LOVE WORSHIP AND DEATH ,
S o m e R en d er i n gs fro m th e G re ek A nth o l ogy
BY S I R R E N N E L L R O D D
A U T H O R O F
‘ ’ BA L L A D S 0 9 T H E F L E E T
“ ’ wn T w e VI O E T a o E . L c , C
A A'E IV A N D E N L A R GE D E D I TI ON
L O N D O N W A R D A R N O L D
1 9 1 9
A 11 r fg /rts r e se r ved
A5 0: M l " ! PR EF A C E
T H E little volume published i n 1 91 6 under
o e ar s/z i nd D ea f/z the title of L v , W p a met with a kindly reception which has e n cou raged me to repri nt the renderings from the Greek Anthology which it contained with an almost equal number of others hitherto unpublished . In this n ew edition I have placed in a group by themselves the translations from
e the lyric po tesses of ancient Greece, to gether with some of the memorial verses c re ording the fame of Sappho and Erin na .
I n other respects the approximately chrono logical arrangemen t of the former volum e is R preserved . eferences to the Greek texts
have been added to th e index . The introduction to the fi rst edition is reproduced with only a few verbal correc tions . There is little to add to it save the consoling reflection which I have derived from a renewed examination of the greater
portion of the Anthology . The experiences of the late grim years have revealed to u s how readily a large section of civilised mankind can revert to the instincts of the primeval savage . On the other han d these i little poems , wr tten for the most part some two thousand years ago, bear eloquent testi mony that those qualities of kindliness and tenderness and sympathy, which they so beautifully express, are eternal and essential in the heart of man . I n evidence of which I may refer my readers to the versions on
R R . 2 6 1 2 . . pages 4 , , and 7 I NTR O D U CT I O N TO T H E F I R ST E D I T I O N
AM ON G the many diverse forms of expression i n which the Greek genius has been revealed to us , that which is preserved i n the lyrics of the Anthology most typically reflects the familiar life of men , the thought an d feeling of every day in the lost ancient world .
s These little flowers of song reveal , as doe no other phase of that great literature, a personal outlook on life , kindly, direct and simple , the tenderness which charac
' terise d a fle c family relations, the reciprocal
tion of master and slave , sympathy with the domestic animals , a generous sense of the obligations of friendship, a gentle piety and
a close i ntimacy with the nature gods, of m whose presence, alignant or benign , the vii C re ek was ever sensitively conscious . For these reasons they still make so vivid an appeal to us after a long silence of many centuries . To myself who have lived for some years in that enchanted world of
Greece, and have sailed from island to island of its haunted seas , the shores have seemed still quick with the voices of those gracious presences who gave exquisite form to their thoughts on life and death , their sense of awe and beauty and love . There indeed poetry seem s the appropriate expres sion of the environment , an d there even
- still to day, more than anywhere else in the world , the correlation of our life with nature may be felt instinctively ; the human soul seems nearest to the soul of the world .
The poems , of which some renderings are here offered to those who cann ot read the
originals , cover a period of about a thousand viii years , broken by one interval during which the lesser lyre is silent . The poets of the elegy and the m elos appear i n due succession a e ic a nd si nificant fter those of the p , , , g per haps of the transition , there are found i n the fi rst great period of the lyric the names of two women , Sappho of Lesbos , acknow ledged by the u nanimous voice of anti
uit q y, which is confirmed by the quality of a few remaining fragments , to be among the greatest poets of all times , and Corinna of
r Tanag a, who contended with Pindar and
’ rivalled Sappho s mastery . The canon of Alexandria does not i nclude among the nine E R greater lyrists the name of rinna of hodes ,
e who died too young , in the maid n glory of
her youth and fame . The earlier poets of the molar were for the most part natives of
‘ the e d e sprinkl isl s,
’ ’ Lily on lil y th a t o e rla c e the se a . ix Theirs is the age o f the austerer mood , when the clean - cut marble outlines of a great language matured i n its noblest expression . Then a century of song is followed by the period of the dramatists during which the lyric m use is almost silent , in an age of political and intellectual intensity . A new epoch of lyrical revival i s inaugur ated by the advent of Alexander, and the wide extension of Hellenic culture to more distant areas of the Mediterranean Then follows the long succession of poets who may generally be classified as of the school
of Alexandria . Among them are three
An te other women singers of high renown , y N L of Tegea, ossis of ocri in southern Italy ,
t and Moe o of Byzantium . The later writers of this period had lost the graver purity o f
the first lyric outburst, but they had gained by a wider range of sympathy and a closer touch with nature . This group may be said
to close with Meleager, who was born in
Syria and educated at Tyre , whose contact with the eastern world explains a certai n suggestive and exotic fascination in his poetry which is not strictly Greek . The Alexandrian is followed by the R oman
and R period , th e oman by the Byzantine, in which the spirit of the muse of Hellas expires reluctantly i n an atmosphere of bureaucratic and religious pedantry . These few words of introduction should fi suf ce, si nce the development of the lyric poetry of Greece and the characteristics of its successive exponents have been made familiar to English readers i n the admirable k il Mac a . work of my friend J. W . A refer ence to his Select E pigr a ms fr o m 111 6 G r eek
A n f/z o/ogy suggests one plea of j ustification for the present little collection of renderings , x i a considerable number of which have been by him translated incomparably well into
1 prose . Of the quality of verse translation there are many tests : the closeness with which the intention and atmosphere of the original has been maintain ed ; the absence of ex traneo us additions ; the omission of no essential feature, and the i nterpretation , by such equivalent as most adequately corre s o n ds p , of i ndividualities of style and asson anec s of language . B ut not the least essen tial j ustification of poetical translation is that the version should constitute a poem on its own accou nt, worthy to stan d by itself on its own merits if the reader were
unaware that it was a translation . I t is to
1 A compl ete English prose tra nsla tion of the
G eek A b W. R . a has bee r nthology, y P ton , now n
u b ed the Lo h a p lish in c Cl ssica l Libra ry.
X I I this test especially that ren derings in verse too often fail to conform . I have discarded not a few because they seemed too oh viously to bear the forced expression which i the effort to interpret is apt to nduce . Of those that remain some at least I hope f approach the desired standard , ailing to achieve which they would undoubtedly be better expressed in simple prose . And yet there is a value in rendering rhythm by rhythm where it is possible , and if any success has been attained, such translations probably convey more of the spirit of the
original , which meant verse , with all which
that implies , and not prose . Th e arrangement in this little volume is
approximately chronological in sequence . This should serve to i llustrate the severe and restrained si mplicity of the earlier writers as contrasted with the more complex and xiii conscious thought , and the more elaborate expression of later centuries when the hori zons of Hellenism had been vastly extended . The interpretation of these lyrics has been my sole and grateful distraction during a period of ceaseless work and intense
1 1 1 1 6 . anxiety in the tragic years , 9 4 to 9
R . R .
xiv I N D E X O F A U T H O R S
( Referenc es to Greek T e xts foll ow the T itle )
° A P = A n tlzolo z a P a la tina Book a nd N umbe . . g r . P = P 1a n u dea n A en dix a s b s e the o eb . pp , pu li h d in L a a C la ssi c l Libr ry. ’ B = Bru nck s A n a lecta Veter u m P oeta r a m Gr a e .
or um Vo me a nd a e c lu p g .
' 114 ca es a the e c ed in Mac ka il s . Indi t th t t xt is in lud S elect E i r a m r om fire Gr eek A n tholo p g fr gy .
PART I MI MN E R MU S M C A R PE D rE M. . A N A C R EON T I C A ' B C H NG E . . 8 . o e E . l L v s ALL , i 3
B. . B N . n . H ACC A AL , i 93 P T R T B H E R R . . m . . O AI , i 93 B I V T H E T E C NST R NS . . . . LU O AI , i 7 9
m o r B . 0 m a mo x s s . M . v . , i 9
vi P G B. . 0 . A OLO IA . , i 9 U N ! N OW N
' v M A N AC R EO N S G R E . A . P . n . 2 8 . . AV ,
X V S I MON I D ES M 1 N T H R N A . . 2 . E P T S P 1 . . O S A A . vii 5
1 1 N TH E ATH EN rA N s 2 M . O . 53 . .
