ὡς ἄρα φωνήσας κατεδύσατο τεύχεα καλά:
ἔνθα κέ τοι Μενέλαε φάνη βιότοιο τελευτὴ
Ἕκτορος ἐν παλάμῃσιν. ἐπεὶ πολὺ φέρτερος ῆεν,
εἰ μὴ ἀναΐξαντες ἕλον βασιλῆες Ἀχαιῶν:
αὐτός τ' Ἀτρείδης. εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων
δεξιτερῆς ἕλε χειρὸς, ἔπος τ' έφατ'. ἔκ τ' ὀνόμαζε:
ἀφραίνεις Μενέλαε διοτρεφὲς, οὐδέ τι σε χρὴ
ταύτης ἀφροσύνης, ἀνὰ δὲ σχέο κηδόμενός περ.
μὴδ' ἔθελ' ἐξ ἔριδος σεῦ, ἀμείνονι φωτὶ μάχεσθαι
Ἕκτορι Πριαμίδῃ τόν τε στυγέουσι καὶ ἄλλοι:
καὶ δ`' Ἀχιλεὺς τούτῳ γε μάχῃ ἐνι κυδιανείρῃ
ἔρριγ' ἀντιβολῆσαι: ὅ περ σέο πολλὸν ἀμείνων:
ἀλλὰ σὺ μὲν νῦν ΐζευ, ἰ̈ὼν μετὰ ἔθνος ἑταίρων:
τούτῳ δὲ πρόμον ἄλλον ἀναστήσουσιν Ἀχαιοί:
εἴ περ ἀδειής τ' ἐστι. καὶ εἰ μόθου ἔστ' ἀκόρητος.
φημί μιν ἀσπασίως γόνυ κάμψειν, αἴ κε φύγῃσι
δηΐου ἐκ πολέμοιο καὶ αἰνῆς δηϊοτῆτος:
So spake he, and did on his fair armour. And now Menelaus, would the end of life have appeared for thee at the hands of Hector, seeing he was mightier far, had not the kings of the Achaeans sprung up and laid hold of thee. And Atreus' son himself, wide-ruling Agamemnon, caught him by the right hand and spake to him, saying: "Thou art mad, Menelaus, nurtured of Zeus, and this thy madness beseemeth thee not. Hold back, for all thy grief, and be not minded in rivalry to fight with one better than thou, even with Hector, son of Priam, of whom others besides thee are adread. Even Achilles shuddereth to meet this man in battle, where men win glory; and he is better far than thou. Nay, go thou for this present, and sit thee amid the company of thy fellows; against this man shall the Achaeans raise up another champion. Fearless though he be and insatiate of battle, methinks he will be glad to bend his knees in rest, if so be he escape from the fury of war and the dread conflict."
