Chor. [To Neoptolemos.] Stop; let us learn. Two
men draw near, the one
A sailor from thy ship, the other seems540
A stranger. Ask of them, and then go in.
Enter Attendant, disguised as a trader, and a Sailor.
Attend. Son of Achilles, this thy shipmate here,
Who with two others o'er the ship kept watch,
I bade to tell where thou might'st chance to be;
For so I met him, not intending it,
But to the self-same harbour brought by chance.
For I, as owner of my little boat,
Was sailing home from Ilion to the shores
Of Peparêthos, where the grapes grow fair;[1]
And when I heard that all those sailors there
Had sailed with thee, I deemed it well to wait550
Silent no longer, but to tell thee all,
And then to sail with what my news deserves:
For thou know'st nought of what concerns thee much,
The new plans which the Argives form for thee;
Nor are they plans alone, but of a truth
Are being done, no longer tarrying.
Neop. I owe thee thanks for this thy forethought, friend,
And if I be not base those thanks will last.
But tell me what thou mean'st, that I may know
What new device thou from the Argives bring'st.560
Attend. They with good show of ships pursue thee now,
The aged Phœnix and great Theseus' sons.
- ↑ Peparêthos, almost as famous as Chios for its wine, would naturally be one of the chief sources of supply for the Hellenes who were besieging Troïa. In the time of Demosthenes, its produce was exported as far as Pontus.
