-brother-in-arms hold the foe in play."
-
-Without a moment's delay Menelaus and Meriones hoisted the body on
-their shoulders and began to carry it towards the camp: which when the
-Trojans saw, they raised a great shout, and rushed after, like hounds
-attacking a wounded wild boar; but as the hounds are scattered when the
-great brute wheels to the charge, so fled the Trojans before the
-determined stand of Ajax and his comrade.
-
-But only for a moment: on they came again, fierce as a mighty
-conflagration, which sweeps through the streets of a town, driven
-before the gale, while the houses melt away like wax in the flames:
-with like furious uproar came horse and foot hard at their heels, as
-they bore the body from the field.  But stoutly and stubbornly they
-plodded on with their burden, panting and sweating like a pair of mules
-which drag a heavy beam down a rugged mountain path: and behind them
-those two doughty champions opposed an impassable barrier to the
-Trojans, like a long wooded mountain spur, which hurls back the fierce
-assault of a swollen stream, and cannot be broken.
-
-Yet even now the issue seemed doubtful; for just as the bearers reached
-the barriers of the camp Hector and AEneas led a vigorous charge,
-scattering the Greeks as a hawk scatters a noisy mob of starlings or
-daws.
-
-
-
-
-The News is brought to Achilles
-
-I
-
-"Why tarries Patroclus so long?" asked Achilles of himself, as he sat
-waiting by his tent.  "Alas!  I fear that he hath disobeyed me, and
-lost his life by his rashness.  Did not my mother tell me that the
-noblest of the Greeks should fall in battle with the Trojans while I
-lived?"  His alarm increased when he saw straggling parties of the
-Greeks entering the camp, with every sign of panic and defeat.
-Presently the roar of the struggle drew nearer and nearer, and he had
-just determined to rush to the ramparts, and learn the worst, when
-Antilochus came running up, and in broken accents panted out his
-dreadful message.
-
-As when a thunderbolt descends, laying low some giant of the forest, so
-fell the mighty Pelides, laid prostrate beneath that stunning blow.
-Then that proud head, which had never bowed to mortal man, was defiled
-with dust, and those heroic limbs, the very mould of manly strength and
-beauty, grovelled and writhed on the ground.  He tore his hair, cast
-ashes on his head, and moaned like a wounded beast in his agony.  And
-all the handmaids whom he had taken in war gathered round him, wailing
-and beating their breasts; for sorrow was their portion, and their
-tears were ever ready to flow.  By his side knelt Antilochus, holding
-his hands, in fear lest he should do violence to his life.
-
-Then Achilles shook off the grasp of Antilochus, and started to his
-feet with a fearful cry, glaring wildly, like one about to do some
-desperate act.  But just at this moment a sound of female voices came
-floating over the placid sea, and Thetis glided into his presence, with
-all her band of Ocean nymphs attending.  Achilles flung himself down
-again when he saw her, with a fresh burst of grief; and kneeling by him
-she embraced him tenderly, and weeping cried: "O child of my sorrow,
-what new cause of mourning hath reached thee now?  Hath not Zeus
-fulfilled his promise, and avenged thine honour?"
-
-"What avails his promise, or the fulfilment thereof?" answered
-Achilles, groaning bitterly.  "What care I for honour, if I must pay
-for it with the life of my best beloved?  He lies in his blood, and
-Hector, his slayer, has taken the glorious armour which the gods gave
-to Peleus when they made thee his unwilling bride.  'Twas a woeful
-match, for thee and for me, and soon thou shall reap the bitter fruit,
-for Hector must die by my hand, to appease the ghost of Patroclus, and
-thou hast told me that, when Hector falls, my own end is not far off."
-A mournful silence followed, broken only by the sobs of Thetis, who
-knew her son had pronounced his own doom.  Then Achilles burst out
-again, in louder and angrier tones: "But let me die, when that task is
-done!  What has life been to me?--a burden to myself, and a curse to
-others!  Here have I lain, like a useless trunk, encumbering the sod,
-and left my comrades to perish, and given him, the very light of mine
-eyes, to be a prey to the spoiler.  Accursed, and thrice accursed, be
-the spirit of strife, which trickles, sweeter than honey, into the
-hearts of men, and rises up again, in words more bitter than
-gall!--even as Agamemnon provoked me to fierce anger, which now comes
-back upon me, with thrice envenomed sting.  But past is past--we will
-speak no more of that.  My fate calls me to vengeance--and after that
-the grave.  Then away, soft visitings of love and gentle sorrow!  And
-thou, fond heart, become a stone!  I will strew with havoc the path
-which leads me to mine enemy, and the streets of Troy shall be filled
-with lamentation, and women wailing for their dead."
-
-"I know that I cannot shake thy purpose," answered Thetis sadly, "and
-it shall be as thou hast said.  But unarmed thou canst not go into
-battle.  Remain here therefore until my return, and by to-morrow's dawn
-I will bring thee such armour as never mortal wore."
-
-
-II
-
-While these events were passing, the struggle over the slain Patroclus
-raged fiercer than ever.  Slowly the Greeks were driven back to the
-very gates of their camp, and at the eleventh hour that pitiful prize
-which had cost so much blood would have fallen into the hands of the
-Trojans, had not Hera intervened and sent Iris to summon Achilles to
-the rescue.
-
-"Rouse thee, son of Peleus!" said Iris, appearing at his side.  "Hector
-hath sworn to set the head of Patroclus on the battlements of Troy, and
-he will accomplish his threat if thou sittest idle here."
-
-"How can I go unarmed to the field?" answered Achilles.  "I know of
-none whose armour I might wear, save only Ajax, and he is fighting at
-the front."
-
-"No more words," replied Iris.  "Do as thou art bidden, and heaven will
-find a way."  Then Achilles arose, and went to the ramparts; and Athene
-drew near him, and threw her tasselled aegis over his shoulders, and on
-his head she caused a golden cloud to descend, which shot forth rays of
-angry light.  As in a beleaguered city, where a thousand watch-fires
-are lighted, and all day long the pillars of smoke ascend, but in the
-darkness the red blaze is seen afar, a signal of distress to distant
-allies--so shone that unearthly fire on the head of Achilles, as he
-stood on the brink of the moat.  Then he lifted up his voice, and
-shouted; and the sound was as the sound of a trumpet summoning to arms.
-
-When they saw the dreadful light, and heard the brazen voice of
-Pelides, the Trojans were astonished, and halted in the midst of their
-wild assault; and while they wavered the Greeks fell upon them, and
-drove them back in disorder.  The tide had turned at last, and the long
-day of battle, so full of strange revolutions of fortune, came to an
-end.
-
-Slowly and reverently the body of Patroclus was laid upon a bier, and
-carried to the tent of Achilles.  But a few short hours before he had
-gone forth, with horses and with chariots, to battle, in the pride of
-youth and strength; and now he lay cold in death, gored with hideous
-wounds by Trojan spears.  And all night long Achilles and his comrades
-mourned for their slaughtered hero, the gentlest and the best of all
-their band.  Like a lion who leaves his whelps in their dark forest
-lair, and returns to find his bed empty, and his young ones gone;
-roaring with rage and grief he tracks the footsteps of the robber along
-many a mountain path, and all the forest is filled with the sound of
-his wrath: such was Pelides in his sorrow, and such the voice of his
-mourning.  "Vain, alas! was the promise which I made to thy father
-Men[oe]tius, that I would bring thee back safe to thy home in Locris,
-loaded with the spoils of Troy.  Thy blood is red on the Trojan sod,
-where mine too shall flow before many days are passed.  Now hear my
-vow, Patroclus, and take comfort, even in death I will not pay the last
-rites to thy corpse until I have brought Hector's body hither, with the
-armour which he has taken, and slain twelve Trojan captives as a
-sacrifice to thy shade.  Till then thou shalt lie as thou art, and the
-women of Troy, whom we won with the might of our hands, shall mourn
-thee night and day."
-
-Then they washed the body, and anointed it with fragrant oil, and laid
-it, wrapped in fine linen, on a bed to wait for burial.
-
-
-III
-
-The Trojans still kept the field, though with far other feelings than
-when they lit their camp-fires, only the night before.  Before ever
-they thought of supper the chiefs met in council, and stood about in
-anxious groups, waiting until some recognised leader should advise them
-in their present strait.  Then Polydamas, who was esteemed the wisest
-head among them, came forward and commanded silence; and all listened
-attentive to hear what he should say.  "Friends," he began, "ye had
-best take heed what ye do; as for me, I have but one thing to
-advise--back to the city, and let not to-morrow's dawn find us here!
-We have all had our hopes, and I among the rest; but all those hopes
-are fled now that Achilles has arisen again; and if we abide his coming
-we shall learn too late what it means to face him in the open field.
-Here, where we stand, dogs and vultures will hold their foul revel, and
-batten on our flesh, at the going-down of the sun.  Therefore, I say
-again, back to the city, and put a stout bulwark of stone and oak
-between yourselves and this terrible man.  To-morrow we will man the
-walls, and laugh at his fury if he seeks to assail us there.  Yea, his
-steeds shall weary with drawing his car, and he himself shall sicken of
-the vain attempt, for he knows well that Troy is not destined to fall
-by his hands."
-
-So ran the counsels of prudence; but another spirit was there also--the
-spirit of rash confidence and unauthorised ambition--and it found
-passionate utterance in the voice of Hector, who was the next to speak.
-"I like not thy words, Polydamas," said he, with an angry look; "I like
-not the cowardly counsel which bids us skulk behind our walls.  Who is
-not sick of our long confinement in that pinfold there?  We have
-drained our treasury, and scattered abroad the wealth for which Troy
-was once famed throughout the world, wherever human speech is heard.
-But now that we have been vouchsafed the glorious promise of carrying
-the war into the enemy's camp, and driving these hounds of war out of
-our land--now, I say, unlock no more the thoughts of thy base soul, to
-damp our courage, and quench the bright flame of hope which has been
-kindled in our breasts.  Now hear what I advise: to-night we will hold
-our camp here, and keep watch in turn; and to-morrow at first peep of
-day we will put on our armour and march against the Grecian stronghold.
-Achilles is arisen, sayest thou?  The worse for him: I will not fly
-before him, but will meet him face to face, and slay him, or be slain."
-
-The fiery eloquence of Hector carried his hearers with him, and they
-resolved with one accord to remain where they were, and abide the issue.
-
-
-
-
-The Shield of Achilles
-
-Mindful of her promise, Thetis, when she left Achilles, went
-straightway to Olympus and entered the dwelling of Hephaestus.  It was a
-wondrous structure, all of brass, which the lame god had planned and
-fashioned by his own skill and labour.  She found him in his forge,
-blowing up the fire with his bellows; for he was hard at work, setting
-the finish to twenty brazen vessels, for use in his house.  Each vessel
-ran on golden wheels, and moved to and fro of its own accord, coming
-and going at the master's bidding.  With him sat Charis, his wife,
-watching her husband at his toil; and when she saw Thetis enter she
-came forward to greet her, and placed a chair, inlaid with silver, for
-her to sit on.  Then she called to Hephaestus, who was stooping over his
-forge, and said: "Leave thy work, and come and welcome this honoured
-guest."
-
-"Welcome indeed she is, and honoured too," said the hospitable god,
-limping across the stithy with outstretched hands.  "Did she not save
-me from my shrewish mother, who was ashamed of her crippled son, and
-sought to put me out of the way, when I was but a child?  Then it would
-have gone hard with me if Thetis had not received me into her home, the
-deep cavern, round which Oceanus wraps his watery coils, foaming and
-thundering everlastingly.  There I dwelt in peace for nine long years,
-and many a pretty jewel I wrought for my preservers--brooches, and
-bracelets and necklaces.  And none of the gods knew where I was, save
-only kind Thetis and Eurynome, daughter of Oceanus.  Therefore thrice
-welcome, sweet lady of the sea!  I owe thee my life, and shall be
-rejoiced if I can pay part of the debt.  Take her, dear Charis, to the
-guest-chamber, while I put away the implements of my trade."
-
-Thetis left the forge with her hostess, and when they were gone
-Hephaestus gathered up his tools, and turned the bellows away from the
-fire.  The tools he placed in a vast silver chest, and then taking a
-sponge he cleansed his face and hands, his brawny neck, and hairy
-chest.  Then he put on a clean tunic, and went to join Charis and her
-guest.  His huge heavy frame was ill supported on a pair of thin,
-crooked legs; but his own inventive genius had enabled him to supply
-this defect, for on either side of him walked a wonderful creature,
-wrought by himself in gold, with the form and face of a maiden, a human
-voice, and human wit.  Leaning on these strange supporters, he entered
-the guest-chamber, and sat down by the side of Thetis.  "What need," he
-asked, "has brought thee to my poor house--an angel's visit, indeed, to
-me, both rare and dear?"
-
-Encouraged by the cordial tone of the good-natured god, Thetis poured
-out afresh all the tale of her woes, beginning from the time when,
-sorely against her will, she became the bride of Peleus.  He was now an
-old man, broken and infirm, and she a goddess, radiant in her immortal
-bloom, was still chained to the human wreck, and Achilles, her son,
-still in the prime of his splendid manhood, was a perpetual source of
-trouble and grief.  "Few indeed," she went on, "and evil, are the days
-of his life.  First foully insulted by his sovereign, and now
-broken-hearted at the loss of his dearest friend!  Help me to do what I
-can to comfort him in this bitter hour; lend me thy skill, and make him
-a suit of armour such as never mortal man hath worn before."
-
-"If that be all," answered Hephaestus cheerfully, "thy prayer is granted
-as soon as uttered.  Arms he shall have, which shall make him the
-wonder of the world when he goes forth to battle."
-
-Then leaving Thetis in charge of his wife he went back to his forge,
-and having stripped to the waist addressed himself to his work.  Round
-the furnace in the centre of the stithy were twenty pairs of bellows,
-each serving a separate smelting oven.  These he now turned to the
-fire, and commanded them to blow, for they were endowed with a
-consciousness of their own, and obeyed the master's will, now sending
-forth a tremendous blast, which made the fire roar with fury, and the
-flames leap upward to the roof, now breathing low, like some huge
-monster in his softer mood.  Into the smelting ovens he cast bronze and
-tin, silver and gold; and when his metal was ready he placed a
-ponderous anvil on the anvil block, and took in one hand a mighty
-hammer, while in the other he grasped the tongs.
-
-And first a shield he fashioned, vast and strong,[1] with threefold
-rim, and baldric of silver.  The shield was of five folds; and on it he
-wrought many a pictured scene with wondrous skill.
-
-
-[1] This line is from Cowper's version.
-
-
-There were imaged earth and sea, the unwearied sun, and the moon in her
-waxing and her waning, and the heavens with all their starry
-crown--Pleiades, and Hyades, and Orion's might, and the Bear, whom men
-likewise call the Wain, who turns on the same spot, and watches Orion,
-and alone has no share in the baths of Ocean.
-
-And there was fashioned many a scene from human life, peace and war,
-pastime and industry.  The first was a city, and along the streets a
-bridal procession was passing, with blazing torches, and the loud
-hymeneal song, and the whirl of dancers, and the music of flute and
-harp; and the women stood at their thresholds, admiring that gay
-company.  But in the market-place was heard the voice of loud dispute;
-for the elders were met in their session, to decide a quarrel
-concerning the blood-price of a murdered man.  The slayer brought
-witnesses to prove that he had paid the whole amount; but the plaintiff
-denied that he had received a doit.  Outside the circle stood the
-clamorous mob, eager partisans of either side, and held in check by the
-heralds with their rods of office, and in the midst sat the elders in
-solemn conclave on their seats of polished stone, rising up in turn to
-give sentence.  And he whose judgment was held wisest was to receive a
-reward of two talents of gold.
