Matheson Collection > Togail na Tebe

THE THEBAID
the Thebans, to wit, Pylius and Parthenopaeus, fought against a
single champion of the Greeks, to wit, Menoeceus; and the
Thebans fell of that encounter, and Menoeceus won his victory
and his boast. And after that Parthenopaeus, king of Arcadia,
inflicted slaughters on the Thebans, and by him fell the trio, to
wit, Itys, Sybaris, and Periphas. A Greek hero, Caeneos, fell
before murderous Haemon, son of Creon, a Theban ; and as he
was falling, Abas, a Theban, seized the man's weapons, and
challenged to a duel on his behalf; and a Greek shot an arrow
at him, and left him lifeless.
After that arose a priest of the followers of Bacchus, to wit,
Eunaeus ; and round him his bright beautiful coloured vesture
in which he used to offer sacrifices to Bacchus ; and he heaped
vituperation and contempt upon all the Greeks, and this is what
he said : " Do not put against the Thebans, O Greeks," said he,
" for brave are their heroes, mighty their gods, and strong the
wall of their great city." But when the fierce-mad valour-mad
Greek king, to wit, Capaneus, heard, he awaited him, and came
to meet him on the way in his warlike awful arch, and he shook
and brandished the sharp-edged very long spear with its fair
straight shaft of fine cypress wood and said : " Foolish and
womanish," said he, " are the haughty words thou sayest to the
hosts. And pity it is not the god ye worship that stands in thy
likeness now : for if it were, he would fall by me." And no
sooner had he said that than he delivered a straight-tooled shot
at Eunaeus so that it split his shield, and broke his back, and
he reached earth a dead man forthwith.
Then Eteocles, king of the Thebans, attacked the Greek
soldiery with slaughters and vast and many fetal deeds, so that
multitudes were quickly slain by him every way he went.
Polynices, however, gave advantage and protection to the The-
bans for the sake of the original family affection, and for love of
his own native land.
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