Tydeus

Created by Sreeja Jijith at 22 Sep 2011 13:27 and updated at 22 Sep 2011 13:27

ILIAD NOUN

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.04 Presently he saw the son of Tydeus, noble Diomed, standing by his Chariot and Horses, with Sthenelus the son of Capaneus beside him; whereon he began to upbraid him.
ild.04 Son" of Tydeus," he said, "why stand you cowering here upon the brink of battle? Tydeus did not shrink thus, but was ever ahead of his men when leading them on against the foe so, at least, say they that saw him in battle, for I never set eyes upon him myself.
ild.04 Tydeus, therefore, and Polynices went their way.
ild.04 When they had got as far the deep meadowed and rush grown banks of the Aesopus, the Achaeans sent Tydeus as their envoy, and he found the Cadmeans gathered in great numbers to a banquet in the house of Eteocles.
ild.04 The Cadmeans were incensed at his success, and set a force of Fifty youths with two captains the Godlike hero Maeon, son of Haemon, and Polyphontes, son of Autophonus at their head, to lie in wait for him on his return journey; but Tydeus slew every man of them, save only Maeon, whom he let go in obedience to heaven s omens.
ild.04 Such was Tydeus of Aetolia.
ild.05 Then Pallas Minerva put valour into the heart of Diomed, son of Tydeus, that he might excel all the other Argives, and cover himself with glory.
ild.05 Idaeus did not dare to bestride his brother s body, but sprang from the Chariot and took to flight, or he would have shared his brother s fate; whereon Vulcan saved him by wrapping him in a cloud of darkness, that his old father might not be utterly overwhelmed with grief; but the son of Tydeus drove off with the Horses, and bade his followers take them to the ships.
ild.05 As for the son of Tydeus, you could not say whether he was more among the Achaeans or the Trojans.
ild.05 He rushed across the plain like a winter torrent that has burst its barrier in full flood; no dykes, no walls of fruitful vineyards can embank it when it is swollen with rain from heaven, but in a moment it comes tearing onward, and lays many a field waste that many a strong man hand has reclaimed even so were the dense phalanxes of the Trojans driven in rout by the son of Tydeus, and many though they were, they dared not abide his onslaught.
ild.05 Then she went up close to him and said, "Fear not, Diomed, to do battle with the Trojans, for I have set in your heart the spirit of your knightly father Tydeus.
ild.05 When she had said this Minerva went away, and the son of Tydeus again took his place among the foremost fighters, three times more fierce even than he had been before.
ild.05 And the son of Lycaon answered, Aeneas", I take him for none other than the son of Tydeus.
ild.05 These it seems, are of no use, for I have already hit two chieftains, the sons of Atreus and of Tydeus, and though I drew blood surely enough, I have only made them still more furious.
ild.05 If Jove again vouchsafes glory to the son of Tydeus they will carry us safely back to the city.
ild.05 replied the son of Lycaon, "take the reins and drive; if we have to fly before the son of Tydeus the Horses will go better for their own driver.
ild.05 The son of Tydeus will then kill both of us and take the Horses.
ild.05 They then mounted the Chariot and drove full speed towards the son of Tydeus.
ild.05 Sthenelus, son of Capaneus, saw them coming and said to Diomed, "Diomed, son of Tydeus, man after my own heart, I see two heroes speeding towards you, both of them men of might the one a skilful archer, Pandarus son of Lycaon, the other, Aeneas, whose sire is Anchises, while his mother is Venus.
ild.05 "Great and mighty son," said he, "of noble Tydeus, my arrow failed to lay you low, so I will now try with my spear.
ild.05 It struck the shield of the son of Tydeus; the Bronze point pierced it and passed on till it reached the breastplate.
ild.05 But the son of Tydeus caught up a mighty stone, so huge and great that as men now are it would take two to lift it; nevertheless he bore it aloft with ease unaided, and with this he struck Aeneas on the groin where the hip turns in the joint that is called the "cup bone.
ild.05 He then remounted his own Chariot, seized the reins, and drove with all speed in search of the son of Tydeus.
ild.05 Now the son of Tydeus was in pursuit of the Cyprian Goddess, spear in hand, for he knew her to be feeble and not one of those Goddesses that can lord it among men in battle like Minerva or Enyo the waster of cities, and when at last after a long chase he caught her up, he flew at her and thrust his spear into the flesh of her delicate hand.
ild.05 I am badly wounded by a mortal, the son of Tydeus, who would now fight even with father Jove.
ild.05 And laughter loving Venus answered, "Proud Diomed, the son of Tydeus, wounded me because I was bearing my dear son Aeneas, whom I love best of all mankind, out of the fight.
