For an introduction to Ovid and the work as a whole, the reader, is invited to look at the introduction to the translation of "Metamorphoses" Book I, published on this blog on 1st February 2018.
Book XII sees the commencement of the final quarter of the work, which features the move from myth to history, or at least what the ancient Romans might have considered history, describing as it does incidents involving the Trojan War, the exploits of Achilles and the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs. The Book includes the following stories: Iphigenia at Aulis; the house of Rumour; the transformation of Cycnus; how Caenis becomes Caeneus; the battle of the Lapiths and Centaurs, and details of the many participants in this epic struggle; Cyllarus and Hylonome; the transformation of Caeneus; Nestor's feud with Hercules; the death of Achilles.
Much of this book, lines 169-535 and 542-576 to be exact, is recounted in the voice of Nestor, King of Pylos, and the sage of the Greek host before Troy.
His father, Priam, mourned Aesacus, not knowing that he was (still) alive, having taken on wings; Hector, with his brothers, had offered empty sacrifices at the tomb which also bore his name. The presence of Paris was missing from this sad ceremony, (he) who was shortly to bring a lengthy war upon his homeland, because of the wife he had stolen (i.e. Helen); a thousand ships of the Pelasgian (i.e. Greek or Hellenic) race pursue (him), having taken a joint oath together. Nor would vengeance have been delayed, had not the fierce winds made the seas unnavigable and (had not) the land of Boeotia detained the departing ships at fish-laden Aulis. After they had provided sacrificial offerings to Jupiter there, in accordance with ancestral custom, (and,) when the ancient altar was glowing with kindled fires, the Danaans (i.e. the Greeks) saw a dark-green snake slither into a plane-tree, which stood near their sacrifices. There was a nest with eight (young) birds on the crest of the tree: these the serpent seized and buried in its eager jaws, together with their mother, as she was fluttering around her condemned (fledglings). They were all amazed; but the son of Thestor (i.e. Calchas), the seer, foreseeing the truth, says, "We shall conquer! Rejoice, Pelasgians! Troy will fall, but our labours will last for a long time," and he interprets the nine birds as nine years of war. It was turned into stone, just as it was, twined around the green branches of the tree, and it preserves its shape as a serpent (in) the stone.
The North Wind continues (to blow) violently in Aonian (i.e. Boeotian) waters, and refuses to transport the war(-ships), and there are (some) who believe that Neptune is sparing Troy, because he built the city's walls; but not the son of Thestor (i.e. Calchas): for he was not unaware, nor did he withhold (from them), that that the wrath of the virgin goddess (i.e. Diana) could be appeased by the blood of a virgin. When the common cause had triumphed over family affection and the king over the father (i.e. Agamemnon, High-King of Mycenae), and Iphigenia stood, among her weeping attendants, before the altar, the goddess was overcome, and cast a cloud before their eyes, and, amidst the ceremony and the disturbance of the sacrificial rites, and the cries of the suppliants, it is said that she exchanged the Mycenean (girl) for a hind, (which had been) substituted (for her). So, when Diana has been appeased by the sacrifice which was required and the wrath of the sea has subsided at the same time as (that) of Phoebe (i.e. Diana), the thousand ships receive tail winds, and, after enduring many (adventures), they attain the the shores of Phrygia (i.e. the land around Troy).
Ll. 39-63. The house of Rumour.
There is a place at the centre of the World, between the land and the sea and the zones of the heavens, the common boundary of this triple universe; from there, whatever is anywhere is seen, even if it is in regions faraway, and every voice reaches hollow ears: Rumour occupies (this place), and has chosen a house for herself on the top of a mountain-stronghold, and has added numerous entrances and countless openings to her place of residence, nor did she bar the threshold by any doors; it is open night and day: it is all of sounding brass, everything resounds (with noises), and echoes voices and reiterates what it hears; (there is) no peace within, and no silence anywhere, and yet there is no loud noise, but (only) the murmur of tiny voices, like those that are wont to come from the waves of the sea, if anyone can hear (them), or like the sound that distant thunder makes, when Jupiter has caused the dark clouds to rumble. Crowds occupy the hallways: a fickle populace comes and goes, and mingling fiction with the truth at random, a thousand rumours wander about, and confused words tumble around; of these, some fill their idle ears with chatter, others bear elsewhere (what they have been) told, and the amount of fiction grows (apace), and (each) new author adds something to (what he has) heard. There is credulity, there rash Error, and empty Joys and alarmed Fears, and sudden Sedition, and Whispers of doubtful authority; (Rumour,) herself, sees what things are being done in the heavens, and on the sea, and on the earth, and inquires about everything in the universe.
Ll. 64-145. The death and transformation of Cycnus.
"Phaeocomes stands before my eyes, the one who had bound six lion's pelts together with knotted cords, protecting both man and horse at the same time; hurling a block of wood that two pairs (of oxen) could scarcely shift, he smashed the skull of Telephos, son of Olenus (i.e. a Lapith); the broad dome of his head (was) shattered and the soft (matter of) his brain oozed out through his mouth, and through his hollow nostrils, and his eyes and ears, like curdled milk is wont (to seep) through a basked woven with twigs of oak, or as liquid trickles through a coarse sieve under its own weight, and is gradually squeezed out through the numerous holes. But, while he prepares to strip the fallen (man) of his armour, I plunged my sword deep into the despoiler's groin - your father (i.e. Peleus) knows this. Chthonius and Teleboas also fell by my sword: the former bore a forked branch, the latter a spear; with this spear he gave me a wound. See the mark! the old scar is still visible. In those days I would have been sent to capture Pergama (i.e. the citadel of Troy); then, I could have detained the arms of Hector greatly with my own, if not have overcome (him)! But, at that time, Hector was not yet born, or (was) a child, and now old age has weakened me.
"Why should I tell you how Periphas (was) the conqueror of dual-shaped Pyraethus, or of Ampycus, who drove his spear without a point right into the face of the four-footed Echeclus? Macareus felled Pelethronian (i.e. Thessalian) Erigdupus (i.e. a Lapith), by throwing a crowbar at his chest; and I remember that a hunting-spear, thrown by the hand of Nessus buried itself in the groin of Cymbelus (i.e. also a Lapith). Nor should you believe that Mopsus, the son of Ampyx, only prophesied future (events): (for) the two-formed Hodites fell to Mopsus' throw, and tried to speak in vain, as his tongue had been nailed to his chin and his chin to his throat.
"Caeneus delivered five (Centaurs) to their death: Styphelus, Bromis, Antimachus, Elymus and axe-wielding Pyracmon; I do not remember their wounds, but I did note the number (of them) and their names. (Then,) Latreus rushes forward, massive in limbs and body, armed with the spoils of Halesus of Emathia (i.e. a district of Macedonia), whom he had killed: his age (was) between youth and old age, (but, although) the hair on his temples was turning grey, he had the vigour of youth. Conspicuous for his shield and helmet, and Macedonian lance, and turning his face to both sides, he clashed his weapons together, and rode in a clear circle, and he boldly poured forth so many words into the empty air: 'And do I (really) have to put up with you, Caenis? For you (will) always (be) a woman to me; you will (always) be Caenis to me. Does not your natal origin impress itself upon you, and does it (not) come into your mind by what deed you won your reward, and at what cost (you procured) the false appearance of a man? Consider what you were born (to be), or what you have suffered, and go, pick up your distaff, and your basket of wool, and twist the thread with your thumb; leave war to the men!' As he was tossing about such (words), Caeneus hurled his spear, (and,) as he was extended at the gallop, he tore (a hole) in his side (at the point) where man was joined to horse. He (i.e. Latreus) was maddened with pain, and strikes the Phylleian youth (i.e. Caeneus, the epithet being taken from Phyllos, a town in Thessaly) with his lance on his bare face: it bounces off, just like a hailstone from the top of a roof, or as if someone should strike a hollow drum with a small pebble. He attacks (him) at close quarters, and strives to bury his sword in his impenetrable side: (but) the spot was inaccessible to the sword. 'Yet, you will not escape! The edge of my sword will kill you, even if its point is blunt,' he cries, and he turns his sword aside into his side, and envelops his loins with his long right(-arm). The blow makes a moaning noise, like a block of marble being struck, and the blade cracked and broke up as it hit the firm flesh. When he had offered his undamaged limbs to his wondering (enemy) for long enough, Caeneus says, 'Go on now, let me try my sword on your body,' and he plunged his deadly sword between his shoulder(-blades) right up to the hilt, and twisted and kept on turning his hand in his guts, and inflicted wound upon wound.