1 1 1 . T H E L roN T H E R P E A . P OF MO YLA . . ,
a and 6 vii . 344 H R B A T T E P E . N T H E D E . . . AD MO YLA , i 1 2 3 PLATO
PE R rA . 1 A G R E I N s M. . AV A W R SH i p . . P . . 66 M 1 1 . ST R o . A , vii 9 ST R 1 1 1 T H E U N SET . M . A .
L r A . P 1 M W A s. . . . . , vi .
HE 1 N E PA N . P . 1 M A S . . V . OF , 3
PE RSES
A R ST SH R 1 N E A . P M U IC . . , i x . 334 . .
A D DAE U S
AN 1 E NT Ox. A P 8 T H E c . . . 1 M . , vi .
PH I LE TAS
H rNG F OR T E R S Stoba e s N oT A ( u ). ASC LE P I A D ES
PR SE E . 1 6 M 1 T H E . . . AI OF LOV 9 H R E P 1 A G R E O N TH E S . A . . . 1 . AV O , vii
2 8 4 . M. L EON I D A S OF T A R E N T U M P BY T H E A 1 S R NG E S . A . P . 1 M . I , x . . .
F NT N H E . P 2 2 M 6 . 1 1 T H E . . . OU AI AD ,
PR rA PU s T H E W T H N P 2 6 1 1 1 . . . A C MA . 3
T PH A P 1 w H rs E P . . . . . I A . vii 7 5
X VI CA LLI MACH U S
A A . P vu . 2 . M . C AST UP BY TH E SE . 7 7 MN ASALCAS
T P V H A . i. . T o H E A R C E R G O D . 9 POS EI D I PPU S l D R 1 A . A . 1 . O CH ( Athenae us)
E 1 R E N 1 0N . . 1 1 . A . P . 1 , v 94
'
P . 2 1 11 T H E S A 1 L OR s G R E . A . . 6 . AV , vii 7 PT O LE MA E U S
M T 1 NS RT T . A P . I NT 1 A 0 . OF I MMO ALI Y , ix 57 7 D AMAG ET U S M T H E A NO . A P ...... vii 7 35 D I ONYS I U S
‘
T H E R SE O P T H . A . P . v. 8 1 . O YOU , A R C H I A S A P H R B R G O D . . . 1 M 1 T H E 0. . . A OU x
S E A . A P 1 1 . A G R E BY T H E . . . AV , vii
2 TV 7 8 . .
E H A . P ix. 2 1 1 1 . C O . 7
w T H E P H R T E E E S . P P . 1 . A ODI OF A LL , 7 9 ME L EA G E R
' - . v s 1v R P . . 1 8 . M 1 Lo E U 1. . A . Q . , v 9
1 E P T . A . P . . 1 1 . 1 . C H M. U . V 7
H rL E . A P 1 1 1 Z E NO P . . M . 1 . v 39 D i v. E A N D E T H . . M LOV A xii . 7 4 . ' M v . A . P . . Lo E s AL iCE . 1 . 6 M . v , v 7
vi AsCL E m As P . 6 . A . . 1 M. . . , v 5 b xvii ' V T I MAR I O N P I r S CA Ti VE A . P xii. 1 . . 1 3
V E E R R P 1 SP E X . A . 1 . M VIII . DU . , xii . 4 .
I x. H E R . A 6 P . 1 . M . LIODO A . . , v 3 T H R E W E TH . A . P . 1 M. x . A . , v 47 . x1 L I EAT I N P O . A . . 1 . M. . . , v 37
1 1 T H E G R E HE R . A . P x . AV OF LIODO A II 6 . I . VII . 47
I E P T A P . H S . . . . 1 M . x1 1 1 . PH I A , vii 4 9 D I OD O R U S Z O N AS H E D E C H A 6 T . . P . AD ILD , VII . 3 5 APO LL ON I D ES
‘ H E N E A P D E T H S . . . . 8 . A YM A AL , vii 37 M . CR I NAG OR AS
W NT E R . A P M. R SE S I N . . . . O I , vi 343 JU LI U S POLYAE N U S
' E X S PR E R P i M A N E A . x. . IL AY . 7 . A NT l PAT E R O F T H ESSA LO N I C A M G R E A T O ST . 1 8 . . 1 . A AV IA 5
I 2 A EG E N S E S. A . P . 1 II . A L , ix . 4 ST R ATO M T H E ! SS A . P xii 1 . I . . 7 7 . A MMI A N U S
A P 2 0 . M T H E R N S . . . . . LO D OF LA D . x 9 A L PH E U S M N E 1 0 1 . MYC E A . . PAL LAD AS 8 M T H E PE SS ST A . P . . . . IMI . . x 4 xviii
E R I N N A ’ . v M I T H E D B R E n . 2 . E A J 1 . AD I D . 7
T H E R E . . 1 0 l l . G AV o r BAUCI S vii 7 AN YTE O F T EG E A
. SH R N E EV T H E S E A . A . P . . I A I . i x
1 44 . M.
- T H E G OD T H E C R SS R S. A . P II . OF O OAD . , M 1 . . ix . 3 4
1 1 1 R ST O E R NG . P . 2 1 . A U IC FF I , 9
A P T R E A P 1 2 IV . IC U . . . , vi . 3
T H E G T . A . P v . OA . . ix . 7 45
MOE RO
1 B N H R PE S M G 1 1 . . A U C OF A . 9 . 8 M 1 1 . Ex V T A P 1 O O . . . , vi . 9. . N O SSI S
C P R S A P 6 M R SES 1 . . I . O OF Y I . . . . v . 7
' R I NT HO S G R E A P 1 M II . AV . . . , vii . 4 4 . .
1 1 1 A R . A . P . . 1 8 . IVAL . vii 7 T H E PR A I S E O F S A PPH O AN D E R I NN A E N S T R E NT A P L O I DA OF A UM . . . . vii .
1 1M 3 . . S E P S A P A E . . 1 1 CL IAD . , vii .
T S R E A P . 1 ULLIU LAU A . . . VII . 7 .
A NTlP ATE R S N I . A . P . . 1 OF IDO , , VII 4
A P . Vii. 1 I I . . , 7 3
W 1 A P 1 U N ! N N . . . 0 . O , . , ix 9
1 2 l l . N OT ES xx
MI MN E R MU S
B C . 7 T H C EN TU R Y .
CA R P E D I E M
O D O f H L fast thine youth , dear soul mine ,
new l ives will come to birth ,
A nd I that s hall have passed away be one h wit th e b rown earth .
N o I t e . A NAC R E ONTI CA
N C R EON 6TH CE N T R V U B. . A A , C
’ LO V E S C H A L LE N G E
LOV E smote me with his jacinth wand and
challenged me to race, And wore me down with running till the
Off sweat poured my face,
Through breaks of tangled woodland , by
chasms sheer to scale , Until my heart was i n my lips and at the
point to fail . Then as I felt his tender wings brush lightly m round y head , ’Tis proven that thou lackest the strength
’ to love, he said .
Note 2 . ANAC R EONTI CA
B A CC H A N A L
W H E N Bacchus hath possessed me my cares
are lulled in wine, And all the wealth of Croesus is not more h is than mine
I crown my head with ivy , I lift my voice to
S ing , And i n my exultation seem lord of every
thing .
So let the warrior don his arms , give me my
cup instead , I f I must lie my length on earth , why better
drunk than dead . AN ACR E ONTI CA
H E R P OR T R A I T
MA STE R of all the craftsmen R Prince of the hodian art ,
I nterp ret , master craftsman , E ach detail I impart, And draw as were she present
The mistress of my heart .
