{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_16990/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_16990","id":"gutenberg_16990","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/16990","summary":null,"tags":["Achilles (Mythological character) -- Juvenile literature","Category: History - Ancient","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Epic poetry, Greek -- Adaptations","Readers","Trojan War -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"Produced by Juliet Sutherland, Taavi Kalju and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: HEAD OF HOMER.\n\n_British Museum._]\n\n\nECLECTIC SCHOOL READINGS\n\n\nTHE STORY OF TROY\n\nBY\n\nM. CLARKE\n\n\nNEW YORK--CINCINNATI--CHICAGO\nAMERICAN BOOK COMPANY\n\nCOPYRIGHT, 1897, BY\nAMERICAN BOOK COMPANY\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS.\n\n\n                                                                    PAGE\nINTRODUCTION--HOMER, THE FATHER OF POETRY                              7\n\n              THE GODS AND GODDESSES                                  11\n\n\n          I.  TROY BEFORE THE SIEGE                                   19\n\n         II.  THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS                                   33\n\n        III.  THE LEAGUE AGAINST TROY                                 46\n\n         IV.  BEGINNING OF THE WAR                                    63\n\n          V.  THE WRATH OF ACHILLES                                   76\n\n         VI.  THE DREAM OF AGAMEMNON                                  92\n\n        VII.  THE COMBAT BETWEEN MENELAUS AND PARIS                  109\n\n       VIII.  THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE                                 124\n\n         IX.  THE SECOND BATTLE--EXPLOIT OF DIOMEDE AND ULYSSES      149\n\n          X.  THE BATTLE AT THE SHIPS--DEATH OF PATROCLUS            166\n\n         XI.  END OF THE WRATH OF ACHILLES--DEATH OF HECTOR          193\n\n        XII.  DEATH OF ACHILLES--FALL AND DESTRUCTION OF TROY        220\n\n       XIII.  THE GREEK CHIEFS AFTER THE WAR                         240\n\n\n\n\nINTRODUCTION.\n\n\nI. HOMER, THE FATHER OF POETRY.\n\nIn this book we are to tell the story of Troy, and particularly of the\nfamous siege which ended in the total destruction of that renowned city.\nIt is a story of brave warriors and heroes of 3000 years ago, about\nwhose exploits the greatest poets and historians of ancient times have\nwritten. Some of the wonderful events of the memorable siege are related\nin a celebrated poem called the Il\u02b9i-ad, written in the Greek language.\nThe author of this poem was Ho\u02b9mer, who was the author of another great\npoem, the Od\u02b9ys-sey, which tells of the voyages and adventures of the\nGreek hero, U-lys\u02b9ses, after the taking of Troy.\n\nHomer has been called the Father of Poetry, because he was the first and\ngreatest of poets. He lived so long ago that very little is known about\nhim. We do not even know for a certainty when or where he was born. It\nis believed, however, that he lived in the ninth century before Christ,\nand that his native place was Smyr\u02b9na, in Asia Minor. But long after\nhis death several other cities claimed the honor of being his\nbirthplace.\n\n    Seven Grecian cities vied for Homer dead,\n    Through which the living Homer begged his bread.\n\n    LEONIDAS.\n\nIt is perhaps not true that Homer was so poor as to be obliged to beg\nfor his bread; but it is probable that he earned his living by traveling\nfrom city to city through many parts of Greece and Asia Minor, reciting\nhis poems in the palaces of princes, and at public assemblies. This was\none of the customs of ancient times, when the art of writing was either\nnot known, or very little practiced. The poets, or bards, of those days\ncommitted their compositions to memory, and repeated them aloud at\ngatherings of the people, particularly at festivals and athletic games,\nof which the ancient Greeks were very fond. At those games prizes and\nrewards were given to the bards as well as to the athletes.\n\nIt is said that in the latter part of his life the great poet became\nblind, and that this was why he received the name of Homer, which\nsignified a blind person. The name first given to him, we are told, was\nMel-e-sig\u02b9e-nes, from the river Me\u02b9les, a small stream on the banks of\nwhich his native city of Smyrna was situated.\n\nSo little being known of Homer's life, there has been much difference of\nopinion about him among learned men. Many have believed that Homer never\nexisted. Others have thought that the Iliad and Odyssey were composed\nnot by one author, but by several. \"Some,\" says the English poet, Walter\nSavage Landor, \"tell us that there were twenty Homers, some deny that\nthere was ever one.\" Those who believe that there were \"twenty Homers\"\nthink that different parts of the two great poems--the Iliad and\nOdyssey--were composed by different persons, and that all the parts were\nafterwards put together in the form in which they now appear. The\nopinion of most scholars at present, however, is that Homer did really\nexist, that he was a wandering bard, or minstrel, who sang or recited\nverses or ballads composed by himself, about the great deeds of heroes\nand warriors, and that those ballads, collected and arranged in after\nyears in two separate books, form the poems known as the Iliad and\nOdyssey.\n\nHomer's poetry is what is called epic poetry, that is, it tells about\nheroes and heroic actions. The Iliad and Odyssey are the first and\ngreatest of epic poems. In all ages since Homer's time, scholars have\nagreed in declaring them to be the finest poetic productions of human\ngenius. No nation in the world has ever produced poems so beautiful or\nso perfect. They have been read and admired by learned men for more than\n2000 years. They have been translated into the languages of all\ncivilized countries. In this book we make many quotations from the fine\ntranslation of the Iliad by our American poet, William Cullen Bryant. We\nquote also from the well-known translation by the English poet,\nAlexander Pope.\n\nThe ancients had a very great admiration for the poetry of Homer. We are\ntold that every educated Greek could repeat from memory any passage in\nthe Iliad or Odyssey. Alexander the Great was so fond of Homer's poems\nthat he always had them under his pillow while he slept. He kept the\nIliad in a richly ornamented casket, saying that \"the most perfect work\nof human genius ought to be preserved in a box the most valuable and\nprecious in the world.\"\n\nSo great was the veneration the Greeks had for Homer, that they erected\ntemples and altars to him, and worshiped him as a god. They held\nfestivals in his honor, and made medals bearing the figure of the poet\nsitting on a throne and holding in his hands the Iliad and Odyssey. One\nof the kings of E\u02b9gypt built in that country a magnificent temple, in\nwhich was set up a statue of Homer, surrounded with a beautiful\nrepresentation of the seven cities that contended for the honor of being\nthe place of his birth.\n\n    Great bard of Greece, whose ever-during verse\n    All ages venerate, all tongues rehearse;\n    Could blind idolatry be justly paid\n    To aught of mental power by man display'd,\n    To thee, thou sire of soul-exalting song,\n    That boundless worship might to thee belong.\n\n    HAYLEY.\n\n\nII. THE GODS AND GODDESSES.\n\nTo understand the Story of Troy it is necessary to know something about\nthe gods and goddesses, who played so important a part in the events we\nare to relate. We shall see that in the Tro\u02b9jan War nearly everything\nwas ordered or directed by a god or goddess. The gods, indeed, had much\nto do in the causing of the war, and they took sides in the great\nstruggle, some of them helping the Greeks and some helping the Trojans.\n\nThe ancient Greeks believed that there were a great many gods. According\nto their religion all parts of the universe,--the heavens and the earth,\nthe sun and the moon, the ocean, seas, and rivers, the mountains and\nforests, the winds and storms,--were ruled by different gods. The gods,\ntoo, it was supposed, controlled all the affairs of human life. There\nwere a god of war and a god of peace, and gods of music, and poetry, and\ndancing, and hunting, and of all the other arts or occupations in which\nmen engaged.\n\nThe gods, it was believed, were in some respects like human beings. In\nform they usually appeared as men and women. They were passionate and\nvindictive, and often quarreled among themselves. They married and had\nchildren, and needed food and drink and sleep. Sometimes they married\nhuman beings, and the sons of such marriages were the heroes of\nantiquity, men of giant strength who performed daring and wonderful\nfeats. The food of the gods was Am-bro\u02b9sia, which conferred immortality\nand perpetual youth on those who partook of it; their drink was a\ndelicious wine called Nec\u02b9tar.\n\nThe gods, then, were immortal beings. They never died; they never grew\nold, and they possessed immense power. They could change themselves, or\nhuman beings, into any form, and they could make themselves visible or\ninvisible at pleasure. They could travel through the skies, or over\nearth or ocean, with the rapidity of lightning, often riding in gorgeous\ngolden chariots drawn by horses of immortal breed. They were greatly\nfeared by men, and when any disaster occurred,--if lives were lost by\nearthquake, or shipwreck, or any other calamity,--it was attributed to\nthe anger of some god.\n\nThough immortal beings, however, the gods were subject to some of the\nphysical infirmities of humanity. They could not die, but they might be\nwounded and suffer bodily pain the same as men. They often took part in\nthe quarrels and wars of people on earth, and they had weapons and armor\nlike human warriors.\n\nThe usual place of residence of the principal gods was on the top of\nMount O-lym\u02b9pus in Greece. Here they dwelt in golden palaces, and they\nhad a Council Chamber where they frequently feasted together at grand\nbanquets, celestial music being rendered by A-pol\u02b9lo, the god of\nminstrelsy, and the Muses, who were the divinities of poetry and song.\n\nIn all the chief cities grand temples were erected for the worship of\nthe gods. One of the most famous was the Par\u02b9the-non, at Athens. At the\nshrines of the gods costly gifts in gold and silver were presented, and\non their altars, often built in the open air, beasts were killed and\nburned as sacrifices, which were thought to be very pleasing to the\ndivine beings to whom they were offered.\n\n[Illustration: THE PARTHENON.\n\n_From model in Metropolitan Museum, New York._]\n\nThe greatest and most powerful of the gods was Ju\u02b9pi-ter, also called\nJove or Zeus. To him all the rest were subject. He was the king of the\ngods, the mighty Thunderer, at whose nod Olympus shook, and at whose\nword the heavens trembled. From his great power in the regions of the\nsky he was sometimes called the \"cloud-compelling Jove.\"\n\n    He, whose all-conscious eyes the world behold,\n    The eternal Thunderer sat, enthroned in gold.\n    High heaven the footstool of his feet he makes,\n    And wide beneath him all Olympus shakes.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nThe wife of Jupiter, and the queen of heaven, was Ju\u02b9no, who, as we\nshall see, was the great enemy of Troy and the Trojans. One of the\ndaughters of Jupiter, called Ve\u02b9nus, or Aph-ro-di\u02b9te, was the goddess of\nbeauty and love. Nep\u02b9tune was the god of the sea. He usually carried in\nhis hand a trident, or three-pronged scepter, the emblem of his\nauthority.\n\n          His sumptuous palace-halls were built\n    Deep down in ocean, golden, glittering, proof\n    Against decay of time.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIII.\n\nMars was the god of war, and Plu\u02b9to, also called Dis and Ha\u02b9des, was god\nof the regions of the dead. One of the most glorious and powerful of the\ngods was Apollo, or Ph\u0153\u02b9bus, or Smin\u02b9theus, for he had many names. He\nwas god of the sun, and of medicine, music, and poetry. He is\nrepresented as holding in his hand a bow, and sometimes a lyre. Homer\ncalls him the \"god of the silver bow,\" and the \"far-darting Apollo,\" for\nthe ancients believed that with the dart of his arrow he sent down\nplagues upon men whenever they offended him.\n\nThe other principal deities mentioned by Homer are Mi-ner\u02b9va, or\nPal\u02b9las, the goddess of wisdom; Vul\u02b9can, the god of fire; and Mer\u02b9cu-ry,\nor Her\u02b9mes, the messenger of Jupiter. Vulcan was also the patron, or\ngod, of smiths. He had several forges; one was on Mount Olympus, and\nanother was supposed to be under Mount \u00c6t\u02b9na in Sic\u02b9i-ly. Here, with his\ngiant workmen, the Cy\u02b9clops, he made thunderbolts for Jupiter, and\nsometimes armor and weapons of war for earthly heroes.\n\nThe gods, it was believed, made their will known to men in various\nways,--sometimes by the flight of birds, frequently by dreams, and\nsometimes by appearing on earth under different forms, and speaking\ndirectly to kings and warriors. Very often men learned the will of the\ngods by consulting seers and soothsayers, or augurs,--persons who were\nsupposed to have the power of foretelling events. There were temples\nalso where the gods gave answers through priests. Such answers were\ncalled Or\u02b9a-cles, and this name was also given to the priests. The most\ncelebrated oracle of ancient times was in the temple of Apollo at\nDel\u02b9phi, in Greece. To this place people came from all parts of the\nworld to consult the god, whose answers were given by a priestess called\nPyth\u02b9i-a.\n\nThe ancients never engaged in war or any other important undertaking\nwithout sacrificing to the gods or consulting their oracles or\nsoothsayers. Before going to battle they made sacrifices to the gods. If\nthey were defeated in battle they regarded it as a sign of the anger of\nJupiter, or Juno, or Minerva, or Apollo, or some of the other great\nbeings who dwelt on Olympus. When making leagues or treaties of peace,\nthey called the gods as witnesses, and prayed to Father Jupiter to send\nterrible punishments on any who should take false oaths, or break their\npromises. In the story of the Trojan War we shall find many examples of\nsuch appeals to the gods by the chiefs on both sides.\n\n    \"O Father Jove, who rulest from the top\n    Of Ida, mightiest one and most august!\n    Whichever of these twain has done the wrong,\n    Grant that he pass to Pluto's dwelling, slain,\n    While friendship and a faithful league are ours.\n\n    \"O Jupiter most mighty and august!\n    Whoever first shall break these solemn oaths,\n    So may their brains flow down upon the earth,--\n    Theirs and their children's.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\n[Illustration: OFFERING TO MINERVA.\n\n_Painting by Gaudemaris._]\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF TROY.\n\n\n\n\nI. TROY BEFORE THE SIEGE.\n\n\n[Illustration: _Design by Burne-Jones._]\n\nThat part of Asia Minor which borders the narrow channel now known as\nthe Dar-da-nelles\u02b9, was in ancient times called Tro\u02b9as. Its capital was\nthe city of Troy, which stood about three miles from the shore of the\n\u00c6-ge\u02b9an Sea, at the foot of Mount Ida, near the junction of two rivers,\nthe Sim\u02b9o-is, and the Sca-man\u02b9der or Xan\u02b9thus. The people of Troy and\nTroas were called Trojans.\n\nSome of the first settlers in northwestern Asia Minor, before it was\ncalled Troas, came from Thrace, a country lying to the north of Greece.\nThe king of these Thra\u02b9cian colonists was Teu\u02b9cer. During his reign a\nprince named Dar\u02b9danus arrived in the new settlement. He was a son of\nJupiter, and he came from Sam\u02b9o-thrace, one of the many islands of the\n\u00c6gean Sea. It is said that he escaped from a great flood which swept\nover his native island, and that he was carried on a raft of wood to the\ncoast of the kingdom of Teucer. Soon afterwards he married Teucer's\ndaughter. He then built a city for himself amongst the hills of Mount\nIda, and called it Dar-da\u02b9ni-a; and on the death of Teucer he became\nking of the whole country, to which he gave the same name, Dardania.\n\n    Jove was the father, cloud-compelling Jove,\n    Of Dardanus, by whom Dardania first\n    Was peopled, ere our sacred Troy was built\n    On the great plain,--a populous town; for men\n    Dwelt still upon the roots of Ida fresh\n    With Qiany springs.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nDardanus was the ancestor of the Trojan line of kings. He had a grandson\nnamed Tros, and from him the city Troy, as well as the country Troas,\ntook its name. The successor of King Tros was his son I\u02b9lus. By him Troy\nwas built, and it was therefore also called Il\u02b9i-um or Il\u02b9i-on; hence\nthe title of Homer's great poem,--the Iliad. From the names Dardanus\nand Teucer the city of Troy has also been sometimes called Dardania and\nTeu\u02b9cri-a, and the Trojans are often referred to as Dardanians and\nTeucrians. Ilus was succeeded by his son La-om\u02b9e-don, and Laomedon's son\nPri\u02b9am was king of Troy during the famous siege.\n\nThe story of the founding of Troy is a very interesting one. Ilus went\nforth from his father's city of Dardania, in search of adventures, as\nwas the custom of young princes and heroes in those days; and he\ntraveled on until he arrived at the court of the king of Phryg\u02b9i-a, a\ncountry lying east of Troas. Here he found the people engaged in\nathletic games, at which the king gave valuable prizes for competition.\nIlus took part in a wrestling match, and he won fifty young men and\nfifty maidens,--a strange sort of prize we may well think, but not at\nall strange or unusual in ancient times, when there were many slaves\neverywhere. During his stay in Phrygia the young Dardanian prince was\nhospitably entertained at the royal palace. When he was about to depart,\nthe king gave him a spotted heifer, telling him to follow the animal,\nand to build a city for himself at the place where she should first lie\ndown to rest.\n\nIlus did as he was directed. With his fifty youths and fifty maidens he\nset out to follow the heifer, leaving her free to go along at her\npleasure. She marched on for many miles, and at last lay down at the\nfoot of Mount Ida on a beautiful plain watered by two rivers, and here\nIlus encamped for the night. Before going to sleep he prayed to Jupiter\nto send him a sign that that was the site meant for his city. In the\nmorning he found standing in front of his tent a wooden statue of the\ngoddess Minerva, also called Pallas. The figure was three cubits high.\nIn its right hand it held a spear, and in the left, a distaff and\nspindle.\n\nThis was the Pal-la\u02b9di-um of Troy, which afterwards became very famous.\nThe Trojans believed that it had been sent down from heaven, and that\nthe safety of their city depended upon its preservation. Hence it was\nguarded with the greatest care in a temple specially built for the\npurpose.\n\nIlus, being satisfied that the statue was the sign for which he had\nprayed, immediately set about building his city, and thus Troy was\nfounded. It soon became the capital of Troas and the richest and most\npowerful city in that part of the world. During the reign of Laomedon,\nson of Ilus, its mighty walls were erected, which in the next reign\nwithstood for ten years all the assaults of the Greeks. These walls were\nthe work of no human hands. They were built by the ocean god Neptune.\nThis god had conspired against Jupiter and attempted to dethrone him,\nand, as a punishment, his kingdom of the sea was taken away from him for\none year, and he was ordered to spend that time in the service of the\nking of Troy.\n\nIn building the great walls, Neptune was assisted by Apollo, who had\nalso been driven from Olympus for an offense against Jupiter. Apollo had\na son named \u00c6s-cu-la\u02b9pi-us, who was so skilled a physician that he\ncould, and did, raise people from death to life. Jupiter was very angry\nat this. He feared that men might forget him and worship \u00c6sculapius. He\ntherefore hurled a thunderbolt at the great physician and killed him.\nEnraged at the death of his son, Apollo threatened to destroy the\nCyclops, the giant workmen of Vulcan, who had forged the terrible\nthunderbolt. Before he could carry out his threat, however, Jupiter\nexpelled him from heaven. He remained on earth for several years, after\nwhich he was permitted to return to his place among the gods on the top\nof Mount Olympus.\n\n[Illustration: NEPTUNE.\n\n_National Museum, Athens._]\n\nThough Neptune was bound to serve Laomedon for one year, there was an\nagreement between them that the god should get a certain reward for\nbuilding the walls. But when the work was finished the Trojan king\nrefused to keep his part of the bargain. Apollo had assisted by his\npowers of music. He played such tunes that he charmed even the huge\nblocks of stone, so that they moved themselves into their proper places,\nafter Neptune had wrenched them from the mountain sides and had hewn\nthem into shape. Moreover, Apollo had taken care of Laomedon's numerous\nflocks on Mount Ida. During the siege, Neptune, in a conversation with\nApollo before the walls of Troy, spoke of their labors in the service of\nthe Trojan king:\n\n    \"Hast thou forgot, how, at the monarch's prayer,\n    We shared the lengthen'd labors of a year?\n    Troy walls I raised (for such were Jove's commands),\n    And yon proud bulwarks grew beneath my hands:\n    Thy task it was to feed the bellowing droves\n    Along fair Ida's vales and pendant groves.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nLong before this, however, the two gods had punished Laomedon very\nseverely for breaking his promise. Apollo, after being restored to\nheaven, sent a plague upon the city of Troy, and Neptune sent up from\nthe sea an enormous serpent which killed many of the people.\n\n            A great serpent from the deep,\n    Lifting his horrible head above their homes,\n    Devoured the children.\n\n    LEWIS MORRIS.\n\nIn this terrible calamity the king asked an oracle in what way the anger\nof the two gods might be appeased. The answer of the oracle was that a\nTrojan maiden must each year be given to the monster to be devoured.\nEvery year, therefore, a young girl, chosen by lot, was taken down to\nthe seashore and chained to a rock to become the prey of the serpent.\nAnd every year the monster came and swallowed up a Trojan maiden, and\nthen went away and troubled the city no more until the following year,\nwhen he returned for another victim. At last the lot fell on He-si\u02b9o-ne,\nthe daughter of the king. Deep was Laomedon's grief at the thought of\nthe awful fate to which his child was thus doomed.\n\nBut help came at an unexpected moment. While, amid the lamentations of\nher family and friends, preparations were being made to chain Hesione to\nthe rock, the great hero, Her\u02b9cu-les, happened to visit Troy. He was on\nhis way home to Greece, after performing in a distant eastern country\none of those great exploits which made him famous in ancient story. The\nhero undertook to destroy the serpent, and thus save the princess, on\ncondition that he should receive as a reward certain wonderful horses\nwhich Laomedon just then had in his possession. These horses were given\nto Laomedon's grandfather, Tros, on a very interesting occasion. Tros\nhad a son named Gan\u02b9y-mede, a youth of wonderful beauty, and Jupiter\nadmired Ganymede so much that he had him carried up to heaven to be\ncupbearer to the gods--to serve the divine nectar at the banquets on\nMount Olympus.\n\n          Godlike Ganymede, most beautiful\n    Of men; the gods beheld and caught him up\n    To heaven, so beautiful was he, to pour\n    The wine to Jove, and ever dwell with them.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nTo compensate Tros for the loss of his son, Jupiter gave him four\nmagnificent horses of immortal breed and marvelous fleetness. These were\nthe horses which Hercules asked as his reward for destroying the\nserpent. As there was no other way of saving the life of his daughter,\nLaomedon consented. Hercules then went down to the seashore, bearing in\nhis hand the huge club which he usually carried, and wearing his\nlion-skin over his shoulders. This was the skin of a fierce lion he had\nstrangled to death in a forest in Greece, and he always wore it when\ngoing to perform any of his heroic feats.\n\nWhen Hesione had been bound to the rock, the hero stood beside her and\nawaited the coming of the serpent. In a short time its hideous form\nemerged from beneath the waves, and darting forward it was about to\nseize the princess, when Hercules rushed upon it, and with mighty\nstrokes of his club beat the monster to death. Thus was the king's\ndaughter saved and all Troy delivered from a terrible scourge. But when\nthe hero claimed the reward that had been agreed upon, and which he had\nso well earned, Laomedon again proved himself to be a man who was\nneither honest nor grateful. Disregarding his promise, and forgetful,\ntoo, of what he and his people had already suffered as a result of his\nbreach of faith with the two gods, he refused to give Hercules the\nhorses.\n\nThe hero at once went away from Troy, but not without resolving to\nreturn at a convenient time and punish Laomedon. This he did, not long\nafterwards, when he had completed the celebrated \"twelve labors\" at\nwhich he had been set by a Grecian king, whom Jupiter commanded him to\nserve for a period of years because of an offense he had committed. One\nof these labors was the killing of the lion. Another was the destroying\nof the Ler\u02b9n\u00e6-an hydra, a frightful serpent with many heads, which for a\nlong time had been devouring man and beast in the district of Ler\u02b9na in\nGreece.\n\nHaving accomplished his twelve great labors and ended his term of\nservice, Hercules collected an army and a fleet, and sailed to the\nshores of Troas. He then marched against the city, took it by surprise,\nand slew Laomedon and all his sons, with the exception of Po-dar\u02b9ces,\nafterwards called Priam. This prince had tried to persuade his father to\nfulfill the engagement with Hercules, for which reason his life was\nspared. He was made a slave, however, as was done in ancient times with\nprisoners taken in war. But Hesione ransomed her brother, giving her\ngold-embroidered veil as the price of his freedom. From this time he was\ncalled Priam, a word which in the Greek language means \"purchased.\"\nHesione also prevailed upon Hercules to restore Priam to his right as\nheir to his father's throne, and so he became king of Troy. Hesione\nherself was carried off to Greece, where she was given in marriage to\nTel\u02b9a-mon, king of Sal\u02b9a-mis, a friend of Hercules.\n\nPriam reigned over his kingdom of Troas many years in peace and\nprosperity. His wife and queen, the virtuous Hec\u02b9u-ba, was a daughter of\na Thracian king. They had nineteen children, many of whom became famous\nduring the great siege. Their eldest son, Hec\u02b9tor, was the bravest of\nthe Trojan heroes. Their son Par\u02b9is it was, as we shall see, who brought\nupon his country the disastrous war. Another son, Hel\u02b9e-nus, and his\nsister Cas-san\u02b9dra, were celebrated soothsayers.\n\nCassandra was a maiden of remarkable beauty. The god Apollo loved her so\nmuch that he offered to grant her any request if she would accept him as\nher husband. Cassandra consented and asked for the power of foretelling\nevents, but when she received it, she slighted the god and refused to\nperform her promise. Apollo was enraged at her conduct, yet he could not\ntake back the gift he had bestowed. He decreed, however, that no one\nshould believe or pay any attention to her predictions, true though they\nshould be. And so when Cassandra foretold the evils that were to come\nupon Troy, even her own people would not credit her words. They spoke of\nher as the \"mad prophetess.\"\n\n    Cassandra cried, and cursed the unhappy hour;\n    Foretold our fate; but by the god's decree,\n    All heard, and none believed the prophecy.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nThe first sorrow in the lives of King Priam and his good queen came a\nshort time before the birth of Paris, when Hecuba dreamed that her next\nchild would bring ruin upon his family and native city. This caused the\ndeepest distress to Priam and Hecuba, especially when the soothsayer\n\u00c6s\u02b9a-cus declared that the dream would certainly be fulfilled. Then,\nthough they were tender and loving parents, they made up their minds to\nsacrifice their own feelings rather than that such a calamity should\nbefall their country. When the child was born, the king, therefore,\nordered it to be given to Ar-che-la\u02b9us, one of the shepherds of Mount\nIda, with instructions to expose it in a place where it might be\ndestroyed by wild beasts. The shepherd, though very unwilling to do so\ncruel a thing, was obliged to obey, but on returning to the spot a few\ndays afterwards he found the infant boy alive and unhurt. Some say that\nthe child had been nursed and carefully tended by a she-bear. Archelaus\nwas so touched with pity at the sight of the innocent babe smiling in\nhis face, that he took the boy to his cottage, and, giving him the name\nParis, brought him up as one of his own family.\n\nWith the herdsmen on Mount Ida, Paris spent his early years, not knowing\nthat he was King Priam's son. He was a brave youth, and of exceeding\nbeauty.\n\n                        \"His sunny hair\n    Cluster'd about his temples like a god's.\"\n\n    TENNYSON, _\u0152none_.\n\nHe was skilled, too, in all athletic exercises, he was a bold huntsman,\nand so brave in defending the shepherds against the attacks of robbers\nthat they called him Alexander, a name which means a protector of men.\nThus the young prince became a favorite with the people who lived on\nthe hills. Very happy he was amongst them, and amongst the flocks which\nhis good friend and foster father, Archelaus, gave him to be his own. He\nwas still more happy in the company of the charming nymph \u0152-no\u02b9ne, the\ndaughter of a river god; and he loved her and made her his wife. But\nthis happiness was destined not to be of long duration. The Fates[A] had\ndecreed it otherwise. \u0152none the beautiful, whose sorrows have been the\ntheme of many poets, was to lose the love of the young shepherd prince,\nand the dream of Hecuba was to have its fulfillment.\n\n                                    The Fate\n    That rules the will of Jove had spun the days\n    Of Paris and \u0152none.\n\n    QUINTUS SMYRN\u00c6US.\n\n[Footnote A: The Fates were the three sisters, Clo\u02b9tho, Lach\u02b9e-sis, and\nAt\u02b9ro-pos, powerful goddesses who controlled the birth and life of\nmankind, Clotho, the youngest, presided over the moment of birth, and\nheld a distaff in her hand; Lachesis spun out the thread of human\nexistence (all the events and action's of man's life); and Atropos, with\na pair of shears which she always carried, cut this thread at the moment\nof death.]\n\n\n\n\nII. THE JUDGMENT OF PARIS.\n\n\nIt was through a quarrel among the three goddesses, Juno, Venus, and\nMinerva, that \u0152none, the fair nymph of Mount Ida, met her sad fate, and\nthat the destruction of Troy was brought about. The strife arose on the\noccasion of the marriage of Pe\u02b9leus and The\u02b9tis. Peleus was a king of\nThes\u02b9sa-ly, in Greece, and one of the great heroes of those days. Thetis\nwas a daughter of the sea god Ne\u02b9re-us, who had fifty daughters, all\nbeautiful sea nymphs, called \"Ne-re\u02b9i-des,\" from the name of their\nfather. Their duty was to attend upon the greater sea gods, and\nespecially to obey the orders of Neptune.\n\nThetis was so beautiful that Jupiter himself wished to marry her, but\nthe Fates told him she was destined to have a son who would be greater\nthan his father. The king of heaven having no desire that a son of his\nshould be greater than himself, gave up the idea of wedding the fair\nnymph of the sea, and consented that she should be the wife of Peleus,\nwho had long loved and wooed her. But Thetis, being a goddess, was\nunwilling to marry a mortal man. However, she at last consented, and\nall the gods and goddesses, with one exception, were present at the\nmarriage feast.\n\n    For in the elder time, when truth and worth\n    Were still revered and cherished here on earth,\n    The tenants of the skies would oft descend\n    To heroes' spotless homes, as friend to friend;\n    There meet them face to face, and freely share\n    In all that stirred the hearts of mortals there.\n\n    CATULLUS (Martin's tr.).\n\nThe one exception was E\u02b9ris, or Dis-cor\u02b9di-a, the goddess of discord.\nThis evil-minded deity had at one time been a resident of Olympus, but\nshe caused so much dissension and quarreling there that Jupiter banished\nher forever from the heavenly mansions. The presence of such a being as\na guest on so happy an occasion was not very desirable, and therefore no\ninvitation was sent to her.\n\nThus slighted, the goddess of discord resolved to have revenge by doing\nall that she could to disturb the peace and harmony of the marriage\nfeast. With this evil purpose she suddenly appeared in the midst of the\ncompany, and threw on the table a beautiful golden apple, on which were\ninscribed the words, \"Let it be given to the fairest.\"\n\n          \"This was cast upon the board,\n    When all the full-faced presence of the gods\n    Ranged in the halls of Peleus; whereupon\n    Rose feud, with question unto whom 'twere due.\"\n\n    TENNYSON, _\u0152none_.\n\nAt once all the goddesses began to claim the glittering prize of beauty.\nEach contended that she was the \"fairest,\" and therefore should have the\n\n        \"fruit of pure Hesperian gold\n    That smelt ambrosially.\"\n\nBut soon the only competitors were Juno, Venus, and Minerva, the other\ngoddesses having withdrawn their claims. The contest then became more\nbitter, and at last Jupiter was called upon to act as judge in the\ndispute. This delicate task the king of heaven declined to undertake. He\nknew that whatever way he might decide, he would be sure to offend two\nof the three goddesses, and thereby destroy the peace of his own\nhousehold. It was necessary, however, that an umpire should be chosen to\nput an end to the strife, and doubtless it was the decree of the Fates\nthat the lot should fall on the handsome young shepherd of Mount Ida.\nHis wisdom and prudence were well known to the gods, and all seemed to\nagree that he was a fit person to decide so great a contest.\n\nParis was therefore appointed umpire. By Jupiter's command the golden\napple was sent to him, to be given to that one of the three goddesses\nwhom he should judge to be the most beautiful. The goddesses themselves\nwere directed to appear before him on Mount Ida, so that, beholding\ntheir charms, he might be able to give a just decision. The English\npoet, Tennyson, in his poem \"\u0152none,\" gives a fine description of the\nthree contending deities standing in the presence of the Trojan prince,\neach in her turn trying, by promise of great reward, to persuade him to\ndeclare in her favor. Juno spoke first, and she offered to bestow kingly\npower and immense wealth upon Paris, if he would award the prize to her.\n\n              \"She to Paris made\n    Proffer of royal power, ample rule\n    Unquestion'd.  .  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    'Honor,' she said, 'and homage, tax and toll,\n    From many an inland town and haven large.'\"\n\nMinerva next addressed the judge, and she promised him great wisdom and\nknowledge, as well as success in war, if he would give the apple to her.\n\nThen Venus approached the young prince, who all the while held the\ngolden prize in his hand. She had but few words to say, for she was\nconfident in the power of her beauty and the tempting bribe she was\nabout to offer.\n\n    \"She with a subtle smile in her mild eyes,\n    The herald of her triumph, drawing nigh\n    Half-whisper'd in his ear, 'I promise thee\n    The fairest and most loving wife in Greece.'