by Homer
well-rounded shields and bristling hides fluttering with tassels.
Then Phoebus Apollo spoke to furious Ares:
“Ares, Ares, ruinous to mortals, murderous sacker of walled cities,
will you not go and haul this man from battle,
the son of Tydeus, who now would fight with even Father Zeus?
First at close quarters he stabbed Cyprian Aphrodite’s hand at the wrist,
and then he charged at even me like something more than human.”
So speaking the god seated himself on the heights of Pergamos,460
and murderous Ares set out to rally the Trojan ranks,
in the likeness of Akamas the swift leader of the Thracians;
and to the sons of Priam cherished by Zeus he gave orders:
“O sons of king Priam, cherished by Zeus,
for how long will you permit your people to be killed by the Achaeans?
Even until they fight about your well-made city gates?
A man lies fallen whom we honor equal to glorious Hector,
Aeneas, the son of great-hearted Anchises.
Come, let us save our noble companion from the tumult of battle.”
So speaking he stirred the strength and spirit of each man.470
But then in turn Sarpedon strongly rebuked glorious Hector:
“Hector, where has your courage gone, which you before possessed?
You used to say that you would hold the city without an army, without allies,
you alone with your brothers-in-law and your blood brothers;
now I am not able to see nor discern a one of them,
but they cower like dogs about a lion.
We are the ones fighting, we who are your allies.
Indeed I too, an ally, have come from very far away;
Lycia is a long way off, on the swirling river Xanthos,
where I left a dear wife and little son,480
and many possessions, which some man in his need might covet.
But even so I urged on the Lycians and myself was eager
to go to battle with this man; yet there is nothing of mine here
that the Achaeans would carry off or lead away as spoil.
You stand here, but you do not bid the rest of
your men stand firm and defend their wives.
May you not, as if caught in the mesh of a trawling net,
become the spoil and prey of enemy men,
who soon will sack your well-settled city.
All these things must be your care through both the nights and in the day—490
to entreat the leaders of your far-famed allies
to hold the line relentlessly, and from yourself to put away any cause for strong reproach.”
So spoke Sarpedon; and his speech bit into the heart of Hector.
At once he leapt from his chariot in his armor to the ground,
and brandishing his sharp spears he made his way to every place throughout the army,
rallying the men to fight, and he stirred up the dread battle.
The men wheeled themselves about and stood facing the Achaeans;
but the Argives stood firm together, nor did they flee.
And as the wind carries chaff hither and thither across the sacred threshing floor
of men as they winnow, when golden Demeter500
sifts grain and chaff beneath the gusting winds,
and the heaped chaff grows white, so the Achaeans
grew white beneath the cloud of dust that through their ranks
their horses’ feet pounded to the brazen sky
as they fought close again; and the charioteers wheeled with them.
They carried the might of their hands straight on; and bolstering the Trojans
furious Ares wrapped night around the battle,
ranging everywhere; he brought to pass the wishes
of Apollo of the sword of gold, who ordered him
to stir the spirit of the Trojans when he saw Pallas Athena510
had departed; for she it was who gave aid to the Danaans.
And out of his rich sanctuary Apollo sent forth Aeneas,
and cast strength in the breast of the shepherd of his people.
Aeneas took his stand among his comrades; and they rejoiced,
when they saw him alive and unharmed as he came toward them
and possessed of his outstanding strength; but they asked no questions;
for their other work did not permit them, the work of war that the god of the silver bow had raised,
and Ares, ruinous to mortals, and Strife, who is zealous always.
But the two Aiantes and Odysseus and Diomedes
urged the Danaans to wage war; they themselves520
did not shrink before the Trojan might, nor their attacks,
but stood firm, like clouds that the son of Cronus
sets on a windless day upon the topmost part of mountains,
motionless, when the North Wind’s power is hushed, and the other
violent winds’—winds that with piercing blasts
scatter the shadowy clouds when they blow hard—
so the Danaans withstood the Trojans steadfastly nor did they flee.
But the son of Atreus roamed throughout the host giving many orders:
“O friends, be men and take hold of your courageous spirit
and fear shame before each other throughout the mighty combat;530
when men fear shame, more are safe than slain,
but when men flee, neither glory nor any victory is seen.”
He spoke, and swiftly casting with his spear he struck the foremost man,
a companion of great-hearted Aeneas, Deïkoön
the son of Pergasos, whom the Trojans esteemed as equal to the sons of
Priam, since he was always quick to fight among the first ranks.
Lord Agamemnon struck him across the shield with his spear;
and it did not protect him from the spear, but the bronze passed straight through,
and piercing his war-belt, into the pit of his stomach it drove.
