The Rage of Achilles

“ Down from the high skies the father of men and gods let loose tremendous thunder,
   from down below Poseidon shook the boundless earth and towering heads of mountains.
   The whole world quaked, the slopes of Ida with all her springs and all her peaks
   and the walls of Troy and Achaea’s ships... ”

                              - ZEUS UNLEASHES WAR UPON THE FIELDS OF TROY

Thetis presents the arms to Achilles
Painting by Giulio Romano.

Newly furnished with a magnificent gift of arms from the forge of Hephaestus himself, with a roar of fury Achilles vowed bloody vengeance upon the sons of Troy, and death to Prince Hector, whose hand had felled his cousin Patroclus (for the immediate lead up to these events, please click here). As the rage pounding through Achilles reached even lofty Olympus, the gods above met in council to lay out the brutal final act of the siege of Troy. But Achilles, one of the greatest warriors ever born, was unleashed upon the field of war, the only place ever his true home.

Seeing the unstoppable power of Achilles gathering its strength, Zeus the Thunderer is worried. The Fates have decreed that Priam’s citadel will indeed fall, but also that Achilles will not be the one to take it, that he must die at Troy. Fearing that Achilles will dare to raze the walls of Troy himself if unopposed, Zeus commands the gods to take their sides and journey down to the field of war, granting aid to whoever their desire drives them. With a flash of lightning, the gods descend from on high, their spirits going one way or another. Hera, Queen of the gods, races to the Achaean ships, followed closely by Poseidon, the god of the sea and Lord of Earthquakes, Athena, the lady of war and wisdom, as well as Hermes the god of messengers and luck and Hephaestus, the god of fire and the forge. But murderous Ares, the god of war himself, swept to the Trojan ranks, flanked by Apollo, the god of the sun and the archer, Artemis his twin sister and Aphrodite of the golden hair.

As gods waged war upon gods, so too down on the plain did man against man. Spying his first foe, Achilles charged upon Aeneas, the son of Aphrodite and cousin of Hector. Breathing strength into the Trojan warrior, Apollo turned to face the wrathful Achilles. Taunting his audacity to face him alone, Achilles sprinted toward Aeneas. Facing his foe honourably, Aeneas hurls his heavy lance at the golden clad Achilles. His aim is true, and surely it would smite the life from Achilles, but no, the glittering gifts of the gods guarded the favoured Achilles. Five plies thick was the Shield of Achilles, the outer two forged of bronze, the inner two of tin and between them one of purest gold. The mighty ashen spear of Aeneas bores through two plies and held fast in the gold. Now Achilles’ turn. Taking up his spear of strong Pelian ash, the son of Peleus hurled with all his might. Straight through Aeneas’ shield the spear punched, but the Trojan crouched low, and the spear soared inches from his head and embedded firmly in the ground behind. Anguish rising in him, Aeneas fears that his time has come, as do the gods above. Drawing his sword, Achilles lunges to strike down the prince, but his blade passes only air, for Poseidon rushes to the field and bears Aeneas away to safety. The Fates have a plan for Aeneas, a magnificent destiny ahead in a distant land, it is not his time.

The Fury of Achilles
Painting by Charles-Antoine Coypel.

Furious at his humbled glory, Achilles charges into the massed ranks of the Trojans. Iphition is the first to fall, as Achilles deals him so violent a blow with his spear that the Trojan’s skull splits in half. His rage growing, Achilles rounds on Demoleon next and, with a shout, spears him in the temple, the bronze helmet buckling before the great warrior, Demoleon’s brains and gore showering his comrades. The carnage rising, Polydorus, the Prince of Troy and brother to Hector, falls to Achilles’ hands, the blood of yet another of Priam’s sons staining the fields of Troy. Then he sees him. Hector himself is close at hand. Gaze fixed upon the man who is the cause of his grief, Achilles speeds toward him as Death to a man. Apollo, seeing the danger, whisks Hector away from the battle. Roaring in defiance at the Heavens, the godlike Achilles hurls himself once again into the thick of war, rage tempered by grief for his fallen cousin. His blade hot with the blood of Trojan sons, and his anger hotter still, Achilles gives chase to his fleeing foe.

