by Homer
When that same son of aegis-bearing Jove
Assail'd him in the very gates of hell,
And wrought him keenest anguish; pierc'd with pain
To high Olympus, to the courts of Jove,
Groaning, he came; the bitter shaft remain'd
Deep in his shoulder fix'd, and griev'd his soul.
But soon with soothing ointments Paeon's hand
(For death on him was powerless) heal'd the wound.
Accurs'd was he, of daring over-bold,
Reckless of evil deeds, who with his bow
Assail'd the Gods, who on Olympus dwell.
The blue-ey'd Pallas, well I know, has urg'd
Tydides to assail thee; fool and blind!
Unknowing he how short his term of life
Who fights against the Gods! for him no child
Upon his knees shall lisp a father's name,
Safe from the war and battle-field return'd.
Brave as he is, let Diomed beware
He meet not some more dangerous foe than thee.
Then fair AEgiale, Adrastus' child,
The noble wife of valiant Diomed,
Shall long, with lamentations loud, disturb
The slumbers of her house, and vainly mourn
Her youthful Lord, the bravest of the Greeks."
She said; and wip'd the ichor from, the wound;
he hand was heal'd, the grievous pains allay'd.
But Juno and Minerva, looking on,
With words of bitter mock'ry Saturn's son
Provok'd: and thus the blue-ey'd Goddess spoke:
"O Father! may I speak without offence?
Venus, it seems, has sought to lead astray
Some Grecian woman, and persuade to join
Those Trojans, whom she holds in high esteem;
And, as her hand the gentle dame caress'd,
A golden clasp has scratched her slender arm."
Thus she: and smil'd the Sire of Gods and men;
He call'd the golden Venus to his side,
And, "Not to thee, my child," he said, "belong
The deeds of war; do thou bestow thy care
On deeds of love, and tender marriage ties;
But leave to Mars and Pallas feats of arms."
Such converse while they held, brave Diomed
Again assail'd AEneas; well he knew
Apollo's guardian hand around him thrown;
Yet by the God undaunted, on he press'd
To slay AEneas, and his arms obtain.
Thrice was his onset made, with murd'rous aim;
And thrice Apollo struck his glitt'ring shield;
But when, with godlike force, he sought to make
His fourth attempt, the Far-destroyer spoke
In terms of awful menace: "Be advis'd,
Tydides, and retire; nor as a God
Esteem thyself; since not alike the race
Of Gods immortal and of earth-born men."
He said; and Diomed a little space
Before the Far-destroyer's wrath retir'd:
Apollo then AEneas bore away
Far from the tumult; and in Pergamus,
Where stood his sacred shrine, bestow'd him safe.
Latona there, and Dian, Archer-Queen,
In the great temple's innermost recess,
Gave to his wounds their care, and sooth'd his pride.
Meanwhile Apollo of the silver bow
A phantom form prepar'd, the counterpart
Of great AEneas, and alike in arms:
Around the form, of Trojans and of Greeks,
Loud was the din of battle; fierce the strokes
That fell on rounded shield of tough bull's-hide,
And lighter targe, before each warrior's breast.
Then thus Apollo to the God of War:
"Mars! Mars! thou bane of mortals, blood-stain'd Lord,
Razer of cities, wer't not well thyself
To interpose, and from the battle-field
Withdraw this chief, Tydides? such his pride,
He now would dare with Jove himself to fight.
Venus, of late, he wounded in the wrist;
And, like a God, but now confronted me."
He said, and sat on Ilium's topmost height:
While Mars, in likeness of the Thracian chief,
Swift Acamas, amid the Trojan ranks
Mov'd to and fro, and urg'd them to the fight.
To Priam's Heav'n-descended sons he call'd;
"Ye sons of Priam, Heav'n-descended King,
How long will ye behold your people slain?
Till to your very doors the war be brought?
AEneas, noble-soul'd Anchises' son,
In like esteem with Hector held, is down;
On to his aid! our gallant comrade save!"
He said; his words fresh courage gave to all:
Then thus Sarpedon, in reproachful tone,
Address'd the godlike Hector; "Where is now,
Hector, the spirit that heretofore was thine?
'Twas once thy boast that ev'n without allies
Thyself, thy brethren, and thy house, alone
The city could defend: for all of these
I look in vain, and see not one; they all,
As curs around a lion, cow'r and crouch:
We, strangers and allies, maintain the fight.
I to your aid, from lands afar remote,
From Lycia came, by Xanthus' eddying stream;
There left a cherish'd wife, and infant son,
And rich possessions, which might envy move;
Yet I my troops encourage; and myself
Have play'd my part, though nought have I to lose,
Nought that the Greeks could drive or bear away;
But thou stand'st idly by; nor bidd'st the rest
Maintain their ground, and guard their wives and homes.
Beware lest ye, as in the meshes caught
Of some wide-sweeping net, become the prey
And booty of your foes, who soon shall lay
Your prosp'rous city level with the dust.
By day and night should this thy thoughts engage,
With constant pray'r to all thy brave allies,
Firmly to stand, and wipe this shame away."
