Meleager's Cicada Poem

#poem  #meleager #Greekanthology #cicada #greekpoetry 

Meleager's Cicada Poem

Written in the frist Century BCE

ἀχηεις τέττιξ, δροσεραῖς σταγόνεσσι μεθυσθείς,

ἀγρονόμαν μέλπεις μοῦσαν ἐρημολάλον.

ἄκρα δ᾿ ἐφεζόμενος πετάλοις, πριονώδεσι κώλοις.

αἰθίοπι κλάζεις χρωτὶ μέλισμαλύρας.

ἀλλά, φίλος, θθέγγου τι νέον δενδρώδεσι

παίγνιον, ἀντῳδὸν Πανὶ κρέκων κέλαδον,

ὄφρα φυγὼν τὸν Ἔρωτα, μεσηβρινὸν ὕπνον

ἐνθάδ᾿ ὑπὸ σκιερᾷ κεκλιμένος πλατάνῷ

Clear sounding Cicada drunken with dewy drops

Rural music you sing chattering in the wilderness

and sitting upon on the edge of leaves with saw shaped limbs

with your sunburnt body you shriek lyre like melody

but friend speak some new song for the woodland spirits

a response to pan's striking noise

that fleeing Eros noon tide sleep I will catch 

here under the shade of the elm lying down.

As well as being a lovely poem there is a beautiful variety of dative forms from all declensions in this poem and note that it is also a request for the Cicada to sing so that the woodland spirits will protect him from Pan .

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Myrtiotissa Quote

Double post this sunday since I didn't have time to post Wednesday!

This is the first stanza of a longer poem.

from Page 578 of the Penguin Book of Greek Verse

Ed. C. A. Trypanis 1971 paperback edition

MYRTIOTISSA

Σ'ἀγαπῶ. Δὲν μπορῶ

τίποτ' ἄλλο νὰ πῶ

πιὸ βαθύ, πιὸ ἁπλό,

πιὸ μεγάλο !

You I love nothing I can say other than (that)

more deeper simpler greater

apart from the opening stanza of a beautiful modern Greek poem this also how some words havn't changed over 3000 years yet others have. Note νὰ and πιὸ yet the very recognisable ἀγαπῶ and βαθύ.

If you want to get an idea of Greek language as a continuum acquire and read this anthology whether you're a student of modern byzantine classical or biblical greek.

Hedyle Fragment

Here's one of the few fragments of the works of the poetess HEDYLE

Hedyle the daughter of a poetess Moschine had a son who wrote poetry but little remains of their works

From her poem Scylla these lines survive describing Glaucus bearing gifts to Scylla's cave before her transformation into a monster.

“ from the Erythean rock,

or the children of halycon (birds) yet wingless,

to the nymph.....”

Ἐρυθραίης ἀπὸπέτρης,

ἢ τοὺς ἀλκυόνων παῖδας ἔτ̓ ἀπτερύγους,

τῇ νύμφῃ δύσπιστος ἀθύρματα. …..”

Simonides Quote

From Lyra Graeca Volume 2 trans j m edmonds 1924 ed

Simonides of Ceos bk 5 Eulogies Eucomiums Ode to Scopas

Quoted by Plato's Protagoras 339a - 347a

strophe b

οὐδέ μοι ἐμμελέως τὸ Πιττακεῖον νέμεται,

καίτοι σοφοῦ παρὰ φωτὸς εἰρημένον.

Χαλεπὸν φάτ̓ ἐσθλὸν ἔμμεναι.

(I do not  agree with pittakos tho a wise man what he said difficult thing good / noble to be / remain )

…. I skipped a line

ἄνδρα δ̓ οὐκ ἔστι μὴ οὐ κακὸν ἔμμεναι,

ὃν ἀμάχανος συμφορὰ καθέλῃ.

And for a man not is nought but become evil when or what time being un able to plan for devise plan for calamity event overcome

….. they are best (who) the gods love

κἀπὶ πλεῖστον ἄριστοι τοὺς θεοὶ φιλῶσιν.

Basically its about the difficulty of being virtuous 

Kronos and Zeus The old and the New

Kronos  and Zeus

A quote from Timotheus of Miletus preserved by Athenaeus in Deiphnosophists 3.122 d page 69 vol 2 in the loeb edition.

Οὐκ ἀείδω τὰ παλαιά. Καινὰ γὰρ μάλα κρείσσω.

Νέος ὁ Ζεὺς βασιλεύει. Τὸ πάλαι δ̓ ἦν

Κρόνος ἄρχων. Ἀπίτω μοῦσα παλαιά.

Literally

Not I sing (of) the ancient things new / recent for rather (is) greater /better.

New (is) the Zeus reigning the ancient but was Kronos ruling go away muse ancient

ANYTE'S PET GOAT

You see this poem a lot in anthologies
so I thought it would be a good idea to upload the original

Anyte Greek Anthology 6. 312 The PET BILLY GOAT

Ἡνία δή τοι παῖδες ἐνί, τράγε, φοινικόεντα

θέντες καὶ λασίῳ φιμὰ περὶ στόματι,

ἵππια παιδεύουσι θεοῦ περὶ ναὸν ἄεθλα,

ὄφρ̕ αὐτοὺς ἐφορᾐ νήπια τερπομένους.

There was a huge outcry last year about inhumane goat races.

The ancient Greeks also raced goats but if this goat had purple reins it was a beloved indulged pet not some poor half feral animal? The mention of a temple and a god watching suggests this race may have been part of a festival? 

Lucian An Epigram

LUCIAN An Epigram
From Book 10/ 27
The Greek Anthology

Ἀνθρώπους μὲν ἴσως λήσεις ἄτοπόν τι ποιήσας,

οὐ λήσεις δὲ θεοὺς οὐδὲ λογιζόμενος.

If you do a foul thing it may perchance be hidden from men, but from the gods it shall not be hidden, even if you but think of it.

Things to consider during translation

What verb is  λήσεις  a form of ?

the men de pattern for contrast 

 ἴσως seems to mean equal even chances not equally