But even so they could not drive panic among the Achaians,
but held evenly as the scales which a careful widow
holds, taking it by the balance beam, and weighs her wool evenly
435 at either end, working to win a pitiful wage for her children:
so the battles fought by both sides were pulled fast and even
until that time when Zeus gave the greater glory to Hektor,
Priam’s son, who was first to break into the wall of the Achaians.
For he lifted his voice and called in a piercing cry to the Trojans:
440 “Rise up, Trojans, breakers of horses, and wreck the ramparts
of the Argives, and let loose the inhuman fire on their vessels.”
So he spoke, driving them on, and they all gave ear to him
and steered against the wall in a pack, and at once gripping
still their edged spears caught and swarmed up the wall’s projections.
445 Meanwhile Hektor snatched up a stone that stood before the gates
and carried it along; it was blunt-massed at the base, but the upper
end was sharp; two men, the best in all a community,
could not easily hoist it up from the ground to a wagon,
of men such as men are now, but he alone lifted and shook it
450 as the son of devious-devising Kronos made it light for him.
As when a shepherd easily carries the fleece of a wether,
picking it up with one hand, and little is the burden weighting him,
so Hektor lifting the stone carried it straight for the door leaves
which filled the gateway ponderously close-fitted together.
455 These were high and twofold, and double door-bars on the inside
overlapping each other closed it, and a single pin-bolt secured them.
He came and stood very close and taking a strong wide stance threw
at the middle, leaning into the throw, that the cast might not lack
force, and smashed the hinges at either side, and the stone crashed
460 ponderously in, and the gates groaned deep, and the door-bars
could not hold, but the leaves were smashed to a wreckage of splinters
under the stone’s impact. Then glorious Hektor burst in
with dark face like sudden night, but he shone with the ghastly
glitter of bronze that girded his skin, and carried two spears
465 in his hands. No one could have stood up against him, and stopped him,
except the gods, when he burst in the gates; and his eyes flashed fire.
Whirling, he called out across the battle to the Trojans
to climb over the wall, and they obeyed his urgency.
Immediately some swarmed over the wall, while others swept in
470 through the wrought gateways, and the Danaäns scattered in terror
among their hollow ships, and clamor incessant rose up.
BOOK THIRTEEN
When Zeus had driven against the ships the Trojans and Hektor,
he left them beside these to endure the hard work and sorrow
of fighting without respite, and himself turned his eyes shining
far away, looking out over the land of the Thracian riders
5 and the Mysians who fight at close quarters, and the proud Hippomolgoi,
drinkers of milk, and the Abioi, most righteous of all men.
He did not at all now turn his shining eyes upon Troy land
for he had no idea in mind that any one of the immortals
would come down to stand by either Danaäns or Trojans.
10 Neither did the powerful shaker of the earth keep blind watch;
for he sat and admired the fighting and the run of the battle,
aloft on top of the highest summit of timbered Samos,
the Thracian place; and from there all Ida appeared before him,
and the city of Priam was plain to see, and the ships of the Achaians.
15 There he came up out of the water, and sat, and pitied the Achaians
who were beaten by the Trojans, and blamed Zeus for it in bitterness.
So presently he came down from the craggy mountain, striding
on rapid feet, and the tall mountains trembled and the timber
under the immortal feet of Poseidon’s progress.
20 He took three long strides forward, and in the fourth came to his goal,
Aigai, where his glorious house was built in the waters’
depth, glittering with gold, imperishable forever.
Going there he harnessed under his chariot his bronze-shod horses,
flying-footed, with long manes streaming of gold; and he put on
25 clothing of gold about his own body, and took up the golden
lash, carefully compacted, and climbed up into his chariot
and drove it across the waves. And about him the sea beasts came up
from their deep places and played in his path, and acknowledged their master,
and the sea stood apart before him, rejoicing. The horses winged on
30 delicately, and the bronze axle beneath was not wetted.
The fast-running horses carried him to the ships of the Achaians.
There is a cave, broad and deep down in the gloom of the water,
lying midway between Tenedos and Imbros of the high cliffs.
There Poseidon the shaker of the earth reined in his horses,
35 and slipped them from the yoke, and threw fodder immortal before them
so they could eat, and threw around their feet golden hobbles
not to be broken or slipped from, so they would wait there steadfast
for their lord gone. And Poseidon went to the ships of the Achaians.
But the Trojans, gathered into a pack, like flame, like a stormcloud,
40 came on after Hektor the son of Priam, raging relentless,
roaring and crying as one, and their hopes ran high of capturing
the ships of the Achaians, and killing the best men beside them,
all of them. But Poseidon who circles the earth and shakes it
rose up out of the deep water to stir on the Argives,
45 likening himself in form and weariless voice to Kalchas.
