Thus, then, did the Achaeans arm by
their ships round you, O son of Peleus, who were
hungering for battle; while the Trojans
over against them armed upon the rise of the
plain.
Meanwhile Jove from the top of many-delled
Olympus, bade Themis gather the gods in
council, whereon she went about and called
them to the house of Jove. There was not a
river absent except Oceanus, nor a single
one of the nymphs that haunt fair groves, or
springs of rivers and meadows of green
grass. When they reached the house of
cloud-compelling Jove, they took their
seats in the arcades of polished marble which
Vulcan with his consummate skill had made
for father Jove.
In such wise, therefore, did they gather
in the house of Jove. Neptune also, lord of the
earthquake, obeyed the call of the
goddess, and came up out of the sea to join them.
There, sitting in the midst of them, he
asked what Jove's purpose might be. "Why," said
he, "wielder of the lightning, have you
called the gods in council? Are you considering
some matter that concerns the Trojans and
Achaeans- for the blaze of battle is on the
point of being kindled between them?"
And Jove answered, "You know my purpose,
shaker of earth, and wherefore I have
called you hither. I take thought for them
even in their destruction. For my own part I
shall stay here seated on Mt. Olympus and
look on in peace, but do you others go
about among Trojans and Achaeans, and help
either side as you may be severally
disposed. If Achilles fights the Trojans
without hindrance they will make no stand
against him; they have ever trembled at
the sight of him, and now that he is roused to
such fury about his comrade, he will
override fate itself and storm their city."
Thus spoke Jove and gave the word for war,
whereon the gods took their several sides
and went into battle. Juno, Pallas
Minerva, earth-encircling Neptune, Mercury bringer
of good luck and excellent in all cunning-
all these joined the host that came from the
ships; with them also came Vulcan in all
his glory, limping, but yet with his thin legs
plying lustily under him. Mars of gleaming
helmet joined the Trojans, and with him
Apollo of locks unshorn, and the archer
goddess Diana, Leto, Xanthus, and
laughter-loving Venus.
So long as the gods held themselves aloof
from mortal warriors the Achaeans were
triumphant, for Achilles who had long
refused to fight was now with them. There was
not a Trojan but his limbs failed him for
fear as he beheld the fleet son of Peleus all
glorious in his armour, and looking like
Mars himself. When, however, the Olympians
came to take their part among men,
forthwith uprose strong Strife, rouser of hosts, and
Minerva raised her loud voice, now
standing by the deep trench that ran outside the
wall, and now shouting with all her might
upon the shore of the sounding sea. Mars also
bellowed out upon the other side, dark as
some black thunder-cloud, and called on the
Trojans at the top of his voice, now from
the acropolis, and now speeding up the side
of the river Simois till he came to the
hill Callicolone.
Thus did the gods spur on both hosts to
fight, and rouse fierce contention also among
themselves. The sire of gods and men
thundered from heaven above, while from
beneath Neptune shook the vast earth, and
bade the high hills tremble. The spurs and
crests of many-fountained Ida quaked, as
also the city of the Trojans and the ships of
the Achaeans. Hades, king of the realms
below, was struck with fear; he sprang
panic-stricken from his throne and cried
aloud in terror lest Neptune, lord of the
earthquake, should crack the ground over
his head, and lay bare his mouldy mansions
to the sight of mortals and immortals-
mansions so ghastly grim that even the gods
shudder to think of them. Such was the
uproar as the gods came together in battle.
Apollo with his arrows took his stand to
face King Neptune, while Minerva took hers
against the god of war; the archer-goddess
Diana with her golden arrows, sister of
far-darting Apollo, stood to face Juno;
Mercury the lusty bringer of good luck faced
Leto, while the mighty eddying river whom
men can Scamander, but gods Xanthus,
matched himself against Vulcan.
The gods, then, were thus ranged against
one another. But the heart of Achilles was set
on meeting Hector son of Priam, for it was
with his blood that he longed above all things
else to glut the stubborn lord of battle.
