The

spear which stern Achilles only wields, The death of heroes and the dread of fields !

Automedon and Alcimus prepare

Th' immortal coursers and the radiant car,
The silver traces sweeping at their side;
Their fiery mouths resplendent bridles ty'd;
The ivory-studded reins returned behind,
Waved o'er their backs, and to the chariot joined:
The charioteer then whirled his lash around,
And swift ascended at one active bound.
All bright in heavenly arms, above his squire
Achilles mounts, and sets the field on fire;
Not brighter Phoebus in th' etherial way,
Flames from his chariot, and restores the day.
High o'er the host all terrible he stands,
And thunders to his steeds his dread commands.

HOMER'S Iliad, book 19.

Ere yet the gods their various aid employ, Each Argive bosom swelled with manly joy, While great Achilles (terror of the plain), Long lost to battle, shone in arms again; Dreadful he stood in front of all his host; Pale Troy beheld, and seemed already lost; Her bravest heroes pant with inward fear, And trembling see another God of War.

Ibid, book 20.

HECTOR

Was the son of Priam and Hecuba, and the leader of the Trojan forces against the Greeks; he conquered, generally, whenever he appeared, until Achilles took the field against him, with a determination to slay him, and thus avenge the death of Patroclus; Hector was seized with fear at the sight of his formidable foe, and fled; Achilles pursued, and after some contest vanquished him, and then insultingly dragged his body round the tomb of his slaughtered friend: it was afterwards ransomed by the Trojans, and funeral honours paid to his remains. Hector married Andromache, daughter of Ætion; his parting from her on the eve of a battle is beautifully described by Homer. "The young Astyanax, the hope of Troy," was his only

son.

After a great slaughter of the Trojans by the Greeks, Hector, at the bidding of Helenus, endeavoured to re-animate his troops, and to inspire them with fresh courage for the defence of their country.

Hector obedient heard; and with a bound,

Leaped from his trembling chariot to the ground:

Through all his host inspiring force he flies,
And bids the thunder of the battle rise.
With rage recruited the bold Trojans glow,
And turn the tide of conflict on the foe:
Fierce in the front he shakes two dazzling spears
All Greece recedes, and midst her triumph fears:
Some god, they thought, who ruled the fate of wars,
Shot down avenging, from the vault of stars.

Then thus, aloud: "Ye dauntless Dardans, hear!
And you whom distant nations send to war!
Be mindful of the strength your fathers bore;
Be still yourselves, and Hector asks no more:
One hour demands me in the Trojan wall,
To bid our altars flame, and victims fall:
Nor shall, I trust, the matrons' holy train,
And reverend elders seek the gods in vain."

This said, with ample strides the hero passed;
The shield's large orb behind his shoulder cast,
His neck o'ershadowing, to his ancle hung;
And as he marched, the brazen buckler rung.

HOMER'S Iliad, book 6.

ULYSSES.

ULYSSES was the son of Laërtes and Anticlea, and monarch of Ithaca and Dulichium, two islands of the Archipelago. In

his youth he became one of the suitors for the hand of the farfamed Helen, daughter of Tyndarus, king of Lacadæmon; she at length espoused Menelaus, and the rest of the princes of Greece, who had contended for the honour of the alliance, bound themselves by a solemn oath to defend her in any danger to which she might be exposed, whenever they should be called upon. Ulysses, after this, married Penelope, the daughter of Icarus, and resided peaceably at Ithaca, for some time employed in the duties and cares of his kingdom, until the seizure of Helen, by Paris, son of Priam, king of Troy, when he was obliged to attend the summons of Menelaus, to assist in recovering the lost beauty, and a war was entered into (the same so often before mentioned), which lasted for ten years. Ulysses distinguished himself during these protracted hostilities, equally by his wisdom and his courage, and at the close of the campaign he was judged the most worthy to inherit the arms of the matchless warrior Achilles. Ajax Telamon contested the prize with him; but, being obliged to yield to the superior talents of the king of Ithaca, he was enraged and mortified to such a degree, that he drew his sword and at once terminated his existence. After this, Ulysses set sail for his native country, but, having incurred the anger of the gods, he was exposed to innumerable hardships and perils for ten years, before he was permitted to behold his beloved Ithaca. The adventures of the

hero, and of Telemachus in search of him, guided by Minerva, in the assumed form of Mentor, are narrated at length in the Odyssey, of which they form the principal subject.

When requested by Alcinöus, king of Phæacia, to tell the history of his wanderings, Ulysses thus began ;

66

Know first the man (though now a wretch distrest)
Who hopes thee, monarch! for his future guest.

Behold Ulysses! no ignoble name;

Earth sounds my wisdom, and high heaven my fame
My native soil is Ithaca the fair,

Where high Neritus waves his woods in air;
Dulichium, Same, and Zacynthus, crowned
With shady mountains, spread their isles around.
(These to the north, and night's dark regions run;
Those to Aurora, and the rising sun.)

Low lies our isle, yet blessed in fruitful stores;
Strong are her sons, though rocky are her shores :
And none, ah none ! so lovely to my sight,
Of all the lands that heaven o'erspreads with light.
In vain Calypso long constrained my stay,
With sweet, reluctant, amorous delay;
With all her charms, as vainly Circe strove,
And added magic to secure my
love.

In pomps or joys, the palace or the grot,
My country's image never was forgot;