800 BC

   800 BC

                                   THE ILIAD

                                    by Homer

                          translated by Samuel Butler

                         BOOK I, excerpts

  Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought

countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send

hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs

and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the

day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first

fell out with one another.

  And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the

son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a

pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of

Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now Chryses had come to the

ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and had brought with him a

great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand the sceptre of Apollo

wreathed with a suppliant's wreath and he besought the Achaeans, but

most of all the two sons of Atreus, who were their chiefs.

  "Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and all other Achaeans, may the gods

who dwell in Olympus grant you to sack the city of Priam, and to reach

your homes in safety; but free my daughter, and accept a ransom for

her, in reverence to Apollo, son of Jove."

  On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice were for

respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered; but not

so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly away.

"Old man," said he, "let me not find you tarrying about our ships, nor

yet coming hereafter. Your sceptre of the god and your wreath shall

profit you nothing. I will not free her. She shall grow old in my

house at Argos far from her own home, busying herself with her loom

and visiting my couch; so go, and do not provoke me or it shall be the

worse for you."

  The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he spoke, but went

by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart to King Apollo

whom lovely Leto had borne. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the

silver bow, that protectest Chryse and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos

with thy might, hear me oh thou of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your

temple with garlands, or burned your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or

goats, grant my prayer, and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon

the Danaans."

  Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He came down

furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and his quiver

upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back with the rage

that trembled within him. He sat himself down away from the ships with

a face as dark as night, and his silver bow rang death as he shot

his arrow in the midst of them. First he smote their mules and their

hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts at the people themselves,

and all day long the pyres of the dead were burning.

  For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the people, but upon

the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly- moved thereto by Juno,

who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes and had compassion upon

them. Then, when they were got together, he rose and spoke among them.

  "Son of Atreus," said he, "I deem that we should now turn roving

home if we would escape destruction, for we are being cut down by

war and pestilence at once. Let us ask some priest or prophet, or some

reader of dreams (for dreams, too, are of Jove) who can tell us why

Phoebus Apollo is so angry, and say whether it is for some vow that we

have broken, or hecatomb that we have not offered, and whether he will

accept the savour of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take

away the plague from us."

  With these words he sat down, and Calchas son of Thestor, wisest

of augurs, who knew things past present and to come, rose to speak. He

it was who had guided the Achaeans with their fleet to Ilius,

through the prophesyings with which Phoebus Apollo had inspired him.

With all sincerity and goodwill he addressed them thus:-

  "Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger of

King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that

you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I

shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the

Achaeans are in subjection. A plain man cannot stand against the anger

of a king, who if he swallow his displeasure now, will yet nurse

revenge till he has wreaked it. Consider, therefore, whether or no you

will protect me."

  And Achilles answered, "Fear not, but speak as it is borne in upon

you from heaven, for by Apollo, Calchas, to whom you pray, and whose

oracles you reveal to us, not a Danaan at our ships shall lay his hand

upon you, while I yet live to look upon the face of the earth- no, not

though you name Agamemnon himself, who is by far the foremost of the

Achaeans."

  Thereon the seer spoke boldly. "The god," he said, "is angry neither

about vow nor hecatomb, but for his priest's sake, whom Agamemnon

has dishonoured, in that he would not free his daughter nor take a

ransom for her; therefore has he sent these evils upon us, and will

yet send others. He will not deliver the Danaans from this

pestilence till Agamemnon has restored the girl without fee or

ransom to her father, and has sent a holy hecatomb to Chryse. Thus

we may perhaps appease him."

  With these words he sat down, and Agamemnon rose in anger. His heart

was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire as he scowled on

Calchas and said, "Seer of evil, you never yet prophesied smooth

things concerning me, but have ever loved to foretell that which was

evil. You have brought me neither comfort nor performance; and now you

come seeing among Danaans, and saying that Apollo has plagued us

because I would not take a ransom for this girl, the daughter of

Chryses. I have set my heart on keeping her in my own house, for I

love her better even than my own wife Clytemnestra, whose peer she

is alike in form and feature, in understanding and accomplishments.

Still I will give her up if I must, for I would have the people

live, not die; but you must find me a prize instead, or I alone

among the Argives shall be without one. This is not well; for you

behold, all of you, that my prize is to go elsewhither."

  And Achilles answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, covetous beyond

all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find you another prize? We have no

common store from which to take one. Those we took from the cities

have been awarded; we cannot disallow the awards that have been made

already. Give this girl, therefore, to the god, and if ever Jove

grants us to sack the city of Troy we will requite you three and

fourfold."

