ὡς ώρμαινε μένων: ὁ δέ οἱ σχεδὸν ἦλθε, τεθηπὼς.
γούνων ἅψασθαι μεμαὼς. περὶ δ' ήθελε θυμῷ
ἐκφυγέειν θάνατόν τε κακὸν καὶ κῆρα μέλαιναν:
ἤτοι ὁ μὲν δόρυ μακρὸν ἀνέσχετο δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς
οὐτάμεναι μεμαὼς, ὁ δ' ὑπέδραμε καὶ λάβε γούνων
κύψας. ἐγχείη δ' ἂρ ὑπὲρ νώτου ἐνι γαίῃ
έστη ἱ̈εμένη χροὸς, άμεναι ἀνδρομέοιο:
αὐτὰρ ὃ, τῇ ἑτέρῃ μὲν ἑλὼν ἐλλίσσετο γούνων.
τῇ δ' ἑτέρῃ ἔχεν ἔγχος ἀκαχμένον. οὐδὲ μεθίει:
καί μιν φωνήσας, ἔπεα πτερόεντα προσηύδα:
γουνοῦμαί σ' Ἀχιλεῦ. σὺ δέ μ' αἴδεο. καί μ' ἐλέησον:
ἀντί τοι εἰμ' ἰ̈κέτᾱο διοτρεφὲς αἰδοίοιο:
πὰρ γὰρ σοὶ πρώτῳ πασάμην Δημήτερος ἀκτὴν
ἤματι τῷ, ὅτε μ' εἷλες ἐϋκτιμένῃ ἐν ἀλῳῇ:
καί μ' ἐπέρασσας ἄνευθεν ἄγων πατρός τε φίλων τε
Λῆμνον ἐς ἠγαθέην: ἑκατόμβοιον δέ τοι ἦλφον:
νῦν δὲ λύμην τρὶς τόσσα πορὼν: ἠὼς δέ μοι ἐστιν
ἥδε δυωδεκάτη. ὅτ' ἐς Ἴ̈λιον εἰλήλουθα
πολλὰ παθών: νῦν αὖ με, τεῇς ἐν χερσὶν ἔθηκε
μοῖρ' ὀλοὴ: μέλλω που ἀπεχθέσθαι Διὶ̈ πατρί,
ὅς με σοὶ αὖτις δῶκε: μινυνθάδιον δέ με μήτηρ
γείνατο Λαοθόη. θυγάτηρ Ἄλταο γέροντος.
Ἄλτεω. ὃς Λελέγεσσι φιλοπτολέμοισιν ἀνάσσει.
Πήδασον αἰπήεσσαν ἔχων ὑπο Σατνιόεντι:
τοῦ δ' ἔχε θυγατε̋ρα Πρίαμος. πολλὰς δὲ καὶ ἄλλας.
τῆς δὲ δύω γενόμεσθα: σὺ δ' ἄμφω δειροτομήσεις:
ἤτοι τὸν πρώτοισι μετὰ πρυλέεσσι δάμασσας
ἀντίθεον Πολύδωρον, ἐπεὶ βάλες ὀξέϊ δουρί:
νῦν δὲ δὴ ἐνθάδε μοι κακὸν ἔσσεται: οὐ γὰρ ὀΐω
σὰς χεῖρας φεύξεσθαι. ἐπεί ῥ' ἐπέλασσέ γε δαίμων:
ἄλλο δέ τοι ἐρέω. σὺ δ' ἐνι φρεσὶ βάλλεο σῇσι:
μή με κτεῖν'. ἐπεὶ οὐχ ὁμογάστριος Ἕκτορός εἰμι.
ὅς τοι ἑταῖρον ἔπεφνεν, ἐνηέα τε κρατερόν τε:
So pondered he, and abode; but the other drew nigh him, dazed, eager to touch his knees, and exceeding fain of heart was he to escape from evil death and black fate. Then goodly Achilles lifted on high his long spear, eager to smite him, but Lycaon stooped and ran thereunder, and clasped his knees; and the spear passed over his back and was stayed in the ground, albeit fain to glut itself with the flesh of man. Then Lycaon besought him, with the one hand clasping his knees while with the other he held the sharp spear, and would not let it go; and he spake and addressed him with winged words: "I beseech thee by thy knees, Achilles, and do thou respect me and have pity; in thine eyes, O thou nurtured of Zeus, am I even as a sacred suppliant, for at thy table first did I eat of the grain of Demeter on the day when thou didst take me captive in the well-ordered orchard, and didst lead me afar from father and from friends, and sell me into sacred Lemnos; and I fetched thee the price of an hundred oxen. Lo, now have I bought my freedom by paying thrice as much, and this is my twelfth morn since I came to Ilios, after many sufferings; and now again has deadly fate put me in thy hands; surely it must be that I am hated of father Zeus, seeing he hath given me unto thee again;and to a brief span of life did my mother bear me, even Laothoe, daughter of the old man Altes,—Altes that is lord over the war-loving Leleges, holding steep Pedasus on the Satnioeis. His daughter Priam had to wife, and therewithal many another, and of her we twain were born, and thou wilt butcher us both. Him thou didst lay low amid the foremost foot-men, even godlike Polydorus, when thou hadst smitten him with a cast of thy sharp spear, and now even here shall evil come upon me; for I deem not that I shall escape thy hands, seeing a god hath brought me nigh thee. Yet another thing will I tell thee, and do thou lay it to heart: slay me not; since I am not sprung from the same womb as Hector, who slew thy comrade the kindly and valiant."
