by Homer
(360) They were after him in a flash. As a couple of experienced, sharp-toothed hunting dogs relentlessly pursue a fawn or hare flying before them through wooded country and screaming as it goes, so Diomedes and Odysseus sacker of cities relentlessly chased down their man, heading him off from his own side. In fact, escaping as he was towards the Greek ships, Dolon was just about to run into the sentries when Athene gave Diomedes an extra turn of speed so that no Greek could boast he had hit Dolon before Diomedes could get him. Threatening him with his spear, mighty Diomedes spoke:
(370) ’Stop, or you get it with my spear; and then I don’t think you’ll have long to live.’
He spoke and threw, but deliberately missed the man. The head of the polished spear passed over his right shoulder and stuck in the ground. Dolon came to a halt, terrified, stuttering, his teeth chattering, white with fear. His two pursuers came panting up and pinned him by the arms. He burst into tears and said:
‘Take me alive, and I will pay my own ransom. I have bronze (380) and gold and wrought iron at home. My father would offer you an immense ransom from it if he heard I had been taken back to the Greek ships alive.’
Quick-thinking Odysseus replied and said:
‘Pull yourself together, man, and don’t worry about dying. Now answer my questions and tell me exactly. Where are you off to, leaving your camp like this and coming to our ships, alone, at the dead of the night, when everyone else is asleep? Was it to strip some of the dead? Or did Hector send you, to spy around our ships? Or was it your own initiative?’
(390) Trembling, Dolon replied:
‘I was a fool – Hector deluded me, against my better judgement, by promising me the horses and bronze-inlaid chariot of noble Achilles. He wanted me to make my way through the dark into enemy territory and find out whether the ships were guarded as usual, or whether, as a result of your defeat at our hands, the Greeks were already discussing the possibility of flight and were so utterly exhausted that they weren’t troubling to keep watch through the night.’
(400) Quick-thinking Odysseus smiled and replied:
‘So you were after the big prize, were you, the horses of warlike Achilles! But they are hard to master and difficult to drive, at any rate for a mere man, or anyone but Achilles, whose mother is a goddess. Now answer my questions and tell me exactly. Where did you leave Hector, shepherd of the people, when you came here just now? Where is his equipment lying? Where are his horses? How are the Trojans’ sentries disposed, and where are the rest of them sleeping? And what are they (410) planning to do next? Do they mean to stay in their advanced position by our ships, or retreat back into the town after inflicting this defeat on the Greeks?’
Dolon son of Eumedes replied:
‘I’ll answer all your questions exactly. First, Hector is conferring with his advisers by the grave-mound of the divine Ilus, away from all the noise. As for your question about the sentries, sir, no special guard was mounted to watch the camp or keep a lookout. The Trojans have their watch-fires, and the men detailed for duty stay awake and encourage each other to (420) keep alert. Our various allies are asleep. They leave it to us to keep watch: their women and children aren’t lying close at hand.’
Quick-thinking Odysseus replied and said:
‘How do you mean? Are your allies sleeping in the same parts of the camp as the horse-taming Trojans, or somewhere else? Be precise: I want to know.’
Dolon son of Eumedes replied:
Dolon’s disclosure and death
‘I’ll answer all your questions exactly. The Carians and the Paeonians with their crooked bows are over by the sea, with the Leleges, the Caucones and the godlike Pelasgi. The Lycians, the lordly Mysians, the (430) Phrygians who fight on horseback and the Maeonian charioteers were assigned ground in the direction of Thymbra.
‘But why ask for all these details? If your idea is to infiltrate the Trojan camp, there are the Thracians over there: they have just arrived and are way off at the very end of the line. Rhesus their lord is with them. That man has the loveliest and biggest horses I have ever seen. They are whiter than snow and run like the wind. His chariot is beautifully finished with gold and silver, and he has brought some awe-inspiring pieces of golden armour (440) with him too, a fantastic sight. Men really shouldn’t wear such things; they are fit only for the immortal gods.
‘But now take me to your ships, or tie me up tight and leave me here. You can then can go and check whether I’ve told you the truth or not.’
