Iliad
Homer
Homer. The Iliad, Volume 1-2. Murray, A. T. (Augustus Taber), translator. London: William Heinmann; New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1924-1925.
So spake she weeping; but the wife knew naught as yet the wife of Hector—for no true messenger had come to tell her that her husband abode without the gates;but she was weaving a web in the innermost part of the lofty house, a purple web of double fold, and therein was broidering flowers of varied hue. And she called to her fair-tressed handmaids through the house to set a great tripod on the fire,to the end that there should be a hot bath for Hector whenso he returned from out the battle—unwitting one,neither wist she anywise that far from all baths flashing-eyed Athene had laid him low by the hand of Achilles. But the shrieks she heard and the groanings from the wall, and her limbs reeled, and from her hand the shuttle fell to earth. Then she spake again among her fair-tressed handmaids:
Come hither two of you, and follow me, let me see what deeds have been wrought. It was the voice of my husband's honoured mother that I heard, and in mine own breast my heart leapeth to my mouth, and beneath me my knees are numbed; verily hard at hand is some evil thing for the children of Priam. Far from my ear be the word,but sorely am I afraid lest to my sorrow goodly Achilles may have cut off from the city bold Hector by himself alone, and have driven him to the plain, aye, and have by now made him to cease from the baneful valour that possessed him; seeing he would never abide in the throng of men, but would ever charge far to the front, yielding to no man in his might.So saying she hasted through the hall with throbbing heart as one beside herself, and with her went her handmaidens. But when she was come to the wall and the throng of men, then on the wall she stopped and looked, and was ware of him as he was dragged before the city; and swift horseswere dragging him ruthlessly toward the hollow ships of the Achaeans. Then down over her eyes came the darkness of night, and enfolded her, and she fell backward and gasped forth her spirit. Far from off her head she cast the bright attiring thereof, the frontlet and coif and kerchief and woven band,and the veil that golden Aphrodite had given her on the day when Hector of the flashing helm hed her as his bride forth from the house of Eetion, after he had brought bride-gifts past counting.
And round about her came thronging ber husband's sisters and his brothers' wives, who bare her up in their midst, distraught even unto death.But when she revived, and her spirit was returned into her breast,then she lifted up her voice in wailing, and spake among the women of Troy:
Ah Hector, woe is me! to one fate, it seemeth, were we born, both of us twain, thou in Troy in the house of Priam, and I in Thebe beneath wooded Placusin the house of Eetion, who reared me when I was a babe, hapless father of a cruel-fated child; would God he had never begotten me. Now thou unto the house of Hades beneath the deeps of earth art departing, but me thou leavest in bitter grief, a widow in thy halls,and thy son is still a mere babe, the son born of thee and me in our haplessness; nor shalt thou be any profit to him, Hector, seeing thou art dead, neither he to thee. For even though he escape the woeful war of the Achaeans, yet shall his portion be labour and sorrow in the aftertime, for others will take away his lands.The day of orphanhood cutteth a child off from the friends of his youth; ever is his head bowed how, and his cheeks are bathed in tears, and in his need the child hieth him to his father's friends, plucking one by the cloak and another by the tunic; and of them that are touched with pity, one holdeth forth his cup for a moment:his hips he wetteth, but his palate he wetteth not. And one whose father and mother yet live thrusteth him from the feast with smiting of the hand, and chideth him with words of reviling:‘Get thee gone, even as thou art! No father of thine feasteth in our company.’ Then in tears unto his widowed mother cometh back the child—Astyanax, that aforetime on his father's knees ate only marrow and the rich fat of sheep; and when sleep came upon him and he ceased from his childish play, then would he slumber on a couch in the arms of his nurse in his soft bed, his heart satisfied with good things.But now, seeing he has lost his dear father, he will suffer ills full many—my Astyanax, whom the Troians call by this name for that thou alone didst save their gates and their high walls. But now by the beaked ships far from thy parents shall writhing worms devour thee, when the dogs have had their fill, as thou liest a naked corpse;yet in thy halls lieth raiment, finely-woven and fair, wrought by the hands of women. Howbeit all these things will I verily burn in blazing fire—in no wise a profit unto thee, seeing thou shalt not lie therein, but to be an honour unto thee from the men and women of Troy.So spake she weeping, and thereto the women added their laments.
