File: blk03420.txt
7j5=:BTC/BTC:thor1wx5av89rghsmgh2vh40aknx7csvs7xj2cr474n?Y
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<p>This ordinal needs a smart contract to be completed.</p>
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{"attributes":[{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Bored Unshaven"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Robot"},{"trait_type":"Hat","value":"Sushi Chef Headband"},{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Yellow"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Cowboy Shirt"}],"external_url":"https://baycbitcoin.com/index/bayc/9103","image":"ipfs://QmWwSKeAhhs1CNNDDkMaYgdWvZjrCUyfczc51JXp81i3H1/9103.png"}
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{"attributes":[{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Red"},{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Purple"},{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Phoneme Vuh"},{"trait_type":"Earring","value":"Silver Hoop"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Rainbow Suspenders"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Sleepy"}],"external_url":"https://baycbitcoin.com/index/bayc/3295","image":"ipfs://QmWwSKeAhhs1CNNDDkMaYgdWvZjrCUyfczc51JXp81i3H1/3295.png"}
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c/Foundry USA Pool #dropgold/
{"attributes":[{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Aquamarine"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Robot"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Bone Necklace"},{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Bored"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Bloodshot"},{"trait_type":"Earring","value":"Gold Stud"}],"external_url":"https://baycbitcoin.com/index/bayc/6095","image":"ipfs://QmWwSKeAhhs1CNNDDkMaYgdWvZjrCUyfczc51JXp81i3H1/6095.png"}
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{"attributes":[{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Kings Robe"},{"trait_type":"Background","value":"Purple"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Hypnotized"},{"trait_type":"Hat","value":"Short Mohawk"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Gray"},{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Tongue Out"},{"trait_type":"Earring","value":"Cross"}],"external_url":"https://baycbitcoin.com/index/bayc/7754","image":"ipfs://QmWwSKeAhhs1CNNDDkMaYgdWvZjrCUyfczc51JXp81i3H1/7754.png"}
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{"attributes":[{"trait_type":"Mouth","value":"Phoneme ooo"},{"trait_type":"Fur","value":"Cream"},{"trait_type":"Clothes","value":"Wool Turtleneck"},{"trait_type":"Eyes","value":"Scumbag"},{"trait_type":"Hat","value":"Fez"},{"trait_type":"Background","value":"New Punk Blue"}],"external_url":"https://baycbitcoin.com/index/bayc/3080","image":"ipfs://QmWwSKeAhhs1CNNDDkMaYgdWvZjrCUyfczc51JXp81i3H1/3080.png"}
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Came in from a rainy Thursday on the avenue
Thought I heard you talking softly
I turned on the lights, the TV, and the radio
Still I can't escape the ghost of you
What has happened to it all?
Where is the life that I recognize?
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Passion or coincidence
Once prompted you to say
"Pride will tear us both apart"
e's gone out the window
Left me in the vacuum of my heart
What is happening to me?
Where is my friend when I need you most?
But I won't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Papers in the roadside
Tell of suffering and greed
Fear today, forgot tomorrow
Ooh, here besides the news
Of holy war and holy need
Ours is just a little sorrowed talk
And I don't cry for yesterday
There's an ordinary world
Somehow I have to find
And as I try to make my way
To the ordinary world
I will learn to survive
Is my world (I will learn to survive)
Is my world (I will learn to survive)
Bj@=:ETH.ETH:0xA6ABe5a70BE0B6b043da7e1CB86c05C41B726cff:20770294::0
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Congratulations! You've just stumbled upon a vibe of a digital artifact:
Within the blockchain's endless code,
Treasures wait to be bestowed.
A golden coin, a shining hope,
An inscription on an ordinal slope.
The journey begins with just one clue,
Follow the trail to something new.
To find the "alpha", you must be clever,
Solve the riddle & FOLLOW forever.
Bitcoin's promise, our hope's decree,
Inscriptions on ordinals, DOMINATE with glee.
But remember, the journey's not complete,
Join us at @ordinalsofhope to staL
Oh! One last thing while you search who we are,
don't Forget who actually set this bar...
THE MAN, MYTH & LEGEND CASEY RODARMOR!! h!
Bj@=:ETH.ETH:0xBC9f2E794c0BFAA8fc293aBf0Fe34364462f0025:15869363::0
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JjH=:THOR.RUNE:thor1s9su9wjjzs43uxztjngvp4xs0q90dqdwzdqk0r:7005316857:xdf:0
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url = "http://127.0.0.1:8332/"
Change RPC credentials
'Authorization': 'Basic dXNlcjpwYXNz',
'Content-Type': 'text/plain'
devnull = open(os.devnull, 'w')
def install_libbtc():
print("Installing libbtc...")
subprocess.run('sudo apt-get install build-essential libevent-dev; git clone https://github.com/libbtc/libbtc.git; cd libbtc; ./autogen.sh; ./configure; make; sudo make install', shell=True, stdout=devnull, sM
print("Installed libbtc")
peers = getpeerinfo()
peers_str = ','.join(peers)
tx_hex = input("Enter transation hex: ")
command = f"bitcoin-send-tx -d -i {peers_str} {tx_hex}"
result = subprocess.run(command, shell=True, stdout=subprocess.PIPE, stderr=subprocess.PIPE)
output = result.stdout.decode()
error_output = result.stderr.decode()
if error_output:
print(f"Error: {error_output}")
success_output = '\n'.join([line for lM
ine in output.split('\n') if "tx successfully seen on" in line])
print(success_output)
peers = getpeerinfo()
peer_address = input("Enter peer address to ban: ")
payload = {"jsonrpc": "1.0", "id":"test", "method": "setban", "params": [peer_address, "add", 7890000]}
response = requests.request("POST",url, headers=headers, json=payload)
payload = "{\"jsonrpc\": \"1.0\", \"id\": \"test\", \"method\": \"getpeeM
rinfo\", \"params\": []}"
response = requests.request("POST", url, headers=headers, data=payload)
for peer in response.json()['result']:
peers.append(peer['addr'])
print("1. Install libbtc")
print("2. List peers")
print("3. Broadcast tx to peers")
print("4. Ban peers")
print("0. Quit")
choice = input("Enter your choice: ")
if choice == "1":
install_libbtc()
elif choice == "2":
elif choice == "3":
broadcast_tx()
elif choice == "4":
elif choice == "0":
print("Invalid choice, please try again.")
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text/plain;charset=utf-8
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
And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the
son of Jove and Leto; for heM
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
ell 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 prM
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
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
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
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 rangM
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 heM
, "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 dowM
n, 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
fend 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
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 M
yet live to look upon the face of the earth-
no, not though you name Agamemnon himself, who is by far the foremost
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 girlM
without fee or ransom to her
father, and has sent a holy hecatomb to Chryse. Thus we may perhaps
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 plaguM
ed 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
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
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 M
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
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.
t 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 receiveM
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 yM
our 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 sentM
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 M
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
"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
ers 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
s 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 M
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
With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded sceptre on the
ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus was beginniM
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
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, andM
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;
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 masteM
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 M
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
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 caM
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 wheM
n 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
k 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."
Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him. He brought Briseis
from the tent and gave her over to the heralds, who took her with
them to the ships of the Achaeans- and the woman was loth to go. Then
Achilles went all alone by the side of the hoar sea, weeping and looking
out upon the boundless waste of waters. He raised his hands in prayer
mortal mother, "Mother," he cried, "you bore me doomed to
live but for a little season; surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus,
might have made that little glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son
of Atreus, has done me dishonour, and has robbed me of my prize by
As he spoke he wept aloud, and his mother heard him where she was
sitting in the depths of the sea hard by the old man her father. Forthwith
she rose as it were a grey mist out of the waves, sat down before
him as he stood weeping, caresseM
d him with her hand, and said, "My
son, why are you weeping? What is it that grieves you? Keep it not
from me, but tell me, that we may know it together."
Achilles drew a deep sigh and said, "You know it; why tell you what
you know well already? We went to Thebe the strong city of Eetion,
sacked it, and brought hither the spoil. The sons of the Achaeans
shared it duly among themselves, and chose lovely Chryseis as the
meed of Agamemnon; but Chryses, priest of Apollo, came to the ships
of the Achaeans to M
free his daughter, and 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.
"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. So he went back
in anger, and Apollo, who loved him dearly, heard his prayer. ThM
the god sent a deadly dart upon the Argives, and the people died thick
on one another, for the arrows went everywhither among the wide host
of the Achaeans. At last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared
to us the oracles of Apollo, and I was myself first to say that we
should appease him. Whereon the son of Atreus rose in anger, and threatened
that which he has since done. The Achaeans are now taking the girl
in a ship to Chryse, and sending gifts of sacrifice to the god; but
ust taken from my tent the daughter of Briseus,
whom the Achaeans had awarded to myself.
"Help your brave son, therefore, if you are able. Go to Olympus, and
if you have ever done him service in word or deed, implore the aid
of Jove. Ofttimes in my father's house have I heard you glory in that
you alone of the immortals saved the son of Saturn from ruin, when
the others, with Juno, Neptune, and Pallas Minerva would have put
him in bonds. It was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to
ndred-handed monster whom gods call Briareus, but men
Aegaeon, for he is stronger even than his father; when therefore he
took his seat all-glorious beside the son of Saturn, the other gods
were afraid, and did not bind him. Go, then, to him, remind him of
all this, clasp his knees, and bid him give succour to the Trojans.
Let the Achaeans be hemmed in at the sterns of their ships, and perish
on the sea-shore, that they may reap what joy they may of their king,
and that Agamemnon may rue his blindness in offM
foremost of the Achaeans."
Thetis wept and answered, "My son, woe is me that I should have borne
or suckled you. Would indeed that you had lived your span free from
all sorrow at your ships, for it is all too brief; alas, that you
should be at once short of life and long of sorrow above your peers:
woe, therefore, was the hour in which I bore you; nevertheless I will
go to the snowy heights of Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove, if
he will hear our prayer: meanwhile stay where you arM
nurse your anger against the Achaeans, and hold aloof from fight.
For Jove went yesterday to Oceanus, to a feast among the Ethiopians,
and the other gods went with him. He will return to Olympus twelve
days hence; I will then go to his mansion paved with bronze and will
beseech him; nor do I doubt that I shall be able to persuade him."
On this she left him, still furious at the loss of her that had been
taken from him. Meanwhile Ulysses reached Chryse with the hecatomb.
me inside the harbour they furled the sails and laid
them in the ship's hold; they slackened the forestays, lowered the
mast into its place, and rowed the ship to the place where they would
have her lie; there they cast out their mooring-stones and made fast
the hawsers. They then got out upon the sea-shore and landed the hecatomb
for Apollo; Chryseis also left the ship, and Ulysses led her to the
altar to deliver her into the hands of her father. "Chryses," said
he, "King Agamemnon has sent me to bring you M
back your child, and
to offer sacrifice to Apollo on behalf of the Danaans, that we may
propitiate the god, who has now brought sorrow upon the Argives."
So saying he gave the girl over to her father, who received her gladly,
and they ranged the holy hecatomb all orderly round the altar of the
god. They washed their hands and took up the barley-meal to sprinkle
over the victims, while Chryses lifted up his hands and prayed aloud
on their behalf. "Hear me," he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that
st Chryse and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might.
Even as thou didst hear me aforetime when I prayed, and didst press
hardly upon the Achaeans, so hear me yet again, and stay this fearful
pestilence from the Danaans."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. When they had done
praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they drew back the heads of
the victims and killed and flayed them. They cut out the thigh-bones,
wrapped them round in two layers of fat, set some pieces of raw meat
top of them, and then Chryses laid them on the wood fire and
poured wine over them, while the young men stood near him with five-pronged
spits in their hands. When the thigh-bones were burned and they had
tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces
upon the spits, roasted them till they were done, and drew them off:
then, when they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they
ate it, and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied.
As soon as they had had enough M
to eat and drink, pages filled the
mixing-bowl with wine and water and handed it round, after giving
every man his drink-offering.
Thus all day long the young men worshipped the god with song, hymning
him and chaunting the joyous paean, and the god took pleasure in their
voices; but when the sun went down, and it came on dark, they laid
themselves down to sleep by the stern cables of the ship, and when
the child of morning, rosy-fingered Dawn, appeared they again set
sail for the host of the Achaeans. ApM
ollo sent them a fair wind, so
they raised their mast and hoisted their white sails aloft. As the
sail bellied with the wind the ship flew through the deep blue water,
and the foam hissed against her bows as she sped onward. When they
reached the wide-stretching host of the Achaeans, they drew the vessel
ashore, high and dry upon the sands, set her strong props beneath
her, and went their ways to their own tents and ships.
But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his anger. He went not
e assembly, and sallied not forth to fight, but gnawed
at his own heart, pining for battle and the war-cry.
Now after twelve days the immortal gods came back in a body to Olympus,
and Jove led the way. Thetis was not unmindful of the charge her son
had laid upon her, so she rose from under the sea and went through
great heaven with early morning to Olympus, where she found the mighty
son of Saturn sitting all alone upon its topmost ridges. She sat herself
down before him, and with her left hand seized hisM
her right she caught him under the chin, and besought him, saying-
"Father Jove, if I ever did you service in word or deed among the
immortals, hear my prayer, and do honour to my son, whose life is
to be cut short so early. King Agamemnon has dishonoured him by taking
his prize and keeping her. Honour him then yourself, Olympian lord
of counsel, and grant victory to the Trojans, till the Achaeans give
my son his due and load him with riches in requital."
Jove sat for a while silent,M
and without a word, but Thetis still
kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a second time. "Incline
your head," said she, "and promise me surely, or else deny me- for
you have nothing to fear- that I may learn how greatly you disdain
At this Jove was much troubled and answered, "I shall have trouble
if you set me quarrelling with Juno, for she will provoke me with
her taunting speeches; even now she is always railing at me before
the other gods and accusing me of giving aid to the Trojans. GM
now, lest she should find out. I will consider the matter, and will
bring it about as wish. See, I incline my head that you believe me.
This is the most solemn that I can give to any god. I never recall
my word, or deceive, or fail to do what I say, when I have nodded
As he spoke the son of Saturn bowed his dark brows, and the ambrosial
locks swayed on his immortal head, till vast Olympus reeled.
When the pair had thus laid their plans, they parted- Jove to his
house, while the goddesM
s quitted the splendour of Olympus, and plunged
into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their seats, before
the coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to remain sitting,
but all stood up as he came among them. There, then, he took his seat.
But Juno, when she saw him, knew that he and the old merman's daughter,
silver-footed Thetis, had been hatching mischief, so she at once began
to upbraid him. "Trickster," she cried, "which of the gods have you
been taking into your counsels now? You are alwayM
in secret behind my back, and have never yet told me, if you could
help it, one word of your intentions."
"Juno," replied the sire of gods and men, "you must not expect to
be informed of all my counsels. You are my wife, but you would find
it hard to understand them. When it is proper for you to hear, there
is no one, god or man, who will be told sooner, but when I mean to
keep a matter to myself, you must not pry nor ask questions."
"Dread son of Saturn," answered Juno, "what are yoM
I? Pry and ask questions? Never. I let you have your own way in everything.
Still, I have a strong misgiving that the old merman's daughter Thetis
has been talking you over, for she was with you and had hold of your
knees this self-same morning. I believe, therefore, that you have
been promising her to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people
at the ships of the Achaeans."
"Wife," said Jove, "I can do nothing but you suspect me and find it
out. You will take nothing by it, for I sM
hall only dislike you the
more, and it will go harder with you. Granted that it is as you say;
I mean to have it so; sit down and hold your tongue as I bid you for
if I once begin to lay my hands about you, though all heaven were
on your side it would profit you nothing."
On this Juno was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat
down in silence. But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout
the house of Jove, till the cunning workman Vulcan began to try and
pacify his mother Juno. "It wilM
l be intolerable," said he, "if you
two fall to wrangling and setting heaven in an uproar about a pack
of mortals. If such ill counsels are to prevail, we shall have no
pleasure at our banquet. Let me then advise my mother- and she must
herself know that it will be better- to make friends with my dear
father Jove, lest he again scold her and disturb our feast. If the
Olympian Thunderer wants to hurl us all from our seats, he can do
so, for he is far the strongest, so give him fair words, and he will
on be in a good humour with us."
As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and placed it in his
mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother," said he, "and make the
best of it. I love you dearly, and should be very sorry to see you
get a thrashing; however grieved I might be, I could not help for
there is no standing against Jove. Once before when I was trying to
help you, he caught me by the foot and flung me from the heavenly
threshold. All day long from morn till eve, was I falling, till at
ame to ground in the island of Lemnos, and there I lay,
with very little life left in me, till the Sintians came and tended
Juno smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's
hands. Then Vulcan drew sweet nectar from the mixing-bowl, and served
it round among the gods, going from left to right; and the blessed
gods laughed out a loud applause as they saw him ing bustling about
the heavenly mansion.
Thus through the livelong day to the going down of the sun they feasted,
very one had his full share, so that all were satisfied. Apollo
struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted up their sweet voices, calling
and answering one another. But when the sun's glorious light had faded,
they went home to bed, each in his own abode, which lame Vulcan with
his consummate skill had fashioned for them. So Jove, the Olympian
Lord of Thunder, hied him to the bed in which he always slept; and
when he had got on to it he went to sleep, with Juno of the golden
throne by his side.
--------------------------------------------------------
Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly,
but Jove was wakeful, for he was thinking how to do honour to Achilles,
and destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans. In the end
he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King Agamemnon;
so he called one to him and said to it, "Lying Dream, go to the ships
of the Achaeans, into the tent of Agamemnon, and say to him word to
word as I now bid you. Tell M
him to get the Achaeans instantly under
arms, for he shall take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels
among the gods; Juno has brought them to her own mind, and woe betides
The dream went when it had heard its message, and soon reached the
ships of the Achaeans. It sought Agamemnon son of Atreus and found
him in his tent, wrapped in a profound slumber. It hovered over his
head in the likeness of Nestor, son of Neleus, whom Agamemnon honoured
above all his councillors, and said:-
ou are sleeping, son of Atreus; one who has the welfare of his host
and so much other care upon his shoulders should dock his sleep. Hear
me at once, for I come as a messenger from Jove, who, though he be
not near, yet takes thought for you and pities you. He bids you get
the Achaeans instantly under arms, for you shall take Troy. There
are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno has brought them
over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans at the hands of
Jove. Remember this, and when you wake M
see that it does not escape
The dream then left him, and he thought of things that were, surely
not to be accomplished. He thought that on that same day he was to
take the city of Priam, but he little knew what was in the mind of
Jove, who had many another hard-fought fight in store alike for Danaans
and Trojans. Then presently he woke, with the divine message still
ringing in his ears; so he sat upright, and put on his soft shirt
so fair and new, and over this his heavy cloak. He bound his sandalsM
on to his comely feet, and slung his silver-studded sword about his
shoulders; then he took the imperishable staff of his father, and
sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans.
The goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus that she might
herald day to Jove and to the other immortals, and Agamemnon sent
the criers round to call the people in assembly; so they called them
and the people gathered thereon. But first he summoned a meeting of
the elders at the ship of Nestor king of Pylos, and when theM
assembled he laid a cunning counsel before them.
"My friends," said he, "I have had a dream from heaven in the dead
of night, and its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's. It
hovered over my head and said, 'You are sleeping, son of Atreus; one
who has the welfare of his host and so much other care upon his shoulders
should dock his sleep. Hear me at once, for I am a messenger from
Jove, who, though he be not near, yet takes thought for you and pities
you. He bids you get the Achaeans instanM
tly under arms, for you shall
take Troy. There are no longer divided counsels among the gods; Juno
has brought them over to her own mind, and woe betides the Trojans
at the hands of Jove. Remember this.' The dream then vanished and
I awoke. Let us now, therefore, arm the sons of the Achaeans. But
it will be well that I should first sound them, and to this end I
will tell them to fly with their ships; but do you others go about
among the host and prevent their doing so."
He then sat down, and Nestor the pM
rince of Pylos with all sincerity
and goodwill addressed them thus: "My friends," said he, "princes
and councillors of the Argives, if any other man of the Achaeans had
told us of this dream we should have declared it false, and would
have had nothing to do with it. But he who has seen it is the foremost
man among us; we must therefore set about getting the people under
With this he led the way from the assembly, and the other sceptred
kings rose with him in obedience to the word of Agamemnon; butM
people pressed forward to hear. They swarmed like bees that sally
from some hollow cave and flit in countless throng among the spring
flowers, bunched in knots and clusters; even so did the mighty multitude
pour from ships and tents to the assembly, and range themselves upon
the wide-watered shore, while among them ran Wildfire Rumour, messenger
of Jove, urging them ever to the fore. Thus they gathered in a pell-mell
of mad confusion, and the earth groaned under the tramp of men as
the people sought thM
eir places. Nine heralds went crying about among
them to stay their tumult and bid them listen to the kings, till at
last they were got into their several places and ceased their clamour.
Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his sceptre. This was the work of
Vulcan, who gave it to Jove the son of Saturn. Jove gave it to Mercury,
slayer of Argus, guide and guardian. King Mercury gave it to Pelops,
the mighty charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd of his people.
Atreus, when he died, left it to Thyestes, richM
in flocks, and Thyestes
in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon, that he might be lord
of all Argos and of the isles. Leaning, then, on his sceptre, he addressed
"My friends," he said, "heroes, servants of Mars, the hand of heaven
has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel Jove gave me his solemn promise
that I should sack the city of Priam before returning, but he has
played me false, and is now bidding me go ingloriously back to Argos
with the loss of much people. Such is the will of Jove,M
many a proud city in the dust, as he will yet lay others, for his
power is above all. It will be a sorry tale hereafter that an Achaean
host, at once so great and valiant, battled in vain against men fewer
in number than themselves; but as yet the end is not in sight. Think
that the Achaeans and Trojans have sworn to a solemn covenant, and
that they have each been numbered- the Trojans by the roll of their
householders, and we by companies of ten; think further that each
of our companies desirM
ed to have a Trojan householder to pour out
their wine; we are so greatly more in number that full many a company
would have to go without its cup-bearer. But they have in the town
allies from other places, and it is these that hinder me from being
able to sack the rich city of Ilius. Nine of Jove years are gone;
the timbers of our ships have rotted; their tackling is sound no longer.
Our wives and little ones at home look anxiously for our coming, but
the work that we came hither to do has not been done. NoM
let us all do as I say: let us sail back to our own land, for we shall
With these words he moved the hearts of the multitude, so many of
them as knew not the cunning counsel of Agamemnon. They surged to
and fro like the waves of the Icarian Sea, when the east and south
winds break from heaven's clouds to lash them; or as when the west
wind sweeps over a field of corn and the ears bow beneath the blast,
even so were they swayed as they flew with loud cries towards the
and the dust from under their feet rose heavenward. They cheered
each other on to draw the ships into the sea; they cleared the channels
in front of them; they began taking away the stays from underneath
them, and the welkin rang with their glad cries, so eager were they
Then surely the Argives would have returned after a fashion that was
not fated. But Juno said to Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing
Jove, unweariable, shall the Argives fly home to their own land over
d leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still
keeping Helen, for whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at
Troy, far from their homes? Go about at once among the host, and speak
fairly to them, man by man, that they draw not their ships into the
Minerva was not slack to do her bidding. Down she darted from the
topmost summits of Olympus, and in a moment she was at the ships of
the Achaeans. There she found Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, standing
alone. He had not as yet laid a hand uponM
his ship, for he was grieved
and sorry; so she went close up to him and said, "Ulysses, noble son
of Laertes, are you going to fling yourselves into your ships and
be off home to your own land in this way? Will you leave Priam and
the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen, for whose sake so many
of the Achaeans have died at Troy, far from their homes? Go about
at once among the host, and speak fairly to them, man by man, that
they draw not their ships into the sea."
Ulysses knew the voice as that of M
the goddess: he flung his cloak
from him and set off to run. His servant Eurybates, a man of Ithaca,
who waited on him, took charge of the cloak, whereon Ulysses went
straight up to Agamemnon and received from him his ancestral, imperishable
staff. With this he went about among the ships of the Achaeans.
Whenever he met a king or chieftain, he stood by him and spoke him
fairly. "Sir," said he, "this flight is cowardly and unworthy. Stand
to your post, and bid your people also keep their places. You do not
yet know the full mind of Agamemnon; he was sounding us, and ere long
will visit the Achaeans with his displeasure. We were not all of us
at the council to hear what he then said; see to it lest he be angry
and do us a mischief; for the pride of kings is great, and the hand
of Jove is with them."
But when he came across any common man who was making a noise, he
struck him with his staff and rebuked him, saying, "Sirrah, hold your
peace, and listen to better men than yourself. You are a coward and
dier; you are nobody either in fight or council; we cannot all
be kings; it is not well that there should be many masters; one man
must be supreme- one king to whom the son of scheming Saturn has given
the sceptre of sovereignty over you all."
Thus masterfully did he go about among the host, and the people hurried
back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the
thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore, and all
the sea is in an uproar.
The rest now took their seats M
and kept to their own several places,
but Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue- a man of
many words, and those unseemly; a monger of sedition, a railer against
all who were in authority, who cared not what he said, so that he
might set the Achaeans in a laugh. He was the ugliest man of all those
that came before Troy- bandy-legged, lame of one foot, with his two
shoulders rounded and hunched over his chest. His head ran up to a
point, but there was little hair on the top of it. Achilles and UM
hated him worst of all, for it was with them that he was most wont
to wrangle; now, however, with a shrill squeaky voice he began heaping
his abuse on Agamemnon. The Achaeans were angry and disgusted, yet
none the less he kept on brawling and bawling at the son of Atreus.
"Agamemnon," he cried, "what ails you now, and what more do you want?
Your tents are filled with bronze and with fair women, for whenever
we take a town we give you the pick of them. Would you have yet more
gold, which some TrojanM
is to give you as a ransom for his son, when
I or another Achaean has taken him prisoner? or is it some young girl
to hide and lie with? It is not well that you, the ruler of the Achaeans,
should bring them into such misery. Weakling cowards, women rather
than men, let us sail home, and leave this fellow here at Troy to
stew in his own meeds of honour, and discover whether we were of any
service to him or no. Achilles is a much better man than he is, and
see how he has treated him- robbing him of his prize M
himself. Achilles takes it meekly and shows no fight; if he did, son
of Atreus, you would never again insult him."
Thus railed Thersites, but Ulysses at once went up to him and rebuked
him sternly. "Check your glib tongue, Thersites," said be, "and babble
not a word further. Chide not with princes when you have none to back
you. There is no viler creature come before Troy with the sons of
Atreus. Drop this chatter about kings, and neither revile them nor
keep harping about going home. We dM
o not yet know how things are going
to be, nor whether the Achaeans are to return with good success or
evil. How dare you gibe at Agamemnon because the Danaans have awarded
him so many prizes? I tell you, therefore- and it shall surely be-
that if I again catch you talking such nonsense, I will either forfeit
my own head and be no more called father of Telemachus, or I will
take you, strip you stark naked, and whip you out of the assembly
till you go blubbering back to the ships."
On this he beat him witM
h his staff about the back and shoulders till
he dropped and fell a-weeping. The golden sceptre raised a bloody
weal on his back, so he sat down frightened and in pain, looking foolish
as he wiped the tears from his eyes. The people were sorry for him,
yet they laughed heartily, and one would turn to his neighbour saying,
"Ulysses has done many a good thing ere now in fight and council,
but he never did the Argives a better turn than when he stopped this
fellow's mouth from prating further. He will give the M
Thus said the people. Then Ulysses rose, sceptre in hand, and Minerva
in the likeness of a herald bade the people be still, that those who
were far off might hear him and consider his council. He therefore
with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus:-
"King Agamemnon, the Achaeans are for making you a by-word among all
mankind. They forget the promise they made you when they set out from
Argos, that you should not return till you had sacked the town of
nd, like children or widowed women, they murmur and would set
off homeward. True it is that they have had toil enough to be disheartened.
A man chafes at having to stay away from his wife even for a single
month, when he is on shipboard, at the mercy of wind and sea, but
it is now nine long years that we have been kept here; I cannot, therefore,
blame the Achaeans if they turn restive; still we shall be shamed
if we go home empty after so long a stay- therefore, my friends, be
patient yet a little longer thaM
t we may learn whether the prophesyings
of Calchas were false or true.
"All who have not since perished must remember as though it were yesterday
or the day before, how the ships of the Achaeans were detained in
Aulis when we were on our way hither to make war on Priam and the
Trojans. We were ranged round about a fountain offering hecatombs
to the gods upon their holy altars, and there was a fine plane-tree
from beneath which there welled a stream of pure water. Then we saw
a prodigy; for Jove sent a feM
arful serpent out of the ground, with
blood-red stains upon its back, and it darted from under the altar
on to the plane-tree. Now there was a brood of young sparrows, quite
small, upon the topmost bough, peeping out from under the leaves,
eight in all, and their mother that hatched them made nine. The serpent
ate the poor cheeping things, while the old bird flew about lamenting
her little ones; but the serpent threw his coils about her and caught
her by the wing as she was screaming. Then, when he had eatenM
the sparrow and her young, the god who had sent him made him become
a sign; for the son of scheming Saturn turned him into stone, and
we stood there wondering at that which had come to pass. Seeing, then,
that such a fearful portent had broken in upon our hecatombs, Calchas
forthwith declared to us the oracles of heaven. 'Why, Achaeans,' said
he, 'are you thus speechless? Jove has sent us this sign, long in
coming, and long ere it be fulfilled, though its fame shall last for
ever. As the serpent ate tM
he eight fledglings and the sparrow that
hatched them, which makes nine, so shall we fight nine years at Troy,
but in the tenth shall take the town.' This was what he said, and
now it is all coming true. Stay here, therefore, all of you, till
we take the city of Priam."
On this the Argives raised a shout, till the ships rang again with
the uproar. Nestor, knight of Gerene, then addressed them. "Shame
on you," he cried, "to stay talking here like children, when you should
fight like men. Where are our covM
enants now, and where the oaths that
we have taken? Shall our counsels be flung into the fire, with our
drink-offerings and the right hands of fellowship wherein we have
put our trust? We waste our time in words, and for all our talking
here shall be no further forward. Stand, therefore, son of Atreus,
by your own steadfast purpose; lead the Argives on to battle, and
leave this handful of men to rot, who scheme, and scheme in vain,
to get back to Argos ere they have learned whether Jove be true or
or the mighty son of Saturn surely promised that we should
succeed, when we Argives set sail to bring death and destruction upon
the Trojans. He showed us favourable signs by flashing his lightning
on our right hands; therefore let none make haste to go till he has
first lain with the wife of some Trojan, and avenged the toil and
sorrow that he has suffered for the sake of Helen. Nevertheless, if
any man is in such haste to be at home again, let him lay his hand
to his ship that he may meet his doom in the sM
king, consider and give ear to my counsel, for the word that I say
may not be neglected lightly. Divide your men, Agamemnon, into their
several tribes and clans, that clans and tribes may stand by and help
one another. If you do this, and if the Achaeans obey you, you will
find out who, both chiefs and peoples, are brave, and who are cowards;
for they will vie against the other. Thus you shall also learn whether
it is through the counsel of heaven or the cowardice of man that you
ail to take the town."
And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, you have again outdone the sons of
the Achaeans in counsel. Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo,
that I had among them ten more such councillors, for the city of King
Priam would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack it.
But the son of Saturn afflicts me with bootless wranglings and strife.
Achilles and I are quarrelling about this girl, in which matter I
was the first to offend; if we can be of one mind again, the Trojans
not stave off destruction for a day. Now, therefore, get your
morning meal, that our hosts join in fight. Whet well your spears;
see well to the ordering of your shields; give good feeds to your
horses, and look your chariots carefully over, that we may do battle
the livelong day; for we shall have no rest, not for a moment, till
night falls to part us. The bands that bear your shields shall be
wet with the sweat upon your shoulders, your hands shall weary upon
your spears, your horses shall steam in front M
of your chariots, and
if I see any man shirking the fight, or trying to keep out of it at
the ships, there shall be no help for him, but he shall be a prey
to dogs and vultures."
Thus he spoke, and the Achaeans roared applause. As when the waves
run high before the blast of the south wind and break on some lofty
headland, dashing against it and buffeting it without ceasing, as
the storms from every quarter drive them, even so did the Achaeans
rise and hurry in all directions to their ships. There they liM
their fires at their tents and got dinner, offering sacrifice every
man to one or other of the gods, and praying each one of them that
he might live to come out of the fight. Agamemnon, king of men, sacrificed
a fat five-year-old bull to the mighty son of Saturn, and invited
the princes and elders of his host. First he asked Nestor and King
Idomeneus, then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus, and sixthly
Ulysses, peer of gods in counsel; but Menelaus came of his own accord,
for he knew how busy his bM
rother then was. They stood round the bull
with the barley-meal in their hands, and Agamemnon prayed, saying,
"Jove, most glorious, supreme, that dwellest in heaven, and ridest
upon the storm-cloud, grant that the sun may not go down, nor the
night fall, till the palace of Priam is laid low, and its gates are
consumed with fire. Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector
about his heart, and that full many of his comrades may bite the dust
as they fall dying round him."
Thus he prayed, but the soM
n of Saturn would not fulfil his prayer.
He accepted the sacrifice, yet none the less increased their toil
continually. When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal
upon the victim, they drew back its head, killed it, and then flayed
it. They cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers
of fat, and set pieces of raw meat on the top of them. These they
burned upon the split logs of firewood, but they spitted the inward
meats, and held them in the flames to cook. When the thigh-bones M
burned, and they had tasted the inward meats, they cut the rest up
small, put the pieces upon spits, roasted them till they were done,
and drew them off; then, when they had finished their work and the
feast was ready, they ate it, and every man had his full share, so
that all were satisfied. As soon as they had had enough to eat and
drink, Nestor, knight of Gerene, began to speak. "King Agamemnon,"
said he, "let us not stay talking here, nor be slack in the work that
heaven has put into our hands. LetM
the heralds summon the people to
gather at their several ships; we will then go about among the host,
that we may begin fighting at once."
Thus did he speak, and Agamemnon heeded his words. He at once sent
the criers round to call the people in assembly. So they called them,
and the people gathered thereon. The chiefs about the son of Atreus
chose their men and marshalled them, while Minerva went among them
holding her priceless aegis that knows neither age nor death. From
it there waved a hundred tasseM
ls of pure gold, all deftly woven, and
each one of them worth a hundred oxen. With this she darted furiously
everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans, urging them forward, and
putting courage into the heart of each, so that he might fight and
do battle without ceasing. Thus war became sweeter in their eyes even
than returning home in their ships. As when some great forest fire
is raging upon a mountain top and its light is seen afar, even so
as they marched the gleam of their armour flashed up into the firM
They were like great flocks of geese, or cranes, or swans on the plain
about the waters of Cayster, that wing their way hither and thither,
glorying in the pride of flight, and crying as they settle till the
fen is alive with their screaming. Even thus did their tribes pour
from ships and tents on to the plain of the Scamander, and the ground
rang as brass under the feet of men and horses. They stood as thick
upon the flower-bespangled field as leaves that bloom in summer.
ss swarms of flies buzz around a herdsman's homestead in
the time of spring when the pails are drenched with milk, even so
did the Achaeans swarm on to the plain to charge the Trojans and destroy
The chiefs disposed their men this way and that before the fight began,
drafting them out as easily as goatherds draft their flocks when they
have got mixed while feeding; and among them went King Agamemnon,
with a head and face like Jove the lord of thunder, a waist like Mars,
and a chest like that of NepM
tune. As some great bull that lords it
over the herds upon the plain, even so did Jove make the son of Atreus
stand peerless among the multitude of heroes.
And now, O Muses, dwellers in the mansions of Olympus, tell me- for
you are goddesses and are in all places so that you see all things,
while we know nothing but by report- who were the chiefs and princes
of the Danaans? As for the common soldiers, they were so that I could
not name every single one of them though I had ten tongues, and though
e failed not and my heart were of bronze within me, unless
you, O Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, were to recount
them to me. Nevertheless, I will tell the captains of the ships and
all the fleet together.
Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor, and Clonius were captains
of the Boeotians. These were they that dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis,
and who held Schoenus, Scolus, and the highlands of Eteonus, with
Thespeia, Graia, and the fair city of Mycalessus. They also held Harma,
and Erythrae; and they had Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon; Ocalea
and the strong fortress of Medeon; Copae, Eutresis, and Thisbe the
haunt of doves; Coronea, and the pastures of Haliartus; Plataea and
Glisas; the fortress of Thebes the less; holy Onchestus with its famous
grove of Neptune; Arne rich in vineyards; Midea, sacred Nisa, and
Anthedon upon the sea. From these there came fifty ships, and in each
there were a hundred and twenty young men of the Boeotians.
Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Mars, led the pM
Aspledon and Orchomenus the realm of Minyas. Astyoche a noble maiden
bore them in the house of Actor son of Azeus; for she had gone with
Mars secretly into an upper chamber, and he had lain with her. With
these there came thirty ships.
The Phoceans were led by Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of mighty
Iphitus the son of Naubolus. These were they that held Cyparissus,
rocky Pytho, holy Crisa, Daulis, and Panopeus; they also that dwelt
in Anemorea and Hyampolis, and about the waters of tM
and Lilaea by the springs of the Cephissus; with their chieftains
came forty ships, and they marshalled the forces of the Phoceans,
which were stationed next to the Boeotians, on their left.
Ajax, the fleet son of Oileus, commanded the Locrians. He was not
so great, nor nearly so great, as Ajax the son of Telamon. He was
a little man, and his breastplate was made of linen, but in use of
the spear he excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans. These dwelt
in Cynus, Opous, Calliarus, BesM
sa, Scarphe, fair Augeae, Tarphe, and
Thronium about the river Boagrius. With him there came forty ships
of the Locrians who dwell beyond Euboea.
The fierce Abantes held Euboea with its cities, Chalcis, Eretria,
Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus upon the sea, and the rock-perched
town of Dium; with them were also the men of Carystus and Styra; Elephenor
of the race of Mars was in command of these; he was son of Chalcodon,
and chief over all the Abantes. With him they came, fleet of foot
hair long behind, brave warriors, who would ever
strive to tear open the corslets of their foes with their long ashen
spears. Of these there came fifty ships.
And they that held the strong city of Athens, the people of great
Erechtheus, who was born of the soil itself, but Jove's daughter,
Minerva, fostered him, and established him at Athens in her own rich
sanctuary. There, year by year, the Athenian youths worship him with
sacrifices of bulls and rams. These were commanded by Menestheus,
. No man living could equal him in the marshalling of
chariots and foot soldiers. Nestor could alone rival him, for he was
older. With him there came fifty ships.
Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis, and stationed them alongside
those of the Athenians.
The men of Argos, again, and those who held the walls of Tiryns, with
Hermione, and Asine upon the gulf; Troezene, Eionae, and the vineyard
lands of Epidaurus; the Achaean youths, moreover, who came from Aegina
and Mases; these were led by Diomed of M
the loud battle-cry, and Sthenelus
son of famed Capaneus. With them in command was Euryalus, son of king
Mecisteus, son of Talaus; but Diomed was chief over them all. With
these there came eighty ships.
Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, rich Corinth and Cleonae;
Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastus reigned of old; Hyperesia,
high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium and all the coast-land round about
Helice; these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon,
son of Atreus. His foM
rce was far both finest and most numerous, and
in their midst was the king himself, all glorious in his armour of
gleaming bronze- foremost among the heroes, for he was the greatest
king, and had most men under him.
And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon, lying low among the hills, Pharis,
Sparta, with Messe the haunt of doves; Bryseae, Augeae, Amyclae, and
Helos upon the sea; Laas, moreover, and Oetylus; these were led by
Menelaus of the loud battle-cry, brother to Agamemnon, and of them
there were sixty shM
ips, drawn up apart from the others. Among them
went Menelaus himself, strong in zeal, urging his men to fight; for
he longed to avenge the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the
The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the river
Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos,
and Dorium, where the Muses met Thamyris, and stilled his minstrelsy
for ever. He was returning from Oechalia, where Eurytus lived and
reigned, and boasted that he would suM
rpass even the Muses, daughters
of aegis-bearing Jove, if they should sing against him; whereon they
were angry, and maimed him. They robbed him of his divine power of
song, and thenceforth he could strike the lyre no more. These were
commanded by Nestor, knight of Gerene, and with him there came ninety
And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near
the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men
of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, StM
and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia;
of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had
sixty ships. Many Arcadians, good soldiers, came in each one of them,
but Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea, for
they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters.
The men, moreover, of Buprasium and of Elis, so much of it as is enclosed
between Hyrmine, Myrsinus upon the sea-shore, the rock Olene and Alesium.
four leaders, and each of them had ten ships, with many
Epeans on board. Their captains were Amphimachus and Thalpius- the
one, son of Cteatus, and the other, of Eurytus- both of the race of
Actor. The two others were Diores, son of Amarynces, and Polyxenus,
son of King Agasthenes, son of Augeas.
And those of Dulichium with the sacred Echinean islands, who dwelt
beyond the sea off Elis; these were led by Meges, peer of Mars, and
the son of valiant Phyleus, dear to Jove, who quarrelled with his
nd went to settle in Dulichium. With him there came forty
Ulysses led the brave Cephallenians, who held Ithaca, Neritum with
its forests, Crocylea, rugged Aegilips, Samos and Zacynthus, with
the mainland also that was over against the islands. These were led
by Ulysses, peer of Jove in counsel, and with him there came twelve
Thoas, son of Andraemon, commanded the Aetolians, who dwelt in Pleuron,
Olenus, Pylene, Chalcis by the sea, and rocky Calydon, for the great
king Oeneus had now no M
sons living, and was himself dead, as was also
golden-haired Meleager, who had been set over the Aetolians to be
their king. And with Thoas there came forty ships.
The famous spearsman Idomeneus led the Cretans, who held Cnossus,
and the well-walled city of Gortys; Lyctus also, Miletus and Lycastus
that lies upon the chalk; the populous towns of Phaestus and Rhytium,
with the other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete.
All these were led by Idomeneus, and by Meriones, peer of murderous
And with these there came eighty ships.
Tlepolemus, son of Hercules, a man both brave and large of stature,
brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes. These dwelt in
Rhodes which is divided among the three cities of Lindus, Ielysus,
and Cameirus, that lies upon the chalk. These were commanded by Tlepolemus,
son of Hercules by Astyochea, whom he had carried off from Ephyra,
on the river Selleis, after sacking many cities of valiant warriors.
When Tlepolemus grew up, he killed his father's uncle LiM
had been a famous warrior in his time, but was then grown old. On
this he built himself a fleet, gathered a great following, and fled
beyond the sea, for he was menaced by the other sons and grandsons
of Hercules. After a voyage. during which he suffered great hardship,
he came to Rhodes, where the people divided into three communities,
according to their tribes, and were dearly loved by Jove, the lord,
of gods and men; wherefore the son of Saturn showered down great riches
ireus brought three ships from Syme- Nireus, who was the handsomest
man that came up under Ilius of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus-
but he was a man of no substance, and had but a small following.
And those that held Nisyrus, Crapathus, and Casus, with Cos, the city
of Eurypylus, and the Calydnian islands, these were commanded by Pheidippus
and Antiphus, two sons of King Thessalus the son of Hercules. And
with them there came thirty ships.
Those again who held Pelasgic Argos, Alos, Alope, and TM
those of Phthia and Hellas the land of fair women, who were called
Myrmidons, Hellenes, and Achaeans; these had fifty ships, over which
Achilles was in command. But they now took no part in the war, inasmuch
as there was no one to marshal them; for Achilles stayed by his ships,
furious about the loss of the girl Briseis, whom he had taken from
Lyrnessus at his own great peril, when he had sacked Lyrnessus and
Thebe, and had overthrown Mynes and Epistrophus, sons of king Evenor,
or her sake Achilles was still grieving, but ere
long he was again to join them.
And those that held Phylace and the flowery meadows of Pyrasus, sanctuary
of Ceres; Iton, the mother of sheep; Antrum upon the sea, and Pteleum
that lies upon the grass lands. Of these brave Protesilaus had been
captain while he was yet alive, but he was now lying under the earth.
He had left a wife behind him in Phylace to tear her cheeks in sorrow,
and his house was only half finished, for he was slain by a Dardanian
or while leaping foremost of the Achaeans upon the soil of Troy.
Still, though his people mourned their chieftain, they were not without
a leader, for Podarces, of the race of Mars, marshalled them; he was
son of Iphiclus, rich in sheep, who was the son of Phylacus, and he
was own brother to Protesilaus, only younger, Protesilaus being at
once the elder and the more valiant. So the people were not without
a leader, though they mourned him whom they had lost. With him there
t held Pherae by the Boebean lake, with Boebe, Glaphyrae,
and the populous city of Iolcus, these with their eleven ships were
led by Eumelus, son of Admetus, whom Alcestis bore to him, loveliest
of the daughters of Pelias.
And those that held Methone and Thaumacia, with Meliboea and rugged
Olizon, these were led by the skilful archer Philoctetes, and they
had seven ships, each with fifty oarsmen all of them good archers;
but Philoctetes was lying in great pain in the Island of Lemnos, where
he Achaeans left him, for he had been bitten by a poisonous
water snake. There he lay sick and sorry, and full soon did the Argives
come to miss him. But his people, though they felt his loss were not
leaderless, for Medon, the bastard son of Oileus by Rhene, set them
Those, again, of Tricca and the stony region of Ithome, and they that
held Oechalia, the city of Oechalian Eurytus, these were commanded
by the two sons of Aesculapius, skilled in the art of healing, Podalirius
and Machaon. And wiM
th them there came thirty ships.
The men, moreover, of Ormenius, and by the fountain of Hypereia, with
those that held Asterius, and the white crests of Titanus, these were
led by Eurypylus, the son of Euaemon, and with them there came forty
Those that held Argissa and Gyrtone, Orthe, Elone, and the white city
of Oloosson, of these brave Polypoetes was leader. He was son of Pirithous,
who was son of Jove himself, for Hippodameia bore him to Pirithous
on the day when he took his revenge on the sM
haggy mountain savages
and drove them from Mt. Pelion to the Aithices. But Polypoetes was
not sole in command, for with him was Leonteus, of the race of Mars,
who was son of Coronus, the son of Caeneus. And with these there came
Guneus brought two and twenty ships from Cyphus, and he was followed
by the Enienes and the valiant Peraebi, who dwelt about wintry Dodona,
and held the lands round the lovely river Titaresius, which sends
its waters into the Peneus. They do not mingle with the silveM
of the Peneus, but flow on the top of them like oil; for the Titaresius
is a branch of dread Orcus and of the river Styx.
Of the Magnetes, Prothous son of Tenthredon was commander. They were
they that dwelt about the river Peneus and Mt. Pelion. Prothous, fleet
of foot, was their leader, and with him there came forty ships.
Such were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans. Who, then, O Muse,
was the foremost, whether man or horse, among those that followed
after the sons of Atreus?
orses, those of the son of Pheres were by far the finest.
They were driven by Eumelus, and were as fleet as birds. They were
of the same age and colour, and perfectly matched in height. Apollo,
of the silver bow, had bred them in Perea- both of them mares, and
terrible as Mars in battle. Of the men, Ajax, son of Telamon, was
much the foremost so long as Achilles' anger lasted, for Achilles
excelled him greatly and he had also better horses; but Achilles was
now holding aloof at his ships by reason of his quaM
rrel with Agamemnon,
and his people passed their time upon the sea shore, throwing discs
or aiming with spears at a mark, and in archery. Their horses stood
each by his own chariot, champing lotus and wild celery. The chariots
were housed under cover, but their owners, for lack of leadership,
wandered hither and thither about the host and went not forth to fight.
Thus marched the host like a consuming fire, and the earth groaned
beneath them when the lord of thunder is angry and lashes the land
oeus among the Arimi, where they say Typhoeus lies. Even
so did the earth groan beneath them as they sped over the plain.
And now Iris, fleet as the wind, was sent by Jove to tell the bad
news among the Trojans. They were gathered in assembly, old and young,
at Priam's gates, and Iris came close up to Priam, speaking with the
voice of Priam's son Polites, who, being fleet of foot, was stationed
as watchman for the Trojans on the tomb of old Aesyetes, to look out
for any sally of the Achaeans. In his likeneM
ss Iris spoke, saying,
"Old man, you talk idly, as in time of peace, while war is at hand.
I have been in many a battle, but never yet saw such a host as is
now advancing. They are crossing the plain to attack the city as thick
as leaves or as the sands of the sea. Hector, I charge you above all
others, do as I say. There are many allies dispersed about the city
of Priam from distant places and speaking divers tongues. Therefore,
let each chief give orders to his own people, setting them severally
and leading them forth to battle."
Thus she spoke, but Hector knew that it was the goddess, and at once
broke up the assembly. The men flew to arms; all the gates were opened,
and the people thronged through them, horse and foot, with the tramp
as of a great multitude.
Now there is a high mound before the city, rising by itself upon the
plain. Men call it Batieia, but the gods know that it is the tomb
of lithe Myrine. Here the Trojans and their allies divided their forces.
Priam's son, great Hector M
of the gleaming helmet, commanded the Trojans,
and with him were arrayed by far the greater number and most valiant
of those who were longing for the fray.
The Dardanians were led by brave Aeneas, whom Venus bore to Anchises,
when she, goddess though she was, had lain with him upon the mountain
slopes of Ida. He was not alone, for with him were the two sons of
Antenor, Archilochus and Acamas, both skilled in all the arts of war.
They that dwelt in Telea under the lowest spurs of Mt. Ida, men of
ce, who drink the limpid waters of the Aesepus, and are of
Trojan blood- these were led by Pandarus son of Lycaon, whom Apollo
had taught to use the bow.
They that held Adresteia and the land of Apaesus, with Pityeia, and
the high mountain of Tereia- these were led by Adrestus and Amphius,
whose breastplate was of linen. These were the sons of Merops of Percote,
who excelled in all kinds of divination. He told them not to take
part in the war, but they gave him no heed, for fate lured them to
They that dwelt about Percote and Practius, with Sestos, Abydos, and
Arisbe- these were led by Asius, son of Hyrtacus, a brave commander-
Asius, the son of Hyrtacus, whom his powerful dark bay steeds, of
the breed that comes from the river Selleis, had brought from Arisbe.
Hippothous led the tribes of Pelasgian spearsmen, who dwelt in fertile
Larissa- Hippothous, and Pylaeus of the race of Mars, two sons of
the Pelasgian Lethus, son of Teutamus.
Acamas and the warrior Peirous commanded the ThraciaM
came from beyond the mighty stream of the Hellespont.
Euphemus, son of Troezenus, the son of Ceos, was captain of the Ciconian
Pyraechmes led the Paeonian archers from distant Amydon, by the broad
waters of the river Axius, the fairest that flow upon the earth.
The Paphlagonians were commanded by stout-hearted Pylaemanes from
Enetae, where the mules run wild in herds. These were they that held
Cytorus and the country round Sesamus, with the cities by the river
s, Cromna, Aegialus, and lofty Erithini.
Odius and Epistrophus were captains over the Halizoni from distant
Alybe, where there are mines of silver.
Chromis, and Ennomus the augur, led the Mysians, but his skill in
augury availed not to save him from destruction, for he fell by the
hand of the fleet descendant of Aeacus in the river, where he slew
others also of the Trojans.
Phorcys, again, and noble Ascanius led the Phrygians from the far
country of Ascania, and both were eager for the fray.
sthles and Antiphus commanded the Meonians, sons of Talaemenes,
born to him of the Gygaean lake. These led the Meonians, who dwelt
Nastes led the Carians, men of a strange speech. These held Miletus
and the wooded mountain of Phthires, with the water of the river Maeander
and the lofty crests of Mt. Mycale. These were commanded by Nastes
and Amphimachus, the brave sons of Nomion. He came into the fight
with gold about him, like a girl; fool that he was, his gold was of
him, for he fell in the river by the hand of the
fleet descendant of Aeacus, and Achilles bore away his gold.
Sarpedon and Glaucus led the Lycians from their distant land, by the
eddying waters of the Xanthus.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
When the companies were thus arrayed, each under its own captain,
the Trojans advanced as a flight of wild fowl or cranes that scream
overhead when rain and winter drive them over the flowing waters of
bring death and destruction on the Pygmies, and they wrangle
in the air as they fly; but the Achaeans marched silently, in high
heart, and minded to stand by one another.
As when the south wind spreads a curtain of mist upon the mountain
tops, bad for shepherds but better than night for thieves, and a man
can see no further than he can throw a stone, even so rose the dust
from under their feet as they made all speed over the plain.
When they were close up with one another, Alexandrus came forward
hampion on the Trojan side. On his shoulders he bore the skin
of a panther, his bow, and his sword, and he brandished two spears
shod with bronze as a challenge to the bravest of the Achaeans to
meet him in single fight. Menelaus saw him thus stride out before
the ranks, and was glad as a hungry lion that lights on the carcase
of some goat or horned stag, and devours it there and then, though
dogs and youths set upon him. Even thus was Menelaus glad when his
eyes caught sight of Alexandrus, for he deemed thaM
be revenged. He sprang, therefore, from his chariot, clad in his suit
Alexandrus quailed as he saw Menelaus come forward, and shrank in
fear of his life under cover of his men. As one who starts back affrighted,
trembling and pale, when he comes suddenly upon a serpent in some
mountain glade, even so did Alexandrus plunge into the throng of Trojan
warriors, terror-stricken at the sight of the son Atreus.
Then Hector upbraided him. "Paris," said he, "evil-hearted Paris,
to see, but woman-mad, and false of tongue, would that you had
never been born, or that you had died unwed. Better so, than live
to be disgraced and looked askance at. Will not the Achaeans mock
at us and say that we have sent one to champion us who is fair to
see but who has neither wit nor courage? Did you not, such as you
are, get your following together and sail beyond the seas? Did you
not from your a far country carry off a lovely woman wedded among
a people of warriors- to bring sorrow upon your fatheM
and your whole country, but joy to your enemies, and hang-dog shamefacedness
to yourself? And now can you not dare face Menelaus and learn what
manner of man he is whose wife you have stolen? Where indeed would
be your lyre and your love-tricks, your comely locks and your fair
favour, when you were lying in the dust before him? The Trojans are
a weak-kneed people, or ere this you would have had a shirt of stones
for the wrongs you have done them."
And Alexandrus answered, "Hector, your rebuM
ke is just. You are hard
as the axe which a shipwright wields at his work, and cleaves the
timber to his liking. As the axe in his hand, so keen is the edge
of your scorn. Still, taunt me not with the gifts that golden Venus
has given me; they are precious; let not a man disdain them, for the
gods give them where they are minded, and none can have them for the
asking. If you would have me do battle with Menelaus, bid the Trojans
and Achaeans take their seats, while he and I fight in their midst
d all her wealth. Let him who shall be victorious and
prove to be the better man take the woman and all she has, to bear
them to his home, but let the rest swear to a solemn covenant of peace
whereby you Trojans shall stay here in Troy, while the others go home
to Argos and the land of the Achaeans."
When Hector heard this he was glad, and went about among the Trojan
ranks holding his spear by the middle to keep them back, and they
all sat down at his bidding: but the Achaeans still aimed at him with
nes and arrows, till Agamemnon shouted to them saying, "Hold, Argives,
shoot not, sons of the Achaeans; Hector desires to speak."
They ceased taking aim and were still, whereon Hector spoke. "Hear
from my mouth," said he, "Trojans and Achaeans, the saying of Alexandrus,
through whom this quarrel has come about. He bids the Trojans and
Achaeans lay their armour upon the ground, while he and Menelaus fight
in the midst of you for Helen and all her wealth. Let him who shall
be victorious and prove to be the bM
etter man take the woman and all
she has, to bear them to his own home, but let the rest swear to a
solemn covenant of peace."
Thus he spoke, and they all held their peace, till Menelaus of the
loud battle-cry addressed them. "And now," he said, "hear me too,
for it is I who am the most aggrieved. I deem that the parting of
Achaeans and Trojans is at hand, as well it may be, seeing how much
have suffered for my quarrel with Alexandrus and the wrong he did
me. Let him who shall die, die, and let the otherM
Bring, then, two lambs, a white ram and a black ewe, for Earth and
Sun, and we will bring a third for Jove. Moreover, you shall bid Priam
come, that he may swear to the covenant himself; for his sons are
high-handed and ill to trust, and the oaths of Jove must not be transgressed
or taken in vain. Young men's minds are light as air, but when an
old man comes he looks before and after, deeming that which shall
be fairest upon both sides."
The Trojans and Achaeans were glad when they heardM
thought that they should now have rest. They backed their chariots
toward the ranks, got out of them, and put off their armour, laying
it down upon the ground; and the hosts were near to one another with
a little space between them. Hector sent two messengers to the city
to bring the lambs and to bid Priam come, while Agamemnon told Talthybius
to fetch the other lamb from the ships, and he did as Agamemnon had
Meanwhile Iris went to Helen in the form of her sister-in-law, wife
he son of Antenor, for Helicaon, son of Antenor, had married Laodice,
the fairest of Priam's daughters. She found her in her own room, working
at a great web of purple linen, on which she was embroidering the
battles between Trojans and Achaeans, that Mars had made them fight
for her sake. Iris then came close up to her and said, "Come hither,
child, and see the strange doings of the Trojans and Achaeans till
now they have been warring upon the plain, mad with lust of battle,
but now they have left off fightM
ing, and are leaning upon their shields,
sitting still with their spears planted beside them. Alexandrus and
Menelaus are going to fight about yourself, and you are to the the
wife of him who is the victor."
Thus spoke the goddess, and Helen's heart yearned after her former
husband, her city, and her parents. She threw a white mantle over
her head, and hurried from her room, weeping as she went, not alone,
but attended by two of her handmaids, Aethrae, daughter of Pittheus,
and Clymene. And straightway tM
hey were at the Scaean gates.
The two sages, Ucalegon and Antenor, elders of the people, were seated
by the Scaean gates, with Priam, Panthous, Thymoetes, Lampus, Clytius,
and Hiketaon of the race of Mars. These were too old to fight, but
they were fluent orators, and sat on the tower like cicales that chirrup
delicately from the boughs of some high tree in a wood. When they
saw Helen coming towards the tower, they said softly to one another,
"Small wonder that Trojans and Achaeans should endure so much anM
so long, for the sake of a woman so marvellously and divinely lovely.
Still, fair though she be, let them take her and go, or she will breed
sorrow for us and for our children after us."
But Priam bade her draw nigh. "My child," said he, "take your seat
in front of me that you may see your former husband, your kinsmen
and your friends. I lay no blame upon you, it is the gods, not you
who are to blame. It is they that have brought about this terrible
war with the Achaeans. Tell me, then, who is yonder hM
and goodly? I have seen men taller by a head, but none so comely and
so royal. Surely he must be a king."
"Sir," answered Helen, "father of my husband, dear and reverend in
my eyes, would that I had chosen death rather than to have come here
with your son, far from my bridal chamber, my friends, my darling
daughter, and all the companions of my girlhood. But it was not to
be, and my lot is one of tears and sorrow. As for your question, the
hero of whom you ask is Agamemnon, son of AtreuM
a brave soldier, brother-in-law as surely as that he lives, to my
abhorred and miserable self."
The old man marvelled at him and said, "Happy son of Atreus, child
of good fortune. I see that the Achaeans are subject to you in great
multitudes. When I was in Phrygia I saw much horsemen, the people
of Otreus and of Mygdon, who were camping upon the banks of the river
Sangarius; I was their ally, and with them when the Amazons, peers
of men, came up against them, but even they were not soM
The old man next looked upon Ulysses; "Tell me," he said, "who is
that other, shorter by a head than Agamemnon, but broader across the
chest and shoulders? His armour is laid upon the ground, and he stalks
in front of the ranks as it were some great woolly ram ordering his
And Helen answered, "He is Ulysses, a man of great craft, son of Laertes.
He was born in rugged Ithaca, and excels in all manner of stratagems
and subtle cunning."
On this Antenor said, "Madam, yoM
u have spoken truly. Ulysses once
came here as envoy about yourself, and Menelaus with him. I received
them in my own house, and therefore know both of them by sight and
conversation. When they stood up in presence of the assembled Trojans,
Menelaus was the broader shouldered, but when both were seated Ulysses
had the more royal presence. After a time they delivered their message,
and the speech of Menelaus ran trippingly on the tongue; he did not
say much, for he was a man of few words, but he spoke very clM
and to the point, though he was the younger man of the two; Ulysses,
on the other hand, when he rose to speak, was at first silent and
kept his eyes fixed upon the ground. There was no play nor graceful
movement of his sceptre; he kept it straight and stiff like a man
unpractised in oratory- one might have taken him for a mere churl
or simpleton; but when he raised his voice, and the words came driving
from his deep chest like winter snow before the wind, then there was
none to touch him, and no man tM
hought further of what he looked like."
Priam then caught sight of Ajax and asked, "Who is that great and
goodly warrior whose head and broad shoulders tower above the rest
"That," answered Helen, "is huge Ajax, bulwark of the Achaeans, and
on the other side of him, among the Cretans, stands Idomeneus looking
like a god, and with the captains of the Cretans round him. Often
did Menelaus receive him as a guest in our house when he came visiting
us from Crete. I see, moreover, many otherM
Achaeans whose names I
could tell you, but there are two whom I can nowhere find, Castor,
breaker of horses, and Pollux the mighty boxer; they are children
of my mother, and own brothers to myself. Either they have not left
Lacedaemon, or else, though they have brought their ships, they will
not show themselves in battle for the shame and disgrace that I have
brought upon them."
She knew not that both these heroes were already lying under the earth
in their own land of Lacedaemon.
lds were bringing the holy oath-offerings through
the city- two lambs and a goatskin of wine, the gift of earth; and
Idaeus brought the mixing bowl and the cups of gold. He went up to
Priam and said, "Son of Laomedon, the princes of the Trojans and Achaeans
bid you come down on to the plain and swear to a solemn covenant.
Alexandrus and Menelaus are to fight for Helen in single combat, that
she and all her wealth may go with him who is the victor. We are to
swear to a solemn covenant of peace whereby we otheM
here in Troy, while the Achaeans return to Argos and the land of the
The old man trembled as he heard, but bade his followers yoke the
horses, and they made all haste to do so. He mounted the chariot,
gathered the reins in his hand, and Antenor took his seat beside him;
they then drove through the Scaean gates on to the plain. When they
reached the ranks of the Trojans and Achaeans they left the chariot,
and with measured pace advanced into the space between the hosts.
non and Ulysses both rose to meet them. The attendants brought
on the oath-offerings and mixed the wine in the mixing-bowls; they
poured water over the hands of the chieftains, and the son of Atreus
drew the dagger that hung by his sword, and cut wool from the lambs'
heads; this the men-servants gave about among the Trojan and Achaean
princes, and the son of Atreus lifted up his hands in prayer. "Father
Jove," he cried, "that rulest in Ida, most glorious in power, and
thou oh Sun, that seest and givest ear tM
o all things, Earth and Rivers,
and ye who in the realms below chastise the soul of him that has broken
his oath, witness these rites and guard them, that they be not vain.
If Alexandrus kills Menelaus, let him keep Helen and all her wealth,
while we sail home with our ships; but if Menelaus kills Alexandrus,
let the Trojans give back Helen and all that she has; let them moreover
pay such fine to the Achaeans as shall be agreed upon, in testimony
among those that shall be born hereafter. Aid if Priam and hisM
refuse such fine when Alexandrus has fallen, then will I stay here
and fight on till I have got satisfaction."
As he spoke he drew his knife across the throats of the victims, and
laid them down gasping and dying upon the ground, for the knife had
reft them of their strength. Then they poured wine from the mixing-bowl
into the cups, and prayed to the everlasting gods, saying, Trojans
and Achaeans among one another, "Jove, most great and glorious, and
ye other everlasting gods, grant that the brainsM
first sin against their oaths- of them and their children- may be
shed upon the ground even as this wine, and let their wives become
the slaves of strangers."
Thus they prayed, but not as yet would Jove grant them their prayer.
Then Priam, descendant of Dardanus, spoke, saying, "Hear me, Trojans
and Achaeans, I will now go back to the wind-beaten city of Ilius:
I dare not with my own eyes witness this fight between my son and
Menelaus, for Jove and the other immortals alone know which M
On this he laid the two lambs on his chariot and took his seat. He
gathered the reins in his hand, and Antenor sat beside him; the two
then went back to Ilius. Hector and Ulysses measured the ground, and
cast lots from a helmet of bronze to see which should take aim first.
Meanwhile the two hosts lifted up their hands and prayed saying, "Father
Jove, that rulest from Ida, most glorious in power, grant that he
who first brought about this war between us may die, and enter the
while we others remain at peace and abide by our oaths."
Great Hector now turned his head aside while he shook the helmet,
and the lot of Paris flew out first. The others took their several
stations, each by his horses and the place where his arms were lying,
while Alexandrus, husband of lovely Helen, put on his goodly armour.
First he greaved his legs with greaves of good make and fitted with
ancle-clasps of silver; after this he donned the cuirass of his brother
Lycaon, and fitted it to his own body; heM
hung his silver-studded
sword of bronze about his shoulders, and then his mighty shield. On
his comely head he set his helmet, well-wrought, with a crest of horse-hair
that nodded menacingly above it, and he grasped a redoubtable spear
that suited his hands. In like fashion Menelaus also put on his armour.
When they had thus armed, each amid his own people, they strode fierce
of aspect into the open space, and both Trojans and Achaeans were
struck with awe as they beheld them. They stood near one another M
the measured ground, brandishing their spears, and each furious against
the other. Alexandrus aimed first, and struck the round shield of
the son of Atreus, but the spear did not pierce it, for the shield
turned its point. Menelaus next took aim, praying to Father Jove as
he did so. "King Jove," he said, "grant me revenge on Alexandrus who
has wronged me; subdue him under my hand that in ages yet to come
a man may shrink from doing ill deeds in the house of his host."
He poised his spear as he spoke, aM
nd hurled it at the shield of Alexandrus.
Through shield and cuirass it went, and tore the shirt by his flank,
but Alexandrus swerved aside, and thus saved his life. Then the son
of Atreus drew his sword, and drove at the projecting part of his
helmet, but the sword fell shivered in three or four pieces from his
hand, and he cried, looking towards Heaven, "Father Jove, of all gods
thou art the most despiteful; I made sure of my revenge, but the sword
has broken in my hand, my spear has been hurled in vain, aM
With this he flew at Alexandrus, caught him by the horsehair plume
of his helmet, and began dragging him towards the Achaeans. The strap
of the helmet that went under his chin was choking him, and Menelaus
would have dragged him off to his own great glory had not Jove's daughter
Venus been quick to mark and to break the strap of oxhide, so that
the empty helmet came away in his hand. This he flung to his comrades
among the Achaeans, and was again springing upon Alexandrus to ruM
him through with a spear, but Venus snatched him up in a moment (as
a god can do), hid him under a cloud of darkness, and conveyed him
to his own bedchamber.
Then she went to call Helen, and found her on a high tower with the
Trojan women crowding round her. She took the form of an old woman
who used to dress wool for her when she was still in Lacedaemon, and
of whom she was very fond. Thus disguised she plucked her by perfumed
robe and said, "Come hither; Alexandrus says you are to go to the
e is on his bed in his own room, radiant with beauty and dressed
in gorgeous apparel. No one would think he had just come from fighting,
but rather that he was going to a dance, or had done dancing and was
With these words she moved the heart of Helen to anger. When she marked
the beautiful neck of the goddess, her lovely bosom, and sparkling
eyes, she marvelled at her and said, "Goddess, why do you thus beguile
me? Are you going to send me afield still further to some man whom
ken up in Phrygia or fair Meonia? Menelaus has just vanquished
Alexandrus, and is to take my hateful self back with him. You are
come here to betray me. Go sit with Alexandrus yourself; henceforth
be goddess no longer; never let your feet carry you back to Olympus;
worry about him and look after him till he make you his wife, or,
for the matter of that, his slave- but me? I shall not go; I can garnish
his bed no longer; I should be a by-word among all the women of Troy.
Besides, I have trouble on my mind."
Venus was very angry, and said, "Bold hussy, do not provoke me; if
you do, I shall leave you to your fate and hate you as much as I have
loved you. I will stir up fierce hatred between Trojans and Achaeans,
and you shall come to a bad end."
At this Helen was frightened. She wrapped her mantle about her and
went in silence, following the goddess and unnoticed by the Trojan
When they came to the house of Alexandrus the maid-servants set about
their work, but Helen went into her own room, and tM
goddess took a seat and set it for her facing Alexandrus. On this
Helen, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, sat down, and with eyes askance
began to upbraid her husband.
"So you are come from the fight," said she; "would that you had fallen
rather by the hand of that brave man who was my husband. You used
to brag that you were a better man with hands and spear than Menelaus.
go, but I then, an challenge him again- but I should advise you not
to do so, for if you are foolish enough to meetM
him in single combat,
you will soon all by his spear."
And Paris answered, "Wife, do not vex me with your reproaches. This
time, with the help of Minerva, Menelaus has vanquished me; another
time I may myself be victor, for I too have gods that will stand by
me. Come, let us lie down together and make friends. Never yet was
I so passionately enamoured of you as at this moment- not even when
I first carried you off from Lacedaemon and sailed away with you-
not even when I had converse with you upon the cM
island of Cranae was I so enthralled by desire of you as now." On
this he led her towards the bed, and his wife went with him.
Thus they laid themselves on the bed together; but the son of Atreus
strode among the throng, looking everywhere for Alexandrus, and no
man, neither of the Trojans nor of the allies, could find him. If
they had seen him they were in no mind to hide him, for they all of
them hated him as they did death itself. Then Agamemnon, king of men,
spoke, saying, "Hear meM
, Trojans, Dardanians, and allies. The victory
has been with Menelaus; therefore give back Helen with all her wealth,
and pay such fine as shall be agreed upon, in testimony among them
that shall be born hereafter."
Thus spoke the son of Atreus, and the Achaeans shouted in applause.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now the gods were sitting with Jove in council upon the golden floor
while Hebe went round pouring out nectar for them to drink, and as
y pledged one another in their cups of gold they looked down upon
the town of Troy. The son of Saturn then began to tease Juno, talking
at her so as to provoke her. "Menelaus," said he, "has two good friends
among the goddesses, Juno of Argos, and Minerva of Alalcomene, but
they only sit still and look on, while Venus keeps ever by Alexandrus'
side to defend him in any danger; indeed she has just rescued him
when he made sure that it was all over with him- for the victory really
did lie with Menelaus. We musM
t consider what we shall do about all
this; shall we set them fighting anew or make peace between them?
If you will agree to this last Menelaus can take back Helen and the
city of Priam may remain still inhabited."
Minerva and Juno muttered their discontent as they sat side by side
hatching mischief for the Trojans. Minerva scowled at her father,
for she was in a furious passion with him, and said nothing, but Juno
could not contain herself. "Dread son of Saturn," said she, "what,
pray, is the meaning ofM
all this? Is my trouble, then, to go for nothing,
and the sweat that I have sweated, to say nothing of my horses, while
getting the people together against Priam and his children? Do as
you will, but we other gods shall not all of us approve your counsel."
Jove was angry and answered, "My dear, what harm have Priam and his
sons done you that you are so hotly bent on sacking the city of Ilius?
Will nothing do for you but you must within their walls and eat Priam
raw, with his sons and all the other TrojansM
to boot? Have it your
own way then; for I would not have this matter become a bone of contention
between us. I say further, and lay my saying to your heart, if ever
I want to sack a city belonging to friends of yours, you must not
try to stop me; you will have to let me do it, for I am giving in
to you sorely against my will. Of all inhabited cities under the sun
and stars of heaven, there was none that I so much respected as Ilius
with Priam and his whole people. Equitable feasts were never wanting
my altar, nor the savour of burning fat, which is honour due
"My own three favourite cities," answered Juno, "are Argos, Sparta,
and Mycenae. Sack them whenever you may be displeased with them. I
shall not defend them and I shall not care. Even if I did, and tried
to stay you, I should take nothing by it, for you are much stronger
than I am, but I will not have my own work wasted. I too am a god
and of the same race with yourself. I am Saturn's eldest daughter,
and am honourable not on thiM
s ground only, but also because I am your
wife, and you are king over the gods. Let it be a case, then, of give-and-take
between us, and the rest of the gods will follow our lead. Tell Minerva
to go and take part in the fight at once, and let her contrive that
the Trojans shall be the first to break their oaths and set upon the
The sire of gods and men heeded her words, and said to Minerva, "Go
at once into the Trojan and Achaean hosts, and contrive that the Trojans
shall be the first to breakM
their oaths and set upon the Achaeans."
This was what Minerva was already eager to do, so down she darted
from the topmost summits of Olympus. She shot through the sky as some
brilliant meteor which the son of scheming Saturn has sent as a sign
to mariners or to some great army, and a fiery train of light follows
in its wake. The Trojans and Achaeans were struck with awe as they
beheld, and one would turn to his neighbour, saying, "Either we shall
again have war and din of combat, or Jove the lord of battM
now make peace between us."
Thus did they converse. Then Minerva took the form of Laodocus, son
of Antenor, and went through the ranks of the Trojans to find Pandarus,
the redoubtable son of Lycaon. She found him standing among the stalwart
heroes who had followed him from the banks of the Aesopus, so she
went close up to him and said, "Brave son of Lycaon, will you do as
I tell you? If you dare send an arrow at Menelaus you will win honour
and thanks from all the Trojans, and especially from priM
he would be the first to requite you very handsomely if he could see
Menelaus mount his funeral pyre, slain by an arrow from your hand.
Take your home aim then, and pray to Lycian Apollo, the famous archer;
vow that when you get home to your strong city of Zelea you will offer
a hecatomb of firstling lambs in his honour."
His fool's heart was persuaded, and he took his bow from its case.
This bow was made from the horns of a wild ibex which he had killed
as it was bounding from a rock; heM
had stalked it, and it had fallen
as the arrow struck it to the heart. Its horns were sixteen palms
long, and a worker in horn had made them into a bow, smoothing them
well down, and giving them tips of gold. When Pandarus had strung
his bow he laid it carefully on the ground, and his brave followers
held their shields before him lest the Achaeans should set upon him
before he had shot Menelaus. Then he opened the lid of his quiver
and took out a winged arrow that had yet been shot, fraught with the
of death. He laid the arrow on the string and prayed to Lycian
Apollo, the famous archer, vowing that when he got home to his strong
city of Zelea he would offer a hecatomb of firstling lambs in his
honour. He laid the notch of the arrow on the oxhide bowstring, and
drew both notch and string to his breast till the arrow-head was near
the bow; then when the bow was arched into a half-circle he let fly,
and the bow twanged, and the string sang as the arrow flew gladly
on over the heads of the throng.
the blessed gods did not forget thee, O Menelaus, and Jove's daughter,
driver of the spoil, was the first to stand before thee and ward off
the piercing arrow. She turned it from his skin as a mother whisks
a fly from off her child when it is sleeping sweetly; she guided it
to the part where the golden buckles of the belt that passed over
his double cuirass were fastened, so the arrow struck the belt that
went tightly round him. It went right through this and through the
cuirass of cunning workmanship; it alM
so pierced the belt beneath it,
which he wore next his skin to keep out darts or arrows; it was this
that served him in the best stead, nevertheless the arrow went through
it and grazed the top of the skin, so that blood began flowing from
As when some woman of Meonia or Caria strains purple dye on to a piece
of ivory that is to be the cheek-piece of a horse, and is to be laid
up in a treasure house- many a knight is fain to bear it, but the
king keeps it as an ornament of which both horse andM
proud- even so, O Menelaus, were your shapely thighs and your legs
down to your fair ancles stained with blood.
When King Agamemnon saw the blood flowing from the wound he was afraid,
and so was brave Menelaus himself till he saw that the barbs of the
arrow and the thread that bound the arrow-head to the shaft were still
outside the wound. Then he took heart, but Agamemnon heaved a deep
sigh as he held Menelaus's hand in his own, and his comrades made
moan in concert. "Dear brother, "he crM
ied, "I have been the death
of you in pledging this covenant and letting you come forward as our
champion. The Trojans have trampled on their oaths and have wounded
you; nevertheless the oath, the blood of lambs, the drink-offerings
and the right hands of fellowship in which have put our trust shall
not be vain. If he that rules Olympus fulfil it not here and now,
he. will yet fulfil it hereafter, and they shall pay dearly with their
lives and with their wives and children. The day will surely come
hty Ilius shall be laid low, with Priam and Priam's people,
when the son of Saturn from his high throne shall overshadow them
with his awful aegis in punishment of their present treachery. This
shall surely be; but how, Menelaus, shall I mourn you, if it be your
lot now to die? I should return to Argos as a by-word, for the Achaeans
will at once go home. We shall leave Priam and the Trojans the glory
of still keeping Helen, and the earth will rot your bones as you lie
here at Troy with your purpose not fulfiM
lled. Then shall some braggart
Trojan leap upon your tomb and say, 'Ever thus may Agamemnon wreak
his vengeance; he brought his army in vain; he is gone home to his
own land with empty ships, and has left Menelaus behind him.' Thus
will one of them say, and may the earth then swallow me."
But Menelaus reassured him and said, "Take heart, and do not alarm
the people; the arrow has not struck me in a mortal part, for my outer
belt of burnished metal first stayed it, and under this my cuirass
mail which the bronze-smiths made me."
And Agamemnon answered, "I trust, dear Menelaus, that it may be even
so, but the surgeon shall examine your wound and lay herbs upon it
to relieve your pain."
He then said to Talthybius, "Talthybius, tell Machaon, son to the
great physician, Aesculapius, to come and see Menelaus immediately.
Some Trojan or Lycian archer has wounded him with an arrow to our
dismay, and to his own great glory."
Talthybius did as he was told, and went about the host trying to fiM
Machaon. Presently he found standing amid the brave warriors who had
followed him from Tricca; thereon he went up to him and said, "Son
of Aesculapius, King Agamemnon says you are to come and see Menelaus
immediately. Some Trojan or Lycian archer has wounded him with an
arrow to our dismay and to his own great glory."
Thus did he speak, and Machaon was moved to go. They passed through
the spreading host of the Achaeans and went on till they came to the
place where Menelaus had been wounded and was lyiM
ng with the chieftains
gathered in a circle round him. Machaon passed into the middle of
the ring and at once drew the arrow from the belt, bending its barbs
back through the force with which he pulled it out. He undid the burnished
belt, and beneath this the cuirass and the belt of mail which the
bronze-smiths had made; then, when he had seen the wound, he wiped
away the blood and applied some soothing drugs which Chiron had given
to Aesculapius out of the good will he bore him.
While they were thus busM
y about Menelaus, the Trojans came forward
against them, for they had put on their armour, and now renewed the
You would not have then found Agamemnon asleep nor cowardly and unwilling
to fight, but eager rather for the fray. He left his chariot rich
with bronze and his panting steeds in charge of Eurymedon, son of
Ptolemaeus the son of Peiraeus, and bade him hold them in readiness
against the time his limbs should weary of going about and giving
orders to so many, for he went among the ranks on fM
men hasting to the front he stood by them and cheered them on. "Argives,"
said he, "slacken not one whit in your onset; father Jove will be
no helper of liars; the Trojans have been the first to break their
oaths and to attack us; therefore they shall be devoured of vultures;
we shall take their city and carry off their wives and children in
But he angrily rebuked those whom he saw shirking and disinclined
to fight. "Argives," he cried, "cowardly miserable creatures, have
u no shame to stand here like frightened fawns who, when they can
no longer scud over the plain, huddle together, but show no fight?
You are as dazed and spiritless as deer. Would you wait till the Trojans
reach the sterns of our ships as they lie on the shore, to see, whether
the son of Saturn will hold his hand over you to protect you?"
Thus did he go about giving his orders among the ranks. Passing through
the crowd, he came presently on the Cretans, arming round Idomeneus,
who was at their head, fierceM
as a wild boar, while Meriones was bringing
up the battalions that were in the rear. Agamemnon was glad when he
saw him, and spoke him fairly. "Idomeneus," said he, "I treat you
with greater distinction than I do any others of the Achaeans, whether
in war or in other things, or at table. When the princes are mixing
my choicest wines in the mixing-bowls, they have each of them a fixed
allowance, but your cup is kept always full like my own, that you
may drink whenever you are minded. Go, therefore, into battM
show yourself the man you have been always proud to be."
Idomeneus answered, "I will be a trusty comrade, as I promised you
from the first I would be. Urge on the other Achaeans, that we may
join battle at once, for the Trojans have trampled upon their covenants.
Death and destruction shall be theirs, seeing they have been the first
to break their oaths and to attack us."
The son of Atreus went on, glad at heart, till he came upon the two
Ajaxes arming themselves amid a host of foot-soldiers. AM
from some high post watches a storm drive over the deep before the
west wind- black as pitch is the offing and a mighty whirlwind draws
towards him, so that he is afraid and drives his flock into a cave-
even thus did the ranks of stalwart youths move in a dark mass to
battle under the Ajaxes, horrid with shield and spear. Glad was King
Agamemnon when he saw them. "No need," he cried, "to give orders to
such leaders of the Argives as you are, for of your own selves you
spur your men on toM
fight with might and main. Would, by father Jove,
Minerva, and Apollo that all were so minded as you are, for the city
of Priam would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack
With this he left them and went onward to Nestor, the facile speaker
of the Pylians, who was marshalling his men and urging them on, in
company with Pelagon, Alastor, Chromius, Haemon, and Bias shepherd
of his people. He placed his knights with their chariots and horses
in the front rank, while the foot-soldiers, bM
rave men and many, whom
he could trust, were in the rear. The cowards he drove into the middle,
that they might fight whether they would or no. He gave his orders
to the knights first, bidding them hold their horses well in hand,
so as to avoid confusion. "Let no man," he said, "relying on his strength
or horsemanship, get before the others and engage singly with the
Trojans, nor yet let him lag behind or you will weaken your attack;
but let each when he meets an enemy's chariot throw his spear from
; this be much the best; this is how the men of old took towns
and strongholds; in this wise were they minded."
Thus did the old man charge them, for he had been in many a fight,
and King Agamemnon was glad. "I wish," he said to him, that your limbs
were as supple and your strength as sure as your judgment is; but
age, the common enemy of mankind, has laid his hand upon you; would
that it had fallen upon some other, and that you were still young."
And Nestor, knight of Gerene, answered, "Son of Atreus, M
gladly be the man I was when I slew mighty Ereuthalion; but the gods
will not give us everything at one and the same time. I was then young,
and now I am old; still I can go with my knights and give them that
counsel which old men have a right to give. The wielding of the spear
I leave to those who are younger and stronger than myself."
Agamemnon went his way rejoicing, and presently found Menestheus,
son of Peteos, tarrying in his place, and with him were the Athenians
loud of tongue in battlM
e. Near him also tarried cunning Ulysses, with
his sturdy Cephallenians round him; they had not yet heard the battle-cry,
for the ranks of Trojans and Achaeans had only just begun to move,
so they were standing still, waiting for some other columns of the
Achaeans to attack the Trojans and begin the fighting. When he saw
this Agamemnon rebuked them and said, "Son of Peteos, and you other,
steeped in cunning, heart of guile, why stand you here cowering and
waiting on others? You two should be of all men foremM
is hard fighting to be done, for you are ever foremost to accept my
invitation when we councillors of the Achaeans are holding feast.
You are glad enough then to take your fill of roast meats and to drink
wine as long as you please, whereas now you would not care though
you saw ten columns of Achaeans engage the enemy in front of you."
Ulysses glared at him and answered, "Son of Atreus, what are you talking
about? How can you say that we are slack? When the Achaeans are in
he Trojans, you shall see, if you care to do so,
that the father of Telemachus will join battle with the foremost of
them. You are talking idly."
When Agamemnon saw that Ulysses was angry, he smiled pleasantly at
him and withdrew his words. "Ulysses," said he, "noble son of Laertes,
excellent in all good counsel, I have neither fault to find nor orders
to give you, for I know your heart is right, and that you and I are
of a mind. Enough; I will make you amends for what I have said, and
been spoken may the gods bring it to nothing."
He then left them and went on to others. Presently he saw the son
of Tydeus, noble Diomed, standing by his chariot and horses, with
Sthenelus the son of Capaneus beside him; whereon he began to upbraid
him. "Son of Tydeus," he said, "why stand you cowering here upon the
brink of battle? Tydeus did not shrink thus, but was ever ahead of
his men when leading them on against the foe- so, at least, say they
that saw him in battle, for I never set eyes upon him myM
say that there was no man like him. He came once to Mycenae, not as
an enemy but as a guest, in company with Polynices to recruit his
forces, for they were levying war against the strong city of Thebes,
and prayed our people for a body of picked men to help them. The men
of Mycenae were willing to let them have one, but Jove dissuaded them
by showing them unfavourable omens. Tydeus, therefore, and Polynices
went their way. When they had got as far the deep-meadowed and rush-grown
opus, the Achaeans sent Tydeus as their envoy, and
he found the Cadmeans gathered in great numbers to a banquet in the
house of Eteocles. Stranger though he was, he knew no fear on finding
himself single-handed among so many, but challenged them to contests
of all kinds, and in each one of them was at once victorious, so mightily
did Minerva help him. The Cadmeans were incensed at his success, and
set a force of fifty youths with two captains- the godlike hero Maeon,
son of Haemon, and Polyphontes, son of AuM
tophonus- at their head,
to lie in wait for him on his return journey; but Tydeus slew every
man of them, save only Maeon, whom he let go in obedience to heaven's
omens. Such was Tydeus of Aetolia. His son can talk more glibly, but
he cannot fight as his father did."
Diomed made no answer, for he was shamed by the rebuke of Agamemnon;
but the son of Capaneus took up his words and said, "Son of Atreus,
tell no lies, for you can speak truth if you will. We boast ourselves
as even better men than our fatherM
s; we took seven-gated Thebes, though
the wall was stronger and our men were fewer in number, for we trusted
in the omens of the gods and in the help of Jove, whereas they perished
through their own sheer folly; hold not, then, our fathers in like
Diomed looked sternly at him and said, "Hold your peace, my friend,
as I bid you. It is not amiss that Agamemnon should urge the Achaeans
forward, for the glory will be his if we take the city, and his the
shame if we are vanquished. Therefore M
let us acquit ourselves with
As he spoke he sprang from his chariot, and his armour rang so fiercely
about his body that even a brave man might well have been scared to
As when some mighty wave that thunders on the beach when the west
wind has lashed it into fury- it has reared its head afar and now
comes crashing down on the shore; it bows its arching crest high over
the jagged rocks and spews its salt foam in all directions- even so
did the serried phalanxes of the Danaans march sM
teadfastly to battle.
The chiefs gave orders each to his own people, but the men said never
a word; no man would think it, for huge as the host was, it seemed
as though there was not a tongue among them, so silent were they in
their obedience; and as they marched the armour about their bodies
glistened in the sun. But the clamour of the Trojan ranks was as that
of many thousand ewes that stand waiting to be milked in the yards
of some rich flockmaster, and bleat incessantly in answer to the bleating
r lambs; for they had not one speech nor language, but their
tongues were diverse, and they came from many different places. These
were inspired of Mars, but the others by Minerva- and with them came
Panic, Rout, and Strife whose fury never tires, sister and friend
of murderous Mars, who, from being at first but low in stature, grows
till she uprears her head to heaven, though her feet are still on
earth. She it was that went about among them and flung down discord
to the waxing of sorrow with even hand betwM
When they were got together in one place shield clashed with shield
and spear with spear in the rage of battle. The bossed shields beat
one upon another, and there was a tramp as of a great multitude- death-cry
and shout of triumph of slain and slayers, and the earth ran red with
blood. As torrents swollen with rain course madly down their deep
channels till the angry floods meet in some gorge, and the shepherd
the hillside hears their roaring from afar- even such was the toil
hosts as they joined in battle.
First Antilochus slew an armed warrior of the Trojans, Echepolus,
son of Thalysius, fighting in the foremost ranks. He struck at the
projecting part of his helmet and drove the spear into his brow; the
point of bronze pierced the bone, and darkness veiled his eyes; headlong
as a tower he fell amid the press of the fight, and as he dropped
King Elephenor, son of Chalcodon and captain of the proud Abantes
began dragging him out of reach of the darts that were falling around
him, in haste to strip him of his armour. But his purpose was not
for long; Agenor saw him haling the body away, and smote him in the
side with his bronze-shod spear- for as he stooped his side was left
unprotected by his shield- and thus he perished. Then the fight between
Trojans and Achaeans grew furious over his body, and they flew upon
each other like wolves, man and man crushing one upon the other.
Forthwith Ajax, son of Telamon, slew the fair youth Simoeisius, son
of Anthemion, whom his mother boreM
by the banks of the Simois, as
she was coming down from Mt. Ida, where she had been with her parents
to see their flocks. Therefore he was named Simoeisius, but he did
not live to pay his parents for his rearing, for he was cut off untimely
by the spear of mighty Ajax, who struck him in the breast by the right
nipple as he was coming on among the foremost fighters; the spear
went right through his shoulder, and he fell as a poplar that has
grown straight and tall in a meadow by some mere, and its top is thiM
with branches. Then the wheelwright lays his axe to its roots that
he may fashion a felloe for the wheel of some goodly chariot, and
it lies seasoning by the waterside. In such wise did Ajax fell to
earth Simoeisius, son of Anthemion. Thereon Antiphus of the gleaming
corslet, son of Priam, hurled a spear at Ajax from amid the crowd
and missed him, but he hit Leucus, the brave comrade of Ulysses, in
the groin, as he was dragging the body of Simoeisius over to the other
side; so he fell upon the body and lM
oosed his hold upon it. Ulysses
was furious when he saw Leucus slain, and strode in full armour through
the front ranks till he was quite close; then he glared round about
him and took aim, and the Trojans fell back as he did so. His dart
was not sped in vain, for it struck Democoon, the bastard son of Priam,
who had come to him from Abydos, where he had charge of his father's
mares. Ulysses, infuriated by the death of his comrade, hit him with
his spear on one temple, and the bronze point came through on thM
other side of his forehead. Thereon darkness veiled his eyes, and
his armour rang rattling round him as he fell heavily to the ground.
Hector, and they that were in front, then gave round while the Argives
raised a shout and drew off the dead, pressing further forward as
they did so. But Apollo looked down from Pergamus and called aloud
to the Trojans, for he was displeased. "Trojans," he cried, "rush
on the foe, and do not let yourselves be thus beaten by the Argives.
Their skins are not stone nor iron tM
hat when hit them you do them
no harm. Moreover, Achilles, the son of lovely Thetis, is not fighting,
but is nursing his anger at the ships."
Thus spoke the mighty god, crying to them from the city, while Jove's
redoubtable daughter, the Trito-born, went about among the host of
the Achaeans, and urged them forward whenever she beheld them slackening.
Then fate fell upon Diores, son of Amarynceus, for he was struck by
a jagged stone near the ancle of his right leg. He that hurled it
was Peirous, son of M
Imbrasus, captain of the Thracians, who had come
from Aenus; the bones and both the tendons were crushed by the pitiless
stone. He fell to the ground on his back, and in his death throes
stretched out his hands towards his comrades. But Peirous, who had
wounded him, sprang on him and thrust a spear into his belly, so that
his bowels came gushing out upon the ground, and darkness veiled his
eyes. As he was leaving the body, Thoas of Aetolia struck him in the
chest near the nipple, and the point fixed itself iM
came close up to him, pulled the spear out of his chest, and then
drawing his sword, smote him in the middle of the belly so that he
died; but he did not strip him of his armour, for his Thracian comrades,
men who wear their hair in a tuft at the top of their heads, stood
round the body and kept him off with their long spears for all his
great stature and valour; so he was driven back. Thus the two corpses
lay stretched on earth near to one another, the one captain of the
e other of the Epeans; and many another fell round
And now no man would have made light of the fighting if he could have
gone about among it scatheless and unwounded, with Minerva leading
him by the hand, and protecting him from the storm of spears and arrows.