Achilles fights the River
Painting by Auguste Couder.

Coming to the banks of the Scamander River, many Trojans, looking upon the golden clad Achilles in terror, hurl themselves into its foaming waters, desperate to escape his spear. But nothing will break the lust for slaughter in Achaea’s greatest champion. Casting aside his great spear, he dives in, relentless in pursuit, hurling countless heroes to the House of Death. But Scamander is angered by the desecration of his waters. Rising from a whirlpool, the shape of a man, the god of the river begs Achilles to stop his rampage, as his channels are already choked with corpses. Scorning the god’s plea, Achilles advances, as Scamander swirls his waters to protect the fleeing Trojans, calling to Apollo for aid. His rage fired once more, Achilles charges the god himself. Bellowing as a bull, Scamander, his white rapids churning in fury, hurls his thunderous currents upon the hero. The powerful torrents batter that mighty shield, forcing Achilles on one knee. Cursing the river’s power, Achilles moves for the bank, eager to return to the battlefield. But the river refuses to let up, crashing upon the furious hero again and again:

                  “ Again and again the brilliant swift Achilles whirled...

                     Again and again the mighty crest of the river fed by the rains of Zeus

                     Came battering down on his shoulders, down from high above

                     But Achilles kept on leaping, higher, desperate now... ”

                                                 - SCAMANDER FIGHTS ACHILLES

Bemoaning that it is better to die under the spear of Hector than broken by the river, the lamentations of Achilles are heard throughout the Heavens. Rushing to his aid, the god Hephaestus, whose mighty hands made the shining armour now protecting Achilles, moves against the river. Conjuring up his divine power, the god of fire unleashes a maelstrom of fiery rage upon Scamander. The elms, willows and tamarisks upon its banks roar with flame, the lotus plants amongst its waters blacken with heat and the creatures within its waves writhe in agony as the blazing inferno takes hold. Hera sends the West and South Winds forth, and a searing gale blasts the Trojan troops, as the whole arena now erupts with fire. His waters bubbling and boiling with agony, Scamader cries in cruel pain, crippled under the onslaught. Relenting at last, the river releases its hold on Achilles, surrendering the great hero to his fate. Hephaestus quenches his flame, and makes his peace with Scamander. Fury pounding through his veins, Achilles leaps from the river and sprints toward the towering walls of Troy, focusing on one thing alone – Hector. The gods above will not interfere this time. This time, there will be no escape for the Prince of Troy, as total war descends upon the vast plains...

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A translation which retains much of the poetic meter, my personal recommendation)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Iliad (Oxford World's Classics)
(A translation which omits some of the epithets in favour of 'easier' reading for the casual reader)

United States

Penguin Classics:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A translation which retains much of the poetic meter, my personal recommendation)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Iliad (Oxford World's Classics)
(A translation which omits some of the epithets in favour of 'easier' reading for the casual reader)

The First Steps Into Hell

A ringing clap of thunder suddenly rouses Dante from his slumber, as the boatman’s craft nears the banks of Hell (for the precursor to this, the entrance of Dante to the Inferno, please click here). Finding himself “upon the brink of grief’s abysmal valley that collects the thundering of endless cries”, our pilgrim must once again be of stout heart and brave resolve, as he slowly descends into the accursed pit of Hell. The darkness was so thick that, but for the guiding hand of the poet Virgil, he would surely be lost. Seeing a look of anguish breaking Virgil’s face, Dante asks what hope there is for him to remain strong, when his guide so clearly is frightened? Not fear, Virgil tells his protégé, but pity it is he feels for the coming souls, condemned for eternity in the void.

The abandoned souls of Limbo
Engraving by Gustave Doré.

Leaving the churning waters of Acheron behind, and the wailing of the naked, wretched forms of the recently deceased crowding fell Charon’s ferry, Dante hears only the sound of soft sighs and despair. The throng of souls ahead is composed of men and women and of infants too, resigned to untormented grief. No physical punishment afflicts these cursed souls. Noting the curiosity upon Dante’s face, Virgil tells our shaken pilgrim of the lot of man condemned to here, Limbo – The First Circle of Hell. “They have not sinned”, he begins, “But their great worth alone was not enough, for they did not know Baptism”. Here too are the souls of those virtuous men who were born before the birth of Christ, the heroes of ancient times, great writers, orators, soldiers and fathers of nations. Realisation dawning upon him, Dante looks suddenly to his guide, but his unasked question is answered. “I myself am a member of this group”, Virgil mournfully states, “for this effect, and for no other guilt, we here are lost”. Condemned to be cut off from hope, and to live on in endless desire, that is the agony that plagues these souls in Limbo.

