He spake; and then he cheered his coursers thus:⁠— “Xanthus, Podargus, Lampus nobly bred, And Aethon, now repay the generous care, The pleasant grain which my Andromache, Daughter of great Eëtion, largely gives. She mingles wine that ye may drink at will Ere yet she ministers to me, who boast To be her youthful husband. Let us now Pursue with fiery haste, that we may seize The shield of Nestor, the great fame of which Has reached to heaven⁠—an orb of massive gold Even to the handles. Let us from the limbs Of Diomed, the tamer of fleet steeds, Strip off the glorious mail that Vulcan forged: This done, our hope may be that all the Greeks Will climb their galleys and depart tonight.”

So boasted he; but queenly Juno’s ire Was kindled, and she shuddered on her throne Till great Olympus trembled. Thus she spake To Neptune, mighty ruler of the deep:⁠—