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thy favor to the command of Byzantium, what have I to gain by treason or neglect ? These Persians — I knew them well. I had known them in Susa — known them when I served Darius, being then an exile from Eretria. Ye know, my countrymen, that when Darius invaded Greece I left his court and armies, and sought my native land, to fall or to conquer in its cause. Well, then, I knew these Barbarians. I sought them frequently ; partly, it may be, to return to them in their adversity the courtesies shown me in mine. Ye are Greeks : ye will not condemn me for humanity and gratitude. Partly with another motive. I knew that Ariamanes had the greatest influence over Xerxes. I knew that the great king would at
any cost seek to regain the liberty of his friend. I urged upon Ariamanes the wisdom of a peace with the Greeks even on their own terms. I told him that when Xerxes sent to offer the ransom, conditions of peace would avail more than sacks of gold. He listened and approved. Did I wrong in this, Pausanias ? No ; for thou, whose deep sagacity has made thee condescend even to appear half Persian, because thou art all Greek — thou thyself didst sanction my efforts on behalf of Greece. "
Pausanias looked with a silent triumph round the conclave, and Xanthippus nodded approval.
" In order to conciliate them, and with too great confidence in their faith, I relaxed by degrees the rigor of their confine ment ; that was a fault, I own it. Their apartments commu nicated with a court in which I suffered them to walk at will. But I placed there two sentinels in whom I deemed I could repose all trust — not my own countrymen — not Eretrians —
. not thy Spartans or Laconians, Pausanias. No ;
if ever the jealousy (a laudable jealousy) of the Greeks should demand an account of my faith and vigilance, my witnesses should be the countrymen of those who have ever the most suspected me. Those sentinels were, the one a Samian, the other a Plataean. These men have betrayed me and Greece. Last night, on returning hither from the vessel, I visited the Persians. They were about to retire to rest, and I quit them soon, suspecting nothing. This morning they had fled, and with them their abettors, the sentinels. I hastened, first, to send soldiers in search of them ; and, secondly, to inform Pau sanias in his galley. If I have erred, I submit me to your
punishment. Punish my error, but acquit my honesty. " VOL. III. —21
I deemed that
322 THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
" And what," said Cimon, abruptly, " led thee far from thy path, between the Heracleid's galley and the citadel, to the fields near the temple of Aphrodite, between the citadel and the bay ? Thy color changes. Mark him, Greeks. Quick ; thine answer. "
The countenance of Gongylus had indeed lost its color and hardihood. The loud tone of Cimon — the effect his confusion produced on the Greeks, some of whom, the Ionians, less self- possessed and dignified than the rest, half rose, with fierce gestures and muttered exclamations — served still more to embarrass and intimidate him. He cast a hasty look on Pausa- nias, who averted his eyes. There was a pause. The Spartan gave himself up for lost ; but how much more was his fear in creased when Gongylus, casting an imploring gaze upon the Greeks, said, hesitatingly, — "
and as he
" Eretrian," said Pausanias, striking his clinched hand on the table, " I know not what tale trembles on thy lips ; but, be it what it may, give it voice, I command thee. "
" Question me no further. I dare not speak ; spoke he pointed to Pausanias.
" It was the dread of thy resentment, Pausanias," said Cimon, coldly, "that withheld his confession. Vouchsafe to reassure him. "
" Thou thyself, thou wert the cause that led me toward the temple of Aphrodite," said Gongylus, in a low voice.
