{"collection":"myth-cosmogony","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_68127/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_68127","id":"gutenberg_68127","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/68127","summary":null,"tags":["Achilles (Mythological character) -- Juvenile literature","Category: Children & Young Adult Reading","Category: Mythology, Legends & Folklore","Trojan War -- Juvenile literature"],"text":"TOLD TO THE CHILDREN SERIES\n\n  EDITED BY LOUEY CHISHOLM\n\n\n  STORIES\n  FROM THE ILIAD\n\n\n\nNOTE\n\n\nI have to acknowledge my indebtedness to Mr. Ernest Myers, Mr. Walter\nLeaf, and Mr. Andrew Lang for their translation of The Iliad, of which\nfree use has been made in this little book.\n\n                                                  J. L. L.\n\n\n\n\n[Illustration: Into the sleeping heart of Helen there came remembrance\n(page 33)]\n\n\n\n\n  STORIES FROM\n\n  THE ILIAD\n\n  OR\n\n  The Siege of Troy\n\n  TOLD TO THE CHILDREN BY\n\n  JEANIE LANG\n\n  WITH PICTURES BY\n\n  W. HEATH ROBINSON\n\n  LONDON: T. C. & E. C. JACK\n  NEW YORK: E. P. DUTTON & CO.\n\n\n\n\n  TO\n  HUGO MEYNELL CYRIL IONIDES\n  AND\n  INGRAM AMYAS IONIDES\n\n\n\n\nABOUT THIS BOOK\n\n\nFor two Greek boys have I made this little book, which tells them in\nEnglish some of the stories that they soon will read for themselves in\nthe tongue of their forefathers.\n\nBut the stories are not only for boys whose fatherland lies near the\nsunny sea through which ships, red-prowed and black, fared in the\nlong-ago days.\n\nOf such great deeds, by such brave men, do they tell, that they must\nmake the hearts of all English boys, and of boys of every nation under\nthe sun, grow big within them.\n\nAnd when, in the gallant-sounding music of the Greek tongue in which\nthe tales first were told, these boys read the story of the Siege of\nTroy, they must surely long to fight as fought the Greeks in days\nof old, and long to be heroes such as those who fought and who died\nwithout fear for the land that they loved.\n\n                                                  JEANIE LANG.\n\n\n\n\nCONTENTS\n\n\n                                                    Page\n\n        The Story of what led to the Siege of Troy,    1\n\n  Chap.\n\n     I. How Achilles and Agamemnon fell out,           6\n    II. The Council,                                  17\n   III. The Fight between Paris and Menelaus,         28\n    IV. How Menelaus was wounded; and the Brave\n        Deeds of Diomedes,                            39\n     V. Hector and Andromache,                        53\n    VI. The Fight between Hector and Ajax,            61\n   VII. The Burning of the Dead; and the Battle of\n        the Plain,                                    67\n  VIII. The Message to Achilles,                      79\n    IX. The White Horses of Rhesus,                   86\n     X. The Fighting on the Plain,                    97\n    XI. How Patroclus Fought and Died,               103\n   XII. The Rousing of Achilles,                     111\n\n\n\n\nLIST OF PICTURES\n\n\n  Into the sleeping heart of Helen there came remembrance,\n                                                _Frontispiece_\n\n                                                       At page\n\n  Many were the heroes who sailed away from Greece,          4\n  Achilles, fleetest of foot and bravest of all Greek\n     heroes,                                                 8\n  Mars, like a thunder-cloud, swept upwards through the\n     sky to Olympus,                                        52\n  Agamemnon heard the sound of pipe and flute and\n     laughter of men, as the Trojans feasted and made\n     merry,                                                 86\n  The point of the spear flew over the left shoulder of\n     Patroclus,                                            108\n  The making of the arms of Achilles,                      112\n  The shadow of Death came down upon Hector,               116\n\n\n\n\nTHE STORY OF WHAT LED TO THE SIEGE OF TROY\n\n\nIn the deep forest that clothes Mount Ida, not far from the strong city\nof Troy, Paris, son of King Priam, watched his father\u2019s flocks by night.\n\nSuddenly through the dim woods he saw a light, as if the golden sun and\nsilver moon shone both together.\n\nAnd, lo! in the radiance of this light there stood before him the\nthree fairest of the goddesses--queenly Hera, wise Athene, and lovely\nAphrodite.\n\nLike music stealing through the trees came the soft voice of Hera:\n\n\u2018Of all mortal men art thou the most beautiful, Paris, and to thee do\nwe come for judgment. Tell us which of us is the fairest of all, and to\nthat one whom thou so deemest, give this golden apple.\u2019\n\nSo spake Hera, and placed in the hand of Paris an apple of purest gold.\n\nAgain she spake: \u2018If to me, Hera, queen of goddesses, and wife of\nmighty Zeus, king of all the gods, thou dost grant the prize of\nloveliness, Power immeasurable shall be thine. King shalt thou be of\nthe lands where the grey dawn rises, and king even to where the red sun\ngoes down. A hundred peoples shall call thee lord.\u2019\n\nShe was silent, and the voice of Athene, fair and pure as a silver\nmoonbeam, broke the stillness of the starless night.\n\n\u2018To me award the prize,\u2019 she said, \u2018and wise as the gods shalt thou be.\nWith me as thy friend and guide, all things will be possible to thee.\u2019\n\nLast of all, standing in a rosy light, as of the dawning sunlight in\nthe spring, spoke Aphrodite.\n\n\u2018What are Power and Wisdom, fair Paris?\u2019 she pled. \u2018Wisdom and Power\nbring no joy at last. I will give thee Love, and for thy wife thou\nshalt have the fairest woman in all the world.\u2019\n\nAnd Paris, the melody of her voice still in his ears, as he gazed\nspellbound on her face of wondrous beauty, handed to Aphrodite the\ngolden prize.\n\nSo was it that the wrath of the gods came upon Paris, son of Priam. For\nHera and Athene, filled with rage, vowed to be revenged upon Paris and\nall his race, and made all the gods pledge themselves to aid them in\ntheir vengeance.\n\nAcross far seas sailed Paris, with Aphrodite as his guide, to Sparta,\nwhere Menelaus was king.\n\nA brave king was Menelaus, and happily he lived in his kingdom with\nHelen, his queen, fairest of all women. One child they had, a little\nmaid, Hermione.\n\nWhen to Sparta there came Paris, with eyes blue as the sea, and hair\nthat gleamed like gold on his purple robe, gallant and brave, and more\nbeautiful than any mortal man, glad was the welcome that he had from\nMenelaus.\n\nAnd when Paris gazed on Helen\u2019s face, he knew that in all the world\nthere was no woman half so fair as the wife of Menelaus.\n\nThen did Aphrodite cast her magic upon Helen.\n\nNo longer did she love her husband, nor did she remember little\nHermione, her own dear child.\n\nWhen Paris spoke to her words of love, and begged her to flee with him,\nand to be his wife, she knew only that she loved Paris more than all\nelse. Gladly she went with him, and in his red-prowed ship together\nthey sailed across the green waves to Troyland, where Mount Ida showed\nher snowy crown high above the forests.\n\nAn angry man was Menelaus when he found that Paris had stolen from him\nthe fair wife who was to him as his own heart.\n\nTo his elder brother Agamemnon, overlord of all the Greeks, he went and\ntold his grievous tale.\n\nAnd from far and wide did the Greek hosts gather, until a hundred\nthousand men and eleven hundred fourscore and six ships were ready to\ncross the seas to Troyland.\n\n[Illustration: Many were the heroes who sailed away from Greece (page\n5)]\n\nMany were the heroes who sailed away from Greece to punish Paris and\nhis kin, and to bring back fair Helen to her own land.\n\nFew there were who came home, for ten long years of woe and of spilling\nof blood came to the men of Greece and of Troy from the fatal beauty of\nHelen the queen.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER I\n\nHOW ACHILLES AND AGAMEMNON FELL OUT\n\n\nBefore the walls of Troy the Greeks set their camp, and day by day and\nnight by night did they besiege it.\n\nOne day would the Greeks win the fight, and the next day the Trojans\nwould be victors in the battle.\n\nAnd so passed nine long years away. To the city of Chryse one day went\npart of the Greek host, sacked it, and brought back to their camp rich\nspoils and many prisoners.\n\nAmong the prisoners was a beautiful maiden, Chryse\u00efs, daughter of the\nold priest of the Temple of Apollo. Her did Agamemnon choose as his\npart of the spoil, to be his slave.\n\nFrom Chryse, seeking his daughter, came the old priest. With him he\nbrought a rich ransom to buy the freedom of Chryse\u00efs, and in his hands\nhe bore a golden staff wrapped round with the garland worn by Apollo,\nto show that the god whose priest he was, was with him in craving a\nboon from Agamemnon, overlord of the Greeks.\n\n\u2018Take this ransom, I pray you, and set ye my dear child free,\u2019 pled\nChryses, \u2018and the gods will grant you to lay waste the city of Troy,\nand to fare happily homeward.\u2019\n\nThen the Greeks gladly agreed that Chryse\u00efs should go home with her\nfather, and that the goodly ransom should be theirs. But Agamemnon, in\ngreat wrath, drove the old man away.\n\n\u2018Let me not find thee, old man, lingering here beside the ships, lest\nthe golden staff and garland of the god help thee naught!\u2019 he cried.\n\u2018Your daughter shall grow old as my slave, and never more return to thy\nland. Get ye gone!\u2019\n\nSilently along the shore of the sounding sea walked Chryses the priest.\n\nAlone he knelt down and prayed to Apollo, his god.\n\n\u2018Hear me, god of the silver bow!\u2019 he cried. \u2018If I have built thee a\ntemple that is fair in thine eyes, and have offered unto thee there\nthe flesh of bulls and goats, hear me! Let the Greeks be paid by thine\narrows for my tears!\u2019\n\nHigh up amongst the peaks of Olympus Apollo heard the prayer of his\npriest, and great anger filled his heart.\n\nAs dark night falls upon the earth, so did the god come to where\nAgamemnon and his armies lay. A little apart from the ships he sat\ndown, and drew back with a dreadful clang the string of his silver bow.\n\nMules and dogs fell at first before his arrows of death. Then he smote\nmen.\n\nFor nine days did the Greeks fall dead at the will of the avenging god.\nFor nine days did the black smoke from the funeral pyres of the Greek\nwarriors roll out to sea.\n\nOn the tenth day Achilles, son of a mortal warrior and a goddess,\nfleetest of foot and bravest of all Greek heroes, called an assembly of\nthe Greeks.\n\n[Illustration: Achilles, fleetest of foot, and bravest of all Greek\nheroes (page 8)]\n\n\u2018War and pestilence ravage us,\u2019 he said. \u2018Surely it is time to inquire\nof a priest or soothsayer why it is that Apollo is so wroth.\u2019\n\nThen Chalcas, wisest of soothsayers, arose and spoke.\n\n\u2018These woes have come upon us,\u2019 said he, \u2018for the wrong that Agamemnon\nhath done to Chryses, priest of Apollo. With his arrows of pestilence\nApollo will not cease to slay until we have given the bright-eyed\nChryse\u00efs back to her father, unbought and unransomed, and have taken\na hundred beasts and offered them up at Chryse as a sacrifice to the\nangry god.\u2019\n\nSo spake Chalcas, and sate him down.\n\nThere uprose then from his seat the great Agamemnon, black anger in his\nheart, and with eyes flashing fire.\n\n\u2018Ill prophet art thou indeed, Chalcas!\u2019 he cried. \u2018Naught but evil\nhast thou ever foretold to me! I would not take a goodly ransom for\nChryse\u00efs, because I love her even more than I love my own wedded wife.\nYet will I give her back, rather than that my people should perish.\nBut another prize must I have! Why should I alone, of all the Greeks,\nhave my prize taken from me? It is not seemly that it should be so.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nay, nay! most noble Agamemnon,\u2019 said Achilles. \u2018Too greedy art thou\nfor gain. We have no common store of treasure with which to repay thee\nfor that thou hast lost. What spoil we got from the cities we have\ntaken hath already been divided. Nay, give back Chryse\u00efs to her father,\nand when next we sack a city, thine shall be the richest spoil of all.\u2019\n\n\u2018Dost seek to cheat me, Achilles?\u2019 answered the angry Agamemnon.\n\u2018Wouldst thou rob me of my prize and give me naught instead? If thou\nwilt not give me the reward my honour seeks, then will I seize it for\nmyself--be it thine, or that of Odysseus, or the spoil of any other;\nwroth will be he to whomsoever I come. But of this hereafter. Now let\nus launch a black ship on the sea, and in it embark Chryse\u00efs of the\nfair cheeks, and with her send an offering of beasts, that Apollo the\nFar-Darter may have his sacrifice.\u2019\n\nThen Achilles, with black brows, looked at Agamemnon.\n\n\u2018Shameless art thou!\u2019 he cried, \u2018shameless and crafty. For thy sake and\nthat of Menelaus thy brother left I my home and fared across the seas\nto fight in Troyland. And now thou, dog-face! dost threaten to steal\nfrom me the spoil that I have won for myself by weary toil and by hard\nfighting. Home will I go, for I have no mind to fight for one who is\ngreedy for riches and wealth, and cares not if I am dishonoured.\u2019\n\n\u2018Flee, then, if thou wilt,\u2019 answered Agamemnon. \u2018Others I have as\nbrave as thee, and ready to do me honour. Most hateful art thou to me,\nAchilles. Ever thou lovest strife and wars and fightings. I care not\nfor thee and thy wrath; and this I tell thee: to thy hut I myself will\ngo and take from thee Briseis, fairest of all thy slaves, that thou\nmay\u2019st know that I, Agamemnon, am thy lord and ruler.\u2019\n\nMad with anger was Achilles at these words. His hand gripped his sword,\nand he would have slain Agamemnon, had not the goddess Athene stayed\nhis hand.\n\n\u2018Why art thou come hither?\u2019 angrily asked Achilles, as he looked round\nand beheld the goddess at his side. \u2018Art thou come to see the insolence\nof Agamemnon? Yea, I tell thee, through pride shall he lose his life.