Movatterモバイル変換

Dictys Cretensis, Trojan War Chronicle

§ 1.0  Translated from Greek into Latin byLucius Septimius
LETTER:Lucius Septimius sends greetings to Quintus AradiusRufinus.Dictys ofCrete originally wrote his Journal of theTrojan War in thePhoenician alphabet, whichCadmus andAgenor had spread throughout Greece.Dictys had served in the War withIdomeneus. After many centuries the tomb ofDictys atCnossos (formerly the seat of theCretan king) collapsed with age. Then shepherds, wandering near the ruins, stumbled upon a little box skilfully enclosed in tin. Thinking it was treasure, they soon broke it open, but brought to light, instead of gold or some other kind of wealth, books written on linden tablets. Their hopes thus frustrated, they took their find to Praxis, the owner of that place. Praxis had the books transliterated into the Attic alphabet (the language was Greek) and presented them to the Roman EmperorNero.Nero rewarded him richly. When these little books had by chance come into my hands, I, as a student of true history, was seized with the desire of making a free translation into Latin; I felt I had no special talent but wanted only to occupy my leisure time. I have preserved without abridgment the first five volumes which deal with the happenings of the War, but have reduced into one volume the others which are concerned with the Return of the Greeks. Thus, myRufinus, I have sent them to you. Favor my work as it deserves, and in readingDictys . . . PREFACEDictys, a native ofCrete from the city ofCnossos and a contemporary of theAtreidae, knew thePhoenician language and alphabet, whichCadmus brought toAchaea. He accompanied the leadersIdomeneus andMeriones with the army that went againstTroy. (Idomeneus andMeriones were the sons ofDeucalion andMolus respectively.) They chose him to write down a history of this campaign. Accordingly, writing on linden tablets and using thePhoenician alphabet, he composed nine volumes about the whole war. Time passed. In the thirteenth year ofNero's reign an earthquake struck atCnossos and, in the course of its devastation, laid open the tomb ofDictys in such a way that people, as they passed, could see the little box. And so shepherds who had seen it as they passed stole it from the tomb, thinking it was treasure. But when they opened it and found the linden tablets inscribed with characters unknown to them, they took this find to their master. Their master, whose name wasEupraxides, recognized the characters, and presented the books toRutiliusRufus, who was at that time governor of the island. SinceRufus, when the books had been presented to him, thought they contained certain mysteries, he, along withEupraxides himself, carried them toNero.Nero, having received the tablets and having noticed that they were written in thePhoenician alphabet, ordered hisPhoenician philologists to come and decipher whatever was written. When this had been done, since he realized that these were the records of an ancient man who had been atTroy, he had them translated into Greek; thus a more accurate text of theTrojan War was made known to all. Then he bestowed gifts and Roman citizenship uponEupraxides, and sent him home. The Greek Library, according toNero's command, acquired this history thatDictys had written, the contents of which the following text sets forth in order.

§ 1.1  BOOK ONE
All the kings who were great-grandsons ofMinos, the son ofJupiter, and who ruled over Greece, came toCrete to divide the wealth ofAtreus.Atreus, the son ofMinos, when making his last will and testament, had left all his gold and silver, and even his herds, to them; for they were his grandsons, the sons of his daughters. Everything was to be equally divided among them, excepting only the rule of his cities and lands. This he bequeathed toIdomeneus, the son ofDeucalion, andMeriones, the son ofMolus. Among those who came toCrete werePalamedes andOiax, the sons ofClymene andNauplius. AlsoMenelaus and his older brotherAgamemnon, the sons ofAerope andPlisthenes, came to get their share. (They had a sister,Anaxibia, who at that time was married toNestor.) People often thought that their father wasAtreus, because when their real father,Plisthenes, died young without having made a name for himself,Atreus, pitying their plight, had taken them in and brought them up like princes. In the division ofAtreus' property everyone, as befitted his rank, acquired a handsome inheritance.

§ 1.2  All the descendants ofEuropa (she was worshiped onCrete with the most elaborate ritual), on learning that the heirs ofAtreus had landed, hastened to give them a friendly welcome. Escorting them to the temple, they entertained them lavishly with elegant banquets, offering, in accordance with their ancient customs, many sacrificial victims. Thus, day after day, the kings of Greece delighted in this entertainment. They were, however, even more impressed by the temple ofEuropa itself, so magnificent was the beauty of this structure, so rich its embellishments. Examining all its marvellous features, they called to mind howEuropa's father,Phoenix, and the noble matrons, had brought across formSidon this thing and that.

§ 1.3  During the same time the home ofMenelaus atSparta welcomedAlexander thePhrygian, the son ofPriam, who had come withAeneas and other of his relatives.Alexander, taking advantage ofMenelaus' absence, committed a very foul crime. Falling desperately in love withHelen, the most beautiful woman in Greece, he carried her off, along with much wealth, and alsoAethra andClymene, beingMenelaus' relatives, attended onHelen. A report of this crime came toCrete; but rumor, as commonly happens, spread over the island, making whatAlexander had done seem worse than it was. People were even saying that KingMenelaus' home had been taken by storm and that his kingdom was conquered.

§ 1.4  On hearing this news,Menelaus was deeply upset by the abduction of his wife, but he was even more disturbed by the fact that the relatives we mentioned above had wronged him.Palamedes noticed that the king, being distraught with wrath and righteous indignation, had lost all power of reason. Accordingly, he rigged the ships and brought them to shore equipped with all their gear. Loading as much ofMenelaus' inheritance as time under the circumstances allowed, and briefly but appropriately offering his sympathy, he made the king go abroad. And thus, the winds blowing as they desired, they came toSparta within a few days.Agamemnon,Nestor, and all the rulers of Greece who were descendants ofPelops, having heard the news, had already gathered together atSparta. On learning ofMenelaus' arrival, they all assembled together. First, through the barbarity of the deed demanded immediate vengeance, they decided to send envoys toTroy.Palamedes,Ulysses, andMenelaus were chosen to go, and instructed to complain of the crime and demand the return ofHelen and the things that had been carried off.

§ 1.5  These, on coming toTroy within a few days, did not findAlexander at home; for when he had sailed fromSparta, hastily and taking no thought of the weather, the winds had forced him toCyprus. After obtaining some ships, he had then gone on toPhoenicia, where the king of theSidonians received him kindly. But he treacherously slaughtered the king at night and, venting again that criminal lust he had shown atSparta, pillaged the palace. He shamelessly ordered his men to seize everything the purpose of which was to show the royal magnificence, and carry it off to the ships. TheSidonians, however, who escaped the general destruction, raised a huge tumult, bewailing the fate of their ruler. All of their people rushed to the palace, and then, arming themselves as best they were able, rushed to the ships; forAlexander had already seized whatever he wanted and now as hastening to sail. A raging battle arose, and very many men fell on both sides. While theSidonians fought fiercely in the cause of their murdered king, theTrojans strove with all their might to keep the booty they had gained. Two of their ships were fired; but finally, after a terrible struggle, they freed the others. And thus, having broken the strength of their foe, they escaped.

§ 1.6  Meanwhile, atTroy, one of the envoys,Palamedes (he was known as a skilful adviser and diplomat), prevailed uponPriam to let him speak at a meeting of the council. First, he made his complaint, describing the criminal wayAlexander had broken the ties of mutual friendship. Next, he warned of the horrible conflict that Greece andTroy might have because of this act, citing, among other examples, the feud betweenIlus andPelops, who for similar reasons had come to the point of committing their countries to war. And then, comparing the hazards of war with the blessings of peace, he said that he knew that most of theTrojans hated this barbarous crime; all would abandon those who were guilty, and the guilty would have to pay for their impious acts.Palamedes wanted to finish his speech, butPriam interrupted and said: "I beseech you,Palamedes, to go more slowly. It seems unfair to attack a man who is absent, who, if he were present, might refute the criminal charges you are bringing against him." ThusPriam orderedPalamedes to defer his complaint untilAlexander arrived. He had noticed everyone who was present in the council being moved byPalamedes' speech; though they were silent, nevertheless they showed by their faces that they were condemning the thingsAlexander had done.Palamedes was making his points with marvellous eloquence, and there was a certain indescribable force in the moving tone of his speech. Then the council broke up for that day. The envoys went home withAntenor, happy to be his guests. He was a gracious host and a man who, more than anyone else, loved the good and the true.

§ 1.7  Several days having passed,Alexander came with the companions we mentioned above, and also withHelen. Upon his arrival, all the people showed their disgust at what he had done: some cursed the evil precedent he had set; others bewailed the injusticeMenelaus had suffered. And finally, disgusted and angry, they raised a revolt.Priam, alarmed by this turn of events, called together his sons and asked what course they advised. They answered unanimously that, no matter what happened,Helen should not be returned. They saw, no doubt, that if this were done, they would lose all the great wealth with which she had come. Furthermore, they had fallen in love with the beautiful women who had come withHelen and had already set their hearts on marrying this or that one. Being barbarians in language and morals, and impatient of weighing their actions or asking advice, they were driven astray by greed for booty and lust.

§ 1.8  Leaving his sons,Priam called together the elders. After reporting what his sons had decided, he asked each member to give his advice. This was the custom. But before anyone could state his opinion, the princes suddenly broke into the council and — never before had this happened — threatened all of the members: they had better not find anyone opposing their will. Meanwhile all of the people were cursing and crying out against the crimeAlexander had committed and against many other similar acts. This causedAlexander, who was reckless because of his lust, to surround himself with his brothers in arms and make an attack on the crowd; for he feared that something might happen to him at the hands of the people. Many were killed, but finally the slaughter was stopped by those who had been in the council, the nobles led byAntenor. Thus the people returned to their homes, their numbers not undiminished, frustrated as to their goals and held in contempt.

§ 1.9  On the following day KingPriam, at the insistence ofHecuba, went toHelen. Greeting her kindly, he urged her to feel well disposed and asked who she was and what was her family. She answered that she wasAlexander's relative and more closely akin toPriam andHecuba than to the son ofPlisthenes. She went through the whole list of her ancestors.Danaus andAgenor were her progenitors, respectively, ofPriam's line and of hers. The daughter ofDanaus wasHesione, who had given birth toElectra byAtlas;Electra had given birth toDardanus byJupiter; and fromDardanus was descendedTros and, in order of succession, the other kings ofTroy. As forAgenor, he had begottenTaygete; and she had given birth toLacedemon byJupiter;Lacedemon had begottenAmyclas, and he had begottenArgalus, the father ofOibalus; it was well known thatOibalus was the father ofTyndareus, and he, it seemed, was her father. She also recited the relation of her mother's family withHecuba, for the son ofAgenor,Phoenix, was the ancestor both ofLeda and ofHecuba's father,Dymas. After revealing her whole genealogy, she burst into tears and begged him not to return her. Now that theTrojans had made her welcome, and she had put her trust in them, they must not prove faithless. EverythingAlexander had taken fromMenelaus' home belonged to her; nothing else had been taken. It was by no means clear whey she preferred to look after her interests in this way. Was it because of her immodest love forAlexander, or because of her fear of the punishment her husband would exact for desertion?

§ 1.10  WhenHecuba was informed ofHelen's attitude and of the relation between their families, she embraced her and did everything she could to prevent her being returned. But by this timePriam and most of the princes were saying that they could no longer put off the envoys or resist the will of the people. (Deiphobus was the only one who sided withHecuba, for his judgment, likeAlexander's, had been corrupted by his lust forHelen.)Hecuba, however, persisted to intercede onHelen's behalf and accostedPriam and all of her sons who were present. They found it impossible to pull her fromHelen's embrace and, therefore, finally decided to do as she wished. Thus by her influence as mother and wife she compromised the good of her country. On the next dayMenelaus, accompanied by the other envoys, came into the assembly. He demanded the return of his wife and the thingsAlexander had taken. ThenPriam, standing in the midst of the princes and calling for silence, said thatHelen (who had come into public view for this purpose) should have the right to decide. When he asked her, "Do you want to go home?" her answer, so they reported, was "No." She had not sailed, she said, unwillingly, for her marriage toMenelaus did not suit her. And so the princes left the assembly, exulting, withHelen.

§ 1.11  When they had gone,Ulysses, though he knew that nothing he said would make any difference, argued for argument's sake. He reviewed everythingAlexander had done and swore that the Greeks would soon be avenging these crimes. Next,Menelaus, full of wrath and scowling blackly, broke up the meeting with threats of destruction. WhenPriam's sons were told what had happened, they secretly swore to kidnap the envoys. They believed, quite rightly, that the envoys, having failed to accomplish their mission, would return to Greece and demand a full-scale war againstTroy.Antenor, however, whose pious character we mentioned above, thwarted this plot. Going toPriam, he complained about the conspiracy:Priam's sons were not plotting against the envoys but against himself, and this he would not endure. Soon afterwards he informed the envoys. Thus every precaution was taken; he gave them a guard and, at the first opportunity, sent them home unharmed.

§ 1.12  While this was happening atTroy, news of the abduction spread throughout Greece. All the descendants ofPelops foregathered and bound themselves with mutual oaths. IfHelen was not returned along with the thingsAlexander had taken, they swore to make war againstPriam. The envoys, having returned toSparta, told aboutHelen's decision and described the hostile words and deeds ofPriam and his sons against them. But they praisedAntenor in the highest terms for the good faith he had shown. The members of the Greek council, having heard this report, decided to make preparations for war in their different regions and kingdoms. They choseArgos which was the realm ofDiomedes, as a good place to meet and make plans for the war.

§ 1.13  When the time seemed best,Ajax the son ofTelamon, who was known for his bravery no less than his hugeness, was the first to arrive, accompanied byTeucer, his brother. Soon afterwardsIdomeneus andMeriones came, who were the closest of friends. (I followed along with these. As to what happened earlier atTroy, I have tried to make my report as accurate as possible,Ulysses being my source. The account that follows, based as it is on my own observations, will meet, I hope, the highest critical standards.) AlsoNestor came toArgos, accompanied byAntilochus andThrasymedes, his sons byAnaxibia. ThenPeneleus came with his cousinsClonius andArcesilaus; and these were followed by two other leaders of theBoeotians,Prothoenor andLeitus.Schedius andEpistrophus came fromPhocis;Ascalaphus andIalmenus, fromOrchomenus. ThenDiores andMeges, the sons ofPhyleus, came; thenThoas, the son ofAndraemon;Eurypylus, the son ofEuaemon, fromOrmenion; and thenLeonteus.

§ 1.14  NextAchilles arrived, the son ofPeleus andThetis. (Thetis, so they say, was the daughter ofChiron.)Achilles was in the first years of his manhood, a noble youth and handsome. So great was his zeal for war that he was already known as the bravest champion alive. Nevertheless, it must be admitted, his character showed a certain ill-advised forcefulness, a certain savage impatience. He was accompanied byPatroclus, his close friend, andPhoenix, his guardian and teacher. Then there wereTlepolemus, the son ofHercules; and after him,Phidippus andAntiphus, the grandsons ofHercules, wearing beautiful armor. After them cameProtesilaus, the son ofIphiclus, with his brotherPodarces. AndEumelus ofPherae was there. (Eumelus' father,Admetus, had once prolonged his life by having his wife die for him.)Podalirius andMachaon came fromTricca; they, being sons ofAesculapius, had been summoned to serve as physicians. ThenPhiloctetes came, the son ofPoeas, carrying the marvellous bow and arrows ofHercules, whom he had formerly served. (As reward for his service,Hercules, when departing to be with the gods, had given these weapons to him.) Then the handsomeNireus came.Menestheus came fromAthens;Ajax, the son ofOileus, fromLocris;Amphilochus, the son ofAmphiaraus, andSthenelus, the son ofCapaneus, fromArgos, and with them wasEuryalus, the son ofMecisteus;Thersander, the son ofPolynices, came fromAitolia; and, last of all,Demophoon andAcamas. These were all the descendants ofPelops. They were followed by a great number of others, coming from various regions, some being retainers of kings, and others rulers themselves. It seems quite useless, however, to give a list of their names.

§ 1.15  When all had assembled atArgos,Diomedes supplied their needs and made them at home.Agamemnon distributed a great amount of gold he had brought fromMycenae, and thus increased their yearning for war. Then they decided unanimously to seal their alliance as follows:Calchas the prophet, the son ofThestor, having ordered ahog brought into their midst, cut it in half and set the parts towards east and west. Then he commanded them all to draw their swords and pass through the victim. Thus, smearing their blades with the blood of thehog, and completing the other rites as required, they bound themselves to war againstPriam. They swore to fight on untilTroy andPriam's whole kingdom was utterly destroyed. After taking this oath and purifying themselves with ablutions, they sacrificed many victims toMars and Concord, seeking the aid of these gods.

§ 1.16  Then they decided to appoint a commander-in-chief. Accordingly, in the temple of theArgiveJuno, everyone, having received a ballot, wrote (inPhoenician letters) the name of the man he thought would make the best leader.Agamemnon was chosen and thus, with the hearty approval of each and every one, he took upon himself the command of the forces. He deserved this position for two reasons: first, he was the brother of the man for whose sake they were fighting; and second, he was considered the wealthiest and most powerful king in Greece. Then they appointedAchilles,Ajax, andPhoenix to be the leaders in charge of the fleet; and gavePalamedes,Diomedes, andUlysses joint command of the army-in-camp, that is, the routine duties of the day and the watches of the night. Having made these arrangements, the Greeks departed to their different kingdoms to get ready their forces and equipment for war. Zeal for war inflamed all Greece during the following period. Within two years everything was ready; weapons for defense and offense, andhorses and ships. The men had accelerated their work, some acting with natural zest, others to rival the glory their comrades were gaining. They felt, understandably enough, that their most important task was the construction of a great naval force; the many thousands of soldiers, when once they had been gathered from everywhere, must not be delayed for want of a fleet.

§ 1.17  Thus at the end of two years all the kings had equipped ships varying in number with the wealth and power of their kingdoms, and had sent them on toAulis inBoeotia; this was the place they had chosen.Agamemnon assembled a fleet of 100 ships fromMycenae, in addition to 60 others from the various cities under his power; he putAgapenor in charge.Nestor equipped a fleet of 90 ships.Menelaus had 60 ships from allLacedemon;Menestheus 40 fromAthens;Elephenor 40 fromEuboea;Ajax, the son ofTelamon, 12 fromSalamis;Diomedes 80 fromArgos;Ascalaphus andIalmenus 30 fromOrchomenus;Ajax, the son ofOileus, 40;Arcesilaus,Prothoenor,Peneleus,Leitus, andClonius 50 from all ofBoeotia;Schedius andEpistrophus 50 fromPhocis;Thalpius andDiores, along withAmphimachus andPolyxenus, 40 fromElis and the other cities of this region;Thoas 40 fromAitolia;Meges 40 fromDulichium and the islands of theEchinades;Idomeneus andMeriones 80 from allCrete;Ulysses 12 fromIthaca;Prothous 40 fromMagnesia;Tlepolemus 9 fromRhodes and the other islands about;Eumelus 11 fromPherae;Achilles 50 fromPelasgianArgos;Nireus 3 fromSyme;Podarces andProtesilaus 40 fromPhylaca and the other places they controlled;Podalirus andMachaon 30;Philoctetes 7 fromMethone and other cities;Eurypylus 40 fromOrmenion;Guneus 22 fromPerrhaebia;Leonteus andPolypoetes 40 from their regions;Phidippus andAntiphus 30 from the islands ofCos andCrapathus;Thersander (the son ofPolynices, as we mentioned above) 50 fromThebes;Calchas 20 fromAcarnania;Mopsus 20 fromColophon; andEpeus 30 from the islands of theCyclades. They filled their ships with large amounts of grain and other necessary goods.Agamemnon had of course ordered them to do this, that so huge a military force might not be harassed with lack of supplies.

§ 1.18  In addition to this huge armada, there were manyhorses and war chariots, their number being large, considering the lack of good pasture in Greece. The infantry, however, far outnumbered the cavalry. Also there were the many technical experts who were necessary to maintain and operate the ships. During this time we were unable, either by bribery or by the influence of Phalis, the king of theSidonians, to entice theLycianSarpedon to follow our alliance.Priam, by offering larger gifts (which afterwards were doubled), had already won his support for theTrojans. It took five years for all the ships (which, as we have described above, were brought together from the various regions of Greece) to be equipped and readied. When, however, nothing except the soldier's absence prevented us from sailing, all of our leaders, at the same time, as if at a given signal, came together atAulis.

§ 1.19  While we were hastening to sail,Agamemnon (who, as we have said above, had been unanimously chosen commander-in-chief), having gone some way from the camp, noticed a she-goat grazing near a grove ofDiana and, feeling no awe because of the place, struck it through with his spear. Soon afterwards, either because of heavenly wrath or atmospheric contamination, a plague began to attack us. Day after day it raged with greater and greater violence, destroying many thousands as it passed indiscriminately through herds and army, laying waste everything that stood in its way, there being no abatement, no end to death. While our leaders were seeking some remedy, a certain woman, divinely inspired, revealed the reason for our affliction: the wrath ofDiana; the goddess was exacting punishment from the army for the sacrilege of slaying the she-goat in which she especially delighted, nor would she relent until the perpetrator of this awful crime had made full atonement by sacrificing his oldest daughter. When this solution was brought to the army, all of our leaders approachedAgamemnon. Begging and then threatening, they tried to make him offer the remedy quickly, but he obstinately and absolutely refused. And so they reviled him and finally stripped him of his command. But in order that their huge army, being leaderless, might not become an undisciplined mob, they chose four men to share the command:Palamedes,Diomedes,Ajax the son ofTelamon, andIdomeneus. And they divided their forces, according to the number of leaders, into four equal parts.

