Verse
Iliad
Book 22, Line 247 by Samuel Butler (English)
Thus did Athena inveigle him by her cunning, and when the two were now close to one another great Hektor was first to speak. "I will no longer flee you, son of Peleus," said he, "as I have been doing hitherto. Three times have I fled round the mighty city of Priam, without daring to withstand you, but now, let me either slay or be slain, for I am in the mind to face you. Let us, then, give pledges to one another by our gods, who are the fittest witnesses and guardians of all covenants; let it be agreed between us that if Zeus grants me the longer stay and I take your life [ psukhê ], I am not to treat your dead body in any unseemly fashion, but when I have stripped you of your armor, I am to give up your body to the Achaeans. And do you likewise."
IliadBook 22, Line 247Samuel ButlerEnglishVerse permalinkRead in Book 22
HomerProseID iliad-iliad-butler-en-prose-22-247