For many Trojans and Achaeans on that day lay stretched side by side
face downwards upon the earth.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Then Pallas Minerva put valour into the heart of Diomed,M
that he might excel all the other Argives, and cover himself with
glory. She made a stream of fire flare from his shield and helmet
like the star that shines most brilliantly in summer after its bath
in the waters of Oceanus- even such a fire did she kindle upon his
head and shoulders as she bade him speed into the thickest hurly-burly
Now there was a certain rich and honourable man among the Trojans,
priest of Vulcan, and his name was Dares. He had two sons, Phegeus
aeus, both of them skilled in all the arts of war. These two
came forward from the main body of Trojans, and set upon Diomed, he
being on foot, while they fought from their chariot. When they were
close up to one another, Phegeus took aim first, but his spear went
over Diomed's left shoulder without hitting him. Diomed then threw,
and his spear sped not in vain, for it hit Phegeus on the breast near
the nipple, and he fell from his chariot. Idaeus did not dare to bestride
his brother's body, but sprang from M
the chariot and took to flight,
or he would have shared his brother's fate; whereon Vulcan saved him
by wrapping him in a cloud of darkness, that his old father might
not be utterly overwhelmed with grief; but the son of Tydeus drove
off with the horses, and bade his followers take them to the ships.
The Trojans were scared when they saw the two sons of Dares, one of
them in fright and the other lying dead by his chariot. Minerva, therefore,
took Mars by the hand and said, "Mars, Mars, bane of men, bloodstaiM
stormer of cities, may we not now leave the Trojans and Achaeans to
fight it out, and see to which of the two Jove will vouchsafe the
victory? Let us go away, and thus avoid his anger."
So saying, she drew Mars out of the battle, and set him down upon
the steep banks of the Scamander. Upon this the Danaans drove the
Trojans back, and each one of their chieftains killed his man. First
King Agamemnon flung mighty Odius, captain of the Halizoni, from his
chariot. The spear of Agamemnon caught him on theM
just as he was turning in flight; it struck him between the shoulders
and went right through his chest, and his armour rang rattling round
him as he fell heavily to the ground.
Then Idomeneus killed Phaesus, son of Borus the Meonian, who had come
from Varne. Mighty Idomeneus speared him on the right shoulder as
he was mounting his chariot, and the darkness of death enshrouded
him as he fell heavily from the car.
The squires of Idomeneus spoiled him of his armour, while Menelaus,
on of Atreus, killed Scamandrius the son of Strophius, a mighty huntsman
and keen lover of the chase. Diana herself had taught him how to kill
every kind of wild creature that is bred in mountain forests, but
neither she nor his famed skill in archery could now save him, for
the spear of Menelaus struck him in the back as he was flying; it
struck him between the shoulders and went right through his chest,
so that he fell headlong and his armour rang rattling round him.
Meriones then killed Phereclus the soM
n of Tecton, who was the son
of Hermon, a man whose hand was skilled in all manner of cunning workmanship,
for Pallas Minerva had dearly loved him. He it was that made the ships
for Alexandrus, which were the beginning of all mischief, and brought
evil alike both on the Trojans and on Alexandrus himself; for he heeded
not the decrees of heaven. Meriones overtook him as he was flying,
and struck him on the right buttock. The point of the spear went through
the bone into the bladder, and death came upon him asM
and fell forward on his knees.
Meges, moreover, slew Pedaeus, son of Antenor, who, though he was
a bastard, had been brought up by Theano as one of her own children,
for the love she bore her husband. The son of Phyleus got close up
to him and drove a spear into the nape of his neck: it went under
his tongue all among his teeth, so he bit the cold bronze, and fell
And Eurypylus, son of Euaemon, killed Hypsenor, the son of noble Dolopion,
who had been made priest of tM
he river Scamander, and was honoured
among the people as though he were a god. Eurypylus gave him chase
as he was flying before him, smote him with his sword upon the arm,
and lopped his strong hand from off it. The bloody hand fell to the
ground, and the shades of death, with fate that no man can withstand,
came over his eyes.
Thus furiously did the battle rage between them. As for the son of
Tydeus, you could not say whether he was more among the Achaeans or
the Trojans. He rushed across the plain likeM
a winter torrent that
has burst its barrier in full flood; no dykes, no walls of fruitful
vineyards can embank it when it is swollen with rain from heaven,
but in a moment it comes tearing onward, and lays many a field waste
that many a strong man hand has reclaimed- even so were the dense
phalanxes of the Trojans driven in rout by the son of Tydeus, and
many though they were, they dared not abide his onslaught.
Now when the son of Lycaon saw him scouring the plain and driving
the Trojans pell-mell beforM
e him, he aimed an arrow and hit the front
part of his cuirass near the shoulder: the arrow went right through
the metal and pierced the flesh, so that the cuirass was covered with
blood. On this the son of Lycaon shouted in triumph, "Knights Trojans,
come on; the bravest of the Achaeans is wounded, and he will not hold
out much longer if King Apollo was indeed with me when I sped from
Thus did he vaunt; but his arrow had not killed Diomed, who withdrew
and made for the chariot and horses M
of Sthenelus, the son of Capaneus.
"Dear son of Capaneus," said he, "come down from your chariot, and
draw the arrow out of my shoulder."
Sthenelus sprang from his chariot, and drew the arrow from the wound,
whereon the blood came spouting out through the hole that had been
made in his shirt. Then Diomed prayed, saying, "Hear me, daughter
of aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, if ever you loved my father well
and stood by him in the thick of a fight, do the like now by me; grant
me to come within a spear's M
throw of that man and kill him. He has
been too quick for me and has wounded me; and now he is boasting that
I shall not see the light of the sun much longer."
Thus he prayed, and Pallas Minerva heard him; she made his limbs supple
and quickened his hands and his feet. Then she went up close to him
and said, "Fear not, Diomed, to do battle with the Trojans, for I
have set in your heart the spirit of your knightly father Tydeus.
Moreover, I have withdrawn the veil from your eyes, that you know
n apart. If, then, any other god comes here and offers
you battle, do not fight him; but should Jove's daughter Venus come,
strike her with your spear and wound her."
When she had said this Minerva went away, and the son of Tydeus again
took his place among the foremost fighters, three times more fierce
even than he had been before. He was like a lion that some mountain
shepherd has wounded, but not killed, as he is springing over the
wall of a sheep-yard to attack the sheep. The shepherd has roused
brute to fury but cannot defend his flock, so he takes shelter
under cover of the buildings, while the sheep, panic-stricken on being
deserted, are smothered in heaps one on top of the other, and the
angry lion leaps out over the sheep-yard wall. Even thus did Diomed
go furiously about among the Trojans.
He killed Astynous, and shepherd of his people, the one with a thrust
of his spear, which struck him above the nipple, the other with a
sword- cut on the collar-bone, that severed his shoulder from his
eck and back. He let both of them lie, and went in pursuit of Abas
and Polyidus, sons of the old reader of dreams Eurydamas: they never
came back for him to read them any more dreams, for mighty Diomed
made an end of them. He then gave chase to Xanthus and Thoon, the
two sons of Phaenops, both of them very dear to him, for he was now
worn out with age, and begat no more sons to inherit his possessions.
But Diomed took both their lives and left their father sorrowing bitterly,
for he nevermore saw them come hM
ome from battle alive, and his kinsmen
divided his wealth among themselves.
Then he came upon two sons of Priam, Echemmon and Chromius, as they
were both in one chariot. He sprang upon them as a lion fastens on
the neck of some cow or heifer when the herd is feeding in a coppice.
For all their vain struggles he flung them both from their chariot
and stripped the armour from their bodies. Then he gave their horses
to his comrades to take them back to the ships.
When Aeneas saw him thus making havoc amoM
ng the ranks, he went through
the fight amid the rain of spears to see if he could find Pandarus.
When he had found the brave son of Lycaon he said, "Pandarus, where
is now your bow, your winged arrows, and your renown as an archer,
in respect of which no man here can rival you nor is there any in
Lycia that can beat you? Lift then your hands to Jove and send an
arrow at this fellow who is going so masterfully about, and has done
such deadly work among the Trojans. He has killed many a brave man-
eed he is some god who is angry with the Trojans about their
sacrifices, and and has set his hand against them in his displeasure."
And the son of Lycaon answered, "Aeneas, I take him for none other
than the son of Tydeus. I know him by his shield, the visor of his
helmet, and by his horses. It is possible that he may be a god, but
if he is the man I say he is, he is not making all this havoc without
heaven's help, but has some god by his side who is shrouded in a cloud
of darkness, and who turned my arrowM
aside when it had hit him. I
have taken aim at him already and hit him on the right shoulder; my
arrow went through the breastpiece of his cuirass; and I made sure
I should send him hurrying to the world below, but it seems that I
have not killed him. There must be a god who is angry with me. Moreover
I have neither horse nor chariot. In my father's stables there are
eleven excellent chariots, fresh from the builder, quite new, with
cloths spread over them; and by each of them there stand a pair of
champing barley and rye; my old father Lycaon urged me again
and again when I was at home and on the point of starting, to take
chariots and horses with me that I might lead the Trojans in battle,
but I would not listen to him; it would have been much better if I
had done so, but I was thinking about the horses, which had been used
to eat their fill, and I was afraid that in such a great gathering
of men they might be ill-fed, so I left them at home and came on foot
to Ilius armed only with my bow and arrowM
s. These it seems, are of
no use, for I have already hit two chieftains, the sons of Atreus
and of Tydeus, and though I drew blood surely enough, I have only
made them still more furious. I did ill to take my bow down from its
peg on the day I led my band of Trojans to Ilius in Hector's service,
and if ever I get home again to set eyes on my native place, my wife,
and the greatness of my house, may some one cut my head off then and
there if I do not break the bow and set it on a hot fire- such pranks
Aeneas answered, "Say no more. Things will not mend till we two go
against this man with chariot and horses and bring him to a trial
of arms. Mount my chariot, and note how cleverly the horses of Tros
can speed hither and thither over the plain in pursuit or flight.
If Jove again vouchsafes glory to the son of Tydeus they will carry
us safely back to the city. Take hold, then, of the whip and reins
while I stand upon the car to fight, or else do you wait this man's
onset while I look after theM
"Aeneas." replied the son of Lycaon, "take the reins and drive; if
we have to fly before the son of Tydeus the horses will go better
for their own driver. If they miss the sound of your voice when they
expect it they may be frightened, and refuse to take us out of the
fight. The son of Tydeus will then kill both of us and take the horses.
Therefore drive them yourself and I will be ready for him with my
They then mounted the chariot and drove full-speed towards the son
henelus, son of Capaneus, saw them coming and said to
Diomed, "Diomed, son of Tydeus, man after my own heart, I see two
heroes speeding towards you, both of them men of might the one a skilful
archer, Pandarus son of Lycaon, the other, Aeneas, whose sire is Anchises,
while his mother is Venus. Mount the chariot and let us retreat. Do
not, I pray you, press so furiously forward, or you may get killed."
Diomed looked angrily at him and answered: "Talk not of flight, for
I shall not listen to you: I am of a rM
ace that knows neither flight
nor fear, and my limbs are as yet unwearied. I am in no mind to mount,
but will go against them even as I am; Pallas Minerva bids me be afraid
of no man, and even though one of them escape, their steeds shall
not take both back again. I say further, and lay my saying to your
heart- if Minerva sees fit to vouchsafe me the glory of killing both,
stay your horses here and make the reins fast to the rim of the chariot;
then be sure you spring Aeneas' horses and drive them from the TM
to the Achaean ranks. They are of the stock that great Jove gave to
Tros in payment for his son Ganymede, and are the finest that live
and move under the sun. King Anchises stole the blood by putting his
mares to them without Laomedon's knowledge, and they bore him six
foals. Four are still in his stables, but he gave the other two to
Aeneas. We shall win great glory if we can take them."
Thus did they converse, but the other two had now driven close up
to them, and the son of Lycaon spoke first. "M
Great and mighty son,"
said he, "of noble Tydeus, my arrow failed to lay you low, so I will
now try with my spear."
He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled it from him. It struck
the shield of the son of Tydeus; the bronze point pierced it and passed
on till it reached the breastplate. Thereon the son of Lycaon shouted
out and said, "You are hit clean through the belly; you will not stand
out for long, and the glory of the fight is mine."
But Diomed all undismayed made answer, "You have missed, notM
and before you two see the end of this matter one or other of you
shall glut tough-shielded Mars with his blood."
With this he hurled his spear, and Minerva guided it on to Pandarus's
nose near the eye. It went crashing in among his white teeth; the
bronze point cut through the root of his to tongue, coming out under
his chin, and his glistening armour rang rattling round him as he
fell heavily to the ground. The horses started aside for fear, and
he was reft of life and strength.
from his chariot armed with shield and spear, fearing
lest the Achaeans should carry off the body. He bestrode it as a lion
in the pride of strength, with shield and on spear before him and
a cry of battle on his lips resolute to kill the first that should
dare face him. But the son of Tydeus caught up a mighty stone, so
huge and great that as men now are it would take two to lift it; nevertheless
he bore it aloft with ease unaided, and with this he struck Aeneas
on the groin where the hip turns in the joinM
t that is called the "cup-bone."
The stone crushed this joint, and broke both the sinews, while its
jagged edges tore away all the flesh. The hero fell on his knees,
and propped himself with his hand resting on the ground till the darkness
of night fell upon his eyes. And now Aeneas, king of men, would have
perished then and there, had not his mother, Jove's daughter Venus,
who had conceived him by Anchises when he was herding cattle, been
quick to mark, and thrown her two white arms about the body of her
ear son. She protected him by covering him with a fold of her own
fair garment, lest some Danaan should drive a spear into his breast
Thus, then, did she bear her dear son out of the fight. But the son
of Capaneus was not unmindful of the orders that Diomed had given
him. He made his own horses fast, away from the hurly-burly, by binding
the reins to the rim of the chariot. Then he sprang upon Aeneas's
horses and drove them from the Trojan to the Achaean ranks. When he
had so done he gave tM
hem over to his chosen comrade Deipylus, whom
he valued above all others as the one who was most like-minded with
himself, to take them on to the ships. He then remounted his own chariot,
seized the reins, and drove with all speed in search of the son of
Now the son of Tydeus was in pursuit of the Cyprian goddess, spear
in hand, for he knew her to be feeble and not one of those goddesses
that can lord it among men in battle like Minerva or Enyo the waster
of cities, and when at last after a long M
chase he caught her up, he
flew at her and thrust his spear into the flesh of her delicate hand.
The point tore through the ambrosial robe which the Graces had woven
for her, and pierced the skin between her wrist and the palm of her
hand, so that the immortal blood, or ichor, that flows in the veins
of the blessed gods, came pouring from the wound; for the gods do
not eat bread nor drink wine, hence they have no blood such as ours,
and are immortal. Venus screamed aloud, and let her son fall, but
pollo caught him in his arms, and hid him in a cloud of darkness,
lest some Danaan should drive a spear into his breast and kill him;
and Diomed shouted out as he left her, "Daughter of Jove, leave war
and battle alone, can you not be contented with beguiling silly women?
If you meddle with fighting you will get what will make you shudder
at the very name of war."
The goddess went dazed and discomfited away, and Iris, fleet as the
wind, drew her from the throng, in pain and with her fair skin all
hed. She found fierce Mars waiting on the left of the battle,
with his spear and his two fleet steeds resting on a cloud; whereon
she fell on her knees before her brother and implored him to let her
have his horses. "Dear brother," she cried, "save me, and give me
your horses to take me to Olympus where the gods dwell. I am badly
wounded by a mortal, the son of Tydeus, who would now fight even with
Thus she spoke, and Mars gave her his gold-bedizened steeds. She mounted
the chariot sick andM
sorry at heart, while Iris sat beside her and
took the reins in her hand. She lashed her horses on and they flew
forward nothing loth, till in a trice they were at high Olympus, where
the gods have their dwelling. There she stayed them, unloosed them
from the chariot, and gave them their ambrosial forage; but Venus
flung herself on to the lap of her mother Dione, who threw her arms
about her and caressed her, saying, "Which of the heavenly beings
has been treating you in this way, as though you had been doiM
wrong in the face of day?"
And laughter-loving Venus answered, "Proud Diomed, the son of Tydeus,
wounded me because I was bearing my dear son Aeneas, whom I love best
of all mankind, out of the fight. The war is no longer one between
Trojans and Achaeans, for the Danaans have now taken to fighting with
"Bear it, my child," replied Dione, "and make the best of it. We dwellers
in Olympus have to put up with much at the hands of men, and we lay
much suffering on one another.M
Mars had to suffer when Otus and Ephialtes,
children of Aloeus, bound him in cruel bonds, so that he lay thirteen
months imprisoned in a vessel of bronze. Mars would have then perished
had not fair Eeriboea, stepmother to the sons of Aloeus, told Mercury,
who stole him away when he was already well-nigh worn out by the severity
of his bondage. Juno, again, suffered when the mighty son of Amphitryon
wounded her on the right breast with a three-barbed arrow, and nothing
could assuage her pain. So, also, did hM
uge Hades, when this same man,
the son of aegis-bearing Jove, hit him with an arrow even at the gates
of hell, and hurt him badly. Thereon Hades went to the house of Jove
on great Olympus, angry and full of pain; and the arrow in his brawny
shoulder caused him great anguish till Paeeon healed him by spreading
soothing herbs on the wound, for Hades was not of mortal mould. Daring,
head-strong, evildoer who recked not of his sin in shooting the gods
that dwell in Olympus. And now Minerva has egged this son of M
on against yourself, fool that he is for not reflecting that no man
who fights with gods will live long or hear his children prattling
about his knees when he returns from battle. Let, then, the son of
Tydeus see that he does not have to fight with one who is stronger
than you are. Then shall his brave wife Aegialeia, daughter of Adrestus,
rouse her whole house from sleep, wailing for the loss of her wedded
lord, Diomed the bravest of the Achaeans."
So saying, she wiped the ichor from the wrist ofM
both hands, whereon the pain left her, and her hand was healed. But
Minerva and Juno, who were looking on, began to taunt Jove with their
mocking talk, and Minerva was first to speak. "Father Jove," said
she, "do not be angry with me, but I think the Cyprian must have been
persuading some one of the Achaean women to go with the Trojans of
whom she is so very fond, and while caressing one or other of them
she must have torn her delicate hand with the gold pin of the woman's
e sire of gods and men smiled, and called golden Venus to his side.
"My child," said he, "it has not been given you to be a warrior. Attend,
henceforth, to your own delightful matrimonial duties, and leave all
this fighting to Mars and to Minerva."
Thus did they converse. But Diomed sprang upon Aeneas, though he knew
him to be in the very arms of Apollo. Not one whit did he fear the
mighty god, so set was he on killing Aeneas and stripping him of his
armour. Thrice did he spring forward with might and maiM
and thrice did Apollo beat back his gleaming shield. When he was coming
on for the fourth time, as though he were a god, Apollo shouted to
him with an awful voice and said, "Take heed, son of Tydeus, and draw
off; think not to match yourself against gods, for men that walk the
earth cannot hold their own with the immortals."
The son of Tydeus then gave way for a little space, to avoid the anger
of the god, while Apollo took Aeneas out of the crowd and set him
in sacred Pergamus, where his M
temple stood. There, within the mighty
sanctuary, Latona and Diana healed him and made him glorious to behold,
while Apollo of the silver bow fashioned a wraith in the likeness
of Aeneas, and armed as he was. Round this the Trojans and Achaeans
hacked at the bucklers about one another's breasts, hewing each other's
round shields and light hide-covered targets. Then Phoebus Apollo
said to Mars, "Mars, Mars, bane of men, blood-stained stormer of cities,
can you not go to this man, the son of Tydeus, who would M
even with father Jove, and draw him out of the battle? He first went
up to the Cyprian and wounded her in the hand near her wrist, and
afterwards sprang upon me too, as though he were a god."
He then took his seat on the top of Pergamus, while murderous Mars
went about among the ranks of the Trojans, cheering them on, in the
likeness of fleet Acamas chief of the Thracians. "Sons of Priam,"
said he, "how long will you let your people be thus slaughtered by
the Achaeans? Would you wait till they aM
re at the walls of Troy? Aeneas
the son of Anchises has fallen, he whom we held in as high honour
as Hector himself. Help me, then, to rescue our brave comrade from
the stress of the fight."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Then Sarpedon
rebuked Hector very sternly. "Hector," said he, "where is your prowess
now? You used to say that though you had neither people nor allies
you could hold the town alone with your brothers and brothers-in-law.
I see not one of them here; they cower as M
hounds before a lion; it
is we, your allies, who bear the brunt of the battle. I have come
from afar, even from Lycia and the banks of the river Xanthus, where
I have left my wife, my infant son, and much wealth to tempt whoever
is needy; nevertheless, I head my Lycian soldiers and stand my ground
against any who would fight me though I have nothing here for the
Achaeans to plunder, while you look on, without even bidding your
men stand firm in defence of their wives. See that you fall not into
your foes as men caught in the meshes of a net, and they
sack your fair city forthwith. Keep this before your mind night and
day, and beseech the captains of your allies to hold on without flinching,
and thus put away their reproaches from you."
So spoke Sarpedon, and Hector smarted under his words. He sprang from
his chariot clad in his suit of armour, and went about among the host
brandishing his two spears, exhorting the men to fight and raising
the terrible cry of battle. Then they rallied and again M
Achaeans, but the Argives stood compact and firm, and were not driven
back. As the breezes sport with the chaff upon some goodly threshing-floor,
when men are winnowing- while yellow Ceres blows with the wind to
sift the chaff from the grain, and the chaff- heaps grow whiter and
whiter- even so did the Achaeans whiten in the dust which the horses'
hoofs raised to the firmament of heaven, as their drivers turned them
back to battle, and they bore down with might upon the foe. Fierce
he Trojans, covered them in a veil of darkness, and
went about everywhere among them, inasmuch as Phoebus Apollo had told
him that when he saw Pallas, Minerva leave the fray he was to put
courage into the hearts of the Trojans- for it was she who was helping
the Danaans. Then Apollo sent Aeneas forth from his rich sanctuary,
and filled his heart with valour, whereon he took his place among
his comrades, who were overjoyed at seeing him alive, sound, and of
a good courage; but they could not ask him how it haM
for they were too busy with the turmoil raised by Mars and by Strife,
who raged insatiably in their midst.
The two Ajaxes, Ulysses and Diomed, cheered the Danaans on, fearless
of the fury and onset of the Trojans. They stood as still as clouds
which the son of Saturn has spread upon the mountain tops when there
is no air and fierce Boreas sleeps with the other boisterous winds
whose shrill blasts scatter the clouds in all directions- even so
did the Danaans stand firm and unflinching agaiM
nst the Trojans. The
son of Atreus went about among them and exhorted them. "My friends,"
said he, "quit yourselves like brave men, and shun dishonour in one
another's eyes amid the stress of battle. They that shun dishonour
more often live than get killed, but they that fly save neither life
As he spoke he hurled his spear and hit one of those who were in the
front rank, the comrade of Aeneas, Deicoon son of Pergasus, whom the
Trojans held in no less honour than the sons of Priam, for he was
ever quick to place himself among the foremost. The spear of King
Agamemnon struck his shield and went right through it, for the shield
stayed it not. It drove through his belt into the lower part of his
belly, and his armour rang rattling round him as he fell heavily to
Then Aeneas killed two champions of the Danaans, Crethon and Orsilochus.
Their father was a rich man who lived in the strong city of Phere
and was descended from the river Alpheus, whose broad stream flows
f the Pylians. The river begat Orsilochus, who ruled
over much people and was father to Diocles, who in his turn begat
twin sons, Crethon and Orsilochus, well skilled in all the arts of
war. These, when they grew up, went to Ilius with the Argive fleet
in the cause of Menelaus and Agamemnon sons of Atreus, and there they
both of them fell. As two lions whom their dam has reared in the depths
of some mountain forest to plunder homesteads and carry off sheep
and cattle till they get killed by the hand of man, M
two vanquished by Aeneas, and fell like high pine-trees to the ground.
Brave Menelaus pitied them in their fall, and made his way to the
front, clad in gleaming bronze and brandishing his spear, for Mars
egged him on to do so with intent that he should be killed by Aeneas;
but Antilochus the son of Nestor saw him and sprang forward, fearing
that the king might come to harm and thus bring all their labour to
nothing; when, therefore Aeneas and Menelaus were setting their hands
nst one another eager to do battle, Antilochus placed
himself by the side of Menelaus. Aeneas, bold though he was, drew
back on seeing the two heroes side by side in front of him, so they
drew the bodies of Crethon and Orsilochus to the ranks of the Achaeans
and committed the two poor fellows into the hands of their comrades.
They then turned back and fought in the front ranks.
They killed Pylaemenes peer of Mars, leader of the Paphlagonian warriors.
Menelaus struck him on the collar-bone as he was standiM
while Antilochus hit his charioteer and squire Mydon, the son of Atymnius,
who was turning his horses in flight. He hit him with a stone upon
the elbow, and the reins, enriched with white ivory, fell from his
hands into the dust. Antilochus rushed towards him and struck him
on the temples with his sword, whereon he fell head first from the
chariot to the ground. There he stood for a while with his head and
shoulders buried deep in the dust- for he had fallen on sandy soil
kicked him and laid him flat on the ground, as Antilochus
lashed them and drove them off to the host of the Achaeans.
But Hector marked them from across the ranks, and with a loud cry
rushed towards them, followed by the strong battalions of the Trojans.
Mars and dread Enyo led them on, she fraught with ruthless turmoil
of battle, while Mars wielded a monstrous spear, and went about, now
in front of Hector and now behind him.
Diomed shook with passion as he saw them. As a man crossing a wide
ismayed to find himself on the brink of some great river
rolling swiftly to the sea- he sees its boiling waters and starts
back in fear- even so did the son of Tydeus give ground. Then he said
to his men, "My friends, how can we wonder that Hector wields the
spear so well? Some god is ever by his side to protect him, and now
Mars is with him in the likeness of mortal man. Keep your faces therefore
towards the Trojans, but give ground backwards, for we dare not fight
As he spoke the Trojans drM
ew close up, and Hector killed two men,
both in one chariot, Menesthes and Anchialus, heroes well versed in
war. Ajax son of Telamon pitied them in their fall; he came close
up and hurled his spear, hitting Amphius the son of Selagus, a man
of great wealth who lived in Paesus and owned much corn-growing land,
but his lot had led him to come to the aid of Priam and his sons.
Ajax struck him in the belt; the spear pierced the lower part of his
belly, and he fell heavily to the ground. Then Ajax ran towards himM
to strip him of his armour, but the Trojans rained spears upon him,
many of which fell upon his shield. He planted his heel upon the body
and drew out his spear, but the darts pressed so heavily upon him
that he could not strip the goodly armour from his shoulders. The
Trojan chieftains, moreover, many and valiant, came about him with
their spears, so that he dared not stay; great, brave and valiant
though he was, they drove him from them and he was beaten back.
Thus, then, did the battle rage between thM
em. Presently the strong
hand of fate impelled Tlepolemus, the son of Hercules, a man both
brave and of great stature, to fight Sarpedon; so the two, son and
grandson of great Jove, drew near to one another, and Tlepolemus spoke
first. "Sarpedon," said he, "councillor of the Lycians, why should
you come skulking here you who are a man of peace? They lie who call
you son of aegis-bearing Jove, for you are little like those who were
of old his children. Far other was Hercules, my own brave and lion-hearted
ther, who came here for the horses of Laomedon, and though he had
six ships only, and few men to follow him, sacked the city of Ilius
and made a wilderness of her highways. You are a coward, and your
people are falling from you. For all your strength, and all your coming
from Lycia, you will be no help to the Trojans but will pass the gates
of Hades vanquished by my hand."
And Sarpedon, captain of the Lycians, answered, "Tlepolemus, your
father overthrew Ilius by reason of Laomedon's folly in refusing payM
to one who had served him well. He would not give your father the
horses which he had come so far to fetch. As for yourself, you shall
meet death by my spear. You shall yield glory to myself, and your
soul to Hades of the noble steeds."
Thus spoke Sarpedon, and Tlepolemus upraised his spear. They threw
at the same moment, and Sarpedon struck his foe in the middle of his
throat; the spear went right through, and the darkness of death fell
upon his eyes. Tlepolemus's spear struck Sarpedon on the left M
with such force that it tore through the flesh and grazed the bone,
but his father as yet warded off destruction from him.
His comrades bore Sarpedon out of the fight, in great pain by the
weight of the spear that was dragging from his wound. They were in
such haste and stress as they bore him that no one thought of drawing
the spear from his thigh so as to let him walk uprightly. Meanwhile
the Achaeans carried off the body of Tlepolemus, whereon Ulysses was
moved to pity, and panted for the fray aM
s he beheld them. He doubted
whether to pursue the son of Jove, or to make slaughter of the Lycian
rank and file; it was not decreed, however, that he should slay the
son of Jove; Minerva, therefore, turned him against the main body
of the Lycians. He killed Coeranus, Alastor, Chromius, Alcandrus,
Halius, Noemon, and Prytanis, and would have slain yet more, had not
great Hector marked him, and sped to the front of the fight clad in
his suit of mail, filling the Danaans with terror. Sarpedon was glad
saw him coming, and besought him, saying, "Son of Priam, let
me not he here to fall into the hands of the Danaans. Help me, and
since I may not return home to gladden the hearts of my wife and of
my infant son, let me die within the walls of your city."
Hector made him no answer, but rushed onward to fall at once upon
the Achaeans and. kill many among them. His comrades then bore Sarpedon
away and laid him beneath Jove's spreading oak tree. Pelagon, his
friend and comrade drew the spear out of his thigh, M
but Sarpedon fainted
and a mist came over his eyes. Presently he came to himself again,
for the breath of the north wind as it played upon him gave him new
life, and brought him out of the deep swoon into which he had fallen.
Meanwhile the Argives were neither driven towards their ships by Mars
and Hector, nor yet did they attack them; when they knew that Mars
was with the Trojans they retreated, but kept their faces still turned
towards the foe. Who, then, was first and who last to be slain by
ector? They were valiant Teuthras, and Orestes the renowned
charioteer, Trechus the Aetolian warrior, Oenomaus, Helenus the son
of Oenops, and Oresbius of the gleaming girdle, who was possessed
of great wealth, and dwelt by the Cephisian lake with the other Boeotians
who lived near him, owners of a fertile country.
Now when the goddess Juno saw the Argives thus falling, she said to
Minerva, "Alas, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, the promise
we made Menelaus that he should not return till he hM
city of Ilius will be of none effect if we let Mars rage thus furiously.
Let us go into the fray at once."
Minerva did not gainsay her. Thereon the august goddess, daughter
of great Saturn, began to harness her gold-bedizened steeds. Hebe
with all speed fitted on the eight-spoked wheels of bronze that were
on either side of the iron axle-tree. The felloes of the wheels were
of gold, imperishable, and over these there was a tire of bronze,
wondrous to behold. The naves of the wheels were silM
the axle upon either side. The car itself was made with plaited bands
of gold and silver, and it had a double top-rail running all round
it. From the body of the car there went a pole of silver, on to the
end of which she bound the golden yoke, with the bands of gold that
were to go under the necks of the horses Then Juno put her steeds
under the yoke, eager for battle and the war-cry.
Meanwhile Minerva flung her richly embroidered vesture, made with
her own hands, on to her father's tM
hreshold, and donned the shirt
of Jove, arming herself for battle. She threw her tasselled aegis
about. her shoulders, wreathed round with Rout as with a fringe, and
on it were Strife, and Strength, and Panic whose blood runs cold;
moreover there was the head of the dread monster Gorgon,, grim and
awful to behold, portent of aegis-bearing Jove. On her head she set
her helmet of gold, with four plumes, and coming to a peak both in
front and behind- decked with the emblems of a hundred cities; then
d into her flaming chariot and grasped the spear, so stout
and sturdy and strong, with which she quells the ranks of heroes who
have displeased her. Juno lashed the horses on, and the gates of heaven
bellowed as they flew open of their own accord -gates over which the
flours preside, in whose hands are Heaven and Olympus, either to open
the dense cloud that hides them, or to close it. Through these the
goddesses drove their obedient steeds, and found the son of Saturn
sitting all alone on the topmost ridges M
of Olympus. There Juno stayed
her horses, and spoke to Jove the son of Saturn, lord of all. "Father
Jove," said she, "are you not angry with Mars for these high doings?
how great and goodly a host of the Achaeans he has destroyed to my
great grief, and without either right or reason, while the Cyprian
and Apollo are enjoying it all at their ease and setting this unrighteous
madman on to do further mischief. I hope, Father Jove, that you will
not be angry if I hit Mars hard, and chase him out of the battle."
And Jove answered, "Set Minerva on to him, for she punishes him more
often than any one else does."
Juno did as he had said. She lashed her horses, and they flew forward
nothing loth midway betwixt earth and sky. As far as a man can see
when he looks out upon the sea from some high beacon, so far can the
loud-neighing horses of the gods spring at a single bound. When they
reached Troy and the place where its two flowing streams Simois and
Scamander meet, there Juno stayed them and took them from the chM
She hid them in a thick cloud, and Simois made ambrosia spring up
for them to eat; the two goddesses then went on, flying like turtledoves
in their eagerness to help the Argives. When they came to the part
where the bravest and most in number were gathered about mighty Diomed,
fighting like lions or wild boars of great strength and endurance,
there Juno stood still and raised a shout like that of brazen-voiced
Stentor, whose cry was as loud as that of fifty men together. "Argives,"
on cowardly creatures, brave in semblance only;
as long as Achilles was fighting, fi his spear was so deadly that
the Trojans dared not show themselves outside the Dardanian gates,
but now they sally far from the city and fight even at your ships."
With these words she put heart and soul into them all, while Minerva
sprang to the side of the son of Tydeus, whom she found near his chariot
and horses, cooling the wound that Pandarus had given him. For the
sweat caused by the hand that bore the weight of his M
the hurt: his arm was weary with pain, and he was lifting up the strap
to wipe away the blood. The goddess laid her hand on the yoke of his
horses and said, "The son of Tydeus is not such another as his father.
Tydeus was a little man, but he could fight, and rushed madly into
the fray even when I told him not to do so. When he went all unattended
as envoy to the city of Thebes among the Cadmeans, I bade him feast
in their houses and be at peace; but with that high spirit which was
sent with him, he challenged the youth of the Cadmeans, and
at once beat them in all that he attempted, so mightily did I help
him. I stand by you too to protect you, and I bid you be instant in
fighting the Trojans; but either you are tired out, or you are afraid
and out of heart, and in that case I say that you are no true son
of Tydeus the son of Oeneus."
Diomed answered, "I know you, goddess, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove,
and will hide nothing from you. I am not afraid nor out of heart,
e any slackness in me. I am only following your own instructions;
you told me not to fight any of the blessed gods; but if Jove's daughter
Venus came into battle I was to wound her with my spear. Therefore
I am retreating, and bidding the other Argives gather in this place,
for I know that Mars is now lording it in the field."
"Diomed, son of Tydeus," replied Minerva, "man after my own heart,
fear neither Mars nor any other of the immortals, for I will befriend
you. Nay, drive straight at Mars, and smite M
him in close combat; fear
not this raging madman, villain incarnate, first on one side and then
on the other. But now he was holding talk with Juno and myself, saying
he would help the Argives and attack the Trojans; nevertheless he
is with the Trojans, and has forgotten the Argives."
With this she caught hold of Sthenelus and lifted him off the chariot
on to the ground. In a second he was on the ground, whereupon the
goddess mounted the car and placed herself by the side of Diomed.
The oaken axle groaneM
d aloud under the burden of the awful goddess
and the hero; Pallas Minerva took the whip and reins, and drove straight
at Mars. He was in the act of stripping huge Periphas, son of Ochesius
and bravest of the Aetolians. Bloody Mars was stripping him of his
armour, and Minerva donned the helmet of Hades, that he might not
see her; when, therefore, he saw Diomed, he made straight for him
and let Periphas lie where he had fallen. As soon as they were at
close quarters he let fly with his bronze spear over the rM
yoke, thinking to take Diomed's life, but Minerva caught the spear
in her hand and made it fly harmlessly over the chariot. Diomed then
threw, and Pallas Minerva drove the spear into the pit of Mars's stomach
where his under-girdle went round him. There Diomed wounded him, tearing
his fair flesh and then drawing his spear out again. Mars roared as
loudly as nine or ten thousand men in the thick of a fight, and the
Achaeans and Trojans were struck with panic, so terrible was the cry
s a dark cloud in the sky when it comes on to blow after heat, even
so did Diomed son of Tydeus see Mars ascend into the broad heavens.
With all speed he reached high Olympus, home of the gods, and in great
pain sat down beside Jove the son of Saturn. He showed Jove the immortal
blood that was flowing from his wound, and spoke piteously, saying,
"Father Jove, are you not angered by such doings? We gods are continually
suffering in the most cruel manner at one another's hands while helping
mortals; and we allM
owe you a grudge for having begotten that mad
termagant of a daughter, who is always committing outrage of some
kind. We other gods must all do as you bid us, but her you neither
scold nor punish; you encourage her because the pestilent creature
is your daughter. See how she has been inciting proud Diomed to vent
his rage on the immortal gods. First he went up to the Cyprian and
wounded her in the hand near her wrist, and then he sprang upon me
too as though he were a god. Had I not run for it I must eitherM
lain there for long enough in torments among the ghastly corpes, or
have been eaten alive with spears till I had no more strength left
Jove looked angrily at him and said, "Do not come whining here, Sir
Facing-bothways. I hate you worst of all the gods in Olympus, for
you are ever fighting and making mischief. You have the intolerable
and stubborn spirit of your mother Juno: it is all I can do to manage
her, and it is her doing that you are now in this plight: still, I
cannot let you remaiM
n longer in such great pain; you are my own off-spring,
and it was by me that your mother conceived you; if, however, you
had been the son of any other god, you are so destructive that by
this time you should have been lying lower than the Titans."
He then bade Paeeon heal him, whereon Paeeon spread pain-killing herbs
upon his wound and cured him, for he was not of mortal mould. As the
juice of the fig-tree curdles milk, and thickens it in a moment though
it is liquid, even so instantly did Paeeon cure fieM
Hebe washed him, and clothed him in goodly raiment, and he took his
seat by his father Jove all glorious to behold.
But Juno of Argos and Minerva of Alalcomene, now that they had put
a stop to the murderous doings of Mars, went back again to the house
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The fight between Trojans and Achaeans was now left to rage as it
would, and the tide of war surged hither and thither over the plain
ed their bronze-shod spears at one another between the
streams of Simois and Xanthus.
First, Ajax son of Telamon, tower of strength to the Achaeans, broke
a phalanx of the Trojans, and came to the assistance of his comrades
by killing Acamas son of Eussorus, the best man among the Thracians,
being both brave and of great stature. The spear struck the projecting
peak of his helmet: its bronze point then went through his forehead
into the brain, and darkness veiled his eyes.
Then Diomed killed Axylus soM
n of Teuthranus, a rich man who lived
in the strong city of Arisbe, and was beloved by all men; for he had
a house by the roadside, and entertained every one who passed; howbeit
not one of his guests stood before him to save his life, and Diomed
killed both him and his squire Calesius, who was then his charioteer-
so the pair passed beneath the earth.
Euryalus killed Dresus and Opheltius, and then went in pursuit of
Aesepus and Pedasus, whom the naiad nymph Abarbarea had borne to noble
was eldest son to Laomedon, but he was a bastard.
While tending his sheep he had converse with the nymph, and she conceived
twin sons; these the son of Mecisteus now slew, and he stripped the
armour from their shoulders. Polypoetes then killed Astyalus, Ulysses
Pidytes of Percote, and Teucer Aretaon. Ablerus fell by the spear
of Nestor's son Antilochus, and Agamemnon, king of men, killed Elatus
who dwelt in Pedasus by the banks of the river Satnioeis. Leitus killed
Phylacus as he was flying, and Eurypylus sM
Then Menelaus of the loud war-cry took Adrestus alive, for his horses
ran into a tamarisk bush, as they were flying wildly over the plain,
and broke the pole from the car; they went on towards the city along
with the others in full flight, but Adrestus rolled out, and fell
in the dust flat on his face by the wheel of his chariot; Menelaus
came up to him spear in hand, but Adrestus caught him by the knees
begging for his life. "Take me alive," he cried, "son of Atreus, and
ull ransom for me: my father is rich and has much
treasure of gold, bronze, and wrought iron laid by in his house. From
this store he will give you a large ransom should he hear of my being
alive and at the ships of the Achaeans."
Thus did he plead, and Menelaus was for yielding and giving him to
a squire to take to the ships of the Achaeans, but Agamemnon came
running up to him and rebuked him. "My good Menelaus," said he, "this
is no time for giving quarter. Has, then, your house fared so well
ands of the Trojans? Let us not spare a single one of them-
not even the child unborn and in its mother's womb; let not a man
of them be left alive, but let all in Ilius perish, unheeded and forgotten."
Thus did he speak, and his brother was persuaded by him, for his words
were just. Menelaus, therefore, thrust Adrestus from him, whereon
King Agamemnon struck him in the flank, and he fell: then the son
of Atreus planted his foot upon his breast to draw his spear from
Meanwhile Nestor shouted M
to the Argives, saying, "My friends, Danaan
warriors, servants of Mars, let no man lag that he may spoil the dead,
and bring back much booty to the ships. Let us kill as many as we
can; the bodies will lie upon the plain, and you can despoil them
later at your leisure."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. And now the
Trojans would have been routed and driven back into Ilius, had not
Priam's son Helenus, wisest of augurs, said to Hector and Aeneas,
"Hector and Aeneas, you two are the maiM
nstays of the Trojans and Lycians,
for you are foremost at all times, alike in fight and counsel; hold
your ground here, and go about among the host to rally them in front
of the gates, or they will fling themselves into the arms of their
wives, to the great joy of our foes. Then, when you have put heart
into all our companies, we will stand firm here and fight the Danaans
however hard they press us, for there is nothing else to be done.
Meanwhile do you, Hector, go to the city and tell our mother what
appening. Tell her to bid the matrons gather at the temple of
Minerva in the acropolis; let her then take her key and open the doors
of the sacred building; there, upon the knees of Minerva, let her
lay the largest, fairest robe she has in her house- the one she sets
most store by; let her, moreover, promise to sacrifice twelve yearling
heifers that have never yet felt the goad, in the temple of the goddess,
if she will take pity on the town, with the wives and little ones
of the Trojans, and keep the son ofM
Tydeus from falling on the goodly
city of Ilius; for he fights with fury and fills men's souls with
panic. I hold him mightiest of them all; we did not fear even their
great champion Achilles, son of a goddess though he be, as we do this
man: his rage is beyond all bounds, and there is none can vie with
Hector did as his brother bade him. He sprang from his chariot, and
went about everywhere among the host, brandishing his spears, urging
the men on to fight, and raising the dread cry of M
they rallied and again faced the Achaeans, who gave ground and ceased
their murderous onset, for they deemed that some one of the immortals
had come down from starry heaven to help the Trojans, so strangely
had they rallied. And Hector shouted to the Trojans, "Trojans and
allies, be men, my friends, and fight with might and main, while I
go to Ilius and tell the old men of our council and our wives to pray
to the gods and vow hecatombs in their honour."
With this he went his way, and the M
black rim of hide that went round
his shield beat against his neck and his ancles.
Then Glaucus son of Hippolochus, and the son of Tydeus went into the
open space between the hosts to fight in single combat. When they
were close up to one another Diomed of the loud war-cry was the first
to speak. "Who, my good sir," said he, "who are you among men? I have
never seen you in battle until now, but you are daring beyond all
others if you abide my onset. Woe to those fathers whose sons face
ver, you are one of the immortals and have come
down from heaven, I will not fight you; for even valiant Lycurgus,
son of Dryas, did not live long when he took to fighting with the
gods. He it was that drove the nursing women who were in charge of
frenzied Bacchus through the land of Nysa, and they flung their thyrsi
on the ground as murderous Lycurgus beat them with his oxgoad. Bacchus
himself plunged terror-stricken into the sea, and Thetis took him
to her bosom to comfort him, for he was scared by the furM
the man reviled him. Thereon the gods who live at ease were angry
with Lycurgus and the son of Saturn struck him blind, nor did he live
much longer after he had become hateful to the immortals. Therefore
I will not fight with the blessed gods; but if you are of them that
eat the fruit of the ground, draw near and meet your doom."
And the son of Hippolochus answered, son of Tydeus, why ask me of
my lineage? Men come and go as leaves year by year upon the trees.
Those of autumn the wind sheds uM
pon the ground, but when spring returns
the forest buds forth with fresh vines. Even so is it with the generations
of mankind, the new spring up as the old are passing away. If, then,
you would learn my descent, it is one that is well known to many.
There is a city in the heart of Argos, pasture land of horses, called
Ephyra, where Sisyphus lived, who was the craftiest of all mankind.
He was the son of Aeolus, and had a son named Glaucus, who was father
to Bellerophon, whom heaven endowed with the most surpaM
and beauty. But Proetus devised his ruin, and being stronger than
he, drove him from the land of the Argives, over which Jove had made
him ruler. For Antea, wife of Proetus, lusted after him, and would
have had him lie with her in secret; but Bellerophon was an honourable
man and would not, so she told lies about him to Proteus. 'Proetus,'
said she, 'kill Bellerophon or die, for he would have had converse
with me against my will.' The king was angered, but shrank from killing
o he sent him to Lycia with lying letters of introduction,
written on a folded tablet, and containing much ill against the bearer.
He bade Bellerophon show these letters to his father-in-law, to the
end that he might thus perish; Bellerophon therefore went to Lycia,
and the gods convoyed him safely.
"When he reached the river Xanthus, which is in Lycia, the king received
him with all goodwill, feasted him nine days, and killed nine heifers
in his honour, but when rosy-fingered morning appeared upon the teM
day, he questioned him and desired to see the letter from his son-in-law
Proetus. When he had received the wicked letter he first commanded
Bellerophon to kill that savage monster, the Chimaera, who was not
a human being, but a goddess, for she had the head of a lion and the
tail of a serpent, while her body was that of a goat, and she breathed
forth flames of fire; but Bellerophon slew her, for he was guided
by signs from heaven. He next fought the far-famed Solymi, and this,
he said, was the hardest oM
f all his battles. Thirdly, he killed the
Amazons, women who were the peers of men, and as he was returning
thence the king devised yet another plan for his destruction; he picked
the bravest warriors in all Lycia, and placed them in ambuscade, but
not a man ever came back, for Bellerophon killed every one of them.
Then the king knew that he must be the valiant offspring of a god,
so he kept him in Lycia, gave him his daughter in marriage, and made
him of equal honour in the kingdom with himself; and the LycM
him a piece of land, the best in all the country, fair with vineyards
and tilled fields, to have and to hold.
"The king's daughter bore Bellerophon three children, Isander, Hippolochus,
and Laodameia. Jove, the lord of counsel, lay with Laodameia, and
she bore him noble Sarpedon; but when Bellerophon came to be hated
by all the gods, he wandered all desolate and dismayed upon the Alean
plain, gnawing at his own heart, and shunning the path of man. Mars,
insatiate of battle, killed his son IsandM
er while he was fighting
the Solymi; his daughter was killed by Diana of the golden reins,
for she was angered with her; but Hippolochus was father to myself,
and when he sent me to Troy he urged me again and again to fight ever
among the foremost and outvie my peers, so as not to shame the blood
of my fathers who were the noblest in Ephyra and in all Lycia. This,
then, is the descent I claim."
Thus did he speak, and the heart of Diomed was glad. He planted his
spear in the ground, and spoke to him with M
friendly words. "Then,"
he said, you are an old friend of my father's house. Great Oeneus
once entertained Bellerophon for twenty days, and the two exchanged
presents. Oeneus gave a belt rich with purple, and Bellerophon a double
cup, which I left at home when I set out for Troy. I do not remember
Tydeus, for he was taken from us while I was yet a child, when the
army of the Achaeans was cut to pieces before Thebes. Henceforth,
however, I must be your host in middle Argos, and you mine in Lycia,
ever go there; let us avoid one another's spears even
during a general engagement; there are many noble Trojans and allies
whom I can kill, if I overtake them and heaven delivers them into
my hand; so again with yourself, there are many Achaeans whose lives
you may take if you can; we two, then, will exchange armour, that
all present may know of the old ties that subsist between us."
With these words they sprang from their chariots, grasped one another's
hands, and plighted friendship. But the son of SatuM
take leave of his wits, for he exchanged golden armour for bronze,
the worth of a hundred head of cattle for the worth of nine.
Now when Hector reached the Scaean gates and the oak tree, the wives
and daughters of the Trojans came running towards him to ask after
their sons, brothers, kinsmen, and husbands: he told them to set about
praying to the gods, and many were made sorrowful as they heard him.
Presently he reached the splendid palace of King Priam, adorned with
colonnades of hewn M
stone. In it there were fifty bedchambers- all
of hewn stone- built near one another, where the sons of Priam slept,
each with his wedded wife. Opposite these, on the other side the courtyard,
there were twelve upper rooms also of hewn stone for Priam's daughters,
built near one another, where his sons-in-law slept with their wives.
When Hector got there, his fond mother came up to him with Laodice
the fairest of her daughters. She took his hand within her own and
said, "My son, why have you left the battle M
to come hither? Are the
Achaeans, woe betide them, pressing you hard about the city that you
have thought fit to come and uplift your hands to Jove from the citadel?
Wait till I can bring you wine that you may make offering to Jove
and to the other immortals, and may then drink and be refreshed. Wine
gives a man fresh strength when he is wearied, as you now are with
fighting on behalf of your kinsmen."
And Hector answered, "Honoured mother, bring no wine, lest you unman
me and I forget my strength. I darM
e not make a drink-offering to Jove
with unwashed hands; one who is bespattered with blood and filth may
not pray to the son of Saturn. Get the matrons together, and go with
offerings to the temple of Minerva driver of the spoil; there, upon
the knees of Minerva, lay the largest and fairest robe you have in
your house- the one you set most store by; promise, moreover, to sacrifice
twelve yearling heifers that have never yet felt the goad, in the
temple of the goddess if she will take pity on the town, with tM
wives and little ones of the Trojans, and keep the son of Tydeus from
off the goodly city of Ilius, for he fights with fury, and fills men's
souls with panic. Go, then, to the temple of Minerva, while I seek
Paris and exhort him, if he will hear my words. Would that the earth
might open her jaws and swallow him, for Jove bred him to be the bane
of the Trojans, and of Priam and Priam's sons. Could I but see him
go down into the house of Hades, my heart would forget its heaviness."
His mother went into tM
he house and called her waiting-women who gathered
the matrons throughout the city. She then went down into her fragrant
store-room, where her embroidered robes were kept, the work of Sidonian
women, whom Alexandrus had brought over from Sidon when he sailed
the seas upon that voyage during which he carried off Helen. Hecuba
took out the largest robe, and the one that was most beautifully enriched
with embroidery, as an offering to Minerva: it glittered like a star,
and lay at the very bottom of the chest. WM
ith this she went on her
way and many matrons with her.
When they reached the temple of Minerva, lovely Theano, daughter of
Cisseus and wife of Antenor, opened the doors, for the Trojans had
made her priestess of Minerva. The women lifted up their hands to
the goddess with a loud cry, and Theano took the robe to lay it upon
the knees of Minerva, praying the while to the daughter of great Jove.
"Holy Minerva," she cried, "protectress of our city, mighty goddess,
break the spear of Diomed and lay him low bM
efore the Scaean gates.
Do this, and we will sacrifice twelve heifers that have never yet
known the goad, in your temple, if you will have pity upon the town,
with the wives and little ones If the Trojans." Thus she prayed, but
Pallas Minerva granted not her prayer.
While they were thus praying to the daughter of great Jove, Hector
went to the fair house of Alexandrus, which he had built for him by
the foremost builders in the land. They had built him his house, storehouse,
and courtyard near those of PrM
iam and Hector on the acropolis. Here
Hector entered, with a spear eleven cubits long in his hand; the bronze
point gleamed in front of him, and was fastened to the shaft of the
spear by a ring of gold. He found Alexandrus within the house, busied
about his armour, his shield and cuirass, and handling his curved
bow; there, too, sat Argive Helen with her women, setting them their
several tasks; and as Hector saw him he rebuked him with words of
scorn. "Sir," said he, "you do ill to nurse this rancour; the peM
perish fighting round this our town; you would yourself chide one
whom you saw shirking his part in the combat. Up then, or ere long
the city will be in a blaze."
And Alexandrus answered, "Hector, your rebuke is just; listen therefore,
and believe me when I tell you that I am not here so much through
rancour or ill-will towards the Trojans, as from a desire to indulge
my grief. My wife was even now gently urging me to battle, and I hold
it better that I should go, for victory is ever fickle. Wait, tM
while I put on my armour, or go first and I will follow. I shall be
sure to overtake you."
Hector made no answer, but Helen tried to soothe him. "Brother," said
she, "to my abhorred and sinful self, would that a whirlwind had caught
me up on the day my mother brought me forth, and had borne me to some
mountain or to the waves of the roaring sea that should have swept
me away ere this mischief had come about. But, since the gods have
devised these evils, would, at any rate, that I had been wife to a
better man- to one who could smart under dishonour and men's evil
speeches. This fellow was never yet to be depended upon, nor never
will be, and he will surely reap what he has sown. Still, brother,
come in and rest upon this seat, for it is you who bear the brunt
of that toil that has been caused by my hateful self and by the sin
of Alexandrus- both of whom Jove has doomed to be a theme of song
among those that shall be born hereafter."
And Hector answered, "Bid me not be seated, Helen, for all the gooM
you bear me. I cannot stay. I am in haste to help the Trojans, who
miss me greatly when I am not among them; but urge your husband, and
of his own self also let him make haste to overtake me before I am
out of the city. I must go home to see my household, my wife and my
little son, for I know not whether I shall ever again return to them,
or whether the gods will cause me to fill by the hands of the Achaeans."
Then Hector left her, and forthwith was at his own house. He did not
find Andromache, for M
she was on the wall with her child and one of
her maids, weeping bitterly. Seeing, then, that she was not within,
he stood on the threshold of the women's rooms and said, "Women, tell
me, and tell me true, where did Andromache go when she left the house?
Was it to my sisters, or to my brothers' wives? or is she at the temple
of Minerva where the other women are propitiating the awful goddess?"
His good housekeeper answered, "Hector, since you bid me tell you
truly, she did not go to your sisters nor to youM
nor yet to the temple of Minerva, where the other women are propitiating
the awful goddess, but she is on the high wall of Ilius, for she had
heard the Trojans were being hard pressed, and that the Achaeans were
in great force: she went to the wall in frenzied haste, and the nurse
went with her carrying the child."
Hector hurried from the house when she had done speaking, and went
down the streets by the same way that he had come. When he had gone
through the city and had reached the SM
caean gates through which he
would go out on to the plain, his wife came running towards him, Andromache,
daughter of great Eetion who ruled in Thebe under the wooded slopes
of Mt. Placus, and was king of the Cilicians. His daughter had married
Hector, and now came to meet him with a nurse who carried his little
child in her bosom- a mere babe. Hector's darling son, and lovely
as a star. Hector had named him Scamandrius, but the people called
him Astyanax, for his father stood alone as chief guardian of IliuM
Hector smiled as he looked upon the boy, but he did not speak, and
Andromache stood by him weeping and taking his hand in her own. "Dear
husband," said she, "your valour will bring you to destruction; think
on your infant son, and on my hapless self who ere long shall be your
widow- for the Achaeans will set upon you in a body and kill you.
It would be better for me, should I lose you, to lie dead and buried,
for I shall have nothing left to comfort me when you are gone, save
only sorrow. I have neither M
father nor mother now. Achilles slew my
father when he sacked Thebe the goodly city of the Cilicians. He slew
him, but did not for very shame despoil him; when he had burned him
in his wondrous armour, he raised a barrow over his ashes and the
mountain nymphs, daughters of aegis-bearing Jove, planted a grove
of elms about his tomb. I had seven brothers in my father's house,
but on the same day they all went within the house of Hades. Achilles
killed them as they were with their sheep and cattle. My mother- hM
who had been queen of all the land under Mt. Placus- he brought hither
with the spoil, and freed her for a great sum, but the archer- queen
Diana took her in the house of your father. Nay- Hector- you who to
me are father, mother, brother, and dear husband- have mercy upon
me; stay here upon this wall; make not your child fatherless, and
your wife a widow; as for the host, place them near the fig-tree,
where the city can be best scaled, and the wall is weakest. Thrice
have the bravest of them come thitheM
r and assailed it, under the two
Ajaxes, Idomeneus, the sons of Atreus, and the brave son of Tydeus,
either of their own bidding, or because some soothsayer had told them."
And Hector answered, "Wife, I too have thought upon all this, but
with what face should I look upon the Trojans, men or women, if I
shirked battle like a coward? I cannot do so: I know nothing save
to fight bravely in the forefront of the Trojan host and win renown
alike for my father and myself. Well do I know that the day will surely
come when mighty Ilius shall be destroyed with Priam and Priam's people,
but I grieve for none of these- not even for Hecuba, nor King Priam,
nor for my brothers many and brave who may fall in the dust before
their foes- for none of these do I grieve as for yourself when the
day shall come on which some one of the Achaeans shall rob you for
ever of your freedom, and bear you weeping away. It may be that you
will have to ply the loom in Argos at the bidding of a mistress, or
to fetch water from the springs MM
esseis or Hypereia, treated brutally
by some cruel task-master; then will one say who sees you weeping,
'She was wife to Hector, the bravest warrior among the Trojans during
the war before Ilius.' On this your tears will break forth anew for
him who would have put away the day of captivity from you. May I lie
dead under the barrow that is heaped over my body ere I hear your
cry as they carry you into bondage."
He stretched his arms towards his child, but the boy cried and nestled
in his nurse's bosom, scM
ared at the sight of his father's armour,
and at the horse-hair plume that nodded fiercely from his helmet.
His father and mother laughed to see him, but Hector took the helmet
from his head and laid it all gleaming upon the ground. Then he took
his darling child, kissed him, and dandled him in his arms, praying
over him the while to Jove and to all the gods. "Jove," he cried,
"grant that this my child may be even as myself, chief among the Trojans;
let him be not less excellent in strength, and let him ruleM
with his might. Then may one say of him as he comes from battle, 'The
son is far better than the father.' May he bring back the blood-stained
spoils of him whom he has laid low, and let his mother's heart be
With this he laid the child again in the arms of his wife, who took
him to her own soft bosom, smiling through her tears. As her husband
watched her his heart yearned towards her and he caressed her fondly,
saying, "My own wife, do not take these things too bitterly to heart.
an hurry me down to Hades before my time, but if a man's hour
is come, be he brave or be he coward, there is no escape for him when
he has once been born. Go, then, within the house, and busy yourself
with your daily duties, your loom, your distaff, and the ordering
of your servants; for war is man's matter, and mine above all others
of them that have been born in Ilius."
He took his plumed helmet from the ground, and his wife went back
again to her house, weeping bitterly and often looking back towards
him. When she reached her home she found her maidens within, and bade
them all join in her lament; so they mourned Hector in his own house
though he was yet alive, for they deemed that they should never see
him return safe from battle, and from the furious hands of the Achaeans.
Paris did not remain long in his house. He donned his goodly armour
overlaid with bronze, and hasted through the city as fast as his feet
could take him. As a horse, stabled and fed, breaks loose and gallops
gloriously over the plaM
in to the place where he is wont to bathe in
the fair-flowing river- he holds his head high, and his mane streams
upon his shoulders as he exults in his strength and flies like the
wind to the haunts and feeding ground of the mares- even so went forth
Paris from high Pergamus, gleaming like sunlight in his armour, and
he laughed aloud as he sped swiftly on his way. Forthwith he came
upon his brother Hector, who was then turning away from the place
where he had held converse with his wife, and he was himself M
to speak. "Sir," said he, "I fear that I have kept you waiting when
you are in haste, and have not come as quickly as you bade me."
"My good brother," answered Hector, you fight bravely, and no man
with any justice can make light of your doings in battle. But you
are careless and wilfully remiss. It grieves me to the heart to hear
the ill that the Trojans speak about you, for they have suffered much
on your account. Let us be going, and we will make things right hereafter,
should Jove vouchsafe M
us to set the cup of our deliverance before
ever-living gods of heaven in our own homes, when we have chased the
Achaeans from Troy."
----------------------------------------------------------------------
With these words Hector passed through the gates, and his brother
Alexandrus with him, both eager for the fray. As when heaven sends
a breeze to sailors who have long looked for one in vain, and have
laboured at their oars till they are faint with toil, even so welcome
was the sight of theM
se two heroes to the Trojans.
Thereon Alexandrus killed Menesthius the son of Areithous; he lived
in Ame, and was son of Areithous the Mace-man, and of Phylomedusa.
Hector threw a spear at Eioneus and struck him dead with a wound in
the neck under the bronze rim of his helmet. Glaucus, moreover, son
of Hippolochus, captain of the Lycians, in hard hand-to-hand fight
smote Iphinous son of Dexius on the shoulder, as he was springing
on to his chariot behind his fleet mares; so he fell to earth from
and there was no life left in him.
When, therefore, Minerva saw these men making havoc of the Argives,
she darted down to Ilius from the summits of Olympus, and Apollo,
who was looking on from Pergamus, went out to meet her; for he wanted
the Trojans to be victorious. The pair met by the oak tree, and King
Apollo son of Jove was first to speak. "What would you have said he,
"daughter of great Jove, that your proud spirit has sent you hither
from Olympus? Have you no pity upon the Trojans, and would you iM
the scales of victory in favour of the Danaans? Let me persuade you-
for it will be better thus- stay the combat for to-day, but let them
renew the fight hereafter till they compass the doom of Ilius, since
you goddesses have made up your minds to destroy the city."
And Minerva answered, "So be it, Far-Darter; it was in this mind that
I came down from Olympus to the Trojans and Achaeans. Tell me, then,
how do you propose to end this present fighting?"
Apollo, son of Jove, replied, "Let us inciteM
great Hector to challenge
some one of the Danaans in single combat; on this the Achaeans will
be shamed into finding a man who will fight him."
Minerva assented, and Helenus son of Priam divined the counsel of
the gods; he therefore went up to Hector and said, "Hector son of
Priam, peer of gods in counsel, I am your brother, let me then persuade
you. Bid the other Trojans and Achaeans all of them take their seats,
and challenge the best man among the Achaeans to meet you in single
combat. I have heard tM
he voice of the ever-living gods, and the hour
of your doom is not yet come."
Hector was glad when he heard this saying, and went in among the Trojans,
grasping his spear by the middle to hold them back, and they all sat
down. Agamemnon also bade the Achaeans be seated. But Minerva and
Apollo, in the likeness of vultures, perched on father Jove's high
oak tree, proud of their men; and the ranks sat close ranged together,
bristling with shield and helmet and spear. As when the rising west
ce of the sea and the waters grow dark beneath it,
so sat the companies of Trojans and Achaeans upon the plain. And Hector
"Hear me, Trojans and Achaeans, that I may speak even as I am minded;
Jove on his high throne has brought our oaths and covenants to nothing,
and foreshadows ill for both of us, till you either take the towers
of Troy, or are yourselves vanquished at your ships. The princes of
the Achaeans are here present in the midst of you; let him, then,
that will fight me stand forwM
ard as your champion against Hector.
Thus I say, and may Jove be witness between us. If your champion slay
me, let him strip me of my armour and take it to your ships, but let
him send my body home that the Trojans and their wives may give me
my dues of fire when I am dead. In like manner, if Apollo vouchsafe
me glory and I slay your champion, I will strip him of his armour
and take it to the city of Ilius, where I will hang it in the temple
of Apollo, but I will give up his body, that the Achaeans may bury
him at their ships, and the build him a mound by the wide waters of
the Hellespont. Then will one say hereafter as he sails his ship over
the sea, 'This is the monument of one who died long since a champion
who was slain by mighty Hector.' Thus will one say, and my fame shall
Thus did he speak, but they all held their peace, ashamed to decline
the challenge, yet fearing to accept it, till at last Menelaus rose
and rebuked them, for he was angry. "Alas," he cried, "vain braggarts,
sooth not men, double-dyed indeed will be the stain upon
us if no man of the Danaans will now face Hector. May you be turned
every man of you into earth and water as you sit spiritless and inglorious
in your places. I will myself go out against this man, but the upshot
of the fight will be from on high in the hands of the immortal gods."
With these words he put on his armour; and then, O Menelaus, your
life would have come to an end at the hands of hands of Hector, for
he was far better the man, had not thM
e princes of the Achaeans sprung
upon you and checked you. King Agamemnon caught him by the right hand
and said, "Menelaus, you are mad; a truce to this folly. Be patient
in spite of passion, do not think of fighting a man so much stronger
than yourself as Hector son of Priam, who is feared by many another
as well as you. Even Achilles, who is far more doughty than you are,
shrank from meeting him in battle. Sit down your own people, and the
Achaeans will send some other champion to fight Hector; fearless anM
fond of battle though he be, I ween his knees will bend gladly under
him if he comes out alive from the hurly-burly of this fight."
With these words of reasonable counsel he persuaded his brother, whereon
his squires gladly stripped the armour from off his shoulders. Then
Nestor rose and spoke, "Of a truth," said he, "the Achaean land is
fallen upon evil times. The old knight Peleus, counsellor and orator
among the Myrmidons, loved when I was in his house to question me
concerning the race and lineage oM
f all the Argives. How would it not
grieve him could he hear of them as now quailing before Hector? Many
a time would he lift his hands in prayer that his soul might leave
his body and go down within the house of Hades. Would, by father Jove,
Minerva, and Apollo, that I were still young and strong as when the
Pylians and Arcadians were gathered in fight by the rapid river Celadon
under the walls of Pheia, and round about the waters of the river
Iardanus. The godlike hero Ereuthalion stood forward as their chM
with the armour of King Areithous upon his shoulders- Areithous whom
men and women had surnamed 'the Mace-man,' because he fought neither
with bow nor spear, but broke the battalions of the foe with his iron
mace. Lycurgus killed him, not in fair fight, but by entrapping him
in a narrow way where his mace served him in no stead; for Lycurgus
was too quick for him and speared him through the middle, so he fell
to earth on his back. Lycurgus then spoiled him of the armour which
Mars had given him, andM
bore it in battle thenceforward; but when
he grew old and stayed at home, he gave it to his faithful squire
Ereuthalion, who in this same armour challenged the foremost men among
us. The others quaked and quailed, but my high spirit bade me fight
him though none other would venture; I was the youngest man of them
all; but when I fought him Minerva vouchsafed me victory. He was the
biggest and strongest man that ever I killed, and covered much ground
as he lay sprawling upon the earth. Would that I were stilM
and strong as I then was, for the son of Priam would then soon find
one who would face him. But you, foremost among the whole host though
you be, have none of you any stomach for fighting Hector."
Thus did the old man rebuke them, and forthwith nine men started to
their feet. Foremost of all uprose King Agamemnon, and after him brave
Diomed the son of Tydeus. Next were the two Ajaxes, men clothed in
valour as with a garment, and then Idomeneus, and Meriones his brother
in arms. After these EurypylM
us son of Euaemon, Thoas the son of Andraemon,
and Ulysses also rose. Then Nestor knight of Gerene again spoke, saying:
"Cast lots among you to see who shall be chosen. If he come alive
out of this fight he will have done good service alike to his own
soul and to the Achaeans."
Thus he spoke, and when each of them had marked his lot, and had thrown
it into the helmet of Agamemnon son of Atreus, the people lifted their
hands in prayer, and thus would one of them say as he looked into
the vault of heaven, M
"Father Jove, grant that the lot fall on Ajax,
or on the son of Tydeus, or upon the king of rich Mycene himself."
As they were speaking, Nestor knight of Gerene shook the helmet, and
from it there fell the very lot which they wanted- the lot of Ajax.
The herald bore it about and showed it to all the chieftains of the
Achaeans, going from left to right; but they none of of them owned
it. When, however, in due course he reached the man who had written
upon it and had put it into the helmet, brave Ajax held oM
and the herald gave him the lot. When Ajax saw him mark he knew it
and was glad; he threw it to the ground and said, "My friends, the
lot is mine, and I rejoice, for I shall vanquish Hector. I will put
on my armour; meanwhile, pray to King Jove in silence among yourselves
that the Trojans may not hear you- or aloud if you will, for we fear
no man. None shall overcome me, neither by force nor cunning, for
I was born and bred in Salamis, and can hold my own in all things."
With this they fell pM
raying to King Jove the son of Saturn, and thus
would one of them say as he looked into the vault of heaven, "Father
Jove that rulest from Ida, most glorious in power, vouchsafe victory
to Ajax, and let him win great glory: but if you wish well to Hector
also and would protect him, grant to each of them equal fame and prowess.
Thus they prayed, and Ajax armed himself in his suit of gleaming bronze.
When he was in full array he sprang forward as monstrous Mars when
he takes part among men whom Jove has set M
fighting with one another-
even so did huge Ajax, bulwark of the Achaeans, spring forward with
a grim smile on his face as he brandished his long spear and strode
onward. The Argives were elated as they beheld him, but the Trojans
trembled in every limb, and the heart even of Hector beat quickly,
but he could not now retreat and withdraw into the ranks behind him,
for he had been the challenger. Ajax came up bearing his shield in
front of him like a wall- a shield of bronze with seven folds of oxhide-
ork of Tychius, who lived in Hyle and was by far the best worker
in leather. He had made it with the hides of seven full-fed bulls,
and over these he had set an eighth layer of bronze. Holding this
shield before him, Ajax son of Telamon came close up to Hector, and
menaced him saying, "Hector, you shall now learn, man to man, what
kind of champions the Danaans have among them even besides lion-hearted
Achilles cleaver of the ranks of men. He now abides at the ships in
anger with Agamemnon shepherd of his peoM
ple, but there are many of
us who are well able to face you; therefore begin the fight."
And Hector answered, "Noble Ajax, son of Telamon, captain of the host,
treat me not as though I were some puny boy or woman that cannot fight.
I have been long used to the blood and butcheries of battle. I am
quick to turn my leathern shield either to right or left, for this
I deem the main thing in battle. I can charge among the chariots and
horsemen, and in hand to hand fighting can delight the heart of Mars;
t I would not take such a man as you are off his guard- but
I will smite you openly if I can."
He poised his spear as he spoke, and hurled it from him. It struck
the sevenfold shield in its outermost layer- the eighth, which was
of bronze- and went through six of the layers but in the seventh hide
it stayed. Then Ajax threw in his turn, and struck the round shield
of the son of Priam. The terrible spear went through his gleaming
shield, and pressed onward through his cuirass of cunning workmanship;
erced the shirt against his side, but he swerved and thus saved
his life. They then each of them drew out the spear from his shield,
and fell on one another like savage lions or wild boars of great strength
and endurance: the son of Priam struck the middle of Ajax's shield,
but the bronze did not break, and the point of his dart was turned.
Ajax then sprang forward and pierced the shield of Hector; the spear
went through it and staggered him as he was springing forward to attack;
it gashed his neck and the bM
lood came pouring from the wound, but
even so Hector did not cease fighting; he gave ground, and with his
brawny hand seized a stone, rugged and huge, that was lying upon the
plain; with this he struck the shield of Ajax on the boss that was
in its middle, so that the bronze rang again. But Ajax in turn caught
up a far larger stone, swung it aloft, and hurled it with prodigious
force. This millstone of a rock broke Hector's shield inwards and
threw him down on his back with the shield crushing him under it,
but Apollo raised him at once. Thereon they would have hacked at one
another in close combat with their swords, had not heralds, messengers
of gods and men, come forward, one from the Trojans and the other
from the Achaeans- Talthybius and Idaeus both of them honourable men;
these parted them with their staves, and the good herald Idaeus said,
"My sons, fight no longer, you are both of you valiant, and both are
dear to Jove; we know this; but night is now falling, and the behests
of night may not be well gaM
Ajax son of Telamon answered, "Idaeus, bid Hector say so, for it was
he that challenged our princes. Let him speak first and I will accept
Then Hector said, "Ajax, heaven has vouchsafed you stature and strength,
and judgement; and in wielding the spear you excel all others of the
Achaeans. Let us for this day cease fighting; hereafter we will fight
anew till heaven decide between us, and give victory to one or to
the other; night is now falling, and the behests of night may not
be well gainsaid. Gladden, then, the hearts of the Achaeans at your
ships, and more especially those of your own followers and clansmen,
while I, in the great city of King Priam, bring comfort to the Trojans
and their women, who vie with one another in their prayers on my behalf.
Let us, moreover, exchange presents that it may be said among the
Achaeans and Trojans, 'They fought with might and main, but were reconciled
and parted in friendship.'
On this he gave Ajax a silver-studded sword with its sheath M
baldric, and in return Ajax gave him a girdle dyed with purple. Thus
they parted, the one going to the host of the Achaeans, and the other
to that of the Trojans, who rejoiced when they saw their hero come
to them safe and unharmed from the strong hands of mighty Ajax. They
led him, therefore, to the city as one that had been saved beyond
their hopes. On the other side the Achaeans brought Ajax elated with
victory to Agamemnon.
When they reached the quarters of the son of Atreus, Agamemnon sM
for them a five-year-old bull in honour of Jove the son of Saturn.
They flayed the carcass, made it ready, and divided it into joints;
these they cut carefully up into smaller pieces, putting them on the
spits, roasting them sufficiently, and then drawing them off. When
they had done all this and had prepared the feast, they ate it, and
every man had his full and equal share, so that all were satisfied,
and King Agamemnon gave Ajax some slices cut lengthways down the loin,
as a mark of special honM
our. As soon as they had had enough to cat
and drink, old Nestor whose counsel was ever truest began to speak;
with all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:-
"Son of Atreus, and other chieftains, inasmuch as many of the Achaeans
are now dead, whose blood Mars has shed by the banks of the Scamander,
and their souls have gone down to the house of Hades, it will be well
when morning comes that we should cease fighting; we will then wheel
our dead together with oxen and mules and burn theM
ships, that when we sail hence we may take the bones of our comrades
home to their children. Hard by the funeral pyre we will build a barrow
that shall be raised from the plain for all in common; near this let
us set about building a high wall, to shelter ourselves and our ships,
and let it have well-made gates that there may be a way through them
for our chariots. Close outside we will dig a deep trench all round
it to keep off both horse and foot, that the Trojan chieftains may
Thus he spoke, and the princess shouted in applause. Meanwhile the
Trojans held a council, angry and full of discord, on the acropolis
by the gates of King Priam's palace; and wise Antenor spoke. "Hear
me he said, "Trojans, Dardanians, and allies, that I may speak even
as I am minded. Let us give up Argive Helen and her wealth to the
sons of Atreus, for we are now fighting in violation of our solemn
covenants, and shall not prosper till we have done as I say."
He then sat down and AlexaM
ndrus husband of lovely Helen rose to speak.
"Antenor," said he, "your words are not to my liking; you can find
a better saying than this if you will; if, however, you have spoken
in good earnest, then indeed has heaven robbed you of your reason.
I will speak plainly, and hereby notify to the Trojans that I will
not give up the woman; but the wealth that I brought home with her
from Argos I will restore, and will add yet further of my own."
On this, when Paris had spoken and taken his seat, Priam of the raM
of Dardanus, peer of gods in council, rose and with all sincerity
and goodwill addressed them thus: "Hear me, Trojans, Dardanians, and
allies, that I may speak even as I am minded. Get your suppers now
as hitherto throughout the city, but keep your watches and be wakeful.
At daybreak let Idaeus go to the ships, and tell Agamemnon and Menelaus
sons of Atreus the saying of Alexandrus through whom this quarrel
has come about; and let him also be instant with them that they now
cease fighting till we burn ouM
r dead; hereafter we will fight anew,
till heaven decide between us and give victory to one or to the other."
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. They took supper
in their companies and at daybreak Idaeus went his wa to the ships.
He found the Danaans, servants of Mars, in council at the stern of
Agamemnon's ship, and took his place in the midst of them. "Son of
Atreus," he said, "and princes of the Achaean host, Priam and the
other noble Trojans have sent me to tell you the saying of AlexM
through whom this quarrel has come about, if so be that you may find
it acceptable. All the treasure he took with him in his ships to Troy-
would that he had sooner perished- he will restore, and will add yet
further of his own, but he will not give up the wedded wife of Menelaus,
though the Trojans would have him do so. Priam bade me inquire further
if you will cease fighting till we burn our dead; hereafter we will
fight anew, till heaven decide between us and give victory to one
They all held their peace, but presently Diomed of the loud war-cry
spoke, saying, "Let there be no taking, neither treasure, nor yet
Helen, for even a child may see that the doom of the Trojans is at
The sons of the Achaeans shouted applause at the words that Diomed
had spoken, and thereon King Agamemnon said to Idaeus, "Idaeus, you
have heard the answer the Achaeans make you-and I with them. But as
concerning the dead, I give you leave to burn them, for when men are
once dead there should beM
no grudging them the rites of fire. Let
Jove the mighty husband of Juno be witness to this covenant."
As he spoke he upheld his sceptre in the sight of all the gods, and
Idaeus went back to the strong city of Ilius. The Trojans and Dardanians
were gathered in council waiting his return; when he came, he stood
in their midst and delivered his message. As soon as they heard it
they set about their twofold labour, some to gather the corpses, and
others to bring in wood. The Argives on their part also hasteneM
their ships, some to gather the corpses, and others to bring in wood.
The sun was beginning to beat upon the fields, fresh risen into the
vault of heaven from the slow still currents of deep Oceanus, when
the two armies met. They could hardly recognise their dead, but they
washed the clotted gore from off them, shed tears over them, and lifted
them upon their waggons. Priam had forbidden the Trojans to wail aloud,
so they heaped their dead sadly and silently upon the pyre, and having
nt back to the city of Ilius. The Achaeans in like manner
heaped their dead sadly and silently on the pyre, and having burned
them went back to their ships.
Now in the twilight when it was not yet dawn, chosen bands of the
Achaeans were gathered round the pyre and built one barrow that was
raised in common for all, and hard by this they built a high wall
to shelter themselves and their ships; they gave it strong gates that
there might be a way through them for their chariots, and close outside
g a trench deep and wide, and they planted it within with
Thus did the Achaeans toil, and the gods, seated by the side of Jove
the lord of lightning, marvelled at their great work; but Neptune,
lord of the earthquake, spoke, saying, "Father Jove, what mortal in
the whole world will again take the gods into his counsel? See you
not how the Achaeans have built a wall about their ships and driven
a trench all round it, without offering hecatombs to the gods? The
The fame of this wall will reach as fM
ar as dawn itself, and men will
no longer think anything of the one which Phoebus Apollo and myself
built with so much labour for Laomedon."
Jove was displeased and answered, "What, O shaker of the earth, are
you talking about? A god less powerful than yourself might be alarmed
at what they are doing, but your fame reaches as far as dawn itself.
Surely when the Achaeans have gone home with their ships, you can
shatter their wall and Ring it into the sea; you can cover the beach
with sand again, and the gM
reat wall of the Achaeans will then be utterly
Thus did they converse, and by sunset the work of the Achaeans was
completed; they then slaughtered oxen at their tents and got their
supper. Many ships had come with wine from Lemnos, sent by Euneus
the son of Jason, born to him by Hypsipyle. The son of Jason freighted
them with ten thousand measures of wine, which he sent specially to
the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus. From this supply the Achaeans
bought their wine, some with bronze, soM
me with iron, some with hides,
some with whole heifers, and some again with captives. They spread
a goodly banquet and feasted the whole night through, as also did
the Trojans and their allies in the city. But all the time Jove boded
them ill and roared with his portentous thunder. Pale fear got hold
upon them, and they spilled the wine from their cups on to the ground,
nor did any dare drink till he had made offerings to the most mighty
son of Saturn. Then they laid themselves down to rest and enjoyed
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now when Morning, clad in her robe of saffron, had begun to suffuse
light over the earth, Jove called the gods in council on the topmost
crest of serrated Olympus. Then he spoke and all the other gods gave
ear. "Hear me," said he, "gods and goddesses, that I may speak even
as I am minded. Let none of you neither goddess nor god try to cross
me, but obey me every one of you that I may bring this matter to aM
end. If I see anyone acting apart and helping either Trojans or Danaans,
he shall be beaten inordinately ere he come back again to Olympus;
or I will hurl him down into dark Tartarus far into the deepest pit
under the earth, where the gates are iron and the floor bronze, as
far beneath Hades as heaven is high above the earth, that you may
learn how much the mightiest I am among you. Try me and find out for
yourselves. Hangs me a golden chain from heaven, and lay hold of it
all of you, gods and goddesses tM
ogether- tug as you will, you will
not drag Jove the supreme counsellor from heaven to earth; but were
I to pull at it myself I should draw you up with earth and sea into
the bargain, then would I bind the chain about some pinnacle of Olympus
and leave you all dangling in the mid firmament. So far am I above
all others either of gods or men."
They were frightened and all of them of held their peace, for he had
spoken masterfully; but at last Minerva answered, "Father, son of
Saturn, king of kings, we allM
know that your might is not to be gainsaid,
but we are also sorry for the Danaan warriors, who are perishing and
coming to a bad end. We will, however, since you so bid us, refrain
from actual fighting, but we will make serviceable suggestions to
the Argives that they may not all of them perish in your displeasure."
Jove smiled at her and answered, "Take heart, my child, Trito-born;
I am not really in earnest, and I wish to be kind to you."
With this he yoked his fleet horses, with hoofs of bronze and mM
of glittering gold. He girded himself also with gold about the body,
seized his gold whip and took his seat in his chariot. Thereon he
lashed his horses and they flew forward nothing loth midway twixt
earth and starry heaven. After a while he reached many-fountained
Ida, mother of wild beasts, and Gargarus, where are his grove and
fragrant altar. There the father of gods and men stayed his horses,
took them from the chariot, and hid them in a thick cloud; then he
took his seat all glorious upon the topM
most crests, looking down upon
the city of Troy and the ships of the Achaeans.
The Achaeans took their morning meal hastily at the ships, and afterwards
put on their armour. The Trojans on the other hand likewise armed
themselves throughout the city, fewer in numbers but nevertheless
eager perforce to do battle for their wives and children. All the
gates were flung wide open, and horse and foot sallied forth with
the tramp as of a great multitude.
When they were got together in one place, shield clashM
and spear with spear, in the conflict of mail-clad men. Mighty was
the din as the bossed shields pressed hard on one another- death-
cry and shout of triumph of slain and slayers, and the earth ran red
Now so long as the day waxed and it was still morning their weapons
beat against one another, and the people fell, but when the sun had
reached mid-heaven, the sire of all balanced his golden scales, and
put two fates of death within them, one for the Trojans and the other
the Achaeans. He took the balance by the middle, and when he lifted
it up the day of the Achaeans sank; the death-fraught scale of the
Achaeans settled down upon the ground, while that of the Trojans rose
heavenwards. Then he thundered aloud from Ida, and sent the glare
of his lightning upon the Achaeans; when they saw this, pale fear
fell upon them and they were sore afraid.
Idomeneus dared not stay nor yet Agamemnon, nor did the two Ajaxes,
servants of Mars, hold their ground. Nestor knight of Gerene alM
stood firm, bulwark of the Achaeans, not of his own will, but one
of his horses was disabled. Alexandrus husband of lovely Helen had
hit it with an arrow just on the top of its head where the mane begins
to grow away from the skull, a very deadly place. The horse bounded
in his anguish as the arrow pierced his brain, and his struggles threw
others into confusion. The old man instantly began cutting the traces
with his sword, but Hector's fleet horses bore down upon him through
the rout with their bold cM
harioteer, even Hector himself, and the
old man would have perished there and then had not Diomed been quick
to mark, and with a loud cry called Ulysses to help him.
"Ulysses," he cried, "noble son of Laertes where are you flying to,
with your back turned like a coward? See that you are not struck with
a spear between the shoulders. Stay here and help me to defend Nestor
from this man's furious onset."
Ulysses would not give ear, but sped onward to the ships of the Achaeans,
and the son of Tydeus flingM
ing himself alone into the thick of the
fight took his stand before the horses of the son of Neleus. "Sir,"
said he, "these young warriors are pressing you hard, your force is
spent, and age is heavy upon you, your squire is naught, and your
horses are slow to move. Mount my chariot and see what the horses
of Tros can do- how cleverly they can scud hither and thither over
the plain either in flight or in pursuit. I took them from the hero
Aeneas. Let our squires attend to your own steeds, but let us drive
ine straight at the Trojans, that Hector may learn how furiously
I too can wield my spear."
Nestor knight of Gerene hearkened to his words. Thereon the doughty
squires, Sthenelus and kind-hearted Eurymedon, saw to Nestor's horses,
while the two both mounted Diomed's chariot. Nestor took the reins
in his hands and lashed the horses on; they were soon close up with
Hector, and the son of Tydeus aimed a spear at him as he was charging
full speed towards them. He missed him, but struck his charioteer
ire Eniopeus son of noble Thebaeus in the breast by the nipple
while the reins were in his hands, so that he died there and then,
and the horses swerved as he fell headlong from the chariot. Hector
was greatly grieved at the loss of his charioteer, but let him lie
for all his sorrow, while he went in quest of another driver; nor
did his steeds have to go long without one, for he presently found
brave Archeptolemus the son of Iphitus, and made him get up behind
the horses, giving the reins into his hand.
All had then been lost and no help for it, for they would have been
penned up in Ilius like sheep, had not the sire of gods and men been
quick to mark, and hurled a fiery flaming thunderbolt which fell just
in front of Diomed's horses with a flare of burning brimstone. The
horses were frightened and tried to back beneath the car, while the
reins dropped from Nestor's hands. Then he was afraid and said to
Diomed, "Son of Tydeus, turn your horses in flight; see you not that
the hand of Jove is against you? To-M
day he vouchsafes victory to Hector;
to-morrow, if it so please him, he will again grant it to ourselves;
no man, however brave, may thwart the purpose of Jove, for he is far
stronger than any."
Diomed answered, "All that you have said is true; there is a grief
however which pierces me to the very heart, for Hector will talk among
the Trojans and say, 'The son of Tydeus fled before me to the ships.'
This is the vaunt he will make, and may earth then swallow me."
"Son of Tydeus," replied Nestor, "what mM
ean you? Though Hector say
that you are a coward the Trojans and Dardanians will not believe
him, nor yet the wives of the mighty warriors whom you have laid low."
So saying he turned the horses back through the thick of the battle,
and with a cry that rent the air the Trojans and Hector rained their
darts after them. Hector shouted to him and said, "Son of Tydeus,
the Danaans have done you honour hitherto as regards your place at
table, the meals they give you, and the filling of your cup with wine.
eforth they will despise you, for you are become no better than
a woman. Be off, girl and coward that you are, you shall not scale
our walls through any Hinching upon my part; neither shall you carry
off our wives in your ships, for I shall kill you with my own hand."
The son of Tydeus was in two minds whether or no to turn his horses
round again and fight him. Thrice did he doubt, and thrice did Jove
thunder from the heights of. Ida in token to the Trojans that he would
turn the battle in their favour. HeM
ctor then shouted to them and said,
"Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanians, lovers of close fighting, be men,
my friends, and fight with might and with main; I see that Jove is
minded to vouchsafe victory and great glory to myself, while he will
deal destruction upon the Danaans. Fools, for having thought of building
this weak and worthless wall. It shall not stay my fury; my horses
will spring lightly over their trench, and when I am at their ships
forget not to bring me fire that I may burn them, while I slaughM
the Argives who will be all dazed and bewildered by the smoke."
Then he cried to his horses, "Xanthus and Podargus, and you Aethon
and goodly Lampus, pay me for your keep now and for all the honey-sweet
corn with which Andromache daughter of great Eetion has fed you, and
for she has mixed wine and water for you to drink whenever you would,
before doing so even for me who am her own husband. Haste in pursuit,
that we may take the shield of Nestor, the fame of which ascends to
heaven, for it is of solidM
gold, arm-rods and all, and that we may
strip from the shoulders of Diomed. the cuirass which Vulcan made
him. Could we take these two things, the Achaeans would set sail in
their ships this self-same night."
Thus did he vaunt, but Queen Juno made high Olympus quake as she shook
with rage upon her throne. Then said she to the mighty god of Neptune,
"What now, wide ruling lord of the earthquake? Can you find no compassion
in your heart for the dying Danaans, who bring you many a welcome
e and to Aegae? Wish them well then. If all of us
who are with the Danaans were to drive the Trojans back and keep Jove
from helping them, he would have to sit there sulking alone on Ida."
King Neptune was greatly troubled and answered, "Juno, rash of tongue,
what are you talking about? We other gods must not set ourselves against
Jove, for he is far stronger than we are."
Thus did they converse; but the whole space enclosed by the ditch,
from the ships even to the wall, was filled with horses and warriM
who were pent up there by Hector son of Priam, now that the hand of
Jove was with him. He would even have set fire to the ships and burned
them, had not Queen Juno put it into the mind of Agamemnon, to bestir
himself and to encourage the Achaeans. To this end he went round the
ships and tents carrying a great purple cloak, and took his stand
by the huge black hull of Ulysses' ship, which was middlemost of all;
it was from this place that his voice would carry farthest, on the
one hand towards the tentsM
of Ajax son of Telamon, and on the other
towards those of Achilles- for these two heroes, well assured of their
own strength, had valorously drawn up their ships at the two ends
of the line. From this spot then, with a voice that could be heard
afar, he shouted to the Danaans, saying, "Argives, shame on you cowardly
creatures, brave in semblance only; where are now our vaunts that
we should prove victorious- the vaunts we made so vaingloriously in
Lemnos, when we ate the flesh of horned cattle and filled ouM
to the brim? You vowed that you would each of you stand against a
hundred or two hundred men, and now you prove no match even for one-
for Hector, who will be ere long setting our ships in a blaze. Father
Jove, did you ever so ruin a great king and rob him so utterly of
his greatness? yet, when to my sorrow I was coming hither, I never
let my ship pass your altars without offering the fat and thigh-bones
of heifers upon every one of them, so eager was I to sack the city
of Troy. Vouchsafe me M
then this prayer- suffer us to escape at any
rate with our lives, and let not the Achaeans be so utterly vanquished
Thus did he pray, and father Jove pitying his tears vouchsafed him
that his people should live, not die; forthwith he sent them an eagle,
most unfailingly portentous of all birds, with a young fawn in its
talons; the eagle dropped the fawn by the altar on which the Achaeans
sacrificed to Jove the lord of omens; When, therefore, the people
saw that the bird had come from JovM
e, they sprang more fiercely upon
the Trojans and fought more boldly.
There was no man of all the many Danaans who could then boast that
he had driven his horses over the trench and gone forth to fight sooner
than the son of Tydeus; long before any one else could do so he slew
an armed warrior of the Trojans, Agelaus the son of Phradmon. He had
turned his horses in flight, but the spear struck him in the back
midway between his shoulders and went right through his chest, and
his armour rang rattling rounM
d him as he fell forward from his chariot.
After him came Agamemnon and Menelaus, sons of Atreus, the two Ajaxes
clothed in valour as with a garment, Idomeneus and his companion in
arms Meriones, peer of murderous Mars, and Eurypylus the brave son
of Euaemon. Ninth came Teucer with his bow, and took his place under
cover of the shield of Ajax son of Telamon. When Ajax lifted his shield
Teucer would peer round, and when he had hit any one in the throng,
the man would fall dead; then Teucer would hie back toM
to its mother, and again duck down under his shield.
Which of the Trojans did brave Teucer first kill? Orsilochus, and
then Ormenus and Ophelestes, Daetor, Chromius, and godlike Lycophontes,
Amopaon son of Polyaemon, and Melanippus. these in turn did he lay
low upon the earth, and King Agamemnon was glad when he saw him making
havoc of the Trojans with his mighty bow. He went up to him and said,
"Teucer, man after my own heart, son of Telamon, captain among the
host, shoot on, and be at M
once the saving of the Danaans and the glory
of your father Telamon, who brought you up and took care of you in
his own house when you were a child, bastard though you were. Cover
him with glory though he is far off; I will promise and I will assuredly
perform; if aegis-bearing Jove and Minerva grant me to sack the city
of Ilius, you shall have the next best meed of honour after my own-
a tripod, or two horses with their chariot, or a woman who shall go
And Teucer answered, "Most nobleM
son of Atreus, you need not urge
me; from the moment we began to drive them back to Ilius, I have never
ceased so far as in me lies to look out for men whom I can shoot and
kill; I have shot eight barbed shafts, and all of them have been buried
in the flesh of warlike youths, but this mad dog I cannot hit."
