think of the hounds and huntsmen circling round
some lion or boar when the quarry wheels at bay,
rippling in strength as the men mass like a bastion
standing up to his charge and hurl their pelting spears
and the boar’s brave spirit never flinches, never bolts
and his own raw courage kills him – time and again
he wheels around, testing the huntsmen’s ranks
and where he lunges out the ranks of men give way.
So Hector lunged into battle, rallying cohorts now,
spurring them on to cross the gaping trench.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 12, lines 50-59. A brave and heroic Hector attacks the Achaean wall. An epic simile likens Hector to a lion or boar, surrounded by hounds and huntsmen hurling spears at their quarry, and the animal repeatedly turns around and lunges at its attackers.