The Iliad of Homer Part 35

[Footnote 522: Made to rush with a bubbling noise, the verb here "expressing the _violent streaming_ of a liquid." See b.u.t.tm.

Lexil. p. 484; and compare my note on aesch. Ag. p. 137, n. 2, ed.

Bohn.]

And as when from Olympus comes a cloud into heaven,[523] after a clear sky, when Jove stretches forth a whirlwind, thus was the clamour and rout of those [flying] from the s.h.i.+ps. Nor did they repa.s.s [the trench]

in seemly plight, but his fleet-footed steeds bore away Hector with his arms; and he deserted the Trojan people, whom against their will the deep trench detained. And many fleet car-drawing steeds left in the foss the chariots of their masters, broken at the extremity of the pole. But Patroclus pursued, vehemently cheering on[524] the Greeks, and devising destruction for the Trojans; but they, with clamour and rout, filled all the ways after they were dispersed. A storm [of dust] was tossed up beneath the clouds, and the solid-hoofed horses pressed back towards the city, from the s.h.i.+ps and tents. But Patroclus, wherever he perceived the army in greatest confusion, thither directed [his steeds], exclaiming in a threatening manner; whilst beneath his axles men fell p.r.o.ne from their chariots, and the chariots were overturned. Then, from the opposite side, the fleet immortal steeds, which the G.o.ds had given as splendid presents to Peleus, eagerly pressing on, bounded quite across the trench; for his mind urged him against Hector, for he longed to strike him, but his swift horses kept bearing him away.

[Footnote 523: Heaven is here distinguished from Olympus, as in i. 597, and Tibull. iv. i. 131:--

"Jupiter ipse levi vectus per inania curru Adfuit, et clo vicinum liquit Olympum."]

[Footnote 524: From this sense of ?e?e?? arises its nautical meaning, also ?e?e?st??, the man who gives the signal and cheers on the rowers. See Mollus on Long. Past. iii. 14. So Athenaeus, xii. p. 535: ???s?????? ?? ???e? t? t????????. ?a???p?d?? d? ?

t?a??d?? ????e?e.]

And as beneath a whirlwind the whole dark earth is oppressed on an autumnal day, when Jove pours forth his most violent stream; when, forsooth, enraged he gives vent to his wrath against men, who by violence decree perverse judgments in the a.s.sembly, and drive out justice, not regarding the vengeance of the G.o.ds; and all their rivers are flooded as they flow, and the torrents sever asunder many mountains, and flowing headlong into the dark sea, roar mightily, and the husbandry-works[525] of men are diminished; so loudly moaned the Trojan mares running along. But Patroclus, when he had cut off the first phalanxes, drove them back again towards the s.h.i.+ps, and did not permit them, desiring it, to ascend towards the city; but, pressing on, he slew them between the s.h.i.+ps, and the river, and the lofty wall, and he exacted revenge for many. Then indeed he smote with his s.h.i.+ning spear p.r.o.nous first, bared as to his breast beside the s.h.i.+eld, and relaxed his limbs: and falling, he gave a crash. But next, attacking Thestor, son of Enops (who indeed sat huddled in his well-polished chariot, for he was panic-struck in his mind, and the reins had then dropped from his hands), he standing near, smote him with his spear on the right cheek, and drove it through his teeth. Then catching the spear, he dragged him over the rim [of the chariot]; as when a man, sitting upon a jutting rock, [draws] with a line and s.h.i.+ning bra.s.s[526] a large fish entirely out of the sea; so he dragged from his chariot with his s.h.i.+ning spear, him gaping. Then he hurled him upon his mouth, and life left him as he fell. Then next he struck with a stone on the middle of the head, Eryalus, rus.h.i.+ng against him, and it was totally split asunder into two parts in his strong helmet. He therefore fell p.r.o.ne upon the earth, and fatal death was diffused around him. Afterwards Erymas, and Amphoterus, Epaltes, and Tlepolemus, son of Damastor, Echius and Pyris, Icheus, Euppus, and Polymelus, son of Argeus, all one over the other he heaped upon the fertile earth.

[Footnote 525: For this agricultural use of ???a cf. Oppian, Cyn.

ii. 151: ???t? d' ???a ???. Nicander, Ther. 473: ???a ?????.

Virg. Georg. i. 325: "Et pluvia ingenti sata laeta, boumque labores diluit."]

[Footnote 526: _I.e._ the hook. So "aere, the bra.s.s cut.w.a.ter,"

Virg. aen. i. 35.]

