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They flayed the carcass, made it ready, and divided it into joints;
these they cut carefully up into smaller pieces, putting them on the
spits, roasting them sufficiently, and then drawing them off. When
they had done all this and had prepared the feast, they ate it, and
every man had his full and equal share, so that all were satisfied,
and King Agamemnon gave Ajax some slices cut lengthways down the loin,
as a mark of special honour. As soon as they had had enough to cat
and drink, old Nestor whose counsel was ever truest began to speak;
with all sincerity and goodwill, therefore, he addressed them thus:-­‐
"Son of Atreus, and other chieftains, inasmuch as many of the Achaeans
are now dead, whose blood Mars has shed by the banks of the Scamander,
and their souls have gone down to the house of Hades, it will be well
when morning comes that we should cease fighting; we will then wheel
our dead together with oxen and mules and burn them not far from the
ships, that when we sail hence we may take the bones of our comrades
home to their children. Hard by the funeral pyre we will build a barrow
that shall be raised from the plain for all in common; near this let
us set about building a high wall, to shelter ourselves and our ships,
and let it have well-­‐made gates that there may be a way through them
for our chariots. Close outside we will dig a deep trench all round
it to keep off both horse and foot, that the Trojan chieftains may
not bear hard upon us."
Thus he spoke, and the princess shouted in applause. Meanwhile the
Trojans held a council, angry and full of discord, on the acropolis
by the gates of King Priam's palace; and wise Antenor spoke. "Hear
me he said, "Trojans, Dardanians, and allies, that I may speak even