Book 5

5. But when the rest of the contests had been brought to their close,

then the goddess Thetis set in the midst the immortal armour

of great-hearted Achilles; and all about it

the wrought work shone, all that the strength of Hephaestus

had fashioned about the shield of bold Aeacides.

First, well crafted upon that god-built work,

were heaven and the upper air, and with the earth lay the sea;

and on it the winds and the clouds and the moon and the sun,

each set apart in its place, and all the constellations were wrought,

as many as are carried whirling across the sky.

Beneath them all alike the boundless air was poured out;

and in it long-billed birds flew round about;

you would have said they were borne living upon the breezes.

Tethys was wrought there too, and the deep stream of Ocean;

and straightway from them poured the waters of loud rivers

winding everywhere this way and that through the land.

Around, well fashioned along the long mountains, were lions

terrible, and shameless jackals; and there in their pain

were bears and leopards, and boars together with them,

mighty, beneath their grim jaws whetting in pain

with a gnashing din their well-clashing tusks;

and behind them huntsmen, directing the fury of their hounds,

while others, with stones and swift javelins

hurling, laboured against them, as though it were real.

There too were wars that destroy men, and grievous

tumults set close together; and the people were slain about,

mingled with their own horses; and the whole ground

seemed steeped in much blood, there upon the tireless shield.

There were Panic and Terror and wailing Enyo,

all her limbs spattered with deadly gore;

there was deadly Strife and the strong-souled Furies,

the one urging men on to unbridled conflict

to come, the others breathing the blast of deadly fire.

Around, the relentless Fates rushed on, and among them

stalked the strength of baleful Death; and about him

pressed the ill-sounding battles, from which on every side

from the limbs to the ground there ran down blood and sweat.

There were the shameless Gorgons; and about them

the terrible serpents toiled around their tresses,

licking horribly; an immeasurable marvel

were those wrought works, bringing great dread to men,

because they were like living things in motion.

And all these were the portents of war that had been wrought.

Apart from these were the works of lovely Peace;

and about them countless tribes of much-enduring men

dwelt in fair cities; and Justice looked upon all things;

some bore their hands to one task, some to another; and around the threshing-floors

were heavy with fruit; and the black earth was in bloom.

Most steep upon that god-built work was wrought

the rugged mountain of holy Virtue; and on it she herself

stood, mounted upon a palm-tree at its top,

lofty, touching toward heaven; and everywhere about

the paths, cut off by thick-set crags,

kept back the good footing of men, because many

drew back behind in awe of the steep ways,

and few went up the sacred road, sweating.

There were reapers going along the broad swathe,

hastening with new-edged sickles, and beneath their hands

the dry crop was being finished; and following came others,

many binders of sheaves; and the great work grew on.

There oxen, ever keeping their necks beneath the yokes,

some drew the wagons heavy with ears of corn

in the sheaves, while others again were ploughing the fields;

and the ground behind them grew black, and there followed

strong men among them bearing the ox-goads

in their hands by turns; and the boundless work shone forth.

There were pipes and lyres beside the feasts;

and at the feet of young men stood the dances of women;

and they were like the living as they bustled.

Near the dancing and the lovely merriment

still with foam about her hair, rising from the sea,

was fair-crowned Cypris, and Desire flew about her

smiling lovely things, together with the fair-haired Graces.

There too were the daughters of high-souled Nereus

leading their sister up from the wide-wayed sea

to the marriage of warlike Aeacides; and all about

the immortals feasted along the long crest of Pelion;

and round about were well-watered and flourishing meadows

adorned with countless flowers of the grass,

and groves and clear springs of fair water.

And ships of grief were borne over the sea,

some of them rushing crosswise, others making straight

on their way; and around them the grievous wave swelled

rising; and the sailors, struck with awe one here, one there,

feared the rushing squalls, as though it were real,

hauling the white sails, that they might escape death;

and others sat at the oars labouring; and about the ships,

rowed thick and fast, the black sea grew white.

