29 Reconciliation (Hermes is integrated into Olympus): 504-528

His introduction to Olympus (again)

The cows headed back towards their sacred pasture

turned by the commands of both, acting as one.

The two magnificent children of Zeus

then skipped towards the snowy peak of Olympus,                                                                                           505

rejoicing in the lyre’s music.

Zeus, the Mindful-counselor beamed

as he bound them together in a pact of brotherhood. In this way, Hermes

came to love Leto’s son forever, even to the present day,

from the very moment he gave the first proof and pledge:

entrusting the kithara to the-one-whose-arrow-travels-far

and Apollo first learned to play it skillfully, holding it on his arm.                                                 510

But for himself, Hermes immediately invented the craft of a different sort of music:

the syrinx flute, whose cry is heard from valleys far away.

Seeing this, the son of Leto said to Hermes:

“I have a fear in my heart, son of Maia, Final-Guide, wickedly-clever one

that you might just steal back the kithara and then take my curved bow too,                                         515

especially since Zeus has now placed you in charge of ‘goods-exchange’

among the men who dwell across the all-nourishing earth.

So please indulge my worry and swear the most solemn oath of the gods,

either by nodding your head or by invoking the unrelenting current of the river Styx,

and in place of fear, my heart will be filled with gratitude and friendship.”                                             520

Maia’s son solemnly nodded his head and promised that

he would not ever steal back any plunder acquired by the one-whose-arrows-travel-far

nor would he come anywhere near his domain, packed-full of honours.

In turn, Apollo

Leto’s son, also solemnly nodded, confirming the pact both of alliance and brotherhood

and promised that no other immortal would ever be closer to him:                                                            525

not even another son of Zeus, whether god or man.

Apollo said: “Let our promises be fulfilled.

I will give you a token, a pledge of proof that our bond will be eternal and that in every possible way,

you will always have a place of trust and honour in my heart — from this moment on.