# The Iliad, Book 5: The Aristeia of Diomedes and the Wounding of the Gods

Ἰλιάς · Homer · The Wrath

Diomedes fights like a god. He wounds Aphrodite and, with Athena beside him, Ares himself.

Source: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/5. Data: https://1732studios.com/books/iliad/5.json. Audio: https://audio.1732studios.com/iliad/<line id>.m4a.

**1** ἔνθʼ αὖ Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη  
Then Pallas Athena gave Tydeus' son Diomedes

**2** δῶκε μένος καὶ θάρσος, ἵνʼ ἔκδηλος μετὰ πᾶσιν  
strength and courage, so that he might stand out among all

**3** Ἀργείοισι γένοιτο ἰδὲ κλέος ἐσθλὸν ἄροιτο·  
the Argives and win noble glory.
> Optatives in a purpose clause: After the past-tense δῶκε, the purpose introduced by ἵνα uses the optatives γένοιτο and ἄροιτο: Athena gave the power so that Diomedes might become conspicuous and might win glory. This optative after a secondary tense is a regular way for epic Greek to frame intended result.

**4** δαῖέ οἱ ἐκ κόρυθός τε καὶ ἀσπίδος ἀκάματον πῦρ  
She kindled from his helmet and shield tireless fire,

**5** ἀστέρʼ ὀπωρινῷ ἐναλίγκιον, ὅς τε μάλιστα  
like the star of autumn, which above all others

**6** λαμπρὸν παμφαίνῃσι λελουμένος ὠκεανοῖο·  
blazes bright after bathing in Oceanus.

**7** τοῖόν οἱ πῦρ δαῖεν ἀπὸ κρατός τε καὶ ὤμων,  
Such fire she kindled from his head and shoulders,

**8** ὦρσε δέ μιν κατὰ μέσσον ὅθι πλεῖστοι κλονέοντο.  
and drove him into the midst, where the greatest number were in turmoil.

**9** ἦν δέ τις ἐν Τρώεσσι Δάρης ἀφνειὸς ἀμύμων  
There was among the Trojans a rich and blameless man, Dares,

**10** ἱρεὺς Ἡφαίστοιο· δύω δέ οἱ υἱέες ἤστην  
a priest of Hephaestus; and he had two sons,

**11** Φηγεὺς Ἰδαῖός τε μάχης εὖ εἰδότε πάσης.  
Phegeus and Idaeus, versed in every kind of battle.

**12** τώ οἱ ἀποκρινθέντε ἐναντίω ὁρμηθήτην·  
The two broke away and charged against him;
> The two brothers in the dual: The pronoun τώ, participle ἀποκρινθέντε, and verb ὁρμηθήτην are all dual forms, marking Phegeus and Idaeus as a pair. The dual continues into the next line for the brothers before the singular ὃ distinguishes Diomedes from them.

**13** τὼ μὲν ἀφʼ ἵπποιιν, ὃ δʼ ἀπὸ χθονὸς ὄρνυτο πεζός.  
the two from their chariot, while he rose from the ground on foot.

**14** οἳ δʼ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες  
Now when they had come near, advancing on one another,
> The approach formula: Apart from its final punctuation, this line repeats Iliad 3.15 and keeps its accepted English word for word. Homer uses the formula to narrow from the wider battle to two opponents closing for a cast.

**15** Φηγεύς ῥα πρότερος προΐει δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος·  
Phegeus was first to cast his long-shadowed spear;

**16** Τυδεΐδεω δʼ ὑπὲρ ὦμον ἀριστερὸν ἤλυθʼ ἀκωκὴ  
but over the left shoulder of Tydeus' son passed the point

**17** 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,

**18** Τυδεΐδης· τοῦ δʼ οὐχ ἅλιον βέλος ἔκφυγε χειρός,  
Tydeus' son, and the shaft did not fly vainly from his hand,

**19** ἀλλʼ ἔβαλε στῆθος μεταμάζιον, ὦσε δʼ ἀφʼ ἵππων.  
but struck the chest between the nipples and hurled him from the horses.

**20** Ἰδαῖος δʼ ἀπόρουσε λιπὼν περικαλλέα δίφρον,  
Idaeus sprang away, leaving the splendid chariot,

**21** οὐδʼ ἔτλη περιβῆναι ἀδελφειοῦ κταμένοιο·  
nor did he dare to stand over his slaughtered brother;

**22** οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδέ κεν αὐτὸς ὑπέκφυγε κῆρα μέλαιναν,  
for not even he would then have escaped black doom,

**23** ἀλλʼ Ἥφαιστος ἔρυτο, σάωσε δὲ νυκτὶ καλύψας,  
but Hephaestus drew him away and saved him, veiled in night,

**24** ὡς δή οἱ μὴ πάγχυ γέρων ἀκαχήμενος εἴη.  
so that the old man might not be altogether stricken with grief.

**25** ἵππους δʼ ἐξελάσας μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς  
Then the son of great-hearted Tydeus drove out the horses

**26** δῶκεν ἑταίροισιν κατάγειν κοίλας ἐπὶ νῆας.  
and gave them to his companions to lead down to the hollow ships.

**27** Τρῶες δὲ μεγάθυμοι ἐπεὶ ἴδον υἷε Δάρητος  
But when the great-hearted Trojans saw the sons of Dares,

**28** τὸν μὲν ἀλευάμενον, τὸν δὲ κτάμενον παρʼ ὄχεσφι,  
one escaped, the other slain beside the chariot,

**29** πᾶσιν ὀρίνθη θυμός· ἀτὰρ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη  
the heart of every man was shaken; but bright-eyed Athena

**30** χειρὸς ἑλοῦσʼ ἐπέεσσι προσηύδα θοῦρον Ἄρηα·  
took furious Ares by the hand and addressed him with words:

**31** Ἆρες Ἄρες βροτολοιγὲ μιαιφόνε τειχεσιπλῆτα  
"Ares, Ares, bane of mortals, blood-stained, stormer of walls,
> Three names for Ares' violence: Athena heaps three vocative epithets upon Ares: βροτολοιγός, a bane that destroys mortals; μιαιφόνος, stained with blood; and τειχεσιπλήτης, one who storms city walls. They form a distinct cluster and are not the same epithet as ἀνδροφόνος, the already locked "man-slaying" Ares.

**32** οὐκ ἂν δὴ Τρῶας μὲν ἐάσαιμεν καὶ Ἀχαιοὺς  
shall we not now leave Trojans and Achaeans

**33** μάρνασθʼ, ὁπποτέροισι πατὴρ Ζεὺς κῦδος ὀρέξῃ,  
to fight, whichever side father Zeus may grant glory,

**34** νῶϊ δὲ χαζώμεσθα, Διὸς δʼ ἀλεώμεθα μῆνιν;  
while we two draw back and avoid the wrath of Zeus?"

**35** ὣς εἰποῦσα μάχης ἐξήγαγε θοῦρον Ἄρηα·  
So speaking, she led furious Ares out of the battle,

**36** τὸν μὲν ἔπειτα καθεῖσεν ἐπʼ ἠϊόεντι Σκαμάνδρῳ,  
and then seated him by Scamander's steep banks.

**37** Τρῶας δʼ ἔκλιναν Δαναοί· ἕλε δʼ ἄνδρα ἕκαστος  
Then the Danaans turned the Trojans to flight, and each man slew

**38** ἡγεμόνων· πρῶτος δὲ ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων  
one of their leaders. First Agamemnon, lord of men,

**39** ἀρχὸν Ἁλιζώνων Ὀδίον μέγαν ἔκβαλε δίφρου·  
hurled great Odius, leader of the Halizones, from his chariot;

**40** πρώτῳ γὰρ στρεφθέντι μεταφρένῳ ἐν δόρυ πῆξεν  
for as he first turned away, he fixed the spear in his back,

**41** ὤμων μεσσηγύς, διὰ δὲ στήθεσφιν ἔλασσε,  
between the shoulders, and drove it through his chest;

**42** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχεʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ.  
he fell with a thud, and his armor clattered upon him.
> The falling-and-clattering formula: The Greek line exactly repeats Iliad 4.504, so its accepted English is repeated without alteration. The thud of the body and clatter of armor form one of the poem's recurring audible signatures of a warrior's fall.

**43** Ἰδομενεὺς δʼ ἄρα Φαῖστον ἐνήρατο Μῄονος υἱὸν  
Then Idomeneus slew Phaestus, son of the Maeonian

**44** Βώρου, ὃς ἐκ Τάρνης ἐριβώλακος εἰληλούθει.  
Borus, who had come from Tarne of the rich soil.

**45** τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἰδομενεὺς δουρικλυτὸς ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ  
Idomeneus, famed with the spear, struck him with his long spear
> Famed with the spear: δουρικλυτός here and δουρικλειτός at line 55 are compound forms of the spear-fame epithet already rendered from δουρὶ κλυτός as "famed with the spear." The same English is held for Idomeneus and Menelaus; the compounds' metrical forms do not create unrelated qualities.

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

**47** ἤριπε δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων, στυγερὸς δʼ ἄρα μιν σκότος εἷλε.  
he fell from the chariot, and hateful darkness seized him.

**48** τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἰδομενῆος ἐσύλευον θεράποντες·  
Then the attendants of Idomeneus stripped his armor.

**49** υἱὸν δὲ Στροφίοιο Σκαμάνδριον αἵμονα θήρης  
But Scamandrius, son of Strophius, skilled in the hunt,

**50** Ἀτρεΐδης Μενέλαος ἕλʼ ἔγχεϊ ὀξυόεντι  
Menelaus, son of Atreus, slew with his sharp spear,

**51** ἐσθλὸν θηρητῆρα· δίδαξε γὰρ Ἄρτεμις αὐτὴ  
the good hunter; for Artemis herself had taught him

**52** βάλλειν ἄγρια πάντα, τά τε τρέφει οὔρεσιν ὕλη·  
to shoot every wild thing that the mountain woods sustain.

**53** ἀλλʼ οὔ οἱ τότε γε χραῖσμʼ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα,  
Yet Artemis, showerer of arrows, did not avail him then,
> Artemis, showerer of arrows: ἰοχέαιρα is Artemis' standing archery epithet, literally one who pours or showers arrows. It suits the goddess who taught Scamandrius to shoot, while the next clause makes the irony exact: neither she nor his own long-range skill can save him from Menelaus's spear.

**54** οὐδὲ ἑκηβολίαι ᾗσιν τὸ πρίν γε κέκαστο·  
nor the long shots in which he once excelled,

**55** ἀλλά μιν Ἀτρεΐδης δουρικλειτὸς Μενέλαος  
but Menelaus, famed with the spear, son of Atreus,

**56** πρόσθεν ἕθεν φεύγοντα μετάφρενον οὔτασε δουρὶ  
struck him in the back as he fled before him,

**57** ὤμων μεσσηγύς, διὰ δὲ στήθεσφιν ἔλασσεν,  
between the shoulders, and drove the spear through his chest;

**58** ἤριπε δὲ πρηνής, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχεʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ.  
he fell face-down, and his armor clattered upon him.

**59** Μηριόνης δὲ Φέρεκλον ἐνήρατο, τέκτονος υἱὸν  
Then Meriones slew Phereclus, son of Tecton,

**60** Ἁρμονίδεω, ὃς χερσὶν ἐπίστατο δαίδαλα πάντα  
Harmon's grandson, who with his hands knew every cunning work
> A family of craftsmen: Phereclus is the son of Tecton and grandson of Harmon. Tecton's name is also the ordinary Greek word for a craftsman, an apt speaking name for the father of a man whose hands know every kind of intricate work.

**61** τεύχειν· ἔξοχα γάρ μιν ἐφίλατο Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη·  
how to fashion; for Pallas Athena loved him exceedingly.

**62** ὃς καὶ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ τεκτήνατο νῆας ἐΐσας  
He also built the well-balanced ships for Paris—

**63** ἀρχεκάκους, αἳ πᾶσι κακὸν Τρώεσσι γένοντο  
ships that began the evil and proved a bane to all the Trojans

**64** οἷ τʼ αὐτῷ, ἐπεὶ οὔ τι θεῶν ἐκ θέσφατα ᾔδη.  
and to himself, since he knew nothing of the gods' decrees.

**65** τὸν μὲν Μηριόνης ὅτε δὴ κατέμαρπτε διώκων  
When Meriones caught him in pursuit,

**66** βεβλήκει γλουτὸν κατὰ δεξιόν· ἣ δὲ διαπρὸ  
he struck him in the right buttock, and straight through

**67** ἀντικρὺ κατὰ κύστιν ὑπʼ ὀστέον ἤλυθʼ ἀκωκή·  
the bladder beneath the bone went the spearpoint;
> The wound through the bladder: κύστις is the bladder. Homer traces the spear from the right buttock through the bladder beneath the pelvic bone, preserving the wound's direction and internal anatomy rather than reducing it to a generic mortal blow.

**68** γνὺξ δʼ ἔριπʼ οἰμώξας, θάνατος δέ μιν ἀμφεκάλυψε.  
he dropped to his knees with a cry, and death enfolded him.

**69** Πήδαιον δʼ ἄρʼ ἔπεφνε Μέγης Ἀντήνορος υἱὸν  
Then Meges slew Pedaeus, a son of Antenor,

**70** ὅς ῥα νόθος μὲν ἔην, πύκα δʼ ἔτρεφε δῖα Θεανὼ  
who was a bastard, but shining Theano had raised him with care,

**71** ἶσα φίλοισι τέκεσσι χαριζομένη πόσεϊ ᾧ.  
equally with her own dear children, to please her husband.

**72** τὸν μὲν Φυλεΐδης δουρὶ κλυτὸς ἐγγύθεν ἐλθὼν  
The son of Phyleus, famed with the spear, came close

**73** βεβλήκει κεφαλῆς κατὰ ἰνίον ὀξέϊ δουρί·  
and struck him with his sharp spear at the nape of the head;

**74** ἀντικρὺ δʼ ἀνʼ ὀδόντας ὑπὸ γλῶσσαν τάμε χαλκός·  
straight through the teeth, the bronze sheared off his tongue at the root;
> The path through mouth and teeth: The spear enters at the nape in the previous line, cuts the tongue from beneath at its root, and passes through the teeth. The English keeps each stage of the weapon's path, including the violent force of τάμε, "cut off."

**75** ἤριπε δʼ ἐν κονίῃ, ψυχρὸν δʼ ἕλε χαλκὸν ὀδοῦσιν.  
he fell in the dust and caught the cold bronze in his teeth.

**76** Εὐρύπυλος δʼ Εὐαιμονίδης Ὑψήνορα δῖον  
And Eurypylus, son of Euaemon—godlike Hypsenor,

**77** υἱὸν ὑπερθύμου Δολοπίονος, ὅς ῥα Σκαμάνδρου  
son of high-hearted Dolopion, who was Scamander's

**78** ἀρητὴρ ἐτέτυκτο, θεὸς δʼ ὣς τίετο δήμῳ,  
priest and was honored like a god among the people—

**79** τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Εὐρύπυλος, Εὐαίμονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,  
him Eurypylus, Euaemon's splendid son,

**80** πρόσθεν ἕθεν φεύγοντα μεταδρομάδην ἔλασʼ ὦμον  
running after him as he fled before him, struck his shoulder

**81** φασγάνῳ ἀΐξας, ἀπὸ δʼ ἔξεσε χεῖρα βαρεῖαν·  
with his sword as he sprang, and lopped off the heavy hand.

**82** αἱματόεσσα δὲ χεὶρ πεδίῳ πέσε· τὸν δὲ κατʼ ὄσσε  
The bloody hand fell to the plain; and over his eyes

**83** ἔλλαβε πορφύρεος θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιή.  
came purple death and mighty fate.
> Purple death: πορφύρεος can evoke the dark, surging color of blood as well as purple dye. Homer turns death itself purple at the moment the severed, bloodied hand falls, a compact formula that keeps the scene's color before the eyes.

**84** ὣς οἳ μὲν πονέοντο κατὰ κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην·  
So they toiled throughout the mighty combat.

**85** Τυδεΐδην δʼ οὐκ ἂν γνοίης ποτέροισι μετείη  
But you could not have known on which side Tydeus' son was,
> A potential optative: The aorist optative γνοίης with ἄν means "you could not have known." Homer's indefinite second person pulls the listener into the battlefield: Diomedes moves so violently through the press that an observer could not tell among which host he was moving.

**86** ἠὲ μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ὁμιλέοι ἦ μετʼ Ἀχαιοῖς.  
whether he moved among the Trojans or among the Achaeans.

**87** θῦνε γὰρ ἂμ πεδίον ποταμῷ πλήθοντι ἐοικὼς  
For he swept across the plain like a river in full flood,

**88** χειμάρρῳ, ὅς τʼ ὦκα ῥέων ἐκέδασσε γεφύρας·  
a winter torrent that runs swiftly and scatters the dikes;
> Dikes before a torrent: In this river simile γέφυραι are the built embankments or dikes meant to confine floodwater, not bridges in the modern sense. The word is a known Homeric crux in battle contexts; here the following vineyard walls make the flood-control sense clear.

**89** τὸν δʼ οὔτʼ ἄρ τε γέφυραι ἐεργμέναι ἰσχανόωσιν,  
neither the close-built dikes can hold it back,

**90** οὔτʼ ἄρα ἕρκεα ἴσχει ἀλωάων ἐριθηλέων  
nor can the fences of the flourishing vineyards check it

**91** ἐλθόντʼ ἐξαπίνης ὅτʼ ἐπιβρίσῃ Διὸς ὄμβρος·  
when it comes suddenly, whenever the rain of Zeus bears hard;

**92** πολλὰ δʼ ὑπʼ αὐτοῦ ἔργα κατήριπε κάλʼ αἰζηῶν·  
and beneath it many fair works of young men fall in ruin.

**93** ὣς ὑπὸ Τυδεΐδῃ πυκιναὶ κλονέοντο φάλαγγες  
So beneath Tydeus' son the close-packed Trojan ranks

**94** Τρώων, οὐδʼ ἄρα μιν μίμνον πολέες περ ἐόντες.  
were thrown into confusion, and though they were many, they did not stand against him.

**95** τὸν δʼ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱὸς  
Now when the glorious son of Lycaon saw him

**96** θύνοντʼ ἂμ πεδίον πρὸ ἕθεν κλονέοντα φάλαγγας,  
charging across the plain before him, scattering the ranks,

**97** αἶψʼ ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ ἐτιταίνετο καμπύλα τόξα,  
at once he drew his curved bow against the son of Tydeus,

**98** καὶ βάλʼ ἐπαΐσσοντα τυχὼν κατὰ δεξιὸν ὦμον  
and struck him as he rushed on, hitting the right shoulder

**99** θώρηκος γύαλον· διὰ δʼ ἔπτατο πικρὸς ὀϊστός,  
upon the plate of his corselet; the bitter arrow flew through
> The corselet's plate: γύαλον is one of the curved plates or faces of the corselet. The arrow meets the body armor at Diomedes' shoulder, a different path from the belt-corselet-taslet sequence in Menelaus' wound.

**100** ἀντικρὺ δὲ διέσχε, παλάσσετο δʼ αἵματι θώρηξ.  
and pierced it clean across, and the corselet was splashed with blood.

**101** τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
Then the glorious son of Lycaon shouted long and loud:

**102** ὄρνυσθε Τρῶες μεγάθυμοι κέντορες ἵππων·  
"Rise, great-hearted Trojans, goaders of horses!

**103** βέβληται γὰρ ἄριστος Ἀχαιῶν, οὐδέ ἕ φημι  
The best of the Achaeans has been struck, and I do not think

**104** δήθʼ ἀνσχήσεσθαι κρατερὸν βέλος, εἰ ἐτεόν με  
he will long withstand this mighty shaft, if truly

**105** ὦρσεν ἄναξ Διὸς υἱὸς ἀπορνύμενον Λυκίηθεν.  
the lord, the son of Zeus, sent me forth when I left Lycia."

**106** ὣς ἔφατʼ εὐχόμενος· τὸν δʼ οὐ βέλος ὠκὺ δάμασσεν,  
So he spoke in triumph; but the swift shaft did not subdue him.

**107** ἀλλʼ ἀναχωρήσας πρόσθʼ ἵπποιιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν  
He drew back before his horses and chariot,

**108** ἔστη, καὶ Σθένελον προσέφη Καπανήϊον υἱόν·  
stood there, and spoke to Sthenelus, son of Capaneus:

**109** ὄρσο πέπον Καπανηϊάδη, καταβήσεο δίφρου,  
"Up, dear son of Capaneus, climb down from the chariot,

**110** ὄφρά μοι ἐξ ὤμοιο ἐρύσσῃς πικρὸν ὀϊστόν.  
so you may draw the bitter arrow from my shoulder."

**111** ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, Σθένελος δὲ καθʼ ἵππων ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,  
So he spoke, and Sthenelus leapt from the horses to the ground,

**112** πὰρ δὲ στὰς βέλος ὠκὺ διαμπερὲς ἐξέρυσʼ ὤμου·  
stood beside him, and pulled the swift shaft clean out of his shoulder;

**113** αἷμα δʼ ἀνηκόντιζε διὰ στρεπτοῖο χιτῶνος.  
and blood spurted out through the close-twisted tunic.
> The close-twisted tunic: στρεπτός describes cloth made from twisted thread. The blood shoots through the woven tunic beneath the armor once the arrow is pulled free.