Upon them, glorying, amid the creatures of the deep,

was wrought the Earth-Shaker; and storm-footed horses

as though in truth bore him hastening over the sea,

struck by the golden whip; and about him the wave

was laid level as they sped, and before him a smooth calm

lay; and on either side the dolphins thronging

gathered about their lord, rejoicing beyond measure,

fawning upon the king, and through the misty swell of the sea

they seemed to swim, though they were of silver.

And countless other things skilfully made lay upon the shield

beneath the immortal hands of deep-minded Hephaestus;

and all was crowned by the deep stream of Ocean,

because it was outside upon the rim, where the whole

shield was set fast, and all the wrought work was bound.

Beside it lay the helmet, weighing heavily;

and Zeus was wrought upon it, like one greatly enraged,

set in heaven; and about him the immortals toiled,

striving with Zeus against the contending Titans;

and already the strong fire wrapped them about; and the thunderbolts

unceasing, like snowflakes, poured down

from heaven; for the unspeakable might of Zeus was roused;

and they still seemed to gasp like things on fire.

Beside it leaned the fair plate of the breastplate,

unbreakable and strong, that could hold the son of Peleus.

The greaves were fashioned huge; yet light

they were for Achilles alone, mighty though they were.

Near them flashed the irresistible sword in abundance,

adorned with a golden belt and a silver

scabbard, whereon the hilt fitted of ivory

shone forth conspicuous among the wondrous arms.

Beside them was stretched along the ground the mighty spear,

like the high-leaved firs of Pelion,

still breathing of the gore and the blood of Hector.

And then among the Argives Thetis of the dark veil

spoke a wondrous word, grieving for Achilles:

“Now indeed all the prizes of the contest are accomplished,

as many as I, greatly grieving for my dead son, laid down;

but let him come forward who saved the body and is best of the Achaeans,

and now I will grant him to wear the marvellous, immortal arms,

which even the blessed immortals greatly admired.”

So she spoke; and they leapt up, contending in words,

the son of Laertes and the son of godlike Telamon,

Ajax, who greatly surpassed all among the Danaans,

as a bright star in the gleaming heaven,

the evening star, which shines far among all the stars;

like it he stood beside the arms of the son of Peleus;

and he asked Idomeneus to judge, and the son of Neleus,

and wise Agamemnon; for these he hoped

knew truly the deeds of the glorious struggle;

and likewise Odysseus altogether trusted in them;

for they were prudent and blameless among the Danaans.

But Nestor to Idomeneus and to the noble son of Atreus,

both desiring it, spoke a word apart from the rest:

“O friends, truly a great trouble and unbearable on this day

the heedless Heavenly Ones bring upon us,

seeing that great Ajax and shrewd Odysseus

are rushing to a strife unbearable and grievous;

for whichever of the two a god grants to win the glory

will rejoice in his heart, but the other will swell with great grief,

blaming all the Danaans, and beyond all the rest

us; nor will that man stand any more among us as before

in the battle; and great sorrow will come to the Achaeans

if dread wrath seizes either of them, since of all

heroes they excel, the one in war, the other in counsel.

But come, obey me, since I am the elder

by far, not a little, and I have, with my great age,

understanding too, because I have toiled through much good and many sorrows;

for always in counsel a wise old man is better

than a younger, since he knows full many things;

therefore let us leave it to the kindly Trojans to judge this

between godlike Ajax and war-loving Odysseus,

whichever of them the foemen most dread,

and who it was that saved the body of the son of Peleus

from the deadly war; for among us are spear-won

many Trojans under fresh-imposed bondage;

these will give a straight judgement upon them,

showing favour to neither, since they hate all the Achaeans

alike, remembering their own evil ruin.”

