[11,95] τὸν δὲ Ἕκτορα ἐν τούτῳ παραφυλάττειν, ἐμπειρότατον ὄντα καιρὸν μάχης ξυνεῖναι, καὶ μέχρι μὲν ἤκμαζεν ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς καὶ νεαλὴς ὢν ἐμάχετο, μὴ ξυμφέρεσθαι αὐτῷ, μόνον δὲ τοὺς ἄλλους παρακαλεῖν· ἐπεὶ δ´ ᾐσθάνετο κάμνοντα ἤδη καὶ πολὺ τῆς πρότερον ὑφεικότα ὁρμῆς, ἅτε οὐ ταμιευσάμενον ἐν τῷ ἀγῶνι, καὶ ὑπὸ τοῦ ποταμοῦ κοπωθέντα μείζονος ἐρρυηκότος ἀπείρως διαβαίνοντα, καὶ ὑπό τε Ἀστεροπαίου τοῦ Παίονος {ἑώρα} τετρωμένον, Αἰνείαν τε συστάντα αὐτῷ καὶ μαχεσάμενον ἐπὶ πλέον, ὁπότε δὲ ἐβουλήθη ἀσφαλῶς ἀποχωρήσαντα, Ἀγήνορα δὲ οὐ καταλαβόντα ὁρμήσαντα διώκειν· καίτοι τούτῳ μάλιστα προεῖχεν ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς ὅτι ἐδόκει τάχιστος εἶναι· (96) καταφανὴς οὖν ἐγεγόνει αὐτῷ διὰ τούτων ἁπάντων εὐάλωτος ὤν, ἅτε δεινῷ τὴν πολεμικὴν τέχνην· ὥστε θαρρῶν ἀπήντησεν αὐτῷ κατὰ μέσον τὸ πεδίον. καὶ τὸ μὲν πρῶτον ἐνέκλινεν ὡς φεύγων, ἀποπειρώμενος αὐτοῦ, ἅμα δὲ κοπῶσαι βουλόμενος, ὁτὲ μὲν περιμένων, ὁτὲ δὲ ἀποφεύγων· ἐπεὶ δὲ ἑώρα βραδύνοντα καὶ ἀπολειπόμενον, οὕτως ὑποστρέψας αὐτὸς ἧκεν ἐπ´ αὐτὸν οὐδὲ τὰ ὅπλα φέρειν ἔτι δυνάμενον, καὶ συμβαλὼν ἀπέκτεινε καὶ τῶν ὅπλων ἐκράτησεν, ὡς καὶ τοῦτο Ὅμηρος εἴρηκε. τοὺς δὲ ἵππους διῶξαι μέν φησι τὸν Ἕκτορα, οὐ λαβεῖν δέ, κἀκείνων ἁλόντων. (97) τὸ μὲν οὖν σῶμα μόλις διέσωσαν ἐπὶ τὰς ναῦς οἱ Αἴαντες. οἱ γὰρ Τρῶες ἤδη θαρροῦντες καὶ νικᾶν νομίζοντες, μαλακώτερον ἐφείποντο· ὁ δὲ Ἕκτωρ ἐνδυσάμενος τὰ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ὅπλα ἐπίσημα ὄντα ἔκτεινέ τε καὶ ἐδίωκε μέχρι τῆς θαλάττης, ὡς ὁμολογεῖ ταῦτα Ὅμηρος. νὺξ δὲ ἐπιγενομένη ἀφείλετο μὴ πάσας ἐμπρῆσαι τὰς ναῦς. τούτων δὲ οὕτως γενομένων, οὐκ ἔχων ὅπως κρύψῃ τἀληθές, Πάτροκλον εἶναί φησι τὸν ἐπεξελθόντα μετὰ τῶν Μυρμιδόνων, ἀναλαβόντα τὰ τοῦ Ἀχιλλέως ὅπλα, καὶ τοῦτον ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἕκτορος ἀποθανεῖν, καὶ τὸν Ἕκτορα τῶν ὅπλων οὕτως κρατῆσαι. (98) καίτοι πῶς ἂν ὁ Ἀχιλλεὺς ἐν τοσούτῳ κινδύνῳ τοῦ στρατοπέδου ὄντος καὶ τῶν νεῶν ἤδη καιομένων καὶ ὅσον οὔπω ἐπ´ αὐτὸν ἥκοντος τοῦ δεινοῦ, καὶ τὸν Ἕκτορα ἀκούων ὅτι φησὶ μηδένα αὑτῷ ἀξιόμαχον εἶναι καὶ τὸν Δία βοηθεῖν αὑτῷ καὶ δεξιὰ σημεῖα φαίνειν, εἴ γε ἐβούλετο σῶσαι τοὺς Ἀχαιούς, αὐτὸς μὲν ἐν τῇ σκηνῇ ἔμενεν ἄριστος ὢν μάχεσθαι, τὸν δὲ πολὺ χείρονα αὑτοῦ ἔπεμπε; καὶ ἅμα μὲν παρήγγελλεν ἐμπεσεῖν ἰσχυρῶς καὶ ἀμύνεσθαι τοὺς Τρῶας, ἅμα δὲ τῷ Ἕκτορι μὴ μάχεσθαι; οὐδὲ γὰρ ἐπ´ ἐκείνῳ ἦν οἶμαι προελθόντι γε ἅπαξ ὅτῳ ἐβούλετο μάχεσθαι. (99) οὕτως δὲ ὑποκαταφρονῶν τοῦ Πατρόκλου καὶ ἀπιστῶν αὐτῷ, τὴν δύναμιν ἐπέτρεπεν ἐκείνῳ καὶ τὰ ὅπλα τὰ αὑτοῦ καὶ τοὺς ἵππους, ὡς ἂν κάκιστά τις βουλεύσαιτο περὶ τῶν αὑτοῦ, πάντα ἀπολέσαι βουλόμενος· ἔπειτα ηὔχετο τῷ Διὶ ὑποστρέψαι τὸν Πάτροκλον μετὰ τῶν ὅπλων ἁπάντων καὶ τῶν ἑταίρων, οὕτως ἀνοήτως πέμπων αὐτὸν πρὸς ἄνδρα κρείττονα, ᾧ προκαλουμένῳ τοὺς ἀρίστους οὐδεὶς ὑπακοῦσαι ἤθελεν,