**114** δὴ τότʼ ἔπειτʼ ἠρᾶτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
Then Diomedes, good at the war-cry, prayed:

**115** κλῦθί μευ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος Ἀτρυτώνη,  
"Hear me, child of Zeus who bears the aegis, unwearied one,
> Athena the unwearied: Ἀτρυτώνη is Athena's standing title, traditionally understood as "unwearied" or "untiring." It is distinct from her other fixed epithets, such as "bright-eyed" and "Pallas."

**116** εἴ ποτέ μοι καὶ πατρὶ φίλα φρονέουσα παρέστης  
if ever, kindly disposed, you stood beside my father and me

**117** δηΐῳ ἐν πολέμῳ, νῦν αὖτʼ ἐμὲ φῖλαι Ἀθήνη·  
in destructive war, favor me now in turn, Athena.

**118** δὸς δέ τέ μʼ ἄνδρα ἑλεῖν καὶ ἐς ὁρμὴν ἔγχεος ἐλθεῖν  
Grant me to slay that man and come within the cast of my spear,

**119** ὅς μʼ ἔβαλε φθάμενος καὶ ἐπεύχεται, οὐδέ μέ φησι  
the man who struck before I could and boasts over me, and says

**120** δηρὸν ἔτʼ ὄψεσθαι λαμπρὸν φάος ἠελίοιο.  
I will not much longer look upon the bright light of the sun."

**121** ὣς ἔφατʼ εὐχόμενος· τοῦ δʼ ἔκλυε Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη,  
So he spoke in prayer, and Pallas Athena heard him,

**122** γυῖα δʼ ἔθηκεν ἐλαφρά, πόδας καὶ χεῖρας ὕπερθεν·  
and made his limbs light, his feet and, above them, his hands.

**123** ἀγχοῦ δʼ ἱσταμένη ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
Standing close beside him, she addressed him with winged words:
> Winged words: The fixed phrase imagines spoken words as winged things traveling from speaker to hearer. This entire Greek line repeats Iliad 4.92 exactly, so its accepted English is repeated exactly as well.

**124** θαρσῶν νῦν Διόμηδες ἐπὶ Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·  
"Take courage now, Diomedes, and fight against the Trojans,

**125** ἐν γάρ τοι στήθεσσι μένος πατρώϊον ἧκα  
for I have set your father's might within your breast,

**126** ἄτρομον, οἷον ἔχεσκε σακέσπαλος ἱππότα Τυδεύς·  
fearless, such as Tydeus had, the shield-brandishing horseman.
> The shield-brandishing horseman: σακέσπαλος pictures Tydeus as one who wields or brandishes the shield, while ἱππότα names him as a horseman. Athena gives the son the same fearless battle-force that marked his father.

**127** ἀχλὺν δʼ αὖ τοι ἀπʼ ὀφθαλμῶν ἕλον ἣ πρὶν ἐπῆεν,  
And I have taken from your eyes the mist that covered them before,

**128** ὄφρʼ εὖ γιγνώσκῃς ἠμὲν θεὸν ἠδὲ καὶ ἄνδρα.  
so you may clearly distinguish both a god and a man.
> Both god and man: The paired particles ἠμέν ... ἠδέ coordinate the two objects of γιγνώσκῃς: Diomedes will distinguish both divine and human combatants. The gift is sharpened perception, not merely clearer eyesight.

**129** τὼ νῦν αἴ κε θεὸς πειρώμενος ἐνθάδʼ ἵκηται  
Therefore, if any god should come here to test you,

**130** μή τι σύ γʼ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι  
do not fight face-to-face with the immortal gods,
> Infinitives used as commands: Athena uses infinitives as direct commands: μή ... μάχεσθαι, "do not fight," followed by οὐτάμεν, "wound." The first sets the general prohibition, and the second states its single exception.

**131** τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη  
of all the others. But if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus,

**132** ἔλθῃσʼ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γʼ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.  
comes into battle, wound her with sharp bronze."

**133** ἣ μὲν ἄρʼ ὣς εἰποῦσʼ ἀπέβη γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη,  
So when she had spoken, bright-eyed Athena went away,

**134** Τυδεΐδης δʼ ἐξαῦτις ἰὼν προμάχοισιν ἐμίχθη  
and the son of Tydeus went back and joined the foremost fighters,

**135** καὶ πρίν περ θυμῷ μεμαὼς Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·  
though even before his heart had yearned to fight the Trojans;

**136** δὴ τότε μιν τρὶς τόσσον ἕλεν μένος ὥς τε λέοντα  
but now a might three times as great seized him, like a lion
> Three times as great: τρὶς τόσσον gives Diomedes a precisely heightened force, "three times as much." The number belongs to Athena's second empowerment and should not be softened into a vague intensifier.

**137** ὅν ῥά τε ποιμὴν ἀγρῷ ἐπʼ εἰροπόκοις ὀΐεσσι  
whom a shepherd among his fleecy sheep in the field

**138** χραύσῃ μέν τʼ αὐλῆς ὑπεράλμενον οὐδὲ δαμάσσῃ·  
grazes as it leaps over the fold, but does not bring it down;
> A generalizing simile: The aorist subjunctives place the lion's wounding in a typical imagined scene: a shepherd may graze the beast but fail to kill it. Homer then narrates the usual consequence in the present tense.

**139** τοῦ μέν τε σθένος ὦρσεν, ἔπειτα δέ τʼ οὐ προσαμύνει,  
he has only roused its strength, and afterward cannot defend the flock,

**140** ἀλλὰ κατὰ σταθμοὺς δύεται, τὰ δʼ ἐρῆμα φοβεῖται·  
but it enters the pens, while the abandoned sheep scatter in fear;

**141** αἳ μέν τʼ ἀγχιστῖναι ἐπʼ ἀλλήλῃσι κέχυνται,  
they are poured in heaps, pressed close upon one another,

**142** αὐτὰρ ὃ ἐμμεμαὼς βαθέης ἐξάλλεται αὐλῆς·  
while the lion in its fury leaps out from the deep fold —

**143** ὣς μεμαὼς Τρώεσσι μίγη κρατερὸς Διομήδης.  
so mighty Diomedes plunged among the Trojans in his fury.

**144** ἔνθʼ ἕλεν Ἀστύνοον καὶ Ὑπείρονα ποιμένα λαῶν,  
There he slew Astynous and Hypeiron, shepherd of the people,

**145** τὸν μὲν ὑπὲρ μαζοῖο βαλὼν χαλκήρεϊ δουρί,  
striking the one above the nipple with his bronze-shod spear,

**146** τὸν δʼ ἕτερον ξίφεϊ μεγάλῳ κληῗδα παρʼ ὦμον  
and the other with his great sword beside the shoulder, at the collarbone;

**147** πλῆξʼ, ἀπὸ δʼ αὐχένος ὦμον ἐέργαθεν ἠδʼ ἀπὸ νώτου.  
he struck, and severed the shoulder from neck and back.
> The anatomy of the sword-stroke: The blow lands at the κληΐς, the collarbone, where shoulder joins neck and back. Homer traces the severing across those exact points rather than giving a general statement of death.

**148** τοὺς μὲν ἔασʼ, ὃ δʼ Ἄβαντα μετῴχετο καὶ Πολύειδον  
He left them there and went after Abas and Polyidus,

**149** υἱέας Εὐρυδάμαντος ὀνειροπόλοιο γέροντος·  
sons of Eurydamas, the old interpreter of dreams;

**150** τοῖς οὐκ ἐρχομένοις ὃ γέρων ἐκρίνατʼ ὀνείρους,  
but the old man read no dreams for them as they went forth,

**151** ἀλλά σφεας κρατερὸς Διομήδης ἐξενάριξε·  
for mighty Diomedes slew and stripped them.

**152** βῆ δὲ μετὰ Ξάνθόν τε Θόωνά τε Φαίνοπος υἷε  
Then he went after Xanthus and Thoon, the sons of Phaenops,

**153** ἄμφω τηλυγέτω· ὃ δὲ τείρετο γήραϊ λυγρῷ,  
both late-born sons; their father was worn down by bitter old age,
> Late-born and dearly cherished: τηλύγετος is used of a child born late to a parent and therefore especially cherished. Here the dual form marks both brothers together and deepens the cost to their aged father.

**154** υἱὸν δʼ οὐ τέκετʼ ἄλλον ἐπὶ κτεάτεσσι λιπέσθαι.  
and had begotten no other son to inherit his possessions.

**155** ἔνθʼ ὅ γε τοὺς ἐνάριζε, φίλον δʼ ἐξαίνυτο θυμὸν  
There Diomedes killed them and took the dear life from both,

**156** ἀμφοτέρω, πατέρι δὲ γόον καὶ κήδεα λυγρὰ  
and left their father lamentation and bitter grief,

**157** λεῖπʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐ ζώοντε μάχης ἐκνοστήσαντε  
since he did not welcome them alive, returning home from battle;

**158** δέξατο· χηρωσταὶ δὲ διὰ κτῆσιν δατέοντο.  
instead, distant kinsmen divided his property among them.

**159** ἔνθʼ υἷας Πριάμοιο δύω λάβε Δαρδανίδαο  
There he caught two sons of Priam, son of Dardanus,

**160** εἰν ἑνὶ δίφρῳ ἐόντας Ἐχέμμονά τε Χρομίον τε.  
Echemmon and Chromius, together in a single chariot.

**161** ὡς δὲ λέων ἐν βουσὶ θορὼν ἐξ αὐχένα ἄξῃ  
As a lion, leaping among cattle, breaks the neck
> The simile's frame: ὡς opens the image of the lion and ὣς at line 163 returns to Diomedes. The paired words keep the animal attack and the battlefield action structurally distinct while making one interpret the other.

**162** πόρτιος ἠὲ βοὸς ξύλοχον κάτα βοσκομενάων,  
of a heifer or cow grazing in a thicket,

**163** ὣς τοὺς ἀμφοτέρους ἐξ ἵππων Τυδέος υἱὸς  
so the son of Tydeus cast both men from their chariot,

**164** βῆσε κακῶς ἀέκοντας, ἔπειτα δὲ τεύχεʼ ἐσύλα·  
violently and against their will, then stripped their armor.
> Made them dismount: The causative aorist βῆσε means that Diomedes "made them go" from the chariot. κακῶς and ἀέκοντας sharpen the sense: the dismounting is violent and wholly against their will.

**165** ἵππους δʼ οἷς ἑτάροισι δίδου μετὰ νῆας ἐλαύνειν.  
He gave the horses to his companions to drive down to the ships.

**166** τὸν δʼ ἴδεν Αἰνείας ἀλαπάζοντα στίχας ἀνδρῶν,  
Aeneas saw him laying waste the ranks of men,

**167** βῆ δʼ ἴμεν ἄν τε μάχην καὶ ἀνὰ κλόνον ἐγχειάων  
and went through the battle and the tumult of spears,

**168** Πάνδαρον ἀντίθεον διζήμενος εἴ που ἐφεύροι·  
searching for godlike Pandarus, in hope of finding him.

**169** εὗρε Λυκάονος υἱὸν ἀμύμονά τε κρατερόν τε,  
He found the son of Lycaon, blameless and mighty,

**170** στῆ δὲ πρόσθʼ αὐτοῖο ἔπος τέ μιν ἀντίον ηὔδα·  
stood before him, and spoke a word to him face-to-face:

**171** Πάνδαρε ποῦ τοι τόξον ἰδὲ πτερόεντες ὀϊστοὶ  
"Pandarus, where are your bow and your winged arrows,

**172** καὶ κλέος; ᾧ οὔ τίς τοι ἐρίζεται ἐνθάδε γʼ ἀνήρ,  
and your fame? No man here can rival you in it,

**173** οὐδέ τις ἐν Λυκίῃ σέο γʼ εὔχεται εἶναι ἀμείνων.  
nor does anyone in Lycia boast that he is better than you.

**174** ἀλλʼ ἄγε τῷδʼ ἔφες ἀνδρὶ βέλος Διὶ χεῖρας ἀνασχὼν  
Come, lift your hands to Zeus and loose a shaft at this man,

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

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

**177** εἰ μή τις θεός ἐστι κοτεσσάμενος Τρώεσσιν  
unless he is some god, angered at the Trojans

**178** ἱρῶν μηνίσας· χαλεπὴ δὲ θεοῦ ἔπι μῆνις.  
and enraged over sacrifices; for the wrath of a god bears hard."
> A god's wrath: μῆνις is the same weighty word that opens the Iliad for Achilles' wrath, though it is most naturally divine. Aeneas fears that some neglected sacrifice has brought that terrible sacred anger upon the Trojans.

**179** τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
Then the glorious son of Lycaon addressed him in turn:

**180** Αἰνεία Τρώων βουληφόρε χαλκοχιτώνων  
"Aeneas, counselor of the bronze-clad Trojans,

**181** Τυδεΐδῃ μιν ἔγωγε δαΐφρονι πάντα ἐΐσκω,  
in every way I take him for the warlike son of Tydeus,

**182** ἀσπίδι γιγνώσκων αὐλώπιδί τε τρυφαλείῃ,  
knowing him by his shield and his hollow-eyed helmet,
> The hollow-eyed helmet: αὐλῶπις describes the helmet by its tube-like or hollow openings, probably the eye-pieces of its face protection. Pandarus recognizes Diomedes by the distinctive pairing of shield and helmet.

**183** ἵππους τʼ εἰσορόων· σάφα δʼ οὐκ οἶδʼ εἰ θεός ἐστιν.  
and seeing his horses; yet I do not know for certain if he is a god.

**184** εἰ δʼ ὅ γʼ ἀνὴρ ὅν φημι δαΐφρων Τυδέος υἱὸς  
But if he is the man I say, the warlike son of Tydeus,

**185** οὐχ ὅ γʼ ἄνευθε θεοῦ τάδε μαίνεται, ἀλλά τις ἄγχι  
he does not rage this way without a god; one of the immortals

**186** ἕστηκʼ ἀθανάτων νεφέλῃ εἰλυμένος ὤμους,  
stands near him with his shoulders wrapped in cloud,
> Wrapped in cloud: The perfect middle participle εἰλυμένος presents the hidden god as already enveloped in cloud, with ὤμους specifying the part affected: "wrapped in cloud about the shoulders."

**187** ὃς τούτου βέλος ὠκὺ κιχήμενον ἔτραπεν ἄλλῃ.  
and turned my swift shaft aside when it reached him.

**188** ἤδη γάρ οἱ ἐφῆκα βέλος, καί μιν βάλον ὦμον  
For already I loosed a shaft at him and struck his right

**189** δεξιὸν ἀντικρὺ διὰ θώρηκος γυάλοιο·  
shoulder, clean through the plate of his corselet,

**190** καί μιν ἔγωγʼ ἐφάμην Ἀϊδωνῆϊ προϊάψειν,  
and I thought I would send him down to Hades,

**191** ἔμπης δʼ οὐκ ἐδάμασσα· θεός νύ τίς ἐστι κοτήεις.  
but still I did not subdue him; some god must be angry.

**192** ἵπποι δʼ οὐ παρέασι καὶ ἅρματα τῶν κʼ ἐπιβαίην·  
And I have no horses here, nor any chariot I might mount,

**193** ἀλλά που ἐν μεγάροισι Λυκάονος ἕνδεκα δίφροι  
though somewhere in Lycaon's halls stand eleven chariots,

**194** καλοὶ πρωτοπαγεῖς νεοτευχέες· ἀμφὶ δὲ πέπλοι  
fine, newly fitted, freshly made, with covers

**195** πέπτανται· παρὰ δέ σφιν ἑκάστῳ δίζυγες ἵπποι  
spread around them; beside each one a yoked pair of horses

**196** ἑστᾶσι κρῖ λευκὸν ἐρεπτόμενοι καὶ ὀλύρας.  
stands eating white barley and spelt.

**197** ἦ μέν μοι μάλα πολλὰ γέρων αἰχμητὰ Λυκάων  
Indeed the old spearman Lycaon urged me again and again

**198** ἐρχομένῳ ἐπέτελλε δόμοις ἔνι ποιητοῖσιν·  
as I set out from our well-built halls;

**199** ἵπποισίν μʼ ἐκέλευε καὶ ἅρμασιν ἐμβεβαῶτα  
he bade me mount my horses and chariot

**200** ἀρχεύειν Τρώεσσι κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας·  
and lead the Trojans through the mighty battles.

**201** ἀλλʼ ἐγὼ οὐ πιθόμην· ἦ τʼ ἂν πολὺ κέρδιον ἦεν·  
But I did not obey him; it would have been far better if I had.

**202** ἵππων φειδόμενος, μή μοι δευοίατο φορβῆς  
I was sparing the horses, fearing they would lack fodder

**203** ἀνδρῶν εἰλομένων εἰωθότες ἔδμεναι ἄδην.  
with men crowded together, though the horses were accustomed to eating their fill.
> Accustomed to eat: The perfect participle εἰωθότες, from ἔθω, describes an established habit and takes the infinitive ἔδμεναι: the horses are accustomed to eat until satisfied. That settled routine motivates Pandarus' mistaken caution.

**204** ὣς λίπον, αὐτὰρ πεζὸς ἐς Ἴλιον εἰλήλουθα  
So I left them, and came on foot to Ilion,

**205** τόξοισιν πίσυνος· τὰ δέ μʼ οὐκ ἄρʼ ἔμελλον ὀνήσειν.  
trusting in my bow; but it was not destined to help me.

**206** ἤδη γὰρ δοιοῖσιν ἀριστήεσσιν ἐφῆκα  
For already I have loosed shafts at two great champions,

**207** Τυδεΐδῃ τε καὶ Ἀτρεΐδῃ, ἐκ δʼ ἀμφοτέροιιν  
the son of Tydeus and the son of Atreus, and by striking drew

**208** ἀτρεκὲς αἷμʼ ἔσσευα βαλών, ἤγειρα δὲ μᾶλλον.  
unmistakable blood from both, yet only roused them more.
> Unmistakable blood: ἀτρεκής means exact, sure, or unmistakable. Pandarus insists that both hits truly drew blood, making the failure of his arrows more baffling and bitter to him.

**209** τώ ῥα κακῇ αἴσῃ ἀπὸ πασσάλου ἀγκύλα τόξα  
So by an evil fate I took my curved bow from its peg

**210** ἤματι τῷ ἑλόμην ὅτε Ἴλιον εἰς ἐρατεινὴν  
on the day I came as a leader for the Trojans to lovely Ilion,

**211** ἡγεόμην Τρώεσσι φέρων χάριν Ἕκτορι δίῳ.  
bringing favor to godlike Hector.

**212** εἰ δέ κε νοστήσω καὶ ἐσόψομαι ὀφθαλμοῖσι  
But if I return home and look upon with my own eyes

**213** πατρίδʼ ἐμὴν ἄλοχόν τε καὶ ὑψερεφὲς μέγα δῶμα,  
my native land, my wife, and my great high-roofed house,

**214** αὐτίκʼ ἔπειτʼ ἀπʼ ἐμεῖο κάρη τάμοι ἀλλότριος φὼς  
then may some stranger cut my head from me

**215** εἰ μὴ ἐγὼ τάδε τόξα φαεινῷ ἐν πυρὶ θείην  
if I do not set this bow in the blazing fire

**216** χερσὶ διακλάσσας· ἀνεμώλια γάρ μοι ὀπηδεῖ.  
after breaking it apart with my hands; it follows me as an empty thing."
> Empty as wind: ἀνεμώλιος is built on ἄνεμος, "wind," and describes what is empty, vain, or useless. Pandarus condemns the bow as a worthless companion despite its two undeniable hits.

**217** τὸν δʼ αὖτʼ Αἰνείας Τρώων ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·  
Then Aeneas, leader of the Trojans, spoke to him face-to-face:

**218** μὴ δʼ οὕτως ἀγόρευε· πάρος δʼ οὐκ ἔσσεται ἄλλως,  
"Do not speak this way. Nothing will change before

**219** πρίν γʼ ἐπὶ νὼ τῷδʼ ἀνδρὶ σὺν ἵπποισιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν  
the two of us go against this man with horses and chariot
> The two of us: The pronoun νώ and participle ἐλθόντε are both dual, marking Aeneas and Pandarus as a pair. Aeneas' plan depends on their two distinct roles in a single chariot team.

**220** ἀντιβίην ἐλθόντε σὺν ἔντεσι πειρηθῆναι.  
and meet him face-to-face, testing him with our arms.

**221** ἀλλʼ ἄγʼ ἐμῶν ὀχέων ἐπιβήσεο, ὄφρα ἴδηαι  
Come, mount my chariot, so you may see

**222** οἷοι Τρώϊοι ἵπποι ἐπιστάμενοι πεδίοιο  
what the horses of Tros are like, trained across the plain

**223** κραιπνὰ μάλʼ ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα διωκέμεν ἠδὲ φέβεσθαι·  
to chase swiftly here and there, and to flee.

**224** τὼ καὶ νῶϊ πόλιν δὲ σαώσετον, εἴ περ ἂν αὖτε  
They will save us both and bear us to the city, even if once more
> A dual team saves a dual pair: τὼ refers to the two horses, νῶϊ to the two warriors, and σαώσετον is a third-person dual future: "those two will save us two." Greek grammar makes the matched pairs especially vivid.

**225** Ζεὺς ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ κῦδος ὀρέξῃ.  
Zeus grants glory to Diomedes, son of Tydeus.

