450

455

If e'er as friends we join, the Trojan wall
Muft shake, and heavy will the vengeance fall!
But now, ye warriours, take a short repast :
And, well-refresh'd, to bloody conflict hatte.
His tharpen'd fpear let every Grecian wield,
And every Grecian fix his brazen shield:
Let all excite the fiery steeds of war,
And all for combat fit the rattling car.
This day, this dreadful day, let each contend;
No reft, no refpite, till the fhades defcend;
Till darkness, or till death, fhall cover all :
Let the war bleed, and let the mighty fall!
Till bath'd in fweat be every manly breast,
With the huge fhield each brawny arm depreft,
Each aching nerve refufe the lance to throw,
And each spent courfer at the chariot blow.
Who dares, inglorious, in his thips to stay,
Who dares to tremble on this fignal day;
That wretch, too mean to fall by martial power,
The birds fhall mangle, and the dogs devour.

465

The monarch ípoke; and strait a murmur rofe,

470

Loud as the furges when the tempeft blows,
That dath'd on broken rocks tumultuous roar,
And foam and thunder on the ftony fhore.
Straight to the tents the troops difperfing bend,
The fires are kindled, and the fmokes afcend; 475
With hafty feast they facrifice, and pray,
T'avert the dangers of the doubtful day.

A fteer of five years' age, large limb'd, and fed,
To Jove's high altars Agamemnon led:
There bade the nobleft of the Grecian peers; 480
And Neitor firit, as most advanc'd in years.
Next came Idomeneus, and Tydeus' fon,

490

495

500

Supreme of Gods! unbounded and alone!
Hear! and before the burning fun defcends,
Before the night her gloomy veil extends,
Low in the daft be laid yon hoftile fpires,
Be Priam's palace funk in Grecian fires,
In Heftor's breast be plung'd this thining fword,
And flaughter'd heroes groan around their lord!
Thus pray'd the chief; his unavailing prayer
Great Jove refus'd, and toft in empty air:
The God averfe, while yer the fumes arofe,
Prepar'd new toils, and doubled woes on woes.
Their prayers perform'd, the chiefs the rite purfue,
The barley fprinkled, and the victim flew,
The limbs they fever from th' inclofing hide,
The thighs, felected to the Gods, divide.
On thefe, in double cauls involv'd with art,
The choiceft morfels lie from every part.
From the cleft wood the crackling flames afpire,
While the fat victim feeds the facred fire.
The thighs thus facrific'd, and entrails dreft, 510
Th' affiitants part, transfix, and roast the rest;
Then spread the tables, the repaft prepare,
Each takes his feat, and each receives his thare.

505

With this each Grecian's manly breaft the warms, 530 Swells their bold hearts, and ftrings their nervous

arms;

No more they figh, inglorious, to return,
But breathe revenge, and forth combat burn.

As on fome mountain, through the lofty grove,
The crackling flames afcend, and blaze above; 535
The fires expanding as the winds arife,
Shoot their long beams, and kindle half the fkies:
So from the polish'd arms. and brazen shields,
A gleamy fplendour flash'd along the fields.
Not lefs their number than th' embody'd cranes, 540
Or milk-white fwans in Afius' watery plains,
That o'er the windings of Cay fter's fprings,
Stretch their long necks, and clap their ruftiing

wings,

Now tower aloft, and courfe in airy rounds;
Now light with noife; with noife the field refounds,
545
Thus numerous and confus'd, extending wide,
The legions crowd Scamander's flowery fide;
With rushing troops the plains are covered o'er,
And thundering footsteps shake the founding fhore,
Along the river's level meads they stand, 550
Thick as in fpring the flowers adorn the land,
Or leaves the trees; or thick as infects play,
The wandering nation of a fummer's day,
That, drawn by milky fteams, at evening hours,
In gather'd fwarms furround the rural bowers; 555
From pail to pail with bufy murmur run
The gilded legions, glittering in the fun.
So throng'd, to clofe, the Grecian squadrons stood
In radiant arms, and thirst for Trojan blood.
Each leader now his fcattered force conjoins 560
In clofe array, and forms the deepening lines.
Not with more eafe, the skilful thepherd fwain
ollects his flocks from thousands on the plain.
The King of Kings, majeftically tall,
Towers o'er his armies, and outfhines them all;