§ 1.20  Meanwhile the plague continued to rage untilUlysses unexpectedly provided the necessary remedy. No one knew of his plan. He pretended to return to his kingdom because of his anger atAgamemnon's refusal, but went instead toMycenae and tookClytemnestra a letter he had forged in the name of her husband. The gist of this letter was as follows:Achilles refused to sail forTroy until he had married their oldest daughter,Iphigenia, whom they had promised to him; therefore, she should sendIphigenia toAulis, along with the dowry, as quickly as possible. In addition to bringing this letter,Ulysses said many things to strengthenClytemnestra's belief in its contents. Thus she, desiring both to recover her sisterHelen and, even more, to marry her daughter to so famous a man, gladly entrustedIphigenia toUlysses. Within a few days he returned to the camp and appeared unexpectedly with the girl in the grove ofDiana. WhenAgamemnon knew what had happened, he wanted to flee, either because of his love for his daughter or because he wanted no part in so criminal a sacrifice.Nestor, however, learned of his plans and, in a long speech, by means of that art of persuasion in which he was more pleasing and effective than anyone else in Greece, prevailed upon him to stay.

§ 1.21  Ulysses,Menelaus, andCalchas were put in charge of the sacrifice; everyone else was kept at a distance. When they had begun to adorn the girl, suddenly, lo and behold, the day began to darken. Thunder roared and lightning flashed, earth and sea were shaken. Finally a whirlwind of dust made the darkness complete. Soon afterwards rain and hail poured down. This ghastly disturbance which showed no signs of abatement threwMenelaus and the other officiants into confusion; they were caught between their fear and perplexity. At first they were frightened by the sudden change in the weather and believed that this was the sign of some god, but then they were worried that the army might suffer some harm if they discontinued the sacrifice. While they were trying to solve their dilemma, they heard a voice from the grove saying that divinity spurned such an offering; the goddess had mercy upon the girl, and they must not touch her; as forAgamemnon, after his victory atTroy, his wife would see to his adequate punishment; they must sacrifice what they would see had been sent in the place of the girl. Then the winds and the lightning and all the storm's fierceness began to diminish.

§ 1.22  While these things were happening,Achilles received a personal letter fromClytemnestra, and also a great deal of gold; she commended her daughter and all of her house to him. When he had read the letter, he realized the scheme ofUlysses and, dropping all other concerns, rushed to the grove, shouting forMenelaus and the other officiants to keep their hands offIphigenia, or else he would kill them. He found them still in a state of shock; and when the weather had cleared, he freed the girl. But what was the thing, where was the thing that they had been ordered to sacrifice? This was perplexing them all when a marvellously beautiful deer appeared untrembling before the very altar. Accepting this deer as the victim which had been predicted and which was now divinely offered, they seized upon it and soon slew it. With the performance of this sacrifice, the force of the plague subsided, and the sky became bright as in summer. ThenAchilles and the three officiants, acting in complete secrecy, entrusted the girl to the king of theScythians, who was there at this time.

§ 1.23  Our leaders were all delighted, for they saw that the force of the plague had abated and that the winds were good for sailing, the sea being calm as in summer. Going toAgamemnon and consoling him over his daughter's death, they made him commander-in-chief once again. This greatly pleased the whole army, for all the soldiers lovedAgamemnon, thinking that he would look after their interests no less than a father.Agamemnon showed no signs of knowing what had really happened toIphigenia. Perhaps he knew. Or had he, having pondered the turns of human fortune, steeled himself to adversity? In either case, resuming his office, he invited the leaders to dinner that day. Several days later, the weather being good for sailing, our leaders set the army in order; and thus we boarded the ships. We had stowed all sorts of costly supplies which the people who lived nearAulis had given us. Grain, wine, and other necessary foods were furnished byAnius and his daughters; the latter were known asOinotropae (wine-growers) and priestesses of a holy religion. Thus we sailed fromAulis.

§ 2.1  DICTYS CRETENSIS BOOK 2 TRANS. BY R. M. FRAZER
The winds drove our whole fleet towardMysia, and at a given signal we quickly guided all of the ships to shore, where, however, there were guards who opposed our men and prevented them from debarking. These guards had been stationed there byTelephus, who was at that time the ruler ofMysia, to protect his country from overseas enemies. They forbade us to come ashore, or even to touch land, until they had told their king who we were. When our men paid no heed to these orders and began, one by one, to debark, the guards relented not in the least but used full force to resist and obstruct us. Thereupon all of our leaders agreed that force must be met with force and, snatching up arms and rushing from the ships, angrily slew some of the guards; and put the others to flight, slaughtering any they happened to catch.

§ 2.2  The guards who were first to escape the Greeks went and toldTelephus about the hostile horde which had attacked their country and which, having slain some of their number, now was holding the shore. And each of the guards, in proportion to his fear, embellished the story now with some additional incident. On learning this news,Telephus, taking the men he had with him and those who were able to be gathered in the emergency, hastened to encounter the Greeks. When the two sides had drawn up their forces, a great battle ensued. They slaughtered each other at close quarters, the deaths of their comrades spurring them on to fight the more fiercely. It was in this battle thatThersander (the son ofPolynices, as we mentioned above) attackedTelephus, and fell at his hands.Thersander had killed many of theMysians, among whom was a doughty fighter, a favourite ofTelephus, chosen by him as one of his generals because of his bravery, strength, and natural ability; these successes had gradually causedThersander to become elated at the prospects of ultimate victory; and thus, daring to do greater deeds, he was killed. ThereuponDiomedes, remembering the friendship their fathers had started, shoulderedThersander's bloody body and carried it off to be cremated and buried according to custom.

§ 2.3  Achilles andAjax the son ofTelamon, seeing that the war was resulting in heavy casualties for our side, divided the army between them and, exhorting their troops as the occasion demanded, attacked the enemy more fiercely, their strength apparently renewed. They themselves were in the front of the fighting, now pursuing those who were fleeing, now opposing, like a wall, those who attacked. Thus even then, by being the first or among the first to fight in every encounter, they had won for themselves both with our men and with the enemy, an illustrious reputation for bravery. Meanwhile Teuthranius, having noticed thatAjax was winning great glory in battle, hastened to meet him, and there died fighting, felled byAjax' spear. Teuthranius was the son ofTeuthras andAuge; and the half-brother ofTelephus, for they had the same mother.Telephus, being deeply upset by the death of his brother and seeking for vengeance, attacked the enemy line. Having put to flight those who opposed him, he was doggedly pursuingUlysses in a vineyard nearby when a vine tripped him up. ThereuponAchilles who, from some distance, had seen what had happened, hurled his spear and pierced the king's left thigh. ButTelephus rose quickly and, having drawn out the spear, escaped immediate destruction under cover of a group of his men who had come to the rescue.

§ 2.4  At the close of this day, both sides were exhausted, for the battle had raged without break, the leaders joined in fierce combat. The presence ofTelephus had especially dampened our spirits, tired as we already were from sailing so far; forTelephus was a tall and powerful man whose deeds of valor rivalled those of his divine father,Hercules. Thus with the coming of night, all were glad to stop fighting. TheMysians returned to their homes, our men to the ships. Great was the number of those who were slain in this battle, but greater still was the number of those who were wounded: no one, or at least very few, escaped without injury. On the next day both sides sent envoys to make a truce for burying the dead. Thus the bodies were collected, cremated, and buried.

§ 2.5  MeanwhileTlepolemus and the brothersAntiphus andPhidippus (who were sons ofThessalus and grandsons ofHercules, as we mentioned above) learned thatTelephus was the ruler ofMysia. Relying for protection on the fact of this kinship, they went and told him who they were, and with whom they had sailed. Finally, after a long conversation, they bitterly accused him of the hostile way he had opposed his own people, pointing out thatAgamemnon andMenelaus, who had brought together their army, were descendants ofPelops and therefore not unrelated to him. Then they told him aboutAlexander's crimes againstMenelaus' home and about the abduction ofHelen.Telephus therefore, they concluded, should want to aid the Greeks because of his relationship with them, and especially in view ofAlexander's violation of the laws of guest-friendship; moreover,Telephus' father,Hercules, had also aided the Greeks by those numerous labours the monuments of which existed throughout Greece.Telephus, though terribly pained by his wound, answered their charges politely. What had happened, he said, was not his fault, but theirs. He had not know that they who had come were closest friends and cherished relatives. They should have sent ahead messengers to announce their arrival, and he would have gone and met them, bidden them welcome, and made them at home; they would have been his guests, and he would have sent them off with gifts when they thought they must go. As for the expedition againstPriam, he refused to take part; he was prevented by the closest bonds of kinship, for his wifeAstyoche, the mother of his sonEurypylus, was one ofPriam's daughters. Then he quickly commanded that his people be told to stop preparing for war and freely granted our men the right to debark.Tlepolemus and the other envoys were put in the care ofEurypylus; and thus, their mission accomplished, they returned to the ships to tellAgamemnon and the other nobles about the peace and concord withTelephus.

§ 2.6  On learning this news, we gladly stopped preparing for war; and, in accordance with the will of the council,Achilles andAjax went toTelephus. Seeing he was suffering great pain, they tried to console him and urged him to bear up bravely.Telephus, when his pain allowed him to speak, accused the Greeks of not even sending a messenger ahead to announce their arrival. Then he asked how many of our men were descendants ofPelops, and who these descendants were. Having been told, he insisted that these relatives should come and see him. Thereupon our men, having promised to do as he wished, returned and told the others what he desired. Accordingly, all of the descendants ofPelops, with the exception ofAgamemnon andMenelaus, came together and went toTelephus. He was very grateful and very delighted to see them and received them hospitably with many gifts. Moreover, he showed his kindness by sending grain and ample supplies to all our men who were left at the ships. Noticing, however, thatAgamemnon andMenelaus were absent, he beggedUlysses to go and summon them. Upon their arrival, he and they exchanged gifts, as royal custom demanded; and they orderedPodalirius andMachaon, the sons ofAesculapius, to come and treat him. These latter hastened to discover a cure and to offer a suitable treatment for the wound.

§ 2.7  When we had been delayed from embarking for several days, and the sea, because of adverse winds, was becoming increasingly rough, we went toTelephus and asked what was the best time for sailing toTroy fromMysia. The beginning of spring, he said; no other time was good. Thereupon, by unanimous agreement, we returned toBoeotia and, having hauled up our ships, dispersed to spend the winter in our different kingdoms. During this time of leisure,Agamemnon felt free to blameMenelaus for having betrayedIphigenia, for he believed that he had advised this and was, so to speak, the cause of his grief.

§ 2.8  And during this time theTrojans learned of our hostile alliance from the barbarousScythians, who bartered their goods with the people who lived up and down both sides of theHellespont. Fear and sorrow prevailed throughoutTroy. Everyone who had from the beginning disapproved ofAlexander's crime swore that Greece had been wronged and that all of theTrojans, because of the sins of a few, were going straight to destruction. To meet this threat to their country,Alexander and his wicked advisers sent men, carefully chosen from every group, to levy forces in the neighboring regions, and commanded them to return as quickly as possible with their mission accomplished. Thus the sons ofPriam sped up preparations in order that, when the army was ready, they might set sail first and carry the entire war to Greece.

§ 2.9  MeanwhileDiomedes, having learned what was happening atTroy, quickly went thoughout Greece; he met with all of our leaders and told them the plan of theTrojans. We must, he urged, gather supplies and equipment and sail as soon as we could. Thus we assembled atArgos; but thereAgamemnon aroused the wrath ofAchilles by refusing to sail. He was still crushed with grief because of the loss of his daughter. Finally, however,Ulysses revived his spirits and sense of purpose by letting him know what had really happened toIphigenia. Everyone was present atArgos, and no one neglected his military duty. ButAjax the son ofTelamon, along withAchilles andDiomedes, had shown the greatest concern and zeal in preparing for war; and now these saw to the construction of extra ships with which to make beachheads onTrojan territory, building within ad few days fifty such vessels complete in all points. Eight years had passed from the time we first began preparing for war, and now the ninth had begun.

§ 2.10  When nothing prevented our sailing, the ships being ready and the sea being calm, we hiredScythians to act as our guides. They had landed atArgos to barter goods. At the same timeTelephus hastened to sail toArgos to find relief for the wound he had received while fighting our men. Having suffered a long time and found no remedy, he had gone to the oracle ofApollo, and there been told to consultAchilles and the sons ofAesculapius. He reported the oracle to all or our leaders, who were wondering why he had come, and begged them — they were his friends — not to deny the predicted remedy. On hearing his plea,Achilles,Machaon, andPodalirius treated his wound, and thus soon proved the oracle true. After we had made many sacrifices and besought the gods to aid our endeavors, we went toAulis, taking the ships mentioned above. And from there we hastened to sail.Telephus, being grateful because of his cure, offered himself as a guide. Thus we boarded the ships and, finding favourable winds, came toTroy several days later.

§ 2.11  Meanwhile theLycianSarpedon, the son ofXanthus andLaodamia, in answer to the summons which frequent messengers had made forPriam, had led a huge army toTroy. Having noticed from afar that our great armada was landing, he realized the situation and, alerting his forces, rushed to prevent our debarking. Soon afterwards the sons ofPriam learned what was happening and, taking up arms, ran to the aid ofSarpedon. Thus we were fiercely attacked in every way. At first we could neither debark without being killed nor arm ourselves, the general confusion causing our every action to flounder. Finally, however, some, in spite of the terrible pressure, were able to arm and, banding together, fiercely counter-attacked. In this battleProtesilaus, whose ship had been first to land, fell among those who were fighting up front, struck byAeneas' weapon. Also two sons ofPriam were killed. In fact, no one on either side completely escaped without injury.

§ 2.12  Achilles andAjax the son ofTelamon fought with great glory, their courage sustaining and increasing the confidence of our men. They struck fear into the enemy, some of whom, having dared to oppose them, soon were retreating, and all of whom finally were taking to flight. Thus we, being free for a time from enemy attack, were able to draw up our ships and set them safely in order. Then we choseAchilles andAjax the son ofTelamon, since they were the bravest, to guard the ships and the army, stationing them at the ends of our camp to cover our flanks. When everyone was settled in place,Telephus departed for home. Our army was very grateful to him for having led us toTroy. Soon afterwardsCycnus surprised us with a treacherous attack. He had heard of our coming, for his kingdom was not far off fromTroy. His attack was made against those of our men who were preoccupied with the burial ofProtesilaus. These, expecting no trouble, were caught unawares and forced to flee in utter disorder. But soon the rest of our men, those not entrusted with the burial, learned what was happening and came to the rescue. Among these wasAchilles who encountered and slewCycnus along with countless numbers of others; thus those who had fled were relieved.

§ 2.13  But frequent raids by the enemy caused heavy casualties to our side and deeply disturbed our leaders. Therefore, the first thing we decided to do was to attack the cities in the region nearTroy with a part of our army and wreak general destruction. We began with the kingdom ofCycnus and plundered the country around it. When, however, we invaded and began to fire the capital, where it was said the sons ofCycnus were being reared, the people, that is, theNeandrienses, offered no resistance and begged us to forbear. Weeping, they prayed on bended knee, by all things human and divine, that their city be spared. They were not, they said, to be blamed for the wicked acts of their evil king; they had been innocent and, after his death, had sided with us. Thus they stirred us to pity and saved their city. We required, however, that they hand over the sons of the king, Cobis and Corianus, along with their sisterGlauce. Then we gave the girl toAjax, in addition to this regular share of the booty, a due reward for his valorous deeds. Soon afterwards theNeandrienses came to the camp and sued for peace; they promised to be our allies and to do whatever we ordered. When this campaign had been finished, we stormedCilla but refrained from touchingCarene, though it was near. Thus we showed our gratitude for the faithful friendship of theNeandrienses, for they were lords inCarene.

§ 2.14  At the same time an oracle of thePythian god was reported to us. We must, it said, choosePalamedes to offer a sacrifice to theSminthianApollo; we must all grantPalamedes this honor. Many of us were happy to obey this oracle, remembering the zeal and lovePalamedes had shown throughout the army; but some of the leaders disliked him. Nevertheless, whatever our feelings, we did what was ordered and hadPalamedes offer a hundred victims in behalf of all the army.Chryses,Apollo's priest in this region, presided over the offering. MeanwhileAlexander, having learned what was happening, gathered a force of armed men and came to prevent the sacrifice. But before he could reach the temple, the twoAjaxes killed a great number of his men and put him to flight.Chryses (who, as we have said above, was the priest ofSminthianApollo) feared harm from both armies and pretended to favour those from each side who approached him. During the sacrifice,Philoctetes, who was standing in the temple near the altar, was suddenly bitten by aserpent. Everyone who saw what had happened raised a shout, andUlysses rushed forward and slew theserpent. Soon afterwards we sentPhiloctetes, with a few other men, to be cured of his poison onLemnos, for the inhabitants of this island, which was sacred toVulcan, claimed that their priests were wont to cure cases like his.

§ 2.15  During the same timeDiomedes andUlysses devised a plot to killPalamedes. (It is characteristic of human nature to yield to resentments and envy; one does not easily allow oneself to be surpassed by a better.) Accordingly, these two, pretending to have found gold in a well, persuadedPalamedes — they wanted, they said, to share the treasure with him — to be the one to descend. He suspected nothing; and so, when no one else was nearby, they let him down by means of a rope, and then, picking up stones which were lying on around, they quickly stoned him to death. ThusPalamedes, the best of men and the army's favourite, one whose counsel and courage had never failed, died in a way he ill deserved, treacherously slain by the most unworthy men. There were those who suspectedAgamemnon of having shared in this plot, forPalamedes was very popular with the soldiers, most of whom wanted him as their king and openly said that he should be made commander-in-chief. After burning the body, a ceremony which was attended, like a public funeral, by all the Greeks, the ashes were placed in a golden urn.

§ 2.16  MeanwhileAchilles suspected that the states bordering onTroy wereTrojan allies and, so to speak, aTrojan arsenal. Accordingly, taking some ships, he attackedLesbos and easily took it by storm. Having slainPhorbas, the king of this island, who had committed many acts of hostility against us, he carried offDiomedea,Phorbas' daughter, along with much booty. Then, as all of his soldiers demanded it, he attacked the wealthy cities ofScyros andHierapolis with all of his forces; and these he utterly destroyed without any trouble in a few days. Wherever he went, the country was completely pacified and plundered, and everything was thrown into turmoil; anything that might be helpful toTroy was either overturned or destroyed. The other neighboring peoples, having learned what was happening, flocked to him in peace and promised him half of their crops if he, in return, would leave their fields unharmed. Thus he made treaties with these and exchanged pledges of peace. After completing this campaign,Achilles returned to camp, a glorious victor bringing much booty. At the same time the king of theScythians, having learned that our men had arrived, came and brought many gifts.

§ 2.17  ButAchilles was by no means content with what he had already done. Therefore, he attacked theCilicians and, within a few days, tookLyrnessos by storm. Having slainEetion, the king ofLyrnessos, he filled his ships with much wealth and carriedAstynome off, the daughter ofChryses and, at that time,Eetion's wife. ThenAchilles hastened to stormPedasos, a city of theLeleges. When Brises, the king of theLeleges, saw the fierceness of the siege, he realized that there was no way the enemy could be resisted or his own people sufficiently defended. Despairing of both flight and safety, he returned to his palace and, while everyone else was busy fighting, hanged himself. Soon afterwards the city was taken; many people were killed, andHippodamia, the daughter of Brises, was carried off.

§ 2.18  During the same time,Ajax the son ofTelamon made a sweeping attack against the ThracianChersonese. WhenPolymestor, the king of this region, learned ofAjax' prowess in war, he thought it was useless to fight and sought terms of surrender. First, he handed overPriam's son,Polydorus. (Priam, acting in complete secrecy, had sent this son, soon after birth, across forPolymestor to raise.) Second, he gave gold and other such gifts, enough to satisfy his enemy's demands. Third, he promised a year's supply of grain for our entire army and filled the merchant shipsAjax had brought for this purpose. When, finally, he had denounced, with many curses, his treaty withPriam against us, his plea for peace was deemed acceptable. After completing this campaign,Ajax turned toward the country of thePhrygians. He attacked them and slew their rulerTeuthras in single combat. Within a few days he had stormed and fired their city and carried off a great amount of booty, includingTecmessa, the daughter ofTeuthras.

§ 2.19  ThenAchilles andAjax, coming from different directions, returned to camp at the same time, as if by plan. Having sacked many cities and laid waste to vast regions, they had won great renown for themselves. When the heralds had assembled all the soldiers and leaders, the two returning heroes entered the crowd — not together, but one at a time — and displayed, for everyone to see, the results of all their labors and pains. Seeing what they had brought, we shouted their praises, and crowned them, as they stood in our midst, with wreaths of olive. In deciding how best to divide the booty, we followed the advice ofNestor andIdomeneus, the most judicious of men. First, from the booty thatAchilles had brought,Astynome (the wife ofEetion and the daughter ofChryses, as we said above) was given, by unanimous decision toAgamemnon in view of his kingly office. As forAchilles, he keptDiomedea and alsoHippodamia, the daughter of Brises. It would have been cruel to separate these girls, for they were of the same age and from similar backgrounds; furthermore, they had fallen atAchilles' feet and begged him not to let them be parted. The rest ofAchilles' booty was distributed among the men according to merit. ThenAjax hadUlysses andDiomedes bring in the booty he had won.Agamemnon was given as much gold and silver as his station demanded. As forAjax himself, he was allowed to keepTecmessa, the daughter ofTeuthras, a fitting reward for his valorous deeds. The rest of his things were fairly divided, and the grain was apportioned throughout the army.

