Ἰλιάδος Κ

The other princes of all the Achaeans, beside the ships,

slept through the night, subdued by gentle sleep;

but sweet sleep did not hold Atreus' son Agamemnon, shepherd of the people,

as he turned over many things within his mind.

As when the husband of lovely-haired Hera flashes lightning,

making either a vast, unspeakable rain, or hail,

or snowfall, whenever snow blankets the fields,

or somewhere the great maw of bitter war,

so Agamemnon groaned thick and fast within his breast,

from the depths of his heart, and the wits within him trembled.

Whenever he looked across the Trojan plain,

he marveled at the many fires burning before Ilion,

at the din of pipes and flutes, and the clamor of men.

But whenever he looked toward the ships and the Achaean host,

he tore many locks from his head by the roots

toward Zeus on high, and his noble heart groaned mightily.

And this seemed the best counsel to his spirit:

to go first among men to Nestor, son of Neleus,

in case together with him he might fashion some blameless plan

that might ward off harm from all the Danaans.

He rose upright and drew a tunic around his chest,

beneath his glistening feet he bound fair sandals,

and then he put around him the reddish hide of a lion,

of a great tawny beast, reaching to his feet, and he took his spear.

And just so trembling held Menelaus, for upon his eyes as well

sleep would not settle, for fear the Argives might suffer harm,

who for his sake had come far across the sea

to Troy, intent upon bold war.

First he covered his broad back with a spotted

panther skin; then he raised a bronze helmet

and set it on his head, and took a spear in his strong hand.

He went to rouse his own brother, who ruled greatly over all

the Argives, and was honored like a god among his people.

He found him putting his fair armor about his shoulders

beside the stern of his ship; and Menelaus's coming was welcome to him.

Menelaus, good at the war-cry, spoke to him first:

"Why are you arming yourself so, dear brother? Will you urge

one of our companions to spy upon the Trojans? But terribly

I fear that no one will undertake this deed for you,

to go alone and spy upon our enemy men

through the immortal night. He must be a very boldhearted man."

Then the lord Agamemnon answered him and said:

"Zeus-nurtured Menelaus, you and I have need of shrewd

counsel, some plan that might shield and save

the Argives and their ships, since the mind of Zeus has turned.

It seems he has set his heart more upon Hector's sacrifices.

For never yet have I seen, nor heard from any speaking man,

that one man devised so many grievous deeds in one day

as Hector, dear to Zeus, has wrought against the sons of the Achaeans,

on his own, though he is the dear son of neither goddess nor god.

He has done deeds that I say will weigh upon the Argives

for a long, long time, such evils has he devised against the Achaeans.

But go now and call Ajax, son of Telamon, and Idomeneus,

running swiftly along the ships; I will go to godlike Nestor

and urge him to rise, in case he is willing

to go among the sacred company of guards and give them orders.

For they would obey him most of all; his own son

commands the guards, and Idomeneus's companion,

Meriones; for to them above all we entrusted this."

Then Menelaus, good at the war-cry, answered him:

"What order do you lay upon me and command?

Am I to stay there among them, waiting until you come,

or run back after you when I have given them their orders well?"

Then Agamemnon, lord of men, addressed him in turn:

"Stay there, lest somehow we two miss one another

as we go; for many are the paths throughout the camp.

Call out wherever you go, and bid them keep awake,

naming him by his father's line and by his lineage,

honoring them all; do not be proud in your heart,

but let us labor ourselves as well; for so it was upon us

that Zeus laid heavy hardship from the hour of our birth."

So he spoke and sent his brother away, giving him good instructions;

and he went on to Nestor, shepherd of the people.

He found him beside his hut and black ship,

in a soft bed; and beside him his richly wrought armor lay:

his shield and two spears and shining helmet.

Beside him lay the gleaming belt with which the old man

would gird himself whenever he armed for man-destroying war

and led his people, since he did not yield to grievous age.

Rising upon his elbow and lifting his head,

he addressed the son of Atreus and questioned him:

"Who are you, walking alone through the camp beside the ships

through the dark night, when other mortals sleep?

Are you searching for one of the mules, or for a companion?

Speak, and do not come toward me in silence. What need brings you?"

Then Agamemnon, lord of men, answered him:

"Nestor, son of Neleus, great glory of the Achaeans,

you will recognize Atreus' son Agamemnon, whom above all

Zeus has thrust continually amid labors, for as long as breath

remains in my breast and strength rises in my dear knees.

I wander so because sweet sleep does not settle

upon my eyes, but war and the cares of the Achaeans trouble me.

For I fear terribly for the Danaans, and my heart

is not steady, but I am distraught; my heart leaps

out of my chest, and my shining limbs tremble beneath me.

But if you can do anything, since sleep does not reach you either,

come, let us go down to the guards, so that we may see

whether, worn down by toil and sleep,

they have lain down and utterly forgotten their watch.

The enemy men sit nearby, and we do not know

whether they may be eager to fight even through the night."

Then Nestor, the Gerenian horseman, answered him:

"Son of Atreus, most glorious, Agamemnon, lord of men,

Zeus the counselor will surely not fulfill for Hector all the plans

he now hopes for. Rather, I think he

will labor amid still more troubles, if Achilles

turns his own heart away from bitter anger.

I will gladly follow you; and let us also wake the others:

the son of Tydeus, famed with the spear, and Odysseus,

and swift Ajax, son of Oileus, and the valiant son of Phyleus.