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Book
I
Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus,
that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul
did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield
a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled
from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great
Achilles, first fell out with one another.
And which of the gods was it that set them on to
quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with
the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people,
because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest. Now
Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter,
and had brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his
hand the sceptre of Apollo wreathed with a suppliant's wreath and
he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus,
who were their chiefs.
"Sons of Atreus," he cried, "and
all other Achaeans, may the gods who dwell in Olympus grant you
to sack the city of Priam, and to reach your homes in safety; but
free my daughter, and accept a ransom for her, in reverence to Apollo,
son of Jove."
On this the rest of the Achaeans with one voice
were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that he offered;
but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and sent him roughly
away. "Old man," said he, "let me not find you tarrying
about our ships, nor yet coming hereafter. Your sceptre of the god
and your wreath shall profit you nothing. I will not free her. She
shall grow old in my house at Argos far from her own home, busying
herself with her loom and visiting my couch; so go, and do not provoke
me or it shall be the worse for you."
The old man feared him and obeyed. Not a word he
spoke, but went by the shore of the sounding sea and prayed apart
to King Apollo whom lovely Leto had borne. "Hear me,"
he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse
and holy Cilla and rulest Tenedos with thy might, hear me oh thou
of Sminthe. If I have ever decked your temple with garlands, or
burned your thigh-bones in fat of bulls or goats, grant my prayer,
and let your arrows avenge these my tears upon the Danaans."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer.
He came down furious from the summits of Olympus, with his bow and
his quiver upon his shoulder, and the arrows rattled on his back
with the rage that trembled within him. He sat himself down away
from the ships with a face as dark as night, and his silver bow
rang death as he shot his arrow in the midst of them. First he smote
their mules and their hounds, but presently he aimed his shafts
at the people themselves, and all day long the pyres of the dead
were burning.
For nine whole days he shot his arrows among the
people, but upon the tenth day Achilles called them in assembly-
moved thereto by Juno, who saw the Achaeans in their death-throes
and had compassion upon them. Then, when they were got together,
he rose and spoke among them.
"Son of Atreus," said he, "I deem
that we should now turn roving home if we would escape destruction,
for we are being cut down by war and pestilence at once. Let us
ask some priest or prophet, or some reader of dreams (for dreams,
too, are of Jove) who can tell us why Phoebus Apollo is so angry,
and say whether it is for some vow that we have broken, or hecatomb
that we have not offered, and whether he will accept the savour
of lambs and goats without blemish, so as to take away the plague
from us."
With these words he sat down, and Calchas son of
Thestor, wisest of augurs, who knew things past present and to come,
rose to speak. He it was who had guided the Achaeans with their
fleet to Ilius, through the prophesyings with which Phoebus Apollo
had inspired him. With all sincerity and goodwill he addressed them
thus:-
"Achilles, loved of heaven, you bid me tell
you about the anger of King Apollo, I will therefore do so; but
consider first and swear that you will stand by me heartily in word
and deed, for I know that I shall offend one who rules the Argives
with might, to whom all the Achaeans are in subjection. A plain
man cannot stand against the anger of a king, who if he swallow
his displeasure now, will yet nurse revenge till he has wreaked
it. Consider, therefore, whether or no you will protect me."
And Achilles answered, "Fear not, but speak
as it is borne in upon you from heaven, for by Apollo, Calchas,
to whom you pray, and whose oracles you reveal to us, not a Danaan
at our ships shall lay his hand upon you, while I yet live to look
upon the face of the earth- no, not though you name Agamemnon himself,
who is by far the foremost of the Achaeans."
Thereon the seer spoke boldly. "The god,"
he said, "is angry neither about vow nor hecatomb, but for
his priest's sake, whom Agamemnon has dishonoured, in that he would
not free his daughter nor take a ransom for her; therefore has he
sent these evils upon us, and will yet send others. He will not
deliver the Danaans from this pestilence till Agamemnon has restored
the girl without fee or ransom to her father, and has sent a holy
hecatomb to Chryse. Thus we may perhaps appease him."