-
-A second city there was, hard beset by stress of war.  For about it lay
-two armies encamped, whose counsels were divided: in one the leaders
-were for taking the city by storm, while in the other they would have
-made a treaty, by which the citizens were to buy off the attack with
-half their goods.  But while the besiegers were disputing, the citizens
-left their walls to be defended by the old men and the weaker sort, and
-sallied out in full force to lay an ambush for a convoy which was on
-its way to the enemy's camp.  So forth they marched, with Ares and
-Athene at their head, distinguished by their towering stature and
-golden armour.  And when they came to the chosen place of ambush, by
-the riverside, where was a watering-place for flocks and herds, they
-crouched down among the bushes, leaving two scouts to warn them of the
-convoy's approach.  Soon they heard the lowing of cattle, and the
-bleating of sheep, and the sound of the herdsmen's pipes, as they came
-on, dreaming of no harm; then forth rushed the armed troop, and cut
-down the herdsmen, and began to drive off the beasts.
-
-The cries of the herdsmen, and the bellowing of the affrighted beasts,
-reached the ears of the besiegers, as they sat in council, and seizing
-their arms they mounted their horses, and hurried to the rescue.  Then
-began a furious struggle, in which all the demons of war--Strife, and
-Confusion, and deadly Fate--held high carnival, and drank deep of human
-blood.[2]
-
-
-[2] It should be observed that the poet gives the whole succession of
-incidents which are merely hinted at by the artist, who is confined to
-one moment in the story.
-
-
-Then followed diverse scenes of happy toil.  The first was a fair
-fallow land of rich tilth, where ploughmen were driving their teams to
-and fro, drawing long furrows, straight and deep, and pausing now and
-then to refresh themselves with a cup of wine, which was handed to them
-by a man who stood ready at the end of the field.  Dark rose the
-curling furrow, as the ploughshare passed, and the sods seemed of rich
-black soil, though wrought in gold; for therein was displayed the
-artist's skill.
-
-The next was a harvest of yellow corn, and a row of busy reapers with
-sharp sickles in their hands.  Others stood ready to bind the sheaves,
-and these again were supplied by a willing troop of boys, who gathered
-up the swathe as fast as it fell, and handed the ripe bundles to the
-binders.  Near at hand stood the master, rejoicing in his wealth; and
-under a tree at the border of the field the henchmen were slaughtering
-an ox, to make savoury meat for him and his guests, while women were
-preparing a mess of pottage for the reapers.
-
-Likewise he fashioned a vineyard, heavy with great clusters of grapes,
-and along the rows moved a merry troop of boys and girls, with baskets
-in their hands, gathering the luscious fruit; and when their baskets
-were full they brought their burdens home with dancing steps, led by a
-boy who played the harp and sang the sweet dirge of summer in his
-shrill, childish voice.
-
-Then came a herd of oxen going to pasture, and lowing as they went
-along the waving rushes, along the murmuring stream.  Four herdsmen
-followed, and with them were nine dogs.  But lo! a noble bull, the
-leader of the herd, falls suddenly in his tracks, struck down by the
-claws of two ravening lions.  They begin to drag him off, and the
-herdsmen follow at a distance, cheering on their dogs, which leap and
-bay wildly, but will not close with those terrible robbers.
-
-The last scene of all was a dance of youths and maidens, the youths
-clad in close-fitting doublets, and wearing hangers at their sides, and
-the maidens wearing light garments of linen, and circlets of gold on
-their heads.  Holding one another by the wrist, they first moved in a
-giddy circle, swift and true as the wheel flies in the potter's hands,
-and then they parted in two rows, and met again, weaving and unweaving
-all the mazy figures of a Cretan dance, while two tumblers whirled
-among them, and a singer gave the time with his voice.
-
-Framing this rich succession of pictures ran the broad stream of
-Oceanus, rolling his waters round the outer rim of the shield.
-
-Corslet, and greaves, and helmet with crest of gold, were fashioned
-next, and when the great work was done, Hephaestus brought it and laid
-it at the feet of Thetis.  After due thanks, she took leave of her
-generous friends, and then sped on her way to the Grecian camp, bearing
-the costly gift of Hephaestus to her son.
-
-
-
-
-The Reconciliation
-
-I
-
-Dawn was beginning to redden the waters of the Hellespont when Thetis
-reached the tent of Achilles.  She found him sitting, lost in a gloomy
-reverie, by the side of the bed on which the body of Patroclus lay.
-"Come," said Thetis, touching him lightly on the shoulder, "let the
-dead bury their dead, and behold the glorious armour which Hephaestus
-has wrought for thee."
-
-With that she set down the dazzling panoply, fresh from the forge of
-the god; the ethereal metal rang with a dreadful sound, and from the
-burnished surface darted angry beams of light, blinding the eyes of the
-Myrmidons who had drawn near to gaze, so that they fled in terror from
-the sight.  But the eyes of Achilles flashed with an answering fire,
-and his heart burned with fierce joy, as he handled the work of the
-immortal armourer.  "Mother," he said, when he had scrutinised every
-piece, "the work is worthy of the artist--I can say no more.  And now
-to battle!  Yet one thing I fear--lest the body of my friend be marred
-by decay before my vow is accomplished and I am free to bury him."
-
-"Let not that care disquiet thee," answered Thetis, "I will find a
-means to keep off the destroying hordes of the air, that breathe
-corruption in the limbs of fallen warriors.  Though he lie unburied for
-the space of a whole year, his flesh shall remain pure and clean, as
-the flesh of a little child.  Now go thou and summon the Greeks to the
-place of assembly, that when thou hast renounced thy feud with
-Agamemnon, thou mayest gird thee with might and go forth to battle."
-Then she brought nectar and ambrosia, and embalmed therewith the body
-of Patroclus, that his flesh might remain sound and whole.
-
-But Achilles strode rapidly along the strand, shouting as he went to
-call the people to the assembly.  And forthwith from every tent the
-multitude came flocking, and not one remained behind, no, not even
-those who pursued peaceful crafts, and were not wont to take part in
-the councils of the armed host.  For not one was willing to be absent
-from that memorable meeting.
-
-As he passed on, he overtook Odysseus and Diomede, who were limping
-painfully along, leaning on their spears; for they were still sore with
-their wounds.  After a few words of greeting, he left them to follow,
-and went forward to the place where the chiefs were sitting round the
-throne of Agamemnon, which was still vacant.  It was a level spot, in
-the centre of a natural hollow, whose sides rose gently, until they
-were closed by a background of waving woods.  And now all the slopes
-were black with a swarming multitude, armed and unarmed, stout
-spearmen, and noisy rabble.  At last Agamemnon was seen approaching,
-moving slowly and with pain.  He took his seat on the royal throne, and
-then a dead hush fell on all that vast company, as Achilles rose in his
-place, and began to speak.
-
-"Great King," he said, "we are met to end the lamentable feud which
-arose out of our quarrel for the sake of the maid Briseis.  Would that
-she had never been born, or had been stricken with sudden death by the
-gentle shafts of Artemis, before ever she had put enmity between me and
-thee!  So would many a brave man have been alive and well who now lies
-sleeping an iron sleep.  Yes, for many a year to come the Greeks will
-speak of the wrath of Achilles, and of him who was the cause.  But here
-it ends: my wrath is now aimed at another mark, and once more I am thy
-faithful friend and ally.  War, war without quarter or mercy--that is
-all I ask for now.  Let us see if the Trojans will hold their camp at
-our gates when they stand beneath the shadow of my destroying spear."
-
-Right glad were the Greeks to learn that the tremendous passions of
-Achilles were now enlisted on their side.  But their joyful cries were
-changed to murmurs of resentment when Agamemnon rose to answer; for
-they saw in him the author of all their disasters.  Signs of remorse
-and confusion appeared in his face; and the first words of his speech
-were heard with difficulty amidst the tumult.  "Friends and comrades in
-arms," he began, "I beseech you to hear me with patience, while I make
-confession of my fault.  I have sinned, I cannot deny it, through the
-dread power of Ate,[1] who blinded my heart, and maimed my wits, on the
-day when I took from Achilles his prize.  Ah! she is a fearful goddess,
-this Ate, a fiend to vex mankind.  Soft is her tread, and her path lies
-on the heads of men: unseen, unheard, she approaches, and enters into
-the soul of him whom she has marked for ruin.  Once she dwelt among the
-gods in Olympus, but she dared to lay her foul spells on Zeus himself,
-so that he fell into grievous error; and when he learnt how he had been
-deceived, he swore a mighty oath that never again should that abhorred
-witch set foot in the celestial abode.  So he caught her by the hair,
-and flung her down to earth, to plague the tribes of men.  And she it
-was who made me her victim, whereby all this mischief befell.  But now
-I am ready to make all good, and heal the wrong which I have wrought.
-And all the gifts which I promised yesterday by the mouth of Odysseus
-are thine, Achilles, without abatement of one jot.  Wait awhile, before
-thou goest into battle, and my squires shall bring them to thy tent."
-
-
-[1] A personification of moral blindness.
-
-
-"As for the gifts," replied Achilles, "they are thine to give or to
-withhold as thou choosest.  But of that hereafter; for the present, I
-have work to do which admits of no delay.  No more of talk, but let us
-away to the field at once."
-
-But here the voice of prudence intervened, checking the fiery
-impetuosity of Achilles.  "Hear me a moment, valiant prince," said
-Odysseus.  "We must not lead the people fasting to battle, for an empty
-man hath little heart for the fight, which methinks will be neither
-short nor easy to-day.  Let the people first eat their fill, for a man
-cannot face the foe from dawn till eve without tasting meat.  However
-willing his spirit, his flesh is weak; his limbs are soon overtaken
-with weariness, his mouth is parched with thirst, and his knees totter
-as he goes.  Therefore, I say, let us eat, and after that to battle.
-And thou, Achilles, shalt receive the gifts of Agamemnon, and partake
-of a banquet of honour with the other chieftains in his tent.  The King
-knows what is fitting, and he cannot do less."
-
-Agamemnon willingly assented, and was proceeding to give the order to
-bring the gifts when Achilles started up again, in eager protest
-against this delay.
-
-"Illustrious King," he said, "surely there will be time enough to speak
-of these lesser matters when we have humbled the pride of the Trojans,
-who are waiting for us on the plain.  My friend lies slaughtered,
-pierced by Hector's spear, and ye talk to me of meat and drink!  By my
-will the whole army should keep a solemn fast, until we have washed out
-the stain on our honour in a sea of blood, and then, after the great
-act of vengeance is complete, we will feast and make merry.  I at least
-will suffer no morsel or drop to pass my lips as long as my comrade
-lies in my tent with his feet to the door, and the women mourning
-round.  No; far other thoughts fill my heart--blood and slaughter, and
-the groans of dying men."
-
-But these desperate counsels found no favour with the veteran heads of
-the army, and a deep hum of approval greeted the more sober eloquence
-of Odysseus, who now rose again to reply.  "Mighty son of Peleus," he
-said, "thou art stronger far than I, and thy spear writes deadlier
-record on the foemen's ranks; but I have lived longer than thou, and
-seen more: bear with me, then, while I speak what reason and experience
-hath taught me.  Soon weary grows the hand which toils in war's barren
-harvest, where the swathe is so thick, and the yield so scanty when the
-day is done.  We cannot keep a fast for every Greek that falls--where
-would be the end?  The warrior's dirge is short, and he is honoured
-enough if he is mourned for a day.  And those who are left must eat,
-that they may have strength to fight on the morrow.  To your tents,
-then, every one!  And when ye have eaten, come quickly, armed for the
-fight, and await no second summons."
-
-For all his fierce impatience, Achilles was compelled to yield.  With
-great effort he controlled himself while the gifts were brought, and
-the ceremonies performed, with no circumstance of solemnity omitted, to
-ratify the covenant of forgiveness and reconciliation between him and
-Agamemnon.  And so the first act in the great drama of his wrath is
-concluded.
-
-
-II
-
-Seven youths of princely rank, attended by a long train of bearers,
-were despatched to the tent of Achilles, loaded with the costly gifts
-of atonement from the King.  With them went Briseis, thus returned to
-her former lord.  When she saw Patroclus on the bed where he lay, she
-beat her breast, and, embracing the cold body, burst into a passion of
-weeping.  "Friend of my sorrow!" she cried, "I left thee living, and I
-find thee dead.  Woe, and more woe, is all my portion.  When I came
-hither, an orphaned captive, bereaved of all, thou didst comfort me in
-my great affliction, promising, when the war was over, to make me
-Achilles' lawful wife.  Thy gentleness and thy knightly courtesy shed
-balm upon my wounded spirit, and now thou art gone, and my last comfort
-is gone with thee."
-
-So mourned Briseis, and all the captive ladies wept afresh when they
-heard her, having cause enough for tears, every one.  The sound of
-their lamentation reached the ears of Achilles where he sat, but he
-remained unmoved by the tragedy of these lesser spirits, being absorbed
-in the sense of his own great loss.  The tide of his passion had ebbed
-again, leaving his heart cold and desolate.  His men brought him food
-and drink, but he repulsed them sternly, and would touch nothing.  He
-thought of the happy past--when he and Patroclus had partaken together
-of many a cheerful meal--and then of the bitter present, when the sight
-of bread and meat filled him with loathing.  He thought of his father
-Peleus, growing old in his solitary home, waiting in sad expectation to
-hear of his son's death, and of the young Neoptolemus, his own child,
-growing up among strangers in the island of Scyros.  "Lost, lost, all
-lost!" he murmured; "I shall never see them again."
-
-But the gods had not forgotten their favourite.  Zeus beheld him as he
-sat thus stricken and forlorn, and sent Athene to inspire him with new
-comfort and strength.  Unseen, she alighted at his side, and fed him,
-though he knew it not, with heavenly food, filling his heart with more
-than mortal vigour and courage.  Meanwhile the clash of arms rang
-through the camp as the Greeks marched out, column after column, to
-battle, thick as autumnal leaves, or hovering snowflakes in winter.
-The air seemed on fire with the flash of myriads of spears, and the
-earth shook beneath the thunder of their tread.
-
-Roused by the sound, Achilles sprang to his feet, and buckled on his
-corslet, and clasped the greaves to his ankles.  Then he flung the
-sword over his shoulder, and thrust his arm through the strap of his
-shield, which shone like the full-orbed moon, or a beaconlight blazing
-afar over a stormy sea.  Last of all, he lifted his mighty helmet, with
-its nodding, golden plume, and set it on his head.  And now, being
-arrayed in his harness from head to foot, he raised himself to his
-towering height, and stretched his fleet limbs, to prove the armour;
-and it became unto him as wings, making him lighter and nimbler than
-ever before.
-
-Grasping in his right hand his spear--the mighty Pelian ash, pointed
-with death--he went forth before the tent, where Automedon stood
-waiting with his car.  "Now hear me, ye children of the wind!" he
-cried, addressing his steeds, "see that ye play me not false to-day, as
-when ye left Patroclus dead on the field, and came back with an empty
-car."
