Then Pallas Minerva put valour into the
heart of Diomed, son of Tydeus, that he might
excel all the other Argives, and cover
himself with glory. She made a stream of fire flare
from his shield and helmet like the star
that shines most brilliantly in summer after its bath
in the waters of Oceanus- even such a fire
did she kindle upon his head and shoulders
as she bade him speed into the thickest
hurly-burly of the fight.
Now there was a certain rich and
honourable man among the Trojans, priest of Vulcan,
and his name was Dares. He had two sons,
Phegeus and Idaeus, both of them skilled in
all the arts of war. These two came
forward from the main body of Trojans, and set
upon Diomed, he being on foot, while they
fought from their chariot. When they were
close up to one another, Phegeus took aim
first, but his spear went over Diomed's left
shoulder without hitting him. Diomed then
threw, and his spear sped not in vain, for it hit
Phegeus on the breast near the nipple, and
he fell from his chariot. Idaeus did not dare
to bestride his brother's body, but sprang
from the chariot and took to flight, or he
would have shared his brother's fate;
whereon Vulcan saved him by wrapping him in a
cloud of darkness, that his old father
might not be utterly overwhelmed with grief; but
the son of Tydeus drove off with the
horses, and bade his followers take them to the
ships. The Trojans were scared when they
saw the two sons of Dares, one of them in
fright and the other lying dead by his
chariot. Minerva, therefore, took Mars by the
hand and said, "Mars, Mars, bane of men,
bloodstained stormer of cities, may we not
now leave the Trojans and Achaeans to
fight it out, and see to which of the two Jove
will vouchsafe the victory? Let us go
away, and thus avoid his anger."
So saying, she drew Mars out of the
battle, and set him down upon the steep banks of
the Scamander. Upon this the Danaans drove
the Trojans back, and each one of their
chieftains killed his man. First King
Agamemnon flung mighty Odius, captain of the
Halizoni, from his chariot. The spear of
Agamemnon caught him on the broad of his
back, just as he was turning in flight; it
struck him between the shoulders and went right
through his chest, and his armour rang
rattling round him as he fell heavily to the ground.
Then Idomeneus killed Phaesus, son of
Borus the Meonian, who had come from Varne.
Mighty Idomeneus speared him on the right
shoulder as he was mounting his chariot,
and the darkness of death enshrouded him
as he fell heavily from the car.
The squires of Idomeneus spoiled him of
his armour, while Menelaus, son of Atreus,
killed Scamandrius the son of Strophius, a
mighty huntsman and keen lover of the
chase. Diana herself had taught him how to
kill every kind of wild creature that is bred
in mountain forests, but neither she nor
his famed skill in archery could now save him,
for the spear of Menelaus struck him in
the back as he was flying; it struck him between
the shoulders and went right through his
chest, so that he fell headlong and his armour
rang rattling round him.
Meriones then killed Phereclus the son of
Tecton, who was the son of Hermon, a man
whose hand was skilled in all manner of
cunning workmanship, for Pallas Minerva had
dearly loved him. He it was that made the
ships for Alexandrus, which were the
beginning of all mischief, and brought
evil alike both on the Trojans and on Alexandrus
himself; for he heeded not the decrees of
heaven. Meriones overtook him as he was
flying, and struck him on the right
buttock. The point of the spear went through the bone
into the bladder, and death came upon him
as he cried aloud and fell forward on his
knees.
Meges, moreover, slew Pedaeus, son of
Antenor, who, though he was a , had
been brought up by Theano as one of her
own children, for the love she bore her
husband. The son of Phyleus got close up
to him and drove a spear into the nape of his
neck: it went under his tongue all among
his teeth, so he bit the cold bronze, and fell
dead in the dust.
And Eurypylus, son of Euaemon, killed
Hypsenor, the son of noble Dolopion, who had
been made priest of the river Scamander,
and was honoured among the people as
though he were a god. Eurypylus gave him
chase as he was flying before him, smote him
with his sword upon the arm, and lopped
his strong hand from off it. The bloody hand
fell to the ground, and the shades of
death, with fate that no man can withstand, came
over his eyes.
Thus furiously did the battle rage between
them. As for the son of Tydeus, you could
not say whether he was more among the
Achaeans or the Trojans. He rushed across
the plain like a winter torrent that has
burst its barrier in full flood; no dykes, no walls of
fruitful vineyards can embank it when it
is swollen with rain from heaven, but in a
moment it comes tearing onward, and lays
many a field waste that many a strong man
hand has reclaimed- even so were the dense
phalanxes of the Trojans driven in rout by
the son of Tydeus, and many though they
were, they dared not abide his onslaught.
Now when the son of Lycaon saw him
scouring the plain and driving the Trojans
pell-mell before him, he aimed an arrow
and hit the front part of his cuirass near the
shoulder: the arrow went right through the
metal and pierced the flesh, so that the
cuirass was covered with blood. On this
the son of Lycaon shouted in triumph, "Knights
Trojans, come on; the bravest of the
Achaeans is wounded, and he will not hold out
much longer if King Apollo was indeed with
me when I sped from Lycia hither."
