"O Hector, who wert dearest to my heart Of all my husband's brothers,--for the wife Am I of godlike Paris, him whose fleet Brought me to Troy,--would I had sooner died! And now the twentieth year is past since first I came a stranger from my native shore, Yet have I never heard from thee a word Of anger or reproach. And when the sons Of Priam, and his daughters, and the wives Of Priam's sons, in all their fair array, Taunted me grievously, or Hecuba Herself,--for Priam ever was to me A gracious father,--thou didst take my part With kindly admonitions, and restrain Their tongues with soft address and gentle words. Therefore my heart is grieved, and I bewail Thee and myself at once,--unhappy me! For now I have no friend in all wide Troy,-- None to be kind to me: they hate me all." BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV. With the funeral of Hector the Iliad of Homer ends. The poet's subject, as has been said, was the Wrath of Achilles, and the poem properly closes when the results of the hero's wrath have been related. The concluding lines of the twenty-fourth, and last, book of the Iliad describe the funeral ceremonies of Hector, which were the same as those performed by the Greeks in honor of Patroclus. Nine days they toiled To bring the trunks of trees, and when the tenth Arose to light the abodes of men, they brought The corse of valiant Hector from the town With many tears, and laid it on the wood High up, and flung the fire to light the pile. BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV. The fire burned all night, and next day they gathered the bones of Hector and placed them in a golden urn. Then they buried the urn and erected a tomb over the grave. In haste they reared the tomb, with sentries set On every side, lest all too soon the Greeks Should come in armor to renew the war. When now the tomb was built, the multitude Returned, and in the halls where Priam dwelt, Nursling of Jove, were feasted royally. Such was the mighty Hector's burial rite. BRYANT, _Iliad_, Book XXIV. [Illustration: FEASTING-CUP.] XII. DEATH OF ACHILLES--FALL AND DESTRUCTION OF TROY. After the funeral of Hector the war was renewed. For a time the Trojans remained within the walls of their city, which were strong enough to resist all the assaults of the enemy. But some allies having come to their assistance, they were encouraged to sally forth again and fight the Greeks in the open plain. The famous and beautiful Queen Pen-the-si-leʹa came with an army of her Amʹa-zons, a nation of female warriors who dwelt on the shores of the Black Sea. Penthesilea there with haughty grace, Leads to the wars an Amazonian race; In their right hands a pointed dart they wield; The left for ward, sustains the lunar shield. VERGIL.