"See, the raving Centaurs rush (on him) with a great cry, and they all aim and fling their spears at this one (man). The spears fall blunted: (but) Caeneus, son of Elatus, remains unpierced and unblooded by all their blows.
"This strange occurrence had caused (them) to be astounded. 'Alas! (what) a great shame!' exclaims Monychus (i.e. a Centaur), 'we, (as) a people, are defeated by one (person), and (he is) scarcely a man; and, yet, he is a man, and we, with our feeble actions, are what he (once) was. What use are our enormous limbs? What (use is) our two-fold strength, and that double nature which has united the strongest living creatures in our (bodies)? Nor do I think that we are the sons of a divine mother, nor (are) we (the sons) of Ixion, who was so great as to entertain the hope of (winning) lofty Juno: we are overcome by an enemy that is a hermaphrodite! Roll down rocks an tree-trunks, and whole mountain(-sides) on top of him, and crush that stubborn spirit with the forest that we have hurled (on him)! Let their mass constrict his throat, and let there be weight instead of wounds.'
"He (i.e. Monychus) spoke, and, having happened to find a tree-trunk (which had been) toppled by the furious strength of the South Wind, he flung (it) at his powerful foe. It served as an example, and in a short time (Mount) Othrys (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly) was bare of trees, and Pelion (i.e. also a mountain in Thessaly) had no shade. Buried within that huge pile, Caeneus rages under the weight of the trees, and bears the heaped up oak-trees upon his brawny shoulders, but actually, when the load grew above his mouth and head, his breath has no air (upon) which it can draw, (and,) often, it fails, (and) sometimes he tries in vain to raise himself up into the air and to throw off the forest (which is) piled (on him), and sometimes he heaves, as though steep Ida (i.e. the mountain near Troy) is shaken by an earthquake. The outcome is uncertain: some say that his body (was) thrust down into empty Tartarus by the mass of trees; (but) the son of Ampyx (i.e. Mopsus) denied (this), and saw a bird with tawny wings fly out into the clear air from the midst of the pile, and it was then seen by me for the first and last time.
"When Mopsus watched him as he encircled his camp in smooth flight, making a great noise all around (him), and followed (him) with his mind and eyes alike, he said, 'O hail (to you,) Caeneus, the glory of the race of Lapiths, once the greatest of heroes, but now solely a bird!' The matter is believed due to its author: our grief increases our anger, and we could hardly endure (the thought) of one (man) being overwhelmed by so many enemies (at one time); nor did we desist from working out our pain with the sword, until half (of them) (i.e. the Centaurs) were dead, and flight and darkness had swallowed up the rest."
Ll. 536-579. The death of Periclymenus.
Ll. 39-63. The house of Rumour.
There is a place at the centre of the World, between the land and the sea and the zones of the heavens, the common boundary of this triple universe; from there, whatever is anywhere is seen, even if it is in regions faraway, and every voice reaches hollow ears: Rumour occupies (this place), and has chosen a house for herself on the top of a mountain-stronghold, and has added numerous entrances and countless openings to her place of residence, nor did she bar the threshold by any doors; it is open night and day: it is all of sounding brass, everything resounds (with noises), and echoes voices and reiterates what it hears; (there is) no peace within, and no silence anywhere, and yet there is no loud noise, but (only) the murmur of tiny voices, like those that are wont to come from the waves of the sea, if anyone can hear (them), or like the sound that distant thunder makes, when Jupiter has caused the dark clouds to rumble. Crowds occupy the hallways: a fickle populace comes and goes, and mingling fiction with the truth at random, a thousand rumours wander about, and confused words tumble around; of these, some fill their idle ears with chatter, others bear elsewhere (what they have been) told, and the amount of fiction grows (apace), and (each) new author adds something to (what he has) heard. There is credulity, there rash Error, and empty Joys and alarmed Fears, and sudden Sedition, and Whispers of doubtful authority; (Rumour,) herself, sees what things are being done in the heavens, and on the sea, and on the earth, and inquires about everything in the universe.
Ll. 64-145. The death and transformation of Cycnus.
She (i.e. the goddess Rumour) had spread the news that the Greek ships were approaching, (filled) with valiant troops, nor (was it) unexpected that the enemy were in arms nearby: the Trojans oppose their landing and defend their shores, and you, Protesilaüs, are the first to fall beneath Hector's deadly spear, and joining battle costs the Danaans dearly, and brave-spirited Hector (can be) recognised due to the slaughter (around him). The Phrygians (i.e. the Trojans) learned at no small (expense of) blood (just) what an Achaean right(-hand) was capable of, and now the Sigean shores (i.e. the Sigean promontory to the west of the Bay of Troy) ran red, now Neptune's son, Cycnus, had consigned countless men to their death, now Achilles urged on his chariot, and laid low whole columns (of men) with a blow of his spear, and, (while) searching through the midst of the battle-lines for either Cycnus or Hector, he comes upon Cycnus - (his meeting with) Hector was postponed for ten years: then, exhorting his horses, and constraining their snowy-white necks with their harness, he steered his chariot right at the enemy, and, shaking his quivering spear with all his strength, he said, "O young man, take solace in your death in that you were slain by Haemonian (i.e. Thessalian) Achilles!" Thus (spoke) the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles): his weighty spear followed his words, but, although there was definitely no error in (the flight of) his spear, still he made no impact with the sharp point of the iron missile (he had) hurled, and only bruised his chest, as with the blow of a blunt (weapon).
"(O) Son of the goddess, for I have learned of you already because of your reputation," he (i.e. Cycnus) replies, why are you amazed that I have no wound? - for he was (indeed) amazed. Neither this helmet, which you see, with its tawny horse-hair crest, nor this burden of a hollow shield on my left(-arm), are of help to me: decoration (only) is obtained from those (things); Mars is also accustomed to wear armour for this (reason)! Let the courtesy of this protective covering be removed: yet I shall depart (from you) unhurt; it is (worth) something to be the son, not of Nereus' daughter (i.e. Thetis), but of him (i.e. Neptune) who rules Nereus and his daughters, and the whole of the ocean (as well).
He spoke, and hurled his spear at the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), and, destined (as it was) to stick fast in the round of his shield, it tore right through the bronze and nine (layers) of bull's hide, but was stopped by a tenth layer. The hero shakes it out, and again flung a quivering spear from his vigorous hand: once again (his enemy's) body was whole and without a wound; nor could a third spear graze Cycnus, even though he laid himself open (to it). He (i.e. Achilles) flared up, just like a bull in an open circus charges, with its fearful horns at the bright-red cloak that has provoked it, and finds that it has escaped damage; he examines the spear's metal-tip (to see) whether it has fallen off: it was (still) stuck firmly to the wooden (shaft). "So," he says, "is my hand weak, and is the strength, which it had previously, (now) exhausted in relation to this one (man)? For it was certainly strong, when I was the first to throw down the walls of Lyrnessus (i.e. a city in the Troad), or when I drenched Tenedos (i.e. an Aegean island close to the Trojan coast), and Eetion's Thebes (i.e. a city in Mysia, ruled by Eetion, the father of Hector's wife, Andromache) in their own blood, or when the Caïcus (i.e. a river in Mysia) ran red with the slaughter of its native people, and (when) Telephus (i.e. Hercules' son and king of Mysia) twice felt the effect of my spear (i.e. he was first wounded and then healed by its touch). Here also, when so many have been slain, and I have caused, and can see, the heaps of their (bodies lying) on the shore, my right(-hand) has proved its strength, and it will continue to be strong."
The grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), himself, and (all) the Achaeans (i.e. Greeks) were marvelling at this, when Nestor speaks as follows: "In your time, Cycnus has been unique in being scornful of the sword and invulnerable to its blow. But, a long time ago, I myself saw Perrhaebian (i.e. Thessalian) Caeneus suffer a thousand strokes on an undamaged body, Perrhaebian Caeneus, who, renowned for his exploits, dwelt on (Mount) Othrys (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly), and, what was (all) the more remarkable about him, he was born a woman." All who were there were moved by this strange wonder, and asked (him) to tell his story: among them, Achilles (says): "Go on, do tell (us)! for we all have the same wish to hear, O (you) eloquent old man, (and) the wisdom of our age, who Caeneus was, why (he was) changed to the opposite (sex), and in which campaign and in the struggle of which battle (he became) known to you, (and) by whom he was overcome, if (indeed) he was overcome by anyone."
