BOOK XXXIX

In the thirty-ninth, you see Deriades after the flood trying to desert the host of fire- This story told, Hermes went into the heavens unapproachable, leaving joy and amazement to his fusion of the disordered stars, and Phaethon's fall, how he slipt down among the Celts into the Western river, firescorched, the foreign ships were arriving, which the Rhadamanes had been navigating over the tranquil sea, guiding their columns on the deep towards the Indian War of ships, splashing into the deep with alternating motions, oarsmen of battle ; to suit the haste of Lyaios, a following wind whistled against the ships. And Lycos led them driving his car over the waters, and skimmed over the flood, where the horses' hooves left no mark. saw with angry eye the sails of the ships like a cloud ; and in his overweening pride, as he heard that an Arabian shipwright had built battle-rousing ships, he swore to make war on the woodcutting Arabs, and threatened to mow down the Rhadamanes with decrifv hopL, avv BcjprjKi, avv oXxdat, a AlOl qy.

stroying steel and to devastate the city of Lycurgos.' The fearless Indians trembled at sight of the fleet, when they surveyed the seabeaten armada, until even the knees of daring Deriades gave way. With a forced laugh on a calm face, the Indian king ordered men to be marshalled from three hundred islands along the unapproachable slopes of his elephantfeeding land. In haste a herald went on his way, travelling from land to land with many a twist and turn, and a fleet came with speed from the many scattered isles at the summons of their king : boldly he stretched his neck, and drew the helmeted ships into the maritime war, with words of encouragement to all his men which he uttered in high-hearted tones : now fight again with confidence ! Bring flaming fire into battle, light unquenchable torches, that I may burn those newly come ships with blazing brand and sink in the sea that waterfaring host, with spear, with corselet, with ships, with Dionysos ! If Bacchos is a god, I will destroy Bacchos with my fire. Is it not enough, that he has sprinkled those cunning poisons in the water and reddened my Hydaspes with Thessalian flowers ? That I have looked on him in silence, and let myself quietly behold the yellow streams of my maddened river ? For if that stream came from a foreign river, if the warlike Indian Hydaspes were not my own father, then I would have filled that flood with heaps of dust to drown the viny stink of Dionysos ; I would have walked upon the drunken stream of my father and crossed unwetting water with dusty feet, as once it is said among the Argives that Earthshaker made o In his anger because Phoroneus and the oCber priacM of Argos adjudged their land to Hera ; see [ ApoUodoTM) tt. 14 water dry, and a horse's hoof left his prints on the dust of river Inachos dAed up." his birth. For what Olympian aegis of Cronion does he brandish ? What spark has he of Zeus-thrown thunderbolt .'' What heavenly lightning of his father's does he lift ? No Cronides equips himself for war with vineleaf and ivy ! I cannot compare the music of thunder to rattUng cymbals. I will not call the thyrsus anything like the thunderbolt of Zeus, I will not allow an earthly corselet to be equal to the clouds of Zeus. How can I liken a dappled fawnskin to the pattern of the stars ? — But you will say, he received the grapes and the Uquid wine as gifts from Cronion his father, who blesses the crops with increase. Well, Zeus gave Olympian nectar to one of Trojan blood, a country clown, a cowTnan, Ganymede the cupbearer, and wine is not equal to nectar : thyrsus, you have the worst of it !

Bacchos feasts on earth with Satyrs ; Ganymede banquets with the heavenly immortals. If this mortal had a heavenly father, he would have touched one board with Zeus and the Blessed. I have heard how Zeus once gave his throne and the sceptre of Olympos as prerogative to Zagreus the ancient Dionysos — Hghtning to Zagreus, vine to wineface ' He spoke, and away to battle. The people rushed together armed with spears, with shields, and now transferred their last hope of victory from land to sea. Then Dionysos. called to his leaders with whose Hfe is the works of war, whose hope is conflict ! fiL are Svafi€V€€aaiv aXi'rrTOirjTO¥ 'Eruui, it Make haste now — destroy the Indian race on the sea as well, and finish your land victory with another by sea ! Come, take in hand those messengers of seawarfare, spears coupled together with double rings, welded seapikes with bronze fixed at the mouth, and join sea-terrifying battle with your enemies — get in before them, that Deriades may not hft his fireblazing torch and burn up the warlike timbers of our ships. Fight without fear, Mimallones !