Dante and the Classical Poets
Engraving by Gustave Doré.

Pity coursing through our pilgrim, he desperately asks his guide if there truly is no salvation for him, or his pagan brethren. “I was a novice in this place when I saw a mighty Lord descend to us”, he replies (Virgil died just nineteen years before the time of Christ), and that the Lord took from Hell the souls of Abel, of Noah, of Moses, of Abram and of David the King and his family, and that before these souls were taken no other human soul had found salvation. The two continue on their journey through the woods of Limbo, talking of melancholy of past days, and the stricken hope of the souls that reside there. Ahead Dante spots four shades approaching, faces betraying neither joy nor sorrow. First comes Homer, the father of poets, then Horace, the satirist, Ovid comes third, and finally Lucan. Virgil moves to join them, creating a truly awe inspiring collection of some of the greatest minds of humanity. They turn to Dante and beckon him to join them, filling him with joy with such an honour.



Reaching the boundaries of a mighty castle, they pass through seven gates, and Dante spots many great heroes of yore. Brave Hector, Aeneas the progenitor of the Roman race, Julius Caesar, chaste Lucretia and standing apart from the group, the chivalrous Saladin, the most honourable foe to the crusaders, only recently dead. A great crowd stands by the shade of Aristotle, most admired of philosophers, which includes such figures as Plato, Socrates, Empedocles and Zeno (whose paradoxes acquired such fame). Orpheus the bard was there too, as was the orator Cicero and the philosopher Seneca. Great pioneers of science, Hippocrates and Galen too, clamour at the approach of this learned group. But the road ahead is long, and the illustrious company is broken up, as Virgil and Dante continue their journey alone into the throat of Hell.

King Minos judges the Damned
Engraving by Gustave Doré.

Upon the boundary of Limbo, Dante and Virgil come to the gates of the Second Circle of Hell, and its dread guardian, King Minos who judges the damned. A hideous, bestial sight greets those who look on the evil crown, which stands upon his grotesque body and powerful tail. The authority of sin, it is he who hears the case of each evil soul brought before him. Binding the soul in his tail, the number of coils around them signifies the Circle of Hell into which they are to be cast. An endless queue awaits their doom, as the wrathful King pronounces judgement, and bellows cruel warnings at Dante, for easy it is to enter Hell, yet never will he emerge. Bold words, however, are spoken by Virgil, and Minos allows them passage into lower worlds.

Here lies a place where anguish, cries and roars ring in our pilgrim’s ears, where sounds of weeping test his nerve once more. This is an accursed place, the first place where the damned souls are punished for their earthly crimes:

The Lustful are blasted by the Tempest.
Engraving by Gustave Doré.

“ I came to a place where no light shone at all,

Bellowing like the sea racked by a tempest,

When warring winds attack it from both sides.

The infernal storm, eternal in its rage,

Sweeps and drives the spirits with its blast:

It whirls them, lashing them with punishment... ”
   - THE LUSTFUL ARE BLASTED BY THE TEMPEST

The howls and screams of the souls within blaspheme against God, as they curse their fate. Dante learns from his master that these are the shades of those who were lustful in life, those “who make reason slave to appetite”. Just as they were swept along by corrupt desire in life, so now the fell wind propels their spirits in Hell. Like cranes in flight, the lustful soar through the vault of Hell, never ending their journey, battered by an evil gale which does not cease. Our pilgrim asks the great poet who these people are, and Virgil points out the most famous of history’s licentious crowd. Virgil casts his hand toward Semiramis, the carnal Queen of Assyria, whose passions knew no bounds, there too was Cleopatra, Helen, whose machinations hurled so many men to the House of Death, Paris, whose lust spelled Troy’s doom, Tristan and Isolde of ruinous passions and Dido, whose sickening infatuation with Aeneas threatened to sway Rome from her glorious destiny. Dante himself calls to Francesca, daughter of the Lord of Ravenna, and Paolo, brother to her husband, with whom she betrayed the faithfulness of marriage. They recall their violent end, when Gianciotto chanced upon Francesca and his brother together, and in a rage slew them both, condemning them to Hell. Dante is once again overcome by the horrific sights before him, and falls into a swoon, unnerved by his first contact with the damned who are truly punished in Hell. Worse, however, and more foul sights were yet to come in the Inferno...

