# The Iliad, Book 16: Patroclus Arms: The Deaths of Sarpedon and Patroclus

Ἰλιάς · Homer · The Patrocleia

Patroclus goes out in Achilles' armor, drives the Trojans back and kills Sarpedon. Hector kills him under the walls of Troy.

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/16. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/16.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/iliad/<line id>.m4a.

**1** ὣς οἳ μὲν περὶ νηὸς ἐϋσσέλμοιο μάχοντο·  
So they fought around the well-benched ship;

**2** Πάτροκλος δʼ Ἀχιλῆϊ παρίστατο ποιμένι λαῶν  
but Patroclus stood beside Achilles, shepherd of the people,

**3** δάκρυα θερμὰ χέων ὥς τε κρήνη μελάνυδρος,  
pouring hot tears like a dark-flowing spring
> A spring of dark water: The compound μελάνυδρος joins ‘dark’ and ‘water.’ Patroclus' tears become a continuous mountain flow, not a single burst of weeping.

**4** ἥ τε κατʼ αἰγίλιπος πέτρης δνοφερὸν χέει ὕδωρ.  
that pours its dusky water down a sheer rock face.

**5** τὸν δὲ ἰδὼν ᾤκτιρε ποδάρκης δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,  
Seeing him, swift-footed godlike Achilles pitied him,

**6** καί μιν φωνήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
and speaking to him, he addressed him with winged words:

**7** τίπτε δεδάκρυσαι Πατρόκλεες, ἠΰτε κούρη  
"Why are you weeping, Patroclus, like a little girl

**8** νηπίη, ἥ θʼ ἅμα μητρὶ θέουσʼ ἀνελέσθαι ἀνώγει  
who runs beside her mother and bids her lift her,
> The child urges her mother: The infinitive ἀνελέσθαι completes the child's command: she tells her mother to lift her. Homer gives Achilles an unexpectedly domestic image for Patroclus' grief.

**9** εἱανοῦ ἁπτομένη, καί τʼ ἐσσυμένην κατερύκει,  
clutching her dress, and holds her back as she hurries,

**10** δακρυόεσσα δέ μιν ποτιδέρκεται, ὄφρʼ ἀνέληται·  
and tearfully looks up at her until she lifts her?

**11** τῇ ἴκελος Πάτροκλε τέρεν κατὰ δάκρυον εἴβεις.  
Like her, Patroclus, you let fall a tender tear.

**12** ἠέ τι Μυρμιδόνεσσι πιφαύσκεαι, ἢ ἐμοὶ αὐτῷ,  
Is there something you would tell the Myrmidons, or me myself?

**13** ἦέ τινʼ ἀγγελίην Φθίης ἐξέκλυες οἶος;  
Or have you alone heard some message from Phthia?

**14** ζώειν μὰν ἔτι φασὶ Μενοίτιον Ἄκτορος υἱόν,  
They say Menoetius, son of Actor, is still alive,

**15** ζώει δʼ Αἰακίδης Πηλεὺς μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσι;  
and Peleus, son of Aeacus, lives among the Myrmidons;

**16** τῶν κε μάλʼ ἀμφοτέρων ἀκαχοίμεθα τεθνηώτων.  
we would grieve deeply if both of them were dead.

**17** ἦε σύ γʼ Ἀργείων ὀλοφύρεαι, ὡς ὀλέκονται  
Or do you mourn the Argives, because they are dying

**18** νηυσὶν ἔπι γλαφυρῇσιν ὑπερβασίης ἕνεκα σφῆς;  
at the hollow ships through their own transgression?
> A ruin of their own making: ὑπερβασίη is an overstepping of right limits. Achilles still frames the Achaeans' suffering as the consequence of the outrage done to his honor.

**19** ἐξαύδα, μὴ κεῦθε νόῳ, ἵνα εἴδομεν ἄμφω.  
Speak out, do not hide it in your mind, so that we both may know."

**20** τὸν δὲ βαρὺ στενάχων προσέφης Πατρόκλεες ἱππεῦ·  
Then, groaning heavily, you answered, Patroclus the horseman:
> The narrator turns to Patroclus: The verb προσέφης is second-person singular. Homer briefly addresses Patroclus directly, lending solemn intimacy to the plea that will bring about his death.

**21** ὦ Ἀχιλεῦ Πηλῆος υἱὲ μέγα φέρτατʼ Ἀχαιῶν  
"Achilles, son of Peleus, far greatest of the Achaeans,

**22** μὴ νεμέσα· τοῖον γὰρ ἄχος βεβίηκεν Ἀχαιούς.  
do not be angry; for such grief has overwhelmed the Achaeans.

**23** οἳ μὲν γὰρ δὴ πάντες, ὅσοι πάρος ἦσαν ἄριστοι,  
For all those who before were best

**24** ἐν νηυσὶν κέαται βεβλημένοι οὐτάμενοί τε.  
lie in the ships, struck and wounded.
> Two kinds of injury: βεβλημένοι and οὐτάμενοι distinguish men hit by missiles from men stabbed at close quarters. The paired participles gather the army's foremost wounded leaders into one grim picture.

**25** βέβληται μὲν ὃ Τυδεΐδης κρατερὸς Διομήδης,  
Mighty Diomedes, son of Tydeus, has been struck,

**26** οὔτασται δʼ Ὀδυσεὺς δουρικλυτὸς ἠδʼ Ἀγαμέμνων,  
and Odysseus, famed with the spear, and Agamemnon have been wounded;

**27** βέβληται δὲ καὶ Εὐρύπυλος κατὰ μηρὸν ὀϊστῷ.  
Eurypylus too has been struck in the thigh by an arrow;

**28** τοὺς μέν τʼ ἰητροὶ πολυφάρμακοι ἀμφιπένονται  
healers skilled in many remedies attend to them,
> Many-remedied healers: πολυφάρμακοι praises the healers' command of many drugs and treatments. Their work here is to tend the wounded and close their injuries, not to return them immediately to battle.

**29** ἕλκεʼ ἀκειόμενοι· σὺ δʼ ἀμήχανος ἔπλευ Ἀχιλλεῦ.  
healing their wounds; but you have become helpless, Achilles.

**30** μὴ ἐμέ γʼ οὖν οὗτός γε λάβοι χόλος, ὃν σὺ φυλάσσεις  
May this anger you nurse never take hold of me,

**31** αἰναρέτη· τί σευ ἄλλος ὀνήσεται ὀψίγονός περ  
dreadful in valor. What good will you be to any man born later,
> Praise turned into blame: αἰναρέτη combines an adjective of dread with ἀρετή, heroic excellence. In Patroclus' mouth the address is bitter: Achilles' surpassing valor helps no one while he withholds it.

**32** αἴ κε μὴ Ἀργείοισιν ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀμύνῃς;  
if you do not ward shameful ruin from the Argives?

**33** νηλεές, οὐκ ἄρα σοί γε πατὴρ ἦν ἱππότα Πηλεύς,  
Pitiless man, Peleus the horseman was not your father,

**34** οὐδὲ Θέτις μήτηρ· γλαυκὴ δέ σε τίκτε θάλασσα  
nor Thetis your mother; the gray sea bore you,

**35** πέτραι τʼ ἠλίβατοι, ὅτι τοι νόος ἐστὶν ἀπηνής.  
and the towering rocks, since your mind is harsh.

**36** εἰ δέ τινα φρεσὶ σῇσι θεοπροπίην ἀλεείνεις  
But if in your heart you are avoiding some prophecy,
> A divine warning withheld: θεοπροπίη is a declaration from a god. Patroclus allows that Achilles may be holding back because of a warning he cannot disclose, then offers to act in his place.

**37** καί τινά τοι πὰρ Ζηνὸς ἐπέφραδε πότνια μήτηρ,  
and your queenly mother has told you something from Zeus,

**38** ἀλλʼ ἐμέ περ πρόες ὦχʼ, ἃμα δʼ ἄλλον λαὸν ὄπασσον  
then at least send me swiftly, and give me another host to lead—

**39** Μυρμιδόνων, ἤν πού τι φόως Δαναοῖσι γένωμαι.  
the Myrmidons—in hope I may become some light for the Danaans.

**40** δὸς δέ μοι ὤμοιιν τὰ σὰ τεύχεα θωρηχθῆναι,  
Give me your armor to wear upon my shoulders,

**41** αἴ κʼ ἐμὲ σοὶ ἴσκοντες ἀπόσχωνται πολέμοιο  
so that the Trojans, mistaking me for you, may hold back from battle,

**42** Τρῶες, ἀναπνεύσωσι δʼ Ἀρήϊοι υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
and the warlike sons of the Achaeans may breathe again

**43** τειρόμενοι· ὀλίγη δέ τʼ ἀνάπνευσις πολέμοιο.  
in their exhaustion; brief indeed is any breathing-space in war.
> A moment to breathe: ἀνάπνευσις is literally a breathing again. Patroclus asks only for the small respite that fresh troops can give exhausted fighters.

**44** ῥεῖα δέ κʼ ἀκμῆτες κεκμηότας ἄνδρας ἀϋτῇ  
Then easily, fresh as you are, with the battle-cry you could drive tired men

**45** ὤσαιμεν προτὶ ἄστυ νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων.  
toward the city, away from the ships and shelters."

**46** ὣς φάτο λισσόμενος μέγα νήπιος· ἦ γὰρ ἔμελλεν  
So he spoke in supplication, great fool; for he was destined
> The narrator knows the end: μέγα νήπιος marks one who does not understand what his request will bring. The narrator's judgment interrupts the plea with foreknowledge of Patroclus' death.

**47** οἷ αὐτῷ θάνατόν τε κακὸν καὶ κῆρα λιτέσθαι.  
to beg evil death and doom upon himself.

**48** τὸν δὲ μέγʼ ὀχθήσας προσέφη πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς·  
Greatly troubled, swift-footed Achilles answered him:

**49** ὤ μοι διογενὲς Πατρόκλεες οἷον ἔειπες·  
"Ah, Patroclus, sprung from Zeus, what a thing you have said!
> A heroic address: διογενές is the inherited vocative epithet ‘sprung from Zeus.’ It marks Patroclus' heroic standing without claiming that Zeus is his literal father.

**50** οὔτε θεοπροπίης ἐμπάζομαι ἥν τινα οἶδα,  
I heed no prophecy that I know,

**51** οὔτέ τί μοι πὰρ Ζηνὸς ἐπέφραδε πότνια μήτηρ·  
nor has my queenly mother told me anything from Zeus.

**52** ἀλλὰ τόδʼ αἰνὸν ἄχος κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἱκάνει,  
But this dread grief reaches my heart and spirit:

**53** ὁππότε δὴ τὸν ὁμοῖον ἀνὴρ ἐθέλῃσιν ἀμέρσαι  
whenever a man is willing to rob his equal

**54** καὶ γέρας ἂψ ἀφελέσθαι, ὅ τε κράτεϊ προβεβήκῃ·  
and strip him of his prize, because he surpasses him in power.

**55** αἰνὸν ἄχος τό μοί ἐστιν, ἐπεὶ πάθον ἄλγεα θυμῷ.  
That is dread grief to me, since I have suffered pain in my heart.

**56** κούρην ἣν ἄρα μοι γέρας ἔξελον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν,  
The girl whom the sons of the Achaeans chose out as my prize,

**57** δουρὶ δʼ ἐμῷ κτεάτισσα πόλιν εὐτείχεα πέρσας,  
whom I won with my own spear when I sacked a well-walled city,

**58** τὴν ἂψ ἐκ χειρῶν ἕλετο κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
the lord Agamemnon took away from my hands,

**59** Ἀτρεΐδης ὡς εἴ τινʼ ἀτίμητον μετανάστην.  
as though I were some dishonored wanderer from abroad.

**60** ἀλλὰ τὰ μὲν προτετύχθαι ἐάσομεν· οὐδʼ ἄρα πως ἦν  
But we shall let those things be past; somehow it was not possible

**61** ἀσπερχὲς κεχολῶσθαι ἐνὶ φρεσίν· ἤτοι ἔφην γε  
to stay relentlessly angry in my heart. Yet I said

**62** οὐ πρὶν μηνιθμὸν καταπαυσέμεν, ἀλλʼ ὁπότʼ ἂν δὴ  
I would not end my wrath before

**63** νῆας ἐμὰς ἀφίκηται ἀϋτή τε πτόλεμός τε.  
the battle-cry and war reached my own ships.

**64** τύνη δʼ ὤμοιιν μὲν ἐμὰ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δῦθι,  
So put my famous armor upon your shoulders,

**65** ἄρχε δὲ Μυρμιδόνεσσι φιλοπτολέμοισι μάχεσθαι,  
and lead the battle-loving Myrmidons to war,

**66** εἰ δὴ κυάνεον Τρώων νέφος ἀμφιβέβηκε  
if indeed the dark cloud of Trojans has closed around
> An army as storm-cloud: The dark mass of Trojans is pictured as a κυάνεον νέφος, a blue-black cloud. It has closed around the ships as though blotting out the defenders' last light.

**67** νηυσὶν ἐπικρατέως, οἳ δὲ ῥηγμῖνι θαλάσσης  
the ships in force, while the Argives lean against the sea's breaking surf,

**68** κεκλίαται, χώρης ὀλίγην ἔτι μοῖραν ἔχοντες  
holding only a small share of ground,

**69** Ἀργεῖοι, Τρώων δὲ πόλις ἐπὶ πᾶσα βέβηκε  
and the whole city of the Trojans has come on

**70** θάρσυνος· οὐ γὰρ ἐμῆς κόρυθος λεύσσουσι μέτωπον  
boldly. For they do not see the brow of my helmet

**71** ἐγγύθι λαμπομένης· τάχα κεν φεύγοντες ἐναύλους  
blazing near them; soon in flight they would fill the gullies

**72** πλήσειαν νεκύων, εἴ μοι κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
with their dead, if the lord Agamemnon knew how to treat me kindly;

**73** ἤπια εἰδείη· νῦν δὲ στρατὸν ἀμφιμάχονται.  
but now they are fighting all around the camp.

**74** οὐ γὰρ Τυδεΐδεω Διομήδεος ἐν παλάμῃσι  
For in the hands of Diomedes, son of Tydeus, the spear

**75** μαίνεται ἐγχείη Δαναῶν ἀπὸ λοιγὸν ἀμῦναι·  
does not rage to ward ruin from the Danaans;

**76** οὐδέ πω Ἀτρεΐδεω ὀπὸς ἔκλυον αὐδήσαντος  
nor have I yet heard the voice of Atreus' son shouting

**77** ἐχθρῆς ἐκ κεφαλῆς· ἀλλʼ Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο  
from his hated head; but the voice of man-slaying Hector

**78** Τρωσὶ κελεύοντος περιάγνυται, οἳ δʼ ἀλαλητῷ  
breaks all around as he commands the Trojans, and with their war-cry

**79** πᾶν πεδίον κατέχουσι μάχῃ νικῶντες Ἀχαιούς.  
they hold the whole plain, defeating the Achaeans in battle.

**80** ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧς Πάτροκλε νεῶν ἄπο λοιγὸν ἀμύνων  
Even so, Patroclus, fall on fiercely and ward ruin from the ships,

**81** ἔμπεσʼ ἐπικρατέως, μὴ δὴ πυρὸς αἰθομένοιο  
lest with blazing fire they burn

**82** νῆας ἐνιπρήσωσι, φίλον δʼ ἀπὸ νόστον ἕλωνται.  
the ships and rob us of our dear homecoming.

**83** πείθεο δʼ ὥς τοι ἐγὼ μύθου τέλος ἐν φρεσὶ θείω,  
But obey as I set the sum of my command in your heart,
> Achilles sets a binding limit: Here ὥς means ‘as’ and τέλος is the sum or full scope of Achilles' command. The true purpose construction begins in the next line with ὡς ἄν: Patroclus must save the ships, win back Achilles' honor, and then stop.

**84** ὡς ἄν μοι τιμὴν μεγάλην καὶ κῦδος ἄρηαι  
that you may win great honor and glory for me

**85** πρὸς πάντων Δαναῶν, ἀτὰρ οἳ περικαλλέα κούρην  
from all the Danaans, and they may send the lovely girl

**86** ἂψ ἀπονάσσωσιν, ποτὶ δʼ ἀγλαὰ δῶρα πόρωσιν.  
back to me, and give splendid gifts besides.

**87** ἐκ νηῶν ἐλάσας ἰέναι πάλιν· εἰ δέ κεν αὖ τοι  
Once you have driven them from the ships, come back. And if

**88** δώῃ κῦδος ἀρέσθαι ἐρίγδουπος πόσις Ἥρης,  
loud-thundering Zeus, husband of Hera, grants you glory,

**89** μὴ σύ γʼ ἄνευθεν ἐμεῖο λιλαίεσθαι πολεμίζειν  
do not long to fight on without me

**90** Τρωσὶ φιλοπτολέμοισιν· ἀτιμότερον δέ με θήσεις·  
against the battle-loving Trojans; you will make me less honored.

**91** μὴ δʼ ἐπαγαλλόμενος πολέμῳ καὶ δηϊοτῆτι  
And do not, exulting in war and combat,

**92** Τρῶας ἐναιρόμενος προτὶ Ἴλιον ἡγεμονεύειν,  
lead on toward Ilion as you slaughter Trojans,

**93** μή τις ἀπʼ Οὐλύμποιο θεῶν αἰειγενετάων  
lest one of the ever-living gods come down from Olympus

**94** ἐμβήῃ· μάλα τούς γε φιλεῖ ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων·  
and enter the fight; the far-worker Apollo loves them greatly.

**95** ἀλλὰ πάλιν τρωπᾶσθαι, ἐπὴν φάος ἐν νήεσσι  
Turn back instead, once you have made light among the ships,

**96** θήῃς, τοὺς δʼ ἔτʼ ἐᾶν πεδίον κάτα δηριάασθαι.  
and leave the others still to struggle across the plain.

**97** αἲ γὰρ Ζεῦ τε πάτερ καὶ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἄπολλον  
Would that, father Zeus, and Athena, and Apollo,
> An impossible wish: The wish continues through line 100: Achilles imagines every Trojan and every Argive dead, leaving only himself and Patroclus alive. Its extremity exposes both his isolation and the possessive bond behind his command.

**98** μήτέ τις οὖν Τρώων θάνατον φύγοι ὅσσοι ἔασι,  
not one of all the Trojans might escape death,

**99** μήτέ τις Ἀργείων, νῶϊν δʼ ἐκδῦμεν ὄλεθρον,  
nor one of the Argives, but that we two might emerge from destruction,

**100** ὄφρʼ οἶοι Τροίης ἱερὰ κρήδεμνα λύωμεν.  
so that we alone might loosen Troy's sacred veil."
> The city's sacred headband: κρήδεμνα are a woman's head-covering or veil, transferred here to Troy's walls and defenses. Achilles imagines the two friends stripping away the city's sacred crown together.

**101** ὣς οἳ μὲν τοιαῦτα πρὸς ἀλλήλους ἀγόρευον,  
So they spoke such words to one another,

**102** Αἴας δʼ οὐκ ἔτʼ ἔμιμνε· βιάζετο γὰρ βελέεσσι·  
but Ajax could hold no longer, for he was overpowered by missiles;

**103** δάμνα μιν Ζηνός τε νόος καὶ Τρῶες ἀγαυοὶ  
the will of Zeus and the proud Trojans wore him down

**104** βάλλοντες· δεινὴν δὲ περὶ κροτάφοισι φαεινὴ  
with their blows; about his temples the bright helmet rang
> The helmet under fire: The Greek locates the din around Ajax's temples: Trojan missiles keep striking the helmet and its cheek-pieces. The detail makes his retreat a bodily ordeal rather than a sudden failure of courage.