For the hopes of our seafighting adversaries are all empty boasts. If for all his efforts the Indian chieftain could not finish off his war on land, seated on the neck of mountainous elephants, near the clouds, unapproachable, unwounded, a neighbour to the sky, then I never lack champions, I will call on no other helper after my father Cronion, charioteer of sea and sky ; or if it please me, I will arm Poseidon the brother of my Cronides, to wipe out all the Indian host with his trident, and I have as my ally Earthshaker's offspring Glaucos, the broadbearded champion, as neighbour of miy own Thebes and seaborn inhabitant of the land of Aonian Anthedon" — yes, Glaucos I have and Phorcys. And Melicertes will drown the vessel of Deriades flogged by the sea ; he shall glorify Dionysos his kinsman, for his mother once nursed baby Bacchos, since Ino of the sea gave one milk to both Palaimon and Dionysos. I am also the friend of Proteus the Old Man prophetic, who told with a voice out of the deep waters my coming victory on the sea. My Thetis also prepares the daughters of Nereus for war, and in the battle my Ino is arming to help the Bassarids. Aiolos too I will arm for warfare, that I fUfiv€TO) rip€fi€atv Bpauv AioXo , ificZi StO A4 may behold East Wind shooting arrows and North Wind hurling javelins — North Wind goodson of my champion « and the spoiler of the Marathonian bride, South Wind the Ethiopian defender of Lyaios.

West Wind also much more shall destroy the ships of my adversaries with stormy tumult, for he has to wife Iris the messenger of my father Zeus. No, better let bold Aiolos keep away from the battle of Indian and thyrsus and remain in peace and quiet ; let him tie up tight his windy bag by its usual cord, that the winds may not be heroes on the deep and slay the Indians with their blasts. I will finish the battle shaking a ship-destroying thyrsus." tains. Already the trumpet was there as harbinger of war, and the pipes of war gave out their battlerousing tune collecting the army. The stricken shield sounded with bronze-rattling noise for the seafight, and the host-assembling syrinx mingled its piercing tones, and Pan's answering Echo came from the sea with faint warlike whispers instead of her rocky the noise of clamour arose. The host fought with their accustomed skill, and surrounded all the enemy in ring; the Indian fleet was in the middle girt about with an unbroken circle of ships like a shoal of fish enclosed in a net. Then Aiacos beginning the battle cried aloud with inspired voice this prophecy of the watery strife at Salamis for the descendants of Aiacos : our voice of prayer, and driven away seedless drought Hapvdficvov GTpaTifjai kcu oXxdai Aijpca& of.

from the broad threshingfloors of our country,' and brought Hfegiving water upon the thirsty land, then give us again an equal boon now at last, and glorify me here also with water ! Then men may say when they see our victory, ' As Zeus showed honour to his son on land, so he shows him honour on the sea.' Some other man of Achaia may say, Aiacos is both Indianslayer and lifebringer at once ; he both cuts off his enemies' heads and brings fruit to the furrow, giving joy to Demeter and a merry heart to Dionysos.' Protect thou the sailing of our ship ! As I brought lifegiving water to the hollow of the parche(f earth, so now I arm this flood from the hollows of the deep to bring death, battUng against the armies and ships battle ! Send me an eagle, the auspicious herald of my birth, on the right hand of my captains and your own Dionysos ! Let another omen come on the left for my adversaries, and let these two be opposite tokens for both. Let me see the one sailing along with robber's wing and lifting a huge horned serpent, dead and torn by sharp points of his keen talons, proclaiming the end of my horned enemy : let the other come to my host of adversaries blackhued, with dark vings, foretelling the carnage of the Indians, the black image of self-inflicted death.

If it be thy pleasure, foretell my victory with claps of thunder, and send the lightning which lighted the birth of Bromios to honour your son once again with fire, and let thunderbolts strike the helmeted ships prayers ; therefore, when a great drought visited Greece, he was asked to intercede for the rest, and did so successfully ; of the foe. Yes, Father, remember Aigina, and do not shame the bridegroom of thy bride, the lovebird of like feather with this ! " theus also cast up his eye to the heavenly path of the ever-returning Bear, and prayed to his goodson in these words : a helping blast to your bride's father in battle ! Give victory by sea as the price of your bride ! Bring a ship-stirring wind for Bromios's fleet and grant a boon to Erechtheus and Dionysos alike. For the ships of Deriades, flog the maddened deep into waves with your blast and arm your tempests — for you are well practised in fighting, as one whose habitation is Thrace, well-practised as Ares himself — then drive a stormy wind upon the host of our enemies, arm yourself against Deriades with your icy spear. Raise a hurricane of war against our enemies, shoot the foe with your frozen shafts, and keep faith with Zeus and Pallas and Dionysos. Remember Cecropia with its lovely girls, where the women weave with their shuttle the love-story of your wedding. Honour Ilissos who led the bridal train, when the robber breezes made robbery of your Attic bride, sitting unshaken upon your unmoving shoulder.

