Adrestus pleaded.
Menelaus’ heart in his chest was moved.
He was about to hand Adrestus to his attendant,
to take back captive to the fast Achaean ships.
But then Agamemnon came running up to him,
sharply criticizing Menelaus:
Menelaus, you soft-hearted man,
why are you sparing men’s lives like this?
In your own home, Trojans treated you
exceptionally well, did they not?
So don’t let any one of them evade
a terrible destruction at our hands —
not even the young child still carried
in his mother’s belly. Let no one escape.
Let everyone in Troy be slaughtered,
without pity, without leaving any trace.
Homer
928 - 898
