THE ILIAD V

Then Pallas Athena granted to Diomedes, son of Tydeus, both might and courage, so that he would stand forth from all the other Argives and win for himself a noble renown. She kindled an unwearying fire from his helmet and his shield, a flame like the autumn star, which shines at its most brilliant, having bathed in the waters of Ocean. Such was the fire that blazed from his head and shoulders as she urged him into the middle of the fray, where the fighting was thickest. Now, there was among the Trojans a man named Dares, wealthy and blameless, a priest of Hephaestus. He had two sons, Phegeus and Idaeus, both well skilled in all the arts of war. These two broke away from the ranks and charged to meet Diomedes, they in their chariot, while he advanced on foot. When they were close upon each other, Phegeus cast his long-shadowed spear first. The point flew over the left shoulder of Tydeus’ son and did not strike him. Then Diomedes made his own cast with the bronze, and the spear did not fly from his hand in vain, but struck Phegeus in the chest between the nipples and thrust him from his chariot. Idaeus leaped down, leaving the beautiful chariot, and did not dare to stand over his slain brother. Yet he would not have escaped his own dark fate, had not Hephaestus snatched him away, concealing him in darkness so that his aged father would not be utterly broken with grief. The son of great-hearted Tydeus drove away the horses and gave them to his comrades to lead down to the hollow ships. When the great-hearted Trojans saw the two sons of Dares, one fleeing and the other slain beside his chariot, the spirit was stirred in all of them. But grey-eyed Athena took raging Ares by the hand and spoke to him, saying: “Ares, Ares, bane of mortals, blood-stained stormer of walls! Should we not leave the Trojans and Achaeans to fight it out, and let Father Zeus grant glory to whichever side he will? Let us two withdraw, and so escape the wrath of Zeus.” So saying, she led raging Ares out of the battle. She had him sit down on the sandy banks of the Scamander, and the Danaans turned the tide against the Trojans. Each of their leaders killed his man. First Agamemnon, king of men, cast the great Odios, chief of the Halizones, from his chariot; for as he was the first to turn, Agamemnon planted the spear in his back between the shoulders and drove it through his chest. He fell with a thud, and his armor clattered upon him. Then Idomeneus killed Phaestus, son of Borus the Maeonian, who had come from Tarne of the rich soil. As he was mounting his chariot, Idomeneus, famed for his spear, struck him with a long cast on the right shoulder. He toppled from the chariot, and hateful darkness seized him. The squires of Idomeneus stripped him of his armor. And Menelaus, son of Atreus, took with his sharp spear Scamandrius, son of Strophius, a master of the hunt. Artemis herself had taught him how to shoot all manner of wild things that the mountain forests breed. But she who delights in arrows, Artemis, could not help him then, nor could the long shots in which he once excelled. For as he fled before him, Menelaus, famed for his spear, stabbed him in the back between the shoulders and drove the spear clear through his chest. He fell forward onto his face, and his armor clattered upon him. Meriones, for his part, killed Phereclus, son of Harmonides the craftsman, whose hands knew how to fashion all manner of intricate things, for Pallas Athena loved him exceedingly. It was he who had built for Alexander the well-balanced ships that were the beginning of evil, a bane to all the Trojans and to himself, for he knew nothing of the decrees of the gods. As Meriones overtook him in pursuit, he struck him in the right buttock, and the spearhead drove straight on, passing under the bone and into the bladder. He fell to his knees with a cry, and death enfolded him. Then Meges killed Pedaeus, a bastard son of Antenor, whom noble Theano had nonetheless raised with care, equal to her own dear children, to please her husband. The son of Phyleus, famous with the spear, came close and struck him with a sharp cast on the back of the head. The bronze point passed straight through, cutting the tongue at its root beneath his teeth. He fell in the dust and clenched the cold bronze between his teeth. And Eurypylus, son of Euaemon, killed godlike Hypsenor, son of proud Dolopion, who had been made priest of the Scamander and was honored by the people like a god. As Hypsenor fled before him, Eurypylus, the glorious son of Euaemon, pursued and with a flash of his sword struck him on the shoulder, shearing off his heavy arm. The blood-soaked arm fell to the plain, and upon his eyes fell purple death and the grip of destiny. Thus they toiled in the mighty conflict. But as for the son of Tydeus, you could not have told which side he was on, whether he consorted with the Trojans or with the Achaeans. For he stormed across the plain like a river in winter flood, which in its swift course sweeps away the dikes; neither the fortified dikes can hold it back, nor the walls of the flourishing orchards, when it comes on suddenly under the heavy rain of Zeus, and before it many fair works of men are ruined. So before Diomedes the serried ranks of the Trojans were thrown into confusion, and they could not hold their ground against him, for all their numbers. When the glorious son of Lycaon saw him raging across the plain, driving the phalanxes before him, he quickly bent his curved bow against the son of Tydeus, and as he charged, he struck him, hitting his mark on the right shoulder, on the hollow of his cuirass. The bitter arrow flew right through and pierced him, and the cuirass was spattered with blood. At this the glorious son of Lycaon shouted aloud: “Forward, great-hearted Trojans, drivers of horses! The best of the Achaeans is hit, and I do not think he will long endure the powerful shaft, if the son of Zeus, the king, truly sped me on my way from Lycia.” So he spoke in triumph, but the swift arrow had not overcome Diomedes. He drew back and stood before his chariot and horses, and spoke to Sthenelus, son of Capaneus: “Come, my friend, son of Capaneus, step down from the chariot, so that you may draw this bitter arrow from my shoulder.” So he spoke, and Sthenelus leaped from the horses to the ground. He stood beside him and drew the swift arrow clean through his shoulder, and the blood spurted out through the pliant tunic. Then Diomedes, master of the war cry, prayed aloud: “Hear me, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, tireless one! If ever you stood by my father with favor in the fury of battle, now in turn, Athena, be gracious to me. Grant that I may kill this man and bring him within my spear’s reach, he who shot me from hiding and now boasts that I shall not long look upon the bright light of the sun.” So he spoke in prayer, and Pallas Athena heard him. She made his limbs light, his feet and his hands above, and standing close beside him she spoke winged words: “Take heart now, Diomedes, and fight against the Trojans. For I have put in your breast your father’s spirit, fearless, such as Tydeus the horseman and shield-bearer once had. And I have lifted the mist from your eyes that was there before, so that you may clearly tell a god from a man. Therefore, if any god comes here to test you, do not you fight face to face with any of the other immortal gods; but if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, should enter the war, her you may wound with the sharp bronze.” When she had spoken thus, grey-eyed Athena departed, and the son of Tydeus went once more to join the front ranks. Though even before he had been eager in his heart to fight the Trojans, now three times the fury seized him, like a lion that a shepherd in the field, guarding his fleecy sheep, has grazed but not brought down as it leaped over the courtyard wall. He has roused its strength, but then offers no further defence, and flees into the farm buildings, and the abandoned sheep are terrified. They are hurled in heaps upon one another, while the lion in its fury leaps out of the deep yard. So in his fury did mighty Diomedes mingle with the Trojans. There he killed Astynous and Hypeiron, a shepherd of the people; one he struck above the nipple with his bronze-tipped spear, the other he hit with his great sword on the collarbone beside the shoulder, shearing the shoulder from the neck and from the back. He left them there and went after Abas and Polyidus, sons of the old man Eurydamas, an interpreter of dreams. The old man had not interpreted their dreams for them when they went to war, for mighty Diomedes despoiled them. Then he went after Xanthus and Thoön, the two sons of Phaenops, both born in his late years. He was worn down by grievous old age and had begotten no other son to leave in charge of his possessions. There Diomedes killed them and tore the dear life from both, leaving to their father only sorrow and bitter grief, since he would not welcome them home alive from the battle; and kinsmen would divide his inheritance. Then he took two sons of Priam, descendant of Dardanus, who were in a single chariot, Echemmon and Chromius. As a lion leaps among the cattle and breaks the neck of a heifer or an ox grazing in a thicket, so the son of Tydeus brutally threw them both from their chariot against their will, and then stripped their armor. He gave the horses to his comrades to drive to the ships. Aeneas saw him devastating the ranks of men and went through the battle and the clash of spears, seeking godlike Pandarus, if he could find him. He found the blameless and mighty son of Lycaon and stood before him, and spoke a word to his face: “Pandarus, where now are your bow and your winged arrows and your fame? No man here can contend with you, nor does any in Lycia claim to be your better. Come now, lift your hands to Zeus and let fly an arrow at this man, whoever he is, who holds the field and has already done much harm to the Trojans, since he has loosed the knees of many good men— unless he is some god, angry with the Trojans, wroth over sacrifices. And the wrath of a god is a heavy thing.” To him in turn the glorious son of Lycaon replied: “Aeneas, counselor of the bronze-clad Trojans, I liken him in all ways to the valiant son of Tydeus, knowing him by his shield and his crested helmet, and seeing his horses. But I do not know for certain if he is a god. Yet if he is the man I say he is, the valiant son of Tydeus, he does not rage thus without a god beside him, but some one of the immortals stands near, his shoulders wrapped in cloud, who turned aside the swift arrow that was about to reach him. For I already shot an arrow at him and struck him on the right shoulder, clean through the hollow of his cuirass, and I thought I would send him down to Hades, yet for all that I did not vanquish him. Surely some god is angry. And I have no horses or chariot here to mount. Yet somewhere in the halls of Lycaon there are eleven chariots, beautiful, new-made, fresh from the craftsman’s hand, with coverings spread over them. And beside each one a pair of horses stands, munching on white barley and spelt. Truly, the old spearman Lycaon gave me many commands in his well-built house as I was setting out. He told me to take horses and a chariot and in them lead the Trojans in the mighty conflict. But I did not listen—and it would have been far better if I had— for I was sparing of my horses, lest in a city under siege they should lack for fodder, they that were used to eating their fill. So I left them, and came on foot to Ilium, trusting in my bow; but it was not to serve me well. Already I have shot at two of the best warriors, the son of Tydeus and the son of Atreus, and from both I drew true blood with my shot, but I only roused them the more. It was in an evil hour, then, that I took my curved bow from its peg on the day I led my Trojans to lovely Ilium, to do a favor for godlike Hector. If ever I return and look with my own eyes upon my homeland and my wife and my great, high-roofed house, may a stranger straightway cut the head from my shoulders if I do not take this bow, break it with my own hands, and cast it into the blazing fire. For it has been a worthless companion to me.” Then Aeneas, leader of the Trojans, answered him in turn: “Do not speak so. Things will not be otherwise until we two, with horses and chariot, go against this man and try our strength with arms. Come then, mount my chariot, so you may see what the Trojan horses are like, how they know their way over the plain, swift to pursue or to flee this way and that. They will bring us safely to the city, even if Zeus should once more grant glory to Diomedes, son of Tydeus. So come, take the whip now and the shining reins, and I will dismount from the chariot to fight. Or else you face this man, and the horses will be my care.” To him the glorious son of Lycaon replied: “Aeneas, you yourself hold the reins and your own horses. They will better draw the curved chariot under a familiar driver, should we have to flee again from the son of Tydeus. Let it not be that they take fright and falter, and refuse to carry us out of the fighting, longing for your voice, and the son of great-hearted Tydeus attacks and kills us both and drives off the single-hoofed horses. No, you drive your own chariot and your own team, and I will await his charge with my sharp spear.” So they spoke, and mounting the inlaid chariot, they drove the swift horses eagerly against Diomedes. Sthenelus, the glorious son of Capaneus, saw them and at once spoke winged words to the son of Tydeus: “Diomedes, son of Tydeus, dear to my heart, I see two mighty men eager to fight you, possessed of immense strength. One is a master of the bow, Pandarus, who boasts he is the son of Lycaon. The other is Aeneas, who claims to be the son of blameless Anchises, and whose mother is Aphrodite. Come now, let us give way upon the chariot, and do not so storm through the front lines, lest you lose your own dear life.” Then mighty Diomedes looked at him darkly and said: “Speak not of flight, for I do not think you will persuade me. It is not in my nature to fight while shrinking back, or to cower. My strength is still firm within me. I disdain to mount the chariot, but even as I am, on foot, I will go to meet them. Pallas Athena does not allow me to tremble. As for these two, their swift horses will not carry them both away from us again, even if one of them escapes. And I will tell you something else, and you lay it to your heart: if Athena, rich in counsel, grants me the glory of killing both, then you hold these swift horses of ours right here, tying the reins to the chariot rail, and remembering to rush upon the horses of Aeneas and drive them out from the Trojan lines and into the host of the well-greaved Achaeans. For they are of that stock which Zeus of the wide brows gave to Tros as payment for his son Ganymede, and so they are the finest horses that exist under the dawn and the sun. Anchises, lord of men, stole the breed by putting his own mares to them without Laomedon’s knowledge. From them six foals were born in his halls. Four he kept for himself and raised at his manger, but two he gave to Aeneas, masters of panic. If we could take these, we would win noble glory.” While they were speaking thus to one another, the other two drew near, driving their swift horses. The glorious son of Lycaon was the first to speak: “Strong-hearted and valiant son of noble Tydeus, my swift shaft, the bitter arrow, did not vanquish you. Now I will try again with my spear, and see if I can hit my mark.” He spoke, and brandishing his long-shadowed spear, he cast it and struck the shield of Tydeus' son. The bronze point flew right through it and came near the cuirass. At this, the glorious son of Lycaon shouted aloud: “You are hit, right through the belly, and I do not think you will hold out much longer. You have given me great glory.” But mighty Diomedes answered him without flinching: “You have missed; you did not hit me. But I do not think you two will rest until one of you has fallen and glutted Ares, the warrior of the bull’s-hide shield, with his blood.” So he spoke, and cast. And Athena guided the spear to his nose beside the eye, and it passed through his white teeth. The relentless bronze cut the tongue at its root, and the point came out beneath the chin. He fell from the chariot, and his ornate, gleaming armor clattered upon him, and the swift-footed horses shied away. There his spirit and his strength were undone. Aeneas leaped down with his shield and his long spear, fearing that the Achaeans might drag the body away. He bestrode it like a lion confident in its strength, holding his spear and his perfectly round shield before him, ready to kill any who came against him, shouting his terrible cry. But the son of Tydeus took up in his hand a great stone, a mighty deed, one that no two men, such as mortals are now, could lift. But he wielded it easily by himself. With this he struck Aeneas on the hip, where the thigh turns in the hip-joint, which men call the cup. He crushed the cup and broke both sinews as well, and the jagged stone tore the skin. The hero fell to his knees and braced himself with his stout hand on the earth, and black night came down over his eyes. And there the king of men, Aeneas, would have perished, had not the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite, been quick to notice— his mother, who bore him to Anchises as he tended his cattle. She threw her white arms about her beloved son, and drew a fold of her shining robe before him to be a shield against missiles, lest any of the swift-horsed Danaans might cast a bronze spear into his chest and take his life. She was carrying her dear son out of the battle. But the son of Capaneus had not forgotten the commands which Diomedes, master of the war cry, had given him. He held his own single-hoofed horses back from the tumult, tying the reins to the chariot rail, and rushing upon the fine-maned horses of Aeneas, he drove them from the Trojan lines and into the host of the well-greaved Achaeans. He gave them to his dear comrade Deipylus, whom he honored above all his peers because their minds were in harmony, to drive to the hollow ships. Then the hero mounted his own chariot, took up the shining reins, and at once pursued the son of Tydeus with his strong-hoofed horses, full of eagerness. But Diomedes was chasing the Cyprian goddess with his pitiless bronze, knowing that she was a weakling goddess, not one of those who command the wars of men, neither Athena nor Enyo, sacker of cities. But when at last he caught up with her, having pursued her through the great throng, the son of great-hearted Tydeus reached out and, leaping forward, wounded the surface of her delicate hand with his sharp spear. Straightaway the spear pierced the skin through the ambrosial robe, which the Graces themselves had made for her, high on the wrist above the palm. And the immortal blood of the goddess flowed, ichor, such as flows in the blessed gods; for they do not eat bread, nor do they drink sparkling wine, which is why they are bloodless and are called immortals. She shrieked loudly and let her son fall from her grasp. But Phoebus Apollo took him in his own hands and saved him in a dark cloud, lest any of the swift-horsed Danaans might cast a bronze spear into his chest and take his life. And over her Diomedes, master of the war cry, shouted aloud: “Give way, daughter of Zeus, from war and battle! Is it not enough that you beguile feeble women? If you venture into war, I think you will learn to shudder at its very name, even if you hear of it from afar.” So he spoke, and she departed in a daze, grievously afflicted. Wind-footed Iris took her and led her out of the throng, tormented by her pains, her fair skin stained dark. She then found raging Ares sitting on the left of the battle, his spear and his swift horses propped on a cloud of mist. She fell to her knees before her dear brother and with many prayers begged for his golden-frontleted horses: “Dear brother, help me and give me your horses, so I may get to Olympus, where the immortals have their home. I am in great pain from a wound a mortal man gave me, the son of Tydeus, who now would fight even with Father Zeus.” So she spoke, and Ares gave her the golden-frontleted horses. She mounted the chariot, her own heart aching, and Iris mounted beside her and took the reins in her hands. She whipped them into a run, and they flew on, not unwillingly. Soon they reached the home of the gods, steep Olympus. There the swift, wind-footed Iris halted the horses, unyoked them from the chariot, and cast ambrosial fodder before them. But the divine Aphrodite fell upon the knees of her mother Dione, who took her daughter in her arms, caressed her with her hand, and spoke, calling her by name: “Who of the heavenly ones, my dear child, has done such a thing to you, wantonly, as if you were caught doing some evil in the open?” Then laughter-loving Aphrodite answered her: “The son of Tydeus, high-hearted Diomedes, wounded me, because I was carrying my own dear son, Aeneas, out of the battle, who is dearest of all to me. For the terrible strife is no longer just between Trojans and Achaeans; now the Danaans are fighting even the immortals.” To her in turn Dione, divine among goddesses, replied: “Endure it, my child, and bear up, though you are in pain. For many of us who have dwellings on Olympus have suffered at the hands of men, inflicting grievous pains on one another. Ares endured it when Otus and mighty Ephialtes, sons of Aloeus, bound him in a strong chain. He was bound in a bronze jar for thirteen months, and there Ares, insatiate of war, would have perished, had not their stepmother, the beautiful Eeriboea, told Hermes. And he stole Ares away, already worn out, for the cruel bond was overpowering him. Hera endured it when the mighty son of Amphitryon struck her on the right breast with a three-barbed arrow; then, too, incurable pain seized her. And Hades the monstrous endured a swift arrow among the others, when the same man, the son of aegis-bearing Zeus, struck him at the gate among the dead and gave him over to pains. But he went to the house of Zeus and to high Olympus, his heart grieving, pierced with pain; for the arrow was driven into his sturdy shoulder and was vexing his spirit. But Paeëon spread pain-killing herbs upon it and healed him, for he was not made of mortal stuff. Reckless, violent man, who did not shrink from his wicked deeds, who with his bow afflicted the gods who hold Olympus! And it was the goddess grey-eyed Athena who sent this man against you. Fool, the son of Tydeus does not know in his heart that he who fights with the immortals does not live long, nor do his children prattle upon his knees when he returns from war and the dreadful fray. Therefore let the son of Tydeus, though he is very mighty, take care lest someone better than you should fight with him, and lest Aegialeia, wise daughter of Adrestus and noble wife of Diomedes, tamer of horses, should soon wake her household from their sleep with her lamentations, longing for her wedded husband, the best of the Achaeans.” She spoke, and with both hands wiped the ichor from the wrist. The hand was healed, and the heavy pains were eased. But Athena and Hera, looking on, began to provoke Zeus, son of Cronos, with taunting words. And among them the goddess grey-eyed Athena was the first to speak: “Father Zeus, will you be angry with me for what I am about to say? Surely the Cyprian has been urging some Achaean woman to go with the Trojans, whom she now so desperately loves, and while caressing one of these well-robed Achaean women, she has scratched her delicate hand on a golden brooch.” So she spoke, and the father of men and gods smiled. Then he called golden Aphrodite to him and said: “My child, the works of war have not been given to you. You are to concern yourself with the lovely works of marriage, and all these other things will be the care of swift Ares and Athena.” While they were speaking thus to one another, Diomedes, master of the war cry, was charging at Aeneas, knowing that Apollo himself held his hands over him. Yet he did not shrink even from a great god, but was ever eager to kill Aeneas and strip him of his glorious armor. Three times he charged, intent on killing him, and three times Apollo beat back his shining shield. But when he rushed on for the fourth time, like a daemon, Apollo the Far-Striker shouted at him with a terrible cry: “Think, son of Tydeus, and give way! Do not seek to think thoughts equal to the gods', since the race of immortal gods is never the same as that of men who walk upon the earth.” So he spoke, and the son of Tydeus drew back a little way, to avoid the wrath of Apollo the Far-Shooter. Then Apollo set Aeneas down far from the throng, in sacred Pergamus, where his temple had been built. There Leto and Artemis, she who delights in arrows, healed him in the great sanctuary and glorified him. But Apollo of the silver bow fashioned a phantom, like Aeneas himself and in such armor as his, and around this phantom the Trojans and the