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:

Dante: Inferno (Penguin Classics)

(A nice edition which even has the original Italian on the left hand side of the page!)

Oxford World's Classics:

The Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)
(Accessible and well annotated, also includes Purgatorio and Paradisio)

United States

Penguin Classics:
The Divine Comedy: Volume 1: Inferno (Penguin Classics) (Pt. 1)
(A nice edition which even has the original Italian on the left hand side of the page!)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)
(Accessible and well annotated, also includes Purgatorio and Paradisio)

Into the Inferno

Dante lost in the wood
Engraving by Gustave Doré. 

“ Midway along the journey of our life

   I woke to find myself in a dark wood,

   wandered from the straight path. ” 

       - DANTE AWAKES IN THE FOREST








So begins the Divine Comedy, as Dante finds himself alone and vulnerable in the wilderness of the dark forest. The fear wells up within him as the eerie silence and blackness of the wood begins to take its grip. An uneasy feeling possesses Dante, a thought that he has stumbled upon ‘the pass that never let a living soul escape’. Unsure of himself, and if he is awake or even alive, Dante begins to climb the slope ahead. No sooner had he begun than he is faced by the form of a leopard, which marks his every move. Just as our pilgrim recovers his nerve, a lion appears and starts toward him. Following in its wake was a she-wolf, who ‘forced me back to where the sun is mute’.

Bracing for his end, Dante spies the figure of a man approaching and cries, ‘Have pity on my soul... whichever you are, shade or living man!’ The stranger reveals to Dante that he once was a poet of old who ‘sang of that just man, son of Anchises, who sailed off from Troy after the burning of proud Ilium’ (He refers to his epic poem – The Aeneid). Dante rejoices as he recognises Virgil, and begs the poet to protect him from the savage beasts. ‘But you must journey down another road’, the great man answered, when he saw Dante lost in tears, ‘if ever you hope to leave this wilderness’. Guided by the comforting words and company of the legendary poet, Dante discovers that he is to be lead through Hell:



                               “ Where you will hear desperate cries, and see

                                    Tormented shades, some old as Hell itself,

                                    And know what second death means, from their screams. ”

                                                               - VIRGIL WARNS US OF WHAT IS TO COME


Our pilgrim is filled with dread at the thought of descending to the Pit, and confesses to his guide that he feels unworthy to follow in the steps of other great men, like Aeneas or St Paul, who once trod the path to Hell. Virgil explains how it was he came to Dante, guided by the will of the Virgin Mary, who took pity on our wandering pilgrim, lost in the forest. The departed soul of Dante’s beloved Beatrice in Heaven came down to Hell and tasked Virgil as to be his infernal guide. Comforted by his story, and word of Beatrice, Dante renews his journey to the accursed place armed with fresh courage. Descending down a barren slope, the two poets reach a vast Gate, the way to the vestibule of Hell itself. Dante spies, in horror, the legend inscribed above the Gate, the last line of which has entered immortality:

 

                                “ I AM THE WAY INTO THE DOLEFUL CITY,

                                    I AM THE WAY INTO ETERNAL GRIEF,

                                    I AM THE WAY TO A FORSAKEN RACE.



                                  JUSTICE IT WAS THAT MOVED MY GREAT CREATOR;

                                   DIVINE OMNIPOTENCE CREATED ME,

                                   AND HIGHEST WISDOM JOINED WITH PRIMAL COMPASSION.



                                  BEFORE ME NOTHING BUT ETERNAL THINGS

                                   WERE MADE, AND I SHALL LAST ETERNALLY.

                                   ABANDON ALL HOPE, YE WHO ENTER HERE. ”

                                                             - THE GATE OF HELL

The descent into Hell
Engraving by Gustave Doré.

