Book III

off that man of blood, The crafty wretch Aegisthus, by whose hand Fell his illustrious father. Then he bade The Argives to the solemn burial-feast Of his bad mother and the craven wretch Aegisthus. Menelaus, that same day, The great in war, arrived, and brought large wealth⁠— So large his galleys could contain no more. “And thou, my friend, be thou not long away, Wandering from home, thy rich possessions left, And in thy palace-halls a lawless crew, Lest they devour thy substance, and divide Thy goods, and thou have crossed the sea in vain. Yet must I counsel and enjoin on thee To visit Menelaus, who has come Just now from lands and nations of strange men, Whence one could hardly hope for a return; Whom once the tempest’s violence had driven Into that great wide sea o’er which the birds Of heaven could scarce fly hither in a year, Such is its fearful vastness. Go thou now, Thou with thy ship and friends; or if thou choose The way by land, a car and steeds are here, And here my sons to guide thee to the town Of hallowed Lacedaemon, there to find The fair-haired Menelaus. Earnestly Beseech of him that he declare the truth. Falsely he will not speak, for he is wise.”