casamorta

And weeping, Thetis replied to him:
Ah, my son! if I gave birth to you with such a wicked fate, why raise you, alas!
Oh, if only I could rest idly on this shore without tears and without offenses,
deceiving the Moira who pursues you,
and has now reached you! Now your days
are brief and unhappy at once,
for a cruel star illuminated the day I bore you
in the paternal marriage bed.
And yet I shall go to Olympus, to the snowy
heights, and I will speak with Jupiter,
the lord of the thunderbolt, and I will attempt
to bend him to your desire. You, in the meantime,
stay by the ships; and in the idleness of your sword
let the weight of your resentments be felt by the Achaeans.
For yesterday, in the bosom of the Ocean,
Jupiter came to a banquet among the innocent Ethiopians,
and all the gods followed him.
After the twelfth light returns to the sky,
I shall return from Jupiter
to the eternal palaces; at his knee
I will cast myself, I will beg, nor do I carry a vain
hope of overcoming his will.
Having said this, she departed; and he stayed there,
macerated by bile, left for the girl
whom he had taken against his will. Meanwhile, to Crisa
with the sacred hecatomb, Odysseus arrives.
Entering the bosom of the deep harbor,
they lowered the sails, stowed them
within the dark vessel, and quickly
they lowered the mast with the tackle,
and laid it in the trough. With the oars,
the vessel then approached the shore;
and the anchors were thrown, and the stern
was tied fast, and behold on the shore
all the crew disembarked, behold they arranged
the hecatomb for Apollo, and from the ship
the last to emerge from the guiding waves
was Chryseis. The crafty Odysseus accompanied her
to the altar, and placed her in the hand of her dear
father with these words:
"Crise, supreme king Agamemnon sends me
to return your daughter to you, and to solemnly
offer a hecatomb to Apollo, so that the wrath
of the god who struck the Achaeans
with the most bitter plague may be appeased." - While saying this,
he handed over the beloved daughter to him; and the old man
took her joyfully to his breast.
Soon around the well-built altar
they arranged the beautiful hecatomb for the god;
they washed their palms,
they took the sacred barley, and raising
her hand with her voice, Chryses made this prayer:
"O god who delights in handling the silver bow,
you who protect Crisa and divine
Cilla, lord of mighty Tenedos,
hear me: if before you weighed down the Achaean camp
with great harm, and granted me honor,
now grant me full satisfaction from this other vow.
Please drive away the terrible plague
that destroys the Danaans."
Thus he prayed, and the god granted him.
Then, having completed the prayers, and strewn
the salty barley, they first lifted
the necks of the victims and slaughtered them.
Having flayed the skin, they wrapped the cut thighs
in double caul and covered them with raw
pieces. The good old man on the burning embers
roasted them, and sprinkling with purple wine
he came. Chosen youths
held at his side the five-pointed skewers in hand:
and as they were roasting the ribs,
and preparing the wise portions of the sacred entrails,
the rest they cut into pieces
and pierced them with spits, roasting them with great
care, and afterwards
they removed everything from the flames. At the end of the work,
having set the tables, they began to feast,
and equally distributing the food,
they all feasted. With the desire for food quenched
and thirst satisfied,
crowned with rich wine, the servants
brought it around to all,
and each made libations with the cups. And thus,
singing the day, the Achaean youth,
raising a joyous high paean,
sang praises to Apollo, who upon hearing them
felt a sweet touch in his heart.
When the sun was chased away by night, he settled
near the ship's poop to sleep.

Crisis of Apollo the priest then
with the laurel of the god and the golden scepter
came to the ships to redeem his daughter.
He offered many gifts, made many prayers to the Achaeans,
and foremost to the Atrides.
In vain; for prayers and gifts and the priest
received the scorn of Agamemnon, who threatening and harsh
dismissed that wretched man from his presence.
The old man left in anger; and Apollo, to whom
he was a beloved head, heard his lament
from Olympus, and against the Greeks
he hurled deadly arrows.
