Chapter 9
Against an attack so led the bravery of the Greeks was of little avail. Numbers of their warriors were slain, and the rest fled back to their camp, pursued by Hector and his triumphant hosts. This time the Trojans were not hindered by the trench or the wall, for Apollo with his mighty feet trampled down the earth banks, and overthrew the great wall as easily as a child at play on the beach overthrows a tiny mound of sand.
Then a fierce struggle took place, the Greeks fighting with desperate fury to defend their ships, which the Trojans, with lighted torches in their hands, tried to set on fire. At one of the galleys there was a terrific conflict. Hector, having grasped the vessel by the stern, called to his men to bring on their flaming brands, while the mighty Ajax stood on the rowers' bench, ready with his long spear to strike the assailants back.
On the blade of that long spear The hero took them as they came, and slew In close encounter twelve before the fleet.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XV.
But at last the brave son of Telamon was forced to give way, Hector having cut his spear shaft in two by a stroke of his huge sword. Then the Trojans hurled forward their blazing torches, and the ship was soon wrapped in flames. The Greeks were now in the greatest peril. No hope seemed left to them to save their fleet from destruction. But help came from an unexpected quarter. Patroclus, the friend and companion of Achilles, had been watching the terrible conflict at the ships. As soon as he saw the vessel on fire he hurried to the tent of the Myrmidonian chief, and with tears in his eyes implored him to have pity on his perishing countrymen.
"The Greeks," said he, "are sorely pressed. Their bravest leaders are wounded, while you sit here, giving way to your wrath. If you will not yourself go to their rescue, at least permit me to lead the Myrmidons to battle, and let me wear your armor. The Trojans at the sight of it may think I am Achilles, and be so terrified that our people may have a little breathing time."
To this proposal Achilles assented, but he warned Patroclus not to pursue the Trojans too far, lest he might meet his death at the hands of one of the gods. "Rescue our good ships," said he, "but when you have driven the enemy from the fleet, return hither."
With joy and eager haste Patroclus put on the armor of Achilles. Then the great chief himself marshaled his Myrmidons in battle array, after which he addressed them, bidding them fight valiantly. The occasion, he said, had now come which they had so long desired, for they had often blamed him because he had kept them from joining their countrymen in the field. Fierce and fearless these Myrmidons were, and over two thousand strong.
Achilles, dear to Jupiter, had led Fifty swift barks to Ilium, and in each Were fifty men, companions at the oar.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
Patroclus now mounted the chariot of Achilles, with the brave Au-tomʹe-don as charioteer, a hero next in valor to the renowned son of Peleus himself. There were three horses in the team, Xanthus and Baʹli-us, both of immortal breed, and fleet as the wind, and Pedʹa-sus, which, though of mortal stock, was a match for the others in speed.
Like in strength, in swiftness and in grace, A mortal courser match'd the immortal race.
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
Great was the terror of the Trojans when they beheld the Myrmidons march forth to battle.
Every heart grew faint With fear; the close ranks wavered; for they thought That the swift son of Peleus at the fleet Had laid aside his wrath, and was again The friend of Agamemnon. Eagerly They looked around for an escape from death.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
The Greek fleet was soon out of danger, for Patroclus and his Myrmidons, having furiously attacked the Trojans, quickly drove them away from the burning vessel and put out the fire. Having thus saved the ships, the Myrmidonian warriors, aided by the other Greeks, then drove the Trojans with great slaughter from the camp into the plain, and on towards the walls of the city.
In that scattered conflict of the chiefs Each Argive slew a warrior.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
Even the mighty Hector was not able to stop the flight of the panic-stricken Trojans, who seemed for the moment to have lost all their courage, so great was their fear at the name of Achilles. The hero Sarpedon at the head of his brave Lycians attempted to turn back the onset of the Myrmidons, and he sought out their leader to engage him in single combat. Both warriors sprang from their chariots at the same moment, and rushed at each other, hurling their spears. Twice Sarpedon missed his foe, but one of the weapons killed Pedasus, the horse of "mortal stock." The leader of the Myrmidons cast his javelin with truer aim, for it pierced the Lycian chief right in the breast, and the hero fell like a tall pine tree falling in the forest at the last blow of the woodman's ax.
