The Illiad - Book 2

The Iliad is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the Odyssey, the poem is divided into 24 books and was written in a dactylic hexameter.

Set towards the end of the Trojan War, a ten-year siege of the city of Troy by a coalition of Mycenaean Greek states, the poem depicts significant events in the siege's final weeks. In particular, it depicts a fierce quarrel between King Agamemnon and a celebrated warrior, Achilles.

It is a central part of the Epic Cycle. The Iliad is often regarded as the first substantial piece of European literature.

Transcript

II.

The Iliad by Homer.

Book II.

Now the other gods and the armed warriors on the plain slept soundly,

But Jove was wakeful,

For he was thinking how to do honour to Achilles,

And destroyed much people at the ships of the Achaeans.

In the end he deemed it would be best to send a lying dream to King Agamemnon,

So he called one to him and said to it,

Lying dream,

Go to the ships of the Achaeans,

Into the tent of Agamemnon,

And say to him word to word as I now bid you.

Tell him to get the Achaeans instantly under arms,

For he shall take Troy.

There are no longer divided councils among the gods.

Nino has brought them to her own mind,

And woe betides the Trojans.

The dream went when it had heard its message,

And soon reached the ships of the Achaeans.

It sought Agamemnon,

Son of Atreus,

And found him in his tent,

Wrapped in a profound slumber.

It hovered over his head in the likeness of Nestor,

Son of Nileus,

Whom Agamemnon honoured above all his counsellors,

And said,

You are sleeping,

Son of Atreus.

One who has the welfare of his host,

And so much other care upon his shoulders,

Should dock his sleep.

Hear me at once,

For I come as a messenger from Jove,

Who,

Though he be not near,

Yet takes thought for you and pities you.

He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms,

For you shall take Troy.

There are no longer divided councils among the gods.

Juno has brought them over to her own mind,

And woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove.

Remember this,

And when you wake,

See that it does not escape you.

The dream then left him,

And he thought of things that were,

Surely not to be accomplished.

He thought that on that same day he was to take the city of Priam,

But he little knew what was in the mind of Jove,

Who had many another hard-fought fight and store alike for Danans and Trojans.

Then presently he woke,

With a divine message still ringing in his ears.

So he sat upright,

And put on his soft shirt so fair and new,

And over this his heavy cloak.

He bound his sandals on to his comely feet,

And slung his silver-studded sword about his shoulders.

Then he took the imperishable staff of his father,

And sallied forth to the ships of the Achaeans.

But a goddess Dawn now wended her way to vast Olympus,

That she might herald day to Jove and to the other immortals.

And the Gamamnon sent the criers round to call the people in assembly.

So they called them,

And the people gathered thereon.

But first he summoned a meeting of the elders at the ship of Nestor,

King of Pelos.

And when they were assembled,

He laid a cunning counsel before them.

My friends,

Said he,

I have had a dream from heaven in the dead of night,

And its face and figure resembled none but Nestor's.

It hovered over my head and said,

You are sleeping,

Son of Atreus.

One who has the welfare of his host,

And so much other care upon his shoulders,

Should dock his sleep.

Hear me at once,

For I am a messenger from Jove,

Who though he be not near,

Yet takes thought for you and pities you.

He bids you get the Achaeans instantly under arms,

For you shall take Troy.

There are no longer divided councils among the gods.

Juno has brought them over to her own mind,

And woe betides the Trojans at the hands of Jove.

Remember this.

The dream then vanished,

And I awoke.

Let us now their form arm the sons of the Achaeans.

But it will be well that I should first sound them,

And to this end I will tell them to fly with their ships.

But do you others go about among the host,

And prevent their doing so?

He then sat down,

And Nestor,

The prince of Pelos,

With all sincerity and good will addressed them thus.

My friends,

Said he,

Princes and councillors of the Argives,

If any other man of the Achaeans had told us of this dream,

We should have declared it false,

And would have had nothing to do with it.

But he who has seen it,

It is the foremost man among us.

We must therefore set about getting the people under arms.

With this he led the way from the assembly,

And the other sceptered kings rose with him in obedience to the word of Agamemnon.

But the people pressed forward to hear.

They swarmed like bees that sally from some hollow cave,

And flit in countless throng among the spring flowers,

Bunched in knots and clusters.

Even so did the mighty multitude pour from ships and tents to the assembly,

And range themselves upon the wide-watered shore,

While among them ran Wildfire Rumor,

Messenger of Jove,

Urging them ever to the fore.

Thus they gathered in the pale mend of mad confusion,

And the earth groaned under the tramp of men as the people sought their places.

Nine heralds went crying about among them,

To stay their tumult,

And bid them listen to the kings.

Till at last they were got into their several places,

And seized their clamor.

Then King Agamemnon rose,

Holding his scepter.

This was the work of Vulcan,

Who gave it to Jove,

The son of Saturn.

Jove gave it to Mercury,

Slayer of Argus,

Guide and guardian.

King Mercury gave it to Pelops,

The mighty charioteer,

And Pelops to Atreus,

Shepherd of his people.

