Chapter 21 twenty one

Diomedes tripled his courage and strength, and he charged like a lion.He struck Astinous in the shoulder, and he fell to the ground; pierced Peron with his spear, and slew the two sons of Eurydamas, The two sons, and then knocked the two sons of Priam, Chromius and Eckonmon, from the chariot and stripped their armor, and his soldiers sent the captured chariot to On board the warship. Aeneas, the son-in-law of King Priam, was a brave warrior. Seeing that the Trojans were gradually retreating under the attack and killing of Diomedes, he ran to Pandarus, and said aloud to him: "Son of Lycaon, where are your bows, your arrows, your honor? The man who killed so many Trojans, if he were not a god in human form Only, you should shoot him!" Pandarus replied: "If he is not a god, then he must be Diomedes son of Tydeus, and I thought I shot him. Probably There is a god who has protected him, and is still helping him! What a wretched man I am! I have shot two Greek chiefs, but have not been able to kill them.

They become more violent.Really, I probably came to Troy with a bow and arrow at the most inauspicious time! " "Don't be discouraged!" Aeneas encouraged him, "Get on my chariot." Pandarus jumped on the chariot and stood beside Aeneas.The two rode fast horses towards Diomedes.Stheneros, the friend of Diomedes, saw them rushing towards him, and shouted to his friend, "Two brave men are running towards you, Pandarus and Aeneas. Aeneas is a demigod hero, he is the son of Aphrodite! Let us drive away, your bravery and strength are no match for them!" Diomedes gave him a gloomy look, and replied: "Don't tell me to be afraid or not! It is not in my nature to flee from battle or to retreat cowardly. I will meet them on foot! If I kill You come after them, and bring Aeneas' steed back to the ship as a trophy." As he was speaking, the spear of Pandarus was thrown at him, passed through his shield, and was caught by him. The armor blocked it back. "Missed!" Diomedes yelled at the cheering Trojans, and at the same time threw his spear and shot him in the jaw.Pandarus fell from his chariot and his horse fled in a panic.

Aeneas leaped from his chariot and stood beside his companion like a mighty lion, ready to annihilate anyone who dared touch his friend.Diomedes picked up a boulder from the ground, which was too difficult for two ordinary men to lift, but he lifted it high and struck Aeneas on the leg bone.Aeneas lost consciousness from the pain and fell to the ground.He would have been killed if the goddess Aphrodite had not rushed immediately, took her son in her arms, wrapped him in her robe, and left the field.Sthenelos took Aeneas' chariot and horses back to the ship, and then drove his own chariot back to Diomedes.Recognizing the goddess Aphrodite, Diomedes made his way through the chaos of the battlefield and overtook the goddess with her son.The hero threw his spear at her with all his strength, and the point of the spear pierced the goddess' wrist, and blood dripped from her hand.The wounded Aphrodite screamed in pain, and her son rolled to the ground with her.She hurried to her brother Ares.Ares, the god of war, is sitting on the left side of the battlefield. "Oh, brother," she begged, "lend me the carriage, and let me go back to Mount Olympus.

My hand was hurt and the pain was excruciating.It was that mortal Diomedes who hurt me.I believe he also dared to rebel against our father Zeus. " Ares lent him his chariot.Aphrodite drove to the holy mountain of Olympus, crying and threw herself into the arms of her mother Dione.She comforted her daughter and led her to her father.Zeus received her with a smile, and said to her: "You are not expected to be in charge of war, my lovely daughter, you should be in charge of the wedding, and leave the fighting to the God of War!" The older sisters Athena and Hera were on the sidelines. Looking at her mockingly, he said sarcastically, "What's the matter? Perhaps that beautiful and unfaithful Greek woman attracted Aphrodite to Troy, where she must have touched Helen's dress and put her hand on the The buttons are torn!"

At the same time, on the battlefield in the lower realm, the battle is becoming more and more intense.Diomedes threw himself on Aeneas, and three times he struck him deadly, but three times the angry Apollo blocked him with his shield.When he rushed over for the fourth time, Apollo yelled at him terribly: "You mortal, don't wantonly fight against the gods!" Hearing this, Diomedes felt ashamed and afraid, and immediately retreated.Apollo took Aeneas away from the chaotic battlefield and returned to his temple in Troy, where he was cared for by his mother Leto and his sister Artemis.Apollo did not forget to create a false image where the hero Aeneas had just lay down, and both the Trojans and the Greeks were vying for that false image.Then, Apollo commanded Ares, the god of war, to remove the shameless man, the son of Tydeus, who dared to oppose the god, from the battlefield.Akamas, the god of war, turned into a Thracian, mingled with the tumultuous warriors, came to the sons of Priam, and rebuked them, saying: "My prince, how long will you let that Greek kill? Will you Do you want the battle to close to the walls of Troy? Don't you know that Aeneas is lying down? Come, let us rescue our noble companion from the hands of the enemy!"