595

THE CATALOGUE OF THE SHIPS. The hardy warriors whom Boeotia bred, Penelius, Leitus, Prothcënor led: With thefe Arcefilaus and Clonius ftand, Equal in arms, and equal in command. Thefe head the troops that rocky Aulis yields, 590 And Etcon's hills, and Hyrie's watery fields, And Schoenos, Scholos, Græa near the main, And Mycaleffia's ample piny plain. Thofe who on Peteon or Ilefion dwell, Of Harma where Apollo's prophet fell; Heleon and Hyle, which the fprings o'erflow; And Medeon lofty, and Ocalea low; Or in the meads of Haliartus ftray, Or Thespia facred to the God of Day," Oncheftus, Neptune's celebrated groves; Cope, and Thifbè, fam'd for filver doves, For flocks Erythræ, Glitla for the vine; Platea green, and Nyfa the divine. And they whom Thebe's well-built walls enclofe, Where Myde, Eutrefus, Coroné rofe; And Arne rich, with purple harvests crown'd; And Anthedon, Boeotia's utmost bound. Full fifty fhips they fend, and each conveys Twice fixty warriours through the foaming feas.

600

To thefe fuccced Afpledon's martial train, 610 Who plow the fpacious Orchomenian plain. Two valiant brothers rule th' undaunted throng, Filmen and Afcalaphus the ftrong : Sons of Aftyoche, the heavenly fair, Whole Virgin charms fubdued the God of War

615

620

(In Actor's court as he retir'd to rest,
The ftrength of Mars the blufhing maid compreft).
Their troops in thirty fable veffels sweep
With equal oars the hoarfe-refounding deep.
The Phocians next in forty barks repair,
Epiftrophus and Schedius head the war.
From thofe rich regions where Cephiffus leads
Flis filver current through the flowery meads;
From Panopea, Chryfa the divine,
Where Anemonia's ftat: ly turrets fhine,
Where Pytho, Dauli, Cyparifius flood,
And fair Lilea views the rising flood.
There rang'd in order on the floating tide,
Close on the left, the bold Boeotians fide.

Fierce Ajax led the Locrian fquadrons on, 630

Alax the lefs, Oileus' valiant fon :
Skill'd to direct the flying dart aright;
Swift in purfuit and active in the fight;

640

And where Boägrius floats the lowly lands,
Or in fair Taphe's fylvan feats refide:
In forty veffels cut the liquid tide.
Eu cea next her martial fons prepares,
And fends the brave Abantes to the wars:
Breathing revenge, in arms they take their way
From Chalcis' walls, and ftrong Eretria;
Th' Iflein field for generous vines renown'd, 645
The fair Cariftos, and the Styrian ground;
Where Dios from her towers o'er looks the plain,
And high Cerinthus views the neighbouring main.
Down their broad fhoulders falls a length of hair;
Their hands difmifs not the long lance in air; 650
But with protended fpears in fighting fields,
Pierce the tough corfelets and the brazen thields,
Twice twenty fhips transport the warlike bands,
Which bold Elphenor, fierce in arms, commands.

660

Full fifty more from Athens ftem the main, 655
Led by Mencftheus through the liquid plain,
(Athens the fair, where great Erectheus fway'd,
That ow'd his nurture to the blue-eyed Maid,
Bu from the teeming furrow took his birth,
The mighty offspring of the foodful earth.
Him Pallas plac'd amidst her wealthy fane,
Ador'd with facrifice and oxen flain;
Where, as the years revolve, her altars blaze,
And all the tribes refound the Goddess' praise)
No chief like thee, Meneftheus! Greece could
yield,

To marshal armies in the dufty field,
Th' extended wings of battle to display,
Or close th' embody'd hoft in firm array.
Neftor alone, improv'd by length of days,
For martial conduct bore an equal praise.

