The Iliad: Book 12 Poem Rhyme Scheme and Analysis
Rhyme Scheme: ABCDEAAACEFGCHIAJKLE MEALNEAAALNOALPQRLST ANLLABIIIEAIABBSEFLB BCBBEBOLBBBLBLUBNBBC VWBNBXCYLNLZEEFBVLLB NLLOLUBYICBA2BCLNBBC IZBCBLWENVLZBB2CCFIE BIBCEXBBLC2CCLFEED2E E2ID2BLLLFYFF2EVBBNB BELCECBBELNG2CEBNLLB BEILUC2FELLZIE2EFNNN BPEBCCBLBCLBCLENBEE2 BBE2LVCCH2LLCNG2EBEI 2BBSJ2IK2BLLLLFENFLF NVYCEL2CYLD2EFBLLFXP BXLFNNXINFUELUEFNBYL NECIYFFEBBNBNLFLNBXB UBLELLBEEFIFH2BE2BCF NFBM2FBLBH2BIEBBLELF LLLLLBLLLN2LLEFEBBBP ELC| So the son of Menoetius was attending to the hurt of Eurypylus | A |
| within the tent but the Argives and Trojans still fought desperately | B |
| nor were the trench and the high wall above it to keep the Trojans in | C |
| check longer They had built it to protect their ships and had dug | D |
| the trench all round it that it might safeguard both the ships and the | E |
| rich spoils which they had taken but they had not offered hecatombs | A |
| to the gods It had been built without the consent of the immortals | A |
| and therefore it did not last So long as Hector lived and Achilles | A |
| nursed his anger and so long as the city of Priam remained untaken | C |
| the great wall of the Achaeans stood firm but when the bravest of the | E |
| Trojans were no more and many also of the Argives though some were | F |
| yet left alive when moreover the city was sacked in the tenth | G |
| year and the Argives had gone back with their ships to their own | C |
| country then Neptune and Apollo took counsel to destroy the wall and | H |
| they turned on to it the streams of all the rivers from Mount Ida into | I |
| the sea Rhesus Heptaporus Caresus Rhodius Grenicus Aesopus | A |
| and goodly Scamander with Simois where many a shield and helm had | J |
| fallen and many a hero of the race of demigods had bitten the dust | K |
| Phoebus Apollo turned the mouths of all these rivers together and made | L |
| them flow for nine days against the wall while Jove rained the | E |
| whole time that he might wash it sooner into the sea Neptune himself | M |
| trident in hand surveyed the work and threw into the sea all the | E |
| foundations of beams and stones which the Achaeans had laid with so | A |
| much toil he made all level by the mighty stream of the Hellespont | L |
| and then when he had swept the wall away he spread a great beach of | N |
| sand over the place where it had been This done he turned the | E |
| rivers back into their old courses | A |
| This was what Neptune and Apollo were to do in after time but as | A |
| yet battle and turmoil were still raging round the wall till its | A |
| timbers rang under the blows that rained upon them The Argives cowed | L |
| by the scourge of Jove were hemmed in at their ships in fear of | N |
| Hector the mighty minister of Rout who as heretofore fought with | O |
| the force and fury of a whirlwind As a lion or wild boar turns | A |
| fiercely on the dogs and men that attack him while these form solid | L |
| wall and shower their javelins as they face him his courage is all | P |
| undaunted but his high spirit will be the death of him many a time | Q |
| does he charge at his pursuers to scatter them and they fall back | R |
| as often as he does so even so did Hector go about among the host | L |
| exhorting his men and cheering them on to cross the trench | S |
| But the horses dared not do so and stood neighing upon its brink | T |
| for the width frightened them They could neither jump it nor cross | A |
| it for it had overhanging banks all round upon either side above | N |
| which there were the sharp stakes that the sons of the Achaeans had | L |
| planted so close and strong as a defence against all who would | L |
| assail it a horse therefore could not get into it and draw his | A |
| chariot after him but those who were on foot kept trying their very | B |
| utmost Then Polydamas went up to Hector and said Hector and you | I |
| other captains of the Trojans and allies it is madness for us to | I |
| try and drive our horses across the trench it will be very hard to | I |
| cross for it is full of sharp stakes and beyond these there is the | E |
| wall Our horses therefore cannot get down into it and would be of no | A |
| use if they did moreover it is a narrow place and we should come to | I |
| harm If indeed great Jove is minded to help the Trojans and in his | A |
| anger will utterly destroy the Achaeans I would myself gladly see | B |
| them perish now and here far from Argos but if they should rally | B |
| and we are driven back from the ships pell mell into the trench | S |
| there will be not so much as a man get back to the city to tell the | E |
