Book X
  
     Now the other princes of the Achaeans slept soundly the whole night
     through, but Agamemnon son of Atreus was troubled, so that he could
     get no rest. As when fair Juno's lord flashes his lightning in token
     of great rain or hail or snow when the snow-flakes whiten the
     ground, or again as a sign that he will open the wide jaws of hungry
     war, even so did Agamemnon heave many a heavy sigh, for his soul
     trembled within him. When he looked upon the plain of Troy he
     marvelled at the many watchfires burning in front of Ilius, and at
     the sound of pipes and flutes and of the hum of men, but when
     presently he turned towards the ships and hosts of the Achaeans, he
     tore his hair by handfuls before Jove on high, and groaned aloud for
     the very disquietness of his soul. In the end he deemed it best to
     go at once to Nestor son of Neleus, and see if between them they
     could find any way of the Achaeans from destruction. He therefore
     rose, put on his shirt, bound his sandals about his comely feet,
     flung the skin of a huge tawny lion over his shoulders- a skin that
     reached his feet- and took his spear in his hand. 
     
     Neither could Menelaus sleep, for he, too, boded ill for the Argives
     who for his sake had sailed from far over the seas to fight the
     Trojans. He covered his broad back with the skin of a spotted
     panther, put a casque of bronze upon his head, and took his spear in
     his brawny hand. Then he went to rouse his brother, who was by far
     the most powerful of the Achaeans, and was honoured by the people as
     though he were a god. He found him by the stern of his ship already
     putting his goodly array about his shoulders, and right glad was he
     that his brother had come. 
     
     Menelaus spoke first. "Why," said he, "my dear brother, are you thus
     arming? Are you going to send any of our comrades to exploit the
     Trojans? I greatly fear that no one will do you this service, and
     spy upon the enemy alone in the dead of night. It will be a deed of
     great daring." 
     
     And King Agamemnon answered, "Menelaus, we both of us need shrewd
     counsel to save the Argives and our ships, for Jove has changed his
     mind, and inclines towards Hector's sacrifices rather than ours. I
     never saw nor heard tell of any man as having wrought such ruin in
     one day as Hector has now wrought against the sons of the Achaeans-
     and that too of his own unaided self, for he is son neither to god
     nor goddess. The Argives will rue it long and deeply. Run,
     therefore, with all speed by the line of the ships, and call Ajax
     and Idomeneus. Meanwhile I will go to Nestor, and bid him rise and
     go about among the companies of our sentinels to give them their
     instructions; they will listen to him sooner than to any man, for
     his own son, and Meriones brother in arms to Idomeneus, are captains
     over them. It was to them more particularly that we gave this
     charge." 
     
     Menelaus replied, "How do I take your meaning? Am I to stay with
     them and wait your coming, or shall I return here as soon as I have
     given your orders?" "Wait," answered King Agamemnon, "for there are
     so many paths about the camp that we might miss one another. Call
     every man on your way, and bid him be stirring; name him by his
     lineage and by his father's name, give each all titular observance,
     and stand not too much upon your own dignity; we must take our full
     share of toil, for at our birth Jove laid this heavy burden upon
     us." 
     
     With these instructions he sent his brother on his way, and went on
     to Nestor shepherd of his people. He found him sleeping in his tent
     hard by his own ship; his goodly armour lay beside him- his shield,
     his two spears and his helmet; beside him also lay the gleaming
     girdle with which the old man girded himself when he armed to lead
     his people into battle- for his age stayed him not. He raised
     himself on his elbow and looked up at Agamemnon. "Who is it," said
     he, "that goes thus about the host and the ships alone and in the
     dead of night, when men are sleeping? Are you looking for one of
     your mules or for some comrade? Do not stand there and say nothing,
     but speak. What is your business?" 
     
     And Agamemnon answered, "Nestor, son of Neleus, honour to the
     Achaean name, it is I, Agamemnon son of Atreus, on whom Jove has
     laid labour and sorrow so long as there is breath in my body and my
     limbs carry me. I am thus abroad because sleep sits not upon my
     eyelids, but my heart is big with war and with the jeopardy of the
     Achaeans. I am in great fear for the Danaans. I am at sea, and
     without sure counsel; my heart beats as though it would leap out of
     my body, and my limbs fail me. If then you can do anything- for you
     too cannot sleep- let us go the round of the watch, and see whether
     they are drowsy with toil and sleeping to the neglect of their duty.
     The enemy is encamped hard and we know not but he may attack us by
     night." 
     
