The Iliad by Homer (ebooks children's books free TXT) đ
Some other spoil? no common fund have we
Of hoarded treasures; what our arms have won
From captur'd towns, has been already shar'd,
Nor can we now resume th' apportion'd spoil.
Restore the maid, obedient to the God!
And if Heav'n will that we the strong-built walls
Of Troy should raze, our warriors will to thee
A threefold, fourfold recompense assign."
To whom the monarch Agamemnon thus:
"Think not, Achilles, valiant though thou art
In fight, and godlike, to defraud me thus;
Thou shalt not so persuade me, nor o'erreach.
Think'st thou to keep thy portion of the spoil,
While I with empty hands sit humbly down?
The bright-ey'd girl thou bidd'st me to restore;
If then the valiant Greeks for me seek out
Some other spoil, some compensation just,
'Tis well: if not, I with my own right hand
Will from some other chief, from thee perchance,
Or Ajax, or Ulysses, wrest his prey;
And woe to him, on whomsoe'er I call
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Say now, ye Nine, who on Olympus dwell, Muses (for ye are Goddesses, and ye
Were present, and know all things: we ourselves But hear from Rumourâs voice, and nothing know), Who were the chiefs and mighty Lords of Greece.
But should I seek the multitude to name, Not if ten tongues were mine, ten mouths to speak, Voice inexhaustible, and heart of brass, Should I succeed, unless, Olympian maids, The progeny of aegis-bearing Jove,
Ye should their names record, who came to Troy.
The chiefs, and all the ships, I now rehearse.
Boeotiaâs troops by Peneleus were led, And Leitus, and Prothoenor bold,
Arcesilas and Clonius: they who dwelt
In Hyria, and on Aulisâ rocky coast,
Scoenus, and Scolus, and the highland range Of Eteonus; in Thespeiaâs vale,
Graia, and Mycalessusâ wide-spread plains: And who in Harma and Eilesium dwelt,
And in Erythrae, and in Eleon,
Hyle, and Peteon, and Ocalea,
In Copae, and in Medeonâs well-built fort, Eutresis, Thisbeâs dove-frequented woods, And Coronca, and the grassy meads
Of Haliartus; and Plataeaâs plain,
In Glissa, and the foot of Lower Thebes, And in Anchestus, Neptuneâs sacred grove; And who in viny-clusterâd Arne dwelt,
And in Mideia, and the lovely site
Of Nissa, and Anthedonâs utmost bounds.
With these came fifty vessels; and in each Were six score youths, Boeotiaâs noblest flowâr.
Who in Aspledon dwelt, and in Minyasâ realm Orehomenus, two sons of Mars obeyâd,
Ascalaphus, and bold Ialmenus;
In Actorâs house, the son of Azeus, born Of fair Astyoche, a maiden pure,
Till in the upper chamber, where she slept, Stout Mars by stealth her virgin bed assailâd: Of these came thirty ships in order due.
By Schedius and Epistrophus, the sons
Of great Iphitus, son of Naubolus,
Were led the Phocian forces; these were they Who dwelt in Cyparissus, and the rock
Of Python, and on Crissaâs lovely plain; And who in Daulis, and in Panope,
Anemorea and IIyampolis,
And by Cephisusâ sacred waters dwelt,
Or in Lilaea, by Cephisusâ springs.
In their command came forty dark-ribbâd ships.
These were the leaders of the Phocian bands, And on Boeotiaâs left their camp was pitchâd.
Ajax, Oileusâ son, the Locrians led;
Swift-footed, less than Ajax Telamon,
Of stature low, with linen breastplate armâd: But skillâd to throw the spear oâer all who dwell In Hellas or Achaia: these were they
From Cynos, Opus, and Calliarus,
Bessa, and Scarpha, and Augaea fair,
Tarpha, and Thronium, by Boagriusâ stream.
Him from beyond Euboeaâs sacred isle,
Of Locrians followâd forty dark-ribbâd ships.
Breathing firm courage high, thâ Abantian host, Who from Euboea and from Chalcis came, Or who in vine-clad Histiaea dwelt,
Eretria, and Cerinthus maritime,
And who the lofty fort of Dium held,
And in Carystus and in Styra dwelt:
These Elephenor led, true plant of Mars, Chalcodonâs son, the brave Abantian chief.
Him, all conspicuous with their long black hair, The bold Abantians followâd: spearmen skillâd, Who through the foemenâs breastplates knew full well, Held in firm grasp, to drive the ashen spear.
In his command came forty dark-ribbâd ships.
