by Homer
and reared me with kindness and named me your companion;90
so let the same urn enclose the bones of us both,
the golden amphora, which your lady mother gave you.”
And answering him swift-footed Achilles spoke:
“Dear friend, why have you come to me
and laid each of these injunctions on me? For you
I will surely accomplish everything and obey you, as you bid.
But stand near me, even for a little time let us embrace
each other and take solace in painful lamentation.”
So speaking he reached out with his arms,
but did not take hold of him; and the shade departed beneath the earth100
like smoke, with a shrill cry. And Achilles started up in astonishment
and clapped his hands together, and spoke in lament:
“See now! There is after all even in the house of Hades
some kind of soul and image, though the power of life is not altogether there;
for night long the shade of poor Patroclus
stood by shedding tears and weeping,
and enjoined on me each thing to do; wonderful was the likeness to him.”
So he spoke; and in the hearts of all he stirred desire for weeping.
And Dawn appeared to them with fingers of rosy light
as they wept around the pitiable corpse. And lord Agamemnon110
dispatched mules and men from the shelters all around
to haul the timber; a good man oversaw them,
Meriones, companion of kind Idomeneus.
They set out, woodcutting axes and strong-spun ropes
in hand; and the mules went before them,
trudging many times up hill, down hill, around the hill, and crossways.
And when they drew near the spurs of Ida and its many springs,
they swiftly set to felling the high-crowned oaks with their honed blades of bronze,
leaning to the work; and the trees crashing mightily
dropped to the ground. Splitting them, the Achaeans120
bound them on the mules; and these cut the earth to pieces with their feet
through the dense brush, in their eagerness to reach the plain.
All the woodcutters carried logs; for so ordered
Meriones, ready companion of generous Idomeneus;
then the men threw the logs down upon the shore in rows, there where Achilles
planned a great mound for Patroclus, and for himself.
And when they had thrown down an immense pile of timber on all sides,
they sat there, waiting in a body. And Achilles
swiftly bade the battle-loving Myrmidons
to gird themselves in bronze and to yoke, each of them,130
their horses. The men began to stir themselves and don their armor,
and the chariot fighters and charioteers mounted to their platforms,
the horsemen in front, and a cloud of foot soldiers followed with them,
by the thousand; and in their midst his companions bore Patroclus.
They covered his whole body with their locks of hair, which they cut
and cast upon him; and behind them godlike Achilles held his blameless companion’s head
grieving, for he was sending him to the house of Hades.
And when they reached the place, there where Achilles showed them,
they set Patroclus down; and quickly piled abundant wood.
Then swift-footed godlike Achilles thought of yet one more thing;140
standing away from the pyre he cut his tawny hair,
which he was growing luxuriant and long for the river Spercheios,
and troubled, he then spoke, looking out to sea as dark as wine:
“Spercheios, in vain did my father Peleus vow to you
that returning there to my beloved fatherland I
would cut and dedicate my hair to you and perform a sacred hecatomb,
would sacrifice fifty rams, ungelded, right
in your springs, where your sanctuary is and your altar that smokes with sacrifice.
So the old man vowed, but you did not accomplish what he intended.
Now since I am not returning to my beloved fatherland,150
I would give my hair to the warrior Patroclus to bear away.”
So speaking he placed the hair in the hands of his beloved companion;
and in the hearts of all he stirred desire for weeping.
And now the sun’s light would have set upon their mourning,
had not Achilles swiftly come up to Agamemnon and spoken:
“Son of Atreus—for the men of Achaea
obey your words above all—there can be enough even of lamentation,
so now dismiss the men from the place where the pyre will be kindled and have them prepare
their dinner. Let us attend to these things, we to whom the dead is closest;
let those who are leaders remain beside us.”160
And when the lord of men Agamemnon heard this,
at once he dismissed the men to their well-balanced ships,
but the close mourners stayed by there, and piled up the wood,
and made a pyre a hundred feet long and wide;
and on the lofty pyre they laid the body, with grieving hearts.
Many fat sheep and shambling twist-horned cattle
they flayed and arranged before the pyre; then after taking the fat
from them all, great-hearted Achilles covered the corpse over
from foot to head, and piled the flayed bodies round.
And he placed upon this twin-handled jars of oil and honey,170
resting against the bier; four high-necked horses
he fiercely flung upon the pyre, lamenting greatly,
and there were nine dogs fed at the table of their lord;
and cutting the throats of two of these he flung them on the pyre,
while slaying twelve noble sons of the great-hearted Trojans
with his bronze sword; and evil were the deeds his heart intended.
Then he unleashed the unyielding fury of the fire to feed upon them.