  Then Agamemnon said, "Achilles, valiant though you be, you shall not

thus outwit me. You shall not overreach and you shall not persuade me.

Are you to keep your own prize, while I sit tamely under my loss and

give up the girl at your bidding? Let the Achaeans find me a prize

in fair exchange to my liking, or I will come and take your own, or

that of Ajax or of Ulysses; and he to whomsoever I may come shall

rue my coming. But of this we will take thought hereafter; for the

present, let us draw a ship into the sea, and find a crew for her

expressly; let us put a hecatomb on board, and let us send Chryseis

also; further, let some chief man among us be in command, either Ajax,

or Idomeneus, or yourself, son of Peleus, mighty warrior that you are,

that we may offer sacrifice and appease the the anger of the god."

  Achilles scowled at him and answered, "You are steeped in

insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any of the Achaeans do

your bidding, either on foray or in open fighting? I came not

warring here for any ill the Trojans had done me. I have no quarrel

with them. They have not raided my cattle nor my horses, nor cut

down my harvests on the rich plains of Phthia; for between me and them

there is a great space, both mountain and sounding sea. We have

followed you, Sir Insolence! for your pleasure, not ours- to gain

satisfaction from the Trojans for your shameless self and for

Menelaus. You forget this, and threaten to rob me of the prize for

which I have toiled, and which the sons of the Achaeans have given me.

Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans do I receive

so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that do the better

part of the fighting. When the sharing comes, your share is far the

largest, and I, forsooth, must go back to my ships, take what I can

get and be thankful, when my labour of fighting is done. Now,

therefore, I shall go back to Phthia; it will be much better for me to

return home with my ships, for I will not stay here dishonoured to

gather gold and substance for you."

  And Agamemnon answered, "Fly if you will, I shall make you no

prayers to stay you. I have others here who will do me honour, and

above all Jove, the lord of counsel. There is no king here so

hateful to me as you are, for you are ever quarrelsome and ill

affected. What though you be brave? Was it not heaven that made you

so? Go home, then, with your ships and comrades to lord it over the

Myrmidons. I care neither for you nor for your anger; and thus will

I do: since Phoebus Apollo is taking Chryseis from me, I shall send

her with my ship and my followers, but I shall come to your tent and

take your own prize Briseis, that you may learn how much stronger I am

than you are, and that another may fear to set himself up as equal

or comparable with me."

  The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within his shaggy

breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the others aside,

and kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself and check his

anger. While he was thus in two minds, and was drawing his mighty

sword from its scabbard, Minerva came down from heaven (for Juno had

sent her in the love she bore to them both), and seized the son of

Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for of the others

no man could see her. Achilles turned in amaze, and by the fire that

flashed from her eyes at once knew that she was Minerva. "Why are

you here," said he, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove? To see the

pride of Agamemnon, son of Atreus? Let me tell you- and it shall

surely be- he shall pay for this insolence with his life."

  And Minerva said, "I come from heaven, if you will hear me, to bid

you stay your anger. Juno has sent me, who cares for both of you

alike. Cease, then, this brawling, and do not draw your sword; rail at

him if you will, and your railing will not be vain, for I tell you-

and it shall surely be- that you shall hereafter receive gifts three

times as splendid by reason of this present insult. Hold, therefore,

and obey."

  "Goddess," answered Achilles, "however angry a man may be, he must

do as you two command him. This will be best, for the gods ever hear

the prayers of him who has obeyed them."

  He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword, and thrust it

back into the scabbard as Minerva bade him. Then she went back to

Olympus among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing Jove.

  But the son of Peleus again began railing at the son of Atreus,

for he was still in a rage. "Wine-bibber," he cried, "with the face of

a dog and the heart of a hind, you never dare to go out with the

host in fight, nor yet with our chosen men in ambuscade. You shun this

as you do death itself. You had rather go round and rob his prizes

from any man who contradicts you. You devour your people, for you

are king over a feeble folk; otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward

you would insult no man. Therefore I say, and swear it with a great

oath- nay, by this my sceptre which shalt sprout neither leaf nor

shoot, nor bud anew from the day on which it left its parent stem upon

the mountains- for the axe stripped it of leaf and bark, and now the

sons of the Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians of the decrees of

heaven- so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter they shall

look fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day of your

distress, when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector,

you shall not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with

rage for the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the

Achaeans."

