The figurative phrase used in the excerpt means that Sarpedon’s fall resembles a tree falling as it is cut down.
A figurative phrase means any phrase that serves as a figure of speech. For instance, the phrase "as a pine or a poplar falls on the hills before thewoodsman's ax" is a metaphor.
That he was cut with an ax serves as a metaphor for the way he fell, not for why he fell ecactly.
In conclusion, the phrase means Sarpedon’s fall resembles a tree falling as it is cut down.
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