Those who in Athensâ well-built city dwelt, The noble-soulâd Erectheusâ heritage;
Child of the fertile soil, by Pallas rearâd, Daughter of Jove, who him in Athens placâd In her own wealthy temple; there with blood Of bulls and lambs, at each revolving year, The youths of Athens do him sacrifice; These by Menestheus, Peteusâ son, were led.
With him might none of mortal men compare, In order due of battle to array
Chariots and bucklerâd men; Nestor alone Perchance might rival him, his elder far.
In his command came fifty dark-ribbâd ships.
Twelve ships from Salamis with Ajax came, And they beside thâ Athenian troops were rangâd.
Those who from Argos, and the well-wallâd town Of Tyrins came, and from Hermione,
And Asine, deep-bosomâd in the bay;
And from Troezene and Eione,
And vine-clad Epidaurus; and the youths Who dwelt in Mases, and AEginaâs isle; Oâer all of these the valiant Diomed
Held rule; and Sthenelus, thâ illustrious son Of far-famâd Capaneus; with these, the third, A godlike warrior came, Euryalus,
Son of Mecistheus, Talausâ royal son.
Supreme oâer all was valiant Diomed.
In their command came eighty dark-ribbâd ships.
Who in Mycenaeâs well-built fortress dwelt, And wealthy Corinth, and Cleone fair,
Orneia, and divine Araethure,
And Sicyon, where Adrastus reignâd of old, And Gonoessaâs promontory steep,
And Hyperesia, and Pelleneâs rock;
In AEgium, and the scatterâd towns that he Along the beach, and wide-spread Helice; Of these a hundred ships obeyâd the rule Of mighty Agamemnon, Atreusâ son.
The largest and the bravest host was his; And he himself, in dazzling armour clad, Oâer all the heroes proudly eminent,
Went forth exulting in his high estate, Lord of the largest host, and chief of chiefs.
Those who in Lacedaemonâs lowland plains, And who in Sparta and in Phare dwelt,
And who on Messaâs dove-frequented cliffs, Bryseia, and AEgaeaâs lovely vale,
And in Amyclae, and the sea-bathed fort Of Helos, OEtylus and Laas dwelt;
His valiant brother Menelaus led,
With sixty ships; but ranged apart they lay.
Their chief, himself in martial ardour bold, Inspiring others, fillâd with fierce desire The rape of Helen and his wrongs to avenge.
They who in Pylos and Arene dwelt,
And Thyrum, by the ford of Alpheusâ stream, In Cyparissus and Amphigene,
Pteleon, and lofty OEpusâ well-built fort, Helos, and Dorium, where the Muses met, And put to silence Thracian Thamyris,
As from OEchalia, from the royal house Of Eurytus he came; he, overbold,
Boasted himself pre-eminent in song,
Evân though the daughters of Olympian Jove, The Muses, were his rivals: they in wrath Him of his sight at once and powrâr of song Amercâd, and bade his hand forget the lyre.
These by Gerenian Nestor all were led, In fourscore ships and ten in order due.
They of Arcadia, and the realm that lies Beneath Cylleneâs mountain high, around The tomb of AEpytus, a warrior race;
The men of Pheneus and Orchomenus
In flocks abounding; who in Ripa dwelt, In Stratia, and Enispeâs breezy height, Or Tegea held, and sweet Mantinea,
Stymphalus and Parrhasia; these were led By Agapenor brave, Anchaeusâ son,
In sixty ships; in each a numârous crew Of stout Arcadian youths, to war inurâd.
The ships, wherewith they crossed the dark-blue sea, Were givân by Agamemnon, King of men,
The son of Atreus; for thâ Arcadian youth Had neâer to maritime pursuits been trainâd.
Who in Buprasium and in Elis dwelt,
Far as Hyrmine, and thâ extremest bounds Of Myrsinus; and all the realm that lies Between Aleisium and the Olenian rock; These by four chiefs were led; and ten swift ships, By bold Epeians mannâd, each chief obeyâd.
Amphimachus and Thalpius were the first, Sons of two brothers, Cteatus the one, The other Eurytus, to Actor born;
Next Amarynceusâ son, Diores bold;
The fourth Polyxenus, the godlike son
Of Augeasâ royal heir, Agasthenes.
They of Dulichium, and the sacred isles, Thâ Echinades, which face, from oâer the sea, The coast of Elis, were by Meges led,
The son of Phyleus, dear to Jove, in arms Valiant as Mars; who, with his sire at feud, Had left his home, and to Dulichium come: In his command were forty dark-ribbâd ships.
Those who from warlike Cephalonia came, And Ithaca, and leafy Neritus,
And Crocyleium; rugged AEgilips,
And Samos, and Zacynthus, and the coast Of the mainland with its opposing isles; These in twelve ships, with scarlet-painted bows, Ulysses led, in council sage as Jove.
