The Iliad | Page 8

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