\n    She spoke and laugh'd.\"\n\nThe subtle smile and the whispered promise won the heart of Paris.\nForgetful of \u0152none, and disregarding the promises of the other\ngoddesses, he awarded the prize to Venus.\n\n                            He consign'd\n    To her soft hand the fruit of burnished rind;\n    And foam-born Venus grasp'd the graceful meed,\n    Of war, of evil war, the quickening seed.\n\n    COLUTHUS (Elton's tr.).\n\nSuch was the famous judgment of Paris. It was perhaps a just decision,\nfor it may be supposed that Venus, being the goddess of beauty, was\nreally the most beautiful of the three. But the story does not give us a\nvery high idea of the character of Paris, who now no longer took\npleasure in the company of \u0152none. All his thoughts and affections were\nturned away from her by the promise of Venus. He had grown weary, too,\nof his simple and innocent life among his flocks and herds on the\nmountain. He therefore wished much for some adventure that would take\nhim away from scenes which had become distasteful to him.\n\n[Illustration: PARIS.\n\n_Vatican, Rome._]\n\nThe opportunity soon came. A member of King Priam's family having died,\nit was announced that the funeral would be celebrated by athletic\ngames, as was the custom in ancient times. Paris resolved to go down to\nthe city and take part in these games. Prizes were to be offered for\ncompetition, and one of the prizes was to be the finest bull that could\nbe picked from the herds on Mount Ida. Now it happened that the bull\nselected belonged to Paris himself, but it could not be taken without\nhis consent. He was willing, however, to give it for the games on\ncondition that he should be permitted to enter the list of competitors.\n\nThe condition was agreed to, and so the shepherd prince parted from\n\u0152none and went to the funeral games at Troy. He intended, perhaps, to\nreturn sometime, but it was many years before he saw the fair nymph of\nMount Ida again,--not until he was about to die of a wound received from\none of the Greeks in the Trojan War. \u0152none knew what was to happen, for\nApollo had conferred upon her the gift of prophecy, and she warned Paris\nthat if he should go away from her he would bring ruin on himself and\nhis country, telling him also that he would seek for her help when it\nwould be too late to save him. These predictions, as we shall see, were\nfulfilled. \u0152none's grief and despair in her loneliness after the\ndeparture of Paris are touchingly described in Tennyson's poem:\n\n    \"O happy Heaven, how canst thou see my face?\n    O happy earth, how canst thou bear my weight?\n    O death, death, death, thou ever-floating cloud,\n    There are enough unhappy on this earth,\n    Pass by the happy souls, that love to live:\n    I pray thee, pass before my light of life,\n    And shadow all my soul, that I may die.\n    Thou weighest heavy on the heart within,\n    Weigh heavy on my eyelids: let me die.\"\n\nAt the athletic games in Troy everybody admired the noble appearance of\nParis, but nobody knew who he was. In the competitions he won all the\nfirst prizes, for Venus had given him godlike strength and swiftness. He\ndefeated even Hector, who was the greatest athlete of Troy. Hector,\nangry at finding himself and all the highborn young men of the city\nbeaten by an unknown stranger, resolved to put him to death, and Paris\nwould probably have been killed, had he not fled for safety into the\ntemple of Jupiter. Cassandra, who happened to be in the temple at the\ntime, noticed Paris closely, and observing that he bore a strong\nresemblance to her brothers, she asked him about his birth and age. From\nhis answers she was satisfied that he was her brother, and she at once\nintroduced him to the king. Further inquiries were then made. The old\nshepherd, Archelaus, to whom Paris had been delivered in his infancy to\nbe exposed on Mount Ida, was still living, and he came and told his\nstory. Then King Priam and Queen Hecuba joyfully embraced and welcomed\ntheir son, never thinking of the terrible dream or of the prophecy of\n\u00c6sacus. Hector, no longer angry or jealous, was glad to see his brother,\nand proud of his victories in the games. Everybody rejoiced except\nCassandra. She knew the evil which was to come to Troy through Paris,\nbut nobody would give credit to what the \"mad prophetess\" said.\n\nThus restored to his high position as a prince of the royal house of\nTroy, Paris now resided in his father's palace, apparently contented and\nhappy. But the promise made to him on Mount Ida, which he carefully\nconcealed from his family, was always in his mind. His thoughts were\never turned toward Greece, where dwelt the fairest woman of those times.\nThis was Helen, wife of Men-e-la\u02b9us, king of Spar\u02b9ta, celebrated\nthroughout the ancient world for her matchless beauty. Paris had been\npromised the fairest woman for his wife, and he felt sure that it could\nbe no other than the far-famed Helen. To Greece therefore he resolved to\ngo, as soon as there should be an excuse for undertaking what was then a\nlong and dangerous voyage of many weeks, though in our day it is no more\nthan a few hours' sail.\n\nThe occasion was found when King Priam resolved to send ambassadors to\nthe island of Salamis to demand the restoration of his sister Hesione,\nwhom Hercules had carried off many years before. Her husband, Telamon,\nwas now dead, but his son A\u02b9jax still held her as a prisoner at his\ncourt. Priam had never forgotten his sister's love for himself, for she\nit was, as will be remembered, who redeemed him from slavery and placed\nhim on his father's throne. He now determined that she should be brought\nback to her native country, and Paris earnestly begged permission to\ntake charge of the expedition which was to be sent to Salamis for that\npurpose. Priam consented, and a fleet worthy to convey the son of the\nking of Troy and his retinue to Greece was built by Pher\u02b9e-clus, a\nskillful Trojan craftsman, whom the goddess Minerva (Pallas) had\ninstructed in all kinds of workmanship.\n\n    For loved by Pallas, Pallas did impart\n    To him the shipwright's and the builder's art.\n    Beneath his hand the fleet of Paris rose,\n    The fatal cause of all his country's woes.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nBefore the departure of the fleet, Cassandra raised her voice of\nwarning, but as usual her words were not heeded, and so Paris set sail.\nHe reached the shores of Greece in safety; but instead of proceeding to\nSalamis to demand Hesione from King Ajax, he steered his vessels to the\ncoast of Sparta. This he did under the guidance and direction of Venus,\nwho was now about to fulfill the promise by which she had won the golden\nprize on Mount Ida.\n\nLanding in Sparta, Paris hastened to the court of Menelaus, where he was\nhospitably received. The king gave banquets in his honor and invited him\nto prolong his stay in Sparta, and the beautiful Queen Helen joined in\nher husband's kind attentions to their guest.\n\nSoon after the arrival of Paris, the king of Sparta received an\ninvitation to take part in a hunting expedition in the island of Crete.\nHaving no suspicion of the evil design of Paris, he accepted the\ninvitation. He departed for Crete, leaving to his queen the duty of\nentertaining the Trojan prince until his return. Then Paris, taking\nadvantage of the absence of Menelaus, induced Helen to desert her\nhusband and her home, and go with him to Troy. He told her of the\npromise of Venus, and assured her that she would be received with great\nhonor in his father's palace, and protected against the anger of\nMenelaus.\n\n    From her husband's stranger-sheltering home\n    He tempted Helen o'er the ocean foam.\n\n    COLUTHUS (Elton's tr.).\n\n[Illustration: ABDUCTION OF HELEN.\n\n_Painting by Deutsch._]\n\nHelen having consented, Paris carried her off in his fleet. At the same\ntime he carried away a vast quantity of treasure in gold and other\ncostly things which belonged to King Menelaus. On the voyage homeward\nthe ships were driven by a storm to the shores of the island of\nCran\u02b9a-e, where Paris and Helen remained for some time. When at last\nthey reached the Trojan capital they were cordially welcomed by King\nPriam and Queen Hecuba, and in a short time they were married, and the\nevent was celebrated with great rejoicing.\n\nBut all the people of Troy did not take part in this rejoicing. Hector,\nthe son of Priam, and others of his wisest counselors, strongly censured\nthe conduct of Paris, and they advised the king to send Helen back to\nSparta. But Priam would not listen to their prudent advice, and so she\nremained in Troy.\n\nThe great beauty of Helen has been celebrated by poets in ancient and\nmodern times. Tennyson, in his \"Dream of Fair Women,\" introduces her as\none of the forms of the vision he describes:\n\n          \"I saw a lady within call,\n      Stiller than chisell'd marble, standing there;\n    A daughter of the gods, divinely tall,\n      And most divinely fair.\"\n\n\n\n\nIII. THE LEAGUE AGAINST TROY.\n\n\nThe carrying off of Helen was the cause of the Trojan War. Menelaus,\nupon hearing what Paris had done, immediately returned to Sparta, and\nbegan to make preparations to avenge the wrong. He called upon the other\nkings and princes of Greece to join him with their armies and fleets in\na war against Troy. They were bound to do this by an oath they had taken\nat the time of the marriage of Helen and Menelaus.\n\nHelen was the daughter of Tyn\u02b9da-rus, who was king of Sparta before\nMenelaus. Some say that she was the daughter of Jupiter, and that\nTyndarus was her stepfather. But from her infancy she was brought up at\nthe royal palace of Sparta as the daughter of Tyndarus and his wife,\nLe\u02b9da. When she became old enough to marry, the fame of her great beauty\ndrew many of the young princes of Greece to Sparta, all competing for\nher favor, and each hoping to win her for his wife. This placed Tyndarus\nin a difficulty. He was alarmed at the sight of so many suitors for the\nhand of his daughter, for he knew that he could not give her to one\nwithout offending all the rest. He therefore resolved to adopt the\nadvice of Ulysses, the prince of Ith\u02b9a-ca (an island on the west coast\nof Greece). Ulysses, also named O-dys\u02b9seus, was famed for great wisdom\nas well as valor in war.\n\n          Ulysses, man of many arts,\n    Son of Laertes, reared in Ithaca,\n    That rugged isle, and skilled in every form\n    Of shrewd device and action wisely planned.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nUlysses had himself been one of the suitors for Helen, but he saw that\namong so many competitors he had little chance of success. Besides, he\nhad fallen in love with Pe-nel\u02b9o-pe, the niece of Tyndarus. He therefore\nwithdrew from the contest, and he offered to suggest a plan for settling\nthe difficulty about Helen, if Tyndarus would give him Penelope to be\nhis wife. Tyndarus consented. Ulysses then advised that Helen should\nchoose for herself which of the princes she would have for her husband,\nbut that before she did so, all the suitors should pledge themselves by\noath to submit to her decision, and engage that if any one should take\nher away from the husband of her choice, they would all join in\npunishing the offender.\n\n    If any dared to seize and bear her off,\n    All would unite in arms, and lay his town\n    Level with the ground.\n\n    EURIPIDES (Potter's tr.).\n\nThe Grecian princes consented to this proposal. They all, including\nUlysses himself, took the required oath. Helen then made choice of\nMenelaus, to whom she was immediately married with great pomp and\npopular rejoicing. On the death of Tyndarus, Menelaus became king of\nSparta, and he and his beautiful queen lived and reigned together in\nprosperity and happiness until the ill-fated visit of Paris.\n\nMenelaus was the brother of Ag-a-mem\u02b9non, king of My-ce\u02b9n\u00e6, one of the\nmost powerful and wealthy of the kings of Hel\u02b9las, as Greece was\nanciently called. Their father, A\u02b9treus, was a son of the hero Pe\u02b9lops,\nwho conquered the greater part of the peninsula named from him the\nPel-oponne\u02b9sus, and who was the grandson of Jupiter. Agamemnon, or\nA-tri\u02b9des (son of Atreus), as he is often called, was commander in chief\nof all the Greek armies during the siege of Troy. From his high rank and\nauthority Homer calls him the \"king of men\" and the \"king of kings.\" He\nis sometimes also called \"king of all Ar\u02b9gos,\" a powerful kingdom near\nMycen\u00e6, and from this name the Greeks are sometimes called \"Ar\u02b9gives.\"\nThe royal scepter which Agamemnon bore in his hands when addressing his\nsoldiers was made by Vulcan for Jupiter.\n\n    The king of kings his awful figure raised;\n    High in his hand the golden sceptre blazed;\n    The golden sceptre, of celestial flame,\n    By Vulcan formed, from Jove to Hermes came:\n    To Pelops he the immortal gift resign'd;\n    The immortal gift great Pelops left behind.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe kings and princes of Hellas, who met at the call of Menelaus,\ndecided, after some discussion of the matter, that before declaring war\nagainst Troy it would be well to try to obtain satisfaction by peaceful\nmeans. They therefore sent ambassadors to Troy to demand the restoration\nof Helen and the treasures which Paris had carried off. Di\u02b9o-mede, king\nof \u00c6-to\u02b9lia, and the wise Ulysses, were chosen for this mission.\nMenelaus volunteered to accompany them, thinking that he might be able\nto persuade his wife to return to her home.\n\nWhen the Greek ambassadors arrived in the Trojan capital they were\nrespectfully received by the king. During their stay in the city they\nwere entertained at the residence of An-te\u02b9nor, one of Priam's ministers\nof state, who had the wisdom to disapprove of the action of Paris, and\nto advise that the Spartan queen should be given back to her husband.\nAntenor much admired the appearance and eloquence of Ulysses, which are\nthus described in the Iliad:\n\n    \"But when Ulysses rose, in thought profound,\n    His modest eyes he fixed upon the ground;\n    As one unskilled or dumb, he seem'd to stand,\n    Nor raised his head, nor stretch'd his sceptred hand;\n    But, when he speaks, what elocution flows!\n    Soft as the fleeces of descending snows,\n    The copious accents fall, with easy art;\n    Melting they fall, and sink into the heart!\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nBut the eloquence of Ulysses was of no avail. King Priam, blinded by his\nlove for his son, saw not the threatened danger, and he refused the\ndemand of the ambassadors. Menelaus was not even permitted to see his\nwife. Ulysses and his companions then returned to Greece, and at once\npreparations for war with Troy were commenced.\n\nThese preparations occupied a very long time. Ten years were spent in\ngetting together the vast force, which in more than a thousand ships was\ncarried across the \u00c6gean Sea to the Trojan shores, from the port of\nAu\u02b9lis on the east coast-of Greece. Some of the Hel-len\u02b9ic (Greek)\nprinces were very unwilling to join the expedition, as they knew that\nthe struggle would be a tedious and perilous one. Even Ulysses, who, as\nwe have seen, had first proposed the suitors' oath at Sparta, was at the\nlast moment unwilling to go. He had now become king of Ithaca, his\nfather, La-er\u02b9tes, having retired from the cares of government, and he\nwould gladly have remained in his happy island home with his young wife,\nPenelope, and his infant son, Te-lem\u02b9a-chus, both of whom he tenderly\nloved.\n\nBut the man of many arts could not be spared from the Trojan War. He\npaid no heed, however, to the messages sent to him asking him to join\nthe army at Aulis. Agamemnon resolved, therefore, to go himself to\nIthaca to persuade Ulysses to take part in the expedition. He was\naccompanied by his brother Menelaus, and by a chief named Pal-a-me\u02b9des,\na very wise and learned man as well as a brave warrior. As soon as\nUlysses heard of their arrival in Ithaca, he pretended to be insane, and\nhe tried by a very amusing stratagem to make them believe that he was\nreally mad. Dressing himself in his best clothes, and going down to the\nseashore, he began to plow the beach with a horse and an _ox_ yoked\ntogether, and to scatter salt upon the sand instead of seed.\n\n[Illustration: ULYSSES FEIGNING MADNESS.\n\n_Heywood Hardy._]\n\nPalamedes, however, was more than a match in artifice for the Ithacan\nking. Taking Telemachus from the arms of his nurse, he placed the\ninfant on the sand in front of the plowing team. Ulysses quickly turned\nthe animals aside to avoid injuring his child, thus proving that he was\nnot mad but in full possession of his senses. The king of Ithaca was\ntherefore obliged to join the expedition to Troy. With twelve ships well\nmanned he sailed from his rugged island, which he did not again see for\ntwenty years. Ten years he spent at the siege, and ten on his homeward\nvoyage, during which he met with the wonderful adventures that Homer\ndescribes in the Odyssey.\n\nUlysses had his revenge upon Palamedes in a manner very unworthy of a\nbrave man. In the camp before Troy, during the siege, he bribed one of\nthe servants of Palamedes to conceal a sum of money in his master's\ntent. He then forged a letter, which he read before a council of the\nGreek generals, saying that Palamedes had taken it from a Trojan\nprisoner. This letter was written as if by King Priam to Palamedes,\nthanking him for the information he had given regarding the plans of the\nGreeks, and mentioning money as having been sent him in reward for his\nservices. The Greek generals at once ordered a search to be made in the\ntent of Palamedes, and the money being found where it had been hidden by\ndirection of Ulysses, the unfortunate Palamedes was immediately put to\ndeath as a traitor.\n\n    Palamedes, not unknown to fame,\n    Who suffered from the malice of the times,\n    Accused and sentenced for pretended crimes.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nIt is said that Palamedes was the inventor of weights and measures, and\nof the games of chess and backgammon, and that it was he who first\nplaced sentinels round a camp and gave them a watchword.\n\nThere was another of the Greek princes whose help in the Trojan War was\nobtained only by an ingenious trick. This was the famous A-chil\u02b9les. He\nwas the son of Peleus and Thetis, at whose marriage feast Eris threw the\napple of discord on the table. The prophecy that Thetis would have a son\ngreater than his father was fulfilled in Achilles, the bravest of the\nGreeks at the Trojan War, and the principal hero of Homer's Iliad.\n\nThetis educated her son with great care. She had him instructed in all\nthe accomplishments fitting for princes of those times. When he was an\ninfant she dipped him in the river Styx, which, it was believed, made it\nimpossible for any weapon wielded by mortal hands to wound him. But the\nwater did not touch the child's heel by which his mother held him when\nshe plunged him in the river, and it was in this part that he received\nthe wound of which he died.\n\nNotwithstanding his being dipped in the Styx, Thetis was afraid to let\nAchilles go to the Trojan War, for Jupiter had told her that he would be\nkilled if he took part in it. For this reason, as soon as she heard that\nthe Grecian princes were gathering their forces, she secretly sent the\nyouth to the court of Lyc-o-me\u02b9des, king of the island of Scy\u02b9ros. Here\nAchilles, dressed like a young girl, resided as a companion of the\nking's daughters. But Cal\u02b9chas, the soothsayer of the Grecian army, told\nthe chiefs that without the help of Achilles Troy could not be taken.\n\n    Calchas the wise, the Grecian priest and guide,\n    That sacred seer, whose comprehensive view,\n    The past, the present, and the future knew.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nCalchas, however, could not tell where Achilles was to be found, and\nwhen they applied to Peleus, he too was unable or unwilling to tell\nthem. In this difficulty the wily king of Ithaca did good service. After\nmuch inquiry he discovered that Achilles was at Scyros with the king's\ndaughters. He soon made his way to the island, but here there was a new\ndifficulty. He had never seen the young prince, and how was he to know\nhim? But he devised a scheme which proved entirely successful. Equipping\nhimself as a peddler, he went to the royal palace, exhibiting jewelry\nand other fancy articles to attract the attention of the ladies of the\nfamily. He also had some beautiful weapons of war among his wares.\n\n[Illustration: ACHILLES AT THE COURT OF LYCOMEDES.\n\n_Painting by Battoni._]\n\nAs soon as he appeared, the maidens gathered about him and began\nexamining the jewels. But one of the group eagerly seized a weapon, and\nhandled it with much skill and pleasure. Satisfied that this was the\nyoung prince of whom he was in search, the pretended peddler announced\nhis name and told why he had come. Achilles, for it was he, gladly\nagreed to take part with his countrymen in their great expedition, and\nhe immediately returned to Phthi\u02b9a, the capital of his father's kingdom\nof Thessaly. There he lost no time in making all necessary preparations.\nSoon afterwards he sailed for Aulis with the brave Myr\u02b9mi-dons, as his\nsoldiers were called, accompanied also by his devoted friend and\nconstant companion, Pa-tro\u02b9clus.\n\n    Full fifty ships beneath Achilles' care,\n    The Achaians, Myrmidons, Hellenians bear;\n    Thessalians all, though various in their name;\n    The same their nation, and their chief the same.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nAgamemnon, the commander in chief of the great host, sailed with a\nhundred ships from his kingdom of Mycen\u00e6, and his brother Menelaus,\neager for vengeance upon the Trojans, sailed with sixty ships and a\nstrong force of brave Spartans.\n\n    Great Agamemnon rules the numerous band,\n    A hundred vessels in long order stand,\n    And crowded nations wait his dread command.\n    High on the deck the king of men appears,\n    And his refulgent arms in triumph wears;\n    Proud of his host, unrivall'd in his reign,\n    In silent pomp he moves along the main.\n        His brother follows, and to vengeance warms,\n    The hardy Spartans, exercised in arms:\n        .    .    .    .    .    .\n    These, o'er the bending ocean, Helen's cause,\n    In sixty ships with Menelaus draws.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_ Book II.\n\nAmong the other great warriors of Hellas who joined the expedition was\nNes\u02b9tor, the venerable king of Py\u02b9los, distinguished for his eloquence,\nwisdom, and prudence.\n\n    In ninety sail, from Pylos' sandy coast,\n    Nestor the sage conducts his chosen host.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe ancients believed that Nestor outlived three generations of men,\nwhich some suppose to have been three hundred years. From this it was a\ncustom of the ancient Greeks and Romans, when wishing a long and happy\nlife to their friends, to wish them to live as long as Nestor.\n\n    Experienced Nestor, in persuasion skill'd;\n    Words, sweet as honey, from his lips distill'd;\n    Two generations now had pass'd away,\n    Wise by his rules, and happy by his sway;\n    Two ages o'er his native realm he reign'd,\n    And now the example of the third remain'd.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThe two Ajaxes were also renowned warriors of the Grecian army,--Ajax\nTelamon and Ajax O-i\u02b9leus, so called from the names of their fathers.\nTelamon was the king of Salamis, to whom, as has been told, Hercules\ngave Laomedon's daughter, Hesione. His son Ajax, a man of huge stature\nand giant strength, was, next to Achilles, the bravest of all the Greeks\nwho went to the Trojan War.\n\n    With these appear the Salaminian bands,\n    Whom the gigantic Telamon commands;\n    In twelve black ships to Troy they steer their course,\n    And with the great Athenians join their force.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nAjax Oileus, king of Lo\u02b9cris, was less in stature than his namesake, but\nfew excelled him in the use of the spear or in swiftness of foot. He\ncommanded forty ships in the great expedition.\n\n        Fierce Ajax led the Locrian squadrons on,\n    Ajax the less, Oileus' valiant son;\n    Skill'd to direct the flying dart aright;\n    Swift in pursuit, and active in the fight.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II\n\nTwo other valiant warriors, who led eighty ships each to the great\nmuster, were Diomede, king of Argos, and I-dom\u02b9e-neus, king of\nCrete,--the \"spear-renowned Idomeneus.\"\n\n    Crete's hundred cities pour forth all her sons.\n    These march'd, Idomeneus, beneath thy care.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nWhen at length all the kings and princes were assembled at Aulis, the\nvast fleet numbered 1185 ships, according to the account given by Homer.\nThe total number of men which the ships carried is not known, but it is\nprobable that it was not less than 100,000, as the largest of the\nvessels contained about 120, and the smallest 50 men each.\n\nSuch was the mighty host that Hellas marshaled to punish Troy for the\ncrime committed by Paris. Before setting out on so important an\nexpedition the Greek chiefs deemed it proper, according to the custom of\nthe ancients, to offer sacrifices to the gods, that their undertaking\nmight have the favor of heaven. Altars were therefore erected, and the\nsacred services were carried out in due order. On these occasions\nanimals--very frequently oxen--were killed, and portions of their flesh\nconsumed by fire, such sacrifices being supposed to be very pleasing to\nthe gods.\n\nWhile the Grecian chiefs were engaged in their religious ceremonies, the\ngreater part of the army having already gone aboard the ships, they were\nstartled at beholding a serpent dart out from beneath one of the altars,\nand, gliding along the ground, ascend a plane tree which grew close by.\nAt the top of the tree was a nest containing eight young birds. The\nserpent devoured them, and immediately afterwards seized and devoured\nthe mother bird, which had been fluttering around the nest. Then\nsuddenly, before the eyes of the astonished Greeks, the reptile turned\ninto stone. Amazed at this occurrence, and believing it to have some\nconnection with their expedition, the assembled chiefs asked the\nsoothsayer Calchas to explain what it meant. The seer replied, telling\nthem that it was a sign that the war upon which they were about to enter\nwould last ten years.\n\n\"For us, indeed,\" said he, \"Jupiter has shown a great sign. As this\nserpent has devoured the young of the sparrow, eight in number, and\nherself, the mother of the brood, was the ninth, so must we for as many\nyears wage war, but in the tenth year we shall take the city.\"\n\nThis story was eloquently told by Ulysses in the Greek camp before Troy,\nwhen in the tenth year of the siege, many of the troops, having grown\nweary of the war, desired to return to their homes.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nIV. BEGINNING OF THE WAR.\n\n\nThe Greek chiefs, nothing daunted by the words of Calchas, now set sail\nwith their immense fleet. Though the war was to be a long one, they were\nencouraged by the prophecy that they were to be the conquerors.\n\nTheir first experience was not very fortunate. They safely crossed the\n\u00c6gean Sea, but instead of steering for Troy, the pilots, through either\nignorance or mistake, brought the vessels to the shore on the coast of\nTeu-thra'ni-a, a district in the kingdom of Mys'i-a, lying southeast of\nTroas. Here the Greeks landed, but they were at once attacked by\nTel'e-phus, the king of that country, who came down upon them with a\nstrong force, and drove them back to their ships after a battle in which\nmany of them were killed. They would probably have fared much worse had\nit not been for the friendly aid of Bac\u02b9chus, the god of wine. While\nTelephus was fighting at the head of his men he tripped and fell over a\nvine, which the god had caused to spring up suddenly from the earth at\nhis feet. As he lay flat on the ground Achilles rushed forward and\nseverely wounded him with a thrust of his spear.\n\nThe Greeks, however, were obliged to take to the sea, and soon afterward\na great storm arose, which destroyed many of their vessels. Owing to\nthis misfortune they had to return to Aulis, where they set about\nrepairing their damaged ships and getting ready to start again. While\nthe Greeks were thus engaged, they were surprised by the appearance of\nKing Telephus, who came to their camp to beg Achilles to cure his wound,\nan oracle he had consulted having told him that he could be cured only\nby the person who had wounded him.\n\nAchilles was at first unwilling to comply with the request of Telephus,\nbut Ulysses advised him to do so. Telephus was one of the sons of\nHercules, and it had been decreed that without the help of a son of that\nhero Troy could not be taken. Moreover, he was a son-in-law of Priam,\nand his country lay close to where the war was to be carried on. For\nthese reasons Ulysses wished to make him friendly to the Greeks, and so\nhe persuaded Achilles to cure the Teuthranian king. Achilles did this by\ndropping into the wound portions of the rust from the point of his\nspear. Telephus was so grateful that he joined the expedition against\nTroy, and undertook to pilot the Grecian fleet to the Trojan coast.\n\nBut another difficulty now stood in the way of the Greeks. Their fleet\nwas once more ready for departure, but the winds were unfavorable. In\nancient times they could not make a sea voyage when the winds were\nagainst them. Their ships were very small, and were moved only by oars\nand sails. Homer gives us a good idea of the ancient system of\nnavigation, where he tells, in the Odyssey, about young Telemachus\nsetting out on a voyage in search of his father, Ulysses:\n\n                        Telemachus went up\n    The vessel's side, but Pallas first embarked,\n    And at the stern sat down, while next to her\n    Telemachus was seated. Then the crew\n    Cast loose the fastenings and went all on board,\n    And took their places on the rowers' seats,\n    While blue-eyed Pallas sent a favoring breeze,\n    A fresh wind from the west, that murmuring swept\n    The dark-blue main. Telemachus gave forth\n    The word to wield the tackle; they obeyed,\n    And raised the fir-tree mast, and, fitting it\n    Into its socket, bound it fast with cords,\n    And drew and spread with firmly twisted ropes\n    The shining sails on high. The steady wind\n    Swelled out the canvas in the midst; the ship\n    Moved on, the dark sea roaring round her keel,\n    As swiftly through the waves she cleft her way.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book II.\n\nFor many days the Greek chiefs at Aulis waited for favoring breezes, but\nnone came.\n\n                      \"The troops\n    Collected and embodied, here we sit\n    Inactive, and from Aulis wish to sail\n    In vain.\"\n\n    EURIPIDES (Potter's tr.).\n\nAt last the soothsayer Calchas told them that the easterly winds which\nprevented them from sailing were caused by the anger of Di-an\u02b9a. Diana\nwas the goddess of hunting, and there was one of her sacred groves in\nthe neighborhood of Aulis. In this grove King Agamemnon went hunting\nduring the time the ships were being repaired after the storm, and he\nkilled one of Diana's favorite deer. He even boasted that he was a\ngreater hunter than Diana herself. This enraged the goddess, and Calchas\nsaid that her anger could be appeased only by the offering up of\nAgamemnon's daughter, Iph-i-ge-ni\u02b9a, as a sacrifice.\n\n[Illustration: DIANA HUNTING.\n\n_Painting by Makart._ (_Fragment_.)]\n\nThe feelings of the father may be easily imagined. He heard the\nannouncement of the soothsayer with the utmost horror, and he declared\nthat he would withdraw from the expedition rather than permit his child\nto be put to death. But Ulysses and the other princes begged him to\nremember that the honor of their country was at stake. They said that if\nhe should withdraw, the great cause for which they had labored for ten\nyears would be lost, and the Trojan insult to his own family and to all\nGreece would remain unpunished.\n\nAt last Agamemnon consented, and messengers were sent to Mycen\u00e6 to bring\nIphigenia to Aulis. The king was even persuaded to deceive his wife,\nClyt-em-nes\u02b9tra. Knowing that she would not allow her daughter to be\ntaken away for such a purpose, he wrote a letter to the queen, saying\nthat Iphigenia had been chosen to be the wife of Achilles, and that he\nwished the marriage ceremony to be performed before the departure of the\nyoung prince for Troy.\n\n                        \"I wrote, I seal'd\n    A letter to my wife, that she should send\n    Her daughter to Achilles as a bride\n    Affianc'd.\"\n\n    EURIPIDES (Potter's tr.).\n\nClytemnestra agreed to the proposal, happy at the thought of her\ndaughter being married to so great a prince as Achilles. Iphigenia\naccordingly accompanied the messengers to the Greek camp at Aulis. When\nshe learned of the terrible fate to which she had been doomed, she threw\nherself at her father's feet and piteously implored his protection. But\nher tears and entreaties were in vain. The agonized father had now no\npower to save her, for the whole army demanded that the will of the\ngoddess should be obeyed. Preparations for the awful sacrifice were\ntherefore made, and when everything was ready, the beautiful young\nprincess was led to the altar. Tennyson, in his \"Dream of Fair Women,\"\nhas these lines about Iphigenia at Aulis:\n\n    \"I was cut off from hope in that sad place,\n      Which men called Aulis in those iron years:\n    My father held his hand upon his face;\n      I, blinded with my tears,\n\n    Still strove to speak: my voice was thick with sighs\n      As in a dream. Dimly I could descry\n    The stern, black-bearded kings with wolfish eyes,\n      Waiting to see me die.\"\n\nBut Iphigenia was not sacrificed after all. Her innocence excited the\npity even of Diana, and at the last moment the goddess snatched the\nweeping maiden away in a cloud, and left in her place a beautiful deer\nto be offered up as a sacrifice. She carried the princess off to\nTau\u02b9ri-ca, a country bordering the Black Sea, and there Iphigenia\nremained for many years, serving as a priestess in Diana's temple.\n\nThe anger of Diana being appeased, favorable winds now began to blow,\nand the Greeks again set sail. This time they had a more fortunate\nvoyage. Piloted by Telephus, the fleet crossed the \u00c6gean Sea, and safely\nreached the coast of Troas. But here Calchas made another discouraging\nprophecy. He declared that the first Greek who stepped on Trojan soil\nwould be killed in the first fight with the enemy. This the oracle at\nDelphi had also foretold. There was some hesitation, therefore, about\nlanding, for the army of King Priam was ranged along the beach prepared\nfor battle with the invaders.\n\nThis was the occasion of an heroic act by Pro-tes-i-la\u02b9us, king of\nPhyl\u02b9a-ce in Thessaly, who boldly leaped ashore as soon as the vessels\ntouched the land. The prediction of Calchas was soon fulfilled.\nProtesilaus was struck dead in the first fight by a spear launched by\nthe hands of the Trojan leader, Hector. The bravery of the Thessalian\nking, and the grief of his queen, La-od-a-mi\u02b9a, when she heard of his\ndeath, have been much celebrated in song and story.\n\n                    Protesilaus the brave,\n    Who now lay silent in the gloomy grave:\n    The first who boldly touch'd the Trojan shore,\n    And dyed a Phrygian lance with Grecian gore;\n    There lies, far distant from his native plain;\n    And his sad consort beats her breast in vain.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nLaodamia in her sorrow prayed to the gods that she might see her husband\nagain on earth. Jupiter heard her prayer, and he ordered Mercury to\nconduct Protesilaus from Hades, the land of the dead, to Thessaly, to\nremain with Laodamia for the space of three hours.