**105** πήληξ βαλλομένη καναχὴν ἔχε, βάλλετο δʼ αἰεὶ  
dreadfully as it was struck, and blow after blow fell

**106** κὰπ φάλαρʼ εὐποίηθʼ· ὃ δʼ ἀριστερὸν ὦμον ἔκαμνεν  
upon its well-made cheek-pieces; his left shoulder tired

**107** ἔμπεδον αἰὲν ἔχων σάκος αἰόλον· οὐδὲ δύναντο  
from holding his flashing shield forever firm, yet they could not

**108** ἀμφʼ αὐτῷ πελεμίξαι ἐρείδοντες βελέεσσιν.  
shake it from around him, though they pressed him with missiles.

**109** αἰεὶ δʼ ἀργαλέῳ ἔχετʼ ἄσθματι, κὰδ δέ οἱ ἱδρὼς  
Always he labored for breath, and heavy sweat streamed

**110** πάντοθεν ἐκ μελέων πολὺς ἔρρεεν, οὐδέ πῃ εἶχεν  
from every limb; nowhere could he find a way

**111** ἀμπνεῦσαι· πάντῃ δὲ κακὸν κακῷ ἐστήρικτο.  
to breathe, for on every side evil was heaped on evil.

**112** ἔσπετε νῦν μοι Μοῦσαι Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχουσαι,  
Tell me now, Muses, who hold your homes on Olympus —

**113** ὅππως δὴ πρῶτον πῦρ ἔμπεσε νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν.  
how fire first fell upon the ships of the Achaeans.

**114** Ἕκτωρ Αἴαντος δόρυ μείλινον ἄγχι παραστὰς  
Hector came close and struck Ajax's ash-wood spear

**115** πλῆξʼ ἄορι μεγάλῳ αἰχμῆς παρὰ καυλὸν ὄπισθεν,  
with his great sword, behind the point at the end of the socket,

**116** ἀντικρὺ δʼ ἀπάραξε· τὸ μὲν Τελαμώνιος Αἴας  
and sheared it clean away. Then Telamonian Ajax

**117** πῆλʼ αὔτως ἐν χειρὶ κόλον δόρυ, τῆλε δʼ ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ  
brandished a headless spear uselessly in his hand, while far from him

**118** αἰχμὴ χαλκείη χαμάδις βόμβησε πεσοῦσα.  
the bronze point fell to the ground with a ringing hum.

**119** γνῶ δʼ Αἴας κατὰ θυμὸν ἀμύμονα ῥίγησέν τε  
Ajax knew in his noble heart and shuddered at

**120** ἔργα θεῶν, ὅ ῥα πάγχυ μάχης ἐπὶ μήδεα κεῖρε  
the work of the gods: Zeus had utterly cut short his plans for battle,

**121** Ζεὺς ὑψιβρεμέτης, Τρώεσσι δὲ βούλετο νίκην·  
Zeus who thunders on high, and willed victory for the Trojans.

**122** χάζετο δʼ ἐκ βελέων. τοὶ δʼ ἔμβαλον ἀκάματον πῦρ  
Ajax withdrew beyond the missiles. Then they cast untiring fire

**123** νηῒ θοῇ· τῆς δʼ αἶψα κατʼ ἀσβέστη κέχυτο φλόξ.  
upon the swift ship, and at once an unquenchable flame streamed over it.

**124** ὣς τὴν μὲν πρυμνὴν πῦρ ἄμφεπεν· αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς  
So fire engulfed the stern; but Achilles

**125** μηρὼ πληξάμενος Πατροκλῆα προσέειπεν·  
struck both thighs with his hands and called to Patroclus:

**126** ὄρσεο διογενὲς Πατρόκλεες ἱπποκέλευθε·  
Up, Patroclus, sprung from Zeus, driver of horses!
> Patroclus the horseman: Achilles addresses Patroclus with a chariot-warrior's title. It anticipates the team and driver that will carry him into battle, while “sprung from Zeus” preserves his separate standing honorific.

**127** λεύσσω δὴ παρὰ νηυσὶ πυρὸς δηΐοιο ἰωήν·  
I see beside the ships the rush of devouring fire.

**128** μὴ δὴ νῆας ἕλωσι καὶ οὐκέτι φυκτὰ πέλωνται·  
They must not seize the ships and leave us no escape.

**129** δύσεο τεύχεα θᾶσσον, ἐγὼ δέ κε λαὸν ἀγείρω.  
Put on the armor quickly, while I gather the men.

**130** ὣς φάτο, Πάτροκλος δὲ κορύσσετο νώροπι χαλκῷ.  
So he spoke, and Patroclus armed himself in flashing bronze.

**131** κνημῖδας μὲν πρῶτα περὶ κνήμῃσιν ἔθηκε  
First he set greaves about his shins,

**132** καλάς, ἀργυρέοισιν ἐπισφυρίοις ἀραρυίας·  
fine ones, fitted with silver ankle-pieces;

**133** δεύτερον αὖ θώρηκα περὶ στήθεσσιν ἔδυνε  
next he put the corselet about his chest,

**134** ποικίλον ἀστερόεντα ποδώκεος Αἰακίδαο.  
richly wrought and starry, belonging to the swift-footed son of Aeacus.

**135** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ ὤμοισιν βάλετο ξίφος ἀργυρόηλον  
And about his shoulders he slung his silver-studded sword;

**136** χάλκεον, αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα σάκος μέγα τε στιβαρόν τε·  
of bronze, and then his shield, great and heavy;

**137** κρατὶ δʼ ἐπʼ ἰφθίμῳ κυνέην εὔτυκτον ἔθηκεν  
and upon his strong head he set a well-made helmet

**138** ἵππουριν· δεινὸν δὲ λόφος καθύπερθεν ἔνευεν.  
with a horsehair crest; and terribly the plume nodded above it;

**139** εἵλετο δʼ ἄλκιμα δοῦρε, τά οἱ παλάμηφιν ἀρήρει.  
and he took two mighty spears that fitted his hands.

**140** ἔγχος δʼ οὐχ ἕλετʼ οἶον ἀμύμονος Αἰακίδαο  
Only the spear of the blameless son of Aeacus he did not take,

**141** βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρόν· τὸ μὲν οὐ δύνατʼ ἄλλος Ἀχαιῶν  
heavy, great, and stout; no other Achaean could

**142** πάλλειν, ἀλλά μιν οἶος ἐπίστατο πῆλαι Ἀχιλλεὺς  
brandish it, but Achilles alone knew how to wield it—

**143** Πηλιάδα μελίην, τὴν πατρὶ φίλῳ πόρε Χείρων  
the Pelian ash spear that Chiron gave his dear father

**144** Πηλίου ἐκ κορυφῆς, φόνον ἔμμεναι ἡρώεσσιν.  
from Pelion's summit, to bring death to heroes.

**145** ἵππους δʼ Αὐτομέδοντα θοῶς ζευγνῦμεν ἄνωγε,  
Patroclus ordered Automedon swiftly to yoke the horses,

**146** τὸν μετʼ Ἀχιλλῆα ῥηξήνορα τῖε μάλιστα,  
the man he honored most after Achilles, breaker of men,

**147** πιστότατος δέ οἱ ἔσκε μάχῃ ἔνι μεῖναι ὁμοκλήν.  
and trusted most to stand firm at his battle-call.

**148** τῷ δὲ καὶ Αὐτομέδων ὕπαγε ζυγὸν ὠκέας ἵππους  
For him Automedon brought the swift horses beneath the yoke,

**149** Ξάνθον καὶ Βαλίον, τὼ ἅμα πνοιῇσι πετέσθην,  
Xanthus and Balius, who flew abreast with the winds,

**150** τοὺς ἔτεκε Ζεφύρῳ ἀνέμῳ Ἅρπυια Ποδάργη  
whom the Harpy Podarge bore to the West Wind

**151** βοσκομένη λειμῶνι παρὰ ῥόον Ὠκεανοῖο.  
as she grazed in a meadow beside the stream of Oceanus.

**152** ἐν δὲ παρηορίῃσιν ἀμύμονα Πήδασον ἵει,  
In the side traces he set blameless Pedasus,

**153** τόν ῥά ποτʼ Ἠετίωνος ἑλὼν πόλιν ἤγαγʼ Ἀχιλλεύς,  
whom Achilles once took when he captured Eetion's city,

**154** ὃς καὶ θνητὸς ἐὼν ἕπεθʼ ἵπποις ἀθανάτοισι.  
and though he was mortal, he kept pace with the immortal horses.

**155** Μυρμιδόνας δʼ ἄρʼ ἐποιχόμενος θώρηξεν Ἀχιλλεὺς  
Meanwhile Achilles went among the huts and armed the Myrmidons,

**156** πάντας ἀνὰ κλισίας σὺν τεύχεσιν· οἳ δὲ λύκοι ὣς  
all of them with their war gear; and like wolves

**157** ὠμοφάγοι, τοῖσίν τε περὶ φρεσὶν ἄσπετος ἀλκή,  
that devour raw flesh, with boundless courage in their hearts,

**158** οἵ τʼ ἔλαφον κεραὸν μέγαν οὔρεσι δῃώσαντες  
who have killed a great antlered stag in the mountains

**159** δάπτουσιν· πᾶσιν δὲ παρήϊον αἵματι φοινόν·  
and tear it apart, the cheeks of all made red with blood;

**160** καί τʼ ἀγεληδὸν ἴασιν ἀπὸ κρήνης μελανύδρου  
then in a pack they go to a dark-flowing spring,

**161** λάψοντες γλώσσῃσιν ἀραιῇσιν μέλαν ὕδωρ  
lapping the dark water with their slender tongues,

**162** ἄκρον ἐρευγόμενοι φόνον αἵματος· ἐν δέ τε θυμὸς  
belching up the gore of blood; and the heart within them
> The wolves after slaughter: The image does not soften the wolves' feeding: blood and slaughter still rise from them as they drink. That physical excess prepares for the Myrmidons' own pent-up violence.

**163** στήθεσιν ἄτρομός ἐστι, περιστένεται δέ τε γαστήρ·  
is fearless in their breasts, while their bellies groan with fullness—

**164** τοῖοι Μυρμιδόνων ἡγήτορες ἠδὲ μέδοντες  
so the leaders and rulers of the Myrmidons

**165** ἀμφʼ ἀγαθὸν θεράποντα ποδώκεος Αἰακίδαο  
surged around the good attendant of the swift-footed son of Aeacus;

**166** ῥώοντʼ· ἐν δʼ ἄρα τοῖσιν ἀρήϊος ἵστατʼ Ἀχιλλεύς,  
and among them stood warlike Achilles,

**167** ὀτρύνων ἵππους τε καὶ ἀνέρας ἀσπιδιώτας.  
urging on both the horses and the shield-bearing men.

**168** πεντήκοντʼ ἦσαν νῆες θοαί, ᾗσιν Ἀχιλλεὺς  
There were fifty swift ships in which Achilles,

**169** ἐς Τροίην ἡγεῖτο Διῒ φίλος· ἐν δὲ ἑκάστῃ  
dear to Zeus, led his men to Troy; and in each

**170** πεντήκοντʼ ἔσαν ἄνδρες ἐπὶ κληῗσιν ἑταῖροι·  
were fifty companions at the oarlocks.

**171** πέντε δʼ ἄρʼ ἡγεμόνας ποιήσατο τοῖς ἐπεποίθει  
He had made five commanders whom he trusted

**172** σημαίνειν· αὐτὸς δὲ μέγα κρατέων ἤνασσε.  
to give orders, while he himself ruled supreme over all.

**173** τῆς μὲν ἰῆς στιχὸς ἦρχε Μενέσθιος αἰολοθώρηξ  
The first company was led by Menesthius of the flashing corselet,

**174** υἱὸς Σπερχειοῖο διιπετέος ποταμοῖο·  
son of the heaven-fed river Spercheius.
> A river nourished from heaven: The epithet presents the Spercheius as fed by rain descending from Zeus's sky. Homer also treats the river as a god capable of fathering Menesthius.

**175** ὃν τέκε Πηλῆος θυγάτηρ καλὴ Πολυδώρη  
Beautiful Polydora, Peleus' daughter, bore him

**176** Σπερχειῷ ἀκάμαντι γυνὴ θεῷ εὐνηθεῖσα,  
to the tireless Spercheius, a woman bedded by a god,

**177** αὐτὰρ ἐπίκλησιν Βώρῳ Περιήρεος υἷι,  
but by public naming he was the son of Borus, son of Perieres,

**178** ὅς ῥʼ ἀναφανδὸν ὄπυιε πορὼν ἀπερείσια ἕδνα.  
who openly married her after giving countless bride-gifts.

**179** τῆς δʼ ἑτέρης Εὔδωρος ἀρήϊος ἡγεμόνευε  
The second company was led by warlike Eudorus,

**180** παρθένιος, τὸν ἔτικτε χορῷ καλὴ Πολυμήλη  
born to an unmarried girl, whom lovely Polymele, fair in the dance, bore,

**181** Φύλαντος θυγάτηρ· τῆς δὲ κρατὺς ἀργεϊφόντης  
the daughter of Phylas; the mighty slayer of Argus
> Hermes by his deed: Homer identifies Hermes through his standing title as the killer of the many-eyed watcher Argus. The god's personal name appears a few lines later, after the audience has already recognized him.

**182** ἠράσατʼ, ὀφθαλμοῖσιν ἰδὼν μετὰ μελπομένῃσιν  
desired her when he saw her with his eyes among the dancers

**183** ἐν χορῷ Ἀρτέμιδος χρυσηλακάτου κελαδεινῆς.  
in the dance of loud-sounding Artemis of the golden arrows.

**184** αὐτίκα δʼ εἰς ὑπερῷʼ ἀναβὰς παρελέξατο λάθρῃ  
At once he went up to the upper chamber and lay beside her in secret—

**185** Ἑρμείας ἀκάκητα, πόρεν δέ οἱ ἀγλαὸν υἱὸν  
Hermes the kindly one—and gave her a glorious son,

**186** Εὔδωρον πέρι μὲν θείειν ταχὺν ἠδὲ μαχητήν.  
Eudorus, surpassingly swift to run and a fighter.

**187** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ τόν γε μογοστόκος Εἰλείθυια  
But when Eileithyia, bringer of labor pains,

**188** ἐξάγαγε πρὸ φόως δὲ καὶ ἠελίου ἴδεν αὐγάς,  
brought him out into the light and he saw the sun's rays,

**189** τὴν μὲν Ἐχεκλῆος κρατερὸν μένος Ἀκτορίδαο  
the mighty strength of Echecles, son of Actor,

**190** ἠγάγετο πρὸς δώματʼ, ἐπεὶ πόρε μυρία ἕδνα,  
took Polymele to his house after giving countless bride-gifts,

**191** τὸν δʼ ὃ γέρων Φύλας εὖ ἔτρεφεν ἠδʼ ἀτίταλλεν  
while old Phylas raised the boy well and cherished him,

**192** ἀμφαγαπαζόμενος ὡς εἴ θʼ ἑὸν υἱὸν ἐόντα.  
embracing him with love as though he were his own son.

**193** τῆς δὲ τρίτης Πείσανδρος ἀρήϊος ἡγεμόνευε  
The third company was led by warlike Peisander,

**194** Μαιμαλίδης, ὃς πᾶσι μετέπρεπε Μυρμιδόνεσσιν  
son of Maemalus, who surpassed all the Myrmidons

**195** ἔγχεϊ μάρνασθαι μετὰ Πηλεΐωνος ἑταῖρον.  
in fighting with the spear, after the companion of Peleus' son.

**196** τῆς δὲ τετάρτης ἦρχε γέρων ἱππηλάτα Φοῖνιξ,  
The fourth company was led by Phoenix, the old horseman,

**197** πέμπτης δʼ Ἀλκιμέδων Λαέρκεος υἱὸς ἀμύμων.  
and the fifth by blameless Alcimedon, son of Laerces.

**198** αὐτὰρ ἐπεὶ δὴ πάντας ἅμʼ ἡγεμόνεσσιν Ἀχιλλεὺς  
But when all the men and captains were together, Achilles

**199** στῆσεν ἐῢ κρίνας, κρατερὸν δʼ ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλε·  
stationed them in order, laying on them a stern command:
> A binding command: The recurring phrase κρατερὸν δʼ ἐπὶ μῦθον ἔτελλε presents a leader's order as something laid upon his men. The English follows the established wording for this formula.

**200** Μυρμιδόνες μή τίς μοι ἀπειλάων λελαθέσθω,  
"Myrmidons, let no one forget the threats you made for me,

**201** ἃς ἐπὶ νηυσὶ θοῇσιν ἀπειλεῖτε Τρώεσσι  
all those you hurled at the Trojans beside the swift ships

**202** πάνθʼ ὑπὸ μηνιθμόν, καί μʼ ᾐτιάασθε ἕκαστος·  
throughout my wrath, while each of you blamed me:

**203** σχέτλιε Πηλέος υἱὲ χόλῳ ἄρα σʼ ἔτρεφε μήτηρ,  
'Cruel son of Peleus, your mother must have nursed you on gall,
> Anger as bitter gall: χόλος can mean both bitter gall and anger. The Myrmidons turn Achilles' wrath into the bitter substance on which his mother supposedly raised him.

**204** νηλεές, ὃς παρὰ νηυσὶν ἔχεις ἀέκοντας ἑταίρους·  
pitiless man, who keep your unwilling companions beside the ships.

**205** οἴκαδέ περ σὺν νηυσὶ νεώμεθα ποντοπόροισιν  
Let us sail home again with our seafaring ships,

**206** αὖτις, ἐπεί ῥά τοι ὧδε κακὸς χόλος ἔμπεσε θυμῷ.  
since such evil anger has fallen upon your heart.'

**207** ταῦτά μʼ ἀγειρόμενοι θάμʼ ἐβάζετε· νῦν δὲ πέφανται  
Gathering together, you would often say these things to me; but now appears
> A repeated complaint: The imperfect ἐβάζετε with θάμα describes what the Myrmidons repeatedly used to say during Achilles' withdrawal. His rally makes their own long-running complaint the reason to fight now.

**208** φυλόπιδος μέγα ἔργον, ἕης τὸ πρίν γʼ ἐράασθε.  
the great work of battle for which you longed before.

**209** ἔνθά τις ἄλκιμον ἦτορ ἔχων Τρώεσσι μαχέσθω.  
Now let each man with a valiant heart fight the Trojans."

**210** ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.  
So he spoke and stirred the strength and spirit of every man.

**211** μᾶλλον δὲ στίχες ἄρθεν, ἐπεὶ βασιλῆος ἄκουσαν.  
Their ranks drew closer still when they heard their king.

**212** ὡς δʼ ὅτε τοῖχον ἀνὴρ ἀράρῃ πυκινοῖσι λίθοισι  
As when a man fits a wall with close-set stones

**213** δώματος ὑψηλοῖο βίας ἀνέμων ἀλεείνων,  
for a high house, to ward off the force of winds,

**214** ὣς ἄραρον κόρυθές τε καὶ ἀσπίδες ὀμφαλόεσσαι.  
so helmets and bossed shields were fitted close.

**215** ἀσπὶς ἄρʼ ἀσπίδʼ ἔρειδε, κόρυς κόρυν, ἀνέρα δʼ ἀνήρ·  
Shield pressed on shield, helmet on helmet, man on man.
> A line built like the formation: The repeated nouns and tight parallel clauses imitate the compact ranks they describe. This English line is inherited exactly from the same Greek line in Book 13.

