Venice masks

Thursday 31 January 2019

It is the season - Antipater of Sidon

It is the season for the ship to travel tearing through the waves;
    no longer does the sea toss, furrowed by dreadful fret.
Already the swallow is building her round houses under the roof,
    and the tender leaves of the meadows smile.
Therefore, sailors, coil your wet hawsers
    and drag the anchors from their nests in the harbour.
Haul up your well-woven sails.
This is what you are told by me,
Priapus of the harbour, the son of Bromius.

Antipater of Sidon (2nd century BC) Lebanon (lived in Rome)
Translated by W. R. Paton
Source: Translations of Greek and Latin Poetry (taken from Greek Anthology, Volume II, edited by W. R. Paton, William Heinemann Ltd. 1917
  • Priapus and Bromius (also Dionysus in Greece or Bacchus in Rome) were fertility gods of the Roman and Greek world

No comments:

Post a Comment

Please keep your comments relevant and free from abusive language. Thank you. Note that comments are moderated so it may be a day or two before your comment is posted - irrelevant or abusive comments will not be published.