So he
asserted, and sat back down; but among them arose the
hero
Atrides, ruler of far-flung realms Agamemnon,
103 burning with
outrage, his dark heart filled to the brim with fury,
both of his
glowering eyes ablaze like a raging bonfire—
setting his
glare on Calchas at first, he lashed out against him:
“Seer of
evil! You’ve never once spoken of anything
good, yet
evil is
dear to your heart when you make your predictions and forecasts—
never a
word that profits, and no good ever accomplished.
109 Now, with the
Danaans gathered in council, you prophesy once more,
telling
them now that the far-shooting archer has given us all grief
just
because I kept the girl, and not the magnificent ransom.
Yes, it is
true that I want her, to have her at home in my household;
true, I
would rather have her than even my own Clytemnestra,
dearly
beloved wife, for the girl is no lesser than she is,
115 neither in
body nor bearing, in mind nor handiwork either.
Still, I am
willing to give her back, if that would be better.
I want my
people to live on in safety, rather than perish.
Get me a
prize to replace her at once, though, so I’m not the only
Argive who
goes unrewarded by honor, for that would be shameful.
All of you
see it, that my prize goes to another purpose.”
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