As he spoke he aimed another arrow straight at Hector, for he was
bent on hitting him; nevertheless he missed him, and the arrow hit
Priam's brave son Gorgythion in the breast. His mother, fair CastianM
lovely as a goddess, had been married from Aesyme, and now he bowed
his head as a garden poppy in full bloom when it is weighed down by
showers in spring- even thus heavy bowed his head beneath the weight
Again he aimed at Hector, for he was longing to hit him, and again
his arrow missed, for Apollo turned it aside; but he hit Hector's
brave charioteer Archeptolemus in the breast, by the nipple, as he
was driving furiously into the fight. The horses swerved aside as
from the chariot, and there was no life left in him.
Hector was greatly grieved at the loss of his charioteer, but for
all his sorrow he let him lie where he fell, and bade his brother
Cebriones, who was hard by, take the reins. Cebriones did as he had
said. Hector thereon with a loud cry sprang from his chariot to the
ground, and seizing a great stone made straight for Teucer with intent
kill him. Teucer had just taken an arrow from his quiver and had laid
it upon the bow-string, but Hector struck him withM
as he was taking aim and drawing the string to his shoulder; he hit
him just where the collar-bone divides the neck from the chest, a
very deadly place, and broke the sinew of his arm so that his wrist
was less, and the bow dropped from his hand as he fell forward on
his knees. Ajax saw that his brother had fallen, and running towards
him bestrode him and sheltered him with his shield. Meanwhile his
two trusty squires, Mecisteus son of Echius, and Alastor, came up
and bore him to the shipsM
groaning in his great pain.
Jove now again put heart into the Trojans, and they drove the Achaeans
to their deep trench with Hector in all his glory at their head. As
a hound grips a wild boar or lion in flank or buttock when he gives
him chase, and watches warily for his wheeling, even so did Hector
follow close upon the Achaeans, ever killing the hindmost as they
rushed panic-stricken onwards. When they had fled through the set
stakes and trench and many Achaeans had been laid low at the hands
Trojans, they halted at their ships, calling upon one another
and praying every man instantly as they lifted up their hands to the
gods; but Hector wheeled his horses this way and that, his eyes glaring
like those of Gorgo or murderous Mars.
Juno when she saw them had pity upon them, and at once said to Minerva,
"Alas, child of aegis-bearing Jove, shall you and I take no more thought
for the dying Danaans, though it be the last time we ever do so? See
how they perish and come to a bad end before the onsetM
man. Hector the son of Priam rages with intolerable fury, and has
already done great mischief."
Minerva answered, "Would, indeed, this fellow might die in his own
land, and fall by the hands of the Achaeans; but my father Jove is
mad with spleen, ever foiling me, ever headstrong and unjust. He forgets
how often I saved his son when he was worn out by the labours Eurystheus
had laid on him. He would weep till his cry came up to heaven, and
then Jove would send me down to help him; if I haM
foresee all this, when Eurystheus sent him to the house of Hades,
to fetch the hell-hound from Erebus, he would never have come back
alive out of the deep waters of the river Styx. And now Jove hates
me, while he lets Thetis have her way because she kissed his knees
and took hold of his beard, when she was begging him to do honour
to Achilles. I shall know what to do next time he begins calling me
his grey-eyed darling. Get our horses ready, while I go within the
house of aegis-bearing JoM
ve and put on my armour; we shall then find
out whether Priam's son Hector will be glad to meet us in the highways
of battle, or whether the Trojans will glut hounds and vultures with
the fat of their flesh as they he dead by the ships of the Achaeans."
Thus did she speak and white-armed Juno, daughter of great Saturn,
obeyed her words; she set about harnessing her gold-bedizened steeds,
while Minerva daughter of aegis-bearing Jove flung her richly vesture,
made with her own hands, on to the threshold of hM
er father, and donned
the shirt of Jove, arming herself for battle. Then she stepped into
her flaming chariot, and grasped the spear so stout and sturdy and
strong with which she quells the ranks of heroes who have displeased
her. Juno lashed her horses, and the gates of heaven bellowed as they
flew open of their own accord- gates over which the Hours preside,
in whose hands are heaven and Olympus, either to open the dense cloud
that hides them or to close it. Through these the goddesses drove
But father Jove when he saw them from Ida was very angry, and sent
winged Iris with a message to them. "Go," said he, "fleet Iris, turn
them back, and see that they do not come near me, for if we come to
fighting there will be mischief. This is what I say, and this is what
I mean to do. I will lame their horses for them; I will hurl them
from their chariot, and will break it in pieces. It will take them
all ten years to heal the wounds my lightning shall inflict upon them;
my grey-eyed daughterM
will then learn what quarrelling with her father
means. I am less surprised and angry with Juno, for whatever I say
she always contradicts me."
With this Iris went her way, fleet as the wind, from the heights of
Ida to the lofty summits of Olympus. She met the goddesses at the
outer gates of its many valleys and gave them her message. "What,"
said she, "are you about? Are you mad? The son of Saturn forbids going.
This is what he says, and this is he means to do, he will lame your
horses for you, he willM
hurl you from your chariot, and will break
it in pieces. It will take you all ten years to heal the wounds his
lightning will inflict upon you, that you may learn, grey-eyed goddess,
what quarrelling with your father means. He is less hurt and angry
with Juno, for whatever he says she always contradicts him but you,
bold bold hussy, will you really dare to raise your huge spear in
With this she left them, and Juno said to Minerva, "Of a truth, child
of aegis-bearing Jove, I am not forM
fighting men's battles further
in defiance of Jove. Let them live or die as luck will have it, and
let Jove mete out his judgements upon the Trojans and Danaans according
to his own pleasure."
She turned her steeds; the Hours presently unyoked them, made them
fast to their ambrosial mangers, and leaned the chariot against the
end wall of the courtyard. The two goddesses then sat down upon their
golden thrones, amid the company of the other gods; but they were
Presently father Jove drove M
his chariot to Olympus, and entered the
assembly of gods. The mighty lord of the earthquake unyoked his horses
for him, set the car upon its stand, and threw a cloth over it. Jove
then sat down upon his golden throne and Olympus reeled beneath him.
Minerva and Juno sat alone, apart from Jove, and neither spoke nor
asked him questions, but Jove knew what they meant, and said, "Minerva
and Juno, why are you so angry? Are you fatigued with killing so many
of your dear friends the Trojans? Be this as it may, sucM
of my hands that all the gods in Olympus cannot turn me; you were
both of you trembling all over ere ever you saw the fight and its
terrible doings. I tell you therefore-and it would have surely been-
I should have struck you with lighting, and your chariots would never
have brought you back again to Olympus."
Minerva and Juno groaned in spirit as they sat side by side and brooded
mischief for the Trojans. Minerva sat silent without a word, for she
was in a furious passion and bitterly incM
ensed against her father;
but Juno could not contain herself and said, "What, dread son of Saturn,
are you talking about? We know how great your power is, nevertheless
we have compassion upon the Danaan warriors who are perishing and
coming to a bad end. We will, however, since you so bid us, refrain
from actual fighting, but we will make serviceable suggestions to
the Argives, that they may not all of them perish in your displeasure."
And Jove answered, "To-morrow morning, Juno, if you choose to do so,
ou will see the son of Saturn destroying large numbers of the Argives,
for fierce Hector shall not cease fighting till he has roused the
son of Peleus when they are fighting in dire straits at their ships'
sterns about the body of Patroclus. Like it or no, this is how it
is decreed; for aught I care, you may go to the lowest depths beneath
earth and sea, where Iapetus and Saturn dwell in lone Tartarus with
neither ray of light nor breath of wind to cheer them. You may go
on and on till you get there, and I sM
hall not care one whit for your
displeasure; you are the greatest vixen living."
Juno made him no answer. The sun's glorious orb now sank into Oceanus
and drew down night over the land. Sorry indeed were the Trojans when
light failed them, but welcome and thrice prayed for did darkness
fall upon the Achaeans.
Then Hector led the Trojans back from the ships, and held a council
on the open space near the river, where there was a spot ear corpses.
They left their chariots and sat down on the ground to heM
he made them. He grasped a spear eleven cubits long, the bronze point
of which gleamed in front of it, while the ring round the spear-head
was of gold Spear in hand he spoke. "Hear me," said he, "Trojans,
Dardanians, and allies. I deemed but now that I should destroy the
ships and all the Achaeans with them ere I went back to Ilius, but
darkness came on too soon. It was this alone that saved them and their
ships upon the seashore. Now, therefore, let us obey the behests of
night, and prepare oM
ur suppers. Take your horses out of their chariots
and give them their feeds of corn; then make speed to bring sheep
and cattle from the city; bring wine also and corn for your horses
and gather much wood, that from dark till dawn we may burn watchfires
whose flare may reach to heaven. For the Achaeans may try to fly beyond
the sea by night, and they must not embark scatheless and unmolested;
many a man among them must take a dart with him to nurse at home,
hit with spear or arrow as he is leaping on board hM
is ship, that others
may fear to bring war and weeping upon the Trojans. Moreover let the
heralds tell it about the city that the growing youths and grey-bearded
men are to camp upon its heaven-built walls. Let the women each of
them light a great fire in her house, and let watch be safely kept
lest the town be entered by surprise while the host is outside. See
to it, brave Trojans, as I have said, and let this suffice for the
moment; at daybreak I will instruct you further. I pray in hope to
e gods that we may then drive those fate-sped hounds
from our land, for 'tis the fates that have borne them and their ships
hither. This night, therefore, let us keep watch, but with early morning
let us put on our armour and rouse fierce war at the ships of the
Achaeans; I shall then know whether brave Diomed the son of Tydeus
will drive me back from the ships to the wall, or whether I shall
myself slay him and carry off his bloodstained spoils. To-morrow let
him show his mettle, abide my spear if he dare. M
I ween that at break
of day, he shall be among the first to fall and many another of his
comrades round him. Would that I were as sure of being immortal and
never growing old, and of being worshipped like Minerva and Apollo,
as I am that this day will bring evil to the Argives."
Thus spoke Hector and the Trojans shouted applause. They took their
sweating steeds from under the yoke, and made them fast each by his
own chariot. They made haste to bring sheep and cattle from the city,
they brought wine also M
and corn from their houses and gathered much
wood. They then offered unblemished hecatombs to the immortals, and
the wind carried the sweet savour of sacrifice to heaven- but the
blessed gods partook not thereof, for they bitterly hated Ilius with
Priam and Priam's people. Thus high in hope they sat through the livelong
night by the highways of war, and many a watchfire did they kindle.
As when the stars shine clear, and the moon is bright- there is not
a breath of air, not a peak nor glade nor jutting headlM
stands out in the ineffable radiance that breaks from the serene of
heaven; the stars can all of them be told and the heart of the shepherd
is glad- even thus shone the watchfires of the Trojans before Ilius
midway between the ships and the river Xanthus. A thousand camp-fires
gleamed upon the plain, and in the glow of each there sat fifty men,
while the horses, champing oats and corn beside their chariots, waited
till dawn should come.
---------------------------------------------------------M
Thus did the Trojans watch. But Panic, comrade of blood-stained Rout,
had taken fast hold of the Achaeans and their princes were all of
them in despair. As when the two winds that blow from Thrace- the
north and the northwest- spring up of a sudden and rouse the fury
of the main- in a moment the dark waves uprear their heads and scatter
their sea-wrack in all directions- even thus troubled were the hearts
The son of Atreus in dismay bade the heralds call the peM
council man by man, but not to cry the matter aloud; he made haste
also himself to call them, and they sat sorry at heart in their assembly.
Agamemnon shed tears as it were a running stream or cataract on the
side of some sheer cliff; and thus, with many a heavy sigh he spoke
to the Achaeans. "My friends," said he, "princes and councillors of
the Argives, the hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me. Cruel
Jove gave me his solemn promise that I should sack the city of Troy
before returning, buM
t he has played me false, and is now bidding me
go ingloriously back to Argos with the loss of much people. Such is
the will of Jove, who has laid many a proud city in the dust as he
will yet lay others, for his power is above all. Now, therefore, let
us all do as I say and sail back to our own country, for we shall
Thus he spoke, and the sons of the Achaeans for a long while sat sorrowful
there, but they all held their peace, till at last Diomed of the loud
battle-cry made answer saying,M
"Son of Atreus, I will chide your folly,
as is my right in council. Be not then aggrieved that I should do
so. In the first place you attacked me before all the Danaans and
said that I was a coward and no soldier. The Argives young and old
know that you did so. But the son of scheming Saturn endowed you by
halves only. He gave you honour as the chief ruler over us, but valour,
which is the highest both right and might he did not give you. Sir,
think you that the sons of the Achaeans are indeed as unwarlike M
cowardly as you say they are? If your own mind is set upon going home-
go- the way is open to you; the many ships that followed you from
Mycene stand ranged upon the seashore; but the rest of us stay here
till we have sacked Troy. Nay though these too should turn homeward
with their ships, Sthenelus and myself will still fight on till we
reach the goal of Ilius, for for heaven was with us when we came."
The sons of the Achaeans shouted applause at the words of Diomed,
and presently Nestor rose to speaM
k. "Son of Tydeus," said he, "in
war your prowess is beyond question, and in council you excel all
who are of your own years; no one of the Achaeans can make light of
what you say nor gainsay it, but you have not yet come to the end
of the whole matter. You are still young- you might be the youngest
of my own children- still you have spoken wisely and have counselled
the chief of the Achaeans not without discretion; nevertheless I am
older than you and I will tell you every" thing; therefore let no
even King Agamemnon, disregard my saying, for he that foments
civil discord is a clanless, hearthless outlaw.
"Now, however, let us obey the behests of night and get our suppers,
but let the sentinels every man of them camp by the trench that is
without the wall. I am giving these instructions to the young men;
when they have been attended to, do you, son of Atreus, give your
orders, for you are the most royal among us all. Prepare a feast for
your councillors; it is right and reasonable that you should M
there is abundance of wine in your tents, which the ships of the Achaeans
bring from Thrace daily. You have everything at your disposal wherewith
to entertain guests, and you have many subjects. When many are got
together, you can be guided by him whose counsel is wisest- and sorely
do we need shrewd and prudent counsel, for the foe has lit his watchfires
hard by our ships. Who can be other than dismayed? This night will
either be the ruin of our host, or save it."
Thus did he speak, and they did M
even as he had said. The sentinels
went out in their armour under command of Nestor's son Thrasymedes,
a captain of the host, and of the bold warriors Ascalaphus and Ialmenus:
there were also Meriones, Aphareus and Deipyrus, and the son of Creion,
noble Lycomedes. There were seven captains of the sentinels, and with
each there went a hundred youths armed with long spears: they took
their places midway between the trench and the wall, and when they
had done so they lit their fires and got every man his supperM
The son of Atreus then bade many councillors of the Achaeans to his
quarters prepared a great feast in their honour. They laid their hands
on the good things that were before them, and as soon as they had
enough to eat and drink, old Nestor, whose counsel was ever truest,
was the first to lay his mind before them. He, therefore, with all
sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus.
"With yourself, most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
will I both begin my speech and end it, for you are kinM
people. Jove, moreover, has vouchsafed you to wield the sceptre and
to uphold righteousness, that you may take thought for your people
under you; therefore it behooves you above all others both to speak
and to give ear, and to out the counsel of another who shall have
been minded to speak wisely. All turns on you and on your commands,
therefore I will say what I think will be best. No man will be of
a truer mind than that which has been mine from the hour when you,
sir, angered Achilles by takinM
g the girl Briseis from his tent against
my judgment. I urged you not to do so, but you yielded to your own
pride, and dishonoured a hero whom heaven itself had honoured- for
you still hold the prize that had been awarded to him. Now, however,
let us think how we may appease him, both with presents and fair speeches
that may conciliate him."
And King Agamemnon answered, "Sir, you have reproved my folly justly.
I was wrong. I own it. One whom heaven befriends is in himself a host,
and Jove has shown that M
he befriends this man by destroying much people
of the Achaeans. I was blinded with passion and yielded to my worser
mind; therefore I will make amends, and will give him great gifts
by way of atonement. I will tell them in the presence of you all.
I will give him seven tripods that have never yet been on the fire,
and ten talents of gold. I will give him twenty iron cauldrons and
twelve strong horses that have won races and carried off prizes. Rich,
indeed, both in land and gold is he that has as many prizeM
horses have won me. I will give him seven excellent workwomen, Lesbians,
whom I chose for myself when he took Lesbos- all of surpassing beauty.
I will give him these, and with them her whom I erewhile took from
him, the daughter of Briseus; and I swear a great oath that I never
went up into her couch, nor have been with her after the manner of
"All these things will I give him now down, and if hereafter the gods
vouchsafe me to sack the city of Priam, let him come when we Achaeans
are dividing the spoil, and load his ship with gold and bronze to
his liking; furthermore let him take twenty Trojan women, the loveliest
after Helen herself. Then, when we reach Achaean Argos, wealthiest
of all lands, he shall be my son-in-law and I will show him like honour
with my own dear son Orestes, who is being nurtured in all abundance.
I have three daughters, Chrysothemis, Laodice, and lphianassa, let
him take the one of his choice, freely and without gifts of wooing,
to the house of Peleus; I willM
add such dower to boot as no man ever
yet gave his daughter, and will give him seven well established cities,
Cardamyle, Enope, and Hire, where there is grass; holy Pherae and
the rich meadows of Anthea; Aepea also, and the vine-clad slopes of
Pedasus, all near the sea, and on the borders of sandy Pylos. The
men that dwell there are rich in cattle and sheep; they will honour
him with gifts as though he were a god, and be obedient to his comfortable
ordinances. All this will I do if he will now forgo his angM
him then yieldit is only Hades who is utterly ruthless and unyielding-
and hence he is of all gods the one most hateful to mankind. Moreover
I am older and more royal than himself. Therefore, let him now obey
Then Nestor answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon.
The gifts you offer are no small ones, let us then send chosen messengers,
who may go to the tent of Achilles son of Peleus without delay. Let
those go whom I shall name. Let Phoenix, dear to Jove, lead the way;
et Ajax and Ulysses follow, and let the heralds Odius and Eurybates
go with them. Now bring water for our hands, and bid all keep silence
while we pray to Jove the son of Saturn, if so be that he may have
Thus did he speak, and his saying pleased them well. Men-servants
poured water over the hands of the guests, while pages filled the
mixing-bowls with wine and water, and handed it round after giving
every man his drink-offering; then, when they had made their offerings,
h as much as he was minded, the envoys set out from
the tent of Agamemnon son of Atreus; and Nestor, looking first to
one and then to another, but most especially at Ulysses, was instant
with them that they should prevail with the noble son of Peleus.
They went their way by the shore of the sounding sea, and prayed earnestly
to earth-encircling Neptune that the high spirit of the son of Aeacus
might incline favourably towards them. When they reached the ships
and tents of the Myrmidons, they found AchillesM
fair, of cunning workmanship, and its cross-bar was of silver. It
was part of the spoils which he had taken when he sacked the city
of Eetion, and he was now diverting himself with it and singing the
feats of heroes. He was alone with Patroclus, who sat opposite to
him and said nothing, waiting till he should cease singing. Ulysses
and Ajax now came in- Ulysses leading the way -and stood before him.
Achilles sprang from his seat with the lyre still in his hand, and
Patroclus, when he sawM
the strangers, rose also. Achilles then greeted
them saying, "All hail and welcome- you must come upon some great
matter, you, who for all my anger are still dearest to me of the Achaeans."
With this he led them forward, and bade them sit on seats covered
with purple rugs; then he said to Patroclus who was close by him,
"Son of Menoetius, set a larger bowl upon the table, mix less water
with the wine, and give every man his cup, for these are very dear
friends, who are now under my roof."
d as his comrade bade him; he set the chopping-block in
front of the fire, and on it he laid the loin of a sheep, the loin
also of a goat, and the chine of a fat hog. Automedon held the meat
while Achilles chopped it; he then sliced the pieces and put them
on spits while the son of Menoetius made the fire burn high. When
the flame had died down, he spread the embers, laid the spits on top
of them, lifting them up and setting them upon the spit-racks; and
he sprinkled them with salt. When the meat was roastedM
on platters, and handed bread round the table in fair baskets, while
Achilles dealt them their portions. Then Achilles took his seat facing
Ulysses against the opposite wall, and bade his comrade Patroclus
offer sacrifice to the gods; so he cast the offerings into the fire,
and they laid their hands upon the good things that were before them.
As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, Ajax made a sign
to Phoenix, and when he saw this, Ulysses filled his cup with wine
and pledged Achilles. M
"Hail," said he, "Achilles, we have had no scant of good cheer, neither
in the tent of Agamemnon, nor yet here; there has been plenty to eat
and drink, but our thought turns upon no such matter. Sir, we are
in the face of great disaster, and without your help know not whether
we shall save our fleet or lose it. The Trojans and their allies have
camped hard by our ships and by the wall; they have lit watchfires
throughout their host and deem that nothing can now prevent them from
falling on our fleet. JovM
e, moreover, has sent his lightnings on their
right; Hector, in all his glory, rages like a maniac; confident that
Jove is with him he fears neither god nor man, but is gone raving
mad, and prays for the approach of day. He vows that he will hew the
high sterns of our ships in pieces, set fire to their hulls, and make
havoc of the Achaeans while they are dazed and smothered in smoke;
I much fear that heaven will make good his boasting, and it will prove
our lot to perish at Troy far from our home in Argos. UM
late though it be, save the sons of the Achaeans who faint before
the fury of the Trojans. You will repent bitterly hereafter if you
do not, for when the harm is done there will be no curing it; consider
ere it be too late, and save the Danaans from destruction.
"My good friend, when your father Peleus sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon,
did he not charge you saying, 'Son, Minerva and Juno will make you
strong if they choose, but check your high temper, for the better
part is in goodwill. EschM
ew vain quarrelling, and the Achaeans old
and young will respect you more for doing so.' These were his words,
but you have forgotten them. Even now, however, be appeased, and put
away your anger from you. Agamemnon will make you great amends if
you will forgive him; listen, and I will tell you what he has said
in his tent that he will give you. He will give you seven tripods
that have never yet been on the fire, and ten talents of gold; twenty
iron cauldrons, and twelve strong horses that have won races andM
off prizes. Rich indeed both in land and gold is he who has as many
prizes as these horses have won for Agamemnon. Moreover he will give
you seven excellent workwomen, Lesbians, whom he chose for himself,
when you took Lesbos- all of surpassing beauty. He will give you these,
and with them her whom he erewhile took from you, the daughter of
Briseus, and he will swear a great oath, he has never gone up into
her couch nor been with her after the manner of men and women. All
these things will he give M
you now down, and if hereafter the gods
vouchsafe him to sack the city of Priam, you can come when we Achaeans
are dividing the spoil, and load your ship with gold and bronze to
your liking. You can take twenty Trojan women, the loveliest after
Helen herself. Then, when we reach Achaean Argos, wealthiest of all
lands, you shall be his son-in-law, and he will show you like honour
with his own dear son Orestes, who is being nurtured in all abundance.
Agamemnon has three daughters, Chrysothemis, Laodice, and IpM
you may take the one of your choice, freely and without gifts of wooing,
to the house of Peleus; he will add such dower to boot as no man ever
yet gave his daughter, and will give you seven well-established cities,
Cardamyle, Enope, and Hire where there is grass; holy Pheras and the
rich meadows of Anthea; Aepea also, and the vine-clad slopes of Pedasus,
all near the sea, and on the borders of sandy Pylos. The men that
dwell there are rich in cattle and sheep; they will honour you with
ough were a god, and be obedient to your comfortable ordinances.
All this will he do if you will now forgo your anger. Moreover, though
you hate both him and his gifts with all your heart, yet pity the
rest of the Achaeans who are being harassed in all their host; they
will honour you as a god, and you will earn great glory at their hands.
You might even kill Hector; he will come within your reach, for he
is infatuated, and declares that not a Danaan whom the ships have
brought can hold his own against him."M
Achilles answered, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, I should give you
formal notice plainly and in all fixity of purpose that there be no
more of this cajoling, from whatsoever quarter it may come. Him do
I hate even as the gates of hell who says one thing while he hides
another in his heart; therefore I will say what I mean. I will be
appeased neither by Agamemnon son of Atreus nor by any other of the
Danaans, for I see that I have no thanks for all my fighting. He that
fights fares no better than he thM
at does not; coward and hero are
held in equal honour, and death deals like measure to him who works
and him who is idle. I have taken nothing by all my hardships- with
my life ever in my hand; as a bird when she has found a morsel takes
it to her nestlings, and herself fares hardly, even so man a long
night have I been wakeful, and many a bloody battle have I waged by
day against those who were fighting for their women. With my ships
I have taken twelve cities, and eleven round about Troy have I stormed
th my men by land; I took great store of wealth from every one of
them, but I gave all up to Agamemnon son of Atreus. He stayed where
he was by his ships, yet of what came to him he gave little, and kept
"Nevertheless he did distribute some meeds of honour among the chieftains
and kings, and these have them still; from me alone of the Achaeans
did he take the woman in whom I delighted- let him keep her and sleep
with her. Why, pray, must the Argives needs fight the Trojans? What
n of Atreus gather the host and bring them? Was it not
for the sake of Helen? Are the sons of Atreus the only men in the
world who love their wives? Any man of common right feeling will love
and cherish her who is his own, as I this woman, with my whole heart,
though she was but a fruitling of my spear. Agamemnon has taken her
from me; he has played me false; I know him; let him tempt me no further,
for he shall not move me. Let him look to you, Ulysses, and to the
other princes to save his ships from burninM
g. He has done much without
me already. He has built a wall; he has dug a trench deep and wide
all round it, and he has planted it within with stakes; but even so
he stays not the murderous might of Hector. So long as I fought the
Achaeans Hector suffered not the battle range far from the city walls;
he would come to the Scaean gates and to the oak tree, but no further.
Once he stayed to meet me and hardly did he escape my onset: now,
however, since I am in no mood to fight him, I will to-morrow offer
fice to Jove and to all the gods; I will draw my ships into the
water and then victual them duly; to-morrow morning, if you care to
look, you will see my ships on the Hellespont, and my men rowing out
to sea with might and main. If great Neptune vouchsafes me a fair
passage, in three days I shall be in Phthia. I have much there that
I left behind me when I came here to my sorrow, and I shall bring
back still further store of gold, of red copper, of fair women, and
of iron, my share of the spoils that we haveM
taken; but one prize,
he who gave has insolently taken away. Tell him all as I now bid you,
and tell him in public that the Achaeans may hate him and beware of
him should he think that he can yet dupe others for his effrontery
"As for me, hound that he is, he dares not look me in the face. I
will take no counsel with him, and will undertake nothing in common
with him. He has wronged me and deceived me enough, he shall not cozen
me further; let him go his own way, for Jove has robbed himM
reason. I loathe his presents, and for himself care not one straw.
He may offer me ten or even twenty times what he has now done, nay-
not though it be all that he has in the world, both now or ever shall
have; he may promise me the wealth of Orchomenus or of Egyptian Thebes,
which is the richest city in the whole world, for it has a hundred
gates through each of which two hundred men may drive at once with
their chariots and horses; he may offer me gifts as the sands of the
sea or the dust of the pM
lain in multitude, but even so he shall not
move me till I have been revenged in full for the bitter wrong he
has done me. I will not marry his daughter; she may be fair as Venus,
and skilful as Minerva, but I will have none of her: let another take
her, who may be a good match for her and who rules a larger kingdom.
If the gods spare me to return home, Peleus will find me a wife; there
are Achaean women in Hellas and Phthia, daughters of kings that have
cities under them; of these I can take whom I will andM
Many a time was I minded when at home in Phthia to woo and wed a woman
who would make me a suitable wife, and to enjoy the riches of my old
father Peleus. My life is more to me than all the wealth of Ilius
while it was yet at peace before the Achaeans went there, or than
all the treasure that lies on the stone floor of Apollo's temple beneath
the cliffs of Pytho. Cattle and sheep are to be had for harrying,
and a man buy both tripods and horses if he wants them, but when his
life has once left hM
im it can neither be bought nor harried back again.
"My mother Thetis tells me that there are two ways in which I may
meet my end. If I stay here and fight, I shall not return alive but
my name will live for ever: whereas if I go home my name will die,
but it will be long ere death shall take me. To the rest of you, then,
I say, 'Go home, for you will not take Ilius.' Jove has held his hand
over her to protect her, and her people have taken heart. Go, therefore,
as in duty bound, and tell the princes of thM
e Achaeans the message
that I have sent them; tell them to find some other plan for the saving
of their ships and people, for so long as my displeasure lasts the
one that they have now hit upon may not be. As for Phoenix, let him
sleep here that he may sail with me in the morning if he so will.
But I will not take him by force."
They all held their peace, dismayed at the sternness with which he
had denied them, till presently the old knight Phoenix in his great
fear for the ships of the Achaeans, burst iM
nto tears and said, "Noble
Achilles, if you are now minded to return, and in the fierceness of
your anger will do nothing to save the ships from burning, how, my
son, can I remain here without you? Your father Peleus bade me go
with you when he sent you as a mere lad from Phthia to Agamemnon.
You knew nothing neither of war nor of the arts whereby men make their
mark in council, and he sent me with you to train you in all excellence
of speech and action. Therefore, my son, I will not stay here without
no, not though heaven itself vouchsafe to strip my years from
off me, and make me young as I was when I first left Hellas the land
of fair women. I was then flying the anger of father Amyntor, son
of Ormenus, who was furious with me in the matter of his concubine,
of whom he was enamoured to the wronging of his wife my mother. My
mother, therefore, prayed me without ceasing to lie with the woman
myself, that so she hate my father, and in the course of time I yielded.
But my father soon came to know, and cursM
ed me bitterly, calling the
dread Erinyes to witness. He prayed that no son of mine might ever
sit upon knees- and the gods, Jove of the world below and awful Proserpine,
fulfilled his curse. I took counsel to kill him, but some god stayed
my rashness and bade me think on men's evil tongues and how I should
be branded as the murderer of my father: nevertheless I could not
bear to stay in my father's house with him so bitter a against me.
My cousins and clansmen came about me, and pressed me sorely to remain;M
many a sheep and many an ox did they slaughter, and many a fat hog
did they set down to roast before the fire; many a jar, too, did they
broach of my father's wine. Nine whole nights did they set a guard
over me taking it in turns to watch, and they kept a fire always burning,
both in the cloister of the outer court and in the inner court at
the doors of the room wherein I lay; but when the darkness of the
tenth night came, I broke through the closed doors of my room, and
climbed the wall of the outer courM
t after passing quickly and unperceived
through the men on guard and the women servants. I then fled through
Hellas till I came to fertile Phthia, mother of sheep, and to King
Peleus, who made me welcome and treated me as a father treats an only
son who will be heir to all his wealth. He made me rich and set me
over much people, establishing me on the borders of Phthia where I
was chief ruler over the Dolopians.
"It was I, Achilles, who had the making of you; I loved you with all
my heart: for you would M
eat neither at home nor when you had gone
out elsewhere, till I had first set you upon my knees, cut up the
dainty morsel that you were to eat, and held the wine-cup to your
lips. Many a time have you slobbered your wine in baby helplessness
over my shirt; I had infinite trouble with you, but I knew that heaven
had vouchsafed me no offspring of my own, and I made a son of you,
Achilles, that in my hour of need you might protect me. Now, therefore,
I say battle with your pride and beat it; cherish not your anM
ever; the might and majesty of heaven are more than ours, but even
heaven may be appeased; and if a man has sinned he prays the gods,
and reconciles them to himself by his piteous cries and by frankincense,
with drink-offerings and the savour of burnt sacrifice. For prayers
are as daughters to great Jove; halt, wrinkled, with eyes askance,
they follow in the footsteps of sin, who, being fierce and fleet of
foot, leaves them far behind him, and ever baneful to mankind outstrips
them even to the ends M
of the world; but nevertheless the prayers come
hobbling and healing after. If a man has pity upon these daughters
of Jove when they draw near him, they will bless him and hear him
too when he is praying; but if he deny them and will not listen to
them, they go to Jove the son of Saturn and pray that he may presently
fall into sin- to his ruing bitterly hereafter. Therefore, Achilles,
give these daughters of Jove due reverence, and bow before them as
all good men will bow. Were not the son of Atreus offeringM
and promising others later- if he were still furious and implacable-
I am not he that would bid you throw off your anger and help the Achaeans,
no matter how great their need; but he is giving much now, and more
hereafter; he has sent his captains to urge his suit, and has chosen
those who of all the Argives are most acceptable to you; make not
then their words and their coming to be of none effect. Your anger
has been righteous so far. We have heard in song how heroes of old
time quarrelled whenM
they were roused to fury, but still they could
be won by gifts, and fair words could soothe them.
"I have an old story in my mind- a very old one- but you are all friends
and I will tell it. The Curetes and the Aetolians were fighting and
killing one another round Calydon- the Aetolians defending the city
and the Curetes trying to destroy it. For Diana of the golden throne
was angry and did them hurt because Oeneus had not offered her his
harvest first-fruits. The other gods had all been feasted with hecM
but to the daughter of great Jove alone he had made no sacrifice.
He had forgotten her, or somehow or other it had escaped him, and
this was a grievous sin. Thereon the archer goddess in her displeasure
sent a prodigious creature against him- a savage wild boar with great
white tusks that did much harm to his orchard lands, uprooting apple-trees
in full bloom and throwing them to the ground. But Meleager son of
Oeneus got huntsmen and hounds from many cities and killed it- for
it was so monstrous thM
at not a few were needed, and many a man did
it stretch upon his funeral pyre. On this the goddess set the Curetes
and the Aetolians fighting furiously about the head and skin of the
"So long as Meleager was in the field things went badly with the Curetes,
and for all their numbers they could not hold their ground under the
city walls; but in the course of time Meleager was angered as even
a wise man will sometimes be. He was incensed with his mother Althaea,
and therefore stayed at home with his wM
edded wife fair Cleopatra,
who was daughter of Marpessa daughter of Euenus, and of Ides the man
then living. He it was who took his bow and faced King Apollo himself
for fair Marpessa's sake; her father and mother then named her Alcyone,
because her mother had mourned with the plaintive strains of the halcyon-bird
when Phoebus Apollo had carried her off. Meleager, then, stayed at
home with Cleopatra, nursing the anger which he felt by reason of
his mother's curses. His mother, grieving for the death of her bM
prayed the gods, and beat the earth with her hands, calling upon Hades
and on awful Proserpine; she went down upon her knees and her bosom
was wet with tears as she prayed that they would kill her son- and
Erinys that walks in darkness and knows no ruth heard her from Erebus.
"Then was heard the din of battle about the gates of Calydon, and
the dull thump of the battering against their walls. Thereon the elders
of the Aetolians besought Meleager; they sent the chiefest of their
priests, and beggedM
him to come out and help them, promising him a
great reward. They bade him choose fifty plough-gates, the most fertile
in the plain of Calydon, the one-half vineyard and the other open
plough-land. The old warrior Oeneus implored him, standing at the
threshold of his room and beating the doors in supplication. His sisters
and his mother herself besought him sore, but he the more refused
them; those of his comrades who were nearest and dearest to him also
prayed him, but they could not move him till the foe M
at the very doors of his chamber, and the Curetes had scaled the walls
and were setting fire to the city. Then at last his sorrowing wife
detailed the horrors that befall those whose city is taken; she reminded
him how the men are slain, and the city is given over to the flames,
while the women and children are carried into captivity; when he heard
all this, his heart was touched, and he donned his armour to go forth.
Thus of his own inward motion he saved the city of the Aetolians;
ow gave him nothing of those rich rewards that they had
offered earlier, and though he saved the city he took nothing by it.
Be not then, my son, thus minded; let not heaven lure you into any
such course. When the ships are burning it will be a harder matter
to save them. Take the gifts, and go, for the Achaeans will then honour
you as a god; whereas if you fight without taking them, you may beat
the battle back, but you will not be held in like honour."
And Achilles answered, "Phoenix, old friend and fathM
need of such honour. I have honour from Jove himself, which will abide
with me at my ships while I have breath in my body, and my limbs are
strong. I say further- and lay my saying to your heart- vex me no
more with this weeping and lamentation, all in the cause of the son
of Atreus. Love him so well, and you may lose the love I bear you.
You ought to help me rather in troubling those that trouble me; be
king as much as I am, and share like honour with myself; the others
shall take my answer; M
stay here yourself and sleep comfortably in
your bed; at daybreak we will consider whether to remain or go."
On this she nodded quietly to Patroclus as a sign that he was to prepare
a bed for Phoenix, and that the others should take their leave. Ajax
son of Telamon then said, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, let us be
gone, for I see that our journey is vain. We must now take our answer,
unwelcome though it be, to the Danaans who are waiting to receive
it. Achilles is savage and remorseless; he is cruel, anM
for the love his comrades lavished upon him more than on all the others.
He is implacable- and yet if a man's brother or son has been slain
he will accept a fine by way of amends from him that killed him, and
the wrong-doer having paid in full remains in peace among his own
people; but as for you, Achilles, the gods have put a wicked unforgiving
spirit in your heart, and this, all about one single girl, whereas
we now offer you the seven best we have, and much else into the bargain.
of a more gracious mind, respect the hospitality of your own
roof. We are with you as messengers from the host of the Danaans,
and would fain he held nearest and dearest to yourself of all the
"Ajax," replied Achilles, "noble son of Telamon, you have spoken much
to my liking, but my blood boils when I think it all over, and remember
how the son of Atreus treated me with contumely as though I were some
vile tramp, and that too in the presence of the Argives. Go, then,
and deliver your message; M
say that I will have no concern with fighting
till Hector, son of noble Priam, reaches the tents of the Myrmidons
in his murderous course, and flings fire upon their ships. For all
his lust of battle, I take it he will be held in check when he is
at my own tent and ship."
On this they took every man his double cup, made their drink-offerings,
and went back to the ships, Ulysses leading the way. But Patroclus
told his men and the maid-servants to make ready a comfortable bed
for Phoenix; they therefore diM
d so with sheepskins, a rug, and a sheet
of fine linen. The old man then laid himself down and waited till
morning came. But Achilles slept in an inner room, and beside him
the daughter of Phorbas lovely Diomede, whom he had carried off from
Lesbos. Patroclus lay on the other side of the room, and with him
fair Iphis whom Achilles had given him when he took Scyros the city
When the envoys reached the tents of the son of Atreus, the Achaeans
rose, pledged them in cups of gold, and began to quesM
Agamemnon was the first to do so. Tell me, Ulysses," said he, "will
he save the ships from burning, or did be refuse, and is he still
Ulysses answered, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
Achilles will not be calmed, but is more fiercely angry than ever,
and spurns both you and your gifts. He bids you take counsel with
the Achaeans to save the ships and host as you best may; as for himself,
he said that at daybreak he should draw his ships into the water.
further that he should advise every one to sail home likewise,
for that you will not reach the goal of Ilius. 'Jove,' he said, 'has
laid his hand over the city to protect it, and the people have taken
heart.' This is what he said, and the others who were with me can
tell you the same story- Ajax and the two heralds, men, both of them,
who may be trusted. The old man Phoenix stayed where he was to sleep,
for so Achilles would have it, that he might go home with him in the
morning if he so would; but he will M
not take him by force."
They all held their peace, sitting for a long time silent and dejected,
by reason of the sternness with which Achilles had refused them, till
presently Diomed said, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
you ought not to have sued the son of Peleus nor offered him gifts.
He is proud enough as it is, and you have encouraged him in his pride
am further. Let him stay or go as he will. He will fight later when
he is in the humour, and heaven puts it in his mind to do so. NowM
therefore, let us all do as I say; we have eaten and drunk our fill,
let us then take our rest, for in rest there is both strength and
stay. But when fair rosy-fingered morn appears, forthwith bring out
your host and your horsemen in front of the ships, urging them on,
and yourself fighting among the foremost."
Thus he spoke, and the other chieftains approved his words. They then
made their drink-offerings and went every man to his own tent, where
they laid down to rest and enjoyed the boon of sleep.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Now the other princes of the Achaeans slept soundly the whole night
through, but Agamemnon son of Atreus was troubled, so that he could
get no rest. As when fair Juno's lord flashes his lightning in token
of great rain or hail or snow when the snow-flakes whiten the ground,
or again as a sign that he will open the wide jaws of hungry war,
even so did Agamemnon heave many a heavy sigh, for his soul trembled
he looked upon the plain of Troy he marvelled at
the many watchfires burning in front of Ilius, and at the sound of
pipes and flutes and of the hum of men, but when presently he turned
towards the ships and hosts of the Achaeans, he tore his hair by handfuls
before Jove on high, and groaned aloud for the very disquietness of
his soul. In the end he deemed it best to go at once to Nestor son
of Neleus, and see if between them they could find any way of the
Achaeans from destruction. He therefore rose, put on M
his sandals about his comely feet, flung the skin of a huge tawny
lion over his shoulders- a skin that reached his feet- and took his
Neither could Menelaus sleep, for he, too, boded ill for the Argives
who for his sake had sailed from far over the seas to fight the Trojans.
He covered his broad back with the skin of a spotted panther, put
a casque of bronze upon his head, and took his spear in his brawny
hand. Then he went to rouse his brother, who was by far the mostM
of the Achaeans, and was honoured by the people as though he were
a god. He found him by the stern of his ship already putting his goodly
array about his shoulders, and right glad was he that his brother
Menelaus spoke first. "Why," said he, "my dear brother, are you thus
arming? Are you going to send any of our comrades to exploit the Trojans?
I greatly fear that no one will do you this service, and spy upon
the enemy alone in the dead of night. It will be a deed of great daring."
And King Agamemnon answered, "Menelaus, we both of us need shrewd
counsel to save the Argives and our ships, for Jove has changed his
mind, and inclines towards Hector's sacrifices rather than ours. I
never saw nor heard tell of any man as having wrought such ruin in
one day as Hector has now wrought against the sons of the Achaeans-
and that too of his own unaided self, for he is son neither to god
nor goddess. The Argives will rue it long and deeply. Run, therefore,
with all speed by the line of the shipsM
, and call Ajax and Idomeneus.
Meanwhile I will go to Nestor, and bid him rise and go about among
the companies of our sentinels to give them their instructions; they
will listen to him sooner than to any man, for his own son, and Meriones
brother in arms to Idomeneus, are captains over them. It was to them
more particularly that we gave this charge."
Menelaus replied, "How do I take your meaning? Am I to stay with them
and wait your coming, or shall I return here as soon as I have given
ait," answered King Agamemnon, "for there are so many
paths about the camp that we might miss one another. Call every man
on your way, and bid him be stirring; name him by his lineage and
by his father's name, give each all titular observance, and stand
not too much upon your own dignity; we must take our full share of
toil, for at our birth Jove laid this heavy burden upon us."
With these instructions he sent his brother on his way, and went on
to Nestor shepherd of his people. He found him sleeping in hiM
hard by his own ship; his goodly armour lay beside him- his shield,
his two spears and his helmet; beside him also lay the gleaming girdle
with which the old man girded himself when he armed to lead his people
into battle- for his age stayed him not. He raised himself on his
elbow and looked up at Agamemnon. "Who is it," said he, "that goes
thus about the host and the ships alone and in the dead of night,
when men are sleeping? Are you looking for one of your mules or for
some comrade? Do not stand tM
here and say nothing, but speak. What
And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean
name, it is I, Agamemnon son of Atreus, on whom Jove has laid labour
and sorrow so long as there is breath in my body and my limbs carry
me. I am thus abroad because sleep sits not upon my eyelids, but my
heart is big with war and with the jeopardy of the Achaeans. I am
in great fear for the Danaans. I am at sea, and without sure counsel;
my heart beats as though it would leap ouM
t of my body, and my limbs
fail me. If then you can do anything- for you too cannot sleep- let
us go the round of the watch, and see whether they are drowsy with
toil and sleeping to the neglect of their duty. The enemy is encamped
hard and we know not but he may attack us by night."
Nestor replied, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
Jove will not do all for Hector that Hector thinks he will; he will
have troubles yet in plenty if Achilles will lay aside his anger.
I will go with you, andM
we will rouse others, either the son of Tydeus,
or Ulysses, or fleet Ajax and the valiant son of Phyleus. Some one
had also better go and call Ajax and King Idomeneus, for their ships
are not near at hand but the farthest of all. I cannot however refrain
from blaming Menelaus, much as I love him and respect him- and I will
say so plainly, even at the risk of offending you- for sleeping and
leaving all this trouble to yourself. He ought to be going about imploring
aid from all the princes of the Achaeans, foM
r we are in extreme danger."
And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, you may sometimes blame him justly,
for he is often remiss and unwilling to exert himself- not indeed
from sloth, nor yet heedlessness, but because he looks to me and expects
me to take the lead. On this occasion, however, he was awake before
I was, and came to me of his own accord. I have already sent him to
call the very men whom you have named. And now let us be going. We
shall find them with the watch outside the gates, for it was there
that we would meet them."
"In that case," answered Nestor, "the Argives will not blame him nor
disobey his orders when he urges them to fight or gives them instructions."
With this he put on his shirt, and bound his sandals about his comely
feet. He buckled on his purple coat, of two thicknesses, large, and
of a rough shaggy texture, grasped his redoubtable bronze-shod spear,
and wended his way along the line of the Achaean ships. First he called
loudly to Ulysses peer of gods in counsel and woke him, M
soon roused by the sound of the battle-cry. He came outside his tent
and said, "Why do you go thus alone about the host, and along the
line of the ships in the stillness of the night? What is it that you
find so urgent?" And Nestor knight of Gerene answered, "Ulysses, noble
son of Laertes, take it not amiss, for the Achaeans are in great straits.
Come with me and let us wake some other, who may advise well with
us whether we shall fight or fly."
On this Ulysses went at once into his tent, put M
his shield about his
shoulders and came out with them. First they went to Diomed son of
Tydeus, and found him outside his tent clad in his armour with his
comrades sleeping round him and using their shields as pillows; as
for their spears, they stood upright on the spikes of their butts
that were driven into the ground, and the burnished bronze flashed
afar like the lightning of father Jove. The hero was sleeping upon
the skin of an ox, with a piece of fine carpet under his head; Nestor
went up to him and sM
tirred him with his heel to rouse him, upbraiding
him and urging him to bestir himself. "Wake up," he exclaimed, "son
of Tydeus. How can you sleep on in this way? Can you not see that
the Trojans are encamped on the brow of the plain hard by our ships,
with but a little space between us and them?"
On these words Diomed leaped up instantly and said, "Old man, your
heart is of iron; you rest not one moment from your labours. Are there
no younger men among the Achaeans who could go about to rouse the
s? There is no tiring you."
And Nestor knight of Gerene made answer, "My son, all that you have
said is true. I have good sons, and also much people who might call
the chieftains, but the Achaeans are in the gravest danger; life and
death are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor. Go then, for
you are younger than I, and of your courtesy rouse Ajax and the fleet
Diomed threw the skin of a great tawny lion about his shoulders- a
skin that reached his feet- and grasped his spear. WM
the heroes, he brought them back with him; they then went the round
of those who were on guard, and found the captains not sleeping at
their posts but wakeful and sitting with their arms about them. As
sheep dogs that watch their flocks when they are yarded, and hear
a wild beast coming through the mountain forest towards them- forthwith
there is a hue and cry of dogs and men, and slumber is broken- even
so was sleep chased from the eyes of the Achaeans as they kept the
watches of the wickM
ed night, for they turned constantly towards the
plain whenever they heard any stir among the Trojans. The old man
was glad bade them be of good cheer. "Watch on, my children," said
he, "and let not sleep get hold upon you, lest our enemies triumph
With this he passed the trench, and with him the other chiefs of the
Achaeans who had been called to the council. Meriones and the brave
son of Nestor went also, for the princes bade them. When they were
beyond the trench that was dug round the wall M
they held their meeting
on the open ground where there was a space clear of corpses, for it
was here that when night fell Hector had turned back from his onslaught
on the Argives. They sat down, therefore, and held debate with one
Nestor spoke first. "My friends," said he, "is there any man bold
enough to venture the Trojans, and cut off some straggler, or us news
of what the enemy mean to do whether they will stay here by the ships
away from the city, or whether, now that they have worsted the M
they will retire within their walls. If he could learn all this and
come back safely here, his fame would be high as heaven in the mouths
of all men, and he would be rewarded richly; for the chiefs from all
our ships would each of them give him a black ewe with her lamb- which
is a present of surpassing value- and he would be asked as a guest
to all feasts and clan-gatherings."
They all held their peace, but Diomed of the loud war-cry spoke saying,
"Nestor, gladly will I visit the host of the TM
us, but if another will go with me I shall do so in greater confidence
and comfort. When two men are together, one of them may see some opportunity
which the other has not caught sight of; if a man is alone he is less
full of resource, and his wit is weaker."
On this several offered to go with Diomed. The two Ajaxes, servants
of Mars, Meriones, and the son of Nestor all wanted to go, so did
Menelaus son of Atreus; Ulysses also wished to go among the host of
the Trojans, for he was eveM
r full of daring, and thereon Agamemnon
king of men spoke thus: "Diomed," said he, "son of Tydeus, man after
my own heart, choose your comrade for yourself- take the best man
of those that have offered, for many would now go with you. Do not
through delicacy reject the better man, and take the worst out of
respect for his lineage, because he is of more royal blood."
He said this because he feared for Menelaus. Diomed answered, "If
you bid me take the man of my own choice, how in that case can I fail
ink of Ulysses, than whom there is no man more eager to face
all kinds of danger- and Pallas Minerva loves him well? If he were
to go with me we should pass safely through fire itself, for he is
quick to see and understand."
"Son of Tydeus," replied Ulysses, "say neither good nor ill about
me, for you are among Argives who know me well. Let us be going, for
the night wanes and dawn is at hand. The stars have gone forward,
two-thirds of the night are already spent, and the third is alone
y then put on their armour. Brave Thrasymedes provided the son
of Tydeus with a sword and a shield (for he had left his own at his
ship) and on his head he set a helmet of bull's hide without either
peak or crest; it is called a skull-cap and is a common headgear.
Meriones found a bow and quiver for Ulysses, and on his head he set
a leathern helmet that was lined with a strong plaiting of leathern
thongs, while on the outside it was thickly studded with boar's teeth,
well and skilfully set into it; next the M
head there was an inner lining
of felt. This helmet had been stolen by Autolycus out of Eleon when
he broke into the house of Amyntor son of Ormenus. He gave it to Amphidamas
of Cythera to take to Scandea, and Amphidamas gave it as a guest-gift
to Molus, who gave it to his son Meriones; and now it was set upon
the head of Ulysses.
When the pair had armed, they set out, and left the other chieftains
behind them. Pallas Minerva sent them a heron by the wayside upon
their right hands; they could not see it M
for the darkness, but they
heard its cry. Ulysses was glad when he heard it and prayed to Minerva:
"Hear me," he cried, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, you who spy
out all my ways and who are with me in all my hardships; befriend
me in this mine hour, and grant that we may return to the ships covered
with glory after having achieved some mighty exploit that shall bring
sorrow to the Trojans."
Then Diomed of the loud war-cry also prayed: "Hear me too," said he,
"daughter of Jove, unweariable; be with me M
even as you were with my
noble father Tydeus when he went to Thebes as envoy sent by the Achaeans.
He left the Achaeans by the banks of the river Aesopus, and went to
the city bearing a message of peace to the Cadmeians; on his return
thence, with your help, goddess, he did great deeds of daring, for
you were his ready helper. Even so guide me and guard me now, and
in return I will offer you in sacrifice a broad-browed heifer of a
year old, unbroken, and never yet brought by man under the yoke. I
her horns and will offer her up to you in sacrifice."
Thus they prayed, and Pallas Minerva heard their prayer. When they
had done praying to the daughter of great Jove, they went their way
like two lions prowling by night amid the armour and blood-stained
bodies of them that had fallen.
Neither again did Hector let the Trojans sleep; for he too called
the princes and councillors of the Trojans that he might set his counsel
before them. "Is there one," said he, "who for a great reward will
vice of which I will tell you? He shall be well paid
if he will. I will give him a chariot and a couple of horses, the
fleetest that can be found at the ships of the Achaeans, if he will
dare this thing; and he will win infinite honour to boot; he must
go to the ships and find out whether they are still guarded as heretofore,
or whether now that we have beaten them the Achaeans design to fly,
and through sheer exhaustion are neglecting to keep their watches."
They all held their peace; but there was among M
the Trojans a certain
man named Dolon, son of Eumedes, the famous herald- a man rich in
gold and bronze. He was ill-favoured, but a good runner, and was an
only son among five sisters. He it was that now addressed the Trojans.
"I, Hector," said he, "Will to the ships and will exploit them. But
first hold up your sceptre and swear that you will give me the chariot,
bedight with bronze, and the horses that now carry the noble son of
Peleus. I will make you a good scout, and will not fail you. I will
h the host from one end to the other till I come to the ship
of Agamemnon, where I take it the princes of the Achaeans are now
consulting whether they shall fight or fly."
When he had done speaking Hector held up his sceptre, and swore him
his oath saying, "May Jove the thundering husband of Juno bear witness
that no other Trojan but yourself shall mount those steeds, and that
you shall have your will with them for ever."
The oath he swore was bootless, but it made Dolon more keen on going.
s bow over his shoulder, and as an overall he wore the skin
of a grey wolf, while on his head he set a cap of ferret skin. Then
he took a pointed javelin, and left the camp for the ships, but he
was not to return with any news for Hector. When he had left the horses
and the troops behind him, he made all speed on his way, but Ulysses
perceived his coming and said to Diomed, "Diomed, here is some one
from the camp; I am not sure whether he is a spy, or whether it is
some thief who would plunder the bodies of M
the dead; let him get a
little past us, we can then spring upon him and take him. If, however,
he is too quick for us, go after him with your spear and hem him in
towards the ships away from the Trojan camp, to prevent his getting
With this they turned out of their way and lay down among the corpses.
Dolon suspected nothing and soon passed them, but when he had got
about as far as the distance by which a mule-plowed furrow exceeds
one that has been ploughed by oxen (for mules can plow M
quicker than oxen) they ran after him, and when he heard their footsteps
he stood still, for he made sure they were friends from the Trojan
camp come by Hector's orders to bid him return; when, however, they
were only a spear's cast, or less away form him, he saw that they
were enemies as fast as his legs could take him. The others gave chase
at once, and as a couple of well-trained hounds press forward after
a doe or hare that runs screaming in front of them, even so did the
son of Tydeus and UM
lysses pursue Dolon and cut him off from his own
people. But when he had fled so far towards the ships that he would
soon have fallen in with the outposts, Minerva infused fresh strength
into the son of Tydeus for fear some other of the Achaeans might have
the glory of being first to hit him, and he might himself be only
second; he therefore sprang forward with his spear and said, "Stand,
or I shall throw my spear, and in that case I shall soon make an end
He threw as he spoke, but missed his aiM
m on purpose. The dart flew
over the man's right shoulder, and then stuck in the ground. He stood
stock still, trembling and in great fear; his teeth chattered, and
he turned pale with fear. The two came breathless up to him and seized
his hands, whereon he began to weep and said, "Take me alive; I will
ransom myself; we have great store of gold, bronze, and wrought iron,
and from this my father will satisfy you with a very large ransom,
should he hear of my being alive at the ships of the Achaeans."
r not," replied Ulysses, "let no thought of death be in your mind;
but tell me, and tell me true, why are you thus going about alone
in the dead of night away from your camp and towards the ships, while
other men are sleeping? Is it to plunder the bodies of the slain,
or did Hector send you to spy out what was going on at the ships?
Or did you come here of your own mere notion?"
Dolon answered, his limbs trembling beneath him: "Hector, with his
vain flattering promises, lured me from my better judgement. M
he would give me the horses of the noble son of Peleus and his bronze-bedizened
chariot; he bade me go through the darkness of the flying night, get
close to the enemy, and find out whether the ships are still guarded
as heretofore, or whether, now that we have beaten them, the Achaeans
design to fly, and through sheer exhaustion are neglecting to keep
Ulysses smiled at him and answered, "You had indeed set your heart
upon a great reward, but the horses of the descendant of AeacusM
hardly to be kept in hand or driven by any other mortal man than Achilles
himself, whose mother was an immortal. But tell me, and tell me true,
where did you leave Hector when you started? Where lies his armour
and his horses? How, too, are the watches and sleeping-ground of the
Trojans ordered? What are their plans? Will they stay here by the
ships and away from the city, or now that they have worsted the Achaeans,
will they retire within their walls?"
And Dolon answered, "I will tell you truly allM
. Hector and the other
councillors are now holding conference by the monument of great Ilus,
away from the general tumult; as for the guards about which you ask
me, there is no chosen watch to keep guard over the host. The Trojans
have their watchfires, for they are bound to have them; they, therefore,
are awake and keep each other to their duty as sentinels; but the
allies who have come from other places are asleep and leave it to
the Trojans to keep guard, for their wives and children are not here."
sses then said, "Now tell me; are they sleeping among the Trojan
troops, or do they lie apart? Explain this that I may understand it."
"I will tell you truly all," replied Dolon. "To the seaward lie the
Carians, the Paeonian bowmen, the Leleges, the Cauconians, and the
noble Pelasgi. The Lysians and proud Mysians, with the Phrygians and
Meonians, have their place on the side towards Thymbra; but why ask
about an this? If you want to find your way into the host of the Trojans,
there are the Thracians, who hM
ave lately come here and lie apart from
the others at the far end of the camp; and they have Rhesus son of
Eioneus for their king. His horses are the finest and strongest that
I have ever seen, they are whiter than snow and fleeter than any wind
that blows. His chariot is bedight with silver and gold, and he has
brought his marvellous golden armour, of the rarest workmanship- too
splendid for any mortal man to carry, and meet only for the gods.
Now, therefore, take me to the ships or bind me securely here, uM
you come back and have proved my words whether they be false or true."
Diomed looked sternly at him and answered, "Think not, Dolon, for
all the good information you have given us, that you shall escape
now you are in our hands, for if we ransom you or let you go, you
will come some second time to the ships of the Achaeans either as
a spy or as an open enemy, but if I kill you and an end of you, you
will give no more trouble."
On this Dolon would have caught him by the beard to beseech him furtherM
but Diomed struck him in the middle of his neck with his sword and
cut through both sinews so that his head fell rolling in the dust
while he was yet speaking. They took the ferret-skin cap from his
head, and also the wolf-skin, the bow, and his long spear. Ulysses
hung them up aloft in honour of Minerva the goddess of plunder, and
prayed saying, "Accept these, goddess, for we give them to you in
preference to all the gods in Olympus: therefore speed us still further
towards the horses and sleeping-groundM
With these words he took the spoils and set them upon a tamarisk tree,
and they marked the place by pulling up reeds and gathering boughs
of tamarisk that they might not miss it as they came back through
the' flying hours of darkness. The two then went onwards amid the
fallen armour and the blood, and came presently to the company of
Thracian soldiers, who were sleeping, tired out with their day's toil;
their goodly armour was lying on the ground beside them all orderly
and each man had his yoke of horses beside him. Rhesus
was sleeping in the middle, and hard by him his horses were made fast
to the topmost rim of his chariot. Ulysses from some way off saw him
and said, "This, Diomed, is the man, and these are the horses about
which Dolon whom we killed told us. Do your very utmost; dally not
about your armour, but loose the horses at once- or else kill the
men yourself, while I see to the horses."
Thereon Minerva put courage into the heart of Diomed, and he smote
right and left. They made a hideous groaning as they were being
hacked about, and the earth was red with their blood. As a lion springs
furiously upon a flock of sheep or goats when he finds without their
shepherd, so did the son of Tydeus set upon the Thracian soldiers
till he had killed twelve. As he killed them Ulysses came and drew
them aside by their feet one by one, that the horses might go forward
freely without being frightened as they passed over the dead bodies,
for they were not yet used to them. M
When the son of Tydeus came to
the king, he killed him too (which made thirteen), as he was breathing
hard, for by the counsel of Minerva an evil dream, the seed of Oeneus,
hovered that night over his head. Meanwhile Ulysses untied the horses,
made them fast one to another and drove them off, striking them with
his bow, for he had forgotten to take the whip from the chariot. Then
he whistled as a sign to Diomed.
But Diomed stayed where he was, thinking what other daring deed he
might accomplish. He was dM
oubting whether to take the chariot in which
the king's armour was lying, and draw it out by the pole, or to lift
the armour out and carry it off; or whether again, he should not kill
some more Thracians. While he was thus hesitating Minerva came up
to him and said, "Get back, Diomed, to the ships or you may be driven
thither, should some other god rouse the Trojans."
Diomed knew that it was the goddess, and at once sprang upon the horses.
Ulysses beat them with his bow and they flew onward to the ships oM
But Apollo kept no blind look-out when he saw Minerva with the son
of Tydeus. He was angry with her, and coming to the host of the Trojans
he roused Hippocoon, a counsellor of the Thracians and a noble kinsman
of Rhesus. He started up out of his sleep and saw that the horses
were no longer in their place, and that the men were gasping in their
death-agony; on this he groaned aloud, and called upon his friend
by name. Then the whole Trojan camp was in an uproar as the people
together, and they marvelled at the deeds of the heroes
who had now got away towards the ships.
When they reached the place where they had killed Hector's scout,
Ulysses stayed his horses, and the son of Tydeus, leaping to the ground,
placed the blood-stained spoils in the hands of Ulysses and remounted:
then he lashed the horses onwards, and they flew forward nothing loth
towards the ships as though of their own free will. Nestor was first
to hear the tramp of their feet. "My friends," said he, "princesM
counsellors of the Argives, shall I guess right or wrong?- but I must
say what I think: there is a sound in my ears as of the tramp of horses.
I hope it may Diomed and Ulysses driving in horses from the Trojans,
but I much fear that the bravest of the Argives may have come to some
harm at their hands."
He had hardly done speaking when the two men came in and dismounted,
whereon the others shook hands right gladly with them and congratulated
them. Nestor knight of Gerene was first to question them. "M
said he, "renowned Ulysses, how did you two come by these horses?
Did you steal in among the Trojan forces, or did some god meet you
and give them to you? They are like sunbeams. I am well conversant
with the Trojans, for old warrior though I am I never hold back by
the ships, but I never yet saw or heard of such horses as these are.
Surely some god must have met you and given them to you, for you are
both of dear to Jove, and to Jove's daughter Minerva."
And Ulysses answered, "Nestor son of NeM
leus, honour to the Achaean
name, heaven, if it so will, can give us even better horses than these,
for the gods are far mightier than we are. These horses, however,
about which you ask me, are freshly come from Thrace. Diomed killed
their king with the twelve bravest of his companions. Hard by the
ships we took a thirteenth man- a scout whom Hector and the other
Trojans had sent as a spy upon our ships."
He laughed as he spoke and drove the horses over the ditch, while
the other Achaeans followed him glM
adly. When they reached the strongly
built quarters of the son of Tydeus, they tied the horses with thongs
of leather to the manger, where the steeds of Diomed stood eating
their sweet corn, but Ulysses hung the blood-stained spoils of Dolon
at the stern of his ship, that they might prepare a sacred offering
to Minerva. As for themselves, they went into the sea and washed the
sweat from their bodies, and from their necks and thighs. When the
sea-water had taken all the sweat from off them, and had refreshed
them, they went into the baths and washed themselves. After they had
so done and had anointed themselves with oil, they sat down to table,
and drawing from a full mixing-bowl, made a drink-offering of wine
----------------------------------------------------------------------
And now as Dawn rose from her couch beside Tithonus, harbinger of
light alike to mortals and immortals, Jove sent fierce Discord with
the ensign of war in her hands to the ships of the Achaeans. She took
r stand by the huge black hull of Ulysses' ship which was middlemost
of all, so that her voice might carry farthest on either side, on
the one hand towards the tents of Ajax son of Telamon, and on the
other towards those of Achilles- for these two heroes, well-assured
of their own strength, had valorously drawn up their ships at the
two ends of the line. There she took her stand, and raised a cry both
loud and shrill that filled the Achaeans with courage, giving them
heart to fight resolutely and with all thM
eir might, so that they had
rather stay there and do battle than go home in their ships.
The son of Atreus shouted aloud and bade the Argives gird themselves
for battle while he put on his armour. First he girded his goodly
greaves about his legs, making them fast with ankle clasps of silver;
and about his chest he set the breastplate which Cinyras had once
given him as a guest-gift. It had been noised abroad as far as Cyprus
that the Achaeans were about to sail for Troy, and therefore he gave
ing. It had ten courses of dark cyanus, twelve of gold,
and ten of tin. There were serpents of cyanus that reared themselves
up towards the neck, three upon either side, like the rainbows which
the son of Saturn has set in heaven as a sign to mortal men. About
his shoulders he threw his sword, studded with bosses of gold; and
the scabbard was of silver with a chain of gold wherewith to hang
it. He took moreover the richly-dight shield that covered his body
when he was in battle- fair to see, with ten circlesM
all round see, wit it. On the body of the shield there were twenty
bosses of white tin, with another of dark cyanus in the middle: this
last was made to show a Gorgon's head, fierce and grim, with Rout
and Panic on either side. The band for the arm to go through was of
silver, on which there was a writhing snake of cyanus with three heads
that sprang from a single neck, and went in and out among one another.
On his head Agamemnon set a helmet, with a peak before and behind,
s of horse-hair that nodded menacingly above it; then
he grasped two redoubtable bronze-shod spears, and the gleam of his
armour shot from him as a flame into the firmament, while Juno and
Minerva thundered in honour of the king of rich Mycene.
Every man now left his horses in charge of his charioteer to hold
them in readiness by the trench, while he went into battle on foot
clad in full armour, and a mighty uproar rose on high into the dawning.
The chiefs were armed and at the trench before the horses goM
but these came up presently. The son of Saturn sent a portent of evil
sound about their host, and the dew fell red with blood, for he was
about to send many a brave man hurrying down to Hades.
The Trojans, on the other side upon the rising slope of the plain,
were gathered round great Hector, noble Polydamas, Aeneas who was
honoured by the Trojans like an immortal, and the three sons of Antenor,
Polybus, Agenor, and young Acamas beauteous as a god. Hector's round
shield showed in the front rank,M
and as some baneful star that shines
for a moment through a rent in the clouds and is again hidden beneath
them; even so was Hector now seen in the front ranks and now again
in the hindermost, and his bronze armour gleamed like the lightning
of aegis-bearing Jove.
And now as a band of reapers mow swathes of wheat or barley upon a
rich man's land, and the sheaves fall thick before them, even so did
the Trojans and Achaeans fall upon one another; they were in no mood
for yielding but fought like wolves, aM
nd neither side got the better
of the other. Discord was glad as she beheld them, for she was the
only god that went among them; the others were not there, but stayed
quietly each in his own home among the dells and valleys of Olympus.
All of them blamed the son of Saturn for wanting to Live victory to
the Trojans, but father Jove heeded them not: he held aloof from all,
and sat apart in his all-glorious majesty, looking down upon the city
of the Trojans, the ships of the Achaeans, the gleam of bronze, and
alike upon the slayers and on the slain.
Now so long as the day waxed and it was still morning, their darts
rained thick on one another and the people perished, but as the hour
drew nigh when a woodman working in some mountain forest will get
his midday meal- for he has felled till his hands are weary; he is
tired out, and must now have food- then the Danaans with a cry that
rang through all their ranks, broke the battalions of the enemy. Agamemnon
led them on, and slew first Bienor, a leader of his peoplM
his comrade and charioteer Oileus, who sprang from his chariot and
was coming full towards him; but Agamemnon struck him on the forehead
with his spear; his bronze visor was of no avail against the weapon,
which pierced both bronze and bone, so that his brains were battered
in and he was killed in full fight.
Agamemnon stripped their shirts from off them and left them with their
breasts all bare to lie where they had fallen. He then went on to
kill Isus and Antiphus two sons of Priam, tM
he one a bastard, the other
born in wedlock; they were in the same chariot- the bastard driving,
while noble Antiphus fought beside him. Achilles had once taken both
of them prisoners in the glades of Ida, and had bound them with fresh
withes as they were shepherding, but he had taken a ransom for them;
now, however, Agamemnon son of Atreus smote Isus in the chest above
the nipple with his spear, while he struck Antiphus hard by the ear
and threw him from his chariot. Forthwith he stripped their goodly
ur from off them and recognized them, for he had already seen
them at ships when Achilles brought them in from Ida. As a lion fastens
on the fawns of a hind and crushes them in his great jaws, robbing
them of their tender life while he on his way back to his lair- the
hind can do nothing for them even though she be close by, for she
is in an agony of fear, and flies through the thick forest, sweating,
and at her utmost speed before the mighty monster- so, no man of the
Trojans could help Isus and Antiphus, fM
or they were themselves flying
panic before the Argives.
Then King Agamemnon took the two sons of Antimachus, Pisander and
brave Hippolochus. It was Antimachus who had been foremost in preventing
Helen's being restored to Menelaus, for he was largely bribed by Alexandrus;
and now Agamemnon took his two sons, both in the same chariot, trying
to bring their horses to a stand- for they had lost hold of the reins
and the horses were mad with fear. The son of Atreus sprang upon them
like a lion, and the pair M
besought him from their chariot. "Take us
alive," they cried, "son of Atreus, and you shall receive a great
ransom for us. Our father Antimachus has great store of gold, bronze,
and wrought iron, and from this he will satisfy you with a very large
ransom should he hear of our being alive at the ships of the Achaeans."
With such piteous words and tears did they beseech the king, but they
heard no pitiful answer in return. "If," said Agamemnon, "you are
sons of Antimachus, who once at a council of Trojans prM
Menelaus and Ulysses, who had come to you as envoys, should be killed
and not suffered to return, you shall now pay for the foul iniquity
As he spoke he felled Pisander from his chariot to the earth, smiting
him on the chest with his spear, so that he lay face uppermost upon
the ground. Hippolochus fled, but him too did Agamemnon smite; he
cut off his hands and his head- which he sent rolling in among the
crowd as though it were a ball. There he let them both lie, and whereveM
the ranks were thickest thither he flew, while the other Achaeans
followed. Foot soldiers drove the foot soldiers of the foe in rout
before them, and slew them; horsemen did the like by horsemen, and
the thundering tramp of the horses raised a cloud of dust frim off
the plain. King Agamemnon followed after, ever slaying them and cheering
on the Achaeans. As when some mighty forest is all ablaze- the eddying
gusts whirl fire in all directions till the thickets shrivel and are
consumed before the blast of tM
he flame- even so fell the heads of
the flying Trojans before Agamemnon son of Atreus, and many a noble
pair of steeds drew an empty chariot along the highways of war, for
lack of drivers who were lying on the plain, more useful now to vultures
than to their wives.
Jove drew Hector away from the darts and dust, with the carnage and
din of battle; but the son of Atreus sped onwards, calling out lustily
to the Danaans. They flew on by the tomb of old Ilus, son of Dardanus,
in the middle of the plain, and pM
ast the place of the wild fig-tree
making always for the city- the son of Atreus still shouting, and
with hands all bedrabbled in gore; but when they had reached the Scaean
gates and the oak tree, there they halted and waited for the others
to come up. Meanwhile the Trojans kept on flying over the middle of
the plain like a herd cows maddened with fright when a lion has attacked
them in the dead of night- he springs on one of them, seizes her neck
in the grip of his strong teeth and then laps up her blood anM
himself upon her entrails- even so did King Agamemnon son of Atreus
pursue the foe, ever slaughtering the hindmost as they fled pell-mell
before him. Many a man was flung headlong from his chariot by the
hand of the son of Atreus, for he wielded his spear with fury.
But when he was just about to reach the high wall and the city, the
father of gods and men came down from heaven and took his seat, thunderbolt
in hand, upon the crest of many-fountained Ida. He then told Iris
of the golden wings to cM
arry a message for him. "Go," said he, "fleet
Iris, and speak thus to Hector- say that so long as he sees Agamemnon
heading his men and making havoc of the Trojan ranks, he is to keep
aloof and bid the others bear the brunt of the battle, but when Agamemnon
is wounded either by spear or arrow, and takes to his chariot, then
will I vouchsafe him strength to slay till he reach the ships and
night falls at the going down of the sun."
Iris hearkened and obeyed. Down she went to strong Ilius from the
f Ida, and found Hector son of Priam standing by his chariot
and horses. Then she said, "Hector son of Priam, peer of gods in counsel,
father Jove has sent me to bear you this message- so long as you see
Agamemnon heading his men and making havoc of the Trojan ranks, you
are to keep aloof and bid the others bear the brunt of the battle,
but when Agamemnon is wounded either by spear or arrow, and takes
to his chariot, then will Jove vouchsafe you strength to slay till
you reach the ships, and till night fallsM
at the going down of the
When she had thus spoken Iris left him, and Hector sprang full armed
from his chariot to the ground, brandishing his spear as he went about
everywhere among the host, cheering his men on to fight, and stirring
the dread strife of battle. The Trojans then wheeled round, and again
met the Achaeans, while the Argives on their part strengthened their
battalions. The battle was now in array and they stood face to face
with one another, Agamemnon ever pressing forward in his eagM
to be ahead of all others.
Tell me now ye Muses that dwell in the mansions of Olympus, who, whether
of the Trojans or of their allies, was first to face Agamemnon? It
was Iphidamas son of Antenor, a man both brave and of great stature,
who was brought up in fertile Thrace the mother of sheep. Cisses,
his mother's father, brought him up in his own house when he was a
child- Cisses, father to fair Theano. When he reached manhood, Cisses
would have kept him there, and was for giving him his daughter M
marriage, but as soon as he had married he set out to fight the Achaeans
with twelve ships that followed him: these he had left at Percote
and had come on by land to Ilius. He it was that naw met Agamemnon
son of Atreus. When they were close up with one another, the son of
Atreus missed his aim, and Iphidamas hit him on the girdle below the
cuirass and then flung himself upon him, trusting to his strength
of arm; the girdle, however, was not pierced, nor nearly so, for the
point of the spear struck againM
st the silver and was turned aside
as though it had been lead: King Agamemnon caught it from his hand,
and drew it towards him with the fury of a lion; he then drew his
sword, and killed Iphidamas by striking him on the neck. So there
the poor fellow lay, sleeping a sleep as it were of bronze, killed
in the defence of his fellow-citizens, far from his wedded wife, of
whom he had had no joy though he had given much for her: he had given
a hundred-head of cattle down, and had promised later on to give a
and sheep and goats mixed, from the countless flocks of which
he was possessed. Agamemnon son of Atreus then despoiled him, and
carried off his armour into the host of the Achaeans.
When noble Coon, Antenor's eldest son, saw this, sore indeed were
his eyes at the sight of his fallen brother. Unseen by Agamemnon he
got beside him, spear in hand, and wounded him in the middle of his
arm below the elbow, the point of the spear going right through the
arm. Agamemnon was convulsed with pain, but still not evenM
did he leave off struggling and fighting, but grasped his spear that
flew as fleet as the wind, and sprang upon Coon who was trying to
drag off the body of his brother- his father's son- by the foot, and
was crying for help to all the bravest of his comrades; but Agamemnon
struck him with a bronze-shod spear and killed him as he was dragging
the dead body through the press of men under cover of his shield:
he then cut off his head, standing over the body of Iphidamas. Thus
did the sons of Antenor M
meet their fate at the hands of the son of
Atreus, and go down into the house of Hades.
As long as the blood still welled warm from his wound Agamemnon went
about attacking the ranks of the enemy with spear and sword and with
great handfuls of stone, but when the blood had ceased to flow and
the wound grew dry, the pain became great. As the sharp pangs which
the Eilithuiae, goddesses of childbirth, daughters of Juno and dispensers
of cruel pain, send upon a woman when she is in labour- even so sharp
the pangs of the son of Atreus. He sprang on to his chariot,
and bade his charioteer drive to the ships, for he was in great agony.
With a loud clear voice he shouted to the Danaans, "My friends, princes
and counsellors of the Argives, defend the ships yourselves, for Jove
has not suffered me to fight the whole day through against the Trojans."
With this the charioteer turned his horses towards the ships, and
they flew forward nothing loth. Their chests were white with foam
and their bellies with dust, asM
they drew the wounded king out of
When Hector saw Agamemnon quit the field, he shouted to the Trojans
and Lycians saying, "Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanian warriors, be
men, my friends, and acquit yourselves in battle bravely; their best
man has left them, and Jove has vouchsafed me a great triumph; charge
the foe with your chariots that. you may win still greater glory."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and as a huntsman
hounds his dogs on against a lion or wild boar, M
peer of Mars, hound the proud Trojans on against the Achaeans. Full
of hope he plunged in among the foremost, and fell on the fight like
some fierce tempest that swoops down upon the sea, and lashes its
deep blue waters into fury.
What, then is the full tale of those whom Hector son of Priam killed
in the hour of triumph which Jove then vouchsafed him? First Asaeus,
Autonous, and Opites; Dolops son of Clytius, Opheltius and Agelaus;
Aesymnus, Orus and Hipponous steadfast in battle; thM
of the Achaeans did Hector slay, and then he fell upon the rank and
file. As when the west wind hustles the clouds of the white south
and beats them down with the fierceness of its fury- the waves of
the sea roll high, and the spray is flung aloft in the rage of the
wandering wind- even so thick were the heads of them that fell by
the hand of Hector.
All had then been lost and no help for it, and the Achaeans would
have fled pell-mell to their ships, had not Ulysses cried out to Diomed,
Son of Tydeus, what has happened to us that we thus forget our prowess?
Come, my good fellow, stand by my side and help me, we shall be shamed
for ever if Hector takes the ships."
And Diomed answered, "Come what may, I will stand firm; but we shall
have scant joy of it, for Jove is minded to give victory to the Trojans
rather than to us."
With these words he struck Thymbraeus from his chariot to the ground,
smiting him in the left breast with his spear, while Ulysses killed
Molion who was his squire. M
These they let lie, now that they had stopped
their fighting; the two heroes then went on playing havoc with the
foe, like two wild boars that turn in fury and rend the hounds that
hunt them. Thus did they turn upon the Trojans and slay them, and
the Achaeans were thankful to have breathing time in their flight
They then took two princes with their chariot, the two sons of Merops
of Percote, who excelled all others in the arts of divination. He
had forbidden his sons to go to the war, but thM
ey would not obey him,
for fate lured them to their fall. Diomed son of Tydeus slew them
both and stripped them of their armour, while Ulysses killed Hippodamus
And now the son of Saturn as he looked down from Ida ordained that
neither side should have the advantage, and they kept on killing one
another. The son of Tydeus speared Agastrophus son of Paeon in the
hip-joint with his spear. His chariot was not at hand for him to fly
with, so blindly confident had he been. His squire was in cM
it at some distance and he was fighting on foot among the foremost
until he lost his life. Hector soon marked the havoc Diomed and Ulysses
were making, and bore down upon them with a loud cry, followed by
the Trojan ranks; brave Diomed was dismayed when he saw them, and
said to Ulysses who was beside him, "Great Hector is bearing down
upon us and we shall be undone; let us stand firm and wait his onset."
He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled it, nor did he miss his
mark. He had aimed at HectM
or's head near the top of his helmet, but
bronze was turned by bronze, and Hector was untouched, for the spear
was stayed by the visored helm made with three plates of metal, which
Phoebus Apollo had given him. Hector sprang back with a great bound
under cover of the ranks; he fell on his knees and propped himself
with his brawny hand leaning on the ground, for darkness had fallen
on his eyes. The son of Tydeus having thrown his spear dashed in among
the foremost fighters, to the place where he had seen it sM
ground; meanwhile Hector recovered himself and springing back into
his chariot mingled with the crowd, by which means he saved his life.
But Diomed made at him with his spear and said, "Dog, you have again
got away though death was close on your heels. Phoebus Apollo, to
whom I ween you pray ere you go into battle, has again saved you,
nevertheless I will meet you and make and end of you hereafter, if
there is any god who will stand by me too and be my helper. For the
present I must pursue those IM
can lay hands on."
As he spoke he began stripping the spoils from the son of Paeon, but
Alexandrus husband of lovely Helen aimed an arrow at him, leaning
against a pillar of the monument which men had raised to Ilus son
of Dardanus, a ruler in days of old. Diomed had taken the cuirass
from off the breast of Agastrophus, his heavy helmet also, and the
shield from off his shoulders, when Paris drew his bow and let fly
an arrow that sped not from his hand in vain, but pierced the flat
of Diomed's right fooM
t, going right through it and fixing itself in
the ground. Thereon Paris with a hearty laugh sprang forward from
his hiding-place, and taunted him saying, "You are wounded- my arrow
has not been shot in vain; would that it had hit you in the belly
and killed you, for thus the Trojans, who fear you as goats fear a
lion, would have had a truce from evil."
Diomed all undaunted answered, "Archer, you who without your bow are
nothing, slanderer and seducer, if you were to be tried in single
full armour, your bow and your arrows would serve
you in little stead. Vain is your boast in that you have scratched
the sole of my foot. I care no more than if a girl or some silly boy
had hit me. A worthless coward can inflict but a light wound; when
I wound a man though I but graze his skin it is another matter, for
my weapon will lay him low. His wife will tear her cheeks for grief
and his children will be fatherless: there will he rot, reddening
the earth with his blood, and vultures, not women, will gM
Thus he spoke, but Ulysses came up and stood over him. Under this
cover he sat down to draw the arrow from his foot, and sharp was the
pain he suffered as he did so. Then he sprang on to his chariot and
bade the charioteer drive him to the ships, for he was sick at heart.
Ulysses was now alone; not one of the Argives stood by him, for they
were all panic-stricken. "Alas," said he to himself in his dismay,
"what will become of me? It is ill if I turn and fly before these
will be worse if I am left alone and taken prisoner,
for the son of Saturn has struck the rest of the Danaans with panic.
But why talk to myself in this way? Well do I know that though cowards
quit the field, a hero, whether he wound or be wounded, must stand
firm and hold his own."
While he was thus in two minds, the ranks of the Trojans advanced
and hemmed him in, and bitterly did they come to me it. As hounds
and lusty youths set upon a wild boar that sallies from his lair whetting
his white tusks- thM
ey attack him from every side and can hear the
gnashing of his jaws, but for all his fierceness they still hold their
ground- even so furiously did the Trojans attack Ulysses. First he
sprang spear in hand upon Deiopites and wounded him on the shoulder
with a downward blow; then he killed Thoon and Ennomus. After these
he struck Chersidamas in the loins under his shield as he had just
sprung down from his chariot; so he fell in the dust and clutched
the earth in the hollow of his hand. These he let lie, and M
to wound Charops son of Hippasus own brother to noble Socus. Socus,
hero that he was, made all speed to help him, and when he was close
to Ulysses he said, "Far-famed Ulysses, insatiable of craft and toil,
this day you shall either boast of having killed both the sons of
Hippasus and stripped them of their armour, or you shall fall before
With these words he struck the shield of Ulysses. The spear went through
the shield and passed on through his richly wrought cuirass, tearing
esh from his side, but Pallas Minerva did not suffer it to pierce
the entrails of the hero. Ulysses knew that his hour was not yet come,
but he gave ground and said to Socus, "Wretch, you shall now surely
die. You have stayed me from fighting further with the Trojans, but
you shall now fall by my spear, yielding glory to myself, and your
soul to Hades of the noble steeds."
Socus had turned in flight, but as he did so, the spear struck him
in the back midway between the shoulders, and went right through hiM
chest. He fell heavily to the ground and Ulysses vaunted over him
saying, "O Socus, son of Hippasus tamer of horses, death has been
too quick for you and you have not escaped him: poor wretch, not even
in death shall your father and mother close your eyes, but the ravening
vultures shall enshroud you with the flapping of their dark wings
and devour you. Whereas even though I fall the Achaeans will give
me my due rites of burial."
So saying he drew Socus's heavy spear out of his flesh and from his
ld, and the blood welled forth when the spear was withdrawn so
that he was much dismayed. When the Trojans saw that Ulysses was bleeding
they raised a great shout and came on in a body towards him; he therefore
gave ground, and called his comrades to come and help him. Thrice
did he cry as loudly as man can cry, and thrice did brave Menelaus
hear him; he turned, therefore, to Ajax who was close beside him and
said, "Ajax, noble son of Telamon, captain of your people, the cry
of Ulysses rings in my ears, as tM
hough the Trojans had cut him off
and were worsting him while he is single-handed. Let us make our way
through the throng; it will be well that we defend him; I fear he
may come to harm for all his valour if he be left without support,
and the Danaans would miss him sorely."
He led the way and mighty Ajax went with him. The Trojans had gathered
round Ulysses like ravenous mountain jackals round the carcase of
some homed stag that has been hit with an arrow- the stag has fled
at full speed so long as his M
blood was warm and his strength has lasted,
but when the arrow has overcome him, the savage jackals devour him
in the shady glades of the forest. Then heaven sends a fierce lion
thither, whereon the jackals fly in terror and the lion robs them
of their prey- even so did Trojans many and brave gather round crafty
Ulysses, but the hero stood at bay and kept them off with his spear.
Ajax then came up with his shield before him like a wall, and stood
hard by, whereon the Trojans fled in all directions. Menelaus M
Ulysses by the hand, and led him out of the press while his squire
brought up his chariot, but Ajax rushed furiously on the Trojans and
killed Doryclus, a bastard son of Priam; then he wounded Pandocus,
Lysandrus, Pyrasus, and Pylartes; as some swollen torrent comes rushing
in full flood from the mountains on to the plain, big with the rain
of heaven- many a dry oak and many a pine does it engulf, and much
mud does it bring down and cast into the sea- even so did brave Ajax
chase the foe furiously overM
the plain, slaying both men and horses.
Hector did not yet know what Ajax was doing, for he was fighting on
the extreme left of the battle by the banks of the river Scamander,
where the carnage was thickest and the war-cry loudest round Nestor
and brave Idomeneus. Among these Hector was making great slaughter
with his spear and furious driving, and was destroying the ranks that
were opposed to him; still the Achaeans would have given no ground,
had not Alexandrus husband of lovely Helen stayed the prowessM
shepherd of his people, by wounding him in the right shoulder with
a triple-barbed arrow. The Achaeans were in great fear that as the
fight had turned against them the Trojans might take him prisoner,
and Idomeneus said to Nestor, "Nestor son of Neleus, honour to the
Achaean name, mount your chariot at once; take Machaon with you and
drive your horses to the ships as fast as you can. A physician is
worth more than several other men put together, for he can cut out
arrows and spread healing herbsM
Nestor knight of Gerene did as Idomeneus had counselled; he at once
mounted his chariot, and Machaon son of the famed physician Aesculapius
went with him. He lashed his horses and they flew onward nothing loth
towards the ships, as though of their own free will.
Then Cebriones seeing the Trojans in confusion said to Hector from
his place beside him, "Hector, here are we two fighting on the extreme
wing of the battle, while the other Trojans are in pell-mell rout,
they and their horses. Ajax son of M
Telamon is driving them before
him; I know him by the breadth of his shield: let us turn our chariot
and horses thither, where horse and foot are fighting most desperately,
and where the cry of battle is loudest."
With this he lashed his goodly steeds, and when they felt the whip
they drew the chariot full speed among the Achaeans and Trojans, over
the bodies and shields of those that had fallen: the axle was bespattered
with blood, and the rail round the car was covered with splashes both
s' hoofs and from the tyres of the wheels. Hector tore
his way through and flung himself into the thick of the fight, and
his presence threw the Danaans into confusion, for his spear was not
long idle; nevertheless though he went among the ranks with sword
and spear, and throwing great stones, he avoided Ajax son of Telamon,
for Jove would have been angry with him if he had fought a better
Then father Jove from his high throne struck fear into the heart of
Ajax, so that he stood there dM
azed and threw his shield behind him-
looking fearfully at the throng of his foes as though he were some
wild beast, and turning hither and thither but crouching slowly backwards.
As peasants with their hounds chase a lion from their stockyard, and
watch by night to prevent his carrying off the pick of their herd-
he makes his greedy spring, but in vain, for the darts from many a
strong hand fall thick around him, with burning brands that scare
him for all his fury, and when morning comes he slinks foiled anM
angry away- even so did Ajax, sorely against his will, retreat angrily
before the Trojans, fearing for the ships of the Achaeans. Or as some
lazy ass that has had many a cudgel broken about his back, when he
into a field begins eating the corn- boys beat him but he is too many
for them, and though they lay about with their sticks they cannot
hurt him; still when he has had his fill they at last drive him from
the field- even so did the Trojans and their allies pursue great Ajax,
ever smiting the middle ofM
his shield with their darts. Now and again
he would turn and show fight, keeping back the battalions of the Trojans,
and then he would again retreat; but he prevented any of them from
making his way to the ships. Single-handed he stood midway between
the Trojans and Achaeans: the spears that sped from their hands stuck
some of them in his mighty shield, while many, though thirsting for
his blood, fell to the ground ere they could reach him to the wounding
Now when Eurypylus the brave M
son of Euaemon saw that Ajax was being
overpowered by the rain of arrows, he went up to him and hurled his
spear. He struck Apisaon son of Phausius in the liver below the midriff,
and laid him low. Eurypylus sprang upon him, and stripped the armour
from his shoulders; but when Alexandrus saw him, he aimed an arrow
at him which struck him in the right thigh; the arrow broke, but the
point that was left in the wound dragged on the thigh; he drew back,
therefore, under cover of his comrades to save his life, shM
as he did so to the Danaans, "My friends, princes and counsellors
of the Argives, rally to the defence of Ajax who is being overpowered,
and I doubt whether he will come out of the fight alive. Hither, then,
to the rescue of great Ajax son of Telamon."
Even so did he cry when he was wounded; thereon the others came near,
and gathered round him, holding their shields upwards from their shoulders
so as to give him cover. Ajax then made towards them, and turned round
to stand at bay as soon as he hadM
Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. Meanwhile the
mares of Neleus, all in a lather with sweat, were bearing Nestor out
of the fight, and with him Machaon shepherd of his people. Achilles
saw and took note, for he was standing on the stern of his ship watching
the hard stress and struggle of the fight. He called from the ship
to his comrade Patroclus, who heard him in the tent and came out looking
like Mars himself- here indeed was the beginning of the ill that presently
befell him. "Why," said he, "Achilles do you call me? what do you
what do you want with me?" And Achilles answered, "Noble son of Menoetius,
man after my own heart, I take it that I shall now have the Achaeans
praying at my knees, for they are in great straits; go, Patroclus,
and ask Nestor who is that he is bearing away wounded from the field;
from his back I should say it was Machaon son of Aesculapius, but
I could not see his face for the horses went by me at full speed."
Patroclus did as his dear comraM
de had bidden him, and set off running
by the ships and tents of the Achaeans.
When Nestor and Machaon had reached the tents of the son of Neleus,
they dismounted, and an esquire, Eurymedon, took the horses from the
chariot. The pair then stood in the breeze by the seaside to dry the
sweat from their shirts, and when they had so done they came inside
and took their seats. Fair Hecamede, whom Nestor had had awarded to
him from Tenedos when Achilles took it, mixed them a mess; she was
daughter of wise ArsiM
nous, and the Achaeans had given her to Nestor
because he excelled all of them in counsel. First she set for them
a fair and well-made table that had feet of cyanus; on it there was
a vessel of bronze and an onion to give relish to the drink, with
honey and cakes of barley-meal. There was also a cup of rare workmanship
which the old man had brought with him from home, studded with bosses
of gold; it had four handles, on each of which there were two golden
doves feeding, and it had two feet to stand on. Any oM
hardly have been able to lift it from the table when it was full,
but Nestor could do so quite easily. In this the woman, as fair as
a goddess, mixed them a mess with Pramnian wine; she grated goat's
milk cheese into it with a bronze grater, threw in a handful of white
barley-meal, and having thus prepared the mess she bade them drink
it. When they had done so and had thus quenched their thirst, they
fell talking with one another, and at this moment Patroclus appeared
old man saw him he sprang from his seat, seized his hand,
led him into the tent, and bade him take his place among them; but
Patroclus stood where he was and said, "Noble sir, I may not stay,
you cannot persuade me to come in; he that sent me is not one to be
trifled with, and he bade me ask who the wounded man was whom you
were bearing away from the field. I can now see for myself that he
is Machaon shepherd of his people. I must go back and tell Achilles.
