Iliad by Homer - Join iZDOT

Homer’s Iliad
This was what Minerva was already eager to do, so down she
darted from the topmost summits of Olympus. She shot through
the sky as some brilliant meteor which the son of scheming Saturn
has sent as a sign to mariners or to some great army, and a fiery
train of light follows in its wake. The Trojans and Achaeans were
struck with awe as they beheld, and one would turn to his
neighbour, saying, “Either we shall again have war and din of
combat, or Jove the lord of battle will now make peace between
us.”
Thus did they converse. Then Minerva took the form of Laodocus,
son of Antenor, and went through the ranks of the Trojans to find
Pandarus, the redoubtable son of Lycaon. She found him standing
among the stalwart heroes who had followed him from the banks
of the Aesopus, so she went close up to him and said, “Brave son of
Lycaon, will you do as I tell you? If you dare send an arrow at
Menelaus you will win honour and thanks from all the Trojans, and
especially from prince Alexandrus- he would be the first to requite
you very handsomely if he could see Menelaus mount his funeral
pyre, slain by an arrow from your hand. Take your home aim then,
and pray to Lycian Apollo, the famous archer; vow that when you
get home to your strong city of Zelea you will offer a hecatomb of
firstling lambs in his honour.”
His fool’s heart was persuaded, and he took his bow from its case.
This bow was made from the horns of a wild ibex which he had
killed as it was bounding from a rock; he had stalked it, and it had
fallen as the arrow struck it to the heart. Its horns were sixteen
palms long, and a worker in horn had made them into a bow,
smoothing them well down, and giving them tips of gold. When
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