Page:History of Art in Primitive Greece - Mycenian Art Vol 1.djvu/250

 Troy. 227 terminating with the seventh, and see if the extent of the field on which the poet moves his pieces coincides with what we know of Bunarbashi. The incidents are the following. At the break of day, general assembly in the Greek camp ; ^ long speech of Agamemnon ; dispersion of the troops to put the ships afloat ; long speeches of three heroes ; preparations for early meal ; Agamemnon sacrifices an ox to Zeus ; new speech of Nestor, followed by the order to draw up the army in battle-array. These various doings must at the least have extended over four hours ; accordingly the sun was already high above the horizon when the troops advance in the plain of the Scamander. They approach so near to the Scsean Gates that their chiefs are recognized by Helen, who tells their names to Priam. Paris challenges Mene- laus ; Hector and Menelaus deliver speeches, each in turn. Heralds are sent to Troy and to the camp to fetch the victims ; these are slain in solemn sacrifice and the single combat takes place. The compact entered into by the contending heroes is broken by treacherous Pandarus, and hostilities are resumed. The Allies drive the Trojans to the very walls of their city, and are repulsed in their turn ; they withdraw to the ships, their face turned towards the enemy. The Greeks again advance, and a terrible engagement takes place in the plain between the Scamander and Simois. The Greeks again lose ground. Hector returns to Troy ; long conversations with Hecuba, Helen, and Andromache. The Allies must again have advanced, since when Hector and Paris issue from the gates, they are suddenly con- fronted by the Achaeans ; we now have the speeches of Hector, Menelaus, and Nestor. Night coming on puts an end to the struggle between Hector and Ajax, and the Greeks finally retire to their camp. Thus the interval between the city and the Greek positions has been traversed at least six times, from nine or ten in the morning to seven or eight in the evening ; twice by the herald who fetched the sacrificial lamb, and certainly four times by the army ; and all these marches and countermarches could be accomplished despite the enormous length of time taken up by the many speeches, engagements, and single combats. Accord- ingly, the defenders of Lechevalier's theory are compelled to admit that the army on that eventful day, apart from all the ^ The above summary is taken from Schliemann.