\u2019\n\nGently then did Athene speak to him.\n\n\u2018To stay thine anger I came from far Olympus,\u2019 said she. \u2018Goodly gifts\nshall come to thee hereafter, Achilles. Only stay thine hand and listen\nto me.\u2019\n\nThen said Achilles:\n\n\u2018Goddess, a man must needs listen to thee and do thy bidding, for the\nman who obeys the immortal gods will also be heard of them.\u2019\n\nTherewith did he grip his sword by its silver hilt and thrust it back\ninto its sheath; yet again he spoke in wrath to Agamemnon.\n\n\u2018Thou with face of a dog and heart of a deer,\u2019 he said, \u2018never hast\nthou fought as men should fight for the spoil! Rather dost thou seize\nthe booty for which thy men have risked their lives. Surely these thy\nwarriors are weaklings, else this should have been thy last wrong. But\nthis I swear by my sceptre which was once a tree, but never more shall\nput forth leaf or twig; as surely as that sceptre shall never again be\ngreen, so surely shall the Greeks one day long for Achilles when they\nfall in heaps dying before the manslaying Hector. Then shalt thou tear\nthy heart for anger, for that thou didst not honour the bravest of thy\nwarriors.\u2019\n\nSo spake Achilles, and dashed on earth his sceptre, studded with golden\nnails, while near him sat Agamemnon, in furious anger.\n\nWith gentle words then spoke Nestor, an old warrior of a hundred years\nand more, longing to make peace.\n\nBut of peace Agamemnon and Achilles would have none.\n\n\u2018Ye may take back my slave, the fair Briseis,\u2019 said Achilles. \u2018The\nGreeks gave her to me; let the Greeks take her from me again. Yet that\nmoment that thou dost dare to lay hand on aught else of mine, thy dark\nblood shall gush about my spear.\u2019\n\nThen was the assembly at an end, and on a fleet ship Chryse\u00efs of the\nfair cheeks was placed, and with her were sent a hundred beasts for\na sacrifice to Apollo. With them went Odysseus and a goodly company,\nand they sailed across the sea to Chryse, to bring back to Chryses the\npriest his fair daughter, and to offer a worthy sacrifice to the angry\ngod.\n\nThen did Agamemnon call his heralds to him.\n\n\u2018Go ye to the tent of Achilles,\u2019 said he, \u2018and bring me Briseis, his\nfair slave.\u2019\n\nUnwillingly they walked along the beach to where the tent of Achilles\nwas pitched. By it he sat, and well, and with a heavy heart, he knew\nwhen he saw them what their errand was.\n\n\u2018Welcome, ye heralds,\u2019 he said. \u2018Ye are not guilty in my sight. Guilty\nonly is Agamemnon who sent you to rob me of the fair Briseis. Lead her\naway, yet be witnesses that when Agamemnon hath sore need of me to save\nhis host from shameful wreck, no help from me shall he have.\u2019\n\nUnwillingly Briseis was led away, and Achilles watched her go.\n\nThen sitting alone on the beach of the grey sea, Achilles wept.\n\nWith eager gaze his eyes swept across the waste of water, and holding\nout his hands in supplication he cried to his mother, Thetis the\nsilver-footed, daughter of the King of the Sea.\n\nLike a mist Thetis rose from the depths of the green sea-waves, and\ncame to her sorrowing son.\n\nGently she stroked his hand, and spoke to him soothing words.\n\n\u2018Why dost thou weep, my child?\u2019 she said. \u2018Tell me all the sorrow that\nis in thy heart.\u2019\n\nTo his goddess-mother Achilles told the tale of the grievous dishonour\nthat Agamemnon had done to him, and for rage and for grief Thetis wept\nwith her son.\n\n\u2018Short is to be thy life, my son,\u2019 she said. \u2018Would that I had never\nborne thee, rather than that it should also be full of grief.\u2019\n\nThen did she leave him, but at dawn next day she rose from the sea and\nmounted up to Olympus.\n\n\u2018Father Zeus,\u2019 she said to the king of the gods, \u2018if ever I have given\nthee aid amid gods or men, fulfil now my desire. Do honour to my son,\nwhose life on earth is to be so short. Grant victory to the Trojans\nwhile Achilles does not draw his sword. Grant that at last the Greeks\nmay do honour to him to whom Agamemnon hath brought such bitter shame.\u2019\n\nThen did Zeus bow his head and grant her prayer.\n\nAnd Thetis the silver-footed darted like a diving bird down from\nOlympus, and cleft the green waves as she went back to her father in\nhis kingdom under the sea.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER II\n\nTHE COUNCIL\n\n\nThat night both gods and men slept long; only Zeus, king of the gods,\nlay wakeful, pondering in his heart how best he might do honour to\nAchilles. \u2018I shall send a Dream to beguile Agamemnon,\u2019 at length he\nresolved.\n\nThen did he call to a Dream, for by Dreams the gods sent their messages\nto mortal men.\n\n\u2018Go now, thou evil Dream,\u2019 said Zeus, \u2018go to where Agamemnon sleeps in\nhis tent near to his fleet ships, and tell him every word as I shall\ntell it thee. Bid him call to arms with speed his warriors, for now he\nshall take the strong city of Troy.\u2019\n\nTo the tent of Agamemnon sped the Dream. Taking the form of the old\nwarrior who had striven to make peace between Agamemnon and Achilles,\nthe Dream stooped over the sleeping warrior, and thus to him it spoke:\n\n\u2018Sleepest thou, Agamemnon? Ill fits it for the overlord of so mighty a\nhost to sleep all through the night. From Zeus I come, and to thee he\nsends this message: Call to arms with speed thy warriors, Agamemnon,\nfor now shalt thou take the strong city of Troy.\u2019\n\nOff then sped the Dream, winging its way like a strip of grey mist\naloft to Mount Olympus.\n\nThen Agamemnon awoke from sleep, and the voice of the Dream still rang\nin his ears.\n\nSpeedily he arose from his bed, donned his fair tunic, cast around\nhim his great cloak, and bound his sandals on his feet. Then over his\nshoulder he cast his silver-studded sword, and with the sceptre of his\nhouse, token of his overlordship, in his hand, he went down to where\nthe Greek ships lay, and called a council together.\n\nTo his lords he told what had befallen him as they slept.\n\n\u2018Call to arms!\u2019 had been the message from Zeus. \u2018Call to arms! for\nvictory shall be thine.\u2019\n\nThen said the old warrior in whose likeness the Dream had come:\n\n\u2018My friends, had any other told us this dream we might deem it false;\nbut to our overlord the Dream hath come. Let us then call our men to\narms.\u2019\n\nSo did all the lords follow his counsel, and quickly did the Greeks\nobey their summons. Like bees that pour from out their nests in some\nhollow rock, and fly to where the spring flowers grow most sweet, even\nso did the warriors pour forth from their ships and their huts by the\nsea. Loudly they shouted as they came, till all the earth echoed. Nine\nheralds sought to quiet them, but it was long before they would cease\ntheir noise, and sit silent to listen to the voice of Agamemnon their\nlord.\n\nThen did Agamemnon prove his people. \u2018Ill hath Zeus dealt with us,\nmy friends,\u2019 he said. \u2018To us he promised ere we sailed hither that\nvictory should be ours. But nine years have passed away, and our ships\u2019\ntimbers have rotted, and the rigging is worn. In our halls our wives\nand children still sit awaiting us, yet are we no nearer victory than\nwe were on the day that we came hither. Come then, let us flee with our\nships to our dear native land, for never shall Troy be ours.\u2019\n\nSo spake Agamemnon, and stirred the hearts of all that had not heard\nhis secret council.\n\nAs the high sea-waves are swayed by the winds that rush upon them from\nthe east and from the south, even so the Greek host was swayed. And\neven as the west wind sweeps over a cornfield and all the ears bow down\nbefore the blast, so were the warriors stirred.\n\nShouting, they hastened down to their ships. And the dust rose up in\nclouds from under their hurrying feet.\n\nQuickly did they prepare their ships, and gladly did they make them\nready to sail homeward across the bright salt sea.\n\nThen would the Greeks have returned, even though fate willed it not.\nBut Hera spoke to Athene.\n\n\u2018Shall we indeed allow the Greeks thus to flee homeward?\u2019 she cried.\n\u2018Shame it will be to us if Helen is left in Troy, and Paris goes\nunpunished. Haste, then, and with thy gentle words hold back the men\nfrom setting forth in their ships for their own homeland.\u2019\n\nDown from the peaks of Olympus darted the bright-eyed Athene, down to\nwhere the dark ships were being dragged to the launching ways.\n\nBy his ship stood Odysseus of the many devices, and heavy of heart was\nhe.\n\nAs one who speaks aloud the thoughts of another, so then to Odysseus\nspake the fair goddess who was ever his guide.\n\n\u2018Will ye indeed fling yourselves upon your ships and flee homeward to\nyour own land?\u2019 she said. \u2018Will brave Odysseus leave Helen, for whose\nsake so many Greeks have died, to be the boast of the men of Troy?\nHasten, then, and suffer not the Greeks to drag their ships down to the\nsea.\u2019\n\nAt the sound of the voice of Athene, Odysseus cast away his mantle\nand ran to meet Agamemnon. From him he received the sceptre of\noverlordship, and bearing it he went among the ships.\n\nWhenever he saw a chief, he would say to him with gentle words:\n\n\u2018Good sir, it fits thee ill to be a coward. Stay, now, for thou knowest\nnot what is the will of Agamemnon. He is only making trial of thee.\nHold back then thy people, and anger him not.\u2019\n\nBut when Odysseus met a common man hasting to the ships, with his\nsceptre he smote him, saying:\n\n\u2018Sit still, sir, and listen to the words of thy betters. No warrior art\nthou, but a weakling. One king only hath Zeus given to us. Hearken then\nto the will of Agamemnon!\u2019\n\nThus did Odysseus rule the people, driving them back from the ships to\nwhere sat Agamemnon.\n\nAnd the noise they made in returning was as the noise of mighty waves\nof the sea, when they crash upon the beach and drive their roaring\nechoes far abroad.\n\nSilence came upon them as they sate themselves down before Agamemnon\nand their lords. Upon all but one did silence fall. Thersites,\nbandy-legged, round-shouldered, lame of one foot, with ugly head\ncovered with scanty stubble, most ill-favoured of all men in the host,\nwould not hold his peace.\n\nShrilly he poured his upbraidings upon Agamemnon.\n\n\u2018What lackest thou now?\u2019 he cried. \u2018Surely thy huts are full of the\nspoils we have brought to thee each time we have taken a town. What\nmore dost thou want? Soft fools, women, not men, are ye Greeks, else\nwould ye return home now with the ships, and leave this fellow here in\nTroyland gorging himself on the spoils for which he himself hath never\nfought. To brave Achilles hath he done dishonour, a far better man than\nhe!\u2019\n\nStraight to the side of Thersites came the goodly Odysseus.\n\n\u2018Hold thy peace,\u2019 he sternly said. \u2018Plainly I tell thee that if ever\nagain I find thee raving as thou hast raved now, I myself will strip\noff thy mantle and tunic, with shameful blows beat thee out of the\nassembly, and send thee back weeping to the ships.\u2019\n\nSo spake Odysseus, and with his sceptre smote Thersites on his back\nand shoulders. And Thersites bowed down, and big tears fell from his\neyes, and a bloody weal from the golden sceptre stood up from his back.\nAmazed he sat down, and in pain and amazement he wiped away a tear. The\nothers, though they were sorry, laughed at his bewilderment.\n\n\u2018Many are the good deeds of Odysseus,\u2019 said they, \u2018but never did he do\na better deed than when he stopped the tongue of this prating railer.\u2019\n\nThen spake Odysseus, sceptre in hand.\n\n\u2018Surely it is the wish of the Greeks to make thee the most despised\nof all kings, great Agamemnon,\u2019 he said, \u2018for like young children or\nmourning women do they wail that they must go home. Nine years have\nwe stayed in this land, and small wonder is it that we long for our\nhomes again. Yet shameful would it be to wait so long and to return\nwith empty hands. Be of good heart, my friends, and wait a little, for\nsurely Troy shall be ours. Do ye forget, on the day that we set sail\nfor Troyland, the mighty portent that we saw? As we offered sacrifices\nto the gods beneath a fair plane-tree whence flowed clear water, a\nsnake, blood-red on the back and dreadful to look upon, glided from\nbeneath the altar and darted to the tree. On the tree\u2019s topmost bough\nwas a sparrow\u2019s nest, and in it eight tender nestlings, over which the\nmother-bird spread her wings. Pitifully did the little ones cheep as\nthe snake swallowed them all, and pitifully cried the mother as she\nfluttered over her nestlings. But of her, too, did the snake lay hold,\ncoiling himself round her and crushing her life out. Then did the god\nwho sent this sign show us that a sign from the gods in truth it was,\nfor he turned the snake into stone. And Chalcas, our soothsayer, told\nus then the meaning of the sign. \u201cNine years,\u201d said he--for nine birds\ndid the snake slay--\u201cshall ye fight in Troyland, but in the tenth year\nthe city shall fall before you.\u201d So then, let us abide here, until we\nhave taken the great city!\u2019\n\nWhen Odysseus had ceased to speak, the Greeks shouted aloud, until the\nships echoed the praises of the goodly Odysseus.\n\nThen said Agamemnon:\n\n\u2018Go now, all of you, and eat, that ye may be ready for battle. Let each\nman sharpen well his spear and see to his shield, and see to it that\nthe horses are well fed and the chariots prepared. And whomsoever I see\nminded to stay far away from the fight, beside the ships here by the\nsea, for him shall there be no hope hereafter, but he shall be food for\ndogs and for birds of prey.\u2019\n\nAnd when Agamemnon had spoken, the shouts of the Greeks were as the\nthunder of mighty breakers on a reef when the winds blow high.\n\nQuickly then they scattered, and kindled fires, and made their evening\nmeal, and offered sacrifices to the gods, praying for escape from death\nin the coming battle.