The Iliad: Book 07 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEFGHIJFKLBMFMCNM EOBPFQFRPBLGGSTPEUBM IAESVBEWPTBLXOOYZLA2 BBEB2EC2D2EEEFEBBEOF E2F2FG2FH2I2F2EBF2AE J2MPK2OL2M2MBBM2N2BB O2EO2SP2Q2AO2O2LH2N2 OPFAO2LSO2SAFCFO2R2F S2ST2O2FBO2SO2FFU2FV 2U2FFAFAO2FRFBRB2LAF FSW2SFPPFO2YBO2BO2R2 OBBX2SY2FBO2FRO2UGGO 2ARRQ2O2SO2O2Z2O2BFU FFW2O2KO2FA3RO2S2RB3 BFSWAFO2C3O2BFYO2SO2 SSSO2RD3BAFO2O2O2FBB O2A3W2AA3SAYA3O2FBU2 O2FGUBO2SCOO2E3U2SFO 2O2SA3O2FO2O2O2AF3BS SBGO2FO2O2WAFAO2AFO2 O2O2FW2GO2FO2O2FAO2F O2O2SBO2O2BBBFBFO2O2 FSFGSSO2BBSO2SBO2SFB O2O2FYFO2O2BUFFG3A3F O2O2H3| With these words Hector passed through the gates and his brother | A |
| Alexandrus with him both eager for the fray As when heaven sends a | B |
| breeze to sailors who have long looked for one in vain and have | C |
| laboured at their oars till they are faint with toil even so | D |
| welcome was the sight of these two heroes to the Trojans | E |
| Thereon Alexandrus killed Menesthius the son of Areithous he | F |
| lived in Ame and was son of Areithous the Mace man and of | G |
| Phylomedusa Hector threw a spear at Eioneus and struck him dead | H |
| with a wound in the neck under the bronze rim of his helmet | I |
| Glaucus moreover son of Hippolochus captain of the Lycians in hard | J |
| hand to hand fight smote Iphinous son of Dexius on the shoulder as he | F |
| was springing on to his chariot behind his fleet mares so he fell | K |
| to earth from the car and there was no life left in him | L |
| When therefore Minerva saw these men making havoc of the | B |
| Argives she darted down to Ilius from the summits of Olympus and | M |
| Apollo who was looking on from Pergamus went out to meet her for he | F |
| wanted the Trojans to be victorious The pair met by the oak tree and | M |
| King Apollo son of Jove was first to speak What would you have | C |
| said he daughter of great Jove that your proud spirit has sent | N |
| you hither from Olympus Have you no pity upon the Trojans and | M |
| would you incline the scales of victory in favour of the Danaans | E |
| Let me persuade you for it will be better thus stay the combat for | O |
| to day but let them renew the fight hereafter till they compass the | B |
| doom of Ilius since you goddesses have made up your minds to | P |
| destroy the city | F |
| And Minerva answered So be it Far Darter it was in this mind | Q |
| that I came down from Olympus to the Trojans and Achaeans Tell me | F |
| then how do you propose to end this present fighting | R |
| Apollo son of Jove replied Let us incite great Hector to | P |
| challenge some one of the Danaans in single combat on this the | B |
| Achaeans will be shamed into finding a man who will fight him | L |
| Minerva assented and Helenus son of Priam divined the counsel of | G |
| the gods he therefore went up to Hector and said Hector son of | G |
| Priam peer of gods in counsel I am your brother let me then | S |
| persuade you Bid the other Trojans and Achaeans all of them take | T |
| their seats and challenge the best man among the Achaeans to meet you | P |
| in single combat I have heard the voice of the ever living gods | E |
| and the hour of your doom is not yet come | U |
| Hector was glad when he heard this saying and went in among the | B |
| Trojans grasping his spear by the middle to hold them back and | M |
| they all sat down Agamemnon also bade the Achaeans be seated But | I |
| Minerva and Apollo in the likeness of vultures perched on father | A |
| Jove's high oak tree proud of their men and the ranks sat close | E |
| ranged together bristling with shield and helmet and spear As when | S |
| the rising west wind furs the face of the sea and the waters grow dark | V |
| beneath it so sat the companies of Trojans and Achaeans upon the | B |
| plain And Hector spoke thus | E |
| Hear me Trojans and Achaeans that I may speak even as I am | W |
| minded Jove on his high throne has brought our oaths and covenants to | P |
| nothing and foreshadows ill for both of us till you either take | T |
| the towers of Troy or are yourselves vanquished at your ships The | B |
| princes of the Achaeans are here present in the midst of you let him | L |
| then that will fight me stand forward as your champion against | X |
| Hector Thus I say and may Jove be witness between us If your | O |
| champion slay me let him strip me of my armour and take it to your | O |
