The Iliad (Trans. Caroline Alexander)

by Homer

  not among the Pylians themselves, not among the great-hearted Aetolians.

  With my fists I vanquished Klytomedes, the son of Enops,

  and in wrestling Ankaios of Pleuron, who stood up to me,

  and with speed of feet I outran Iphiklos, excellent though he was,

  and with the spear I out-threw both Phyleus and Polydoros.

  Only in chariot-racing did the two sons of Aktor outstrip me,

  forging ahead by their superior numbers, grudging me victory,

  because the greatest prizes were left for this contest.640

  And these men were twins; and one drove the horses steadily,

  steadily, and the other urged them on with the whip.

  Thus was I once; but now let younger men take part in

  such games. I must yield to painful old age;

  but at that time, in my turn, I was distinguished among warriors.

  But come, honor your companion’s funeral with contests.

  And I receive this willingly, and my heart rejoices

  that you remember always my kindness, and do not forget

  the honor with which it is fitting I be esteemed among the Achaeans.

  May the gods give you abundant favor for these things.”650

  So he spoke; and the son of Peleus departed through the great

  throng of Achaeans, when he had listened to all of Nestor’s story.

  Then he set out prizes for a match of painful boxing;

  leading out a hardworking mule, six years old and unbroken,

  the hardest to break in, he tethered her in the assembly place;

  and for the loser he placed a double-handled cup.

  Then he stood up and spoke his word among the Argives:

  “Son of Atreus and you other strong-greaved Achaeans,

  for these prizes, we bid two men stand forth, the two who are best,

  to square up and box. The one to whom Apollo660

  grants strength of endurance, and all Achaeans recognize as winner,

  let him return to his shelter leading the hardworking mule.

  And let the man who is beaten take away the two-handled cup.”

  So he spoke; and there rose at once a good and mighty man

  and one skilled in boxing, Epeios son of Panopeus,

  and he laid a hand on the hardworking mule and spoke:

  “Let the man approach who will win the double-handled cup;

  for I say no other of the Achaeans will win at boxing

  and lead off the mule, since I claim to be the greatest.

  Is it not enough that I fall short in battle? For it is never possible670

  for a man to be skilled in everything he does.

  This I declare, and it will be a thing accomplished;

  I will tear his flesh outright and smash his bones together.

  Let his kinsmen remain here in droves,

  so they can carry him away when he has been broken under my hands.”

  So he spoke; and all the men were hushed in silence.

  Euryalos alone stood up against him, a man like a god,

  the son of lord Mekisteus, descended from Talaos,

  who came to Thebes in time of old, to the burial of Oedipus

  after he fell dead; and there he had defeated all Cadmeians.680

  Now the son of spear-famed Tydeus served as his second,

  encouraging him with his words, and sought a great victory for him;

  first he set out his loincloth, and then

  gave him his knuckle-straps, well cut from field-ox hide.

  And when they two contenders had girded themselves, they stepped into the middle of the assembly,

  and squaring up against each other with their with massive arms, they both

  at the same moment rushed together, and their heavy hands mingled in blows.

  A dreadful grinding came from their jaws, and sweat poured

  from every part of their bodies. Then godlike Epeios lunged,

  and struck the other on the jaw just as he was looking for an opening;690

  he stood his ground no more and on the spot his shining limbs collapsed beneath him.

  As when a fish leaps up from water roughened by the North Wind

  in a seaweedy shoal, and the dark swell covers him over,

  so Euryalos leapt as he was struck. But great-hearted Epeios,

  taking him in his arms, set him upright; the other’s close companions ringed

  around him and led him, his feet dragging, through the assembly,

  as he spat clotted blood, hanging his head to one side;

  and having led him off, they set him down, still groggy, among them,

  and they themselves went to see after the two-handled cup.

  Then the son of Peleus straightway set out other prizes for the third contest,700

  the painful wrestling, after displaying them to the Danaans;

  first, for the victor a great tripod to go upon the fire;

  this the Achaeans valued among themselves as worth twelve oxen;

  and for the vanquished man he put a woman in their midst,

  one skilled in many works of hand, whom they valued at four oxen.

  Then he stood up and spoke his word among the Argives:

  “Rise up, you who would try for this prize.”

  So he spoke; then arose great Telamonian Ajax,

  and against him rose resourceful Odysseus, skilled in wiles.

  Girding themselves, they both strode to the middle of the ring,710

  and grasped each other by the arms with their massive hands,

  as when a gifted carpenter joins the gabled rafters

  of a high-roofed house, to escape the force of the winds.

  Their backs, pulled steadily, creaked under the force

  of their bold hands; their running sweat poured down,

  and thick welts along their sides and shoulders

  broke out in red blood; but they ever

  strained for victory, strained for the crafted tripod.

  Nor could Odysseus trip Ajax and bring him to the ground,

  nor could Ajax trip him, for Odysseus’ great strength held out.720

  But when then the strong-greaved Achaeans grew impatient,

  then great Telamonian Ajax addressed the other:

  “Zeus-descended son of Laertes, Odysseus of many stratagems,

  either you lift me, or I you; all things lie in Zeus’ hands.”