ild.05 And now Minerva has egged this son of Tydeus on against yourself, fool that he is for not reflecting that no man who fights with Gods will live long or hear his children prattling about his knees when he returns from battle.
ild.05 Let, then, the son of Tydeus see that he does not have to fight with one who is stronger than you are.
ild.05 When he was coming on for the fourth time, as though he were a God, Apollo shouted to him with an awful voice and said, "Take heed, son of Tydeus, and draw off; think not to match yourself against Gods, for men that walk the earth cannot hold their own with the immortals.
ild.05 The son of Tydeus then gave way for a little space, to avoid the anger of the God, while Apollo took Aeneas out of the crowd and set him in sacred Pergamus, where his temple stood.
ild.05 Then Phoebus Apollo said to Mars, Mars", Mars, bane of men, blood stained stormer of cities, can you not go to this man, the son of Tydeus, who would now fight even with father Jove, and draw him out of the battle? He first went up to the Cyprian and wounded her in the hand near her wrist, and afterwards sprang upon me too, as though he were a God.
ild.05 As a man crossing a wide plain is dismayed to find himself on the brink of some great river rolling swiftly to the sea he sees its boiling waters and starts back in fear even so did the son of Tydeus give ground.
ild.05 With these words she put heart and soul into them all, while Minerva sprang to the side of the son of Tydeus, whom she found near his Chariot and Horses, cooling the wound that Pandarus had given him.
ild.05 The Goddess laid her hand on the yoke of his Horses and said, "The son of Tydeus is not such another as his father.
ild.05 Tydeus was a little man, but he could fight, and rushed madly into the fray even when I told him not to do so.
ild.05 I stand by you too to protect you, and I bid you be instant in fighting the Trojans; but either you are tired out, or you are afraid and out of heart, and in that case I say that you are no true son of Tydeus the son of Oeneus.
ild.05 "Diomed, son of Tydeus," replied Minerva, "man after my own heart, fear neither Mars nor any other of the immortals, for I will befriend you.
ild.05 As a dark cloud in the sky when it comes on to blow after heat, even so did Diomed son of Tydeus see Mars ascend into the broad heavens.
ild.06 Tell her to bid the matrons gather at the temple of Minerva in the acropolis; let her then take her key and open the doors of the sacred building; there, upon the knees of Minerva, let her lay the largest, fairest robe she has in her house the one she sets most store by; let her, moreover, promise to sacrifice Twelve yearling heifers that have never yet felt the goad, in the temple of the Goddess, if she will take pity on the town, with the wives and little ones of the Trojans, and keep the son of Tydeus from falling on the goodly city of Ilius; for he fights with fury and fills men s souls with panic.
ild.06 Then Glaucus son of Hippolochus, and the son of Tydeus went into the open space between the hosts to fight in single combat.
ild.06 And the son of Hippolochus answered, son of Tydeus, why ask me of my lineage? Men come and go as leaves year by year upon the trees.
ild.06 I do not remember Tydeus, for he was taken from us while I was yet a child, when the army of the Achaeans was cut to pieces before Thebes.
ild.06 Get the matrons together, and go with offerings to the temple of Minerva driver of the spoil; there, upon the knees of Minerva, lay the largest and fairest robe you have in your house the one you set most store by; promise, moreover, to sacrifice Twelve yearling heifers that have never yet felt the goad, in the temple of the Goddess if she will take pity on the town, with the wives and little ones of the Trojans, and keep the son of Tydeus from off the goodly city of Ilius, for he fights with fury, and fills men s souls with panic.
ild.06 Thrice have the bravest of them come thither and assailed it, under the two Ajaxes, Idomeneus, the sons of Atreus, and the brave son of Tydeus, either of their own bidding, or because some soothsayer had told them.
ild.07 Foremost of all uprose King Agamemnon, and after him brave Diomed the son of Tydeus.
ild.07 Thus he spoke, and when each of them had marked his lot, and had thrown it into the helmet of Agamemnon son of Atreus, the people lifted their hands in prayer, and thus would one of them say as he looked into the vault of heaven, Father" Jove, grant that the lot fall on Ajax, or on the son of Tydeus, or upon the king of rich Mycene himself.
ild.08 Ulysses would not give ear, but sped onward to the ships of the Achaeans, and the son of Tydeus flinging himself alone into the thick of the fight took his stand before the Horses of the son of Neleus.
ild.08 Nestor took the reins in his hands and lashed the Horses on; they were soon close up with Hector, and the son of Tydeus aimed a spear at him as he was charging full speed towards them.