Meanwhile Apollo set Aeneas on to attack the
son of Peleus, and put courage into his
heart, speaking with the voice of Lycaon son of
Priam. In his likeness therefore, he said
to Aeneas, "Aeneas, counsellor of the Trojans,
where are now the brave words with which
you vaunted over your wine before the
Trojan princes, saying that you would
fight Achilles son of Peleus in single combat?"
And Aeneas answered, "Why do you thus bid
me fight the proud son of Peleus, when I
am in no mind to do so? Were I to face him
now, it would not be for the first time. His
spear has already put me to Right from
Ida, when he attacked our cattle and sacked
Lyrnessus and Pedasus; Jove indeed saved
me in that he vouchsafed me strength to fly,
else had the fallen by the hands of
Achilles and Minerva, who went before him to
protect him and urged him to fall upon the
Lelegae and Trojans. No man may fight
Achilles, for one of the gods is always
with him as his guardian angel, and even were it
not so, his weapon flies ever straight,
and fails not to pierce the flesh of him who is
against him; if heaven would let me fight
him on even terms he should not soon
overcome me, though he boasts that he is
made of bronze."
Then said King Apollo, son to Jove, "Nay,
hero, pray to the ever-living gods, for men
say that you were born of Jove's daughter
Venus, whereas Achilles is son to a goddess
of inferior rank. Venus is child to Jove,
while Thetis is but daughter to the old man of the
sea. Bring, therefore, your spear to bear
upon him, and let him not scare you with his
taunts and menaces."
As he spoke he put courage into the heart
of the shepherd of his people, and he strode
in full armour among the ranks of the
foremost fighters. Nor did the son of Anchises
escape the notice of white-armed Juno, as
he went forth into the throng to meet
Achilles. She called the gods about her,
and said, "Look to it, you two, Neptune and
Minerva, and consider how this shall be;
Phoebus Apollo has been sending Aeneas clad
in full armour to fight Achilles. Shall we
turn him back at once, or shall one of us stand
by Achilles and endow him with strength so
that his heart fail not, and he may learn that
the chiefs of the immortals are on his
side, while the others who have all along been
defending the Trojans are but vain
helpers? Let us all come down from Olympus and
join in the fight, that this day he may
take no hurt at the hands of the Trojans. Hereafter
let him suffer whatever fate may have spun
out for him when he was begotten and his
mother bore him. If Achilles be not thus
assured by the voice of a god, he may come to
fear presently when one of us meets him in
battle, for the gods are terrible if they are
seen face to face."
Neptune lord of the earthquake answered
her saying, "Juno, restrain your fury; it is not
well; I am not in favour of forcing the
other gods to fight us, for the advantage is too
greatly on our own side; let us take our
places on some hill out of the beaten track, and
let mortals fight it out among themselves.
If Mars or Phoebus Apollo begin fighting, or
keep Achilles in check so that he cannot
fight, we too, will at once raise the cry of
battle, and in that case they will soon
leave the field and go back vanquished to
Olympus among the other gods."
With these words the dark-haired god led
the way to the high earth-barrow of
Hercules, built round solid masonry, and
made by the Trojans and Pallas Minerva for
him fly to when the sea-monster was
chasing him from the shore on to the plain. Here
Neptune and those that were with him took
their seats, wrapped in a thick cloud of
darkness; but the other gods seated
themselves on the brow of Callicolone round you,
O Phoebus, and Mars the waster of
cities.
Thus did the gods sit apart and form their
plans, but neither side was willing to begin
battle with the other, and Jove from his
seat on high was in command over them all.
Meanwhile the whole plain was alive with
men and horses, and blazing with the gleam of
armour. The earth rang again under the
tramp of their feet as they rushed towards each
other, and two champions, by far the
foremost of them all, met between the hosts to
fight- to wit, Aeneas son of Anchises, and
noble Achilles.
Aeneas was first to stride forward in
attack, his doughty helmet tossing defiance as he
came on. He held his strong shield before
his breast, and brandished his bronze spear.