| ships but let him send my body home that the Trojans and their | Y |
| wives may give me my dues of fire when I am dead In like manner if | Z |
| Apollo vouchsafe me glory and I slay your champion I will strip him | L |
| of his armour and take it to the city of Ilius where I will hang it | A2 |
| in the temple of Apollo but I will give up his body that the | B |
| Achaeans may bury him at their ships and the build him a mound by the | B |
| wide waters of the Hellespont Then will one say hereafter as he sails | E |
| his ship over the sea 'This is the monument of one who died long | B2 |
| since a champion who was slain by mighty Hector ' Thus will one say | E |
| and my fame shall not be lost | C2 |
| Thus did he speak but they all held their peace ashamed to decline | D2 |
| the challenge yet fearing to accept it till at last Menelaus rose | E |
| and rebuked them for he was angry Alas he cried vain braggarts | E |
| women forsooth not men double dyed indeed will be the stain upon us | E |
| if no man of the Danaans will now face Hector May you be turned every | F |
| man of you into earth and water as you sit spiritless and inglorious | E |
| in your places I will myself go out against this man but the | B |
| upshot of the fight will be from on high in the hands of the | B |
| immortal gods | E |
| With these words he put on his armour and then O Menelaus your | O |
| life would have come to an end at the hands of hands of Hector for he | F |
| was far better the man had not the princes of the Achaeans sprung | E2 |
| upon you and checked you King Agamemnon caught him by the right | F2 |
| hand and said Menelaus you are mad a truce to this folly Be | F |
| patient in spite of passion do not think of fighting a man so much | G2 |
| stronger than yourself as Hector son of Priam who is feared by many | F |
| another as well as you Even Achilles who is far more doughty than | H2 |
| you are shrank from meeting him in battle Sit down your own | I2 |
| people and the Achaeans will send some other champion to fight | F2 |
| Hector fearless and fond of battle though he be I ween his knees | E |
| will bend gladly under him if he comes out alive from the | B |
| hurly burly of this fight | F2 |
| With these words of reasonable counsel he persuaded his brother | A |
| whereon his squires gladly stripped the armour from off his shoulders | E |
| Then Nestor rose and spoke Of a truth said he the Achaean land | J2 |
| is fallen upon evil times The old knight Peleus counsellor and | M |
| orator among the Myrmidons loved when I was in his house to | P |
| question me concerning the race and lineage of all the Argives How | K2 |
| would it not grieve him could he hear of them as now quailing before | O |
| Hector Many a time would he lift his hands in prayer that his soul | L2 |
| might leave his body and go down within the house of Hades Would | M2 |
| by father Jove Minerva and Apollo that I were still young and | M |
| strong as when the Pylians and Arcadians were gathered in fight by the | B |
| rapid river Celadon under the walls of Pheia and round about the | B |
| waters of the river Iardanus The godlike hero Ereuthalion stood | M2 |
| forward as their champion with the armour of King Areithous upon | N2 |
| his shoulders Areithous whom men and women had surnamed 'the | B |
| Mace man ' because he fought neither with bow nor spear but broke the | B |
| battalions of the foe with his iron mace Lycurgus killed him not | O2 |
| in fair fight but by entrapping him in a narrow way where his mace | E |
| served him in no stead for Lycurgus was too quick for him and speared | O2 |
| him through the middle so he fell to earth on his back Lycurgus then | S |
| spoiled him of the armour which Mars had given him and bore it in | P2 |
| battle thenceforward but when he grew old and stayed at home he gave | Q2 |
| it to his faithful squire Ereuthalion who in this same armour | A |
| challenged the foremost men among us The others quaked and quailed | O2 |
| but my high spirit bade me fight him though none other would | O2 |
| venture I was the youngest man of them all but when I fought him | L |
| Minerva vouchsafed me victory He was the biggest and strongest man | H2 |
| that ever I killed and covered much ground as he lay sprawling upon | N2 |
| the earth Would that I were still young and strong as I then was for | O |