godlike Achaeans hacked at the ox-hide shields around one another’s chests, the well-rounded bucklers and the winged targes. Then Phoebus Apollo spoke to raging Ares: “Ares, Ares, bane of mortals, blood-stained stormer of walls! Will you not go and draw this man from the battle, this son of Tydeus, who now would fight even with Father Zeus? First he wounded the Cyprian at close quarters on the wrist, and then he rushed upon me myself, like a daemon.” So saying, he himself sat down on the heights of Pergamus, while destructive Ares went to stir the ranks of the Trojans, in the guise of Acamas, the swift leader of the Thracians. He called out to the sons of Priam, beloved of Zeus: “O sons of Priam, king beloved of Zeus, how much longer will you allow your people to be slain by the Achaeans? Will it be until they fight around your well-made gates? A man lies fallen whom we honored as much as godlike Hector: Aeneas, son of great-souled Anchises. Come, let us save our noble comrade from the tumult.” With these words he roused the strength and spirit of each man. Then Sarpedon, in turn, rebuked godlike Hector sharply: “Hector, where has the strength gone that you had before? You used to say that you could hold the city without your people and allies, alone, with your brothers-in-law and your own brothers. But now I cannot see or perceive any of them; they are cowering like dogs around a lion. It is we who fight, we who are here as your allies. For I myself, being an ally, have come from very far away. Far off is Lycia, by the swirling Xanthus, where I left my beloved wife and my infant son, and many possessions, which the needy man covets. Yet even so I urge on my Lycians and am eager myself to fight my man, though I have nothing here of a kind the Achaeans might carry or drive away. But you stand there, and do not even command your other forces to hold their ground and defend their wives. See to it that you are not caught as in the meshes of an all-ensnaring net, and become prey and plunder for your enemies. They will soon sack your well-peopled city. All this should be your concern, by night and by day, beseeching the leaders of your far-famed allies to hold their ground relentlessly and to put aside their harsh reproaches.” So spoke Sarpedon, and his words stung Hector to the heart. At once he leaped from his chariot to the ground in all his armor, and brandishing two sharp spears, he went everywhere through the army, urging them to fight, and he stirred up the terrible clamor of battle. They wheeled around and stood to face the Achaeans, but the Argives held their ground in a body and were not afraid. As the wind carries the chaff across the sacred threshing floors when men are winnowing, and as golden Demeter separates the grain from the chaff in the rushing winds, and the piles of chaff grow white, so then did the Achaeans become white from head to foot with the dust that the hooves of the horses kicked up through their midst to the brazen sky, as they wheeled back into the fight and the charioteers turned their teams. And they brought the strength of their hands straight against the foe. Raging Ares cast a shroud of night over the battle to aid the Trojans, moving everywhere to and fro. He was carrying out the command of Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who had ordered him to rouse the spirit of the Trojans, when he saw that Pallas Athena was gone, for she had been a helper to the Danaans. And Apollo himself sent Aeneas forth from the rich sanctuary and put strength in the breast of the shepherd of the people. Aeneas took his place among his comrades, and they rejoiced, to see him coming toward them, alive and unharmed and filled with noble strength. But they questioned him no further, for other toils would not permit it, stirred up by the god of the silver bow, and by Ares, bane of mortals, and by Strife, who rages without cease. On the other side, the two Aiantes and Odysseus and Diomedes urged the Danaans to fight. They themselves feared neither the violence of the Trojans nor their charges, but stood firm like clouds that the son of Cronos, in a time of calm, has set motionless on the high mountain peaks, while the strength of Boreas and the other furious winds sleeps, those winds that with their shrill blasts scatter the shadowy clouds. So the Danaans stood firm against the Trojans and did not flee. And the son of Atreus ranged through the throng, exhorting them loudly: “My friends, be men, and take heart of courage, and have shame of one another in the mighty conflict. Of men who feel shame, more are saved than are slain; but for those who flee, there is neither glory nor any defense.” He spoke, and cast his spear swiftly, and struck a man in the front rank, Deicoön, a comrade of great-hearted Aeneas, son of Pergasus, whom the Trojans honored as they did the sons of Priam, because he was swift to fight among the foremost. Lord Agamemnon struck his shield with the spear, but it did not stop the shaft; the bronze passed right through and drove into his lower belly through the belt. He fell with a thud, and his armor clattered upon him. Then Aeneas in turn killed two of the best men of the Danaans, sons of Diocles, Crethon and Orsilochus. Their father lived in well-built Pherae, a man rich in substance, and his lineage was from the river Alpheus, which flows wide through the land of the Pylians. The river begot Ortilochus, a lord over many men, and Ortilochus begot great-hearted Diocles, and from Diocles were born twin sons, Crethon and Orsilochus, well skilled in all the arts of war. When they came to manhood, they followed the Argives on their black ships to Ilium of the fine horses, seeking to win honor for the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus. But there the end of death enshrouded them. Like two lions that are raised by their mother on the peaks of a mountain in the thickets of a deep forest; they seize the cattle and the strong sheep and ravage the farmsteads of men, until they themselves are killed by the hands of men with the sharp bronze. Such were these two, who, vanquished by the hands of Aeneas, fell like tall fir trees. Menelaus, dear to Ares, pitied them as they fell, and he strode through the front ranks, armed in gleaming bronze, shaking his spear. Ares roused his fury, intending that he should be brought down by the hands of Aeneas. But Antilochus, son of great-hearted Nestor, saw him and strode through the front lines, for he feared greatly for the shepherd of the people, lest he should suffer some harm and bring all their toil to nothing. The two men, Aeneas and Menelaus, were holding their hands and their sharp spears against each other, eager to fight. But Antilochus came to stand very close beside the shepherd of the people. Aeneas did not hold his ground, swift warrior though he was, when he saw the two men standing side by side. So when they had dragged the bodies into the Achaean lines, they put the two wretched men into the hands of their comrades, and they themselves turned back to fight among the foremost. There they killed Pylaemenes, a peer of Ares, leader of the great-hearted Paphlagonian shieldmen. As he stood there, Menelaus, son of Atreus, famed for his spear, struck him on the collarbone. And Antilochus hit his charioteer and squire Mydon, the noble son of Atymnius—he was just turning the single-hoofed horses— striking him square on the elbow with a stone. From his hands the reins, white with ivory, fell to the ground in the dust. Antilochus then leaped upon him and struck his temple with his sword. Gasping, he toppled from the well-made chariot headlong into the dust, landing on his crown and his shoulders. He remained stuck there for a long while—for he had fallen in deep sand— until his horses kicked him and knocked him to the ground in the dust. Antilochus whipped them and drove them into the Achaean host. Hector saw them across the ranks and rushed toward them with a shout, and with him followed the strong phalanxes of the Trojans. Ares and the dread goddess Enyo led them, she bringing with her the shameless din of battle, while Ares wielded a monstrous spear in his hands, and strode now in front of Hector, now behind him. Diomedes, master of the war cry, shuddered when he saw him. As a man, at a loss on a wide plain, comes upon a swift-flowing river rushing to the sea and sees it seething with foam and draws back in haste, so then did the son of Tydeus draw back, and he said to his men: “My friends, how we marvel at godlike Hector, that he should be both a spearman and a daring warrior! But always there is at least one god beside him, who wards off destruction. And now beside him is that one, Ares, in the likeness of a mortal man. Therefore, give ground, but keep your faces always to the Trojans, and do not be eager to fight fiercely with the gods.” So he spoke, and the Trojans came very close to them. Then Hector killed two men skilled in battle, who were in a single chariot, Menesthes and Anchialus. The great Telamonian Ajax pitied them as they fell. He came and stood very near and cast with his shining spear, and he struck Amphius, son of Selagus, who lived in Paesus, a man of many possessions and many fields. But fate brought him to the aid of Priam and his sons. The Telamonian Ajax struck him on the belt, and the long-shadowed spear lodged in his lower belly. He fell with a thud, and glorious Ajax ran forward to strip him of his armor. But the Trojans rained down their spears upon him, sharp and gleaming, and his shield took many of them. He planted his heel on the corpse and drew out the bronze spear, but he could not take the rest of the fine armor from its shoulders, for he was hard-pressed by missiles. And he feared the stout defense of the proud Trojans, who, many and valiant, stood over him with their spears and drove him from them, though he was great and strong and glorious. He gave way and was beaten back. Thus they toiled in the mighty conflict. But upon Tlepolemus, son of Heracles, a man both valiant and great, strong fate urged him against godlike Sarpedon. And when they were close upon each other, the son and the grandson of Zeus the cloud-gatherer, Tlepolemus was the first to speak to him: “Sarpedon, counselor of the Lycians, what need have you to be cowering here, a man unskilled in battle? They lie who say you are a son of aegis-bearing Zeus, since you are far inferior to those men who were born of Zeus in the days of our fathers. What a man they say mighty Heracles was, my own father, bold-hearted and lion-spirited! He once came here on account of the horses of Laomedon, with only six ships and fewer men, and he sacked the city of Ilium and made its streets desolate. But you have a base spirit, and your people are dwindling. I do not think you will be any help to the Trojans, coming from Lycia, even if you are very mighty, but vanquished by me you will pass through the gates of Hades.” To him in turn Sarpedon, leader of the Lycians, replied: “Tlepolemus, that man did indeed destroy sacred Ilium through the folly of the noble Laomedon, who answered his good deed with harsh words, and would not give back the horses for which he had come from afar. But as for you, I say that here and now death and black fate will be fashioned for you at my hands. Vanquished by my spear, you will give glory to me, and your soul to Hades of the famed steeds.” So spoke Sarpedon, and Tlepolemus raised his ashen spear. The long shafts flew from their hands at the same moment. Sarpedon struck him square in the neck, and the grievous point went right through. A dark night came down and covered his eyes. But Tlepolemus had struck Sarpedon on the left thigh with his long spear, and the point sped on furiously, grazing the bone. But his father still warded off destruction. His godlike comrades carried godlike Sarpedon out of the battle. The long spear, dragging behind, weighed him down, but no one thought or noticed, in their haste, to draw the ashen spear from his thigh so that he could stand, such was the toil they had in tending to him. On the other side, the well-greaved Achaeans carried Tlepolemus out of the battle. Godlike Odysseus, of the enduring spirit, saw it, and his own heart was stirred. He debated then in his mind and in his spirit whether he should first pursue the son of thunderous Zeus, or whether he should take the lives of more of the Lycians. But it was not fated for great-souled Odysseus to kill the mighty son of Zeus with the sharp bronze. So Athena turned his spirit against the host of the Lycians. There he killed Coeranus and Alastor and Chromius, and Alcander and Halius and Noëmon and Prytanis. And godlike Odysseus would have killed still more of the Lycians, had not great Hector of the flashing helmet been quick to notice. He strode through the front ranks, armed in gleaming bronze bringing terror to the Danaans. Sarpedon, son of Zeus, rejoiced at his approach, and spoke a piteous word: “Son of Priam, do not leave me lying here as prey for the Danaans, but give me aid. Let life then leave me in your city, since I was not to return home to my own dear country, nor to bring joy to my beloved wife and my infant son.” So he spoke, but Hector of the flashing helmet said nothing to him, but rushed past, eager to drive back the Argives as quickly as possible and to take the lives of many. His godlike comrades set godlike Sarpedon down under the beautiful oak tree of aegis-bearing Zeus, and from his thigh mighty Pelagon, who was his dear companion, forced out the ashen spear. His spirit left him, and a mist spread over his eyes. But he revived again, and the breath of the North Wind blowing upon him brought him back to life as he gasped in agony. But the Argives, before Ares and bronze-helmed Hector, neither turned back toward their black ships nor advanced to fight, but always gave ground, as they had learned that Ares was among the Trojans. Then who was the first and who the last that Hector, son of Priam, and brazen Ares despoiled? Godlike Teuthras, and after him Orestes, driver of horses; Trechus the Aetolian spearman, and Oenomaus; Helenus, son of Oenops, and Oresbius of the shimmering belt, who lived in Hyle, concerned with his great wealth, dwelling by the Cephisian lake, and beside him lived other Boeotians, holding a very rich land. When the white-armed goddess Hera saw them destroying the Argives in the mighty conflict, she at once spoke winged words to Athena: “Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, tireless one! Surely it was a vain promise we made to Menelaus, that he would return home only after sacking well-walled Ilium, if we allow destructive Ares to rage so. Come, let us too remember our furious valor.” So she spoke, and the goddess grey-eyed Athena did not disobey. Hera, the revered goddess, daughter of great Cronos, went to prepare her golden-frontleted horses, while Hebe swiftly put the curved wheels on the chariot, bronze wheels with eight spokes on either side of the iron axle. Their felloes were of gold, imperishable, and on top of them were fitted bronze tires, a wonder to behold. The hubs were of silver, turning on either side. The chariot box was slung with straps of gold and silver, and there were two rails that ran around it. From it projected a silver pole, and at its tip she fastened the beautiful golden yoke, and attached the fine golden breast-straps. And Hera led the swift-footed horses under the yoke, eager for strife and the war cry. Meanwhile Athena, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus, let fall upon her father’s floor her soft, embroidered robe, which she herself had made and worked with her own hands. And putting on the tunic of Zeus the cloud-gatherer, she armed herself for tearful war. Around her shoulders she cast the tasselled aegis, terrible, which Panic encircled on all sides. On it was Strife, on it was Valor, on it was chilling Rout. And on it was the head of the Gorgon, that terrible monster, dreadful and appalling, a portent of aegis-bearing Zeus. Upon her head she set the two-horned, four-crested helmet of gold, embossed with the foot soldiers of a hundred cities. She stepped into the flaming chariot and took up her spear, heavy, huge, and strong, with which she vanquishes the ranks of heroes with whom she, the daughter of a mighty father, is wroth. Hera quickly laid the whip to the horses. Of their own accord the gates of heaven groaned open, gates which the Hours guard, to whom the great heaven and Olympus are entrusted, either to open the thick cloud or to close it. Through these they drove their goaded horses. They found the son of Cronos sitting apart from the other gods on the highest peak of many-ridged Olympus. There the white-armed goddess Hera halted her horses and questioned Zeus, the highest son of Cronos, and said to him: “Father Zeus, are you not angered by Ares for these violent deeds, for destroying so great and so fine a host of the Achaeans, recklessly and without order? It is a grief to me, while the Cyprian and Apollo of the silver bow take their pleasure in peace, having set this madman on, who knows no law. Father Zeus, will you be angry with me, if I strike Ares a painful blow and drive him from the battle?” In answer to her spoke Zeus the cloud-gatherer: “Go to it, but set upon him Athena the Spoiler, who is most accustomed to inflicting grievous pains upon him.” So he spoke, and the white-armed goddess Hera did not disobey. She whipped her horses, and they flew on, not unwillingly, midway between the earth and the starry heaven. As far as a man can see with his eyes into the hazy distance, sitting on a watchtower and gazing over the wine-dark sea, so far do the high-neighing horses of the gods leap at a single bound. But when they came to Troy and the two flowing rivers, where the streams of Simoeis and Scamander join, there the white-armed goddess Hera halted her horses, unyoked them from the chariot, and shed a thick mist about them. And Simoeis made ambrosia grow for them to graze on. The two goddesses went on, their steps like those of trembling doves, eager to bring aid to the Argive men. And when they came to where the most numerous and the bravest stood, gathered around the mighty Diomedes, tamer of horses, looking like flesh-eating lions or wild boars, whose strength is not to be slighted, there the white-armed goddess Hera stood and shouted, taking the form of great-hearted Stentor of the brazen voice, who could shout as loud as fifty other men: “Shame on you, Argives, you disgraces, magnificent only in appearance! So long as godlike Achilles went to war, the Trojans never ventured beyond the Dardanian gates, for they feared his mighty spear. But now they fight far from the city, at the hollow ships.” With these words she roused the strength and spirit of each man. And the goddess grey-eyed Athena rushed to the side of the son of Tydeus. She found the king beside his horses and chariot, cooling the wound that Pandarus had struck him with an arrow. The sweat was galling him under the broad strap of his round shield. With that he was sore pressed, and his arm was weary, and holding up the strap he was wiping away the dark blood. The goddess laid her hand on the horses’ yoke and said: “Truly, Tydeus begot a son little like himself. Tydeus was small in stature, but he was a fighter. Even when I would not let him fight or make a show of his strength, when he came without the other Achaeans as a messenger to Thebes, among the host of the Cadmeians, I bade him feast in their halls in peace. But he, having the same stout heart as ever, challenged the young men of the Cadmeians and vanquished them all with ease, such a helper was I to him. As for you, I stand beside you and I protect you, and I bid you with a ready heart to fight the Trojans. But either weariness from your many charges has entered your limbs, or perhaps some spiritless fear holds you. In that case, you are no true son of Tydeus, the valiant son of Oeneus.” In answer to her spoke mighty Diomedes: “I know you, goddess, daughter of aegis-bearing Zeus. Therefore I will speak to you frankly and will not hide my thoughts. No spiritless fear holds me, nor any hesitation, but I still remember the commands you laid upon me. You would not let me fight face to face with any of the blessed gods, except that if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, should enter the war, her I might wound with the sharp bronze. It is for this reason that I myself have drawn back and have ordered all the other Argives to gather here, for I recognize Ares as he commands the battle.” Then the goddess grey-eyed Athena answered him: “Diomedes, son of Tydeus, dear to my heart, do not you fear this Ares, nor any other of the immortals, for I shall be such a helper to you. Come now, drive your single-hoofed horses straight at Ares first, and strike him at close quarters, and do not shrink from raging Ares, this mad, creaturely evil, this turncoat, who just now pledged to me and to Hera that he would fight the Trojans, and aid the Argives, but now he consorts with the Trojans and has forgotten them.” So saying, she pushed Sthenelus from the chariot to the ground, pulling him back by the hand, and he leaped down with all speed. And the goddess, all eagerness, mounted the chariot beside godlike Diomedes. The oaken axle groaned aloud under the weight, for it carried a terrible goddess and the best of men. Pallas Athena took the whip and the reins and drove the single-hoofed horses straight at Ares first. He was in the act of despoiling huge Periphas, by far the best of the Aetolians, the glorious son of Ochesius. This man blood-stained Ares was stripping of his armor, but Athena put on the cap of Hades, so that mighty Ares would not see her. When Ares, bane of mortals, saw godlike Diomedes, he left huge Periphas lying where he had first killed him and torn out his life, and he went straight for Diomedes, tamer of horses. And when they were close upon each other, Ares first reached out over the yoke and the horses’ reins with his bronze spear, eager to take his life. But the goddess grey-eyed Athena caught it in her hand and thrust it aside under the chariot to spend its force in vain. Then Diomedes, master of the war cry, charged in turn with his bronze spear, and Pallas Athena drove it home into his lower belly, where his war belt was fastened. There he struck and wounded him, and tore his fair skin, and drew the spear out again. And brazen Ares bellowed as loud as nine thousand or ten thousand men cry out in war when they join in the strife of Ares. A trembling seized the Achaeans and the Trojans alike, in fear, so loud did Ares, insatiate of war, bellow. As a dark mist appears out of the clouds when a scorching wind arises from the heat, so to Diomedes, son of Tydeus, did brazen Ares appear, as he went up with the clouds into the wide heaven. Swiftly he came to the home of the gods, steep Olympus, and sat down beside Zeus, son of Cronos, grieving in his heart. He showed the immortal blood flowing from the wound and, lamenting, spoke winged words: “Father Zeus, are you not angered to see these violent deeds? We gods are ever suffering the most grievous things at one another's hands, to bring favor to men. It is with you that we all are at war; for you fathered this reckless, destructive girl, whose mind is ever on lawless deeds. All the other gods who are on Olympus obey you and are subject to you, each one of us. But her you do not restrain with word or deed; you let her go, because you yourself begot this ruinous child. She has now incited the overbearing son of Tydeus, Diomedes, to rage against the immortal gods. First he wounded the Cyprian at close quarters on the wrist, and then he rushed upon me myself, like a daemon. But my swift feet carried me away; otherwise I would have suffered pains for a long time there among the dreadful heaps of the dead, or else I would have lived on, powerless, under the blows of the bronze.” Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer looked at him darkly and said: “Do not sit here and whine to me, you turncoat. You are the most hateful to me of all the gods who hold Olympus, for always strife is dear to you, and wars and battles. You have your mother’s unbearable, unyielding spirit, Hera’s; her I can barely control with my words. So I think it is by her prompting that you suffer these things. But I will not let you suffer long, for you are my own offspring, and your mother bore you to me. If you had been born of any other god, you destructive thing, you would long since have been lower than the sons of Uranus.” So he spoke, and ordered Paeëon to heal him. And Paeëon spread pain-killing herbs upon him and healed him, for he was not made of mortal stuff at all. As when fig-juice is stirred into white milk and quickly makes it curdle, though it is liquid, and it thickens rapidly for the one who stirs it, so quickly did he heal raging Ares. Hebe bathed him and put fine garments on him, and he sat down beside Zeus, son of Cronos, exulting in his glory. And the two goddesses, Argive Hera and Alalcomenean Athena, returned again to the house of great Zeus, having stopped Ares, the bane of mortals, from his man-slaying.