Virgil turns to his faithful follower, and warns him that all his cowardice and distrust must die on this spot, if he is to brave the journey and the sight of the tormented souls. Placing his hand upon Dante’s shoulders, and encouraging him with a smile, the two cross the Gate of Hell. Immediately an unearthly din breaks the deathly silence:



                             “ Here sighs and cries and shrieks of lamentation

                                  Echoed throughout the starless air of Hell;

                                  At first these sounds resounding made me weep:

                                Tongues confused, a language strained in anguish

                                  With cadences of anger, shrill outcries

                                  And raucous groans that joined with sounds of hands, ”

                                                      - DANTE HEARS THE CRIES OF THE DAMNED



Our pilgrim turns to his guide and asks of the souls so overwhelmed with grief. The great poet reveals that these are the souls of those who lived a life of neither blame nor praise. Men and women who stood undecided, neither faithful nor faithless. So too lie the ‘repulsive choir of angels’ who took no side in the War in Heaven between Satan and God. ‘Heaven, to keep its beauty, cast them out, but even Hell itself would not receive them, for fear the damned might glory over them’. As for the men and women - unknown in life, both Heaven and Hell turn from them, as they bathe in melancholy at their separation from God. 'Why do they lament so bitterly?' asks Dante. Gazing upon the ghastly sight before him, Dante finds his courage, and stomach, tested once again. He spies a banner rushing through the dank air, as though fated to never stop, and behind it follow vainly the souls of the indecisive. Punished to chase a thing and never catch it, this was not the only torment the souls endured:



                             “ These wretches, who had never truly lived,

                                  Went naked, and were stung and stung again

                                  By the hornets and the wasps that circled them



                               And made their faces run with blood in streaks;

                                 Their blood, mixed with their tears, dripped to their feet,

                                 And disgusting maggots collected in the pus. ”

                                                  - THE PUNISHMENT OF THE INDECISIVE



Filled with nausea, our pilgrim gazed beyond and saw a throng of souls gathered upon the shore of a large river. Asking his guide for what they waited, Virgil leads the way to the River Acheron, which forms the boundary of Hell. Suddenly, across the dark waters appeared a boat, steered by an ancient man, ‘with eyes of glowing coals’- Charon, the boatman, who bears the souls of the damned into Hell. Aware that Dante was of the land of the still living, Charon commands our pilgrim to get away from, ‘all these people who are dead’. Placating the boatman, Virgil reveals his purpose there, and his words bring silence to the fearsome Charon:



Charon goads the damned onto the ferry
Engraving by Gustave Doré.



“ But all those souls there, naked, in despair

Changed colour and their teeth began to chatter

At the sound of his announcement of their doom ”

        - THE DAMNED BEMOAN THEIR FATE

Weeping bitterly, the souls of the damned board the craft, as Charon strikes with his oar all those who lag behind. A sudden wind blasted forth from the ‘tear drenched land’, filling Dante with panic, and bringing our two poets on their way into the First Circle of Hell...

The Divine Comedy is the cornerstone of Italian literature, and indeed even the Italian language. Being the first work of epic poetry written in Italian, it formed the model for all that has come since. Most of the stereotypes of what Hell, Heaven and Purgatory are like come directly from this. The punishment of the damned is a classic example of Contrapasso, the idea that the punishment fits the crime. It is a powerful piece epitomising the fear of what lurks after death takes us, and a grisly warning against trespassing the laws of good. In future posts, we will descend with Dante into Hell, and see the hideous fates of the evil men and women of history. Inspiring countless motifs in modern culture, the Divine Comedy is easily available at a low price from Amazon:

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:

Dante: Inferno (Penguin Classics)

(A nice edition which even has the original Italian on the left hand side of the page!)