Atreus,

When he died,

Left it to Thaestes,

Rich in flocks,

And Thaestes in his turn left it to be borne by Agamemnon,

That he might be lord of all Argos and of the Isles.

Leaning then on his scepter,

He addressed the Argives.

My friends,

He said,

Heroes,

Servants of Mars,

The hand of heaven has been laid heavily upon me.

Cruel Jove gave me his solemn promise,

That I should sack the city of Priam before returning.

But he has played me false,

And is now bidding me go ingloriously back to Argos,

With the loss of much people.

Such is the will of Jove,

Who has laid many a proud city in the dust,

As he will yet lay others,

For his power is above all.

It will be a sorry tale hereafter that an Achaean host,

At once so great and valiant,

Battled in vain against men fewer in number than themselves.

But as yet the end is not in sight.

Think that the Achaeans and Trojans have sworn to a solemn covenant,

And that they have each been numbered.

The Trojans by the roll of their householders,

And we by companies of ten.

Think further that each of our companies desire to have a Trojan householder to pour out their wine.

We are so greatly more in number,

That full many a company would have to go without its cupbearer.

But they have in the town allies from other places,

And it is these that hinder me from being able to sack the rich city of Ilias.

Nine of Jove's years are gone.

The timbers of our ships have rotten.

Their tackling is sound no longer.

Our wives and little ones at home look anxiously for our coming.

But the work that we came hither to do has not been done.

Now,

Therefore,

Let us all do as I say.

Let us sail back to our own land,

For we shall not take Troy.

" With these words he moved the hearts of the multitude,

So many of them as knew not the cunning counsel of Agamemnon.

They search to and through like the waves of the Icarian Sea,

When the east and south winds break from heaven's clouds to lash them,

Or as when the west wind sweeps over a field of corn and the ears bow beneath the blast.

Even so they swayed as they flew with loud cries towards the ships,

And the dust from under their feet rose heavenward.

They cheered each other on to draw the ships into the sea.

They cleared the channels in front of them.

They began taking away the stays from underneath them,

And the Welkin rang with their glad cries,

So eager were they to return.

Then surely the Argives would have returned after a fashion that was not fated.

But Juno said to Minerva,

Alas,

Daughter of Aegis-bearing Jove,

Unweariable,

Shall the Argives fly home to their own land over the broad sea,

And leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen,

For whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy,

Far from their homes.

Go about at once among the host,

And speak fairly to them,

Man by man,

That they draw not their ships into the sea.

Minerva was not slack to do her bidding.

Down she darted from the topmost summits of Olympus,

And in a moment she was at the ships of the Achaeans.

There she found Ulysses,

Peer of Jove in council,

Standing alone.

He had not yet laid a hand upon his ship,

For he was grieved and sorry.

So she went close up to him and said,

Ulysses,

Noble son of Lartes,

Are you going to fling yourself into your ships and be of home to your own land in this way?

Will you leave Priam and the Trojans the glory of still keeping Helen,

For whose sake so many of the Achaeans have died at Troy,

Far from their homes?

Go about at once among the host,

And speak fairly to them,

Man by man,

That they draw not their ships into the sea.

Ulysses knew the voice as that of the goddess.

He flung his cloak from him and set off to run.

His servant Eurybates,

A man of Ithaca,

Who waited on him,

Took charge of the cloak,

Whereon Ulysses went straight up to Agamemnon and received from him his ancestral,

Imperishable staff.

With this he went about among the ships of the Achaeans.

Whenever he met a king or chieftain,

He stood by him and spoke him fairly.

Sir,

Said he,

This flight is cowardly and unworthy.

Stand to your post and bid your people also keep their places.

You do not yet know the full mind of Agamemnon.

He was sounding us,

And yearlong will visit the Achaeans with his displeasure.

We were not all of us to counsel to hear what he then said.

See to it lest he be angry,

And do us a mischief.

For the pride of kings is great,

And the hand of Jove is with them.

But when he came across any common man who was making a noise,

He struck him with his staff and rebuked him,

Saying,

Sirrah,

Hold your peace,

And listen to better men than yourself.

You are a coward and no soldier.

You are nobody either in fight or counsel.

We cannot all be kings.

It is not well that there should be many masters.

One man must be supreme,

One king to whom the son of scheming Saturn has given the scepter of sovereignty over you all.

Thus masterfully did he go about among the host,

And the people hurried back to the council from their tents and ships with a sound as the thunder of surf when it comes crashing down upon the shore,

And all seas in an uproar.

The rest now took their seats and kept their own several places.

But Thersites still went on wagging his unbridled tongue,

A man of many words,

And those unseemly.

A monger of sedition,

A railer against all who were in authority,

Who cared not what he said,

So that he might set the Achaeans in a laugh.

He was the ugliest man of all those that came before Troy.

He was shaggy-legged,

Lame of one foot,

With his two shoulders rounded and hunched over his chest.

His head run up to a point,

There was still little hair on the top of it.

Achilles and Ulysses hated him worst of all,

For it was with them that he was most wont to wrangle.

Now however,

With a shrill squeaky voice he began heaping his abuse on Agamemnon.