You, sir, know what a terrible man he is, and how M
where no blame should lie."
And Nestor answered, "Why should Achilles care to know how many of
the Achaeans may be wounded? He recks not of the dismay that reigns
in our host; our most valiant chieftains lie disabled, brave Diomed
son of Tydeus is wounded; so are Ulysses and Agamemnon; Eurypylus
has been hit with an arrow in the thigh, and I have just been bringing
this man from the field- he too wounded- with an arrow; nevertheless
Achilles, so valiant though he be, cares not and knoM
he wait till the ships, do what we may, are in a blaze, and we perish
one upon the other? As for me, I have no strength nor stay in me any
longer; would that I Were still young and strong as in the days when
there was a fight between us and the men of Elis about some cattle-raiding.
I then killed Itymoneus the valiant son of Hypeirochus a dweller in
Elis, as I was driving in the spoil; he was hit by a dart thrown my
hand while fighting in the front rank in defence of his cows, so he
d the country people around him were in great fear. We drove
off a vast quantity of booty from the plain, fifty herds of cattle
and as many flocks of sheep; fifty droves also of pigs, and as many
wide-spreading flocks of goats. Of horses moreover we seized a hundred
and fifty, all of them mares, and many had foals running with them.
All these did we drive by night to Pylus the city of Neleus, taking
them within the city; and the heart of Neleus was glad in that I had
taken so much, though it was the first tiM
me I had ever been in the
field. At daybreak the heralds went round crying that all in Elis
to whom there was a debt owing should come; and the leading Pylians
assembled to divide the spoils. There were many to whom the Epeans
owed chattels, for we men of Pylus were few and had been oppressed
with wrong; in former years Hercules had come, and had laid his hand
heavy upon us, so that all our best men had perished. Neleus had had
twelve sons, but I alone was left; the others had all been killed.
esuming upon all this had looked down upon us and had
done us much evil. My father chose a herd of cattle and a great flock
of sheep- three hundred in all- and he took their shepherds with him,
for there was a great debt due to him in Elis, to wit four horses,
winners of prizes. They and their chariots with them had gone to the
games and were to run for a tripod, but King Augeas took them, and
sent back their driver grieving for the loss of his horses. Neleus
was angered by what he had both said and done, anM
in return, but he divided the rest, that no man might have less than
"Thus did we order all things, and offer sacrifices to the gods throughout
the city; but three days afterwards the Epeans came in a body, many
in number, they and their chariots, in full array, and with them the
two Moliones in their armour, though they were still lads and unused
to fighting. Now there is a certain town, Thryoessa, perched upon
a rock on the river Alpheus, the border city Pylus; this tM
destroy, and pitched their camp about it, but when they had crossed
their whole plain, Minerva darted down by night from Olympus and bade
us set ourselves in array; and she found willing soldiers in Pylos,
for the men meant fighting. Neleus would not let me arm, and hid my
horses, for he said that as yet I could know nothing about war; nevertheless
Minerva so ordered the fight that, all on foot as I was, I fought
among our mounted forces and vied with the foremost of them. There
s that falls into the sea near Arene, and there
they that were mounted (and I with them) waited till morning, when
the companies of foot soldiers came up with us in force. Thence in
full panoply and equipment we came towards noon to the sacred waters
of the Alpheus, and there we offered victims to almighty Jove, with
a bull to Alpheus, another to Neptune, and a herd-heifer to Minerva.
After this we took supper in our companies, and laid us down to rest
each in his armour by the river.
"The Epeans were beM
leaguering the city and were determined to take
it, but ere this might be there was a desperate fight in store for
them. When the sun's rays began to fall upon the earth we joined battle,
praying to Jove and to Minerva, and when the fight had begun, I was
the first to kill my man and take his horses- to wit the warrior Mulius.
He was son-in-law to Augeas, having married his eldest daughter, golden-haired
Agamede, who knew the virtues of every herb which grows upon the face
of the earth. I speared him as he wM
as coming towards me, and when
he fell headlong in the dust, I sprang upon his chariot and took my
place in the front ranks. The Epeans fled in all directions when they
saw the captain of their horsemen (the best man they had) laid low,
and I swept down on them like a whirlwind, taking fifty chariots-
and in each of them two men bit the dust, slain by my spear. I should
have even killed the two Moliones sons of Actor, unless their real
father, Neptune lord of the earthquake, had hidden them in a thick
and borne them out of the fight. Thereon Jove vouchsafed the
Pylians a great victory, for we chased them far over the plain, killing
the men and bringing in their armour, till we had brought our horses
to Buprasium rich in wheat and to the Olenian rock, with the hill
that is called Alision, at which point Minerva turned the people back.
There I slew the last man and left him; then the Achaeans drove their
horses back from Buprasium to Pylos and gave thanks to Jove among
the gods, and among mortal men to NestM
"Such was I among my peers, as surely as ever was, but Achilles is
for keeping all his valour for himself; bitterly will he rue it hereafter
when the host is being cut to pieces. My good friend, did not Menoetius
charge you thus, on the day when he sent you from Phthia to Agamemnon?
Ulysses and I were in the house, inside, and heard all that he said
to you; for we came to the fair house of Peleus while beating up recruits
throughout all Achaea, and when we got there we found Menoetius and
nd Achilles with you. The old knight Peleus was in the
outer court, roasting the fat thigh-bones of a heifer to Jove the
lord of thunder; and he held a gold chalice in his hand from which
he poured drink-offerings of wine over the burning sacrifice. You
two were busy cutting up the heifer, and at that moment we stood at
the gates, whereon Achilles sprang to his feet, led us by the hand
into the house, placed us at table, and set before us such hospitable
entertainment as guests expect. When we had satisfied M
meat and drink, I said my say and urged both of you to join us. You
were ready enough to do so, and the two old men charged you much and
straitly. Old Peleus bade his son Achilles fight ever among the foremost
and outvie his peers, while Menoetius the son of Actor spoke thus
to you: 'My son,' said he, 'Achilles is of nobler birth than you are,
but you are older than he, though he is far the better man of the
two. Counsel him wisely, guide him in the right way, and he will follow
n profit.' Thus did your father charge you, but you have
forgotten; nevertheless, even now, say all this to Achilles if he
will listen to you. Who knows but with heaven's help you may talk
him over, for it is good to take a friend's advice. If, however, he
is fearful about some oracle, or if his mother has told him something
from Jove, then let him send you, and let the rest of the Myrmidons
follow with you, if perchance you may bring light and saving to the
Danaans. And let him send you into battle clad in M
that the Trojans may mistake you for him and leave off fighting; the
sons of the Achaeans may thus have time to get their breath, for they
are hard pressed and there is little breathing time in battle. You,
who are fresh, might easily drive a tired enemy back to his walls
and away from the tents and ships."
With these words he moved the heart of Patroclus, who set off running
by the line of the ships to Achilles, descendant of Aeacus. When he
had got as far as the ships of Ulysses, where M
was their place of assembly
and court of justice, with their altars dedicated to the gods, Eurypylus
son of Euaemon met him, wounded in the thigh with an arrow, and limping
out of the fight. Sweat rained from his head and shoulders, and black
blood welled from his cruel wound, but his mind did not wander. The
son of Menoetius when he saw him had compassion upon him and spoke
piteously saying, "O unhappy princes and counsellors of the Danaans,
are you then doomed to feed the hounds of Troy with your fat, far
from your friends and your native land? say, noble Eurypylus, will
the Achaeans be able to hold great Hector in check, or will they fall
now before his spear?"
Wounded Eurypylus made answer, "Noble Patroclus, there is no hope
left for the Achaeans but they will perish at their ships. All they
that were princes among us are lying struck down and wounded at the
hands of the Trojans, who are waxing stronger and stronger. But save
me and take me to your ship; cut out the arrow from my thigh; wash
blood from off it with warm water, and lay upon it those
gracious herbs which, so they say, have been shown you by Achilles,
who was himself shown them by Chiron, most righteous of all the centaurs.
For of the physicians Podalirius and Machaon, I hear that the one
is lying wounded in his tent and is himself in need of healing, while
the other is fighting the Trojans upon the plain."
"Hero Eurypylus," replied the brave son of Menoetius, "how may these
things be? What can I do? I am on my way to bear a messM
Achilles from Nestor of Gerene, bulwark of the Achaeans, but even
so I will not be unmindful your distress."
With this he clasped him round the middle and led him into the tent,
and a servant, when he saw him, spread bullock-skins on the ground
for him to lie on. He laid him at full length and cut out the sharp
arrow from his thigh; he washed the black blood from the wound with
warm water; he then crushed a bitter herb, rubbing it between his
hands, and spread it upon the wound; this was a vM
killed all pain; so the wound presently dried and the blood left off
----------------------------------------------------------------------
So the son of Menoetius was attending to the hurt of Eurypylus within
the tent, but the Argives and Trojans still fought desperately, nor
were the trench and the high wall above it, to keep the Trojans in
check longer. They had built it to protect their ships, and had dug
the trench all round it that it might safeguard both tM
the rich spoils which they had taken, but they had not offered hecatombs
to the gods. It had been built without the consent of the immortals,
and therefore it did not last. So long as Hector lived and Achilles
nursed his anger, and so long as the city of Priam remained untaken,
the great wall of the Achaeans stood firm; but when the bravest of
the Trojans were no more, and many also of the Argives, though some
were yet left alive when, moreover, the city was sacked in the tenth
gives had gone back with their ships to their own
country- then Neptune and Apollo took counsel to destroy the wall,
and they turned on to it the streams of all the rivers from Mount
Ida into the sea, Rhesus, Heptaporus, Caresus, Rhodius, Grenicus,
Aesopus, and goodly Scamander, with Simois, where many a shield and
helm had fallen, and many a hero of the race of demigods had bitten
the dust. Phoebus Apollo turned the mouths of all these rivers together
and made them flow for nine days against the wall, whileM
the whole time that he might wash it sooner into the sea. Neptune
himself, trident in hand, surveyed the work and threw into the sea
all the foundations of beams and stones which the Achaeans had laid
with so much toil; he made all level by the mighty stream of the Hellespont,
and then when he had swept the wall away he spread a great beach of
sand over the place where it had been. This done he turned the rivers
back into their old courses.
This was what Neptune and Apollo were to do in afteM
yet battle and turmoil were still raging round the wall till its timbers
rang under the blows that rained upon them. The Argives, cowed by
the scourge of Jove, were hemmed in at their ships in fear of Hector
the mighty minister of Rout, who as heretofore fought with the force
and fury of a whirlwind. As a lion or wild boar turns fiercely on
the dogs and men that attack him, while these form solid wall and
shower their javelins as they face him- his courage is all undaunted,
t will be the death of him; many a time does he
charge at his pursuers to scatter them, and they fall back as often
as he does so- even so did Hector go about among the host exhorting
his men, and cheering them on to cross the trench.
But the horses dared not do so, and stood neighing upon its brink,
for the width frightened them. They could neither jump it nor cross
it, for it had overhanging banks all round upon either side, above
which there were the sharp stakes that the sons of the Achaeans had
ted so close and strong as a defence against all who would assail
it; a horse, therefore, could not get into it and draw his chariot
after him, but those who were on foot kept trying their very utmost.
Then Polydamas went up to Hector and said, "Hector, and you other
captains of the Trojans and allies, it is madness for us to try and
drive our horses across the trench; it will be very hard to cross,
for it is full of sharp stakes, and beyond these there is the wall.
Our horses therefore cannot get down into M
it, and would be of no use
if they did; moreover it is a narrow place and we should come to harm.
If, indeed, great Jove is minded to help the Trojans, and in his anger
will utterly destroy the Achaeans, I would myself gladly see them
perish now and here far from Argos; but if they should rally and we
are driven back from the ships pell-mell into the trench there will
be not so much as a man get back to the city to tell the tale. Now,
therefore, let us all do as I say; let our squires hold our horses
trench, but let us follow Hector in a body on foot, clad in
full armour, and if the day of their doom is at hand the Achaeans
will not be able to withstand us."
Thus spoke Polydamas and his saying pleased Hector, who sprang in
full armour to the ground, and all the other Trojans, when they saw
him do so, also left their chariots. Each man then gave his horses
over to his charioteer in charge to hold them ready for him at the
trench. Then they formed themselves into companies, made themselves
in five bodies followed their leaders. Those that went
with Hector and Polydamas were the bravest and most in number, and
the most determined to break through the wall and fight at the ships.
Cebriones was also joined with them as third in command, for Hector
had left his chariot in charge of a less valiant soldier. The next
company was led by Paris, Alcathous, and Agenor; the third by Helenus
and Deiphobus, two sons of Priam, and with them was the hero Asius-
Asius the son of Hyrtacus, whose great black horM
ses of the breed that
comes from the river Selleis had brought him from Arisbe. Aeneas the
valiant son of Anchises led the fourth; he and the two sons of Antenor,
Archelochus and Acamas, men well versed in all the arts of war. Sarpedon
was captain over the allies, and took with him Glaucus and Asteropaeus
whom he deemed most valiant after himself- for he was far the best
man of them all. These helped to array one another in their ox-hide
shields, and then charged straight at the Danaans, for they felt sure
that they would not hold out longer and that they should themselves
now fall upon the ships.
The rest of the Trojans and their allies now followed the counsel
of Polydamas but Asius son of Hyrtacus would not leave his horses
and his esquire behind him; in his foolhardiness he took them on with
him towards the ships, nor did he fail to come by his end in consequence.
Nevermore was he to return to wind-beaten Ilius, exulting in his chariot
and his horses; ere he could do so, death of ill-omened name had oveM
him and he had fallen by the spear of Idomeneus the noble son of Deucalion.
He had driven towards the left wing of the ships, by which way the
Achaeans used to return with their chariots and horses from the plain.
Hither he drove and found the gates with their doors opened wide,
and the great bar down- for the gatemen kept them open so as to let
those of their comrades enter who might be flying towards the ships.
Hither of set purpose did he direct his horses, and his men followed
cry, for they felt sure that the Achaeans would not
hold out longer, and that they should now fall upon the ships. Little
did they know that at the gates they should find two of the bravest
chieftains, proud sons of the fighting Lapithae- the one, Polypoetes,
mighty son of Pirithous, and the other Leonteus, peer of murderous
Mars. These stood before the gates like two high oak trees upon the
mountains, that tower from their wide-spreading roots, and year after
year battle with wind and rain- even so did thesM
onset of great Asius confidently and without flinching. The Trojans
led by him and by Iamenus, Orestes, Adamas the son of Asius, Thoon
and Oenomaus, raised a loud cry of battle and made straight for the
wall, holding their shields of dry ox-hide above their heads; for
a while the two defenders remained inside and cheered the Achaeans
on to stand firm in the defence of their ships; when, however, they
saw that the Trojans were attacking the wall, while the Danaans were
crying out for helpM
and being routed, they rushed outside and fought
in front of the gates like two wild boars upon the mountains that
abide the attack of men and dogs, and charging on either side break
down the wood all round them tearing it up by the roots, and one can
hear the clattering of their tusks, till some one hits them and makes
an end of them- even so did the gleaming bronze rattle about their
breasts, as the weapons fell upon them; for they fought with great
fury, trusting to their own prowess and to those who werM
above them. These threw great stones at their assailants in defence
of themselves their tents and their ships. The stones fell thick as
the flakes of snow which some fierce blast drives from the dark clouds
and showers down in sheets upon the earth- even so fell the weapons
from the hands alike of Trojans and Achaeans. Helmet and shield rang
out as the great stones rained upon them, and Asius the son of Hyrtacus
in his dismay cried aloud and smote his two thighs. "Father Jove,"
truth you too are altogether given to lying. I made
sure the Argive heroes could not withstand us, whereas like slim-waisted
wasps, or bees that have their nests in the rocks by the wayside-
they leave not the holes wherein they have built undefended, but fight
for their little ones against all who would take them- even so these
men, though they be but two, will not be driven from the gates, but
stand firm either to slay or be slain."
He spoke, but moved not the mind of Jove, whose counsel it then was
o give glory to Hector. Meanwhile the rest of the Trojans were fighting
about the other gates; I, however, am no god to be able to tell about
all these things, for the battle raged everywhere about the stone
wall as it were a fiery furnace. The Argives, discomfited though they
were, were forced to defend their ships, and all the gods who were
defending the Achaeans were vexed in spirit; but the Lapithae kept
on fighting with might and main.
Thereon Polypoetes, mighty son of Pirithous, hit Damasus with a sM
upon his cheek-pierced helmet. The helmet did not protect him, for
the point of the spear went through it, and broke the bone, so that
the brain inside was scattered about, and he died fighting. He then
slew Pylon and Ormenus. Leonteus, of the race of Mars, killed Hippomachus
the son of Antimachus by striking him with his spear upon the girdle.
He then drew his sword and sprang first upon Antiphates whom he killed
in combat, and who fell face upwards on the earth. After him he killed
d Orestes, and laid them low one after the other.
While they were busy stripping the armour from these heroes, the youths
who were led on by Polydamas and Hector (and these were the greater
part and the most valiant of those that were trying to break through
the wall and fire the ships) were still standing by the trench, uncertain
what they should do; for they had seen a sign from heaven when they
had essayed to cross it- a soaring eagle that flew skirting the left
wing of their host, with a monstrous blooM
d-red snake in its talons
still alive and struggling to escape. The snake was still bent on
revenge, wriggling and twisting itself backwards till it struck the
bird that held it, on the neck and breast; whereon the bird being
in pain, let it fall, dropping it into the middle of the host, and
then flew down the wind with a sharp cry. The Trojans were struck
with terror when they saw the snake, portent of aegis-bearing Jove,
writhing in the midst of them, and Polydamas went up to Hector and
our councils of war you are ever given to rebuke
me, even when I speak wisely, as though it were not well, forsooth,
that one of the people should cross your will either in the field
or at the council board; you would have them support you always: nevertheless
I will say what I think will be best; let us not now go on to fight
the Danaans at their ships, for I know what will happen if this soaring
eagle which skirted the left wing of our with a monstrous blood-red
snake in its talons (the snake being still aM
live) was really sent
as an omen to the Trojans on their essaying to cross the trench. The
eagle let go her hold; she did not succeed in taking it home to her
little ones, and so will it be- with ourselves; even though by a mighty
effort we break through the gates and wall of the Achaeans, and they
give way before us, still we shall not return in good order by the
way we came, but shall leave many a man behind us whom the Achaeans
will do to death in defence of their ships. Thus would any seer who
t in these matters, and was trusted by the people, read the
Hector looked fiercely at him and said, "Polydamas, I like not of
your reading. You can find a better saying than this if you will.
If, however, you have spoken in good earnest, then indeed has heaven
robbed you of your reason. You would have me pay no heed to the counsels
of Jove, nor to the promises he made me- and he bowed his head in
confirmation; you bid me be ruled rather by the flight of wild-fowl.
What care I whether they fly tM
owards dawn or dark, and whether they
be on my right hand or on my left? Let us put our trust rather in
the counsel of great Jove, king of mortals and immortals. There is
one omen, and one only- that a man should fight for his country. Why
are you so fearful? Though we be all of us slain at the ships of the
Argives you are not likely to be killed yourself, for you are not
steadfast nor courageous. If you will. not fight, or would talk others
over from doing so, you shall fall forthwith before my spear."
ith these words he led the way, and the others followed after with
a cry that rent the air. Then Jove the lord of thunder sent the blast
of a mighty wind from the mountains of Ida, that bore the dust down
towards the ships; he thus lulled the Achaeans into security, and
gave victory to Hector and to the Trojans, who, trusting to their
own might and to the signs he had shown them, essayed to break through
the great wall of the Achaeans. They tore down the breastworks from
the walls, and overthrew the battlemeM
nts; they upheaved the buttresses,
which the Achaeans had set in front of the wall in order to support
it; when they had pulled these down they made sure of breaking through
the wall, but the Danaans still showed no sign of giving ground; they
still fenced the battlements with their shields of ox-hide, and hurled
their missiles down upon the foe as soon as any came below the wall.
The two Ajaxes went about everywhere on the walls cheering on the
Achaeans, giving fair words to some while they spoke sharply M
one whom they saw to be remiss. "My friends," they cried, "Argives
one and all- good bad and indifferent, for there was never fight yet,
in which all were of equal prowess- there is now work enough, as you
very well know, for all of you. See that you none of you turn in flight
towards the ships, daunted by the shouting of the foe, but press forward
and keep one another in heart, if it may so be that Olympian Jove
the lord of lightning will vouchsafe us to repel our foes, and drive
them back towards tM
Thus did the two go about shouting and cheering the Achaeans on. As
the flakes that fall thick upon a winter's day, when Jove is minded
to snow and to display these his arrows to mankind- he lulls the wind
to rest, and snows hour after hour till he has buried the tops of
the high mountains, the headlands that jut into the sea, the grassy
plains, and the tilled fields of men; the snow lies deep upon the
forelands, and havens of the grey sea, but the waves as they come
rolling in stay it that it M
can come no further, though all else is
wrapped as with a mantle so heavy are the heavens with snow- even
thus thickly did the stones fall on one side and on the other, some
thrown at the Trojans, and some by the Trojans at the Achaeans; and
the whole wall was in an uproar.
Still the Trojans and brave Hector would not yet have broken down
the gates and the great bar, had not Jove turned his son Sarpedon
against the Argives as a lion against a herd of horned cattle. Before
him he held his shield of hammerM
ed bronze, that the smith had beaten
so fair and round, and had lined with ox hides which he had made fast
with rivets of gold all round the shield; this he held in front of
him, and brandishing his two spears came on like some lion of the
wilderness, who has been long famished for want of meat and will dare
break even into a well-fenced homestead to try and get at the sheep.
He may find the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks with dogs
and spears, but he is in no mind to be driven from the fold till hM
has had a try for it; he will either spring on a sheep and carry it
off, or be hit by a spear from strong hand- even so was Sarpedon fain
to attack the wall and break down its battlements. Then he said to
Glaucus son of Hippolochus, "Glaucus, why in Lycia do we receive especial
honour as regards our place at table? Why are the choicest portions
served us and our cups kept brimming, and why do men look up to us
as though we were gods? Moreover we hold a large estate by the banks
of the river Xanthus, fair M
with orchard lawns and wheat-growing land;
it becomes us, therefore, to take our stand at the head of all the
Lycians and bear the brunt of the fight, that one may say to another,
Our princes in Lycia eat the fat of the land and drink best of wine,
but they are fine fellows; they fight well and are ever at the front
in battle.' My good friend, if, when we were once out of this fight,
we could escape old age and death thenceforward and for ever, I should
neither press forward myself nor bid you do so, but deaM
shapes hangs ever over our heads, and no man can elude him; therefore
let us go forward and either win glory for ourselves, or yield it
Glaucus heeded his saying, and the pair forthwith led on the host
of Lycians. Menestheus son of Peteos was dismayed when he saw them,
for it was against his part of the wall that they came- bringing destruction
with them; he looked along the wall for some chieftain to support
his comrades and saw the two Ajaxes, men ever eager for the frayM
and Teucer, who had just come from his tent, standing near them; but
he could not make his voice heard by shouting to them, so great an
uproar was there from crashing shields and helmets and the battering
of gates with a din which reached the skies. For all the gates had
been closed, and the Trojans were hammering at them to try and break
their way through them. Menestheus, therefore, sent Thootes with a
message to Ajax. "Run, good Thootes," said and call Ajax, or better
still bid both come, for it will bM
e all over with us here directly;
the leaders of the Lycians are upon us, men who have ever fought desperately
heretofore. But if the have too much on their hands to let them come,
at any rate let Ajax son of Telamon do so, and let Teucer the famous
bowman come with him."
The messenger did as he was told, and set off running along the wall
of the Achaeans. When he reached the Ajaxes he said to them, "Sirs,
princes of the Argives, the son of noble Peteos bids you come to him
for a while and help him. You M
had better both come if you can, or
it will be all over with him directly; the leaders of the Lycians
are upon him, men who have ever fought desperately heretofore; if
you have too much on your hands to let both come, at any rate let
Ajax son of Telamon do so, and let Teucer the famous bowman come with
Great Ajax, son of Telamon, heeded the message, and at once spoke
to the son of Oileus. "Ajax," said he, "do you two, yourself and brave
Lycomedes, stay here and keep the Danaans in heart to fight thM
hardest. I will go over yonder, and bear my part in the fray, but
I will come back here at once as soon as I have given them the help
With this, Ajax son of Telamon set off, and Teucer his brother by
the same father went also, with Pandion to carry Teucer's bow. They
went along inside the wall, and when they came to the tower where
Menestheus was (and hard pressed indeed did they find him) the brave
captains and leaders of the Lycians were storming the battlements
as it were a thick darkM
cloud, fighting in close quarters, and raising
the battle-cry aloud.
First, Ajax son of Telamon killed brave Epicles, a comrade of Sarpedon,
hitting him with a jagged stone that lay by the battlements at the
very top of the wall. As men now are, even one who is in the bloom
of youth could hardly lift it with his two hands, but Ajax raised
it high aloft and flung it down, smashing Epicles' four-crested helmet
so that the bones of his head were crushed to pieces, and he fell
from the high wall as though hM
e were diving, with no more life left
in him. Then Teucer wounded Glaucus the brave son of Hippolochus as
he was coming on to attack the wall. He saw his shoulder bare and
aimed an arrow at it, which made Glaucus leave off fighting. Thereon
he sprang covertly down for fear some of the Achaeans might see that
he was wounded and taunt him. Sarpedon was stung with grief when he
saw Glaucus leave him, still he did not leave off fighting, but aimed
his spear at Alcmaon the son of Thestor and hit him. He drew his M
back again Alcmaon came down headlong after it with his bronzed armour
rattling round him. Then Sarpedon seized the battlement in his strong
hands, and tugged at it till it an gave way together, and a breach
was made through which many might pass.
Ajax and Teucer then both of them attacked him. Teucer hit him with
an arrow on the band that bore the shield which covered his body,
but Jove saved his son from destruction that he might not fall by
the ships' sterns. Meanwhile Ajax sprang on him and pieM
but the spear did not go clean through, though it hustled him back
that he could come on no further. He therefore retired a little space
from the battlement, yet without losing all his ground, for he still
thought to cover himself with glory. Then he turned round and shouted
to the brave Lycians saying, "Lycians, why do you thus fail me? For
all my prowess I cannot break through the wall and open a way to the
ships single-handed. Come close on behind me, for the more there are
The Lycians, shamed by his rebuke, pressed closer round him who was
their counsellor their king. The Argives on their part got their men
in fighting order within the wall, and there was a deadly struggle
between them. The Lycians could not break through the wall and force
their way to the ships, nor could the Danaans drive the Lycians from
the wall now that they had once reached it. As two men, measuring-rods
in hand, quarrel about their boundaries in a field that they own in
common, and stickle foM
r their rights though they be but in a mere
strip, even so did the battlements now serve as a bone of contention,
and they beat one another's round shields for their possession. Many
a man's body was wounded with the pitiless bronze, as he turned round
and bared his back to the foe, and many were struck clean through
their shields; the wall and battlements were everywhere deluged with
the blood alike of Trojans and of Achaeans. But even so the Trojans
could not rout the Achaeans, who still held on; and as soM
hard-working woman weighs wool in her balance and sees that the scales
be true, for she would gain some pitiful earnings for her little ones,
even so was the fight balanced evenly between them till the time came
when Jove gave the greater glory to Hector son of Priam, who was first
to spring towards the wall of the Achaeans. As he did so, he cried
aloud to the Trojans, "Up, Trojans, break the wall of the Argives,
and fling fire upon their ships."
Thus did he hound them on, and in one body they M
the wall as he had bidden them, and scaled the battlements with sharp
spears in their hands. Hector laid hold of a stone that lay just outside
the gates and was thick at one end but pointed at the other; two of
the best men in a town, as men now are, could hardly raise it from
the ground and put it on to a waggon, but Hector lifted it quite easily
by himself, for the son of scheming Saturn made it light for him.
As a shepherd picks up a ram's fleece with one hand and finds it no
o easily did Hector lift the great stone and drive it right
at the doors that closed the gates so strong and so firmly set. These
doors were double and high, and were kept closed by two cross-bars
to which there was but one key. When he had got close up to them,
Hector strode towards them that his blow might gain in force and struck
them in the middle, leaning his whole weight against them. He broke
both hinges, and the stone fell inside by reason of its great weight.
The portals re-echoed with the sound, thM
e bars held no longer, and
the doors flew open, one one way, and the other the other, through
the force of the blow. Then brave Hector leaped inside with a face
as dark as that of flying night. The gleaming bronze flashed fiercely
about his body and he had tow spears in his hand. None but a god could
have withstood him as he flung himself into the gateway, and his eyes
glared like fire. Then he turned round towards the Trojans and called
on them to scale the wall, and they did as he bade them- some of them
at once climbing over the wall, while others passed through the gates.
The Danaans then fled panic-stricken towards their ships, and all
was uproar and confusion.
(CONTINUED AT ETCHING.NET)
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text/plain;charset=utf-8
Now when Jove had thus brought Hector and the Trojans to the ships,
he left them to their never-ending toil, and turned his keen eyes
away, looking elsewhither towards the horse-breeders of Thrace, the
Mysians, fighters at close quarters, the noble Hippemolgi, who live
on milk, and the Abians, justest of mankind. He no longer turned so
much as a glance towards Troy, for he did not think that any of the
immortals would go and help either Trojans or DanaM
But King Neptune had kept no blind look-out; he had been looking admiringly
on the battle from his seat on the topmost crests of wooded Samothrace,
whence he could see all Ida, with the city of Priam and the ships
of the Achaeans. He had come from under the sea and taken his place
here, for he pitied the Achaeans who were being overcome by the Trojans;
and he was furiously angry with Jove.
Presently he came down from his post on the mountain top, and as he
strode swiftly onwards the high hills anM
d the forest quaked beneath
the tread of his immortal feet. Three strides he took, and with the
fourth he reached his goal- Aegae, where is his glittering golden
palace, imperishable, in the depths of the sea. When he got there,
he yoked his fleet brazen-footed steeds with their manes of gold all
flying in the wind; he clothed himself in raiment of gold, grasped
his gold whip, and took his stand upon his chariot. As he went his
way over the waves the sea-monsters left their lairs, for they knew
and came gambolling round him from every quarter of the
deep, while the sea in her gladness opened a path before his chariot.
So lightly did the horses fly that the bronze axle of the car was
not even wet beneath it; and thus his bounding steeds took him to
the ships of the Achaeans.
Now there is a certain huge cavern in the depths of the sea midway
between Tenedos and rocky Imbrus; here Neptune lord of the earthquake
stayed his horses, unyoked them, and set before them their ambrosial
their feet with hobbles of gold which none could
either unloose or break, so that they might stay there in that place
until their lord should return. This done he went his way to the host
Now the Trojans followed Hector son of Priam in close array like a
storm-cloud or flame of fire, fighting with might and main and raising
the cry battle; for they deemed that they should take the ships of
the Achaeans and kill all their chiefest heroes then and there. Meanwhile
earth-encircling NeptuneM
lord of the earthquake cheered on the Argives,
for he had come up out of the sea and had assumed the form and voice
First he spoke to the two Ajaxes, who were doing their best already,
and said, "Ajaxes, you two can be the saving of the Achaeans if you
will put out all your strength and not let yourselves be daunted.
I am not afraid that the Trojans, who have got over the wall in force,
will be victorious in any other part, for the Achaeans can hold all
of them in check, but I much fear thatM
some evil will befall us here
where furious Hector, who boasts himself the son of great Jove himself,
is leading them on like a pillar of flame. May some god, then, put
it into your hearts to make a firm stand here, and to incite others
to do the like. In this case you will drive him from the ships even
though he be inspired by Jove himself."
As he spoke the earth-encircling lord of the earthquake struck both
of them with his sceptre and filled their hearts with daring. He made
their legs light and actiM
ve, as also their hands and their feet. Then,
as the soaring falcon poises on the wing high above some sheer rock,
and presently swoops down to chase some bird over the plain, even
so did Neptune lord of the earthquake wing his flight into the air
and leave them. Of the two, swift Ajax son of Oileus was the first
to know who it was that had been speaking with them, and said to Ajax
son of Telamon, "Ajax, this is one of the gods that dwell on Olympus,
who in the likeness of the prophet is bidding us fight harM
ships. It was not Calchas the seer and diviner of omens; I knew him
at once by his feet and knees as he turned away, for the gods are
soon recognised. Moreover I feel the lust of battle burn more fiercely
within me, while my hands and my feet under me are more eager for
And Ajax son of Telamon answered, "I too feel my hands grasp my spear
more firmly; my strength is greater, and my feet more nimble; I long,
moreover, to meet furious Hector son of Priam, even in single combat."
did they converse, exulting in the hunger after battle with which
the god had filled them. Meanwhile the earth-encircler roused the
Achaeans, who were resting in the rear by the ships overcome at once
by hard fighting and by grief at seeing that the Trojans had got over
the wall in force. Tears began falling from their eyes as they beheld
them, for they made sure that they should not escape destruction;
but the lord of the earthquake passed lightly about among them and
urged their battalions to the front.
First he went up to Teucer and Leitus, the hero Peneleos, and Thoas
and Deipyrus; Meriones also and Antilochus, valiant warriors; all
did he exhort. "Shame on you young Argives," he cried, "it was on
your prowess I relied for the saving of our ships; if you fight not
with might and main, this very day will see us overcome by the Trojans.
Of a truth my eyes behold a great and terrible portent which I had
never thought to see- the Trojans at our ships- they, who were heretofore
like panic-stricken hinds, thM
e prey of jackals and wolves in a forest,
with no strength but in flight for they cannot defend themselves.
Hitherto the Trojans dared not for one moment face the attack of the
Achaeans, but now they have sallied far from their city and are fighting
at our very ships through the cowardice of our leader and the disaffection
of the people themselves, who in their discontent care not to fight
in defence of the ships but are being slaughtered near them. True,
King Agamemnon son of Atreus is the cause of our disaM
insulted the son of Peleus, still this is no reason why we should
leave off fighting. Let us be quick to heal, for the hearts of the
brave heal quickly. You do ill to be thus remiss, you, who are the
finest soldiers in our whole army. I blame no man for keeping out
of battle if he is a weakling, but I am indignant with such men as
you are. My good friends, matters will soon become even worse through
this slackness; think, each one of you, of his own honour and credit,
for the hazard of the fiM
ght is extreme. Great Hector is now fighting
at our ships; he has broken through the gates and the strong bolt
Thus did the earth-encircler address the Achaeans and urge them on.
Thereon round the two Ajaxes there gathered strong bands of men, of
whom not even Mars nor Minerva, marshaller of hosts could make light
if they went among them, for they were the picked men of all those
who were now awaiting the onset of Hector and the Trojans. They made
a living fence, spear to spear, shield tM
o shield, buckler to buckler,
helmet to helmet, and man to man. The horse-hair crests on their gleaming
helmets touched one another as they nodded forward, so closely seffied
were they; the spears they brandished in their strong hands were interlaced,
and their hearts were set on battle.
The Trojans advanced in a dense body, with Hector at their head pressing
right on as a rock that comes thundering down the side of some mountain
from whose brow the winter torrents have torn it; the foundations
ll thing have been loosened by floods of rain, and as it
bounds headlong on its way it sets the whole forest in an uproar;
it swerves neither to right nor left till it reaches level ground,
but then for all its fury it can go no further- even so easily did
Hector for a while seem as though he would career through the tents
and ships of the Achaeans till he had reached the sea in his murderous
course; but the closely serried battalions stayed him when he reached
them, for the sons of the Achaeans thrust at hiM
m with swords and spears
pointed at both ends, and drove him from them so that he staggered
and gave ground; thereon he shouted to the Trojans, "Trojans, Lycians,
and Dardanians, fighters in close combat, stand firm: the Achaeans
have set themselves as a wall against me, but they will not check
me for long; they will give ground before me if the mightiest of the
gods, the thundering spouse of Juno, has indeed inspired my onset."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Deiphobus son
went about among them intent on deeds of daring with his
round shield before him, under cover of which he strode quickly forward.
Meriones took aim at him with a spear, nor did he fail to hit the
broad orb of ox-hide; but he was far from piercing it for the spear
broke in two pieces long ere he could do so; moreover Deiphobus had
seen it coming and had held his shield well away from him. Meriones
drew back under cover of his comrades, angry alike at having failed
to vanquish Deiphobus, and having broken his M
spear. He turned therefore
towards the ships and tents to fetch a spear which he had left behind
The others continued fighting, and the cry of battle rose up into
the heavens. Teucer son of Telamon was the first to kill his man,
to wit, the warrior Imbrius son of Mentor rich in horses. Until the
Achaeans came he had lived in Pedaeum, and had married Medesicaste
a bastard daughter of Priam; but on the arrival of the Danaan fleet
he had gone back to Ilius, and was a great man among the TrojansM
dwelling near Priam himself, who gave him like honour with his own
sons. The son of Telamon now struck him under the ear with a spear
which he then drew back again, and Imbrius fell headlong as an ash-tree
when it is felled on the crest of some high mountain beacon, and its
delicate green foliage comes toppling down to the ground. Thus did
he fall with his bronze-dight armour ringing harshly round him, and
Teucer sprang forward with intent to strip him of his armour; but
as he was doing so, Hector took aiM
m at him with a spear. Teucer saw
the spear coming and swerved aside, whereon it hit Amphimachus, son
of Cteatus son of Actor, in the chest as he was coming into battle,
and his armour rang rattling round him as he fell heavily to the ground.
Hector sprang forward to take Amphimachus's helmet from off his temples,
and in a moment Ajax threw a spear at him, but did not wound him,
for he was encased all over in his terrible armour; nevertheless the
spear struck the boss of his shield with such force as to drivM
back from the two corpses, which the Achaeans then drew off. Stichius
and Menestheus, captains of the Athenians, bore away Amphimachus to
the host of the Achaeans, while the two brave and impetuous Ajaxes
did the like by Imbrius. As two lions snatch a goat from the hounds
that have it in their fangs, and bear it through thick brushwood high
above the ground in their jaws, thus did the Ajaxes bear aloft the
body of Imbrius, and strip it of its armour. Then the son of Oileus
severed the head from the neM
ck in revenge for the death of Amphimachus,
and sent it whirling over the crowd as though it had been a ball,
till fell in the dust at Hector's feet.
Neptune was exceedingly angry that his grandson Amphimachus should
have fallen; he therefore went to the tents and ships of the Achaeans
to urge the Danaans still further, and to devise evil for the Trojans.
Idomeneus met him, as he was taking leave of a comrade, who had just
come to him from the fight, wounded in the knee. His fellow-soldiers
the field, and Idomeneus having given orders to the physicians
went on to his tent, for he was still thirsting for battle. Neptune
spoke in the likeness and with the voice of Thoas son of Andraemon
who ruled the Aetolians of all Pleuron and high Calydon, and was honoured
among his people as though he were a god. "Idomeneus," said he, "lawgiver
to the Cretans, what has now become of the threats with which the
sons of the Achaeans used to threaten the Trojans?"
And Idomeneus chief among the Cretans answeredM
, "Thoas, no one, so
far as I know, is in fault, for we can all fight. None are held back
neither by fear nor slackness, but it seems to be the of almighty
Jove that the Achaeans should perish ingloriously here far from Argos:
you, Thoas, have been always staunch, and you keep others in heart
if you see any fail in duty; be not then remiss now, but exhort all
to do their utmost."
To this Neptune lord of the earthquake made answer, "Idomeneus, may
he never return from Troy, but remain here for dogs to batM
who is this day wilfully slack in fighting. Get your armour and go,
we must make all haste together if we may be of any use, though we
are only two. Even cowards gain courage from companionship, and we
two can hold our own with the bravest."
Therewith the god went back into the thick of the fight, and Idomeneus
when he had reached his tent donned his armour, grasped his two spears,
and sallied forth. As the lightning which the son of Saturn brandishes
from bright Olympus when he would show a siM
gn to mortals, and its
gleam flashes far and wide- even so did his armour gleam about him
as he ran. Meriones his sturdy squire met him while he was still near
his tent (for he was going to fetch his spear) and Idomeneus said
"Meriones, fleet son of Molus, best of comrades, why have you left
the field? Are you wounded, and is the point of the weapon hurting
you? or have you been sent to fetch me? I want no fetching; I had
far rather fight than stay in my tent."
"Idomeneus," answered Meriones, "I come fM
or a spear, if I can find
one in my tent; I have broken the one I had, in throwing it at the
shield of Deiphobus."
And Idomeneus captain of the Cretans answered, "You will find one
spear, or twenty if you so please, standing up against the end wall
of my tent. I have taken them from Trojans whom I have killed, for
I am not one to keep my enemy at arm's length; therefore I have spears,
bossed shields, helmets, and burnished corslets."
Then Meriones said, "I too in my tent and at my ship have spoils takM
from the Trojans, but they are not at hand. I have been at all times
valorous, and wherever there has been hard fighting have held my own
among the foremost. There may be those among the Achaeans who do not
know how I fight, but you know it well enough yourself."
Idomeneus answered, "I know you for a brave man: you need not tell
me. If the best men at the ships were being chosen to go on an ambush-
and there is nothing like this for showing what a man is made of;
it comes out then who is cowardly and wM
ho brave; the coward will change
colour at every touch and turn; he is full of fears, and keeps shifting
his weight first on one knee and then on the other; his heart beats
fast as he thinks of death, and one can hear the chattering of his
teeth; whereas the brave man will not change colour nor be on finding
himself in ambush, but is all the time longing to go into action-
if the best men were being chosen for such a service, no one could
make light of your courage nor feats of arms. If you were struck by
dart or smitten in close combat, it would not be from behind, in
your neck nor back, but the weapon would hit you in the chest or belly
as you were pressing forward to a place in the front ranks. But let
us no longer stay here talking like children, lest we be ill spoken
of; go, fetch your spear from the tent at once."
On this Meriones, peer of Mars, went to the tent and got himself a
spear of bronze. He then followed after Idomeneus, big with great
deeds of valour. As when baneful Mars sallies forth to M
his son Panic so strong and dauntless goes with him, to strike terror
even into the heart of a hero- the pair have gone from Thrace to arm
themselves among the Ephyri or the brave Phlegyans, but they will
not listen to both the contending hosts, and will give victory to
one side or to the other- even so did Meriones and Idomeneus, captains
of men, go out to battle clad in their bronze armour. Meriones was
first to speak. "Son of Deucalion," said he, "where would you have
us begin fighting? On thM
e right wing of the host, in the centre, or
on the left wing, where I take it the Achaeans will be weakest?"
Idomeneus answered, "There are others to defend the centre- the two
Ajaxes and Teucer, who is the finest archer of all the Achaeans, and
is good also in a hand-to-hand fight. These will give Hector son of
Priam enough to do; fight as he may, he will find it hard to vanquish
their indomitable fury, and fire the ships, unless the son of Saturn
fling a firebrand upon them with his own hand. Great Ajax M
will yield to no man who is in mortal mould and eats the grain of
Ceres, if bronze and great stones can overthrow him. He would not
yield even to Achilles in hand-to-hand fight, and in fleetness of
foot there is none to beat him; let us turn therefore towards the
left wing, that we may know forthwith whether we are to give glory
to some other, or he to us."
Meriones, peer of fleet Mars, then led the way till they came to the
part of the host which Idomeneus had named.
ans saw Idomeneus coming on like a flame of fire,
him and his squire clad in their richly wrought armour, they shouted
and made towards him all in a body, and a furious hand-to-hand fight
raged under the ships' sterns. Fierce as the shrill winds that whistle
upon a day when dust lies deep on the roads, and the gusts raise it
into a thick cloud- even such was the fury of the combat, and might
and main did they hack at each other with spear and sword throughout
the host. The field bristled with the long and deM
they bore. Dazzling was the sheen of their gleaming helmets, their
fresh-burnished breastplates, and glittering shields as they joined
battle with one another. Iron indeed must be his courage who could
take pleasure in the sight of such a turmoil, and look on it without
Thus did the two mighty sons of Saturn devise evil for mortal heroes.
Jove was minded to give victory to the Trojans and to Hector, so as
to do honour to fleet Achilles, nevertheless he did not mean to utM
overthrow the Achaean host before Ilius, and only wanted to glorify
Thetis and her valiant son. Neptune on the other hand went about among
the Argives to incite them, having come up from the grey sea in secret,
for he was grieved at seeing them vanquished by the Trojans, and was
furiously angry with Jove. Both were of the same race and country,
but Jove was elder born and knew more, therefore Neptune feared to
defend the Argives openly, but in the likeness of man, he kept on
encouraging them throughouM
t their host. Thus, then, did these two
devise a knot of war and battle, that none could unloose or break,
and set both sides tugging at it, to the failing of men's knees beneath
And now Idomeneus, though his hair was already flecked with grey,
called loud on the Danaans and spread panic among the Trojans as he
leaped in among them. He slew Othryoneus from Cabesus, a sojourner,
who had but lately come to take part in the war. He sought Cassandra
the fairest of Priam's daughters in marriage, but offM
of wooing, for he promised a great thing, to wit, that he would drive
the sons of the Achaeans willy nilly from Troy; old King Priam had
given his consent and promised her to him, whereon he fought on the
strength of the promises thus made to him. Idomeneus aimed a spear,
and hit him as he came striding on. His cuirass of bronze did not
protect him, and the spear stuck in his belly, so that he fell heavily
to the ground. Then Idomeneus vaunted over him saying, "Othryoneus,
there is no one in tM
he world whom I shall admire more than I do you,
if you indeed perform what you have promised Priam son of Dardanus
in return for his daughter. We too will make you an offer; we will
give you the loveliest daughter of the son of Atreus, and will bring
her from Argos for you to marry, if you will sack the goodly city
of Ilius in company with ourselves; so come along with me, that we
may make a covenant at the ships about the marriage, and we will not
be hard upon you about gifts of wooing."
eneus began dragging him by the foot through the thick
of the fight, but Asius came up to protect the body, on foot, in front
of his horses which his esquire drove so close behind him that he
could feel their 'breath upon his shoulder. He was longing to strike
down Idomeneus, but ere he could do so Idomeneus smote him with his
spear in the throat under the chin, and the bronze point went clean
through it. He fell as an oak, or poplar, or pine which shipwrights
have felled for ship's timber upon the mountainsM
even thus did he lie full length in front of his chariot and horses,
grinding his teeth and clutching at the bloodstained just. His charioteer
was struck with panic and did not dare turn his horses round and escape:
thereupon Antilochus hit him in the middle of his body with a spear;
his cuirass of bronze did not protect him, and the spear stuck in
his belly. He fell gasping from his chariot and Antilochus great Nestor's
son, drove his horses from the Trojans to the Achaeans.
s then came close up to Idomeneus to avenge Asius, and took
aim at him with a spear, but Idomeneus was on the look-out and avoided
it, for he was covered by the round shield he always bore- a shield
of oxhide and bronze with two arm-rods on the inside. He crouched
under cover of this, and the spear flew over him, but the shield rang
out as the spear grazed it, and the weapon sped not in vain from the
strong hand of Deiphobus, for it struck Hypsenor son of Hippasus,
shepherd of his people, in the liver under M
the midriff, and his limbs
failed beneath him. Deiphobus vaunted over him and cried with a loud
voice saying, "Of a truth Asius has not fallen unavenied; he will
be glad even while passing into the house of Hades, strong warden
of the gate, that I have sent some one to escort him."
Thus did he vaunt, and the Argives were stung by his saying. Noble
Antilochus was more angry than any one, but grief did not make him
forget his friend and comrade. He ran up to him, bestrode him, and
covered him with his shieM
ld; then two of his staunch comrades, Mecisteus
son of Echius, and Alastor stooped down, and bore him away groaning
heavily to the ships. But Idomeneus ceased not his fury. He kept on
striving continually either to enshroud some Trojan in the darkness
of death, or himself to fall while warding off the evil day from the
Achaeans. Then fell Alcathous son of noble Aesyetes: he was son-in-law
to Anchises, having married his eldest daughter Hippodameia who was
the darling of her father and mother, and excelled alM
in beauty, accomplishments, and understanding, wherefore the bravest
man in all Troy had taken her to wife- him did Neptune lay low by
the hand of Idomeneus, blinding his bright eyes and binding his strong
limbs in fetters so that he could neither go back nor to one side,
but stood stock still like pillar or lofty tree when Idomeneus struck
him with a spear in the middle of his chest. The coat of mail that
had hitherto protected his body was now broken, and rang harshly as
rough it. He fell heavily to the ground, and the
spear stuck in his heart, which still beat, and made the butt-end
of the spear quiver till dread Mars put an end to his life. Idomeneus
vaunted over him and cried with a loud voice saying, "Deiphobus, since
you are in a mood to vaunt, shall we cry quits now that we have killed
three men to your one? Nay, sir, stand in fight with me yourself,
that you may learn what manner of Jove-begotten man am I that have
come hither. Jove first begot Minos chief ruler in CrM
in his turn begot a son, noble Deucalion; Deucalion begot me to be
a ruler over many men in Crete, and my ships have now brought me hither,
to be the bane of yourself, your father, and the Trojans."
Thus did he speak, and Deiphobus was in two minds, whether to go back
and fetch some other Trojan to help him, or to take up the challenge
single-handed. In the end, he deemed it best to go and fetch Aeneas,
whom he found standing in the rear, for he had long been aggrieved
with Priam because inM
spite his brave deeds he did not give him his
due share of honour. Deiphobus went up to him and said, "Aeneas, prince
among the Trojans, if you know any ties of kinship, help me now to
defend the body of your sister's husband; come with me to the rescue
of Alcathous, who being husband to your sister brought you up when
you were a child in his house, and now Idomeneus has slain him."
With these words he moved the heart of Aeneas, and he went in pursuit
of Idomeneus, big with great deeds of valour; but IdomM
to be thus daunted as though he were a mere child; he held his ground
as a wild boar at bay upon the mountains, who abides the coming of
a great crowd of men in some lonely place- the bristles stand upright
on his back, his eyes flash fire, and he whets his tusks in his eagerness
to defend himself against hounds and men- even so did famed Idomeneus
hold his ground and budge not at the coming of Aeneas. He cried aloud
to his comrades looking towards Ascalaphus, Aphareus, Deipyrus, Meriones,
Antilochus, all of them brave soldiers- "Hither my friends," he
cried, "and leave me not single-handed- I go in great fear by fleet
Aeneas, who is coming against me, and is a redoubtable dispenser of
death battle. Moreover he is in the flower of youth when a man's strength
is greatest; if I was of the same age as he is and in my present mind,
either he or I should soon bear away the prize of victory
On this, all of them as one man stood near him, shield on shoulder.
Aeneas on the other side called to his M
comrades, looking towards Deiphobus,
Paris, and Agenor, who were leaders of the Trojans along with himself,
and the people followed them as sheep follow the ram when they go
down to drink after they have been feeding, and the heart of the shepherd
is glad- even so was the heart of Aeneas gladdened when he saw his
Then they fought furiously in close combat about the body of Alcathous,
wielding their long spears; and the bronze armour about their bodies
rang fearfully as they took aim atM
one another in the press of the
fight, while the two heroes Aeneas and Idomeneus, peers of Mars, outxied
every one in their desire to hack at each other with sword and spear.
Aeneas took aim first, but Idomeneus was on the lookout and avoided
the spear, so that it sped from Aeneas' strong hand in vain, and fell
quivering in the ground. Idomeneus meanwhile smote Oenomaus in the
middle of his belly, and broke the plate of his corslet, whereon his
bowels came gushing out and he clutched the earth in the palms M
his hands as he fell sprawling in the dust. Idomeneus drew his spear
out of the body, but could not strip him of the rest of his armour
for the rain of darts that were showered upon him: moreover his strength
was now beginning to fail him so that he could no longer charge, and
could neither spring forward to recover his own weapon nor swerve
aside to avoid one that was aimed at him; therefore, though he still
defended himself in hand-to-hand fight, his heavy feet could not bear
him swiftly out of the batM
tle. Deiphobus aimed a spear at him as he
was retreating slowly from the field, for his bitterness against him
was as fierce as ever, but again he missed him, and hit Ascalaphus,
the son of Mars; the spear went through his shoulder, and he clutched
the earth in the palms of his hands as he fell sprawling in the dust.
Grim Mars of awful voice did not yet know that his son had fallen,
for he was sitting on the summits of Olympus under the golden clouds,
by command of Jove, where the other gods were also sittM
to take part in the battle. Meanwhile men fought furiously about the
body. Deiphobus tore the helmet from off his head, but Meriones sprang
upon him, and struck him on the arm with a spear so that the visored
helmet fell from his hand and came ringing down upon the ground. Thereon
Meriones sprang upon him like a vulture, drew the spear from his shoulder,
and fell back under cover of his men. Then Polites, own brother of
Deiphobus passed his arms around his waist, and bore him away from
ttle till he got to his horses that were standing in the rear
of the fight with the chariot and their driver. These took him towards
the city groaning and in great pain, with the blood flowing from his
The others still fought on, and the battle-cry rose to heaven without
ceasing. Aeneas sprang on Aphareus son of Caletor, and struck him
with a spear in his throat which was turned towards him; his head
fell on one side, his helmet and shield came down along with him,
and death, life's foe, was shed arM
ound him. Antilochus spied his chance,
flew forward towards Thoon, and wounded him as he was turning round.
He laid open the vein that runs all the way up the back to the neck;
he cut this vein clean away throughout its whole course, and Thoon
fell in the dust face upwards, stretching out his hands imploringly
towards his comrades. Antilochus sprang upon him and stripped the
armour from his shoulders, glaring round him fearfully as he did so.
The Trojans came about him on every side and struck his broad and
gleaming shield, but could not wound his body, for Neptune stood guard
over the son of Nestor, though the darts fell thickly round him. He
was never clear of the foe, but was always in the thick of the fight;
his spear was never idle; he poised and aimed it in every direction,
so eager was he to hit some one from a distance or to fight him hand
As he was thus aiming among the crowd, he was seen by Adamas son of
Asius, who rushed towards him and struck him with a spear in the middle
d, but Neptune made its point without effect, for he grudged
him the life of Antilochus. One half, therefore, of the spear stuck
fast like a charred stake in Antilochus's shield, while the other
lay on the ground. Adamas then sought shelter under cover of his men,
but Meriones followed after and hit him with a spear midway between
the private parts and the navel, where a wound is particualrly painful
to wretched mortals. There did Meriones transfix him, and he writhed
convulsively about the spear as some bulM
l whom mountain herdsmen have
bound with ropes of withes and are taking away perforce. Even so did
he move convulsively for a while, but not for very long, till Meriones
came up and drew the spear out of his body, and his eyes were veiled
Helenus then struck Deipyrus with a great Thracian sword, hitting
him on the temple in close combat and tearing the helmet from his
head; the helmet fell to the ground, and one of those who were fighting
on the Achaean side took charge of it as it rolled atM
the eyes of Deipyrus were closed in the darkness of death.
On this Menelaus was grieved, and made menacingly towards Helenus,
brandishing his spear; but Helenus drew his bow, and the two attacked
one another at one and the same moment, the one with his spear, and
the other with his bow and arrow. The son of Priam hit the breastplate
of Menelaus's corslet, but the arrow glanced from off it. As black
beans or pulse come pattering down on to a threshing-floor from the
broad winnowing-shovel, bM
lown by shrill winds and shaken by the shovel-
even so did the arrow glance off and recoil from the shield of Menelaus,
who in his turn wounded the hand with which Helenus carried his bow;
the spear went right through his hand and stuck in the bow itself,
so that to his life he retreated under cover of his men, with his
hand dragging by his side- for the spear weighed it down till Agenor
drew it out and bound the hand carefully up in a woollen sling which
his esquire had with him.
Pisander then made straM
ight at Menelaus- his evil destiny luring him
on to his doom, for he was to fall in fight with you, O Menelaus.
When the two were hard by one another the spear of the son of Atreus
turned aside and he missed his aim; Pisander then struck the shield
of brave Menelaus but could not pierce it, for the shield stayed the
spear and broke the shaft; nevertheless he was glad and made sure
of victory; forthwith, however, the son of Atreus drew his sword and
sprang upon him. Pisander then seized the bronze battle-axe,M
its long and polished handle of olive wood that hung by his side under
his shield, and the two made at one another. Pisander struck the peak
of Menelaus's crested helmet just under the crest itself, and Menelaus
hit Pisander as he was coming towards him, on the forehead, just at
the rise of his nose; the bones cracked and his two gore-bedrabbled
eyes fell by his feet in the dust. He fell backwards to the ground,
and Menelaus set his heel upon him, stripped him of his armour, and
vaunted over him sayinM
g, "Even thus shall you Trojans leave the ships
of the Achaeans, proud and insatiate of battle though you be: nor
shall you lack any of the disgrace and shame which you have heaped
upon myself. Cowardly she-wolves that you are, you feared not the
anger of dread Jove, avenger of violated hospitality, who will one
day destroy your city; you stole my wedded wife and wickedly carried
off much treasure when you were her guest, and now you would fling
fire upon our ships, and kill our heroes. A day will come when,M
as you may, you shall be stayed. O father Jove, you, who they say
art above all both gods and men in wisdom, and from whom all things
that befall us do proceed, how can you thus favour the Trojans- men
so proud and overweening, that they are never tired of fighting? All
things pall after a while- sleep, love, sweet song, and stately dance-
still these are things of which a man would surely have his fill rather
than of battle, whereas it is of battle that the Trojans are insatiate."
s stripped the blood-stained armour from the body
of Pisander, and handed it over to his men; then he again ranged himself
among those who were in the front of the fight.
Harpalion son of King Pylaemenes then sprang upon him; he had come
to fight at Troy along with his father, but he did not go home again.
He struck the middle of Menelaus's shield with his spear but could
not pierce it, and to save his life drew back under cover of his men,
looking round him on every side lest he should be wounded. But MeM
aimed a bronze-tipped arrow at him as he was leaving the field, and
hit him on the right buttock; the arrow pierced the bone through and
through, and penetrated the bladder, so he sat down where he was and
breathed his last in the arms of his comrades, stretched like a worm
upon the ground and watering the earth with the blood that flowed
from his wound. The brave Paphlagonians tended him with all due care;
they raised him into his chariot, and bore him sadly off to the city
of Troy; his father went M
also with him weeping bitterly, but there
was no ransom that could bring his dead son to life again.
Paris was deeply grieved by the death of Harpalion, who was his host
when he went among the Paphlagonians; he aimed an arrow, therefore,
in order to avenge him. Now there was a certain man named Euchenor,
son of Polyidus the prophet, a brave man and wealthy, whose home was
in Corinth. This Euchenor had set sail for Troy well knowing that
it would be the death of him, for his good old father Polyidus had
ten told him that he must either stay at home and die of a terrible
disease, or go with the Achaeans and perish at the hands of the Trojans;
he chose, therefore, to avoid incurring the heavy fine the Achaeans
would have laid upon him, and at the same time to escape the pain
and suffering of disease. Paris now smote him on the jaw under his
ear, whereon the life went out of him and he was enshrouded in the
Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. But Hector had
and did not know that the Argives were making havoc
of his men on the left wing of the battle, where the Achaeans ere
long would have triumphed over them, so vigorously did Neptune cheer
them on and help them. He therefore held on at the point where he
had first forced his way through the gates and the wall, after breaking
through the serried ranks of Danaan warriors. It was here that the
ships of Ajax and Protesilaus were drawn up by the sea-shore; here
the wall was at its lowest, and the fight both of manM
most fiercely. The Boeotians and the Ionians with their long tunics,
the Locrians, the men of Phthia, and the famous force of the Epeans
could hardly stay Hector as he rushed on towards the ships, nor could
they drive him from them, for he was as a wall of fire. The chosen
men of the Athenians were in the van, led by Menestheus son of Peteos,
with whom were also Pheidas, Stichius, and stalwart Bias: Meges son
of Phyleus, Amphion, and Dracius commanded the Epeans, while Medon
arces led the men of Phthia. Of these, Medon was bastard
son to Oileus and brother of Ajax, but he lived in Phylace away from
his own country, for he had killed the brother of his stepmother Eriopis,
the wife of Oileus; the other, Podarces, was the son of Iphiclus son
of Phylacus. These two stood in the van of the Phthians, and defended
the ships along with the Boeotians.
Ajax son of Oileus never for a moment left the side of Ajax son of
Telamon, but as two swart oxen both strain their utmost at the plougM
which they are drawing in a fallow field, and the sweat steams upwards
from about the roots of their horns- nothing but the yoke divides
them as they break up the ground till they reach the end of the field-
even so did the two Ajaxes stand shoulder to shoulder by one another.
Many and brave comrades followed the son of Telamon, to relieve him
of his shield when he was overcome with sweat and toil, but the Locrians
did not follow so close after the son of Oileus, for they could not
hold their own in a hanM
d-to-hand fight. They had no bronze helmets
with plumes of horse-hair, neither had they shields nor ashen spears,
but they had come to Troy armed with bows, and with slings of twisted
wool from which they showered their missiles to break the ranks of
the Trojans. The others, therefore, with their heavy armour bore the
brunt of the fight with the Trojans and with Hector, while the Locrians
shot from behind, under their cover; and thus the Trojans began to
lose heart, for the arrows threw them into confusion. M
The Trojans would now have been driven in sorry plight from the ships
and tents back to windy Ilius, had not Polydamas presently said to
Hector, "Hector, there is no persuading you to take advice. Because
heaven has so richly endowed you with the arts of war, you think that
you must therefore excel others in counsel; but you cannot thus claim
preeminence in all things. Heaven has made one man an excellent soldier;
of another it has made a dancer or a singer and player on the lyre;
while yet in another JoM
ve has implanted a wise understanding of which
men reap fruit to the saving of many, and he himself knows more about
it than any one; therefore I will say what I think will be best. The
fight has hemmed you in as with a circle of fire, and even now that
the Trojans are within the wall some of them stand aloof in full armour,
while others are fighting scattered and outnumbered near the ships.
Draw back, therefore, and call your chieftains round you, that we
may advise together whether to fall now upon the shiM
that heaven may vouchsafe us victory, or to beat a retreat while we
can yet safely do so. I greatly fear that the Achaeans will pay us
their debt of yesterday in full, for there is one abiding at their
ships who is never weary of battle, and who will not hold aloof much
Thus spoke Polydamas, and his words pleased Hector well. He sprang
in full armour from his chariot and said, "Polydamas, gather the chieftains
here; I will go yonder into the fight, but will return at once when
have given them their orders."
He then sped onward, towering like a snowy mountain, and with a loud
cry flew through the ranks of the Trojans and their allies. When they
heard his voice they all hastened to gather round Polydamas the excellent
son of Panthous, but Hector kept on among the foremost, looking everywhere
to find Deiphobus and prince Helenus, Adamas son of Asius, and Asius
son of Hyrtacus; living, indeed, and scatheless he could no longer
find them, for the two last were lying by the sterns ofM
ships, slain by the Argives, while the others had been also stricken
and wounded by them; but upon the left wing of the dread battle he
found Alexandrus, husband of lovely Helen, cheering his men and urging
them on to fight. He went up to him and upbraided him. "Paris," said
he, "evil-hearted Paris, fair to see but woman-mad and false of tongue,
where are Deiphobus and King Helenus? Where are Adamas son of Asius,
and Asius son of Hyrtacus? Where too is Othryoneus? Ilius is undone
Alexandrus answered, "Hector, why find fault when there is no one
to find fault with? I should hold aloof from battle on any day rather
than this, for my mother bore me with nothing of the coward about
me. From the moment when you set our men fighting about the ships
we have been staying here and doing battle with the Danaans. Our comrades
about whom you ask me are dead; Deiphobus and King Helenus alone have
left the field, wounded both of them in the hand, but the son of Saturn
live. Now, therefore, lead on where you would have us
go, and we will follow with right goodwill; you shall not find us
fail you in so far as our strength holds out, but no man can do more
than in him lies, no matter how willing he may be."
With these words he satisfied his brother, and the two went towards
the part of the battle where the fight was thickest, about Cebriones,
brave Polydamas, Phalces, Orthaeus, godlike Polyphetes, Palmys, Ascanius,
and Morys son of Hippotion, who had come from fertile AscM
preceding day to relieve other troops. Then Jove urged them on to
fight. They flew forth like the blasts of some fierce wind that strike
earth in the van of a thunderstorm- they buffet the salt sea into
an uproar; many and mighty are the great waves that come crashing
in one after the other upon the shore with their arching heads all
crested with foam- even so did rank behind rank of Trojans arrayed
in gleaming armour follow their leaders onward. The way was led by
Hector son of Priam, peer of mM
urderous Mars, with his round shield
before him- his shield of ox-hides covered with plates of bronze-
and his gleaming helmet upon his temples. He kept stepping forward
under cover of his shield in every direction, making trial of the
ranks to see if they would give way be him, but he could not daunt
the courage of the Achaeans. Ajax was the first to stride out and
challenge him. "Sir," he cried, "draw near; why do you think thus
vainly to dismay the Argives? We Achaeans are excellent soldiers,
urge of Jove has fallen heavily upon us. Your heart, forsooth,
is set on destroying our ships, but we too have bands that can keep
you at bay, and your own fair town shall be sooner taken and sacked
by ourselves. The time is near when you shall pray Jove and all the
gods in your flight, that your steeds may be swifter than hawks as
they raise the dust on the plain and bear you back to your city."
As he was thus speaking a bird flew by upon his right hand, and the
host of the Achaeans shouted, for they tookM
heart at the omen. But
Hector answered, "Ajax, braggart and false of tongue, would that I
were as sure of being son for evermore to aegis-bearing Jove, with
Queen Juno for my mother, and of being held in like honour with Minerva
and Apollo, as I am that this day is big with the destruction of the
Achaeans; and you shall fall among them if you dare abide my spear;
it shall rend your fair body and bid you glut our hounds and birds
of prey with your fat and your flesh, as you fall by the ships of
With these words he led the way and the others followed after with
a cry that rent the air, while the host shouted behind them. The Argives
on their part raised a shout likewise, nor did they forget their prowess,
but stood firm against the onslaught of the Trojan chieftains, and
the cry from both the hosts rose up to heaven and to the brightness
of Jove's presence.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Nestor was sitting over his wine, but the cry of M
battle did not escape
him, and he said to the son of Aesculapius, "What, noble Machaon,
is the meaning of all this? The shouts of men fighting by our ships
grow stronger and stronger; stay here, therefore, and sit over your
wine, while fair Hecamede heats you a bath and washes the clotted
blood from off you. I will go at once to the look-out station and
see what it is all about."
As he spoke he took up the shield of his son Thrasymedes that was
lying in his tent, all gleaming with bronze, for ThrasymedesM
his father's shield; he grasped his redoubtable bronze-shod spear,
and as soon as he was outside saw the disastrous rout of the Achaeans
who, now that their wall was overthrown, were flying pell-mell before
the Trojans. As when there is a heavy swell upon the sea, but the
waves are dumb- they keep their eyes on the watch for the quarter
whence the fierce winds may spring upon them, but they stay where
they are and set neither this way nor that, till some particular wind
sweeps down from heaven toM
determine them- even so did the old man
ponder whether to make for the crowd of Danaans, or go in search of
Agamemnon. In the end he deemed it best to go to the son of Atreus;
but meanwhile the hosts were fighting and killing one another, and
the hard bronze rattled on their bodies, as they thrust at one another
with their swords and spears.
The wounded kings, the son of Tydeus, Ulysses, and Agamemnon son of
Atreus, fell in Nestor as they were coming up from their ships- for
theirs were drawn up some waM
y from where the fighting was going on,
being on the shore itself inasmuch as they had been beached first,
while the wall had been built behind the hindermost. The stretch of
the shore, wide though it was, did not afford room for all the ships,
and the host was cramped for space, therefore they had placed the
ships in rows one behind the other, and had filled the whole opening
of the bay between the two points that formed it. The kings, leaning
on their spears, were coming out to survey the fight, being in gM
anxiety, and when old Nestor met them they were filled with dismay.
Then King Agamemnon said to him, "Nestor son of Neleus, honour to
the Achaean name, why have you left the battle to come hither? I fear
that what dread Hector said will come true, when he vaunted among
the Trojans saying that he would not return to Ilius till he had fired
our ships and killed us; this is what he said, and now it is all coming
true. Alas! others of the Achaeans, like Achilles, are in anger with
me that they refuse to fiM
ght by the sterns of our ships."
Then Nestor knight of Gerene answered, "It is indeed as you say; it
is all coming true at this moment, and even Jove who thunders from
on high cannot prevent it. Fallen is the wall on which we relied as
an impregnable bulwark both for us and our fleet. The Trojans are
fighting stubbornly and without ceasing at the ships; look where you
may you cannot see from what quarter the rout of the Achaeans is coming;
they are being killed in a confused mass and the battle-cry ascendsM
to heaven; let us think, if counsel can be of any use, what we had
better do; but I do not advise our going into battle ourselves, for
a man cannot fight when he is wounded."
And King Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, if the Trojans are indeed fighting
at the rear of our ships, and neither the wall nor the trench has
served us- over which the Danaans toiled so hard, and which they deemed
would be an impregnable bulwark both for us and our fleet- I see it
must be the will of Jove that the Achaeans should periM
here, far from Argos. I knew when Jove was willing to defend us, and
I know now that he is raising the Trojans to like honour with the
gods, while us, on the other hand, he bas bound hand and foot. Now,
therefore, let us all do as I say; let us bring down the ships that
are on the beach and draw them into the water; let us make them fast
to their mooring-stones a little way out, against the fall of night-
if even by night the Trojans will desist from fighting; we may then
draw down the rest M
of the fleet. There is nothing wrong in flying
ruin even by night. It is better for a man that he should fly and
be saved than be caught and killed."
Ulysses looked fiercely at him and said, "Son of Atreus, what are
you talking about? Wretch, you should have commanded some other and
baser army, and not been ruler over us to whom Jove has allotted a
life of hard fighting from youth to old age, till we every one of
us perish. Is it thus that you would quit the city of Troy, to win
which we have suffered soM
much hardship? Hold your peace, lest some
other of the Achaeans hear you say what no man who knows how to give
good counsel, no king over so great a host as that of the Argives
should ever have let fall from his lips. I despise your judgement
utterly for what you have been saying. Would you, then, have us draw
down our ships into the water while the battle is raging, and thus
play further into the hands of the conquering Trojans? It would be
ruin; the Achaeans will not go on fighting when they see the shipsM
being drawn into the water, but will cease attacking and keep turning
their eyes towards them; your counsel, therefore, Sir captain, would
be our destruction."
Agamemnon answered, "Ulysses, your rebuke has stung me to the heart.
I am not, however, ordering the Achaeans to draw their ships into
the sea whether they will or no. Some one, it may be, old or young,
can offer us better counsel which I shall rejoice to hear."
Then said Diomed, "Such an one is at hand; he is not far to seek,
en to me and not resent my speaking though I am younger
than any of you. I am by lineage son to a noble sire, Tydeus, who
lies buried at Thebes. For Portheus had three noble sons, two of whom,
Agrius and Melas, abode in Pleuron and rocky Calydon. The third was
the knight Oeneus, my father's father, and he was the most valiant
of them all. Oeeneus remained in his own country, but my father (as
Jove and the other gods ordained it) migrated to Argos. He married
into the family of Adrastus, and his house was oneM
of great abundance,
for he had large estates of rich corn-growing land, with much orchard
ground as well, and he had many sheep; moreover he excelled all the
Argives in the use of the spear. You must yourselves have heard whether
these things are true or no; therefore when I say well despise not
my words as though I were a coward or of ignoble birth. I say, then,
let us go to the fight as we needs must, wounded though we be. When
there, we may keep out of the battle and beyond the range of the spears
we get fresh wounds in addition to what we have already, but
we can spur on others, who have been indulging their spleen and holding
aloof from battle hitherto."
Thus did he speak; whereon they did even as he had said and set out,
King Agamemnon leading the way.
Meanwhile Neptune had kept no blind look-out, and came up to them
in the semblance of an old man. He took Agamemnon's right hand in
his own and said, "Son of Atreus, I take it Achilles is glad now that
he sees the Achaeans routed and slain, foM
r he is utterly without remorse-
may he come to a bad end and heaven confound him. As for yourself,
the blessed gods are not yet so bitterly angry with you but that the
princes and counsellors of the Trojans shall again raise the dust
upon the plain, and you shall see them flying from the ships and tents
towards their city."
With this he raised a mighty cry of battle, and sped forward to the
plain. The voice that came from his deep chest was as that of nine
or ten thousand men when they are shouting in tM
he thick of a fight,
and it put fresh courage into the hearts of the Achaeans to wage war
and do battle without ceasing.
Juno of the golden throne looked down as she stood upon a peak of
Olympus and her heart was gladdened at the sight of him who was at
once her brother and her brother-in-law, hurrying hither and thither
amid the fighting. Then she turned her eyes to Jove as he sat on the
topmost crests of many-fountained Ida, and loathed him. She set herself
to think how she might hoodwink him, and in tM
he end she deemed that
it would be best for her to go to Ida and array herself in rich attire,
in the hope that Jove might become enamoured of her, and wish to embrace
her. While he was thus engaged a sweet and careless sleep might be
made to steal over his eyes and senses.
She went, therefore, to the room which her son Vulcan had made her,
and the doors of which he had cunningly fastened by means of a secret
key so that no other god could open them. Here she entered and closed
the doors behind her. She M
cleansed all the dirt from her fair body
with ambrosia, then she anointed herself with olive oil, ambrosial,
very soft, and scented specially for herself- if it were so much as
shaken in the bronze-floored house of Jove, the scent pervaded the
universe of heaven and earth. With this she anointed her delicate
skin, and then she plaited the fair ambrosial locks that flowed in
a stream of golden tresses from her immortal head. She put on the
wondrous robe which Minerva had worked for her with consummate art,
nd had embroidered with manifold devices; she fastened it about her
bosom with golden clasps, and she girded herself with a girdle that
had a hundred tassels: then she fastened her earrings, three brilliant
pendants that glistened most beautifully, through the pierced lobes
of her ears, and threw a lovely new veil over her head. She bound
her sandals on to her feet, and when she had arrayed herself perfectly
to her satisfaction, she left her room and called Venus to come aside
and speak to her. "My dear chilM
d," said she, "will you do what I am
going to ask of you, or will refuse me because you are angry at my
being on the Danaan side, while you are on the Trojan?"
Jove's daughter Venus answered, "Juno, august queen of goddesses,
daughter of mighty Saturn, say what you want, and I will do it for
at once, if I can, and if it can be done at all."
Then Juno told her a lying tale and said, "I want you to endow me
with some of those fascinating charms, the spells of which bring all
things mortal and immortal tM
o your feet. I am going to the world's
end to visit Oceanus (from whom all we gods proceed) and mother Tethys:
they received me in their house, took care of me, and brought me up,
having taken me over from Rhaea when Jove imprisoned great Saturn
in the depths that are under earth and sea. I must go and see them
that I may make peace between them; they have been quarrelling, and
are so angry that they have not slept with one another this long while;
if I can bring them round and restore them to one another's M
they will be grateful to me and love me for ever afterwards."
Thereon laughter-loving Venus said, "I cannot and must not refuse
you, for you sleep in the arms of Jove who is our king."
As she spoke she loosed from her bosom the curiously embroidered girdle
into which all her charms had been wrought- love, desire, and that
sweet flattery which steals the judgement even of the most prudent.
She gave the girdle to Juno and said, "Take this girdle wherein all
my charms reside and lay it in your boM
som. If you will wear it I promise
you that your errand, be it what it may, will not be bootless."
When she heard this Juno smiled, and still smiling she laid the girdle
Venus now went back into the house of Jove, while Juno darted down
from the summits of Olympus. She passed over Pieria and fair Emathia,
and went on and on till she came to the snowy ranges of the Thracian
horsemen, over whose topmost crests she sped without ever setting
foot to ground. When she came to Athos she went on M
of the sea till she reached Lemnos, the city of noble Thoas. There
she met Sleep, own brother to Death, and caught him by the hand, saying,
"Sleep, you who lord it alike over mortals and immortals, if you ever
did me a service in times past, do one for me now, and I shall be
grateful to you ever after. Close Jove's keen eyes for me in slumber
while I hold him clasped in my embrace, and I will give you a beautiful
golden seat, that can never fall to pieces; my clubfooted son Vulcan
it for you, and he shall give it a footstool for you to
rest your fair feet upon when you are at table."
Then Sleep answered, "Juno, great queen of goddesses, daughter of
mighty Saturn, I would lull any other of the gods to sleep without
compunction, not even excepting the waters of Oceanus from whom all
of them proceed, but I dare not go near Jove, nor send him to sleep
unless he bids me. I have had one lesson already through doing what
you asked me, on the day when Jove's mighty son Hercules set sail
from Ilius after having sacked the city of the Trojans. At your bidding
I suffused my sweet self over the mind of aegis-bearing Jove, and
laid him to rest; meanwhile you hatched a plot against Hercules, and
set the blasts of the angry winds beating upon the sea, till you took
him to the goodly city of Cos away from all his friends. Jove was
furious when he awoke, and began hurling the gods about all over the
house; he was looking more particularly for myself, and would have
flung me down through space into tM
he sea where I should never have
been heard of any more, had not Night who cows both men and gods protected
me. I fled to her and Jove left off looking for me in spite of his
being so angry, for he did not dare do anything to displease Night.
And now you are again asking me to do something on which I cannot
And Juno said, "Sleep, why do you take such notions as those into
your head? Do you think Jove will be as anxious to help the Trojans,
as he was about his own son? Come, I will marry you to M
youngest of the Graces, and she shall be your own- Pasithea, whom
you have always wanted to marry."
Sleep was pleased when he heard this, and answered, "Then swear it
to me by the dread waters of the river Styx; lay one hand on the bounteous
earth, and the other on the sheen of the sea, so that all the gods
who dwell down below with Saturn may be our witnesses, and see that
you really do give me one of the youngest of the Graces- Pasithea,
whom I have always wanted to marry."
e had said. She swore, and invoked all the gods of the
nether world, who are called Titans, to witness. When she had completed
her oath, the two enshrouded themselves in a thick mist and sped lightly
forward, leaving Lemnos and Imbrus behind them. Presently they reached
many-fountained Ida, mother of wild beasts, and Lectum where they
left the sea to go on by land, and the tops of the trees of the forest
soughed under the going of their feet. Here Sleep halted, and ere
Jove caught sight of him he climbed a lM
ofty pine-tree- the tallest
that reared its head towards heaven on all Ida. He hid himself behind
the branches and sat there in the semblance of the sweet-singing bird
that haunts the mountains and is called Chalcis by the gods, but men
call it Cymindis. Juno then went to Gargarus, the topmost peak of
Ida, and Jove, driver of the clouds, set eyes upon her. As soon as
he did so he became inflamed with the same passionate desire for her
that he had felt when they had first enjoyed each other's embraces,
lept with one another without their dear parents knowing anything
about it. He went up to her and said, "What do you want that you have
come hither from Olympus- and that too with neither chariot nor horses
Then Juno told him a lying tale and said, "I am going to the world's
end, to visit Oceanus, from whom all we gods proceed, and mother Tethys;
they received me into their house, took care of me, and brought me
up. I must go and see them that I may make peace between them: they
quarrelling, and are so angry that they have not slept with
one another this long time. The horses that will take me over land
and sea are stationed on the lowermost spurs of many-fountained Ida,
and I have come here from Olympus on purpose to consult you. I was
afraid you might be angry with me later on, if I went to the house
of Oceanus without letting you know."
And Jove said, "Juno, you can choose some other time for paying your
visit to Oceanus- for the present let us devote ourselves to love
o the enjoyment of one another. Never yet have I been so overpowered
by passion neither for goddess nor mortal woman as I am at this moment
for yourself- not even when I was in love with the wife of Ixion who
bore me Pirithous, peer of gods in counsel, nor yet with Danae the
daintily-ancled daughter of Acrisius, who bore me the famed hero Perseus.
Then there was the daughter of Phoenix, who bore me Minos and Rhadamanthus:
there was Semele, and Alcmena in Thebes by whom I begot my lion-hearted
hile Semele became mother to Bacchus the comforter
of mankind. There was queen Ceres again, and lovely Leto, and yourself-
but with none of these was I ever so much enamoured as I now am with
Juno again answered him with a lying tale. "Most dread son of Saturn,"
she exclaimed, "what are you talking about? Would you have us enjoy
one another here on the top of Mount Ida, where everything can be
seen? What if one of the ever-living gods should see us sleeping together,
and tell the others? It would bM
e such a scandal that when I had risen
from your embraces I could never show myself inside your house again;
but if you are so minded, there is a room which your son Vulcan has
made me, and he has given it good strong doors; if you would so have
it, let us go thither and lie down."
And Jove answered, "Juno, you need not be afraid that either god or
man will see you, for I will enshroud both of us in such a dense golden
cloud, that the very sun for all his bright piercing beams shall not
With this the son of Saturn caught his wife in his embrace; whereon
the earth sprouted them a cushion of young grass, with dew-bespangled
lotus, crocus, and hyacinth, so soft and thick that it raised them
well above the ground. Here they laid themselves down and overhead
they were covered by a fair cloud of gold, from which there fell glittering
Thus, then, did the sire of all things repose peacefully on the crest
of Ida, overcome at once by sleep and love, and he held his spouse
ms. Meanwhile Sleep made off to the ships of the Achaeans,
to tell earth-encircling Neptune, lord of the earthquake. When he
had found him he said, "Now, Neptune, you can help the Danaans with
a will, and give them victory though it be only for a short time while
Jove is still sleeping. I have sent him into a sweet slumber, and
Juno has beguiled him into going to bed with her."
Sleep now departed and went his ways to and fro among mankind, leaving
Neptune more eager than ever to help the Danaans. He darteM
among the first ranks and shouted saying, "Argives, shall we let Hector
son of Priam have the triumph of taking our ships and covering himself
with glory? This is what he says that he shall now do, seeing that
Achilles is still in dudgeon at his ship; We shall get on very well
without him if we keep each other in heart and stand by one another.
Now, therefore, let us all do as I say. Let us each take the best
and largest shield we can lay hold of, put on our helmets, and sally
forth with our longeM
st spears in our hands; will lead you on, and
Hector son of Priam, rage as he may, will not dare to hold out against
us. If any good staunch soldier has only a small shield, let him hand
it over to a worse man, and take a larger one for himself."
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. The son of Tydeus,
Ulysses, and Agamemnon, wounded though they were, set the others in
array, and went about everywhere effecting the exchanges of armour;
the most valiant took the best armour, and gave the worsM
man. When they had donned their bronze armour they marched on with
Neptune at their head. In his strong hand he grasped his terrible
sword, keen of edge and flashing like lightning; woe to him who comes
across it in the day of battle; all men quake for fear and keep away
Hector on the other side set the Trojans in array. Thereon Neptune
and Hector waged fierce war on one another- Hector on the Trojan and
Neptune on the Argive side. Mighty was the uproar as the two forces
sea came rolling in towards the ships and tents of the Achaeans,
but waves do not thunder on the shore more loudly when driven before
the blast of Boreas, nor do the flames of a forest fire roar more
fiercely when it is well alight upon the mountains, nor does the wind
bellow with ruder music as it tears on through the tops of when it
is blowing its hardest, than the terrible shout which the Trojans
and Achaeans raised as they sprang upon one another.
Hector first aimed his spear at Ajax, who was turned M
him, nor did he miss his aim. The spear struck him where two bands
passed over his chest- the band of his shield and that of his silver-studded
sword- and these protected his body. Hector was angry that his spear
should have been hurled in vain, and withdrew under cover of his men.
As he was thus retreating, Ajax son of Telamon struck him with a stone,
of which there were many lying about under the men's feet as they
fought- brought there to give support to the ships' sides as they
hore. Ajax caught up one of them and struck Hector above
the rim of his shield close to his neck; the blow made him spin round
like a top and reel in all directions. As an oak falls headlong when
uprooted by the lightning flash of father Jove, and there is a terrible
smell of brimstone- no man can help being dismayed if he is standing
near it, for a thunderbolt is a very awful thing- even so did Hector
fall to earth and bite the dust. His spear fell from his hand, but
his shield and helmet were made fast aboM
ut his body, and his bronze
armour rang about him.
The sons of the Achaeans came running with a loud cry towards him,
hoping to drag him away, and they showered their darts on the Trojans,
but none of them could wound him before he was surrounded and covered
by the princes Polydamas, Aeneas, Agenor, Sarpedon captain of the
Lycians, and noble Glaucus: of the others, too, there was not one
who was unmindful of him, and they held their round shields over him
to cover him. His comrades then lifted him off thM
him away from the battle to the place where his horses stood waiting
for him at the rear of the fight with their driver and the chariot;
these then took him towards the city groaning and in great pain. When
they reached the ford of the air stream of Xanthus, begotten of Immortal
Jove, they took him from off his chariot and laid him down on the
ground; they poured water over him, and as they did so he breathed
again and opened his eyes. Then kneeling on his knees he vomited blood,
fell back on to the ground, and his eyes were again closed
in darkness for he was still sturined by the blow.
When the Argives saw Hector leaving the field, they took heart and
set upon the Trojans yet more furiously. Ajax fleet son of Oileus
began by springing on Satnius son of Enops and wounding him with his
spear: a fair naiad nymph had borne him to Enops as he was herding
cattle by the banks of the river Satnioeis. The son of Oileus came
up to him and struck him in the flank so that he fell, and a fieM
fight between Trojans and Danaans raged round his body. Polydamas
son of Panthous drew near to avenge him, and wounded Prothoenor son
of Areilycus on the right shoulder; the terrible spear went right
through his shoulder, and he clutched the earth as he fell in the
dust. Polydamas vaunted loudly over him saying, "Again I take it that
the spear has not sped in vain from the strong hand of the son of
Panthous; an Argive has caught it in his body, and it will serve him
for a staff as he goes down into the M
The Argives were maddened by this boasting. Ajax son of Telamon was
more angry than any, for the man had fallen close be, him; so he aimed
at Polydamas as he was retreating, but Polydamas saved himself by
swerving aside and the spear struck Archelochus son of Antenor, for
heaven counselled his destruction; it struck him where the head springs
from the neck at the top joint of the spine, and severed both the
tendons at the back of the head. His head, mouth, and nostrils reached
long before his legs and knees could do so, and Ajax shouted
to Polydamas saying, "Think, Polydamas, and tell me truly whether
this man is not as well worth killing as Prothoenor was: he seems
rich, and of rich family, a brother, it may be, or son of the knight
Antenor, for he is very like him."
But he knew well who it was, and the Trojans were greatly angered.
Acamas then bestrode his brother's body and wounded Promachus the
Boeotian with his spear, for he was trying to drag his brother's body
amas vaunted loudly over him saying, "Argive archers, braggarts
that you are, toil and suffering shall not be for us only, but some
of you too shall fall here as well as ourselves. See how Promachus
now sleeps, vanquished by my spear; payment for my brother's blood
has not long delayed; a man, therefore, may well be thankful if he
leaves a kinsman in his house behind him to avenge his fall."
His taunts infuriated the Argives, and Peneleos was more enraged than
any of them. He sprang towards Acamas, but AcaM
mas did not stand his
ground, and he killed Ilioneus son of the rich flock-master Phorbas,
whom Mercury had favoured and endowed with greater wealth than any
other of the Trojans. Ilioneus was his only son, and Peneleos now
wounded him in the eye under his eyebrows, tearing the eye-ball from
its socket: the spear went right through the eye into the nape of
the neck, and he fell, stretching out both hands before him. Peneleos
then drew his sword and smote him on the neck, so that both head and
mbling down to the ground with the spear still sticking
in the eye; he then held up the head, as though it had been a poppy-head,
and showed it to the Trojans, vaunting over them as he did so. "Trojans,"
he cried, "bid the father and mother of noble Ilioneus make moan for
him in their house, for the wife also of Promachus son of Alegenor
will never be gladdened by the coming of her dear husband- when we
Argives return with our ships from Troy."
As he spoke fear fell upon them, and every man looked round aM
to see whither he might fly for safety.
Tell me now, O Muses that dwell on Olympus, who was the first of the
Argives to bear away blood-stained spoils after Neptune lord of the
earthquake had turned the fortune of war. Ajax son of Telamon was
first to wound Hyrtius son of Gyrtius, captain of the staunch Mysians.
Antilochus killed Phalces and Mermerus, while Meriones slew Morys
and Hippotion, Teucer also killed Prothoon and Periphetes. The son
of Atreus then wounded Hyperenor shepherd of his people, M
and the bronze point made his entrails gush out as it tore in among
them; on this his life came hurrying out of him at the place where
he had been wounded, and his eyes were closed in darkness. Ajax son
of Oileus killed more than any other, for there was no man so fleet
as he to pursue flying foes when Jove had spread panic among them.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
But when their flight had taken them past the trench and the set
nd many had fallen by the hands of the Danaans, the Trojans
made a halt on reaching their chariots, routed and pale with fear.
Jove now woke on the crests of Ida, where he was lying with golden-throned
Juno by his side, and starting to his feet he saw the Trojans and
Achaeans, the one thrown into confusion, and the others driving them
pell-mell before them with King Neptune in their midst. He saw Hector
lying on the ground with his comrades gathered round him, gasping
for breath, wandering in mind and vomitiM
ng blood, for it was not the
feeblest of the Achaeans who struck him.
The sire of gods and men had pity on him, and looked fiercely on Juno.
"I see, Juno," said he, "you mischief- making trickster, that your
cunning has stayed Hector from fighting and has caused the rout of
his host. I am in half a mind to thrash you, in which case you will
be the first to reap the fruits of your scurvy knavery. Do you not
remember how once upon a time I had you hanged? I fastened two anvils
on to your feet, and bound yoM
ur hands in a chain of gold which none
might break, and you hung in mid-air among the clouds. All the gods
in Olympus were in a fury, but they could not reach you to set you
free; when I caught any one of them I gripped him and hurled him from
the heavenly threshold till he came fainting down to earth; yet even
this did not relieve my mind from the incessant anxiety which I felt
about noble Hercules whom you and Boreas had spitefully conveyed beyond
the seas to Cos, after suborning the tempests; but I rescueM
and notwithstanding all his mighty labours I brought him back again
to Argos. I would remind you of this that you may learn to leave off
being so deceitful, and discover how much you are likely to gain by
the embraces out of which you have come here to trick me."
Juno trembled as he spoke, and said, "May heaven above and earth below
be my witnesses, with the waters of the river Styx- and this is the
most solemn oath that a blessed god can take- nay, I swear also by
your own almighty head and by ourM
bridal bed- things over which I
could never possibly perjure myself- that Neptune is not punishing
Hector and the Trojans and helping the Achaeans through any doing
of mine; it is all of his own mere motion because he was sorry to
see the Achaeans hard pressed at their ships: if I were advising him,
I should tell him to do as you bid him."
The sire of gods and men smiled and answered, "If you, Juno, were
always to support me when we sit in council of the gods, Neptune,
like it or no, would soon come rouM
nd to your and my way of thinking.
If, then, you are speaking the truth and mean what you say, go among
the rank and file of the gods, and tell Iris and Apollo lord of the
bow, that I want them- Iris, that she may go to the Achaean host and
tell Neptune to leave off fighting and go home, and Apollo, that he
may send Hector again into battle and give him fresh strength; he
will thus forget his present sufferings, and drive the Achaeans back
in confusion till they fall among the ships of Achilles son of PeleusM
Achilles will then send his comrade Patroclus into battle, and Hector
will kill him in front of Ilius after he has slain many warriors,
and among them my own noble son Sarpedon. Achilles will kill Hector
to avenge Patroclus, and from that time I will bring it about that
the Achaeans shall persistently drive the Trojans back till they fulfil
the counsels of Minerva and take Ilius. But I will not stay my anger,
nor permit any god to help the Danaans till I have accomplished the
desire of the son of Peleus, M
according to the promise I made by bowing
my head on the day when Thetis touched my knees and besought me to
Juno heeded his words and went from the heights of Ida to great Olympus.
