Book III

sad return. For all were neither wise Nor just, and many drew upon themselves An evil doom⁠—the fatal wrath of her, The blue-eyed maid, who claims her birth from Jove. ’Twas she who kindled strife between the sons Of Atreus. They had called the Achaians all To an assembly, not with due regard To order, at the setting of the sun, And thither came the warriors overpowered With wine. The brother kings set forth the cause Of that assembly. Menelaus first Bade all the Greeks prepare for their return O’er the great deep. That counsel little pleased King Agamemnon, who desired to keep The people longer there, that he might soothe By sacred hecatombs the fiery wrath Of Pallas. Fool! who could not see how vain Were such persuasion, for the eternal gods Are not soon won to change their purposes. They stood disputing thus, with bitter words, Till wrangling noisily on different sides Rose up the well-armed Greeks. The ensuing night We rested, but we cherished in our breasts A mutual hate; so for our punishment Had Jove ordained. With early morn we drew Our ships to the great deep, and put our goods And our deep-bosomed women all on board. Yet half the host went not, but on the shore Remained with Agamemnon, Atreus’ son, And shepherd of the people. All the rest Embarked, weighed anchor, and sailed swiftly thence; A deity made smooth the mighty deep, And when we came to Tenedos we paid Our offerings to the gods and longed for home⁠— Vainly; it pleased not unpropitious Jove To favor our return, and once again He sent among us strife. A part of us Led by Ulysses, that sagacious prince, To please Atrides Agamemnon turned Their well-oared galleys back. But I, with all The vessels of the fleet that followed me, Fled on my way, perceiving that some god Was meditating evil. With us fled, Encouraging his men, the warlike son Of Tydeus. Fair-haired Menelaus came Later to us in Lesbos, where we planned For a long voyage, whether we should sail Around the rugged Chios, toward the isle Of Psyria, keeping that upon the left, Or under Chios pass beside the steeps Of windy Mimas. We besought the god That he would show a sign, and he complied, And bade us to Euboea cross the deep Right in the midst, the sooner to escape All