  With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the

ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginning

fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then uprose

smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians, and the

words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations of men

born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and he was

now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and goodwill,

therefore, he addressed them thus:-

  "Of a truth," he said, "a great sorrow has befallen the Achaean

land. Surely Priam with his sons would rejoice, and the Trojans be

glad at heart if they could hear this quarrel between you two, who are

so excellent in fight and counsel. I am older than either of you;

therefore be guided by me. Moreover I have been the familiar friend of

men even greater than you are, and they did not disregard my counsels.

Never again can I behold such men as Pirithous and Dryas shepherd of

his people, or as Caeneus, Exadius, godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus

son of Aegeus, peer of the immortals. These were the mightiest men

ever born upon this earth: mightiest were they, and when they fought

the fiercest tribes of mountain savages they utterly overthrew them. I

came from distant Pylos, and went about among them, for they would

have me come, and I fought as it was in me to do. Not a man now living

could withstand them, but they heard my words, and were persuaded by

them. So be it also with yourselves, for this is the more excellent

way. Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl

away, for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles;

and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man who by

the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon. You

are strong, and have a goddess for your mother; but Agamemnon is

stronger than you, for he has more people under him. Son of Atreus,

check your anger, I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles, who

in the day of battle is a tower of strength to the Achaeans."

  And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you have said is true, but

this fellow must needs become our lord and master: he must be lord

of all, king of all, and captain of all, and this shall hardly be.

Granted that the gods have made him a great warrior, have they also

given him the right to speak with railing?"

  Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean coward," he cried,

"were I to give in to you in all things. Order other people about, not

me, for I shall obey no longer. Furthermore I say- and lay my saying

to your heart- I shall fight neither you nor any man about this

girl, for those that take were those also that gave. But of all else

that is at my ship you shall carry away nothing by force. Try, that

others may see; if you do, my spear shall be reddened with your

blood."

  When they had quarrelled thus angrily, they rose, and broke up the

assembly at the ships of the Achaeans. The son of Peleus went back

to his tents and ships with the son of Menoetius and his company,

while Agamemnon drew a vessel into the water and chose a crew of

twenty oarsmen. He escorted Chryseis on board and sent moreover a

hecatomb for the god. And Ulysses went as captain.

  These, then, went on board and sailed their ways over the sea. But

the son of Atreus bade the people purify themselves; so they

purified themselves and cast their filth into the sea. Then they

offered hecatombs of bulls and goats without blemish on the sea-shore,

and the smoke with the savour of their sacrifice rose curling up

towards heaven.

  Thus did they busy themselves throughout the host. But Agamemnon did

not forget the threat that he had made Achilles, and called his trusty

messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates. "Go," said he, "to

the tent of Achilles, son of Peleus; take Briseis by the hand and

bring her hither; if he will not give her I shall come with others and

take her- which will press him harder."

  He charged them straightly further and dismissed them, whereon

they went their way sorrowfully by the seaside, till they came to

the tents and ships of the Myrmidons. They found Achilles sitting by

his tent and his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he beheld them.

They stood fearfully and reverently before him, and never a word did

they speak, but he knew them and said, "Welcome, heralds, messengers

of gods and men; draw near; my quarrel is not with you but with

Agamemnon who has sent you for the girl Briseis. Therefore, Patroclus,

bring her and give her to them, but let them be witnesses by the

blessed gods, by mortal men, and by the fierceness of Agamemnon's

anger, that if ever again there be need of me to save the people

from ruin, they shall seek and they shall not find. Agamemnon is mad

with rage and knows not how to look before and after that the Achaeans

may fight by their ships in safety."

BOOK XXI, excerpts

  NOW when they came to the ford of the full-flowing river Xanthus,

begotten of immortal Jove, Achilles cut their forces in two: one

half he chased over the plain towards the city by the same way that

the Achaeans had taken when flying panic-stricken on the preceding day

with Hector in full triumph; this way did they fly pell-mell, and Juno

sent down a thick mist in front of them to stay them. The other half

were hemmed in by the deep silver-eddying stream, and fell into it

with a great uproar. The waters resounded, and the banks rang again,

as they swam hither and thither with loud cries amid the whirling

eddies. As locusts flying to a river before the blast of a grass fire-

the flame comes on and on till at last it overtakes them and they

huddle into the water- even so was the eddying stream of Xanthus

filled with the uproar of men and horses, all struggling in

confusion before Achilles.