-
-Then there befell a wondrous thing; for the good steed Xanthus,
-drooping low his head, answered with a human voice, and spake thus unto
-his master: "Yea, we will carry thee safe back, most dread Achilles,
-when the fight is o'er.  It was by no sloth or tardiness of ours that
-thy brave comrade met his death; that deed was wrought by the hand of
-Apollo, using Hector as his instrument--even as thou too shalt be cut
-off by a human weapon, but by no human power."
-
-So spake the immortal courser, for the first and the last time; for
-fate suffered it not again.  And Achilles answered him, and said:
-"Waste not thy prophecies on me, good steed!  I know my fate--death on
-the battlefield, far from my home: but ere that hour comes I will send
-many a Trojan to herald my coming among the dead."
-
-Then, shouting his dread battle-cry, he sprang into his car, and drove
-headlong to the front.
-
-
-
-
-Achilles in the Battlefield
-
-I
-
-By high permission of all-ruling Jove the gods were now free to take
-part in the war, and they all with one accord came down from Olympus to
-mingle with the fray.  Only Zeus remained behind, as supreme arbiter of
-the final issue.  All the rest took sides with the Greeks or Trojans,
-and five rival pairs confronted each other in the field--Poseidon found
-a match in Apollo, the great ally of the Trojans--Hera, who loved the
-Greeks like a mother, was confronted by the archer-goddess
-Artemis--against Athene stood Ares, whose fickle mind now inclined to
-the Trojans--Hermes, who favoured the Greeks, was met on the other side
-by Leto, the mother of Artemis and Apollo--and lastly Hephaestus and
-Scamander, the opposing powers of fire and water, took the field, the
-former for the Greeks, the latter for the Trojans.
-
-All nature was in uproar as these tremendous allies entered the scene
-of conflict.  Earth shook, and the mountains reeled to their
-foundations, and the towers of Troy and the Grecian ships reeled as in
-an earthquake.  Then trembling came upon Hades, the monarch of the
-dead, and leaping from his throne he cried aloud in fear, lest the
-earth, rent by Poseidon's trident, should disclose to mortal and
-immortal eyes the dank and dreary mansions of the dead, which even the
-gods abhor.
-
-Far in front of the Grecian line was seen the glittering form of
-Achilles, who scanned the Trojan ranks like a lion who seeks his prey,
-having but one thought, but one aim--to meet Hector, and slay him.  But
-Hector's hour was not yet come, for Apollo stood near to shield him
-from his great enemy, and delay the fatal stroke which sooner or later
-must lay him low.  And first the god put it into the heart of AEneas to
-defy Achilles to battle, and gave him unwonted courage and strength,
-that he might not flinch in that fearful encounter.  Then AEneas heard a
-voice which whispered within him, and seemed to say: "Art thou not the
-son of Aphrodite, who is the daughter of supreme Jove?  Why fearest
-thou then this upstart child of Thetis, of far meaner lineage than
-thine?  Go face him, and let him learn that neither are the Trojans
-forsaken of heaven."
-
-So between the advancing lines they met, both sons of gods, but far
-different in their fate.  At first Achilles had not observed his
-approach, but stalked, heedless of all lesser foes, before the
-embattled host of Troy, like a lion bent on ravage, against whom a
-whole township is gathered, with purpose to slay him and at first he
-goes on his way, disdaining the menaces of that rabble rout--but then,
-being pricked by the point of a random spear, he gathers himself,
-foaming and gnashing his teeth, for the spring, and his mighty spirit
-groans within him, and he lashes his flanks on both sides with his
-tail, goading himself to battle--then glaring and roaring he launches
-his vast weight at the foe, resolved to kill or be killed--so sprang
-Achilles against AEneas, in wrath at his presumption.
-
-"What wouldst thou of me, AEneas?" he cried, in disdainful mood.  "Have
-the Trojans promised thee a fair estate, if thou take my life?  Or
-hopest thou, perchance, to sit in the seat of Priam, if thou accomplish
-this great deed?  I thought thou hadst had enough of me and my spear.
-Hast thou forgotten when I chased thee through the glades of Ida,
-having caught thee alone among the grazing herds?  Then didst thou
-never turn thy head to look back, until thou hadst reached the shelter
-of a fenced city.  And I sacked the city, and led captive the women;
-but thou didst escape me again, through the special mercy of Zeus.  Go
-back, vain man, and join the press of thy comrades or thou shalt not
-escape me now.
-
-"Who art thou?" answered AEneas, undaunted, "that thinkest to affright
-me with boastful words, as if I were a witless boy?  Know, proud man,
-that I am of higher descent than thine, for in my veins flows the royal
-blood of Dardanus, mingled with the blood of gods.  Go to, let us
-wrangle no more like women in the market-place, but decide the quarrel
-with our spears."
-
-As he spoke, he cast his spear, which struck with strong impact against
-the shield of Achilles; and he, when he felt the shock, held the shield
-away from his body, fearing that the point would pass through and reach
-his flesh.  But immortal armour is not easy to be pierced by mortal
-weapons, and the spear dropped harmless to the earth.  Then Achilles
-flung in his turn, and the spear tore its way through the upper rim of
-AEneas' shield: and he, stooping low, heard the rush of the mighty
-lance, as it flew over his head, and buried itself in the ground behind
-him.  Having thus both missed their cast, they prepared to renew the
-struggle hand to hand.  Achilles drew his sword, and rushed to the
-encounter with a fierce cry: while AEneas lifted a heavy stone, and
-stood ready to hurl it as his antagonist drew near.
-
-But that combat, which must have ended fatally for the Trojan, was not
-destined to be fought out to its end.  "Behold," said Poseidon, who was
-watching the unequal duel, to Hera, who sat near him, "my spirit is
-troubled because of AEneas, whom his own rashness, and the evil counsels
-of Apollo, are leading to his doom.  But this must not be: he is
-reserved for a better fate, which shall be accomplished after the
-towers of Troy have been levelled with the dust.  In him shall the line
-of Dardanus be preserved, and from him shall be born a mighty race, to
-found a new empire on the ruins of the old."[1]
-
-
-[1] These lines contain the germ of the _AEneid_.
-
-
-"Do as thou wilt," answered Hera.  "As for me, I have sworn a great
-oath that I will never save a Trojan from perishing, no, not in the
-last fatal hour when Troy shall be consumed with fire."
-
-When Poseidon heard that, he went and stood between the fighting
-champions; and on the eyes of Achilles he shed a thick darkness, that
-he might not see what was done.  Then he drew the spear from the shield
-of AEneas, and threw it at Achilles' feet; and catching up the Trojan
-prince in his hand he bore him aloft over the heads of the Greeks and
-Trojans, until he reached the utmost verge of the battlefield.  There
-he set him down, and, becoming visible in all his divine majesty,
-addressed him in these solemn words of warning: "AEneas, what put this
-mad thought into thy heart, to fight against Achilles, who is both
-stronger than thou and dearer to the gods?  Tempt not thy fate again,
-but when thou meetest him avoid his spear; and after he is slain, then
-mayest thou boldly encounter the bravest of the Greeks, for no other
-hath power to do thee hurt."
-
-
-II
-
-When the darkness fell from the eyes of Achilles he looked round about
-him, and saw his spear lying at his feet, but sought in vain for AEneas.
-"What wonder is this?" he said to himself; "the spear is returned to
-me, but mine enemy is vanished.  Surely the gods love him also, though
-I deemed that he boasted idly.  Let him go!  It will be long before he
-desires to face me again."
-
-Then, shouting to the Greeks to support him, he fell upon the main body
-of the Trojans, seeking everywhere for Hector; and finding him not (for
-Apollo as yet withheld the Trojan patriot from his eyes) he began to
-deal out indiscriminate slaughter wherever he went.  A brave Lycian,
-the son of a mountain nymph, who rushed to attack him, was his first
-victim; with one blow of that tremendous spear his head was shattered
-as with a battering-ram, and he fell beneath the feet of the horses,
-and the wheels of the car passed over his body.
-
-Among the many who went to swell the list of the slain that day was
-Polydorus, a favourite son of Priam, who loved him as his youngest
-born, and who had forbidden him to go into battle.  But he, trusting in
-the speed of his feet, had come to the field the day before, and now
-appeared in the van of the Trojans, a graceful and agile youth, lovely
-and pleasant to behold.  But as he pursued his gay career a javelin
-from the hand of Achilles pierced his armour at the waist, and he fell,
-torn in the midst by a hideous wound.
-
-Hector saw his brother fall, and full of rage and grief sprang forward
-to avenge his death.  When Achilles saw his great enemy at last within
-his reach he leapt towards him with a loud and exultant cry: "Draw
-near, and pay the price of my comrade, whom thou hast slain!"  "Proud
-man, I fear thee not," answered Hector, undismayed: "I know that thou
-art far mightier than I, but nevertheless I defy thee, and trust that
-heaven will lend keenness to my spear."
-
-But the end was not yet.  Apollo intervened to save the gallant Trojan,
-and bore him away wrapped in a cloud of darkness.  Three times Achilles
-struck, and three times his spear smote idly on the empty air.  "Thou
-dog!" he cried at last, finding his efforts unavailing, "Thou hast
-avoided me now, but I will destroy thee yet, for I have friends among
-the gods as well as thou.  Till then, let my vengeance fall upon thy
-countrymen."
-
-And as a fire rages in a forest on a mountainside, licking up the
-underwood, and thrusting out its red fangs to devour the tall trees, so
-raged Pelides in the fury of slaughter, and the earth ran red with
-blood.  And as two broad-browed steers move to and fro on a
-threshing-floor, treading out the corn, so trampled the steeds of
-Achilles on corpses and shields and broken armour, as he passed on,
-raining wounds and death on every side.
-
-
-III
-
-The Trojan army was now split into two divisions, one of which was
-flying across the plain towards the city, while Achilles drove the
-other before him towards the banks of Scamander.  Into the stream they
-flocked, without pausing in their flight, like a cloud of locusts
-driven by a fire to seek refuge in the nearest water; and Scamander's
-bed was choked by a huddled multitude of horses and men.
-
-Leaning his spear against a plane-tree, Achilles leapt into the river,
-sword in hand, and struck right and left, until the waters were
-crimsoned with blood.  And as a shoal of fish flies before the onset of
-a dolphin, seeking the shallow waters near the shore, so shrank the
-Trojans from the sword of Achilles, and hid themselves under the
-arching banks.  Then he remembered his promise to Patroclus, and,
-choosing twelve comely youths from that panic-stricken throng, he drove
-them before him, and gave them, bound, to his men to be brought alive
-to the ships.  This done, he went back to continue the work of
-slaughter; and as he reached the river's brink he saw a Trojan, who had
-just left the water, and was preparing to fly towards the city.  "Aha!
-are we met again?" cried Achilles, recognising in the fugitive a
-certain Lycaon, one of the numerous family of Priam, whom once before
-he had taken prisoner, having caught him during a night foray, when the
-luckless youth was busy cutting the young shoots of the olive, to make
-a rim for a chariot.  On that occasion he had spared his life, and sold
-him into captivity to the King of Lemnos, from whom he had been
-ransomed by a friend of Priam, and so found his way back to Troy.  For
-eleven days since his return from Lemnos he had taken his pleasure
-among his friends, and on the twelfth his fate threw him into the hands
-of Achilles for the second and last time.
-
-Lycaon had flung away shield and helmet and spear, that he might be
-lightened in the race for his life.  But Achilles was upon him before
-he was aware, threatening him with uplifted spear.  "So thou hast
-returned from Lemnos?" he said mockingly.  "We will now send thee on a
-longer journey, and we will see if thou come back again this time."
-The wretched youth flung himself down, and avoiding the spear-point
-crawled on his knees to Achilles, and clinging to him said: "Have pity
-on me, great warrior, and have respect for the sacred tie between host
-and guest; for I was thy guest, illustrious chieftain, and have broken
-bread under thy roof, on the day when thou madest me captive.  Thou
-hast no cause to hate me, for I was not born of the same mother as
-Hector, who slew thy friend."
-
-But there was no sign of relenting in the stern face which was bent
-over him, and he received a foretaste of the pangs of death as he heard
-the answer of Achilles.  "Talk not to me," said he, "of ransom or
-redemption.  As long as Patroclus was alive I was well pleased to make
-prisoners and release them for a price, but now not one shall escape of
-all those who fall into my hands, and least of all the sons of Priam.
-Thou must die, my friend!  Why seems it to thee so hard?  Patroclus met
-his fate with the rest, and he was a far better man than thou art.
-Look upon me; am I not a tall and proper man?  Yet the shadow of death
-is creeping nearer and ever nearer to me, and soon the hour of my doom
-shall strike, whether at morn, or at noon, or at eventide."
-
-At these words Lycaon's heart froze within him, and leaving hold of the
-spear he sank down on his knees, stretching out both his hands in mute
-entreaty.  Then Achilles lifted up his sword, and clove him to the
-waist, and seizing his body by the foot flung it into the river.  "Lie
-there among the fishes!" cried that ruthless man: "They will tend thy
-wounds, until Scamander bears thee to the deep, where thou shalt find
-fit burial in some sea monster's maw.  Death, death to all your
-accursed race!  Naught shall avail you your silver-eddying stream, to
-whose deity ye offer sacrifice of bulls and horses, but ye shall pay
-threefold and fourfold the debt of blood which ye owe me for the lives
-of the Greeks whom ye have slain."
-
-The river-god heard him, and, waxing exceeding wroth, began to consider
-how he should stop the murderous career of Achilles.  And while he was
-still debating within himself Achilles was confronted by Asteropaeus, a
-brave Thracian chieftain, and the son of the presiding deity of Axius,
-a broad and noble stream.  This man now barred the way of Achilles,
-brandishing a spear in each hand.  "Whence and what art thou?" cried
-Achilles, amazed that anyone should dare to oppose him; for he knew not
-that Scamander had steeled the heart of Asteropaeus to do this deed.
-"Art thou weary of thy life?" he asked again, as the Thracian still
-came on.  "I will tell thee what I am," answered Asteropaeus boldly: "I
-am the son of a deity, even as thou art, and my father was Axius, the
-fairest river on earth.  Now let us fight, great son of Thetis."
-
-With that he flung both spears at once, for he was equally skilled with
-both hands; and one of the spears struck against the shield of
-Achilles, but could not penetrate it, while the other grazed his right
-arm, and drew blood.  Then Achilles hurled his spear, which missed
-Asteropaeus, and buried itself to half its length in the river bank.
-Asteropaeus grasped the shaft, and strove with all his might to tear the
-weapon from the ground.  Failing in this, he next tried to break it in
-the middle, to use as a club; but by this time Achilles was upon him,
-and with one stroke of his sword clove him almost in twain.  "Thou hast
-found thy match, thou river's brood!" he cried, stripping off the
-bloodstained armour.  "Fool, that comparest thyself with me, whose
-fathers sprang in a direct line from Jove!  He, methinks, is mightier
-than any river, yea, mightier than Oceanus, the great father of floods,
-who trembles before the red lightning, and the voice of the thunder,
-when it crashes through the skies."
-
-So saying he lightly plucked out the embedded spear, and went in
-pursuit of the men of Asteropaeus, who were crouching in terror along
-the river's banks.  Seven of them he slew, and was about to continue
-the work of carnage when he received a check.  From the depths of the
-stream a mysterious voice arose, in tones of protest and complaint:
-"Achilles, thine arm is exceeding mighty, and thy prowess more than
-mortal; for the gods are ever near to aid thee.  If Zeus hath given
-thee leave to slaughter all the Trojans, at least drive them away from
-my bed and butcher them on the plain.  My waters are choked with
-corpses, and I cannot roll my current any longer towards the holy sea,
-because my channel is straitened by the multitude of thy miserable
-victims.  Give place, great chieftain, and cumber me no more."
