“What care I whether they fly towards dawn or dark, and whether they be on my right hand or on my left? Let us put our trust rather in the counsel of great Jove, king of mortals and immortals. There is one omen, and one only - that a man should fight for his country.”
~ The Iliad - Book XII (Samuel Butler Translation. p84 / v230)
The Iliad Book XII. Trojans continue to advance. They cross the trenches in spite of not being able to take their chariots. They destroy portions of the ramparts and cross the walls. The Greeks retreat and take refuge in their ships.
In Book 12 of The Iliad, Polydamas sees an eagle dropping a snake in the midst of the army as they are crossing the trenches. He interprets it as a bad omen and tells Hector. Hector dismisses it by saying thus - “What care I whether they fly towards dawn or dark, and whether they be on my right hand or on my left? Let us put our trust rather in the counsel of great Jove, king of mortals and immortals. There is one omen, and one only - that a man should fight for his country.” The people of those times did believe in omens. Why did Hector not in this case?