Thus did he vaunt; but his arrow had not
killed Diomed, who withdrew and made for
the chariot and horses of Sthenelus, the
son of Capaneus. "Dear son of Capaneus," said
he, "come down from your chariot, and draw
the arrow out of my shoulder."
Sthenelus sprang from his chariot, and
drew the arrow from the wound, whereon the
blood came spouting out through the hole
that had been made in his shirt. Then Diomed
prayed, saying, "Hear me, daughter of
aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, if ever you
loved my father well and stood by him in
the thick of a fight, do the like now by me;
grant me to come within a spear's throw of
that man and kill him. He has been too quick
for me and has wounded me; and now he is
boasting that I shall not see the light of the
sun much longer."
Thus he prayed, and Pallas Minerva heard
him; she made his limbs supple and
quickened his hands and his feet. Then she
went up close to him and said, "Fear not,
Diomed, to do battle with the Trojans, for
I have set in your heart the spirit of your
knightly father Tydeus. Moreover, I have
withdrawn the veil from your eyes, that you
know gods and men apart. If, then, any
other god comes here and offers you battle, do
not fight him; but should Jove's daughter
Venus come, strike her with your spear and
wound her."
When she had said this Minerva went away,
and the son of Tydeus again took his place
among the foremost fighters, three times
more fierce even than he had been before. He
was like a lion that some mountain
shepherd has wounded, but not killed, as he is
springing over the wall of a sheep-yard to
attack the sheep. The shepherd has roused
the brute to fury but cannot defend his
flock, so he takes shelter under cover of the
buildings, while the sheep, panic-stricken
on being deserted, are smothered in heaps
one on top of the other, and the angry
lion leaps out over the sheep-yard wall. Even
thus did Diomed go furiously about among
the Trojans.
He killed Astynous, and shepherd of his
people, the one with a thrust of his spear,
which struck him above the nipple, the
other with a sword- cut on the collar-bone, that
severed his shoulder from his neck and
back. He let both of them lie, and went in
pursuit of Abas and Polyidus, sons of the
old reader of dreams Eurydamas: they never
came back for him to read them any more
dreams, for mighty Diomed made an end of
them. He then gave chase to Xanthus and
Thoon, the two sons of Phaenops, both of
them very dear to him, for he was now worn
out with age, and begat no more sons to
inherit his possessions. But Diomed took
both their lives and left their father sorrowing
bitterly, for he nevermore saw them come
home from battle alive, and his kinsmen
divided his wealth among themselves.
Then he came upon two sons of Priam,
Echemmon and Chromius, as they were both in
one chariot. He sprang upon them as a lion
fastens on the neck of some cow or heifer
when the herd is feeding in a coppice. For
all their vain struggles he flung them both
from their chariot and stripped the armour
from their bodies. Then he gave their horses
to his comrades to take them back to the
ships.
When Aeneas saw him thus making havoc
among the ranks, he went through the fight
amid the rain of spears to see if he could
find Pandarus. When he had found the brave
son of Lycaon he said, "Pandarus, where is
now your bow, your winged arrows, and
your renown as an archer, in respect of
which no man here can rival you nor is there
any in Lycia that can beat you? Lift then
your hands to Jove and send an arrow at this
fellow who is going so masterfully about,
and has done such deadly work among the
Trojans. He has killed many a brave man-
unless indeed he is some god who is angry
with the Trojans about their sacrifices,
and and has set his hand against them in his
displeasure."
And the son of Lycaon answered, "Aeneas, I
take him for none other than the son of
Tydeus. I know him by his shield, the
visor of his helmet, and by his horses. It is
possible that he may be a god, but if he
is the man I say he is, he is not making all this
havoc without heaven's help, but has some
god by his side who is shrouded in a cloud
of darkness, and who turned my arrow aside
when it had hit him. I have taken aim at
him already and hit him on the right
shoulder; my arrow went through the breastpiece of
his cuirass; and I made sure I should send
him hurrying to the world below, but it seems
that I have not killed him. There must be
a god who is angry with me. Moreover I have
neither horse nor chariot. In my father's
stables there are eleven excellent chariots, fresh
from the builder, quite new, with cloths
spread over them; and by each of them there
stand a pair of horses, champing barley
and rye; my old father Lycaon urged me again
and again when I was at home and on the
point of starting, to take chariots and horses
with me that I might lead the Trojans in
battle, but I would not listen to him; it would
have been much better if I had done so,
but I was thinking about the horses, which had
been used to eat their fill, and I was
afraid that in such a great gathering of men they
might be ill-fed, so I left them at home
and came on foot to Ilius armed only with my
bow and arrows. These it seems, are of no
use, for I have already hit two chieftains, the
sons of Atreus and of Tydeus, and though I
drew blood surely enough, I have only
made them still more furious. I did ill to
take my bow down from its peg on the day I led
my band of Trojans to Ilius in Hector's
service, and if ever I get home again to set eyes
on my native place, my wife, and the
greatness of my house, may some one cut my
head off then and there if I do not break
the bow and set it on a hot fire- such pranks as
it plays me."