  So speaking, he hoisted the other; but Odysseus did not forget his cunning;

  he caught and struck the hollow place behind the other’s knee, and his limbs collapsed,

  and Ajax fell down backward; and Odysseus fell on his chest.

  And the crowd watched, astonished.

  Next, in his turn, much enduring, godlike Odysseus tried to lift;

  he budged Ajax, a very little, from the ground, but lifted him no higher.730

  Then Odysseus hooked the other’s knee, and both men fell upon the ground

  close to each other, and were soiled in the dust.

  And now they would have sprung up again and wrestled a third fall,

  had not Achilles himself stood up and checked them:

  “Struggle no longer, nor wear yourselves out with pain.

  Victory goes to you both; and go your way with equal prizes,

  so that the other Achaeans can compete in contests.”

  So he spoke; and they heard him well and obeyed,

  and wiping off the dust, they donned their tunics.

  Then the son of Peleus swiftly set out more prizes for racing,740

  a crafted silver bowl; six measures

  it contained, and in beauty it surpassed anything on earth

  by a long way, since skilled Sidonian men had beautifully formed it with their art.

  Phoenician men had carried it across the misted sea,

  and landed it in the harbor, and gave it as a gift to Thoas;

  and as price of ransom for Pri
am’s son Lykaon,

  Euneos, son of Jason, gave it to the warrior Patroclus.

  And this Achilles set as a prize in honor of his companion,

  for that man who should run lightest in his speed of feet.

  And for second place he then set out an ox, massive and heavy with fat;750

  and for last place he set out a half talent of gold.

  Then he stood up and spoke his word among the Argives:

  “Rise up, you who would try for this prize.”

  So he spoke; and at once there rose swift Ajax, son of Oïleus,

  and resourceful Odysseus rose, then Nestor’s son

  Antilochos; for he surpassed all young men in his swiftness of feet.

  All in a line they took position, and Achilles pointed out the turning place.

  And right from the start they ran at full stretch; swiftly

  the son of Oïleus drew away. And godlike Odysseus pressed after him,

  very close, as close as a weaving rod is pulled to the breast of760

  a fair-belted woman, the rod she skillfully draws with her hand

  as she pulls the spool out past the warp, and holds it close

  to her breast; as close as this did Odysseus run, and from behind

  he pounded the tracks of Ajax with his feet before the dust had settled;

  brilliant Odysseus poured his breath upon the other’s head

  running swiftly always. And all the Achaeans shouted

  to him as he strove for victory, and were urging him as he sped on.

  But when they were finishing the last of the course, now Odysseus

  prayed within his heart to gleaming-eyed Athena:

  “Hear me, goddess, come as ready ally to my feet!”770

  So he spoke in prayer; and Pallas Athena heard him,

  and made his limbs light and his feet and his arms above.

  And when they were just on the point of dashing for the prize,

  then Ajax slipped as he ran, for Athena tripped him,

  there where dung was scattered of the loud-bellowing oxen that had been slaughtered,

  those that Achilles of the swift feet had slain in honor of Patroclus;

  and Ajax’s mouth and nostrils were filled with the ox dung;

  then brilliant, much enduring Odysseus took up the bowl,

  as he got there first. And glorious Ajax took the ox;

  he stood holding the horn of the field ox with his hands,780

  spitting out dung, and addressed the Argives:

  “For shame, the goddess tripped up my feet, she who as before

  stands by Odysseus like a mother and comes to his aid.”

  So he spoke; and the men all laughed heartily at him.

  Then Antilochos bore off the prize for last place

  with a smile, and spoke his word among the Argives:

  “I say this to all of you who know, my friends, that still, even now,

  the immortals honor men of the older generation.

  For Ajax is older than me by a little,

  but this other one, Odysseus, is of an earlier generation from the men of old;790

  his, men say, is unripe old age. And hard it is

  for any Achaean to contend in speed of feet with him, except for Achilles.”

  So he spoke, giving glory to the swift-footed son of Peleus.

  And answering his words, Achilles addressed him:

  “Antilochos, your praise will not be said in vain.

  Come, to you I will give an additional half talent of gold.”

  So speaking he placed this in his hands, and the other received it rejoicing.

  Then the son of Peleus brought into the arena and set down

  a long-shadowed spear and a shield and crested helmet,

  the weapons of Sarpedon, which Patroclus had stripped from him.800

  Then he stood up and spoke his word among the Argives:

  “For these prizes we bid two men stand forth, the two who are best;

  let them don their armor, take up their flesh-rending bronze,

  and before this assembled crowd, make trial of each other.

  And whoever is first to reach and strike fair flesh,

  who touches the inward parts through the armor and black blood,

  to him I shall give this silver-studded sword,

  a splendid Thracian piece; this I stripped from Asteropaios;

  and let both men carry this armor off in common,

  and let us set a noble feast before them in the shelters.”810

  So he spoke; then arose great Telamonian Ajax,

  and after him rose the son of Tydeus, powerful Diomedes.