First you must match those masses
Of darkly clustered hair, And i f such skill be in you r wax
The scent that harbours there ;
A nd where the flowing tresses cast
- A warm toned shadow, trace 6
With here and there to give i t life
The flesh tint peeping through .
No w ! hold thy hand, for I can
The face and form I seek , And surely in a moment ’s space
I think your wax will speak .
N ote 3 . AN AC R EONTICA
T H E LU TE CON STR A I NS
’ ’ O F Atreus sons , of Cadmus might
My purpose was to sing, B ut love invades i n my despite
’ The lute s rebellious string .
T0 tell the toil of Heracles
I strung each cord anew, But still as it accompanies
- The love refrain breaks through .
. l re Goodbye , ye heroes This my y
’ Can only sing of love s desire . ANAC R EO NTI CA
M ETAM OR P H OS I S
I F she who , born to Tantalus , N As iobe we know, Was turned to stone among the hills Of Phrygia long ago I f P rocne by such magic change
Was made a bird that flies , Let me become the mirror That holds my lady’s eyes
01 let me be the water
I n which your beauty bathes, Or the dress which clinging closely Your graciou s presence swathes
I O 01 change me to the perfume
Y o u sprinkle on your skin ,
Or let me be the pearl - drop That hangs beneath your chin And if not these the girdle
Yo u bind below you r breast Or be at least the sandal
Your little foot hath pressed .
I I AN ACR EONTI CA
APO LOG I A
T H E brown earth drinks from heaven , and
from the earth the tree,
The sea drinks down the vapour , and the
sun drinks up the sea,
The moon drinks in the sunlight ; now
therefore , comrades , say What fault have you to find in me if I would drink as they !
1 2 AUTHOR UN KN OWN
’ A N ACR EON S G R AV E
YOU that pass this place of graves
Cu Pause and spill a p for me,
’ Ana creon s For I hold ashes , And would drink as once would
I 3 SI MO N I DE S
556 - 4 6 7
TH E P L A TA E A N E P I TA PH S
ON T H E SPA R T A N S
T H E SE who with fame eternal their own dear land endowed Took on them as a mantle the shade of death ’s dark cloud
Y t d e ying thus they died not , on whom is glory shed By virtue wh ich exalts them above all other d dea .
S I MON I D ES
1 1 1
T H E LI ON O F T H E R M O PYLA E
I AM the noblest of the beasts as once of mortals he Whose marble sepulchre I crown by men
was held to be . Had he not had a lion heart to match the nam e I gave I should not now be standing on guard
above his grave .
Note 3 a .
1 6 S I MON I D E S
T H E D E A D AT T H E R M OPYLA E
GLO R Y immortal shall their portion be
in Who died battle at Thermopylae .
Their lot was happy, memory their crown ,
Their tomb an altar and their death renown .
Wherefore since here lie Shrouded men so brave Corroding age and time that soon or late
Subdueth all th ings Shall forbear their
grave ; And they will hold this precinct consecrate
Who dwell i n Hellas . That these words are true
’ Let Sparta s kin g Leonidas proclaim , Whose virtue earned as heritage and due
High honour and an everlasting name .
B 1 7 P LATO
4 2 9- 34 7 m :
A G R AV E I N P E R S IA
FA R from our own Aegean shore
And the surges booming deep,
’ Here where Ecbatana s great plain
Lies broad , we exiles sleep . F E e arewell , retria the renown d , Where once we used to dwell
n Farewell , our neighbour Athe s ;
Beloved sea, farewel l
Note 4 .
1 8 PLATO
ST A R WO R S HI P
H OU a z est Of T g starward , star mine ,
heaven I fain would be, That all my myriad s tarry eyes m ight
gaze on thee .
l 9 PLATO
T H E UN SET STAR
S TA R that didst on the living at dawn thy
lustre shed ,
Now as the star of evening thou Shinest with the dead !
2 0 P LATO
LAI S
I T H AT through the land of Hellas
Laughed in triumph and disdain ,
Lais , of whose Open porches
- All the love struck youth were fain ,
B ring the mi rror once I gazed in ,
Cyprian , at thy shrine to vow ,
Since I see not there what once was .
An d I would not what is now .
2 ! PLATO
A S H R I N E o r PA N
SI T down beside this pine tree , whose lofty rustling crest Is filled with murmur of the
freshens from th e west ;
And where the waters of my spring go
chattering as they leap The reed pipe’s melody shall down
thy charmed eyelids sleep .
2 2
A D D AEU S
4 T H C E N TU R Y
T H E A N C I E N T Ox
T H E ox of Alcon was not led to the slaughter when at length Age and the weary furrow had sapped hi s
olden strength .
wa s His faithful work honoured , and in the deep grass now
enfran He strays and lows contentment ,
c his d e from the plough .
2 4 PH I LETAS
T H C E N T R U B. C 4 Y .
NOTH I N G F OR T E A R S
SH I ALL not weep for you , most dear of al l
my friends , you knew
’ Li fe s goodlier gifts , and i n return Death
claimed his desti ned due .
2 5 ASCLEP I ADES
3 E U C E N TU R Y
T H E P R A I SE O F LOVE
SWEET is the snow in summer thirst to
drink , and sweet the day When sailors see spring ’s garland bloom
and wi nter pass away .
But th e sweetest thing on earth is when ,
one mantle for their cover, Two hearts recite the Cyprian ’ s praise as
lover unto lover .
2 6 ASCLEPI AD ES
A G R AV E O N T H E S HOR E
E E K P thine eight cubits distance, rough sea ,
o ff from my grave, And roaring with thy might and main roll
up thy swelling wave . But if thy will be to despoil the tomb of
Eu mares
h Thou wil t find his bones and as es there ,
and nought more rare than these .
2 7 LE ON I DAS OF TAR ENTU M
D C N R B C. 3R E TU Y .
S P R I N G BY TH E SE A
’ H S T I is the sailor s season . The breeze sets
fair and west,
And the shrill - twittering swallow is once
again our guest .
Now all the meads are full of bloom a nd now once more the main That storm and wave had wi nnowed has
grown s erene again .
So , seamen , weigh the anchor up , and let
the stern - ropes slip
2 8 And Shake out all your canvas to speed
along the ship .
- Priapus , I , the Haven God , thus issue my
decree,
GO 0 f forth , man , and prosper thy tra fic
in the sea.
Note 6 .
2 9 LEONI DAS OF TA R ENTU M
T H E FO U N TA I N H EA D
PAU SE not here to drink thy fill
Where the sheep have stirred the rill ,
And the pool lies warm and still .
Cross yon ridge a little way,
Where the grazing heifers stray,
’ And the stone - pine s branches sway O ’er a creviced rock below Thence the bubbling waters flow
Coo ler than the northern snow .
30
LEON I DAS O F TAR ENTU M
H I S EPI TAP H
F AR from the land of I taly , and far away I lie
From my Tarentum . This to me was
harder than to die .
’ The wanderer s life is no good life, what though to make amends I n all my toils and troubles the Muses were
m y friends .
No r hath the name Leonidas lost grace
through fault of min e, The Muse’ s gift shall make it known where
ever suns may shi ne .
3 2 CALLI MACHUS
B. 3R D C EN TU R Y C .
CA ST U P BY T H E SE A
WH O ! were you , shipwrecked sailor The
body that he found ,
a Leo ntic hus Cast on the be ch , laid in this
burial mound ;
he And mindful of his own grim life wept ,
for neither be May rest i n peace who like a gull goes up
and down the sea .
3 3 M NASALCAS
R D C E N T R B 3 U Y . C.
To T H E A R CH E R GO D
H E SE 0 T votive gifts, Phoebus , on thee ,
his crescent bow,
H is quiver once with arrows filled , doth
Promachus bestow .