ἸΛΙΆΣ 5

Ἔνθ’ αὖ Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη
δῶκε μένος καὶ θάρσος, ἵν’ ἔκδηλος μετὰ πᾶσιν
Ἀργείοισι γένοιτο ἰδὲ κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἄροιτο·
δαῖέ οἱ ἐκ κόρυθός τε καὶ ἀσπίδος ἀκάματον πῦρ,
ἀστέρ’ ὀπωρινῷ ἐναλίγκιον, ὅς τε μάλιστα
λαμπρὸν παμφαίνῃσι λελουμένος Ὠκεανοῖο·
τοῖόν οἱ πῦρ δαῖεν ἀπὸ κρατός τε καὶ ὤμων,
ὦρσε δέ μιν κατὰ μέσσον ὅθι πλεῖστοι κλονέοντο.
Ἦν δέ τις ἐν Τρώεσσι Δάρης ἀφνειὸς ἀμύμων,
ἱρεὺς Ἡφαίστοιο· δύω δέ οἱ υἱέες ἤστην,
Φηγεὺς Ἰδαῖός τε μάχης εὖ εἰδότε πάσης.
τώ οἱ ἀποκρινθέντε ἐναντίω ὁρμηθήτην·
τὼ μὲν ἀφ’ ἵπποιιν, ὁ δ’ ἀπὸ χθονὸς ὄρνυτο πεζός.
οἳ δ’ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες
Φηγεύς ῥα πρότερος προΐει δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος·
Τυδεΐδεω δ’ ὑπὲρ ὦμον ἀριστερὸν ἤλυθ’ ἀκωκὴ
ἔγχεος, οὐδ’ ἔβαλ’ αὐτόν· ὁ δ’ ὕστερος ὄρνυτο χαλκῷ
Τυδεΐδης· τοῦ δ’ οὐχ ἅλιον βέλος ἔκφυγε χειρός,
ἀλλ’ ἔβαλε στῆθος μεταμάζιον, ὦσε δ’ ἀφ’ ἵππων.
Ἰδαῖος δ’ ἀπόρουσε λιπὼν περικαλλέα δίφρον,
οὐδ’ ἔτλη περιβῆναι ἀδελφειοῦ κταμένοιο·

οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ κεν αὐτὸς ὑπέκφυγε κῆρα μέλαιναν,
ἀλλ’ Ἥφαιστος ἔρυτο, σάωσε δὲ νυκτὶ καλύψας,
ὡς δή οἱ μὴ πάγχυ γέρων ἀκαχήμενος εἴη.
ἵππους δ’ ἐξελάσας μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς
δῶκεν ἑταίροισιν κατάγειν κοίλας ἐπὶ νῆας.
Τρῶες δὲ μεγάθυμοι ἐπεὶ ἴδον υἷε Δάρητος
τὸν μὲν ἀλευάμενον, τὸν δὲ κτάμενον παρ’ ὄχεσφι,
πᾶσιν ὀρίνθη θυμός· ἀτὰρ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη
χειρὸς ἑλοῦσ’ ἐπέεσσι προσηύδα θοῦρον Ἄρηα·
«Ἆρες Ἄρες βροτολοιγὲ μιαιφόνε τειχεσιπλῆτα
οὐκ ἂν δὴ Τρῶας μὲν ἐάσαιμεν καὶ Ἀχαιοὺς
μάρνασθ’, ὁπποτέροισι πατὴρ Ζεὺς κῦδος ὀρέξῃ,
νῶϊ δὲ χαζώμεσθα, Διὸς δ’ ἀλεώμεθα μῆνιν;»
Ὣς εἰποῦσα μάχης ἐξήγαγε θοῦρον Ἄρηα·
τὸν μὲν ἔπειτα καθεῖσεν ἐπ’ ἠϊόεντι Σκαμάνδρῳ,
Τρῶας δ’ ἔκλιναν Δαναοί· ἕλε δ’ ἄνδρα ἕκαστος
ἡγεμόνων· πρῶτος δὲ ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων
ἀρχὸν Ἁλιζώνων Ὀδίον μέγαν ἔκβαλε δίφρου·
πρώτῳ γὰρ στρεφθέντι μεταφρένῳ ἐν δόρυ πῆξεν
ὤμων μεσσηγύς, διὰ δὲ στήθεσφιν ἔλασσε,
δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
Ἰδομενεὺς δ’ ἄρα Φαῖστον ἐνήρατο Μῄονος υἱὸν
Βώρου, ὃς ἐκ Τάρνης ἐριβώλακος εἰληλούθει.
τὸν μὲν ἄρ’ Ἰδομενεὺς δουρικλυτὸς ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ
νύξ’ ἵππων ἐπιβησόμενον κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον·
ἤριπε δ’ ἐξ ὀχέων, στυγερὸς δ’ ἄρα μιν σκότος εἷλε.
Τὸν μὲν ἄρ’ Ἰδομενῆος ἐσύλευον θεράποντες·
υἱὸν δὲ Στροφίοιο Σκαμάνδριον αἵμονα θήρης
Ἀτρεΐδης Μενέλαος ἕλ’ ἔγχεϊ ὀξυόεντι
ἐσθλὸν θηρητῆρα· δίδαξε γὰρ Ἄρτεμις αὐτὴ
βάλλειν ἄγρια πάντα, τά τε τρέφει οὔρεσιν ὕλη·

ἀλλ’ οὔ οἱ τότε γε χραῖσμ’ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα,
οὐδὲ ἑκηβολίαι ᾗσιν τὸ πρίν γε κέκαστο·
ἀλλά μιν Ἀτρεΐδης δουρικλειτὸς Μενέλαος
πρόσθεν ἕθεν φεύγοντα μετάφρενον οὔτασε δουρὶ
ὤμων μεσσηγύς, διὰ δὲ στήθεσφιν ἔλασσεν,
ἤριπε δὲ πρηνής, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
Μηριόνης δὲ Φέρεκλον ἐνήρατο, τέκτονος υἱὸν
Ἁρμονίδεω, ὃς χερσὶν ἐπίστατο δαίδαλα πάντα
τεύχειν· ἔξοχα γάρ μιν ἐφίλατο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη·
ὃς καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τεκτήνατο νῆας ἐΐσας
ἀρχεκάκους, αἳ πᾶσι κακὸν Τρώεσσι γένοντο
οἷ τ’ αὐτῷ, ἐπεὶ οὔ τι θεῶν ἐκ θέσφατα ᾔδη.
τὸν μὲν Μηριόνης ὅτε δὴ κατέμαρπτε διώκων,
βεβλήκει γλουτὸν κατὰ δεξιόν· ἣ δὲ διαπρὸ
ἀντικρὺ κατὰ κύστιν ὑπ’ ὀστέον ἤλυθ’ ἀκωκή·
γνὺξ δ’ ἔριπ’ οἰμώξας, θάνατος δέ μιν ἀμφεκάλυψε.
Πήδαιον δ’ ἄρ’ ἔπεφνε Μέγης Ἀντήνορος υἱὸν
ὅς ῥα νόθος μὲν ἔην, πύκα δ’ ἔτρεφε δῖα Θεανὼ
ἶσα φίλοισι τέκεσσι χαριζομένη πόσεϊ ᾧ.
τὸν μὲν Φυλεΐδης δουρὶ κλυτὸς ἐγγύθεν ἐλθὼν
βεβλήκει κεφαλῆς κατὰ ἰνίον ὀξέϊ δουρί·
ἀντικρὺ δ’ ἀν’ ὀδόντας ὑπὸ γλῶσσαν τάμε χαλκός·
ἤριπε δ’ ἐν κονίῃ, ψυχρὸν δ’ ἕλε χαλκὸν ὀδοῦσιν.
Εὐρύπυλος δ’ Εὐαιμονίδης Ὑψήνορα δῖον
υἱὸν ὑπερθύμου Δολοπίονος, ὅς ῥα Σκαμάνδρου
ἀρητὴρ ἐτέτυκτο, θεὸς δ’ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ,
τὸν μὲν ἄρ’ Εὐρύπυλος, Εὐαίμονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
πρόσθεν ἕθεν φεύγοντα μεταδρομάδην ἔλασ’ ὦμον
φασγάνῳ ἀΐξας, ἀπὸ δ’ ἔξεσε χεῖρα βαρεῖαν·
αἱματόεσσα δὲ χεὶρ πεδίῳ πέσε· τὸν δὲ κατ’ ὄσσε

