Chapter 7

As soon as Mars beheld Diomede approaching, he rushed against him, and hurled his brazen spear; but Minerva grasped the weapon and turned it aside from the chariot. Diomede now thrust forward his lance, Minerva directing it, and adding her strength to give force to the blow. It pierced the loin of the war god, making a deep wound.

Mars bellows with the pain: Loud as the roar encountering armies yield, When shouting millions shake the thundering field. Both armies start, and trembling gaze around; And earth and heaven rebellow to the sound.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book V.

The wounded god disappeared in a dark cloud, and, quickly ascending to Olympus, made bitter complaint to Jupiter against Minerva. But the king of heaven sternly reproved him, saying that he had brought his sufferings upon himself, for discord and wars were always his delight. Nevertheless he ordered Pæʹon, the physician of the gods, to heal the wound, which was immediately done.

Meanwhile Juno and Minerva returned to Olympus, Mars being removed from the battlefield. And now the fortune of war began to favor the Greeks. The Trojans, no longer aided by a god fighting on their side, were driven back to their walls, and it seemed as if they were about to be totally defeated. In this perilous situation Helenus, the prophet and soothsayer, advised his brother Hector to go quickly into the city, and request their mother, the queen, to call together the matrons of Troy, and with them to offer up sacrifices and prayers in the temple of Minerva, begging the help and protection of that goddess. The advice seemed good to Hector. Leaping from his chariot, he went through the army bidding the warriors to fight bravely during his absence. Then he hastened to the city. At the Scæan Gate he was met by crowds of anxious wives and mothers and daughters, who eagerly inquired for their husbands, sons, and brothers.

He admonished all Duly to importune the gods in prayer, For woe, he said, was near to many a one.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Arriving at the royal palace Hector was met by his mother, who offered him wine to refresh himself with. But the hero would not taste the liquor. "Do not ask me to drink wine, dear mother," he said, "for it would enfeeble me, and deprive me of my strength and valor."

"Inflaming wine, pernicious to mankind, Unnerves the limbs, and dulls the noble mind."

POPE, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Then Hector told his mother why he had come from the field of battle. She gladly consented to do as her son requested, and so Queen Hecuba and the matrons of Troy went to the temple of Minerva, and prayed and offered sacrifices. But the goddess refused to hear their prayers, for she still hated the Trojans because of the never-forgotten judgment on Mount Ida.

Meantime the hero went to the palace of Paris, whom he found in his chamber, handling and preparing his armor, while Helen sat near him with her maids, directing their various tasks. Angry at seeing his brother thus engaged, instead of being in the front of the fight, Hector reproached him in sharp and bitter words.

"The people," said he, "are perishing, the conflict rages round the walls, and all on your account. Arise, then, and act, lest our city soon be in flames." Paris answered mildly, saying that he deserved his brother's censure, and promising that he would immediately repair to the field of battle.

Hector next proceeded to his own home to visit his dear wife, An-dromʹa-che, and his infant son; "for I know not," said he, "whether I shall ever return to them again." Arriving at the palace, he learned from Andromache's maids that their mistress had just gone towards the city walls.

"To the lofty tower of Troy she went When it was told her that the Trojan troops Lost heart, and that the valor of the Greeks Prevailed. She now is hurrying toward the walls. Like one distracted, with her son and nurse."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Leaving the palace, Hector hastened through the city, and, arriving at the Scæan Gate, he there met Andromache and her nurse, the latter bearing in her arms the infant Sca-man'dri-us. His father had given the child this name, from the name of the river, but the people called him As-tyʹa-nax, meaning "city-king." The lines in which Homer describes the interview which here took place between the noble Hector and his loving wife, are among the most beautiful of the whole Iliad. Andromache was a daughter of E-ëʹti-on, king of Thebe, the town from which the maiden Chryseis was carried away. Eëtion and all his family had been slain, with the exception of Andromache, who therefore had now neither parents nor brothers nor sisters. Of this she spoke in touching words, while entreating Hector to remain within the city and not again risk his life in battle.