§ 2.20  When he had finished dividing the booty,Ajax told about the treaty he had made withPolymestor, and howPolydorus had been handed over to him. Thereupon we all agreed thatUlysses andDiomedes should go toPriam and, in return for surrenderingPolydorus, recoverHelen along with the things that had been carried off. WhileUlysses andDiomedes were preparing to set out,Menelaus — this was his business — also joined in the mission. Thus these proceeded toTroy, withPolydorus' fate resting in their hands. When theTrojans beheld our envoys and saw that they were men of great renown, they hastened to assemble their elders, that is, those who were wont to hold council.Priam, however, was kept at home by his sons. At the meeting of the councilMenelaus said that now he had come a second time, but for the same reason. He complained about all the wrongs to himself and his house, and especially bewailed the fact thatHelen's absence had made an orphan of his daughter. A former friend, he said, a former guest, had done him all these wrongs, and he had ill deserved such treatment. Seeing the depth of his sorrow, theTrojan leaders wept, and agreed with all he had said, as if they themselves shared in his wrongs.

§ 2.21  Next,Ulysses stood up in their midst and made a speech of this sort: "Trojan lords, I believe that you know well enough that the Greeks are not accustomed to begin anything rashly or without proper consideration. From earliest times they have planned and labored that praise rather than blame should attend whatever they do. Let me, without going into details, review that previous occasion when I had dealings with you. As soon asAlexander had attacked and insulted the Greeks, we did not yield to temptation and hasten to arms. This, to be sure, is the usual way for fired-up feelings to seek relief. Instead, as you remember, our council sent us, along withMenelaus, as envoys to seek the recovery ofHelen. But we got nothing fromPriam and his princes, nothing but haughty, threatening words and hidden treacheries. Therefore, with the failure of our mission, it was to be expected, I think, that we should take up arms and obtain by force what we had been unable to get by friendly means. Thus we have assembled an army with many excellent and famous leaders. But not even so have we determined on war. Rather, following our usual custom and showing our usual moderation, we have come again to implore you in the same cause.Trojans, the rest is in your hands. We will not think less of you for correcting your previously ill-advised actions. Consider only what is wise, and make a sound decision.

§ 2.22  "I beg you, by the immortal gods, to ponder what will happen if you make a wrong decision. The effect will be a disaster which will spread, like a plague, throughout the world. After this, when anyone is entering into an important negotiation, will he not, rememberingAlexander's crime, find manifold reason for being suspicious and fearing deceit? Friend will fear friend. Who will open his house even to his own brother? Who will not fear a guest or relative as if he were an enemy? Finally, if you make a wrong decision — and certainly I hope you will not — you will destroy every basis for agreement and mutual understanding between barbarians and Greeks. Therefore,Trojan leaders, do what is good and right, be truly friendly and just. Send the Greeks home with everything that was stolen from them. Do not wait until our two kingdoms, in spite of their friendship, actually come to hostilities. "ByHercules, when I think of your plight, I have pity for you. Though you yourselves are innocent and free from fault, nevertheless you must bow to the lusts of a few; and thus the crime of one man will cause you all to be punished. Surely you must know that the Greeks have attacked the cities nearby that are friendly to you and are planning, day after day, to make new attacks. Our success is shown byPolydorus' capture. We will givePolydorus toPriam unharmed whenHelen, at long last, is returned with everything that was stolen. If this does not happen, there must be immediate war, continuous war, until one side is completely victorious. Either all the Greek leaders, any of whom could cause your city's destruction, must die or, as I hope,Troy must be captured and fired, and you must become an example of punished impiety for our descendants. I beg you, therefore, I implore you, have foresight, while matters are still in your hands."

§ 2.23  WhenUlysses had finished speaking, there was a long silence. Everyone, as often happens, was waiting for someone else to speak, someone better than himself. Finally this silence was broken byPanthus, who said in a loud voice: "Ulysses you are addressing people who are unable to do as they please. We are unable to remedy this situation." And nextAntenor said: "Since we are wise and prudent men, we grant you everything you say; and if we had the power, we would advise accordingly. But, as you see, others with whom personal greed counts more than the common welfare are in control of our state." ThenAntenor ordered the leaders of the foreign forces to be introduced: those who had come because of their treaties withPriam, and those who were hired mercenaries. When these had been introduced,Ulysses made a second speech. They were all, he said, the wickedest men. They were no different fromAlexander, who was the worst of criminals, for they had deserted the good and the true to follow him. Each of them knew that if they approved of this terrible crime they would be setting an evil example which, being disseminated especially through the peoples nearby, would serve as a model for similar or even more sorrowful acts. Then each of the elders silently pondered how terrible might be the results of this horrible crime. Being moved to disgust and shrinking from their own evil example, they went on record, voting in their usual way, thatMenelaus had suffered injustice. OnlyAntimachus, opposing everyone else, voted inAlexander's behalf. Thereupon they chose two men to go and tellPriam about all that had happened. And these reported, along with the other things they were ordered, also aboutPolydorus.

§ 2.24  WhenPriam heard this report, he collapsed, utterly dumbfounded, in the presence of all. Soon, however, he got to his feet; those who were standing around helped to revive him. He wanted to go to the council, but the princes made him remain while they themselves went off. Shortly before they burst into the council,Antimachus had been hurling reproaches against the Greeks. They had shown real effrontery, he said, and theTrojans should detainMenelaus untilPolydorus was returned and treatMenelaus exactly asPolydorus was treated. Everyone was silent to this suggestion with the exception ofAntenor, who, using all the powers at his command, tried to prevent the council from such a course. He andAntimachus argued hotly, and finally their passions led them to blows. Then all the others who were present proclaimedAntimachus an unruly, seditious person, and drove him from the council.

§ 2.25  As soon asPriam's sons arrived,Panthus beggedHector (who was believed to be the best of the princes in counsel as well as in courage) to returnHelen peacefully, now that the envoys had come to regain her.Alexander, he said, had had time enough to satisfy whatever love he had had forHelen. The Greek kings, they should remember, were in their country and had recently sacked cities which were friendly toTroy. Furthermore, these Greek successes had causedPolymestor willingly to commit the horrible crime of giving the GreeksPolydorus. TheTrojans should learn from this example and fear that the neighboring regions might enter into similar schemes and plot the destruction ofTroy. Such an attack would catch theTrojans completely off guard; bonds of faith would be broken; treachery would reign everywhere; former pacts would be dashed. Therefore, they in the council should see things as they really were and delay the envoys no longer, but giveHelen up. This act of good will would bring about a stronger and closer bond of friendship between the Greeks and theTrojans. On hearing this,Hector was saddened and wept, remembering his brother's crime. Nevertheless, he thought thatHelen should by no means be given up, for she was a suppliant at his home; good faith intervened, and they must keep her. If, however, the envoys would enumerate the various articles that had been carried off withHelen, all of these things, he thought, should be returned. And, to takeHelen's place,Cassandra orPolyxena, whichever seemed best to the envoys, should be given in marriage toMenelaus along with a handsome dowry.

§ 2.26  Menelaus was terribly angered at this and answered as follows: "ByHercules, I am being treated in an excellent manner if I, who have been robbed of my wife, am forced to marry again according to the will of my enemies." ThenAeneas replied: "You will not even be granted this favour since I and the other relatives and friends who adviseAlexander strongly oppose it. Fortunately there are, and always will be, those who safeguard the house and kingdom ofPriam. The loss ofPolydorus does not leavePriam bereft of children, for he still ahs many other such sons. "Do you think that abductions, like that ofHelen, should be allowed only thos those who hail from Greece? The Greeks ofCrete, as you know, successfully abductedEuropa fromSidon andGanymede from our kingdom.Medea is another example. She, as surely you know, was abducted fromColchis and carried off toIolchus. And finally, not to omit your very first of abductions,Io was stolen fromSidon and taken toArgos. "Up to this time we have merely been bandying words. Now, however, unless you flee our land within a reasonable time, and take your fleet, soon, very soon, you will be tastingTrojan valor and courage.Troy ahs more than enough young men who are ready for battle, and every day new allies are coming." WhenAeneas had finished this speech,Ulysses said calmly: "Then, byHercules, there is no need for you to put off hostilities any longer. Give the signal for war and, as you were the first to commit injustice, be also the first to begin the battle. Only provoke us and we will follow suit." After this exchange of taunts the envoys left the council and departed fromTroy. As soon as theTrojan people learned howAeneas had answered the envoys, they raised a huge tumult.Aeneas, they thought, was without a doubt a diplomat of the very worst sort; he was the reason whyPriam's kingdom was hated andPriam's whole house was headed for ruin.

§ 2.27  The envoys, having returned to camp, told all our leaders what theTrojans had said and done to oppose them. Thereupon we determined to killPolydorus within view of the wall where all theTrojans could easily see what was done. Delaying no further, we led him into the center and stoned him to death in payment for his brother's impiety, while most of the enemy watched from the walls. Then we sent a herald to tell theTrojans to come and get the body for burial.Idaeus came and, with the help of some slaves of the king, tookPolydorus, mangled and torn by the stones, back to his mother,Hecuba. MeanwhileAjax the son ofTelamon, in order to keep the enemy riled, attacked the regions nearby that were friendly toTroy. He capturedPitya and Zelia, notoriously wealthy cities, and, not being content with these, laid wasteGargarum,Arisba,Gergitha,Scepsis, andLarissa with marvellous swiftness. Then, having learned from the inhabitants that there were many herds of all sorts being grazed on MountIda, since all of his soldiers demanded it, he quickly attacked the mountain and, after killing the herdsmen, drove a large number ofcattle away. Then no one opposed him; everyone fled wherever he went; and so, when the time seemed right, he returned to camp, laden with booty.

§ 2.28  At the same timeChryses (who was the priest of theSminthianApollo, as we have said above), having learned that his daughter,Astynome, was withAgamemnon, came to the ships, trusting in the power of his awesome religion. He brought with him a statue of the god and certain ornaments of the temple, hoping thereby the more easily to remind the kings of the god, and inspire them with awe. Praying for the release of his daughter, he offered gifts of gold and silver, countless ransom. We must, he implored, honor the presence of the god:Apollo was there, begging us in his behalf. Furthermore, because he had recently officiated at our sacrifice, he had incurred the enmity ofAlexander and his brothers, who were daily plotting against him. On hearing his plea, we all thought that the girl should be returned. Nor should we accept any ransom. We owed this toChryses, not only because of his personal faithfulness to us but, what mattered more, because of his office as priest ofApollo. Having seen many evidences ofApollo's power and having learned of his popularity in the region nearby, we had made up our minds to serve this god devoutly.

§ 2.29  WhenAgamemnon saw what was happening, he proceeded to take a stand opposite to that of everyone else. Scowling blackly and threatening death, he ordered the priest not to return. Accordingly, the old man departed, terrified and fearing for his life, his mission a failure. When our assembly broke up, our leaders approachedAgamemnon, one at a time, and taunted him with his manifold wickedness. Because of his love for a captive girl, he had treated his men, that is, themselves, with contempt and, what seemed a thing most shameful, had scorned a very powerful god. When all had reviled him, they went away, thinking how he had shared in the plot by whichDiomedes andUlysses had treacherously slainPalamedes, the army's favourite.Achilles openly, in everyone's presence, abused bothAgamemnon andMenelaus.

§ 2.30  Chryses, afterAgamemnon had sent him away unjustly, returned to his home. And several days later a terrible plague invaded our army. Whether this was due to the wrath ofApollo, as everyone thought, or to some other cause, was uncertain. The disease attacked thecattle first and then, as it gradually gained momentum, spread among the men, a great number of whom suffered unspeakable deaths, their bodies slowly wasting away. Except for our leaders (the kings), none of whom died or was even attacked, the plague knew no bounds, and every day saw more men dying. Accordingly, our leaders, each of whom was afraid for himself, foregathered, and orderedCalchas (we have told about his knowledge of the future) to proclaim the cause of this terrible evil. Although he admitted that he was able to do as they wished, he said that he was by no means free to speak out, for fear he would incur a most powerful king's displeasure. ThereuponAchilles forced all of our kings to swear that they would not be offended, no matter whatCalchas might say. ThusCalchas, feeling that everyone was favourably disposed, announced that the wrath ofApollo was the cause of the plague.Apollo, he said, was angry because of the unjust way we had treated his priest and was therefore exacting punishment from our army. WhenAchilles asked what we must do to bring an end to the plague, the prophet said: "Restore the girl!"

§ 2.31  ThenAgamemnon, though he foresaw what was going to happen, said nothing but withdrew from the council and commanded everyone in his contingent prepare for war.Achilles, on noticing this, being stirred to wrath and likewise vexed by the horrible way our men were dying, ordered that the bodies of everyone whom the plague had destroyed be collected and thrown out in the assembly for all to see. This was a sight which quickly moved all our leaders and men to desertAgamemnon unless he repented.Agamemnon, however, when he heard about this, obstinately held to his first decision and refused to yield in the least. It is uncertain whether his inflexibility was due to his naturally stubborn characters or to his love for the captive girl.

§ 2.32  TheTrojans, looking from their walls, saw the many pyres of our dead burning continuously. They also were informed that those of us who were left were growing weak as the plague proceeded to rage. Accordingly, exhorting each other and taking up arms, they rushed from the gates along with their allies and made an attack. Their forces were arranged in the plain in two divisions:Hector was leading theTrojans,Sarpedon the allies. When we saw them ready for attack, we armed ourselves and, forming an unbroken line of defense, drew up our forces to meet them.Achilles andAntilochus led our right wing;Ajax the son ofTelamon andDiomedes led the left; and the otherAjax andIdomeneus, my leader, led the center. Then the two armies, drawn up in this way, advanced to attack. As soon as they had come within striking distance, everyone raised the war cry and joined in the battle. The conflict lasted some time, and the casualties on both sides were heavy.Hector andSarpedon were the outstanding leaders among the barbarians;Diomedes andMenelaus shone among the Greeks. Finally night brought an end to the battle and rest to the armies. Then both sides, withdrawing, cremated and buried their dead.

§ 2.33  Now the Greeks were on the point of makingAchilles commander-in-chief, for he was the one, so we thought, who seemed most troubled by our misfortunes. And this causedAgamemnon to fear he might lose his glorious position. Speaking in the council, he said that he was deeply concerned for the welfare of the army and thatAstynome, without any further delay, should be returned to her father, especially if thus we would rid ourselves of the plague. He asked only to be givenHippodamia, the bond-maid ofAchilles, to take the place of the prize he was losing. Although everyone thought his request was mean and dishonorable, nevertheless we were moved to grant it. As forAchilles, to whomHippodamia had been given because of his many marvellous deeds, he showed no signs of his feelings; so great was the love and concern for our army in the heart of this excellent youth. ThusAgamemnon was flouting everyone's wishes, but since no one openly opposed him, he thought that he had our unanimous approval. Accordingly, he ordered attendants to fetchHippodamia; and they were prompt to obey. At the same time we hadDiomedes andUlysses takeAstynome, along with a great number of sacrificial victims, across to the shrine ofApollo. When these had completed the sacrifice, the force of the plague gradually seemed to abate. People were no longer becoming ill, and those who were already inflicted seemed to improve, as if their prayers had been divinely answered. Thus within a short time our entire army regained its usual strength and vigor. During this period we also sentPhiloctetes' share of the booty across toLemnos, where he was. This was the booty whichAjax andAchilles had won and which we had divided equally.

§ 2.34  Achilles, having (as we have described) been treated unjustly, stayed away from our councils. He hatedAgamemnon especially; and now his love for the rest of the Greeks was also dead, since they had been silent when he had been robbed ofHippodamia, the reward which his many victories and many brave deeds had earned him. He refused to see any of the leaders who came to visit. Nor would he forgive any of his friends for having deserted him when they might have defended him againstAgamemnon's outrageous action. He preferred to stay in his hut with onlyPatroclus, his closest friend, andPhoenix, his wise teacher, andAutomedon, his charioteer.

§ 2.35  Meanwhile, atTroy, the allies and mercenaries who had come to help theTrojans began to mutiny. They were probably motivated either by boredom from spending a long time there to no purpose or by longing for those they had left behind in their homelands.Hector, noticing this, felt forced to call his troops to arms; they must be ready to follow whenever he signalled. Then, having been informed that the time looked favourable and that his men were in arms, he ordered them all to go forth, he himself taking command and leading the way. This seems a good place to list the kings of the allied forces (those who were bound to theTrojans by treaties) and also of the mercenary forces (those who, coming from various regions, were servingPriam's sons for pay). The first to rush from the gates wasPandarus, the son ofLycaon, fromLycia; thenHippothous andPylaeus, the sons ofLethus, fromPelasgianLarissa; thenAcamas and Pirus fromThrace; thenEuphemus, the son of Troezenus, who led theCiconians;Pylaemenes, the boastingPaphlagonian, whose father was Melius;Odius andEpistrophus, the sons of Minuus, who led theAlizonians;Sarpedon, the son ofXanthus, who led theLycians, fromSolymum; Nastes andAmphimachus, the sons ofNomion, fromCaria;Antiphus andMesthles, the sons ofTalaemenes, fromMaeonia;Glaucus, the son ofHippolochus, fromLycia, whomSarpedon had summoned to share the command because he surpassed all otherLycians in counsel and arms;Phorcys andAscanius fromPhrygia;Chromius and Ennomus, who were Mygdonians, fromMysia;Pyraechmes, the son ofAxius, fromPaeonia;Amphius andAdrastus, the sons ofMerops, from Adrestia;Asius, the son ofHyrtacus, fromSestos; and then the otherAsius, the son ofDymas and the brother ofHecuba, fromPhrygia. Many men followed each of the leaders we have listed; their different customs and different languages caused them to fight in disorder and turmoil.

§ 2.36  When our men saw what was happening, we proceeded onto the plain and drew up our forces in battle array.Menestheus, theAthenian, who was in charge of our deployment, set us in order, according to our different clans and regions. OnlyAchilles and hisMyrmidons stayed behind.Achilles continued to be angry withAgamemnon for unjustly depriving him ofHippodamia; also the fact thatAgamemnon had not invited him to dinner along with the other leaders seemed insulting to him. When our army had been drawn up, we were facing the full force of the enemy for the first time. But neither side dared to begin; both held their ground for a while and then retreated at signals given as if by common consent.

§ 2.37  Having returned to the ships, we put down our arms and prepared to enjoy our dinners as usual. We were relaxing, fearing no trouble, whenAchilles tried to catch us off guard. There were, however, guards who got wind of his plans and toldUlysses. AndUlysses, running around to all the leaders, exhorted and warned them, shouting thatAchilles was going to attack. They must, he said, be ready; they must be armed. A great commotion arose, with everyone rushing to arms and striving to save himself. ThusAchilles' plot was disclosed, and he, being foiled, returned to his hut, despairing of any success against our alerted army. Then our leaders, fearing that this sudden commotion might cause theTrojans to make a new attack, increased the number of the advanced guard. The twoAjaxes,Diomedes, andUlysses were sent forth. They took up positions where they thought — quite rightly, as it happened — that the enemy would be most likely to come.Hector, desiring to learn the reason for the uproar in the camp of the Greeks, had persuadedDolon, the son ofEumedes, with promises of a huge a reward, to go and spy. WhileDolon, trying to fulfil his mission, was eagerly gathering information, he fell intoDiomedes' hands.Diomedes and alsoUlysses, who were guarding the area near the ships, made him tell whatever he knew. Then they killed him.

§ 2.38  Several days passed without any outbreak of hostilities. Then Greeks andTrojans prepared to lead their armies onto the plain betweenTroy and the ships. When everything seemed ready for battle, both sides, in full force, cautiously advanced. At given signals the front lines clashed in dense formation. The Greeks fought in good battle order, everyone following the commands of the leader in charge of his division. The barbarians, however, rushed on without any order or discipline. Nevertheless, many on both sides fell in this battle. There was no retreating; everyone attacked and strove to rival the valor of the heroes fighting around him. Among the barbarian leaders who were seriously wounded and forced to withdraw from the battle wereAeneas,Sarpedon,Glaucus,Helenus,Euphorbus, andPolydamas. Among those on our side who were similarly afflicted wereUlysses,Meriones, andEumelus.

§ 2.39  Menelaus happened to catch sight ofAlexander and rushed, with all his might, to meet him.Alexander, however, not daring to stay where he was, soon took to flight and escaped. ButHector, having noticed this from a distance, ran forward, along withDeiphobus, and causedAlexander to halt. They reproached him bitterly and finally persuaded him to go out between the battle lines and, when everyone else had grown quiet, challengeMenelaus to single combat. Thus these broughtAlexander back into battle; and he (apparently this was the way to make a challenge) went out in front of theTrojan line.Menelaus, noticing this from a distance, felt that at long last he was being given an opportunity to attack the man he most hated. Right here and now, he thought,Alexander is going to pay with his life for all his crimes. And so he rushed against him again. Signals were given, and everybody on both sides drew back as they saw these two rushing head-on, armed and eager to fight.