\n\nTo Zeus did Agamemnon offer his sacrifice, and to the mighty god he\nprayed:\n\n\u2018Great Zeus, god of the storm-cloud, let not the sun set nor the\ndarkness fall until I have laid low the palaces of Troy and burned\ndown its walls with fire.\u2019\n\nSo he prayed, but as yet Zeus heeded not his prayer. Then did the\nGreeks gather themselves together to battle, and amongst them went the\nbright-eyed Athene, urging on each one, and rousing in each man\u2019s heart\nthe joy of strength and of battle.\n\nAs the red and golden blaze of a fire that devours a mighty forest\nis seen from afar, so was seen from afar the dazzling gleam of their\nbronze armour as they marched.\n\nLike wild geese and cranes and swans that in long-drawn strings fly\ntirelessly onward, so poured they forth, while the earth echoed\nterribly under the tread of men and horses.\n\nAs flies that swarm in the spring when the herdsmen\u2019s milk-pails are\nfull, so did the Greeks throng to battle, unnumbered as the leaves and\nthe flowers upon which they trod in the flowery plain by the banks of\nthe river Scamander.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER III\n\nTHE FIGHT BETWEEN PARIS AND MENELAUS\n\n\nTo meet the great Greek host came the men of Troy. With loud shouting\nand clamour they came, noisy as the flocks of cranes that fly to\nfar-off seas before the coming of winter and sudden rain.\n\nBut in silence marched the Greeks, shoulder to shoulder, their hearts\nfull of courage.\n\nLike the mist that rolls from the crest of the mountains until no man\ncan see in front of him further than the cast of a stone, so did the\ndust rise in clouds under the tread of the warriors\u2019 feet as they\nmarched across the plain.\n\nFront to front did the two armies stand at last, and from the Trojan\nranks strode forth Paris the godlike, he who robbed Menelaus of her\nwho was to him most dear.\n\nFrom the shoulders of Paris swung a panther\u2019s skin. He bore a curved\nbow and sword, and, brandishing two bronze-headed spears, he challenged\nall the chieftains of the Greek host to fight him, man to man, in\nmortal fight.\n\nAs a hungry lion rejoices to see a great-horned stag coming to be his\nprey, even so did Menelaus rejoice when he saw Paris, the golden-haired\nand blue-eyed, stride proudly forth.\n\nStraightway, in his armour, did Menelaus leap from his chariot to the\nground.\n\nBut when Paris saw him to whom he had done so sore a wrong, his heart\nwas smitten.\n\nAs a man who, in a mountain glen, suddenly sees a deadly snake and\nshrinks away from it with shaking limbs, even so did Paris shrink back\namongst his comrades.\n\nScornfully did Hector his brother behold him.\n\n\u2018Fair in face thou art!\u2019 said Hector, \u2018but shamed I am by thee! I\nween these long-haired Greeks make sport of us because we have for\nchampion one whose face and form are beautiful, but in whose heart is\nneither strength nor courage. Art thou a coward? and yet thou daredst\nto sail across the sea and steal from her husband the fair woman who\nhath brought us so much harm. Thou shalt see what sort of warrior is he\nwhose lovely wife thou hast taken. Thy harp and thy golden locks and\nfair face, and all the graces given to thee by Aphrodite, shall count\nfor little when thou liest in the dust! Cowards must we Trojans be,\nelse thou hadst been stoned to death ere this, for all the evil thou\nhast wrought.\u2019\n\nThen answered Paris:\n\n\u2018No word hast thou said that I do not deserve, brave Hector. Yet scorn\nnot the gifts of golden Aphrodite, for by his own desire can no man win\nthe love and beauty that the goddess gives. But let me now do battle\nwith Menelaus. Make the Trojans and the men of Greece sit down, while\nMenelaus and I fight for Helen. Let him who is conqueror have her\nand all that is hers for his own, and let the others take an oath of\nfriendship so that the Greeks may depart in peace to their own land,\nand in peace the Trojans dwell in Troy.\u2019\n\nGreatly did Hector rejoice at his brother\u2019s word. His spear grasped by\nthe middle, he went through the Trojan ranks and bid the warriors hold\nback.\n\nBut as he went, the Greeks shot arrows at brave Hector and cast stones.\n\n\u2018Hold! hold! ye Greeks,\u2019 called Agamemnon. \u2018Hector of the glancing helm\nhath somewhat to say to us.\u2019\n\nIn silence, then, the two armies stood, while Hector told them the\nwords of Paris his brother.\n\nWhen they had heard him, Menelaus spoke.\n\n\u2018Many ills have ye endured,\u2019 he said, \u2018for my sake and because of the\nsins of Paris. Yet now, I think, the end of this long war hath come.\nLet us fight, then, and death and fate shall decide which of us shall\ndie. Let us offer sacrifice now to Zeus, and call hither Priam, King of\nTroy. I fear for the faith of his sons, Paris and Hector, but Priam is\nan old man and will not break faith.\u2019\n\nThen were the Greeks and the Trojans glad. They came down from their\nchariots, and took off their arms, and laid them on the ground, while\nheralds went to tell Priam and to fetch lambs and a ram for the\nsacrifice.\n\nWhile they went, Hera sent to Troy Iris, her messenger, in the guise of\nthe fairest daughter of Priam.\n\nTo the hall where Helen sat came lovely Iris. And there she found\nHelen, fairest of women, her white arms swiftly moving back and forward\nas she wove a great purple web of double wool, and wrought thereon\npictures of many battles of the Greeks and the men of Troy.\n\n\u2018Come hither, dear lady,\u2019 said Iris, \u2018and see a wondrous thing. For\nthey that so fiercely fought with each other, now sit in silence. The\nbattle is stayed; they lean upon their shields, and their tall spears\nare thrust in the earth by their sides. But for thee are Menelaus and\nParis now going to fight, and thou shalt be the wife of the conqueror.\u2019\n\nSo spake lovely Iris, and into the sleeping heart of Helen there came\nremembrance, and a hungry longing for her old home, and for Menelaus,\nand her father and mother, and for little Hermione, her child.\n\nThe tears rolled down her cheeks, but quickly she hid her face with a\nveil of fair linen, and hastened out, with her two handmaidens, to the\nplace where the two armies lay.\n\nAt the Skaian gates sat Priam and other old warriors.\n\nAs Helen, in her fair white robes, drew near, the old men marvelled at\nher loveliness.\n\n\u2018Small wonder is it,\u2019 said they, \u2018that Trojans and Greeks should suffer\nhardships and lay down their lives for one so beautiful. Yet well would\nit be for her to sail away upon the Greek ships rather than stay here\nto bring trouble upon us now, and upon our children hereafter.\u2019\n\nThen Priam called to Helen:\n\n\u2018Come hither, dear child, and sit beside me, that thou may\u2019st see the\nman who once was thy husband, and thy kinsmen, and thy friends. No\nblame do I give to thee for all our woes, but only to the gods who have\nchosen thee to be the cause of all this bloodshed.\u2019\n\nThen did Priam ask her the names of the mighty heroes who stood by\ntheir spears in the Grecian ranks, and Helen, making answer to him,\nsaid:\n\n\u2018Dear father of Paris, my lord, would that I had died ere I left my\nown land and my little child, and all those that I loved, and followed\nthy son hither. Agamemnon, a goodly king and a mighty spearsman, is\nthe Greek warrior whose name thou dost ask. Brother of him who was my\nhusband is he. Ah! shameless me, who did leave mine own.\u2019\n\nOf Odysseus also, and of many another warrior of great stature and\nbrave looks, did Priam make inquiry. And Helen told him all she knew,\nwhile tears of longing stood in her eyes.\n\n\u2018My two brethren, Castor, tamer of horses, and Polydeuces, the skilful\nboxer, I do not see,\u2019 she said; \u2018mayhap they have not crossed the sea.\u2019\nFor she knew not that her two brothers lay dead in her own beautiful\nland.\n\nThen was the sacrifice to Zeus offered, and the vows made between\nAgamemnon and Priam, King of Troy.\n\nWhen the sacrifice and vows were accomplished, Priam in haste mounted\nhis chariot and drove away.\n\n\u2018Verily will I return to windy Ilios,\u2019 said the old man, \u2018for I cannot\nbear to watch the fight between Menelaus and my own dear son. But only\nZeus and the gods know which one of them is to fall.\u2019\n\nThen Hector and Odysseus marked out a space for the fight, and into a\nbronze helmet Hector placed two pebbles and shook them in the helmet,\nlooking behind him. And the pebble of Paris leapt out the first, so\nthat to him fell the lot to cast first his spear of bronze.\n\nThen did Paris arm himself. Greaves of beauteous fashioning he\nplaced upon his legs, and fastened them with silver ankle-clasps.\nOver his shoulders he put his silver-studded sword of bronze and his\ngreat shield. On his head he placed a helmet with nodding crest of\nhorse-hair, and in his hand he grasped his strong spear. In like manner\ndid Menelaus arm himself.\n\nOne moment did they stand face to face, wrath and hatred in their\nhearts, their spears gripped firm in their hands.\n\nThen did Paris hurl his spear and smite the shield of Menelaus. But the\nshield was strong and the spear could not pierce it.\n\nHis hand lifted up for the cast, Menelaus looked upwards and called to\nZeus.\n\n\u2018Grant me revenge, great Zeus!\u2019 he cried. \u2018On him that hath done me\ngrievous wrong, grant me vengeance, so that all men hereafter may\nshudder to wrong one who hath treated him as his honoured guest.\u2019\n\nThen hurled he his mighty spear. Through the bright shield it went,\nand through the shining breastplate, tearing the tunic of Paris on his\nthigh. But Paris swerved aside, and so escaped death.\n\nThen Menelaus drew his silver-studded sword and drove it crashing down\nupon the helmet of Paris. But in four pieces was the sword shattered,\nand fell from the hand of Menelaus.\n\n\u2018Surely art thou the most cruel of all the gods, Zeus!\u2019 angrily he\ncried. \u2018My spear is cast in vain, and my sword shattered, and my\nvengeance is still to come!\u2019\n\nSo saying, he leapt upon Paris. By the crest on his helmet he seized\nhim, and, swinging him round, he dragged him towards the Greek host.\nThe embroidered strap beneath the helmet of Paris strangled him, and\nso he would have shamefully died, had not Aphrodite marked his plight.\nSwiftly did she burst the leather strap, and the helmet was left empty\nin the grasp of Menelaus.\n\nCasting the empty helmet, with a swing, to his comrades, Menelaus\nsprang back, ready, with another spear, to slay his enemy.\n\nBut Aphrodite snatched Paris up, and in thick mist she hid him, and\nbore him away to his own home. Like a wild beast Menelaus strode\nthrough the host, searching for him. But no Trojan would have hidden\nhim, for with a bitter hatred did the men of Troy hate Paris, most\nbeautiful of mortal men.\n\nThen said Agamemnon:\n\n\u2018Hearken to me, ye Trojans. Now hath Menelaus gained the victory. Give\nus back Helen, and all that is hers, and pay me the recompense that ye\nowe me for all the evil days that are gone.\u2019\n\nSo spake he, and glad were the shouts of the Greeks as they heard the\nwords of their king.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IV\n\nHOW MENELAUS WAS WOUNDED; AND THE BRAVE DEEDS OF DIOMEDES\n\n\nWhile Menelaus made search for Paris, Hera and Athene plotted together,\nwrathfully planning how best to bring harm upon Paris and the men of\nTroy.\n\nNo wish had they that the grievous war should be ended, and Paris, whom\nthey hated, allowed to go unpunished.\n\nLike a shooting-star that flashes through the sky, even so did Athene\nhaste down to the earth from Olympus.\n\nIn the guise of a man she sought Pandarus, a gallant warrior and a\nmighty archer.\n\n\u2018Hearken to me, wise Pandarus,\u2019 said the goddess. \u2018Shoot now a swift\narrow at Menelaus, that thou may\u2019st slay him. So shalt thou win fame\nand glory before all the Trojans, and gain from Paris kingly gifts.\u2019\n\nAnd to her words foolish Pandarus lent willing ears.\n\nHe unsheathed his polished bow, made from the horn of a wild ibex\nthat he himself had shot in the mountains. Sixteen palms long were\nits horns, and these a skilled workman had polished well and joined\ncunningly together, and tipped with gold. Well did Pandarus string his\nbow, and from his quiver he chose an arrow, sharp and new. Then did he\npull back the bowstring to his breast until the great bow was bent into\na round. The horn twanged and the bowstring sang, and the keen arrow\nsped fiercely on its way. Straight to the heart of Menelaus would it\nhave sped, but Athene made it glance aside, so that it smote against\nthe golden buckles of the belt of his breastplate. Yet even then did it\ngraze his flesh, and the black blood gushed forth from the wound.\n\nWhen Agamemnon saw the blood flowing, sorely grieved was he.\n\nBut Menelaus said:\n\n\u2018Be of good courage. The wound is not deep, for my glistering belt in\nfront and my kirtle of mail beneath stayed the deadly arrow.\u2019\n\nThen did they send for a skilled physician. And he, when he was come,\ndrew forth the arrow, and sucked the blood and spread healing drugs\nupon the wound.\n\nWhile the physician tended Menelaus, throughout the Greek host went\nAgamemnon.\n\n\u2018To arms!\u2019 he said to his men. \u2018The men of Troy have broken the oath\nof peace that they took, and for us it is to punish them. No helper\nof liars is Zeus, and so shall they fall before us and their flesh be\ngiven to the vultures for their food!\u2019\n\nAll those of his men that he found preparing eagerly for the battle, he\npraised. But to those that he found shrinking from battle he gave angry\nwords, whether they were common soldiers or great chiefs.\n\nTo Diomedes he came at last.\n\n\u2018Dost thou hold back from battle, Diomedes?\u2019 he cried. \u2018Such was not\nthy father\u2019s way. Ever in battle was he the first. But his son is not a\nfighter such as he, though in speech he may be more skilled.\u2019\n\nNo answer did Diomedes make, for he reverenced Agamemnon the king.\n\nBut a comrade who stood by him cried out in anger at the injustice of\nhis words.\n\n\u2018Falsely dost thou speak, Agamemnon!\u2019 he said. \u2018Better men than our\nfathers are we! Did we not, with fewer men and against a stronger wall,\ntake the great city of Thebes which they strove to take in vain!