them.

Seeing the peril of the Greeks, Juno urges Agamemnon to visit Ulysses'
tent, and there proclaim, in such loud tones that Achilles cannot fail
to overhear him, that their vessels will soon be in flames. Then,
fearing for his companions, Agamemnon prays so fervently for aid that
an eagle flies over the camp and drops a lamb upon the Greek altar.
This omen of good fortune renews the courage of the Greeks, and
stimulates the archer Teucer to cause new havoc in the Trojan ranks
with his unfailing arrows, until Hector hurls a rock, which lays him
low, and rushes into the Greek camp.

Full of anxiety for their protégés, Juno and Minerva forget Jupiter's
injunctions, and are about to hurry off to their rescue, when the king
of the gods bids them stop, assuring them the Greeks will suffer
defeat, until, Patroclus having fallen, Achilles arises to avenge him.
When the setting sun signals the close of the day's fight, although
the Greeks are still in possession of their tents, the Trojans bivouac
in the plain, just outside the trench, to prevent their escape.

_Book IX._ Such anxiety reigns in the Greek camp that Agamemnon holds
a council in his tent. There, almost choked by tears, he declares no
alternative remains save flight, but Diomedes so hotly contradicts him
that the Greeks decide to remain. At Nestor's suggestion, Agamemnon
then tries to atone for his insult to Achilles by gifts and apologies,
instructing the bearers to promise the return of the captive and to
offer an alliance with one of his daughters, if Achilles will only
come to their aid. Wending their way through the moonlit camp, these
emissaries find Achilles idly listening to Patroclus' music. After
delivering the message, Ulysses makes an eloquent appeal in behalf of