The Adventures of Odysseus and The Tales of Troy Part 8

'He flung it, but the wonderful s.h.i.+eld of Achilles turned Hector's spear and it fell on the ground. Then was Hector downcast, for he had no other spear. He drew his sword and sprang at Achilles. But the helmet and s.h.i.+eld of Achilles let none of Hector's great strokes touch his body.

And Achilles got back into his hands his own great spear, and he stood guarding himself with his s.h.i.+eld and watching Hector for a spot to strike him on. Now in the armour that Hector wore--the armour that he had stripped off Patroklos--there was a point at the neck where there was an opening. As Hector came on Achilles drove at his neck with his spear and struck him and Hector fell in the dust.'

'Then Achilles stripped from him the armour that Patroklos had worn. The other captains of the Greeks came up and looked at Hector where he lay and all marvelled at his size and strength and goodliness. And Achilles dragged the body at his chariot and drove away towards the s.h.i.+ps.'

[Ill.u.s.tration]

'Hector's mother, standing on the tower on the wall, saw all that was done and she broke into a great cry. And all the women of Troy took up the cry and wailed for Prince Hector who had guarded them and theirs from the foe. Andromache, his wife, did not know the terrible thing that had happened. She was in an inner chamber of Hector's house, weaving a great web of cloth and broidering it with flowers, and she had ordered her handmaidens to heat water for the bath, so that Hector might refresh himself when he came in from the fight. But now she heard the wail of the women of Troy. Fear came upon her, for she knew that such wailing was for the best of their warriors.'

'She ran from her chamber and out into the street and came to the battlements where the people stood watching. She saw the chariot of Achilles das.h.i.+ng off towards the s.h.i.+ps and she knew that it dragged the dead body of Hector. Then darkness came before her eyes and she fainted away. Her husband's sisters and his brothers' wives thronged round her and lifted her up. And at last her life came back to her and she wailed for Hector, "O my husband," she cried, "for misery were we two born! Now thou hast been slain by Achilles and I am left husbandless! And ah, woe for our young child! Hard-hearted strangers shall oppress him when he lives amongst people that care not for him or his. And he will come weeping to me, his widowed mother, who will live forever sorrowful thinking upon where thou liest, Hector, by the s.h.i.+ps of those who slew thee."'

'So Andromache spoke and all the women of Troy joined in her grief and wept for great Hector who had protected their city.'

XX

Now that Hector was dead, King Priam, his father, had only one thought in his mind, and that was to get his body from Achilles and bring it into the City so that it might be treated with the honour befitting the man who had been the guardian of Troy. And while he sat in his grief, thinking of his n.o.ble son lying so far from those who would have wept over him, behold! there appeared before him Iris, the messenger of Zeus, the greatest of the G.o.ds. Iris said to him, "King, thou mayst ransom from Achilles the body of Hector, thy n.o.ble son. Go thou thyself to the hut of Achilles and bring with thee great gifts to offer him. Take with thee a wagon that thou mayst bring back in it the body, and let only one old henchman go with thee to drive the mules."'

'Then Priam, when he heard this, arose and went into his treasure chamber and took out of his chests twelve beautiful robes; twelve bright-coloured cloaks; twelve soft coverlets and ten talents of gold; he took, too, four cauldrons and two tripods and a wonderful goblet that the men of Thrace had given him when they had come on an emba.s.sy to his city. Then he called upon his sons and he bade them make ready the wagon and load it with the treasures he had brought out of his treasure-chamber.'

'When the wagon was loaded and the mules were yoked under it, and when Priam and his henchman had mounted the seats, Hekabe, the queen, Priam's wife and the mother of Hector, came with wine and with a golden cup that they might pour out an offering to the G.o.ds before they went on their journey; that they might know whether the G.o.ds indeed favoured it, or whether Priam himself was not going into danger. King Priam took the cup from his wife and he poured out wine from it, and looking towards heaven he prayed, "O Father Zeus, grant that I may find welcome under Achilles'

roof, and send, if thou wilt, a bird of omen, so that seeing it with mine own eyes I may go on my way trusting that no harm will befall me."'

'He prayed, and straightway a great eagle was seen with wide wings spread out above the City, and when they saw the eagle, the hearts of the people were glad for they knew that their King would come back safely and with the body of Prince Hector who had guarded Troy.'