-
-"It shall be as thou sayest, thou god revered," answered Achilles.
-"But suffer me yet a little while until my task is done."  And without
-further parley he sprang down again into the river bed.  Then the god
-was wroth, and prepared to expel that daring intruder from his domain.
-He gathered all his waters, which rose up in surging billows, and
-washed the corpses ashore; and to the living he gave shelter, hiding
-them away in great hollow eddies.  Then, collecting himself in one
-towering wave, he rushed upon Achilles, buffeting his shield, and
-eating away the ground under his feet.  Achilles grasped an elm, a tall
-and stately tree, and clung to it for support; but the torrent had
-undermined its roots, and the next moment it fell, tearing a huge gap
-in the bank, and damming back the waters with its leafy boughs.  Then
-he leaped from the yellow, swirling torrent, and darted across the
-plain in head-long flight; for he was sore afraid.  But Scamander
-followed hard at his heels, roaring and arching his crest.  In vain
-Achilles ran and doubled, and doubled and ran; the river pursued him
-everywhere, until his strength began to fail him; and if he stood still
-for a moment the waves rose instantly as high as his shoulders,
-threatening to swallow him up.  Then he gave himself up for lost, and
-with a groan he gazed upward to the broad heaven, and uttered this
-despairing cry for help: "O all ye gods, is this then to be my end?  Am
-I to perish thus, drowned like some nameless churl, who is swept away
-while crossing a ford in winter?"
-
-Some friendly power heard his wild appeal, and lent him new strength
-and courage to continue the struggle.  So on he panted across the
-plain, which by this time was covered with floating corpses, helmets,
-and shields.  But Scamander raged the more furiously when he saw his
-prey still eluding his clutch, and he called aloud to Simocis, his
-brother stream, to join in the pursuit.  And Simocis answered to his
-call, and mustered all his waters from every fountainhead and every
-tributary stream.  Then the twin rivers roared together in unison, and
-came down upon him, battering him with uprooted trees and rolling
-rocks, which they swept along in their course, "We will quell thee,"
-they shouted, "thou godless man, for all thy beauty and thy strength,
-and thou and thy gleaming panoply shall be wrapped in a thick shroud of
-mud, at the bottom of our blackest and deepest pool.  Thy dirge shall
-be sung by our rolling waters, and thy monument none shall behold."
-
-Achilles was now in extremity, and would surely have ended as ignobly
-as the river-god had said, if another power had not come to his aid.
-"Where art thou, my son, Hephaestus?" cried Hera, seeing that Achilles
-could hold out no longer.  "Thou art he who should save our champion in
-this strait, for thou and Scamander are natural enemies.  Haste thee to
-the rescue, armed with thy proper element; and I will summon the blasts
-of the West and the South to fan thy flames.  Let fire fight with
-water, and spare not, nor cease thy fury until I give thee the signal
-to desist."
-
-Hephaestus made haste to obey his mother, and forthwith he caused a
-sheet of fire to sweep across the plain, burning the corpses, and
-drying up the flood.  Then he turned his flames upon the river himself,
-and all the trees which fringed his banks--elms, and willows, and
-plane-trees--were soon ablaze.  Speedily the fire spread to the rushes
-and water plants, and at last the very waters began to grow hot, so
-that the fishes leapt into the air in their agony, and Scamander
-himself was in dire distress.
-
-"It is enough," he cried, yielding to a superior power.  "Torment me no
-more, Hephaestus!  Let Achilles destroy the whole nation of Trojans, if
-he will--I will not seek to prevent him."
-
-By this time the waters were beginning to boil and bubble, and clouds
-of steam rose into the air.  Seeing that the river was thoroughly
-quelled, Hera gave the signal, and Hephaestus drew off his forces, and
-left Scamander in peace.
-
-
-IV
-
-After his escape from the river, Achilles went in pursuit of the other
-Trojans, who had fallen back towards the town.  Then began a second
-rout, and a second slaughter, and Priam, who was watching the field
-from his citadel, soon beheld the whole remnant of the Trojan army
-flying before Achilles towards the city.  With a cry of alarm he
-hastened down to the gates, and gave directions to the warders to draw
-bolt and bar, and admit the flying multitude.  "But stand ready," he
-said, "to make all fast, as soon as the people are safe within, for
-fear lest this terrible man should enter the town."
-
-The warders did as they were bidden, and held the gates ready; and
-before long the first of the fugitives came panting in, their lips
-parched with thirst, and their armour powdered with dust.
-
-Still unsated with slaughter, Achilles came on in hot pursuit, and
-Priam's fears might have been realised if Agenor, a young Trojan noble,
-had not been inspired by Apollo with sudden courage, which prompted him
-to cross the destroyer's path.  "I will face this man," he said,
-halting from his flight.  "He too is of mortal flesh, and has but one
-life to lose.  I will face him, though Zeus fight on his side."
-
-As a leopard comes forth from his thick covert to meet the hunter, when
-he hears the baying of the hounds, and, even though sorely wounded,
-fights on till he is slain, so stood Agenor to meet Achilles, with
-shield on breast, and spear poised for the throw.  "Thou thoughtest to
-have taken Troy this day," he cried.  "Thou fool!  This deed is not for
-thee; thou shall not read to the end the story of her woes, but here,
-on this spot, I will end thy life of blood."
-
-With that he cast his spear, which struck him on the greave above the
-knee, but rebounded from the tempered metal; but before Achilles could
-return the attack Apollo removed Agenor from his reach, and putting on
-the likeness of Agenor fled away towards the river, luring Achilles
-after him.  The Trojans were thus given time to make good their escape,
-and the city was soon filled with a frightened and disordered host,
-thankful to have escaped with bare life.  All along the battlements
-were seen groups of exhausted men, who wiped the sweat from their
-brows, and drank deep draughts of wine to quench their burning thirst.
-Only one was left outside: This was Hector, who remained of his own
-free will, resolved to decide the issue in single combat with Achilles.
-
-
-
-
-The Death of Hector
-
-I
-
-Having achieved his purpose, Apollo now resumed his own shape, and
-halting before Achilles thus addressed him: "Knowest thou not me,
-Achilles?  See, the Trojans are safe from thy fury, gathered within
-their gates.  What wouldst thou have?  Is it my life thou seekest?
-Cease, presumptuous mortal, and remember what thou art!"
-
-"Thou hast foiled me, archer-god," answered Achilles, perceiving that
-he had been tricked.  "Thou hast robbed me of my prey, or many another
-Trojan would have bitten the dust.  I would make thee rue this wrong to
-mine honour had I but the power."  Then, like a fiery courser starting
-in the race, he sped away towards the city, bent on high designs.  Like
-the red rays of that sultry star whose rising heralds in the fierce
-heat of summer, the season of drought and fever, such was the bright
-but fearful gleam which flashed from his armour as he ran.
-
-Priam was the first who saw that ill-omened ray, from the place where
-he stood, on the wall above the gate.  And when he marked the
-destroyer's approach he groaned aloud, and beat his head, and then,
-stretching out his hands over the battlements, thus spake unto Hector,
-beseeching him earnestly, and with tears: "O Hector, my son, my son,
-remain not there, thus deserted and alone, to abide the coming of that
-fearful man, seeing that he is mightier far than thou.  He hath robbed
-me of many a noble son, whom he hath killed or sold into captivity in
-distant isles.  Spare me this last and bitterest blow!  Fling not thy
-life away, to bring glory on Pelides, and on us sorrow and loss
-unspeakable.  Alas! will it never cease, the storm of misery which
-rains without pause on this white, distracted head!  No, I see them
-flocking, the spectres of worse evils yet to come, sorrow on sorrow,
-and woe on woe--murdered sons and daughters dragged into bondage, a
-violated home, and little children dashed to the ground in the fury of
-battle.  Last scene of all--an old man slaughtered on his own
-hearthstone, and the dogs who fed at his table and guarded his door now
-maddened by sights and sounds of horror, and lapping his blood!"
-
-The old man broke off, overpowered by the dark vision which his fancy
-had conjured up; and the appeal was taken up by Hecuba, the venerable
-Queen of Troy.  "By this breast which nourished thee," she cried, "by
-the sacred name of mother, I implore thee to abandon thy rash purpose.
-Fly from this man, or he will slay thee, and dogs will devour thy flesh
-in the Grecian camp."
-
-But all the anguished entreaties of his father and mother had no power
-to shake the resolution of Hector.  He could not go back now; he had
-rejected with scorn the prudent advice which Polydamas had given the
-night before, and had thereby caused the death of a legion of Trojans.
-How could he face the taunts of the women whom his rashness had made
-widows, and the mute reproaches of the children now orphaned by his
-act?  He had openly defied Achilles, and it was too late to recall the
-challenge.  A wild plan crossed his mind, only to be instantly
-rejected: should he lay aside shield, and helmet, and spear, and go
-unarmed to Achilles, offering to make an end of this lamentable war at
-the cost of half the city's goods, and the free restitution of Helen
-with all her wealth?  "No," he said, convinced at once of the desperate
-folly of such an enterprise: "I should then be guilty of self-murder:
-he would butcher me without mercy, before I had time to utter a word.
-This is no time for gentle parley, as between maid and youth sitting in
-soft dalliance under rock or tree: I must meet him with sword and
-spear, for victory or death."
-
-Achilles was now close at hand, with the mighty Pelian ash swaying on
-his right shoulder, and his armour blazing like the light of the rising
-sun.  When Hector saw him advancing, like an incarnate spirit of
-vengeance, all his heroic resolves forsook him, and seized with sudden
-terror he turned and fled.  And as a falcon swoops down on a hare, and
-pounces, and pounces again, as his victim leaps and doubles, to escape
-from the fatal clutch, so Achilles darted after Hector, following all
-the turns and windings of his flight.  Past a low hill they went,
-whence the Trojan scout had espied the advance of the Greeks not many
-days before, and past the wild fig-tree, following a beaten road, which
-led to two fair springs, the double source of eddying Scamander.  One
-of the springs is of hot water, and a cloud of steam hangs over it,
-like the smoke of a burning fire; but the other is cold as ice.  Here
-were broad washing-pits, lined with stone, in which the wives and
-daughters were wont to tread the clothes, in the old peaceful days,
-before ever the Greeks had landed on the shores of Troy.  Leaving these
-behind them, they sped on, and still on, pursuer and pursued.  Noble
-was the quarry, but the hunter was nobler far, and never before had he
-run in so keen a chase.  Like mettled steeds, which strive for the
-mastery, where the prize is a vessel of gold or of silver, they flew;
-but here they were running for a far higher stake, even the very life
-of Troy's bravest son.
-
-Three times they compassed the whole circuit of the walls, and again
-and again Hector tried to draw his pursuer within range of the spears
-of the Trojans who lined the battlements; but each time his effort was
-defeated by Achilles, who barred his way to the city, and drove him
-back into the open plain.
-
-As one who pursues his enemy in a dream, and cannot catch him, though
-he seems ever within reach, so was Achilles ever baffled, when he
-strove to overtake Hector, and Hector, when he strove to escape.  All
-the Greeks stood near in their ranks, watching the chase--and many a
-time a spear was levelled at Hector, to strike him down; but Achilles
-beckoned with his hand, and forbade his comrades to come between him
-and his victim.
-
-For the fourth time they came to the place of the washing-pits, and
-here by mutual consent they paused to draw breath; for both were sore
-spent with running, and could not go a step farther.  As Achilles stood
-panting, and leaning on his spear, Athene drew near to him, unseen of
-all the rest, and said: "He cannot escape us now, though Apollo should
-grovel in the dust at the feet of Zeus, begging for his life.  Remain
-awhile and recover thy strength, and I will go and persuade him to
-fight thee face to face."
-
-About an arrow's flight distant, Hector had come to a standstill, and
-drooped heavily, resting his hands on his knees, half strangled by his
-efforts to breathe.  Suddenly, to his amazement, he saw Deiphobus, his
-brother, standing by his side, and heard the familiar tones of his
-voice.  "Dear brother," said Deiphobus, "thou art hard beset, and
-driven to bay by this fierce son of Peleus.  But lo!  I am here to aid
-thee, and I will not fail thee in this strait."
-
-"Deiphobus," answered Hector, "thou wert ever dearest to me of all the
-sons whom Hecuba bore to Priam: but now thou art dear and honoured too,
-since alone of all my nation thou hast dared to leave the shelter of
-the walls."
-
-"Ay," answered the pretended Deiphobus, "my mother and my father, and
-all my friends, strove to hold me back; but my heart yearned towards
-thee in thy mortal need.  But come with me, and together we will try
-the fortune of war.  Go thou first, and I will follow."
-
-Hector accordingly advanced to meet Achilles, who was already moving
-towards him.  "I will fly thee no more," he said, when they were within
-a spear's cast of each other, "I will either slay thee, or be slain.
-But let us first make a covenant, and call the gods to witness it:
-swear thou that, if I fall, thou wilt restore my body and my armour to
-the Trojans--and I will swear to do the like by thee."
-
-"Talk not to me of covenants, thou villain!" answered Achilles
-fiercely.  "As there is no treaty possible between lions and men, no
-concord between wolves and lambs, but only fear and hatred, so is there
-hate unending between me and thee, which naught but death may cancel or
-abate.  Summon up all thy manhood, and prepare to pay the price of my
-comrades whom thou hast slain."
-
-This said he poised and flung his spear; but Hector stooped low, and
-the spear flew over his head, and sank deep into the earth.  Unobserved
-by Hector, Athene drew it out, and gave it back to Achilles.  "Take now
-my spear!" shouted the Trojan, "take it to thy heart, thou braggart,
-that thinkest to dismay me with boastful words!"  The weapon flew
-straight to its mark, and, striking the centre of Achilles' shield,
-rebounded to a distance, and fell rattling on the ground.  Then Hector
-called anxiously to Deiphobus, bidding him bring another lance.  But no
-answer came, for the real Deiphobus was safe behind the walls, and he
-who had appeared to Hector was a false Deiphobus, concealing the person
-of Athene.
-
-"Alas!  I have been deceived," said Hector.  "My last bolt is shot, and
-my fate summons me to death.  Let me not die inglorious and without a
-struggle, but in such wise that I shall be named with honour by
-generations yet unborn."
-
-Then, drawing his sword, he rushed upon Achilles, who came on slowly,
-towering above the rampart of his shield, nodding his golden plumes and
-brandishing high his spear, whose point twinkled and flashed like the
-light of the evening star.  Scanning every joint in Hector's armour, at
-last Achilles spied a point, between the shoulder-blade and the neck,
-which was undefended; and at this mark he hurled his spear with all his
-force and pierced him through the neck.  But the passage of his voice
-was left untouched, so that he was still able to speak.
-
-"Thou hast paid thy debt to Patroclus," said Achilles, standing over
-his fallen enemy, "and now thou shalt pay the usury.  Dogs and vultures
-shall give thee burial, but he shall lie in an honoured tomb."
-
-"By thy life," answered Hector faintly, "by thy father's name, I
-implore thee, give not my body to be devoured by dogs, but restore it
-to my friends, who will pay thee a heavy ransom, that I may receive my
-due in death."
