Page 344 - the-iliad

and will not come close to him, for they are pale with fear—
even so no one had the courage to face valiant Menelaus.
The son of Atreus would have then carried off the armour of
the son of Panthous with ease, had not Phoebus Apollo been
angry, and in the guise of Mentes chief of the Cicons incited
Hector to attack him. ‘Hector,’ said he, ‘you are now going
after the horses of the noble son of Aeacus, but you will not
take them; they cannot be kept in hand and driven by mor-
tal man, save only by Achilles, who is son to an immortal
mother. Meanwhile Menelaus son of Atreus has bestridden
the body of Patroclus and killed the noblest of the Trojans,
Euphorbus son of Panthous, so that he can fight no more.’
The god then went back into the toil and turmoil, but the
soul of Hector was darkened with a cloud of grief; he looked
along the ranks and saw Euphorbus lying on the ground
with the blood still flowing from his wound, and Menelaus
stripping him of his armour. On this he made his way to the
front like a flame of fire, clad in his gleaming armour, and
crying with a loud voice. When the son of Atreus heard him,
he said to himself in his dismay, ‘Alas! what shall I do? I may
not let the Trojans take the armour of Patroclus who has
fallen fighting on my behalf, lest some Danaan who sees me
should cry shame upon me. Still if for my honour’s sake I
fight Hector and the Trojans single-handed, they will prove
too many for me, for Hector is bringing them up in force.
Why, however, should I thus hesitate? When a man fights in
despite of heaven with one whom a god befriends, he will
soon rue it. Let no Danaan think ill of me if I give place to
Hector, for the hand of heaven is with him. Yet, if I could