The son of Peleus from the other side
sprang forth to meet him, fike some fierce lion
that the whole country-side has met to
hunt and kill- at first he bodes no ill, but when
some daring youth has struck him with a
spear, he crouches openmouthed, his jaws
foam, he roars with fury, he lashes his
tail from side to side about his ribs and loins, and
glares as he springs straight before him,
to find out whether he is to slay, or be slain
among the foremost of his foes- even with
such fury did Achilles burn to spring upon
Aeneas.
When they were now close up with one
another Achilles was first to speak. "Aeneas,"
said he, "why do you stand thus out before
the host to fight me? Is it that you hope to
reign over the Trojans in the seat of
Priam? Nay, though you kill me Priam will not hand
his kingdom over to you. He is a man of
sound judgement, and he has sons of his own.
Or have the Trojans been allotting you a
demesne of passing richness, fair with orchard
lawns and corn lands, if you should slay
me? This you shall hardly do. I have
discomfited you once already. Have you
forgotten how when you were alone I chased
you from your herds helter-skelter down
the slopes of Ida? You did not turn round to
look behind you; you took refuge in
Lyrnessus, but I attacked the city, and with the help
of Minerva and father Jove I sacked it and
carried its women into captivity, though Jove
and the other gods rescued you. You think
they will protect you now, but they will not
do so; therefore I say go back into the
host, and do not face me, or you will rue it. Even
a fool may be wise after the event."
Then Aeneas answered, "Son of Peleus,
think not that your words can scare me as
though I were a child. I too, if I will,
can brag and talk unseemly. We know one
another's race and parentage as matters of
common fame, though neither have you ever
seen my parents nor I yours. Men say that
you are son to noble Peleus, and that your
mother is Thetis, fair-haired daughter of
the sea. I have noble Anchises for my father,
and Venus for my mother; the parents of
one or other of us shall this day mourn a son,
for it will be more than silly talk that
shall part us when the fight is over. Learn, then, my
lineage if you will- and it is known to
many.
"In the beginning Dardanus was the son of
Jove, and founded Dardania, for Ilius was
not yet stablished on the plain for men to
dwell in, and her people still abode on the
spurs of many-fountained Ida. Dardanus had
a son, king Erichthonius, who was
wealthiest of all men living; he had three
thousand mares that fed by the
water-meadows, they and their foals with
them. Boreas was enamoured of them as they
were feeding, and covered them in the
semblance of a dark-maned stallion. Twelve filly
foals did they conceive and bear him, and
these, as they sped over the rich plain, would
go bounding on over the ripe ears of corn
and not break them; or again when they
would disport themselves on the broad back
of Ocean they could gallop on the crest of
a breaker. Erichthonius begat Tros, king
of the Trojans, and Tros had three noble sons,
Ilus, Assaracus, and Ganymede who was
comeliest of mortal men; wherefore the gods
carried him off to be Jove's cupbearer,
for his beauty's sake, that he might dwell among
the immortals. Ilus begat Laomedon, and
Laomedon begat Tithonus, Priam, Lampus,
Clytius, and Hiketaon of the stock of
Mars. But Assaracus was father to Capys, and
Capys to Anchises, who was my father,
while Hector is son to Priam.
"Such do I declare my blood and lineage,
but as for valour, Jove gives it or takes it as
he will, for he is lord of all. And now
let there be no more of this prating in mid-battle as
though we were children. We could fling
taunts without end at one another; a
hundred-oared galley would not hold them.
The tongue can run all whithers and talk all
wise; it can go here and there, and as a
man says, so shall he be gainsaid. What is the
use of our bandying hard like women who
when they fall foul of one another go out and
wrangle in the streets, one half true and
the other lies, as rage inspires them? No words
of yours shall turn me now that I am fain
to fight- therefore let us make trial of one
another with our spears."
