Rank and file
streamed behind and rushed like swarms of bees
pouring out of a rocky hollow, burst on endless burst,
bunched in clusters seething over the first spring blooms,
dark hordes swirling into the air, this way, that way –
so the many armed platoons from the ships and tents
came marching on, close-file, along the deep wide beach
to crowd the meeting grounds.
– Homer
The Iliad, Book 2, lines 102-109. This epic simile describes the Achaean troops moving out to meet their leaders in The Great Gathering of Armies, Book 2. They are likened to swarms of bees pouring out of a rocky hollow.