Early in the morning, when the goddess of dawn Eos flew into the sky and the east lit up with a scarlet light, Zeus the Thunderer, having gathered the gods on bright Olympus, said to them:
- Listen to me, immortal gods! Let none of you dare today to descend from high Olympus to the aid of either the Greeks or the Trojans. I will cast the disobedient one into the deepest abyss of Tartarus, so that he will know how much stronger I am than the immortal gods. If you want to experience my strength, then take a golden chain, lower it to the ground, stand on the ground and try to pull me from Olympus. I will take this chain with one hand and lift all of you and the whole earth with the seas with it.
The gods were struck with fear by the formidable speech of Zeus. The goddess Athena answered Zeus:
- Oh, great thunderer, we all know that your power is limitless, but we all grieve for the Greeks. Are they really doomed to death?
“My daughter,” answered Zeus, “I do not intend to destroy all the Greeks.”
Having said this, Zeus harnessed golden-maned horses to a chariot, took a golden whip in his hands and, dressed in golden clothes, stood on the chariot. He quickly drove the horses, and they rushed between earth and sky to high Ida. Zeus sat there at the very top and began to watch how the Greeks and citizens of Troy were preparing for battle.
The troops entered the field and quickly converged. The terrible battle began again. It's noon. Zeus took the golden scales and weighed the lot of the Trojans and Greeks on them. The lot of the Trojans rose to the sky, promising them good luck, but the lot of the Greeks sank to the very earth, threatening the death of many of them. The thunder of the great Zeus thundered from Ida, and he threw sparkling lightning at the army of the Greeks. Horror gripped the warriors. They all fled, hurrying to take cover behind the walls of the camp. Only Nestor remained in the field. One of his horses was wounded by Paris's arrow and reared up. Nestor tried in vain to cut the horse's harness; he failed. Hector was already approaching him in his chariot. Elder Nestor would have died, but Diomedes came to his aid. He also called on Odysseus for help, but Odysseus did not hear his call. Diomedes took Nestor into his chariot and rushed towards Hector. Diomedes threw a spear at Hector, but missed: it hit Hector’s charioteer in the chest and killed him. Hector's horses rushed towards them. Instead of the driver, the hero Archeptolemus stood on the chariot. Perhaps, having seen the feat of Diomedes, the fleeing Greeks would have stopped. But Zeus threw a flashing lightning before the horses of Diomedes. The lightning flame flashed terribly, and the horses rushed back. Nestor began to convince Diomedes to leave the battlefield, since Zeus did not foretell victory for him. No matter how much Diomedes wanted to continue the battle, he listened to Nestor and directed his horses towards the crowds of fleeing Greeks. The Trojans raised a terrible cry and showered the Greeks with a cloud of arrows. Hector mocked Diomedes, who had fled. Three times Diomedes wanted to return, and three times the menacing peals of Zeus’ thunder were heard. Hector understood that Zeus was foretelling victory for the Trojans with his thunder. He encouraged them to pursue the Greeks and threatened to burst into their camp and burn the ships. Hera was angry when she heard Hector’s threats. She began to ask the shaker of the earth, the god Poseidon, to help the Greeks, but the great ruler of the seas refused. And the battle was already in full swing at the very wall that surrounded the Greek camp. Hera inspired Agamemnon with the idea of inspiring the Greeks. Standing on Odysseus’s ship, Agamemnon called out to the soldiers and urged them to defend themselves courageously. Agamemnon also prayed to Zeus to send help and not let the Greeks die at the hands of the Trojans. Zeus had mercy and sent a sign to the Greeks. An eagle soared over the altar of Zeus and threw a deer, which it held in its claws, onto the altar. Seeing the sign, the Greeks perked up and repelled the Trojans. King Diomedes fought the bravest of all. He then defeated many Trojan heroes. Other Greek heroes also fought bravely. But Telamonides Ajax’s half-brother, Teucer, especially distinguished himself. With his bow he struck down many Trojan heroes one after another. He also struck the son of Priam, the beautiful Gorgythion. Just as the poppy bows its red flower under the weight of the dew that has covered it, so Gorgythion bowed his head, crowned with a helmet, and fell to the ground. Teucer and the driver Hector, his friend Archeptolemus, killed. Hector began to seethe with anger and rushed at Teucer. He wounded him with a heavy stone in the shoulder near the neck. Teucer groaned. Hector would have killed him if Ajax had not covered his brother with a shield and ordered the servants to carry the wounded man to the ships.
Zeus again aroused the courage of the Trojans. The Trojans pushed the Greeks back to the ships. Hector rushed menacingly through the ranks. Hera felt sorry for the Greeks, she begged Athena to rush to their aid. Athena agreed. She put on her armor and, together with Hera, rushed in a chariot from the bright Olympus. Zeus saw the rushing goddesses from high Ida. Full of anger, he sent the messenger of the gods, Iris, to stop the goddesses, threatening them with his anger. The goddesses Hera and Athena were frightened by the wrath of Zeus, and full of sadness they returned to Olympus. Soon Zeus the Thunderer also returned to Olympus. When Zeus asked why the goddesses were so sad, and when Zeus threatened, Hera answered that they were grieving for the Greeks. Zeus told Hera that the Trojans would continue to win until Agamemnon reconciled with Achilles and sent him rich gifts for the insult he had inflicted on him.
The sun has set. The night covered the earth with its cover. The bloody battle stopped. On the advice of Hector, the Trojans did not return to sacred Troy. They settled down for the night in a field, and ordered the youths and elders to guard the city. Hector hoped that the next day he would be able to win a final victory over the Greeks and expel them from Troas. The Trojans lit many fires on the field. These fires sparkled like stars in the darkness of the night.
Translated from Russian · original on wisdomlib.ru