Iphimedeia; she th' embrace profess'd Of Neptune to have shared, to whom she bore Two sons; short-lived they were, but godlike both, 370 Otus and Ephialtes far-renown'd. Orion sole except, all-bounteous Earth Ne'er nourish'd forms for beauty or for size To be admired as theirs; in his ninth year Each measur'd, broad, nine cubits, and the height Was found nine ells of each. Against the Gods Themselves they threaten'd war, and to excite The din of battle in the realms above. To the Olympian summit they essay'd To heave up Ossa, and to Ossa's crown 380 Branch-waving Pelion; so to climb the heav'ns. Nor had they failed, maturer grown in might, To accomplish that emprize, but them the son[46] Of radiant-hair'd Latona and of Jove Slew both, ere yet the down of blooming youth Thick-sprung, their cheeks or chins had tufted o'er. Phædra I also there, and Procris saw, And Ariadne for her beauty praised, Whose sire was all-wise Minos. Theseus her From Crete toward the fruitful region bore 390 Of sacred Athens, but enjoy'd not there, For, first, she perish'd by Diana's shafts In Dia, Bacchus witnessing her crime.[47] Mæra and Clymene I saw beside, And odious Eriphyle, who received The price in gold of her own husband's life. But all the wives of Heroes whom I saw, And all their daughters can I not relate; Night, first, would fail; and even now the hour Calls me to rest either on board my bark, 400 Or here; meantime, I in yourselves confide, And in the Gods to shape my conduct home. He ceased; the whole assembly silent sat, Charm'd into ecstacy by his discourse Throughout the twilight hall, till, at the last, Areta iv'ry arm'd them thus bespake. Phæacians! how appears he in your eyes This stranger, graceful as he is in port, In stature noble, and in mind discrete? My guest he is, but ye all share with me 410 That honour; him dismiss not, therefore, hence With haste, nor from such indigence withhold Supplies gratuitous; for ye are rich, And by kind heav'n with rare possessions blest. The Hero, next, Echeneus spake, a Chief Now ancient, eldest of Phæacia's sons. Your prudent Queen, my friends, speaks not beside Her proper scope, but as beseems her well. Her voice obey; yet the effect of all Must on Alcinoüs himself depend. 420 To whom Alcinoüs, thus, the King, replied. I ratify the word. So shall be done, As surely as myself shall live supreme O'er all Phæacia's maritime domain. Then let the guest, though anxious to depart, Wait till the morrow, that I may complete The whole donation. His safe conduct home Shall be the gen'ral care, but mine in Chief,