Ah Zeus! On account of the poisonous hate of Io vengeance from the gods pursues us. I knowyour consort’s sky-conquering spite; for a stormy sea follows a harsh wind.

Danaus My children, you must be prudent. A prudent captain of your voyage was your reliable old father here with whom you came. And now that I have considered with foresight what may befall us here on land, I charge you, record my injunctions on the tablets of your minds and guard them. I see dust, the voiceless herald of an army; the axle-driven wheels are not silent in their sockets. I behold a throng, armed with shields and holding spears, with steeds and curved chariots. Perhaps they are the princes of the landcome to look on us, informed by messengers. But whether a harmless man or one driven by savage wrath rouses this expedition, it is better, damsels, in any case, to seat yourselves at that mound sacred to the assembled gods. ἀγών has here the force of ἀγορά, place of assembly. Cp. l. 222.