ὡς ἔφαθ', Ἥφαιστος δὲ τιτύσκετο θεσπιδαὲς πῦρ:
πρῶτα μὲν ἐν πεδίῳ πῦρ δαίετο: καῖε δὲ νεκροὺς
πολλοὺς, οἵ ῥα κατ αὐτὸν ἅλις έσαν. οὓς κτάν' Ἀχιλλεύς:
πᾶν δ' ἐξηράνθη πεδίον: σχέτο δ' ἀγλαὸν ὕδωρ:
ὡς δ' ὅτ' ὀπωρινὸς Βορέης νεοαρδέ' ἀλῳὴν
αῖψ', ἀν, ξηράνῃ. χαίρει δέ μιν ὅς τις ἐθείρῃ:
ὡς ἐξηράνθη πεδίον πᾶν: καδ δ άρα νεκροὺς
κῆεν: ὁ δ' ἐς ποταμὸν τρέψεν φλόγα παμφανόωσαν¨
καίοντο πτελέαι τε, καὶ ἰτέαι. ἠδὲ μυρῖκαι:
καίετο δὲ λωτός τε, ἰδὲ θρύον, ἠδὲ κύπειρον:
τὰ περὶ καλὰ ῥέεθρα ἅλις ποταμοῖο πεφύκει:
τείροντ' ἐγχέλεές τε καὶ ἰχθύες. οἱ κατα δίνας.
οἳ κατὰ καλὰ ῥέεθρα κυβίστων ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα
πνοιῇ τειρόμενοι πολὺμήτιος πολυμήτιος Ἡφαίστοιο:
καίετο δ' ῒς, ποταμοῖο. ἔπος τ' ἔφατ' ἔκ τ' ὀνόμαζεν:
Ἥφαιστ', οὔ τις σοί γε θεῶν δύνατ' ἀντιφερίζειν:
οὐδ ἂν, ἐγὼ σοί γ' ὧδε πυρὶ φλεγέθοντι μαχοίμην:
λῆγ' ἔριδος. Τρῶας δὲ καὶ αὐτίκα δῖος Ἀχιλλεὺς
ἄστεος ἐξελάσειε. τί μοι ἔριδος καὶ ἀρωγῆς:
So spake she, and Hephaestus made ready wondrous-blazing fire. First on the plain was the fire kindled, and burned the dead, the many dead that lay thick therein, slain by Achilles; and all the plain was parched, and the bright water was stayed. And as when in harvest-time the North Wind quickly parcheth again a freshly-watered orchard, and glad is he that tilleth it; so was the whole plain parched, and the dead he utterly consumed; and then against the River he turned his gleaming flame. Burned were the elms and the willows and the tamarisks, burned the lotus and the rushes and the galingale, that round the fair streams of the river grew abundantly; tormented were the eels and the fishes in the eddies, and in the fair streams they plunged this way and that, sore distressed by the blast of Hephaestus of many wiles. Burned too was the mighty River, and he spake and addressed the god: "Hephaestus, there is none of the gods that can vie with thee, nor will I fight thee, ablaze with fire as thou art. Cease thou from strife,, and as touching the Trojans, let goodly Achilles forthwith drive them forth from out their city; what part have I in strife or in bearing aid?"