'Now Priam and his henchman drove across the plain of Troy and came to the river that flowed across and there they let their mules drink. They were greatly troubled, for dark night was coming down and they knew not the way to the hut of Achilles. They were in fear too that some company of armed men would come upon them and slay them for the sake of the treasures they had in the wagon.'

'The henchman saw a young man coming towards them. And when he reached them he spoke to them kindly and offered to guide them through the camp and to the hut of Achilles. He mounted the wagon and took the reins in his hands and drove the mules. He brought them to the hut of Achilles and helped Priam from the wagon and carried the gifts they had brought within the hut. "Know, King Priam," he said, "that I am not a mortal, but that I am one sent by Zeus to help and companion thee upon the way.

Go now within the hut and speak to Achilles and ask him, for his father's sake, to restore to thee the body of Hector, thy son."'

'So he spoke and departed and King Priam went within the hut. There great Achilles was sitting and King Priam went to him and knelt before him and clasped the hands of the man who had slain his son. And Achilles wondered when he saw him there, for he did not know how one could have come to his hut and entered it without being seen. He knew then that it was one of the G.o.ds who had guided this man. Priam spoke to him and said, "Bethink thee, Achilles upon thine own father. He is now of an age with me, and perhaps even now, in thy far-away country, there are those who make him suffer pain and misery. But however great the pain and misery he may suffer he is happy compared to me, for he knows that thou, his son, art still alive. But I no longer have him who was the best of my sons. Now for thy father's sake have I come to thee, Achilles, to ask for the body of Hector, my son. I am more pitiable than thy father or than any man, for I have come through dangers to take in my hands the hands that slew my son."'

[Ill.u.s.tration]

'Achilles remembered his father and felt sorrow for the old man who knelt before him. He took King Priam by the hand and raised him up and seated him on the bench beside him. And he wept, remembering old Peleus, his father.'

'He called his handmaids and he bade them take the body of Hector and wash it and wrap it in two of the robes that Priam had brought. When they had done all this he took up the body of Hector and laid it himself upon the wagon.'

'Then he came and said to King Priam, "Thy son is laid upon a bier, and at the break of day thou mayst bring him back to the City. But now eat and rest here for this night."'

'King Priam ate, and he looked at Achilles and he saw how great and how goodly he was. And Achilles looked at Priam and he saw how n.o.ble and how kingly he looked. And this was the first time that Achilles and Priam the King of Troy really saw each other.'

'When they gazed on each other King Priam said, "When thou goest to lie down, lord Achilles, permit me to lie down also. Not once have my eyelids closed in sleep since my son Hector lost his life. And now I have tasted bread and meat and wine for the first time since, and I could sleep."'

'Achilles ordered that a bed be made in the portico for King Priam and his henchman, but before they went Achilles said: "Tell me, King, and tell me truly, for how many days dost thou desire to make a funeral for Hector? For so many days s.p.a.ce I will keep back the battle from the City so that thou mayst make the funeral in peace." "For nine days we would watch beside Hector's body and lament for him; on the tenth day we would have the funeral; on the eleventh day we would make the barrow over him, and on the twelfth day we would fight," King Priam said. "Even for twelve days I will hold the battle back from the City," said Achilles.'

'Then Priam and his henchman went to rest. But in the middle of the night the young man who had guided him to the hut of Achilles--the G.o.d Hermes he was--appeared before his bed and bade him arise and go to the wagon and yoke the mules and drive back to the City with the body of Hector. Priam aroused his henchman and they went out and yoked the mules and mounted the wagon, and with Hermes to guide them they drove back to the City.'

'And Achilles on his bed thought of his own fate--how he too would die in battle, and how for him there would be no father to make lament. But he would be laid where he had asked his friends to lay him--beside Patroklos--and over them both the Greeks would raise a barrow that would be wondered at in after times.'

[Ill.u.s.tration]

'So Achilles thought. And afterwards the arrow fired by Paris struck him as he fought before the gate of the City, and he was slain even on the place where he slew Hector. But the Greeks carried off his body and his armour and brought them back to the s.h.i.+ps. And Achilles was lamented over, though not by old Peleus, his father. From the depths of the sea came Thetis, his G.o.ddess-mother, and with her came the Maidens of the Sea. They covered the body of Achilles with wonderful raiment and over it they lamented for seventeen days and seventeen nights. On the eighteenth day he was laid in the grave beside Patroklos, his dear friend, and over them both the Greeks raised a barrow that was wondered at in the after-times.'

XXI

Now Hector's sister was the first to see her father coming in the dawn across the plain of Troy with the wagon upon which his body was laid.

