Anthology of Georgian Poetry

ANTHOLOGY OF GEORGIAN POETRY Translated by VENERA URUSHADZE STATE PUBLISHING HOUSE «Soviet Georgia» Tbilisi 1958 PREFACE Nature and history have combined to make Georgia a land of poetry. Glistening peaks, majestic forests, sunny valleys, crystalline streams clamouring in deep gorges have a music of their own, which heard by the sensitive ear tends to breed poetic thought; while the incessant struggle of the Georgians against foreign invaders — Persians, Arabs, Mongols, Turks and others — has bred in them a sense of chivalry and a deep patriotism which found expression in many a lay, ballad and poem. Now the treasures of Georgian literature, both ancient and modern, are accessible to millions of our country's readers for they have been translated into many languages of the peoples of the Soviet Union. Except for the very few but beautiful translations of the Wardrops almost nothing has been translated from Georgian into English. The published works of Marjory Wardrop are — "Georgian Folk Tales", "The Hermit", a poem by Ilia Chavchavadze (included in this anthology), "Life of St. Nino", ''Wisdom and Lies" by Saba Sulkhan Orbeliani. But her chief work was the word by word translation of the great epic poem "The Knight in the Tiger's Skin" by Shota Rustaveli. Oliver Wardrop translated "Visramiani". Now, I have taken the responsibility upon myself to afford the English reader some of the treasures of Georgian poetry. This anthology, without pretending to be complete, aims at including the specimens of the varied poetry of the Georgian people from the beginning of its development till to-day. I shall not speak of the difficulties of translating into English from Georgian, even though it might serve as an excuse for some of my shortcomings. If I have been able to give, however faint, a reflection of the beauty of the original and have succeeded in partly expressing the poetical temperament of some of the exquisite jewels of Georgian poetry, I shall be content. And I hope that this anthology may arouse interest and be a contribution to Georgian studies abroad. Venera Urushadze. INTRODUCTION This anthology is a collection of selected poems by outstanding masters of age-old Georgian poetic art. In its present form, the anthology cannot, of course, give the foreign reader a complete idea of the development of Georgian poetry, all the more that works by Georgian poets, except for a few, have unfortunately not yet been translated into foreign languages. This book may, notwithstanding, prove useful to English-speaking people interested in Georgia's history and culture. During the long ages of its existence, the Georgian nation has traversed a long path; it has known prosperity and misfortune. Centuries ago Georgian tribes inhabited Transcaucasia and part of the Near East. Beginning with the ninth and seventh centuries B. C. that is before the transition from the Bronze Age to the Iron Age, the Georgian tribes merged by degrees, and in the course of centuries two principal ethnical and cultural groups were formed: the Iberians in the East and the Colchians in the West. The merging of Georgian tribes was accompanied by the rise of Georgian states. According to the testimony of Greek authors, two Georgian states arose during that period, Colchis and Iberia. The slave system was prevalent in them in the initial period of their existence; it was subsequently superseded by the feudal system. Antique sources testify to the existence of populous cities and villages both in Colchis and in Iberia. As early as in the sixth century B. O. the Georgians coined their own money, silver coin at first and then gold. Trade with neighbouring states was well developed. The high level of Georgian economy in those days is proved by the fact that the main navigable waterways of the country, the Mtkvari and the Rioni, were spanned by as many as 120 bridges. The Greek historian Strabo writes that urban economy in Georgia was well developed in his day. Another Greek historian, Herodotus, says that Georgia exported a great variety of valuable goods: raw hides, furs, precious wood, gold, iron, etc. Trade relations were favoured by the fact that Georgia is situated on the main trade route joining East and West. All this makes it comprehensible why the two ancient Georgian states, Colchis and Iberia, always attracted the attention' of foreign invaders: the natural wealth of the country was most tempting to them. The myth of the Argonauts who sailed to Colchis to seek the Golden Fleece is universally known. Roman legions repeatedly invaded Georgia, but- in ancient times the Georgian state was so powerful that the Roman emperors were obliged every time to make Georgia their ally. Subsequently, in the course of centuries, the country was time and again attacked and ravaged by foreign invaders who massacred the population, pillaged the cities and reduced them to ashes; however, the Georgian people always fought heroically for the freedom