First, to possess the woman, that she then Might loathe the elder one; and I obeyed. My father knew it, and with many a curse Invoked the hateful furies to forbid That any child who owed his birth to me Should ever sit upon his knees. The gods⁠— The Jove of Hades and dread Proserpine⁠— Confirmed his curse. To slay him with the sword Was my first thought. Some god subdued my wrath, Reminding me of what the public voice Would say, and infamy that would ensue⁠— Lest I among the Achaians should be called A parricide. I could not brook to dwell Within my father’s palace while he thus Was wroth with me. My kindred and my friends Came round me, and besought me to remain, And stayed beside me. Many a fatling ewe And many a slow-paced ox with curving horns They slew, and many a fattened swine they stretched Over the flame of Vulcan. From the casks Of the old chief his wine was freely drawn. Nine nights they slept surrounding me, while each Kept watch in turn: nor ever were the fires Put out; one blazed beneath the portico