He fell with a thud, and his armor clashed upon him.540
But then Aeneas slew the best of Danaan men,
the sons of Diokles, Krethon and Ortilochos,
whose father dwelt in well-built Phere,
a man who lived richly, a descendant of the river
Alpheus, who flows wide through the land of Pylos;
He begat Ortilochos lord of many men,
and Ortilochos then begat great-hearted Diokles,
and from Diokles were born twin sons,
Krethon and his namesake Ortilochos, both well skilled in all kinds of battle.
These two, then, in the flower of their youth, on dark ships550
followed with the Argives to Ilion with its fine horses,
to win honor for the sons of Atreus, for Agamemnon
and Menelaos; and there the finality of death enfolded both.
They were as two lions reared on the heights of
a mountain by their mother in the thickets of deep forest;
who seizing cattle and fat flocks
lay waste people’s farmsteads, until even they
are killed at the hands of men with sharp bronze;
as such did the two youths broken under the hands of Aeneas
fall, like towering firs.560
And as they fell Menelaos beloved of Ares pitied them,
and he made his way through the front-rank fighters armed in gleaming bronze,
shaking his spear; Ares encouraged his passion,
with this in mind—that Menelaos would be killed at the hands of Aeneas.
But Antilochos, son of great-hearted Nestor, saw him,
and he made his way through the front-rank fighters, for he was afraid for the shepherd of the people,
lest he should suffer death and wholly defeat the purpose of their war toil.
And when Menelaos and Aeneas held up t
heir hands and sharp spears
against each other, ready to fight,
Antilochos took his stand close by the shepherd of the people;570
and Aeneas did not stay, swift fighter though he was,
when he saw the two men standing firm beside each other.
They then dragged the dead bodies toward the Achaean host,
and so placed the unlucky pair in the hands of comrades,
and themselves, turning back, went to battle among the front fighters.
Thereupon they killed Pylaimenes the equal of Ares,
leader of the Paphlagonians, the great-hearted shield-bearers.
For Atreus’ son spear-famed Menelaos
smote him as he stood, striking at his collarbone;
and Antilochos let fly at Mydon his charioteer and henchman,580
the noble son of Atymnios—he was wheeling around his single-hoofed horses—
with a great stone, striking the middle of the elbow; and from his hands
the reins gleaming white with ivory fell to the ground in the dust.
Springing forward Antilochos drove with his sword at Mydon’s temple;
and he, gasping, dropped from the well-wrought chariot,
helmet first, on his head and shoulders in the dust.
A long time he stayed there, for he chanced to hit deep sand,
while his two horses pounding the ground with their hooves beat him into the dust—
horses that Antilochos then lashed on, and drove toward the Achaean army.
And through the lines of battle Hector marked them, and sprang for them590
crying aloud; and with him followed the ranks of Trojans
in their power; and Ares led them and lady Enyo, spirit of war,
bringing Panic with her, the ruthless turmoil of war,
and Ares wielded in his hand his great spear
as he ranged now before Hector, now behind him.
And seeing him Diomedes shuddered, he of the war cry;
as when a man making his way over a great plain stands helpless
by a river, swift flowing as it rushes to the sea,
watching it roaring with foam, and runs forward and back,
so then the son of Tydeus drew back and spoke to his men:600
“O friends, how we marveled at glorious Hector
for being a spearman and bold warrior!
Always one of the gods is by his side, who wards off destruction.
And now Ares is that one beside him, in the likeness of a mortal man.
Come, face the Trojans and keep withdrawing
back, and do not seek to fight with force against the gods.”
Thus he spoke; and the Trojans approached almost upon them.
There Hector killed two men wise in the art of war
who were in one chariot, Menesthes and Anchialos.
As they both fell great Telamonian Ajax pitied them,610
and coming up he stood hard by, and cast with his shining spear,
and struck Amphios, the son of Selagos, who in Paisos
lived rich in possessions, rich in corn-land; but destiny led him
to serve as ally with Priam and with his sons.
Telamonian Ajax struck him down across his war-belt,
the long-shadowed spear fixed in the pit of his stomach,
and he fell with a thud; glorious Ajax ran toward him
to strip the armor; the Trojans poured their spears upon him,
glinting sharp, but his shield caught many.
With his foot against the dead body, he dragged out620
his bronze spear; but still was not able to strip
the splendid armor from the dead man’s shoulders, for he was assailed by hurled spears.
And he feared the strong encirclement of noble Trojan spearmen,
the many and the excellent men who drew up to take their stand holding spears;
and big though he was and strong and illustrious,
they drove him from them; and he retreated, staggering.
Thus they toiled throughout the mighty combat;
and Tlepolemos descended from Heracles, a good man and great,
was driven toward godlike Sarpedon by powerful destiny.
And when they had advanced almost upon each other—630
the son and the grandson of Zeus who gathers the clouds—
Tlepolemos spoke the first word to Sarpedon:
“Sarpedon, leader of Lycians in counsel alone, what compels you
to cower here, a man ignorant of battle?
