Homer
The Iliad
[Translation by Ian Johnston, Malaspina University-College, Nanaimo, BC. This document is in the public domain and may be used by anyone without permission and without charge, provided the source is acknowledged. For information about the translation, comments, suggestions, and so on, click on Iliad Contents Page]
Book
Fourteen
Zeus Deceived
[Nestor leaves his hut to look around, sees the Achaeans in retreat; Nestor meets the wounded kings inspecting the field; Agamemnon advises going home; Odysseus responds harshly to the suggestion; Diomedes advises them to visit the battle; Poseidon continues to encourage the Argives; Hera thinks of a plan to deceive Zeus; she prepares herself to look seductive; Hera gets a Aphrodite's love charms; Hera visits Sleep and gets his cooperation; Hera visits Zeus on Ida, has sex with him, and Zeus goes to sleep; Poseidon rallies the Argives and leads them into battle; Ajax wounds Hector badly with a rock; Hector withdraws; the killings continue on both sides, the Argives getting the best of the battle.]
[Last modified March 13, 2004]
As Nestor sat drinking
wine, listening to the noise of war,
he said to Asclepius' son:
"Noble Machaon,
think about how this battle will end up—
the shouting from our young men by the ships
is getting louder. You should sit here for now.
Drink some sparkling wine, till Hecamede
with the lovely hair draws you a warm bath
and washes the dried blood off your body.
I'll go to a lookout and see what's going on."
Nestor took the well-made shield belonging to his son,
10
Meanwhile, the other men
kept up the fight, kept on butchering each other.
Around their bodies the unwearied bronze rang out,
as they thrust with swords and double-bladed spears.
Then Nestor came across the kings the gods sustain—
30They’d drawn their ships on shore, beside the blue-gray sea,
[30]The kings had set out
in one group together,
each one leaning on a spear, to see the fighting
and check the progress of the war. Deep in their chests
they were very troubled. When old Nestor met them,
the anxiety in their Achaean hearts
was even more acute. Mighty
Agamemnon
50"Nestor, son of Neleus,
great glory of Achaeans, why are you here?
Why have you left the battle? I'm afraid
that mighty Hector will make good those words
Geranian horseman Nestor answered Agamemnon:
60"What's happened so far is over, done with—
Agamemnon, king of men, replied:
80"Nestor,
since the men now fight at our ships' sterns,
and since our strong wall and ditch are useless—
something crushing for Danaans, whose hearts
had trusted they’d provide a firm defence
and keep our soldiers and our ships secure—
In response to this, Odysseus scowled and said:
100"Son of Atreus, how can such words as these
Agamemnon, king of men, replied:
130"Odysseus,
that harsh rebuke of yours has stung my heart.
But I'm not the man to tell Achaea's sons
Then Diomedes,
skilled in battle shouts, spoke up:
[110]"That man's close by.
They listened well to
Diomedes and agreed.
So they set off, led by Agamemnon, king of men.
Famous Earthshaker
Poseidon saw all this.
He walked among them in the shape of an old man.
Taking Atreus’ son Agamemnon by his right hand,
Poseidon talked to him—his words had wings.
[140]"Son of Atreus, in Achilles’ chest
his destructive heart is really happy now,
Poseidon said these words,
then, as he raced off to the plain, let out a mighty roar—
as loud as the din from nine or ten thousand
men
As this was happening,
on a peak of Mount Olympus
Hera of the golden throne was standing watching.
She recognized her brother-in-law at once,
as he kept busy in the war where men win glory,
for he was her brother and her husband's,
too.
Once Hera had dressed
her body in this finery,
she left the room and summoned Aphrodite.
Some distance from the other gods, she said to her:
[190]"My dear child, will you agree to do
Zeus' daughter Aphrodite answered her:
"Hera,
honoured goddess, daughter of great Cronos,
say what's on your mind. My heart tells me
I should do what you ask, if I can,
if it's something that can be carried out."
Then queen Hera, with her devious mind, replied:
240 [200]"Then give me Love and Sexual Desire,
which you use to master all immortals,
and mortal men as well. I'm going to visit
the limits of this all-nourishing earth,
Laughter-loving Aphrodite answered Hera:
"It wouldn't be appropriate for me
to say no to your demand, since you sleep
in the arms of Zeus, the greatest of the gods."
Aphrodite spoke, then
loosened from her breasts
the finely decorated, embroidered
garment
[220]"Take this garment. Tie it round your breasts.
Everything is interwoven in the cloth.
Aphrodite
finished. Ox-eyed queen Hera smiled,
and, as she did so, put the garment round her
breasts.
Hera sped off, leaving the crest of Mount Olympus.