and independence of their country, for the preservation of their tongue and culture. Vast quantities of wonderful relics of material culture testify to the existence in Georgia of an original and highly developed culture of great antiquity. Grand architectural monuments of heathen times have come down to us. Numerous gold and silver ornaments have been found in tombs dated to the middle of the second millenium B. C. Georgian museums possess rich collections of specimens of antique art — fine objects of gold, silver and enamel not inferior in quality to objects of art created in other well-known cultural centres of the period. Georgian folklore has preserved many a proof of the antiquity of Georgian culture. The legend of Amirani included in this anthology is particularly eloquent in this respect. It has been demonstrated that this legend originated in the latter half of the second millenium B. C Amirani (i. e. "the son of the Sun") is an invincible hero. He frees his people of mythical monsters and of mighty demons who oppressed them. He teaches people to work metals, to kindle fire, in this opposing and defying Heaven itself. In punishment for this he is chained by God to a rock in the Caucasus. This ancient Georgian legend subsequently found its way to Greece, where it became known as the legend of Prometheus, so significant in world literature. The Georgian people have created many epic and heroic legends of this kind; a number of them have come down to us and their emotional impact on the modern reader is very great. Georgian folklore is also exceedingly rich in love lyrics, in ritual verses and songs, as well as songs connected with labour processes. According to the Greek historian Xenophon, in the fourth century B. C the Georgian tribes had musical pieces, laic in character. He states that Georgians going to battle sang heroic songs in chorus. All this serves to indicate that ancient Georgian culture must surely have found expression in letters; however, no works of ancient Georgian literature have reached us, though traces of their existence have been preserved in the Christian ecclesiastical literature of subsequent periods. The most ancient written monuments are dated to the fifth century A. D. This century marks the beginning of ecclesiastical, mostly hagiographical literature, and of Georgian poetry as well. From the fifth to the tenth century Georgian poetry was mostly ecclesiastical. Alongside with translations of Byzantine ecclesiastical poetry, original poetry of the same character appeared. Georgian hymnography flourished in the eighth century, Ioanne Sabanisdze, the author of the "Life of Abo of Tbilisi" was remarkable in this line. Abo of Tbilisi was an Arab who had adopted Christianity; for his apostasy he was beheaded by the Arab conquerors of Georgia, his body was burned and his bones were thrown into the river. The fourth canto of the poem is a panegyric to Abo. Mikel Modrekili who compiled a collection of ecclesiastical poetry was another remarkable hymnographer. Existing material proves that Georgian poetry stood at a great height in those days. The period from the tenth to the thirteenth century was the Golden Age of classical old Georgian poetry. It coincides with the consolidation of the Georgian state and economy. The once independent Georgian principalities had merged into a single state. This process of consolidation was completed in the twelfth century, in the reign of King David IV (1089 — 1125). King David organized a standing army; he opened higher schools and academies; he built bridges, dug irrigation canals, constructed aqueducts; numerous churches and fortresses were erected in his reign, owing to which he was named David the Builder. The successes achieved in his day were further consolidated in the reign of Queen Tamari (1184 — 1213). In those days Georgia's borders encompassed a territory stretching from the Black Sea to the Caspian. Queen Tamari founded the so-called Empire of Trebizond and raised her relative, Alexis Komnenes, to the throne (1204). This consolidation of the Georgian state, its political and economic successes were accompanied by a flourishing of science, art and literature. Numerous scientific treatises dealing with problems of astrology, medicine and law were written at the time. Such centres of learning as the Iqalto and Gelati academies came into being. Similar centres were founded not only on Georgian territory, but in foreign lands as well, in Jerusalem, in Syria, Palestine, Byzantium and Bulgaria. Philosophy flourished, based on traditions of long standing. There was a school of philosophy in Colchis as early as in the fourth century where, besides Georgians, young men thirsting for knowledge came from Byzantium to study rhetorics and philosophy. The great Georgian philosopher Petre Iveri worked at this academy (412 — 488); he is thought to be the author of books formerly ascribed to Dionysus Areopagites.

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