ἔλλαβε πορφύρεος θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή.
Ὣς οἳ μὲν πονέοντο κατὰ κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην·
Τυδεΐδην δ’ οὐκ ἂν γνοίης ποτέροισι μετείη,
ἠὲ μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ὁμιλέοι ἦ μετ’ Ἀχαιοῖς.
θῦνε γὰρ ἂμ πεδίον ποταμῷ πλήθοντι ἐοικὼς
χειμάῤῥῳ, ὅς τ’ ὦκα ῥέων ἐκέδασσε γεφύρας·
τὸν δ’ οὔτ’ ἄρ τε γέφυραι ἐεργμέναι ἰσχανόωσιν,
οὔτ’ ἄρα ἕρκεα ἴσχει ἀλωάων ἐριθηλέων
ἐλθόντ’ ἐξαπίνης ὅτ’ ἐπιβρίσῃ Διὸς ὄμβρος·
πολλὰ δ’ ὑπ’ αὐτοῦ ἔργα κατήριπε κάλ’ αἰζηῶν·
ὣς ὑπὸ Τυδεΐδῃ πυκιναὶ κλονέοντο φάλαγγες
Τρώων, οὐδ’ ἄρα μιν μίμνον πολέες περ ἐόντες.
Τὸν δ’ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱὸς
θύνοντ’ ἂμ πεδίον πρὸ ἕθεν κλονέοντα φάλαγγας,
αἶψ’ ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ ἐτιταίνετο καμπύλα τόξα,
καὶ βάλ’ ἐπαΐσσοντα τυχὼν κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον,
θώρηκος γύαλον· διὰ δ’ ἔπτατο πικρὸς ὀϊστός,
ἀντικρὺ δὲ διέσχε, παλάσσετο δ’ αἵματι θώρηξ.
τῷ δ’ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·
«ὄρνυσθε Τρῶες μεγάθυμοι κέντορες ἵππων·
βέβληται γὰρ ἄριστος Ἀχαιῶν, οὐδέ ἕ φημι
δήθ’ ἀνσχήσεσθαι κρατερὸν βέλος, εἰ ἐτεόν με
ὦρσεν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ἀπορνύμενον Λυκίηθεν.»
Ὣς ἔφατ’ εὐχόμενος· τὸν δ’ οὐ βέλος ὠκὺ δάμασσεν,
ἀλλ’ ἀναχωρήσας πρόσθ’ ἵπποιιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν
ἔστη, καὶ Σθένελον προσέφη Καπανήϊον υἱόν·
«ὄρσο πέπον Καπανηϊάδη, καταβήσεο δίφρου,
ὄφρά μοι ἐξ ὤμοιο ἐρύσσῃς πικρὸν ὀϊστόν.»
Ὣς ἄρ’ ἔφη, Σθένελος δὲ καθ’ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,

πὰρ δὲ στὰς βέλος ὠκὺ διαμπερὲς ἐξέρυσ’ ὤμου·
αἷμα δ’ ἀνηκόντιζε διὰ στρεπτοῖο χιτῶνος.
δὴ τότ’ ἔπειτ’ ἠρᾶτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·
«κλῦθί μευ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος Ἀτρυτώνη,
εἴ ποτέ μοι καὶ πατρὶ φίλα φρονέουσα παρέστης
δηΐῳ ἐν πολέμῳ, νῦν αὖτ’ ἐμὲ φῖλαι Ἀθήνη·
δὸς δέ τέ μ’ ἄνδρα ἑλεῖν καὶ ἐς ὁρμὴν ἔγχεος ἐλθεῖν
ὅς μ’ ἔβαλε φθάμενος καὶ ἐπεύχεται, οὐδέ μέ φησι
δηρὸν ἔτ’ ὄψεσθαι λαμπρὸν φάος ἠελίοιο.»
Ὣς ἔφατ’ εὐχόμενος· τοῦ δ’ ἔκλυε Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη,
γυῖα δ’ ἔθηκεν ἐλαφρά, πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ὕπερθεν·
ἀγχοῦ δ’ ἱσταμένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
θαρσῶν νῦν Διόμηδες ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·
ἐν γάρ τοι στήθεσσι μένος πατρώϊον ἧκα
ἄτρομον, οἷον ἔχεσκε σακέσπαλος ἱππότα Τυδεύς·
ἀχλὺν δ’ αὖ τοι ἀπ’ ὀφθαλμῶν ἕλον ἣ πρὶν ἐπῆεν,
ὄφρ’ εὖ γιγνώσκῃς ἠμὲν θεὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἄνδρα.
τὼ νῦν αἴ κε θεὸς πειρώμενος ἐνθάδ’ ἵκηται
μή τι σύ γ’ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι
τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη
ἔλθῃσ’ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γ’ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.
Ἡ μὲν ἄρ’ ὣς εἰποῦσ’ ἀπέβη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,
Τυδεΐδης δ’ ἐξαῦτις ἰὼν προμάχοισιν ἐμίχθη
καὶ πρίν περ θυμῷ μεμαὼς Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·
δὴ τότε μιν τρὶς τόσσον ἕλεν μένος ὥς τε λέοντα
ὅν ῥά τε ποιμὴν ἀγρῷ ἐπ’ εἰροπόκοις ὀΐεσσι
χραύσῃ μέν τ’ αὐλῆς ὑπεράλμενον οὐδὲ δαμάσσῃ·
τοῦ μέν τε σθένος ὦρσεν, ἔπειτα δέ τ’ οὐ προσαμύνει,
ἀλλὰ κατὰ σταθμοὺς δύεται, τὰ δ’ ἐρῆμα φοβεῖται·

αἳ μέν τ’ ἀγχιστῖναι ἐπ’ ἀλλήλῃσι κέχυνται,
αὐτὰρ ὃ ἐμμεμαὼς βαθέης ἐξάλλεται αὐλῆς·
ὣς μεμαὼς Τρώεσσι μίγη κρατερὸς Διομήδης.
Ἔνθ’ ἕλεν Ἀστύνοον καὶ Ὑπείρονα ποιμένα λαῶν,
τὸν μὲν ὑπὲρ μαζοῖο βαλὼν χαλκήρεϊ δουρί,
τὸν δ’ ἕτερον ξίφεϊ μεγάλῳ κληῗδα παρ’ ὦμον
πλῆξ’, ἀπὸ δ’ αὐχένος ὦμον ἐέργαθεν ἠδ’ ἀπὸ νώτου.
τοὺς μὲν ἔασ’, ὃ δ’ Ἄβαντα μετῴχετο καὶ Πολύειδον
υἱέας Εὐρυδάμαντος ὀνειροπόλοιο γέροντος·
τοῖς οὐκ ἐρχομένοις ὃ γέρων ἐκρίνατ’ ὀνείρους,
ἀλλά σφεας κρατερὸς Διομήδης ἐξενάριξε·
βῆ δὲ μετὰ Ξάνθόν τε Θόωνά τε Φαίνοπος υἷε
ἄμφω τηλυγέτω· ὃ δὲ τείρετο γήραϊ λυγρῷ,
υἱὸν δ’ οὐ τέκετ’ ἄλλον ἐπὶ κτεάτεσσι λιπέσθαι.
ἔνθ’ ὅ γε τοὺς ἐνάριζε, φίλον δ’ ἐξαίνυτο θυμὸν
ἀμφοτέρω, πατέρι δὲ γόον καὶ κήδεα λυγρὰ
λεῖπ’, ἐπεὶ οὐ ζώοντε μάχης ἐκνοστήσαντε
δέξατο· χηρωσταὶ δὲ διὰ κτῆσιν δατέοντο.
Ἔνθ’ υἷας Πριάμοιο δύω λάβε Δαρδανίδαο
εἰν ἑνὶ δίφρῳ ἐόντας Ἐχέμμονά τε Χρομίον τε.
ὡς δὲ λέων ἐν βουσὶ θορὼν ἐξ αὐχένα ἄξῃ
πόρτιος ἠὲ βοὸς ξύλοχον κάτα βοσκομενάων,
ὣς τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐξ ἵππων Τυδέος υἱὸς
βῆσε κακῶς ἀέκοντας, ἔπειτα δὲ τεύχε’ ἐσύλα·
ἵππους δ’ οἷς ἑτάροισι δίδου μετὰ νῆας ἐλαύνειν.
Τὸν δ’ ἴδεν Αἰνείας ἀλαπάζοντα στίχας ἀνδρῶν,
βῆ δ’ ἴμεν ἄν τε μάχην καὶ ἀνὰ κλόνον ἐγχειάων
Πάνδαρον ἀντίθεον διζήμενος εἴ που ἐφεύροι·
εὗρε Λυκάονος υἱὸν ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε,
στῆ δὲ πρόσθ’ αὐτοῖο ἔπος τέ μιν ἀντίον ηὔδα·
«Πάνδαρε ποῦ τοι τόξον ἰδὲ πτερόεντες ὀϊστοὶ

καὶ κλέος; ᾧ οὔ τίς τοι ἐρίζεται ἐνθάδε γ’ ἀνήρ,
οὐδέ τις ἐν Λυκίῃ σέο γ’ εὔχεται εἶναι ἀμείνων.
ἀλλ’ ἄγε τῷδ’ ἔφες ἀνδρὶ βέλος Διὶ χεῖρας ἀνασχών,
ὅς τις ὅδε κρατέει καὶ δὴ κακὰ πολλὰ ἔοργε
Τρῶας, ἐπεὶ πολλῶν τε καὶ ἐσθλῶν γούνατ’ ἔλυσεν·
εἰ μή τις θεός ἐστι κοτεσσάμενος Τρώεσσιν
ἱρῶν μηνίσας· χαλεπὴ δὲ θεοῦ ἔπι μῆνις.»
Τὸν δ’ αὖτε προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·
«Αἰνεία Τρώων βουληφόρε χαλκοχιτώνων
Τυδεΐδῃ μιν ἔγωγε δαΐφρονι πάντα ἐΐσκω,
ἀσπίδι γιγνώσκων αὐλώπιδί τε τρυφαλείῃ,
ἵππους τ’ εἰσορόων· σάφα δ’ οὐκ οἶδ’ εἰ θεός ἐστιν.
εἰ δ’ ὅ γ’ ἀνὴρ ὅν φημι δαΐφρων Τυδέος υἱὸς
οὐχ ὅ γ’ ἄνευθε θεοῦ τάδε μαίνεται, ἀλλά τις ἄγχι
ἕστηκ’ ἀθανάτων νεφέλῃ εἰλυμένος ὤμους,
ὃς τούτου βέλος ὠκὺ κιχήμενον ἔτραπεν ἄλλῃ.
ἤδη γάρ οἱ ἐφῆκα βέλος, καί μιν βάλον ὦμον
δεξιὸν ἀντικρὺ διὰ θώρηκος γυάλοιο·
καί μιν ἔγωγ’ ἐφάμην Ἀϊδωνῆϊ προϊάψειν,
ἔμπης δ’ οὐκ ἐδάμασσα· θεός νύ τίς ἐστι κοτήεις.
ἵπποι δ’ οὐ παρέασι καὶ ἅρματα τῶν κ’ ἐπιβαίην·
ἀλλά που ἐν μεγάροισι Λυκάονος ἕνδεκα δίφροι
καλοὶ πρωτοπαγεῖς νεοτευχέες· ἀμφὶ δὲ πέπλοι
πέπτανται· παρὰ δέ σφιν ἑκάστῳ δίζυγες ἵπποι
ἑστᾶσι κρῖ λευκὸν ἐρεπτόμενοι καὶ ὀλύρας.
ἦ μέν μοι μάλα πολλὰ γέρων αἰχμητὰ Λυκάων
ἐρχομένῳ ἐπέτελλε δόμοις ἔνι ποιητοῖσιν·
ἵπποισίν μ’ ἐκέλευε καὶ ἅρμασιν ἐμβεβαῶτα
ἀρχεύειν Τρώεσσι κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας·
ἀλλ’ ἐγὼ οὐ πιθόμην—ἦ τ’ ἂν πολὺ κέρδιον ἦεν—
ἵππων φειδόμενος, μή μοι δευοίατο φορβῆς

ἀνδρῶν εἰλομένων εἰωθότες ἔδμεναι ἄδην.
ὣς λίπον, αὐτὰρ πεζὸς ἐς Ἴλιον εἰλήλουθα
τόξοισιν πίσυνος· τὰ δέ μ’ οὐκ ἄρ’ ἔμελλον ὀνήσειν.
ἤδη γὰρ δοιοῖσιν ἀριστήεσσιν ἐφῆκα,
Τυδεΐδῃ τε καὶ Ἀτρεΐδῃ, ἐκ δ’ ἀμφοτέροιιν
ἀτρεκὲς αἷμ’ ἔσσευα βαλών, ἤγειρα δὲ μᾶλλον.
τώ ῥα κακῇ αἴσῃ ἀπὸ πασσάλου ἀγκύλα τόξα
ἤματι τῷ ἑλόμην ὅτε Ἴλιον εἰς ἐρατεινὴν
ἡγεόμην Τρώεσσι φέρων χάριν Ἕκτορι δίῳ.
εἰ δέ κε νοστήσω καὶ ἐσόψομαι ὀφθαλμοῖσι
πατρίδ’ ἐμὴν ἄλοχόν τε καὶ ὑψερεφὲς μέγα δῶμα,
αὐτίκ’ ἔπειτ’ ἀπ’ ἐμεῖο κάρη τάμοι ἀλλότριος φώς,
εἰ μὴ ἐγὼ τάδε τόξα φαεινῷ ἐν πυρὶ θείην
χερσὶ διακλάσσας· ἀνεμώλια γάρ μοι ὀπηδεῖ.»
Τὸν δ’ αὖτ’ Αἰνείας Τρώων ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·
«μὴ δ’ οὕτως ἀγόρευε· πάρος δ’ οὐκ ἔσσεται ἄλλως,
πρίν γ’ ἐπὶ νὼ τῷδ’ ἀνδρὶ σὺν ἵπποισιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν
ἀντιβίην ἐλθόντε σὺν ἔντεσι πειρηθῆναι.
ἀλλ’ ἄγ’ ἐμῶν ὀχέων ἐπιβήσεο, ὄφρα ἴδηαι
οἷοι Τρώϊοι ἵπποι ἐπιστάμενοι πεδίοιο
κραιπνὰ μάλ’ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα διωκέμεν ἠδὲ φέβεσθαι·
τὼ καὶ νῶϊ πόλιν δὲ σαώσετον, εἴ περ ἂν αὖτε
Ζεὺς ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ κῦδος ὀρέξῃ.
ἀλλ’ ἄγε νῦν μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα
δέξαι, ἐγὼ δ’ ἵππων ἀποβήσομαι ὄφρα μάχωμαι·
ἠὲ σὺ τόνδε δέδεξο, μελήσουσιν δ’ ἐμοὶ ἵπποι.»
Τὸν δ’ αὖτε προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·
«Αἰνεία σὺ μὲν αὐτὸς ἔχ’ ἡνία καὶ τεὼ ἵππω·
μᾶλλον ὑφ’ ἡνιόχῳ εἰωθότι καμπύλον ἅρμα
οἴσετον, εἴ περ ἂν αὖτε φεβώμεθα Τυδέος υἱόν·