With these words he sat down, and Agamemnon rose
in anger. His heart was black with rage, and his eyes flashed fire
as he scowled on Calchas and said, "Seer of evil, you never
yet prophesied smooth things concerning me, but have ever loved
to foretell that which was evil. You have brought me neither comfort
nor performance; and now you come seeing among Danaans, and saying
that Apollo has plagued us because I would not take a ransom for
this girl, the daughter of Chryses. I have set my heart on keeping
her in my own house, for I love her better even than my own wife
Clytemnestra, whose peer she is alike in form and feature, in understanding
and accomplishments. Still I will give her up if I must, for I would
have the people live, not die; but you must find me a prize instead,
or I alone among the Argives shall be without one. This is not well;
for you behold, all of you, that my prize is to go elsewhither."
And Achilles answered, "Most noble son of
Atreus, covetous beyond all mankind, how shall the Achaeans find
you another prize? We have no common store from which to take one.
Those we took from the cities have been awarded; we cannot disallow
the awards that have been made already. Give this girl, therefore,
to the god, and if ever Jove grants us to sack the city of Troy
we will requite you three and fourfold."
Then Agamemnon said, "Achilles, valiant though
you be, you shall not thus outwit me. You shall not overreach and
you shall not persuade me. Are you to keep your own prize, while
I sit tamely under my loss and give up the girl at your bidding?
Let the Achaeans find me a prize in fair exchange to my liking,
or I will come and take your own, or that of Ajax or of Ulysses;
and he to whomsoever I may come shall rue my coming. But of this
we will take thought hereafter; for the present, let us draw a ship
into the sea, and find a crew for her expressly; let us put a hecatomb
on board, and let us send Chryseis also; further, let some chief
man among us be in command, either Ajax, or Idomeneus, or yourself,
son of Peleus, mighty warrior that you are, that we may offer sacrifice
and appease the the anger of the god."
Achilles scowled at him and answered, "You
are steeped in insolence and lust of gain. With what heart can any
of the Achaeans do your bidding, either on foray or in open fighting?
I came not warring here for any ill the Trojans had done me. I have
no quarrel with them. They have not raided my cattle nor my horses,
nor cut down my harvests on the rich plains of Phthia; for between
me and them there is a great space, both mountain and sounding sea.
We have followed you, Sir Insolence! for your pleasure, not ours-
to gain satisfaction from the Trojans for your shameless self and
for Menelaus. You forget this, and threaten to rob me of the prize
for which I have toiled, and which the sons of the Achaeans have
given me. Never when the Achaeans sack any rich city of the Trojans
do I receive so good a prize as you do, though it is my hands that
do the better part of the fighting. When the sharing comes, your
share is far the largest, and I, forsooth, must go back to my ships,
take what I can get and be thankful, when my labour of fighting
is done. Now, therefore, I shall go back to Phthia; it will be much
better for me to return home with my ships, for I will not stay
here dishonoured to gather gold and substance for you."
And Agamemnon answered, "Fly if you will,
I shall make you no prayers to stay you. I have others here who
will do me honour, and above all Jove, the lord of counsel. There
is no king here so hateful to me as you are, for you are ever quarrelsome
and ill affected. What though you be brave? Was it not heaven that
made you so? Go home, then, with your ships and comrades to lord
it over the Myrmidons. I care neither for you nor for your anger;
and thus will I do: since Phoebus Apollo is taking Chryseis from
me, I shall send her with my ship and my followers, but I shall
come to your tent and take your own prize Briseis, that you may
learn how much stronger I am than you are, and that another may
fear to set himself up as equal or comparable with me."
The son of Peleus was furious, and his heart within
his shaggy breast was divided whether to draw his sword, push the
others aside, and kill the son of Atreus, or to restrain himself
and check his anger. While he was thus in two minds, and was drawing
his mighty sword from its scabbard, Minerva came down from heaven
(for Juno had sent her in the love she bore to them both), and seized
the son of Peleus by his yellow hair, visible to him alone, for
of the others no man could see her. Achilles turned in amaze, and
by the fire that flashed from her eyes at once knew that she was
Minerva. "Why are you here," said he, "daughter of
aegis-bearing Jove? To see the pride of Agamemnon, son of Atreus?
Let me tell you- and it shall surely be- he shall pay for this insolence
with his life."
And Minerva said, "I come from heaven, if
you will hear me, to bid you stay your anger. Juno has sent me,
who cares for both of you alike. Cease, then, this brawling, and
do not draw your sword; rail at him if you will, and your railing
will not be vain, for I tell you- and it shall surely be- that you
shall hereafter receive gifts three times as splendid by reason
of this present insult. Hold, therefore, and obey."