  Forthwith the hero left his spear upon the bank, leaning it

against a tamarisk bush, and plunged into the river like a god,

armed with his sword only. Fell was his purpose as he hewed the

Trojans down on every side. Their dying groans rose hideous as the

sword smote them, and the river ran red with blood. As when fish fly

scared before a huge dolphin, and fill every nook and corner of some

fair haven- for he is sure to eat all he can catch- even so did the

Trojans cower under the banks of the mighty river, and when

Achilles' arms grew weary with killing them, he drew twelve youths

alive out of the water, to sacrifice in revenge for Patroclus son of

Menoetius. He drew them out like dazed fawns, bound their hands behind

them with the girdles of their own shirts, and gave them over to his

men to take back to the ships. Then he sprang into the river,

thirsting for still further blood.

  There he found Lycaon, son of Priam seed of Dardanus, as he was

escaping out of the water; he it was whom he had once taken prisoner

when he was in his father's vineyard, having set upon him by night, as

he was cutting young shoots from a wild fig-tree to make the wicker

sides of a chariot. Achilles then caught him to his sorrow unawares,

and sent him by sea to Lemnos, where the son of Jason bought him.

But a guest-friend, Eetion of Imbros, freed him with a great sum,

and sent him to Arisbe, whence he had escaped and returned to his

father's house. He had spent eleven days happily with his friends

after he had come from Lemnos, but on the twelfth heaven again

delivered him into the hands of Achilles, who was to send him to the

house of Hades sorely against his will. He was unarmed when Achilles

caught sight of him, and had neither helmet nor shield; nor yet had he

any spear, for he had thrown all his armour from him on to the bank,

and was sweating with his struggles to get out of the river, so that

his strength was now failing him.

  Then Achilles said to himself in his surprise, "What marvel do I see

here? If this man can come back alive after having been sold over into

Lemnos, I shall have the Trojans also whom I have slain rising from

the world below. Could not even the waters of the grey sea imprison

him, as they do many another whether he will or no? This time let

him taste my spear, that I may know for certain whether mother earth

who can keep even a strong man down, will be able to hold him, or

whether thence too he will return."

  Thus did he pause and ponder. But Lycaon came up to him dazed and

trying hard to embrace his knees, for he would fain live, not die.

Achilles thrust at him with his spear, meaning to kill him, but Lycaon

ran crouching up to him and caught his knees, whereby the spear passed

over his back, and stuck in the ground, hungering though it was for

blood. With one hand he caught Achilles' knees as he besought him, and

with the other he clutched the spear and would not let it go. Then

he said, "Achilles, have mercy upon me and spare me, for I am your

suppliant. It was in your tents that I first broke bread on the day

when you took me prisoner in the vineyard; after which you sold away

to Lemnos far from my father and my friends, and I brought you the

price of a hundred oxen. I have paid three times as much to gain my

freedom; it is but twelve days that I have come to Ilius after much

suffering, and now cruel fate has again thrown me into your hands.

Surely father Jove must hate me, that he has given me over to you a

second time. Short of life indeed did my mother Laothoe bear me,

daughter of aged Altes- of Altes who reigns over the warlike Lelegae

and holds steep Pedasus on the river Satnioeis. Priam married his

daughter along with many other women and two sons were born of her,

both of whom you will have slain. Your spear slew noble Polydorus as

he was fighting in the front ranks, and now evil will here befall

me, for I fear that I shall not escape you since heaven has delivered

me over to you. Furthermore I say, and lay my saying to your heart,

spare me, for I am not of the same womb as Hector who slew your

brave and noble comrade."

  With such words did the princely son of Priam beseech Achilles;

but Achilles answered him sternly. "Idiot," said he, "talk not to me

of ransom. Until Patroclus fell I preferred to give the Trojans

quarter, and sold beyond the sea many of those whom I had taken alive;

but now not a man shall live of those whom heaven delivers into my

hands before the city of Ilius- and of all Trojans it shall fare

hardest with the sons of Priam. Therefore, my friend, you too shall

die. Why should you whine in this way? Patroclus fell, and he was a

better man than you are. I too- see you not how I am great and goodly?

I am son to a noble father, and have a goddess for my mother, but

the hands of doom and death overshadow me all as surely. The day

will come, either at dawn or dark, or at the noontide, when one

shall take my life also in battle, either with his spear, or with an

arrow sped from his bow."

