King

Created by Jijith Nadumuri at 22 Sep 2011 10:51 and updated at 22 Sep 2011 10:51

ILIAD NOUN

ild.01 Not a word he spoke, but went by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart to King Apollo whom lovely Leto had borne.
ild.01 Achilles", loved of heaven, you bid me tell you about the anger of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word and deed, for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives with might, to whom all the Achaeans are in subjection.
ild.01 Chryses"," said he, King" Agamemnon has sent me to bring you back your child, and to offer sacrifice to Apollo on behalf of the Danaans, that we may propitiate the God, who has now brought sorrow upon the Argives.
ild.01 King Agamemnon has dishonoured him by taking his prize and keeping her.
ild.02 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.
ild.02 Then King Agamemnon rose, holding his sceptre.
ild.02 King Mercury gave it to Pelops, the mighty Charioteer, and Pelops to Atreus, shepherd of his people.
ild.02 King" Agamemnon, the Achaeans are for making you a by word among all mankind.
ild.02 Would, by Father Jove, Minerva, and Apollo, that I had among them Ten more such councillors, for the city of King Priam would then soon fall beneath our hands, and we should sack it.
ild.02 First he asked Nestor and King Idomeneus, then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus, and Sixthly Ulysses, peer of Gods in counsel; but Menelaus came of his own accord, for he knew how busy his brother then was.
ild.02 King" Agamemnon," said he, "let us not stay talking here, nor be slack in the work that heaven has put into our hands.
ild.02 The chiefs disposed their men this way and that before the fight began, drafting them out as easily as Goat herds 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.
ild.02 Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, rich Corinth and Cleonae; Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastus reigned of old; Hyperesia, high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium and all the coast land round about Helice; these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon, son of Atreus.
ild.02 And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near the tomb of Aepytus, where the people fight hand to hand; the men of Pheneus also, and Orchomenus rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia; of these King Agapenor son of Ancaeus was commander, and they had Sixty ships.
ild.02 The two others were Diores, son of Amarynces, and Polyxenus, son of King Agasthenes, son of Augeas.
ild.02 And those that held Nisyrus, Crapathus, and Casus, with Cos, the city of Eurypylus, and the Calydnian islands, these were commanded by Pheidippus and Antiphus, two sons of King Thessalus the son of Hercules.
ild.03 King" Jove," he said, "grant me revenge on Alexandrus who has wronged me; subdue him under my hand that in ages yet to come a man may shrink from doing ill deeds in the house of his host.
ild.04 When King Agamemnon saw the blood flowing from the wound he was afraid, and so was brave Menelaus himself till he saw that the barbs of the arrow and the thread that bound the arrow head to the shaft were still outside the wound.
ild.04 Presently he found standing amid the brave warriors who had followed him from Tricca; thereon he went up to him and said, Son" of Aesculapius, King Agamemnon says you are to come and see Menelaus immediately.
ild.04 Glad was King Agamemnon when he saw them.
ild.04 Thus did the old man charge them, for he had been in many a fight, and King Agamemnon was glad.
ild.04 He struck at the projecting part of his helmet and drove the spear into his brow; the point of Bronze pierced the bone, and darkness veiled his eyes; headlong as a tower he fell amid the press of the fight, and as he dropped King Elephenor, son of Chalcodon and captain of the proud Abantes began dragging him out of reach of the darts that were falling around him, in haste to strip him of his armour.
ild.05 First King Agamemnon flung mighty Odius, captain of the Halizoni, from his Chariot.
ild.05 On this the son of Lycaon shouted in triumph, Knights" Trojans, come on; the bravest of the Achaeans is wounded, and he will not hold out much longer if King Apollo was indeed with me when I sped from Lycia hither.
ild.05 King Anchises stole the blood by putting his mares to them without Laomedon s knowledge, and they bore him Six foals.
ild.05 The spear of King Agamemnon struck his shield and went right through it, for the shield stayed it not.
ild.06 Menelaus, therefore, thrust Adrestus from him, whereon King Agamemnon struck him in the flank, and he fell: then the son of Atreus planted his foot upon his breast to draw his spear from the body.
