Iliad by Homer - Join iZDOT

Homer’s Iliad
Thus did he vaunt, but Queen Juno made high Olympus quake as
she shook with rage upon her throne. Then said she to the mighty
god of Neptune, “What now, wide ruling lord of the earthquake?
Can you find no compassion in your heart for the dying Danaans,
who bring you many a welcome offering to Helice and to Aegae?
Wish them well then. If all of us who are with the Danaans were to
drive the Trojans back and keep Jove from helping them, he would
have to sit there sulking alone on Ida.”
King Neptune was greatly troubled and answered, “Juno, rash of
tongue, what are you talking about? We other gods must not set
ourselves against Jove, for he is far stronger than we are.”
Thus did they converse; but the whole space enclosed by the ditch,
from the ships even to the wall, was filled with horses and
warriors, who were pent up there by Hector son of Priam, now that
the hand of Jove was with him. He would even have set fire to the
ships and burned them, had not Queen Juno put it into the mind of
Agamemnon, to bestir himself and to encourage the Achaeans. To
this end he went round the ships and tents carrying a great purple
cloak, and took his stand by the huge black hull of Ulysses’ ship,
which was middlemost of all; it was from this place that his voice
would carry farthest, on the one hand towards the tents of Ajax son
of Telamon, and on the other towards those of Achilles- for these
two heroes, well assured of their own strength, had valorously
drawn up their ships at the two ends of the line. From this spot
then, with a voice that could be heard afar, he shouted to the
Danaans, saying, “Argives, shame on you cowardly creatures,
brave in semblance only; where are now our vaunts that we should
prove victorious- the vaunts we made so vaingloriously in
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