**216** ψαῦον δʼ ἱππόκομοι κόρυθες λαμπροῖσι φάλοισι  
The horse-haired helmets touched with their shining crests

**217** νευόντων, ὡς πυκνοὶ ἐφέστασαν ἀλλήλοισι.  
as the men nodded, so closely they stood one against another.

**218** πάντων δὲ προπάροιθε δύʼ ἀνέρε θωρήσσοντο  
Before them all two men were arming themselves,

**219** Πάτροκλός τε καὶ Αὐτομέδων ἕνα θυμὸν ἔχοντες  
Patroclus and Automedon, sharing one spirit

**220** πρόσθεν Μυρμιδόνων πολεμιζέμεν. αὐτὰρ Ἀχιλλεὺς  
to fight before the Myrmidons. But Achilles

**221** βῆ ῥʼ ἴμεν ἐς κλισίην, χηλοῦ δʼ ἀπὸ πῶμʼ ἀνέῳγε  
went into his shelter and opened the lid of a chest,

**222** καλῆς δαιδαλέης, τήν οἱ Θέτις ἀργυρόπεζα  
beautiful and richly wrought, which silver-footed Thetis
> Thetis' standing epithet: Silver-footed is the fixed rendering of ἀργυρόπεζα, Thetis' standing epithet. It keeps her divine brightness present even in the domestic detail of the chest she packed.

**223** θῆκʼ ἐπὶ νηὸς ἄγεσθαι ἐῢ πλήσασα χιτώνων  
had placed aboard his ship, filling it well with tunics,

**224** χλαινάων τʼ ἀνεμοσκεπέων οὔλων τε ταπήτων.  
wind-blocking cloaks, and thick woolen rugs.

**225** ἔνθα δέ οἱ δέπας ἔσκε τετυγμένον, οὐδέ τις ἄλλος  
There he kept a finely wrought cup, and no other man

**226** οὔτʼ ἀνδρῶν πίνεσκεν ἀπʼ αὐτοῦ αἴθοπα οἶνον,  
drank gleaming wine from it,

**227** οὔτέ τεῳ σπένδεσκε θεῶν, ὅτε μὴ Διὶ πατρί.  
nor did he pour from it to any god except father Zeus.

**228** τό ῥα τότʼ ἐκ χηλοῖο λαβὼν ἐκάθηρε θεείῳ  
Taking it then from the chest, he first cleansed it with sulfur,

**229** πρῶτον, ἔπειτα δʼ ἔνιψʼ ὕδατος καλῇσι ῥοῇσι,  
then rinsed it in fair streams of water,

**230** νίψατο δʼ αὐτὸς χεῖρας, ἀφύσσατο δʼ αἴθοπα οἶνον.  
washed his own hands, and drew gleaming wine.

**231** εὔχετʼ ἔπειτα στὰς μέσῳ ἕρκεϊ, λεῖβε δὲ οἶνον  
Then he prayed, standing in the middle of the court, and poured the wine,

**232** οὐρανὸν εἰσανιδών· Δία δʼ οὐ λάθε τερπικέραυνον·  
gazing toward heaven; and Zeus, who delights in thunder, saw him:

**233** Ζεῦ ἄνα Δωδωναῖε Πελασγικὲ τηλόθι ναίων  
"Lord Zeus, Dodonaean, Pelasgian, dwelling far away,

**234** Δωδώνης μεδέων δυσχειμέρου, ἀμφὶ δὲ Σελλοὶ  
ruling stormy Dodona, where around you the Selloi

**235** σοὶ ναίουσʼ ὑποφῆται ἀνιπτόποδες χαμαιεῦναι,  
dwell as your interpreters, with unwashed feet, sleeping on the ground—

**236** ἠμὲν δή ποτʼ ἐμὸν ἔπος ἔκλυες εὐξαμένοιο,  
once before you heard my word when I prayed to you,

**237** τίμησας μὲν ἐμέ, μέγα δʼ ἴψαο λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν,  
you honored me, and struck hard the host of the Achaeans;

**238** ἠδʼ ἔτι καὶ νῦν μοι τόδʼ ἐπικρήηνον ἐέλδωρ·  
and now too grant me this desire once more:

**239** αὐτὸς μὲν γὰρ ἐγὼ μενέω νηῶν ἐν ἀγῶνι,  
for I myself will remain here within the gathering of ships,

**240** ἀλλʼ ἕταρον πέμπω πολέσιν μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσι  
but I send my companion with the many Myrmidons

**241** μάρνασθαι· τῷ κῦδος ἅμα πρόες εὐρύοπα Ζεῦ,  
to fight; send glory with him, wide-thundering Zeus,
> Glory as a divine gift: κῦδος is the victorious glory a god can send with a warrior for a particular feat. Achilles asks Zeus to let divine success accompany Patroclus into battle.

**242** θάρσυνον δέ οἱ ἦτορ ἐνὶ φρεσίν, ὄφρα καὶ Ἕκτωρ  
and embolden the heart within his breast, so that Hector too

**243** εἴσεται ἤ ῥα καὶ οἶος ἐπίστηται πολεμίζειν  
may learn whether he knows how to fight even when alone—

**244** ἡμέτερος θεράπων, ἦ οἱ τότε χεῖρες ἄαπτοι  
this attendant of ours—or whether his irresistible hands
> Overwhelming force: The fixed phrase ἄαπτοι χεῖρες calls the hands impossible to withstand or lay hold of. Achilles wonders whether Patroclus' force works independently or only beside him.

**245** μαίνονθʼ, ὁππότʼ ἐγώ περ ἴω μετὰ μῶλον Ἄρηος.  
rage only when I enter the turmoil of Ares.

**246** αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κʼ ἀπὸ ναῦφι μάχην ἐνοπήν τε δίηται,  
But when he has driven battle and its din away from the ships,

**247** ἀσκηθής μοι ἔπειτα θοὰς ἐπὶ νῆας ἵκοιτο  
then let him come back unharmed to me at the swift ships,

**248** τεύχεσί τε ξὺν πᾶσι καὶ ἀγχεμάχοις ἑτάροισιν.  
with all his armor and his close-fighting companions."

**249** ὣς ἔφατʼ εὐχόμενος, τοῦ δʼ ἔκλυε μητίετα Ζεύς.  
So he spoke in prayer, and Zeus the counselor heard him.

**250** τῷ δʼ ἕτερον μὲν ἔδωκε πατήρ, ἕτερον δʼ ἀνένευσε·  
The father granted him one request, but refused the other:
> The prayer divided in two: The balanced μέν ... δέ construction divides Achilles' prayer before the next two lines state each outcome. Zeus grants rescue of the ships but denies Patroclus' safe return.

**251** νηῶν μέν οἱ ἀπώσασθαι πόλεμόν τε μάχην τε  
he granted that Patroclus drive war and battle from the ships,

**252** δῶκε, σόον δʼ ἀνένευσε μάχης ἐξαπονέεσθαι.  
but refused him a safe return out of the fighting.

**253** ἤτοι ὃ μὲν σπείσας τε καὶ εὐξάμενος Διὶ πατρὶ  
When he had poured and prayed to father Zeus,

**254** ἂψ κλισίην εἰσῆλθε, δέπας δʼ ἀπέθηκʼ ἐνὶ χηλῷ,  
he went back into the shelter and put the cup away in the chest,

**255** στῆ δὲ πάροιθʼ ἐλθὼν κλισίης, ἔτι δʼ ἤθελε θυμῷ  
then came and stood before the shelter, for his heart still wished

**256** εἰσιδέειν Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν φύλοπιν αἰνήν.  
to watch the grim battle-din of Trojans and Achaeans.

**257** οἳ δʼ ἅμα Πατρόκλῳ μεγαλήτορι θωρηχθέντες  
Those armed around great-hearted Patroclus

**258** ἔστιχον, ὄφρʼ ἐν Τρωσὶ μέγα φρονέοντες ὄρουσαν.  
marched on until, high-hearted, they rushed among the Trojans.

**259** αὐτίκα δὲ σφήκεσσιν ἐοικότες ἐξεχέοντο  
At once they streamed out like wasps,

**260** εἰνοδίοις, οὓς παῖδες ἐριδμαίνωσιν ἔθοντες  
beside the road, which children make a habit of provoking,

**261** αἰεὶ κερτομέοντες ὁδῷ ἔπι οἰκίʼ ἔχοντας  
forever teasing those whose home lies by the road—

**262** νηπίαχοι· ξυνὸν δὲ κακὸν πολέεσσι τιθεῖσι.  
little fools, who make a common evil for many.
> One prank, shared harm: ξυνὸν κακόν is an evil shared by many. The children's teasing endangers later travelers who had no part in provoking the nest.

**263** τοὺς δʼ εἴ περ παρά τίς τε κιὼν ἄνθρωπος ὁδίτης  
And if some traveler passing by

**264** κινήσῃ ἀέκων, οἳ δʼ ἄλκιμον ἦτορ ἔχοντες  
stirs them unwittingly, then with valiant heart

**265** πρόσσω πᾶς πέτεται καὶ ἀμύνει οἷσι τέκεσσι.  
each flies straight forward and defends its young.

**266** τῶν τότε Μυρμιδόνες κραδίην καὶ θυμὸν ἔχοντες  
With the heart and spirit of those wasps, the Myrmidons then

**267** ἐκ νηῶν ἐχέοντο· βοὴ δʼ ἄσβεστος ὀρώρει.  
streamed from the ships, and an unquenchable shout arose.

**268** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτάροισιν ἐκέκλετο μακρὸν ἀΰσας·  
Patroclus called to his companions with a loud shout:

**269** Μυρμιδόνες ἕταροι Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος  
"Myrmidons, companions of Achilles, son of Peleus,

**270** ἀνέρες ἔστε φίλοι, μνήσασθε δὲ θούριδος ἀλκῆς,  
be men, my friends, and remember your furious valor,
> A recurring battle charge: This exhortation is a repeated Homeric line, inherited here word for word from earlier Achaean rallies. Remembering valor means making one's established courage active in the present fight.

**271** ὡς ἂν Πηλεΐδην τιμήσομεν, ὃς μέγʼ ἄριστος  
so that we may honor the son of Peleus, who is far the best

**272** Ἀργείων παρὰ νηυσὶ καὶ ἀγχέμαχοι θεράποντες,  
of the Argives beside the ships—he and his close-fighting companions—

**273** γνῷ δὲ καὶ Ἀτρεΐδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων  
and the son of Atreus, the wide-ruling lord Agamemnon, may know
> Agamemnon's wide rule: This is the fixed rendering of εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων. It remains distinct from Homer's other established titles for Agamemnon, including lord of men.

**274** ἣν ἄτην, ὅ τʼ ἄριστον Ἀχαιῶν οὐδὲν ἔτισεν.  
his delusion, for he gave no honor to the best of the Achaeans."
> Atē, ruinous blindness: ἄτη is a blinding error that brings harm in its wake. Patroclus names Agamemnon's failure to honor Achilles not merely as a mistake but as ruinous delusion.

**275** ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου,  
So he spoke and stirred the strength and spirit of every man.

**276** ἐν δʼ ἔπεσον Τρώεσσιν ἀολλέες· ἀμφὶ δὲ νῆες  
Then in one mass they fell upon the Trojans, and all around the ships

**277** σμερδαλέον κονάβησαν ἀϋσάντων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν.  
rang terribly at the roar of the Achaeans.

**278** Τρῶες δʼ ὡς εἴδοντο Μενοιτίου ἄλκιμον υἱὸν  
But when the Trojans saw the valiant son of Menoetius

**279** αὐτὸν καὶ θεράποντα σὺν ἔντεσι μαρμαίροντας,  
himself and his attendant shining in their armor,

**280** πᾶσιν ὀρίνθη θυμός, ἐκίνηθεν δὲ φάλαγγες  
the spirit of every man was shaken, and the battalions wavered,

**281** ἐλπόμενοι παρὰ ναῦφι ποδώκεα Πηλεΐωνα  
thinking that beside the ships the swift-footed son of Peleus

**282** μηνιθμὸν μὲν ἀπορρῖψαι, φιλότητα δʼ ἑλέσθαι·  
had cast off his wrath and chosen friendship instead;
> The Trojans misread the armor: Seeing Achilles' armor, the Trojans assume Achilles himself has abandoned his long withdrawal and restored fellowship with the Achaeans. Their mistaken belief drives the sudden wavering of the ranks.

**283** πάπτηνεν δὲ ἕκαστος ὅπῃ φύγοι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον.  
and each man glanced about for where he might flee sheer destruction.

**284** Πάτροκλος δὲ πρῶτος ἀκόντισε δουρὶ φαεινῷ  
Patroclus was first to cast his gleaming spear

**285** ἀντικρὺ κατὰ μέσσον, ὅθι πλεῖστοι κλονέοντο,  
straight into the center, where the greatest throng surged,

**286** νηῒ πάρα πρυμνῇ μεγαθύμου Πρωτεσιλάου,  
beside the stern of great-hearted Protesilaus' ship,

**287** καὶ βάλε Πυραίχμην, ὃς Παίονας ἱπποκορυστὰς  
and struck Pyraechmes, commander of the chariot-warrior Paeonians
> Warriors armed with horses: The compound ἱπποκορυστάς describes the Paeonians through their equipment for horse or chariot warfare. It does not mean that every warrior here is fighting on horseback.

**288** ἤγαγεν ἐξ Ἀμυδῶνος ἀπʼ Ἀξιοῦ εὐρὺ ῥέοντος·  
he had led from Amydon beside the broad-flowing Axius.

**289** τὸν βάλε δεξιὸν ὦμον· ὃ δʼ ὕπτιος ἐν κονίῃσι  
He struck his right shoulder; backward into the dust

**290** κάππεσεν οἰμώξας, ἕταροι δέ μιν ἀμφεφόβηθεν  
he fell with a groan, and his Paeonian comrades scattered

**291** Παίονες· ἐν γὰρ Πάτροκλος φόβον ἧκεν ἅπασιν  
around him; for Patroclus cast panic among them all

**292** ἡγεμόνα κτείνας, ὃς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι.  
by killing their leader, their finest man in battle.

**293** ἐκ νηῶν δʼ ἔλασεν, κατὰ δʼ ἔσβεσεν αἰθόμενον πῦρ.  
He drove them from the ships and quenched the blazing fire.

**294** ἡμιδαὴς δʼ ἄρα νηῦς λίπετʼ αὐτόθι· τοὶ δὲ φόβηθεν  
The half-burned ship remained there, while the Trojans fled

**295** Τρῶες θεσπεσίῳ ὁμάδῳ· Δαναοὶ δʼ ἐπέχυντο  
with unearthly din; the Danaans poured

**296** νῆας ἀνὰ γλαφυράς· ὅμαδος δʼ ἀλίαστος ἐτύχθη.  
among the hollow ships, and unending uproar arose.

**297** ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀφʼ ὑψηλῆς κορυφῆς ὄρεος μεγάλοιο  
As when from the high summit of a great mountain

**298** κινήσῃ πυκινὴν νεφέλην στεροπηγερέτα Ζεύς,  
Zeus, gatherer of lightning, shifts a dense cloud,
> Zeus and the storm: στεροπηγερέτα is a compact epithet built from στεροπή, “lightning,” and the idea of gathering. The cleared mountain sky that follows makes Zeus the agent of the weather change.

**299** ἔκ τʼ ἔφανεν πᾶσαι σκοπιαὶ καὶ πρώονες ἄκροι  
and all the lookout peaks and high headlands stand revealed,

**300** καὶ νάπαι, οὐρανόθεν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπερράγη ἄσπετος αἰθήρ,  
and the valleys, and boundless upper air breaks open from heaven,

**301** ὣς Δαναοὶ νηῶν μὲν ἀπωσάμενοι δήϊον πῦρ  
so the Danaans, once they had driven the hostile fire from the ships,

**302** τυτθὸν ἀνέπνευσαν, πολέμου δʼ οὐ γίγνετʼ ἐρωή·  
caught breath a little, but there was no pause in the war.

**303** οὐ γάρ πώ τι Τρῶες ἀρηϊφίλων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν  
For not yet, before the war-loving Achaeans, had the Trojans

**304** προτροπάδην φοβέοντο μελαινάων ἀπὸ νηῶν,  
fled headlong away from the black ships,

**305** ἀλλʼ ἔτʼ ἄρʼ ἀνθίσταντο, νεῶν δʼ ὑπόεικον ἀνάγκῃ.  
but still stood against them, yielding from the ships only under force.

**306** ἔνθα δʼ ἀνὴρ ἕλεν ἄνδρα κεδασθείσης ὑσμίνης  
There man slew man as the battle scattered.
> The battle breaks apart: κεδασθείσης ὑσμίνης marks a change from massed fighting to scattered single combats. Homer now follows the leaders through a rapid sequence of paired kills.

**307** ἡγεμόνων. πρῶτος δὲ Μενοιτίου ἄλκιμος υἱὸς  
Among the leaders, the mighty son of Menoetius was first:

**308** αὐτίκʼ ἄρα στρεφθέντος Ἀρηϊλύκου βάλε μηρὸν  
as Areilycus turned, he struck him at once in the thigh

**309** ἔγχεϊ ὀξυόεντι, διὰ πρὸ δὲ χαλκὸν ἔλασσε·  
with his sharp spear and drove the bronze clean through.
> Bronze for the spearhead: χαλκόν names the bronze spearhead by its material. Homer keeps the blow physical: the point passes through the thigh before the spear breaks the bone.

**310** ῥῆξεν δʼ ὀστέον ἔγχος, ὃ δὲ πρηνὴς ἐπὶ γαίῃ  
The spear broke the bone, and face-first upon the ground

**311** κάππεσʼ· ἀτὰρ Μενέλαος ἀρήϊος οὖτα Θόαντα  
he fell. Then warlike Menelaus struck Thoas

**312** στέρνον γυμνωθέντα παρʼ ἀσπίδα, λῦσε δὲ γυῖα.  
in the chest bared beside the shield, and loosed his limbs.
> The shield's opening: The participle γυμνωθέντα marks the part of Thoas's chest left uncovered beside his shield. The same Greek line returns at 16.400 and must carry the same English wording.

**313** Φυλεΐδης δʼ Ἄμφικλον ἐφορμηθέντα δοκεύσας  
The son of Phyleus watched Amphiclus rush upon him

**314** ἔφθη ὀρεξάμενος πρυμνὸν σκέλος, ἔνθα πάχιστος  
and reached him first in the upper leg, where a man's

**315** μυὼν ἀνθρώπου πέλεται· περὶ δʼ ἔγχεος αἰχμῇ  
muscle is thickest; around the spearpoint

**316** νεῦρα διεσχίσθη· τὸν δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψε.  
the tendons split apart, and darkness covered his eyes.
> Anatomy of the blow: νεῦρα denotes the sinews or tendons around the thick muscle of the upper leg. The spear tears them apart rather than merely wounding Amphiclus in a general way.

**317** Νεστορίδαι δʼ ὃ μὲν οὔτασʼ Ἀτύμνιον ὀξέϊ δουρὶ  
Of Nestor's sons, one struck Atymnius with his sharp spear—

**318** Ἀντίλοχος, λαπάρης δὲ διήλασε χάλκεον ἔγχος·  
Antilochus—and drove the bronze spear through his flank.

**319** ἤριπε δὲ προπάροιθε. Μάρις δʼ αὐτοσχεδὰ δουρὶ  
He fell before him. Maris then with his spear at close quarters

**320** Ἀντιλόχῳ ἐπόρουσε κασιγνήτοιο χολωθεὶς  
sprang upon Antilochus, enraged for his brother,

**321** στὰς πρόσθεν νέκυος· τοῦ δʼ ἀντίθεος Θρασυμήδης  
and stood before the corpse; but godlike Thrasymedes

**322** ἔφθη ὀρεξάμενος πρὶν οὐτάσαι, οὐδʼ ἀφάμαρτεν,  
reached him first, before he could strike, and did not miss

**323** ὦμον ἄφαρ· πρυμνὸν δὲ βραχίονα δουρὸς ἀκωκὴ  
his shoulder at once; at the base of the upper arm, the spearpoint

**324** δρύψʼ ἀπὸ μυώνων, ἀπὸ δʼ ὀστέον ἄχρις ἄραξε·  
tore it from the muscles and shattered the bone completely.

**325** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, κατὰ δὲ σκότος ὄσσε κάλυψεν.  
He fell with a thud, and darkness covered his eyes.

