the
light of love beneath their radiant brows. And at last and scarcely then
did the maiden greet him:

"Take heed now, that I may devise help for thee. When at thy coming my
father has given thee the deadly teeth from the dragon's jaws for
sowing, then watch for the time when the night is parted in twain, then
bathe in the stream of the tireless river, and alone, apart from others,
clad in dusky raiment, dig a rounded pit; and therein slay a ewe, and
sacrifice it whole, heaping high the pyre on the very edge of the pit.
And propitiate only-begotten Hecate, daughter of Perses, pouring from a
goblet the hive-stored labour of bees. And then, when thou hast
heedfully sought the grace of the goddess, retreat from the pyre; and
let neither the sound of feet drive thee to turn back, nor the baying of
hounds, lest haply thou shouldst maim all the rites and thyself fail to
return duly to thy comrades. And at dawn steep this charm in water,
strip, and anoint thy body therewith as with oil; and in it there will
be boundless prowess and mighty strength, and thou wilt deem thyself a
match not for men but for the immortal gods. And besides, let thy spear
and shield and sword be sprinkled. Thereupon the spear-heads of the
earthborn men shall not pierce thee, nor the flame of the deadly bulls
as it rushes forth resistless. But such thou shalt be not for long, but
for that one day; still never flinch from the contest. And I will tell
thee besides of yet another help. As soon as thou hast yoked the strong
oxen, and with thy might and thy prowess hast ploughed all the stubborn
fallow, and now along the furrows the Giants are springing up, when the
serpent's teeth are sown on the dusky clods, if thou markest them
uprising in throngs from the fallow, cast unseen among them a massy
stone; and they over it, like ravening hounds over their food, will slay
one another; and do thou thyself hasten to rush to the battle-strife,
and the fleece thereupon thou shalt bear far away from Aea;
nevertheless, depart wherever thou wilt, or thy pleasure takes thee,
when thou hast gone hence."

Thus she spake, and cast her eyes to her feet in silence, and her cheek,
divinely fair, was wet with warm tears as she sorrowed for that he was
about to wander far from her side over the wide sea: and once again she
addressed him face to face with mournful words, and took his right hand;
for now shame had left her eyes:

"Remember, if haply thou returnest to thy ho