Page 413 - the-iliad

ere now.’
He hurled his spear as he spoke, but Minerva breathed
upon it, and though she breathed but very lightly she turned
it back from going towards Achilles, so that it returned to
Hector and lay at his feet in front of him. Achilles then
sprang furiously on him with a loud cry, bent on killing him,
but Apollo caught him up easily as a god can, and hid him
in a thick darkness. Thrice did Achilles spring towards him
spear in hand, and thrice did he waste his blow upon the air.
When he rushed forward for the fourth time as though he
were a god, he shouted aloud saying, ‘Hound, this time too
you have escaped death—but of a truth it came exceedingly
near you. Phoebus Apollo, to whom it seems you pray be-
fore you go into battle, has again saved you; but if I too have
any friend among the gods I will surely make an end of you
when I come across you at some other time. Now, however,
I will pursue and overtake other Trojans.’
On this he struck Dryops with his spear, about the mid-
dle of his neck, and he fell headlong at his feet. There he
let him lie and stayed Demouchus son of Philetor, a man
both brave and of great stature, by hitting him on the knee
with a spear; then he smote him with his sword and killed
him. After this he sprang on Laogonus and Dardanus, sons
of Bias, and threw them from their chariot, the one with a
blow from a thrown spear, while the other he cut down in
hand-to-hand fight. There was also Tros the son of Alastor—
he came up to Achilles and clasped his knees in the hope
that he would spare him and not kill him but let him go, be-
cause they were both of the same age. Fool, he might have

1 The Iliad