His horses turn’d, Achilles through the neck His sharp spear thrusting, hurl’d him to the ground, The startled steeds in wild confusion thrown. As rage the fires amid the wooded glen Of some parch’d mountain’s side, and fiercely burns The copse-wood dry, while eddying here and there The flames are whirl’d before the gusty wind; So fierce Achilles raged, on ev’ry side Pursuing, slaught’ring; reek’d the earth with blood. As when upon a well-roll’d threshing-floor, Two sturdy-fronted steers, together yok’d, Tread the white barley out; beneath their feet Fast flies the grain out-trodden from the husk; So by Achilles driv’n, his flying steeds His chariot bore, o’er bodies of the slain And broken bucklers trampling; all beneath Was plash’d with blood the axle, and the rails Around the car, as from the horses’ feet And from the felloes of the wheels were thrown The bloody gouts; and onward still he press’d, Panting for added triumphs, deeply dyed With gore and carnage his unconquer’d hands. ARGUMENT. THE BATTLE IN THE RIVER SCAMANDER. The Trojans fly before Achilles, some towards the town, others to the river Scamander; he falls upon the latter with great slaughter, takes twelve captives alive, to sacrifice to the shade of Patroclus; and kills Lycaon and Asteropaeus. Scamander attacks him with all his waves; Neptune and Pallas assist the hero; Simois joins Scamander; at length Vulcan, by the instigation of Juno, almost dries up the river. This combat ended, the other gods engage each other. Meanwhile Achilles continues the slaughter, and drives the rest into Troy; Agenor only makes a stand, and is conveyed away in a cloud by Apollo: who (to delude Achilles) takes upon him Agenor’s shape, and while he pursues him in that disguise, gives the Trojans an opportunity of retiring into their city. The same day continues. The scene is on the banks and in the stream of Scamander. BOOK XXI.