through the press of men under cover of his shield: he then cut
off his head, standing over the body of Iphidamas. Thus did the
sons of Antenor meet their fate at the hands of the son of
Atreus, and go down into the house of Hades.

As long as the blood still welled warm from his wound Agamemnon
went about attacking the ranks of the enemy with spear and sword
and with great handfuls of stone, but when the blood had ceased
to flow and the wound grew dry, the pain became great. As the
sharp pangs which the Eilithuiae, goddesses of childbirth,
daughters of Juno and dispensers of cruel pain, send upon a woman
when she is in labour--even so sharp were the pangs of the son of
Atreus. He sprang on to his chariot, and bade his charioteer
drive to the ships, for he was in great agony. With a loud clear
voice he shouted to the Danaans, "My friends, princes and
counsellors of the Argives, defend the ships yourselves, for Jove
has not suffered me to fight the whole day through against the
Trojans."

With this the charioteer turned his horses towards the ships, and
they flew forward nothing loth. Their chests were white with foam
and their bellies with dust, as they drew the wounded king out of
the battle.

When Hector saw Agamemnon quit the field, he shouted to the
Trojans and Lycians saying, "Trojans, Lycians, and Dardanian
warriors, be men, my friends, and acquit yourselves in battle
bravely; their best man has left them, and Jove has vouchsafed me
a great triumph; charge the foe with your chariots that you may
win still greater glory."

With these words he put heart and soul into them all, and as a
huntsman hounds his dogs on against a lion or wild boar, even so
did Hector, peer of Mars, hound the proud Trojans on against the
Achaeans. Full of hope he plunged in among the foremost, and fell
on the fight like some fierce tempest that swoops down upon the
sea, and lashes its deep blue waters into fury.

What, then is the full tale of those whom Hector son of Priam
killed in the hour of triumph which Jove then vouchsafed him?
First Asaeus, Autonous, and Opites; Dolops son of Clytius,
Opheltius and Agelaus; Aesymnus, Orus and Hipponous steadfast in
battle; these chieftains of the Achaeans did Hector slay, and
then he fell upon the rank and file. As when the west wind
hustles the clouds of the white south and beats them down with
the fierceness of its fury--the waves of the sea roll high, and
the spray is flung aloft in the rage of the wandering wind--even
so thick were the heads of them that fell by the hand of Hector.

All had then been lost and no help for it, and the Achaeans would
have fled pell-mell to their ships, had not Ulysses cried out to
Diomed, "Son of Tydeus, what has happened to us that we thus
forget our prowess? Come, my good fellow, stand by my side and
help me, we shall be shamed for ever if Hector takes the ships."

And Diomed answered, "Come what may, I will stand firm; but we
shall have scant joy of it, for Jove is minded to give victory to
the Trojans rather than to us."

With these words he struck Thymbraeus from his chariot to the
ground, smiting him in the left breast with his spear, while
Ulysses killed Molion who was his squire. These they let lie, now
that they had stopped their fighting; the two heroes then went on
playing havoc with the foe, like two wild boars that turn in fury
and rend the hounds that hunt them. Thus did they turn upon the
Trojans and slay them, and the Achaeans were thankful to have
breathing time in their flight from Hector.

They then took two princes with their chariot, the two sons of
Merops of Percote, who excelled all others in the arts of
divination. He had forbidden his sons to go to the war, but they
would not obey him, for fate lured them to their fall. Diomed son
of Tydeus slew them both and stripped them of their armour, while
Ulysses killed Hippodamus and Hypeirochus.

And now the son of Saturn as he looked down from Ida ordained
that neither side should have the advantage, and they kept on
killing one another. The son of Tydeus speared Agastrophus son of
Paeon in the hip-joint with his spear. His chariot was not at
hand for him to fly with, so blindly confident had he been. His
squire was in charge of it at some distance and he was fighting
on foot among the foremost until he lost his life. Hector soon
marked the havoc Diomed and Ulysses were making, and bore down
upon them with a loud cry, followed by the Trojan ranks; brave
Diomed was dismayed when he saw them, and said to Ulysses who was
beside him, "Great Hector is bearing down upon us and we shall be
undone; let us stand firm and wait his onset."

He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled it, nor did he miss
his mark. He had aimed at Hector's head near the top of his
helmet, but bronze was turned by bronze, and Hector was
untouched, for the spear was stayed by the visored helm made with
three plates of metal, which Phoebus Apollo had given him. Hector
sprang back with a great bound under cover of the ranks; he fell
on his knees and propped himself with his brawny hand leaning on
the ground, for darkness had fallen on his eyes. The son of
Tydeus having thrown his spear dashed in among the foremost
fighters, to the place where he had seen it strike the ground;
meanwhile Hector recovered himself and springing back into his
chariot mingled with the crowd, by which means he saved his life.


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