But when Sarpedon perceived his loose-girt[527] companions subdued by the hands of Patroclus, the son of Mentius, exhorting, he shouted to the G.o.dlike Lycians:

"Oh shame! Lycians, where do ye fly?[528] Now be strenuous: for I will oppose this man, that I may know who he is who is victorious: and certainly he has done many evils to the Trojans, since he has relaxed the limbs of many and brave men."

He spoke, and leaped from his chariot with his armour to the ground; but Patroclus, on the other side, when he beheld him, sprang from his car.

Then they, as bent-taloned, crook-beaked vultures, loudly screaming, fight upon a lofty rock, so they, shouting, rushed against each other.

But the son of the wily Saturn, beholding them, felt compa.s.sion, and addressed Juno, his sister and wife:[529]

"O woe is me, because it is fated that Sarpedon, most dear to me of men, shall be subdued by Patroclus, the son of Mentius. But to me, revolving it in my mind, my heart is impelled with a twofold anxiety,[530] either that having s.n.a.t.c.hed him alive from the mournful battle, I may place him among the rich people of Lycia, or now subdue him beneath the hands of the son of Mentius."

[Footnote 527: ???? ? ?p??????????? ?t?a? t???

??t?s??.--Eustath.]

[Footnote 528: Tzetzes on Hesiod, Opp. 184, reads ?st??, observing that it is t? d????? ??t? t?? p?????t????.]

[Footnote 529: Virg. aen. i. 50: "Jovisque et soror et conjux."

Hor. Od. iii. 3, 64: "Conjuge me Jovis et sorore." A?son. 343, 4: "Et soror et conjux fratris regina dearum."]

[Footnote 530: Cf. Virg. aen. iv. 285:--

"Atque animum nunc huc celerem, nune dividit illuc, In partesque rapit varias, perque omnia versat."

x. 680. Ter. Andr. i. 5, 25. Ovid, Met. vii. 19; x. 373. Plato, Rep. iii. p. 433, B. ed. Laem. finds great fault with Homer for thus debasing the character of Jove. His remarks are reiterated by Clemens Alexandr. Protr. p. 16, 50, and Minucius Felix, -- 22.]

Then the large-eyed, venerable Juno answered: "Most dread son of Saturn, what a word hast thou spoken? Whether dost thou wish to liberate from sad death a mortal man long since doomed to fate? Do so; but all we, the other G.o.ds, will not a.s.sent to it. But another thing I will tell thee, and do thou revolve it in thy mind. If indeed thou sendest this Sarpedon safe home, reflect whether some other of the G.o.ds may not also wish to send his beloved son [safe home] from the violent conflict; for many sons of immortals fight round the great city of Priam, upon whom thou wilt bring heavy wrath. If, however, he be dear to thee, and thy heart pities him, let him indeed be subdued in the violent conflict, beneath the hands of Patroclus, the son of Mentius: but when his spirit and life shall have left him, send death and sweet sleep to bear him until they reach the people of expansive Lycia. There will his brethren and friends perform his obsequies with a tomb and a pillar; for this is the honour of the dead."

Thus she spoke, nor did the father of G.o.ds and men disobey; but he poured down upon the earth b.l.o.o.d.y dew-drops,[531] honouring his beloved son, whom Patroclus was about to slay in fertile-soiled Troy, far away from his native land.

[Footnote 531: There is a similar prodigy in Hesiod, Scut. Here.

384: ??dd' ??' ?p' ???a???e? ???da? ??e? a?at??ssa?, S?a t??e?? p?????? ?? e?a?a?s?? pa?d?. Tzetzes there refers to the present pa.s.sage, regarding it as ominous of the death of Sarpedon. Cf. Lomeier, De l.u.s.trationibus, xii. p. 143.]

But when, advancing, they were now near each other, then indeed Patroclus [struck] ill.u.s.trious Thrasymelus, who was the brave companion of king Sarpedon, him he struck upon the lower part of the belly, and relaxed his limbs. Then Sarpedon, attacking second, missed him with his splendid javelin; but he wounded his horse Pedasus, with his spear, in the right shoulder; but he groaned, breathing out his life, and fell in the dust, moaning, and his spirit fled from him. But the two [other steeds] leaped asunder, and the yoke crashed, and the reins were entangled about them, when the side horse lay in the dust. But spear-renowned Automedon found an end of this. Drawing his long sword from his robust thigh, rising, he cut away the farther horse, nor did he act slothfully. And the two [remaining horses] were set aright, and were directed by the reins; and they [the men] again engage in life-devouring combat.