As he spoke he drove his spear at the
great and terrible shield of Achilles, which rang
out as the point struck it. The son of
Peleus held the shield before him with his strong
hand, and he was afraid, for he deemed
that Aeneas's spear would go through it quite
easily, not reflecting that the god's
glorious gifts were little likely to yield before the
blows of mortal men; and indeed Aeneas's
spear did not pierce the shield, for the layer
of gold, gift of the god, stayed the
point. It went through two layers, but the god had
made the shield in five, two of bronze,
the two innermost ones of tin, and one of gold; it
was in this that the spear was stayed.
Achilles in his turn threw, and struck the
round shield of Aeneas at the very edge, where
the bronze was thinnest; the spear of
Pelian ash went clean through, and the shield rang
under the blow; Aeneas was afraid, and
crouched backwards, holding the shield away
from him; the spear, however, flew over
his back, and stuck quivering in the ground,
after having gone through both circles of
the sheltering shield. Aeneas though he had
avoided the spear, stood still, blinded
with fear and grief because the weapon had gone
so near him; then Achilles sprang
furiously upon him, with a cry as of death and with his
keen blade drawn, and Aeneas seized a
great stone, so huge that two men, as men now
are, would be unable to lift it, but
Aeneas wielded it quite easily.
Aeneas would then have struck Achilles as
he was springing towards him, either on the
helmet, or on the shield that covered him,
and Achilles would have closed with him and
despatched him with his sword, had not
Neptune lord of the earthquake been quick to
mark, and said forthwith to the immortals,
"Alas, I am sorry for great Aeneas, who will
now go down to the house of Hades,
vanquished by the son of Peleus. Fool that he was
to give ear to the counsel of Apollo.
Apollo will never save him from destruction. Why
should this man suffer when he is
guiltless, to no purpose, and in another's quarrel? Has
he not at all times offered acceptable
sacrifice to the gods that dwell in heaven? Let us
then snatch him from death's jaws, lest
the son of Saturn be angry should Achilles slay
him. It is fated, moreover, that he should
escape, and that the race of Dardanus, whom
Jove loved above all the sons born to him
of mortal women, shall not perish utterly
without seed or sign. For now indeed has
Jove hated the blood of Priam, while Aeneas
shall reign over the Trojans, he and his
children's children that shall be born hereafter."
Then answered Juno, "Earth-shaker, look to
this matter yourself, and consider
concerning Aeneas, whether you will save
him, or suffer him, brave though he be, to fall
by the hand of Achilles son of Peleus. For
of a truth we two, I and Pallas Minerva, have
sworn full many a time before all the
immortals, that never would we shield Trojans
from destruction, not even when all Troy
is burning in the flames that the Achaeans shall
kindle."
When earth-encircling Neptune heard this
he went into the battle amid the clash of
spears, and came to the place where
Achilles and Aeneas were. Forthwith he shed a
darkness before the eyes of the son of
Peleus, drew the bronze-headed ashen spear
from the shield of Aeneas, and laid it at
the feet of Achilles. Then he lifted Aeneas on
high from off the earth and hurried him
away. Over the heads of many a band of
warriors both horse and foot did he soar
as the god's hand sped him, till he came to the
very fringe of the battle where the
Cauconians were arming themselves for fight.
Neptune, shaker of the earth, then came
near to him and said, Aeneas, what god has
egged you on to this folly in fighting the
son of Peleus, who is both a mightier man of
valour and more beloved of heaven than you
are? Give way before him whensoever
you meet him, lest you go down to the
house of Hades even though fate would have it
otherwise. When Achilles is dead you may
then fight among the foremost undaunted, for
none other of the Achaeans shall slay
you."
The god left him when he had given him
these instructions, and at once removed the
darkness from before the eyes of Achilles,
who opened them wide indeed and said in
great anger, "Alas! what marvel am I now
beholding? Here is my spear upon the
ground, but I see not him whom I meant to
kill when I hurled it. Of a truth Aeneas also
must be under heaven's protection,
although I had thought his boasting was idle. Let him
go hang; he will be in no mood to fight me
further, seeing how narrowly he has missed
being killed. I will now give my orders to
the Danaans and attack some other of the
Trojans."
