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BOOK THE TWENTY-FIRST.

 

ARGUMENT.

Having divided the Trojan army, Achilles drives one part toward the city, and the other into the Xanthus, where he takes twelve youths alive, in order to sacrifice them at the tomb of Patroclus. He then slays Lycaon and Asteropæus, deriding the river-god, Xanthus, as unable to aid his friends. The river endeavors to overwhelm him by the aid of Simoïs, but Vulcan defends him from the danger. Single combats of the gods then follow, but they afterward retire to Olympus. Apollo then leads Achilles away, assuming the form of Agenor, and the Trojans are thus enabied to regain the city.

But when they at last reached the course of the fairly-flowing river, the eddying Xanthus, which immortal Jove begat; there separating them, he pursued some indeed through the plain toward the city, by the [same] way that the Greeks, on the preceding day, being astounded, had fled, when illustrious Hector raged. By that way were they poured forth terrified; but Juno expanded a dense cloud before them, to check them: but the other half were rolled into the deep-flowing river, with silver eddies. But they fell in with a great noise; and the deep streams resounded, and the banks around murmured; but they, with clamor, swam here and there, whirled about in the eddies.^[1] As when locusts, driven by the force of fire, fly into the air, to escape to a river, but the indefatigable fire, suddenly kindled, blazes, and they fall, through terror into the water: thus, by Achilles, was the resounding river of deep-eddied Xanthus filled promiscuously with horses and men. But the Jove-sprung [hero] left his spear

1. Virg. Æn. i. 118: "Apparent rari nantes in gurgite vasto." With the following description maybe compared Æsch. Ag. 670: Ὁρῶμεν ἀνθοῦν πέλαγος Αἰγαῖον νεκρῶν ἀνδρῶν Ἀχαίων ναυτικῶν τ' ἐρειπίων. Aristid. Panath. p. 142. Ώς δὲ ἑώρα τὴν θάλατταν αἵματι καὶ ῥοθίῳ ῥέουσαν, καὶ πάντα νέκρων καὶ ναυαγίων μεστά.