§8.494ἔγχος ἔχʼ ἑνδεκάπηχυ· πάροιθε δὲ λάμπετο δουρὸς §8.495αἰχμὴ χαλκείη, περὶ δὲ χρύσεος θέε πόρκης,
He held a spear of eleven cubits; and before him shone the spear's bronze point, and around it ran a golden ring.
Leaning upon this, he spoke words among the Trojans: "Hear me, Trojans, Dardanians, and allies.
Just now I thought that, having destroyed the ships and all the Achaeans, I should return back to windy Ilium.
But before that darkness came, which now has chiefly saved the Argives and their ships upon the beach of the sea.
§8.502ἀλλʼ ἤτοι νῦν μὲν πειθώμεθα νυκτὶ μελαίνῃ §8.503δόρπά τʼ ἐφοπλισόμεσθα· ἀτὰρ καλλίτριχας ἵππους §8.504λύσαθʼ ὑπὲξ ὀχέων, παρὰ δέ σφισι βάλλετʼ ἐδωδήν·
But indeed let us now yield to black night and prepare our supper; and the fair-maned horses loose from beneath the chariots, and set food before them.
§8.505ἐκ πόλιος δʼ ἄξεσθε βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα §8.506καρπαλίμως, οἶνον δὲ μελίφρονα οἰνίζεσθε §8.507σῖτόν τʼ ἐκ μεγάρων, ἐπὶ δὲ ξύλα πολλὰ λέγεσθε, §8.508ὥς κεν παννύχιοι μέσφʼ ἠοῦς ἠριγενείης §8.509καίωμεν πυρὰ πολλά, σέλας δʼ εἰς οὐρανὸν ἵκῃ, §8.510μή πως καὶ διὰ νύκτα κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ §8.511φεύγειν ὁρμήσωνται ἐπʼ εὐρέα νῶτα θαλάσσης.
And from the city bring cattle and goodly sheep quickly, and get honey-hearted wine and bread from your homes, and gather moreover abundant wood, so that all night long, until early-born dawn, we may burn many fires, and the gleam may reach to heaven, lest somehow even by night the long-haired Achaeans make haste to flee over the broad back of the sea.
§8.512μὴ μὰν ἀσπουδί γε νεῶν ἐπιβαῖεν ἕκηλοι, §8.513ἀλλʼ ὥς τις τούτων γε βέλος καὶ οἴκοθι πέσσῃ §8.514βλήμενος ἢ ἰῷ ἢ ἔγχεϊ ὀξυόεντι §8.515νηὸς ἐπιθρῴσκων, ἵνα τις στυγέῃσι καὶ ἄλλος §8.516Τρωσὶν ἐφʼ ἱπποδάμοισι φέρειν πολύδακρυν Ἄρηα.
Let them not indeed embark on their ships at their ease without a struggle, but so that many a one of them may nurse a wound even at home, smitten either by an arrow or by a sharp spear as he leaps upon his ship, so that others also may dread to bring tearful war against the horse-taming Trojans.
§8.517κήρυκες δʼ ἀνὰ ἄστυ Διῒ φίλοι ἀγγελλόντων §8.518παῖδας πρωθήβας πολιοκροτάφους τε γέροντας §8.519λέξασθαι περὶ ἄστυ θεοδμήτων ἐπὶ πύργων· §8.520θηλύτεραι δὲ γυναῖκες ἐνὶ μεγάροισιν ἑκάστη §8.521πῦρ μέγα καιόντων· φυλακὴ δέ τις ἔμπεδος ἔστω §8.522μὴ λόχος εἰσέλθῃσι πόλιν λαῶν ἀπεόντων.
And let the heralds dear to Zeus proclaim throughout the city that youths in their prime and gray-templed old men gather around the city upon the god-built towers; and let the women, the gentler sex, in their halls each burn a great fire; and let there be a constant watch, lest an ambush enter the city while the host is away.
§8.523ὧδʼ ἔστω Τρῶες μεγαλήτορες ὡς ἀγορεύω· §8.524μῦθος δʼ ὃς μὲν νῦν ὑγιὴς εἰρημένος ἔστω, §8.525τὸν δʼ ἠοῦς Τρώεσσι μεθʼ ἱπποδάμοις ἀγορεύσω.
Thus let it be, great-hearted Trojans, as I say; let the word which is now sound be spoken, and another I will speak tomorrow among the horse-taming Trojans.
§8.526ἔλπομαι εὐχόμενος Διί τʼ ἄλλοισίν τε θεοῖσιν §8.527ἐξελάαν ἐνθένδε κύνας κηρεσσιφορήτους, §8.528οὓς κῆρες φορέουσι μελαινάων ἐπὶ νηῶν.
I hope with prayer to Zeus and the other gods to drive out from here these dogs borne by fate, whom the fates brought upon their black ships.