Then a fierce conflict took place over the body, the Greeks seeking to obtain possession of the warrior's armor, which they did after many on both sides had been slain in the struggle. The body itself was sent by Apollo, at Jupiter's command, to Lycia, that the hero's kinsmen there might perform funeral rites in his honor.
In robes of heaven He clothed him, giving him to Sleep and Death, Twin brothers, and swift bearers of the dead, And they, with speed conveying it, laid down The corpse in Lycia's broad and opulent realm.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
Jupiter thus honored Sarpedon because the hero was his own son. He would have saved him from the spear of Patroclus, but the Fates had decreed that Sarpedon should die in the battle, and the decrees of the Fates were not to be set aside even by Jove himself.
Patroclus, too, was doomed to fall in the conflict of the day, and the moment was now at hand. Forgetting the warning Achilles had given him, he pursued the Trojans up to the very gates of the city. Then he attempted to scale the wall, but he was driven back by Apollo, who spoke to him in threatening voice, saying that not by him should Troy be taken, nor by his chief, though mightier far than he. Hastily Patroclus withdrew from the walls, fearing the wrath of the archer god, but he continued to deal death among the Trojans as they came within reach of his weapons.
At last Hector, urged by Apollo, rushed forward in his chariot to encounter Patroclus. The Myrmidon leader lifted a large stone, and flung it with all his force at the Trojan chief as he approached. It missed Hector, but killed Ce-briʹo-nes, his charioteer, and while they fought over the body, each helped by brave comrades, many more on both sides were laid in the dust. Again the archer god interfered, this time coming unseen behind Patroclus, and striking him with his open palm between the shoulders. The hero staggered under the blow, his huge spear was shattered in his hands, and his shield dropped to the ground. Then Eu-phorʹbus, a Dardanian chief, hurried forward, and with his lance wounded him in the back. Thus disarmed and almost overpowered, Patroclus turned to seek refuge in the ranks of his friends. As he was retreating, Hector rushed upon him, and thrusting a spear deep into his body, gave the brave warrior his death wound.
The hero fell With clashing mail, and all the Greeks beheld His fall with grief.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVI.
Then there was a long and terrific fight around the corpse of the fallen champion. The description of it occupies a whole book of the Iliad. The armor Patroclus wore was, as we have seen, the rich armor of Achilles, and the Trojans were eager to get possession of it. They wished also to get possession of the hero's body, that his friends might not have the satisfaction of performing the usual funeral rites in his honor. Menelaus was the first to stand guard over the body, and Euphorbus was the first to fall in the fight. Hector had gone in pursuit of the charioteer, Automedon, thinking to slay him, and capture the immortal horses of Achilles. But Apollo warned him against the attempt.
"Hector, thou art pursuing what thy feet Will never overtake, the steeds which draw The chariot of Achilles. Hard it were For mortal man to tame them or to guide, Save for Achilles, goddess-born. Meanwhile Hath warlike Menelaus, Atreus' son, Guarding the slain Patroclus, overthrown Euphorbus, bravest of the Trojan host."
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.
Hearing these words Hector hastened back to where the corpse of the Greek hero was lying. When Menelaus saw him approaching, he withdrew, and hurried off to seek help, for he feared to encounter the terrible Trojan leader. Then Hector stripped Patroclus of the splendid armor of Achilles, and he was about dragging away the body, but just at that moment Ajax rushed up. Hector now retreated, leaping into his chariot and giving the glittering armor to his friends to be carried away to Troy.
For thus fleeing from the fight the Trojan chief was severely rebuked by Glauʹcus, a Lycian warrior, who had been the comrade of the brave Sarpedon. Glaucus wished to get the body of Patroclus so that with it he might ransom Sarpedon's armor from the Greeks. Hector answered Glaucus, saying that he feared not the battle's fury, as he would presently show. Then he put on the armor of Achilles and he called to the Trojans to follow him, promising a rich reward to the warrior who should carry off the body for which they were going to fight.