The winged shafts are no more there , for those were deadly guests H is foemen i n the battle’s brunt have taken
to their breasts .
34 POSE I D I PP U S
3 R D O R 2 N D C E NTU R Y
D O R I CH A
A H D o ric ha S , , thy bones are dust long ince, and even so
The braided ban d that bound thy hair , and
dust long , long ago
That mantle breathing scent of myrrh , wherein through love ’s long feast
helde st haraxus Thou fair C wrapped , till
dawn was in the east . But the white page abideth still of Sappho ’s
sweetest song ,
R - e echoing thy beloved name , and shall
abide yet long,
3 5 The name that here i n Naucratis shall live
for years to be ,
SO long as the lagoon o f the N ile sha ll
tempt ships oversea .
Note 7 .
36 PO SEI D I PPU S
E I R E N I ON
’ EI R E N I ON S gracious presence the little
Loves espied , As from the golden chambers of Cypris
forth they hied .
From head to foot like some fresh flower, a
holy thing she stood, And pure as sculptured marble in her grace
of maidenhood . Then many were the hands essayed to speed their winged darts
From taut - drawn purple bowstrings in
quest of youthful hearts .
3 7 POSEI D I PPU S
’ T H E SA ILO R S G R AVE
OOD Sea - G folk wherefore lay me here , so near the salt sea wave ! Far from the shore ye should have dug the
’ drowned man s piteou s grave .
Y et I would not hear the sea, my doom . ,
’ who soe er ye be, Farewell and thanks to you that showed
Nicetas charity .
38
D AMAG ETU S
B C . 3R D O R 2 N D CE N T U R Y .
T H EA N O
H E SE a T words , renowned Phocae , were the
T h eano last said , As she went down into the night that none
hath harvested .
A ellichu s Hapless am I , p , beloved husband
mine, Where in the wide wide waters is now that bark of thine ! d My oom hath come upon me, and would t o God that I Had felt my hand i n thy dear hand on the
day I had to die .
4 0 D I ONYS I U S
2 N D C E N T R B C . U Y .
T H E R OSE O F YO U TH
GI R L with the roses and the grace
Of all the roses in your face,
Are you , or are the blooms you bear, Or haply both your market ware ! A R CH I AS
T R C. I ST C E N U Y B.
T H E H A R B OU R G O D
ME Pan , whose presence haunts the shore,
The fisher folk set here, To guard their haven anchorage On the cliff that they revere And thence I watch them cast the net
And mind their fishing gear .
: Sail past me, traveller for I send
The gentle southern breeze ,
Because of thi s their piety,
To speed thee over seas .
4 2 AR C H I AS
A GR AV E BY T H E SEA
S H WR EC ! E D Theris I , I P , whom the tide
the Flung landward from deep ,
N o t even dead may I forget
The shores that know not sleep . Beneath the cliffs that break the surf
n My body fou d a grave, d Dug by the han s of stranger men ,
Besid e the cruel wave °
And still il l - starred among the dead I hear for evermore The hateful booming of the seas
That thun der on the shore .
Not e 9.
4 3 AR CH IAS
ECH O
SAY naught u ntoward when you near the
precinct where I dwell , E For cho can be shrill or still, but all I hear I tell E ach word you say I give you back, and i f
you make no Sign
Then I am mute, was ever tongue less prone to trip than mine ! AR C H IAS
T H E AP H R OD I TE o r AP E LLE S
E ES AP L L saw th e Cyprian , her very self, when she Emerged newborn and naked from out the
mother sea . And j ust as he beheld her h is art reveals her there With gracious hands still wringing the wet
foam from her hai r .
4 5 M E LEAG E R
I T C B C . S E N TU R Y .
’ LO VE S QU I V E R
’ ’ H eliodora s BY sandalled foot , and Demo s
waving hair,
’ By Dorothea s wreath of blooms unbudding
to the air, By Anticlea’s Winsome smile and the great
eyes of her ,
’ And by Timario n s open door distilling
scent like myrrh , I know the god of love has spent his arrows
winged to smart , For all the shafts his quiver held I have
them in my heart .
4 6
M ELEAGE R
Z E N OP H I LE
WE E T S is the music of that air, by Pan of
Arcady ,
drawe st ha r strin s Thou from the p g , too
Z en o hile sweet , p The thronging loves on every side close in
and press me nigh ,
And leave me scarce a breathing space, so whither can I fly ! I s it thy beauty or thy song that kindles my
desire, Thy grace or every thing thou art ! For I
am all on fire .
4 8 M ELEAG ER
LOV E A N D D E A TH
R EN D F I Cleobulus , when I die
Who conquered by desire, Abandoned i n the ashes lie
’ Of youth s consuming fire,
Do me this service, drench in wine
The u rn you pass beneath ,
And grave upon it this one line ,
‘ ’ The gift of Love to Death .
4 9 M E LEAG E R
’ Lo vE s MALI C E
R U E C L is Love, ah cruel , and what can I do more
’ Than moaning love is cruel , repeat it o er and o ’er !
I know the boy i s laughing and pleased that
I grow grim ,
A n d just the bitter thi n gs I say are the bread
of life to h im .
But you that from the grey - green wave
arising, Cyprian , came, ’Tis strange that out of water you should
have borne a flame .
50 M ELEAGE‘R
ASC L E PI A S
LI E E the calm sea beguiling with those blue
eyes of hers ,
‘ ’ Asclepias tempteth all me n to be love s
mariners .
SI M E LEAGER
’ T I MA R I O N S CA PT I V E
’ T H E love - god s self in midmost air was
caught and bound a priz e
Despite his wings when he was chased ,
T ima ri on . , by th ine eyes
52 M E LE AGE R
V E SPE R R ED U x
’ WN S - ! DA herald , morning star, farewell
R eturn soon as you may
And stealth ily as evening - star
Bring her you scared away .
53 M E LEAGE R
H ELI OD OR A
SAY H liodore H li r e , and e odo e , and still say
H elio do re , And let the music of her name mix with the
wine you pou r .
And wreathe me with the wreath she wore,
mvrrh that holds the scen t of ,
’ For all that it be yesterday s , in memory of
her .
The rose that loveth lovers , the rose lets fall a tear
Because m y arms are empty , because she is
not here .
54
M E LEAGER
LI BAT I O N
R P OU out as if for Peitho , and for the
Cyprian pour,
- Then for the sweet voiced Graces , but all
for H elio dore For there is but one goddess whose worship
I enshrine , An d blent with her beloved name I drink
the Virgin wine .
56 M E LEAGER
T H E G R AV E O F H E LI O D O R A
E R S H elio do re T A for thee, , an d bitter tears
to shed , I f al l that love has left to give can reach
thee with the dead ;
o ffe r h - d Here at thy grave I , t at tear renched
grave of thine, l ’ Libation of my longing as at a over s shrine . h Forlorn I mourn t ee , dearest , in the land
e wh re shadows dwell , d Forlorn , and grudge th e trib ute eath could
have spared so well .
57 Where is the flower I cherished ! Plucked by the god of doom
Plucked , and his dust has tarnished the
scarce unbudded bloom .
I may but pray thee, mother earth , who
givest all thy best , Clasp her I mourn forever close to thy
gentle breast .
58 M ELE AGE R
11 1 1 1
H I S E P I T AP H
R E D T A so ftly , ye that pass , for here
The old man rests his head ,
And sleeps the sleep that a ll men m ust Among the honoured dead
E uc ra tes Meleager , son of , Who linked the j oyous train Of Graces and of Muses
’ With love s delicious pain . d From Ga ara, the sacred land ,
- I came and god built Tyre ,
But Me ro pis and pleasant Cos
’ Consoled life s waning fire .
59 I f thou be Syrian , say Salaam ,
Or Hail , if Greek thou be ,
N a idio s Say , if Phoenician born ,
For all are one to me .
