Book 7

7. And when heaven hid the stars, and Dawn awoke

shining bright, and the darkness of night drew back,

then the warlike sons of the mighty Argives,

some went before the ships to the strong battle

eager to face Eurypylus, while others apart,

there beside the ships, gave burial to Machaon

and Nireus, who was like the everliving blessed ones

in beauty and splendour; but in might he was not strong;

for the gods do not grant all things together to men,

but close beside the noble man some evil stands, from some fate;

so for king Nireus, beside his lovely splendour,

lay feebleness; yet the Danaans did not neglect him,

but gave him burial and mourned over the tomb

as much as they did divine Machaon, whom equal to the immortal gods

they ever honoured, since he knew close-packed counsels;

and quickly they raised one mound about them both.

And then on the plain deadly Ares still raged;

and on both sides rose a great din and a cry

as the ox-hide shields were shattered by stones and spears;

and they toiled beneath much-laborious Ares;

but unceasingly, without taste of food, in the dust

lay Podalirius, groaning greatly; nor did he leave

the tomb of his brother; and his mind was set

to perish pitilessly by his own hands.

And now he laid his hands upon his sword, and now again

he sought a dread drug; but his comrades held him back,

much comforting him; yet he ceased not from his grief.

And now he would have lost his life by his own hands

at the new-made tomb of his noble brother,

had not the son of Neleus heard him, and not neglected him

as he was sorely worn; and he found him now perhaps

poured out about the much-bewailed tomb, and now again

pouring dust about his head, and beating his breast

with strong hands, and calling by name

on his brother; and the servants together with his comrades

groaned about their lord; and evil misery held them all.

And he addressed him in his great grief with gentle words:

“Cease from grievous wailing and dread sorrow,

O child; for it is not fitting that a man born wise

should mourn like a woman, falling upon one who is no more;

for you will not raise him again into the light, since unseen

his soul has flown to the air, and his body apart

the deadly fire devoured, and the earth received his bones;

and even as he flourished, so he has perished. Endure your grief

unspeakable, as I too, having lost a son not at all worse

than Machaon, beneath the hands of the foes, a son well skilled

with the javelin and well adorned with prudence. Nor did any other

of the young men love his father as that one loved me,

and he died for my sake, eager to save

his father; yet at once, though he was slain, I had the heart

to taste food, and to look while still alive upon the Dawn-child,

knowing well that all of us men go down the same road

of Hades, and that for all there lie appointed the grievous

bounds of the doom of groans. It befits a mortal man

to bear all things, both the good a god gives and the grievous.”

So he spoke; and grieving the other answered him; and grievous

the tear still ran down and wet his splendid cheeks:

“O father, unbearable grief overcomes my heart

for my wise brother, who reared me

when our father had gone to heaven, like his own son

in his own arms, and the healing of diseases

taught me from his heart; and at one feast and one bed

we took our delight, gladdened by shared possessions;

therefore unforgettable grief comes upon me; nor any more,

now that he is dead, do I long to look upon the goodly light.”

So he spoke; and the old man addressed him in his grief:

“To all men alike a god has given one evil,

bereavement, and the earth shall cover all of us too,

though we do not accomplish the same road of life,

nor such a road as each man desires, since from above

things good and bad lie upon the knees of the gods,

countless, all mingled into one; and these no one

of the immortals sees, but they are made invisible,

veiled in a divine mist; and upon them only Fate

lays her hands, and not seeing, from Olympus

sends them down to earth; and they are borne this way and that

like the blasts of the wind; and often upon a noble man

great trouble is poured, and upon a wretch fortune falls

unfitting. Blind is the life of man;

and therefore he goes not securely, but with his feet

often stumbles; and his shifting path turns

now toward much-groaning trouble, and now again

toward good; and no mortal is made wholly fortunate

from beginning to end; one thing and another meet each man.

It does not become us, who live but a little while, to live

amid griefs. Hope always for better things, and set not

your heart upon sorrow; for indeed there is a saying among men

that the souls of the good go ever to imperishable heaven,

but those of the grievous toward the darkness; and both these

belonged to your brother; for he was both gentle to mortals

and the son of an immortal; and I think that to the race

of the gods he has gone up, by the counsels of his own father.”