They lie who say you are born of Zeus who wields the aegis,
since you fall far short of those men
who were born of Zeus in the days of men of old.
Heracles they say was a different sort of man—
my father, bold-spirited, lionhearted,
who, in time past, coming here for Laomedon’s horses640
did with his six ships and with fewer men
utterly sack the city of Ilion, and widow its streets.
But in you is a coward’s heart, and your people waste away,
nor do I think you will be any defense for the Trojans
in your coming from Lycia, not even if you are very strong,
but broken under my hand you will pass through the gates of Hades.”
But Sarpedon leader of the Lycians answered him in turn:
“Tlepolemos, Heracles did indeed destroy sacred Ilion
through the witlessness of one man—illustrious Laomedon—
who abused with an evil word one who had done him well,650
and did not give up the mares, for which Heracles had come so far.
But I say to you here that bloodshed and dark death
are what will be wrought by me, and broken by my spear
you will give glory to me, and your soul to Hades of famed horses.”
So spoke Sarpedon; and Telepolemos lifted his ash-spear;
and the long spears flew from their hands together.
Sarpedon struck the middle of his neck,
and the grievous point passed all the way through,
and from his eyes down murky night enveloped Tlepolemos;
but he had wounded Sarpedon with his long spear660
in the left thigh, and the eager spear-point sped through,
shaving the bone; but for this time Zeus his father averted destruction.
His glorious companions carried godlike Sarpedon
from the fighting; the long spear weighed him down
as it dragged—no one noticed it or took thought
to pull the ash-spear from his thigh, so that he might stand,
in their haste; for such was their trouble handling him—
and on the other side the strong-greaved Achaeans carried Tlepolemos
from the fighting. Godlike Odysseus saw,
he whose spirit was unflinching, and his heart shook for action;670
and he weighed in his mind and in his heart,
whether he should further pursue the son of far-thundering Zeus,
or he should strip the life from yet more Lycians.
But it was not fated for great-hearted Odysseus
to kill the powerful son of Zeus with his sharp bronze;
and therefore Athena turned his anger toward the multitude of Lycians.
And there he killed Koiranos and Alastor and Chromios
and Alkandros and Halios and Prytanis and Noemon;
and now godlike Odysseus would have killed even more of the Lycians,
if great Hector of the shimmering helm had not taken sharp note.680
He came through the front fighters armored in gleaming bronze,
bearing terror to the Danaans; and Sarpedon rejoiced at his coming,
the son of Zeus, and spoke an imploring word:
“Son of Priam, do not let me lie as spoil for the Danaans,
but fight for me. Then life may forsake me
in your city, as it se
ems I was not destined
to return to my home, to the beloved land of my fathers
and to make happy my dear wife and young son.”
So he spoke; but Hector of the shimmering helm said nothing to him,
and sped past in eager haste, so that he might quickly690
force back the Achaeans, and strip the life away from many.
So his glorious companions lay godlike Sarpedon
beneath a beautiful oak, sacred to Zeus who wields the aegis;
and from his thigh the ash-spear was forced out
by noble Pelagon, who was his beloved companion;
and his soul left Sarpedon and mist seeped down from his eyes.
But about him the breath of the North Wind’s
blowing revived the life-spirit he had cruelly panted out, and he breathed again.
The Argives under force of Ares and bronze-armored Hector
never turned to their dark ships,700
nor ever engaged in fighting, but ever backward
kept withdrawing, for they saw Ares was with the Trojans.
Who there was the first man, who the last that
Priam’s son Hector and bronze Ares killed?
Godlike Teuthras, and then Orestes driver of horses,
and Trechos the Aetolian spearman and Oinomaos
and Helenos son of Oinops and Oresbios of the shimmering belt-guard,
who had lived in Hyle greatly concerned for his riches,
aslope the shore of the Kephisian lake; and beside him lived other men
of Boeotia, who held the luxuriant country.710
Then when the white-armed goddess Hera saw the
Argives perishing in the mighty combat,
she at once addressed winged words to Athena:
“O for shame, daughter of Zeus who wields the aegis, Athena Atrytone,
now the word we pledged to Menelaos is come to nothing,
that he would return home having sacked well-walled Ilion,
if we allow murderous Ares to rage in this way.
But come, and let us two also take thought of our fierce courage.”
So she spoke, nor did the gleaming-eyed goddess Athena disobey.
Departing, Hera got ready the gold-bridled horses720
she, elder of goddesses, daughter of great Cronus;
And on both sides of the chariot Hebe swiftly fitted its curved wheels—
bronze, eight-spoked around an iron axle;
their inner rim is imperishable gold,
bronze tires are close fitted round, a wonder to look upon,
and hubs of silver spin on either side;
the chariot car is braced tight with gold and silver bindings,
and front and back, curved rails run round.