     Nestor replied, "Most noble son of Atreus, king of men, Agamemnon,
     Jove will not do all for Hector that Hector thinks he will; he will
     have troubles yet in plenty if Achilles will lay aside his anger. I
     will go with you, and we will rouse others, either the son of
     Tydeus, or Ulysses, or fleet Ajax and the valiant son of Phyleus.
     Some one had also better go and call Ajax and King Idomeneus, for
     their ships are not near at hand but the farthest of all. I cannot
     however refrain from blaming Menelaus, much as I love him and
     respect him- and I will say so plainly, even at the risk of
     offending you- for sleeping and leaving all this trouble to
     yourself. He ought to be going about imploring aid from all the
     princes of the Achaeans, for we are in extreme danger." 
     
     And Agamemnon answered, "Sir, you may sometimes blame him justly,
     for he is often remiss and unwilling to exert himself- not indeed
     from sloth, nor yet heedlessness, but because he looks to me and
     expects me to take the lead. On this occasion, however, he was awake
     before I was, and came to me of his own accord. I have already sent
     him to call the very men whom you have named. And now let us be
     going. We shall find them with the watch outside the gates, for it
     was there I said that we would meet them." 
     
     "In that case," answered Nestor, "the Argives will not blame him nor
     disobey his orders when he urges them to fight or gives them
     instructions." 
     
     With this he put on his shirt, and bound his sandals about his
     comely feet. He buckled on his purple coat, of two thicknesses,
     large, and of a rough shaggy texture, grasped his redoubtable
     bronze-shod spear, and wended his way along the line of the Achaean
     ships. First he called loudly to Ulysses peer of gods in counsel and
     woke him, for he was soon roused by the sound of the battle-cry. He
     came outside his tent and said, "Why do you go thus alone about the
     host, and along the line of the ships in the stillness of the night?
     What is it that you find so urgent?" And Nestor knight of Gerene
     answered, "Ulysses, noble son of Laertes, take it not amiss, for the
     Achaeans are in great straits. Come with me and let us wake some
     other, who may advise well with us whether we shall fight or fly." 
     
     On this Ulysses went at once into his tent, put his shield about his
     shoulders and came out with them. First they went to Diomed son of
     Tydeus, and found him outside his tent clad in his armour with his
     comrades sleeping round him and using their shields as pillows; as
     for their spears, they stood upright on the spikes of their butts
     that were driven into the ground, and the burnished bronze flashed
     afar like the lightning of father Jove. The hero was sleeping upon
     the skin of an ox, with a piece of fine carpet under his head;
     Nestor went up to him and stirred him with his heel to rouse him,
     upbraiding him and urging him to bestir himself. "Wake up," he
     exclaimed, "son of Tydeus. How can you sleep on in this way? Can you
     not see that the Trojans are encamped on the brow of the plain hard
     by our ships, with but a little space between us and them?" 
     
     On these words Diomed leaped up instantly and said, "Old man, your
     heart is of iron; you rest not one moment from your labours. Are
     there no younger men among the Achaeans who could go about to rouse
     the princes? There is no tiring you." 
     
     And Nestor knight of Gerene made answer, "My son, all that you have
     said is true. I have good sons, and also much people who might call
     the chieftains, but the Achaeans are in the gravest danger; life and
     death are balanced as it were on the edge of a razor. Go then, for
     you are younger than I, and of your courtesy rouse Ajax and the
     fleet son of Phyleus." 
     
     Diomed threw the skin of a great tawny lion about his shoulders- a
     skin that reached his feet- and grasped his spear. When he had
     roused the heroes, he brought them back with him; they then went the
     round of those who were on guard, and found the captains not
     sleeping at their posts but wakeful and sitting with their arms
     about them. As sheep dogs that watch their flocks when they are
     yarded, and hear a wild beast coming through the mountain forest
     towards them- forthwith there is a hue and cry of dogs and men, and
     slumber is broken- even so was sleep chased from the eyes of the
     Achaeans as they kept the watches of the wicked night, for they
     turned constantly towards the plain whenever they heard any stir
     among the Trojans. The old man was glad bade them be of good cheer.
     "Watch on, my children," said he, "and let not sleep get hold upon
     you, lest our enemies triumph over us." 
     