The Achaeans were angry and disgusted,

Yet nonetheless he kept on brawling and brawling at the son of Atreus.

—Agamemnon!

He cried.

What ails you now,

And what more do you want?

Your tents are filled with bronze and with fair women,

For whenever we take a town we give you the pick of them.

Would you have yet more gold,

Which some Trojan is to give you as ransom for his son,

When I or another Achaean has taken him prisoner?

Or is it some young girl to hide and lie with?

It is not well that you,

The ruler of the Achaeans,

Should bring them into such misery.

We clink cowards,

Women rather than men.

Let us set sail home,

And leave this fellow here at Troy to stew in his own means of honor,

And discover whether we were of any service to him or not.

Ulysses is a much better man than he is,

And see how he has treated him,

Robbing him of his prize and keeping it to himself.

Achilles takes it meekly and shows no fight.

If he did,

Son of Atreus,

You would never again insult him.

Thus railed Thersites.

But Ulysses at once went up to him and rebuked him sternly.

Check your glib tongue,

Thersites,

Said he,

And babble not a word further.

Chide not with princes when you have none to back you.

There is no viler creature come before Troy with the sons of Atreus.

Drop this chatter about kings,

And neither revile them nor keep harping about going home.

We do not yet know how things are going to be,

Nor whether the Achaeans are to return with good success or evil.

How dare you jibe at Agamemnon because the Danans have awarded him so many prizes?

I tell you,

Therefore,

And it shall surely be,

That if I again catch you talking such nonsense,

I will either forfeit my own head and be no more called father of Telemachus,

Or I will take you,

Strip you stark naked,

And whip you out of the assembly till you go blubbering back to the ships.

" On this he beat him with his staff about the back and shoulders,

Till he dropped and fell a-weeping.

The golden scepter raised a bloody wheel on his back,

So he sat down frightened and in pain,

Looking foolish as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

The people were sorry for him,

Yet they laughed heartily,

And one would turn to his neighbors,

Ulysses has done many a good thing here now in fight and counsel,

But he never did the Argives a better turn than when he stopped his fellow's mouth from prattling further.

He will give the kings no more of his insolence.

Thus said the people,

That Ulysses rose scepter in hand,

And Minerva,

In the likeness of a herald,

Bade the people be still,

That those who were far off might hear him and consider his counsel.

He therefore with all sincerity and goodwill addressed them thus,

King Agamemnon,

The Achaeans are for making you a by-word among all mankind.

They forget the promise they made you when they set out from Argos,

That you should not return till you had sacked the town of Troy,

And,

Like children or widowed women,

They murmur and would set off homeward.

True,

It is that they have had toil enough to be disheartened.

A man chafes at having to stay away from his wife even for a single month,

When he is on a ship aboard,

At the mercy of wind and sea,

But it is now nine long years that we have been kept here.

I cannot therefore blame the Achaeans if they turn restive.

Still we shall be shamed if we go home empty after so long a stay.

Therefore my friends,

Be patient yet a little longer,

That we may learn whether the prophesying of Calchas were false or true.

All who have not since perished must remember as though it were yesterday or the day before,

That the ships of the Achaeans were detained in Aulis when we were on our way hither to make war on Priam and the Trojans.

We were ranged round about a fountain offering hecatombs to the gods upon the holy altars,

And there was a fine plain tree from beneath which were welled a stream of pure water.

Then we saw a prodigy,

For Jove sent a fearful serpent out of the ground,

With blood-red stains upon its back,

And it darted from under the altar on to the plain tree.

Now there was a brood of young sparrows,

Quite small,

Upon the topmost bough,

Peeping out from under the leaves,

Eight in all,

And their mother had hatched them made nine.

The serpent ate the poor,

Cheaping things,

While the old bird flew about lamenting her little ones.

But the serpent threw his quills about her,

And caught her by the wing as she was screaming.

Then when he had eaten both the sparrow and her young,

The god who had sent him made him become a sign,

For the sun of scheming Saturn turned him into stone,

And we stood there wondering at what which had come to pass.

Seeing then that such a fearful portent had broken upon our hecatomb,

Colcas forthwith declared to us the oracles of heaven.

"'Why,

Achaeans,

' said he,

Are you thus speechless?

Jove hath sent us this sign,

Long in coming,

And long ere it be fulfilled,

Though its fame shall last for ever.

As the serpent ate the eight fledglings and the sparrow that hatched them,

Which makes nine,

So shall we fight nine years at Troy,

But in the tenth shall take the town.

' This was what he said,

And now it is all coming true.

"'Stay here,

Therefore,

All of you.

We will take the city of Priam.

' Upon this the Argyres raised a shout,

Till the ships rang again with the uproar.

Nestor,

Knight of Jerene,

Then addressed them.

"'Shame on you!

' he cried,

To stay talking here like children,

When you should fight like men.

Where are our covenants now,

And where the oaths that we have taken?

Shall our counsels be flung into the fire,

With our drink-offerings and the right hands of fellowship wherein we have put our trust?

We waste our time in words,

And for all our talking here shall be no further forward.