\u2019\n\nBut brave Diomedes sternly rebuked him. \u2018Be silent, brother,\u2019 he said,\n\u2018for right and just it is that Agamemnon should urge his warriors on\nto the fight. His will be the glory if we overcome the men of Troy and\ntake their city, and his will be the great sorrow if by the Trojans we\nGreeks are laid low. Come! let us to arms!\u2019\n\nFrom his chariot Diomedes leapt to the ground, and his armour clanged\nas he moved.\n\nAnd as the great sea-billows raise their heads before the driving of\nthe gale, and crash themselves in fury against the shore, casting afar\ntheir briny spray and foam, even as mightily did the Greeks move onward\nto battle. Horse after horse, and man after man, went as the waves of\nthe sea.\n\nBut like bleating sheep were the Trojans as they awaited the coming of\ntheir foes.\n\nAnd amongst the men of Troy fought Mars, god of war, and for the Greeks\nfought Athene, and with her were Terror and Rout, and Strife that never\nwearies.\n\nSo did the armies meet. Like wolves they fought. Man lashed at man;\nwith blood the earth grew red, and the clamour of their fighting was\nas the noise of the meeting of the mountain streams when they rush in\nfurious spate into the valleys in the winter floods.\n\nLike trees that the woodmen cut and send crashing to the ground, so\nfell first one hero, then another. First fell a man of Troy, then a\nGreek. On that day many a Trojan and many a Greek side by side in the\ndust lay dead.\n\nNow was it that to Diomedes Athene came and gave fresh strength and\ncourage. From his helmet she made a light to shine, burning brightly as\na star in summer.\n\nAmongst the Trojans were two brothers, rich and noble, and well-skilled\nwarriors.\n\nOne of them from their chariot cast his spear at Diomedes, who was on\nfoot, but missed his aim. And Diomedes then cast his spear and smote\nhis enemy in the breast, so that from his chariot he fell dead on the\nground, while his brother fled, lest he, too, should be slain. He left\nhis beautiful chariot behind, and Diomedes drove away the horses and\ngave them to his men to keep for him.\n\nAnd Athene, watching the fray, took the god Mars by the hand and led\nhim aside.\n\n\u2018Let us leave the Greeks and Trojans to fight,\u2019 said she, \u2018and let Zeus\ngive the victory to whom he will.\u2019\n\nThen did Mars sit him down by the river Scamander, and again Greeks and\nTrojans fought without aid from the gods.\n\nLike heroes they fought. Like heroes they slew and died. But none\nfought as did Diomedes. Like a winter torrent in full flood did he\ncharge across the plain, driving all before him.\n\nBut when Pandarus the archer saw him coming against him in triumph, he\nbent his bow and drove an arrow in haste to meet him. And in one moment\nthe corslet of Diomedes was dabbled with blood.\n\nThen loudly shouted Pandarus:\n\n\u2018Bestir you, brave Trojans! The best man of the Greeks is wounded, and\nsoon shall he die from the arrow that I sped against him!\u2019\n\nSo boasted Pandarus, but Diomedes leapt down from his chariot, and to\nhis charioteer he spoke:\n\n\u2018Haste thee, and draw from my shoulder this bitter arrow.\u2019\n\nSpeedily the charioteer drew the arrow forth, and from the wound the\nblood spurted upward.\n\nThen cried Diomedes:\n\n\u2018Hear me, Athene! If ever thou didst stand by my father in heat of\nbattle, stand now by me. Bring me within a spear\u2019s thrust of this man\nwho hath wounded me, and grant that I may slay him.\u2019\n\nSo he prayed, and Athene heard him.\n\n\u2018Be of good courage, Diomedes,\u2019 she said. \u2018Thy prayer is granted. But\nif thou shouldst meet any of the gods in battle, smite none of them\nsave golden Aphrodite.\u2019\n\nThen did Diomedes turn back to the battle, and threefold courage came\nupon him, so that he fought as fights an angry lion.\n\nTen warriors, brave and gallant, fell before him, and the horses of\nthese he took and gave to his men to drive to the ships.\n\nThen said Aeneas, captain of the Trojan host, son of a mortal warrior\nand of the goddess Aphrodite:\n\n\u2018Where are thy bows and arrows, Pandarus? Canst thou not slay this man\nwho makes havoc of the host?\u2019\n\n\u2018Methinks this man is Diomedes,\u2019 answered Pandarus. \u2018Already have I\nsmitten him, but without avail. Surely he is no man, but a wrathful\ngod. Behind me in my own dear land left I eleven fair chariots, each\nwith its yoke of horses, for I feared that my good horses might not\nfind fodder in the camp. So now have I no chariot but only my bow,\nand now is my bow of no help to me, for Menelaus and Diomedes have I\nsmitten, yet they have not died.\u2019\n\nThen said Aeneas:\n\n\u2018Talk not thus, but mount in my chariot and take the reins and whip,\nand I myself will stand upon the car and fight with Diomedes.\u2019\n\n\u2018Nay,\u2019 said Pandarus, \u2018take thou thyself the reins. Should thy horses\nbe driven by one they know not, and hear a strange voice from him who\ndrives them, mad might they go with fear. So drive thine own horses,\nAeneas, and with my spear will I go against Diomedes.\u2019\n\nIn the chariot then mounted Aeneas and Pandarus, and swiftly galloped\nthe horses against Diomedes. His charioteer saw them coming and to\nDiomedes he said:\n\n\u2018Pandarus and Aeneas come against us, Diomedes--mighty warriors both.\nLet us haste back to our chariot.\u2019\n\n\u2018Speak not of flight!\u2019 answered Diomedes. \u2018It is not in my blood to\nskulk or cower down. As for these, both shall not escape me. But if\nAthene grant that I slay them both, then stay my chariot where it is,\nbinding the reins to the chariot rim, and leap upon the horses of\nAeneas and drive them forth into the host of the Greeks. For truly\nthere are no better horses under the sun than these horses of Aeneas.\u2019\n\nWhen Pandarus and Aeneas drew near, fiercely Pandarus hurled his\nbronze-shod spear. Through the shield of Diomedes it passed, and\nreached his breastplate.\n\n\u2018Thou art hit in the loin!\u2019 cried Pandarus; \u2018now, methinks, thou soon\nshalt die.\u2019\n\nBut Diomedes, unafraid, replied:\n\n\u2018Nay! thou hast missed and not hit.\u2019\n\nWith that he hurled his spear. Through the nose and teeth and tongue of\nPandarus it passed, and from the chariot he fell, his gleaming armour\nclanging on the ground. And it was from a dead man that the horses\nswerved aside.\n\nThen Aeneas leapt from his chariot and stood astride the lifeless\nbody, like a lion at bay, fearful lest the Greeks should take from him\nthe body of his friend.\n\nIn his hand Diomedes seized a mighty stone, and with it smote Aeneas on\nthe thigh, crushing the bone, and tearing the skin. On his knees fell\nthe great Aeneas, and soon must he have perished, but Aphrodite saw the\nperil of her son and wound her white arms about him, and would have\nborne him safely away. But Diomedes, leaping in his chariot, pursued\nher, and with his spear he wounded her sorely on the wrist. With a\ngreat cry Aphrodite let fall her son, but another of the gods was near\nand bore him away in the covering of a cloud.\n\n\u2018Away with thee, Aphrodite!\u2019 called Diomedes. \u2018It is surely enough for\nthee to beguile feeble women and to keep away from battle!\u2019\n\nThen upon Aeneas he leapt, not knowing that it was a god whose arms\nheld him. Three times did he seek fiercely to slay Aeneas, and three\ntimes did the god beat him back.\n\n\u2018Thou warrest with the gods! Have a care, Diomedes!\u2019 shouted the god in\na terrible voice, and Diomedes for a little shrank back.\n\nThen truly did the gods come to war against Greeks and Trojans, for\nMars and Athene and Hera in fury fought amongst the hosts.\n\n\u2018Shame on ye! men of Greece,\u2019 cried Athene. \u2018While noble Achilles went\nforth to war, the Trojans dared scarcely pass without their gates, but\nnow they bring their fighting close to the ships on the beach!\u2019 So she\nroused the Greeks to further fury.\n\nTo Diomedes then she went. Him she found beside his chariot, wiping\naway the blood from the wound dealt him by Pandarus.\n\n\u2018An unworthy son of thy brave father art thou, Diomedes,\u2019 she said.\n\u2018Alone would thy father fight; but though I stand by thy side to guard\nthee, either weariness or fear hath taken hold on thee.\u2019\n\n\u2018I have no fear, neither am I weary,\u2019 answered Diomedes, \u2018but thou hast\ntold me to smite none of the gods save Aphrodite, and now see I the\ngod Mars leading the men of Troy. So have I stayed my hand and called\nback my men from the battle.\u2019\n\nThen answered bright-eyed Athene:\n\n\u2018Diomedes, joy of mine heart, fear not Mars nor any other of the gods,\nfor I am thy helper. Go now, guide thy chariot against Mars and smite\nhim hand to hand. This day did he promise me to fight for the Greeks,\nand now he fights against them.\u2019\n\nSo saying, she made the charioteer of Diomedes give her his place, and\nherself, with whip and reins, did she guide the fiery horses.\n\nAnd Mars, seeing the chariot of Diomedes draw near, leaving many dead\nbehind him, eagerly came to meet it. With furious thrust did he drive\nhis spear at Diomedes, but Athene seized it in her hand and turned\nit aside. Then did Diomedes thrust at Mars with his spear of bronze,\nand it Athene guided so that it pierced the thigh of the god of war.\nLoud as nine thousand or ten thousand warriors cry in battle, did Mars\nbellow with rage and pain, and like a thunder-cloud he swept upwards\nthrough the sky to Olympus.\n\nAnd still the fight went on, and sorrow came to many from the slaying\nof that day.\n\n[Illustration: Mars, like a thunder-cloud, swept upwards through the\nsky to Olympus\n                                                  (page 52)\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER V\n\nHECTOR AND ANDROMACHE\n\n\nFrom where the battle still raged went Hector, son of Priam. At the\noak tree by the gates of Troy there came running to meet him wives and\ndaughters of those who fought. For eagerly did they long for tidings of\nmany a warrior who now lay dead on the field.\n\nWhen he reached the beautiful, many-pillared palace of his father, his\nmother came to meet him.\n\nHis hand she took in hers, and gently spoke she to him.\n\n\u2018Art thou wearied that thou hast left the battle, Hector, my son?\u2019 she\nsaid. \u2018Let me bring thee wine that thou may\u2019st be refreshed and yet\ngain strength.\u2019\n\n\u2018Bring me no wine, dear mother,\u2019 said Hector, \u2018lest it take from me\nthe strength and courage that I have. Rather go thou to the temple of\nAthene and offer her sacrifices, beseeching that she will have mercy on\nTroy and on the wives of the Trojans and their little children. So may\nshe hold back Diomedes the destroyer. I go to Paris--would that he were\ndead!\u2019\n\nAnd the mother of Hector straightway, with other old women, the mothers\nof heroes, offered sacrifices and prayers to Athene. But Athene paid no\nheed.\n\nTo the palace of Paris, his mighty bronze spear in his hand, then\nstrode Hector.\n\nParis, the golden-haired, sat in a room with Helen, idly handling his\nshining shield and breastplate and curved bow.\n\nIn bitter scorn spoke Hector to his brother.\n\n\u2018Our people die in battle for thy sake!\u2019 he cried, \u2018while here thou\nsittest idle. Up then, ere the enemies that thou hast made for us burn\nour city to the ground!\u2019\n\nAnd Paris answered:\n\n\u2018Justly dost thou chide me, Hector. Even now hath Helen urged me to\nplay the man and go back to battle. Only let me put on my armour, and\nsoon will I overtake thee.\u2019\n\nNever a word did Hector answer him.\n\nBut to Hector did Helen then speak.\n\n\u2018Brother Hector,\u2019 she said, \u2018unworthy am I to be sister of thine. Would\nthat I had died on the day I was born, or would that the gods who have\nbrought me this evil had given me for a husband one who was shamed by\nreproach and who feared dishonour. Rest thee here, my brother, who hast\nsuffered so much for the sake of wretched me and for the sin of Paris.\nWell I know that for us cometh punishment of which men will sing in the\nfar-off years that are yet to come.\u2019\n\n\u2018Of thy love, ask me not to stay, Helen,\u2019 answered Hector. \u2018For to help\nthe men of Troy is my whole heart set, and they are now in want of me.\nBut rouse this fellow, and make him hasten after me. I go now to see my\ndear wife and my babe, for I know not whether I shall return to them\nagain.\u2019\n\nIn his own house Hector found not his fair wife Andromache, nor their\nlittle babe.\n\n\u2018Whither went thy mistress?\u2019 he asked in eagerness of the serving-women.\n\n\u2018Truly, my lord,\u2019 answered one, \u2018tidings came to us that the Trojans\nwere sorely pressed and that with the Greeks was the victory. So then\ndid Andromache, like one frenzied, hasten with her child and his nurse\nto the walls that she might see somewhat of what befell. There, on the\ntower, she stands now, weeping and wailing.\u2019\n\nBack through the streets by which he had come then hastened Hector. And\nas he drew near the gates, Andromache, who had spied him from afar, ran\nto meet him.\n\nAs, hand clasped in hand, Andromache and Hector stood, Hector looked\nsilently at the beautiful babe in his nurse\u2019s arms, and smiled.\n\nAstyanax, \u2018The City King,\u2019 those of Troy called the child, because it\nwas Hector his father who saved the city.\n\nThen said Andromache:\n\n\u2018Dear lord, thy courage will bring thee death. Hast thou no pity for\nthis babe nor for thy wife, who so soon shall be thy widow? Better\nwould it be for me to die if to thee death should come. For if I lose\nthee, then sorrow must for evermore be mine. No father nor mother have\nI, and on one day were my seven brothers slain. Father and mother and\nbrother art thou to me, Hector, and my dear loved husband as well. Have\npity now, and stay with thy wife and thy little child.