I will remember and not be unmindful of Apollo who shoots afar. As he goes through
 the house of Zeus, the gods tremble before him and all spring up from their seats when he
 draws near, as he bends his bright bow.

But Leto alone stays by the side of Zeus who delights in thunder; and then she
 unstrings his bow, and closes his quiver, and takes his archery from his strong shoulders
 in her hands and hangs them on a golden peg against a pillar of his father's house. Then
 she leads him to a seat and makes him sit:

and the Father gives him nectar in a golden cup welcoming his dear son, while the
 other gods make him sit down there, and queenly Leto rejoices because she bare a mighty
 son and an archer. Rejoice, blessed Leto, for you bare glorious children,

the lord Apollo and Artemis who delights in arrows; her in Ortygia, and him in
 rocky Delos , as you rested against the great
 mass of the Cynthian hill hard by a palm-tree by the streams of Inopus. How, then, shall I
 sing of you who in all ways are a worthy theme of song?

For everywhere, O Phoebus, the whole range of song is fallen to you, both over the
 mainland that rears heifers and over the isles. All mountain-peaks and high headlands of
 lofty hills and rivers flowing out to the deep and beaches sloping seawards and havens of
 the sea are your delight.

Shall I sing how at the first Leto bare you to be the joy of men, as she rested
 against Mount Cynthus in that rocky isle, in sea-girt Delos —while on either hand a dark wave rolled on landwards driven by
 shrill winds —whence arising you rule over all mortal men?

Among those who are in Crete , and in the
 township of Athens , and in the isle of
 Aegina and Euboea , famous for ships, in Aegae and Eiresiae and Peparethus near the sea, in Thracian Athos and
 Pelion 's towering heights and Thracian Samos
 and the shady hills of Ida,

in Scyros and Phocaea and the high hill
 of Autocane and fair-lying Imbros and smouldering Lemnos and rich Lesbos , home of
 Macar , the son of Aeolus, and Chios , brightest of all the isles that lie in the sea, and
 craggy Mimas and the heights of Corycus

and gleaming Claros and the sheer hill of Aesagea and watered Samos and the steep heights of Mycale, in Miletus and Cos, the city of Meropian men, and steep
 Cnidos and windy Carpathos , in Naxos and Paros and rocky Rhenaea —

so far roamed Leto in travail with the god who shoots afar, to see if any land
 would be willing to make a dwelling for her son. But they
 greatly trembled and feared, and none, not even the richest of them, dared receive
 Phoebus,

until queenly Leto set foot on Delos 
 and uttered winged words and asked her: “ Delos ,
 if you would be willing to be the abode of my son Phoebus Apollo and make him a rich
 temple —; for no other will touch you, as you will find: and I think you will never be
 rich in oxen and sheep,

nor bear vintage nor yet produce plants abundantly. But if you have the temple of
 far-shooting Apollo, all men will bring you hecatombs and gather here, and incessant
 savour of rich sacrifice will always arise, and you will feed those who dwell in you

from the hand of strangers; for truly your own soil is not rich.” So spake Leto.
 And Delos rejoiced and answered and said:
 “Leto, most glorious daughter of great Coeus, joyfully would I receive your child the
 far-shooting lord; for it is all too true that I am ill-spoken of

among men, whereas thus I should become very greatly honored. But this saying I
 fear, and I will not hide it from you, Leto. They say that Apollo will be one that is very
 haughty and will greatly lord it among gods and men all over the fruitful earth.