She came down to the City and she cried through the streets, "O men and women of Troy, ye who often went to the gates to meet Hector coming back with victory, come now to the gates to receive Hector dead."'

'Then every man and woman in the City took themselves outside the gate.

And they brought in the wagon upon which Hector was laid, and all day from the early dawn to the going down of the sun they wailed for him who had been the guardian of their city.'

'His father took the body to the house where Hector had lived and he laid it upon his bed. Then Hector's wife, Andromache, went to the bed and cried over the body. "Husband," she cried, "thou art gone from life, and thou hast left me a widow in thy house. Our child is yet little, and he shall not grow to manhood in the halls that were thine, for long before that the City will be taken and destroyed. Ah, how can it stand, when thou, who wert its best guardian, hast perished? The folk lament thee, Hector; but for me and for thy little son, doomed to grow up amongst strangers and men unfriendly to him, the pain for thy death will ever abide."'

'And Hekabe, Hector's mother, went to the bed and cried "Of all my children thou, Hector, wert the dearest. Thou wert slain because it was not thy way to play the coward; ever wert thou championing the men and women of Troy without thought of taking shelter or flight. And for that thou wert slain, my son."'

'And I, Helen, went to the bed too, to lament for n.o.ble Hector. "Of all the friends I had in Troy, thou wert the dearest, Hector," I cried.

"Never did I hear one harsh word from thee to me who brought wars and troubles to thy City. In every way thou wert as a brother to me.

Therefore I bewail thee with pain at my heart, for in all Troy there is no one now who is friendly to me."'

'Then did the King and the folk of the City prepare for Hector's funeral. On the tenth day, weeping most bitter tears they bore brave Hector away. And they made a grave for him, and over the grave they put close-set stones, and over it all they raised a great barrow. On the eleventh day they feasted at King Priam's house, and on the twelfth day the battle began anew.'

XXII

For many days Telemachus and his comrade Peisistratus stayed in the house of King Menelaus. On the evening before he departed Menelaus spoke to him of the famous deeds of his father, Odysseus. 'Now Achilles was dead,' said Menelaus, 'and his glorious armour was offered as a prize for the warrior whom the Greeks thought the most of. Two men strove for the prize--Odysseus and his friend Aias. To Odysseus the armour of Achilles was given, but he was in no way glad of the prize, for his getting it had wounded the proud spirit of great Aias.'

'It was fitting that Odysseus should have been given Achilles' armour, for no warrior in the host had done better than he. But Odysseus was to do still greater things for us. He knew that only one man could wield a bow better than Paris,--Paris who had shot with an arrow Achilles, and who after that had slain many of our chiefs. That man was Philoctetes.

He had come with Agamemnon's host to Troy. But Philoctetes had been bitten by a water-snake, and the wound given him was so terrible that none of our warriors could bear to be near him. He was left on the Island of Lemnos and the host lost memory of him. But Odysseus remembered, and he took s.h.i.+p to Lemnos and brought Philoctetes back.

With his great bow and with the arrows of Hercules that were his, Philoctetes shot at Paris upon the wall of Troy and slew him with an arrow.'

'And then Odysseus devised the means by which we took Priam's city at last. He made us build a great Wooden Horse. We built it and left it upon the plain of Troy and the Trojans wondered at it greatly. And Odysseus had counselled us to bring our s.h.i.+ps down to the water and to burn our stores and make it seem in every way that we were going to depart from Troy in weariness. This we did, and the Trojans saw the great host sail away from before their City. But they did not know that a company of the best of our warriors was within the hollow of the Wooden Horse, nor did they know that we had left a spy behind to make a signal for our return.'

'The Trojans wondered why the great Wooden Horse had been left behind.

And there were some who considered that it had been left there as an offering to the G.o.ddess, Pallas Athene, and they thought it should be brought within the city. Others were wiser and would have left the Wooden Horse alone. But those who considered that it should be brought within prevailed; and, as the Horse was too great to bring through the gate, they flung down part of the wall that they might bring it through.

The Wooden Horse was brought within the walls and left upon the streets of the city and the darkness of the night fell.'

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'Now Helen, my wife, came down to where the Wooden Horse was, and she, suspecting there were armed men within, walked around it three times, calling to every captain of the Greeks who might be within in his own wife's voice. And when the sound of a voice that had not been heard for so many years came to him each of the captains started up to answer. But Odysseus put his hands across the mouth of each and so prevented them from being discovered.'