"Too brave! thy valor yet will cause thy death: Thou hast no pity on thy tender child, Nor me, unhappy one, who soon must be Thy widow. All the Greeks will rush on thee To take thy life. A happier lot were mine, If I must lose thee, to go down to earth, For I shall have no hope when thou art gone,-- Nothing but sorrow. Father I have none, And no dear mother. Great Achilles slew My father when he sacked the populous town Of the Cilicians,--Thebe with high gates. Hector, thou Art father and dear mother now to me, And brother and my youthful spouse besides. In pity keep within the fortress here, Nor make thy child an orphan nor thy wife A widow."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Hector was deeply moved by these words, but he could not think of deserting his brave companions.

"All this I bear in mind, dear wife; but I should stand Ashamed before the men and long-robed dames Of Troy, were I to keep aloof and shun The conflict, cowardlike. Not thus my heart Prompts me, for greatly have I learned to dare And strike among the foremost sons of Troy, Upholding my great father's fame and mine; Yet well in my undoubting mind I know The day shall come in which our sacred Troy, And Priam, and the people over whom Spear-bearing Priam rules, shall perish all."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

But it was not the dark prospect of his country's ruin that grieved the loving husband so much as the thought that his wife might some day be carried off as a slave by the conquering Greeks.

"But not the sorrows of the Trojan race, Nor those of Hecuba herself, nor those Of royal Priam, nor the woes that wait My brothers many and brave,--who all at last, Slain by the pitiless foe, shall lie in dust,-- Grieve me so much as thine, when some mailed Greek Shall lead thee weeping hence, and take from thee Thy day of freedom. . . . . O let the earth Be heaped above my head in death before I hear thy cries as thou art borne away!"

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Then Hector stretched out his hands to embrace his son, but the little fellow shrank back and screamed in fright at the nodding crest on his father's helmet. Both parents gently smiled, and Hector, taking off his helmet, and placing it on the ground, kissed his boy, and fondled him in his arms, praying to the gods that he might become a brave warrior, and the defender of his country.

"O Jupiter and all ye deities, Vouchsafe that this my son may yet become Among the Trojans eminent like me, And nobly rule in Ilium. May they say, 'This man is greater than his father was.'"

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

The parting between the hero and his sorrowing wife was very affecting. Andromache received the infant from his father's arms, mingling tears with her smiles as she looked into the face of her child.

The chief Beheld, and, moved with tender pity, smoothed Her forehead gently with his hand and said:-- "Sorrow not thus, beloved one, for me. No living man can send me to the shades Before my time; no man of woman born, Coward or brave, can shun his destiny. But go thou home, and tend thy labors there,-- The web, the distaff,--and command thy maids To speed the work. The cares of war pertain To all men born in Troy, and most to me."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VI.

Then Hector took his helmet from the ground, and Andromache departed for her home, "oft looking back, and shedding many tears."

As the hero went out at the Scæan Gate, after taking leave of his wife, he met Paris, arrayed in his shining armor, and eager to join the battle. Together they rushed into the plain, and slew many of the enemy. The goddess Minerva, observing that the battle was going against the Greeks, quickly descended from the top of Olympus. Apollo, seeing her from the Trojan citadel, hastened to meet her, and he proposed that they should now bring the conflict to an end for the day. With this object, Minerva having consented, they both agreed to cause Hector to challenge one of the Greek warriors to engage with him in single combat. Helenus, being a soothsayer, knew the purpose of the gods, and he told his brother. "But," said he, "you shall not fall in the fight, for it is not thy fate yet to perish. Thus have the immortal gods spoken, and I have heard their voice."

Hector rejoiced at his brother's words, and immediately advancing to the front of the army he commanded the Trojans to cease fighting.

