lad
enough then to take your fill of roast meats and to drink wine as long
as you please, whereas now you would not care though you saw ten
columns of Achaeans engage the enemy in front of you."

Ulysses glared at him and answered, "Son of Atreus, what are you
talking about? How can you say that we are slack? When the Achaeans are
in full fight with the Trojans, you shall see, if you care to do so,
that the father of Telemachus will join battle with the foremost of
them. You are talking idly."

When Agamemnon saw that Ulysses was angry, he smiled pleasantly at him
and withdrew his words. "Ulysses," said he, "noble son of Laertes,
excellent in all good counsel, I have neither fault to find nor orders
to give you, for I know your heart is right, and that you and I are of
a mind. Enough; I will make you amends for what I have said, and if any
ill has now been spoken may the gods bring it to nothing."

He then left them and went on to others. Presently he saw the son of
Tydeus, noble Diomed, standing by his chariot and horses, with
Sthenelus the son of Capaneus beside him; whereon he began to upbraid
him. "Son of Tydeus," he said, "why stand you cowering here upon the
brink of battle? Tydeus did not shrink thus, but was ever ahead of his
men when leading them on against the foe--so, at least, say they that
saw him in battle, for I never set eyes upon him myself. They say that
there was no man like him. He came once to Mycenae, not as an enemy but
as a guest, in company with Polynices to recruit his forces, for they
were levying war against the strong city of Thebes, and prayed our
people for a body of picked men to help them. The men of Mycenae were
willing to let them have one, but Jove dissuaded them by showing them
unfavourable omens. Tydeus, therefore, and Polynices went their way.
When they had got as far the deep-meadowed and rush-grown banks of the
Aesopus, the Achaeans sent Tydeus as their envoy, and he found the
Cadmeans gathered in great numbers to a banquet in the house of
Eteocles. Stranger though he was, he knew no fear on finding himself
single-handed among so many, but challenged them to contests of all
kinds, and in each one of them was at once victorious, so mightily did
Minerva help him. The Cadmeans were incensed at his success, and set a
force of fifty youths with two captains--the godlike hero Maeon, son of
Haemon, and Polyphontes, son of Autophonus--at their head, to lie in
wait for him on his retur