ild.08 Then he was afraid and said to Diomed, Son" of Tydeus, turn your Horses in flight; see you not that the hand of Jove is against you? To day he vouchsafes victory to Hector; to morrow, if it so please him, he will again grant it to ourselves; no man, however brave, may thwart the purpose of Jove, for he is far stronger than any.
ild.08 Diomed answered, "All that you have said is true; there is a grief however which pierces me to the very heart, for Hector will talk among the Trojans and say, The son of Tydeus fled before me to the ships.
ild.08 Son" of Tydeus," replied Nestor, "what mean you? Though Hector say that you are a coward the Trojans and Dardanians will not believe him, nor yet the wives of the mighty warriors whom you have laid low.
ild.08 Hector shouted to him and said, Son" of Tydeus, the Danaans have done you honour hitherto as regards your place at table, the meals they give you, and the filling of your cup with wine.
ild.08 The son of Tydeus was in two minds whether or no to turn his Horses round again and fight him.
ild.08 There was no man of all the many Danaans who could then boast that he had driven his Horses over the trench and gone forth to fight sooner than the son of Tydeus; long before any one else could do so he slew an armed warrior of the Trojans, Agelaus the son of Phradmon.
ild.08 This night, therefore, let us keep watch, but with early morning let us put on our armour and rouse fierce war at the ships of the Achaeans; I shall then know whether brave Diomed the son of Tydeus will drive me back from the ships to the wall, or whether I shall myself slay him and carry off his bloodstained spoils.
ild.09 Son" of Tydeus," said he, "in war your prowess is beyond question, and in council you excel all who are of your own years; no one of the Achaeans can make light of what you say nor gainsay it, but you have not yet come to the end of the whole matter.
ild.10 I will go with you, and we will rouse others, either the son of Tydeus, or Ulysses, or fleet Ajax and the valiant son of Phyleus.
ild.10 First they went to Diomed son of Tydeus, and found him outside his tent clad in his armour with his comrades sleeping round him and using their shields as pillows; as for their spears, they stood upright on the spikes of their butts that were driven into the ground, and the burnished Bronze flashed afar like the lightning of father Jove.
ild.10 "Wake up," he exclaimed, "son of Tydeus.
ild.10 The two Ajaxes, servants of Mars, Meriones, and the son of Nestor all wanted to go, so did Menelaus son of Atreus; Ulysses also wished to go among the host of the Trojans, for he was ever full of daring, and thereon Agamemnon king of men spoke thus: "Diomed," said he, "son of Tydeus, man after my own heart, choose your comrade for yourself take the best man of those that have offered, for many would now go with you.
ild.10 Son" of Tydeus," replied Ulysses, "say neither good nor ill about me, for you are among Argives who know me well.
ild.10 Brave Thrasymedes provided the son of Tydeus with a sword and a shield (for he had left his own at his ship) and on his head he set a helmet of Bull s hide without either peak or crest; it is called a skull cap and is a common headgear.
ild.10 Then Diomed of the loud war cry also prayed: "Hear me too," said he, "daughter of Jove, unweariable; be with me even as you were with my noble father Tydeus when he went to Thebes as envoy sent by the Achaeans.
ild.10 The others gave chase at once, and as a couple of well trained hounds press forward after a doe or hare that runs screaming in front of them, even so did the son of Tydeus and Ulysses pursue Dolon and cut him off from his own people.
ild.10 But when he had fled so far towards the ships that he would soon have fallen in with the outposts, Minerva infused fresh strength into the son of Tydeus for fear some other of the Achaeans might have the glory of being first to hit him, and he might himself be only second; he therefore sprang forward with his spear and said, "Stand, or I shall throw my spear, and in that case I shall soon make an end of you.
ild.10 As a Lion springs furiously upon a flock of Sheep or Goats when he finds without their shepherd, so did the son of Tydeus set upon the Thracian soldiers till he had killed Twelve.
ild.10 When the son of Tydeus came to the king, he killed him too (which made thirteen), as he was breathing hard, for by the counsel of Minerva an evil dream, the seed of Oeneus, hovered that night over his head.
ild.10 But Apollo kept no blind look out when he saw Minerva with the son of Tydeus.
ild.10 When they reached the place where they had killed Hector s scout, Ulysses stayed his Horses, and the son of Tydeus, leaping to the ground, placed the blood stained spoils in the hands of Ulysses and remounted: then he lashed the Horses onwards, and they flew forward nothing loth towards the ships as though of their own free will.
