Michael Clarke

“ O'er the fall'n trunk his ample shield displayed,
He hides the hero with his mighty shade,
And threats aloud! the Greeks with longing eyes
Behold at distance, but forbear the prize.
Pope, Iliad, Book V.
But Diomede, braver than the rest, took up a great stone and hurled it at Æneas.
Not two strong men the enormous weight could raise,
Such men as live in these degenerate days.
Pope, Iliad, Book. V.
It struck the Trojan hero on the hip, tearing the flesh and crushing the joint. ”

“ Well may the Greeks laugh at finding that you, whom they supposed to be a hero, possess neither spirit nor courage. You have brought evil on your father, your city, and your people, by carrying away a beautiful woman from her husband, yet you now fear to meet that warrior in battle. The Trojans are but a weak-minded race, else they would have long since given you the death you deserve."
Paris admitted that his brother's rebuke was just, and he now declared that he was willing to meet Menelaus in single combat, Helen and her treasures to be the prize of the victor. ”

“ Their duty was to attend upon the greater sea gods, and especially to obey the orders of Neptune.
Thetis was so beautiful that Jupiter himself wished to marry her, but the Fates told him she was destined to have a son who would be greater than his father. The king of heaven having no desire that a son of his should be greater than himself, gave up the idea of wedding the fair nymph of the sea, and consented that she should be the wife of Peleus, who had long loved and wooed her. But Thetis, being a goddess, was unwilling to marry a mortal man. ”

“ Juno herself, and Pluto, the god of Hades, were wounded by Hercules. "As for this son of Tydeus," said Dione, "who has dared to war upon an immortal, he shall be punished for his crime."
"The fool!
He knew not that, the man who dares to meet
The gods in combat lives not long. No child
Shall prattling call him father when he comes
Returning from the dreadful tasks of war."
Pope, Iliad, Book V.
Dione then wiped the ichor from the hand of Venus, and at her touch the wound healed and the pain ceased. ”

“ No living man can send me to the shades
Before my time; no man of woman born,
Coward or brave, can shun his destiny.
But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,—
The web, the distaff,—and command thy maids
To speed the work. The cares of war pertain
To all men born in Troy, and most to me."
Bryant, Iliad, Book VI.
Then Hector took his helmet from the ground, and Andromache departed for her home, "oft looking back, and shedding many tears."
As the hero went out at the Scæan Gate, after taking leave of his wife, he met Paris, arrayed in his shining armor, and eager to join the battle. ”

“ The lots were shaken; and to me it fell
To dwell forever in the hoary deep,
And Pluto took the gloomy realm of night,
And lastly, Jupiter the ample heaven
And air and clouds. Yet doth the earth remain,
With high Olympus, common to us all.
Therefore I yield me not to do his will,
Great as he is; and let him be content
With his third part."
Bryant, Iliad, Book XV.
But Iris advised Neptune to obey, reminding him that Jupiter had power of punishing those who offended him. ”

“ To this Achilles answered that there was no prize just then that Agamemnon could have. "How can [Pg 84] we give you a prize," said he, "since all the spoils have already been divided? We cannot ask the people to return what has been given to them. Be satisfied then to let the maiden go. When we have taken the strong city of Troy we will compensate you fourfold."
"Not so," replied Agamemnon. "If the Greeks give me a suitable prize, I shall be content, but if not, I will seize yours or that of Ajax or Ulysses. ”

“ Thus restored to his high position as a prince of the royal house of Troy, Paris now resided in his father's palace, apparently contented and happy. But the promise made to him on Mount Ida, which he carefully concealed from his family, was always in his mind. His thoughts were ever turned toward Greece, where dwelt the fairest woman of those times. This was Helen, wife of Men-e-laʹus, king of Sparʹta, celebrated throughout the ancient world for her matchless beauty. Paris had been promised the fairest woman for his wife, and he felt sure that it could be no other than the far-famed Helen. ”