§ 2.40  Soon the two fighters, taking full strides, had advanced to where they could use their spears.Alexander, hoping to get the start and woundMenelaus, was the first to make a cast. His spear, however, struck againstMenelaus' shield, and thus was deflected. ThenMenelaus, throwing with all his might, met, alas, with the same result — his spear stuck in the earth;Alexander had been on his guard and dodged the blow. But soon they were armed with new spears, and the fight was on again. Finally,Alexander fell, wounded in the thigh; andMenelaus, hoping to take complete vengeance and win greatest glory, rushed forward to kill him. ButPandarus, committing an act of the blackest treachery by shooting his bow from a hidden spot, woundedMenelaus and caused him to halt. This stirred our men to wrath, and they raised a huge cry, feeling cheated because theTrojans had ended the fight in this treacherous way, especially this fight between the two men who had cause the whole war. During this general confusion, a group of barbarians rushed in and savedAlexander from danger.

§ 2.41  At the same time,Pandarus was taking advantage of our irresolution. Standing at a distance, he was finding many of our men with his arrows. He continued his slaughtering untilDiomedes, stirred by this barbarous action, advanced upon him and cut him down at close quarters. ThusPandarus, who had killed many men in violation of the treaty (that is, the agreement according to whichMenelaus andAlexander should fight), paid with his life for his heinous method of fighting. His body was carried from the battle and duly cremated byPriam's sons; the ashes were given to his companions to take toLycia for burial in his native soil. Meanwhile the two armies had given the signal for battle and joined combat. They fought until sundown with all their might, but neither side could claim a victory. With the coming of night, the commander-in-chief withdrew their forces a short distance and posted sufficient guards along the facing battle lines. They kept their men fully armed in these positions and waited for an opportunity to make a successful attack. But this opportunity never came, for winter began to set in, soaking the battlefield with frequent rains. The barbarians retreated within their walls, and our men, left with no enemy to fight, returned to the ships and took up winter duties. Dividing the portion of the plain that was unfit for battle into two parts, they cultivated the soil and grew whatever crops the time of year permitted. During the same period,Ajax, the son ofTelamon, with a force consisting of his own men and some from the army ofAchilles, made an attack againstPhrygia, capturing cities and causing general destruction. Within a few days, he returned to camp, victorious laden with booty.

§ 2.42  Just before his arrival, the barbarians made a sneak attack upon our men, who were relaxing in winter quarters and suspected no hostilities.Hector, the instigator of this rash expedition, was chosen as leader. At daybreak, after calling all of his men to arms, he led them through the gates, with orders to move at double-time straight for the ships, and fall upon us. Our forces which were scattered hither and yon, were caught off guard. The flight of those who were attacked first increased the confusion of the others and made it difficult for them to arm. A great slaughter ensued. As soon as our men in the center gave way,Hector was at the ship, raging with firebrands and setting fire to the prows. None of us dared to oppose him. Our unforeseen plight frightened us almost to death, and we beggedAchilles for help; but even now he refused. How suddenly and radically the spirit had changed in us and our enemies!

§ 2.43  But whenAjax the son ofTelamon returned and learned whereHector was at the ships, he presented himself at this spot, dressed in his marvellous armor. There hew as, streaming with sweat, his great bulk pressing against the enemy, as he drove them away from the ships and thrust them outside the rampart. The more they retreated, the more he pressed his attack.Hector, however, stood his ground — too bold for his own good, forAjax struck him with a huge rock and sent him sprawling. Then, from every direction, a large number ofTrojans rushed up and, crowding around, rescuedHector out of the battle and carried him into the city, a hero half dead, his expedition a failure.Ajax, being thus deprived of honor and glory, was all the more savage. Accompanied byDiomedes,Idomeneus, and the otherAjax, he pursued theTrojans, who fled pell-mell in terror. He was using his spear to hit those in the distance, his shield to crush those he met at close quarters. No on in that part of the battlefield escaped without wounds.Glaucus, the son ofHippolochus,Sarpedon, andAsteropaeus tried to stem their fearful route but, after briefly resisting, soon gave way, seriously wounded. The loss of these leaders caused the barbarians to lose all hope and, breaking ranks, they rushed for the gates in confusion. The passageway, however, was too narrow for the great number of men who tried to enter; they stumbled and fell, like a landslide, over each other.Ajax and the Greeks we just mentioned were soon upon them, and great numbers of barbarians, being terrified and confused, were cut down and killed. Among those who were slain were the sons ofPriam,Antiphus andPolites,Pammon andMestor, and the son of Troezenus,Euphemus, theCiconians' glorious leader.

§ 2.44  Thus the arrival ofAjax caused the fortunes of war to change; theTrojans, until then victorious, lost their leaders, and were forced to pay for their ill-considered aggression. When evening came and the signal was given for retreat, our men returned to the ships, rejoicing in victory. ThenAgamemnon gave a dinner in honor ofAjax, at which time he praised this hero most highly and gave him beautiful gifts. Our other leaders, too, praised the courage ofAjax. No one was silent. They told of his valorous deeds, how he had captured and plundered manyPhrygian cities, and how he had fought withHector at the very ships, a battle to be remembered, and freed the ships from fire. There was no one who doubted that at that time, because of his many excellent and glorious deeds, all of our hopes for a successful campaign rested with him. Within a short timeEpeus repaired the two ships that had caught fire; only their prows had been destroyed. Then the Greeks free to relax without fear, thinking that theTrojans, in view of the attack that had recently failed, would refrain from another attempt.

§ 2.45  During this timeRhesus, the son of Eion, arrived with a large army ofThracians; he had had some dealings withPriam who had promised him pay for his aid. On the day of his arrival, he waited until nightfall on the peninsula which adjoined his kingdom inThrace. Then, about the time of the second watch, he advanced onto theTrojan plain, spread out his tents, and set up camp.Diomedes andUlysses, who were guarding this sector, having noticed the commotion from afar, thought thatPriam was sending someTrojan on a reconnaissance mission. Accordingly, they seized their arms and, moving stealthily and looking all around as they went, soon arrived at the spot. There they discovered the Thracian guards, who, being wearied by their long journey, had fallen asleep. After killing these, they enteredRhesus' tent and slew the king himself. They were, however, afraid to press their luck any further, and so returned to the ships, taking alongRhesus' chariot and richly caparisonedhorses. Then, having gone to their huts, they slept for the rest of the night. At daybreak they went to all of our leaders and told about their successful adventure. The consensus was that the death ofRhesus would anger theThracians and that they would make an attack. Therefore, everyone was ordered to stand by his arms and be ready for battle.

§ 2.46  We had not long to wait, for theThracians, when they awoke, discovered that their king had been foully slain within his tent and saw the tell-tale traces the stolen chariot had left. Immediately, undisciplined and disorganized bands of men began rushing toward the ships. As soon as our men caught sight of theThracians, they advanced, following their leader's commands, in a solid front. The twoAjaxes led the way; they were the first to meet and slay the enemy. Then our other leaders, in their various positions, cut down those who opposed them. Sometimes several of them united their strength to break the power of the attacking bands, and thus they slaughtered them, scattered and leaderless; no one survived. As soon as these attackers had been wiped out, our men, obeying the signal to advance, hastened to the Thracian tents. The onlyThracians still alive were those who had been left to guard the camp. When these saw our men advancing, they were terrified and, abandoning everything, fled to the walls for safety. It was really pathetic. Our men moved in from all sides and seized the armor,horses, and royal wealth that fate had kindly left us.

§ 2.47  Thereupon, withRhesus and hisThracians completely destroyed, our forces returned to the ships, victoriously laden with booty. Meanwhile theTrojans were frightened, as they watched from their battlements, but to no avail for their ally, and stayed within their walls. Their spirits broken by recent reverses, they sent us envoys begging for peace. And thus a treaty was made which both sides, making due sacrifice, swore to uphold. At about the same time,Chryses (who was the priest of theSminthianApollo, as we have said above) came to the Greeks to thank them for returning his daughter,Astynome. Because of this kindness, and because he knew that his daughter had been properly treated, he was now bringing her back forAgamemnon to have. The next event was the return ofPhiloctetes fromLemnos, along with those who had gone to take him his share of the booty. He was still rather sick and walked with difficulty.

§ 2.48  Then our leaders held a meeting of the council, at whichAjax the son ofTelamon, having gone to the center, delivered a speech. He advised us to send suppliants toAchilles to beg him, on behalf of the officers and common soldiers, to give up his wrath and resume his position of honor among us. We should, he felt, act now, for now, in view of our recent victory and the favourable treaty we had made, we would be seeking him out, not because of our need, but merely to honor him as he deserved; we wanted him with us, simply because of his greatness. Furthermore,Ajax implored,Agamemnon should show his willingness to be reconciled withAchilles. In their present circumstances, fighting, as they were, this terrible war in a far-off country, everyone should think only of the common cause. When he had finished speaking, all of our leaders agreed unanimously with what he had said and praised him to the skies. He was, they said, not only stronger but also more intelligent than anyone else. ThenAgamemnon told how he had already sent many suppliants to try to reconcileAchilles. There was nothing he would more desire. Accordingly, he askedAjax (whose relationship withAchilles should add to his persuasiveness) andUlysses to undertake this mission and go toAchilles in behalf of them all.Ajax andUlysses promised to do what they could. AndDiomedes offered to go along too.

§ 2.49  ThereuponAgamemnon ordered two attendants to bring a sacrificial victim. These brought the victim and held it above the ground while he, drawing his sword, cut it in half; the pieces fell to earth where all could see. This done, he walked through the middle, smearing his sword with blood. It was at this time thatPatroclus, who had learned that the council was meeting, arrived. WhenAgamemnon had passed through the sacrifice, he swore that he had never violatedHippodamia; he had never been prone to lust or sensual pleasures; it was, rather, his inability to control his temper that had caused him countless troubles and brought him to this pass. Now he wanted to make the following offer: he would giveAchilles one of his daughters to marry, whichever one he desired, besides a tenth of all his kingdom and fifty talents as dowry. Those at the council, on hearing this, were amazed at his magnanimity.Patroclus was especially impressed by the offer of so much wealth, and he was also happy thatHippodamia had not been violated. Thus he returned toAchilles and told him all that had happened at the council.

§ 2.50  Achilles was ponderingAgamemnon's offer, trying to decide what he should do, whenAjax and the other leaders entered his hut. He received them hospitably and offered them seats.Ajax, having taken the seat that was next toAchilles, began, when the time seemed right, to chide and admonish him. Since they were relatives, he could speak more freely than the others. He blamedAchilles for nursing his wrath when many of his friends and most of his relatives — they, his people, were in serious danger — were begging him to relent.Ulysses was next to speak. First, he said that the gods were to blame for what had happened so far. Then he told about the meeting of the council, about the promisesAgamemnon had made and the oathAgamemnon had taken. Finally, urgingAchilles not to scorn the prayers of the Greeks and not to spurn such a marriage, he ended by listing all of the dowry thatAgamemnon was offering.

§ 2.51  ThenAchilles, in a long speech, began by expounding upon his deeds and accomplishments, reminding them of the many labors he had borne for the common good, of the cities he had stormed. While everyone else was relaxing, he had spent his days and nights anxiously and zealously committed to war, sparing neither himself nor his soldiers; and furthermore, he had allowed the booty he had carried off to be distributed among the entire army. In return for these services, he had received the unique honor of being deprived of his just reward. Only he had been treated with such contempt, such dishonour, for he had been robbed ofHippodamia, his prize, the symbol of his success.Agamemnon was not entirely to blame. What was even worse, all the other Greek leaders, forgetful of past kindnesses, had, by keeping silent, ignored the fact that he was being insulted. WhenAchilles had finished speaking,Diomedes said: "What is past is past, and a wise man does not dwell upon it. Try as you may, you can not call it back." MeanwhilePhoenix andPatroclus were standing aroundAchilles in the position of suppliants, taking hold of his knees and, without restraint, kissing his hands and face, begging him to give up his wrath and return to his place of honor. Do this, they said, not so much for these representatives but, as is right, for all of the army.

§ 2.52  FinallyAchilles yielded. He would do what they wanted. The sight of the representatives, the prayers of his closest friends, and the realization that the army was not to blame made him change his mind. Then for the first time after his wrath, at the suggestion ofAjax,Achilles went to a meeting of the council.Agamemnon greeted him in a royal manner, and the other leaders were happy to welcome him back. On every side there was joy, unbounded joy. And thenAgamemnon, takingAchilles by the hand, led him off, along with the other leaders, to dinner. A little later, during the dinner, when they were enjoying themselves,Agamemnon commandedPatroclus to takeHippodamia toAchilles' hut, and also the jewelry he had given to her. This was an orderPatroclus was glad to obey. During this winter, Greeks andTrojans mingled in the grove of theThymbraeanApollo. They went freely, whether singly or in groups, without any fear of each other.

§ 3.1  BOOK 3
Both Greeks andTrojans kept the truce and refrained from hostilities throughout the whole winter. The Greeks took advantage of the break and spent all their time and energies preparing for battle. They would assemble in front of the rampart, under their various leaders, each in the contingent that practiced his specialty. One group would practice throwing the spear, using, as a rule, pikes of exactly the right weight and length, or else pointed stakes. Others would practice hurling the sling or shooting the bow. Among those excelling in archery wereUlysses,Teucer,Meriones,Epeus, andMenelaus; butPhiloctetes was the best: he owned the bow ofHercules, and always hit the mark with amazing skill. TheTrojans and their allies were, in comparison with the Greeks, almost carefree. They feared no treachery, and therefore neglected their military duties, spending their time making frequent sacrifices to theThymbraeanApollo. At about the same time they were informed that almost all the cities ofAsia had turned againstPriam and were breaking off diplomatic relations withTroy. These cities blamedPriam for upholdingAlexander's cause: he was setting a bad example which would undermine the laws of friendship in their region. Also, they were well aware that the Greeks had won all their battles to date and had conquered many of the neighboring cities. Last but not least, they hatedPriam's sons andPriam's kindom.

§ 3.2  One day, atTroy, whenHecuba was praying toApollo,Achilles and a few of his men came to watch the religious ceremonies. Many other women were there besidesHecuba: her daughters-in-law, for instance, and the wives of the leadingTrojans; some of these, in pure devotion to their queen, attended upon her, while others, pretending to be so devoted, had really come to pray for something for themselves. There were also the daughters ofHecuba,Polyxena andCassandra, as yet unmarried. They were the priestesses ofMinerva andApollo. Their hair was dishevelled, their fillets strange and barbarous.Polyxena was the one who set them to these duties. WhenAchilles by chance turned his gaze onPolyxena, he was struck by the beauty of the girl. The longer he remained there, the deeper his passion grew. Finding no relief, he returned to the ships and, after several days of increasing torment, sent forAutomedon and laid bare his heart.Automedon, he finally begged, must go toHector and plead his suit for the girl. As forHector, he, to be sure, would give him his sister to marry if he would betray the whole army to him.

§ 3.3  Accordingly,Achilles promised that he would bring the whole war to an end ifPolyxena were given to him. ThenHector said thatAchilles must either swear an oath to this betrayal or kill the sons ofPlisthenes andAjax; and that otherwise he was going to hear of no agreement.Achilles, on hearing this, became terribly angry and shouted that, in the first battle, as soon as fighting was resumed, he was going to killHector. Then, his heart being wounded by his violent emotion, he wandered around, now here, now there; sometimes, nevertheless, he considered how far he should go in meetingHector's demands. But whenAutomedon saw how violently he was disturbed and that, as the days went by, he was becoming more and more distraught with longing, and spending the nights outside his hut, he feared thatAchilles might harm himself or the leaders mentioned above, and thus he revealed the whole matter toPatroclus andAjax. These kept a careful watch on their friend, without letting no that they knew anything. As it happened, in timeAchilles came to his senses. Having summonedAgamemnon andMenelaus, he told them about his love forPolyxena and about his dealings withHector. Then everyone tried to console him by pointing out that the girl would be his soon enough, for, before very long, force would succeed where entreaty had failed. What they said seemed reasonable, since the fall ofTroy was already imminent: all the cities ofAsia had broken off diplomatic relations withPriam and had willingly offered their aid and alliance to us. Our leaders had answered politely: Our present forces were quite sufficient, and we had no need of auxiliaries; though, to be sure, we willingly accepted the friendship they offered, and their good will would be pleasing to us. This we said, no doubt, because their fait was not to be trusted, their courage was too little tested, and their sudden change of allegiance was probably made with guile.

§ 3.4  Winter came to an end, with the beginning of spring, both Greeks andTrojans were ready for war. They called their forces to arms and, giving the signal, led them onto the plain. When they had advanced, in formation, close enough to use their spears, they raised the war cry and joined in battle. The cavalry on both sides held the center and were therefore first to clash: the kings ascended their chariots and entered the fray, each beside the charioteer he had chosen to guide hishorses.Diomedes was in the van. Bearing down uponPyraechmes, the king of thePaeonians, he slew him with a spear-thrust in the face. The retainers ofPyraechmes, men he had chosen because of their courage, banded together and tried to resist. ButDiomedes, riding through their midst at full gallop, ran some of them down with his chariot and put the others to flight with his spear. ThenIdomeneus (Meriones was his charioteer) killedAcamas, the king of theThracians. Thrusting him out of his chariot, he caught him, as he fell, on the tip of his spear. WhenHector, who was fighting in another part of the plain, heard that theTrojan horsemen in the center were fleeing, he ran to their rescue, leaving his command in the hands of worthy fighters, and taking alongGlaucus,Deiphobus, andPolydamas. Without a doubt, theTrojans in the center would have been completely destroyed ifHector had not arrived and checked their flight. Now we were no longer able to mop them up, our offensive was dead; nevertheless, we held our ground and refused to retreat beforeHector and the other recent arrivals.

§ 3.5  Soon new of this battle spread throughout the army, and the other leaders, having entrusted their positions to worthy subordinates, rushed toward the center. The battle lines, on both sides, were closed up, and the battle was renewed.Hector felt greatly encouraged, seeing that a large number ofTrojans were present and thinking himself sufficiently safe. Then he urged on his men to fight with more daring, shouting in a loud voice and calling them each by name; and he himself entered the battle and wounded the two brave leaders of theElians,Diores andPolyxenus. As soon asAchilles sawHector attacking like this, he came to the aid of the embattled Greeks, his spirit moved by the thought of howHector had rejected his suit forPolyxena. He was forced, however, to stop in mid-course and slayPylaemenes, the king of thePaphlagonians, who stood in his way.Pylaemenes, so they say, claimed to be related toPriam throughPhineus, the son ofAgenor, forPhineus' daughterOlizone, on coming of age, had been married toDardanus.

§ 3.6  ThenAchilles continued his raging drive againstHector, butHector, who knew very well how hateful he was toAchilles, refused to stay where he was and, mounting his chariot, fled from the battle.Achilles pursued as far as the enemy lines and, throwing his spear, mortally woundedHector's charioteer, afterHector had abandoned hishorses and escaped to another sector.Achilles was terribly vexed when he thought how the man he most hated had eluded his grasp. After extracting his spear from the charioteer, he raged all the more violently, slaying all who opposed him, trampling, as he advanced, over the dead. TheTrojans fled, terrified, untilHelenus, who had found a distant hiding place from which to shoot his arrow, put an end toAchilles' attack.Achilles was caught off guard. His hand was hit, and thus the great champion of the Greeks, he who had causedHector to flee in fear, he who had slain many men and their leaders, was forced from the field, treacherously wounded.

§ 3.7  MeanwhileAgamemnon and the twoAjaxes, amidst their general slaughter of insignificant opponents, caught and slew many ofPriam's sons.Agamemnon slewAesacus andDeiopites and alsoArchemachus, Laudocus, and Philenor. TheAjaxes — both the son ofOileus and the TelamonianAjax — slew Mylius,Astynous,Doryclus,Hippothous, andHippodamas. In another part of the fieldPatroclus andSarpedon theLycian had withdrawn from their men and were trying to protect the flanks of their respective armies. Driving out beyond the battle lines, they challenged each other to fight in single combat. First, they threw their spears, but neither hit the mark. Then, leaping from their chariots and drawing their swords, they came face to face and fought for much of the day, exchanging blows fast and furious, but neither could wound the other. Finally,Patroclus, realizing that he must act with greater boldness, crouched behind the protection of his shield and came to close quarters. With his right hand he dealtSarpedon a crippling blow along the back sinews of the leg and then, pressing his body against him —Sarpedon was faint and beginning to totter — pushed him over and finished him off as he fell.

§ 3.8  TheTrojans, seeing what had happened, cried aloud and abandoned their battle formation, and, at a given signal, made a concerted attack againstPatroclus. They felt, no doubt, thatSarpedon's death was a general disaster for their side.Patroclus, however, had seen the enemy coming. Protected by his armor and holding a spear he had snatched from the ground, he resisted more boldly. He slewGorgythion and drove ofDeiphobus,Gorgythion's brother, wounding him in the leg with his spear. Soon afterwardsAjax arrived and put the otherTrojans to flight. At about he same timeHector, who had also learned what was happening, came to the rescue. He rebuked theTrojan officers and stopped most of the men from retreating. He mad them turn and resume, for the time, their battle formation. Thus by his presence he restored the spirits of his people and caused the battle to be renewed. The battle lines clashed, both sides being inspired by marvelous leaders. Now these were attacking, now those. Wherever the lines seemed about to give way, reinforcements came up. Meanwhile both armies were losing great numbers of men, and victory was favoring neither. When evening came, after a long and increasingly wearisome day of intensive fighting, the soldiers on both sides were glad to depart from the battle.

