Day 66: Ox Eyed Hera and the Lame Cupbearer

Lines 551-72
τὸν δ' ἠμείβετ' ἔπειτα βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη·
"αἰνοτατε Κρονίδη, ποῖον τὸν μῦθον ἔειπες.
καὶ λίην σε πάρος γ' οὔτ' εἴρομαι οὔτε μεταλλῶ,
ἀλλὰ μάλ' εὔκηλος τὰ φράζεαι, ἅσσ' ἐθέλῃσθα·
νῦν δ' αἰνῶς δείδοικα κατὰ φρένα, μή σε παρείπῃ
ἀργυρόπεζα Θέτις, θυγάτηρ ἁλίοιο γέροντος·
ἠερίη γὰρ σοί παρέζετο καὶ λάβε γούνων·
τῇ ς' ὀίω κατανεῦσαι ἐτήτυμον, ὡς Ἀχιλῆα
τιμήσεις, ὀλέσεις δὲ πολέας ἐπὶ νηυσὶν Ἀχαιῶν."

τὴν δ' ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη νεφεληγερέτα Ζεύς·
"δαιμονίη, αἰεὶ μὲν ὀίεαι, οὐδέ σε λήθω,
πρῆξαι δ' ἔμπης οὔ τι δυνήσεαι, ἀλλ' ἀπὸ θυμοῦ
μᾶλλον ἐμοὶ ἔσεαι· τὸ δέ τοι καὶ ῥίγιον ἔσται.
εἰ δ' οὕτω τοῦτ' ἐστίν, ἐμοὶ μέλλει φίλον εἶναι.
ἀλλ' ἄκεουσα καθῆσο, ἐμῷ δ' ἐπιπείθεο μύθῳ,
μή νύ τοι οὐ χραίσμωσιν, ὅσοι θεοί εἰς' ἐν Ὀλύμπῳ,
ἆσσον ἰόνθ', ὅτε κέν τοι ἀάπτους χεῖρας ἐφείω."

ὧς ἔφατ', ἔδεισεν δὲ βοῶπις πότνια Ἥρη,
καί ῥ' ἀκέουσα καθῆστο, ἐπιγνάμψασα φίλον κῆρ·
ὤχθησαν δ' ἀνὰ δῶμα Διὸς θεοὶ Οὐρανίωνες·
τοῖσιν δ' Ἥφαιστος κλυτοτέχνης ἦρχ' ἀγορεύειν,
μητρὶ φίλῃ ἐπὶ ἦρα φέρων, λευκωλένῳ Ἥρῃ·



Then ox eyed Hera, queen of the gods, answered him:
"Most dread son of Cronus, of what sort is this thought
Of which you were speaking! And in the past I neither asked
Nor did I inquire into each and every thing you were about,
But you plot and plan in calm and quiet, as you should desire;
But now I am terribly afraid at heart, let her not win you over:
Silver footed Thetis, daughter of the old man of the sea;
For in the early morn' she surely sat beside you and grasped your knees,
And there I saw you nod your head so that you will honor Achilles
And slaughter many beside the Achaean ships."

Then in reply cloud gathering Zeus addressed her:
"Goddess who dwells in the heavens, you see always,
Nor do I forget you, nevertheless you will not be able to do a thing,
But will be that much further from my heart,
And this will be so much the worse for you.
If this is so then, you may be sure that it is what I desire.
But sit and listen, then obey my command,
Indeed none of them will help you, not many of the gods on Olympus
Will be coming any nearer if I should strike you with invincible hands."

Thus he spoke and the ox eyed queen of the skies was struck with fear,
Then she sat down and hearkened to, bending her heart to his desire;
And the sky dwelling gods were vexed all through the house of Zeus;
Then Hephaestus, that great forger, came forth to harangue them,
Bearing kindness for his dear mother, white armed Hera:



I wonder how many women today would be flattered if they were referred to as ox eyed? I'm guessing that it would be not very many because such animals are no longer part of every day life for very many of us. But in the age of these poems they were an integral part of everyone's life as a source of food and as beasts of burden. And while the comparison between a beautiful woman and an ox seems reviling at first it is instructive to note that the eyes of oxen and cattle, besides being very large, do have a certain quality about them. Maybe it is because of all that suffering they are forced to undergo.