The Mask of Troy

I give you a tablet of war; I give you a tablet of peace.

After a letter from King Tudhaliyas IV of the Hittites to the Assyrian king, late thirteenth century BC

His sharpen’d spear let every Grecian wield,

And every Grecian fix his brazen shield;

Let all excite the fiery steeds of war,

And all for combat fit the rattling car.

This day, this dreadful day, let each contend;

No rest, no respite, till the shades descend;

Till darkness, or till death, shall cover all:

Let the war bleed, and let the mighty fall.

Homer, The Iliad, Book II, lines 382-94, eighth century BC or earlier, translated by Alexander Pope, 1715-20