Shield of Achilles (#1413)

     First he shaped the shield so great and strong, adorning it all over and binding 
it round with a gleaming circuit in three layers; and the baldric was made of silver. 
He made the shield in five thicknesses, and with many a wonder did his cunning hand 
enrich it.
     He wrought the earth, the heavens, and the sea; the moon also at her full and the 
untiring sun, with all the signs that glorify the face of heaven- the Pleiads, the 
Hyads, huge Orion, and the Bear, which men also call the Wain and which turns round 
ever in one place, facing.  Orion, and alone never dips into the stream of Oceanus.
     He wrought also two cities, fair to see and busy with the hum of men. In the one 
were weddings and wedding-feasts, and they were going about the city with brides 
whom they were escorting by torchlight from their chambers. Loud rose the cry of 
Hymen, and the youths danced to the music of flute and lyre, while the women stood 
each at her house door to see them.
     Meanwhile the people were gathered in assembly, for there was a quarrel, and two 
men were wrangling about the blood-money for a man who had been killed, the one saying 
before the people that he had paid damages in full, and the other that he had not 
been paid. Each was trying to make his own case good, and the people took sides, 
each man backing the side that he had taken; but the heralds kept them back, and 
the elders sate on their seats of stone in a solemn circle, holding the staves which 
the heralds had put into their hands. Then they rose and each in his turn gave judgement, 
and there were two talents laid down, to be given to him whose judgement should be 
deemed the fairest.
     About the other city there lay encamped two hosts in gleaming armour, and they were 
divided whether to sack it, or to spare it and accept the half of what it contained. 
But the men of the city would not yet consent, and armed themselves for a surprise; 
their wives and little children kept guard upon the walls, and with them were the 
men who were past fighting through age; but the others sallied forth with Mars and 
Pallas Minerva at their head- both of them wrought in gold and clad in golden raiment, 
great and fair with their armour as befitting gods, while they that followed were 
smaller. When they reached the place where they would lay their ambush, it was on 
a riverbed to which live stock of all kinds would come from far and near to water; 
here, then, they lay concealed, clad in full armour. Some way off them there were 
two scouts who were on the look-out for the coming of sheep or cattle, which presently 
came, followed by two shepherds who were playing on their pipes, and had not so much 
as a thought of danger. When those who were in ambush saw this, they cut off the 
flocks and herds and killed the shepherds. Meanwhile the besiegers, when they heard 
much noise among the cattle as they sat in council, sprang to their horses, and made 
with all speed towards them; when they reached them they set battle in array by the 
banks of the river, and the hosts aimed their bronze-shod spears at one another. 
With them were Strife and Riot, and fell Fate who was dragging three men after her, 
one with a fresh wound, and the other unwounded, while the third was dead, and she 
was dragging him along by his heel: and her robe was bedrabbled in men's blood. They 
went in and out with one another and fought as though they were living people haling 
away one another's dead.
     He wrought also a fair fallow field, large and thrice ploughed already. Many men 
were working at the plough within it, turning their oxen to and fro, furrow after 
furrow. Each time that they turned on reaching the headland a man would come up to 
them and give them a cup of wine, and they would go back to their furrows looking 
forward to the time when they should again reach the headland. The part that they 
had ploughed was dark behind them, so that the field, though it was of gold, still 
looked as if it were being ploughed- very curious to behold.
     He wrought also a field of harvest corn, and the reapers were reaping with sharp 
sickles in their hands. Swathe after swathe fell to the ground in a straight line 
behind them, and the binders bound them in bands of twisted straw. There were three 
binders, and behind them there were boys who gathered the cut corn in armfuls and 
kept on bringing them to be bound: among them all the owner of the land stood by 
in silence and was glad. The servants were getting a meal ready under an oak, for 
they had sacrificed a great ox, and were busy cutting him up, while the women were 
making a porridge of much white barley for the labourers' dinner.
     He wrought also a vineyard, golden and fair to see, and the vines were loaded with 
grapes. The bunches overhead were black, but the vines were trained on poles of silver. 
He ran a ditch of dark metal all round it, and fenced it with a fence of tin; there 
was only one path to it, and by this the vintagers went when they would gather the 
vintage. Youths and maidens all blithe and full of glee, carried the luscious fruit 
in plaited baskets; and with them there went a boy who made sweet music with his 
lyre, and sang the Linus-song with his clear boyish voice.
     He wrought also a herd of homed cattle. He made the cows of gold and tin, and they 
lowed as they came full speed out of the yards to go and feed among the waving reeds 
that grow by the banks of the river. Along with the cattle there went four shepherds, 
all of them in gold, and their nine fleet dogs went with them. Two terrible lions 
had fastened on a bellowing bull that was with the foremost cows, and bellow as he 
might they haled him, while the dogs and men gave chase: the lions tore through the 
bull's thick hide and were gorging on his blood and bowels, but the herdsmen were 
afraid to do anything, and only hounded on their dogs; the dogs dared not fasten 
on the lions but stood by barking and keeping out of harm's way.
     The god wrought also a pasture in a fair mountain dell, and large flock of sheep, 
with a homestead and huts, and sheltered sheepfolds.
     Furthermore he wrought a green, like that which Daedalus once made in Cnossus for 
lovely Ariadne. Hereon there danced youths and maidens whom all would woo, with their 
hands on one another's wrists. The maidens wore robes of light linen, and the youths 
well woven shirts that were slightly oiled. The girls were crowned with garlands, 
while the young men had daggers of gold that hung by silver baldrics; sometimes they 
would dance deftly in a ring with merry twinkling feet, as it were a potter sitting 
at his work and making trial of his wheel to see whether it will run, and sometimes 
they would go all in line with one another, and much people was gathered joyously 
about the green. There was a bard also to sing to them and play his lyre, while two 
tumblers went about performing in the midst of them when the man struck up with his 
tune.
     All round the outermost rim of the shield he set the mighty stream of the river Oceanus.