  When then they had armed themselves on opposite sides of the throng,

  they strode into the middle, burning to do battle,

  looking terror at each other; and awe held all the Achaeans.

  And when they had advanced almost upon each other,

  three times they charged, and three times attacked at close quarters.

  Then Ajax next struck the other’s circled shield,

  but did not reach his skin; for the breastplate beyond it guarded him.

  But the son of Tydeus, with the point of his gleaming spear,820

  kept trying to touch the other’s neck above his great shield.

  And in fear for Ajax the Achaeans

  urged the men to stop and take up the equal prizes.

  And the warrior Achilles gave the great sword to the son of Tydeus,

  bringing its scabbard with it, and a skillfully cut sword-belt.

  And then the son of Peleus placed a mass of unworked iron,

  which in time before Eëtion used to hurl in his great strength;

  but godlike swift-footed Achilles slew him,

  and brought it onto his ships with his other possessions.

  And he stood and spoke his word among the Argives:830

  “Rise up, you who would try for this prize.

  Even if the winner’s fields are very far away,

  he will have use of this for the turning of five years;

  and not for any lack of iron will his shepherd

  or his plowman have to venture to the city, for this will supply them.”

  So he spoke; then there rose Polypoites, steadfast in battle,

  and Leonteus godlike in his powerful strength,

  and Ajax the son of Telamon rose up, and brilliant Epeios.

  They stood in a row, and brilliant Epeios lifted the mass of iron,

  and whirling it round, let if fly; and all the Achaeans burst out in laughter.840

  Next in his turn Leonteus, companion of Ares, made his throw;

  and third in turn great Telamonian Ajax hurled it

  from his mighty hand, and out-threw the marks of them all.

  But when Polypoites the steadfast in battle took up the iron—

  then as far as a herdsmen hurls his cattle staff,

  which, as it spins, flies across his cattle herd,

  thus far did he throw beyond the entire field; the men cried out,

  and rising to their feet the companions of powerful Polypoites

  carried the prize of their king to the hollow ships.

  Then Achilles set forth dark iron for the archers;850

  ten double-edged axes he set down, and ten of single-edge.

  And he erected the mast of a dark-prowed ship

  at a distance on the sand, and from it he bound a timorous wild dove

  by her foot with a slender string, and bade them shoot at her

  with the bow: “The man who should strike this timorous dove,

  let him take up and bear to his home all the double-edged axes;

  but the man who should strike the string, missing the bird,

  since that man is loser, he will take away the axes with single-edge.”

  So he spoke; and lord Teucer rose in his strength,

  and Meriones rose, noble henchman of Idomeneus.860

  They took their lots
and shook them in a brazen helmet,

  and by lot Teucer was first. Straightway, drawing powerfully,

  he launched his arrow; but he did not make vow to lord Apollo.863

  He missed the bird; for Apollo grudged this to him;865

  he struck the string, with which the bird was bound by her foot,

  and straight through the string the sharp arrow cut.

  The dove shot toward the heavens, and the string went slack

  toward the earth; and the Achaeans shouted in applause.

  But Meriones hastily snatched the bow out of Teucer’s hand—870

  the arrow he had been holding before, while Teucer shot—

  and quickly vowed to Apollo who shoots from afar

  to sacrifice a splendid hecatomb of firstborn sheep.

  High up, below the clouds, he saw the timorous dove;

  and there he struck her, as she wheeled, upon her breast beneath the wing.

  Right through the arrow passed; then fixed back in the earth

  before the feet of Meriones; and the bird

  was brought to rest upon the mast of the dark-prowed ship

  and hung her neck, and her beating wings went slack,

  and the swift spirit flew from her body, and from the height of the mast880

  she dropped; and the men watched and marveled again.

  Then Meriones took up all ten of the axes,

  and Teucer carried the single-edged axes to his hollow ships.

  Then the son of Peleus set out a long-shadowed spear,

  and a cauldron unmarked by fire and patterned with flowers,

  worth an ox, bearing them into the place of assembly; and the spearmen rose up;

  the son of Atreus rose, wide-ruling Agamemnon,

  and Meriones rose, the noble henchman of Idomeneus.

  And these men swift-footed godlike Achilles addressed:

  “Son of Atreus, we know by how much you are superior to all men890

  and by how much you excel in power and the throwing of spears;

  come, you take this prize and go back to your hollow ships,

  and let us give the spear to Meriones the warrior,

  if you should in your heart so choose; for I, indeed, am urging this.”

  So he spoke and lord of men Agamemnon did not disobey;

  and he gave the bronze spear to Meriones; and then the warrior Agamemnon

  gave his splendid prize to his herald Talthybios.

  24.ILIÁDOS Ω

  The games were dispersed, and the men scattered to go

  each to his own swift ship. And they began to think about their meal

  and giving themselves over to the pleasure of sweet sleep; but Achilles