"Goddess," answered Achilles, "however
angry a man may be, he must do as you two command him. This will
be best, for the gods ever hear the prayers of him who has obeyed
them."
He stayed his hand on the silver hilt of his sword,
and thrust it back into the scabbard as Minerva bade him. Then she
went back to Olympus among the other gods, and to the house of aegis-bearing
Jove.
But the son of Peleus again began railing at the
son of Atreus, for he was still in a rage. "Wine-bibber,"
he cried, "with the face of a dog and the heart of a hind,
you never dare to go out with the host in fight, nor yet with our
chosen men in ambuscade. You shun this as you do death itself. You
had rather go round and rob his prizes from any man who contradicts
you. You devour your people, for you are king over a feeble folk;
otherwise, son of Atreus, henceforward you would insult no man.
Therefore I say, and swear it with a great oath- nay, by this my
sceptre which shalt sprout neither leaf nor shoot, nor bud anew
from the day on which it left its parent stem upon the mountains-
for the axe stripped it of leaf and bark, and now the sons of the
Achaeans bear it as judges and guardians of the decrees of heaven-
so surely and solemnly do I swear that hereafter they shall look
fondly for Achilles and shall not find him. In the day of your distress,
when your men fall dying by the murderous hand of Hector, you shall
not know how to help them, and shall rend your heart with rage for
the hour when you offered insult to the bravest of the Achaeans."
With this the son of Peleus dashed his gold-bestudded
sceptre on the ground and took his seat, while the son of Atreus
was beginning fiercely from his place upon the other side. Then
uprose smooth-tongued Nestor, the facile speaker of the Pylians,
and the words fell from his lips sweeter than honey. Two generations
of men born and bred in Pylos had passed away under his rule, and
he was now reigning over the third. With all sincerity and goodwill,
therefore, he addressed them thus:-
"Of a truth," he said, "a great
sorrow has befallen the Achaean land. Surely Priam with his sons
would rejoice, and the Trojans be glad at heart if they could hear
this quarrel between you two, who are so excellent in fight and
counsel. I am older than either of you; therefore be guided by me.
Moreover I have been the familiar friend of men even greater than
you are, and they did not disregard my counsels. Never again can
I behold such men as Pirithous and Dryas shepherd of his people,
or as Caeneus, Exadius, godlike Polyphemus, and Theseus son of Aegeus,
peer of the immortals. These were the mightiest men ever born upon
this earth: mightiest were they, and when they fought the fiercest
tribes of mountain savages they utterly overthrew them. I came from
distant Pylos, and went about among them, for they would have me
come, and I fought as it was in me to do. Not a man now living could
withstand them, but they heard my words, and were persuaded by them.
So be it also with yourselves, for this is the more excellent way.
Therefore, Agamemnon, though you be strong, take not this girl away,
for the sons of the Achaeans have already given her to Achilles;
and you, Achilles, strive not further with the king, for no man
who by the grace of Jove wields a sceptre has like honour with Agamemnon.
You are strong, and have a goddess for your mother; but Agamemnon
is stronger than you, for he has more people under him. Son of Atreus,
check your anger, I implore you; end this quarrel with Achilles,
who in the day of battle is a tower of strength to the Achaeans."
And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, all that you
have said is true, but this fellow must needs become our lord and
master: he must be lord of all, king of all, and captain of all,
and this shall hardly be. Granted that the gods have made him a
great warrior, have they also given him the right to speak with
railing?"
Achilles interrupted him. "I should be a mean
coward," he cried, "were I to give in to you in all things.
Order other people about, not me, for I shall obey no longer. Furthermore
I say- and lay my saying to your heart- I shall fight neither you
nor any man about this girl, for those that take were those also
that gave. But of all else that is at my ship you shall carry away
nothing by force. Try, that others may see; if you do, my spear
shall be reddened with your blood."
When they had quarrelled thus angrily, they rose,
and broke up the assembly at the ships of the Achaeans. The son
of Peleus went back to his tents and ships with the son of Menoetius
and his company, while Agamemnon drew a vessel into the water and
chose a crew of twenty oarsmen. He escorted Chryseis on board and
sent moreover a hecatomb for the god. And Ulysses went as captain.
These, then, went on board and sailed their ways
over the sea. But the son of Atreus bade the people purify themselves;
so they purified themselves and cast their filth into the sea. Then
they offered hecatombs of bulls and goats without blemish on the
sea-shore, and the smoke with the savour of their sacrifice rose
curling up towards heaven.