| the son of Priam would then soon find one who would face him But you | P |
| foremost among the whole host though you be have none of you any | F |
| stomach for fighting Hector | A |
| Thus did the old man rebuke them and forthwith nine men started | O2 |
| to their feet Foremost of all uprose King Agamemnon and after him | L |
| brave Diomed the son of Tydeus Next were the two Ajaxes men | S |
| clothed in valour as with a garment and then Idomeneus and | O2 |
| Meriones his brother in arms After these Eurypylus son of Euaemon | S |
| Thoas the son of Andraemon and Ulysses also rose Then Nestor | A |
| knight of Gerene again spoke saying Cast lots among you to see | F |
| who shall be chosen If he come alive out of this fight he will have | C |
| done good service alike to his own soul and to the Achaeans | F |
| Thus he spoke and when each of them had marked his lot and had | O2 |
| thrown it into the helmet of Agamemnon son of Atreus the people | R2 |
| lifted their hands in prayer and thus would one of them say as he | F |
| looked into the vault of heaven Father Jove grant that the lot fall | S2 |
| on Ajax or on the son of Tydeus or upon the king of rich Mycene | S |
| himself | T2 |
| As they were speaking Nestor knight of Gerene shook the helmet and | O2 |
| from it there fell the very lot which they wanted the lot of Ajax | F |
| The herald bore it about and showed it to all the chieftains of the | B |
| Achaeans going from left to right but they none of of them owned it | O2 |
| When however in due course he reached the man who had written upon | S |
| it and had put it into the helmet brave Ajax held out his hand and | O2 |
| the herald gave him the lot When Ajax saw him mark he knew it and was | F |
| glad he threw it to the ground and said My friends the lot is | F |
| mine and I rejoice for I shall vanquish Hector I will put on my | U2 |
| armour meanwhile pray to King Jove in silence among yourselves | F |
| that the Trojans may not hear you or aloud if you will for we fear | V2 |
| no man None shall overcome me neither by force nor cunning for I | U2 |
| was born and bred in Salamis and can hold my own in all things | F |
| With this they fell praying to King Jove the son of Saturn and thus | F |
| would one of them say as he looked into the vault of heaven Father | A |
| Jove that rulest from Ida most glorious in power vouchsafe victory | F |
| to Ajax and let him win great glory but if you wish well to Hector | A |
| also and would protect him grant to each of them equal fame and | O2 |
| prowess | F |
| Thus they prayed and Ajax armed himself in his suit of gleaming | R |
| bronze When he was in full array he sprang forward as monstrous | F |
| Mars when he takes part among men whom Jove has set fighting with | B |
| one another even so did huge Ajax bulwark of the Achaeans spring | R |
| forward with a grim smile on his face as he brandished his long | B2 |
| spear and strode onward The Argives were elated as they beheld him | L |
| but the Trojans trembled in every limb and the heart even of Hector | A |
| beat quickly but he could not now retreat and withdraw into the ranks | F |
| behind him for he had been the challenger Ajax came up bearing his | F |
| shield in front of him like a wall a shield of bronze with seven | S |
| folds of oxhide the work of Tychius who lived in Hyle and was by far | W2 |
| the best worker in leather He had made it with the hides of seven | S |
| full fed bulls and over these he had set an eighth layer of bronze | F |
| Holding this shield before him Ajax son of Telamon came close up to | P |
| Hector and menaced him saying Hector you shall now learn man to | P |
| man what kind of champions the Danaans have among them even besides | F |
| lion hearted Achilles cleaver of the ranks of men He now abides at | O2 |
| the ships in anger with Agamemnon shepherd of his people but there | Y |
| are many of us who are well able to face you therefore begin the | B |
| fight | O2 |
| And Hector answered Noble Ajax son of Telamon captain of the | B |
| host treat me not as though I were some puny boy or woman that cannot | O2 |
| fight I have been long used to the blood and butcheries of battle | R2 |
| I am quick to turn my leathern shield either to right or left for | O |
| this I deem the main thing in battle I can charge among the | B |
