Each now forgot his own distress and all worked together, and soon a solid chain of armed men surrounded the ships like a wall. Hector himself, like a mighty rock which falls from the mountain top and plunges from ledge to ledge until it rests upon the plain, could get no farther, but was obliged to pause before the wall of lances. He tried to encourage his men by promising them great rewards. Now they believed that the last decisive moment had come and that before night it would be seen whether the gods had determined on the destruction of the Achaians or of Troy. But Jupiter was but favoring the Trojans in order to please Achilles and his mother, Thetis. Fate had already decreed that Troy was to fall, and even the gods could not change this decision, for they too were subject to the laws of iron necessity. As soon as Agamemnon had been sufficiently punished and Achilles could be persuaded to join the ranks of fighting Achaians, the destruction of the mighty city was to be expected. As soon as the Achaians had intrenched themselves they grew bolder and began a fearless attack. Idomeneus charged the Trojans, followed by his brave Cretans. As the hurricane raises dark clouds of dust between the battle lines, thus the ironclad cohorts moved hurriedly forward and threw themselves on a party of the enemy. Idomeneus himself sought an antagonist among the princes, and now he chanced upon Othryoneus, who had just joined the Trojans with his squadron and had a reputation for great bravery. He had wooed Priam’s most beautiful daughter, not with the customary gifts, but instead had promised his aid in driving the Achaians out of Asia. Priam had given his word, and the young hero was just beginning the struggle for the lovely prize when Idomeneus’ spear put a sudden end to his life. The battle raged fiercest on the right side of the camp where Hector was fighting. He was determined, in spite of the heroes who opposed him, to capture and burn the ships. All the fury of war was displayed on this spot—rage, despair, revenge, wild cries, fear, horror, and flight. The ground was slippery with the blood of the fallen; there was now no time to remove the corpses of the slain. The Trojans were the first to lose courage. Even Hector dared not keep his post where Ajax, Ulysses, and Idomeneus stood together like a wall, but sought out weaker adversaries and contented himself by answering the challenge of the two Ajaxes with insults and boasts. “Why dost thou seek to frighten the common soldiers?” called the elder Ajax to him. “Drive us back if thou canst! Thou wouldst gladly take our ships, wouldst thou not? But I tell thee that thy proud Troy shall sooner sink into ashes than our fleet, and thou shalt sooner turn thy face homeward in flight than triumph over us.”