But now Odysseus, Diomede the strong, Leonteus, and Neoptolemus, as a God In strength and beauty, hailed their javelins down, And thrust them from the wall. As dogs and shepherds By shouting and hard fighting drive away Strong lions from a steading, rushing forth From all sides, and the brutes with glaring eyes Pace to and fro; with savage lust for blood Of calves and kine their jaws are slavering; Yet must their onrush give back from the hounds And fearless onset of the shepherd folk; [So from these new defenders shrank the foe] A little, far as one may hurl a stone Exceeding great; for still Eurypylus Suffered them not to flee far from the ships, But cheered them on to bide the brunt, until The ships be won, and all the Argives slain; For Zeus with measureless might thrilled all his frame. Then seized he a rugged stone and huge, and leapt And hurled it full against the high-built wall. It crashed, and terribly boomed that rampart steep To its foundations. Terror gripped the Greeks, As though that wall had crumbled down in dust; Yet from the deadly conflict flinched they not, But stood fast, like to jackals or to wolves Bold robbers of the sheep--when mid the hills Hunter and hound would drive them forth their caves, Being grimly purposed there to slay their whelps. Yet these, albeit tormented by the darts, Flee not, but for their cubs' sake bide and fight; So for the ships' sake they abode and fought, And for their own lives. But Eurypylus Afront of all the ships stood, taunting them: "Coward and dastard souls! no darts of yours Had given me pause, nor thrust back from your ships, Had not your rampart stayed mine onset-rush. Ye are like to dogs, that in a forest flinch Before a lion! Skulking therewithin Ye are fighting--nay, are shrinking back from death! But if ye dare come forth on Trojan ground, As once when ye were eager for the fray, None shall from ghastly death deliver you: Slain by mine hand ye all shall lie in dust!"