He bore his spear, Holding it in the middle, and pressed back The ranks of Trojans, and they all sat down. And Agamemnon caused the well-armed Greeks To sit down also.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

Then the Trojan chief, standing between the two hosts, spoke in a loud voice, and challenged the bravest of the Greeks to engage with him in mortal combat. For a few moments there was silence in the ranks of the Argives. Even the boldest of them hesitated at the thought of fighting such a warrior as Hector. At length Menelaus, rising from his seat, declared that he was ready to accept the challenge, and so he put on his armor. But Agamemnon held him back, warning him against rashly venturing into a conflict with a man who was much stronger and braver than he, and whom every other chief, even Achilles himself, regarded with fear.

Nestor then arose, and in severe words upbraided his countrymen for their want of courage. "Would that my frame were unworn with years," he exclaimed, "then Hector should soon find a foe to meet him; but now among the bravest of the Achaians there is no one to meet the Trojan leader in arms."

The venerable Nestor had no sooner ceased speaking than nine warriors started to their feet, every one eager for the honor of being permitted to accept the challenge of Hector. Among them were Agamemnon, the two Ajaxes, Diomede, and Ulysses. Nestor then proposed that one should be chosen by lot. This was agreed to, and lots being cast, the honor fell to Ajax Telamon, the mightiest and most valiant of the Greeks except Achilles. The hero greatly rejoiced, believing that he would conquer Hector, and so he quickly put on his armor, and went forward to the ground marked out for the combat.

His massy javelin quivering in his hand, He stood, the bulwark of the Grecian band.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book VII.

Hector having also taken his place on the ground, the combat began. First the Trojan chief, brandishing his long spear, hurled it at his foe. Ajax received it on his shield, which was made of seven folds of oxhides and an eighth fold of solid brass. Through six of the hides the weapon of Hector pierced, but it stuck fast in the seventh.

Then the Grecian champion sent forth his javelin. It passed right through Hector's shield and corselet, and might have proved fatal, had the hero not quickly bent aside his body. Again both champions launched spears, one after the other. This time Hector was slightly wounded in the neck. Nothing daunted, however, he seized a huge stone which lay at his feet, and hurled it at Ajax. It struck the hero's shield and the brass resounded with the blow. Quickly the Argive warrior took up a much larger stone, and flung it at his antagonist with tremendous force. The stone crashed through Hector's shield, and, striking him on the knee, stretched him flat on the ground. But Apollo instantly raised him up, renewing his strength, and then with their swords the two heroes fell upon each other, fighting hand to hand. At this point, night having come on, two heralds, one from the Trojan army, the other from the Greek, approached the champions, and ordered them to cease fighting, I-daeʹus, the Trojan herald, giving the command in a loud voice:

"Cease to contend, dear sons, in deadly fray; Ye both are loved by cloud-compelling Jove, And both are great in war, as all men know. The night is come; be then the night obeyed."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

Ajax answered that as it was Hector who gave the challenge, it was for him first to speak of truce. Hector replied, speaking words of praise and admiration for his antagonist, and saying that they should now cease from battle for the day.

"Since, then, the night extends her gloomy shade, And heaven enjoins it, be the night obey'd. Return, brave Ajax, to thy Grecian friends, And joy the nations whom thy arm defends; But let us, on this memorable day, Exchange some gift: that Greece and Troy may say 'Not hate, but glory, made these chiefs contend; And each brave foe was in his soul a friend.'"

POPE, _Iliad_, Book VII.

Then Hector gave Ajax a silver-studded sword with scabbard, and Ajax presented to Hector a belt of rich purple. Thus ended the terrible conflict which had raged throughout the day, and the two heroes retired, each joyfully welcomed by his comrades and friends.

