THE RAPE OF HELEN 



bolts of the darksome hollows and rouse the Titans * 

 from the nether pit and destroy the heaven the 

 seat of Zeus, who rules on high. Fain would she 

 brandish the roaring thunderbolt of fire, yet gave 

 way, for all her age, to Hephaestus, keeper of 

 quenchless fire and of iron. And she thought to 

 rouse the heavy-clashing din of shields, if haply 

 they might leap up in terror at the noise. But from 

 her later crafty counsel, too, she withdrew in fear of 

 iron Ares, the shielded warrior. 



And now she bethought her of the golden apples 

 of the Hesperides.* Thence Strife took the fruit 

 that should be the harbinger of war, even the apple,'' 

 and devised the scheme of signal woes. Whirling 

 her arm she hurled into the banquet the primal seed 

 of turmoil and disturbed the choir of goddesses. 

 Hera, glorying to be the spouse and to share the 

 bed of Zeus, rose up amazed, and would fain have 

 seized it. And Cypris,'* as being more excellent 

 than all, desired to have the apple, for that it is 

 the treasure of the Loves. But Hera would not 

 give it up and Athena would not yield. And Zeus, 

 seeing the quarrel of the goddesses, and calling his 

 son Hermaon,* who sat below his throne, addressed 

 him thus : 



" If haply, my son, thou hast heard ^ of a son of 

 Priam, one Paris, the splendid youth, who tends his 

 herds on the hills of Troy, give to him the apple ; 



(schol. Arist. Nvh. 997, Lucian, I>ial. Mer. xii. 1, Theocr. 

 V. 88). Cf. the storj' of Acontius and Cydippe and 

 Solon's enactment — o "ZbXwv eKiXeve ttjv vvtufiri* rt^ vvfji<piui 

 auyKaTaKXluecrffai firiXov KvStovlov KaTarpa-fOLffov (Plut. Prase, 

 Coni. 138 d). 



•* Apiirodite. ' = Hermes (Hesiod fr. 4G). 



' For the type of expression cf. Ap. Rh. iv. 1560, iii. 36i. 



547 