     With this he passed the trench, and with him the other chiefs of the
     Achaeans who had been called to the council. Meriones and the brave
     son of Nestor went also, for the princes bade them. When they were
     beyond the trench that was dug round the wall they held their
     meeting on the open ground where there was a space clear of corpses,
     for it was here that when night fell Hector had turned back from his
     onslaught on the Argives. They sat down, therefore, and held debate
     with one another. 
     
     Nestor spoke first. "My friends," said he, "is there any man bold
     enough to venture the Trojans, and cut off some straggler, or us
     news of what the enemy mean to do whether they will stay here by the
     ships away from the city, or whether, now that they have worsted the
     Achaeans, they will retire within their walls. If he could learn all
     this and come back safely here, his fame would be high as heaven in
     the mouths of all men, and he would be rewarded richly; for the
     chiefs from all our ships would each of them give him a black ewe
     with her lamb- which is a present of surpassing value- and he would
     be asked as a guest to all feasts and clan-gatherings." 
     
     They all held their peace, but Diomed of the loud war-cry spoke
     saying, "Nestor, gladly will I visit the host of the Trojans over
     against us, but if another will go with me I shall do so in greater
     confidence and comfort. When two men are together, one of them may
     see some opportunity which the other has not caught sight of; if a
     man is alone he is less full of resource, and his wit is weaker." 
     
     On this several offered to go with Diomed. The two Ajaxes, servants
     of Mars, Meriones, and the son of Nestor all wanted to go, so did
     Menelaus son of Atreus; Ulysses also wished to go among the host of
     the Trojans, for he was ever full of daring, and thereon Agamemnon
     king of men spoke thus: "Diomed," said he, "son of Tydeus, man after
     my own heart, choose your comrade for yourself- take the best man of
     those that have offered, for many would now go with you. Do not
     through delicacy reject the better man, and take the worst out of
     respect for his lineage, because he is of more royal blood." 
     
     He said this because he feared for Menelaus. Diomed answered, "If
     you bid me take the man of my own choice, how in that case can I
     fail to think of Ulysses, than whom there is no man more eager to
     face all kinds of danger- and Pallas Minerva loves him well? If he
     were to go with me we should pass safely through fire itself, for he
     is quick to see and understand." 
     
     "Son of Tydeus," replied Ulysses, "say neither good nor ill about
     me, for you are among Argives who know me well. Let us be going, for
     the night wanes and dawn is at hand. The stars have gone forward,
     two-thirds of the night are already spent, and the third is alone
     left us." 
     
     They then put on their armour. Brave Thrasymedes provided the son of
     Tydeus with a sword and a shield (for he had left his own at his
     ship) and on his head he set a helmet of bull's hide without either
     peak or crest; it is called a skull-cap and is a common headgear.
     Meriones found a bow and quiver for Ulysses, and on his head he set
     a leathern helmet that was lined with a strong plaiting of leathern
     thongs, while on the outside it was thickly studded with boar's
     teeth, well and skilfully set into it; next the head there was an
     inner lining of felt. This helmet had been stolen by Autolycus out
     of Eleon when he broke into the house of Amyntor son of Ormenus. He
     gave it to Amphidamas of Cythera to take to Scandea, and Amphidamas
     gave it as a guest-gift to Molus, who gave it to his son Meriones;
     and now it was set upon the head of Ulysses. 
     
     When the pair had armed, they set out, and left the other chieftains
     behind them. Pallas Minerva sent them a heron by the wayside upon
     their right hands; they could not see it for the darkness, but they
     heard its cry. Ulysses was glad when he heard it and prayed to
     Minerva: "Hear me," he cried, "daughter of aegis-bearing Jove, you
     who spy out all my ways and who are with me in all my hardships;
     befriend me in this mine hour, and grant that we may return to the
     ships covered with glory after having achieved some mighty exploit
     that shall bring sorrow to the Trojans." 
     
     Then Diomed of the loud war-cry also prayed: "Hear me too," said he,
     "daughter of Jove, unweariable; be with me even as you were with my
     noble father Tydeus when he went to Thebes as envoy sent by the
     Achaeans. He left the Achaeans by the banks of the river Aesopus,
     and went to the city bearing a message of peace to the Cadmeians; on
     his return thence, with your help, goddess, he did great deeds of
     daring, for you were his ready helper. Even so guide me and guard me
     now, and in return I will offer you in sacrifice a broad-browed
     heifer of a year old, unbroken, and never yet brought by man under
     the yoke. I will gild her horns and will offer her up to you in
     sacrifice." 
     
