Achilles (Mythological character); Epic poetry, Greek -- Translations into English; Trojan War
Then knightly Nestor of Gerenia answered him again: “Wherefore is
Achilles thus sorry for the sons of the Achaians, for as many as are
wounded with darts? He knoweth not at all what grief hath arisen in the
camp: for the best men lie in the ships, wounded by shaft or smitten by
spear. Wounded with the shaft is strong Diomedes, son of Tydeus, and
smitten is Odysseus, spearman renowned, and Agamemnon, [and Eurypylos
hath been shot with an arrow in the thigh], and this other have I but
newly carried out of battle, wounded with an arrow from the bowstring.
But Achilles, for all his valiance, careth not for the Danaans, nor
pities them at all. Doth he wait till the fleet ships hard by the shore
shall burn, maugre the Archives, in the consuming fire, and till we be
slain one upon another? For my strength is no longer what it was before
in my supple limbs. Would that I were in such youth, and my might as
steadfast, as when a strife was set between the Eleians and ourselves,
about a raid on the kine; what time I slew Itymoneus, the brave son of
Hypeirochos, a dweller in Elis, when I was driving the spoil. And in
fighting for his kine was he smitten in the foremost rank by a spear
from my hand, and he fell, and about him were the country folk in great
fear. And a prey exceeding abundant did we drive together out of the
plain, fifty herds of kine, and as many flocks of sheep, and as many
droves of swine, and as many wide flocks of goats, and chestnut horses
a hundred and fifty, all mares, and many with their foals at their
feet. And these by night we drave within Neleian Pylos to the citadel,
and Neleus was glad at heart, for that so much wealth came to me, the
first time I went to war. And the heralds cried aloud, with the coming
of the dawn, that all men should meet that had a debt owing to them in
goodly Elis. And the men that were leaders of the Pylians gathered
together and divided all, for to many did the Epeians owe a debt, for
few we were, and oppressed, that dwelt in Pylos. For the mighty
Herakles had come and oppressed us, in the former years, and all our
best men were slain. For twelve sons were we of noble Neleus, whereof I
alone was left, and all the others perished. And being lifted up with
pride because of these things, the mail-clad Epeians did us despite,
and devised deeds of violence. And out of the spoil that old man, even
Neleus, took him a herd of kine, and a great flock of sheep, choosing
three hundred, and the shepherds with them. For to him was a great debt
owing in goodly Elis: four horses, winners of prizes, with their
chariot had gone to the games, and were to run for a tripod; but these
did Augeias, king of men, hold in bond in that place, but sent away the
driver sorrowing for the horses. By which words and deeds was the old
man angered, so he chose out much booty, uncountable, and the rest he
gave to the people to divide, lest any man should depart deprived by
him of his equal share.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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