Then, the old man (says): "Although the slowness of old age hampers me, and many (things which I) beheld in my early years escape my (memory), yet I do remember (many) more. And there is nothing, amongst all those actions in war and at home, which sticks more in my mind (than this). And, if an extensive old age has enabled any witness of many deeds to render an account (of them), I have lived for two hundred years; now I am living in my third century.
"For Eurytus, (you) most savage of the savage Centaurs, your heart is inflamed as much by the sight of the maiden as by the wine, and drunkenness, twinned with lust, rules (it). At once, the tables are overturned, and the banquet is in turmoil, and the new bride is seized by the hair and dragged away by force. Eurytus takes Hippodame, the others whomever they like the look of, or could (get hold of), and the scene was (like that) of a captured city. The palace resounds with the cries of women: immediately we all leap up, and Theseus first cries out, 'What folly is driving you, Eurytus, that you should provoke Pirithoüs, while I am alive (and well), and, unknowingly, assault the two (of us) in one?' Lest he should have spoken these (words) in vain, the great-hearted hero thrusts aside (those) opposing (him) and rescues the plundered girl. His (adversary says) nothing in reply - for he cannot defend those actions of his with words - but attacks her champion's face with violent hands, and strikes at his noble chest. There happened to be nearby an ancient mixing-bowl, (its surface) rough with embossed designs; the son of Aegeus (i.e. Theseus) lifted this enormous thing up, (he) himself (being even) bigger, and hurled it straight at his face: he falls backwards, spewing gouts of blood, together with brain and wine from his wound and mouth, and kicks the (blood-)soaked sand. His twin-membered brothers are infuriated by his killing, and they all compete (with one another) to cry out with one voice, '(To) arms! (To) arms!' Wine gave (them) courage, and, in the initial battle, cups, and fragile jars, and well-rounded cauldrons are sent flying (through the air), things once intended for feasts, (but) now (being used for) fighting and killing.
Ll. 245-289. The deaths of Amycus, Gryneus and Cometes.
"First, Amycus, son of Ophion, was not afraid to despoil the inner sanctuary of its gifts, and firstly snatched from the shrine a candelabrum full of glittering lamps, and, raising (it) on high, like (one) who wields a sacrificial axe to break the bull's snow-white neck, he dashed (it) at the forehead of Celadon the Lapith (i.e. a member of an ancient tribe of South-West Thessaly), and leaves the bones in his face so crushed that he could not be recognised. His eyes leapt out (of their sockets), the bones of his face (were) shattered, and his nose (was) driven back and lodged in the midst of his throat. Wrenching a leg from a maple-wood table, Pelates of Pella (i.e. a Lapith) knocked him (i.e. Amycus) to the ground, with his chin having been driven into his chest, and, as he spits out his teeth, intermingled with dark blood, he dispatches (him) to the shades of Tartarus with a second blow.
"(Then,) as he stood next to the smoking altar, gazing with a wild expression (on his face), Gryneus cries out, 'Why not make use of this (then)?' and he lifted up the huge altar, together with its flames, and flung it (right) into the midst of a bunch of Lapiths, and crushed two (of them), Broteas and Orios: (now) Orios' mother was Mycale, who was known to have frequently drawn down the horns of the moon by her incantations, despite its reluctance. 'You will not escape unscathed, (if) only access to a weapon should be granted (me)!' said Exadius (i.e. one of the Lapiths), and he finds something as good as a weapon in a stag's antlers, which were (hung) on a tall pine-tree as a votive offering. Then, Gryneus is pierced in the eyes by the twin branches, and his eye-balls are gouged out, one of which sticks to the antlers, (and) the other rolls down into his beard, and hangs (there) stiff with blood.
"Behold, Rhoetus snatches up a burning brand of wood from a plum-tree from the middle of the altar, and (bringing it down) from his right side, he fractures Charaxus' temples, covered (as they are) by his blond hair. His hair, caught by the devouring flames, flared up like a dry cornfield, and the blood flowing from the wound gave out a horrible sizzling sound, like an iron-bar, glowing red in the fire, is generally accustomed to give, when the blacksmith takes it out with his curved tongs, and plunges (it) into the waters: then, it whistles and hisses, (when) submerged in the bubbling water. The wounded (man) shakes the greedy fire from his shaggy hair, and plucks a lintel(-stone) from the ground and lifts (it) up on to his shoulders, a burden (sufficient) for a wagon (pulled by oxen), (and) its very weight made it such that he could not hurl (it) against his enemy: yet this lump of stone crushed his companion Cometes (i.e. a Lapith, like Charaxus), who was standing on a spot nearby. Rhoetus could not contain his delight: 'I pray,' he says, 'that the rest of the troop in your camp may be so daring!' And he renews his repeated blows with the half-burned branch, and, with three or four heavy blows, he broke through the joints of his (i.e. Cometes') skull, and the bones sank down into the fluid of his brain.
Ll. 290-326. The deaths of Corythus, Aphidas and others.
"The victor turns his attention to Euagrus, Corythus, and Dryas (i.e. all Lapiths); when (one) of these, Corythus, fell, his cheek-bones covered with his first downy hair, Euagrus cries out, 'What glory do you gain in shedding (the blood of) a boy?' but Rhoetus does not allow him to say any more, and fiercely plunged the reddish flames into the man's open mouth and down his throat into his chest. He pursues you also, savage Dryas, whirling the fiery (branch) around his head, but the result does not remain the same in your (case): as he is exulting in the succession of continuous slaughter, you stab with a charred stake (in the place) where his neck is joined to his shoulder. Rhoetus groaned, and, with some difficulty, wrenched the stake from the hard bone, and he, himself, ran, drenched in his own blood. Orneus and Lycabas also ran, as did Medon (who was) wounded in his right shoulder, and Thaumas, together with Pisenor, and Mermeros, who had recently overcome everyone in a running contest, but was now going more slowly due to the wound (he had) received; Pholus and Melaneus, and Abas, the boar-hunter, also (fled), as did the seer Asbolus, who had vainly tried to dissuade them from fighting: to Nessus, who was also afraid of being wounded, he says, 'Do not flee! You are destined to be kept for Hercules' bow.' Then, Eurynomus and Lycidas, and Areos and Imbreus did not escape death; (for) the right(-hand) of Dryas struck them all down, as they confronted (him). You, also, Crenaeus, received a wound in your front, although you had turned your back in flight: for, as you are looking back, you receive the heavy iron (blade) between your two eyes (in the place) where your nose joins the bottom of your forehead.
"Aphidas was lying, without waking, amongst this immense noise, with all his strength (sunk) in endless sleep, and he was holding a cup of mixed (wine) in his limp hand, as he lay stretched out on a shaggy bear-skin from (Mount) Ossa (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly); when Phorbas (i.e. a Lapith) saw him from a distance stirring in vain without any weapons, he put his fingers into (his javelin's) strap, and said, 'You will drink your wine mixed with (the water of) the Styx (i.e. the main river of the Underworld)'; without any further delay, he hurled his javelin at the youth, and his iron-tipped ashen shaft was driven through his neck, as he lay by chance on his back. He did not feel his death, and the dark blood overflowed from his throat on to his couch and into his very wine-cup.
Ll. 327-392. Pirithoüs, Theseus and Peleus join the fight.
"I saw Petraeus trying to raise an oak-tree laden with acorns from the ground; while he goes around tugging at it, and pulls (it) this way and that, and shakes the loosened trunk, a lance (hurled) by Pirithoüs sunk into Petraeus' ribs and pinned his writhing chest to that hard oak. They say that Lycus, and Chromis also, fell through the valour of Pirithoüs, but they both gave their conqueror a lesser claim to fame than Dictys and Helops (did): Helops was transfixed by by a javelin which created a pathway through his temples, and it went through his right (ear) and penetrated through to his left ear; Dictys stumbled on the two-headed peak of a mountain, while he flees in alarm from the son of Ixion (i.e. Pirithoüs), who is pressing (him) hard, and he falls headlong and shattered a huge mountain-ash by the weight of his body, and entangles his entrails in the broken (tree).
"Aphareus is there (as) his avenger, and tries to hurl a rock which he had torn away from the mountain-side; as he tries, the son of Aegeus (i.e. Theseus) surprises (him) and breaks the massive bones of his elbow; he neither has enough time nor (enough) concern to inflict death on that disabled body, and he leaps on to the back of the lofty Bienor, who is not used to carrying anyone except himself, and he pressed his knees into his ribs, and holding his hair, (which he had) seized in his left(-hand), he shattered his face and his mouth, as it was issuing threats, and his bony temples with his knotted wooden (club). With this club he lays low Nedymnus, and Lycopes, the javelin-thrower, and Hippasos, his chest covered by a flowing beard, and Ripheus, who towered above the tree-tops, and Thereus, who used to carry home alive the raging bears, (which he had) caught in the hills of Harmonia (i.e. Thessaly).
