"
"Sing to us, then, noble stranger," said Alcinous; "and we will give you
precious gifts."
So Orpheus took his magic harp, and sang to them a stirring song of
their voyage from Iolcos, and their dangers, and how they won the
golden fleece; and of Medeia's love, and how she helped them, and went
with them over land and sea; and of all their fearful dangers, from
monsters, and rocks, and storms, till the heart of Arete was softened,
and all the women wept. And the merchant kings rose up, each man from
off his golden throne, and clasped their hands, and shouted: "Hail to
the noble Argonauts, who sailed the unknown seal"
Then he went on, and told their journey over the sluggish northern main,
and through the shoreless outer ocean, to the fairy island of the West;
and of the Sirens, and Scylla, and Charybdis, and all the wonders they
had seen, till midnight passed, and the day dawned; but the kings never
thought of sleep. Each man sat still and listened, with his chin upon
his hand.
And at last when Orpheus had ended, they all went thoughtful out, and
the heroes lay down to sleep, beneath the sounding porch outside, where
Arete had strewn them rugs and carpets, in the sweet still summer night.
But Arete pleaded hard with her husband for Medeia, for her heart was
softened. And she said: "The Gods will punish her, not we. After all,
she is our guest and my suppliant, and prayers are the daughters of
Zeus.
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