Thus they made lamentation throughout the city; but the Achaeans, when they were come to the ships and the Hellespont, scattered each man to his own ship; howbeit the Myrmidons would Achilles nowise suffer to be scattered,but spake among his war-loving comrades, saying:
Ye Myrmidons of fleet steeds, my trusty comrades, let us not yet loose our single-hooved horses from their cars, but with horses and chariots let us draw nigh and mourn Patroclus; for that is the due of the dead.Then when we have taken our fill of dire lamenting, we will unyoke our horses and sup here all together.So spake he, and they raised the voice of wailing all with one accord, and Achilles was leader thereof. Then thrice about the corpse they drave their fair-maned steeds, mourning the while; and among them Thetis roused desire of wailing.Wetted were the sands and wetted the armour of the warriors with their tears; so mighty a deviser of rout was he for whom they mourned. And among them the son of Peleus was leader in the vehement lamentation; laying his man-slaying hands upon the breast of his comrade:
Hail, I bid thee, O Patroclus, even in the house of Hades,for even now I am bringing to fulfillment all that aforetime I promised thee: that I would drag Hector hither and give him raw unto dogs to devour, and of twelve glorious sons of the Trojans would I cut the throats before thy pyre, in my wrath at thy slaying.He spake, and devised foul entreatment for goodly Hector,stretching him on his face in the dust before the bier of the son of Menoetius. And they put off, each man of them, their shining harnesses of bronze, and loosed their loud-neighing horses, and themselves sat down beside the ship of the swift-footed son of Aeacus, a countless host; and he made them a funeral feast to satisfy their hearts.Many sleek bulls bellowed about the knife, as they were slaughtered, many sheep and bleating goats, and many white-tusked swine, rich with fat, were stretched to singe over the flame of Hephaestus; and everywhere about the corpse the blood ran so that one might dip cups therein.
But the prince, the swiftfooted son of Peleus, was led unto goodly Agamemnon by the chiefs of the Achaeans, that had much ado to persuade him thereto, so wroth at heart was he for his comrade. But when, as they went, they were come to the hut of Agamemnon, forthwith they bade clear-voiced heraldsset upon the fire a great cauldron, if so be they might persuade the son of Peleus to wash from him the bloody gore. But he steadfastly denied them, and swore an oath thereto:
Nay, verily by Zeus, that is highest and best of gods, it may not be that water should come nigh my head,until such time as I have laid Patroclus on the fire, and have heaped him a barrow, and shorn my hair withal, since never more shall a second grief thus reach my heart, while yet I abide among the living. Howbeit for this present let us yield us to the banquet we needs must loathe; but in the morning rouse thou the folk, king of men Agamemnon,to bring wood, and to make ready all that it beseemeth a dead man to have, whenso he goeth beneath the murky darkness, to the end that unwearied fire may burn him quickly from sight, and the host betake it to its tasks.
So spake he, and they readily hearkened to him and obeyed,and speedily making ready each man his meal they supped, nor did thelr hearts lack aught of the equal feast. But when they had put from them the desire of food and drink, they went each man to his hut to take his rest; but the son of Peleus upon the shore of the loud-resounding sealay groaning heavily amid the host of the Myrmidons, in an open space where the waves splashed upon the shore. And when sleep seized him, loosenlng the cares of his heart, being shed in sweetness round about him — for sore weary were his glorious limbs with speeding after Hector unto windy Ilios—then there came to him the spirit of hapless Patroclus, in all things like his very self, in stature and fair eyes and in voice, and in like raiment was he clad withal; and he stood above Achilles' head and spake to him, saying:
Thou sleepest, and hast forgotten me, Achilles.Not in my life wast thou unmindful of me, but now in my death! Bury me with all speed, that I pass within the gates of Hades. Afar do the spirits keep me aloof, the phantoms of men that have done with toils, neither suffer they me to join myself to them beyond the River, but vainly I wander through the wide-gated house of Hades.And give me thy hand, I pitifully entreat thee, for never more again shall I come back from out of Hades, when once ye have given me my due of fire. Never more in life shall we sit apart from our dear comrades and take counsel together, but for me hath loathly fateopened its maw, the fate that was appointed me even from my birth. Aye, and thou thyself also, Achilles like to the gods, art doomed to be brought low beneath the wall of the wealthy Trojans. And another thing will I speak, and charge thee, if so be thou wilt hearken. Lay not my bones apart from thine, Achilles, but let them lie together, even as we were reared in your house,when Menoetius brought me, being yet a little lad, from Opoeis to your country, by reason of grievous man-slaying, on the day when I slew Amphidamus' son in my folly, though I willed it not, in wrath over the dice. Then the knight Peleus received me into his houseand reared me with kindly care and named me thy squire; even so let one coffer enfold our bones, a golden coffer with handles twain, the which thy queenly mother gave thee.