\u2019\n\n\u2018All these things know I well, my wife,\u2019 answered Hector, \u2018but black\nshame would be mine were I to shrink like a coward from battle. Ever it\nhath been mine to be where the fight was fiercest, and to win glory for\nmy father\u2019s name, and for my own. But soon will that glory be gone, for\nmy heart doth tell me that Troy must fall. Yet for the sorrows of the\nTrojans, and of my own father and mother and brethren, and of the many\nheroes that must perish, grieve I less bitterly than for the anguish\nthat must come upon thee on that day when thou no longer hast a husband\nto fight for thee and a Greek leads thee away a prisoner. May the\nearth be heaped up high above me ere I hear thy crying, Andromache!\u2019\n\nSo spake Hector, and stretched out his arms to take his boy.\n\nBut from his father\u2019s bronze helmet with its fiercely nodding plume\nof horse-hair the babe shrank back in terror and hid his face in his\nnurse\u2019s breast. Then did the little City King\u2019s father and his sweet\nmother laugh aloud, and on the ground Hector laid his helmet, and\ntaking his little son in his arms he kissed him and gently dandled him.\nAnd as he did so, thus Hector prayed to Zeus and all the gods:\n\n\u2018O Zeus and all ye gods, grant that my son may be a brave warrior and a\ngreat king in Troyland. Let men say of him when he returns from battle,\n\u201cFar greater is he than his father,\u201d and may he gladden his mother\u2019s\nheart.\u2019\n\nThen did Hector lay his babe in Andromache\u2019s arms, and she held him to\nher bosom, smiling through her tears.\n\nFull of love and pity and tenderness was the heart of Hector, and\ngently he caressed her and said:\n\n\u2018Dear one, I pray thee be not of over-sorrowful heart. No man shall\nslay me ere the time appointed for my death hath come. Go home and busy\nthyself with loom and distaff and see to the work of thy maidens. But\nwar is for us men, and of all those who dwell in Troyland, most of all\nfor me.\u2019\n\nSo spake Hector, and on his head again he placed his crested helmet.\nAnd his wife went home, many times looking back to watch him she loved\ngoing forth to battle, with her eyes half blinded by her tears.\n\nNot far behind Hector followed Paris, his armour glittering like the\nsun, and with a laugh on the face that was more full of beauty than\nthat of any other man on earth. Like a noble charger that has broken\nits bonds and gallops exultingly across the plain, so did Paris stride\nonward.\n\n\u2018I fear I have delayed thee,\u2019 he said to his brother when he overtook\nhim.\n\n\u2018No man can speak lightly of thy courage,\u2019 answered Hector, \u2018only thou\nhast brought shame on thyself by holding back from battle. But now let\nus go forward, and may the gods give the Greeks into our hands.\u2019\n\nSo went Hector and Paris together into battle, and many a Greek fell\nbefore them on that day.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VI\n\nTHE FIGHT BETWEEN HECTOR AND AJAX\n\n\nFrom Olympus did Athene mark with angry heart how Greek after Greek\nfell dead before the spears of Hector and of Paris.\n\nThen did she plot with Apollo, her brother, how best she might\ndiscomfit these men of Troy.\n\nAnd into the heart of Hector did they put the wish to make the Trojans\nand the Greeks cease from battle, while he challenged the bravest Greek\nof the host to meet him, man to man, in deadly combat.\n\nThen did Hector and Agamemnon make the fighting cease, and with\ngladness did Hector call upon the Greeks to send forth their bravest\nchampion that he might fight with him, hand to hand.\n\n\u2018If I be slain,\u2019 said Hector, \u2018then let the victor despoil me of my\narmour, but give back my body to my home. And if I slay him who fights\nwith me, then shall his armour be mine. But his body the Greeks shall\nhave, that they may build for him a tomb in their own land, near the\nsea, so that in the days to come men may look at it as they sail past\nin their ships and say, \u201cThis is the tomb of a man that died in days of\nold, a champion whom Hector slew.\u201d\u2019\n\nSilent stood the Greeks before him. For they feared to meet him hand to\nhand, and were ashamed to show their fear.\n\nThen up sprang Menelaus, and with scorn of the others he donned his\narmour.\n\n\u2018Shame on ye all!\u2019 he cried. \u2018I myself will fight with Hector, and the\ngods will slay that man whom they will to die.\u2019\n\nBut Agamemnon would not have it that his brother should fight.\n\n\u2018This is madness, Menelaus,\u2019 he said. \u2018Draw back, though it pains thee,\nfor even Achilles did dread to meet this man in battle, and how much\nmore mighty is Achilles than thou.\u2019\n\nThen rose up nine chiefs of the Greeks, all ready to fight with Hector,\nand lots were cast to see which of these, the most valiant of the host,\nshould meet with the champion of the men of Troy.\n\nTo Ajax the giant-like did the lot fall, and glad was the heart of the\nhero that so it should be.\n\nIn his shining bronze armour did Ajax array him, and as he strode\nforward with a smile on his stern face and his long spear brandished in\nhis hand, he looked as looks Mars the terrible when he goes forth to\nbattle.\n\nThe Trojans trembled at the sight, and the heart of Hector beat faster,\nas the giant, with his great bronze shield, came towards him with\nmighty strides.\n\n\u2018Achilles, the lion-hearted, sitteth by his ships, yet shalt thou be\nshown, Hector, that the Greeks have other warriors in their ranks,\u2019\ncried Ajax. \u2018But thou shalt begin the battle.\u2019\n\n\u2018Am I a woman or a feeble boy who knows naught of fighting, Ajax?\u2019\nanswered Hector. \u2018Well do I know the rules of the great game of war.\nBut I have no mind to smite thee by cunning. Openly shall I smite thee,\nif I smite at all.\u2019\n\nThereat he hurled at Ajax his bronze-shod spear. But on his mighty\nshield of sevenfold hide, bronze-covered, Ajax caught the blow, and\nonly six folds of the shield were pierced.\n\nThen did Ajax the giant hurt his spear, and it passed through Hector\u2019s\nbright shield and his corslet, and rent the doublet on his thigh. But\nHector swerved aside and so escaped death. Then did each grip a fresh\nspear, and, like angry lions, did they rush each at the other. Again\ndid Hector smite the shield of Ajax with his spear, but the spear point\nwas bent back and unpierced was the shield. And Ajax, with a mighty\ndrive, sent his spear through the shield of Hector, and the point\npierced his neck, so that the dark blood gushed forth. But even then\nHector ceased not to fight. From the ground he seized up a great jagged\nstone and hurled it against the shield of Ajax, until the bronze rang\nagain. A stone, greater by far, did Ajax then hurl, and the shield of\nHector was crushed inwards, and Hector was borne backwards, and fell,\nand had been slain, had not Apollo, with invisible hands, raised him\nup. Their swords they drew then, and would have fought on, had not\nheralds rushed between them and with their staves held them apart.\n\n\u2018Fight no more, dear sons,\u2019 said the herald of Troy. \u2018Well do we see\nthat ye both are brave warriors, and well-beloved of Zeus. But night\nfalleth, and bids you cease the combat.\u2019\n\nSaid Ajax:\n\n\u2018For Hector it is to speak, for he challenged the bravest of the Greeks\nto battle. As he wills, so shall I do.\u2019\n\n\u2018The gods have given thee stature and might and wisdom, Ajax,\u2019 said\nHector, \u2018and surely there is no greater fighter among the Greeks than\nthou. Night falleth, so let us cease from battle, and hereafter will we\nfight again, and the gods shall grant one of us the victory. But now\nlet us exchange gifts, that Greeks and Trojans may say, \u201cIn fierce\nstrife did Ajax and Hector meet, but in friendship they parted.\u201d\u2019\n\nSo spoke Hector, and gave to Ajax his silver-studded sword, with\nscabbard and sword-belt; and to him did Ajax give his belt bright with\npurple.\n\nSo parted the two heroes, and greatly did the men of Troy and of Greece\nrejoice at the safe return of their champions.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VII\n\nTHE BURNING OF THE DEAD; AND THE BATTLE OF THE PLAIN\n\n\nWith feasting did the Greeks do honour to Ajax, and when the feast\nwas ended, Nestor, the oldest and the most wise of the warriors, gave\ncounsel that at daybreak on the morrow they should gather the bodies of\ntheir dead and burn them on a great pyre.\n\nBut while the Greek chiefs in peace took council together, they of Troy\nwith fierce and angry words disputed at a gate of their city.\n\nSaid one:\n\n\u2018How can we hope to prosper in the fight when our oath is broken? Let\nus then give back to the Greeks fair Helen and all her wealth.\u2019\n\nBut Paris, in wrath, made reply:\n\n\u2018Mad indeed thou art if thou dost think I will do as thou sayest! The\nwealth of Helen will I return with a willing heart, and to it add more\nwealth of mine own. But Helen my wife will I give back never!\u2019\n\nAt dawn on the morrow did the Trojan heralds come to the camp of\nAgamemnon and gave to him the message.\n\n\u2018Thus saith Priam of Troy and all his nobles, The wealth that Helen\nbrought with her to Troy will Paris return, and more besides of his\nown, but the beautiful wife of Menelaus he saith he will not give. But\ngrant to us a truce until we have buried our dead, and then again will\nwe fight until the gods grant us victory.\u2019\n\nThen said Diomedes:\n\n\u2018Let us take none of the treasures of Helen nor of Paris, neither Helen\nherself for well we know that the days of Troy are already numbered.\u2019\n\nIn applause of the words of Diomedes the Greek host shouted, and\nAgamemnon said to the heralds:\n\n\u2018Thou hearest the answer of the Greeks. Yet we grant ye the truce,\nthat ye may bury your dead.\u2019\n\nThe sun was rising from the sea and chasing grey darkness from the\nfields of Troyland when on the morrow Greeks and Trojans met in peace,\nand tenderly, and with hot tears falling, carried away the bodies of\nthe fallen and buried them in mighty pyres.\n\nA deep ditch and a high wall did the Greeks also make for themselves.\nAnd at nightfall they feasted, and when some ships from Lemnos came to\nthe harbour, well laden with wine, they bought a goodly supply. Some of\nthem paid the men of Lemnos with bronze, and some with iron, some with\nhides and kine, and some with prisoners.\n\nAll night long they feasted, and in Troy also did the Trojans feast.\nBut in Olympus did Zeus angrily plan the overthrow of the men who\nseemed to fear him not, and the noise of his thunderings filled the\nfeasters with dread of what was to come.\n\nOn the next day, when golden dawn was spreading over the earth, Zeus\nheld a council of the gods, and with a fearful doom did he threaten\nthe god or goddess who should dare to aid either Greek or Trojan.\n\n\u2018We bow to thy will, great father Zeus,\u2019 Athene made answer. \u2018Yet let\nus, I pray thee, give counsel to the Greeks that they may not all\nperish before the mightiness of thine anger.\u2019\n\n\u2018So be it,\u2019 answered Zeus, smiling upon her, for dear to the king of\nthe gods was Athene, his beautiful daughter.\n\nThen did Zeus, in his armour of gold, mount upon his car. His\nfleet-footed horses, bronze-shod, had flowing tails of gold, and them\nhe lashed with his golden whip so that like lightning they flashed\nacross space, between earth and the starry heavens. High up on Mount\nIda did he rein them in, and in thick mist upon the mountain-top he sat\nhim down and watched the Greeks and Trojans, as though they were his\nplaythings, fighting far below on the plain.\n\nEarly that day did the two hosts meet, and soon was the morning air\nfilled with the cries of pain and of rage, of defeat, and of victory,\nand the fair earth was streaming with the blood of men, dead and dying.\n\nWhen midday came, Zeus stretched out from his throne on the mountain\nhis golden scales, and in them laid two weights of death, one for the\nGreeks and the other for the men of Troy. And the scale of the Greeks\nsank down low, and as it sank, Zeus sent down a blazing lightning flash\nso that the two armies saw the great god and his scales, and fear\nseized upon the Greeks.\n\nThe mightiest Greek no longer kept his courage. Only Nestor, oldest of\nthe warriors, still had a dauntless heart. With an arrow from his bow\nhad Paris slain one of the horses in Nestor\u2019s chariot, but from his\nchariot did the old man leap down and with his sword fiercely hewed at\nthe traces. But as he still hewed, through the throng Hector furiously\ndrove his chariot. Then had Nestor indeed perished, but that Diomedes\nmarked what would befall.\n\nWith a great shout did he call to Odysseus:\n\n\u2018Whither fleest thou, like a coward, Odysseus? Stand thy ground till\nwe have saved the old man from his mighty foe!\u2019\n\nSo spake he, but Odysseus heard him not, and hastened onward.\n\nAlone then did Diomedes take his stand by the side of Nestor.\n\n\u2018Younger warriors than myself beset thee hard!\u2019 said Diomedes. \u2018Thou\nart feeble, thy charioteer is a weakling, and thy horses slow. Quickly\nmount my car, and see what are the paces of my horses that I took from\nAeneas. Straight against Hector shall we guide them, that he may know\nthe power of the spear of Diomedes.\u2019\n\nOn the chariot of Diomedes did old Nestor then mount; in his hands he\ntook the reins, and he lashed the horses. In furious gallop they came\nto meet Hector, and Diomedes hurled his spear. But the spear passed\nHector, and in the breast of his brave charioteer was it buried, so\nthat he fell to the ground and there he died.\n\nUpon the men of Troy might defeat then have come, but in his hands\nZeus took a thunderbolt, and right in front of the horses of Diomedes\nit burst in awful flames, making the horses in desperate panic rear\nbackwards.\n\n\u2018Zeus himself fighteth against thee, Diomedes!\u2019 cried Nestor. \u2018Let us\nflee, for no man is so great in might that he can fight against the\nwill of Zeus.\u2019\n\n\u2018Thou speakest truth, old man,\u2019 said Diomedes, \u2018yet sore grief it is\nto my heart to think that some day the boast of Hector may be, \u201cTo his\nships fled Diomedes, driven before me.\u201d May the earth swallow me up on\nthat day!