"Demoleon could not endure any longer Theseus enjoying such successes in battle: with a great effort he tries to pull out an ancient pine-tree with its solid trunk; because he could not do it, he broke (it) off and threw (it) at his enemy, but, at Pallas' warning, he (i.e. Theseus) withdrew far away from the approaching missile: (or) so he wished to be believed. Yet, the tree did not fall without effect; for it severed tall Crantor's breast and left shoulder from his collar-bone: that (man) had been your father's armour-bearer, Achilles, and Amyntor, the ruler of the Dolopians, overcome in war, had given him to the son of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles' father, Peleus) as a token and a pledge of peace.
"When Peleus saw from afar that he (had been) torn apart by this frightful wound, he exclaims, 'Accept these offerings to the dead at least, (O) Crantor, dearest of warriors,' and, with his powerful arm, he hurled his ash-wood spear at Demoleon with his full strength, and it ruptured his rib-cage and stuck quivering in his bones. With his hand he (i.e. Demoleon) draws out the wooden (shaft) without its point - he seeks that also with difficulty - (but) the point is caught in his lung; the very pain gave strength to his will: in his suffering, he rears up at his enemy, and beats down on the man with his hooves. He (i.e. Peleus) catches the resounding blows on his helmet and shield, and he defends his upper arms and controls the weapon which he holds out in front of (him), and with one blow through his shoulders he pierces his dual breast.
"But, before (this), he had (already) delivered Phlegraeos and Hyles to their death from a distance, and Iphinoüs and Clanis at close quarters; added to these (is) Dorylas, who wore a wolf-skin cap on his head, and, instead of a deadly spear, (had) a magnificent (pair of) crooked bulls' horns, made red with much blood. I (i.e. Nestor) shouted to him - for my courage gave me strength - 'Look, how your horns give way to my spear!' And I threw my javelin: since he could not avoid it, he put his right(-hand) on his forehead in order to undergo the wound: his hand was pinned to his forehead; he lets out a cry, but as he came to a halt, overcome by this harsh wound, Peleus - for he was standing nearby - strikes him in the middle of his stomach. He leapt forward and dragged his entrails wildly along the ground, and, as he dragged (them), (so) he trampled on (them), and, as he trampled on (them), (so) he tore (them), and entangled his legs in them too, and falls with an empty belly.
Ll. 393-428. Cyllarus and Hylonome.
"Many (females) of his species courted him, but one, Hylonome, won (him), and no one more lovely than her lived among the half-beasts (i.e. the Centaurs) in the depths of the forests. She alone held Cyllaron's (affections), by her endearments, by her love-making, by her acknowledging her love, (and,) also, by her appearance, in so far as her limbs would allow her to smooth her hair with a comb, and to entwine herself, now with rosemary, now with violets or with roses; sometimes, she would wear white lilies, and each day she would bathe her face twice in the springs that fell in the woods on the heights of Pagasae (i.e. a coastal town in Thessaly), and she would dip her body twice in the stream, nor would she spread any pelts over her shoulder or across her left flank, except (those) of selected wild beasts that became (her). Their love is shared between them: they wandered on the mountains together, and they entered caves at the same time; and now they had entered the palace of the Lapiths together, and together they waged fierce war. A javelin - its instigator is uncertain - came from the left side, and pierced you, Cyllarus, below (the place) where the chest borders the neck; after the weapon (had been) drawn out, his heart, (though) damaged (only) by a slight wound, grew cold, together with his whole body. Immediately, Hylonome clasps hold of the dying limbs, and she places her hand on the wound and keeps (it) warm, and puts her mouth on his mouth, and tries to block his departing spirit; when she sees that (he is) dead, with words that the noise prevented from reaching my ears, she threw (herself) upon the spear which had pierced him, and embraced her husband, as she died. "(O) Son of the goddess, for I have learned of you already because of your reputation," he (i.e. Cycnus) replies, why are you amazed that I have no wound? - for he was (indeed) amazed. Neither this helmet, which you see, with its tawny horse-hair crest, nor this burden of a hollow shield on my left(-arm), are of help to me: decoration (only) is obtained from those (things); Mars is also accustomed to wear armour for this (reason)! Let the courtesy of this protective covering be removed: yet I shall depart (from you) unhurt; it is (worth) something to be the son, not of Nereus' daughter (i.e. Thetis), but of him (i.e. Neptune) who rules Nereus and his daughters, and the whole of the ocean (as well).
He spoke, and hurled his spear at the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), and, destined (as it was) to stick fast in the round of his shield, it tore right through the bronze and nine (layers) of bull's hide, but was stopped by a tenth layer. The hero shakes it out, and again flung a quivering spear from his vigorous hand: once again (his enemy's) body was whole and without a wound; nor could a third spear graze Cycnus, even though he laid himself open (to it). He (i.e. Achilles) flared up, just like a bull in an open circus charges, with its fearful horns at the bright-red cloak that has provoked it, and finds that it has escaped damage; he examines the spear's metal-tip (to see) whether it has fallen off: it was (still) stuck firmly to the wooden (shaft). "So," he says, "is my hand weak, and is the strength, which it had previously, (now) exhausted in relation to this one (man)? For it was certainly strong, when I was the first to throw down the walls of Lyrnessus (i.e. a city in the Troad), or when I drenched Tenedos (i.e. an Aegean island close to the Trojan coast), and Eetion's Thebes (i.e. a city in Mysia, ruled by Eetion, the father of Hector's wife, Andromache) in their own blood, or when the Caïcus (i.e. a river in Mysia) ran red with the slaughter of its native people, and (when) Telephus (i.e. Hercules' son and king of Mysia) twice felt the effect of my spear (i.e. he was first wounded and then healed by its touch). Here also, when so many have been slain, and I have caused, and can see, the heaps of their (bodies lying) on the shore, my right(-hand) has proved its strength, and it will continue to be strong."
He spoke, and, as if he could scarcely believe (what had) happened previously, he hurled a spear straight at Menoetes, (a warrior) from the people of Lycia, and it tore through his breastplate and the breast lying beneath (it) at the same time. With the dying (man) beating his head on the solid ground, he (i.e. Achilles) wrenched that spear from the warm wound, and says: "This is the hand, (and) this (is) the spear, by means of which I have just conquered: I shall (now) use the same (things) against this (man) (i.e. Cycnus); I pray that the result may be the same in his (case)!"
So speaking, he attacked Cycnus again, nor did the ashen-spear err (in its aim), but thudded unavoidably into his left shoulder, from where it rebounded as though from a wall or a solid (piece of) rock; Achilles saw that Cycnus (was) stained with blood (in the place) where he had been struck, and he rejoiced in vain: (for) there was no wound, (as) it was Menoetes' blood! Then, indeed, he roars (with rage) and leaps headlong from his tall chariot, and, making for his fearless foe at close quarters with his gleaming blade, he sees that his shield and his helmet are pierced by his sword, but that the iron is still blunted by his impenetrable body.
He (i.e. Achilles) could not bear (it) any longer, and beats three or four times at the face and the hollow temples of the man in front of (him) with his drawn back shield and the hilt of his sword, and, following (him) as he retreats, he is hard on his heels, and harries (him) and rushes at (him), and denies the shocked (man) any respite: fear takes hold of him, and shadows float before his eyes, and, as he moves backwards, a boulder in the midst of the field obstructs his retreating steps. As he is trapped on top of (it) with his body bent back, Achilles turns Cycnus over with great force, and flings (him) to the ground. Then, pressing his shield and his hard knees into his midriff, he tugs the straps of his helmet: these, having been placed tightly beneath his chin, squeeze both his throat and his windpipe and rob (him) of his breath. He (i.e. Achilles) was preparing to strip the defeated (man), (when) he sees his abandoned armour; (for) the god of the sea (i.e. Neptune) has transformed his body into a white bird, whose name he held just a moment ago (i.e. cycnus, the swan).
Ll. 146-209. Nestor tells the story of Caeneus / Caenis.