Therefore, I greatly fear in heart and spirit that as soon as he sees the light of
 the sun, he will scorn this island —for truly I have but a hard, rocky soil —and overturn
 me and thrust me down with his feet in the depths of the sea; then will the great ocean
 wash deep above my head for ever,

and he will go to another land such as will please him, there to make his temple
 and wooded groves. So many-footed creatures of the sea will make their lairs in me and
 black seals their dwellings undisturbed, because I lack people. Yet if you will but dare
 to swear a great oath, goddess,

that here first he will build a glorious temple to be an oracle for men, then let
 him afterwards

make temples and wooded groves amongst all men; for surely he will be greatly
 renowned. So said Delos . And Leto swear the
 great oath of the gods: “Now hear this, Earth and wide Heaven above,

and dropping water of Styx (this is the strongest and most awful oath for the
 blessed gods), surely Phoebus shall have here his fragrant altar and precinct, and you he
 shall honor above all.” Now when Leto had sworn and ended
 her oath,

Delos was very glad at the birth of the
 far-shooting lord. But Leto was racked nine days and nine nights with pangs beyond wont.

And there were with her all the chiefest of the goddesses, Dione and Rhea and
 Ichnaea and Themis and loud-moaning Amphitrite and the other deathless goddesses save
 white-armed Hera, who sat in the halls of cloud-gathering Zeus. Only Eilithyia, goddess of
 sore travail, had not heard of Leto's trouble, for she sat on the top of Olympus beneath golden clouds by white-armed Hera's

contriving, who kept her close through envy, because Leto with the lovely tresses
 was soon to bear a son faultless and strong. But the goddesses sent out Iris from the
 well-set isle to bring Eilithyia, promising her a great necklace strung with golden
 threads, nine cubits long.

And they bade Iris call her aside from white-armed Hera, lest she might
 afterwards turn her from coming with her words. When swift Iris, fleet of foot as the
 wind, had heard all this, she set to run; and quickly finishing all the distance she came
 to the home of the gods, sheer Olympus ,

and forthwith called Eilithyia out from the hall to the door and spoke winged
 words to her, telling her all as the goddesses who dwell on Olympus had bidden her. So she moved the heart of Eilithyia in her dear
 breast; and they went their way, like shy wild-doves in their going.

And as soon as Eilithyia the goddess of sore travail set foot on Delos , the pains of birth seized Leto, and she longed to
 bring forth; so she cast her arms about a palm tree and kneeled on the soft meadow while
 the earth laughed for joy beneath. Then the child leaped forth to the light, and all the
 goddesses raised a cry.

Straightway, great Phoebus, the goddesses washed you purely and cleanly with
 sweet water, and swathed you in a white garment of fine texture, new-woven, and fastened a
 golden band about you. Now Leto did not give Apollo, bearer of the golden blade, her
 breast; but Themis duly poured nectar and ambrosia

with her divine hands: and Leto was glad because she had borne a strong son and
 an archer. But as soon as you had tasted that divine heavenly food, O Phoebus, you could
 no longer then be held by golden cords nor confined with bands, but all their ends were
 undone.

Forth-with Phoebus Apollo spoke out among the deathless goddesses: “The lyre and the curved bow shall ever be dear to me, and I will
 declare to men the unfailing will of Zeus.” So said Phoebus, the long-haired god who
 shoots afar and began to walk upon the wide-pathed earth;

and all the goddesses were amazed at him. Then with gold all Delos [ was laden, beholding the child of Zeus and Leto,
 for joy because the god chose her above the islands and shore to make his dwelling in her:
 and she loved him yet more in her heart. ] blossomed as does a mountain-top with woodland
 flowers.

And you, O lord Apollo, god of the silver bow, shooting afar, now walked on
 craggy Cynthus, and now kept wandering about the islands and the people in them. Many are
 your temples and wooded groves, and all peaks and towering bluffs

of lofty mountains and rivers flowing to the sea are dear to you, Phoebus, yet in
 Delos do you most delight your heart; for
 there the long robed Ionians gather in your honor with their children and shy wives: with
 boxing and dancing and song,

mindful, they delight you so often as they hold their gathering. A man would say
 that they were deathless and unageing if he should then come upon the Ionians so met
 together. For he would see the graces of them all, and would be pleased in heart gazing at
 the men and well-girded women

with their swift ships and great wealth. And there is this great wonder besides
 —and its renown shall never perish —, the girls of Delos , hand-maidens of the Far-shooter; for when they have praised Apollo
 first, and also Leto and Artemis who delights in arrows,

they sing a strain telling of men and women of past days, and charm the tribes of
 men. Also they can imitate the tongues of all men and their clattering speech: each would
 say that he himself were singing, so close to truth is their sweet song.

