Thus spake the godlike king. The herald rose To bring the sweet harp from the royal house. Then the nine umpires also rose, who ruled The games; they smoothed the floor, and made the ring Of gazers wider. Next the herald came, And brought Demodocus the clear-toned harp. The minstrel went into the midst, and there Gathered the graceful dancers; they were youths In life’s first bloom. With even steps they smote The sacred floor. Ulysses, gazing, saw The twinkle of their feet and was amazed. The minstrel struck the chords and gracefully Began the lay: he sang the loves of Mars And Venus of the glittering crown, who first Had met each other stealthily beneath The roof of Vulcan. Mars with many gifts Won her, and wronged her spouse, the King of Fire; But from the Sun, who saw their guilt, there came A messenger to Vulcan. When he heard The unwelcome tidings, planning his revenge, He hastened to his smithy, where he forged Chains that no power might loosen or might break, Made to hold fast forever. When the snare In all its parts was finished, he repaired, Angry with Mars, to where the marriage-bed Stood in his chamber. To the posts he tied The encircling chains on every side, and made Fast to the ceiling many, like the threads Spun by the spider, which no eye could see, Not even of the gods, so artfully He wrought them. Then, as soon as he had wrapped The snare about the bed, he feigned to go To Lemnos nobly built, most dear to him Of all the lands. But Mars, the god who holds The shining reins, had kept no careless watch, And when he saw the great artificer Depart he went with speed to Vulcan’s house, Drawn thither by the love of her who wears The glittering crown. There Cytherea sat, Arrived that moment from a visit paid. Entering, he took her by the hand and said:—
“Come, my beloved, let us to the couch. Vulcan is here no longer; he is gone, And is among the Sintians, men who speak A barbarous tongue, in Lemnos far away.”
He spake, and she approved his words, and both Lay down upon the bed, when suddenly The network, wrought by Vulcan’s skilful hand,