so the pound and thud of blows came rising up from the broad earth, from the trampled paths of war and the bronze shields and tough plied hides struck hard as the swords and two-edged spearheads stabbed against them.

And loud as the roar goes up
when men cut timber deep in the mountain glades
and the pounding din of axes echoes miles away –
so the pound and thud of blows came rising up
from the broad earth, from the trampled paths of war
and the bronze shields and tough plied hides struck hard
as the swords and two-edged spearheads stabbed against them.

– Homer

The Iliad, Book 16, lines 735-741. Homer is master of the epic simile, like this one comparing the noise of battle combat to the roar that goes up when men with pounding axes cut timber in the mountain glade.

Homer Quotes