When he had so spoken, well-armed Agamemnon answered him:

“O old man, since no other more prudent than you

is among us Danaans, neither young nor old,

you who say that the Argives will be pitilessly angered

at that man, whichever of these two the gods hereafter cast down

from victory; for the best are contending against each other;

and within me my heart in my breast yearns for this,

that we should give the office of judgement to the spear-won captives;

for anyone, though wronged, will devise deadly deeds

against the warlike Trojans, but will not turn his wrath on us.”

So he spoke; and they, having one mind in their breasts,

openly refused the grievous task of judgement;

and when they had thus refused, the glorious sons of the Trojans

sat down in the midst, captives of the spear though they were,

that they might set straight the right and the warlike quarrel.

And Ajax in the midst, greatly enraged, spoke his word:

“O Odysseus, dread in mind, what god has deceived your wits

to think yourself equal to me in tireless might?

Do you say that you held back the terrible throng from Achilles

when he was struck down in the dust, when the Trojans came about him,

at the time when I sent grievous slaughter upon them

while you cowered away? For surely your mother bore you

a wretch and a weakling, feebler than I am

by as much as a cur is feebler than the deep-roaring lion;

for there is no battle-abiding heart in your breast,

but cunning and reckless deeds are all your care.

Or have you forgotten this, that when to the holy city of Ilium

you shrank from coming with the gathered Achaeans,

and you cowering, unwilling to follow,

the sons of Atreus brought you? Would you had never come!

For by your devisings the famous son of Poeas

we left in holy Lemnos, groaning greatly;

and not on him alone did you plot baneful outrage,

but on godlike Palamedes too you brought destruction,

who was better than you in strength and in wise counsel.

And now you have dared even to come against me,

neither remembering my kindness, nor at all in your heart

holding in awe one far better than yourself, who in the fray

saved you before, when you trembled at the tumult

of the enemy, when the others, leaving you alone in the battle,

abandoned you in the throng of foes, fleeing, you yourself too;

would that in that fight my bold strength

Zeus himself had scared from heaven, that the Trojans

with their two-edged swords might have cut you limb from limb

for a feast to their dogs, and you would not, against my will,

have dared to come and face me, trusting in your guile.

Wretch, why, boasting to be far the mightiest of others

in strength, do you keep your ships in the midst, while in your heart

you dared not, as I did, to drag the swift ships

outside? For fear came upon you. Nor did you ward off

the terrible fire from the ships; but I with fearless heart

stood both against the fire and against Hector, who yielded to me

everywhere in the battle; but you ever feared him exceedingly.

Would that some one had set this contest between us in war,

when the strife arose over fallen Achilles,

that you might have seen me, out of the foe and the grievous tumult,

bearing the fair arms to the huts

together with warlike Achilles himself; but now, trusting

in the cunning of words, you reach for great deeds;

for there is no strength in you to put on the tireless arms

of warlike Aeacides, nor to wield the great spear

in your hands; but for me all things are fashioned

fitting, and it becomes me to bear the splendid arms,

in no way bringing shame on the god's beautiful gifts.

But why do we stand here wrangling with evil words

over the splendid arms of blameless Achilles?

But come, let us make trial with bronze spears

which is the better in man-destroying battle;

for this is a prize of valour in war, not of grievous

words, that silver-footed Thetis set in the midst;

but the need of words belongs to men in the assembly;

for I know that I am far nobler and braver

than you; and my lineage is that whence great Achilles sprang.”

So he spoke; and grievously, with words flung crosswise, answered him

the son of Laertes, wielding his cunning wiles:

“Ajax of measureless speech, why do you say so much to me in vain?

You called me good for nothing and grievous and a weakling

to be, who boast to be far higher than you

in counsels and in words, which increase men's strength;

for even the sheer rock, unbreakable though it is,

stonecutters undercut in the mountains by their craft

with ease, and by craft the great loud-roaring sea

the sailors cross over, when it surges immensely;

and by their skills huntsmen master strong lions

and leopards and boars and the tribes of other beasts;

and bulls of mighty spirit are tamed beneath the yokes

by the will of men; and all things are accomplished by mind.

