Page:The Story of the Iliad.djvu/115

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THE DUEL OF HECTOR AND AJAX.
93

of the Greeks to fight with thee, man to man. And be sure thou shalt not fall in the battle, for the will of the immortal gods is so."

Then Hector greatly rejoiced, and passed to the front of the army, holding his spear by the middle, and kept back the sons of Troy; and King Agamemnon did likewise with his own people. Then Hector spake:—

"Hear me, sons of Troy, and ye men of Greece. The covenant that we made one with another hath been broken, for Zeus would have it so, purposing evil to both, till either you shall take our high-walled city or we shall conquer you by your ships. But let one of you, who call yourselves champions of the Greeks, come forth and fight with me, man to man. And let it be so that if he vanquish me he shall spoil me of my arms, but give my body to my people, that they may burn it with fire; and if I vanquish him, I will spoil him of his arms, but give his body to the Greeks, that they may bury him and raise a great mound above him by the broad salt river of Hellespont. And so men of after days shall see it, sailing by, and say, 'This is the tomb of the bravest of the Greeks,