\u2019\n\n\u2018Hector may call thee coward,\u2019 said Nestor, \u2018yet no son of Troy will\nbelieve him, nor any of the widows of these men whom thou hast slain.\u2019\n\nThen did Nestor wheel the horses and flee, while thick the spears and\ndarts from the Trojan host followed him.\n\nAnd above the din of battle rose the voice of Hector:\n\n\u2018Behold the hero of the Greeks! Hero no longer art thou! Begone, feeble\ngirl! poor puppet!\u2019\n\nFuriously did Diomedes listen to his taunts, and fain would he have\nturned back and tried to slay him. But three times did Zeus send peals\nof his thunder rolling down from the mountain-top, and to the Trojans\nwas it a sign of victory, and fear did it send into the hearts of the\nGreeks.\n\nThen did Hector call on his men to be of good courage, for with them\nfought Zeus, the Thunderer. And to his horses he called:\n\n\u2018On, now, Bayard, and Whitefoot, and Flame of Fire, and Brilliant!\nForget not how Andromache hath cared for and tended you! Make haste\nthat we may seize from old Nestor his shield of gold, and strip\nDiomedes of his gorgeous breastplate!\u2019\n\nOnward, then, dashed his chariot, while the Trojans followed him,\ndriving the Greeks in headlong flight before them. Soon had the Greek\nships been burned and the long war ended, had not Hera put it into the\nheart of Agamemnon to arouse the Greeks and force them on to battle.\n\n\u2018Shame on you, ye Greeks!\u2019 he cried. \u2018What hath come of all your\nboasting?\u2019 Then did he pray to Zeus that even now he would grant the\nvictory to the Greeks.\n\nAnd his prayer was heard by Zeus, who sent a portent in answer. For\nthere came, winging through the sky, an eagle with a young fawn in\nits talons. By the altar of Zeus did the eagle drop the fawn, and the\nGreeks took the sign to mean the favour of Zeus, and afresh they went\nto battle.\n\nThen did gallant warrior slay warrior as brave as himself, and hero\nfall before hero.\n\nTeucer, a mighty archer, sheltering under the great shield of Ajax,\nsent one arrow speeding after another, and each arrow brought death.\nBut against Hector in vain did he drive his shafts, slaying, each time\nhe drew his bow, one standing near the man whose life he longed to take.\n\nOne arrow smote the charioteer of Hector in the breast, and from the\nchariot did he fall dead. Full of rage and grief was Hector, and from\nthe car he leapt, with terrible shout, and, with a jagged stone in his\nhand, rushed at Teucer. Even at that moment had Teucer pulled his\nbowstring to let an arrow fly, but on the collar bone Hector smote him.\nHis bowstring snapped, his arm grew numb, the bow fell from his hand,\nand on his knees he sank. But swiftly did Ajax stand astride him, and\nwith his shield he sheltered him until two of his comrades bore him,\ngroaning in grievous pain, to the ships.\n\nOnce again did Zeus put courage in the men of Troy so that they drove\nthe Greeks in rout before them.\n\nThen did Hera and Athene mark their plight, and pity them, and would\nhave come down from Olympus to their aid, had not Zeus sent stern\nwarning to them of the doom that should be theirs were they to go\nagainst his bidding.\n\n\u2018On the morrow,\u2019 said he, \u2018more evil things shall thine eyes behold,\nfor Hector will not cease to slay until that day when fleet-footed\nAchilles be roused to come and fight for the Greeks where Patroclus the\nbrave lies dead. Such is the doom of heaven.\u2019\n\nThen did black night fall, and while the Trojans chafed at the\ndarkness, the Greeks rejoiced that rest had come to them at length.\n\nLeaning on his bronze-pointed spear, Hector spoke to the Trojans.\n\n\u2018Hearken to me!\u2019 he said. \u2018This day I thought to destroy the Greeks\nand all their hosts and return to our own windy Troy, but Night hath\ncome too soon. To Night, then, must we yield, so let us take food, and\ngive fodder to our horses. All night long let us burn fires lest in the\ndarkness the Greeks strive to make for the sea. And let the heralds\nproclaim that boys and old men must guard the battlements of Troy,\nand each woman burn a great fire in her house lest the Greeks send an\nambush to enter the city while we men are here. At dawn will we fight\nby the ships, and we shall see whether Diomedes will drive me back from\nthe shore to the walls of Troy, or if with my spear I shall lay him\nlow.\u2019\n\nSo spake Hector, and the Trojans shouted aloud.\n\nThey unyoked their horses, and gave them fodder, and from the city\nthey brought food for the fires.\n\nAll night they sat by the battlefield, high hopes in their hearts, and\ntheir watch-fires burning. As when the moon shines clear on a windless\nnight, and all the crags and glens and mountain-tops stand sharply out,\nand wide and boundless is the sky, and all the stars are seen; even\nso many were the lights of the watch-fires that gleamed in the plain\nbefore Troy. A thousand fires did burn there, and in the red glow of\neach blazing fire sat fifty men. Beside the chariots stood the horses\nchamping barley and spelt, waiting for the coming of dawn.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER VIII\n\nTHE MESSAGE TO ACHILLES\n\n\nWhile the Trojans sat by their watch-fires, sorely troubled were the\nhearts of the Greeks and of Agamemnon their overlord.\n\nHurriedly did Agamemnon send his heralds to call an assembly, bidding\neach man separately and with no loud shouting.\n\nSorrowfully did they sit them down; and when Agamemnon rose up to\nspeak, the bitter tears ran down his face as flows the wan water of a\nmountain stream down the dark gulleys where the sunbeams never play.\n\n\u2018My friends,\u2019 he said, \u2018leaders and captains of the Greeks, hard of\nheart is Zeus, and ill hath he dealt with me. Victory did he promise,\nbut shame hath he brought. Nothing now is left for us but to flee with\nour ships to our own land, for never shall Troy be ours.\u2019\n\nSo spake he, and long did the Greek warriors sit in silent grief.\n\nThen spoke Diomedes:\n\n\u2018A coward hast thou called me, Agamemnon; whether I am a coward the\nGreeks, young and old, know well. To thee hath Zeus given power above\nall other men, but courage, which is the highest power of all, hath he\nkept from thee. Thinkest thou that we Greeks are cowards and weaklings\nsuch as thou? If it is thy will to flee, flee then! Thy ships wait for\nthee by the sea. But as for us, here will we stay till Troy lies in\nruins before us. And if it even be the will of every Greek here to flee\nwith thee, here still will I and my friend Sthenelus abide and fight\nuntil Troy is ours. The gods sent us hither! To us will the gods give\nthe victory!\u2019\n\nThen spoke old Nestor:\n\n\u2018Mighty in battle art thou, Diomedes, and well hast thou spoken. But\nthou art yet young--full well mightest thou be my youngest son. So let\nall who hear, yea, even Agamemnon, hearken to my words and not gainsay\nme, who am so old a man. For without clan, without laws, without a home\nmust be he who loveth strife. Hasten then, and let us all take food,\nand see that the sentinels be watchful along the deep trench without\nthe wall. For to us this night cometh victory or death.\u2019\n\nThen did Agamemnon speedily have a feast prepared, and when the feast\nwas ended, Nestor again uprose and spoke.\n\n\u2018King over all nations hath Zeus made thee, great Agamemnon,\u2019 he said.\n\u2018Therefore is it thy part to listen to all the counsel that is given to\nthee that may aid thee to govern thy folk. Right heartily did I try to\nprevent thee from taking fair Briseis from the tent of Achilles on that\nday when thou didst anger the bravest of all warriors. Let us now try\nif we may not persuade him by gifts of friendship and with kindly words\nto come back and fight for Greece once again.\u2019\n\nThen answered Agamemnon:\n\n\u2018Yea, truly, a fool was I in that I gave way to my wrath. But gladly\nwill I now make amends to Achilles, the beloved of Zeus. Rich and\ngoodly gifts will I send to him; priceless gifts of gold, horses of\nwondrous speed, and seven fair slaves skilled in needle-work. Fair\nBriseis, also, shall again be his, and if he will come to our aid and\nTroy is ours, the richest of all the spoils shall be the spoils of\nAchilles. One of my daughters shall he have for his wife, and lands and\ncities and a people to rule as king shall be my gift to him.\u2019\n\nSpeedily then did they choose messengers to go with the gifts to\nAchilles.\n\nAnd the messengers were Ph\u0153nix, a warrior dear to Zeus, and giant Ajax,\nand Odysseus of the many Devices. Two heralds went with them that they\nmight tell Achilles of the noble Greeks who came to seek for his aid.\n\nAlong the shore of the sounding sea they went, making prayer to Zeus\nthat he would grant them success in what they sought.\n\nWhen they came to the ships and huts of Achilles they found him\nsitting with a lyre in his hand. Of beautiful workmanship it was, with\na silver cross-bar upon it, and as the hands of Achilles drew from it\nwondrous melody, he sang of the glorious deeds of the heroes of old.\n\nBeside him sat Patroclus, listening silently to the song of the friend\nthat he loved.\n\nThen did Odysseus step forward, and Achilles, amazed, sprang to his\nfeet, his lyre in his hand, and Patroclus also arose.\n\n\u2018Welcome ye are,\u2019 said Achilles; \u2018truly ye are friends that are come.\nEven in my anger are ye the dearest of all the Greeks to me.\u2019\n\nThen he led them forward and made them sit on seats covered with lordly\npurple.\n\nTo Patroclus he said:\n\n\u2018Bring forth the biggest bowl and the finest of my wines, for I have no\ndearer friends than those who are here with me now.\u2019\n\nSo did Achilles have a rich feast of precious wines and of dainties of\nall sorts made ready for those who brought him the message of Agamemnon\nthe king.\n\nAnd when the feast was ended, Odysseus did tell him of the dire woes of\nthe Greeks and of the royal gifts of Agamemnon, and of the pleadings of\nthe Greeks and of their overlord, that their hero, Achilles, would come\nand fight for them once again.\n\nThen did Achilles make answer:\n\n\u2018Hateful to me as are the gates of death, O great Odysseus, is the man\nwho hideth in his heart one thing and sayeth another. So will I speak\nto thee as seemeth me best. Hard have I laboured, fiercely have I\nfought for Agamemnon, yet what is my gain after it all? Hateful to me\nare the gifts of Agamemnon. Wealth and power can be mine without aid\nfrom him, yet know I well, for my mother, Thetis the silver-footed,\nhath told me, that death swiftly draweth nigh. Let the Greeks seek help\nelsewhere, for fierce is my anger, and no help shall ye gain from me.\u2019\n\nThen said Ajax:\n\n\u2018Let us go hence, Odysseus. Our embassy is vain. Yet evil though the\nnews we carry with speed must we bear it back to the Greek host.\nMerciless art thou, Achilles! Anger hath made thee set at naught thy\ncomrades\u2019 love and the love of thine own dear land.\u2019\n\nAnd to Ajax did Achilles make answer:\n\n\u2018Take ye, then, my message, brave Ajax! Tell Agamemnon that until the\nday that the men of Troy come even to my ships and my huts and smirch\nthem with fire, no finger will I raise for Greece. But on that day,\nthen, surely, will the power of the Trojans be stayed.\u2019\n\nThen did Odysseus and Ajax and the others return in sorrow to the host\nof the Greeks, and gave to them the message of Achilles.\n\nIn silence did the warriors listen.\n\nThen said Diomedes:\n\n\u2018Achilles, then, must bide his time. When his heart is aroused again\nwithin him, he will fight. But let us now take meat and drink and\nsleep, and when rosy-fingered Dawn doth come, strength shall be ours\nfor the battle, and with courage shall we fight for the cause of\nAgamemnon our king!\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER IX\n\nTHE WHITE HORSES OF RHESUS\n\n\nSound was the sleep of the Greek chiefs that night, but Agamemnon the\nking slept not. From his enemies\u2019 camp came the sound of pipe and flute\nand laughter of men, as the Trojans feasted and made merry in the red\nlight of their camp-fires. As he looked seawards at the ships of the\nsleeping Greeks, his heart was heavy within him and he groaned aloud.\n\nOn his feet he bound his sandals, over his shoulders did he throw his\ngreat mantle of a tawny lion\u2019s skin, and, grasping his spear, he went\nforth into the night to take counsel of wise Nestor.\n\nNeither to Menelaus came there sleep, for his heart was full of fear\nlest harm should come to the Greeks who had crossed the wide seas to\nfight for his sake in Troyland.\n\n[Illustration: Agamemnon heard the sound of pipe and flute and laughter\nof men as the Trojans feasted and made merry (page 86)]\n\nOn his head he placed his bronze helmet, across his broad shoulders he\nthrew a leopard skin, and, spear in hand, went to seek his brother.\n\nDown by the ships he found him, putting his armour on.\n\n\u2018Why dost thou arm thyself, dear brother?\u2019 he asked. \u2018Wilt thou send\nforth one of our comrades to spy on the Trojans? I fear me no man of\nours is of courage enough to go alone in the night and do so brave a\ndeed.\u2019\n\nThen did Agamemnon bid his brother go and awake the lords of his host\nand call a council together, while he himself went to rouse Nestor, the\noldest of all the warriors.\n\nAnd as they passed through the host they found the sentinels sitting\nwide awake with their arms, like dogs that watch by a lonely sheepfold\namongst the hills and listen to the cries of the savage wild beasts\nthat come towards them through the woods.\n\nGladly did old Nestor see them.\n\n\u2018Even so keep watch, dear children,\u2019 he said, \u2018lest we allow our\nenemies to triumph over us.\u2019\n\nOut in the open field, beyond the deep trench which they had dug, the\nchiefs of the Greeks sat themselves down in council.\n\nTo them, then, spake Nestor.\n\n\u2018O friends,\u2019 said he, \u2018is there among you a man with heart so fearless\nthat all alone he will go into the camp of the Trojans this night and\nthere learn what are their plans for battle? If such an one there be,\nand he return to us scathless, great will be his fame among all men,\nand great the rewards that he wins.