  Thus did he speak, and Lycaon's heart sank within him. He loosed his

hold of the spear, and held out both hands before him; but Achilles

drew his keen blade, and struck him by the collar-bone on his neck; he

plunged his two-edged sword into him to the very hilt, whereon he

lay at full length on the ground, with the dark blood welling from him

till the earth was soaked. Then Achilles caught him by the foot and

flung him into the river to go down stream, vaunting over him the

while, and saying, "Lie there among the fishes, who will lick the

blood from your wound and gloat over it; your mother shall not lay you

on any bier to mourn you, but the eddies of Scamander shall bear you

into the broad bosom of the sea. There shall the fishes feed on the

fat of Lycaon as they dart under the dark ripple of the waters- so

perish all of you till we reach the citadel of strong Ilius- you in

flight, and I following after to destroy you. The river with its broad

silver stream shall serve you in no stead, for all the bulls you

offered him and all the horses that you flung living into his

waters. None the less miserably shall you perish till there is not a

man of you but has paid in full for the death of Patroclus and the

havoc you wrought among the Achaeans whom you have slain while I

held aloof from battle."

  So spoke Achilles, but the river grew more and more angry, and

pondered within himself how he should stay the hand of Achilles and

save the Trojans from disaster. Meanwhile the son of Peleus, spear

in hand, sprang upon Asteropaeus son of Pelegon to kill him. He was

son to the broad river Axius and Periboea eldest daughter of

Acessamenus; for the river had lain with her. Asteropaeus stood up out

of the water to face him with a spear in either hand, and Xanthus

filled him with courage, being angry for the death of the youths

whom Achilles was slaying ruthlessly within his waters. When they were

close up with one another Achilles was first to speak. "Who and whence

are you," said he, "who dare to face me? Woe to the parents whose

son stands up against me." And the son of Pelegon answered, "Great son

of Peleus, why should you ask my lineage. I am from the fertile land

of far Paeonia, captain of the Paeonians, and it is now eleven days

that I am at Ilius. I am of the blood of the river Axius- of Axius

that is the fairest of all rivers that run. He begot the famed warrior

Pelegon, whose son men call me. Let us now fight, Achilles."

  Thus did he defy him, and Achilles raised his spear of Pelian ash.

Asteropaeus failed with both his spears, for he could use both hands

alike; with the one spear he struck Achilles' shield, but did not

pierce it, for the layer of gold, gift of the god, stayed the point;

with the other spear he grazed the elbow of Achilles! right arm

drawing dark blood, but the spear itself went by him and fixed

itself in the ground, foiled of its bloody banquet. Then Achilles,

fain to kill him, hurled his spear at Asteropaeus, but failed to hit

him and struck the steep bank of the river, driving the spear half its

length into the earth. The son of Peleus then drew his sword and

sprang furiously upon him. Asteropaeus vainly tried to draw

Achilles' spear out of the bank by main force; thrice did he tug at

it, trying with all his might to draw it out, and thrice he had to

leave off trying; the fourth time he tried to bend and break it, but

ere he could do so Achilles smote him with his sword and killed him.

He struck him in the belly near the navel, so that all his bowels came

gushing out on to the ground, and the darkness of death came over

him as he lay gasping. Then Achilles set his foot on his chest and

spoiled him of his armour, vaunting over him and saying, "Lie there-

begotten of a river though you be, it is hard for you to strive with

the offspring of Saturn's son. You declare yourself sprung from the

blood of a broad river, but I am of the seed of mighty Jove. My father

is Peleus, son of Aeacus ruler over the many Myrmidons, and Aeacus was

the son of Jove. Therefore as Jove is mightier than any river that

flows into the sea, so are his children stronger than those of any

river whatsoever. Moreover you have a great river hard by if he can be

of any use to you, but there is no fighting against Jove the son of

Saturn, with whom not even King Achelous can compare, nor the mighty

stream of deep-flowing Oceanus, from whom all rivers and seas with all

springs and deep wells proceed; even Oceanus fears the lightnings of

great Jove, and his thunder that comes crashing out of heaven."

