Page 298 - the-iliad

cued him. He has killed many of us Danaans already, and I
take it will yet do so, for the hand of Jove must be with him
or he would never dare show himself so masterful in the
forefront of the battle. Now, therefore, let us all do as I say;
let us order the main body of our forces to fall back upon
the ships, but let those of us who profess to be the flower of
the army stand firm, and see whether we cannot hold Hec-
tor back at the point of our spears as soon as he comes near
us; I conceive that he will then think better of it before he
tries to charge into the press of the Danaans.’
Thus did he speak, and they did even as he had said.
Those who were about Ajax and King Idomeneus, the fol-
lowers moreover of Teucer, Meriones, and Meges peer of
Mars called all their best men about them and sustained
the fight against Hector and the Trojans, but the main body
fell back upon the ships of the Achaeans.
The Trojans pressed forward in a dense body, with Hec-
tor striding on at their head. Before him went Phoebus
Apollo shrouded in cloud about his shoulders. He bore aloft
the terrible aegis with its shaggy fringe, which Vulcan the
smith had given Jove to strike terror into the hearts of men.
With this in his hand he led on the Trojans.
The Argives held together and stood their ground. The
cry of battle rose high from either side, and the arrows flew
from the bowstrings. Many a spear sped from strong hands
and fastened in the bodies of many a valiant warrior, while
others fell to earth midway, before they could taste of man’s
fair flesh and glut themselves with blood. So long as Phoe-
bus Apollo held his aegis quietly and without shaking it,