Always, in every labour and in counsel, a man of much knowledge

is better than a senseless man;

therefore the bold son of Oeneus, knowing me to be wise,

chose me out of all as his helper, that I might come

to the watchmen; and a great deed we both accomplished together;

and it was I who brought the famous son of mighty Peleus

to the sons of Atreus, a helper; and if there be need

of another hero among the Argives,

he will not come by your hands, nor by the counsels

of the other Argives, but I alone of the Achaeans

will bring him, persuading him with gentle words

to the strife of warriors; for great is the power of speech to men

when it is cared for with good sense; but manhood

is fruitless, and a man's great size grows to nothing,

if prudent wisdom does not attend it.

But to me the immortals gave both strength alike and wisdom,

and made me a great help to the Argives.

Nor, as you said, did you save me fleeing before

from the foeman's battle-cry; for I did not flee, but stood my ground firm

against all the rushing Trojans together; and they poured upon me

raging in their might; but I, by the strength of my hands,

loosed the spirit of many; and you speak no true word;

for it was not me you helped in the fray, but for your own self

you stood, showing favour to yourself, lest someone overcome you with the spear

as you fled from the war. And the ships I dragged into the midst,

not trembling at the fury of the foe, but that I might ever

find some device with the sons of Atreus for the war;

and you set the ships outside; but I myself,

having disfigured my own body with grievous blows,

went into the city of the Trojans, that I might learn

what they were devising over the grievous war.

Nor did I fear the spear of Hector, but I myself too

among the foremost leapt up, eager to do battle

with him, when, trusting in his manhood, he challenged all.

And now over Achilles I have slain far more men

of the enemy than you, and I saved him dead together with his arms.

Nor do I fear your spear, but a grievous

wound still moves about me with its pains, for the sake of these arms,

since I was wounded above the slain Achilles;

and in me too, as in Achilles, is the surpassing blood of Zeus.”

So he spoke; and to him again answered strong Ajax:

“O Odysseus of cunning mind and most grievous of all,

I did not see you toiling there, nor did any other

of the Argives, when the Trojans were eager

to drag off slain Achilles; but I, with spear and might,

loosed the knees of some in the fray, and others I scared

ever rushing upon them; and they fled grievously,

like geese or cranes, on which there rushes

an eagle as they feed on the misty plain;

so the Trojans, cowering before my spear and swift sword,

plunged into Ilium, escaping the great calamity.

But for you, even if strength came upon you then, in no way near me

did you fight against the foe, but somewhere far off you yourself

were toiling among other ranks, not about the body

of godlike Achilles, where the great struggle raged.”

So he spoke; and the cunning heart of Odysseus answered him:

“Ajax, I do not deem myself worse than you,

neither in mind nor in might, even if you are most glorious;

but in mind I am far the superior

to you among the Argives, while in might I am your match,

or even nobler; and this the Trojans too know,

who greatly dread me even when they see me afar.

And you yourself know well my strength, and others too,

from the toilsome wrestling in which I greatly laboured,

when about the tomb of slain Patroclus

the high-souled son of Peleus set the glorious prizes.”

So spoke the famous son of godlike Laertes.

And then the sons of the Trojans judged the grievous strife

of the warriors; and the victory and the immortal arms they gave,

all of one mind, to war-loving Odysseus;

and his heart rejoiced beyond measure; but the people groaned.

And the goodly strength of Ajax was frozen; at once upon him

grievous ruin fell about; and within him all

his blood boiled red, and his bitter gall overflowed,

and his bowels were confounded about his liver; and a grievous

pain came about his heart, and a sharp anguish, rushing

through the foundations of his brain, filled all about

his membranes, and confounded the man's mind;

and fixing his eyes upon the ground he stood

like one unmoving; and about him his comrades

in grief led him to the high-prowed ships,

much entreating him; but he went the last road on foot

unwilling; and close beside him followed his Doom.

