by Homer
gleam of bronze that he had put about his body; in his hands he held
two spears. No one coming against him could have restrained him
except the gods, when he leapt through the gates; and his eyes blazed with fire.
Whirling around he called to the Trojans through the battle-throng
to scale the wall; they obeyed his urging,
and at once stormed over the wall, and some through the well-wrought
gates themselves rushed in; the Danaans fled470
to the hollow ships; and there arose tumult unceasing.
13.ILIÁDOS N
Now when Zeus had brought Hector and the Trojans to the ships,
he left both the armies beside them to endure toil and hardship
without respite, and he himself turned his shining eyes away
into the distance, looking down to the land of the horse-tending Thracians
and the close-fighting Mysians and the proud Hippemolgoi,
who live on milk, and the Abioi, most upright of men.
Toward Troy he turned no more at all his shining eyes;
for in his heart he did not imagine any of the immortals
would go to aid the Trojans or Danaans.
But the lord Earth-Shaker kept no blind watch;10
for he too sat marveling at the war and battle,
high up on the topmost crown of wooded Samothrace;
from there was displayed the whole of Ida,
the city of Priam was displayed and the ships of the Achaeans.
There, coming out of the sea, he sat and he pitied the Achaeans
beaten down at the hands of the Trojans, and he reproached Zeus violently.
In a moment he descended from the rugged mountain,
swiftly striding forward on his feet; and the great mountains and woodlands shook
beneath the immortal feet of Poseidon as he proceeded.
Three strides he made, and on the fourth he reached his goal—20
Aigai; where his illustrious house was built in the depths of the sea,
gleaming golden, imperishable forever.
Arriving there he yoked to his chariot a pair of horses shod with bronze,
swift-flying, with luxuriant manes of gold,
and he clad himself in gold, and grasped his golden
well-wrought whip, and stepped into his chariot.
And he set out to drive across the waves; and the creatures of the sea gamboled at his coming
out of their deep places from every side, nor did they fail to recognize their lord,
and the sea parted in joy; and the horses flew on
lightly, nor was the bronze axle beneath even moistened;30
so the swift-springing horses carried him to the ships of the Achaeans.
There is a certain broad deep cave in the depths of ocean
between the islands Tenedos and rugged Imbros;
there Poseidon the Earth-Shaker drew up his horses
releasing them from the chariot, and cast before them ambrosial fodder
to eat; and around their feet he threw golden fetters,
infrangible, not to be loosened, so they would steadfastly await
their lord’s return; and he proceeded to the Achaean army.
And like fire or whirling wind the thronging Trojans
followed Hector son of Priam, battle-hungry always,40
united in their loud shouts and cries; they thought they would seize the ships of the Achaeans,
and kill all their best men beside them.
But Poseidon the earth-shaking holder of the earth
rallied the Argives, emerging from the deep salt sea,
likening himself in form and tireless voice to Calchas.
He addressed the two Aiantes first, zealous though they were already:
“Aiantes, you must save—both of you—the Achaean people
being mindful of your valor, and not of shivering flight.
In any other place I do not fear the unassailable might of hand
of the Trojans who have scaled in a body up and over our great wall;50
the strong-greaved Achaeans will hold them off;
but I most terribly, greatly fear lest we suffer in that place
where this fiery madman leads—
Hector, who boasts to be the son of mighty Zeus.
May one of the gods so put it in your hearts
to stand your ground strongly yourselves, and to exhort the others!
Then you might drive him back, for all his rushing speed, from the swift-sailing ships,
though the Olympian himself stir him to battle.”
He spoke, and with his staff the Earth-Shaker who holds the earth
struck them, filling both with mighty courage,60
and he made their limbs light, their feet and their arms.
And he himself rose to fly like a swift-winged hawk,
which borne aloft from a sheer rock
swoops to pursue some other bird across the plain;
so Poseidon who shakes the earth shot away from them.
And of the two, swift Ajax son of Oïleus first understood,
and straightway he addressed Ajax son of Telamon:
“Ajax, since one of the gods who hold Olympus
bids us, in the likeness of our seer, to do battle by the ships—
for he is not Calchas, the auger of birds who prays to god;70
the stride of his feet and legs from behind
I quickly recognized as he was going; gods though they be they are easily known;
and the spirit in my own breast
has been stirred the more to fight and to do battle,
my feet beneath me strain for action as do my hands above.”
And answering him spoke Telamonian Ajax:
“So now too my hands, invincible, strain about my spear shaft,
and my spirit stirs, and by the feet beneath me
I am rushed along; I yearn, even on my own,
to fight with Hector son of Priam, who is battle-hungry always.”80
So they spoke such things to one another,
exulting in their resolve for battle, which the god had placed within their hearts.