Men perished in droves, and from every side
the hiss of the God flew across the whole field
with darting shafts. Finally, a wise
seer made clear in assembly
the oracle of Apollo. I was the first
to urge to appease the divine wrath.
The Atride was enraged, and standing tall
he made a threat against me that bore full
culmination. The Achaeans were already bringing
the slave to Crisa on swift ships
not without gifts to Phoebus; and from the tent
the heralds had just taken from me,
and they led away the daughter of Briseus,
the maiden given to me by the Greeks.
But you, who can, help your son,
go to Olympus, and offer prayers to Jupiter,
if ever Jupiter was of aid to you in need
either in deed or in words.
In the ancestral house, I remember well,
I often heard you glorifying yourself, and saying
that alone among the Gods from dire calamity
you saved Jupiter, gatherer of clouds,
the day when Juno and Neptune
and Pallas Athena, together with the others,
conspired from heaven to put him in chains;
but you, in plight, O Goddess,
rescued him from danger, swiftly calling
the great Hundred-Handed One,
called by the Gods Briareus,
by mortals Aegaeon, and in strength
he far surpassed the very father.
Proud of such honor, he sat high
beside Jupiter, and the gods feared him,
for they set aside every thought of binding him.
Now remind him of this, and by his side
sit, and embrace his knees, and pray him
to give aid to the Teucrians, and to make all
the Achaeans’ phalanxes pushed back and broken and slaughtered. Let everyone
thus enjoy this tyrant;
let him himself feel what a great king Atride
committed folly when, proud,
he inflicted such an insult on the strongest of the Greeks.

Having done this, he called for a sacred cleansing in the camp of Agamemnon: and every devotee was to purify himself, throwing his filth into the waves, and along the shore of the sea offering complete hecatombs of goats and bullocks to Apollo. The rich scent rose up to the heavens, swirling with the smoke. These rites were followed in the camp. And steadfast in his displeasure and the recent threat he had made to Achilles, meanwhile Agamemnon summoned to himself Euribates and Taltibio, his faithful heralds and attendants, saying, "Go to the tent of the son of Peleus, and bring me the beautiful daughter of Briseis. If he refuses, I will come with force myself to take her from him, and that will be harder for him." He said, and he emphasized his command along the way.
The two went along the barren shore of the sea, heavy-hearted, and upon reaching the camp of the Myrmidons found the hero sitting by the ships in front of the pavilion; nor was Achilles pleased to see them. Both halted before him trembling, heads bowed low, daring neither to speak nor to ask. But he saw everything in his mind and spoke: "Messengers of Jupiter and of the people, greetings, heralds; come closer. In you, there is no blame with me. The only one at fault is Agamemnon; he alone is guilty, for he sends you here for the maiden Briseis. Now go, take her away, noble Patroclus, and entrust her to these leaders. But you yourselves, before the holy gods and before mortals and the cruel king, be my witnesses when the day dawns that my hand shall need to save the others from ruin. For this man is acting rashly against himself, nor does he see the present, nor the future, nor how the Achaeans will fight to defend the ships."
So he spoke; and Patroclus, obeying the command of his dear friend, led Briseis from the tent, the lovely cheeked maiden, and gave her into the hands of the heralds. While they made their return to the Achaean ships, and she departed with them, Achilles burst into sudden tears, and, alone on the shore of the gray sea, he sat down and looking at the sea stretched out his hands and prayed sorrowfully to his beloved mother: "Oh mother! is this," he said, "the honor that the great Thunderer was to give me as a comfort for the short life to which you bore me? Behold, he leaves me wholly dishonored: the proud king Agamemnon dishonors me; he snatches the best of my prizes, and he possesses it." Thus he spoke while weeping.
