Verse
Iliad
Book 20, Line 490 by Samuel Butler (English)
As a fire raging in some mountain glen after long drought - and the dense forest is in a blaze, while the wind carries great tongues of fire in every direction - even so furiously did Achilles rage, wielding his spear as though he were a daimôn , and giving chase to those whom he would slay, till the dark earth ran with blood. Or as one who yokes broad-browed oxen that they may tread barley in a threshing-floor - and it is soon bruised small under the feet of the lowing cattle - even so did the horses of Achilles trample on the shields and bodies of the slain. The axle underneath and the railing that ran round the car were bespattered with clots of blood thrown up by the horses' hoofs, and from the tires of the wheels; but the son of Peleus pressed on to win still further glory, and his hands were bedrabbled with gore.
IliadBook 20, Line 490Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 20
HomerProseID iliad-iliad-butler-en-prose-20-490