**226** ἀλλʼ ἄγε νῦν μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα  
Come now, take the whip and the shining reins,

**227** δέξαι, ἐγὼ δʼ ἵππων ἀποβήσομαι ὄφρα μάχωμαι·  
and I will dismount from the horses to fight;

**228** ἠὲ σὺ τόνδε δέδεξο, μελήσουσιν δʼ ἐμοὶ ἵπποι.  
or you face this man, and the horses will be my care."

**229** τὸν δʼ αὖτε προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
Then the glorious son of Lycaon addressed him in turn:

**230** Αἰνεία σὺ μὲν αὐτὸς ἔχʼ ἡνία καὶ τεὼ ἵππω·  
"Aeneas, keep the reins yourself, and your own two horses.

**231** μᾶλλον ὑφʼ ἡνιόχῳ εἰωθότι καμπύλον ἅρμα  
They will bear the curved chariot better beneath their accustomed driver

**232** οἴσετον, εἴ περ ἂν αὖτε φεβώμεθα Τυδέος υἱόν·  
if once more we flee before the son of Tydeus,

**233** μὴ τὼ μὲν δείσαντε ματήσετον, οὐδʼ ἐθέλητον  
lest they take fright and run astray, and refuse

**234** ἐκφερέμεν πολέμοιο τεὸν φθόγγον ποθέοντε,  
to carry us out of the fighting, longing for the sound of your voice;

**235** νῶϊ δʼ ἐπαΐξας μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς  
then the son of great-hearted Tydeus will spring upon us

**236** αὐτώ τε κτείνῃ καὶ ἐλάσσῃ μώνυχας ἵππους.  
and kill us both, and drive off the single-hoofed horses.

**237** ἀλλὰ σύ γʼ αὐτὸς ἔλαυνε τέʼ ἅρματα καὶ τεὼ ἵππω,  
No, drive your own chariot and your own two horses,

**238** τὸν δὲ δʼ ἐγὼν ἐπιόντα δεδέξομαι ὀξέϊ δουρί.  
and I will meet him as he comes with my sharp spear."

**239** ὣς ἄρα φωνήσαντες ἐς ἅρματα ποικίλα βάντες  
So speaking, they mounted the richly wrought chariot

**240** ἐμμεμαῶτʼ ἐπὶ Τυδεΐδῃ ἔχον ὠκέας ἵππους.  
and eagerly drove the swift horses against the son of Tydeus.

**241** τοὺς δὲ ἴδε Σθένελος Καπανήϊος ἀγλαὸς υἱός,  
But Sthenelus, the glorious son of Capaneus, saw them,

**242** αἶψα δὲ Τυδεΐδην ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
and at once addressed the son of Tydeus with winged words:
> Winged words: The standing phrase pictures spoken words as winged things passing swiftly from speaker to hearer. Its fixed English wording marks Sthenelus' warning as a formal speech within the rush of battle.

**243** Τυδεΐδη Διόμηδες ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ,  
"Diomedes, son of Tydeus, dear to my heart,

**244** ἄνδρʼ ὁρόω κρατερὼ ἐπὶ σοὶ μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι  
I see two mighty men eager to fight against you,

**245** ἶνʼ ἀπέλεθρον ἔχοντας· ὃ μὲν τόξων ἐῢ εἰδὼς  
both armed with boundless strength: one is skilled with the bow,
> Two warriors in the dual: The dual adjective κρατερώ and participle μεμαῶτε present Pandarus and Aeneas as one attacking pair. The singular ὃ μέν then begins to distinguish the archer from his chariot partner.

**246** Πάνδαρος, υἱὸς δʼ αὖτε Λυκάονος εὔχεται εἶναι·  
Pandarus, who boasts that he is the son of Lycaon;

**247** Αἰνείας δʼ υἱὸς μὲν ἀμύμονος Ἀγχίσαο  
and Aeneas boasts that he was born the son

**248** εὔχεται ἐκγεγάμεν, μήτηρ δέ οἵ ἐστʼ Ἀφροδίτη.  
of blameless Anchises, while his mother is Aphrodite.

**249** ἀλλʼ ἄγε δὴ χαζώμεθʼ ἐφʼ ἵππων, μηδέ μοι οὕτω  
Come, let us give ground on the horses; do not charge so

**250** θῦνε διὰ προμάχων, μή πως φίλον ἦτορ ὀλέσσῃς.  
through the foremost fighters, lest you lose your dear life."

**251** τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·  
Then, glaring at him from under his brows, mighty Diomedes spoke:

**252** μή τι φόβον δʼ ἀγόρευʼ, ἐπεὶ οὐδὲ σὲ πεισέμεν οἴω.  
"Say nothing of flight, for I do not think you will persuade me.

**253** οὐ γάρ μοι γενναῖον ἀλυσκάζοντι μάχεσθαι  
It is not in my nature to fight while shrinking away

**254** οὐδὲ καταπτώσσειν· ἔτι μοι μένος ἔμπεδόν ἐστιν·  
or to cower; my strength is still steady within me.

**255** ὀκνείω δʼ ἵππων ἐπιβαινέμεν, ἀλλὰ καὶ αὔτως  
I am reluctant to mount the horses, but even as I am

**256** ἀντίον εἶμʼ αὐτῶν· τρεῖν μʼ οὐκ ἐᾷ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη.  
I will meet them face-to-face; Pallas Athena does not let me flee.

**257** τούτω δʼ οὐ πάλιν αὖτις ἀποίσετον ὠκέες ἵπποι  
The swift horses will not carry these two back again,
> The attacking pair: The demonstrative τούτω and future verb ἀποίσετον are dual: the horses will not carry both Pandarus and Aeneas away. The next line sets this paired fate against the possibility that only one escapes.

**258** ἄμφω ἀφʼ ἡμείων, εἴ γʼ οὖν ἕτερός γε φύγῃσιν.  
both away from us, even if one of them should escape.

**259** ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω, σὺ δʼ ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν·  
And I will tell you another thing; lay it up in your heart:
> Lay it in your heart: The phrase literally tells Sthenelus to cast the instruction into his φρένες, the inner faculties of thought and resolve. This entire Greek line repeats Iliad 4.39 and therefore keeps its accepted English exactly.

**260** αἴ κέν μοι πολύβουλος Ἀθήνη κῦδος ὀρέξῃ  
if Athena of many counsels grants me glory

**261** ἀμφοτέρω κτεῖναι, σὺ δὲ τούσδε μὲν ὠκέας ἵππους  
to kill them both, hold these swift horses here

**262** αὐτοῦ ἐρυκακέειν ἐξ ἄντυγος ἡνία τείνας,  
by drawing the reins taut from the chariot rail,

**263** Αἰνείαο δʼ ἐπαΐξαι μεμνημένος ἵππων,  
but remember to spring upon Aeneas' horses

**264** ἐκ δʼ ἐλάσαι Τρώων μετʼ ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς.  
and drive them from the Trojans among the well-greaved Achaeans.

**265** τῆς γάρ τοι γενεῆς ἧς Τρωΐ περ εὐρύοπα Ζεὺς  
For they are of the stock which wide-thundering Zeus gave to Tros

**266** δῶχʼ υἷος ποινὴν Γανυμήδεος, οὕνεκʼ ἄριστοι  
as payment for his son Ganymede, because they are the best

**267** ἵππων ὅσσοι ἔασιν ὑπʼ ἠῶ τʼ ἠέλιόν τε,  
of all horses beneath the Dawn and the sun.

**268** τῆς γενεῆς ἔκλεψεν ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγχίσης  
From that stock Anchises, lord of men, stole a breed,

**269** λάθρῃ Λαομέδοντος ὑποσχὼν θήλεας ἵππους·  
putting his mares beneath them without Laomedon's knowledge;

**270** τῶν οἱ ἓξ ἐγένοντο ἐνὶ μεγάροισι γενέθλη.  
from them six foals were born to him in his halls.

**271** τοὺς μὲν τέσσαρας αὐτὸς ἔχων ἀτίταλλʼ ἐπὶ φάτνῃ,  
Four he kept himself and raised at the manger,

**272** τὼ δὲ δύʼ Αἰνείᾳ δῶκεν μήστωρε φόβοιο.  
but he gave the other two to Aeneas, masters of rout.

**273** εἰ τούτω κε λάβοιμεν, ἀροίμεθά κε κλέος ἐσθλόν.  
If we could take those two, we would win noble glory."
> A future possibility: The optatives λάβοιμεν and ἀροίμεθα with κε frame the capture as a possible future outcome: if they could take the pair, they would win glory. The dual τούτω keeps the two horses themselves in focus.

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

**275** τὼ δὲ τάχʼ ἐγγύθεν ἦλθον ἐλαύνοντʼ ὠκέας ἵππους.  
and the other two soon came near, driving their swift horses.

**276** τὸν πρότερος προσέειπε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
The glorious son of Lycaon spoke to him first:

**277** καρτερόθυμε δαΐφρον ἀγαυοῦ Τυδέος υἱὲ  
"Strong-hearted, warlike son of noble Tydeus,

**278** ἦ μάλα σʼ οὐ βέλος ὠκὺ δαμάσσατο πικρὸς ὀϊστός·  
indeed the swift shaft, the bitter arrow, did not bring you down.

**279** νῦν αὖτʼ ἐγχείῃ πειρήσομαι αἴ κε τύχωμι.  
Now I will try you with my spear, in hope I strike home."

**280** ἦ ῥα καὶ ἀμπεπαλὼν προΐει δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος  
So he spoke, and poising it, hurled his long-shadowed spear,

**281** καὶ βάλε Τυδεΐδαο κατʼ ἀσπίδα· τῆς δὲ διὰ πρὸ  
and struck the shield of Tydeus' son; straight through its front

**282** αἰχμὴ χαλκείη πταμένη θώρηκι πελάσθη·  
the bronze point flew and came against the corselet.

**283** τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε Λυκάονος ἀγλαὸς υἱός·  
Then the glorious son of Lycaon shouted long and loud:
> Pandarus' repeated shout: The Greek line exactly repeats Iliad 5.101, where Pandarus shouted after his arrow struck Diomedes. Its English is therefore repeated exactly, underscoring his renewed but mistaken certainty.

**284** βέβληαι κενεῶνα διαμπερές, οὐδέ σʼ ὀΐω  
"You are struck clean through the flank, and I do not think

**285** δηρὸν ἔτʼ ἀνσχήσεσθαι· ἐμοὶ δὲ μέγʼ εὖχος ἔδωκας.  
you will hold out much longer; you have given me great glory."

**286** τὸν δʼ οὐ ταρβήσας προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·  
But mighty Diomedes answered him without fear:

**287** ἤμβροτες οὐδʼ ἔτυχες· ἀτὰρ οὐ μὲν σφῶΐ γʼ ὀΐω  
"You missed and did not strike. Yet I do not think you two

**288** πρίν γʼ ἀποπαύσεσθαι πρίν γʼ ἢ ἕτερόν γε πεσόντα  
will cease from this until one of you has fallen

**289** αἵματος ἆσαι Ἄρηα, ταλαύρινον πολεμιστήν.  
and glutted Ares with blood, the steadfast shield-bearing warrior."
> Ares the shield-bearing warrior: ταλαύρινος describes one steadfast under the shield or bearing it firmly. Diomedes makes Ares the imagined drinker of whichever warrior's blood is shed, a grim personification of battle's appetite.

**290** ὣς φάμενος προέηκε· βέλος δʼ ἴθυνεν Ἀθήνη  
So speaking, he cast; and Athena guided the shaft

**291** ῥῖνα παρʼ ὀφθαλμόν, λευκοὺς δʼ ἐπέρησεν ὀδόντας.  
beside the eye into the nose, and it crashed through the white teeth.
> The spear enters the face: The spear enters at the nose beside the eye and drives through the teeth. Homer begins a precise wound-path that continues through the tongue and out below the chin in the next two lines.

**292** τοῦ δʼ ἀπὸ μὲν γλῶσσαν πρυμνὴν τάμε χαλκὸς ἀτειρής,  
The unyielding bronze cut his tongue away at the root,

**293** αἰχμὴ δʼ ἐξελύθη παρὰ νείατον ἀνθερεῶνα·  
and the point came out beneath the lowest part of his chin.

**294** ἤριπε δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχεʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ  
He fell from the chariot, and his armor clattered upon him,

**295** αἰόλα παμφανόωντα, παρέτρεσσαν δέ οἱ ἵπποι  
glittering and gleaming; his swift-footed horses swerved aside,

**296** ὠκύποδες· τοῦ δʼ αὖθι λύθη ψυχή τε μένος τε.  
and there his life and strength were loosed.
> Life and battle-strength: ψυχή is the life-breath that departs at death, while μένος is the force or fighting energy that animated Pandarus in battle. Homer names the loss of both together rather than using a single general word for dying.

**297** Αἰνείας δʼ ἀπόρουσε σὺν ἀσπίδι δουρί τε μακρῷ  
Aeneas sprang down with his shield and long spear,

**298** δείσας μή πώς οἱ ἐρυσαίατο νεκρὸν Ἀχαιοί.  
fearing that the Achaeans might drag away the corpse.

**299** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ αὐτῷ βαῖνε λέων ὣς ἀλκὶ πεποιθώς,  
He strode around it like a lion trusting in its strength,

**300** πρόσθε δέ οἱ δόρυ τʼ ἔσχε καὶ ἀσπίδα πάντοσʼ ἐΐσην,  
and before him held his spear and shield rounded on every side,

**301** τὸν κτάμεναι μεμαὼς ὅς τις τοῦ γʼ ἀντίος ἔλθοι  
eager to kill whoever came against him,

**302** σμερδαλέα ἰάχων· ὃ δὲ χερμάδιον λάβε χειρὶ  
shouting terribly. But the son of Tydeus took up in his hand

**303** Τυδεΐδης μέγα ἔργον ὃ οὐ δύο γʼ ἄνδρε φέροιεν,  
a great stone, a weight that two men could not carry,

**304** οἷοι νῦν βροτοί εἰσʼ· ὃ δέ μιν ῥέα πάλλε καὶ οἶος.  
such as mortals now are; but he alone swung it with ease.

**305** τῷ βάλεν Αἰνείαο κατʼ ἰσχίον ἔνθά τε μηρὸς  
With it he struck Aeneas on the hip, where the thigh

**306** ἰσχίῳ ἐνστρέφεται, κοτύλην δέ τέ μιν καλέουσι·  
turns within the hip, the place men call the socket.
> The hip socket: κοτύλη, literally a cup-shaped hollow, is the socket in which the head of the thighbone turns. Homer pauses to supply the anatomical name before describing the joint's destruction.

**307** θλάσσε δέ οἱ κοτύλην, πρὸς δʼ ἄμφω ῥῆξε τένοντε·  
He crushed the socket and broke both tendons besides,
> Both tendons: ἄμφω and τένοντε are dual forms, explicitly marking two tendons at the hip. The grammar makes the extent of the wound exact: the stone breaks both, not merely the joint in general.

**308** ὦσε δʼ ἀπὸ ῥινὸν τρηχὺς λίθος· αὐτὰρ ὅ γʼ ἥρως  
and the jagged stone tore away the skin. Then the hero

**309** ἔστη γνὺξ ἐριπὼν καὶ ἐρείσατο χειρὶ παχείῃ  
collapsed upon his knees and braced his heavy hand

**310** γαίης· ἀμφὶ δὲ ὄσσε κελαινὴ νὺξ ἐκάλυψε.  
against the earth, while dark night covered both his eyes.

**311** καί νύ κεν ἔνθʼ ἀπόλοιτο ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Αἰνείας,  
And there Aeneas, lord of men, would have perished,
> A death that did not happen: The optative ἀπόλοιτο with κεν states what would have happened, while εἰ μή introduces the intervention that prevents it. Homer brings Aeneas to the edge of death before naming Aphrodite as his rescuer.

**312** εἰ μὴ ἄρʼ ὀξὺ νόησε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη  
had not Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, been quick to see it,

**313** μήτηρ, ἥ μιν ὑπʼ Ἀγχίσῃ τέκε βουκολέοντι·  
his mother, who bore him to Anchises as he tended cattle.

**314** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἑὸν φίλον υἱὸν ἐχεύατο πήχεε λευκώ,  
She flung her two white arms around her dear son,
> Aphrodite's white arms: The dual πήχεε names Aphrodite's two forearms, and λευκώ gives them the traditional divine and feminine epithet white. The line keeps her bodily embrace distinct from the robe she spreads as protection next.

**315** πρόσθε δέ οἱ πέπλοιο φαεινοῦ πτύγμα κάλυψεν  
and before him she spread a fold of her shining robe

**316** ἕρκος ἔμεν βελέων, μή τις Δαναῶν ταχυπώλων  
to be a shield from missiles, lest one of the swift-horsed Danaans

**317** χαλκὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι βαλὼν ἐκ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.  
strike bronze into his chest and take away his life.

**318** ἣ μὲν ἑὸν φίλον υἱὸν ὑπεξέφερεν πολέμοιο·  
So she carried her dear son out of the battle.

**319** οὐδʼ υἱὸς Καπανῆος ἐλήθετο συνθεσιάων  
Nor did the son of Capaneus forget the compact

**320** τάων ἃς ἐπέτελλε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης,  
that Diomedes, good at the war-cry, had laid upon him,
> The comrades' compact: συνθεσίαι are things agreed together, here the precise instructions Diomedes gave Sthenelus about the horses. The word stresses that Sthenelus' capture follows a shared plan rather than a sudden act of plunder.

**321** ἀλλʼ ὅ γε τοὺς μὲν ἑοὺς ἠρύκακε μώνυχας ἵππους  
but he held his own single-hoofed horses back

**322** νόσφιν ἀπὸ φλοίσβου ἐξ ἄντυγος ἡνία τείνας,  
apart from the tumult, drawing the reins taut from the chariot rail;

**323** Αἰνείαο δʼ ἐπαΐξας καλλίτριχας ἵππους  
then he sprang upon the fair-maned horses of Aeneas

**324** ἐξέλασε Τρώων μετʼ ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς.  
and drove them from the Trojans among the well-greaved Achaeans.

**325** δῶκε δὲ Δηϊπύλῳ ἑτάρῳ φίλῳ, ὃν περὶ πάσης  
He gave them to Deipylus, his dear companion, whom above all

**326** τῖεν ὁμηλικίης ὅτι οἱ φρεσὶν ἄρτια ᾔδη,  
his comrades he honored, because their minds were of one accord,

**327** νηυσὶν ἔπι γλαφυρῇσιν ἐλαυνέμεν· αὐτὰρ ὅ γʼ ἥρως  
to drive to the hollow ships. Then the hero

**328** ὧν ἵππων ἐπιβὰς ἔλαβʼ ἡνία σιγαλόεντα,  
mounted his own horses and took the shining reins,

**329** αἶψα δὲ Τυδεΐδην μέθεπε κρατερώνυχας ἵππους  
and at once followed after the son of Tydeus with his strong-hoofed horses,

**330** ἐμμεμαώς· ὃ δὲ Κύπριν ἐπῴχετο νηλέϊ χαλκῷ  
eagerly; but Diomedes pursued Cypris with pitiless bronze,

**331** γιγνώσκων ὅ τʼ ἄναλκις ἔην θεός, οὐδὲ θεάων  
knowing that she was a powerless goddess, and not one

**332** τάων αἵ τʼ ἀνδρῶν πόλεμον κάτα κοιρανέουσιν,  
of the goddesses who rule over the warfare of men,

**333** οὔτʼ ἄρʼ Ἀθηναίη οὔτε πτολίπορθος Ἐνυώ.  
neither Athena nor Enyo, sacker of cities.

**334** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δή ῥʼ ἐκίχανε πολὺν καθʼ ὅμιλον ὀπάζων,  
But when at last he caught her, pursuing through the great throng,

**335** ἔνθʼ ἐπορεξάμενος μεγαθύμου Τυδέος υἱὸς  
then the son of great-hearted Tydeus reached out

**336** ἄκρην οὔτασε χεῖρα μετάλμενος ὀξέϊ δουρὶ  
and leaping, stabbed her at the end of her delicate hand with his sharp spear.

**337** ἀβληχρήν· εἶθαρ δὲ δόρυ χροὸς ἀντετόρησεν  
At once the spear pierced through the skin

**338** ἀμβροσίου διὰ πέπλου, ὅν οἱ Χάριτες κάμον αὐταί,  
and through the ambrosial robe the Graces themselves had made for her,

**339** πρυμνὸν ὕπερ θέναρος· ῥέε δʼ ἄμβροτον αἷμα θεοῖο  
above the base of her palm; and the goddess's immortal blood flowed,

**340** ἰχώρ, οἷός πέρ τε ῥέει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσιν·  
ichor, such as flows in the blessed gods.
> Ichor, divine blood: ἰχώρ is the fluid that runs in a god's wounded body. Homer calls it immortal blood and then explains why it differs from mortal blood: the gods do not share the human diet of bread and wine.

**341** οὐ γὰρ σῖτον ἔδουσʼ, οὐ πίνουσʼ αἴθοπα οἶνον,  
For they do not eat bread or drink the blazing wine,

**342** τοὔνεκʼ ἀναίμονές εἰσι καὶ ἀθάνατοι καλέονται.  
and therefore they are bloodless and are called immortal.

**343** ἣ δὲ μέγα ἰάχουσα ἀπὸ ἕο κάββαλεν υἱόν·  
With a loud cry she dropped her son from her arms;

**344** καὶ τὸν μὲν μετὰ χερσὶν ἐρύσατο Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων  
but Phoebus Apollo caught him in his hands

**345** κυανέῃ νεφέλῃ, μή τις Δαναῶν ταχυπώλων  
and wrapped him in a dark-blue cloud, lest one of the swift-horsed Danaans

**346** χαλκὸν ἐνὶ στήθεσσι βαλὼν ἐκ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο·  
strike bronze into his chest and take away his life.