**326** ὣς τὼ μὲν δοιοῖσι κασιγνήτοισι δαμέντε  
So those two brothers, subdued by two brothers,

**327** βήτην εἰς Ἔρεβος Σαρπηδόνος ἐσθλοὶ ἑταῖροι  
went down to Erebus, noble companions of Sarpedon,

**328** υἷες ἀκοντισταὶ Ἀμισωδάρου, ὅς ῥα Χίμαιραν  
javelin-fighting sons of Amisodarus, who had reared

**329** θρέψεν ἀμαιμακέτην πολέσιν κακὸν ἀνθρώποισιν.  
the raging Chimera, a bane to many men.

**330** Αἴας δὲ Κλεόβουλον Ὀϊλιάδης ἐπορούσας  
Ajax, son of Oileus, sprang upon Cleobulus

**331** ζωὸν ἕλε βλαφθέντα κατὰ κλόνον· ἀλλά οἱ αὖθι  
and took him alive, entangled in the rout; but there

**332** λῦσε μένος πλήξας ξίφει αὐχένα κωπήεντι.  
he loosed his strength with a blow of his hilted sword to the neck.

**333** πᾶν δʼ ὑπεθερμάνθη ξίφος αἵματι· τὸν δὲ κατʼ ὄσσε  
The whole sword grew hot with blood; over his eyes

**334** ἔλλαβε πορφύρεος θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή.  
came purple death and mighty fate.
> Death colored by blood: πορφύρεος θάνατος is a recurring Homeric death-image. Here the “purple” death follows at once upon the sword heated and drenched with Cleobulus's blood.

**335** Πηνέλεως δὲ Λύκων τε συνέδραμον· ἔγχεσι μὲν γὰρ  
Peneleos and Lycon met; with spears

**336** ἤμβροτον ἀλλήλων, μέλεον δʼ ἠκόντισαν ἄμφω·  
they missed each other, and both had cast in vain.

**337** τὼ δʼ αὖτις ξιφέεσσι συνέδραμον. ἔνθα Λύκων μὲν  
Then once again they met with swords; there Lycon

**338** ἱπποκόμου κόρυθος φάλον ἤλασεν, ἀμφὶ δὲ καυλὸν  
struck the ridge of the horsehair-plumed helmet, but around the hilt

**339** φάσγανον ἐρραίσθη· ὃ δʼ ὑπʼ οὔατος αὐχένα θεῖνε  
his sword shattered; Peneleos struck his neck beneath the ear,

**340** Πηνέλεως, πᾶν δʼ εἴσω ἔδυ ξίφος, ἔσχεθε δʼ οἶον  
and the whole sword sank in. The skin alone held fast,

**341** δέρμα, παρηέρθη δὲ κάρη, ὑπέλυντο δὲ γυῖα.  
his head hung to one side, and his limbs gave way.
> The nearly severed neck: Homer does not soften the wound: οἶον δέρμα means that only the skin still holds Lycon's head. The English preserves its hanging angle and the collapse of his body.

**342** Μηριόνης δʼ Ἀκάμαντα κιχεὶς ποσὶ καρπαλίμοισι  
Meriones overtook Acamas on swift feet and struck him

**343** νύξʼ ἵππων ἐπιβησόμενον κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον·  
in the right shoulder as he was about to mount behind his horses;

**344** ἤριπε δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων, κατὰ δʼ ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτʼ ἀχλύς.  
he fell from the chariot, and mist poured down over his eyes.

**345** Ἰδομενεὺς δʼ Ἐρύμαντα κατὰ στόμα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ  
Idomeneus, at Erymas' mouth with pitiless bronze,

**346** νύξε· τὸ δʼ ἀντικρὺ δόρυ χάλκεον ἐξεπέρησε  
stabbed; the bronze spear passed straight through

**347** νέρθεν ὑπʼ ἐγκεφάλοιο, κέασσε δʼ ἄρʼ ὀστέα λευκά·  
beneath the brain and split the white bones.

**348** ἐκ δʼ ἐτίναχθεν ὀδόντες, ἐνέπλησθεν δέ οἱ ἄμφω  
His teeth were shaken out, and both his eyes

**349** αἵματος ὀφθαλμοί· τὸ δʼ ἀνὰ στόμα καὶ κατὰ ῥῖνας  
filled with blood; through mouth and nostrils

**350** πρῆσε χανών· θανάτου δὲ μέλαν νέφος ἀμφεκάλυψεν.  
he blew it out as he gaped, and death's black cloud enfolded him.
> Death as a covering cloud: The phrase θανάτου μέλαν νέφος makes death a black cloud closing around Erymas. It ends a wound sequence whose blood and shattered bone Homer has described without omission.

**351** οὗτοι ἄρʼ ἡγεμόνες Δαναῶν ἕλον ἄνδρα ἕκαστος.  
So these leaders of the Danaans each killed his man.

**352** ὡς δὲ λύκοι ἄρνεσσιν ἐπέχραον ἢ ἐρίφοισι  
As wolves fall upon lambs or kids,

**353** σίνται ὑπʼ ἐκ μήλων αἱρεύμενοι, αἵ τʼ ἐν ὄρεσσι  
ravagers snatching from the flocks those in the mountains

**354** ποιμένος ἀφραδίῃσι διέτμαγεν· οἳ δὲ ἰδόντες  
scattered through the shepherd's folly; when the wolves see them,

**355** αἶψα διαρπάζουσιν ἀνάλκιδα θυμὸν ἐχούσας·  
they quickly tear apart the young whose hearts have no courage;

**356** ὣς Δαναοὶ Τρώεσσιν ἐπέχραον· οἳ δὲ φόβοιο  
so the Danaans fell upon the Trojans, and they remembered

**357** δυσκελάδου μνήσαντο, λάθοντο δὲ θούριδος ἀλκῆς.  
the harsh din of rout and forgot their furious valor.
> Battle courage abandoned: θούριδος ἀλκῆς is the established phrase for furious battle-strength. The Trojans now forget that valor as the wolf simile closes and the rout resumes.

**358** Αἴας δʼ ὃ μέγας αἰὲν ἐφʼ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ  
Great Ajax, always after Hector of the bronze helm,

**359** ἵετʼ ἀκοντίσσαι· ὃ δὲ ἰδρείῃ πολέμοιο  
was eager to cast; but Hector, skilled in war,

**360** ἀσπίδι ταυρείῃ κεκαλυμμένος εὐρέας ὤμους  
covered his broad shoulders with his oxhide shield

**361** σκέπτετʼ ὀϊστῶν τε ῥοῖζον καὶ δοῦπον ἀκόντων.  
and watched for the whistle of arrows and the thud of javelins.
> Battle heard through the shield: Hector shelters behind his shield and reads the attack by sound. ῥοῖζος is the rushing whistle of arrows, while δοῦπος is the heavy impact or thud of javelins.

**362** ἦ μὲν δὴ γίγνωσκε μάχης ἑτεραλκέα νίκην·  
He knew well that victory in battle had changed sides,

**363** ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧς ἀνέμιμνε, σάω δʼ ἐρίηρας ἑταίρους.  
yet even so he held his ground and saved his faithful comrades.

**364** ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀπʼ Οὐλύμπου νέφος ἔρχεται οὐρανὸν εἴσω  
As when a cloud comes from Olympus into heaven

**365** αἰθέρος ἐκ δίης, ὅτε τε Ζεὺς λαίλαπα τείνῃ,  
out of the bright upper air, when Zeus spreads a squall,

**366** ὣς τῶν ἐκ νηῶν γένετο ἰαχή τε φόβος τε,  
so from the ships arose their shouting and their rout,

**367** οὐδὲ κατὰ μοῖραν πέραον πάλιν. Ἕκτορα δʼ ἵπποι  
and they did not cross back in due order. Hector's horses
> A disorderly retreat: οὐδὲ κατὰ μοῖραν says that the Trojans do not make their crossing back in proper measure or order. The line marks a rout, not an organized withdrawal.

**368** ἔκφερον ὠκύποδες σὺν τεύχεσι, λεῖπε δὲ λαὸν  
carried him swiftly out with his armor, while he left the Trojan host

**369** Τρωϊκόν, οὓς ἀέκοντας ὀρυκτὴ τάφρος ἔρυκε.  
behind, held against their will by the dug-out trench.

**370** πολλοὶ δʼ ἐν τάφρῳ ἐρυσάρματες ὠκέες ἵπποι  
Many swift chariot-horses in the trench

**371** ἄξαντʼ ἐν πρώτῳ ῥυμῷ λίπον ἅρματʼ ἀνάκτων,  
broke the chariot pole at its front and left their masters' cars there.

**372** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἕπετο σφεδανὸν Δαναοῖσι κελεύων  
Patroclus followed, fiercely urging the Danaans on

**373** Τρωσὶ κακὰ φρονέων· οἳ δὲ ἰαχῇ τε φόβῳ τε  
and bent on harm for the Trojans; with shouting and panic

**374** πάσας πλῆσαν ὁδούς, ἐπεὶ ἂρ τμάγεν· ὕψι δʼ ἀέλλη  
they filled every road once their ranks split apart; high above, a whirlwind

**375** σκίδναθʼ ὑπὸ νεφέων, τανύοντο δὲ μώνυχες ἵπποι  
spread beneath the clouds, and the single-hoofed horses strained

**376** ἄψορρον προτὶ ἄστυ νεῶν ἄπο καὶ κλισιάων.  
back toward the city, away from the ships and huts.

**377** Πάτροκλος δʼ ᾗ πλεῖστον ὀρινόμενον ἴδε λαόν,  
Wherever Patroclus saw the greatest mass of men in turmoil,

**378** τῇ ῥʼ ἔχʼ ὁμοκλήσας· ὑπὸ δʼ ἄξοσι φῶτες ἔπιπτον  
there he drove with a shout; beneath the axles men fell

**379** πρηνέες ἐξ ὀχέων, δίφροι δʼ ἀνακυμβαλίαζον.  
face-first from their chariots, and the cars overturned.

**380** ἀντικρὺ δʼ ἄρα τάφρον ὑπέρθορον ὠκέες ἵπποι  
Straight across the trench leapt the swift horses,

**381** ἄμβροτοι, οὓς Πηλῆϊ θεοὶ δόσαν ἀγλαὰ δῶρα,  
immortal, whom the gods gave Peleus as splendid gifts,

**382** πρόσσω ἱέμενοι, ἐπὶ δʼ Ἕκτορι κέκλετο θυμός·  
surging onward, while Patroclus' heart urged him against Hector,

**383** ἵετο γὰρ βαλέειν· τὸν δʼ ἔκφερον ὠκέες ἵπποι.  
for he was eager to strike him, but the swift horses carried him out.

**384** ὡς δʼ ὑπὸ λαίλαπι πᾶσα κελαινὴ βέβριθε χθὼν  
As beneath a squall the whole dark earth lies heavy

**385** ἤματʼ ὀπωρινῷ, ὅτε λαβρότατον χέει ὕδωρ  
on an autumn day, when the fiercest rain pours down,

**386** Ζεύς, ὅτε δή ῥʼ ἄνδρεσσι κοτεσσάμενος χαλεπήνῃ,  
when Zeus in anger grows harsh against men

**387** οἳ βίῃ εἰν ἀγορῇ σκολιὰς κρίνωσι θέμιστας,  
who use force in assembly to judge crooked judgments

**388** ἐκ δὲ δίκην ἐλάσωσι θεῶν ὄπιν οὐκ ἀλέγοντες·  
and drive justice out, with no regard for the gods' vengeance;

**389** τῶν δέ τε πάντες μὲν ποταμοὶ πλήθουσι ῥέοντες,  
all their rivers then swell high in flood,

**390** πολλὰς δὲ κλιτῦς τότʼ ἀποτμήγουσι χαράδραι,  
and torrents cut away many slopes,

**391** ἐς δʼ ἅλα πορφυρέην μεγάλα στενάχουσι ῥέουσαι  
and greatly groaning pour into the purple sea

**392** ἐξ ὀρέων ἐπικάρ, μινύθει δέ τε ἔργʼ ἀνθρώπων·  
headlong from the mountains, and the works of men waste away;

**393** ὣς ἵπποι Τρῳαὶ μεγάλα στενάχοντο θέουσαι.  
so the Trojan mares groaned loudly as they ran.
> The horses in flight: ἵπποι Τρῳαί is grammatically feminine, so the line specifically calls the fleeing chariot-horses Trojan mares. Their groaning completes the storm-flood simile before the narrative returns to Patroclus.

**394** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν πρώτας ἐπέκερσε φάλαγγας,  
But when Patroclus had cut off the foremost ranks,

**395** ἂψ ἐπὶ νῆας ἔεργε παλιμπετές, οὐδὲ πόληος  
he penned them back toward the ships again and would not let them

**396** εἴα ἱεμένους ἐπιβαινέμεν, ἀλλὰ μεσηγὺ  
reach the city they strained for, but midway

**397** νηῶν καὶ ποταμοῦ καὶ τείχεος ὑψηλοῖο  
between the ships and river and the high wall

**398** κτεῖνε μεταΐσσων, πολέων δʼ ἀπετίνυτο ποινήν.  
he darted among them, killing, and exacted payment for many.
> A debt of blood: ἀπετίνυτο ποινήν presents Patroclus's killing as the collection of a penalty or blood-price. The “many” are the Achaeans whose deaths he now avenges.

**399** ἔνθʼ ἤτοι Πρόνοον πρῶτον βάλε δουρὶ φαεινῷ  
There first he struck Pronoos with his gleaming spear

**400** στέρνον γυμνωθέντα παρʼ ἀσπίδα, λῦσε δὲ γυῖα·  
in the chest bared beside the shield, and loosed his limbs.

**401** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών· ὃ δὲ Θέστορα Ἤνοπος υἱὸν  
He fell with a thud. Then at Thestor, son of Enops,

**402** δεύτερον ὁρμηθείς· ὃ μὲν εὐξέστῳ ἐνὶ δίφρῳ  
Patroclus rushed a second time; Thestor, in his polished chariot,

**403** ἧστο ἀλείς· ἐκ γὰρ πλήγη φρένας, ἐκ δʼ ἄρα χειρῶν  
sat huddled, struck from his wits, and from his hands

**404** ἡνία ἠΐχθησαν· ὃ δʼ ἔγχεϊ νύξε παραστὰς  
the reins flew. Standing beside him, Patroclus stabbed

**405** γναθμὸν δεξιτερόν, διὰ δʼ αὐτοῦ πεῖρεν ὀδόντων,  
his right jaw with the spear and drove it through the teeth,

**406** ἕλκε δὲ δουρὸς ἑλὼν ὑπὲρ ἄντυγος, ὡς ὅτε τις φὼς  
then gripped the shaft and dragged him over the chariot rail, as a man

**407** πέτρῃ ἔπι προβλῆτι καθήμενος ἱερὸν ἰχθὺν  
seated on a jutting rock draws a great fish

**408** ἐκ πόντοιο θύραζε λίνῳ καὶ ἤνοπι χαλκῷ·  
out of the sea with line and gleaming bronze;

**409** ὣς ἕλκʼ ἐκ δίφροιο κεχηνότα δουρὶ φαεινῷ,  
so with his gleaming spear he dragged him gaping from the chariot,

**410** κὰδ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπὶ στόμʼ ἔωσε· πεσόντα δέ μιν λίπε θυμός.  
flung him down upon his face, and as he fell his spirit left him.

**411** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ Ἐρύλαον ἐπεσσύμενον βάλε πέτρῳ  
Then as Erylaus rushed upon him, Patroclus struck him with a stone

**412** μέσσην κὰκ κεφαλήν· ἣ δʼ ἄνδιχα πᾶσα κεάσθη  
squarely on the head, and his whole head split in two

**413** ἐν κόρυθι βριαρῇ· ὃ δʼ ἄρα πρηνὴς ἐπὶ γαίῃ  
inside the heavy helmet; face-first upon the ground

**414** κάππεσεν, ἀμφὶ δέ μιν θάνατος χύτο θυμοραϊστής.  
he fell, and death that breaks the spirit poured around him.
> A personified death: θυμοραϊστής describes death as a force that shatters or ruins the θυμός, the vital spirit. The same Greek line returns at 16.580 and requires this exact English wording.

**415** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ Ἐρύμαντα καὶ Ἀμφοτερὸν καὶ Ἐπάλτην  
Then Erymas and Amphoterus and Epaltes,

**416** Τληπόλεμόν τε Δαμαστορίδην Ἐχίον τε Πύριν τε  
and Tlepolemus, son of Damastor, Echius and Pyris,

**417** Ἰφέα τʼ Εὔιππόν τε καὶ Ἀργεάδην Πολύμηλον  
Ipheus and Euippus and Polymelus, son of Argeas —

**418** πάντας ἐπασσυτέρους πέλασε χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ.  
all one after another he laid upon the all-nurturing earth.
> Earth as nourisher and grave: The epithet πουλυβότειρα calls the earth the nourisher of multitudes. Its life-giving force stands grimly against the row of men Patroclus lays dead upon it; Sarpedon sees their fall and confronts him in the next line.

**419** Σαρπηδὼν δʼ ὡς οὖν ἴδʼ ἀμιτροχίτωνας ἑταίρους  
When Sarpedon saw his comrades in unbelted tunics
> The Lycians' light tunics: ἀμιτροχίτων describes men whose tunics lack the protective waist-piece or belt associated with heavier armor. The epithet marks Sarpedon's Lycian companions by their equipment at the moment he sees them falling.

**420** χέρσʼ ὕπο Πατρόκλοιο Μενοιτιάδαο δαμέντας,  
subdued beneath the hands of Patroclus, son of Menoetius,

**421** κέκλετʼ ἄρʼ ἀντιθέοισι καθαπτόμενος Λυκίοισιν·  
he called out, rebuking the godlike Lycians:

**422** αἰδὼς ὦ Λύκιοι· πόσε φεύγετε; νῦν θοοὶ ἔστε.  
"Shame, Lycians! Where are you fleeing? Now show your speed!
> Aidōs as a rallying cry: αἰδώς can mean shame, reverence, or the regard that keeps a warrior answerable to his peers. Sarpedon uses the single word as a rebuke meant to stop the Lycian flight.

**423** ἀντήσω γὰρ ἐγὼ τοῦδʼ ἀνέρος, ὄφρα δαείω  
For I shall meet this man myself, so that I may learn

**424** ὅς τις ὅδε κρατέει καὶ δὴ κακὰ πολλὰ ἔοργε  
whoever he is, who holds sway and has already done much harm

**425** Τρῶας, ἐπεὶ πολλῶν τε καὶ ἐσθλῶν γούνατʼ ἔλυσεν.  
to the Trojans, since he has loosed the knees of many noble men —"

**426** ἦ ῥα, καὶ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε.  
So he spoke, and leapt from his chariot to the ground in his armor.

**427** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἐπεὶ ἴδεν ἔκθορε δίφρου.  
From the other side Patroclus saw him and sprang from his chariot.

**428** οἳ δʼ ὥς τʼ αἰγυπιοὶ γαμψώνυχες ἀγκυλοχεῖλαι  
Like hook-clawed, crooked-beaked vultures

**429** πέτρῃ ἐφʼ ὑψηλῇ μεγάλα κλάζοντε μάχωνται,  
fighting on a high rock with loud cries,

**430** ὣς οἳ κεκλήγοντες ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ὄρουσαν.  
so they sprang upon each other, shouting.