Ares rekindled the fighting enthusiasm of the Trojans.Sarpedon, king of Lycia, ran to Hector and said to him: "Hector, where is your courage? Not long ago you boasted: Even if there were no allies, no soldiers, it would be up to you alone A few brothers and sisters-in-law could defend Troy. But I didn't see a single one of them in the field, and they cowered back like wild dogs when they saw a lion, so that our allies had to fight alone." Hector was deeply moved by this condemnation.Brandishing a spear, he ran down from the chariot and strode through the ranks, encouraging the soldiers to charge.Immediately his brothers and the other Trojans turned to the enemy and rushed.Apollo also restored Aeneas to health and strength, sending him into battle.He suddenly appeared in front of everyone without any harm, and they all cheered him, but no one said much, but just rushed towards the enemy.

The Daneians, led by Diomedes, the two Ajaxes, and Odysseus, stood in silence.Agamemnon was the first to throw his spear at the galloping Trojans, hitting Aeneas' friend, the noble Deicon.He is a hero who is always on the front lines.But Aeneas, with a mighty hand, slew the two Daneans, Creton and Orsychoros, the sons of Diocles, who had grown up together in the Peloponnese at Phenomenus. When Laicheng grew up, he was as brave as two lions.In revenge, Agamemnon's brother Menelaus swung his spear like a storm into battle.Ares, the god of war, urges him to advance, hoping that he will be felled by Aeneas.Nestor's son Antilochus, fearing for the king's life, hurried to Menelaus' side when the two heroes were fighting with their spears.Aeneas saw that the other side had another helper, and quickly retreated.Menelaus and Antilochus snatched the corpses of their two friends, put them in the guard of their own men, and then they turned back to fight.

Hector rushed forward at the head of the bravest Trojans, and Mars himself fought with him.Diomedes was surprised when he saw the god of war coming, and shouted to the soldiers: "Friends, don't be surprised by Hector's bravery; he is guarded by gods!" People are approaching.Hector kills two brave Greeks in a car.Ajax, Telamon's son, came to avenge them.He struck Amphius, an ally of the Trojans, with his spear, causing him to fall to the ground.The Trojans shot at him like locusts, preventing him from stripping the armor off the corpse. In another part of the field terrible misfortune drove Telepalmus son of Hercules to Sarpedon the Lycian.He shouted at his opponent from afar: "You coward from Asia, dare to boast that you are the son of Zeus, but you know that Hercules is my father! You are a coward, even if you Become brave today, and die!" Sarpedon said angrily, "If I have not achieved the honor of fighting until today, now your death will add glory to me!" After speaking, the two The hero swung his spear and stabbed, and Sarpedon stabbed the arrogant opponent in the throat, causing him to fall dead on the ground.At the same time Telepalmus also stabbed Sarpedon in the left leg, but his father Zeus did not want him to die, so his friends hurriedly dragged him away from the battlefield.Unexpectedly, no one noticed that Sarpedon was still dragging the dart spear by his lap.

Odysseus fought in the ranks of the Lycians who had lost their leader. When he was about to catch up with Sarpedon who was fleeing, Hector rushed to him.Sarpedon cried out to him in a feeble voice: "Do not let me fall into the hands of the Argives; protect me, and if I cannot return to my country to see my wife and children, I will swallow it in this city." Take your last breath." Hector didn't answer, he just drove out the Greeks around Sarpedon so bravely that even Odysseus dared not go any further.Sarpedon's friends carried him to the foot of a tall beech not far from the central city gate.His youthful friend Pelagon drew the pistol-head from his leg.Sarpedon, who was badly wounded, fainted from the pain.Soon, he woke up again.A cool north wind blew by and refreshed him again.

Now, Ares and Hector fought side by side, forcing the Greeks to retreat gradually, as far as their ships.Hector killed six Greek heroes by himself. Hera was shocked to see the bloody scene of the Trojans slaughtering the Greeks with the help of Ares from the high holy mountain of Olympus.According to the command of the All-Mother, Athena had prepared the chariot. The wheels were bronze and covered with gold, the wheels were silver, and the yoke was golden, shining.Hera harnessed her Pegasus to the chariot.Athena also puts on her father's armor, wears a golden helmet on her head, and holds a shield with a Gorgon's head painted on it.She took her spear, jumped into the chariot, and sat on a silver chair bound by a gold chain.Hera whipped her whip beside her, so Pegasus ran faster.The gates of the Heavenly Palace, guarded by the goddess of time, opened automatically, and the two great goddesses sailed across the majestic holy mountain of Olympus.They saw Zeus sitting on the top of a mountain.Hera reined in the horse, stopped and said to him: "Your son Ares violated the destiny and slaughtered the Greeks. Don't you feel angry? Aphrodite and Apollo instigated the God of War to do evil. Didn't you see How proud are they? Now please allow me to hit this arrogant man severely and let him leave the battlefield as soon as possible!"

