Category Archives: Poetry

Aristophanes Fragment from Gerytades Athenaeus 12.551A (Loeb Aristophanes Fragments 156) Translated by Steven J. Willett Note 1: The setting of the play is Athens where an assembly of poets select Meletus to represent tragedy, Sannyrion comedy and Cinesias dithyramb for … Continue reading →

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Archilochos P. Cologne 7511 Translated by Steven J. Willett A Roman Copy of a Hellenistic Portrait Head of Archilochos Note 1: The Cologne 7511 epode is the longest poetic fragment we have of Archilochos of Paros c. 680-645BC. It was … Continue reading →

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Albius Tibullus Elegy I.2 Translated by Steven J. Willett Tibullus at Delia’s Home by Lawrence Alma-Tadema Note: Tibullus Elegy I.2 is another case of paraclausithyron (παρακλαυσίθυρον), where a poet is locked outside his lover’s home. Unlike Propertius’ I.6 version of … Continue reading →

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Propertius Elegy I.16 Translated by Steven J. Willett Note: The paraklausithyron (παρακλαυσίθυρον) is a motif in Hellenistic Greek elegies and especially in Augustan love poetry. The literal meaning is “lament besides a door,” from παρακλαίω, “lament beside”, and θύρα, “door”. … Continue reading →

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Propertius Elegy I. 18 Translated by Steven J. Willett This is surely a deserted place and taciturn of grief, and Zephyr’s breeze retains an empty grove. Here it’s allowed to open covered pains with impunity if only desolate rocks can … Continue reading →

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Translated by Steven J. Willett A.P. 5.143, A.P. 5 148, A.P. 5.155, A.P. 5.163 and A.P. 7.476 This is the grave stele of Hegeso c. 400BC with her father’s name Proxenos on the architrave. The stele is 5’2” in height … Continue reading →

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Dioscorides Elegy A.P. 5.55 (G-P 5) Translated by Steven J. Willett Eros, Aphrodite and Two Lovers. This red figure skyphos came from the workshop of the Iliouperis Painter c 357~350 and is in the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, … Continue reading →

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Translated by Steven J. Willett Relief of Helios from the northwest pediment of the Temple of Athena in Ilion (Troy), c. 390BC~325BC. The relief was found by Heinrich Schliemann in 1872 and is now in the Pergamon-Museum, Berlin. Note: The … Continue reading →

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Translated by Steven J. Willett Red-figure vase of a ritual sacrifice with the priest pouring wine from a kylix (κύλιξ) while one assistant holds the flaming bull thigh and another plays on the pipes. Note: The seventh strophe is addressed … Continue reading →

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