like hounds and lusty hunters closing, ringing a wild boar till out of his thicket lair he crashes, whetting his white tusks sharp in his bent, wrenching jaws and they rush in to attack and under the barks and shouts you can hear the gnash of tusks

like hounds and lusty hunters closing, ringing
a wild boar till out of his thicket lair he crashes,
whetting his white tusks sharp in his bent, wrenching jaws
and they rush in to attack and under the barks and shouts
you can hear the gnash of tusks but the men stand firm –
terrible, murderous as he is – so the Trojans ringed
Odysseus dear to Zeus, rushing him straight on.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 11, lines 490-496. The Trojan soldiers attack Odysseus, who has become isolated from his men. In an extended simile, he is compared to a wild boar surrounded by hounds and hunters. He is also said to be dear to the father of the gods Zeus.

Homer Quotes