But when they had come to the ships and the boundless sea,

and the Argives longed for their supper and for sleep,

then Thetis plunged down into the great sea;

and with her went the other Nereids; and about them

swam many sea-beasts, such as the briny swell breeds.

And they were greatly wroth with cunning Prometheus,

remembering how by his prophecies the son of Cronos

gave Thetis to Peleus, though she wished not to be wedded.

And Cymothoe among them, greatly grieving, spoke aloud:

“Ah me, how that wretch endured worthy sufferings

in the unbreakable bond, when the great eagle

tore at his liver as it grew again, sinking deep into his belly.”

So spoke Cymothoe to the dark-tressed daughters of the sea.

And the sun went down, and the threshing-floors were shadowed

as night rushed on, and the stars were spread over heaven.

And the Argives slept by the long-prowed ships,

overcome by ambrosial sleep and by the sweet

wine which from Crete, from noble Idomeneus,

the sailors had brought over the much-surging sea.

But Ajax, angered at the Argives, neither thought

of sweet supper in his hut, nor did sleep

enfold him, but he plunged raging into his arms;

and he took his sharp sword, and pondered measureless things,

whether he should set fire to the ships and destroy all

the Argives, or alone with the grievous sword

swiftly hew cunning Odysseus limb from limb.

And these things he pondered, and would soon have accomplished them all,

had not the Tritonian cast unbearable madness upon him;

for she cared in her heart for much-enduring Odysseus,

remembering the offerings which he ever steadfastly made her;

therefore she turned the fury of the great son of Telamon

away from the Argives. And he went like a hurricane,

terrible, laden with hateful squalls,

which brings to sailors a portent of chill fear,

when the Pleiad sinks into the streams of tireless Ocean,

cowering before glorious Orion,

stirring up the mist, and the sea rages with the storm;

like it he rushed wherever his limbs bore him.

Everywhere he ran about like a shameless beast,

which darts through the glens of a deep-cragged ravine,

foaming at the jaws and pondering many woes

against dogs or huntsmen who have slain its young,

dragging them out of the caves, while it, roaring about its jaws,

looks if anywhere in the thickets it may still see its dear young;

and whoever meets it then, with its frenzied spirit,

for him the grievous day of life is fulfilled;

so he raged pitilessly, and his black heart boiled within him,

as a cauldron unceasing on the hearth of Hephaestus

seethes with a hiss beneath the blazing fire,

when all about its belly much wood is heated,

at the urging of a servant hastening in his heart,

to singe the bristles of a well-fed hog;

so beneath his breast his huge spirit seethed.

He raged like the boundless sea or the tempest

or the swift might of tireless fire, when ceaselessly

the force of a great wind rages among the mountains,

and all about the boundless forest falls blazing with fire;

so Ajax, pierced in his mighty heart with anguish,

raged grievously; and a measureless foam ran down

from his mouth, and a roaring rose from his jaws;

and the arms clashed about his shoulders, and they who looked on,

all alike, trembled at the war-cry of a single man.

And then from Ocean came golden-reined Dawn;

and Sleep went up to the wide heaven like a breeze,

and met Hera as she was newly going toward Olympus

from holy Tethys, where she had gone the morning before;

and she took and kissed him, because he was her noble son-in-law,

since he had lulled the son of Cronos to rest in his bed

about the peaks of Ida, when he was wroth with the Argives;

and straightway she went to the house of Zeus, while he sped

to the bed of Pasithea; and the tribes of men awoke.

But Ajax, like tireless Orion,

ranged with deadly madness in his breast;

and he leapt among the flocks, like a mighty-spirited lion

overcome by grievous hunger in his savage heart;

and them in the dust, one after another, this way and that,

he cast down, as the might of strong Boreas

pours down the leaves, when, summer ending, it turns to winter;

so Ajax in great fury rushed upon the flocks,

thinking to hurl evil dooms upon the Danaans.