At these words there went forth a general deep-breathed murmur. With one accord every Greek rose to his feet. The Spartan attendants in the rear of Pausanias drew closer to his person ; but there was nothing in their faces — yet more dark and vindictive than those of the other Greeks — that promised protection. Pausanias alone remained seated and unmoved. His imminent danger gave him back all his valor, all his pride, all his passionate and profound disdain. With unbleached cheek, with haughty eyes, he met the gaze of the assembly ; and then waving his hand as if that gesture sufficed to restrain and awe them, he said, —
" In the name of all Greece, whose chief I yet am, whose pro tector I have once been, I command ye to resume your seats, and listen to the Eretrian. Spartans, fall back. Governor of Byzantium, pursue your tale. "
" Yes, Pausanias," resumed Gongylus, " you alone were the
cause that drew me from my rest. I would fain be silent,
but
"
THE CONSPIRACY OP PAUSANIAS. 823
" Say on ! " cried Pausanias, fiercely, and measuring the space between himself and Gongylus, in doubt whether the Eretrian's head were within reach of his scimeter ; so at least Gongylus interpreted that freezing look of despair and venge ance, and he drew back some paces. "I place myself, O Greeks, under your protection ; it is dangerous to reveal the errors of the great. Know that, as Governor of Byzantium, many things ye wot not of reach my ears. Hence, I guard against dangers while ye sleep. Learn, then, that Pausanias is not without the weakness of his ancestor, Alcides ; he loves a maiden — a Byzantine — Cleonice, the daughter of Diagoras. "
This unexpected announcement, made in so grave a tone, provoked a smile among the gay Ionians ; but an exclamation of jealous anger broke from Antagoras, and a blush, partly of wounded pride, partly of warlike shame, crimsoned the swarthy cheek of Pausanias. Cimon, who was by no means free from the joyous infirmities of youth, relaxed his severe brow, and said after a short pause, —
"Is it, then, among the grave duties of the Governor of Byzantium to watch over the fair Cleonice, or to aid the suit of her illustrious lover ? "
" Not so," answered Gongylus ; " but the life of the Grecian General is dear, at least, to the grateful Governor of Byzantium. Greeks, ye know that among you Pausanias has many foes. Returning last night from his presence, and passing through the thicket, I overheard voices at hand. " I caught the name of Pausanias. ' The Spartan,' said one voice, ' nightly visits the house of Diagoras. He goes usually alone. From the height near the temple we can watch well, for the night is clear ; if he goes alone, we can intercept his way on his return. ' 'To the height ! ' cried the other. I thought to distinguish the voices, but the trees hid the speakers. I followed the footsteps toward the temple, for it behooved me to learn who thus menaced the chief of Greece. But ye know that the wood reaches even to the sacred building, and. the steps gained the temple before I could recognize the men. I concealed myself, as I thought, to watch ; but it seems that I was perceived, for he who saw me, and now accuses, was doubtless one of the assassins. Happy I, if the sight of a witness scared him from the crime. Either fearing detection, or aware that their intent that night was frustrated — for Pausanias, visiting Cleonice earlier than his wont, had already resought his galley — the men retreated as
324 THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
they came, unseen, not unheard. I caught their receding steps through the brushwood. Greeks, I have said. Who is my accuser? in him behold the would-be murderer of Pausa- nias ! "
" Liar ! " cried an indignant and loud voice among the captains, and Antagoras stood forth from the circle.
" It is I who saw thee. Darest thou accuse Antagoras of Chios? "
"What at that hour brought Antagoras of Chios to the Temple of Aphrodite ? " retorted Gongylus.
The eyes of the Greeks turned toward the young captain, and there was confusion on his face. But, recovering himself quickly, the Chian answered : " Why should I blush to own it ? Aphrodite is no dishonorable deity to the men of the Ionian Isles. I sought the temple at that hour, as is our wont, to make my offering and record my prayer. "
" Certainly," said Cimon. " We must own that Aphrodite is powerful at Byzantium. Who can acquit Pausanias and blame Antagoras ? "
" Pardon me — one question," said Gongylus. " Is not the female heart which Antagoras would beseech the goddess to soften toward him that of the Cleonice of whom we spoke ? See, he denies it not. Greeks, the Chians are warm lovers, and warm lovers are revengeful rivals. "
This artful speech had its instantaneous effect among the younger and more unthinking loiterers. Those who at once would have disbelieved the imputed guilt of Antagoras upon motives merely political, inclined to a suggestion that ascribed it to the jealousy of a lover. And his character, ardent and fiery, rendered the suspicion yet more plausible. Meanwhile the minds of the audience had been craftily drawn from the grave and main object of the meeting — the flight of the Per sians —and a lighter and livelier curiosity had supplanted the eager and dark resentment which had hitherto animated the circle. Pausanias, with the subtle genius that belonged to him, hastened to seize advantage of the momentary diversion in his favor, and before the Chian could recover from his con sternation, both at the charge and the evident effect it had produced upon a part of the assembly, the Spartan stretched his hand, and spake.