| tale Now therefore let us all do as I say let our squires hold our | F |
| horses by the trench but let us follow Hector in a body on foot clad | L |
| in full armour and if the day of their doom is at hand the Achaeans | B |
| will not be able to withstand us | B |
| Thus spoke Polydamas and his saying pleased Hector who sprang in | C |
| full armour to the ground and all the other Trojans when they saw | B |
| him do so also left their chariots Each man then gave his horses | B |
| over to his charioteer in charge to hold them ready for him at the | E |
| trench Then they formed themselves into companies made themselves | B |
| ready and in five bodies followed their leaders Those that went with | O |
| Hector and Polydamas were the bravest and most in number and the most | L |
| determined to break through the wall and fight at the ships Cebriones | B |
| was also joined with them as third in command for Hector had left his | B |
| chariot in charge of a less valiant soldier The next company was | B |
| led by Paris Alcathous and Agenor the third by Helenus and | L |
| Deiphobus two sons of Priam and with them was the hero Asius | B |
| Asius the son of Hyrtacus whose great black horses of the breed | L |
| that comes from the river Selleis had brought him from Arisbe | U |
| Aeneas the valiant son of Anchises led the fourth he and the two sons | B |
| of Antenor Archelochus and Acamas men well versed in all the arts of | N |
| war Sarpedon was captain over the allies and took with him Glaucus | B |
| and Asteropaeus whom he deemed most valiant after himself for he | B |
| was far the best man of them all These helped to array one another in | C |
| their ox hide shields and then charged straight at the Danaans for | V |
| they felt sure that they would not hold out longer and that they | W |
| should themselves now fall upon the ships | B |
| The rest of the Trojans and their allies now followed the counsel of | N |
| Polydamas but Asius son of Hyrtacus would not leave his horses and his | B |
| esquire behind him in his foolhardiness he took them on with him | X |
| towards the ships nor did he fail to come by his end in | C |
| consequence Nevermore was he to return to wind beaten Ilius exulting | Y |
| in his chariot and his horses ere he could do so death of ill omened | L |
| name had overshadowed him and he had fallen by the spear of | N |
| Idomeneus the noble son of Deucalion He had driven towards the left | L |
| wing of the ships by which way the Achaeans used to return with their | Z |
| chariots and horses from the plain Hither he drove and found the | E |
| gates with their doors opened wide and the great bar down for the | E |
| gatemen kept them open so as to let those of their comrades enter | F |
| who might be flying towards the ships Hither of set purpose did he | B |
| direct his horses and his men followed him with a loud cry for | V |
| they felt sure that the Achaeans would not hold out longer and that | L |
| they should now fall upon the ships Little did they know that at | L |
| the gates they should find two of the bravest chieftains proud sons | B |
| of the fighting Lapithae the one Polypoetes mighty son of | N |
| Pirithous and the other Leonteus peer of murderous Mars These stood | L |
| before the gates like two high oak trees upon the mountains that | L |
| tower from their wide spreading roots and year after year battle with | O |
| wind and rain even so did these two men await the onset of great | L |
| Asius confidently and without flinching The Trojans led by him and by | U |
| Iamenus Orestes Adamas the son of Asius Thoon and Oenomaus | B |
| raised a loud cry of battle and made straight for the wall holding | Y |
| their shields of dry ox hide above their heads for a while the two | I |
| defenders remained inside and cheered the Achaeans on to stand firm in | C |
| the defence of their ships when however they saw that the Trojans | B |
| were attacking the wall while the Danaans were crying out for help | A2 |
| and being routed they rushed outside and fought in front of the gates | B |
| like two wild boars upon the mountains that abide the attack of men | C |
| and dogs and charging on either side break down the wood all round | L |
| them tearing it up by the roots and one can hear the clattering of | N |
| their tusks till some one hits them and makes an end of them even so | B |
| did the gleaming bronze rattle about their breasts as the weapons | B |
| fell upon them for they fought with great fury trusting to their own | C |
| prowess and to those who were on the wall above them These threw | I |
| great stones at their assailants in defence of themselves their | Z |
