Augustus Taber Murray

“ So saving he aroused the strength and spirit of every man. And even as when a huntsman sets his white-toothed hounds upon a wild boar or a lion, so upon the Achaeans did Hector, son of Priam, peer of Ares, the bane of mortals, set the great-souled Trojans. ”

“ But when Hector saw Agamemnon departing, to Trojans and Lycians he called with a loud shout: "Ye Trojans and Lycians and Dardanians that fight in close combat, be men, my friends, and bethink you of furious valour. Gone is the best of the men, and to me hath Zeus, son of Cronos granted great glory. Nay, drive your single-hooved horses straight towards the valiant Danaans, that ye may win the glory of victory." ”

“ At sight of him the valiant son of Menoetius had pity on him, and with wailing spake to him winged words: "Ah ye wretched men, leaders and lords of the Danaans, thus then were ye destined, far from your friends and your native land, to glut with your white fat the swift dogs in Troy. But come, tell me this, Eurypylus, warrior fostered of Zeus, will the Achaeans haply still hold back mighty Hector, or will they now perish, slain beneath his spear?" ”

“ A good thing is the persuasion of a friend. But if in his heart he is shunning some oracle and his queenly mother hath declared to him aught from Zeus, yet let him send thee forth, and with thee let the rest of the host of the Myrmidons follow, if so be thou mayest prove a light of deliverance to the Danaans; and let him give thee his fair armour to bear into the war, in hope that the Trojans may take thee for him, and so hold aloof from battle, and the warlike sons of the Achaeans may take breath, wearied though they be; for scant is the breathing-space in battle. ”

“ And even as a tawny lion is driven from the fold of the kine by dogs and country folk, that suffer him not to seize the fattest of the herd, watching the whole night through, but he in his lust for flesh goeth straight on, yet accomplisheth naught thereby, for thick the darts fly to meet him, hurled by bold hands, and blazing brands withal, before which he quaileth, how eager soever he be, and at dawn he departeth with sullen heart; so Aias then gave way before the Trojans sullen at heart, and sorely against his will, for exceedingly did he fear for the ships of the Achaeans. ”

“ For verily all they that aforetime were bravest, lie among the ships smitten by darts or wounded with spear-thrusts at the hands of the Trojans, whose strength ever waxeth. But me do thou succour, and lead me to my black ship, and cut the arrow from my thigh, and wash the black blood from it with warm water, and sprinkle thereon kindly simples of healing power, whereof men say that thou hast learned from Achilles, whom Cheiron taught, the most righteous of the Centaurs. ”

“ But Cebriones beheld the Trojans being driven in rout, as he stood by Hector's side in his chariot, and he spake to him, saying: "Hector, we twain have dalliance with the Danaans here, on the skirts of dolorous war, whereas the other Trojans are driven in rout confusedly, both horses and men. And it is Aias, son of Telamon, that driveth them; well do I know him, for wide is the shield he hath about his shoulders. Nay, let us too drive thither our horses and car, where most of all horsemen and footmen, vying in evil rivalry, are slaying one another, and the cry goes up unquenchable." ”

“ And as a lion easily crusheth the little ones of a swift hind, when he hath seized them with his strong teeth, and hath come to their lair, and taketh from them their tender life,--and the mother, though she chance to be very near, cannot succour them, for on herself too cometh dread trembling, and swiftly she darteth through the thick brush and the woodland, hasting and sweating before the onset of the mighty beast; even so was no one of the Trojans able to ward off destruction from these twain, but themselves were driven in flight before the Argives. ”

“ Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Achaeans, come, get thee upon thy chariot, and let Machaon mount beside thee, and swiftly do thou drive to the ships thy single-hooved horses. For a leech is of the worth of many other men for the cutting out of arrows and the spreading of soothing simples. ”

“ Ah poor wretch, thy father and queenly mother shall not close thine eyes in death, but the birds that eat raw flesh shall rend thee, beating their wings thick and fast about thee; whereas to me, if I die, the goodly Achaeans shall give burial."
[456] So saying he drew the mighty spear of wise-hearted Socus forth from his flesh and from his bossed shield, and when it was drawn out the blood gushed forth and distressed his spirit. But the great-souled Trojans, when they beheld the blood of Odysseus, called one to another through the throng and made at him all together. ”

“ There is a river Minyeïus that empties into the sea hard by Arene, where we waited for bright Dawn, we the horsemen of the Pylians, and the throngs of footmen flowed ever after. Thence with all speed, arrayed in our armour, we came at midday to the sacred stream of Alpheius. There we sacrificed goodly victims to Zeus, supreme in might, and a bull to Alpheius, and a bull to Poseidon, but to flashing-eyed Athene a heifer of the herd; and thereafter we took supper throughout the host by companies, and laid us down to sleep, each man in his battlegear, about the streams of the river. ”

“ And we twain were within, I and goodly Odysseus, and in the halls we heard all things, even as he gave thee charge. For we had come to the well-builded house of Peleus, gathering the host throughout the bounteous land of Achaia. There then we found in the house the warrior Menoetius and thee, and with you Achilles; and the old man Peleus, driver of chariots, was burning the fat thighs of a bull to Zeus that hurleth the thunderbolt, in the enclosure of the court, and he held in his hand a golden cup, pouring forth the flaming wine to accompany the burning offerings. ”

“ And as when an ass that passeth by a cornfield getteth the better of boys—a lazy ass about whose ribs many a cudgel is broken, and he goeth in and wasteth the deep grain, and the boys beat him with cudgels, though their might is but puny, and hardly do they drive him forth when he hath had his fill of fodder; even so then did the Trojans, high of heart, and their allies, gathered from many lands, smite great Aias, son of Telamon, with spears full upon his shield, and ever press upon him. ”

“ And warlike Menelaus led Odysseus forth from the throng, holding him by the hand, till his squire drave up the horses and car.
[489] Then Aias leapt upon the Trojans and slew Doryclus, bastard son of Priam, and after him smote Pandocus with a thrust, and likewise Lysander and Pyrasus and Pylartes. And as when a river in flood cometh down upon a plain, a winter torrent from the mountains, driven on by the rain of Zeus, and many a dry oak and many a pine it beareth in its course, and much drift it casteth into the sea ”

“ By reason of these things, both deeds and words, was the old man wroth and chose him recompense past telling; and the rest he gave to the people to divide, that so far as in him lay no man might go defrauded of an equal share. So we were disposing of all that there was, and round about the city were offering sacrifice to the gods; and on the third day the Epeians came all together, many men and single-hooved horses, with all speed, and among them the two Moliones did on their battle-gear, though they were as yet but stripligs unskilled in furious valour. ”