**431** τοὺς δὲ ἰδὼν ἐλέησε Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω,  
Seeing them, the son of crooked-counseling Cronos took pity,
> Zeus named through Cronos: Κρόνου πάϊς ἀγκυλομήτεω names Zeus as the son of Cronos, whose standing epithet means “crooked-counseling.” The patronymic foregrounds divine family just as Zeus looks upon his own mortal son.

**432** Ἥρην δὲ προσέειπε κασιγνήτην ἄλοχόν τε·  
and spoke to Hera, his sister and his wife:

**433** ὤ μοι ἐγών, ὅ τέ μοι Σαρπηδόνα φίλτατον ἀνδρῶν  
"Ah me, Sarpedon, dearest to me of men,

**434** μοῖρʼ ὑπὸ Πατρόκλοιο Μενοιτιάδαο δαμῆναι.  
is fated to be subdued beneath the hands of Patroclus, son of Menoetius.

**435** διχθὰ δέ μοι κραδίη μέμονε φρεσὶν ὁρμαίνοντι,  
My heart is split in two as I ponder within my mind:
> Zeus in two minds: διχθὰ ... κραδίη makes Zeus's divided purpose physical: his heart pulls two ways. One course would rescue Sarpedon; the other would allow the fate already set for him to stand.

**436** ἤ μιν ζωὸν ἐόντα μάχης ἄπο δακρυοέσσης  
whether to snatch him up alive from the tearful battle

**437** θείω ἀναρπάξας Λυκίης ἐν πίονι δήμῳ,  
and set him down in the rich land of Lycia,

**438** ἦ ἤδη ὑπὸ χερσὶ Μενοιτιάδαο δαμάσσω.  
or now subdue him beneath the hands of the son of Menoetius."

**439** τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη·  
Then ox-eyed queenly Hera answered him:

**440** αἰνότατε Κρονίδη ποῖον τὸν μῦθον ἔειπες.  
"Most dread son of Cronos, what a word you have spoken!

**441** ἄνδρα θνητὸν ἐόντα πάλαι πεπρωμένον αἴσῃ  
A mortal man, long since appointed to fate,

**442** ἂψ ἐθέλεις θανάτοιο δυσηχέος ἐξαναλῦσαι;  
you wish to loose again from harsh-sounding death?

**443** ἔρδʼ· ἀτὰρ οὔ τοι πάντες ἐπαινέομεν θεοὶ ἄλλοι.  
Do it; but not all we other gods approve.

**444** ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·  
And I will tell you another thing; lay it up in your heart:

**445** αἴ κε ζὼν πέμψῃς Σαρπηδόνα ὃν δὲ δόμον δέ,  
if you send Sarpedon home alive to his own house,

**446** φράζεο μή τις ἔπειτα θεῶν ἐθέλῃσι καὶ ἄλλος  
take care lest some other god afterward also wish

**447** πέμπειν ὃν φίλον υἱὸν ἀπὸ κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης·  
to send his dear son away from the mighty combat.

**448** πολλοὶ γὰρ περὶ ἄστυ μέγα Πριάμοιο μάχονται  
For around Priam's great city many sons

**449** υἱέες ἀθανάτων, τοῖσιν κότον αἰνὸν ἐνήσεις.  
of immortals are fighting; you will sow grim resentment among them.

**450** ἀλλʼ εἴ τοι φίλος ἐστί, τεὸν δʼ ὀλοφύρεται ἦτορ,  
But if he is dear to you and your heart grieves for him,

**451** ἤτοι μέν μιν ἔασον ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ  
then leave him there in the mighty combat

**452** χέρσʼ ὕπο Πατρόκλοιο Μενοιτιάδαο δαμῆναι·  
to be subdued beneath the hands of Patroclus, son of Menoetius.

**453** αὐτὰρ ἐπὴν δὴ τόν γε λίπῃ ψυχή τε καὶ αἰών,  
But when at last his life-breath and lifespan leave him,

**454** πέμπειν μιν θάνατόν τε φέρειν καὶ νήδυμον ὕπνον  
send Death and sweet Sleep to carry him

**455** εἰς ὅ κε δὴ Λυκίης εὐρείης δῆμον ἵκωνται,  
until they reach the land of broad Lycia.

**456** ἔνθά ἑ ταρχύσουσι κασίγνητοί τε ἔται τε  
There his brothers and companions will bury him

**457** τύμβῳ τε στήλῃ τε· τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ θανόντων.  
with mound and marker, for that is the honor of the dead."

**458** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησε πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε·  
So she spoke, and the father of men and gods did not disobey;

**459** αἱματοέσσας δὲ ψιάδας κατέχευεν ἔραζε  
and he poured bloody raindrops down upon the earth,

**460** παῖδα φίλον τιμῶν, τόν οἱ Πάτροκλος ἔμελλε  
honoring his dear son, whom Patroclus was destined

**461** φθίσειν ἐν Τροίῃ ἐριβώλακι τηλόθι πάτρης.  
to destroy in Troy of the rich soil, far from his homeland.

**462** οἳ δʼ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες,  
Now when they had come near, advancing on one another,

**463** ἔνθʼ ἤτοι Πάτροκλος ἀγακλειτὸν Θρασύμηλον,  
then Patroclus struck renowned Thrasymelus,

**464** ὅς ῥʼ ἠῢς θεράπων Σαρπηδόνος ἦεν ἄνακτος,  
who was the noble attendant of lord Sarpedon,

**465** τὸν βάλε νείαιραν κατὰ γαστέρα, λῦσε δὲ γυῖα.  
low in the belly, and loosed his limbs.

**466** Σαρπηδὼν δʼ αὐτοῦ μὲν ἀπήμβροτε δουρὶ φαεινῷ  
But Sarpedon missed him with his gleaming spear

**467** δεύτερον ὁρμηθείς, ὃ δὲ Πήδασον οὔτασεν ἵππον  
on his second cast, but wounded the horse Pedasus

**468** ἔγχεϊ δεξιὸν ὦμον· ὃ δʼ ἔβραχε θυμὸν ἀΐσθων,  
with the spear in his right shoulder; he screamed as he breathed his spirit out,

**469** κὰδ δʼ ἔπεσʼ ἐν κονίῃσι μακών, ἀπὸ δʼ ἔπτατο θυμός.  
and fell in the dust with a whinny, and his life flew away.

**470** τὼ δὲ διαστήτην, κρίκε δὲ ζυγόν, ἡνία δέ σφι  
The other two drew apart, the yoke creaked, and their reins

**471** σύγχυτʼ, ἐπεὶ δὴ κεῖτο παρήορος ἐν κονίῃσι.  
tangled together, now that the trace-horse lay in the dust.

**472** τοῖο μὲν Αὐτομέδων δουρικλυτὸς εὕρετο τέκμωρ·  
But Automedon, famed with the spear, found the remedy:

**473** σπασσάμενος τανύηκες ἄορ παχέος παρὰ μηροῦ  
drawing the long-edged sword from beside his sturdy thigh,

**474** ἀΐξας ἀπέκοψε παρήορον οὐδʼ ἐμάτησε·  
he sprang and cut the trace-horse free, and did not fail.

**475** τὼ δʼ ἰθυνθήτην, ἐν δὲ ῥυτῆρσι τάνυσθεν·  
The pair straightened out and pulled taut in the reins;

**476** τὼ δʼ αὖτις συνίτην ἔριδος πέρι θυμοβόροιο.  
and the two men met again over heart-devouring strife.

**477** ἔνθʼ αὖ Σαρπηδὼν μὲν ἀπήμβροτε δουρὶ φαεινῷ,  
Once more Sarpedon missed with his gleaming spear,

**478** Πατρόκλου δʼ ὑπὲρ ὦμον ἀριστερὸν ἤλυθʼ ἀκωκὴ  
and the spearpoint passed over Patroclus' left shoulder,

**479** ἔγχεος, οὐδʼ ἔβαλʼ αὐτόν· ὃ δʼ ὕστερος ὄρνυτο χαλκῷ  
of the spear, and did not strike him; then he in turn sprang with the bronze,

**480** Πάτροκλος· τοῦ δʼ οὐχ ἅλιον βέλος ἔκφυγε χειρός,  
Patroclus; but the shot did not fly vainly from his hand,

**481** ἀλλʼ ἔβαλʼ ἔνθʼ ἄρα τε φρένες ἔρχαται ἀμφʼ ἁδινὸν κῆρ.  
but struck where the midriff closes round the strong heart.
> The fatal place: φρένες here names the organs or midriff enclosing the heart, not abstract thought. Homer locates Patroclus' spear physically at the body's vital center before the tree-felling simile opens.

**482** ἤριπε δʼ ὡς ὅτε τις δρῦς ἤριπεν ἢ ἀχερωῒς  
He crashed down as when some oak falls, or white poplar,

**483** ἠὲ πίτυς βλωθρή, τήν τʼ οὔρεσι τέκτονες ἄνδρες  
or tall pine, which shipwrights in the mountains

**484** ἐξέταμον πελέκεσσι νεήκεσι νήϊον εἶναι·  
cut down with newly whetted axes to be ship timber;

**485** ὣς ὃ πρόσθʼ ἵππων καὶ δίφρου κεῖτο τανυσθεὶς  
so he lay stretched before the horses and chariot,

**486** βεβρυχὼς κόνιος δεδραγμένος αἱματοέσσης.  
groaning and clutching the blood-soaked dust.

**487** ἠΰτε ταῦρον ἔπεφνε λέων ἀγέληφι μετελθὼν  
As a lion entering a herd kills a bull,

**488** αἴθωνα μεγάθυμον ἐν εἰλιπόδεσσι βόεσσι,  
a tawny, great-hearted one among shambling cattle,

**489** ὤλετό τε στενάχων ὑπὸ γαμφηλῇσι λέοντος,  
and it dies groaning beneath the lion's jaws,

**490** ὣς ὑπὸ Πατρόκλῳ Λυκίων ἀγὸς ἀσπιστάων  
so beneath Patroclus the leader of shield-bearing Lycians

**491** κτεινόμενος μενέαινε, φίλον δʼ ὀνόμηνεν ἑταῖρον·  
raged as he was slain, and called his dear companion by name:

**492** Γλαῦκε πέπον πολεμιστὰ μετʼ ἀνδράσι νῦν σε μάλα χρὴ  
"Dear Glaucus, warrior among men, now for you above all is the need

**493** αἰχμητήν τʼ ἔμεναι καὶ θαρσαλέον πολεμιστήν·  
for being a spearman and a courageous warrior!

**494** νῦν τοι ἐελδέσθω πόλεμος κακός, εἰ θοός ἐσσι.  
Now let bitter battle be your desire, if you are swift.

**495** πρῶτα μὲν ὄτρυνον Λυκίων ἡγήτορας ἄνδρας  
First urge on the leaders of the Lycians,

**496** πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενος Σαρπηδόνος ἀμφιμάχεσθαι·  
going everywhere to fight around Sarpedon.

**497** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα καὶ αὐτὸς ἐμεῦ πέρι μάρναο χαλκῷ.  
Then fight yourself around me with the bronze.

**498** σοὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ καὶ ἔπειτα κατηφείη καὶ ὄνειδος  
For afterward I shall be shame and reproach to you

**499** ἔσσομαι ἤματα πάντα διαμπερές, εἴ κέ μʼ Ἀχαιοὶ  
for all your days without end, if the Achaeans are allowed

**500** τεύχεα συλήσωσι νεῶν ἐν ἀγῶνι πεσόντα.  
to strip my armor where I fell in the gathering at the ships.

**501** ἀλλʼ ἔχεο κρατερῶς, ὄτρυνε δὲ λαὸν ἅπαντα.  
But hold fast with all your strength, and urge the whole host."

**502** ὣς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντα τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψεν  
As he spoke, death's end covered
> The completion of death: τέλος θανάτοιο is the end or fulfillment of death, figured as something that covers Sarpedon. It arrives only after he has completed his final command to Glaucus.

**503** ὀφθαλμοὺς ῥῖνάς θʼ· ὃ δὲ λὰξ ἐν στήθεσι βαίνων  
his eyes and nostrils; Patroclus set his heel upon his chest

**504** ἐκ χροὸς ἕλκε δόρυ, προτὶ δὲ φρένες αὐτῷ ἕποντο·  
and drew the spear from his flesh; his midriff followed it out.
> The spear withdrawn: The plural φρένες is anatomical here, the organs or midriff around the heart pierced at line 481. Homer makes the withdrawal as physical as the thrust: Patroclus braces the corpse with his heel, and the pierced tissue follows the spear out.

**505** τοῖο δʼ ἅμα ψυχήν τε καὶ ἔγχεος ἐξέρυσʼ αἰχμήν.  
At once he drew out both his life-breath and the spearhead.

**506** Μυρμιδόνες δʼ αὐτοῦ σχέθον ἵππους φυσιόωντας  
There the Myrmidons held back the snorting horses,

**507** ἱεμένους φοβέεσθαι, ἐπεὶ λίπον ἅρματʼ ἀνάκτων.  
eager to flee, since they had left their lords' chariots.

**508** Γλαύκῳ δʼ αἰνὸν ἄχος γένετο φθογγῆς ἀΐοντι·  
Terrible grief came upon Glaucus when he heard that voice;
> Grief that drives action: The phrase joins the forceful adjective αἰνός to ἄχος, grief or anguish. Glaucus' pain at Sarpedon's last words immediately becomes the impulse to seek healing and rally the allies.

**509** ὠρίνθη δέ οἱ ἦτορ ὅ τʼ οὐ δύνατο προσαμῦναι.  
his heart was stirred, for he could not come to his aid.

**510** χειρὶ δʼ ἑλὼν ἐπίεζε βραχίονα· τεῖρε γὰρ αὐτὸν  
Grasping his arm with his hand, he pressed it hard, for he was tormented

**511** ἕλκος, ὃ δή μιν Τεῦκρος ἐπεσσύμενον βάλεν ἰῷ  
by the wound Teucer had dealt him with an arrow as Glaucus rushed

**512** τείχεος ὑψηλοῖο, ἀρὴν ἑτάροισιν ἀμύνων.  
upon the high wall, while Teucer warded ruin from his comrades.

**513** εὐχόμενος δʼ ἄρα εἶπεν ἑκηβόλῳ Ἀπόλλωνι·  
Then in prayer he spoke to far-shooting Apollo:
> Far-shooting Apollo: ἑκηβόλος is Apollo's standing far-shooting epithet. Glaucus appeals to the god whose power reaches across distance, just as the prayer says Apollo can hear him in either Lycia or Troy.

**514** κλῦθι ἄναξ ὅς που Λυκίης ἐν πίονι δήμῳ  
"Hear me, lord, wherever you are in the rich land of Lycia,

**515** εἲς ἢ ἐνὶ Τροίῃ· δύνασαι δὲ σὺ πάντοσʼ ἀκούειν  
or in Troy; for you can hear everywhere

**516** ἀνέρι κηδομένῳ, ὡς νῦν ἐμὲ κῆδος ἱκάνει.  
a man in distress, as distress has now come upon me.

**517** ἕλκος μὲν γὰρ ἔχω τόδε καρτερόν, ἀμφὶ δέ μοι χεὶρ  
For I have this grievous wound, and all around my hand

**518** ὀξείῃς ὀδύνῃσιν ἐλήλαται, οὐδέ μοι αἷμα  
is pierced with sharp pains, nor can my blood
> Sharp pains: ὀξύς makes the pain physically sharp or piercing. The plural ὀδύνῃσιν presents repeated pangs running through Glaucus' wounded hand.

**519** τερσῆναι δύναται, βαρύθει δέ μοι ὦμος ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ·  
dry, and my shoulder is heavy because of it.

**520** ἔγχος δʼ οὐ δύναμαι σχεῖν ἔμπεδον, οὐδὲ μάχεσθαι  
I cannot hold my spear steady, nor go and fight

**521** ἐλθὼν δυσμενέεσσιν. ἀνὴρ δʼ ὤριστος ὄλωλε  
against the enemy. The best of men has perished,

**522** Σαρπηδὼν Διὸς υἱός· ὃ δʼ οὐ οὗ παιδὸς ἀμύνει.  
Sarpedon, son of Zeus; yet Zeus does not defend his own son.

**523** ἀλλὰ σύ πέρ μοι ἄναξ τόδε καρτερὸν ἕλκος ἄκεσσαι,  
But you at least, lord, heal this grievous wound for me,

**524** κοίμησον δʼ ὀδύνας, δὸς δὲ κράτος, ὄφρʼ ἑτάροισι  
still the pains, and give me strength, so that I may call

**525** κεκλόμενος Λυκίοισιν ἐποτρύνω πολεμίζειν,  
to my Lycian comrades and urge them on to war,

**526** αὐτός τʼ ἀμφὶ νέκυι κατατεθνηῶτι μάχωμαι.  
and myself fight around the corpse of the dead man."

**527** ὣς ἔφατʼ εὐχόμενος, τοῦ δʼ ἔκλυε Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων.  
So he spoke in prayer, and Phoebus Apollo heard him.

**528** αὐτίκα παῦσʼ ὀδύνας ἀπὸ δʼ ἕλκεος ἀργαλέοιο  
At once he stopped the pains, and from the grievous wound

**529** αἷμα μέλαν τέρσηνε, μένος δέ οἱ ἔμβαλε θυμῷ.  
dried the black blood, and put strength into his spirit.

**530** Γλαῦκος δʼ ἔγνω ᾗσιν ἐνὶ φρεσὶ γήθησέν τε  
Glaucus knew it in his own mind and rejoiced

**531** ὅττί οἱ ὦκʼ ἤκουσε μέγας θεὸς εὐξαμένοιο.  
that the great god had quickly heard him as he prayed.

**532** πρῶτα μὲν ὄτρυνεν Λυκίων ἡγήτορας ἄνδρας  
First he urged the leaders of the Lycians,

**533** πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενος Σαρπηδόνος ἀμφιμάχεσθαι·  
going everywhere to fight around Sarpedon.

**534** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα μετὰ Τρῶας κίε μακρὰ βιβάσθων  
Then he went among the Trojans with long strides,

**535** Πουλυδάμαντʼ ἔπι Πανθοΐδην καὶ Ἀγήνορα δῖον,  
toward Polydamas, son of Panthous, and godlike Agenor;
> Polydamas, son of Panthous: The patronymic Πανθοΐδης identifies Polydamas as the son of Panthous. Glaucus seeks him and Agenor before moving on to Aeneas and Hector, widening the rally through the Trojan command.

**536** βῆ δὲ μετʼ Αἰνείαν τε καὶ Ἕκτορα χαλκοκορυστήν,  
then he went in search of Aeneas and bronze-helmed Hector.

**537** ἀγχοῦ δʼ ἱστάμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
Standing close beside him, he addressed him with winged words:

**538** Ἕκτορ νῦν δὴ πάγχυ λελασμένος εἰς ἐπικούρων,  
"Hector, now you have utterly forgotten the allies,

**539** οἳ σέθεν εἵνεκα τῆλε φίλων καὶ πατρίδος αἴης  
who for your sake, far from friends and their native land,

**540** θυμὸν ἀποφθινύθουσι· σὺ δʼ οὐκ ἐθέλεις ἐπαμύνειν.  
are wasting their lives away; yet you will not defend them.

**541** κεῖται Σαρπηδὼν Λυκίων ἀγὸς ἀσπιστάων,  
Sarpedon lies fallen, leader of the shield-bearing Lycians,

**542** ὃς Λυκίην εἴρυτο δίκῃσί τε καὶ σθένεϊ ᾧ·  
who guarded Lycia by his justice and his strength;

**543** τὸν δʼ ὑπὸ Πατρόκλῳ δάμασʼ ἔγχεϊ χάλκεος Ἄρης.  
but bronze Ares subdued him beneath Patroclus' spear.
> Bronze Ares in the spear: The personified phrase makes bronze Ares the force of battle that brings Sarpedon down beneath Patroclus. It preserves both the godlike violence of the weapon and Patroclus' immediate agency as the victorious spearman.