" Greeks, Pausanias listens to no tale of danger to himself. Willingly he believes that Gongylus either misinterpreted the
THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS. 325
intent of some jealous and heated threats, or that the words he overheard were not uttered by Antagoras. Possible is it, too, that others may have sought the temple with less gentle desires than our Chian ally. Let this pass. Unworthy such matters of the councils of bearded men ; too much reference has been made to those follies which our idleness has given birth to. Let no fair Briseis renew strife among chiefs and soldiers. Excuse not thyself, Antagoras ; we dismiss all charge against thee. On the other hand, Gongylus will doubtless seem to you to have accounted for his appearance near the precincts of the temple. And it is but a coincidence, natural enough, that the Persian prisoners should have chosen, later in the night, the same spot for the steeds to await them. The thickness of the wood round the temple, and the direction of the place toward the east, points out the neighborhood as the very one in which the fugitives would appoint the horses. Waste no further time, but provide at once for the pursuit. To you, Cimon, be this case confided. Already have I dispatched fifty light-armed men on fleet Thessalian steeds. You, Cimon, increase the number of the pursuers. The prisoners may be yet recaptured. Doth aught else remain worthy of our ears ? If so, speak ; if not, depart. "
" Pausanias," said Antagoras, firmly, " let Gongylus retract, or not, his charge against me, I retain mine against Gongylus. Wholly false is it that in word or deed I plotted violence against thee, though of much — not as Cleonice's lover, but as Grecian captain — I have good reason to complain. Wholly false is it that I had a comrade. I was alone. And coming out from the temple, where I had hung my chaplet, I perceived Gongylus clearly under the starlit skies. He stood in listening attitude close by the sacred myrtle grove. I hastened toward him, but methinks he saw me not ; he turned slowly, penetrated the wood, and vanished. I gained the spot on the soft sward which the dropping boughs make ever humid. I saw the print of hoofs. Within the thicket I found the pearls that Cimon has displayed to you. Clear, then, is it that this man lies — clear that the Persians must have fled already — although Gon gylus declares that on his return to the citadel he visited them in their prison. Explain this, Eretrian ! "
" He who would speak false witness," answered Gongylus, with a firmness equal to the Chian's, " can find pearls at what soever hour he pleases. Greeks, this man presses me to renew
326 THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
the charge which Pausanias generously sought to stifle. I have said. And I, Governor of Byzantium, call on the council of the Grecian Leaders to maintain my authority, and protect their own Chief. "
Then arose a vexed and perturbed murmur, most of the Ionians siding with Antagoras, such of the allies as yet clung to the Dorian ascendency grouping round Gongylus.
The persistence of Antagoras had made the dilemma of no slight embarrassment to Pausanias. Something lofty in his original nature urged him to shrink from supporting Gongylus in an accusation which he believed untrue. On the other hand, he could not abandon his accomplice in an effort, as dangerous as it was crafty, to conceal their common guilt.
" Son of Miltiades," he said, after a brief pause, in which his dexterous resolution was formed, " I invoke your aid to ap pease a contest in which I foresee no result but that of schism among ourselves. Antagoras has no witness to support his tale, Gongylus none to support his own. Who shall decide between conflicting testimonies which rest but on the lips of accuser and accused ? Hereafter, if the matter be deemed suf ficiently grave, let us refer the decision to the oracle that never errs. Time and chance meanwhile may favor us in clearing up the darkness we cannot now penetrate. For you, Governor of Byzantium, it behooves me to say that the escape of prisoners intrusted to your charge justifies vigilance, if not suspicion. We shall consult at our leisure whether or not that course suf fices to remove you from the government of Byzantium. Her alds, advance ; our council is dissolved. "
With these words Pausanias rose, and the majesty of his bearing, with the unwonted temper and conciliation of his language, so came in aid of his high office, that no man ven tured a dissentient murmur.
