Iliad (1.400-1.560)

with Hera, Poseidon, and Pallas Athena would have put him in bonds. It was you, goddess, who delivered him by calling to Olympus the hundred-handed one whom gods call Briareus, but men Aigaion, for he has more force [biê] even than his father;

when therefore he took his seat all-glorious beside the son of Kronos, 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 succor 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 derangement [atê] in offering insult to the best [aristos] 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 Zeus, if he will hear our prayer: meanwhile stay where you are with your ships, nurse your anger [mênis] against the Achaeans, and hold aloof from fight. For Zeus went yesterday to Okeanos, 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 by force [biê] from him. Meanwhile Odysseus reached Chryse with the hecatomb. When they had come inside the harbor 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 Odysseus 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, you who protect Chryse and holy Cilla, and rule Tenedos with your might. Even as you did hear me aforetime when I prayed, and did press hard 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 [ponos] 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 chanting 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 seething deep 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 stayed at his ships and nursed his anger [mênis].

He went not to the honorable 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 Zeus 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, enveloped in mist, through great heaven with early morning to Olympus, where she found the mighty son of Kronos 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 Zeus, if I ever did you service in word or deed among the immortals, hear my prayer,

and do honor to my son, whose life is to be cut short so early. King Agamemnon has dishonored him by taking his prize and keeping her. Honor 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 [timê]." Zeus sat for a while silent, and without a word, but Thetis still kept firm hold of his knees, and besought him a second time. "Nod 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 Zeus was much troubled and answered, "I shall have trouble if you set me quarreling with Hera, 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 nod my head that you believe me. This is the most solemn act that I can offer 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 Kronos 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 - Zeus to his mansion, while the goddess left the splendor 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 Hera, when she saw him, knew that he and silver-footed Thetis, the daughter of the Old One of the Sea, had been planning 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."

"Hera," 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 Kronos," answered Hera, "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 Thetis, daughter of the Old One of the Sea, 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 many people at the ships of the Achaeans."

"Wife," said Zeus, "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 Hera was frightened, so she curbed her stubborn will and sat down in silence.

But the heavenly beings were disquieted throughout the house of Zeus, till the cunning workman Hephaistos began to try and pacify his mother Hera. "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 Zeus, 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 humor 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 Zeus.

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."

Hera smiled at this, and as she smiled she took the cup from her son's hands. Then Hephaistos 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 approval