So speaking he raised him from the ground, unwilling,

winning him with words, and led him from the dread tomb,

as he kept turning back and still groaning grievously;

and they came to the ships; and the other Achaeans had grievous

toil, and the Trojans, as the war was stirred.

And Eurypylus, with a heart untiring, a match for Ares,

with tireless hands and raging spear

overcame the hostile tribes; and the earth was crowded with the dead

slain on either side. And he, treading among the corpses,

fought boldly, his hands and feet defiled

with blood; nor did he cease from the cruel tumult;

but he overcame strong-hearted Peneleos with his spear

as he faced him in the pitiless strife; and about him many

he slew; nor did he turn his hands from the battle,

but followed the Argives, enraged, as once before

mighty Heracles upon the long heights of Pholoe

rushed upon the Centaurs, raging in his great strength,

and slew them all together, swift though they were

and strong and skilled in deadly war;

so he, one upon another, the host of Danaan spearmen

overcame, rushing on; and they in throngs, one here, one there,

fell in heaps and poured out in the dust.

And as when a boundless river bears down,

and the banks are sheared away in a sandy place,

countless on either side, and it rushes into the swell of the sea

seething along its grievous stream, and on every side

the cliffs resound, and the long channels roar

as they ever crumble, and all the dikes yield to it;

so the glorious sons of the warlike Argives,

many, beneath Eurypylus fell down in the dust,

whomever he overtook in the bloody battle; but they escaped,

as many as the strength of their feet saved; yet even so

they dragged Peneleos out of the ill-sounding throng

to their own ships, though with swift feet

they fled the hateful dooms and pitiless doom.

In full rout they fled within the ships; nor in heart

had they strength to contend against Eurypylus,

because Heracles had sent grievous flight upon them,

exalting his tireless grandson to the utmost.

And they, within the wall, cowering, remained,

like goats that beneath a headland flee a dread blast

which brings much snow and chill hail,

rushing on cold; and they, eager though they are for pasture,

because of the gust do not look straight over the hill,

but wait out the storm beneath shelter and in the ravines

gathered, and beneath the shady bushes they graze

in throngs, until the evil blasts of the wind cease;

so the Danaans remained beneath their own towers,

trembling at the mighty son of Telephus as he rushed upon them.

And he would have destroyed the swift ships and the host,

had not Tritogeneia at last cast courage upon the Argives,

late though it was; and they, ceaselessly, from the lofty wall

casting at the foes with grievous shafts,

slew them one after another; and the walls were wet with grievous

gore; and there was groaning of slaughtered men.

And thus by night and by day they fought,

the Ceteians and the Trojans and the war-abiding Argives,

now before the ships, now about the lofty

wall, since the toil was unbearable; yet even so

for two days they ceased from slaughter and grievous battle,

because to king Eurypylus there came

a message from the Danaans, that, leaving off from war,

they might give to the pyre those slain in the fight;

and he at once assented, and, ceasing from the grievous tumult,

on both sides they buried the dead

fallen in the dust; and the Achaeans above all

mourned Peneleos; and they cast upon the dead man a tomb

very broad and high and conspicuous to those to come;

and the multitude of slain heroes apart

they buried, grieving in heart with great sorrow,

heaping up one pyre for all together

and a grave. And so too apart the sons of the Trojans

buried their slain. And deadly Strife did not cease,

but still urged on the bold strength of Eurypylus

to face the foes; and he did not yet draw back from the ships,

but remained, raising evil battle against the Danaans.

And they came to Scyros, speeding in their black ship;

and they found the son of Achilles before his own house,

now casting with arrows and spears,

now again toiling with his swift-footed horses;

and they rejoiced to see him going about the works

of cruel war, though greatly worn in heart

for his slain father; for that he had learned before.

And quickly they came toward him in awe, because they saw him

in form most fair, like to bold Achilles;

and forestalling them he spoke this word:

“O strangers, greatly I greet you who come to my house;

tell me whence you are and who you are, and what need

brings you to me over the barren swell.”

So he spoke, asking; and godlike Odysseus answered him:

“We are friends of warlike Achilles,

to whom they say wise Deidameia bore you;

and we ourselves liken your form to that man

wholly; and he was like the mighty immortals.

