Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THE ILIAD: BOOK 21. ACHILLES AND THE SCAMANDER, by HOMER


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THE ILIAD: BOOK 21. ACHILLES AND THE SCAMANDER, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Round achilles rose / the boiling wave tremendous
Last Line: Are forceful beyond men.
Subject(s): Mythology - Classical; Trojan War


Round Achilles rose
The boiling wave tremendous, and the flood
Beat on his shield and swept him, nor could he
Stand firm upon his feet: he clutched an elm,
Well-grown and lofty, but it fell uprooted
And tore off all the bank, and reached across
The pleasant waters with its matted boughs,
And falling wholly in the channel, made
A dam across it. Struggling from the swirl
Achilles in alarm set out to fly
Across the plain with all his speed: but yet
The great god would not cease; he rose at him
In a black crest, and chased divine Achilles
To make him hold his hand, and to preserve
The Trojans from destruction. Peleus' son
Rushed back a spear-throw length with all the speed
Of a black eagle, that great hunter which
Has strength and pace above all things that fly.
Like him he sped, and on his breast the bronze
Rang grimly, as he swerved to dodge the River
And ran, while on his trail the River came
With a loud roar. And as a channel-maker
Guides from a sunless spring the flow of water
Among his crops and beds, and pick in hand
Clears barriers from the conduit; as it runs,
Before it all the pebbles roll away,
And with a gurgle down the slope apace
It slips, outrunning even him that guides it;
So did the River's deluge still o'ertake
Achilles, racer though he was: the gods
Are forceful beyond men.





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