And now may Apollo be favorable and Artemis; and farewell all you maidens.
 Remember me in after time whenever any one of men on earth, a stranger who has seen and
 suffered much, comes here and asks of you: “Whom think ye, girls, is the sweetest singer
 that comes here, and in whom do you most delight?”

Then answer, each and all, with one voice: “He is a blind man, and dwells in
 rocky Chios : his lays are evermore supreme.” As
 for me, I will carry your renown as far as I roam over the earth

to the well-placed cities of man, and they will believe also; for indeed this
 thing is true. And I will never cease to praise far-shooting Apollo, god of the silver
 bow, whom rich-haired Leto bare.

O Lord, Lycia is yours and lovely
 Maeonia

and Miletus , charming city by the
 sea, but over wave-girt Delos you greatly reign
 your own self. Leto's all-glorious son goes to rocky Pytho , playing upon his hollow lyre, clad in divine, perfumed garments; and
 his lyre,

at the touch of the golden key, sings sweet. Thence, swift as thought, he speeds
 from earth to Olympus , to the house of Zeus, to
 join the gathering of the other gods: then straightway the undying gods think only of the
 lyre and song, and all the Muses together, voice sweetly answering voice,

hymn the unending gifts the gods enjoy and the sufferings of men, all that they
 endure at the hands of the deathless gods, and how they live witless and helpless and
 cannot find healing for death or defence against old age. Meanwhile the rich-tressed
 Graces and cheerful Seasons dance with

Harmonia and Hebe and Aphrodite, daughter of Zeus, holding each other by the
 wrist. And among them sings one, not mean nor puny, but tall to look upon and enviable in
 mien, Artemis who delights in arrows, sister of Apollo.

Among them sport Ares and the keen-eyed Slayer of Argus, while Apollo plays his
 lyre stepping high and featly and a radiance shines around him, the gleaming of his feet
 and close-woven vest. And they,

even gold-tressed Leto and wise Zeus, rejoice in their great hearts as they watch
 their dear son playing among the undying gods. How then shall I sing of you —though in all
 ways you are a worthy theme for song? Shall I sing of you as wooer and in the fields of
 love, how you went wooing the daughter of Azan

along with god-like Ischys the son of well-horsed Elatius, or with Phorbas sprung
 from Triops, or with Ereutheus, or with Leucippus and the wife of Leucippus you on
 foot, he with his chariot, yet he fell not short of Triops. Or shall I sing how at the
 first

you went about the earth seeking a place of oracle for men, O far-shooting
 Apollo? To Pieria first you went down from Olympus and passed by sandy Lectus and Enienae and through the land of the
 Perrhaebi. Soon you came to Iolcus and set foot on Cenaeum in Euboea , famed for ships:

you stood in the Lelantine plain, but it pleased not your heart to make a temple
 there and wooded groves. From there you crossed the Euripus, far-shooting Apollo, and went
 up the green, holy hills, going on to Mycalessus and grassy-bedded Teumessus,

and so came to the wood-clad abode of Thebe; for as yet no man lived in holy
 Thebe, nor were there tracks or ways about Thebe's wheat-bearing plain as yet. And further
 still you went, O far-shooting Apollo,

and came to Onchestus, Poseidon's bright grove: there the new-broken colt
 distressed with drawing the trim chariot gets spirit again, and the skilled driver springs
 from his car and goes on his way. Then the horses for a while rattle the empty car, being
 rid of guidance;