Stand therefore,

Son of Atreus,

By your own steadfast purpose.

Lead the Argyres on to battle,

And leave this handful of men to rot,

Who scheme and scheme in vain,

To get back to Argos,

Ere they have learned whether Jove be true or a liar.

For the mighty son of Saturn surely promised that we should succeed,

When we Argyres set sail to bring death and destruction upon the Trojans.

He showed us favourable signs by flashing his lighting on our hands.

Therefore let none make haste to go till he has first lain with the wife of some Trojan,

And avenged the toil and sorrow that he has suffered for the sake of Helen.

Nevertheless,

If any man is in such haste to be at home again,

Let him lay his hand to his ship,

That he may meet his doom in the sight of all.

But,

O King,

Consider and give ear to my counsel,

For the word that I say may not be neglected lightly.

Divide your men,

Agamemnon,

Into their several tribes and clans,

That clans and tribes may stand by and help one another.

If you do this,

And if the Achaeans obey you,

You will find out who,

Both chiefs and peoples,

Are brave,

And who are cowards,

For they will vie against the other.

Thus you shall also learn whether it is through the counsel of heavens,

Or the cowardice of man that you shall fail to take the town.

" And Agamemnon answered,

Nestor,

You have again outdone the sons of the Achaeans in counsel.

Would,

By Father Jove,

Minerva,

And Apollo,

That I had among them ten more such counsellors!

For the city of Cynchpriam would then soon fall beneath our hands,

And we should sack it.

But the son of Saturn inflicts me with bootless wranglings and strife.

Achilles and I are quarrelling about this girl,

In which matter I was the first to offend.

If we can be of one mind again,

The Trojans will not stave off destruction for a day.

Now therefore get your morning meal,

That our hosts join and fight.

Wet well your spears,

See well to the ordering of your shields,

Give good feeds to your horses,

And look your chariots carefully over,

That we may do battle the livelong day.

For we shall have no rest,

Not for a moment,

Till night falls to part us.

The bands that bear your shields shall be wet with the sweat upon your shoulders.

Your hands shall weary upon your spears,

Your horses shall steam in front of your chariots.

And if I see any man shirking the fight,

Or trying to keep out of it at the ships,

There shall be no help for him,

But he shall be a prey to dogs and vultures.

Thus he spoke,

And the Achaeans roared applause.

As when the waves run high from the blast of the south wind,

And break on some lofty headland,

Dashing against it and buffeting it without ceasing,

As the storms from every quarter drive them,

Even so did the Achaeans rise and hurry in all directions to their ships.

There they lighted their fires at the tents and got dinner,

Offering sacrifices every man to one or other of the gods,

And praying each one of them that he might live to come out of this fight.

Agamemnon,

King of men,

Sacrificed a fat five-year-old bull to the mighty son of Saturn,

And invited the princes and elders of his host.

First he asked Nestor and king Edomeneus,

Then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus,

And sixthly Ulysses,

Peer of gods in council.

But Menelaus came of his own accord,

For he knew how busy his brother then was.

They stood round the bull with the barely meat in their hands,

And Agamemnon prayed,

Saying,

Jove,

Most glorious supreme,

That dwellest in heaven,

And ridest upon the storm-cloud,

Grant that the sun may not go down,

Nor the night fall,

Till the palace of Priam is laid low.

And its gates are consumed with fire.

Grant that my sword may pierce the shirt of Hector about his heart,

And that full many of his comrades may bite the dust as they fall dying round him.

Thus he prayed,

But the son of Saturn would not fulfill his prayer.

He accepted the sacrifice,

Yet nonetheless increased their toil continually.

When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley meal upon the victim,

They drew back its head,

Killed it,

And then flayed it.

They cut out the thigh bones,

Wrapped them round in two layers of fat,

And set pieces of raw meat on top of the other.

These they burned upon their split logs of firewood.

But they spitted the inward meats,

And held them in the flames to cook.

When the thigh bones were burned,

And they had tasted the inward meats,

They cut the rest up small,

But the pieces upon spits roasted them while they were done,

And drew them off.

Then when they had finished their work,

And the feast was ready,

They ate it,

And every man had his full share,

So that all were satisfied.

As soon as they had had enough to eat and drink,

Nestor,

Knight of Gereen,

Began to speak.

King Agamemnon,

Said he,

Let us not stay talking here,

Nor be slack in the work that Heavens has put into our hands.

Let the heralds summon the people to gather at their several ships.

We will then go about among the host,

And we may begin fighting at once.

Thus did he speak,

And Agamemnon heeded his words.

He at once sent the criers round to call the people in assembly.

So they called them,

And the people gathered thereon.

The chiefs about the son of Atreus chose their men and marshalled them,

While Minerva went among them,

Holding her priceless aegis,

That knows neither age nor death.

From it there waved a hundred tassels of pure gold,

All deftly woven,

And each one of them worth a hundred oxen.

With this she darted furiously everywhere among the hosts of the Achaeans,

Urging them forward,

And putting courage into the hearts of each,

So that he might fight and do battle without ceasing.