§ 3.9  ThenTroy was filled with cries of grief. All theTrojans, especially the women, were weeping and wailing around the body ofSarpedon. They felt that no other disaster, however bitter, could be compared with this, not even the deaths ofPriam's sons. They had believed inSarpedon. They had hoped that he would protect them. But now their hopes were dashed. The Greeks, for their part, returning to camp, immediately went toAchilles. After inquiring about his wound and learning, to their joy, that he was not suffering. They told him about the brave deeds ofPatroclus. Then, before scattering to their different huts, they visited and inspected all the others who were wounded. WhenPatroclus returned,Achilles praised him and urged that the memory of what he had done that day should spur him to fight more fiercely in future battles. TheTrojans and Greeks spent this night. When dawn arrived, they collected, cremated and buried their dead. Then, after some days, when the wounded were well, they readied their arms and drew up their forces for battle.

§ 3.10  The barbarians, in accordance with their utter lack of principles, began hostilities with a sneak attack. Pitched battles were not to their liking; nothing else than treachery and turmoil would do. They fell upon us like a landslide, hurling their javelins with barbarous war cries. Many of our men, being caught off guard and half-armed, were killed, includingArcesilaus, theBoeotian, andSchedius, theCrissaean, both of whom were the best of leaders. The number of the wounded, however, was even greater; among whom wereMeges, the ruler o theEchinades, andAgapenor, ruler ofArcadia. During this terrible conflict,Patroclus, seeing our side being beaten, hoped he could turn the tide of battle. Thus, having exhorted our men, he entered the fray and attacked the enemy fiercely, more fiercely than anyone ever.Euphorbus, however, found him with a javelin. And soonHector rushed up and, straddling the fallen body, dealt it many piercing thrusts and then tried to drag it from the battle. No doubt, in keeping with his people's total lack of human decency,Hector wanted to mock and mangle this victim in every way. WhenAjax, who was fighting in another part of the field, saw what was happening, he came up quickly; using his spear, he drove offHector, who was already beginning to drag the body away. MeanwhileMenelaus and the otherAjax were pouncing uponEuphorbus and making him pay with is life for having been the cause ofPatroclus' death. When evening came and the battle was broken off, a great number of our men were dead, treacherously and barbarously slain.

§ 3.11  Now that the two armies had withdrawn, we were free to relax. Our leaders went toAchilles. He was showing every sign of unbearable grief, for his face was distorted with weeping as he lay stretched out on the ground or over the body. He stirred everyone's heart. EvenAjax, who was standing by and trying to console him, broke down and wept. All of our leaders bewailed the death ofPatroclus and, even more, the terrible way he had been mutilated; this was the first instance of such a shameful and inhuman act, a thing that the Greeks had never practiced before. Thus our leaders, with many prayers, consolingAchilles in every way, finally persuaded him to arise. Then, having washed the body ofPatroclus, they covered it with a robe, being especially careful to hid the wounds, which to behold caused them to weep.

§ 3.12  When this had been done,Achilles exhorted the guards to keep careful watch in case the enemy should make an attack in their usual way, while we were detailed with the burial. Accordingly, the guards, each of whom was dedicated to his duty, armed themselves and spent the night keeping the watchfires burning brightly. At daybreak, since we had decided to hold a public funeral, we chose five of the leaders,Ialmenus,Ascalaphus,Epeus,Meriones, and the otherAjax, to go to MountIda for wood. Then we built a huge pyre with the wood which they brought, in a place five spears long and five spears wide, whichUlysses andDiomedes had measured off. After the body had been arranged, we lit the fire.Patroclus was clothed in the most beautiful and costly garments;Hippodamia andDiomedea (he had loved her especially) had seen to this.

§ 3.13  After spending a few days catching up on their sleep, our leaders early one morning led forth our army onto the plain. We waited and waited, but the barbarians, looking from their walls and seeing us armed, would not come out and fight. Therefore, at sunset we returned to the ships. The next day, however, had hardly begun when theTrojans armed themselves and rushed from their gates, hoping, as was their custom, to catch us off guard with a wild and sudden attack. But we were organized well enough to protect ourselves, and, therefore, their javelins, which they, as they came against our fortifications, hurled in great numbers with energy and spirit, usually failed of their mark. Towards the end of the day we noticed that they were showing signs of strain and losing some of their fierceness. Accordingly, those of our men who were facing their left flank went on the offensive and thus scattered and put them to flight. Soon afterwards the other flank, which was already wavering, was driven of without any trouble.

§ 3.14  Turning tail, most of them fled like shameless cowards; and we, pursuing and treading them down, slew great numbers; among whom were the rulers ofLarissa,Pylaeus andHippothous, and the ruler ofSestos,Asius, the son ofHyrtacus. On the same day,Diomedes took twelve captives;Ajax too forty. Two of the captives,Pisus andEvander, were sons ofPriam. As for the casualties on our side in this battle,Guneus, the king of theCyphians, was slain, and my leader,Idomeneus, was wounded. When theTrojans had reached the safety of their walls and shut the gates, we were no longer able to pursue. Remembering the outrage that had been committed against the body ofPatroclus, we stripped the enemy corpses of their armor and dumped them into the river. Then we gave all the captives toAchilles, one after the other, as we had captured them.Achilles, having doused the ashes ofPatroclus with wine, gathered the remains into an urn. He intended to carry them, whenever he went, to his native soil, or be buried with them, with his dearest friend, there in the self-same tomb if fate decreed his death. He ordered the captives we had given him, including the sons ofPriam, to be led off to the pyre and slaughtered not far from the ashes, no doubt as a sacrifice to the departed spirit ofPatroclus. Then he drew the bodies of the sons of he king to thedogs to be torn apart. He swore that he would spend his nights under the open sky until he had taken vengeance, blood for blood, on the man who was the cause of his unspeakable grief.

§ 3.15  After a few days news was suddenly brought thatHector and a few other men had set out to meetPenthesilea, the queen of theAmazons. Why she was coming toPriam's aid, whether for money or simply because of her love of war, was uncertain; her race, being naturally warlike, was always conquering the neighboring peoples and carrying theAmazon standards far and wide. Accordingly,Achilles chose a few faithful comrades and hastened to lay an ambush for theTrojans. He caught them off guard — they were trying to cross the river — and surrounded and slew them before they knew what had hit them.Hector and all those who were with him were killed; with the single exception of one ofPriam's sons, whomAchilles captured and, having cut off his hands, sent back toTroy to tell what had happened.Achilles was being driven to bestial acts, first by the slaughter of his most hated enemy, and then by his lasting grief ofPatroclus. Having strippedHector of armor, he tied the body, feet bound together, behind his chariot, then mounted and orderedAutomedon, his charioteer, to give thehorses free reign. And so he went galloping over the plain where he could be most easily seen dragging his enemy. A new and terrible kind of revenge.

§ 3.16  But atTroy, theTrojans, looking down from their walls, saw the armor ofHector, whichAchilles had ordered the Greeks to carry within sight of the enemy. And the son ofPriam whomAchilles had sent back told what had happened. Throughout the whole city there was weeping and wailing; in answer to which our men shouted insults. The noise was so loud that even the birds seemed to fall from the sky, dumbfounded, confused. All the gates of the city were closed. The kingdom, dressed in mourning, hid its face in woe. As often happens in such circumstances, the frenzied people would suddenly rush to one place and then, for no apparent reason, rush off again in all directions. Now there was shrieking everywhere; now an uncanny and total silence. Many of theTrojans were losing all hope. They thought that, with the coming of night, the Greeks, elated at the death ofHector, would make an attack against the walls and take the city by storm. Some of them believed that the army whichPenthesilea had brought to aidPriam was now joined withAchilles; everything was adverse and hostile, all their power was broken and destroyed. They had no hope of safety, forHector was dead. He alone had ever been an equal match for the countless hordes, for the many leaders of the enemy. His valor in battle was famed throughout the world and, nevertheless, it had not surpassed his wisdom.

§ 3.17  Meanwhile, among the Greeks,Achilles had brought the body ofHector back to the ships and shown it to everyone; the sorrow that we had recently felt for the death ofPatroclus was replaced by exuberant joy over the slaughter of our formidable enemy. Since now there was nothing to fear from theTrojans, everyone was eager to hold games, as is customary at funerals, in honor ofPatroclus. The other peoples, moreover, who had come to watch and not participate, stood ready in arms to meet any attack the enemy, though broken in strength, might make in the usual treacherous way. ThenAchilles ordered prizes to be set for the victors, things that he deemed of highest value. When everything was ready, he took a position in the midst of the kings, a little higher than the rest, and urged them all to take their seats. In the first contest, the four-horse chariot race,Eumelus was victor. No one could beat him.Diomedes won the prize in the two-horse chariot race.Menelaus came in second.

§ 3.18  Next was the contest in archery.Ulysses andMeriones erected two masts between which, tied to the tops, they stretched a very thin cord, from the middle of which they hung a dove attached to a string. This was the target. Then all the contestants took their turns. But onlyUlysses andMeriones hit the mark. They were congratulated by everyone, exceptPhiloctetes who boasted that he could do better: he would cut the string by which the dove was suspended. Our leaders marveled at the difficulty of what he was trying to do. Nevertheless, he, trusting in his skill more than in luck, made good his boast. The string was snapped and the dove fell to earth. A loud shout of approval arose from our men.Meriones andUlysses received the prizes for this contest, butAchilles rewarded the exceptional feat ofPhiloctetes with a double prize.

§ 3.19  Ajax the son ofOileus won the long-distance race.Polypoetes came in second.Machaon won the double-lap race,Eurypylus the single-lap,Tlepolemus the high jump, andAntilochus the discus. The prizes for wrestling went unrewarded.Ajax had almost beatenUlysses, gripping him by the waist and throwing him down. ButUlysses, even while falling, had entangled the feet of his opponent and knocked him off balance. Thus both men were sprawled on the ground. The sameAjax, the son ofTelamon, carried off the palm in all of the boxing matches, including the fight with the cestus.Diomedes won the last contest, the race in full armor. AfterAchilles had awarded the prizes, he gave gifts; first, the gift he thought was most valuable toAgamemnon; then toNestor, toIdomeneus, toPodalirius andMachaon, and to all the other leaders in order of their merit; and finally, to the comrades of those who had fallen in battle, commanding them to take the gifts home, when time allowed, to the relatives of the deceased. By the time that he games were completed and the prizes awarded, it was already evening and everyone went to his hut.

§ 3.20  At daybreakPriam came toAchilles — a wretched sight, dressed in clothes of mourning, with suppliant face and suppliant hands, a king to whom grief had left no signs of royal majesty or former power and glory. With him cameAndromache, no less wretched than himself, her features marred in every way. To aid he king in his request, she brought her sons, leading them before her, two little boys,Astyanax (some called him Scamandrius) andLaodamas. AndPolyxena also came, supporting her father, as he tottered beneath the burden of his years and sorrows. Carts followed, filled with gold and silver and costly clothing. This is the picture of king and retinue that caused a sudden silence among the astonishedTrojans watching from their walls. Soon our leaders were going to meetPriam, eager to discover why he was coming. WhenPriam saw them advancing, he fell on his face and threw dust, and whatever filth he could find, over his head. He begged them to pity his fortunes and plead his case withAchilles. His old age and ruined life evoked the sympathy ofNestor.Ulysses, however, cursed him, reminding him of how he had spoken against the envoys atTroy before the war had begun. WhenAchilles learned ofPriam's arrival, he sentAutomedon to summon the king. He himself waited, holding the urn that contained the bones ofPatroclus.

§ 3.21  Accordingly,Priam, along with our leaders, entered the hut ofAchilles. Then, claspingAchilles' knees, he said: "You are not to blame for my misfortunes. It is one of the gods who, instead of pitying me, has brought the end of my life to ruin. Now I am overwhelmed and worn out with grief for my sons. They, confident in their youth and the resources of their kingdom, and always desiring to fulfil the desires of their hearts, have devised, contrary to their expectations, destruction both for themselves and for me. It is their maxim that old age should be despised by youth. Nevertheless, if my death will prevent those of my sons who are left from committing other crimes of this sort, I also offer myself, if thus it is pleasing, for capital punishment. Do as you wish. With one stroke take away my little life and all those tribulations which have made me a sorrowful wretch, a most miserable spectacle among men. Here I am. I ask no mercy. Take me captive, if you wish. Nothing remains of my former fortune; my kingdom fell whenHector died. But if I have already paid with my personal sorrows, with the blood of my sons, a sufficient penalty to all Greece for the ill-considered acts of my people, pity my age, consider the gods, remember piety. At least grant the petition of these young boys for the body, not the life, of their father,Hector. Remember your own father who is spending all of his waking hours thinking of you, wondering if you are safe. May all his prayers be answered. May he enjoy a good old age, one far different from mine."

§ 3.22  While he was talking, his spirit was failing. Then, as he lost his power of speech, his legs gave way. Everyone who was present was pained at this very pitiable sight. ThenAndromache prostrated the small sons ofHector beforeAchilles. She herself was weeping; with a voice full of sorrow, she begged for permission only to look at the body of her husband. During this pitiable scene,Phoenix was raisingPriam and encouraging him to recover. When the king had revived somewhat, he spoke, while kneeling and pulling his hair with both hands: "Where is that righteous mercy for which the Greeks were famous? Is it denied toPriam alone?"

§ 3.23  Everyone was deeply moved.Achilles, however, said thatPriam should have prevented his sons from their criminal acts in the beginning. By acquiescing, he had become their accomplice in treachery. Ten years ago he was not so old that they would have refused to listen to him. But, as it was, their greed, their lust for the property of others, had driven them to monstrous acts: they had carried off not only a woman but also the wealth ofAtreus andPelops. It was simple justice that they should receive their present punishments, or even worse. Until now, the Greeks had obeyed civilized rules of war and returned the bodies of their enemies for burial. ButHector had acted contrary to the laws of human nature when he dragged the body ofPatroclus from the battle, with the evident intent of abusing and defiling it. Now theTrojans must bear their punishments in expiation of this crime. Thus, in future time, the Greeks and other peoples, remembering what had happened in this case, would keep the natural law. The Greeks had not left their homes and children and come to fight this bloody, toilsome war just forHelen's sake, orMenelaus'. What they really wanted to decide was who would rule the world, themselves or the barbarians. Nevertheless, the abduction of a woman was cause enough for an invasion: those who are plundered grieve over their losses no less than the plunderers delight in their gains. So saying,Achilles called down curses uponHelen, swearing that whenTroy was taken he would slay her in public, a fitting reward for her crime. He blamed her for his loss of native land and parents and, also, of the greatest consolation of his homesick heart,Patroclus.

§ 3.24  ThenAchilles stood up and went out to consult with the leaders mentioned above. He was persuaded to follow their unanimous advice: he would accept the gifts that were being offered and hand over the body ofHector. When this had been decided, the leaders departed to their different huts, and he returned to his. Upon his reentry,Polyxena fell at his feet and promised to be his willing slave if he would return the body. This sight, and also the thought of father and son, moved him to tears, in spite of all of his hatred forPriam andTroy because ofPatroclus' death. Thus he gavePolyxena his hand and helped her to rise; but first he showed his concern forPriam and commandedPhoenix to comfort him. When, however,Priam refused to be consoled and continued to lament,Achilles swore thatPriam's wishes would not be satisfied until he had changed into better clothes and dined with him. And so the king, fearing to refuse, lest he lost what seemed to have been granted, decided humbly to submit to the will ofAchilles.

§ 3.25  After shaking the dust from his hair, he took a bath; and then he and his retinue went to dine withAchilles. When everyone had had enough to eat, their host spoke as follows: "Now, tell me,Priam, what was the real reason you thoughtHelen should be kept so long, even when your military efforts were failing and your troubles and tribulations were steadily mounting? Why did you not drive her out, like an ill-omened plague? You knew that she had betrayed her native land and parents and, what was most disgraceful, her god-like brothers. These brothers cursed her crime and refused even to join with us in this campaign, lest, to be sure, they should be responsible for obtaining her return. Why, when she had come toTroy to be a bane to everyone, why did you not throw her out? Why did you not drive her from your walls with curses? Why did the elders ofTroy acquiesce when their sons were dying every day in battle? Could it be that they did not know that she alone was causing all those deaths? Is everyone inTroy so demonically infatuated that no one can be found to pity the failing fortunes of his country and try to save her with the death ofHelen? For my part, I honor both your old age and your prayers. I shall return the body. Never shall I allow myself to be guilty of crimes I condemn in my enemies."

§ 3.26  These words madePriam begin to weep again. He said that it had been the will of the gods for him to go to war. The gods were the authors of good and evil for every mortal; so long as he had been permitted to be happy, the might of none of his enemies had succeeded against him. He who had fathered fifty sons by different mothers had been considered the most blessed of all kings, until the birth of the youngest,Alexander. He had been unable to avoid the future, even though the gods had revealed the events thatAlexander would cause. WhenHecuba was pregnant, she had told him how she had dreamt of a torch in whose flames MountIda and then, as the fire continued, the shrines of the gods and finally the whole state had been consumed, excepting only the homes ofAntenor andAnchises. The interpreters had said that this dream portended the fall ofTroy. Accordingly, they had decided to kill the baby at birth. ButHecuba, with a woman's tenderness toward her child, had given him secretly to shepherds to rear on MountIda. When he was grown, and they knew what had happened, he was so handsome that no one, not even his fiercest enemy, could bear to kill him. Then he had marriedOinone. Soon, however, having been seized with a desire of seeing faraway regions and kingdoms, he had gone on that journey on which he carried offHelen; some god was urging him, driving him on. As forHelen, all theTrojans, includingPriam himself, loved her. Not even the thought of the deaths of their sons and relatives could persuade them to reject her. OnlyAntenor, his wisest counselor in peace and war, was for this;Antenor, in the beginning, whenAlexander returned from Greece, even disowned his own son,Glaucus, because he had gone along on that journey. NowTroy was being destroyed and he, the king, was near to death. In fact, he longed to die and give up the burden of being king. He was tortured only by the thought that when his country fell,Hecuba and his daughters would be enslaved. What masters, what shame, would they have to endure?

§ 3.27  WhenPriam had finished this speech, he ordered that everything be displayed which he had brought to ransom his son.Achilles commanded the gold and silver to be removed, and also the clothes he liked best. Having gathered together what was left, he gave it toPolyxena. Then he handed over the body toPriam. The king, whether desiring to show his gratitude for being able to hold the funeral, or hoping to insure the safety of his daughter ifTroy should fall, fell at the knees ofAchilles and begged him to takePolyxena and keep her for himself. The young man answered that she should return with her father; they would see about her at some other time and in some other place. ThusPriam recovered the body ofHector and, mounting his chariot, returned toTroy along with the others.

§ 4.1  BOOK 4
On learning that the king had accomplished his mission and returned unharmed along with the others, theTrojans praised the Greeks' compassion.Priam, they had thought, would never obtain the body; the Greeks would feel justified in holding him prisoner since they, theTrojans, had refused to giveHelen up. When they sawHector's body, everyone, including the allies, ran forward. They were weeping and pulling their hair and scratching their faces. The city was ruled by despair.Hector, whose deeds in war and peace alike were known throughout the world, his fame being due to his righteous character no less than to his martial spirit,Hector was dead. They buried him close to the tomb of their former kingIlus; and, gathering around, on this side the women withHecuba, on that theTrojan men and their allies, they raised the mournful dirge. For ten days from sunrise until sunset, the time of the truce, everyone, without ceasing, wailed forHector, as was his due.

§ 4.2  During the funeralPenthesilea (whom we have mentioned above) arrived. She brought a huge army ofAmazons and other neighbouring peoples. On being informed ofHector's death, she was very upset and desired to go home. ButAlexander gave her much gold and silver, and finally prevailed upon her to stay. Several days later she drew up her forces and made an attack, without any help from theTrojans, so great was her trust in her people. She arranged the archers on the right flank, the foot soldiers on the left, and the cavalry, to which she herself belonged, in the center. Our men were drawn up to meet her, withMenelaus,Ulysses,Meriones, andTeucer against the archers, the twoAjaxes,Diomedes,Agamemnon,Tlepolemus,Ascalaphus, andIalmenus against the foot soldiers, andAchilles, along with the others, against the cavalry. Thus the two armies, having drawn up their forces, joined battle. The queen slaughtered many, using her bow; as didTeucer for us. Meanwhile theAjaxes were leading the foot soldiers; advancing with their shields before them and pushing back any who got in their way, they wreaked general havoc; no one, it seemed, could stop them from wiping the enemy out.

§ 4.3  Achilles foundPenthesilea among the cavalry and, hurling his spear, hit the mark. Then — no trouble now that she was wounded — he seized her by the hair and pulled her off herhorse. Her followers, seeing her fallen, became disheartened and took to flight. We pursued and cut down those who were unable to reach the gates before they closed; nevertheless, we abstained from touching the women because of their sex. Then we returned, all of us victors, our enemies slain. FindingPenthesilea still half-alive, we marveled at her brazen boldness. Almost immediately a meeting was held to determine her fate, and it was decided to throw her, while still alive enough to have feeling, either into the river to drown or out for thedogs to tear apart, for she had transgressed the bounds of nature and her sex.Achilles favored just letting her die and then giving her burial.Diomedes, however, prevailed: going around, he asked everyone what to do and won a unanimous vote in favor of drowning. Accordingly, dragging her by the feet, he dumped her into theScamander. It goes without saying that this was a very cruel and barbarous act. But thus the queen of theAmazons having lost the forces she had brought to aidPriam, died in a way that befitted her foolhardy character.

