§6.69μιμνέτω ὥς κε πλεῖστα φέρων ἐπὶ νῆας ἵκηται, §6.70ἀλλʼ ἄνδρας κτείνωμεν· ἔπειτα δὲ καὶ τὰ ἕκηλοι §6.71νεκροὺς ἂμ πεδίον συλήσετε τεθνηῶτας. §6.72ὣς εἰπὼν ὄτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου. §6.73ἔνθά κεν αὖτε Τρῶες ἀρηϊφίλων ὑπʼ Ἀχαιῶν §6.74Ἴλιον εἰσανέβησαν ἀναλκείῃσι δαμέντες, §6.75εἰ μὴ ἄρʼ Αἰνείᾳ τε καὶ Ἕκτορι εἶπε παραστὰς §6.76Πριαμίδης Ἕλενος οἰωνοπόλων ὄχʼ ἄριστος· §6.77Αἰνεία τε καὶ Ἕκτορ, ἐπεὶ πόνος ὔμμι μάλιστα §6.78Τρώων καὶ Λυκίων ἐγκέκλιται, οὕνεκʼ ἄριστοι §6.79πᾶσαν ἐπʼ ἰθύν ἐστε μάχεσθαί τε φρονέειν τε, §6.80στῆτʼ αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαὸν ἐρυκάκετε πρὸ πυλάων §6.81πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενοι πρὶν αὖτʼ ἐν χερσὶ γυναικῶν §6.82φεύγοντας πεσέειν, δηΐοισι δὲ χάρμα γενέσθαι. §6.83αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε φάλαγγας ἐποτρύνητον ἁπάσας, §6.84ἡμεῖς μὲν Δαναοῖσι μαχησόμεθʼ αὖθι μένοντες, §6.85καὶ μάλα τειρόμενοί περ· ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει· §6.86Ἕκτορ ἀτὰρ σὺ πόλιν δὲ μετέρχεο, εἰπὲ δʼ ἔπειτα §6.87μητέρι σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ· ἣ δὲ ξυνάγουσα γεραιὰς §6.88νηὸν Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ §6.89οἴξασα κληῗδι θύρας ἱεροῖο δόμοιο §6.90πέπλον, ὅς οἱ δοκέει χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος §6.91εἶναι ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί οἱ πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ, §6.92θεῖναι Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο, §6.93καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ §6.94ἤνις ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν, αἴ κʼ ἐλεήσῃ §6.95ἄστύ τε καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους καὶ νήπια τέκνα, §6.96ὥς κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰλίου ἱρῆς §6.97ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο, §6.98ὃν δὴ ἐγὼ κάρτιστον Ἀχαιῶν φημι γενέσθαι. §6.99οὐδʼ Ἀχιλῆά ποθʼ ὧδέ γʼ ἐδείδιμεν ὄρχαμον ἀνδρῶν, §6.100ὅν πέρ φασι θεᾶς ἐξέμμεναι· ἀλλʼ ὅδε λίην §6.101μαίνεται, οὐδέ τίς οἱ δύναται μένος ἰσοφαρίζειν. §6.102ὣς ἔφαθʼ, Ἕκτωρ δʼ οὔ τι κασιγνήτῳ ἀπίθησεν. §6.103αὐτίκα δʼ ἐξ ὀχέων σὺν τεύχεσιν ἆλτο χαμᾶζε, §6.104πάλλων δʼ ὀξέα δοῦρα κατὰ στρατὸν ᾤχετο πάντῃ §6.105ὀτρύνων μαχέσασθαι, ἔγειρε δὲ φύλοπιν αἰνήν. §6.106οἳ δʼ ἐλελίχθησαν καὶ ἐναντίοι ἔσταν Ἀχαιῶν· §6.107Ἀργεῖοι δʼ ὑπεχώρησαν, λῆξαν δὲ φόνοιο, §6.108φὰν δέ τινʼ ἀθανάτων ἐξ οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος §6.109Τρωσὶν ἀλεξήσοντα κατελθέμεν, ὡς ἐλέλιχθεν. §6.110Ἕκτωρ δὲ Τρώεσσιν ἐκέκλετο μακρὸν ἀΰσας· §6.111Τρῶες ὑπέρθυμοι τηλεκλειτοί τʼ ἐπίκουροι §6.112ἀνέρες ἔστε φίλοι, μνήσασθε δὲ θούριδος ἀλκῆς, §6.113ὄφρʼ ἂν ἐγὼ βείω προτὶ Ἴλιον, ἠδὲ γέρουσιν §6.114εἴπω βουλευτῇσι καὶ ἡμετέρῃς ἀλόχοισι §6.115δαίμοσιν ἀρήσασθαι, ὑποσχέσθαι δʼ ἑκατόμβας. §6.116ὣς ἄρα φωνήσας ἀπέβη κορυθαίολος Ἕκτωρ· §6.117ἀμφὶ δέ μιν σφυρὰ τύπτε καὶ αὐχένα δέρμα κελαινὸν §6.118ἄντυξ ἣ πυμάτη θέεν ἀσπίδος ὀμφαλοέσσης. §6.119Γλαῦκος δʼ Ἱππολόχοιο πάϊς καὶ Τυδέος υἱὸς §6.120ἐς μέσον ἀμφοτέρων συνίτην μεμαῶτε μάχεσθαι. §6.121οἳ δʼ ὅτε δὴ σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπʼ ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντε, §6.122τὸν πρότερος προσέειπε βοὴν ἀγαθὸς Διομήδης· §6.123τίς δὲ σύ ἐσσι φέριστε καταθνητῶν ἀνθρώπων; §6.124οὐ μὲν γάρ ποτʼ ὄπωπα μάχῃ ἔνι κυδιανείρῃ §6.125τὸ πρίν· ἀτὰρ μὲν νῦν γε πολὺ προβέβηκας ἁπάντων §6.126σῷ θάρσει, ὅ τʼ ἐμὸν δολιχόσκιον ἔγχος ἔμεινας· §6.127δυστήνων δέ τε παῖδες ἐμῷ μένει ἀντιόωσιν. §6.128εἰ δέ τις ἀθανάτων γε κατʼ οὐρανοῦ εἰλήλουθας, §6.129οὐκ ἂν ἔγωγε θεοῖσιν ἐπουρανίοισι μαχοίμην. §6.130οὐδὲ γὰρ οὐδὲ Δρύαντος υἱὸς κρατερὸς Λυκόοργος §6.131δὴν ἦν, ὅς ῥα θεοῖσιν ἐπουρανίοισιν ἔριζεν· §6.132ὅς ποτε μαινομένοιο Διωνύσοιο τιθήνας §6.133σεῦε κατʼ ἠγάθεον Νυσήϊον· αἳ δʼ ἅμα πᾶσαι §6.134θύσθλα χαμαὶ κατέχευαν ὑπʼ ἀνδροφόνοιο Λυκούργου §6.135θεινόμεναι βουπλῆγι· Διώνυσος δὲ φοβηθεὶς §6.136δύσεθʼ ἁλὸς κατὰ κῦμα, Θέτις δʼ ὑπεδέξατο κόλπῳ §6.137δειδιότα· κρατερὸς γὰρ ἔχε τρόμος ἀνδρὸς ὁμοκλῇ.
