and Pedasus With all its vineyards; all are near the sea, And stand the last before you reach the coast Of sandy Pylos. Rich in flocks and herds Their dwellers are, and they will honor him As if he were a god, and, ruled by him, Will pay large tribute. These will I bestow, Let but his anger cool and his resolve Give way. ’Tis Pluto who is deaf to prayer And ne’er relents, and he, of all the gods, Most hateful is to men. Now let the son Of Peleus yield at length to me, who stand Above him in authority and years.”
Then answered Nestor the Gerenian knight:— “Atrides Agamemnon! Glorious king! Gifts not to be contemned thou offerest To Prince Achilles. Let us now despatch A chosen embassy, who shall proceed At once to where Pelides holds his tent. I name the men; and cheerfully will they Perform the duty: Phoenix, dear to Jove, Shall be their leader, mighty Ajax next, And then high-born Ulysses; heralds twain Shall follow—Hodius and Eurybates. And now be water brought to cleanse our hands, And charge be given that no ill-omened word Be uttered, while we pray that Jupiter, The son of Saturn, will assist our need.”
He spake; and all approved the words he said. Then poured the heralds water on the hands Of those who sat. The young men crowned with wine The goblets, and in seemly order passed The brimming cups, distributing to each. Part to the gods they poured, and next they drank As each might choose, and then the embassy Hastened from Agamemnon’s tent. To each Gerenian Nestor spake in turn, and fixed His eyes on each intently—most of all Upon Ulysses—and with many a charge To turn Pelides from his angry mood. Along the edge of the resounding deep They went, and as they walked they offered prayer To earth-embracing Neptune, that their words Might move the great soul of Aeacides. And now they came where lay the Myrmidons Among their tents and ships. Achilles there Drew solace from the music of a harp Sweet-toned and shapely, in a silver frame, Part of the spoil he took when he o’erthrew Eëtion’s town. To soothe his mood he sang The deeds of