While the leeches drew out the arrow from the wound, Agamemnon went
round the host with words of encouragement or chiding to stir them up
to the righteous conflict. They rushed on to battle to be met by the
Trojans whose host
"knew not one voice or one speech; their language was mixed, for they
were men called from many lands."
In the fight Diomedes, though at first wounded by Pandarus, speedily
returned refreshed and strengthened by Athena. His great deeds drew upon
him Pandarus and Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite and the future founder
of Rome's greatness. Diomedes quickly slew Pandarus and when Aeneas
bestrode his friend's body, hurled at him a mighty stone which laid him
low. Afraid of her son Aphrodite cast her arms about him and shrouded
him in her robe. Knowing that she was but a weak goddess Diomedes
attacked her, wounding her in the hand. Dropping her son, she fled
to Ares who was watching the battle and besought him to lend her his
chariot, wherein she fled back to Olympus. There her mother Dione
comforted her with the story of the woes which other gods had suffered
from mortals.
"But this man hath been set upon thee by Athena. Foolish one, he
knoweth not in his heart that no man liveth long who fighteth with
the gods; no children lisp 'father' at his knees when he returneth
from war and dread conflict. Therefore, albeit he is so mighty, let
him take heed lest a better than thou meet him, for one day his
prudent wife shall wail in her sleep awaking all her house, bereft
of her lord, the best man of the Achaeans."
But Athena in irony deemed that Aphrodite had been scratched by some
Greek woman whom she caressed to tempt her to forsake her husband and
follow one of the Trojans she loved.
Aeneas when dropped by his mother had been picked up by Apollo; when
Diomedes attacked the god, he was warned that battle with an immortal
was not like man's warfare. Stirred by Apollo, Ares himself came to
the aid of the Trojans, inspiring Sarpedon the Lycian to hearten his
comrades, who were shortly gladdened by the return of Aeneas whom Apollo
had healed. At the sight of Ares and Apollo fighting for Troy Hera and
Athena came down to battle for the Greeks; they found Diomedes on the
skirts of the host, cooling the wound Pandarus had inflicted. Entering
his chariot by his side, Athena fired him to meet Ares and drive him
wounded back to Olympus, where he found but little compassion from Zeus.
The two goddesses then left the mortals to fight it out.
At this moment Helenus, the prophetic brother of Hector, bade him go to
Troy to try to appease the anger of Athena by an offering, in the hope
that Diomedes' progress might be stayed. In his absence Diomedes met in
the battle Glaucus, a Lycian prince.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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