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. A man with the wealth they have won for me would not lack gold and riches. And I will gift him seven women, skilled in fine needle-craft, whom I chose as spoil for their surpassing beauty, on the day when Achilles took Lesbos. And one shall be her whom I took from him, that daughter of Briseus. I shall give him my solemn oath that I never took her to bed, never slept with her, as men are wont to do with women. All these things shall straight away be his; and if the gods grant we sack this great city of Priam, let him enter when we Greeks divide the spoils, and load his ship with gold and bronze, and pick the twenty loveliest women after Argive Helen. And if we return to Achaean Argos, finest of lands, he shall be a son to me, and I’ll honour him like my dear son Orestes, who is reared there among its riches. Three daughters I have too, in my noble palace, Chrysothemis, Laodice, and Iphianassa. Let him lead whichever he wishes to Peleus’ house, without bride-price, and I will add a dowry, greater than any man yet gave with a daughter.
“Seven well-populated cities he shall have: Cardamyle, Enope, and grassy Hire; holy Pherae and Antheia with its deep meadows; lovely Aepeia, and vine-rich Pedasus. They are all near the sea, on our far border with sandy Pylos, and the men there own great flocks and herds. They will honour him with gifts like a god, acknowledging his sceptre, and will ensure his plans prosper. All this I will do, if he forgoes his anger. Let him give way and submit to me – of all the gods is not Hades, hard and unyielding, hated most by mortals for being so – for I claim sovereignty and seniority over him.”