Menacing so
as brilliant Achilles raised the Pelian ash spear
but the fighting Asteropaeus, quick, ambidextrous,
hurled both spears at once – one shaft hit the shield,
no breakthrough, the shaft could not smash through,
the gold blocked it, forged in the god’s gift.
But the other grazed Achilles’ strong right arm
and dark blood gushed as the spear shot past his back,
stabbing the earth hard, still lusting to sink in flesh.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 21, lines 184-191. The ambidextrous Asteropaeus hurls two spears at once at Achilles. One hits the shield, but it cannot smash through the gold forged by the god of fire. The other spear grazes Achilles’ right arm and draws blood. Asteropaeus tries three times to wrench his spear from the bank but he fails and Achilles kills him.