"You can try," Zeus replied, "let my daughter Athena fight him, she knows how to fight him." , at last it landed at the confluence of the Simoise and the Scamanders. The two goddesses came hastily to the battle, and they saw a crowd of soldiers crowded around Diomedes.Hera approached them in the form of Stentor, and shouted in a loud voice: "Argos, are you not ashamed? Can you defeat the enemy only when Achilles fights with you?" ?” Hearing the scolding, the people of Dannea were immediately encouraged and increased their courage.Athena made a way and came directly to Diomedes.He was leaning on the chariot, letting the wind cool the searing wounds from the arrows of Pandarus.The pressure of the straps of his great shield on his shoulders and the dripping sweat made the wound ache.With weakness in his hands, he managed to pull off the strap and wipe away the blood.Athena took hold of the horse's yoke, leaning her arm on it, and said to him, "It seems that the son of Tydeus is not at all like his father. His father was a little man, but he was braver than any man. He Fighting outside the city of Thebes, though against my will, he was too brave to refuse his aid. You can have my protection and aid today, but I don't know how you Are you tired from fighting, or are your limbs paralyzed with fear? You do not look to me like the son of the fierce Tydeus." Diomedes looked up in amazement at her words. She, said: "I have recognized you, you are the daughter of Zeus, I do not want to hide the truth from you. I backed away, neither because of fear, nor because of powerlessness, but because a powerful god forced me to do so." Yes. It was you who gave me a pair of eyes, so I recognized him. He is Ares, the god of war. I saw him lead the Trojans in battle. I had no choice but to retreat here, and ordered the other Greeks to do the same. Gather here, and they are all around me." Athena heard his words and replied, "Diomedes, from now on you need not be afraid of Ares, nor of the other gods, for I It is your strong backing. Bravely drive the chariot and rush to the God of War!" With that, she gestured to Stheneros, the charioteer of Diomedes, and he jumped down from the chariot knowingly.Athena jumped into the chariot, sat on his seat, grabbed the reins, swung the whip, and drove the chariot straight at Ares, the god of war.Ares had just defeated the bravest Aetolian, Polyphas, and was stripping him of his armor when he saw Diomedes rushing towards him on a chariot, and the goddess Athena threw herself Hidden in an impenetrable fog.Then Ares left Perifas and ran to the son of Tydeus, aiming his spear at the hero's breast.Athena quietly caught the spear in her invisible hand and redirected it.Diomedes rose from his chariot, and Athena let his spear hit Ares in the belly, just below the iron girdle.The God of War roared like thousands of voices, and the Trojans and Greeks were terrified. They thought they heard the thunder of Zeus. Only Diomedes saw Ares flying towards the sky in a cloud like a whirlwind.The god of war came to the sky, sat beside his father, and showed him the wound.Zeus said to him sullenly: "My son, stop complaining! Among the gods of Olympus, you are the one I dislike the most. You always like war and fighting. Your stubbornness And stubborn attitude is more like your mother Hera. However, I still don't want to see you suffer the pain of trauma. Pheuon, the doctor in God, will treat you." At the same time, the other gods returned to Olympus to leave the Trojans and Danae to fight on their own.Ajax, son of Telamon, first charged into the Trojan camp and stabbed Akamas, the mighty Thracian, with his spear.Then Diomedes also killed Axylus and his charioteer.Three valiant Trojans died at the hands of Euryalus son of Meccastheus, Odysseus slew the Trojan hero Pedides, Teucer slew Aretaeon; Lying at the feet of Antilochus; Eratos slain by Agamemnon.Adastros was thrown to the ground by a horse on the way back to the city, and was captured alive by Menelaus.The prisoner clasped Menelaus' knees and begged bitterly: "Let me live, son of Atreus, my father will give you a lot of jewels and gold as a ransom for me! Menelaus was almost moved by his words, but at this moment Agamemnon came to him and rebuked him: "Menelaus, will you show mercy to the enemy? No Trojan can Escape our punishment, not even a baby suckling in its mother's arms!" When Menelaus heard this, he had no choice but to refuse his begging for mercy, and Agamemnon raised his spear to stab him to the ground.The Argives rushed forward, and Nestor shouted loudly from behind: "Friends, don't just stop and grab the property and take the spoils. Now is the time to kill the enemy, and then there will be time to slowly collect the spoils. " The Trojans were almost defeated and fled to the city. Fortunately, Helenus, the son of Priam, who could predict the future from the flight of birds, said to Hector and Aeneas: "Friends, all It is all counting on you. You must stop all the fleeing people at the gate of the city, so that we can still regain our fighting power and defeat the Daneans. Aeneas, this is the task God only gave you. And you Hector , you shall go back to Troy at once, and tell our mother, that she must mobilize the ladies of the city to the temple of Athena, and offer her the most costly garments at the knees of the goddess, and promise her sacrifices of twelve A fat cow, please Goddess have mercy on our Trojan women and children and their city, and help them resist this terrible Diomedes." Hector hurried back to Troy.