ild.06 Presently he reached the splendid palace of King Priam, adorned with colonnades of hewn stone.
ild.06 Well do I know that the day will surely come when mighty Ilius shall be destroyed with Priam and Priam s people, but I grieve for none of these not even for Hecuba, nor King Priam, nor for my brothers many and brave who may fall in the dust before their foes for none of these do I grieve as for yourself when the day shall come on which some one of the Achaeans shall rob you for ever of your freedom, and bear you weeping away.
ild.07 The pair met by the oak tree, and King Apollo son of Jove was first to speak.
ild.07 King Agamemnon caught him by the right hand and said, Menelaus", you are mad; a truce to this folly.
ild.07 The Godlike hero Ereuthalion stood forward as their champion, with the armour of King Areithous upon his shoulders Areithous whom men and Women had surnamed the Mace man, because he fought neither with bow nor spear, but broke the battalions of the foe with his Iron mace.
ild.07 Foremost of all uprose King Agamemnon, and after him brave Diomed the son of Tydeus.
ild.07 I will put on my armour; meanwhile, pray to King Jove in silence among yourselves that the Trojans may not hear you or aloud if you will, for we fear no man.
ild.07 With this they fell praying to King Jove the son of Saturn, and thus would one of them say as he looked into the vault of heaven, Father" Jove that rulest from Ida, most glorious in power, vouchsafe victory to Ajax, and let him win great glory: but if you wish well to Hector also and would protect him, grant to each of them equal fame and prowess.
ild.07 Gladden, then, the hearts of the Achaeans at your ships, and more especially those of your own followers and clansmen, while I, in the great city of King Priam, bring comfort to the Trojans and their Women, who vie with one another in their prayers on my behalf.
ild.07 When they had done all this and had prepared the feast, they ate it, and every man had his full and equal share, so that all were satisfied, and King Agamemnon gave Ajax some slices cut lengthways down the loin, as a mark of special honour.
ild.07 Meanwhile the Trojans held a council, angry and full of discord, on the acropolis by the gates of King Priam s palace; and wise Antenor spoke.
ild.07 The sons of the Achaeans shouted applause at the words that Diomed had spoken, and thereon King Agamemnon said to Idaeus, Idaeus", you have heard the answer the Achaeans make you and I with them.
ild.08 King Neptune was greatly troubled and answered, Juno", rash of tongue, what are you talking about? We other gods must not set ourselves against Jove, for he is far stronger than we are.
ild.08 these in turn did he lay low upon the earth, and King Agamemnon was glad when he saw him making havoc of the Trojans with his mighty bow.
ild.09 You are still young you might be the youngest of my own children still you have spoken wisely and have counselled the chief of the Achaeans not without discretion; nevertheless I am older than you and I will tell you every" thing; therefore let no man, not even King Agamemnon, disregard my saying, for he that foments civil discord is a clanless, hearthless outlaw.
ild.09 And King Agamemnon answered, Sir", you have reproved my folly justly.
ild.09 I then fled through Hellas till I came to fertile Phthia, mother of Sheep, and to King Peleus, who made me welcome and treated me as a father treats an only son who will be heir to all his wealth.
ild.09 He it was who took his bow and faced King Apollo himself for fair Marpessa s sake; her father and mother then named her Alcyone, because her mother had mourned with the plaintive strains of the halcyon bird when Phoebus Apollo had carried her off.
ild.09 King Agamemnon was the first to do so.
ild.10 And King Agamemnon answered, Menelaus", we both of us need shrewd counsel to save the Argives and our ships, for Jove has changed his mind, and inclines towards Hector s sacrifices rather than ours.
ild.10 Menelaus replied, "How do I take your meaning? Am I to stay with them and wait your coming, or shall I return here as soon as I have given your orders?" "Wait," answered King Agamemnon, "for there are so many paths about the camp that we might miss one another.
ild.10 Some one had also better go and call Ajax and King Idomeneus, for their ships are not near at hand but the farthest of all.
ild.11 Then King Agamemnon took the two sons of Antimachus, Pisander and brave Hippolochus.
ild.11 King Agamemnon followed after, ever slaying them and cheering on the Achaeans.