665

670

With thefe appear the Salaminian bands, Whom the gigantic Telamon commands; In twelve black fhips to Troy they fteer their courfe,

And with the great Athenians join their force.

680

Next move to war the generous Argive train,'
From high Trezenè, and Mafeta's plain,
And fair gina circled by the main :
Whom trong Tyrinthè's lofty walls furround,
And Epidaur with viny harvests crown'd;
And where fair Afinen and Hermion fhow
Their cliffs above, and ample bay below.
Thefe by the brave Euryalus were led,
Great Sthenclus, and greater Diomed,
But chief Tydides bore the fovereign fway;
In four-fcore barks they plow the watery way. 685
The proud Mycenè arms her martial powers,
Cleone, Corinth, with imperial towers,

Fair Aræthyrea, Ornia's fruitful plain,
And geon, and Adraftus' ancient reign;

And those who dwell along the fandy thore, 690
And where Pellenè yields her fleecy store,
Where Helice and Hyperefia lie,

And Gonoëffa's fpires falute the sky.

710

Or Meffe's towers for filver doves renown'd, 705
Amycia, Laas, Augia's happy ground,
And those whom Oetylos' low walls contain,
And Helos, on the margin of the main :
Thefe, o'er the bending ocean, Helen's caufe,
In fixty fhips, with Menelaus draws:
Eager and loud from man to man he flies,
Revenge and fury flaming in his eyes;
While, vainly fond, in fancy oft he hears
The fair-one's grief, and fees her falling tears.
In ninety fail, from Pylos' fandy coast,
Neftor the fage conducts his chofen hoft:
From Amphigenia's ever fruitful and;
Where Epv high, and little Pteleon stand ;
Where beauteous Arenè her structures shows,
And Thryon's walls Alpheus' streams inclofe :
720

715

Thofe, where fair Elis and Buprasium join ; Whom Hyrmin, here, and Myrfinus confine, And bounded there where o'er the valleys rofe Th' Olenian rock; and where Alifium flows; 750 Beneath four chiefs (a numerous army) came : The strength and glory of th' Epean name. In feparate fquadrons thefe their train divide, Each leads ten veffels through the yielding tide. One was Amphimachus, and Thalphius one 755 (Eurytus' this, and that Teatus fon); Diores fprung from Amarynceus' line; And great Polyxenus, of force divine.

Begot by Pnyles the belov'd of Jove.

To ftrong Dulichium. from his fire he fled,
And thence to Troy his hardy warriors led.
Ulyffes follow'd through the watery road, 765
A chief, in wifdom eual to a God.
With thofe who Cephalenia's ifle inclos'd,
Or till their fields along the coast oppos'd;
Or v here fir Ithaca o'erlooks the floods,
Where high Neritos thakes his waving woods, 770
Where gilip's rugged fides are seen,
Crocylia rocky, and Zacynthus green.
Thefe in twelve galleys with vermillion prores,
Beneath his conduct fought the Phrygian thores.
Thoas came next, Andræmon's valiant fon, 775
From Pleuron's wails, and chalky Calydon,
And rough Pylenè, and th' Olenian steep,
And Chalcis beaten by the rolling deep.
He led the warriours from th' Ætolian shore,
For now the fons of Oeneus were no more! 780
The glories of the mighty race were fled!
Oeseus himmelf, and Meleager dead!
To Thoas care now truft the martial train,
His forty venels follow through the main.
Next eighty barks the Cretan king commands,

785

Of Gnoffus, Lycus, and Gortyna's bands,
And those who dwell where Rhytion's domes arife,
Or white Lycanus glitters to the skies,
Or where by Phoeftus filver Jardan runs;
Crete's hu dred cities pour forth all her fons. 790
Thefe march'd, Idomeneus, beneath thy care,
And Merion, dreadful as the God of war.
Tlepolemus, the fon of Hercules,

Led nine swift veffels through the foamy feas;
From Rhodes with everlasting funshine bright, 795
Jalyffs, Lindus, and Camirus white.