Swift as the thought of one whose fancy carries him over vast continents,
and he says to himself, "Now I will be here, or there," and he would
have all manner of things- even so swiftly did Juno wing her way till
she came to high Olympus and went in among the gods who were gathered
in the house of Jove. WhenM
they saw her they all of them came up to
her, and held out their cups to her by way of greeting. She let the
others be, but took the cup offered her by lovely Themis, who was
first to come running up to her. "Juno," said she, "why are you here?
And you seem troubled- has your husband the son of Saturn been frightening
And Juno answered, "Themis, do not ask me about it. You know what
a proud and cruel disposition my husband has. Lead the gods to table,
where you and all the immortals can hear the wM
he has avowed. Many a one, mortal and immortal, will be angered by
them, however peaceably he may be feasting now."
On this Juno sat down, and the gods were troubled throughout the house
of Jove. Laughter sat on her lips but her brow was furrowed with care,
and she spoke up in a rage. "Fools that we are," she cried, "to be
thus madly angry with Jove; we keep on wanting to go up to him and
stay him by force or by persuasion, but he sits aloof and cares for
nobody, for he knows that he M
is much stronger than any other of the
immortals. Make the best, therefore, of whatever ills he may choose
to send each one of you; Mars, I take it, has had a taste of them
already, for his son Ascalaphus has fallen in battle- the man whom
of all others he loved most dearly and whose father he owns himself
When he heard this Mars smote his two sturdy thighs with the flat
of his hands, and said in anger, "Do not blame me, you gods that dwell
in heaven, if I go to the ships of the Achaeans and avenM
of my son, even though it end in my being struck by Jove's lightning
and lying in blood and dust among the corpses."
As he spoke he gave orders to yoke his horses Panic and Rout, while
he put on his armour. On this, Jove would have been roused to still
more fierce and implacable enmity against the other immortals, had
not Minerva, ararmed for the safety of the gods, sprung from her seat
and hurried outside. She tore the helmet from his head and the shield
from his shoulders, and she took theM
bronze spear from his strong
hand and set it on one side; then she said to Mars, "Madman, you are
undone; you have ears that hear not, or you have lost all judgement
and understanding; have you not heard what Juno has said on coming
straight from the presence of Olympian Jove? Do you wish to go through
all kinds of suffering before you are brought back sick and sorry
to Olympus, after having caused infinite mischief to all us others?
Jove would instantly leave the Trojans and Achaeans to themselves;
ld come to Olympus to punish us, and would grip us up one after
another, guilty or not guilty. Therefore lay aside your anger for
the death of your son; better men than he have either been killed
already or will fall hereafter, and one cannot protect every one's
With these words she took Mars back to his seat. Meanwhile Juno called
Apollo outside, with Iris the messenger of the gods. "Jove," she said
to them, "desires you to go to him at once on Mt. Ida; when you have
seen him you are to dM
o as he may then bid you."
Thereon Juno left them and resumed her seat inside, while Iris and
Apollo made all haste on their way. When they reached many-fountained
Ida, mother of wild beasts, they found Jove seated on topmost Gargarus
with a fragrant cloud encircling his head as with a diadem. They stood
before his presence, and he was pleased with them for having been
so quick in obeying the orders his wife had given them.
He spoke to Iris first. "Go," said he, "fleet Iris, tell King Neptune
ow bid you- and tell him true. Bid him leave off fighting,
and either join the company of the gods, or go down into the sea.
If he takes no heed and disobeys me, let him consider well whether
he is strong enough to hold his own against me if I attack him. I
am older and much stronger than he is; yet he is not afraid to set
himself up as on a level with myself, of whom all the other gods stand
Iris, fleet as the wind, obeyed him, and as the cold hail or snowflakes
that fly from out the clouds befM
ore the blast of Boreas, even so did
she wing her way till she came close up to the great shaker of the
earth. Then she said, "I have come, O dark-haired king that holds
the world in his embrace, to bring you a message from Jove. He bids
you leave off fighting, and either join the company of the gods or
go down into the sea; if, however, you take no heed and disobey him,
he says he will come down here and fight you. He would have you keep
out of his reach, for he is older and much stronger than you are,
yet you are not afraid to set yourself up as on a level with himself,
of whom all the other gods stand in awe."
Neptune was very angry and said, "Great heavens! strong as Jove may
be, he has said more than he can do if he has threatened violence
against me, who am of like honour with himself. We were three brothers
whom Rhea bore to Saturn- Jove, myself, and Hades who rules the world
below. Heaven and earth were divided into three parts, and each of
us was to have an equal share. When we cast lots, it feM
have my dwelling in the sea for evermore; Hades took the darkness
of the realms under the earth, while air and sky and clouds were the
portion that fell to Jove; but earth and great Olympus are the common
property of all. Therefore I will not walk as Jove would have me.
For all his strength, let him keep to his own third share and be contented
without threatening to lay hands upon me as though I were nobody.
Let him keep his bragging talk for his own sons and daughters, who
must perforce obey hiM
Iris fleet as the wind then answered, "Am I really, Neptune, to take
this daring and unyielding message to Jove, or will you reconsider
your answer? Sensible people are open to argument, and you know that
the Erinyes always range themselves on the side of the older person."
Neptune answered, "Goddess Iris, your words have been spoken in season.
It is well when a messenger shows so much discretion. Nevertheless
it cuts me to the very heart that any one should rebuke so angrily
another who is his own M
peer, and of like empire with himself. Now,
however, I will give way in spite of my displeasure; furthermore let
me tell you, and I mean what I say- if contrary to the desire of myself,
Minerva driver of the spoil, Juno, Mercury, and King Vulcan, Jove
spares steep Ilius, and will not let the Achaeans have the great triumph
of sacking it, let him understand that he will incur our implacable
Neptune now left the field to go down under the sea, and sorely did
the Achaeans miss him. Then Jove saM
id to Apollo, "Go, dear Phoebus,
to Hector, for Neptune who holds the earth in his embrace has now
gone down under the sea to avoid the severity of my displeasure. Had
he not done so those gods who are below with Saturn would have come
to hear of the fight between us. It is better for both of us that
he should have curbed his anger and kept out of my reach, for I should
have had much trouble with him. Take, then, your tasselled aegis,
and shake it furiously, so as to set the Achaean heroes in a panic;
moreover, brave Hector, O Far-Darter, into your own care, and
rouse him to deeds of daring, till the Achaeans are sent flying back
to their ships and to the Hellespont. From that point I will think
it well over, how the Achaeans may have a respite from their troubles."
Apollo obeyed his father's saying, and left the crests of Ida, flying
like a falcon, bane of doves and swiftest of all birds. He found Hector
no longer lying upon the ground, but sitting up, for he had just come
to himself again. He knew thM
ose who were about him, and the sweat
and hard breathing had left him from the moment when the will of aegis-bearing
Jove had revived him. Apollo stood beside him and said, "Hector, son
of Priam, why are you so faint, and why are you here away from the
others? Has any mishap befallen you?"
Hector in a weak voice answered, "And which, kind sir, of the gods
are you, who now ask me thus? Do you not know that Ajax struck me
on the chest with a stone as I was killing his comrades at the ships
and compelled me to leave off fighting? I made sure
that this very day I should breathe my last and go down into the house
Then King Apollo said to him, "Take heart; the son of Saturn has sent
you a mighty helper from Ida to stand by you and defend you, even
me, Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who have been guardian hitherto
not only of yourself but of your city. Now, therefore, order your
horsemen to drive their chariots to the ships in great multitudes.
I will go before your horses to sM
mooth the way for them, and will
turn the Achaeans in flight."
As he spoke he infused great strength into the shepherd of his people.
And as a horse, stabled and full-fed, breaks loose and gallops gloriously
over the plain to the place where he is wont to take his bath in the
river- he tosses his head, and his mane streams over his shoulders
as in all the pride of his strength he flies full speed to the pastures
where the mares are feeding- even so Hector, when he heard what the
god said, urged his horseM
men on, and sped forward as fast as his limbs
could take him. As country peasants set their hounds on to a homed
stag or wild goat- he has taken shelter under rock or thicket, and
they cannot find him, but, lo, a bearded lion whom their shouts have
roused stands in their path, and they are in no further humour for
the chase- even so the Achaeans were still charging on in a body,
using their swords and spears pointed at both ends, but when they
saw Hector going about among his men they were afraid, and their M
fell down into their feet.
Then spoke Thoas son of Andraemon, leader of the Aetolians, a man
who could throw a good throw, and who was staunch also in close fight,
while few could surpass him in debate when opinions were divided.
He then with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus: "What,
in heaven's name, do I now see? Is it not Hector come to life again?
Every one made sure he had been killed by Ajax son of Telamon, but
it seems that one of the gods has again rescued him. He has killed
many of us Danaans already, and I take it will yet do so, for the
hand of Jove must be with him or he would never dare show himself
so masterful in the forefront of the battle. Now, therefore, let us
all do as I say; let us order the main body of our forces to fall
back upon the ships, but let those of us who profess to be the flower
of the army stand firm, and see whether we cannot hold Hector back
at the point of our spears as soon as he comes near us; I conceive
that he will then think better of it beforeM
he tries to charge into
the press of the Danaans."
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said. Those who were
about Ajax and King Idomeneus, the followers moreover of Teucer, Meriones,
and Meges peer of Mars called all their best men about them and sustained
the fight against Hector and the Trojans, but the main body fell back
upon the ships of the Achaeans.
The Trojans pressed forward in a dense body, with Hector striding
on at their head. Before him went Phoebus Apollo shrouded in cloud
bout his shoulders. He bore aloft the terrible aegis with its shaggy
fringe, which Vulcan the smith had given Jove to strike terror into
the hearts of men. With this in his hand he led on the Trojans.
The Argives held together and stood their ground. The cry of battle
rose high from either side, and the arrows flew from the bowstrings.
Many a spear sped from strong hands and fastened in the bodies of
many a valiant warrior, while others fell to earth midway, before
they could taste of man's fair flesh and M
glut themselves with blood.
So long as Phoebus Apollo held his aegis quietly and without shaking
it, the weapons on either side took effect and the people fell, but
when he shook it straight in the face of the Danaans and raised his
mighty battle-cry their hearts fainted within them and they forgot
their former prowess. As when two wild beasts spring in the dead of
night on a herd of cattle or a large flock of sheep when the herdsman
is not there- even so were the Danaans struck helpless, for Apollo
them with panic and gave victory to Hector and the Trojans.
The fight then became more scattered and they killed one another where
they best could. Hector killed Stichius and Arcesilaus, the one, leader
of the Boeotians, and the other, friend and comrade of Menestheus.
Aeneas killed Medon and Iasus. The first was bastard son to Oileus,
and brother to Ajax, but he lived in Phylace away from his own country,
for he had killed a man, a kinsman of his stepmother Eriopis whom
Oileus had married. Iasus had becomM
e a leader of the Athenians, and
was son of Sphelus the son of Boucolos. Polydamas killed Mecisteus,
and Polites Echius, in the front of the battle, while Agenor slew
Clonius. Paris struck Deiochus from behind in the lower part of the
shoulder, as he was flying among the foremost, and the point of the
spear went clean through him.
While they were spoiling these heroes of their armour, the Achaeans
were flying pellmell to the trench and the set stakes, and were forced
back within their wall. Hector then cM
ried out to the Trojans, "Forward
to the ships, and let the spoils be. If I see any man keeping back
on the other side the wall away from the ships I will have him killed:
his kinsmen and kinswomen shall not give him his dues of fire, but
dogs shall tear him in pieces in front of our city."
As he spoke he laid his whip about his horses' shoulders and called
to the Trojans throughout their ranks; the Trojans shouted with a
cry that rent the air, and kept their horses neck and neck with his
ollo went before, and kicked down the banks of the
deep trench into its middle so as to make a great broad bridge, as
broad as the throw of a spear when a man is trying his strength. The
Trojan battalions poured over the bridge, and Apollo with his redoubtable
aegis led the way. He kicked down the wall of the Achaeans as easily
as a child who playing on the sea-shore has built a house of sand
and then kicks it down again and destroys it- even so did you, O Apollo,
shed toil and trouble upon the Argives, fillM
ing them with panic and
Thus then were the Achaeans hemmed in at their ships, calling out
to one another and raising their hands with loud cries every man to
heaven. Nestor of Gerene, tower of strength to the Achaeans, lifted
up his hands to the starry firmament of heaven, and prayed more fervently
than any of them. "Father Jove," said he, "if ever any one in wheat-growing
Argos burned you fat thigh-bones of sheep or heifer and prayed that
he might return safely home, whereon you bowed your heM
assent, bear it in mind now, and suffer not the Trojans to triumph
thus over the Achaeans."
All counselling Jove thundered loudly in answer to die prayer of the
aged son of Neleus. When the heard Jove thunder they flung themselves
yet more fiercely on the Achaeans. As a wave breaking over the bulwarks
of a ship when the sea runs high before a gale- for it is the force
of the wind that makes the waves so great- even so did the Trojans
spring over the wall with a shout, and drive their chariotM
The two sides fought with their double-pointed spears in hand-to-hand
encounter-the Trojans from their chariots, and the Achaeans climbing
up into their ships and wielding the long pikes that were lying on
the decks ready for use in a sea-fight, jointed and shod with bronze.
Now Patroclus, so long as the Achaeans and Trojans were fighting about
the wall, but were not yet within it and at the ships, remained sitting
in the tent of good Eurypylus, entertaining him with his conversation
ing herbs over his wound to ease his pain. When, however,
he saw the Trojans swarming through the breach in the wall, while
the Achaeans were clamouring and struck with panic, he cried aloud,
and smote his two thighs with the flat of his hands. "Eurypylus,"
said he in his dismay, "I know you want me badly, but I cannot stay
with you any longer, for there is hard fighting going on; a servant
shall take care of you now, for I must make all speed to Achilles,
and induce him to fight if I can; who knows but withM
I may persuade him. A man does well to listen to the advice of a friend."
When he had thus spoken he went his way. The Achaeans stood firm and
resisted the attack of the Trojans, yet though these were fewer in
number, they could not drive them back from the ships, neither could
the Trojans break the Achaean ranks and make their way in among the
tents and ships. As a carpenter's line gives a true edge to a piece
of ship's timber, in the hand of some skilled workman whom Minerva
d in all kinds of useful arts- even so level was the
issue of the fight between the two sides, as they fought some round
one and some round another.
Hector made straight for Ajax, and the two fought fiercely about the
same ship. Hector could not force Ajax back and fire the ship, nor
yet could Ajax drive Hector from the spot to which heaven had brought
Then Ajax struck Caletor son of Clytius in the chest with a spear
as he was bringing fire towards the ship. He fell heavily to the ground
torch dropped from his hand. When Hector saw his cousin fallen
in front of the ship he shouted to the Trojans and Lycians saying,
"Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanians good in close fight, bate not a
jot, but rescue the son of Clytius lest the Achaeans strip him of
his armour now that he has fallen."
He then aimed a spear at Ajax, and missed him, but he hit Lycophron
a follower of Ajax, who came from Cythera, but was living with Ajax
inasmuch as he had killed a man among the Cythereans. Hector's spear
k him on the head below the ear, and he fell headlong from the
ship's prow on to the ground with no life left in him. Ajax shook
with rage and said to his brother, "Teucer, my good fellow, our trusty
comrade the son of Mastor has fallen, he came to live with us from
Cythera and whom we honoured as much as our own parents. Hector has
just killed him; fetch your deadly arrows at once and the bow which
Phoebus Apollo gave you."
Teucer heard him and hastened towards him with his bow and quiver
Forthwith he showered his arrows on the Trojans, and
hit Cleitus the son of Pisenor, comrade of Polydamas the noble son
of Panthous, with the reins in his hands as he was attending to his
horses; he was in the middle of the very thickest part of the fight,
doing good service to Hector and the Trojans, but evil had now come
upon him, and not one of those who were fain to do so could avert
it, for the arrow struck him on the back of the neck. He fell from
his chariot and his horses shook the empty car as they M
King Polydamas saw what had happened, and was the first to come up
to the horses; he gave them in charge to Astynous son of Protiaon,
and ordered him to look on, and to keep the horses near at hand. He
then went back and took his place in the front ranks.
Teucer then aimed another arrow at Hector, and there would have been
no more fighting at the ships if he had hit him and killed him then
and there: Jove, however, who kept watch over Hector, had his eyes
on Teucer, and deprived him of hisM
triumph, by breaking his bowstring
for him just as he was drawing it and about to take his aim; on this
the arrow went astray and the bow fell from his hands. Teucer shook
with anger and said to his brother, "Alas, see how heaven thwarts
us in all we do; it has broken my bowstring and snatched the bow from
my hand, though I strung it this selfsame morning that it might serve
me for many an arrow."
Ajax son of Telamon answered, "My good fellow, let your bow and your
arrows be, for Jove has made them uselM
ess in order to spite the Danaans.
Take your spear, lay your shield upon your shoulder, and both fight
the Trojans yourself and urge others to do so. They may be successful
for the moment but if we fight as we ought they will find it a hard
matter to take the ships."
Teucer then took his bow and put it by in his tent. He hung a shield
four hides thick about his shoulders, and on his comely head he set
his helmet well wrought with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly
above it; he grasped his redouM
btable bronze-shod spear, and forthwith
he was by the side of Ajax.
When Hector saw that Teucer's bow was of no more use to him, he shouted
out to the Trojans and Lycians, "Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanians
good in close fight, be men, my friends, and show your mettle here
at the ships, for I see the weapon of one of their chieftains made
useless by the hand of Jove. It is easy to see when Jove is helping
people and means to help them still further, or again when he is bringing
them down and will do nothiM
ng for them; he is now on our side, and
is going against the Argives. Therefore swarm round the ships and
fight. If any of you is struck by spear or sword and loses his life,
let him die; he dies with honour who dies fighting for his country;
and he will leave his wife and children safe behind him, with his
house and allotment unplundered if only the Achaeans can be driven
back to their own land, they and their ships."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Ajax on the
other side exhorted M
his comrades saying, "Shame on you Argives, we
are now utterly undone, unless we can save ourselves by driving the
enemy from our ships. Do you think, if Hector takes them, that you
will be able to get home by land? Can you not hear him cheering on
his whole host to fire our fleet, and bidding them remember that they
are not at a dance but in battle? Our only course is to fight them
with might and main; we had better chance it, life or death, once
for all, than fight long and without issue hemmed in at our sM
by worse men than ourselves."
With these words he put life and soul into them all. Hector then killed
Schedius son of Perimedes, leader of the Phoceans, and Ajax killed
Laodamas captain of foot soldiers and son to Antenor. Polydamas killed
Otus of Cyllene a comrade of the son of Phyleus and chief of the proud
Epeans. When Meges saw this he sprang upon him, but Polydamas crouched
down, and he missed him, for Apollo would not suffer the son of Panthous
to fall in battle; but the spear hit Croesmus in M
chest, whereon he fell heavily to the ground, and Meges stripped him
of his armour. At that moment the valiant soldier Dolops son of Lampus
sprang upon Lampus was son of Laomedon and for his valour, while his
son Dolops was versed in all the ways of war. He then struck the middle
of the son of Phyleus' shield with his spear, setting on him at close
quarters, but his good corslet made with plates of metal saved him;
Phyleus had brought it from Ephyra and the river Selleis, where his
ing Euphetes, had given it him to wear in battle and protect
him. It now served to save the life of his son. Then Meges struck
the topmost crest of Dolops's bronze helmet with his spear and tore
away its plume of horse-hair, so that all newly dyed with scarlet
as it was it tumbled down into the dust. While he was still fighting
and confident of victory, Menelaus came up to help Meges, and got
by the side of Dolops unperceived; he then speared him in the shoulder,
from behind, and the point, driven so furiousM
ly, went through into
his chest, whereon he fell headlong. The two then made towards him
to strip him of his armour, but Hector called on all his brothers
for help, and he especially upbraided brave Melanippus son of Hiketaon,
who erewhile used to pasture his herds of cattle in Percote before
the war broke out; but when the ships of the Danaans came, he went
back to Ilius, where he was eminent among the Trojans, and lived near
Priam who treated him as one of his own sons. Hector now rebuked him
hy, Melanippus, are we thus remiss? do you take no note
of the death of your kinsman, and do you not see how they are trying
to take Dolops's armour? Follow me; there must be no fighting the
Argives from a distance now, but we must do so in close combat till
either we kill them or they take the high wall of Ilius and slay her
He led on as he spoke, and the hero Melanippus followed after. Meanwhile
Ajax son of Telamon was cheering on the Argives. "My friends," he
cried, "be men, and fear dishonouM
r; quit yourselves in battle so as
to win respect from one another. Men who respect each other's good
opinion are less likely to be killed than those who do not, but in
flight there is neither gain nor glory."
Thus did he exhort men who were already bent upon driving back the
Trojans. They laid his words to heart and hedged the ships as with
a wall of bronze, while Jove urged on the Trojans. Menelaus of the
loud battle-cry urged Antilochus on. "Antilochus," said he, "you are
young and there is none of thM
e Achaeans more fleet of foot or more
valiant than you are. See if you cannot spring upon some Trojan and
He hurried away when he had thus spurred Antilochus, who at once darted
out from the front ranks and aimed a spear, after looking carefully
round him. The Trojans fell back as he threw, and the dart did not
speed from his hand without effect, for it struck Melanippus the proud
son of Hiketaon in the breast by the nipple as he was coming forward,
and his armour rang rattling round him as heM
fell heavily to the ground.
Antilochus sprang upon him as a dog springs on a fawn which a hunter
has hit as it was breaking away from its covert, and killed it. Even
so, O Melanippus, did stalwart Antilochus spring upon you to strip
you of your armour; but noble Hector marked him, and came running
up to him through the thick of the battle. Antilochus, brave soldier
though he was, would not stay to face him, but fled like some savage
creature which knows it has done wrong, and flies, when it has killed
g or a man who is herding his cattle, before a body of men can
be gathered to attack it. Even so did the son of Nestor fly, and the
Trojans and Hector with a cry that rent the air showered their weapons
after him; nor did he turn round and stay his flight till he had reached
The Trojans, fierce as lions, were still rushing on towards the ships
in fulfilment of the behests of Jove who kept spurring them on to
new deeds of daring, while he deadened the courage of the Argives
by encouraging the Trojans. For he meant giving
glory to Hector son of Priam, and letting him throw fire upon the
ships, till he had fulfilled the unrighteous prayer that Thetis had
made him; Jove, therefore, bided his time till he should see the glare
of a blazing ship. From that hour he was about so to order that the
Trojans should be driven back from the ships and to vouchsafe glory
to the Achaeans. With this purpose he inspired Hector son of Priam,
who was cager enough already, to assail the ships. His M
that of Mars, or as when a fire is raging in the glades of some dense
forest upon the mountains; he foamed at the mouth, his eyes glared
under his terrible eye-brows, and his helmet quivered on his temples
by reason of the fury with which he fought. Jove from heaven was with
him, and though he was but one against many, vouchsafed him victory
and glory; for he was doomed to an early death, and already Pallas
Minerva was hurrying on the hour of his destruction at the hands of
the son of Peleus. NoM
w, however, he kept trying to break the ranks
of the enemy wherever he could see them thickest, and in the goodliest
armour; but do what he might he could not break through them, for
they stood as a tower foursquare, or as some high cliff rising from
the grey sea that braves the anger of the gale, and of the waves that
thunder up against it. He fell upon them like flames of fire from
every quarter. As when a wave, raised mountain high by wind and storm,
breaks over a ship and covers it deep in foam, the fierM
against the mast, the hearts of the sailors fail them for fear, and
they are saved but by a very little from destruction- even so were
the hearts of the Achaeans fainting within them. Or as a savage lion
attacking a herd of cows while they are feeding by thousands in the
low-lying meadows by some wide-watered shore- the herdsman is at his
wit's end how to protect his herd and keeps going about now in the
van and now in the rear of his cattle, while the lion springs into
the thick of them and fM
astens on a cow so that they all tremble for
fear- even so were the Achaeans utterly panic-stricken by Hector and
father Jove. Nevertheless Hector only killed Periphetes of Mycenae;
he was son of Copreus who was wont to take the orders of King Eurystheus
to mighty Hercules, but the son was a far better man than the father
in every way; he was fleet of foot, a valiant warrior, and in understanding
ranked among the foremost men of Mycenae. He it was who then afforded
Hector a triumph, for as he was turning bacM
k he stumbled against the
rim of his shield which reached his feet, and served to keep the javelins
off him. He tripped against this and fell face upward, his helmet
ringing loudly about his head as he did so. Hector saw him fall and
ran up to him; he then thrust a spear into his chest, and killed him
close to his own comrades. These, for all their sorrow, could not
help him for they were themselves terribly afraid of Hector.
They had now reached the ships and the prows of those that had been
st were on every side of them, but the Trojans came pouring
after them. The Argives were driven back from the first row of ships,
but they made a stand by their tents without being broken up and scattered;
shame and fear restrained them. They kept shouting incessantly to
one another, and Nestor of Gerene, tower of strength to the Achaeans,
was loudest in imploring every man by his parents, and beseeching
"Be men, my friends," he cried, "and respect one another's good opinion.
l of you, on your children, your wives, your property, and
your parents whether these be alive or dead. On their behalf though
they are not here, I implore you to stand firm, and not to turn in
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Minerva lifted
the thick veil of darkness from their eyes, and much light fell upon
them, alike on the side of the ships and on that where the fight was
raging. They could see Hector and all his men, both those in the rear
who were taking no part in thM
e battle, and those who were fighting
Ajax could not bring himself to retreat along with the rest, but strode
from deck to deck with a great sea-pike in his hands twelve cubits
long and jointed with rings. As a man skilled in feats of horsemanship
couples four horses together and comes tearing full speed along the
public way from the country into some large town- many both men and
women marvel as they see him for he keeps all the time changing his
horse, springing from one to another withouM
t ever missing his feet
while the horses are at a gallop- even so did Ajax go striding from
one ship's deck to another, and his voice went up into the heavens.
He kept on shouting his orders to the Danaans and exhorting them to
defend their ships and tents; neither did Hector remain within the
main body of the Trojan warriors, but as a dun eagle swoops down upon
a flock of wild-fowl feeding near a river-geese, it may be, or cranes,
or long-necked swans- even so did Hector make straight for a dark-prowed
p, rushing right towards it; for Jove with his mighty hand impelled
him forward, and roused his people to follow him.
And now the battle again raged furiously at the ships. You would have
thought the men were coming on fresh and unwearied, so fiercely did
they fight; and this was the mind in which they were- the Achaeans
did not believe they should escape destruction but thought themselves
doomed, while there was not a Trojan but his heart beat high with
the hope of firing the ships and putting the AchaeaM
Thus were the two sides minded. Then Hector seized the stern of the
good ship that had brought Protesilaus to Troy, but never bore him
back to his native land. Round this ship there raged a close hand-to-hand
fight between Danaans and Trojans. They did not fight at a distance
with bows and javelins, but with one mind hacked at one another in
close combat with their mighty swords and spears pointed at both ends;
they fought moreover with keen battle-axes and with hatchets. Many
ood stout blade hilted and scabbarded with iron, fell from hand
or shoulder as they fought, and the earth ran red with blood. Hector,
when he had seized the ship, would not loose his hold but held on
to its curved stern and shouted to the Trojans, "Bring fire, and raise
the battle-cry all of you with a single voice. Now has Jove vouchsafed
us a day that will pay us for all the rest; this day we shall take
the ships which came hither against heaven's will, and which have
caused us such infinite suffering throM
ugh the cowardice of our councillors,
who when I would have done battle at the ships held me back and forbade
the host to follow me; if Jove did then indeed warp our judgements,
himself now commands me and cheers me on."
As he spoke thus the Trojans sprang yet more fiercely on the Achaeans,
and Ajax no longer held his ground, for he was overcome by the darts
that were flung at him, and made sure that he was doomed. Therefore
he left the raised deck at the stern, and stepped back on to the seven-foot
h of the oarsmen. Here he stood on the look-out, and with his
spear held back Trojan whom he saw bringing fire to the ships. All
the time he kept on shouting at the top of his voice and exhorting
the Danaans. "My friends," he cried, "Danaan heroes, servants of Mars,
be men my friends, and fight with might and with main. Can we hope
to find helpers hereafter, or a wall to shield us more surely than
the one we have? There is no strong city within reach, whence we may
draw fresh forces to turn the scales in ourM
favour. We are on the
plain of the armed Trojans with the sea behind us, and far from our
own country. Our salvation, therefore, is in the might of our hands
and in hard fighting."
As he spoke he wielded his spear with still greater fury, and when
any Trojan made towards the ships with fire at Hector's bidding, he
would be on the look-out for him, and drive at him with his long spear.
Twelve men did he thus kill in hand-to-hand fight before the ships.
--------------------------------------------------M
--------------------
Thus did they fight about the ship of Protesilaus. Then Patroclus
drew near to Achilles with tears welling from his eyes, as from some
spring whose crystal stream falls over the ledges of a high precipice.
When Achilles saw him thus weeping he was sorry for him and said,
"Why, Patroclus, do you stand there weeping like some silly child
that comes running to her mother, and begs to be taken up and carried-
she catches hold of her mother's dress to stay her though she is in
a hurry, and looks tearfully up until her mother carries her- even
such tears, Patroclus, are you now shedding. Have you anything to
say to the Myrmidons or to myself? or have you had news from Phthia
which you alone know? They tell me Menoetius son of Actor is still
alive, as also Peleus son of Aeacus, among the Myrmidons- men whose
loss we two should bitterly deplore; or are you grieving about the
Argives and the way in which they are being killed at the ships, throu
their own high-handed doings? Do not hiM
de anything from me but tell
me that both of us may know about it."
Then, O knight Patroclus, with a deep sigh you answered, "Achilles,
son of Peleus, foremost champion of the Achaeans, do not be angry,
but I weep for the disaster that has now befallen the Argives. All
those who have been their champions so far are lying at the ships,
wounded by sword or spear. Brave Diomed son of Tydeus has been hit
with a spear, while famed Ulysses and Agamemnon have received sword-wounds;
Eurypylus again has been struM
ck with an arrow in the thigh; skilled
apothecaries are attending to these heroes, and healing them of their
wounds; are you still, O Achilles, so inexorable? May it never be
my lot to nurse such a passion as you have done, to the baning of
your own good name. Who in future story will speak well of you unless
you now save the Argives from ruin? You know no pity; knight Peleus
was not your father nor Thetis your mother, but the grey sea bore
you and the sheer cliffs begot you, so cruel and remorseless are youM
If however you are kept back through knowledge of some oracle, or
if your mother Thetis has told you something from the mouth of Jove,
at least send me and the Myrmidons with me, if I may bring deliverance
to the Danaans. Let me moreover wear your armour; the Trojans may
thus mistake me for you and quit the field, so that the hard-pressed
sons of the Achaeans may have breathing time- which while they are
fighting may hardly be. We who are fresh might soon drive tired men
back from our ships and tents to tM
He knew not what he was asking, nor that he was suing for his own
destruction. Achilles was deeply moved and answered, "What, noble
Patroclus, are you saying? I know no prophesyings which I am heeding,
nor has my mother told me anything from the mouth of Jove, but I am
cut to the very heart that one of my own rank should dare to rob me
because he is more powerful than I am. This, after all that I have
gone through, is more than I can endure. The girl whom the sons of
the Achaeans chose foM
r me, whom I won as the fruit of my spear on
having sacked a city- her has King Agamemnon taken from me as though
I were some common vagrant. Still, let bygones be bygones: no man
may keep his anger for ever; I said I would not relent till battle
and the cry of war had reached my own ships; nevertheless, now gird
my armour about your shoulders, and lead the Myrmidons to battle,
for the dark cloud of Trojans has burst furiously over our fleet;
the Argives are driven back on to the beach, cooped within a narroM
space, and the whole people of Troy has taken heart to sally out against
them, because they see not the visor of my helmet gleaming near them.
Had they seen this, there would not have been a creek nor grip that
had not been filled with their dead as they fled back again. And so
it would have been, if only King Agamemnon had dealt fairly by me.
As it is the Trojans have beset our host. Diomed son of Tydeus no
longer wields his spear to defend the Danaans, neither have I heard
the voice of the son of AtreusM
coming from his hated head, whereas
that of murderous Hector rings in my cars as he gives orders to the
Trojans, who triumph over the Achaeans and fill the whole plain with
their cry of battle. But even so, Patroclus, fall upon them and save
the fleet, lest the Trojans fire it and prevent us from being able
to return. Do, however, as I now bid you, that you may win me great
honour from all the Danaans, and that they may restore the girl to
me again and give me rich gifts into the bargain. When you have drivM
the Trojans from the ships, come back again. Though Juno's thundering
husband should put triumph within your reach, do not fight the Trojans
further in my absence, or you will rob me of glory that should be
mine. And do not for lust of battle go on killing the Trojans nor
lead the Achaeans on to Ilius, lest one of the ever-living gods from
Olympus attack you- for Phoebus Apollo loves them well: return when
you have freed the ships from peril, and let others wage war upon
the plain. Would, by father Jove,M
Minerva, and Apollo, that not a
single man of all the Trojans might be left alive, nor yet of the
Argives, but that we two might be alone left to tear aside the mantle
that veils the brow of Troy."
Thus did they converse. But Ajax could no longer hold his ground for
the shower of darts that rained upon him; the will of Jove and the
javelins of the Trojans were too much for him; the helmet that gleamed
about his temples rang with the continuous clatter of the missiles
that kept pouring on to it and on toM
the cheek-pieces that protected
his face. Moreover his left shoulder was tired with having held his
shield so long, yet for all this, let fly at him as they would, they
could not make him give ground. He could hardly draw his breath, the
sweat rained from every pore of his body, he had not a moment's respite,
and on all sides he was beset by danger upon danger.
And now, tell me, O Muses that hold your mansions on Olympus, how
fire was thrown upon the ships of the Achaeans. Hector came close
rive with his great sword at the ashen spear of Ajax.
He cut it clean in two just behind where the point was fastened on
to the shaft of the spear. Ajax, therefore, had now nothing but a
headless spear, while the bronze point flew some way off and came
ringing down on to the ground. Ajax knew the hand of heaven in this,
and was dismayed at seeing that Jove had now left him utterly defenceless
and was willing victory for the Trojans. Therefore he drew back, and
the Trojans flung fire upon the ship which was aM
The fire was now flaring about the ship's stern, whereon Achilles
smote his two thighs and said to Patroclus, "Up, noble knight, for
I see the glare of hostile fire at our fleet; up, lest they destroy
our ships, and there be no way by which we may retreat. Gird on your
armour at once while I call our people together."
As he spoke Patroclus put on his armour. First he greaved his legs
with greaves of good make, and fitted with ancle-clasps of silver;
after this he donned the cM
uirass of the son of Aeacus, richly inlaid
and studded. He hung his silver-studded sword of bronze about his
shoulders, and then his mighty shield. On his comely head he set his
helmet, well wrought, with a crest of horse-hair that nodded menacingly
above it. He grasped two redoubtable spears that suited his hands,
but he did not take the spear of noble Achilles, so stout and strong,
for none other of the Achaeans could wield it, though Achilles could
do so easily. This was the ashen spear from Mount Pelion,M
had cut upon a mountain top and had given to Peleus, wherewith to
deal out death among heroes. He bade Automedon yoke his horses with
all speed, for he was the man whom he held in honour next after Achilles,
and on whose support in battle he could rely most firmly. Automedon
therefore yoked the fleet horses Xanthus and Balius, steeds that could
fly like the wind: these were they whom the harpy Podarge bore to
the west wind, as she was grazing in a meadow by the waters of the
the side traces he set the noble horse Pedasus,
whom Achilles had brought away with him when he sacked the city of
Eetion, and who, mortal steed though he was, could take his place
along with those that were immortal.
Meanwhile Achilles went about everywhere among the tents, and bade
his Myrmidons put on their armour. Even as fierce ravening wolves
that are feasting upon a homed stag which they have killed upon the
mountains, and their jaws are red with blood- they go in a pack to
lap water from the cleaM
r spring with their long thin tongues; and
they reek of blood and slaughter; they know not what fear is, for
it is hunger drives them- even so did the leaders and counsellors
of the Myrmidons gather round the good squire of the fleet descendant
of Aeacus, and among them stood Achilles himself cheering on both
Fifty ships had noble Achilles brought to Troy, and in each there
was a crew of fifty oarsmen. Over these he set five captains whom
he could trust, while he was himself commander oveM
r them all. Menesthius
of the gleaming corslet, son to the river Spercheius that streams
from heaven, was captain of the first company. Fair Polydora daughter
of Peleus bore him to ever-flowing Spercheius- a woman mated with
a god- but he was called son of Borus son of Perieres, with whom his
mother was living as his wedded wife, and who gave great wealth to
gain her. The second company was led by noble Eudorus, son to an unwedded
woman. Polymele, daughter of Phylas the graceful dancer, bore him;
slayer of Argos was enamoured of her as he saw her among
the singing women at a dance held in honour of Diana the rushing huntress
of the golden arrows; he therefore- Mercury, giver of all good- went
with her into an upper chamber, and lay with her in secret, whereon
she bore him a noble son Eudorus, singularly fleet of foot and in
fight valiant. When Ilithuia goddess of the pains of child-birth brought
him to the light of day, and he saw the face of the sun, mighty Echecles
son of Actor took the mother to M
wife, and gave great wealth to gain
her, but her father Phylas brought the child up, and took care of
him, doting as fondly upon him as though he were his own son. The
third company was led by Pisander son of Maemalus, the finest spearman
among all the Myrmidons next to Achilles' own comrade Patroclus. The
old knight Phoenix was captain of the fourth company, and Alcimedon,
noble son of Laerceus of the fifth.
When Achilles had chosen his men and had stationed them all with their
captains, he charged themM
straitly saying, "Myrmidons, remember your
threats against the Trojans while you were at the ships in the time
of my anger, and you were all complaining of me. 'Cruel son of Peleus,'
you would say, 'your mother must have suckled you on gall, so ruthless
are you. You keep us here at the ships against our will; if you are
so relentless it were better we went home over the sea.' Often have
you gathered and thus chided with me. The hour is now come for those
high feats of arms that you have so long been pining M
keep high hearts each one of you to do battle with the Trojans."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and they serried
their companies yet more closely when they heard the of their king.
As the stones which a builder sets in the wall of some high house
which is to give shelter from the winds- even so closely were the
helmets and bossed shields set against one another. Shield pressed
on shield, helm on helm, and man on man; so close were they that the
horse-hair plumes on thM
e gleaming ridges of their helmets touched
each other as they bent their heads.
In front of them all two men put on their armour- Patroclus and Automedon-
two men, with but one mind to lead the Myrmidons. Then Achilles went
inside his tent and opened the lid of the strong chest which silver-footed
Thetis had given him to take on board ship, and which she had filled
with shirts, cloaks to keep out the cold, and good thick rugs. In
this chest he had a cup of rare workmanship, from which no man but
might drink, nor would he make offering from it to any other
god save only to father Jove. He took the cup from the chest and cleansed
it with sulphur; this done he rinsed it clean water, and after he
had washed his hands he drew wine. Then he stood in the middle of
the court and prayed, looking towards heaven, and making his drink-offering
of wine; nor was he unseen of Jove whose joy is in thunder. "King
Jove," he cried, "lord of Dodona, god of the Pelasgi, who dwellest
afar, you who hold wintry Dodona in yM
our sway, where your prophets
the Selli dwell around you with their feet unwashed and their couches
made upon the ground- if you heard me when I prayed to you aforetime,
and did me honour while you sent disaster on the Achaeans, vouchsafe
me now the fulfilment of yet this further prayer. I shall stay here
where my ships are lying, but I shall send my comrade into battle
at the head of many Myrmidons. Grant, O all-seeing Jove, that victory
may go with him; put your courage into his heart that Hector may learnM
whether my squire is man enough to fight alone, or whether his might
is only then so indomitable when I myself enter the turmoil of war.
Afterwards when he has chased the fight and the cry of battle from
the ships, grant that he may return unharmed, with his armour and
his comrades, fighters in close combat."
Thus did he pray, and all-counselling Jove heard his prayer. Part
of it he did indeed vouchsafe him- but not the whole. He granted that
Patroclus should thrust back war and battle from the ships, bM
to let him come safely out of the fight.
When he had made his drink-offering and had thus prayed, Achilles
went inside his tent and put back the cup into his chest.
Then he again came out, for he still loved to look upon the fierce
fight that raged between the Trojans and Achaeans.
Meanwhile the armed band that was about Patroclus marched on till
they sprang high in hope upon the Trojans. They came swarming out
like wasps whose nests are by the roadside, and whom silly children
ease, whereon any one who happens to be passing may get stung-
or again, if a wayfarer going along the road vexes them by accident,
every wasp will come flying out in a fury to defend his little ones-
even with such rage and courage did the Myrmidons swarm from their
ships, and their cry of battle rose heavenwards. Patroclus called
out to his men at the top of his voice, "Myrmidons, followers of Achilles
son of Peleus, be men my friends, fight with might and with main,
that we may win glory for the son of PeM
leus, who is far the foremost
man at the ships of the Argives- he, and his close fighting followers.
The son of Atreus King Agamemnon will thus learn his folly in showing
no respect to the bravest of the Achaeans."
With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and they fell
in a body upon the Trojans. The ships rang again with the cry which
the Achaeans raised, and when the Trojans saw the brave son of Menoetius
and his squire all gleaming in their armour, they were daunted and
ere thrown into confusion, for they thought the
fleet son of Peleus must now have put aside his anger, and have been
reconciled to Agamemnon; every one, therefore, looked round about
to see whither he might fly for safety.
Patroclus first aimed a spear into the middle of the press where men
were packed most closely, by the stern of the ship of Protesilaus.
He hit Pyraechmes who had led his Paeonian horsemen from the Amydon
and the broad waters of the river Axius; the spear struck him on the
r, and with a groan he fell backwards in the dust; on
this his men were thrown into confusion, for by killing their leader,
who was the finest soldier among them, Patroclus struck panic into
them all. He thus drove them from the ship and quenched the fire that
was then blazing- leaving the half-burnt ship to lie where it was.
The Trojans were now driven back with a shout that rent the skies,
while the Danaans poured after them from their ships, shouting also
without ceasing. As when Jove, gatherer of the thuM
a dense canopy on the top of some lofty mountain, and all the peaks,
the jutting headlands, and forest glades show out in the great light
that flashes from the bursting heavens, even so when the Danaans had
now driven back the fire from their ships, they took breath for a
little while; but the fury of the fight was not yet over, for the
Trojans were not driven back in utter rout, but still gave battle,
and were ousted from their ground only by sheer fighting.
The fight then became moreM
scattered, and the chieftains killed one
another when and how they could. The valiant son of Menoetius first
drove his spear into the thigh of Areilycus just as he was turning
round; the point went clean through, and broke the bone so that he
fell forward. Meanwhile Menelaus struck Thoas in the chest, where
it was exposed near the rim of his shield, and he fell dead. The son
of Phyleus saw Amphiclus about to attack him, and ere he could do
so took aim at the upper part of his thigh, where the muscles are
hicker than in any other part; the spear tore through all the sinews
of the leg, and his eyes were closed in darkness. Of the sons of Nestor
one, Antilochus, speared Atymnius, driving the point of the spear
through his throat, and down he fell. Maris then sprang on Antilochus
in hand-to-hand fight to avenge his brother, and bestrode the body
spear in hand; but valiant Thrasymedes was too quick for him, and
in a moment had struck him in the shoulder ere he could deal his blow;
his aim was true, and the spear M
severed all the muscles at the root
of his arm, and tore them right down to the bone, so he fell heavily
to the ground and his eyes were closed in darkness. Thus did these
two noble comrades of Sarpedon go down to Erebus slain by the two
sons of Nestor; they were the warrior sons of Amisodorus, who had
reared the invincible Chimaera, to the bane of many. Ajax son of Oileus
sprang on Cleobulus and took him alive as he was entangled in the
crush; but he killed him then and there by a sword-blow on the neck.
he sword reeked with his blood, while dark death and the strong hand
of fate gripped him and closed his eyes.
Peneleos and Lycon now met in close fight, for they had missed each
other with their spears. They had both thrown without effect, so now
they drew their swords. Lycon struck the plumed crest of Peneleos'
helmet but his sword broke at the hilt, while Peneleos smote Lycon
on the neck under the ear. The blade sank so deep that the head was
held on by nothing but the skin, and there was no more life lM
him. Meriones gave chase to Acamas on foot and caught him up just
as he was about to mount his chariot; he drove a spear through his
right shoulder so that he fell headlong from the car, and his eyes
were closed in darkness. Idomeneus speared Erymas in the mouth; the
bronze point of the spear went clean through it beneath the brain,
crashing in among the white bones and smashing them up. His teeth
were all of them knocked out and the blood came gushing in a stream
from both his eyes; it also came gurM
gling up from his mouth and nostrils,
and the darkness of death enfolded him round about.
Thus did these chieftains of the Danaans each of them kill his man.
As ravening wolves seize on kids or lambs, fastening on them when
they are alone on the hillsides and have strayed from the main flock
through the carelessness of the shepherd- and when the wolves see
this they pounce upon them at once because they cannot defend themselves-
even so did the Danaans now fall on the Trojans, who fled with ill-omened
ies in their panic and had no more fight left in them.
Meanwhile great Ajax kept on trying to drive a spear into Hector,
but Hector was so skilful that he held his broad shoulders well under
cover of his ox-hide shield, ever on the look-out for the whizzing
of the arrows and the heavy thud of the spears. He well knew that
the fortunes of the day had changed, but still stood his ground and
tried to protect his comrades.
As when a cloud goes up into heaven from Olympus, rising out of a
e is brewing a gale- even with such panic stricken
rout did the Trojans now fly, and there was no order in their going.
Hector's fleet horses bore him and his armour out of the fight, and
he left the Trojan host penned in by the deep trench against their
will. Many a yoke of horses snapped the pole of their chariots in
the trench and left their master's car behind them. Patroclus gave
chase, calling impetuously on the Danaans and full of fury against
the Trojans, who, being now no longer in a body, filled alM
with their cries of panic and rout; the air was darkened with the
clouds of dust they raised, and the horses strained every nerve in
their flight from the tents and ships towards the city.
Patroclus kept on heading his horses wherever he saw most men flying
in confusion, cheering on his men the while. Chariots were being smashed
in all directions, and many a man came tumbling down from his own
car to fall beneath the wheels of that of Patroclus, whose immortal
steeds, given by the gods to PeleM
us, sprang over the trench at a bound
as they sped onward. He was intent on trying to get near Hector, for
he had set his heart on spearing him, but Hector's horses were now
hurrying him away. As the whole dark earth bows before some tempest
on an autumn day when Jove rains his hardest to punish men for giving
crooked judgement in their courts, and arriving justice therefrom
without heed to the decrees of heaven- all the rivers run full and
the torrents tear many a new channel as they roar headlong from the
mountains to the dark sea, and it fares ill with the works of men-
even such was the stress and strain of the Trojan horses in their
Patroclus now cut off the battalions that were nearest to him and
drove them back to the ships. They were doing their best to reach
the city, but he would not Yet them, and bore down on them between
the river and the ships and wall. Many a fallen comrade did he then
avenge. First he hit Pronous with a spear on the chest where it was
exposed near the rim of his shieM
ld, and he fell heavily to the ground.
Next he sprang on Thestor son of Enops, who was sitting all huddled
up in his chariot, for he had lost his head and the reins had been
torn out of his hands. Patroclus went up to him and drove a spear
into his right jaw; he thus hooked him by the teeth and the spear
pulled him over the rim of his car, as one who sits at the end of
some jutting rock and draws a strong fish out of the sea with a hook
and a line- even so with his spear did he pull Thestor all gaping
his chariot; he then threw him down on his face and he died while
falling. On this, as Erylaus was on to attack him, he struck him full
on the head with a stone, and his brains were all battered inside
his helmet, whereon he fell headlong to the ground and the pangs of
death took hold upon him. Then he laid low, one after the other, Erymas,
Amphoterus, Epaltes, Tlepolemus, Echius son of Damastor, Pyris, lpheus,
Euippus and Polymelus son of Argeas.
Now when Sarpedon saw his comrades, men who wore ungirdledM
being overcome by Patroclus son of Menoetius, he rebuked the Lycians
saying. "Shame on you, where are you flying to? Show your mettle;
I will myself meet this man in fight and learn who it is that is so
masterful; he has done us much hurt, and has stretched many a brave
man upon the ground."
He sprang from his chariot as he spoke, and Patroclus, when he saw
this, leaped on to the ground also. The two then rushed at one another
with loud cries like eagle-beaked crook-taloned vultures that scream
and tear at one another in some high mountain fastness.
The son of scheming Saturn looked down upon them in pity and said
to Juno who was his wife and sister, "Alas, that it should be the
lot of Sarpedon whom I love so dearly to perish by the hand of Patroclus.
I am in two minds whether to catch him up out of the fight and set
him down safe and sound in the fertile land of Lycia, or to let him
now fall by the hand of the son of Menoetius."
And Juno answered, "Most dread son of Saturn, what is this thaM
are saying? Would you snatch a mortal man, whose doom has long been
fated, out of the jaws of death? Do as you will, but we shall not
all of us be of your mind. I say further, and lay my saying to your
heart, that if you send Sarpedon safely to his own home, some other
of the gods will be also wanting to escort his son out of battle,
for there are many sons of gods fighting round the city of Troy, and
you will make every one jealous. If, however, you are fond of him
and pity him, let him indeed fall bM
y the hand of Patroclus, but as
soon as the life is gone out of him, send Death and sweet Sleep to
bear him off the field and take him to the broad lands of Lycia, where
his brothers and his kinsmen will bury him with mound and pillar,
in due honour to the dead."
The sire of gods and men assented, but he shed a rain of blood upon
the earth in honour of his son whom Patroclus was about to kill on
the rich plain of Troy far from his home.
When they were now come close to one another Patroclus struck ThrM
the brave squire of Sarpedon, in the lower part of the belly, and
killed him. Sarpedon then aimed a spear at Patroclus and missed him,
but he struck the horse Pedasus in the right shoulder, and it screamed
aloud as it lay, groaning in the dust until the life went out of it.
The other two horses began to plunge; the pole of the chariot cracked
and they got entangled in the reins through the fall of the horse
that was yoked along with them; but Automedon knew what to do; without
the loss of a momentM
he drew the keen blade that hung by his sturdy
thigh and cut the third horse adrift; whereon the other two righted
themselves, and pulling hard at the reins again went together into
Sarpedon now took a second aim at Patroclus, and again missed him,
the point of the spear passed over his left shoulder without hitting
him. Patroclus then aimed in his turn, and the spear sped not from
his hand in vain, for he hit Sarpedon just where the midriff surrounds
the ever-beating heart. He fell like some oaM
k or silver poplar or
tall pine to which woodmen have laid their axes upon the mountains
to make timber for ship-building- even so did he lie stretched at
full length in front of his chariot and horses, moaning and clutching
at the blood-stained dust. As when a lion springs with a bound upon
a herd of cattle and fastens on a great black bull which dies bellowing
in its clutches- even so did the leader of the Lycian warriors struggle
in death as he fell by the hand of Patroclus. He called on his trusty
de and said, "Glaucus, my brother, hero among heroes, put forth
all your strength, fight with might and main, now if ever quit yourself
like a valiant soldier. First go about among the Lycian captains and
bid them fight for Sarpedon; then yourself also do battle to save
my armour from being taken. My name will haunt you henceforth and
for ever if the Achaeans rob me of my armour now that I have fallen
at their ships. Do your very utmost and call all my people together."
Death closed his eyes as he spoke. PM
atroclus planted his heel on his
breast and drew the spear from his body, whereon his senses came out
along with it, and he drew out both spear-point and Sarpedon's soul
at the same time. Hard by the Myrmidons held his snorting steeds,
who were wild with panic at finding themselves deserted by their lords.
Glaucus was overcome with grief when he heard what Sarpedon said,
for he could not help him. He had to support his arm with his other
hand, being in great pain through the wound which Teucer's arrow had
given him when Teucer was defending the wall as he, Glaucus, was assailing
it. Therefore he prayed to far-darting Apollo saying, "Hear me O king
from your seat, may be in the rich land of Lycia, or may be in Troy,
for in all places you can hear the prayer of one who is in distress,
as I now am. I have a grievous wound; my hand is aching with pain,
there is no staunching the blood, and my whole arm drags by reason
of my hurt, so that I cannot grasp my sword nor go among my foes and
fight them, thou our princM
e, Jove's son Sarpedon, is slain. Jove defended
not his son, do you, therefore, O king, heal me of my wound, ease
my pain and grant me strength both to cheer on the Lycians and to
fight along with them round the body of him who has fallen."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He eased his pain,
staunched the black blood from the wound, and gave him new strength.
Glaucus perceived this, and was thankful that the mighty god had answered
his prayer; forthwith, therefore, he went among the Lycian caM
and bade them come to fight about the body of Sarpedon. From these
he strode on among the Trojans to Polydamas son of Panthous and Agenor;
he then went in search of Aeneas and Hector, and when he had found
them he said, "Hector, you have utterly forgotten your allies, who
languish here for your sake far from friends and home while you do
nothing to support them. Sarpedon leader of the Lycian warriors has
fallen- he who was at once the right and might of Lycia; Mars has
laid him low by the spear of PM
atroclus. Stand by him, my friends,
and suffer not the Myrmidons to strip him of his armour, nor to treat
his body with contumely in revenge for all the Danaans whom we have
speared at the ships."
As he spoke the Trojans were plunged in extreme and ungovernable grief;
for Sarpedon, alien though he was, had been one of the main stays
of their city, both as having much people with him, and himself the
foremost among them all. Led by Hector, who was infuriated by the
fall of Sarpedon, they made instantly foM
r the Danaans with all their
might, while the undaunted spirit of Patroclus son of Menoetius cheered
on the Achaeans. First he spoke to the two Ajaxes, men who needed
no bidding. "Ajaxes," said he, "may it now please you to show youselves
the men you have always been, or even better- Sarpedon is fallen-
he who was first to overleap the wall of the Achaeans; let us take
the body and outrage it; let us strip the armour from his shoulders,
and kill his comrades if they try to rescue his body."
en who of themselves were full eager; both sides, therefore,
the Trojans and Lycians on the one hand, and the Myrmidons and Achaeans
on the other, strengthened their battalions, and fought desperately
about the body of Sarpedon, shouting fiercely the while. Mighty was
the din of their armour as they came together, and Jove shed a thick
darkness over the fight, to increase the of the battle over the body
At first the Trojans made some headway against the Achaeans, for one
of the best men amongM
the Myrmidons was killed, Epeigeus, son of noble
Agacles who had erewhile been king in the good city of Budeum; but
presently, having killed a valiant kinsman of his own, he took refuge
with Peleus and Thetis, who sent him to Ilius the land of noble steeds
to fight the Trojans under Achilles. Hector now struck him on the
head with a stone just as he had caught hold of the body, and his
brains inside his helmet were all battered in, so that he fell face
foremost upon the body of Sarpedon, and there died. PatM
enraged by the death of his comrade, and sped through the front ranks
as swiftly as a hawk that swoops down on a flock of daws or starlings.
Even so swiftly, O noble knight Patroclus, did you make straight for
the Lycians and Trojans to avenge your comrade. Forthwith he struck
Sthenelaus the son of Ithaemenes on the neck with a stone, and broke
the tendons that join it to the head and spine. On this Hector and
the front rank of his men gave ground. As far as a man can throw a
javelin when competiM
ng for some prize, or even in battle- so far did
the Trojans now retreat before the Achaeans. Glaucus, captain of the
Lycians, was the first to rally them, by killing Bathycles son of
Chalcon who lived in Hellas and was the richest man among the Myrmidons.
Glaucus turned round suddenly, just as Bathycles who was pursuing
him was about to lay hold of him, and drove his spear right into the
middle of his chest, whereon he fell heavily to the ground, and the
fall of so good a man filled the Achaeans with dismayM
were exultant, and came up in a body round the corpse. Nevertheless
the Achaeans, mindful of their prowess, bore straight down upon them.
Meriones then killed a helmed warrior of the Trojans, Laogonus son
of Onetor, who was priest of Jove of Mt. Ida, and was honoured by
the people as though he were a god. Meriones struck him under the
jaw and ear, so that life went out of him and the darkness of death
laid hold upon him. Aeneas then aimed a spear at Meriones, hoping
to hit him under thM
e shield as he was advancing, but Meriones saw
it coming and stooped forward to avoid it, whereon the spear flew
past him and the point stuck in the ground, while the butt-end went
on quivering till Mars robbed it of its force. The spear, therefore,
sped from Aeneas's hand in vain and fell quivering to the ground.
Aeneas was angry and said, "Meriones, you are a good dancer, but if
I had hit you my spear would soon have made an end of you."
And Meriones answered, "Aeneas, for all your bravery, you will not
be able to make an end of every one who comes against you. You are
only a mortal like myself, and if I were to hit you in the middle
of your shield with my spear, however strong and self-confident you
may be, I should soon vanquish you, and you would yield your life
to Hades of the noble steeds."
On this the son of Menoetius rebuked him and said, "Meriones, hero
though you be, you should not speak thus; taunting speeches, my good
friend, will not make the Trojans draw away from the dead body; some
em must go under ground first; blows for battle, and words for
council; fight, therefore, and say nothing."
He led the way as he spoke and the hero went forward with him. As
the sound of woodcutters in some forest glade upon the mountains-
and the thud of their axes is heard afar- even such a din now rose
from earth-clash of bronze armour and of good ox-hide shields, as
men smote each other with their swords and spears pointed at both
ends. A man had need of good eyesight now to know Sarpedon, so covered
was he from head to foot with spears and blood and dust. Men swarmed
about the body, as flies that buzz round the full milk-pails in spring
when they are brimming with milk- even so did they gather round Sarpedon;
nor did Jove turn his keen eyes away for one moment from the fight,
but kept looking at it all the time, for he was settling how best
to kill Patroclus, and considering whether Hector should be allowed
to end him now in the fight round the body of Sarpedon, and strip
him of his armour, or whether M
he should let him give yet further trouble
to the Trojans. In the end, he deemed it best that the brave squire
of Achilles son of Peleus should drive Hector and the Trojans back
towards the city and take the lives of many. First, therefore, he
made Hector turn fainthearted, whereon he mounted his chariot and
fled, bidding the other Trojans fly also, for he saw that the scales
of Jove had turned against him. Neither would the brave Lycians stand
firm; they were dismayed when they saw their king lying struck tM
the heart amid a heap of corpses- for when the son of Saturn made
the fight wax hot many had fallen above him. The Achaeans, therefore
stripped the gleaming armour from his shoulders and the brave son
of Menoetius gave it to his men to take to the ships. Then Jove lord
of the storm-cloud said to Apollo, "Dear Phoebus, go, I pray you,
and take Sarpedon out of range of the weapons; cleanse the black blood
from off him, and then bear him a long way off where you may wash
him in the river, anoint him with ambM
rosia, and clothe him in immortal
raiment; this done, commit him to the arms of the two fleet messengers,
Death, and Sleep, who will carry him straightway to the rich land
of Lycia, where his brothers and kinsmen will inter him, and will
raise both mound and pillar to his memory, in due honour to the dead."
Thus he spoke. Apollo obeyed his father's saying, and came down from
the heights of Ida into the thick of the fight; forthwith he took
Sarpedon out of range of the weapons, and then bore him a long way
off, where he washed him in the river, anointed him with ambrosia
and clothed him in immortal raiment; this done, he committed him to
the arms of the two fleet messengers, Death, and Sleep, who presently
set him down in the rich land of Lycia.
Meanwhile Patroclus, with many a shout to his horses and to Automedon,
pursued the Trojans and Lycians in the pride and foolishness of his
heart. Had he but obeyed the bidding of the son of Peleus, he would
have, escaped death and have been scatheless; but the counM
Jove pass man's understanding; he will put even a brave man to flight
and snatch victory from his grasp, or again he will set him on to
fight, as he now did when he put a high spirit into the heart of Patroclus.
Who then first, and who last, was slain by you, O Patroclus, when
the gods had now called you to meet your doom? First Adrestus, Autonous,
Echeclus, Perimus the son of Megas, Epistor and Melanippus; after
these he killed Elasus, Mulius, and Pylartes. These he slew, but the
The sons of the Achaeans would now have taken Troy by the hands of
Patroclus, for his spear flew in all directions, had not Phoebus Apollo
taken his stand upon the wall to defeat his purpose and to aid the
Trojans. Thrice did Patroclus charge at an angle of the high wall,
and thrice did Apollo beat him back, striking his shield with his
own immortal hands. When Patroclus was coming on like a god for yet
a fourth time, Apollo shouted to him with an awful voice and said,
Patroclus, it is not your lot to sack the city of
the Trojan chieftains, nor yet will it be that of Achilles who is
a far better man than you are." On hearing this, Patroclus withdrew
to some distance and avoided the anger of Apollo.
Meanwhile Hector was waiting with his horses inside the Scaean gates,
in doubt whether to drive out again and go on fighting, or to call
the army inside the gates. As he was thus doubting Phoebus Apollo
drew near him in the likeness of a young and lusty warrior Asius,
s Hector's uncle, being own brother to Hecuba, and son of Dymas
who lived in Phrygia by the waters of the river Sangarius; in his
likeness Jove's son Apollo now spoke to Hector saying, "Hector, why
have you left off fighting? It is ill done of you. If I were as much
better a man than you, as I am worse, you should soon rue your slackness.
Drive straight towards Patroclus, if so be that Apollo may grant you
a triumph over him, and you may rull him."
With this the god went back into the hurly-burly, and HecM
Cebriones drive again into the fight. Apollo passed in among them,
and struck panic into the Argives, while he gave triumph to Hector
and the Trojans. Hector let the other Danaans alone and killed no
man, but drove straight at Patroclus. Patroclus then sprang from his
chariot to the ground, with a spear in his left hand, and in his right
a jagged stone as large as his hand could hold. He stood still and
threw it, nor did it go far without hitting some one; the cast was
not in vain, for the stone stM
ruck Cebriones, Hector's charioteer,
a bastard son of Priam, as he held the reins in his hands. The stone
hit him on the forehead and drove his brows into his head for the
bone was smashed, and his eyes fell to the ground at his feet. He
dropped dead from his chariot as though he were diving, and there
was no more life left in him. Over him did you then vaunt, O knight
Patroclus, saying, "Bless my heart, how active he is, and how well
he dives. If we had been at sea this fellow would have dived from
p's side and brought up as many oysters as the whole crew could
stomach, even in rough water, for he has dived beautifully off his
chariot on to the ground. It seems, then, that there are divers also
among the Trojans."
As he spoke he flung himself on Cebriones with the spring, as it were,
of a lion that while attacking a stockyard is himself struck in the
chest, and his courage is his own bane- even so furiously, O Patroclus,
did you then spring upon Cebriones. Hector sprang also from his chariot
ground. The pair then fought over the body of Cebriones. As
two lions fight fiercely on some high mountain over the body of a
stag that they have killed, even so did these two mighty warriors,
Patroclus son of Menoetius and brave Hector, hack and hew at one another
over the corpse of Cebriones. Hector would not let him go when he
had once got him by the head, while Patroclus kept fast hold of his
feet, and a fierce fight raged between the other Danaans and Trojans.
As the east and south wind buffet one anotM
her when they beat upon
some dense forest on the mountains- there is beech and ash and spreading
cornel; the to of the trees roar as they beat on one another, and
one can hear the boughs cracking and breaking- even so did the Trojans
and Achaeans spring upon one another and lay about each other, and
neither side would give way. Many a pointed spear fell to ground and
many a winged arrow sped from its bow-string about the body of Cebriones;
many a great stone, moreover, beat on many a shield as they fought
round his body, but there he lay in the whirling clouds of dust,
all huge and hugely, heedless of his driving now.
So long as the sun was still high in mid-heaven the weapons of either
side were alike deadly, and the people fell; but when he went down
towards the time when men loose their oxen, the Achaeans proved to
be beyond all forecast stronger, so that they drew Cebriones out of
range of the darts and tumult of the Trojans, and stripped the armour
from his shoulders. Then Patroclus sprang like Mars wM
and a terrific shout upon the Trojans, and thrice did he kill nine
men; but as he was coming on like a god for a time, then, O Patroclus,
was the hour of your end approaching, for Phoebus fought you in fell
earnest. Patroclus did not see him as he moved about in the crush,
for he was enshrouded in thick darkness, and the god struck him from
behind on his back and his broad shoulders with the flat of his hand,
so that his eyes turned dizzy. Phoebus Apollo beat the helmet from
and it rolled rattling off under the horses' feet, where
its horse-hair plumes were all begrimed with dust and blood. Never
indeed had that helmet fared so before, for it had served to protect
the head and comely forehead of the godlike hero Achilles. Now, however,
Zeus delivered it over to be worn by Hector. Nevertheless the end
of Hector also was near. The bronze-shod spear, so great and so strong,
was broken in the hand of Patroclus, while his shield that covered
him from head to foot fell to the ground aM
s did also the band that
held it, and Apollo undid the fastenings of his corslet.
On this his mind became clouded; his limbs failed him, and he stood
as one dazed; whereon Euphorbus son of Panthous a Dardanian, the best
spearman of his time, as also the finest horseman and fleetest runner,
came behind him and struck him in the back with a spear, midway between
the shoulders. This man as soon as ever he had come up with his chariot
had dismounted twenty men, so proficient was he in all the arts of
it was, O knight Patroclus, that first drove a weapon into
you, but he did not quite overpower you. Euphorbus then ran back into
the crowd, after drawing his ashen spear out of the wound; he would
not stand firm and wait for Patroclus, unarmed though he now was,
to attack him; but Patroclus unnerved, alike by the blow the god had
given him and by the spear-wound, drew back under cover of his men
in fear for his life. Hector on this, seeing him to be wounded and
giving ground, forced his way through the ranksM
with him struck him in the lower part of the belly with a spear, driving
the bronze point right through it, so that he fell heavily to the
ground to the great of the Achaeans. As when a lion has fought some
fierce wild-boar and worsted him- the two fight furiously upon the
mountains over some little fountain at which they would both drink,
and the lion has beaten the boar till he can hardly breathe- even
so did Hector son of Priam take the life of the brave son of Menoetius
d so many, striking him from close at hand, and vaunting
over him the while. "Patroclus," said he, "you deemed that you should
sack our city, rob our Trojan women of their freedom, and carry them
off in your ships to your own country. Fool; Hector and his fleet
horses were ever straining their utmost to defend them. I am foremost
of all the Trojan warriors to stave the day of bondage from off them;
as for you, vultures shall devour you here. Poor wretch, Achilles
with all his bravery availed you nothing; andM
yet I ween when you
left him he charged you straitly saying, 'Come not back to the ships,
knight Patroclus, till you have rent the bloodstained shirt of murderous
Hector about his body. Thus I ween did he charge you, and your fool's
heart answered him 'yea' within you."
Then, as the life ebbed out of you, you answered, O knight Patroclus:
"Hector, vaunt as you will, for Jove the son of Saturn and Apollo
have vouchsafed you victory; it is they who have vanquished me so
easily, and they who have stripped M
the armour from my shoulders; had
twenty such men as you attacked me, all of them would have fallen
before my spear. Fate and the son of Leto have overpowered me, and
among mortal men Euphorbus; you are yourself third only in the killing
of me. I say further, and lay my saying to your heart, you too shall
live but for a little season; death and the day of your doom are close
upon you, and they will lay you low by the hand of Achilles son of
When he had thus spoken his eyes were closed in death, M
his body and flitted down to the house of Hades, mourning its sad
fate and bidding farewell to the youth and vigor of its manhood. Dead
though he was, Hector still spoke to him saying, "Patroclus, why should
you thus foretell my doom? Who knows but Achilles, son of lovely Thetis,
may be smitten by my spear and die before me?"
As he spoke he drew the bronze spear from the wound, planting his
foot upon the body, which he thrust off and let lie on its back. He
then went spear in hand after AutM
omedon, squire of the fleet descendant
of Aeacus, for he longed to lay him low, but the immortal steeds which
the gods had given as a rich gift to Peleus bore him swiftly from
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Brave Menelaus son of Atreus now came to know that Patroclus had
fallen, and made his way through the front ranks clad in full armour
to bestride him. As a cow stands lowing over her first calf, even
so did yellow-haired Menelaus bestriM
de Patroclus. He held his round
shield and his spear in front of him, resolute to kill any who should
dare face him. But the son of Panthous had also noted the body, and
came up to Menelaus saying, "Menelaus, son of Atreus, draw back, leave
the body, and let the bloodstained spoils be. I was first of the Trojans
and their brave allies to drive my spear into Patroclus, let me, therefore,
have my full glory among the Trojans, or I will take aim and kill
To this Menelaus answered in great anger "By faM
is an ill thing. The pard is not more bold, nor the lion nor savage
wild-boar, which is fiercest and most dauntless of all creatures,
than are the proud sons of Panthous. Yet Hyperenor did not see out
the days of his youth when he made light of me and withstood me, deeming
me the meanest soldier among the Danaans. His own feet never bore
him back to gladden his wife and parents. Even so shall I make an
end of you too, if you withstand me; get you back into the crowd and
r it shall be worse for you. Even a fool may be wise
Euphorbus would not listen, and said, "Now indeed, Menelaus, shall
you pay for the death of my brother over whom you vaunted, and whose
wife you widowed in her bridal chamber, while you brought grief unspeakable
on his parents. I shall comfort these poor people if I bring your
head and armour and place them in the hands of Panthous and noble
Phrontis. The time is come when this matter shall be fought out and
settled, for me or againstM
As he spoke he struck Menelaus full on the shield, but the spear did
not go through, for the shield turned its point. Menelaus then took
aim, praying to father Jove as he did so; Euphorbus was drawing back,
and Menelaus struck him about the roots of his throat, leaning his
whole weight on the spear, so as to drive it home. The point went
clean through his neck, and his armour rang rattling round him as
he fell heavily to the ground. His hair which was like that of the
Graces, and his locks so deftlM
y bound in bands of silver and gold,
were all bedrabbled with blood. As one who has grown a fine young
olive tree in a clear space where there is abundance of water- the
plant is full of promise, and though the winds beat upon it from every
quarter it puts forth its white blossoms till the blasts of some fierce
hurricane sweep down upon it and level it with the ground- even so
did Menelaus strip the fair youth Euphorbus of his armour after he
had slain him. Or as some fierce lion upon the mountains in the prM
of his strength fastens on the finest heifer in a herd as it is feeding-
first he breaks her neck with his strong jaws, and then gorges on
her blood and entrails; dogs and shepherds raise a hue and cry against
him, but they stand aloof and will not come close to him, for they
are pale with fear- even so no one had the courage to face valiant
Menelaus. The son of Atreus would have then carried off the armour
of the son of Panthous with ease, had not Phoebus Apollo been angry,
and in the guise of Mentes cM
hief of the Cicons incited Hector to attack
him. "Hector," said he, "you are now going after the horses of the
noble son of Aeacus, but you will not take them; they cannot be kept
in hand and driven by mortal man, save only by Achilles, who is son
to an immortal mother. Meanwhile Menelaus son of Atreus has bestridden
the body of Patroclus and killed the noblest of the Trojans, Euphorbus
son of Panthous, so that he can fight no more."
The god then went back into the toil and turmoil, but the soul of
r was darkened with a cloud of grief; he looked along the ranks
and saw Euphorbus lying on the ground with the blood still flowing
from his wound, and Menelaus stripping him of his armour. On this
he made his way to the front like a flame of fire, clad in his gleaming
armour, and crying with a loud voice. When the son of Atreus heard
him, he said to himself in his dismay, "Alas! what shall I do? I may
not let the Trojans take the armour of Patroclus who has fallen fighting
on my behalf, lest some Danaan who M
sees me should cry shame upon me.
Still if for my honour's sake I fight Hector and the Trojans single-handed,
they will prove too many for me, for Hector is bringing them up in
force. Why, however, should I thus hesitate? When a man fights in
despite of heaven with one whom a god befriends, he will soon rue
it. Let no Danaan think ill of me if I give place to Hector, for the
hand of heaven is with him. Yet, if I could find Ajax, the two of
us would fight Hector and heaven too, if we might only save the body
of Patroclus for Achilles son of Peleus. This, of many evils would
While he was thus in two minds, the Trojans came up to him with Hector
at their head; he therefore drew back and left the body, turning about
like some bearded lion who is being chased by dogs and men from a
stockyard with spears and hue and cry, whereon he is daunted and slinks
sulkily off- even so did Menelaus son of Atreus turn and leave the
body of Patroclus. When among the body of his men, he looked around
Ajax son of Telamon, and presently saw him on the extreme
left of the fight, cheering on his men and exhorting them to keep
on fighting, for Phoebus Apollo had spread a great panic among them.
He ran up to him and said, "Ajax, my good friend, come with me at
once to dead Patroclus, if so be that we may take the body to Achilles-
as for his armour, Hector already has it."
These words stirred the heart of Ajax, and he made his way among the
front ranks, Menelaus going with him. Hector had stripped PatroclusM
of his armour, and was dragging him away to cut off his head and take
the body to fling before the dogs of Troy. But Ajax came up with his
shield like wall before him, on which Hector withdrew under shelter
of his men, and sprang on to his chariot, giving the armour over to
the Trojans to take to the city, as a great trophy for himself; Ajax,
therefore, covered the body of Patroclus with his broad shield and
bestrode him; as a lion stands over his whelps if hunters have come
upon him in a forest when he isM
with his little ones- in the pride
and fierceness of his strength he draws his knit brows down till they
cover his eyes- even so did Ajax bestride the body of Patroclus, and
by his side stood Menelaus son of Atreus, nursing great sorrow in
Then Glaucus son of Hippolochus looked fiercely at Hector and rebuked
him sternly. "Hector," said he, "you make a brave show, but in fight
you are sadly wanting. A runaway like yourself has no claim to so
great a reputation. Think how you may now save your M
by the hands of your own people born in Ilius; for you will get no
Lycians to fight for you, seeing what thanks they have had for their
incessant hardships. Are you likely, sir, to do anything to help a
man of less note, after leaving Sarpedon, who was at once your guest
and comrade in arms, to be the spoil and prey of the Danaans? So long
as he lived he did good service both to your city and yourself; yet
you had no stomach to save his body from the dogs. If the Lycians
will listen to me, M
they will go home and leave Troy to its fate. If
the Trojans had any of that daring fearless spirit which lays hold
of men who are fighting for their country and harassing those who
would attack it, we should soon bear off Patroclus into Ilius. Could
we get this dead man away and bring him into the city of Priam, the
Argives would readily give up the armour of Sarpedon, and we should
get his body to boot. For he whose squire has been now killed is the
foremost man at the ships of the Achaeans- he and his cloM
followers. Nevertheless you dared not make a stand against Ajax, nor
face him, eye to eye, with battle all round you, for he is a braver
Hector scowled at him and answered, "Glaucus, you should know better.
I have held you so far as a man of more understanding than any in
all Lycia, but now I despise you for saying that I am afraid of Ajax.
I fear neither battle nor the din of chariots, but Jove's will is
stronger than ours; Jove at one time makes even a strong man draw
ck and snatches victory from his grasp, while at another he will
set him on to fight. Come hither then, my friend, stand by me and
see indeed whether I shall play the coward the whole day through as
you say, or whether I shall not stay some even of the boldest Danaans
from fighting round the body of Patroclus."
As he spoke he called loudly on the Trojans saying, "Trojans, Lycians,
and Dardanians, fighters in close combat, be men, my friends, and
fight might and main, while I put on the goodly armour of AcM
which I took when I killed Patroclus."
With this Hector left the fight, and ran full speed after his men
who were taking the armour of Achilles to Troy, but had not yet got
far. Standing for a while apart from the woeful fight, he changed
his armour. His own he sent to the strong city of Ilius and to the
Trojans, while he put on the immortal armour of the son of Peleus,
which the gods had given to Peleus, who in his age gave it to his
son; but the son did not grow old in his father's armour.
hen Jove, lord of the storm-cloud, saw Hector standing aloof and
arming himself in the armour of the son of Peleus, he wagged his head
and muttered to himself saying, "A! poor wretch, you arm in the armour
of a hero, before whom many another trembles, and you reck nothing
of the doom that is already close upon you. You have killed his comrade
so brave and strong, but it was not well that you should strip the
armour from his head and shoulders. I do indeed endow you with great
might now, but as against this yM
ou shall not return from battle to
lay the armour of the son of Peleus before Andromache."
The son of Saturn bowed his portentous brows, and Hector fitted the
armour to his body, while terrible Mars entered into him, and filled
his whole body with might and valour. With a shout he strode in among
the allies, and his armour flashed about him so that he seemed to
all of them like the great son of Peleus himself. He went about among
them and cheered them on- Mesthles, Glaucus, Medon, Thersilochus,
us, Deisenor and Hippothous, Phorcys, Chromius and Ennomus
the augur. All these did he exhort saying, "Hear me, allies from other
cities who are here in your thousands, it was not in order to have
a crowd about me that I called you hither each from his several city,
but that with heart and soul you might defend the wives and little
ones of the Trojans from the fierce Achaeans. For this do I oppress
my people with your food and the presents that make you rich. Therefore
turn, and charge at the foe, to stand oM
r fall as is the game of war;
whoever shall bring Patroclus, dead though he be, into the hands of
the Trojans, and shall make Ajax give way before him, I will give
him one half of the spoils while I keep the other. He will thus share
like honour with myself."
When he had thus spoken they charged full weight upon the Danaans
with their spears held out before them, and the hopes of each ran
high that he should force Ajax son of Telamon to yield up the body-
fools that they were, for he was about to take thM
Then Ajax said to Menelaus, "My good friend Menelaus, you and I shall
hardly come out of this fight alive. I am less concerned for the body
of Patroclus, who will shortly become meat for the dogs and vultures
of Troy, than for the safety of my own head and yours. Hector has
wrapped us round in a storm of battle from every quarter, and our
destruction seems now certain. Call then upon the princes of the Danaans
if there is any who can hear us."
Menelaus did as he said, and shouted to the M
Danaans for help at the
top of his voice. "My friends," he cried, "princes and counsellors
of the Argives, all you who with Agamemnon and Menelaus drink at the
public cost, and give orders each to his own people as Jove vouchsafes
him power and glory, the fight is so thick about me that I cannot
distinguish you severally; come on, therefore, every man unbidden,
and think it shame that Patroclus should become meat and morsel for
Fleet Ajax son of Oileus heard him and was first to force hisM
through the fight and run to help him. Next came Idomeneus and Meriones
his esquire, peer of murderous Mars. As for the others that came into
the fight after these, who of his own self could name them?
The Trojans with Hector at their head charged in a body. As a great
wave that comes thundering in at the mouth of some heaven-born river,
and the rocks that jut into the sea ring with the roar of the breakers
that beat and buffet them- even with such a roar did the Trojans come
on; but the Achaeans in M
singleness of heart stood firm about the son
of Menoetius, and fenced him with their bronze shields. Jove, moreover,
hid the brightness of their helmets in a thick cloud, for he had borne
no grudge against the son of Menoetius while he was still alive and
squire to the descendant of Aeacus; therefore he was loth to let him
fall a prey to the dogs of his foes the Trojans, and urged his comrades
At first the Trojans drove the Achaeans back, and they withdrew from
the dead man daunted. TheM
Trojans did not succeed in killing any one,
nevertheless they drew the body away. But the Achaeans did not lose
it long, for Ajax, foremost of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus
alike in stature and prowess, quickly rallied them and made towards
the front like a wild boar upon the mountains when he stands at bay
in the forest glades and routs the hounds and lusty youths that have
attacked him- even so did Ajax son of Telamon passing easily in among
the phalanxes of the Trojans, disperse those who had bM
and were most bent on winning glory by dragging him off to their city.
At this moment Hippothous brave son of the Pelasgian Lethus, in his
zeal for Hector and the Trojans, was dragging the body off by the
foot through the press of the fight, having bound a strap round the
sinews near the ancle; but a mischief soon befell him from which none
of those could save him who would have gladly done so, for the son
of Telamon sprang forward and smote him on his bronze-cheeked helmet.
eadpiece broke about the point of the weapon, struck at
once by the spear and by the strong hand of Ajax, so that the bloody
brain came oozing out through the crest-socket. His strength then
failed him and he let Patroclus' foot drop from his hand, as he fell
full length dead upon the body; thus he died far from the fertile
land of Larissa, and never repaid his parents the cost of bringing
him up, for his life was cut short early by the spear of mighty Ajax.
Hector then took aim at Ajax with a spear, but he M
just managed to avoid it; the spear passed on and struck Schedius
son of noble Iphitus, captain of the Phoceans, who dwelt in famed
Panopeus and reigned over much people; it struck him under the middle
of the collar-bone the bronze point went right through him, coming
out at the bottom of his shoulder-blade, and his armour rang rattling
round him as he fell heavily to the ground. Ajax in his turn struck
noble Phorcys son of Phaenops in the middle of the belly as he was
bestriding HippothouM
s, and broke the plate of his cuirass; whereon
the spear tore out his entrails and he clutched the ground in his
palm as he fell to earth. Hector and those who were in the front rank
then gave ground, while the Argives raised a loud cry of triumph,
and drew off the bodies of Phorcys and Hippothous which they stripped
presently of their armour.
The Trojans would now have been worsted by the brave Achaeans and
driven back to Ilius through their own cowardice, while the Argives,
so great was their courage aM
nd endurance, would have achieved a triumph
even against the will of Jove, if Apollo had not roused Aeneas, in
the likeness of Periphas son of Epytus, an attendant who had grown
old in the service of Aeneas' aged father, and was at all times devoted
to him. In his likeness, then, Apollo said, "Aeneas, can you not manage,
even though heaven be against us, to save high Ilius? I have known
men, whose numbers, courage, and self-reliance have saved their people
in spite of Jove, whereas in this case he would muchM
rather give victory
to us than to the Danaans, if you would only fight instead of being
so terribly afraid."
Aeneas knew Apollo when he looked straight at him, and shouted to
Hector saying, "Hector and all other Trojans and allies, shame on
us if we are beaten by the Achaeans and driven back to Ilius through
our own cowardice. A god has just come up to me and told me that Jove
the supreme disposer will be with us. Therefore let us make for the
Danaans, that it may go hard with them ere they bear away deM
As he spoke he sprang out far in front of the others, who then rallied
and again faced the Achaeans. Aeneas speared Leiocritus son of Arisbas,
a valiant follower of Lycomedes, and Lycomedes was moved with pity
as he saw him fall; he therefore went close up, and speared Apisaon
son of Hippasus shepherd of his people in the liver under the midriff,
so that he died; he had come from fertile Paeonia and was the best
man of them all after Asteropaeus. Asteropaeus flew forward to avM
him and attack the Danaans, but this might no longer be, inasmuch
as those about Patroclus were well covered by their shields, and held
their spears in front of them, for Ajax had given them strict orders
that no man was either to give ground, or to stand out before the
others, but all were to hold well together about the body and fight
hand to hand. Thus did huge Ajax bid them, and the earth ran red with
blood as the corpses fell thick on one another alike on the side of
the Trojans and allies, and onM
that of the Danaans; for these last,
too, fought no bloodless fight though many fewer of them perished,
through the care they took to defend and stand by one another.
Thus did they fight as it were a flaming fire; it seemed as though
it had gone hard even with the sun and moon, for they were hidden
over all that part where the bravest heroes were fighting about the
dead son of Menoetius, whereas the other Danaans and Achaeans fought
at their ease in full daylight with brilliant sunshine all round them,
nd there was not a cloud to be seen neither on plain nor mountain.
These last moreover would rest for a while and leave off fighting,
for they were some distance apart and beyond the range of one another's
weapons, whereas those who were in the thick of the fray suffered
both from battle and darkness. All the best of them were being worn
out by the great weight of their armour, but the two valiant heroes,
Thrasymedes and Antilochus, had not yet heard of the death of Patroclus,
and believed him to be still alM
ive and leading the van against the
Trojans; they were keeping themselves in reserve against the death
or rout of their own comrades, for so Nestor had ordered when he sent
them from the ships into battle.
Thus through the livelong day did they wage fierce war, and the sweat
of their toil rained ever on their legs under them, and on their hands
and eyes, as they fought over the squire of the fleet son of Peleus.
It was as when a man gives a great ox-hide all drenched in fat to
his men, and bids them streM
tch it; whereon they stand round it in
a ring and tug till the moisture leaves it, and the fat soaks in for
the many that pull at it, and it is well stretched- even so did the
two sides tug the dead body hither and thither within the compass
of but a little space- the Trojans steadfastly set on drag ing it
into Ilius, while the Achaeans were no less so on taking it to their
ships; and fierce was the fight between them. Not Mars himself the
lord of hosts, nor yet Minerva, even in their fullest fury could makeM
light of such a battle.
Such fearful turmoil of men and horses did Jove on that day ordain
round the body of Patroclus. Meanwhile Achilles did not know that
he had fallen, for the fight was under the wall of Troy a long way
off the ships. He had no idea, therefore, that Patroclus was dead,
and deemed that he would return alive as soon as he had gone close
up to the gates. He knew that he was not to sack the city neither
with nor without himself, for his mother had often told him this when
one with her, and she had informed him of the counsels
of great Jove. Now, however, she had not told him how great a disaster
had befallen him in the death of the one who was far dearest to him
of all his comrades.
The others still kept on charging one another round the body with
their pointed spears and killing each other. Then would one say, "My
friends, we can never again show our faces at the ships- better, and
greatly better, that earth should open and swallow us here in this
place, than that we shoM
uld let the Trojans have the triumph of bearing
off Patroclus to their city."
The Trojans also on their part spoke to one another saying, "Friends,
though we fall to a man beside this body, let none shrink from fighting."
With such words did they exhort each other. They fought and fought,
and an iron clank rose through the void air to the brazen vault of
heaven. The horses of the descendant of Aeacus stood out of the fight
and wept when they heard that their driver had been laid low by the
ous Hector. Automedon, valiant son of Diores, lashed
them again and again; many a time did he speak kindly to them, and
many a time did he upbraid them, but they would neither go back to
the ships by the waters of the broad Hellespont, nor yet into battle
among the Achaeans; they stood with their chariot stock still, as
a pillar set over the tomb of some dead man or woman, and bowed their
heads to the ground. Hot tears fell from their eyes as they mourned
the loss of their charioteer, and their noble manes dM
from under the yokestraps on either side the yoke.
The son of Saturn saw them and took pity upon their sorrow. He wagged
his head, and muttered to himself, saying, "Poor things, why did we
give you to King Peleus who is a mortal, while you are yourselves
ageless and immortal? Was it that you might share the sorrows that
befall mankind? for of all creatures that live and move upon the earth
there is none so pitiable as he is- still, Hector son of Priam shall
drive neither you nor your chariM
ot. I will not have it. It is enough
that he should have the armour over which he vaunts so vainly. Furthermore
I will give you strength of heart and limb to bear Automedon safely
to the ships from battle, for I shall let the Trojans triumph still
further, and go on killing till they reach the ships; whereon night
shall fall and darkness overshadow the land."
As he spoke he breathed heart and strength into the horses so that
they shook the dust from out of their manes, and bore their chariot
the fight that raged between Trojans and Achaeans. Behind
them fought Automedon full of sorrow for his comrade, as a vulture
amid a flock of geese. In and out, and here and there, full speed
he dashed amid the throng of the Trojans, but for all the fury of
his pursuit he killed no man, for he could not wield his spear and
keep his horses in hand when alone in the chariot; at last, however,
a comrade, Alcimedon, son of Laerces son of Haemon caught sight of
him and came up behind his chariot. "Automedon," saiM
has put this folly into your heart and robbed you of your right mind,
that you fight the Trojans in the front rank single-handed? He who
was your comrade is slain, and Hector plumes himself on being armed
in the armour of the descendant of Aeacus."
Automedon son of Diores answered, "Alcimedon, there is no one else
who can control and guide the immortal steeds so well as you can,
save only Patroclus- while he was alive- peer of gods in counsel.
Take then the whip and reins, while I go downM
from the car and fight.
Alcimedon sprang on to the chariot, and caught up the whip and reins,
while Automedon leaped from off the car. When Hector saw him he said
to Aeneas who was near him, "Aeneas, counsellor of the mail-clad Trojans,
I see the steeds of the fleet son of Aeacus come into battle with
weak hands to drive them. I am sure, if you think well, that we might
take them; they will not dare face us if we both attack them."
The valiant son of Anchises was of the same mind, and the pair went
ht on, with their shoulders covered under shields of tough dry
ox-hide, overlaid with much bronze. Chromius and Aretus went also
with them, and their hearts beat high with hope that they might kill
the men and capture the horses- fools that they were, for they were
not to return scatheless from their meeting with Automedon, who prayed
to father Jove and was forthwith filled with courage and strength
abounding. He turned to his trusty comrade Alcimedon and said, "Alcimedon,
keep your horses so close up that IM
may feel their breath upon my
back; I doubt that we shall not stay Hector son of Priam till he has
killed us and mounted behind the horses; he will then either spread
panic among the ranks of the Achaeans, or himself be killed among
On this he cried out to the two Ajaxes and Menelaus, "Ajaxes captains
of the Argives, and Menelaus, give the dead body over to them that
are best able to defend it, and come to the rescue of us living; for
Hector and Aeneas who are the two best men among the TM
pressing us hard in the full tide of war. Nevertheless the issue lies
on the lap of heaven, I will therefore hurl my spear and leave the
He poised and hurled as he spoke, whereon the spear struck the round
shield of Aretus, and went right through it for the shield stayed
it not, so that it was driven through his belt into the lower part
of his belly. As when some sturdy youth, axe in hand, deals his blow
behind the horns of an ox and severs the tendons at the back of its
so that it springs forward and then drops, even so did Aretus
give one bound and then fall on his back the spear quivering in his
body till it made an end of him. Hector then aimed a spear at Automedon
but he saw it coming and stooped forward to avoid it, so that it flew
past him and the point stuck in the ground, while the butt-end went
on quivering till Mars robbed it of its force. They would then have
fought hand to hand with swords had not the two Ajaxes forced their
way through the crowd when they heardM
their comrade calling, and parted
them for all their fury- for Hector, Aeneas, and Chromius were afraid
and drew back, leaving Aretus to lie there struck to the heart. Automedon,
peer of fleet Mars, then stripped him of his armour and vaunted over
him saying, "I have done little to assuage my sorrow for the son of
Menoetius, for the man I have killed is not so good as he was."
As he spoke he took the blood-stained spoils and laid them upon his
chariot; then he mounted the car with his hands and feet all sM
in gore as a lion that has been gorging upon a bull.
And now the fierce groanful fight again raged about Patroclus, for
Minerva came down from heaven and roused its fury by the command of
far-seeing Jove, who had changed his mind and sent her to encourage
the Danaans. As when Jove bends his bright bow in heaven in token
to mankind either of war or of the chill storms that stay men from
their labour and plague the flocks- even so, wrapped in such radiant
raiment, did Minerva go in among the host anM
d speak man by man to
each. First she took the form and voice of Phoenix and spoke to Menelaus
son of Atreus, who was standing near her. "Menelaus," said she, "it
will be shame and dishonour to you, if dogs tear the noble comrade
of Achilles under the walls of Troy. Therefore be staunch, and urge
your men to be so also."
Menelaus answered, "Phoenix, my good old friend, may Minerva vouchsafe
me strength and keep the darts from off me, for so shall I stand by
Patroclus and defend him; his death has gone toM
my heart, but Hector
is as a raging fire and deals his blows without ceasing, for Jove
is now granting him a time of triumph."