§ 4.4  On the following day,Memnon, the son ofTithonus andAurora, arrived with a large army ofIndians andEthiopians, a truly remarkable army which consisted of thousands and thousands of men with various kinds of arms, and surpassed the hops and prayers even ofPriam. All the country around and beyondTroy, as far as eye could see, was filled with men andhorses, and glittered with the splendor of arms and standards.Memnon had led these forces toTroy by way of theCaucasus mountains. At the same time he had sent another group of equal size by sea, withPhalas as their guide and leader. These others had landed on the island ofRhodes, which they soon discovered to be an ally of Greece. At first, fearing that when the purpose of their mission was known, their ships might be fired, they stayed in the harbor. Later, however, dividing their strength, they went to the wealthy cities ofCamirus andIalysus. Soon theRhodians were blamingPhalas for trying to aidAlexander, the sameAlexander who had recently conqueredPhalas' country,Sidon. In order to stir up the army, they said that whoever defended this crime was in no way different from a barbarian; and they added many such things as would incense the common soldiers and make them take their side. Nor did they fail in their intent, for thePhoenicians, who composed a majority ofPhalas' army, whether influenced by the accusations of theRhodians, or wishing to gain control of the wealth their ships were carrying, made an attack againstPhalas and stoned him to death. Then, dividing their gold and whatever booty they had, they dispersed to the cities we mentioned above.

§ 4.5  Meanwhile the army that had come withMemnon had set up camp in a wide area (the walls of the city could not have easily contained so great a number of men), and everyone, each in his own particular group, was training for combat. These groups differed in their fighting methods and skills according to the regions from which they came. Their different kinds of weapons, their different kinds of shields and helmets, gave them a terrifying warlike appearance. Then at dawn, after several days, when his soldiers were ready to fight,Memnon gave them the signal and led them to battle. And theTrojans, along with their allies, left the protection of their walls and also advanced. We, for our part, drew up our forces to meet them, being somewhat awed by the size of our unknown enemy. When they had come within a spear's throw of our side, they fell upon us with a huge and dissonant clamor. It was like a landslide. Our men, standing together, were able to break their attack. But soon their lines were renewed and reformed, and weapons were flying this way and that, and many on both sides were dying. Nor was there any end in sight, so long asMemnon, accompanied by all of his bravest men, was attacking our center, riding in his chariot, and slaying or wounding whomever he met. Our casualties were mounting terribly, and our leaders conceded defeat; they felt that we were destined to lose and that our only hope was in flight. But night, the refuge of the oppressed, kept the enemy off. Otherwise, that day would have seen our ships destroyed by fire; so great wasMemnon's power and martial skill, so grievous our predicament.

§ 4.6  When the fighting had stopped, we, being broken in spirit and fearing the war's final outcome, spent the night burying those we had lost in battle. Then we thought of a plan: one of our men should challengeMemnon to fight in single combat. Accordingly, we proceeded to choose a champion by lot. The lots of all were shaken, excepting only — asAgamemnon requested —Menelaus',Ulysses', andIdomeneus'; andAjax, in answer to everyone's prayers, was chosen. Then we ate and renewed out strength and spent the rest of the night in sleep. At daybreak we armed, drew up our forces in order, and went out to battle.Memnon, no less alert, also advanced, and with him all theTrojans. When both of the armies were ready, the battle was joined. As might be expected, a great number of men fell dead on both sides, or withdrew mortally wounded. It was in this battle thatAntilochus, the son ofNestor, ran intoMemnon, and thus met his death. WhenAjax thought that the time was right, he went out between the lines and challenged the king. First, however, he called onUlysses andIdomeneus to defend him in case any others attacked.Memnon, seeingAjax advance, leaped from his chariot and met him on foot. Among both armies fear and hope were running high. FinallyAjax thrust his spear into the center ofMemnon's shield and, using all his weight and force, shoved it through and intoMemnon's side. The companions ofMemnon, when they saw what had happened, rushed to his aid and tried to pushAjax away. But this interference on the part of the barbarians stirredAchilles to act; he entered the fray and drove his spear throughMemnon's throat, where the shield gave no protection.

§ 4.7  Memnon's unexpected death, while breaking the enemy's spirit, bolstered ours. Now theEthiopians had turned and were fleeing; now our men were pursuing, wreaking great slaughter.Polydamas tried to renew the battle, but soon was surrounded and fell, hit in the groin byAjax. AndGlaucus, the son ofAntenor, was killed; he was fightingDiomedes whenAgamemnon struck him down with a spear. One might seeEthiopians andTrojans fleeing everywhere over the field in disorder, without leaders, crowding and rushing, hindering each other, falling where driverlesshorses were trampling them down. Our men, their spirits renewed, were attacking and slaughtering the enemy, scattering those who had been entangled and then picking them off with their spears. The field near the walls was flowing with blood; armor and corpses abounded wherever the enemy went. It was in this battle thatPriam lost the following sons:Aretus andEchemmon were killed byUlysses;Dryops,Bias, and Chorithan were killed byIdomeneus; Ilioneus and Philenor byAjax the son ofOileus;Thyestes andTelestes byDiomedes;Antiphus,Agavus,Agathon, andGlaucus by the otherAjax; andAsteropaeus byAchilles. There was no end to the slaughter until our men were finally thoroughly sated, thoroughly tired.

§ 4.8  When we had returned to camp, theTrojans sent envoys to obtain permission to bury their dead. Thus the dead were gathered, each by his own, and cremated and buried according to ancient custom.Memnon, however, was cremated apart from the others; his remains were put in an urn and given to relatives to take to his native land. When we had duly washed the body ofAntilochus, we handed it over toNestor for proper burial and begged him to bear the adversities of war with courage. Then, finally, each of us spent much of the night honouring his dead with wine and funeral feasts, and praising bothAjax andAchilles in highest terms. TheTrojans, with the completion of their funerals, ended their grief overMemnon's disaster. But now they were gripped by despair; they feared the war's final outcome. The death ofSarpedon and, soon afterwards, the slaughter ofHector, had taken away their remaining hopes; and now what fortune had for the last time offered in the person ofMemnon no longer remained. Thus, with so many adversities conspiring against them, their will to recover was utterly gone.

§ 4.9  After a few days the Greeks took up arms and, having gone onto the field, challenged theTrojans to come out and fight, if they dared.Alexander and his brothers, in answer to this challenge, set their army in order and led it forth. But before the battle lines could meet or spears be thrown, the barbarians broke formation and took to flight. We rushed upon them, from this side and that, slaughtering great numbers, or hurling them headlong into the river; they had no way to escape. And two ofPriam's sons were captured,Lycaon andTroilus, the throats of whom, when they had been brought forth into the center, were cut, by order ofAchilles, who was angry withPriam for not having seen to that business they had discussed. TheTrojans raised a cry of grief and, mourning loudly, bewailed the fact thatTroilus had met so grievous ad death, for they remembered how young he was, who, being in the early years of his manhood, was the people's favorite, their darling, not only because of his modesty and honesty, but more especially because of his handsome appearance.

§ 4.10  After a few days, the religious festival of theThymbraeanApollo began; a truce was made and hostilities ceased. Then, while both armies were preoccupied with sacrificing,Priam found time to sendIdaeus toAchilles with instructions concerningPolyxena. While, however,Achilles was examining these instructions, alone in the grove withIdaeus, word of this meeting was brought to the ships. Our men were angered, suspectingAchilles of being disloyal, for the rumor that he was a traitor had gradually grown and now was accepted as truth throughout the whole army. Therefore, in order to placate the fired-up emotions of the soldiers,Ajax,Diomedes andUlysses went to the grove and stood in front of the temple, waiting forAchilles to leave. They likewise wanted to tell him what had happened at the ships and hoped to deter him from further secret dealings withTrojans.

§ 4.11  MeanwhileAlexander andDeiphobus, having formed a plot, approachedAchilles, as if to confirm the agreement ofPriam. In order to incur no suspicion,Alexander (he was wearing a dagger) stopped near the altar and faced away from our leader.Achilles was carrying no weapon, thinking there was nothing to fear in the temple ofApollo. ThenDeiphobus, when the time seemed right, came up toAchilles and, with flattering congratulations for the terms he had made, embraced him and, hanging upon him, refused to let go untilAlexander, with sword drawn, rushed forward and thrust two blows in the victim's sides. When they saw that he was dying they departed in haste and returned to the city, their very important mission accomplished beyond their fondest hopes.Ulysses, who had seen them leave, said: "Something is wrong. Why are these men so excited? Why are they frightened and rushing like this?" And thereupon he and the others entered the grove and, looking around, discoveredAchilles stretched on the ground, already half-dead with the loss of much blood. ThenAjax said: "We know for a fact that no one could have defeated you in a fairly fought contest but, as is clear, you are undone by your own ill-advised rashness." AndAchilles, breathing his last, said: "Deiphobus andAlexander overpowered me. They came in the matter concerningPolyxena — deceitfully, treacherously." As he lay there dying, our leaders embraced him and kissed him farewell. Great was their grief. And when he was dead,Ajax shouldered the body and carried it out of the grove.

§ 4.12  TheTrojans, having seen what had happened, rushed from their gates all together. Following their usual custom, they wanted, no doubt, to mangle the body and thus were eager to snatch it away and carry it to the city. But the Greeks were also alerted and, taking up arms, advanced to meet them. Soon after they had led forth all of their forces, both sides clashed in battle.Ajax, having handed the body ofAchilles to those who were with him, went on the attack and slewAsius (the son ofDymas and the brother ofHecuba) whom he encountered first. Then he cut down a great number of others, as they came, one by one within reach of his spear. Among these were Nastes andAmphimachus, the rulers ofCaria. And now our leaders,Ajax the son ofOileus andSthenelus, joined together and killed and put great numbers to flight. Finally this general destruction caused theTrojans to rush for their gates. They abandoned all hope of resisting and scattered and fled in utter disorder, believing that only their walls could protect them. Behind them the Greeks were pursuing, piling slaughter on slaughter.

§ 4.13  When the gates were closed and the slaughter had ended, the Greeks tookAchilles back to the ships. All of our leaders bewailed the loss of this hero. Many of the soldiers, however, believing thatAchilles had often tried to betray them, were grieved not in the least and refused to mourn as they should. Nevertheless, he had been their greatest military asset and now, by his death, all was lost. They had to admit that, for a man so outstanding in battle, he had met a dishonourable death, or at least an obscure one. Accordingly, they hastened to bring plenty of wood from MountIda and built a pyre in the place where that ofPatroclus had been. Then, having put the body in place, they lit the fire, and thus performed the rites of the funeral.Ajax acted with special devotion, keeping watch for three continuous days until the remains were gathered together. He was grieved by the death ofAchilles more than any one else, grieved almost beyond his powers of endurance. He had lovedAchilles above all others and had served him with highest allegiance, forAchilles was not only his relative and closest friend but also, what especially mattered, the most courageous man there was.

§ 4.14  TheTrojans, for their part, abounded in joy and thanksgiving, for the enemy whom they had feared the most was dead. They lavished praises onAlexander's trickery; he had, to be sure, done by devious means what he would never have dared to do in combat. Meanwhile a messenger arrived to tellPriam thatEurypylus, the son ofTelephus, was arriving fromMysia. (The king had enticed him with many beautiful gifts, and had finally won his support by offeringCassandra in marriage. Among the other very beautiful things he had sent to him was a staff which, being made of gold, was talked of far and wide.)Eurypylus, the illustrious warrior, had come with hisMysian and Ceteian forces. TheTrojans welcomed him joyously, for in him their every hope was revived.

§ 4.15  Meanwhile the Greeks placed the bones ofAchilles in an urn with those ofPatroclus and buried the urn atSigeum. ThenAjax hired someSigeans to build a tomb forAchilles; he was angry with the Greeks, for he thought that their grief was in no way equal to the loss of so great a hero. When the tomb was almost finished,Pyrrhus arrived. He was calledNeoptolemus and was the son ofAchilles andDeidamia, the daughter of KingLycomedes. After being informed how his father had died, he reinforced theMyrmidons and bolstered their spirits; they were the bravest of men and famous in war. Then, leavingPhoenix in charge of this work, he went to the ships and there, at his father's hut, foundHippodamia guarding the property. Soon his arrival was known, and all the leaders convened. When they begged him to keep control of himself, he, answering calmly, said that he knew well enough that men must bravely endure whatever the gods caused to happen. Everyone's life must come to an end; only the weak wanted old age, the strong shunned and despised it. Moreover, his grief was mitigated by the fact thatAchilles had been killed neither in single combat nor in the blaze of war;Achilles could never have been beaten — it was unthinkable — by anyone, living or dead, with the single exception ofHercules. Though the time called forAchilles, under whose hands it was fitting thatTroy should fall, nevertheless, he affirmed, they, with his help, would finish the task that his father had left uncompleted.

§ 4.16  After he had finished this speech, they decided to fight on the following day. All of the leaders, when the time seemed right, went, as usual, toAgamemnon's to dine. Among them wereAjax andNeoptolemus, andDiomedes,Ulysses, andMenelaus; these took places of equal honor at dinner. While they were eating, they praised the prowess ofAchilles and toldNeoptolemus about the numerous brave deeds of his father. Their words delighted him and moved him to say that he would strive, with might and main, to prove himself a worthy son. After the dinner was over, they left to spend the night in their huts. At dawn the next dayNeoptolemus, on leaving camp, was met byDiomedes andUlysses. Having given them greeting, he asked if something was wrong. They answered that we should delay our attack a few days, until his soldiers recovered from their long journey by sea: their legs were still shaky, their feet were unsteady.

§ 4.17  And so, in accordance with this advice, our attack was delayed for two days. Then all our leaders and kings, having armed our men and set them in order, went out to battle.Neoptolemus commanded the center. With him were theMyrmidones and alsoAjax (whomNeoptolemus, as befitted their close relationship, honored in place of his father). TheTrojans were very upset, for they saw that, while their own allies were daily defecting, a new contingent, led by an illustrious leader, had come to the aid of the Greeks. Nevertheless, they took up arms, asEurypylus urged them to do. He, having gained the support of the princes, created a combined force consisting of his own men and those of theTrojans and, leading them out of the gate, deployed them for battle; he himself commanded the center. (Aeneas stayed behind in the city and, for the first time, refused to fight; he was a devoted worshiper ofApollo and detested the crimeAlexander had committed against this god.) When the signal for battle was given, the two sides clashed and fought with all their might; great numbers were slain.Eurypylus, chancing uponPeneleus, drove him back and pinned him with his spear; then he attackedNireus even more savagely, and cut him down; and finally, having put to flight our men in front, he was fighting in the very midst of our forces. ButNeoptolemus, on seeing this, drove up close and knockedEurypylus out of his chariot; then he dismounted himself and, sword in hand, quickly finishedEurypylus off. Thereupon our men, asNeoptolemus ordered, carried the body out of the battle and back to the ships. When the barbarians — they had placed all their hopes inEurypylus — saw this sight, they deserted the battle and fled for the walls, leaderless, without any definite order. And as they fled, great numbers were killed.

§ 4.18  Thus the enemy was put to flight, and the Greeks returned to the ships. Then, the council so willing, we crematedEurypylus and sent his bones, in an urn, back to his father, for we remembered his father's kindness and friendship. Also, there were separate funerals forNireus andPeneleus; each was cremated by his own people. On the next dayChryses reported to the Greeks thatPriam's sonHelenus had fled fromTroy because ofAlexander's crime and was now at the temple nearby. Accordingly, we sentDiomedes andUlysses to fetch him. After these had promised him leave to spend the rest of his life somewhere in seclusion, he placed himself in their power. When he had been brought to the ships, he made a long speech at a meeting of the council, in which he told his reason for leaving his parents and people: he feared not death but the gods, whose shrinesAlexander had desecrated, a crime which neitherAeneas nor himself was able to bear. As forAeneas, he, fearing our anger, had stayed behind withAntenor and oldAnchises, his father. It was from an oracle ofAnchises,Helenus said, that he had learned ofTroy's imminent fall, and thus had made up his mind to come to us as a suppliant. We were eager to know the contents of this oracle. Accordingly,Chryses, having nodded for us to keep silent, tookHelenus aside and learned everything, which then he reported to us. Thus we were informed of the very time ofTroy's fall and howAeneas andAntenor would help us. And we saw that this oracle was entirely consistent with what we rememberedCalchas had already told us was going to happen.

§ 4.19  On the next day both armies went out to battle and many were killed on theTrojan side, their allies suffering the greatest losses. But as our men were attacking more vehemently and striving with all their might to end the war, our leaders, at a given signal, attacked those of the enemy and centered the battle around themselves.Philoctetes advanced againstAlexander and challenged him to fight, if he dared, a duel with the bow.Alexander agreed, and thusUlysses andDeiphobus marked off a place for the contest.Alexander was the first to shoot and missed. ThereuponPhiloctetes hitAlexander in the left hand, and then — he was howling with pain — struck his right eye, and then — he was trying to flee — pierced both his feet, and finally finished him off.Philoctetes' arrows had once beenHercules', and theHydra's lethal blood had stained their points.

§ 4.20  The barbarians, seeing that their leader was dead, rushed and tried to snatch his body away.Philoctetes killed many of them, but they kept pressing on, and eventually got the body into the city.Ajax the son ofTelamon pursued them as far as the gate, and there the slaughter was huge. Many were unable to enter; the crowd was frantic, with everyone shoving, everyone striving to get in first. Those who had entered went to the walls and hurled down rocks of every description, rolled down earth collected from everywhere, onto the shield ofAjax, hoping to drive him off. But our illustrious leader, shaking his shield whenever it grew too heavy, relented not in the least. AndPhiloctetes, shooting from a distance, killed many of those on the wall and drove the others away. In other parts of the field the rest of our soldiers met with equal success. That day would have seen the walls ofTroy destroyed, the city sacked, if the swift arrival of night had not restrained us. Thus we returned to the ships, rejoicing, our spirits tremendously buoyed because of the deedsPhiloctetes had done. To him we gave our highest praise and showed our deepest gratitude. At daybreak,Philoctetes, accompanied by the rest of our leaders, returned to the field. And theTrojans, even with the help of their walls, could scarcely protect themselves, so great was their terror.

§ 4.21  MeanwhileNeoptolemus, now that his father's murder was avenged, began the mourning aroundAchilles' mound. Along withPhoenix and the entire army of theMyrmidons, he cut off his hair and placed it on the tomb. Thus they stayed there all the night. During the same time, the sons ofAntimachus (whom we have mentioned above) came toHelenus as representatives ofPriam. But he refused to do as they begged, that is, to return to his people; and so they departed. Halfway back to the city, they were encountered byDiomedes and the otherAjax, and thus were captured and brought to the ships. When they had told who they were and explaining their reason for coming, we, remembering how their father had spoken and plotted against our envoys, ordered the soldiers to take them and lead them out where theTrojans could see and stone them to death. At Troy, in a different direction, the relatives ofAlexander, who were seeing to his burial, were carrying his body toOinone. They say thatOinone — she had been married to him before his abduction ofHelen — was so shocked by the sight of his body that she lost all power of speech, lost her spirit and, gradually being overwhelmed with grief, fell down dead. And thus a single tomb held her and him.

§ 4.22  All theTrojan nobles, since they saw the enemy raging more and more fiercely around their walls and knew that their own resources were failing, felt that further resistance was hopeless. Accordingly, they plotted sedition against the princes andPriam. Having summonedAeneas and the sons ofAntenor, they were planning to returnHelen toMenelaus, along with the things that had been carried off. ButDeiphobus, having heard of their plans, tookHelen off and married her himself. WhenPriam entered the council,Aeneas heaped insults upon him. Finally the king yielded to the will of the nobles and orderedAntenor to go the Greeks and seek and end to the war. WhenAntenor signaled from the walls that theTrojans desired to negotiate, we granted permission. Thus he came to the ships, and we welcomed him gladly.Nestor, especially, told how faithful and kind he had been to the Greeks: his counsel and the aid of his sons had savedMenelaus fromTrojan treachery. In return for what he had done, we promised to reward him richly whenTroy was destroyed, and urged him to work with us — hew knew we were friends — against those he knew to be treacherous. Then, in a long speech,Antenor told how the gods were always punishingTrojan rulers for ill-considered acts.Laomedon, he said, had lied toHercules — a famous story — and thus his kingdom had been destroyed. Then, through the influence ofHesione,Priam, who was still young and had had no share in all that had happened, had come to power; thereafter, becoming evil and foolish, he had been accustomed to attack everyone; he had killed and committed personal injuries, being sparing of his own property while seeking that of another. Such was the example which spread, like the worst of plagues, to his sons, who abstained from nothing either sacred or profane.Antenor said that he himself was a very different person fromPriam, in spite of the fact that they both were related to the Greeks by the same line of descent.Hesione, the daughter ofDanaus, was the mother ofElectra, andElectra was the mother ofDardanus;Dardanus had marriedOlizone, the daughter ofPhineus; their child wasErichthonius, who was the father ofTros; andTros was the father ofIlus,Ganymede, andCleomestra.Cleomestra was the mother ofAssaracus, andAssaracus had begottenCapys, the father ofAnchises.Ilus had begottenTithonus andLaomedon, andLaomedon was the father ofHicetaon,Lampus,Thymoetes,Bucolion, and finallyPriam. As for himself, he was the son ofCleomestra andAesyetes. ButPriam had disregarded every bond of kinship and had acted with especial insolence and hatred toward his own relations. When he had finished this speech, he asked us to choose representatives for the purpose of talking with him about peace; as this was the reason theTrojan elders had sent him. Accordingly, we choseAgamemnon,Idomeneus,Ulysses, andDiomedes. Thereupon these plotted together, in secret, and decided, among other things, thatAeneas, contingent upon his remaining faithful, should share the spoils, nor should his house be harmed in any way; as forAntenor, half ofPriam's wealth should be given to him; and one of his sons, whomever he chose, should rule overTroy. When they felt that their plans were complete,Antenor was sent back toTroy to make a report far different from what they had really decided. He was to say that the Greeks were preparing an offering, a gift, forMinerva, and that, providing they recoveredHelen and received some gold, they were only too glad to abandon the war and return to their people. ThusAntenor went off toTroy, accompanied byTalthybius whose presence might help to produce an illusion of trust.

