as a debt
owing should come; and the leading Pylians assembled to divide the
spoils. There were many to whom the Epeans owed chattels, for we men of
Pylus were few and had been oppressed with wrong; in former years
Hercules had come, and had laid his hand heavy upon us, so that all our
best men had perished. Neleus had had twelve sons, but I alone was
left; the others had all been killed. The Epeans presuming upon all
this had looked down upon us and had done us much evil. My father chose
a herd of cattle and a great flock of sheep--three hundred in all--and
he took their shepherds with him, for there was a great debt due to him
in Elis, to wit four horses, winners of prizes. They and their chariots
with them had gone to the games and were to run for a tripod, but King
Augeas took them, and sent back their driver grieving for the loss of
his horses. Neleus was angered by what he had both said and done, and
took great value in return, but he divided the rest, that no man might
have less than his full share.

"Thus did we order all things, and offer sacrifices to the gods
throughout the city; but three days afterwards the Epeans came in a
body, many in number, they and their chariots, in full array, and with
them the two Moliones in their armour, though they were still lads and
unused to fighting. Now there is a certain town, Thryoessa, perched
upon a rock on the river Alpheus, the border city of Pylus. This they
would destroy, and pitched their camp about it, but when they had
crossed their whole plain, Minerva darted down by night from Olympus
and bade us set ourselves in array; and she found willing soldiers in
Pylos, for the men meant fighting. Neleus would not let me arm, and hid
my horses, for he said that as yet I could know nothing about war;
nevertheless Minerva so ordered the fight that, all on foot as I was, I
fought among our mounted forces and vied with the foremost of them.
There is a river Minyeius that falls into the sea near Arene, and there
they that were mounted (and I with them) waited till morning, when the
companies of foot soldiers came up with us in force. Thence in full
panoply and equipment we came towards noon to the sacred waters of the
Alpheus, and there we offered victims to almighty Jove, with a bull to
Alpheus, another to Neptune, and a herd-heifer to Minerva. After this
we took supper in our companies, and laid us down to rest each in his
armour by the river.

"The Epeans were beleagueri