Page:The Dramas of Aeschylus (Swanwick).djvu/443

Rh As all uncouth, of strangers ill-approached.

Hybristes' river then—not falsely named—

Thou'lt reach; the ford, for hard it is to cross,

Attempt not until Caucasos thou gain,

Highest of mountains, from whose very brow

The river spouteth forth its might; forthwith

Its crest surmounting, neighbour to the stars,

Southward direct thy course until thou reach

The host of man-abhorring Amazons,

Who Themiscyra, near Thermodon's stream,

Shall one day people, where the cruel jaw

Of Salmydessus hems the briny sea,

Rude host to sea-men, step-dame unto ships;

These will conduct thee and right willingly;

Then the Kimmerian isthmus thou shalt gain

Hard by the narrow portals of the lake,

Which it behoveth thee with dauntless heart

To leave, and traverse the Mæotic strait;