Thus war became sweeter in their eyes,

Even than returning home in their ships.

As when some great forest fire is raging upon a mountain top,

And its light is seen afar,

Even so as they march the gleam of their armor flashed up into the firmaments of heaven.

They were like great flocks of geese,

Or cranes,

Or swans on the plain above the waters of Kaester,

That winged their way hither and thither,

Glorying on the pride of flight,

And crying as they settled till the fen is alive with their screaming.

Even thus did their tribes pour from ships and tents on to the plain of the Scamander,

And the ground rang as brass under the feet of men and horses.

They stood as thick upon the flower-bespangled fields as leaves that bloom in summer.

As countless swarms of flies buzz round the herdsmen's homestead in the time of spring,

When the pails are drenched with milk,

Even so did the Achaeans swarm on to the plain to charge the Trojans and destroy them.

The chiefs disposed their men this way,

And that before the fight began,

Drafting them out as easily as goatherds draft their flocks when they have got mixed while feeding.

And among them went King Agamemnon,

With a head and face like Jove the Lord of Thunder,

A waist like Mars,

And a chest like that of Neptune.

As some great bull that lords it over the herds upon the plain,

Even so did Jove make the son of Atreus stand peerless among the multitude of heroes.

And now,

O Muses,

Dwellers in the mansions of Olympus,

Tell me,

For you are the goddesses,

And are all in places that you see all things.

While we know nothing but my report,

Who were the chiefs and princes of Danaz?

As for the common soldiers,

They were so that I could not name every single one of them,

Though I had ten tongues,

And though my voice failed not and my heart were of bronze within me,

Unless you,

O Olympian Muses,

Daughters of Aegis bearing Jove,

Were to recount them to me.

Nevertheless,

I will tell the captains of the ships and all the fleet together.

Penelaios,

Laetus,

Archassilius,

Prothonior,

And Clonius were captains of the Boetians.

These were they that dwelled in Heria and Rociolis,

And who held Sconus,

Scolus,

And the highlands of Aeteonus,

With Thespia,

Graea,

And the fair city of Mycolesis.

They also held Harma,

Elysium,

And Erythei,

And they had Ilion,

Hyl,

And Pythion,

Ocalia,

And the strong fortress of Median,

Copae,

Deutrixes,

And Thisbe,

The haunt of Doves,

Coronia,

And the pastures of Hiliartus,

Plataea,

And Glysis,

The fortress of Thebes the less,

And finally Ancestus,

With its famous grove of Neptune,

Arne rich in vineyards,

Media,

Sacred Nyssa,

And Anthedon upon the sea.

From these came fifty ships,

And in each there were a hundred and twenty young men of the Boetians.

Asclepius and Aelmenus,

Sons of Mars,

Led the people that dwelt in Asplodon and Orcuminus,

The realm of Mineas.

Astiochi,

A noble maiden,

Bore them in the house of Actor,

Son of Azeus.

For she had gone with Mars secretly into an upper chamber,

And he had lain with her.

With these there came thirty ships.

The Phocians were led by Scadius and Epistrophus,

Sons of mighty Iphitus,

The son of Neobolus.

These were they that held Cyperus,

Roci Pytho,

Holi Chrysa,

Dulles,

And Penopeus.

They also that dwelt in Anamoria,

And Hyompolis,

And about the waters of the river Cephasis,

And Lylia by the springs of the Cephasis.

With their chieftains came forty ships,

And they marshalled the forces of the Phocians,

Which were stationed next to the Boeotians on their left.

Ajax,

The fleet son of Aeolus,

Commanded the Locrians.

He was not so great,

Not nearly so great,

As Ajax,

The son of Telamon.

He was a little man,

And his breastplate was made of linen,

But in use of the spear he excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans.

These dwelt in Sinus,

Opus,

Caeliaris,

Bessa,

Scarphae,

Phaer Ogii,

Tarth,

And Thronium about the river of Boeagrias.

With him there came forty ships of the Locrians,

Who dwelled beyond Euboea.

The fears of Antes held Euboea with its cities,

Colsus,

Eretria,

Hystia rich in vines,

Cerinthus upon the sea,

And the rock-perched town of Dium.

With them there were also the men of Charystus and Styra.

Elephanor of the race of Mars was in command of these.

He was son of Chalcedon,

And chief over all the Bantees.

With him they came,

Fleet of foot and wearing their hair long behind.

Brave warriors,

Who would ever strive to tear upon the corslets of their foes with their long ashen spears.

Of these there came fifty ships.

And they that held the strong city of Athens,

The people of great Erechtheus,

Who was born of the soil itself.

But Jove's daughter Minerva fostered him,

And established him at Athens in her own rich sanctuary.

There year by year the Athenian youths worshipped him with sacrifices of bulls and rams.

These were commanded by Menestheus,

Son of Piteos.

No man living could equal him in the marshalling of chariots and foot soldiers.

Nestor could alone rival him,

For he was older.

With him there came fifty ships.

Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis,

And stationed them alongside those of the Athenians.

The men of Argos,

Again,

And those who held the walls of Turin,

With Hermanni and Assine upon the gulf.