and if they break the chariot in the woody grove, men look after the horses, but
 tilt the chariot and leave it there; for this was the rite from the very first. And the
 drivers pray to the lord of the shrine; but the chariot falls to the lot of the god.
 Further yet you went, O far-shooting Apollo,

and reached next Cephissus' sweet stream which pours forth its sweet-flowing
 water from Lilaea, and crossing over it, O worker from afar, you passed many-towered
 Ocalea and reached grassy Haliartus. Then you went towards Telphusa: and there the
 pleasant place seemed fit for

making a temple and wooded grove. You came very near and spoke to her: “Telphusa,
 here I am minded to make a glorious temple, an oracle for men, and hither they will always
 bring perfect hecatombs,

both those who live in rich Peloponnesus 
 and those of Europe and all the wave-washed
 isles, coming to seek oracles. And I will deliver to them all counsel that cannot fail,
 giving answer in my rich temple.” So said Phoebus Apollo, and laid out all the foundations

throughout, wide and very long. But when Telphusa saw this, she was angry in
 heart and spoke, saying: “Lord Phoebus, worker from afar, I will speak a word of counsel
 to your heart, since you are minded to make here a glorious temple to be an oracle for men
 who will always

bring hither perfect hecatombs for you; yet I will speak out, and do you lay up
 my words in your heart. The trampling of swift horses and the sound of mules watering at
 my sacred springs will always irk you, and men will like better to gaze at

the well-made chariots and stamping, swift-footed horses than at your great
 temple and the many treasures that are within. But if you
 will be moved by me —for you, lord, are stronger and mightier than I, and your strength is
 very great —build at Crisa below the glades of
 Parnassus :

there no bright chariot will clash, and there will be no noise of swift-footed
 horses near your well-built altar. But so the glorious tribes of men will bring gifts to
 you as Iepaeon (‘Hail-Healer’), and you will receive with delight rich sacrifices from the
 people dwelling round about.”

So said Telphusa, that she alone, and not the Far-Shooter, should have renown
 there; and she persuaded the Far-Shooter. Further yet you went, far-shooting Apollo, until
 you came to the town of the presumptuous Phlegyae who dwell on this earth

in a lovely glade near the Cephisian lake, caring not for Zeus. And thence you
 went speeding swiftly to the mountain ridge, and came to Crisa beneath snowy Parnassus , a
 foothill turned towards the west: a cliff hangs over it from above, and a hollow, rugged
 glade runs under.

There the lord Phoebus Apollo resolved to make his lovely temple, and thus he
 said: “In this place I am minded to build a glorious temple to be an oracle for men, and
 here they will always bring perfect hecatombs,

both they who dwell in rich Peloponnesus 
 and the men of Europe and from all the
 wave-washed isles, coming to question me. And I will deliver to them all counsel that
 cannot fail, answering them in my rich temple.” When he had said this, Phoebus Apollo laid
 out all the foundations

throughout, wide and very long; and upon these the sons of Erginus, Trophonius
 and Agamedes, dear to the deathless gods, laid a footing of stone. And the countless
 tribes of men built the whole temple of wrought stones, to be sung of for ever.

But near by was a sweet flowing spring, and there with his strong bow the lord,
 the son of Zeus, killed the bloated, great she-dragon, a fierce monster wont to do great
 mischief to men upon earth, to men themselves and to their thin-shanked sheep; for she was
 a very bloody plague.