Meanwhile the Earth-Holder rallied other Achaeans behind them,
who were reviving their spirits beside the swift ships.
For their very limbs were undone by grievous toil,
and anguish pierced their hearts as they beheld
the Trojans, who in a body had scaled up and over their great wall;
as they looked on them they wept tears beneath their brows;
for they did not think they would escape clear of destruction; but the Earth-Shaker,
moving easily among them, pressed them into strong formations.90
He came first to Teucer and Leïtos, urging them on,
and to Peneleos the warrior and to Thoas and Deïpyros and
Meriones and also Antilochos, raisers of the battle cry.
Urging them he spoke winged words:
“For shame, Argives, young boys; I trusted your
fighting to save our ships.
But if you hang back from baleful war,
then now appears the day we will be broken by the Trojans.
O shame! This is a great wonder I see with my eyes,
a terrible thing, which I never thought would be accomplished—100
that Trojans reach our ships—Trojans, who just before
were like skittish deer, which flittering through the woods
are so much food for jackals, leopards, wolves,
useless, incapable of defense, nor is there fire of fighting in them.
So the Trojans in time before used to be unwilling
to stand face-to-face against Achaean might or strength of hand, not even for a little while;
now far from the city, they fight beside the hollow ships,
through the cowardice of our leader and the slackness of our people,
who angered with him are not willing to ward off the Trojans
from the swift-voyaging ships, but are killed among them.110
And if in truth he is wholly guilty,
the warrior son of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon,
because he outraged Peleus’ swift-footed son,
still we cannot hang back from our fighting.
Come, let us quickly mend our ways, for the hearts of noble men can be amended.
You are not right to slacken your fierce courage,
you, all the best men in the army; I would not
quarrel with a man who hung back from fighting
because he was worthless, but with you I am angry with all my heart.
Weaklings! You will soon bring about some even greater evil120
by this slackness. Each one of you put in your mind
a sense of shame and righteous censure, for now a great battle stirs;
Hector of the war cry is fighting by our ships
in his might, and has smashed our gates and the long door-bolt.”
Taking the lead this way the Earth-Holder spurred on the Achaeans.
And about the two Aiantes the powerful ranks
took position, ranks that Ares would not have slighted on inspection,
nor Athena who drives the army into battle for they, the best men,
the chosen, awaited the Trojans and shining Hector,
and spear was locked with spear, one shield upon another,130
buckler weighed on buckler, helmet on helmet, man on man,
and the helmets plumed with horsehair touched with shining crests
when the men nodded; so tight did they stand beside each other.
Spears brandished in their emboldened hands
made layered ranks; their minds were fixed ahead, and they were hungry to do battle.
The Trojans pressed forward in a body, and Hector led them
straight on, raging, like a boulder rolling from a cliff
that a river in winter flood has forced from the brow of a hill,
having torn its foundation of remorseless rock with an immense downpour,
and leaping high the boulder flies along, and the forest crashes beneath it;140
straight on it runs without wavering, until it reaches
level ground; then it rolls no more, for all its urgency.
So for a while Hector threatened to sweep through
the tents and ships of the Achaeans to the sea
as he slaughtered; but when he ran into their close-pressed ranks,
he came to a stop, so close he brushed against them. And facing him the sons of Achaeans,
stabbing with their swords and two-edged spears,
drove him from them; and he retreated, staggering.
With a piercing voice he shouted so as to be heard by the Trojans:
“Trojans and Lycians and close-fighting Dardanians,150
stay by me; not for long will the Achaeans withstand me,
for all they array themselves in a wall of defense,
but, I suspect, they will give way under my spear, if truly
it is the highest of gods who drives me, the far-thundering husband of Hera.”
So speaking he rallied the spirit and heart of each man.
And among them Deïphobos had stepped forth, intent on a great deed,
the son of Priam, and held before him the circle of his shield,
advancing with light strides and edging forward behind his shield.
Meriones took aim at him with his shining spear,
and did not miss him, but struck across the circle of the160
oxhide shield; but it did not drive through, for far before
the long spear shattered at the shaft-head socket; and Deïphobos
held the oxhide shield away from him, and feared in his heart
the spear of warlike Meriones. And Meriones the warrior
drew back into the band of his companions, greatly angered
on two counts—he had lost the victory and shattered his spear;
he went beside the shelters and the ships of the Achaeans
to bring his long spear, which he had left behind in his shelters.
And the rest fought on, with quenchless cry of battle rising.
Teucer son of Telamon first killed a man,170
Imbrios the spear-fighter, son of Mentor of many horses;
he dwelt in Pedaios, until the coming of the sons of the Achaeans,
and wed a bastard daughter of Priam, Medesikaste.