Troazine,

Aeoniae,

And the vineyards lands of Epidaurus.

The Achaean youths,

Moreover,

Who came from the Aegina and Maces.

These were led by Diomedes of the loud battle cry,

And Stannilus,

Son of famed Cappaneus.

With them in command was Euralus,

Son of king Mesisteus,

Son of Talus.

But Diomedes was chief over them all.

With these there were eighty ships.

Those who held the strong city of Messene,

Rich Corinth and Cleone,

Ornei,

Erythyria,

And Lycaon,

Where Adrastus reigned of old,

Hyperaesia,

High Gonoessa,

And Pelene.

Aegeum,

And all the coasts land round about Helsea.

These sent a hundred ships under the command of king Agamemnon,

Son of Atreus.

His force was far both finest and most numerous.

In their midst was the king himself,

All glorious in his armor of gleaming bronze,

Foremost among the heroes,

For he was the greatest king and had most men under him.

And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon,

Lying low among the hills,

Therys,

Sparta,

With Messae the haunt of Doves,

Brisee,

Ogia,

Amaclea,

And Helos upon the sea.

Lass,

Moreover,

And Ootelus,

These were led by Menelao of the loud battle cry,

Brother to Agamemnon,

And of them there were sixty ships,

Drawn up apart from the others.

Among them went Menelao himself,

Strong in zeal,

Urging his men to fight,

For he longed to avenge the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the sake of Helen.

The men of Pylos and Erene,

And Threum,

Where is the fort at the river Alpheus,

Strong Aepe,

Cypereses,

And Amphigenia,

Ptyllium,

Helos,

And Dorium,

Where the Muses met Thamires,

Instilled his minstrelsy forever.

He was returning from Ocelia,

Where Eurytus lived and reigned,

And boasted that he would surpass even the Muses,

Daughters of Aegis bearing Jove,

If they should sing against him,

Whereon they were angry and maimed him.

They robbed him of his divine power of song,

And thenceforth he could strike the lyre no more.

These were commanded by Nestor,

Knight of Gujarine,

And with him there came ninety ships,

And those that held Arcadia under the high mountain of Cilene,

Near the tomb of Apetus,

Where the people fight hand to hand,

The men of Phineas also,

And Orachminus rich in flocks,

Of Ripei,

Strati,

And Bleak Enispi,

Of Tygia,

And fair Mantinea,

Of Stymphalus,

And Parhasia.

Of these King Agapenor,

Son of Anchias,

Was commander,

And they had sixty ships.

Many Arcadians,

Good soldiers,

Came in each one of them,

But Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea,

So they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters.

The men,

Moreover,

Of Borprasium and of Elis,

So much of it as is enclosed between Hermene,

Mercinus upon the seashore,

The rock Olin and Elysium,

These had four leaders,

And each of them had ten ships,

With many Apians on board.

Their captains were Anthimachus and Thalpius,

The one son of Cteatus,

And the other,

The Eurytus,

Both of the race of Actor.

These two others were Diores,

Son of Amerines,

And Polixenes,

Son of King Agastines of Eugeus.

And those of Delicium,

With the sacred Achaean islands,

Who dwelt beyond the sea of Elis,

These were led by Amygides,

Peer of Mars,

And son of Valian,

Phileas,

Dear to Jove,

Who quarreled with his father,

And went to settle in Delicium.

With him there came forty ships.

Ulysses led the brave Cephalanians,

Who held Ithaca,

Nerithum with its forest,

Crossilia,

Rugged Aegellips,

Samos and Zakynthos,

With the mainland also that was over against the islands.

These were led by Ulysses,

Peer of Jove in council,

And with him there came twelve ships.

The famous spearman Edomeneus led the Cretans,

Who held Knossos,

And the well-walled city of Gortys,

Lictus also,

Miletus and Lycastus that lies upon the Chalk,

The populous town of Phaistus and Rithium,

With the other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete.

All these were led by Edomeneus,

And by Merionius,

Peer of murderous Mars,

And with these here came eighty ships.

Telepolimus,

Son of Hercules,

A man both brave and large of stature,

Brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes.

These dwelt in Rhodes,

Which is divided among the three cities of Lindus,

Elisus and Camirius that lies upon the Chalk.

These were commanded by Telepolimus,

Son of Hercules,

By Astiochia,

Whom he had carried off from Ethera on the river Celes,

After sacking many cities of valiant warriors.

When Telepolimus grew up,

He killed his father's uncle,

Lysimneus,

Who had been a famous warrior in his time,

But was then grown old.

On this he built himself a fleet,

Gathered a great following,

And fled beyond the sea,

For he was menaced by the other sons and grandsons of Hercules.

After a voyage,

During which he suffered great hardship,

He came to Rhodes,

Where the people divided into three communities,

According to their tribes,

And were dearly loved by Jove,

The lord,

Of gods and men,

Wherefore the son of Saturn showered great riches upon them.

And Nereus brought three ships from Syme.

Nereus,

Who has the handsomest man that came up under Ilias of all the Danans,

After the son of Peleus,

But he was a man of no substance,

And had but a small following.