**544** ἀλλὰ φίλοι πάρστητε, νεμεσσήθητε δὲ θυμῷ,  
But friends, stand beside him and feel shame in your hearts,

**545** μὴ ἀπὸ τεύχεʼ ἕλωνται, ἀεικίσσωσι δὲ νεκρὸν  
lest they strip away his armor and mutilate his corpse,

**546** Μυρμιδόνες, Δαναῶν κεχολωμένοι ὅσσοι ὄλοντο,  
the Myrmidons, enraged for all the Danaans who died,

**547** τοὺς ἐπὶ νηυσὶ θοῇσιν ἐπέφνομεν ἐγχείῃσιν.  
whom we slew with our spears beside the swift ships."

**548** ὣς ἔφατο, Τρῶας δὲ κατὰ κρῆθεν λάβε πένθος  
So he spoke, and grief seized the Trojans from head to foot,

**549** ἄσχετον, οὐκ ἐπιεικτόν, ἐπεί σφισιν ἕρμα πόληος  
uncontrollable and unyielding, since he had been their city's bulwark,

**550** ἔσκε καὶ ἀλλοδαπός περ ἐών· πολέες γὰρ ἅμʼ αὐτῷ  
though he was a foreigner; for many peoples followed with him,

**551** λαοὶ ἕποντʼ, ἐν δʼ αὐτὸς ἀριστεύεσκε μάχεσθαι·  
and he himself was always foremost among them in battle.
> Foremost time after time: The iterative ending -εσκ- presents Sarpedon's excellence as habitual: he repeatedly proved foremost in battle. The Trojans grieve for a long-standing champion, not for one isolated feat.

**552** βὰν δʼ ἰθὺς Δαναῶν λελιημένοι· ἦρχε δʼ ἄρά σφιν  
They went straight against the Danaans, eager for battle; leading them

**553** Ἕκτωρ χωόμενος Σαρπηδόνος. αὐτὰρ Ἀχαιοὺς  
was Hector, enraged for Sarpedon. Meanwhile the Achaeans

**554** ὦρσε Μενοιτιάδεω Πατροκλῆος λάσιον κῆρ·  
were roused by the stout heart of Patroclus, son of Menoetius.

**555** Αἴαντε πρώτω προσέφη μεμαῶτε καὶ αὐτώ·  
First he spoke to the two Ajaxes, eager though both already were:

**556** Αἴαντε νῦν σφῶϊν ἀμύνεσθαι φίλον ἔστω,  
"You two Ajaxes, now let it be dear to you to defend,

**557** οἷοί περ πάρος ἦτε μετʼ ἀνδράσιν ἢ καὶ ἀρείους.  
as you were before among men, or better still.

**558** κεῖται ἀνὴρ ὃς πρῶτος ἐσήλατο τεῖχος Ἀχαιῶν  
There lies the man who first leapt over the Achaeans' wall,

**559** Σαρπηδών· ἀλλʼ εἴ μιν ἀεικισσαίμεθʼ ἑλόντες,  
Sarpedon. If only, once we have taken him, we might mutilate him,

**560** τεύχεά τʼ ὤμοιιν ἀφελοίμεθα, καί τινʼ ἑταίρων  
strip the armor from his shoulders, and some one of his comrades,

**561** αὐτοῦ ἀμυνομένων δαμασαίμεθα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ.  
as they defend him here, subdue with pitiless bronze."

**562** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, οἳ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ ἀλέξασθαι μενέαινον.  
So he spoke, and they themselves were eager to defend.

**563** οἳ δʼ ἐπεὶ ἀμφοτέρωθεν ἐκαρτύναντο φάλαγγας  
When on both sides they had strengthened their battalions,

**564** Τρῶες καὶ Λύκιοι καὶ Μυρμιδόνες καὶ Ἀχαιοί,  
Trojans and Lycians, and Myrmidons and Achaeans,

**565** σύμβαλον ἀμφὶ νέκυι κατατεθνηῶτι μάχεσθαι  
they clashed, to fight around the corpse of the dead man,

**566** δεινὸν ἀΰσαντες· μέγα δʼ ἔβραχε τεύχεα φωτῶν.  
with terrible cries; loudly the warriors' armor rang.

**567** Ζεὺς δʼ ἐπὶ νύκτʼ ὀλοὴν τάνυσε κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ,  
Zeus stretched deadly darkness over the mighty battle,

**568** ὄφρα φίλῳ περὶ παιδὶ μάχης ὀλοὸς πόνος εἴη.  
so that around his dear son there might be deadly toil of battle.

**569** ὦσαν δὲ πρότεροι Τρῶες ἑλίκωπας Ἀχαιούς·  
The Trojans were first to drive back the bright-eyed Achaeans;

**570** βλῆτο γὰρ οὔ τι κάκιστος ἀνὴρ μετὰ Μυρμιδόνεσσιν  
for no mean man among the Myrmidons had been struck down,
> No mean man: The negated superlative literally says “not at all the worst.” Homer uses the understatement to mark the fallen Myrmidon as a warrior of real standing.

**571** υἱὸς Ἀγακλῆος μεγαθύμου δῖος Ἐπειγεύς,  
godlike Epeigeus, son of great-hearted Agacles,

**572** ὅς ῥʼ ἐν Βουδείῳ εὖ ναιομένῳ ἤνασσε  
who ruled in Boudeion, a well-settled place,

**573** τὸ πρίν· ἀτὰρ τότε γʼ ἐσθλὸν ἀνεψιὸν ἐξεναρίξας  
in former days; but then, after killing a noble cousin,

**574** ἐς Πηλῆʼ ἱκέτευσε καὶ ἐς Θέτιν ἀργυρόπεζαν·  
he came as a suppliant to Peleus and silver-footed Thetis;

**575** οἳ δʼ ἅμʼ Ἀχιλλῆϊ ῥηξήνορι πέμπον ἕπεσθαι  
and they sent him to go with Achilles, breaker of ranks,

**576** Ἴλιον εἰς εὔπωλον, ἵνα Τρώεσσι μάχοιτο.  
to horse-rich Ilion, there to fight the Trojans.

**577** τόν ῥα τόθʼ ἁπτόμενον νέκυος βάλε φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ  
As he grasped the corpse, glorious Hector struck him

**578** χερμαδίῳ κεφαλήν· ἣ δʼ ἄνδιχα πᾶσα κεάσθη  
on the head with a stone; all his head was split in two

**579** ἐν κόρυθι βριαρῇ· ὃ δʼ ἄρα πρηνὴς ἐπὶ νεκρῷ  
inside the massive helmet, and face-down upon the corpse

**580** κάππεσεν, ἀμφὶ δέ μιν θάνατος χύτο θυμοραϊστής.  
he fell, and death that breaks the spirit poured around him.

**581** Πατρόκλῳ δʼ ἄρʼ ἄχος γένετο φθιμένου ἑτάροιο,  
Then grief came upon Patroclus for his fallen comrade,

**582** ἴθυσεν δὲ διὰ προμάχων ἴρηκι ἐοικὼς  
and he charged through the front fighters like a hawk,

**583** ὠκέϊ, ὅς τʼ ἐφόβησε κολοιούς τε ψῆράς τε·  
swift, that scatters jackdaws and starlings;

**584** ὣς ἰθὺς Λυκίων Πατρόκλεες ἱπποκέλευθε  
so straight at the Lycians, Patroclus, driver of horses,
> Driver of horses: The vocative ἱπποκέλευθε addresses Patroclus directly as one who urges or commands horses. The narrator’s apostrophe brings the doomed hero abruptly before the audience.

**585** ἔσσυο καὶ Τρώων, κεχόλωσο δὲ κῆρ ἑτάροιο.  
you rushed, and at the Trojans, your heart enraged for your comrade.

**586** καί ῥʼ ἔβαλε Σθενέλαον Ἰθαιμένεος φίλον υἱὸν  
He struck Sthenelaus, dear son of Ithaemenes,

**587** αὐχένα χερμαδίῳ, ῥῆξεν δʼ ἀπὸ τοῖο τένοντας.  
on the neck with a stone, and tore its tendons apart.

**588** χώρησαν δʼ ὑπό τε πρόμαχοι καὶ φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ.  
The front fighters gave ground, and glorious Hector with them;

**589** ὅσση δʼ αἰγανέης ῥιπὴ ταναοῖο τέτυκται,  
as far as the cast of a long javelin reaches,
> A light throwing spear: αἰγανέη is a light javelin suited to casting rather than a heavy thrusting spear. Its flight gives a concrete measure for the Trojans’ retreat.

**590** ἥν ῥά τʼ ἀνὴρ ἀφέῃ πειρώμενος ἢ ἐν ἀέθλῳ  
which a man may throw when testing himself in a contest

**591** ἠὲ καὶ ἐν πολέμῳ δηΐων ὕπο θυμοραϊστέων,  
or in war beneath spirit-breaking enemies,

**592** τόσσον ἐχώρησαν Τρῶες, ὤσαντο δʼ Ἀχαιοί.  
so far the Trojans withdrew, and the Achaeans drove them back.

**593** Γλαῦκος δὲ πρῶτος Λυκίων ἀγὸς ἀσπιστάων  
But first Glaucus, leader of shield-bearing Lycians,
> Leader of shield-bearing Lycians: The same public title used for Sarpedon now frames Glaucus as the first to turn back. Command survives the king through the companion he charged to defend his body.

**594** ἐτράπετʼ, ἔκτεινεν δὲ Βαθυκλῆα μεγάθυμον  
turned and killed great-hearted Bathycles,

**595** Χάλκωνος φίλον υἱόν, ὃς Ἑλλάδι οἰκία ναίων  
the dear son of Chalcon, who dwelt in a house in Hellas

**596** ὄλβῳ τε πλούτῳ τε μετέπρεπε Μυρμιδόνεσσι.  
and stood foremost among the Myrmidons in wealth and riches.
> Two kinds of wealth: ὄλβος can suggest prosperity or blessed fortune, while πλοῦτος is material wealth. Their pairing makes Bathycles conspicuous for abundance before his sudden death.

**597** τὸν μὲν ἄρα Γλαῦκος στῆθος μέσον οὔτασε δουρὶ  
Glaucus stabbed him with the spear in the middle of the chest,

**598** στρεφθεὶς ἐξαπίνης, ὅτε μιν κατέμαρπτε διώκων·  
turning suddenly as Bathycles overtook him in pursuit.

**599** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών· πυκινὸν δʼ ἄχος ἔλλαβʼ Ἀχαιούς,  
He fell with a thud, and dense grief seized the Achaeans

**600** ὡς ἔπεσʼ ἐσθλὸς ἀνήρ· μέγα δὲ Τρῶες κεχάροντο,  
that a noble man had fallen; but the Trojans rejoiced greatly

**601** στὰν δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ἰόντες ἀολλέες· οὐδʼ ἄρʼ Ἀχαιοὶ  
and came in a mass to stand around him. Yet the Achaeans

**602** ἀλκῆς ἐξελάθοντο, μένος δʼ ἰθὺς φέρον αὐτῶν.  
did not forget their valor, but bore their fury straight at them.

**603** ἔνθʼ αὖ Μηριόνης Τρώων ἕλεν ἄνδρα κορυστὴν  
Then Meriones slew a helmed man among the Trojans,
> A helmed warrior: κορυστής names a warrior through his helmet and, by extension, his readiness for battle. The compact phrase introduces Laogonus at the instant Meriones kills him.

**604** Λαόγονον θρασὺν υἱὸν Ὀνήτορος, ὃς Διὸς ἱρεὺς  
bold Laogonus, son of Onetor, who was priest

**605** Ἰδαίου ἐτέτυκτο, θεὸς δʼ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ.  
of Idaean Zeus, and was honored by the people like a god.

**606** τὸν βάλʼ ὑπὸ γναθμοῖο καὶ οὔατος· ὦκα δὲ θυμὸς  
He struck him beneath the jaw and ear; his spirit

**607** ᾤχετʼ ἀπὸ μελέων, στυγερὸς δʼ ἄρα μιν σκότος εἷλεν.  
swiftly the life went from his limbs, and hateful darkness closed around him.
> Hateful darkness: The formula makes death an enclosing darkness that seizes the fallen man. This line retains the accepted rendering of its earlier occurrence.

**608** Αἰνείας δʼ ἐπὶ Μηριόνῃ δόρυ χάλκεον ἧκεν·  
Then Aeneas cast his bronze spear at Meriones,

**609** ἔλπετο γὰρ τεύξεσθαι ὑπασπίδια προβιβῶντος.  
hoping to strike him beneath the shield as he advanced.

**610** ἀλλʼ ὃ μὲν ἄντα ἰδὼν ἠλεύατο χάλκεον ἔγχος·  
But he, seeing it before him, avoided the bronze spear

**611** πρόσσω γὰρ κατέκυψε, τὸ δʼ ἐξόπιθεν δόρυ μακρὸν  
by stooping forward; behind him the long spear

**612** οὔδει ἐνισκίμφθη, ἐπὶ δʼ οὐρίαχος πελεμίχθη  
planted itself in the ground, and the butt of the spear quivered;

**613** ἔγχεος· ἔνθα δʼ ἔπειτʼ ἀφίει μένος ὄβριμος Ἄρης.  
and there at last mighty Ares loosed its force.
> Ares releases the spear’s force: The personified god of battle is said to release the weapon’s μένος, its driving force. The spear spends its energy in the earth because Meriones has escaped it.

**614** αἰχμὴ δʼ Αἰνείαο κραδαινομένη κατὰ γαίης  
And the point of Aeneas, shaking, went down into the ground,

**615** ᾤχετʼ, ἐπεί ῥʼ ἅλιον στιβαρῆς ἀπὸ χειρὸς ὄρουσεν.  
since it had leapt in vain from his strong hand.

**616** Αἰνείας δʼ ἄρα θυμὸν ἐχώσατο φώνησέν τε·  
Then Aeneas grew angry in his heart and called out:

**617** Μηριόνη τάχα κέν σε καὶ ὀρχηστήν περ ἐόντα  
"Meriones, though you are a dancer, my spear would soon

**618** ἔγχος ἐμὸν κατέπαυσε διαμπερές, εἴ σʼ ἔβαλόν περ.  
have stopped you for good, if only I had struck you through."

**619** τὸν δʼ αὖ Μηριόνης δουρικλυτὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·  
Then Meriones, famed with the spear, answered him face to face:
> Famed with the spear: δουρικλυτός is Meriones’ standing martial epithet, joining δόρυ, “spear,” with κλυτός, “famed.” Aeneas has just mocked him as a dancer; the epithet restores his proper battlefield identity.

**620** Αἰνεία χαλεπόν σε καὶ ἴφθιμόν περ ἐόντα  
"Aeneas, hard though it is, even for all your strength,

**621** πάντων ἀνθρώπων σβέσσαι μένος, ὅς κέ σευ ἄντα  
to quench the fury of every man who comes against you

**622** ἔλθῃ ἀμυνόμενος· θνητὸς δέ νυ καὶ σὺ τέτυξαι.  
in his own defense, you too were made mortal.

**623** εἰ καὶ ἐγώ σε βάλοιμι τυχὼν μέσον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ,  
If I too should meet you and strike your middle with sharp bronze,

**624** αἶψά κε καὶ κρατερός περ ἐὼν καὶ χερσὶ πεποιθὼς  
then swiftly, strong though you are and trusting in your hands,

**625** εὖχος ἐμοὶ δοίης, ψυχὴν δʼ Ἄϊδι κλυτοπώλῳ.  
you would give me glory, and your life to Hades of the famous horses."
> Hades of the famous horses: κλυτόπωλος is Hades’ fixed epithet, literally associating him with famous horses. The boast divides the outcome sharply: glory for Meriones, life surrendered to the underworld god.

**626** ὣς φάτο, τὸν δʼ ἐνένιπε Μενοιτίου ἄλκιμος υἱός·  
So he spoke, but the valiant son of Menoetius rebuked him:

**627** Μηριόνη τί σὺ ταῦτα καὶ ἐσθλὸς ἐὼν ἀγορεύεις;  
"Meriones, why, noble though you are, do you make this speech?

**628** ὦ πέπον οὔ τοι Τρῶες ὀνειδείοις ἐπέεσσι  
Friend, the Trojans will not leave the corpse for taunting words;

**629** νεκροῦ χωρήσουσι· πάρος τινὰ γαῖα καθέξει.  
before that, the earth will hold someone fast.

**630** ἐν γὰρ χερσὶ τέλος πολέμου, ἐπέων δʼ ἐνὶ βουλῇ·  
For the outcome of war lies in hands, but that of words in counsel;

**631** τὼ οὔ τι χρὴ μῦθον ὀφέλλειν, ἀλλὰ μάχεσθαι.  
so there is no need to swell our talk, but to fight."

**632** ὣς εἰπὼν ὃ μὲν ἦρχʼ, ὃ δʼ ἅμʼ ἕσπετο ἰσόθεος φώς.  
So speaking, he led, and the godlike man followed with him.

**633** τῶν δʼ ὥς τε δρυτόμων ἀνδρῶν ὀρυμαγδὸς ὀρώρει  
Then rose a din like the noise of woodcutters

**634** οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς, ἕκαθεν δέ τε γίγνετʼ ἀκουή,  
in the glens of a mountain, and the sound is heard far away;

**635** ὣς τῶν ὄρνυτο δοῦπος ἀπὸ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης  
so from the broad-wayed earth rose the crash

**636** χαλκοῦ τε ῥινοῦ τε βοῶν τʼ εὐποιητάων,  
of bronze and hide and well-made oxhide shields

**637** νυσσομένων ξίφεσίν τε καὶ ἔγχεσιν ἀμφιγύοισιν.  
stabbed with swords and double-pointed spears.

**638** οὐδʼ ἂν ἔτι φράδμων περ ἀνὴρ Σαρπηδόνα δῖον  
Not even a discerning man could still have known godlike Sarpedon,
> An unreal possibility: The particle ἄν with the past-tense verb makes the claim potential and unreal: not even a perceptive observer could have recognized Sarpedon. The condition stresses how completely battle has effaced his body.

**639** ἔγνω, ἐπεὶ βελέεσσι καὶ αἵματι καὶ κονίῃσιν  
for with missiles and blood and dust he was wrapped

**640** ἐκ κεφαλῆς εἴλυτο διαμπερὲς ἐς πόδας ἄκρους.  
from his head all the way down to the tips of his feet.

**641** οἳ δʼ αἰεὶ περὶ νεκρὸν ὁμίλεον, ὡς ὅτε μυῖαι  
And always they thronged around the corpse, as flies

**642** σταθμῷ ἔνι βρομέωσι περιγλαγέας κατὰ πέλλας  
buzz in a farmstead around milk-brimming pails

**643** ὥρῃ ἐν εἰαρινῇ, ὅτε τε γλάγος ἄγγεα δεύει·  
in the season of spring, when milk wets the vessels;

**644** ὣς ἄρα τοὶ περὶ νεκρὸν ὁμίλεον, οὐδέ ποτε Ζεὺς  
so they thronged around the corpse. And Zeus never

**645** τρέψεν ἀπὸ κρατερῆς ὑσμίνης ὄσσε φαεινώ,  
turned his shining eyes from the mighty conflict,

**646** ἀλλὰ κατʼ αὐτοὺς αἰὲν ὅρα καὶ φράζετο θυμῷ,  
but always looked down upon them and pondered in his heart,

**647** πολλὰ μάλʼ ἀμφὶ φόνῳ Πατρόκλου μερμηρίζων,  
weighing many things about the killing of Patroclus:
> Zeus weighs Patroclus’ death: μερμηρίζων presents Zeus deliberating between two immediate courses for Patroclus. The narration names the coming killing before deciding when and through whom it will unfold.