And then Menelaus, standing close beside his brother,

apart from the other Danaans, spoke this word to him:

“This day surely will quickly be a day of ruin for all,

with great Ajax raging in his wits,

who will soon burn the ships and slay us too,

all in our huts, angered over the arms.

Would that Thetis had not set this strife about them,

nor that the son of Laertes had dared to contend with a man

far better, opposing him with foolish heart.

But now we have greatly erred, and some evil god has deceived us;

for when warlike Aeacides had fallen, the bulwark of the war

that alone was left was the goodly strength of Ajax; but now him too

the gods will destroy for us, bringing evil upon us both,

that we may all fill up our cup of unseen destruction.”

When he had so spoken, well-armed Agamemnon answered him:

“Do not now, Menelaus, greatly grieving in your heart,

be wroth with the wise king of the Cephallenians;

for he is not the cause, since very often to us

he proves a good help, and a grief to the foe.”

So the Danaans, in their grief, spoke among themselves.

But far off the shepherds, by the streams of Xanthus,

cowered beneath the tamarisks, escaping the heavy calamity;

as when before a swift eagle hares cower

in the thick bushes, and it near at hand, screaming sharply,

flies hither and thither with outspread wings;

so they, one here, one there, trembled before the mighty man.

At last he stood beside a slaughtered ram,

and laughing a deadly laugh he spoke this word:

“Lie now in the dust, food for dogs and birds;

for not even the glorious arms of Achilles saved you,

for whose sake you, a fool, contended with a far better man;

lie there, dog; for no wedded wife shall ever bewail you,

falling upon you in unbearable grief over a child,

nor your parents; and you shall not be among them as they long for

the goodly blessing of your old age, since far from your homeland

birds and dogs shall tear you, fallen.”

So he spoke, thinking that cunning Odysseus

lay there among the slain, defiled with much blood;

and then the Tritonian scattered from his mind and his eyes

the grim Madness that breathed destruction;

and swiftly she came to the steep streams of Styx,

where the swift Furies dwell, who upon mortals

ever overweening send evil torments.

But Ajax, when he saw the flocks gasping upon the ground,

marvelled utterly in his heart; for he deemed it was a snare

from the blessed ones; and he sank down in all his limbs,

stricken in spirit with anguish; nor could he

for grief step forward or back,

but he stood like a peak that among the mountains

is rooted highest far above all the rest.

But when his spirit gathered again within his breast,

he groaned a grievous groan, and lamented thus:

“Ah me, why am I so hated by the immortals?

They have harmed my wits and laid evil madness upon me,

to slay the flocks, which were no cause of my anger.

Would that I had taken vengeance on the grievous heart of Odysseus

with my own hands, since indeed he cast me into evil ruin,

baleful as he is utterly; but may he suffer sorrows in his heart,

all that the Furies devise for grievous men;

and may they grant to the other Argives too

deadly battles and tearful griefs,

and to Atreus' son Agamemnon himself; nor may he unharmed

come to his own home, much as he longs to arrive.

But why should I, being good, remain among the hateful?

Let the deadly host of the Argives perish; let the unbearable

life perish; for no longer does the good man hold the prize, but the worse

is honoured and more loved; for indeed Odysseus

is honoured among the Argives, while of me they have utterly forgotten,

and of my deeds, all that I did and endured for the host.”

So speaking, the goodly son of mighty Telamon

drove Hector's sword through his neck; and from him the blood

gushed gurgling forth. And he was stretched in the dust

like Typhon, whom the thunderbolts of Zeus consumed;

and all about the black earth groaned greatly as he fell.

And then the Danaans came in a throng, when they saw him

lying in the dust; but before none of them came

near, since fear held all who looked upon him.

But quickly they fell about the slain; and over his head,

fallen prostrate, they poured boundless dust;

and the wailing of their lament reached the divine air;

as when from wool-fleeced ewes men drive off

the little young, that they may make a feast for themselves,

and the mothers leap greatly, bleating without ceasing

for their young about the bereaved folds;

so they about Ajax greatly mourned on that day

all together; and round them shadowy Ida echoed

and the plain and the ships and the boundless sea.