Mighty Diomedes gave him a black look and replied:
‘Dolon, you have given us excellent news, but don’t imagine you’re going to get away, now that you have fallen into our (450) hands. If we ransom you now or let you go, you will return to the Greek ships some other time, either to spy or meet us in open fight. But if I take you and kill you, you will never be a nuisance to the Greeks again.’
He spoke, and Dolon, raising his great hand, was just about to touch his captor’s chin in supplication when Diomedes slashed at him with his sword and caught him full on the neck. He cut through both sinews, and Dolon’s head met the dust while he was still speaking. They took the weasel-skin cap from his head and stripped him of his wolf’s pelt, his curved bow and (460) long spear. Then godlike Odysseus held up the trophies in his hand for Athene, goddess of spoils, to see, and spoke in prayer to her:
‘Let these gladden your heart, goddess, since we shall again call on you for help before any other immortal in Olympus. Help us now in our raid on the sleeping Thracians and their horses.’
So he spoke, raised the bundle clear of his head and placed it high up in a tamarisk bush. Then he gathered a handful of reeds and fresh tamarisk twigs to mark the spot clearly, so that they should not miss it when they came back through the darkness of the night.
The two now went ahead, threading their way through the (470) armour and black blood, and before long reached the Thracian contingent. The men were asleep, tired out by their exertions, and their fine equipment was neatly piled in three rows on the ground beside them. A pair of horses stood by each man. Rhesus slept in the centre, with his swift horses beside him tied by the reins to the end of the chariot-rail. Odysseus saw him first and pointed him out to Diomedes:
‘That’s our man, Diomedes, and there are the horses mentioned by Dolon, the man we killed. Now put that tremendous (480) strength of yours about. No time to stand about fiddling with your weapons. Quick! Get the horses clear! Or you kill the men, and I’ll see to the horses.’Rhesus’ horses stolen
So Odysseus spoke, and grey-eyed Athene breathed strength into Diomedes, who laid about him with his sword, this way and that. Hideous groans rose from the dying men, and the earth ran red with blood. Like a lion that has found some untended sheep or goats and leaps on them with murder in its heart, so Diomedes son of Tydeus dealt with the Thracians.
He slaughtered twelve of them and, as he came to each and (490) put him to the sword, quick-thinking Odysseus seized the body by the foot from behind and dragged it out. His purpose was to leave the way clear for the lovely-maned horses, who were unaccustomed to their new masters and might be frightened if they trod on a body. Then Diomedes came upon lord Rhesus, the thirteenth victim he robbed of his sweet life, breath gasping out of him. An evil dream had come to stand over him that night – Diomedes son of Tydeus, through the planning of Athene.
Meanwhile all-daring Odysseus unfastened the horses from (500) the chariot, tied them together with straps and galloped them out of the crowded space with a lash of his bow, since it had not occurred to him to pick up the shining whip that had lain in the ornate chariot. Directly he was clear, he gave a whistle, to let godlike Diomedes know.
But Diomedes was in no hurry, wondering what was the most daring thing he could do next – get hold of the chariot where the ornamented armour lay and drag it out by the shaft? Hoist it up and carry it off ? Kill more Thracians? These thoughts were racing through his mind when Athene came up to him and said:
(510)
’Son of great-hearted Tydeus, think about getting home to the hollow ships, or you may reach them in full flight. Some other god might wake the Trojans.’
So she spoke, and Diomedes, recognizing the voice of the goddess, mounted at once. Odysseus struck the horses with his bow, and off they flew to the Greek ships.
None of this had escaped the watchful eye of Apollo lord of the silver bow. When he saw how Athene was dancing attendance on Diomedes, he was enraged with her and descended on the great Trojan army, where he roused one of the Thracian advisers, Hippocoön, a brave kinsman of Rhesus. Hippocoön (520) leapt up from sleep and, when he saw the empty places where the horses had been standing and men gasping out their lives in hideous carnage, he shrieked and called on his dear companion by name. Utter chaos ensued as shouting Trojans came running to gaze, appalled, on the terrible things the two men had done before escaping back to the hollow ships.
