And Idomeneus captain of the Cretans answered, "You will find one spear, or twenty

if you so please, standing up against the end wall of my tent. I have taken them
from Trojans whom I have killed, for I am not one to keep my enemy at arm's length;
therefore I have spears, bossed shields, helmets, and burnished corslets."
Then Meriones said, "I too in my tent and at my ship have spoils taken from the
Trojans, but they are not at hand. I have been at all times valorous, and wherever
there has been hard fighting have held my own among the foremost. There may be
those among the Achaeans who do not know how I fight, but you know it well
enough yourself."
Idomeneus answered, "I know you for a brave man: you need not tell me. If the best
men at the ships were being chosen to go on an ambush- and there is nothing like
this for showing what a man is made of; it comes out then who is cowardly and who
brave; the coward will change colour at every touch and turn; he is full of fears, and
keeps shifting his weight first on one knee and then on the other; his heart beats
fast as he thinks of death, and one can hear the chattering of his teeth; whereas the
brave man will not change colour nor be on finding himself in ambush, but is all the
time longing to go into action- if the best men were being chosen for such a service,
no one could make light of your courage nor feats of arms. If you were struck by a
dart or smitten in close combat, it would not be from behind, in your neck nor back,
but the weapon would hit you in the chest or belly as you were pressing forward to a
place in the front ranks. But let us no longer stay here talking like children, lest we
be ill spoken of; go, fetch your spear from the tent at once."
On this Meriones, peer of Mars, went to the tent and got himself a spear of bronze.
He then followed after Idomeneus, big with great deeds of valour. As when baneful
Mars sallies forth to battle, and his son Panic so strong and dauntless goes with him,
to strike terror even into the heart of a hero- the pair have gone from Thrace to arm
themselves among the Ephyri or the brave Phlegyans, but they will not listen to
both the contending hosts, and will give victory to one side or to the other- even so
did Meriones and Idomeneus, captains of men, go out to battle clad in their bronze
armour. Meriones was first to speak. "Son of Deucalion," said he, "where would you
have us begin fighting? On the right wing of the host, in the centre, or on the left
wing, where I take it the Achaeans will be weakest?"
Idomeneus answered, "There are others to defend the centre- the two Ajaxes and
Teucer, who is the finest archer of all the Achaeans, and is good also in a hand-tohand fight. These will give Hector son of Priam enough to do; fight as he may, he
will find it hard to vanquish their indomitable fury, and fire the ships, unless the son
of Saturn fling a firebrand upon them with his own hand. Great Ajax son of Telamon
will yield to no man who is in mortal mould and eats the grain of Ceres, if bronze
and great stones can overthrow him. He would not yield even to Achilles in hand-tohand fight, and in fleetness of foot there is none to beat him; let us turn therefore
towards the left wing, that we may know forthwith whether we are to give glory to
some other, or he to us."