ild.11 Meanwhile the Trojans kept on flying over the middle of the plain like a herd cows maddened with fright when a Lion has attacked them in the dead of night he springs on one of them, seizes her neck in the grip of his strong teeth and then laps up her blood and gorges himself upon her entrails even so did King Agamemnon son of Atreus pursue the foe, ever slaughtering the hindmost as they fled pell mell before him.
ild.11 When they were close up with one another, the son of Atreus missed his aim, and Iphidamas hit him on the girdle below the cuirass and then flung himself upon him, trusting to his strength of arm; the girdle, however, was not pierced, nor nearly so, for the point of the spear struck against the Silver and was turned aside as though it had been lead: King Agamemnon caught it from his hand, and drew it towards him with the fury of a Lion; he then drew his sword, and killed Iphidamas by striking him on the neck.
ild.11 They and their Chariots with them had gone to the games and were to run for a tripod, but King Augeas took them, and sent back their driver grieving for the loss of his Horses.
ild.13 But King Neptune had kept no blind look out; he had been looking admiringly on the battle from his seat on the topmost crests of wooded Samothrace, whence he could see all Ida, with the city of Priam and the ships of the Achaeans.
ild.13 True, King Agamemnon son of Atreus is the cause of our disaster by having insulted the son of Peleus, still this is no reason why we should leave off fighting.
ild.13 He sought Cassandra the fairest of Priam s daughters in marriage, but offered no gifts of wooing, for he promised a great thing, to wit, that he would drive the sons of the Achaeans willy nilly from Troy; old King Priam had given his consent and promised her to him, whereon he fought on the strength of the promises thus made to him.
ild.13 Harpalion son of King Pylaemenes then sprang upon him; he had come to fight at Troy along with his father, but he did not go home again.
ild.13 Paris"," said he, "evil hearted Paris, fair to see but Woman mad and false of tongue, where are Deiphobus and King Helenus? Where are Adamas son of Asius, and Asius son of Hyrtacus? Where too is Othryoneus? Ilius is undone and will now surely fall!"
ild.13 Our comrades about whom you ask me are dead; Deiphobus and King Helenus alone have left the field, wounded both of them in the hand, but the son of Saturn saved them alive.
ild.14 Then King Agamemnon said to him, Nestor" son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean name, why have you left the battle to come hither? I fear that what dread Hector said will come true, when he vaunted among the Trojans saying that he would not return to Ilius till he had fired our ships and killed us; this is what he said, and now it is all coming true.
ild.14 And King Agamemnon answered, Nestor", if the Trojans are indeed fighting at the rear of our ships, and neither the wall nor the trench has served us over which the Danaans toiled so hard, and which they deemed would be an impregnable bulwark both for us and our fleet I see it must be the will of Jove that the Achaeans should perish ingloriously here, far from Argos.
ild.14 Thus did he speak; whereon they did even as he had said and set out, King Agamemnon leading the way.
ild.15 Jove now woke on the crests of Ida, where he was lying with Golden throned Juno by his side, and starting to his feet he saw the Trojans and Achaeans, the one thrown into confusion, and the others driving them pell mell before them with King Neptune in their midst.
ild.15 "Go," said he, "fleet Iris, tell King Neptune what I now bid you and tell him true.
ild.15 Now, however, I will give way in spite of my displeasure; furthermore let me tell you, and I mean what I say if contrary to the desire of myself, Minerva driver of the spoil, Juno, Mercury, and King Vulcan, Jove spares steep Ilius, and will not let the Achaeans have the great triumph of sacking it, let him understand that he will incur our implacable resentment.
ild.15 Then King Apollo said to him, "Take heart; the son of Saturn has sent you a mighty helper from Ida to stand by you and defend you, even me, Phoebus Apollo of the Golden sword, who have been guardian hitherto not only of yourself but of your city.
ild.15 Those who were about Ajax and King Idomeneus, the followers moreover of Teucer, Meriones, and Meges peer of Mars called all their best men about them and sustained the fight against Hector and the Trojans, but the main body fell back upon the ships of the Achaeans.
ild.15 King Polydamas saw what had happened, and was the first to come up to the Horses; he gave them in charge to Astynous son of Protiaon, and ordered him to look on, and to keep the Horses near at hand.
