Menelaus

her first-born, ere then knowing naught of motherhood; even so over Patroclus strode fair-haired Menelaus, and before him he held his spear and his shield that was well-balanced upon every side, eager to slay the man who should come to seize the corpse. Then was Panthous' son, of the good spear of ash, not unheedful

And forthwith the son of Cronos made essay to provoke Hera with mocking words, and said with malice: Twain of the goddesses hath Menelaus for helpers, even Argive Hera, and Alalcomenean Athene. Howbeit these verily sit apart and take their pleasure in beholding,

And forthwith the son of Cronos made essay to provoke Hera with mocking words, and said with malice: Twain of the goddesses hath Menelaus for helpers, even Argive Hera, and Alalcomenean Athene. Howbeit these verily sit apart and take their pleasure in beholding,

and the swift Aias, and the valiant son of Phyleus. And I would that one should go and summon these also, the godlike Aias and lord Idomeneus, for their ships are furthest of all and nowise nigh at hand. But Menelaus will I chide, dear though he be and honoured,aye, though thou shouldest be angry with me, nor will I hide my thought, for that he sleepeth thus, and hath suffered thee to toil alone. Now had it been meet that he laboured among all the chieftains, beseeching them, for need has come upon them that may no longer be borne. And to him did the king of men, Agamemnon, make answer, saying:

for erstwhile on a time goodly Odysseus came hither also on an embassy concerning thee, together with Menelaus, dear to Ares; and it was I that gave them entertainment and welcomed them in my halls, and came to know the form and stature of them both and their cunning devices. Now when they mingled with the Trojans, as they were gathered together,

a goodly sapling and a fair-growing; and the blasts of all the winds make it to quiver, and it burgeoneth out with white blossoms; but suddenly cometh the wind with a mighty tempest, and teareth it out of its trench, and layeth it low upon the earth; even in such wise didMenelaus, son of Atreus, slay Panthous' son, Euphorbus of the good ashen spear, and set him to spoil him of his armour. And as when a mountain-nurtured lion, trusting in his might, hath seized from amid a grazing herd the heifer that is goodliest: her neck he seizeth first in his strong jaws, and breaketh it, and thereafter devoureth the blood and all the inward parts in his fury;

and Teucer laid low Prothoön and Periphetes,; thereafter Atreus' son smote with a thrust in the flank Hyperenor, shepherd of the host, and the bronze let forth the bowels, as it clove through, and his soul sped hastening through the stricken wound, and darkness enfolded his eyes.

Then Meges thrust with his sharp spear upon the topmost socket of the helm of bronze with horse-hair plume which Dolops wore, and shore therefrom the plume of horse-hair, and all the plume, bright with its new scarlet dye, fell in the dust. Now while Meges abode and fought with Dolops, and yet hoped for victory,meanwhile warlike Menelaus came to bear him aid, and he took his stand on one side with his spear, unmarked of Dolops, and cast and smote him on the shoulder from behind; and the spear in its fury sped through his breast, darting eagerly onward, and he fell upon his face; and the twain made for him to strip from his shoulders his armour wrought of bronze.

Now among the Trojans was one Podes, son of Eetion, a rich man and a valiant, and Hector honoured him above all the people, for that he was his comrade, a welcome companion at the feast. Him, fair-haired Menelaus smote upon the belt with a spear cast as he started to flee, and drave the bronze clean through;and he fell with a thud. But Menelaus, son of Atreus, dragged the dead body from amid the Trojans into the throng of his comrades. Then unto Hector did Apollo draw nigh, and urged him on, in the likeness of Asius' son Phaenops, that of all his guest-friends was dearest to him, and had his house at Abydus.

Him even as he was mounting his chariot Idomeneus, famed for his spear, pierced with a thrust of his long spear through the right shoulder; and he fell from his car, and hateful darkness gat hold of him. Him then the squires of Idomeneus stripped of his armour; and Scamandrius, son of Strophius, cunning in the chase,did Atreus' son Menelaus slay with his sharp spear, even him the mighty hunter; for Artemis herself had taught him to smite all wild things that the mountain forest nurtureth. Yet in no wise did the archer Artemis avail him now, neither all that skill in archery wherein of old he excelled;

And the warrior Leïtus slew Phylacus, as he fled before him; and Eurypylus laid Melanthius low. But Adrastus did Menelaus, good at the warcry, take alive; for his two horses, coursing in terror over the plain, became entangled in a tamarisk bough, and breaking the curved car at the end of the pole,