let's not forget the greatest piece of ancient literature, by no one else than the great Homer, taken from the Iliad, Catalogue of Ships!
Tell me now, Muses, who live on Olympus – since you are goddesses, ever present and all-knowing, while we hearing rumour know nothing ourselves for sure – tell me who were the leaders and lords of the Danaans. For I could not count or name the multitude who came to Troy, though I had ten tongues and a tireless voice, and lungs of bronze as well, if you Olympian Muses, daughters of aegis-bearing Zeus, brought them not to mind. Here let me tell of the captains, and their ships.
First the Boeotians, led by Peneleos, Leitus, Arcesilaus, Prothoenor and Clonius; they came from Hyrie and stony Aulis, from Schoenus, Scolus and high-ridged Eteonus; from Thespeia and Graea, and spacious Mycalessus; from the villages of Harma, Eilesium and Erythrae; from Eleon, Hyle, Peteon, Ocalea and Medeon’s stronghold; from Copae, Eutresis, and dove-haunted Thisbe; from Coroneia and grassy Haliartus, Plataea and Glisas, and the great citadel of Thebes; from sacred Onchestus, Poseidon’s bright grove; from vine-rich Arne, Mideia, holy Nisa and coastal Anthedon. They captained fifty ships, each with a hundred and twenty young men.
Next those from Aspledon and Minyan Orchomenos, led by Ascalaphus and Ialmenus, sons of Ares whom the fair maiden Astyoche bore to the mighty god, for he lay with her in secret, in her room in the house of Actor, son of Azeus. They brought thirty hollow ships.
Then the Phocians, led by Schedius and Epistrophus, sons of Iphitus, great-heart, Naubolus’ son, men who held Cyparissus and rocky Pytho, holy Crisa, Daulis and Panopeus; dwellers in Anemoreia and Hyampolis; those from Lilaea by the springs of noble Cephisus, and those who lived along its banks. Forty black ships were their fleet, and the leaders ranked their Phocians beside the Boeotians on the left, and prepared to fight.
The Locrians followed Oileus’ swift-footed son Ajax the Lesser: inferior to, and not to be compared with, Telamonian Ajax. He was short, wore a linen corslet, but was more skilful with the spear than any other Hellene or Achaean. His troops came from Cynus, Opoeis, Calliarus, Bessa, and Scarphe, beautiful Augeiae, Tarphe and Thronium and the banks of Boagrius. Forty black Locrian ships he led from the shores facing sacred Euboea.
From there came the fire-breathing Abantes, who held Euboea, out of Chalcis, Eretria, and Histiaea rich in vines, Cerinthus by the shore, and Dion’s high citadel, lords too of Carystus and Styra. Elephenor led them, scion of Ares, and son of Chalcodon: and his swift courageous Abantes, their hair worn long behind, were ready with outstretched spears of ash to tear the corslet from the enemy’s chest. Forty black ships were his.
The Athenians came from their fine citadel in great-hearted Erechtheus’s kingdom. he, the child of fruitful Earth; he whom Athene, Zeus’ daughter, nurtured. She gave him Athens, her own rich shrine, where each year the Athenian youths try to win favour with offerings of bulls and rams. Of these, Menestheus, Peteos’ son was leader. He had no earthly rival in handling chariots and shield-men, except for Nestor, who was older. And with him came fifty black ships.
From Salamis, Ajax led twelve ships, and ranged his men alongside the Athenians.
From Argos, and Tiryns of the great walls, from Hermione and Asine that embrace a gulf of sea, from Troezen, Eionae, and vine-clad Epidaurus, there came those whom, with the Achaean youth of Aegina and Mases, Diomedes of the great war-cry led, and Sthenelus, son of famous Capaneus, and Euryalus, godlike fighter, son of King Mecisteus Talaus’ son, making three, but Diomedes of the great war-cry was over all. And eighty black ships brought them.
