Homer's Epic of the Trojans

Athena assumed the form of a Trojan warrior and told a powerful archer that he would win glory, but only if this Trojan archer shot an arrow at Menelaus. Here's Homer's description of the opening moment of the first major battle in the epic. This is from the Stanley Lombardo translation published by Hackett in 1997. When the two sides closed with each other, they slammed together shields and spears. Rawhide ovals pressed close, bronze thoraxes grinding against each other amid the groans and exultations of men being slain and of those killed.