Aeneas answered, "Say no more. Things will
not mend till we two go against this man
with chariot and horses and bring him to a
trial of arms. Mount my chariot, and note
how cleverly the horses of Tros can speed
hither and thither over the plain in pursuit or
flight. If Jove again vouchsafes glory to
the son of Tydeus they will carry us safely back
to the city. Take hold, then, of the whip
and reins while I stand upon the car to fight, or
else do you wait this man's onset while I
look after the horses."
"Aeneas." replied the son of Lycaon, "take
the reins and drive; if we have to fly before
the son of Tydeus the horses will go
better for their own driver. If they miss the sound
of your voice when they expect it they may
be frightened, and refuse to take us out of
the fight. The son of Tydeus will then
kill both of us and take the horses. Therefore drive
them yourself and I will be ready for him
with my spear."
They then mounted the chariot and drove
full-speed towards the son of Tydeus.
Sthenelus, son of Capaneus, saw them
coming and said to Diomed, "Diomed, son of
Tydeus, man after my own heart, I see two
heroes speeding towards you, both of them
men of might the one a skilful archer,
Pandarus son of Lycaon, the other, Aeneas,
whose sire is Anchises, while his mother
is Venus. Mount the chariot and let us retreat.
Do not, I pray you, press so furiously
forward, or you may get killed."
Diomed looked angrily at him and answered:
"Talk not of flight, for I shall not listen to
you: I am of a race that knows neither
flight nor fear, and my limbs are as yet
unwearied. I am in no mind to mount, but
will go against them even as I am; Pallas
Minerva bids me be afraid of no man, and
even though one of them escape, their steeds
shall not take both back again. I say
further, and lay my saying to your heart- if Minerva
sees fit to vouchsafe me the glory of
killing both, stay your horses here and make the
reins fast to the rim of the chariot; then
be sure you spring Aeneas' horses and drive
them from the Trojan to the Achaean ranks.
They are of the stock that great Jove gave
to Tros in payment for his son Ganymede,
and are the finest that live and move under
the sun. King Anchises stole the blood by
putting his mares to them without
Laomedon's knowledge, and they bore him
six foals. Four are still in his stables, but he
gave the other two to Aeneas. We shall win
great glory if we can take them."
Thus did they converse, but the other two
had now driven close up to them, and the son
of Lycaon spoke first. "Great and mighty
son," said he, "of noble Tydeus, my arrow
failed to lay you low, so I will now try
with my spear."
He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled
it from him. It struck the shield of the son of
Tydeus; the bronze point pierced it and
passed on till it reached the breastplate.
Thereon the son of Lycaon shouted out and
said, "You are hit clean through the belly;
you will not stand out for long, and the
glory of the fight is mine."
But Diomed all undismayed made answer,
"You have missed, not hit, and before you
two see the end of this matter one or
other of you shall glut tough-shielded Mars with
his blood."
With this he hurled his spear, and Minerva
guided it on to Pandarus's nose near the eye.
It went crashing in among his white teeth;
the bronze point cut through the root of his to
tongue, coming out under his chin, and his
glistening armour rang rattling round him as
he fell heavily to the ground. The horses
started aside for fear, and he was reft of life
and strength.
Aeneas sprang from his chariot armed with
shield and spear, fearing lest the Achaeans
should carry off the body. He bestrode it
as a lion in the pride of strength, with shield
and on spear before him and a cry of
battle on his lips resolute to kill the first that should
dare face him. But the son of Tydeus
caught up a mighty stone, so huge and great that
as men now are it would take two to lift
it; nevertheless he bore it aloft with ease
unaided, and with this he struck Aeneas on
the groin where the hip turns in the joint that
is called the "cup-bone." The stone
crushed this joint, and broke both the sinews, while
its jagged edges tore away all the flesh.
The hero fell on his knees, and propped himself
with his hand resting on the ground till
the darkness of night fell upon his eyes. And now
Aeneas, king of men, would have perished
then and there, had not his mother, Jove's
daughter Venus, who had conceived him by
Anchises when he was herding cattle, been
quick to mark, and thrown her two white
arms about the body of her dear son. She
protected him by covering him with a fold
of her own fair garment, lest some Danaan
should drive a spear into his breast and
kill him.
Thus, then, did she bear her dear son out
of the fight. But the son of Capaneus was not
unmindful of the orders that Diomed had
given him. He made his own horses fast, away
from the hurly-burly, by binding the reins
to the rim of the chariot. Then he sprang upon
Aeneas's horses and drove them from the
Trojan to the Achaean ranks. When he had
so done he gave them over to his chosen
comrade Deipylus, whom he valued above all
others as the one who was most like-minded
with himself, to take them on to the ships.
He then remounted his own chariot, seized
the reins, and drove with all speed in search
of the son of Tydeus.
