d, he was seen by Adamas, son of
Asius, who rushed towards him and struck him with a spear in the middle
of his shield, but Neptune made its point without effect, for he
grudged him the life of Antilochus. One half, therefore, of the spear
stuck fast like a charred stake in Antilochus's shield, while the other
lay on the ground. Adamas then sought shelter under cover of his men,
but Meriones followed after and hit him with a spear midway between the
private parts and the navel, where a wound is particularly painful to
wretched mortals. There did Meriones transfix him, and he writhed
convulsively about the spear as some bull whom mountain herdsmen have
bound with ropes of withes and are taking away perforce. Even so did he
move convulsively for a while, but not for very long, till Meriones
came up and drew the spear out of his body, and his eyes were veiled in
darkness.

Helenus then struck Deipyrus with a great Thracian sword, hitting him
on the temple in close combat and tearing the helmet from his head; the
helmet fell to the ground, and one of those who were fighting on the
Achaean side took charge of it as it rolled at his feet, but the eyes
of Deipyrus were closed in the darkness of death.

On this Menelaus was grieved, and made menacingly towards Helenus,
brandishing his spear; but Helenus drew his bow, and the two attacked
one another at one and the same moment, the one with his spear, and the
other with his bow and arrow. The son of Priam hit the breastplate of
Menelaus's corslet, but the arrow glanced from off it. As black beans
or pulse come pattering down on to a threshing-floor from the broad
winnowing-shovel, blown by shrill winds and shaken by the shovel--even
so did the arrow glance off and recoil from the shield of Menelaus, who
in his turn wounded the hand with which Helenus carried his bow; the
spear went right through his hand and stuck in the bow itself, so that
to his life he retreated under cover of his men, with his hand dragging
by his side--for the spear weighed it down till Agenor drew it out and
bound the hand carefully up in a woollen sling which his esquire had
with him.

Pisander then made straight at Menelaus--his evil destiny luring him on
to his doom, for he was to fall in fight with you, O Menelaus. When the
two were hard by one another the spear of the son of Atreus turned
aside and he missed his aim; Pisander then struck the shield of brave
Menelaus but could not pierce it, for the