This effort, this battle brought about a truce of many days (duration), and both sided laid down their arms and stopped (fighting). While an alert guard keeps watch on the Phrygian (i.e Trojan) walls, and an alert guard patrols the Argive (i.e. Greek) trenches, a feast day arrived, on which Achilles, the conqueror of Cycnus, propitiated Pallas (i.e. Athene) with the blood of a sacrificial heifer; but, when he had laid its entrails on the burning altar, and its odour, pleasing to the gods had gone up into the sky, the holy (beings) received their (due), (while) the remaining part was laid out on tables. The chiefs reclined on couches and they fill their bodied with roasted meat, and they quench their thirst and (relieve) their cares with wine. Neither (the sound) of the lyre, nor their own singing voices, nor the long flute (made) of boxwood pierced with many holes, delights them, but they extend the night with talk, and courage is the substance of their conversation: they talk of battles, both their enemy's and their own, and it pleases (them) to recount in turn the dangers they have (so) often undergone and endured; for what (else) should Achilles speak of, or what else should they speak of in the presence of the mighty Achilles? His most recent victory over the conquered Cycnus was, especially, the subject of their discussion: it seemed incredible to all of them that a warrior should have a body that no spear could penetrate, that was impervious to any wound, and which could blunt an iron sword. So speaking, he attacked Cycnus again, nor did the ashen-spear err (in its aim), but thudded unavoidably into his left shoulder, from where it rebounded as though from a wall or a solid (piece of) rock; Achilles saw that Cycnus (was) stained with blood (in the place) where he had been struck, and he rejoiced in vain: (for) there was no wound, (as) it was Menoetes' blood! Then, indeed, he roars (with rage) and leaps headlong from his tall chariot, and, making for his fearless foe at close quarters with his gleaming blade, he sees that his shield and his helmet are pierced by his sword, but that the iron is still blunted by his impenetrable body.
He (i.e. Achilles) could not bear (it) any longer, and beats three or four times at the face and the hollow temples of the man in front of (him) with his drawn back shield and the hilt of his sword, and, following (him) as he retreats, he is hard on his heels, and harries (him) and rushes at (him), and denies the shocked (man) any respite: fear takes hold of him, and shadows float before his eyes, and, as he moves backwards, a boulder in the midst of the field obstructs his retreating steps. As he is trapped on top of (it) with his body bent back, Achilles turns Cycnus over with great force, and flings (him) to the ground. Then, pressing his shield and his hard knees into his midriff, he tugs the straps of his helmet: these, having been placed tightly beneath his chin, squeeze both his throat and his windpipe and rob (him) of his breath. He (i.e. Achilles) was preparing to strip the defeated (man), (when) he sees his abandoned armour; (for) the god of the sea (i.e. Neptune) has transformed his body into a white bird, whose name he held just a moment ago (i.e. cycnus, the swan).
Ll. 146-209. Nestor tells the story of Caeneus / Caenis.
The grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), himself, and (all) the Achaeans (i.e. Greeks) were marvelling at this, when Nestor speaks as follows: "In your time, Cycnus has been unique in being scornful of the sword and invulnerable to its blow. But, a long time ago, I myself saw Perrhaebian (i.e. Thessalian) Caeneus suffer a thousand strokes on an undamaged body, Perrhaebian Caeneus, who, renowned for his exploits, dwelt on (Mount) Othrys (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly), and, what was (all) the more remarkable about him, he was born a woman." All who were there were moved by this strange wonder, and asked (him) to tell his story: among them, Achilles (says): "Go on, do tell (us)! for we all have the same wish to hear, O (you) eloquent old man, (and) the wisdom of our age, who Caeneus was, why (he was) changed to the opposite (sex), and in which campaign and in the struggle of which battle (he became) known to you, (and) by whom he was overcome, if (indeed) he was overcome by anyone."
Then, the old man (says): "Although the slowness of old age hampers me, and many (things which I) beheld in my early years escape my (memory), yet I do remember (many) more. And there is nothing, amongst all those actions in war and at home, which sticks more in my mind (than this). And, if an extensive old age has enabled any witness of many deeds to render an account (of them), I have lived for two hundred years; now I am living in my third century.
"Elatus' daughter, Caenis, the most beautiful maiden among the Thessalians, was renowned for her beauty, and was longed for in vain by a host of suitors throughout the neighbouring cities and your own - for she was from your people, Achilles. Perhaps, Peleus (i.e. Achilles' father), too, would have attempted to (make) such a marriage, but the marriage of your mother (i.e. Thetis) to him had already happened, or she had been promised (to him). But Caenis did not accept marriage to any (of these suitors), but - so the story went - as she was walking along a lonely shore, she suffered the violence of (i.e. she was ravished by) the god of the sea, and, when Neptune had tasted the joys of his new love, he said, 'You may make your wishes (known) without fear of refusal: choose whatever you desire!' - the same story told this too. Caenis replies: 'This injury gives (me) the great desire to be able to suffer nothing like this ever again; grant that I may not be a woman: (if so,) you will have granted (me) everything (I need).' She spoke her last words words in a deeper tone, and her voice could have seemed (to be) that of a man, and so it was; for the god of the deep sea had already assented to her prayer, and had granted in addition that she could not be hurt by any wounds or fall to any sword. The son of Atrax (i.e. Caeneus, who came from Atrax, a town in Thessaly on the River Peneus) departs, delighted with his gifts, and spends his time in manly pursuits, while he roams the fields of the Peneus.
Ll. 210-244. The battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs.
"The son of bold Ixion (i.e. Pirithoüs) had married Hippodame, and had invited the uncultivated cloud-born (centaurs) (i.e. creatures that were half-men / half-horse) to recline at tables set in line in a grotto shaded by trees. The Haemonian (i.e. Thessalian) chiefs were there, and I, myself, was there, and the palace, in festive array, resounded with the noisy crowd. See, they are singing the nuptial hymn, and the great hall is smoking with fires, and in comes the virgin, conspicuous in her beauty, escorted by a throng of mothers and young wives; we declared Pirithoüs blessed in his bride, (an action by) which we almost betrayed the (good) omen (of the wedding).
Ll. 210-244. The battle of the Lapiths and the Centaurs.
"The son of bold Ixion (i.e. Pirithoüs) had married Hippodame, and had invited the uncultivated cloud-born (centaurs) (i.e. creatures that were half-men / half-horse) to recline at tables set in line in a grotto shaded by trees. The Haemonian (i.e. Thessalian) chiefs were there, and I, myself, was there, and the palace, in festive array, resounded with the noisy crowd. See, they are singing the nuptial hymn, and the great hall is smoking with fires, and in comes the virgin, conspicuous in her beauty, escorted by a throng of mothers and young wives; we declared Pirithoüs blessed in his bride, (an action by) which we almost betrayed the (good) omen (of the wedding).
"For Eurytus, (you) most savage of the savage Centaurs, your heart is inflamed as much by the sight of the maiden as by the wine, and drunkenness, twinned with lust, rules (it). At once, the tables are overturned, and the banquet is in turmoil, and the new bride is seized by the hair and dragged away by force. Eurytus takes Hippodame, the others whomever they like the look of, or could (get hold of), and the scene was (like that) of a captured city. The palace resounds with the cries of women: immediately we all leap up, and Theseus first cries out, 'What folly is driving you, Eurytus, that you should provoke Pirithoüs, while I am alive (and well), and, unknowingly, assault the two (of us) in one?' Lest he should have spoken these (words) in vain, the great-hearted hero thrusts aside (those) opposing (him) and rescues the plundered girl. His (adversary says) nothing in reply - for he cannot defend those actions of his with words - but attacks her champion's face with violent hands, and strikes at his noble chest. There happened to be nearby an ancient mixing-bowl, (its surface) rough with embossed designs; the son of Aegeus (i.e. Theseus) lifted this enormous thing up, (he) himself (being even) bigger, and hurled it straight at his face: he falls backwards, spewing gouts of blood, together with brain and wine from his wound and mouth, and kicks the (blood-)soaked sand. His twin-membered brothers are infuriated by his killing, and they all compete (with one another) to cry out with one voice, '(To) arms! (To) arms!' Wine gave (them) courage, and, in the initial battle, cups, and fragile jars, and well-rounded cauldrons are sent flying (through the air), things once intended for feasts, (but) now (being used for) fighting and killing.
Ll. 245-289. The deaths of Amycus, Gryneus and Cometes.
"First, Amycus, son of Ophion, was not afraid to despoil the inner sanctuary of its gifts, and firstly snatched from the shrine a candelabrum full of glittering lamps, and, raising (it) on high, like (one) who wields a sacrificial axe to break the bull's snow-white neck, he dashed (it) at the forehead of Celadon the Lapith (i.e. a member of an ancient tribe of South-West Thessaly), and leaves the bones in his face so crushed that he could not be recognised. His eyes leapt out (of their sockets), the bones of his face (were) shattered, and his nose (was) driven back and lodged in the midst of his throat. Wrenching a leg from a maple-wood table, Pelates of Pella (i.e. a Lapith) knocked him (i.e. Amycus) to the ground, with his chin having been driven into his chest, and, as he spits out his teeth, intermingled with dark blood, he dispatches (him) to the shades of Tartarus with a second blow.