\n\nLaodamia was happy for the brief time allowed her to enjoy again the\ncompanionship of her beloved Protesilaus, and she listened with pride to\nthe story of his brave deed on the Trojan shore.\n\n    \"Thou know'st, the Delphic oracle foretold\n    That the first Greek who touched the Trojan strand\n    Should die; but me the threat could not withhold:\n    A generous cause a victim did demand;\n    And forth I leapt upon the sanely plain;\n    A self-devoted chief--by Hector slain.\"\n\n    WORDSWORTH, _Laodamia_.\n\nBut the happy moments flew swiftly by, and when the three hours had\npassed, Mercury returned to take the hero back to the world of shades.\nThe parting was too much for the fond Laodamia. She died of grief as her\nhusband disappeared from her sight.\n\nProtesilaus was buried on the Trojan shore, and around his grave, it is\nsaid, there grew very wonderful trees. These trees withered away as\nsoon as their tops reached high enough to be seen from the city of Troy.\nThen fresh trees sprang up from their roots, and withered in like manner\nwhen they reached the same height, and so this marvelous growth and\ndecay continued for ages.\n\n                              Upon the side\n    Of Hellespont (such faith was entertained)\n    A knot of spiry trees for ages grew\n    From out the tomb of him for whom she died;\n    And ever, when such stature they had gained\n    That Ilium's walls were subject to their view,\n    The trees' tall summits withered at the sight;\n    A constant interchange of growth and blight!\n\n    WORDSWORTH, _Laodamia_.\n\nThe heroic act of Protesilaus was the beginning of the great war. Before\nhe fell himself he slew many of the enemy, and hosts of his countrymen,\nencouraged by his example, poured from their ships and encountered the\nTrojans in fierce conflict. In this first battle the Greeks were\nvictorious. Though Hector and his brave troops fought valiantly they\nwere driven back from the shore, and compelled to take refuge within the\nstrong walls of the city.\n\nThe Trojans were well prepared for the war. King Priam had not been idle\nwhile the Greek leaders were mustering their forces. From all parts of\nhis kingdom he had gathered immense supplies of provisions, and the\nprinces and chiefs of Troas came with large armies to defend their king\nand country. The most celebrated of these chiefs was the hero \u00c6-ne\u02b9as,\nson of An-chi\u02b9ses and the goddess Venus. He commanded the Dardanian\nforces, and had as his lieutenants the two brave warriors, Ac\u02b9a-mas and\nAr-chil\u02b9o-chus.\n\n        Divine \u00c6neas brings the Dardan race.\n    Archilochus and Acamas divide\n    The warrior's toils, and combat by his side.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe Trojans had numerous and powerful allies. Troops were sent to them\nfrom the neighboring countries of Phrygia, Mysia, Lyc\u02b9i-a and Ca\u02b9ri-a.\nThe Lycian forces were led by Sar-pe\u02b9don, a son of Jupiter, and a\nrenowned warrior.\n\n    A chief, who led to Troy's beleaguer'd wall\n    A host of heroes, and outshined them all.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nBut the greatest of the heroes who defended Troy, and, with the\nexception of Achilles, the greatest and bravest of all who took part in\nthe Trojan War, was the famous Hector.\n\n    The boast of nations, the defense of Troy!\n    To whom her safety and her fame she owed;\n    Her chief, her hero, and almost her god!\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nSo long as Hector lived Troy was safe. When he died, his great rival,\nAchilles, by whose hand he was slain, rejoiced with the Greeks as if\nTroy had already fallen.\n\n        \"Ye sons of Greece, in triumph bring\n    The corpse of Hector, and your p\u00e6ans sing.\n    Be this the song, slow-moving toward the shore,\n    'Hector is dead, and Ilion is no more.'\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nBut though led by the great Hector, the Trojans, after their first\ndefeat, were unable to keep up the fight in the open field against the\nvast numbers of the Greeks. Seeing, therefore, that they must depend for\nsafety on the strong walls which Neptune had built, they drew all their\nforces into the city, leaving the enemy in possession of the surrounding\ncountry.\n\nThen the famous siege of ten years began. The Greeks hauled their ships\nout of the water, and fixed them on the beach in an upright position\nsupported by props. Close to the vessels, on the land side, they erected\ntheir tents, which extended in a long line, one wing, or end, of which\nwas guarded by Achilles, and the other by Ajax Telamon. Between this\nencampment and the walls of Troy--a distance of three or four\nmiles--many a fierce conflict took place, and many a brave warrior fell\nduring the great contest. For the Trojans, headed by Hector or some\nother of their chiefs, often came out from the city through the\nprincipal gate, called the Sc\u00e6\u02b9an Gate, which faced the Grecian camp,\nand fought the enemy in the open plain, on the bank of the celebrated\nriver Simois.\n\n    And from the walls of strong-besieged Troy,\n    When their brave hope, bold Hector, march'd to field,\n    Stood many Trojan mothers, sharing joy\n    To see their youthful son's bright weapons wield;\n    And to their hope they such odd action yield,\n      That through their light joy seemed to appear,\n      Like bright things stain'd, a kind of heavy fear.\n\n    And from the strond of Dardan, where they fought,\n    To Simois' reedy banks the red blood ran,\n    Whose waves to imitate the battle sought\n    With swelling ridges; and their ranks began\n    To break upon the galled shore, and then\n      Retire again, till, meeting greater ranks,\n      They join and shoot their foam at Simois' banks.\n\n    SHAKESPEARE, _Lucrece_.\n\n\n\n\nV. THE WRATH OF ACHILLES.\n\n\nFor over nine years the siege was carried on without one side or the\nother gaining any important victory. The Trojans were protected by their\nwalls, which the Greeks were unable to break down, for the ancients had\nno such powerful engines of war as those used in armies of the present\nday. The strongest buildings may now be easily destroyed by cannon; but\nin those days they had no cannon or gunpowder or dynamite. Success in\nwar in ancient times depended almost entirely on the bravery of the\nsoldiers or on strategy and artifice, in which, as we shall see, the\nking of Ithaca was much skilled.\n\nThe Greek and Trojan warriors fought with swords, axes, bows and arrows,\nand javelins, or long spears tipped with sharp iron points. Sometimes\nthey used huge stones which the heroes hurled at the foe with the full\nstrength of their powerful arms. They had shields of circular or oval\nshape, which they wore on the arm to ward off blows, and which could be\nmoved at pleasure so as to cover almost any part of the body. Their\nchests were protected by corselets or breastplates made of metal, and\nmetal greaves, or boots, incased their legs from the knees to the feet.\nOn their heads they wore helmets, usually of brass.\n\nThe chiefs fought in chariots, from which they darted their spears at\nthe enemy with such force and so true an aim as to wound or kill at a\nconsiderable distance. The chariots were two-wheeled, open at the back,\nand often drawn by three horses. They usually carried two warriors, both\nstanding, and the charioteer, or driver, was generally the companion or\nfriend, and not the servant, of the fighters who stood behind him.\nSometimes the warriors came down from their chariots and fought hand to\nhand at close quarters with the enemy. The common soldiers always fought\non foot. There were no horse soldiers.\n\nBut in the Trojan War success or defeat did not always depend on the\nbravery of the soldiers or on the skill or strategy of the generals.\nVery much depended on the gods. We have seen how those divine beings had\nto do with the events that led to the war. We shall also see them taking\npart in the battles, sometimes giving victory to one side and sometimes\nto the other. The Trojan War was in fact as much a war of the gods as of\nmen, and in Homer's story we find Jupiter and Juno and Apollo and\nNeptune and Venus and Minerva mentioned almost as frequently as the\nGreek and Trojan heroes. In the beginning of the Iliad we find Apollo\nsending a plague among the Greeks because of an insult offered to his\npriest, Chry\u02b9ses; for the daughter of Chryses, a beautiful maiden named\nChry-se\u02b9is, was carried off by Achilles after the taking of The\u02b9be, a\ntown of Mysia.\n\nDuring the long siege the Grecian chiefs extended the war into the\nsurrounding districts. While part of their forces was left at the camp\nto protect the ships and keep the Trojans cooped up within their walls,\nexpeditions were sent out against many of the towns of Troas, or of the\nneighboring countries which were allies and supporters of Troy. When the\nGreeks captured a town they carried off not only the provisions and\nriches it contained, but also many of its inhabitants, whom they sold as\nslaves, according to the custom of the time, or kept as slaves in their\nown service. In one of these expeditions Priam's youngest son,\nTro\u02b9i-lus, the hero of Shakespeare's play of \"Troilus and Cres\u02b9si-da,\"\nwas slain by Achilles.\n\nIt was in the tenth year of the war that Thebe was taken, and the maiden\nChryseis was captured. About the same time the town of Lyr-nes\u02b9sus was\nseized by an expedition, also led by Achilles, and among the prisoners\nwas a beautiful woman named Bri-se\u02b9is. In the division of the spoils\namong the chiefs, Chryseis fell to the share of Agamemnon, and the\nmaiden Briseis was given to Achilles, who took her to his tent with the\nintention of making her his wife. But the priest Chryses was deeply\ngrieved at the taking away of his daughter, and he came to the Grecian\ncamp to beg the chiefs to restore her to him. In his hand he bore a\ngolden scepter bound with fillets, or green branches, the emblems of his\npriestly office, and he also carried with him valuable gifts for King\nAgamemnon. Being admitted to the presence of the warrior chiefs\nassembled in council, he begged them to release his child.\n\n    He sued to all, but chief implored for grace\n    The brother-kings, of Atreus' royal race.\n      \"Ye kings and warriors! may your vows be crown'd,\n    And Troy's proud walls lie level with the ground.\n    May Jove restore you when your toils are o'er\n    Safe to the pleasures of your native shore.\n    But, oh! relieve a wretched parent's pain,\n    And give Chryseis to these arms again.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nHearing the prayer of the venerable priest, many of the chiefs were\nmoved to pity, and they advised that his request should be granted, but\nAgamemnon angrily refused.\n\n[Illustration: APOLLO.\n\n_Berlin Museum._]\n\n\n                                He dismissed\n    The priest with scorn, and added threatening words:--\n      \"Old man, let me not find thee loitering here,\n    Beside the roomy ships, or coming back\n    Hereafter, lest the fillet thou dost bear\n    And scepter of thy god protect thee not.\n    This maiden I release not till old age\n    Shall overtake her in my Argive home,\n    Far from her native country.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nChryses then departed from the Grecian camp, and as he returned home in\nsorrow, walking along the shores of the sea, he prayed to Apollo to\npunish the insult thus offered to his priest.\n\n    \"O Smintheus! if I ever helped to deck\n    Thy glorious temple, if I ever burned\n    Upon thy altar the fat thighs of goats\n    And bullocks, grant my prayer, and let thy shafts\n    Avenge upon the Greeks the tears I shed.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nApollo heard the prayer of Chryses, and he sent a deadly plague upon the\nGrecian army. With his silver bow, every clang of which was heard\nthroughout the camp, the archer god darted his terrible arrows among the\nGreeks, smiting them down in great numbers.\n\n              He came as comes the night,\n    And, seated from the ships aloof, sent forth\n    An arrow; terrible was heard the clang\n    Of that resplendent bow. At first he smote\n    The mules and the swift dogs, and then on man\n    He turned the deadly arrow. All around\n    Glared evermore the frequent funeral piles.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nFor nine days the arrows of death were sent upon the Greek army, and the\nfuneral piles of the victims were continually burning, for it was the\ncustom in those times to burn the bodies of the dead. On the tenth day\nof the plague Achilles called a council of the chiefs to consider how\nthe anger of the god might be appeased, and he spoke before them,\nsaying:\n\n\"Let us consult some prophet or priest who will tell us why Ph\u0153bus\nApollo is so much enraged with us, and whether he may, when we shall\nhave offered sacrifices upon his altar, take away this pestilence which\nis destroying our people.\"\n\nThen Calchas, the soothsayer, arose and said:\n\n\"O Achilles, I can tell why the god is wroth against us, and willing I\nam to tell it, but perhaps I may irritate the king who rules over all\nthe Argives, and in his anger he may do evil to me. Promise me,\ntherefore, your protection, and I will declare why this plague has come\nupon the Greeks.\"\n\n\"Fear nothing, O Calchas,\" answered Achilles. \"While I am alive not one\nof all the Greeks, not even Agamemnon himself, shall harm you.\"\n\n    \"Fear nothing, but speak boldly out whate'er\n    Thou knowest, and declare the will of heaven.\n    For by Apollo, dear to Jove, whom thou,\n    Calchas, dost pray to, when thou givest forth\n    The sacred oracles to men of Greece,\n    No man, while yet I live, and see the light\n    Of day, shall lay a violent hand on thee.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThus encouraged, Calchas announced to the chiefs that Apollo was angry\nbecause his priest had been dishonored and insulted by Agamemnon. This\nwas why the people were perishing, and the wrath of the god could be\nappeased only by restoring Chryseis to her father, and sending a hundred\nvictims to be offered in sacrifice to the god. Upon hearing these words\nAgamemnon was filled with anger against Calchas.\n\n\"Prophet of evil,\" he exclaimed, \"never have you spoken anything good\nfor me. And now you say I must give up the maiden. I shall do so, since\nI wish not the destruction of the people, but another I must have, for\nit is not fitting that I alone of all the Argives shall be without a\nprize.\"\n\nTo this Achilles answered that there was no prize just then that\nAgamemnon could have. \"How can we give you a prize,\" said he, \"since\nall the spoils have already been divided? We cannot ask the people to\nreturn what has been given to them. Be satisfied then to let the maiden\ngo. When we have taken the strong city of Troy we will compensate you\nfourfold.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" replied Agamemnon. \"If the Greeks give me a suitable prize, I\nshall be content, but if not, I will seize yours or that of Ajax or\nUlysses. This matter, however, we will attend to afterwards. For the\npresent let the maid be sent back to her father, that the wrath of the\nFar-darter may be appeased.\"\n\nAt this Achilles was very angry, and he said:\n\n\"Impudent and greedy man, how can the Greeks fight bravely under your\ncommand? As for me, I did not come here to make war against the Trojans\nbecause of any quarrel of my own. The Trojans have done no wrong to me.\nIt is to get satisfaction for your brother we have come here in our\nships, and we do most of the fighting while to you is given most of the\nspoils. But now I will return home to Phthia. Perhaps you will then have\nlittle treasure to share.\"\n\nGreatly enraged at this speech, Agamemnon replied in wrathful words: \"Go\nhome, by all means, with your ships and your Myrmidons. Other chiefs\nthere are here who will honor me, and I care not for your anger.\"\n\n                          \"Thus, in turn,\n    I threaten thee; since Ph\u0153bus takes away\n    Chryseis, I will send her in my ship\n    And with my friends, and, coming to thy tent,\n    Will bear away the fair-cheeked maid, thy prize,\n    Briseis, that thou learn how far I stand\n    Above thee, and that other chiefs may fear\n    To measure strength with me, and brave my power.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nFurious at this threat, Achilles put his hand to his sword with the\nintention of slaying Agamemnon, and he had half drawn the weapon from\nits scabbard, but just at that moment the goddess Minerva stood behind\nhim and caught him by his yellow hair. She had been sent down from\nheaven by Juno to pacify the hero, for Juno and Minerva were friendly to\nthe Greeks. Ever since the judgment on Mount Ida they hated Paris, and\nthe city and country to which he belonged, and therefore they wished\nthat there should be no strife amongst the Greek chiefs, which would\nprevent them from taking and destroying the hated city.\n\nAchilles was astonished when he beheld the goddess, who appeared to him\nalone, being invisible to all the rest. He instantly knew who she was,\nand he said to her: \"O goddess, have you come to witness the insolence\nof the son of Atreus? You shall also witness the punishment I shall\ninflict upon him for his haughtiness.\"\n\nBut Minerva spoke soothing words to the hero:\n\n    \"I came from heaven to pacify thy wrath,\n    If thou wilt heed my counsel. I am sent\n    By Juno the white-armed, to whom ye both\n    Are dear, who ever watches o'er you both.\n    Refrain from violence; let not thy hand\n    Unsheath the sword, but utter with thy tongue\n    Reproaches, as occasion may arise,\n    For I declare what time shall bring to pass;\n    Threefold amends shall yet be offered thee,\n    In gifts of princely cost, for this day's wrong.\n    Now calm thy angry spirit, and obey.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThus Minerva spoke, and Achilles, answering her, said: \"Willingly, O\ngoddess, shall I observe your command, though in my soul much enraged,\nfor so it is better, since the gods are ever favorable to those who obey\nthem.\"\n\nSo speaking he put his sword back into its scabbard, while the goddess\nswiftly returned to Olympus. Then the hero again addressed Agamemnon in\nbitter words, and he took a solemn oath on the scepter he held in his\nhand, that he would refuse to help the Greeks when they next should seek\nhis aid for battle with the Trojans.\n\n      \"Tremendous oath! inviolate to kings;\n    By this I swear:--when bleeding Greece again\n    Shall call Achilles, she shall call in vain.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThe venerable Nestor then arose to speak, and he begged the two chiefs\nto cease quarreling with each other, for the Trojans, he said, would\ngreatly rejoice to hear of strife between the bravest men of the Greeks.\nHe advised Achilles, though of a goddess-mother born, not to contend\nagainst his superior in authority, and he entreated Agamemnon not to\ndishonor Achilles, the bulwark of the Greeks, by taking away the prize\nwhich had been allotted to him.\n\n    \"Forbid it, gods! Achilles should be lost,\n    The pride of Greece, and bulwark of our host.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nBut the wise Nestor advised and entreated in vain. Agamemnon would not\nyield from his purpose of taking away the prize of Achilles, and so the\ncouncil of the chiefs came to an end.\n\n      Rising from that strife of words, the twain\n    Dissolved the assembly at the Grecian fleet.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\n[Illustration: ACHILLES DEPRIVED OF BRISEIS.\n\n_Drawn by Hubbell._]\n\nImmediately afterwards, by order of the king, the maiden Chryseis was\nconducted to her father's home, and sacrifices were offered to Apollo.\nThe anger of the god being thus appeased, the army was relieved from\nthe plague. Then Agamemnon proceeded to carry out his threat against\nAchilles. Calling two of his officers, or heralds, Tal-thyb\u02b9i-us and\nEu-ryb\u02b9a-tes, he commanded them thus:\n\n      \"Go ye to where Achilles holds his tent,\n    And take the fair Briseis by the hand,\n    And bring her hither. If he yield her not,\n    I shall come forth to claim her with a band\n    Of warriors, and it shall be worse for him.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nAchilles received the heralds respectfully. He had no blame for them,\nsince they were but messengers. Nor did he refuse to obey the command of\nthe king. He delivered Briseis to the heralds, and they conducted her to\nthe tent of Agamemnon. Thus was committed the deed which brought\ncountless woes upon the Greeks, for Achilles, in deep grief and anger,\nvowed that he would no more lead his Myrmidons to battle for a king who\nhad so dishonored and insulted him.\n\n\"Let these heralds,\" said he, \"be the witnesses before gods and men of\nthe insult offered to me by this tyrant king, and when there shall be\nneed of me again to save the Greeks from destruction, appeal to me shall\nbe in vain.\"\n\nSuch was the origin of the wrath of Achilles, which is the subject of\nHomer's Iliad. The Iliad is not a complete story of the Trojan War, but\nan account of the disasters which happened to the Greeks through the\nanger of Achilles. The poem, indeed, relates the events of only\nfifty-eight days, but they were events of the highest interest and they\nwere very numerous. It is remarked by Pope that the subject of the Iliad\nis the shortest and most single ever chosen by any poet. Yet Homer has\nsupplied a vaster variety of incidents, a greater number of councils,\nspeeches, battles, and events of all kinds, than are to be found in any\nother poem.\n\nThe Iliad begins with the wrath of Achilles, which in the first line of\nthe first book is announced as the poet's theme:\n\n    Achilles' wrath, to Greece the direful spring\n    Of woes unnumber'd, heavenly goddess, sing!\n    That wrath which hurl'd to Pluto's gloomy reign\n    The souls of mighty chiefs untimely slain;\n    Whose limbs unburied on the naked shore,\n    Devouring dogs and hungry vultures tore:\n    Since great Achilles and Atrides strove,\n    Such was the sovereign doom, and such the will of Jove!\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThe heavenly goddess here invoked was Calli\u02b9ope, the patroness of epic\nsong, and one of the nine Muses. These were sister deities, daughters of\nJupiter, who presided over poetry, science, music, and dancing. Apollo,\nas god of music and the fine arts, was their leader. They held their\nmeetings on the top of Mount Par-nas'sus in Greece. On the slope of this\nmount was the celebrated spring or fountain of Cas-ta\u02b9li-a, whose waters\nwere supposed to give the true poetic spirit to all who drank of them.\n\nThe epic poets usually began their poems by invoking the aid of the\nMuse. Homer does this in the very first line of the Iliad, the word for\nword translation of which is: \"O goddess, sing the wrath of Achilles,\nthe son of Peleus.\"\n\nSo also the English poet, Milton, begins his great epic poem, \"Paradise\nLost,\" which tells about the disobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden\nof Eden:\n\n    Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit\n    Of that forbidden tree whose mortal taste\n    Brought death into the world, and all our woe,\n    With loss of Eden, till one greater Man\n    Restore us, and regain the blissful seat,\n    _Sing, heavenly Muse_, that, on the secret top\n    Of Oreb or of Sinai, didst inspire\n    That shepherd who first taught the chosen seed\n    In the beginning how the heavens and earth\n    Rose out of Chaos; or, if Sion hill\n    Delight thee more, and Siloa's brook that flow'd\n    Fast by the oracle of God, _I thence_\n    _Invoke thy aid_ to my advent'rous song.\n\n\n\n\nVI. THE DREAM OF AGAMEMNON.\n\n\nVery soon great evils came upon the Greeks because of the strife between\nthe chiefs. When Chryseis was restored to her father, Apollo stopped the\nplague; but the wrong done to Achilles provoked the anger of another\ndeity. This was Thetis, who, having much power with Jupiter, was able to\npersuade him to take up the cause of her injured son.\n\nFor as soon as the heralds departed from his tent, leading away the\nfair-cheeked Briseis, Achilles withdrew from his friends, retired to the\nseashore, and sitting there alone he bitterly wept, and with\noutstretched hands prayed to his mother, Thetis. The goddess heard his\nvoice, and ascending from the depths of the ocean, where she dwelt in\nthe palace of her aged father, Nereus, she sat down beside the hero, and\nsoothing him with her hand, she inquired the cause of his distress. \"Why\ndo you weep, my son? What grief has come upon thy mind?\"\n\nThen Achilles related to his mother what Agamemnon had done, and he\nbegged her to go to Mount Olympus and entreat Jupiter to punish the\ninsult that had been offered to her son. He spoke of the service she had\ndone for Jupiter long before, when Juno, Neptune, and Minerva had made a\nplot to bind him, and cast him from the throne of heaven. They might\nhave succeeded in doing this if Thetis had not called Bri\u02b9a-reus up from\nPluto's kingdom to help Jupiter. Briareus was a mighty giant who had a\nhundred hands, and his appearance in Olympus so terrified the\nconspirators that they did not attempt to carry out their wicked plot.\n\n\"Now,\" said Achilles to his mother, \"remind Jupiter of this, and beg him\nto aid the Trojans and give them victory in battle, so that Agamemnon\nmay feel the effects of his folly in dishonoring me.\"\n\n    \"Ascend to heaven and bring thy prayer to Jove,\n    If e'er by word or act thou gav'st him aid.\n    For I remember, in my father's halls\n    I often heard thee, glorying, tell how thou,\n    Alone of all the gods, didst interpose\n    To save the cloud-compeller, Saturn's son,\n    From shameful overthrow, when all the rest\n    Who dwell upon Olympus had conspired\n    To bind him,--Juno, Neptune, and with them\n    Pallas Athene. Thou didst come and loose\n    His bonds, and call up to the Olympian heights\n    The hundred-handed, whom the immortal gods\n    Have named Briareus.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThetis readily consented to do as her son desired.\n\n\"Not now, however!\" said she, \"for yesterday Jupiter went to\nE-thi-o\u02b9pi-a to a banquet, and all the gods went with him. But in twelve\ndays he will return. Then I will go to Olympus and tell your words to\nthunder-delighting Jove, and I think I shall be able to persuade him to\ngrant your request.\"\n\n                  \"Thou, meanwhile, abide\n    By thy swift ships, incensed against the Greeks,\n    And take no part in all their battles more.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThetis did not forget her promise. On the twelfth day, at the dawn of\nmorning, she emerged from beneath the waves, and went up to Olympus.\nThere she threw herself at the feet of Jupiter, as he sat on the summit\nof the mount apart from the other gods, and earnestly prayed him to\ngrant victory to the Trojans until the Greeks should make amends to her\nson for the injury that had been done him.\n\nNow it may seem that it was not just to ask that the whole Greek army\nshould be punished for the act of their general. But the other chiefs\nand their people were hardly less to blame than Agamemnon, for they did\nnot try to prevent him from doing the wrong. If they had opposed him\nvery much, he would not perhaps have dared to insult their greatest\nwarrior, the man without whose help they knew Troy could not be taken.\nTherefore Thetis begged Jupiter to punish all the Greeks by giving\nvictory to the Trojans.\n\n        \"O Jupiter, my father, if among\n    The immortals I have ever given thee aid\n    By word or act, deny not my request.\n    Honor my son whose life is doomed to end\n    So soon; for Agamemnon, king of men,\n    Hath done him shameful wrong: he takes from him\n    And keeps the prize he won in war. But thou,\n    Olympian Jupiter, supremely wise,\n    Honor him thou, and give the Trojan host\n    The victory, until the humbled Greeks\n    Heap large increase of honors on my son.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nJupiter hesitated for some time before consenting to grant the prayer of\nThetis.\n\n\"This,\" said he, \"is a serious matter, for by doing as you desire I may\ngive offense to Juno, who has already been blaming me among the gods,\nsaying that I aid the Trojans in battle. However, since you will have it\nso, I shall grant your request.\"\n\n                        \"And that thou\n    Mayst be assured, behold, I give the nod;\n    For this, with me, the immortals know, portends\n    The highest certainty; no word of mine\n    Which once my nod confirms can be revoked,\n    Or prove untrue, or fail to be fulfilled.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nThe awful nod was then given, and mighty Olympus trembled. Thetis,\nrejoicing at the success of her mission, departed from the heavenly\nregions and plunged into the depths of the sea, while Jupiter went to\nhis golden palace where the other gods were sitting around the\nbanqueting table. As he entered all rose up to do him honor, and met him\nas he advanced to his throne. But his talk with Thetis had not escaped\nthe notice of Juno, and suspecting what it was about, she addressed her\nspouse in harsh words.\n\n\"Thou art ever,\" said she, \"plotting secret things apart from me, and\nnow I greatly fear that the silver-footed Thetis has persuaded thee to\ndo some evil to the Greeks.\"\n\n    \"Thou hast promised her, I cannot doubt,\n    To give Achilles honor and to cause\n    Myriads of Greeks to perish by their fleet.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\n\"You are always suspecting,\" answered Jupiter, \"but now it will avail\nyou nothing. Even though I have done what you say, such is my sovereign\npleasure. Be silent, and sit down in peace, and take care not to provoke\nmy anger.\"\n\n[Illustration: JUNO.\n\n_National Museum, Naples._]\n\nAt this point Vulcan interfered, entreating his mother, Juno, to submit\nto the will of almighty Jove; \"for,\" said he, \"if the Thunderer wishes\nto hurl us from our seats in heaven he can easily do it, since his power\nis far greater than that of all the other gods.\"\n\nVulcan then reminded her how she and he had both been punished on a\nformer occasion for an offense against Jupiter. When Hercules was\nreturning to Greece from Troy after capturing that city, Juno, who hated\nthe great hero, caused a storm to be raised in the \u00c6gean Sea, which\ndrove his ships out of their course and almost destroyed them. That she\nmight do this without Jupiter knowing it, she contrived to cast him into\na deep sleep. When he awoke and found out what she had done, he was so\nangry that he hung her from the heavens by a golden chain, and tied two\nheavy iron anvils to her feet. Vulcan tried to loose the chains and set\nhis mother free, and for this offense Jupiter hurled him from the abode\nof the gods. He fell on the island of Lem'nos in the \u00c6gean Sea, but some\nof the inhabitants, seeing him descend, caught him in their arms.\nNevertheless, he broke his leg by the fall and was ever afterwards lame.\n\n                                  How he fell\n    From heaven they fabled, thrown by angry Jove\n    Sheer o'er the crystal battlements; from morn\n    To noon he fell, from noon to dewy eve,\n    A summer's day; and with the setting sun\n    Dropped from the zenith, like a falling star,\n    On Lemnos, the \u00c6gean isle.\n\n    MILTON, _Paradise Lost_, Book I.\n\nAfter reminding Juno of these things, and restoring peace between her\nand the king of heaven, Vulcan took upon himself the office of\ncupbearer. He poured nectar into golden goblets and served it round to\nthe gods and goddesses, all of whom laughed at the sight of the lame god\nbustling through the banqueting hall performing the work of Ganymede.\nThey feasted till sunset, Apollo giving them sweet music from his lyre,\nwhile the goddesses of song accompanied him with their voices.\n\n        Thus the blest gods the genial day prolong,\n    In feasts ambrosial, and celestial song.\n    Apollo tuned the lyre; the Muses round\n    With voice alternate aid the silver sound.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book I.\n\nWhen the banquet was over, the gods and goddesses retired to their\npalaces,--golden palaces built by Vulcan,--and they sought repose in\nsleep. But Jupiter did not sleep, for he was thinking how he might carry\nout his promise to Thetis. After much thought he resolved to send a\nmessage to Agamemnon by means of a dream, telling him to lead his\nforces at once against Troy, as it was the will of the gods that the\ncity should now fall into the hands of the Greeks. And so this false\nDream or Lying Spirit was sent on its deceitful errand. It took the form\nof the venerable Nestor, and, appearing to Agamemnon while he was\nsleeping in his tent, delivered to him the command of Jupiter:\n\n    \"Monarch, awake! 'tis Jove's command I bear;\n    Thou and thy glory claim his heavenly care.\n    In just array draw forth the embattled train,\n    Lead all thy Grecians to the dusty plain;\n    E'en now, O king! 'tis given thee to destroy\n    The lofty towers of wide-extended Troy.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nAs soon as Agamemnon awoke he hastily called a council of the chiefs to\nmeet at the ships of Nestor. There he told them of the command of Jove,\nas sent to him in his dream. All agreed that the divine will should be\nobeyed, but Agamemnon, like a prudent general, thought it would be well,\nbefore going to battle, to find out whether the troops, after their\ntoils of nine years, were still willing to support him in carrying on\nthe war. With this object he resolved to try the plan of pretending to\nthem that he had made up his mind to stop the siege and return at once\nto Greece. But he directed the chiefs to advise their followers not to\nconsent to the proposal, and to encourage them to make one more fight\nfor the honor of their country. Then the heralds summoned the whole army\nto assemble, and the vast host gathered together on the plain before the\ncamp, to listen to the words of their commander. Homer's description of\nthe muster of the forces on this occasion is very beautiful:\n\n    The sceptred rulers lead; the following host,\n    Pour'd forth by thousands, darkens all the coast.\n    As from some rocky cleft the shepherd sees\n    Clustering in heaps on heaps the driving bees,\n    Rolling and blackening, swarms succeeding swarms,\n    With deeper murmurs and more hoarse alarms;\n    Dusky they spread, a close embodied crowd,\n    And o'er the vale descends the living cloud.\n    So, from the tents and ships, a lengthen'd train\n    Spreads all the beach, and wide o'ershades the plain:\n    Along the region runs a deafening sound;\n    Beneath their footsteps groans the trembling ground.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe whole Greek army being thus assembled, with the exception of the\nwrathful Achilles and his Myrmidons, Agamemnon then addressed them,\nleaning on his scepter. He told them he now believed that Troy could not\nbe taken, and that Jupiter, who before promised victory to the Greeks,\nnow commanded them to return to Argos.\n\n\"Let us therefore,\" said he, \"get ready our ships and hasten to set sail\nfor our dear native land, where our wives with our beloved children sit\nwithin their dwellings expecting us.\" The proposal was received with a\nloud shout of joy, and the moment the king finished speaking, the vast\nmultitude began at once to make preparations for launching the vessels\ninto the sea.\n\n    So was the whole assembly swayed; they ran\n    With tumult to the ships; beneath their feet\n    Rose clouds of dust, and each exhorted each\n    To seize the ships and drag them to the deep.