§ 5.1  BOOK 5
When the arrival ofAntenor andTalthybius was known atTroy, all theTrojans and their allies rushed to meet them, desiring to learn what had happened among the Greeks. ButAntenor postponed his report until the next day, and so they dispersed and went home. Then, at a banquet, in the presence ofTalthybius,Antenor advised his sons to consider nothing so important in life as their long-standing friendship with Greece and recalled, with evident admiration, the honor, good faith, and guilelessness of individual Greeks. After the meal, they parted company. But at daybreakAntenor andTalthybius went to the meeting of the council. (The elders were already there, eager to find some end to their dreadful afflictions.)Aeneas was the next to arrive, and thenPriam and the rest of the princes. At lastAntenor, having been ordered to tell what he had heard from the Greeks, spoke as follows:

§ 5.2  "It is a sad thing,Trojan princes andTrojan allies, it is a sad thing for us to be at war with the Greeks, but it is an even sadder and more painful thing that for the sake of a woman we have made enemies of the closest friends, of those who, being descendants ofPelops, are joined to us even by ties of marriage. "If I may briefly touch on the past evils we have suffered, when has our city ever found rest, once it was lost in this quagmire of sorrows? When have we ever been without tears? When have you allies ever seen your misfortunes decrease? When have our friends, parents, relatives, and sons not been dying in battle? And, to sum up the rest of our sorrows with a personal allusion, what suffering have I not endured in the case ofGlaucus, my son? His death, however, was not so painful to me as the fact that he had accompaniedAlexander in the abduction ofHelen. "But enough of the past. Let us, at least, look to the future with caution and wisdom. The Greeks are faithful and true; they are rich in kindness and pious in doing their duty.Priam is a witness to this, for, in the very heat of the battle, he reaped the fruit of their pity. The Greeks were not so rash as to declare war against us until we had treated their envoys — even their envoys! — with treachery and guile. It is my opinion thatPriam and his sons were to blame in this matter, and alsoAntimachus, who has recently paid for his guilt with the loss of his sons. But the real blame for everything that has happened rests uponHelen, that woman whom not even the Greeks really want to recover. Why should we keep this woman on whose account no nation, no people, has ever been friendly or even non-hostile to us? Shall we not, rather, eagerly beg the Greeks to take her again? And shall we not offer complete compensation for all the ways we have harmed them? Shall we not be reconciled with such men at least in the future? "For my own part, I am leaving; I am going away. I refuse to share in these crimes any longer. There was a time when it was pleasing to live in this city; until now we had allies and friends; our relatives were safe, our country unharmed. But now we have partially or totally lost all of these things. Who can deny it? I can no longer endure to remain with those whose work is all destined to ruin along with the fall of their country. "Until now, it is true, we have found some way to bury our dead; the enemy granted this favor. But now the altars and shrines of the gods have been criminally desecrated with human blood. And thus, being unable to hold our dear ones' funerals, we will suffer even more than when they died. "At least prevent this from happening now. Our native land must be redeemed with gold and other ransom of this sort. There are many in our city who are rich; each must give whatever he can. We must offer the Greeks, in return for our lives, what they will have soon enough if they kill us. Let us give even the ornaments of our temples, if otherwise we cannot save our city. "As forPriam, let only him keep all his wealth, let only him consider riches more important than his people, let him, the brooding miser, have even the things they carried off withHelen and see how best to use his country's sorrows. Now our sins have found us out, and we are conquered."

§ 5.3  He was weeping as he spoke these and other things, and everyone was mourning. Stretching their hands toward heaven, they showed their agreement, praying, individually and together, thatPriam, in view of their many adversities, should bring an end to their miseries. And finally, with one voice, they shouted that their native land must be redeemed. ThenPriam, tearing his hair and weeping in a pitiable way, addressed them. Now, he said, he was not only hated by the gods but was even considered a public enemy by his own people. Formerly he had friends, relatives, and fellow citizens to comfort him in his misfortunes, but now none was to be found. He had wanted to begin negotiations whenAlexander andHector were living and not wait until now. No one, however, was able to remedy the past; they must plan for the present and put their hopes in the future. He offered all that he had for the redemption ofTroy, and instructedAntenor to see to the matter. But now, since they hated him so, he was leaving their presence. Whatever they decided to do was agreeable to him.

§ 5.4  When the king had left, they decided thatAntenor should return to the Greeks and learn what terms they wanted exactly; and thatAeneas, as he desired, should go along too. Thus the council broke up. About midnight,Helen came toAntenor secretly. She suspected that they were about to return her toMenelaus and feared that she would be punished for having abandoned her home. Accordingly, she begged him to mention her, when he spoke among the Greeks, and plead in her behalf. Now thatAlexander was dead, she hated allTroy, as they knew, and wanted to return to her people. At daybreak,Antenor andAeneas came to the ships and told us all about their city's decision. Then they withdrew with those they had talked to before, to plan what action to take. It was during these discussions aboutTroy and their nation that they also told aboutHelen's desires and asked forgiveness for her; and finally they agreed on how best to betray their city. When they were ready, they returned toTroy, accompanied byUlysses andDiomedes.Ajax also wanted to go, butAeneas made him remain, arguing, no doubt, that theTrojans were afraid of him no less than they had been afraid ofAchilles and, therefore, might take him by treachery. The hopes of allTrojans were raised when they saw that our leaders had come. They thought this meant that war and conflict were going to end. A meeting of the council was quickly called and there, in the presence of our men, they decided, first of all, to exileAntimachus from all ofPhrygia, for he, to be sure, was the cause of their terrible troubles. Then they began to discuss the terms of peace.

§ 5.5  During their discussions, a huge crash and much shouting suddenly arose from Pergamum, wherePriam's palace was located. Those in the council, being thrown into confusion, ran outside and, thinking that the princes, as usual, had done some treacherous deed, they rushed to the temple ofMinerva. Soon afterwards, however, they learned, from those who came from the citadel, that the sons ofAlexander, his children byHelen, had perished, crushed when the roof of their home had collapsed. The names of these sons wereBunomus,Corythus, andIdaeus. The business of the council was thus deferred, and our leaders went off toAntenor's, there to dine and spend the night. Moreover, they learned fromAntenor about an oracle which once had informed theTrojans thatTroy would fall in ruins, if thePalladium was carried outside the walls of the city. (ThePalladium was an ancient statue in the temple ofMinerva; it was made of wood, and had fallen from heaven and taken its place whenIlus was building the temple, and all but the roof was complete.)Antenor agreed to help our men, just as they urged, in very way; he would do whatever they wanted. Nevertheless, he warned them that, at the meeting of theTrojan council, he would speak out boldly and openly oppose the demands the Greeks were making; in order, no doubt, to give the barbarians no grounds to suspect him. Their plans being thus completed, at daybreakAntenor went, along with theTrojan nobles, toPriam; and our leaders returned to the ships.

§ 5.6  The sons ofAlexander were buried with due ceremony. Three days laterIdaeus came and summoned our leaders (those mentioned above).Panthus and the otherTrojans who were known for their wisdom made long speeches in which they explained that their previous actions had been rash and ill-advised. They had been constrained, they said, to act according to the will of the princes, by whom they were hated and counted as naught. They had not taken up arms against Greece willingly, for those who must follow another's command must look to his nod and try to obey it. Therefore, the Greeks should grant forgiveness and be willing to confer with those who had always been hoping for peace. Moreover, theTrojans had already suffered enough for their ill-advised acts. After a long discussion of this point and that, finally the question of tribute was raised.Diomedes asked for five thousand talents of gold, and a like number of silver, besides one hundred thousand measures of wheat, for a period of ten years. Then all theTrojans were silent, except forAntenor. He said that the Greeks were not acting like Greeks but barbarians. Since they demanded what was impossible, it was evident that they were planning for war under a pretext of peace. Moreover,Troy had never had as much gold and silver as Greece was demanding, not even before she had gone to the expense of hiring auxiliaries. If the Greeks persisted in these unscrupulous demands, theTrojans must shut their gates and burn the temples of their gods, and offer themselves and their country to one and the same destruction.Diomedes answered: "We did not come fromArgos to give special terms toTroy, but to fight you to the death. Therefore, if you are still desirous of war, the Greeks are ready, or if, as you say, you wish to burn your city, we will not prevent you. The Greeks, when treated unjustly, take vengeance. That is their way." ThenPanthus asked for a day's reprieve during which to ponder the Greek proposal. Thus our men went home withAntenor, and from there to the temple ofMinerva.

§ 5.7  Meanwhile news of a remarkable portent was brought. It had occurred during the offering of sacrifices. Victims had been placed on the altars as usual. But he fire, having been lit, had not caught or burned in the usual way but had left the offering untouched. This news startled the people, and they rushed to the temple ofApollo to prove for themselves whether or not it was true. When they had placed parts of entrails on the altar and lit the fire, suddenly everything was thrown into confusion; the entrails fell to the ground. Then, while everyone was struck with astonishment, aneagle, swift and screeching, dove down and caught up a piece of the entrails and, soaring off, carried it away to the sips and there let it fall. TheTrojans received this omen as a great and very clear sign portending their doom.Diomedes andUlysses, however, pretended not to know what had happened and walked around in the public square, like sightseers, marveling at the wonderful buildings ofTroy. We at the ships, were also pondering the portent's meaning. AndCalchas told us to be of good cheer, for we would be masters ofTroy in short order.

§ 5.8  WhenHecuba learned of the portent, she went to placate the gods, especiallyMinerva andApollo, with many gifts and rich sacrifices. But just as before, the fire refused to burn the victims and died out quickly. ThenCassandra became divinely inspired and ordered the victims to be carried toHector's tomb. She said that the gods were angry and were rejecting their sacrifices because of the crime they had recently committed against the religion ofApollo. Thus, following her orders, they slew thebulls and took them toHector's pyre, where, when the fire was lit, the sacrifice was completely consumed. With the coming of evening, they returned to their homes. During that nightAntenor secretly went to the temple ofMinerva and, threatening the priestessTheano with force and promising that she would be richly rewarded, begged her to give thePalladium to him. This she did; and thus he, being true to our men, carried it off to them. And they, having wrapped it up so that no one could tell what it was, sent it away in a cart to the hut ofUlysses through close and faithful friends. With the coming of dawn, theTrojan council met. When our envoys had entered,Antenor, as though fearing the wrath of the Greeks, begged their forgiveness for having previously spoken so boldly against them in behalf of his native land.Ulysses replied that he was not disturbed by this so much as by the fact that negotiations were being prolonged, especially when the favourable time for sailing was quickly passing. After a long discussion, they finally agreed on a sum of two thousand talents of gold and two thousand of silver. Then our envoys returned to the ships to make their report to our men. When our leaders had been assembled, they told them all that had been said and done, and howAntenor had carried thePalladium off. Thereupon, since all our leaders thought best, the rest of the soldiers were given the news.

§ 5.9  In view of these developments we decided unanimously to show our gratitude toMinerva by making a splendid offering to her.Helenus was summoned to tell us how to proceed. Using his prophetic powers (he had not been informed), he was able to give a detailed account of everything that had happened so far. And he also said thatTroy was doomed now that thePalladium, the safeguard ofTroy, had been carried away. We must, he said, offer aWooden Horse toMinerva; this gift would prove fatal toTroy. Thehorse must be so large that theTrojans would have to breach their walls;Antenor would urge and advise them to do this. AsHelenus was speaking, the thought of his father,Priam, and of his brothers who were still living caused him to burst into tears; his grief was so strong that he lost all control of himself and collapsed. When he had come to his senses and was able to rise,Neoptolemus took him in charge. He had him guarded for fear he might somehow inform the enemy about what had happened. ButHelenus, seeing himself under guard, toldNeoptolemus there was nothing to worry about, for he would prove faithful and, afterTroy's fall, would live withNeoptolemus in Greece many years. And so, followingHelenus' advice, we brought in a great deal of wood for building thehorse.Epeus andAjax the son ofOileus were in charge of this work.

§ 5.10  Meanwhile ten leaders were chosen to go toTroy and ratify the terms of the peace:Diomedes,Ulysses,Idomeneus,Ajax the son ofTelamon,Nestor,Meriones,Thoas,Philoctetes,Neoptolemus, andEumelus. TheTrojans, seeing our men in their public square, rejoiced, believing that now their afflictions would end. Individually and in groups, whenever they met them, they greeted them warmly and embraced them like loved ones.Priam implored our leaders on behalf ofHelenus and commended him to them with many prayers.Helenus, he said, was his dearest son, dearer because of his wisdom than all of the others. When dinnertime came, theTrojans held a public banquet in honor of the Greeks and in celebration of the peace they were making.Antenor was host and graciously served every need of our men. At daybreak all the elders convened in the temple ofMinerva, andAntenor officially announced that ten envoys had been sent by the Greeks to ratify the terms of the peace. Thereupon the envoys were escorted into the council, and they and the elders shook hands. It was decided to ratify the peace on the following day. Sacred oaths must be sworn, for the purpose of which altars must be raised in the center of the plain where all could see. When preparations had been made,Diomedes andUlysses were first to sear. Calling on HighestJupiter,Mother Earth,Sun, Moon, and Ocean to be their witnesses, they promised to abide by the agreements which they had made withAntenor. Then they walked through the center of the portions of the sacrificial victims. (Two victims had been brought, the portions of which had been laid out, half in an easterly direction and half in the direction of our ships.)Diomedes andUlysses were followed byAntenor, who took the same oath. After ratifying the terms of the peace in this way, both sides returned to their people. The barbarians heaped highest praises uponAntenor, reverencing him like a god whenever he approached. They believed that he alone was responsible for the treaty and peace with the Greeks. Now everywhere, as both sides wished, war had ceased. Greeks felt free to go toTroy.Trojans came among the ships. And theTrojan allies — who were still alive — went home, taking advantage of the treaty and feeling thankful for peace, not even waiting to be paid for their hardships and troubles, fearing, no doubt, that the barbarians would somehow break the agreements.

§ 5.11  During this time, at the ships,Epeus, followingHelenus' advice, was directing the building of theWooden Horse. It towered to an immense height. Wheels were put beneath its feet to make it easier to draw along. It was the greatest offering ever to be given toMinerva. Everyone said so. AtTroy,Antenor andAeneas were making sure that the exact amount of gold and silver, in accordance with the terms of the peace, was carried to the temple ofMinerva. And we, having learned that the allies of theTrojans had left, were careful to keep the terms of the peace. There was no more killing and no more wounding, lest the barbarians suspect that we were breaking agreements. When theWooden Horse had been built, complete in all points, we drew it out to the walls. TheTrojans were told to receive it religiously as a sacred offering toMinerva. They poured from their gates and joyously welcomed thehorse. A sacrifice was made, and they drew it nearer the city. When, however, they saw that thehorse was too large to pass through their gates, they decided, their enthusiasm blinding them to any objections, to tear down their walls. Thus they all joined in, and tore down their walls, those walls which had stood for centuries unharmed, and which, as tradition told, were the masterwork ofNeptune andApollo. When the work of demolition was almost complete, the Greeks purposely caused a delay. We said that theTrojans must pay the gold and silver they had promised before they could draw thehorse intoTroy. Thus there was an interval of time during which, the walls being half demolished,Ulysses hired all of theTrojan carpenters to help repair the ships. When our fleet had thus been put in order, along with all of our sailing gear, and when the gold and silver had been paid, we ordered theTrojans to continue their work of destruction. As soon as a part of the walls was down, a crowd of joking men and women merrily hastened to draw thehorse within their city.

§ 5.12  Meanwhile we, having stowed everything on the ships and having set fire to our huts, sailed off toSigeum and there awaited the night. When theTrojans, being worn out with carousing and feeling happy and secure because of the peace, had fallen asleep, we returned to the city, sailing through the dead silence, following the beacon thatSinon raised from his hidden position. Soon we had entered the walls and divided the city among us. At a given signal, we slaughtered whomever we found — in homes, on streets, in places sacred and profane. Some of theTrojans awoke, but these were cut down before they could reach for their arms or think of a way to escape. There was, in short, no end to death and slaughter. Parents and children were killed, while loved ones watched and lamented, and then the latter were killed — a pitiable sight. With equal dispatch, the buildings of the city were set on fire and destroyed; the only homes to be saved were those ofAeneas andAntenor, where guards had been posted.Priam, seeing what was happening, fled to the altar ofJupiter that stood in front of the palace. And many members of the royal family fled to other shrines of the gods;Cassandra, for instance, went to the temple ofMinerva. All who fell into the hands of the enemy died cruelly, without anyone to avenge them. At daybreak our forces came to the house whereHelen was living withDeiphobus. He (as already described) had taken her to wife whenAlexander had died. NowMenelaus tortured him to death, brutally cutting him to pieces, lopping off ears and arms and nose and so forth. AndNeoptolemus, with no respect for old age or the office of king, slaughteredPriam, both of whose hands were clutching the altar. AndAjax the son ofOileus dragged offCassandra from the temple ofMinerva to be his captive.

§ 5.13  Thus we destroyedTroy and theTrojans. But still there were those who were seeking protection at the altars of gods. We decided unanimously to pull them away and kill them; so great was our lust for vengeance and our will to destroy the power o theTrojans. Accordingly, those who had escaped the slaughter of the previous night, those tremblingsheep, were slaughtered. And, as is usual in war, we pillaged the temples and half-burned houses, and for many a day hunted down any of the enemy who might have escaped. Places were designated where objects of gold and of silver and costly garments were brought. When we were sated withTrojan blood, and the city was burned to the ground, we divided the booty, in payment of our military service, beginning with the captive women and children. First of all,Helen was freely given toMenelaus; thenPolyxena, at the request ofUlysses, was given toNeoptolemus, to sacrifice toAchilles;Cassandra was given toAgamemnon (he had been so moved by her beauty that, in spite of himself, he had openly said that he loved her); andAethra andClymene were given toDemophoon andAcamas. The other women were apportioned by lot, and thusAndromache fell toNeoptolemus (to honor whose greatness, we further allowedAndromache's sons to accompany her); andHecuba fell toUlysses. After enslaving the women of royal birth, we allotted booty and captives to the rest of our men in proportion as they deserved.

§ 5.14  Heated contention arose at this time as to which of our leaders should have thePalladium.Ajax the son ofTelamon demanded it in payment for the booty his courage and zeal had brought to us all. There was almost no one who was willing to offend a man of such greatness, for we vividly remembered his deeds on offense and defense. OnlyDiomedes andUlysses stood in his way; they based their claims to thePalladium on the fact that they had carried it off. ButAjax swore thatAntenor, who had hoped thereby to win their friendship, had carried thePalladium off; and this, he said, had caused them no trouble and made no demands on their courage. ThereuponDiomedes modestly yielded toAjax. But not soUlysses, who contended, with all of his force, that he should have thePalladium.Menelaus andAgamemnon favored the cause ofUlysses, for they remembered howHelen had been saved, just a little before, by his aid. WhenTroy had been taken,Ajax had been the first to propose that she should be killed because of the troubles and sufferings she had caused for so long a time. Many good men had assented. ButMenelaus, still loving his wife, had gone the rounds, and plead for her life, and finally, through the intercession ofUlysses, had won her back unharmed. And so we decided betweenAjax andUlysses, judging only their merits in this particular case. It made no difference which was the bravest. Yes,Ajax had performed many valorous deeds, and brought back grain fromThrace, but these were matters not pertinent here. Thus, in spite of the fact that we were surrounded by enemies and still threatened with war, thePalladium went toUlysses.

§ 5.15  This decision caused our men to split into two factions: those who, remembering the brave deeds ofAjax, thought that no one was better than he; and those who favoredUlysses.Ajax was so angry that he lost control of himself and openly swore to kill those who had thwarted his claim. Accordingly,Ulysses,Agamemnon, andMenelaus increased their guard and kept careful watch for their personal safety. With the coming of night, as we departed, we all cursed and reviled the two kings, blaming them for letting the lust for a women endanger the army. At daybreak we foundAjax, out in the open, dead; upon closer investigation, we discovered that he had been killed with a sword. A great tumult arose among our leaders and men, and soon a full-grown rebellion was under way. We felt that just asPalamedes, our wisest counsellor in war and peace, had been treacherously slain, so nowAjax, our most distinguished commander, had met a similar end.Agamemnon andMenelaus stayed in their huts, guarded by trusted companions, and avoided any possible violence. MeanwhileNeoptolemus brought wood and cremated the body ofAjax; then he gathered the remains in a golden urn and had them buried inRhoeteum. He also dedicated a monument in honor ofAjax, and this was quickly constructed. IfAjax had died beforeTroy had been taken, certainly the cause of the enemy would have been greatly promoted. Who knows how the war might have ended?Ulysses, knowing that he was hated by the army, feared personal violence, and fled across toIsmaros. He left thePalladium behind forDiomedes to have.