"(Then,) as he stood next to the smoking altar, gazing with a wild expression (on his face), Gryneus cries out, 'Why not make use of this (then)?' and he lifted up the huge altar, together with its flames, and flung it (right) into the midst of a bunch of Lapiths, and crushed two (of them), Broteas and Orios: (now) Orios' mother was Mycale, who was known to have frequently drawn down the horns of the moon by her incantations, despite its reluctance. 'You will not escape unscathed, (if) only access to a weapon should be granted (me)!' said Exadius (i.e. one of the Lapiths), and he finds something as good as a weapon in a stag's antlers, which were (hung) on a tall pine-tree as a votive offering. Then, Gryneus is pierced in the eyes by the twin branches, and his eye-balls are gouged out, one of which sticks to the antlers, (and) the other rolls down into his beard, and hangs (there) stiff with blood.
"Behold, Rhoetus snatches up a burning brand of wood from a plum-tree from the middle of the altar, and (bringing it down) from his right side, he fractures Charaxus' temples, covered (as they are) by his blond hair. His hair, caught by the devouring flames, flared up like a dry cornfield, and the blood flowing from the wound gave out a horrible sizzling sound, like an iron-bar, glowing red in the fire, is generally accustomed to give, when the blacksmith takes it out with his curved tongs, and plunges (it) into the waters: then, it whistles and hisses, (when) submerged in the bubbling water. The wounded (man) shakes the greedy fire from his shaggy hair, and plucks a lintel(-stone) from the ground and lifts (it) up on to his shoulders, a burden (sufficient) for a wagon (pulled by oxen), (and) its very weight made it such that he could not hurl (it) against his enemy: yet this lump of stone crushed his companion Cometes (i.e. a Lapith, like Charaxus), who was standing on a spot nearby. Rhoetus could not contain his delight: 'I pray,' he says, 'that the rest of the troop in your camp may be so daring!' And he renews his repeated blows with the half-burned branch, and, with three or four heavy blows, he broke through the joints of his (i.e. Cometes') skull, and the bones sank down into the fluid of his brain.
Ll. 290-326. The deaths of Corythus, Aphidas and others.
"The victor turns his attention to Euagrus, Corythus, and Dryas (i.e. all Lapiths); when (one) of these, Corythus, fell, his cheek-bones covered with his first downy hair, Euagrus cries out, 'What glory do you gain in shedding (the blood of) a boy?' but Rhoetus does not allow him to say any more, and fiercely plunged the reddish flames into the man's open mouth and down his throat into his chest. He pursues you also, savage Dryas, whirling the fiery (branch) around his head, but the result does not remain the same in your (case): as he is exulting in the succession of continuous slaughter, you stab with a charred stake (in the place) where his neck is joined to his shoulder. Rhoetus groaned, and, with some difficulty, wrenched the stake from the hard bone, and he, himself, ran, drenched in his own blood. Orneus and Lycabas also ran, as did Medon (who was) wounded in his right shoulder, and Thaumas, together with Pisenor, and Mermeros, who had recently overcome everyone in a running contest, but was now going more slowly due to the wound (he had) received; Pholus and Melaneus, and Abas, the boar-hunter, also (fled), as did the seer Asbolus, who had vainly tried to dissuade them from fighting: to Nessus, who was also afraid of being wounded, he says, 'Do not flee! You are destined to be kept for Hercules' bow.' Then, Eurynomus and Lycidas, and Areos and Imbreus did not escape death; (for) the right(-hand) of Dryas struck them all down, as they confronted (him). You, also, Crenaeus, received a wound in your front, although you had turned your back in flight: for, as you are looking back, you receive the heavy iron (blade) between your two eyes (in the place) where your nose joins the bottom of your forehead.
"Aphidas was lying, without waking, amongst this immense noise, with all his strength (sunk) in endless sleep, and he was holding a cup of mixed (wine) in his limp hand, as he lay stretched out on a shaggy bear-skin from (Mount) Ossa (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly); when Phorbas (i.e. a Lapith) saw him from a distance stirring in vain without any weapons, he put his fingers into (his javelin's) strap, and said, 'You will drink your wine mixed with (the water of) the Styx (i.e. the main river of the Underworld)'; without any further delay, he hurled his javelin at the youth, and his iron-tipped ashen shaft was driven through his neck, as he lay by chance on his back. He did not feel his death, and the dark blood overflowed from his throat on to his couch and into his very wine-cup.
Ll. 327-392. Pirithoüs, Theseus and Peleus join the fight.
"I saw Petraeus trying to raise an oak-tree laden with acorns from the ground; while he goes around tugging at it, and pulls (it) this way and that, and shakes the loosened trunk, a lance (hurled) by Pirithoüs sunk into Petraeus' ribs and pinned his writhing chest to that hard oak. They say that Lycus, and Chromis also, fell through the valour of Pirithoüs, but they both gave their conqueror a lesser claim to fame than Dictys and Helops (did): Helops was transfixed by by a javelin which created a pathway through his temples, and it went through his right (ear) and penetrated through to his left ear; Dictys stumbled on the two-headed peak of a mountain, while he flees in alarm from the son of Ixion (i.e. Pirithoüs), who is pressing (him) hard, and he falls headlong and shattered a huge mountain-ash by the weight of his body, and entangles his entrails in the broken (tree).
"Aphareus is there (as) his avenger, and tries to hurl a rock which he had torn away from the mountain-side; as he tries, the son of Aegeus (i.e. Theseus) surprises (him) and breaks the massive bones of his elbow; he neither has enough time nor (enough) concern to inflict death on that disabled body, and he leaps on to the back of the lofty Bienor, who is not used to carrying anyone except himself, and he pressed his knees into his ribs, and holding his hair, (which he had) seized in his left(-hand), he shattered his face and his mouth, as it was issuing threats, and his bony temples with his knotted wooden (club). With this club he lays low Nedymnus, and Lycopes, the javelin-thrower, and Hippasos, his chest covered by a flowing beard, and Ripheus, who towered above the tree-tops, and Thereus, who used to carry home alive the raging bears, (which he had) caught in the hills of Harmonia (i.e. Thessaly).
"Demoleon could not endure any longer Theseus enjoying such successes in battle: with a great effort he tries to pull out an ancient pine-tree with its solid trunk; because he could not do it, he broke (it) off and threw (it) at his enemy, but, at Pallas' warning, he (i.e. Theseus) withdrew far away from the approaching missile: (or) so he wished to be believed. Yet, the tree did not fall without effect; for it severed tall Crantor's breast and left shoulder from his collar-bone: that (man) had been your father's armour-bearer, Achilles, and Amyntor, the ruler of the Dolopians, overcome in war, had given him to the son of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles' father, Peleus) as a token and a pledge of peace.
"When Peleus saw from afar that he (had been) torn apart by this frightful wound, he exclaims, 'Accept these offerings to the dead at least, (O) Crantor, dearest of warriors,' and, with his powerful arm, he hurled his ash-wood spear at Demoleon with his full strength, and it ruptured his rib-cage and stuck quivering in his bones. With his hand he (i.e. Demoleon) draws out the wooden (shaft) without its point - he seeks that also with difficulty - (but) the point is caught in his lung; the very pain gave strength to his will: in his suffering, he rears up at his enemy, and beats down on the man with his hooves. He (i.e. Peleus) catches the resounding blows on his helmet and shield, and he defends his upper arms and controls the weapon which he holds out in front of (him), and with one blow through his shoulders he pierces his dual breast.
"But, before (this), he had (already) delivered Phlegraeos and Hyles to their death from a distance, and Iphinoüs and Clanis at close quarters; added to these (is) Dorylas, who wore a wolf-skin cap on his head, and, instead of a deadly spear, (had) a magnificent (pair of) crooked bulls' horns, made red with much blood. I (i.e. Nestor) shouted to him - for my courage gave me strength - 'Look, how your horns give way to my spear!' And I threw my javelin: since he could not avoid it, he put his right(-hand) on his forehead in order to undergo the wound: his hand was pinned to his forehead; he lets out a cry, but as he came to a halt, overcome by this harsh wound, Peleus - for he was standing nearby - strikes him in the middle of his stomach. He leapt forward and dragged his entrails wildly along the ground, and, as he dragged (them), (so) he trampled on (them), and, as he trampled on (them), (so) he tore (them), and entangled his legs in them too, and falls with an empty belly.