-
-"Thou dog!" replied Achilles, with a furious look, "talk not of thy
-dues, nor name my father to me!  Would that I could find it in my heart
-to carve and devour thy flesh, as surely as thou shalt not escape the
-hounds and vultures, no, not if Priam were to offer thy weight in gold,
-after what thou hast done unto me and mine."
-
-"I knew that I should not persuade thee," said Hector, with his dying
-breath.  "Thou hast a heart of iron.  But vengeance shall reach thee in
-the day when Apollo and Paris shall subdue thee at the gates of Troy."
-
-As he uttered this prophecy a shudder ran through his limbs, and the
-gallant spirit fled to the land of shadows.
-
-"Die!" said Achilles, as Hector uttered his last sigh.  "As for me, I
-am prepared to meet my fate whensoever heaven wills its accomplishment."
-
-Then he drew out his spear, and laying it aside, began to strip off the
-armour which Hector had taken from Patroclus.  And the Greeks came
-crowding round, to gaze on the beauty and stature of Hector, and stab
-the helpless body with their spears.  Far other had he seemed to them
-when he came with fire and sword to burn their ships, and fill their
-camp with slaughter!
-
-When Achilles had finished stripping the corpse, he stood up and spoke
-thus to the assembled host: "Princes and counsellors of the Greeks, now
-that the gods have granted us to slay this mighty champion, who hath
-done us more harm than all the rest together, shall we not advance in
-full force against the city, and end the war at one bold stroke?  But
-alas! what am I saying?  We have another and a sadder duty to perform.
-Patroclus lies among the ships, unburied, unwept, and shall I forget
-him in this hour of triumph?  No; not in the hour of death, not in the
-grave itself, which brings, they say, oblivion to all, shall my love
-for him grow cold.  Therefore follow me, sirs, to the ships, and raise
-the song of victory.  We have gained great glory, we have slain Troy's
-chief defender, to whom all the Trojans prayed as to a god."
-
-Then, in fulfilment of his horrible menaces, he prepared to take
-hideous vengeance on his slaughtered enemy.  Stooping down he pierced
-the dead man's feet from heel to ankle, and passed a leathern thong
-through the holes; then he made fast the thong behind the chariot, and,
-taking up the armour, he sprang into the driver's place, and lashed his
-horses to a gallop.  So amid a swirling cloud of dust the fallen hero
-was dragged along, with his dark locks streaming, and that comely head
-marred and defiled; and Zeus delivered him to injury and outrage at the
-hands of his enemies in his own native land.
-
-
-II
-
-But what were the feelings of the Trojans watching on the walls when
-they saw their great champion fall, and with what eyes did the aged
-king and the fond mother behold their Hector, their joy and pride, and
-chief defence, butchered, mutilated, and dragged through the dust!
-Through all the city arose a great cry of lamentation, and such horror
-was written on every face as if the Greeks had carried Troy by storm,
-and were filling her streets with fire and slaughter.  Priam was hardly
-restrained from going forth at once, with the purpose of entering the
-Grecian camp, and throwing himself at the feet of Achilles.
-
-But there was another, bound by an even nearer and dearer tie to the
-slain, who was the last to learn the fearful news.  This was
-Andromache, Hector's wife, who was sitting at her loom in the
-retirement of her chamber, weaving a piece of flowered tapestry.
-Presently she left her task, and calling her handmaids bade them
-prepare the bath for their master against his return from battle.  Her
-face was cheerful and serene, and she smiled as she thought of the
-happy meeting which seemed so near.  But in the midst of these pleasant
-household cares a dreadful sound reached her ears--a shrill note, as of
-women shrieking, mingled with the deeper groans of men.  "Hark!" she
-said, turning deadly pale, and dropping the shuttle, which she had been
-holding in her hand: "What mean these cries?"  Then, as she paused
-again to listen, she heard the voice of Hecuba, raised in loud anguish
-above the rest.  With a woman's quick instinct she divined that the
-worst had befallen her, and shrieking: "Hector, my Hector, is slain!"
-she hastened, with ashy cheeks, and tottering knees, to the walls.  The
-crowd fell back at her approach, and every voice was hushed when they
-saw her bending over the battlements, and gazing with wild eyes across
-the plain.  Then she saw Achilles in full career towards the ships,
-dragging her husband's body behind his car.  At that sight she gave one
-gasping cry, and reeling back fell swooning into the arms of her
-kinswomen who were standing ready to aid.  Thus for awhile she lay,
-motionless and lifeless, with her long hair, escaped from its bands,
-streaming about her.  At last she drew a deep, sobbing breath, and
-opening her eyes looked into the anxious faces bent over her.  Then the
-full consciousness of her loss rushed back upon her in a bitter flood,
-and breaking from the gentle hands which held her she made as if she
-would fling herself down from the battlements.  She was prevented by
-kindly force, and led away, moaning and weeping, to her widowed home.
-
-[Illustration: Captive Andromache.  Lord Leighton.  By permission of
-the B.P.C., London]
-
-
-
-
-The Funeral Games of Patroclus
-
-I
-
-When Achilles reached the camp, he commanded his men to remain under
-arms, and led the whole company, with horses and with chariots, in
-solemn procession, three times round the couch on which the dead
-Patroclus lay.  When the strange rite was ended, the couch, which had
-been brought out for this purpose, was carried back with its burden to
-the tent, and they unyoked their horses, and prepared to take their
-supper.  Hector's body was flung into a corner, where it lay exposed to
-the burning sun, and the cold dews of night.  Achilles feasted his men
-bountifully, and then went, attended by a special guard of honour, to
-partake of a banquet in the royal tent.  Being invited to refresh
-himself with a bath, he stubbornly refused, and swore a great oath that
-he would never wash the stains of battle from his person until
-Patroclus had been buried with all the pomp of woe.  At the banquet he
-seemed ill at ease, and as soon as it was ended he prayed his kingly
-host to have him excused, and went back to the quarters of the
-Myrmidons.
-
-Night came down, and silence fell on the sleeping camp.  Achilles had
-not sought his bed, but had laid himself down on the sand, in a clear
-space, where the billows broke at his feet.  There sleep soon overtook
-him, stilling the dull ache of sorrow; for his limbs were very weary,
-after that tremendous fight, and still more tremendous race.  And as he
-slept the ghost of Patroclus came and stood by his side, like to the
-living man in stature and in face and in voice, and in the very
-garments he had on; and thus spake the spectre, in hollow and mournful
-tones: "Ah! fickle heart, oblivious of the dead, canst thou sleep,
-Achilles?  Has death broken the bond which united us in life?  Bury me
-with all speed, and let me wander no more, a homeless ghost, at the
-gates of Hades, disowned and rejected by the other spirits who have
-crossed the dark river.  Give me thy hand, sweet friend, I entreat
-thee!  For never again shall I return to earth, when ye have given my
-body to the flames--never more shall we sit retired from our comrades,
-as once in life, and take sweet counsel together.  My fate hath seized
-me, and cast me down into the pit which was prepared for me when I was
-born; and for thee too the bolt is prepared, which shall lay thee low
-beneath the walls of Troy.  And one more charge have I to lay upon
-thee: let not our bones lie apart, Achilles, but let us be joined in
-death, even as we were united in life.  One home, one love, we shared,
-and thy father was to me as mine own, from the day when I slew my
-playmate in a childish brawl, and was brought by Men[oe]tius to the
-house of Peleus.  Therefore, when thy fate hath reached thee, let our
-ashes be mingled in one urn."
-
-"Wherefore, beloved," answered Achilles in his sleep, "hast thou come
-hither to remind me of my duty, and seemest to doubt my love?  Come
-nearer, that I may embrace thee!  Yet a little while let my heart beat
-against thine, and ease its heavy burden of sorrow."
-
-With these words he stretched out his eager arms to clasp Patroclus to
-his breast; but the ghost eluded his grasp, and with one piercing wail
-melted away like smoke into the darkness.  "Alas!" cried Achilles,
-springing up in amaze, and summoning his comrades, "I perceive that,
-even in the house of Hades, there is a spirit and a phantom of the
-dead--but understanding none at all--for all night long the ghost of
-the hapless Patroclus stood by my side moaning and lamenting, and
-straitly charging me concerning all that I must do.  And the phantom
-was in aspect as the living man himself."
-
-
-II
-
-At earliest dawn a long train of mules was seen ascending the lower
-slopes of Ida, attended by a numerous company of men, all carrying axes
-and ropes of withes.  The whole troop was under the command of
-Meriones, the squire of Idomeneus, on whom the task had been laid of
-providing fuel for the funeral pyre of Patroclus.  A large grove of
-pines was felled, the trunks were divided into logs, and these were
-bound into bundles and laid on the backs of the mules.  Then down the
-slope they were driven at a quick trot, the men running beside them;
-and when they reached the camp the mules were unloaded and the logs
-piled up in an open space pointed out by Achilles.  A thousand willing
-hands aided in the work, and soon a huge stack of pinewood towered in
-the midst of the ships and tents.
-
-When the pyre was raised, Achilles gave the order to the Myrmidons to
-gird on their armour and harness the steeds to their cars.  The whole
-army stood waiting, drawn up in silence on either side of the way by
-which the funeral train was to pass; and presently the procession was
-seen approaching.  First came the chariots, each carrying two men--the
-driver, and the man-at-arms; behind these followed a numerous troop of
-infantry, marching slowly in dense array; and in the space between the
-corpse was borne, covered with locks of hair which the Myrmidons had
-cut off as a last tribute to the dead.
-
-Achilles walked behind the bier, supporting the head of Patroclus in
-his hands, and moving heavily, as one that mourns for a brother; and so
-they passed on, through the long lane of mailed warriors, until they
-came to the place where the pyre was built.
-
-Then Achilles took a sharp knife, and cut off from his forehead a long
-lock of hair, and, placing the lock in the dead man's hand, turned
-round and gazed wistfully across the dark gulf of waters which divided
-him from his home.  "Alas for the hopes of men!" he said, in a voice of
-distress.  "My father Peleus designed this lock for another purpose, as
-an offering to thee, Spercheus, my native stream, if ever I returned
-safe from the war.  But now thine altar, which stands in thy grove near
-thy sacred source, shall never smoke for me again.  A foreign grave
-awaits me, far from my home and kindred, and Peleus is absolved from
-his vow.  Therefore to thee, Patroclus, I dedicate this lock."
-
-The Greeks now dispersed to their quarters leaving those who were
-nearest to the dead, by birth or by station, to perform the last rites.
-The chief mourners approached the bier, and lifting it with the corpse
-placed it on the top of the pyre.  Many sheep and oxen were slaughtered
-and flayed, and the body of Patroclus was wrapped from head to foot in
-the fat taken from the carcasses.  Then the carcasses of the victims
-were heaped up round the bier, with jars of honey and olive-oil.  Four
-horses were next slaughtered, and two favourite hounds of Patroclus,
-and their bodies added to the rest.  Last of all the twelve Trojan
-captives whom he had taken in battle the day before were led in chains
-to the spot, butchered by Achilles with his own hands, and flung upon
-the pyre.
-
-"It is done!" cried Achilles, when this last savage tribute was paid to
-his friend, "I have accomplished my vow, and the fire may now do its
-work--but for thee, Hector, no fire shall be lighted, but dogs shall
-devour thee."
-
-That cruel threat at least was not to be fulfilled.  Unseen hands were
-busy about the fallen Trojan hero, guarding him day and night from the
-prowling dogs of the camp.  Aphrodite embalmed his body with a heavenly
-essence, which closed all his wounds, and kept his flesh pure and
-unharmed; and Apollo covered all the place where he lay with a dark
-cloud, to shield him from the scorching rays of the sun.
-
-Meanwhile torches had been brought to kindle the pyre.  But the huge
-mass smouldered sullenly, and the victims remained unconsumed.  Then
-Achilles took a golden bowl, and pouring a libation to Boreas and
-Zephyrus, the twin gods of the winds, prayed them to lend their blasts
-and blow the fire to a blaze.  Iris heard his prayer, and went swiftly
-to call the winds to his aid.  She found them seated at table with all
-their brethren in the house of Zephyrus; and thus spake Iris to that
-boisterous company: "Why sit ye here feasting and making merry, when
-there is work for you to do?  Hear ye not the prayers of Achilles, who
-needs your help, that the pyre of Patroclus may burn freely, and
-consume him to ashes, with all that lies about him."
-
-Prompt at the summons, the winds arose, with clamour and uproarious
-din, and rushed down the mountainside, chasing the clouds before them.
-Over the complaining sea they swept, and flew whistling onward till
-they reached the shores of Troy.  There they fell upon the smouldering
-pyre, and the flames leaped and bellowed in response to the roaring
-blast.  So all night long they lashed the fire to fury, and all night
-long Achilles paced to and fro before the pyre, pouring libations from
-a golden bowl on the ground, and calling aloud to the ghost of his
-ill-starred friend.  As mourns a father when he burns the bones of his
-son, a young bridegroom cut off by death on his wedding-day, so mourned
-Achilles as the fire devoured his comrade's body--so pitiful were his
-cries, so faltering his gait.
-
-Towards dawn the fire began to die out, and nothing was left but a vast
-heap of glowing ashes.  Then the winds went back to their home, and
-earth and ocean sank to rest, beneath the gentle light of the morning
-star.  Soothed by the calm influence of the hour, Achilles fell into a
-fitful slumber, but was soon aroused by the sound of footsteps and the
-murmur of voices.  Starting up, he saw a goodly company of nobles
-approaching, with Agamemnon at their head; and with their assistance
-the ritual ceremonies due to the dead were completed.  First, they
-poured wine on the glowing mass of embers, till the last spark was
-extinguished; then they collected the ashes of Patroclus, which lay by
-themselves, surrounded by the charred remains of beasts and men.  A
-costly urn of gold received the few handfuls of dust which were all
-that remained of him whom they had so cherished and honoured; and the
-urn was buried in a low mound of earth, which was one day to be raised
-to a commanding height, as a monument to the great Achilles.
-
-
-III
-
-When the last tribute of sorrow had been paid, the rest of the day was
-devoted to sport and festivity.  In heroic times funeral games were an
-important part of the honours assigned to a fallen warrior; and those
-of Patroclus were celebrated on a scale of unrivalled magnificence.
-
-The great event of the day was to be the chariot race, and splendid
-prizes were offered by Achilles, who was the sole patron and prize
-giver, for the winners.  When the gifts were set in order, Achilles
-rose and invited all who prided themselves in their horsemanship to
-take part in the friendly contest.  "If," he said, "we were keeping
-this festival in honour of any other Greek, I myself must needs carry
-off the first prize; for no steeds in all the army can vie with mine,
-the immortal coursers which were a gift from Poseidon to my father.
-But this is a day of mourning both to me and to them; for they have
-lost their gentle charioteer, and now stand, sorrow-stricken, with
-manes drooping to the ground, in their stalls, deprived of his loving
-care.  Therefore take your places, all ye who would prove the mettle of
-your horses, and your own mastery of this gallant game."
-
-Four chieftains brought their cars to try their fortune in the race:
-Eumelus, a prince of Thessaly, a land renowned for its breed of horses;
-Diomede, who drove the horses which he had taken from AEneas; Menelaus,
-with a mare of Agamemnon's, named Arthe, and his own horse Podargus;
-and Antilochus, whose car was drawn by a pair from his father's
-stables.  Nestor, who knew their quality, which was indeed but poor,
-accompanied his son to the starting-point, and as they were the first
-to arrive he improved the occasion by proffering a world of good
-advice, reinforced by many a pithy saw, showing Antilochus how the want
-of speed may be remedied by cunning and skill.  "Art," he said, "is far
-greater than force.  Art drives the axe, though aimed by a weaker arm,
-deep into the heart of the oak; art controls the motions of tall ships,
-by means of a very small helm; and art may save thee from reaching the
-goal last in this race."