     Thus they prayed, and Pallas Minerva heard their prayer. When they
     had done praying to the daughter of great Jove, they went their way
     like two lions prowling by night amid the armour and blood-stained
     bodies of them that had fallen. 
     
     Neither again did Hector let the Trojans sleep; for he too called
     the princes and councillors of the Trojans that he might set his
     counsel before them. "Is there one," said he, "who for a great
     reward will do me the service of which I will tell you? He shall be
     well paid if he will. I will give him a chariot and a couple of
     horses, the fleetest that can be found at the ships of the Achaeans,
     if he will dare this thing; and he will win infinite honour to boot;
     he must go to the ships and find out whether they are still guarded
     as heretofore, or whether now that we have beaten them the Achaeans
     design to fly, and through sheer exhaustion are neglecting to keep
     their watches." 
     
     They all held their peace; but there was among the Trojans a certain
     man named Dolon, son of Eumedes, the famous herald- a man rich in
     gold and bronze. He was ill-favoured, but a good runner, and was an
     only son among five sisters. He it was that now addressed the
     Trojans. "I, Hector," said he, "Will to the ships and will exploit
     them. But first hold up your sceptre and swear that you will give me
     the chariot, bedight with bronze, and the horses that now carry the
     noble son of Peleus. I will make you a good scout, and will not fail
     you. I will go through the host from one end to the other till I
     come to the ship of Agamemnon, where I take it the princes of the
     Achaeans are now consulting whether they shall fight or fly." 
     
     When he had done speaking Hector held up his sceptre, and swore him
     his oath saying, "May Jove the thundering husband of Juno bear
     witness that no other Trojan but yourself shall mount those steeds,
     and that you shall have your will with them for ever." 
     
     The oath he swore was bootless, but it made Dolon more keen on
     going. He hung his bow over his shoulder, and as an overall he wore
     the skin of a grey wolf, while on his head he set a cap of ferret
     skin. Then he took a pointed javelin, and left the camp for the
     ships, but he was not to return with any news for Hector. When he
     had left the horses and the troops behind him, he made all speed on
     his way, but Ulysses perceived his coming and said to Diomed,
     "Diomed, here is some one from the camp; I am not sure whether he is
     a spy, or whether it is some thief who would plunder the bodies of
     the dead; let him get a little past us, we can then spring upon him
     and take him. If, however, he is too quick for us, go after him with
     your spear and hem him in towards the ships away from the Trojan
     camp, to prevent his getting back to the town." 
     
     With this they turned out of their way and lay down among the
     corpses. Dolon suspected nothing and soon passed them, but when he
     had got about as far as the distance by which a mule-plowed furrow
     exceeds one that has been ploughed by oxen (for mules can plow
     fallow land quicker than oxen) they ran after him, and when he heard
     their footsteps he stood still, for he made sure they were friends
     from the Trojan camp come by Hector's orders to bid him return;
     when, however, they were only a spear's cast, or less away form him,
     he saw that they were enemies as fast as his legs could take him.
     The others gave chase at once, and as a couple of well-trained
     hounds press forward after a doe or hare that runs screaming in
     front of them, even so did the son of Tydeus and Ulysses pursue
     Dolon and cut him off from his own people. But when he had fled so
     far towards the ships that he would soon have fallen in with the
     outposts, Minerva infused fresh strength into the son of Tydeus for
     fear some other of the Achaeans might have the glory of being first
     to hit him, and he might himself be only second; he therefore sprang
     forward with his spear and said, "Stand, or I shall throw my spear,
     and in that case I shall soon make an end of you." 
     
     He threw as he spoke, but missed his aim on purpose. The dart flew
     over the man's right shoulder, and then stuck in the ground. He
     stood stock still, trembling and in great fear; his teeth chattered,
     and he turned pale with fear. The two came breathless up to him and
     seized his hands, whereon he began to weep and said, "Take me alive;
     I will ransom myself; we have great store of gold, bronze, and
     wrought iron, and from this my father will satisfy you with a very
     large ransom, should he hear of my being alive at the ships of the
     Achaeans." 
     
     "Fear not," replied Ulysses, "let no thought of death be in your
     mind; but tell me, and tell me true, why are you thus going about
     alone in the dead of night away from your camp and towards the
     ships, while other men are sleeping? Is it to plunder the bodies of
     the slain, or did Hector send you to spy out what was going on at
     the ships? Or did you come here of your own mere notion?" 
     
