Stern Polypœtes stepp’d before the throng, And great Leonteus, more than mortal strong; Whose force with rival forces to oppose, Uprose great Ajax; up Epeus rose. Each stood in order: first Epeus threw; High o’er the wondering crowds the whirling circle flew. Leonteus next a little space surpass’d; And third, the strength of godlike Ajax cast. O’er both their marks it flew; till fiercely flung From Polypœtes’ arm the discus sung: Far as a swain his whirling sheephook throws, That distant falls among the grazing cows, So past them all the rapid circle flies: His friends, while loud applauses shake the skies, With force conjoin’d heave off the weighty prize.