The venerable mother heard him as she sat near her old father in the depths of the sea's abyss; she heard him, and soon emerged, like mist, from the wave: beside her son, who was shedding tears, she sweetly sat down, and with her hand she caressed him, and said: "Son, why do you weep? and what troubles you? Tell me, do not hide it in your heart, share it with me." "Mother, you know," replied the swift-footed hero, groaning deeply. "What good is it to recount everything that has already happened? We went to the sacred seat of Eezion; we sacked the city, and all the spoils were brought to this camp. The Achaeans divided them justly, and the lovely Chryseis was chosen for King Agamemnon."

But of how many mortals the earth now creates, none could match them. And yet from those splendid ears my counsel and my words gained obedience. And you too now obey me, for it is beneficial to obey me. Noble Atrides, do not wish, even though you are so great, to take this maiden from these men; but let him have in peace the promised reward from the Greeks: nor clash with a hostile heart against the king, O Peleus' son. A supreme king, whom high majesty surrounds Jupiter, never tolerates equality of honor. If you, born of a divine mother, surpass him in strength, he conquers you, O son, in power, because he rules over more people. Ah, lay down your anger, Atrides, and may Achilles be placated by my plea, he who is the principal support of the Greeks in such dire war. You speak most rightly, O wise elder, the ruler Atrides replied quickly; but this one presumes to overshadow all, to hold all as slaves, to impose laws on all, to burden all with his command. And could I suffer it? I cannot. If the gods made him an unconquerable warrior, perhaps they also granted him the right to be so insolent? That saying was cut off by Achilles, and he replied: I would certainly be a coward, a vile one, if I were subject to your every command. Command others, not me; for I am now free from all obedience to you. I want to say only this, and you keep it locked in your heart. For the maiden once given, now unjustly taken, neither with you nor with another will my sword fight. But of all the other spoils I reserve on the ship, not even one, if I deny it, will you have. Come, if you do not believe it, come to the test; and your blood flowing from my spear will provide proof to others. With this harsh exchange of words, the Achaean assembly rose, and the council was dismissed. With Patroclus, the son of Peleus, and his brave men, he returned to his ships in the tents; and Atrides soon launched a swift prow with chosen twenty oars with the sacred hecatomb. He himself leads Crise and places the forthcoming daughter there; wise Ulysses ascends as leader, and all who were already mounted rushed down the wet paths.

And Achilles said to her: "It is necessary for me to follow, O Goddess, though my heart burns with anger, your counsel. This will be the best. To the gods is dear he who bows his head to the will of the gods." He said; and he held back his powerful hand on the silver pommel and sheathed the great sword, yielding to the gentle words of Minerva. And while she soared back to the golden abodes of the Aegian father among the other Eternals, Achilles then, with bitter words rekindling the quarrel, assailed Agamemnon: “Drunken fool! A dog in sight and a deer at heart! You never dare to engage in battle with the throng, nor to risk yourself among the foremost of the Achaeans, since every danger is death to you. It is far better for you to seize in safety the gifts you have received from any man who dares to speak boldly in the great Achaean host. But if it were not for these commands given to you, lowly and despised people, you would not be the devouring tyrant of your own people, and you would now be the last of the wronged. But I truly announce to you, and I swear it loudly by this scepter (which one day, severed from its mountain trunk, shall never produce either branch or leaf, nor ever sprout, since it was stripped of its bark with iron and now in hand holds it the Achaeans who stand as guardians of justice and the holy laws received from heaven), by this I swear, and hold this oath inviolate: an age will come when a desire for Achilles will awaken among the Achaeans, and you, wretched man, shall not be able to save them when the sword of the murderous Hector will stain the fields with a wide slaughter; and then you will gnaw your heart with rage, for you have brought such a disgrace upon the strongest of the Greeks.” He said; and he threw the scepter to the ground, adorned with golden nails, and sat down. Agamemnon burned with new fury when in the midst arose the orator of the Pylians, Nestor, so eloquent that sweeter rivers of eloquence flowed from his mouth than honey. From those who spoke, he had already surpassed two lives born and grown in noble Pylos, and in the third he then reigned. With wise words, the holy old man thus began to say to them: “Eternal Gods! How much grief is prepared for Greece, and how much joy for Priam and his sons and all the city of Dardania when among them the fatal strife of you is understood, you who overcome all Achaeans in valor and in wisdom! Oh, listen to me, for you are both younger than I; and I, too, once lived with heroes more valiant than you, and I was not vile among them: nor did I ever see others like them, nor do I hope to ever see again, such as a Dryas, the moderator of peoples, and Pirithous, Ceneus and Essadius and the divine man Polyphemus, and Theseus, equal to a god. Stronger souls did not nourish the earth, and being strong they fought with the strong, with the mountain Centaurs, and made a dreadful slaughter. With these, at their request, I often came to converse, departing from Pylos and the distant boundary of Apia, and according to my strength, I too fought.”