μὴ τὼ μὲν δείσαντε ματήσετον, οὐδ’ ἐθέλητον
ἐκφερέμεν πολέμοιο τεὸν φθόγγον ποθέοντε,
νῶϊ δ’ ἐπαΐξας μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς
αὐτώ τε κτείνῃ καὶ ἐλάσσῃ μώνυχας ἵππους.
ἀλλὰ σύ γ’ αὐτὸς ἔλαυνε τέ’ ἅρματα καὶ τεὼ ἵππω,
τὸν δὲ δ’ ἐγὼν ἐπιόντα δεδέξομαι ὀξέϊ δουρί.»
Ὣς ἄρα φωνήσαντες ἐς ἅρματα ποικίλα βάντες,
ἐμμεμαῶτ’ ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ ἔχον ὠκέας ἵππους.
τοὺς δὲ ἴδε Σθένελος Καπανήϊος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,
αἶψα δὲ Τυδεΐδην ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
«Τυδεΐδη Διόμηδες ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ,
ἄνδρ’ ὁρόω κρατερὼ ἐπὶ σοὶ μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι,
ἶν’ ἀπέλεθρον ἔχοντας· ὁ μὲν τόξων ἐῢ εἰδὼς,
Πάνδαρος, υἱὸς δ’ αὖτε Λυκάονος εὔχεται εἶναι·
Αἰνείας δ’ υἱὸς μὲν ἀμύμονος Ἀγχίσαο
εὔχεται ἐκγεγάμεν, μήτηρ δέ οἵ ἐστ’ Ἀφροδίτη.
ἀλλ’ ἄγε δὴ χαζώμεθ’ ἐφ’ ἵππων, μηδέ μοι οὕτω
θῦνε διὰ προμάχων, μή πως φίλον ἦτορ ὀλέσσῃς.»
Τὸν δ’ ἄρ’ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·
«μή τι φόβον δ’ ἀγόρευ’, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ σὲ πεισέμεν οἴω.
οὐ γάρ μοι γενναῖον ἀλυσκάζοντι μάχεσθαι
οὐδὲ καταπτώσσειν· ἔτι μοι μένος ἔμπεδόν ἐστιν·
ὀκνείω δ’ ἵππων ἐπιβαινέμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὔτως
ἀντίον εἶμ’ αὐτῶν· τρεῖν μ’ οὐκ ἐᾷ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.
τούτω δ’ οὐ πάλιν αὖτις ἀποίσετον ὠκέες ἵπποι
ἄμφω ἀφ’ ἡμείων, εἴ γ’ οὖν ἕτερός γε φύγῃσιν.
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δ’ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·
αἴ κέν μοι πολύβουλος Ἀθήνη κῦδος ὀρέξῃ
ἀμφοτέρω κτεῖναι, σὺ δὲ τούσδε μὲν ὠκέας ἵππους

αὐτοῦ ἐρυκακέειν ἐξ ἄντυγος ἡνία τείνας,
Αἰνείαο δ’ ἐπαΐξαι μεμνημένος ἵππων,
ἐκ δ’ ἐλάσαι Τρώων μετ’ ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς.
τῆς γάρ τοι γενεῆς ἧς Τρωΐ περ εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς
δῶχ’ υἷος ποινὴν Γανυμήδεος, οὕνεκ’ ἄριστοι
ἵππων ὅσσοι ἔασιν ὑπ’ ἠῶ τ’ ἠέλιόν τε,
τῆς γενεῆς ἔκλεψεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγχίσης,
λάθρῃ Λαομέδοντος ὑποσχὼν θήλεας ἵππους·
τῶν οἱ ἓξ ἐγένοντο ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γενέθλη.
τοὺς μὲν τέσσαρας αὐτὸς ἔχων ἀτίταλλ’ ἐπὶ φάτνῃ,
τὼ δὲ δύ’ Αἰνείᾳ δῶκεν μήστωρε φόβοιο.
εἰ τούτω κε λάβοιμεν, ἀροίμεθά κε κλέος ἐσθλόν.»
Ὣς οἳ μὲν τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον,
τὼ δὲ τάχ’ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθον ἐλαύνοντ’ ὠκέας ἵππους.
τὸν πρότερος προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·
«καρτερόθυμε δαΐφρον ἀγαυοῦ Τυδέος υἱέ,
ἦ μάλα σ’ οὐ βέλος ὠκὺ δαμάσσατο πικρὸς ὀϊστός·
νῦν αὖτ’ ἐγχείῃ πειρήσομαι αἴ κε τύχωμι.»
Ἦ ῥα καὶ ἀμπεπαλὼν προΐει δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος
καὶ βάλε Τυδεΐδαο κατ’ ἀσπίδα· τῆς δὲ διὰ πρὸ
αἰχμὴ χαλκείη πταμένη θώρηκι πελάσθη·
τῷ δ’ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·
«βέβληαι κενεῶνα διαμπερές, οὐδέ σ’ ὀΐω
δηρὸν ἔτ’ ἀνσχήσεσθαι· ἐμοὶ δὲ μέγ’ εὖχος ἔδωκας.»
Τὸν δ’ οὐ ταρβήσας προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·
«ἤμβροτες οὐδ’ ἔτυχες· ἀτὰρ οὐ μὲν σφῶΐ γ’ ὀΐω
πρίν γ’ ἀποπαύσεσθαι πρίν γ’ ἢ ἕτερόν γε πεσόντα
αἵματος ἆσαι Ἄρηα, ταλαύρινον πολεμιστήν.»
Ὣς φάμενος προέηκε· βέλος δ’ ἴθυνεν Ἀθήνη

ῥῖνα παρ’ ὀφθαλμόν, λευκοὺς δ’ ἐπέρησεν ὀδόντας.
τοῦ δ’ ἀπὸ μὲν γλῶσσαν πρυμνὴν τάμε χαλκὸς ἀτειρής,
αἰχμὴ δ’ ἐξελύθη παρὰ νείατον ἀνθερεῶνα·
ἤριπε δ’ ἐξ ὀχέων, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ
αἰόλα παμφανόωντα, παρέτρεσσαν δέ οἱ ἵπποι
ὠκύποδες· τοῦ δ’ αὖθι λύθη ψυχή τε μένος τε.
Αἰνείας δ’ ἀπόρουσε σὺν ἀσπίδι δουρί τε μακρῷ
δείσας μή πώς οἱ ἐρυσαίατο νεκρὸν Ἀχαιοί.
ἀμφὶ δ’ ἄρ’ αὐτῷ βαῖνε λέων ὣς ἀλκὶ πεποιθώς,
πρόσθε δέ οἱ δόρυ τ’ ἔσχε καὶ ἀσπίδα πάντοσ’ ἐΐσην,
τὸν κτάμεναι μεμαὼς ὅς τις τοῦ γ’ ἀντίος ἔλθοι,
σμερδαλέα ἰάχων· ὃ δὲ χερμάδιον λάβε χειρὶ
Τυδεΐδης μέγα ἔργον ὃ οὐ δύο γ’ ἄνδρε φέροιεν,
οἷοι νῦν βροτοί εἰσ’· ὃ δέ μιν ῥέα πάλλε καὶ οἶος.
τῷ βάλεν Αἰνείαο κατ’ ἰσχίον ἔνθά τε μηρὸς
ἰσχίῳ ἐνστρέφεται, κοτύλην δέ τέ μιν καλέουσι·
θλάσσε δέ οἱ κοτύλην, πρὸς δ’ ἄμφω ῥῆξε τένοντε·
ὦσε δ’ ἀπὸ ῥινὸν τρηχὺς λίθος· αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ ἥρως
ἔστη γνὺξ ἐριπὼν καὶ ἐρείσατο χειρὶ παχείῃ
γαίης· ἀμφὶ δὲ ὄσσε κελαινὴ νὺξ ἐκάλυψε.
Καί νύ κεν ἔνθ’ ἀπόλοιτο ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Αἰνείας,
εἰ μὴ ἄρ’ ὀξὺ νόησε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη
μήτηρ, ἥ μιν ὑπ’ Ἀγχίσῃ τέκε βουκολέοντι·
ἀμφὶ δ’ ἑὸν φίλον υἱὸν ἐχεύατο πήχεε λευκώ,
πρόσθε δέ οἱ πέπλοιο φαεινοῦ πτύγμα κάλυψεν,
ἕρκος ἔμεν βελέων, μή τις Δαναῶν ταχυπώλων
χαλκὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι βαλὼν ἐκ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.
Ἡ μὲν ἑὸν φίλον υἱὸν ὑπεξέφερεν πολέμοιο·
οὐδ’ υἱὸς Καπανῆος ἐλήθετο συνθεσιάων
τάων ἃς ἐπέτελλε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης,
ἀλλ’ ὅ γε τοὺς μὲν ἑοὺς ἠρύκακε μώνυχας ἵππους

νόσφιν ἀπὸ φλοίσβου ἐξ ἄντυγος ἡνία τείνας,
Αἰνείαο δ’ ἐπαΐξας καλλίτριχας ἵππους
ἐξέλασε Τρώων μετ’ ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς.
δῶκε δὲ Δηϊπύλῳ ἑτάρῳ φίλῳ, ὃν περὶ πάσης
τῖεν ὁμηλικίης ὅτι οἱ φρεσὶν ἄρτια ᾔδη,
νηυσὶν ἔπι γλαφυρῇσιν ἐλαυνέμεν· αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ ἥρως
ὧν ἵππων ἐπιβὰς ἔλαβ’ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα,
αἶψα δὲ Τυδεΐδην μέθεπε κρατερώνυχας ἵππους
ἐμμεμαώς· ὃ δὲ Κύπριν ἐπῴχετο νηλέϊ χαλκῷ
γιγνώσκων ὅ τ’ ἄναλκις ἔην θεός, οὐδὲ θεάων
τάων αἵ τ’ ἀνδρῶν πόλεμον κάτα κοιρανέουσιν,
οὔτ’ ἄρ’ Ἀθηναίη οὔτε πτολίπορθος Ἐνυώ.
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δή ῥ’ ἐκίχανε πολὺν καθ’ ὅμιλον ὀπάζων,
ἔνθ’ ἐπορεξάμενος μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς
ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα μετάλμενος ὀξέϊ δουρὶ
ἀβληχρήν· εἶθαρ δὲ δόρυ χροὸς ἀντετόρησεν
ἀμβροσίου διὰ πέπλου, ὅν οἱ Χάριτες κάμον αὐταί,
πρυμνὸν ὕπερ θέναρος· ῥέε δ’ ἄμβροτον αἷμα θεοῖο,
ἰχώρ, οἷός πέρ τε ῥέει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν·
οὐ γὰρ σῖτον ἔδουσ’, οὐ πίνουσ’ αἴθοπα οἶνον,
τοὔνεκ’ ἀναίμονές εἰσι καὶ ἀθάνατοι καλέονται.
ἣ δὲ μέγα ἰάχουσα ἀπὸ ἕο κάββαλεν υἱόν·
καὶ τὸν μὲν μετὰ χερσὶν ἐρύσατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων
κυανέῃ νεφέλῃ, μή τις Δαναῶν ταχυπώλων
χαλκὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι βαλὼν ἐκ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο·
τῇ δ’ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·
«εἶκε Διὸς θύγατερ πολέμου καὶ δηϊοτῆτος·
ἦ οὐχ ἅλις ὅττι γυναῖκας ἀνάλκιδας ἠπεροπεύεις;
εἰ δὲ σύ γ’ ἐς πόλεμον πωλήσεαι, ἦ τέ σ’ ὀΐω
ῥιγήσειν πόλεμόν γε καὶ εἴ χ’ ἑτέρωθι πύθηαι.»
Ὣς ἔφαθ’, ἣ δ’ ἀλύουσ’ ἀπεβήσετο, τείρετο δ’ αἰνῶς·

τὴν μὲν ἄρ’ Ἶρις ἑλοῦσα ποδήνεμος ἔξαγ’ ὁμίλου
ἀχθομένην ὀδύνῃσι, μελαίνετο δὲ χρόα καλόν.
εὗρεν ἔπειτα μάχης ἐπ’ ἀριστερὰ θοῦρον Ἄρηα
ἥμενον· ἠέρι δ’ ἔγχος ἐκέκλιτο καὶ ταχέ’ ἵππω·
ἣ δὲ γνὺξ ἐριποῦσα κασιγνήτοιο φίλοιο
πολλὰ λισσομένη χρυσάμπυκας ᾔτεεν ἵππους·
«φίλε κασίγνητε κόμισαί τέ με δός τέ μοι ἵππους,
ὄφρ’ ἐς Ὄλυμπον ἵκωμαι ἵν’ ἀθανάτων ἕδος ἐστί.
λίην ἄχθομαι ἕλκος ὅ με βροτὸς οὔτασεν ἀνὴρ
Τυδεΐδης, ὃς νῦν γε καὶ ἂν Διὶ πατρὶ μάχοιτο.»
Ὣς φάτο, τῇ δ’ ἄρ’ Ἄρης δῶκε χρυσάμπυκας ἵππους·
ἣ δ’ ἐς δίφρον ἔβαινεν ἀκηχεμένη φίλον ἦτορ,
πὰρ δέ οἱ Ἶρις ἔβαινε καὶ ἡνία λάζετο χερσί,
μάστιξεν δ’ ἐλάαν, τὼ δ’ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.
αἶψα δ’ ἔπειθ’ ἵκοντο θεῶν ἕδος αἰπὺν Ὄλυμπον·
ἔνθ’ ἵππους ἔστησε ποδήνεμος ὠκέα Ἶρις
λύσασ’ ἐξ ὀχέων, παρὰ δ’ ἀμβρόσιον βάλεν εἶδαρ·
ἣ δ’ ἐν γούνασι πῖπτε Διώνης δῖ’ Ἀφροδίτη
μητρὸς ἑῆς· ἣ δ’ ἀγκὰς ἐλάζετο θυγατέρα ἥν,
χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν ἔπος τ’ ἔφατ’ ἐκ τ’ ὀνόμαζε·
«τίς νύ σε τοιάδ’ ἔρεξε φίλον τέκος Οὐρανιώνων
μαψιδίως, ὡς εἴ τι κακὸν ῥέζουσαν ἐνωπῇ;»
Τὴν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη·
«οὖτά με Τυδέος υἱὸς ὑπέρθυμος Διομήδης,
οὕνεκ’ ἐγὼ φίλον υἱὸν ὑπεξέφερον πολέμοιο
Αἰνείαν, ὃς ἐμοὶ πάντων πολὺ φίλτατός ἐστιν.
οὐ γὰρ ἔτι Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν φύλοπις αἰνή,
ἀλλ’ ἤδη Δαναοί γε καὶ ἀθανάτοισι μάχονται.»
Τὴν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα Διώνη, δῖα θεάων·
«τέτλαθι τέκνον ἐμόν, καὶ ἀνάσχεο κηδομένη περ·

πολλοὶ γὰρ δὴ τλῆμεν Ὀλύμπια δώματ’ ἔχοντες
ἐξ ἀνδρῶν χαλέπ’ ἄλγε’ ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισι τιθέντες.
τλῆ μὲν Ἄρης ὅτε μιν Ὦτος κρατερός τ’ Ἐφιάλτης,
παῖδες Ἀλωῆος, δῆσαν κρατερῷ ἐνὶ δεσμῷ·
χαλκέῳ δ’ ἐν κεράμῳ δέδετο τρισκαίδεκα μῆνας·
καί νύ κεν ἔνθ’ ἀπόλοιτο Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο,
εἰ μὴ μητρυιὴ περικαλλὴς Ἠερίβοια,
Ἑρμέᾳ ἐξήγγειλεν· ὃ δ’ ἐξέκλεψεν Ἄρηα
ἤδη τειρόμενον, χαλεπὸς δέ ἑ δεσμὸς ἐδάμνα.
τλῆ δ’ Ἥρη, ὅτε μιν κρατερὸς πάϊς Ἀμφιτρύωνος
δεξιτερὸν κατὰ μαζὸν ὀϊστῷ τριγλώχινι
βεβλήκει· τότε καί μιν ἀνήκεστον λάβεν ἄλγος.
τλῆ δ’ Ἀΐδης ἐν τοῖσι πελώριος ὠκὺν ὀϊστόν,
εὖτέ μιν ωὐτὸς ἀνὴρ υἱὸς Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο,
ἐν Πύλῳ ἐν νεκύεσσι βαλὼν ὀδύνῃσιν ἔδωκεν·
αὐτὰρ ὃ βῆ πρὸς δῶμα Διὸς καὶ μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον
κῆρ ἀχέων ὀδύνῃσι πεπαρμένος· αὐτὰρ ὀϊστὸς
ὤμῳ ἔνι στιβαρῷ ἠλήλατο, κῆδε δὲ θυμόν.
τῷ δ’ ἐπὶ Παιήων ὀδυνήφατα φάρμακα πάσσων
ἠκέσατ’· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι καταθνητός γε τέτυκτο.
σχέτλιος ὀβριμοεργὸς ὃς οὐκ ὄθετ’ αἴσυλα ῥέζων,
ὃς τόξοισιν ἔκηδε θεοὺς οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσι.
σοὶ δ’ ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἀνῆκε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
νήπιος, οὐδὲ τὸ οἶδε κατὰ φρένα Τυδέος υἱὸς,
ὅττι μάλ’ οὐ δηναιὸς ὃς ἀθανάτοισι μάχηται,
οὐδέ τί μιν παῖδες ποτὶ γούνασι παππάζουσιν
ἐλθόντ’ ἐκ πολέμοιο καὶ αἰνῆς δηϊοτῆτος.
τὼ νῦν Τυδεΐδης, εἰ καὶ μάλα καρτερός ἐστι,
φραζέσθω μή τίς οἱ ἀμείνων σεῖο μάχηται,
μὴ δὴν Αἰγιάλεια περίφρων Ἀδρηστίνη,