Now the son of Tydeus was in pursuit of
the Cyprian goddess, spear in hand, for he
knew her to be feeble and not one of those
goddesses that can lord it among men in
battle like Minerva or Enyo the waster of
cities, and when at last after a long chase he
caught her up, he flew at her and thrust
his spear into the flesh of her delicate hand. The
point tore through the ambrosial robe
which the Graces had woven for her, and pierced
the skin between her wrist and the palm of
her hand, so that the immortal blood, or
ichor, that flows in the veins of the
blessed gods, came pouring from the wound; for the
gods do not eat bread nor drink wine,
hence they have no blood such as ours, and are
immortal. Venus screamed aloud, and let
her son fall, but Phoebus Apollo caught him in
his arms, and hid him in a cloud of
darkness, lest some Danaan should drive a spear into
his breast and kill him; and Diomed
shouted out as he left her, "Daughter of Jove, leave
war and battle alone, can you not be
contented with beguiling silly women? If you
meddle with fighting you will get what
will make you shudder at the very name of war."
The goddess went dazed and discomfited
away, and Iris, fleet as the wind, drew her
from the throng, in pain and with her fair
skin all besmirched. She found fierce Mars
waiting on the left of the battle, with
his spear and his two fleet steeds resting on a
cloud; whereon she fell on her knees
before her brother and implored him to let her
have his horses. "Dear brother," she
cried, "save me, and give me your horses to take
me to Olympus where the gods dwell. I am
badly wounded by a mortal, the son of
Tydeus, who would now fight even with
father Jove."
Thus she spoke, and Mars gave her his
gold-bedizened steeds. She mounted the
chariot sick and sorry at heart, while
Iris sat beside her and took the reins in her hand.
She lashed her horses on and they flew
forward nothing loth, till in a trice they were at
high Olympus, where the gods have their
dwelling. There she stayed them, unloosed
them from the chariot, and gave them their
ambrosial forage; but Venus flung herself on
to the lap of her mother Dione, who threw
her arms about her and caressed her, saying,
"Which of the heavenly beings has been
treating you in this way, as though you had
been doing something wrong in the face of
day?"
And laughter-loving Venus answered, "Proud
Diomed, the son of Tydeus, wounded me
because I was bearing my dear son Aeneas,
whom I love best of all mankind, out of the
fight. The war is no longer one between
Trojans and Achaeans, for the Danaans have
now taken to fighting with the
immortals."
"Bear it, my child," replied Dione, "and
make the best of it. We dwellers in Olympus
have to put up with much at the hands of
men, and we lay much suffering on one
another. Mars had to suffer when Otus and
Ephialtes, children of Aloeus, bound him in
cruel bonds, so that he lay thirteen
months imprisoned in a vessel of bronze. Mars
would have then perished had not fair
Eeriboea, stepmother to the sons of Aloeus, told
Mercury, who stole him away when he was
already well-nigh worn out by the severity
of his . Juno, again, suffered when the
mighty son of Amphitryon wounded her
on the right breast with a three-barbed
arrow, and nothing could assuage her pain. So,
also, did huge Hades, when this same man,
the son of aegis-bearing Jove, hit him with
an arrow even at the gates of hell, and
hurt him badly. Thereon Hades went to the
house of Jove on great Olympus, angry and
full of pain; and the arrow in his brawny
shoulder caused him great anguish till
Paeeon healed him by spreading soothing herbs
on the wound, for Hades was not of mortal
mould. Daring, head-strong, evildoer who
recked not of his sin in shooting the gods
that dwell in Olympus. And now Minerva has
egged this son of Tydeus on against
yourself, fool that he is for not reflecting that no
man who fights with gods will live long or
hear his children prattling about his knees
when he returns from battle. Let, then,
the son of Tydeus see that he does not have to
fight with one who is stronger than you
are. Then shall his brave wife Aegialeia,
daughter of Adrestus, rouse her whole
house from sleep, wailing for the loss of her
wedded lord, Diomed the bravest of the
Achaeans."
So saying, she wiped the ichor from the
wrist of her daughter with both hands, whereon
the pain left her, and her hand was
healed. But Minerva and Juno, who were looking
on, began to taunt Jove with their mocking
talk, and Minerva was first to speak. "Father
Jove," said she, "do not be angry with me,
but I think the Cyprian must have been
persuading some one of the Achaean women
to go with the Trojans of whom she is so
very fond, and while caressing one or
other of them she must have torn her delicate
hand with the gold pin of the woman's
brooch."
The sire of gods and men smiled, and
called golden Venus to his side. "My child," said
he, "it has not been given you to be a
warrior. Attend, henceforth, to your own delightful
matrimonial duties, and leave all this
fighting to Mars and to Minerva."
Thus did they converse. But Diomed sprang
upon Aeneas, though he knew him to be in
the very arms of Apollo. Not one whit did
he fear the mighty god, so set was he on
killing Aeneas and stripping him of his
armour. Thrice did he spring forward with might
and main to slay him, and thrice did
Apollo beat back his gleaming shield. When he was
coming on for the fourth time, as though
he were a god, Apollo shouted to him with an
awful voice and said, "Take heed, son of
Tydeus, and draw off; think not to match
yourself against gods, for men that walk
the earth cannot hold their own with the
immortals."
The son of Tydeus then gave way for a
little space, to avoid the anger of the god, while
Apollo took Aeneas out of the crowd and
set him in sacred Pergamus, where his
temple stood. There, within the mighty
sanctuary, Latona and Diana healed him and
made him glorious to behold, while Apollo
of the silver bow fashioned a wraith in the
likeness of Aeneas, and armed as he was.