"Nor did your beauty, Cyllarus, if, indeed, we can allow any beauty (to belong) to that species of yours, save you in the fighting. His beard was beginning (to grow), the colour of his beard (was) golden, (and) his golden hair fell from his shoulders into the midst of his flanks. The energetic expression) on his face (was) pleasing; his neck his shoulders, his hands and his breast, and whatever (parts) a man should have, (were) close to the praiseworthy designs of craftsmen; nor (were) the features of a horse below that marred and inferior to (those) of a man; give (him) a (horse's) neck and head, (and) he would be worthy of Castor (i.e. the heavenly twin who loved horses and horsemanship); his back (is) so (suitable) for sitting on, his deep chest is so (full) of muscles. (He is) blacker than dark pitch all over, but for his white tail; the colour of his legs is also white.
Ll. 429-535. The transformation of Caeneus.
"Phaeocomes stands before my eyes, the one who had bound six lion's pelts together with knotted cords, protecting both man and horse at the same time; hurling a block of wood that two pairs (of oxen) could scarcely shift, he smashed the skull of Telephos, son of Olenus (i.e. a Lapith); the broad dome of his head (was) shattered and the soft (matter of) his brain oozed out through his mouth, and through his hollow nostrils, and his eyes and ears, like curdled milk is wont (to seep) through a basked woven with twigs of oak, or as liquid trickles through a coarse sieve under its own weight, and is gradually squeezed out through the numerous holes. But, while he prepares to strip the fallen (man) of his armour, I plunged my sword deep into the despoiler's groin - your father (i.e. Peleus) knows this. Chthonius and Teleboas also fell by my sword: the former bore a forked branch, the latter a spear; with this spear he gave me a wound. See the mark! the old scar is still visible. In those days I would have been sent to capture Pergama (i.e. the citadel of Troy); then, I could have detained the arms of Hector greatly with my own, if not have overcome (him)! But, at that time, Hector was not yet born, or (was) a child, and now old age has weakened me.
"Why should I tell you how Periphas (was) the conqueror of dual-shaped Pyraethus, or of Ampycus, who drove his spear without a point right into the face of the four-footed Echeclus? Macareus felled Pelethronian (i.e. Thessalian) Erigdupus (i.e. a Lapith), by throwing a crowbar at his chest; and I remember that a hunting-spear, thrown by the hand of Nessus buried itself in the groin of Cymbelus (i.e. also a Lapith). Nor should you believe that Mopsus, the son of Ampyx, only prophesied future (events): (for) the two-formed Hodites fell to Mopsus' throw, and tried to speak in vain, as his tongue had been nailed to his chin and his chin to his throat.
"Caeneus delivered five (Centaurs) to their death: Styphelus, Bromis, Antimachus, Elymus and axe-wielding Pyracmon; I do not remember their wounds, but I did note the number (of them) and their names. (Then,) Latreus rushes forward, massive in limbs and body, armed with the spoils of Halesus of Emathia (i.e. a district of Macedonia), whom he had killed: his age (was) between youth and old age, (but, although) the hair on his temples was turning grey, he had the vigour of youth. Conspicuous for his shield and helmet, and Macedonian lance, and turning his face to both sides, he clashed his weapons together, and rode in a clear circle, and he boldly poured forth so many words into the empty air: 'And do I (really) have to put up with you, Caenis? For you (will) always (be) a woman to me; you will (always) be Caenis to me. Does not your natal origin impress itself upon you, and does it (not) come into your mind by what deed you won your reward, and at what cost (you procured) the false appearance of a man? Consider what you were born (to be), or what you have suffered, and go, pick up your distaff, and your basket of wool, and twist the thread with your thumb; leave war to the men!' As he was tossing about such (words), Caeneus hurled his spear, (and,) as he was extended at the gallop, he tore (a hole) in his side (at the point) where man was joined to horse. He (i.e. Latreus) was maddened with pain, and strikes the Phylleian youth (i.e. Caeneus, the epithet being taken from Phyllos, a town in Thessaly) with his lance on his bare face: it bounces off, just like a hailstone from the top of a roof, or as if someone should strike a hollow drum with a small pebble. He attacks (him) at close quarters, and strives to bury his sword in his impenetrable side: (but) the spot was inaccessible to the sword. 'Yet, you will not escape! The edge of my sword will kill you, even if its point is blunt,' he cries, and he turns his sword aside into his side, and envelops his loins with his long right(-arm). The blow makes a moaning noise, like a block of marble being struck, and the blade cracked and broke up as it hit the firm flesh. When he had offered his undamaged limbs to his wondering (enemy) for long enough, Caeneus says, 'Go on now, let me try my sword on your body,' and he plunged his deadly sword between his shoulder(-blades) right up to the hilt, and twisted and kept on turning his hand in his guts, and inflicted wound upon wound.
"See, the raving Centaurs rush (on him) with a great cry, and they all aim and fling their spears at this one (man). The spears fall blunted: (but) Caeneus, son of Elatus, remains unpierced and unblooded by all their blows.
"This strange occurrence had caused (them) to be astounded. 'Alas! (what) a great shame!' exclaims Monychus (i.e. a Centaur), 'we, (as) a people, are defeated by one (person), and (he is) scarcely a man; and, yet, he is a man, and we, with our feeble actions, are what he (once) was. What use are our enormous limbs? What (use is) our two-fold strength, and that double nature which has united the strongest living creatures in our (bodies)? Nor do I think that we are the sons of a divine mother, nor (are) we (the sons) of Ixion, who was so great as to entertain the hope of (winning) lofty Juno: we are overcome by an enemy that is a hermaphrodite! Roll down rocks an tree-trunks, and whole mountain(-sides) on top of him, and crush that stubborn spirit with the forest that we have hurled (on him)! Let their mass constrict his throat, and let there be weight instead of wounds.'
"He (i.e. Monychus) spoke, and, having happened to find a tree-trunk (which had been) toppled by the furious strength of the South Wind, he flung (it) at his powerful foe. It served as an example, and in a short time (Mount) Othrys (i.e. a mountain in Thessaly) was bare of trees, and Pelion (i.e. also a mountain in Thessaly) had no shade. Buried within that huge pile, Caeneus rages under the weight of the trees, and bears the heaped up oak-trees upon his brawny shoulders, but actually, when the load grew above his mouth and head, his breath has no air (upon) which it can draw, (and,) often, it fails, (and) sometimes he tries in vain to raise himself up into the air and to throw off the forest (which is) piled (on him), and sometimes he heaves, as though steep Ida (i.e. the mountain near Troy) is shaken by an earthquake. The outcome is uncertain: some say that his body (was) thrust down into empty Tartarus by the mass of trees; (but) the son of Ampyx (i.e. Mopsus) denied (this), and saw a bird with tawny wings fly out into the clear air from the midst of the pile, and it was then seen by me for the first and last time.
"When Mopsus watched him as he encircled his camp in smooth flight, making a great noise all around (him), and followed (him) with his mind and eyes alike, he said, 'O hail (to you,) Caeneus, the glory of the race of Lapiths, once the greatest of heroes, but now solely a bird!' The matter is believed due to its author: our grief increases our anger, and we could hardly endure (the thought) of one (man) being overwhelmed by so many enemies (at one time); nor did we desist from working out our pain with the sword, until half (of them) (i.e. the Centaurs) were dead, and flight and darkness had swallowed up the rest."
Ll. 536-579. The death of Periclymenus.
