The Iliad of Homer (1873). Homer

silver-footed Thetis, the daughter of the marine old man, may have influenced thee: for at dawn she sat by thee and embraced thy knees: to her I suspect thou didst plainly promise that thou wouldest honour Achilles, and destroy many at the ships of the Greeks."

But her answering, cloud-compelling Jove addressed: "Perverse one! thou art always suspecting, nor do I escape thee. Nevertheless thou shalt produce no effect at all, but thou shalt be farther from my heart: and this will be more bitter to thee. But granted this be so, it appears to be my pleasure. ⁶⁰ But sit down in peace, and obey my mandate, lest as many deities as are in Olympus avail thee not against me, I drawing near, ⁶¹ when I shall lay my resistless hands upon thee."

Footnote 60: (return) I.e., say that what you suspect is correct; well then, such is my will.

Footnote 61: (return) I prefer taking ίονθ' for ίοντα, not for ίοντε, as Buttmann wished.--See Anthon.

      Thus he spoke: but venerable, large-eyed Juno feared, and sat down silent, having bent her heart to submission. But the heavenly gods murmured throughout the palace of Jove. And the renowned artificer, Vulcan, began to harangue them, doing kind offices to his beloved mother, white-armed Juno:

"Truly now these will be grievous matters, and no longer tolerable, if ye twain contend thus on account of mortals, and excite uproar among the deities. Nor will there be any enjoyment in the delightful banquet, since the worse things prevail. ⁶² But to my mother I advise, she herself being intelligent, to gratify my dear father Jove, lest my sire may again reprove her, and disturb our banquet. For if the Olympian Thunderer wishes to hurl [us] from our seats ⁶³--for he is much the most powerful. But do thou soothe him with gentle words; then will the Olympian king straightway be propitious to us."

Footnote 62: (return) Cf. Duport, Gnom. Hom. p. 9. The saying is almost proverbial.

Footnote 63: (return) An aposiopesis; understand, "he can easily do so."

Thus then he spoke, and rising, he placed the double cup ⁶⁴ in the hand of his dear mother, and addressed her:

"Be patient, my mother, and restrain thyself, although grieved, lest with my own eyes I behold thee beaten, being very dear to me; nor then indeed should I be able, though full of grief, to assist thee; for Olympian Jove is difficult to be opposed. For heretofore, having seized me by the foot, he cast me, desiring at one time to assist you, down from the heavenly threshold. All day was I carried down through the air, and I fell on Lemnos ⁶⁵ with the setting sun: and but little life was in me by that time. There the Sintian ⁶⁶ men forthwith received and tended ⁶⁷ me, having fallen."

Thus he spoke: but the white-armed goddess Juno smiled; and smiling she received the cup from the hand of her son. But he, beginning from left to right, ⁶⁸ kept pouring out for all the other gods, drawing nectar from the goblet. And then inextinguishable laughter arose among the immortal gods, when they saw Vulcan bustling about ⁶⁹ through the mansion.

Footnote 64: (return) See my note on Od. iii. p. 30, n. 13, ed. Bohn. It was "a double cup with a common bottom in the middle."--Crusius.

Footnote 65: (return) Hercules having sacked Troy, was, on his return, driven to Cos by a storm raised by Juno, who was hostile to him, and who had contrived to cast Jupiter into a sleep, that he might not interrupt her purpose. Jupiter awaking, in resentment of the artifice practised upon him, bound her feet to iron anvils, which Vulcan attempting to loose, was cast headlong down to Lemnos by his enraged sire.

Footnote 66: (return) A race of robbers, of Tyrrhenian origin (according to Müller), and the ancient inhabitants of Lemnos. This island was ever after sacred to Vulcan. Cf. Lactant. i. 15; Milton, P.L. i. 740, sqq.

Footnote 67: (return) See Arnold.

Footnote 68: (return) This meaning of ένδέξια is due to Buttmann.

Footnote 69: (return) See Buttmann, Lexil. p. 481.

Thus, then, they feasted ⁷⁰ the entire day till the setting sun; nor did the soul want anything of the equal feast, nor of the beautiful harp, which Apollo held, nor of the Muses, who accompanied him, responding in turn, with delicious voice.

Footnote 70: (return) "The gods formed a sort of political community of their own, which had its hierarchy, its distribution of ranks and duties, its contentions for power and occasional revolutions, its public meetings in the agora of Olympus, and its multitudinous banquets or festivals."--Grote, vol. i. p. 463. Cf. Müller, Gk. Lit. ii. § 2.

      But when the splendid light of the sun was sunk, they retired to repose, each one to his home, where renowned Vulcan, lame of both legs, with cunning skill had built a house for each. But the Olympian thunderer Jove went to his couch, where he lay before, when sweet sleep came upon him. There, having ascended, he lay down to rest, and beside him golden-throned Juno.

BOOK THE SECOND.

       Table of Contents

      ARGUMENT.

      Jove sends a dream to Agamemnon, in consequence of which he re-assembles the army. Thersites is punished for his insolent speech, and the troops are restrained from seeking a return homewards. The catalogue of the ships and the forces of the confederates follows.

The rest, then, both gods and horse-arraying men, ⁷¹ slept all the night: but Jove sweet sleep possessed not; but he was pondering in his mind how he might honour Achilles, and destroy many at the ships of the Greeks. But this device appeared best to him in his mind, to send a fatal dream ⁷² to Agamemnon, the son of Atreus. And addressing him, he spoke winged words:

"Haste away, pernicious dream, to the swift ships of the Greeks. Going into the tent of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, utter very accurately