Chapter 26 26

Zeus suddenly changed his mind. "Listen," he said to the gods and goddesses who came to the holy mountain in the early morning, "whoever dares to help the Trojans or the Greeks today, I will throw him into the hell of Tartarus. The depth is like the distance between heaven and earth. Then I will lock the iron gate of the underworld, so that he will never return to the holy mountain. If you doubt whether I have the strength to do it, then you can try it: tie it with a golden chain Live in the Heavenly Palace, and then pull hard together to see if you can pull me to the ground. Instead, I can pull you up together with the earth and the ocean, and tie the chain to the holy mountain of Olympus, so that the earth will hang in the air forever .”

The gods were startled when they heard Zeus' angry words.But Zeus, in his golden chariot of thunder, drove to Mount Ida, where his sacred grove and altar were.He sat on a high hilltop, looking majestically down at the city of Troy and the camp of the Greeks.He saw soldiers on both sides busy, ready to fight.The Trojans were not as numerous as the other side, but they were also actively preparing for the battle. They knew that this battle was related to the safety of their parents, wives and children.Soon the gates of the city were thrown wide open, and their army rushed out, shouting.In the morning, the two sides fought inextricably, with mutual casualties, but still tied the game.At noon, when the sun was in the sky, Zeus placed two death chips at the two ends of the golden scales, saying in the sky that the Greek side was tilted downward, while the Trojan side was raised high to the sky.

Zeus immediately struck the Greek army with a bolt of lightning, announcing their change of fortune.This omen frightened the Greeks, and the heroes were dismayed.Idomeneus, Agamemnon, and even the two Ajax could not hold on.Only the aged Nestor remained at the front.Paris shot his horse with an arrow, and the horse reared up in terror, then fell and rolled on the ground.Nestor swung his sword and was about to cut the ropes of the second horse when Hector swooped down on him in his chariot.If Diomedes had not arrived in time, the noble old man's life would have been in danger.Diomedes loudly dissuades Odysseus from fleeing, but fails to dissuade him.So he came to Nestor's horse, handed Nestor's horse to Sthenelos and Eurymedon, then carried the old man into his chariot, and drove towards Hector.He threw his spear at him, and though he missed Hector, it pierced the breast of Eneopous the steward.Seeing his friend die beside him, Hector was very sad.He made him lie down, called another charioteer, and rushed towards Diomedes again.

Zeus knew that Hector would die if he fought Tydeot's youngest son.As soon as he died, the tide of battle would change, and the Greeks would break through Troy that same day.Zeus didn't want this to happen, so he threw a bolt of lightning in front of Diomedes' chariot.Nestor was so frightened that the reins slipped from his hands, and he cried out, "Diomedes, run away! Don't you see that Zeus won't let you win today? " "You are right," replied Diomedes, "but I only think that Hector will say at the assembly of the Trojans: 'The son of Tydeus fled back in terror from my presence.' I am very angry!"

Nestor didn't think so, he said: "No matter how much Hector laughed at you, the men and women of Troy would not believe it. You killed countless of their friends and husbands on the battlefield, can they say you are a coward? ’ he said, turning his horse’s head around.Hector immediately caught up, and he shouted: "Son of Tydeus, the Greeks admire you very much in meetings or banquets. In the future, they will look down on you and regard you as a coward! Take Troy!" And you must not be among the Greek heroes who ship our women away!" Hearing this sharp ridicule, Diomedes hesitated, thought twice, and wanted to turn his horse's head and compete with the person who laughed at him, but Zeus also dropped bombs from Mount Ada three times in a row.Therefore, he decided to run away anyway.Hector followed closely behind.

Seeing all this, Hera was extremely anxious, and tried to persuade Poseidon, the protector of the Greeks, to rescue the Greeks, but failed, because Poseidon dared not disobey the will of his brother.At this time, the Greeks were defeated, and they fled back to the camp and boarded the warship.Had Hera not encouraged Agamemnon to regroup the panicked Greeks, Hector would have stormed the camp and set fire to the ships.Agamemnon stepped onto Odysseus' ship, which towered far above the other ships.Standing on the deck in his gleaming purple and gold robe, Agamemnon watched the panic-fleeing Greeks in the barracks below and shouted: "Shame! Where is your courage? We lost!" To one man, Hector alone drove us back. He will burn our warships in a moment, O. Zeus, don't let the Trojans conquer me here! Don't let me be reviled by all, Become a sinner through the ages!" Having said this, Agamemnon burst into tears.The All-Father took pity on him and showed the Greeks a good omen from heaven. This is an eagle soaring in the sky, holding a young stag in its claws, and throwing it before the altar of Zeus.

Seeing this auspicious omen, the people of Danai took up courage again, gathered together again, and stubbornly resisted the swarming enemies.Diomedes jumped out of the trench and rushed ahead, just in time to meet the Trojan Agoras, and Diomedes stabbed him in the back as he was about to turn around and run away.Agamemnon and Menelaus followed, followed by the two Ajax, Idomeneus, Myrionas and Eurypyrus.The ninth came up was Teucer, protected by the shield of his half-brother Ajax the Great, bent his bow and set his arrows, and shot down one Trojan after another.After shooting down eight men, he aimed another arrow at Hector.The arrow missed, but it hit Priam's illegitimate son, Gorgition.Teucer shot another arrow at Hector, but Apollo let the arrow miss its mark, and it hit the charioteer, Archipedolemus.Hector endured his grief and let his friend lie in the car.He called a third man to drive for him, and charged fiercely towards Teucer.Teucer was about to bend his bow and shoot an arrow, but Hector threw a sharp stone on his collarbone, and his tendons were broken. One hand was stiffly leaning against his ankle, and his knees were bent and he knelt on the ground.Ajax hastily stretched out his shield to block the brothers, until two more men came, and finally lifted the groaning Teucer from the battlefield and sent him to the big ship.

Zeus summoned up the courage of the Trojans again.Hector let out a thunderous roar, staring at a pair of sparkling eyes, and pursued the Greek.The Greeks fled in terror, begging the gods for protection in pain.Hera heard their prayers and sympathized with them very much.She turned to Athena and said, "The Daneans are in danger. Can we sit idly by? See, Hector pursues them crazily and slaughters them!" "Yes, my father was cruel," replied Athena, "and he has forgotten how I rescued his son Hercules from danger. Now Thetis won him with her tenderness and coquettishness. He hates me when he sees me now. But I think it will change. You harness me, and I'll talk to father!"

Zeus, annoyed at the foresight of her coming, ordered Iris to block the chariot of the two goddesses from passing through the gates of Mount Olympus.They returned immediately upon hearing his order.Immediately, Zeus came driving the thunder golden chariot, and the whole mountain was shaken.Zeus would not listen to the entreaties of his wife and daughter. "Tomorrow the Trojans will win a greater victory," he said to Hera. "Mighty Hector will drive the Greeks to the stern, and the Greeks, in their desperation, will call back the humiliated Arya." Karius, this is the arrangement of the Goddess of Fate!" Hera didn't say a word, she was very sad.

In the evening, Hector called a meeting of the warriors.He said: "If it hadn't been dark, we might have completely wiped out the enemy! Now, we don't have to go back to the city, just send a few people to bring cattle, sheep, bread and wine. We lit bonfires around , to prevent the enemy from sneaking up. We ourselves drank and bandaged our wounds. At dawn, we began to attack the Greek ships. I want to see whether Diomedes threw me off the wall or I Strip his armor and weapons from his corpse!" The Trojans shouted thunderously.They obeyed orders, lit a bonfire, and then ate and drank.Their horses, too, were not unsaddled, munching oats and barley, ready for battle again.