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IRIS
No, Poseidon. Hera has laid the earth under strict oath not to give Leto anywhere for her travail; thus this island is not bound by the oath, for it was not visible.
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POSEIDON
I see. Stop still, island. Come up again from the deep, and drift below the surface no more. Remain in a fixed position, and receive, most lucky of islands, my brother’s two children, the most beautiful of all the gods. And you, Tritons, give Leto passage to the island, and let all be calm. And the moment the babes are born, they’ll pursue the serpent that’s now maddening Leto with fright, and exact vengeance for their mother. And you, Iris, go and tell Zeus that all is ready. Delos is stationary. Let Leto come now and have her children.
Xanthus A river of the Troad, also called Scamander. See Iliad, XXI, 211 ff. and Sea
XANTHUS
Take me to you, Sea, for I’ve suffered terribly. Please put a stop to my burning wounds.
SEA
What’s this, Xanthus? Who has burnt you?
XANTHUS
Hephaestus. See how I’ve been charred to cinders all over, poor thing that I am, and am at boiling point.
SEA
Whatever made him attack you with his fire?
XANTHUS
It’s all because of the son of Thetis Achilles. here. He was butchering the Phrygians, and I begged him to relent from his anger, but he wouldn’t; he only blocked up my stream with their bodies. Out of pity for the poor wretches, I attacked him, hoping to swallow him in a flood, and frighten him away from them.
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