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Cook, Arthur B.
Zeus: a study in ancient religion (Band 3,1): Zeus god of the dark sky (earthquake, clouds, wind, dew, rain, meteorits): Text and notes — Cambridge, 1940

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https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.14698#0103

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58 Nephel okokky gia

and will listen to no proposals, unless Zeus consents to restore the
sceptre to the Birds. In that case, he invites all the envoys to his
feast. Herakles, greedy as usual, jumps at the offer and interprets
in his own sense the Triballian's barbarous growl. Poseidon gives
in, but when Pisthetairos claims Basileia too, is for walking off and
wants Herakles to go with him as the prospective heir of Zeus.
Pisthetairos, however, proves by Attic law that Herakles as a bastard
has no right of inheritance and undertakes to feed him all his days
on 'birds' milk.' Upon this, Herakles agrees to hand over Basileia
and once more puts his own construction on the doubtful utterance
of the Triballian. Poseidon is silenced, and Herakles invites
Pisthetairos to ascend to heaven with them and claim Basileia as
his own. The feast in preparation will serve as his wedding banquet.

The play ends with the appearance of the new bridal pair in
a blaze of glory. The Birds, parting on either hand, greet them with
a chorus of exuberant delight1:

Chor. Back with you! out with you! off with you! up with you !
Flying around
Welcome the Blessed with blessedness crowned.

O ! O ! for the youth and the beauty, O !
Well hast thou wed for the town of the Birds.
Great are the blessings, and wondrous, I ween,

Which through his favour our nation possesses.
Welcome them back, both himself and his Queen,
Welcome with nuptial and bridal addresses.
Mid just such a song hymenaean
Aforetime the Destinies led
The King of the thrones empyrean,
The Ruler of Gods, to the bed
Of Hera his beautiful bride.
Hymen, 0 Hymenaeus !
And Love, with his pinions of gold,
Came driving, all blooming and spruce,
As groomsman and squire to behold
The wedding of Hera and Zeus,
Of Zeus and his beautiful bride.
Hymen, O Hymenaeus!
Hymen, O Hymenaeus!

Triphallo, irepl dppevdrrjTOS, Charis. 1 p. 80, nf. Keil Varro...in Triphallo, carm. Priap.
83. 6 Priape, 9 o Triphalle, 15 Priape, and the gloss Uplairos cited in Steph. Thes. Gr. Ling.
vii. 2479 A. To this there is an ornithological parallel in rplopxos or Tpibpxns the
'buzzard' (?) (Plin. nat. hist. 10. 21 triorchem a numero testium, cp. schol. Aristoph. av.
1206 iirei eraipa yv, livai^e rb rplopxoi) : see further D'Arcy W. Thompson A Glossary of
Greek Birds Oxford 1895 p. 170.

1 Aristoph. av. 1720—1765. I quote the lively lyrics of Mr B. B. Rogers, altering a
 
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