The conclave broke up, and not till its members had gained the outer air did any signs of suspicion or dissatisfaction evince themselves ; but then, gathering in groups, the Ionians with especial jealousy discussed what had passed, and with their native shrewdness ascribed the moderation of Pausanias to his desire to screen Gongylus and avoid further inquisition into the flight of the prisoners. The discontented looked round for Cimon; but the young Athenian had hastily retired from the throng, and, after issuing orders to pursue the fugi
THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
327
tives, sought Aristides in the house near the quay in which he
lodged.
Cimon related to his friend what had passed at the meeting,
and," terminating his recital, said, —
Thou shouldst have been with us. With thee we might
have ventured more. "
" And if so," returned the wise Athenian, with a smile, " ye
would have prospered less. Precisely because I would not commit our country to the suspicion of fomenting intrigues and mutiny to her own advantage, did I abstain from the as sembly, well aware that Pausanias would bring his minion harmless from tbe unsupported accusation of Antagoras. Thou hast acted with cool judgment, Cimon. The Spartan is weav ing the webs of the Parcae for his own feet. Leave him to weave on, undisturbed. The hour in which Athens shall assume the sovereignty of the seas is drawing near. Let it come, like Jove's thunder, in a calm sky. "
n.
Pausanias did not that night quit the city. After the meeting, he held a private conference with the Spartan Equals, whom custom and the government assigned, in appearance as his attendants, in reality as witnesses, if not spies, of his con duct. Though every pure Spartan, as compared with the sub ject Laconian population, was noble, the republic acknowledged two main distinctions in class, — the higher, entitled Equals, a word which we might not inaptly and more intelligibly render Peers ; the lower, Inferiors. These distinctions, though hered itary, were not immutable. The peer could be degraded, the inferior could become a peer. To the royal person in war three peers were allotted. Those assigned to Pausanias, of the tribe called the Hylleans, were naturally of a rank and influence that constrained him to treat them with a certain deference, which perpetually chafed his pride and confirmed his discontent ; for these three men were precisely of the mold which at heart he most despised. Polydorus, the first in rank, — for like Pau sanias, he boasted his descent from Hercules, — was the person ification of the rudeness and bigotry of a Spartan who had never before stirred from his rocky home, and who disdained all that he could not comprehend. Gelon, the second, passed for a very
1
328 THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
wise man, for he seldom spoke but in monosyllables ; yet proba bly his words were as numerous as his ideas. Cleomenes, the third, was as distasteful to the Regent from his merits as the others from their deficiencies. He had risen from the grade of the Inferiors by his valor : blunt, homely, frank, sincere, he never disguised his displeasure at the manner of Pausanias — though, a true Spartan in discipline, he never transgressed the respect which his chief commanded in time of war.
Pausanias knew that these officers were in correspondence with Sparta, and he now exerted all his powers to remove from their minds any suspicion which the disappearance of the pris oners might have left in them.