Then they both departed,--one To join the Grecian host, and one to meet The Trojan people, who rejoiced to see Hector alive, unwounded, and now safe From the great might and irresistible arm Of Ajax. Straightway to the town they led Him for whose life they scarce had dared to hope. And Ajax also by the well-armed Greeks, Exulting in his feats of arms, was brought To noble Agamemnon.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

IX. THE SECOND BATTLE--EXPLOIT OF DIOMEDE AND ULYSSES.

Before the Greek leaders retired to rest for the night, they held a council in the tent of Agamemnon, at which they resolved to perform funeral rites, early in the morning, in honor of their comrades who had been slain in the battle. They also resolved, on the advice of Nestor, to build a strong wall and dig a deep trench in front of their camp, that their ships might be secure against the attacks of the enemy.

The Trojan chiefs, too, held a council. They were discouraged by their losses in the battle, and many of them thought that they could not now succeed in the war, because of the treacherous act of Pandarus in breaking the league. The wise Antenor was of this opinion, and in his speech at the council he advised that Helen and her treasures should be given up to the Greeks.

"Send we the Argive Helen back with all Her treasures; let the sons of Atreus lead The dame away; for now we wage the war After our faith is broken, and I deem We cannot prosper till we make amends."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

But Paris would not agree to this. He was willing to give up Helen's treasures, and to give treasure of his own as compensation to the Greeks, but he would not consent to restore Helen herself. King Priam weakly gave way to his son, and ordered that a herald should be sent to the Greek leaders to tell them of the offer of Paris, and to request that fighting should not be resumed until the dead should be taken from the battlefield, and funeral services performed.

Accordingly the Trojan herald Idæus went next morning to the tent of Agamemnon. There he found the Argive chiefs assembled. Upon hearing his message, they scornfully rejected the terms proposed by Paris, but they agreed to a truce for the funeral ceremonies. Idæus returned to the city, and told the Trojan leaders of the answer he had received. Both Greeks and Trojans then began collecting their dead from the field and building great piles of wood, or pyres, to burn the bodies upon.

All wailing, silently they bore away Their slaughtered friends, and heaped them on the pyre With aching hearts, and, when they had consumed The dead with fire, returned to hallowed Troy. The nobly-armed Achaians also heaped Their slaughtered warriors on the funeral pile With aching hearts; and when they had consumed Their dead with fire they sought their hollow ships.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

Before dawn next morning the Greeks set about building a wall and digging a trench on the side of their camp facing Troy, as Nestor had advised. They finished the work in one day, and a mighty work it was. The wall was strengthened with lofty towers, and the gates were so large that chariots could pass through. The trench was broad and deep, and on the outer edge it was defended by strong, sharp stakes. The gods, looking down from Olympus, admired these labors, but Neptune, much displeased, made bitter complaint to Jupiter:

"Now will the fame Of this their work go forth wherever shines The light of day, and men will quite forget The wall which once we built with toiling hands-- Phœbus Apollo and myself--around The city of renowned Laomedon."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VII.

But Jupiter relieved the anxiety of the ocean god by telling him that when the war was over, and the Greeks had departed from Troy, he might overthrow the great wall with his waves, and cover the shore with sand. Thus the Grecian bulwark would vanish from the plain.

After their great labors on the wall and trench the Greeks feasted in their tents, and next day, the truce being now ended, both armies prepared for battle. Meanwhile Jupiter, held a council on high Olympus, at which he gave strict command that none of the gods should take part on either side in the fight before Troy; and he declared that if any of them should disobey this order, he would hurl the offender down into the dark pit of Tarʹta-rus, in the gloomy kingdom of Pluto.

Deep, deep in the great gulf below the earth, With iron gates and threshold forged of brass.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

But Minerva begged that she might be permitted to assist the Greeks by her advice. To this the king of heaven assented. Then mounting his chariot, to which were yoked his brazen-footed, swift-flying steeds, adorned with golden manes, he sped through the skies between the earth and starry heaven to the summit of Mount Ida. There in a sacred inclosure in which was an altar erected to him, the father of the gods sat looking down upon the towers of Ilium and the ships of the Greeks. The two hosts, led by their great chiefs, were now engaged in fierce battle.