“ Patroclus now mounted the chariot of Achilles, with the brave Au-tomʹe-don as charioteer, a hero next in valor to the renowned son of Peleus himself. There were three horses in the team, Xanthus and Baʹli-us, both of immortal breed, and fleet as the wind, and Pedʹa-sus, which, though of mortal stock, was a match for the others in speed.
Like in strength, in swiftness and in grace,
A mortal courser match'd the immortal race.
Pope, Iliad, Book XVI.
Great was the terror of the Trojans when they beheld the Myrmidons march forth to battle. ”

“ Very soon great evils came upon the Greeks because of the strife between the chiefs. When Chryseis was restored to her father, Apollo stopped the plague; but the wrong done to Achilles provoked the anger of another deity. This was Thetis, who, having much power with Jupiter, was able to persuade him to take up the cause of her injured son.
For as soon as the heralds departed from his tent, leading away the fair-cheeked Briseis, Achilles withdrew from his friends, retired to the seashore, and sitting there alone he bitterly wept, and with outstretched hands prayed to his mother, Thetis. ”

“ When Vulcan had finished it, he forged a corselet brighter than fire, and greaves of tin, and a helmet with crest of gold. Then he laid the magnificent armor at the feet of Thetis, and the goddess bore it away and carried it down to the Grecian camp in the early morning to present it to her son.
Like a falcon in her flight,
Down plunging from Olympus capped with snow,
She bore the shining armor Vulcan gave.
Bryant, Iliad, Book XVIII.
Great was the delight of Achilles on seeing the beautiful armor and the marvelous workmanship of its various parts. ”

“ In deep disappointment and distress the chiefs heard the story. Then again they held counsel together to consider what was best to do,—whether to prepare for another battle, or to betake themselves at once to their ships and set sail for Greece. Nestor proposed that some brave and prudent chief should venture into the Trojan camp, and, if possible, find out what were the plans of Hector.
"Is there (said he) a chief so greatly brave,
His life to hazard, and his country save?
Lives there a man, who singly dares to go
To yonder camp, or seize some straggling foe? ”

“ Their bravest leaders are wounded, while you sit here, giving way to your wrath. If you will not yourself go to their rescue, at least permit me to lead the Myrmidons to battle, and let me wear your armor. The Trojans at the sight of it may think I am Achilles, and be so terrified that our people may have a little breathing time."
To this proposal Achilles assented, but he warned Patroclus not to pursue the Trojans too far, lest he might meet his death at the hands of one of the gods. "Rescue our good ships," said he, "but when you have driven the enemy from the fleet, return hither." ”

“ Of gods is not as those who walk the earth."
Bryant, Iliad, Book V.
Diomede shrank back, fearing the wrath of the Far-darter, and Apollo bore Æneas away, and set him down in his own temple in sacred Perʹga-mus, the citadel of Troy. There Diana and La-toʹna, the mother of Apollo, healed his wound and restored his health and strength. Then Apollo begged Mars to assist the Trojans in the battle, and particularly to drive from the field the impious son of Tydeus, who had dared to attack the immortals with his spear, and would now fight even with Jupiter himself. ”

“ Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those
Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait
My brothers many and brave,—who all at last,
Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,—
Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek
[Pg 143] Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee
Thy day of freedom. . . . .
O let the earth
Be heaped above my head in death before
I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!"
Bryant, Iliad, Book VI.
Hector parting from Andromache. ”

“ Then with sword in hand, the Myrmidonian chief rushed furiously upon Æneas. He would probably have slain him, had not Neptune interfered. But the ocean god spread a mist over the eyes of the Greek warrior, and carried Æneas away in safety to the rear of the battlefield. The Trojan prince was thus preserved because the Dardan race, to which he belonged, was beloved by Jupiter. Moreover it was decreed by the Fates that the son of Anchises should, in later times, rule over a Trojan people, and that his sons' sons should rule after him. ”