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nBut Juno, from her seat on high Olympus, was watching these movements,\nand she resolved that the war against the hated Trojans should not thus\ncome to an end. She therefore sent Minerva down with a message to\nUlysses. The azure-eyed goddess, as Minerva is often called by Homer,\nhastened to the Grecian camp, and approached the Ithacan king, who was\nstanding near his ships, much grieved at seeing his countrymen preparing\nto depart. Minerva addressed him in earnest words, begging him to use\nhis influence with the Greeks and persuade them not to go.\n\n\"It cannot be,\" said she, \"that you, brave chiefs, will leave to Priam\nthe glory of victory, and to the Trojans possession of Helen, on whose\naccount so many of your people have perished, far from their native\nland.\"\n\nUlysses knew the voice of the goddess, and promptly he complied with her\nrequest. He went among the ships and talked to the leaders, reminding\nthem that it was not Agamemnon's wish that they should give up the war,\nand entreating them to set an example of courage to their followers.\n\n      \"Warriors like you, with strength and wisdom bless'd,\n    By brave examples should confirm the rest.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nHe also spoke to the soldiers, reproving them for their hasty flight,\nand bidding them listen to the words of their leaders, who knew better\nthan they when and how to act. His efforts were successful. As speedily\nas they had fled to their ships the Greeks now rushed back, and again\nassembled to await the orders of their commander.\n\n    Back to the assembly roll the thronging train,\n    Desert the ships, and pour upon the plain.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nBut there was one evil-minded individual who tried to incite the others\nto rebellion. This was Ther-si\u02b9tes, a vulgar brawler, and the ugliest\nman in the whole Greek army.\n\n                      Of the multitude\n    Who came to Ilium, none so base as he,--\n    Squint-eyed, with one lame foot, and on his back\n    A lump, and shoulders curving towards the chest;\n    His head was sharp, and over it the hairs\n    Were thinly scattered.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThis ill-conditioned grumbler, as deformed in mind as in body, took much\npleasure in abusing the bravest warriors of the army, particularly\nAchilles and Ulysses. But on the present occasion he raised his shrill\nvoice in words of insult against Agamemnon. \"Your tents,\" cried he to\nthe king, \"are full of money and prizes bestowed upon you by us. Do you\nwant still more gold, which we by our valor must win for you from the\nenemy? If the Greeks were not women instead of men, they would return\nhome in their ships and leave you here to fight the Trojans. Little\nhonor and few prizes would you then have!\"\n\n                      \"O ye coward race!\n    Ye abject Greeklings, Greeks no longer, haste\n    Homeward with all the fleet, and let us leave\n    This man at Troy to win his trophies here.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThus did Thersites revile Agamemnon, but his insolent speech brought\nspeedy punishment upon him. Ulysses, who was close at hand, turned with\nangry looks upon the offender and rebuked him in stern language. Then\nwith his scepter he smote Thersites on the back and shoulders, until he\nwept with pain and crouched down upon his seat in fear and trembling.\n\n    Trembling he sat, and shrunk in abject fears,\n    From his vile visage wiped the scalding tears.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nAll the Greeks laughed heartily at the cowering wretch as he wiped his\nface, and they loudly applauded the act of the Ithacan chief. \"Surely,\"\nsaid they, \"Ulysses has performed many good deeds, but now he has done\nthe best thing of all in punishing this foul-mouthed reviler as he\ndeserved.\"\n\nThen Ulysses, taking in his hand the famous scepter of Agamemnon, made\nan eloquent speech to the army, Minerva, the azure-eyed, in the\nappearance of a herald, having commanded the people to be silent, that\nthey might hear the words of the wisest of their leaders. It was upon\nthis occasion that the Ithacan king told the story of the serpent\ndevouring the birds at Aulis, as already related. Many of the Greeks had\nforgotten the marvelous occurrence, and the prediction of Calchas that\nin the tenth year of the siege Troy would be taken. Being now reminded\nof it, they were filled with fresh hope and courage, for the tenth year\nhad come, and the end of the contest was not far off, which was to be\nfor them a great victory, as the soothsayer had declared. \"Therefore,\nbrave Greeks,\" said Ulysses, after telling the story, \"since the\nprophecy is so near its fulfillment, let us all remain here until we\nhave captured the city of Priam.\"\n\n        He spake, and loud applause thereon ensued\n    From all the Greeks, and fearfully the ships\n    Rang with the clamorous voices uttering\n    The praises of Ulysses, and his words.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe venerable Nestor and King Agamemnon then addressed the troops, after\nwhich they all went to their tents and ships to prepare for battle. They\nbegan by making the customary sacrifices to the gods, Agamemnon offered\nup a fat ox five years old. Homer fully describes how this was done.\nFirst the king and his chiefs stood around the ox, holding pounded\nbarley cakes in their upraised hands, and praying to Jupiter to grant\nthem victory in the approaching battle. After the prayer the ox was\nkilled, and the carcass cut into pieces. Portions of the flesh were then\nburned on leafless billets, while other portions were roasted for the\nbanquet which followed.\n\nAfter the banquet the loud-voiced heralds summoned all the warriors and\ntheir followers to assemble. Immediately they came from their ships and\ntents, and then, on the advice of Nestor, there was a review of the\nwhole army. The azure-eyed Minerva moved amongst them, bearing in her\nhand the \u00e6gis, or shield of Jupiter, from which hung a hundred golden\nfringes, each \"worth a hundred oxen in price.\" She went through the\nhosts of the Greeks encouraging them to fight bravely, and so they were\nnow more eager for battle than to return to their native land.\n\nIt is at this part of his story--the review of the forces--that Homer\ngives the remarkable account known as the \"Catalogue of the Ships.\" In\nit he tells the names of all the Greek kings and princes and chiefs, the\nGrecian states from which they came, and the number of ships which each\nbrought to the war. To do this was no easy task, and so the poet, before\nundertaking it, again seeks the aid of the Muses:\n\n          O Muses, goddesses who dwell on high,\n    Tell me,--for all things ye behold and know,\n    While we know nothing and may only hear\n    The random tales of rumor,--tell me who\n    Were chiefs and princes of the Greeks; for I\n    Should fail to number and to name them all,--\n    Had I ten tongues, ten throats, a voice unapt\n    To weary, uttered from a heart of brass,--\n    Unless the Muses aided me.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nThe allies and leaders of the Trojans are also named and described in\nthe \"Catalogue of the Ships,\" for they too were marshaling their forces\nwithin the city. From their walls they had observed the movements of the\nGreeks, and, moreover, Jupiter had sent down his swift-footed messenger,\nI\u02b9ris, to bid them get ready for battle. The goddess found Priam and\nHector and others of the chiefs of Troy sitting in council, and she told\nthem of the vast host of the Greeks that was just then marching towards\nthe city.\n\n    \"I have seen many battles, yet have ne'er\n    Beheld such armies, and so vast as these,--\n    In number like the sands and summer leaves.\n    They march across the plain, prepared to give\n    Battle beneath the city walls. To thee,\n    O Hector, it belongs to heed my voice\n    And counsel. Many are the allies within\n    The walls of this great town of Priam, men\n    Of diverse race and speech. Let every chief\n    Of these array his countrymen for war,\n    And give them orders for the coming fight.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nHector promptly obeyed the command of the goddess. Dismissing the\ncouncil, he and the other chiefs at once placed themselves at the head\nof their troops and marched forth through the gates into the plain.\n\n\n\n\nVII. THE COMBAT BETWEEN MENELAUS AND PARIS.\n\n\nThe two great armies, now in battle array on the plain before the city\nwalls, began to advance towards each other. The Trojans moved along with\ngreat clatter, which Homer compares to the noise of flocks of cranes:\n\n                    The Trojan host moved on\n    With shouts and clang of arms, as when the cry\n    Of cranes is in the air, that, flying south\n    From winter and its mighty breadth of rain,\n    Wing their way over ocean.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nThe Greeks, on the other hand, advanced in deep silence.\n\n                    But silently the Greeks\n    Went forward, breathing valor, mindful still\n    To aid each other in the coming fray.\n        As when the south wind shrouds a mountain-top\n    In vapors that awake the shepherd's fear,--\n    A surer covert for the thief than night,--\n    And round him one can only see as far\n    As one can hurl a stone,--such was the cloud\n    Of dust that from the warriors' trampling feet\n    Rose round their rapid march and filled the air.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nAs soon as the armies approached each other, almost front to front,\nParis rushed forward from the Trojan lines, and challenged the Greeks to\nsend their bravest warrior to fight him in simple combat. In appearance\nhe was beautiful as a god. Over his shoulders he wore a panther's skin.\nHis weapons were a bow, a sword, and two spears tipped with brass, which\nhe brandished in his hands. The challenge was speedily answered by\nMenelaus, who bounded from his chariot the moment he beheld Paris,\nrejoicing that at last the time had come to have revenge on the man who\nhad so greatly wronged him.\n\n        As a hungry lion who has made\n    A prey of some large beast--a horned stag\n    Or mountain goat--rejoices, and with speed\n    Devours it, though swift hounds and sturdy youths\n    Press on his flank, so Menelaus felt\n    Great joy when Paris, of the godlike form,\n    Appeared in sight, for now he thought to wreak\n    His vengence on the guilty one, and straight\n    Sprang from his car to earth with all his arms.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nBut when Paris saw who it was that had come forth to fight him, he was\nseized with a great fear, and he shrank back into the ranks of his\ncompanions.\n\n    As one who meets within a mountain glade\n    A serpent, starts aside with sudden fright,\n    And takes the backward way with trembling limbs.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nThough Paris was really a brave man, his feeling of his own guilt and\nthe sight of Menelaus, whom he had injured, made him a coward for the\nmoment, and so he fled from before the face of the enraged king of\nSparta. The noble Hector was deeply vexed at seeing his brother's\nflight, and in angry words upbraided him for his shameful conduct.\n\n\"Better would it have been,\" said he, \"if you had never been born than\nthus to bring disgrace upon us all. Well may the Greeks laugh at finding\nthat you, whom they supposed to be a hero, possess neither spirit nor\ncourage. You have brought evil on your father, your city, and your\npeople, by carrying away a beautiful woman from her husband, yet you now\nfear to meet that warrior in battle. The Trojans are but a weak-minded\nrace, else they would have long since given you the death you deserve.\"\n\nParis admitted that his brother's rebuke was just, and he now declared\nthat he was willing to meet Menelaus in single combat, Helen and her\ntreasures to be the prize of the victor.\n\n        \"Cause the Trojans and the Greeks\n    To pause from battle, while, between the hosts,\n    I and the warlike Menelaus strive\n    In single fight for Helen and her wealth.\n    Whoever shall prevail and prove himself\n    The better warrior, let him take with him\n    The treasure and the woman, and depart;\n    While all the other Trojans, having made\n    A faithful league of amity? shall dwell\n    On Ilium's fertile plain, and all the Greeks\n    Return to Argos.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nHector rejoiced at his brother's words, and, immediately going forward\ninto the center of the open space between the two armies, he spoke in a\nloud voice to the Greeks and Trojans, telling them of the proposal which\nParis had made. The brave Menelaus heard the challenge with delight, and\npromptly accepted it.\n\n        \"Now hear me also,--me whose spirit feels\n    The wrong most keenly. I propose that now\n    The Greeks and Trojans separate reconciled,\n    For greatly have ye suffered for the sake\n    Of this my quarrel, and the original fault\n    Of Paris. Whomsoever fate ordains\n    To perish, let him die; but let the rest\n    Be from this moment reconciled, and part.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nThe Greeks and Trojans were happy at the hope thus offered of a speedy\nend to the war. Hector sent for King Priam, that he and Agamemnon and\nthe other leaders on both sides might declare their approval of the\nproposed conditions, and pledge themselves in the presence of both\narmies to abide by the result of the combat between the two heroes. Just\nthen the Trojan monarch was seated on one of the watchtowers of the\nwalls, looking down on the plain where the great hosts were assembled.\nWith him were several of his venerable chiefs, now too old to take part\nin fighting.\n\nWhile they sat there the beautiful Helen came out from the palace to\nwitness the approaching conflict. She had been told of it by the\nmessenger Iris, who, descending from heaven, and taking the form of\nLa-od\u02b9i-ce, one of Priam's daughters, appeared to Helen in her chamber.\nThere she was busy at her loom, making in golden tapestry a\nrepresentation of some of the great events of the war. In those days, as\nwe read in many parts of Homer, the noblest ladies, even queens and\ntheir daughters, did not think it beneath them to work at spinning and\nweaving and other useful occupations, and so Helen was employed when\nIris came to tell her that Paris and Menelaus were about to fight for\nher and her treasure.\n\n[Illustration: HELEN OF TROY.\n\n_Painting by Lord Leighton._]\n\nFrom her spinning Helen rose up and went to the walls to view the\ncombat. As she came near the place where Priam sat, even the venerable\nchiefs were compelled to admire her wondrous beauty. \"Fair as the\nimmortal goddesses she is,\" said they; \"yet much better would it be if\nshe would return to her own country, and not remain here to bring ruin\nupon us and our children.\" But Priam called to her to sit by his side,\nand said to her:\n\n    \"No crime of thine our present sufferings draws,\n    Not thou, but Heaven's disposing will, the cause\n    The gods these armies and this force employ,\n    The hostile gods conspire the fate of Troy.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nThen King Priam asked Helen to name for him some of the Greek leaders\nwhom he saw before him, not far from the city walls.\n\n\"Who is that tall and gallant hero,\" he asked, \"who seems like unto a\nking? Never have I beheld a man so graceful, nor so venerable.\" \"Revered\nand honored father,\" answered Helen, \"would that death had taken me\nbefore I left my husband and home to come with your son hither, but the\nFates did not will it so, therefore am I here. That hero whom you see is\nthe wide-ruling Agamemnon, the son of Atreus, both a good king and a\nbrave warrior, and once my brother-in-law.\"\n\n    \"My brother once, before my days of shame,\n    And oh! that still he bore a brother's name!\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\n\"O happy Agamemnon,\" exclaimed Priam, \"fortunate in ruling over so\nmighty a host! But who is this other chief, less in height than\nAgamemnon, though broader in the shoulders? His arms lie on the ground,\nwhile he himself moves from rank to rank like a thick-fleeced ram which\nwanders through a great flock of sheep.\"\n\n    \"The stately ram thus measures o'er the ground,\n    And, master of the flock, surveys them round.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\n\"That,\" said Helen, \"is the wise Ulysses, man of many arts. Though\nnursed in a rugged island, yet is he skilled in all kinds of stratagem\nand prudent counsel.\" Ajax and Idomeneus were next noticed by King\nPriam,--Ajax the mighty, who overtopped the Argives by his head and\nshoulders, and Idomeneus the valiant king of Crete. Helen knew them\nwell, for she had seen them at her Spartan home.\n\n    \"Ajax the great,\" the beauteous queen replied,\n    \"Himself a host; the Grecian strength and pride.\n    See! bold Idomeneus superior towers\n    Amid yon circle of his Cretan powers,\n    Great as a god! I saw him once before,\n    With Menelaus on the Spartan shore.\n    The rest I know, and could in order name;\n    All valiant chiefs, and men of mighty fame.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nBut at this point the heralds sent by Hector came to tell Priam that he\nwas wanted on the plain below to approve the terms of the challenge.\nImmediately the king, descending from the ramparts, mounted his chariot,\naccompanied by his wise counselor, Antenor. They drove through the Sc\u00e6an\nGate into the space between both armies, and there, with the ceremonies\nusual on such occasions, a solemn league was formed between the two\nmonarchs. First, they mixed in a bowl wine brought by both parties. This\nwas an emblem of reconciliation. Next, water was poured on the hands of\nthe kings, after which Agamemnon cut with his dagger hairs from the\nheads of three lambs. These were divided among the chiefs on both sides,\nso that all might be bound by the pledge about to be made. Then\nAgamemnon, stretching forth his hands, prayed thus aloud:\n\n\"O father Jupiter, most glorious, most mighty, and thou, O Sun, who\nbeholdest all things, and ye rivers, and thou earth, and ye in the\nregions of the dead that punish those who swear false oaths, be ye\nwitnesses of this league. If, on the one hand, Paris slay Menelaus, let\nhim keep Helen and all her possessions, and let us return home in our\nships. But if, on the contrary, Menelaus slay Paris, let the Trojans\nrestore Helen and all her treasures, and pay a fine to the Argives such\nas may be just.\"\n\nThen the lambs were sacrificed, and the kings drank of the mixed wine.\nSome of it was also poured on the earth, while the Greeks and Trojans\njoined in praying that terrible punishment might be sent upon any person\nwho should violate the league:\n\n    \"Hear, mighty Jove! and hear, ye gods on high!\n    And may their blood, who first the league confound,\n    Shed like this wine, disdain the thirsty ground.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nSuch was the league formed between the kings and chiefs of the two great\narmies. Priam then went back to the city, for he could not bear to\nwitness a conflict in which his son might be slain. Lots were now drawn\nto decide which of the warriors should cast his spear first. Paris won,\nand immediately the champions, putting on their armor and taking up\ntheir weapons, advanced into the middle of the ground that Hector and\nUlysses had measured out for the combat.\n\nThen the fight began. Paris hurled his javelin, but Menelaus warded off\nthe blow with his strong brazen shield. In his turn the Spartan king\npoised his long spear for a throw at his enemy. At the same time he\nprayed to Jupiter to give him strength and victory:\n\n        \"O Sovereign Jove! vouchsafe that I avenge\n    On guilty Paris wrongs which he was first\n    To offer; let him fall beneath my hand,\n    That men may dread hereafter to requite\n    The friendship of a host with injury.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nThen Menelaus cast his spear. It pierced the shield and corselet of\nParis, and might have made a fatal wound had he not bent himself\nsideways, and so escaped the full force of the weapon. Instantly\nMenelaus rushed forward, sword in hand, and dealt a powerful blow at his\nenemy's head. This time Paris was saved by the brazen helmet he wore,\nfor when Menelaus struck it, the blade of his sword broke in pieces.\n\nAngry at his ill luck, the Spartan warrior seized his foe by the\nhorsehair crest of his helmet, and began to drag him towards the Grecian\nlines; but at this point Venus came to the aid of her favorite. Standing\nunseen beside him, she broke the helmet strap under his chin, and thus\nreleased him from the grasp of the wrathful Menelaus. Then she cast a\nthick mist around the Trojan prince, and, carrying him off to the city,\nset him down in his chamber, within his own palace. The goddess also\nconducted Helen to the palace, from the watchtower in which, after her\nconversation with Priam, she had remained to witness the combat on the\nplain. As soon as Helen beheld Paris she spoke to him in harsh words:\n\n        \"Com'st thou from battle? Rather would that thou\n    Hadst perished by the mighty hand of him\n    Who was my husband. It was once, I know,\n    Thy boast that thou wert more than peer in strength\n    And power of hand, and practice with the spear,\n    To warlike Menelaus. Go then now,\n    Defy him to the combat once again.\n    And yet I counsel thee to stand aloof,\n    Nor rashly seek a combat, hand to hand,\n    With fair-haired Menelaus, lest perchance\n    He smite thee with his spear and thou be slain.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nMeanwhile the Spartan king, furious as a lion, paced up and down the\nfield searching for Paris, but not even the Trojans could tell where he\nwas. If he were amongst them they would not have concealed him, for they\nloved him not, knowing that he was the cause of all the sufferings which\nthe long war had brought upon them.\n\n                              None of all\n    The Trojans, or of their renowned allies,\n    Could point him out to Menelaus, loved\n    Of Mars; and had they known his lurking-place\n    They would not for his sake have kept him hid,\n    For like black death they hated him.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book III.\n\nParis having disappeared from the field, the Greeks claimed the victory\nfor their champion, and Agamemnon called upon the Trojans to give up\nHelen and her treasures, in accordance with the conditions of the\nleague. But the gods did not thus will it. The Fates had decreed the\ndestruction of Troy, and so the war could not have a peaceful ending.\nBesides, the Greeks were doomed to suffer as Jupiter had promised\nThetis, because of the wrong that had been done to Achilles. Therefore,\nafter the matter had been discussed in a council of the gods in their\ngolden palace on Olympus, Minerva was sent down to urge the Trojans to\nattack the Greeks, so that the league might be broken, and the war\nrenewed. According to the custom of heavenly messengers in such cases,\nthe goddess took the form of La-od\u02b9o-cus, son of Antenor. Then,\napproaching Pan\u02b9da-rus, a famous archer of the Trojan allies, she\npersuaded him to aim an arrow at Menelaus.\n\n\"Great honor,\" she said, \"you will have from all the Trojans, if you\nslay the son of Atreus, and from Paris you may expect splendid gifts.\"\n\nBut Minerva, being friendly to the Greeks, did not really wish that\nMenelaus should be killed; therefore, when Pandarus bent his bow and\nwith true aim let fly his arrow, she took care to turn the deadly weapon\naside.\n\n    Pallas assists, and (weakened in its force)\n    Diverts the weapon from its destined course:\n    So from her babe, when slumber seals his eye,\n    The watchful mother wafts the envenom'd fly.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book IV.\n\nNevertheless the arrow pierced the Spartan king's belt and made a slight\nwound, but the skillful surgeon, Ma-cha\u02b9on, son of the famous physician,\n\u00c6sculapius, stanched the blood and applied soothing balsams which his\nfather had taught him to use.\n\nThe league being thus broken by the treacherous act of Pandarus, both\nsides at once prepared for battle. Agamemnon went on foot through his\narmy, speaking words of praise to the chiefs, whom he found active in\nmarshaling and encouraging their men. \"Father Jupiter,\" he said, \"will\nnot help those Trojans who have so basely broken their solemn pledges.\nWhen we have taken their city we shall carry away rich spoils in our\nships.\" Of all the leaders none arranged and directed his troops more\nwisely than the venerable Nestor.\n\n    The cavalry with steeds and cars he placed\n    In front. A vast and valiant multitude\n    Of infantry he stationed in the rear,\n    To be the bulwark of the war. Between\n    He made the faint of spirit take their place,\n    That, though unwillingly, they might be forced\n    To combat with the rest.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IV.\n\nThen he gave strict orders to the charioteers, warning them not to trust\ntoo much to their valor, or rashly advance in front of their comrades.\n\n        \"Let no man, too vain of horsemanship,\n    And trusting in his valor, dare advance\n    Beyond the rest to attack the men of Troy,\n    Nor let him fall behind the rest, to make\n    Our ranks the weaker. Whoso from his car\n    Can reach an enemy's, let him stand and strike\n    With his long spear, for 'tis the shrewder way.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IV.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nVIII. THE FIRST GREAT BATTLE.\n\n\n[Illustration: _Design by Burne-Jones._]\n\nNearly three books of the Iliad are occupied in telling about the battle\nthat now followed, though it lasted only one day. But it was a fierce\nand mighty conflict in which many brave warriors fought and fell.\n\n              For that day\n    Saw many a Trojan slain, and many a Greek,\n    Stretched side by side upon the bloody field.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IV.\n\nAll the chiefs of both armies took part in this battle, except Achilles,\nwho still remained inactive at his ships, \"indignant for the sake of the\nfair-haired Briseis.\" The heroes of the day on the Trojan side were\nHector and \u00c6neas. Of the Greeks (also sometimes called A-cha\u02b9ians) none\nperformed so many feats of valor as Diomede (or Diomed), also called\nTy-di\u02b9des, from the name of his father, Ty\u02b9deus. He was the particular\nfavorite of Minerva, who caused a bright light to shine from his shield\nand helmet, which made him a striking figure in the field, and very\nterrible to the enemy.\n\n              Pallas to Tydides Diomed\n    Gave strength and courage, that he might appear\n    Among the Achaians greatly eminent,\n    And win a glorious name. Upon his head\n    And shield she caused a constant flame to play,\n    Like to the autumnal star that shines in heaven\n    Most brightly when new-bathed in ocean tides.\n    Such light she caused to beam upon his crest\n    And shoulders, as she sent the warrior forth\n    Into the thick and tumult of the fight.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nDiomede slew many brave warriors, and often, breaking through the close\nranks of the Trojans, drove them back towards their walls, before he\nhimself was smitten with an arrow sent flying at him by the archer\nPandarus. The weapon pierced his shoulder right through, and the blood\ncame streaming down his armor. Then Pandarus shouted to his comrades to\nadvance, boasting that now the bravest of the Greeks was fatally\nwounded. But Diomede prayed to Minerva for aid, and his prayer was\nheard. Immediately the goddess appeared and stood beside him, and in an\ninstant healed his wound. Then she encouraged him, saying: \"Henceforth\nfight with confidence, O Diomede. I have given you great strength. I\nhave also removed from your eyes the mortal mists which heretofore were\nupon them, so that now you may know gods from men. Beware, however, of\nusing your weapons against any god, unless Venus should come into the\nbattle. Her I desire and command you to wound.\"\n\n[Illustration: MINERVA.\n\n_Vatican, Rome._]\n\nWith fresh courage and increased fury Diomede again rushed into the\nconflict, striking down a Trojan with every blow of his huge sword.\n\u00c6neas, noticing his exploits, hastily sought out Pandarus and begged him\nto aim an arrow at the man who was thus destroying their ranks.\n\n\"That man,\" said Pandarus, \"very much resembles the warlike son of\nTydeus, and if it be he, some god is surely at his side to protect him,\nfor only a little ago I smote him in the shoulder, and I thought I had\nsent him to Pluto's kingdom. Of small use it seems is this bow of mine.\nAlready I have aimed at two chiefs, Menelaus and Diomede, and wounded\nboth, but I have only roused them the more to heroic deeds.\"\n\n                        \"In an evil hour\n    I took my bow and quiver from the wall\n    And came to lead the Trojans for the sake\n    Of Hector. But if ever I return\n    To see my native country and my wife\n    And my tall spacious mansion, may some foe\n    Strike off my head if with these hands I fail\n    To break my bow in pieces, casting it\n    Into the flames, a useless weapon now.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nBut \u00c6neas made the great archer try his skill once more. Taking Pandarus\nwith him in his own chariot, he drove rapidly to where Diomede was\ndealing death amongst the Trojans with his terrible sword. Sthen\u02b9e-lus,\nthe companion and charioteer of Diomede, saw them coming, and he advised\nhis friend to retreat, and not risk his life in a contest with two such\nheroes as \u00c6neas and Pandarus, one the son of a goddess, and the other\nexcelling all men in the use of the bow. But Diomede sternly refused to\nretire from the conflict. Nor would he even consent to mount his chariot\nas Sthenelus urged him to do.\n\n\"As I am,\" said he, \"I shall advance against them, for Minerva has made\nme fearless. And if it be my fortune to slay both, do you, Sthenelus,\nseize the horses of \u00c6neas and drive them into the ranks of the Greeks.\nValuable prizes they will be, for they are of that heavenly breed which\nJupiter gave to King Tros as the price of his son Ganymede.\"\n\nBut now the chariot of \u00c6neas was close at hand. This time Pandarus used\nhis spear, which he launched with great force. It struck the shield of\nDiomede and, piercing it through, fixed itself in his breastplate. With\na shout of joy Pandarus exclaimed, \"Now, I think, I have given you your\ndeath wound.\"\n\n\"Not so,\" replied the son of Tydeus, \"thou hast missed thy aim, but one\nof you, at least, shall die.\" As he spoke he hurled his lance. Directed\nby Minerva, the weapon flew right into the face of the unfortunate\nPandarus, striking him lifeless to the earth.\n\n    Headlong he falls, his helmet knocks the ground;\n    Earth groans beneath him, and his arms resound.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nInstantly \u00c6neas leaped down from his chariot, with his shield and spear,\nto defend the body of his heroic comrade against being despoiled by the\nGreeks. This was one of the customs of war in those times. When a hero\nwas slain in battle the enemy carried off his arms and armor as trophies\nof victory. But \u00c6neas did his best to protect the corpse of his fallen\nfriend from being thus dishonored.\n\n    Watchful he wheels, protects it every way,\n    As the grim lion stalks around his prey.\n    O'er the fall'n trunk his ample shield displayed,\n    He hides the hero with his mighty shade,\n    And threats aloud! the Greeks with longing eyes\n    Behold at distance, but forbear the prize.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nBut Diomede, braver than the rest, took up a great stone and hurled it\nat \u00c6neas.\n\n    Not two strong men the enormous weight could raise,\n    Such men as live in these degenerate days.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book. V.\n\nIt struck the Trojan hero on the hip, tearing the flesh and crushing the\njoint. He sank upon his knees, a dark mist covering his eyes. And now\n\u00c6neas would have perished by the sword of the furious Diomede had not\nhis mother, Venus, come quickly to his aid. With her shining robe the\ngoddess shielded his body, and spreading her arms about him she bore him\naway from the battle. Then Sthenelus, not forgetting the bidding of his\nfriend, rushed forward, and, seizing the fleet steeds of the Dardan\nprince, drove them off to the Grecian camp.\n\nBut Diomede went in pursuit of Venus. He had seen and recognized her as\nshe descended on the field, Minerva having given him power of sight to\nknow gods from men. The goddess also, as we have seen, commanded him to\nwound Venus should she come into the field. Diomede, therefore, when he\nhad overtaken Venus, as she was bearing away the Trojan hero, thrust at\nher with his lance, and pierced the skin of her tender hand. From the\nwound out gushed the I\u02b9chor, as the blood of the gods was called.\n\n                            The ichor,--such\n    As from the blessed gods may flow; for they\n    Eat not the wheaten loaf, nor drink dark wine;\n    And therefore they are bloodless, and are called\n    Immortal.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nCrying aloud with pain, the goddess dropped her son from her arms, but\nApollo enveloped him in a thick cloud, thus saving him from the wrath of\nthe furious Greeks. Meanwhile the swift-footed Iris hastened down from\nheaven to the aid of Venus, whom she conducted to where Mars sat on the\nleft of the battlefield, watching the conflict. At the entreaty of his\nwounded sister.\n\n                      Mars resigned to her his steeds\n    With trappings of bright gold. She climbed the car,\n    Still grieving, and, beside her, Iris took\n    Her seat, and caught the reins and plied the lash.\n    On flew the coursers, on, with willing speed,\n    And soon were at the mansion of the gods\n    On high Olympus.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nThere the goddess was affectionately received by her mother, Di-o\u02b9ne,\nwho begged her to be patient, reminding her that in times past others of\nthe gods had suffered by the hands of men. Mars, she said, was chained\nin a brazen cell for fifteen months by the giants O\u02b9tus and\nEph-i-al\u02b9tes, and he would perhaps have perished there but that Mercury\nset him free by stealing into the cell, and slipping the chains out of\nthe rings to which they were fastened. Juno herself, and Pluto, the god\nof Hades, were wounded by Hercules. \"As for this son of Tydeus,\" said\nDione, \"who has dared to war upon an immortal, he shall be punished for\nhis crime.\"\n\n                                  \"The fool!\n    He knew not that, the man who dares to meet\n    The gods in combat lives not long. No child\n    Shall prattling call him father when he comes\n    Returning from the dreadful tasks of war.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nDione then wiped the ichor from the hand of Venus, and at her touch the\nwound healed and the pain ceased.\n\nMeanwhile, on the plain before Troy Diomede still eagerly pursued \u00c6neas,\nthough knowing that the hero was under divine protection. Thrice did he\nrush on, and thrice did Apollo drive him back, but when he made the\nfourth attempt,\n\n    The archer of the skies, Apollo, thus\n    With menacing words rebuked him: \"Diomed,\n    Beware; desist, nor think to make thyself\n    The equal of a god. The deathless race\n    Of gods is not as those who walk the earth.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nDiomede shrank back, fearing the wrath of the Far-darter, and Apollo\nbore \u00c6neas away, and set him down in his own temple in sacred\nPer\u02b9ga-mus, the citadel of Troy. There Diana and La-to\u02b9na, the mother of\nApollo, healed his wound and restored his health and strength. Then\nApollo begged Mars to assist the Trojans in the battle, and particularly\nto drive from the field the impious son of Tydeus, who had dared to\nattack the immortals with his spear, and would now fight even with\nJupiter himself. The god of war consented, and assuming the form of\nAc\u02b9a-mas, a Thracian leader, he went through the Trojan ranks\nencouraging the chiefs to fight bravely.