Thus did they busy themselves throughout the host.
But Agamemnon did not forget the threat that he had made Achilles,
and called his trusty messengers and squires Talthybius and Eurybates.
"Go," said he, "to the tent of Achilles, son of Peleus;
take Briseis by the hand and bring her hither; if he will not give
her I shall come with others and take her- which will press him
harder."
He charged them straightly further and dismissed
them, whereon they went their way sorrowfully by the seaside, till
they came to the tents and ships of the Myrmidons. They found Achilles
sitting by his tent and his ships, and ill-pleased he was when he
beheld them. They stood fearfully and reverently before him, and
never a word did they speak, but he knew them and said, "Welcome,
heralds, messengers of gods and men; draw near; my quarrel is not
with you but with Agamemnon who has sent you for the girl Briseis.
Therefore, Patroclus, bring her and give her to them, but let them
be witnesses by the blessed gods, by mortal men, and by the fierceness
of Agamemnon's anger, that if ever again there be need of me to
save the people from ruin, they shall seek and they shall not find.
Agamemnon is mad with rage and knows not how to look before and
after that the Achaeans may fight by their ships in safety."
Patroclus did as his dear comrade had bidden him.
He brought Briseis from the tent and gave her over to the heralds,
who took her with them to the ships of the Achaeans- and the woman
was loth to go. Then Achilles went all alone by the side of the
hoar sea, weeping and looking out upon the boundless waste of waters.
He raised his hands in prayer to his immortal mother, "Mother,"
he cried, "you bore me doomed to live but for a little season;
surely Jove, who thunders from Olympus, might have made that little
glorious. It is not so. Agamemnon, son of Atreus, has done me dishonour,
and has robbed me of my prize by force."
As he spoke he wept aloud, and his mother heard
him where she was sitting in the depths of the sea hard by the old
man her father. Forthwith she rose as it were a grey mist out of
the waves, sat down before him as he stood weeping, caressed him
with her hand, and said, "My son, why are you weeping? What
is it that grieves you? Keep it not from me, but tell me, that we
may know it together."
Achilles drew a deep sigh and said, "You know
it; why tell you what you know well already? We went to Thebe the
strong city of Eetion, sacked it, and brought hither the spoil.
The sons of the Achaeans shared it duly among themselves, and chose
lovely Chryseis as the meed of Agamemnon; but Chryses, priest of
Apollo, came to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter,
and brought with him a great ransom: moreover he bore in his hand
the sceptre of Apollo, wreathed with a suppliant's wreath, and he
besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two sons of Atreus who
were their chiefs.
"On this the rest of the Achaeans with one
voice were for respecting the priest and taking the ransom that
he offered; but not so Agamemnon, who spoke fiercely to him and
sent him roughly away. So he went back in anger, and Apollo, who
loved him dearly, heard his prayer. Then the god sent a deadly dart
upon the Argives, and the people died thick on one another, for
the arrows went everywhither among the wide host of the Achaeans.
At last a seer in the fulness of his knowledge declared to us the
oracles of Apollo, and I was myself first to say that we should
appease him. Whereon the son of Atreus rose in anger, and threatened
that which he has since done. The Achaeans are now taking the girl
in a ship to Chryse, and sending gifts of sacrifice to the god;
but the heralds have just taken from my tent the daughter of Briseus,
whom the Achaeans had awarded to myself.
"Help your brave son, therefore, if you are
able. Go to Olympus, and if you have ever done him service in word
or deed, implore the aid of Jove. Ofttimes in my father's house
have I heard you glory in that you alone of the immortals saved
the son of Saturn from ruin, when the others, with Juno, Neptune,
and Pallas Minerva would have put him in bonds. It was you, goddess,
who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed monster
whom gods call Briareus, but men Aegaeon, for he is stronger even
than his father; when therefore he took his seat all-glorious beside
the son of Saturn, the other gods were afraid, and did not bind
him. Go, then, to him, remind him of all this, clasp his knees,
and bid him give succour to the Trojans. Let the Achaeans be hemmed
in at the sterns of their ships, and perish on the sea-shore, that
they may reap what joy they may of their king, and that Agamemnon
may rue his blindness in offering insult to the foremost of the
Achaeans."