His captive mother fierce Alcides bore,
From Epher's walls, and Selle's winding fhore,
Where mighty towns in ruins fpread the plain,
And faw their blooming warriours early flain. 800
The hero, when to manly years he grew,
Alcides' uncle, old Licymnius, flew ;
For this, conftrain'd to quit his native place,
And thun the vengeance of the Herculean race,
A fleet he built, and with a numerous train 805
Of willing exiles, wander'd o'er the main ;
Where, many feas and many fufferings past,
On happy Rhodes the chief artiv'd at laft:
There in three tribes divides his native band,
And rules them peaceful in a foreign land;
Encreas'd and profper'd in their new abodes,
By mighty Jove, the fire of men and Gods;
With joy they faw the growing empire rife,
And fhowers of wealth defcending from the fkies.
Three hips with Nireus fought the Trojan

shore,

810

Nireus, whom Agläe to Charopus bore,
Nireus, in faultlefs fhape and blooming grace,
The loveliest yout of all the Grecian race;
Pelides only match'd his early charms;
But few his troops, and small his ftrength in arms.
820

855

860

And dy'd a Phrygian lance with Grecian gore;
There lies, far diftant from his native plain;
Unfinish'd, his proud palaces remain,
And his fad confort beats her breaft in vain.
His troops in forty fhips Podarces led,
Iphiclus fon, and brother to the dead;
Nor he unworthy to command the hoft;
Yet ftill they mourn'd their ancient leader loft.
The men who Claphyra's fair foil partake,
Where hills encircle Babe's lowly lake. 865
Where Phare hears the neighbouring waters
fall,

Or proud Iölcus lifts her airy wail,

870

In ten black fhips embark'd for Ilion's fhore :
With bo'd Eumylus, whom Alceste bore:
All Pelias' race Alceftè far outfhin'd,
The grace and glory of te beauteous kind.
The troops Methone, or Thaumachia yields,
Olizon's rocks, or Melibea's fields,
With Philoctetes fail'd, whofe matchlefs art
From the tough bow directs the feather'd dart.
875

Seven were his fhips; each veffel fifty row,
Skill'd in his fcience of the dart and bow.
But he lay raging on the Lemnian ground,
A polienous Hydra gave the burning wound;

Where once Eurytus in proud triumph reign'd, 885

Or where her humbler turrets Tricca rears,
Or where Ithomè, rough with rocks, appears ;
In thirty fail the sparkling waves divide,
Which Podalirius and Machaon guide.

To thefe his kill their Parent-God imparts,

Divine profeffors of the healing arts.

The bold Ormenian and Afterian bands

890

In forty barks Eurypylus commands,
Where Titan hides his hoary head in fnow,
And where Hyperia's filver fountains flow. 895
Thy troops, Argiffa, Polypotes leads,
And Eleon, fhelter'd by Olympus' fhades,
Gyrtone's warriours; and where Orthè lies,
And Oleoffon's chalky cliffs arife.

Sprung from Pirithous of immortal race, 900
The fruit of fair Hippodamè's embrace,

(That day when, hurl'd from Pelion's cloudy head,

To diftant dens the fhaggy Centaurs fied)
With Polypates join'd in equal fway
Leontes leads, and forty ships obey.

905

Obfcures the glade, and nods his fhaggy brows; Or where through flowery Tempè Peneus stray'd, 920

(The region stretch'd beneath his mighty fhade) In forty fable barks they stemm'd the main ; Such were the chiefs, and fuch the Grecian train. Say next, O Mufe! of all Achaia breeds, Who braveft fought, or rein'd the nobleft steeds? 925

Eumelus' mares are foremost in the chace,
As eagles fleet, and of Pheretian race :
Bred where Pieria's faithful fountains flow,
And train'd by him who bears the filver bow.
Fierce in the fight their noitrils breath'd a flame,
930
Their height, their colour, and their age the
fame;

* Efculapius.

