Virgin Astraia, nurse of the whole universe, cherisher of the Golden Age, received Beroe from her mother into the embrace of her arms, laughing, still a babe, and fed her with wise breast as she babbled words of law. With her virgin milk, she let streams of statutes gush into the baby’s lips, and dropt into the girl’s mouth the sweet produce of the Attic bee ; she pressed the bee’s riddled travail of many cells, and mixed the voiceful comb in a sapient cup. thirsting asked for a drink, she gave the speaking Pythian water kept for Apollo, or the stream of Ilissos, which is inspired by the Attic Muse when the Pierian breezes of Phoibos beat on the bank. She took the golden Cornstalk from the stars, and entwined it in a cluster to put round the girl’s neck like a necklace. The dancing maidens of Orchomenos, handmaids of the Paphian, drew from the horsehoof fountain of imagination, dear to the nine Muses, delicate water to wash her.
Beroe grew up, and coursed with the Archeress, carrying the nets of her hunter sire. She had the very likeness of her Paphian mother, and her shining feet. When Thetis came up out of the sea to skip with snowy dancing foot, she saw another silverfoot Thetis, and hid in shame, fearing the raillery of Cassiepeia once again. Zeus perceiving another unwedded maiden of Assyria, was fluttered again and wished to change his form : certainly he would have carried the burden of love in bull’s form again, skimming away with his legs in the water, paddling along, bearing the woman unwetted on his back, had he not been held back by the memory of that Sidonian bullhorned wedding, and had not the Bull of Olympos, Europa’s bridegroom, bellowed from out the stars with jealous throat, to think that he might set up there a new star of seafaring amours and make the image of a rival bull in the sky. So he left Beroe, who was destined for a watery bridal, as his brother’s bedfellow, for he wished not to quarrel with Earthshaker about a mortal wife.
Such was Beroe, flower of the Graces. If ever the girl uttered her voice trickling sweeter than honey and the honeycomb, winning Persuasion sat ever upon her lips and enchanted the clever wits of men whom nothing else could charm. Her laughing eyes outshone all the company of her young Assyrian agemates as they shot their shafts of love, with brighter graces, like the moon at the full, when showering her cloudless rays and hiding the stars. Her white robes falling down to the girl’s feet showed the blush of her rosy limbs. There is no wonder in that, even if she had such fairness beyond her young yearsmates, since bright over her countenance sparkled the beauties of both her parents.
Then Cypris saw her : pregnant with prophetic intelligence she sent her imagination wandering swiftly round, and driving her mind to wander about the whole earth surveyed the foundations of the brilliant cities of ancient days. She saw how Mycene girt about with a garland of walls by the Cyclopian masons took the name of twinkle-eye Mycene ; how Thebes beside the southern Nile took the name of primeval Thebe ; and she decided to design a city named after Beroe, being possessed with a passion to make her city as good as theirs. She observed there the long column of Solon’s laws, that safeguard against wrong, and turned aside her eye to the broad streets of Athens, and envied her sister the just Judge. With hurrying shoe, she whizzed along the vault of heaven to the hall of Allmother Harmonia, where that nymph dwelt in a house, self-built, shaped like the great universe with its four quarters joined in one. Four portals were about that stronghold standing proof against the four winds. Handmaids protected this dwelling on all sides, a round image of the universe : the doors were allotted — Antolia was the maid who attended the East Wind’s gate ; at the West Wind’s was Dysis the nurse of Selene ; Mesembrias held the bolt of the fiery South ; Arctos the Bear was the servant who opened the gate of the North, thick with clouds and sprinkled with hail.
To that place went Charis, fellow- voyager with the Foamborn, and running ahead she knocked at the eastern gate of Euros. As the rap came on the saffron portal of sunrise, Astynomeia an attendant ran up from within ; and when she saw Cypris standing in front of the gatehouse of the dwelling, she went with returning feet to inform her mistress beforehand. She was then busy at Athena’s loom, weaving a patterned cloth with her shuttle. In the robe she was weaving, she worked first Earth as the navel in the midst ; round it she balled the sky dotted with the shape of stars, and fitted the sea closely to the embracing earth ; she embroidered also the rivers in a green picture, shaped each with a human face and bull’s horns ; and at the outer fringe of the wellspun robe she made Ocean run all round the world in a loop. The maid came up to the woman’s loom, and announced that Aphrodite stood before the gatehouse. When the goddess heard, she dropt the threads of the robe and threw down the divine shuttle from her hands busy at the loom. Quickly she wrapped a snow-white robe about her body, and brighter than the gold took her place on her usual seat to await Cythereia. As soon as Aphrodite appeared in the distance, she leapt from her throne to show due respect. Eurynome in her long robe led the Paphian to a seat near her mistress ; Harmonia the Nurse of the world saw the looks and dejected bearing of Cypris that showed her distress, and comforted her in friendly tones :
“Cythereia, root of life, seedsower of being, midwife of nature, hope of the whole universe, at the bidding of your will the unbending Fates do spin their complicated threads ! [Tell me your trouble.”]
[She replied] : . . . Reveal to your questioner, and tell me, as nourisher of life, nurse of immortals, as coeval with the universe your agemate ; which of the cities has the organ of sovereign voice ? which has reserved for it the unshaken reins of troublesolving Law ? I joined Zeus in wedlock with Hera his sister, after he had felt the pangs of longlasting desire and desired her for three hundred years : in gratitude he bowed his wise head, and promised as a worthy reward for the marriage that he would commit the precepts of Justice to one of the cities allotted to me. I wish to learn whether the gift is reserved for land of Cyprus or Paphos or Corinth, or Sparta whence Lycurgos came, or the noblemen’s country of my own daughter Beroe. Have a care then for Justice, and grant harmony to the world, you who are Harmonia the saviour of life ! For I was sent here in haste by the Virgin of the Stars herself, the nurse of law-abiding men ; and what is more, law-loving Hermes has passed on this honour to me, that I alone by enforcing the laws of marriage may preserve the men whom I have sown.”
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