“ They had heard of an oracle which declared that Troy could never be captured if these same horses of Rhesus should once drink of the water of Xanthus or feed on the grass of the Trojan plain. They therefore resolved to rob Rhesus of his magnificent steeds. But first they killed the unhappy Dolon, paying no heed to his prayers for mercy. Then they hurried on to the Thracian camp, where they found the warriors sunk in deep repose, after the fatigues of the day's journey. ”

“ Directed by Minerva, the weapon flew right into the face of the unfortunate Pandarus, striking him lifeless to the earth.
Headlong he falls, his helmet knocks the ground;
Earth groans beneath him, and his arms resound.
Pope, Iliad, Book V.
Instantly Æneas leaped down from his chariot, with his shield and spear, to defend the body of his heroic comrade against being despoiled by the Greeks. This was one of the customs of war in those times. When a hero was slain in battle the enemy carried off his arms and armor as trophies of victory. ”

“ But Priam called to her to sit by his side, and said to her:
"No crime of thine our present sufferings draws,
Not thou, but Heaven's disposing will, the cause
The gods these armies and this force employ,
The hostile gods conspire the fate of Troy."
Pope, Iliad, Book III.
Then King Priam asked Helen to name for him some of the Greek leaders whom he saw before him, not far from the city walls. ”

“ During the long siege the Grecian chiefs extended the war into the surrounding districts. While part of their forces was left at the camp to protect the ships and keep the Trojans cooped up within their walls, expeditions were sent out against many of the towns of Troas, or of the neighboring countries which were allies and supporters of Troy. When the Greeks captured a town they carried off not only the provisions and riches it contained, but also many of its inhabitants, whom they sold as slaves, according to the custom of the time, or kept as slaves in their own service. ”

“ For over nine years the siege was carried on without one side or the other gaining any important victory. The Trojans were protected by their walls, which the Greeks were unable to break down, for the ancients had no such powerful engines of war as those used in armies of the present day. The strongest buildings may now be easily destroyed by cannon; but in those days they had no cannon or gunpowder or dynamite. Success in war in ancient times depended almost entirely on the bravery of the soldiers or on strategy and artifice, in which, as we shall see, the king of Ithaca was much skilled. ”

“ Guided by Apollo, the weapon struck the hero in the heel, the only part in which he could be fatally wounded.
The warrior fell to the ground, whereupon the Trojan prince hastened up and slew him with his sword. A terrific struggle took place over the body of the dead chief, but by mighty efforts Ajax Telamon and Ulysses succeeded in gaining possession of it, and carrying it to the Grecian camp. Deep was the grief of the Greeks at the death of their great champion. Magnificent funeral rites and games were celebrated in his honor, his goddess mother, Thetis, presiding over the ceremonies. ”

“ The ancients never engaged in war or any other important undertaking without sacrificing to the gods or consulting their oracles or soothsayers. Before going to battle they made sacrifices to the gods. If they were defeated in battle they regarded it as a sign of the anger of Jupiter, or Juno, or Minerva, or Apollo, or some of the other great beings who dwelt on Olympus. When making leagues or treaties of peace, they called the gods as witnesses, and prayed to Father Jupiter to send terrible punishments on any who should take false oaths, or break their promises. ”

“ But no one of all the warrior chiefs of Greece who fought at Troy met with so many dangers in returning to his native land as the famous Ulysses. Ten year elapsed after the end of the great war before he reached his Ithacan home. There he was welcomed by his devoted wife, Penelope, and his affectionate son, Telemachus, who had passed all those years in loving remembrance of him and anxious hope of his coming. His wonderful adventures during his many wanderings are described in Homer's Odyssey. ”

“ The league being thus broken by the treacherous act of Pandarus, both sides at once prepared for battle. Agamemnon went on foot through his army, speaking words of praise to the chiefs, whom he found active in marshaling and encouraging their men. "Father Jupiter," he said, "will not help those Trojans who have so basely broken their solemn pledges. When we have taken their city we shall carry away rich spoils in our ships." ”