The Iliad by Homer — Book II, The Catalogue of Ships

And now, O Muses, dwellers in the mansions of Olympus, tell me - ⁴⁸⁵for you are goddesses and are in all places so that you see all things, while we know nothing but by report [kleos] - who were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans? As for the common warriors, they were so that I could not name every single one of them though I had ten tongues, ⁴⁹⁰and though my voice failed not and my heart were of bronze within me, unless you, O Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, were to recount them to me. Nevertheless, I will tell the leaders of the ships and all the fleet together.

Peneleos, Leitos, ⁴⁹⁵Arkesilaos, Prothoenor, and Klonios were leaders of the Boeotians. These were they that dwelt in Hyria and rocky Aulis, and who held Schoinos, Skolos, and the highlands of Eteonos, with Thespeia, Graia, and the fair city of Mykalessos. They also held Harma, Eilesium, and Erythrae; ⁵⁰⁰and they had Eleon, Hyle, and Peteon; Ocalea and the strong fortress of Medeon; Copae, Eutresis, and Thisbe the haunt of doves; Coronea, and the pastures of Haliartus; Plataea and Glisas; ⁵⁰⁵the fortress of Thebes the less; holy Onchestos with its famous grove of Poseidon; Arne rich in vineyards; Midea, sacred Nisa, and Anthedon upon the sea. From these there came fifty ships, and in each ⁵¹⁰there were a hundred and twenty young men of the Boeotians.

Askalaphos and Ialmenos, sons of Ares, led the people that dwelt in Aspledon and Orkhomenos the realm of Minyas. Astyoche a noble maiden bore them in the house of Aktor son of Azeus; for she had gone with Ares secretly into an upper chamber, ⁵¹⁵and he had lain with her. With these there came thirty ships.

The Phocaeans were led by Schedios and Epistrophos, sons of mighty Iphitos the son of Naubolos. These were they that held Cyparissus, rocky Pytho, ⁵²⁰holy Crisa, Daulis, and Panopeus; they also that dwelt in Anemorea and Hyampolis, and about the waters of the river Kephissos, and Lilaea by the springs of the Kephissos; with their chieftains came forty ships, ⁵²⁵and they marshaled the forces of the Phocaeans, which were stationed next to the Boeotians, on their left.

Ajax, the fleet son of Oileus, commanded the Locrians. He was not so great, nor nearly so great, as Ajax the son of Telamon. He was a little man, and his breastplate was made of linen, ⁵³⁰but in use of the spear he excelled all the Hellenes and the Achaeans. These dwelt in Cynus, Opous, Calliarus, Bessa, Scarphe, fair Augeae, Tarphe, and Thronium about the river Boagrios. With him there came forty ships ⁵³⁵of the Locrians who dwell beyond Euboea.

The fierce Abantes held Euboea with its cities, Khalkis, Eretria, Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus upon the sea, and the rock-perched town of Dion; with them were also the men of Karystos and Styra; ⁵⁴⁰Elephenor of the race of Ares was in command of these; he was son of Khalkodon, and chief over all the Abantes. With him they came, fleet of foot and wearing their hair long behind, brave warriors, who would ever strive to tear open the corselets of their foes with their long ashen spears. ⁵⁴⁵Of these there came fifty ships.

And they that held the strong city of Athens, the dêmos of great Erechtheus, who was born of the soil itself, but Zeus' daughter, Athena, fostered him, and established him at Athens in her own rich sanctuary. There, year by year, the Athenian youths worship him ⁵⁵⁰with sacrifices of bulls and rams. These were commanded by Menestheus, son of Peteos. No man living could equal him in the marshaling of chariots and foot soldiers. ⁵⁵⁵Nestor could alone rival him, for he was older. With him there came fifty ships.

Ajax brought twelve ships from Salamis, and stationed them alongside those of the Athenians.

The men of Argos, again, and those who held the walls of Tiryns, ⁵⁶⁰with Hermione, and Asine upon the gulf; Trozen, Eionae, and the vineyard lands of Epidaurus; the Achaean youths, moreover, who came from Aegina and Mases; these were led by Diomedes of the loud battle-cry, and Sthenelos son of famed Kapaneus. ⁵⁶⁵With them in command was Euryalos, son of king Mekisteus, son of Talaos; but Diomedes was chief over them all. With these there came eighty ships.

Those who held the strong city of Mycenae, ⁵⁷⁰rich Corinth and Cleonae; Orneae, Araethyrea, and Licyon, where Adrastos reigned of old; Hyperesia, high Gonoessa, and Pellene; Aegium ⁵⁷⁵and all the coast-land round about Helike; these sent a hundred ships under the command of King Agamemnon, son of Atreus. His force was far both finest and most numerous, and in their midst was the king himself, all glorious in his armor of gleaming bronze - foremost among the heroes, ⁵⁸⁰for he was the greatest king, and had most men under him.

