embrace,
Born in the shades of Ida’s secret grove;
(A mortal mixing with the queen of love;)
Archilochus and Acamas divide
The warrior’s toils, and combat by his side.
Who fair Zeleia’s wealthy valleys till,
Fast by the foot of Ida’s sacred hill,
Or drink, Æsepus, of thy sable flood,
Were led by Pandarus, of royal blood;
To whom his art Apollo deign’d to show,
Graced with the presents of his shafts and bow.
From rich Apaesus and Adrestia’s towers,
High Teree’s summits, and Pityea’s bowers;
From these the congregated troops obey
Young Amphius and Adrastus’ equal sway;
Old Merops’ sons; whom, skill’d in fates to come,
The sire forewarn’d, and prophesied their doom:
Fate urged them on! the sire forewarn’d in vain,
They rush’d to war, and perish’d on the plain.
From Practius’ stream, Percote’s pasture lands,
And Sestos and Abydos’ neighbouring strands,
From great Arisba’s walls and Selle’s coast,
Asius Hyrtacides conducts his host:
High on his car he shakes the flowing reins,
His fiery coursers thunder o’er the plains.
The fierce Pelasgi next, in war renown’d,
March from Larissa’s ever-fertile ground:
In equal arms their brother leaders shine,
Hippothous bold, and Pyleus the divine.
Next Acamas and Pyrous lead their hosts,
In dread array, from Thracia’s wintry coasts;
Round the bleak realms where Hellespontus roars,
And Boreas beats the hoarse-resounding shores.
With great Euphemus the Ciconians move,
Sprung from Troezenian Ceus, loved by Jove.
Pyraechmes the Paeonian troops attend,
Skill’d in the fight their crooked bows to bend;
From Axius’ ample bed he leads them on,
Axius, that laves the distant Amydon,
Axius, that swells with all his neighbouring rills,
And wide around the floating region fills.
The Paphlagonians Pylaemenes rules,
Where rich Henetia breeds her savage mules,
Where Erythinus’ rising cliffs are seen,
Thy groves of box, Cytorus! ever green,
And where Ægialus and Cromna lie,
And lofty Sesamus invades the sky,
And where Parthenius, roll’d through banks of flowers,
Reflects her bordering palaces and bowers.
Here march’d in arms the Halizonian band,
Whom Odius and Epistrophus command,
From those far regions where the sun refines
The ripening silver in Alybean mines.
There mighty Chromis led the Mysian train,
And augur Ennomus, inspired in vain;
For stern Achilles lopp’d his sacred head,
Roll’d down Scamander with the vulgar dead.
Phorcys and brave Ascanius here unite
The Ascanian Phrygians, eager for the fight.
Of those who round Maeonia’s realms reside,
Or whom the vales in shades of Tmolus hide,
Mestles and Antiphus the charge partake,
Born on the banks of Gyges’ silent lake.
There, from the fields where wild Maeander flows,
High Mycale, and Latmos’ shady brows,
And proud Miletus, came the Carian throngs,
With mingled clamours and with barbarous tongues.
Amphimachus and Naustes guide the train,
Naustes the bold, Amphimachus the vain,
Who, trick’d with gold, and glittering on his car,
Rode like a woman to the field of war.
Fool that he was! by fierce Achilles slain,
The river swept him to the briny main:
There whelm’d with waves the gaudy warrior lies
The valiant victor seized the golden prize.
The forces last in fair array succeed,
Which blameless Glaucus and Sarpedon lead
The warlike bands that distant Lycia yields,
Where gulfy Xanthus foams along the fields.
Argument
The Duel of Menelaus and Paris
The armies being ready to engage, a single combat is agreed upon between Menelaus and Paris (by the intervention of Hector) for the determination of the war. Iris is sent to call Helen to behold the fight. She leads her to the walls of Troy, where Priam sat with his counsellers observing the Grecian leaders on the plain below, to whom Helen gives an account of the chief of them. The kings on either part take the solemn oath for the conditions of the combat. The duel ensues; wherein Paris being overcome, he