I am from Ithaca, and he from horse-pasturing Argos,

if ever you heard the name of warlike Tydeus' son,

or of shrewd Odysseus, who now near you

stands, I myself, having come for the sake of an oracle;

but have pity quickly, and aid the Argives,

coming to Troy; for so shall there be an end to the war.

And the noble Achaeans will give you boundless gifts;

and the arms of your godlike father I myself

will give you, which wearing you shall greatly rejoice; for they are not

like the arms of mortals, but seem rather equal

to the weapons of the god Ares; and much gold,

adorned with cunning work, is fitted all about them,

with which even Hephaestus himself greatly gladdened

his heart among the immortals as he fashioned

those immortal arms, which will be a great marvel to you

to behold, since earth and heaven and sea

are wrought about the shield, and in its boundless circle

living things are fashioned round, like things in motion,

a marvel even to the immortals; and never such things

has any mortal beheld before among men, nor worn,

except your father, whom equal to Zeus all the Achaeans

honoured, and I most of all, loving him with right good heart;

and when he was slain I bore his body to the ships,

dealing pitiless doom to many foes;

therefore his glorious arms were given me

by divine Thetis; and these, much as I long for them,

I will give you freely, when you come to Ilium.

And Menelaus too, when we have sacked the city of Priam

and returned with our ships to Hellas,

will at once make you his son-in-law, if you wish,

for your good service; and he will give you boundless wealth

to take, possessions and gold, with his fair-haired daughter,

as much as befits a wealthy king to bestow.”

When he had so spoken, the mighty son of Achilles addressed him:

“If indeed the Achaeans by oracles call me,

tomorrow let us go at once over the wide depths of the sea,

that I may be some light to the Danaans who long for it;

but now let us go to my house and the hospitable table,

such as it is right to prepare for strangers;

and concerning my marriage the gods hereafter will care.”

So speaking he led the way; and they followed, greatly rejoicing;

and when they came to the great house and the fair court,

they found Deidameia grieving in her heart

and wasting away, as snow melts upon the mountains

beneath the shrill east wind and the unwearied sun;

so she pined for her noble husband fallen;

and the glorious kings, grieving though she was, greeted her

with words; and her son, coming near to her,

told her truly the lineage and name of each;

but the need for which he had come he hid until dawn,

lest tearful grief should seize her in her sorrow,

and she, much entreating, hold him back as he hastened away.

And quickly they took their meal and gladdened their hearts with sleep,

all who dwelt about the land of sea-girt Scyros,

about which the waves of the long sea roar loud

as they break upon the Aegean shores;

but lovely sleep did not seize Deidameia

as she remembered the name of crafty Odysseus

and of godlike Diomedes, who both

had made her bereft of war-loving Achilles,

winning over his bold heart, that he might come

to the deadly battle-cry; and unbending Fate met him,

which cut short his homecoming, and brought boundless grief

to his father Peleus and to Deidameia herself.

Therefore in her heart boundless dread held her

for her son rushing to the tumult of war,

lest upon grievous sorrow there should come more sorrow.

And Dawn went up the great heaven; and they from their beds

quickly rose; and Deidameia perceived it;

and at once, flung about his broad breast,

she wailed grievously, crying long into the air;

as a cow in the mountains, bellowing endlessly,

seeks her calf in the glens, and about her the long

crests of the steep mountain echo;

so, as she mourned, the lofty hall rang round

on every side from its inmost recesses, and greatly grieving she cried:

“Child, where now has your good mind flown away,

to follow strangers to tearful Ilium,

where many perish in the grievous battle,

though they are skilled in war and cruel fighting?

But you are young, and as yet you do not know the deeds of war

which ward off the evil day from men;

but hearken to me, and stay in your own house,

lest an evil report come from Troy to my ears

that you have perished in the battle; for I do not think

that you will come back here again, turning from the throng;

for not even your father escaped the unseen doom,

but was slain in the war, he who surpassed both you

and the other heroes, and a goddess was his mother,

by the guile and counsels of these men, who urge you too

to go to the grievous strife;

therefore I fear, trembling about my heart,

lest for me too, child, if you perish,

being left bereaved I should suffer cruel woes;

for no worse grief ever comes upon a woman

than when her children perish and her husband too,

and her home is widowed by grievous death;

for at once men shear away her fields

and strip everything and have no regard for justice;

therefore nothing is made more wretched

than a widow in her halls, nor any feebler woman.”