She it was who once received from gold-throned Hera and brought up fell, cruel
 Typhaon to be a plague to men. Once on a time Hera bare him because she was angry with
 father Zeus, when the Son of Cronos bare all-glorious Athena in his head. Thereupon
 queenly Hera was angry

and spoke thus among the assembled gods: “Hear from me, all gods and goddesses,
 how cloud-gathering Zeus begins to dishonor me wantonly, when he has made me his
 true-hearted wife. See now, apart from me he has given birth to bright-eyed Athena

who is foremost among all the blessed gods. But my son Hephaestus whom I bare

was weakly among all the blessed gods and shrivelled of foot, a shame and a
 disgrace to me in heaven, whom I myself took in my hands and cast out so that he fell in
 the great sea. But silver-shod Thetis the daughter of Nereus

took and cared for him with her sisters: would that she had done other service to
 the blessed gods! O wicked one and crafty! What else will you now devise? How dared you by
 yourself give birth to bright-eyed Athena? Would not I have borne you a child —I, who was
 at least called your wife

among the undying gods who hold wide heaven.

Beware now lest I devise some evil thing for you hereafter: yes, now I will
 contrive that a son be born me to be foremost among the undying gods —and that without
 casting shame on the holy bond of wedlock between you and me.

And I will not come to your bed, but will consort with the blessed gods far off
 from you.” When she had so spoken, she went apart from the gods, being very angry. Then
 straightway large-eyed queenly Hera prayed, striking the ground flatwise with her hand,
 and speaking thus:

“Hear now, I pray, Earth and wide Heaven above and you Titan gods who dwell
 beneath the earth about great Tartarus, and from whom are sprung both gods and men! Harken
 you now to me, one and all, and grant that I may bear a child apart from Zeus, no wit
 lesser than him in strength —nay, let him be as much stronger than Zeus as all-seeing Zeus
 than Cronos.”

Thus she cried and lashed the earth with her strong hand. Then the life-giving
 earth was moved: and when Hera saw it she was glad in heart, for she thought her prayer
 would be fulfilled. And thereafter she never came to the bed of wise Zeus for a full year,

nor to sit in her carved chair as aforetime to plan wise counsel for him, but
 stayed in her temples where many pray, and delighted in her offerings, large-eyed queenly
 Hera. But when the months and days were fulfilled

and the seasons duly came on as the earth moved round, she bare one neither like
 the gods nor mortal men, fell, cruel Typhaon, to be a plague to men. Straightway
 large-eyed queenly Hera took him and bringing one evil thing to another such, gave him to
 the dragoness; and she received him.

And this Typhaon used to work great mischief among the famous tribes of men.
 Whosoever met the dragoness, the day of doom would sweep him away, until the lord Apollo,
 who deals death from afar, shot a strong arrow at her. Then she, rent with bitter pangs,
 lay drawing great gasps for breath and rolling about that place.

An awful noise swelled up unspeakable as she writhed continually this way and
 that amid the wood: and so she left her life, breathing it forth in blood. Then Phoebus
 Apollo boasted over her: “Now rot here upon the soil that feeds man' You at least shall
 live no more to be a fell bane to men

who eat the fruit of the all-nourishing earth, and who will bring hither perfect
 hecatombs. Against cruel death neither Typhoeus shall avail you nor ill-famed Chimera, but
 here shall the Earth and shining Hyperion make you rot.”

Thus said Phoebus, exulting over her: and darkness covered her eyes. And the holy
 strength of Helios made her rot away there; wherefore the place is now called Pytho , and men call the lord Apollo by another name,
 Pythian; because on that spot the power of piercing Helios made the monster rot away.

Then Phoebus Apollo saw that the sweet-flowing spring had beguiled him, and he
 started out in anger against Telphusa; and soon coming to her, he stood close by and spoke
 to her: “Telphusa, you were not, after all, to keep to yourself this lovely place by
 deceiving my mind,

and pour forth your clear flowing water: here my renown shall also be and not
 yours alone?” Thus spoke the lord, far-working Apollo, and pushed over upon her a crag
 with a shower of rocks, hiding her streams: and he made himself an altar in a wooded grove

very near the clear-flowing stream. In that place all men pray to the great one
 by the name Telphusian, because he humbled the stream of holy Telphusa. Then Phoebus
 Apollo pondered in his heart what men he should bring in