"To him who from the field will drag and bring The slain Patroclus to the Trojan knights, Compelling Ajax to give way,--to him I yield up half the spoil; the other half I keep, and let his glory equal mine."
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.
With Hector at their head the Trojans now rushed forward. Ajax, seeing them advance, bade Menelaus summon the other Greek warriors to help in defending the body of their countryman. Quickly they were called and quickly they came. Then hand to hand and sword to sword both armies fought, and the battle raged furiously round the corpse of Patroclus.
They of Ilium strove To drag it to the city, they of Greece, To bear it to the fleet.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.
At last Menelaus and a brother warrior lifted up the body and bore it away towards the trench. The Trojans followed, but the two Ajaxes turned around and, facing the pursuers, fought with heroic bravery to hold them back.
Thus, in hot pursuit And close array, the Trojans following strook With swords and two-edged spears; but when the twain Turned and stood firm to meet them, every cheek Grew pale, and not a single Trojan dared Draw near the Greeks to combat for the corse. Thus rapidly they bore away the dead Toward their good galleys from the battlefield. Onward with them the furious battle swept.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVII.
Meanwhile Antilochus, the son of Nestor, was sent from the field to carry to Achilles the sad news of the death of Patroclus. The chief was just then sitting near his ships thinking over the event which he feared had already happened, for the shouts of the Greeks as they fled from the plain pursued by the Trojans, had reached his ears. Upon learning the tidings brought by Antilochus, the hero burst into a fit of grief, tearing his hair, throwing himself on the earth, and uttering loud lamentations. His goddess mother, Thetis, in her father's palace beneath the waves, heard his cries. She hastened up, attended by a number of sea nymphs, and, embracing her son, inquired the cause of his grief. Achilles told her of the death of his dear friend, and then said:
"No wish Have I to live or to concern myself In men's affairs, save this: that Hector first, Pierced by my spear, shall yield his life, and pay The debt of vengeance for Patroclus slain."
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
The weeping mother, wishing to save her son, told him of the fate which had decreed that his own death should soon follow that of Hector.
"Ah then, I see thee dying, see thee dead! When Hector falls, thou diest."
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
But the warning of Thetis was in vain. "Let my death come," said he, "when the gods will it. I shall have revenge on Hector, by whose hand my friend has been slain."
Seeing that she could not induce him to alter his purpose, his mother reminded him that his bright armor had been seized by the Trojans. She bade him therefore not go to battle until she should bring him new armor made by Vulcan, which she promised to do early next morning. Then she commanded the other nymphs to return to their ocean home, and she herself ascended to Olympus, to ask the god of smiths to forge glittering armor for her son.
Meantime the fight over the body of Patroclus still continued. The Greeks were now driven to their ships, and in danger of being totally defeated. Three times Hector seized the body by the feet, to drag it away, and three times the mighty Ajaxes forced him back. Still again he seized it, and this time he would have borne it away, had not Juno sent Iris down to Achilles to bid him hasten to the relief of his friends.
"But how," he asked, "can I go forth to the battle, since the enemy have my arms?" Iris answered:
"Go thou to the trench, and show thyself To them of Troy, that, haply smit with fear, They may desist from battle."
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
Then the goddess Minerva spread a golden cloud around the head of Achilles, and she kindled in it a bright flame that streamed upward to the sky. And the hero went out beyond the wall, and stood beside the trench, and he shouted in a voice loud as a trumpet sound,--a shout that carried dismay into the ranks of the Trojans.
The hearts of all who heard that brazen voice Were troubled, and their steeds with flowing manes Turned backward with the chariots,--such the dread Of coming slaughter. . . . . . . . . Thrice o'er the trench Achilles shouted; thrice The men of Troy and their renowned allies Fell into wild disorder. Then there died, Entangled midst the chariots, and transfixed By their own spears, twelve of their bravest chiefs. The Greeks bore off Patroclus from the field With eager haste, and placed him on a bier, And there the friends that loved him gathered round Lamenting.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII
So ended the long and terrible battle of the day, for Juno now commanded the sun to set. In obedience to the queen of heaven the god of light descended into the ocean streams, though unwillingly he did so, as it was earlier than the proper time for sunset.