And those that held Niseres,

Crepethes,

And Cases,

With Kos,

The city of Euripelis,

And the Cladian islands,

These were commanded by Pheidippus and Antiphus,

Two sons of king Thessalus,

The son of Hercules,

And with them there came thirty ships.

Those again who held Pelasgic Argos,

Allos,

Elope,

And Trachis,

And those of Thea and Hellas,

The land of fair women,

Who were called Myrmidons,

Hellenes,

And Achaeans,

These had fifty ships,

Over which Achilles was in command.

But they now took no part in the war,

Inasmuch as there was no one to marshal them,

For Achilles stayed by his ships,

Furious about the loss of the girl Briseis,

Who he had taken from Larneses at his own great peril,

When he had sacked Larneses and Thebe,

And had overthrown Menes and Epistrophus,

Son of king Avanor,

Son of Celepus.

For her sake Achilles was still grieving,

But ere long he was given again to join them.

And those that held Philes,

And the flowery meadows of Piraeus,

Sanctuary of Ceres,

Aeton,

The mother of sheep,

Antrim upon the sea,

Hemptilium that lies upon the grasslands,

Of these brave Protesilao had been captain while he was yet alive.

But he was now lying under the earth.

He had left a wife behind him,

In Philes,

To tear her cheeks in sorrow,

And his house was only half finished,

For he was slain by a Darnanian warrior,

While leaping foremost of the Achaeans upon the soil of Troy.

Still though his people mourned their chieftains,

They were not without a leader.

For Podarces,

Of the race of Mars,

Marshaled them.

He was son of Iphiclus,

Rich in sheep,

Who was the son of Philacas,

And he was own brother Protesilao,

Only younger,

Protesilao being at once the elder and the more valiant.

So the people were not without a leader,

Though they mourned him whom they had lost.

With him here came forty ships.

And those that held Phereae by the Boebean lake,

With Bobe,

Glethyrae,

And the populous city of Aeolcus,

These were their eleven ships were led by Eumelas,

Son of Admetus,

Whom Alcetes bore to him,

Loveliest of the daughters of Peleus.

And those that held Methone,

And Thaumatia,

And Miliboe,

And rugged Olizon,

These were led by the skilful archer Philoctetes,

And they had seven ships,

Each with fifty oarsmen,

And all of them good archers.

But Philoctetes was lying in great pain in the island of Lemnos,

Where the sons of the Achaeans left him,

For he had been bitten by a poisonous water snake.

There he lay sick and sorry,

And full soon did the Argives come to miss him.

But his people,

Though they felt his loss,

Were not leaderless,

For Medan,

The bastard son of Aeolus,

Byrene,

Set them in array.

Those again of Trica,

And the stony region of Ithum,

And they that held Oecillia,

The city of the Achaean Eurythus,

These were commanded by the two sons of Asclepius,

Skilled in the art of healing,

Podillerius and Mechaon,

And with them there came thirty ships.

The men,

Moreover,

Of Ormanius,

And by the fountain of Hyperia,

With those that held Asterius,

And the white crests of Titanus,

These were led by Eurypilis,

The son of Eumon,

And with them there came forty ships.

Those that held Argessa,

And Gartone,

Orth,

Elone,

And the white city of Eleuson,

Of these brave Polypites,

Was leader.

He was son of Perytheus,

Who was son of Joe himself,

For Hypodamia bore him to Perytheus on the day when he took his revenge on the shaggy mountain savages and drove them from Mount Pellion to the Aethyches.

But Polypiteus was not sole in command,

For with him was Leontius of the race of Mars,

Who was son of Coronus,

The son of Canius,

And with these there came forty ships.

Canius brought two and twenty ships from Cyphus,

And he was followed by the Aemones in the valley and Peraebe,

Who dwelt about wintry Dodona,

And held the lands round the lovely river Titeraceus,

Which sends its water into Pineus.

They do not mingle with the silver eddies of the Pineus,

But flow on top of them like oil,

For the Titeraceus is a branch of dread Orcus,

And of the river Styx.

Of the magnates,

Prothus,

Son of Thunderdon,

Was commander.

They were they that dwelt about the river Pineus and Mount Pellion.

Prothus,

Fleet of foot,

Was their leader,

And with him there came forty ships.

Such were the chiefs and princes of the Dananes.

Who then,

O Muse,

Was the foremost,

Whether man or horse,

Among those that followed after the sons of Atreus?

Of the horses,

Those of the son of Pheres were by far the finest.

They were driven by Eumulus,

And were as fleet as birds.

They were of the same age and color,

And perfectly matched in height.

Apollo of the silver bow had bred them in Pyrrha,

Both of them mares,

And terrible as Mars in battle.

Of the men,

Ajax,

Son of Telamon,

Was much of the foremost so long as Achilles' anger lasted,

For Achilles excelled him greatly,

And he had also better horses.

But Achilles was now holding aloof at his ships by reason of his quarrel with Agamemnon,

And his people passed their time upon the sea shore,

Throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark,

And an archery.

Their horses stood each by his own chariot,

Champing lotus and wild celery.

