A fire-mouthed dragon having slain his men,

The hero Cadmus hastened to its den,

And killed the monster with his well-placed sword.

Alas, the beast had served a mighty lord.

Unknowingly the hero had provoked

The war-god Ares, who, his wrath unyoked

Against the dragon-slayer and his wife,

Caused them to suffer much in later life.

A daughter leapt with son into the sea,

Another fell to Hera’s jealousy.

A third, made mad ‘mongst bacchanalian bands,

Mistook her son and killed him with her hands.

A grandson, having seen a goddess nude,

Albeit not intending to intrude,

Became a stag, who fled through woods and bogs

And finally was killed by his own dogs.

O gods, does man invent you to explain

The enigmatic randomness of pain?