| tents and their ships The stones fell thick as the flakes of snow | B |
| which some fierce blast drives from the dark clouds and showers down | C |
| in sheets upon the earth even so fell the weapons from the hands | B |
| alike of Trojans and Achaeans Helmet and shield rang out as the great | L |
| stones rained upon them and Asius the son of Hyrtacus in his dismay | W |
| cried aloud and smote his two thighs Father Jove he cried of a | E |
| truth you too are altogether given to lying I made sure the Argive | N |
| heroes could not withstand us whereas like slim waisted wasps or | V |
| bees that have their nests in the rocks by the wayside they leave not | L |
| the holes wherein they have built undefended but fight for their | Z |
| little ones against all who would take them even so these men though | B |
| they be but two will not be driven from the gates but stand firm | B2 |
| either to slay or be slain | C |
| He spoke but moved not the mind of Jove whose counsel it then | C |
| was to give glory to Hector Meanwhile the rest of the Trojans were | F |
| fighting about the other gates I however am no god to be able to | I |
| tell about all these things for the battle raged everywhere about the | E |
| stone wall as it were a fiery furnace The Argives discomfited though | B |
| they were were forced to defend their ships and all the gods who | I |
| were defending the Achaeans were vexed in spirit but the Lapithae | B |
| kept on fighting with might and main | C |
| Thereon Polypoetes mighty son of Pirithous hit Damasus with a | E |
| spear upon his cheek pierced helmet The helmet did not protect him | X |
| for the point of the spear went through it and broke the bone so | B |
| that the brain inside was scattered about and he died fighting He | B |
| then slew Pylon and Ormenus Leonteus of the race of Mars killed | L |
| Hippomachus the son of Antimachus by striking him with his spear | C2 |
| upon the girdle He then drew his sword and sprang first upon | C |
| Antiphates whom he killed in combat and who fell face upwards on | C |
| the earth After him he killed Menon Iamenus and Orestes and laid | L |
| them low one after the other | F |
| While they were busy stripping the armour from these heroes the | E |
| youths who were led on by Polydamas and Hector and these were the | E |
| greater part and the most valiant of those that were trying to break | D2 |
| through the wall and fire the ships were still standing by the | E |
| trench uncertain what they should do for they had seen a sign from | E2 |
| heaven when they had essayed to cross it a soaring eagle that flew | I |
| skirting the left wing of their host with a monstrous blood red snake | D2 |
| in its talons still alive and struggling to escape The snake was | B |
| still bent on revenge wriggling and twisting itself backwards till it | L |
| struck the bird that held it on the neck and breast whereon the bird | L |
| being in pain let it fall dropping it into the middle of the host | L |
| and then flew down the wind with a sharp cry The Trojans were | F |
| struck with terror when they saw the snake portent of aegis bearing | Y |
| Jove writhing in the midst of them and Polydamas went up to Hector | F |
| and said Hector at our councils of war you are ever given to rebuke | F2 |
| me even when I speak wisely as though it were not well forsooth | E |
| that one of the people should cross your will either in the field or | V |
| at the council board you would have them support you always | B |
| nevertheless I will say what I think will be best let us not now go | B |
| on to fight the Danaans at their ships for I know what will happen if | N |
| this soaring eagle which skirted the left wing of our with a monstrous | B |
| blood red snake in its talons the snake being still alive was really | B |
| sent as an omen to the Trojans on their essaying to cross the | E |
| trench The eagle let go her hold she did not succeed in taking it | L |
| home to her little ones and so will it be with ourselves even | C |
| though by a mighty effort we break through the gates and wall of the | E |
| Achaeans and they give way before us still we shall not return in | C |
| good order by the way we came but shall leave many a man behind us | B |
| whom the Achaeans will do to death in defence of their ships Thus | B |
| would any seer who was expert in these matters and was trusted by the | E |
| people read the portent | L |
| Hector looked fiercely at him and said Polydamas I like not of | N |
| your reading You can find a better saying than this if you will | G2 |
| If however you have spoken in good earnest then indeed has heaven | C |
