Odyssey 3.436 · Book 3, lines 436–438
The horns gilded for the goddess
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ἱρῶν ἀντιόωσα. γέρων δʼ ἱππηλάτα Νέστωρ χρυσὸν ἔδωχʼ· ὁ δʼ ἔπειτα βοὸς κέρασιν περίχευεν ἀσκήσας, ἵνʼ ἄγαλμα θεὰ κεχάροιτο ἰδοῦσα.
partaking in the rites. And the old horseman Nestor gave the gold; and he then poured gold round the ox's horns, working it finely, so the goddess might rejoice beholding the adornment.
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The setting
Athena has come to share in the sacrifice. Nestor supplies the gold from his own store, and Laerkes the smith overlays the heifer's horns with it, working the metal fine so that the goddess will delight in the sight.
A note on this passage
The horns are gilded. Nestor hands over the gold; the smith spreads it over the ox's horns and works it smooth. It is the promised offering being physically made, craft in the service of cult.
The key word is ἄγαλμα — the finished golden thing, from a root meaning 'delight,' and the ordinary noun for a votive offering or a cult-statue. The verse says outright why the beast is being dressed: 'that the goddess might rejoice, beholding it.' The god is imagined as a spectator whose pleasure is the aim, and the sacrifice becomes as much an object made to be looked at as a life given up. Piety and beauty are the same act here.
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