Authors of Greece | Page 6

come when Troy shall fall, yet I grieve not for father or
mother or brethren so much as for thee, when some Achaean leads thee
captive, robbing thee of thy day of freedom. Thou shalt weave at the
loom in Argos or perchance fetch water, for heavy necessity shall be
laid upon thee. Then shall many a one say when he sees thee shedding
tears: 'Lo, this is the wife of Hector who was the best warrior of the
Trojans when they fought for their town.' Thus will they speak and thou
shalt have new sorrow for lack of such a man to drive away the day of
slavery."
He stretched out his arms to his little son who was affrighted at the
sight of the helmet as it nodded its plumes dreadfully from its tall top.
Hector and Andromache laughed when they saw the child's terror; then
Hector took off his helmet and prayed that the boy might grow to a
royal manhood and gladden his mother's heart. Smiling through her
tears, Andromache took the child from Hector, while he comforted her
with brave words.
"Lady, grieve not overmuch, I beseech thee, for no man shall thrust me
to death beyond my fate. Methinks none can avoid his destiny, be he

brave or a coward, when once he hath been born. Nay, go to the house,
ply thy tasks and bid the maids be busy, but war is the business of the
men who are born in Troy and mine most of all."
Thus she parted from him, looking back many a time, shedding
plenteous tears. So did they mourn for Hector even before his doom,
for they said he would never escape his foes and come back in safety.
Finding Paris waiting for him, Hector passed out to the battlefield.
Aided by Glaucus he wrought great havoc, so much that Athena and
Apollo stirred him to challenge the bravest of the Greeks. The victor
was to take the spoils of the vanquished but to return the body for
burial. At first the Greeks were silent when they heard his challenge,
ashamed to decline it and afraid to take it up. At last eight of their
bravest cast lots, the choice falling upon Ajax. A great combat ended in
the somewhat doubtful victory of Ajax, the two parting in friendship
after an exchange of presents. The result of the fighting had
discouraged both sides; the Greeks accordingly decided to throw up a
mound in front of their ships, protected by a deep trench. This tacit
confession of weakness in the absence of Achilles leads up to the heavy
defeat which was to follow. On the other side the Trojans held a
council to deliver up Helen. When Paris refused to surrender her but
offered to restore her treasures, a deputation was sent to inform the
Greeks of his decision. The latter refused to accept either Helen or the
treasure, feeling that the end was not far off. That night Zeus sent
mighty thunderings to terrify the besiegers.
So far the main plot of the Iliad has been undeveloped; now that the
chief characters on both sides have played a part in the war, the poem
begins to show how the wrath of Achilles works itself out under Zeus'
direction. First the king of the gods warned the deities that he would
allow none to intervene on either side and would punish any offender
with his thunders. Holding up the scales of doom, he placed in them the
lot of Trojans and of Greeks; as the latter sank down, he hurled at their
host his lightnings, driving all the warriors in flight to the great mound
they had built. For a time Teucer the archer brother of Ajax held them
back, but when he was smitten by a mighty stone hurled of Hector all
resistance was broken. A vain attempt was made by Hera and Athena to
help the Greeks, but the goddesses quailed before the punishment
wherewith Zeus threatened them. When night came the Trojans

encamped on the open plain, their camp-fires gleaming like the stars
which appear on some night of stillness.
Disheartened at his defeat, Agamemnon freely acknowledged his fault
and suggested flight homewards. Nestor advised him to call an
Assembly and depute some of the leading men to make up the quarrel
with Achilles. The King listened to him, offering to give Achilles his
own daughter in wedlock, together with cities and much spoil of war.
Three ambassadors were chosen, Phoenix, Ajax and Odysseus.
Reaching Achilles' tent, they found him singing lays of heroes,
Patroclus his friend by his side. When he saw the ambassadors, he gave
them a courtly welcome. Odysseus laid the King's proposals before him,
to which Achilles answered with dignity.
"I hate as sore