ἐξ ὕπνου γοόωσα φίλους οἰκῆας ἐγείρῃ
κουρίδιον ποθέουσα πόσιν τὸν ἄριστον Ἀχαιῶν
ἰφθίμη ἄλοχος Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.»
Ἦ ῥα καὶ ἀμφοτέρῃσιν ἀπ’ ἰχῶ χειρὸς ὀμόργνυ·
ἄλθετο χείρ, ὀδύναι δὲ κατηπιόωντο βαρεῖαι.
αἳ δ’ αὖτ’ εἰσορόωσαι Ἀθηναίη τε καὶ Ἥρη
κερτομίοις ἐπέεσσι Δία Κρονίδην ἐρέθιζον.
τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
«Ζεῦ πάτερ ἦ ῥά τί μοι κεχολώσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;
ἦ μάλα δή τινα Κύπρις Ἀχαιϊάδων ἀνιεῖσα
Τρωσὶν ἅμα σπέσθαι, τοὺς νῦν ἔκπαγλα φίλησε,
τῶν τινα καῤῥέζουσα Ἀχαιϊάδων ἐϋπέπλων
πρὸς χρυσῇ περόνῃ καταμύξατο χεῖρα ἀραιήν.»
Ὣς φάτο, μείδησεν δὲ πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε,
καί ῥα καλεσσάμενος προσέφη χρυσῆν Ἀφροδίτην·
«οὔ τοι τέκνον ἐμὸν δέδοται πολεμήϊα ἔργα,
ἀλλὰ σύ γ’ ἱμερόεντα μετέρχεο ἔργα γάμοιο,
ταῦτα δ’ Ἄρηϊ θοῷ καὶ Ἀθήνῃ πάντα μελήσει.»
Ὣς οἳ μὲν τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον,
Αἰνείᾳ δ’ ἐπόρουσε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης,
γιγνώσκων ὅ οἱ αὐτὸς ὑπείρεχε χεῖρας Ἀπόλλων·
ἀλλ’ ὅ γ’ ἄρ’ οὐδὲ θεὸν μέγαν ἅζετο, ἵετο δ’ αἰεὶ
Αἰνείαν κτεῖναι καὶ ἀπὸ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δῦσαι.
τρὶς μὲν ἔπειτ’ ἐπόρουσε κατακτάμεναι μενεαίνων,
τρὶς δέ οἱ ἐστυφέλιξε φαεινὴν ἀσπίδ’ Ἀπόλλων·
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δὴ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος,
δεινὰ δ’ ὁμοκλήσας προσέφη ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων·
«φράζεο Τυδεΐδη καὶ χάζεο, μηδὲ θεοῖσιν
ἶσ’ ἔθελε φρονέειν, ἐπεὶ οὔ ποτε φῦλον ὁμοῖον
ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τ’ ἀνθρώπων.»
Ὣς φάτο, Τυδεΐδης δ’ ἀνεχάζετο τυτθὸν ὀπίσσω,

μῆνιν ἀλευάμενος ἑκατηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος.
Αἰνείαν δ’ ἀπάτερθεν ὁμίλου θῆκεν Ἀπόλλων
Περγάμῳ εἰν ἱερῇ, ὅθι οἱ νηός γε τέτυκτο.
ἤτοι τὸν Λητώ τε καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα
ἐν μεγάλῳ ἀδύτῳ ἀκέοντό τε κύδαινόν τε·
αὐτὰρ ὃ εἴδωλον τεῦξ’ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων
αὐτῷ τ’ Αἰνείᾳ ἴκελον καὶ τεύχεσι τοῖον,
ἀμφὶ δ’ ἄρ’ εἰδώλῳ Τρῶες καὶ δῖοι Ἀχαιοὶ
δῄουν ἀλλήλων ἀμφὶ στήθεσσι βοείας
ἀσπίδας εὐκύκλους λαισήϊά τε πτερόεντα.
δὴ τότε θοῦρον Ἄρηα προσηύδα Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·
«Ἆρες Ἄρες βροτολοιγὲ μιαιφόνε τειχεσιπλῆτα,
οὐκ ἂν δὴ τόνδ’ ἄνδρα μάχης ἐρύσαιο μετελθών,
Τυδεΐδην, ὃς νῦν γε καὶ ἂν Διὶ πατρὶ μάχοιτο;
Κύπριδα μὲν πρῶτα σχεδὸν οὔτασε χεῖρ’ ἐπὶ καρπῷ,
αὐτὰρ ἔπειτ’ αὐτῷ μοι ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος.»
Ὣς εἰπὼν αὐτὸς μὲν ἐφέζετο Περγάμῳ ἄκρῃ,
Τρῳὰς δὲ στίχας οὖλος Ἄρης ὄτρυνε μετελθών,
εἰδόμενος Ἀκάμαντι θοῷ ἡγήτορι Θρῃκῶν·
υἱάσι δὲ Πριάμοιο διοτρεφέεσσι κέλευεν·
«ὦ υἱεῖς Πριάμοιο διοτρεφέος βασιλῆος
ἐς τί ἔτι κτείνεσθαι ἐάσετε λαὸν Ἀχαιοῖς;
ἦ εἰς ὅ κεν ἀμφὶ πύλῃς εὖ ποιητῇσι μάχωνται;
κεῖται ἀνὴρ ὃν ἶσον ἐτίομεν Ἕκτορι δίῳ,
Αἰνείας υἱὸς μεγαλήτορος Ἀγχίσαο·
ἀλλ’ ἄγετ’ ἐκ φλοίσβοιο σαώσομεν ἐσθλὸν ἑταῖρον.»
Ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.
ἔνθ’ αὖ Σαρπηδὼν μάλα νείκεσεν Ἕκτορα δῖον·

«Ἕκτορ πῇ δή τοι μένος οἴχεται ὃ πρὶν ἔχεσκες;
φῆς που ἄτερ λαῶν πόλιν ἑξέμεν ἠδ’ ἐπικούρων
οἶος σὺν γαμβροῖσι κασιγνήτοισί τε σοῖσι.
τῶν νῦν οὔ τιν’ ἐγὼ ἰδέειν δύναμ’ οὐδὲ νοῆσαι,
ἀλλὰ καταπτώσσουσι κύνες ὣς ἀμφὶ λέοντα·
ἡμεῖς δὲ μαχόμεσθ’ οἵ πέρ τ’ ἐπίκουροι ἔνειμεν.
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼν ἐπίκουρος ἐὼν μάλα τηλόθεν ἥκω·
τηλοῦ γὰρ Λυκίη Ξάνθῳ ἔπι δινήεντι,
ἔνθ’ ἄλοχόν τε φίλην ἔλιπον καὶ νήπιον υἱόν,
κὰδ δὲ κτήματα πολλά, τὰ ἔλδεται ὅς κ’ ἐπιδευής.
ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧς Λυκίους ὀτρύνω καὶ μέμον’ αὐτὸς
ἀνδρὶ μαχήσασθαι· ἀτὰρ οὔ τί μοι ἐνθάδε τοῖον
οἷόν κ’ ἠὲ φέροιεν Ἀχαιοὶ ἤ κεν ἄγοιεν·
τύνη δ’ ἕστηκας, ἀτὰρ οὐδ’ ἄλλοισι κελεύεις
λαοῖσιν μενέμεν καὶ ἀμυνέμεναι ὤρεσσι.
μή πως ὡς ἀψῖσι λίνου ἁλόντε πανάγρου
ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν ἕλωρ καὶ κύρμα γένησθε·
οἳ δὲ τάχ’ ἐκπέρσουσ’ εὖ ναιομένην πόλιν ὑμήν.
σοὶ δὲ χρὴ τάδε πάντα μέλειν νύκτάς τε καὶ ἦμαρ
ἀρχοὺς λισσομένῳ τηλεκλειτῶν ἐπικούρων
νωλεμέως ἐχέμεν, κρατερὴν δ’ ἀποθέσθαι ἐνιπήν.»
Ὣς φάτο Σαρπηδών, δάκε δὲ φρένας Ἕκτορι μῦθος·
αὐτίκα δ’ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,
πάλλων δ’ ὀξέα δοῦρα κατὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο πάντῃ,
ὀτρύνων μαχέσασθαι, ἔγειρε δὲ φύλοπιν αἰνήν.
οἳ δ’ ἐλελίχθησαν καὶ ἐναντίοι ἔσταν Ἀχαιῶν·
Ἀργεῖοι δ’ ὑπέμειναν ἀολλέες οὐδὲ φόβηθεν.
ὡς δ’ ἄνεμος ἄχνας φορέει ἱερὰς κατ’ ἀλωὰς
ἀνδρῶν λικμώντων, ὅτε τε ξανθὴ Δημήτηρ
κρίνῃ ἐπειγομένων ἀνέμων καρπόν τε καὶ ἄχνας,
αἳ δ’ ὑπολευκαίνονται ἀχυρμιαί· ὣς τότ’ Ἀχαιοὶ

λευκοὶ ὕπερθε γένοντο κονισάλῳ, ὅν ῥα δι’ αὐτῶν
οὐρανὸν ἐς πολύχαλκον ἐπέπληγον πόδες ἵππων
ἂψ ἐπιμισγομένων· ὑπὸ δ’ ἔστρεφον ἡνιοχῆες.
οἳ δὲ μένος χειρῶν ἰθὺς φέρον· ἀμφὶ δὲ νύκτα
θοῦρος Ἄρης ἐκάλυψε μάχῃ Τρώεσσιν ἀρήγων,
πάντοσ’ ἐποιχόμενος· τοῦ δ’ ἐκραίαινεν ἐφετμὰς
Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος χρυσαόρου, ὅς μιν ἀνώγει
Τρωσὶν θυμὸν ἐγεῖραι, ἐπεὶ ἴδε Παλλάδ’ Ἀθήνην
οἰχομένην· ἣ γάρ ῥα πέλεν Δαναοῖσιν ἀρηγών.
αὐτὸς δ’ Αἰνείαν μάλα πίονος ἐξ ἀδύτοιο
ἧκε, καὶ ἐν στήθεσσι μένος βάλε ποιμένι λαῶν.
Αἰνείας δ’ ἑτάροισι μεθίστατο· τοὶ δὲ χάρησαν,
ὡς εἶδον ζωόν τε καὶ ἀρτεμέα προσιόντα
καὶ μένος ἐσθλὸν ἔχοντα· μετάλλησάν γε μὲν οὔ τι.
οὐ γὰρ ἔα πόνος ἄλλος, ὃν ἀργυρότοξος ἔγειρεν
Ἄρης τε βροτολοιγὸς Ἔρις τ’ ἄμοτον μεμαυῖα.
Τοὺς δ’ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ Ὀδυσσεὺς καὶ Διομήδης
ὄτρυνον Δαναοὺς πολεμιζέμεν· οἳ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ
οὔτε βίας Τρώων ὑπεδείδισαν οὔτε ἰωκάς,
ἀλλ’ ἔμενον νεφέλῃσιν ἐοικότες ἅς τε Κρονίων
νηνεμίης ἔστησεν ἐπ’ ἀκροπόλοισιν ὄρεσσιν
ἀτρέμας, ὄφρ’ εὕδῃσι μένος Βορέαο καὶ ἄλλων
ζαχρειῶν ἀνέμων, οἵ τε νέφεα σκιόεντα
πνοιῇσιν λιγυρῇσι διασκιδνᾶσιν ἀέντες·
ὣς Δαναοὶ Τρῶας μένον ἔμπεδον οὐδὲ φέβοντο.
Ἀτρεΐδης δ’ ἀν’ ὅμιλον ἐφοίτα πολλὰ κελεύων·
«ὦ φίλοι ἀνέρες ἔστε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἦτορ ἕλεσθε,
ἀλλήλους τ’ αἰδεῖσθε κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας·
αἰδομένων ἀνδρῶν πλέονες σόοι ἠὲ πέφανται·
φευγόντων δ’ οὔτ’ ἂρ κλέος ὄρνυται οὔτε τις ἀλκή.»
Ἦ καὶ ἀκόντισε δουρὶ θοῶς, βάλε δὲ πρόμον ἄνδρα,

Αἰνείω ἕταρον μεγαθύμου Δηϊκόωντα
Περγασίδην, ὃν Τρῶες ὁμῶς Πριάμοιο τέκεσσι
τῖον, ἐπεὶ θοὸς ἔσκε μετὰ πρώτοισι μάχεσθαι.
τόν ῥα κατ’ ἀσπίδα δουρὶ βάλε κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·
ἣ δ’ οὐκ ἔγχος ἔρυτο, διὰ πρὸ δὲ εἴσατο χαλκός,
νειαίρῃ δ’ ἐν γαστρὶ διὰ ζωστῆρος ἔλασσε·
δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχε’ ἐπ’ αὐτῷ.
Ἔνθ’ αὖτ’ Αἰνείας Δαναῶν ἕλεν ἄνδρας ἀρίστους
υἷε Διοκλῆος Κρήθωνά τε Ὀρσίλοχόν τε,
τῶν ῥα πατὴρ μὲν ἔναιεν ἐϋκτιμένῃ ἐνὶ Φηρῇ,
ἀφνειὸς βιότοιο, γένος δ’ ἦν ἐκ ποταμοῖο
Ἀλφειοῦ, ὅς τ’ εὐρὺ ῥέει Πυλίων διὰ γαίης,
ὃς τέκετ’ Ὀρτίλοχον πολέεσσ’ ἄνδρεσσιν ἄνακτα·
Ὀρτίλοχος δ’ ἄρ’ ἔτικτε Διοκλῆα μεγάθυμον,
ἐκ δὲ Διοκλῆος διδυμάονε παῖδε γενέσθην,
Κρήθων Ὀρσίλοχός τε μάχης εὖ εἰδότε πάσης.
τὼ μὲν ἄρ’ ἡβήσαντε μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν
Ἴλιον εἰς εὔπωλον ἅμ’ Ἀργείοισιν ἑπέσθην,
τιμὴν Ἀτρεΐδῃς Ἀγαμέμνονι καὶ Μενελάῳ,
ἀρνυμένω· τὼ δ’ αὖθι τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψεν.
οἵω τώ γε λέοντε δύω ὄρεος κορυφῇσιν
ἐτραφέτην ὑπὸ μητρὶ βαθείης τάρφεσιν ὕλης·
τὼ μὲν ἄρ’ ἁρπάζοντε βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα
σταθμοὺς ἀνθρώπων κεραΐζετον, ὄφρα καὶ αὐτὼ
ἀνδρῶν ἐν παλάμῃσι κατέκταθεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ·
τοίω τὼ χείρεσσιν ὑπ’ Αἰνείαο δαμέντε
καππεσέτην, ἐλάτῃσιν ἐοικότες ὑψηλῇσι.
Τὼ δὲ πεσόντ’ ἐλέησεν ἀρηΐφιλος Μενέλαος,

βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων κεκορυθμένος αἴθοπι χαλκῷ,
σείων ἐγχείην· τοῦ δ’ ὄτρυνεν μένος Ἄρης,
τὰ φρονέων ἵνα χερσὶν ὑπ’ Αἰνείαο δαμείη.
τὸν δ’ ἴδεν Ἀντίλοχος μεγαθύμου Νέστορος υἱός,
βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων· περὶ γὰρ δίε ποιμένι λαῶν,
μή τι πάθοι, μέγα δέ σφας ἀποσφήλειε πόνοιο.
τὼ μὲν δὴ χεῖράς τε καὶ ἔγχεα ὀξυόεντα
ἀντίον ἀλλήλων ἐχέτην μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι·
Ἀντίλοχος δὲ μάλ’ ἄγχι παρίστατο ποιμένι λαῶν.
Αἰνείας δ’ οὐ μεῖνε θοός περ ἐὼν πολεμιστής,
ὡς εἶδεν δύο φῶτε παρ’ ἀλλήλοισι μένοντε.
οἳ δ’ ἐπεὶ οὖν νεκροὺς ἔρυσαν μετὰ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν,
τὼ μὲν ἄρα δειλὼ βαλέτην ἐν χερσὶν ἑταίρων,
αὐτὼ δὲ στρεφθέντε μετὰ πρώτοισι μαχέσθην.
Ἔνθα Πυλαιμένεα ἑλέτην ἀτάλαντον Ἄρηϊ
ἀρχὸν Παφλαγόνων μεγαθύμων ἀσπιστάων.
τὸν μὲν ἄρ’ Ἀτρεΐδης δουρικλειτὸς Μενέλαος
ἑσταότ’ ἔγχεϊ νύξε κατὰ κληῗδα τυχήσας·
Ἀντίλοχος δὲ Μύδωνα βάλ’ ἡνίοχον θεράποντα
ἐσθλὸν Ἀτυμνιάδην—ὁ δ’ ὑπέστρεφε μώνυχας ἵππους—
χερμαδίῳ ἀγκῶνα τυχὼν μέσον· ἐκ δ’ ἄρα χειρῶν
ἡνία λεύκ’ ἐλέφαντι χαμαὶ πέσον ἐν κονίῃσιν.
Ἀντίλοχος δ’ ἄρ’ ἐπαΐξας ξίφει ἤλασε κόρσην·
αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ ἀσθμαίνων εὐεργέος ἔκπεσε δίφρου
κύμβαχος ἐν κονίῃσιν ἐπὶ βρεχμόν τε καὶ ὤμους.
δηθὰ μάλ’ ἑστήκει—τύχε γάρ ῥ’ ἀμάθοιο βαθείης—
ὄφρ’ ἵππω πλήξαντε χαμαὶ βάλον ἐν κονίῃσι·
τοὺς ἵμασ’ Ἀντίλοχος, μετὰ δὲ στρατὸν ἤλασ’ Ἀχαιῶν.
Τοὺς δ’ Ἕκτωρ ἐνόησε κατὰ στίχας, ὦρτο δ’ ἐπ’ αὐτοὺς
κεκλήγων· ἅμα δὲ Τρώων εἵποντο φάλαγγες
καρτεραί· ἦρχε δ’ ἄρα σφιν Ἄρης καὶ πότνι’ Ἐνυώ,

ἡ μὲν ἔχουσα Κυδοιμὸν ἀναιδέα δηϊοτῆτος,
Ἄρης δ’ ἐν παλάμῃσι πελώριον ἔγχος ἐνώμα,
φοίτα δ’ ἄλλοτε μὲν πρόσθ’ Ἕκτορος, ἄλλοτ’ ὄπισθε.
Τὸν δὲ ἰδὼν ῥίγησε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·
ὡς δ’ ὅτ’ ἀνὴρ ἀπάλαμνος ἰὼν πολέος πεδίοιο,
στήῃ ἐπ’ ὠκυρόῳ ποταμῷ ἅλα δὲ προρέοντι
ἀφρῷ μορμύροντα ἰδών, ἀνά τ’ ἔδραμ’ ὀπίσσω,
ὣς τότε Τυδεΐδης ἀνεχάζετο, εἶπέ τε λαῷ·
«ὦ φίλοι οἷον δὴ θαυμάζομεν Ἕκτορα δῖον
αἰχμητήν τ’ ἔμεναι καὶ θαρσαλέον πολεμιστήν·
τῷ δ’ αἰεὶ πάρα εἷς γε θεῶν, ὃς λοιγὸν ἀμύνει·
καὶ νῦν οἱ πάρα κεῖνος Ἄρης βροτῷ ἀνδρὶ ἐοικώς.
ἀλλὰ πρὸς Τρῶας τετραμμένοι αἰὲν ὀπίσσω
εἴκετε, μηδὲ θεοῖς μενεαινέμεν ἶφι μάχεσθαι.»
Ὣς ἄρ’ ἔφη, Τρῶες δὲ μάλα σχεδὸν ἤλυθον αὐτῶν.
ἔνθ’ Ἕκτωρ δύο φῶτε κατέκτανεν εἰδότε χάρμης
εἰν ἑνὶ δίφρῳ ἐόντε, Μενέσθην Ἀγχίαλόν τε.
τὼ δὲ πεσόντ’ ἐλέησε μέγας Τελαμώνιος Αἴας·
στῆ δὲ μάλ’ ἐγγὺς ἰών, καὶ ἀκόντισε δουρὶ φαεινῷ,
καὶ βάλεν Ἄμφιον Σελάγου υἱόν, ὅς ῥ’ ἐνὶ Παισῷ
ναῖε πολυκτήμων πολυλήϊος· ἀλλά ἑ μοῖρα
ἦγ’ ἐπικουρήσοντα μετὰ Πρίαμόν τε καὶ υἷας.
τόν ῥα κατὰ ζωστῆρα βάλεν Τελαμώνιος Αἴας,
νειαίρῃ δ’ ἐν γαστρὶ πάγη δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος,
δούπησεν δὲ πεσών· ὃ δ’ ἐπέδραμε φαίδιμος Αἴας
τεύχεα συλήσων· Τρῶες δ’ ἐπὶ δούρατ’ ἔχευαν
ὀξέα παμφανόωντα· σάκος δ’ ἀνεδέξατο πολλά.
αὐτὰρ ὃ λὰξ προσβὰς ἐκ νεκροῦ χάλκεον ἔγχος,
ἐσπάσατ’· οὐδ’ ἄρ’ ἔτ’ ἄλλα δυνήσατο τεύχεα καλὰ
ὤμοιιν ἀφελέσθαι· ἐπείγετο γὰρ βελέεσσι.
δεῖσε δ’ ὁ γ’ ἀμφίβασιν κρατερὴν Τρώων ἀγερώχων,
οἳ πολλοί τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ ἐφέστασαν ἔγχε’ ἔχοντες,

οἵ ἑ μέγαν περ ἐόντα καὶ ἴφθιμον καὶ ἀγαυὸν
ὦσαν ἀπὸ σφείων· ὃ δὲ χασσάμενος πελεμίχθη.
Ὣς οἳ μὲν πονέοντο κατὰ κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην·
Τληπόλεμον δ’ Ἡρακλεΐδην ἠΰν τε μέγαν τε
ὦρσεν ἐπ’ ἀντιθέῳ Σαρπηδόνι μοῖρα κραταιή.
οἳ δ’ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες,
υἱός θ’ υἱωνός τε Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο,
τὸν καὶ Τληπόλεμος πρότερος πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·
«Σαρπῆδον Λυκίων βουληφόρε, τίς τοι ἀνάγκη
πτώσσειν ἐνθάδ’ ἐόντι μάχης ἀδαήμονι φωτί;
ψευδόμενοι δέ σέ φασι Διὸς γόνον αἰγιόχοιο
εἶναι, ἐπεὶ πολλὸν κείνων ἐπιδεύεαι ἀνδρῶν
οἳ Διὸς ἐξεγένοντο ἐπὶ προτέρων ἀνθρώπων·
ἀλλ’ οἷόν τινά φασι βίην Ἡρακληείην
εἶναι, ἐμὸν πατέρα θρασυμέμνονα θυμολέοντα·
ὅς ποτε δεῦρ’ ἐλθὼν ἕνεχ’ ἵππων Λαομέδοντος
ἓξ οἴῃς σὺν νηυσὶ καὶ ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισιν
Ἰλίου ἐξαλάπαξε πόλιν, χήρωσε δ’ ἀγυιάς·
σοὶ δὲ κακὸς μὲν θυμός, ἀποφθινύθουσι δὲ λαοί.
οὐδέ τί σε Τρώεσσιν ὀΐομαι ἄλκαρ ἔσεσθαι
ἐλθόντ’ ἐκ Λυκίης, οὐδ’ εἰ μάλα καρτερός ἐσσι,
ἀλλ’ ὑπ’ ἐμοὶ δμηθέντα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περήσειν.»
Τὸν δ’ αὖ Σαρπηδὼν Λυκίων ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·
«Τληπόλεμ’ ἤτοι κεῖνος ἀπώλεσεν Ἴλιον ἱρὴν
ἀνέρος ἀφραδίῃσιν ἀγαυοῦ Λαομέδοντος,
ὅς ῥά μιν εὖ ἕρξαντα κακῷ ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ,
οὐδ’ ἀπέδωχ’ ἵππους, ὧν εἵνεκα τηλόθεν ἦλθε.
σοὶ δ’ ἐγὼ ἐνθάδε φημὶ φόνον καὶ κῆρα μέλαιναν
ἐξ ἐμέθεν τεύξεσθαι, ἐμῷ δ’ ὑπὸ δουρὶ δαμέντα
εὖχος ἐμοὶ δώσειν, ψυχὴν δ’ Ἄϊδι κλυτοπώλῳ.»
Ὣς φάτο Σαρπηδών, ὁ δ’ ἀνέσχετο μείλινον ἔγχος

Τληπόλεμος· καὶ τῶν μὲν ἁμαρτῇ δούρατα μακρὰ
ἐκ χειρῶν ἤϊξαν· ὃ μὲν βάλεν αὐχένα μέσσον
Σαρπηδών, αἰχμὴ δὲ διαμπερὲς ἦλθ’ ἀλεγεινή·
τὸν δὲ κατ’ ὀφθαλμῶν ἐρεβεννὴ νὺξ ἐκάλυψε.
Τληπόλεμος δ’ ἄρα μηρὸν ἀριστερὸν ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ
βεβλήκειν, αἰχμὴ δὲ διέσσυτο μαιμώωσα,
ὀστέω ἐγχριμφθεῖσα, πατὴρ δ’ ἔτι λοιγὸν ἄμυνεν.
Οἱ μὲν ἄρ’ ἀντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα δῖοι ἑταῖροι
ἐξέφερον πολέμοιο· βάρυνε δέ μιν δόρυ μακρὸν
ἑλκόμενον· τὸ μὲν οὔ τις ἐπεφράσατ’ οὐδὲ νόησε,
μηροῦ ἐξερύσαι δόρυ μείλινον ὄφρ’ ἐπιβαίη,
σπευδόντων· τοῖον γὰρ ἔχον πόνον ἀμφιέποντες.
Τληπόλεμον δ’ ἑτέρωθεν ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοὶ
ἐξέφερον πολέμοιο· νόησε δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς
τλήμονα θυμὸν ἔχων, μαίμησε δέ οἱ φίλον ἦτορ·
μερμήριξε δ’ ἔπειτα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμὸν
ἢ προτέρω Διὸς υἱὸν ἐριγδούποιο διώκοι,
ἦ ὅ γε τῶν πλεόνων Λυκίων ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.
οὐδ’ ἄρ’ Ὀδυσσῆϊ μεγαλήτορι μόρσιμον ἦεν
ἴφθιμον Διὸς υἱὸν ἀποκτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ·
τώ ῥα κατὰ πληθὺν Λυκίων τράπε θυμὸν Ἀθήνη.
ἔνθ’ ὅ γε Κοίρανον εἷλεν Ἀλάστορά τε Χρομίον τε
Ἄλκανδρόν θ’ Ἅλιόν τε Νοήμονά τε Πρύτανίν τε.
καί νύ κ’ ἔτι πλέονας Λυκίων κτάνε δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς
εἰ μὴ ἄρ’ ὀξὺ νόησε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·
βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων κεκορυθμένος αἴθοπι χαλκῷ
δεῖμα φέρων Δαναοῖσι· χάρη δ’ ἄρα οἱ προσιόντι
Σαρπηδὼν Διὸς υἱός, ἔπος δ’ ὀλοφυδνὸν ἔειπε·
«Πριαμίδη, μὴ δή με ἕλωρ Δαναοῖσιν ἐάσῃς
κεῖσθαι, ἀλλ’ ἐπάμυνον· ἔπειτά με καὶ λίποι αἰὼν
ἐν πόλει ὑμετέρῃ, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄρ’ ἔμελλον ἔγωγε

νοστήσας οἶκον δὲ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν
εὐφρανέειν ἄλοχόν τε φίλην καὶ νήπιον υἱόν.»
Ὣς φάτο, τὸν δ’ οὔ τι προσέφη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ,
ἀλλὰ παρήϊξεν λελιημένος ὄφρα τάχιστα
ὤσαιτ’ Ἀργείους, πολέων δ’ ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.
οἳ μὲν ἄρ’ ἀντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα δῖοι ἑταῖροι
εἷσαν ὑπ’ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς περικαλλέϊ φηγῷ·
ἐκ δ’ ἄρα οἱ μηροῦ δόρυ μείλινον ὦσε θύραζε
ἴφθιμος Πελάγων, ὅς οἱ φίλος ἦεν ἑταῖρος.
τὸν δ’ ἔλιπε ψυχή, κατὰ δ’ ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτ’ ἀχλύς·
αὖτις δ’ ἐμπνύνθη, περὶ δὲ πνοιὴ Βορέαο
ζώγρει ἐπιπνείουσα κακῶς κεκαφηότα θυμόν.
Ἀργεῖοι δ’ ὑπ’ Ἄρηϊ καὶ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ
οὔτε ποτὲ προτρέποντο μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν
οὔτε ποτ’ ἀντεφέροντο μάχῃ, ἀλλ’ αἰὲν ὀπίσσω
χάζονθ’, ὡς ἐπύθοντο μετὰ Τρώεσσιν Ἄρηα.
Ἔνθα τίνα πρῶτον τίνα δ’ ὕστατον ἐξενάριξαν
Ἕκτωρ τε Πριάμοιο πάϊς καὶ χάλκεος Ἄρης;
ἀντίθεον Τεύθραντ’, ἐπὶ δὲ πλήξιππον Ὀρέστην,
Τρῆχόν τ’ αἰχμητὴν Αἰτώλιον Οἰνόμαόν τε,
Οἰνοπίδην θ’ Ἕλενον καὶ Ὀρέσβιον αἰολομίτρην,
ὅς ῥ’ ἐν Ὕλῃ ναίεσκε μέγα πλούτοιο μεμηλώς,
λίμνῃ κεκλιμένος Κηφισίδι· πὰρ δέ οἱ ἄλλοι
ναῖον Βοιωτοὶ μάλα πίονα δῆμον ἔχοντες.
Τοὺς δ’ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη
Ἀργείους ὀλέκοντας ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ,
αὐτίκ’ Ἀθηναίην ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
«ὢ πόποι, αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος Ἀτρυτώνη,
ἦ ῥ’ ἅλιον τὸν μῦθον ὑπέστημεν Μενελάῳ

Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντ’ εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι,
εἰ οὕτω μαίνεσθαι ἐάσομεν οὖλον Ἄρηα.
ἀλλ’ ἄγε δὴ καὶ νῶϊ μεδώμεθα θούριδος ἀλκῆς.»
Ὣς ἔφατ’, οὐδ’ ἀπίθησε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.
ἣ μὲν ἐποιχομένη χρυσάμπυκας ἔντυεν ἵππους
Ἥρη πρέσβα θεὰ θυγάτηρ μεγάλοιο Κρόνοιο·
Ἥβη δ’ ἀμφ’ ὀχέεσσι θοῶς βάλε καμπύλα κύκλα
χάλκεα ὀκτάκνημα σιδηρέῳ ἄξονι ἀμφίς.
τῶν ἤτοι χρυσέη ἴτυς ἄφθιτος, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε
χάλκε’ ἐπίσσωτρα προσαρηρότα, θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι·
πλῆμναι δ’ ἀργύρου εἰσὶ περίδρομοι ἀμφοτέρωθεν·
δίφρος δὲ χρυσέοισι καὶ ἀργυρέοισιν ἱμᾶσιν
ἐντέταται, δοιαὶ δὲ περίδρομοι ἄντυγές εἰσι.
τοῦ δ’ ἐξ ἀργύρεος ῥυμὸς πέλεν· αὐτὰρ ἐπ’ ἄκρῳ
δῆσε χρύσειον καλὸν ζυγόν, ἐν δὲ λέπαδνα
κάλ’ ἔβαλε χρύσει’· ὑπὸ δὲ ζυγὸν ἤγαγεν Ἥρη
ἵππους ὠκύποδας, μεμαυῖ’ ἔριδος καὶ ἀϋτῆς.
Αὐτὰρ Ἀθηναίη κούρη Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο
πέπλον μὲν κατέχευεν ἑανὸν πατρὸς ἐπ’ οὔδει
ποικίλον, ὅν ῥ’ αὐτὴ ποιήσατο καὶ κάμε χερσίν·
ἣ δὲ χιτῶν’ ἐνδῦσα Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο
τεύχεσιν ἐς πόλεμον θωρήσσετο δακρυόεντα.
ἀμφὶ δ’ ἄρ’ ὤμοισιν βάλετ’ αἰγίδα θυσσανόεσσαν
δεινήν, ἣν περὶ μὲν πάντῃ Φόβος ἐστεφάνωται,
ἐν δ’ Ἔρις, ἐν δ’ Ἀλκή, ἐν δὲ κρυόεσσα Ἰωκή,
ἐν δέ τε Γοργείη κεφαλὴ δεινοῖο πελώρου
δεινή τε σμερδνή τε, Διὸς τέρας αἰγιόχοιο.
κρατὶ δ’ ἐπ’ ἀμφίφαλον κυνέην θέτο τετραφάληρον
χρυσείην, ἑκατὸν πολίων πρυλέεσσ’ ἀραρυῖαν·
ἐς δ’ ὄχεα φλόγεα ποσὶ βήσετο, λάζετο δ’ ἔγχος
βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρόν, τῷ δάμνησι στίχας ἀνδρῶν

