When they saw her they all of them came
up to her, and held out their cups to her by way of greeting. She let
the others be, but took the cup offered her by lovely Themis, who was
first to come running up to her. "Juno," said she, "why are you here?
And you seem troubled--has your husband the son of Saturn been
frightening you?"

And Juno answered, "Themis, do not ask me about it. You know what a
proud and cruel disposition my husband has. Lead the gods to table,
where you and all the immortals can hear the wicked designs which he
has avowed. Many a one, mortal and immortal, will be angered by them,
however peaceably he may be feasting now."

On this Juno sat down, and the gods were troubled throughout the house
of Jove. Laughter sat on her lips but her brow was furrowed with care,
and she spoke up in a rage. "Fools that we are," she cried, "to be thus
madly angry with Jove; we keep on wanting to go up to him and stay him
by force or by persuasion, but he sits aloof and cares for nobody, for
he knows that he is much stronger than any other of the immortals. Make
the best, therefore, of whatever ills he may choose to send each one of
you; Mars, I take it, has had a taste of them already, for his son
Ascalaphus has fallen in battle--the man whom of all others he loved
most dearly and whose father he owns himself to be."

When he heard this Mars smote his two sturdy thighs with the flat of
his hands, and said in anger, "Do not blame me, you gods that dwell in
heaven, if I go to the ships of the Achaeans and avenge the death of my
son, even though it end in my being struck by Jove's lightning and
lying in blood and dust among the corpses."

As he spoke he gave orders to yoke his horses Panic and Rout, while he
put on his armour. On this, Jove would have been roused to still more
fierce and implacable enmity against the other immortals, had not
Minerva, alarmed for the safety of the gods, sprung from her seat and
hurried outside. She tore the helmet from his head and the shield from
his shoulders, and she took the bronze spear from his strong hand and
set it on one side; then she said to Mars, "Madman, you are undone; you
have ears that hear not, or you have lost all judgement and
understanding; have you not heard what Juno has said on coming straight
from the presence of Olympian Jove? Do you wish to go through all kinds
of suffering before you are brought back sick and sorry to Olympus,
after having caused infinite mis