**347** τῇ δʼ ἐπὶ μακρὸν ἄϋσε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
Then Diomedes, good at the war-cry, shouted long and loud after her:

**348** εἶκε Διὸς θύγατερ πολέμου καὶ δηϊοτῆτος·  
"Give way, daughter of Zeus, from war and fighting!

**349** ἦ οὐχ ἅλις ὅττι γυναῖκας ἀνάλκιδας ἠπεροπεύεις;  
Is it not enough that you deceive unwarlike women?

**350** εἰ δὲ σύ γʼ ἐς πόλεμον πωλήσεαι, ἦ τέ σʼ ὀΐω  
If you continue to range through battle, I think

**351** ῥιγήσειν πόλεμόν γε καὶ εἴ χʼ ἑτέρωθι πύθηαι.  
you will shudder at war even when you hear of it elsewhere."

**352** ὣς ἔφαθʼ, ἣ δʼ ἀλύουσʼ ἀπεβήσετο, τείρετο δʼ αἰνῶς·  
So he spoke; she wandered away distraught, grievously tormented.

**353** τὴν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἶρις ἑλοῦσα ποδήνεμος ἔξαγʼ ὁμίλου  
Then wind-footed Iris took her and led her out of the throng,
> Wind-footed Iris: ποδήνεμος, literally "wind-footed," is Iris' standing epithet as the gods' swift messenger. It is kept distinct from the separate formula πόδας ὠκέα Ἶρις, "swift-footed Iris."

**354** ἀχθομένην ὀδύνῃσι, μελαίνετο δὲ χρόα καλόν.  
weighed down by pain, while her fair skin darkened.
> Divine skin darkened: μελαίνετο says that Aphrodite's fair skin was turning dark under the shock of the wound. The visible change marks pain on an immortal body without making her blood or flesh mortal.

**355** εὗρεν ἔπειτα μάχης ἐπʼ ἀριστερὰ θοῦρον Ἄρηα  
She found raging Ares seated to the left of the battle;

**356** ἥμενον· ἠέρι δʼ ἔγχος ἐκέκλιτο καὶ ταχέʼ ἵππω·  
his spear and swift horses rested in the mist.

**357** ἣ δὲ γνὺξ ἐριποῦσα κασιγνήτοιο φίλοιο  
She fell upon her knees before her dear brother

**358** πολλὰ λισσομένη χρυσάμπυκας ᾔτεεν ἵππους·  
and, pleading earnestly, asked for his gold-frontleted horses:
> Gold-frontleted horses: χρυσάμπυξ describes the horses by the golden band or frontlet of their harness. The ornament belongs to Ares' divine team, not to Aphrodite herself.

**359** φίλε κασίγνητε κόμισαί τέ με δός τέ μοι ἵππους,  
"Dear brother, carry me away and give me your horses,

**360** ὄφρʼ ἐς Ὄλυμπον ἵκωμαι ἵνʼ ἀθανάτων ἕδος ἐστί.  
so I may reach Olympus, where the immortals have their seat.

**361** λίην ἄχθομαι ἕλκος ὅ με βροτὸς οὔτασεν ἀνὴρ  
I am sorely troubled by the wound a mortal man dealt me,

**362** Τυδεΐδης, ὃς νῦν γε καὶ ἂν Διὶ πατρὶ μάχοιτο.  
the son of Tydeus, who now would fight even father Zeus."

**363** ὣς φάτο, τῇ δʼ ἄρʼ Ἄρης δῶκε χρυσάμπυκας ἵππους·  
So she spoke, and Ares gave her his gold-frontleted horses.

**364** ἣ δʼ ἐς δίφρον ἔβαινεν ἀκηχεμένη φίλον ἦτορ,  
She mounted the chariot, grieving in her dear heart,

**365** πὰρ δέ οἱ Ἶρις ἔβαινε καὶ ἡνία λάζετο χερσί,  
and Iris mounted beside her and took the reins in her hands.

**366** μάστιξεν δʼ ἐλάαν, τὼ δʼ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην.  
She cracked the whip to drive, and the pair flew on, not unwilling.
> The two horses fly: Both τώ and πετέσθην are dual forms, so the grammar treats Ares' two horses as a matched pair. The negative οὐκ ἀέκοντε adds that the pair flew willingly.

**367** αἶψα δʼ ἔπειθʼ ἵκοντο θεῶν ἕδος αἰπὺν Ὄλυμπον·  
Swiftly then they reached steep Olympus, the gods' abode.

**368** ἔνθʼ ἵππους ἔστησε ποδήνεμος ὠκέα Ἶρις  
There wind-footed swift Iris halted the horses,

**369** λύσασʼ ἐξ ὀχέων, παρὰ δʼ ἀμβρόσιον βάλεν εἶδαρ·  
unyoked them from the chariot, and set ambrosial fodder before them.

**370** ἣ δʼ ἐν γούνασι πῖπτε Διώνης δῖʼ Ἀφροδίτη  
Then shining Aphrodite fell at the knees of Dione,

**371** μητρὸς ἑῆς· ἣ δʼ ἀγκὰς ἐλάζετο θυγατέρα ἥν,  
her own mother; she took her daughter into her arms,

**372** χειρί τέ μιν κατέρεξεν ἔπος τʼ ἔφατʼ ἐκ τʼ ὀνόμαζε·  
stroked her with her hand, and spoke, calling her by name:

**373** τίς νύ σε τοιάδʼ ἔρεξε φίλον τέκος Οὐρανιώνων  
"Which of the heavenly gods has treated you so, dear child,

**374** μαψιδίως, ὡς εἴ τι κακὸν ῥέζουσαν ἐνωπῇ;  
recklessly, as though you were plainly doing some evil?"
> As though caught doing wrong: The accusative participle ῥέζουσαν agrees with Aphrodite as the understood object of ἔρεξε: someone treated her as though she were doing something evil. Dione's question presents the punishment as shockingly undeserved.

**375** τὴν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη·  
Then laughter-loving Aphrodite answered her:

**376** οὖτά με Τυδέος υἱὸς ὑπέρθυμος Διομήδης,  
"High-hearted Diomedes, the son of Tydeus, wounded me,

**377** οὕνεκʼ ἐγὼ φίλον υἱὸν ὑπεξέφερον πολέμοιο  
because I was carrying my dear son out of the fighting,

**378** Αἰνείαν, ὃς ἐμοὶ πάντων πολὺ φίλτατός ἐστιν.  
Aeneas, who is far the dearest of all to me.

**379** οὐ γὰρ ἔτι Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν φύλοπις αἰνή,  
For this is no longer the Trojans' and Achaeans' dreadful clash;

**380** ἀλλʼ ἤδη Δαναοί γε καὶ ἀθανάτοισι μάχονται.  
the Danaans now are fighting even the immortals."

**381** τὴν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα Διώνη, δῖα θεάων·  
Then Dione, the shining one among goddesses, answered her:
> Shining among goddesses: δῖα is the feminine form of the epithet-family elsewhere rendered "godlike" or "shining." With θεάων, Dione is singled out as "the shining one among goddesses," matching the established formula for a shining woman among women.

**382** τέτλαθι τέκνον ἐμόν, καὶ ἀνάσχεο κηδομένη περ·  
"Endure, my child, and bear up, though you grieve.

**383** πολλοὶ γὰρ δὴ τλῆμεν Ὀλύμπια δώματʼ ἔχοντες  
For many of us who hold homes on Olympus have endured

**384** ἐξ ἀνδρῶν χαλέπʼ ἄλγεʼ ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισι τιθέντες.  
cruel pains from men, as we set affliction upon one another.

**385** τλῆ μὲν Ἄρης ὅτε μιν Ὦτος κρατερός τʼ Ἐφιάλτης  
Ares endured it when Otus and mighty Ephialtes,

**386** παῖδες Ἀλωῆος, δῆσαν κρατερῷ ἐνὶ δεσμῷ·  
the sons of Aloeus, bound him in a mighty bond.

**387** χαλκέῳ δʼ ἐν κεράμῳ δέδετο τρισκαίδεκα μῆνας·  
For thirteen months he lay bound in a bronze jar,
> A bronze jar: κέραμος usually names an earthen storage jar, but χαλκέῳ explicitly makes this vessel bronze. The strange metal confinement turns a familiar household container into a prison strong enough to hold Ares.

**388** καί νύ κεν ἔνθʼ ἀπόλοιτο Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο,  
and there Ares, insatiate for war, might have perished

**389** εἰ μὴ μητρυιὴ περικαλλὴς Ἠερίβοια  
had not their stepmother, exceedingly fair Eeriboea,

**390** Ἑρμέᾳ ἐξήγγειλεν· ὃ δʼ ἐξέκλεψεν Ἄρηα  
brought word to Hermes, who stole Ares out,

**391** ἤδη τειρόμενον, χαλεπὸς δέ ἑ δεσμὸς ἐδάμνα.  
already wasting away, while the cruel bond subdued him.

**392** τλῆ δʼ Ἥρη, ὅτε μιν κρατερὸς πάϊς Ἀμφιτρύωνος  
Hera endured it when the mighty son of Amphitryon

**393** δεξιτερὸν κατὰ μαζὸν ὀϊστῷ τριγλώχινι  
had struck her in the right breast with a three-barbed arrow;

**394** βεβλήκει· τότε καί μιν ἀνήκεστον λάβεν ἄλγος.  
then incurable pain seized even her.

**395** τλῆ δʼ Ἀΐδης ἐν τοῖσι πελώριος ὠκὺν ὀϊστόν,  
And among them monstrous Hades endured a swift arrow,
> Monstrous Hades: πελώριος conveys immense, uncanny size or force and regularly marks beings who exceed ordinary human scale. Here it magnifies Hades without preventing the god of the dead from being wounded.

**396** εὖτέ μιν ωὐτὸς ἀνὴρ υἱὸς Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο  
when that same man, the son of aegis-bearing Zeus,

**397** ἐν Πύλῳ ἐν νεκύεσσι βαλὼν ὀδύνῃσιν ἔδωκεν·  
struck him at Pylos among the dead and gave him over to pain.

**398** αὐτὰρ ὃ βῆ πρὸς δῶμα Διὸς καὶ μακρὸν Ὄλυμπον  
But Hades went to the house of Zeus and high Olympus,

**399** κῆρ ἀχέων ὀδύνῃσι πεπαρμένος· αὐτὰρ ὀϊστὸς  
his heart grieving, pierced through with pain; for the arrow

**400** ὤμῳ ἔνι στιβαρῷ ἠλήλατο, κῆδε δὲ θυμόν.  
had been driven into his strong shoulder and distressed his spirit.

**401** τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ Παιήων ὀδυνήφατα φάρμακα πάσσων  
Then Paeon scattered pain-killing medicines upon him

**402** ἠκέσατʼ· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι καταθνητός γε τέτυκτο.  
and healed him, for he was not made mortal.
> He had not been made mortal: τέτυκτο is a pluperfect middle/passive form of τεύχω, here meaning that Hades had not been fashioned or constituted as a mortal being. The tense looks to his enduring divine nature as the reason Paeon's cure succeeds.

**403** σχέτλιος ὀβριμοεργὸς ὃς οὐκ ὄθετʼ αἴσυλα ῥέζων,  
Reckless, violent worker, who took no heed as he did lawless deeds,

**404** ὃς τόξοισιν ἔκηδε θεοὺς οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσι.  
who with his bow tormented the gods who hold Olympus!

**405** σοὶ δʼ ἐπὶ τοῦτον ἀνῆκε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·  
But against you bright-eyed Athena sent this man.
> Athena sends the attacker: Athena is the subject of ἀνῆκε, while τοῦτον is Diomedes, the man she launched against Aphrodite. The fronted σοὶ ἐπί makes Aphrodite the target and keeps the divine and mortal agents distinct.

**406** νήπιος, οὐδὲ τὸ οἶδε κατὰ φρένα Τυδέος υἱὸς  
The son of Tydeus is a fool, and does not know in his heart

**407** ὅττι μάλʼ οὐ δηναιὸς ὃς ἀθανάτοισι μάχηται,  
that whoever fights the immortals is by no means long-lived,

**408** οὐδέ τί μιν παῖδες ποτὶ γούνασι παππάζουσιν  
nor do his children ever call him papa at his knees
> Children calling "papa": παππάζω is formed from the child's family-word πάππα, "papa." Dione sets this intimate sound at a father's knees against the death awaiting a mortal who fights gods.

**409** ἐλθόντʼ ἐκ πολέμοιο καὶ αἰνῆς δηϊοτῆτος.  
when he comes home from war and the dreadful fighting.

**410** τὼ νῦν Τυδεΐδης, εἰ καὶ μάλα καρτερός ἐστι,  
So now let the son of Tydeus, mighty though he is,

**411** φραζέσθω μή τίς οἱ ἀμείνων σεῖο μάχηται,  
take care that someone stronger than you does not fight him,

**412** μὴ δὴν Αἰγιάλεια περίφρων Ἀδρηστίνη  
lest before long wise Aegialeia, daughter of Adrastus,

**413** ἐξ ὕπνου γοόωσα φίλους οἰκῆας ἐγείρῃ  
wake her dear household from sleep with her wailing,

**414** κουρίδιον ποθέουσα πόσιν τὸν ἄριστον Ἀχαιῶν  
longing for her wedded husband, the best of the Achaeans,

**415** ἰφθίμη ἄλοχος Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.  
the strong wife of Diomedes, tamer of horses."

**416** ἦ ῥα καὶ ἀμφοτέρῃσιν ἀπʼ ἰχῶ χειρὸς ὀμόργνυ·  
She spoke, and with both hands wiped the ichor from Aphrodite's hand.
> Both hands upon one hand: ἀμφοτέρῃσιν is dual and refers to Dione's two hands; the singular χειρός is Aphrodite's wounded hand. The grammar makes the healing gesture physically precise.

**417** ἄλθετο χείρ, ὀδύναι δὲ κατηπιόωντο βαρεῖαι.  
The hand was healed, and the heavy pains grew mild.

**418** αἳ δʼ αὖτʼ εἰσορόωσαι Ἀθηναίη τε καὶ Ἥρη  
But Athena and Hera looked on

**419** κερτομίοις ἐπέεσσι Δία Κρονίδην ἐρέθιζον.  
and provoked Zeus, son of Cronos, with taunting words.

**420** τοῖσι δὲ μύθων ἦρχε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·  
Bright-eyed Athena began speaking among them:

**421** Ζεῦ πάτερ ἦ ῥά τί μοι κεχολώσεαι ὅττι κεν εἴπω;  
"Father Zeus, will you be angry with me for what I say?

**422** ἦ μάλα δή τινα Κύπρις Ἀχαιϊάδων ἀνιεῖσα  
Surely Cypris was urging some Achaean woman

**423** Τρωσὶν ἅμα σπέσθαι, τοὺς νῦν ἔκπαγλα φίλησε,  
to follow the Trojans, whom she now loves exceedingly,

**424** τῶν τινα καρρέζουσα Ἀχαιϊάδων ἐϋπέπλων  
and as she caressed one of the fair-robed Achaean women,

**425** πρὸς χρυσῇ περόνῃ καταμύξατο χεῖρα ἀραιήν.  
she scratched her delicate hand against a golden brooch."

**426** ὣς φάτο, μείδησεν δὲ πατὴρ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε,  
So she spoke, and the father of men and gods smiled.

**427** καί ῥα καλεσσάμενος προσέφη χρυσῆν Ἀφροδίτην·  
Then he called golden Aphrodite to him and said:

**428** οὔ τοι τέκνον ἐμὸν δέδοται πολεμήϊα ἔργα,  
"My child, the works of war have not been allotted to you.

**429** ἀλλὰ σύ γʼ ἱμερόεντα μετέρχεο ἔργα γάμοιο,  
Go instead about the lovely works of marriage;

**430** ταῦτα δʼ Ἄρηϊ θοῷ καὶ Ἀθήνῃ πάντα μελήσει.  
swift Ares and Athena will attend to all of these."

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

**432** Αἰνείᾳ δʼ ἐπόρουσε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης,  
while Diomedes, good at the war-cry, sprang upon Aeneas,

**433** γιγνώσκων ὅ οἱ αὐτὸς ὑπείρεχε χεῖρας Ἀπόλλων·  
though he knew that Apollo himself held his hands over him.

**434** ἀλλʼ ὅ γʼ ἄρʼ οὐδὲ θεὸν μέγαν ἅζετο, ἵετο δʼ αἰεὶ  
Yet he did not even stand in awe of the great god, but ever strove

**435** Αἰνείαν κτεῖναι καὶ ἀπὸ κλυτὰ τεύχεα δῦσαι.  
to kill Aeneas and strip away his glorious armor.

**436** τρὶς μὲν ἔπειτʼ ἐπόρουσε κατακτάμεναι μενεαίνων,  
Three times he sprang at him, eager to kill,

**437** τρὶς δέ οἱ ἐστυφέλιξε φαεινὴν ἀσπίδʼ Ἀπόλλων·  
and three times Apollo battered back his shining shield.

**438** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ τὸ τέταρτον ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος,  
But when he charged a fourth time, equal to a god,
> Equal to a god: δαίμων here means a divine power, not the later Christian sense of "demon." The formula raises Diomedes to terrifying godlike force at the instant Apollo must stop him directly.

**439** δεινὰ δʼ ὁμοκλήσας προσέφη ἑκάεργος Ἀπόλλων·  
the far-worker Apollo shouted terribly and spoke:

**440** φράζεο Τυδεΐδη καὶ χάζεο, μηδὲ θεοῖσιν  
"Take thought, son of Tydeus, and draw back; do not seek

**441** ἶσʼ ἔθελε φρονέειν, ἐπεὶ οὔ ποτε φῦλον ὁμοῖον  
to think yourself equal to the gods, since never is the race the same
> Two unequal races: φῦλον is a stock or race of beings. Apollo's warning draws an absolute boundary between the immortal gods and mortal humanity, even when a warrior attacks with force "equal to a god."

**442** ἀθανάτων τε θεῶν χαμαὶ ἐρχομένων τʼ ἀνθρώπων.  
of immortal gods and human beings who walk the earth."

**443** ὣς φάτο, Τυδεΐδης δʼ ἀνεχάζετο τυτθὸν ὀπίσσω  
So he spoke, and the son of Tydeus drew back a little,

**444** μῆνιν ἀλευάμενος ἑκατηβόλου Ἀπόλλωνος.  
avoiding the wrath of far-shooting Apollo.

**445** Αἰνείαν δʼ ἀπάτερθεν ὁμίλου θῆκεν Ἀπόλλων  
Apollo set Aeneas apart from the throng

**446** Περγάμῳ εἰν ἱερῇ, ὅθι οἱ νηός γε τέτυκτο.  
in sacred Pergamus, where Apollo's temple had been built.

**447** ἤτοι τὸν Λητώ τε καὶ Ἄρτεμις ἰοχέαιρα  
There Leto and Artemis, showerer of arrows,

**448** ἐν μεγάλῳ ἀδύτῳ ἀκέοντό τε κύδαινόν τε·  
healed him in the great inner sanctuary and honored him.

**449** αὐτὰρ ὃ εἴδωλον τεῦξʼ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων  
But Apollo of the silver bow fashioned a phantom
> Apollo's phantom: εἴδωλον is an image or phantom. Apollo has placed the real Aeneas inside the sanctuary to be healed; the figure he now makes for the armies to fight over is a separate likeness.

**450** αὐτῷ τʼ Αἰνείᾳ ἴκελον καὶ τεύχεσι τοῖον,  
like Aeneas himself and like him in armor,

**451** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ εἰδώλῳ Τρῶες καὶ δῖοι Ἀχαιοὶ  
and around the phantom the Trojans and godlike Achaeans

**452** δῄουν ἀλλήλων ἀμφὶ στήθεσσι βοείας  
hacked at one another's oxhides about the chest,

**453** ἀσπίδας εὐκύκλους λαισήϊά τε πτερόεντα.  
well-rounded shields and winged bucklers.
> Two kinds of shield: Homer pairs the large, well-rounded ἀσπίδες with lighter λαισήϊα, hide bucklers described as "winged," perhaps from their flaps or fluttering edges. The line deliberately names both defenses rather than using one generic word.

**454** δὴ τότε θοῦρον Ἄρηα προσηύδα Φοῖβος Ἀπόλλων·  
Then Phoebus Apollo addressed raging Ares:

**455** Ἆρες Ἄρες βροτολοιγὲ μιαιφόνε τειχεσιπλῆτα,  
"Ares, Ares, bane of mortals, blood-stained, stormer of walls,

**456** οὐκ ἂν δὴ τόνδʼ ἄνδρα μάχης ἐρύσαιο μετελθὼν  
will you not go and draw this man out of the battle,

**457** Τυδεΐδην, ὃς νῦν γε καὶ ἂν Διὶ πατρὶ μάχοιτο;  
the son of Tydeus, who now would fight even father Zeus?

**458** Κύπριδα μὲν πρῶτα σχεδὸν οὔτασε χεῖρʼ ἐπὶ καρπῷ,  
First he wounded Cypris at close quarters, on the hand by the wrist,

**459** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ αὐτῷ μοι ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος.  
and then he charged at me myself, equal to a god."