The Trojan leaders, meanwhile, assembled in council on the plain to consider what preparations should be made for the battle of the morrow, in which, they knew, the terrible Achilles would take part. Po-lydʹa-mas, a prudent chief, proposed that they should withdraw into the city. There they might defend themselves from their ramparts, for even Achilles, with all his valor, would not be able to force his way through their strong walls. But Hector rejected this wise advice. He resolved to risk the chance of war in the open field, and let the god of battles decide who should win.
"Soon as the morn the purple orient warms, Fierce on yon navy will we pour our arms. If great Achilles rise in all his might, His be the danger: I shall stand the fight. Honor, ye gods! or let me gain or give; And live he glorious, whosoe'er shall live!"
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
XI. END OF THE WRATH OF ACHILLES--DEATH OF HECTOR.
Thetis faithfully performed her promise to Achilles. Having ascended to the top of Olympus, she found the god of smiths busy in his forge, a workshop so magnificent that it was a wonder to the gods themselves.
Silver-footed Thetis came Meanwhile to Vulcan's halls, eternal, gemmed With stars, a wonder to the immortals, wrought Of brass by the lame god. She found him there Sweating and toiling, and with busy hand Plying the bellows.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
Vulcan willingly consented to make the armor as Thetis requested, for she had been his friend and had protected him in his infancy, when his mother Juno threw him out of heaven into the sea. Juno did this because Vulcan was not a good-looking child. He was, in fact, so ugly that his mother could not bear the sight of him, and so she cast him out of Olympus. But Thetis and her sister Eu-ryn'o-me received him in their arms as he fell, and for nine years they nursed and took care of him in their father's palace beneath the waves. Gladly, therefore, Vulcan set to work at the request of his old friend. In his workshop were immense furnaces, and he had plenty of precious material in store.
Upon the fire He laid impenetrable brass, and tin, And precious gold and silver; on its block Placed the huge anvil, took the ponderous sledge, And held the pincers in the other hand.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
And first he made a shield, large and massive, upon which he wrought figures of the earth and the sky, the sun, moon, and stars, with many other beautiful designs. He wrought upon it numerous scenes of human life,--representations of war and peace, of battles and sieges, of reapers in the harvest fields, of shepherds tending their flocks, of vintagers gathering their grapes; and scenes of festivity with music, song, and dancing. Homer gives a long and splendid description of this wonderful shield. When Vulcan had finished it, he forged a corselet brighter than fire, and greaves of tin, and a helmet with crest of gold. Then he laid the magnificent armor at the feet of Thetis, and the goddess bore it away and carried it down to the Grecian camp in the early morning to present it to her son.
Like a falcon in her flight, Down plunging from Olympus capped with snow, She bore the shining armor Vulcan gave.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XVIII.
Great was the delight of Achilles on seeing the beautiful armor and the marvelous workmanship of its various parts. And now he hastened to prepare for battle. First he went along the beach from tent to tent, calling with a mighty shout on his brother chiefs to assemble. When all were together he spoke friendly words to Agamemnon, expressing sorrow that strife had come between them, and declaring that his wrath was now ended.
"Here then my anger ends; let war succeed, And even as Greece has bled, let Ilion bleed. Now call the hosts, and try if in our sight Troy yet shall dare to camp a second night!"
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX.
Agamemnon, too, spoke words of peace and friendship, and all the chiefs rejoiced that the anger of Achilles, which had brought so many woes upon the Greeks, was at length appeased. Then the troops took their morning meal, and when they had refreshed themselves with food and drink, they marched forth to the field. Achilles, having put on his bright armor, mounted his chariot, to which were yoked the two immortal and swift-footed steeds, Xanthus and Balius.