\n\n        \"O sons of Priam, him who claims descent\n    From Jupiter! how long will ye submit\n    To see your people slaughtered by the Greeks?\n    Is it until the battle-storm shall reach\n    Your city's stately portals?\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nThe hero Sarpedon also appealed to Hector, and then the Trojan commander\nin chief, leaping from his chariot, and brandishing his javelins,\nrushed among his troops exhorting them to battle.\n\n                                  Terrible\n    The conflict that ensued. The men of Troy\n    Made head against the Greeks: the Greeks stood firm,\n    Nor ever thought of flight.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nSoon, however, the Greeks were forced to fall back. Their great chiefs,\nAgamemnon and Menelaus, and the two Ajaxes and Ulysses, performed\nwondrous deeds of courage, slaying many Trojan warriors. But Minerva had\nleft the field, and Mars was fighting on the Trojan side. \u00c6neas, too,\nhad returned to the battle with renewed strength and courage, and Hector\nand Sarpedon were in the front, dealing death among the enemy. The\nfierce god of war and mighty Hector fought side by side, and they slew\nnumbers of Argive warriors.\n\nSuch destruction of her beloved Greeks was not pleasing to Juno, who was\nwatching the conflict from her place on high Olympus, and she begged of\nJupiter to permit her to drive Mars from the battle. Jupiter consented,\nbut he advised her to intrust that work to Minerva, who had often before\n\"brought grievous troubles on the god of war.\" Juno obeyed. Then the two\ngoddesses, who had already mounted the queen of heaven's own grand\nchariot, glittering with gold and silver and brass, set out for the\nGrecian camp.\n\n    Eight brazen spokes in radiant order flame;\n    The circles gold, of uncorrupted frame,\n    Such as the heavens produce: and round the gold\n    Two brazen rings of work divine were roll'd.\n    The bossy naves of solid silver shone;\n    Braces of gold suspend the moving throne;\n    The car, behind, an arching figure bore;\n    The bending concave form'd an arch before.\n    Silver the beam, the extended yoke was gold,\n    And golden reins the immortal coursers hold.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nRiding in this magnificent chariot, driven by Juno herself, \"midway\nbetween the earth and the starry heaven,\" the goddesses descended upon\nthe plain of Troy, near where the Simois and the Scamander united their\nstreams. There they alighted, and cast a dense mist around the chariot\nand the steeds to hide them from mortal view. Then they hastened to\nwhere the bravest of the Greek chiefs were standing around the warrior\nDiomede, Juno likening herself to the herald Sten\u02b9tor, who had a voice\nlouder than the shout of fifty men.\n\n    Stentor the strong, endued with brazen lungs,\n    Whose throat surpass'd the force of fifty tongues.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nAppearing before the Greek chiefs in the form of the loud-voiced\nherald, the queen of heaven cried out in words of reproof:\n\n\"Shame upon you, Argives! You are heroes only in name. While the divine\nAchilles was with you, fighting at the front, the Trojans dared not\nadvance beyond their gates, for they dreaded his mighty spear; but now\nthey are almost at your ships.\"\n\nMinerva, too, severely censured Diomede for holding back from the\nbattle, but the warrior answered that it was by her command that he had\nrefrained from attacking Mars. \"You did not permit me,\" said he, \"to\nfight with any of the gods except Venus.\"\n\n\"Fear not this Mars at all,\" answered Minerva, \"nor any of the\nimmortals. Come now and direct your steeds against the war god, and I\nwill be with you.\" So saying, and putting on her head the helmet of\nPluto, which made any person who wore it invisible, she mounted the\nchariot beside the brave Diomede, and, seizing the reins, drove rapidly\nto where the fierce Mars was slaying Greek warriors.\n\nAs soon as Mars beheld Diomede approaching, he rushed against him, and\nhurled his brazen spear; but Minerva grasped the weapon and turned it\naside from the chariot. Diomede now thrust forward his lance, Minerva\ndirecting it, and adding her strength to give force to the blow. It\npierced the loin of the war god, making a deep wound.\n\n                        Mars bellows with the pain:\n    Loud as the roar encountering armies yield,\n    When shouting millions shake the thundering field.\n    Both armies start, and trembling gaze around;\n    And earth and heaven rebellow to the sound.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.\n\nThe wounded god disappeared in a dark cloud, and, quickly ascending to\nOlympus, made bitter complaint to Jupiter against Minerva. But the king\nof heaven sternly reproved him, saying that he had brought his\nsufferings upon himself, for discord and wars were always his delight.\nNevertheless he ordered P\u00e6\u02b9on, the physician of the gods, to heal the\nwound, which was immediately done.\n\nMeanwhile Juno and Minerva returned to Olympus, Mars being removed from\nthe battlefield. And now the fortune of war began to favor the Greeks.\nThe Trojans, no longer aided by a god fighting on their side, were\ndriven back to their walls, and it seemed as if they were about to be\ntotally defeated. In this perilous situation Helenus, the prophet and\nsoothsayer, advised his brother Hector to go quickly into the city, and\nrequest their mother, the queen, to call together the matrons of Troy,\nand with them to offer up sacrifices and prayers in the temple of\nMinerva, begging the help and protection of that goddess. The advice\nseemed good to Hector. Leaping from his chariot, he went through the\narmy bidding the warriors to fight bravely during his absence. Then he\nhastened to the city. At the Sc\u00e6an Gate he was met by crowds of anxious\nwives and mothers and daughters, who eagerly inquired for their\nhusbands, sons, and brothers.\n\n                          He admonished all\n    Duly to importune the gods in prayer,\n    For woe, he said, was near to many a one.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nArriving at the royal palace Hector was met by his mother, who offered\nhim wine to refresh himself with. But the hero would not taste the\nliquor. \"Do not ask me to drink wine, dear mother,\" he said, \"for it\nwould enfeeble me, and deprive me of my strength and valor.\"\n\n    \"Inflaming wine, pernicious to mankind,\n    Unnerves the limbs, and dulls the noble mind.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nThen Hector told his mother why he had come from the field of battle.\nShe gladly consented to do as her son requested, and so Queen Hecuba and\nthe matrons of Troy went to the temple of Minerva, and prayed and\noffered sacrifices. But the goddess refused to hear their prayers, for\nshe still hated the Trojans because of the never-forgotten judgment on\nMount Ida.\n\nMeantime the hero went to the palace of Paris, whom he found in his\nchamber, handling and preparing his armor, while Helen sat near him with\nher maids, directing their various tasks. Angry at seeing his brother\nthus engaged, instead of being in the front of the fight, Hector\nreproached him in sharp and bitter words.\n\n\"The people,\" said he, \"are perishing, the conflict rages round the\nwalls, and all on your account. Arise, then, and act, lest our city soon\nbe in flames.\" Paris answered mildly, saying that he deserved his\nbrother's censure, and promising that he would immediately repair to the\nfield of battle.\n\nHector next proceeded to his own home to visit his dear wife,\nAn-drom\u02b9a-che, and his infant son; \"for I know not,\" said he, \"whether I\nshall ever return to them again.\" Arriving at the palace, he learned\nfrom Andromache's maids that their mistress had just gone towards the\ncity walls.\n\n        \"To the lofty tower of Troy she went\n    When it was told her that the Trojan troops\n    Lost heart, and that the valor of the Greeks\n    Prevailed. She now is hurrying toward the walls.\n    Like one distracted, with her son and nurse.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nLeaving the palace, Hector hastened through the city, and, arriving at\nthe Sc\u00e6an Gate, he there met Andromache and her nurse, the latter\nbearing in her arms the infant Sca-man'dri-us. His father had given the\nchild this name, from the name of the river, but the people called him\nAs-ty\u02b9a-nax, meaning \"city-king.\" The lines in which Homer describes the\ninterview which here took place between the noble Hector and his loving\nwife, are among the most beautiful of the whole Iliad. Andromache was a\ndaughter of E-\u00eb\u02b9ti-on, king of Thebe, the town from which the maiden\nChryseis was carried away. E\u00ebtion and all his family had been slain,\nwith the exception of Andromache, who therefore had now neither parents\nnor brothers nor sisters. Of this she spoke in touching words, while\nentreating Hector to remain within the city and not again risk his life\nin battle.\n\n      \"Too brave! thy valor yet will cause thy death:\n    Thou hast no pity on thy tender child,\n    Nor me, unhappy one, who soon must be\n    Thy widow. All the Greeks will rush on thee\n    To take thy life. A happier lot were mine,\n    If I must lose thee, to go down to earth,\n    For I shall have no hope when thou art gone,--\n    Nothing but sorrow. Father I have none,\n    And no dear mother. Great Achilles slew\n    My father when he sacked the populous town\n    Of the Cilicians,--Thebe with high gates.\n                                  Hector, thou\n    Art father and dear mother now to me,\n    And brother and my youthful spouse besides.\n    In pity keep within the fortress here,\n    Nor make thy child an orphan nor thy wife\n    A widow.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nHector was deeply moved by these words, but he could not think of\ndeserting his brave companions.\n\n                                  \"All this\n    I bear in mind, dear wife; but I should stand\n    Ashamed before the men and long-robed dames\n    Of Troy, were I to keep aloof and shun\n    The conflict, cowardlike. Not thus my heart\n    Prompts me, for greatly have I learned to dare\n    And strike among the foremost sons of Troy,\n    Upholding my great father's fame and mine;\n    Yet well in my undoubting mind I know\n    The day shall come in which our sacred Troy,\n    And Priam, and the people over whom\n    Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nBut it was not the dark prospect of his country's ruin that grieved the\nloving husband so much as the thought that his wife might some day be\ncarried off as a slave by the conquering Greeks.\n\n    \"But not the sorrows of the Trojan race,\n    Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those\n    Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait\n    My brothers many and brave,--who all at last,\n    Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,--\n    Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek\n    Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee\n    Thy day of freedom.    .    .    .    .\n                              O let the earth\n    Be heaped above my head in death before\n    I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\n[Illustration: HECTOR PARTING FROM ANDROMACHE.\n\n_Painting by Maignan._]\n\nThen Hector stretched out his hands to embrace his son, but the little\nfellow shrank back and screamed in fright at the nodding crest on his\nfather's helmet. Both parents gently smiled, and Hector, taking off his\nhelmet, and placing it on the ground, kissed his boy, and fondled him in\nhis arms, praying to the gods that he might become a brave warrior, and\nthe defender of his country.\n\n        \"O Jupiter and all ye deities,\n    Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become\n    Among the Trojans eminent like me,\n    And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say,\n    'This man is greater than his father was.'\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nThe parting between the hero and his sorrowing wife was very affecting.\nAndromache received the infant from his father's arms, mingling tears\nwith her smiles as she looked into the face of her child.\n\n                                  The chief\n    Beheld, and, moved with tender pity, smoothed\n    Her forehead gently with his hand and said:--\n    \"Sorrow not thus, beloved one, for me.\n    No living man can send me to the shades\n    Before my time; no man of woman born,\n    Coward or brave, can shun his destiny.\n    But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,--\n    The web, the distaff,--and command thy maids\n    To speed the work. The cares of war pertain\n    To all men born in Troy, and most to me.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.\n\nThen Hector took his helmet from the ground, and Andromache departed for\nher home, \"oft looking back, and shedding many tears.\"\n\nAs the hero went out at the Sc\u00e6an Gate, after taking leave of his wife,\nhe met Paris, arrayed in his shining armor, and eager to join the\nbattle. Together they rushed into the plain, and slew many of the enemy.\nThe goddess Minerva, observing that the battle was going against the\nGreeks, quickly descended from the top of Olympus. Apollo, seeing her\nfrom the Trojan citadel, hastened to meet her, and he proposed that they\nshould now bring the conflict to an end for the day. With this object,\nMinerva having consented, they both agreed to cause Hector to challenge\none of the Greek warriors to engage with him in single combat. Helenus,\nbeing a soothsayer, knew the purpose of the gods, and he told his\nbrother. \"But,\" said he, \"you shall not fall in the fight, for it is not\nthy fate yet to perish. Thus have the immortal gods spoken, and I have\nheard their voice.\"\n\nHector rejoiced at his brother's words, and immediately advancing to the\nfront of the army he commanded the Trojans to cease fighting.\n\n                        He bore his spear,\n    Holding it in the middle, and pressed back\n    The ranks of Trojans, and they all sat down.\n    And Agamemnon caused the well-armed Greeks\n    To sit down also.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nThen the Trojan chief, standing between the two hosts, spoke in a loud\nvoice, and challenged the bravest of the Greeks to engage with him in\nmortal combat. For a few moments there was silence in the ranks of the\nArgives. Even the boldest of them hesitated at the thought of fighting\nsuch a warrior as Hector. At length Menelaus, rising from his seat,\ndeclared that he was ready to accept the challenge, and so he put on his\narmor. But Agamemnon held him back, warning him against rashly venturing\ninto a conflict with a man who was much stronger and braver than he, and\nwhom every other chief, even Achilles himself, regarded with fear.\n\nNestor then arose, and in severe words upbraided his countrymen for\ntheir want of courage. \"Would that my frame were unworn with years,\" he\nexclaimed, \"then Hector should soon find a foe to meet him; but now\namong the bravest of the Achaians there is no one to meet the Trojan\nleader in arms.\"\n\nThe venerable Nestor had no sooner ceased speaking than nine warriors\nstarted to their feet, every one eager for the honor of being permitted\nto accept the challenge of Hector. Among them were Agamemnon, the two\nAjaxes, Diomede, and Ulysses. Nestor then proposed that one should be\nchosen by lot. This was agreed to, and lots being cast, the honor fell\nto Ajax Telamon, the mightiest and most valiant of the Greeks except\nAchilles. The hero greatly rejoiced, believing that he would conquer\nHector, and so he quickly put on his armor, and went forward to the\nground marked out for the combat.\n\n    His massy javelin quivering in his hand,\n    He stood, the bulwark of the Grecian band.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nHector having also taken his place on the ground, the combat began.\nFirst the Trojan chief, brandishing his long spear, hurled it at his\nfoe. Ajax received it on his shield, which was made of seven folds of\noxhides and an eighth fold of solid brass. Through six of the hides the\nweapon of Hector pierced, but it stuck fast in the seventh.\n\nThen the Grecian champion sent forth his javelin. It passed right\nthrough Hector's shield and corselet, and might have proved fatal, had\nthe hero not quickly bent aside his body. Again both champions launched\nspears, one after the other. This time Hector was slightly wounded in\nthe neck. Nothing daunted, however, he seized a huge stone which lay at\nhis feet, and hurled it at Ajax. It struck the hero's shield and the\nbrass resounded with the blow. Quickly the Argive warrior took up a much\nlarger stone, and flung it at his antagonist with tremendous force. The\nstone crashed through Hector's shield, and, striking him on the knee,\nstretched him flat on the ground. But Apollo instantly raised him up,\nrenewing his strength, and then with their swords the two heroes fell\nupon each other, fighting hand to hand. At this point, night having come\non, two heralds, one from the Trojan army, the other from the Greek,\napproached the champions, and ordered them to cease fighting, I-dae\u02b9us,\nthe Trojan herald, giving the command in a loud voice:\n\n        \"Cease to contend, dear sons, in deadly fray;\n    Ye both are loved by cloud-compelling Jove,\n    And both are great in war, as all men know.\n    The night is come; be then the night obeyed.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nAjax answered that as it was Hector who gave the challenge, it was for\nhim first to speak of truce. Hector replied, speaking words of praise\nand admiration for his antagonist, and saying that they should now cease\nfrom battle for the day.\n\n    \"Since, then, the night extends her gloomy shade,\n    And heaven enjoins it, be the night obey'd.\n    Return, brave Ajax, to thy Grecian friends,\n    And joy the nations whom thy arm defends;\n    But let us, on this memorable day,\n    Exchange some gift: that Greece and Troy may say\n    'Not hate, but glory, made these chiefs contend;\n    And each brave foe was in his soul a friend.'\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nThen Hector gave Ajax a silver-studded sword with scabbard, and Ajax\npresented to Hector a belt of rich purple. Thus ended the terrible\nconflict which had raged throughout the day, and the two heroes retired,\neach joyfully welcomed by his comrades and friends.\n\n            Then they both departed,--one\n    To join the Grecian host, and one to meet\n    The Trojan people, who rejoiced to see\n    Hector alive, unwounded, and now safe\n    From the great might and irresistible arm\n    Of Ajax. Straightway to the town they led\n    Him for whose life they scarce had dared to hope.\n    And Ajax also by the well-armed Greeks,\n    Exulting in his feats of arms, was brought\n    To noble Agamemnon.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\n\n\n\nIX. THE SECOND BATTLE--EXPLOIT OF DIOMEDE AND ULYSSES.\n\n\nBefore the Greek leaders retired to rest for the night, they held a\ncouncil in the tent of Agamemnon, at which they resolved to perform\nfuneral rites, early in the morning, in honor of their comrades who had\nbeen slain in the battle. They also resolved, on the advice of Nestor,\nto build a strong wall and dig a deep trench in front of their camp,\nthat their ships might be secure against the attacks of the enemy.\n\nThe Trojan chiefs, too, held a council. They were discouraged by their\nlosses in the battle, and many of them thought that they could not now\nsucceed in the war, because of the treacherous act of Pandarus in\nbreaking the league. The wise Antenor was of this opinion, and in his\nspeech at the council he advised that Helen and her treasures should be\ngiven up to the Greeks.\n\n    \"Send we the Argive Helen back with all\n    Her treasures; let the sons of Atreus lead\n    The dame away; for now we wage the war\n    After our faith is broken, and I deem\n    We cannot prosper till we make amends.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nBut Paris would not agree to this. He was willing to give up Helen's\ntreasures, and to give treasure of his own as compensation to the\nGreeks, but he would not consent to restore Helen herself. King Priam\nweakly gave way to his son, and ordered that a herald should be sent to\nthe Greek leaders to tell them of the offer of Paris, and to request\nthat fighting should not be resumed until the dead should be taken from\nthe battlefield, and funeral services performed.\n\nAccordingly the Trojan herald Id\u00e6us went next morning to the tent of\nAgamemnon. There he found the Argive chiefs assembled. Upon hearing his\nmessage, they scornfully rejected the terms proposed by Paris, but they\nagreed to a truce for the funeral ceremonies. Id\u00e6us returned to the\ncity, and told the Trojan leaders of the answer he had received. Both\nGreeks and Trojans then began collecting their dead from the field and\nbuilding great piles of wood, or pyres, to burn the bodies upon.\n\n    All wailing, silently they bore away\n    Their slaughtered friends, and heaped them on the pyre\n    With aching hearts, and, when they had consumed\n    The dead with fire, returned to hallowed Troy.\n    The nobly-armed Achaians also heaped\n    Their slaughtered warriors on the funeral pile\n    With aching hearts; and when they had consumed\n    Their dead with fire they sought their hollow ships.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nBefore dawn next morning the Greeks set about building a wall and\ndigging a trench on the side of their camp facing Troy, as Nestor had\nadvised. They finished the work in one day, and a mighty work it was.\nThe wall was strengthened with lofty towers, and the gates were so large\nthat chariots could pass through. The trench was broad and deep, and on\nthe outer edge it was defended by strong, sharp stakes. The gods,\nlooking down from Olympus, admired these labors, but Neptune, much\ndispleased, made bitter complaint to Jupiter:\n\n                          \"Now will the fame\n    Of this their work go forth wherever shines\n    The light of day, and men will quite forget\n    The wall which once we built with toiling hands--\n    Ph\u0153bus Apollo and myself--around\n    The city of renowned Laomedon.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.\n\nBut Jupiter relieved the anxiety of the ocean god by telling him that\nwhen the war was over, and the Greeks had departed from Troy, he might\noverthrow the great wall with his waves, and cover the shore with sand.\nThus the Grecian bulwark would vanish from the plain.\n\nAfter their great labors on the wall and trench the Greeks feasted in\ntheir tents, and next day, the truce being now ended, both armies\nprepared for battle. Meanwhile Jupiter, held a council on high Olympus,\nat which he gave strict command that none of the gods should take part\non either side in the fight before Troy; and he declared that if any of\nthem should disobey this order, he would hurl the offender down into the\ndark pit of Tar\u02b9ta-rus, in the gloomy kingdom of Pluto.\n\n    Deep, deep in the great gulf below the earth,\n    With iron gates and threshold forged of brass.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nBut Minerva begged that she might be permitted to assist the Greeks by\nher advice. To this the king of heaven assented. Then mounting his\nchariot, to which were yoked his brazen-footed, swift-flying steeds,\nadorned with golden manes, he sped through the skies between the earth\nand starry heaven to the summit of Mount Ida. There in a sacred\ninclosure in which was an altar erected to him, the father of the gods\nsat looking down upon the towers of Ilium and the ships of the Greeks.\nThe two hosts, led by their great chiefs, were now engaged in fierce\nbattle.\n\n[Illustration: JUPITER ON MOUNT IDA.\n\n_Drawn by Hubbell._]\n\n    The sounding darts in iron tempests flew;\n    Victors and vanquish'd join promiscuous cries,\n    Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise;\n    With streaming blood the slippery fields are dyed,\n    And slaughtered heroes swell the dreadful tide.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nThus the terrible conflict went on until midday, when Jupiter, taking in\nhis hand the golden scales of fate, weighed the fortunes of the Trojans\nand Greeks.\n\n                                      By the midst\n    He held the balance, and, behold, the fate\n    Of Greece in that day's fight sank down until\n    It touched the nourishing earth, while that of Troy\n    Rose and flew upward toward the spacious heaven.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nThen the mighty god thundered from Mount Ida, and sent his lightnings\nburning and flashing down against the army of the Greeks. In amazement\nand terror the Argive chiefs fled from the field. Nestor alone remained,\nthough not willingly, for he too was seeking safety in flight when one\nof the horses of his chariot was killed by an arrow from the bow of\nParis. The venerable king himself might have perished at the hands of\nHector, had not Diomede hastened up and taken him into his own chariot.\n\nBoth warriors then advanced against the Trojan chief, and Diomede hurled\nhis javelin. The weapon missed Hector, but killed his charioteer. Still\nrushing on, the brave son of Tydeus was about to cast another spear,\nwhen a terrific bolt of lightning flashed from the heavens and tore up\nthe earth in front of his steeds. Looking upon this as a sign of the\nanger of Jupiter, the two heroes hastily retreated towards their camp.\nHector pursued them, and the Trojans, encouraged by his example, now\npressed forward until the Greeks were driven in behind their trench and\nwall. Then Agamemnon, in deep despair, prayed to almighty Jove that he\nwould at least permit him and his people to get away in safety with\ntheir ships.\n\n    \"Now be at least one wish of mine fulfilled,--\n    That we may yet escape and get us hence;\n    Nor let the Trojans thus destroy the Greeks.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nJupiter heard the prayer of the king, and in pity for his distress sent\na favorable omen. This was an eagle bearing in its talons a fawn, which\nit dropped down by the side of the altar where the Greek chiefs were\njust then offering sacrifice. Believing that the bird had come from\nJove, the Greeks took courage, and rushing out through their gates, with\nDiomede and Agamemnon and Menelaus and Ajax at their head, they\nfuriously attacked the Trojans and slew many of them. Teucer, the\nbrother of Ajax Telamon, did great destruction with his bow and arrows,\nin the use of which he was as skillful even as Pandarus. After killing\nseveral of the enemy, he aimed twice at Hector, missing him, however,\neach time, but at the second shot he slew the Trojan leader's\ncharioteer. Hector then jumped to the ground, and, seizing a great\nstone, hurled it with mighty force, striking the unfortunate Teucer on\nthe neck, and felling him to the earth. And now the Trojans, rushing\nonce more upon the Greeks, again drove them back to their camp.\n\n                                  They drave\n    The Achaians backward to the yawning trench.\n    Then Hector came, with fury in his eyes,\n    Among the foremost warriors. As a hound,\n    Sure of his own swift feet, attacks behind\n    The lion or wild boar, and tears his flank,\n    Yet warily observes him as he turns,\n    So Hector followed close the long-haired Greeks,\n    And ever slew the hindmost as they fled.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nBut night now put an end to the battle. This was a most welcome relief\nto the Greek leaders, thoroughly disheartened as they were at the sight\nof the enemy almost at their ships. On the other hand the warriors of\nTroy \"most unwillingly beheld the sunset,\" for it prevented them from\nfollowing up their victory. But Hector was confident that on the next\nday he would be able to destroy the Achaian host and fleet, and so end\nthe war. He therefore addressed his troops, commanding them to remain on\nthe field for the night, that they might be ready to fall upon the\nGreeks, should they attempt to go aboard their vessels, and \"escape\nacross the mighty deep.\"\n\n      So high in hope, they sat the whole night through\n    In warlike lines, and many watch fires blazed.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.\n\nMeanwhile the Grecian leaders held a council of war, and Agamemnon\nadvised that they should take to their ships, and set sail for Greece,\nas it now seemed to be the will of Jupiter that they should never\ncapture Troy. Upon hearing this the chiefs sat for a time in gloomy\nsilence. At length Diomede spoke out, censuring the king for his\ncowardly counsel.\n\n\"The gods,\" said he, \"have given you, O son of Atreus, high rank and\ngreat power, but not much of courage. Return home if you are so\ninclined, but the other Greeks will remain until they have overthrown\nTroy, for it was by the direction of the immortals that we came here.\"\n\nThese words were loudly applauded by the assembled leaders. Then guards\nwere placed to watch the wall and trench, after which Agamemnon gave\nthe chiefs a banquet in his tent. When all had partaken of the good\nthings set before them, the wise Nestor advised that an effort be made\nto appease the anger of Achilles. This proposal even Agamemnon warmly\napproved, for he now admitted that he had done a great wrong in taking\naway Briseis, and he declared that he would restore the maiden at once\nto Achilles, and send him rich gifts besides.\n\n              \"I erred, and I deny it not.\n    That man indeed is equal to a host,\n    Whom Jupiter doth love and honor thus,\n    Humbling the Achaian people for his sake.\n    And now, since, yielding to my wayward mood\n    I erred, let me appease him, if I may,\n    With gifts of priceless worth.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IX.\n\nAgamemnon then promised that he would send to Achilles a large sum in\ngold, with twenty shining caldrons, and twelve steeds which had won many\nprizes by their fleetness. Moreover, when they should return to Greece\nafter having conquered the Trojans, he would give him one of his\ndaughters to be his wife, and with her, as a marriage portion, seven\nrich cities of Argos.\n\nThe Greek chiefs were very glad to hear these proposals, and they\nresolved to appoint ambassadors to send to Achilles to beg him to\naccept these gifts and make peace with Agamemnon. On the advice of\nNestor they chose for this important mission the prudent Ulysses, an\naged chief named Ph\u0153\u02b9nix, and the valiant warrior Ajax. Ph\u0153nix had been\nthe instructor of Achilles in his youth, and had been sent by King\nPeleus with the expedition to Troy to be his son's friend and counselor.\nThe three ambassadors, with two heralds, accordingly set out for the\ncamp of the Myrmidonian chief. They found him sitting in his tent with\nhis friend Patroclus.\n\n    Amused at ease, the godlike man they found,\n    Pleased with the solemn harp's harmonious sound.\n    (The well wrought harp from conquered Theb\u00e6 came;\n    Of polish'd silver was its costly frame).\n    With this he soothes his angry soul, and sings\n    The immortal deeds of heroes and of kings.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book IX.\n\nThe ambassadors were received with great respect. Achilles rose from his\nseat and welcomed them as warriors and friends. Then food and drink were\nplaced before them, and after they had refreshed themselves, Ulysses\nstated the object of their visit. He described the danger of the Grecian\narmy, threatened with destruction by the terrible Hector and his\nvictorious hosts. He next told of the many gifts which Agamemnon had\noffered, and then in earnest words he begged Achilles to lay aside his\nanger, and come to the relief of his countrymen in their great peril.\n\nBut the wrath of the son of Peleus was not thus to be appeased. He\nreplied to Ulysses in a long speech, recounting his services during the\nwar, and bitterly complaining of the ingratitude and selfishness of\nAgamemnon.\n\n    \"Twelve cities have I with my fleet laid waste,\n    And with my Myrmidons have I o'erthrown\n    Eleven upon this fertile Trojan coast.\n    Full many a precious spoil from these I bore,\n    And to Atrides Agamemnon gave.\n    He, loitering in his fleet, received them all;\n    Few he distributed, and many kept.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IX.\n\nAs for the apologies which Agamemnon now made, the wrathful hero\ndeclared that he could have no confidence in a man who had deceived him,\nnor would he accept the offered gifts.\n\n                        \"Let him ne'er again,\n    Though shameless, dare to look me in the face.\n    I will not join in council nor in act\n    With him: he has deceived and wronged me once,\n    And now he cannot wheedle me with words.\n    Let once suffice. I leave him to himself,\n    To perish. All-providing Jupiter\n    Hath made him mad. I hate his gifts; I hold\n    In utter scorn the giver.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book IX.\n\nIn vain also were the entreaties of Ph\u0153nix and Ajax. They too tried to\npersuade the hero to dismiss from his mind the thought of his wrongs,\nand lead his brave Myrmidons once more into the field for the honor of\nhis country. But Achilles persisted in his refusal to take further part\nin the war, and so there was nothing left for the ambassadors but to\nreturn to the tent of Agamemnon and report the failure of their mission.\n\nIn deep disappointment and distress the chiefs heard the story. Then\nagain they held counsel together to consider what was best to\ndo,--whether to prepare for another battle, or to betake themselves at\nonce to their ships and set sail for Greece. Nestor proposed that some\nbrave and prudent chief should venture into the Trojan camp, and, if\npossible, find out what were the plans of Hector.\n\n    \"Is there (said he) a chief so greatly brave,\n    His life to hazard, and his country save?\n    Lives there a man, who singly dares to go\n    To yonder camp, or seize some straggling foe?\n    Or favor'd by the night approach so near,\n    Their speech, their counsels, and designs to hear?\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book X.\n\nDiomede offered himself for this service, and being permitted to select\na companion, he made choice of Ulysses. The two warriors at once put on\ntheir armor, and took up their weapons. Then they went out into the\nplain, each praying to Minerva to grant them success. Cautiously they\nmoved forward towards the camp of the enemy.\n\n    With dreadful thoughts they trace the dreary way,\n    Through the black horrors of the ensanguined plain,\n    Through dust, through blood, o'er arms, and hills of slain.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book X.\n\nNow it happened that about the same time Hector had sent a young Trojan\nchief, Do\u02b9lon by name, on a similar errand,--to make his way into the\nGrecian camp, and find out the designs of the Argive leaders. Dolon\noffered to undertake the dangerous task on condition that he should have\nas his reward the chariot and horses of Achilles, when the Greeks should\nbe conquered. Hector agreed to the condition, and the Trojan spy, arming\nhimself, set forth for the Greek camp. He had not gone far when Ulysses\nand Diomede saw him advancing, whereupon they lay down among the dead\nbodies and allowed him to go forward a considerable distance. Then they\nrose up and followed him.\n\nAt first Dolon supposed that they were Trojans sent by Hector to call\nhim back, but, soon seeing that they were enemies, he fled with great\nspeed in the direction of the ships. The two Greeks hastened in\npursuit, and Diomede hurled a spear after the fugitive. He purposely\nmissed him, however, for their object was to take the Trojan alive, that\nthey might get from him the information they desired. The weapon passed\nover the shoulder of Dolon, and sank into the ground in front of him.