plain, urges them toward a mighty city, along the public way; and him many men and women behold with admiration; but he, always leaping up firmly and safely, changes alternately from one to the other,[1] while they are flying along: so went Ajax along many decks of swift ships, shouting loudly, and his voice reached to the sky; and, always terribly shouting, he ordered the Greeks to defend their ships and tents. Nor, indeed, did Hector remain among the crowd of well-corseleted Trojans; but as the tawny eagle pounces upon a flock of winged birds, feeding on a river's bank, either geese or cranes, or long-necked swans, so did Hector direct his course toward an azure-prowed vessel, rushing against it; but Jove, with a very mighty hand, impelled him from behind, and animated his forces along with him. Again was a sharp contest waged at the ships. You would have said that unwearied and indefatigable they met each other in battle, so furiously they fought. And to them fighting this was the opinion: the Greeks, indeed, thought that they could not escape from destruction, but must perish. But the soul of each within his breast, to the Trojans, hoped, to burn the ships, and slay the Grecian heroes. They thinking these things, opposed one another.
But Hector seized the stern of a sea-traversing bark, beautiful, swift, which had carried Protesilaus[2] to Troy, but did not bear him back again to his fatherland. Round his ship the Greeks and Trojans were now slaying one another in close combat; nor did they indeed at a distance await the attacks of arrows and of javelins, but standing near, having one mind, they fought with sharp battle-axes and hatchets, with large swords and two-edged spears. And many fair swords, black-hilted, with massive handles, fell to the ground, some indeed from the hands, and others from the shoulders of the contending heroes; and the dark earth streamed with gore. But Hector, after he had seized [the vessel] by the stern, did
- ↑ As the "desultores" (Liv. xxiii. 29). Hence "desultor amoris," in Ovid, Amor. i. 3, 15, to denote an inconstant lover; "desultoria scientia," Apuleius, Met. i. præf., speaking of his own varied fable.
- ↑ The reader will do well to read the beautiful sketch of this hero's deification after death in Philostratus's preface to the Heroica. He was the first of the Greeks who fell, being slain by Hector as he leaped from the vessel (Hygin. Fab. ciii.; Auson. Epigr. xx). He was buried on the Chersonese, near the city Plagusa. Hygin. P. A. ii. 40.