     Dolon answered, his limbs trembling beneath him: "Hector, with his
     vain flattering promises, lured me from my better judgement. He said
     he would give me the horses of the noble son of Peleus and his
     bronze-bedizened chariot; he bade me go through the darkness of the
     flying night, get close to the enemy, and find out whether the ships
     are still guarded as heretofore, or whether, now that we have beaten
     them, the Achaeans design to fly, and through sheer exhaustion are
     neglecting to keep their watches." 
     
     Ulysses smiled at him and answered, "You had indeed set your heart
     upon a great reward, but the horses of the descendant of Aeacus are
     hardly to be kept in hand or driven by any other mortal man than
     Achilles himself, whose mother was an immortal. But tell me, and
     tell me true, where did you leave Hector when you started? Where
     lies his armour and his horses? How, too, are the watches and
     sleeping-ground of the Trojans ordered? What are their plans? Will
     they stay here by the ships and away from the city, or now that they
     have worsted the Achaeans, will they retire within their walls?" 
     
     And Dolon answered, "I will tell you truly all. Hector and the other
     councillors are now holding conference by the monument of great
     Ilus, away from the general tumult; as for the guards about which
     you ask me, there is no chosen watch to keep guard over the host.
     The Trojans have their watchfires, for they are bound to have them;
     they, therefore, are awake and keep each other to their duty as
     sentinels; but the allies who have come from other places are asleep
     and leave it to the Trojans to keep guard, for their wives and
     children are not here." 
     
     Ulysses then said, "Now tell me; are they sleeping among the Trojan
     troops, or do they lie apart? Explain this that I may understand
     it." 
     
     "I will tell you truly all," replied Dolon. "To the seaward lie the
     Carians, the Paeonian bowmen, the Leleges, the Cauconians, and the
     noble Pelasgi. The Lysians and proud Mysians, with the Phrygians and
     Meonians, have their place on the side towards Thymbra; but why ask
     about an this? If you want to find your way into the host of the
     Trojans, there are the Thracians, who have lately come here and lie
     apart from the others at the far end of the camp; and they have
     Rhesus son of Eioneus for their king. His horses are the finest and
     strongest that I have ever seen, they are whiter than snow and
     fleeter than any wind that blows. His chariot is bedight with silver
     and gold, and he has brought his marvellous golden armour, of the
     rarest workmanship- too splendid for any mortal man to carry, and
     meet only for the gods. Now, therefore, take me to the ships or bind
     me securely here, until you come back and have proved my words
     whether they be false or true." 
     
     Diomed looked sternly at him and answered, "Think not, Dolon, for
     all the good information you have given us, that you shall escape
     now you are in our hands, for if we ransom you or let you go, you
     will come some second time to the ships of the Achaeans either as a
     spy or as an open enemy, but if I kill you and an end of you, you
     will give no more trouble." 
     
     On this Dolon would have caught him by the beard to beseech him
     further, but Diomed struck him in the middle of his neck with his
     sword and cut through both sinews so that his head fell rolling in
     the dust while he was yet speaking. They took the ferret-skin cap
     from his head, and also the wolf-skin, the bow, and his long spear.
     Ulysses hung them up aloft in honour of Minerva the goddess of
     plunder, and prayed saying, "Accept these, goddess, for we give them
     to you in preference to all the gods in Olympus: therefore speed us
     still further towards the horses and sleeping-ground of the
     Thracians." 
     
     With these words he took the spoils and set them upon a tamarisk
     tree, and they marked the place by pulling up reeds and gathering
     boughs of tamarisk that they might not miss it as they came back
     through the' flying hours of darkness. The two then went onwards
     amid the fallen armour and the blood, and came presently to the
     company of Thracian soldiers, who were sleeping, tired out with
     their day's toil; their goodly armour was lying on the ground beside
     them all orderly in three rows, and each man had his yoke of horses
     beside him. Rhesus was sleeping in the middle, and hard by him his
     horses were made fast to the topmost rim of his chariot. Ulysses
     from some way off saw him and said, "This, Diomed, is the man, and
     these are the horses about which Dolon whom we killed told us. Do
     your very utmost; dally not about your armour, but loose the horses
     at once- or else kill the men yourself, while I see to the horses." 
     