And Achilles wailed and called the name of his beloved companion:
“May it be well with thee, O Patroclus, even in the house of Hades;
for all things are now accomplished for you, as I promised.180
The twelve noble sons of the great-hearted Trojans—
the fire will consume them all along with you; but I will never give Hector
son of Priam to the fire to devour, but to the dogs.”
So he spoke, threatening; but the dogs ignored Hector’s body,
for Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, warded them off
day and night, and anointed the body with rose-scented
ambrosial oil, so that Achilles would not tear it as he dragged it about.
And Phoebus Apollo caused a dark cloud to descend around it
from the heavens to the plain, and covered all the space
the body rested on, before the power of the sun190
could wither all around the flesh on the sinews and limbs.
But the pyre of dead Patroclus was not catching light.
Then swift-footed godlike Achilles thought of yet one more thing;
standing apart from the pyre he prayed to the two winds
Boreas of the north and Zephyr of the west, and promised splendid sacrifice;
and pouring out many libations from a cup of gold he entreated them
to come, so that with all speed the dead bodies should be set ablaze by fire
and the wood start to burn. And swift Iris
hearing his prayers went as messenger to the winds.
They were all together within the house of stormy Zephyr,200
sharing a feast; and having run to them, Iris came and stood
upon the stone threshold. And when they saw her with their own eyes,
all sprang to their feet and
each one called her to him.
But she in turn declined to be seated, and spoke her word:
“I cannot sit, for I am on my way back to the running streams of Ocean,
to the land of the Aethiopians, where they are sacrificing hecatombs
to the immortal gods, so that I too may share the sacred feasting.
But Achilles is praying for Boreas and boisterous Zephyr
to come, and promises splendid sacrifices,
so that you might set the pyre blazing, on which lies210
Patroclus, for whom all the Achaeans raise lament.”
Then so speaking she departed; and with noise sublime
the winds began to rise, driving a tumult of clouds ahead of them;
swiftly they arrived at the sea and blew upon it, and the waves rose
under the shrill blast of their breath. Then they came to Troy’s fertile land,
and fell upon the pyre; and the divine blaze roared loud.
All night long they beat upon the flames together,
blowing shrieking blasts; and all night long swift Achilles
from his golden mixing bowl, two-handled cup in hand,
drew out the wine and poured it to the ground and soaked the earth,220
calling on the soul of poor Patroclus.
As a father weeps as he burns the bones of his newly married son,
whose dying brings grief to his wretched parents,
so Achilles wept as he burned the bones of his companion,
moving leadenly beside the burning pyre, mourning without cessation.
And when the Morning Star came to herald light of day upon the earth,
and after him Dawn veiled in saffron spread herself across the seas,
then the burning pyre was quenched, and its flame extinguished;
and the winds set out again to return to their home
across the Thracian sea; and the sea moaned with raging swell.230
And the son of Peleus, turning aside from the pyre,
lay down, exhausted, and sweet sleep swept upon him.
But those who were with the son of Atreus gathered all together;
and the uproar and din of them approaching woke Achilles.
He sat upright and spoke his word to them:
“Son of Atreus and you others who are chiefs of all Achaeans,
first quench all the burning pyre with dark-gleaming wine,
all that retains the fire’s strength; and then
let us gather the bones of Menoetius’ son Patroclus,
separating them carefully; they are easy to see;240
for he lay in the middle of the pyre, and the others
were burned apart from him at the edge, horses and men in a mass together.
And let us place the bones in a golden urn, within a double fold of fat,
until the time when I myself journey to the realm of Hades;
and do not, I bid you, toil over a massive mound,
but as much as is fitting; hereafter, have the Achaeans make it
broad and high, those of you who are left after me
in your ships with their many benches.”
So he spoke, and the men obeyed the swift-footed son of Peleus.
And first they extinguished the pyre with dark-gleaming wine,250
everywhere the flame reached and the ash had fallen deep;
and, weeping, they gathered up the white bones of their gentle comrade
into a golden urn, within a double fold of fat,
and after placing this within his shelter they covered it with fine linen;
and they marked a circle for the funeral mound, and threw foundation stones
around the pyre; then they piled heaped-up soil upon the ground,
and when they had piled the mound, they started back—but Achilles
held the people there and seated them in a wide assembly.
And from his ships he brought forth prizes—tripods and cauldrons,
horses and mules and the strong heads of cattle,260
and fair-belted women and gray iron.