First he spoke to the Aiantes, who were burning for battle already:
“Aiantes, you two, remembering the spirit of warcraft
and not that of shivering panic, must save the Achaian people.
Elsewhere in truth I do not fear the Trojans’ invincible
50 hands, though in full force they have swarmed over our great wall;
since the strong-greaved Achaians will be able to hold the rest of them.
But I fear most terribly disaster to us in the one place
where that berserk flamelike leads them against us, Hektor,
who claims he must be son of Zeus of the high strength. May this
55 be the message some one of the gods gives your minds to carry,
that you stand fast strongly yourselves, urge the rest to stand also.
Thus, hard though he sweeps on, you might stay him beside the fast-running
ships, even though the very Olympian wakes him to battle.”
Poseidon who circles the earth and shakes it spoke, and striking
60 both of them with his staff filled them with powerful valor,
and he made their limbs light, and their feet, and their hands above them,
and burst into winged flight himself, like a hawk with quick wings
who from the huge height of an impassable rock lifting
leans to flight to pursue some other bird over the wide land;
65 so Poseidon shaker of the earth broke away from the Aiantes.
And of the two swift Aias son of Oïleus was first
to know him, and spoke therewith to Aias the son of Telamon;
“Aias, since some one of the gods, whose hold is Olympos,
has likened himself to the seer, and told us to fight by our vessels,
70 this is not Kalchas, the bird interpreter of the gods, for I knew
easily as he went away the form of his feet, the legs’ form
from behind him. Gods, though gods, are conspicuous. Therefore
as for me, the spirit inside my inward breast drives me
all the harder to carry on the war and the fighting,
75 and my feet underneath me are eager and my hands above them.”
Aias the son of Telamon spoke to him in answer:
“So for me also now the invincible hands on my spearshaft
are furious, my strength is rising, and both feet beneath me
are sweeping me onward, so that I long even for single combat
80 with Hektor, Priam’s son, the forever avid of battle.”
Now as these two were saying such things to each other, joyful
in the delight of battle the god had put into their spirits,
meanwhile the earth-encircler stirred up the Achaians behind them
who were cooling the heat of the inward heart back beside their vessels,
85 for their very limbs were broken with weariness of hard work, and also
discouragement of the heart came over them, as they watched
the Trojans, and how in a mass they had overswarmed the great wall.
As they saw them the tears dripped from their eyes; they did not
think they could win clear of the evil, but the earth-shaker
90 lightly turning their battalions to strength drove them onward.
He came first in encouragement to Teukros and Leïtos,
with the fighting Peneleos, and Deïpyros and Thoas,
to Meriones and Antilochos, both urgent for battle.
Calling out to these in winged words he rallied them onward:
95 “Shame, you Argives, young fighting men, since I for my part
have confidence that by fighting you can save our ships from destruction;
but if you yourselves are to go slack from the sorrowful fighting
now is seen your day to be beaten down by the Trojans.
Oh for shame! Here is a great strange thing I see with my own eyes,
100 a terrible thing, and one that I thought never could happen,
that the Trojans could come against our ships, they who in time past
were like fugitive deer before us, who in the forests
are spoil for scavengers and wolves and leopards, who scatter
in absolute cowardice, there is no war spirit within them.
105 So before now the Trojans were unwilling to stand up
against the strength and hands of the Achaians, even for a little,
but now far from their city they fight by the hollow vessels
through the weakness of our leader, and the hanging back of our people
who have made their quarrel with him, and will not stand in defense
110 of the fast-running ships. Instead of this they are killed against them.
Yet even though it be utterly true that the son of Atreus
the hero wide-powerful Agamemnon is guilty
because he did dishonor to Peleus’ son, the swift-footed,
still there is no way for us now to hang back from the fighting.
115 No, sooner let us heal it, for the hearts of great men can be healed.
But you can no longer in honor give way from your fighting valor
being all the best men along the host. Even I, for my part,
would not quarrel with any man who hung back from the fighting
because he was a weak thing, but with you my heart must be angry.
120 O friends, soon you will bring to pass some still greater evil
with this hanging back. Let every one of you plant in his heart’s depth
discipline and shamefastness. A big battle rises against you.
For Hektor of the great war cry is fighting beside our vessels
in his power, and has broken our gates and the long door-bar.”
125 So urging them on the earth-encircler stirred up the Achaians,
and their battalions formed in strength about the two Aiantes,
battalions the war god could not find fault with, coming among them,
nor Athene lady of storming armies, since there the bravest
formed apart and stood against the Trojans and brilliant Hektor
130 locking spear by spear, shield against shield at the base, so buckler
leaned on buckler, helmet on helmet, man against man,
and the horse-hair crests along the horns of their shining helmets
touched as they bent their heads, so dense were they formed on each other,
and the spears shaken from their daring hands made a jagged battle line.
