With this we may contrast the case of Neptune, who had threatened to overwhelm the city of the Phæacians with a mountain; but who is apparently diverted from his purpose simply by the sacrifice which, under the advice of Alcinous, they offer to him[140].
Mere attributes of bulk stand at the bottom of the scale of even human excellence; and it is so that Homer treats them, giving them in the greatest abundance to his Otus, his Ephialtes, and his Mars. Minerva has them but indirectly assigned to her; and when arming for war, Apollo never receives them at all. When his might is described, it is always described in the loftiest manner, that is to say, in its effects; and effort or exertion is never attributed to either of them.
Even so with respect to locomotion. The highest picture by far is that which is most negative. In general, Apollo and Minerva move without the use of means or instruments, such as wings, chariots, or otherwise. While Neptune steps, and Juno’s horses spring, so many miles at each pace, the journeys of Apollo and Minerva are usually undescribed, undistributed. Minerva is going from Olympus to Ithaca; when she has departed, then she has arrived:
βῆ δὲ κατ’ Οὐλύμποιο καρήνων ἀΐξασα·
στῆ δ’ Ἰθάκης ἐνὶ δήμῳ, ἐπὶ προθύροις Ὀδυσῆος[141].
Only within the last few years have the triumphs of natural philosophy supplied us with an approximative illustration of these movements over space, in the more than lightning speed of the electric telegraph.
So Apollo, too, has by personal dignity what the messenger gods have by office. It is said of him and Iris, when in company, that their journey began; and that it ended:
τὼ δ’ ἀΐξαντε πετέσθην·
Ἴδην δ’ ἵκανον πολυπίδακα[142].