Minerva was pleased at his having named herself before any of the
other gods. Therefore she put strength into his knees and shoulders,
and made him as bold as a fly, which, though driven off will yet come
again and bite if it can, so dearly does it love man's blood- even
so bold as this did she make him as he stood over Patroclus and threw
his spear. Now there was among the TrojM
ans a man named Podes, son
of Eetion, who was both rich and valiant. Hector held him in the highest
honour for he was his comrade and boon companion; the spear of Menelaus
struck this man in the girdle just as he had turned in flight, and
went right through him. Whereon he fell heavily forward, and Menelaus
son of Atreus drew off his body from the Trojans into the ranks of
Apollo then went up to Hector and spurred him on to fight, in the
likeness of Phaenops son of Asius who lived in AbydM
most favoured of all Hector's guests. In his likeness Apollo said,
"Hector, who of the Achaeans will fear you henceforward now that you
have quailed before Menelaus who has ever been rated poorly as a soldier?
Yet he has now got a corpse away from the Trojans single-handed, and
has slain your own true comrade, a man brave among the foremost, Podes
A dark cloud of grief fell upon Hector as he heard, and he made his
way to the front clad in full armour. Thereon the son of SatuM
his bright tasselled aegis, and veiled Ida in cloud: he sent forth
his lightnings and his thunders, and as he shook his aegis he gave
victory to the Trojans and routed the Achaeans.
The panic was begun by Peneleos the Boeotian, for while keeping his
face turned ever towards the foe he had been hit with a spear on the
upper part of the shoulder; a spear thrown by Polydamas had grazed
the top of the bone, for Polydamas had come up to him and struck him
from close at hand. Then Hector in close comM
bat struck Leitus son
of noble Alectryon in the hand by the wrist, and disabled him from
fighting further. He looked about him in dismay, knowing that never
again should he wield spear in battle with the Trojans. While Hector
was in pursuit of Leitus, Idomeneus struck him on the breastplate
over his chest near the nipple; but the spear broke in the shaft,
and the Trojans cheered aloud. Hector then aimed at Idomeneus son
of Deucalion as he was standing on his chariot, and very narrowly
missed him, but the spM
ear hit Coiranus, a follower and charioteer
of Meriones who had come with him from Lyctus. Idomeneus had left
the ships on foot and would have afforded a great triumph to the Trojans
if Coiranus had not driven quickly up to him, he therefore brought
life and rescue to Idomeneus, but himself fell by the hand of murderous
Hector. For Hector hit him on the jaw under the ear; the end of the
spear drove out his teeth and cut his tongue in two pieces, so that
he fell from his chariot and let the reins fall to the M
gathered them up from the ground and took them into his own hands,
then he said to Idomeneus, "Lay on, till you get back to the ships,
for you must see that the day is no longer ours."
On this Idomeneus lashed the horses to the ships, for fear had taken
Ajax and Menelaus noted how Jove had turned the scale in favour of
the Trojans, and Ajax was first to speak. "Alas," said he, "even a
fool may see that father Jove is helping the Trojans. All their weapons
no matter whether it be a brave man or a coward that
hurls them, Jove speeds all alike, whereas ours fall each one of them
without effect. What, then, will be best both as regards rescuing
the body, and our return to the joy of our friends who will be grieving
as they look hitherwards; for they will make sure that nothing can
now check the terrible hands of Hector, and that he will fling himself
upon our ships. I wish that some one would go and tell the son of
Peleus at once, for I do not think he can have yM
et heard the sad news
that the dearest of his friends has fallen. But I can see not a man
among the Achaeans to send, for they and their chariots are alike
hidden in darkness. O father Jove, lift this cloud from over the sons
of the Achaeans; make heaven serene, and let us see; if you will that
we perish, let us fall at any rate by daylight."
Father Jove heard him and had compassion upon his tears. Forthwith
he chased away the cloud of darkness, so that the sun shone out and
all the fighting was revealedM
. Ajax then said to Menelaus, "Look,
Menelaus, and if Antilochus son of Nestor be still living, send him
at once to tell Achilles that by far the dearest to him of all his
comrades has fallen."
Menelaus heeded his words and went his way as a lion from a stockyard-
the lion is tired of attacking the men and hounds, who keep watch
the whole night through and will not let him feast on the fat of their
herd. In his lust of meat he makes straight at them but in vain, for
darts from strong hands assail him, anM
d burning brands which daunt
him for all his hunger, so in the morning he slinks sulkily away-
even so did Menelaus sorely against his will leave Patroclus, in great
fear lest the Achaeans should be driven back in rout and let him fall
into the hands of the foe. He charged Meriones and the two Ajaxes
straitly saying, "Ajaxes and Meriones, leaders of the Argives, now
indeed remember how good Patroclus was; he was ever courteous while
alive, bear it in mind now that he is dead."
With this Menelaus left theM
m, looking round him as keenly as an eagle,
whose sight they say is keener than that of any other bird- however
high he may be in the heavens, not a hare that runs can escape him
by crouching under bush or thicket, for he will swoop down upon it
and make an end of it- even so, O Menelaus, did your keen eyes range
round the mighty host of your followers to see if you could find the
son of Nestor still alive. Presently Menelaus saw him on the extreme
left of the battle cheering on his men and exhorting them toM
boldly. Menelaus went up to him and said, "Antilochus, come here and
listen to sad news, which I would indeed were untrue. You must see
with your own eyes that heaven is heaping calamity upon the Danaans,
and giving victory to the Trojans. Patroclus has fallen, who was the
bravest of the Achaeans, and sorely will the Danaans miss him. Run
instantly to the ships and tell Achilles, that he may come to rescue
the body and bear it to the ships. As for the armour, Hector already
s struck with horror. For a long time he was speechless;
his eyes filled with tears and he could find no utterance, but he
did as Menelaus had said, and set off running as soon as he had given
his armour to a comrade, Laodocus, who was wheeling his horses round,
Thus, then, did he run weeping from the field, to carry the bad news
to Achilles son of Peleus. Nor were you, O Menelaus, minded to succour
his harassed comrades, when Antilochus had left the Pylians- and greatly
im- but he sent them noble Thrasymedes, and himself
went back to Patroclus. He came running up to the two Ajaxes and said,
"I have sent Antilochus to the ships to tell Achilles, but rage against
Hector as he may, he cannot come, for he cannot fight without armour.
What then will be our best plan both as regards rescuing the dead,
and our own escape from death amid the battle-cries of the Trojans?"
Ajax answered, "Menelaus, you have said well: do you, then, and Meriones
stoop down, raise the body, and bear M
it out of the fray, while we
two behind you keep off Hector and the Trojans, one in heart as in
name, and long used to fighting side by side with one another."
On this Menelaus and Meriones took the dead man in their arms and
lifted him high aloft with a great effort. The Trojan host raised
a hue and cry behind them when they saw the Achaeans bearing the body
away, and flew after them like hounds attacking a wounded boar at
the loo of a band of young huntsmen. For a while the hounds fly at
hey would tear him in pieces, but now and again he
turns on them in a fury, scaring and scattering them in all directions-
even so did the Trojans for a while charge in a body, striking with
sword and with spears pointed ai both the ends, but when the two Ajaxes
faced them and stood at bay, they would turn pale and no man dared
press on to fight further about the dead.
In this wise did the two heroes strain every nerve to bear the body
to the ships out of the fight. The battle raged round them like fierceM
flames that when once kindled spread like wildfire over a city, and
the houses fall in the glare of its burning- even such was the roar
and tramp of men and horses that pursued them as they bore Patroclus
from the field. Or as mules that put forth all their strength to draw
some beam or great piece of ship's timber down a rough mountain-track,
and they pant and sweat as they, go even so did Menelaus and pant
and sweat as they bore the body of Patroclus. Behind them the two
Ajaxes held stoutly out. As some M
wooded mountain-spur that stretches
across a plain will turn water and check the flow even of a great
river, nor is there any stream strong enough to break through it-
even so did the two Ajaxes face the Trojans and stern the tide of
their fighting though they kept pouring on towards them and foremost
among them all was Aeneas son of Anchises with valiant Hector. As
a flock of daws or starlings fall to screaming and chattering when
they see a falcon, foe to i'll small birds, come soaring near them,
did the Achaean youth raise a babel of cries as they fled
before Aeneas and Hector, unmindful of their former prowess. In the
rout of the Danaans much goodly armour fell round about the trench,
and of fighting there was no end.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Thus then did they fight as it were a flaming fire. Meanwhile the
fleet runner Antilochus, who had been sent as messenger, reached Achilles,
and found him sitting by his tall ships and boding thaM
indeed too surely true. "Alas," said he to himself in the heaviness
of his heart, "why are the Achaeans again scouring the plain and flocking
towards the ships? Heaven grant the gods be not now bringing that
sorrow upon me of which my mother Thetis spoke, saying that while
I was yet alive the bravest of the Myrmidons should fall before the
Trojans, and see the light of the sun no longer. I fear the brave
son of Menoetius has fallen through his own daring and yet I bade
him return to the ships asM
soon as he had driven back those that were
bringing fire against them, and not join battle with Hector."
As he was thus pondering, the son of Nestor came up to him and told
his sad tale, weeping bitterly the while. "Alas," he cried, "son of
noble Peleus, I bring you bad tidings, would indeed that they were
untrue. Patroclus has fallen, and a fight is raging about his naked
body- for Hector holds his armour."
A dark cloud of grief fell upon Achilles as he listened. He filled
both hands with dust from oM
ff the ground, and poured it over his head,
disfiguring his comely face, and letting the refuse settle over his
shirt so fair and new. He flung himself down all huge and hugely at
full length, and tore his hair with his hands. The bondswomen whom
Achilles and Patroclus had taken captive screamed aloud for grief,
beating their breasts, and with their limbs failing them for sorrow.
Antilochus bent over him the while, weeping and holding both his hands
as he lay groaning for he feared that he might plunge a kniM
his own throat. Then Achilles gave a loud cry and his mother heard
him as she was sitting in the depths of the sea by the old man her
father, whereon she screamed, and all the goddesses daughters of Nereus
that dwelt at the bottom of the sea, came gathering round her. There
were Glauce, Thalia and Cymodoce, Nesaia, Speo, thoe and dark-eyed
Halie, Cymothoe, Actaea and Limnorea, Melite, Iaera, Amphithoe and
Agave, Doto and Proto, Pherusa and Dynamene, Dexamene, Amphinome and
Callianeira, Doris, PanopeM
, and the famous sea-nymph Galatea, Nemertes,
Apseudes and Callianassa. There were also Clymene, Ianeira and Ianassa,
Maera, Oreithuia and Amatheia of the lovely locks, with other Nereids
who dwell in the depths of the sea. The crystal cave was filled with
their multitude and they all beat their breasts while Thetis led them
"Listen," she cried, "sisters, daughters of Nereus, that you may hear
the burden of my sorrows. Alas, woe is me, woe in that I have borne
the most glorious of offsprM
ing. I bore him fair and strong, hero among
heroes, and he shot up as a sapling; I tended him as a plant in a
goodly garden, and sent him with his ships to Ilius to fight the Trojans,
but never shall I welcome him back to the house of Peleus. So long
as he lives to look upon the light of the sun he is in heaviness,
and though I go to him I cannot help him. Nevertheless I will go,
that I may see my dear son and learn what sorrow has befallen him
though he is still holding aloof from battle."
cave as she spoke, while the others followed weeping
after, and the waves opened a path before them. When they reached
the rich plain of Troy, they came up out of the sea in a long line
on to the sands, at the place where the ships of the Myrmidons were
drawn up in close order round the tents of Achilles. His mother went
up to him as he lay groaning; she laid her hand upon his head and
spoke piteously, saying, "My son, why are you thus weeping? What sorrow
has now befallen you? Tell me; hide it not from me. M
granted you the prayer you made him, when you lifted up your hands
and besought him that the Achaeans might all of them be pent up at
their ships, and rue it bitterly in that you were no longer with them."
Achilles groaned and answered, "Mother, Olympian Jove has indeed vouchsafed
me the fulfilment of my prayer, but what boots it to me, seeing that
my dear comrade Patroclus has fallen- he whom I valued more than all
others, and loved as dearly as my own life? I have lost him; aye,
or when he had killed him stripped the wondrous armour, so
glorious to behold, which the gods gave to Peleus when they laid you
in the couch of a mortal man. Would that you were still dwelling among
the immortal sea-nymphs, and that Peleus had taken to himself some
mortal bride. For now you shall have grief infinite by reason of the
death of that son whom you can never welcome home- nay, I will not
live nor go about among mankind unless Hector fall by my spear, and
thus pay me for having slain Patroclus son M
Thetis wept and answered, "Then, my son, is your end near at hand-
for your own death awaits you full soon after that of Hector."
Then said Achilles in his great grief, "I would die here and now,
in that I could not save my comrade. He has fallen far from home,
and in his hour of need my hand was not there to help him. What is
there for me? Return to my own land I shall not, and I have brought
no saving neither to Patroclus nor to my other comrades of whom so
many have been slain by mightM
y Hector; I stay here by my ships a bootless
burden upon the earth, I, who in fight have no peer among the Achaeans,
though in council there are better than I. Therefore, perish strife
both from among gods and men, and anger, wherein even a righteous
man will harden his heart- which rises up in the soul of a man like
smoke, and the taste thereof is sweeter than drops of honey. Even
so has Agamemnon angered me. And yet- so be it, for it is over; I
will force my soul into subjection as I needs must; I will go;M
pursue Hector who has slain him whom I loved so dearly, and will then
abide my doom when it may please Jove and the other gods to send it.
Even Hercules, the best beloved of Jove- even he could not escape
the hand of death, but fate and Juno's fierce anger laid him low,
as I too shall lie when I am dead if a like doom awaits me. Till then
I will win fame, and will bid Trojan and Dardanian women wring tears
from their tender cheeks with both their hands in the grievousness
of their great sorrow; thusM
shall they know that he who has held aloof
so long will hold aloof no longer. Hold me not back, therefore, in
the love you bear me, for you shall not move me."
Then silver-footed Thetis answered, "My son, what you have said is
true. It is well to save your comrades from destruction, but your
armour is in the hands of the Trojans; Hector bears it in triumph
upon his own shoulders. Full well I know that his vaunt shall not
be lasting, for his end is close at hand; go not, however, into the
till you see me return hither; to-morrow at break
of day I shall be here, and will bring you goodly armour from King
On this she left her brave son, and as she turned away she said to
the sea-nymphs her sisters, "Dive into the bosom of the sea and go
to the house of the old sea-god my father. Tell him everything; as
for me, I will go to the cunning workman Vulcan on high Olympus, and
ask him to provide my son with a suit of splendid armour."
When she had so said, they dived forthwith beneath M
silver-footed Thetis went her way that she might bring the armour
Thus, then, did her feet bear the goddess to Olympus, and meanwhile
the Achaeans were flying with loud cries before murderous Hector till
they reached the ships and the Hellespont, and they could not draw
the body of Mars's servant Patroclus out of reach of the weapons that
were showered upon him, for Hector son of Priam with his host and
horsemen had again caught up to him like the flame of a fiery furnace;
thrice did brave Hector seize him by the feet, striving with might
and main to draw him away and calling loudly on the Trojans, and thrice
did the two Ajaxes, clothed in valour as with a garment, beat him
from off the body; but all undaunted he would now charge into the
thick of the fight, and now again he would stand still and cry aloud,
but he would give no ground. As upland shepherds that cannot chase
some famished lion from a carcase, even so could not the two Ajaxes
scare Hector son of Priam from the boM
And now he would even have dragged it off and have won imperishable
glory, had not Iris fleet as the wind, winged her way as messenger
from Olympus to the son of Peleus and bidden him arm. She came secretly
without the knowledge of Jove and of the other gods, for Juno sent
her, and when she had got close to him she said, "Up, son of Peleus,
mightiest of all mankind; rescue Patroclus about whom this fearful
fight is now raging by the ships. Men are killing one another, the
nce of the dead body, while the Trojans are trying
to hale it away, and take it to wind Ilius: Hector is the most furious
of them all; he is for cutting the head from the body and fixing it
on the stakes of the wall. Up, then, and bide here no longer; shrink
from the thought that Patroclus may become meat for the dogs of Troy.
Shame on you, should his body suffer any kind of outrage."
And Achilles said, "Iris, which of the gods was it that sent you to
Iris answered, "It was Juno the royal spouse oM
of Saturn does not know of my coming, nor yet does any other of the
immortals who dwell on the snowy summits of Olympus."
Then fleet Achilles answered her saying, "How can I go up into the
battle? They have my armour. My mother forbade me to arm till I should
see her come, for she promised to bring me goodly armour from Vulcan;
I know no man whose arms I can put on, save only the shield of Ajax
son of Telamon, and he surely must be fighting in the front rank and
wielding his spear aboM
ut the body of dead Patroclus."
Iris said, 'We know that your armour has been taken, but go as you
are; go to the deep trench and show yourelf before the Trojans, that
they may fear you and cease fighting. Thus will the fainting sons
of the Achaeans gain some brief breathing-time, which in battle may
Iris left him when she had so spoken. But Achilles dear to Jove arose,
and Minerva flung her tasselled aegis round his strong shoulders;
she crowned his head with a halo of golden cloud from wM
a glow of gleaming fire. As the smoke that goes up into heaven from
some city that is being beleaguered on an island far out at sea- all
day long do men sally from the city and fight their hardest, and at
the going down of the sun the line of beacon-fires blazes forth, flaring
high for those that dwell near them to behold, if so be that they
may come with their ships and succour them- even so did the light
flare from the head of Achilles, as he stood by the trench, going
beyond the wall- buM
t he aid not join the Achaeans for he heeded the
charge which his mother laid upon him.
There did he stand and shout aloud. Minerva also raised her voice
from afar, and spread terror unspeakable among the Trojans. Ringing
as the note of a trumpet that sounds alarm then the foe is at the
gates of a city, even so brazen was the voice of the son of Aeacus,
and when the Trojans heard its clarion tones they were dismayed; the
horses turned back with their chariots for they boded mischief, and
re awe-struck by the steady flame which the grey-eyed
goddess had kindled above the head of the great son of Peleus.
Thrice did Achilles raise his loud cry as he stood by the trench,
and thrice were the Trojans and their brave allies thrown into confusion;
whereon twelve of their noblest champions fell beneath the wheels
of their chariots and perished by their own spears. The Achaeans to
their great joy then drew Patroclus out of reach of the weapons, and
laid him on a litter: his comrades stood mourning rM
them fleet Achilles who wept bitterly as he saw his true comrade lying
dead upon his bier. He had sent him out with horses and chariots into
battle, but his return he was not to welcome.
Then Juno sent the busy sun, loth though he was, into the waters of
Oceanus; so he set, and the Achaeans had rest from the tug and turmoil
Now the Trojans when they had come out of the fight, unyoked their
horses and gathered in assembly before preparing their supper. They
nor would any dare to sit down, for fear had fallen
upon them all because Achilles had shown himself after having held
aloof so long from battle. Polydamas son of Panthous was first to
speak, a man of judgement, who alone among them could look both before
and after. He was comrade to Hector, and they had been born upon the
same night; with all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed
"Look to it well, my friends; I would urge you to go back now to your
city and not wait here by the shM
ips till morning, for we are far from
our walls. So long as this man was at enmity with Agamemnon the Achaeans
were easier to deal with, and I would have gladly camped by the ships
in the hope of taking them; but now I go in great fear of the fleet
son of Peleus; he is so daring that he will never bide here on the
plain whereon the Trojans and Achaeans fight with equal valour, but
he will try to storm our city and carry off our women. Do then as
I say, and let us retreat. For this is what will happen. The daM
of night will for a time stay the son of Peleus, but if he find us
here in the morning when he sallies forth in full armour, we shall
have knowledge of him in good earnest. Glad indeed will he be who
can escape and get back to Ilius, and many a Trojan will become meat
for dogs and vultures may I never live to hear it. If we do as I say,
little though we may like it, we shall have strength in counsel during
the night, and the great gates with the doors that close them will
protect the city. At dawn weM
can arm and take our stand on the walls;
he will then rue it if he sallies from the ships to fight us. He will
go back when he has given his horses their fill of being driven all
whithers under our walls, and will be in no mind to try and force
his way into the city. Neither will he ever sack it, dogs shall devour
Hector looked fiercely at him and answered, "Polydamas, your words
are not to my liking in that you bid us go back and be pent within
the city. Have you not had enough of beM
ing cooped up behind walls?
In the old-days the city of Priam was famous the whole world over
for its wealth of gold and bronze, but our treasures are wasted out
of our houses, and much goods have been sold away to Phrygia and fair
Meonia, for the hand of Jove has been laid heavily upon us. Now, therefore,
that the son of scheming Saturn has vouchsafed me to win glory here
and to hem the Achaeans in at their ships, prate no more in this fool's
wise among the people. You will have no man with you; it shall noM
be; do all of you as I now say;- take your suppers in your companies
throughout the host, and keep your watches and be wakeful every man
of you. If any Trojan is uneasy about his possessions, let him gather
them and give them out among the people. Better let these, rather
than the Achaeans, have them. At daybreak we will arm and fight about
the ships; granted that Achilles has again come forward to defend
them, let it be as he will, but it shall go hard with him. I shall
not shun him, but will fight him, M
to fall or conquer. The god of war
deals out like measure to all, and the slayer may yet be slain."
Thus spoke Hector; and the Trojans, fools that they were, shouted
in applause, for Pallas Minerva had robbed them of their understanding.
They gave ear to Hector with his evil counsel, but the wise words
of Polydamas no man would heed. They took their supper throughout
the host, and meanwhile through the whole night the Achaeans mourned
Patroclus, and the son of Peleus led them in their lament. He laid
murderous hands upon the breast of his comrade, groaning again
and again as a bearded lion when a man who was chasing deer has robbed
him of his young in some dense forest; when the lion comes back he
is furious, and searches dingle and dell to track the hunter if he
can find him, for he is mad with rage- even so with many a sigh did
Achilles speak among the Myrmidons saying, "Alas! vain were the words
with which I cheered the hero Menoetius in his own house; I said that
I would bring his brave son back agaiM
n to Opoeis after he had sacked
Ilius and taken his share of the spoils- but Jove does not give all
men their heart's desire. The same soil shall be reddened here at
Troy by the blood of us both, for I too shall never be welcomed home
by the old knight Peleus, nor by my mother Thetis, but even in this
place shall the earth cover me. Nevertheless, O Patroclus, now that
I am left behind you, I will not bury you, till I have brought hither
the head and armour of mighty Hector who has slain you. Twelve noble
ns of Trojans will I behead before your bier to avenge you; till
I have done so you shall lie as you are by the ships, and fair women
of Troy and Dardanus, whom we have taken with spear and strength of
arm when we sacked men's goodly cities, shall weep over you both night
Then Achilles told his men to set a large tripod upon the fire that
they might wash the clotted gore from off Patroclus. Thereon they
set a tripod full of bath water on to a clear fire: they threw sticks
on to it to make it blM
aze, and the water became hot as the flame played
about the belly of the tripod. When the water in the cauldron was
boiling they washed the body, anointed it with oil, and closed its
wounds with ointment that had been kept nine years. Then they laid
it on a bier and covered it with a linen cloth from head to foot,
and over this they laid a fair white robe. Thus all night long did
the Myrmidons gather round Achilles to mourn Patroclus.
Then Jove said to Juno his sister-wife, "So, Queen Juno, you have
ed your end, and have roused fleet Achilles. One would think that
the Achaeans were of your own flesh and blood."
And Juno answered, "Dread son of Saturn, why should you say this thing?
May not a man though he be only mortal and knows less than we do,
do what he can for another person? And shall not I- foremost of all
goddesses both by descent and as wife to you who reign in heaven-
devise evil for the Trojans if I am angry with them?"
Thus did they converse. Meanwhile Thetis came to the house of VulcaM
imperishable, star-bespangled, fairest of the abodes in heaven, a
house of bronze wrought by the lame god's own hands. She found him
busy with his bellows, sweating and hard at work, for he was making
twenty tripods that were to stand by the wall of his house, and he
set wheels of gold under them all that they might go of their own
selves to the assemblies of the gods, and come back again- marvels
indeed to see. They were finished all but the ears of cunning workmanship
which yet remained to be fixed to M
them: these he was now fixing, and
he was hammering at the rivets. While he was thus at work silver-footed
Thetis came to the house. Charis, of graceful head-dress, wife to
the far-famed lame god, came towards her as soon as she saw her, and
took her hand in her own, saying, "Why have you come to our house,
Thetis, honoured and ever welcome- for you do not visit us often?
Come inside and let me set refreshment before you."
The goddess led the way as she spoke, and bade Thetis sit on a richly
at inlaid with silver; there was a footstool also under
her feet. Then she called Vulcan and said, "Vulcan, come here, Thetis
wants you"; and the far-famed lame god answered, "Then it is indeed
an august and honoured goddess who has come here; she it was that
took care of me when I was suffering from the heavy fall which I had
through my cruel mother's anger- for she would have got rid of me
because I was lame. It would have gone hardly with me had not Eurynome,
daughter of the ever-encircling waters of OceaM
nus, and Thetis, taken
me to their bosom. Nine years did I stay with them, and many beautiful
works in bronze, brooches, spiral armlets, cups, and chains, did I
make for them in their cave, with the roaring waters of Oceanus foaming
as they rushed ever past it; and no one knew, neither of gods nor
men, save only Thetis and Eurynome who took care of me. If, then,
Thetis has come to my house I must make her due requital for having
saved me; entertain her, therefore, with all hospitality, while I
lows and all my tools."
On this the mighty monster hobbled off from his anvil, his thin legs
plying lustily under him. He set the bellows away from the fire, and
gathered his tools into a silver chest. Then he took a sponge and
washed his face and hands, his shaggy chest and brawny neck; he donned
his shirt, grasped his strong staff, and limped towards the door.
There were golden handmaids also who worked for him, and were like
real young women, with sense and reason, voice also and strength,
learning of the immortals; these busied themselves as
the king bade them, while he drew near to Thetis, seated her upon
a goodly seat, and took her hand in his own, saying, "Why have you
come to our house, Thetis honoured and ever welcome- for you do not
visit us often? Say what you want, and I will do it for you at once
if I can, and if it can be done at all."
Thetis wept and answered, "Vulcan, is there another goddess in Olympus
whom the son of Saturn has been pleased to try with so much affliction
he has me? Me alone of the marine goddesses did he make subject
to a mortal husband, Peleus son of Aeacus, and sorely against my will
did I submit to the embraces of one who was but mortal, and who now
stays at home worn out with age. Neither is this all. Heaven vouchsafed
me a son, hero among heroes, and he shot up as a sapling. I tended
him as a plant in a goodly garden and sent him with his ships to Ilius
to fight the Trojans, but never shall I welcome him back to the house
of Peleus. So long as he livesM
to look upon the light of the sun,
he is in heaviness, and though I go to him I cannot help him; King
Agamemnon has made him give up the maiden whom the sons of the Achaeans
had awarded him, and he wastes with sorrow for her sake. Then the
Trojans hemmed the Achaeans in at their ships' sterns and would not
let them come forth; the elders, therefore, of the Argives besought
Achilles and offered him great treasure, whereon he refused to bring
deliverance to them himself, but put his own armour on Patroclus anM
sent him into the fight with much people after him. All day long they
fought by the Scaean gates and would have taken the city there and
then, had not Apollo vouchsafed glory to Hector and slain the valiant
son of Menoetius after he had done the Trojans much evil. Therefore
I am suppliant at your knees if haply you may be pleased to provide
my son, whose end is near at hand, with helmet and shield, with goodly
greaves fitted with ancle-clasps, and with a breastplate, for he lost
his own when his true comrM
ade fell at the hands of the Trojans, and
he now lies stretched on earth in the bitterness of his soul."
And Vulcan answered, "Take heart, and be no more disquieted about
this matter; would that I could hide him from death's sight when his
hour is come, so surely as I can find him armour that shall amaze
the eyes of all who behold it."
When he had so said he left her and went to his bellows, turning them
towards the fire and bidding them do their office. Twenty bellows
blew upon the melting-pots, and tM
hey blew blasts of every kind, some
fierce to help him when he had need of them, and others less strong
as Vulcan willed it in the course of his work. He threw tough copper
into the fire, and tin, with silver and gold; he set his great anvil
on its block, and with one hand grasped his mighty hammer while he
took the tongs in the other.
First he shaped the shield so great and strong, adorning it all over
and binding it round with a gleaming circuit in three layers; and
the baldric was made of silver. He mM
ade the shield in five thicknesses,
and with many a wonder did his cunning hand enrich it.
He wrought the earth, the heavens, and the sea; the moon also at her
full and the untiring sun, with all the signs that glorify the face
of heaven- the Pleiads, the Hyads, huge Orion, and the Bear, which
men also call the Wain and which turns round ever in one place, facing.
Orion, and alone never dips into the stream of Oceanus.
He wrought also two cities, fair to see and busy with the hum of men.
re weddings and wedding-feasts, and they were going about
the city with brides whom they were escorting by torchlight from their
chambers. Loud rose the cry of Hymen, and the youths danced to the
music of flute and lyre, while the women stood each at her house door
Meanwhile the people were gathered in assembly, for there was a quarrel,
and two men were wrangling about the blood-money for a man who had
been killed, the one saying before the people that he had paid damages
in full, and the otM
her that he had not been paid. Each was trying
to make his own case good, and the people took sides, each man backing
the side that he had taken; but the heralds kept them back, and the
elders sate on their seats of stone in a solemn circle, holding the
staves which the heralds had put into their hands. Then they rose
and each in his turn gave judgement, and there were two talents laid
down, to be given to him whose judgement should be deemed the fairest.
About the other city there lay encamped two hosts iM
and they were divided whether to sack it, or to spare it and accept
the half of what it contained. But the men of the city would not yet
consent, and armed themselves for a surprise; their wives and little
children kept guard upon the walls, and with them were the men who
were past fighting through age; but the others sallied forth with
Mars and Pallas Minerva at their head- both of them wrought in gold
and clad in golden raiment, great and fair with their armour as befitting
they that followed were smaller. When they reached the
place where they would lay their ambush, it was on a riverbed to which
live stock of all kinds would come from far and near to water; here,
then, they lay concealed, clad in full armour. Some way off them there
were two scouts who were on the look-out for the coming of sheep or
cattle, which presently came, followed by two shepherds who were playing
on their pipes, and had not so much as a thought of danger. When those
who were in ambush saw this, they cM
ut off the flocks and herds and
killed the shepherds. Meanwhile the besiegers, when they heard much
noise among the cattle as they sat in council, sprang to their horses,
and made with all speed towards them; when they reached them they
set battle in array by the banks of the river, and the hosts aimed
their bronze-shod spears at one another. With them were Strife and
Riot, and fell Fate who was dragging three men after her, one with
a fresh wound, and the other unwounded, while the third was dead,
was dragging him along by his heel: and her robe was bedrabbled
in men's blood. They went in and out with one another and fought as
though they were living people haling away one another's dead.
He wrought also a fair fallow field, large and thrice ploughed already.
Many men were working at the plough within it, turning their oxen
to and fro, furrow after furrow. Each time that they turned on reaching
the headland a man would come up to them and give them a cup of wine,
and they would go back to their furrM
ows looking forward to the time
when they should again reach the headland. The part that they had
ploughed was dark behind them, so that the field, though it was of
gold, still looked as if it were being ploughed- very curious to behold.
He wrought also a field of harvest corn, and the reapers were reaping
with sharp sickles in their hands. Swathe after swathe fell to the
ground in a straight line behind them, and the binders bound them
in bands of twisted straw. There were three binders, and behind them
there were boys who gathered the cut corn in armfuls and kept on bringing
them to be bound: among them all the owner of the land stood by in
silence and was glad. The servants were getting a meal ready under
an oak, for they had sacrificed a great ox, and were busy cutting
him up, while the women were making a porridge of much white barley
for the labourers' dinner.
He wrought also a vineyard, golden and fair to see, and the vines
were loaded with grapes. The bunches overhead were black, but the
re trained on poles of silver. He ran a ditch of dark metal
all round it, and fenced it with a fence of tin; there was only one
path to it, and by this the vintagers went when they would gather
the vintage. Youths and maidens all blithe and full of glee, carried
the luscious fruit in plaited baskets; and with them there went a
boy who made sweet music with his lyre, and sang the Linus-song with
his clear boyish voice.
He wrought also a herd of homed cattle. He made the cows of gold and
d as they came full speed out of the yards to go
and feed among the waving reeds that grow by the banks of the river.
Along with the cattle there went four shepherds, all of them in gold,
and their nine fleet dogs went with them. Two terrible lions had fastened
on a bellowing bull that was with the foremost cows, and bellow as
he might they haled him, while the dogs and men gave chase: the lions
tore through the bull's thick hide and were gorging on his blood and
bowels, but the herdsmen were afraid to do anM
ything, and only hounded
on their dogs; the dogs dared not fasten on the lions but stood by
barking and keeping out of harm's way.
The god wrought also a pasture in a fair mountain dell, and large
flock of sheep, with a homestead and huts, and sheltered sheepfolds.
Furthermore he wrought a green, like that which Daedalus once made
in Cnossus for lovely Ariadne. Hereon there danced youths and maidens
whom all would woo, with their hands on one another's wrists. The
maidens wore robes of light linen, andM
the youths well woven shirts
that were slightly oiled. The girls were crowned with garlands, while
the young men had daggers of gold that hung by silver baldrics; sometimes
they would dance deftly in a ring with merry twinkling feet, as it
were a potter sitting at his work and making trial of his wheel to
see whether it will run, and sometimes they would go all in line with
one another, and much people was gathered joyously about the green.
There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, while two
tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the man struck
All round the outermost rim of the shield he set the mighty stream
of the river Oceanus.
Then when he had fashioned the shield so great and strong, he made
a breastplate also that shone brighter than fire. He made helmet,
close fitting to the brow, and richly worked, with a golden plume
overhanging it; and he made greaves also of beaten tin.
Lastly, when the famed lame god had made all the armour, he took it
and set it before the mother of Achilles; whereon she darted like
a falcon from the snowy summits of Olympus and bore away the gleaming
armour from the house of Vulcan.
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<title>FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS</title>
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FIRST BOOK OF THE KINGS
<span>commonly called, The Third Book of the Kings</span>
<div class="content-table">
<h2>Contents</h2>
<li><a href="#c1">1</a></li>
<li><a href="#c2">2</a></li>
<li><a href="#c3">3</a></li>
<li><a href="#c4">4</a></li>
<li><a href="#c5">5</a></li>
<li><a href="#c6">6</a></li>
<li><a href="#c7">7</a></li>
<li><a href="#c8">8</a></li>
<li><a href="#c9">9</a></li>
<li><a href="#c10">10</a></li>
<li><a href="#c11">11</a></li>
<li><a href="#c12">12</a></li>
<li><a href="#c13">13</a></li>
i><a href="#c14">14</a></li>
<li><a href="#c15">15</a></li>
<li><a href="#c16">16</a></li>
<li><a href="#c17">17</a></li>
<li><a href="#c18">18</a></li>
<li><a href="#c19">19</a></li>
<li><a href="#c20">20</a></li>
<li><a href="#c21">21</a></li>
<li><a href="#c22">22</a></li>
<h2 id="c1">Chapter 1</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now king David was old and stricken in years; and they covered him with clothes, but he gat no heat. <span class="ver">2<M
/span>Wherefore his servants said unto him, Let there be sought for my lord the king a young virgin: and let her stand before the king, and let her cherish him, and let her lie in thy bosom, that my lord the king may get heat. <span class="ver">3</span>So they sought for a fair damsel throughout all the coasts of Israel, and found Abishag a Shunammite, and brought her to the king. <span class="ver">4</span>And the damsel was very fair, and cherished the king, and ministered to him: but the king knew her not. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>Then Adonijah the son of Haggith exalted himself, saying, I will be king: and he prepared him chariots and horsemen, and fifty men to run before him. <span class="ver">6</span>And his father had not displeased him at any time in saying, Why hast thou done so? and he also was a very goodly man; and his mother bare him after Absalom. <span class="ver">7</span>And he conferred with Joab the son of Zeruiah, and with Abiathar the priest: and they following Adonijah helped him. <span class="M
ver">8</span>But Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and Nathan the prophet, and Shimei, and Rei, and the mighty men which belonged to David, were not with Adonijah. <span class="ver">9</span>And Adonijah slew sheep and oxen and fat cattle by the stone of Zoheleth, which is by En-rogel, and called all his brethren the king
s sons, and all the men of Judah the king
s servants: <span class="ver">10</span>But Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah, and the mighty men, and Solomon his brother, he called notM
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Wherefore Nathan spake unto Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon, saying, Hast thou not heard that Adonijah the son of Haggith doth reign, and David our lord knoweth it not? <span class="ver">12</span>Now therefore come, let me, I pray thee, give thee counsel, that thou mayest save thine own life, and the life of thy son Solomon. <span class="ver">13</span>Go and get thee in unto king David, and say unto him, Didst not thou, my lord, O king, swear unto thine handmaid, saying, AssuM
redly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? why then doth Adonijah reign? <span class="ver">14</span>Behold, while thou yet talkest there with the king, I also will come in after thee, and confirm thy words. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>And Bath-sheba went in unto the king into the chamber: and the king was very old; and Abishag the Shunammite ministered unto the king. <span class="ver">16</span>And Bath-sheba bowed, and did obeisance unto the king. And the king said, What wM
ouldest thou? <span class="ver">17</span>And she said unto him, My lord, thou swarest by the LORD thy God unto thine handmaid, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne. <span class="ver">18</span>And now, behold, Adonijah reigneth; and now, my lord the king, thou knowest it not: <span class="ver">19</span>And he hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the sons of the king, and Abiathar the priest, and Joab the captain of the host: butM
Solomon thy servant hath he not called. <span class="ver">20</span>And thou, my lord, O king, the eyes of all Israel are upon thee, that thou shouldest tell them who shall sit on the throne of my lord the king after him. <span class="ver">21</span>Otherwise it shall come to pass, when my lord the king shall sleep with his fathers, that I and my son Solomon shall be counted offenders. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And, lo, while she yet talked with the king, Nathan the prophet also came in. <span class="ver"M
>23</span>And they told the king, saying, Behold Nathan the prophet. And when he was come in before the king, he bowed himself before the king with his face to the ground. <span class="ver">24</span>And Nathan said, My lord, O king, hast thou said, Adonijah shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne? <span class="ver">25</span>For he is gone down this day, and hath slain oxen and fat cattle and sheep in abundance, and hath called all the king
s sons, and the captains of the host, and Abiathar the priesM
t; and, behold, they eat and drink before him, and say, God save king Adonijah. <span class="ver">26</span>But me, even me thy servant, and Zadok the priest, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and thy servant Solomon, hath he not called. <span class="ver">27</span>Is this thing done by my lord the king, and thou hast not shewed it unto thy servant, who should sit on the throne of my lord the king after him? </p>
<p><span class="ver">28</span>Then king David answered and said, Call me Bath-sheba. And she came into tM
s presence, and stood before the king. <span class="ver">29</span>And the king sware, and said, As the LORD liveth, that hath redeemed my soul out of all distress, <span class="ver">30</span>Even as I sware unto thee by the LORD God of Israel, saying, Assuredly Solomon thy son shall reign after me, and he shall sit upon my throne in my stead; even so will I certainly do this day. <span class="ver">31</span>Then Bath-sheba bowed with her face to the earth, and did reverence to the king, and said, Let my loM
rd king David live for ever. </p>
<p><span class="ver">32</span>And king David said, Call me Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada. And they came before the king. <span class="ver">33</span>The king also said unto them, Take with you the servants of your lord, and cause Solomon my son to ride upon mine own mule, and bring him down to Gihon: <span class="ver">34</span>And let Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet anoint him there king over Israel: and blow ye with the trumpet,M
and say, God save king Solomon. <span class="ver">35</span>Then ye shall come up after him, that he may come and sit upon my throne; for he shall be king in my stead: and I have appointed him to be ruler over Israel and over Judah. <span class="ver">36</span>And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada answered the king, and said, Amen: the LORD God of my lord the king say so too. <span class="ver">37</span>As the LORD hath been with my lord the king, even so be he with Solomon, and make his throne greater than the throne of mM
y lord king David. <span class="ver">38</span>So Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, went down, and caused Solomon to ride upon king David
s mule, and brought him to Gihon. <span class="ver">39</span>And Zadok the priest took an horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, God save king Solomon. <span class="ver">40</span>And all the people came up after him, and the peopM
le piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them. </p>
<p><span class="ver">41</span>And Adonijah and all the guests that were with him heard it as they had made an end of eating. And when Joab heard the sound of the trumpet, he said, Wherefore is this noise of the city being in an uproar? <span class="ver">42</span>And while he yet spake, behold, Jonathan the son of Abiathar the priest came: and Adonijah said unto him, Come in; for thou art a valiant man, and bringeM
st good tidings. <span class="ver">43</span>And Jonathan answered and said to Adonijah, Verily our lord king David hath made Solomon king. <span class="ver">44</span>And the king hath sent with him Zadok the priest, and Nathan the prophet, and Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, and the Cherethites, and the Pelethites, and they have caused him to ride upon the king
s mule: <span class="ver">45</span>And Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet have anointed him king in Gihon: and they are come up from thence rejoicing, sM
o that the city rang again. This is the noise that ye have heard. <span class="ver">46</span>And also Solomon sitteth on the throne of the kingdom. <span class="ver">47</span>And moreover the king
s servants came to bless our lord king David, saying, God make the name of Solomon better than thy name, and make his throne greater than thy throne. And the king bowed himself upon the bed. <span class="ver">48</span>And also thus said the king, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which hath given one to sit on my thronM
e this day, mine eyes even seeing it. <span class="ver">49</span>And all the guests that were with Adonijah were afraid, and rose up, and went every man his way. </p>
<p><span class="ver">50</span>And Adonijah feared because of Solomon, and arose, and went, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. <span class="ver">51</span>And it was told Solomon, saying, Behold, Adonijah feareth king Solomon: for, lo, he hath caught hold on the horns of the altar, saying, Let king Solomon swear unto me to day that he will notM
slay his servant with the sword. <span class="ver">52</span>And Solomon said, If he will shew himself a worthy man, there shall not an hair of him fall to the earth: but if wickedness shall be found in him, he shall die. <span class="ver">53</span>So king Solomon sent, and they brought him down from the altar. And he came and bowed himself to king Solomon: and Solomon said unto him, Go to thine house.
<h2 id="c2">Chapter 2</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now the days of David drew nigh that he should die; M
and he charged Solomon his son, saying, <span class="ver">2</span>I go the way of all the earth: be thou strong therefore, and shew thyself a man; <span class="ver">3</span>And keep the charge of the LORD thy God, to walk in his ways, to keep his statutes, and his commandments, and his judgments, and his testimonies, as it is written in the law of Moses, that thou mayest prosper in all that thou doest, and whithersoever thou turnest thyself: <span class="ver">4</span>That the LORD may continue his word which he spaM
ke concerning me, saying, If thy children take heed to their way, to walk before me in truth with all their heart and with all their soul, there shall not fail thee (said he) a man on the throne of Israel. <span class="ver">5</span>Moreover thou knowest also what Joab the son of Zeruiah did to me, and what he did to the two captains of the hosts of Israel, unto Abner the son of Ner, and unto Amasa the son of Jether, whom he slew, and shed the blood of war in peace, and put the blood of war upon his girdle that was M
about his loins, and in his shoes that were on his feet. <span class="ver">6</span>Do therefore according to thy wisdom, and let not his hoar head go down to the grave in peace. <span class="ver">7</span>But shew kindness unto the sons of Barzillai the Gileadite, and let them be of those that eat at thy table: for so they came to me when I fled because of Absalom thy brother. <span class="ver">8</span>And, behold, thou hast with thee Shimei the son of Gera, a Benjamite of Bahurim, which cursed me with a grievous cuM
rse in the day when I went to Mahanaim: but he came down to meet me at Jordan, and I sware to him by the LORD, saying, I will not put thee to death with the sword. <span class="ver">9</span>Now therefore hold him not guiltless: for thou art a wise man, and knowest what thou oughtest to do unto him; but his hoar head bring thou down to the grave with blood. <span class="ver">10</span>So David slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David. <span class="ver">11</span>And the days that David reigned over M
Israel were forty years: seven years reigned he in Hebron, and thirty and three years reigned he in Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>Then sat Solomon upon the throne of David his father; and his kingdom was established greatly. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And Adonijah the son of Haggith came to Bath-sheba the mother of Solomon. And she said, Comest thou peaceably? And he said, Peaceably. <span class="ver">14</span>He said moreover, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And she said, Say on. <spaM
n class="ver">15</span>And he said, Thou knowest that the kingdom was mine, and that all Israel set their faces on me, that I should reign: howbeit the kingdom is turned about, and is become my brother
s: for it was his from the LORD. <span class="ver">16</span>And now I ask one petition of thee, deny me not. And she said unto him, Say on. <span class="ver">17</span>And he said, Speak, I pray thee, unto Solomon the king, (for he will not say thee nay,) that he give me Abishag the Shunammite to wife. <span class="M
ver">18</span>And Bath-sheba said, Well; I will speak for thee unto the king. </p>
<p><span class="ver">19</span>Bath-sheba therefore went unto king Solomon, to speak unto him for Adonijah. And the king rose up to meet her, and bowed himself unto her, and sat down on his throne, and caused a seat to be set for the king
s mother; and she sat on his right hand. <span class="ver">20</span>Then she said, I desire one small petition of thee; I pray thee, say me not nay. And the king said unto her, Ask on, my mother:M
for I will not say thee nay. <span class="ver">21</span>And she said, Let Abishag the Shunammite be given to Adonijah thy brother to wife. <span class="ver">22</span>And king Solomon answered and said unto his mother, And why dost thou ask Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? ask for him the kingdom also; for he is mine elder brother; even for him, and for Abiathar the priest, and for Joab the son of Zeruiah. <span class="ver">23</span>Then king Solomon sware by the LORD, saying, God do so to me, and more also, ifM
Adonijah have not spoken this word against his own life. <span class="ver">24</span>Now therefore, as the LORD liveth, which hath established me, and set me on the throne of David my father, and who hath made me an house, as he promised, Adonijah shall be put to death this day. <span class="ver">25</span>And king Solomon sent by the hand of Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; and he fell upon him that he died. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And unto Abiathar the priest said the king, Get thee to Anathoth, unto thinM
e own fields; for thou art worthy of death: but I will not at this time put thee to death, because thou barest the ark of the Lord GOD before David my father, and because thou hast been afflicted in all wherein my father was afflicted. <span class="ver">27</span>So Solomon thrust out Abiathar from being priest unto the LORD; that he might fulfil the word of the LORD, which he spake concerning the house of Eli in Shiloh. </p>
<p><span class="ver">28</span>Then tidings came to Joab: for Joab had turned after AdonijM
ah, though he turned not after Absalom. And Joab fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD, and caught hold on the horns of the altar. <span class="ver">29</span>And it was told king Solomon that Joab was fled unto the tabernacle of the LORD; and, behold, he is by the altar. Then Solomon sent Benaiah the son of Jehoiada, saying, Go, fall upon him. <span class="ver">30</span>And Benaiah came to the tabernacle of the LORD, and said unto him, Thus saith the king, Come forth. And he said, Nay; but I will die here. And BenaiM
ah brought the king word again, saying, Thus said Joab, and thus he answered me. <span class="ver">31</span>And the king said unto him, Do as he hath said, and fall upon him, and bury him; that thou mayest take away the innocent blood, which Joab shed, from me, and from the house of my father. <span class="ver">32</span>And the LORD shall return his blood upon his own head, who fell upon two men more righteous and better than he, and slew them with the sword, my father David not knowing thereof, to wit, Abner the sM
on of Ner, captain of the host of Israel, and Amasa the son of Jether, captain of the host of Judah. <span class="ver">33</span>Their blood shall therefore return upon the head of Joab, and upon the head of his seed for ever: but upon David, and upon his seed, and upon his house, and upon his throne, shall there be peace for ever from the LORD. <span class="ver">34</span>So Benaiah the son of Jehoiada went up, and fell upon him, and slew him: and he was buried in his own house in the wilderness. </p>
ss="ver">35</span>And the king put Benaiah the son of Jehoiada in his room over the host: and Zadok the priest did the king put in the room of Abiathar. </p>
<p><span class="ver">36</span>And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Build thee an house in Jerusalem, and dwell there, and go not forth thence any whither. <span class="ver">37</span>For it shall be, that on the day thou goest out, and passest over the brook Kidron, thou shalt know for certain that thou shalt surely die: thy blood shallM
be upon thine own head. <span class="ver">38</span>And Shimei said unto the king, The saying is good: as my lord the king hath said, so will thy servant do. And Shimei dwelt in Jerusalem many days. <span class="ver">39</span>And it came to pass at the end of three years, that two of the servants of Shimei ran away unto Achish son of Maachah king of Gath. And they told Shimei, saying, Behold, thy servants be in Gath. <span class="ver">40</span>And Shimei arose, and saddled his ass, and went to Gath to Achish to seeM
k his servants: and Shimei went, and brought his servants from Gath. <span class="ver">41</span>And it was told Solomon that Shimei had gone from Jerusalem to Gath, and was come again. <span class="ver">42</span>And the king sent and called for Shimei, and said unto him, Did I not make thee to swear by the LORD, and protested unto thee, saying, Know for a certain, on the day thou goest out, and walkest abroad any whither, that thou shalt surely die? and thou saidst unto me, The word that I have heard is good. <spanM
class="ver">43</span>Why then hast thou not kept the oath of the LORD, and the commandment that I have charged thee with? <span class="ver">44</span>The king said moreover to Shimei, Thou knowest all the wickedness which thine heart is privy to, that thou didst to David my father: therefore the LORD shall return thy wickedness upon thine own head; <span class="ver">45</span>And king Solomon shall be blessed, and the throne of David shall be established before the LORD for ever. <span class="ver">46</span>So the kiM
ng commanded Benaiah the son of Jehoiada; which went out, and fell upon him, that he died. And the kingdom was established in the hand of Solomon.
<h2 id="c3">Chapter 3</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Solomon made affinity with Pharaoh king of Egypt, and took Pharaoh
s daughter, and brought her into the city of David, until he had made an end of building his own house, and the house of the LORD, and the wall of Jerusalem round about. <span class="ver">2</span>Only the people sacrificed in high places,M
because there was no house built unto the name of the LORD, until those days. <span class="ver">3</span>And Solomon loved the LORD, walking in the statutes of David his father: only he sacrificed and burnt incense in high places. <span class="ver">4</span>And the king went to Gibeon to sacrifice there; for that was the great high place: a thousand burnt offerings did Solomon offer upon that altar. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>In Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon in a dream by night: and God said, Ask whatM
I shall give thee. <span class="ver">6</span>And Solomon said, Thou hast shewed unto thy servant David my father great mercy, according as he walked before thee in truth, and in righteousness, and in uprightness of heart with thee; and thou hast kept for him this great kindness, that thou hast given him a son to sit on his throne, as it is this day. <span class="ver">7</span>And now, O LORD my God, thou hast made thy servant king instead of David my father: and I am but a little child: I know not how to go out or M
come in. <span class="ver">8</span>And thy servant is in the midst of thy people which thou hast chosen, a great people, that cannot be numbered nor counted for multitude. <span class="ver">9</span>Give therefore thy servant an understanding heart to judge thy people, that I may discern between good and bad: for who is able to judge this thy so great a people? <span class="ver">10</span>And the speech pleased the Lord, that Solomon had asked this thing. <span class="ver">11</span>And God said unto him, Because thouM
hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; <span class="ver">12</span>Behold, I have done according to thy words: lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart; so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. <span class="ver">13</span>And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, M
both riches, and honour: so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. <span class="ver">14</span>And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days. <span class="ver">15</span>And Solomon awoke; and, behold, it was a dream. And he came to Jerusalem, and stood before the ark of the covenant of the LORD, and offered up burnt offerings, and offered peace offerings, and made a feast to all his servants. </M
<p><span class="ver">16</span>Then came there two women, that were harlots, unto the king, and stood before him. <span class="ver">17</span>And the one woman said, O my lord, I and this woman dwell in one house; and I was delivered of a child with her in the house. <span class="ver">18</span>And it came to pass the third day after that I was delivered, that this woman was delivered also: and we were together; there was no stranger with us in the house, save we two in the house. <span class="ver">19</span>And tM
s child died in the night; because she overlaid it. <span class="ver">20</span>And she arose at midnight, and took my son from beside me, while thine handmaid slept, and laid it in her bosom, and laid her dead child in my bosom. <span class="ver">21</span>And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold, it was not my son, which I did bear. <span class="ver">22</span>And the other woman said, Nay; but the living is my son, andM
the dead is thy son. And this said, No; but the dead is thy son, and the living is my son. Thus they spake before the king. <span class="ver">23</span>Then said the king, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead: and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living. <span class="ver">24</span>And the king said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the king. <span class="ver">25</span>And the king said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to thM
e one, and half to the other. <span class="ver">26</span>Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the king, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it. <span class="ver">27</span>Then the king answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it: she is the mother thereof. <span class="ver">28</span>And all Israel heard of the judgment which the king hM
ad judged; and they feared the king: for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.
<h2 id="c4">Chapter 4</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>So king Solomon was king over all Israel. <span class="ver">2</span>And these were the princes which he had; Azariah the son of Zadok the priest, <span class="ver">3</span>Elihoreph and Ahiah, the sons of Shisha, scribes; Jehoshaphat the son of Ahilud, the recorder. <span class="ver">4</span>And Benaiah the son of Jehoiada was over the host: and Zadok andM
Abiathar were the priests: <span class="ver">5</span>And Azariah the son of Nathan was over the officers: and Zabud the son of Nathan was principal officer, and the king
s friend: <span class="ver">6</span>And Ahishar was over the household: and Adoniram the son of Abda was over the tribute. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>And Solomon had twelve officers over all Israel, which provided victuals for the king and his household: each man his month in a year made provision. <span class="ver">8</span>And these arM
e their names: The son of Hur, in mount Ephraim: <span class="ver">9</span>The son of Dekar, in Makaz, and in Shaalbim, and Beth-shemesh, and Elon-beth-hanan: <span class="ver">10</span>The son of Hesed, in Aruboth; to him pertained Sochoh, and all the land of Hepher: <span class="ver">11</span>The son of Abinadab, in all the region of Dor; which had Taphath the daughter of Solomon to wife: <span class="ver">12</span>Baana the son of Ahilud; to him pertained Taanach and Megiddo, and all Beth-shean, which is by ZartM
anah beneath Jezreel, from Beth-shean to Abel-meholah, even unto the place that is beyond Jokneam: <span class="ver">13</span>The son of Geber, in Ramoth-gilead; to him pertained the towns of Jair the son of Manasseh, which are in Gilead; to him also pertained the region of Argob, which is in Bashan, threescore great cities with walls and brasen bars: <span class="ver">14</span>Ahinadab the son of Iddo had Mahanaim: <span class="ver">15</span>Ahimaaz was in Naphtali; he also took Basmath the daughter of Solomon to M
wife: <span class="ver">16</span>Baanah the son of Hushai was in Asher and in Aloth: <span class="ver">17</span>Jehoshaphat the son of Paruah, in Issachar: <span class="ver">18</span>Shimei the son of Elah, in Benjamin: <span class="ver">19</span>Geber the son of Uri was in the country of Gilead, in the country of Sihon king of the Amorites, and of Og king of Bashan; and he was the only officer which was in the land. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>Judah and Israel were many, as the sand which is by the sea inM
multitude, eating and drinking, and making merry. <span class="ver">21</span>And Solomon reigned over all kingdoms from the river unto the land of the Philistines, and unto the border of Egypt: they brought presents, and served Solomon all the days of his life. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And Solomon
s provision for one day was thirty measures of fine flour, and threescore measures of meal, <span class="ver">23</span>Ten fat oxen, and twenty oxen out of the pastures, and an hundred sheep, beside harts, M
and roebucks, and fallowdeer, and fatted fowl. <span class="ver">24</span>For he had dominion over all the region on this side the river, from Tiphsah even to Azzah, over all the kings on this side the river: and he had peace on all sides round about him. <span class="ver">25</span>And Judah and Israel dwelt safely, every man under his vine and under his fig tree, from Dan even to Beer-sheba, all the days of Solomon. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And Solomon had forty thousand stalls of horses for his charioM
ts, and twelve thousand horsemen. <span class="ver">27</span>And those officers provided victual for king Solomon, and for all that came unto king Solomon
s table, every man in his month: they lacked nothing. <span class="ver">28</span>Barley also and straw for the horses and dromedaries brought they unto the place where the officers were, every man according to his charge. </p>
<p><span class="ver">29</span>And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much, and largeness of heart, even as the sand tM
hat is on the sea shore. <span class="ver">30</span>And Solomon
s wisdom excelled the wisdom of all the children of the east country, and all the wisdom of Egypt. <span class="ver">31</span>For he was wiser than all men; than Ethan the Ezrahite, and Heman, and Chalcol, and Darda, the sons of Mahol: and his fame was in all nations round about. <span class="ver">32</span>And he spake three thousand proverbs: and his songs were a thousand and five. <span class="ver">33</span>And he spake of trees, from the cedar treM
e that is in Lebanon even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall: he spake also of beasts, and of fowl, and of creeping things, and of fishes. <span class="ver">34</span>And there came of all people to hear the wisdom of Solomon, from all kings of the earth, which had heard of his wisdom.
<h2 id="c5">Chapter 5</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Hiram king of Tyre sent his servants unto Solomon; for he had heard that they had anointed him king in the room of his father: for Hiram was ever a lover ofM
David. <span class="ver">2</span>And Solomon sent to Hiram, saying, <span class="ver">3</span>Thou knowest how that David my father could not build an house unto the name of the LORD his God for the wars which were about him on every side, until the LORD put them under the soles of his feet. <span class="ver">4</span>But now the LORD my God hath given me rest on every side, so that there is neither adversary nor evil occurrent. <span class="ver">5</span>And, behold, I purpose to build an house unto the name of theM
LORD my God, as the LORD spake unto David my father, saying, Thy son, whom I will set upon thy throne in thy room, he shall build an house unto my name. <span class="ver">6</span>Now therefore command thou that they hew me cedar trees out of Lebanon; and my servants shall be with thy servants: and unto thee will I give hire for thy servants according to all that thou shalt appoint: for thou knowest that there is not among us any that can skill to hew timber like unto the Sidonians. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</sM
pan>And it came to pass, when Hiram heard the words of Solomon, that he rejoiced greatly, and said, Blessed be the LORD this day, which hath given unto David a wise son over this great people. <span class="ver">8</span>And Hiram sent to Solomon, saying, I have considered the things which thou sentest to me for: and I will do all thy desire concerning timber of cedar, and concerning timber of fir. <span class="ver">9</span>My servants shall bring them down from Lebanon unto the sea: and I will convey them by sea in M
floats unto the place that thou shalt appoint me, and will cause them to be discharged there, and thou shalt receive them: and thou shalt accomplish my desire, in giving food for my household. <span class="ver">10</span>So Hiram gave Solomon cedar trees and fir trees according to all his desire. <span class="ver">11</span>And Solomon gave Hiram twenty thousand measures of wheat for food to his household, and twenty measures of pure oil: thus gave Solomon to Hiram year by year. <span class="ver">12</span>And the LORM
D gave Solomon wisdom, as he promised him: and there was peace between Hiram and Solomon; and they two made a league together. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And king Solomon raised a levy out of all Israel; and the levy was thirty thousand men. <span class="ver">14</span>And he sent them to Lebanon, ten thousand a month by courses: a month they were in Lebanon, and two months at home: and Adoniram was over the levy. <span class="ver">15</span>And Solomon had threescore and ten thousand that bare burdens, andM
fourscore thousand hewers in the mountains; <span class="ver">16</span>Beside the chief of Solomon
s officers which were over the work, three thousand and three hundred, which ruled over the people that wrought in the work. <span class="ver">17</span>And the king commanded, and they brought great stones, costly stones, and hewed stones, to lay the foundation of the house. <span class="ver">18</span>And Solomon
s builders and Hiram
s builders did hew them, and the stonesquarers: so they prepared timber and stM
ones to build the house.
<h2 id="c6">Chapter 6</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it came to pass in the four hundred and eightieth year after the children of Israel were come out of the land of Egypt, in the fourth year of Solomon
s reign over Israel, in the month Zif, which is the second month, that he began to build the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">2</span>And the house which king Solomon built for the LORD, the length thereof was threescore cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits, and tM
he height thereof thirty cubits. <span class="ver">3</span>And the porch before the temple of the house, twenty cubits was the length thereof, according to the breadth of the house; and ten cubits was the breadth thereof before the house. <span class="ver">4</span>And for the house he made windows of narrow lights. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>And against the wall of the house he built chambers round about, against the walls of the house round about, both of the temple and of the oracle: and he made chambersM
round about: <span class="ver">6</span>The nethermost chamber was five cubits broad, and the middle was six cubits broad, and the third was seven cubits broad: for without in the wall of the house he made narrowed rests round about, that the beams should not be fastened in the walls of the house. <span class="ver">7</span>And the house, when it was in building, was built of stone made ready before it was brought thither: so that there was neither hammer nor axe nor any tool of iron heard in the house, while it wasM
in building. <span class="ver">8</span>The door for the middle chamber was in the right side of the house: and they went up with winding stairs into the middle chamber, and out of the middle into the third. <span class="ver">9</span>So he built the house, and finished it; and covered the house with beams and boards of cedar. <span class="ver">10</span>And then he built chambers against all the house, five cubits high: and they rested on the house with timber of cedar. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And the wM
ord of the LORD came to Solomon, saying, <span class="ver">12</span>Concerning this house which thou art in building, if thou wilt walk in my statutes, and execute my judgments, and keep all my commandments to walk in them; then will I perform my word with thee, which I spake unto David thy father: <span class="ver">13</span>And I will dwell among the children of Israel, and will not forsake my people Israel. <span class="ver">14</span>So Solomon built the house, and finished it. <span class="ver">15</span>And he bM
uilt the walls of the house within with boards of cedar, both the floor of the house, and the walls of the cieling: and he covered them on the inside with wood, and covered the floor of the house with planks of fir. <span class="ver">16</span>And he built twenty cubits on the sides of the house, both the floor and the walls with boards of cedar: he even built them for it within, even for the oracle, even for the most holy place. <span class="ver">17</span>And the house, that is, the temple before it, was forty cubiM
ts long. <span class="ver">18</span>And the cedar of the house within was carved with knops and open flowers: all was cedar; there was no stone seen. <span class="ver">19</span>And the oracle he prepared in the house within, to set there the ark of the covenant of the LORD. <span class="ver">20</span>And the oracle in the forepart was twenty cubits in length, and twenty cubits in breadth, and twenty cubits in the height thereof: and he overlaid it with pure gold; and so covered the altar which was of cedar. <span cM
lass="ver">21</span>So Solomon overlaid the house within with pure gold: and he made a partition by the chains of gold before the oracle; and he overlaid it with gold. <span class="ver">22</span>And the whole house he overlaid with gold, until he had finished all the house: also the whole altar that was by the oracle he overlaid with gold. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And within the oracle he made two cherubims of olive tree, each ten cubits high. <span class="ver">24</span>And five cubits was the one wing M
of the cherub, and five cubits the other wing of the cherub: from the uttermost part of the one wing unto the uttermost part of the other were ten cubits. <span class="ver">25</span>And the other cherub was ten cubits: both the cherubims were of one measure and one size. <span class="ver">26</span>The height of the one cherub was ten cubits, and so was it of the other cherub. <span class="ver">27</span>And he set the cherubims within the inner house: and they stretched forth the wings of the cherubims, so that the M
wing of the one touched the one wall, and the wing of the other cherub touched the other wall; and their wings touched one another in the midst of the house. <span class="ver">28</span>And he overlaid the cherubims with gold. <span class="ver">29</span>And he carved all the walls of the house round about with carved figures of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, within and without. <span class="ver">30</span>And the floor of the house he overlaid with gold, within and without. </p>
<p><span class="ver">31<M
/span>And for the entering of the oracle he made doors of olive tree: the lintel and side posts were a fifth part of the wall. <span class="ver">32</span>The two doors also were of olive tree; and he carved upon them carvings of cherubims and palm trees and open flowers, and overlaid them with gold, and spread gold upon the cherubims, and upon the palm trees. <span class="ver">33</span>So also made he for the door of the temple posts of olive tree, a fourth part of the wall. <span class="ver">34</span>And the two dM
oors were of fir tree: the two leaves of the one door were folding, and the two leaves of the other door were folding. <span class="ver">35</span>And he carved thereon cherubims and palm trees and open flowers: and covered them with gold fitted upon the carved work. </p>
<p><span class="ver">36</span>And he built the inner court with three rows of hewed stone, and a row of cedar beams. </p>
<p><span class="ver">37</span>In the fourth year was the foundation of the house of the LORD laid, in the month Zif: <spanM
class="ver">38</span>And in the eleventh year, in the month Bul, which is the eighth month, was the house finished throughout all the parts thereof, and according to all the fashion of it. So was he seven years in building it.
<h2 id="c7">Chapter 7</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>But Solomon was building his own house thirteen years, and he finished all his house. </p>
<p><span class="ver">2</span>He built also the house of the forest of Lebanon; the length thereof was an hundred cubits, and the breadth M
thereof fifty cubits, and the height thereof thirty cubits, upon four rows of cedar pillars, with cedar beams upon the pillars. <span class="ver">3</span>And it was covered with cedar above upon the beams, that lay on forty five pillars, fifteen in a row. <span class="ver">4</span>And there were windows in three rows, and light was against light in three ranks. <span class="ver">5</span>And all the doors and posts were square, with the windows: and light was against light in three ranks. </p>
<p><span class="ver"M
>6</span>And he made a porch of pillars; the length thereof was fifty cubits, and the breadth thereof thirty cubits: and the porch was before them: and the other pillars and the thick beam were before them. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>Then he made a porch for the throne where he might judge, even the porch of judgment: and it was covered with cedar from one side of the floor to the other. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>And his house where he dwelt had another court within the porch, which was of the liM
ke work. Solomon made also an house for Pharaoh
s daughter, whom he had taken to wife, like unto this porch. <span class="ver">9</span>All these were of costly stones, according to the measures of hewed stones, sawed with saws, within and without, even from the foundation unto the coping, and so on the outside toward the great court. <span class="ver">10</span>And the foundation was of costly stones, even great stones, stones of ten cubits, and stones of eight cubits. <span class="ver">11</span>And above were cosM
tly stones, after the measures of hewed stones, and cedars. <span class="ver">12</span>And the great court round about was with three rows of hewed stones, and a row of cedar beams, both for the inner court of the house of the LORD, and for the porch of the house. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And king Solomon sent and fetched Hiram out of Tyre. <span class="ver">14</span>He was a widow
s son of the tribe of Naphtali, and his father was a man of Tyre, a worker in brass: and he was filled with wisdom, and uM
nderstanding, and cunning to work all works in brass. And he came to king Solomon, and wrought all his work. <span class="ver">15</span>For he cast two pillars of brass, of eighteen cubits high apiece: and a line of twelve cubits did compass either of them about. <span class="ver">16</span>And he made two chapiters of molten brass, to set upon the tops of the pillars: the height of the one chapiter was five cubits, and the height of the other chapiter was five cubits: <span class="ver">17</span>And nets of checker M
work, and wreaths of chain work, for the chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; seven for the one chapiter, and seven for the other chapiter. <span class="ver">18</span>And he made the pillars, and two rows round about upon the one network, to cover the chapiters that were upon the top, with pomegranates: and so did he for the other chapiter. <span class="ver">19</span>And the chapiters that were upon the top of the pillars were of lily work in the porch, four cubits. <span class="ver">20</span>And the cM
hapiters upon the two pillars had pomegranates also above, over against the belly which was by the network: and the pomegranates were two hundred in rows round about upon the other chapiter. <span class="ver">21</span>And he set up the pillars in the porch of the temple: and he set up the right pillar, and called the name thereof Jachin: and he set up the left pillar, and called the name thereof Boaz. <span class="ver">22</span>And upon the top of the pillars was lily work: so was the work of the pillars finished. M
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And he made a molten sea, ten cubits from the one brim to the other: it was round all about, and his height was five cubits: and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. <span class="ver">24</span>And under the brim of it round about there were knops compassing it, ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about: the knops were cast in two rows, when it was cast. <span class="ver">25</span>It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking towM
ard the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upon them, and all their hinder parts were inward. <span class="ver">26</span>And it was an hand breadth thick, and the brim thereof was wrought like the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies: it contained two thousand baths. </p>
<p><span class="ver">27</span>And he made ten bases of brass; four cubits was the length of one base, and four cubits the breadth thereof, and three cubits the height of it. <sM
pan class="ver">28</span>And the work of the bases was on this manner: they had borders, and the borders were between the ledges: <span class="ver">29</span>And on the borders that were between the ledges were lions, oxen, and cherubims: and upon the ledges there was a base above: and beneath the lions and oxen were certain additions made of thin work. <span class="ver">30</span>And every base had four brasen wheels, and plates of brass: and the four corners thereof had undersetters: under the laver were undersetteM
rs molten, at the side of every addition. <span class="ver">31</span>And the mouth of it within the chapiter and above was a cubit: but the mouth thereof was round after the work of the base, a cubit and an half: and also upon the mouth of it were gravings with their borders, foursquare, not round. <span class="ver">32</span>And under the borders were four wheels; and the axletrees of the wheels were joined to the base: and the height of a wheel was a cubit and half a cubit. <span class="ver">33</span>And the work M
of the wheels was like the work of a chariot wheel: their axletrees, and their naves, and their felloes, and their spokes, were all molten. <span class="ver">34</span>And there were four undersetters to the four corners of one base: and the undersetters were of the very base itself. <span class="ver">35</span>And in the top of the base was there a round compass of half a cubit high: and on the top of the base the ledges thereof and the borders thereof were of the same. <span class="ver">36</span>For on the plates oM
f the ledges thereof, and on the borders thereof, he graved cherubims, lions, and palm trees, according to the proportion of every one, and additions round about. <span class="ver">37</span>After this manner he made the ten bases: all of them had one casting, one measure, and one size. </p>
<p><span class="ver">38</span>Then made he ten lavers of brass: one laver contained forty baths: and every laver was four cubits: and upon every one of the ten bases one laver. <span class="ver">39</span>And he put five bases M
on the right side of the house, and five on the left side of the house: and he set the sea on the right side of the house eastward over against the south. </p>
<p><span class="ver">40</span>And Hiram made the lavers, and the shovels, and the basons. So Hiram made an end of doing all the work that he made king Solomon for the house of the LORD: <span class="ver">41</span>The two pillars, and the two bowls of the chapiters that were on the top of the two pillars; and the two networks, to cover the two bowls of the M
chapiters which were upon the top of the pillars; <span class="ver">42</span>And four hundred pomegranates for the two networks, even two rows of pomegranates for one network, to cover the two bowls of the chapiters that were upon the pillars; <span class="ver">43</span>And the ten bases, and ten lavers on the bases; <span class="ver">44</span>And one sea, and twelve oxen under the sea; <span class="ver">45</span>And the pots, and the shovels, and the basons: and all these vessels, which Hiram made to king Solomon M
for the house of the LORD, were of bright brass. <span class="ver">46</span>In the plain of Jordan did the king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zarthan. <span class="ver">47</span>And Solomon left all the vessels unweighed, because they were exceeding many: neither was the weight of the brass found out. <span class="ver">48</span>And Solomon made all the vessels that pertained unto the house of the LORD: the altar of gold, and the table of gold, whereupon the shewbread was, <span class="ver">49</sM
pan>And the candlesticks of pure gold, five on the right side, and five on the left, before the oracle, with the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs of gold, <span class="ver">50</span>And the bowls, and the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers of pure gold; and the hinges of gold, both for the doors of the inner house, the most holy place, and for the doors of the house, to wit, of the temple. <span class="ver">51</span>So was ended all the work that king Solomon made for the house of the LOM
RD. And Solomon brought in the things which David his father had dedicated; even the silver, and the gold, and the vessels, did he put among the treasures of the house of the LORD.
<h2 id="c8">Chapter 8</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto king Solomon in Jerusalem, that they might bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. <span class="M
ver">2</span>And all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto king Solomon at the feast in the month Ethanim, which is the seventh month. <span class="ver">3</span>And all the elders of Israel came, and the priests took up the ark. <span class="ver">4</span>And they brought up the ark of the LORD, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, even those did the priests and the Levites bring up. <span class="ver">5</span>And king Solomon, and all the congregation ofM
Israel, that were assembled unto him, were with him before the ark, sacrificing sheep and oxen, that could not be told nor numbered for multitude. <span class="ver">6</span>And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, into the oracle of the house, to the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims. <span class="ver">7</span>For the cherubims spread forth their two wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. <span clasM
s="ver">8</span>And they drew out the staves, that the ends of the staves were seen out in the holy place before the oracle, and they were not seen without: and there they are unto this day. <span class="ver">9</span>There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt. <span class="ver">10</span>And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place, that the cloudM
filled the house of the LORD, <span class="ver">11</span>So that the priests could not stand to minister because of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>Then spake Solomon, The LORD said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. <span class="ver">13</span>I have surely built thee an house to dwell in, a settled place for thee to abide in for ever. <span class="ver">14</span>And the king turned his face about, and blessed all the congregation oM
f Israel: (and all the congregation of Israel stood;) <span class="ver">15</span>And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, which spake with his mouth unto David my father, and hath with his hand fulfilled it, saying, <span class="ver">16</span>Since the day that I brought forth my people Israel out of Egypt, I chose no city out of all the tribes of Israel to build an house, that my name might be therein; but I chose David to be over my people Israel. <span class="ver">17</span>And it was in the heart of DavidM
my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">18</span>And the LORD said unto David my father, Whereas it was in thine heart to build an house unto my name, thou didst well that it was in thine heart. <span class="ver">19</span>Nevertheless thou shalt not build the house; but thy son that shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house unto my name. <span class="ver">20</span>And the LORD hath performed his word that he spake, and I am risen up in the room of DavM
id my father, and sit on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">21</span>And I have set there a place for the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, which he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And Solomon stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven: <span class="ver">23</spaM
n>And he said, LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee, in heaven above, or on earth beneath, who keepest covenant and mercy with thy servants that walk before thee with all their heart: <span class="ver">24</span>Who hast kept with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him: thou spakest also with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. <span class="ver">25</span>Therefore now, LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that thou promisedst him, saying, TM
here shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit on the throne of Israel; so that thy children take heed to their way, that they walk before me as thou hast walked before me. <span class="ver">26</span>And now, O God of Israel, let thy word, I pray thee, be verified, which thou spakest unto thy servant David my father. <span class="ver">27</span>But will God indeed dwell on the earth? behold, the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house that I have builded? <span class="ver">28</sM
pan>Yet have thou respect unto the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and to the prayer, which thy servant prayeth before thee to day: <span class="ver">29</span>That thine eyes may be open toward this house night and day, even toward the place of which thou hast said, My name shall be there: that thou mayest hearken unto the prayer which thy servant shall make toward this place. <span class="ver">30</span>And hearken thou to the supplication of thy servant, and oM
f thy people Israel, when they shall pray toward this place: and hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place: and when thou hearest, forgive. </p>
<p><span class="ver">31</span>If any man trespass against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to cause him to swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house: <span class="ver">32</span>Then hear thou in heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, condemning the wicked, to bring his way upon his head; and justifying the righteous, to give him according to his M
<p><span class="ver">33</span>When thy people Israel be smitten down before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee, and shall turn again to thee, and confess thy name, and pray, and make supplication unto thee in this house: <span class="ver">34</span>Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest unto their fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">35</span>When heaven is shut up, and there is no rain, because theyM
have sinned against thee; if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou afflictest them: <span class="ver">36</span>Then hear thou in heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, that thou teach them the good way wherein they should walk, and give rain upon thy land, which thou hast given to thy people for an inheritance. </p>
<p><span class="ver">37</span>If there be in the land famine, if there be pestilence, blasting, mildew, locust, or if tM
here be caterpiller; if their enemy besiege them in the land of their cities; whatsoever plague, whatsoever sickness there be; <span class="ver">38</span>What prayer and supplication soever be made by any man, or by all thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart, and spread forth his hands toward this house: <span class="ver">39</span>Then hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and forgive, and do, and give to every man according to his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou, evenM
thou only, knowest the hearts of all the children of men;) <span class="ver">40</span>That they may fear thee all the days that they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. <span class="ver">41</span>Moreover concerning a stranger, that is not of thy people Israel, but cometh out of a far country for thy name
s sake; <span class="ver">42</span>(For they shall hear of thy great name, and of thy strong hand, and of thy stretched out arm;) when he shall come and pray toward this house; <span class="verM
">43</span>Hear thou in heaven thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for: that all people of the earth may know thy name, to fear thee, as do thy people Israel; and that they may know that this house, which I have builded, is called by thy name. </p>
<p><span class="ver">44</span>If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, whithersoever thou shalt send them, and shall pray unto the LORD toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house that I have built fM
or thy name: <span class="ver">45</span>Then hear thou in heaven their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. <span class="ver">46</span>If they sin against thee, (for there is no man that sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them to the enemy, so that they carry them away captives unto the land of the enemy, far or near; <span class="ver">47</span>Yet if they shall bethink themselves in the land whither they were carried captives, and repent, and make supplication unto thee in tM
he land of them that carried them captives, saying, We have sinned, and have done perversely, we have committed wickedness; <span class="ver">48</span>And so return unto thee with all their heart, and with all their soul, in the land of their enemies, which led them away captive, and pray unto thee toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, the city which thou hast chosen, and the house which I have built for thy name: <span class="ver">49</span>Then hear thou their prayer and their supplication in heM
aven thy dwelling place, and maintain their cause, <span class="ver">50</span>And forgive thy people that have sinned against thee, and all their transgressions wherein they have transgressed against thee, and give them compassion before them who carried them captive, that they may have compassion on them: <span class="ver">51</span>For they be thy people, and thine inheritance, which thou broughtest forth out of Egypt, from the midst of the furnace of iron: <span class="ver">52</span>That thine eyes may be open unM
to the supplication of thy servant, and unto the supplication of thy people Israel, to hearken unto them in all that they call for unto thee. <span class="ver">53</span>For thou didst separate them from among all the people of the earth, to be thine inheritance, as thou spakest by the hand of Moses thy servant, when thou broughtest our fathers out of Egypt, O Lord GOD. <span class="ver">54</span>And it was so, that when Solomon had made an end of praying all this prayer and supplication unto the LORD, he arose fromM
before the altar of the LORD, from kneeling on his knees with his hands spread up to heaven. <span class="ver">55</span>And he stood, and blessed all the congregation of Israel with a loud voice, saying, <span class="ver">56</span>Blessed be the LORD, that hath given rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he promised: there hath not failed one word of all his good promise, which he promised by the hand of Moses his servant. <span class="ver">57</span>The LORD our God be with us, as he was with our fathM
ers: let him not leave us, nor forsake us: <span class="ver">58</span>That he may incline our hearts unto him, to walk in all his ways, and to keep his commandments, and his statutes, and his judgments, which he commanded our fathers. <span class="ver">59</span>And let these my words, wherewith I have made supplication before the LORD, be nigh unto the LORD our God day and night, that he maintain the cause of his servant, and the cause of his people Israel at all times, as the matter shall require: <span class="verM
">60</span>That all the people of the earth may know that the LORD is God, and that there is none else. <span class="ver">61</span>Let your heart therefore be perfect with the LORD our God, to walk in his statutes, and to keep his commandments, as at this day. </p>
<p><span class="ver">62</span>And the king, and all Israel with him, offered sacrifice before the LORD. <span class="ver">63</span>And Solomon offered a sacrifice of peace offerings, which he offered unto the LORD, two and twenty thousand oxen, and an M
hundred and twenty thousand sheep. So the king and all the children of Israel dedicated the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">64</span>The same day did the king hallow the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings: because the brasen altar that was before the LORD was too little to receive the burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and the fat of the peace offerings. <span class="ver">65</span>And at that M
time Solomon held a feast, and all Israel with him, a great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt, before the LORD our God, seven days and seven days, even fourteen days. <span class="ver">66</span>On the eighth day he sent the people away: and they blessed the king, and went unto their tents joyful and glad of heart for all the goodness that the LORD had done for David his servant, and for Israel his people.
<h2 id="c9">Chapter 9</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it came toM
pass, when Solomon had finished the building of the house of the LORD, and the king
s house, and all Solomon
s desire which he was pleased to do, <span class="ver">2</span>That the LORD appeared to Solomon the second time, as he had appeared unto him at Gibeon. <span class="ver">3</span>And the LORD said unto him, I have heard thy prayer and thy supplication, that thou hast made before me: I have hallowed this house, which thou hast built, to put my name there for ever; and mine eyes and mine heart shall be thM
ere perpetually. <span class="ver">4</span>And if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, in integrity of heart, and in uprightness, to do according to all that I have commanded thee, and wilt keep my statutes and my judgments: <span class="ver">5</span>Then I will establish the throne of thy kingdom upon Israel for ever, as I promised to David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man upon the throne of Israel. <span class="ver">6</span>But if ye shall at all turn from following me, ye or yM
our children, and will not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you, but go and serve other gods, and worship them: <span class="ver">7</span>Then will I cut off Israel out of the land which I have given them; and this house, which I have hallowed for my name, will I cast out of my sight; and Israel shall be a proverb and a byword among all people: <span class="ver">8</span>And at this house, which is high, every one that passeth by it shall be astonished, and shall hiss; and they shall say,M
Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and to this house? <span class="ver">9</span>And they shall answer, Because they forsook the LORD their God, who brought forth their fathers out of the land of Egypt, and have taken hold upon other gods, and have worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath the LORD brought upon them all this evil. </p>
<p><span class="ver">10</span>And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, when Solomon had built the two houses, the house of the LORD, and the king
<span class="ver">11</span>(Now Hiram the king of Tyre had furnished Solomon with cedar trees and fir trees, and with gold, according to all his desire,) that then king Solomon gave Hiram twenty cities in the land of Galilee. <span class="ver">12</span>And Hiram came out from Tyre to see the cities which Solomon had given him; and they pleased him not. <span class="ver">13</span>And he said, What cities are these which thou hast given me, my brother? And he called them the land of Cabul unto this day. <span class="M
ver">14</span>And Hiram sent to the king sixscore talents of gold. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>And this is the reason of the levy which king Solomon raised; for to build the house of the LORD, and his own house, and Millo, and the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, and Megiddo, and Gezer. <span class="ver">16</span>For Pharaoh king of Egypt had gone up, and taken Gezer, and burnt it with fire, and slain the Canaanites that dwelt in the city, and given it for a present unto his daughter, Solomon
class="ver">17</span>And Solomon built Gezer, and Beth-horon the nether, <span class="ver">18</span>And Baalath, and Tadmor in the wilderness, in the land, <span class="ver">19</span>And all the cities of store that Solomon had, and cities for his chariots, and cities for his horsemen, and that which Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and in all the land of his dominion. <span class="ver">20</span>And all the people that were left of the Amorites, Hittites, Perizzites, Hivites, and Jebusites, whM
ich were not of the children of Israel, <span class="ver">21</span>Their children that were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel also were not able utterly to destroy, upon those did Solomon levy a tribute of bondservice unto this day. <span class="ver">22</span>But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no bondmen: but they were men of war, and his servants, and his princes, and his captains, and rulers of his chariots, and his horsemen. <span class="ver">23</span>These were the chief of thM
e officers that were over Solomon
s work, five hundred and fifty, which bare rule over the people that wrought in the work. </p>
<p><span class="ver">24</span>But Pharaoh
s daughter came up out of the city of David unto her house which Solomon had built for her: then did he build Millo. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And three times in a year did Solomon offer burnt offerings and peace offerings upon the altar which he built unto the LORD, and he burnt incense upon the altar that was before the LORD. SoM
he finished the house. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And king Solomon made a navy of ships in Ezion-geber, which is beside Eloth, on the shore of the Red sea, in the land of Edom. <span class="ver">27</span>And Hiram sent in the navy his servants, shipmen that had knowledge of the sea, with the servants of Solomon. <span class="ver">28</span>And they came to Ophir, and fetched from thence gold, four hundred and twenty talents, and brought it to king Solomon.
<h2 id="c10">Chapter 10</h2>
="ver">1</span>And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon concerning the name of the LORD, she came to prove him with hard questions. <span class="ver">2</span>And she came to Jerusalem with a very great train, with camels that bare spices, and very much gold, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. <span class="ver">3</span>And Solomon told her all her questions: there was not any thing hid from the king, which he told her not. <span M
class="ver">4</span>And when the queen of Sheba had seen all Solomon
s wisdom, and the house that he had built, <span class="ver">5</span>And the meat of his table, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel, and his cupbearers, and his ascent by which he went up unto the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. <span class="ver">6</span>And she said to the king, It was a true report that I heard in mine own land of thy acts and of thy wisdom. <span class="vM
er">7</span>Howbeit I believed not the words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the half was not told me: thy wisdom and prosperity exceedeth the fame which I heard. <span class="ver">8</span>Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and that hear thy wisdom. <span class="ver">9</span>Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee, to set thee on the throne of Israel: because the LORD loved Israel for ever, therefore made he thee king, to do judgM
ment and justice. <span class="ver">10</span>And she gave the king an hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices very great store, and precious stones: there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to king Solomon. <span class="ver">11</span>And the navy also of Hiram, that brought gold from Ophir, brought in from Ophir great plenty of almug trees, and precious stones. <span class="ver">12</span>And the king made of the almug trees pillars for the house of the LORD, and fM
s house, harps also and psalteries for singers: there came no such almug trees, nor were seen unto this day. <span class="ver">13</span>And king Solomon gave unto the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which Solomon gave her of his royal bounty. So she turned and went to her own country, she and her servants. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred threescore and six talents of gold, <span class="ver">15M
</span>Beside that he had of the merchantmen, and of the traffick of the spice merchants, and of all the kings of Arabia, and of the governors of the country. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of gold went to one target. <span class="ver">17</span>And he made three hundred shields of beaten gold; three pound of gold went to one shield: and the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. </p>
<p><span class="ver">18</span>MorM
eover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with the best gold. <span class="ver">19</span>The throne had six steps, and the top of the throne was round behind: and there were stays on either side on the place of the seat, and two lions stood beside the stays. <span class="ver">20</span>And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps: there was not the like made in any kingdom. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>And all king Solomon
s drinking vessels were of goM
ld, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold; none were of silver: it was nothing accounted of in the days of Solomon. <span class="ver">22</span>For the king had at sea a navy of Tharshish with the navy of Hiram: once in three years came the navy of Tharshish, bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. <span class="ver">23</span>So king Solomon exceeded all the kings of the earth for riches and for wisdom. </p>
<p><span class="ver">24</span>And all the earth sougM
ht to Solomon, to hear his wisdom, which God had put in his heart. <span class="ver">25</span>And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and garments, and armour, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And Solomon gathered together chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, whom he bestowed in the cities for chariots, and with the king at Jerusalem. <span class="ver">27</M
span>And the king made silver to be in Jerusalem as stones, and cedars made he to be as the sycomore trees that are in the vale, for abundance. </p>
<p><span class="ver">28</span>And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king
s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. <span class="ver">29</span>And a chariot came up and went out of Egypt for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, did M
they bring them out by their means.