| chariots and horsemen and in hand to hand fighting can delight the | B |
| heart of Mars howbeit I would not take such a man as you are off | X2 |
| his guard but I will smite you openly if I can | S |
| He poised his spear as he spoke and hurled it from him It struck | Y2 |
| the sevenfold shield in its outermost layer the eighth which was | F |
| of bronze and went through six of the layers but in the seventh | B |
| hide it stayed Then Ajax threw in his turn and struck the round | O2 |
| shield of the son of Priam The terrible spear went through his | F |
| gleaming shield and pressed onward through his cuirass of cunning | R |
| workmanship it pierced the shirt against his side but he swerved and | O2 |
| thus saved his life They then each of them drew out the spear from | U |
| his shield and fell on one another like savage lions or wild boars of | G |
| great strength and endurance the son of Priam struck the middle of | G |
| Ajax's shield but the bronze did not break and the point of his dart | O2 |
| was turned Ajax then sprang forward and pierced the shield of Hector | A |
| the spear went through it and staggered him as he was springing | R |
| forward to attack it gashed his neck and the blood came pouring | R |
| from the wound but even so Hector did not cease fighting he gave | Q2 |
| ground and with his brawny hand seized a stone rugged and huge that | O2 |
| was lying upon the plain with this he struck the shield of Ajax on | S |
| the boss that was in its middle so that the bronze rang again But | O2 |
| Ajax in turn caught up a far larger stone swung it aloft and | O2 |
| hurled it with prodigious force This millstone of a rock broke | Z2 |
| Hector's shield inwards and threw him down on his back with the shield | O2 |
| crushing him under it but Apollo raised him at once Thereon they | B |
| would have hacked at one another in close combat with their swords | F |
| had not heralds messengers of gods and men come forward one from | U |
| the Trojans and the other from the Achaeans Talthybius and Idaeus | F |
| both of them honourable men these parted them with their staves | F |
| and the good herald Idaeus said My sons fight no longer you are | W2 |
| both of you valiant and both are dear to Jove we know this but | O2 |
| night is now falling and the behests of night may not be well | K |
| gainsaid | O2 |
| Ajax son of Telamon answered Idaeus bid Hector say so for it was | F |
| he that challenged our princes Let him speak first and I will | A3 |
| accept his saying | R |
| Then Hector said Ajax heaven has vouchsafed you stature and | O2 |
| strength and judgement and in wielding the spear you excel all | S2 |
| others of the Achaeans Let us for this day cease fighting | R |
| hereafter we will fight anew till heaven decide between us and give | B3 |
| victory to one or to the other night is now falling and the | B |
| behests of night may not be well gainsaid Gladden then the hearts | F |
| of the Achaeans at your ships and more especially those of your own | S |
| followers and clansmen while I in the great city of King Priam | W |
| bring comfort to the Trojans and their women who vie with one another | A |
| in their prayers on my behalf Let us moreover exchange presents | F |
| that it may be said among the Achaeans and Trojans 'They fought | O2 |
| with might and main but were reconciled and parted in friendship ' | C3 |
| On this he gave Ajax a silver studded sword with its sheath and | O2 |
| leathern baldric and in return Ajax gave him a girdle dyed with | B |
| purple Thus they parted the one going to the host of the Achaeans | F |
| and the other to that of the Trojans who rejoiced when they saw their | Y |
| hero come to them safe and unharmed from the strong hands of mighty | O2 |
| Ajax They led him therefore to the city as one that had been | S |
| saved beyond their hopes On the other side the Achaeans brought | O2 |
| Ajax elated with victory to Agamemnon | S |
| When they reached the quarters of the son of Atreus Agamemnon | S |
| sacrificed for them a five year old bull in honour of Jove the son | S |
| of Saturn They flayed the carcass made it ready and divided it into | O2 |
| joints these they cut carefully up into smaller pieces putting | R |
| them on the spits roasting them sufficiently and then drawing them | D3 |
| off When they had done all this and had prepared the feast they | B |
