Powerful lord Teucer then got up, and Meriones,   
courageous attendant to lord Idomeneus.
They took lots and shook them in a helmet made of bronze.   
Teucer's lot gave him first attempt.  He fired an arrow,
a powerful shot, but he'd made no promise
to Apollo that he'd give a splendid offering
of new born lambs.  So he failed to hit the bird—
Apollo wouldn't give him that.  But he hit the cord
tethering the bird near its foot and cut it.
The keen arrow sliced right through.  The dove escaped,
flying up into the sky, chord dangling down
towards the ground.  Achaeans then all cheered the shot.
But Meriones quickly snatched the bow from Teucer.  
He'd been holding an arrow ready for some time,
as Teucer aimed.  He offered up a rapid prayer
to Apollo, the far shooter, promising
he'd make a splendid sacrifice of new-born lambs.
He saw the trembling dove high up, under the clouds.
As she circled there, he shot her through the middle,
under the wing.  The arrow passed straight through, falling
back to earth again.  It struck by Meriones' foot.
The dove fluttered to the mast of the dark-prowed ship,
her head hung down, her wings drooped, as life    
fled quickly from her limbs.  She fell from the mast
a long way to the ground.  The crowd looked on amazed.
So Meriones carried off ten double axes, 
while Teucer took back to his hollow ships
the single-bladed ones.

Menelaus and Meriones with Patroclus, MAN Firenze

Ovid XIII, 358.

Meriones is also the name of a genus of jirds, including the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), which is the most frequent gerbil species in pet stores in the United States.

Greek Mythology

See also : Greek Mythology. Paintings, Drawings

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