So she cried aloud; but her son addressed her in answer:

“Take courage, my mother, and send away the evil omen;

for no man is slain in war beyond his fated doom;

and if it is fated for me to die for the Achaeans,

let me die, having done some deed worthy of the line of Aeacus.”

So he spoke; and near him came aged Lycomedes,

and addressed him as he longed for battle:

“O strong-hearted child, like your father in might,

I know that you are mighty and strong; yet even so

I fear the bitter war and the grievous wave

of the sea; for sailors are ever near to destruction.

But beware, child, when you come upon a voyage

hereafter, either from Troy or from elsewhere, such as often

we men wander upon the boundless back of the sea,

at the time when the sun joins the misty Goatfish,

casting behind him the Archer, drawer of arrows,

when storms drive on the grievous winter,

or when down the wide stream of Ocean are borne

the stars as Orion goes down toward the darkness;

fear in your heart the grievous equinox,

when over the wide depths of the sea

storms gather, darting from somewhere over the great gulf,

or when the setting of the Pleiades comes, which too

fear as it plunges raging into the sea, and the other

stars likewise, which are a terror to wretched men

as they set or rise over the wide stream of the sea.”

So speaking he kissed the boy, and did not bar him from the road

as he longed for the ill-sounding war; and he, with a lovely

smile, hastened to go swiftly to the ship.

But still in his mother's halls the tearful converse

held him back, eager though his feet were.

And as when a man holds back a swift horse

straining for the course, sitting upon him, and it,

champing the curbing bit, snorts, and its breast

is wet with foam, and its feet will not stand still in their longing for the road,

and about one spot, beneath its nimble feet,

as it moves quickly there is a constant clatter, and its mane

tosses as it strains, and it lifts its head on high,

snorting again and again, and the heart of its lord rejoices;

so the glorious son of war-abiding Achilles

his mother held back, but his feet hurried on;

and she, grieving though she was, gloried in her son.

And he, kissing her again and again, left her all alone,

mourning grievously through the house of her dear father;

as about the eaves a swallow, greatly grieving,

mourns her dappled young, which, chirping loud,

a dread serpent has devoured and grieved their faithful mother,

and she now flits about her widowed nest,

now flies about the well-made porch,

wailing dreadfully for her young; so for him

Deidameia mourned, and now about her son's

bed flung herself and cried aloud, now again

wept upon the door-posts; and she laid in her dear bosom,

if there was any plaything made for him in the halls,

with which, when he was little, he gladdened his tender heart;

and if anywhere she saw a javelin left behind,

often she kissed it, and whatever else, weeping,

she saw of her warlike son. But he, of his mother's

boundless lamentation, listened no more, but apart

went to the swift ship; and his swift limbs bore him,

like a star all shining. And about him

followed, together with wise Odysseus, the son of Tydeus,

and twenty other men, firm of heart in their spirits,

whom Deidameia held as the most trusted in her house,

and gave them to her son to be his swift squires.

They then busily attended on the bold son of Achilles

as he hastened to the ship through the city; and he in their midst

went rejoicing; and the Nereids rejoiced

about Thetis; and the Dark-Haired One himself was glad

beholding the mighty son of blameless Achilles,

how he already longed for the tearful war

though he was still a boy, still beardless; but valour

and might urged him on; and from his homeland he sped,

like Ares when he comes to the bloody battle

enraged with his foes, and his great spirit rages,

and grim is the brow above his eyes, and about him

his eyes flash like fire, and his cheeks,

clothed at once with beauty and chill terror,

ever appear as he rushes on, and the very gods tremble;

such was the goodly son of Achilles; and throughout the city

the people prayed to the immortals to bring safe their noble lord

back again from the grievous war; and they heard

their prayers. And he surpassed all who followed him.

And coming to the shore of the loud-roaring sea

they found the rowers within the well-polished ship

making ready the sails and bustling about the vessel;

and quickly they went aboard; and the others loosed the cables

and the anchor-stones, which ever attend the great strength of ships.