In this interview he displayed all those great natural powers which, rightly trained and guided, might have made him not less great in council than in war. With masterly precision he enlarged on the growing ambition of Athens, on the"disposition in her favor evinced by all the Ionian confederates. Hitherto," he said truly, " Sparta has uniformly held rank as the first state of Greece ; the leadership of the Greeks belongs to us by birth and renown. But see you not that the war is now shifting from land to sea ? Sea is not our element ; it is that of Athens, of all the Ionian race. If this continue, we lose our ascendency, and AtheDs becomes the sovereign of Hellas. Beneath the calm of Aristides I detect his deep design. In vain Cimon affects the manner of the Spartan: at heart he is Athenian. This charge against Gongylus is aimed at me. Grant that the plot which it conceals succeed ; grant that Sparta share the affected suspicions of the Ionians, and recall me from Byzan tium ; deem you that there lives one Spartan who could delay for a day the supremacy of Athens ? Naught save the respect the Dorian Greeks at least attach to the General at Plateea could restrain the secret ambition of the city of the dema gogues. ' Deem not that I have been as rash and vain as some hold me for the stern visage I have shown to the Ionians. Trust me that it was necessary to awe them, with a view to maintain our majesty. For Sparta to preserve her ascendency two things are needful: first, to continue the war by land; secondly, to disgust the Ionians with their sojourn here, send them with their ships to their own havens, and so leave Hellas under the sole guardianship of ourselves and our Peloponnesian allies. Therefore I say, bear with me in this double design ; chide me not if my haughty manner disperse these subtle Ionians. If I
THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS. 329
bore with them to-day, it was less from respect than — shall I say it? — my fear lest you should misinterpret me. Beware how you detail to Sparta whatever might rouse the jealousy of her government.
Trust to me, and I will extend the dominion of Sparta till it grasp the whole of Greece. We will depose everywhere the revolutionary Demos, and establish our own oligarchies in every Grecian state. We will Laconize all Hellas. "
Much of what Pausanias said was wise and profound. Such statesmanship, narrow and ungenial, but vigorous and crafty, Sparta taught in later years to her alert politicians. And we have already seen that, despite the dazzling prospects of Ori ental dominion, he as yet had separated himself rather from the laws than the interests of Sparta, and still incorporated his own ambition with the extension of the sovereignty of his country over the rest of Greece.
But the Peers heard him in dull and gloomy silence ; and
not till he had paused and thrice asked for a reply did Poly-
dorus speak.
"You would increase the dominion of Sparta, Pausanias.
Increase of dominion is waste of life and treasure. We have few men, little gold; Sparta is content to hold her own. "
" Good," said Gelon, with impassive countenance. " What care we who leads the Greeks into blows? The fewer blows the better. Brave men fight if they must ; wise men never fight if they can help it. " "
" And such is your counsel, Cleomenes ? with a quivering lip.
asked Pausanias,
" Not from the same reasons," answered the nobler and more generous Spartan. " I presume not to question your motives, Pausanias. I leave you to explain them to the Ephors and the Gerusia. But since you press me, this I say. First, all the Greeks, Ionian as well as Dorian, fought equally against the Mede, and from the commander of the Greeks all should receive fellowship and courtesy. Secondly, I say if Athens is better fitted than Sparta for the maritime ascendency, let Athens rule, so that Hellas be saved from the Mede. Thirdly, O Pausanias, I pray that Sparta may rest satisfied with her own institutions, and not disturb the peace of Greece by forcing them upon other states, and thereby enslaving Hellas. What more could the Persian do ? Finally, my advice is to suspend Gon- gylus from his office, to conciliate the Ionians, to remain as a
330 THE CONSPIRACY OF PAUSANIAS.
Grecian armament firm and united, and so procure, on bettei terms, peace with Persia. And then let each state retire within itself, and none aspire to rule the other. A thousand free cities are better guard against the Barbarian than a single state made up of republics overthrown and resting its strength upon hearts enslaved. "
" Do you too," said Pausanias, gnawing his nether lip, " do you too, Polydorus ; you too, Gelon, agree with Cleomenes, that if Athens is better fitted than Sparta for the sovereignty of the seas, we should yield to that restless rival so perilous a power? "
" Ships cost gold," said Polydorus ; " Spartans have none to spare. Mariners require skillful captains; Spartans know nothing of the sea. "
" Moreover," quoth Gelon, " the ocean is a terrible element. What can valor do against a storm ? We may lose more men by adverse weather than a century can repair. Let who will have the seas. Sparta has her rocks and defiles. "
" Men and Peers," said Pausanias, ill repressing his scorn, " ye little dream what arms ye place in the hands of the Athe nians. I have done. Take only this prophecy : You are now the head of Greece. You surrender your scepter to Athens, and become a second-rate power. "
" Never second-rate when Greece shall demand armed men,"
said" Cleomenes, proudly. " Armed men, armed men !
cried the more profound Pau sanias. "Do you suppose that commerce — that trade — that maritime energy — that fleets which ransack the shores of the
world, will not obtain a power greater than mere brutelike valor? But as ye will, as ye will. "
" As we speak, our forefathers thought," said Gelon.
