λαοῖσιν καθ ὕπερθε πεποιθότες ἠδὲ βίηφι:
οἱ δ' ἄρα χερμαδίοισιν ἐϋδμήτων ἀπὸ πύργων
βάλλον: ἀμυνόμενοι σφῶν τ' αὐτῶν καὶ κλισιάων.
νηῶν τ' ὠκυπόρων. νιφάδες δ' ὡς πίπτον ἔραζε:
ἅς τ' ἄνεμος ζαὴς, νέφεα σκιόεντα δονήσας.
ταρφειὰς κατέχευεν ἐπὶ χθονὶ πουλυβοτείρῃ:
ὡς τῶν ἐκ χειρῶν βέλεα ῥέον. ἠμὲν Ἀχαιῶν
ἠδὲ καὶ ἐκ Τρώων: κόρυθοςκόρυθες δ' ἀμφ' αῦον ἀΰτευν
βαλλόμεναιβαλλομένων μυλάκεσσι. καὶ ἀσπίδες ὀμφαλόεσσαι:
δή ῥα τότ' ᾤμωξέν τε καὶ ὣ, πεπλήγετο μηρὼ
Ἄσιος Ὑρτακίδης. καὶ ἀλαστήσας ἔπος ηύδαν:
Ζεῦ πάτερ, ῆ ῥά νυ καὶ σὺ φιλοψευδὴς ἐτέτυξο
πάγχυ μάλ', οὐ γὰρ ἔγωγ' ἐφάμην ἥρωας Ἀχαιοὺς
σχήσειν ἡμετερόν γε μένος καὶ χεῖρας ἀάπτους.
οἳ δ' ὥς τε σφῆκες μέσον αἰόλοι ἠὲ μέλισσαι
οἰκία ποιήσωνται ὁδῷ ἔπι παιπαλοέσσῃ.
οὐδ' ἀπολείπουσιν κοῖλον δόμον: ἀλλὰ μένοντες
ἄνδρας θηρητῆρας ἀμύνονται περὶ τέκνων.
ὡς οἵ γ' οὐκ ἐθέλουσι πυλάων καὶ δύ' ἐόντε
χάσσασθαι: πρίν γ' ἠὲ κατακτάμεν, ἠὲ ἁλῶναι:
αἰετὸς ὑψιπέτης ἐπ' ἀριστερὰ λαὸν εέργων:
For the men above kept hurling stones from the well-built towers, in defence of their own lives and of the huts and of the swift-faring ships. And like snow-flakes the stones fell ever earthward, like flakes that a blustering wind, as it driveth the shadowy clouds, sheddeth thick and fast upon the bounteous earth; even so flowed the missiles from the hands of these, of Achaeans alike and Trojans; and helms rang harshly and bossed shields, as they were smitten with great stones. Then verily Asius, son of Hyrtacus, uttered a groan, and smote both his thighs, and in sore indignation he spake, saying: "Father Zeus, of a surety thou too then art utterly a lover of lies, for I deemed not that the Achaean warriors would stay our might and our invincible hands. But they like wasps of nimble waist, or bees that have made their nest in a rugged path, and leave not their hollow home, but abide, and in defence of their young ward off hunter folk; even so these men, though they be but two, are not minded to give ground from the gate, till they either slay or be slain."