  With this he drew his bronze spear out of the bank, and now that

he had killed Asteropaeus, he let him lie where he was on the sand,

with the dark water flowing over him and the eels and fishes busy

nibbling and gnawing the fat that was about his kidneys. Then he

went in chase of the Paeonians, who were flying along the bank of

the river in panic when they saw their leader slain by the hands of

the son of Peleus. Therein he slew Thersilochus, Mydon, Astypylus,

Mnesus, Thrasius, Oeneus, and Ophelestes, and he would have slain

yet others, had not the river in anger taken human form, and spoken to

him from out the deep waters saying, "Achilles, if you excel all in

strength, so do you also in wickedness, for the gods are ever with you

to protect you: if, then, the son of Saturn has vouchsafed it to you

to destroy all the Trojans, at any rate drive them out of my stream,

and do your grim work on land. My fair waters are now filled with

corpses, nor can I find any channel by which I may pour myself into

the sea for I am choked with dead, and yet you go on mercilessly

slaying. I am in despair, therefore, O captain of your host, trouble

me no further."

BOOK XXIII, excerpts

  THUS did they make their moan throughout the city, while the

Achaeans when they reached the Hellespont went back every man to his

own ship. But Achilles would not let the Myrmidons go, and spoke to

his brave comrades saying, "Myrmidons, famed horsemen and my own

trusted friends, not yet, forsooth, let us unyoke, but with horse

and chariot draw near to the body and mourn Patroclus, in due honour

to the dead. When we have had full comfort of lamentation we will

unyoke our horses and take supper all of us here."

  On this they all joined in a cry of wailing and Achilles led them in

their lament. Thrice did they drive their chariots all sorrowing round

the body, and Thetis stirred within them a still deeper yearning.

The sands of the seashore and the men's armour were wet with their

weeping, so great a minister of fear was he whom they had lost.

Chief in all their mourning was the son of Peleus: he laid his

bloodstained hand on the breast of his friend. "Fare well," he

cried, "Patroclus, even in the house of Hades. I will now do all

that I erewhile promised you; I will drag Hector hither and let dogs

devour him raw; twelve noble sons of Trojans will I also slay before

your pyre to avenge you."

  As he spoke he treated the body of noble Hector with contumely,

laying it at full length in the dust beside the bier of Patroclus. The

others then put off every man his armour, took the horses from their

chariots, and seated themselves in great multitude by the ship of

the fleet descendant of Aeacus, who thereon feasted them with an

abundant funeral banquet. Many a goodly ox, with many a sheep and

bleating goat did they butcher and cut up; many a tusked boar

moreover, fat and well-fed, did they singe and set to roast in the

flames of Vulcan; and rivulets of blood flowed all round the place

where the body was lying.

  Then the princes of the Achaeans took the son of Peleus to

Agamemnon, but hardly could they persuade him to come with them, so

wroth was he for the death of his comrade. As soon as they reached

Agamemnon's tent they told the serving-men to set a large tripod

over the fire in case they might persuade the son of Peleus 'to wash

the clotted gore from this body, but he denied them sternly, and swore

it with a solemn oath, saying, "Nay, by King Jove, first and mightiest

of all gods, it is not meet that water should touch my body, till I

have laid Patroclus on the flames, have built him a barrow, and shaved

my head- for so long as I live no such second sorrow shall ever draw

nigh me. Now, therefore, let us do all that this sad festival demands,

but at break of day, King Agamemnon, bid your men bring wood, and

provide all else that the dead may duly take into the realm of

darkness; the fire shall thus burn him out of our sight the sooner,

and the people shall turn again to their own labours."

  Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. They made haste

to prepare the meal, they ate, and every man had his full share so

that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had had enough to eat and

drink, the others went to their rest each in his own tent, but the son

of Peleus lay grieving among his Myrmidons by the shore of the

sounding sea, in an open place where the waves came surging in one

after another. Here a very deep slumber took hold upon him and eased

the burden of his sorrows, for his limbs were weary with chasing

Hector round windy Ilius. Presently the sad spirit of Patroclus drew

near him, like what he had been in stature, voice, and the light of

his beaming eyes, clad, too, as he had been clad in life. The spirit

hovered over his head and said-

  "You sleep, Achilles, and have forgotten me; you loved me living,

but now that I am dead you think for me no further. Bury me with all

speed that I may pass the gates of Hades; the ghosts, vain shadows

of men that can labour no more, drive me away from them; they will not

yet suffer me to join those that are beyond the river, and I wander

all desolate by the wide gates of the house of Hades. Give me now your

hand I pray you, for when you have once given me my dues of fire,

never shall I again come forth out of the house of Hades. Nevermore

shall we sit apart and take sweet counsel among the living; the

cruel fate which was my birth-right has yawned its wide jaws around

me- nay, you too Achilles, peer of gods, are doomed to die beneath the

wall of the noble Trojans.