Diomedes and Odysseus return triumphant
When Odysseus and Diomedes reached the spot where they had killed Hector’s spy, Odysseus dear to Zeus pulled up their swift horses, and Diomedes jumped down and handed up the bloodstained arms to him. Then he mounted again and lashed the horses (530) with the whip. The willing pair flew off towards the hollow ships, eager to reach their journey’s end.
Nestor was the first to hear hoof-beats and said:
‘My friends, rulers and leaders of the Greeks, can I be mistaken, or am I right? I must speak up – the sound of racing horses came to my ears. If only Odysseus and mighty Diomedes were to be driving some fine horses at speed here from the Trojan camp! But I am terribly afraid the Trojans are on the warpath, and our two best men are in trouble.’
(540) The last words were hardly out of his mouth when the two arrived. They jumped down to the ground, and were welcomed by their friends with much shaking of hands and many exclamations of delight. Nestor the Gerenian charioteer was first to question them:
‘Tell me, celebrated Odysseus, great glory of the Greeks, how did you get hold of these horses? By infiltrating the Trojan camp, or did some god meet you on the way and make you a present of them? They shine like the rays of the sun. I am always meeting the Trojans in battle – in fact I can claim that I never stay behind by the ships, old as I am for a fighting man – but I have never (550) seen or imagined horses like these. I think you met a god, and he gave them to you. Zeus who marshals the clouds is very fond of you both, and so is his daughter, grey-eyed Athene.’
Quick-thinking Odysseus replied and said:
‘Nestor son of Neleus, great glory of the Greeks, the gods have greater powers than men and, if one of them wished to make us a present, he could easily produce an even finer pair. But to answer your question, venerable sir, these horses have only just arrived, and they are Thracian. Brave Diomedes killed (560) their master and the twelve best men in the contingent beside him. The thirteenth man (beside Rhesus) was the spy we caught near the ships, sent to reconnoitre our camp by Hector and the rest of the noble Trojans.’
With these words he drove the horses across the ditch, laughing, and the other Greeks followed him, exultant. When they reached Diomedes’ well-built hut, they tied the pair up with leather straps at the mangers where Diomedes’ own swift horses stood munching their honey-sweet barley. Odysseus put Dolon’s (570) bloodstained equipment in the stern of his ship, until they could prepare their sacrifice to Athene.
Then they waded into the sea to wash the sweat from their shins, neck and thighs. When the waves had removed the sweat from their bodies and they felt refreshed, they went and bathed themselves in polished baths. Then, after washing and covering themselves liberally with olive-oil, they sat down to eat, and from a full mixing-bowl drew off sweet wine and poured libations to Athene.
11
ACHILLES TAKES NOTICE
1–83: [26th day: third day of combat] Agamemnon arms for battle. All the gods except STRIFE stay away, while ZEUS watches from Olympus.
84–180: Agamemnon enjoys success, and the Trojans retreat.
181–283: ZEUS descends to Mount Ida and tells Hector to re-join the battle when Agamemnon is wounded. This happens, and Agamemnon leaves the field.
284–342: Hector enters the battle successfully, but Odysseus and Diomedes fight back.
343–400: Diomedes stuns Hector, who retreats and recovers. But Paris shoots Diomedes in the foot. Diomedes leaves the field.
401–97: Odysseus, now stranded, fights back, but is wounded. Ajax and Menelaus rescue him. Ajax storms forward.
497–598: Paris wounds the Greek doctor Machaon; Nestor takes him back to the ships. Ajax slowly retreats before Hector and is helped by Eurypylus, but Paris shoots Eurypylus in the thigh. The Greek defence rallies.
599–803: Achilles sees Nestor conveying Machaon from the field and sends Patroclus to find out what is going on. Nestor tells Patroclus a long story about his (Nestor’s) youthful exploits – a revenge raid against the Eleans, defeat of the Elean counter-attack and Menoetius’ advice to Patroclus. Nestor urges Patroclus to get permission to return to the fighting himself, in Achilles’ armour.
804–48: Patroclus helps the wounded Eurypylus.