He sprang forward along the line and
cheered his men on as he did so. "Let not the
Trojans," he cried, "keep you at arm's
length, Achaeans, but go for them and fight them
man for man. However valiant I may be, I
cannot give chase to so many and fight all of
them. Even Mars, who is an immortal, or
Minerva, would shrink from flinging himself
into the jaws of such a fight and laying
about him; nevertheless, so far as in me lies I will
show no slackness of hand or foot nor want
of endurance, not even for a moment; I will
utterly break their ranks, and woe to the
Trojan who shall venture within reach of my
spear."
Thus did he exhort them. Meanwhile Hector
called upon the Trojans and declared that
he would fight Achilles. "Be not afraid,
proud Trojans," said he, "to face the son of
Peleus; I could fight gods myself if the
battle were one of words only, but they would be
more than a match for me, if we had to use
our spears. Even so the deed of Achilles will
fall somewhat short of his word; he will
do in part, and the other part he will clip short. I
will go up against him though his hands be
as fire- though his hands be fire and his
strength iron."
Thus urged the Trojans lifted up their
spears against the Achaeans, and raised the cry of
battle as they flung themselves into the
midst of their ranks. But Phoebus Apollo came
up to Hector and said, "Hector, on no
account must you challenge Achilles to single
combat; keep a lookout for him while you
are under cover of the others and away from
the thick of the fight, otherwise he will
either hit you with a spear or cut you down at
close quarters."
Thus he spoke, and Hector drew back within
the crowd, for he was afraid when he
heard what the god had said to him.
Achilles then sprang upon the Trojans with a
terrible cry, clothed in valour as with a
garment. First he killed Iphition son of Otrynteus,
a leader of much people whom a naiad nymph
had borne to Otrynteus waster of cities,
in the land of Hyde under the snowy
heights of Mt. Tmolus. Achilles struck him full on
the head as he was coming on towards him,
and split it clean in two; whereon he fell
heavily to the ground and Achilles vaunted
over him saying, "You he low, son of
Otrynteus, mighty hero; your death is
here, but your lineage is on the Gygaean lake
where your father's estate lies, by
Hyllus, rich in fish, and the eddying waters of
Hermus."
Thus did he vaunt, but darkness closed the
eyes of the other. The chariots of the
Achaeans cut him up as their wheels passed
over him in the front of the battle, and after
him Achilles killed Demoleon, a valiant
man of war and son to Antenor. He struck him
on the temple through his bronze-cheeked
helmet. The helmet did not stay the spear,
but it went right on, crushing the bone so
that the brain inside was shed in all directions,
and his of fighting was ended. Then he
struck Hippodamas in the midriff as he was
springing down from his chariot in front
of him, and trying to escape. He breathed his
last, bellowing like a bull bellows when
young men are dragging him to offer him in
sacrifice to the King of Helice, and the
heart of the earth-shaker is glad; even so did he
bellow as he lay dying. Achilles then went
in pursuit of Polydorus son of Priam, whom
his father had always forbidden to fight
because he was the youngest of his sons, the
one he loved best, and the fastest runner.
He, in his folly and showing off the fleetness of
his feet, was rushing about among front
ranks until he lost his life, for Achilles struck him
in the middle of the back as he was
darting past him: he struck him just at the golden
fastenings of his belt and where the two
pieces of the double breastplate overlapped.
The point of the spear pierced him through
and came out by the navel, whereon he fell
groaning on to his knees and a cloud of
darkness overshadowed him as he sank holding
his entrails in his hands.
When Hector saw his brother Polydorus with
his entrails in his hands and sinking down
upon the ground, a mist came over his
eyes, and he could not bear to keep longer at a
distance; he therefore poised his spear
and darted towards Achilles like a flame of fire.
When Achilles saw him he bounded forward
and vaunted saying, "This is he that has
wounded my heart most deeply and has slain
my beloved comrade. Not for long shall
we two quail before one another on the
highways of war."