Oxford World's Classics:

The Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)
(Accessible and well annotated, also includes Purgatorio and Paradisio)

United States

Penguin Classics:
The Divine Comedy: Volume 1: Inferno (Penguin Classics) (Pt. 1)
(A nice edition which even has the original Italian on the left hand side of the page!)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Divine Comedy (Oxford World's Classics)
(Accessible and well annotated, also includes Purgatorio and Paradisio)

The Olympian Gods in Arms

The Trojan War, even three thousand years after the great city lay in smoking ruins, remains the most famous war in history. This war was the baptism of Achilles, arguably the greatest warrior ever born, a hero even in his own short lifetime, who commanded the favour of the mightiest gods of Olympus. Where Achilles charged, his enemies fled. When roused to war, when the thrill of battle had taken hold, he was unstoppable. Countless cities fell to his wrath and the prowess of the Myrmidons, the finest soldiers in Greece who bowed only to the great warrior. Homer’s great poem, The Iliad, granted Achilles the immortality that he so yearned, fusing his legend into the memory of man for eternity. The Trojan War, however, was as much a struggle amongst the gods as it was a war of men. 

           

         “Sing Goddess of the rage, sing of the rage of Peleus’ son Achilles,

     Murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses,

  Hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls,”

                                                                                    - HOMER OPENS HIS GREAT STORY

Thetis, the mother of Achilles, pleads with Zeus
to avenge her son's humiliation
Painting by Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres.

So begins Homer’s great epic. Like many great heroes of legend, Achilles was as proud as he was relentless. It is indeed Achilles’ pride and his eventual salvation which form the essence of The Iliad’s greatness. When Apollo (god of the Sun, truth, archery, healing and disease) looses his deadly arrows upon the Achaean (Homer’s term to encompass all the Greeks at Troy) camp, a great plague strikes the Greeks. Agamemnon, King of Mycenae and High King of all the Greeks, consults an Oracle as to the origin of Apollo’s anger. The Oracle tells the High King that Apollo is enraged that Agamemnon has taken a girl, Chryseis as his slave. Chryseis’ father was a priest of Apollo in a city that the Achaeans had sacked earlier, and pleaded to Apollo for her return. Humiliated, Agamemnon releases the girl. At the sack of that city however, Achilles had acquired a woman, Briseis, as part of his war spoils. Agamemnon decided to steal Briseis for himself, and orders Achilles to yield. But the proud Achilles was angered. Indeed, Achilles would have thrust his sword into the High King, had not Athena (goddess of wisdom and strategy), come down from Olympus and stayed his hand. Humiliated in front of the whole Greek force, Achilles withdraws from the war, leaving the Greeks to fend for themselves against the onslaught of the Trojan Prince Hector, greatest of the fifty sons of Priam – King of Troy.

Untold thousands fall on the Achaean and Trojan sides, including many great heroes, as Achilles nursed his wounded pride. Olympus itself was divided, Zeus favoured the Trojans (yet had ordained that the Achaeans would eventually triumph), so too did Ares (the god of war), Apollo and Aphrodite (the goddess of lust). Spearheading the Greek cause were Athena and Hera (Queen of the gods) and at times, Poseidon (the god of the sea). Many of the heroes on both sides were themselves of divine descent. Hector was descended, through Priam, from Zeus himself. Aeneas (who would one day become the progenitor of the Roman race) was the son of Aphrodite, as well as being of Trojan royal lineage and a relative of Hector. Diomedes, a mighty Greek hero second in war only to Achilles himself, was the nephew of Heracles. Sarpedon, one of the mightiest Trojan heroes, was the son of Zeus. Many times the gods intervened in battle to spare their kin, or as in the case of Ares, partake in the war for love of slaughter.

With the absence of Achilles, the Achaean ranks buckled under the Trojan assault, led by the godlike Prince of Troy and the god of war himself. Pitying the Greek cause, Athena granted her blessing to the towering Diomedes, of the line of Tydeus and King of Argos;

            “She set the man ablaze, his shield and helmet flaming

          With tireless fire like the star that flames at harvest,

                     Bathed in the Ocean, rising up to outshine all other stars.”

                                                               - ATHENA BLESSES DIOMEDES

The formidable champion tore through the Trojan ranks, as captain after captain, soldier after soldier, all fell to Diomedes' rage. Spotting Aeneas, Diomedes bellowed his war cry and:

Diomedes wounds Aphrodite
Painting by Arthur Fitger.