She touched down on Pieria, lovely Emathia,
rushed by the highest mountains of Thracian horsemen—
her feet did not touch ground on those snow-covered peaks.
From Athos she went across the heaving sea,
coming to Lemnos, city of godlike Thoas.
[230]
There she met Sleep, Death's brother. Clasping his hand,
she spoke to him:
"Sleep, king of all men and gods,
if you've ever listened to what I say, 280
obey me now. I'll be grateful always.
Lull Zeus' radiant eyes to sleep for me,
when I'm stretched out for sex beside him.
I'll give you as a gift a lovely throne,
indestructible gold which my own son
Hephaestus with his ambidextrous skills
will make for you. Under it he'll set a stool, [240]
so you can rest your feet when drinking wine."
Sweet Sleep then said in reply:
"Honoured goddess Hera,
daughter of mighty Cronos, I could with ease 290
bring some other immortal one to sleep,
even the streams of river Ocean,
the source of all of them. But I won't come
near Zeus, lull him to sleep, unless he bids me,
asks in person. Your request some time ago
taught me my lesson, on that very day [250]
when Hercules, son of almighty Zeus,
set sail from Ilion, after he'd sacked
the Trojans' city. That's when I seduced
the mind of aegis-bearing Zeus, pouring 300
my sweetness over him. You then carried
evil in your heart for Hercules, driving
blasts of hostile winds across the sea,
taking him at last to well-settled Cos,
far from all his friends. When Zeus woke up,
he was incensed, throwing gods around his house,
looking, above all, for me. He'd have tossed me
from heaven into the sea, if Night,
who subdues gods and men, had not saved me. [260]
I ran away to her, and Zeus held back, 310
though still enraged, not wishing to offend
swift Night. Now here you are again, asking me
to do something I simply must not do."
Ox-eyed queen Hera then answered him:
"Sleep,
why concern your heart about these matters?
Do you think all-seeing Zeus feels for Trojans
the same rage he felt then for Hercules,
his own son? But come, I'll give you as your wife
one of the younger Graces. You can marry
Pasithea, whom you long for every day." 320
Hera finished. Sleep was overjoyed and said:
[270]"All right, then. Swear to me by waters
of the inviolable river Styx, setting
one hand on the all-nourishing earth,
the other on the shimmering sea,
so all may witness our agreement,
even those gods underground with Cronos,
that you will give me one of the Graces,
Pasithea, whom I long for every day."
White-armed goddess Hera agreed to Sleep's request.
330Hera moved quickly on
to Ida's peak, high Gargarus.
Cloud-gatherer Zeus caught sight of her. As he looked,
his wise heart became suffused with sexual desire,
as strong as when they'd first made love together,
lying on a couch without their parents'
knowledge.
"Hera, what are you looking for, coming
down here from Olympus? Your chariot
and your horses are not here. You should use them."
Queen Hera with her crafty mind then answered Zeus:
[300]360"I'm going to visit the outer limits
of this all-nourishing earth, to Oceanus,
from whom gods came, and mother Tethys,
who looked after me in their own home.
They raised me well. I'll try to mediate
Cloud-gatherer Zeus then answered:
380"Hera,
you can go there later. But why don't we
lie down and make joyful love together?
I've never felt such sexual desire before
for any goddess, for any mortal woman.
It's flooding through me, overpowering the heart
here in my chest—not even when I lusted for
Ixion's wife, who bore me Peirithoös,
a man as wise as gods, or Danaë,
Queen Hera with her cunning mind then said in reply:
[330]"Most fearsome son of Cronos, what are you saying?
Cloud-gatherer Zeus then answered her:
410"Hera,
don't be afraid that any god or man
will glimpse a thing. I'll cover you up
in a golden cloud. Even sun god Helios
will not see the two of us, and his rays
Zeus finished.
Then Cronos' son took his wife in his arms.
Underneath them divine Earth made fresh flowers grow—
dew-covered clover, crocuses, and hyacinths,
lush and soft, to hold the lovers off the ground.
They lay together there covered with a
cloud,
Sweet Sleep rushed to the Achaean ships, to inform
420[360]"Poseidon, you could now assist the Argives
quite readily and give them glory,
if only for a while—Zeus is fast asleep.
I’ve covered him with a delicious sleep.
Hera has seduced him on a bed of love."
Saying this, Sleep
left there for some well-known tribes of men.
But he made Poseidon want to help Danaans,
even more so than before. He ran to those in
front,
[370]"You Argives,
are we really going to give the victory
to Hector, son of Priam—allow him
to take our ships and get the glory?
