And Juno hastened on to Gargarus, The peak of lofty Ida. Jupiter, The Cloud-compeller, saw her, and at once Love took possession of his mighty heart, As when they first were wedded, and withdrew From their dear parents’ sight. The God drew near And stood before her, and addressed her thus:—
“Why art thou hastening from Olympus thus, And whither; yet without thy steeds and car?”
And Juno answered with dissembled guile:— “To the far ends of the green earth I go, To visit Ocean, father of the gods, And Mother Tethys, in whose palace halls They nourished me, and brought me up. I go To end their hateful quarrels, for too long Have they been strangers to the marriage-bed, Incensed against each other. Now my steeds, Waiting to bear me over land and sea, Stand at the foot of Ida seamed with rills, And now I come to thee, lest thou perchance Be wroth if I unknown to thee repair To where old Ocean dwells amid his deeps.”
The Cloud-compeller, Jupiter, rejoined:— “Hereafter, Juno, there will be a time For such a journey; meantime let us give This hour to rest and dalliance. Never yet Did love of goddess or of mortal maid Possess and overcome my heart as now; Not even when I loved Ixion’s dame, Who bore Pirithoüs, prudent as a god Among the counsellors; nor when I loved Acrisius’ daughter with the dainty feet, Danae, who brought forth Perseus, eminent Above the other warrior-chiefs; nor when I carried off from Phoenix the renowned His daughter, who bore Minos afterward, And Rhadamanthus. Never so I loved Semele, nor Alcmena who in Thebes Brought forth to me the great-souled Hercules, My valiant son, while Bacchus, the delight Of men, was born of Semele; nor yet So loved I Ceres, fair-haired queen, nor yet Latona, gloriously beautiful, Nor even thee, as now I love, and yield My spirit to the sweetness of desire.”
Imperial Juno artfully replied:— “Importunate Saturnius, what is this That thou hast said? If on this summit height Of Ida we recline, where