  "One prayer more will I make you, if you will grant it; let not my

bones be laid apart from yours, Achilles, but with them; even as we

were brought up together in your own home, what time Menoetius brought

me to you as a child from Opoeis because by a sad spite I had killed

the son of Amphidamas- not of set purpose, but in childish quarrel

over the dice. The knight Peleus took me into his house, entreated

me kindly, and named me to be your squire; therefore let our bones lie

in but a single urn, the two-handled golden vase given to you by

your mother."

  And Achilles answered, "Why, true heart, are you come hither to

lay these charges upon me? will of my own self do all as you have

bidden me. Draw closer to me, let us once more throw our arms around

one another, and find sad comfort in the sharing of our sorrows."

  He opened his arms towards him as he spoke and would have clasped

him in them, but there was nothing, and the spirit vanished as a

vapour, gibbering and whining into the earth. Achilles sprang to his

feet, smote his two hands, and made lamentation saying, "Of a truth

even in the house of Hades there are ghosts and phantoms that have

no life in them; all night long the sad spirit of Patroclus has

hovered over head making piteous moan, telling me what I am to do

for him, and looking wondrously like himself."

  Thus did he speak and his words set them all weeping and mourning

about the poor dumb dead, till rosy-fingered morn appeared. Then

King Agamemnon sent men and mules from all parts of the camp, to bring

wood, and Meriones, squire to Idomeneus, was in charge over them. They

went out with woodmen's axes and strong ropes in their hands, and

before them went the mules. Up hill and down dale did they go, by

straight ways and crooked, and when they reached the heights of

many-fountained Ida, they laid their axes to the roots of many a

tall branching oak that came thundering down as they felled it. They

split the trees and bound them behind the mules, which then wended

their way as they best could through the thick brushwood on to the

plain. All who had been cutting wood bore logs, for so Meriones squire

to Idomeneus had bidden them, and they threw them down in a line

upon the seashore at the place where Achilles would make a mighty

monument for Patroclus and for himself.

  When they had thrown down their great logs of wood over the whole

ground, they stayed all of them where they were, but Achilles

ordered his brave Myrmidons to gird on their armour, and to yoke

each man his horses; they therefore rose, girded on their armour and

mounted each his chariot- they and their charioteers with them. The

chariots went before, and they that were on foot followed as a cloud

in their tens of thousands after. In the midst of them his comrades

bore Patroclus and covered him with the locks of their hair which they

cut off and threw upon his body. Last came Achilles with his head

bowed for sorrow, so noble a comrade was he taking to the house of

Hades.

  When they came to the place of which Achilles had told them they

laid the body down and built up the wood. Achilles then bethought

him of another matter. He went a space away from the pyre, and cut off

the yellow lock which he had let grow for the river Spercheius. He

looked all sorrowfully out upon the dark sea, and said, "Spercheius,

in vain did my father Peleus vow to you that when I returned home to

my loved native land I should cut off this lock and offer you a holy

hecatomb; fifty she-goats was I to sacrifice to you there at your

springs, where is your grove and your altar fragrant with

burnt-offerings. Thus did my father vow, but you have not fulfilled

his prayer; now, therefore, that I shall see my home no more, I give

this lock as a keepsake to the hero Patroclus."

  As he spoke he placed the lock in the hands of his dear comrade, and

all who stood by were filled with yearning and lamentation. The sun

would have gone down upon their mourning had not Achilles presently

said to Agamemnon, "Son of Atreus, for it is to you that the people

will give ear, there is a time to mourn and a time to cease from

mourning; bid the people now leave the pyre and set about getting

their dinners: we, to whom the dead is dearest, will see to what is

wanted here, and let the other princes also stay by me."

  When King Agamemnon heard this he dismissed the people to their

ships, but those who were about the dead heaped up wood and built a

pyre a hundred feet this way and that; then they laid the dead all

sorrowfully upon the top of it. They flayed and dressed many fat sheep

and oxen before the pyre, and Achilles took fat from all of them and

wrapped the body therein from head to foot, heaping the flayed

carcases all round it. Against the bier he leaned two-handled jars

of honey and unguents; four proud horses did he then cast upon the

pyre, groaning the while he did so. The dead hero had had

house-dogs; two of them did Achilles slay and threw upon the pyre;

he also put twelve brave sons of noble Trojans to the sword and laid

them with the rest, for he was full of bitterness and fury. Then he

committed all to the resistless and devouring might of the fire; he

groaned aloud and callid on his dead comrade by name. "Fare well,"

he cried, "Patroclus, even in the house of Hades; I am now doing all

that I have promised you. Twelve brave sons of noble Trojans shall the

flames consume along with yourself, but dogs, not fire, shall devour

the flesh of Hector son of Priam."