ild.10 When they reached the strongly built quarters of the son of Tydeus, they tied the Horses with thongs of leather to the manger, where the steeds of Diomed stood eating their sweet corn, but Ulysses hung the blood stained spoils of Dolon at the stern of his ship, that they might prepare a sacred offering to Minerva.
ild.11 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.
ild.11 Diomed son of Tydeus slew them both and stripped them of their armour, while Ulysses killed Hippodamus and Hypeirochus.
ild.11 The son of Tydeus speared Agastrophus son of Paeon in the hip joint with his spear.
ild.11 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.
ild.11 And Nestor answered, "Why should Achilles care to know how many of the Achaeans may be wounded? He recks not of the dismay that reigns in our host; our most valiant chieftains lie disabled, brave Diomed son of Tydeus is wounded; so are Ulysses and Agamemnon; Eurypylus has been hit with an arrow in the thigh, and I have just been bringing this man from the field he too wounded with an arrow; nevertheless Achilles, so valiant though he be, cares not and knows no ruth.
ild.14 The wounded kings, the son of Tydeus, Ulysses, and Agamemnon son of Atreus, fell in Nestor as they were coming up from their ships for theirs were drawn up some way from where the fighting was going on, being on the shore itself inasmuch as they had been beached first, while the wall had been built behind the hindermost.
ild.14 I am by lineage son to a noble sire, Tydeus, who lies buried at Thebes.
ild.14 The son of Tydeus, Ulysses, and Agamemnon, wounded though they were, set the others in array, and went about everywhere effecting the exchanges of armour; the most valiant took the best armour, and gave the worse to the worse man.
ild.16 Brave Diomed son of Tydeus has been hit with a spear, while famed Ulysses and Agamemnon have received sword wounds; Eurypylus again has been struck with an arrow in the thigh; skilled apothecaries are attending to these heroes, and healing them of their wounds; are you still, O Achilles, so inexorable? May it never be my lot to nurse such a passion as you have done, to the baning of your own good name.
ild.16 Diomed son of Tydeus no longer wields his spear to defend the Danaans, neither have I heard the voice of the son of Atreus coming from his hated head, whereas that of murderous Hector rings in my cars as he gives orders to the Trojans, who triumph over the Achaeans and fill the whole plain with their cry of battle.
ild.19 Two sons of Mars, Ulysses and the son of Tydeus, came limping, for their wounds still pained them; nevertheless they came, and took their seats in the front row of the assembly.
ild.21 "Why, vixen," said he, "have you again set the Gods by the ears in the pride and haughtiness of your heart? Have you forgotten how you set Diomed son of Tydeus on to wound me, and yourself took visible spear and drove it into me to the hurt of my fair body? You shall now suffer for what you then did to me.
ild.23 Next to him rose mighty Diomed son of Tydeus; he yoked the Trojan Horses which he had taken from Aeneas, when Apollo bore him out of the fight.
ild.23 The last place fell to the lot of Diomed son of Tydeus, who was the best man of them all.
ild.23 Minerva saw the trick which Apollo had played the son of Tydeus, so she brought him his whip and put spirit into his Horses; moreover she went after the son of Admetus in a rage and broke his yoke for him; the mares went one to one side the course, and the other to the other, and the pole was broken against the ground.
ild.23 But the son of Tydeus turned his Horses aside and shot far ahead, for Minerva put fresh strength into them and covered Diomed himself with glory.
ild.23 I do not bid you try to beat the steeds of the son of Tydeus, for Minerva has put running into them, and has covered Diomed with glory; but you must overtake the Horses of the son of Atreus and not be left behind, or Aethe who is so fleet will taunt you.
ild.23 Come up and see for yourselves, I cannot make out for certain, but the driver seems an Aetolian by descent, ruler over the Argives, brave Diomed the son of Tydeus.
ild.23 As he was speaking, the son of Tydeus came driving in, plying his whip lustily from his shoulder, and his Horses stepping high as they flew over the course.
ild.23 He shall have the second, but the first must go to the son of Tydeus.
ild.23 The son of Tydeus was Euryalus s second, cheering him on and hoping heartily that he would win.
ild.23 Forthwith uprose great Ajax the son of Telamon, as also mighty Diomed son of Tydeus.
ild.23 Ajax pierced Diomed s round shield, but did not draw blood, for the cuirass beneath the shield protected him; thereon the son of Tydeus from over his huge shield kept aiming continually at Ajax s neck with the point of his spear, and the Achaeans alarmed for his safety bade them leave off fighting and divide the prize between them.
ild.23 Achilles then gave the great sword to the son of Tydeus, with its scabbard, and the leathern belt with which to hang it.

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

Share:- Facebook