\nInstantly he stood still, trembling with fear, and the Greek warriors,\nhurrying up, seized him by the hands. The frightened Trojan flung\nhimself on his knees, and begged them to spare his life, promising that\nhis father, who was rich, would pay a high ransom. Ulysses commanded him\nto tell what his errand was to the Grecian camp, and also to tell them\nall about the Trojan army, and of the plans of Hector.\n\n    \"Tell me,--and tell the truth,--where hast thou left\n    Hector, the leader of the host, and where\n    Are laid his warlike arms; where stand his steeds;\n    Where are the sentinels, and where the tents\n    Of other chiefs? On what do they consult?\n    Will they remain beside our galleys here,\n    Or do they meditate, since, as they say,\n    The Greeks are beaten, a return to Troy?\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book X.\n\nThe terrified Dolon, hoping to move the Greeks to mercy, told even more\nthan he was asked to tell. There was a Thracian king, he said, who had\nthat very day arrived with a troop of soldiers to help the Trojans.\nRhe\u02b9sus was his name. He had steeds beautiful to behold, and fleet as\nthe wind, his chariot shone with gold and silver, and the armor he wore\nwas all of gold.\n\n\"Even now,\" said Dolon, \"Rhesus and his followers are in a camp by\nthemselves separated from the others, and it will be easy to take them\nby surprise as they lie asleep, and carry off the rich things they\npossess.\"\n\nThis news was joyfully received by the Greek heroes. They had heard of\nan oracle which declared that Troy could never be captured if these same\nhorses of Rhesus should once drink of the water of Xanthus or feed on\nthe grass of the Trojan plain. They therefore resolved to rob Rhesus of\nhis magnificent steeds. But first they killed the unhappy Dolon, paying\nno heed to his prayers for mercy. Then they hurried on to the Thracian\ncamp, where they found the warriors sunk in deep repose, after the\nfatigues of the day's journey.\n\n    There slept the warriors, overpowered with toil;\n    Their glittering arms were near them, fairly ranged\n    In triple rows, and by each suit of arms\n    Two coursers. Rhesus slumbered in the midst.\n    Near him were his fleet horses, which were made\n    Fast to the chariot's border by the reins.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book X.\n\nDiomede slew Rhesus and twrelve of his companions, while Ulysses untied\nthe king's steeds, and led them forth into the field. Then, hastening\nacross the plain with their rich prize, they soon reached the Grecian\ncamp, where Nestor and the other chiefs joyfully welcomed them.\n\n                Their friends, rejoicing, flocked\n    Around them, greeting them with grasp of hands\n    And with glad words.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book X.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nX. THE BATTLE AT THE SHIPS--DEATH OF PATROCLUS.\n\n\nAt dawn the Achaian leaders resolved to try again the fortunes of war.\nThey were encouraged by the exploit of Ulysses and Diomede, and Jupiter\nsent down Eris, the goddess of strife, to incite them to ardor for\nbattle. The goddess stood on the ship of Ulysses, which was in the\ncenter of the fleet, and shouted so loud that she was heard all over the\nGreek camp.\n\n    Loud was the voice, and terrible, in which\n    She shouted from her station to the Greeks,\n    And into every heart it carried strength,\n    And the resolve to combat manfully,\n    And never yield. The battle now to them\n    Seemed more to be desired than the return\n    To their dear country in their roomy ships.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XI.\n\nThen began the greatest battle of the siege. So numerous were the\nexploits of heroes in this mighty conflict that the account of it\noccupies nearly eight books of the Iliad.\n\nAgamemnon led the Grecian warriors during the earlier part of the day.\nHe was arrayed in brilliant armor, his breastplate being of gold and\nbronze and tin.\n\n    Ten were its bars of tawny bronze, and twelve\n    Were gold, and twenty tin; and on each side\n    Were three bronze serpents stretching toward the neck.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XI.\n\nHis sword, glittering with golden studs, hung from his shoulder in a\nsilver sheath, and in his hands he bore two great spears, brass-tipped\nand sharp. As he went forth to meet the foe, Juno and Minerva made a\nsound as of thunder in the sky, \"honoring the king of Mycen\u00e6, rich in\ngold.\" Thus did the Argive chief enter the field at the head of his\nwarriors.\n\nThe Trojans were already on the ground, their great leader, Hector, clad\nin shining brazen armor, giving his commands, now in the front and now\nin the rear. Like wolves rushing to combat the two hosts sprang against\neach other, and soon the battle raged furiously, the heroes on both\nsides fighting with equal valor.\n\n                            They of Troy\n    And they of Argos smote each other down,\n    And neither thought of ignominious flight.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XI.\n\nBut about midday the Greeks prevailed against the Trojans, and drove\nthem back to the city gates. Agamemnon slew with his sword two of King\nPriam's sons, I\u02b9sus and An\u02b9ti-phus, and with his spear he struck down\nmany of the Trojan heroes.\n\n[Illustration: IRIS.\n\n_Painting by Watts._]\n\nHector had not yet taken part in the battle; Jupiter having sent him an\norder by the messenger Iris not to begin fighting until Agamemnon should\nretire wounded from the field. This soon happened. The king was wounded\nin the arm by the Trojan chief Co\u02b9on, whose brother, I-phid\u02b9a-mas,\nAgamemnon had slain. These two chiefs were sons of the venerable\nAntenor. But Agamemnon, before withdrawing, rushed upon Co\u00f6n and slew\nhim also. Then, leaping into his chariot, he ordered his charioteer to\ndrive him quickly to his ships, for he was suffering much from the pain\nof his wound.\n\nHector, seeing the flight of the Greek leader, called loudly to the\nTrojans to advance upon their foes, at the same time setting them the\nexample.\n\n                          Himself, inspired\n    With fiery valor, rushed among the foes\n    In the mid-battle foremost, like a storm\n    That swoops from heaven, and on the dark-blue sea\n    Falls suddenly, and stirs it to its depths.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XI.\n\nThe fortune of battle now turned in favor of the men of Troy. Nine\nwarrior princes of the Greeks were struck down, one after another, by\nthe sword of Hector. The brave Diomede, wounded by an arrow from the bow\nof Paris, was obliged to retire to his tent. A spear hurled by the\nTrojan chief, So\u02b9cus, pierced the corselet of Ulysses, and wounded him\nin the side. But the Trojan did not long survive this exploit, for as he\nturned to flee, Ulysses sent a javelin through his body, felling him\nlifeless to the earth. A serious misfortune had almost happened to the\nGreeks at the hand of Paris, who shot a triple barbed arrow at the hero\nand physician, Machaon, wounding him in the shoulder. The life of the\ngreat son of \u00c6sculapius being worth many men, Idomeneus cried to Nestor\nto come and take him away in his chariot.\n\n    \"Haste, mount thy chariot; let Machaon take\n    A place beside thee; urge thy firm-paced steeds\n    Rapidly toward the fleet; a leech like him,\n    Who cuts the arrow from the wound and soothes\n    The pain with balms, is worth a host to us.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XI.\n\nMany of their leaders being now disabled, the Greeks were driven from\nthe field and forced to take refuge behind their fortifications. At the\ntrench a terrible conflict took place. The Trojan warriors made efforts\nto pass it in their chariots, while the Greeks fought with desperate\nfury to force the invaders back. Many heroes on both sides were wounded\nand many slain.\n\n    The towers and battlements were steeped in blood\n    Of heroes,--Greeks and Trojans.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XII.\n\nAt last Hector took up a large stone and hurled it with tremendous force\nagainst one of the gates. It tore off the strong hinges, and shattered\nthe massive beams, so mighty was the blow. Then through the wide opening\nthe Trojan leader sprang into the Grecian camp, brandishing two spears\nin his hands, and calling on his men to follow. Promptly they obeyed.\nSome rushed in by the gateway, and some over the wall, while the\nterrified Greeks fled in disorder and dismay to their ships.\n\nSo far none of the gods had taken part in the battle. But Neptune now\nresolved to come to the rescue of the Greeks, having observed that\nJupiter, though still seated in his sacred inclosure on Mount Ida, was\nno longer watching the conflict.\n\n                            On Troy no more\n    He turned those glorious eyes, for now he deemed\n    That none of all the gods would seek to aid\n    Either the Greeks or Trojans in the strife.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIII.\n\nThe ocean god, however, resolved to make the attempt. From the wooded\nheight of Samothrace he had been viewing the fight, and had seen that\nthe Achaian army and fleet were threatened with destruction. Quickly,\ntherefore, descending to the sea, he plunged down to his golden mansion\nbeneath the waves, and there put on his armor and mounted his chariot.\n\n    He yoked his swift and brazen-footed steeds,\n    With manes of flowing gold, to draw his car,\n    And put on golden mail, and took his scourge,\n    Wrought of fine gold, and climbed the chariot-seat,\n    And rode upon the waves. The whales came forth\n    From their deep haunts, and frolicked round his way:\n    They knew their king. The waves rejoicing smoothed\n    A path, and rapidly the coursers flew;\n    Nor was the brazen axle wet below.\n    And thus they brought him to the Greecian fleet.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIII.\n\nArrived at the fleet, Neptune assumed the shape and voice of the\nsoothsayer Calchas, and, going amongst the Grecian leaders, urged them\nto battle. With his scepter he touched the two Ajaxes, thereby giving\nmore than mortal strength to their limbs, and filling their breasts with\nvalor. Thus encouraged the Greek heroes turned fiercely upon the\nTrojans, and again great feats of war were performed by the chiefs on\nboth sides. Hector, Paris, Helenus, Deiph\u02b9o-bus, and \u00c6neas fought in\nfront of the Trojan lines, while Menelaus, Idomeneus, Teucer, the two\nAjaxes, and An-til\u02b9o-chus, the son of Nestor, bravely led the conflict\nat the head of the Greeks.\n\n                                    All along the line\n    The murderous conflict bristled with long spears.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIII.\n\nJuno rejoiced exceedingly at seeing the monarch of the ocean aiding the\nGreeks, but she much feared that Jupiter might notice him, and order him\noff the field. This he would be sure to do, if he should again turn his\neyes on the battle. Juno therefore went to the island of Les\u02b9bos, where\nSom\u02b9nus, the god of sleep, resided, and she entreated that deity to\nhasten to Mount Ida, and cause her royal spouse to fall into a deep\nslumber. Somnus consented, and having done as Juno desired, he hurried\ndown to the Grecian fleet with a message to Neptune.\n\n      \"Now, Neptune, give the Greeks thy earnest aid,\n    And though it be but for a little space,\n    While Jupiter yet slumbers, let them win\n    The glory of the day; for I have wrapt\n    His senses in a gentle lethargy.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIV.\n\nHearing these words, Neptune rushed to the front of the Greek lines and\nagain urged the leaders to stand bravely against the enemy. Then,\ngrasping in his hand a sword \"of fearful length and flashing blade like\nlightning,\" he led them on to battle.\n\nAnd now the warriors of both sides were once more in deadly conflict.\nHector cast a spear at Ajax, but the weapon struck where two belts\ncrossed upon the hero's breast, overlapping each other, and he escaped\nunhurt. Then the son of Telamon struck at the Trojan leader. His weapon\nwas a heavy stone, one of many that lay around, which were used as props\nfor the ships. The missile, hurled with giant force and true aim, smote\nthe Trojan on the breast and felled him like a tree struck by lightning.\n\n                            As when beneath\n    The stroke of Father Jupiter an oak\n    Falls broken at the root,  .  .  .  .  .  .\n    So dropped the valiant Hector to the earth\n    Amid the dust; his hand let fall the spear;\n    His shield and helm fell with him, and his mail\n    Of shining brass clashed round him.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XIV.\n\nWith shouts of triumph the Greeks rushed forward, hoping to slay the\nfallen warrior, and despoil him of his armor. But his comrades, \u00c6neas\nand A-ge\u02b9nor and Sarpedon and many others, crowded around him, and\nprotected him with their shields. He was then carried to the bank of the\nXanthus and bathed in its waters, which revived him a little.\n\nWhen the Greeks saw Hector borne away as if dead, they fought with\nincreased valor, and soon drove the Trojans back across the trench,\nslaying many of their chiefs.\n\nMeanwhile Jupiter, awaking from his slumber, and looking down upon the\nbattlefield, beheld the men of Troy put to flight, and Neptune at the\nhead of the pursuing Greeks. Turning angrily upon Juno, who was at his\nside, he rebuked her in severe words, for he now saw the trick that had\nbeen played upon him. He reminded her of how he had punished her on a\nformer occasion for her ill treatment of his son Hercules.\n\n                                \"Dost thou forget\n    When thou didst swing suspended, and I tied\n    Two anvils to thy feet, and bound a chain\n    Of gold that none could break around thy wrists?\n    Then didst thou hang in air amid the clouds,\n    And all the gods of high Olympus saw\n    With pity. They stood near, but none of them\n    Were able to release thee.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.\n\nJuno pleaded that it was not at her request that Neptune had gone to the\naid of the Greeks. He had done that without consulting her. She indeed,\nshe said, would rather advise Neptune to obey the command of the king of\nheaven and submit to his will.\n\nThe anger of the father of the gods was appeased by Juno's mild words.\nThen he bade her hasten to Olympus and send the messenger Iris down to\norder Neptune to leave the battle. He bade her also to direct Apollo to\nrestore Hector's strength and prepare him for the fight. But he\nexplained to Juno why he wished that for the present the Trojans should\nbe victorious. It was because he had promised Thetis that the Greeks\nshould be punished for the wrong Agamemnon had done to her son. Yet the\ntime would come, he said, when the great Hector would be slain by the\nhand of Achilles, and when by Minerva's aid the lofty towers of Troy\nwould be overthrown. Juno was therefore glad to obey the command of her\nroyal spouse.\n\n                        As the thought of man\n    Flies rapidly, when, having traveled far,\n    He thinks, \"Here would I be, I would be there,\"\n    And flits from place to place, so swiftly flew\n    Imperial Juno to the Olympian mount.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.\n\nThere she informed Iris and Apollo of the will of Father Jove. Forthwith\nthe two gods hastened to Mount Ida to receive their orders from Jupiter\nhimself. The orders were quickly given. Then with the speed of the winds\nthe messenger of heaven and the god of the silver bow darted down from\nIda's top to the plain of Troy.\n\nNeptune, on hearing of the command of Jupiter, was at first unwilling to\nobey. Jupiter, he said, had no authority over him.\n\n    \"We are three brothers,\n    The sons of Saturn,--Jupiter and I,\n    And Pluto, regent of the realm below.\n    Three parts were made of all existing things,\n    And each of us received his heritage.\n    The lots were shaken; and to me it fell\n    To dwell forever in the hoary deep,\n    And Pluto took the gloomy realm of night,\n    And lastly, Jupiter the ample heaven\n    And air and clouds. Yet doth the earth remain,\n    With high Olympus, common to us all.\n    Therefore I yield me not to do his will,\n    Great as he is; and let him be content\n    With his third part.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.\n\nBut Iris advised Neptune to obey, reminding him that Jupiter had power\nof punishing those who offended him. At last Neptune yielded, and,\nquitting the Grecian army, took his way to the sea, and plunged beneath\nthe waves to his palace in the ocean depths.\n\nMeanwhile Apollo hastened to the side of the Trojan prince, who was\nstill weak from the blow of Ajax. Quickly the god restored the hero's\nstrength and breathed fresh courage into his breast. Then he commanded\nHector to hasten forward and lead his warriors against the enemy. In an\ninstant the Trojan prince was on his feet, hurrying to the front. When\nthe Greek chiefs saw him they were astonished as well as terrified, for\nthey had thought him dead, and now they believed he had been rescued\nfrom death by some god. They resolved, however, to fight bravely, and so\nthey stood firmly together. Hector meanwhile advanced, Apollo moving\nbefore him with the shield of Jupiter, the terrible aegis, which Jupiter\nhad given him to shake before the Greeks and fill their hearts with\nfear.\n\n                                \"Hector led\n    The van in rapid march. Before him walked\n    Ph\u0153bus, the terrible aggis in his hands,\n    Dazzlingly bright within its shaggy fringe,\n    By Vulcan forged, the great artificer,\n    And given to Jupiter, with which to rout\n    Armies of men. With this in hand he led\n    The assailants on.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.\n\nAgainst an attack so led the bravery of the Greeks was of little avail.\nNumbers of their warriors were slain, and the rest fled back to their\ncamp, pursued by Hector and his triumphant hosts. This time the Trojans\nwere not hindered by the trench or the wall, for Apollo with his mighty\nfeet trampled down the earth banks, and overthrew the great wall as\neasily as a child at play on the beach overthrows a tiny mound of sand.\n\nThen a fierce struggle took place, the Greeks fighting with desperate\nfury to defend their ships, which the Trojans, with lighted torches in\ntheir hands, tried to set on fire. At one of the galleys there was a\nterrific conflict. Hector, having grasped the vessel by the stern,\ncalled to his men to bring on their flaming brands, while the mighty\nAjax stood on the rowers' bench, ready with his long spear to strike the\nassailants back.\n\n              On the blade of that long spear\n    The hero took them as they came, and slew\n    In close encounter twelve before the fleet.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.\n\nBut at last the brave son of Telamon was forced to give way, Hector\nhaving cut his spear shaft in two by a stroke of his huge sword. Then\nthe Trojans hurled forward their blazing torches, and the ship was soon\nwrapped in flames. The Greeks were now in the greatest peril. No hope\nseemed left to them to save their fleet from destruction. But help came\nfrom an unexpected quarter. Patroclus, the friend and companion of\nAchilles, had been watching the terrible conflict at the ships. As soon\nas he saw the vessel on fire he hurried to the tent of the Myrmidonian\nchief, and with tears in his eyes implored him to have pity on his\nperishing countrymen.\n\n\"The Greeks,\" said he, \"are sorely pressed. Their bravest leaders are\nwounded, while you sit here, giving way to your wrath. If you will not\nyourself go to their rescue, at least permit me to lead the Myrmidons to\nbattle, and let me wear your armor. The Trojans at the sight of it may\nthink I am Achilles, and be so terrified that our people may have a\nlittle breathing time.\"\n\nTo this proposal Achilles assented, but he warned Patroclus not to\npursue the Trojans too far, lest he might meet his death at the hands of\none of the gods. \"Rescue our good ships,\" said he, \"but when you have\ndriven the enemy from the fleet, return hither.\"\n\nWith joy and eager haste Patroclus put on the armor of Achilles. Then\nthe great chief himself marshaled his Myrmidons in battle array, after\nwhich he addressed them, bidding them fight valiantly. The occasion, he\nsaid, had now come which they had so long desired, for they had often\nblamed him because he had kept them from joining their countrymen in the\nfield. Fierce and fearless these Myrmidons were, and over two thousand\nstrong.\n\n            Achilles, dear to Jupiter, had led\n    Fifty swift barks to Ilium, and in each\n    Were fifty men, companions at the oar.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nPatroclus now mounted the chariot of Achilles, with the brave\nAu-tom\u02b9e-don as charioteer, a hero next in valor to the renowned son of\nPeleus himself. There were three horses in the team, Xanthus and\nBa\u02b9li-us, both of immortal breed, and fleet as the wind, and Ped\u02b9a-sus,\nwhich, though of mortal stock, was a match for the others in speed.\n\n    Like in strength, in swiftness and in grace,\n    A mortal courser match'd the immortal race.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nGreat was the terror of the Trojans when they beheld the Myrmidons march\nforth to battle.\n\n                                  Every heart grew faint\n    With fear; the close ranks wavered; for they thought\n    That the swift son of Peleus at the fleet\n    Had laid aside his wrath, and was again\n    The friend of Agamemnon. Eagerly\n    They looked around for an escape from death.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\n[Illustration: AUTOMEDON AND THE HORSES OF ACHILLES.\n\n_Painting by Regnault._]\n\nThe Greek fleet was soon out of danger, for Patroclus and his Myrmidons,\nhaving furiously attacked the Trojans, quickly drove them away from the\nburning vessel and put out the fire. Having thus saved the ships, the\nMyrmidonian warriors, aided by the other Greeks, then drove the Trojans\nwith great slaughter from the camp into the plain, and on towards the\nwalls of the city.\n\n      In that scattered conflict of the chiefs\n    Each Argive slew a warrior.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nEven the mighty Hector was not able to stop the flight of the\npanic-stricken Trojans, who seemed for the moment to have lost all their\ncourage, so great was their fear at the name of Achilles. The hero\nSarpedon at the head of his brave Lycians attempted to turn back the\nonset of the Myrmidons, and he sought out their leader to engage him in\nsingle combat. Both warriors sprang from their chariots at the same\nmoment, and rushed at each other, hurling their spears. Twice Sarpedon\nmissed his foe, but one of the weapons killed Pedasus, the horse of\n\"mortal stock.\" The leader of the Myrmidons cast his javelin with truer\naim, for it pierced the Lycian chief right in the breast, and the hero\nfell like a tall pine tree falling in the forest at the last blow of the\nwoodman's ax.\n\nThen a fierce conflict took place over the body, the Greeks seeking to\nobtain possession of the warrior's armor, which they did after many on\nboth sides had been slain in the struggle. The body itself was sent by\nApollo, at Jupiter's command, to Lycia, that the hero's kinsmen there\nmight perform funeral rites in his honor.\n\n                          In robes of heaven\n    He clothed him, giving him to Sleep and Death,\n    Twin brothers, and swift bearers of the dead,\n    And they, with speed conveying it, laid down\n    The corpse in Lycia's broad and opulent realm.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nJupiter thus honored Sarpedon because the hero was his own son. He would\nhave saved him from the spear of Patroclus, but the Fates had decreed\nthat Sarpedon should die in the battle, and the decrees of the Fates\nwere not to be set aside even by Jove himself.\n\nPatroclus, too, was doomed to fall in the conflict of the day, and the\nmoment was now at hand. Forgetting the warning Achilles had given him,\nhe pursued the Trojans up to the very gates of the city. Then he\nattempted to scale the wall, but he was driven back by Apollo, who spoke\nto him in threatening voice, saying that not by him should Troy be\ntaken, nor by his chief, though mightier far than he. Hastily Patroclus\nwithdrew from the walls, fearing the wrath of the archer god, but he\ncontinued to deal death among the Trojans as they came within reach of\nhis weapons.\n\nAt last Hector, urged by Apollo, rushed forward in his chariot to\nencounter Patroclus. The Myrmidon leader lifted a large stone, and flung\nit with all his force at the Trojan chief as he approached. It missed\nHector, but killed Ce-bri\u02b9o-nes, his charioteer, and while they fought\nover the body, each helped by brave comrades, many more on both sides\nwere laid in the dust. Again the archer god interfered, this time coming\nunseen behind Patroclus, and striking him with his open palm between the\nshoulders. The hero staggered under the blow, his huge spear was\nshattered in his hands, and his shield dropped to the ground. Then\nEu-phor\u02b9bus, a Dardanian chief, hurried forward, and with his lance\nwounded him in the back. Thus disarmed and almost overpowered, Patroclus\nturned to seek refuge in the ranks of his friends. As he was retreating,\nHector rushed upon him, and thrusting a spear deep into his body, gave\nthe brave warrior his death wound.\n\n                                The hero fell\n    With clashing mail, and all the Greeks beheld\n    His fall with grief.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nThen there was a long and terrific fight around the corpse of the fallen\nchampion. The description of it occupies a whole book of the Iliad. The\narmor Patroclus wore was, as we have seen, the rich armor of Achilles,\nand the Trojans were eager to get possession of it. They wished also to\nget possession of the hero's body, that his friends might not have the\nsatisfaction of performing the usual funeral rites in his honor.\nMenelaus was the first to stand guard over the body, and Euphorbus was\nthe first to fall in the fight. Hector had gone in pursuit of the\ncharioteer, Automedon, thinking to slay him, and capture the immortal\nhorses of Achilles. But Apollo warned him against the attempt.\n\n    \"Hector, thou art pursuing what thy feet\n    Will never overtake, the steeds which draw\n    The chariot of Achilles. Hard it were\n    For mortal man to tame them or to guide,\n    Save for Achilles, goddess-born. Meanwhile\n    Hath warlike Menelaus, Atreus' son,\n    Guarding the slain Patroclus, overthrown\n    Euphorbus, bravest of the Trojan host.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.\n\nHearing these words Hector hastened back to where the corpse of the\nGreek hero was lying. When Menelaus saw him approaching, he withdrew,\nand hurried off to seek help, for he feared to encounter the terrible\nTrojan leader. Then Hector stripped Patroclus of the splendid armor of\nAchilles, and he was about dragging away the body, but just at that\nmoment Ajax rushed up. Hector now retreated, leaping into his chariot\nand giving the glittering armor to his friends to be carried away to\nTroy.\n\nFor thus fleeing from the fight the Trojan chief was severely rebuked by\nGlau\u02b9cus, a Lycian warrior, who had been the comrade of the brave\nSarpedon. Glaucus wished to get the body of Patroclus so that with it he\nmight ransom Sarpedon's armor from the Greeks. Hector answered Glaucus,\nsaying that he feared not the battle's fury, as he would presently show.\nThen he put on the armor of Achilles and he called to the Trojans to\nfollow him, promising a rich reward to the warrior who should carry off\nthe body for which they were going to fight.\n\n    \"To him who from the field will drag and bring\n    The slain Patroclus to the Trojan knights,\n    Compelling Ajax to give way,--to him\n    I yield up half the spoil; the other half\n    I keep, and let his glory equal mine.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.\n\nWith Hector at their head the Trojans now rushed forward. Ajax, seeing\nthem advance, bade Menelaus summon the other Greek warriors to help in\ndefending the body of their countryman. Quickly they were called and\nquickly they came. Then hand to hand and sword to sword both armies\nfought, and the battle raged furiously round the corpse of Patroclus.\n\n                      They of Ilium strove\n    To drag it to the city, they of Greece,\n    To bear it to the fleet.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.\n\nAt last Menelaus and a brother warrior lifted up the body and bore it\naway towards the trench. The Trojans followed, but the two Ajaxes turned\naround and, facing the pursuers, fought with heroic bravery to hold them\nback.\n\n                                  Thus, in hot pursuit\n    And close array, the Trojans following strook\n    With swords and two-edged spears; but when the twain\n    Turned and stood firm to meet them, every cheek\n    Grew pale, and not a single Trojan dared\n    Draw near the Greeks to combat for the corse.\n          Thus rapidly they bore away the dead\n    Toward their good galleys from the battlefield.\n    Onward with them the furious battle swept.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.\n\nMeanwhile Antilochus, the son of Nestor, was sent from the field to\ncarry to Achilles the sad news of the death of Patroclus. The chief was\njust then sitting near his ships thinking over the event which he feared\nhad already happened, for the shouts of the Greeks as they fled from the\nplain pursued by the Trojans, had reached his ears. Upon learning the\ntidings brought by Antilochus, the hero burst into a fit of grief,\ntearing his hair, throwing himself on the earth, and uttering loud\nlamentations. His goddess mother, Thetis, in her father's palace beneath\nthe waves, heard his cries. She hastened up, attended by a number of sea\nnymphs, and, embracing her son, inquired the cause of his grief.\nAchilles told her of the death of his dear friend, and then said:\n\n                              \"No wish\n    Have I to live or to concern myself\n    In men's affairs, save this: that Hector first,\n    Pierced by my spear, shall yield his life, and pay\n    The debt of vengeance for Patroclus slain.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\nThe weeping mother, wishing to save her son, told him of the fate which\nhad decreed that his own death should soon follow that of Hector.\n\n    \"Ah then, I see thee dying, see thee dead!\n    When Hector falls, thou diest.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\nBut the warning of Thetis was in vain. \"Let my death come,\" said he,\n\"when the gods will it. I shall have revenge on Hector, by whose hand my\nfriend has been slain.\"\n\nSeeing that she could not induce him to alter his purpose, his mother\nreminded him that his bright armor had been seized by the Trojans. She\nbade him therefore not go to battle until she should bring him new armor\nmade by Vulcan, which she promised to do early next morning. Then she\ncommanded the other nymphs to return to their ocean home, and she\nherself ascended to Olympus, to ask the god of smiths to forge\nglittering armor for her son.\n\nMeantime the fight over the body of Patroclus still continued. The\nGreeks were now driven to their ships, and in danger of being totally\ndefeated. Three times Hector seized the body by the feet, to drag it\naway, and three times the mighty Ajaxes forced him back. Still again he\nseized it, and this time he would have borne it away, had not Juno sent\nIris down to Achilles to bid him hasten to the relief of his friends.\n\n\"But how,\" he asked, \"can I go forth to the battle, since the enemy have\nmy arms?\" Iris answered:\n\n        \"Go thou to the trench, and show thyself\n    To them of Troy, that, haply smit with fear,\n    They may desist from battle.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\nThen the goddess Minerva spread a golden cloud around the head of\nAchilles, and she kindled in it a bright flame that streamed upward to\nthe sky. And the hero went out beyond the wall, and stood beside the\ntrench, and he shouted in a voice loud as a trumpet sound,--a shout that\ncarried dismay into the ranks of the Trojans.\n\n    The hearts of all who heard that brazen voice\n    Were troubled, and their steeds with flowing manes\n    Turned backward with the chariots,--such the dread\n    Of coming slaughter.\n        .    .    .    .    .    .    .    .\n    Thrice o'er the trench Achilles shouted; thrice\n    The men of Troy and their renowned allies\n    Fell into wild disorder. Then there died,\n    Entangled midst the chariots, and transfixed\n    By their own spears, twelve of their bravest chiefs.\n    The Greeks bore off Patroclus from the field\n    With eager haste, and placed him on a bier,\n    And there the friends that loved him gathered round\n    Lamenting.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII\n\nSo ended the long and terrible battle of the day, for Juno now commanded\nthe sun to set. In obedience to the queen of heaven the god of light\ndescended into the ocean streams, though unwillingly he did so, as it\nwas earlier than the proper time for sunset.\n\nThe Trojan leaders, meanwhile, assembled in council on the plain to\nconsider what preparations should be made for the battle of the morrow,\nin which, they knew, the terrible Achilles would take part.\nPo-lyd\u02b9a-mas, a prudent chief, proposed that they should withdraw into\nthe city. There they might defend themselves from their ramparts, for\neven Achilles, with all his valor, would not be able to force his way\nthrough their strong walls. But Hector rejected this wise advice. He\nresolved to risk the chance of war in the open field, and let the god of\nbattles decide who should win.\n\n    \"Soon as the morn the purple orient warms,\n    Fierce on yon navy will we pour our arms.\n    If great Achilles rise in all his might,\n    His be the danger: I shall stand the fight.\n    Honor, ye gods! or let me gain or give;\n    And live he glorious, whosoe'er shall live!\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\n[Illustration]\n\n\n\n\nXI. END OF THE WRATH OF ACHILLES--DEATH OF HECTOR.\n\n\n[Illustration: _Design by Burne-Jones._]\n\nThetis faithfully performed her promise to Achilles. Having ascended to\nthe top of Olympus, she found the god of smiths busy in his forge, a\nworkshop so magnificent that it was a wonder to the gods themselves.\n\n            Silver-footed Thetis came\n    Meanwhile to Vulcan's halls, eternal, gemmed\n    With stars, a wonder to the immortals, wrought\n    Of brass by the lame god. She found him there\n    Sweating and toiling, and with busy hand\n    Plying the bellows.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\nVulcan willingly consented to make the armor as Thetis requested, for\nshe had been his friend and had protected him in his infancy, when his\nmother Juno threw him out of heaven into the sea. Juno did this because\nVulcan was not a good-looking child. He was, in fact, so ugly that his\nmother could not bear the sight of him, and so she cast him out of\nOlympus. But Thetis and her sister Eu-ryn'o-me received him in their\narms as he fell, and for nine years they nursed and took care of him in\ntheir father's palace beneath the waves. Gladly, therefore, Vulcan set\nto work at the request of his old friend. In his workshop were immense\nfurnaces, and he had plenty of precious material in store.\n\n                        Upon the fire\n    He laid impenetrable brass, and tin,\n    And precious gold and silver; on its block\n    Placed the huge anvil, took the ponderous sledge,\n    And held the pincers in the other hand.