Kitap 17
When Zeus, lord of the storm-cloud, saw Hektor standing aloof and arming himself in the armor of the son of Peleus, he wagged his head and muttered to himself saying, "A! poor wretch, you arm in the armor of a hero, before whom many another trembles, and you reck nothing of the doom that is already close upon you. You have killed his comrade so brave and strong, but it was not according to the order [kosmos] of things that you should strip the armor from his head and shoulders. I do indeed endow you with great might now, but as against this you shall not return from battle to lay the armor of the son of Peleus before Andromache."
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The son of Kronos bowed his portentous brows, and Hektor fitted the armor to his body, while terrible Ares entered into him, and filled his whole body with might and valor. With a shout he strode in among the allies, and his armor flashed about him so that he seemed to all of them like the great son of Peleus himself. He went about among them and cheered them on - Mesthles, Glaukos, Medon, Thersilokhos, Asteropaios, Deisenor and Hippothoos, Phorkys, Chromios, and Ennomos the augur. All these did he exhort saying, "Hear me, allies from other cities who are here in your thousands, it was not in order to have a crowd about me that I called you hither each from his several city, but that with heart and soul you might defend the wives and little ones of the Trojans from the fierce Achaeans. For this do I oppress my people with your food and the presents that make you rich. Therefore turn, and charge at the foe, to stand or fall as is the game of war; whoever shall bring Patroklos, dead though he be, into the hands of the Trojans, and shall make Ajax give way before him, I will give him one half of the spoils while I keep the other. He will thus share like honor [kleos] with myself."
When he had thus spoken they charged full weight upon the Danaans with their spears held out before them, and the hopes of each ran high that he should force Ajax son of Telamon to yield up the body - fools that they were, for he was about to take the lives of many. Then Ajax said to Menelaos, "My good friend Menelaos, you and I shall hardly come out of this fight alive. I am less concerned for the body of Patroklos,
who will shortly become meat for the dogs and vultures of Troy, than for the safety of my own head and yours. Hektor has wrapped us round in a storm of battle from every quarter, and our destruction seems now certain. Call then upon the princes of the Danaans if there is any who can hear us."
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