\u2019\n\nThen said Diomedes of the loud war-cry:\n\n\u2018With willing heart will go, Nestor: yet if another man will come with\nme, more comfort and courage will be ours.\u2019\n\nMany there were who asked with eagerness to be that one who should go\nwith Diomedes. But Agamemnon spoke.\n\n\u2018Diomedes, joy of mine heart, verily shalt thou choose thine own\ncomrade,\u2019 he said.\n\nAnd Diomedes made answer:\n\n\u2018If indeed I may choose, then shall I choose Odysseus, for with him as\ncomrade we might pass through raging flames and yet return in safety.\u2019\n\n\u2018Praise me not overmuch, Diomedes,\u2019 said Odysseus, \u2018but let us be\ngoing. The night wanes, the stars have gone onward, and the dawn is\nnear.\u2019\n\nThen did they don their armour, and set forth, like two lions seeking\ntheir prey, treading underfoot the men who lay still and dead in their\nblood. And through the dark night they heard the shrill cry of a heron,\nand knew it for an omen sent by the gods, a promise to them of victory.\n\nIn the Trojan camp was a council also held. And brave Hector offered\ngreat rewards to the man who would go in the darkness to where the\nGreek ships lay and find out how it fared with the men of Agamemnon,\nand what plans were theirs.\n\nAnd Dolon, the swift-runner and ill-favoured man, but one who owned\ngreat riches of gold and bronze, stood up and said:\n\n\u2018To the swift-sailing ships will I go as thy spy. But for reward must I\nhave the horses and bronze chariots of Achilles.\u2019\n\n\u2018No other man of the Trojans shall mount these horses,\u2019 swore Hector.\n\nThen Dolon took his bow, on his shoulders cast a great wolf-skin, on\nhis head drew his helmet of ferret-skin, and with his sharp javelin in\nhis hand, went forth towards the seashore.\n\nIn the darkness Odysseus heard his stealthy footsteps.\n\n\u2018Lo, here is some man, Diomedes,\u2019 he said; \u2018I know not whether he be a\nspy or a plunderer of the dead. But let him pass, and then will we rush\non him and take him.\u2019\n\nTurning from the path, they lay down amongst the dead bodies on the\nplain, still and silent as those they lay beside.\n\nBut when Dolon had gone a little way, they ran after him, and Dolon,\nwhen he heard them, stopped, thinking they were messengers from Hector,\ncoming to bid him return. Less than a spear\u2019s-throw from him were they\nwhen he knew them for foemen and fled before them.\n\nBut as two fierce hounds pursue a hare or a doe, so did Odysseus and\nDiomedes hunt Dolon. They had wellnigh reached the trench where the\nsentinels were placed when Diomedes called aloud:\n\n\u2018Halt! or my spear shall pin thee dead to the ground!\u2019\n\nThereat he hurled his spear, but not with the wish to smite Dolon.\nOver his right shoulder it flew, burying its sharp point in the ground\nin front of him. Green with fear, and with chattering teeth, Dolon\nstopped, and Odysseus and Diomedes panting, came up to him, and laid\nhold of him.\n\n\u2018Take me alive!\u2019 said Dolon, weeping, \u2018and a mighty ransom of gold and\nbronze and iron shall be yours if ye but spare my life.\u2019\n\n\u2018Fear not,\u2019 said Odysseus, \u2018but tell us truly why thou comest thus at\ndead of night into the camp of thine enemies.\u2019\n\nThen did Dolon, the coward, tremblingly tell his tale, and reveal to\nOdysseus and Diomedes all that Hector had bidden him do. At their\nbidding, too, he told them how all the Trojan forces lay, and how best\nthey could win into the camp.\n\n\u2018At the farthest point from the men of Troy are encamped the\nThracians,\u2019 he said. \u2018Rhesus is their king, and fit for a god is his\ngolden armour and his chariot of gold and silver. His, too, are the\nfairest horses mine eyes have seen, of great strength and height,\nwhiter than snow, and swift as the wind.\u2019\n\nEagerly did Odysseus and Diomedes listen. But when he had ended and\nbegged them to take him a prisoner to the ships, or to let him go free,\ngrimly did Diomedes look at him.\n\n\u2018Good is thy news, Dolon,\u2019 he said, \u2018yet nevermore shalt thou have a\nchance of playing the spy, or of fighting against the men of Greece.\u2019\n\nWith that he raised his mighty sword, and ere Dolon could beg for mercy\nhe smote him on the neck. Cleanly was his head shorn off, and it rolled\nin the dust at the feet of Diomedes. His casque of ferret-skin, and the\ngrey wolf-skin, and javelin and bow did Odysseus and Diomedes then take\nfrom him and held them aloft, an offering to Athene. They placed them\non a tamarisk bush, raising on it a mark of long reeds and branches of\ntamarisk, lest they might miss the place as they returned again ere\ndawn.\n\nAcross the plain did they hasten then, until they came to the camp of\nthe Thracians. Deep was the sleep of the warriors who lay, each with\nhis arms beside him, and his two horses standing near at hand. And in\nthe midst of them lay Rhesus the king, his great white horses tethered\nto his chariot of silver and gold.\n\n\u2018Lo, here is the man, and here are the horses of which Dolon gave us\ntidings,\u2019 said Odysseus.\n\nAnd thereupon did the slaying begin.\n\nLike a lion that rends a flock of sheep without a shepherd, even so\ndid Diomedes slay the men of Thrace. On this side and on that he slew,\ntill the earth grew red with blood, and terrible was the groaning of\nthe dying men. Twelve men did he slay, and as he slew them, Odysseus\ndragged them to the side that a way might be left clear for the white\nhorses of Rhesus. For he feared that panic might seize them were they\nto step in the darkness upon the dead men.\n\nThe thirteenth man was King Rhesus himself. An evil dream made him draw\nhis breath hard and quick, but ere he could awake from sleep the sword\nof Diomedes took his life away. Then did Odysseus drive the horses out\nof the camp, smiting them with his bow, for he had no whip, and driving\nthem onwards.\n\nTo Diomedes he whistled, for a sign that he should cease from slaying\nand follow him and their lordly spoil. Still did Diomedes linger,\npondering whether he should drag the chariot with him, or slay yet more\nof the Thracians. And as he pondered, Athene came to him.\n\n\u2018Return to the ships, Diomedes,\u2019 she said, \u2018lest another of the gods\narouse the Trojans, and in flight thou art driven before them.\u2019\n\nEven then, indeed, was Apollo arousing one of the kinsmen of Rhesus,\nwho with great lament saw the dead and dying men and knew that the\nhorses of the king had been stolen away.\n\nBut swiftly did Diomedes and Odysseus spring on the backs of the white\nhorses, and swift as the snowy foam on the crests of storm-driven waves\ndid they dash through the darkness back to the ships.\n\nWhen they came to the tamarisk bush, where they had left the bloody\nspoils of Dolon, Diomedes leapt to the ground, seized them and placed\nthem in the hands of Odysseus, and again mounted, and, lashing the\nhorses, dashed furiously onward.\n\nThe clang of the hoofs of the galloping horses struck first upon the\nears of old Nestor, and quickly did he and other lords of the Greeks go\nto meet Diomedes and Odysseus.\n\nThen did the two heroes rein in their horses and lightly spring to the\nground, and with hand-clasping and glad words were they welcomed by\ntheir comrades.\n\nAnd when he had told the tale of the slaying of the men of Thrace and\nthe taking of the horses of Rhesus, Odysseus, laughing, drove the\nwhite steeds through the trench and stabled them beside the other\nhorses of Diomedes.\n\nThen did he and Diomedes plunge into the sea and wash the sweat and\ndust from off their limbs in the cold waves. Glad were their hearts\nwhen they sat down to sup and poured forth an offering of honey-sweet\nwine to Athene; but in the camp of the Trojans were there shame and\nlamenting for the deeds that had been wrought in the third watch of the\nnight.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER X\n\nTHE FIGHTING ON THE PLAIN\n\n\nThe night passed, and grey dawn saw a mighty fight begin.\n\nFiercely did the battle wax and wane, and valiant deeds were done that\nday.\n\nMightily fought Agamemnon, but against him fought the gods, and when\nthe sun blazed forth at noon, he and many another Greek warrior,\ngrievously wounded, were forced to leave the field.\n\nAn arrow, from the bow of Paris, smote Machaon, skilled physician of\nthe Greeks, and fear seized them lest he who healed their wounds might\nhimself perish.\n\nInto his chariot did old Nestor take Machaon, and right willingly his\nhorses galloped back to their stables by the shore.\n\nBy the stern of his ship stood Achilles, watching the battle from afar,\nand his dear friend and comrade, Patroclus, he sent speeding to the\ntent of Nestor for tidings of the battle and to ask the name of the\nwounded warrior.\n\nScornfully spake Nestor:\n\n\u2018What matters it to Achilles which of the sons of Greece lie wounded?\nMany chiefs of the Greeks have shed their blood this day, yet Achilles\nheedeth not. Hast thou forgotten, Patroclus, that day when thy father\ndidst speak to thee of thyself and of Achilles? \u201c_Of nobler birth\nthan thou is Achilles_,\u201d he said, \u201c_and in might much greater. Yet he\nis younger than thou, so see that thou counsel him gently and wisely\nwhen there is need, and he will obey thee._\u201d Even now, Patroclus, thou\nmightest persuade Achilles to go forth to battle. But if he will not\ngo, then let him lend thee his armour so that the men of Troy may flee\nbefore thee, thinking that Achilles goeth forth to war once more.\u2019\n\nSo did Nestor rouse the heart of Patroclus, and swiftly Patroclus\nreturned to the ship of Achilles.\n\nFiercer and ever more fierce grew the battle as the hours went by.\nUp to the walls that the Greeks had built did the Trojans press their\nfurious way. Up the battlements, spear in hand, they swarmed, nor\nheeded the storm of stones that crashed down upon them from above.\n\nIn front of the gates lay a stone so huge that two strong men could not\ntogether have lifted it and placed it on a wagon. With one hand did\nmighty Hector, legs wide apart, hurl it against the great double gates.\nBefore it, hinges burst, bars smashed, and the gates crashed backwards.\nThen in leapt Hector, his eyes flashing fire. None but the gods could\nhave withstood him, and on his heels came the men of Troy. Before them\nthey swept the Greek host to their ships.\n\nBut down by the sea fought Ajax, and round him the Greeks took their\nstand. Mighty was the wall of living men that sought to die for their\nhonour and for their own dear land.\n\nYet, like a great rock that the fierce floods of winter tear from a\nmountain-side, and that crashes through the forests and thunders down\nthe valleys, destroying as it goes, so did Hector press onward. Behind\nhim in heaps lay the slain, the moans of the dying mingled with the\ndin of battle, and the dark night of death blinded the eyes of many a\nmighty chief.\n\n\u2018Thinkest thou to spoil our ships!\u2019 called Ajax to Hector. \u2018To the\ngods, and not to the men of Troy do we owe our evil plight. Yet ere\nlong will Troy fall before us, and thou thyself wilt pray to Zeus to\nmake thy steeds fleet as falcons as they bear thee in shameful plight\nback to thy city, across the plain.\u2019\n\nTo Ajax did Hector make answer:\n\n\u2018Blundering boaster art thou! Woe cometh this day to the Greeks! And\nthou, Ajax, if thou hast courage to meet my spear, shalt be food for\nthe birds and the dogs.\u2019\n\nIn his tent the heart of Agamemnon sank within him, and those beside\nhim did he counsel that they should drag their ships down to the sea\nand swiftly sail away.\n\n\u2018There is no shame in fleeing from ruin,\u2019 said he.\n\nBut Odysseus and Diomedes replied with angry scorn to the coward words\nof their overlord.\n\n\u2018Let us go down to the battle, wounded though we be,\u2019 said Diomedes.\n\nSo they set forth, and with them went Agamemnon, and through the long\nday did that mortal fight go on. Now would the Trojans triumph, and\nagain to the men of Greece would come the victory.\n\nAt last, before a huge stone, hurled by Ajax, did Hector fall. Like a\nmighty oak smitten by lightning he fell, and the Trojans bore him away,\nthe black blood gushing from his mouth.\n\nThen pressed the men of Greece the more. Back from the ships they drove\nthe men of Troy.\n\nBut to Hector where he lay a-dying came Apollo, and into his fainting\nbody and heart he breathed fresh strength and courage.\n\nWith strength as the strength of ten Hector once again faced the foe,\nand before him the Greeks fell back in dismay.\n\nPatroclus in his tent, tending the wounds of a friend, marked how the\nGreeks fell back, and he groaned aloud.\n\n\u2018To Achilles must I hasten,\u2019 he said. \u2018Who knows but that the time has\ncome when I may arouse him to join in the battle.\u2019\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XI\n\nHOW PATROCLUS FOUGHT AND DIED\n\n\nWhile round the dark ships of Greece the fierce fight raged, Achilles,\nfrom afar, listened unmoved to the din of battle, and watched with\nstony eyes the men of Greece as they fell and died on the reddened\nground.\n\nTo him came Patroclus.\n\n\u2018Why dost thou weep, Patroclus?\u2019 asked Achilles. \u2018Like a fond little\nmaid art thou that runs by her mother\u2019s side, plucking at her gown,\nhindering her as she walks, and with tearful eyes looking up at her\nuntil the mother lifts her in her arms. Like her, Patroclus, dost thou\nsoftly weep.\u2019\n\nThen Patroclus, heavily groaning, made answer:\n\n\u2018Among the ships lie the bravest and best of the men of Greece,\nsore wounded or dead. Pitiless art thou, Achilles, pitiless and\nunforgiving. Yet if thou dost still hold back from the battle,\ngive me, I pray thee, thine armour, and send me forth in thy stead.\nPerchance the Trojans may take me for the mighty Achilles, and even now\nthe victory be ours.\u2019\n\nThen said Achilles, and heavy was his heart within him:\n\n\u2018These Greeks took from me my well-won prize, Patroclus. Yet let the\npast be past; no man may keep his anger for ever. I have said that\nuntil the men of Troy come to burn my own ships I will hold me back\nfrom the battle. But take you my armour; lead my men in the fight, and\ndrive from the ships the men of Troy. But to others leave it to chase\nthem across the plain.