“Let no man now remain behind, so that he may come to the ships carrying the most spoils,\n but let us kill the men; and then afterward at your ease\n you shall strip the dead corpses throughout the plain.”\n So speaking he aroused the strength and heart of each man.\n Then indeed the Trojans would have fled back into Ilium before the Achaeans, dear to Ares,\n subdued by their own cowardice,\n if Helenus, son of Priam, far the best of augurs,\n had not stood by Aeneas and Hector and spoken to them:\n “Aeneas and Hector, since upon you most of all the toil of the Trojans and Lycians\n is laid, because you are the best for every undertaking, both to fight and to counsel,\n hold your ground here, and hold back the host before the gates,\n hold your ground here, and hold back the host before the gates, going everywhere among them, before\n they flee and fall into the arms of their wives,\n and become a laughing-stock to the foes.\n But when you have heartened all our phalanxes,\n we indeed will hold our ground here and fight the Danaans,\n though we are sore pressed; for necessity constrains us.\n But you, Hector, go to the city, and speak then\n to your mother and mine; let her gather the elder women\n to the temple of flashing-eyed Athena on the citadel,\n and having opened with the key the doors of the holy house,\n let her place the robe which seems to her the most beautiful and largest\n in her palace, and which is by far the dearest to herself,\n upon the knees of fair-haired Athena,\n and let her promise to sacrifice to her in the temple twelve heifers,\n yearlings untouched by the goad, if she will have pity\n on the city and the wives of the Trojans and their little children;\n if she will hold back the son of Tydeus from sacred Ilium,\n that savage spearman, the mighty orchestrator of terror,\n whom I declare to have become the strongest of the Achaeans.\n Not even Achilles did we ever fear so much, that leader of men,\n whom they say is born of a goddess; but this man rages\n beyond measure, and no one can match his might.”\n So he spoke, and Hector did not disobey his brother.\n Straightway he leaped from his chariot in his armor to the ground,\n and brandishing his sharp spears he went everywhere through the host,\n urging them to fight, and he aroused the dreadful battle-cry.\n And they wheeled about and stood to face the Achaeans;\n and the Argives gave way and ceased from slaughter,\n and they thought that some of the immortals had come down from the starry heaven\n to help the Trojans, so did they wheel about.\n And Hector called to the Trojans with a far-reaching shout:\n “High-hearted Trojans and far-famed allies,\n be men, my friends, and remember furious valor,\n while I go to Ilium and tell the elders\n who counsel, and our wives,\n to pray to the gods and to promise hecatombs.”\n So speaking, crest-waving Hector departed;\n and the dark hide struck his ankles and his neck,\n the rim that ran as the outermost edge of his bossed shield.\n But Glaucus, son of Hippolochus, and the son of Tydeus\n came together into the midst between both sides, eager to fight.\n And when they were near, coming against each other,\n Diomedes, good at the war-cry, spoke first to him:\n “Who are you, noble sir, of mortal men?\n For never have I seen you in battle that brings glory to men\n before this; but now indeed you have come far ahead of all\n in your boldness, in that you have awaited my long-shadowing spear.\n Children of unhappy men face my might.\n But if you are one of the immortals come down from heaven,\n I would not fight with the heavenly gods.\n For not even the son of Dryas, mighty Lycurgus,\n lived long, who strove with the heavenly gods;\n who once drove the nurses of frenzied Dionysus\n down the sacred mount of Nysa; and they all together\n let fall their wands on the ground, smitten by the ox-goad\n of murderous Lycurgus; and Dionysus, terrified,\n plunged beneath the wave of the sea, and Thetis received him in her bosom,\n trembling; for strong trembling seized him at the man's shout.”