to be his ministers in sacrifice and to serve him in rocky Pytho . And while he considered this, he became aware of a
 swift ship upon the wine-like sea in which were many men and goodly, Cretans from
 Cnossos , the city of Minos, they who do sacrifice to the prince and announce his
 decrees,

whatsoever Phoebus Apollo, bearer of the golden blade, speaks in answer from his
 laurel tree below the dells of Parnassus . These men were sailing in their
 black ship for traffic and for profit to sandy Pylos and to the men of Pylos .
 But Phoebus Apollo met them:

in the open sea he sprang upon their swift ship, like a dolphin in shape, and lay
 there, a great and awesome monster, and none of them gave heed so as to understand ;

but they sought to cast the dolphin overboard. But he kept shaking the black
 ship every way and making the timbers quiver. So they sat silent in their craft for fear,

and did not loose the sheets throughout the black, hollow ship, nor lowered the
 sail of their dark-prowed vessel, but as they had set it first of all with oxhide ropes,
 so they kept sailing on; for a rushing south wind hurried on the swift ship from behind.
 First they passed by Malea,

and then along the Laconian coast they came to Taenarum, sea-garlanded town and
 country of Helios who gladdens men, where the thick-fleeced sheep of the lord Helios feed
 continually and occupy a gladsome country. There they wished to put their ship to shore,
 and land

and comprehend the great marvel and see with their eyes whether the monster would
 remain upon the deck of the hollow ship, or spring back into the briny deep where fishes
 shoal. But the well-built ship would not obey the helm, but went on its way all along
 Peloponnesus :

and the lord, far-working Apollo, guided it easily with the breath of the breeze.
 So the ship ran on its course and came to Arena and lovely Argyphea and Thryon, the ford
 of Alpheus, and well-placed Aepy and sandy Pylos and the men of Pylos ;

past Cruni it went and Chalcis and
 past Dyme and fair Elis , where the Epei rule. And at the time when she was making for Pherae,
 exulting in the breeze from Zeus, there appeared to them below the clouds the steep
 mountain of Ithaca , and Dulichium and Same and
 wooded Zacynthus .

But when they were passed by all the coast of Peloponnesus , then, towards Crisa ,
 that vast gulf began to heave in sight which through all its length cuts off the rich isle
 of Pelops. There came on them a strong, clear west-wind by ordinance of Zeus and blew from
 heaven vehemently, that with all speed

the ship might finish coursing over the briny water of the sea. So they began
 again to voyage back towards the dawn and the sun: and the lord Apollo, son of Zeus, led
 them on until they reached far-seen Crisa , land
 of vines, and into haven: there the sea-coursing ship grounded on the sands.

Then, like a star at noonday, the lord, far-working Apollo, leaped from the ship:
 flashes of fire flew from him thick and their brightness reached to heaven. He entered
 into his shrine between priceless tripods, and there made
 a flame to flare up bright, showing forth the splendor of his shafts, so that their
 radiance

filled all Crisa , and the wives and
 well-girded daughters of the Crisaeans raised a cry at that outburst of Phoebus; for he
 cast great fear upon them all. From his shrine he sprang forth again, swift as a thought,
 to speed again to the ship, bearing the form of a man, brisk and sturdy,

in the prime of his youth, while his broad shoulders were covered with his hair:
 and he spoke to the Cretans, uttering winged words: “Strangers, who are you? Whence come
 you sailing along the paths of the sea? Are you for traffic, or do you wander at random
 over the sea as pirates do who put

their own lives to hazard and bring mischief to men of foreign parts as they
 roam? Why rest you so and are afraid, and do not go ashore nor stow the gear of your black
 ship? For that is the custom of men who live by bread, whenever they come to land in their
 dark ships from the main,

spent with toil: at once desire for sweet food catches them about the heart.” So
 speaking, he put courage in their hearts, and the master of the Cretans answered him and
 said: “Stranger —though you are nothing like mortal men

in shape or stature, but are as the deathless gods —hail and all happiness to
 you, and may the gods give you good. Now tell me truly that I may surely know it: what
 country is this, and what land, and what men live herein? As for us, with thoughts set
 otherwards, we were sailing over the great sea

to Pylos from Crete (for from there we declare that we are sprung), but
 now are come on shipboard to this place by no means willingly —another way and other paths
 —and gladly would we return. But one of the deathless gods brought us here against our
 will.” Then far-working Apollo answered them and said:

“Strangers who once dwelt about wooded Cnossos but now shall return no more each to his loved city and fair house
 and dear wife; here shall you keep my rich temple that is honored by many men.

I am the son of Zeus; Apollo is my name: but you I brought here over the wide
 gulf of the sea, meaning you no hurt; nay, here you shall keep my rich temple that is
 greatly honored among men, and you shall know the plans of the deathless gods, and by
 their will

you shall be honored continually for all time. And now come, make haste and do as
 I say. First loose the sheets and lower the sail, and then draw the swift ship up upon the
 land. Take out your goods and the gear of the straight ship,

and make an altar upon the beach of the sea: light fire upon it and make an
 offering of white meal. Next, stand side by side around the altar and pray: and in as much as at the first on the hazy sea I sprang upon the
 swift ship in the form of a dolphin,

pray to me as Apollo Delphinius; also the altar itself shall be called Delphinius
 and overlooking for ever. Afterwards, sup beside your dark ship and pour
 an offering to the blessed gods who dwell on Olympus . But when you have put away craving for sweet food,

come with me singing the hymn Ie Paean (Hail, Healer!), until you come to the
 place where you shall keep my rich temple.” So said Apollo. And they readily harkened to
 him and obeyed him. First they unfastened the sheets and let down the sail and lowered the
 mast by the forestays upon the mast-rest.

Then, landing upon the beach of the sea, they hauled up the ship from the water
 to dry land and fixed long stays under it. Also they made an altar upon the beach of the
 sea, and when they had lit a fire, made an offering of white meal,

and prayed standing around the altar as Apollo had bidden them. Then they took
 their meal by the swift, black ship, and poured an offering to the blessed gods who dwell
 on Olympus . And when they had put away craving
 for drink and food, they started out with the lord Apollo, the son of Zeus, to lead them,

holding a lyre in his hands, and playing sweetly as he stepped high and featly.
 So the Cretans followed him to Pytho , marching in
 time as they chanted the Ie Paean after the manner of the Cretan paean-singers and of
 those in whose hearts the heavenly Muse has put sweet-voiced song.

With tireless feet they approached the ridge and straightway came to Parnassus and the lovely place where they were to dwell
 honored by many men. There Apollo brought them and showed them his most holy sanctuary and
 rich temple. But their spirit was stirred in their dear breasts,

and the master of the Cretans asked him, saying: “Lord, since you have brought us
 here far from our dear ones and our fatherland, —for so it seemed good to your heart,—tell
 us now how we shall live. That we would know of you. This land is not to be desired either
 for vineyards or for pastures

so that we can live well thereon and also minister to men.” Then Apollo, the son of Zeus, smiled upon them and said: “Foolish mortals
 and poor drudges are you, that you seek cares and hard toils and straits! Easily will I
 tell you a word and set it in your hearts.

Though each one of you with knife in hand should slaughter sheep continually, yet
 would you always have abundant store, even all that the glorious tribes of men bring here
 for me. But guard you my temple and receive the tribes of men that gather to this place,

and especially show mortal men my will, and do you keep righteousness in your
 heart.

But if any shall be disobedient and pay no heed to my warning,

or if there shall be any idle word or deed and outrage as is common among mortal
 men, then other men shall be your masters and with a strong hand shall make you subject
 for ever. All has been told you: do you keep it in your heart.”

And so, farewell, son of Zeus and Leto; but I will remember you and another hymn
 also.