“Deïphobus, does this appear to thee A fair return, when three are slain for one, Or hast thou boasted idly? Yet do thou, Vain as thou art, stand forth and face me here, And I will teach thee of what race I am— An offshoot of the stock of Jove, whose son Was Minos, guardian of our Crete, and he Was father of the good Deucalion. Deucalion’s son am I, and I am king O’er many men in the broad isle of Crete. My galleys brought me thence to be the dread Of thee, thy father, and the men of Troy.”
He spake. Deïphobus, irresolute, Stood doubting whether to retreat and bring Some other of the heroic sons of Troy To aid him, or to try the fight alone. As thus he mused, it seemed most wise to seek Aeneas. Him he found withdrawn among The rear of the army, for he was displeased With noble Priam, who had paid his worth With light esteem. Deïphobus approached, And thus with wingèd words accosted him:—
“Aeneas, counsellor of Troy, if thou Hadst ever a regard to him who was Thy sister’s husband, it becomes thee now To avenge him. Follow me, and help avenge Alcathoüs, guardian of thy tender years, Slain by the spear of famed Idomeneus.”
He spake; and at his words Aeneas felt His courage rise. Impatient for the fight, He went to meet Idomeneus; yet fear Fell not upon the Greek as if he were A puny boy: he stood and kept his ground. As, when a mountain boar, unterrified, Waits in the wilderness the hunter-crew, That come with mighty din, his bristly back Rises, his eyes shoot fire, he whets his tusks, And fiercely keeps both dogs and men at bay— So did Idomeneus, expert to wield The spear, await Aeneas hastening on With fury. Not a backward step he made, But called upon his warrior-friends aloud, Looking at Aphareus, Ascalaphus, Deipyrus, Meriones, and last Antilochus, all skilled in arts of war, And thus exhorted them with wingèd words:—