And to them the husband of Amphitrite granted fair sailing

willingly; for greatly in his heart he cared for the Achaeans

worn down by the Trojans and great-souled Eurypylus.

And they, sitting on either side of the son of Achilles,

delighted him with stories, telling of his father's deeds,

all that he devised on the wide voyage and on the land

of close-fighting Telephus, and all that he did to the Trojans

about the city of Priam, bringing glory to the sons of Atreus;

and his heart was warmed as he too longed

to win the glory and renown of his fearless father.

And she, somewhere in her chamber, grieving for her son,

noble Deidameia, shed many tears,

and the heart within her, beneath grievous pains,

melted as feeble lead upon the embers

or a fragment of wax; and lamentation never left her

as she gazed upon the boundless sea; because a mother

grieves for her son, even when he goes to a feast

far off, summoned by a dear man to a stranger's house.

And the sails of the ship, as it went far off,

were now hidden, and seemed like mist;

but she still groaned, lamenting all day long.

And the ship sped over the sea as the wind followed,

barely touching the much-resounding sea;

and the purple wave roared about the keel on either side;

and quickly the ship made its way across the great gulf, voyaging.

And about it fell the darkness of night; and it, beneath the wind

and the steersman, sailed on through the depths of the sea;

and divine Dawn came toward heaven.

And to them appeared the crests of the Idaean mountains,

Chrysa and the seat of Smintheus and the headland of Sigeum

and the tomb of warlike Aeacides; but in no way

did the wise-minded son of Laertes show it

to Neoptolemus, lest grief should grow

in his heart within his breast. And they passed the islands

quickly, the Calydnae; and Tenedos was left behind;

and again appeared the seat of Eleus, where the tomb

of Protesilaus stands, shaded by lofty elms,

which, when they behold, rising from the ground,

Ilium, at once their tops swiftly wither.

And the wind bore the rowed ship near Troy;

and it came where the other ships also lay along the shore

of the Argives, who at that time were toiling wretchedly,

fighting about the wall, which before they themselves had built

to be a bulwark of the ships and of the mighty host

in the war; but it was now, by the hands of Eurypylus,

about to be brought low, crashing to the ground,

had not the son of strong Tydeus at once perceived

the long battlements being battered; and swiftly he leapt from the swift ship,

and boldly shouted, as loud as his heart within him could hold:

“O friends, truly a great calamity rolls upon the Argives

this day; but come, quickly let us put on our gleaming arms

and go to the tumult of the laborious war;

for already against our towers are fighting

the warlike Trojans, who soon, having broken the long walls,

will most terribly burn the ships with fire;

and for us there will be no homecoming, much as our hearts long for it,

but we ourselves too, swiftly overcome beyond our doom,

shall lie in Troy, far from our children and our wives.”

So he spoke; and they swiftly leapt from the swift ship

in full force; for trembling seized all who heard,

except warlike Neoptolemus, since he was like

his dear father in great might; and desire for battle fell upon him.

And quickly they came to the hut of Odysseus;

for it was nearest to his dark-prowed ship;

and there lay many arms of exchange beside it,

both of shrewd Odysseus and of his other

godlike comrades, all that they had stripped from the slain.

There the noble man put on fair arms, but the meaner

put on what was worse, all those whose hearts within were feeble;

but Odysseus put on what had come with him from Ithaca,

and gave to Tydeus' son Diomedes the fair arms,

those which before he had stripped from the strength of Socus;

and the son of Achilles put on his father's arms,

and seemed wholly like him; and lightly

by the hands of Hephaestus they fitted about his limbs,

though for others they were monstrous; and all together

the arms seemed light to him; nor did the helmet at all

weigh down his head, nor did the long Pelian spear

weigh heavy in his hands, but with his hands, sheer though it was,

he easily lifted it, still thirsting for blood.

And of the Argives, as many as looked upon him, could not,

though they longed to, come near, because

the heavy tumult of the war wore them down all about the wall;

as when over the wide sea, about a desert island,

far from men, shut in, men grieve

whom the squalls of the wind, blowing against them,

keep penned a very long time, and they in distress

run about the ship, and all their provisions

waste away, and at last a clear wind blows upon them as they suffer;

so the host of the Achaeans, grieving before,

rejoiced at the strength of Neoptolemus come,

hoping to breathe again from grievous toil.

And his eyes flashed like a fierce lion's,

which along the long mountains, greatly grieving in heart,

rushes against hunters, who already

climb upon his cave, eager to drag off

his cubs left alone, far from their parents,

in the shady glen; and he, from on high upon some peak,

beholding the deadly hunters, rushes upon them

roaring terribly beneath his grim jaws;

so the splendid son of fearless Aeacides

roused his spirit against the warlike Trojans;

and first he rushed where the strife most raged

over the plain; for there in his mind he hoped the wall of the Achaeans

was easier for the foes pressing on in the throng,

because it was built up with feebler battlements.

And with him went the others, greatly raging for Ares;

and they found strong-hearted Eurypylus, and with him his comrades

mounted upon the tower, hoping in their hearts

to break the long walls and destroy the Argives

utterly; but the gods accomplished not their desire;

but Odysseus and strong Diomedes

and godlike Neoptolemus and noble Leonteus

thrust them back from the wall with countless shafts.

And as when from the steading dogs and toiling herdsmen

with might and voice drive strong lions away,

rushing from all sides, and they with eyes gleaming gray

turn this way and that, longing greatly in their hearts

to seize calves and oxen in their jaws,

yet even so yield before the strong-hearted dogs,

driven off, for the herdsmen press hard upon them;

a little, only as far as one casts a long stone with his hand;

. . .

for Eurypylus did not let the Trojans flee away from the ships,

but very near the foes he ever urged them

to stay, until he should take the ships and destroy all

the Argives; for Zeus had cast boundless might upon him.

At once he seized a jagged and unyielding rock

and hurled it rushing against the sheer wall;

and terribly all the foundations of the lofty wall

rang round about; and fear seized all the Achaeans,

as though the wall had already crashed together in the dust.

Yet not even so did they draw back from the cruel tumult,

but remained like jackals or wolves,

shameless robbers of flocks, which in the mountains

herdsmen drive together with dogs from the caves,

eager to cast grievous slaughter upon the cubs

swiftly, while they, pressed though they are by missiles,

draw not back, but remaining defend their young;

so they, defending the ships and themselves,

remained in the battle; and bold-fighting Eurypylus

threatened them all greatly before the swift ships:

“Ah cowards, with a feeble spirit in your hearts,

you would never with your missiles have driven me back

from the ships in fear, if the wall had not warded off my war-cry;

but now you fight against me like dogs cowering before a lion

in the wood, being within, avoiding sheer slaughter;

but if ever from the ships you come out to the Trojan soil,

eager for battle as before, no one will save you

from ill-sounding death, but all together

you shall lie in the dust, slain by me.”

So he spoke, hurling an idle word; nor did he know

that a great calamity rolled upon him a little way off

by the hands of bold Neoptolemus, who was destined

to overcome him before long beneath his raging spear.

Nor even then was he without strong toil,

but he slew the Trojans from the wall; and they fled

struck from above; and they crowded round in distress

upon Eurypylus; for grievous fear seized them all;

as when little children at their father's knees

cower before the thunder of great Zeus that breaks

amid the clouds, when the air groans dreadfully;

so the sons of the Trojans among the Ceteian men

about their great king feared Neoptolemus,

and all that he cast with his hands; for straight flew the calamity,

bringing tearful Ares upon the heads of the foes.

And they, smitten within their hearts with helplessness,

the Trojans, said it was monstrous Achilles whom they beheld,

himself together with his arms; and grievous speechlessness

they hid beneath their hearts, lest dread fear should come

upon the minds of the Ceteians or of king Eurypylus;

and there, one here, one there, trembling boundlessly,

they stood between evil and chill terror;

for shame held them back, and grievous fear alike.

And as when men going on their feet along a rugged road

behold a torrent darting down from the mountain,

and a roar resounds about the rock,

and they no longer have heart to go down into the resounding stream

hastening, since beside their feet, beholding destruction,

they tremble and care nothing for the road;

so the Trojans remained, longing though they were to escape

. . .

the wall, before the Argives; and godlike Eurypylus

ever urged them on to the battle; for indeed he hoped

that the monstrous man, slaying many in the fight,

would tire in his hand and strength; but he ceased not from the fray.

And Athena, beholding their strong toil,

left the steep halls of fragrant Olympus,

and went over the peaks of the mountains; nor did she touch the ground

with her feet, greatly hastening; but the holy air bore her

likened to the clouds, lighter than the wind.

And quickly she reached Troy, and set her feet upon the hill

of windy Sigeum; and from there she beheld the battle-cry

of the close-fighting men, and glorified the Achaeans greatly.

And the son of Achilles held, far more than all others,

courage and strength together, which, coming together in men,

work great renown; and he excelled in both,

because he was of the blood of Zeus, and like his dear father;

therefore, fearless, he slew many near the towers.

And as a fisher on the sea, eager for his catch,

bringing destruction to the fish, carries the strength of Hephaestus

within his ship, and beneath the kindled blast

the gleam of fire shines about the ship, and they from the dark

sea dart up, eager to behold the last

brightness, for them with his long-pointed trident

he slays as they rush on, and his heart rejoices in the catch;

so the glorious son of warlike Achilles

about the stone wall overcame the hostile tribes

as they rushed against him; and all the Achaeans toiled,

some here, some at other battlements; and the wide

shore and the ships resounded, and the long walls

groaned as they were battered. And boundless weariness

overcame the host on both sides, and the limbs and strength

of the warriors were loosed; but in no way did it overcome

the godlike son of war-abiding Achilles, since his mighty heart

was wholly unwearied, and grievous fear in no way

touched him as he fought; and his might was like a tireless

ever-flowing river, which the boundless onset of fire

never, coming, frightens, even if the blast rages greatly

stirring up the holy strength of Hephaestus; for if it comes

near the mouth, it is quenched, nor has its grievous force

strength to lay hold upon the tireless water;

so for the noble son of warlike Peleus' son

neither grievous toil nor fear touched his knees

as he ever pressed on and urged on his comrades.

Nor indeed did any missile reach his fair flesh,

though many cast; but like snowflakes about a rock

often they flew in vain; for all

the broad shield warded off, and the strong helmet, glorious gifts of the god;

rejoicing in them the strong son of Aeacides

ranged about, shouting loud about the wall, often commanding

the fearless Argives to battle, because of all

he was far the best, and still had a heart insatiate

of the grievous war-cry, and devised

to avenge the grievous slaughter of his father; and the Myrmidons

rejoiced in their lord; and dread was the war-cry about the wall.

Then he slew two sons of wealthy Meges,

who was the offspring of Dymas, and had glorious sons,

skilled both to cast the javelin well, and well to drive the horse

in war, and skilfully to wield the long spear,

whom Periboea bore him at a single birth by the banks

of Sangarius, Celtus and Eubius; nor did they enjoy

their boundless wealth for long, because the Fates

laid upon them altogether a brief end of life;

and both, as they saw the day together, so both died

by the hands of bold Neoptolemus, the one struck

in the heart by the javelin, the other by a grievous stone

upon the head; and the strong helmet, shattered about his head,

was crushed, and confounded his brain.

And about them tribes of the foes were slain, and of others

countless; and the great work of Ares arose,

until at last the hour of unyoking came, and the ambrosial

Dawn was accomplished, and the host of fearless Eurypylus

drew back a little from the ships; and they near the towers

breathed a little; and the sons of the Trojans themselves

rested from the ill-sounding battle, because there had arisen

a grievous conflict about the wall. And now all

the Argives would have perished there beside their own ships,

had not the strong son of Achilles on that day

warded off from them the great host of the foes and Eurypylus

himself. And to him at once came near old Phoenix,

and seeing him marvelled, so like was he to the son of Peleus;

and about him came great joy and boundless grief,

grief as he remembered swift-footed Achilles,

and joy because he beheld his mighty son;

and he wept gladly, since never do the tribes of men

live without lamentation, even if at times they have joy.