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\n[Illustration: THETIS BRINGING ARMOR TO ACHILLES.\n\n_Painting by Gerard._]\n\nAnd first he made a shield, large and massive, upon which he wrought\nfigures of the earth and the sky, the sun, moon, and stars, with many\nother beautiful designs. He wrought upon it numerous scenes of human\nlife,--representations of war and peace, of battles and sieges, of\nreapers in the harvest fields, of shepherds tending their flocks, of\nvintagers gathering their grapes; and scenes of festivity with music,\nsong, and dancing. Homer gives a long and splendid description of this\nwonderful shield. When Vulcan had finished it, he forged a corselet\nbrighter than fire, and greaves of tin, and a helmet with crest of gold.\nThen he laid the magnificent armor at the feet of Thetis, and the\ngoddess bore it away and carried it down to the Grecian camp in the\nearly morning to present it to her son.\n\n                Like a falcon in her flight,\n    Down plunging from Olympus capped with snow,\n    She bore the shining armor Vulcan gave.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.\n\nGreat was the delight of Achilles on seeing the beautiful armor and the\nmarvelous workmanship of its various parts. And now he hastened to\nprepare for battle. First he went along the beach from tent to tent,\ncalling with a mighty shout on his brother chiefs to assemble. When all\nwere together he spoke friendly words to Agamemnon, expressing sorrow\nthat strife had come between them, and declaring that his wrath was now\nended.\n\n    \"Here then my anger ends; let war succeed,\n    And even as Greece has bled, let Ilion bleed.\n    Now call the hosts, and try if in our sight\n    Troy yet shall dare to camp a second night!\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX.\n\nAgamemnon, too, spoke words of peace and friendship, and all the chiefs\nrejoiced that the anger of Achilles, which had brought so many woes\nupon the Greeks, was at length appeased. Then the troops took their\nmorning meal, and when they had refreshed themselves with food and\ndrink, they marched forth to the field. Achilles, having put on his\nbright armor, mounted his chariot, to which were yoked the two immortal\nand swift-footed steeds, Xanthus and Balius.\n\nAnd here a wonderful thing occurred. When the hero spoke to the animals,\ncharging them in loud and terrible voice to bring him back safely from\nthe battle, and not leave him dead on the plain, as they had left\nPatroclus, Xanthus, to whom Juno had, for the moment, given the power of\nspeech, replied to the words of his master, saying that it was not\nthrough any fault of himself and his comrade that Patroclus had been\nslain, but by the interference of Apollo. He also warned Achilles that\nthe hour of his own death was near at hand.\n\n    \"Not through our crime, or slowness in the course,\n    Fell thy Patroclus, but by heavenly force;\n    The bright far-shooting god who gilds the day\n    (Confess'd we saw him) tore his arms away.\n    No--could our swiftness o'er the winds prevail,\n    Or beat the pinions of the western gale,\n    All were in vain--the Fates thy death demand,\n    Due to a mortal and immortal hand.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX.\n\nBut Achilles already knew his fate, and he was prepared to meet it with\ncourage.\n\n    \"I know my fate: to die, to see no more\n    My much-loved parents, and my native shore--\n    Enough--when heaven ordains, I sink in night:\n    Now perish Troy!\" He said, and rush'd to fight.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX,\n\nIn the battle which now began many of the gods took active part,\nJupiter, at a council on Mount Olympus, having given them permission to\ndo so. Down to the plain before Troy they sped with haste, Juno,\nMinerva, Neptune, Mercury, and Vulcan taking the side of the Greeks, and\nMars, Apollo, Venus, Diana, Latona, and the river god, Xanthus, going to\nthe assistance of the Trojans.\n\nMeantime Achilles, having rushed forth to the field, plunged into the\nthick of the fight, eagerly seeking for Hector. But first he met \u00c6neas,\nwhom Apollo had urged to encounter him. Achilles warned the Trojan hero\nto withdraw from the battle.\n\n\"Once already,\" said he, \"I forced you to flee before my spear, running\nfast down Ida's slopes. I counsel you now to retire, lest evil happen to\nyou.\"\n\n\u00c6neas answered that he was not to be thus frightened, as if he were a\nbeardless boy. \"I am the son of the goddess Venus,\" said he, \"and my\nfather, Anchises, was descended from Jove himself. We are not here,\nhowever, to talk, but to fight, and words will not turn me from my\npurpose.\"\n\nSo saying, \u00c6neas hurled his spear. It struck the shield of Achilles with\na ringing sound, and passed through two of its folds.\n\n                        Vulcan's skill\n    Fenced with five folds the disk,--the outer two\n    Of brass, the inner two of tin; between\n    Was one of gold, and there the brazen spear\n    Was stayed.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nAchilles now cast his heavy javelin. Through the shield of \u00c6neas it\ncrashed, but, as the hero stooped to avoid it, the spear passed over his\nshoulder, and plunged deep into the earth. Then with sword in hand, the\nMyrmidonian chief rushed furiously upon \u00c6neas. He would probably have\nslain him, had not Neptune interfered. But the ocean god spread a mist\nover the eyes of the Greek warrior, and carried \u00c6neas away in safety to\nthe rear of the battlefield. The Trojan prince was thus preserved\nbecause the Dardan race, to which he belonged, was beloved by Jupiter.\nMoreover it was decreed by the Fates that the son of Anchises should, in\nlater times, rule over a Trojan people, and that his sons' sons should\nrule after him.\n\nHaving placed \u00c6neas out of danger, Neptune removed the mist from the\neyes of Achilles. The hero, on looking about him, was amazed at not\nseeing the foe with whom, only an instant before, he had been in fierce\nconflict. But he did not wait to think over this strange occurrence.\nRushing into the midst of the Trojans, he smote down warrior after\nwarrior, as they came within reach of his spear. Amongst them was\nPol-y-do\u02b9rus, the youngest son of Priam. His father had forbidden him to\ngo into the battle, because he loved him most of all his sons. But\nPolydorus was a brave youth, and he wished to show his swiftness, for in\nspeed of foot he excelled all the young men of Troy.\n\n    He ranged the field, until he lost his life.\n    Him with a javelin the swift-footed son\n    Of Peleus smote as he was hurrying by.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nNow Hector had been warned by Apollo to avoid meeting Achilles, but when\nhe saw his young brother slain, he could no longer stand aloof. He\ntherefore sprang forward to attack the son of Thetis. As soon as\nAchilles saw the Trojan chief, he bounded towards him, crying out:\n\n    \"Draw nearer that thou mayst the sooner die.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nHector replied in words of defiance, and then brandished and hurled\nforth his spear. But Minerva turned it aside, and it missed its aim.\nThen Achilles, with a wild shout, rushed against his enemy. Apollo now\ncame to the rescue, covering the Trojan hero in a veil of clouds, and\ntaking him away from the conflict. The enraged Achilles struck into the\ndense mist with his sword again and again, and in loud voice reproached\nHector for what seemed to be his cowardly flight.\n\n        \"Hound as thou art, thou hast once more escaped\n    Thy death; for it was near. Again the hand\n    Of Ph\u0153bus rescues thee. I shall meet thee yet\n    And end thee utterly, if any god\n    Favor me also. I will now pursue\n    And strike the other Trojan warriors down.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.\n\nThe enraged hero then attacked the Trojans so furiously that they fled\nbefore him in dismay. Some rushed towards the gates of the city, others\nto the Xanthus, into which they leaped in such numbers that the river\nwas soon filled with a crowd of steeds and men.\n\n    So, plunged in Xanthus by Achilles' force,\n    Roars the resounding surge with men and horse.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nBut now the terrible Myrmidonian chief descended from his chariot, and\nwith sword in hand pursued the Trojans into the water. There he slew so\nmany that the stream became blocked with the bodies of the dead. The\nriver god, roused to anger, called to Achilles in a loud voice from the\ndepths of the Xanthus, saying that if he meant to destroy the whole\nTrojan race, he must do it on the plain, and not stop the waters in\ntheir course to the sea.\n\n    \"For now my pleasant waters, in their flow,\n    Are choked with heaps of dead, and I no more\n    Can pour them into the great deep, so thick\n    The corpses clog my bed, while thou dost slay\n    And sparest not.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nAchilles answered that he would not cease to slay the treaty-breaking\nTrojans until they were punished as they deserved. At this the river god\nwas so enraged that he sent his waters with tremendous force against the\nhero. The waves now surged around Achilles, beating upon his shield, and\nbuffeting him so violently that he was in danger of being overwhelmed.\nHe saved himself only by grasping the bough of an elm tree which grew on\nthe river's edge, and so gaining the bank. Then the angry god, rising in\ngreater fury, swept his mighty billows out upon the plain. The Greek\nhero bravely attempted to fight this new enemy, but his valor and his\nweapons were powerless against such an attack.\n\n                  As often as the noble son\n    Of Peleus made a stand in hope to know\n    Whether the deathless gods of the great heaven\n    Conspired to make him flee, so often came\n    A mighty billow of the Jove-born stream\n    And drenched his shoulders. Then again he sprang\n    Away; the rapid torrent made his knees\n    To tremble, while it swept, where'er he trod,\n    The earth from underneath his feet.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nAchilles now prayed to the gods for help, and Neptune and Minerva came\nand encouraged him, saying that he was not to be thus conquered. Still\nas Xanthus called upon his brother river, Simois, to join him in defense\nof King Priam's noble city, it might have fared badly with the Greeks,\nhad not Vulcan come to their help. At the request of Juno the god of\nfire sent down a vast quantity of flames, which scorched and dried up\nthe plain, and burned the trees and reeds on the banks of the rivers.\nVulcan began to dry up even the rivers themselves. Then Xanthus became\nterrified and begged for mercy, promising that he would not again\ninterfere in the fight on either side.\n\n    \"Oh Vulcan! oh! what power resists thy might?\n    I faint, I sink, unequal to the fight--\n    I yield--Let Ilion fall; if fate decree--\n    Ah--bend no more thy fiery arms on me!\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nIt was not, however, until Juno entreated him to do so, that Vulcan\nwithdrew his flames, and the rivers were permitted to flow on again in\npeace and safety. Achilles now renewed his attack on the Trojans. The\ngods also rushed into the conflict. Mars launched his brazen spear at\nMinerva, but, with the terrible \u00e6gis, the goddess warded off the blow.\nThen Minerva lifted up a great rough stone and hurled it at Mars,\nstriking him on the neck, and stretching him senseless on the ground.\n\n                                        He fell\n    With nerveless limbs, and covered, as he lay,\n    Seven acres of the field.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\n[Illustration: VENUS.\n\n_Canova._]\n\nVenus hastened to the relief of the wounded god, and, taking him by the\nhand, led him away groaning with pain. Juno, who had been a spectator of\nthe fight, now approached Minerva, and urged her to attack Venus. She\ngladly consented to do as the queen of heaven desired. Following up the\ngoddess of beauty, Minerva gave her a mighty blow on the breast,\nthrowing her prostrate on the earth. At the same time Neptune\nchallenged Apollo to fight. He reminded him, too, of King Laomedon's\nconduct toward both of them, many years before, and reproached him for\nbeing now on the side of the descendants of that faithless king. But\nApollo refused to fight with the ocean god.\n\n    \"Thou wouldst not deem me wise, should I contend\n    With thee, O Neptune, for the sake of men,\n    Who flourish like the forest leaves awhile,\n    And feed upon the fruits of earth and then\n    Decay and perish.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nBut though Apollo would not fight with Neptune, he continued to help the\nTrojans. Achilles had driven them in terror up under their walls, and\nKing Priam had ordered the gates to be thrown open to admit the flying\nhosts. Multitudes of them rushed in, while the furious son of Thetis\npressed on behind. It was a moment of danger for Troy, and the Greeks\nmight soon have taken the city, if Apollo had not encouraged young\nAgenor, the son of Antenor, to attack Achilles. The brave youth\nadvanced, and cast his spear, striking the hero at the knee. But it\ncould not pierce the armor Vulcan had made. Then the Greek chief aimed\nat Agenor, and again Apollo came to the rescue, concealing the Trojan\nyouth in a veil of darkness, and carrying him safely away. But in an\ninstant the god returned, and, taking upon himself Agenor's shape and\nappearance, stood for a moment in front of Achilles. Then he turned and\nfled along the plain, followed fast by the enraged Greek. Thus Apollo\ngave the Trojans time to get within the city and shut their gates.\n\n                Achilles chased the god\n    Ever before him, yet still near, across\n    The fruitful fields, to the deep-eddied stream\n    Of Xanthus; for Apollo artfully\n    Made it to seem that he should soon o'ertake\n    His flying foe, and thus beguiled him on.\n    Meanwhile the routed Trojans gladly thronged\n    Into the city, filled the streets, and closed\n    The portals.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXI.\n\nHector alone of all the Trojans remained outside the walls, standing in\nfront of the Sc\u00e6an Gate. Achilles still pursued Apollo, thinking that he\nwas Agenor, but at last the god made himself known to his pursuer. The\nhero reproached him angrily for his deception, and then with the utmost\nspeed he hastened across the plain towards the city. From the ramparts\nthe aged King Priam beheld him coming, and in piteous words he cried out\nto Hector, imploring him to take refuge within the walls. Queen Hecuba,\ntoo, with tears in her eyes, begged her son to withdraw, and not be so\nmad as to encounter the terrible Greek chief alone. But Hector would\nnot yield to the entreaties of his weeping parents. He had refused to\ntake the advice of Polydamas to withdraw into the city on the previous\nnight, and if he should pass within the walls now, after Achilles had\nslain so many of the Trojans, Polydamas would be the first to reproach\nhim. Thus the hero reasoned with himself and so he resolved to stand and\nface his foe.\n\n    \"No--if I e'er return, return I must\n    Glorious, my country's terror laid in dust:\n    Or if I perish, let her see me fall\n    In field at least, and fighting for her wall.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nAchilles now approached. Terrible he was in appearance. His great\njavelin quivered fearfully on his shoulder, and a light as of blazing\nfire, or of the rising sun, shone from his heavenly armor. Hector\ntrembled with fear when he looked upon the Grecian leader. So great was\nhis terror that he did not dare to wait, but fled away round the city\nwall. Achilles quickly pursued him, as a hawk pursues a dove. They ran\ntill they came to two springs where the stream of the Xanthus rose. From\none of these springs a hot vapor ascended, like smoke from fire, and\nfrom the other a current cold as ice issued even in summer. Past these\nthe warriors swept on.\n\n                One fled, and one pursued,--\n    A brave man fled, a braver followed close,\n    And swiftly both. Not for a common prize,\n    A victim from the herd, a bullock's hide,\n    Such as reward the fleet of foot, they ran,--\n    The race was for the knightly Hector's life.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nThree times they ran round the walls, in sight of the Greeks and\nTrojans. The gods of heaven, too, were looking on from the top of Mount\nOlympus, and Jupiter, taking pity on Hector, thought that they should\nsave him from death. But Minerva protested. His doom, she said, had been\nfixed by the Fates, and even Jupiter could not alter it--at least not\nwith the approval of the other gods. The cloud-compelling king was\nobliged to give way, and so the Trojan chief was left to his fate. Then\nMinerva rushed down to the field, and still Hector fled and Achilles\npursued. As often as they passed around, Hector attempted to approach\nthe gates, hoping for help from his friends. But each time Achilles got\nbefore him and turned him away towards the plain; and he made a sign to\nthe Greeks that none of them should cast a spear, for he wished that he\nalone should have all the glory of slaying the greatest of the Trojan\nheroes.\n\nNow Apollo had been helping Hector, giving him strength and speed, but\nwhen, for the fourth time, the heroes reached the Xanthus springs,\nJupiter raised high the golden balance of fate. There were two lots in\nthe scales, one for the son of Peleus, the other for the Trojan chief.\nBy the middle the king of heaven held the balance, and the lot of Hector\nsank down. Immediately Apollo departed from the field, for he could no\nlonger go against the Fates. Then Minerva came close to Hector's side,\nand, taking the form and voice of his brother Deiphobus, she urged him\nto stand and fight Achilles.\n\n        \"Hard pressed I find thee, brother, by the swift\n    Achilles, who, with feet that never rest,\n    Pursues thee round the walls of Priam's town.\n    But let us make a stand and beat him back.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nThus encouraged, as he thought by his brother, whom he was surprised to\nsee at his side, for he believed him to be in the city, the Trojan hero\nturned around, and was soon face to face with his great foe. Knowing\nthat the hour had now come when one of them must die, Hector proposed to\nAchilles that they should make a covenant, or agreement, between them\nthat the victor in the fight should give the other's body to his\nfriends, so that funeral rites might be performed. But the wrathful\nAchilles refused. He would have no covenant with his enemy.\n\n    \"Accursed Hector, never talk to me\n    Of covenants. Men and lions plight no faith,\n    Nor wolves agree with lambs, but each must plan\n    Evil against the other. So between\n    Thyself and me no compact can exist,\n    Or understood intent. First, one of us\n    Must fall and yield his life blood to the god\n    Of battles.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nThen the fight began, Achilles first cast his spear. It was a weapon\nheavy, huge, and strong, that no mortal arm but his own could wield. Its\nshaft was made of a tree which the famous Chi\u02b9ron, instructor of heroes\nin the art of war, had cut on Mount Pe\u02b9li-on and given to the father of\nAchilles.\n\n                                His strength\n    Alone sufficed to wield it. 'Twas an ash\n    Which Chiron felled in Pelion's top, and gave\n    To Peleus, that it yet might be the death\n    Of heroes.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.\n\nThe Trojan chief stooped to avoid the blow, and the spear, passing over\nhim, sunk in the earth. Minerva, unseen by Hector, plucked it out and\ngave it back to Achilles. Hector now launched his weapon. With true aim\nhe hurled it, for it struck the center of his antagonist's shield, but\nthe workmanship of Vulcan was not to be pierced, and so the javelin of\nthe Trojan hero bounded from the brazen armor and fell to the ground. He\ncalled loudly to Deiphobus for another spear. There was no answer, and\nthen looking around him he discovered that he had been deceived.\n\n            All comfortless he stands; then, with a sigh:\n    \"'Tis so--Heaven wills it, and my hour is nigh.\n    I deem'd Deiphobus had heard my call,\n    But he secure lies guarded in the wall.\n    A god deceived me; Pallas, 'twas thy deed,\n    Death and black fate approach! 'tis I must bleed.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nNevertheless, Hector resolved to fight bravely to the end, and so he\ndrew his sword and rushed upon Achilles. The Greek warrior, watching his\nfoe closely as he approached, noticed an opening in his armor, where the\ncollar of the corselet joined the shoulder. At that spot he furiously\nthrust his speat, and pierced the Trojan hero through the neck. Hector\nfell to the ground, mortally wounded. In his dying moments he begged\nAchilles to send his body to his parents, telling him that they would\ngive large ransom in gold. But his entreaties were in vain. Neither by\nprayers nor by promise of gold could the conqueror be moved. The last\nwords of Hector were words warning Achilles of his own doom:\n\n    \"A day will come when fate's decree\n    And angry gods shall wreak this wrong on thee;\n    Ph\u0153bus and Paris shall avenge my fate,\n    And stretch thee here before the Sc\u00e6an Gate.\"\n    He ceased. The Fates suppress'd his laboring breath,\n    And his eyes stiffen'd at the hand of death.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nSo died the great champion of the Trojans. The Greeks crowded around the\ndead hero, admiring his stature and beautiful figure, and remarking one\nto another that Hector was far less dangerous to touch now than when he\nwas setting fire to their fleet.\n\nBut the anger of Achilles was not appeased even by the death of his foe.\nEager for still more vengeance, he bound the feet of the dead hero with\nleather thongs to the back of his chariot, leaving the head to trail\nalong the ground, and thus he drove to the ships, dragging the noble\nHector in the dust.\n\nThe Trojans, beholding this dreadful spectacle from the walls of the\ncity, broke out into loud lamentations, and King Priam and Queen Hecuba\nwere almost distracted with grief. Andromache had not been a witness of\nthe combat. She was at home with her maids, making preparations for\nHector's return from the battle, and was therefore unaware of the\nterrible events which had taken place. But the sound of the wailing on\nthe ramparts having reached her ears, she rushed forth from the palace,\nfearful that some evil had happened to her husband. Hastening through\nthe streets to the Sc\u00e6an Gate, she ascended the tower, and looking out\non the plain, saw the body of her beloved Hector dragged behind the\nwheels of the chariot of Achilles. Overpowered with grief at the sight,\nthe unhappy woman sank fainting into the arms of her attendants.\n\n    A sudden darkness shades her swimming eyes:\n    She faints, she falls; her breath, her color flies.\n    Her hair's fair ornaments, the braids that bound,\n    The net that held them, and the wreath that crown'd,\n    The veil and diadem flew far away\n    (The gift of Venus on her bridal day).\n    Around a train of weeping sisters stands\n    To raise her sinking with assistant hands.\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXII.\n\nWhile the Trojans thus mourned the loss of their chief, his body was\ndragged into the Grecian camp and flung on the beach beside the ships.\nPreparations were then made for funeral services in honor of Patroclus.\nThe ceremonies occupied three days. A vast quantity of wood was cut down\non Mount Ida, and carried to the plain, where the logs were heaped\ntogether in an immense pile, a hundred feet square. Upon this they\nplaced the corpse. They next put upon the pile the fat of several oxen,\nthat it might the more easily burn, and they slew and laid upon it the\ndead man's horses. Achilles cut off a lock of his own hair and put it in\nthe dead hero's hand, and each of the other warriors placed a lock of\nhis hair on the body.\n\nTorches were now applied, and they prayed to the wind gods, Bo\u02b9re-as and\nZeph\u02b9y-rus, to send strong breezes to fan the flames. All through the\nnight the pile blazed with a mighty roar, and in the morning, when it\nwas consumed, the embers were quenched with wine, and the bones of\nPatroclus were gathered up and inclosed in a golden urn. On the spot\nwhere the pyre had stood they raised a mound of earth as a monument to\nthe hero.\n\nThen there were funeral games at which valuable prizes, given by\nAchilles, were competed for,--prizes of gold and silver, and shining\nweapons, and vases, and steeds, and oxen. Diomede won the prize in the\nchariot race, for he ran with the immortal horses he had taken in battle\nfrom \u00c6neas. In the wrestling match Ulysses and Ajax Telamon were the\nrival champions. Both displayed such strength and skill that it could\nnot be decided which was the victor, and so a prize of equal value was\ngiven to each. Ajax Telamon also competed with Diomede in a combat with\nswords, and both were declared equal and received each a prize.\n\nIn the contest with bow and arrows, Teu\u02b9cer and Me-ri\u02b9o-nes were the\ncompetitors, and a dove tied to the top of a mast fixed in the ground,\nwas the object aimed at. Teucer missed the bird, but he struck and cut\nthe cord that fastened her to the pole, and she flew up into the\nheavens. Then Meriones shot at her with his arrow. The weapon pierced\nthe dove beneath the wing and she fell to the earth. This feat was\ngreatly admired by the spectators, and Meriones received as his prize\nten double-bladed battle-axes. To Teucer, whose performance was also\nmuch applauded, a prize of ten single-bladed axes was given.\n\nThus did Achilles honor his dead friend by funeral rites and funeral\ngames. But his wrath against Hector still continued, even when he had\ndragged the hero's body at his chariot wheels three times round the tomb\nof Patroclus. This cruel insult he repeated at dawn for several days.\nBut Apollo watched the body.\n\n                        Apollo, moved\n    With pity for the hero, kept him free\n    From soil or stain, though dead, and o'er him held\n    The golden \u00e6gis, lest, when roughly dragged\n    Along the ground, the body might be torn.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\n[Illustration: MERIONES' WONDERFUL SHOT.\n\n_Drawn by Hubbell._]\n\nBut at last the gods, with the exception of Juno, were moved to pity,\nand on the twelfth day from the death of the Trojan hero, Jupiter\nsummoned Thetis to Olympus, and bade her command Achilles to restore\nHector's body to his parents. He also sent Iris with a message to King\nPriam, telling him to go to the Greek fleet, bearing with him a suitable\nransom for his son. Thetis promptly carried out the order of Jupiter.\nShe told her son of the command of the king of heaven, and Achilles\nanswered that since it was the will of Jove he was ready to obey.\n\n    \"Let him who brings the ransom come and take\n    The body, if it be the will of Jove.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nJoyfully the aged Priam received the message of Iris, and he made haste\nto set out for the Grecian camp. He took with him costly things as\nransom,--ten talents of gold, and precious vases and goblets, and many\nbeautiful robes of state. These were carried in a wagon drawn by four\nmules, which were driven by the herald Id\u00e6us. The king rode in his own\nchariot and he himself was the charioteer. As they crossed the plain\nthey were met by the god Mercury, whom Jupiter had sent to conduct them\nsafely to the tent of the Greek warrior.\n\n    \"Haste, guide King Priam to the Grecian fleet,\n    Yet so that none may see him, and no Greek\n    Know of his coming, till he stand before\n    Pelides.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nMercury mounted the chariot of Priam, and taking in his hands the reins,\nhe drove rapidly towards the ships. When they came to the trenches the\ngod cast the guards into a deep slumber, and so the Trojan king and his\ncompanion reached the tent of the chief of the Myrmidons, unseen by any\nof the Greeks. Then Mercury departed, and ascended to Olympus.\n\nAchilles received his visitors respectfully, and the aged king, kissing\nthe hero's hand, knelt down before him and begged him have pity on a\nfather mourning for his son.\n\n                        \"For his sake I come\n    To the Greek fleet, and to redeem his corse\n    I bring uncounted ransom. O, revere\n    The gods, Achilles, and be merciful,\n    Calling to mind thy father! happier he\n    Than I; for I have borne what no man else\n    That dwells on earth could bear,--have laid my lips\n    Upon the hand of him who slew my son.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nThe Greek chief, moved by this appeal, replied in kind words and\naccepted the ransom, after which he caused Priam and Id\u00e6us to sit down\nand refresh themselves with food and drink, and invited them to remain\nwith him for the night. He also granted a truce of twelve days for\nfuneral rites in honor of Hector.\n\nEarly in the morning the Trojan king and his herald arose, and Mercury\nagain descended from Olympus to conduct them safely from the Grecian\ncamp. Quickly they yoked their steeds, and mournfully they drove across\nthe plain to the city. Cassandra, who stood watching on the citadel of\nPergamus, saw them coming, and she cried out in a loud voice to the\npeople, bidding them go and meet their dead hero.\n\n    \"If e'er ye rush'd in crowds, with vast delight,\n    To hail your hero glorious from the fight,\n    Now meet him dead, and let your sorrows flow;\n    Your common triumph, and your common woe.\"\n\n    POPE, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nAmid the lamentations of the people the corpse was borne through the\nstreets to the royal palace, where it was placed on a magnificent couch.\nThen Andromache and Queen Hecuba approached the body and wept aloud,\neach in turn uttering words of grief. Helen, too, came to mourn over\nHector, and she spoke of his constant kindness and tenderness to her.\n\n    \"O Hector, who wert dearest to my heart\n    Of all my husband's brothers,--for the wife\n    Am I of godlike Paris, him whose fleet\n    Brought me to Troy,--would I had sooner died!\n    And now the twentieth year is past since first\n    I came a stranger from my native shore,\n    Yet have I never heard from thee a word\n    Of anger or reproach. And when the sons\n    Of Priam, and his daughters, and the wives\n    Of Priam's sons, in all their fair array,\n    Taunted me grievously, or Hecuba\n    Herself,--for Priam ever was to me\n    A gracious father,--thou didst take my part\n    With kindly admonitions, and restrain\n    Their tongues with soft address and gentle words.\n    Therefore my heart is grieved, and I bewail\n    Thee and myself at once,--unhappy me!\n    For now I have no friend in all wide Troy,--\n    None to be kind to me: they hate me all.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nWith the funeral of Hector the Iliad of Homer ends. The poet's subject,\nas has been said, was the Wrath of Achilles, and the poem properly\ncloses when the results of the hero's wrath have been related. The\nconcluding lines of the twenty-fourth, and last, book of the Iliad\ndescribe the funeral ceremonies of Hector, which were the same as those\nperformed by the Greeks in honor of Patroclus.\n\n                          Nine days they toiled\n    To bring the trunks of trees, and when the tenth\n    Arose to light the abodes of men, they brought\n    The corse of valiant Hector from the town\n    With many tears, and laid it on the wood\n    High up, and flung the fire to light the pile.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\nThe fire burned all night, and next day they gathered the bones of\nHector and placed them in a golden urn. Then they buried the urn and\nerected a tomb over the grave.\n\n    In haste they reared the tomb, with sentries set\n    On every side, lest all too soon the Greeks\n    Should come in armor to renew the war.\n    When now the tomb was built, the multitude\n    Returned, and in the halls where Priam dwelt,\n    Nursling of Jove, were feasted royally.\n    Such was the mighty Hector's burial rite.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV.\n\n[Illustration: FEASTING-CUP.]\n\n\n\n\nXII. DEATH OF ACHILLES--FALL AND DESTRUCTION OF TROY.\n\n\nAfter the funeral of Hector the war was renewed. For a time the Trojans\nremained within the walls of their city, which were strong enough to\nresist all the assaults of the enemy. But some allies having come to\ntheir assistance, they were encouraged to sally forth again and fight\nthe Greeks in the open plain. The famous and beautiful Queen\nPen-the-si-le\u02b9a came with an army of her Am\u02b9a-zons, a nation of female\nwarriors who dwelt on the shores of the Black Sea.\n\n    Penthesilea there with haughty grace,\n    Leads to the wars an Amazonian race;\n    In their right hands a pointed dart they wield;\n    The left for ward, sustains the lunar shield.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nBrave as she was beautiful, the queen of the Amazons scorned to remain\nbehind the shelter of walls, and so, leading her valiant band of women\nout through the gates, she made a fierce attack on the Greeks. A\nterrific battle then began, and many warriors on both sides were laid\nin the dust. Penthesilea herself was slain by Achilles. The hero was\nunwilling to fight with a woman, and he tried to avoid meeting the\nqueen, but she attacked him so furiously, first hurling her spear, and\nthen rushing upon him sword in hand, that he was obliged to strike in\nself-defense. With a thrust of his lance he gave her a mortal wound, and\nthe brave heroine fell, begging Achilles to permit her body to be taken\naway by her own people.\n\n[Illustration: COMBAT OF THE AMAZONS.\n\n_Painting by Michelena._]\n\nFilled with pity for the unfortunate queen, and with admiration for her\ncourage and beauty, the hero granted the request. He even proposed that\nthe Greeks should perform funeral rites and build a tomb in her honor.\nThe foul-mouthed Thersites (mentioned in a previous chapter as having\nbeen chastised by Ulysses) scoffed at this proposal, and ridiculed\nAchilles, saying that he was not so soft-hearted in his treatment of\nHector. Enraged at his insulting words, the chief of the Myrmidons\nstruck him dead with a mighty blow of his fist.\n\nNow Diomede was a relative of the unfortunate Thersites, and he demanded\nthat Achilles should pay to the family of the dead man the fine required\nby Greek law for such offenses. Achilles refused, and he was about to\nretire again in anger from the war, and even to return home. But\nUlysses persuaded Diomede to withdraw his claim, and so made peace\nbetween the two chiefs.\n\nAnother ally, and a very powerful one, now came to help the Trojans.\nThis was Mem\u02b9non, king of Ethiopia, and nephew of Priam, being the son\nof Priam's brother Ti-tho\u02b9nus, and Au-ro\u02b9ra, goddess of the dawn. With\nan army of ten thousand men he arrived at Troy, and immediately entered\nthe field to do battle with the Greeks. Again there was great slaughter\nof heroes on both sides. Memnon killed Antilochus, the son of Nestor,\nand Nestor challenged Memnon to single combat. But on account of the\ngreat age of the venerable Greek, the Ethiopian warrior declined to\nfight him. Achilles then challenged Memnon, and the two heroes fought in\npresence of both armies. The conflict was long and furious, for Memnon,\ntoo, had a suit of armor made for him by Vulcan, at the request of his\ngoddess mother Aurora, and in strength and courage he was almost equal\nto Achilles. Once more, however, fortune favored the chief of the\nMyrmidons. The brave Memnon was slain, and Aurora bore away his body\nthat funeral rites might be performed.\n\nBut the time was now at hand when the great warrior who so far had\nconquered in every fight was to meet his own doom. We have seen that\nHector, as he lay dying in front of the Sc\u00e6an Gate, warned Achilles\nthat he himself should fall by the hand of Paris. This prophecy was\nfulfilled.