ὡς εἰπὼν ὤτρυνε μένος καὶ θυμὸν ἑκάστου:
ἔνθά κεν αὖτε Τρῶες ἀρηϊφίλων ὑπ' Ἀχαιῶν
Ἴ̈λιον εἰσἀνέβησαν ἀναλκίησι δαμέντες.
εἰ μὴ ὰρ Αἰνείᾱͅ τε καὶ Ἕκτορι εἶπε παραστὰς
Πριαμ΄ίδης Ἕλενος οἰωνοπόλων ὄχ' ἄριστος:
Αἰνεία τὲ καὶ Ἕκτορ: ἐπεὶ πόνος ὕμμι μάλιστα
Τρώων καὶ Λυκίων ἐγκέκλιται. οὕνεκ' ἄριστοι
πᾶσαν ἐπ' ἰ̈θὺν, ἐστὲ μάχεσθαί τε φρονέειν τε:
στῆτ' αὐτοῦ, καὶ λαὸν ἐρυκάκετε προ πυλάων
πάντῃ ἐποιχόμενοι: πρὶν αῦτ' ἐν χερσὶ γυναικῶν
φεύγοντας πεσέειν: δηΐοισι δὲ χάρμα γενέσθαι:
αὐτὰρ ἐπεί κε φάλαγγας ἐποτρύνητον ἁπάσας:
ἡμεῖς μὲν Δαναοῖσι μαχησόμεθ' αὖθι μένοντες
καὶ μάλα τειρόμενοί περ ἀναγκαίη γὰρ ἐπείγει:
Ἕκτορ: ἀτὰρ σὺ πόλιν δὲ μετέρχεο. εἰπὲ δ' ἔπειτα
μητέρι σῇ καὶ ἐμῇ. ἡ δὲ ξυνάγουσα γεραιὰς
νηὸν Ἀθηναίης γλαυκώπιδος. ἐν πόλει ἄκρῃ:
οἴξασα κληῗδι θύρας: ἱ̈εροῖο δόμοιο,
πέπλον, ὅς οἱ δοκέει χαριέστατος ἠδὲ μέγιστος
εἶναι ἐνὶ μεγάρῳ καί οἱ πολὺ φίλτατος αὐτῇ.
θεῖναι Ἀθηναίης ἐπὶ γούνασιν ἠϋκόμοιο:
καί οἱ ὑποσχέσθαι δυοκαίδεκα βοῦς ἐνὶ νηῷ
ήνῑς ἠκέστας ἱερευσέμεν: αἴ κ' ἐλεήσῃ
ἄστύ τε, καὶ Τρώων ἀλόχους. καὶ νήπια τέκνα:
αἴ κεν Τυδέος υἱὸν ἀπόσχῃ Ἰ̈λίου ϊρῆς
ἄγριον αἰχμητὴν, κρατερὸν μήστωρα φόβοιο:
ὃν δὴ ἐγὼ κάρτιστον Ἀχαιῶν φημὶ γενέσθαι:
οὐδ' Ἀχιλῆά ποθ' ὧδέ γ' ἐδείδιμεν ὄρχαμον ἀνδρῶν
ὅν περ φᾱσὶ θεᾶς ἐξέμμεναι. ἀλλ' ὅδε λίην
μαίνεται: οὐδέ τι,ς οἱ, δύναται μένος ἰ̈σοφαρίζειν:
So saying he aroused the strength and spirit of every man. Then would the Trojans have been driven again by the Achaeans dear to Ares up to Ilios, vanquished in their weakness, had not the son of Priam, Helenus, far the best of augurs, come up to Aeneas and Hector, and said to them: "Aeneas and Hector, seeing that upon you above all others rests the war-toil of Trojans and Lycians, for that in every undertaking ye are the best both in war and in counsel, hold ye your ground, and go ye this way and that throughout the host and keep them back before the gates, or ever in flight they fling themselves in their women's arms, and be made a joy to their foemen. But when ye have aroused all our battalions, we verily will abide here and fight against the Danaans, sore wearied though we be, for necessity weighs hard upon us; but do thou, Hector, go thy way to the city and speak there to her that is thy mother and mine; let her gather the aged wives to the temple of flashing-eyed Athene in the citadel, and when she has opened with the key the doors of the holy house, the robe that seemeth to her the fairest and amplest in her hall, and that is far dearest to her own self, this let her lay upon the knees of fair-haired Athene, and vow to her that she will sacrifice in her temple twelve sleek heifers that have not felt the goad, if she will have compassion on the city and the Trojan's wives and their little children; in hope she may hold back from sacred Ilios the son of Tydeus, that savage spearman, a mighty deviser of rout, who has verily, meseems, proved himself the mightiest of the Achaeans. Not even Achilles did we ever fear on this wise, that leader of men, who, they say, is born of a goddess; nay this man rageth beyond all measure, and no one can vie with him in might."