And those that dwelt in Lacedaemon, lying low among the hills, Pharis, Sparta, with Messe the haunt of doves; Bryseae, Augeae, Amyclae, and Helos upon the sea; ⁵⁸⁵Laas, moreover, and Oetylus; these were led by Menelaos of the loud battle-cry, brother to Agamemnon, and of them there were sixty ships, drawn up apart from the others. Among them went Menelaos himself, strong in zeal, urging his men to fight; for he longed to ⁵⁹⁰avenge the toil and sorrow that he had suffered for the sake of Helen.

The men of Pylos and Arene, and Thryum where is the ford of the river Alpheus; strong Aipy, Cyparisseis, and Amphigenea; Pteleum, Helos, and Dorium, where the Muses ⁵⁹⁵met Thamyris, and stilled his minstrelsy for ever. He was returning from Oechalia, where Eurytos lived and reigned, and boasted that he would surpass even the Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, if they should sing against him; whereon they were angry, and maimed him. ⁶⁰⁰They robbed him of his divine power of song, and thenceforth he could strike the lyre no more. These were commanded by Nestor, horseman of Gerene, and with him there came ninety ships.

And those that held Arcadia, under the high mountain of Cyllene, near the tomb of Aipytos, where the people fight hand to hand; ⁶⁰⁵the men of Pheneus also, and Orkhomenos rich in flocks; of Rhipae, Stratie, and bleak Enispe; of Tegea and fair Mantinea; of Stymphelus and Parrhasia; of these King Agapenor son of Ankaios was commander, ⁶¹⁰and they had sixty ships. Many Arcadians, good warriors, came in each one of them, but Agamemnon found them the ships in which to cross the sea [pontos], for they were not a people that occupied their business upon the waters.

⁶¹⁵The men, moreover, of Bouprasion and of Elis, so much of it as is enclosed between Hyrmine, Myrsinus upon the sea-shore, the rock Olene and Alesium. These had four leaders, and each of them had ten ships, with many Epeans on board. ⁶²⁰Their leaders were Amphimakhos and Thalpios - the one, son of Kteatos, and the other, of Eurytos - both of the race of Aktor. The two others were Diores, son of Amarynkes, and Polyxenos, son of King Agasthenes, son of Augeas.

⁶²⁵And those of Dulichium with the sacred Echinean islands, who dwelt beyond the sea off Elis; these were led by Meges, peer of Ares, and the son of valiant Phyleus, dear to Zeus, who quarreled with his father, and went to settle in Dulichium. ⁶³⁰With him there came forty ships.

Odysseus led the brave Cephallenians, who held Ithaca, Neritum with its forests, Crocylea, rugged Aegilips, Samos and Zacynthus, ⁶³⁵with the mainland also that was over against the islands. These were led by Odysseus, peer of Zeus in counsel, and with him there came twelve ships.

Thoas, son of Andraimon, commanded the Aetolians, who dwelt in Pleuron, Olenus, Pylene, ⁶⁴⁰Khalkis by the sea, and rocky Calydon, for the great king Oeneus had now no sons living, and was himself dead, as was also golden-haired Meleager, who had been set over the Aetolians to be their king. And with Thoas there came forty ships.

⁶⁴⁵The famous spearsman Idomeneus led the Cretans, who held Knossos, and the well-walled city of Gortys; Lyktos also, Miletus and Lykastos that lies upon the chalk; the populous towns of Phaistos and Rhytium, with the other peoples that dwelt in the hundred cities of Crete. ⁶⁵⁰All these were led by Idomeneus, and by Meriones, peer of murderous Ares. And with these there came eighty ships.

Tlepolemos, son of Herakles, a man both brave and large of stature, brought nine ships of lordly warriors from Rhodes. ⁶⁵⁵These dwelt in Rhodes which is divided among the three cities of Lindos, Ialysos, and Kameiros, that lies upon the chalk. These were commanded by Tlepolemos, son of mighty Herakles and born of Astyochea, whom he had carried off from Ephyra, on the river Selleis, ⁶⁶⁰after sacking many cities of valiant warriors. When Tlepolemos grew up, he killed his father's uncle Likymnios, who had been a famous warrior in his time, but was then grown old. On this he built himself a fleet, gathered a great following, ⁶⁶⁵and fled beyond the sea [pontos], for he was menaced by the other sons and grandsons of Herakles. After a voyage. during which he suffered great hardship, he came to Rhodes, where the people divided into three communities, according to their tribes, and were dearly loved by Zeus, the lord, of gods and men; ⁶⁷⁰wherefore the son of Kronos showered down great riches upon them.

And Nireus brought three ships from Syme - Nireus, who was the handsomest man that came up under Ilion of all the Danaans after the son of Peleus - ⁶⁷⁵but he was a man of no substance, and had but a small following.

And those that held Nisyrus, Carpathus, and Casus, with Cos, the city of Eurypylos, and the Calydnian islands, these were commanded by Pheidippos and Antiphos, two sons of King Thessalos the son of Herakles. ⁶⁸⁰And with them there came thirty ships.