-
-In the ancient chariot races the starting-point and the winning-post
-were always the same, as it was the custom to run a certain distance,
-and then wheel round a certain point, and return on the homeward track,
-which was parallel to the other.  The turning-point was marked by a
-pillar, or some other conspicuous object, and here a desperate struggle
-often took place between the rival cars for the inside place, taxing
-the skill and courage of the drivers to the utmost.  Nestor had been
-over the course, and gave his son minute directions as to the
-appearance and position of the turning-post, which was far off on the
-plain, and invisible from the starting-point.  "You will see," he said,
-"a withered stump of oak or fir, rising to about a fathom above the
-earth, with a white stone leaning against it on either side.  There you
-must turn; and see that you lose no ground in wheeling round to the
-homeward track.  Give your right horse the reins, and urge him to full
-speed with voice and lash, but rein in the other, and hold him back;
-and let the nave of your left wheel just seem to graze the stump.  If
-you can pass another car in turning, there is no fear that he will
-catch you again.  Thou hast my counsel: go, and prosper--be wary, and
-be wise."
-
-At the last moment a fifth chariot appeared on the scene, driven by
-Meriones.  Lots were cast for the stations, and Antilochus was so
-fortunate as to obtain the inside place.  The cars drew up in a line,
-Achilles gave the word, and away they went in a cloud of dust, the
-horses' manes streaming, the drivers shouting, and the cars gliding
-smoothly, or leaping and plunging at the uneven places.
-
-Soon the cars began to separate by wider and wider intervals, and a
-keen struggle ensued between the Thracian horses, driven by Eumelus,
-and the Trojans, driven by Diomede.  Eumelus took the lead, but Diomede
-followed him so close that he felt the hot breath of the pursuing
-horses on his back.  So they ran for about a bowshot; then Diomede
-dropped his whip, and his horses, wanting the lash, began to fall back.
-This accident befell him by the malice of Apollo, who owed him a grudge
-for the havoc which he had wrought among the Trojans.  But Athene had
-not forgotten her favourite, and she contrived that he should recover
-his whip, and put fresh mettle into his steeds.  Nor did she stop
-there, but, overtaking the car of Eumelus, she broke the yoke which
-coupled his horses, so that they reared violently in opposite
-directions, and the pole of the car was dashed to the ground.  Thus
-suddenly arrested at the height of his speed, Eumelus rolled headlong
-from the car, and sustained woeful damage.  The skin was torn from his
-elbows and nose and mouth, his forehead was severely bruised, and he
-lay for a while senseless where he fell.  This mishap secured an easy
-victory for Diomede.  Avoiding the wreck, he pressed onwards, leaving
-the whole field far behind, turned the goal successfully, and drove at
-an easy gallop along the homeward track.
-
-He was followed at a long distance by Menelaus, now second in the race;
-and the third place was held by Antilochus, whose ambition had been
-fired by the unlooked-for good fortune of Diomede, so that he hoped by
-some similar accident to obtain at least the second prize.  Cheering on
-his horses, he went hard in pursuit of Menelaus, who was just then
-approaching a difficult piece of ground, where the course had been
-hollowed out by the winter rains.  The place was too narrow to allow
-two cars to pass, and Antilochus determined to secure the lead before
-Menelaus had time to reach the broad course on the other side of the
-ravine.  Accordingly he plied the lash unsparingly, and overtook
-Menelaus at the moment when he was about to enter the neck of the dry
-watercourse.  "Keep back!" shouted Menelaus in alarm.  "Do not try to
-pass me here, or you will wreck both our cars."
-
-Antilochus pretended not to hear, and drove on harder than ever, so
-that Menelaus, who was a timid driver, was compelled to rein in his
-horses and let him go by.
-
-While the race was being thus run, with varying turns of fortune, the
-chieftains assembled round Achilles were sitting in their places,
-waiting for the return of the cars, and discussing the chances of the
-drivers.  Presently Idomeneus, who sat somewhat apart from the rest, in
-a position which gave him a long view over the course, cried out
-excitedly: "Diomede is leading!  I can see the white mark on the face
-of one of the horses, which shows that he is one of the Trojan
-stallions--the red chestnut, with a mark like a half-moon on his
-forehead.  Look out, some of you who have younger eyes than mine, and
-see if I am right."
-
-"Hold thy peace, old prater!" said Ajax, son of Oileus, roughly.  "We
-can see nothing yet--neither canst thou.  Eumelus was leading when we
-saw him last, and doubtless he is leading still."
-
-"Thou mannerless fellow!" answered Idomeneus hotly.  "Foremost in a
-brawl, and in all else the least of the Greeks!  Come, let us lay a
-wager, and Agamemnon shall hold the stakes; or art thou afraid to back
-thy saucy tongue?"
-
-Ajax started up in a rage, hurling abuse at the Cretan veteran, and
-words would have soon led to blows, had not Achilles interposed his
-authority to put an end to the quarrel.  "For shame!" he said, rising
-from his seat, "I wonder to hear you, two men of name and high station,
-wrangling like boors.  What avails this idle contention?  Wait but a
-moment, and the winner will be here to answer for himself."
-
-Even as he spoke, a loud huzza was heard, and a moment after, the
-Trojan car, driven by Diomede, turned the last corner, and came racing
-lightly down the last straight stretch of the course, until it was
-pulled up before the chair of Achilles.  Sthenelus was standing ready
-to welcome his comrade, and the first prize--a female slave, and a huge
-cauldron for heating water for the bath--was forthwith delivered to the
-victor.
-
-After a long interval Antilochus came in, driving at a heavy gallop,
-and hotly pursued by Menelaus, who was gaining at every stride, and had
-by this time reduced the wide gap which had separated them to a mere
-hand's-breadth.  His horses were displaying splendid mettle, especially
-the mare Arthe, who had been given to Agamemnon by a wealthy noble of
-Sicyon, as the price of his exemption from serving in the war; and if
-the course had been a bowshot longer he would have passed Antilochus,
-and taken the second prize.  As it was, he came in third, but those who
-stood near as he was dismounting could see that he was red with
-indignation, and big with some grievance, real or supposed.
-
-The fourth was Meriones, who was a poor driver, and whose steeds were
-the weakest; and last of all came Eumelus, with face sorely disfigured,
-dragging his wrecked car behind him, and driving before him his horses.
-"The last man is the best!" cried Achilles, moved to pity by his
-ill-fortune.  "How say you, sirs?  Shall we not give him the second
-prize?"  The proposal found general approval, excepting, of course,
-with Antilochus, who loudly protested against such an award.  "Thou art
-no friend of mine, Achilles," he said angrily, "if thou deprive me of
-the gift which I have fairly earned.  Prizes are given to reward the
-winners, not to console the unlucky.  If you wish to be generous, you
-can make Eumelus happy by bestowing on him some other gift, of equal or
-greater value, out of the rich store which is laid up in your tent.
-But this prize is mine, and I will not give her up no, not if I have to
-fight for her."
-
-So saying, he seized the halter of the mare, who was tethered near,
-with her foal, to be given to him who won the second place.
-
-The great Achilles smiled indulgently at the defiant attitude of
-Antilochus, who was very dear to him.  "It shall be as you say," he
-replied.  "The prize is yours, and to Eumelus I will give the corslet
-of Asteropaeus, which I won in the battle yesterday."  Automedon brought
-the corslet--a curious piece of work, finely fashioned in brass, with a
-casting of white metal--and Eumelus' eyes glistened with pleasure as he
-received it.
-
-But the storm which had been lowering in the face of Menelaus ever
-since Antilochus had passed him now burst.  Having caused the herald to
-proclaim silence he took the staff from his hands, as a sign that he
-had an important statement to make, and standing up before the whole
-assembly proclaimed his wrongs to the ears of all.  "I am astonished,"
-he said, "at the conduct of Antilochus.  He has beaten me in the race
-by a trick, though his horses are far inferior to mine in any fair
-trial of speed.  I appeal to all those present to say whether it is not
-so.  If he denies it, let him take his whip in his hand, and holding
-his horses by the rein swear a solemn oath, in the name of Poseidon,
-the god of horsemanship, that he did not hinder me by fraud in the
-race."
-
-Menelaus was clearly in the wrong, indeed, his whole plea was absurd;
-for nothing but his own faint-heartedness had lost him the second
-prize.  But out of respect to his high rank and amiable character
-Antilochus was willing to appease him.  Accordingly he brought the mare
-with her foal to Menelaus, and placing the bridle in his hand said
-respectfully: "Spare me thy reproaches, gentle prince!  I yield to thee
-the prize, and would sacrifice much more than this, rather than lose
-thy favour and incur the anger of heaven."
-
-As falls the refreshing dew on the bristling ears of barley, when the
-crops are ripening, so fell the soft answer of Antilochus on the
-Spartan prince's heart, and the sharp stings of resentment pricked him
-no more.  "Thou shalt have the prize," he said mildly, "though it is
-mine by right.  Thou art not wont to be so heedless of what is due to
-others: but this time thy young blood didst get the mastery of thy
-better sense.  Take heed that thou art not so reckless again.  I have
-yielded to thee in this for thy father's sake, and for thine also; for
-ye have both suffered many things in my cause."  And so the dispute,
-which threatened to disturb the harmony of the meeting, was happily
-ended.
-
-Five prizes had been offered for the race, and as Eumelus had received
-a special gift, the fifth prize, a drinking goblet, still remained
-unclaimed.  Observing this, Achilles seized the occasion of showing his
-esteem for the venerable King of Pylos.  So he took the cup, and going
-to the place where Nestor was sitting put it in his hands.  "Take this,
-father," he said, "as a memorial of our lost Patroclus, in whose honour
-we are met to-day.  Thou art full of years and honours, and deservest
-the highest prize of all, though thou canst not strive with young men
-in boxing, or in wrestling, or in speed of foot."
-
-"Thou sayest truly, my son," answered the old man, "my feet are heavy
-with age, and my arms dart not nimbly from the shoulder, as they did of
-yore.  Yet the day has been when none could vie with me in feats of
-strength and skill.  Well do I remember the funeral games of a noble
-prince of Elis, where I won the prize in every contest, except only in
-the chariot race, and then I was overmatched by numbers, for the
-winning car had two drivers, one plying the lash, and the other
-managing the reins.  Alas for my youth!  Alas for my vanished strength!
-Now I must be content to see others excel, though once I was mighty
-among the mightiest.  Let then the games proceed, and receive an old
-man's blessing for thy kindly gift."
-
-
-IV
-
-"Now let the boxers try their skill and hardihood," said Achilles, when
-he had returned to his seat.  "Here is a stout mule of six years old
-for the winner, and for the loser there is a silver cup."
-
-In answer to the challenge a huge champion named Epeus strode into the
-ring, and, laying his hand on the mule, cried boastfully: "Come on,
-whoever wishes to win the cup!  The mule is surely mine, for there is
-no boxer here who can match me.  If there be anyone who would dispute
-the prize with me, let him stand up, when he has made all ready for his
-funeral--for I will pound his flesh, and batter his bones, until he is
-fit only for burial."
-
-Epeus, with his massive frame and brawny arms, seemed quite capable of
-performing his threats, and it was some time before anyone was found
-willing to face him.  At last Euryalus, an Argive, whose father had
-been a famous boxer, was encouraged by his friend Diomede to try his
-chances in this painful and dangerous sport; and having stripped to the
-waist, and bound their hands with tough leathern thongs, the two
-combatants confronted each other in the centre of the ring.  The
-struggle was very short, for after they had fenced a little with their
-fists Euryalus received a crushing blow on the side of his jaw, and
-dropped in a heap where he stood, like a great fish flung by the waves
-on the beach.  Spitting out blood, and rolling his head from side to
-side, he was led away by his friends, and Epeus carried off the mule in
-triumph.
-
-Then followed a hard-contested match between Odysseus and Telamonian
-Ajax, for the championship in wrestling.  Stripped, like the boxers, to
-the waist, they clutched each other in a fierce embrace, and remained
-thus locked together, their strong arms crossed like the rafters in a
-roof, and their sides growing black under the iron pressure.  They
-seemed rooted to the ground, and neither could stir the other an inch.
-Then Ajax, suddenly exerting his enormous strength, lifted Odysseus
-bodily into the air; but Odysseus struck him with his heel behind the
-knee, and they fell together, Odysseus above, and Ajax below.  Rising
-again to their feet they wrestled a second bout, and this time
-Odysseus, though foiled in his attempt to lift the huge bulk of his
-antagonist, succeeded in tripping him by a crook of the knee, and they
-came down again, and lay side by side.  Once more they would have
-renewed the struggle, but Achilles put an end to the contest, and
-awarded them an equal prize.
-
-A beautiful silver bowl, the work of Sidonian artists, which Achilles
-had once received as the ransom of the unhappy Lycaon, was now offered
-as the first prize for the foot race.  The second prize was a fat ox,
-and the third one half of a talent of gold.  There were three
-competitors: the lesser Ajax, who was famed for his speed of foot,
-Odysseus, and Antilochus.  The distance was about a furlong, and Ajax
-took the lead from the start, though Odysseus pressed him so hard that
-he seemed glued to him; and so they ran, without changing their
-positions, over half the course, the Greeks shouting to encourage
-Odysseus, who was a popular favourite.  Still Ajax held the lead, and
-seemed about to win, when he slipped in a miry place, where the ground
-was wet with the blood of the oxen slaughtered by Achilles at the
-funeral of Patroclus, and pitched head foremost in the horrid mire,
-which filled his mouth and nostrils.  But he was on his feet again in a
-moment, and though he could not overtake Odysseus he succeeded in
-obtaining the second prize.  "It is an old story," he said, holding the
-ox by the horn, and spitting out the slime which filled his mouth;
-"Odysseus was helped by Athene, who watches over him as a mother over
-her child."
-
-The Greeks laughed at his discomfiture, and found fresh matter for
-mirth in the humorous excuses of Antilochus, who had been left far
-behind in the race.  "You know," he said, "that the gods are always on
-the side of the elder men; Ajax is a little older than I, and Odysseus
-belongs to another generation.  But he is in a green old age, and none
-can vie with him in speed, except only Achilles."
-
-"Thy praise shall not be spoken for nothing," said Achilles, smiling,
-and he gave him one half of a talent of gold as a reward for his good
-words.
-
-Contests in archery and throwing the weight succeeded, and an encounter
-with sword and spear took place between Ajax and Diomede.  Then
-Achilles offered two prizes for throwing the javelin, and Agamemnon, in
-recognition of his high rank and known skill in this exercise, was
-allowed to take the first prize without a trial.  With this incident
-the games came to an end.
-
-
-
-
-Priam ransoms the Body of Hector
-
-I
-
-The busy day was over, and night sank down on the Grecian camp,
-bringing to all, save one tormented spirit, the blessed gift of sleep.
-With silence and solitude the pangs of sorrow awakened with new
-keenness in the heart of Achilles, and he lay tossing and turning on
-his uneasy pillow, seeking rest, and finding none.  A thousand memories
-of his friendship with Patroclus--gallant adventures, hairbreadth
-escapes, moving accidents by flood and field--coursed through his mind,
-bringing home to him the immensity of his loss.  After some hours of
-sleepless misery he sprang to his feet, and throwing on his clothes
-went down to the sea, and roamed distracted along the sand.  With the
-first glimmer of daylight he yoked his horses to the car, and drove
-round and round the tomb of Patroclus, dragging after him the body of
-Hector.  Having made the circuit of the tomb three times, he unyoked
-his horses, and retired once more to his tent, leaving his lifeless
-victim face downwards in the dust.