Note 1 0 .
6 0 D I O D O R U S Z ONAS OF SAR DI S
I ST C E N TU R B. Y C .
T H E D E A D C H I L D
T H OU that on Hades water dost ply the oar and steer
The bark in which the dead folk pass across
the sedgy mere,
n u d Dark Charo , reach a g iding han for
Cyna rus to take
When he must mount thy foot - board that
’ bridges o er the lake . For the child has got no sandals and he will
surely Shrink From pressing with his naked foot the wet
sands by the brink .
6 1 A PO LLONI D ES
I T CE N T R B C . A ND A . D . S U Y .
’ D EA TH S HYM E N AE AL
F I R ST H eliodorus closed his eyes and sca rce an hour apart
D iogeneia followed the husband of her heart . Thus undivided as in li fe the same stone roofs the pair
Who wel come as a bridal . bed the common
grave they share .
Note I I .
6 2
JU L IUS POLYAEN U S
I ST C E NTU R Y B. C .
’ A N E X ILE S P R AY E R
AM ON G the myriad voices that seek to win thine ear
From those whose prayers are granted , from
those who pray i n fear,
’ 0 Z Scheria s eus of holy plain , let my voice
reach thee too, And hearken and incline the brow that
binds thy promise true .
Let my long exile have an end , my toil and
travel past , Grant me in my own native land to live at rest at last
6 4 AN T lPAT E R OF TH ESSALON ICA
E N T R B. C 1 ST C U Y .
A G R AV E AT OSTI A
AU SON I A N earth contains me
That was a Libyan maid , And in the sea’ s sand hard by R ome
My virgin form was laid . Pompeia with a mother ’s care
’ Watched o er my tender years ,
E ntombed me here among the free,
And gave m e many tears .
t as She No prayed the torch was fired ,
She would have burned for me ; The lamp which took the torch ’s place
Was thine , Persephone .
6 5 ANTI PATER O F TH ESSA LONI CA
A EGE A N I sLEs
Y OU islands , from the greater world like
broken fragments torn ,
That rough Aegean girdles round, how lie
vou n ow forlorn , The glory that was yours long years has
gon e the way of fate,
S iphnos and Pholegandros are not more
desolate .
Old Great fame had Delos once of , but even Delos knew
The presence of her god withdrawn . So is
it now with you .
Note 1 2 .
66 STR ATO
2 N D CE N TU R A D Y . .
TH E K I SS
I T was at even and the hour in which good nights are bid
That Moeris kissed me, if indeed I do not
dream she did . Of all the rest that happened there is naught
that I forget,
No word she said , no question of all she
! asked , and yet d I f she indeed did kiss me, my oubt can
not decid e , For how could I still walk the earth had I been dei fied
6 7 AM M I ANUS
2 N D CE NT R A . U Y D .
T H E LOR D o r LAN DS
TH OU G H till the gates of Heracles thy land
marks thou extend , Their share i n earth is equal for all men at
the end ;
And thou shal t lie as I rus l ies , one obol all
thy store , And be resolved into an earth that is thine
OWI‘I no more.
Note 1 3 . A LP H EUS
2 ND CE N TU R D . Y A .
MYC EN AE
T H E cities of the hero age thine eyes may
seek in vain ,
Save where some wrecks O f ruin still break
the level plain .
- So once I saw Mycenae, the ill starred , a barren height
! Too bleak for goats to pasture, the goat
herds point the Site .
‘ And as I passed a greybeard said , Here used to stand of old
A city built by g iants , and passing rich in
’ gold .
Note 1 4 .
6 9 PALLADAS
TE AN D T C E R A H NTU . 4 5 Y D .
T H E P ESS I MI ST
No whaving wept a while I die as I
born with tears , And in the midst of weepi ng I passed my
living years .
e t e man Ah feebl , wre ch d race of , for ever in distress
Till undergro und ye pass at last and end in
no thin n g ess .
Note 1 5.
7 0
AUTHOR U N KNOWN
’ FR I END SHI P S EPI TAPH
H I abinu s T S stone, my good S , although it
be but small , Shall be of our great friendship a witness
unto all . E ver shall I desire thee, and thou , if this
may be ,
Forbear to drink among the dead the lethe
draft for me .
7 2 AU T H OR UN K NOWN
T H E E n v i o us L O V E R
I WOU LD I were the pass ing breeze that when abroad you go Your bosom to the sunlight bared might
stay me as I blow .
- I would I were the blush red rose, and so have grace to rest Where your two hands had set me against a
- snow white breast .
Not e 1 6 .
7 3 AUTHOR UN KNOWN
T H E COU N SEL o r PA N
I N thi s green meadow, traveller, yield
Thy weary limbs to rest
The branches of the stone - pine sway
To the wind from o u t the west
The cricket calls , and all n oon long The shepherd ’s piping fi lls
’ The plane - grove s leafy shadows
B y the spring among the hills . Soothed by these sounds thou shalt avoid
’ The dogstar s autumn fires ,
And then to - morrow cross the ridge ;
Such wisdom Pan inspires .
Note 1 7 .
7 4 AUTHO R U N KNOWN
T H E ETE R N AL F E m N I N E
W H EN I behold that glory of dark blue
shadowed hair, Or when an auburn gold illumes those
a tresses , lady f ir ,
I cannot tell which suits you best , but I am bold to say That love will not abandon those locks
when they grow grey .
7 5 AUTH OR UN KNOWN
T H E AP H R O D I TE o r CN I D OS
N AD O I S and Anch ises and Paris , none save these
Had seen me naked that I know . How did Praxiteles
7 6 AUTHO R UN KNOWN
Bémr rEE
O U CH T but the virgi n water, clean of soul ,
’ N or fear to pass into the pure god s sight fi For the good a drop suf ces . Bu t the whole
Great ocean could no t wash the unclean
white .
7 7 AUTHOR UN KNOWN
AMYN TI CHU S
H S Am ntichu s E T I old y , dear arth , in to thy
bosom take, R emembering all the many ways he
laboured for thy sake . For he was used to plant i n thee his olive stocks in line And set for thine adornment fresh cuttings
of the vine.
With corn he filled thee , and he ridged the little streams that flow To make thy fruit and herbage in ri ch
abundance grow . Wherefore rewarding him do thou lie light upon his bed
An d make the spring grass bou rgeon a bove
his hoary head .
7 8
AUTH OR UN KNOWN
E R OS o r T H E GA R D E N
A M Li an s ! I not he of b u , O stranger My deligh t I s not in lovers ’ converse and revels all the
night ; A lowlier god whose mother nymph the
neighbour valley knows, Whose rustic task is but to bless what in
t his garden grows .
hear And that is why I four crowns, to
mark the seasons four,
Gifts from the well - beloved fruit - laden
threshing floor .
Note 1 8 .
8 0 AUT H OR U N KNOWN
PE T R ON I A M U SA
T H E nightingale whose song was sweet ,
- Musa the bl ue eyed maid ,
n So suddenl y grown so gl ess , in this small
grave is laid . And marble still she rests we knew so famous and s o wise
M y pretty Musa , may the dust be light that
on thee lies .
Not e I 9.
8 I AUTHOR UNKNOWN
T H E E N D O F T H E C O M E D Y
O RTU N E F and H ope, a long adieu
My ship is safe i n port .
With me is nothing left to do ,
Make other lives yo ur sport .
e 0 Not 2 .
8 2
I NTR O D U CT I O N T O P A RT I I
T H E nine most famous poetesses of ancient Greece are en umerated i n an epigram by
a c 0 iou s A ntipater of Thessalonic , a p writer
a e of Greek verse in the Augustan g , who is distinguished from the homonymous poet of Sidon by the name of that city of which his
al u rnius friend , Lucius C p Piso, appointed him governor .