" And, Pausanias," said Cleomenes, gravely, " as we speak, so think the Ephors. "
Pausanias fixed his dark eye on Cleomenes, and, after a brief pause, saluted the Equals and withdrew. " Sparta," he muttered, as he regained his chamber, " Sparta, thou refusest to be great ; but greatness is necessary to thy son. Ah, their iron laws would constrain my soul ! but it shall wear them as a warrior wears his armor and adapts it to his body. Thou shalt be queen of all Hellas, despite thyself, thine Ephors, and thy laws. Then only will I forgive thee. "
ODES OF PINDAR. 831
ODES OF PINDAR. (Translated by Ernest Myers. )
[For biographical sketch, see p. 65. For other odes, see "The Greek Future Life," Vol. II. , p. 113, "Legend of Tantalus and the Olympic Games," p. 95 of this volume. ]
Ninth Pythian — Legend of Kyrene : foe Telesikrates of Kybene, Winner of the Foot Race in Full Armor.
I have desire to proclaim with aid of the deep-vested Graces a victory at Pytho of Telesikrates bearing the shield of bronze, and to speak aloud his name, for his fair fortune and the glory wherewith he hath crowned Kyrene, city of charioteers.
Kyrene [a Thessalian maiden] once from Pelion's wind- echoing dells, Leto's son, the flowing-haired, caught up and in a golden car bore away the huntress maiden to the place where he made her queen of a land rich in flocks, yea, richest of all lands in the fruits of the field, that her home might be the third part of the mainland of earth [Africa] — a stock that should bear lovely bloom. And silver-foot Aphrodite awaited the Delian stranger issuing from his car divine, and lightly laid on him her hand ; then over their sweet bridal-bed she cast the loveliness of maiden shame, and in a common wedlock joined the god and the daughter of wide-ruling Hypseus, who then was king of the haughty Lapithai, a hero whose father's father was the ocean god — for amid the famous mountain dells of Pindos the Naiad Kreusa bare him after she had delight in the bed of Peneus ; Kreusa, daughter of Earth.
Now the child he reared was Kyrene of the lovely arms. She was not one who loved the pacings to and fro before the loom, neither the delights of feastings with her fellows within the house, but with bronze javelins and a sword she fought against and slew wild beasts of prey ; yea, and much peace and Bure she gave thereby to her father's herds ; but for sleep, the sharer of her bed, short spent she it and sweet, descending on her eyelids as the dawn drew near.
Once as she struggled alone, without spear, with a terrible lion, he of the wide quiver, far-darting Apollo, found her : and