The chariots were housed under cover,

But their owners,

For lack of leadership,

Wandered hither and thither about the host and went not forth to fight.

Thus marched the host like a consuming fire,

And the earth groaned beneath them,

When the lord of thunder is angry,

And lashes the land about Typhoeus,

Among the Eremi,

Where they say Typhoeus lives.

Even so did the earth groan beneath them as they sped over the plain.

And now Iris,

Fleet as the wind,

Was sent by Jove to tell the bad news among the Trojans.

They were gathered in assembly,

Old and young,

At Priam's gates.

And Iris came close up to Priam,

Speaking with the voice of Priam's son,

Palaetides,

Who,

Being fleet of foot,

Was stationed as watchman for the Trojans on the tomb of old Acetes,

To look out for any sally of the Achaeans.

In his likeness Iris spoke,

Saying,

Old man,

You talk idly as in time of peace,

While war is at hand.

I have been in many a battle,

But never yet saw such a host as is now advancing.

They are crossing the plain to attack the city as thick as leaves,

Or as the sands of the sea.

Hector,

I charge you above all others,

Do as I say.

There are many allies dispersed about the city of Priam,

From distant places,

And speaking diverse tongues.

Therefore let each chief give orders to his own people,

Setting them severely in array and leading them forth to battle.

Thus she spoke,

But Hector knew that it was the goddess,

And at once broke up the assembly.

The men flew to arms,

All the gates were opened,

And the people fronged through them,

Horse and foot,

With a tramp as of great multitude.

Now there is a high mound before the city,

Rising by itself upon the plain.

Men call it Batea,

But the gods know that it is the tomb of life marine.

Here the Trojans and their allies divided their forces.

Priam's son,

Great Hector of the gleaming helmet,

Commanded the Trojans,

And with him were arrayed by far the greater number and most valiant of those who were longing for the fray.

The Dardanians were led by brave Aeneas,

Whom Venus bore to Anchises,

When she,

Goddess though she was,

Had lain with him upon the mountain slopes of Ida.

He was not alone,

For with him were the two sons of Antenor,

Archilochus and Achemos,

Both skilled in all the arts of war.

They that dwelt in Tellia,

Under the lowest spurs of Mount Ida,

Men of substance,

Who drink the limpid waters of the Aspius,

And are of Trojan blood,

These were led by Pandarus' son of Lycaon,

Whom Apollo had thought to use the bow.

They had held Adrastea and the land of Apasis,

With Pythia,

And the high mountain of Pteria.

These were led by Adrastas and Amphias,

Whose breastplate was of linen.

These were the sons of Merops,

Of Percatee,

Who excelled in all kinds of divination.

He told them not to take part in the war,

But they gave him no heed,

For fate lured them to destruction.

They that dwelt about Percote and Practeas with Cestos,

Abydos,

And Erisbe,

These were led by Ascius,

Son of Herticus,

A brave commander,

Ascius,

The son of Herticus,

Whom his powerful dark bay steeds of the breed that comes from the river Celes had brought from Erisbe.

Hippothos led the tribes of Pelasgian spearsmen,

Who dwelt in fertile Larissa.

Hippothos and Peleus of the race of Mars,

Two sons of the Pelasgian Lethus,

Son of Teutamus.

Achemos and the warrior Peros commanded the Thracians and those that came from beyond the mighty stream of the Hellspont.

Euphemus,

Son of Chosinus,

The son of Ceos,

Was captain of the Tychonian spearsmen.

Byrichmes led the Paeonian archers from distant Amidon by the broad waters of the river Axeus,

The ferrous that flow upon the earth.

The Paphlogonians were commanded by stout-hearted Pelamines from Anate,

Where the mules run wild in herds.

These were they that held Sitoris and the country-round Sesamis,

With the cities by the river Parthenis,

Cromna,

Aegellius,

And lofty Erythne.

Odius and Epistrophus were captains over the Helisoni from distant Alibi,

Where there are mines of silver.

Cromus and Enimus the augur led by Mygians,

But his skill in augury availed not to save him from destruction,

For he fell by the hand of the fleet-descendant of Acheus in the river,

Where he slew others also of the Trojans.

Phorsus,

Again,

And noble Ascanius led the Phrygians from the far country of Ascania,

And both were eager for the fray.

Messlus and Endiphus commanded the Meonians,

Sons of Telamanius,

Born to him of the Gygian lake.

These led the Meonians who dwelt under Mount Thmolus.

Anastas led the Carians,

Men of a strange speech.

These held Miletus and the wooden mountain of Threes,

With the waters of the river Meander and the lofty crests of Mount Mycalae.

These were commanded by Nastes and Anthimachus,

The brave sons of Nomeon.

He came into the fight with gold about him,

Like a girl,

Full that he was.

His gold was of no avail to save him,

For he fell in the river by the hand of the fleet-descendant of Eachius,

And Achilles bore away his gold.

Sarpedon and Glaucus led the Lycians from their distant land by the eddying waters of the Xanthus.

This is the end of Book 2 of the Iliad,

By Homer.

Thank you for listening.