**460** ὣς εἰπὼν αὐτὸς μὲν ἐφέζετο Περγάμῳ ἄκρῃ,  
So he spoke and took his seat on the height of Pergamus,

**461** Τρῳὰς δὲ στίχας οὖλος Ἄρης ὄτρυνε μετελθὼν  
while baneful Ares went among the Trojan ranks and roused them,

**462** εἰδόμενος Ἀκάμαντι θοῷ ἡγήτορι Θρῃκῶν·  
in the likeness of swift Acamas, leader of the Thracians.

**463** υἱάσι δὲ Πριάμοιο διοτρεφέεσσι κέλευεν·  
He urged the Zeus-nurtured sons of Priam:

**464** ὦ υἱεῖς Πριάμοιο διοτρεφέος βασιλῆος  
"Sons of Priam, the Zeus-nurtured king,
> A Zeus-nurtured king: διοτρεφής, "Zeus-nurtured," presents royal authority as sustained by Zeus. Here the singular phrase describes Priam, while the preceding line applies its plural form to his sons.

**465** ἐς τί ἔτι κτείνεσθαι ἐάσετε λαὸν Ἀχαιοῖς;  
how long will you let your people be killed by the Achaeans?

**466** ἦ εἰς ὅ κεν ἀμφὶ πύλῃς εὖ ποιητῇσι μάχωνται;  
Until they fight around the well-built gates?

**467** κεῖται ἀνὴρ ὃν ἶσον ἐτίομεν Ἕκτορι δίῳ  
A man lies fallen whom we honored equally with godlike Hector:

**468** Αἰνείας υἱὸς μεγαλήτορος Ἀγχίσαο·  
Aeneas, the son of great-hearted Anchises.

**469** ἀλλʼ ἄγετʼ ἐκ φλοίσβοιο σαώσομεν ἐσθλὸν ἑταῖρον.  
Come, let us save our noble comrade from the din."

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

**471** ἔνθʼ αὖ Σαρπηδὼν μάλα νείκεσεν Ἕκτορα δῖον·  
Then Sarpedon sharply rebuked godlike Hector:

**472** Ἕκτορ πῇ δή τοι μένος οἴχεται ὃ πρὶν ἔχεσκες;  
"Hector, where now has the strength gone that you once had?
> The strength he used to have: The iterative ending -σκ- in ἔχεσκες presents Hector's former strength as something he habitually possessed. Sarpedon's question contrasts that established past with Hector's present failure to act.

**473** φῆς που ἄτερ λαῶν πόλιν ἑξέμεν ἠδʼ ἐπικούρων  
You claimed that without your people or allies you would hold the city

**474** οἶος σὺν γαμβροῖσι κασιγνήτοισί τε σοῖσι.  
alone, with only your brothers and your brothers-in-law.

**475** τῶν νῦν οὔ τινʼ ἐγὼ ἰδέειν δύναμʼ οὐδὲ νοῆσαι,  
Of them I can neither see nor make out any man now;

**476** ἀλλὰ καταπτώσσουσι κύνες ὣς ἀμφὶ λέοντα·  
they cower like dogs around a lion.

**477** ἡμεῖς δὲ μαχόμεσθʼ οἵ πέρ τʼ ἐπίκουροι ἔνειμεν.  
But we are fighting, we who are only allies.

**478** καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼν ἐπίκουρος ἐὼν μάλα τηλόθεν ἥκω·  
For I too am an ally and have come from very far away:

**479** τηλοῦ γὰρ Λυκίη Ξάνθῳ ἔπι δινήεντι,  
far off lies Lycia beside eddying Xanthus,

**480** ἔνθʼ ἄλοχόν τε φίλην ἔλιπον καὶ νήπιον υἱόν,  
where I left my dear wife and infant son,

**481** κὰδ δὲ κτήματα πολλά, τὰ ἔλδεται ὅς κʼ ἐπιδευής.  
and many possessions that a needy man longs to have.

**482** ἀλλὰ καὶ ὧς Λυκίους ὀτρύνω καὶ μέμονʼ αὐτὸς  
Yet even so I urge the Lycians on, and I myself am eager

**483** ἀνδρὶ μαχήσασθαι· ἀτὰρ οὔ τί μοι ἐνθάδε τοῖον  
to fight a man; but I have nothing here

**484** οἷόν κʼ ἠὲ φέροιεν Ἀχαιοὶ ἤ κεν ἄγοιεν·  
that the Achaeans might carry off or drive away.

**485** τύνη δʼ ἕστηκας, ἀτὰρ οὐδʼ ἄλλοισι κελεύεις  
But you stand still and do not even command the other

**486** λαοῖσιν μενέμεν καὶ ἀμυνέμεναι ὤρεσσι.  
troops to stand firm and defend their wives.

**487** μή πως ὡς ἀψῖσι λίνου ἁλόντε πανάγρου  
Take care that, caught as in the meshes of an all-ensnaring net,
> An all-ensnaring net: ἀψῖδες are the loops or meshes of a linen net, while πάναγρος describes something that catches every kind of prey. Sarpedon imagines the defenders themselves trapped like hunted animals inside their city.

**488** ἀνδράσι δυσμενέεσσιν ἕλωρ καὶ κύρμα γένησθε·  
you do not become the spoil and prey of hostile men,

**489** οἳ δὲ τάχʼ ἐκπέρσουσʼ εὖ ναιομένην πόλιν ὑμήν.  
who will soon sack your well-inhabited city.

**490** σοὶ δὲ χρὴ τάδε πάντα μέλειν νύκτάς τε καὶ ἦμαρ  
You must keep all this in mind by night and day,

**491** ἀρχοὺς λισσομένῳ τηλεκλειτῶν ἐπικούρων  
beseeching the leaders of your far-famed allies

**492** νωλεμέως ἐχέμεν, κρατερὴν δʼ ἀποθέσθαι ἐνιπήν.  
to hold on without cease, while you lay stern reproach aside."

**493** ὣς φάτο Σαρπηδών, δάκε δὲ φρένας Ἕκτορι μῦθος·  
So Sarpedon spoke, and his words bit Hector's heart.
> Words that bite: δάκε is literally "bit," while φρένες are the inner faculties of feeling and thought. The physical metaphor makes Sarpedon's rebuke pierce Hector inwardly before Hector answers it with action rather than speech.

**494** αὐτίκα δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε,  
and at once he leapt to the ground from his chariot in his armor.

**495** πάλλων δʼ ὀξέα δοῦρα κατὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο πάντῃ  
and, brandishing his sharp spears, went everywhere through the army,

**496** ὀτρύνων μαχέσασθαι, ἔγειρε δὲ φύλοπιν αἰνήν.  
urging them to fight, and stirred the dreadful din of battle.

**497** οἳ δʼ ἐλελίχθησαν καὶ ἐναντίοι ἔσταν Ἀχαιῶν·  
They wheeled about and stood facing the Achaeans;

**498** Ἀργεῖοι δʼ ὑπέμειναν ἀολλέες οὐδὲ φόβηθεν.  
the Argives held their ground in close array and did not flee.

**499** ὡς δʼ ἄνεμος ἄχνας φορέει ἱερὰς κατʼ ἀλωὰς  
As a wind carries chaff across the sacred threshing floors

**500** ἀνδρῶν λικμώντων, ὅτε τε ξανθὴ Δημήτηρ  
of men winnowing, when golden Demeter

**501** κρίνῃ ἐπειγομένων ἀνέμων καρπόν τε καὶ ἄχνας,  
separates grain from chaff beneath the driving winds,

**502** αἳ δʼ ὑπολευκαίνονται ἀχυρμιαί· ὣς τότʼ Ἀχαιοὶ  
and the heaps of chaff grow white—so then the Achaeans

**503** λευκοὶ ὕπερθε γένοντο κονισάλῳ, ὅν ῥα διʼ αὐτῶν  
grew white above with dust, which through their midst

**504** οὐρανὸν ἐς πολύχαλκον ἐπέπληγον πόδες ἵππων  
the horses' feet beat up to the bronze-bound sky
> A bronze-bound sky: πολύχαλκος literally means "rich in bronze" or "much-bronzed." Applied to the sky, it gives the heavens a hard metallic vastness toward which the battlefield dust is beaten.

**505** ἂψ ἐπιμισγομένων· ὑπὸ δʼ ἔστρεφον ἡνιοχῆες.  
as the armies closed again; beneath them the charioteers wheeled the teams.

**506** οἳ δὲ μένος χειρῶν ἰθὺς φέρον· ἀμφὶ δὲ νύκτα  
They bore the force of their hands straight on; and around the Trojans

**507** θοῦρος Ἄρης ἐκάλυψε μάχῃ Τρώεσσιν ἀρήγων  
furious Ares spread night, aiding them in battle

**508** πάντοσʼ ἐποιχόμενος· τοῦ δʼ ἐκραίαινεν ἐφετμὰς  
as he ranged everywhere, fulfilling the commands

**509** Φοίβου Ἀπόλλωνος χρυσαόρου, ὅς μιν ἀνώγει  
of Phoebus Apollo of the golden sword, who had ordered him
> Apollo of the golden sword: χρυσάορος names Apollo by a golden sword, a distinct epithet from ἀργυρότοξος, "of the silver bow," at line 517. The translation keeps the two divine weapons and their metals separate.

**510** Τρωσὶν θυμὸν ἐγεῖραι, ἐπεὶ ἴδε Παλλάδʼ Ἀθήνην  
to rouse the Trojans' spirit when he saw Pallas Athena

**511** οἰχομένην· ἣ γάρ ῥα πέλεν Δαναοῖσιν ἀρηγών.  
departing, for she had been the Danaans' helper.

**512** αὐτὸς δʼ Αἰνείαν μάλα πίονος ἐξ ἀδύτοιο  
Apollo himself sent Aeneas from the innermost chamber of his rich sanctuary

**513** ἧκε, καὶ ἐν στήθεσσι μένος βάλε ποιμένι λαῶν.  
and put strength into the chest of the shepherd of the people.

**514** Αἰνείας δʼ ἑτάροισι μεθίστατο· τοὶ δὲ χάρησαν,  
Aeneas took his place among his companions, and they rejoiced

**515** ὡς εἶδον ζωόν τε καὶ ἀρτεμέα προσιόντα  
when they saw him coming toward them alive and unharmed

**516** καὶ μένος ἐσθλὸν ἔχοντα· μετάλλησάν γε μὲν οὔ τι.  
and filled with noble strength; yet they questioned him about nothing.

**517** οὐ γὰρ ἔα πόνος ἄλλος, ὃν ἀργυρότοξος ἔγειρεν  
For the other toil gave them no leave, the toil raised by the god of the silver bow,

**518** Ἄρης τε βροτολοιγὸς Ἔρις τʼ ἄμοτον μεμαυῖα.  
by Ares, bane of mortals, and by Strife raging without cease.

**519** τοὺς δʼ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ Ὀδυσσεὺς καὶ Διομήδης  
But the two Ajaxes, Odysseus, and Diomedes

**520** ὄτρυνον Δαναοὺς πολεμιζέμεν· οἳ δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ  
urged the Danaans to fight; and they themselves

**521** οὔτε βίας Τρώων ὑπεδείδισαν οὔτε ἰωκάς,  
feared neither the Trojans' force nor their onslaughts,

**522** ἀλλʼ ἔμενον νεφέλῃσιν ἐοικότες ἅς τε Κρονίων  
but waited like clouds that the son of Cronos

**523** νηνεμίης ἔστησεν ἐπʼ ἀκροπόλοισιν ὄρεσσιν  
has set upon the high peaks in a windless calm,

**524** ἀτρέμας, ὄφρʼ εὕδῃσι μένος Βορέαο καὶ ἄλλων  
motionless while the force of Boreas and the other

**525** ζαχρειῶν ἀνέμων, οἵ τε νέφεα σκιόεντα  
raging winds sleeps, winds that scatter shadowy clouds

**526** πνοιῇσιν λιγυρῇσι διασκιδνᾶσιν ἀέντες·  
when they blow with their shrill blasts.

**527** ὣς Δαναοὶ Τρῶας μένον ἔμπεδον οὐδὲ φέβοντο.  
So the Danaans waited steadily for the Trojans and did not flee.

**528** Ἀτρεΐδης δʼ ἀνʼ ὅμιλον ἐφοίτα πολλὰ κελεύων·  
The son of Atreus ranged through the throng, giving many commands:

**529** ὦ φίλοι ἀνέρες ἔστε καὶ ἄλκιμον ἦτορ ἕλεσθε,  
"Friends, be men, and take up valiant hearts!

**530** ἀλλήλους τʼ αἰδεῖσθε κατὰ κρατερὰς ὑσμίνας·  
Have regard for one another amid the fierce encounters.

**531** αἰδομένων ἀνδρῶν πλέονες σόοι ἠὲ πέφανται·  
Of men who feel such shame, more are saved than slain;

**532** φευγόντων δʼ οὔτʼ ἂρ κλέος ὄρνυται οὔτε τις ἀλκή.  
but for those who flee, neither glory nor valor rises."

**533** ἦ καὶ ἀκόντισε δουρὶ θοῶς, βάλε δὲ πρόμον ἄνδρα  
He spoke, and swiftly cast his spear, and struck a foremost man,

**534** Αἰνείω ἕταρον μεγαθύμου Δηϊκόωντα  
a companion of great-hearted Aeneas, Deicoon,

**535** Περγασίδην, ὃν Τρῶες ὁμῶς Πριάμοιο τέκεσσι  
son of Pergasus, whom the Trojans honored equally with Priam's sons,

**536** τῖον, ἐπεὶ θοὸς ἔσκε μετὰ πρώτοισι μάχεσθαι.  
because he was quick to fight among the front ranks.

**537** τόν ῥα κατʼ ἀσπίδα δουρὶ βάλε κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων·  
The lord Agamemnon struck him on the shield with his spear;

**538** ἣ δʼ οὐκ ἔγχος ἔρυτο, διὰ πρὸ δὲ εἴσατο χαλκός,  
the shield did not hold the spear, but the bronze passed clean through

**539** νειαίρῃ δʼ ἐν γαστρὶ διὰ ζωστῆρος ἔλασσε·  
and drove through his belt into the lower belly.
> Through the belt into the lower belly: The spear first penetrates Deicoon's shield, then passes through the war-belt and enters the lower part of the abdomen. νειαίρῃ locates the wound low in the γαστήρ rather than leaving it as a general blow to the body.

**540** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών, ἀράβησε δὲ τεύχεʼ ἐπʼ αὐτῷ.  
he fell with a thud, and his armor clattered upon him.
> The falling-and-clattering formula: The Greek line exactly repeats Iliad 4.504 and 5.42, so its accepted English is repeated without alteration. The body falls with a thud, followed by the separate clatter of armor upon it.

**541** ἔνθʼ αὖτʼ Αἰνείας Δαναῶν ἕλεν ἄνδρας ἀρίστους  
Then Aeneas in turn slew two of the Danaans' best men,

**542** υἷε Διοκλῆος Κρήθωνά τε Ὀρσίλοχόν τε,  
the sons of Diocles, Crethon and Orsilochus.

**543** τῶν ῥα πατὴρ μὲν ἔναιεν ἐϋκτιμένῃ ἐνὶ Φηρῇ  
Their father dwelt in well-built Pherae,

**544** ἀφνειὸς βιότοιο, γένος δʼ ἦν ἐκ ποταμοῖο  
rich in livelihood, and his lineage came from the river

**545** Ἀλφειοῦ, ὅς τʼ εὐρὺ ῥέει Πυλίων διὰ γαίης,  
Alpheus, who flows broad through the land of the Pylians.

**546** ὃς τέκετʼ Ὀρτίλοχον πολέεσσʼ ἄνδρεσσιν ἄνακτα·  
He fathered Ortilochus, lord over many men;

**547** Ὀρτίλοχος δʼ ἄρʼ ἔτικτε Διοκλῆα μεγάθυμον,  
and Ortilochus fathered great-hearted Diocles,

**548** ἐκ δὲ Διοκλῆος διδυμάονε παῖδε γενέσθην,  
and from Diocles twin sons were born,
> Twin sons in the dual: παῖδε and γενέσθην are dual forms, while διδυμάονε identifies the pair as twins. The dual grammar continues through the brothers' voyage, death, and lion simile, repeatedly binding their two lives together.

**549** Κρήθων Ὀρσίλοχός τε μάχης εὖ εἰδότε πάσης.  
Crethon and Orsilochus, skilled in every kind of battle.

**550** τὼ μὲν ἄρʼ ἡβήσαντε μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν  
When the two had come to manhood, aboard the black ships

**551** Ἴλιον εἰς εὔπωλον ἅμʼ Ἀργείοισιν ἑπέσθην,  
they followed the Argives to horse-rich Ilion,

**552** τιμὴν Ἀτρεΐδῃς Ἀγαμέμνονι καὶ Μενελάῳ  
seeking honor for the sons of Atreus, Agamemnon and Menelaus;
> Winning honor for the sons of Atreus: τιμή is public honor and standing, here something the brothers strive to win for Agamemnon and Menelaus through the expedition. The dual participle ἀρνυμένω keeps Crethon and Orsilochus together as the agents of that effort.

**553** ἀρνυμένω· τὼ δʼ αὖθι τέλος θανάτοιο κάλυψεν.  
but there the end of death covered them both.
> The end of death: τέλος is the destined end or completion that death brings, distinct from the τιμή the brothers sought in the preceding line. The compact phrase closes their long genealogy at the battlefield where both lives end together.

**554** οἵω τώ γε λέοντε δύω ὄρεος κορυφῇσιν  
They were like two lions upon the mountain heights,

**555** ἐτραφέτην ὑπὸ μητρὶ βαθείης τάρφεσιν ὕλης·  
reared by their mother in the thickets of the deep forest.

**556** τὼ μὲν ἄρʼ ἁρπάζοντε βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα  
The two would seize cattle and strong sheep

**557** σταθμοὺς ἀνθρώπων κεραΐζετον, ὄφρα καὶ αὐτὼ  
and ravage the farmsteads of men, until they too

**558** ἀνδρῶν ἐν παλάμῃσι κατέκταθεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ·  
were killed beneath men's hands by the sharp bronze.

**559** τοίω τὼ χείρεσσιν ὑπʼ Αἰνείαο δαμέντε  
So these two, subdued beneath the hands of Aeneas,

**560** καππεσέτην, ἐλάτῃσιν ἐοικότες ὑψηλῇσι.  
fell like tall fir trees.
> Falling like tall firs: ἐλάτη is the fir tree. After the brothers have been compared to living predators, the final image fixes their simultaneous fall as the toppling of two tall forest trees.

**561** τὼ δὲ πεσόντʼ ἐλέησεν ἀρηΐφιλος Μενέλαος,  
Menelaus, dear to Ares, pitied the two fallen men,

**562** βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων κεκορυθμένος αἴθοπι χαλκῷ  
and he strode out through the front ranks, helmed in gleaming bronze,
> Through the front ranks: This movement line closely repeats the accepted formula at Iliad 4.495 and is held to the same English wording. Its exact Greek recurs at 5.681, where the English must repeat this line verbatim.

**563** σείων ἐγχείην· τοῦ δʼ ὄτρυνεν μένος Ἄρης,  
shaking his spear; and Ares stirred his strength,

**564** τὰ φρονέων ἵνα χερσὶν ὑπʼ Αἰνείαο δαμείη.  
intending that he should be subdued beneath Aeneas's hands.
> Ares' deadly purpose: The purpose clause introduced by ἵνα uses the aorist passive optative δαμείη after the past-tense ὄτρυνεν. Its subject is Menelaus: Ares rouses him with the intention that Aeneas will overpower him.

**565** τὸν δʼ ἴδεν Ἀντίλοχος μεγαθύμου Νέστορος υἱός,  
Antilochus, son of great-hearted Nestor, saw him

**566** βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων· περὶ γὰρ δίε ποιμένι λαῶν  
and strode out through the front ranks, for he feared for the shepherd of the people,

**567** μή τι πάθοι, μέγα δέ σφας ἀποσφήλειε πόνοιο.  
lest he suffer harm and bring their great labor to nothing.

**568** τὼ μὲν δὴ χεῖράς τε καὶ ἔγχεα ὀξυόεντα  
The two were already holding their hands and sharp-pointed spears

**569** ἀντίον ἀλλήλων ἐχέτην μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι·  
against each other, eager to fight;

**570** Ἀντίλοχος δὲ μάλʼ ἄγχι παρίστατο ποιμένι λαῶν.  
but Antilochus stood very close beside the shepherd of the people.

