Now Achilles had beckoned to the Greeks that no man should throw his spear at Hector, lest, perchance, he should be robbed of his glory. And when the two came in their running for the fourth time to the springs of Scamander, Zeus held out the great balance of doom, and in one scale he put the fate of Achilles, and in the other the fate of Hector; and lo! the scale of Hector sank down to the realms of death, and Apollo left him. Then Athene lighted down from the air close to Achilles and said: "This, great Achilles, is our day of glory, for we shall slay Hector, mighty warrior though he be. For it is his doom to die, and not Apollo's self shall save him. But stand thou still and take breath, and I will give this man heart to meet thee in battle." So Achilles stood leaning upon his spear. And Athene took the shape of Deiphobus, and came near to Hector and said:-- De-iph'-o-bus. "Achilles presses thee hard, my brother, pursuing thee thus round the city of Priam. Come, let us make a stand and encounter him." Then Hector answered him, "Deiphobus, I always loved thee best of all my brothers; but now I love thee yet more, for thou alone, while all others remained within, hast ventured forth to stand by my side." But the false Deiphobus said: "Much did father and mother and all my comrades beseech me to remain. But my heart was sore troubled for thee, and I could not stay. But let us stand and fight this man, and see whether he shall carry our spoil to the ships, or we shall slay him here." Then the two chiefs came near to each other, and Hector with the waving plume spake first, and said: "Thrice, great Achilles, hast thou pursued me round the walls of Troy, and I dared not stand up against thee; but now I fear thee no more. Only let us make this covenant between us: if Zeus give me the victory, I will do no dishonour to thy body; thy arms and armour will I take, and give back thy body to the Greeks; and do thou promise to do likewise." But Achilles scowled at him and said: "Hector, talk not of covenants to me. Men and lions make no oaths between each other, neither is there any agreement between wolves and sheep. So there shall be no covenant between me and thee. One of us two shall fall; and now is the time for thee to show thyself a warrior, for of a truth Athene will slay thee by my spear, and thou shalt pay the penalty for all my comrades whom thou hast slain." Then he threw the mighty spear, but Hector saw it coming and avoided it, crouching on the ground, so that the mighty spear flew above his head and fixed itself in the earth. But Athene snatched it from the ground and gave it back to Achilles, Hector not perceiving. Then Hector spake to Achilles: "Thou hast missed thy aim, great Achilles. Now look out for my spear. Would that it might bury itself in so thy flesh! The battle would be easier for the men of Troy were thou only out of the way."