our adversaries, the East Wind their neighbour: but I fear not bold Euros in battle, because all the winged breezes that blow are servants of Boreas. Let Corymbasos the chief of the Ethiopians never return to the arable land of the south ; let him be brought " Alluding to the eagle-shape which Zeus took to carry oflF Toiov CTTOJ pooojv dAi5iv€o iT ttTo xopfnff low, although he is helped by his own hot Ethiopian South, let him drink the cold water of death beyond the sea. I care nothing for Zephyros, when Boreas is under arms. Show that you are of one heart with your goodfather. From heaven by your side will come Poseidon fighting for my Bacchiad armies with his trident, and Athena, she helping her countrymen, he his brother's son ; and fiery Hephaistos honouring the blood of Erechtheus will come full welcome to the watery war, swinging a warlike torch against the ships of Deriades. Grant me victory on the sea also, and after victory let Erechtheus take his people home to Cecropia unhurt, and let Athens chant of Boreas and Oreithyia." eddies of the brine with well-skilled spear — as a man of Marathon " he was in love with seafighting. In that tumult of many oars Ares was then an excellent mariner. Rout held rudder in hand. Terror was pilot of the fray and threw off the hawsers of the javelining rocks from the shore upon the ships ; Euryalos shouted the warcry, and Halimedes high as the sky dashed raging into battle with brineblustering tumult. In both armies the sea-battle roared after the conflict on land, while Indian ships charged Bacchic ships with brineblustering yells. There was carnage on both sides, and the waves boiled with gore ; a great company fell from both armies, the back of the blue sea grew red with newly -shed blood.

avTOfxarrj XcxfKt aaa hi vharo hrXt€ in Xii( mess of carnage, and navigated the sea swollen and floating. The merciless winds dragged with them the crowds of dead bodies, tossed about by the surge with breezes to ferry them. Many fell of themselves under the whirlwind of battle, and slipt into the flood, then drank of the bitter brine, for they could not help it, and weighed down with their corselets knew the threads of the Fate who drowned them in the waters. The black water covered the black livid bodies of the swollen dead with seaweed in the depths ; slimy mud covered coat of mail and seafaring wearer together ; the sea was their grave. Many again had sepulture in the maw of seamonsters, or the darting seal entombed the inanimate corpse in her fishy throat and belched out a stream of brownish blood. The sea took the armour of the dead ; the plumed helmet worked loose from the strap and floated upon the water by itself, its owner newly slain ; many a round shield swam at random on the flood with soaking sling driven by the gale, and under the surface of the waves masses of red foam bubbled up from the grey brine, marking the spread of white with streaks gore ; Leucothea cried out for joy, she the nurse of Lyaios, raising a proud neck, and the Nymph crowned her hair with flowers of seaweed for the Indianslaying victory ; and Thetis unveiled peeping up out of the sea, with her hands resting on Doris and Panopeia, turned a gladsome eye towards Dionysos with his thyrsus.

half visible through the bosom of the deep sea, " Nonnos follows the story aooording to which wrinkling the calm surface, and looking upon the sea-afFrighting battle of murderous Cyclops she was shaken, and her cheeks changed colour from fear, for she thought she saw Polyphemos fighting for Lyaios against Deriades in this Indian War ; and in dismay she besought Aphrodite of the sea to protect the heroic son of Poseidon, and she prayed the loving father Seabluehair to defend his son Polyphemos in the battle." The daughters of Nereus gathered round the bearer of the deepsea trident ; Earthshaker the seagod leaning upon his trident watched the neighbouring conflict, and scanning the host of corseleted Dionysos, he observed with jealousy the valour of another Cyclops, and loudly reproached Bacchos for disturbing the waters with battle : have brought into your war, and left only one far from the battle ! Your conflict has lasted through many cycles, seven years, feeding the varying hopes of endless strife, because all the foremost champions of your great contest lack one, Polyphemos the invincible. If my son the Cyclops had come to your conflict, and brandished the prong of my trident, his father's, then indeed as the ally of Dionysos he would have pierced the chest of horned Deriades on this field — he would have destroyed a great and terrible host with my threetooth, and slain the whole Indian nation in one day ! Before this another son of mine with a hundred hands helped your Father to destroy the Titans, Aigaion manyarm, when he loved Polyphemos in return (contrast Theocritos xi.) and bore put Cronos to flight and stretched the farspread legion of his high-climbing arms and shadowed the sun with hair flying high over his neck, so that the grim Titans were driven from Olympos cringing, before the attack of Briareos and all his and Thoosa « sank down her cheeks in shame that lovesick Polyphemos was not present in the battle.