And here a wonderful thing occurred. When the hero spoke to the animals, charging them in loud and terrible voice to bring him back safely from the battle, and not leave him dead on the plain, as they had left Patroclus, Xanthus, to whom Juno had, for the moment, given the power of speech, replied to the words of his master, saying that it was not through any fault of himself and his comrade that Patroclus had been slain, but by the interference of Apollo. He also warned Achilles that the hour of his own death was near at hand.
"Not through our crime, or slowness in the course, Fell thy Patroclus, but by heavenly force; The bright far-shooting god who gilds the day (Confess'd we saw him) tore his arms away. No--could our swiftness o'er the winds prevail, Or beat the pinions of the western gale, All were in vain--the Fates thy death demand, Due to a mortal and immortal hand."
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX.
But Achilles already knew his fate, and he was prepared to meet it with courage.
"I know my fate: to die, to see no more My much-loved parents, and my native shore-- Enough--when heaven ordains, I sink in night: Now perish Troy!" He said, and rush'd to fight.
POPE, _Iliad_, Book XIX,
In the battle which now began many of the gods took active part, Jupiter, at a council on Mount Olympus, having given them permission to do so. Down to the plain before Troy they sped with haste, Juno, Minerva, Neptune, Mercury, and Vulcan taking the side of the Greeks, and Mars, Apollo, Venus, Diana, Latona, and the river god, Xanthus, going to the assistance of the Trojans.
Meantime Achilles, having rushed forth to the field, plunged into the thick of the fight, eagerly seeking for Hector. But first he met Æneas, whom Apollo had urged to encounter him. Achilles warned the Trojan hero to withdraw from the battle.
"Once already," said he, "I forced you to flee before my spear, running fast down Ida's slopes. I counsel you now to retire, lest evil happen to you."
Æneas answered that he was not to be thus frightened, as if he were a beardless boy. "I am the son of the goddess Venus," said he, "and my father, Anchises, was descended from Jove himself. We are not here, however, to talk, but to fight, and words will not turn me from my purpose."
So saying, Æneas hurled his spear. It struck the shield of Achilles with a ringing sound, and passed through two of its folds.
Vulcan's skill Fenced with five folds the disk,--the outer two Of brass, the inner two of tin; between Was one of gold, and there the brazen spear Was stayed.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.
Achilles now cast his heavy javelin. Through the shield of Æneas it crashed, but, as the hero stooped to avoid it, the spear passed over his shoulder, and plunged deep into the earth. Then with sword in hand, the Myrmidonian chief rushed furiously upon Æneas. He would probably have slain him, had not Neptune interfered. But the ocean god spread a mist over the eyes of the Greek warrior, and carried Æneas away in safety to the rear of the battlefield. The Trojan prince was thus preserved because the Dardan race, to which he belonged, was beloved by Jupiter. Moreover it was decreed by the Fates that the son of Anchises should, in later times, rule over a Trojan people, and that his sons' sons should rule after him.
Having placed Æneas out of danger, Neptune removed the mist from the eyes of Achilles. The hero, on looking about him, was amazed at not seeing the foe with whom, only an instant before, he had been in fierce conflict. But he did not wait to think over this strange occurrence. Rushing into the midst of the Trojans, he smote down warrior after warrior, as they came within reach of his spear. Amongst them was Pol-y-doʹrus, the youngest son of Priam. His father had forbidden him to go into the battle, because he loved him most of all his sons. But Polydorus was a brave youth, and he wished to show his swiftness, for in speed of foot he excelled all the young men of Troy.
He ranged the field, until he lost his life. Him with a javelin the swift-footed son Of Peleus smote as he was hurrying by.
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.
Now Hector had been warned by Apollo to avoid meeting Achilles, but when he saw his young brother slain, he could no longer stand aloof. He therefore sprang forward to attack the son of Thetis. As soon as Achilles saw the Trojan chief, he bounded towards him, crying out:
"Draw nearer that thou mayst the sooner die."
BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XX.