As the (hero) of Pylos tells of this battle between the Lapiths and the half-human Centaurs, Tlepolemus (i.e. a son of Hercules, and the leader of the Rhodians) could not endure, with a silent mouth, the pain of the grandson of Alceus (i.e. Hercules) being overlooked, and he says: "It is amazing, old man, that your recitals (are) oblivious of any praise of Hercules; assuredly, my father often used to tell me that the cloud-born (Centaurs) had been subdued by him." The Pylian (hero replies) sternly to these (words): "Why do you force me to remember wrongs and to reopen sorrows obscured by the years, and to reveal my hatred for your father and the injuries (that he caused me)? He performed, it is true, (O) gods! (deeds) greater than one can believe, and he filled the world with (praise) for his services, which I wish I could deny; but we do not praise Deïphobus, or Polydamas, or even Hector: for who praises his enemy? That father of yours once razed Messene's walls, and destroyed the innocent cities of Elis and Pylos (i.e. both cities of the Western Peloponnese) and drove fire and sword into my household gods, and, though I say nothing of the others whom he killed, we were the twelve sons of Neleus, (all) outstanding young men, (and all) twelve (of us) fell to the might of Hercules, except me alone. And yet, (while) it must be said that the others could have been defeated, the death of Periclymenus, to whom Neptune, the founder of Neleus' bloodline, had granted the power to assume any form he wished, and to set aside again any (shape he had) assumed, was strange. When he had fruitlessly changed to every form, he turned to the shape of the bird (i.e. the eagle) that is used to carrying in its curved talons that lightning bolt (so) pleasing to the king of the gods; employing the strength of that bird in its wings and its curved beak and hooked claws, it tore at the hero's face. The Tirynthian (i.e. Hercules, the epithet, taken from the Argolian city of Tiryns, being commonly applied to him) aims his all too unerring bow at him, and, as he bears his body high among the cloud and hangs (poised there), he strikes (him in the place) where his wing is joined to his side. The wound was not a fatal (one), but the sinews, severed by the wound, fail and deny (him) movement and the power of flight. He falls to earth, his weakened wings no longer catching the winds, and (at the spot) where it had clung lightly to his wing, the arrow was driven (upwards) by the weight of his distressed body, and was forced through the top of his side into the left side of his throat. Now, O most splendid leader of the Rhodian fleet, do I appear to owe commendations for the deeds of your Hercules? Yet, I do not seek to avenge my brothers, other than by keeping silent about his brave deeds; my friendship with you is a solid (one)."
When the son of Neleus (i.e. Nestor) had said these (things) in a pleasant voice, (they passed) from the old man's conversation to a renewed (attention) to the gifts of Bacchus (i.e. wine-drinking), (and then) they arose from their couches: the rest of the night was given to sleep.
Ll. 580-628. The death of Achilles.
But the god of the sea (i.e. Neptune), who rules the waters of the sea with his trident, grieves with a father's feeling for the body of his son, (which had been) changed into the bird of Phaëthon (i.e. a swan), and, hating the murderous Achilles, he indulges his unforgetting wrath in a manner beyond what was courteous. And now, when the war had lasted for ten years, he addresses the unshorn Sminthean god (i.e. Apollo, the epithet coming from Smintha, a town in the Troad) in the following words: "O by far the most beloved of my brother's sons, who built the walls of Troy with me in vain, don't you sigh at all when you behold these battlements, destined to fall at any moment? Or don't you grieve at all that so many thousands have died in defence of their walls? (Don't you grieve for) anyone at all, (and) lest I should name (them) all, doesn't the ghost of Hector come before (you), as he is dragged around (the walls of) his own Pergama? Yet, although he is fierce and more cruel than war itself, Achilles, that destroyer of our handiwork, still lives. Let him come within my (reach): I shall make (him) understand what I can do with my triple-headed spear; but, since it is not granted to me to meet my enemy face to face, you must kill him unexpectedly with an unseen arrow!" The Delian god (i.e. Apollo, who was born on the Aegean island of Delos) nodded in agreement, and indulging equally his uncle's and his own feelings, he comes to the host of Ilium, and in the midst of human slaughter, he sees Paris casting one or two missiles at unknown Achaeans, and, revealing (himself as) a god, he says, "Why do you waste your darts on the blood of commoners? If you have any concern for your own (kinsmen), aim at the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), and avenge your brothers (whom he has) slain!" He spoke, and pointing to the son of Peleus (i.e. Achilles), who, with his sword, was strewing (the ground) with Trojan bodies, he turned (Paris') bow towards him, and guided the unerring shaft with a deadly right(-hand). This was (the only thing) which could delight old Priam since Hector (died); so, Achilles, (you) famous conqueror of such great (men), you are conquered by the cowardly robber of the wife of a Greek! And, if you had to fall in war to a woman, you would rather have fallen to a Thermodontian (i.e. Amazonian) battle-axe.
Now, the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), that terror of the Phrygians (i.e. the Trojans) and guardian of the name of the Pelasgians (i.e. the Greeks), that invincible captain in battle, was cremated; now he is ash, and of the (once) so great Achilles I know not how little remains, scarcely enough to fill an urn, but his glory lives (on), enough to fill the whole of the (wide) world. That equals the measure of the man, and, in this, the son of Peleus (i.e. Achilles) is a match for himself, and does not feel the emptiness of Tartarus.
So that you might know whose it was, his very shield makes war, and, for his arms, arms are taken up. Neither the son of Tydeus (i.e. Diomedes) nor Ajax, the son of Oïleus, dares to claim them, nor does the lesser son of Atreus (i.e. Menelaüs), nor the greater (one, both) in war and in age (i.e. Agamemnon), nor any other (chieftain): only the sons of Telamon (i.e. Ajax) and Laërtes (i.e. Ulysses) had the confidence for such glory. The descendant of Tantalus (i.e. Agamemnon) took away from himself the invidious burden (of choosing between them), and he ordered the leaders of the Argolians (i.e. the Greeks) to meet in the middle of the camp, and transferred the judgment of the matter in dispute to all (of them).
When the son of Neleus (i.e. Nestor) had said these (things) in a pleasant voice, (they passed) from the old man's conversation to a renewed (attention) to the gifts of Bacchus (i.e. wine-drinking), (and then) they arose from their couches: the rest of the night was given to sleep.
Ll. 580-628. The death of Achilles.
But the god of the sea (i.e. Neptune), who rules the waters of the sea with his trident, grieves with a father's feeling for the body of his son, (which had been) changed into the bird of Phaëthon (i.e. a swan), and, hating the murderous Achilles, he indulges his unforgetting wrath in a manner beyond what was courteous. And now, when the war had lasted for ten years, he addresses the unshorn Sminthean god (i.e. Apollo, the epithet coming from Smintha, a town in the Troad) in the following words: "O by far the most beloved of my brother's sons, who built the walls of Troy with me in vain, don't you sigh at all when you behold these battlements, destined to fall at any moment? Or don't you grieve at all that so many thousands have died in defence of their walls? (Don't you grieve for) anyone at all, (and) lest I should name (them) all, doesn't the ghost of Hector come before (you), as he is dragged around (the walls of) his own Pergama? Yet, although he is fierce and more cruel than war itself, Achilles, that destroyer of our handiwork, still lives. Let him come within my (reach): I shall make (him) understand what I can do with my triple-headed spear; but, since it is not granted to me to meet my enemy face to face, you must kill him unexpectedly with an unseen arrow!" The Delian god (i.e. Apollo, who was born on the Aegean island of Delos) nodded in agreement, and indulging equally his uncle's and his own feelings, he comes to the host of Ilium, and in the midst of human slaughter, he sees Paris casting one or two missiles at unknown Achaeans, and, revealing (himself as) a god, he says, "Why do you waste your darts on the blood of commoners? If you have any concern for your own (kinsmen), aim at the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), and avenge your brothers (whom he has) slain!" He spoke, and pointing to the son of Peleus (i.e. Achilles), who, with his sword, was strewing (the ground) with Trojan bodies, he turned (Paris') bow towards him, and guided the unerring shaft with a deadly right(-hand). This was (the only thing) which could delight old Priam since Hector (died); so, Achilles, (you) famous conqueror of such great (men), you are conquered by the cowardly robber of the wife of a Greek! And, if you had to fall in war to a woman, you would rather have fallen to a Thermodontian (i.e. Amazonian) battle-axe.
Now, the grandson of Aeacus (i.e. Achilles), that terror of the Phrygians (i.e. the Trojans) and guardian of the name of the Pelasgians (i.e. the Greeks), that invincible captain in battle, was cremated; now he is ash, and of the (once) so great Achilles I know not how little remains, scarcely enough to fill an urn, but his glory lives (on), enough to fill the whole of the (wide) world. That equals the measure of the man, and, in this, the son of Peleus (i.e. Achilles) is a match for himself, and does not feel the emptiness of Tartarus.
So that you might know whose it was, his very shield makes war, and, for his arms, arms are taken up. Neither the son of Tydeus (i.e. Diomedes) nor Ajax, the son of Oïleus, dares to claim them, nor does the lesser son of Atreus (i.e. Menelaüs), nor the greater (one, both) in war and in age (i.e. Agamemnon), nor any other (chieftain): only the sons of Telamon (i.e. Ajax) and Laërtes (i.e. Ulysses) had the confidence for such glory. The descendant of Tantalus (i.e. Agamemnon) took away from himself the invidious burden (of choosing between them), and he ordered the leaders of the Argolians (i.e. the Greeks) to meet in the middle of the camp, and transferred the judgment of the matter in dispute to all (of them).
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