First, he set forth glorious prizes for the drivers of swift-footed horses,
a woman skilled in flawless work of hand to lead away
and a handled tripod that held two-and-twenty measures
for first place; for second place he caused a horse to be led out,
untamed, pregnant with a mule foal;
then for third place he set aside a cauldron that had not yet been put upon the fire,
a splendid thing, holding four measures, still shining just as it was;
for fourth place he set out two talents’ worth of gold;
and for fifth he set out a two-handled jar, untouched by fire.270
Then he stood up and spoke his word among the Argives:
“Son of Atreus and you other strong-greaved Achaeans,
these prizes are set down in assembly and await the horsemen.
If we Achaeans were now contending in honor of any other man,
I myself would surely carry these to my shelter after coming first;
for you all know by how much my horses are superior in speed.
For they are immortal, and Poseidon gave them
to my father Peleus, and he in turn gave them into my hands.
But as it is I will stay here, as will my single-hoofed horses;
for such was the charioteer whose noble strength they lost,280
so kind, who many a time poured limpid oil
upon their manes, after washing them with shining water.
They both stand grieving for him, and their manes
hang upon the ground, they both stand grieving in their hearts.
But the rest of you throughout the army, ready yourselves,
whoever of you trusts his horses and his bolted chariot.”
So spoke the son of Peleus, and the horsemen gathered swiftly.
First to rise by far was Eumelos, lord of men,
the beloved son of Admetos, who was preeminent in horsemanship;
and after him rose the son of Tydeus, powerful Diomedes,290
and he led Trojan horses beneath his chariot yoke, horses that in time past
he took from Aeneas—but Aeneas himself Apollo had saved;
and after him rose the son of Atreus, fair-haired Menelaos
descended from Zeus, and swift were the horses he led beneath his chariot,
Aithe, Agamemnon’s mare, and his own Podargos.
Echepolos, son of Anchises, gave the mare to Agamemnon
as a gift, so that he would not have to follow him beneath the walls of windswept Ilion,
but might enjoy himself remaining where he was; for great was the wealth
Zeus gave him; and he made his home in Sicyon’s wide spaces.
This mare, then, Menelaos led beneath the yoke, as she strained mightily for the race.300
Fourth to ready his fine-maned horses was Antilochos,
the glorious son of high-hearted lord Nestor,
Neleus’ son, and swift-footed Pylos-bred horses
bore his chariot. Standing close to him his father
thoughtfully advised him, though his son himself was knowledgeable:
“Antilochos, young as you are
Zeus and Poseidon have loved you and taught you horsemanship
of every kind; therefore I surely have no need to instruct you;
you know well to round the turning post. But your horses
are the slowest running; therefore I think it will be difficult.310
Yet while the horses of these men are swifter, they themselves do not
know more about strategy than you.
Come, dear boy, and summon in your heart every kind
of skill, so that the prizes do not slip from your grasp.
It is by skill the woodsman excels more than by strength;
by skill too the helmsman on a wine-dark sea
keeps his swift ship straight on course as
it is torn by winds;
and by skill charioteer surpasses charioteer.
Another driver putting trust in his chariot and horses
recklessly wheels wide, this way and that,320
and his horses veer along the course, nor does he control them;
but the man skilled in cunning, driving lesser horses,
turns close, looking always to the turning post, and knows well
from the start how to stretch his team with the oxhide reins,
and he holds them steadily and keeps his eyes on the man in front.
I will describe for you the conspicuous turning mark, it will not escape you;
a post of dried wood stands to the height of a man’s outstretched arms above the earth,
of oak or pine; it has not been rotted by the rain;
two stones are propped on either side if it, two white stones
at the narrowing of the track, and the running for horses is smooth around it;330
either it is the grave-mark of a man who died long ago,
or it was made as a turning point by men before us;
but now swift-footed godlike Achilles has made it the turning mark.
Drive your chariot and horses close enough to graze it,
and you yourself, in the strong-plaited straps of your chariot car,
lean slightly to their left; goad your right-hand horse,
shout him on, and yield him the reins with your hands,
but bring your left-hand horse near to the turning post,
so the hub of your wrought wheel appears to come to
its very edge; but avoid touching the stone,340
lest you harm the horses and shatter the chariot;
this would be joy to others, but disgrace to yourself.
Come, dear boy, use your wits and be on guard!
For if you overtake at the turning mark as you chase them,
there is not a man who could catch you, nor spring after and pass,
not even if the one behind were driving splendid Arion,
the swift horse of Adrastos, who is of the race of gods,
or the horses of Laomedon, who are the best bred in this place.”
So speaking Nestor son of Neleus sat in his place again,
since he had told his son a strategy for each and every thing.350
Then Meriones was the fifth man to make ready his fine-maned horses.
The men mounted their chariots, and dropped their lots into a helmet;
Achilles shook them, and out leapt the lot of Nestor’s son
Antilochos. After him lord Eumelos received his lot;
and after him Atreus’ son spear-famed Menelaos;