“Hefted a boulder in his hands, a tremendous feat-

No two men could lift it, weak as men are now,

But all on his own he raised it high with ease,   

Flung it and struck Aeneas’ thigh where the hipbone

Turns inside the pelvis, the joint they call the cup…”     

    - DIOMEDES STRIKES DOWN AENEAS

There and then, Aeneas would have been slain, had Aphrodite not raced down from Olympus’ heights and taken her son to safety. Guided on by Athena’s hand, Diomedes then dared to strike a god. Taunting the weak goddess, Diomedes thrust his great spear through Aphrodite’s wrist. With a cry of pain, she dropped her son and limped back to Olympus, as Apollo bore Aeneas to safety. Enraged, Diomedes charged the Archer god:

            “Three times he charged, frenzied to bring him down,

                 Three times Apollo battered his gleaming shield back…

‘Think Diomedes, shrink back now!                         

Enough of this madness – striving with the gods.     

We are not of the same breed, we never will be,     

the deathless gods and men who walk the earth’.”  

                                       - DIOMEDES ENGAGES THE SUN GOD

Away from the fighting Apollo swept the wounded Aeneas, and he called on Ares to staunch Diomedes’ wrath. A Trojan arrow struck Achaea's champion, yet the hero fought on, sending many a Trojan to Hades’ Halls.

Then, appearing from afar, Diomedes laid eyes on Ares himself, who lead the Trojan charge. The Achaeans fell in droves at Ares’ spear, and a ripple of fear spread through the Greek ranks. Hera implored Zeus to halt the slaughter, and so the Thunderer sent forth his daughter Athena. Even great Diomedes baulked at facing such a foe, until Athena’s blessing came forth and brought courage anew. Athena mounted his chariot and ordered Diomedes to advance. Few men would dare to face a god, yet now a mortal man and the god of war himself took arms upon each other:

            “The two of them closing fast, charging face to face,

                  And the god thrust first, over Tydides’ yoke and reins,

            With bronze spear burning to take the fighter’s life”

                                             - ARES CHARGES DIOMEDES

Yet one’s chance of survival is often aided when one has the favour of a goddess. Athena deflected the blow and hurled Ares’ spear aside. Diomedes yelled his war cry, and Athena guided his hand:

“Lunging out with his own bronze spear and Pallas rammed it home,

Deep in Ares’ bowels where the belt cinched him tight.                 

There Diomedes aimed and stabbed, he gouged him down             

his glistening flesh and wrenched the spear back out                      

and the brazen god of war let loose a shriek, roaring,                     

thundering loud as nine, ten thousand soldiers                                

shriek with Ares’ combat fury when massive armies clash.             

A shudder swept all ranks, Trojans and Argives both,                    

Terror-struck by the shriek the god let loose,                                

Ares whose lust for slaughter never dies...”                                   

                                                - DIOMEDES WOUNDS THE GOD OF WAR

Ares - The Lord of War
Roman copy of a Greek original.

The lord of war tore back to Olympus’ heights, for a god cannot die. The balance of war restored, triumphant Athena followed. But the Prince of Troy still stood, and routed battalion after battalion of Achaea’s finest. Not even the great Diomedes, towering Ajax or cunning Odysseus could face the son of Priam down.  The War of Troy, it seemed, lay in Trojan hands...

The Iliad is the cornerstone of Western literature. All Greeks looked back to Troy. In the same way that the English may think of King Arthur, this was the foundation of Greece. It united the people in a time when civil war was rife and men fought for cities not nations. One day, the descendants of Aeneas would found a small settlement on the banks of a river called the Tiber, a settlement to which the known world would one day bow...

The Iliad is the first and greatest work of epic literature. I will look in future posts at other memorable episodes of this great story. I thoroughly recommend that it be amongst your book collection, it really is a masterpiece of literature. It is available very easily from Amazon:

United Kingdom

Penguin Classics:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A translation which retains much of the poetic meter, my personal recommendation)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Iliad (Oxford World's Classics)
(A translation which omits some of the epithets in favour of 'easier' reading for the casual reader)

United States

Penguin Classics:
The Iliad (Penguin Classics)
(A translation which retains much of the poetic meter, my personal recommendation)

Oxford World's Classics:
The Iliad (Oxford World's Classics)
(A translation which omits some of the epithets in favour of 'easier' reading for the casual reader)