Then again Sarpedon missed [him] with his s.h.i.+ning spear, and the point of the weapon pa.s.sed over the left shoulder of Patroclus, nor did it wound him. But Patroclus rushed on with his javelin, and the weapon did not escape in vain from his hand, for he struck him where the midriff encloses the compact[532] heart. And he fell, as when falls some oak, or poplar, or lofty pine, which the workmen fell in the mountains with newly-sharpened axes, to be a naval timber: so he lay stretched out before his horses and chariot, gnas.h.i.+ng with his teeth, grasping the b.l.o.o.d.y dust. As a lion slays a bull, coming among a herd, tawny, n.o.ble-spirited, among the stamping[533] oxen, and he perishes, bellowing, beneath the jaws of the lion; so the leader of the s.h.i.+elded Lycians was indignant,[534] being slain by Patroclus, and addressed his dear companion by name:

[Footnote 532: "By comparing the different uses of ?d????

together, one thing is clear, that all the meanings which can occur in them, proceed from one, which is that in the epithet of the heart, _dense_ or _compact_, which physical idea the word retains, according to the Homeric usage, in Od. t. 516, as a fixed epithet of the heart, although there its physical state has nothing to do with the context." b.u.t.tm. Lexil. p. 33.]

[Footnote 533: See b.u.t.tm. Lexil. p. 267.]

[Footnote 534: "Indignata anima gemebat,"--Heyne, comparing aen.

xii. Ult. "Vitaque c.u.m gemitu fugit indignata sub umbras."]

"Glaucus, dear friend, warrior amongst heroes, now it greatly behoves thee to be a hero and a bold warrior; now if thou art impetuous, let destructive battle be thy desire. First indeed, going in every direction, exhort the leaders of the Lycians to fight around Sarpedon, and do thou thyself also fight for me with thy spear. For I will hereafter be a cause of shame and disgrace to thee, all thy days, throughout, if indeed the Greeks despoil me of my armour, falling in the conflict at the s.h.i.+ps. But persevere, and animate all the army."

While he was thus speaking, the end of death covered him as to his eyes and nostrils; but Patroclus, trampling with his heel upon his breast, drew out the spear from his body, and the midriff[535] followed with it; and he drew out at the same time his life and the point of the weapon.

But the Myrmidons there held his panting steeds, eager to fly along, since they had quitted the chariots of their lords. Then bitter grief arose to Glaucus, hearing the voice [of his friend], and his heart was grieved because he could not aid him. But grasping his own arm in his hand, he compressed it; for grievously the wound pained him, which Teucer, with an arrow, had inflicted upon him, as he was rus.h.i.+ng against the lofty wall, warding off the battle from his companions. Wherefore, praying, he addressed far-darting Apollo:

[Footnote 535: Probably the _pericardium_ is meant.]

"Hear, O king, thou who art somewhere in the rich state of Lycia, or in Troy; for thou canst everywhere hear a man afflicted, as sorrow now comes upon me. For indeed I have this grievous wound, and my hand is penetrated on every side with acute pains, nor can the blood be stanched, but my shoulder is oppressed with it. For neither can I firmly I hold my spear, nor, advancing, fight with the enemy; moreover a very brave hero has fallen, Sarpedon, the son of Jove; but he aids not even his own son. But heal for me this severe wound, O king; a.s.suage my pains, and grant me strength, that, cheering on my companions, the Lycians, I may urge them to fight; and may myself fight for the dead body."

Thus he spoke praying; but Phbus Apollo heard him. Immediately he allayed the pains, and dried the black gore from the grievous wound, and instilled strength into his soul. But Glaucus knew in his mind, and rejoiced because the mighty G.o.d had quickly heard him praying. First then, going about in all directions, he aroused the heroes, leaders of the Lycians, to fight for Sarpedon; and then he went to the Trojans, advancing with long strides to Polydamas, son of Panthous, and n.o.ble Agenor. He also went after aeneas and brazen-armed Hector, and, standing near, addressed to him winged words:

"O Hector, now hast thou altogether neglected thine allies, who are losing their lives for thy sake, far away from their friends and father-land; but thou dost not wish to aid them. Sarpedon lies low, the leader of the s.h.i.+eld-bearing Lycians, who protected Lycia by his justice and his valour. Him hath brazen Mars subdued with a spear at the hands of Patroclus. But stand near, my friends, and be indignant in your minds, lest the Myrmidons spoil his armour, and unworthily treat the body, enraged on account of the Greeks, as many as have perished, whom we have slain with our spears at the s.h.i.+ps."