  Thus did he vaunt, but the dogs came not about the body of Hector,

for Jove's daughter Venus kept them off him night and day, and

anointed him with ambrosial oil of roses that his flesh might not be

torn when Achilles was dragging him about. Phoebus Apollo moreover

sent a dark cloud from heaven to earth, which gave shade to the

whole place where Hector lay, that the heat of the sun might not parch

his body.

  Now the pyre about dead Patroclus would not kindle. Achilles

therefore bethought him of another matter; he went apart and prayed to

the two winds Boreas and Zephyrus vowing them goodly offerings. He

made them many drink-offerings from the golden cup and besought them

to come and help him that the wood might make haste to kindle and

the dead bodies be consumed. Fleet Iris heard him praying and

started off to fetch the winds. They were holding high feast in the

house of boisterous Zephyrus when Iris came running up to the stone

threshold of the house and stood there, but as soon as they set eyes

on her they all came towards her and each of them called her to him,

but Iris would not sit down. "I cannot stay," she said, "I must go

back to the streams of Oceanus and the land of the Ethiopians who

are offering hecatombs to the immortals, and I would have my share;

but Achilles prays that Boreas and shrill Zephyrus will come to him,

and he vows them goodly offerings; he would have you blow upon the

pyre of Patroclus for whom all the Achaeans are lamenting."

  With this she left them, and the two winds rose with a cry that rent

the air and swept the clouds before them. They blew on and on until

they came to the sea, and the waves rose high beneath them, but when

they reached Troy they fell upon the pyre till the mighty flames

roared under the blast that they blew. All night long did they blow

hard and beat upon the fire, and all night long did Achilles grasp his

double cup, drawing wine from a mixing-bowl of gold, and calling

upon the spirit of dead Patroclus as he poured it upon the ground

until the earth was drenched. As a father mourns when he is burning

the bones of his bridegroom son whose death has wrung the hearts of

his parents, even so did Achilles mourn while burning the body of

his comrade, pacing round the bier with piteous groaning and

lamentation.

  At length as the Morning Star was beginning to herald the light

which saffron-mantled Dawn was soon to suffuse over the sea, the

flames fell and the fire began to die. The winds then went home beyond

the Thracian sea, which roared and boiled as they swept over it. The

son of Peleus now turned away from the pyre and lay down, overcome

with toil, till he fell into a sweet slumber. Presently they who

were about the son of Atreus drew near in a body, and roused him

with the noise and tramp of their coming. He sat upright and said,

"Son of Atreus, and all other princes of the Achaeans, first pour

red wine everywhere upon the fire and quench it; let us then gather

the bones of Patroclus son of Menoetius, singling them out with

care; they are easily found, for they lie in the middle of the pyre,

while all else, both men and horses, has been thrown in a heap and

burned at the outer edge. We will lay the bones in a golden urn, in

two layers of fat, against the time when I shall myself go down into

the house of Hades. As for the barrow, labour not to raise a great one

now, but such as is reasonable. Afterwards, let those Achaeans who may

be left at the ships when I am gone, build it both broad and high."

  Thus he spoke and they obeyed the word of the son of Peleus. First

they poured red wine upon the thick layer of ashes and quenched the

fire. With many tears they singled out the whitened bones of their

loved comrade and laid them within a golden urn in two layers of

fat: they then covered the urn with a linen cloth and took it inside

the tent. They marked off the circle where the barrow should be,

made a foundation for it about the pyre, and forthwith heaped up the

earth. When they had thus raised a mound they were going away, but

Achilles stayed the people and made them sit in assembly. He brought

prizes from the ships-cauldrons, tripods, horses and mules, noble

oxen, women with fair girdles, and swart iron.

  The first prize he offered was for the chariot races- a woman

skilled in all useful arts, and a three-legged cauldron that had

ears for handles, and would hold twenty-two measures. This was for the

man who came in first. For the second there was a six-year old mare,

unbroken, and in foal to a he-ass; the third was to have a goodly

cauldron that had never yet been on the fire; it was still bright as

when it left the maker, and would hold four measures. The fourth prize

was two talents of gold, and the fifth a two-handled urn as yet

unsoiled by smoke.