Roses are interposed and the sonorous sea.
But only for your benefit, oh shameless one,
and for the honor of Menelaus, for your own,
for your own sake, oh brutal face, to Troy
we followed you for revenge. And today
you despise us ingrate, and you trample on us,
and threaten to steal from me the fruit
of my warlike labors, the only reward that the Achaeans gave me.
Nor do I hope to have it equal to yours
the day that the Greeks conquer opulent Troy;
for certainly my share of the harsh war is greater;
but when the spoils are divided in the midst,
yours is the first, and mine the last,
of which I must return content to my ship,
weary of battle and blood. Now then, let us return to Phthia,
to Phthia it is better to turn the prow
toward the paternal land than to stay here
dishonored, a gatherer of riches and honors
for one who offends me. "Then flee," Agamemnon replied,
"flee if it pleases you. I do not ask you
to stay. There are other heroes standing by
my side who will honor my royal person and
just Jupiter first. Of all the rulers he nourishes,
I abhor you more than others; yes, you, who always
long for disputes and quarrels and battles.
If you are very strong, your strength is a gift
from a God. Now go, loosen the ships,
make your brave men return to your native soil,
command the Myrmidons; I do not care for you,
and I deride your wrath; rather, listen to me.
Since Apollo has taken Chrysèis from me,
let her go. I send her away accompanied by my ship and my loyal men,
and I yield. But I shall come to your tent
to take Briseïs, your beautiful captive myself;
so that you may see how much I exceed you in power,
and thus others may fear to match themselves with me.
These words inflamed the soul of Achilles.
Two thoughts created within his rough chest
a terrible struggle, whether to draw the sharp sword
from his side, and open a way through the crowd,
and plunge it into the Atrid's heart; or to restrain
his rage, and quiet his tempestuous heart.
Swaying between anger and reason,
the troubled thought rushed his hand
over the sword, and drawing it from its great sheath;
when swiftly from heaven, Athena came to him,
sent by the goddess Juno, who nurtured equal care and love
for both leaders in her heart.
She came up behind him, and by his golden hair
held fierce Pelides, unknown to all,
known only to him. Stunned,
Achilles shook, he turned around, and soon
recognized the Goddess at whose eyes
flared two flames of terrible light,
and he called her by name, and in quick tones,
"Child," he said, "of Zeus, what brings you here?
Perhaps to see the disgrace of the Atrid?
I openly protest to you, and my words will have effect:
he seeks death with his arrogance,
and he shall have death." - "Refrain your anger,"
the Goddess replied from her azure eyes;
"I descended from heaven to calm you,
if you wish to obey me. Juno sent me,
Juno who defends and loves you both.
Now, calm yourself, do not draw your sword,
and contend only with words. I predict this to you,
and my word will come to pass: there will come a time
when you will have shelter from the unjust offense,
three times more by chosen gifts.
Repress your fury and obey."