| ate it and every man had his full and equal share so that all were | A |
| satisfied and King Agamemnon gave Ajax some slices cut lengthways | F |
| down the loin as a mark of special honour As soon as they had had | O2 |
| enough to cat and drink old Nestor whose counsel was ever truest | O2 |
| began to speak with all sincerity and goodwill therefore he | O2 |
| addressed them thus | F |
| Son of Atreus and other chieftains inasmuch as many of the | B |
| Achaeans are now dead whose blood Mars has shed by the banks of the | B |
| Scamander and their souls have gone down to the house of Hades it | O2 |
| will be well when morning comes that we should cease fighting we will | A3 |
| then wheel our dead together with oxen and mules and burn them not far | W2 |
| from the ships that when we sail hence we may take the bones of our | A |
| comrades home to their children Hard by the funeral pyre we will | A3 |
| build a barrow that shall be raised from the plain for all in | S |
| common near this let us set about building a high wall to shelter | A |
| ourselves and our ships and let it have well made gates that there | Y |
| may be a way through them for our chariots Close outside we will | A3 |
| dig a deep trench all round it to keep off both horse and foot that | O2 |
| the Trojan chieftains may not bear hard upon us | F |
| Thus he spoke and the princess shouted in applause Meanwhile the | B |
| Trojans held a council angry and full of discord on the acropolis by | U2 |
| the gates of King Priam's palace and wise Antenor spoke Hear me | O2 |
| he said Trojans Dardanians and allies that I may speak even as | F |
| I am minded Let us give up Argive Helen and her wealth to the sons of | G |
| Atreus for we are now fighting in violation of our solemn | U |
| covenants and shall not prosper till we have done as I say | B |
| He then sat down and Alexandrus husband of lovely Helen rose to | O2 |
| speak Antenor said he your words are not to my liking you can | S |
| find a better saying than this if you will if however you have | C |
| spoken in good earnest then indeed has heaven robbed you of your | O |
| reason I will speak plainly and hereby notify to the Trojans that | O2 |
| I will not give up the woman but the wealth that I brought home | E3 |
| with her from Argos I will restore and will add yet further of my | U2 |
| own | S |
| On this when Paris had spoken and taken his seat Priam of the race | F |
| of Dardanus peer of gods in council rose and with all sincerity | O2 |
| and goodwill addressed them thus Hear me Trojans Dardanians and | O2 |
| allies that I may speak even as I am minded Get your suppers now | S |
| as hitherto throughout the city but keep your watches and be wakeful | A3 |
| At daybreak let Idaeus go to the ships and tell Agamemnon and | O2 |
| Menelaus sons of Atreus the saying of Alexandrus through whom this | F |
| quarrel has come about and let him also be instant with them that | O2 |
| they now cease fighting till we burn our dead hereafter we will fight | O2 |
| anew till heaven decide between us and give victory to one or to | O2 |
| the other | A |
| Thus did he speak and they did even as he had said They took | F3 |
| supper in their companies and at daybreak Idaeus went his wa to the | B |
| ships He found the Danaans servants of Mars in council at the stern | S |
| of Agamemnon's ship and took his place in the midst of them Son | S |
| of Atreus he said and princes of the Achaean host Priam and the | B |
| other noble Trojans have sent me to tell you the saying of | G |
| Alexandrus through whom this quarrel has come about if so be that you | O2 |
| may find it acceptable All the treasure he took with him in his ships | F |
| to Troy would that he had sooner perished he will restore and | O2 |
| will add yet further of his own but he will not give up the wedded | O2 |
| wife of Menelaus though the Trojans would have him do so Priam | W |
| bade me inquire further if you will cease fighting till we burn our | A |
| dead hereafter we will fight anew till heaven decide between us | F |
| and give victory to one or to the other | A |
| They all held their peace but presently Diomed of the loud | O2 |
| war cry spoke saying Let there be no taking neither treasure | A |
| nor yet Helen for even a child may see that the doom of the Trojans | F |