And Teucer about him greatly purposed to draw on his own doom,

grievous; but the others kept him from the great sword.

And he in grief fell upon the dead man,

shedding many tears, more thickly than a little child

who beside the hearth, with ashes flung about his shoulders

and all over his head, laments the orphaned day

of his mother's death, who reared him knowing not his father;

so he wailed for his fallen brother,

creeping about the corpse, and lamented thus:

“Ajax, strong of heart, why was your mind so harmed

that against your own self you cast grievous slaughter and woe?

Was it that the sons of the Trojans might breathe again from misery,

and destroy the Argives, coming now that you are slain?

For no longer shall there be such courage in them as before,

when they perished in the war; for you were the bulwark against calamity;

nor is the goal of homecoming sweet to me now that you have died here,

but I myself too long to perish in this place,

that with you the life-giving earth may cover me;

for I care not so much for my parents, if anywhere they yet live,

if anywhere they yet dwell about Salamis alive,

as for you who are dead, since you were my glory.”

So he spoke, groaning greatly; and over him groaned divine Tecmessa,

the bedfellow of blameless Ajax, whom, though she was

his captive, he made his own wife, and made her mistress

of all things, of as many as wives in the house,

brought with dowry, manage beside their wedded husbands;

and she, overcome beneath his tireless arms,

bore Eurysaces, a son like in all things to his father;

but he was still a little child, left in his bed;

and she, groaning greatly, fell upon the dear corpse,

flat in the dust, defiling her fair body;

and she cried out a piteous cry, greatly grieving in her heart within:

“Ah me, unhappy that I am, since you are dead, not slain

by the hands of the foe in battle, but by your own self;

so unforgettable grief comes upon me; for I did not hope

to see, when you were slain, the day of many groans

in Troy; but all this the evil Fates have brought to pass;

would that before this the firm earth had gaped for me,

before I saw your pitiless doom; for to me

no other worse calamity ever came into my heart,

not even when first, far from my homeland

and my parents, you dragged me off with the other captive women,

weeping much, since indeed once I was a queen,

revered though I was, and the day of slavery came upon me;

but neither for my pleasant homeland nor for my parents

do I care, now they are gone, so much as for you slain,

because to me, wretched as I was, you devised all that I desired,

and made me your like-minded wife, and said you would

make me at once queen of well-built Salamis

when you returned from Troy; but the god has not brought this to pass for us;

and you are gone from me unseen, nor do you even now

care for me and your child, who shall not delight his heart in his father,

nor mount your throne, but others

shall make him a wretched slave, since when a father is no more

little children are tended by men far

baser; for beneath baneful orphanhood a heavy life

falls to children, and woes pour upon them one from another;

and the day of slavery shall soon come upon me too, wretched,

now that you are gone before, you who were to me as a god.”

When she had so spoken, Agamemnon, kindly minded, addressed her:

“O woman, no other shall ever make you a slave

while blameless Teucer yet lives and I myself;

but we will honour you always with boundless gifts,

we will honour you as a goddess, and your child too, as though

godlike Ajax still lived, who was the strength of the Achaeans.

Would that he had not laid such grief on all Achaea,

slain by his own hand; for not the boundless host

of the foe had strength to slay him in war beneath Ares.”

So he spoke, grieving in his heart within; and about him the people

groaned piteously, and the Hellespont resounded

as they wept, and baleful sorrow spread over them.

And grief seized even wise Odysseus himself

that that man was slain, and grieving in his heart

he spoke this word among the sorrowing Achaeans:

“O friends, how no other evil worse than wrath

ever comes, which breeds for mortals evil strife;

wrath which now too roused mighty Ajax

against me, angered in his heart; would that for me

the sons of the Trojans had never, over the arms of Achilles,

cast the glorious victory, for which, grieving in his heart,

the goodly son of mighty Telamon

perished by his own hands; yet of his wrath I myself am

in no way the cause, but some Fate full of groans, which slew him;

for if my heart within my breast had hoped

that he would so rage in his mind, neither would I

have come contending for the victory, nor would I have let any other

among the Danaans, eager though he was, contend,

but I myself would have taken up the god-given arms

and readily given them to him, even if he longed for aught else besides.