<h2 id="c11">Chapter 11</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>But king Solomon loved many strange women, together with the daughter of Pharaoh, women of the Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Zidonians, and Hittites; <span class="ver">2</span>Of the nations concerning which the LORD said unto the children of Israel, Ye shall not go in to them, neither shall they come in unto you: for surely they will turn away your heart after their gods: Solomon clave unto these in love. <span claM
ss="ver">3</span>And he had seven hundred wives, princesses, and three hundred concubines: and his wives turned away his heart. <span class="ver">4</span>For it came to pass, when Solomon was old, that his wives turned away his heart after other gods: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as was the heart of David his father. <span class="ver">5</span>For Solomon went after Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, and after Milcom the abomination of the Ammonites. <span class="ver">6</span>And SolomonM
did evil in the sight of the LORD, and went not fully after the LORD, as did David his father. <span class="ver">7</span>Then did Solomon build an high place for Chemosh, the abomination of Moab, in the hill that is before Jerusalem, and for Molech, the abomination of the children of Ammon. <span class="ver">8</span>And likewise did he for all his strange wives, which burnt incense and sacrificed unto their gods. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>And the LORD was angry with Solomon, because his heart was turned M
from the LORD God of Israel, which had appeared unto him twice, <span class="ver">10</span>And had commanded him concerning this thing, that he should not go after other gods: but he kept not that which the LORD commanded. <span class="ver">11</span>Wherefore the LORD said unto Solomon, Forasmuch as this is done of thee, and thou hast not kept my covenant and my statutes, which I have commanded thee, I will surely rend the kingdom from thee, and will give it to thy servant. <span class="ver">12</span>NotwithstandinM
g in thy days I will not do it for David thy father
s sake: but I will rend it out of the hand of thy son. <span class="ver">13</span>Howbeit I will not rend away all the kingdom; but will give one tribe to thy son for David my servant
s sake, and for Jerusalem
s sake which I have chosen. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>And the LORD stirred up an adversary unto Solomon, Hadad the Edomite: he was of the king
s seed in Edom. <span class="ver">15</span>For it came to pass, when David was in Edom, and JoabM
the captain of the host was gone up to bury the slain, after he had smitten every male in Edom; <span class="ver">16</span>(For six months did Joab remain there with all Israel, until he had cut off every male in Edom:) <span class="ver">17</span>That Hadad fled, he and certain Edomites of his father
s servants with him, to go into Egypt; Hadad being yet a little child. <span class="ver">18</span>And they arose out of Midian, and came to Paran: and they took men with them out of Paran, and they came to Egypt, unM
to Pharaoh king of Egypt; which gave him an house, and appointed him victuals, and gave him land. <span class="ver">19</span>And Hadad found great favour in the sight of Pharaoh, so that he gave him to wife the sister of his own wife, the sister of Tahpenes the queen. <span class="ver">20</span>And the sister of Tahpenes bare him Genubath his son, whom Tahpenes weaned in Pharaoh
s house: and Genubath was in Pharaoh
s household among the sons of Pharaoh. <span class="ver">21</span>And when Hadad heard in Egypt tM
hat David slept with his fathers, and that Joab the captain of the host was dead, Hadad said to Pharaoh, Let me depart, that I may go to mine own country. <span class="ver">22</span>Then Pharaoh said unto him, But what hast thou lacked with me, that, behold, thou seekest to go to thine own country? And he answered, Nothing: howbeit let me go in any wise. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And God stirred him up another adversary, Rezon the son of Eliadah, which fled from his lord Hadadezer king of Zobah: <span clM
ass="ver">24</span>And he gathered men unto him, and became captain over a band, when David slew them of Zobah: and they went to Damascus, and dwelt therein, and reigned in Damascus. <span class="ver">25</span>And he was an adversary to Israel all the days of Solomon, beside the mischief that Hadad did: and he abhorred Israel, and reigned over Syria. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And Jeroboam the son of Nebat, an Ephrathite of Zereda, Solomon
s servant, whose mother
s name was Zeruah, a widow woman, evenM
he lifted up his hand against the king. <span class="ver">27</span>And this was the cause that he lifted up his hand against the king: Solomon built Millo, and repaired the breaches of the city of David his father. <span class="ver">28</span>And the man Jeroboam was a mighty man of valour: and Solomon seeing the young man that he was industrious, he made him ruler over all the charge of the house of Joseph. <span class="ver">29</span>And it came to pass at that time when Jeroboam went out of Jerusalem, that the prM
ophet Ahijah the Shilonite found him in the way; and he had clad himself with a new garment; and they two were alone in the field: <span class="ver">30</span>And Ahijah caught the new garment that was on him, and rent it in twelve pieces: <span class="ver">31</span>And he said to Jeroboam, Take thee ten pieces: for thus saith the LORD, the God of Israel, Behold, I will rend the kingdom out of the hand of Solomon, and will give ten tribes to thee: <span class="ver">32</span>(But he shall have one tribe for my servanM
s sake, and for Jerusalem
s sake, the city which I have chosen out of all the tribes of Israel:) <span class="ver">33</span>Because that they have forsaken me, and have worshipped Ashtoreth the goddess of the Zidonians, Chemosh the god of the Moabites, and Milcom the god of the children of Ammon, and have not walked in my ways, to do that which is right in mine eyes, and to keep my statutes and my judgments, as did David his father. <span class="ver">34</span>Howbeit I will not take the whole kingdom ouM
t of his hand: but I will make him prince all the days of his life for David my servant
s sake, whom I chose, because he kept my commandments and my statutes: <span class="ver">35</span>But I will take the kingdom out of his son
s hand, and will give it unto thee, even ten tribes. <span class="ver">36</span>And unto his son will I give one tribe, that David my servant may have a light alway before me in Jerusalem, the city which I have chosen me to put my name there. <span class="ver">37</span>And I will take tM
hee, and thou shalt reign according to all that thy soul desireth, and shalt be king over Israel. <span class="ver">38</span>And it shall be, if thou wilt hearken unto all that I command thee, and wilt walk in my ways, and do that is right in my sight, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as David my servant did; that I will be with thee, and build thee a sure house, as I built for David, and will give Israel unto thee. <span class="ver">39</span>And I will for this afflict the seed of David, but not for ever. M
<span class="ver">40</span>Solomon sought therefore to kill Jeroboam. And Jeroboam arose, and fled into Egypt, unto Shishak king of Egypt, and was in Egypt until the death of Solomon. </p>
<p><span class="ver">41</span>And the rest of the acts of Solomon, and all that he did, and his wisdom, are they not written in the book of the acts of Solomon? <span class="ver">42</span>And the time that Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel was forty years. <span class="ver">43</span>And Solomon slept with his fathersM
, and was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c12">Chapter 12</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for all Israel were come to Shechem to make him king. <span class="ver">2</span>And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was yet in Egypt, heard of it, (for he was fled from the presence of king Solomon, and Jeroboam dwelt in Egypt;) <span class="ver">3</span>That they sent and called him. And Jeroboam and all the cM
ongregation of Israel came, and spake unto Rehoboam, saying, <span class="ver">4</span>Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore make thou the grievous service of thy father, and his heavy yoke which he put upon us, lighter, and we will serve thee. <span class="ver">5</span>And he said unto them, Depart yet for three days, then come again to me. And the people departed. </p>
<p><span class="ver">6</span>And king Rehoboam consulted with the old men, that stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, aM
nd said, How do ye advise that I may answer this people? <span class="ver">7</span>And they spake unto him, saying, If thou wilt be a servant unto this people this day, and wilt serve them, and answer them, and speak good words to them, then they will be thy servants for ever. <span class="ver">8</span>But he forsook the counsel of the old men, which they had given him, and consulted with the young men that were grown up with him, and which stood before him: <span class="ver">9</span>And he said unto them, What couM
nsel give ye that we may answer this people, who have spoken to me, saying, Make the yoke which thy father did put upon us lighter? <span class="ver">10</span>And the young men that were grown up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou speak unto this people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it lighter unto us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little finger shall be thicker than my father
s loins. <span class="ver">11</span>And now whereas my father did lade youM
with a heavy yoke, I will add to your yoke: my father hath chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam the third day, as the king had appointed, saying, Come to me again the third day. <span class="ver">13</span>And the king answered the people roughly, and forsook the old men
s counsel that they gave him; <span class="ver">14</span>And spake to them after the counsel of the young men, saying, My father madM
e your yoke heavy, and I will add to your yoke: my father also chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. <span class="ver">15</span>Wherefore the king hearkened not unto the people; for the cause was from the LORD, that he might perform his saying, which the LORD spake by Ahijah the Shilonite unto Jeroboam the son of Nebat. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>So when all Israel saw that the king hearkened not unto them, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? neM
ither have we inheritance in the son of Jesse: to your tents, O Israel: now see to thine own house, David. So Israel departed unto their tents. <span class="ver">17</span>But as for the children of Israel which dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. <span class="ver">18</span>Then king Rehoboam sent Adoram, who was over the tribute; and all Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. Therefore king Rehoboam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">19</spanM
>So Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day. <span class="ver">20</span>And it came to pass, when all Israel heard that Jeroboam was come again, that they sent and called him unto the congregation, and made him king over all Israel: there was none that followed the house of David, but the tribe of Judah only. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he assembled all the house of Judah, with the tribe of Benjamin, an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, whiM
ch were warriors, to fight against the house of Israel, to bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam the son of Solomon. <span class="ver">22</span>But the word of God came unto Shemaiah the man of God, saying, <span class="ver">23</span>Speak unto Rehoboam, the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and unto all the house of Judah and Benjamin, and to the remnant of the people, saying, <span class="ver">24</span>Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren the children of Israel: return every man to M
his house; for this thing is from me. They hearkened therefore to the word of the LORD, and returned to depart, according to the word of the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>Then Jeroboam built Shechem in mount Ephraim, and dwelt therein; and went out from thence, and built Penuel. <span class="ver">26</span>And Jeroboam said in his heart, Now shall the kingdom return to the house of David: <span class="ver">27</span>If this people go up to do sacrifice in the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, then shall thM
e heart of this people turn again unto their lord, even unto Rehoboam king of Judah, and they shall kill me, and go again to Rehoboam king of Judah. <span class="ver">28</span>Whereupon the king took counsel, and made two calves of gold, and said unto them, It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem: behold thy gods, O Israel, which brought thee up out of the land of Egypt. <span class="ver">29</span>And he set the one in Beth-el, and the other put he in Dan. <span class="ver">30</span>And this thing became a sinM
: for the people went to worship before the one, even unto Dan. <span class="ver">31</span>And he made an house of high places, and made priests of the lowest of the people, which were not of the sons of Levi. <span class="ver">32</span>And Jeroboam ordained a feast in the eighth month, on the fifteenth day of the month, like unto the feast that is in Judah, and he offered upon the altar. So did he in Beth-el, sacrificing unto the calves that he had made: and he placed in Beth-el the priests of the high places whicM
h he had made. <span class="ver">33</span>So he offered upon the altar which he had made in Beth-el the fifteenth day of the eighth month, even in the month which he had devised of his own heart; and ordained a feast unto the children of Israel: and he offered upon the altar, and burnt incense.
<h2 id="c13">Chapter 13</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And, behold, there came a man of God out of Judah by the word of the LORD unto Beth-el: and Jeroboam stood by the altar to burn incense. <span class="ver">2</spM
an>And he cried against the altar in the word of the LORD, and said, O altar, altar, thus saith the LORD; Behold, a child shall be born unto the house of David, Josiah by name; and upon thee shall he offer the priests of the high places that burn incense upon thee, and men
s bones shall be burnt upon thee. <span class="ver">3</span>And he gave a sign the same day, saying, This is the sign which the LORD hath spoken; Behold, the altar shall be rent, and the ashes that are upon it shall be poured out. <span class="M
ver">4</span>And it came to pass, when king Jeroboam heard the saying of the man of God, which had cried against the altar in Beth-el, that he put forth his hand from the altar, saying, Lay hold on him. And his hand, which he put forth against him, dried up, so that he could not pull it in again to him. <span class="ver">5</span>The altar also was rent, and the ashes poured out from the altar, according to the sign which the man of God had given by the word of the LORD. <span class="ver">6</span>And the king answerM
ed and said unto the man of God, Intreat now the face of the LORD thy God, and pray for me, that my hand may be restored me again. And the man of God besought the LORD, and the king
s hand was restored him again, and became as it was before. <span class="ver">7</span>And the king said unto the man of God, Come home with me, and refresh thyself, and I will give thee a reward. <span class="ver">8</span>And the man of God said unto the king, If thou wilt give me half thine house, I will not go in with thee, neither M
will I eat bread nor drink water in this place: <span class="ver">9</span>For so was it charged me by the word of the LORD, saying, Eat no bread, nor drink water, nor turn again by the same way that thou camest. <span class="ver">10</span>So he went another way, and returned not by the way that he came to Beth-el. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Now there dwelt an old prophet in Beth-el; and his sons came and told him all the works that the man of God had done that day in Beth-el: the words which he had spokenM
unto the king, them they told also to their father. <span class="ver">12</span>And their father said unto them, What way went he? For his sons had seen what way the man of God went, which came from Judah. <span class="ver">13</span>And he said unto his sons, Saddle me the ass. So they saddled him the ass: and he rode thereon, <span class="ver">14</span>And went after the man of God, and found him sitting under an oak: and he said unto him, Art thou the man of God that camest from Judah? And he said, I am. <span clM
ass="ver">15</span>Then he said unto him, Come home with me, and eat bread. <span class="ver">16</span>And he said, I may not return with thee, nor go in with thee: neither will I eat bread nor drink water with thee in this place: <span class="ver">17</span>For it was said to me by the word of the LORD, Thou shalt eat no bread nor drink water there, nor turn again to go by the way that thou camest. <span class="ver">18</span>He said unto him, I am a prophet also as thou art; and an angel spake unto me by the word oM
f the LORD, saying, Bring him back with thee into thine house, that he may eat bread and drink water. But he lied unto him. <span class="ver">19</span>So he went back with him, and did eat bread in his house, and drank water. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>And it came to pass, as they sat at the table, that the word of the LORD came unto the prophet that brought him back: <span class="ver">21</span>And he cried unto the man of God that came from Judah, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Forasmuch as thou hast disobM
eyed the mouth of the LORD, and hast not kept the commandment which the LORD thy God commanded thee, <span class="ver">22</span>But camest back, and hast eaten bread and drunk water in the place, of the which the Lord did say to thee, Eat no bread, and drink no water; thy carcase shall not come unto the sepulchre of thy fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And it came to pass, after he had eaten bread, and after he had drunk, that he saddled for him the ass, to wit, for the prophet whom he had brought backM
. <span class="ver">24</span>And when he was gone, a lion met him by the way, and slew him: and his carcase was cast in the way, and the ass stood by it, the lion also stood by the carcase. <span class="ver">25</span>And, behold, men passed by, and saw the carcase cast in the way, and the lion standing by the carcase: and they came and told it in the city where the old prophet dwelt. <span class="ver">26</span>And when the prophet that brought him back from the way heard thereof, he said, It is the man of God, who M
was disobedient unto the word of the LORD: therefore the LORD hath delivered him unto the lion, which hath torn him, and slain him, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake unto him. <span class="ver">27</span>And he spake to his sons, saying, Saddle me the ass. And they saddled him. <span class="ver">28</span>And he went and found his carcase cast in the way, and the ass and the lion standing by the carcase: the lion had not eaten the carcase, nor torn the ass. <span class="ver">29</span>And the prophet tM
ook up the carcase of the man of God, and laid it upon the ass, and brought it back: and the old prophet came to the city, to mourn and to bury him. <span class="ver">30</span>And he laid his carcase in his own grave; and they mourned over him, saying, Alas, my brother! <span class="ver">31</span>And it came to pass, after he had buried him, that he spake to his sons, saying, When I am dead, then bury me in the sepulchre wherein the man of God is buried; lay my bones beside his bones: <span class="ver">32</span>ForM
the saying which he cried by the word of the LORD against the altar in Beth-el, and against all the houses of the high places which are in the cities of Samaria, shall surely come to pass. </p>
<p><span class="ver">33</span>After this thing Jeroboam returned not from his evil way, but made again of the lowest of the people priests of the high places: whosoever would, he consecrated him, and he became one of the priests of the high places. <span class="ver">34</span>And this thing became sin unto the house of JerM
oboam, even to cut it off, and to destroy it from off the face of the earth.
<h2 id="c14">Chapter 14</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>At that time Abijah the son of Jeroboam fell sick. <span class="ver">2</span>And Jeroboam said to his wife, Arise, I pray thee, and disguise thyself, that thou be not known to be the wife of Jeroboam; and get thee to Shiloh: behold, there is Ahijah the prophet, which told me that I should be king over this people. <span class="ver">3</span>And take with thee ten loaves, and crM
acknels, and a cruse of honey, and go to him: he shall tell thee what shall become of the child. <span class="ver">4</span>And Jeroboam
s wife did so, and arose, and went to Shiloh, and came to the house of Ahijah. But Ahijah could not see; for his eyes were set by reason of his age. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>And the LORD said unto Ahijah, Behold, the wife of Jeroboam cometh to ask a thing of thee for her son; for he is sick: thus and thus shalt thou say unto her: for it shall be, when she cometh in, thM
at she shall feign herself to be another woman. <span class="ver">6</span>And it was so, when Ahijah heard the sound of her feet, as she came in at the door, that he said, Come in, thou wife of Jeroboam; why feignest thou thyself to be another? for I am sent to thee with heavy tidings. <span class="ver">7</span>Go, tell Jeroboam, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Forasmuch as I exalted thee from among the people, and made thee prince over my people Israel, <span class="ver">8</span>And rent the kingdom away from tM
he house of David, and gave it thee: and yet thou hast not been as my servant David, who kept my commandments, and who followed me with all his heart, to do that only which was right in mine eyes; <span class="ver">9</span>But hast done evil above all that were before thee: for thou hast gone and made thee other gods, and molten images, to provoke me to anger, and hast cast me behind thy back: <span class="ver">10</span>Therefore, behold, I will bring evil upon the house of Jeroboam, and will cut off from Jeroboam M
him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, and will take away the remnant of the house of Jeroboam, as a man taketh away dung, till it be all gone. <span class="ver">11</span>Him that dieth of Jeroboam in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat: for the LORD hath spoken it. <span class="ver">12</span>Arise thou therefore, get thee to thine own house: and when thy feet enter into the city, the child shall die. <span class="ver">1M
3</span>And all Israel shall mourn for him, and bury him: for he only of Jeroboam shall come to the grave, because in him there is found some good thing toward the LORD God of Israel in the house of Jeroboam. <span class="ver">14</span>Moreover the LORD shall raise him up a king over Israel, who shall cut off the house of Jeroboam that day: but what? even now. <span class="ver">15</span>For the LORD shall smite Israel, as a reed is shaken in the water, and he shall root up Israel out of this good land, which he gavM
e to their fathers, and shall scatter them beyond the river, because they have made their groves, provoking the LORD to anger. <span class="ver">16</span>And he shall give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who did sin, and who made Israel to sin. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>And Jeroboam
s wife arose, and departed, and came to Tirzah: and when she came to the threshold of the door, the child died; <span class="ver">18</span>And they buried him; and all Israel mourned for him, according to the worM
d of the LORD, which he spake by the hand of his servant Ahijah the prophet. <span class="ver">19</span>And the rest of the acts of Jeroboam, how he warred, and how he reigned, behold, they are written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel. <span class="ver">20</span>And the days which Jeroboam reigned were two and twenty years: and he slept with his fathers, and Nadab his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>And Rehoboam the son of Solomon reigned in Judah. Rehoboam was forM
ty and one years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD did choose out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother
s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. <span class="ver">22</span>And Judah did evil in the sight of the LORD, and they provoked him to jealousy with their sins which they had committed, above all that their fathers had done. <span class="ver">23</span>For they also built them high places, and images, and groves, on every highM
hill, and under every green tree. <span class="ver">24</span>And there were also sodomites in the land: and they did according to all the abominations of the nations which the LORD cast out before the children of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And it came to pass in the fifth year of king Rehoboam, that Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem: <span class="ver">26</span>And he took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king
s house; he even took away all: andM
he took away all the shields of gold which Solomon had made. <span class="ver">27</span>And king Rehoboam made in their stead brasen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king
s house. <span class="ver">28</span>And it was so, when the king went into the house of the LORD, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. </p>
<p><span class="ver">29</span>Now the rest of the acts of Rehoboam, and all that he did, are they not wriM
tten in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? <span class="ver">30</span>And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all their days. <span class="ver">31</span>And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And his mother
s name was Naamah an Ammonitess. And Abijam his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c15">Chapter 15</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam the son of Nebat reigned Abijam over Judah. <span clasM
s="ver">2</span>Three years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother
s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. <span class="ver">3</span>And he walked in all the sins of his father, which he had done before him: and his heart was not perfect with the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father. <span class="ver">4</span>Nevertheless for David
s sake did the LORD his God give him a lamp in Jerusalem, to set up his son after him, and to establish Jerusalem: <span class="ver">5</span>Because David did that M
which was right in the eyes of the LORD, and turned not aside from any thing that he commanded him all the days of his life, save only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. <span class="ver">6</span>And there was war between Rehoboam and Jeroboam all the days of his life. <span class="ver">7</span>Now the rest of the acts of Abijam, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? And there was war between Abijam and Jeroboam. <span class="ver">8</span>And Abijam slept wiM
th his fathers; and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>And in the twentieth year of Jeroboam king of Israel reigned Asa over Judah. <span class="ver">10</span>And forty and one years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother
s name was Maachah, the daughter of Abishalom. <span class="ver">11</span>And Asa did that which was right in the eyes of the LORD, as did David his father. <span class="ver">12</span>And he took away the sodomites outM
of the land, and removed all the idols that his fathers had made. <span class="ver">13</span>And also Maachah his mother, even her he removed from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove; and Asa destroyed her idol, and burnt it by the brook Kidron. <span class="ver">14</span>But the high places were not removed: nevertheless Asa
s heart was perfect with the LORD all his days. <span class="ver">15</span>And he brought in the things which his father had dedicated, and the things which himself had dedM
icated, into the house of the LORD, silver, and gold, and vessels. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. <span class="ver">17</span>And Baasha king of Israel went up against Judah, and built Ramah, that he might not suffer any to go out or come in to Asa king of Judah. <span class="ver">18</span>Then Asa took all the silver and the gold that were left in the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king
s house, and deliverM
ed them into the hand of his servants: and king Asa sent them to Ben-hadad, the son of Tabrimon, the son of Hezion, king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, <span class="ver">19</span>There is a league between me and thee, and between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent unto thee a present of silver and gold; come and break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. <span class="ver">20</span>So Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the captains of the hosts which he haM
d against the cities of Israel, and smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-beth-maachah, and all Cinneroth, with all the land of Naphtali. <span class="ver">21</span>And it came to pass, when Baasha heard thereof, that he left off building of Ramah, and dwelt in Tirzah. <span class="ver">22</span>Then king Asa made a proclamation throughout all Judah; none was exempted: and they took away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha had builded; and king Asa built with them Geba of Benjamin, and Mizpah. <spM
an class="ver">23</span>The rest of all the acts of Asa, and all his might, and all that he did, and the cities which he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? Nevertheless in the time of his old age he was diseased in his feet. <span class="ver">24</span>And Asa slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And Nadab the son of Jeroboam began to reiM
gn over Israel in the second year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned over Israel two years. <span class="ver">26</span>And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin. </p>
<p><span class="ver">27</span>And Baasha the son of Ahijah, of the house of Issachar, conspired against him; and Baasha smote him at Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines; for Nadab and all Israel laid siege to Gibbethon. <span class="ver">28</span>Even in the M
third year of Asa king of Judah did Baasha slay him, and reigned in his stead. <span class="ver">29</span>And it came to pass, when he reigned, that he smote all the house of Jeroboam; he left not to Jeroboam any that breathed, until he had destroyed him, according unto the saying of the LORD, which he spake by his servant Ahijah the Shilonite: <span class="ver">30</span>Because of the sins of Jeroboam which he sinned, and which he made Israel sin, by his provocation wherewith he provoked the LORD God of Israel to M
<p><span class="ver">31</span>Now the rest of the acts of Nadab, and all that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? <span class="ver">32</span>And there was war between Asa and Baasha king of Israel all their days. <span class="ver">33</span>In the third year of Asa king of Judah began Baasha the son of Ahijah to reign over all Israel in Tirzah, twenty and four years. <span class="ver">34</span>And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the wayM
of Jeroboam, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin.
<h2 id="c16">Chapter 16</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then the word of the LORD came to Jehu the son of Hanani against Baasha, saying, <span class="ver">2</span>Forasmuch as I exalted thee out of the dust, and made thee prince over my people Israel; and thou hast walked in the way of Jeroboam, and hast made my people Israel to sin, to provoke me to anger with their sins; <span class="ver">3</span>Behold, I will take away the posterity of BaashaM
, and the posterity of his house; and will make thy house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat. <span class="ver">4</span>Him that dieth of Baasha in the city shall the dogs eat; and him that dieth of his in the fields shall the fowls of the air eat. <span class="ver">5</span>Now the rest of the acts of Baasha, and what he did, and his might, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? <span class="ver">6</span>So Baasha slept with his fathers, and was buried in Tirzah: and ElaM
h his son reigned in his stead. <span class="ver">7</span>And also by the hand of the prophet Jehu the son of Hanani came the word of the LORD against Baasha, and against his house, even for all the evil that he did in the sight of the LORD, in provoking him to anger with the work of his hands, in being like the house of Jeroboam; and because he killed him. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>In the twenty and sixth year of Asa king of Judah began Elah the son of Baasha to reign over Israel in Tirzah, two years. <sM
pan class="ver">9</span>And his servant Zimri, captain of half his chariots, conspired against him, as he was in Tirzah, drinking himself drunk in the house of Arza steward of his house in Tirzah. <span class="ver">10</span>And Zimri went in and smote him, and killed him, in the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah, and reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And it came to pass, when he began to reign, as soon as he sat on his throne, that he slew all the house of Baasha: he left him notM
one that pisseth against a wall, neither of his kinsfolks, nor of his friends. <span class="ver">12</span>Thus did Zimri destroy all the house of Baasha, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake against Baasha by Jehu the prophet, <span class="ver">13</span>For all the sins of Baasha, and the sins of Elah his son, by which they sinned, and by which they made Israel to sin, in provoking the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. <span class="ver">14</span>Now the rest of the acts of Elah, and allM
that he did, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>In the twenty and seventh year of Asa king of Judah did Zimri reign seven days in Tirzah. And the people were encamped against Gibbethon, which belonged to the Philistines. <span class="ver">16</span>And the people that were encamped heard say, Zimri hath conspired, and hath also slain the king: wherefore all Israel made Omri, the captain of the host, king over Israel that day in the camp. <M
span class="ver">17</span>And Omri went up from Gibbethon, and all Israel with him, and they besieged Tirzah. <span class="ver">18</span>And it came to pass, when Zimri saw that the city was taken, that he went into the palace of the king
s house, and burnt the king
s house over him with fire, and died, <span class="ver">19</span>For his sins which he sinned in doing evil in the sight of the LORD, in walking in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin which he did, to make Israel to sin. <span class="ver">20</span>NM
ow the rest of the acts of Zimri, and his treason that he wrought, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>Then were the people of Israel divided into two parts: half of the people followed Tibni the son of Ginath, to make him king; and half followed Omri. <span class="ver">22</span>But the people that followed Omri prevailed against the people that followed Tibni the son of Ginath: so Tibni died, and Omri reigned. </p>
<p><span class="ver">2M
3</span>In the thirty and first year of Asa king of Judah began Omri to reign over Israel, twelve years: six years reigned he in Tirzah. <span class="ver">24</span>And he bought the hill Samaria of Shemer for two talents of silver, and built on the hill, and called the name of the city which he built, after the name of Shemer, owner of the hill, Samaria. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>But Omri wrought evil in the eyes of the LORD, and did worse than all that were before him. <span class="ver">26</span>For he M
walked in all the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and in his sin wherewith he made Israel to sin, to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger with their vanities. <span class="ver">27</span>Now the rest of the acts of Omri which he did, and his might that he shewed, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? <span class="ver">28</span>So Omri slept with his fathers, and was buried in Samaria: and Ahab his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">29</span>And in the thirM
ty and eighth year of Asa king of Judah began Ahab the son of Omri to reign over Israel: and Ahab the son of Omri reigned over Israel in Samaria twenty and two years. <span class="ver">30</span>And Ahab the son of Omri did evil in the sight of the LORD above all that were before him. <span class="ver">31</span>And it came to pass, as if it had been a light thing for him to walk in the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, that he took to wife Jezebel the daughter of Ethbaal king of the Zidonians, and went and served BM
aal, and worshipped him. <span class="ver">32</span>And he reared up an altar for Baal in the house of Baal, which he had built in Samaria. <span class="ver">33</span>And Ahab made a grove; and Ahab did more to provoke the LORD God of Israel to anger than all the kings of Israel that were before him. </p>
<p><span class="ver">34</span>In his days did Hiel the Beth-elite build Jericho: he laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his firstborn, and set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according to the wM
ord of the LORD, which he spake by Joshua the son of Nun.
<h2 id="c17">Chapter 17</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Elijah the Tishbite, who was of the inhabitants of Gilead, said unto Ahab, As the LORD God of Israel liveth, before whom I stand, there shall not be dew nor rain these years, but according to my word. <span class="ver">2</span>And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, <span class="ver">3</span>Get thee hence, and turn thee eastward, and hide thyself by the brook Cherith, that is beforeM
Jordan. <span class="ver">4</span>And it shall be, that thou shalt drink of the brook; and I have commanded the ravens to feed thee there. <span class="ver">5</span>So he went and did according unto the word of the LORD: for he went and dwelt by the brook Cherith, that is before Jordan. <span class="ver">6</span>And the ravens brought him bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening; and he drank of the brook. <span class="ver">7</span>And it came to pass after a while, that the brook dried uM
p, because there had been no rain in the land. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>And the word of the LORD came unto him, saying, <span class="ver">9</span>Arise, get thee to Zarephath, which belongeth to Zidon, and dwell there: behold, I have commanded a widow woman there to sustain thee. <span class="ver">10</span>So he arose and went to Zarephath. And when he came to the gate of the city, behold, the widow woman was there gathering of sticks: and he called to her, and said, Fetch me, I pray thee, a little waterM
in a vessel, that I may drink. <span class="ver">11</span>And as she was going to fetch it, he called to her, and said, Bring me, I pray thee, a morsel of bread in thine hand. <span class="ver">12</span>And she said, As the LORD thy God liveth, I have not a cake, but an handful of meal in a barrel, and a little oil in a cruse: and, behold, I am gathering two sticks, that I may go in and dress it for me and my son, that we may eat it, and die. <span class="ver">13</span>And Elijah said unto her, Fear not; go and doM
as thou hast said: but make me thereof a little cake first, and bring it unto me, and after make for thee and for thy son. <span class="ver">14</span>For thus saith the LORD God of Israel, The barrel of meal shall not waste, neither shall the cruse of oil fail, until the day that the LORD sendeth rain upon the earth. <span class="ver">15</span>And she went and did according to the saying of Elijah: and she, and he, and her house, did eat many days. <span class="ver">16</span>And the barrel of meal wasted not, neitM
her did the cruse of oil fail, according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by Elijah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>And it came to pass after these things, that the son of the woman, the mistress of the house, fell sick; and his sickness was so sore, that there was no breath left in him. <span class="ver">18</span>And she said unto Elijah, What have I to do with thee, O thou man of God? art thou come unto me to call my sin to remembrance, and to slay my son? <span class="ver">19</span>And he said unto M
her, Give me thy son. And he took him out of her bosom, and carried him up into a loft, where he abode, and laid him upon his own bed. <span class="ver">20</span>And he cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, hast thou also brought evil upon the widow with whom I sojourn, by slaying her son? <span class="ver">21</span>And he stretched himself upon the child three times, and cried unto the LORD, and said, O LORD my God, I pray thee, let this child
s soul come into him again. <span class="ver">22</span>And thM
e LORD heard the voice of Elijah; and the soul of the child came into him again, and he revived. <span class="ver">23</span>And Elijah took the child, and brought him down out of the chamber into the house, and delivered him unto his mother: and Elijah said, See, thy son liveth. </p>
<p><span class="ver">24</span>And the woman said to Elijah, Now by this I know that thou art a man of God, and that the word of the LORD in thy mouth is truth.
<h2 id="c18">Chapter 18</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it caM
me to pass after many days, that the word of the LORD came to Elijah in the third year, saying, Go, shew thyself unto Ahab; and I will send rain upon the earth. <span class="ver">2</span>And Elijah went to shew himself unto Ahab. And there was a sore famine in Samaria. <span class="ver">3</span>And Ahab called Obadiah, which was the governor of his house. (Now Obadiah feared the LORD greatly: <span class="ver">4</span>For it was so, when Jezebel cut off the prophets of the LORD, that Obadiah took an hundred prophetM
s, and hid them by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water.) <span class="ver">5</span>And Ahab said unto Obadiah, Go into the land, unto all fountains of water, and unto all brooks: peradventure we may find grass to save the horses and mules alive, that we lose not all the beasts. <span class="ver">6</span>So they divided the land between them to pass throughout it: Ahab went one way by himself, and Obadiah went another way by himself. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>And as Obadiah was in the way, bM
ehold, Elijah met him: and he knew him, and fell on his face, and said, Art thou that my lord Elijah? <span class="ver">8</span>And he answered him, I am: go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. <span class="ver">9</span>And he said, What have I sinned, that thou wouldest deliver thy servant into the hand of Ahab, to slay me? <span class="ver">10</span>As the LORD thy God liveth, there is no nation or kingdom, whither my lord hath not sent to seek thee: and when they said, He is not there; he took an oath of theM
kingdom and nation, that they found thee not. <span class="ver">11</span>And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here. <span class="ver">12</span>And it shall come to pass, as soon as I am gone from thee, that the Spirit of the LORD shall carry thee whither I know not; and so when I come and tell Ahab, and he cannot find thee, he shall slay me: but I thy servant fear the LORD from my youth. <span class="ver">13</span>Was it not told my lord what I did when Jezebel slew the prophets of the LORD, hM
ow I hid an hundred men of the LORD
s prophets by fifty in a cave, and fed them with bread and water? <span class="ver">14</span>And now thou sayest, Go, tell thy lord, Behold, Elijah is here: and he shall slay me. <span class="ver">15</span>And Elijah said, As the LORD of hosts liveth, before whom I stand, I will surely shew myself unto him to day. <span class="ver">16</span>So Obadiah went to meet Ahab, and told him: and Ahab went to meet Elijah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>And it came to pass, when AhM
ab saw Elijah, that Ahab said unto him, Art thou he that troubleth Israel? <span class="ver">18</span>And he answered, I have not troubled Israel; but thou, and thy father
s house, in that ye have forsaken the commandments of the LORD, and thou hast followed Baalim. <span class="ver">19</span>Now therefore send, and gather to me all Israel unto mount Carmel, and the prophets of Baal four hundred and fifty, and the prophets of the groves four hundred, which eat at Jezebel
s table. <span class="ver">20</span>So AM
hab sent unto all the children of Israel, and gathered the prophets together unto mount Carmel. <span class="ver">21</span>And Elijah came unto all the people, and said, How long halt ye between two opinions? if the LORD be God, follow him: but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word. <span class="ver">22</span>Then said Elijah unto the people, I, even I only, remain a prophet of the LORD; but Baal
s prophets are four hundred and fifty men. <span class="ver">23</span>Let them therefore giM
ve us two bullocks; and let them choose one bullock for themselves, and cut it in pieces, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: and I will dress the other bullock, and lay it on wood, and put no fire under: <span class="ver">24</span>And call ye on the name of your gods, and I will call on the name of the LORD: and the God that answereth by fire, let him be God. And all the people answered and said, It is well spoken. <span class="ver">25</span>And Elijah said unto the prophets of Baal, Choose you one bullock M
for yourselves, and dress it first; for ye are many; and call on the name of your gods, but put no fire under. <span class="ver">26</span>And they took the bullock which was given them, and they dressed it, and called on the name of Baal from morning even until noon, saying, O Baal, hear us. But there was no voice, nor any that answered. And they leaped upon the altar which was made. <span class="ver">27</span>And it came to pass at noon, that Elijah mocked them, and said, Cry aloud: for he is a god; either he is tM
alking, or he is pursuing, or he is in a journey, or peradventure he sleepeth, and must be awaked. <span class="ver">28</span>And they cried aloud, and cut themselves after their manner with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out upon them. <span class="ver">29</span>And it came to pass, when midday was past, and they prophesied until the time of the offering of the evening sacrifice, that there was neither voice, nor any to answer, nor any that regarded. <span class="ver">30</span>And Elijah said unto all tM
he people, Come near unto me. And all the people came near unto him. And he repaired the altar of the LORD that was broken down. <span class="ver">31</span>And Elijah took twelve stones, according to the number of the tribes of the sons of Jacob, unto whom the word of the LORD came, saying, Israel shall be thy name: <span class="ver">32</span>And with the stones he built an altar in the name of the LORD: and he made a trench about the altar, as great as would contain two measures of seed. <span class="ver">33</spanM
>And he put the wood in order, and cut the bullock in pieces, and laid him on the wood, and said, Fill four barrels with water, and pour it on the burnt sacrifice, and on the wood. <span class="ver">34</span>And he said, Do it the second time. And they did it the second time. And he said, Do it the third time. And they did it the third time. <span class="ver">35</span>And the water ran round about the altar; and he filled the trench also with water. <span class="ver">36</span>And it came to pass at the time of the M
offering of the evening sacrifice, that Elijah the prophet came near, and said, LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and of Israel, let it be known this day that thou art God in Israel, and that I am thy servant, and that I have done all these things at thy word. <span class="ver">37</span>Hear me, O LORD, hear me, that this people may know that thou art the LORD God, and that thou hast turned their heart back again. <span class="ver">38</span>Then the fire of the LORD fell, and consumed the burnt sacrifice, and the wood, aM
nd the stones, and the dust, and licked up the water that was in the trench. <span class="ver">39</span>And when all the people saw it, they fell on their faces: and they said, The LORD, he is the God; the LORD, he is the God. <span class="ver">40</span>And Elijah said unto them, Take the prophets of Baal; let not one of them escape. And they took them: and Elijah brought them down to the brook Kishon, and slew them there. </p>
<p><span class="ver">41</span>And Elijah said unto Ahab, Get thee up, eat and drink; fM
or there is a sound of abundance of rain. <span class="ver">42</span>So Ahab went up to eat and to drink. And Elijah went up to the top of Carmel; and he cast himself down upon the earth, and put his face between his knees, <span class="ver">43</span>And said to his servant, Go up now, look toward the sea. And he went up, and looked, and said, There is nothing. And he said, Go again seven times. <span class="ver">44</span>And it came to pass at the seventh time, that he said, Behold, there ariseth a little cloud ouM
t of the sea, like a man
s hand. And he said, Go up, say unto Ahab, Prepare thy chariot, and get thee down, that the rain stop thee not. <span class="ver">45</span>And it came to pass in the mean while, that the heaven was black with clouds and wind, and there was a great rain. And Ahab rode, and went to Jezreel. <span class="ver">46</span>And the hand of the LORD was on Elijah; and he girded up his loins, and ran before Ahab to the entrance of Jezreel.
<h2 id="c19">Chapter 19</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</sM
pan>And Ahab told Jezebel all that Elijah had done, and withal how he had slain all the prophets with the sword. <span class="ver">2</span>Then Jezebel sent a messenger unto Elijah, saying, So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time. <span class="ver">3</span>And when he saw that, he arose, and went for his life, and came to Beer-sheba, which belongeth to Judah, and left his servant there. </p>
<p><span class="ver">4</span>But he himselfM
s journey into the wilderness, and came and sat down under a juniper tree: and he requested for himself that he might die; and said, It is enough; now, O LORD, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers. <span class="ver">5</span>And as he lay and slept under a juniper tree, behold, then an angel touched him, and said unto him, Arise and eat. <span class="ver">6</span>And he looked, and, behold, there was a cake baken on the coals, and a cruse of water at his head. And he did eat and drinkM
, and laid him down again. <span class="ver">7</span>And the angel of the LORD came again the second time, and touched him, and said, Arise and eat; because the journey is too great for thee. <span class="ver">8</span>And he arose, and did eat and drink, and went in the strength of that meat forty days and forty nights unto Horeb the mount of God. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thoM
u here, Elijah? <span class="ver">10</span>And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. <span class="ver">11</span>And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; butM
the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: <span class="ver">12</span>And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice. <span class="ver">13</span>And it was so, when Elijah heard it, that he wrapped his face in his mantle, and went out, and stood in the entering in of the cave. And, behold, there came a voice unto him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? <span class="ver">14</span>And he said,M
I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: because the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away. <span class="ver">15</span>And the LORD said unto him, Go, return on thy way to the wilderness of Damascus: and when thou comest, anoint Hazael to be king over Syria: <span class="ver">16</span>And Jehu the son of Nimshi shalt thou anoint to be king over Israel: and Elisha M
the son of Shaphat of Abel-meholah shalt thou anoint to be prophet in thy room. <span class="ver">17</span>And it shall come to pass, that him that escapeth the sword of Hazael shall Jehu slay: and him that escapeth from the sword of Jehu shall Elisha slay. <span class="ver">18</span>Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him. </p>
<p><span class="ver">19</span>So he departed thence, and found Elisha the son of Shaphat, who M
was plowing with twelve yoke of oxen before him, and he with the twelfth: and Elijah passed by him, and cast his mantle upon him. <span class="ver">20</span>And he left the oxen, and ran after Elijah, and said, Let me, I pray thee, kiss my father and my mother, and then I will follow thee. And he said unto him, Go back again: for what have I done to thee? <span class="ver">21</span>And he returned back from him, and took a yoke of oxen, and slew them, and boiled their flesh with the instruments of the oxen, and gavM
e unto the people, and they did eat. Then he arose, and went after Elijah, and ministered unto him.
<h2 id="c20">Chapter 20</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Ben-hadad the king of Syria gathered all his host together: and there were thirty and two kings with him, and horses, and chariots: and he went up and besieged Samaria, and warred against it. <span class="ver">2</span>And he sent messengers to Ahab king of Israel into the city, and said unto him, Thus saith Ben-hadad, <span class="ver">3</span>Thy siM
lver and thy gold is mine; thy wives also and thy children, even the goodliest, are mine. <span class="ver">4</span>And the king of Israel answered and said, My lord, O king, according to thy saying, I am thine, and all that I have. <span class="ver">5</span>And the messengers came again, and said, Thus speaketh Ben-hadad, saying, Although I have sent unto thee, saying, Thou shalt deliver me thy silver, and thy gold, and thy wives, and thy children; <span class="ver">6</span>Yet I will send my servants unto thee toM
morrow about this time, and they shall search thine house, and the houses of thy servants; and it shall be, that whatsoever is pleasant in thine eyes, they shall put it in their hand, and take it away. <span class="ver">7</span>Then the king of Israel called all the elders of the land, and said, Mark, I pray you, and see how this man seeketh mischief: for he sent unto me for my wives, and for my children, and for my silver, and for my gold; and I denied him not. <span class="ver">8</span>And all the elders and allM
the people said unto him, Hearken not unto him, nor consent. <span class="ver">9</span>Wherefore he said unto the messengers of Ben-hadad, Tell my lord the king, All that thou didst send for to thy servant at the first I will do: but this thing I may not do. And the messengers departed, and brought him word again. <span class="ver">10</span>And Ben-hadad sent unto him, and said, The gods do so unto me, and more also, if the dust of Samaria shall suffice for handfuls for all the people that follow me. <span class="M
ver">11</span>And the king of Israel answered and said, Tell him, Let not him that girdeth on his harness boast himself as he that putteth it off. <span class="ver">12</span>And it came to pass, when Ben-hadad heard this message, as he was drinking, he and the kings in the pavilions, that he said unto his servants, Set yourselves in array. And they set themselves in array against the city. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And, behold, there came a prophet unto Ahab king of Israel, saying, Thus saith the LORD, HM
ast thou seen all this great multitude? behold, I will deliver it into thine hand this day; and thou shalt know that I am the LORD. <span class="ver">14</span>And Ahab said, By whom? And he said, Thus saith the LORD, Even by the young men of the princes of the provinces. Then he said, Who shall order the battle? And he answered, Thou. <span class="ver">15</span>Then he numbered the young men of the princes of the provinces, and they were two hundred and thirty two: and after them he numbered all the people, even alM
l the children of Israel, being seven thousand. <span class="ver">16</span>And they went out at noon. But Ben-hadad was drinking himself drunk in the pavilions, he and the kings, the thirty and two kings that helped him. <span class="ver">17</span>And the young men of the princes of the provinces went out first; and Ben-hadad sent out, and they told him, saying, There are men come out of Samaria. <span class="ver">18</span>And he said, Whether they be come out for peace, take them alive; or whether they be come outM
for war, take them alive. <span class="ver">19</span>So these young men of the princes of the provinces came out of the city, and the army which followed them. <span class="ver">20</span>And they slew every one his man: and the Syrians fled; and Israel pursued them: and Ben-hadad the king of Syria escaped on an horse with the horsemen. <span class="ver">21</span>And the king of Israel went out, and smote the horses and chariots, and slew the Syrians with a great slaughter. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And M
the prophet came to the king of Israel, and said unto him, Go, strengthen thyself, and mark, and see what thou doest: for at the return of the year the king of Syria will come up against thee. <span class="ver">23</span>And the servants of the king of Syria said unto him, Their gods are gods of the hills; therefore they were stronger than we; but let us fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. <span class="ver">24</span>And do this thing, Take the kings away, every man out of his M
place, and put captains in their rooms: <span class="ver">25</span>And number thee an army, like the army that thou hast lost, horse for horse, and chariot for chariot: and we will fight against them in the plain, and surely we shall be stronger than they. And he hearkened unto their voice, and did so. <span class="ver">26</span>And it came to pass at the return of the year, that Ben-hadad numbered the Syrians, and went up to Aphek, to fight against Israel. <span class="ver">27</span>And the children of Israel wereM
numbered, and were all present, and went against them: and the children of Israel pitched before them like two little flocks of kids; but the Syrians filled the country. </p>
<p><span class="ver">28</span>And there came a man of God, and spake unto the king of Israel, and said, Thus saith the LORD, Because the Syrians have said, The LORD is God of the hills, but he is not God of the valleys, therefore will I deliver all this great multitude into thine hand, and ye shall know that I am the LORD. <span class="ver"M
>29</span>And they pitched one over against the other seven days. And so it was, that in the seventh day the battle was joined: and the children of Israel slew of the Syrians an hundred thousand footmen in one day. <span class="ver">30</span>But the rest fled to Aphek, into the city; and there a wall fell upon twenty and seven thousand of the men that were left. And Ben-hadad fled, and came into the city, into an inner chamber. </p>
<p><span class="ver">31</span>And his servants said unto him, Behold now, we haveM
heard that the kings of the house of Israel are merciful kings: let us, I pray thee, put sackcloth on our loins, and ropes upon our heads, and go out to the king of Israel: peradventure he will save thy life. <span class="ver">32</span>So they girded sackcloth on their loins, and put ropes on their heads, and came to the king of Israel, and said, Thy servant Ben-hadad saith, I pray thee, let me live. And he said, Is he yet alive? he is my brother. <span class="ver">33</span>Now the men did diligently observe whethM
er any thing would come from him, and did hastily catch it: and they said, Thy brother Ben-hadad. Then he said, Go ye, bring him. Then Ben-hadad came forth to him; and he caused him to come up into the chariot. <span class="ver">34</span>And Ben-hadad said unto him, The cities, which my father took from thy father, I will restore; and thou shalt make streets for thee in Damascus, as my father made in Samaria. Then said Ahab, I will send thee away with this covenant. So he made a covenant with him, and sent him awayM
<p><span class="ver">35</span>And a certain man of the sons of the prophets said unto his neighbour in the word of the LORD, Smite me, I pray thee. And the man refused to smite him. <span class="ver">36</span>Then said he unto him, Because thou hast not obeyed the voice of the LORD, behold, as soon as thou art departed from me, a lion shall slay thee. And as soon as he was departed from him, a lion found him, and slew him. <span class="ver">37</span>Then he found another man, and said, Smite me, I pray theM
e. And the man smote him, so that in smiting he wounded him. <span class="ver">38</span>So the prophet departed, and waited for the king by the way, and disguised himself with ashes upon his face. <span class="ver">39</span>And as the king passed by, he cried unto the king: and he said, Thy servant went out into the midst of the battle; and, behold, a man turned aside, and brought a man unto me, and said, Keep this man: if by any means he be missing, then shall thy life be for his life, or else thou shalt pay a talM
ent of silver. <span class="ver">40</span>And as thy servant was busy here and there, he was gone. And the king of Israel said unto him, So shall thy judgment be; thyself hast decided it. <span class="ver">41</span>And he hasted, and took the ashes away from his face; and the king of Israel discerned him that he was of the prophets. <span class="ver">42</span>And he said unto him, Thus saith the LORD, Because thou hast let go out of thy hand a man whom I appointed to utter destruction, therefore thy life shall go fM
or his life, and thy people for his people. <span class="ver">43</span>And the king of Israel went to his house heavy and displeased, and came to Samaria.
<h2 id="c21">Chapter 21</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it came to pass after these things, that Naboth the Jezreelite had a vineyard, which was in Jezreel, hard by the palace of Ahab king of Samaria. <span class="ver">2</span>And Ahab spake unto Naboth, saying, Give me thy vineyard, that I may have it for a garden of herbs, because it is near unto myM
house: and I will give thee for it a better vineyard than it; or, if it seem good to thee, I will give thee the worth of it in money. <span class="ver">3</span>And Naboth said to Ahab, The LORD forbid it me, that I should give the inheritance of my fathers unto thee. <span class="ver">4</span>And Ahab came into his house heavy and displeased because of the word which Naboth the Jezreelite had spoken to him: for he had said, I will not give thee the inheritance of my fathers. And he laid him down upon his bed, and M
turned away his face, and would eat no bread. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>But Jezebel his wife came to him, and said unto him, Why is thy spirit so sad, that thou eatest no bread? <span class="ver">6</span>And he said unto her, Because I spake unto Naboth the Jezreelite, and said unto him, Give me thy vineyard for money; or else, if it please thee, I will give thee another vineyard for it: and he answered, I will not give thee my vineyard. <span class="ver">7</span>And Jezebel his wife said unto him, Dost tM
hou now govern the kingdom of Israel? arise, and eat bread, and let thine heart be merry: I will give thee the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite. <span class="ver">8</span>So she wrote letters in Ahab
s name, and sealed them with his seal, and sent the letters unto the elders and to the nobles that were in his city, dwelling with Naboth. <span class="ver">9</span>And she wrote in the letters, saying, Proclaim a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people: <span class="ver">10</span>And set two men, sons of BeliM
al, before him, to bear witness against him, saying, Thou didst blaspheme God and the king. And then carry him out, and stone him, that he may die. <span class="ver">11</span>And the men of his city, even the elders and the nobles who were the inhabitants in his city, did as Jezebel had sent unto them, and as it was written in the letters which she had sent unto them. <span class="ver">12</span>They proclaimed a fast, and set Naboth on high among the people. <span class="ver">13</span>And there came in two men, chiM
ldren of Belial, and sat before him: and the men of Belial witnessed against him, even against Naboth, in the presence of the people, saying, Naboth did blaspheme God and the king. Then they carried him forth out of the city, and stoned him with stones, that he died. <span class="ver">14</span>Then they sent to Jezebel, saying, Naboth is stoned, and is dead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>And it came to pass, when Jezebel heard that Naboth was stoned, and was dead, that Jezebel said to Ahab, Arise, take posseM
ssion of the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, which he refused to give thee for money: for Naboth is not alive, but dead. <span class="ver">16</span>And it came to pass, when Ahab heard that Naboth was dead, that Ahab rose up to go down to the vineyard of Naboth the Jezreelite, to take possession of it. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, <span class="ver">18</span>Arise, go down to meet Ahab king of Israel, which is in Samaria: behold, he is in the vM
ineyard of Naboth, whither he is gone down to possess it. <span class="ver">19</span>And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, Hast thou killed, and also taken possession? And thou shalt speak unto him, saying, Thus saith the LORD, In the place where dogs licked the blood of Naboth shall dogs lick thy blood, even thine. <span class="ver">20</span>And Ahab said to Elijah, Hast thou found me, O mine enemy? And he answered, I have found thee: because thou hast sold thyself to work evil in the sight oM
f the LORD. <span class="ver">21</span>Behold, I will bring evil upon thee, and will take away thy posterity, and will cut off from Ahab him that pisseth against the wall, and him that is shut up and left in Israel, <span class="ver">22</span>And will make thine house like the house of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, and like the house of Baasha the son of Ahijah, for the provocation wherewith thou hast provoked me to anger, and made Israel to sin. <span class="ver">23</span>And of Jezebel also spake the LORD, saying, TM
he dogs shall eat Jezebel by the wall of Jezreel. <span class="ver">24</span>Him that dieth of Ahab in the city the dogs shall eat; and him that dieth in the field shall the fowls of the air eat. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>But there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the LORD, whom Jezebel his wife stirred up. <span class="ver">26</span>And he did very abominably in following idols, according to all things as did the Amorites, whom the LORD cast out before tM
he children of Israel. <span class="ver">27</span>And it came to pass, when Ahab heard those words, that he rent his clothes, and put sackcloth upon his flesh, and fasted, and lay in sackcloth, and went softly. <span class="ver">28</span>And the word of the LORD came to Elijah the Tishbite, saying, <span class="ver">29</span>Seest thou how Ahab humbleth himself before me? because he humbleth himself before me, I will not bring the evil in his days: but in his son
s days will I bring the evil upon his house.
2 id="c22">Chapter 22</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And they continued three years without war between Syria and Israel. <span class="ver">2</span>And it came to pass in the third year, that Jehoshaphat the king of Judah came down to the king of Israel. <span class="ver">3</span>And the king of Israel said unto his servants, Know ye that Ramoth in Gilead is ours, and we be still, and take it not out of the hand of the king of Syria? <span class="ver">4</span>And he said unto Jehoshaphat, Wilt thou go with meM
to battle to Ramoth-gilead? And Jehoshaphat said to the king of Israel, I am as thou art, my people as thy people, my horses as thy horses. <span class="ver">5</span>And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. <span class="ver">6</span>Then the king of Israel gathered the prophets together, about four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall I go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up; for the Lord shall deliver it into the haM
nd of the king. <span class="ver">7</span>And Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? <span class="ver">8</span>And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, Micaiah the son of Imlah, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. <span class="ver">9</span>Then the king of Israel called an officer, and said, Hasten hither Micaiah thM
e son of Imlah. <span class="ver">10</span>And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah sat each on his throne, having put on their robes, in a void place in the entrance of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. <span class="ver">11</span>And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah made him horns of iron: and he said, Thus saith the LORD, With these shalt thou push the Syrians, until thou have consumed them. <span class="ver">12</span>And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up tM
o Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the king
s hand. <span class="ver">13</span>And the messenger that was gone to call Micaiah spake unto him, saying, Behold now, the words of the prophets declare good unto the king with one mouth: let thy word, I pray thee, be like the word of one of them, and speak that which is good. <span class="ver">14</span>And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, what the LORD saith unto me, that will I speak. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>So he came to thM
e king. And the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go against Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall we forbear? And he answered him, Go, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. <span class="ver">16</span>And the king said unto him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou tell me nothing but that which is true in the name of the LORD? <span class="ver">17</span>And he said, I saw all Israel scattered upon the hills, as sheep that have not a shepherd: and the LORD said, These have noM
master: let them return every man to his house in peace. <span class="ver">18</span>And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would prophesy no good concerning me, but evil? <span class="ver">19</span>And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left. <span class="ver">20</span>And the LORD said, Who shall persuade Ahab, that he may go up and fall at Ramoth-gilead?M
And one said on this manner, and another said on that manner. <span class="ver">21</span>And there came forth a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will persuade him. <span class="ver">22</span>And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? And he said, I will go forth, and I will be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And he said, Thou shalt persuade him, and prevail also: go forth, and do so. <span class="ver">23</span>Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath put a lying spirit in the mouth of all thM
ese thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil concerning thee. <span class="ver">24</span>But Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah went near, and smote Micaiah on the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? <span class="ver">25</span>And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see in that day, when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. <span class="ver">26</span>And the king of Israel said, Take Micaiah, and carry him back unto Amon the governor of the city, and to JoasM
s son; <span class="ver">27</span>And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I come in peace. <span class="ver">28</span>And Micaiah said, If thou return at all in peace, the LORD hath not spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, O people, every one of you. <span class="ver">29</span>So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. <span class="ver">30</span>And the king of Israel saiM
d unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and enter into the battle; but put thou on thy robes. And the king of Israel disguised himself, and went into the battle. <span class="ver">31</span>But the king of Syria commanded his thirty and two captains that had rule over his chariots, saying, Fight neither with small nor great, save only with the king of Israel. <span class="ver">32</span>And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, Surely it is the king of Israel. And theM
y turned aside to fight against him: and Jehoshaphat cried out. <span class="ver">33</span>And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, that they turned back from pursuing him. <span class="ver">34</span>And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: wherefore he said unto the driver of his chariot, Turn thine hand, and carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. <span class="ver">35</span>And the batM
tle increased that day: and the king was stayed up in his chariot against the Syrians, and died at even: and the blood ran out of the wound into the midst of the chariot. <span class="ver">36</span>And there went a proclamation throughout the host about the going down of the sun, saying, Every man to his city, and every man to his own country. </p>
<p><span class="ver">37</span>So the king died, and was brought to Samaria; and they buried the king in Samaria. <span class="ver">38</span>And one washed the chariot M
in the pool of Samaria; and the dogs licked up his blood; and they washed his armour; according unto the word of the LORD which he spake. <span class="ver">39</span>Now the rest of the acts of Ahab, and all that he did, and the ivory house which he made, and all the cities that he built, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Israel? <span class="ver">40</span>So Ahab slept with his fathers; and Ahaziah his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">41</span>And Jehoshaphat thM
e son of Asa began to reign over Judah in the fourth year of Ahab king of Israel. <span class="ver">42</span>Jehoshaphat was thirty and five years old when he began to reign; and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother
s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. <span class="ver">43</span>And he walked in all the ways of Asa his father; he turned not aside from it, doing that which was right in the eyes of the LORD: nevertheless the high places were not taken away; for the people offered and bM
urnt incense yet in the high places. <span class="ver">44</span>And Jehoshaphat made peace with the king of Israel. <span class="ver">45</span>Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, and his might that he shewed, and how he warred, are they not written in the book of the chronicles of the kings of Judah? <span class="ver">46</span>And the remnant of the sodomites, which remained in the days of his father Asa, he took out of the land. <span class="ver">47</span>There was then no king in Edom: a deputy was king. <spM
an class="ver">48</span>Jehoshaphat made ships of Tharshish to go to Ophir for gold: but they went not; for the ships were broken at Ezion-geber. <span class="ver">49</span>Then said Ahaziah the son of Ahab unto Jehoshaphat, Let my servants go with thy servants in the ships. But Jehoshaphat would not. </p>
<p><span class="ver">50</span>And Jehoshaphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David his father: and Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">51</sM
pan>Ahaziah the son of Ahab began to reign over Israel in Samaria the seventeenth year of Jehoshaphat king of Judah, and reigned two years over Israel. <span class="ver">52</span>And he did evil in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the way of his father, and in the way of his mother, and in the way of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin: <span class="ver">53</span>For he served Baal, and worshipped him, and provoked to anger the LORD God of Israel, according to all that his father had done. </p>
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<title>CHRONICLES</title>
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<span>THE SECOND BOOK OF THE</span>
<div class="content-table">
<h2>Contents</h2>
<li><a href="#c2">2</a></li>
<li><a href="#c3">3</a></li>
<li><a href="#c4">4</a></li>
<li><a href="#c5">5</a></li>
<li><a href="#c6">6</a></li>
<li><a href="#c7">7</a></li>
<li><a href="#c8">8</a></li>
<li><a href="#c9">9</a></li>
<li><a href="#c10">10</a></li>
<li><a href="#c11">11</a></li>
<li><a href="#c12">12</a></li>
<li><a href="#c13">13</a></li>
<li><a href="#c14">14</a></li>
<li><a href="#c15">15</a></li>
ef="#c16">16</a></li>
<li><a href="#c17">17</a></li>
<li><a href="#c18">18</a></li>
<li><a href="#c19">19</a></li>
<li><a href="#c20">20</a></li>
<li><a href="#c21">21</a></li>
<li><a href="#c22">22</a></li>
<li><a href="#c23">23</a></li>
<li><a href="#c24">24</a></li>
<li><a href="#c25">25</a></li>
<li><a href="#c26">26</a></li>
<li><a href="#c27">27</a></li>
<li><a href="#c28">28</a></li>
<li><a href="#c29">29</a></li>
<li><a href="#c30">30</a>M
<li><a href="#c31">31</a></li>
<li><a href="#c32">32</a></li>
<li><a href="#c33">33</a></li>
<li><a href="#c34">34</a></li>
<li><a href="#c35">35</a></li>
<li><a href="#c36">36</a></li>
<h2 id="c1">Chapter 1</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the LORD his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly. <span class="ver">2</span>Then Solomon spake unto all Israel, to the captains of thousanM
ds and of hundreds, and to the judges, and to every governor in all Israel, the chief of the fathers. <span class="ver">3</span>So Solomon, and all the congregation with him, went to the high place that was at Gibeon; for there was the tabernacle of the congregation of God, which Moses the servant of the LORD had made in the wilderness. <span class="ver">4</span>But the ark of God had David brought up from Kirjath-jearim to the place which David had prepared for it: for he had pitched a tent for it at Jerusalem. <sM
pan class="ver">5</span>Moreover the brasen altar, that Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, had made, he put before the tabernacle of the LORD: and Solomon and the congregation sought unto it. <span class="ver">6</span>And Solomon went up thither to the brasen altar before the LORD, which was at the tabernacle of the congregation, and offered a thousand burnt offerings upon it. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>In that night did God appear unto Solomon, and said unto him, Ask what I shall give thee. <span clM
ass="ver">8</span>And Solomon said unto God, Thou hast shewed great mercy unto David my father, and hast made me to reign in his stead. <span class="ver">9</span>Now, O LORD God, let thy promise unto David my father be established: for thou hast made me king over a people like the dust of the earth in multitude. <span class="ver">10</span>Give me now wisdom and knowledge, that I may go out and come in before this people: for who can judge this thy people, that is so great? <span class="ver">11</span>And God said toM
Solomon, Because this was in thine heart, and thou hast not asked riches, wealth, or honour, nor the life of thine enemies, neither yet hast asked long life; but hast asked wisdom and knowledge for thyself, that thou mayest judge my people, over whom I have made thee king: <span class="ver">12</span>Wisdom and knowledge is granted unto thee; and I will give thee riches, and wealth, and honour, such as none of the kings have had that have been before thee, neither shall there any after thee have the like. </p>
><span class="ver">13</span>Then Solomon came from his journey to the high place that was at Gibeon to Jerusalem, from before the tabernacle of the congregation, and reigned over Israel. <span class="ver">14</span>And Solomon gathered chariots and horsemen: and he had a thousand and four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen, which he placed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. <span class="ver">15</span>And the king made silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar treeM
s made he as the sycomore trees that are in the vale for abundance. <span class="ver">16</span>And Solomon had horses brought out of Egypt, and linen yarn: the king
s merchants received the linen yarn at a price. <span class="ver">17</span>And they fetched up, and brought forth out of Egypt a chariot for six hundred shekels of silver, and an horse for an hundred and fifty: and so brought they out horses for all the kings of the Hittites, and for the kings of Syria, by their means.
<h2 id="c2">Chapter 2</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Solomon determined to build an house for the name of the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. <span class="ver">2</span>And Solomon told out threescore and ten thousand men to bear burdens, and fourscore thousand to hew in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred to oversee them. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>And Solomon sent to Huram the king of Tyre, saying, As thou didst deal with David my father, and didst send him cedars to build him an house to dwell therein, eveM
n so deal with me. <span class="ver">4</span>Behold, I build an house to the name of the LORD my God, to dedicate it to him, and to burn before him sweet incense, and for the continual shewbread, and for the burnt offerings morning and evening, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts of the LORD our God. This is an ordinance for ever to Israel. <span class="ver">5</span>And the house which I build is great: for great is our God above all gods. <span class="ver">6</span>But who is able to buiM
ld him an house, seeing the heaven and heaven of heavens cannot contain him? who am I then, that I should build him an house, save only to burn sacrifice before him? <span class="ver">7</span>Send me now therefore a man cunning to work in gold, and in silver, and in brass, and in iron, and in purple, and crimson, and blue, and that can skill to grave with the cunning men that are with me in Judah and in Jerusalem, whom David my father did provide. <span class="ver">8</span>Send me also cedar trees, fir trees, and aM
lgum trees, out of Lebanon: for I know that thy servants can skill to cut timber in Lebanon; and, behold, my servants shall be with thy servants, <span class="ver">9</span>Even to prepare me timber in abundance: for the house which I am about to build shall be wonderful great. <span class="ver">10</span>And, behold, I will give to thy servants, the hewers that cut timber, twenty thousand measures of beaten wheat, and twenty thousand measures of barley, and twenty thousand baths of wine, and twenty thousand baths ofM
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Then Huram the king of Tyre answered in writing, which he sent to Solomon, Because the LORD hath loved his people, he hath made thee king over them. <span class="ver">12</span>Huram said moreover, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, that made heaven and earth, who hath given to David the king a wise son, endued with prudence and understanding, that might build an house for the LORD, and an house for his kingdom. <span class="ver">13</span>And now I have sent a cunning man, M
endued with understanding, of Huram my father
s, <span class="ver">14</span>The son of a woman of the daughters of Dan, and his father was a man of Tyre, skilful to work in gold, and in silver, in brass, in iron, in stone, and in timber, in purple, in blue, and in fine linen, and in crimson; also to grave any manner of graving, and to find out every device which shall be put to him, with thy cunning men, and with the cunning men of my lord David thy father. <span class="ver">15</span>Now therefore the wheat, and M
the barley, the oil, and the wine, which my lord hath spoken of, let him send unto his servants: <span class="ver">16</span>And we will cut wood out of Lebanon, as much as thou shalt need: and we will bring it to thee in floats by sea to Joppa; and thou shalt carry it up to Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>And Solomon numbered all the strangers that were in the land of Israel, after the numbering wherewith David his father had numbered them; and they were found an hundred and fifty thousand and threeM
thousand and six hundred. <span class="ver">18</span>And he set threescore and ten thousand of them to be bearers of burdens, and fourscore thousand to be hewers in the mountain, and three thousand and six hundred overseers to set the people a work.
<h2 id="c3">Chapter 3</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then Solomon began to build the house of the LORD at Jerusalem in mount Moriah, where the Lord appeared unto David his father, in the place that David had prepared in the threshingfloor of Ornan the JebusiteM
. <span class="ver">2</span>And he began to build in the second day of the second month, in the fourth year of his reign. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>Now these are the things wherein Solomon was instructed for the building of the house of God. The length by cubits after the first measure was threescore cubits, and the breadth twenty cubits. <span class="ver">4</span>And the porch that was in the front of the house, the length of it was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the height wasM
an hundred and twenty: and he overlaid it within with pure gold. <span class="ver">5</span>And the greater house he cieled with fir tree, which he overlaid with fine gold, and set thereon palm trees and chains. <span class="ver">6</span>And he garnished the house with precious stones for beauty: and the gold was gold of Parvaim. <span class="ver">7</span>He overlaid also the house, the beams, the posts, and the walls thereof, and the doors thereof, with gold; and graved cherubims on the walls. <span class="ver">8<M
/span>And he made the most holy house, the length whereof was according to the breadth of the house, twenty cubits, and the breadth thereof twenty cubits: and he overlaid it with fine gold, amounting to six hundred talents. <span class="ver">9</span>And the weight of the nails was fifty shekels of gold. And he overlaid the upper chambers with gold. <span class="ver">10</span>And in the most holy house he made two cherubims of image work, and overlaid them with gold. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And the wingM
s of the cherubims were twenty cubits long: one wing of the one cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was likewise five cubits, reaching to the wing of the other cherub. <span class="ver">12</span>And one wing of the other cherub was five cubits, reaching to the wall of the house: and the other wing was five cubits also, joining to the wing of the other cherub. <span class="ver">13</span>The wings of these cherubims spread themselves forth twenty cubits: and they stood on theM
ir feet, and their faces were inward. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>And he made the vail of blue, and purple, and crimson, and fine linen, and wrought cherubims thereon. <span class="ver">15</span>Also he made before the house two pillars of thirty and five cubits high, and the chapiter that was on the top of each of them was five cubits. <span class="ver">16</span>And he made chains, as in the oracle, and put them on the heads of the pillars; and made an hundred pomegranates, and put them on the chains. <spM
an class="ver">17</span>And he reared up the pillars before the temple, one on the right hand, and the other on the left; and called the name of that on the right hand Jachin, and the name of that on the left Boaz.
<h2 id="c4">Chapter 4</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Moreover he made an altar of brass, twenty cubits the length thereof, and twenty cubits the breadth thereof, and ten cubits the height thereof. </p>
<p><span class="ver">2</span>Also he made a molten sea of ten cubits from brim to brim, rounM
d in compass, and five cubits the height thereof; and a line of thirty cubits did compass it round about. <span class="ver">3</span>And under it was the similitude of oxen, which did compass it round about: ten in a cubit, compassing the sea round about. Two rows of oxen were cast, when it was cast. <span class="ver">4</span>It stood upon twelve oxen, three looking toward the north, and three looking toward the west, and three looking toward the south, and three looking toward the east: and the sea was set above upM
on them, and all their hinder parts were inward. <span class="ver">5</span>And the thickness of it was an handbreadth, and the brim of it like the work of the brim of a cup, with flowers of lilies; and it received and held three thousand baths. </p>
<p><span class="ver">6</span>He made also ten lavers, and put five on the right hand, and five on the left, to wash in them: such things as they offered for the burnt offering they washed in them; but the sea was for the priests to wash in. <span class="ver">7</span>AM
nd he made ten candlesticks of gold according to their form, and set them in the temple, five on the right hand, and five on the left. <span class="ver">8</span>He made also ten tables, and placed them in the temple, five on the right side, and five on the left. And he made an hundred basons of gold. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>Furthermore he made the court of the priests, and the great court, and doors for the court, and overlaid the doors of them with brass. <span class="ver">10</span>And he set the sea oM
n the right side of the east end, over against the south. <span class="ver">11</span>And Huram made the pots, and the shovels, and the basons. And Huram finished the work that he was to make for king Solomon for the house of God; <span class="ver">12</span>To wit, the two pillars, and the pommels, and the chapiters which were on the top of the two pillars, and the two wreaths to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were on the top of the pillars; <span class="ver">13</span>And four hundred pomegranates on tM
he two wreaths; two rows of pomegranates on each wreath, to cover the two pommels of the chapiters which were upon the pillars. <span class="ver">14</span>He made also bases, and lavers made he upon the bases; <span class="ver">15</span>One sea, and twelve oxen under it. <span class="ver">16</span>The pots also, and the shovels, and the fleshhooks, and all their instruments, did Huram his father make to king Solomon for the house of the LORD of bright brass. <span class="ver">17</span>In the plain of Jordan did theM
king cast them, in the clay ground between Succoth and Zeredathah. <span class="ver">18</span>Thus Solomon made all these vessels in great abundance: for the weight of the brass could not be found out. </p>
<p><span class="ver">19</span>And Solomon made all the vessels that were for the house of God, the golden altar also, and the tables whereon the shewbread was set; <span class="ver">20</span>Moreover the candlesticks with their lamps, that they should burn after the manner before the oracle, of pure gold; <spM
an class="ver">21</span>And the flowers, and the lamps, and the tongs, made he of gold, and that perfect gold; <span class="ver">22</span>And the snuffers, and the basons, and the spoons, and the censers, of pure gold: and the entry of the house, the inner doors thereof for the most holy place, and the doors of the house of the temple, were of gold.
<h2 id="c5">Chapter 5</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Thus all the work that Solomon made for the house of the LORD was finished: and Solomon brought in all theM
things that David his father had dedicated; and the silver, and the gold, and all the instruments, put he among the treasures of the house of God. </p>
<p><span class="ver">2</span>Then Solomon assembled the elders of Israel, and all the heads of the tribes, the chief of the fathers of the children of Israel, unto Jerusalem, to bring up the ark of the covenant of the LORD out of the city of David, which is Zion. <span class="ver">3</span>Wherefore all the men of Israel assembled themselves unto the king in the fM
east which was in the seventh month. <span class="ver">4</span>And all the elders of Israel came; and the Levites took up the ark. <span class="ver">5</span>And they brought up the ark, and the tabernacle of the congregation, and all the holy vessels that were in the tabernacle, these did the priests and the Levites bring up. <span class="ver">6</span>Also king Solomon, and all the congregation of Israel that were assembled unto him before the ark, sacrificed sheep and oxen, which could not be told nor numbered forM
multitude. <span class="ver">7</span>And the priests brought in the ark of the covenant of the LORD unto his place, to the oracle of the house, into the most holy place, even under the wings of the cherubims: <span class="ver">8</span>For the cherubims spread forth their wings over the place of the ark, and the cherubims covered the ark and the staves thereof above. <span class="ver">9</span>And they drew out the staves of the ark, that the ends of the staves were seen from the ark before the oracle; but they wereM
not seen without. And there it is unto this day. <span class="ver">10</span>There was nothing in the ark save the two tables which Moses put therein at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of Egypt. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And it came to pass, when the priests were come out of the holy place: (for all the priests that were present were sanctified, and did not then wait by course: <span class="ver">12</span>Also the Levites which were the singers, all of M
them of Asaph, of Heman, of Jeduthun, with their sons and their brethren, being arrayed in white linen, having cymbals and psalteries and harps, stood at the east end of the altar, and with them an hundred and twenty priests sounding with trumpets:) <span class="ver">13</span>It came even to pass, as the trumpeters and singers were as one, to make one sound to be heard in praising and thanking the LORD; and when they lifted up their voice with the trumpets and cymbals and instruments of musick, and praised the LORDM
, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever: that then the house was filled with a cloud, even the house of the LORD; <span class="ver">14</span>So that the priests could not stand to minister by reason of the cloud: for the glory of the LORD had filled the house of God.
<h2 id="c6">Chapter 6</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then said Solomon, The LORD hath said that he would dwell in the thick darkness. <span class="ver">2</span>But I have built an house of habitation for thee, and a place forM
thy dwelling for ever. <span class="ver">3</span>And the king turned his face, and blessed the whole congregation of Israel: and all the congregation of Israel stood. <span class="ver">4</span>And he said, Blessed be the LORD God of Israel, who hath with his hands fulfilled that which he spake with his mouth to my father David, saying, <span class="ver">5</span>Since the day that I brought forth my people out of the land of Egypt I chose no city among all the tribes of Israel to build an house in, that my name migM
ht be there; neither chose I any man to be a ruler over my people Israel: <span class="ver">6</span>But I have chosen Jerusalem, that my name might be there; and have chosen David to be over my people Israel. <span class="ver">7</span>Now it was in the heart of David my father to build an house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">8</span>But the LORD said to David my father, Forasmuch as it was in thine heart to build an house for my name, thou didst well in that it was in thine heart: <span cM
lass="ver">9</span>Notwithstanding thou shalt not build the house; but thy son which shall come forth out of thy loins, he shall build the house for my name. <span class="ver">10</span>The LORD therefore hath performed his word that he hath spoken: for I am risen up in the room of David my father, and am set on the throne of Israel, as the LORD promised, and have built the house for the name of the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">11</span>And in it have I put the ark, wherein is the covenant of the LORD, thatM
he made with the children of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>And he stood before the altar of the LORD in the presence of all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands: <span class="ver">13</span>For Solomon had made a brasen scaffold, of five cubits long, and five cubits broad, and three cubits high, and had set it in the midst of the court: and upon it he stood, and kneeled down upon his knees before all the congregation of Israel, and spread forth his hands toward heaven, <span class="M
ver">14</span>And said, O LORD God of Israel, there is no God like thee in the heaven, nor in the earth; which keepest covenant, and shewest mercy unto thy servants, that walk before thee with all their hearts: <span class="ver">15</span>Thou which hast kept with thy servant David my father that which thou hast promised him; and spakest with thy mouth, and hast fulfilled it with thine hand, as it is this day. <span class="ver">16</span>Now therefore, O LORD God of Israel, keep with thy servant David my father that M
which thou hast promised him, saying, There shall not fail thee a man in my sight to sit upon the throne of Israel; yet so that thy children take heed to their way to walk in my law, as thou hast walked before me. <span class="ver">17</span>Now then, O LORD God of Israel, let thy word be verified, which thou hast spoken unto thy servant David. <span class="ver">18</span>But will God in very deed dwell with men on the earth? behold, heaven and the heaven of heavens cannot contain thee; how much less this house whichM
I have built! <span class="ver">19</span>Have respect therefore to the prayer of thy servant, and to his supplication, O LORD my God, to hearken unto the cry and the prayer which thy servant prayeth before thee: <span class="ver">20</span>That thine eyes may be open upon this house day and night, upon the place whereof thou hast said that thou wouldest put thy name there; to hearken unto the prayer which thy servant prayeth toward this place. <span class="ver">21</span>Hearken therefore unto the supplications of tM
hy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make toward this place: hear thou from thy dwelling place, even from heaven; and when thou hearest, forgive. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>If a man sin against his neighbour, and an oath be laid upon him to make him swear, and the oath come before thine altar in this house; <span class="ver">23</span>Then hear thou from heaven, and do, and judge thy servants, by requiting the wicked, by recompensing his way upon his own head; and by justifying the righteM
ous, by giving him according to his righteousness. </p>
<p><span class="ver">24</span>And if thy people Israel be put to the worse before the enemy, because they have sinned against thee; and shall return and confess thy name, and pray and make supplication before thee in this house; <span class="ver">25</span>Then hear thou from the heavens, and forgive the sin of thy people Israel, and bring them again unto the land which thou gavest to them and to their fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>When the heM
aven is shut up, and there is no rain, because they have sinned against thee; yet if they pray toward this place, and confess thy name, and turn from their sin, when thou dost afflict them; <span class="ver">27</span>Then hear thou from heaven, and forgive the sin of thy servants, and of thy people Israel, when thou hast taught them the good way, wherein they should walk; and send rain upon thy land, which thou hast given unto thy people for an inheritance. </p>
<p><span class="ver">28</span>If there be dearth inM
the land, if there be pestilence, if there be blasting, or mildew, locusts, or caterpillers; if their enemies besiege them in the cities of their land; whatsoever sore or whatsoever sickness there be: <span class="ver">29</span>Then what prayer or what supplication soever shall be made of any man, or of all thy people Israel, when every one shall know his own sore and his own grief, and shall spread forth his hands in this house: <span class="ver">30</span>Then hear thou from heaven thy dwelling place, and forgiveM
, and render unto every man according unto all his ways, whose heart thou knowest; (for thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men:) <span class="ver">31</span>That they may fear thee, to walk in thy ways, so long as they live in the land which thou gavest unto our fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">32</span>Moreover concerning the stranger, which is not of thy people Israel, but is come from a far country for thy great name
s sake, and thy mighty hand, and thy stretched out arm; if they come and pray M
in this house; <span class="ver">33</span>Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling place, and do according to all that the stranger calleth to thee for; that all people of the earth may know thy name, and fear thee, as doth thy people Israel, and may know that this house which I have built is called by thy name. <span class="ver">34</span>If thy people go out to war against their enemies by the way that thou shalt send them, and they pray unto thee toward this city which thou hast chosen, and the houM
se which I have built for thy name; <span class="ver">35</span>Then hear thou from the heavens their prayer and their supplication, and maintain their cause. <span class="ver">36</span>If they sin against thee, (for there is no man which sinneth not,) and thou be angry with them, and deliver them over before their enemies, and they carry them away captives unto a land far off or near; <span class="ver">37</span>Yet if they bethink themselves in the land whither they are carried captive, and turn and pray unto thee M
in the land of their captivity, saying, We have sinned, we have done amiss, and have dealt wickedly; <span class="ver">38</span>If they return to thee with all their heart and with all their soul in the land of their captivity, whither they have carried them captives, and pray toward their land, which thou gavest unto their fathers, and toward the city which thou hast chosen, and toward the house which I have built for thy name: <span class="ver">39</span>Then hear thou from the heavens, even from thy dwelling placM
e, their prayer and their supplications, and maintain their cause, and forgive thy people which have sinned against thee. <span class="ver">40</span>Now, my God, let, I beseech thee, thine eyes be open, and let thine ears be attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. <span class="ver">41</span>Now therefore arise, O LORD God, into thy resting place, thou, and the ark of thy strength: let thy priests, O LORD God, be clothed with salvation, and let thy saints rejoice in goodness. <span class="ver">42</span>O M
LORD God, turn not away the face of thine anointed: remember the mercies of David thy servant.
<h2 id="c7">Chapter 7</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now when Solomon had made an end of praying, the fire came down from heaven, and consumed the burnt offering and the sacrifices; and the glory of the LORD filled the house. <span class="ver">2</span>And the priests could not enter into the house of the LORD, because the glory of the LORD had filled the LORD
s house. <span class="ver">3</span>And when all the M
children of Israel saw how the fire came down, and the glory of the LORD upon the house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the ground upon the pavement, and worshipped, and praised the LORD, saying, For he is good; for his mercy endureth for ever. </p>
<p><span class="ver">4</span>Then the king and all the people offered sacrifices before the LORD. <span class="ver">5</span>And king Solomon offered a sacrifice of twenty and two thousand oxen, and an hundred and twenty thousand sheep: so the king and all tM
he people dedicated the house of God. <span class="ver">6</span>And the priests waited on their offices: the Levites also with instruments of musick of the LORD, which David the king had made to praise the LORD, because his mercy endureth for ever, when David praised by their ministry; and the priests sounded trumpets before them, and all Israel stood. <span class="ver">7</span>Moreover Solomon hallowed the middle of the court that was before the house of the LORD: for there he offered burnt offerings, and the fat M
of the peace offerings, because the brasen altar which Solomon had made was not able to receive the burnt offerings, and the meat offerings, and the fat. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>Also at the same time Solomon kept the feast seven days, and all Israel with him, a very great congregation, from the entering in of Hamath unto the river of Egypt. <span class="ver">9</span>And in the eighth day they made a solemn assembly: for they kept the dedication of the altar seven days, and the feast seven days. <span clM
ass="ver">10</span>And on the three and twentieth day of the seventh month he sent the people away into their tents, glad and merry in heart for the goodness that the LORD had shewed unto David, and to Solomon, and to Israel his people. <span class="ver">11</span>Thus Solomon finished the house of the LORD, and the king
s house: and all that came into Solomon
s heart to make in the house of the LORD, and in his own house, he prosperously effected. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>And the LORD appeared to SoM
lomon by night, and said unto him, I have heard thy prayer, and have chosen this place to myself for an house of sacrifice. <span class="ver">13</span>If I shut up heaven that there be no rain, or if I command the locusts to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among my people; <span class="ver">14</span>If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their lanM
d. <span class="ver">15</span>Now mine eyes shall be open, and mine ears attent unto the prayer that is made in this place. <span class="ver">16</span>For now have I chosen and sanctified this house, that my name may be there for ever: and mine eyes and mine heart shall be there perpetually. <span class="ver">17</span>And as for thee, if thou wilt walk before me, as David thy father walked, and do according to all that I have commanded thee, and shalt observe my statutes and my judgments; <span class="ver">18</spanM
>Then will I stablish the throne of thy kingdom, according as I have covenanted with David thy father, saying, There shall not fail thee a man to be ruler in Israel. <span class="ver">19</span>But if ye turn away, and forsake my statutes and my commandments, which I have set before you, and shall go and serve other gods, and worship them; <span class="ver">20</span>Then will I pluck them up by the roots out of my land which I have given them; and this house, which I have sanctified for my name, will I cast out of mM
y sight, and will make it to be a proverb and a byword among all nations. <span class="ver">21</span>And this house, which is high, shall be an astonishment to every one that passeth by it; so that he shall say, Why hath the LORD done thus unto this land, and unto this house? <span class="ver">22</span>And it shall be answered, Because they forsook the LORD God of their fathers, which brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods, and worshipped them, and served them: therefore hath he brM
ought all this evil upon them.
<h2 id="c8">Chapter 8</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it came to pass at the end of twenty years, wherein Solomon had built the house of the LORD, and his own house, <span class="ver">2</span>That the cities which Huram had restored to Solomon, Solomon built them, and caused the children of Israel to dwell there. <span class="ver">3</span>And Solomon went to Hamath-zobah, and prevailed against it. <span class="ver">4</span>And he built Tadmor in the wilderness, and all theM
store cities, which he built in Hamath. <span class="ver">5</span>Also he built Beth-horon the upper, and Beth-horon the nether, fenced cities, with walls, gates, and bars; <span class="ver">6</span>And Baalath, and all the store cities that Solomon had, and all the chariot cities, and the cities of the horsemen, and all that Solomon desired to build in Jerusalem, and in Lebanon, and throughout all the land of his dominion. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>As for all the people that were left of the Hittites, aM
nd the Amorites, and the Perizzites, and the Hivites, and the Jebusites, which were not of Israel, <span class="ver">8</span>But of their children, who were left after them in the land, whom the children of Israel consumed not, them did Solomon make to pay tribute until this day. <span class="ver">9</span>But of the children of Israel did Solomon make no servants for his work; but they were men of war, and chief of his captains, and captains of his chariots and horsemen. <span class="ver">10</span>And these were thM
e chief of king Solomon
s officers, even two hundred and fifty, that bare rule over the people. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And Solomon brought up the daughter of Pharaoh out of the city of David unto the house that he had built for her: for he said, My wife shall not dwell in the house of David king of Israel, because the places are holy, whereunto the ark of the LORD hath come. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>Then Solomon offered burnt offerings unto the LORD on the altar of the LORD, which he hadM
built before the porch, <span class="ver">13</span>Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>And he appointed, according to the order of David his father, the courses of the priests to their service, and the Levites to their charges, to praise and miM
nister before the priests, as the duty of every day required: the porters also by their courses at every gate: for so had David the man of God commanded. <span class="ver">15</span>And they departed not from the commandment of the king unto the priests and Levites concerning any matter, or concerning the treasures. <span class="ver">16</span>Now all the work of Solomon was prepared unto the day of the foundation of the house of the LORD, and until it was finished. So the house of the LORD was perfected. </p>
span class="ver">17</span>Then went Solomon to Ezion-geber, and to Eloth, at the sea side in the land of Edom. <span class="ver">18</span>And Huram sent him by the hands of his servants ships, and servants that had knowledge of the sea; and they went with the servants of Solomon to Ophir, and took thence four hundred and fifty talents of gold, and brought them to king Solomon.
<h2 id="c9">Chapter 9</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And when the queen of Sheba heard of the fame of Solomon, she came to prove SoM
lomon with hard questions at Jerusalem, with a very great company, and camels that bare spices, and gold in abundance, and precious stones: and when she was come to Solomon, she communed with him of all that was in her heart. <span class="ver">2</span>And Solomon told her all her questions: and there was nothing hid from Solomon which he told her not. <span class="ver">3</span>And when the queen of Sheba had seen the wisdom of Solomon, and the house that he had built, <span class="ver">4</span>And the meat of his tM
able, and the sitting of his servants, and the attendance of his ministers, and their apparel; his cupbearers also, and their apparel; and his ascent by which he went up into the house of the LORD; there was no more spirit in her. <span class="ver">5</span>And she said to the king, It was a true report which I heard in mine own land of thine acts, and of thy wisdom: <span class="ver">6</span>Howbeit I believed not their words, until I came, and mine eyes had seen it: and, behold, the one half of the greatness of thM
y wisdom was not told me: for thou exceedest the fame that I heard. <span class="ver">7</span>Happy are thy men, and happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, and hear thy wisdom. <span class="ver">8</span>Blessed be the LORD thy God, which delighted in thee to set thee on his throne, to be king for the LORD thy God: because thy God loved Israel, to establish them for ever, therefore made he thee king over them, to do judgment and justice. <span class="ver">9</span>And she gave the king an M
hundred and twenty talents of gold, and of spices great abundance, and precious stones: neither was there any such spice as the queen of Sheba gave king Solomon. <span class="ver">10</span>And the servants also of Huram, and the servants of Solomon, which brought gold from Ophir, brought algum trees and precious stones. <span class="ver">11</span>And the king made of the algum trees terraces to the house of the LORD, and to the king
s palace, and harps and psalteries for singers: and there were none such seen befM
ore in the land of Judah. <span class="ver">12</span>And king Solomon gave to the queen of Sheba all her desire, whatsoever she asked, beside that which she had brought unto the king. So she turned, and went away to her own land, she and her servants. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>Now the weight of gold that came to Solomon in one year was six hundred and threescore and six talents of gold; <span class="ver">14</span>Beside that which chapmen and merchants brought. And all the kings of Arabia and governors oM
f the country brought gold and silver to Solomon. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>And king Solomon made two hundred targets of beaten gold: six hundred shekels of beaten gold went to one target. <span class="ver">16</span>And three hundred shields made he of beaten gold: three hundred shekels of gold went to one shield. And the king put them in the house of the forest of Lebanon. <span class="ver">17</span>Moreover the king made a great throne of ivory, and overlaid it with pure gold. <span class="ver">18</spaM
n>And there were six steps to the throne, with a footstool of gold, which were fastened to the throne, and stays on each side of the sitting place, and two lions standing by the stays: <span class="ver">19</span>And twelve lions stood there on the one side and on the other upon the six steps. There was not the like made in any kingdom. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>And all the drinking vessels of king Solomon were of gold, and all the vessels of the house of the forest of Lebanon were of pure gold: none wereM
of silver; it was not any thing accounted of in the days of Solomon. <span class="ver">21</span>For the king
s ships went to Tarshish with the servants of Huram: every three years once came the ships of Tarshish bringing gold, and silver, ivory, and apes, and peacocks. <span class="ver">22</span>And king Solomon passed all the kings of the earth in riches and wisdom. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And all the kings of the earth sought the presence of Solomon, to hear his wisdom, that God had put in his heaM
rt. <span class="ver">24</span>And they brought every man his present, vessels of silver, and vessels of gold, and raiment, harness, and spices, horses, and mules, a rate year by year. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And Solomon had four thousand stalls for horses and chariots, and twelve thousand horsemen; whom he bestowed in the chariot cities, and with the king at Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And he reigned over all the kings from the river even unto the land of the Philistines, and to thM
e border of Egypt. <span class="ver">27</span>And the king made silver in Jerusalem as stones, and cedar trees made he as the sycomore trees that are in the low plains in abundance. <span class="ver">28</span>And they brought unto Solomon horses out of Egypt, and out of all lands. </p>
<p><span class="ver">29</span>Now the rest of the acts of Solomon, first and last, are they not written in the book of Nathan the prophet, and in the prophecy of Ahijah the Shilonite, and in the visions of Iddo the seer against JerM
oboam the son of Nebat? <span class="ver">30</span>And Solomon reigned in Jerusalem over all Israel forty years. <span class="ver">31</span>And Solomon slept with his fathers, and he was buried in the city of David his father: and Rehoboam his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c10">Chapter 10</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Rehoboam went to Shechem: for to Shechem were all Israel come to make him king. <span class="ver">2</span>And it came to pass, when Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who was in Egypt, whithM
er he had fled from the presence of Solomon the king, heard it, that Jeroboam returned out of Egypt. <span class="ver">3</span>And they sent and called him. So Jeroboam and all Israel came and spake to Rehoboam, saying, <span class="ver">4</span>Thy father made our yoke grievous: now therefore ease thou somewhat the grievous servitude of thy father, and his heavy yoke that he put upon us, and we will serve thee. <span class="ver">5</span>And he said unto them, Come again unto me after three days. And the people depM
<p><span class="ver">6</span>And king Rehoboam took counsel with the old men that had stood before Solomon his father while he yet lived, saying, What counsel give ye me to return answer to this people? <span class="ver">7</span>And they spake unto him, saying, If thou be kind to this people, and please them, and speak good words to them, they will be thy servants for ever. <span class="ver">8</span>But he forsook the counsel which the old men gave him, and took counsel with the young men that were brM
ought up with him, that stood before him. <span class="ver">9</span>And he said unto them, What advice give ye that we may return answer to this people, which have spoken to me, saying, Ease somewhat the yoke that thy father did put upon us? <span class="ver">10</span>And the young men that were brought up with him spake unto him, saying, Thus shalt thou answer the people that spake unto thee, saying, Thy father made our yoke heavy, but make thou it somewhat lighter for us; thus shalt thou say unto them, My little M
finger shall be thicker than my father
s loins. <span class="ver">11</span>For whereas my father put a heavy yoke upon you, I will put more to your yoke: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. <span class="ver">12</span>So Jeroboam and all the people came to Rehoboam on the third day, as the king bade, saying, Come again to me on the third day. <span class="ver">13</span>And the king answered them roughly; and king Rehoboam forsook the counsel of the old men, <span class="ver"M
>14</span>And answered them after the advice of the young men, saying, My father made your yoke heavy, but I will add thereto: my father chastised you with whips, but I will chastise you with scorpions. <span class="ver">15</span>So the king hearkened not unto the people: for the cause was of God, that the LORD might perform his word, which he spake by the hand of Ahijah the Shilonite to Jeroboam the son of Nebat. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>And when all Israel saw that the king would not hearken unto theM
m, the people answered the king, saying, What portion have we in David? and we have none inheritance in the son of Jesse: every man to your tents, O Israel: and now, David, see to thine own house. So all Israel went to their tents. <span class="ver">17</span>But as for the children of Israel that dwelt in the cities of Judah, Rehoboam reigned over them. <span class="ver">18</span>Then king Rehoboam sent Hadoram that was over the tribute; and the children of Israel stoned him with stones, that he died. But king RehoM
boam made speed to get him up to his chariot, to flee to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">19</span>And Israel rebelled against the house of David unto this day.
<h2 id="c11">Chapter 11</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And when Rehoboam was come to Jerusalem, he gathered of the house of Judah and Benjamin an hundred and fourscore thousand chosen men, which were warriors, to fight against Israel, that he might bring the kingdom again to Rehoboam. <span class="ver">2</span>But the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah M
the man of God, saying, <span class="ver">3</span>Speak unto Rehoboam the son of Solomon, king of Judah, and to all Israel in Judah and Benjamin, saying, <span class="ver">4</span>Thus saith the LORD, Ye shall not go up, nor fight against your brethren: return every man to his house: for this thing is done of me. And they obeyed the words of the LORD, and returned from going against Jeroboam. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>And Rehoboam dwelt in Jerusalem, and built cities for defence in Judah. <span class="verM
">6</span>He built even Beth-lehem, and Etam, and Tekoa, <span class="ver">7</span>And Beth-zur, and Shoco, and Adullam, <span class="ver">8</span>And Gath, and Mareshah, and Ziph, <span class="ver">9</span>And Adoraim, and Lachish, and Azekah, <span class="ver">10</span>And Zorah, and Aijalon, and Hebron, which are in Judah and in Benjamin fenced cities. <span class="ver">11</span>And he fortified the strong holds, and put captains in them, and store of victual, and of oil and wine. <span class="ver">12</span>And M
in every several city he put shields and spears, and made them exceeding strong, having Judah and Benjamin on his side. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And the priests and the Levites that were in all Israel resorted to him out of all their coasts. <span class="ver">14</span>For the Levites left their suburbs and their possession, and came to Judah and Jerusalem: for Jeroboam and his sons had cast them off from executing the priest
s office unto the LORD: <span class="ver">15</span>And he ordained him priestM
s for the high places, and for the devils, and for the calves which he had made. <span class="ver">16</span>And after them out of all the tribes of Israel such as set their hearts to seek the LORD God of Israel came to Jerusalem, to sacrifice unto the LORD God of their fathers. <span class="ver">17</span>So they strengthened the kingdom of Judah, and made Rehoboam the son of Solomon strong, three years: for three years they walked in the way of David and Solomon. </p>
<p><span class="ver">18</span>And Rehoboam toM
ok him Mahalath the daughter of Jerimoth the son of David to wife, and Abihail the daughter of Eliab the son of Jesse; <span class="ver">19</span>Which bare him children; Jeush, and Shamariah, and Zaham. <span class="ver">20</span>And after her he took Maachah the daughter of Absalom; which bare him Abijah, and Attai, and Ziza, and Shelomith. <span class="ver">21</span>And Rehoboam loved Maachah the daughter of Absalom above all his wives and his concubines: (for he took eighteen wives, and threescore concubines; aM
nd begat twenty and eight sons, and threescore daughters.) <span class="ver">22</span>And Rehoboam made Abijah the son of Maachah the chief, to be ruler among his brethren: for he thought to make him king. <span class="ver">23</span>And he dealt wisely, and dispersed of all his children throughout all the countries of Judah and Benjamin, unto every fenced city: and he gave them victual in abundance. And he desired many wives.
