The Iliad by Homer (ereader for textbooks .txt) 📕

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 you wish. See, I incline my head that you may believe me. This
is the most solemn promise 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 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.


BOOK II

Jove sends a lying dream to Agamemnon, who thereon calls the
chiefs in assembly, and proposes to sound the mind of his
army--In the end they march to fight--Catalogue of the
Achaean and Trojan forces.

Now the other gods