look at him, hogging all the glory. he walks over to his rowers, grabs an oarsmen on the front bench under the armpits and tosses him away. ajax sits, grabs the oar handle, and begins rowing maniacally, the veins in his massive arms bulging through the skin.
row, you lazy whores, row! greeks are dying! the oarsmen redouble their efforts and the ship leaps over the waves toward the shore.
i am ajax, breaker of stones, widow-maker of salamis! look upon me, trojans, and despair! the apollonians join the fight against the greeks. the guards are far better than the archers at hand-to-hand combat.
achilles! achilles halts. for a moment there seems to be tension in the air. everyone watches. ajax gives achilles a bear hug.
you're as fearless as a god.
i'm honored to go to war with you. achilles nods and grips the big man's thick arm.
this is the prince of troy? in salamis, the women fight better.
so you're the best of the trojans? hector, looking for an opening in the brute's defenses, says nothing. ajax charges, swinging his battle axe. hector ducks below the axe and lunges forward with his sword, but ajax -- quick despite his size -- sidesteps, grabs the smaller man in a bear hug and squeezes. hector turns red. the sword falls from hector's hand. ajax grins. hector slams his helmeted head forward, butting ajax in the face. ajax staggers back, blood spraying from his nose, his axe falling to the ground. hector struggles to regain his equilibrium. ajax growls and launches himself at the prince. hector snatches a spear off the ground and positions it just as ajax dives at him. the spear pierces ajax's armor, driving through his belly and out his back. hector holds the shaft steady. ajax stares down at his wound. he seems more irritated than anything else. ajax places his two big hands on the spear shaft, right where the spear enters his body. he breaks the spear in two, snapping the solid wood like a twig. half a spear still sticking out his back, ajax swings the shaft, clobbering hector in the side of the head, sending the horsehair-plumed helmet flying.