ads,
stood round the body and kept him off with their long spears for all
his great stature and valour; so he was driven back. Thus the two
corpses lay stretched on earth near to one another, the one captain of
the Thracians and the other of the Epeans; and many another fell round
them.

And now no man would have made light of the fighting if he could have
gone about among it scatheless and unwounded, with Minerva leading him
by the hand, and protecting him from the storm of spears and arrows.
For many Trojans and Achaeans on that day lay stretched side by side
face downwards upon the earth.

BOOK V

The exploits of Diomed, who, though wounded by Pandarus,
continues fighting--He kills Pandarus and wounds AEneas--Venus
rescues AEneas, but being wounded by Diomed, commits him
to the care of Apollo and goes to Olympus, where she is tended
by her mother Dione--Mars encourages the Trojans, and
AEneas returns to the fight cured of his wound--Minerva and
Juno help the Achaeans, and by the advice of the former
Diomed wounds Mars, who returns to Olympus to get cured.

Then Pallas Minerva put valour into the heart of Diomed, son of Tydeus,
that he might excel all the other Argives, and cover himself with
glory. She made a stream of fire flare from his shield and helmet like
the star that shines most brilliantly in summer after its bath in the
waters of Oceanus--even such a fire did she kindle upon his head and
shoulders as she bade him speed into the thickest hurly-burly of the
fight.

Now there was a certain rich and honourable man among the Trojans,
priest of Vulcan, and his name was Dares. He had two sons, Phegeus and
Idaeus, both of them skilled in all the arts of war. These two came
forward from the main body of Trojans, and set upon Diomed, he being on
foot, while they fought from their chariot. When they were close up to
one another, Phegeus took aim first, but his spear went over Diomed's
left shoulder without hitting him. Diomed then threw, and his spear
sped not in vain, for it hit Phegeus on the breast near the nipple, and
he fell from his chariot. Idaeus did not dare to bestride his brother's
body, but sprang from the chariot and took to flight, or he would have
shared his brother's fate; whereon Vulcan saved him by wrapping him in
a cloud of darkness, that his old father might not be utterly
overwhelmed with grief; but the son of Tydeus drove off with the
horses, and bade his followers tak