-
-Twelve days passed; and every day the same outrage was repeated.  All
-the gods, except Poseidon, Hera, and Athene, whose hatred of all things
-Trojan was inveterate, were indignant at his senseless barbarity, and
-they began to urge Hermes to steal Hector's body, and restore it to his
-friends.  But nothing was done until, on the twelfth day, Apollo rose
-up and reproached the gods, who were met in full assembly, for their
-cruel indifference.  "Is there no pity," he said, "is there no justice,
-left in heaven, that ye suffer this inhuman son of Peleus to wreak his
-brutal fury on the body of a man of stainless life, constant all his
-days in sacrifice and prayer?  All your favour is lavished on Achilles,
-who has the heart of a ravening lion, nourished in havoc and carnage.
-Death lies about the paths of mortals, taking their nearest and their
-dearest; yet sorrow must sleep at last, for patience is the best gift
-which the gods have given to men.  But this man is more cruel in his
-love than in his hate, and because he has lost a friend his rancour
-burns on like an unquenchable fire."
-
-"Thou forgettest," answered Hera, "that Achilles is the son of a
-goddess, and shares the privileges of divine descent.  His father also
-was a favourite of heaven, and thou thyself, Ph[oe]bus, didst lend the
-music of thy harp to grace his nuptials; but now, it seemeth, thou
-takest delight in baser company."
-
-"Fair consort," said Zeus, "be not thus implacable.  Granted that
-Achilles stands higher in honour, yet Hector hath also his claim on our
-regard, for none was ever more pious than he.  Therefore, that we may
-end this miserable coil at once, let Iris go and summon hither his
-mother Thetis, that we may contrive some way of restoring Hector to his
-people."
-
-Iris hastened to obey the command, and, stooping from Olympus to the
-surface of the sea, dropped like a leaden plummet into the purple
-depths, until she reached the grotto where Thetis dwelt.  She found her
-sitting among the Nereids, mourning the lot of her matchless son, whose
-death was near at hand.  "What wants the monarch of heaven from me?"
-she asked, when she heard the summons from Zeus.  "I am ill prepared to
-attend the happy session of the gods, for grief has clouded my mind and
-marred my face."  Nevertheless she rose to go, and putting on a veil of
-funereal blackness followed Iris, who brought her speedily to the
-assembly of the gods.
-
-"We thank thee, Thetis," said Zeus, beckoning her to a seat next to his
-throne, "that thou hast answered so promptly to our call.  We know thy
-sorrows, and have respect for thee and thy son; and for this cause have
-we sent for thee.  For nine days there has been strife among us,
-concerning the body of Hector, which Achilles still keeps in his
-possession.  Some there were who would have had Hermes steal it away,
-but this I would not suffer, out of regard to thy son's honour.  But go
-thou to the camp, and tell him that we are sore displeased with him,
-because in his madness he keeps the corpse of his enemy and will not
-ransom it.  And I will send Iris with a charge to Priam, that he may go
-with acceptable gifts to the tent of Achilles, and redeem the body for
-burial."
-
-
-II
-
-Still nursing his wound, still torn by the demons of rage and grief,
-Achilles sat moodily in his tent, while his comrades were busy about
-him, preparing the morning meal.  Suddenly he felt a gentle touch on
-his shoulder, and looking up he saw his mother's face bent over him,
-with looks of sympathy and love.  "My son," she said, in a low sweet
-voice, "how long wilt thou devour thy heart in bootless anguish,
-refusing meat and drink, and spurning the tender offices of human
-affection?  O darken not the little remnant that remains to thee of
-life, but take what good thou canst, and at least live as a man.  I
-have come with a message to thee from Zeus, who bids thee to give up
-Hector's body, and receive the ransom which his friends will offer
-thee."
-
-"Be it so," answered Achilles.  "Let them bring the price, and I will
-give back the body."  Overjoyed by his ready consent, Thetis bade him
-farewell, and returned to her ocean home.
-
-Meanwhile the ever-active Iris was gone on another errand, carrying the
-commands of Zeus to Priam.  Swiftly she passed through the streets of
-Troy, and entered the house of woe, where the voice of sorrow had never
-ceased since the day when Hector had fallen by the hands of Achilles.
-Priam himself was lying prostrate on the ground in the courtyard, with
-his white locks defied with dust and ashes.  Round him were gathered
-his sons, trying in vain to rouse him from his stupor; and at the
-windows were seen from time to time the white faces of women, when any
-of his daughters paused in their household tasks to glance at the
-sorrow-stricken group outside.
-
-Lying thus, mute and motionless, Priam was startled to hear a still,
-small voice, which seemed to be speaking at a great distance,
-addressing him in these words: "Take comfort, son of Dardanus, and be
-not dismayed!  I who speak have not come to foretell thee harm, but
-only good.  Thy cries and thy groanings have gone up to the ear of
-Zeus, and he hath sent me to comfort and advise thee.  Hearken now, and
-do as I shall tell thee: let them prepare thee a wain, loaded with
-precious gifts, and go thou in thy car to the tent of Achilles, and let
-only a herald go with thee, a man stricken in years like thyself, to
-guide the mules.  Fear nothing, for heaven is near thee, and the gods
-have put it into the heart of Achilles to hear thy prayer."
-
-To the amazement of those who stood near, and who knew nothing of the
-cause, new life and energy were seen to enter the palsied limbs of
-Priam, and starting to his feet he ordered his sons to prepare the mule
-car, and make fast to it the great wicker basket which was used for the
-carriage of goods.  Then, without staying for question or reply, he
-hastened into the house, and calling to Hecuba made known to her his
-purpose.  When she heard what he intended, Hecuba lifted up her hands,
-and answered in tones of astonishment and terror.  "Is it Priam who
-speaks--the monarch revered for his wisdom even in distant lands--or is
-it some madman who has taken upon him Priam's likeness?  What, wilt
-thou go into the presence of that butcher, whose savage hands have made
-thee all but childless?  Faithless and ruthless as he is, thinkest thou
-that he will reverence thy grey hairs?  No, he will slaughter thee
-without pity, and give us new cause for tears.  Hector hath received
-the portion appointed to him at his birth, and dogs shall eat his flesh
-where he lies in the tent of that man of blood.  May the curse of
-heaven light on his slayer!  Would that I could tear his heart with my
-teeth, and devour it!  Then would my noble son be avenged, who died
-bravely before the face of all his people, with no thought of flight or
-escape."
-
-But Priam was not to be shaken in his resolve.  "Seek not to hinder
-me," he answered, "and vex me not with thy evil forebodings.  I go not
-at the bidding of any earthly prophet, but with direct assurance of the
-aid and countenance of heaven.  If I have been deceived, I am prepared
-to die, so that the stroke but find me holding my son in my arms, and
-clinging to him in a last embrace."
-
-With that he went to his treasure-chamber, and opening the chests of
-cedarwood took from them rich robes, choice tapestries, and costly
-raiment.  To these he added ten talents of gold and a bowl of silver,
-which he had received as a gift of honour when he went on an embassy to
-Thrace.  And having set the gifts in order he went forth again into the
-courtyard, to hasten the preparations for his journey.  Finding there a
-crowd of Trojans, whom some rumour had drawn to the palace, he drove
-them all out, beating them with his staff, and crying: "What make ye
-here, idle caitiffs?  Have ye not sorrow enough at home that ye come
-hither to chatter and pry into my grief?  Ye will soon learn what ye
-have lost in my Hector, when ye fly like sheep without a shepherd
-before the wolves of Greece."  The Trojans fled before the old man's
-anger, and he looked about him, seeking his sons.  "Where are ye," he
-cried, "children of my shame?  Would that ye had all perished, and
-Hector alone were left!  Alas! the best are ever taken first, and in
-those that remain there is neither comfort nor strength, but only
-dishonour and reproach.  Liars, dancers, devourers of the people--these
-are my children now."
-
-Roused by the loud rebukes of their father, the young princes made
-haste to bring forth the mule car and harness the mules.  Then they
-loaded the car with the gifts to Achilles, and yoked to the chariot the
-horses which Priam himself was to drive.
-
-When all was ready, Hecuba came and stood by the chariot, bearing a
-golden cup filled with wine.  "Take this," she said to Priam, "and pour
-a drink-offering to Zeus, if so be that he will vouchsafe thee a sign,
-and show thee whether it be by his will or not that thou goest on this
-journey."
-
-"Thou sayest well," answered Priam.  "It is a good thing to hold up our
-hands to heaven in prayer."  Thereupon he washed his hands in water,
-which was brought by a handmaid, took the cup from his wife, and
-standing by the altar in the middle of the courtyard lifted up his
-voice and prayed: "Lord of Ida, most glorious, most great, grant that
-the heart of Achilles may incline in pity towards me, and send thy
-messenger, the swift eagle whom thou lovest best of all fowls, that
-having seen him we may go with good heart and courage to the Grecian
-camp."
-
-Even as he spoke, a mighty eagle was seen soaring over the city on the
-right hand, with his vast wings outspread, like the folding doors of a
-rich man's house.  Rejoicing in the omen, Priam mounted his chariot,
-and drove through the echoing porch, preceded by the herald Idaeus, who
-drove the mule car.  Along the streets they passed, making what speed
-they could, through the multitudes who had flocked out to see them
-depart, and who mourned them as already dead.
-
-Night had fallen, and all the sky was thick set with stars, as they
-left the city gates, and turned their faces towards the sea.  When they
-reached the ford of the river they paused to let the animals drink: and
-while they halted Idaeus suddenly cried out in tones of terror: "My
-lord, we are undone!  I see a man approaching, and I fear he means us
-no good."  Priam peered out into the darkness, following with his eyes
-the pointing finger of Idaeus, and saw a tall figure moving with rapid
-steps towards them.
-
-"What doest thou here?" said the stranger, who was a graceful and
-comely youth, and whose voice sounded like the chiming of a silver
-bell.  "Why art thou here unguarded, at the very gates of the foe?  But
-be of good cheer--I will not harm thee, nor suffer others to do so.  I
-see in thee a likeness to my dear father."
-
-"Fair youth," answered Priam, whose alarm had vanished before the
-gentle mien and kind words of the young Greek, "surely some god has
-sent thee in my way, in pity for my helpless state.  Tell me, who art
-thou, and who is the father who is blest with such a son?"
-
-"I am a follower of Achilles," was the startling reply, "and came
-hither in the same ship.  My father is Polyctor, a wealthy man, and of
-like age with thee.  I am the youngest of seven sons, and the lot fell
-upon me to follow the host to Troy.  And this night I came out to spy
-upon the movements of the Trojans."
-
-"If thou art a comrade of Achilles," said Priam, "thou canst tell me
-concerning my son Hector.  Lies his body still by the ships, or has
-Achilles given it already to his dogs to devour?"
-
-"Neither dog," answered the other, "nor unclean fowl hath approached
-him, nor hath the worm had power over his flesh.  Unmarred by violence,
-untouched by decay, he lieth, without soil or stain, and all his wounds
-are closed.  This miracle the gods have wrought, in the great love
-which they bear him."
-
-"Glad news thou tellest me," said Priam, "and now I know that piety
-hath its reward, even in death."  Then he took out a silver cup from
-the mule car, and offering it to the stranger said: "Take this for
-thyself, and conduct me safe to the ships of Achilles, that I may see
-the face of my son."
-
-"Tempt me not, old man," replied the Greek.  "This cup belongs to
-Achilles, and if I should steal it from him what thinkest thou that he
-would do unto me?  But come, give me the reins, and I will guide thee
-to thy goal--yea, though it were in distant Argos, thou shouldst reach
-it safe and sound, and none should molest thee."
-
-So saying, he sprang to the side of Priam, and took the reins.  Under
-his guidance the horses seemed to be endued with wings, and in a very
-short time they reached the main entrance of the camp.  The gates flew
-open, as if by magic, and all the sentries were sleeping at their
-posts.  On to the extreme verge of the camp they went, still
-unchallenged, and drew up at length before a high stockade, within
-which were the quarters of Achilles.  Once more the gates opened at a
-touch, and they entered.  Here the mysterious stranger dismounted from
-the car, and turning on Priam a countenance which shone with a
-celestial radiance he said: "I have brought thee to the place where
-thou wouldst go, and now I will leave thee, for the task is finished
-which Zeus my father gave me to do.  For know that I am Hermes, the
-herald of the gods, and the strong helper of those that are in need."
-
-
-III
-
-The dwelling of Achilles, which, for want of a better word, we have
-called a tent, was in reality a roomy building, constructed of solid
-pine trunks, and thatched with moss and rushes.  On this memorable
-evening Achilles was sitting in the main apartment of the dwelling, and
-two of his squires were removing the vessels used at the evening meal.
-The light of the fire gleamed fitfully on his face, and he seemed in a
-gentler and more placid mood than had been usual with him for many
-days.  He had partaken freely of food and wine, and conversed
-cheerfully with his attendants.  He was now silent, and sat musing
-quietly by himself, when suddenly, to his amazement, an old man of tall
-stature and regal port entered the room, and throwing himself on the
-ground before him clasped his knees and kissed his hands--those
-terrible murderous hands!--bathing them with his tears.  Like a man who
-has slain a fellow-countryman, and enters the house of some wealthy
-noble, where a great company is gathered, to implore shelter and
-protection--for the avenger of blood is at his heels--so seemed that
-aged man to Achilles and those that were with him, so trembling,
-helpless, and forlorn.  And as they gazed in deep wonder, murmuring to
-each other the name of Priam, he began, in a voice broken with weeping,
-to urge his petition: "Pity me, Achilles, for thy father's sake, an old
-man like me, standing on the brink of the grave.  Maybe he is in sole
-straits, oppressed by those that dwell about him, for want of thy
-succouring arm.  Yet still he has hope, as long as thou livest, and
-looks forward to the joyful day of thy return.  But what hope have I,
-what solace, what refuge from the blows which fate aims without ceasing
-at mine afflicted head?  Fifty sons I had, when the sons of Greece
-first came to these shores, and of these the greater part have paid
-their last tribute to the stern god of war.  And he, the bravest and
-the best, the bulwark of my city, fell by thy hand not many days since.
-Him have I come to ransom at a great price.  In the name of thy father,
-in the name of the gods whom we both adore, have mercy on me,
-Achilles--on me, who have found it in my heart to do what mortal never
-did before, to lift to my lips the hand that slew my son!"
-
-Then at last that iron-hearted man was melted into compassion when he
-saw the renowned King of Asia prostrate at his feet, humbled to the
-dust for the sake of one poor boon--permission to give his son's body
-to the grave.  And the sight of all that misery awakened anew the
-thought of his own sad lot, his recent loss, his brief and troubled
-life, soon to be ended by a coward's hand, the desolation of his home,
-and his father pining in solitary old age.  Surely he also had cause
-enough for tears!
-
-So the two great enemies were united for the time by the common bond of
-human sorrow.  Then Achilles rose, and, taking the old man by the hand,
-led him to a seat, and placing himself by his side said to him: "O
-marked by sorrow's seal before all the children of men, what a heart
-must thou have, to meet me face to face, who have given to death so
-many of thy valiant sons!  But thou knowest that it is the common lot:
-only the gods know neither care nor grief, but mortal life is
-encompassed with ills.  Two caskets there are which stand by the throne
-of Zeus, one filled with good gifts, and the other with evil gifts.