It will go, in my opinion, very disdainfully. When the powerful man becomes angry with the lesser one, he suppresses the blaze of his resentment for some time, but he nurses it in his heart until it bursts forth in revenge. Now tell me if you will make me safe. - Speak confidently, Achilles replied, and tell me frankly the secret of your heart, whatever it may be. By Apollo, who, when prayed to by you, rends the veil of fate and reveals it to us, for this Apollo cherished by Jupiter, I swear: no one, as long as I have spirit and sight, shall dare to violate your person with impious hands in front of these ships, none of the Achaeans; no, even if Agamemnon, who now brags of being the mightiest of all the army, speaks. Then the good prophet took heart and said: the gods are not troubled by obligated sacrifices or vows, but by the outrage that Agamemnon has just done to the priest, who, having taken his daughter, refused to accept the ransom. This is the fault that has constrained us so much, and the divine archer will give us more; nor shall he withdraw his heavy hand from punishment until the fated maiden is sent back unredeemed and unbought to her beloved father, and a hecatomb is dispatched to Chryse. Thus perhaps it will happen that the god will be appeased. He fell silent and sat down. Then the hero Atrides, the supreme king Agamemnon, rose up angry. Great wrath clouded his heart, swollen with rage, and his eyes burned like glowing embers. First, he glared at Calcante with a frown, then he burst out: Prophet of disasters, never has a word from your mouth been pleasing to me. It has always been sweet to your wicked heart to predict misfortunes, and your deeds, when compared to your words, are honorless and devoid of substance. And now among the Argives you babble about how Apollo is inflicting the arrows upon us, solely because I refused the ransom for the maiden Chryseis. And I certainly wished to hold her in my dominion, being such that, led by me to Clitemestra, the maiden wife, I prefer her, to whom this woman yields nothing, neither in beauty nor in mind, nor in the fine works taught by Minerva. But let her be free, if this is best; for I seek salvation, not the death of my people. But you prepare for me soon the compensation, for I alone of the Greeks ought not to be left without reward; and that would be unjust, now that such a prize, you see, is fleeing from my grasp. O Atrides, renowned for your greed as much as for your greatness, Achilles replied to him, what reward will the magnanimous Achaeans give you, and in what manner? I do not know if there is great wealth set aside that has not been divided: the spoils of all the conquered cities were divided among you, nor is it right now to regroup them into one new portion. But send the prisoner back to the god, for you shall have a reward three or four times greater from us, if Jupiter one day gives us to sack lofty Troy. And to him Agamemnon said: Do not try, though careful in speech, to deceive me; in this you do not trick me, divine Achilles, nor do you persuade me to your will. So you will keep your prize, and I shall remain deprived of mine? And do you command that she be returned? Let it be so. But let the Achaeans grant me another captive who matches her and responds to my desire. If they do not give her, I shall take her myself, whether she is Ajax's slave or Odysseus's, or even yours; and in vain shall he rage with anger to whose tents I come. But we will speak of this later. Now let a ship equipped with skilled rowers be propelled into the sea, and let it embark with the rosy cheek of Chryse's daughter, and let one of the leaders be her captain, whether Ajax, or Idomeneus, or the divine Odysseus, or you yourself, terrible Achilles, so that by such a sacrifice we may appease the god who strikes from afar. Achilles glared at him spitefully and replied: Unseemly soul, greedy soul, who among the sons of the Achaeans will be so vile as to obey your command, or dra

Sing to me, O Muse, of the wrath of Achilles, the son of Peleus, that brought countless woes upon the Achaeans. Many brave souls it sent hurrying to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and to all the birds, for so the counsels of Jove were fulfilled from the day on which the offspring of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Latona and Jove; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the people to plague them, because the king had dishonored Chryses, his priest. For Chryses had come to the ships of the Achaeans to free his daughter, and brought with him a great ransom; moreover, he bore on his hand the scepter of Apollo, wreathed with a crown, and he besought the Achaeans, but most of all the two chief commanders, Agamemnon and Menelaus. “O Achaeans,” he said, “may the gods, who dwell in Olympus, grant you to sack the city of Priam and to return safely to your homes. But send me my daughter, and accept the ransom that I offer, and let us reverence the son of Jove.”