‘ I 7zese women will: t/ze voice of gods wer e
ta ught in H elicon
' ' ’ ’ To sin or on P rerz a s lz zll tfze g , ,
’ m illa Moer o A fr /é r ea t H omer s , , y , g
woma n eer fi ,
' ‘ ’ A nd SupplI o w/z o m t/z e f a z r - /lea ded ma z a s of
! lily /176 716 r ever e
8 5 E r inna Telesilla r nn r , , Co i a , mlia evea led
’ The puissa nee of A tbena s r esistless ba ttle
sltield
’ A nd N ow: wit! ; Iter woma n s wor d a nd
Tlzeir songs a r e wr it on page: t/z a t time slza ll
n e a t‘ ot f e.
ZVia e muses n lz ty Our a nos bega t a nd nine
a r t tlze e /z ,
To be a n ever la sting joy to men of mor ta l
’ b r t/z i . The poems of five only of the nine were
Ga r la nd a i ncluded i n the of Mele ger, into
which he wove, as we learn from his preface,
An te Moero many lilies of y and many of , and of Sappho some few flowers , but only N roses ; with these the iris of ossis , breath N ing perfume in its perfect bloom , ossis for h whose tablets Love i mself melted the wax, and the sweet virginal crocus of Erinna . 8 6 throw more light upon the enigma of her
- life . The well established facts to be drawn from ancient records are too well known to call for repetition here . l We have no word of Te esippa . Of Erinna only three lyrics survive in the Anthology .
‘ ’ D af Her most famous p oem was the ist f,
contain ing three hundred lines in all , a few of which have been preserved by quotation .
Although she died at the age of n ineteen , as we know from a series of l ittle poems in her praise, she was nevertheless numbered among the nine mortal muses . I t has been assumed that a line of Sappho which is
‘ found in the E fl c/z zrzdion of H ephaestion
‘ refers to her : Mna sidica is mor e bea utif ul
’ r E r a r ma t e i a t m zo. it a n tire d l c e Gy i , which occurs in another fragment, quoted by the same author, would appear to be a qualify
n ing adj ective, signifyi g beloved , rather than 8 8 another form of her name . Her birthplace according to the balance of evidence was
ar R the island of Telos ne hodes , when the Doric dialect prevailed . I t has been suggested that her verse displays a blending of the Aeolic with the D oric, and this would find a reasonable explanation if the legen d be accepted that she belonged to the school of Sappho The honou r of having given birth to Erinna has also been assigned to
Tenos and to Teos . But these were I onian islands Thei r similarit y of name and their greater importance would accou nt E for the substitution . usebius dissents from other writers of antiquity who number her among the contemporaries of Sappho ,
and assigns to her a date about 3 50 D. C . One of the three pieces preserved in the
Anthology , a quatrain on the portrait of
A ath rc is g a , describes i t as so living that if
8 9 the painter could only have given the picture a voice, the maiden would have seemed to be present in person . From the plastic art of the sixth and seventh f centuries as we know it, it is di ficult to i nfer that the contemporary art of painting could have been so realistic as to j ustify the claims of the epigram , which might be more appropriate to the fourth century . An Anacreontic poem which urges a similar plea i s almost certainly one of the imitations N of a later period . o one of the extant poems by known writers in praise of Erinna
B C. is earlier than the third century . But that is equally true of those dedicated to
ai L Sappho . The quatr n of eonidas of Tarentum might indeed seem to have been composed at the time of her death , but even i f the date which Eusebius assigns to
Erinna be accepted , Leonidas would have
90
Tanagra are both connected with the legends of Pindar in the fi fth century . Of the first n o lines survive . Of the second only a few quoted fragments . But the picture of Corinna which Pausanias saw at Tanagra suggested to him the reflection that it was as much her beauty as her talen t which induced the j udges to award her the prize of victory in the contest with Pindar .
Statues were erected in her honour, and her claim was urged to the first place among the lyric Muses .
Praxilla belongs to the same pe riod . She was renowned for the composition of the scholion , which appears to have been a short ode or snatch sung at banquets by, or on behalf of, each of the guests in turn to
the accompa niment of the lyre . One such little snatch attributed to Praxilla has been preserved .
92 The date of Anyte of Tegea cannot be
w Lil es o A fixed ith cert ainty . The i f nyte consist as known by us of twenty - four
‘ A n te epigrams , and one of these is headed y
’ of Mytilene . They are so fine i n quality , d so simple and irect , so free from device or a rtific ia lit y, that they might be ascribed
to the great lyric period . The reference to her by Antipater of Thessalonica as
the female Homer also suggests antiquity . But the balance of probability from infer ence regarding her date points to the latter
B . C years of the fou rth century .
Moet o of Byzantium lived about the same
t time , or a li tle later She was the mother
of a famous son , Homerus the tragedian , of whom no work has survived .
No ssis was the poetess of the greater
Greece in southern Italy . She came from the Loc rian colony on the shore of the
93 Ionian Sea, near the modern Gerace . From the evidence of eleven lyrics i n the Antho
logy, which also record the name of her
mother and her daughter, her date may be
0 B. C u fixed at about 3 9 . She was th s
contemporary with Leon idas , the poet of
Tarentum . She doubtless witnessed the invasion of Pyrrhus and the despoiling of L the famous temple of Persephone at ocri ,
w - n to which he after ards , conscience stricke , restored the looted treasure . This is practically all we know about
‘ ’ These women with the voice of gods .
And yet in no other three hundred years of literary history have women poets achieved such high renown , nor has any pleiad arisen since to contest the fame of the nine mortal muses .
94
SAPP HO
D I C A
ow N wreathe thee a wreath , my Dica, with delicate fingers twine The tender sprays of th e anise for that
beautiful hair of thine ; For on them that are decked with garlands
the goddesses look with grace, From those that come to them crownless
they will surely avert their face .
96 SAPPH O
A B I TT E R WOR D
N G DYI thou shalt lie in n othingness , nor
a fi er
Love shall abide here nor memory of thee ; For thou hast no portion i n the roses of
Pieria ; But even in the nether world obscurely shalt thou wander
Flitting hither thither with the pha nt o ms of
the dead .
Not e 2 1 .
97 SAPP HO
H E SP E R
H OU T , Hesper, bringest homeward all That radiant dawn sped far and wide
The sheep to fold, the goat to stall ,
’ The children to their mother s side .
98
What time the gracious dewshed e arthward over
The tender grasses and the flowering clover
Makes quick the blossom and revives the
rose .
There oft - times restless u p an d down she goes
R Atthis emembering gentle , and her soul
I s spent with longing, and her heart for dole
Is heavy . And she cries aloud and shrill
Bidding us come . But here the night is still Despite of all its myriad ears and we Mark not that voice that calls across the
sea .
Note 2 2 .
1 00 SAPPH O
T H E B E LOV E D P R E SE N C E
BLE ST as the Gods are esteem I him who
Sits face to face with thee , and watching thee forgoes not
The voice that is music and the smile tha t
is seduction , Smile that my heart knows
Fluttered i n its chambers . For lo , when I behold thee w Forth ith my voice fails , my tongue is tied
in silence ,
I O ! F h a are lame of fire goes throug me, my e rs
Of full murmur , Blinded I see naugh t
a a n Swe t breaketh forth on me , d all my
being trembles ,
Paler am I grown than the pallor of the
dry grass ,
Dea th seemeth almost to have l a id his hand
u pon me .
Then I dare all things .
Note 2 3.
1 0 2
SAPPH O
TH E LON ELY N I GHT
T H E moon is down , the Pleiads set , And half the night has flown
The hour i s overdue, an d yet
Must I lie here a lone .
1 04 ER I NNA
U T 600 B. ABO C .