[11,95] "Meanwhile Hector, experienced as he was in discerning the critical moment in a fight, kept on his guard, and as long as Achilles possessed his full strength and fought with youthful vigour, avoided him, contenting himself with cheering the others on. But later he noticed that Achilles was at last growing fatigued and had lost a great measure of his original impetus because he had not spared his strength in the struggle, and that he was exhausted by his reckless plunge into the river, swollen beyond its wont, and had been wounded by Asteropaeus, the son of Paeon. Then he saw, too, that Aeneas had engaged Achilles and, after a prolonged fight, had corne off in safety at the moment he desired, and that the latter, rushing in pursuit of Agenor, had not been able to overtake him—and yet it was in this very point that Achilles chiefly excelled, in that he was reckoned the swiftest of foot. And so it had become clear to Hector, a master in the art of war, that in view of all these conditions Achilles was an easy prey. Accordingly he boldly confronted him in the open plain. At first he gave way as if in open flight, but with the real purpose of testing him and, at the same time, wearying him by now making a stand and now fleeing. Then when he noted that he lagged and fell behind, he himself turned and fell upon Achilles, who was no longer able even to support his arms. He gave him battle, slew him, and, just as Homer has told it, possessed himself of his arms. He pursued the horses of Achilles too," said the Egyptian priest, " but he did not bring them in though they too were caught. The two Ajaxes with great difficulty managed to bring back the body of Achilles to the ships ; for the Trojans, now feeling relieved and believing that they were victorious, were pressing on with less energy ; white Hector, after donning the emblazoned arms of Achilles, continued the slaughter and pressed on in pursuit to the sea, just as Homer admits. Night fell, however, and prevented the burning of all the ships. " Yet in the face of these facts, Homer, finding it impossible to conceal the truth, says it was Patroclus who attacked with the Myrmidons after taking Achilles' arms, that it was he who was slain by Hector, and that Hector in this manner won the arms. And yet when the army was beset with so great peril, when the ships were now ablaze, and danger was almost at his own doors, how was it possible for Achilles, hearing that Hector declared he had found no foeman worthy of his steel and that Zeus was helping him and showing him signs of his favour, to remain in his tent, great champion that he was, if he really desired the salvation of the Achaeans, and to send a hero much his inferior and exhort him to lay on manfully and beat back the Trojans, only not to engage with Hector ? For it was quite impossible, I imagine, for Patroclus to choose with whom he would fight when once he had set forth. But although he had such a poor opinion of Patroclus and distrusted him, did Achilles entrust his force to him, and his own weapons and horses, an insane course which no one would adopt regarding his own interests unless he wished to ruin everything? Then did he pray Zeus to bring back Patroclus with all his arms and comrades, while sending him forth so foolishly against a mightier man whose challenge to the bravest no one was willing to accept,