| robbed you of your reason You would have me pay no heed to the | E |
| counsels of Jove nor to the promises he made me and he bowed his | B |
| head in confirmation you bid me be ruled rather by the flight of | N |
| wild fowl What care I whether they fly towards dawn or dark and | L |
| whether they be on my right hand or on my left Let us put our trust | L |
| rather in the counsel of great Jove king of mortals and immortals | B |
| There is one omen and one only that a man should fight for his | B |
| country Why are you so fearful Though we be all of us slain at the | E |
| ships of the Argives you are not likely to be killed yourself for you | I |
| are not steadfast nor courageous If you will not fight or would | L |
| talk others over from doing so you shall fall forthwith before my | U |
| spear | C2 |
| With these words he led the way and the others followed after | F |
| with a cry that rent the air Then Jove the lord of thunder sent the | E |
| blast of a mighty wind from the mountains of Ida that bore the dust | L |
| down towards the ships he thus lulled the Achaeans into security and | L |
| gave victory to Hector and to the Trojans who trusting to their | Z |
| own might and to the signs he had shown them essayed to break through | I |
| the great wall of the Achaeans They tore down the breastworks from | E2 |
| the walls and overthrew the battlements they upheaved the | E |
| buttresses which the Achaeans had set in front of the wall in order | F |
| to support it when they had pulled these down they made sure of | N |
| breaking through the wall but the Danaans still showed no sign of | N |
| giving ground they still fenced the battlements with their shields of | N |
| ox hide and hurled their missiles down upon the foe as soon as any | B |
| came below the wall | P |
| The two Ajaxes went about everywhere on the walls cheering on the | E |
| Achaeans giving fair words to some while they spoke sharply to any | B |
| one whom they saw to be remiss My friends they cried Argives one | C |
| and all good bad and indifferent for there was never fight yet in | C |
| which all were of equal prowess there is now work enough as you very | B |
| well know for all of you See that you none of you turn in flight | L |
| towards the ships daunted by the shouting of the foe but press | B |
| forward and keep one another in heart if it may so be that Olympian | C |
| Jove the lord of lightning will vouchsafe us to repel our foes and | L |
| drive them back towards the city | B |
| Thus did the two go about shouting and cheering the Achaeans on | C |
| As the flakes that fall thick upon a winter's day when Jove is minded | L |
| to snow and to display these his arrows to mankind he lulls the | E |
| wind to rest and snows hour after hour till he has buried the tops of | N |
| the high mountains the headlands that jut into the sea the grassy | B |
| plains and the tilled fields of men the snow lies deep upon the | E |
| forelands and havens of the grey sea but the waves as they come | E2 |
| rolling in stay it that it can come no further though all else is | B |
| wrapped as with a mantle so heavy are the heavens with snow even thus | B |
| thickly did the stones fall on one side and on the other some | E2 |
| thrown at the Trojans and some by the Trojans at the Achaeans and | L |
| the whole wall was in an uproar | V |
| Still the Trojans and brave Hector would not yet have broken down | C |
| the gates and the great bar had not Jove turned his son Sarpedon | C |
| against the Argives as a lion against a herd of horned cattle | H2 |
| Before him he held his shield of hammered bronze that the smith had | L |
| beaten so fair and round and had lined with ox hides which he had | L |
| made fast with rivets of gold all round the shield this he held in | C |
| front of him and brandishing his two spears came on like some lion of | N |
| the wilderness who has been long famished for want of meat and will | G2 |
| dare break even into a well fenced homestead to try and get at the | E |
| sheep He may find the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks | B |
| with dogs and spears but he is in no mind to be driven from the | E |
| fold till he has had a try for it he will either spring on a sheep | I2 |
| and carry it off or be hit by a spear from strong hand even so was | B |
| Sarpedon fain to attack the wall and break down its battlements | B |
| Then he said to Glaucus son of Hippolochus Glaucus why in Lycia | S |
| do we receive especial honour as regards our place at table Why are | J2 |
| the choicest portions served us and our cups kept brimming and why do | I |