He said; and Hector felt the biting speech;
Down from his car he leap'd; and through the ranks,
Two jav'lins brandishing, he pass'd, to arms
Exciting all, and rais'd his battle-cry.
The tide was turn'd; again they fac'd the Greeks:
In serried ranks the Greeks, undaunted, stood.
As when the wind from off a threshing-floor,
Where men are winnowing, blows the chaff away;
When yellow Ceres with the breeze divides
The corn and chaff, which lies in whit'ning heaps;
So thick the Greeks were whiten'd o'er with dust,
Which to the brazen vault of Heav'n arose
Beneath the horses' feet, that with the crowd
Were mingled, by their drivers turn'd to flight.
Unwearied still, they bore the brunt; but Mars
The Trojans succouring, the battle-field
Veil'd in thick clouds, from ev'ry quarter brought.
Thus he of Phoebus of the golden sword
Obey'd th' injunction, bidding him arouse
The courage of the Trojans, when he saw
Pallas approaching to support the Greeks.
Then from the wealthy shrine Apollo's self
AEneas brought, and vigour fresh infus'd:
Amid his comrades once again he stood;
They joy'd to see him yet alive, and sound,
And full of vigour; yet no question ask'd:
No time for question then, amid the toils
Impos'd by Phoebus of the silver bow,
And blood-stain'd Mars, and Discord unappeas'd.
Meanwhile Ulysses, and th' Ajaces both,
And Diomed, with
courage for the fight
The Grecian force inspir'd; they undismay'd
Shrank not before the Trojans' rush and charge;
In masses firm they stood, as when the clouds
Are gather'd round the misty mountain top
By Saturn's son, in breathless calm, while sleep
The force of Boreas and the stormy winds,
That with their breath the shadowy clouds disperse;
So stood the Greeks, nor shunn'd the Trojans' charge.
Through all the army Agamemnon pass'd,
And cried, "Brave comrades, quit ye now like men;
Bear a stout heart; and in the stubborn fight,
Let each to other mutual succour give;
By mutual succour more are sav'd than fall;
In timid flight nor fame nor safety lies."
Thus he: and straight his jav'lin threw, and struck
A man of mark, AEneas' faithful friend,
Deicoon, the son of Pergasus,
By Troy, as ever foremost in the field,
In equal honour held with Priam's sons.
His shield the monarch Agamemnon struck;
The shield's defence was vain; the spear pass'd through
Beneath the belt, and in his groin was lodg'd;
Thund'ring he fell, and loud his armour rang.
On th' other side, AEneas slew two chiefs,
The bravest of the Greeks, Orsilochus
And Crethon, sons of Diocles, who dwelt
In thriving Phera; rich in substance he,
And from the mighty River Alpheus trac'd
His high descent, who through the Pylian land
His copious waters pours; to him was born
Orsilochus, of num'rous tribes the chief;
To him succeeded valiant Diocles;
To whom were born twin sons, Orsilochus
And Crethon, skill'd in ev'ry point of war.
They, in the vigour of their youth, to Troy
Had sail'd amid the dark-ribb'd ships of Greece,
Of Atreus' sons the quarrel to uphold;
But o'er them both the shades of death were spread.
As two young lions, by their tawny dam
Nurs'd in the mountain forest's deep recess,
On flocks and herds their youthful fury pour,
With havoc to the sheepfolds, till themselves
Succumb, o'ermaster'd by the hand of man:
So fell these two beneath AEneas' hand,
And like two lofty pines in death they lay.
The warlike Menelaus saw their fall
With pitying eye; and through the foremost ranks
With brandish'd spear advanc'd, by Mars impell'd,
Who hop'd his death by great AEneas' hand.
Him Nestor's son, Antilochus, beheld,
And hasten'd to his aid; for much he fear'd
Lest ill befall the monarch, and his death
Deprive them of their warlike labours' fruit.
They two, with force combined of hand and spear,
Press'd onward to the fight; Antilochus
His station keeping close beside the King.
Before the two combined, AEneas fear'd,
Bold warrior as he was, to hold his ground.
The slain they drew within the Grecian lines,
Placed in their comrades' hands, and turning back
Amid the foremost mingled in the fray.
Then, brave as Mars, Pylaemenes they slew,
The buckler'd Paphlagonians' warlike chief;
Him Menelaus, hand to hand engag'd,
Pierc'd with a spear-thrust through the collar-bone;
While, with a pond'rous stone, Antilochus
Full on the elbow smote Atymnius' son,
Mydon, his charioteer, in act to turn
His fiery steeds to flight; down from his hands
Fell to the ground the iv'ry-mounted reins.
On rush'd Antilochus, and with his sword
Across the temples smote him; gasping, he
Upon his neck and shoulders from the car
Pitch'd headlong; and (for there the sand was deep)
Awhile stood balanc'd, till the horses' feet
Dash'd him upon the ground; Antilochus,
The horses seizing, drove them to the ships.
Hector beheld athwart the ranks, and rush'd,
Loud shouting, to th' encounter; at his back
Follow'd the thronging bands of Troy, by Mars
And fierce Bellona led; she by the hand
Wild Uproar held; while Mars a giant spear
Brandish'd aloft: and stalking now before,
Now following after Hector, urg'd them on.