-And for the more part Zeus mingles the gifts, and tempers much evil
-with a little good; but now and then some wretch receives naught but
-evil, and wanders from land to land as misery's thrall, branded by the
-malice of fate.  To Peleus, my father, good things were given at
-first--wealth, power, and prosperity, and a goddess for his bride.  But
-now he is receiving his portion of ill.  And thou too, Priam, wast in
-old times renowned for the number of thy blessings, and men called thee
-great king, happy father, and envied thine abundance.  But in thy
-latter years thou hast seen naught but wars and fightings, losses and
-deaths.  So shifts the tide, so turns the scale, now up, now down, and
-naught that we can do will avail to raise or diminish by one tittle the
-sum of our fate."
-
-Up to this point Priam had prospered in his mission beyond his hopes.
-But now he obtained a glimpse of the fearful passions which were
-smouldering in the breast of Achilles, and ready at any moment to leap
-up in devouring flames.  Being invited by Achilles to stay and rest
-awhile before resuming his journey, he would have refused, alleging
-that he could not rest until he had the body of Hector safe in his
-keeping.  But that fierce and imperious nature brooked not the
-slightest hint of opposition.  "Provoke me no further, old man," said
-the terrible chieftain, with a dark glance at his guest.  "Hector's
-body thou shalt have--but there must be no unseemly haste.  My heart is
-exceeding sore; touch not thou the galled spot, lest I should do thee
-mischief, and break the ordinances of heaven."
-
-Then, leaving Priam where he sat, Achilles went out with Automedon and
-another of his squires, and, bidding Idaeus attend his master, they
-unyoked the mules, and brought in the ransom.  "Now, haste thee,
-Automedon," said Achilles, in a low tone, "go with the handmaids to the
-place where Hector's body lies, and when they have washed and anointed
-it return with it hither.  Be silent, and be wary; for if Priam sees
-what ye are doing--if he catches sight of Hector's body, where now it
-lies--I fear that he will break out into anger against me, and becoming
-outrageous provoke me to slay him."
-
-Having carried out their orders with all due caution, they brought the
-body, wrapped in fine linen, and Achilles with his own hands placed it
-in the mule car.  But he groaned in spirit when he thought of his
-promise to Patroclus, and cried aloud, invoking his ghost: "Take it not
-amiss, my Patroclus, when the news reaches thee in the house of the
-dead, that I have restored the body of thy slayer.  His father hath
-paid me no mean ransom, whereof thou shalt have thy share."
-
-The laws of hospitality required that Priam should not leave Achilles'
-roof without breaking bread.  Accordingly, on his return to the house,
-Achilles urged his guest to take some food.  "Remember," he said, "that
-Niobe herself, so constant in her sorrow that even now, though turned
-to a stone, she weeps and weeps for ever--even she tasted food when the
-first anguish of her grief was passed.  Thou knowest her sad story--how
-she boasted that she had borne twelve fair children, six stalwart sons
-and six lovely daughters--and taunted Leto that she had only borne two.
-But those two were Apollo and Artemis, a god and a goddess, and they
-slew all the children of Niobe, to avenge the insult to their mother.
-Apollo slew the sons with his silver bow, and Artemis, the
-archer-goddess, slew the daughters.  For nine days they lay in their
-blood, with none to give them burial; but on the tenth day the gods
-buried them with their own hands.  And if she, that stricken mother,
-could sit down to meat, so do thou also, Priam; after that, thou shall
-take some sleep, and at dawn I will send thee back in safety to Troy."
-
-The meal was prepared, and they sat down face to face at the same
-table, joined as host and guest, after all that had passed between
-them.  But Priam's eyes were exceeding heavy, for he had hardly closed
-them in slumber since the awful day when he saw Hector stricken to
-death before his sight; and after tasting a morsel he begged Achilles
-to show him the place where he was to rest.
-
-
-IV
-
-Priam's bed was laid under the portico which ran round the outside of
-the dwelling, for fear lest any chance visitor to Achilles should see
-him if he lay within.  Overcome by weariness, he soon fell into a deep
-sleep.  But in the dead of night he was roused by the voice of Hermes,
-whose watchful eye had never left him, and who now came to warn him of
-the perils by which he was surrounded.  What if Agamemnon should hear
-that the King of Troy was lying asleep in the midst of the Grecian
-camp!  All the wealth of Troy would hardly suffice to ransom such a
-prisoner.
-
-Priam rose in haste, now fully alive to his danger, and found the
-horses ready harnessed, and Idaeus waiting with the mule car.  The same
-powerful hand which had brought them to the dwelling of Achilles now
-smoothed the way for their return, and day was just breaking as they
-crossed the ford of the river.
-
-The first to observe their coming was Cassandra, a daughter of Priam,
-who was watching from the highest tower of the citadel; and the report
-soon spread throughout the city that Priam was returning, bringing with
-him the body of Hector.  Then not a man nor a woman was left in the
-city, but all with one accord streamed out through the gates to meet
-the strange procession.  There was seen Hecuba, the mother of the
-slain, leaning on the shoulder of Andromache, his faithful wife; and
-following them at a distance, with downcast eyes, avoiding the looks of
-hate which were cast at her, went the fatal Helen.  During all the
-years that she had lived as an unwelcome guest in the house of Priam,
-Hector had never reminded her by a look or a word of the miseries which
-she had brought on his country.  He was all gentleness, all goodness,
-even to her, who had sinned so grievously against him and his people;
-and when hard words were aimed at her by any of his kinsfolk his
-patience and charity had ever been her shield.
-
-By the authority of Achilles a truce of eleven days was granted to the
-Trojans to celebrate the obsequies of Hector.  For nine days he lay in
-the chamber prepared for him in the palace, and all the city was given
-up to mourning.  On the tenth day they buried him, and on the eleventh
-they raised his monument.
-
-And so, after long delay, that knightly spirit passed into its rest.
-
-
-
-
-  PRONOUNCING LIST OF NAMES
-
-
-  Abydos (ab[=i]'dos)
-  Abas ([)a]'-bas)
-  Achilles (akil'les)
-  AEneas (eenee'as)
-  AEacides (ee[)a]'cidees)
-  AEgae (ee'gee)
-  AEthe (ee'thee)
-  Agamemnon (agamem'non
-  Agenor (agee'nor)
-  Ajax (a'jax)
-  Al[oe]us (al[=o]'y[=u]s)
-  Alcathous (alc[)a]'th[)o]-[)u]s)
-  Alcimedon (alk[)i]'m[)i]don)
-  Anchises (ank[=i]'sees)
-  Antenor (antee'nor)
-  Antiphus (an't[)i]f[)u]s)
-  Antea (antee'[)a])
-  Andromache (andr[)o]'m[)a]kee)
-  Antilochus (antil'[)o]k[)u]s)
-  Antimachus (anti'm[)a]k[)u]s)
-  Aphrodite ([)a]fr[)o]d[=i]'tee)
-  Ares ([=a]'rees)
-  Artemis (ar't[)e]m[)i]s)
-  Asclepius (asklee'p[)i][)u]s)
-  Astyanax (asti'[)a]nax)
-  Asius ([=a]'sius)
-  Ascalaphus (asc[)a]l'[)a]f[)u]s)
-  Asteropaeus (aster[)o]pee'[)u]s)
-  Athene (athee'nee)
-  Atreus ([=a]'tr[=u]s)
-  Ate ([=a]'tee)
-  Aulis (au'lis)
-  Automedon (aut[)o]'m[)e]don)
-  Axius (ax'[)i][)u]s)
-
-
-  Balius (b[)a]l'[)i][)u]s)
-  Bathycles (b[)a]th[)i]-clees)
-  B[oe]otia (bee[=o]'t[)i][)a])
-  Bellerophon (bell[)e]'r[)o]f[)o]n)
-  Boreas (b[)o]r'[)e][=a]s)
-
-
-  Calchas (cal'kas)
-  Castor (cas't[=o]r)
-  Cebriones (k[)e]b'r[)i][)o]nees)
-  Charops (k[=a]'rops)
-  Chiron (k[=i]'ron)
-  Chrysa (kr[=i]'s[)a])
-  Chryseis (kr[=i]'see'is)
-  Chryses (kr[=i]'sees)
-  Chimaera (k[)i]mee'r[)a])
-  Clytaemnestra (cl[=i]teemnes'tr[)a])
-  C[oe]ranus (kee'r[)a]n[)u]s)
-  Cronos (cr[)o]n'[)o]s)
-
-
-  Dares (d[)a]'rees)
-  Deiphobus (dee[)i]f'[)o]b[)u]s)
-  Democoon (deem[)o]k'[)o][=o]n)
-  Diomede (d[=i]'[)o]meed)
-  Dione (dio'nee)
-  Dolon (d[)o]l'[=o]n)
-  Dodona (d[=o]d[=o]'n[)a])
-
-
-  Eetion (ee-[)e]t'[)i][=o]n)
-  Epeus ([)e]pee'[)u]s)
-  Eris ([)e]'ris)
-  Euchenor ([=u]kee'n[=o]r)
-  Eumelus ([=u]mee'l[)u]s)
-  Euphorbus ([=u]for'bus)
-  Euryalus (ur[=i]'[)a]l[)u]s)
-  Eurybates ([=u]r[)i]'b[)a]tees)
-  Eurydamas ([=u]r[)i]'d[)a]mas)
-  Eurypylus ([=u]r[)i]'p[)i]l[)u]s)
-  Eurynome ([=u]r[)i]'n[)o]mee)
-
-
-  Ganymede (g[)a]n[)i]meed)
-  Gargarus (gar'g[)a]'r[)u]s)
-  Glaucus (glau'cus)
-
-
-  Hades (H[=a]'dees)
-  Harpalion (harp[)a]l'[)i][=o]n)
-  Hecuba (h[)e]c'[)u]b[)a])
-  Hebe (heebee)
-  Helenus (h[=e]l'[=e]n[=u]s)
-  Hephaestus (heefees't[=u]s)
-  Hera (hee'r[=a])
-  Hermes (her'mees)
-  Heracles (her'[=a]clees)
-  Hippolochus (hipp[=o]l'[=o]-kus)
-
-
-  Idaeus ([=i]dee'[)u]s)
-  Idomeneus ([=i]d[)o]m'eny[)u]s)
-  Ilios ([=i]'l[)i][)o]s)
-  Iphidamas ([=i]f[)i]'d[)a]m[=a]s)
-  Iris ([=i]'ris)
-  Ithaca ([)i]'th[)a]c[)a])
-
-
-  Laertes (l[=a][)e]r'tees)
-  Laodice (la[)o]'d[)i]kee)
-  Laodocus (l[=a][)o]'d[)o]k[)u]s)
-  Laogonus (l[=a][)o]'g[)o]nt[)i]s)
-  Lemnos (lem'nos)
-  Leucus (loo'k[)u]s)
-  Locris (l[)o]'cris)
-  Lycaon (l[=i]c[=a]'[=o]n)
-
-
-  Machaon (m[)a]k[=a]'[=o]n)
-  Men[oe]tius (m[)e]nee't[)i][)u]s)
-  Menelaus (m[)e]n[)e]l[=a]'[)u]s)
-  Menestheus (m[)e]n[)e]s'thy[)u]s)
-  Meriones (mee'r[)i][)u]nees)
-  Mycenae (m[=i]see'nee)
-  Myrine (m[)i]r[=i]'nee)
-
-
-  Neoptolemus (n[)e]-[)o]pt[)o]l'[)e]m[)u]s)
-  Nereus (nee'r[=u]s)
-  Nestor (nes't[=o]r)
-  Nireus (n[=i]'r[=u]s)
-
-
-  Oceanus ([=o]see'[)a]n[)u]s)
-  Odysseus (odis'sy[)u]s)
-  [OE]neus (ee'ny[)u]s)
-  Oileus ([)o][=i]'ly[)u]s)
-  Othryoneus ([)o]th'r[)i][)o]ny[)u]s)
-
-
-  Paean (pee'an)
-  Pandarus (pan'd[)a]r[)u]s)
-  Paphlagonia (p[)a]fl[)a]g[)o]n[)i]a)
-  Patroclus (p[)a]tr[)o]'cl[)u]s)
-  Pedasus (pee'd[)a]s[)u]s)
-  Pelops (p[)e]l'ops)
-  Peneleos (peen[)e]l'[)e][=o]s)
-  Phaenops (fee'nops)
-  Phegeus (fee'gy[=u]s)
-  Phereclus (f[)e]r[)e]'cl[)u]s)
-  Philoctetes (f[)i]loctee'tees)
-  Phocis (f[=o]'kis)
-  Phthia (fth[=i]'[)a])
-  Podalirius (p[)o]d[)a]l[=i]'r[)i][)u]s)
-  Podargus (p[)o]dar'g[)u]s)
-  Podes (p[)o]'dees)
-  Polydeuces (p[)o]l[)i]dy[=u]'kees)
-  Polydamas (p[)o]l[)i]'d[)a]mas)
-  Polyctor (p[)o]lic'tor)
-  Polydorus (p[)o]l[)i]d[=o]r'[)u]s)
-  Polyidus (p[)o]l[)i][=i]'d[)u]s)
-  Poseidon (p[)u]s[=i]'d[=o]n)
-  Priam (pr[=i]'am)
-  Protesilaus (pr[=o]t[)e]s[)i]l[=a]'[)u]s)
-  Pr[oe]tus (pree't[)u]s)
-  Pylos (p[=i]'los)
-  Pyraechmes (p[)i]reek'mees)
-
-
-  Samothrace (s[)a]m[)o]thr[=a]'kee)
-  Sarpedon (sarpee'd[=o]n)
-  Scamander (sc[)a]man'd[)e]r)
-  Scamandrius (sc[)a]man'dr[)i]us)
-  Scyros (sk[=i]'ros)
-  Sicyon (s[)i]k'[)i][)o]n)
-  Simoeis (s[)i]m'[)o]eis)
-  Sim[oe]isius (s[)i]m[)o]ei's[)i][)u]s)
-  Sisyphus (s[)i]'s[)i]f[)u]s)
-  Solymi (s[)o]l'[)i]m[)i])
-  Socus (s[=o]'c[)u]s)
-  Spercheus (sperkee'[)u]s)
-  Stentor (sten't[=o]r)
-  Sthenelus (sth[)e]n'[)e]l[)u]s)
-
-
-  Talthybius (talth[)i]b'[)i][)u]s)
-  Telamon (t[)e]l'[)a]m[=o]n)
-  Telemachus (t[=e]l[)e]'m[)a]k[)u]s)
-  Tethys (tee'th[)i]s)
-  Teucer (ty[=u]'ser)
-  Thetis (th[=e]'t[)i]s)
-  Thersites (thers[=i]'tees)
-  Tiryns (t[=i]'rins)
-  Tydeus (t[=i]'dy[=u]s)
-
-
-  Zephyrus (z[)e]f'[)i]r[)u]s)
-  Zeus (zy[)u]s)
-
-
-
-
-  [Transcriber's note: in the list above, the sequence "[=" indicates
-  the macron version of the vowel following, e.g. "[=a]" represents
-  a-macron.  Similarly, "[)" indicates breve, e.g. "[)a]" represents
-  a-breve.]
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
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