X. THE BATTLE AT THE SHIPS—DEATH OF PATROCLUS.
At dawn the Achaian leaders resolved to try again the fortunes of war. They were encouraged by the exploit of Ulysses and Diomede, and Jupiter sent down Eris, the goddess of strife, to incite them to ardor for battle. The goddess stood on the ship of Ulysses, which was in the center of the fleet, and shouted so loud that she was heard all over the Greek camp.
Loud was the voice, and terrible, in which
She shouted from her station to the Greeks,
And into every heart it carried strength,
And the resolve to combat manfully,
And never yield. The battle now to them
Seemed more to be desired than the return
To their dear country in their roomy ships.
Bryant, Iliad, Book XI.
Then began the greatest battle of the siege. So numerous were the exploits of heroes in this mighty conflict that the account of it occupies nearly eight books of the Iliad.
Agamemnon led the Grecian warriors during the earlier part of the day. He was arrayed in brilliant armor, his breastplate being of gold and bronze and tin.
Ten were its bars of tawny bronze, and twelve
Were gold, and twenty tin; and on each side
Were three bronze serpents stretching toward the neck.
Bryant, Iliad, Book XI.
His sword, glittering with golden studs, hung from his shoulder in a silver sheath, and in his hands he bore two great spears, brass-tipped and sharp. As he went forth to meet the foe, Juno and Minerva made a sound as of thunder in the sky, "honoring the king of Mycenæ, rich in gold." Thus did the Argive chief enter the field at the head of his warriors.