Round this the Trojans and Achaeans
hacked at the bucklers about one another's
breasts, hewing each other's round shields
and light hide-covered targets. Then
Phoebus Apollo said to Mars, "Mars, Mars, bane
of men, blood-stained stormer of cities,
can you not go to this man, the son of Tydeus,
who would now fight even with father Jove,
and draw him out of the battle? He first
went up to the Cyprian and wounded her in
the hand near her wrist, and afterwards
sprang upon me too, as though he were a
god."
He then took his seat on the top of
Pergamus, while murderous Mars went about
among the ranks of the Trojans, cheering
them on, in the likeness of fleet Acamas chief
of the Thracians. "Sons of Priam," said
he, "how long will you let your people be thus
slaughtered by the Achaeans? Would you
wait till they are at the walls of Troy? Aeneas
the son of Anchises has fallen, he whom we
held in as high honour as Hector himself.
Help me, then, to rescue our brave comrade
from the stress of the fight."
With these words he put heart and soul
into them all. Then Sarpedon rebuked Hector
very sternly. "Hector," said he, "where is
your prowess now? You used to say that
though you had neither people nor allies
you could hold the town alone with your
brothers and brothers-in-law. I see not
one of them here; they cower as hounds before
a lion; it is we, your allies, who bear
the brunt of the battle. I have come from afar, even
from Lycia and the banks of the river
Xanthus, where I have left my wife, my infant son,
and much wealth to tempt whoever is needy;
nevertheless, I head my Lycian soldiers
and stand my ground against any who would
fight me though I have nothing here for the
Achaeans to plunder, while you look on,
without even bidding your men stand firm in
defence of their wives. See that you fall
not into the hands of your foes as men caught in
the meshes of a net, and they sack your
fair city forthwith. Keep this before your mind
night and day, and beseech the captains of
your allies to hold on without flinching, and
thus put away their reproaches from
you."
So spoke Sarpedon, and Hector smarted
under his words. He sprang from his chariot
clad in his suit of armour, and went about
among the host brandishing his two spears,
exhorting the men to fight and raising the
terrible cry of battle. Then they rallied and
again faced the Achaeans, but the Argives
stood compact and firm, and were not driven
back. As the breezes sport with the chaff
upon some goodly threshing-floor, when men
are winnowing- while yellow Ceres blows
with the wind to sift the chaff from the grain,
and the chaff- heaps grow whiter and
whiter- even so did the Achaeans whiten in the
dust which the horses' hoofs raised to the
firmament of heaven, as their drivers turned
them back to battle, and they bore down
with might upon the foe. Fierce Mars, to help
the Trojans, covered them in a veil of
darkness, and went about everywhere among
them, inasmuch as Phoebus Apollo had told
him that when he saw Pallas, Minerva
leave the fray he was to put courage into
the hearts of the Trojans- for it was she who
was helping the Danaans. Then Apollo sent
Aeneas forth from his rich sanctuary, and
filled his heart with valour, whereon he
took his place among his comrades, who were
overjoyed at seeing him alive, sound, and
of a good courage; but they could not ask him
how it had all happened, for they were too
busy with the turmoil raised by Mars and by
Strife, who raged insatiably in their
midst.
The two Ajaxes, Ulysses and Diomed,
cheered the Danaans on, fearless of the fury and
onset of the Trojans. They stood as still
as clouds which the son of Saturn has spread
upon the mountain tops when there is no
air and fierce Boreas sleeps with the other
boisterous winds whose shrill blasts
scatter the clouds in all directions- even so did the
Danaans stand firm and unflinching against
the Trojans. The son of Atreus went about
among them and exhorted them. "My
friends," said he, "quit yourselves like brave men,
and shun dishonour in one another's eyes
amid the stress of battle. They that shun
dishonour more often live than get killed,
but they that fly save neither life nor name."
As he spoke he hurled his spear and hit
one of those who were in the front rank, the
comrade of Aeneas, Deicoon son of
Pergasus, whom the Trojans held in no less honour
than the sons of Priam, for he was ever
quick to place himself among the foremost. The
spear of King Agamemnon struck his shield
and went right through it, for the shield
stayed it not. It drove through his belt
into the lower part of his belly, and his armour
rang rattling round him as he fell heavily
to the ground.
Then Aeneas killed two champions of the
Danaans, Crethon and Orsilochus. Their
father was a rich man who lived in the
strong city of Phere and was descended from the
river Alpheus, whose broad stream flows
through the land of the Pylians. The river
begat Orsilochus, who ruled over much
people and was father to Diocles, who in his
turn begat twin sons, Crethon and
Orsilochus, well skilled in all the arts of war. These,
when they grew up, went to Ilius with the
Argive fleet in the cause of Menelaus and
Agamemnon sons of Atreus, and there they
both of them fell. As two lions whom their
dam has reared in the depths of some
mountain forest to plunder homesteads and carry
off sheep and cattle till they get killed
by the hand of man, so were these two
vanquished by Aeneas, and fell like high
pine-trees to the ground.