Thus he spoke; but intolerable, unyielding grief wholly possessed the Trojans, for he had been a pillar of their city, though being a foreigner; for many forces followed along with him, among whom he himself was the most valiant in battle. They therefore advanced eagerly straight against the Greeks, ardent with desire; but Hector led the way, enraged on account of Sarpedon. But the valiant heart of Patroclus, son of Mentius, aroused the Greeks. First he addressed the Ajaces, though they themselves were also eager:

"O Ajaces, now let it be a delightful thing to you both to repel [the foe]; be ye such as of old ye were amongst heroes, or even braver.

Sarpedon lies low, the man who first broke through[536] the wall of the Greeks. But oh! that taking him, we could treat him with indignity, and spoil the armour from his shoulders, and subdue with the cruel bra.s.s some one of his companions keeping [us] off from him."

[Footnote 536: We must understand him as having done so in company with Hector, otherwise this pa.s.sage would be at variance with xii. 290, 437.]

Thus he spoke; but they also themselves were ready to repel [the foe].

But when they had strengthened their phalanxes on both sides, the Trojans and Lycians, as well as the Myrmidons and Achaeans, they closed to fight round the dead body, shouting dreadfully, and loudly rattled the arms of men. But Jove stretched pernicious night over the violent contest, that there might be a destructive toil of battle around his dear son. The Trojans first drove back the rolling-eyed Greeks; for a man was smitten, by no means the most inferior among the Myrmidons, n.o.ble Epigeus, son of magnanimous Agacles, who formerly ruled in well-inhabited Budium; but then having slain a n.o.ble kinsman, he came as a suppliant to Peleus and silver-footed Thetis: they sent him to follow with the rank-breaker Achilles, to steed-renowned Ilium, that he might fight with the Trojans. Him then, while seizing the body, ill.u.s.trious Hector struck upon the head with a stone; and it was entirely split in two in his strong helmet; and he fell p.r.o.ne upon the corpse, and soul-destroying death was diffused around him. Then to Patroclus grief arose, on account of his companion slain; and he rushed right through the foremost warriors, like unto a swift hawk, which has put to flight jackdaws or starlings; so, O equestrian Patroclus, didst thou rush right against the Lycians and Trojans; for thou wert enraged in thine heart for thy companion. And he struck Sthenelaus, the beloved son of Ithaemeneus, on the neck with a stone, and broke his tendons: and the foremost warriors and ill.u.s.trious Hector gave back. And as far as is the cast of a long javelin, which a man may have sent forth striving either in the game, or even in war, on account of life-destroying enemies; so far did the Trojans retire, and the Greeks repelled them.

But Glaucus, the leader of the s.h.i.+eld-bearing Lycians, first turned, and slew magnanimous Bathycles, the beloved son of Chalcon, who, inhabiting dwellings in h.e.l.las, was conspicuous among the Myrmidons for his riches and wealth. Him then Glaucus, turning suddenly round, wounded in the middle of the breast with his spear, when, pursuing, he had overtaken him. But he made a crash as he fell; and deep grief possessed the Greeks, because a brave warrior had thus fallen; but the Trojans greatly rejoiced, and, advancing in crowds, stood round him; nor were the Greeks forgetful of valour, but they directed their strength straight against them. Then again Meriones slew a hero of the Trojans, the warrior Laogonus, the gallant son of Onetor, who was the priest of Idaean Jove, and was honoured like a G.o.d by the people. He smote him under the jaw and ear, and his soul immediately departed from his limbs, and dreadful darkness overshadowed him.[537] But aeneas hurled a brazen spear at Meriones, for he hoped to hit him, advancing under protection of his s.h.i.+eld. He, however, observing it in front, avoided the brazen spear; for he stooped forward, and the long javelin was fixed in the ground behind him, and the nether point[538] of the spear was shaken; then the rapid weapon spent its force. Thus the javelin of aeneas, quivering entered the earth, for it had fled in vain from his strong hand. Then aeneas was enraged in his mind, and said:

"Meriones, quickly indeed, although being a dancer,[539] would my spear have made thee cease for ever, if I had struck thee."

[Footnote 537: It has been well observed that Homer never describes a wound as mortal, except when it is inflicted in a part really vital.]

[Footnote 538: The ????a??? was the same as the sa???t??. See Glossae Herodoteae, and Hesych. p. 820.]

[Footnote 539: A probable allusion to the Pyrrhic dance, which was in use among the Cretans, from whose country Meriones had come. See the Scholiast, and Muller, Dorians, vol. ii, p. 349.]

But him then in turn spear-renowned Meriones answered: "aeneas, it were difficult for thee, although being brave, to extinguish the valour of all men, whosoever may come against thee about to repulse thee; for thou too art mortal. And if I, taking aim, should strike thee in the middle with my sharp spear, although being brave, and confiding in thy might, thou wouldst give glory to me, but thy soul to steed-famed Pluto."