his wife, the grandest far in beauty among the
deathless goddesses--most glorious is she whom wily Cronos with her
mother Rhea did beget: and Zeus, whose wisdom is everlasting, made her
his chaste and careful wife.

(ll. 45-52) But upon Aphrodite herself Zeus cast sweet desire to be
joined in love with a mortal man, to the end that, very soon, not
even she should be innocent of a mortal's love; lest laughter-loving
Aphrodite should one day softly smile and say mockingly among all the
gods that she had joined the gods in love with mortal women who bare
sons of death to the deathless gods, and had mated the goddesses with
mortal men.

(ll. 53-74) And so he put in her heart sweet desire for Anchises who
was tending cattle at that time among the steep hills of many-fountained
Ida, and in shape was like the immortal gods. Therefore, when
laughter-loving Aphrodite saw him, she loved him, and terribly desire
seized her in her heart. She went to Cyprus, to Paphos, where her
precinct is and fragrant altar, and passed into her sweet-smelling
temple. There she went in and put to the glittering doors, and there the
Graces bathed her with heavenly oil such as blooms upon the bodies of
the eternal gods--oil divinely sweet, which she had by her, filled with
fragrance. And laughter-loving Aphrodite put on all her rich clothes,
and when she had decked herself with gold, she left sweet-smelling
Cyprus and went in haste towards Troy, swiftly travelling high up among
the clouds. So she came to many-fountained Ida, the mother of wild
creatures and went straight to the homestead across the mountains. After
her came grey wolves, fawning on her, and grim-eyed lions, and bears,
and fleet leopards, ravenous for deer: and she was glad in heart to
see them, and put desire in their breasts, so that they all mated, two
together, about the shadowy coombes.

(ll. 75-88) [2525] But she herself came to the neat-built shelters, and
him she found left quite alone in the homestead--the hero Anchises who
was comely as the gods. All the others were following the herds over the
grassy pastures, and he, left quite alone in the homestead, was roaming
hither and thither and playing thrillingly upon the lyre. And Aphrodite,
the daughter of Zeus stood before him, being like a pure maiden in
height and mien, that he should not be frightened when he took heed of
her with his eyes. Now when Anchises saw her, he marked her well and
wondered at her mien and height a