Achilles (Mythological character); Classical literature; Epic poetry, Greek -- Translations into English; Trojan War
Meanwhile Hector was waiting with his horses inside the Scaean
gates, in doubt whether to drive out again and go on fighting, or
to call the army inside the gates. As he was thus doubting
Phoebus Apollo drew near him in the likeness of a young and lusty
warrior Asius, who was Hector’s uncle, being own brother to
Hecuba, and son of Dymas who lived in Phrygia by the waters of
the river Sangarius; in his likeness Jove’s son Apollo now spoke
to Hector saying, “Hector, why have you left off fighting? It is
ill done of you. If I were as much better a man than you, as I am
worse, you should soon rue your slackness. Drive straight towards
Patroclus, if so be that Apollo may grant you a triumph over him,
and you may rule him.”
With this the god went back into the hurly-burly, and Hector bade
Cebriones drive again into the fight. Apollo passed in among
them, and struck panic into the Argives, while he gave triumph to
Hector and the Trojans. Hector let the other Danaans alone and
killed no man, but drove straight at Patroclus. Patroclus then
sprang from his chariot to the ground, with a spear in his left
hand, and in his right a jagged stone as large as his hand could
hold. He stood still and threw it, nor did it go far without
hitting some one; the cast was not in vain, for the stone struck
Cebriones, Hector’s charioteer, a bastard son of Priam, as he
held the reins in his hands. The stone hit him on the forehead
and drove his brows into his head for the bone was smashed, and
his eyes fell to the ground at his feet. He dropped dead from his
chariot as though he were diving, and there was no more life left
in him. Over him did you then vaunt, O knight Patroclus, saying,
“Bless my heart, how active he is, and how well he dives. If we
had been at sea this fellow would have dived from the ship’s side
and brought up as many oysters as the whole crew could stomach,
even in rough water, for he has dived beautifully off his chariot
on to the ground. It seems, then, that there are divers also
among the Trojans.”
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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