οὐδ ἂρ ἔτ' Αἴαντι μεγαλήτορι ἥνδανε θυμῷ
ἑστάμεν ἔνθά περ ἄλλοι ἀφέστασαν υἷες Ἀχαιῶν:
ἂλλ' ὅ γε νηῶν ΐκρι' ἐπῴχετο, μακρὰ βιβάσθων:
νώμα δὲ ξυστὸν μέγα, ναύμαχον ἐν παλάμῃσι
κολλητὸν βλήτροισι. δύω καὶ εἰκοσίπηχυ:
ὡς δ' ὅτ' ἀνὴρ ἵπποισι κελητίζειν εὖ εἰδὼς.
ὅς τ' ἐπεὶ ἐκ πολέων πίσυρας συναείρεται ἵππους.
σεύας ἐκ πεδίοιο μέγα προτὶ ἄστυ δίηται
λαοφόρον καθ' ὁδόν. πολέες τέ. ἑ. θηήσαντο
ἀνέρες ἠδὲ γυναῖκες. ὁ δ' ἔμπεδον ἀσφαλὲς αἰεὶ
θρῴσκων ἄλλοτ' ἐπ' ἄλλον ἀμείβεται, οἱ δὲ πέτονται.
ὡς Αἴας ἐπὶ πολλὰ θοάων ΐκρια νηῶν
φοίτᾱ μακρὰ βιβάς. φωνὴ δέ οἱ αἰθέρ' ΐκανεν:
αἰεὶ δὲ σμερδνὸν βοόων, Δαναοῖσι κέλευε
νηυσί τε καὶ κλισίῃσιν ἀμυνέμεν: οὐδέ μεν Ἕκτωρ
μίμνεν ἐνὶ Τρώων ὁμάδῳ πύκα θωρηκτάων:
ἂλλ' ὥς τ' ὀρνίθων πετεηνῶν αἰετὸς αἴθων
ἔθνος ἐφορμᾶται ποταμὸν πάρα βοσκομενάων:
χηνῶν. ἢ γεράνων. ἢ κύκνων δουλιχοδείρων:
ὡς Ἕκτωρ ΐθυσε; νεὸς κυανοπρῴροιο
ἀντίος ἀΐσσων, τὸν δὲ Ζεὺς ὦρσεν ὄπισθε
χειρὶ μάλα μεγάλῃ. ὄτρυνε δὲ λαὸν ἅμ' αὐτῷ:
Now was it no more pleasing to the soul of great-hearted Aias to stand in the place where the rest of the sons of the Achaeans stood aloof, but he kept faring with long strides up and down the decks of the ships, and he wielded in his hands a long pike for sea-fighting, a pike jointed with rings, of a length two and twenty cubits. And as a man well-skilled in horsemanship harnesseth together four horses chosen out of many, and driveth them in swift course from the plain toward a great city along a highway, while many marvel at him, both men-folk and women, and ever with sure step he leapeth, and passeth from horse to horse, while they speed on; even so Aias kept ranging with long strides over the many decks of the swift ships, and his voice went up to heaven, as ever with terrible cries he called to the Danaans to defend their ships and huts. Nor did Hector abide amid the throng of the mail-clad Trojans, but as a tawny eagle darteth upon a flock of winged fowl that are feeding by a river's bank—a flock of wild geese, or cranes, or long-necked swans, even so Hector made for a dark-prowed ship, rushing straight thereon; and from behind Zeus thrust him on with exceeding mighty hand, and aroused the host together with him.