**648** ἢ ἤδη καὶ κεῖνον ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ  
whether now, there in the mighty conflict

**649** αὐτοῦ ἐπʼ ἀντιθέῳ Σαρπηδόνι φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ  
over godlike Sarpedon, glorious Hector should

**650** χαλκῷ δῃώσῃ, ἀπό τʼ ὤμων τεύχεʼ ἕληται,  
cut him down with bronze and strip the armor from his shoulders,

**651** ἦ ἔτι καὶ πλεόνεσσιν ὀφέλλειεν πόνον αἰπύν.  
or whether he should increase the steep toil for still more men.

**652** ὧδε δέ οἱ φρονέοντι δοάσσατο κέρδιον εἶναι  
As he thought on this, it seemed better to him
> The better course: The verb δοάσσατο marks the result of Zeus’s deliberation: one course appeared more profitable or better. What follows is therefore Zeus’s chosen extension of the battle, not chance momentum.

**653** ὄφρʼ ἠῢς θεράπων Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος  
that the noble attendant of Achilles, son of Peleus,

**654** ἐξαῦτις Τρῶάς τε καὶ Ἕκτορα χαλκοκορυστὴν  
should drive the Trojans and bronze-helmed Hector once more

**655** ὤσαιτο προτὶ ἄστυ, πολέων δʼ ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.  
toward the city, and take the lives of many men.

**656** Ἕκτορι δὲ πρωτίστῳ ἀνάλκιδα θυμὸν ἐνῆκεν·  
First he put a cowardly heart into Hector;

**657** ἐς δίφρον δʼ ἀναβὰς φύγαδʼ ἔτραπε, κέκλετο δʼ ἄλλους  
mounting his chariot, Hector turned in flight and called to the other

**658** Τρῶας φευγέμεναι· γνῶ γὰρ Διὸς ἱρὰ τάλαντα.  
Trojans to flee, for he knew the sacred scales of Zeus.

**659** ἔνθʼ οὐδʼ ἴφθιμοι Λύκιοι μένον, ἀλλὰ φόβηθεν  
Then not even the mighty Lycians stood firm, but all

**660** πάντες, ἐπεὶ βασιλῆα ἴδον βεβλαμμένον ἦτορ  
fled when they saw their king, struck in the heart,

**661** κείμενον ἐν νεκύων ἀγύρει· πολέες γὰρ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ  
lying in a heap of corpses; for many upon him

**662** κάππεσον, εὖτʼ ἔριδα κρατερὴν ἐτάνυσσε Κρονίων.  
had fallen when the son of Cronos stretched out the mighty strife.

**663** οἳ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀπʼ ὤμοιιν Σαρπηδόνος ἔντεʼ ἕλοντο  
Then they stripped the armor from Sarpedon’s shoulders,

**664** χάλκεα μαρμαίροντα, τὰ μὲν κοίλας ἐπὶ νῆας  
the flashing bronze; and to the hollow ships

**665** δῶκε φέρειν ἑτάροισι Μενοιτίου ἄλκιμος υἱός.  
the valiant son of Menoetius gave it to his comrades to carry.

**666** καὶ τότʼ Ἀπόλλωνα προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·  
Then cloud-gathering Zeus addressed Apollo:
> Zeus addresses Apollo: The complete speech-introduction formula repeats the Book 15 wording exactly. Zeus now directs Apollo to remove and prepare Sarpedon’s body.

**667** εἰ δʼ ἄγε νῦν φίλε Φοῖβε, κελαινεφὲς αἷμα κάθηρον  
"Come now, dear Phoebus: go cleanse the dark blood
> Dark, clouded blood: κελαινεφής describes the blood as dark or black-clouded. Apollo’s first task is explicitly to cleanse away the marks of battlefield violence.

**668** ἐλθὼν ἐκ βελέων Σαρπηδόνα, καί μιν ἔπειτα  
from Sarpedon, away from the missiles; and then

**669** πολλὸν ἀπὸ πρὸ φέρων λοῦσον ποταμοῖο ῥοῇσι  
carry him far off and wash him in the streams of a river,

**670** χρῖσόν τʼ ἀμβροσίῃ, περὶ δʼ ἄμβροτα εἵματα ἕσσον·  
anoint him with ambrosia, and clothe him round in immortal garments;

**671** πέμπε δέ μιν πομποῖσιν ἅμα κραιπνοῖσι φέρεσθαι  
and send him to be borne by swift escorts,

**672** ὕπνῳ καὶ θανάτῳ διδυμάοσιν, οἵ ῥά μιν ὦκα  
Sleep and Death, twin brothers, who swiftly

**673** θήσουσʼ ἐν Λυκίης εὐρείης πίονι δήμῳ,  
will set him in the rich land of broad Lycia.

**674** ἔνθά ἑ ταρχύσουσι κασίγνητοί τε ἔται τε  
There his brothers and companions will bury him

**675** τύμβῳ τε στήλῃ τε· τὸ γὰρ γέρας ἐστὶ θανόντων.  
with mound and marker, for that is the honor of the dead."

**676** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἄρα πατρὸς ἀνηκούστησεν Ἀπόλλων.  
So he spoke, and Apollo did not disobey his father.

**677** βῆ δὲ κατʼ Ἰδαίων ὀρέων ἐς φύλοπιν αἰνήν,  
He went down from the mountains of Ida into the grim battle,

**678** αὐτίκα δʼ ἐκ βελέων Σαρπηδόνα δῖον ἀείρας  
and at once lifted godlike Sarpedon away from the missiles;

**679** πολλὸν ἀπὸ πρὸ φέρων λοῦσεν ποταμοῖο ῥοῇσι  
carrying him far off, he washed him in the streams of a river,

**680** χρῖσέν τʼ ἀμβροσίῃ, περὶ δʼ ἄμβροτα εἵματα ἕσσε·  
anointed him with ambrosia, and clothed him round in immortal garments;

**681** πέμπε δέ μιν πομποῖσιν ἅμα κραιπνοῖσι φέρεσθαι,  
and sent him to be borne by swift escorts,

**682** ὕπνῳ καὶ θανάτῳ διδυμάοσιν, οἵ ῥά μιν ὦκα  
Sleep and Death, twin brothers, who swiftly

**683** κάτθεσαν ἐν Λυκίης εὐρείης πίονι δήμῳ.  
set him down in the rich land of broad Lycia.

**684** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἵπποισι καὶ Αὐτομέδοντι κελεύσας  
But Patroclus called to the horses and Automedon

**685** Τρῶας καὶ Λυκίους μετεκίαθε, καὶ μέγʼ ἀάσθη  
and pursued the Trojans and Lycians, and went greatly astray,
> Patroclus goes astray: The passive verb ἀάσθη marks ruinous delusion or error, not simple pride. Patroclus’ pursuit beyond the rescued ships is the decisive overreach against Achilles’ command.

**686** νήπιος· εἰ δὲ ἔπος Πηληϊάδαο φύλαξεν  
fool that he was; had he kept the word of the son of Peleus,

**687** ἦ τʼ ἂν ὑπέκφυγε κῆρα κακὴν μέλανος θανάτοιο.  
he would have escaped the evil doom of black death.

**688** ἀλλʼ αἰεί τε Διὸς κρείσσων νόος ἠέ περ ἀνδρῶν·  
But the purpose of Zeus is always stronger than that of men;

**689** ὅς τε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἄνδρα φοβεῖ καὶ ἀφείλετο νίκην  
he puts even a valiant man to flight and takes away his victory

**690** ῥηϊδίως, ὅτε δʼ αὐτὸς ἐποτρύνῃσι μάχεσθαι·  
with ease, and at another time himself urges him to fight;

**691** ὅς οἱ καὶ τότε θυμὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσιν ἀνῆκεν.  
and he then roused the spirit in Patroclus’ breast.

**692** ἔνθα τίνα πρῶτον τίνα δʼ ὕστατον ἐξενάριξας  
Whom first, whom last did you strip of armor,

**693** Πατρόκλεις, ὅτε δή σε θεοὶ θάνατον δὲ κάλεσσαν;  
Patroclus, when the gods called you toward death?

**694** Ἄδρηστον μὲν πρῶτα καὶ Αὐτόνοον καὶ Ἔχεκλον  
First Adrastus, and Autonous, and Echeclus,

**695** καὶ Πέριμον Μεγάδην καὶ Ἐπίστορα καὶ Μελάνιππον,  
and Perimus, son of Megas, and Epistor, and Melanippus;

**696** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ Ἔλασον καὶ Μούλιον ἠδὲ Πυλάρτην·  
and after them Elasus, and Mulius, and Pylartes.

**697** τοὺς ἕλεν· οἳ δʼ ἄλλοι φύγαδε μνώοντο ἕκαστος.  
These he killed; each of the others thought only of flight.

**698** ἔνθά κεν ὑψίπυλον Τροίην ἕλον υἷες Ἀχαιῶν  
Then the sons of the Achaeans would have taken high-gated Troy

**699** Πατρόκλου ὑπὸ χερσί, περὶ πρὸ γὰρ ἔγχεϊ θῦεν,  
beneath Patroclus’ hands, for he raged foremost with his spear,

**700** εἰ μὴ Ἀπόλλων Φοῖβος ἐϋδμήτου ἐπὶ πύργου  
had not Phoebus Apollo stood upon the well-built tower,

**701** ἔστη τῷ ὀλοὰ φρονέων, Τρώεσσι δʼ ἀρήγων.  
planning ruin for him and bringing aid to the Trojans.

**702** τρὶς μὲν ἐπʼ ἀγκῶνος βῆ τείχεος ὑψηλοῖο  
Three times Patroclus stepped upon the corner of the high wall,

**703** Πάτροκλος, τρὶς δʼ αὐτὸν ἀπεστυφέλιξεν Ἀπόλλων  
and three times Apollo battered him back,

**704** χείρεσσʼ ἀθανάτῃσι φαεινὴν ἀσπίδα νύσσων.  
striking the shining shield with his immortal hands.

**705** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος,  
But when he charged a fourth time, equal to a god,
> Equal to a god: The repeated formula raises Patroclus to godlike force at the precise moment a god must halt him. It preserves the accepted wording established for Diomedes’ fourth charge against Apollo.

**706** δεινὰ δʼ ὁμοκλήσας ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
Apollo cried out terribly and addressed him with winged words:

**707** χάζεο διογενὲς Πατρόκλεες· οὔ νύ τοι αἶσα  
"Draw back, Patroclus, sprung from Zeus! It is not your fate

**708** σῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ πόλιν πέρθαι Τρώων ἀγερώχων,  
to sack beneath your spear the city of the proud Trojans,

**709** οὐδʼ ὑπʼ Ἀχιλλῆος, ὅς περ σέο πολλὸν ἀμείνων.  
nor is it Achilles’ fate, though he is far better than you."

**710** ὣς φάτο, Πάτροκλος δʼ ἀνεχάζετο πολλὸν ὀπίσσω  
So he spoke, and Patroclus drew far back,

**711** μῆνιν ἀλευάμενος ἑκατηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος.  
avoiding the wrath of far-shooting Apollo.
> Divine wrath: μῆνις is the poem’s charged word for terrible, enduring wrath. Here Patroclus retreats to avoid Apollo’s divine anger after the god’s explicit warning.

**712** Ἕκτωρ δʼ ἐν Σκαιῇσι πύλῃς ἔχε μώνυχας ἵππους·  
But Hector held his single-hoofed horses within the Scaean gates;

**713** δίζε γὰρ ἠὲ μάχοιτο κατὰ κλόνον αὖτις ἐλάσσας,  
for he was pondering whether to drive back again into battle and fight,
> Hector at a crossroads: The imperfect verb presents Hector still wavering between two courses: returning to battle or calling the Trojans inside the wall. Apollo's arrival breaks that hesitation.

**714** ἦ λαοὺς ἐς τεῖχος ὁμοκλήσειεν ἀλῆναι.  
or call the people to gather within the wall.

**715** ταῦτʼ ἄρα οἱ φρονέοντι παρίστατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων  
As he pondered this, Phoebus Apollo stood beside him,

**716** ἀνέρι εἰσάμενος αἰζηῷ τε κρατερῷ τε  
taking the likeness of a young man, vigorous and strong,

**717** Ἀσίῳ, ὃς μήτρως ἦν Ἕκτορος ἱπποδάμοιο  
Asius, who was the maternal uncle of Hector, tamer of horses,

**718** αὐτοκασίγνητος Ἑκάβης, υἱὸς δὲ Δύμαντος,  
Hecuba's own brother and a son of Dymas,

**719** ὃς Φρυγίῃ ναίεσκε ῥοῇς ἔπι Σαγγαρίοιο·  
who dwelt in Phrygia beside the streams of the Sangarius.

**720** τῷ μιν ἐεισάμενος προσέφη Διὸς υἱὸς Ἀπόλλων·  
In his likeness Apollo, son of Zeus, addressed Hector:

**721** Ἕκτορ τίπτε μάχης ἀποπαύεαι; οὐδέ τί σε χρή.  
"Hector, why have you ceased from battle? You should not do so.

**722** αἴθʼ ὅσον ἥσσων εἰμί, τόσον σέο φέρτερος εἴην·  
If only I were as much stronger than you as I am weaker,
> A cutting comparison: The paired ὅσον ... τόσον measures one comparison against another: Asius claims to be weaker than Hector, then wishes he were stronger by the same degree. The disguised god uses deference to sharpen his rebuke.

**723** τώ κε τάχα στυγερῶς πολέμου ἀπερωήσειας.  
then you would soon shrink bitterly away from war.

**724** ἀλλʼ ἄγε Πατρόκλῳ ἔφεπε κρατερώνυχας ἵππους,  
But come, drive your strong-hoofed horses after Patroclus,

**725** αἴ κέν πώς μιν ἕλῃς, δώῃ δέ τοι εὖχος Ἀπόλλων.  
in hope you may kill him and Apollo grant you glory."

**726** ὣς εἰπὼν ὃ μὲν αὖτις ἔβη θεὸς ἂμ πόνον ἀνδρῶν,  
So he spoke, and the god went back again amid the toil of men.
> The god returns to the fighting: πόνος is the toil and suffering of battle, here the human struggle into which Apollo goes back. The whole line repeats the accepted wording of Iliad 13.239.

**727** Κεβριόνῃ δʼ ἐκέλευσε δαΐφρονι φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ  
Then glorious Hector ordered battle-wise Cebriones

**728** ἵππους ἐς πόλεμον πεπληγέμεν. αὐτὰρ Ἀπόλλων  
to lash the horses into battle. But Apollo

**729** δύσεθʼ ὅμιλον ἰών, ἐν δὲ κλόνον Ἀργείοισιν  
went and plunged into the throng, and cast panic among the Argives—

**730** ἧκε κακόν, Τρωσὶν δὲ καὶ Ἕκτορι κῦδος ὄπαζεν.  
evil panic—while he gave glory to the Trojans and Hector.

**731** Ἕκτωρ δʼ ἄλλους μὲν Δαναοὺς ἔα οὐδʼ ἐνάριζεν·  
Hector let the other Danaans be and slew none of them,

**732** αὐτὰρ ὃ Πατρόκλῳ ἔφεπε κρατερώνυχας ἵππους.  
but drove his strong-hoofed horses after Patroclus.

**733** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἀφʼ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε  
From the other side Patroclus leapt from his horses to the ground,

**734** σκαιῇ ἔγχος ἔχων· ἑτέρηφι δὲ λάζετο πέτρον  
holding his spear in his left hand; with the other he grasped a stone,

**735** μάρμαρον ὀκριόεντα τόν οἱ περὶ χεὶρ ἐκάλυψεν,  
a jagged, gleaming stone that his hand closed round.
> A jagged, gleaming stone: μάρμαρος marks the stone's flashing surface, while ὀκριόεις makes it sharp or jagged. Patroclus chooses a stone that his hand can close around rather than his spear for the cast.

**736** ἧκε δʼ ἐρεισάμενος, οὐδὲ δὴν χάζετο φωτός,  
Bracing himself, he hurled it and did not long shrink from his man;

**737** οὐδʼ ἁλίωσε βέλος, βάλε δʼ Ἕκτορος ἡνιοχῆα  
his cast did not fly in vain, but struck Hector's charioteer,

**738** Κεβριόνην νόθον υἱὸν ἀγακλῆος Πριάμοιο  
Cebriones, the bastard son of glorious Priam,

**739** ἵππων ἡνίʼ ἔχοντα μετώπιον ὀξέϊ λᾶϊ.  
as he held the horses' reins, on the forehead with the sharp stone.

**740** ἀμφοτέρας δʼ ὀφρῦς σύνελεν λίθος, οὐδέ οἱ ἔσχεν  
The stone crushed both his brows together, nor did his
> The stone crushes both brows: The stone is the grammatical agent: it drives Cebriones' two brows together before the following line describes his eyes falling into the dust. Homer keeps the injury's sequence brutally exact.

**741** ὀστέον, ὀφθαλμοὶ δὲ χαμαὶ πέσον ἐν κονίῃσιν  
bone withstand it; his eyes fell to the ground in the dust

**742** αὐτοῦ πρόσθε ποδῶν· ὃ δʼ ἄρʼ ἀρνευτῆρι ἐοικὼς  
there before his feet; and like a diver

**743** κάππεσʼ ἀπʼ εὐεργέος δίφρου, λίπε δʼ ὀστέα θυμός.  
he fell from the well-made chariot, and his spirit left his bones.

**744** τὸν δʼ ἐπικερτομέων προσέφης Πατρόκλεες ἱππεῦ·  
Then you taunted him and spoke, horseman Patroclus:

**745** ὢ πόποι ἦ μάλʼ ἐλαφρὸς ἀνήρ, ὡς ῥεῖα κυβιστᾷ.  
"Look there! What a nimble man, how easily he dives!

**746** εἰ δή που καὶ πόντῳ ἐν ἰχθυόεντι γένοιτο,  
If he were somewhere upon the fish-filled sea,

**747** πολλοὺς ἂν κορέσειεν ἀνὴρ ὅδε τήθεα διφῶν  
this man could satisfy many by searching out oysters,

**748** νηὸς ἀποθρῴσκων, εἰ καὶ δυσπέμφελος εἴη,  
leaping from a ship even if the sea were stormy,

**749** ὡς νῦν ἐν πεδίῳ ἐξ ἵππων ῥεῖα κυβιστᾷ.  
so easily does he dive now from his horses on the plain.

**750** ἦ ῥα καὶ ἐν Τρώεσσι κυβιστητῆρες ἔασιν.  
So then there are divers even among the Trojans!"

**751** ὣς εἰπὼν ἐπὶ Κεβριόνῃ ἥρωϊ βεβήκει  
So speaking, he advanced upon the hero Cebriones

**752** οἶμα λέοντος ἔχων, ὅς τε σταθμοὺς κεραΐζων  
with a lion's rush, when the lion ravages the folds

**753** ἔβλητο πρὸς στῆθος, ἑή τέ μιν ὤλεσεν ἀλκή·  
and is struck in the chest, and its own courage destroys it;

**754** ὣς ἐπὶ Κεβριόνῃ Πατρόκλεες ἆλσο μεμαώς.  
so eagerly, Patroclus, you sprang upon Cebriones.

**755** Ἕκτωρ δʼ αὖθʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἀφʼ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε.  
Hector in turn leapt from his horses to the ground on the other side.

**756** τὼ περὶ Κεβριόναο λέονθʼ ὣς δηρινθήτην,  
The two fought over Cebriones like lions
> Two warriors in the dual: The dual forms τώ and δηρινθήτην isolate Hector and Patroclus as a matched pair. Homer holds the two champions together grammatically before widening the struggle to both armies.