Thetis wept and answered, "My son, woe is
me that I should have borne or suckled you. Would indeed that you
had lived your span free from all sorrow at your ships, for it is
all too brief; alas, that you should be at once short of life and
long of sorrow above your peers: woe, therefore, was the hour in
which I bore you; nevertheless I will go to the snowy heights of
Olympus, and tell this tale to Jove, if he will hear our prayer:
meanwhile stay where you are with your ships, nurse your anger against
the Achaeans, and hold aloof from fight. For Jove went yesterday
to Oceanus, to a feast among the Ethiopians, and the other gods
went with him. He will return to Olympus twelve days hence; I will
then go to his mansion paved with bronze and will beseech him; nor
do I doubt that I shall be able to persuade him."
On this she left him, still furious at the loss
of her that had been taken from him. Meanwhile Ulysses reached Chryse
with the hecatomb. When they had come inside the harbour they furled
the sails and laid them in the ship's hold; they slackened the forestays,
lowered the mast into its place, and rowed the ship to the place
where they would have her lie; there they cast out their mooring-stones
and made fast the hawsers. They then got out upon the sea-shore
and landed the hecatomb for Apollo; Chryseis also left the ship,
and Ulysses led her to the altar to deliver her into the hands of
her father. "Chryses," said he, "King Agamemnon has
sent me to bring you back your child, and to offer sacrifice to
Apollo on behalf of the Danaans, that we may propitiate the god,
who has now brought sorrow upon the Argives."
So saying he gave the girl over to her father,
who received her gladly, and they ranged the holy hecatomb all orderly
round the altar of the god. They washed their hands and took up
the barley-meal to sprinkle over the victims, while Chryses lifted
up his hands and prayed aloud on their behalf. "Hear me,"
he cried, "O god of the silver bow, that protectest Chryse
and holy Cilla, and rulest Tenedos with thy might. Even as thou
didst hear me aforetime when I prayed, and didst press hardly upon
the Achaeans, so hear me yet again, and stay this fearful pestilence
from the Danaans."
Thus did he pray, and Apollo heard his prayer.
When they had done praying and sprinkling the barley-meal, they
drew back the heads of the victims and killed and flayed them. They
cut out the thigh-bones, wrapped them round in two layers of fat,
set some pieces of raw meat on the top of them, and then Chryses
laid them on the wood fire and poured wine over them, while the
young men stood near him with five-pronged spits in their hands.
When the thigh-bones were burned and they had tasted the inward
meats, they cut the rest up small, put the pieces upon the spits,
roasted them till they were done, and drew them off: then, when
they had finished their work and the feast was ready, they ate it,
and every man had his full share, so that all were satisfied. As
soon as they had had enough to eat and drink, pages filled the mixing-bowl
with wine and water and handed it round, after giving every man
his drink-offering.
Thus all day long the young men worshipped the
god with song, hymning him and chaunting the joyous paean, and the
god took pleasure in their voices; but when the sun went down, and
it came on dark, they laid themselves down to sleep by the stern
cables of the ship, and when the child of morning, rosy-fingered
Dawn, appeared they again set sail for the host of the Achaeans.
Apollo sent them a fair wind, so they raised their mast and hoisted
their white sails aloft. As the sail bellied with the wind the ship
flew through the deep blue water, and the foam hissed against her
bows as she sped onward. When they reached the wide-stretching host
of the Achaeans, they drew the vessel ashore, high and dry upon
the sands, set her strong props beneath her, and went their ways
to their own tents and ships.
But Achilles abode at his ships and nursed his
anger. He went not to the honourable assembly, and sallied not forth
to fight, but gnawed at his own heart, pining for battle and the
war-cry.
Now after twelve days the immortal gods came back
in a body to Olympus, and Jove led the way. Thetis was not unmindful
of the charge her son had laid upon her, so she rose from under
the sea and went through great heaven with early morning to Olympus,
where she found the mighty son of Saturn sitting all alone upon
its topmost ridges. She sat herself down before him, and with her
left hand seized his knees, while with her right she caught him
under the chin, and besought him, saying-
"Father Jove, if I ever did you service in
word or deed among the immortals, hear my prayer, and do honour
to my son, whose life is to be cut short so early. King Agamemnon
has dishonoured him by taking his prize and keeping her. Honour
him then yourself, Olympian lord of counsel, and grant victory to
the Trojans, till the Achaeans give my son his due and load him
with riches in requital."