135 Their thoughts were driving straight ahead in the fury of fighting.
The Trojans came down on them in a pack, and Hektor led them
raging straight forward, like a great rolling stone from a rock face
that a river swollen with winter rain has wrenched from its socket
and with immense washing broken the hold of the unwilling rock face;
140 the springing boulder flies on, and the forest thunders beneath it;
and the stone runs unwavering on a strong course, till it reaches
the flat land, then rolls no longer for all its onrush;
so Hektor for a while threatened lightly to break through
the shelters and ships of the Achaians and reach the water
145 cutting his way. But when he collided with the dense battalions
he was stopped, hard, beaten in on himself. The sons of the Achaians
against him stabbing at him with swords and leaf-headed spears
thrust him away from them so that he gave ground backward, staggering.
He lifted his voice and called in a piercing cry to the Trojans:
150 “Trojans, Lykians, Dardanians who fight at close quarters,
stand with me. The Achaians will not hold me back for a long time
for all they are building themselves into a bastion against me.
No, I think they will give back under my spear, if truly
I am driven by the greatest of gods, the thunderous lord of Hera.”
155 So he spoke, and stirred the spirit and strength in each man.
Among them Deïphobos in high purpose had come striding,
Priam’s son, who held the perfect circle of his shield before him,
moving lightly on his feet as he walked in the shield’s protection.
Meriones aimed at him with the shining spear, and threw it
160 nor missed his mark, but struck the’ shield on its perfect circle
of bull’s hide, but the spear did not get through, but sooner
the long shaft was broken behind the head. Deïphobos
held the bull’s-hide shield away from him, his heart frightened
by the spear of wise Meriones, but that hero drew back
165 into the host of his own companions, deeply angered
for two things, the broken spear and the loss of his battle,
and went away back to the shelters and ships of the Achaians
to bring back a long spear that was left behind in his shelter.
But the rest fought on with clamor incessant rising about them.
170 Teukros, son of Telamon, was the first to kill his man, Imbrios
the spearfighter, son of Mentor of the many horses, one who
before the coming of the sons of the Achaians lived in Pedaios
and had married a bastard daughter of Priam, Medesikaste.
But when the oarswept ships of the Danaäns came, he went back
175 to Ilion, and was a great man among the Trojans, and lived
at Priam’s side, who honored him as he did his own children.
Now the son of Telamon with the long spear stabbed him under
/>
the ear, and wrenched the spear out again, and he dropped like an ash tree
which, on the crest of a mountain glittering far about, cut down
180 with the bronze axe scatters on the ground its delicate leafage;
so he dropped, and the armor elaborate with bronze clashed
about him, and Teukros ran up, eager to strip the armor.
As he came on Hektor threw at him with the shining javelin,
but Teukros with his eyes straight on him avoided the bronze spear
185 by a little, and Hektor struck Amphimachos, son of Aktorian
Kteatos, with a spear in his chest as he swept into battle.
He fell, thunderously, and his armor clattered upon him.
Then Hektor charged in to tear the helm of great-hearted Amphimachos
from his head where it fitted close on the brows, but Aias
190 thrust with the shining spear at Hektor as he came onward;
he could not manage to reach the skin, since this was all shrouded
in the ghastly bronze, but drove at the shield’s mass in the middle
and beat him back in great strength so that Hektor gave ground backward
from both corpses. These the Achaians dragged out of the fighting.
195 Then Stichios and brilliant Menestheus, lords of the Athenians,
carried Amphimachos back among the Achaian people.
But the two Aiantes in the fury of their fierce war strength,
as two lions catch up a goat from the guard of rip-fanged
hounds, and carry it into the density of the underbrush,
200 holding it high from the ground in the crook of their jaws, so the lordly
two Aiantes lifted Imbrios high and stripped him
of his armor, and the son of Oïleus, in anger
for Amphimachos, hewed away his head from the soft neck
and threw it spinning like a ball through the throng of fighters
205 until it came to rest in the dust at the feet of Hektor.
Then Poseidon was angered about the heart at his grandson’s
slaying in the bitter hostility, so the god went forth
on his way among the shelters and ships of the Achaians
and stirred the Danaäns, and worked disaster against the Trojans.
210 Idomeneus the spear-famed encountered him, on his way
from a companion, who had just before come back from the fighting
wounded in the hollow behind the knee by the sharp bronze.
This man his companions carried away. Idomeneus had given
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