**571** Αἰνείας δʼ οὐ μεῖνε θοός περ ἐὼν πολεμιστὴς  
Aeneas did not wait, swift warrior though he was,

**572** ὡς εἶδεν δύο φῶτε παρʼ ἀλλήλοισι μένοντε.  
when he saw two men standing firm beside each other.

**573** οἳ δʼ ἐπεὶ οὖν νεκροὺς ἔρυσαν μετὰ λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν,  
And when they had drawn the bodies back among the Achaean host,

**574** τὼ μὲν ἄρα δειλὼ βαλέτην ἐν χερσὶν ἑταίρων,  
they placed the two poor men in their comrades' arms,

**575** αὐτὼ δὲ στρεφθέντε μετὰ πρώτοισι μαχέσθην.  
then turned themselves and fought among the foremost.

**576** ἔνθα Πυλαιμένεα ἑλέτην ἀτάλαντον Ἄρηϊ  
There they slew Pylaemenes, equal to Ares,

**577** ἀρχὸν Παφλαγόνων μεγαθύμων ἀσπιστάων.  
leader of the great-hearted Paphlagonian shieldmen.

**578** τὸν μὲν ἄρʼ Ἀτρεΐδης δουρικλειτὸς Μενέλαος  
The spear-famed son of Atreus, Menelaus,

**579** ἑσταότʼ ἔγχεϊ νύξε κατὰ κληῗδα τυχήσας·  
struck him as he stood, catching him at the collarbone with his spear.
> A strike at the collarbone: κληΐς is the collarbone or clavicle at the top of the chest. Homer gives Menelaus's cast a precise bony target rather than describing an undifferentiated wound.

**580** Ἀντίλοχος δὲ Μύδωνα βάλʼ ἡνίοχον θεράποντα  
Antilochus struck Mydon, the charioteer and attendant,

**581** ἐσθλὸν Ἀτυμνιάδην· ὃ δʼ ὑπέστρεφε μώνυχας ἵππους·  
the noble son of Atymnius, as he wheeled the single-hoofed horses.

**582** χερμαδίῳ ἀγκῶνα τυχὼν μέσον· ἐκ δʼ ἄρα χειρῶν  
He caught the middle of his elbow with a stone, and from his hands

**583** ἡνία λεύκʼ ἐλέφαντι χαμαὶ πέσον ἐν κονίῃσιν.  
the reins gleaming white with ivory fell to the ground in the dust.

**584** Ἀντίλοχος δʼ ἄρʼ ἐπαΐξας ξίφει ἤλασε κόρσην·  
Antilochus sprang upon him and drove his sword into his temple;

**585** αὐτὰρ ὅ γʼ ἀσθμαίνων εὐεργέος ἔκπεσε δίφρου  
and gasping, he fell from the well-made chariot

**586** κύμβαχος ἐν κονίῃσιν ἐπὶ βρεχμόν τε καὶ ὤμους.  
headfirst in the dust, upon the crown of his head and his shoulders.
> Headfirst from the chariot: κύμβαχος means headfirst, and βρεχμός names the crown or front of the head. Mydon's fall leaves his head and shoulders driven into the ground while the rest of his body remains upright for a moment.

**587** δηθὰ μάλʼ ἑστήκει· τύχε γάρ ῥʼ ἀμάθοιο βαθείης·  
For a long while he stood there, since he had struck deep sand,

**588** ὄφρʼ ἵππω πλήξαντε χαμαὶ βάλον ἐν κονίῃσι·  
until the horses struck him and flung him down in the dust.

**589** τοὺς ἵμασʼ Ἀντίλοχος, μετὰ δὲ στρατὸν ἤλασʼ Ἀχαιῶν.  
Antilochus lashed them and drove them into the Achaean host.

**590** τοὺς δʼ Ἕκτωρ ἐνόησε κατὰ στίχας, ὦρτο δʼ ἐπʼ αὐτοὺς  
Hector saw them amid the ranks and rushed against them,

**591** κεκλήγων· ἅμα δὲ Τρώων εἵποντο φάλαγγες  
shouting aloud; and the strong battalions of Trojans followed with him.

**592** καρτεραί· ἦρχε δʼ ἄρα σφιν Ἄρης καὶ πότνιʼ Ἐνυώ,  
Ares and queenly Enyo led them,

**593** ἣ μὲν ἔχουσα Κυδοιμὸν ἀναιδέα δηϊοτῆτος,  
she bearing shameless Battle-Din, the turmoil of war,

**594** Ἄρης δʼ ἐν παλάμῃσι πελώριον ἔγχος ἐνώμα,  
while Ares wielded a monstrous spear in his hands

**595** φοίτα δʼ ἄλλοτε μὲν πρόσθʼ Ἕκτορος, ἄλλοτʼ ὄπισθε.  
and moved now before Hector, now behind him.

**596** τὸν δὲ ἰδὼν ῥίγησε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης·  
Seeing him, Diomedes, good at the war-cry, shuddered.

**597** ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἀνὴρ ἀπάλαμνος ἰὼν πολέος πεδίοιο  
As when a helpless man, crossing a broad plain,

**598** στήῃ ἐπʼ ὠκυρόῳ ποταμῷ ἅλα δὲ προρέοντι  
halts at a swift-running river rushing toward the sea,

**599** ἀφρῷ μορμύροντα ἰδών, ἀνά τʼ ἔδραμʼ ὀπίσσω,  
and seeing it roar with foam, runs backward again,
> Roaring with foam: μορμύρω is an echoing verb for the deep, seething sound of water, while ἀφρός is its foam. The river simile makes Diomedes' retreat a measured response to an overwhelming current, not a rout.

**600** ὣς τότε Τυδεΐδης ἀνεχάζετο, εἶπέ τε λαῷ·  
so the son of Tydeus then drew back and said to his men:

**601** ὦ φίλοι οἷον δὴ θαυμάζομεν Ἕκτορα δῖον  
"Friends, how we marvel at godlike Hector

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

**603** τῷ δʼ αἰεὶ πάρα εἷς γε θεῶν, ὃς λοιγὸν ἀμύνει·  
Always some god stands beside him and wards off destruction;

**604** καὶ νῦν οἱ πάρα κεῖνος Ἄρης βροτῷ ἀνδρὶ ἐοικώς.  
and now that one beside him is Ares, in the likeness of a mortal man.
> A god in mortal likeness: κεῖνος points out Ares as the divine protector Diomedes has recognized, while ἐοικώς describes him as resembling a mortal man. Ares is not named as a disguised mortal here; his appearance alone is human.

**605** ἀλλὰ πρὸς Τρῶας τετραμμένοι αἰὲν ὀπίσσω  
Keep facing the Trojans, but always give ground

**606** εἴκετε, μηδὲ θεοῖς μενεαινέμεν ἶφι μάχεσθαι.  
backward, and let us not be eager to fight the gods by force."
> A controlled retreat: The perfect participle τετραμμένοι tells the men to remain turned toward the Trojans even while the imperative εἴκετε orders them to yield backward. Diomedes preserves the battle line while refusing direct combat with Ares.

**607** ὣς ἄρʼ ἔφη, Τρῶες δὲ μάλα σχεδὸν ἤλυθον αὐτῶν.  
So he spoke, and the Trojans came very near them.

**608** ἔνθʼ Ἕκτωρ δύο φῶτε κατέκτανεν εἰδότε χάρμης  
There Hector killed two men skilled in battle,

**609** εἰν ἑνὶ δίφρῳ ἐόντε, Μενέσθην Ἀγχίαλόν τε.  
both riding in a single chariot, Menesthes and Anchialus.

**610** τὼ δὲ πεσόντʼ ἐλέησε μέγας Τελαμώνιος Αἴας·  
Great Telamonian Ajax pitied the two when they fell;
> The fallen pair: The dual pronoun τώ and dual participle πεσόντε keep Menesthes and Anchialus together as the two men killed from one chariot. Ajax's pity answers their paired death before the narrative turns to his counterattack.

**611** στῆ δὲ μάλʼ ἐγγὺς ἰών, καὶ ἀκόντισε δουρὶ φαεινῷ,  
he came and stood very near, then cast his shining spear

**612** καὶ βάλεν Ἄμφιον Σελάγου υἱόν, ὅς ῥʼ ἐνὶ Παισῷ  
and struck Amphius, son of Selagus, who lived in Paesus,

**613** ναῖε πολυκτήμων πολυλήϊος· ἀλλά ἑ μοῖρα  
rich in possessions and rich in grain; but fate
> Wealth in goods and grain: The paired compounds distinguish Amphius' broad possessions, πολυκτήμων, from his abundance of crops, πολυλήϊος. Homer names both kinds of wealth just before fate draws him away from them.

**614** ἦγʼ ἐπικουρήσοντα μετὰ Πρίαμόν τε καὶ υἷας.  
had led him to aid Priam and his sons.

**615** τόν ῥα κατὰ ζωστῆρα βάλεν Τελαμώνιος Αἴας,  
Telamonian Ajax struck him across the belt,

**616** νειαίρῃ δʼ ἐν γαστρὶ πάγη δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος,  
and the long-shadowed spear lodged in the lower belly.
> The lower belly: νειαίρη specifies the lowest part of the γαστήρ, below the belt where Ajax's spear strikes. The wound is located precisely rather than generalized to the torso.

**617** δούπησεν δὲ πεσών· ὃ δʼ ἐπέδραμε φαίδιμος Αἴας  
He fell with a thud; and glorious Ajax ran upon him

**618** τεύχεα συλήσων· Τρῶες δʼ ἐπὶ δούρατʼ ἔχευαν  
to strip his armor, but the Trojans poured sharp spears upon him,

**619** ὀξέα παμφανόωντα· σάκος δʼ ἀνεδέξατο πολλά.  
all flashing bright, and his shield caught many.

**620** αὐτὰρ ὃ λὰξ προσβὰς ἐκ νεκροῦ χάλκεον ἔγχος  
But he planted his heel upon the corpse and pulled out the bronze spear,

**621** ἐσπάσατʼ· οὐδʼ ἄρʼ ἔτʼ ἄλλα δυνήσατο τεύχεα καλὰ  
yet he could not strip the rest of the splendid armor

**622** ὤμοιιν ἀφελέσθαι· ἐπείγετο γὰρ βελέεσσι.  
from the shoulders, for he was pressed hard by missiles.

**623** δεῖσε δʼ ὅ γʼ ἀμφίβασιν κρατερὴν Τρώων ἀγερώχων,  
He feared the strong encirclement of the proud Trojans,
> An encirclement: ἀμφίβασις is a closing movement around someone from multiple sides. Ajax has recovered his spear, but the Trojans' strong ring prevents him from remaining over the body to take the armor.

**624** οἳ πολλοί τε καὶ ἐσθλοὶ ἐφέστασαν ἔγχεʼ ἔχοντες,  
who stood about him, many and noble, holding spears,

**625** οἵ ἑ μέγαν περ ἐόντα καὶ ἴφθιμον καὶ ἀγαυὸν  
who, great and strong and noble though he was,

**626** ὦσαν ἀπὸ σφείων· ὃ δὲ χασσάμενος πελεμίχθη.  
drove him back from among themselves; and he gave way, shaken.

**627** ὣς οἳ μὲν πονέοντο κατὰ κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην·  
So they toiled throughout the mighty combat.
> The combat refrain: This Greek line exactly repeats Iliad 5.84, so the accepted English returns without alteration. The repeated line closes one run of individual fighting before fate brings Tlepolemus and Sarpedon together.

**628** Τληπόλεμον δʼ Ἡρακλεΐδην ἠΰν τε μέγαν τε  
But Tlepolemus, the son of Heracles, noble and great,

**629** ὦρσεν ἐπʼ ἀντιθέῳ Σαρπηδόνι μοῖρα κραταιή.  
was driven by mighty fate against godlike Sarpedon.

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

**631** υἱός θʼ υἱωνός τε Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο,  
the son and the grandson of Zeus the cloud-gatherer,

**632** τὸν καὶ Τληπόλεμος πρότερος πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπε·  
Tlepolemus was the first to address the other:

**633** Σαρπῆδον Λυκίων βουληφόρε, τίς τοι ἀνάγκη  
"Sarpedon, counselor of the Lycians, what compels you

**634** πτώσσειν ἐνθάδʼ ἐόντι μάχης ἀδαήμονι φωτί;  
to cower here, a man unversed in battle?
> A taunt of inexperience: πτώσσω means to crouch or cower, and ἀδαήμων calls someone unskilled or unversed. Tlepolemus frames Sarpedon as a frightened novice, a taunt the coming spear-cast immediately disproves.

**635** ψευδόμενοι δέ σέ φασι Διὸς γόνον αἰγιόχοιο  
Men speak falsely when they say you are the offspring of aegis-bearing Zeus,

**636** εἶναι, ἐπεὶ πολλὸν κείνων ἐπιδεύεαι ἀνδρῶν  
since you fall far short of those men

**637** οἳ Διὸς ἐξεγένοντο ἐπὶ προτέρων ἀνθρώπων·  
who were born from Zeus among the generations of old.

**638** ἀλλʼ οἷόν τινά φασι βίην Ἡρακληείην  
But such, they say, was the might of Heracles,
> The might of Heracles: Homer uses the periphrasis βίη Ἡρακληείη, literally the might or strength of Heracles, as a way of naming the hero through his defining force. The English preserves that construction rather than reducing it to a bare name.

**639** εἶναι, ἐμὸν πατέρα θρασυμέμνονα θυμολέοντα·  
my father, bold-hearted and lion-hearted,

**640** ὅς ποτε δεῦρʼ ἐλθὼν ἕνεχʼ ἵππων Λαομέδοντος  
who once came here for the horses of Laomedon

**641** ἓξ οἴῃς σὺν νηυσὶ καὶ ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισιν  
with only six ships and fewer men,

**642** Ἰλίου ἐξαλάπαξε πόλιν, χήρωσε δʼ ἀγυιάς·  
and sacked the city of Ilion and emptied its streets.

**643** σοὶ δὲ κακὸς μὲν θυμός, ἀποφθινύθουσι δὲ λαοί.  
But your spirit is base, and your people are dying away.

**644** οὐδέ τί σε Τρώεσσιν ὀΐομαι ἄλκαρ ἔσεσθαι  
Nor do I think you will prove any defense for the Trojans

**645** ἐλθόντʼ ἐκ Λυκίης, οὐδʼ εἰ μάλα καρτερός ἐσσι,  
by coming from Lycia, not even if you are very strong,

**646** ἀλλʼ ὑπʼ ἐμοὶ δμηθέντα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περήσειν.  
but, overcome beneath my hand, you will pass through the gates of Hades."

**647** τὸν δʼ αὖ Σαρπηδὼν Λυκίων ἀγὸς ἀντίον ηὔδα·  
Then Sarpedon, leader of the Lycians, answered him face-to-face:

**648** Τληπόλεμʼ ἤτοι κεῖνος ἀπώλεσεν Ἴλιον ἱρὴν  
"Tlepolemus, that man indeed destroyed sacred Ilion

**649** ἀνέρος ἀφραδίῃσιν ἀγαυοῦ Λαομέδοντος,  
through the folly of the noble man Laomedon,

**650** ὅς ῥά μιν εὖ ἕρξαντα κακῷ ἠνίπαπε μύθῳ,  
who rebuked him with an evil word after he had served him well,
> Service answered with abuse: The accusative participle ἕρξαντα describes Heracles as the object of Laomedon's rebuke: Laomedon abused the man who had treated or served him well. Sarpedon shifts blame for Troy's fall from its attackers to its faithless king.

**651** οὐδʼ ἀπέδωχʼ ἵππους, ὧν εἵνεκα τηλόθεν ἦλθε.  
and did not give him the horses for which he had come from afar.

**652** σοὶ δʼ ἐγὼ ἐνθάδε φημὶ φόνον καὶ κῆρα μέλαιναν  
But for you I declare that slaughter and black doom

**653** ἐξ ἐμέθεν τεύξεσθαι, ἐμῷ δʼ ὑπὸ δουρὶ δαμέντα  
will be wrought here by me; subdued beneath my spear,

**654** εὖχος ἐμοὶ δώσειν, ψυχὴν δʼ Ἄϊδι κλυτοπώλῳ.  
you will give glory to me, and your life to Hades of the famous horses."
> Hades of the famous horses: κλυτοπώλος is a rare epithet built from κλυτός, famous, and πῶλος, horse or foal. It marks Hades as famed for his horses and remains distinct from the god's name alone.

**655** ὣς φάτο Σαρπηδών, ὃ δʼ ἀνέσχετο μείλινον ἔγχος  
So Sarpedon spoke, and Tlepolemus raised his ash spear;

**656** Τληπόλεμος· καὶ τῶν μὲν ἁμαρτῇ δούρατα μακρὰ  
and their long spears darted from their hands at the same instant.
> Both casts at once: The genitive plural τῶν belongs to both warriors, and ἁμαρτῇ means together or at one instant. Neither man throws in response to the other: the two spear outcomes begin simultaneously.

**657** ἐκ χειρῶν ἤϊξαν· ὃ μὲν βάλεν αὐχένα μέσσον  
Sarpedon struck the middle of his neck,

**658** Σαρπηδών, αἰχμὴ δὲ διαμπερὲς ἦλθʼ ἀλεγεινή·  
and the grievous point went clean through;

**659** τὸν δὲ κατʼ ὀφθαλμῶν ἐρεβεννὴ νὺξ ἐκάλυψε.  
and murky night covered his eyes.

**660** Τληπόλεμος δʼ ἄρα μηρὸν ἀριστερὸν ἔγχεϊ μακρῷ  
But Tlepolemus had struck Sarpedon's left thigh with his long spear,

**661** βεβλήκειν, αἰχμὴ δὲ διέσσυτο μαιμώωσα  
and the point rushed through in fury

**662** ὀστέω ἐγχριμφθεῖσα, πατὴρ δʼ ἔτι λοιγὸν ἄμυνεν.  
and grazed the bone, but his father still warded off destruction.
> The father who saves him: The subject πατήρ is Zeus, Sarpedon's father as established at line 631. Zeus averts his son's death, though he does not prevent Tlepolemus' spear from piercing the thigh and reaching the bone.

**663** οἳ μὲν ἄρʼ ἀντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα δῖοι ἑταῖροι  
Then, as for godlike Sarpedon, his godlike companions

**664** ἐξέφερον πολέμοιο· βάρυνε δέ μιν δόρυ μακρὸν  
carried him out of the battle; the long spear weighed upon him

**665** ἑλκόμενον· τὸ μὲν οὔ τις ἐπεφράσατʼ οὐδὲ νόησε  
as it dragged, but no one gave thought or noticed

**666** μηροῦ ἐξερύσαι δόρυ μείλινον ὄφρʼ ἐπιβαίη  
to pull the ash spear from his thigh so he could step forward,
> So he could set foot forward: The optative ἐπιβαίη stands in a purpose clause after the past-tense narrative: removing the spear would let Sarpedon plant his foot and move. The companions' haste delays that necessary extraction until Pelagon acts at line 694.

**667** σπευδόντων· τοῖον γὰρ ἔχον πόνον ἀμφιέποντες.  
as they hurried; such was the labor that occupied them.

**668** Τληπόλεμον δʼ ἑτέρωθεν ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοὶ  
From the other side the well-greaved Achaeans carried Tlepolemus

**669** ἐξέφερον πολέμοιο· νόησε δὲ δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς  
out of the battle; and godlike Odysseus saw it,

**670** τλήμονα θυμὸν ἔχων, μαίμησε δέ οἱ φίλον ἦτορ·  
his spirit enduring, and his dear heart surged within him.
> Odysseus' enduring spirit: τλήμων describes a spirit capable of bearing hardship and standing firm. It belongs to the same endurance-language as Odysseus' established epithet "much-enduring," here sharpened into immediate battle fury.

**671** μερμήριξε δʼ ἔπειτα κατὰ φρένα καὶ κατὰ θυμὸν  
Then he debated in his mind and spirit
> Odysseus weighs two courses: The verb μερμηρίζω introduces an internal debate, with ἤ ... ἦ setting out two alternatives. Odysseus considers pursuing Sarpedon or turning upon the mass of Lycians; the next divine intervention prevents the first course.

**672** ἢ προτέρω Διὸς υἱὸν ἐριγδούποιο διώκοι,  
whether to pursue the son of loud-thundering Zeus farther

**673** ἦ ὅ γε τῶν πλεόνων Λυκίων ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.  
or to take the lives of the greater number of Lycians.

**674** οὐδʼ ἄρʼ Ὀδυσσῆϊ μεγαλήτορι μόρσιμον ἦεν  
But it was not fated for great-hearted Odysseus

**675** ἴφθιμον Διὸς υἱὸν ἀποκτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ·  
to kill the strong son of Zeus with sharp bronze;

**676** τώ ῥα κατὰ πληθὺν Λυκίων τράπε θυμὸν Ἀθήνη.  
therefore Athena turned his heart against the Lycian throng.
> Athena turns the choice: Athena is the subject of τράπε and Odysseus' θυμός is its object. Fate rules out Sarpedon's death, and the goddess redirects Odysseus' battle impulse toward the Lycian rank and file.

**677** ἔνθʼ ὅ γε Κοίρανον εἷλεν Ἀλάστορά τε Χρομίον τε  
There he slew Koiranus, Alastor, Chromius,

**678** Ἄλκανδρόν θʼ Ἅλιόν τε Νοήμονά τε Πρύτανίν τε.  
Alcandrus, Halius, Noemon, and Prytanis.

**679** καί νύ κʼ ἔτι πλέονας Λυκίων κτάνε δῖος Ὀδυσσεὺς  
And godlike Odysseus would have killed still more Lycians

**680** εἰ μὴ ἄρʼ ὀξὺ νόησε μέγας κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ·  
had not great Hector of the flashing helm swiftly seen him.
> Great Hector of the flashing helm: μέγας adds "great" separately to the fixed epithet κορυθαίολος, "of the flashing helm." Both force and standing title are present in the Greek and retained in the English.

