rienced in the various circumstances in which they were
placed. Homer described with great beauty and force the workings of
ambition, of resentment, of pride, of rivalry, and all those other
impulses of the human heart which would excite and control the action
of impetuous men in the circumstances in which his heroes were placed.

Each one of the heroes whose history and adventures he gives,
possessed a well-marked and striking character, and differed in
temperament and action from the rest. Achilles was one. He was fiery,
impetuous, and implacable in character, fierce and merciless; and,
though perfectly undaunted and fearless, entirely destitute of
magnanimity. There was a river called the Styx, the waters of which
were said to have the property of making any one invulnerable. The
mother of Achilles dipped him into it in his infancy, holding him by
the heel. The heel, not having been immersed, was the only part which
could be wounded. Thus he was safe in battle, and was a terrible
warrior. He, however, quarreled with his comrades and withdrew from
their cause on slight pretexts, and then became reconciled again,
influenced by equally frivolous reasons.

[Illustration: ACHILLES.]

Agamemnon was the commander-in-chief of the Greek army. After a
certain victory, by which some captives were taken, and were to be
divided among the victors, Agamemnon was obliged to restore one, a
noble lady, who had fallen to his share, and he took away the one that
had been assigned to Achilles to replace her. This incensed Achilles,
and he withdrew for a long time from the contest; and, in consequence
of his absence, the Trojans gained great and continued victories
against the Greeks. For a long time nothing could induce Achilles to
return.

At length, however, though he would not go himself, he allowed his
intimate friend, whose name was Patroclus, to take his armor and go
into battle. Patroclus was at first successful, but was soon killed by
Hector, the brother of Paris. This aroused anger and a spirit of
revenge in the mind of Achilles. He gave up his quarrel with Agamemnon
and returned to the combat. He did not remit his exertions till he had
slain Hector, and then he expressed his brutal exultation, and
satisfied his revenge, by dragging the dead body at the wheels of his
chariot around the walls of the city. He then sold the body to the
distracted father for a ransom.

It was such stories as these, which are related in the poe