ὡς ἔφαθ'. Ἕκτωρ δ' αῦτ' ἐχάρη μέγα μῦθον ἀκούσας:
καί ῥ' ἐς μέσσον ἰὼν, Τρώων ἀνέεργε φάλαγγας:
μέσσου δουρὸς ἑλὼν. οἱ δ' ἱ̈δρύνθησαν ἅπαντες:
κὰδ δ' Ἀγαμέμνων εἷσεν ἐϋκνήμιδας Ἀχαιούς:
κὰδ δ' ἂρ Ἀθηναίη τε καὶ ἀργυρότοξος Ἀπόλλων
ἑζέσθην. ὄρνῑσιν ἐοικότες. αἰγυπιοῖσι.
φηγῷ ἐφ' ὑψηλῇ πατρὸς Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο
ἀνδράσι τερπόμενοι: τῶν δὲ στίχες εἵατο πυκναὶ.
ἀσπίσι καὶ κορύθεσσι καὶ ἔγχεσι πεφρικυῖαι:
οἵη δὲ Ζεφύροιο ἐχεύατο πόντον ἔπι φρὶξ
ὀρνυμένοιο νέον. μελάνει δέ τε πόντος ὑπ αυτῆς.
τοῖαι ἄρα στίχες εἵατ' Ἀχαιῶν τε Τρώων τε
ἐν πεδίῳ: Ἕκτωρ δὲ μετ αμφοτέροισιν ἔειπε:
κέκλυτέ μευ Τρῶες καὶ ἐϋκνήμιδες Ἀχαιοὶ.
ὄφρ' εἴπω. τά με θυμὸς ἐνι στήθεσσι κελεύει:
ὅρκια μὲν Κρονίδης ὑψίζυγος οὐκ ἐτέλεσσεν:
ἀλλὰ κακὰ φρονέων τεκμαίρεται ἀμφοτέροισιν:
εἰς ό κεν. ἢ ὑμεῖς Τροίην εὔπυργον ἕλητε.
ἢ αὐτοὶ παρὰ νηυσὶ δαμείετε ποντοπόροισιν:
ὑμῖν μὲν γὰρ ἔασιν ἀριστῆες Παναχαιῶν.
τῶν νῦν ὅν τινα θυμὸς ἐμοὶ μαχέσασθαι ἀνώγει.
δεῦρ' ΐτω ἐκ πάντων πρόμος ἔμμεναι Ἕκτορι δίῳ:
ὧδε δὲ μυθέομαι: Ζεὺς δ' ἄμμ' ἐπιμάρτυρος ἔστω:
εἰ μέν κεν, ἐμὲ κεῖνος έλῃ ταναήκεϊ χαλκῷ.
τεύχεα συλήσας φερέτω κοίλας ἐπὶ νῆας:
σῶμα δὲ, οἴκαδ' ἐμὸν δόμεναι πάλιν. ὄφρα πυρός με
Τρῶες καὶ Τρώων ἄλοχοι λελάχωσι θανόντα:
εἰ δέ κ' ἐγὼ, τὸν, ἕλω: δῴη δέ μοι εὖχος Ἀπόλλων:
τεύχεα σύλησας οἴσω προτι Ἴ̈λιον ϊρὴν.
καὶ κρεμόω ποτὶ νηὸν Ἀπόλλωνος ἑκάτοιο,
τὸν δὲ νέκυν ἐπὶ νῆας ἐϋσσέλμους ἀποδώσω.
ὄφρά, ἑ, ταρχύσωσι κάρη κομόωντες Ἀχαιοὶ.
σῆμά, τέ οἱ χευωσιν ἐπι πλατεῖ Ἑλλησπόντῳ:
καὶ καί ποτέ τις εἴπῃσι καὶ ὀψιγόνων ἀνθρώπων
νηῒ πολυκλήϊδι πλέων ἐπι οἴνοπα πόντον.
ἀνδρὸς μὲν τόδε σῆμα: πάλαι κατατεθνειῶτος.
ὅν ποτ' ἀριστεύοντα κατέκτανε φαίδιμος Ἕκτωρ.
ὡς ποτέ τις ἐρέει, τὸ δ' ἐμὸν κλέος οὔ ποτ' ὀλεῖται:
So spake he and Hector rejoiced greatly when he heard his words; and he went into the midst and kept back the battalions of the Trojans with his spear grasped by the middle; and they all sate them down, and Agamemnon made the well-greaved Achaeans to sit. And Athene and Apollo of the silver bow in the likeness of vultures sate them upon the lofty oak of father Zeus that beareth the aegis, rejoicing in the warriors; and the ranks of these sat close, bristling with shields and helms and spears. Even as there is spread over the face of the deep the ripple of the West Wind, that is newly risen, and the deep groweth black beneath it, so sat the ranks of the Achaeans and Trojans in the plain. And Hector spake between the two hosts: "Hear me, ye Trojans and well-greaved Achaeans, that I may speak what the heart in my breast biddeth me. Our oaths the son of Cronos, throned on high, brought not to fulfillment, but with ill intent ordaineth a time for both hosts, until either ye take well-walled Troy or yourselves be vanquished beside your sea-faring ships. With you are the chieftains of the whole host of the Achaeans; of these let now that man whose heart soever biddeth him fight with me, come hither from among you all to be your champion against goodly Hector. And thus do I declare my word, and be Zeus our witness thereto: if so be he shall slay me with the long-edged bronze, let him spoil me of my armour and bear it to the hollow ships, but my body let him give back to my home, that the Trojans and the Trojan wives may give me my due meed of fire in my death. But if so be I slay him, and Apollo give me glory, I will spoil him of his armour and bear it to sacred Ilios and hang it upon the temple of Apollo, the god that smiteth afar, but his corpse will I render back to the well-benched ships, that the long-haired Achaeans may give him burial, and heap up for him a barrow by the wide Hellespont. And some one shall some day say even of men that are yet to be, as he saileth in his many-benched ship over the wine-dark sea: ‘This is a barrow of a man that died in olden days, whom on a time in the midst of his prowess glorious Hector slew.’ So shall some man say, and my glory shall never die."