**757** ὥ τʼ ὄρεος κορυφῇσι περὶ κταμένης ἐλάφοιο  
that on a mountain's peaks, over a slain deer,

**758** ἄμφω πεινάοντε μέγα φρονέοντε μάχεσθον·  
both hungry, both high-hearted, fight together;

**759** ὣς περὶ Κεβριόναο δύω μήστωρες ἀϋτῆς  
so over Cebriones the two masters of the war-cry,

**760** Πάτροκλός τε Μενοιτιάδης καὶ φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ  
Patroclus, son of Menoetius, and glorious Hector,

**761** ἵεντʼ ἀλλήλων ταμέειν χρόα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ.  
kept longing to carve each other's flesh with pitiless bronze.

**762** Ἕκτωρ μὲν κεφαλῆφιν ἐπεὶ λάβεν οὐχὶ μεθίει·  
Hector seized him by the head and would not let go;

**763** Πάτροκλος δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἔχεν ποδός· οἳ δὲ δὴ ἄλλοι  
Patroclus held him by the foot from the other side; and now the rest,

**764** Τρῶες καὶ Δαναοὶ σύναγον κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην.  
Trojans and Danaans joined in bitter battle.

**765** ὡς δʼ Εὖρός τε Νότος τʼ ἐριδαίνετον ἀλλήλοιιν  
As the East Wind and the South Wind contend with one another

**766** οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃς βαθέην πελεμιζέμεν ὕλην  
to shake the deep forest in the valleys of a mountain,

**767** φηγόν τε μελίην τε τανύφλοιόν τε κράνειαν,  
beech and ash and smooth-barked cornel,

**768** αἵ τε πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἔβαλον τανυήκεας ὄζους  
which strike their long-reaching branches against one another

**769** ἠχῇ θεσπεσίῃ, πάταγος δέ τε ἀγνυμενάων,  
with a wondrous roar, and the crash of breaking wood,

**770** ὣς Τρῶες καὶ Ἀχαιοὶ ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισι θορόντες  
so Trojans and Achaeans, leaping upon one another,

**771** δῄουν, οὐδʼ ἕτεροι μνώοντʼ ὀλοοῖο φόβοιο.  
slew; neither side thought of ruinous flight.

**772** πολλὰ δὲ Κεβριόνην ἀμφʼ ὀξέα δοῦρα πεπήγει  
Many sharp spears stood fixed around Cebriones,

**773** ἰοί τε πτερόεντες ἀπὸ νευρῆφι θορόντες,  
and feathered arrows that had leapt from the bowstring;

**774** πολλὰ δὲ χερμάδια μεγάλʼ ἀσπίδας ἐστυφέλιξαν  
and many great stones battered shields

**775** μαρναμένων ἀμφʼ αὐτόν· ὃ δʼ ἐν στροφάλιγγι κονίης  
as they fought around him; but in the whirling dust

**776** κεῖτο μέγας μεγαλωστί, λελασμένος ἱπποσυνάων.  
he lay huge in all his hugeness, his horsemanship forgotten.
> Huge in all his hugeness: The adverb μεγαλωστί intensifies μέγας with a deliberate echo: Cebriones lies there great in sheer bulk. The grandeur is emptied of action, since death has made him forget the chariot skill that defined him.

**777** ὄφρα μὲν Ἠέλιος μέσον οὐρανὸν ἀμφιβεβήκει,  
As long as the Sun bestrode mid-heaven,

**778** τόφρα μάλʼ ἀμφοτέρων βέλεʼ ἥπτετο, πῖπτε δὲ λαός·  
the weapons struck both sides, and the people fell.

**779** ἦμος δʼ Ἠέλιος μετενίσετο βουλυτὸν δέ,  
But when the Sun moved on toward ox-loosing time,
> Ox-loosing time: Βουλυτός is the late-afternoon time when farmers unyoke their oxen. The concrete rural marker makes the battle's long duration immediately legible.

**780** καὶ τότε δή ῥʼ ὑπὲρ αἶσαν Ἀχαιοὶ φέρτεροι ἦσαν.  
then at last the Achaeans proved stronger beyond their lot.
> Beyond their lot: The phrase means beyond the allotted measure. The Achaeans' temporary superiority exceeds what the ordinary course of battle would grant them.

**781** ἐκ μὲν Κεβριόνην βελέων ἥρωα ἔρυσσαν  
They dragged the hero Cebriones clear of the missiles,

**782** Τρώων ἐξ ἐνοπῆς, καὶ ἀπʼ ὤμων τεύχεʼ ἕλοντο,  
out of the Trojan battle-din, and stripped the armor from his shoulders,

**783** Πάτροκλος δὲ Τρωσὶ κακὰ φρονέων ἐνόρουσε.  
and Patroclus sprang upon the Trojans, bent on harm.

**784** τρὶς μὲν ἔπειτʼ ἐπόρουσε θοῷ ἀτάλαντος Ἄρηϊ  
Three times then he charged, the equal of swift Ares,

**785** σμερδαλέα ἰάχων, τρὶς δʼ ἐννέα φῶτας ἔπεφνεν.  
shouting terribly, and three times he slew nine men.

**786** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος,  
But when he charged a fourth time, equal to a god,

**787** ἔνθʼ ἄρα τοι Πάτροκλε φάνη βιότοιο τελευτή·  
then, Patroclus, the end of your life appeared to you;
> The end of life: The phrase names life's endpoint directly. The narrator's sudden address to Patroclus turns the fatal moment into a personal farewell.

**788** ἤντετο γάρ τοι Φοῖβος ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ  
for Phoebus met you in the fury of battle,

**789** δεινός· ὃ μὲν τὸν ἰόντα κατὰ κλόνον οὐκ ἐνόησεν,  
terrible; Patroclus did not see him advancing through the tumult,

**790** ἠέρι γὰρ πολλῇ κεκαλυμμένος ἀντεβόλησε·  
for shrouded in thick mist he came against him.
> Hidden in thick mist: Apollo approaches concealed in a dense divine mist. Patroclus cannot see the god whose unseen intervention begins the ordered chain of his death.

**791** στῆ δʼ ὄπιθεν, πλῆξεν δὲ μετάφρενον εὐρέε τʼ ὤμω  
He stood behind him and struck his back and broad shoulders

**792** χειρὶ καταπρηνεῖ, στρεφεδίνηθεν δέ οἱ ὄσσε.  
with the flat of his hand, and Patroclus' eyes spun.
> His eyes spun: The verb describes a whirling dizziness in Patroclus' eyes. Apollo's blow stuns and disorients him before any mortal spear reaches him.

**793** τοῦ δʼ ἀπὸ μὲν κρατὸς κυνέην βάλε Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·  
Phoebus Apollo knocked the helmet from his head;

**794** ἣ δὲ κυλινδομένη καναχὴν ἔχε ποσσὶν ὑφʼ ἵππων  
and rolling, it rang beneath the horses' feet,

**795** αὐλῶπις τρυφάλεια, μιάνθησαν δὲ ἔθειραι  
the socket-eyed helmet, and its horsehair plumes were stained

**796** αἵματι καὶ κονίῃσι· πάρος γε μὲν οὐ θέμις ἦεν  
with blood and dust; before then it had not been lawful

**797** ἱππόκομον πήληκα μιαίνεσθαι κονίῃσιν,  
for that horse-crested helmet to be fouled with dust,

**798** ἀλλʼ ἀνδρὸς θείοιο κάρη χαρίεν τε μέτωπον  
but it guarded the head and comely brow of a godlike man,

**799** ῥύετʼ Ἀχιλλῆος· τότε δὲ Ζεὺς Ἕκτορι δῶκεν  
Achilles; but then Zeus granted it to Hector

**800** ᾗ κεφαλῇ φορέειν, σχεδόθεν δέ οἱ ἦεν ὄλεθρος.  
to wear upon his head, though his destruction was near.

**801** πᾶν δέ οἱ ἐν χείρεσσιν ἄγη δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος  
In his hands the whole long-shadowed spear was shattered,

**802** βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρὸν κεκορυθμένον· αὐτὰρ ἀπʼ ὤμων  
heavy, great, and stout, fitted with bronze; and from his shoulders

**803** ἀσπὶς σὺν τελαμῶνι χαμαὶ πέσε τερμιόεσσα.  
his tasselled shield fell to the ground together with its strap.

**804** λῦσε δέ οἱ θώρηκα ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς Ἀπόλλων.  
And lord Apollo, son of Zeus, unfastened his breastplate.

**805** τὸν δʼ ἄτη φρένας εἷλε, λύθεν δʼ ὑπὸ φαίδιμα γυῖα,  
Delusion seized his wits, and his shining limbs were loosened beneath him,
> Ate seized his wits: Ate is ruinous blindness or delusion, here overtaking Patroclus' mind after Apollo strips his defenses. The phrase marks not a free tactical error now, but divine bewilderment.

**806** στῆ δὲ ταφών· ὄπιθεν δὲ μετάφρενον ὀξέϊ δουρὶ  
and he stood there dazed; then from behind, with a sharp spear,

**807** ὤμων μεσσηγὺς σχεδόθεν βάλε Δάρδανος ἀνὴρ  
a Dardanian struck his back between the shoulders at close range:

**808** Πανθοΐδης Εὔφορβος, ὃς ἡλικίην ἐκέκαστο  
Euphorbus, son of Panthous, who surpassed men of his age

**809** ἔγχεΐ θʼ ἱπποσύνῃ τε πόδεσσί τε καρπαλίμοισι·  
in spearcraft, horsemanship, and swiftness of foot.
> Euphorbus' three skills: The line gives Euphorbus a balanced triad: spearcraft, chariot skill, and swift feet. His excellence makes him a credible second agent in the fatal sequence without making him the final killer.

**810** καὶ γὰρ δὴ τότε φῶτας ἐείκοσι βῆσεν ἀφʼ ἵππων  
Already then he had brought twenty men down from their chariots

**811** πρῶτʼ ἐλθὼν σὺν ὄχεσφι διδασκόμενος πολέμοιο·  
though first entering battle with his own chariot, still learning war.

**812** ὅς τοι πρῶτος ἐφῆκε βέλος Πατρόκλεες ἱππεῦ  
He was the first to hurl a weapon at you, horseman Patroclus,

**813** οὐδὲ δάμασσʼ· ὃ μὲν αὖτις ἀνέδραμε, μίκτο δʼ ὁμίλῳ,  
but did not subdue you; he ran back again and mingled with the throng,

**814** ἐκ χροὸς ἁρπάξας δόρυ μείλινον, οὐδʼ ὑπέμεινε  
snatching the ash spear from your flesh, and did not stand fast

**815** Πάτροκλον γυμνόν περ ἐόντʼ ἐν δηϊοτῆτι.  
against Patroclus in battle, though he was unarmed.
> Though he was unarmed: Gymnos can mean naked, but in battle it commonly means stripped of protective armor. Even against the disarmed Patroclus, Euphorbus withdraws into the crowd.

**816** Πάτροκλος δὲ θεοῦ πληγῇ καὶ δουρὶ δαμασθεὶς  
Patroclus, overcome by the god's blow and by the spear,

**817** ἂψ ἑτάρων εἰς ἔθνος ἐχάζετο κῆρʼ ἀλεείνων.  
gave ground toward the host of his comrades, seeking to escape death.

**818** Ἕκτωρ δʼ ὡς εἶδεν Πατροκλῆα μεγάθυμον  
But when Hector saw great-hearted Patroclus

**819** ἂψ ἀναχαζόμενον βεβλημένον ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ,  
drawing back again, wounded by the sharp bronze,

**820** ἀγχίμολόν ῥά οἱ ἦλθε κατὰ στίχας, οὖτα δὲ δουρὶ  
he came close to him through the ranks and stabbed him with his spear

**821** νείατον ἐς κενεῶνα, διὰ πρὸ δὲ χαλκὸν ἔλασσε·  
low in the flank, and drove the bronze straight through.
> Low in the flank: The keneon is the soft hollow of the flank between ribs and hip; neiatos places the thrust at its lowest part. Homer locates Hector's fatal wound with exact anatomical force.

**822** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, μέγα δʼ ἤκαχε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν·  
He fell with a thud and brought great grief upon the Achaean host.

**823** ὡς δʼ ὅτε σῦν ἀκάμαντα λέων ἐβιήσατο χάρμῃ,  
As when a lion overpowers a tireless boar in battle,

**824** ὥ τʼ ὄρεος κορυφῇσι μέγα φρονέοντε μάχεσθον  
when high-hearted they fight on a mountain's peaks

**825** πίδακος ἀμφʼ ὀλίγης· ἐθέλουσι δὲ πιέμεν ἄμφω·  
over a little spring, and both desire to drink,

**826** πολλὰ δέ τʼ ἀσθμαίνοντα λέων ἐδάμασσε βίηφιν·  
and as the boar gasps heavily, the lion overcomes him by force;

**827** ὣς πολέας πεφνόντα Μενοιτίου ἄλκιμον υἱὸν  
so the valiant son of Menoetius, who had slain so many,

**828** Ἕκτωρ Πριαμίδης σχεδὸν ἔγχεϊ θυμὸν ἀπηύρα,  
Hector, son of Priam, robbed of life at close range with his spear,

**829** καί οἱ ἐπευχόμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
and taunting him, he addressed him with winged words:

**830** Πάτροκλʼ ἦ που ἔφησθα πόλιν κεραϊξέμεν ἁμήν,  
"Patroclus, you surely thought you would sack our city

**831** Τρωϊάδας δὲ γυναῖκας ἐλεύθερον ἦμαρ ἀπούρας  
and, robbing the Trojan women of their day of freedom,

**832** ἄξειν ἐν νήεσσι φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν  
carry them in ships to your beloved fatherland,

**833** νήπιε· τάων δὲ πρόσθʼ Ἕκτορος ὠκέες ἵπποι  
fool. But before them Hector's swift horses

**834** ποσσὶν ὀρωρέχαται πολεμίζειν· ἔγχεϊ δʼ αὐτὸς  
strain with their feet for war, and with my spear I

**835** Τρωσὶ φιλοπτολέμοισι μεταπρέπω, ὅ σφιν ἀμύνω  
stand foremost among the war-loving Trojans, defending from them

**836** ἦμαρ ἀναγκαῖον· σὲ δέ τʼ ἐνθάδε γῦπες ἔδονται.  
the day of bondage; but here the vultures will devour you.

**837** ἆ δείλʼ, οὐδέ τοι ἐσθλὸς ἐὼν χραίσμησεν Ἀχιλλεύς,  
Poor wretch, even noble Achilles did not help you,

**838** ὅς πού τοι μάλα πολλὰ μένων ἐπετέλλετʼ ἰόντι·  
though remaining behind he must have laid many commands upon you as you went:

**839** μή μοι πρὶν ἰέναι Πατρόκλεες ἱπποκέλευθε  
'Do not come back to me, horseman Patroclus,

**840** νῆας ἔπι γλαφυρὰς πρὶν Ἕκτορος ἀνδροφόνοιο  
at the hollow ships before you have torn the bloodstained tunic

**841** αἱματόεντα χιτῶνα περὶ στήθεσσι δαΐξαι.  
from the breast of man-slaying Hector.'

**842** ὥς πού σε προσέφη, σοὶ δὲ φρένας ἄφρονι πεῖθε.  
So he must have spoken, and persuaded your witless heart."

**843** τὸν δʼ ὀλιγοδρανέων προσέφης Πατρόκλεες ἱππεῦ·  
Then, failing in strength, you answered, horseman Patroclus:
> Failing in strength: The participle presents Patroclus with only a little power left. His final reply is spoken as his physical strength ebbs away.

**844** ἤδη νῦν Ἕκτορ μεγάλʼ εὔχεο· σοὶ γὰρ ἔδωκε  
"Now, Hector, make your great boast, for victory

**845** νίκην Ζεὺς Κρονίδης καὶ Ἀπόλλων, οἵ με δάμασσαν  
was given you by Zeus, son of Cronos, and Apollo, who subdued me

**846** ῥηιδίως· αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀπʼ ὤμων τεύχεʼ ἕλοντο.  
with ease; for they themselves stripped the armor from my shoulders.

**847** τοιοῦτοι δʼ εἴ πέρ μοι ἐείκοσιν ἀντεβόλησαν,  
Had twenty such men as you come against me,

**848** πάντές κʼ αὐτόθʼ ὄλοντο ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ δαμέντες.  
all would have died here, brought down beneath my spear.

**849** ἀλλά με μοῖρʼ ὀλοὴ καὶ Λητοῦς ἔκτανεν υἱός,  
But deadly Fate and Leto's son killed me,

**850** ἀνδρῶν δʼ Εὔφορβος· σὺ δέ με τρίτος ἐξεναρίζεις.  
and of men Euphorbus; you are the third to despoil me.

**851** ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·  
And I will tell you another thing; lay it up in your heart:

**852** οὔ θην οὐδʼ αὐτὸς δηρὸν βέῃ, ἀλλά τοι ἤδη  
you yourself will not live long; already

**853** ἄγχι παρέστηκεν θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιὴ  
death and mighty fate stand close beside you,

**854** χερσὶ δαμέντʼ Ἀχιλῆος ἀμύμονος Αἰακίδαο.  
and you will be brought down at the hands of blameless Achilles, son of Aeacus."

**855** ὣς ἄρα μιν εἰπόντα τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψε·  
As he spoke, the end of death enfolded him;

**856** ψυχὴ δʼ ἐκ ῥεθέων πταμένη Ἄϊδος δὲ βεβήκει  
and his spirit flew from his limbs and went down to Hades,
> The spirit takes flight: Psyche is the life-breath that departs the body at death. Homer pictures it flying from Patroclus' limbs before it travels to Hades.

**857** ὃν πότμον γοόωσα λιποῦσʼ ἀνδροτῆτα καὶ ἥβην.  
mourning its fate, leaving manhood and youth behind.
> Manhood and youth: The paired nouns name what Patroclus' spirit leaves behind: adult strength and youthful bloom. The close makes death a loss not only of life, but of the human vigor that defined him.

**858** τὸν καὶ τεθνηῶτα προσηύδα φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ·  
Even though he was dead, glorious Hector addressed him:

**859** Πατρόκλεις τί νύ μοι μαντεύεαι αἰπὺν ὄλεθρον;  
"Patroclus, why do you prophesy sheer destruction for me?

**860** τίς δʼ οἶδʼ εἴ κʼ Ἀχιλεὺς Θέτιδος πάϊς ἠϋκόμοιο  
Who knows whether Achilles, son of lovely-haired Thetis,

**861** φθήῃ ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ τυπεὶς ἀπὸ θυμὸν ὀλέσσαι;  
may not first lose his life, struck by my spear?"

**862** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας δόρυ χάλκεον ἐξ ὠτειλῆς  
So speaking, he drew the bronze spear from the wound,

**863** εἴρυσε λὰξ προσβάς, τὸν δʼ ὕπτιον ὦσʼ ἀπὸ δουρός.  
bracing a foot against him, he pushed him off the spear onto his back.

**864** αὐτίκα δὲ ξὺν δουρὶ μετʼ Αὐτομέδοντα βεβήκει  
At once, spear in hand, he went after Automedon,

**865** ἀντίθεον θεράποντα ποδώκεος Αἰακίδαο·  
the godlike attendant of the swift-footed son of Aeacus,

**866** ἵετο γὰρ βαλέειν· τὸν δʼ ἔκφερον ὠκέες ἵπποι  
for he was eager to strike him, but the swift horses carried him out,

**867** ἄμβροτοι, οὓς Πηλῆϊ θεοὶ δόσαν ἀγλαὰ δῶρα.  
immortal, whom the gods gave Peleus as splendid gifts,

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Source text: public domain (Homer, ancient; Greek per the Murray text via the Perseus Digital Library, CC BY-SA 3.0). English translation: © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC — original line-aligned draft, pending editorial review. Word-by-word morphology and syntax derived from the Perseus Ancient Greek Dependency Treebank (CC BY-SA 3.0); English glosses and notes © 2026 1732 Studios, LLC.