Then in answer spake to him Achilles, swift of foot:
Wherefore, O head beloved, art thou come hither,and thus givest me charge about each thing? Nay, verily I will fulfill thee all, and will hearken even as thou biddest. But, I pray thee, draw thou nigher; though it be but for a little space let us clasp our arms one about the other, and take our fill of dire lamenting.So saying he reached forth with his hands,yet clasped him not; but the spirit like a vapour was gone beneath the earth, gibbering faintly. And seized with amazement Achilles sprang up, and smote his hands together, and spake a word of wailing:
Look you now, even in the house of Hades is the spirit and phantom somewhat, albeit the mind be not anywise therein;for the whole night long hath the spirit of hapless Patroclus stood over me, weeping and wailing, and gave me charge concerning each thing, and was wondrously like his very self.So spake he, and in them all aroused the desire of lament, and rosy-fingered Dawn shone forth upon themwhile yet they wailed around the piteous corpse. But the lord Agamemnon sent forth mules and men from all sides from out the huts to fetch wood and a man of valour watched thereover, even Meriones, squire of kindly Idomeneus. And they went forth bearing in their hands axes for the cutting of woodand well-woven ropes, and before them went the mules: and ever upward, downward, sideward, and aslant they fared. But when they were come to the spurs of many-fountained Ida, forthwith they set them to fill high-crested oaks with the long-edged bronze in busy haste and with a mighty crash the trees kept falling.Then the Achaeans split the trunks asunder and bound them behind the mules, and these tore up the earth with their feet as they hasted toward the plain through the thick underbrush. And all the woodcutters bare logs; for so were they bidden of Meriones, squire of kindly Idomeneus.Then down upon the shore they cast these, man after man, where Achilles planned a great barrow for Patroclus and for himself. But when on all sides they had cast down the measureless wood, they sate them down there and abode, all in one throng. And Achilles straightway bade the war-loving Myrmidonsgird them about with bronze, and yoke each man his horses to his car. And they arose and did on their armour and mounted their chariots,warriors and charioteers alike. In front fared the men in chariots, and thereafter followed a cloud of footmen, a host past counting and in the midst his comrades bare Patroclus.And as with a garment they wholly covered the corpse with their hair that they shore off and cast thereon; and behind them goodly Achilles clasped the head, sorrowing the while; for peerless was the comrade whom he was speeding to the house of Hades.
But when they were come to the place that Achilles had appointed unto them, they set down the dead, and swiftly heaped up for him abundant store of wood.Then again swift-footed goodly Achilles took other counsel; he took his stand apart from the fire and shore off a golden lock, the rich growth whereof he had nursed for the river Spercheüs, and his heart mightily moved, he spake, with a look over the wine-dark sea:
Spercheüs, to no purpose did my father Peleus vow to theethat when I had come home thither to my dear native land, I would shear my hair to thee and offer a holy hecatomb, and on the selfsame spot would sacrifice fifty rams, males without blemish, into thy waters, where is thy demesne and thy fragrant altar. So vowed that old man, but thou didst not fulfill for him his desire.Now, therefore, seeing I go not home to my dear native land, I would fain give unto the warrior Patroclus this lock to fare with him.He spake and set the lock in the hands of his dear comrade, and in them all aroused the desire of lament. And now would the light of the sun have gone down upon their weeping,had not Achilles drawn nigh to Agamemnon's side and said:
Son of Atreus—for to thy words as to those of none other will the host of the Achaeans give heed— of lamenting they may verily take their fill, but for this present disperse them from the pyre, and bid them make ready their meal; for all things here we to whom the dead is nearest and dearest will take due care;and with us let the chieftains also abide.
Then when the king of men Agamemnon heard this word, he forthwith dispersed the folk amid the shapely ships, but they that were neareat and dearest to the dead abode there, and heaped up the wood, and made a pyre of an hundred feet this way and that,and on the topmost part thereof they set the dead man, their hearts sorrow-laden. And many goodly sheep and many sleek kine of shambling gait they flayed and dressed before the pyre; and from them all great-souled Achilles gathered the fat, and enfolded the dead therein from head to foot, and about him heaped the flayed bodies.And thereon he set two-handled jars of honey and oil, leaning them against the bier; and four horses with high arched neeks he cast swiftly upon the pyre, groaning aloud the while. Nine dogs had the prince, that fed beneath his table, and of these did Achilles cut the throats of twain, and cast them upon the pyre.And twelve valiant sons of the great-souled Trojans slew he with the bronze—and grim was the work he purposed in his heart and thereto he set the iron might of fire, to range at large. Then he uttered a groan, and called on his dear comrade by name:
Hail, I bid thee, O Patroclus, even in the house of Hades,for now am I bringing all to pass, which afore-time I promised thee. Twelve valiant sons of the great-souled Trojans, lo all these together with thee the flame devoureth; but Hector, son of Priam, will I nowise give to the fire to feed upon, but to dogs.So spake he threatening, but with Hector might no dogs deal;nay, the daughter of Zeus, Aphrodite, kept dogs from him by day alike and by night, and with oil anointed she him, rose-sweet, ambrosial, to the end that Achilles might not tear him as he dragged him. And over him Phoebus Apollo drew a dark cloud from heaven to the plain, and covered all the placewhereon the dead man lay, lest ere the time the might of the sun should shrivel his flesh round about on his sinews and limbs.
