If anyone could make goat-wrangling appear graceful in any measure, it must be Achilles. At last, the beast is penned in the corner by upturned tables, and Achilles claps his hands to his thighs — which, it should be noted, are bared in the customary dress of the Achaeans. Catching the bread, he holds it out for the goat.

"Here, you silly beast," says the son of Peleus, "accept this bread as an offering of peace. You need not rage against me forever."

By such enticements he has caught the creature's attention, but it does not yet come toward him.