ὄφρα μὲν ἠὼς ἦν καὶ ἀέξετο ἱ̈ερὸν ἦμαρ.
τόφρα μάλ' ἀμφοτέρων βέλε' ἥπτετο. πῖπτε δὲ λαός:
ῆμος δὲ δρυτόμος περ ἀνὴρ ὡπλίσσατο δεῖπον
οὔρεος ἐν βήσσῃσιν: ἐπεί τ' ἐκορέσσατο χεῖρας.
τάμνων δένδρεα μακρὰ: ἅδος τέ μιν ί̈κετο θυμὸν.
σίτου τὲ γλυκεροῖο περι φρένας ί̈μερος αἱρεῖ.
τῆμος, σφῇ ἀρετῇ Δαναοὶ ῥήξαντο φάλαγγας
κεκλόμενοι ἑτάροισι κατὰ στίχας: ἐν δ' Ἀγαμέμνων
πρῶτος ὄρουσ'. ἕλε δ' ἄνδρα Βιήνορα ποιμένα λαῶν.
αὐτὸν. ἔπειτα δ' ἑταῖρον Ὀϊλῆα πλήξιππον:
ἤτοι ὅ γ' ἐξ ἵππων κατεπάλμενος. ἀντίος ἔστη:
τὸν δ' ἰ̈θὺς μεμαῶτα. μετώπιον ὀξέϊ δουρὶ
νύξ': οὐδὲ στεφάνη δόρυ οἱ σχέθε χαλκοβάρεια:
ἀλλὰ δι' αὐτῆς ἦλθε καὶ ὀστέου: ἐγκέφαλος δὲ
ἔνδον ἅπας πεπάλακτο: δάμασσε δέ μιν μεμαῶτα:
καὶ τοὺς μὲν λίπεν αὖθι, ἄναξ ἀνδρῶν Ἀγαμέμνων.
στήθεσι παμφαίνοντας: ἐπεὶ περίδυσε χιτῶνας:
αὐτὰρ ὁ βή ρ' Ἶ̈̈̈σόν τε καὶ Ἄντιφον ἐξεναρίξων
υἷε δύω Πριάμοιο: νόθον καὶ γνήσιον. ἄμφω
εἰν ἑνὶ δίφρῳ ἐόντας. ὁ μὲν νόθος ἡνιόχευεν.
Ἄντιφος αὖ παρέβασκε περικλυτὸς, ὥ ποτ' Ἀχιλλεὺς
Ἴ̈δης ἐν κνημοῖσι δίδη μόσχοισι λύγοισι
ποιμαίνοντ' ἐπ' όεσσι λαβὼν: καὶ ἔλυσεν ἀποίνων:
δὴ τότε γ' Ἀτρείδης εὐρὺ κρείων Ἀγαμέμνων:
τὸν μὲν ὑπὲρ μαζοῖο κατα στῆθος βάλε δουρὶ,
Ἄντιφον αὖ παρὰ οὖς, ἔλασε ξίφει, ἐκ δ' έβαλ' ἵ̈̈ππων:
σπερχόμενος δ' ἀπὸ τοῖϊν ἐσύλα τεύχεα καλὰ:
γινώσκων καὶ γάρ σφε πάρος παρα νηυσὶ θοῇσιν
εἶδεν. ὅτ' ἐξ Ἴδής ἄγαγεν πόδας ὠκὺς Ἀχιλλεύς:
ὡς δὲ λέων. ἐλάφοιο ταχείης νήπια τέκνα
ῥηϊδίως συνέαξε. λαβὼν κρατεροῖσιν ὀδοῦσιν.
ἐλθὼν εἰς εὐνὴν. ἁπαλόν τέ σφ' ῆτορ ἀπηύρα:,
ἣ δ' εἴ πέρ τε τύχῃσι μάλα σχεδὸν. οὐ δύναταί σφι
χραισμεῖν. αὐτὴν γάρ μιν ὑπο τρόμος αἰνὸς ϊκάνει.
καρπαλίμως δ' ἤϊξε διὰ δρυμὰ πυκνὰ καὶ ὕλην.
σπεύδουσ'. ἱ̈δρώουσα. κραταιοῦ θηρὸς ὑφ' ὁρμῆς.
ὡς ἄρα τοῖς οὔ τις δύνατο χραισμῆσαι ὄλεθρον
Τρώων. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτοὶ ὑπ' Ἀργείοισι φέβοντο:
Now as long as it was morn and the sacred day was waxing, so long the missiles of either side struck home, and the folk kept falling; but at the hour when a woodman maketh ready his meal in the glades of a mountain, when his arms are grown tired with felling tall trees, and weariness cometh upon his soul, and desire of sweet food seizeth his heart, even then the Danaans by their valour brake the battalions, calling to their fellows through the lines. And among them Agamemnon rushed forth the first and slew a warrior, Bienor, shepherd of the host,—himself and after him his comrade, Oïleus, driver of horses. Oïleus verily leapt down from his chariot and stood and faced him, but even as he rushed straight upon him the king smote him on the forehead with his sharp spear, nor was the spear stayed by his helm, heavy with bronze, but passed through it and through the bone, and all his brain was spattered about within; so stayed he him in his fury. These then did Agamemnon, king of men, leave there, gleaming with their naked breasts, when he had stripped off their tunics, and went on to slay Isus and Antiphus, two sons of Priam, one a bastard and one born in wedlock, the twain being in one car: the bastard the reins, but glorious Antiphus stood by his side to fight. These twain had Achilles on a time bound with fresh withes amid the spurs of Ida, taking them as they were herding their sheep, and had set them free for a ransom. But now the son of Atreus, wide-ruling Agamemnon, struck Isus on the breast above the nipple with a cast of his spear, and Antiphus he smote hard by the ear with his sword, and cast him from the chariot. Then he made haste to strip from the twain their goodly battle-gear, knowing them full well, for he had seen them before by the swift ships, when Achilles, fleet of foot brought them from Ida. And as a lion easily crusheth the little ones of a swift hind, when he hath seized them with his strong teeth, and hath come to their lair, and taketh from them their tender life,--and the mother, though she chance to be very near, cannot succour them, for on herself too cometh dread trembling, and swiftly she darteth through the thick brush and the woodland, hasting and sweating before the onset of the mighty beast; even so was no one of the Trojans able to ward off destruction from these twain, but themselves were driven in flight before the Argives.
