And on the Trojan Plain, 205 
latter, there is no reason why Homer should 
not make his heroes travel an extraordinary 
distance, as well as endue them with super- 
natural strength, swiftness, and power of 
sight ; make the voice of Agamemnon heard 
over a space of two miles, and the shout of 
Achilles strike terror through the whole 'Tro- 
jan army. Homer isa faithful painter, but 
in the actions of his poems he indulges in the 
exaggeration of a poet. 
In the particular case before us, however, 
that of the battle quoted by Rennell, we can 
give something more than a general answer, 
for, by minutely tracing the transactions of 
the battle alluded to, we shall find them, not 
only too numerous and extensive for one day, 
even had Troy stood within half a mile of the 
Grecian camp, but so confused in the detail, 
that either some error must have existed in the 
account from which Homer derived his know- 
ledge, or that his accustomed accuracy and 
perspicuity must have here deserted him. In 
the first place, we find the hour of noon éwice 
described in the course of the battle, and this, 
not immediately in succession, but separated 
by more than half the actions of that eventful 
day. 
The battle commences on the Throsmos be- 
fore the Grecian lines, and wascontested with 