Brave Menelaus pitied them in their fall,
and made his way to the front, clad in gleaming
bronze and brandishing his spear, for Mars
egged him on to do so with intent that he
should be killed by Aeneas; but Antilochus
the son of Nestor saw him and sprang
forward, fearing that the king might come
to harm and thus bring all their labour to
nothing; when, therefore Aeneas and
Menelaus were setting their hands and spears
against one another eager to do battle,
Antilochus placed himself by the side of
Menelaus. Aeneas, bold though he was, drew
back on seeing the two heroes side by
side in front of him, so they drew the
bodies of Crethon and Orsilochus to the ranks of
the Achaeans and committed the two poor
fellows into the hands of their comrades.
They then turned back and fought in the
front ranks.
They killed Pylaemenes peer of Mars,
leader of the Paphlagonian warriors. Menelaus
struck him on the collar-bone as he was
standing on his chariot, while Antilochus hit his
charioteer and squire Mydon, the son of
Atymnius, who was turning his horses in flight.
He hit him with a stone upon the elbow,
and the reins, enriched with white ivory, fell
from his hands into the dust. Antilochus
rushed towards him and struck him on the
temples with his sword, whereon he fell
head first from the chariot to the ground. There
he stood for a while with his head and
shoulders buried deep in the dust- for he had
fallen on sandy soil till his horses
kicked him and laid him flat on the ground, as
Antilochus lashed them and drove them off
to the host of the Achaeans.
But Hector marked them from across the
ranks, and with a loud cry rushed towards
them, followed by the strong battalions of
the Trojans. Mars and dread Enyo led them
on, she fraught with ruthless turmoil of
battle, while Mars wielded a monstrous spear,
and went about, now in front of Hector and
now behind him.
Diomed shook with passion as he saw them.
As a man crossing a wide plain is
dismayed to find himself on the brink of
some great river rolling swiftly to the sea- he
sees its boiling waters and starts back in
fear- even so did the son of Tydeus give
ground. Then he said to his men, "My
friends, how can we wonder that Hector wields
the spear so well? Some god is ever by his
side to protect him, and now Mars is with
him in the likeness of mortal man. Keep
your faces therefore towards the Trojans, but
give ground backwards, for we dare not
fight with gods."
As he spoke the Trojans drew close up, and
Hector killed two men, both in one
chariot, Menesthes and Anchialus, heroes
well versed in war. Ajax son of Telamon
pitied them in their fall; he came close
up and hurled his spear, hitting Amphius the son
of Selagus, a man of great wealth who
lived in Paesus and owned much corn-growing
land, but his lot had led him to come to
the aid of Priam and his sons. Ajax struck him in
the belt; the spear pierced the lower part
of his belly, and he fell heavily to the ground.
Then Ajax ran towards him to strip him of
his armour, but the Trojans rained spears
upon him, many of which fell upon his
shield. He planted his heel upon the body and
drew out his spear, but the darts pressed
so heavily upon him that he could not strip the
goodly armour from his shoulders. The
Trojan chieftains, moreover, many and valiant,
came about him with their spears, so that
he dared not stay; great, brave and valiant
though he was, they drove him from them
and he was beaten back.
Thus, then, did the battle rage between
them. Presently the strong hand of fate impelled
Tlepolemus, the son of Hercules, a man
both brave and of great stature, to fight
Sarpedon; so the two, son and grandson of
great Jove, drew near to one another, and
Tlepolemus spoke first. "Sarpedon," said
he, "councillor of the Lycians, why should you
come skulking here you who are a man of
peace? They lie who call you son of
aegis-bearing Jove, for you are little
like those who were of old his children. Far other
was Hercules, my own brave and
lion-hearted father, who came here for the horses of
Laomedon, and though he had six ships
only, and few men to follow him, sacked the
city of Ilius and made a wilderness of her
highways. You are a coward, and your
people are falling from you. For all your
strength, and all your coming from Lycia, you
will be no help to the Trojans but will
pass the gates of Hades vanquished by my hand."
And Sarpedon, captain of the Lycians,
answered, "Tlepolemus, your father overthrew
Ilius by reason of Laomedon's folly in
refusing payment to one who had served him
well. He would not give your father the
horses which he had come so far to fetch. As
for yourself, you shall meet death by my
spear. You shall yield glory to myself, and your
soul to Hades of the noble steeds."
Thus spoke Sarpedon, and Tlepolemus
upraised his spear. They threw at the same
moment, and Sarpedon struck his foe in the
middle of his throat; the spear went right
through, and the darkness of death fell
upon his eyes. Tlepolemus's spear struck
Sarpedon on the left thigh with such force
that it tore through the flesh and grazed the
bone, but his father as yet warded off
destruction from him.
His comrades bore Sarpedon out of the
fight, in great pain by the weight of the spear
that was dragging from his wound. They
were in such haste and stress as they bore him
that no one thought of drawing the spear
from his thigh so as to let him walk uprightly.