Those again who held Pelasgian Argos, Alos, Alope, and Trachis; and those of Phthia and Hellas the land of fair women, who were called Myrmidons, Hellenes, and Achaeans; ⁶⁸⁵these had fifty ships, over which Achilles was in command. But they now took no part in the war, inasmuch as there was no one to marshal them; for Achilles stayed by his ships, furious about the loss of the girl Briseis, whom he had taken from Lyrnessos at his own great peril, ⁶⁹⁰when he had sacked Lyrnessos and Thebe, and had overthrown Mynes and Epistrophos, sons of king Euenor, son of Selepus. For her sake Achilles was still in grief [akhos], but ere long he was again to join them.

⁶⁹⁵And those that held Phylake and the flowery meadows of Pyrasus, sanctuary of Demeter ; Iton, the mother of sheep; Antrum upon the sea, and Pteleum that lies upon the grass lands. Of these brave Protesilaos had been leader while he was yet alive, but he was now lying under the earth. ⁷⁰⁰He had left a wife behind him in Phylake to tear her cheeks in sorrow, and his house was only half finished, for he was slain by a Dardanian warrior while leaping foremost of the Achaeans upon the soil of Troy. Still, though his people mourned their chieftain, they were not without a leader, for Podarkes, of the race of Ares, marshaled them; ⁷⁰⁵he was son of Iphiklos, rich in sheep, who was the son of Phylakos, and he was own brother to Protesilaos, only younger, Protesilaos being at once the elder and the more valiant. So the people were not without a leader, though they mourned him whom they had lost. ⁷¹⁰With him there came forty ships.

And those that held Pherai by the Boebean lake, with Boebe, Glaphyrae, and the populous city of Iolkos, these with their eleven ships were led by Eumelos, son of Admetos, ⁷¹⁵whom Alcestis bore to him, loveliest of the daughters of Pelias.

And those that held Methone and Thaumacia, with Meliboia and rugged Olizon, these were led by the skillful archer Philoctetes, and they had seven ships, each with fifty oarsmen ⁷²⁰all of them good archers; but Philoctetes was lying in great pain in the Island of Lemnos, where the sons of the Achaeans left him, for he had been bitten by a poisonous water snake. There he lay sick and in grief [akhos], ⁷²⁵and full soon did the Argives come to miss him. But his people, though they felt his loss were not leaderless, for Medon, the bastard son of Oileus by Rhene, set them in array.

Those, again, of Tricca and the stony region of Ithome, ⁷³⁰and they that held Oechalia, the city of Oechalian Eurytos, these were commanded by the two sons of Asklepios, skilled in the art of healing, Podaleirios and Machaon. And with them there came thirty ships.

The men, moreover, of Ormenios, and by the fountain of Hypereia, ⁷³⁵with those that held Asterios, and the white crests of Titanus, these were led by Eurypylos, the son of Euaemon, and with them there came forty ships.

Those that held Argissa and Gyrtone, Orthe, Elone, and the white city of Oloosson, ⁷⁴⁰of these brave Polypoites was leader. He was son of Peirithoos, who was son of Zeus himself, for Hippodameia bore him to Peirithoos on the day when he took his revenge on the shaggy mountain savages and drove them from Mount Pelion to the Aithikes. ⁷⁴⁵But Polypoites was not sole in command, for with him was Leonteus, of the race of Ares, who was son of Koronos, the son of Kaineus. And with these there came forty ships.

Guneus brought two and twenty ships from Cyphus, and he was followed by the Enienes and the valiant Peraebi, ⁷⁵⁰who dwelt about wintry Dodona, and held the lands round the lovely river Titaresios, which sends its waters into the Peneus. They do not mingle with the silver eddies of the Peneus, but flow on the top of them like oil; ⁷⁵⁵for the Titaresios is a branch of dread Orcus and of the river Styx.

Of the Magnetes, Prothoos son of Tenthredon was commander. They were they that dwelt about the river Peneus and Mount Pelion. Prothoos, fleet of foot, was their leader, and with him there came forty ships.

⁷⁶⁰Such were the chiefs and princes of the Danaans. Who, then, O Muse, was the foremost, whether man or horse, among those that followed after the sons of Atreus?

Of the horses, those of the son of Pheres were by far the finest. They were driven by Eumelos, and were as fleet as birds. ⁷⁶⁵They were of the same age and color, and perfectly matched in height. Apollo, of the silver bow, had bred them in Perea - both of them mares, and terrible as Ares in battle. Of the men, Ajax, son of Telamon, was much the foremost so long as Achilles' anger lasted, for Achilles excelled him greatly ⁷⁷⁰and he had also better horses; but Achilles was now holding aloof at his ships by reason of his quarrel with Agamemnon, and his people passed their time upon the sea shore, throwing discs or aiming with spears at a mark, ⁷⁷⁵and in archery. Their horses stood each by his own chariot, champing lotus and wild celery. The chariots were housed under cover, but their owners, for lack of leadership, wandered hither and thither about the host and went not forth to fight.

⁷⁸⁰Thus marched the host like a consuming fire, and the earth groaned beneath them when the lord of thunder is angry and lashes the land about Typhoeus among the Arimi, where they say Typhoeus lies. Even so did the earth groan beneath them ⁷⁸⁵as they sped over the plain.