From the great citadel of Mycenae, from rich Corinth, from well-built Cleonae, Orneiae, sweet Araethyrea and Sicyon, where Adrastus first was king, from Hyperesia, steep Gonoessa and Pellene, from all round Aegium, all through Aegialus, and Helice’s broad lands came the followers of King Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, in a hundred ships. And they were the largest and the best contingent. Clad in gleaming bronze, a king in glory, he reigned over the armies, as the noblest leader of the greatest force.
From the hollow lands and valleys of Lacedaemon they came, from Pharis, Sparta, and dove-haunted Messe, from Bryseiae and lovely Augeiae, from Amyclae and the sea fort, Helos, from Laas, and Oetylus, in sixty ships commanded by Agamemnon’s brother, Menelaus of the loud-war-cry, and took up separate station. He strode among them, confident and ardent, urging his men to battle; none more eager to avenge the toil and sorrow Helen had caused.
From Pylos, and lovely Arene; from the ford of the Alpheius at Thryum, from well-built Aepy, from Cyparisseis, and Amphigeneia, Pteleos, Helos, and Dorium, where Thamyris the Thracian met the Muses, as he came from Eurytus’ house in Oechalia, and they put an end to all his singing: he who had boasted he would win his contest with those aegis-bearing daughters of Zeus, they blinding him in anger, robbing him of his sweet gift of song, so he forgot the cunning of his harp; in their fleet of ninety hollow ships the warriors came, led by Nestor the Gerenian charioteer.
From Arcadia, beneath Cyllene’s steep, by Aepytus’ tomb, where warriors train to fight hand to hand; from Pheneos and Orchomenus, rich in flocks, from Rhipe and Stratia and windswept Enispe; from Tegea and lovely Mantineia, Stymphalus and Parrhasia, led by prince Agapenor, Ancaeus’ son, they sailed in sixty ships, a fleet of battle-hardened warriors. For Agamemnon king of men had given them benched ships to cross the wine-dark wave, since the Arcadians knew nothing of the sea.
From Buprasium, from that tract of Elis which Hyrmine, Myrsinus by the shore, Olen’s Rock, and Alesium enclose, came the Epeians in four squadrons of ten ships. Their four leaders were Amphimachus son of Cteatus, Thalpius, son of Eurytus, these two of the House of Actor, third Amarynceus’ son, the brave Diores, and fourth godlike Polyxeinus, son of king Agasthenes, son of Augeias.
From Dulichium, from the holy isles of Echinae, that look towards Elis, came forty black ships led by warlike Meges, son of Phyleus, the Zeus-beloved horseman, who, quarrelling with his father, had settled in Dulichium long ago.
From Ithaca and the windswept forest slopes of Neriton, Odysseus led the brave Cephallenians; from Crocyleia and rugged Aegilips; from Same and Zacynthus and the mainland opposite; Odysseus, Zeus’ peer in counsel. And twelve ships with crimson prows he mustered.
From Pleuron, Olenus, and Pylene, from Chalcis near the sea and rocky Calydon, Thoas, Andraemon’s son led the Aetolians. Brave Oeneus, his sons, and red-haired Meleager were no more, Thoas now had kingship over all, and forty black ships were his.
From Crete, of a hundred populous cities, Idomeneus the famous spearman, led men of Cnossos and walled Gortyn, of Lyctus, Miletus, chalky Lycastos, Phaestus and Rhytium. And he shared the leadership with Meriones, peer of Ares-Enyalius, slayer of men. And they captained eighty black ships.
From Rhodes, from its three cities of Lindos, Ialysus and chalky Cameirus, came nine shiploads of the noble Rhodians, led by Tlepolemus, tall and powerful, the son of Heracles. Famed for his spearmanship, Tlepolemus; whom Astyocheia bore to Heracles; she whom he’d brought from Ephyre from the River Selleïs, where he sacked a host of cities held by warriors beloved of Zeus. Grown to manhood in the palace, Tlepolemus killed Licymnius, his father’s aged uncle, scion of Ares. Menaced by the rest of Heracles’ sons and grandsons, he swiftly built a fleet, and gathering a host of men, fled across the sea. Rhodes it was he reached in his wanderings, suffering many hardships, where the three tribes of his people settled in diverse regions, and enjoyed the love of Zeus, king of gods and men, and that son of Cronos showered them with wealth.
