Ὣς οἱ μὲν πονέοντο κατὰ κρατερὴν ὑσμίνην:
Τληπόλεμον δ' Ἡρακλείδην ἠύν τε μέγαν τε:
ὦρσεν ἐπ' ἀντιθέῳ Σαρπηδόνι μοῖρα κραταιή:
οἵδ' ὅτε δή σχεδὸν ἦσαν ἐπ' ἀλλήλοισιν ἰόντες:
υἱός θ' υἱωνός τε Διὸς νεφεληγερέταο:
τὸν καὶ Τληπόλεμος πρότερος πρὸς μῦθον ἔειπεν:
Σαρπῆδον Λυκίων βουληφόρε: τίς τοι ἀνάγκη
πτώσσειν ἐνθάδ' ἐόντι μάχης ἀδαήμονι φωτί:
ψευδόμενοι δέ σε φασὶ Διὸς γόνον αἰγιόχοιο
εἶναι: ἐπεὶ πολλὸν κείνων ἐπιδεύεαι ἀνδρῶν,
οἱ Διὸς ἐξεγένοντο ἐπὶ προτέρων ἀνων [ἀνθρώπων]:
ἀλλ' οἷόν τινα φασὶ βίην Ἡρακλειείην
εἶναι. ἐμὸν πατέρα, θρασυμέμνονα θυμολέοντα:
ὅς ποτε δεῦρ' ἐλθὼν ἕνεχ' ἵππων Λαομέδοντος
ἓξ οἴῃς σὺν νηυσὶ καὶ ἀνδράσι παυροτέροισιν
'Ϊλίου ἐξαλάπαξε πόλιν: χήρωσε δ' ἀγυιάς:
σοὶ δὲ κακὸς μὲν θυμὸς, ἀποφθινύθουσι δὲ λαοὶ:
οὐδέ τι σε Τρώεσσιν ὀΐομαι ἄλκαρ ἔσεσθαι
ἐλθόντ' ἐκ Λυκίης. οὐδ' εἰ μάλα καρτερός ἐσσι:
ἀλλ' ὑπ' ἐμοὶ δμηθέντα πύλας Ἀΐδαο περήσειν:
So these toiled in the mighty conflict, but Tlepolemus, son of Heracles, a valiant man and tall, was roused by resistless fate against godlike Sarpedon. And when they were come near as they advanced one against the other, the son and grandson of Zeus the cloud-gatherer, then Tlepolemus was first to speak, saying: "Sarpedon, counsellor of the Lycians, why must thou be skulking here, that art a man unskilled in battle? They speak but a lie that say thou art sprung from Zeus that beareth the aegis, seeing thou art inferior far to those warriors that were sprung from Zeus in the days of men of old. Of other sort, men say, was mighty Heracles, my father, staunch in fight, the lionhearted, who on a time came hither by reason of the mares of Laomedon with but six ships and a scantier host, yet sacked the city of Ilios and made waste her streets. But thine is a coward's heart, and thy people are minishing. In no wise methinks shall thy coming from Lycia prove a defence to the men of Troy, though thou be never so strong, but thou shalt be vanquished by my hand and pass the gates of Hades."