     Thereon Minerva put courage into the heart of Diomed, and he smote
     them right and left. They made a hideous groaning as they were being
     hacked about, and the earth was red with their blood. As a lion
     springs furiously upon a flock of sheep or goats when he finds
     without their shepherd, so did the son of Tydeus set upon the
     Thracian soldiers till he had killed twelve. As he killed them
     Ulysses came and drew them aside by their feet one by one, that the
     horses might go forward freely without being frightened as they
     passed over the dead bodies, for they were not yet used to them.
     When the son of Tydeus came to the king, he killed him too (which
     made thirteen), as he was breathing hard, for by the counsel of
     Minerva an evil dream, the seed of Oeneus, hovered that night over
     his head. Meanwhile Ulysses untied the horses, made them fast one to
     another and drove them off, striking them with his bow, for he had
     forgotten to take the whip from the chariot. Then he whistled as a
     sign to Diomed. 
     
     But Diomed stayed where he was, thinking what other daring deed he
     might accomplish. He was doubting whether to take the chariot in
     which the king's armour was lying, and draw it out by the pole, or
     to lift the armour out and carry it off; or whether again, he should
     not kill some more Thracians. While he was thus hesitating Minerva
     came up to him and said, "Get back, Diomed, to the ships or you may
     be driven thither, should some other god rouse the Trojans." 
     
     Diomed knew that it was the goddess, and at once sprang upon the
     horses. Ulysses beat them with his bow and they flew onward to the
     ships of the Achaeans. 
     
     But Apollo kept no blind look-out when he saw Minerva with the son
     of Tydeus. He was angry with her, and coming to the host of the
     Trojans he roused Hippocoon, a counsellor of the Thracians and a
     noble kinsman of Rhesus. He started up out of his sleep and saw that
     the horses were no longer in their place, and that the men were
     gasping in their death-agony; on this he groaned aloud, and called
     upon his friend by name. Then the whole Trojan camp was in an uproar
     as the people kept hurrying together, and they marvelled at the
     deeds of the heroes who had now got away towards the ships. 
     
     When they reached the place where they had killed Hector's scout,
     Ulysses stayed his horses, and the son of Tydeus, leaping to the
     ground, placed the blood-stained spoils in the hands of Ulysses and
     remounted: then he lashed the horses onwards, and they flew forward
     nothing loth towards the ships as though of their own free will.
     Nestor was first to hear the tramp of their feet. "My friends," said
     he, "princes and counsellors of the Argives, shall I guess right or
     wrong?- but I must say what I think: there is a sound in my ears as
     of the tramp of horses. I hope it may Diomed and Ulysses driving in
     horses from the Trojans, but I much fear that the bravest of the
     Argives may have come to some harm at their hands." 
     
     He had hardly done speaking when the two men came in and dismounted,
     whereon the others shook hands right gladly with them and
     congratulated them. Nestor knight of Gerene was first to question
     them. "Tell me," said he, "renowned Ulysses, how did you two come by
     these horses? Did you steal in among the Trojan forces, or did some
     god meet you and give them to you? They are like sunbeams. I am well
     conversant with the Trojans, for old warrior though I am I never
     hold back by the ships, but I never yet saw or heard of such horses
     as these are. Surely some god must have met you and given them to
     you, for you are both of dear to Jove, and to Jove's daughter
     Minerva." 
     
     And Ulysses answered, "Nestor son of Neleus, honour to the Achaean
     name, heaven, if it so will, can give us even better horses than
     these, for the gods are far mightier than we are. These horses,
     however, about which you ask me, are freshly come from Thrace.
     Diomed killed their king with the twelve bravest of his companions.
     Hard by the ships we took a thirteenth man- a scout whom Hector and
     the other Trojans had sent as a spy upon our ships." 
     
     He laughed as he spoke and drove the horses over the ditch, while
     the other Achaeans followed him gladly. When they reached the
     strongly built quarters of the son of Tydeus, they tied the horses
     with thongs of leather to the manger, where the steeds of Diomed
     stood eating their sweet corn, but Ulysses hung the blood-stained
     spoils of Dolon at the stern of his ship, that they might prepare a
     sacred offering to Minerva. As for themselves, they went into the
     sea and washed the sweat from their bodies, and from their necks and
     thighs. When the sea-water had taken all the sweat from off them,
     and had refreshed them, they went into the baths and washed
     themselves. After they had so done and had anointed themselves with
     oil, they sat down to table, and drawing from a full mixing-bowl,
     made a drink-offering of wine to Minerva.