But now I did not think that he, greatly grieving, would be wroth

thereafter, since it was not for a woman

nor for a city that I fought against him, nor for broad wealth,

but my quarrel was for valour, over which strife

is ever sweet to men of good sense;

but that man, noble though he was, by the hateful Fate of a god

erred; for it is not fitting to grieve overmuch in the heart;

for it is the part of a prudent man even amid many sorrows that come upon him

to endure beneath a steadfast heart and firm mind, and not to grieve.”

So spoke the famous son of godlike Laertes.

But when they had had their fill of weeping and grievous sorrow,

then the son of Neleus spoke to them yet grieving:

“O friends, how the Fates with pitiless heart

have swiftly cast upon us grief on grievous grief,

with the death of Ajax and of mighty Achilles

and of other Argives, and of our own son

Antilochus. But it is in no way right to weep for those slain in battle

all our days, and to grieve in the heart,

but to cease from unseemly lament, since it is better

to do what is fitting for mortals over the dead,

a pyre and a tomb, and to bury the bones;

for the dead is in no way roused by laments, nor knows anything

to heed, when the pitiless Fates have closed their jaws about him.”

So he spoke, comforting them; and about him the godlike kings

quickly gathered in a throng, greatly grieving in their hearts within,

and, great though he was, swiftly to the ships they bore him,

many lifting him; and they covered him with cloths,

washing away the blood that about his mighty limbs

lay drying together with his arms and the dust;

and then from the mountains of Ida the young men brought

boundless wood, and on every side they heaped it about the corpse;

and much wood they laid about him, and many sheep

and well-made garments and the glorious herds of oxen,

and horses glorying in their swift feet,

and gleaming gold and the countless arms of warriors,

as many as the glorious man had taken before from the slain,

and upon them clear amber, which they say

is the tear of the daughters of all-prophetic Helios,

which they shed over slain Phaethon,

mourning beside the stream of great Eridanus;

and this Helios, making an imperishable honour for his son,

made amber, a great treasure for men,

which then upon the broad pyre the Argives cast

doing honour to the glorious man fallen,

Ajax; and about him, groaning greatly, they set

precious ivory and lovely silver

and jars of oil and all other things,

as many as adorn glorious and splendid wealth.

And on it they cast the strength of mighty fire; and a breath came

from the sea, which the goddess Thetis sent, that the body

of great Ajax might be consumed; and night and morning

he burned beside the ships, while the wind drove on;

as once before, by the grievous thunderbolt of Zeus,

Enceladus was overcome beneath the tireless sea

below Thrinacia, and the whole island smouldered;

or as Heracles, while yet alive, gave his limbs to the fire to burn,

enraged by the guile of Nessus,

when he dared the great deed, and all Oeta groaned about him

as he burned alive, and his spirit mingled with the air,

leaving the man conspicuous, and he himself was numbered

among the gods, since the earth held his much-toiling body;

so Ajax lay in the fire, forgetful of the war,

with his arms; and a great throng of people thronged

the shores; and the Trojans rejoiced, but the Achaeans grieved.

But when the destroying fire had consumed the goodly body,

then they quenched the pyre with wine; and his bones

they placed in a golden chest; and about them earth

they heaped, boundless, not far from the Rhoetean shore.

And straightway they scattered to the swift-bounding ships,

grieving in spirit; for they honoured him as equal to Achilles.

And black night rushed on, bringing sleep upon men;

and they took their meal and awaited the Dawn-child,

slumbering a little with weary eyelids;

for terribly they feared in their hearts, lest the Trojans

come upon them in the night, now that the son of Telamon was dead.