Iliad by Homer - Join iZDOT

Homer’s Iliad
field. With this she struck Mars on the neck, and brought him
down. Nine roods did he cover in his fall, and his hair was all
soiled in the dust, while his armour rang rattling round him. But
Minerva laughed and vaunted over him saying, “Idiot, have you
not learned how far stronger I am than you, but you must still
match yourself against me? Thus do your mother’s curses now
roost upon you, for she is angry and would do you mischief
because you have deserted the Achaeans and are helping the
Trojans.”
She then turned her two piercing eyes elsewhere, whereon Jove’s
daughter Venus took Mars by the hand and led him away groaning
all the time, for it was only with great difficulty that he had come to
himself again. When Queen Juno saw her, she said to Minerva,
“Look, daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, unweariable, that vixen
Venus is again taking Mars through the crowd out of the battle; go
after her at once.”
Thus she spoke. Minerva sped after Venus with a will, and made at
her, striking her on the bosom with her strong hand so that she fell
fainting to the ground, and there they both lay stretched at full
length. Then Minerva vaunted over her saying, “May all who help
the Trojans against the Argives prove just as redoubtable and
stalwart as Venus did when she came across me while she was
helping Mars. Had this been so, we should long since have ended
the war by sacking the strong city of Ilius.”
Juno smiled as she listened. Meanwhile King Neptune turned to
Apollo saying, “Phoebus, why should we keep each other at arm’s
length? it is not well, now that the others have begun fighting; it
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