| is at hand | O2 |
| The sons of the Achaeans shouted applause at the words that Diomed | O2 |
| had spoken and thereon King Agamemnon said to Idaeus Idaeus you | O2 |
| have heard the answer the Achaeans make you and I with them But as | F |
| concerning the dead I give you leave to burn them for when men are | W2 |
| once dead there should be no grudging them the rites of fire Let Jove | G |
| the mighty husband of Juno be witness to this covenant | O2 |
| As he spoke he upheld his sceptre in the sight of all the gods | F |
| and Idaeus went back to the strong city of Ilius The Trojans and | O2 |
| Dardanians were gathered in council waiting his return when he | O2 |
| came he stood in their midst and delivered his message As soon as | F |
| they heard it they set about their twofold labour some to gather | A |
| the corpses and others to bring in wood The Argives on their part | O2 |
| also hastened from their ships some to gather the corpses and others | F |
| to bring in wood | O2 |
| The sun was beginning to beat upon the fields fresh risen into | O2 |
| the vault of heaven from the slow still currents of deep Oceanus when | S |
| the two armies met They could hardly recognise their dead but they | B |
| washed the clotted gore from off them shed tears over them and | O2 |
| lifted them upon their waggons Priam had forbidden the Trojans to | O2 |
| wail aloud so they heaped their dead sadly and silently upon the | B |
| pyre and having burned them went back to the city of Ilius The | B |
| Achaeans in like manner heaped their dead sadly and silently on the | B |
| pyre and having burned them went back to their ships | F |
| Now in the twilight when it was not yet dawn chosen bands of the | B |
| Achaeans were gathered round the pyre and built one barrow that was | F |
| raised in common for all and hard by this they built a high wall to | O2 |
| shelter themselves and their ships they gave it strong gates that | O2 |
| there might be a way through them for their chariots and close | F |
| outside it they dug a trench deep and wide and they planted it within | S |
| with stakes | F |
| Thus did the Achaeans toil and the gods seated by the side of Jove | G |
| the lord of lightning marvelled at their great work but Neptune | S |
| lord of the earthquake spoke saying Father Jove what mortal in | S |
| the whole world will again take the gods into his counsel See you not | O2 |
| how the Achaeans have built a wall about their ships and driven a | B |
| trench all round it without offering hecatombs to the gods The The | B |
| fame of this wall will reach as far as dawn itself and men will no | S |
| longer think anything of the one which Phoebus Apollo and myself built | O2 |
| with so much labour for Laomedon | S |
| Jove was displeased and answered What O shaker of the earth | B |
| are you talking about A god less powerful than yourself might be | O2 |
| alarmed at what they are doing but your fame reaches as far as dawn | S |
| itself Surely when the Achaeans have gone home with their ships | F |
| you can shatter their wall and Ring it into the sea you can cover the | B |
| beach with sand again and the great wall of the Achaeans will then be | O2 |
| utterly effaced | O2 |
| Thus did they converse and by sunset the work of the Achaeans was | F |
| completed they then slaughtered oxen at their tents and got their | Y |
| supper Many ships had come with wine from Lemnos sent by Euneus | F |
| the son of Jason born to him by Hypsipyle The son of Jason freighted | O2 |
| them with ten thousand measures of wine which he sent specially to | O2 |
| the sons of Atreus Agamemnon and Menelaus From this supply the | B |
| Achaeans bought their wine some with bronze some with iron some | U |
| with hides some with whole heifers and some again with captives | F |
| They spread a goodly banquet and feasted the whole night through as | F |
| also did the Trojans and their allies in the city But all the time | G3 |
| Jove boded them ill and roared with his portentous thunder Pale | A3 |
| fear got hold upon them and they spilled the wine from their cups | F |
| on to the ground nor did any dare drink till he had made offerings to | O2 |
| the most mighty son of Saturn Then they laid themselves down to | O2 |
| rest and enjoyed the boon of sleep | H3 |
Homer
(1)
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