Mnemosyne — Classical Greek Myth Library

After the eagle omen, Priam and Idaeus drive the treasure-laden mule-cart out of Troy as night falls. The plain between the city and the ships is empty of allies; fear of Achaean pickets and of Achilles himself rides with them. In the darkness they meet a young man—Hermes in mortal likeness—who asks whether they are taking valuables toward the enemy and offers, as if a Myrmidon attendant of Achilles, to escort them safely. Priam’s courage wavers and revives as the stranger takes the reins, stills the animals, and leads them through the night toward the ditch, the wall, and the gates of the Achaean camp. The journey is the *Iliad*’s reverse of martial aristeia: an old king crossing no-man’s-land not to fight but to beg, under cover of night and of a god who will later open locked gates and lull watchmen. The narrative dwells on the wagon, the darkness, the sudden companion, and the approach to the hostile works—the physical ordeal that makes the later clasping of Achilles’ knees possible.