Thoas, Andraemonâs son, thâ AEtolians led; From Pleuron, and Pylone, Olenus,
Chalcis-by-sea, and rocky Calydon:
The race of OEneus was no more; himself, And fair-hairâd Meleager, both were dead: Whence all AEtoliaâs rule on him was laid.
In his command came forty dark-ribbâd ships.
The King Idomeneus the Cretans led,
From Cnossus, and Gortynaâs well-wallâd town, Miletus, and Lycastusâ white-stone cliffs, Lyctus, and Phaestus, Rhytium, and the rest Whom Crete from all her hundred cities sent: These all Idomeneus, a spearman skillâd, Their King, commanded; and Meriones,
In battle terrible as blood-stainâd Mars.
In their command came fourscore dark-ribbâd ships.
Valiant and tall, the son of Hercules, Tlepolemus, nine vessels brought from Rhodes, By gallant Rhodians mannâd, who tripartite Were settled, and in Ialyssus dwelt,
In Lindus, and Cameirusâ white-stone hills.
These all renownâd Tlepolemus obeyâd,
Who to the might of Hercules was born
Of fair Astyoche; his captive she,
When many a goodly town his arms had razâd, Was brought from Ephyra, by Sellesâ stream.
Rearâd in the royal house, Tlepolemus, In early youth, his fatherâs uncle slew, A warrior once, but now in lifeâs decline, Lycimnius; then in haste a fleet he built, Musterâd a numârous host; and fled, by sea, The threatenâd vengeance of the other sons And grandsons of the might of Hercules.
Long wandârings past, and toils and perils borne, To Rhodes he came; his followers, by their tribes, Three districts formâd; and so divided, dwelt, Belovâd of Jove, the King of Gods and men, Who showârâd upon them boundless store of wealth.
Nireus three well-trimmâd ships from Syme brought; Nireus, to Charops whom Aglaia bore;
Nireus, the goodliest man of all the Greeks, Who came to Troy, save Peleusâ matchless son: But scant his fame, and few the troops he led.
Who in Nisyrus dwelt, and Carpathus,
And Cos, the fortress of Eurypylus,
And in the Casian and Calydnian Isles, Were by Phidippus led, and Antiphus,
Two sons of Thessalus, Alcidesâ son;
With them came thirty ships in order due.
Next those who in Pelasgian Argos dwelt, And who in Alos, and in Alope,
Trachys, and Phthia, and in Hellas famâd For women fair; of these, by various names, Achaians, Myrmidons, Hellenes, known,
In fifty ships, Achilles was the chief.
But from the battle-strife these all abstainâd, Since none there was to marshal their array.
For Peleusâ godlike son, the swift of foot, Lay idly in his tent, the loss resenting Of Brisesâ fair-hairâd daughter; whom himself Had chosen, prize of all his warlike toil, When he Lyrnessus and the walls of Thebes Oâerthrew, and Mynes and Epistrophus
Struck down, bold warriors both, Evenusâ sons, Selepiusâ royal heir; for her in wrath, He held aloof, but soon again to appear.
Those in the flowâry plain of Pyrrhasus, To Ceres dear, who dwelt; in Phylace,
In Iton, rich in flocks, and, by the sea, In Antron, and in Pteleonâs grass-clad meads; These led Protesilaus, famed in arms,
While yet he livâd; now laid beneath the sod.
In Phylace were left his weeping wife, And half-built house; him, springing to the shore, First of the Greeks, a Dardan warrior slew.
Nor were his troops, their leader though they mournâd, Left leaderless; the post of high command Podarces claimâd of right, true plant of Mars, Iphiclusâ son, the rich Phylacides;
The brother of Protesilaus he,
Younger in years, nor equal in renown; Yet of a chief no want the forces felt, Though much they mournâd their valiant leader slain.
In his command came forty dark-ribbâd ships.
Those who from Pherae came, beside the lake Boebeis, and who dwelt in Glaphyrae,
In Boebe, and Iolcosâ well-built fort, These in eleven ships Eumelus led,
Whom Peliasâ daughter, fairest of her race, Divine Alcestis to Admetus bore.
Who in Methone and Thaumacia dwelt,
In Meliboea and Olizonâs rock;
These Philoctetes, skilful archer, led.
Sevân ships were theirs, and evâry ship was mannâd By fifty rowers, skilful archers all.
But he, their chief, was lying, rackâd with pain, On Lemnosâ sacred isle; there left perforce In torture from a venomous serpentâs wound: There he in anguish lay: nor long, ere Greeks Of royal Philoctetes felt their
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