O'er fields of death they whirl the rapid car, And break the ranks, and thunder through the

war.

Ajax in arms the first renown acquir'd, While ftern Achilles in his wrath retir'd

935

940

(His was the strength that mortal might exceeds,
And his, th' unrivall'd race of heavenly steeds).
But Thetis' fon now fhines in arms no more;
His troops, neglected on the fandy fhore,
In empty air their sportive javelins throw,
Or whirl the disk, or bend an idle bow :
Unftain'd with blood his cover'd chariots stand;
Th' immortal courfers graze along the strand;
But the brave chiefs th' inglorious life deplor'd,
And wandering o'er the camp, requir'd their
lord.
945

Now like a deluge, covering all around,
The fhining armies fwept along the ground:
Swift as a flood of fire, when ftorms arife,
Floats the wide field, and blazes to the fkies.
Earth groan'd beneath them; as when angry
Jove

950

Hurls down the forky lightning from above,
On Arimè when he the thunder throws,
And fires Typhæus with redoubled blows,
Where Typhon, preft beneath the burning load,
Still feels the fury of th' avenging God.

But various Iris, Jove's commands to bear,
Speeds on the wings of winds through liquid air;
In Priam's porch the Trojan chiefs the found,
The old confulting, and the youths around.
Polites' fhape, the monarch's fon, the chofe, 960
Who from Æfetes' tomb obferv'd the foes,
High on the mound; from whence in profpect
lay

The fields, the tents, the navy, and the bay.
In this diffembled form, the haftes to bring
Th' unwelcome meffage to the Phrygian king:
965

Cease to confult, the time for action calls,
War, horrid war, approaches to your walls!
Affembled armies oft have I beheld;
But ne'er till now fuch numbers charg'd the
field,

970

Thick as autumnal leaves or driving fand,
The moving fquadrons blacken all the ftrand.
Thou, godlike Hector! all thy force employ,
Affemble all th' united bands of Troy ;
In just array let every leader call

The foreign troops; this day demands them all.

Divine Eneas brings the Dardan race, Anchifes' fon by Venus' ftol'n embrace, Born in the fhades of Ida's fecret grove, (A mortal mixing with the Queen of Love) 995 Archilochus and Acamas divide

1000

The warriour's toils, and combat by his fide.
Who fair Zeleia's wealthy vallies till,
Faft by the foot of Ida's facred hill;
Or drink, fepus, of thy fable flood:
Were led by Pandarus, of royal blood.
To whom his art Apollo deign'd to thow,
Grac'd with the prefent of his shafts and bow.
From rich Apæfus' and Adreftia's towers,
High Teree's fummits, and Pityea's bowers;
1005
From these the congregated troops obey
Young Amphius' and Adraftus' equal fway:
Old Merops' fons; whom, skill'd in fates to come,
The fire forewarn'd, and prophefy'd their doom;
Fate urg'd them on! the fire forewarn'd in vain,

With great Euphemus the Ciconians move, Sprung from Trazenian Ceus, lov'd by Jove. Pyæchmus the Paonian troops attend, Skill'd in the fight, their crooked bows to bend: From Axius' ample bed he leads them on, поза Axius, that laves the diftant Amydon; Axius, that fwells with all his neighbouring rills, And wide around the floating region fills. The Paphlagonians Pylomenes rules, Where rich Henetia breeds her favage mules,

Where Erythinus' rifing clifts are seen,
Thy groves of box, Cytorus! ever green;
And where Egyalus and Cromna lie,
And lofty Sefamus invades the sky ;

1035

And where Parthenius, roll'd through banks of flowers,

Reflects her bordering palaces and bowers.

Here march'd in arms the Halizonian band, Whom Odius and Epiftrophus command, From those far regions where the fun refines The ripening filver in Alybean mines.

1045

There mighty Chromis led the Myfian train, And augur Eunomus, infpir'd in vain, For ftern Achilles lopt his facred head, Roll'd down Scamander with the vulgar dead.