conflict, Nereus saw his familiar sea flooded with blood ; Earthshaker was amazed at the brownish surface of the deep, as he saw fishes eating men, and the back of the neighbouring sea bridged over dry with the heaps of corpses . . . The troops of Bacchos poured upon the swarthy people. struck down in the fight by swords and sharp arrows. One had a shaft lodged over the flank; one was struck by a bronze spear over the round of his temple, the wound running deep into the cloven head. Great numbers of the farscattered oarsmen on both sides cleft the dark flood with continuous strokes of alternating oars, and whitened it with foam ; but the labour of the hurrying oarsmen was in vain, for the commander cut the ropes with his sword and severed with aiding steel the tangled mass of lashings.'') " This seems to be a description of a ship getting away from another which has grappled her. Something is lost to the effect that Dionysos's followers caught and killed those who were rowing away. But the whole paragraph may be out of place, for in the next lines the Indians are still fighting TTouAvTToSo? a#coAiou n purX xBivni, tcomiftpotf ttft shafted arrows whizzing unerring through the air.

One struck full upon a mast, one ran noisily through a flapping sail quick as the wind, another pierced the forestays, another fell and stuck in the mastbox ; an arrow again flying through the air hit the end of the yard which supported the sail, another stuck straight up on the foredeck. Others came near the helmsman, but missed the way in which they had been sent and scraped the top of the moving rudder. Phlogios the famous archer drew a shot through the air, and hit the ship's deck but missed Lyaios. You could see a winged arrow fly and skim over the sea, then embraced in the feelers of a curling squid. Many missed, but one with Erythraian steel aimed at Dionysos hit a pilot-fish. Corymbasos cast a lance at a Satyr's tail, but the lance missed him and scored the forked tail of a waterfaring fish with its sharp point. Deriades aimed his steel at a target impossible to hit, as he cast at unwounded Dionysos ; the deadly point missed Bacchos and got to work on the backbone of a dolphin, where the curving neck of the fish joins the bristUng back — the fish leapt of itself in its usual curving course, and already half-dead skipt with the leap of a dancing Fate.

On all sides many a fish with pierced back tumbled about in his dance of death. medes high uphfted upon his feet grasped the crag of a seaborn cliff and threw it at the foe — a stray ship sank, struck by the rounded mass of hard stone. Or again, a spear cast over the sea at close quarters joined ship to ship and coupled the pair together, holding two vessels fast in a common bond, while they were all crushed together in a cloud — great was the clamour on both sides. one facing the backbone of the scorching East Wind, one by the wing of the rainy Sou'west, one in the region of the North, one in the South. Morrheus with alternating rushes marched kneeswift from ship to ship and scattered the seascared array of Bassarids, a conquering hero equally on the sea ; but Euios wounded him with his thyrsus and checked his valour on the deep — then Morrheus in agony was gone back to the city.

was being healed by the godly hand of a painquelling Brahman with Apollo's art, who cooed a verbose ditty of solemn incantation, so long the Lydian wargod prevailed against his enemies. before their sails, and the struggle of the two navies in the brineplashing battle was different. For those of the enemy who were struck by volleys of hard stones, or deadly leaves, or spears or swords, paddled the black water with unaccustomed hands and found a grave in the sea with staggering steps ; but if any warrior of Bromios fell stricken into the brine, he darted out his arms and swam cutting the waves with seabattUng hands, as he fought the surge with brineblustering noise and cleft water instead vtjvgI 8 in dvTipioiaiv cVcV x oiraXtfi inyfif fight, preparing a watery victory for Dionysos ; Seabluehair armed him mth his trident of the deep to fight the foe, and Melicertes madly drove the unwetted car of Poseidon. The winds also rode on four tempests over the sea, armed for the fray and towering up the waves, with a will to destroy the lines of their enemies' ships, these to help Deriades, those Lyaios : Zephyros was ready, Notos whistled against Euros, Boreas brought up his Thracian breeze as a counterblast and flogged the back of the maddened sea. Discord guided the warlike navy of Deriades and led the battle ; but Victory filled out the sails of Dionysos with a hand which bore death for the Indians. Nereus pressed his conch of war with dripping lips and boomed a tune through the sea-trumpet, and Thetis shrilled a tune of warlike sound and defended Lyaios vith her father's torch invented a useful stratagem of war. He set fire to his own long vessel on purpose ; then the vessel was sent adrift bounding over the sea against the enemy at the command of Bacchos. The errant bonfire floated round of itself by wayward turns from ship to ship, and setting alight here and there the long line of far-scattered vessels. The Nereid unveiled seeing the glare of the fire-shotten sea dived into the depths, and fled from liquid fire through to the land ; and Phaethon laughed, because Ares in the seafight had fled again before the fire of Hephaistos, as once before he fled from his chains. ' And Deriades when he saw the flame, fast as the wind fled to the land, wagging his knees too quick to catch, as he tried to escape the watery assault of of fine chains, Od. viii. 296; Helios (Phaethon) spied on