§8.529ἀλλʼ ἤτοι ἐπὶ νυκτὶ φυλάξομεν ἡμέας αὐτούς, §8.530πρῶϊ δʼ ὑπηοῖοι σὺν τεύχεσι θωρηχθέντες §8.531νηυσὶν ἔπι γλαφυρῇσιν ἐγείρομεν ὀξὺν Ἄρηα.
But indeed for the night we will guard ourselves, and in the morning at dawn, armed in our harness, we will rouse sharp war at the hollow ships.
§8.532εἴσομαι εἴ κέ μʼ ὁ Τυδεΐδης κρατερὸς Διομήδης §8.533πὰρ νηῶν πρὸς τεῖχος ἀπώσεται, ἤ κεν ἐγὼ τὸν §8.534χαλκῷ δῃώσας ἔναρα βροτόεντα φέρωμαι.
I shall know whether the strong Diomedes, son of Tydeus, will thrust me back from the ships to the wall, or whether I shall slay him with the bronze and bear away his bloody spoils.
§8.535αὔριον ἣν ἀρετὴν διαείσεται, εἴ κʼ ἐμὸν ἔγχος §8.536μείνῃ ἐπερχόμενον· ἀλλʼ ἐν πρώτοισιν ὀΐω §8.537κείσεται οὐτηθείς, πολέες δʼ ἀμφʼ αὐτὸν ἑταῖροι §8.538ἠελίου ἀνιόντος ἐς αὔριον·
Tomorrow he shall know his own valor, if he can withstand my spear's onset; but among the foremost, I think, he shall lie wounded, and many comrades around him, as the sun rises tomorrow.
εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼν ὣς §8.539εἴην ἀθάνατος καὶ ἀγήρως ἤματα πάντα, §8.540τιοίμην δʼ ὡς τίετʼ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἀπόλλων, §8.541ὡς νῦν ἡμέρη ἥδε κακὸν φέρει Ἀργείοισιν. §8.542ὣς Ἕκτωρ ἀγόρευʼ, ἐπὶ δὲ Τρῶες κελάδησαν.
For would that I were immortal and ageless for all days, and honored even as Athena and Apollo are honored, as surely as now this day brings evil to the Argives." So Hector spoke, and the Trojans shouted assent.
§8.543οἳ δʼ ἵππους μὲν λῦσαν ὑπὸ ζυγοῦ ἱδρώοντας, §8.544δῆσαν δʼ ἱμάντεσσι παρʼ ἅρμασιν οἷσιν ἕκαστος· §8.545ἐκ πόλιος δʼ ἄξοντο βόας καὶ ἴφια μῆλα §8.546καρπαλίμως, οἶνον δὲ μελίφρονα οἰνίζοντο, §8.547σῖτόν τʼ ἐκ μεγάρων, ἐπὶ δὲ ξύλα πολλὰ λέγοντο.
And they loosed their sweating horses from beneath the yoke, and bound them with halters beside their own chariots; and from the city they brought cattle and goodly sheep quickly, and got honey-hearted wine, and bread from their homes, and gathered moreover abundant wood.
§8.549κνίσην δʼ ἐκ πεδίου ἄνεμοι φέρον οὐρανὸν εἴσω.
And the winds bore the savor from the plain up into heaven.
§8.553οἳ δὲ μέγα φρονέοντες ἐπὶ πτολέμοιο γεφύρας §8.554εἴατο παννύχιοι, πυρὰ δέ σφισι καίετο πολλά.
And they, with high spirits, sat all night long in the passageways of war, and many fires burned for them.
§8.555ὡς δʼ ὅτʼ ἐν οὐρανῷ ἄστρα φαεινὴν ἀμφὶ σελήνην §8.556φαίνετʼ ἀριπρεπέα, ὅτε τʼ ἔπλετο νήνεμος αἰθήρ· §8.557ἔκ τʼ ἔφανεν πᾶσαι σκοπιαὶ καὶ πρώονες ἄκροι §8.558καὶ νάπαι· οὐρανόθεν δʼ ἄρʼ ὑπερράγη ἄσπετος αἰθήρ, §8.559πάντα δὲ εἴδεται ἄστρα, γέγηθε δέ τε φρένα ποιμήν· §8.560τόσσα μεσηγὺ νεῶν ἠδὲ Ξάνθοιο ῥοάων §8.561Τρώων καιόντων πυρὰ φαίνετο Ἰλιόθι πρό.
Even as when in heaven the stars around the gleaming moon shine clear, when the air is windless, and all the lookouts and sharp peaks and glens appear; and from heaven the boundless ether breaks open, and all the stars are seen, and the shepherd rejoices in his heart; so many were the fires of the Trojans burning before Ilium, between the ships and the streams of Xanthus.
A thousand fires were burning in the plain, and beside each sat fifty men in the light of the burning fire.