τὸν δ' ὀλιγοδρανέων προσέφης Πατρόκλεις ἱππεῦ.
ήδη νῦν Ἕκτορ μεγάλ' εὔχεο. σοὶ γὰρ ἔδωκε
νίκην Ζεὺς Κρονίδης καὶἈπόλλων. οἵ μ' ἐδάμασσαν
ῥηϊδίως. αὐτοὶ γὰρ ἀπ' ὤμων τεύχε' ἕλοντο:
τοιοῦτοι δ' εἴ πέρ μοι εείκοσιν ἀντεβόλησαν.
πάντές κ' αὐτόθ' όλοντο. ἐμῷ ὑπὸ δουρὶ δαμέντες:
ἀλλά με μοῖρ' ὀλοὴ. καὶ Λητοῦς ἔκτανεν υἱός.
ἀνδρῶν δ' Εὔφορβος. σὺ δέ με τρίτος ἐξεναρίζεις:
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω. σὺ δ' ἐνὶ φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσιν:
οὔ θην οὐδ' αὐτὸς δηρὸν βέῃ. ἀλλά τοι ἤδη
ἄγχι παρέστηκεν θάνατος καὶ μοῖρα κραταιὴ
χερσὶ δαμέντ' Ἀχιλῆοςἀμύμονος Αἰακίδᾱο:
Then, thy strength all spent, didst thou answer him, knight Patroclus: "For this time, Hector, boast thou mightily; for to thee have Zeus, the son of Cronos, and Apollo, vouchsafed victory, they that subdued me full easily, for of themselves they took the harness from my shoulders. But if twenty such as thou had faced me, here would all have perished, slain by my spear. Nay, it was baneful Fate and the son of Leto that slew me, and of men Euphorbus, while thou art the third in my slaying. And another thing will I tell thee, and do thou lay it to heart: verily thou shalt not thyself be long in life, but even now doth death stand hard by thee, and mighty fate, that thou be slain beneath the hands of Achilles, the peerless son of Aeacus."
