The Iliad by Homer (ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

of death took hold upon him. Then he laid low,
one after the other, Erymas, Amphoterus, Epaltes, Tlepolemus, Echius
son of Damastor, Pyris, Ipheus, Euippus and Polymelus son of Argeas.

Now when Sarpedon saw his comrades, men who wore ungirdled tunics,
being overcome by Patroclus son of Menoetius, he rebuked the Lycians
saying. "Shame on you, where are you flying to? Show your mettle; I
will myself meet this man in fight and learn who it is that is so
masterful; he has done us much hurt, and has stretched many a brave man
upon the ground."

He sprang from his chariot as he spoke, and Patroclus, when he saw
this, leaped on to the ground also. The two then rushed at one another
with loud cries like eagle-beaked crook-taloned vultures that scream
and tear at one another in some high mountain fastness.

The son of scheming Saturn looked down upon them in pity and said to
Juno who was his wife and sister, "Alas, that it should be the lot of
Sarpedon whom I love so dearly to perish by the hand of Patroclus. I am
in two minds whether to catch him up out of the fight and set him down
safe and sound in the fertile land of Lycia, or to let him now fall by
the hand of the son of Menoetius."

And Juno answered, "Most dread son of Saturn, what is this that you are
saying? Would you snatch a mortal man, whose doom has long been fated,
out of the jaws of death? Do as you will, but we shall not all of us be
of your mind. I say further, and lay my saying to your heart, that if
you send Sarpedon safely to his own home, some other of the gods will
be also wanting to escort his son out of battle, for there are many
sons of gods fighting round the city of Troy, and you will make every
one jealous. If, however, you are fond of him and pity him, let him
indeed fall by the hand of Patroclus, but as soon as the life is gone
out of him, send Death and sweet Sleep to bear him off the field and
take him to the broad lands of Lycia, where his brothers and his
kinsmen will bury him with mound and pillar, in due honour to the dead."

The sire of gods and men assented, but he shed a rain of blood upon the
earth in honour of his son whom Patroclus was about to kill on the rich
plain of Troy far from his home.

When they were now come close to one another Patroclus struck
Thrasydemus, the brave squire of Sarpedon, in the lower part of the
belly, and killed him. Sarpedon then aimed a spear at Patroclus and
missed him, but he struck the horse Pedasus in the right shoulder, and
it screamed aloud as it lay, groaning in the dust until the life went
out of it. The other two horses began to plunge; the pole of the
chariot cracked and they got entangled in the reins through the fall of
the horse that was yoked along with them; but Automedon knew what to
do; without the loss of a moment he drew the keen blade that hung by
his sturdy thigh and cut the third horse adrift; whereon the other two
righted themselves, and pulling hard at the reins again went together
into battle.

Sarpedon now took a second aim at Patroclus, and again missed him, the
point of the spear passed over his left shoulder without hitting him.
Patroclus then aimed in his turn, and the spear sped not from his hand
in vain, for he hit Sarpedon just where the midriff surrounds the
ever-beating heart. He fell like some oak or silver poplar or tall pine
to which woodmen have laid their axes upon the mountains to make timber
for ship-building--even so did he lie stretched at full length in front
of his chariot and horses, moaning and clutching at the blood-stained
dust. As when a lion springs with a bound upon a herd of cattle and
fastens on a great black bull which dies bellowing in its
clutches--even so did the leader of the Lycian warriors struggle in
death as he fell by the hand of Patroclus. He called on his trusty
comrade and said, "Glaucus, my brother, hero among heroes, put forth
all your strength, fight with might and main, now if ever quit yourself
like a valiant soldier. First go about among the Lycian captains and
bid them fight for Sarpedon; then yourself also do battle to save my
armour from being taken. My name will haunt you henceforth and for ever
if the Achaeans rob me of my armour now that I have fallen at their
ships. Do your very utmost and call all my people together."

Death closed his eyes as he spoke. Patroclus planted his heel on his
breast and drew the spear from his body, whereon his senses came out
along with it, and he drew out both spear-point and Sarpedon's soul at
the same time. Hard by the Myrmidons held his snorting steeds, who were
wild with panic at finding themselves deserted by their lords.

Glaucus was overcome with grief when he heard what Sarpedon said, for
he could not help him. He had to support his arm with his other hand,
being in great pain through the wound which Teucer's arrow had given
him when Teucer was defending the wall as he, Glaucus, was assailing
it. Therefore he prayed to far-darting Apollo saying, "Hear me O king
from your seat, may be in the rich land of Lycia, or may be in Troy,
for in all places you can hear the prayer of one who is in distress, as
I now am. I have a grievous wound; my hand is aching with pain, there
is no staunching the blood, and my whole arm drags by reason of my
hurt, so that I cannot grasp my sword nor go among my foes and fight
them, though our prince, Jove's son Sarpedon, is slain. Jove defended
not his son, do you, therefore, O king, heal me of my wound, ease my
pain and grant me strength both to cheer on the Lycians and to fight
along with them round the body of him who has fallen."

Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer. He eased his pain,
staunched the black blood from the wound, and gave him new strength.
Glaucus perceived this, and was thankful that the mighty god had
answered his prayer; forthwith, therefore, he went among the Lycian
captains, and bade them come to fight about the body of Sarpedon. From
these he strode on among the Trojans to Polydamas son of Panthous and
Agenor; he then went in search of Aeneas and Hector, and when he had
found them he said, "Hector, you have utterly forgotten your allies,
who languish here for your sake far from friends and home while you do
nothing to support them. Sarpedon leader of the Lycian warriors has
fallen--he who was at once the right and might of Lycia; Mars has laid
him low by the spear of Patroclus. Stand by him, my friends, and suffer
not the Myrmidons to strip him of his armour, nor to treat his body
with contumely in revenge for all the Danaans whom we have speared at
the ships."

As he spoke the Trojans were plunged in extreme and ungovernable grief;
for Sarpedon, alien though he was, had been one of the main stays of
their city, both as having much people with him, and himself the
foremost among them all. Led by Hector, who was infuriated by the fall
of Sarpedon, they made instantly for the Danaans with all their might,
while the undaunted spirit of Patroclus son of Menoetius cheered on the
Achaeans. First he spoke to the two Ajaxes, men who needed no bidding.
"Ajaxes," said he, "may it now please you to show yourselves the men
you have always been, or even better--Sarpedon is fallen--he who was
first to overleap the wall of the Achaeans; let us take the body and
outrage it; let us strip the armour from his shoulders, and kill his
comrades if they try to rescue his body."

He spoke to men who of themselves were full eager; both sides,
therefore, the Trojans and Lycians on the one hand, and the Myrmidons
and Achaeans on the other, strengthened their battalions, and fought
desperately about the body of Sarpedon, shouting fiercely the while.
Mighty was the din of their armour as they came together, and Jove shed
a thick darkness over the fight, to increase the toil of the battle
over the body of his son.

At first the Trojans made some headway against the Achaeans, for one of
the best men among the Myrmidons was killed, Epeigeus, son of noble
Agacles who had erewhile been king in the good city of Budeum; but
presently, having killed a valiant kinsman of his own, he took refuge
with Peleus and Thetis, who sent him to Ilius the land of noble steeds
to fight the Trojans under Achilles. Hector now struck him on the head
with a stone just as he had caught hold of the body, and his brains
inside his helmet were all battered in, so that he fell face foremost
upon the body of Sarpedon, and there died. Patroclus was enraged by the
death of his comrade, and sped through the front ranks as swiftly as a
hawk that swoops down on a flock of daws or starlings. Even so swiftly,
O noble knight Patroclus, did you make straight for the Lycians and
Trojans to avenge your comrade. Forthwith he struck Sthenelaus the son
of Ithaemenes on the neck with a stone, and broke the tendons that join
it to the head and spine. On this Hector and the front rank of his men
gave ground. As far as a man can throw a javelin when competing for
some prize, or even in battle--so far did the Trojans now retreat
before the Achaeans. Glaucus, captain of the Lycians, was the first to
rally them, by killing Bathycles son of Chalcon who lived in Hellas and
was the richest man among the Myrmidons. Glaucus turned round suddenly,
just as Bathycles who was pursuing him was about to lay hold of him,
and drove his spear right into the middle of his chest, whereon he fell
heavily to the ground, and the fall of so good a man filled the
Achaeans with dismay, while the Trojans were exultant, and came up in a
body round the corpse. Nevertheless the Achaeans, mindful of their
prowess, bore straight down upon them.

Meriones then killed a helmed warrior of the Trojans, Laogonus son of
Onetor, who was priest of Jove of Mt. Ida, and was honoured by the
people as though he were a god. Meriones struck him under the jaw and
ear, so that life went out of him and the darkness of death laid hold
upon him. Aeneas then aimed a spear at Meriones, hoping to hit him
under the shield as he was advancing, but Meriones saw it coming and
stooped forward to avoid it, whereon the spear flew past him and the
point stuck in the ground, while the butt-end went on quivering till
Mars robbed it of its force. The spear, therefore, sped from Aeneas's
hand in vain and fell quivering to the ground. Aeneas was angry and
said, "Meriones, you are a good dancer, but if I had hit you my spear
would soon have made an end of you."

And Meriones answered, "Aeneas, for all your bravery, you will not be
able to make an end of every one who comes against you. You