grief. "Then Athena thought of another thing; she laid her into a deep
sleep, and loosed all her limbs, and made her taller, and made her
smoother, and fatter, and whiter than sawn ivory; and breathed ambrosial
brightness over her face; and so she left her and went up to heaven."
Fresh air and sound sleep at night, young ladies! You see you may have
Athena for lady's maid whenever you choose. Next, hark how she gives
strength to Achilles when he is broken with fasting and grief. Jupiter
pities him and says to her, "'Daughter mine, are you forsaking your own
soldier, and don't you care for Achilles any more? See how hungry and
weak he is,--go and feed him with ambrosia.' So he urged the eager
Athena; and she leaped down out of heaven like a harpy falcon,
shrill-voiced; and she poured nectar and ambrosia, full of delight, into
the breast of Achilles, that his limbs might not fail with famine; then
she returned to the solid dome of her strong father." And then comes the
great passage about Achilles arming--for which we have no time. But here
is again Athena giving strength to the whole Greek army. She came as a
falcon to Achilles, straight at him, a sudden drift of breeze; but to the
army she must come widely, she sweeps around them all. "As when Jupiter
spreads the purple rainbow over heaven, portending battle or cold storm,
so Athena, wrapping herself round with a purple cloud, stooped to the
Greek soldiers, and raised up each of them." Note that purple, in
Homer's use of it, nearly always means "fiery," "full of light." It is
the light of the rainbow, not the color of it, which Homer means you to
think of.

34. But the most curious passage of all, and fullest of meaning, is when
she gives strength to Menelaus, that he may stand unwearied against
Hector. He prays to her: "And blue-eyed Athena was glad that he prayed
to her, first; and she gave him strength in his shoulders, and in his
limbs, an she gave him the courage"--of what animal, do you suppose? Had