out of doors in the midst of the streets, without blame. And among them
is no reverence for the marriage-bed, but, like swine that feed in
herds, no whit abashed in others' presence, on the earth they lie with
the women. Their king sits in the loftiest hut and dispenses upright
judgments to the multitude, poor wretch! For if haply he err at all in
his decrees, for that day they keep him shut up in starvation.

[Footnote 1: called "Mossynes."]

They passed them by and cleft their way with oars over against the
island of Ares all day long; for at dusk the light breeze left them. At
last they spied above them, hurtling through the air, one of the birds
of Ares which haunt that isle. It shook its wings down over the ship as
she sped on and sent against her a keen feather, and it fell on the left
shoulder of goodly Oileus, and he dropped his oar from his hands at the
sudden blow, and his comrades marvelled at the sight of the winged bolt.
And Eribotes from his seat hard by drew out the feather, and bound up
the wound when he had loosed the strap hanging from his own
sword-sheath; and besides the first, another bird appeared swooping
down; but the hero Clytius, son of Eurytus--for he bent his curved bow,
and sped a swift arrow against the bird--struck it, and it whirled round
and fell close to the ship. And to them spake Amphidamas, son of Aleus:

"The island of Ares is near us; you know it yourselves now that ye have
seen these birds. But little will arrows avail us, I trow, for landing.
But let us contrive some other device to help us, if ye intend to land,
bearing in mind the injunction of Phineus. For not even could Heracles,
when he came to Arcadia, drive away with bow and arrow the birds that
swam on the Stymphalian lake. I saw it myself. But he shook in his hand
a rattle of bronze and made a loud clatter as he stood upon a lofty