| men look up to us as though we were gods Moreover we hold a large | K2 |
| estate by the banks of the river Xanthus fair with orchard lawns | B |
| and wheat growing land it becomes us therefore to take our stand at | L |
| the head of all the Lycians and bear the brunt of the fight that | L |
| one may say to another Our princes in Lycia eat the fat of the land | L |
| and drink best of wine but they are fine fellows they fight well and | L |
| are ever at the front in battle ' My good friend if when we were | F |
| once out of this fight we could escape old age and death | E |
| thenceforward and for ever I should neither press forward myself | N |
| nor bid you do so but death in ten thousand shapes hangs ever over | F |
| our heads and no man can elude him therefore let us go forward and | L |
| either win glory for ourselves or yield it to another | F |
| Glaucus heeded his saying and the pair forthwith led on the host of | N |
| Lycians Menestheus son of Peteos was dismayed when he saw them for | V |
| it was against his part of the wall that they came bringing | Y |
| destruction with them he looked along the wall for some chieftain | C |
| to support his comrades and saw the two Ajaxes men ever eager for the | E |
| fray and Teucer who had just come from his tent standing near them | L2 |
| but he could not make his voice heard by shouting to them so great an | C |
| uproar was there from crashing shields and helmets and the battering | Y |
| of gates with a din which reached the skies For all the gates had | L |
| been closed and the Trojans were hammering at them to try and break | D2 |
| their way through them Menestheus therefore sent Thootes with a | E |
| message to Ajax Run good Thootes said and call Ajax or better | F |
| still bid both come for it will be all over with us here directly | B |
| the leaders of the Lycians are upon us men who have ever fought | L |
| desperately heretofore But if the have too much on their hands to let | L |
| them come at any rate let Ajax son of Telamon do so and let Teucer | F |
| the famous bowman come with him | X |
| The messenger did as he was told and set off running along the wall | P |
| of the Achaeans When he reached the Ajaxes he said to them Sirs | B |
| princes of the Argives the son of noble Peteos bids you come to him | X |
| for a while and help him You had better both come if you can or it | L |
| will be all over with him directly the leaders of the Lycians are | F |
| upon him men who have ever fought desperately heretofore if you have | N |
| too much on your hands to let both come at any rate let Ajax son of | N |
| Telamon do so and let Teucer the famous bowman come with him | X |
| Great Ajax son of Telamon heeded the message and at once spoke to | I |
| the son of Oileus Ajax said he do you two yourself and brave | N |
| Lycomedes stay here and keep the Danaans in heart to fight their | F |
| hardest I will go over yonder and bear my part in the fray but I | U |
| will come back here at once as soon as I have given them the help they | E |
| need | L |
| With this Ajax son of Telamon set off and Teucer his brother by | U |
| the same father went also with Pandion to carry Teucer's bow They | E |
| went along inside the wall and when they came to the tower where | F |
| Menestheus was and hard pressed indeed did they find him the brave | N |
| captains and leaders of the Lycians were storming the battlements as | B |
| it were a thick dark cloud fighting in close quarters and raising | Y |
| the battle cry aloud | L |
| First Ajax son of Telamon killed brave Epicles a comrade of | N |
| Sarpedon hitting him with a jagged stone that lay by the | E |
| battlements at the very top of the wall As men now are even one | C |
| who is in the bloom of youth could hardly lift it with his two | I |
| hands but Ajax raised it high aloft and flung it down smashing | Y |
| Epicles' four crested helmet so that the bones of his head were | F |
| crushed to pieces and he fell from the high wall as though he were | F |
| diving with no more life left in him Then Teucer wounded Glaucus the | E |
| brave son of Hippolochus as he was coming on to attack the wall He | B |
| saw his shoulder bare and aimed an arrow at it which made Glaucus | B |
| leave off fighting Thereon he sprang covertly down for fear some of | N |
| the Achaeans might see that he was wounded and taunt him Sarpedon was | B |
| stung with grief when he saw Glaucus leave him still he did not leave | N |
| off fighting but aimed his spear at Alcmaon the son of Thestor and | L |
| hit him He drew his spear back again Alcmaon came down headlong after | F |
