thou yield thee to thy haughty will, And didst dishonor a most valiant man, Whom the immortals honor. Thou didst take And still dost keep the prize he fairly won. Let it be now our study to appease The hero with large gifts and soothing words.”
Then Agamemnon, king of men, replied:— “O ancient man, most truly hast thou named My faults. I erred, and I deny it not. That man indeed is equal to a host Whom Jupiter doth love and honor thus, Humbling the Achaian people for his sake. And now, since, yielding to my wayward mood I erred, let me appease him, if I may, With gifts of priceless worth. Before you all I number them—seven tripods which the fire Hath never touched, six talents of pure gold, And twenty shining cauldrons, and twelve steeds Of hardy frame, victorious in the race, Whose feet have won me prizes in the games. No beggar would he be, nor yet with store Of gold unfurnished, in whose coffers lay The prizes those swift steeds have brought to me. Seven faultless women, skilled in household arts, I give moreover—Lesbians, whom I chose When he o’erran the populous Lesbian isle— Damsels in beauty who excel their sex. These I bestow, and with them I will send Her whom I took away—Briseis, pure— I swear it with a mighty oath—as pure As when she left his tent. All these I give At once; and if by favor of the gods We lay the mighty city of Priam waste, He shall load down his galley with large store Of gold and silver, entering first when we, The Greeks, divide the spoil. Then may he choose Twice ten young Trojan women, beautiful Beyond their sex save Helen. If we come Safe to Achaian Argos, richly stocked With milky kine, he may become to me A son-in-law, and cherished equally With my sole son Orestes, who is reared Most royally. Three daughters there, within My stately palace-walls—Chrysothemis, Laodice, and Iphianassa—dwell, And he may choose among them, and may lead Home to the house of Peleus her who best Deserves his love. Nor need he to endow The bride, for I will give an ampler dower Than ever father to his daughter gave— Seven cities with thronged streets—Cardamyle, Enope, grassy Hira, Pherae famed Afar, Antheia with rich pasture-fields, Aepeia beautiful,