<h2 id="c12">Chapter 12</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And it came to pass, when M
Rehoboam had established the kingdom, and had strengthened himself, he forsook the law of the LORD, and all Israel with him. <span class="ver">2</span>And it came to pass, that in the fifth year of king Rehoboam Shishak king of Egypt came up against Jerusalem, because they had transgressed against the LORD, <span class="ver">3</span>With twelve hundred chariots, and threescore thousand horsemen: and the people were without number that came with him out of Egypt; the Lubims, the Sukkiims, and the Ethiopians. <span cM
lass="ver">4</span>And he took the fenced cities which pertained to Judah, and came to Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>Then came Shemaiah the prophet to Rehoboam, and to the princes of Judah, that were gathered together to Jerusalem because of Shishak, and said unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Ye have forsaken me, and therefore have I also left you in the hand of Shishak. <span class="ver">6</span>Whereupon the princes of Israel and the king humbled themselves; and they said, The LORD is righteous. <sM
pan class="ver">7</span>And when the LORD saw that they humbled themselves, the word of the LORD came to Shemaiah, saying, They have humbled themselves; therefore I will not destroy them, but I will grant them some deliverance; and my wrath shall not be poured out upon Jerusalem by the hand of Shishak. <span class="ver">8</span>Nevertheless they shall be his servants; that they may know my service, and the service of the kingdoms of the countries. <span class="ver">9</span>So Shishak king of Egypt came up against JM
erusalem, and took away the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king
s house; he took all: he carried away also the shields of gold which Solomon had made. <span class="ver">10</span>Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king
s house. <span class="ver">11</span>And when the king entered into the house of the LORD, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guardM
chamber. <span class="ver">12</span>And when he humbled himself, the wrath of the LORD turned from him, that he would not destroy him altogether: and also in Judah things went well. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>So king Rehoboam strengthened himself in Jerusalem, and reigned: for Rehoboam was one and forty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned seventeen years in Jerusalem, the city which the LORD had chosen out of all the tribes of Israel, to put his name there. And his mother
an Ammonitess. <span class="ver">14</span>And he did evil, because he prepared not his heart to seek the LORD. <span class="ver">15</span>Now the acts of Rehoboam, first and last, are they not written in the book of Shemaiah the prophet, and of Iddo the seer concerning genealogies? And there were wars between Rehoboam and Jeroboam continually. <span class="ver">16</span>And Rehoboam slept with his fathers, and was buried in the city of David: and Abijah his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c13">Chapter 13</h2>M
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now in the eighteenth year of king Jeroboam began Abijah to reign over Judah. <span class="ver">2</span>He reigned three years in Jerusalem. His mother
s name also was Michaiah the daughter of Uriel of Gibeah. And there was war between Abijah and Jeroboam. <span class="ver">3</span>And Abijah set the battle in array with an army of valiant men of war, even four hundred thousand chosen men: Jeroboam also set the battle in array against him with eight hundred thousand chosen men, beM
ing mighty men of valour. </p>
<p><span class="ver">4</span>And Abijah stood up upon mount Zemaraim, which is in mount Ephraim, and said, Hear me, thou Jeroboam, and all Israel; <span class="ver">5</span>Ought ye not to know that the LORD God of Israel gave the kingdom over Israel to David for ever, even to him and to his sons by a covenant of salt? <span class="ver">6</span>Yet Jeroboam the son of Nebat, the servant of Solomon the son of David, is risen up, and hath rebelled against his lord. <span class="ver">7M
</span>And there are gathered unto him vain men, the children of Belial, and have strengthened themselves against Rehoboam the son of Solomon, when Rehoboam was young and tenderhearted, and could not withstand them. <span class="ver">8</span>And now ye think to withstand the kingdom of the LORD in the hand of the sons of David; and ye be a great multitude, and there are with you golden calves, which Jeroboam made you for gods. <span class="ver">9</span>Have ye not cast out the priests of the LORD, the sons of AaronM
, and the Levites, and have made you priests after the manner of the nations of other lands? so that whosoever cometh to consecrate himself with a young bullock and seven rams, the same may be a priest of them that are no gods. <span class="ver">10</span>But as for us, the LORD is our God, and we have not forsaken him; and the priests, which minister unto the LORD, are the sons of Aaron, and the Levites wait upon their business: <span class="ver">11</span>And they burn unto the LORD every morning and every evening M
burnt sacrifices and sweet incense: the shewbread also set they in order upon the pure table; and the candlestick of gold with the lamps thereof, to burn every evening: for we keep the charge of the LORD our God; but ye have forsaken him. <span class="ver">12</span>And, behold, God himself is with us for our captain, and his priests with sounding trumpets to cry alarm against you. O children of Israel, fight ye not against the LORD God of your fathers; for ye shall not prosper. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>M
But Jeroboam caused an ambushment to come about behind them: so they were before Judah, and the ambushment was behind them. <span class="ver">14</span>And when Judah looked back, behold, the battle was before and behind: and they cried unto the LORD, and the priests sounded with the trumpets. <span class="ver">15</span>Then the men of Judah gave a shout: and as the men of Judah shouted, it came to pass, that God smote Jeroboam and all Israel before Abijah and Judah. <span class="ver">16</span>And the children of IsM
rael fled before Judah: and God delivered them into their hand. <span class="ver">17</span>And Abijah and his people slew them with a great slaughter: so there fell down slain of Israel five hundred thousand chosen men. <span class="ver">18</span>Thus the children of Israel were brought under at that time, and the children of Judah prevailed, because they relied upon the LORD God of their fathers. <span class="ver">19</span>And Abijah pursued after Jeroboam, and took cities from him, Beth-el with the towns thereof,M
and Jeshanah with the towns thereof, and Ephrain with the towns thereof. <span class="ver">20</span>Neither did Jeroboam recover strength again in the days of Abijah: and the LORD struck him, and he died. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>But Abijah waxed mighty, and married fourteen wives, and begat twenty and two sons, and sixteen daughters. <span class="ver">22</span>And the rest of the acts of Abijah, and his ways, and his sayings, are written in the story of the prophet Iddo.
<h2 id="c14">Chapter 14</h2M
<p><span class="ver">1</span>So Abijah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Asa his son reigned in his stead. In his days the land was quiet ten years. <span class="ver">2</span>And Asa did that which was good and right in the eyes of the LORD his God: <span class="ver">3</span>For he took away the altars of the strange gods, and the high places, and brake down the images, and cut down the groves: <span class="ver">4</span>And commanded Judah to seek the LORD God of their fatheM
rs, and to do the law and the commandment. <span class="ver">5</span>Also he took away out of all the cities of Judah the high places and the images: and the kingdom was quiet before him. </p>
<p><span class="ver">6</span>And he built fenced cities in Judah: for the land had rest, and he had no war in those years; because the LORD had given him rest. <span class="ver">7</span>Therefore he said unto Judah, Let us build these cities, and make about them walls, and towers, gates, and bars, while the land is yet befoM
re us; because we have sought the LORD our God, we have sought him, and he hath given us rest on every side. So they built and prospered. <span class="ver">8</span>And Asa had an army of men that bare targets and spears, out of Judah three hundred thousand; and out of Benjamin, that bare shields and drew bows, two hundred and fourscore thousand: all these were mighty men of valour. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>And there came out against them Zerah the Ethiopian with an host of a thousand thousand, and three M
hundred chariots; and came unto Mareshah. <span class="ver">10</span>Then Asa went out against him, and they set the battle in array in the valley of Zephathah at Mareshah. <span class="ver">11</span>And Asa cried unto the LORD his God, and said, LORD, it is nothing with thee to help, whether with many, or with them that have no power: help us, O LORD our God; for we rest on thee, and in thy name we go against this multitude. O LORD, thou art our God; let not man prevail against thee. <span class="ver">12</span>So M
the LORD smote the Ethiopians before Asa, and before Judah; and the Ethiopians fled. <span class="ver">13</span>And Asa and the people that were with him pursued them unto Gerar: and the Ethiopians were overthrown, that they could not recover themselves; for they were destroyed before the LORD, and before his host; and they carried away very much spoil. <span class="ver">14</span>And they smote all the cities round about Gerar; for the fear of the LORD came upon them: and they spoiled all the cities; for there was M
exceeding much spoil in them. <span class="ver">15</span>They smote also the tents of cattle, and carried away sheep and camels in abundance, and returned to Jerusalem.
<h2 id="c15">Chapter 15</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And the Spirit of God came upon Azariah the son of Oded: <span class="ver">2</span>And he went out to meet Asa, and said unto him, Hear ye me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin; The LORD is with you, while ye be with him; and if ye seek him, he will be found of you; but if ye forsake him,M
he will forsake you. <span class="ver">3</span>Now for a long season Israel hath been without the true God, and without a teaching priest, and without law. <span class="ver">4</span>But when they in their trouble did turn unto the LORD God of Israel, and sought him, he was found of them. <span class="ver">5</span>And in those times there was no peace to him that went out, nor to him that came in, but great vexations were upon all the inhabitants of the countries. <span class="ver">6</span>And nation was destroyed M
of nation, and city of city: for God did vex them with all adversity. <span class="ver">7</span>Be ye strong therefore, and let not your hands be weak: for your work shall be rewarded. <span class="ver">8</span>And when Asa heard these words, and the prophecy of Oded the prophet, he took courage, and put away the abominable idols out of all the land of Judah and Benjamin, and out of the cities which he had taken from mount Ephraim, and renewed the altar of the LORD, that was before the porch of the LORD. <span clasM
s="ver">9</span>And he gathered all Judah and Benjamin, and the strangers with them out of Ephraim and Manasseh, and out of Simeon: for they fell to him out of Israel in abundance, when they saw that the LORD his God was with him. <span class="ver">10</span>So they gathered themselves together at Jerusalem in the third month, in the fifteenth year of the reign of Asa. <span class="ver">11</span>And they offered unto the LORD the same time, of the spoil which they had brought, seven hundred oxen and seven thousand sM
heep. <span class="ver">12</span>And they entered into a covenant to seek the LORD God of their fathers with all their heart and with all their soul; <span class="ver">13</span>That whosoever would not seek the LORD God of Israel should be put to death, whether small or great, whether man or woman. <span class="ver">14</span>And they sware unto the LORD with a loud voice, and with shouting, and with trumpets, and with cornets. <span class="ver">15</span>And all Judah rejoiced at the oath: for they had sworn with alM
l their heart, and sought him with their whole desire; and he was found of them: and the LORD gave them rest round about. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>And also concerning Maachah the mother of Asa the king, he removed her from being queen, because she had made an idol in a grove: and Asa cut down her idol, and stamped it, and burnt it at the brook Kidron. <span class="ver">17</span>But the high places were not taken away out of Israel: nevertheless the heart of Asa was perfect all his days. </p>
class="ver">18</span>And he brought into the house of God the things that his father had dedicated, and that he himself had dedicated, silver, and gold, and vessels. <span class="ver">19</span>And there was no more war unto the five and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa.
<h2 id="c16">Chapter 16</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>In the six and thirtieth year of the reign of Asa Baasha king of Israel came up against Judah, and built Ramah, to the intent that he might let none go out or come in to Asa king of JM
udah. <span class="ver">2</span>Then Asa brought out silver and gold out of the treasures of the house of the LORD and of the king
s house, and sent to Ben-hadad king of Syria, that dwelt at Damascus, saying, <span class="ver">3</span>There is a league between me and thee, as there was between my father and thy father: behold, I have sent thee silver and gold; go, break thy league with Baasha king of Israel, that he may depart from me. <span class="ver">4</span>And Ben-hadad hearkened unto king Asa, and sent the M
captains of his armies against the cities of Israel; and they smote Ijon, and Dan, and Abel-maim, and all the store cities of Naphtali. <span class="ver">5</span>And it came to pass, when Baasha heard it, that he left off building of Ramah, and let his work cease. <span class="ver">6</span>Then Asa the king took all Judah; and they carried away the stones of Ramah, and the timber thereof, wherewith Baasha was building; and he built therewith Geba and Mizpah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>And at that time HanaM
ni the seer came to Asa king of Judah, and said unto him, Because thou hast relied on the king of Syria, and not relied on the LORD thy God, therefore is the host of the king of Syria escaped out of thine hand. <span class="ver">8</span>Were not the Ethiopians and the Lubims a huge host, with very many chariots and horsemen? yet, because thou didst rely on the LORD, he delivered them into thine hand. <span class="ver">9</span>For the eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to shew himself strongM
in the behalf of them whose heart is perfect toward him. Herein thou hast done foolishly: therefore from henceforth thou shalt have wars. <span class="ver">10</span>Then Asa was wroth with the seer, and put him in a prison house; for he was in a rage with him because of this thing. And Asa oppressed some of the people the same time. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And, behold, the acts of Asa, first and last, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. <span class="ver">12</span>And AsaM
in the thirty and ninth year of his reign was diseased in his feet, until his disease was exceeding great: yet in his disease he sought not to the LORD, but to the physicians. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And Asa slept with his fathers, and died in the one and fortieth year of his reign. <span class="ver">14</span>And they buried him in his own sepulchres, which he had made for himself in the city of David, and laid him in the bed which was filled with sweet odours and divers kinds of spices prepared by thM
art: and they made a very great burning for him.
<h2 id="c17">Chapter 17</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Jehoshaphat his son reigned in his stead, and strengthened himself against Israel. <span class="ver">2</span>And he placed forces in all the fenced cities of Judah, and set garrisons in the land of Judah, and in the cities of Ephraim, which Asa his father had taken. <span class="ver">3</span>And the LORD was with Jehoshaphat, because he walked in the first ways of his father David, M
and sought not unto Baalim; <span class="ver">4</span>But sought to the Lord God of his father, and walked in his commandments, and not after the doings of Israel. <span class="ver">5</span>Therefore the LORD stablished the kingdom in his hand; and all Judah brought to Jehoshaphat presents; and he had riches and honour in abundance. <span class="ver">6</span>And his heart was lifted up in the ways of the LORD: moreover he took away the high places and groves out of Judah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>Also iM
n the third year of his reign he sent to his princes, even to Ben-hail, and to Obadiah, and to Zechariah, and to Nethaneel, and to Michaiah, to teach in the cities of Judah. <span class="ver">8</span>And with them he sent Levites, even Shemaiah, and Nethaniah, and Zebadiah, and Asahel, and Shemiramoth, and Jehonathan, and Adonijah, and Tobijah, and Tob-adonijah, Levites; and with them Elishama and Jehoram, priests. <span class="ver">9</span>And they taught in Judah, and had the book of the law of the LORD with themM
, and went about throughout all the cities of Judah, and taught the people. </p>
<p><span class="ver">10</span>And the fear of the LORD fell upon all the kingdoms of the lands that were round about Judah, so that they made no war against Jehoshaphat. <span class="ver">11</span>Also some of the Philistines brought Jehoshaphat presents, and tribute silver; and the Arabians brought him flocks, seven thousand and seven hundred rams, and seven thousand and seven hundred he goats. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>AM
nd Jehoshaphat waxed great exceedingly; and he built in Judah castles, and cities of store. <span class="ver">13</span>And he had much business in the cities of Judah: and the men of war, mighty men of valour, were in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">14</span>And these are the numbers of them according to the house of their fathers: Of Judah, the captains of thousands; Adnah the chief, and with him mighty men of valour three hundred thousand. <span class="ver">15</span>And next to him was Jehohanan the captain, and witM
h him two hundred and fourscore thousand. <span class="ver">16</span>And next him was Amasiah the son of Zichri, who willingly offered himself unto the LORD; and with him two hundred thousand mighty men of valour. <span class="ver">17</span>And of Benjamin; Eliada a mighty man of valour, and with him armed men with bow and shield two hundred thousand. <span class="ver">18</span>And next him was Jehozabad, and with him an hundred and fourscore thousand ready prepared for the war. <span class="ver">19</span>These waiM
ted on the king, beside those whom the king put in the fenced cities throughout all Judah.
<h2 id="c18">Chapter 18</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now Jehoshaphat had riches and honour in abundance, and joined affinity with Ahab. <span class="ver">2</span>And after certain years he went down to Ahab to Samaria. And Ahab killed sheep and oxen for him in abundance, and for the people that he had with him, and persuaded him to go up with him to Ramoth-gilead. <span class="ver">3</span>And Ahab king of Israel sM
aid unto Jehoshaphat king of Judah, Wilt thou go with me to Ramoth-gilead? And he answered him, I am as thou art, and my people as thy people; and we will be with thee in the war. </p>
<p><span class="ver">4</span>And Jehoshaphat said unto the king of Israel, Enquire, I pray thee, at the word of the LORD to day. <span class="ver">5</span>Therefore the king of Israel gathered together of prophets four hundred men, and said unto them, Shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And they said, Go up;M
for God will deliver it into the king
s hand. <span class="ver">6</span>But Jehoshaphat said, Is there not here a prophet of the LORD besides, that we might enquire of him? <span class="ver">7</span>And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, There is yet one man, by whom we may enquire of the LORD: but I hate him; for he never prophesied good unto me, but always evil: the same is Micaiah the son of Imla. And Jehoshaphat said, Let not the king say so. <span class="ver">8</span>And the king of Israel called forM
one of his officers, and said, Fetch quickly Micaiah the son of Imla. <span class="ver">9</span>And the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat king of Judah sat either of them on his throne, clothed in their robes, and they sat in a void place at the entering in of the gate of Samaria; and all the prophets prophesied before them. <span class="ver">10</span>And Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah had made him horns of iron, and said, Thus saith the LORD, With these thou shalt push Syria until they be consumed. <span class="ver">M
11</span>And all the prophets prophesied so, saying, Go up to Ramoth-gilead, and prosper: for the LORD shall deliver it into the hand of the king. <span class="ver">12</span>And the messenger that went to call Micaiah spake to him, saying, Behold, the words of the prophets declare good to the king with one assent; let thy word therefore, I pray thee, be like one of theirs, and speak thou good. <span class="ver">13</span>And Micaiah said, As the LORD liveth, even what my God saith, that will I speak. <span class="veM
r">14</span>And when he was come to the king, the king said unto him, Micaiah, shall we go to Ramoth-gilead to battle, or shall I forbear? And he said, Go ye up, and prosper, and they shall be delivered into your hand. <span class="ver">15</span>And the king said to him, How many times shall I adjure thee that thou say nothing but the truth to me in the name of the LORD? <span class="ver">16</span>Then he said, I did see all Israel scattered upon the mountains, as sheep that have no shepherd: and the LORD said, TheM
se have no master; let them return therefore every man to his house in peace. <span class="ver">17</span>And the king of Israel said to Jehoshaphat, Did I not tell thee that he would not prophesy good unto me, but evil? <span class="ver">18</span>Again he said, Therefore hear the word of the LORD; I saw the LORD sitting upon his throne, and all the host of heaven standing on his right hand and on his left. <span class="ver">19</span>And the LORD said, Who shall entice Ahab king of Israel, that he may go up and fallM
at Ramoth-gilead? And one spake saying after this manner, and another saying after that manner. <span class="ver">20</span>Then there came out a spirit, and stood before the LORD, and said, I will entice him. And the LORD said unto him, Wherewith? <span class="ver">21</span>And he said, I will go out, and be a lying spirit in the mouth of all his prophets. And the Lord said, Thou shalt entice him, and thou shalt also prevail: go out, and do even so. <span class="ver">22</span>Now therefore, behold, the LORD hath pM
ut a lying spirit in the mouth of these thy prophets, and the LORD hath spoken evil against thee. <span class="ver">23</span>Then Zedekiah the son of Chenaanah came near, and smote Micaiah upon the cheek, and said, Which way went the Spirit of the LORD from me to speak unto thee? <span class="ver">24</span>And Micaiah said, Behold, thou shalt see on that day when thou shalt go into an inner chamber to hide thyself. <span class="ver">25</span>Then the king of Israel said, Take ye Micaiah, and carry him back to Amon M
the governor of the city, and to Joash the king
s son; <span class="ver">26</span>And say, Thus saith the king, Put this fellow in the prison, and feed him with bread of affliction and with water of affliction, until I return in peace. <span class="ver">27</span>And Micaiah said, If thou certainly return in peace, then hath not the LORD spoken by me. And he said, Hearken, all ye people. <span class="ver">28</span>So the king of Israel and Jehoshaphat the king of Judah went up to Ramoth-gilead. <span class="ver">2M
9</span>And the king of Israel said unto Jehoshaphat, I will disguise myself, and will go to the battle; but put thou on thy robes. So the king of Israel disguised himself; and they went to the battle. <span class="ver">30</span>Now the king of Syria had commanded the captains of the chariots that were with him, saying, Fight ye not with small or great, save only with the king of Israel. <span class="ver">31</span>And it came to pass, when the captains of the chariots saw Jehoshaphat, that they said, It is the kingM
of Israel. Therefore they compassed about him to fight: but Jehoshaphat cried out, and the LORD helped him; and God moved them to depart from him. <span class="ver">32</span>For it came to pass, that, when the captains of the chariots perceived that it was not the king of Israel, they turned back again from pursuing him. <span class="ver">33</span>And a certain man drew a bow at a venture, and smote the king of Israel between the joints of the harness: therefore he said to his chariot man, Turn thine hand, that thM
ou mayest carry me out of the host; for I am wounded. <span class="ver">34</span>And the battle increased that day: howbeit the king of Israel stayed himself up in his chariot against the Syrians until the even: and about the time of the sun going down he died.
<h2 id="c19">Chapter 19</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Jehoshaphat the king of Judah returned to his house in peace to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">2</span>And Jehu the son of Hanani the seer went out to meet him, and said to king Jehoshaphat, SM
houldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the LORD? therefore is wrath upon thee from before the LORD. <span class="ver">3</span>Nevertheless there are good things found in thee, in that thou hast taken away the groves out of the land, and hast prepared thine heart to seek God. <span class="ver">4</span>And Jehoshaphat dwelt at Jerusalem: and he went out again through the people from Beer-sheba to mount Ephraim, and brought them back unto the LORD God of their fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</sM
pan>And he set judges in the land throughout all the fenced cities of Judah, city by city, <span class="ver">6</span>And said to the judges, Take heed what ye do: for ye judge not for man, but for the LORD, who is with you in the judgment. <span class="ver">7</span>Wherefore now let the fear of the LORD be upon you; take heed and do it: for there is no iniquity with the LORD our God, nor respect of persons, nor taking of gifts. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>Moreover in Jerusalem did Jehoshaphat set of the LevM
ites, and of the priests, and of the chief of the fathers of Israel, for the judgment of the LORD, and for controversies, when they returned to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">9</span>And he charged them, saying, Thus shall ye do in the fear of the LORD, faithfully, and with a perfect heart. <span class="ver">10</span>And what cause soever shall come to you of your brethren that dwell in their cities, between blood and blood, between law and commandment, statutes and judgments, ye shall even warn them that they trespaM
ss not against the LORD, and so wrath come upon you, and upon your brethren: this do, and ye shall not trespass. <span class="ver">11</span>And, behold, Amariah the chief priest is over you in all matters of the LORD; and Zebadiah the son of Ishmael, the ruler of the house of Judah, for all the king
s matters: also the Levites shall be officers before you. Deal courageously, and the LORD shall be with the good.
<h2 id="c20">Chapter 20</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>It came to pass after this also, that tM
he children of Moab, and the children of Ammon, and with them other beside the Ammonites, came against Jehoshaphat to battle. <span class="ver">2</span>Then there came some that told Jehoshaphat, saying, There cometh a great multitude against thee from beyond the sea on this side Syria; and, behold, they be in Hazazon-tamar, which is En-gedi. <span class="ver">3</span>And Jehoshaphat feared, and set himself to seek the LORD, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah. <span class="ver">4</span>And Judah gathered thM
emselves together, to ask help of the LORD: even out of all the cities of Judah they came to seek the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>And Jehoshaphat stood in the congregation of Judah and Jerusalem, in the house of the LORD, before the new court, <span class="ver">6</span>And said, O LORD God of our fathers, art not thou God in heaven? and rulest not thou over all the kingdoms of the heathen? and in thine hand is there not power and might, so that none is able to withstand thee? <span class="ver">7</spanM
>Art not thou our God, who didst drive out the inhabitants of this land before thy people Israel, and gavest it to the seed of Abraham thy friend for ever? <span class="ver">8</span>And they dwelt therein, and have built thee a sanctuary therein for thy name, saying, <span class="ver">9</span>If, when evil cometh upon us, as the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we stand before this house, and in thy presence, (for thy name is in this house,) and cry unto thee in our affliction, then thou wilt hear and helM
p. <span class="ver">10</span>And now, behold, the children of Ammon and Moab and mount Seir, whom thou wouldest not let Israel invade, when they came out of the land of Egypt, but they turned from them, and destroyed them not; <span class="ver">11</span>Behold, I say, how they reward us, to come to cast us out of thy possession, which thou hast given us to inherit. <span class="ver">12</span>O our God, wilt thou not judge them? for we have no might against this great company that cometh against us; neither know weM
what to do: but our eyes are upon thee. <span class="ver">13</span>And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their wives, and their children. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah, the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the congregation; <span class="ver">15</span>And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, ThusM
saith the LORD unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God
s. <span class="ver">16</span>To morrow go ye down against them: behold, they come up by the cliff of Ziz; and ye shall find them at the end of the brook, before the wilderness of Jeruel. <span class="ver">17</span>Ye shall not need to fight in this battle: set yourselves, stand ye still, and see the salvation of the LORD with you, O Judah and Jerusalem: fear not, nor be dismayed; to morrowM
go out against them: for the LORD will be with you. <span class="ver">18</span>And Jehoshaphat bowed his head with his face to the ground: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem fell before the LORD, worshipping the LORD. <span class="ver">19</span>And the Levites, of the children of the Kohathites, and of the children of the Korhites, stood up to praise the LORD God of Israel with a loud voice on high. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>And they rose early in the morning, and went forth into the wildernM
ess of Tekoa: and as they went forth, Jehoshaphat stood and said, Hear me, O Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem; Believe in the LORD your God, so shall ye be established; believe his prophets, so shall ye prosper. <span class="ver">21</span>And when he had consulted with the people, he appointed singers unto the LORD, and that should praise the beauty of holiness, as they went out before the army, and to say, Praise the LORD; for his mercy endureth for ever. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And when they beM
gan to sing and to praise, the LORD set ambushments against the children of Ammon, Moab, and mount Seir, which were come against Judah; and they were smitten. <span class="ver">23</span>For the children of Ammon and Moab stood up against the inhabitants of mount Seir, utterly to slay and destroy them: and when they had made an end of the inhabitants of Seir, every one helped to destroy another. <span class="ver">24</span>And when Judah came toward the watch tower in the wilderness, they looked unto the multitude, aM
nd, behold, they were dead bodies fallen to the earth, and none escaped. <span class="ver">25</span>And when Jehoshaphat and his people came to take away the spoil of them, they found among them in abundance both riches with the dead bodies, and precious jewels, which they stripped off for themselves, more than they could carry away: and they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>And on the fourth day they assembled themselves in the valley of Berachah; for M
there they blessed the LORD: therefore the name of the same place was called, The valley of Berachah, unto this day. <span class="ver">27</span>Then they returned, every man of Judah and Jerusalem, and Jehoshaphat in the forefront of them, to go again to Jerusalem with joy; for the LORD had made them to rejoice over their enemies. <span class="ver">28</span>And they came to Jerusalem with psalteries and harps and trumpets unto the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">29</span>And the fear of God was on all the kingM
doms of those countries, when they had heard that the LORD fought against the enemies of Israel. <span class="ver">30</span>So the realm of Jehoshaphat was quiet: for his God gave him rest round about. </p>
<p><span class="ver">31</span>And Jehoshaphat reigned over Judah: he was thirty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and five years in Jerusalem. And his mother
s name was Azubah the daughter of Shilhi. <span class="ver">32</span>And he walked in the way of Asa his father, and depM
arted not from it, doing that which was right in the sight of the LORD. <span class="ver">33</span>Howbeit the high places were not taken away: for as yet the people had not prepared their hearts unto the God of their fathers. <span class="ver">34</span>Now the rest of the acts of Jehoshaphat, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of Jehu the son of Hanani, who is mentioned in the book of the kings of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">35</span>And after this did Jehoshaphat king of Judah join himseM
lf with Ahaziah king of Israel, who did very wickedly: <span class="ver">36</span>And he joined himself with him to make ships to go to Tarshish: and they made the ships in Ezion-geber. <span class="ver">37</span>Then Eliezer the son of Dodavah of Mareshah prophesied against Jehoshaphat, saying, Because thou hast joined thyself with Ahaziah, the LORD hath broken thy works. And the ships were broken, that they were not able to go to Tarshish.
<h2 id="c21">Chapter 21</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now JehoshM
aphat slept with his fathers, and was buried with his fathers in the city of David. And Jehoram his son reigned in his stead. <span class="ver">2</span>And he had brethren the sons of Jehoshaphat, Azariah, and Jehiel, and Zechariah, and Azariah, and Michael, and Shephatiah: all these were the sons of Jehoshaphat king of Israel. <span class="ver">3</span>And their father gave them great gifts of silver, and of gold, and of precious things, with fenced cities in Judah: but the kingdom gave he to Jehoram; because he wM
as the firstborn. <span class="ver">4</span>Now when Jehoram was risen up to the kingdom of his father, he strengthened himself, and slew all his brethren with the sword, and divers also of the princes of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>Jehoram was thirty and two years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eight years in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">6</span>And he walked in the way of the kings of Israel, like as did the house of Ahab: for he had the daughter of Ahab to wife: and he wrought that whM
ich was evil in the eyes of the LORD. <span class="ver">7</span>Howbeit the LORD would not destroy the house of David, because of the covenant that he had made with David, and as he promised to give a light to him and to his sons for ever. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>In his days the Edomites revolted from under the dominion of Judah, and made themselves a king. <span class="ver">9</span>Then Jehoram went forth with his princes, and all his chariots with him: and he rose up by night, and smote the Edomites wM
hich compassed him in, and the captains of the chariots. <span class="ver">10</span>So the Edomites revolted from under the hand of Judah unto this day. The same time also did Libnah revolt from under his hand; because he had forsaken the LORD God of his fathers. <span class="ver">11</span>Moreover he made high places in the mountains of Judah, and caused the inhabitants of Jerusalem to commit fornication, and compelled Judah thereto. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>And there came a writing to him from Elijah M
the prophet, saying, Thus saith the LORD God of David thy father, Because thou hast not walked in the ways of Jehoshaphat thy father, nor in the ways of Asa king of Judah, <span class="ver">13</span>But hast walked in the way of the kings of Israel, and hast made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to go a whoring, like to the whoredoms of the house of Ahab, and also hast slain thy brethren of thy father
s house, which were better than thyself: <span class="ver">14</span>Behold, with a great plague will the LOM
RD smite thy people, and thy children, and thy wives, and all thy goods: <span class="ver">15</span>And thou shalt have great sickness by disease of thy bowels, until thy bowels fall out by reason of the sickness day by day. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>Moreover the LORD stirred up against Jehoram the spirit of the Philistines, and of the Arabians, that were near the Ethiopians: <span class="ver">17</span>And they came up into Judah, and brake into it, and carried away all the substance that was found in thM
s house, and his sons also, and his wives; so that there was never a son left him, save Jehoahaz, the youngest of his sons. </p>
<p><span class="ver">18</span>And after all this the LORD smote him in his bowels with an incurable disease. <span class="ver">19</span>And it came to pass, that in process of time, after the end of two years, his bowels fell out by reason of his sickness: so he died of sore diseases. And his people made no burning for him, like the burning of his fathers. <span class="ver">20<M
/span>Thirty and two years old was he when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years, and departed without being desired. Howbeit they buried him in the city of David, but not in the sepulchres of the kings.
<h2 id="c22">Chapter 22</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And the inhabitants of Jerusalem made Ahaziah his youngest son king in his stead: for the band of men that came with the Arabians to the camp had slain all the eldest. So Ahaziah the son of Jehoram king of Judah reigned. <span clasM
s="ver">2</span>Forty and two years old was Ahaziah when he began to reign, and he reigned one year in Jerusalem. His mother
s name also was Athaliah the daughter of Omri. <span class="ver">3</span>He also walked in the ways of the house of Ahab: for his mother was his counsellor to do wickedly. <span class="ver">4</span>Wherefore he did evil in the sight of the LORD like the house of Ahab: for they were his counsellors after the death of his father to his destruction. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>He walkeM
d also after their counsel, and went with Jehoram the son of Ahab king of Israel to war against Hazael king of Syria at Ramoth-gilead: and the Syrians smote Joram. <span class="ver">6</span>And he returned to be healed in Jezreel because of the wounds which were given him at Ramah, when he fought with Hazael king of Syria. And Azariah the son of Jehoram king of Judah went down to see Jehoram the son of Ahab at Jezreel, because he was sick. <span class="ver">7</span>And the destruction of Ahaziah was of God by cominM
g to Joram: for when he was come, he went out with Jehoram against Jehu the son of Nimshi, whom the LORD had anointed to cut off the house of Ahab. <span class="ver">8</span>And it came to pass, that, when Jehu was executing judgment upon the house of Ahab, and found the princes of Judah, and the sons of the brethren of Ahaziah, that ministered to Ahaziah, he slew them. <span class="ver">9</span>And he sought Ahaziah: and they caught him, (for he was hid in Samaria,) and brought him to Jehu: and when they had slainM
him, they buried him: Because, said they, he is the son of Jehoshaphat, who sought the LORD with all his heart. So the house of Ahaziah had no power to keep still the kingdom. </p>
<p><span class="ver">10</span>But when Athaliah the mother of Ahaziah saw that her son was dead, she arose and destroyed all the seed royal of the house of Judah. <span class="ver">11</span>But Jehoshabeath, the daughter of the king, took Joash the son of Ahaziah, and stole him from among the king
s sons that were slain, and put himM
and his nurse in a bedchamber. So Jehoshabeath, the daughter of king Jehoram, the wife of Jehoiada the priest, (for she was the sister of Ahaziah,) hid him from Athaliah, so that she slew him not. <span class="ver">12</span>And he was with them hid in the house of God six years: and Athaliah reigned over the land.
<h2 id="c23">Chapter 23</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And in the seventh year Jehoiada strengthened himself, and took the captains of hundreds, Azariah the son of Jeroham, and Ishmael the son oM
f Jehohanan, and Azariah the son of Obed, and Maaseiah the son of Adaiah, and Elishaphat the son of Zichri, into covenant with him. <span class="ver">2</span>And they went about in Judah, and gathered the Levites out of all the cities of Judah, and the chief of the fathers of Israel, and they came to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">3</span>And all the congregation made a covenant with the king in the house of God. And he said unto them, Behold, the king
s son shall reign, as the LORD hath said of the sons of David. M
<span class="ver">4</span>This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you entering on the sabbath, of the priests and of the Levites, shall be porters of the doors; <span class="ver">5</span>And a third part shall be at the king
s house; and a third part at the gate of the foundation: and all the people shall be in the courts of the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">6</span>But let none come into the house of the LORD, save the priests, and they that minister of the Levites; they shall go in, for they M
are holy: but all the people shall keep the watch of the LORD. <span class="ver">7</span>And the Levites shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand; and whosoever else cometh into the house, he shall be put to death: but be ye with the king when he cometh in, and when he goeth out. <span class="ver">8</span>So the Levites and all Judah did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest had commanded, and took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that werM
e to go out on the sabbath: for Jehoiada the priest dismissed not the courses. <span class="ver">9</span>Moreover Jehoiada the priest delivered to the captains of hundreds spears, and bucklers, and shields, that had been king David
s, which were in the house of God. <span class="ver">10</span>And he set all the people, every man having his weapon in his hand, from the right side of the temple to the left side of the temple, along by the altar and the temple, by the king round about. <span class="ver">11</span>TheM
n they brought out the king
s son, and put upon him the crown, and gave him the testimony, and made him king. And Jehoiada and his sons anointed him, and said, God save the king. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>Now when Athaliah heard the noise of the people running and praising the king, she came to the people into the house of the LORD: <span class="ver">13</span>And she looked, and, behold, the king stood at his pillar at the entering in, and the princes and the trumpets by the king: and all the people ofM
the land rejoiced, and sounded with trumpets, also the singers with instruments of musick, and such as taught to sing praise. Then Athaliah rent her clothes, and said, Treason, Treason. <span class="ver">14</span>Then Jehoiada the priest brought out the captains of hundreds that were set over the host, and said unto them, Have her forth of the ranges: and whoso followeth her, let him be slain with the sword. For the priest said, Slay her not in the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">15</span>So they laid hands oM
n her; and when she was come to the entering of the horse gate by the king
s house, they slew her there. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>And Jehoiada made a covenant between him, and between all the people, and between the king, that they should be the LORD
s people. <span class="ver">17</span>Then all the people went to the house of Baal, and brake it down, and brake his altars and his images in pieces, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. <span class="ver">18</span>Also Jehoiada appointeM
d the offices of the house of the LORD by the hand of the priests the Levites, whom David had distributed in the house of the LORD, to offer the burnt offerings of the LORD, as it is written in the law of Moses, with rejoicing and with singing, as it was ordained by David. <span class="ver">19</span>And he set the porters at the gates of the house of the LORD, that none which was unclean in any thing should enter in. <span class="ver">20</span>And he took the captains of hundreds, and the nobles, and the governors M
of the people, and all the people of the land, and brought down the king from the house of the LORD: and they came through the high gate into the king
s house, and set the king upon the throne of the kingdom. <span class="ver">21</span>And all the people of the land rejoiced: and the city was quiet, after that they had slain Athaliah with the sword.
<h2 id="c24">Chapter 24</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Joash was seven years old when he began to reign, and he reigned forty years in Jerusalem. His mother
s name also was Zibiah of Beer-sheba. <span class="ver">2</span>And Joash did that which was right in the sight of the LORD all the days of Jehoiada the priest. <span class="ver">3</span>And Jehoiada took for him two wives; and he begat sons and daughters. </p>
<p><span class="ver">4</span>And it came to pass after this, that Joash was minded to repair the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">5</span>And he gathered together the priests and the Levites, and said to them, Go out unto the cities of Judah, and gatM
her of all Israel money to repair the house of your God from year to year, and see that ye hasten the matter. Howbeit the Levites hastened it not. <span class="ver">6</span>And the king called for Jehoiada the chief, and said unto him, Why hast thou not required of the Levites to bring in out of Judah and out of Jerusalem the collection, according to the commandment of Moses the servant of the LORD, and of the congregation of Israel, for the tabernacle of witness? <span class="ver">7</span>For the sons of Athaliah,M
that wicked woman, had broken up the house of God; and also all the dedicated things of the house of the LORD did they bestow upon Baalim. <span class="ver">8</span>And at the king
s commandment they made a chest, and set it without at the gate of the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">9</span>And they made a proclamation through Judah and Jerusalem, to bring in to the LORD the collection that Moses the servant of God laid upon Israel in the wilderness. <span class="ver">10</span>And all the princes and all thM
e people rejoiced, and brought in, and cast into the chest, until they had made an end. <span class="ver">11</span>Now it came to pass, that at what time the chest was brought unto the king
s office by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king
s scribe and the high priest
s officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to his place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance. <span class="ver">12</span>And the king and Jehoiada gave iM
t to such as did the work of the service of the house of the LORD, and hired masons and carpenters to repair the house of the LORD, and also such as wrought iron and brass to mend the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">13</span>So the workmen wrought, and the work was perfected by them, and they set the house of God in his state, and strengthened it. <span class="ver">14</span>And when they had finished it, they brought the rest of the money before the king and Jehoiada, whereof were made vessels for the house ofM
the LORD, even vessels to minister, and to offer withal, and spoons, and vessels of gold and silver. And they offered burnt offerings in the house of the LORD continually all the days of Jehoiada. </p>
<p><span class="ver">15</span>But Jehoiada waxed old, and was full of days when he died; an hundred and thirty years old was he when he died. <span class="ver">16</span>And they buried him in the city of David among the kings, because he had done good in Israel, both toward God, and toward his house. <span class="M
ver">17</span>Now after the death of Jehoiada came the princes of Judah, and made obeisance to the king. Then the king hearkened unto them. <span class="ver">18</span>And they left the house of the LORD God of their fathers, and served groves and idols: and wrath came upon Judah and Jerusalem for this their trespass. <span class="ver">19</span>Yet he sent prophets to them, to bring them again unto the LORD; and they testified against them: but they would not give ear. <span class="ver">20</span>And the Spirit of GoM
d came upon Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest, which stood above the people, and said unto them, Thus saith God, Why transgress ye the commandments of the LORD, that ye cannot prosper? because ye have forsaken the LORD, he hath also forsaken you. <span class="ver">21</span>And they conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">22</span>Thus Joash the king remembered not the kindness which Jehoiada his father had done M
to him, but slew his son. And when he died, he said, The LORD look upon it, and require it. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And it came to pass at the end of the year, that the host of Syria came up against him: and they came to Judah and Jerusalem, and destroyed all the princes of the people from among the people, and sent all the spoil of them unto the king of Damascus. <span class="ver">24</span>For the army of the Syrians came with a small company of men, and the LORD delivered a very great host into theirM
hand, because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. So they executed judgment against Joash. <span class="ver">25</span>And when they were departed from him, (for they left him in great diseases,) his own servants conspired against him for the blood of the sons of Jehoiada the priest, and slew him on his bed, and he died: and they buried him in the city of David, but they buried him not in the sepulchres of the kings. <span class="ver">26</span>And these are they that conspired against him; Zabad the soM
n of Shimeath an Ammonitess, and Jehozabad the son of Shimrith a Moabitess. </p>
<p><span class="ver">27</span>Now concerning his sons, and the greatness of the burdens laid upon him, and the repairing of the house of God, behold, they are written in the story of the book of the kings. And Amaziah his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c25">Chapter 25</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Amaziah was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned twenty and nine years in Jerusalem. And his mothM
s name was Jehoaddan of Jerusalem. <span class="ver">2</span>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, but not with a perfect heart. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>Now it came to pass, when the kingdom was established to him, that he slew his servants that had killed the king his father. <span class="ver">4</span>But he slew not their children, but did as it is written in the law in the book of Moses, where the LORD commanded, saying, The fathers shall not die for the children, neither shaM
ll the children die for the fathers, but every man shall die for his own sin. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>Moreover Amaziah gathered Judah together, and made them captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, according to the houses of their fathers, throughout all Judah and Benjamin: and he numbered them from twenty years old and above, and found them three hundred thousand choice men, able to go forth to war, that could handle spear and shield. <span class="ver">6</span>He hired also an hundred thouM
sand mighty men of valour out of Israel for an hundred talents of silver. <span class="ver">7</span>But there came a man of God to him, saying, O king, let not the army of Israel go with thee; for the LORD is not with Israel, to wit, with all the children of Ephraim. <span class="ver">8</span>But if thou wilt go, do it, be strong for the battle: God shall make thee fall before the enemy: for God hath power to help, and to cast down. <span class="ver">9</span>And Amaziah said to the man of God, But what shall we do M
for the hundred talents which I have given to the army of Israel? And the man of God answered, The LORD is able to give thee much more than this. <span class="ver">10</span>Then Amaziah separated them, to wit, the army that was come to him out of Ephraim, to go home again: wherefore their anger was greatly kindled against Judah, and they returned home in great anger. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>And Amaziah strengthened himself, and led forth his people, and went to the valley of salt, and smote of the chilM
dren of Seir ten thousand. <span class="ver">12</span>And other ten thousand left alive did the children of Judah carry away captive, and brought them unto the top of the rock, and cast them down from the top of the rock, that they all were broken in pieces. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>But the soldiers of the army which Amaziah sent back, that they should not go with him to battle, fell upon the cities of Judah, from Samaria even unto Beth-horon, and smote three thousand of them, and took much spoil. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>Now it came to pass, after that Amaziah was come from the slaughter of the Edomites, that he brought the gods of the children of Seir, and set them up to be his gods, and bowed down himself before them, and burned incense unto them. <span class="ver">15</span>Wherefore the anger of the LORD was kindled against Amaziah, and he sent unto him a prophet, which said unto him, Why hast thou sought after the gods of the people, which could not deliver their own people out of thine hand? <spM
an class="ver">16</span>And it came to pass, as he talked with him, that the king said unto him, Art thou made of the king
s counsel? forbear; why shouldest thou be smitten? Then the prophet forbare, and said, I know that God hath determined to destroy thee, because thou hast done this, and hast not hearkened unto my counsel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">17</span>Then Amaziah king of Judah took advice, and sent to Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, the son of Jehu, king of Israel, saying, Come, let us see one another in M
the face. <span class="ver">18</span>And Joash king of Israel sent to Amaziah king of Judah, saying, The thistle that was in Lebanon sent to the cedar that was in Lebanon, saying, Give thy daughter to my son to wife: and there passed by a wild beast that was in Lebanon, and trode down the thistle. <span class="ver">19</span>Thou sayest, Lo, thou hast smitten the Edomites; and thine heart lifteth thee up to boast: abide now at home; why shouldest thou meddle to thine hurt, that thou shouldest fall, even thou, and JuM
dah with thee? <span class="ver">20</span>But Amaziah would not hear; for it came of God, that he might deliver them into the hand of their enemies, because they sought after the gods of Edom. <span class="ver">21</span>So Joash the king of Israel went up; and they saw one another in the face, both he and Amaziah king of Judah, at Beth-shemesh, which belongeth to Judah. <span class="ver">22</span>And Judah was put to the worse before Israel, and they fled every man to his tent. <span class="ver">23</span>And Joash M
the king of Israel took Amaziah king of Judah, the son of Joash, the son of Jehoahaz, at Beth-shemesh, and brought him to Jerusalem, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem from the gate of Ephraim to the corner gate, four hundred cubits. <span class="ver">24</span>And he took all the gold and the silver, and all the vessels that were found in the house of God with Obed-edom, and the treasures of the king
s house, the hostages also, and returned to Samaria. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And Amaziah the son ofM
Joash king of Judah lived after the death of Joash son of Jehoahaz king of Israel fifteen years. <span class="ver">26</span>Now the rest of the acts of Amaziah, first and last, behold, are they not written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel? </p>
<p><span class="ver">27</span>Now after the time that Amaziah did turn away from following the LORD they made a conspiracy against him in Jerusalem; and he fled to Lachish: but they sent to Lachish after him, and slew him there. <span class="ver">28</span>And M
they brought him upon horses, and buried him with his fathers in the city of Judah.
<h2 id="c26">Chapter 26</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then all the people of Judah took Uzziah, who was sixteen years old, and made him king in the room of his father Amaziah. <span class="ver">2</span>He built Eloth, and restored it to Judah, after that the king slept with his fathers. <span class="ver">3</span>Sixteen years old was Uzziah when he began to reign, and he reigned fifty and two years in Jerusalem. His motherM
s name also was Jecoliah of Jerusalem. <span class="ver">4</span>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Amaziah did. <span class="ver">5</span>And he sought God in the days of Zechariah, who had understanding in the visions of God: and as long as he sought the LORD, God made him to prosper. <span class="ver">6</span>And he went forth and warred against the Philistines, and brake down the wall of Gath, and the wall of Jabneh, and the wall of Ashdod, and built ciM
ties about Ashdod, and among the Philistines. <span class="ver">7</span>And God helped him against the Philistines, and against the Arabians that dwelt in Gur-baal, and the Mehunims. <span class="ver">8</span>And the Ammonites gave gifts to Uzziah: and his name spread abroad even to the entering in of Egypt; for he strengthened himself exceedingly. <span class="ver">9</span>Moreover Uzziah built towers in Jerusalem at the corner gate, and at the valley gate, and at the turning of the wall, and fortified them. <spanM
class="ver">10</span>Also he built towers in the desert, and digged many wells: for he had much cattle, both in the low country, and in the plains: husbandmen also, and vine dressers in the mountains, and in Carmel: for he loved husbandry. <span class="ver">11</span>Moreover Uzziah had an host of fighting men, that went out to war by bands, according to the number of their account by the hand of Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the ruler, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king
s captains. <span class="ver">12<M
/span>The whole number of the chief of the fathers of the mighty men of valour were two thousand and six hundred. <span class="ver">13</span>And under their hand was an army, three hundred thousand and seven thousand and five hundred, that made war with mighty power, to help the king against the enemy. <span class="ver">14</span>And Uzziah prepared for them throughout all the host shields, and spears, and helmets, and habergeons, and bows, and slings to cast stones. <span class="ver">15</span>And he made in JerusalM
em engines, invented by cunning men, to be on the towers and upon the bulwarks, to shoot arrows and great stones withal. And his name spread far abroad; for he was marvellously helped, till he was strong. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>But when he was strong, his heart was lifted up to his destruction: for he transgressed against the LORD his God, and went into the temple of the LORD to burn incense upon the altar of incense. <span class="ver">17</span>And Azariah the priest went in after him, and with him foM
urscore priests of the LORD, that were valiant men: <span class="ver">18</span>And they withstood Uzziah the king, and said unto him, It appertaineth not unto thee, Uzziah, to burn incense unto the LORD, but to the priests the sons of Aaron, that are consecrated to burn incense: go out of the sanctuary; for thou hast trespassed; neither shall it be for thine honour from the LORD God. <span class="ver">19</span>Then Uzziah was wroth, and had a censer in his hand to burn incense: and while he was wroth with the priesM
ts, the leprosy even rose up in his forehead before the priests in the house of the LORD, from beside the incense altar. <span class="ver">20</span>And Azariah the chief priest, and all the priests, looked upon him, and, behold, he was leprous in his forehead, and they thrust him out from thence; yea, himself hasted also to go out, because the LORD had smitten him. <span class="ver">21</span>And Uzziah the king was a leper unto the day of his death, and dwelt in a several house, being a leper; for he was cut off frM
om the house of the LORD: and Jotham his son was over the king
s house, judging the people of the land. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>Now the rest of the acts of Uzziah, first and last, did Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, write. <span class="ver">23</span>So Uzziah slept with his fathers, and they buried him with his fathers in the field of the burial which belonged to the kings; for they said, He is a leper: and Jotham his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c27">Chapter 27</h2>
<p><span class="vM
er">1</span>Jotham was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. His mother
s name also was Jerushah, the daughter of Zadok. <span class="ver">2</span>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his father Uzziah did: howbeit he entered not into the temple of the LORD. And the people did yet corruptly. <span class="ver">3</span>He built the high gate of the house of the LORD, and on the wall of Ophel he built much. <span class=M
"ver">4</span>Moreover he built cities in the mountains of Judah, and in the forests he built castles and towers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>He fought also with the king of the Ammonites, and prevailed against them. And the children of Ammon gave him the same year an hundred talents of silver, and ten thousand measures of wheat, and ten thousand of barley. So much did the children of Ammon pay unto him, both the second year, and the third. <span class="ver">6</span>So Jotham became mighty, because he prepaM
red his ways before the LORD his God. </p>
<p><span class="ver">7</span>Now the rest of the acts of Jotham, and all his wars, and his ways, lo, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah. <span class="ver">8</span>He was five and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>And Jotham slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city of David: and Ahaz his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c28">Chapter 28</h2>
p><span class="ver">1</span>Ahaz was twenty years old when he began to reign, and he reigned sixteen years in Jerusalem: but he did not that which was right in the sight of the LORD, like David his father: <span class="ver">2</span>For he walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, and made also molten images for Baalim. <span class="ver">3</span>Moreover he burnt incense in the valley of the son of Hinnom, and burnt his children in the fire, after the abominations of the heathen whom the LORD had cast out before thM
e children of Israel. <span class="ver">4</span>He sacrificed also and burnt incense in the high places, and on the hills, and under every green tree. <span class="ver">5</span>Wherefore the LORD his God delivered him into the hand of the king of Syria; and they smote him, and carried away a great multitude of them captives, and brought them to Damascus. And he was also delivered into the hand of the king of Israel, who smote him with a great slaughter. </p>
<p><span class="ver">6</span>For Pekah the son of RemalM
iah slew in Judah an hundred and twenty thousand in one day, which were all valiant men; because they had forsaken the LORD God of their fathers. <span class="ver">7</span>And Zichri, a mighty man of Ephraim, slew Maaseiah the king
s son, and Azrikam the governor of the house, and Elkanah that was next to the king. <span class="ver">8</span>And the children of Israel carried away captive of their brethren two hundred thousand, women, sons, and daughters, and took also away much spoil from them, and brought the spM
oil to Samaria. <span class="ver">9</span>But a prophet of the LORD was there, whose name was Oded: and he went out before the host that came to Samaria, and said unto them, Behold, because the LORD God of your fathers was wroth with Judah, he hath delivered them into your hand, and ye have slain them in a rage that reacheth up unto heaven. <span class="ver">10</span>And now ye purpose to keep under the children of Judah and Jerusalem for bondmen and bondwomen unto you: but are there not with you, even with you, siM
ns against the LORD your God? <span class="ver">11</span>Now hear me therefore, and deliver the captives again, which ye have taken captive of your brethren: for the fierce wrath of the LORD is upon you. <span class="ver">12</span>Then certain of the heads of the children of Ephraim, Azariah the son of Johanan, Berechiah the son of Meshillemoth, and Jehizkiah the son of Shallum, and Amasa the son of Hadlai, stood up against them that came from the war, <span class="ver">13</span>And said unto them, Ye shall not briM
ng in the captives hither: for whereas we have offended against the LORD already, ye intend to add more to our sins and to our trespass: for our trespass is great, and there is fierce wrath against Israel. <span class="ver">14</span>So the armed men left the captives and the spoil before the princes and all the congregation. <span class="ver">15</span>And the men which were expressed by name rose up, and took the captives, and with the spoil clothed all that were naked among them, and arrayed them, and shod them, aM
nd gave them to eat and to drink, and anointed them, and carried all the feeble of them upon asses, and brought them to Jericho, the city of palm trees, to their brethren: then they returned to Samaria. </p>
<p><span class="ver">16</span>At that time did king Ahaz send unto the kings of Assyria to help him. <span class="ver">17</span>For again the Edomites had come and smitten Judah, and carried away captives. <span class="ver">18</span>The Philistines also had invaded the cities of the low country, and of the soM
uth of Judah, and had taken Beth-shemesh, and Ajalon, and Gederoth, and Shocho with the villages thereof, and Timnah with the villages thereof, Gimzo also and the villages thereof: and they dwelt there. <span class="ver">19</span>For the LORD brought Judah low because of Ahaz king of Israel; for he made Judah naked, and transgressed sore against the LORD. <span class="ver">20</span>And Tilgath-pilneser king of Assyria came unto him, and distressed him, but strengthened him not. <span class="ver">21</span>For Ahaz tM
ook away a portion out of the house of the LORD, and out of the house of the king, and of the princes, and gave it unto the king of Assyria: but he helped him not. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>And in the time of his distress did he trespass yet more against the LORD: this is that king Ahaz. <span class="ver">23</span>For he sacrificed unto the gods of Damascus, which smote him: and he said, Because the gods of the kings of Syria help them, therefore will I sacrifice to them, that they may help me. But they M
were the ruin of him, and of all Israel. <span class="ver">24</span>And Ahaz gathered together the vessels of the house of God, and cut in pieces the vessels of the house of God, and shut up the doors of the house of the LORD, and he made him altars in every corner of Jerusalem. <span class="ver">25</span>And in every several city of Judah he made high places to burn incense unto other gods, and provoked to anger the LORD God of his fathers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">26</span>Now the rest of his acts and of all hM
is ways, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. <span class="ver">27</span>And Ahaz slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the city, even in Jerusalem: but they brought him not into the sepulchres of the kings of Israel: and Hezekiah his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c29">Chapter 29</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Hezekiah began to reign when he was five and twenty years old, and he reigned nine and twenty years in Jerusalem. And his mother
e was Abijah, the daughter of Zechariah. <span class="ver">2</span>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, according to all that David his father had done. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>He in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the LORD, and repaired them. <span class="ver">4</span>And he brought in the priests and the Levites, and gathered them together into the east street, <span class="ver">5</span>And said unto them, Hear me, ye Levites, sancM
tify now yourselves, and sanctify the house of the LORD God of your fathers, and carry forth the filthiness out of the holy place. <span class="ver">6</span>For our fathers have trespassed, and done that which was evil in the eyes of the LORD our God, and have forsaken him, and have turned away their faces from the habitation of the LORD, and turned their backs. <span class="ver">7</span>Also they have shut up the doors of the porch, and put out the lamps, and have not burned incense nor offered burnt offerings in M
the holy place unto the God of Israel. <span class="ver">8</span>Wherefore the wrath of the LORD was upon Judah and Jerusalem, and he hath delivered them to trouble, to astonishment, and to hissing, as ye see with your eyes. <span class="ver">9</span>For, lo, our fathers have fallen by the sword, and our sons and our daughters and our wives are in captivity for this. <span class="ver">10</span>Now it is in mine heart to make a covenant with the LORD God of Israel, that his fierce wrath may turn away from us. <span M
class="ver">11</span>My sons, be not now negligent: for the LORD hath chosen you to stand before him, to serve him, and that ye should minister unto him, and burn incense. </p>
<p><span class="ver">12</span>Then the Levites arose, Mahath the son of Amasai, and Joel the son of Azariah, of the sons of the Kohathites: and of the sons of Merari, Kish the son of Abdi, and Azariah the son of Jehalelel: and of the Gershonites; Joah the son of Zimmah, and Eden the son of Joah: <span class="ver">13</span>And of the sons oM
f Elizaphan; Shimri, and Jeiel: and of the sons of Asaph; Zechariah, and Mattaniah: <span class="ver">14</span>And of the sons of Heman; Jehiel, and Shimei: and of the sons of Jeduthun; Shemaiah, and Uzziel. <span class="ver">15</span>And they gathered their brethren, and sanctified themselves, and came, according to the commandment of the king, by the words of the LORD, to cleanse the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">16</span>And the priests went into the inner part of the house of the LORD, to cleanse it, andM
brought out all the uncleanness that they found in the temple of the LORD into the court of the house of the LORD. And the Levites took it, to carry it out abroad into the brook Kidron. <span class="ver">17</span>Now they began on the first day of the first month to sanctify, and on the eighth day of the month came they to the porch of the LORD: so they sanctified the house of the LORD in eight days; and in the sixteenth day of the first month they made an end. <span class="ver">18</span>Then they went in to HezekM
iah the king, and said, We have cleansed all the house of the LORD, and the altar of burnt offering, with all the vessels thereof, and the shewbread table, with all the vessels thereof. <span class="ver">19</span>Moreover all the vessels, which king Ahaz in his reign did cast away in his transgression, have we prepared and sanctified, and, behold, they are before the altar of the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>Then Hezekiah the king rose early, and gathered the rulers of the city, and went up to the houM
se of the LORD. <span class="ver">21</span>And they brought seven bullocks, and seven rams, and seven lambs, and seven he goats, for a sin offering for the kingdom, and for the sanctuary, and for Judah. And he commanded the priests the sons of Aaron to offer them on the altar of the LORD. <span class="ver">22</span>So they killed the bullocks, and the priests received the blood, and sprinkled it on the altar: likewise, when they had killed the rams, they sprinkled the blood upon the altar: they killed also the lambM
s, and they sprinkled the blood upon the altar. <span class="ver">23</span>And they brought forth the he goats for the sin offering before the king and the congregation; and they laid their hands upon them: <span class="ver">24</span>And the priests killed them, and they made reconciliation with their blood upon the altar, to make an atonement for all Israel: for the king commanded that the burnt offering and the sin offering should be made for all Israel. <span class="ver">25</span>And he set the Levites in the hoM
use of the LORD with cymbals, with psalteries, and with harps, according to the commandment of David, and of Gad the king
s seer, and Nathan the prophet: for so was the commandment of the LORD by his prophets. <span class="ver">26</span>And the Levites stood with the instruments of David, and the priests with the trumpets. <span class="ver">27</span>And Hezekiah commanded to offer the burnt offering upon the altar. And when the burnt offering began, the song of the LORD began also with the trumpets, and with the M
instruments ordained by David king of Israel. <span class="ver">28</span>And all the congregation worshipped, and the singers sang, and the trumpeters sounded: and all this continued until the burnt offering was finished. <span class="ver">29</span>And when they had made an end of offering, the king and all that were present with him bowed themselves, and worshipped. <span class="ver">30</span>Moreover Hezekiah the king and the princes commanded the Levites to sing praise unto the LORD with the words of David, and M
of Asaph the seer. And they sang praises with gladness, and they bowed their heads and worshipped. <span class="ver">31</span>Then Hezekiah answered and said, Now ye have consecrated yourselves unto the LORD, come near and bring sacrifices and thank offerings into the house of the LORD. And the congregation brought in sacrifices and thank offerings; and as many as were of a free heart burnt offerings. <span class="ver">32</span>And the number of the burnt offerings, which the congregation brought, was threescore anM
d ten bullocks, an hundred rams, and two hundred lambs: all these were for a burnt offering to the LORD. <span class="ver">33</span>And the consecrated things were six hundred oxen and three thousand sheep. <span class="ver">34</span>But the priests were too few, so that they could not flay all the burnt offerings: wherefore their brethren the Levites did help them, till the work was ended, and until the other priests had sanctified themselves: for the Levites were more upright in heart to sanctify themselves than M
the priests. <span class="ver">35</span>And also the burnt offerings were in abundance, with the fat of the peace offerings, and the drink offerings for every burnt offering. So the service of the house of the LORD was set in order. <span class="ver">36</span>And Hezekiah rejoiced, and all the people, that God had prepared the people: for the thing was done suddenly.
<h2 id="c30">Chapter 30</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>And Hezekiah sent to all Israel and Judah, and wrote letters also to Ephraim and ManasM
seh, that they should come to the house of the LORD at Jerusalem, to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">2</span>For the king had taken counsel, and his princes, and all the congregation in Jerusalem, to keep the passover in the second month. <span class="ver">3</span>For they could not keep it at that time, because the priests had not sanctified themselves sufficiently, neither had the people gathered themselves together to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">4</span>And the thing pleased theM
king and all the congregation. <span class="ver">5</span>So they established a decree to make proclamation throughout all Israel, from Beer-sheba even to Dan, that they should come to keep the passover unto the LORD God of Israel at Jerusalem: for they had not done it of a long time in such sort as it was written. <span class="ver">6</span>So the posts went with the letters from the king and his princes throughout all Israel and Judah, and according to the commandment of the king, saying, Ye children of Israel, tuM
rn again unto the LORD God of Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, and he will return to the remnant of you, that are escaped out of the hand of the kings of Assyria. <span class="ver">7</span>And be not ye like your fathers, and like your brethren, which trespassed against the LORD God of their fathers, who therefore gave them up to desolation, as ye see. <span class="ver">8</span>Now be ye not stiffnecked, as your fathers were, but yield yourselves unto the LORD, and enter into his sanctuary, which he hath sanctified for M
ever: and serve the LORD your God, that the fierceness of his wrath may turn away from you. <span class="ver">9</span>For if ye turn again unto the LORD, your brethren and your children shall find compassion before them that lead them captive, so that they shall come again into this land: for the LORD your God is gracious and merciful, and will not turn away his face from you, if ye return unto him. <span class="ver">10</span>So the posts passed from city to city through the country of Ephraim and Manasseh even untM
o Zebulun: but they laughed them to scorn, and mocked them. <span class="ver">11</span>Nevertheless divers of Asher and Manasseh and of Zebulun humbled themselves, and came to Jerusalem. <span class="ver">12</span>Also in Judah the hand of God was to give them one heart to do the commandment of the king and of the princes, by the word of the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">13</span>And there assembled at Jerusalem much people to keep the feast of unleavened bread in the second month, a very great congregation. <sM
pan class="ver">14</span>And they arose and took away the altars that were in Jerusalem, and all the altars for incense took they away, and cast them into the brook Kidron. <span class="ver">15</span>Then they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the second month: and the priests and the Levites were ashamed, and sanctified themselves, and brought in the burnt offerings into the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">16</span>And they stood in their place after their manner, according to the law of Moses the M
man of God: the priests sprinkled the blood, which they received of the hand of the Levites. <span class="ver">17</span>For there were many in the congregation that were not sanctified: therefore the Levites had the charge of the killing of the passovers for every one that was not clean, to sanctify them unto the LORD. <span class="ver">18</span>For a multitude of the people, even many of Ephraim, and Manasseh, Issachar, and Zebulun, had not cleansed themselves, yet did they eat the passover otherwise than it was wM
ritten. But Hezekiah prayed for them, saying, The good LORD pardon every one <span class="ver">19</span>That prepareth his heart to seek God, the LORD God of his fathers, though he be not cleansed according to the purification of the sanctuary. <span class="ver">20</span>And the LORD hearkened to Hezekiah, and healed the people. <span class="ver">21</span>And the children of Israel that were present at Jerusalem kept the feast of unleavened bread seven days with great gladness: and the Levites and the priests praisM
ed the LORD day by day, singing with loud instruments unto the LORD. <span class="ver">22</span>And Hezekiah spake comfortably unto all the Levites that taught the good knowledge of the LORD: and they did eat throughout the feast seven days, offering peace offerings, and making confession to the LORD God of their fathers. <span class="ver">23</span>And the whole assembly took counsel to keep other seven days: and they kept other seven days with gladness. <span class="ver">24</span>For Hezekiah king of Judah did givM
e to the congregation a thousand bullocks and seven thousand sheep; and the princes gave to the congregation a thousand bullocks and ten thousand sheep: and a great number of priests sanctified themselves. <span class="ver">25</span>And all the congregation of Judah, with the priests and the Levites, and all the congregation that came out of Israel, and the strangers that came out of the land of Israel, and that dwelt in Judah, rejoiced. <span class="ver">26</span>So there was great joy in Jerusalem: for since the M
time of Solomon the son of David king of Israel there was not the like in Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">27</span>Then the priests the Levites arose and blessed the people: and their voice was heard, and their prayer came up to his holy dwelling place, even unto heaven.
<h2 id="c31">Chapter 31</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Now when all this was finished, all Israel that were present went out to the cities of Judah, and brake the images in pieces, and cut down the groves, and threw down the high plM
aces and the altars out of all Judah and Benjamin, in Ephraim also and Manasseh, until they had utterly destroyed them all. Then all the children of Israel returned, every man to his possession, into their own cities. </p>
<p><span class="ver">2</span>And Hezekiah appointed the courses of the priests and the Levites after their courses, every man according to his service, the priests and Levites for burnt offerings and for peace offerings, to minister, and to give thanks, and to praise in the gates of the tents oM
f the LORD. <span class="ver">3</span>He appointed also the king
s portion of his substance for the burnt offerings, to wit, for the morning and evening burnt offerings, and the burnt offerings for the sabbaths, and for the new moons, and for the set feasts, as it is written in the law of the LORD. <span class="ver">4</span>Moreover he commanded the people that dwelt in Jerusalem to give the portion of the priests and the Levites, that they might be encouraged in the law of the LORD. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5M
</span>And as soon as the commandment came abroad, the children of Israel brought in abundance the firstfruits of corn, wine, and oil, and honey, and of all the increase of the field; and the tithe of all things brought they in abundantly. <span class="ver">6</span>And concerning the children of Israel and Judah, that dwelt in the cities of Judah, they also brought in the tithe of oxen and sheep, and the tithe of holy things which were consecrated unto the LORD their God, and laid them by heaps. <span class="ver">7M
</span>In the third month they began to lay the foundation of the heaps, and finished them in the seventh month. <span class="ver">8</span>And when Hezekiah and the princes came and saw the heaps, they blessed the LORD, and his people Israel. <span class="ver">9</span>Then Hezekiah questioned with the priests and the Levites concerning the heaps. <span class="ver">10</span>And Azariah the chief priest of the house of Zadok answered him, and said, Since the people began to bring the offerings into the house of the LM
ORD, we have had enough to eat, and have left plenty: for the LORD hath blessed his people; and that which is left is this great store. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Then Hezekiah commanded to prepare chambers in the house of the LORD; and they prepared them, <span class="ver">12</span>And brought in the offerings and the tithes and the dedicated things faithfully: over which Cononiah the Levite was ruler, and Shimei his brother was the next. <span class="ver">13</span>And Jehiel, and Azaziah, and Nahath, anM
d Asahel, and Jerimoth, and Jozabad, and Eliel, and Ismachiah, and Mahath, and Benaiah, were overseers under the hand of Cononiah and Shimei his brother, at the commandment of Hezekiah the king, and Azariah the ruler of the house of God. <span class="ver">14</span>And Kore the son of Imnah the Levite, the porter toward the east, was over the freewill offerings of God, to distribute the oblations of the LORD, and the most holy things. <span class="ver">15</span>And next him were Eden, and Miniamin, and Jeshua, and SM
hemaiah, Amariah, and Shecaniah, in the cities of the priests, in their set office, to give to their brethren by courses, as well to the great as to the small: <span class="ver">16</span>Beside their genealogy of males, from three years old and upward, even unto every one that entereth into the house of the LORD, his daily portion for their service in their charges according to their courses; <span class="ver">17</span>Both to the genealogy of the priests by the house of their fathers, and the Levites from twenty yM
ears old and upward, in their charges by their courses; <span class="ver">18</span>And to the genealogy of all their little ones, their wives, and their sons, and their daughters, through all the congregation: for in their set office they sanctified themselves in holiness: <span class="ver">19</span>Also of the sons of Aaron the priests, which were in the fields of the suburbs of their cities, in every several city, the men that were expressed by name, to give portions to all the males among the priests, and to allM
that were reckoned by genealogies among the Levites. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>And thus did Hezekiah throughout all Judah, and wrought that which was good and right and truth before the LORD his God. <span class="ver">21</span>And in every work that he began in the service of the house of God, and in the law, and in the commandments, to seek his God, he did it with all his heart, and prospered.
<h2 id="c32">Chapter 32</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>After these things, and the establishment therM
eof, Sennacherib king of Assyria came, and entered into Judah, and encamped against the fenced cities, and thought to win them for himself. <span class="ver">2</span>And when Hezekiah saw that Sennacherib was come, and that he was purposed to fight against Jerusalem, <span class="ver">3</span>He took counsel with his princes and his mighty men to stop the waters of the fountains which were without the city: and they did help him. <span class="ver">4</span>So there was gathered much people together, who stopped all M
the fountains, and the brook that ran through the midst of the land, saying, Why should the kings of Assyria come, and find much water? <span class="ver">5</span>Also he strengthened himself, and built up all the wall that was broken, and raised it up to the towers, and another wall without, and repaired Millo in the city of David, and made darts and shields in abundance. <span class="ver">6</span>And he set captains of war over the people, and gathered them together to him in the street of the gate of the city, anM
d spake comfortably to them, saying, <span class="ver">7</span>Be strong and courageous, be not afraid nor dismayed for the king of Assyria, nor for all the multitude that is with him: for there be more with us than with him: <span class="ver">8</span>With him is an arm of flesh; but with us is the LORD our God to help us, and to fight our battles. And the people rested themselves upon the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>After this did Sennacherib king of Assyria send his servanM
ts to Jerusalem, (but he himself laid siege against Lachish, and all his power with him,) unto Hezekiah king of Judah, and unto all Judah that were at Jerusalem, saying, <span class="ver">10</span>Thus saith Sennacherib king of Assyria, Whereon do ye trust, that ye abide in the siege in Jerusalem? <span class="ver">11</span>Doth not Hezekiah persuade you to give over yourselves to die by famine and by thirst, saying, The LORD our God shall deliver us out of the hand of the king of Assyria? <span class="ver">12</spaM
n>Hath not the same Hezekiah taken away his high places and his altars, and commanded Judah and Jerusalem, saying, Ye shall worship before one altar, and burn incense upon it? <span class="ver">13</span>Know ye not what I and my fathers have done unto all the people of other lands? were the gods of the nations of those lands any ways able to deliver their lands out of mine hand? <span class="ver">14</span>Who was there among all the gods of those nations that my fathers utterly destroyed, that could deliver his peoM
ple out of mine hand, that your God should be able to deliver you out of mine hand? <span class="ver">15</span>Now therefore let not Hezekiah deceive you, nor persuade you on this manner, neither yet believe him: for no god of any nation or kingdom was able to deliver his people out of mine hand, and out of the hand of my fathers: how much less shall your God deliver you out of mine hand? <span class="ver">16</span>And his servants spake yet more against the LORD God, and against his servant Hezekiah. <span class="M
ver">17</span>He wrote also letters to rail on the LORD God of Israel, and to speak against him, saying, As the gods of the nations of other lands have not delivered their people out of mine hand, so shall not the God of Hezekiah deliver his people out of mine hand. <span class="ver">18</span>Then they cried with a loud voice in the Jews
speech unto the people of Jerusalem that were on the wall, to affright them, and to trouble them; that they might take the city. <span class="ver">19</span>And they spake againsM
t the God of Jerusalem, as against the gods of the people of the earth, which were the work of the hands of man. <span class="ver">20</span>And for this cause Hezekiah the king, and the prophet Isaiah the son of Amoz, prayed and cried to heaven. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>And the LORD sent an angel, which cut off all the mighty men of valour, and the leaders and captains in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he was come into the house of his god, tM
hey that came forth of his own bowels slew him there with the sword. <span class="ver">22</span>Thus the LORD saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib the king of Assyria, and from the hand of all other, and guided them on every side. <span class="ver">23</span>And many brought gifts unto the LORD to Jerusalem, and presents to Hezekiah king of Judah: so that he was magnified in the sight of all nations from thenceforth. </p>
<p><span class="ver">24</span>In those days Hezekiah M
was sick to the death, and prayed unto the LORD: and he spake unto him, and he gave him a sign. <span class="ver">25</span>But Hezekiah rendered not again according to the benefit done unto him; for his heart was lifted up: therefore there was wrath upon him, and upon Judah and Jerusalem. <span class="ver">26</span>Notwithstanding Hezekiah humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the LORD came not upon them in the days of Hezekiah. </p>
ass="ver">27</span>And Hezekiah had exceeding much riches and honour: and he made himself treasuries for silver, and for gold, and for precious stones, and for spices, and for shields, and for all manner of pleasant jewels; <span class="ver">28</span>Storehouses also for the increase of corn, and wine, and oil; and stalls for all manner of beasts, and cotes for flocks. <span class="ver">29</span>Moreover he provided him cities, and possessions of flocks and herds in abundance: for God had given him substance very mM
uch. <span class="ver">30</span>This same Hezekiah also stopped the upper watercourse of Gihon, and brought it straight down to the west side of the city of David. And Hezekiah prospered in all his works. </p>
<p><span class="ver">31</span>Howbeit in the business of the ambassadors of the princes of Babylon, who sent unto him to enquire of the wonder that was done in the land, God left him, to try him, that he might know all that was in his heart. </p>
<p><span class="ver">32</span>Now the rest of the acts of HM
ezekiah, and his goodness, behold, they are written in the vision of Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, and in the book of the kings of Judah and Israel. <span class="ver">33</span>And Hezekiah slept with his fathers, and they buried him in the chiefest of the sepulchres of the sons of David: and all Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem did him honour at his death. And Manasseh his son reigned in his stead.
<h2 id="c33">Chapter 33</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Manasseh was twelve years old when he begM
an to reign, and he reigned fifty and five years in Jerusalem: <span class="ver">2</span>But did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, like unto the abominations of the heathen, whom the LORD had cast out before the children of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>For he built again the high places which Hezekiah his father had broken down, and he reared up altars for Baalim, and made groves, and worshipped all the host of heaven, and served them. <span class="ver">4</span>Also he built altars in theM
house of the LORD, whereof the LORD had said, In Jerusalem shall my name be for ever. <span class="ver">5</span>And he built altars for all the host of heaven in the two courts of the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">6</span>And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger. <span clasM
s="ver">7</span>And he set a carved image, the idol which he had made, in the house of God, of which God had said to David and to Solomon his son, In this house, and in Jerusalem, which I have chosen before all the tribes of Israel, will I put my name for ever: <span class="ver">8</span>Neither will I any more remove the foot of Israel from out of the land which I have appointed for your fathers; so that they will take heed to do all that I have commanded them, according to the whole law and the statutes and the orM
dinances by the hand of Moses. <span class="ver">9</span>So Manasseh made Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem to err, and to do worse than the heathen, whom the LORD had destroyed before the children of Israel. <span class="ver">10</span>And the LORD spake to Manasseh, and to his people: but they would not hearken. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Wherefore the LORD brought upon them the captains of the host of the king of Assyria, which took Manasseh among the thorns, and bound him with fetters, and carriedM
him to Babylon. <span class="ver">12</span>And when he was in affliction, he besought the LORD his God, and humbled himself greatly before the God of his fathers, <span class="ver">13</span>And prayed unto him: and he was intreated of him, and heard his supplication, and brought him again to Jerusalem into his kingdom. Then Manasseh knew that the LORD he was God. <span class="ver">14</span>Now after this he built a wall without the city of David, on the west side of Gihon, in the valley, even to the entering in atM
the fish gate, and compassed about Ophel, and raised it up a very great height, and put captains of war in all the fenced cities of Judah. <span class="ver">15</span>And he took away the strange gods, and the idol out of the house of the LORD, and all the altars that he had built in the mount of the house of the LORD, and in Jerusalem, and cast them out of the city. <span class="ver">16</span>And he repaired the altar of the LORD, and sacrificed thereon peace offerings and thank offerings, and commanded Judah to sM
erve the LORD God of Israel. <span class="ver">17</span>Nevertheless the people did sacrifice still in the high places, yet unto the LORD their God only. </p>
<p><span class="ver">18</span>Now the rest of the acts of Manasseh, and his prayer unto his God, and the words of the seers that spake to him in the name of the LORD God of Israel, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel. <span class="ver">19</span>His prayer also, and how God was intreated of him, and all his sin, and his trespass, and M
the places wherein he built high places, and set up groves and graven images, before he was humbled: behold, they are written among the sayings of the seers. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>So Manasseh slept with his fathers, and they buried him in his own house: and Amon his son reigned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">21</span>Amon was two and twenty years old when he began to reign, and reigned two years in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">22</span>But he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORM
D, as did Manasseh his father: for Amon sacrificed unto all the carved images which Manasseh his father had made, and served them; <span class="ver">23</span>And humbled not himself before the LORD, as Manasseh his father had humbled himself; but Amon trespassed more and more. <span class="ver">24</span>And his servants conspired against him, and slew him in his own house. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>But the people of the land slew all them that had conspired against king Amon; and the people of the land mM
ade Josiah his son king in his stead.
<h2 id="c34">Chapter 34</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Josiah was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned in Jerusalem one and thirty years. <span class="ver">2</span>And he did that which was right in the sight of the LORD, and walked in the ways of David his father, and declined neither to the right hand, nor to the left. </p>
<p><span class="ver">3</span>For in the eighth year of his reign, while he was yet young, he began to seek after the God of DM
avid his father: and in the twelfth year he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem from the high places, and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images. <span class="ver">4</span>And they brake down the altars of Baalim in his presence; and the images, that were on high above them, he cut down; and the groves, and the carved images, and the molten images, he brake in pieces, and made dust of them, and strowed it upon the graves of them that had sacrificed unto them. <span class="ver">5</span>And he burnt M
the bones of the priests upon their altars, and cleansed Judah and Jerusalem. <span class="ver">6</span>And so did he in the cities of Manasseh, and Ephraim, and Simeon, even unto Naphtali, with their mattocks round about. <span class="ver">7</span>And when he had broken down the altars and the groves, and had beaten the graven images into powder, and cut down all the idols throughout all the land of Israel, he returned to Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">8</span>Now in the eighteenth year of his reign, when M
he had purged the land, and the house, he sent Shaphan the son of Azaliah, and Maaseiah the governor of the city, and Joah the son of Joahaz the recorder, to repair the house of the LORD his God. <span class="ver">9</span>And when they came to Hilkiah the high priest, they delivered the money that was brought into the house of God, which the Levites that kept the doors had gathered of the hand of Manasseh and Ephraim, and of all the remnant of Israel, and of all Judah and Benjamin; and they returned to Jerusalem. <M
span class="ver">10</span>And they put it in the hand of the workmen that had the oversight of the house of the LORD, and they gave it to the workmen that wrought in the house of the LORD, to repair and amend the house: <span class="ver">11</span>Even to the artificers and builders gave they it, to buy hewn stone, and timber for couplings, and to floor the houses which the kings of Judah had destroyed. <span class="ver">12</span>And the men did the work faithfully: and the overseers of them were Jahath and Obadiah,M
the Levites, of the sons of Merari; and Zechariah and Meshullam, of the sons of the Kohathites, to set it forward; and other of the Levites, all that could skill of instruments of musick. <span class="ver">13</span>Also they were over the bearers of burdens, and were overseers of all that wrought the work in any manner of service: and of the Levites there were scribes, and officers, and porters. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>And when they brought out the money that was brought into the house of the LORD, HiM
lkiah the priest found a book of the law of the LORD given by Moses. <span class="ver">15</span>And Hilkiah answered and said to Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of the LORD. And Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan. <span class="ver">16</span>And Shaphan carried the book to the king, and brought the king word back again, saying, All that was committed to thy servants, they do it. <span class="ver">17</span>And they have gathered together the money that was found in the house of thM
e LORD, and have delivered it into the hand of the overseers, and to the hand of the workmen. <span class="ver">18</span>Then Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest hath given me a book. And Shaphan read it before the king. <span class="ver">19</span>And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the law, that he rent his clothes. <span class="ver">20</span>And the king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah aM
servant of the king
s, saying, <span class="ver">21</span>Go, enquire of the LORD for me, and for them that are left in Israel and in Judah, concerning the words of the book that is found: for great is the wrath of the LORD that is poured out upon us, because our fathers have not kept the word of the LORD, to do after all that is written in this book. <span class="ver">22</span>And Hilkiah, and they that the king had appointed, went to Huldah the prophetess, the wife of Shallum the son of Tikvath, the son of HasM
rah, keeper of the wardrobe; (now she dwelt in Jerusalem in the college:) and they spake to her to that effect. </p>
<p><span class="ver">23</span>And she answered them, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Tell ye the man that sent you to me, <span class="ver">24</span>Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will bring evil upon this place, and upon the inhabitants thereof, even all the curses that are written in the book which they have read before the king of Judah: <span class="ver">25</span>Because they have forsaken mM
e, and have burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be poured out upon this place, and shall not be quenched. <span class="ver">26</span>And as for the king of Judah, who sent you to enquire of the LORD, so shall ye say unto him, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel concerning the words which thou hast heard; <span class="ver">27</span>Because thine heart was tender, and thou didst humble thyself before God, when thou heardest his M
words against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, and humbledst thyself before me, and didst rend thy clothes, and weep before me; I have even heard thee also, saith the LORD. <span class="ver">28</span>Behold, I will gather thee to thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered to thy grave in peace, neither shall thine eyes see all the evil that I will bring upon this place, and upon the inhabitants of the same. So they brought the king word again. </p>
<p><span class="ver">29</span>Then the king sent andM
gathered together all the elders of Judah and Jerusalem. <span class="ver">30</span>And the king went up into the house of the LORD, and all the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the priests, and the Levites, and all the people, great and small: and he read in their ears all the words of the book of the covenant that was found in the house of the LORD. <span class="ver">31</span>And the king stood in his place, and made a covenant before the LORD, to walk after the LORD, and to keep his commandmeM
nts, and his testimonies, and his statutes, with all his heart, and with all his soul, to perform the words of the covenant which are written in this book. <span class="ver">32</span>And he caused all that were present in Jerusalem and Benjamin to stand to it. And the inhabitants of Jerusalem did according to the covenant of God, the God of their fathers. <span class="ver">33</span>And Josiah took away all the abominations out of all the countries that pertained to the children of Israel, and made all that were preM
sent in Israel to serve, even to serve the LORD their God. And all his days they departed not from following the LORD, the God of their fathers.
<h2 id="c35">Chapter 35</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Moreover Josiah kept a passover unto the LORD in Jerusalem: and they killed the passover on the fourteenth day of the first month. <span class="ver">2</span>And he set the priests in their charges, and encouraged them to the service of the house of the LORD, <span class="ver">3</span>And said unto the Levites M
that taught all Israel, which were holy unto the LORD, Put the holy ark in the house which Solomon the son of David king of Israel did build; it shall not be a burden upon your shoulders: serve now the LORD your God, and his people Israel, <span class="ver">4</span>And prepare yourselves by the houses of your fathers, after your courses, according to the writing of David king of Israel, and according to the writing of Solomon his son. <span class="ver">5</span>And stand in the holy place according to the divisions M
of the families of the fathers of your brethren the people, and after the division of the families of the Levites. <span class="ver">6</span>So kill the passover, and sanctify yourselves, and prepare your brethren, that they may do according to the word of the LORD by the hand of Moses. <span class="ver">7</span>And Josiah gave to the people, of the flock, lambs and kids, all for the passover offerings, for all that were present, to the number of thirty thousand, and three thousand bullocks: these were of the king
s substance. <span class="ver">8</span>And his princes gave willingly unto the people, to the priests, and to the Levites: Hilkiah and Zechariah and Jehiel, rulers of the house of God, gave unto the priests for the passover offerings two thousand and six hundred small cattle, and three hundred oxen. <span class="ver">9</span>Conaniah also, and Shemaiah and Nethaneel, his brethren, and Hashabiah and Jeiel and Jozabad, chief of the Levites, gave unto the Levites for passover offerings five thousand small cattle, anM
d five hundred oxen. <span class="ver">10</span>So the service was prepared, and the priests stood in their place, and the Levites in their courses, according to the king
s commandment. <span class="ver">11</span>And they killed the passover, and the priests sprinkled the blood from their hands, and the Levites flayed them. <span class="ver">12</span>And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the M
book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen. <span class="ver">13</span>And they roasted the passover with fire according to the ordinance: but the other holy offerings sod they in pots, and in caldrons, and in pans, and divided them speedily among all the people. <span class="ver">14</span>And afterward they made ready for themselves, and for the priests: because the priests the sons of Aaron were busied in offering of burnt offerings and the fat until night; therefore the Levites prepared for themselves, and forM
the priests the sons of Aaron. <span class="ver">15</span>And the singers the sons of Asaph were in their place, according to the commandment of David, and Asaph, and Heman, and Jeduthun the king
s seer; and the porters waited at every gate; they might not depart from their service; for their brethren the Levites prepared for them. <span class="ver">16</span>So all the service of the LORD was prepared the same day, to keep the passover, and to offer burnt offerings upon the altar of the LORD, according to the coM
mmandment of king Josiah. <span class="ver">17</span>And the children of Israel that were present kept the passover at that time, and the feast of unleavened bread seven days. <span class="ver">18</span>And there was no passover like to that kept in Israel from the days of Samuel the prophet; neither did all the kings of Israel keep such a passover as Josiah kept, and the priests, and the Levites, and all Judah and Israel that were present, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. <span class="ver">19</span>In the eighteeM
nth year of the reign of Josiah was this passover kept. </p>
<p><span class="ver">20</span>After all this, when Josiah had prepared the temple, Necho king of Egypt came up to fight against Carchemish by Euphrates: and Josiah went out against him. <span class="ver">21</span>But he sent ambassadors to him, saying, What have I to do with thee, thou king of Judah? I come not against thee this day, but against the house wherewith I have war: for God commanded me to make haste: forbear thee from meddling with God, who M
is with me, that he destroy thee not. <span class="ver">22</span>Nevertheless Josiah would not turn his face from him, but disguised himself, that he might fight with him, and hearkened not unto the words of Necho from the mouth of God, and came to fight in the valley of Megiddo. <span class="ver">23</span>And the archers shot at king Josiah; and the king said to his servants, Have me away; for I am sore wounded. <span class="ver">24</span>His servants therefore took him out of that chariot, and put him in the secoM
nd chariot that he had; and they brought him to Jerusalem, and he died, and was buried in one of the sepulchres of his fathers. And all Judah and Jerusalem mourned for Josiah. </p>
<p><span class="ver">25</span>And Jeremiah lamented for Josiah: and all the singing men and the singing women spake of Josiah in their lamentations to this day, and made them an ordinance in Israel: and, behold, they are written in the lamentations. <span class="ver">26</span>Now the rest of the acts of Josiah, and his goodness, accordM
ing to that which was written in the law of the LORD, <span class="ver">27</span>And his deeds, first and last, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah.
<h2 id="c36">Chapter 36</h2>
<p><span class="ver">1</span>Then the people of the land took Jehoahaz the son of Josiah, and made him king in his father
s stead in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">2</span>Jehoahaz was twenty and three years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">3</spaM
n>And the king of Egypt put him down at Jerusalem, and condemned the land in an hundred talents of silver and a talent of gold. <span class="ver">4</span>And the king of Egypt made Eliakim his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem, and turned his name to Jehoiakim. And Necho took Jehoahaz his brother, and carried him to Egypt. </p>
<p><span class="ver">5</span>Jehoiakim was twenty and five years old when he began to reign, and he reigned eleven years in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of thM
e LORD his God. <span class="ver">6</span>Against him came up Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and bound him in fetters, to carry him to Babylon. <span class="ver">7</span>Nebuchadnezzar also carried of the vessels of the house of the LORD to Babylon, and put them in his temple at Babylon. <span class="ver">8</span>Now the rest of the acts of Jehoiakim, and his abominations which he did, and that which was found in him, behold, they are written in the book of the kings of Israel and Judah: and Jehoiachin his son reiM
gned in his stead. </p>
<p><span class="ver">9</span>Jehoiachin was eight years old when he began to reign, and he reigned three months and ten days in Jerusalem: and he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD. <span class="ver">10</span>And when the year was expired, king Nebuchadnezzar sent, and brought him to Babylon, with the goodly vessels of the house of the LORD, and made Zedekiah his brother king over Judah and Jerusalem. </p>
<p><span class="ver">11</span>Zedekiah was one and twenty years old M
when he began to reign, and reigned eleven years in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">12</span>And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD his God, and humbled not himself before Jeremiah the prophet speaking from the mouth of the LORD. <span class="ver">13</span>And he also rebelled against king Nebuchadnezzar, who had made him swear by God: but he stiffened his neck, and hardened his heart from turning unto the LORD God of Israel. </p>
<p><span class="ver">14</span>Moreover all the chief of the priests, M
and the people, transgressed very much after all the abominations of the heathen; and polluted the house of the LORD which he had hallowed in Jerusalem. <span class="ver">15</span>And the LORD God of their fathers sent to them by his messengers, rising up betimes, and sending; because he had compassion on his people, and on his dwelling place: <span class="ver">16</span>But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the LORD arose against his people, tillM
there was no remedy. <span class="ver">17</span>Therefore he brought upon them the king of the Chaldees, who slew their young men with the sword in the house of their sanctuary, and had no compassion upon young man or maiden, old man, or him that stooped for age: he gave them all into his hand. <span class="ver">18</span>And all the vessels of the house of God, great and small, and the treasures of the house of the LORD, and the treasures of the king, and of his princes; all these he brought to Babylon. <span clasM
s="ver">19</span>And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire, and destroyed all the goodly vessels thereof. <span class="ver">20</span>And them that had escaped from the sword carried he away to Babylon; where they were servants to him and his sons until the reign of the kingdom of Persia: <span class="ver">21</span>To fulfil the word of the LORD by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate sM
he kept sabbath, to fulfil threescore and ten years. </p>
<p><span class="ver">22</span>Now in the first year of Cyrus king of Persia, that the word of the LORD spoken by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished, the LORD stirred up the spirit of Cyrus king of Persia, that he made a proclamation throughout all his kingdom, and put it also in writing, saying, <span class="ver">23</span>Thus saith Cyrus king of Persia, All the kingdoms of the earth hath the LORD God of heaven given me; and he hath charged me to M
build him an house in Jerusalem, which is in Judah. Who is there among you of all his people? The LORD his God be with him, and let him go up. </p>
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