| it with his bronzed armour rattling round him Then Sarpedon seized | L |
| the battlement in his strong hands and tugged at it till it an gave | N |
| way together and a breach was made through which many might pass | B |
| Ajax and Teucer then both of them attacked him Teucer hit him | X |
| with an arrow on the band that bore the shield which covered his body | B |
| but Jove saved his son from destruction that he might not fall by | U |
| the ships' sterns Meanwhile Ajax sprang on him and pierced his | B |
| shield but the spear did not go clean through though it hustled | L |
| him back that he could come on no further He therefore retired a | E |
| little space from the battlement yet without losing all his ground | L |
| for he still thought to cover himself with glory Then he turned round | L |
| and shouted to the brave Lycians saying Lycians why do you thus | B |
| fail me For all my prowess I cannot break through the wall and open a | E |
| way to the ships single handed Come close on behind me for the | E |
| more there are of us the better | F |
| The Lycians shamed by his rebuke pressed closer round him who | I |
| was their counsellor their king The Argives on their part got their | F |
| men in fighting order within the wall and there was a deadly struggle | H2 |
| between them The Lycians could not break through the wall and force | B |
| their way to the ships nor could the Danaans drive the Lycians from | E2 |
| the wall now that they had once reached it As two men measuring rods | B |
| in hand quarrel about their boundaries in a field that they own in | C |
| common and stickle for their rights though they be but in a mere | F |
| strip even so did the battlements now serve as a bone of | N |
| contention and they beat one another's round shields for their | F |
| possession Many a man's body was wounded with the pitiless bronze as | B |
| he turned round and bared his back to the foe and many were struck | M2 |
| clean through their shields the wall and battlements were | F |
| everywhere deluged with the blood alike of Trojans and of Achaeans | B |
| But even so the Trojans could not rout the Achaeans who still held | L |
| on and as some honest hard working woman weighs wool in her balance | B |
| and sees that the scales be true for she would gain some pitiful | H2 |
| earnings for her little ones even so was the fight balanced evenly | B |
| between them till the time came when Jove gave the greater glory to | I |
| Hector son of Priam who was first to spring towards the wall of the | E |
| Achaeans As he did so he cried aloud to the Trojans Up Trojans | B |
| break the wall of the Argives and fling fire upon their ships | B |
| Thus did he hound them on and in one body they rushed straight at | L |
| the wall as he had bidden them and scaled the battlements with | E |
| sharp spears in their hands Hector laid hold of a stone that lay just | L |
| outside the gates and was thick at one end but pointed at the other | F |
| two of the best men in a town as men now are could hardly raise it | L |
| from the ground and put it on to a waggon but Hector lifted it | L |
| quite easily by himself for the son of scheming Saturn made it | L |
| light for him As a shepherd picks up a ram's fleece with one hand and | L |
| finds it no burden so easily did Hector lift the great stone and | L |
| drive it right at the doors that closed the gates so strong and so | B |
| firmly set These doors were double and high and were kept closed | L |
| by two cross bars to which there was but one key When he had got | L |
| close up to them Hector strode towards them that his blow might | L |
| gain in force and struck them in the middle leaning his whole | N2 |
| weight against them He broke both hinges and the stone fell inside | L |
| by reason of its great weight The portals re echoed with the sound | L |
| the bars held no longer and the doors flew open one one way and the | E |
| other the other through the force of the blow Then brave Hector | F |
| leaped inside with a face as dark as that of flying night The | E |
| gleaming bronze flashed fiercely about his body and he had tow | B |
| spears in his hand None but a god could have withstood him as he | B |
| flung himself into the gateway and his eyes glared like fire Then he | B |
| turned round towards the Trojans and called on them to scale the wall | P |
| and they did as he bade them some of them at once climbing over the | E |
| wall while others passed through the gates The Danaans then fled | L |
| panic stricken towards their ships and all was uproar and confusion | C |
Homer
(1)
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