Aged sire, Agamemnon, king of men, replied, “You are not wrong in showing me my blindness, and blind I was, I cannot deny. The man Zeus loves in his heart is worth an army: see how he honours Hector now and crushes us Greeks. And since I yielded blindly to a wretched passion, I am willing to make amends and compensate Achilles handsomely. Before you all, let me name the glorious gifts I’ll grant him: seven tripods, unmarked by the flames; ten talents of gold; twenty gleaming cauldrons, and twelve strong horses, prize-winners for their speed....

The Gerenian horseman, Nestor, replied to Agamemnon, the king of men and most glorious son of Atreus, acknowledging that the gifts offered to Prince Achilles were indeed fine. He proposed sending a swift deputation to Achilles’ hut, suggesting that Phoenix, beloved of Zeus, should take the lead, followed by mighty Ajax and noble Odysseus. The heralds Odius and Eurybates were to accompany them. Nestor requested water for their hands and called for holy silence to pray to Zeus, the son of Cronos, seeking his pity. All present agreed with his words. Heralds poured water over their...

I’m in a cafe eavesdropping on two elderly men, and one is telling the story of how he came into possession of his vest, which is certainly one of the ugliest vests I’ve seen. The old man is handsome, even handsome when wearing the thing, I think. His friend had arrived before him and was saving the table next to mine for their morning cup – he waited without ordering for himself, patient in his anticipation, glancing over at my empty document to pass the time; but old men are punctual, and he didn’t have to...