The Iliad, Homer [big screen ebook reader .txt] 📗

Hector who slew your brave and noble
comrade."

With such words did the princely son of Priam beseech Achilles; but
Achilles answered him sternly. "Idiot," said he, "talk not to me of
ransom. Until Patroclus fell I preferred to give the Trojans quarter,
and sold beyond the sea many of those whom I had taken alive; but now
not a man shall live of those whom heaven delivers into my hands before
the city of Ilius--and of all Trojans it shall fare hardest with the
sons of Priam. Therefore, my friend, you too shall die. Why should you
whine in this way? Patroclus fell, and he was a better man than you
are. I too--see you not how I am great and goodly? I am son to a noble
father, and have a goddess for my mother, but the hands of doom and
death overshadow me all as surely. The day will come, either at dawn or
dark, or at the noontide, when one shall take my life also in battle,
either with his spear, or with an arrow sped from his bow."

Thus did he speak, and Lycaon's heart sank within him. He loosed his
hold of the spear, and held out both hands before him; but Achilles
drew his keen blade, and struck him by the collar-bone on his neck; he
plunged his two-edged sword into him to the very hilt, whereon he lay
at full length on the ground, with the dark blood welling from him till
the earth was soaked. Then Achilles caught him by the foot and flung
him into the river to go down stream, vaunting over him the while, and
saying, "Lie there among the fishes, who will lick the blood from your
wound and gloat over it; your mother shall not lay you on any bier to
mourn you, but the eddies of Scamander shall bear you into the broad
bosom of the sea. There shall the fishes feed on the fat of Lycaon as
they dart under the dark ripple of the waters--so perish all of you
till we reach the citadel of strong Ilius--you in flight, and I
following after to destroy you. The river with its broad silver stream
shall serve you in no stead, for all the bulls you offered him and all
the horses that you flung living into his waters. None the less
miserably shall you perish till there is not a man of you but has paid
in full for the death of Patroclus and the havoc you wrought among the
Achaeans whom you have slain while I held aloof from battle."

So spoke Achilles, but the river grew more and more angry, and pondered
within himself how he should stay the hand of Achilles and save the
Trojans from disaster. Meanwhile the son of Peleus, spear in hand,
sprang upon Asteropaeus son of Pelegon to kill him. He was son to the
broad river Axius and Periboea eldest daughter of Acessamenus; for the
river had lain with her. Asteropaeus stood up out of the water to face
him with a spear in either hand, and Xanthus filled him with courage,
being angry for the death of the youths whom Achilles was slaying
ruthlessly within his waters. When they were close up with one another
Achilles was first to speak. "Who and whence are you," said he, "who
dare to face me? Woe to the parents whose son stands up against me."
And the son of Pelegon answered, "Great son of Peleus, why should you
ask my lineage. I am from the fertile land of far Paeonia, captain of
the Paeonians, and it is now eleven days that I am at Ilius. I am of
the blood of the river Axius--of Axius that is the fairest of all
rivers that run. He begot the famed warrior Pelegon, whose son men call
me. Let us now fight, Achilles."

Thus did he defy him, and Achilles raised his spear of Pelian ash.
Asteropaeus failed with both his spears, for he could use both hands
alike; with the one spear he struck Achilles' shield, but did not
pierce it, for the layer of gold, gift of the god, stayed the point;
with the other spear he grazed the elbow of Achilles' right arm drawing
dark blood, but the spear itself went by him and fixed itself in the
ground, foiled of its bloody banquet. Then Achilles, fain to kill him,
hurled his spear at Asteropaeus, but failed to hit him and struck the
steep bank of the river, driving the spear half its length into the
earth. The son of Peleus then drew his sword and sprang furiously upon
him. Asteropaeus vainly tried to draw Achilles' spear out of the bank
by main force; thrice did he tug at it, trying with all his might to
draw it out, and thrice he had to leave off trying; the fourth time he
tried to bend and break it, but ere he could do so Achilles smote him
with his sword and killed him. He struck him in the belly near the
navel, so that all his bowels came gushing out on to the ground, and
the darkness of death came over him as he lay gasping. Then Achilles
set his foot on his chest and spoiled him of his armour, vaunting over
him and saying, "Lie there--begotten of a river though you be, it is
hard for you to strive with the offspring of Saturn's son. You declare
yourself sprung from the blood of a broad river, but I am of the seed
of mighty Jove. My father is Peleus, son of Aeacus ruler over the many
Myrmidons, and Aeacus was the son of Jove. Therefore as Jove is
mightier than any river that flows into the sea, so are his children
stronger than those of any river whatsoever. 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."