ἡρώων, οἷσίν τε κοτέσσεται ὀβριμοπάτρη.
Ἥρη δὲ μάστιγι θοῶς ἐπεμαίετ’ ἄρ’ ἵππους·
αὐτόμαται δὲ πύλαι μύκον οὐρανοῦ ἃς ἔχον Ὧραι,
τῇς ἐπιτέτραπται μέγας οὐρανὸς Οὔλυμπός τε
ἠμὲν ἀνακλῖναι πυκινὸν νέφος ἠδ’ ἐπιθεῖναι.
τῇ ῥα δι’ αὐτάων κεντρηνεκέας ἔχον ἵππους·
εὗρον δὲ Κρονίωνα θεῶν ἄτερ ἥμενον ἄλλων
ἀκροτάτῃ κορυφῇ πολυδειράδος Οὐλύμποιο.
ἔνθ’ ἵππους στήσασα θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη
Ζῆν’ ὕπατον Κρονίδην ἐξείρετο καὶ προσέειπε·
«Ζεῦ πάτερ, οὐ νεμεσίζῃ Ἄρῃ τάδε καρτερὰ ἔργα,
ὁσσάτιόν τε καὶ οἷον ἀπώλεσε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν
μὰψ ἀτὰρ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον ἐμοὶ δ’ ἄχος, οἳ δὲ ἕκηλοι
τέρπονται Κύπρίς τε καὶ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων
ἄφρονα τοῦτον ἀνέντες, ὃς οὔ τινα οἶδε θέμιστα;
Ζεῦ πάτερ ἦ ῥά τί μοι κεχολώσεαι, αἴ κεν Ἄρηα
λυγρῶς πεπληγυῖα μάχης ἐξ ἀποδίωμαι;»
Τὴν δ’ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
«ἄγρει μάν οἱ ἔπορσον Ἀθηναίην ἀγελείην,
ἥ ἑ μάλιστ’ εἴωθε κακῇς ὀδύνῃσι πελάζειν.»
Ὣς ἔφατ’, οὐδ’ ἀπίθησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
μάστιξεν δ’ ἵππους· τὼ δ’ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην
μεσσηγὺς γαίης τε καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος.
ὅσσον δ’ ἠεροειδὲς ἀνὴρ ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν
ἥμενος ἐν σκοπιῇ, λεύσσων ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον,
τόσσον ἐπιθρῴσκουσι θεῶν ὑψηχέες ἵπποι.
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δὴ Τροίην ἷξον ποταμώ τε ῥέοντε,
ἧχι ῥοὰς Σιμόεις συμβάλλετον ἠδὲ Σκάμανδρος,
ἔνθ’ ἵππους ἔστησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη

λύσασ’ ἐξ ὀχέων, περὶ δ’ ἠέρα πουλὺν ἔχευε·
τοῖσιν δ’ ἀμβροσίην Σιμόεις ἀνέτειλε νέμεσθαι.
Αἳ δὲ βάτην τρήρωσι πελειάσιν ἴθμαθ’ ὁμοῖαι,
ἀνδράσιν Ἀργείοισιν ἀλεξέμεναι μεμαυῖαι·
ἀλλ’ ὅτε δή ῥ’ ἵκανον ὅθι πλεῖστοι καὶ ἄριστοι
ἕστασαν ἀμφὶ βίην Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο
εἰλόμενοι λείουσιν ἐοικότες ὠμοφάγοισιν
ἢ συσὶ κάπροισιν, τῶν τε σθένος οὐκ ἀλαπαδνόν,
ἔνθα στᾶσ’ ἤϋσε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,
Στέντορι εἰσαμένη μεγαλήτορι χαλκεοφώνῳ,
ὃς τόσον αὐδήσασχ’ ὅσον ἄλλοι πεντήκοντα·
«αἰδὼς Ἀργεῖοι κάκ’ ἐλέγχεα εἶδος ἀγητοί·
ὄφρα μὲν ἐς πόλεμον πωλέσκετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,
οὐδέ ποτε Τρῶες πρὸ πυλάων Δαρδανιάων
οἴχνεσκον· κείνου γὰρ ἐδείδισαν ὄβριμον ἔγχος·
νῦν δὲ ἑκὰς πόλιος κοίλῃς ἐπὶ νηυσὶ μάχονται.»
Ὣς εἰποῦσ’ ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.
Τυδεΐδῃ δ’ ἐπόρουσε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
εὗρε δὲ τόν γε ἄνακτα παρ’ ἵπποισιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν
ἕλκος ἀναψύχοντα τό μιν βάλε Πάνδαρος ἰῷ.
ἱδρὼς γάρ μιν ἔτειρεν ὑπὸ πλατέος τελαμῶνος
ἀσπίδος εὐκύλου· τῷ τείρετο, κάμνε δὲ χεῖρα,
ἂν δ’ ἴσχων τελαμῶνα κελαινεφὲς αἷμ’ ἀπομόργνυ.
ἱππείου δὲ θεὰ ζυγοῦ ἥψατο φώνησέν τε·
«ἦ ὀλίγον οἷ παῖδα ἐοικότα γείνατο Τυδεύς.
Τυδεύς τοι μικρὸς μὲν ἔην δέμας, ἀλλὰ μαχητής·
καί ῥ’ ὅτε πέρ μιν ἐγὼ πολεμίζειν οὐκ εἴασκον
οὐδ’ ἐκπαιφάσσειν, ὅτε τ’ ἤλυθε νόσφιν Ἀχαιῶν
ἄγγελος ἐς Θήβας πολέας μετὰ Καδμείωνας·

δαίνυσθαί μιν ἄνωγον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἕκηλον·
αὐτὰρ ὃ θυμὸν ἔχων ὃν καρτερὸν ὡς τὸ πάρος περ,
κούρους Καδμείων προκαλίζετο, πάντα δ’ ἐνίκα
ῥηϊδίως· τοίη οἱ ἐγὼν ἐπιτάῤῥοθος ἦα.
σοὶ δ’ ἤτοι μὲν ἐγὼ παρά θ’ ἵσταμαι ἠδὲ φυλάσσω,
καί σε προφρονέως κέλομαι Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·
ἀλλά σευ ἢ κάματος πολυᾶϊξ γυῖα δέδυκεν,
ἤ νύ σέ που δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον· οὐ σύ γ’ ἔπειτα
Τυδέος ἔκγονός ἐσσι δαΐφρονος Οἰνεΐδαο.»
Τὴν δ’ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·
«γιγνώσκω σε, θεά, θύγατερ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο·
τώ τοι προφρονέως ἐρέω ἔπος οὐδ’ ἐπικεύσω.
οὔτέ τί με δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον οὔτέ τις ὄκνος,
ἀλλ’ ἔτι σέων μέμνημαι ἐφετμέων ἃς ἐπέτειλας·
οὔ μ’ εἴας μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι
τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη
ἔλθῃσ’ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γ’ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.
τοὔνεκα νῦν αὐτός τ’ ἀναχάζομαι ἠδὲ καὶ ἄλλους
Ἀργείους ἐκέλευσα ἀλήμεναι ἐνδάδε πάντας·
γιγνώσκω γὰρ Ἄρηα μάχην ἀνὰ κοιρανέοντα.»
Τὸν δ’ ἠμείβετ’ ἔπειτα θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·
«Τυδεΐδη Διόμηδες, ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ
μήτε σύ γ’ Ἄρηα τό γε δείδιθι μήτε τιν’ ἄλλον
ἀθανάτων, τοίη τοι ἐγὼν ἐπιτάῤῥοθός εἰμι·
ἀλλ’ ἄγ’ ἐπ’ Ἄρηϊ πρώτῳ ἔχε μώνυχας ἵππους,
τύψον δὲ σχεδίην μηδ’ ἅζεο θοῦρον Ἄρηα
τοῦτον μαινόμενον, τυκτὸν κακόν, ἀλλοπρόσαλλον,
ὃς πρῴην μὲν ἐμοί τε καὶ Ἥρῃ στεῦτ’ ἀγορεύων
Τρωσὶ μαχήσεσθαι, ἀτὰρ Ἀργείοισιν ἀρήξειν,
νῦν δὲ μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ὁμιλεῖ, τῶν δὲ λέλασται.»
Ὣς φαμένη Σθένελον μὲν ἀφ’ ἵππων ὦσε χαμᾶζε,

χειρὶ πάλιν ἐρύσασ’, ὁ δ’ ἄρ’ ἐμμαπέως ἀπόρουσεν·
ἣ δ’ ἐς δίφρον ἔβαινε παραὶ Διομήδεα δῖον
ἐμμεμαυῖα θεά· μέγα δ’ ἔβραχε φήγινος ἄξων
βριθοσύνῃ· δεινὴν γὰρ ἄγεν θεὸν ἄνδρά τ’ ἄριστον.
λάζετο δὲ μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη·
αὐτίκ’ ἐπ’ Ἄρηϊ πρώτῳ ἔχε μώνυχας ἵππους.
ἤτοι ὁ μὲν Περίφαντα πελώριον ἐξενάριζεν,
Αἰτωλῶν ὄχ’ ἄριστον Ὀχησίου ἀγλαὸν υἱόν·
τὸν μὲν Ἄρης ἐνάριζε μιαιφόνος· αὐτὰρ Ἀθήνη
δῦν’ Ἄϊδος κυνέην, μή μιν ἴδοι ὄβριμος Ἄρης.
Ὡς δὲ ἴδε βροτολοιγὸς Ἄρης Διομήδεα δῖον,
ἤτοι ὁ μὲν Περίφαντα πελώριον αὐτόθ’ ἔασε
κεῖσθαι ὅθι πρῶτον κτείνων ἐξαίνυτο θυμόν,
αὐτὰρ ὁ βῆ ῥ’ ἰθὺς Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.
οἳ δ’ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπ’ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες,
πρόσθεν Ἄρης ὠρέξαθ’ ὑπὲρ ζυγὸν ἡνία θ’ ἵππων
ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ μεμαὼς ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἑλέσθαι·
καὶ τό γε χειρὶ λαβοῦσα θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη
ὦσεν ὑπὲκ δίφροιο ἐτώσιον ἀϊχθῆναι.
δεύτερος αὖθ’ ὡρμᾶτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης
ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ· ἐπέρεισε δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη
νείατον ἐς κενεῶνα ὅθι ζωννύσκετο μίτρῃ·
τῇ ῥά μιν οὖτα τυχών, διὰ δὲ χρόα καλὸν ἔδαψεν,
ἐκ δὲ δόρυ σπάσεν αὖτις· ὁ δ’ ἔβραχε χάλκεος Ἄρης
ὅσσόν τ’ ἐννεάχιλοι ἐπίαχον ἢ δεκάχιλοι
ἀνέρες ἐν πολέμῳ ἔριδα ξυνάγοντες Ἄρηος.
τοὺς δ’ ἄρ’ ὑπὸ τρόμος εἷλεν Ἀχαιούς τε Τρῶάς τε
δείσαντας· τόσον ἔβραχ’ Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο.
Οἵη δ’ ἐκ νεφέων ἐρεβεννὴ φαίνεται ἀὴρ

καύματος ἐξ ἀνέμοιο δυσαέος ὀρνυμένοιο,
τοῖος Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ χάλκεος Ἄρης
φαίνεθ’ ὁμοῦ νεφέεσσιν ἰὼν εἰς οὐρανὸν εὐρύν.
καρπαλίμως δ’ ἵκανε θεῶν ἕδος αἰπὺν Ὄλυμπον,
πὰρ δὲ Διὶ Κρονίωνι καθέζετο θυμὸν ἀχεύων,
δεῖξεν δ’ ἄμβροτον αἷμα καταῤῥέον ἐξ ὠτειλῆς,
καί ῥ’ ὀλοφυρόμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·
«Ζεῦ πάτερ οὐ νεμεσίζῃ ὁρῶν τάδε καρτερὰ ἔργα;
αἰεί τοι ῥίγιστα θεοὶ τετληότες εἰμὲν
ἀλλήλων ἰότητι, χάριν ἄνδρεσσι φέροντες.
σοὶ πάντες μαχόμεσθα· σὺ γὰρ τέκες ἄφρονα κούρην,
οὐλομένην, ᾗ τ’ αἰὲν ἀήσυλα ἔργα μέμηλεν.
ἄλλοι μὲν γὰρ πάντες ὅσοι θεοί εἰσ’ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ
σοί τ’ ἐπιπείθονται καὶ δεδμήμεσθα ἕκαστος·
ταύτην δ’ οὔτ’ ἔπεϊ προτιβάλλεαι οὔτέ τι ἔργῳ,
ἀλλ’ ἀνιεῖς, ἐπεὶ αὐτὸς ἐγείναο παῖδ’ ἀΐδηλον·
ἣ νῦν Τυδέος υἱὸν ὑπερφίαλον Διομήδεα
μαργαίνειν ἀνέηκεν ἐπ’ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.
Κύπριδα μὲν πρῶτον σχεδὸν οὔτασε χεῖρ’ ἐπὶ καρπῷ,
αὐτὰρ ἔπειτ’ αὐτῷ μοι ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος·
ἀλλά μ’ ὑπήνεικαν ταχέες πόδες· ἦ τέ κε δηρὸν
αὐτοῦ πήματ’ ἔπασχον ἐν αἰνῇσιν νεκάδεσσιν,
ἤ κε ζὼς ἀμενηνὸς ἔα χαλκοῖο τυπῇσι.»
Τὸν δ’ ἄρ’ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς.
«μή τί μοι ἀλλοπρόσαλλε παρεζόμενος μινύριζε.
ἔχθιστος δέ μοί ἐσσι θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν·
αἰεὶ γάρ τοι ἔρις τε φίλη πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε.
μητρός τοι μένος ἐστὶν ἀάσχετον οὐκ ἐπιεικτὸν
Ἥρης· τὴν μὲν ἐγὼ σπουδῇ δάμνημ’ ἐπέεσσι·
τώ σ’ ὀΐω κείνης τάδε πάσχειν ἐννεσίῃσιν.
ἀλλ’ οὐ μάν σ’ ἔτι δηρὸν ἀνέξομαι ἄλγε’ ἔχοντα·

ἐκ γὰρ ἐμεῦ γένος ἐσσί, ἐμοὶ δέ σε γείνατο μήτηρ·
εἰ δέ τευ ἐξ ἄλλου γε θεῶν γένευ ὧδ’ ἀΐδηλος,
καί κεν δὴ πάλαι ἦσθα ἐνέρτερος Οὐρανιώνων.»
Ὣς φάτο, καὶ Παιήον’ ἀνώγειν ἰήσασθαι.
τῷ δ’ ἐπὶ Παιήων ὀδυνήφατα φάρμακα πάσσων
ἠκέσατ’· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι καταθνητός γ’ ἐτέτυκτο.
ὡς δ’ ὅτ’ ὀπὸς γάλα λευκὸν ἐπειγόμενος συνέπηξεν
ὑγρὸν ἐόν, μάλα δ’ ὦκα περιτρέφεται κυκόωντι,
ὣς ἄρα καρπαλίμως ἰήσατο θοῦρον Ἄρηα.
τὸν δ’ Ἥβη λοῦσεν, χαρίεντα δὲ εἵματα ἕσσε·
πὰρ δὲ Διὶ Κρονίωνι καθέζετο κύδεϊ γαίων.
Αἱ δ’ αὖτις πρὸς δῶμα Διὸς μεγάλοιο νέοντο,
Ἥρη τ’ Ἀργείη καὶ Ἀλαλκομενηῒς Ἀθήνη,
παύσασαι βροτολοιγὸν Ἄρη’ ἀνδροκτασιάων.


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