Page 310 - the-iliad

strength to the Achaeans, was loudest in imploring every
man by his parents, and beseeching him to stand firm.
‘Be men, my friends,’ he cried, ‘and respect one anoth-
er’s good opinion. Think, all of you, on your children, your
wives, your property, and your parents whether these be
alive or dead. On their behalf though they are not here, I
implore you to stand firm, and not to turn in flight.’
With these words he put heart and soul into them all. Mi-
nerva lifted the thick veil of darkness from their eyes, and
much light fell upon them, alike on the side of the ships and
on that where the fight was raging. They could see Hector
and all his men, both those in the rear who were taking no
part in the battle, and those who were fighting by the ships.
Ajax could not bring himself to retreat along with the
rest, but strode from deck to deck with a great sea-pike in
his hands twelve cubits long and jointed with rings. As a
man skilled in feats of horsemanship couples four horses
together and comes tearing full speed along the public way
from the country into some large town—many both men
and women marvel as they see him for he keeps all the time
changing his horse, springing from one to another without
ever missing his feet while the horses are at a gallop—even
so did Ajax go striding from one ship’s deck to another, and
his voice went up into the heavens. He kept on shouting his
orders to the Danaans and exhorting them to defend their
ships and tents; neither did Hector remain within the main
body of the Trojan warriors, but as a dun eagle swoops
down upon a flock of wild-fowl feeding near a river-geese,
it may be, or cranes, or long-necked swans—even so did

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