Quail'd at the sight the valiant Diomed:
As when a man, long journeying o'er the plain,
All unprepar'd, stands sudden on the brink
Of a swift stream, down rushing to the sea,
Boiling with foam, and back recoils; so then
Recoil'd Tydides, and address'd the crowd:
"O friends, we marvel at the might display'd
By Hector, spearman skill'd and warrior bold;
But still some guardian God his steps attends,
And shields from danger; now beside him stands,
In likeness of a mortal, Mars himself.
Then turning still your faces to your foes,
Retire, nor venture with the Gods to fight."
He said; the Trojans now were close at hand,
And, mounted both upon a single car,
Two chiefs, Menesthes and Anchialus,
Well skill'd in war, by Hector's hand were slain.
With pitying eyes great Ajax Telamon
Beheld their fall; advancing close, he threw
His glitt'ring spear; the son of Selagus
It struck, Amphius, who in Paesus dwelt,
In land and substance rich; by evil fate
Impell'd, to Priam's house he brought his aid.
Below the belt the spear of Ajax struck,
And in his groin the point was buried deep;
Thund'ring he fell; then forward Ajax sprang
To seize the spoils of war; but fast and fierce
The Trojans show'r'd their weapons bright and keen,
And many a lance the mighty shield receiv'd.
Ajax, his foot firm planted on the slain,
Withdrew the brazen spear; yet could not strip
His armour off, so galling flew the shafts;
And much he fear'd his foes might hem him in,
Who closely press'd upon him, many and brave;
And, valiant as he was, and tall, and strong,
Still drove him backward; he perforce retired.
Thus labour'd they amid the stubborn fight.
Then evil fate induc'd Tlepolemus,
Valiant and strong, the son of Hercules,
Heav'n-born Sarpedon to confront in fight.
When near they came, of cloud-compelling Jove
Grandson and son, Tlepolemus began:
"Sarpedon, Lycian chief, what brings thee here,
Trembling and crouching, all unskill'd in war?
Falsely they speak who fable thee the son
Of aegis-bearing Jove; so far art thou
Beneath their mark who claim'd in elder days
That royal lineage: such my father was,
Of courage resolute, of lion heart.
With but six ships, and with a scanty band,
The horses by Laomedon withheld
Avenging, he o'erthrew this city, Troy,
And made her streets a desert; but thy soul
Is poor, thy troops are wasting fast away;
Nor deem I that the Trojans will in thee
(Ev'n were thy valour more) and Lycia's aid
Their safeguard find; but vanquish'd by my hand,
This day the gates of Hades thou shalt pass."
To whom the Lycian chief, Sarpedon, thus:
"Tlepolemus, the
sacred walls of Troy
Thy sire o'erthrew, by folly of one man,
Laomedon, who with injurious words
His noble service recompens'd; nor gave
The promis'd steeds, for which he came from far.
For thee, I deem thou now shalt meet thy doom
Here, at my hand; on thee my spear shall win
Renown for me, thy soul to Hades send."
Thus as Sarpedon spoke, Tlepolemus
Uprais'd his ashen spear; from both their hands
The pond'rous weapons simultaneous flew.
Full in the throat Tlepolemus receiv'd
Sarpedon's spear; right through the neck it pass'd,
And o'er his eyes the shades of death were spread.
On th' other side his spear Sarpedon struck
On the left thigh; the eager weapon pass'd
Right through the flesh, and in the bone was fix'd;
The stroke of death his father turn'd aside.
Sarpedon from the field his comrades bore,
Weigh'd down and tortured by the trailing spear,
For, in their haste to bear him to his car,
Not one bethought him from his thigh to draw
The weapon forth; so sorely were they press'd.
The Greeks too from the battle-field convey'd
The slain Tlepolemus; Ulysses saw,
Patient of spirit, but deeply mov'd at heart;
And with conflicting thoughts his breast was torn,
If first he should pursue the Thund'rer's son,
Or deal destruction on the Lycian host.
But fate had not decreed the valiant son
Of Jove to fall beneath Ulysses' hand;
So on the Lycians Pallas turn'd his wrath.
Alastor then, and Coeranus he slew,
Chromius, Alcander, Halius, Prytanis,
Noemon; nor had ended then the list
Of Lycian warriors by Ulysses slain;
But Hector of the glancing helm beheld;
Through the front ranks he rush'd, with burnish'd crest
Resplendent, flashing terror on the Greeks;
With joy Sarpedon saw his near approach,
And with imploring tones address'd him thus:
"Hector, thou son of Priam, leave me not
A victim to the Greeks, but lend thine aid:
Then in your city let me end my days.
For not to me is giv'n again to see
My native land; or, safe returning home,
To glad my sorrowing wife and infant child."
Thus he; but Hector, answ'ring not a word,
Pass'd on in silence, hasting to pursue
The Greeks, and pour destruction on their host.
Beneath the oak of aegis-bearing Jove
His faithful comrades laid Sarpedon down,
And from his thigh the valiant Pelagon,
His lov'd companion, drew the ashen spear.
He swoon'd, and giddy mists o'erspread his eyes:
