Book 8
Late Antiquity Quintus Smyrnaeus Greek- Now when the sunlight spread abroad over the earth, rising from the world's edge, where the cave of the Dawn-goddess lies, then indeed the Trojans and the mighty sons of the Achaeans armed on either side, pressing eagerly toward the strife; and these the noble son of Achilles urged on, to face the Trojans with hearts that knew no fear, and those the great might of Telephus' son drove forward; for he hoped to cast the wall to the ground and lay the ships to ashes in deadly fire, and cut the host down beneath his hands. But his hope was like a wind that comes to nothing; and the Fates, standing very near him, laughed long at his vain devising. And then to the Myrmidons the fearless son of Achilles spoke a daring word, urging them on to labour: Hear me, my comrades, and set a warlike spirit within your breasts, that to the Argives we may be a cure for grievous war and to our foes a ruin; let none among us flinch; for from courage there springs valour in abundance in men, but fear unmakes their strength and their wits. Come now, all of you, brace yourselves for Ares, that the Trojan host may not draw breath, but rather say that Achilles still lives and walks among the Argives. So speaking, he drew upon his shoulders his father's armour, flashing from every side; and Thetis rejoiced in her heart, gazing from the sea upon the great strength of her grandson. And swiftly he sped out before the steep wall, mounted upon his father's immortal horses; and as the sun appears from the world's edge of Ocean, flashing its fire over the wondrous earth, fire, when together with his colts and chariot rises the star Sirius, which brings to mortals much-grieving sickness; so against the Trojan host went the mighty hero, the son of Achilles; and the immortal horses bore him, which, when he longed to drive the host back from the ships, Automedon had given him; for he was their charioteer; and the horses too rejoiced, bearing their lord so like the son of Aeacus; and their deathless hearts believed that this man was no whit less than Achilles. So too the Argives gathered, greatly exulting, about the strength of Neoptolemus, raging insatiably, like deadly wasps, which when one has stirred them . . . they pour forth from their hole, longing to set their sting upon human flesh, and all of them, swarming about their nest, make great trouble for the mortals who pass by; so these poured out from the ships and the wall, mad for Ares; and the broad ground was crowded close. The whole plain afar shone with the armour of men, the sun blazing immeasurably from on high; and as a cloud goes through the boundless air, driven by the great gusts of Boreas, when snowfall comes and the harsh season of winter, and on every side the darkness crowns the sky; so the earth was filled with these, joining battle on either hand a little way from the ships; and dust rose spreading into the wide heaven; and the armour of men clashed, and with it many chariots; rushing on to the fray the horses neighed; and each man's own valour urged him on, summoning him to the grievous fight. And as when two winds drive on the long waves, roaring terribly across the broad flood of the sea, breaking their storms against each other from afar, when a grievous tempest rages over the wide depths of the deep, and Amphitrite groans, unconquerable, with her deadly waves, and they are borne, now here, now there, like towering mountains, and from them comes a grievous roar over the sea as they rise on either side; so these came together for Ares from both sides, raging terribly; and strife and valour roused them. They clashed together like thunders or like lightnings, which crash together through the air, when the winds strive furiously, and when, blowing furiously, they break the clouds together, while Zeus is greatly wroth with men who work deeds beyond honoured Themis; so these fell upon each other; and spear against spear met, and shield against shield, and man went against man. First the mighty son of warlike Achilles slew noble Melaneus and shining Alcidamas, the sons of wise Alexinomus, who in hollow Caunus dwelt, near the clear-watered lake, beneath snowy Imbros, at the foot of Tarbelus. And he slew Menes, the swift-footed son of Cassander, whom divine Creusa bore beside the outpourings of the river Lindus of fair streams, where the bounds of the war-steadfast Carians and the heights of glorious Lycia lie. And he took the spearman Morys, who had come from Phrygia; and with him together he slew Polybus and Hippomedon, striking the one beneath the heart, the other at the collarbone; and he struck down man after man; and the earth groaned with the corpses of Trojans; and they gave way like withered thickets that the breath of destroying fire lays low easily as the autumn North Wind comes on; so before his onset the battalions fell to ruin. And Aeneas slew steadfast Aristolochus, striking him with a stone upon the head; and he crushed the bones together with the helmet; and at once life left the bones. And the son of Tydeus took swift Eumaeus, who dwelt in lofty Dardanus, where the marriage-bed of Anchises lies, where he subdued Cytherea in his arms. There Agamemnon slew noble Stratus; nor did he come to Thrace again from the war, but perished far from his dear homeland. And Meriones slew Chlemus, son of Peisenor, the dear and trusted comrade of godlike Glaucus, who dwelt beside the outpourings of Limyrus, and the neighbouring men honoured him as a king, now that Glaucus was slain and ruled no more, all who dwelt about the seat of Phoenix and the steep crag of Massicytus and the gorge of the Chimaera. One man slew another through the fray; and among them Eurypylus loosed evil dooms upon many of his foes; and first he slew steadfast Eurytus, and then Menoetius of the gleaming belt, the godlike comrades of Elephenor; and beside them Harpalus, who was the comrade of wise Odysseus; but he had his toil far off, and could not come to defend his servant who had fallen; and the comrade of the slain man, strong-souled Antiphus, was wroth, and cast straight against Eurypylus; but in no way did he wound him, since his strong spear fell a little short upon wise Melanion, whom once his mother bore beside the outpourings of fair-flowing Caicus, fair-cheeked Cleite, subdued by Erylaus. And Eurypylus, in wrath for his slain comrade, rushed at once upon Antiphus; but he escaped on swift feet into the throng of his comrades; nor did the strong spear of wise Telephus' son destroy him, since he was fated to perish wretchedly beneath the man-slaying Cyclops later; so it pleased hateful Fate. And Eurypylus went raging on the other side; and beneath his spear, as ever he pressed on, a great crowd fell; as when tall trees, brought low by the force of iron in shaggy mountains, fill the ravines, laid this way and that upon the ground; so the Achaeans were laid low by the spears of wise Eurypylus, until against him came, high-minded in his heart, the son of Achilles. And both their long spears they shook in their hands, raging against each other; and Eurypylus first questioned him and spoke: Who are you, and whence have you come to fight against us? Surely the pitiless Fates are bearing you to Hades; for no man has escaped me in grievous battle; but all who came hither, eager to fight against me, on all of them I sent grievous slaughter cruelly, and beside the streams of Xanthus the dogs have shared out among them all the bones and flesh. But tell me, who are you, in what horses do you glory? So he spoke, and the mighty son of Achilles answered him: Why, as I press on to the bloody fray, being my enemy, do you ask as though in friendship that I tell my lineage, which very many know? I am the son of strong-souled Achilles, who once put your father to flight, striking him with his long spear; and the evil Fates of death would then have seized him, had not your father swiftly healed his grievous wound. The horses that bear me are my godlike father's, which the Harpy bore after lying once with Zephyrus, who run across even the barren sea with their feet, touching it with their hooves' tips, and are borne swift as the winds. Now, since you have learned the lineage of the horses and of myself, make trial too of our unwearied spear, and know its force in close fight; for its lineage is on the heights of steep Pelion, where it left the cleft stump and the wood. So he spoke, and the glorious man leapt from his horses to the ground, brandishing his enormous spear; and the other from his side seized in his strong hands a boundless stone, and hurled it to strike the golden shield of Neoptolemus. But, for all its onset, it did not stagger him, but he stood like a vast headland upon a great mountain, which the might of the heaven-fed rivers, not even all of them together, can thrust back, for it is rooted firm; so the mighty son of Achilles stood ever unflinching. Yet even so the bold strength of Eurypylus was not afraid of the irresistible son of Achilles, since his own courage and the Fates urged him on; and the spirit beneath their hearts boiled in them both; and about them their gleaming armour rang; and like wild beasts they came upon each other, terrible, beasts whose strife grows fierce among the mountains, when, stricken in heart by grievous hunger, they toil over a slain ox or stag, both raging, and the glens echo as they fight; so these came together against each other, joining a relentless strife. And on either side the long battalions of the host toiled wearily about them into the fray; and grievous strife arose about them. And they, like the swift rushings of the winds, clashed together with their ashen spears, eager to spill each other's blood; and ever Enyo urged them on, standing near at hand; and they did not cease from the war-cry, but kept hewing at each other's shields, and now again struck the greaves and the high-crested helmets; and at times one even touched the flesh, for grievous toil pressed the bold heroes hard; and Strife took delight in her heart, gazing upon them; and much sweat poured down from both; and ever they braced themselves, holding their ground; for both were of the blood of the blessed; and from Olympus— . . . For some gave glory to the mighty son of Achilles, and others to godlike Eurypylus; and on either side they fought, like unwearied crags of towering mountains; and loudly on both sides rang their shields, struck again and again by ashen spears; and at last the long Pelian spear passed through the throat of Eurypylus, after much toil; and his dark blood gushed out in a stream; and his soul flew out through the wound from his limbs, and a deadly darkness fell upon his eyes. And he fell in his armour to the ground, like a tall pine or fir uprooted from its roots by the force of the chill North Wind; so great a stretch of earth the body of Eurypylus covered; and loudly groaned the Trojan ground and the plain. And swiftly upon the corpse a pale hue was poured, and dimmed its fair flush. And exulting over him the strong hero greatly boasted: Eurypylus, surely you said you would ravage the ships of the Danaans, and us ourselves, and destroy us all wretchedly; but the gods did not fulfil your wish for you, but beneath my hand, unwearied though it was, my father's great spear has subdued you, the spear which no mortal shall escape who comes against me, not even were he all of bronze. So he spoke, and drew the enormous spear-point from the corpse swiftly; and the Trojans greatly trembled, beholding the strong-hearted man; and at once, stripping off the armour, he gave it to his swift comrades to bear to the ships of the Achaeans; and he himself, leaping into the swift chariot and behind the unwearied horses, went on, like the thunderbolt that goes through the boundless air from tireless Zeus, together with the lightning-flashes, which even the immortals dread as it comes down, all but great Zeus, and it, rushing toward the earth, shatters trees and the rugged mountains; so swiftly he rushed on the Trojans, arming ruin against them; and he struck down one here, one there, all whom the immortal horses overtook; and the ground was filled, and reddened deep with gore. And as when countless leaves over the glens of a mountain lie thickly fallen, strewn over the wide earth; so the host of the Trojans then, past counting, lay upon the ground beneath the hands of Neoptolemus and the high-souled Argives, beneath whose hands streamed dark blood unspeakable of men and horses; and the rims about the chariots, turning, were drenched amid their own whirling tracks. And now the sons of Troy would have come within the gates, like calves fleeing a lion or swine fleeing a storm, had not grievous Ares, longing to bring aid to the war-loving Trojans, come down from Olympus secretly from the other blessed ones; and the horses bore him to the fray, Aithon and Phlogios, and after them Konabos and Phobos, whom for loud-roaring Boreas the grim-eyed Erinys bore, breathing destroying fire; and the gleaming air groaned beneath them as they sped to the strife. And swiftly he came to Troy; and beneath him the earth resounded greatly under the dread hooves of his horses; and coming near the tumult of battle he brandished his heavy spear; and loudly he cried, urging the Trojans to face their foes through the fray; and they, hearing the wondrous voice, all marvelled; for they did not see the immortal body of the deathless god, nor his horses; for he was hidden in mist. But the divine voice the glorious mind of godlike Helenus marked, darting from somewhere full upon the ears of the Trojans; and in his heart he rejoiced, and loudly called to the fleeing host: Ah cowards, why do you flee the bold son of war-loving Achilles? He too is some mortal man, nor is his strength equal to Ares, who greatly aids us in our longing; he calls aloud, urging at length that we fight the Argives through the fray; come then, my friends, endure in your hearts, and cast courage into your breasts; for I think no better defender against war will come to the Trojans; for what in the strife of Ares is better, when he aids mortals as they arm for battle? And he has now come to us as a helper; come, you too remember battle, and cast fear far away. So he spoke; and they stood facing the Argives; as when in the thickets dogs, against a wolf fleeing before, turn their strength to fight, when the shepherd ever urges them on with words; so the sons of Troy in the dread strife of Ares were beyond fear; and man fought against man boldly; and about them rang the gear of warriors, struck by swords and spears and arrows; and the spear-points sank into flesh; and dread Ares was drenched with much blood; and they perished in the fray, one upon another, as they fought on either side; and the battle held even balance. And as when strong men along the slope of a great vineyard cut through the rows of vines with iron, hastening, and the work of each grows equal in their rivalry, since they are equal in age and in strength; so on both sides the grievous scales of battle were even; for the Trojans, setting overweening hearts within, held their ground, trusting in the valour of fearless Ares; and the Argives trusted in the son of war-steadfast Achilles. And they kept slaying each other; and deadly Enyo ranged through the midst, her shoulders spattered with grievous gore, and her hands; and from her limbs ran dread sweat; nor did she defend either side, but delighted in the equal battle, honouring in her heart Thetis and divine Ares. There Neoptolemus slew far-famed Perimedes, who had his house beside the Sminthian grove; and after him he slew Cestrus and steadfast Phalerus and strong Perilaus and Menalces of the good ashen spear, whom Iphianassa bore beside the sacred foot of Cilla to skilled Medon, knowing in the craft of building; but he remained at home in his dear native land, and had no joy of his son; and his house and all his works the next of kin, after he had perished, divided among themselves. And Deiphobus slew steadfast Lycon, striking him a little above the groin; and about the long spear all his entrails poured out; and his whole belly burst forth. And Aeneas slew Dymas, who once before dwelt in Aulis, and had followed Arcesilaus to Troy; but never again did he look upon his dear land. And Euryalus slew, casting a grievous javelin, Astraeus; and at once through his breast flew the painful spear-point, and cut away the passages of his gullet, bringing doom to the man; and his food was mingled with gore. And a little way off high-souled Agenor took Hippomenes, the noble comrade of wise Teucer, striking him swiftly at the collarbone; and with his blood his spirit leapt from his limbs; and deadly night was poured about him. And grief fell on Teucer for his slain comrade, and he cast a swift arrow, drawing it straight against Agenor; but in no way did he hit him, for he swerved a very little; but it fell upon wise Deiophontes, who stood near, into his left eye, and through his right ear it passed, and clove the eyeball, since the Fates drove the grievous shaft where they would; and still upon his feet he stood and started up; but casting a second shaft . . . he made it whistle at his throat; and it cut through the sinews of the neck, darting straight on; and grievous Fate overtook him. One man wrought death upon another; and the Fates rejoiced and Doom, and grievous Strife, raging greatly, shouted very loud, and Ares answered her terribly, and breathed great courage into the Trojans, but into the Argives flight, and at once he shook their battalions. Yet he did not put to flight the son of Achilles; but he, standing fast, fought boldly, and slew one after another; and as when a young boy, against the flies that come about the milk, flings his hand round, and they beneath the blow, even a slight one, are killed near the vessel, this way and that, and breathe out their life, and the child delights in the work; so the glorious son of relentless Achilles rejoiced about the corpses, and took no heed of Ares urging on the Trojans; and he punished one here, one there, as the host rushed on; and as the crest of a great mountain abides the storms of the wind that rush upon it, so he abode unflinching. And Ares, in his raging, was wroth with him, and was minded to fight against him in his own person, casting off the holy cloud, had not Athena darted from somewhere out of Olympus to shadowy Ida; and the divine earth trembled, and the echoing streams of Xanthus; so greatly she shook it; and fear broke the hearts of the nymphs, and they feared for the city of Priam; and about her immortal armour the lightnings flew; and terrible serpents from her unwearied shield breathed unceasing fire; and her wondrous helmet touched the clouds on high. And she was about to fight swiftly against eager Ares, had not the good purpose of Zeus frightened them both away, thundering grievously from the steep heaven. And Ares drew back from the battle; for the wrath of great Zeus was made plain to him; and he went off to wintry Thrace, and no longer cared in his overweening heart for the Trojans; nor did noble Pallas remain any more on the Trojan plain, but she too went to the holy ground of the Athenians. And the others still were minded for the deadly strife; but the sons of Troy lacked valour; and the Argives, greatly straining toward war, followed close on the heels of those who gave way, like winds upon ships rushing under sail into the great swell of the sea, mighty, or like the force of fire upon thickets, or like keen hounds upon young deer along the mountains, hot for the chase; so the Danaans came on against their foes, since the son of Achilles heartened them with his great spear, slaying whomever he overtook through the fray; and they, in flight, giving way, plunged down into the high-gated city. And the Argives breathed a little from the war, having penned the tribes of the Trojans within the city of Priam, as shepherds pen lambs in lonely folds; and as when oxen, greatly wearied, take breath, having dragged a load up to a hard-climbed height, panting thick beneath the yoke; so the Achaeans took breath in their armour, wearied. And about the towers, eager to fight, they encircled the city; and the Trojans, drawing the bolts upon their gates, waited within the walls for the onset of the raging men. And as when shepherds remain within their folds against the dark squall, when the day of winter comes, furious, with lightning and rain and snow thick-falling, and they, however much they long to go to pasture, do not rush forth, until the great storm abates and the broad-flowing rivers, loudly roaring; so these remained within the walls, dreading the war-cry of their foes; and the host swiftly poured against the city. And as when long-winged starlings or jackdaws fall in throngs upon the olive's fruit, eager for the sweet food, and the young men, shouting, do not turn them to flight before they have fed, for hunger swells their shameless heart; so the Danaans then poured about the city of Priam, mighty; and they fell upon the gates, eager to drag down the boundless work of the strong-hearted Earth-shaker. But the Trojans did not forget battle, though greatly afraid, but even so, standing upon the towers, they toiled unceasingly; and arrows ever from the well-built walls leapt, together with stones and swift javelins, into the throng of their foes, since Phoebus had put steadfast strength in them; for his heart still wished to defend the war-skilled Trojans, even though Hector was gone. There Meriones sent forth a hateful shaft and struck Phylodamas, dear son of strong Polites, a little beneath the jaw; and the arrow stuck beneath his throat. And he fell like a vulture, which from a rock a young man strikes with a barbed shaft and slays; so swiftly he fell from the steep tower; and his spirit left his limbs; and his armour rang upon the corpse. And exulting over him the son of strong Molus loosed another arrow, longing greatly in his heart to strike the son of much-enduring Priam, Polites; but he swiftly avoided it, bending aside his body, and the shaft did not wound his fair flesh; and as when over the depth of the sea, with the ship hastening before the wind, a sailor, seeing a rugged rock amid the flood, turns the ship aside, eager to escape it, bending the steering-oar with his hand, where his heart urges him, and a small effort wards off great harm; so he, seeing the deadly shaft before it came, escaped his doom. And ever they fought; and the walls grew red with gore, the high towers and the battlements, where the Trojans were slain by arrows beneath the strong Achaeans; nor were these themselves free from toil, but of them too many reddened the earth; and steep destruction arose as they were struck on either side; and baleful Enyo took delight, driving on the strife, the sister of War. And now the Argives would have broken the gates and walls of Troy, for their strength was unspeakably great, had not glorious Ganymede at once cried out, looking down from heaven; for he greatly feared for his fatherland: Father Zeus, if in truth I am of your stock, and by your counsels, leaving glorious Troy, am among the immortals, and my life is deathless, then hear me now, sorely grieved at heart: for I shall not endure to look upon the city burning, nor upon my race perishing in the grievous slaughter, than which there is no worse pain; but if your heart is set on devising these things, do them apart from me; lighter shall be my grief, if I do not see it with my own eyes; for that is most piteous and most shameful, when one sees his fatherland laid waste by the hands of foes. So spoke the shining heart of Ganymede, groaning deeply. And then Zeus himself with boundless clouds unceasingly covered the famed city of Priam; and the man-destroying battle was darkened; nor was any man able any more to see the wall, where it was built; for it was covered continuously with thick clouds; and round about thunders and lightnings crashed from heaven. And the Danaans, hearing the thunder of Zeus, marvelled; and among them the son of Neleus loudly cried: O glorious leaders of the Argives, no longer will our limbs be steadfast, since Zeus greatly aids the bold Trojans; for he rolls a great calamity upon us; come then, more quickly going to our ships, let us cease from toil and grievous battle, lest he burn us all, raging though greatly we strive. Now let us yield to his portents; for it is fitting that all should ever yield to him, since he is far the best of the mighty gods and of feeble men; for when, wroth with the overweening Titans, he poured down from heaven the force of fire; and below the earth burned on every side, and the broad flood of Ocean boiled from its depths, even to its furthest bounds; and the streams of the long-flowing rivers were dried; and he subdued whatever tribes the life-giving earth nourished, and whatever the boundless sea fed, and whatever the water of the ever-flowing rivers; and over them the boundless air was hidden in ash and smoke; and the earth was worn away; therefore I fear the might of Zeus on this day. But let us go to the ships, since today he aids the Trojans; yet afterward he will grant glory to us also; for at one time the dawn is friendly, at another hostile; and it is not yet fated that the famed city be sacked, if the word of Calchas was truly spoken, which he once declared to the assembled Achaeans, that we should sack the city of Priam in the tenth year. So he spoke; and they, leaving the glorious city afar, drew back from the war, dreading the war-cry of Zeus; for they obeyed a man skilled in the lore of old. Yet even so they did not neglect those slain in battle, but buried them, drawing them out of the war; for the cloud did not cover those, but the lofty city and the unscalable wall, about which many sons of the Trojans and of the Argives were slain by Ares. And coming to the ships they laid aside their warlike gear, and washed off the dust and sweat and gore, plunging into the waves of the fair-flowing Hellespont. And the Sun drove his unwearied horses down beneath the gloom; and night was poured about the earth, and turned men from their labours; and the Argives honoured the bold son of war-skilled Achilles like his own father; and he in the huts of the chiefs feasted, exulting; and no weariness weighed him down, since Thetis had taken from his limbs the grievous cares, and made him to look upon like one untired; and he, when he had satisfied his strong heart with food, came to the hut of his father, where sleep was poured about him; and the Danaans before the ships lay ever changing their watches; for they feared greatly lest the host of the Trojans or of their close-fighting allies should burn the ships and rob them all of their return. And likewise throughout the city of Priam the tribes of the Trojans about the gates and the wall slept by turns, dreading the grievous war-cry of the Argives.