T H E D E A D B R I DE
U C S e . BA I , a bride, is here inurn d Say this when you draw near
My tear - drenched pillar so that Death deep
under ground may hear,
’ ‘ a ! Say, De th , how art thou envious And read the bitter doom Of Baucis in the fair design engraven on
my tomb . The torches of the marriage train that Hymen came to fire The father of my bridegroom took to light
my buri al pyre .
I 0 5 An d thou , O Hymenaeus , didst hush the
bridal throng, And change to dirge of m ourni ng the merry
marriage song .
Note 24 .
1 0 6
h T l an h T at elos was my birthp ace, d tell t em that this stave
E rinna my dear comrade hath written
my grave .
Note 2 5.
1 08 ANYT E OF T EGEA
T H C E NT R 1 B 4 U Y . C .
A S H R I N E BY T H E SE A
’ H S T I is the Cyprian s holy ground , Who ever loves to stand
Where she c a n watch the shining seas
Beyond the utmost land ; That sailors on their voyages
May prosper by her aid ,
Whose radiant efligy the deep
Beholding is afraid .
I O 9 ANYT E OF TEGEA
T H E G OD O F T H E C R OSS- R O AD S
E R E S - I , H M , by the grey sea shore,
Set where the three roads meet,
- Outside the w ind swept garden ,
Give rest to weary feet ; The waters of my fountain
Are clear, and cool , and sweet .
A N YTE O F T EG EA
A PI CTU R E
H T E Y have put a bridle on the goat , with
purple reins to gu ide, Whose back without misgiving the laughing
boys bestride,
And so with curb - chai n tightened beneath his bearded lip They round the temple precincts do
of horsemanship .
1 1 2 ANYTE OF TEGEA
T H E GOA T
YOU see with what a roguish eye and self complacent mien
Yon horned goat of Bromios surveys his
shaggy chin . He is proud to know those bearded cheeks
have oft - times been caressed By the Naiad ’s rosy fingers who haunts the
mountain crest .
26 Note .
” 3 MORR O
R D C E R B C. 3 N TU Y .
A BU N CH O F G R AP E S
TH OU liest i n the golden porch of Aphro dite’s shrine A votive cluster of the grape filled ful l of
j uicy win e .
No more with clinging tendril hands thy mother vine will spread
’ The nectar of her leaf in love to shadow o er
thy head .
NOSSI S
R D C N D C. 3 E TU R Y .
R O SES o r CYPR I S
’ O F all the world s delightful things most
sweet is love . The rest
A in y, even honey the mouth , are
second best .
This N o ssis sa ith . And only the y Cyprian loves may know
The glory of the rose s that in her garden
grow .
I I 6 NOSSI S
’ R I N T H O S G R AV E
E GI V me a hearty laugh , and say d A frien ly word and go thy way .
R intho was I of Syracuse ,
- d A modest song bir of the muse ,
Whose t ears a n d s miles together sow n m Have born an ivy all y own .
Note 2 8 .
” 7 NOSSI S
I I I
A R I VAL
I F a a t , str nger, to the d ncing isle, o Mitylene
you fare The flower of all the Graces to seek in
Sappho there,
a L n Why, tel l them th t this ocrian la d bore f one of no less ame,
a Nossis The darling of the Muses, and th t
is her name .
1 1 8
LE ON I DAS OF TAR E N TUM
D C N T R C . 3 R E U Y B.
ER I N N A
T H E E - lyric maid rinna , the poet bee that drew The honey from the rarest blooms the
’ Muses garden grew ,
Hath Hades snatched to be his bride .
Mark where the maiden saith ,
Prophetic in her wisdom , How envious art
thou , Death
Not e 2 9.
[ 2 1 ASCL EP I AD E S
RD C EN R B C. 3 TU Y .
E R I NN A
’ H I S E T is rinna s gracious work, the sum
whereof is small , As must be since the maiden lived but
nineteen years i n all ;
But strength it has that others lack , and
many . Had her fate
Not doomed her to die ea rly what n a me had been so great !
[ 2 2
ANTIPAT ER O F SI D ON
I ST CE N R D . TU Y . C
S A PP H O
’ WE shro u est o know thou d Sapph s dust ,
who once, Aeolian earth ,
Sang with immortal muses, a muse of mortal birth E Whom Cypris loved and ros , whom Peitho taught to braid A garland for Pieria that time shall never
fade ; Whose song charmed Hellas and on thee an ampler lustre shed
“ Ye distafl fates , who from your draw the
trebly twisted thread ,
1 2 4 Could all your spin ning not ordain eternal life to one Who with eternal gifts endowed the maids of Helicon !
1 2 5 ANTI PATER O F S I DON
ER I N N A
’ H T E W A though rinna s song was brief, her
words were doled in thrift, The little that she left behind was all the
’ Muses gift .
Wherefore her name abideth , nor ever yet black night Could spread a shadowy pinion to hide her
from the light .
But we the younger singers , the thousand
- of to day,
We pass, my friend, unnoticed, adown
’ oblivion s way .
1 2 6
AU TH OR UN KN OWN
‘ ’ T H E DI STA FF O F ER I N N A
’ H S E T I comb is from a Lesbian hive, rinna s ,
sweet though small , And the honey of the Muses is brimming
over all . For these three hundred lines may rank
’ with Homer s own as peers ,
’ Although they be a maiden s work , and she
but n ineteen years . Still trembling at her mother ’s frown this girl who might not choose But ply the loom and distaff in secret served
the muse . As Sappho ’ s lyric melody outsoars Erinna’s
lute , Erinna’s epic cadence leaves even Sappho
mute . AUTHO R U N KN OWN
E R I N N A
JU ST when thy voice had learnt to form the
honeyed note of spring,
’ And j ust when , like the dying swan s , thy
lips were set t o sing , The fate who rules the distaff and spins the flaxen thread
Ordained thee cross the waters wide, the
river of the dead .
B ut that fair toil thy verse ensh rin es pro m clai s thee deathless still ,
E the rinna , where the songs go up from
Pierian hill .
1 2 9 N OTE S
N e . . ot I , p 3
Inco rporated among the fragments of The o nis d Ber k M g , but attribute by g to im h m er us .
N 2 . . ote , p 4
’ - B m Ana creon s d e 6 8 . C. I t at is 5 3 47 ust, a dm d the m d al s , be a itte that poe s attribute to him the fe w me are, with e xception of a frag nts, a ll o f th e m dubious a nd most of th em certa inly H e h a d m m a spurious . a great nu ber of i it tors d m e m a nd n de own to a uch lat r ti e, a co si rable numb e r of the pseudo - Anacreontic p oems are pre s e rve d in a n appendi x to the Pala tine I t ma m d m Anthology . y be assu e that so e of m efl e o f a nd m n the r ct a portion his spirit, a y of th em a re gra ceful in conce it a n d beautiful in form . M ost of the spe cime ns h e re give n must be classed amo ng the productions o f his later m e d i itators , although th y are inserte in the place where in chron ological order the re al
Anacreon would have followed. 1 3 0
N 2 ote 5, p. 3.
Tych on is ide ntifi ed with Priapus .
N 6 2 8. ote , p .
Some two hundred years later Antipater of
d re - o d m Si on wr te or plagiarise this epigra .
The later versio n is more self- consci ous and n lacks the spo taneity of the earlier . The two ’ are placed togeth er in Ma ckail s select epi m 6 . a nd . gra s, sect. , xxvi xxvii
N ote 7 , p. 3 5.
Cha ra xus o r d , the brother of Sapph , car ie the L N o d wines of esbos to aucratis , in th se ays the m o nly s ettle ent of G reeks in E gypt . There he o D oricha fell in love with the beautiful c urtesan , a n d d m d he r om o re ee e fr slavery. The st ry is o d H do R do t l by ero tus, who calls her ho pis, as also by Strabo a nd Athenaeus .