Next, from Syme, Nireus led three fine ships, he the son of King Charopus and Aglaia, and the handsomest man next to peerless Achilles of all the Danaans at Troy. Yet he was weak, and his following was small.
And from Nisyrus, from Carpathus, Casus, Cos, Eurypylus’ stronghold, and the Calydnian Isles, came thirty hollow ships commanded by Pheidippus and Antiphus, Thessalus’ two sons, he himself the son of Heracles.
From Pelasgian Argos too they came, from Alos, Alope and Trachis, those who held Phthia, and Hellas, the land of lovely women; the Myrmidons were they, the Hellenes, and Achaeans; and Achilles commanded them and their fifty ships. Yet now bitter battle was far from their minds, lacking leadership in the war, since noble Achilles, the swift of foot, rested idle among the ships, filled with his wrath because of fair Briseis, whom he’d won by his exploits at Lyrnessus, razing it and storming Thebe’s wall, slaughtering Mynes and Epistrophus, bold spearmen, warrior sons of King Evenus, Selepus’ son. Achilles grieved for her now, and would not fight, though fated to do so before long.
From Phylace, and Pyrasus, Demeter’s flowery precinct; from Iton, mother of flocks, and Antron near the sea, from grassy Pteleos, warlike Protesilaus, led men while he lived, though now indeed the black earth had claimed him, slain by a Trojan warrior, first of the Achaeans to leap ashore. His wife, her face scratched, wailed in their half-built house in Phylace. Now Podarces, scion of Ares, son of Iphiclus, Phylacus’ son, rich in flocks, commanded them. He was younger brother to brave Protesilaus, a noble warrior, the elder and the better man. So the army had its leader though they mourned the leader lost. And forty ships Podarces commanded.
From Pherae by Lake Boebeïs, from Boebe, Glaphyrae, and fair Iolcus, led by Eumelus, Admetus’ son, whom Alcestis, loveliest of women, fairest of Pelias’ daughters bore, they sailed in eleven ships.
From Methone, Thaumacia, Meliboea, and rugged Olizon, seven ships, commanded by the mighty bowman Philoctetes, were manned by fifty oarsmen skilled in archery. Now, King Philoctetes lay in agony on holy Lemnos’ isle, where the Greeks had left him suffering a deadly water-snake’s foul venom. There he lay, in pain, yet destined before long to occupy the thoughts of the Argives by their ships. Though longing for him, his men were not leaderless, since Medon, the bastard son of Oïleus, commanded, whom Rhene had born to that sacker of cities.
From Tricca, and Ithome of the crags, from Oechalia home of Eurytus, came thirty hollow ships, commanded by Asclepius’ two sons, the skilful healers Podaleirius and Machaon.
From Ormenius, and the springs of Hypereia, Asterium and the white towers of Titanus, forty black ships came, led by Eurypylus, Euaemon’s noble son.
From Argissa, and Gyrtone, Orthe and Elone, and Oloösson’s white city, came those led by Polypoetes, dauntless son of Peirithous, child of immortal Zeus, whom noble Hippodameia bore on the day when Peirithous wrought vengeance on the shaggy Centaurs, and drove them from Pelion to the land of the Aethices. Polypoetes shared command of a further forty ships with Leonteus, scion of Ares, the son of noble Coronus, Caeneus’ son.
From Cyphus twenty-two ships sailed, commanded by Gouneus, and with him sailed those of the Enienes and the dauntless Perrhaebi whose homes encircled wintry Dodona, and who tilled the fields beside the fair Titaressus, that pours its swift stream into Peneius, not mixing with those silver currents, but flowing over them like oil, a branch of the river Styx, the dread flood by which oaths are sworn.
And from Peneius itself; from Pelion’s tree-clothed slopes, in their forty black ships came the Magnetes, led by Prothous, son of Tenthedron.
The day the music cried ..... paedo top 10 !!
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