Page:Poems Proctor.djvu/22

The women extolled the mother these hero-sons who bore,
And the men the youths immortal who could such strength reveal;
And lo! as I descended I saw an eagle soar,
And knew great Zeus in heaven had marked their holy zeal.

O'erwhelmed by the loving service, uplifted to the sky,
I entered the temple, and standing before the image, prayed:
"O glorious Argive Hera! what deed with this can vie?
What other sons such homage to their mother and thee have paid?—
Grant them the rarest blessing that all the Gods on high
Can give to mortals; and never on earth let their memory fade!"

The sacrifice smoked on the altar; incense clouded the air;
And with hymns, and full libations poured from the golden bowls,
They took of the holy banquet, and knew—the princely pair—
Their names in light were written on the temple's proudest scrolls;