**681** βῆ δὲ διὰ προμάχων κεκορυθμένος αἴθοπι χαλκῷ  
and he strode out through the front ranks, helmed in gleaming bronze,

**682** δεῖμα φέρων Δαναοῖσι· χάρη δʼ ἄρα οἱ προσιόντι  
bringing terror to the Danaans; and at his approach

**683** Σαρπηδὼν Διὸς υἱός, ἔπος δʼ ὀλοφυδνὸν ἔειπε·  
Sarpedon, son of Zeus, rejoiced and spoke a piteous word:

**684** Πριαμίδη, μὴ δή με ἕλωρ Δαναοῖσιν ἐάσῃς  
"Son of Priam, do not leave me to lie here as spoil for the Danaans,
> Spoil for the Danaans: ἕλωρ is prey or spoil left for an enemy to seize and abuse. Sarpedon asks Hector not merely to keep him alive but to prevent his wounded body from falling into Achaean hands.

**685** κεῖσθαι, ἀλλʼ ἐπάμυνον· ἔπειτά με καὶ λίποι αἰὼν  
but defend me; then afterward let life leave me

**686** ἐν πόλει ὑμετέρῃ, ἐπεὶ οὐκ ἄρʼ ἔμελλον ἔγωγε  
in your city, since I was not destined

**687** νοστήσας οἶκον δὲ φίλην ἐς πατρίδα γαῖαν  
to return home to my dear native land

**688** εὐφρανέειν ἄλοχόν τε φίλην καὶ νήπιον υἱόν.  
and gladden my dear wife and infant son."

**689** ὣς φάτο, τὸν δʼ οὔ τι προσέφη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ,  
So he spoke, but Hector of the flashing helm gave him no answer,

**690** ἀλλὰ παρήϊξεν λελιημένος ὄφρα τάχιστα  
and rushed past, eager with all speed

**691** ὤσαιτʼ Ἀργείους, πολέων δʼ ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἕλοιτο.  
to drive back the Argives and take the lives of many.

**692** οἳ μὲν ἄρʼ ἀντίθεον Σαρπηδόνα δῖοι ἑταῖροι  
Then, as for godlike Sarpedon, his godlike companions

**693** εἷσαν ὑπʼ αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς περικαλλέϊ φηγῷ·  
set him beneath the beautiful oak of aegis-bearing Zeus.

**694** ἐκ δʼ ἄρα οἱ μηροῦ δόρυ μείλινον ὦσε θύραζε  
Then mighty Pelagon thrust the ash spear out of his thigh,

**695** ἴφθιμος Πελάγων, ὅς οἱ φίλος ἦεν ἑταῖρος.  
his dear companion and friend.

**696** τὸν δʼ ἔλιπε ψυχή, κατὰ δʼ ὀφθαλμῶν κέχυτʼ ἀχλύς·  
His life-breath left him, and mist poured over his eyes;
> Life-breath in a swoon: ψυχή is the departing life-breath, but here its departure is temporary: the next two lines explicitly restore Sarpedon's breathing. Homer uses death-language to mark the depth of the faint without making the wound fatal.

**697** αὖτις δʼ ἐμπνύνθη, περὶ δὲ πνοιὴ Βορέαο  
but he breathed again, and the breath of Boreas around him

**698** ζώγρει ἐπιπνείουσα κακῶς κεκαφηότα θυμόν.  
kept his sorely gasping spirit alive as it blew upon him.

**699** Ἀργεῖοι δʼ ὑπʼ Ἄρηϊ καὶ Ἕκτορι χαλκοκορυστῇ  
But the Argives, before Ares and bronze-helmed Hector,

**700** οὔτε ποτὲ προτρέποντο μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν  
were never turned in rout toward the black ships,

**701** οὔτε ποτʼ ἀντεφέροντο μάχῃ, ἀλλʼ αἰὲν ὀπίσσω  
nor ever stood against them in battle, but always backward

**702** χάζονθʼ, ὡς ἐπύθοντο μετὰ Τρώεσσιν Ἄρηα.  
they gave ground, once they learned that Ares was among the Trojans.
> Giving ground without turning: The imperfect χάζοντο describes the Argives repeatedly withdrawing. The paired negatives distinguish this from both turning in rout toward the ships and standing firm in battle: once they learn that Ares is among the Trojans, they keep giving ground.

**703** ἔνθα τίνα πρῶτον τίνα δʼ ὕστατον ἐξενάριξαν  
Then whom first and whom last did they strip of armor—

**704** Ἕκτωρ τε Πριάμοιο πάϊς καὶ χάλκεος Ἄρης;  
Hector, son of Priam, and brazen Ares?

**705** ἀντίθεον Τεύθραντʼ, ἐπὶ δὲ πλήξιππον Ὀρέστην,  
Godlike Teuthras, and after him Orestes, driver of horses,

**706** Τρῆχόν τʼ αἰχμητὴν Αἰτώλιον Οἰνόμαόν τε,  
Trechus, the Aetolian spearman, and Oenomaus,

**707** Οἰνοπίδην θʼ Ἕλενον καὶ Ὀρέσβιον αἰολομίτρην,  
Helenus, son of Oenops, and Oresbius of the flashing taslet,
> The flashing taslet: The compound joins αἰόλος, "flashing," to μίτρη, the inner guard protecting the lower belly. The established armor term "taslet" keeps this piece distinct from the outer belt and the corselet.

**708** ὅς ῥʼ ἐν Ὕλῃ ναίεσκε μέγα πλούτοιο μεμηλώς,  
who lived in Hyle, greatly concerned with wealth,

**709** λίμνῃ κεκλιμένος Κηφισίδι· πὰρ δέ οἱ ἄλλοι  
dwelling beside the Cephisian lake; and near him other

**710** ναῖον Βοιωτοὶ μάλα πίονα δῆμον ἔχοντες.  
Boeotians lived, possessing a very fertile land.

**711** τοὺς δʼ ὡς οὖν ἐνόησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη  
Now when the goddess white-armed Hera saw them

**712** Ἀργείους ὀλέκοντας ἐνὶ κρατερῇ ὑσμίνῃ,  
destroying the Argives in the mighty combat,

**713** αὐτίκʼ Ἀθηναίην ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
at once she addressed Athena with winged words:

**714** ὢ πόποι αἰγιόχοιο Διὸς τέκος Ἀτρυτώνη,  
"Ah, shame, child of Zeus who bears the aegis, unwearied one,

**715** ἦ ῥʼ ἅλιον τὸν μῦθον ὑπέστημεν Μενελάῳ  
did we then make Menelaus that promise in vain—
> A promise made to Menelaus: The dative Μενελάῳ names the man to whom Hera and Athena made their promise. The following accusative participles supply its content with Menelaus understood as their subject: he is to sack Ilion and return home.

**716** Ἴλιον ἐκπέρσαντʼ εὐτείχεον ἀπονέεσθαι,  
that he would sack well-walled Ilion and return home,

**717** εἰ οὕτω μαίνεσθαι ἐάσομεν οὖλον Ἄρηα.  
if we let destructive Ares rage in this way?

**718** ἀλλʼ ἄγε δὴ καὶ νῶϊ μεδώμεθα θούριδος ἀλκῆς.  
Come, then, let the two of us turn our minds to furious valor."

**719** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη.  
So she spoke, and the goddess, bright-eyed Athena, did not disobey.

**720** ἣ μὲν ἐποιχομένη χρυσάμπυκας ἔντυεν ἵππους  
Hera went among the horses and harnessed the gold-frontleted team,
> Gold-frontleted horses: The compound describes the horses by the golden ἄμπυκες worn across their foreheads. Hera harnesses the team, while Hebe fits the chariot's components in the lines that follow.

**721** Ἥρη πρέσβα θεὰ θυγάτηρ μεγάλοιο Κρόνοιο·  
the august goddess, daughter of great Cronos;

**722** Ἥβη δʼ ἀμφʼ ὀχέεσσι θοῶς βάλε καμπύλα κύκλα  
and Hebe swiftly fitted the curved wheels to the chariot,

**723** χάλκεα ὀκτάκνημα σιδηρέῳ ἄξονι ἀμφίς.  
bronze, eight-spoked, on either side of the iron axle.

**724** τῶν ἤτοι χρυσέη ἴτυς ἄφθιτος, αὐτὰρ ὕπερθε  
Their felloe was of gold, imperishable, and over it

**725** χάλκεʼ ἐπίσσωτρα προσαρηρότα, θαῦμα ἰδέσθαι·  
bronze tires were fitted, a wonder to behold;
> Felloe and tire: ἴτυς is the felloe, the rim formed by the wheel's structure, while ἐπίσσωτρα are the tires fitted over it. Here the supporting felloe is gold and the outer tire bronze.

**726** πλῆμναι δʼ ἀργύρου εἰσὶ περίδρομοι ἀμφοτέρωθεν·  
and the naves are of silver, revolving on either side.

**727** δίφρος δὲ χρυσέοισι καὶ ἀργυρέοισιν ἱμᾶσιν  
The chariot body is stretched tight with straps of gold

**728** ἐντέταται, δοιαὶ δὲ περίδρομοι ἄντυγές εἰσι.  
and silver, and two rails run all around it.
> The double chariot rail: The dual δοιαί marks two ἄντυγες, the rails running around the chariot body. These are not wheels or reins but the raised edging of the platform in which the goddesses stand.

**729** τοῦ δʼ ἐξ ἀργύρεος ῥυμὸς πέλεν· αὐτὰρ ἐπʼ ἄκρῳ  
From it extended a silver pole; and at its end

**730** δῆσε χρύσειον καλὸν ζυγόν, ἐν δὲ λέπαδνα  
Hebe fastened a beautiful golden yoke and set within it

**731** κάλʼ ἔβαλε χρύσειʼ· ὑπὸ δὲ ζυγὸν ἤγαγεν Ἥρη  
beautiful golden neck-straps; then Hera led beneath the yoke
> Yoke and neck-straps: The ζυγόν is the crosswise yoke fixed to the end of the pole. The λέπαδνα are the straps laid about the horses' necks to secure them to it; Hebe fits these before Hera brings the team under the yoke.

**732** ἵππους ὠκύποδας, μεμαυῖʼ ἔριδος καὶ ἀϋτῆς.  
the swift-footed horses, eager for strife and the war-cry.

**733** αὐτὰρ Ἀθηναίη κούρη Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο  
But Athena, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis,

**734** πέπλον μὲν κατέχευεν ἑανὸν πατρὸς ἐπʼ οὔδει  
let fall her soft robe upon her father's floor,

**735** ποικίλον, ὅν ῥʼ αὐτὴ ποιήσατο καὶ κάμε χερσίν·  
richly patterned, which she herself had made and wrought with her hands;

**736** ἣ δὲ χιτῶνʼ ἐνδῦσα Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο  
then, putting on the tunic of Zeus the cloud-gatherer,

**737** τεύχεσιν ἐς πόλεμον θωρήσσετο δακρυόεντα.  
she arrayed herself in armor for tearful war.

**738** ἀμφὶ δʼ ἄρʼ ὤμοισιν βάλετʼ αἰγίδα θυσσανόεσσαν  
Around her shoulders she cast the tasseled aegis,

**739** δεινήν, ἣν περὶ μὲν πάντῃ Φόβος ἐστεφάνωται,  
dreadful, which Rout crowns on every side;

**740** ἐν δʼ Ἔρις, ἐν δʼ Ἀλκή, ἐν δὲ κρυόεσσα Ἰωκή,  
within are Strife, Battle-strength, and chilling Pursuit,

**741** ἐν δέ τε Γοργείη κεφαλὴ δεινοῖο πελώρου  
and within is the Gorgon's head, that dreadful monster,

**742** δεινή τε σμερδνή τε, Διὸς τέρας αἰγιόχοιο.  
dread and grim, the portent of Zeus who bears the aegis.

**743** κρατὶ δʼ ἐπʼ ἀμφίφαλον κυνέην θέτο τετραφάληρον  
Upon her head she set the double-crested, four-bossed helmet,

**744** χρυσείην, ἑκατὸν πολίων πρυλέεσσʼ ἀραρυῖαν·  
golden, fitted for the foot soldiers of a hundred cities.
> A helmet for a hundred cities: πρυλέες are close-fighting foot soldiers, and ἀραρυῖαν describes the helmet as fitted or sufficient for them. The vast scale is divine: Athena's golden helmet could equip the warriors of a hundred cities.

**745** ἐς δʼ ὄχεα φλόγεα ποσὶ βήσετο, λάζετο δʼ ἔγχος  
She stepped with her feet into the flaming chariot and took up her spear,

**746** βριθὺ μέγα στιβαρόν, τῷ δάμνησι στίχας ἀνδρῶν  
heavy, huge, and strong, with which she subdues the ranks

**747** ἡρώων, οἷσίν τε κοτέσσεται ὀβριμοπάτρη.  
of heroes against whom she, daughter of a mighty father, is angered.

**748** Ἥρη δὲ μάστιγι θοῶς ἐπεμαίετʼ ἄρʼ ἵππους·  
Then Hera swiftly plied the whip over the horses;

**749** αὐτόμαται δὲ πύλαι μύκον οὐρανοῦ ἃς ἔχον Ὧραι,  
and of themselves the gates of heaven groaned, which the Hours guarded,

**750** τῇς ἐπιτέτραπται μέγας οὐρανὸς Οὔλυμπός τε  
to whom great heaven and Olympus are entrusted,

**751** ἠμὲν ἀνακλῖναι πυκινὸν νέφος ἠδʼ ἐπιθεῖναι.  
both to roll back the thick cloud and to draw it over.

**752** τῇ ῥα διʼ αὐτάων κεντρηνεκέας ἔχον ἵππους·  
Through these they guided the horses responsive to the goad;

**753** εὗρον δὲ Κρονίωνα θεῶν ἄτερ ἥμενον ἄλλων  
and they found the son of Cronos sitting apart from the other gods

**754** ἀκροτάτῃ κορυφῇ πολυδειράδος Οὐλύμποιο.  
upon the topmost peak of many-ridged Olympus.

**755** ἔνθʼ ἵππους στήσασα θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη  
There the goddess white-armed Hera halted the horses

**756** Ζῆνʼ ὕπατον Κρονίδην ἐξείρετο καὶ προσέειπε·  
and questioned Zeus, highest son of Cronos, and addressed him:

**757** Ζεῦ πάτερ οὐ νεμεσίζῃ Ἄρῃ τάδε καρτερὰ ἔργα  
"Father Zeus, are you not indignant at Ares for these violent deeds—

**758** ὁσσάτιόν τε καὶ οἷον ἀπώλεσε λαὸν Ἀχαιῶν  
how great a host of Achaeans he has destroyed, and what men,

**759** μὰψ ἀτὰρ οὐ κατὰ κόσμον ἐμοὶ δʼ ἄχος, οἳ δὲ ἕκηλοι  
recklessly and beyond all order, to my grief—while at their ease
> Beyond the order of battle: μάψ marks Ares' violence as reckless or purposeless, while οὐ κατὰ κόσμον says that it violates due order. Hera's complaint is not only that Achaeans die, but that a god is destroying them without restraint or proper bounds.

**760** τέρπονται Κύπρίς τε καὶ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων  
Cypris and Apollo of the silver bow take their pleasure,

**761** ἄφρονα τοῦτον ἀνέντες, ὃς οὔ τινα οἶδε θέμιστα;  
having set this madman loose, who knows no ordinance?

**762** Ζεῦ πάτερ ἦ ῥά τί μοι κεχολώσεαι, αἴ κεν Ἄρηα  
Father Zeus, will you then be angry with me if I

**763** λυγρῶς πεπληγυῖα μάχης ἐξαποδίωμαι;  
after striking Ares grievously, drive him out of battle?"

**764** τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·  
Then Zeus the cloud-gatherer answered her and said:

**765** ἄγρει μάν οἱ ἔπορσον Ἀθηναίην ἀγελείην,  
"Come now, rouse Athena, driver of spoil, against him,
> Athena, driver of spoil: ἀγελείη is Athena's martial epithet as one who drives off the enemy's spoil. Zeus chooses her because her accustomed way with Ares is not restraint but direct and painful opposition.

**766** ἥ ἑ μάλιστʼ εἴωθε κακῇς ὀδύνῃσι πελάζειν.  
for she more than any is accustomed to bring him into bitter pain."

**767** ὣς ἔφατʼ, οὐδʼ ἀπίθησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη,  
So he spoke, and the goddess white-armed Hera did not disobey,

**768** μάστιξεν δʼ ἵππους· τὼ δʼ οὐκ ἀέκοντε πετέσθην  
but whipped the horses; and the pair flew on, not unwilling,

**769** μεσσηγὺς γαίης τε καὶ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος.  
midway between the earth and starry heaven.

**770** ὅσσον δʼ ἠεροειδὲς ἀνὴρ ἴδεν ὀφθαλμοῖσιν  
As far into the hazy distance as a man can see with his eyes

**771** ἥμενος ἐν σκοπιῇ, λεύσσων ἐπὶ οἴνοπα πόντον,  
seated at a lookout, gazing over the wine-dark sea,

**772** τόσσον ἐπιθρῴσκουσι θεῶν ὑψηχέες ἵπποι.  
so far leap the high-neighing horses of the gods.
> High-neighing divine horses: ὑψηχής describes the horses by the high, carrying sound of their neigh. Their single bound spans the whole distance a watcher can survey from a high lookout to the sea's horizon.

**773** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δὴ Τροίην ἷξον ποταμώ τε ῥέοντε,  
But when they reached Troy and the two flowing rivers,

**774** ἧχι ῥοὰς Σιμόεις συμβάλλετον ἠδὲ Σκάμανδρος,  
where Simois and Scamander join their streams,

**775** ἔνθʼ ἵππους ἔστησε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη  
there the goddess white-armed Hera halted the horses

**776** λύσασʼ ἐξ ὀχέων, περὶ δʼ ἠέρα πουλὺν ἔχευε·  
and unyoked them from the chariot, then poured thick mist around them;

**777** τοῖσιν δʼ ἀμβροσίην Σιμόεις ἀνέτειλε νέμεσθαι.  
and Simois made ambrosia spring up for them to graze.

**778** αἳ δὲ βάτην τρήρωσι πελειάσιν ἴθμαθʼ ὁμοῖαι  
The goddesses went on with steps like timid doves,

**779** ἀνδράσιν Ἀργείοισιν ἀλεξέμεναι μεμαυῖαι·  
eager to bring aid to the Argive men.

**780** ἀλλʼ ὅτε δή ῥʼ ἵκανον ὅθι πλεῖστοι καὶ ἄριστοι  
But when they came where the greatest number and the best

**781** ἕστασαν ἀμφὶ βίην Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο  
stood gathered around the might of Diomedes, tamer of horses,

**782** εἰλόμενοι λείουσιν ἐοικότες ὠμοφάγοισιν  
closed in together like lions that feed on raw flesh

**783** ἢ συσὶ κάπροισιν, τῶν τε σθένος οὐκ ἀλαπαδνόν,  
or wild boars, whose strength is not feeble,

**784** ἔνθα στᾶσʼ ἤϋσε θεὰ λευκώλενος Ἥρη  
there the goddess white-armed Hera stood and shouted,

**785** Στέντορι εἰσαμένη μεγαλήτορι χαλκεοφώνῳ,  
likening her voice to great-hearted, bronze-voiced Stentor,

**786** ὃς τόσον αὐδήσασχʼ ὅσον ἄλλοι πεντήκοντα·  
who used to cry out as loudly as fifty other men:

**787** αἰδὼς Ἀργεῖοι κάκʼ ἐλέγχεα εἶδος ἀγητοί·  
"Shame, Argives—foul disgraces, splendid only in appearance!
> A cry of shame: αἰδώς is an urgent summons to feel shame before one's peers, while ἐλέγχεα calls the warriors living disgraces or reproaches. Hera drives the insult harder by conceding that they still look magnificent.

**788** ὄφρα μὲν ἐς πόλεμον πωλέσκετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεύς,  
As long as godlike Achilles went to battle,

**789** οὐδέ ποτε Τρῶες πρὸ πυλάων Δαρδανιάων  
the Trojans never ranged before the Dardanian gates,

**790** οἴχνεσκον· κείνου γὰρ ἐδείδισαν ὄβριμον ἔγχος·  
for they feared his mighty spear;

**791** νῦν δὲ ἑκὰς πόλιος κοίλῃς ἐπὶ νηυσὶ μάχονται.  
but now they fight far from the city, beside the hollow ships."

**792** ὣς εἰποῦσʼ ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου.  
So speaking, she roused the strength and spirit of every man.

**793** Τυδεΐδῃ δʼ ἐπόρουσε θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·  
Then bright-eyed Athena sprang toward the son of Tydeus;
> Athena springs to him: ἐπόρουσε is an aorist of ἐπορούω, a forceful verb for springing or rushing upon someone. Here the motion is not an attack: Athena swiftly comes to Diomedes at his chariot.

**794** εὗρε δὲ τόν γε ἄνακτα παρʼ ἵπποισιν καὶ ὄχεσφιν  
she found the lord beside his horses and chariot,

**795** ἕλκος ἀναψύχοντα τό μιν βάλε Πάνδαρος ἰῷ.  
cooling the wound where Pandarus had struck him with an arrow.

**796** ἱδρὼς γάρ μιν ἔτειρεν ὑπὸ πλατέος τελαμῶνος  
For sweat oppressed him beneath the broad strap

**797** ἀσπίδος εὐκύκλου· τῷ τείρετο, κάμνε δὲ χεῖρα,  
of his well-rounded shield; it burdened him, and his arm grew weary,

**798** ἂν δʼ ἴσχων τελαμῶνα κελαινεφὲς αἷμʼ ἀπομόργνυ.  
and as he lifted the strap, he wiped away the dark blood.
> Dark blood: κελαινεφής describes blood as dark or murky. The phrase returns to the wound Pandarus gave Diomedes at line 99 and keeps its color distinct from the μέλας family, rendered elsewhere as "black."

