But ceaseless war’s upon us!
Time and again I’ve gone to battle, fought with men
but I’ve never seen an army great as this. Too much –
like piling leaves or sand, and on and on they come,
advancing across the plain to fight before our gates.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 2, lines 906-910. Zeus sends messenger goddess Iris to Troy, alerting them to assemble their armies to meet the Achaeans advancing towards the city. She warns Trojan King Priam and his son Hector that she has never seen an army as great as this. She likens them in a simile to piling leaves or sand.