The Achaeans all with one voice were eager to support the priest and to accept the beautiful gifts, but it did not please the heart of Agamemnon, who sent him away in wrath, and he further threatened him: “Old man, let me not find you near the ships, either now or hereafter, lest I be angry with you. For your scepter and your priestly office will be of no avail; this woman shall not be returned to you. She shall not return to her home in Argos until old age has overtaken her in my house, and she shall work at the loom and sleep in my embrace. Now go, don’t irritate me if you want to get back unscathed.” The old man was frightened and obeyed him. He went on his way along the shore of the loud-sounding sea, and when he had got away from the ships, he prayed to Apollo, son of Latona: “O god with the silver bow, who protectest Crisa and holy Cilla, and who art lord of Tenedos, hear my prayer. If ever I have adorned your temple with garlands, or burnt your thigh-bones of bulls and goats, grant my prayer, and let the Achaeans pay the price for my tears.”
Thus he prayed. Apollo heard him and came down from the top of Olympus in anger, with his bow and quiver upon his shoulders, and his arrows rattled on his shoulders as he moved swiftly toward the ships. He alighted from the ships, and then loosed an arrow, and a mighty clang sounded from his silver bow. First he smote the mules and the swift dogs, and then he fell upon the men themselves, sending forth his deadly darts, and so all over the tents the pyres burned with the bodies of the slain. For nine days the arrows of the god flew silently throughout the Achaean camp, but on the tenth day Achilles called the princes of the Achaeans together, for he was moved to do so by Juno, the goddess with the white arms, who felt pity for the dying Achaeans. When they had assembled and were come together, Achilles, the swift of foot, rose up among them and said: “Atrides, I think we shall be compelled to return again to our own land, if we can escape death, for both the plague and the fighting are wearing us down. But come, let us ask some seer, or some priest, or interpreter of dreams (for dreams also come from Jove) to tell us why Apollo is so angry with us; whether it is because we have neglected to offer him prayers or sacrifices; or whether he would be pleased with the burning of the fat of lambs and of kids to turn his wrath away.” Thus spoke Achilles, and sat down. Then Calchas, son of Thestor, the seer of the Achaeans, rose to speak. He was wise and knew the past, the future, and the present; and by his art he had guided the ships of the Achaeans to Troy.
“Achilles,” said he, “beloved of Jove, you wish to know the anger of the king of archers? I will obey you. But first you must swear to me that you will protect me with your hand and voice, for you are the most powerful of the Ach

Now, <a wonderful composition (...) that leaves you "stunned" (...) with its length>. JOHN MYUNG STYLE CARAMELIZED BANANAS (à la cinese). INGREDIENTS AND MEASUREMENTS FOR 4 PEOPLE: 4 bananas, 1 egg, 2 tablespoons of flour, 4 tablespoons of sugar, oil for frying. PREPARATION: Cut the bananas in half lengthwise and then into three pieces so as to obtain six pieces. Beat the egg with the flour to achieve a smooth batter. Heat plenty of oil in a pan and immerse the banana pieces that have been dipped in the batter. Cook until they are golden brown. Then remove the bananas and place them on paper towels to drain. Leave only one tablespoon of oil in the pan, add one tablespoon of water and the sugar, stirring to dissolve it while keeping the flame low. When the liquid appears dark, immerse the bananas to serve them hot at the table. Accompany with a bowl of cold water in which diners will dip the banana pieces to harden the caramel.

PORK TESTICLES "ALLA CACCIATORA". INGREDIENTS: 4 pig testicles, 1 thinly sliced onion, 2 washed carrots cut into thin rounds, 3 celery stalks sliced, 1 clove of garlic, 3 tablespoons of olive oil, 1 glass of red wine, 300 g of peeled tomatoes, salt and pepper to taste. PREPARATION: In a large saucepan, sauté the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic in the oil. Then add the testicles, which you will have divided into 12 pieces, season with salt and pepper, and let them brown all over over high heat. Once everything is nicely colored, pour in the wine and let it evaporate. Now add the peeled tomatoes, cover the pot, and cook on low heat, stirring occasionally, for about an hour. If the testicles dry out too much, add a little water. Serve hot, without side dishes.