**799** ἱππείου δὲ θεὰ ζυγοῦ ἥψατο φώνησέν τε·  
The goddess touched the horses' yoke and spoke:

**800** ἦ ὀλίγον οἷ παῖδα ἐοικότα γείνατο Τυδεύς.  
"Indeed, Tydeus begot a son who is little like himself.
> Little like his father: οἷ is the dative singular pronoun referring to Tydeus, governed by ἐοικότα, "resembling." Athena begins with a cutting comparison between Diomedes and his father before recounting Tydeus' boldness.

**801** Τυδεύς τοι μικρὸς μὲν ἔην δέμας, ἀλλὰ μαχητής·  
Tydeus was small in build, but he was a fighter.

**802** καί ῥʼ ὅτε πέρ μιν ἐγὼ πολεμίζειν οὐκ εἴασκον  
Even when I would not allow him to fight

**803** οὐδʼ ἐκπαιφάσσειν, ὅτε τʼ ἤλυθε νόσφιν Ἀχαιῶν  
or rush headlong, when he came apart from the Achaeans

**804** ἄγγελος ἐς Θήβας πολέας μετὰ Καδμείωνας·  
as a messenger to Thebes among the many Cadmeans,

**805** δαίνυσθαί μιν ἄνωγον ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἕκηλον·  
I ordered him to feast quietly in their halls.

**806** αὐτὰρ ὃ θυμὸν ἔχων ὃν καρτερὸν ὡς τὸ πάρος περ  
But he, keeping the stout heart he had before,

**807** κούρους Καδμείων προκαλίζετο, πάντα δʼ ἐνίκα  
challenged the young Cadmeans and defeated them in everything

**808** ῥηϊδίως· τοίη οἱ ἐγὼν ἐπιτάρροθος ἦα.  
with ease; so mighty a helper was I to him.
> A divine helper: ἐπιτάρροθος is one who stands ready to aid or defend another. Athena uses the same word of her support for Tydeus here and for Diomedes at line 828, making the comparison exact.

**809** σοὶ δʼ ἤτοι μὲν ἐγὼ παρά θʼ ἵσταμαι ἠδὲ φυλάσσω,  
But beside you I stand and watch over you,

**810** καί σε προφρονέως κέλομαι Τρώεσσι μάχεσθαι·  
and wholeheartedly urge you to fight the Trojans.

**811** ἀλλά σευ ἢ κάματος πολυᾶϊξ γυῖα δέδυκεν  
Yet either the weariness of many charges has entered your limbs,
> Weariness of many charges: πολυᾶϊξ joins πολύς, "many," to the root of ἀΐσσω, "dart" or "charge." Athena imagines the fatigue produced by Diomedes' repeated rushes through battle, not a vague loss of courage.

**812** ἤ νύ σέ που δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον· οὐ σύ γʼ ἔπειτα  
or perhaps spiritless fear holds you. Then you are no

**813** Τυδέος ἔκγονός ἐσσι δαΐφρονος Οἰνεΐδαο.  
descendant of wise Tydeus, son of Oeneus."

**814** τὴν δʼ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη κρατερὸς Διομήδης·  
Then mighty Diomedes answered her and said:

**815** γιγνώσκω σε θεὰ θύγατερ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο·  
"I know you, goddess, daughter of Zeus who bears the aegis;

**816** τώ τοι προφρονέως ἐρέω ἔπος οὐδʼ ἐπικεύσω.  
therefore I will speak to you wholeheartedly and conceal nothing.
> I will not conceal it: ἐπικεύσω is a future form of ἐπικεύθω, "keep hidden" or "conceal." Paired with the future ἐρέω, it promises both a frank account and the withholding of nothing.

**817** οὔτέ τί με δέος ἴσχει ἀκήριον οὔτέ τις ὄκνος,  
Neither spiritless fear holds me, nor any hesitation,

**818** ἀλλʼ ἔτι σέων μέμνημαι ἐφετμέων ἃς ἐπέτειλας·  
but I still remember the commands you laid upon me:

**819** οὔ μʼ εἴας μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἀντικρὺ μάχεσθαι  
you did not allow me to fight face-to-face with the blessed gods,

**820** τοῖς ἄλλοις· ἀτὰρ εἴ κε Διὸς θυγάτηρ Ἀφροδίτη  
of all the others. But if Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus,

**821** ἔλθῃσʼ ἐς πόλεμον, τήν γʼ οὐτάμεν ὀξέϊ χαλκῷ.  
comes into battle, wound her with sharp bronze."

**822** τοὔνεκα νῦν αὐτός τʼ ἀναχάζομαι ἠδὲ καὶ ἄλλους  
Therefore I myself am now giving ground, and I ordered the other

**823** Ἀργείους ἐκέλευσα ἀλήμεναι ἐνθάδε πάντας·  
Argives all to gather here.

**824** γιγνώσκω γὰρ Ἄρηα μάχην ἀνὰ κοιρανέοντα.  
For I know Ares is lording it throughout the battle."
> Ares lords over the battle: κοιρανέω means to rule or command as a κοίρανος, a lord. Diomedes has recognized that a god is directing the battle and retreats in obedience to Athena's earlier prohibition, not from cowardice.

**825** τὸν δʼ ἠμείβετʼ ἔπειτα θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη·  
Then bright-eyed Athena answered him:

**826** Τυδεΐδη Διόμηδες ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ  
"Diomedes, son of Tydeus, dear to my heart,
> Dear to my heart: κεχαρισμένε is a perfect middle-passive participle used in direct address: Diomedes is one who has become pleasing to Athena's θυμός, her heart or spirit. The perfect gives the favor an established, continuing force.

**827** μήτε σύ γʼ Ἄρηα τό γε δείδιθι μήτε τινʼ ἄλλον  
do not fear Ares on that account, nor any other

**828** ἀθανάτων, τοίη τοι ἐγὼν ἐπιτάρροθός εἰμι·  
of the immortals, so mighty a helper am I to you.

**829** ἀλλʼ ἄγʼ ἐπʼ Ἄρηϊ πρώτῳ ἔχε μώνυχας ἵππους,  
Come, drive the single-hoofed horses first against Ares,

**830** τύψον δὲ σχεδίην μηδʼ ἅζεο θοῦρον Ἄρηα  
strike him at close quarters, and do not stand in awe of raging Ares,

**831** τοῦτον μαινόμενον, τυκτὸν κακόν, ἀλλοπρόσαλλον,  
this madman, this wrought evil, this turncoat,
> Wrought evil, ever shifting: τυκτὸν κακόν calls Ares an evil that has been wrought or fashioned. ἀλλοπρόσαλλος describes one who turns now toward one side and now the other, matching Athena's charge that he has abandoned his promise to aid the Argives.

**832** ὃς πρῴην μὲν ἐμοί τε καὶ Ἥρῃ στεῦτʼ ἀγορεύων  
who only lately promised Hera and me, declaring

**833** Τρωσὶ μαχήσεσθαι, ἀτὰρ Ἀργείοισιν ἀρήξειν,  
he would fight the Trojans and aid the Argives,

**834** νῦν δὲ μετὰ Τρώεσσιν ὁμιλεῖ, τῶν δὲ λέλασται.  
but now he keeps company with the Trojans and has forgotten the Argives."

**835** ὣς φαμένη Σθένελον μὲν ἀφʼ ἵππων ὦσε χαμᾶζε,  
So speaking, she pushed Sthenelus from the horses to the ground,

**836** χειρὶ πάλιν ἐρύσασʼ, ὃ δʼ ἄρʼ ἐμμαπέως ἀπόρουσεν·  
drawing him backward with her hand, and he sprang down at once.

**837** ἣ δʼ ἐς δίφρον ἔβαινε παραὶ Διομήδεα δῖον  
Then the goddess mounted the chariot beside godlike Diomedes,

**838** ἐμμεμαυῖα θεά· μέγα δʼ ἔβραχε φήγινος ἄξων  
eager for battle; and loudly the oaken axle groaned

**839** βριθοσύνῃ· δεινὴν γὰρ ἄγεν θεὸν ἄνδρά τʼ ἄριστον.  
beneath the weight, for it bore a dreadful goddess and the best of men.
> The axle under weight: βριθοσύνη is heaviness or weight. The chariot axle groans not merely under two bodies but under the paired magnitude Homer names: a formidable goddess and an outstanding mortal warrior.

**840** λάζετο δὲ μάστιγα καὶ ἡνία Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη·  
Pallas Athena took the whip and reins,

**841** αὐτίκʼ ἐπʼ Ἄρηϊ πρώτῳ ἔχε μώνυχας ἵππους.  
and at once drove the single-hoofed horses first against Ares.

**842** ἤτοι ὃ μὲν Περίφαντα πελώριον ἐξενάριζεν  
He was stripping the huge Periphas,

**843** Αἰτωλῶν ὄχʼ ἄριστον Ὀχησίου ἀγλαὸν υἱόν·  
far the best of the Aetolians, the glorious son of Ochesius.

**844** τὸν μὲν Ἄρης ἐνάριζε μιαιφόνος· αὐτὰρ Ἀθήνη  
Blood-stained Ares was stripping him, but Athena

**845** δῦνʼ Ἄϊδος κυνέην, μή μιν ἴδοι ὄβριμος Ἄρης.  
put on the helmet of Hades, so mighty Ares would not see her.

**846** ὡς δὲ ἴδε βροτολοιγὸς Ἄρης Διομήδεα δῖον,  
When Ares, bane of mortals, saw godlike Diomedes,

**847** ἤτοι ὃ μὲν Περίφαντα πελώριον αὐτόθʼ ἔασε  
he left huge Periphas there

**848** κεῖσθαι ὅθι πρῶτον κτείνων ἐξαίνυτο θυμόν,  
lying where he had first slain him and taken his life,

**849** αὐτὰρ ὃ βῆ ῥʼ ἰθὺς Διομήδεος ἱπποδάμοιο.  
and went straight against Diomedes, tamer of horses.

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

**851** πρόσθεν Ἄρης ὠρέξαθʼ ὑπὲρ ζυγὸν ἡνία θʼ ἵππων  
Ares reached first over the yoke and the horses' reins

**852** ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ μεμαὼς ἀπὸ θυμὸν ἑλέσθαι·  
with his bronze spear, eager to take away his life.

**853** καὶ τό γε χειρὶ λαβοῦσα θεὰ γλαυκῶπις Ἀθήνη  
But bright-eyed Athena caught it in her hand
> Athena catches the cast: The feminine participle λαβοῦσα makes Athena the agent who takes Ares' spear in her hand. Diomedes does not parry the divine cast; the hidden goddess intercepts it herself.

**854** ὦσεν ὑπὲκ δίφροιο ἐτώσιον ἀϊχθῆναι.  
and thrust it away from the chariot to dart in vain.

**855** δεύτερος αὖθʼ ὡρμᾶτο βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης  
Second in turn, Diomedes, good at the war-cry, charged

**856** ἔγχεϊ χαλκείῳ· ἐπέρεισε δὲ Παλλὰς Ἀθήνη  
with his bronze spear; and Pallas Athena drove it

**857** νείατον ἐς κενεῶνα ὅθι ζωννύσκετο μίτρῃ·  
into the lowest flank, where he was girded with the taslet.
> The flank beneath the taslet: κενεών is the soft flank, and νείατος marks its lowest part. The μίτρη is the taslet, the belly-guard already named in Book 4; even on a god, Homer locates the strike precisely where this piece is worn.

**858** τῇ ῥά μιν οὖτα τυχών, διὰ δὲ χρόα καλὸν ἔδαψεν,  
There he struck him true and tore through his fair skin,

**859** ἐκ δὲ δόρυ σπάσεν αὖτις· ὃ δʼ ἔβραχε χάλκεος Ἄρης  
then drew the spear back out; and bronze Ares roared

**860** ὅσσόν τʼ ἐννεάχιλοι ἐπίαχον ἢ δεκάχιλοι  
as loudly as nine thousand or ten thousand

**861** ἀνέρες ἐν πολέμῳ ἔριδα ξυνάγοντες Ἄρηος.  
men cry out in war as they join the strife of Ares.

**862** τοὺς δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπὸ τρόμος εἷλεν Ἀχαιούς τε Τρῶάς τε  
Trembling seized Achaeans and Trojans alike

**863** δείσαντας· τόσον ἔβραχʼ Ἄρης ἆτος πολέμοιο.  
in fear; so loudly roared Ares, insatiate for war.

**864** οἵη δʼ ἐκ νεφέων ἐρεβεννὴ φαίνεται ἀὴρ  
As a dark haze appears from the clouds
> A dark haze: ἀήρ is the lower air seen as mist or haze, and ἐρεβεννός makes it dark as Erebus. Ares' bronze form ascending amid clouds resembles the mass of a storm gathering after heat.

**865** καύματος ἐξ ἀνέμοιο δυσαέος ὀρνυμένοιο,  
after heat, when a stormy wind rises,

**866** τοῖος Τυδεΐδῃ Διομήδεϊ χάλκεος Ἄρης  
so bronze Ares appeared to Diomedes, son of Tydeus,

**867** φαίνεθʼ ὁμοῦ νεφέεσσιν ἰὼν εἰς οὐρανὸν εὐρύν.  
as he went with the clouds into the broad sky.

**868** καρπαλίμως δʼ ἵκανε θεῶν ἕδος αἰπὺν Ὄλυμπον,  
Swiftly he reached steep Olympus, the gods' abode,

**869** πὰρ δὲ Διὶ Κρονίωνι καθέζετο θυμὸν ἀχεύων,  
and sat beside Zeus, son of Cronos, grieving in his heart.

**870** δεῖξεν δʼ ἄμβροτον αἷμα καταρρέον ἐξ ὠτειλῆς,  
He showed the immortal blood flowing down from the wound,

**871** καί ῥʼ ὀλοφυρόμενος ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα·  
and lamenting, he addressed him with winged words:

**872** Ζεῦ πάτερ οὐ νεμεσίζῃ ὁρῶν τάδε καρτερὰ ἔργα;  
"Father Zeus, are you not angered to see these violent deeds?

**873** αἰεί τοι ῥίγιστα θεοὶ τετληότες εἰμὲν  
Always we gods endure the most terrible sufferings

**874** ἀλλήλων ἰότητι, χάριν ἄνδρεσσι φέροντες.  
by one another's will, as we seek to bring favor to mortals.
> By one another's will: The dative ἰότητι gives the cause or agency behind the gods' suffering: each suffers through another god's will. Ares frames divine intervention for mortals as a cycle of injuries the gods inflict upon one another.

**875** σοὶ πάντες μαχόμεσθα· σὺ γὰρ τέκες ἄφρονα κούρην  
We all contend with you, for you fathered a witless girl,

**876** οὐλομένην, ᾗ τʼ αἰὲν ἀήσυλα ἔργα μέμηλεν.  
a ruinous one whose mind is always set on lawless deeds.

**877** ἄλλοι μὲν γὰρ πάντες ὅσοι θεοί εἰσʼ ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ  
For all the other gods who dwell on Olympus

**878** σοί τʼ ἐπιπείθονται καὶ δεδμήμεσθα ἕκαστος·  
obey you, and each of us is held in check.

**879** ταύτην δʼ οὔτʼ ἔπεϊ προτιβάλλεαι οὔτέ τι ἔργῳ,  
But you confront her neither with word nor with any deed,

**880** ἀλλʼ ἀνιεῖς, ἐπεὶ αὐτὸς ἐγείναο παῖδʼ ἀΐδηλον·  
but let her loose, because you yourself begot this destructive child.
> A destructive child: ἀΐδηλος describes one who makes things unseen by destroying them, hence ruinous or destructive. Ares throws the language of devastation at Athena while complaining to the father who permits her freedom.

**881** ἣ νῦν Τυδέος υἱὸν ὑπερφίαλον Διομήδεα  
Now she has set the overbearing son of Tydeus, Diomedes,

**882** μαργαίνειν ἀνέηκεν ἐπʼ ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι.  
to rage madly against the immortal gods.

**883** Κύπριδα μὲν πρῶτον σχεδὸν οὔτασε χεῖρʼ ἐπὶ καρπῷ,  
First he wounded Cypris at close quarters, on the hand by the wrist,

**884** αὐτὰρ ἔπειτʼ αὐτῷ μοι ἐπέσσυτο δαίμονι ἶσος·  
and then he charged at me myself, equal to a god.
> Upon me myself: The intensive αὐτῷ reinforces the dative μοι: Ares insists that Diomedes attacked him personally after Cypris. δαίμονι ἶσος describes Diomedes as equal to a divine power in the moment of his charge.

**885** ἀλλά μʼ ὑπήνεικαν ταχέες πόδες· ἦ τέ κε δηρὸν  
But my swift feet bore me away; otherwise, for a long while

**886** αὐτοῦ πήματʼ ἔπασχον ἐν αἰνῇσιν νεκάδεσσιν,  
I would have suffered agonies there among the grisly heaps of corpses,

**887** ἤ κε ζὼς ἀμενηνὸς ἔα χαλκοῖο τυπῇσι.  
or I would have lived, strengthless, beneath the blows of bronze."

**888** τὸν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπόδρα ἰδὼν προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς.  
Then, glaring at him from under his brows, Zeus the cloud-gatherer spoke:

**889** μή τί μοι ἀλλοπρόσαλλε παρεζόμενος μινύριζε.  
"Do not sit beside me and whine, you turncoat.

**890** ἔχθιστος δέ μοί ἐσσι θεῶν οἳ Ὄλυμπον ἔχουσιν·  
You are the most hateful to me of all the gods who hold Olympus,

**891** αἰεὶ γάρ τοι ἔρις τε φίλη πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε.  
for strife is always dear to you, and wars and battles.

**892** μητρός τοι μένος ἐστὶν ἀάσχετον οὐκ ἐπιεικτὸν  
You have your mother's uncontrollable, unyielding fury—
> Hera's unyielding fury: The two adjectives pile up the charge: ἀάσχετος is not to be checked, and οὐκ ἐπιεικτός is not yielding or compliant. Zeus makes Ares' violence an inheritance from Hera's own unconquerable temper.

**893** Ἥρης· τὴν μὲν ἐγὼ σπουδῇ δάμνημʼ ἐπέεσσι·  
Hera's; I can scarcely subdue her with words.

**894** τώ σʼ ὀΐω κείνης τάδε πάσχειν ἐννεσίῃσιν.  
Therefore I think you suffer this through her counsels.

**895** ἀλλʼ οὐ μάν σʼ ἔτι δηρὸν ἀνέξομαι ἄλγεʼ ἔχοντα·  
Yet I will not allow you to endure pain much longer,

**896** ἐκ γὰρ ἐμεῦ γένος ἐσσί, ἐμοὶ δέ σε γείνατο μήτηρ·  
for your lineage is from me, and your mother bore you to me.

**897** εἰ δέ τευ ἐξ ἄλλου γε θεῶν γένευ ὧδʼ ἀΐδηλος  
But if you had been born of any other god, so destructive,

**898** καί κεν δὴ πάλαι ἦσθα ἐνέρτερος Οὐρανιώνων.  
long ago you would have lain lower than the sons of Uranus."

**899** ὣς φάτο, καὶ Παιήονʼ ἀνώγειν ἰήσασθαι.  
So he spoke, and ordered Paeon to heal him.

**900** τῷ δʼ ἐπὶ Παιήων ὀδυνήφατα φάρμακα πάσσων  
Then Paeon scattered pain-killing medicines upon him

**901** ἠκέσατʼ· οὐ μὲν γάρ τι καταθνητός γʼ ἐτέτυκτο.  
and healed him, for he was not made mortal.

**902** ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ὀπὸς γάλα λευκὸν ἐπειγόμενος συνέπηξεν  
As when fig sap swiftly curdles white milk

**903** ὑγρὸν ἐόν, μάλα δʼ ὦκα περιτρέφεται κυκόωντι,  
though it is liquid, and very quickly it thickens as one stirs it,

**904** ὣς ἄρα καρπαλίμως ἰήσατο θοῦρον Ἄρηα.  
so swiftly he healed raging Ares.

**905** τὸν δʼ Ἥβη λοῦσεν, χαρίεντα δὲ εἵματα ἕσσε·  
Then Hebe bathed him and clothed him in lovely garments,

**906** πὰρ δὲ Διὶ Κρονίωνι καθέζετο κύδεϊ γαίων.  
and he sat beside Zeus, son of Cronos, rejoicing in glory.

**907** αἳ δʼ αὖτις πρὸς δῶμα Διὸς μεγάλοιο νέοντο  
Then the two goddesses returned again to the house of great Zeus,

**908** Ἥρη τʼ Ἀργείη καὶ Ἀλαλκομενηῒς Ἀθήνη  
Hera of Argos, and Athena of Alalkomenae,

**909** παύσασαι βροτολοιγὸν Ἄρηʼ ἀνδροκτασιάων.  
having stopped Ares, bane of mortals, from his slaughter.

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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.