And he flung himself about him, as a father would about a son

who, by the will of the gods, having endured grief a long time,

comes to his own home, a great joy to his dear father;

so he kissed the head and breast of Neoptolemus,

flinging himself about him, and in his wonder spoke this word:

“Hail to me, O noble child of Achilles, whom once I

when you were little reared in my own arms

willingly; and he by the glorious counsel of the gods

grew swiftly like a flourishing shoot; and I myself

rejoiced to look upon both his form and his valour;

and he was a great blessing to me; and equal to a son I honoured him,

a cherished son; and he, equal to his own father, honoured my heart;

for to him I was a father, and he was a son

to me in mind; you would have said, beholding us, that we were of one blood

for our oneness of heart; but in valour he was far

the greater, since in form and strength he was like the blessed ones.

To him you are wholly like; and I think that he

is still alive among the Argives; for whom sharp grief

holds me all my days, and in my grievous old age my heart

is worn; would that the heaped earth had hidden me

while he yet lived; this too is glory to a man,

to be buried by the hands of his guardian.

But, child, of him I shall not forget in my heart,

grieving; yet do not vex your spirit with sorrow;

but come, aid the Myrmidons and the horse-taming Achaeans

in their distress, greatly enraged with the foes

for your good father's sake; and you shall have noble glory

for overcoming Eurypylus, who is insatiate of battle;

for you are stronger than he, and shall be, by as much as your father

was nobler than his wretched father.”

When he had so spoken, the son of fair-haired Achilles addressed him:

“O old man, our valour in the battle

strong Fate shall decide, and overweening Ares.”

So speaking, that same day he longed to rush outside the wall

in his father's arms; but night held him back,

which, bringing to men release from toil,

rushed from Ocean, hiding her body in darkness.

And the sons of the Argives, as equal to strong Achilles,

honoured him beside the ships, rejoicing, because he had made them

bold by coming readily to the battle;

therefore they honoured him with glorious gifts,

giving boundless gifts, such as increase a man's wealth;

some gave gold and silver, others women

and handmaids, others boundless bronze, others iron,

others gave red wine in jars,

and swift-footed horses and the warlike arms of men

and well-made garments, the fair works of women;

and at these the dear heart of Neoptolemus was warmed.

And they busied themselves with supper at the huts,

glorifying the godlike son of Achilles

as equal to the tireless heavenly ones; and to him Agamemnon,

greatly rejoicing, spoke this word:

“Truly you are the son of bold Aeacides,

O child, since in strong might and form

and size and courage and in mind within you are like him;

therefore I greatly warm my heart for you; for indeed I hope

that by your hands and spear the hostile tribes

and the famous city of Priam will be destroyed,

because you are like your father; and I think I behold

that man beside the ships, when he raged at the Trojans

in wrath for fallen Patroclus; but he is now

among the immortals; and you the blessed ones sent forth

this day to aid the perishing Argives.”

When he had so spoken, the mighty son of Achilles addressed him:

“Would, O Agamemnon, that I had found him still alive,

that he himself might behold his dear son

in no way shaming his father's might, as I think

I shall be, if the heedless Heavenly Ones keep me safe.”

So he spoke, with his heart fitted to prudent thoughts;

and the people about him marvelled at the godlike man.

But when they had had their fill of supper and the feast,

then the mighty son of bold Aeacides

rose up from the meal and came to the hut

of his father. And there lay about him the many

arms of slain heroes; and about him, one here, one there,

the captive women set in order the widowed hut

as though their lord were living; and when he saw the arms of the Trojans

and the handmaids, he groaned; and longing for his father seized him;

as when through thick woods and bushy glens,

when a terrible lion has been overcome by hunters,

his cub comes to the shady cave, and on every side

often peers into the empty den, and there,

beholding the heaped bones of horses and oxen

slain before, not a few, greatly grieves for its sire;

so then the son of bold Peleus' son

was chilled in spirit; and the handmaids marvelled at him about him;

and Briseis herself, when she beheld the son of Achilles,

now greatly rejoiced in her heart, now again

grieved, remembering Achilles; and within her the heart

was smitten with speechlessness in her mind, as though in truth

fearless Aeacides himself were still living.

And the Trojans apart, rejoicing, glorified the mighty man

Eurypylus in their huts, they too,

as much as divine Hector, when he slew the Argives

defending his own city and all its wealth.

But when sweet sleep came upon mortals,

then the sons of the Trojans and the war-abiding Argives

apart from the watchmen slept, weighed down with sleep.