But when the double-ended ships of the Danaans came,
he returned to Ilion, and distinguished himself among the Trojans,
and made his home near Priam; and Priam honored him like his sons.
This man the son of Telamon stabbed with his long spear beneath the ears,
then wrenched the spear out; and Imbrios fell back like an ash tree,
which, on the peak of a mountain conspicuous from far around,
felled by a bronze axe brings its tender leaves to touch the ground.180
So he fell, and his armor, elaborate with bronze, clashed about him.
Teucer made a rush, intent on stripping his armor;
and Hector took aim with his shining spear as he did,
but Teucer watching straight ahead evaded the bronze spear
barely, and Hector struck Amphimachos, son of Kteatos who was the son of Aktor,
across the chest with his spear as he was returning to the fighting;
he fell with a thud, and his armor clashed upon him.
And Hector rushed to snatch from his head the helmet,
close fitted to the brows of great-hearted Amphimachos;
but Ajax thrust out with his shining spear as Hector190
charged; but Hector’s flesh was nowhere visible, he was entirely
covered with dreadful bronze; so Ajax struck the boss of his shield,
and with his great strength forced him back; and Hector withdrew
from both corpses, and the Achaeans dragged them away.
And Stichios and noble Menestheus, leaders of the Athenians,
carried Amphimachos back among the Achaean host,
but the two Aiantes carried Imbrios away, intent on displaying their fierce courage;
as two lions having snatched a goat from jagged-tooth dogs
bear it through dense underbrush
holding it high above the ground in their jaws,200
so the two Aiantes holding Imbrios high stripped his helmet
and his armor; and from his soft neck the son of Oïleus
cut off his head, in his rage for the death of Amphimachos,
and swinging it round, he hurled it like a ball through the throng; and it fell
in the dust before the feet of Hector.
Then Poseidon, his heart consumed with rage
at the falling of his grandson in dread combat,
set out to go to the shelters and ships of the Achaeans
to rouse the Danaans, and to wreak heartache for the Trojans.
But spear-famed Idomeneus chanced upon him,210
as he made his way from a companion who had just come to him from the
fighting, having been wounded behind the knee by sharp bronze.
His companions had carried the wounded man, and having given orders
to the healers
he was going to his shelter; for he was still minded to take part in battle.
And the lord Earth-Shaker addressed him,
assuming the voice of Andraimon’s son Thoas,
who in all Pleuron and steep Calydon
ruled the Aetolians, and was honored like a god by the people:
“Idomeneus, leader of the Cretan council, where then are the threats
that the sons of Achaeans made to the Trojans?”220
In turn Idomeneus, leader of the Cretans, answered him:
“O Thoas, no man is to be blamed now, as far as I m
yself
know; for all of us know how to fight.
No slack fear constrains any man, nor yielding to doubt
does anyone shirk the evil fighting; but this way
it seems is pleasing to the almighty son of Cronus,
that the Achaeans die here, nameless, far from Argos.
Come Thoas, for before this you were battle-steady,
and rallied another whenever you saw him hanging back;
therefore do not be reluctant now and give every man his order.”230
Then Poseidon who shakes the earth answered him:
“Idomeneus, may that man never yet return
home from Troy, but become here a plaything of dogs,
who on this day would willingly hang back from doing battle.
But come, taking your armor follow this way; we must hurry matters on
together, to see if we may be of use in any way, though we are but two.
United, there is valor in even worthless men;
and we two know how to fight—even against good warriors.”
So speaking Poseidon set out again, a god among the fighting
throng of men;
and when Idomeneus arrived at his well-built shelter,240
he put his splendid armor about his body, and grasped two spears.
And set out like a bolt of lightning that the son of Cronus
taking hold of in his hand brandishes from radiant Olympus
to declare a sign to mortal men, and its flashings outshine everything in heaven;
so the bronze armor shone about his chest as he was running.
Then his good henchman Meriones encountered him
while he was still near the shelter. For he had come after to fetch a bronze spear.
And strong Idomeneus spoke to him:
“Meriones, swift-footed son of Molos, most beloved of companions,
why have you come here leaving the strife and battle?250
Have you been hit somewhere and a spear-point afflicts you—
or do come to me as a messenger? As for myself, I have no
desire to sit about the shelters, but to fight.”
Then wise Meriones addressed him in reply:254
“I come to see if by chance some spear of yours was left inside the shelters256
for me to carry; for we broke the one that I used to bear before,
striking the shield of arrogant Deïphobos.”
Then in turn Idomeneus leader of the Cretans addressed him:
“You will find one spear or twenty, if you wish,260
standing in my shelter against the shining inner wall,
Trojan spears, which I took from men who have been killed; for I do not expect