Chapter 45 45

Hermes accompanied the king all the way to the Scamander River.Here he bid farewell to the king and flew back to the holy mountain of Olympus.Priam and the messenger drove on towards the city.When they came to the city, it was just dawn, and everything was in deep sleep. Only Cassandra, the daughter of Priam, saw her father sitting in the car from a distance on the tower, saw the messenger and the Hector's body on the chariot.She couldn't help crying aloud.Her cries echoed throughout the silent city. "Come and see, men and women of Troy, Hector has returned, but with his dead body! Once upon a time, you greeted him with joy when he returned from the field alive. Now he is sacrificed. , you also go to meet the dead!"

At her cry, all the men and women of Troy rushed out and went to the gate.Hector's mother and wife went ahead, weeping, to meet the chariot carrying the corpses back to the city. Hector's body was transported to the king's palace and placed on a gorgeously decorated corpse bed, surrounded by mournful songs.The young queen Andromache patted the dead man's head and wept bitterly. "My dear husband, you have made me a poor widow, and left me alone with a poor child. Alas, I am afraid your son will not be able to raise a man, for Troy will soon be destroyed, and you will no longer Protect the city and all its men, women and children. Soon we shall be taken captive on board Greek ships, and I will not be spared. And you, my poor son Astyanacus, will be a cruel and share your mother's disgrace. Or you will be thrown from a tower by a Greek, because your father killed his brother, or his father, or his son. Hector Ear never spares anyone easily on the battlefield! Alas, Hector, you brought unspeakable grief to your parents, and even deeper sorrow to me!"

After Andromache cried, Hector's mother Hecuba also cried loudly. "Hector, my dear son, how much the gods of heaven love you, and they have not forgotten you after your tragic death. You were killed by the enemy and dragged around on the ground, but now you seem to have nothing Undamaged, lying alive in the palace, as if an arrow shot by Apollo had inadvertently killed you." Then, Helen also cried. "Hector, among my husband's brothers, you are the one I admire most. Twenty years have passed since Paris brought me, an unfortunate woman, to Troy! During these twenty years Here, I have never heard you say a bad word. Although King Priam protects me like a father, but when there is a dispute between brothers, and when my husband's brothers and sisters come out to scold me, you always stand Come out to persuade them to calm down and save me. You died, and I lost a friend and an elder brother who comforted me. Now, everyone will despise me!"

When she talked about her sadness, she couldn't help crying, and everyone around her sighed.Priam said to the mourning crowd: "Men of Troy, get out of the city and cut wood for the cremation. Do not fear that the Daneans will attack you, for the son of Peleus has promised me Don't attack us for a day!" The Trojans obeyed the king's order and immediately prepared their horses and drove their chariots.Everyone gathered in front of the city and set off together.They carried firewood for nine days straight.On the morning of the tenth day, everyone wept loudly, sent Hector's body to a high firewood pile, and then set it on fire.All the people gathered around the blazing fire and watched it burn to ashes.They then doused the embers with wine.With tears in their eyes, Hector's brothers and friends picked up his bones from the ashes, wrapped them in purple cloth, put them in a locket, and buried them in the grave.Slender stones are built around the tomb and piled up into high mounds.The Trojans set up sentries nearby in case the Greeks would attack suddenly and disturb the solemn funeral.After the funeral, everyone returned to the city, and held a solemn and solemn funeral banquet in the king's palace.