N o 8 . . te , p 39
There are three epigrams assigne d to m ! ’ d o d Ptole y the ing, a escription which w ul d d rather suggest the foun er of the ynasty . But the earlier Ptolemies were all of them O n m patrons of letters . e of the extant epigra s re fers to H e ge sia na x a nd H ermippu s as havi ng H e registe red all the stars in the sky . A eg 1 3 2 sia na x was conte mporary with Antiochus the
G e 2 2 - 1 8 a H e rmi u s r at ( 3 7 pp , known efl a a e a e d chi y as biographic l writ r, lso liv in B e . H r the latte r half of th 3rd century C. e mi u s the e e e e d e a e pp astrolog r , r f rr to by Ath n us , ma a e e e the a m e e a nd y not h v b n s p rson , I h Ath e nae us assign s no date to him . f t e astronomers m e ntioned in the e pigram could be safe l y identified with writers wh o liv e d at
the the rd e the e - n close of 3 c ntury, po t ki g who refe rred to th e m in the past must be a l a t e r
Ptolemy of the 2 nd c e ntury .
N . . ote 9, p 43 M dd n e nd the SS. An a itio al coupl t , fou in a n d ed Brun ck d m e d publish by , is ju iciously o itt by Ma cka il a s b eing a l a te r addition a n d a e d m e re repetition of what pr c e e s .
N 1 0 ote , p. 59.
llrunc k e a d N a idios see ms doubtful . r s
' / 71 1 s H a u l 0 .
N e 1 1 . 6 2 . ot , p
T he ve rsion follows th e rea ding
’ ' «I no Bch ‘ 1/ e u a i o v p d s 0 v . iru nc k has
’ (I o U c u o v pdx 6 tbs p w . N 1 2 o . 66 . te , p
These lines are of interest a s revealing the de solation of Delo s a nd the co mparative dese r tio n of many of the Aegea n islands as ea rly B C . Th as th e 1 st century . e poem no doubt m d m o d conte plate so e particular gr up of islan s, as Pholega ndro s a nd Siphnos are also Aegean C m e e m o n isles . o par the pigra of Alpheus 6 page 9.
N 8. . 6 ote I 3, p
Irus was the beggar of the Ody ssey who ran T message s for the suitors of Penelope . he obol re ferre d to is the small coin placed betwee n the lips of the dead to pay the tol l to
e f H d the f rryman o a es .
N 1 6 . ote 4, p . 9
I t is inte re sting to know fro m the evidence d of Alpheus , who visite the sites of the H m e a o d e o eric citi s, th t nearly two th usan y ars ago the site of M yce nae was just as it remained n m until the excavatio s of Schlie ann .
N 1 0 ote 5, p . 7 .
T his a nd the foll owing e pigr am are included as curious in stances of the last phase of po etic z of literature in By antium, where the lyre the 1 3 4
Pla nude s ed to z e , attribut the By antin lawyer M e the th a nd 6th ce n tur arianus , who wrot in s y e de did m A . The e e D . r n ring not s worthy of e e e e e d taking a plac among thos h r publish , but for purposes of comparison it ma y be in cluded in a note
Where is tha t bow o thine stru n ta u t a na f g ,
where the reed- lihe da r t Sped by the ha nd tha t never fa ils to strike the midmost hea rt
Where a re th win s th tor ch o ba le a nd y g , y f , wherefore bea rest thou T ree dia dems in th two ha nds a nd a th h y , fou r ’ one on thy brow2
’ I a m not sa va e a ssion s child 1 do not s rin g fi , p g rom a r th f e , N or did the common C ria n 0 stra n er ive yfi , g , g me bir th
Who where the hu ma n hea r t is clea n th m , , e la p o lea r nin li ht f g g , A nd tea ch the sou l the upwa rd way towa rd the a v l hei he en y g ht. A nd from the vir tu es fou r I wove these a r la nds tha t 1 bea r g , ’ Bu t wisdom s crown the best of a ll 1 choose m s l t wa y e f o e r .
1 36 N 1 1 8 . ote 9, p .
T h e interest of this littl e epitaph of the R oma n period is increased by th e fact that it still m a y be read on the ston e on which it was e ngrav e d above th e portrait in r e li ef Of P e tronia
M us a h e rse lf. I t sta n ds in the great hall of V m R m the illa U b e rto ( Villa Borgh e se ) at o e . B e low the port rait is anoth e r e pitaph of e ight a nd the m P etr onia e M u sa c O n lines , na e . the t wo side s are a lyre with four strings a nd a
e e e e the me . lut with l v n , instru nts of her craft Th e re is also in F lore nc e an urn with the m Th na e Petronia M us a. e portrait is well e e r d e h m h pr s ve e xc pt for t e utilation of t e nose .
N 2 2 0 . 8 . ote , p
There is a L a tin version o f this e pigram o n a tomb in the pa v e ment of a church in R o me P n is rn . L z a ( S ore n o in a pe ). ln ve n i o rt u m e e t a e p , sp s fortuna v l te, N l di il m m u te . ihi vobiscu , nunc alios
N 2 1 . . ote , p 97
I n N h a m o . 68 t e S a e this, of ppho fr g nts , l have followed th e reading
I t e xa r Oa I/ owa 86 “ 10 6 11 1 0 11 86 n ova p va ju o m wa
0 6951:
y t 9 AI 7 N o va epo s a s v0 r‘ cpo v I 37 r a ther th a n
’ ’ fiti a 66 m i' a l l u t/ ( 1 1 00 1311 11 v xa r uo w . r , j 7 " ’ ’ ' $0 0 6 1 0 171 ' s r dr o iir fio r epo v
‘ D n ne ying thou shalt lie in nothi g ss, nor of thee ’ e r m m Th e nor thereafter shall e ory a bide .
N o 2 2 . te , p . 99
F m - F o m m ro the Berlin ay u frag ents, variously The o f amen ded. translation follows the text m witz a h a nd im Wila S o S nides . U . v . o ( pp o ) O ther critics believe the reference to be to the n A i o d abse t tth s. The versi n here a opted pre a d e m supposes thir p rson , who ight also be d m d m d a nd A hi An ro e a, the co ra e of Sappho tt s. Ari n ota ma m o g y not even be a na e, but nly an e e m - m d - m pith t eaning far fa e or pre e ine nt.
N 2 1 0 1 ote 3, p . .
A portion of this fragment was adapted by C atullus .
N 2 1 0 . ote 4, p . 5
’ Lines 3 an d 4 a re re ndered from Bergk s eme ndation of the Obviously corrupt text of the
M SS . The same motiv e is beautifully treated M the e m on Cl a ri a by eleager in pigra e st . Brunck ( , i . 1 3 8
N o 2 . 1 1 . te 7 , p 5
t ’ A de ' Th MSS. xxd tta M e s . has p p , which r ’ ' Ma cka il o A m a 8e c rrects or restores to ypt s, Ani rus m o g , to who , on acc unt of the reputed e e e h aling prop rti s of the river water, the appeal might appropriately be made . The Dryad is N essentially a ymph of the trees .
N 2 8 1 1 . ote , p . 7
R intho founded a new scho ol of serio - co mic i drama ab o ut 300 B. C. The vy was sacred to o o o d m ha d Di nysus, in wh se w rship the ra a its o rigin .
N o e 2 . 1 2 1 . t 9, p
o d M . Als attribute to eleager The phrase, ’ ‘ ’ Ai a e d m E n Bdcr xa uo s 8 , her quote is fro rin a s
f r . See 1 0 . lament o Baucis p . 5
N o 0 . 1 28. te 3 , p
The concluding lines depart to s ome extent from the principles laid down in the introduc tion with re gard to the te st of translation . But it i s not possible to de al in E nglish verse with a line which describe s E rinna as exc elling in a hexame te rs o th e rwise th n by a paraphrase.
T d A C O N ST A BL E r n e rs to H a e n ed b . a n . is s P ri t y , P i t M j ty a t t he Edi n bu rg h U n ive rsity P re ss