re their foemen, as doth thine
anguish in the day when some mail-clad Achaean shall lead thee weeping
and rob thee of the light of freedom. So shalt thou abide in Argos and
ply the loom at another woman's bidding, and bear water from Fount
Messeis or Hyperia, being grievously entreated, and sore constraint
shall be laid upon thee. And then shall one say that beholdeth thee
weep: 'This is the wife of Hector, that was foremost in battle of the
horse-training Trojans, when men fought about Ilium.' Thus shall one say
hereafter, and fresh grief will be thine for lack of such an husband as
thou hadst to ward off the day of thraldom. But me in death may the
heaped-up earth be covering, ere I hear thy crying and thy carrying into
captivity." Similar lamentations over the harsh treatment of the widows
and the sad lot of the orphans, when the natural protector had been
slain, occur again and again. When taken captive, the noblest ladies
became the concubines of the victor, and were disposed of at his
pleasure. Briseis is a striking instance of this. She was a maiden of
princely descent, whose husband and brother had been slain by Achilles.
Yet she looked upon her position as a captive as quite in the natural
order of things. She manifestly became much attached to her captor, and
left "all unwillingly" when she was carried off to Agamemnon's tent.
When she was restored to Achilles, she laments the fallen Patroclus, who
had promised to make her godlike Achilles's wedded wife.

Many female slaves of noble descent are mentioned by Homer, and their
positions in the households of their mistresses are frequently of
importance. Thus Euryclea, who had nurtured Odysseus and reared
Telemachus, was practically at the head of the domestic affairs of the
palace, and her relations with Penelope were most affectionate. The
other slaves were divided into several classes, according to their
different qualities and abilities. To some were assigned the menial
offices, such as turning the handmills, drawing the water, and preparing
the food for their master; while others were engaged in spinning and
weaving, under the direct oversight of their lady mistress.

It is but natural that the great ladies of heroic times, reared in the
luxury of courts, attended by numerous slaves, and exercising an
elevating influence over their husbands through their personal charms,
should devote great attention to the elegancies of the costume and the
toilet. The Greek