He looked fiercely on Hector and said,
"Draw near, that you may meet your doom the
sooner." Hector feared him not and
answered, "Son of Peleus, think not that your
words can scare me as though I were a
child; I too if I will can brag and talk unseemly;
I know that you are a mighty warrior,
mightier by far than I, nevertheless the issue lies in
the the lap of heaven whether I, worse man
though I be, may not slay you with my
spear, for this too has been found keen
ere now."
He hurled his spear as he spoke, but
Minerva breathed upon it, and though she
breathed but very lightly she turned it
back from going towards Achilles, so that it
returned to Hector and lay at his feet in
front of him. Achilles then sprang furiously on
him with a loud cry, bent on killing him,
but Apollo caught him up easily as a god can,
and hid him in a thick darkness. Thrice
did Achilles spring towards him spear in hand,
and thrice did he waste his blow upon the
air. When he rushed forward for the fourth
time as though he were a god, he shouted
aloud saying, "Hound, this time too you have
escaped death- but of a truth it came
exceedingly near you. Phoebus Apollo, to whom
it seems you pray before you go into
battle, has again saved you; but if I too have any
friend among the gods I will surely make
an end of you when I come across you at
some other time. Now, however, I will
pursue and overtake other Trojans."
On this he struck Dryops with his spear,
about the middle of his neck, and he fell
headlong at his feet. There he let him lie
and stayed Demouchus son of Philetor, a man
both brave and of great stature, by
hitting him on the knee with a spear; then he smote
him with his sword and killed him. After
this he sprang on Laogonus and Dardanus,
sons of Bias, and threw them from their
chariot, the one with a blow from a thrown
spear, while the other he cut down in
hand-to-hand fight. There was also Tros the son
of Alastor- he came up to Achilles and
clasped his knees in the hope that he would
spare him and not kill him but let him go,
because they were both of the same age. Fool,
he might have known that he should not
prevail with him, for the man was in no mood
for pity or forbearance but was in grim
earnest. Therefore when Tros laid hold of his
knees and sought a hearing for his
prayers, Achilles drove his sword into his liver, and
the liver came rolling out, while his
bosom was all covered with the black blood that
welled from the wound. Thus did death
close his eyes as he lay lifeless.
Achilles then went up to Mulius and struck
him on the ear with a spear, and the bronze
spear-head came right out at the other
ear. He also struck Echeclus son of Agenor on
the head with his sword, which became warm
with the blood, while death and stern fate
closed the eyes of Echeclus. Next in order
the bronze point of his spear wounded
Deucalion in the fore-arm where the sinews
of the elbow are united, whereon he waited
Achilles' onset with his arm hanging down
and death staring him in the face. Achilles cut
his head off with a blow from his sword
and flung it helmet and all away from him, and
the marrow came oozing out of his backbone
as he lay. He then went in pursuit of
Rhigmus, noble son of Peires, who had come
from fertile Thrace, and struck him
through the middle with a spear which
fixed itself in his belly, so that he fell headlong
from his chariot. He also speared
Areithous squire to Rhigmus in the back as he was
turning his horses in flight, and thrust
him from his chariot, while the horses were struck
with panic.
As a fire raging in some mountain glen
after long drought- and the dense forest is in a
blaze, while the wind carries great
tongues of fire in every direction- even so furiously
did Achilles rage, wielding his spear as
though he were a god, and giving chase to those
whom he would slay, till the dark earth
ran with blood. Or as one who yokes
broad-browed oxen that they may tread
barley in a threshing-floor- and it is soon
bruised small under the feet of the lowing
cattle- even so did the horses of Achilles
trample on the shields and bodies of the
slain. The axle underneath and the railing that
ran round the car were bespattered with
clots of blood thrown up by the horses' hoofs,
and from the tyres of the wheels; but the
son of Peleus pressed on to win still further
glory, and his hands were bedrabbled with
gore.