\n\nBy the death of Memnon the Trojans were much discouraged. Their powerful\nallies had been defeated, and they were no longer able to hold the field\nagainst the enemy. Soon after the death of Memnon there was a great\nbattle, in which the Greeks, headed by Achilles, drove them back to the\ncity walls. Through the Sc\u00e6an Gate, which lay open, the Trojans rushed\nin terror and confusion, the Greeks pressing on close behind. Achilles\nreached the gate, and was about to enter, when Paris aimed at him with\nan arrow. Guided by Apollo, the weapon struck the hero in the heel, the\nonly part in which he could be fatally wounded.\n\nThe warrior fell to the ground, whereupon the Trojan prince hastened up\nand slew him with his sword. A terrific struggle took place over the\nbody of the dead chief, but by mighty efforts Ajax Telamon and Ulysses\nsucceeded in gaining possession of it, and carrying it to the Grecian\ncamp. Deep was the grief of the Greeks at the death of their great\nchampion. Magnificent funeral rites and games were celebrated in his\nhonor, his goddess mother, Thetis, presiding over the ceremonies. After\nthe body had been burned in the customary manner, the bones were placed\nin a vase of gold, made by Vulcan, and a vast mound was raised on the\nshore as a monument to the hero.\n\n    The sacred army of the warlike Greeks\n    Built up a tomb magnificently vast\n    Upon a cape of the broad Hellespont,\n    There to be seen, far off upon the deep,\n    By those who now are born, or shall be born\n    In future years.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book XXIV.\n\nThe armor of Achilles was offered as a reward for the warrior who had\nfought most bravely in rescuing the body, and who had done most harm to\nthe Trojans. To decide the question which of the Greek chiefs deserved\nthis honor, it was resolved to take the votes of the Trojan prisoners\nthen in the Greek camp, who had witnessed the struggle at the Sc\u00e6an\nGate. The majority of votes were in favor of Ulysses, and to him,\ntherefore, the splendid shield and corselet and helmet and greaves, made\nby Vulcan for the son of Thetis, were given. Ajax was so disappointed\nand grieved at not having obtained the coveted prize that he became\ninsane, and in his frenzy he slew himself with his own sword.\n\nThe Greeks had now lost their two most powerful warriors, and they began\nto think that it was impossible for them to take Troy by force, and\nthat they must try other methods. So the wise Ulysses then set his\nbrain to work to devise some stratagem by which the city might be taken.\nThe first thing he did was to capture the Trojan prince and soothsayer,\nHelenus, who had gone out from the city to offer sacrifices in the\ntemple of Apollo on Mount Ida. Calchas, the Greek soothsayer, had said\nthat Helenus was the only mortal who knew by what means Troy could be\nconquered, and so Ulysses made him prisoner and threatened him with\ndeath if he did not tell.\n\nThen Helenus told the Ithacan chief that before Troy could be taken\nthree things must be done. First, he said, the Greeks must get the\narrows of Hercules; next, they must carry away the sacred Palladium, for\nas long as it remained within the walls the city was safe; and, lastly,\nthey must have the help of the son of Achilles.\n\nNow the arrows of Hercules could be obtained only from Phil-oc-te\u02b9tes, a\nGreek chief who received them from Hercules himself. These arrows had\nbeen dipped in the blood of the hydra, a monster Hercules had slain.\nThis made them poisonous, so that wounds inflicted by them were fatal.\nPhiloctetes was with his countrymen at Aulis when they set sail for\nTroy, but he was bitten on the foot by a serpent, and the smell of the\ninjured part being so offensive that his comrades could not endure it,\nhe had been left behind, on the advice of Ulysses.\n\n    Far in an island, suffering grievous pangs,--\n    The hallowed isle of Lemnos. There the Greeks\n    Left him, in torture from a venomed wound\n    Made by a serpent's fangs. He lay and pined.\n\n    BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book II.\n\nUlysses now resolved to get Philoctetes to come to Troy, if he were\nstill alive, and so, taking Diomede with him, he set out for Lemnos.\nThey found him at the cave where they had left him ten years before. The\nwound was not yet healed, and he had suffered much, having had no means\nof existence except game which he had to procure himself.\n\n    Exposed to the inclement skies,\n    Deserted and forlorn he lies;\n    No friend or fellow-mourner there,\n    To soothe his sorrows and divide his care.\n\n    SOPHOCLES (Francklin's tr.)\n\nStill enraged at their former ill-treatment of him, Philoctetes at first\nrefused the request of the two chiefs. Their mission would have failed\nhad not Hercules appeared to him in a dream and advised him to go to\nTroy, telling him that his wound would be healed by the famous Machaon.\nHe then gladly went with Ulysses and Diomede. On his arrival at the\nGrecian camp the great physician cured him by casting him into a deep\nsleep and cutting away the diseased flesh from the injured foot. He\nawoke in perfect health and strength, and at once joined his countrymen\nin the war, resolved to make good use of his fatal arrows.\n\nAn opportunity soon offered, for the Trojans now began again to venture\nout in the open plain, thinking that the Greeks were not so dangerous\nsince the terrible Achilles was no longer at their head. Their new\ngeneral in chief was Paris, and Philoctetes, happening to encounter him\nin battle, aimed at him with one of his poisoned arrows and pierced him\nthrough the shoulder. Paris was immediately carried back to the city,\nsuffering intense pain, for the poison quickly began to take effect.\nThen at last the thoughts of Paris turned to the fair \u0152none, whom,\ntwenty years before, he had left in sorrow and loneliness on Mount Ida.\nHe remembered her words, that he would one day have recourse to her for\nhelp. Hoping, therefore, that she might take pity on him, and perhaps\ncure him of his wound, for she had been instructed in medicine by\nApollo, he ordered his attendants to carry him to where she still dwelt\non the slopes of Ida. \u0152none had not forgotten his cruel desertion of\nher, and so she refused to use her skill in his behalf. But when she\nheard that he was dead, she came down to Troy, and in her grief threw\nherself on his funeral pyre, and perished by his side.\n\n                    She rose, and slowly down,\n    By the long torrent's ever-deepen'd roar,\n    Paced, following, as in trance, the silent cry.\n        .    .    .    .    .    .    .\n    Then moving quickly forward till the heat\n    Smote on her brow, she lifted up a voice\n    Of shrill command, \"Who burns upon the pyre?\"\n    Whereon their oldest and their boldest said,\n    \"He whom thou wouldst not heal!\" and all at once\n    The morning light of happy marriage broke\n    Thro' all the clouded years of widowhood,\n    And muffling up her comely head, and crying\n    \"Husband!\" she leapt upon the funeral pile,\n    And mixt herself with him and past in fire.\n\n    TENNYSON, _Death of \u0152none_.\n\nMeanwhile the Ithacan king, not forgetting the other conditions\nmentioned by Helenus, set sail for the island of Scyros, where the son\nof Achilles resided. His name was Pyr\u02b9rhus, or Ne-op-tol\u02b9-mus, and, as\nhe was a brave youth, he rejoiced at having an opportunity of fighting\nthe Trojans, by whom his father had been killed. Ulysses gave him his\nfather's armor, and by many heroic deeds in the war he proved that he\nwas worthy to wear it.\n\nThe Palladium was now to be carried off from Troy, and this was a task\nby no means easy to perform. But the man of many arts succeeded in\naccomplishing it. Putting on the garments of a beggar, and scourging his\nbody so as to leave marks, he went to the Sc\u00e6an Gate, and entreated the\nguards to admit him. He told them that he was a Greek slave, and that he\nwished to escape from his master who had cruelly ill-used him. The\nguards, believing his story, permitted him to enter the city.\n\n                      \"He had given himself\n    Unseemly stripes, and o'er his shoulders flung\n    Vile garments like a slave's, and entered thus\n    The enemy's town, and walked its spacious streets.\n    Another man he seemed in that disguise.--\n    A beggar, though when at the Achaian fleet\n    So different was the semblance that he wore.\n    He entered Ilium thus transformed, and none\n    Knew who it was that passed.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV.\n\nBut Helen, happening to pass by at a place near the king's palace, where\nthe pretended beggar sat down to rest, immediately recognized him. He\nmade a sign to her to keep silent, thinking that Paris being now dead,\nHelen perhaps was friendly to the Greeks, and wished them to take Troy,\nso that she might return to her own country. In this Ulysses was right,\nas very soon appeared, and as Helen declared years afterwards, when\ntelling to his own son, Telemachus, the story of the Ithacan king's\nadventure within the walls of Troy.\n\n                  \"For I already longed\n    For my old home, and deeply I deplored\n    The evil fate that Venus brought on me,\n    Who led me thither from my own dear land.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV.\n\nHelen passed on without uttering a word, but in the evening she sent one\nof her maids to bring Ulysses secretly to her apartment in the palace.\nThere she expressed her joy at meeting her countryman, and after\nhospitably entertaining him, she listened with pleasure to his plans.\nShe then told him of the plans of the Trojans, and where and how the\nPalladium was to be got. Having thus obtained the information he\ndesired, Ulysses contrived to make his way back unobserved to the Greek\ncamp. In a few days he returned, accompanied by Diomede. They got into\nthe city by scaling the walls, and Diomede, climbing on the shoulders of\nUlysses, entered the citadel. Here, by following the directions given by\nHelen, he found the famous statue, and he and his companion carried it\noff to their friends at the ships, who rejoiced at the success of the\nundertaking.\n\nTroy was now no longer under the protection of Pallas Minerva. Though\nthat goddess helped the Greeks in their battles, she was obliged to\nsave the city itself while it contained her sacred statue. But the\nPalladium being no longer within the walls, she was now at liberty to\nhelp the Greeks to capture and destroy the city. She therefore put into\nthe mind of Ulysses the idea of the wooden horse, and she instructed the\nGreek chief E-pe\u02b9us how to make it. This horse was of vast size, large\nenough to contain about a hundred men, for it was hollow within.\n\n                By Minerva's aid, a fabric reared,\n    Which like a steed of monstrous height appeared;\n    The sides were flanked with pine.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nWhen it was finished, provisions were put into it. Then Ulysses, and\nPyrrhus, and Menelaus, and Epeus, and a number of other Greek warriors,\nmounted into it by means of a ladder, after which the opening was\nfastened by strong bolts.\n\n                    In the hollow side,\n    Selected numbers of their soldiers hide;\n    With inward arms the dire machine they load;\n    And iron bowels stuff the dark abode.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nMeanwhile the other Greeks broke up their camp, and all going aboard\ntheir ships, they set sail, as if they had given up the siege, and were\nabout to return to Greece. But they went no farther than the island of\nTen\u02b9e-dos, about three miles from the shore.\n\n    In sight of Troy lies Tenedos, an isle\n    (While Fortune did on Priam's empire smile)\n    Renowned for wealth; but since, a faithless bay,\n    Where ships exposed to wind and weather lay.\n    There was their fleet concealed.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nAs soon as the Trojans saw from their walls that the tents of the enemy\nwere removed, and that their fleet had departed, they were filled with\nsurprise and delight. They believed that the Greeks had given up the\nwar, and so, throwing open their gates, they rushed out in multitudes\nupon the plain, King Priam riding in his chariot at their head.\n\n    The Trojans, cooped within their walls so long,\n    Unbar their gates, and issue in a throng\n    Like swarming bees, and with delight survey\n    The camp deserted, where the Grecians lay.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nBut soon their attention was attracted by the huge wooden horse, and\nthey gathered about it, astonished at its great size, and wondering what\nit meant. Some thought that it meant evil to Troy, and advised that it\nshould be burned; others proposed that it should be hauled into the city\nand placed within the citadel. La-oc\u02b9o-on, one of Priam's sons, who was\nalso a priest of Apollo, cried out in a loud voice, warning the king\nand people against doing this. \"Are you so foolish,\" he exclaimed, \"as\nto suppose that the enemy are gone? Put no faith in this horse. Whatever\nit is, I fear the Greeks even when offering gifts.\"\n\n    \"This hollow fabric either must enclose\n    Within its blind recess, our secret foes;\n    Or 'tis an engine raised above the town\n    To overlook the walls, and then to batter down.\n    Somewhat is sure designed by fraud or force:\n    Trust not their presents, nor admit the horse.\"\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nThus saying, Laocoon hurled his spear against the side of the horse, and\nit sent forth a hollow sound like a deep groan. But at this moment a\nstranger, having the appearance of a Greek, was brought before the king.\nSome Trojan shepherds, finding him loitering on the river bank, had made\nhim prisoner. Being asked who he was and why he was there, he told an\nartful story. His name, he said, was Si'non, and he was a Greek. His\ncountrymen, having decided to give up the war, resolved to offer one of\nthemselves as a sacrifice to the gods, that they might get fair winds to\nreturn home, and they selected him to be the victim. To escape that\nterrible fate he concealed himself among the reeds by the side of the\nScamander until the fleet departed. This was Sinon's account of\nhimself. The Trojans believed it, and the prisoner was set free. But the\nking asked him to tell them about the wooden horse,--why it had been\nmade, and left there upon the plain.\n\nThen Sinon told another false story. He said that the horse was a peace\noffering to Minerva, who had been angry because the Palladium was taken\nfrom Troy. For that insult to her, the goddess commanded the Greeks to\nreturn to their own country, and Calchas ordered them to build the horse\nas an atonement for their crime. He also told them to make it so large\nthat the Trojans might not be able to drag it within their gates; for if\nit were brought into the city, it would be a protection to Troy, but if\nany harm were done to it, ruin would come on the kingdom of Priam.\n\n    \"We raised and dedicate this wondrous frame,\n    So lofty, lest through your forbidden gates\n    It pass, and intercept our better fates;\n    For, once admitted there, our hopes are lost;\n    And Troy may then a new Palladium boast\n    For so religion and the gods ordain,\n    That, if you violate with hands profane\n    Minerva's gift, your town in flames shall burn;\n    (Which omen, O ye gods, on Gr\u00e6cia turn!)\n    But if it climb, with your assisting hands,\n    The Trojan walls, and in the city stands;\n    Then Troy shall Argos and Mycen\u00e6 burn,\n    And the reverse of fate on us return.\"\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nKing Priam and the Trojans believed this story too, and a terrible thing\nwhich just then happened made them believe it all the more. After\nLaocoon had hurled his spear at the wooden horse, he and his two sons\nwent to offer sacrifice to the gods at an altar erected on the beach.\nWhile they were thus engaged, two enormous serpents, darting out from\nthe sea, glided up to the altar, seized the priest and his sons, and\ncrushed all three to death in their tremendous coils.\n\n    First around the tender boys they wind,\n    Then with their sharpened fangs their limbs and bodies grind.\n    The wretched father, running to their aid\n    With pious haste, but vain, they next invade:\n    Twice round his waist their winding volumes rolled;\n    And twice about his gasping throat they fold.\n    The priest thus doubly choked--their crests divide,\n    And towering o'er his head in triumph ride.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nThe terrified Trojans regarded this awful event as a punishment sent by\nthe gods upon Laocoon for insulting Minerva by casting his spear at her\ngift, which they now believed the horse to be. They therefore resolved\nto take the huge figure into the city in spite of the advice of\nCassandra, who also warned them that it would bring ruin upon Troy. And\nso they made a great breach in the walls, for none of their gates were\nlarge enough to admit the vast image, and fastening strong ropes to its\nfeet they dragged it into the citadel. Then they decorated the temples\nwith garlands of green boughs, and spent the remainder of the day in\nfestivity and rejoicing.\n\nBut in the dead of the night, when they were all sunk in deep repose,\nthe treacherous Sinon drew the bolts from the trapdoor in the side of\nthe wooden horse, and out came the Greek warriors, rejoicing at the\nsuccess of their stratagem.\n\nSinon next hurried down to the beach, and there kindled a fire as a\nsignal to his countrymen on the ships. They knew what it meant, for it\nwas part of the plan that had been agreed on. Quickly plying their oars,\nthey soon reached the shore, and, marching across the plain, the Greeks\npoured in thousands into the streets, through the breach that had been\nmade in the walls.\n\nThe Trojans, startled from their sleep by the noise, understood at once\nwhat had happened. Hastily they rushed to arms, and, led and encouraged\nby \u00c6neas and other chiefs, they fought valiantly to drive out the enemy,\nbut all their valor was in vain. Troy was at last taken. The victorious\nGreeks swept through the city, dealing death and destruction around\nthem. King Priam was slain by Pyrrhus, at the foot of the altar in one\nof the temples, to which he fled for safety. His son Deiphobus, who had\nmarried Helen after the death of Paris, was slain by Menelaus. The\nSpartan king, believing that what his wife had done had been decreed by\nthe Fates and the will of the gods, pardoned her and took her with him\nto his ships. The women of the Trojan royal family were carried off as\nslaves.\n\n\u00c6neas, with his father Anchises and his son I-u\u02b9lus, escaped from the\ncity, and sailed from Troas with a fleet and a number of warlike\nfollowers. After many adventures by sea and land, which the Roman poet,\nVer\u02b9gil, tells about in his poem called the \u00c6-ne\u02b9id, he reached Italy.\nThere he established a settlement, and his descendants, it is said, were\nthe founders of Rome.\n\nHaving completed their work of destruction and carried off to their\nships all the riches of Troy, the Greeks set fire to the city, and in a\nfew hours nothing remained but a mass of smouldering ruins. So ended the\nfamous Trojan War. The prophecy of the soothsayer, \u00c6sacus, at the birth\nof Paris, was fulfilled. Paris had brought destruction upon his family\nand country.\n\n[Illustration: CAPTIVE ANDROMACHE.\n\n_Painting by Lord Leighton._]\n\n\n\n\nXIII. THE GREEK CHIEFS AFTER THE WAR.\n\n\nGreat was the rejoicing of the Greeks at having at last brought the long\nand terrible war to a successful end. They had lost heavily in men and\ntreasure, but they had defeated and destroyed the enemy, and taken\npossession of all the wealth of the rich city of Troy. They now looked\nforward with pleasure to the prospect of a safe return to their homes\nand families, which they had not seen for ten years. But for some of\nthem, as we shall see, this happy hope was never realized.\n\nThe most unfortunate of them all was Agamemnon. He reached his kingdom\nand city of Mycen\u00e6 in safety, but he was there cruelly murdered by\n\u00c6-gis\u02b9thus, a relative of his, whom his wife, Clytemnestra, had married\nduring his absence.\n\n              \u00c6gisthus planned a snare.\n    He chose among the people twenty men,\n    The bravest, whom he stationed out of sight,\n    And gave command that others should prepare\n    A banquet. Then with chariots and with steeds,\n    And with a deadly purpose in his heart,\n    He went, and, meeting Agamemnon, bade\n    The shepherd of the people to the feast,\n    And slew him at the board.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV.\n\nThe Trojan princess, Cassandra, who accompanied Agamemnon to Mycen\u00e6, had\nwarned him of his doom, but as usual her words were disregarded, and she\nherself was slain at the same time as the ill-fated king. Agamemnon had\na son named O-res\u02b9tes, who was then but a boy, and \u00c6gisthus intended to\nkill him also, but the youth's sister, E-lec\u02b9tra, contrived to have him\nsent secretly to the court of his uncle, Stro\u02b9phi-us, king of Pho\u02b9cis.\nHere he was affectionately received and tenderly cared for. His constant\ncompanion was his cousin, Pyl\u02b9a-des, the son of Strophius, and so strong\nwas their friendship for each other that it became famous in song and\nstory.\n\nWhen Orestes reached the years of manhood, he resolved to punish the\nmurderers of his father. With this object he went to Mycen\u00e6, taking with\nhim his friend and companion, Pylades; and having obtained admission to\nthe royal palace, he slew \u00c6gisthus.\n\n    Seven years in rich Mycen\u00e6 he bore rule,\n    And on the eighth, to his destruction, came\n    The nobly-born Orestes, just returned\n    From Athens, and cut off that man of blood,\n    The crafty wretch \u00c6gisthus, by whose hand\n    Fell his illustrious father.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book III.\n\nAs Clytemnestra had taken part in the murder of Agamemnon, Orestes slew\nher also. This killing of his own mother provoked the anger of the gods,\nand Orestes was commanded to go to the oracle of Apollo, at Delphi, to\nlearn there what punishment he should suffer for his crime. He obeyed,\nand the oracle told him that he must bring to Greece a statue of Diana\nwhich was then in the temple of that goddess in Taurica.\n\nThis was a dangerous enterprise, for the king of Taurica had a practice\nof sacrificing in that very temple any foreigners found in his country.\nNevertheless Orestes undertook the task. He went to Taurica,\naccompanied, as usual, by his ever faithful friend Pylades. No sooner\nhad they arrived than they were seized and carried before the king, and\ncondemned to be sacrificed. But Orestes discovered, to his surprise and\ndelight, that the priestess of the temple was his own sister, Iphigenia,\nwho, as will be remembered, had been carried away many years before by\nDiana herself, when about to be sacrificed by the Greeks at Aulis. By\nthe help of Iphigenia, the two friends not only escaped from Taurica,\nbut carried off the statue, and Iphigenia returned with them to Greece.\nOrestes succeeded to the throne of his father, and as king of Mycen\u00e6 he\nlived and reigned many years in prosperity and happiness.\n\nMenelaus returned to his kingdom of Sparta with his wife, Helen, but he\nhad many wanderings and adventures. He was detained by unfavorable winds\nfor some time on an island near the coast of Egypt, and he might never\nhave reached home but for the advice he received from Pro\u02b9teus, one of\nthe sea gods. It was no easy matter to get advice from Proteus. It was\nvery difficult to find him, and still more difficult to get him to\nanswer questions, for he had a habit of changing himself rapidly into\nmany different forms, and so escaping from those who came to consult\nhim. But Menelaus had the good fortune of meeting a water nymph named\nI-do\u02b9the-a, a daughter of Proteus, and she directed him what to do.\nThere was a certain cave near the seaside, to which the Old Man of the\nSea, as Proteus was sometimes called, came every day at noon to sleep.\nIdothea told Menelaus he would find the old man there, and that he must\nseize him quickly in his arms, and hold him fast in spite of all his\nchanges, until he took the shape in which he had first appeared. Then he\nwould answer any question put to him.\n\n                                  \"As soon\n    As ye behold him stretched at length, exert\n    Your utmost strength to hold him there, although\n    He strive and struggle to escape your hands;\n    For he will try all stratagems, and take\n    The form of every reptile on the earth,\n    And turn to water and to raging flame,--\n    Yet hold him firmly still, and all the more\n    Make fast the bands. When he again shall take\n    The form in which thou sawest him asleep,\n    Desist from force, and loose the bands that held\n    The ancient prophet. Ask of him what god\n    Afflicts thee thus, and by what means to cross\n    The fishy deep and find thy home again.\"\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV.\n\nMenelaus followed these directions, taking with him three of his bravest\nwarriors, as Idothea also advised. They found Proteus, and rushing upon\nhim, they seized and held him firmly in their grip, though he tried hard\nto escape.\n\n              First he took the shape\n    Of a maned lion, of a serpent next,\n    Then of a panther, then of a huge boar,\n    Then turned to flowing water, then became\n    A tall tree full of leaves. With resolute hearts\n    We held him fast, until the aged seer\n    Was weaned out, in spite of all his wiles.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV,\n\nThe Old Man of the Sea then told Menelaus that he must go to Egypt, to\nthe river there, and offer sacrifices to the gods, and that they would\nsend him forth upon his voyage home, which would be speedy and safe. The\nGreek chief did as Proteus directed, and the prophecy was fulfilled. He\nsoon reached his Spartan home, where, with his famous queen, Helen, he\nspent the remainder of his life in happiness.\n\nIdomeneus, the warrior king of Crete, reached his island kingdom in\nsafety.\n\n    Idomeneus brought also back to Crete\n    All his companions who survived the war;\n    The sea took none of them.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book III.\n\nBut a sad event occurred on his arrival in the island. During his voyage\nhome there was a terrible storm, and Idomeneus much feared that his\nfleet might be destroyed. He then made a vow that if his ships escaped,\nhe would sacrifice to Neptune the first living creature he met on\nlanding. Unfortunately this happened to be his own son, who came down to\nthe shore to receive and welcome his father. Idomeneus, though\noverwhelmed with grief, nevertheless fulfilled his promise to the god,\nbut the Cre\u02b9tans were so incensed at the inhuman act that they banished\nhim from the island.\n\n        A flying rumor had been spread\n    That fierce Idomeneus from Crete was fled,\n    Expelled and exiled.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nThus driven from his own country Idomeneus sailed westward until he came\nto the southern coast of Italy, where he founded the city and colony of\nSal-len\u02b9tia, and lived to an extreme old age.\n\nThe fate of Ajax Oileus, king of Locris, was almost as terrible as that\nof Agamemnon. On the night of the destruction of Troy he had cruelly\nill-treated the princess Cassandra, whom he dragged from the altar of\nthe temple of Minerva, to which she had fled for refuge. Even the Greeks\nthemselves were shocked at the crime, and they threatened to punish him\nfor it. He was, however, allowed to set sail for Greece. But Minerva\nborrowed from Jupiter his flaming thunderbolts, and, obtaining\npermission from Neptune, she raised a furious tempest, which destroyed\nthe Locrian king's ship. He himself swam to a rock, and as he sat there\nhe defiantly cried out that he was safe in spite of all the gods. This\ninsult to the immortals brought upon him the wrath of Neptune, who,\nsmiting the rock with his awful trident, hurled the impious Ajax into\nthe depths of the sea.\n\n                            He had said\n    That he, in spite of all the gods, would come\n    Safe from those mountain waves. When Neptune heard\n    The boaster's challenge, instantly he laid\n    His strong hand on the trident, smote the rock\n    And cleft it to the base. Part stood erect,\n    Part fell into the deep. There Ajax sat,\n    And felt the shock, and with the falling mass\n    Was carried headlong to the billowy depths\n    Below, and drank the brine and perished there.\n\n    BRYANT, _Odyssey_, Book IV.\n\nThe venerable Nestor reached his home without misfortune or accident He\nended his days in peace in his kingdom of Pylos, though he had to mourn\nthe loss of his brave son Antilochus, whom Memnon had slain.\n\nDiomede also reached his kingdom of \u00c6tolia, but he found that in his\nabsence his home had been seized by a stranger. This was a punishment\nsent upon him by Venus, whom, as we have seen, he had wounded in the\nhand at the siege of Troy.\n\n    \"Mad as I was, when I, with mortal arms,\n    Presumed against immortal powers to move,\n    And violate with wounds the queen of love.\"\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nQuitting his kingdom and country, the warrior wandered to other lands.\nHe finally settled in the south of Italy, where he built a city, which\nhe called Ar-gyr\u02b9i-pa, and married the daughter of Dau\u02b9nus, the king of\nthe country.\n\n    Great Diomede has compassed round with walls\n    The city, which Argyripa he calls,\n    From his own Argos named.\n\n    VERGIL.\n\nNeoptolemus, or Pyrrhus, the son of Achilles, returned to Phthia, where\nhis grandfather, Peleus, still lived and reigned. He took with him\nAndromache and Helenus, the only one of Priam's sons who lived after the\ndestruction of Troy. Pyrrhus, died a few years after his return, and\nAndromache became the wife of Helenus. The Trojan prince soon gained the\nfriendship of Peleus, who gave him a kingdom in E-pi\u02b9rus to rule over,\nand here he and Andromache spent the remainder of their lives together.\n\nBut no one of all the warrior chiefs of Greece who fought at Troy met\nwith so many dangers in returning to his native land as the famous\nUlysses. Ten year elapsed after the end of the great war before he\nreached his Ithacan home. There he was welcomed by his devoted wife,\nPenelope, and his affectionate son, Telemachus, who had passed all those\nyears in loving remembrance of him and anxious hope of his coming. His\nwonderful adventures during his many wanderings are described in Homer's\nOdyssey. An account of them would fill another book like this Story of\nTroy.\n\n\n\n\nPERSONS AND PLACES MENTIONED.\n\n\nAc\u02b9 a mas\nA c\u0335ha\u02b9ians (yans)\nA c\u0335hil'l\u0113s\u031d\n\u00c6 \u0121\u0113\u02b9an\n\u00c6 \u0121is\u02b9thus\n\u00c6 n\u0113\u02b9as\n\u00c6 n\u0113\u02b9id\n\u00c6s\u02b9 a cus\n\u00c6s c\u0335\u016b l\u0101\u02b9 pi us\n\u00c6t\u02b9na\n\u00c6 to\u02b9 li a\nAg a mem\u02b9 non\nA \u0121\u0113\u02b9nor\nA\u02b9jax\nAm\u02b9a zons\nAn drom\u02b9ac\u0335he\nAn t\u0113\u02b9 nor\nAn til\u02b9o c\u0335hus\nAn\u02b9ti phus\nAph ro d\u012b\u02b9 te\nA pol\u02b9 lo\nAr c\u0335he la\u02b9 us\nAr c\u0335hil\u02b9o c\u0335hus\nAr\u02b9\u0121\u012bves\nAr\u02b9gos\nAr \u0121yr\u02b9 i pa\nAs ty\u02b9a nax\nA\u02b9treus (tr\u016bs)\nA tr\u012b\u02b9 d\u0113s\nAt\u02b9 ro pos\nAu\u02b9 lis\nAu ro\u02b9ra\nAu tom\u02b9 e don\nBac\u0335\u02b9c\u0335hus\nBa\u02b9 li us\nBo\u02b9 re as\nBri\u02b9a reus (r\u016bs)\nBri se\u02b9 is\nC\u0335al\u02b9c\u0335has\nC\u0335al l\u012b\u02b9o pe\nC\u0335a\u02b9ri a\nC\u0335as san\u02b9dra\nC\u0335as t\u0101\u02b9 li a\nCe l\u016b\u02b9o n\u0113s\u031d\nC\u0335h\u012b\u02b9 ron\nC\u0335hry se\u02b9 is\nC\u0335hry\u02b9s\u0113s\u031d\nC\u0335lo\u02b9 tho\nC\u0335lyt em nes\u02b9 tra\nC\u0335o\u02b9on\nC\u0335ran\u02b9a \u00eb\nC\u0335res\u02b9si da\nC\u0335re\u02b9tans\nCy\u02b9cl\u01d2ps\nDar da nelles\u02b9\nDar d\u0101\u02b9 ni a\nDar\u02b9 da nus\nDau\u02b9 nus\nDe iph\u02b9 o bus\nD\u011bl\u02b9 ph\u012b\nD\u012b \u0103n\u02b9 a\nD\u012b\u02b9 o mede\nD\u012b\u02b9 o ne\nDis cor\u02b9 di a\nDo\u02b9 lon\nE \u00eb\u02b9 ti on\nE\u02b9\u0121ypt\nE l\u011bc\u02b9 tra\nE p\u0113\u02b9 us\nEph i \u0103l\u02b9 t\u0113s\u031d\nE p\u012b\u02b9 rus\nE\u02b9 ris\nE thi o\u02b9 pi a\nE\u016b phor\u02b9 bus\nE\u016b ry\u0306l\u02b9 a t\u0113s\u031d\nE\u016b ry\u0306n\u02b9 o me\nGan\u02b9 y mede\nGlau\u02b9 c\u0335us\nH\u0101\u02b9 d\u0113s\u031d\nHec\u02b9 tor\nHec\u02b9 \u016b ba\nHel\u02b9 e nus\nHel\u02b9 las\nH\u1ebdr\u02b9 c\u0335\u016b l\u0113s\u031d\nH\u1ebdr\u02b9 m\u0113s\nHe s\u012b\u02b9 o ne\nH\u014d\u02b9 mer\nI d\u00e6\u02b9 us\nI d\u014fm\u02b9 e neus (n\u016bs)\nI d\u014d\u02b9 the a\nIl\u02b9 i on\nIl\u02b9 i um\nI\u02b9 lus\nI phid\u02b9 a mas\nIph i \u0121e n\u012b\u02b9 a\nI\u02b9 ris\nI\u02b9 sus\nIth\u02b9 a c\u0335a\nI \u016b\u02b9 lus\nJu\u02b9 no\nJu\u02b9 pi ter\nLac\u0335h\u02b9 e sis\nLa \u1ebdr\u02b9 t\u0113s\u031d\nLa oc\u0335\u02b9 o \u00f6n\nLa od a mi\u02b9 a\nLa od\u02b9 i \u00e7e\nLa od\u02b9 o cus\nLa om\u02b9 e don\nLa to\u02b9 na\nL\u0113\u02b9 da\nLem\u02b9 nos\nL\u1ebdr\u02b9 na\nLes\u02b9 bos\nL\u014d\u02b9 cris\nLyc\u02b9 i a\nLyc\u0335 o me\u02b9 d\u0113s\u031d\nLyr nes\u02b9 sus\nMa c\u0335ha\u02b9 on\nM\u0113\u02b9 l\u0113s\u031d\nMel e si\u0121\u02b9 e n\u0113s\u031d\nMem\u02b9 non\nMen e l\u0101\u02b9 us\nM\u1ebdr\u02b9 c\u0335\u016b ry\nMe r\u012b\u02b9 o n\u0113s\u031d\nM\u012d n\u1ebdr\u02b9 va\nMy \u00e7\u0113\u02b9 n\u00e6\nMyr\u02b9 mi dons\nMys\u02b9 i a\nNe op tol\u02b9 e mus\nNep\u02b9 t\u016bne\nNe re\u02b9 i d\u0113s\u031d\nNe\u02b9 re us\nNes\u02b9 tor\nO dy\u0306s\u02b9 seus (s\u016bs)\n\u0152 n\u014d\u02b9 ne\nO i\u02b9 leus (l\u016bs)\nO lym\u02b9 pus\nO res\u02b9 t\u0113s\u031d\nO\u02b9 tus\nP\u00e6\u02b9 on\nPal a m\u0113\u02b9 d\u0113s\u031d\nPal l\u0101\u02b9 di um\nPal' las\nPan\u02b9 da rus\nPar n\u0103s\u02b9 sus\nPar\u02b9 is\nPar\u02b9 the non\nPa tr\u014d\u02b9 c\u0335lus\nP\u011bd\u02b9 a sus\nP\u0113 leus (l\u016bs)\nP\u0113\u02b9 li on\nPel o pon n\u0113\u02b9 sus\nP\u0113\u02b9 lops\nPe nel\u02b9 o pe\nPen the si l\u0113\u02b9 a\nP\u1ebdr\u02b9 ga mus\nPher\u02b9 e c\u0335lus\nPhil oc\u0335 t\u0113\u02b9 t\u0113s\u031d\nPh\u014d\u02b9 \u00e7is\nPh\u0153\u02b9 bus\nPh\u0153\u02b9 nix\nPhry\u0306\u0121\u02b9 i a\nPhthi\u02b9 a\nPhyl\u02b9 a c\u0335e\nPlu\u02b9 to\nPo dar\u02b9 c\u0335\u0113s\u031d\nPo ly\u0306d\u02b9 a mas\nPol y d\u014d\u02b9 rus\nPr\u012b\u02b9 am\nPro tes i l\u0101\u02b9 us\nPr\u014d\u02b9 teus (t\u016bs)\nPyl\u02b9 a d\u0113s\u031d\nP\u0233\u02b9 los\nPy\u0306r\u02b9 rhus\nPy\u0306th\u02b9 i a\nRh\u0113\u02b9 sus\nS\u0103l\u02b9 a mis\nSal len\u02b9 tia\nS\u0103m\u02b9 o thrac\u0335e\nSar p\u0113\u02b9 don\nSc\u0335a m\u0103n\u02b9 der\nSc\u0335a m\u0103n\u02b9 dri us\nS\u00e7\u0233\u02b9 ros\nSi\u00e7\u02b9 i ly\nSim\u02b9 o is\nS\u012b\u02b9 non\nSmin\u02b9 theus (th\u016bs)\nSmyr\u02b9 na\nS\u014d\u02b9c\u0335us\nSom\u02b9 nus\nSpar\u02b9 ta\nSten\u02b9 tor\nSth\u0115n\u02b9 e lus\nStr\u014d\u02b9 phi us\nTal thy\u0306b\u02b9 i us\nTar\u02b9 ta rus\nTau\u02b9 ri c\u0335a\nT\u0115l\u02b9 a mon\nTe l\u0115m\u02b9 ac\u0335hus\nT\u0115l\u02b9 e phus\nT\u0115n\u02b9 e d\u014fs\nTeu\u02b9 c\u0335er\nTeu\u02b9 c\u0335ri a\nTeu thr\u0101\u02b9 ni a\nTh\u0113\u02b9 be\nTh\u1ebdr s\u012b\u02b9 t\u0113s\u031d\nTh\u0115s\u02b9 sa ly\u0306\nTh\u0113\u02b9 tis\nTi th\u014d\u02b9 nus\nTr\u014d\u02b9 as\nTr\u014d\u02b9 ilus\nT\u0233\u02b9 deus (d\u016bs)\nTy d\u012b\u0304\u02b9 d\u0113s\u031d\nTy\u0306n\u02b9 da rus\nU ly\u0306s\u02b9 s\u0113s\u031d\nV\u0113\u02b9 nus\nV\u0113r\u02b9 \u0121il\nV\u016dl\u02b9 c\u0335an\nX\u0103n\u02b9 thus\nZ\u0115ph\u02b9 y rus","title":"The Story of Troy","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":48342}