Meanwhile the Achaeans carried off the
body of Tlepolemus, whereon Ulysses was
moved to pity, and panted for the fray as
he beheld them. He doubted whether to
pursue the son of Jove, or to make
slaughter of the Lycian rank and file; it was not
decreed, however, that he should slay the
son of Jove; Minerva, therefore, turned him
against the main body of the Lycians. He
killed Coeranus, Alastor, Chromius,
Alcandrus, Halius, Noemon, and Prytanis,
and would have slain yet more, had not great
Hector marked him, and sped to the front
of the fight clad in his suit of mail, filling the
Danaans with terror. Sarpedon was glad
when he saw him coming, and besought him,
saying, "Son of Priam, let me not he here
to fall into the hands of the Danaans. Help me,
and since I may not return home to gladden
the hearts of my wife and of my infant son,
let me die within the walls of your
city."
Hector made him no answer, but rushed
onward to fall at once upon the Achaeans and.
kill many among them. His comrades then
bore Sarpedon away and laid him beneath
Jove's spreading oak tree. Pelagon, his
friend and comrade drew the spear out of his
thigh, but Sarpedon fainted and a mist
came over his eyes. Presently he came to himself
again, for the breath of the north wind as
it played upon him gave him new life, and
brought him out of the deep swoon into
which he had fallen.
Meanwhile the Argives were neither driven
towards their ships by Mars and Hector,
nor yet did they attack them; when they
knew that Mars was with the Trojans they
retreated, but kept their faces still
turned towards the foe. Who, then, was first and who
last to be slain by Mars and Hector? They
were valiant Teuthras, and Orestes the
renowned charioteer, Trechus the Aetolian
warrior, Oenomaus, Helenus the son of
Oenops, and Oresbius of the gleaming
girdle, who was possessed of great wealth, and
dwelt by the Cephisian lake with the other
Boeotians who lived near him, owners of a
fertile country.
Now when the goddess Juno saw the Argives
thus falling, she said to Minerva, "Alas,
daughter of aegis-bearing Jove,
unweariable, the promise we made Menelaus that he
should not return till he had sacked the
city of Ilius will be of none effect if we let Mars
rage thus furiously. Let us go into the
fray at once."
Minerva did not gainsay her. Thereon the
august goddess, daughter of great Saturn,
began to harness her gold-bedizened
steeds. Hebe with all speed fitted on the
eight-spoked wheels of bronze that were on
either side of the iron axle-tree. The felloes
of the wheels were of gold, imperishable,
and over these there was a tire of bronze,
wondrous to behold. The naves of the
wheels were silver, turning round the axle upon
either side. The car itself was made with
plaited bands of gold and silver, and it had a
double top-rail running all round it. From
the body of the car there went a pole of silver,
on to the end of which she bound the
golden yoke, with the bands of gold that were to
go under the necks of the horses Then Juno
put her steeds under the yoke, eager for
battle and the war-cry.
Meanwhile Minerva flung her richly
embroidered vesture, made with her own hands, on
to her father's threshold, and donned the
shirt of Jove, arming herself for battle. She
threw her tasselled aegis about. her
shoulders, wreathed round with Rout as with a
fringe, and on it were Strife, and
Strength, and Panic whose blood runs cold; moreover
there was the head of the dread monster
Gorgon,, grim and awful to behold, portent of
aegis-bearing Jove. On her head she set
her helmet of gold, with four plumes, and
coming to a peak both in front and behind-
decked with the emblems of a hundred
cities; then she stepped into her flaming
chariot and grasped the spear, so stout and
sturdy and strong, with which she quells
the ranks of heroes who have displeased her.
Juno lashed the horses on, and the gates
of heaven bellowed as they flew open of their
own accord -gates over which the flours
preside, in whose hands are Heaven and
Olympus, either to open the dense cloud
that hides them, or to close it. Through these
the goddesses drove their obedient steeds,
and found the son of Saturn sitting all alone
on the topmost ridges of Olympus. There
Juno stayed her horses, and spoke to Jove
the son of Saturn, lord of all. "Father
Jove," said she, "are you not angry with Mars for
these high doings? how great and goodly a
host of the Achaeans he has destroyed to
my great grief, and without either right
or reason, while the Cyprian and Apollo are
enjoying it all at their ease and setting
this unrighteous madman on to do further mischief.
I hope, Father Jove, that you will not be
angry if I hit Mars hard, and chase him out of
the battle."
And Jove answered, "Set Minerva on to him,
for she punishes him more often than any
one else does."
Juno did as he had said. She lashed her
horses, and they flew forward nothing loth
midway betwixt earth and sky. As far as a
man can see when he looks out upon the sea
from some high beacon, so far can the
loud-neighing horses of the gods spring at a
single bound. When they reached Troy and
the place where its two flowing streams
Simois and Scamander meet, there Juno
stayed them and took them from the chariot.
She hid them in a thick cloud, and Simois
made ambrosia spring up for them to eat; the
two goddesses then went on, flying like
turtledoves in their eagerness to help the
Argives. When they came to the part where
the bravest and most in number were
gathered about mighty Diomed, fighting
like lions or wild boars of great strength and
endurance, there Juno stood still and
raised a shout like that of brazen-voiced Stentor,
whose cry was as loud as that of fifty men
together. "Argives," she cried; "shame on
cowardly creatures, brave in semblance
only; as long as Achilles was fighting, fi his
spear was so deadly that the Trojans dared
not show themselves outside the Dardanian
gates, but now they sally far from the
city and fight even at your ships."