Jove sat for a while silent, and without a word,
but Thetis still kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a
second time. "Incline your head," said she, "and
promise me surely, or else deny me- for you have nothing to fear-
that I may learn how greatly you disdain me."
At this Jove was much troubled and answered, "I
shall have trouble if you set me quarrelling with Juno, for she
will provoke me with her taunting speeches; even now she is always
railing at me before the other gods and accusing me of giving aid
to the Trojans. Go back now, lest she should find out. I will consider
the matter, and will bring it about as wish. See, I incline my head
that you believe me. This is the most solemn that I can give to
any god. I never recall my word, or deceive, or fail to do what
I say, when I have nodded my head."
As he spoke the son of Saturn bowed his dark brows,
and the ambrosial locks swayed on his immortal head, till vast Olympus
reeled.
When the pair had thus laid their plans, they parted-
Jove to his house, while the goddess quitted the splendour of Olympus,
and plunged into the depths of the sea. The gods rose from their
seats, before the coming of their sire. Not one of them dared to
remain sitting, but all stood up as he came among them. There, then,
he took his seat. But Juno, when she saw him, knew that he and the
old merman's daughter, silver-footed Thetis, had been hatching mischief,
so she at once began to upbraid him. "Trickster," she
cried, "which of the gods have you been taking into your counsels
now? You are always settling matters in secret behind my back, and
have never yet told me, if you could help it, one word of your intentions."
"Juno," replied the sire of gods and
men, "you must not expect to be informed of all my counsels.
You are my wife, but you would find it hard to understand them.
When it is proper for you to hear, there is no one, god or man,
who will be told sooner, but when I mean to keep a matter to myself,
you must not pry nor ask questions."
"Dread son of Saturn," answered Juno,
"what are you talking about? I? Pry and ask questions? Never.
I let you have your own way in everything. Still, I have a strong
misgiving that the old merman's daughter Thetis has been talking
you over, for she was with you and had hold of your knees this self-same
morning. I believe, therefore, that you have been promising her
to give glory to Achilles, and to kill much people at the ships
of the Achaeans."
"Wife," said Jove, "I can do nothing
but you suspect me and find it out. You will take nothing by it,
for I shall only dislike you the more, and it will go harder with
you. Granted that it is as you say; I mean to have it so; sit down
and hold your tongue as I bid you for if I once begin to lay my
hands about you, though all heaven were on your side it would profit
you nothing."
On this Juno was frightened, so she curbed her
stubborn will and sat down in silence. But the heavenly beings were
disquieted throughout the house of Jove, till the cunning workman
Vulcan began to try and pacify his mother Juno. "It will be
intolerable," said he, "if you two fall to wrangling and
setting heaven in an uproar about a pack of mortals. If such ill
counsels are to prevail, we shall have no pleasure at our banquet.
Let me then advise my mother- and she must herself know that it
will be better- to make friends with my dear father Jove, lest he
again scold her and disturb our feast. If the Olympian Thunderer
wants to hurl us all from our seats, he can do so, for he is far
the strongest, so give him fair words, and he will then soon be
in a good humour with us."
As he spoke, he took a double cup of nectar, and
placed it in his mother's hand. "Cheer up, my dear mother,"
said he, "and make the best of it. I love you dearly, and should
be very sorry to see you get a thrashing; however grieved I might
be, I could not help for there is no standing against Jove. Once
before when I was trying to help you, he caught me by the foot and
flung me from the heavenly threshold. All day long from morn till
eve, was I falling, till at sunset I came to ground in the island
of Lemnos, and there I lay, with very little life left in me, till
the Sintians came and tended me."
Juno smiled at this, and as she smiled she took
the cup from her son's hands. Then Vulcan drew sweet nectar from
the mixing-bowl, and served it round among the gods, going from
left to right; and the blessed gods laughed out a loud applause
as they saw him ing bustling about the heavenly mansion.
Thus through the livelong day to the going down
of the sun they feasted, and every one had his full share, so that
all were satisfied. Apollo struck his lyre, and the Muses lifted
up their sweet voices, calling and answering one another. But when
the sun's glorious light had faded, they went home to bed, each
in his own abode, which lame Vulcan with his consummate skill had
fashioned for them. So Jove, the Olympian Lord of Thunder, hied
him to the bed in which he always slept; and when he had got on
to it he went to sleep, with Juno of the golden throne by his side.
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