ild.15 He then struck the middle of the son of Phyleus shield with his spear, setting on him at close quarters, but his good corslet made with plates of metal saved him; Phyleus had brought it from Ephyra and the river Selleis, where his host, King Euphetes, had given it him to wear in battle and protect him.
ild.15 Nevertheless Hector only killed Periphetes of Mycenae; he was son of Copreus who was wont to take the orders of King Eurystheus to mighty Hercules, but the son was a far better man than the father in every way; he was fleet of foot, a valiant warrior, and in understanding ranked among the foremost men of Mycenae.
ild.16 The girl whom the sons of the Achaeans chose for me, whom I won as the fruit of my spear on having sacked a city her has King Agamemnon taken from me as though I were some common vagrant.
ild.16 And so it would have been, if only King Agamemnon had dealt fairly by me.
ild.16 King" Jove," he cried, "lord of Dodona, God of the Pelasgi, who dwellest afar, you who hold wintry Dodona in your sway, where your prophets the Selli dwell around you with their feet unwashed and their couches made upon the ground if you heard me when I prayed to you aforetime, and did me honour while you sent disaster on the Achaeans, vouchsafe me now the fulfilment of yet this further prayer.
ild.16 The son of Atreus King Agamemnon will thus learn his folly in showing no respect to the bravest of the Achaeans.
ild.17 He wagged his head, and muttered to himself, saying, "Poor things, why did we give you to King Peleus who is a mortal, while you are yourselves ageless and immortal? Was it that you might share the sorrows that befall mankind? for of all creatures that live and move upon the earth there is none so pitiable as he is still, Hector son of Priam shall drive neither you nor your Chariot.
ild.18 Full well I know that his vaunt shall not be lasting, for his end is close at hand; go not, however, into the press of battle till you see me return hither; to morrow at break of day I shall be here, and will bring you goodly armour from King Vulcan.
ild.18 So long as he lives to look upon the light of the sun, he is in heaviness, and though I go to him I cannot help him; King Agamemnon has made him give up the maiden whom the sons of the Achaeans had awarded him, and he wastes with sorrow for her sake.
ild.19 But a man can fight all day if he is full fed with meat and wine; his heart beats high, and his strength will stay till he has routed all his foes; therefore, send the people away and bid them prepare their meal; King Agamemnon will bring out the gifts in presence of the assembly, that all may see them and you may be satisfied.
ild.19 And King Agamemnon answered, Son" of Laertes, your words please me well, for throughout you have spoken wisely.
ild.20 Apollo with his arrows took his stand to face King Neptune, while Minerva took hers against the God of war; the archer goddess Diana with her Golden arrows, sister of far darting Apollo, stood to face Juno; Mercury the lusty bringer of good luck faced Leto, while the mighty eddying river whom men can Scamander, but Gods Xanthus, matched himself against Vulcan.
ild.20 Then said King Apollo, son to Jove, "Nay, hero, pray to the ever living Gods, for men say that you were born of Jove s daughter Venus, whereas Achilles is son to a Goddess of inferior rank.
ild.20 He breathed his last, bellowing like a Bull bellows when young men are dragging him to offer him in sacrifice to the King of Helice, and the heart of the earth shaker is glad; even so did he bellow as he lay dying.
ild.21 Moreover you have a great river hard by if he can be of any use to you, but there is no fighting against Jove the son of Saturn, with whom not even King Achelous can compare, nor the mighty stream of deep flowing Oceanus, from whom all rivers and seas with all springs and deep wells proceed; even Oceanus fears the lightnings of great Jove, and his thunder that comes crashing out of heaven.
ild.21 He lifted his waters into a high crest and cried aloud to Simois saying, "Dear brother, let the two of us unite to save this man, or he will sack the mighty city of King Priam, and the Trojans will not hold out against him.
ild.21 Meanwhile King Neptune turned to Apollo saying, Phoebus", why should we keep each other at arm s length? it is not well, now that the others have begun fighting; it will be disgraceful to us if we return to Jove s Bronze floored mansion on Olympus without having fought each other; therefore come on, you are the younger of the two, and I ought not to attack you, for I am older and have had more experience.