When Dawn had risen from the bed where she sleeps with noble Tithonus to bring daylight to the immortals and to men, Zeus sent down cruel Strife to the Greek ships with the emblem of battle in her hands. She took her stand on the bulging black hull of Odysseus’ ship. This stood in the centre of the line, so that a shout would carry to either end, to the huts of Ajax son of Telamon or those of Achilles. Both these had had confidence enough in their own bravery and strength to draw up their ships (10) on the extreme flanks. Standing there the goddess uttered her great and terrible war-cry, filling the heart of every Greek with mighty courage to do battle and fight the enemy relentlessly. At once the prospect of battle became sweeter to them than returning in their hollow ships to the land of their fathers.
[Day 26, third combat day] Agamemnon arms
Agamemnon shouted orders to his troops to prepare for battle and himself put on his gleaming bronze armour. First he placed fine leg-guards on his shins, fitted with silver ankle-clips. Then he put on body-armour that Cinyras had once presented to him (20) as a gift of friendship. News had reached Cinyras in Cyprus of the great Greek expedition that was about to sail for Troy, and he had sent this body-armour to gratify its leader. It was made of strips, ten of dark-blue inlay, twelve of gold, and twenty of tin. On either side three dark-blue snakes rose up towards the opening for the neck, looking like the rainbow that Zeus fixes on a cloud as a portent to mankind below.
Next Agamemnon slung his sword over his shoulder. Gold (30) rivets glittered on the hilt but the sheath was of silver, with gold rings for attaching to its shoulder-strap. Then he took up his lively, man-covering shield, a superbly decorated piece, with its ten concentric rings of bronze and twenty white studs of tin circling a dark inlaid boss in the middle. A horrible Gorgon’s head with fearsome eyes was set like a wreath round the centre and, on either side of that, Panic and Rout were depicted. It was fitted with a silver-decorated shoulder-strap, round which a (40) writhing snake of blue inlay twisted, in different directions, the three heads that grew from its single neck.
On his head Agamemnon placed a helmet with metal plates on either side, four ridges and horsehair crest: the plume nodded frighteningly from the top. Finally he picked up a pair of strong, sharp bronze-headed spears. Beams from the bronze armour he
wore flashed into the distant sky, and Athene and Hera thundered in answer, glorifying Agamemnon lord of golden Mycenae.
The warriors each left their chariots in their drivers’ charge with instructions to draw them up in proper order on the outer side of the ditch, while they themselves hurried forward across (50) the ditch in their full equipment. The tumult of battle filled the air that early morning. They formed their line along the ditch some time before their drivers, though these were only a little way behind them. But Zeus son of Cronus fanned dire confusion among them
and from the upper air released showers of blood, since he intended to send many mighty souls to Hades.
On their side too the Trojans lined up on the high ground of the plain, round great Hector, matchless Polydamas, Aeneas, whom the Trojan people honoured like a god, and Antenor’s (60) three sons, Polybus, godlike Agenor and young Acamas looking like the immortals. Hector was in the front ranks carrying his circular shield. Like a menacing star that at one moment can be seen shining out from behind the clouds, and the next moment sinks behind them into shadow, so Hector was seen, now in the front ranks, now in the rear, spurring them on. His bronze armour flashed like the lightning that comes from Father Zeus who drives the storm-cloud.
Battle joined; the gods stay clear (8.10)
And now, like reapers who, starting from opposite sides of a rich man’s field, drive swathes through his wheat or barley, and the handfuls of cut ears keep on falling, so the Trojans and Greeks leapt at each (70) other and started the killing. Neither side contemplated fatal flight. The confrontation brought them head to head, and they charged in like wolves.
Strife who deals in sorrow rejoiced when she saw them. She was the only one of the gods to witness this action. The rest were not on the battlefield but sitting at home uninvolved, each in his lovely house built on the folds of Olympus. They were all at loggerheads with Zeus who darkens the clouds, because he (80) wished to give the Trojans the glory. But Father Zeus cared nothing for the gods. He had slipped away from them and sat down on his own a long way off, exulting in his glory, and looking down on the Trojan town and the Greek ships, on the flashing bronze, the killers and the killed.