Togail na Tebe = The Thebiad of Statius : the Irish text

;THE THEBAIDthat I ask of you, for I now hate this frail fading body in whichI am.But I ask of you that the head of Melanippus be givenme, for methinks his strength was brought down by the castI made at him. And, ye Greek kingfolk," said he, " grant methat request of you. And where," said he, " is warlike Hippomedon? and where is most puissant Parthenopaeus ? Bring themad-voiced Greek, Capaneus. Give over to me, O youths, thehead of the hero who has wounded me."And when he heard that, Capaneus arose and precededeveryone to the place where Melanippus was; and when hearrived, he raised him on his strong left shoulder, and made acast of him thence into the presence of Tydeus. But whenTydeus had seen Melanippus there in blanchings of death andin symptoms of dissolution, this is what he said ": Bring thehead of the hero close to me," said he. And when it was brought,he remained a while looking at it angrily; and he formed aplan, he pulled it down towards himself, and there commencedgnawing and rending hard at the head of Melanippus. Andwhen he was thus engaged, then came Minerva, to wit, thegoddess of valour, from Jove, son of Saturn, and it was aboutthis she had gone to him, to ask help for Tydeus in the battleand "when it was not granted her, she asked of Jove to make agod of Tydeus. Fifteen Theban kings had Tydeus killed thatday in single combats. And that was granted her, and she cameunto Tydeus, and he being seen by her, horror and great fearseized her before him. She had seen him eating the head ofMelanippus ; and when the rough hor&io serpents of the Gorgonhad risen about the head of the goddess, to wit, Minerva, sheturned and fled from Tydeus, and left him in that guise behindher. And he was thus eating the head of Melanippus, untilthe little life that was in him stole away from him, and he diedforthwith.The fury of Tydeus thus far.215