Howbeit the pyre of dead Patroclus kindled not. Then again did swift footed goodlyAchilles take other counsel; he took his stand apart from the pyre, and made prayer to the two winds,to the North Wind and the West Wind, and promised fair offerings, and full earnestly, as he poured libations from a cup of gold, he besought them to come, to the end that the corpses might speedily blaze with fire, and the wood make haste to be kindled. Then forthwith Iris heard his prayer, and hied her with the message to the winds.They in the house of the fierce-blowing West Wind were feasting all together at the banquet and Iris halted from her running on the threshold of stone. Soon as their eyes beheld her, they all sprang up and called her each one to himself. But she refused to sit, and spake saying:
I may not sit, for I must go back unto the streams of Oceanus, unto the land of the Ethiopians, where they are sacrificing hecatombs to the immortals, that I too may share in the sacred feast. But Achilles prayeth the North Wind and the noisy West Wind to come, and promiseth them fair offerings, that so ye may rouse the pyre to burn whereon liethPatroclus, for whom all the Achaeans groan aloud.When she had thus departed, and they arose with a wondrous din, driving the clouds tumultuously before them. And swiftly they came to the sea to blow thereon, and the wave swelledbeneath the shrill blast; and they came to deep-soiled Troyland, and fell upon the pyre, and mightily roared the wordrous blazing fire. So the whole night long as with one blast they beat upon the flame of the pyre, blowing shrill; and the whole night long swift Achilles, taking a two-handled cup in hand,drew wine from a golden howl and poured it upon the earth, and wetted the ground, calling ever upon the spirit of hapless Patroclus. As a father waileth for his son, as he burneth his bones, a son newly wed whose death has brought woe to his hapless parents, even so wailed Achilles for his comrade as he burned his bones,going heavily about the pyre with ceaseless groaning.
But at the hour when the star of morning goeth forth to herald light over the face of the earth—the star after which followeth saffron-robed Dawn and spreadeth over the sea—even then grew the burning faint, and the flame thereof died down. And the winds went back again to return to their homeover the Thracian sea, and it roared with surging flood. Then the son of Peleus withdrew apart from the burning pyre, and laid him down sore-wearied; and sweet sleep leapt upon him. But they that were with the son of Atreus gathered in a throng, and the noise and din of their oncoming aroused him;and he sat upright and spake to them saying:
Son of Atreus, and ye other princes of the hosts of Achaea, first quench ye with flaming wine the burning pyre, even all whereon the might of the fire hath come, and thereafter let us gather the bones of Patroclus, Menoetius' son, singling them out well from the rest;and easy they are to discern, for he lay in the midst of the pyre, while the others burned apart on the edges thereof, horses and men mingled together. Then let us place the bones in a golden urn wrapped in a double layer of fat until such time as I myself be hidden in Hades.Howbeit no huge barrow do I bid you rear with toil for him, but such a one only as beseemeth; but in aftertime do ye Achaeans build it broad and high, ye that shall be left amid the benched ships when I am gone.So spake he, and they hearkened to the swift-footed son of Peleus.First they quenched with flaming wine the pyre, so far as the flame had come upon it, and the ash had settled deep; and with weeping they gathered up the white bones of their gentle comrade into a golden urn, and wrapped them in a double layer of fat, and placing the urn in the hut they covered it with a soft linen cloth.Then they traced the compass of the barrow and set forth the foundations thereof round about the pyre, and forthwith they piled the up-piled earth. And when they had piled the barrow, they set them to go back again. But Achilles stayed the folk even where they were, and made them to sit in a wide gathering; and from his ships brought forth prizes; cauldrons and tripodsand horses and mules and strong oxen and fair-girdled women and grey iron.