§ 5.16  After the departure ofUlysses,Hecuba, preferring death to enslavement, called down many curses and evil omens upon us, and we, being terribly provoked, stoned her to death. Her tomb which was raised atAbydos, was calledCynossema (The Tomb of the Bitch) because of her mad and shameless barking. At the same timeCassandra, inspired by the god, predicted thatAgamemnon would die, treacherously slaughtered by members of his household. Furthermore, she said, death and disaster awaited he rest of the Greeks, as they tried to return to their homelands.Antenor begged us, in behalf of his people, to forget about vengeance and think of ourselves, for the time for sailing was passing. Having invited our leaders to dinner, he loaded them down with marvelous gifts. Our leaders were urgingAeneas to sail along with us to Greece and promised to give him a kingdom as powerful as any they ruled.Helenus was rewarded with the sons ofHector, whomNeoptolemus gave him, and with all the gold and silver which the rest of our leaders felt they should give him. Then a meeting of the council was called, and we decided to hold a public funeral, to last for three days, in honor ofAjax. When the third day came to an end, all of our kings cut off their hair, which then they placed on the tomb. From this time on, we began to revileAgamemnon andMenelaus, saying that they were not the sons ofAtreus but ofPlisthenes, and therefore ignoble. They, hoping that if they were gone our hatred would vanish, begged us to let them depart without harm. This we permitted; and so, like outcasts or exiles, they were the first to set sail. We gave the sons ofAjax toTeucer. They wereAeantides andEurysaces, whose mothers wereGlauce andTecmessa respectively.

§ 5.17  Winter was coming on fast and threatened to prevent us from sailing. Accordingly, we drew our ships down to the sea and fitted them out with oars and other equipment. Then we departed, each with the booty he had gained for all those years of fighting. After our departure,Aeneas, who had been left behind atTroy, tried to driveAntenor out of the kingdom. Leaving the city, he approached all those who were inhabitants of Dardanum and the peninsula nearby, and begged them to help him. He was unsuccessful, however; and when he tried to return toTroy,Antenor, who had learned what was happening, refused him admittance. And soAeneas was forced to set sail. Taking all of his patrimony, he departed fromTroy and eventually arrived in theAdriatic Sea, after passing many barbarous peoples. Here he and those who were with him founded a city, which they calledCorcyra Melaena. When it was known atTroy thatAntenor had gained control of the kingdom, all the survivors of the war, those who had escaped the slaughter of that fearful night, supported his rule. In practically no time his following had increased to immense proportions. Everyone loved him and trusted his wisdom. His closest friend was Oinideus, the king of theCebrenians. I,Dictys ofCnossos, the companion ofIdomeneus, have written this account in the language (how many there are!) I best understand, using thePhoenician alphabet bequeathed to us byCadmus andDanaus. No one should marvel that many different languages are spoken on this one island of mine, for such is the case all over Greece. Everything I have written about he war between the Greeks and the barbarians, in which I took a very active part, is based on first-hand knowledge. What I have told aboutAntenor and his kingdom was learned on inquiry from others. Now it is time to relate the returns of our men.

§ 6.1  When the Greeks had loaded the ships with all the booty they had gained, and gone aboard themselves, they weighed anchor and set sail. Blessed with a favorable wind from the stern quarter, within a few days they reached theAegean Sea. But then, as fate would have it, a furious storm arose, a sea of troubles for all of our men, and scattered our ships. Shattering lightning bolts, which terrified the sailors and caused them to lose all control, completely destroyed the fleet of theLocrians, commanded byAjax.Ajax and some of the others who, having escaped the wreckage, kept afloat by clinging to boards and flotsam, were dashed to death against the Choeradian crags ofEuboea. The night had kept them from seeing; andNauplius, knowing their plight and desiring to avenge the death of his sonPalamedes, had raised a torch, to lure them there, as if to a harbour.

§ 6.2  At the same timeOiax, who was the son ofNauplius and the brother ofPalamedes, on learning that the Greeks were returning home, went toArgos and reported, falsely, toClytemnestra andAegiale thatAgamemnon andDiomedes were bringing back women they preferred to their wives; and he added those things by which their womanly hearts, by nature easily persuaded, might be the more incensed against their husbands. Thus they were prompted to arm themselves against their husbands' arrivals. Accordingly,Aegiale, with the help of the citizens, preventedDiomedes from entering the city; andClytemnestra hadAegisthus, with whom she was living in adultery, snareAgamemnon and slay him. Soon thereafter the adulterous pair were married, andClytemnestra gave birth to a daughter,Erigone. MeanwhileTalthybius savedOrestes,Agamemnon's son, from the hands ofAegisthus, and turned him over toIdomeneus.Idomeneus was then a resident ofCorinth; to which cityDiomedes andTeucer also came when driven away from their homes.Teucer had been prohibited from landing onSalamis byTelamon, his father, because, no doubt, he had not prevented his brotherAjax' ignominious death. Meanwhile theAthenians welcomedMenestheus along withAethra, the daughter ofPittheus, and her daughterClymene.Demophoon andAcamas, however, remained outside the city. Most of those who had escaped death from dangers at sea or plots at home came toCorinth and there made plans to recover their kingdoms. They should, they thought, combine their forces and attack their kingdoms one at a time. This action, however, was vetoed byNestor, who said that they should try persuasion first and not tear Greece apart with civil wars. Soon after this,Diomedes learned that his grandfather,Oineus, was being afflicted in every way by those who had gained control ofAitolia during his absence. Accordingly, he went to that region and killed the guilty usurpers. Those who favored his cause easily welcomed him back, for allAitolia feared him. When news ofDiomedes' success spread, all of the Greeks reinstated their kings, thinking that no one could match bravery or strength of those who had battled atTroy. And so weCretans and our kingIdomeneus returned to our native soil and were joyfully received by our people.

§ 6.3  WhenOrestes had grown to maturity, he beggedIdomeneus to give him as many men as he could and let him sail fromCrete toAthens. His request was granted, having gathered a number of those he thought sufficient, he went off toAthens and there invoked the aid of theAthenians againstAegisthus. Then, having gone to the oracle, he received the response that he was destined to kill his mother andAegisthus, and thus to recover his father's kingdom. Armed with this prophecy, he and his band went on toStrophius, thePhocian.Strophius willingly offered his aid, for he passionately hatedAegisthus. (Aegisthus had first marriedStrophius' daughter, but then had rejected her and marriedClytemnestra; and he had treacherously slainAgamemnon, the great king.) ThusOrestes, having assembled a large army, marched onMycenae.Clytemnestra was immediately slain, along with many others who dared to resist.Aegisthus was absent. But when news of his arrival was brought, he was ambushed and killed. ThroughoutArgos the people were forced to take sides and tried to choose where best their interest lay. During the same timeMenelaus landed onCrete and learned howAgamemnon had died and what was happening inArgos.

§ 6.4  When theCretans heard ofHelen's arrival, many men and women from all over the island came together, desiring to see her for whose sake almost all of the world had gone to war.Menelaus told his adventures. He had learned thatTeucer, who had been banished from home, had founded a city onCyprus calledSalamis. He also reported the many wonders ofEgypt. Theserpents there, he said, had killed his pilot,Canopus; for whom he had built a magnificent tomb. When the time seemed right,Menelaus sailed toMycenae. There he laid many plots againstOrestes, but the people prevented him from carrying out these plans.Orestes, it was decided unanimously, should go toAthens and there stand trial before the court ofAreopagus. ThusOrestes plead his case, and theAreopagus acquitted him; this court was reputedly the most severe in all Greece. This acquittal so grievedOrestes' half-sister,Erigone, who was the daughter ofAegisthus, that she hanged herself. After the verdict and afterOrestes had been purified by every means, according to the ancient ritual in use for parricides,Menestheus sent him home toMycenae. And thereupon the people made him king. LaterOrestes and thenMenelaus came toCrete at the invitation ofIdomeneus.Orestes bitterly charged his uncle with plotting against him at a time when his positioned was already endangered by public strife. Finally, however, they were reconciled with each other by the intercession ofIdomeneus and so departed toLacedemon. And thenMenelaus, just as he had agreed to do, promisedHermione in marriage toOrestes.

§ 6.5  During the same timeUlysses, with two ships he had hired from thePhoenicians, landed onCrete. He had lost his fleet along with his comrades and all of his booty and had barely escaped with his life by using his wits. This disaster had been due to the power ofTelamon, who no doubt hatedUlysses for being the cause ofAjax' death. WhenIdomeneus askedUlysses how he had met such misfortunes, he told the story of his wanderings from the beginning. First they had landed atIsmaros, where they had fought, and gained much booty. Then they had sailed to the country of theLotus-Eaters, where they had met with a cruel fate. Then they had gone to the island ofSicily, where the brothersCyclops andLaestrygon had treated them with every indignity and wherePolyphemus andAntiphates, who were the sons of the former, had killed many of them. Finally, however,Polyphemus — he was the king — had taken pity upon them and agreed to a truce. But then they had tried to carry offPolyphemus' daughterArene, who had fallen desperately in love with their comradeAlphenor.Polyphemus, however, had discovered their plans. Thus, having been forcibly deprived of the girl, they were driven away — out through the island ofAeolus, on to theisland ofCirce, and then to the island ofCalypso. It was well known how these queens, by using certain charms, enticed their guests to love them. Nevertheless,Ulysses escaped. Then they had gone to that place where, having performed the requisite rites, they learned of the future from the shades of the dead. Then on past the rocks of theSirens, whom he had cleverly eluded. And then, finally, he had lost most of his ships and men toScylla andCharybdis, that savage, whirling pool that sucks down everything within its reach. Then he and the survivors had come into the hands ofPhoenicianpirates, and these had mercifully saved them. Thereupon our kingIdomeneus did asUlysses wished and gave him two ships and much booty and sent him off toAlcinous, the king of thePhaeacians.

§ 6.6  There they already knew of his fame and entertained him many days. Also they told him thatPenelope was being wooed by thirty handsome suitors who had come from different regions — fromZacynthus, theEchinades,Leucas, andIthaca. Thereupon he prevailed uponAlcinous to sail with him, to avenge this insult to his marriage. When they had come toIthaca,Ulysses stayed concealed for a little while, until they could informTelemachus of what they were planning. Then they proceeded to the palace and slew the suitors, who had been wined and dined to the full. When the people knew thatUlysses had come, they welcomed him back and showed that they favored his cause; and from them he learned everything that had happened at home.Ulysses repaid the faithful with gifts, the unfaithful with punishments. As forPenelope, her reputation for virtue is famous. Soon afterwards, in answer toUlysses' hopes and prayers,Nausicaa, the daughter ofAlcinous, was married toTelemachus. This was also the time when our leaderIdomeneus died inCrete; and, according to the right of succession, the kingdom passed toMeriones.Laertes, three years after his son had returned, ended his life.Nausicaa andTelemachus had a son, to whomUlysses gave the namePtoliporthus (Sacker of Cities).

§ 6.7  While these things were happening onIthaca,Neoptolemus was among theMolossians repairing his ships, which had been wrecked in a storm. There he had learned thatAcastus had drivenPeleus out of his kingdom inThessaly. Accordingly, as he desired to avenge this wrong to his grandfather, he sentChrysippus andAratus to explore the situation; they were very reliable men, and no one inThessaly knew them. These learned from Assandrus, a follower ofPeleus, everything that had happened and howAcastus had treacherously attackedPeleus. This Assandrus had eluded the tyranny ofAcastus and sided withPeleus, with whom he had become so intimate that he was able to tell, among other things, aboutPeleus' marriage withThetis,Chiron's daughter. At that time many kings had been invited from everywhere to the wedding, which was atChiron's home. During the banquet they had praised the bride and offered her toasts as if to a goddess, saying that she was aNereid and thatChiron wasNereus. In the same way they had called any of their number who excelled in dancing or singingApollo orBacchus, and had given the names ofMuses to many of the women. Accordingly, from that time on, this banquet was known as "a banquet of the gods."

§ 6.8  WhenChrysippus andAratus had learned what they wanted to know, they returned toNeoptolemus and made a full report. ThereuponNeoptolemus, though the sea was rough and there were reasons enough to stay where he was, equipped his fleet and set sail. Having been much harassed on sea by a savage storm and having been driven to the shore of theSepiades (so called because of their dangerous rocks), he lost almost all of his ships; he himself and those who were sailing with him barely escaped. There he found his grandfather,Peleus, who was hiding in a dark, secluded cave. The old man, while avoiding the treacherous plots ofAcastus, was keeping a lookout for all who happened to sail there, hoping his grandson would come. WhenPeleus had toldNeoptolemus all that had befallen his house, the latter was beginning to decide on a plan of attack when by chance he learned that the sons ofAcastus,Menalippus andPlisthenes, were coming to hunt nearPeleus' cave. Accordingly, he changed into the clothes of that region; and then, pretending to be anIolchian, he presented himself to the sons ofAcastus and asked permission to join in their sport. This being granted, soon afterwards he came uponMenalippus andPlisthenes — they were close together but separated some distance from the rest of their party — and slew them. Then he captured and slew their faithful slave,Cinyras, who had come in search of his masters; but not before he had learned that Acasus also was coming.

§ 6.9  ThereuponNeoptolemus changed intoPhrygian clothes, so as to look likeMestor, the son ofPriam, whom he had brought along as a captive. When, dressed in this guise, he met withAcastus, he claimed to beMestor and said thatNeoptolemus was wearied from sailing and was sleeping there in the cave. SinceAcastus desired to trap this most hated of enemies, he went straight to the cave. ButThetis was there and kept him from entering. (She, having learned what was happening, had come to be withPeleus.) She roundly beratedAcastus for his crimes against the house ofAchilles and against the laws of the gods. But then she used her influence to save him fromNeoptolemus' power, for she urged her grandson to refrain from further vengeance and slaughter.Acastus, being grateful for his unexpected escape, willingly, right then and there, gaveNeoptolemus complete control of the kingdom. ThenNeoptolemus, having gained control of the kingdom, went to the city with his grandfather,Peleus, and his grandmother,Thetis, and those of his men who had survived the voyage. All the citizens and all the people round about who were under his power welcomed him joyously and with a devotion which, as he was soon to prove, was not misplaced.

§ 6.10  Neoptolemus told me everything which I have written about him, when I attended his marriage toHermione, the daughter ofMenelaus. I also learned from him about the burial ofMemnon's remains.Memnon's bones came into the hands of those of his men who had stayed onPaphos. They had slainPallas, under whose leadership they were sailing toTroy, and had taken the booty for themselves. Then his sisterHimera, orHemera as some call her after her mother, came toPaphos, looking for the body of her brother. When she found the remains and learned what had happened to the booty, she wanted to recover both. Thereupon, through the influence of thePhoenicians, who composed a majority ofMemnon's soldiers there, she was given a choice: she could have either the booty of the bones, but not both. Accordingly, yielding to sisterly affection, she chose the latter; she took the urn and, setting sail, carried it off toPhoenicia. When she had come to the part of the country calledPhalliotis, she buried the urn. Then she suddenly vanished from sight. There were three explanations for her disappearance: either she had vanished at sunset along with her mother,Himera; or she had killed herself, overwhelmed with grieving over her brother; or the inhabitants ofPhalliotis had killed her, desiring to steal whatever she had.Neoptolemus is my source for what I have told aboutMemnon and his sister.

§ 6.11  The year after I returned toCrete, I went to the oracle ofApollo as a public representative, along with two others, in order to seek relief from a plague. For no apparent reason and all unexpectedly, a great horde of locusts had attacked our island and was destroying all of the crops in the fields. The response of the oracle, in answer to our many prayers and supplications, was that living creatures must die, divinely slain, before the crops of our island would grow and abound. The people atDelphi prohibited us from sailing home at this time; the weather, they said, was unfavorable and dangerous. Nevertheless,Lycophron and Ixaeus — they were the two who had come along with me — refused to obey this injunction. Thus they sailed. When, however, they were half way toCrete, a bolt of lightning struck them dead. And then, just as the god had predicted, with the same bolt of lightning, the locusts departed, swallowed up by the sea, and the crops of our island began to increase.

§ 6.12  During the same timeNeoptolemus, having consummated his marriage withHermione, went toDelphi. He wanted to give thanks toApollo for the fact thatAlexander, who had murdered his father, had paid for his crime.Andromache was left behind at home, along withLaodamas, her only surviving son byHector. NowHermione, after the departure of her husband, was tortured by the thought of her captive rival, and summoned her father,Menelaus. Then, bitterly complaining about her poor treatment — howNeoptolemus preferred a captive woman to her — she urgedMenelaus to killHector's son.Andromache, however, having learned of this plot, saved her son and escaped with the aid of the people, who pitied her fate; furthermore, these heaped abuses uponMenelaus, and were barely prevented from killing him.

§ 6.13  MeanwhileOrestes arrived and learned all that was happening. Thereupon he urgedMenelaus to carry out the plot, for he himself was planning to killNeoptolemus when he returned. He hatedNeoptolemus for having marriedHermione; she had been promised to him. Accordingly, the first thing he did was to send some trusted scouts toDelphi to find out whenNeoptolemus would come.Menelaus, being thus apprised ofOrestes' plans, returned toSparta, for he wanted no part in such a crime. Then the scouts who had been sent toDelphi reported thatNeoptolemus was not to be found in that place. And thusOrestes was forced to set out in search of his man. When he returned — but not on the same day he had left — everyone believed that he had accomplished his purpose. Within a short time the popular story was thatNeoptolemus was dead and thatOrestes had treacherously slain him. ThenOrestes returned toMycenae, takingHermione with him. She had been promised to him. MeanwhilePeleus andThetis, having heard of their grandson's death, set out to learn for themselves exactly how he had died. They discovered that he had been buried atDelphi (where then they performed his funeral rites according to custom), but that he had died in a place whereOrestes had never been seen. This, however, the people refused to believe, so strong was their presumption ofOrestes' treachery. Furthermore,Thetis, seeing thatHermione andOrestes were married, sentAndromache off to theMolossians.Andromache was pregnant byNeoptolemus, andThetis feared thatOrestes andHermione might try to kill the baby.

§ 6.14  During the same timeUlysses had been frightened by frequent omens and nightmares. Accordingly, he summoned all those in his area who were skilled in interpreting dreams, and told them everything, but especially this dream he frequently had: A form, half human and half divine, and beautiful to behold, suddenly arose form the same place. As he passionately reached out his arms and tried to embrace it, he received a rebuke, in a human voice: such a union was wicked, a union between those of the same flesh and blood, one of whom was destined to die at the hands of the other. And while he pondered and wondered how this could be, a shaft, hurled by the apparition's command, appeared to arise from the sea and, coming between them, caused them to part. Everyone who was there interpreted this vision as fatal to him; and, furthermore, they begged him to beware of the treacherous acts of his son. Accordingly,Telemachus, because of his father's suspicions, was sent to the island ofCephalenia, there to farm where trusted guards could watch him. Furthermore,Ulysses, by withdrawing into a region that was hidden and remote, strove to avoid what his dream had foretold.

§ 6.15  Meanwhile, however,Telegonus, whomCirce had borne toUlysses and raised on the island ofAeaea, having grown to manhood, came toIthaca in search of his father. He was carrying a spear, whose point was the bone of a sea bird, the turtle-dove, which was the symbol ofAeaea, where he was born. When he learned whereUlysses was living off in the country, he went to that place; but the guards there prohibited him entry. Persisting but always being resisted, he began to shout that this was disgraceful, a crime, to prevent a song from embracing his father. But the guards, not knowing thatUlysses had fathered a second son and believing that this wasTelemachus who had come to murder the king, resisted ever more fiercely. And thusTelegonus, becoming more and more angry because of this increasingly vehement opposition, ended by killing or wounding many of the guards.Ulysses, having learned what was happening, thought that this was a young man whomTelemachus had sent to harm him. Accordingly, he entered the fray and let fly with his spear, which he always carried for protection.Telegonus, however, parried the blow; and then, aiming to make a mortal wound and letting fly with his own remarkable weapon, he hit his father.Ulysses, as he fell, was thankful for this sort of fate. It was all for the best, he thought; by dying at he hands of a foreigner he would preventTelemachus, whom he dearly loved, from being guilty of parricide. Still breathing, he asked the young man who he was and where he was from and how he had dared to killUlysses, the son ofLaertes, a man famous for virtues in war and peace. And thenTelegonus realized that this was his father whom he had slain. He wept in a very pitiable way and pulled his hair with both his hands, being terribly tortured because he had caused his father's death. Then, asUlysses had asked, he told him his name and the name of his mother and the name of the island where he was born; and he showed him the point of the spear. And soUlysses knew that his recurring dream had been correctly interpreted; he had been fatally struck by one whom he had never suspected. And thus, within three days, he died, a man advanced in years, whose strength, however, was as yet unimpaired. End