With these words she put heart and soul
into them all, while Minerva sprang to the side
of the son of Tydeus, whom she found near
his chariot and horses, cooling the wound
that Pandarus had given him. For the sweat
caused by the hand that bore the weight of
his shield irritated the hurt: his arm was
weary with pain, and he was lifting up the strap
to wipe away the blood. The goddess laid
her hand on the yoke of his horses and said,
"The son of Tydeus is not such another as
his father. Tydeus was a little man, but he
could fight, and rushed madly into the
fray even when I told him not to do so. When he
went all unattended as envoy to the city
of Thebes among the Cadmeans, I bade him
feast in their houses and be at peace; but
with that high spirit which was ever present
with him, he challenged the youth of the
Cadmeans, and at once beat them in all that he
attempted, so mightily did I help him. I
stand by you too to protect you, and I bid you
be instant in fighting the Trojans; but
either you are tired out, or you are afraid and out
of heart, and in that case I say that you
are no true son of Tydeus the son of Oeneus."
Diomed answered, "I know you, goddess,
daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, and will hide
nothing from you. I am not afraid nor out
of heart, nor is there any slackness in me. I am
only following your own instructions; you
told me not to fight any of the blessed gods;
but if Jove's daughter Venus came into
battle I was to wound her with my spear.
Therefore I am retreating, and bidding the
other Argives gather in this place, for I know
that Mars is now lording it in the
field."
"Diomed, son of Tydeus," replied Minerva,
"man after my own heart, fear neither Mars
nor any other of the immortals, for I will
befriend you. Nay, drive straight at Mars, and
smite him in close combat; fear not this
raging madman, villain incarnate, first on one
side and then on the other. But now he was
holding talk with Juno and myself, saying he
would help the Argives and attack the
Trojans; nevertheless he is with the Trojans, and
has forgotten the Argives."
With this she caught hold of Sthenelus and
lifted him off the chariot on to the ground. In
a second he was on the ground, whereupon
the goddess mounted the car and placed
herself by the side of Diomed. The oaken
axle groaned aloud under the burden of the
awful goddess and the hero; Pallas Minerva
took the whip and reins, and drove straight
at Mars. He was in the act of stripping
huge Periphas, son of Ochesius and bravest of
the Aetolians. Bloody Mars was stripping
him of his armour, and Minerva donned the
helmet of Hades, that he might not see
her; when, therefore, he saw Diomed, he made
straight for him and let Periphas lie
where he had fallen. As soon as they were at close
quarters he let fly with his bronze spear
over the reins and yoke, thinking to take
Diomed's life, but Minerva caught the
spear in her hand and made it fly harmlessly over
the chariot. Diomed then threw, and Pallas
Minerva drove the spear into the pit of
Mars's stomach where his under-girdle went
round him. There Diomed wounded him,
tearing his fair flesh and then drawing
his spear out again. Mars roared as loudly as nine
or ten thousand men in the thick of a
fight, and the Achaeans and Trojans were struck
with panic, so terrible was the cry he
raised.
As a dark cloud in the sky when it comes
on to blow after heat, even so did Diomed
son of Tydeus see Mars ascend into the
broad heavens. With all speed he reached high
Olympus, home of the gods, and in great
pain sat down beside Jove the son of Saturn.
He showed Jove the immortal blood that was
flowing from his wound, and spoke
piteously, saying, "Father Jove, are you
not angered by such doings? We gods are
continually suffering in the most cruel
manner at one another's hands while helping
mortals; and we all owe you a grudge for
having begotten that mad termagant of a
daughter, who is always committing outrage
of some kind. We other gods must all do
as you bid us, but her you neither scold
nor punish; you encourage her because the
pestilent creature is your daughter. See
how she has been inciting proud Diomed to vent
his rage on the immortal gods. First he
went up to the Cyprian and wounded her in the
hand near her wrist, and then he sprang
upon me too as though he were a god. Had I
not run for it I must either have lain
there for long enough in torments among the ghastly
corpes, or have been eaten alive with
spears till I had no more strength left in me."
Jove looked angrily at him and said, "Do
not come whining here, Sir Facing-bothways.
I hate you worst of all the gods in
Olympus, for you are ever fighting and making
mischief. You have the intolerable and
stubborn spirit of your mother Juno: it is all I can
do to manage her, and it is her doing that
you are now in this plight: still, I cannot let you
remain longer in such great pain; you are
my own off-spring, and it was by me that your
mother conceived you; if, however, you had
been the son of any other god, you are so
destructive that by this time you should
have been lying lower than the Titans."
He then bade Paeeon heal him, whereon
Paeeon spread pain-killing herbs upon his
wound and cured him, for he was not of
mortal mould. As the juice of the fig-tree
curdles milk, and thickens it in a moment
though it is liquid, even so instantly did Paeeon
cure fierce Mars. Then Hebe washed him,
and clothed him in goodly raiment, and he
took his seat by his father Jove all
glorious to behold.
But Juno of Argos and Minerva of
Alalcomene, now that they had put a stop to the
murderous doings of Mars, went back again
to the house of Jove.