With this he drew his bronze spear out of the bank, and now that he had
killed Asteropaeus, he let him lie where he was on the sand, with the
dark water flowing over him and the eels and fishes busy nibbling and
gnawing the fat that was about his kidneys. Then he went in chase of
the Paeonians, who were flying along the bank of the river in panic
when they saw their leader slain by the hands of the son of Peleus.
Therein he slew Thersilochus, Mydon, Astypylus, Mnesus, Thrasius,
Oeneus, and Ophelestes, and he would have slain yet others, had not the
river in anger taken human form, and spoken to him from out the deep
waters saying, "Achilles, if you excel all in strength, so do you also
in wickedness, for the gods are ever with you to protect you: if, then,
the son of Saturn has vouchsafed it to you to destroy all the Trojans,
at any rate drive them out of my stream, and do your grim work on land.
My fair waters are now filled with corpses, nor can I find any channel
by which I may pour myself into the sea for I am choked with dead, and
yet you go on mercilessly slaying. I am in despair, therefore, O
captain of your host, trouble me no further."

Achilles answered, "So be it, Scamander, Jove-descended; but I will
never cease dealing out death among the Trojans, till I have pent them
up in their city, and made trial of Hector face to face, that I may
learn whether he is to vanquish me, or I him."

As he spoke he set upon the Trojans with a fury like that of the gods.
But the river said to Apollo, "Surely, son of Jove, lord of the silver
bow, you are not obeying the commands of Jove who charged you straitly
that you should stand by the Trojans and defend them, till twilight
fades, and darkness is over an the earth."

Meanwhile Achilles sprang from the bank into mid-stream, whereon the
river raised a high wave and attacked him. He swelled his stream into a
torrent, and swept away the many dead whom Achilles had slain and left
within his waters. These he cast out on to the land, bellowing like a
bull the while, but the living he saved alive, hiding them in his
mighty eddies. The great and terrible wave gathered about Achilles,
falling upon him and beating on his shield, so that he could not keep
his feet; he caught hold of a great elm-tree, but it came up by the
roots, and tore away the bank, damming the stream with its thick
branches and bridging it all across; whereby Achilles struggled out of
the stream, and fled full speed over the plain, for he was afraid.

But the mighty god ceased not in his pursuit, and sprang upon him with
a dark-crested wave, to stay his hands and save the Trojans from
destruction. The son of Peleus darted away a spear's throw from him;
swift as the swoop of a black hunter-eagle which is the strongest and
fleetest of all birds, even so did he spring forward, and the armour
rang loudly about his breast. He fled on in front, but the river with a
loud roar came tearing after. As one who would water his garden leads a
stream from some fountain over his plants, and all his ground--spade in
hand he clears away the dams to free the channels, and the little
stones run rolling round and round with the water as it goes merrily
down the bank faster than the man can follow--even so did the river
keep catching up with Achilles albeit he was a fleet runner, for the
gods are stronger than men. As often as he would strive to stand his
ground, and see whether or no all the gods in heaven were in league
against him, so often would the mighty wave come beating down upon his
shoulders, and he would have to keep flying on and on in great dismay;
for the angry flood was tiring him out as it flowed past him and ate
the ground from under his feet.

Then the son of Peleus lifted up his voice to heaven saying, "Father
Jove, is there none of the gods who will take pity upon me, and save me
from the river? I do not care what may happen to me afterwards. I blame
none of the other dwellers on Olympus so severely as I do my dear
mother, who has beguiled and tricked me. She told me I was to fall
under the walls of Troy by the flying arrows of Apollo; would that
Hector, the best man among the Trojans, might there slay me; then
should I fall a hero by the hand of a hero; whereas now it seems that I
shall come to a most pitiable end, trapped in this river as though I
were some swineherd's boy, who gets carried down a torrent while trying
to cross it during a storm."

As soon as he had spoken thus, Neptune and Minerva came up to him in
the likeness of two men, and took him by the hand to reassure him.
Neptune spoke first. "Son of Peleus," said he, "be not so exceeding
fearful; we are two gods, come with Jove's sanction to assist you, I,
and Pallas Minerva. It is not your fate to perish in this river; he
will abate presently as you will see; moreover we strongly advise you,
if