That's what he says. He even boasts about it—
since Achilles stays beside his hollow ships,
anger in his heart. But we won't miss him much
if the rest of us get fighting strength
and help each other. So come, let's all follow
Poseidon spoke.
The men heard him and obeyed.
The kings themselves, though wounded, organized the men—
Agamemnon, Diomedes, and
Odysseus.
Glorious Hector first
threw his spear at Ajax,
as he'd just turned to face him. The spear hit Ajax,
right where two straps intersected on his chest,
one for his shield, one for his silver-studded sword.
These saved his tender flesh. Hector was annoyed—
his weapon had flown from his hand and missed its mark.
He drew back into the group of his companions,
evading death. But great Telamonian Ajax
hit Hector with a rock as he was moving back—
there were many of them there rolling
underfoot,
When Argives saw Hector
carried back, they charged in,
[440]
going at Trojans even more, their battle fury roused.
Far ahead of all the rest came Oïlean Ajax.
Jumping out with his sharp spear, he struck Satnius,
son of Enops, who'd conceived him with a Naiad nymph,
while he was tending cattle by the river
banks
520
at the Satnioeis. Ajax, son of Oïleus,
famous spearman, came up and struck him in the side.
Satnius fell backwards. Trojans and Danaans
then fought around him. Spearman Polydamas,
son of Panthoös, came up to help. He threw and hit
Prothoënor, son of Areilycus, in his right
shoulder.
[450]
The heavy spear tore through the shoulder. He fell down—
lying in the dust and clawing dirt. Polydamas,
with a great shout, exulted in his triumph:
"I don't think that spear flew in vain 530
from the strong hand of Panthoös' valiant son.
Some Argive has got it in his flesh.
I think as he goes down to Hades' house,
he'll use it as a walking staff."
Polydamas' loud
boasting pained the Argives.
He especially roused the spirit in fierce Ajax,
son of Telamon. For Prothoënor
fell
[460]
right next to him. So Ajax quickly moved ahead
and hurled his shining spear. But jumping to one side,
Polydamas nimbly avoided his dark
fate.
540
The spear hit Archelochus, Antenor's son—
the gods had planned his death. It struck his spine up high,
where the head attaches to the neck, slicing through.
It cut both sinews. As he fell, his head, mouth, and nose
hit the earth well before his knees, and Ajax cried
to brave Polydamas:
"Consider this, Polydamas, [470]
and tell me the truth—is not this man here
worth killing to avenge Prothoënor?
He doesn't seem to be unworthy,
or from inferior parents. He looks like 550
a brother of horse-taming Antenor,
perhaps his son—he looks a lot like him."
Ajax shouted this,
knowing very well the man he'd killed.
Trojans hearts were seized with grief. Then Acamas,
standing above his brother's body, with his spear
struck Promachus, a Boeotian, as he was trying
to drag Archelochus out by his feet. Over the body
Acamas shouted then in triumph:
"You Argive boasters,
how you love to threaten! Misery like this,
all this suffering, is not for us alone. 560 [480]
You too some day will be killed like this.
See how your Promachus now sleeps in death,
thanks to my spear. Whatever's owed to me
for my brother has not been unpaid long.
That's why in time of war a soldier prays
he leaves at home a brother to avenge him."
Acamas shouted this,
bringing grief to Argives.
He really stirred the heart of warlike Peneleus.
He charged at Acamas, who did not stay there
to confront the charge of noble Peneleus,
570
so he then struck Ilioneus, son of Phorbas,
who owned many flocks, a man whom Hermes
loved
[490]
above all Trojans, and he'd made him wealthy.
Ilioneus was the only child his mother bore
to Phorbas. But then he was hit by Peneleus,
below his eyebrows, just underneath his eye.
The spear knocked out the eyeball, went in his eye,
drove through his neck, and sliced the tendons at the nape.
Ilioneus collapsed, stretching out his arms.
Peneleus drew his sharp sword and struck his
neck,
580
chopping head and helmet, so they hit the ground,
the spear still sticking from the socket of his
eye.
Holding it up high, like a flowering poppy,
Peneleus shouted a loud boast at the
Trojans:
[500]
590"Trojans, you can now tell the dear father
and mother of fine Ilioneus to lament
all through their house. When we Achaean lads
sail in our ships from Troy, then the wife
of this Promachus, son of Alegenor,
will not be celebrating the return
Peneleos finished.
The Trojans were shaken, limbs trembling. Every
man
looked around to see how he could evade grim death.
Tell me now, you Muses
living on Olympus,
which of the Achaeans was first to carry off
bloody trophies from the men who'd just been slaughtered,
when the famous Earthshaker turned the tides of
war?
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