ild.21 And King Apollo answered, Lord" of the earthquake, you would have no respect for me if I were to fight you about a pack of miserable mortals, who come out like leaves in summer and eat the fruit of the field, and presently fall lifeless to the ground.
ild.21 Old King Priam stood on a high tower of the wall looking down on huge Achilles as the Trojans fled panic stricken before him, and there was none to help them.
ild.22 King Priam was first to note him as he scoured the plain, all radiant as the star which men call Orion s Hound, and whose beams blaze forth in time of harvest more brilliantly than those of any other that shines by night; brightest of them all though he be, he yet bodes ill for mortals, for he brings fire and fever in his train even so did Achilles armour gleam on his breast as he sped onwards.
ild.23 As soon as they reached Agamemnon s tent they told the serving men to set a large tripod over the fire in case they might persuade the son of Peleus to wash the clotted gore from this body, but he denied them sternly, and swore it with a solemn oath, saying, "Nay, by King Jove, first and mightiest of all Gods, it is not meet that water should touch my body, till I have laid Patroclus on the flames, have built him a barrow, and shaved my head for so long as I live no such second sorrow shall ever draw nigh me.
ild.23 Now, therefore, let us do all that this sad festival demands, but at break of day, King Agamemnon, bid your men bring wood, and provide all else that the dead may duly take into the realm of darkness; the fire shall thus burn him out of our sight the sooner, and the people shall turn again to their own labours.
ild.23 Then King Agamemnon sent men and Mules from all parts of the camp, to bring wood, and Meriones, squire to Idomeneus, was in charge over them.
ild.23 When King Agamemnon heard this he dismissed the people to their ships, but those who were about the dead heaped up Wood and built a pyre a hundred feet this way and that; then they laid the dead all sorrowfully upon the top of it.
ild.23 Achilles shook the helmet, and the lot of Antilochus son of Nestor fell out first; next came that of King Eumelus, and after his, those of Menelaus son of Atreus and of Meriones.
ild.23 And Antilochus answered, "Forgive me; I am much younger, King Menelaus, than you are; you stand higher than I do and are the better man of the two; you know how easily young men are betrayed into indiscretion; their tempers are more hasty and they have less judgement; make due allowances therefore, and bear with me; I will of my own accord give up the mare that I have won, and if you claim any further chattel from my own possessions, I would rather yield it to you, at once, than fall from your good graces henceforth, and do wrong in the sight of heaven.
ild.23 Would that I were still young and strong as when the Epeans were burying King Amarynceus in Buprasium, and his sons offered prizes in his honour.
ild.23 Then uprose King Teucer, and Meriones the stalwart squire of Idomeneus rose also, They cast lots in a Bronze helmet and the lot of Teucer fell first.
ild.23 He let fly with his arrow forthwith, but he did not promise Hecatombs of firstling lambs to King Apollo, and missed his bird, for Apollo foiled his aim; but he hit the string with which the bird was tied, near its foot; the arrow cut the string clean through so that it hung down towards the ground, while the bird flew up into the sky, and the Achaeans shouted applause.
ild.23 King Agamemnon assented.
ild.24 "Go," said he, "fleet Iris, from the mansions of Olympus, and tell King Priam in Ilius, that he is to go to the ships of the Achaeans and free the body of his dear son.
ild.24 King Priam entered without their seeing him, and going right up to Achilles he clasped his knees and kissed the dread murderous hands that had slain so many of his sons.
ild.24 And Achilles answered, "All, King Priam, shall be as you have said.
ild.24 And now both Gods and mortals were fast asleep through the livelong night, but upon Mercury alone, the bringer of good luck, sleep could take no hold for he was thinking all the time how to get King Priam away from the ships without his being seen by the strong force of sentinels.
ild.24 Then King Priam spoke to them saying, "Bring wood, O Trojans, to the city, and fear no cunning ambush of the Argives, for Achilles when he dismissed me from the ships gave me his word that they should not attack us until the morning of the twelfth day.

Arise Greece! from thy silent sleep, 2000 years long it is! Forget not, thy ancient culture, beautiful and marvelous it is!

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