The sounding darts in iron tempests flew; Victors and vanquish'd join promiscuous cries, Triumphant shouts and dying groans arise; With streaming blood the slippery fields are dyed, And slaughtered heroes swell the dreadful tide.

POPE, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

Thus the terrible conflict went on until midday, when Jupiter, taking in his hand the golden scales of fate, weighed the fortunes of the Trojans and Greeks.

By the midst He held the balance, and, behold, the fate Of Greece in that day's fight sank down until It touched the nourishing earth, while that of Troy Rose and flew upward toward the spacious heaven.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

Then the mighty god thundered from Mount Ida, and sent his lightnings burning and flashing down against the army of the Greeks. In amazement and terror the Argive chiefs fled from the field. Nestor alone remained, though not willingly, for he too was seeking safety in flight when one of the horses of his chariot was killed by an arrow from the bow of Paris. The venerable king himself might have perished at the hands of Hector, had not Diomede hastened up and taken him into his own chariot.

Both warriors then advanced against the Trojan chief, and Diomede hurled his javelin. The weapon missed Hector, but killed his charioteer. Still rushing on, the brave son of Tydeus was about to cast another spear, when a terrific bolt of lightning flashed from the heavens and tore up the earth in front of his steeds. Looking upon this as a sign of the anger of Jupiter, the two heroes hastily retreated towards their camp. Hector pursued them, and the Trojans, encouraged by his example, now pressed forward until the Greeks were driven in behind their trench and wall. Then Agamemnon, in deep despair, prayed to almighty Jove that he would at least permit him and his people to get away in safety with their ships.

"Now be at least one wish of mine fulfilled,-- That we may yet escape and get us hence; Nor let the Trojans thus destroy the Greeks."

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

Jupiter heard the prayer of the king, and in pity for his distress sent a favorable omen. This was an eagle bearing in its talons a fawn, which it dropped down by the side of the altar where the Greek chiefs were just then offering sacrifice. Believing that the bird had come from Jove, the Greeks took courage, and rushing out through their gates, with Diomede and Agamemnon and Menelaus and Ajax at their head, they furiously attacked the Trojans and slew many of them. Teucer, the brother of Ajax Telamon, did great destruction with his bow and arrows, in the use of which he was as skillful even as Pandarus. After killing several of the enemy, he aimed twice at Hector, missing him, however, each time, but at the second shot he slew the Trojan leader's charioteer. Hector then jumped to the ground, and, seizing a great stone, hurled it with mighty force, striking the unfortunate Teucer on the neck, and felling him to the earth. And now the Trojans, rushing once more upon the Greeks, again drove them back to their camp.

They drave The Achaians backward to the yawning trench. Then Hector came, with fury in his eyes, Among the foremost warriors. As a hound, Sure of his own swift feet, attacks behind The lion or wild boar, and tears his flank, Yet warily observes him as he turns, So Hector followed close the long-haired Greeks, And ever slew the hindmost as they fled.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

But night now put an end to the battle. This was a most welcome relief to the Greek leaders, thoroughly disheartened as they were at the sight of the enemy almost at their ships. On the other hand the warriors of Troy "most unwillingly beheld the sunset," for it prevented them from following up their victory. But Hector was confident that on the next day he would be able to destroy the Achaian host and fleet, and so end the war. He therefore addressed his troops, commanding them to remain on the field for the night, that they might be ready to fall upon the Greeks, should they attempt to go aboard their vessels, and "escape across the mighty deep."

So high in hope, they sat the whole night through In warlike lines, and many watch fires blazed.

BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book VIII.

Meanwhile the Grecian leaders held a council of war, and Agamemnon advised that they should take to their ships, and set sail for Greece, as it now seemed to be the will of Jupiter that they should never capture Troy. Upon hearing this the chiefs sat for a time in gloomy silence. At length Diomede spoke out, censuring the king for his cowardly counsel.