\u2019\n\nEven as Achilles spoke, the strength of mighty Ajax had come to an\nend, and with furious rush did the Trojans board the ships. In their\nhands they bore blazing torches, and up to the sky rushed the fiercely\nroaring flames.\n\nThen cried Achilles, smiting his thighs:\n\n\u2018Haste thee, Patroclus! They burn the ships! Arm thyself speedily, and\nI will call my men!\u2019\n\nCorslet and shield and helmet did Patroclus swiftly don, and girded on\nthe silver-studded sword and took two strong lances in his hand.\n\nIn the chariot of Achilles he mounted, and Automedon, best and bravest\nof charioteers, took the reins.\n\nSwift as the wild west wind were Bayard and Piebald, the two horses of\nAchilles, and in the side harness was Pedasus, a horse only less swift\nthan they.\n\nGladly did the men of Achilles meet his call to arms, for fierce as\nwolves were they.\n\n\u2018Many times hast thou blamed me,\u2019 cried Achilles, \u2018because in my wrath\nI kept ye back from battle. Here for ye now is a mighty fight, such as\nye love.\u2019\n\nTo battle they went, and while Patroclus led them forth, Achilles in\nhis tent offered up an offering to Zeus.\n\nLike wasps that pour forth from their nests by the wayside to sting\nthe boys who have stoned them, so now did the Greeks swarm from their\nships.\n\nBefore the sword of Patroclus fell a mighty warrior, and when the men\nof Troy saw the shining armour of Achilles in his own chariot their\nhearts sank within them.\n\nOut of the ships were they driven, the fire was quenched, and back to\nthe trench rolled the tide of battle. In the trench writhed many a\nhorse and many a man in dying agonies. But clear across it leaped the\nhorses of Achilles, and close to the walls of Troy did Patroclus drive\nbrave Hector before him.\n\nHis chariot then he turned, and headed off the fleeing Trojans, driving\nthem down to the ships. Before the furious rush of his swift steeds,\nother horses were borne off their feet, other chariots cast in ruins\non the ground, and men crushed to death under his wheels. Chief after\nchief did Patroclus slay. A mighty destroyer was he that day.\n\nOne only of the chiefs of Troy kept his courage before the destroyer\nwho wore the shining arms of Achilles.\n\n\u2018Shame on ye!\u2019 cried Sarpedon to his men, \u2018whither do ye flee? I\nmyself will fight this man who deals death and destruction to the\nTrojan host.\u2019\n\nFrom their chariots leaped Sarpedon and Patroclus.\n\nWith the first cast of his spear Patroclus missed Sarpedon, but slew\nhis charioteer. Then did Sarpedon cast, and his spear whizzed past\nPatroclus, and smote the good horse Pedasus. With a dreadful scream\nPedasus fell, kicking and struggling, in the dust. This way and that\ndid the other two horses plunge and rear, until the yoke creaked and\nthe reins became entangled. But the charioteer leaped down, with his\nsword slashed clear the traces from Pedasus, and the horses righted\nthemselves.\n\nOnce again did Sarpedon cast his spear, and the point flew over the\nleft shoulder of Patroclus. But Patroclus missed not. Through the heart\nof Sarpedon sped the fiercely hurled spear, and like a slim tree before\nthe axe of the woodcutter he fell, his dying hands clutching at the\nbloody dust.\n\nFurious was the combat then over the body of Sarpedon. One brave\nwarrior after another did Patroclus lay dead.\n\nAnd more terrible still was the fight because in the ranks of the men\nof Troy there fought now, in all-devouring wrath, the god Apollo.\n\nNine men, good warriors all, did Patroclus slay; then, waxing bolder,\nhe tried to climb the very walls of Troy.\n\nThree times did Apollo thrust him back, and when, a fourth time, he\nattacked, the god cried aloud to him in anger, warning him not to dare\nso much.\n\nAgainst Patroclus did Hector then drive his war-horses, but Patroclus,\nleaping from his chariot, hurled at Hector a jagged stone. In the eyes\nit smote the charioteer of Hector, and the slain man dropped to the\nground.\n\n\u2018How nimble a man is this!\u2019 jeered Patroclus. \u2018How lightly he diveth!\nWere this the sea, how good an oyster-seeker would this fellow be!\u2019\n\n[Illustration: The point of the spear flew over the left shoulder of\nPatroclus (page 107)]\n\nThen from his chariot leaped Hector and met Patroclus, and the noise\nof the battle was as the noise of a mighty gale in the forest when\ngreat trees fall crashing to the ground.\n\nWhen the sun went down, victory was with the Greeks. Three mighty\ncharges did Patroclus make, and each time he slew nine men. But when, a\nfourth time, he charged, Apollo met him. In thick mist he met him, and\nPatroclus knew not that he fought with a god. With a fierce downstroke\nfrom behind, Apollo smote his broad shoulders, and from off his head\nthe helmet of Achilles fell with a clang, rattling under the hoofs of\nthe horses. Before the smiting of the god, Patroclus stood stricken,\nstupid and amazed. Shattered in his hands was the spear of Achilles,\nand his mighty shield clanged on the ground.\n\nEre he could know who was the smiter, a Trojan ally drove a spear\nbetween his shoulders, and Patroclus, sore wounded, fell back.\n\nMarking his dismay, Hector pressed forward, and clean through his body\ndrove his bronze spear. With a crash Patroclus fell.\n\n\u2018Thou that didst boast that thou wouldst sack my town, here shall\nvultures devour thee!\u2019 cried Hector.\n\nAnd in a faint voice Patroclus made answer:\n\n\u2018Not to thee do I owe my doom, great Hector. Twenty such as thou would\nI have fought and conquered, but the gods have slain me. Yet verily I\ntell thee that thou thyself hast not long to live. Even now doth Death\nstand beside thee!\u2019\n\nAs he spoke, the shadow of Death fell upon Patroclus. No more in his\nears roared the din of battle; still and silent for ever he lay.\n\n\n\n\nCHAPTER XII\n\nTHE ROUSING OF ACHILLES\n\n\nFierce had been the fight before Patroclus died. More fiercely yet it\nraged when he lay dead.\n\nFrom his body did Hector take the arms of Achilles, and the dead\nPatroclus would the Trojans fain have dragged to their city, there to\nbring shame to him and to all the Greek host.\n\nBut for him fought the Greeks, until the earth was wet with blood and\nthe very skies echoed the clang of battle.\n\nTo Achilles came Antilochos, a messenger fleet of foot.\n\n\u2018Fallen is Patroclus!\u2019 he cried, \u2018and around his naked body do they\nfight, for his armour is held by Hector.\u2019\n\nThen did Achilles moan aloud. On the ground he lay, and in his hair he\npoured black ashes. And the sound of his terrible lament was heard by\nhis mother, Thetis, the goddess, as she sat in her palace down under\nthe depths of the green sea.\n\nUp from under the waves swiftly came she to Achilles, and tenderly did\nshe listen while he poured forth to her the tale of the death of his\ndear comrade.\n\nThen said Thetis:\n\n\u2018Not long, methinks, shall Hector glory in the armour that was thine,\nfor Death presseth hard upon him. Go not forth to battle, my son, until\nI return, bearing with me new and fair armour for thee.\u2019\n\nBut when Thetis had departed, to Achilles in his sorrow came Iris, fair\nmessenger of the gods.\n\n\u2018Unto windy Ilios will the Trojans drag the body of Patroclus unless\nthou comest now. Thou needst not fight, Achilles, only show thyself to\nthe men of Troy, for sore is the need of Patroclus thy friend.\u2019\n\nThen, all unarmed, did Achilles go forth, and stood beside the trench.\nWith a mighty voice he shouted, and at the sound of his voice terror\nfell upon the Trojans. Backward in flight they went, and from among the\ndead did the Greeks draw the body of Patroclus, and hot were the tears\nthat Achilles shed for the friend whom he had sent forth to battle.\n\n[Illustration: The making of the arms of Achilles (page 113)]\n\nAll that night, in the house of the Immortals, resounded the clang of\nhammer on anvil as Hephaistus, the lame god, fashioned new arms for\nAchilles.\n\nBronze and silver and gold he threw in his fire, and golden handmaidens\nhelped their master to wield the great bellows and to send on the\ncrucibles blasts that made the ruddy flames dance.\n\nNo fairer shield was ever borne by man than that which Hephaistus made\nfor Achilles. For him also he wrought a corslet brighter than a flame\nof fire, and a helmet with a golden crest.\n\nAnd in the morning light did Thetis dart down from snowy Olympus,\nbearing in her arms the splendid gift of a god.\n\nGlad was Achilles as he put on the armour, and terrible was his\nwar-cry as he roused the Greek warriors. No man, however sore his\nwounds, held back when the voice of Achilles called him to the fight\nonce again. Wounded was Agamemnon, overlord of the Greeks, but forth\nalso came he. And there, while the sun rose on many a warrior who would\nfight no more, did Achilles and Agamemnon speak as friends once again,\ntheir long strife ended.\n\nHungry for war, with Achilles as their leader, did the Greeks then\nmeet the Trojans on the plain. And as a fierce fire rages through the\nforest, its flames driven by the wind, so did Achilles in his wrath\ndrive through the host of Troy.\n\nDown to the Scamander he drove the fleeing Trojans, and the water\nreddened with blood, as he smote and spared not.\n\nMerciless was Achilles; pitilessly did he exult as one brave man after\nanother was sent by him to dye red the swift flood of the Scamander.\n\nAt length, at his lack of mercy, did even the river grow wrathful.\n\n\u2018Choked is my stream with dead men!\u2019 it cried, \u2018and still thou slayest!\u2019\n\nBut when Achilles heeded not, in fierce flood the river uprose against\nhim, sweeping the slain before it, and in furious spate seeking to\ndestroy Achilles. But as its waves smote against his shield, Achilles\ngrasped a tall elm, and uprooting it, cast it into the river to dam the\ntorrent. For the moment only was the angry river stayed. In fear did\nAchilles flee across the plain, but with a mighty roar it pursued him,\nand caught him.\n\nTo the gods then cried Achilles, and to his aid came Athene, and close\nto the walls of Troy again did Achilles chase the Trojan men.\n\nFrom the city walls old Priam saw the dreadful things Achilles wrought.\n\nAnd when, his armour blazing like the brightest stars of the sky, he\ndrew near, and Hector would have gone to meet him, in grief did Priam\ncry to his dearly-loved son:\n\n\u2018Hector, beloved son, I pray thee go not alone to meet this man;\nmightier far than thou is he.\u2019\n\nBut all eager for the fight was Hector. Of all the men of Troy he alone\nstill stood unafraid. Then did the mother of Hector beseech him to hold\nback from what must surely mean death. Yet Hector held not back, but on\nhis shining shield leaned against a tower, awaiting the coming of the\ngreat destroyer.\n\nAnd at last they met, face to face, spear to spear. As a shooting-star\nin the darkness so flashed the spear of Achilles as he hurled it home\nto pierce the neck of Hector. Gods and men had deserted Hector, and\nalone before the walls of Troy he fell and died.\n\nThus ended the fight.\n\nFor twelve days did the Greek host rejoice, and all through the days\nHector\u2019s body lay unburied. For at the heels of swift horses had the\nGreeks dragged him to the ships, while from the battlements his mother\nand his wife Andromache watched, wailing in agony, with hearts that\nbroke.\n\n[Illustration: The shadow of death came down upon Hector (page 116)]\n\nThen at length went old Priam to the camp of the Greeks. And before\nAchilles he fell, beseeching him to have mercy and to give him back the\nbody of his son.\n\nSo was the heart of Achilles moved, and the body of Hector ransomed;\nand with wailing of women did the people of Troy welcome home their\nhero.\n\nOver him lamented his old mother, for of all her sons was he to her\nmost dear, and over him wept, with burning tears, his wife Andromache.\n\nAnd to his bier came Helen, and with breaking heart did she sob forth\nher sorrow.\n\n\u2018Dearest of my brothers,\u2019 she said, \u2018from thee have I heard neither\nreproach nor evil word. With kind words and gentle heart hast thou ever\nstood by me. Lost, lost is my one true friend. No more in Troyland is\nany left to pity me.\u2019\n\nOn lofty funeral pyre then laid they the dead Hector, and when the\nflames had consumed his body his comrades placed his white bones in\na golden urn, and over it with great stones did they raise a mighty\nmound that all might see where he rested.\n\nYet still was the warfare between Greeks and Trojans not ended.\n\nTo Achilles death came in a shaft from the bow of Paris. By a poisoned\narrow driven at venture and at dark midnight from the bow of an outcast\nleper was fair Paris slain. While winter snow lay white on Ida, in\nHelen\u2019s arms did his life ebb away.\n\nThen came there a day when the Greeks burned their camp and sailed\nhomeward across the grey water.\n\nBehind them they left a mighty horse of wood, and the men of Troy came\nand drew it into the city as trophy and sign of victory over those\nwho had made it. But inside the horse were hidden many of the bravest\nwarriors of Greece, and at night, when the Trojans feasted, the Greeks\ncame out of their hiding-place and threw open the gates.\n\nAnd up from the sea came the Greek host, and in fire and in blood fell\nthe city of Troy.\n\nYet did not Helen perish. Back to his own kingdom by the sea Menelaus\ntook her, to reign, in peace, a queen, she who had brought grief and\ndeath to so many, and to the city of Troy unutterable woe.\n\n\n                       PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN\n\n\n\n\nTRANSCRIBER\u2019S NOTES:\n\nQuotes have been added on pages 11, 70, 78, 81 and 84, to conform to\ncorrect usage.\n\nIllustrations have been moved up or down, as needed, to avoid\nbreaking the flow of paragraphs.\n\nAll hyphenation and spelling has been retained as typeset.","title":"Stories from the Iliad; Or, the siege of Troy","tradition":"myth-cosmogony","translated_text":null,"word_count":20042}