332 ODES OF PINDAR.
straightway he called Cheiron from his hall and spake to him aloud : " Son of Philyra, come forth from thy holy cave, and behold and wonder at the spirit of this woman, and her great might, what strife she wageth here with soul undaunted, a girl with heart too high for toil to quell ; for her mind shaketh not in the storm of fear. What man begat her ? From what tribe was she torn to dwell in the secret places of the shadowing hills ? She hath assayed a struggle unachievable. Is it lawful openly to put forth my hand to her, or rather on a bridal bed pluck the sweet flower ? "
To him the Centaur bold with a frank smile on his mild brow made answer straightway of his wisdom: "Secret are wise Lovecraft's keys unto love's sanctities, O Phoibos, and among gods and men alike all deem this shame, to have pleasure of marriage at the first openly. Now even thee, who mayest have no part in lies, thy soft desire hath led to dissemble in this thy speech. The maiden's lineage dost thou, O king, inquire of me — thou who knowest the certain end of all things, and all ways. How many leaves the earth sendeth forth in spring, how many grains of sand in sea and river are rolled by waves and the winds' stress, what shall come to pass, and whence it shall be, thou discernest perfectly. But if even against wisdom I must match myself, I will speak on. To wed this damsel earnest thou unto this glen, and thou art destined to bear her beyond the sea to a chosen garden of Zeus, where thou shalt make her a city's queen, when thou hast gathered together an island people to a hill in the plain's midst. And now shall queenly Libya of broad meadow lands well pleased receive for thee, within a golden house, thy glorious bride, and there make gift to her of a portion in the land, to be an inhabiter thereof with herself, neither shall it be lacking in tribute of plants bearing fruit after all kinds, neither a stranger to the beasts of chase. There shall she bring forth a son, whom glori ous Hermes taking up from his mother's arms shall bear to the fair-throned Hours and to Earth ; and they shall set the babe upon their knees, and nectar and ambrosia they shall distill upon his lips, and shall make him as an immortal, a Zeus or a holy Apollo, to men beloved of him a very present help, a tutelar of flocks, and to some Agreus and Nomios, but to others Aristaios shall be his name. "
By these words he made him ready for the bridal's sweet fulfillment. And swift the act and short the ways of gods who
ODES OF PINDAR. 333
are eager to an end. That same day made accomplishment of the matter, and in a golden chamber of Libya they lay together ; where now she haunteth a city excellent in beauty and glorious in the games.
And now at sacred Pytho hath the son of Karneadas wedded that city to the fair flower of good luck ; for by his victory there he hath proclaimed Kyrene's name, even hers who shall receive him with glad welcome home, to the country of fair women bringing precious honor out of Delphi.
Great merits stir to many words ; yet to be brief and skillful on long themes is a good hearing for bards ; for fitness of times is in everything alike of chief import.
That Iolaos had respect thereto [by seizing the critical mo ment] seven-gated Thebes knoweth well, for when he had stricken down the head of Eurystheus beneath the edge of the sword, she buried the slayer beneath the earth in the tomb of Amphitryon, the charioteer, where his father's father was laid, a guest of the Spartoi, who had left his home to dwell among the streets of the sons of Kadmos who drave white horses. To him and to Zeus at once did wise Alkmene bear the strength of twin sons prevailing in battle.
Dull is that man who lendeth not his voice to Herakles, nor hath in remembrance continually the waters of Dirke that nur tured him and Iphikles. To them will I raise a song of triumph for that I have received good at their hands, after that I had prayed to them that the pure light of the voiceful Graces might not forsake me. For at Aigina and on the hill of Nisos twice ere now I say that I have sung Kyrene's praise, and by my act have shunned the reproach of helpless dumbness.
Wherefore if any of the citizens be our friend, yea even if he be against us, let him not seek to hide the thing that hath been well done in the common cause, and so despise the word of the old god of the sea [Nereus]. He biddeth one give praise with the whole heart to noble deeds, yea even to an enemy, so be it that justice be on his side.
Full many times at the yearly feast of Pallas have the maidens seen thee winner, and silently they prayed each for herself that such an one as thou, O Telesikrates, might be her beloved husband or her son ; and thus also was it at the games of Olympia and of ample-bosomed Earth [Delphi or Pytho, the supposed center of the Earth], and at all in thine own land.
334 ODES OF PINDAR.
Me anywise to slake my thirst for song the ancient glory of thy forefathers summoneth to pay its due and rouse it yet again — to tell how that for love of a Libyan woman there went up suitors to the city of Irasa to woo Antaios' lovely -haired daugh ter of great renown ; whom many chiefs of men, her kinsmen, sought to wed, and many strangers also ; for the beauty of her was marvelous, and they were fain to cull the fruit whereto her gold-crowned youth had bloomed.
But her father gained for his daughter a marriage more glorious still. Now he had heard how sometime Danaos at Argos devised for his forty and eight maiden daughters, ere midday was upon them, a wedding of utmost speed — for he straightway set the whole company at the racecourse end, and bade determine by a foot race which maiden each hero should have, of all the suitors that had come.
Even on this wise gave the Libyan a bridegroom to his daughter, and joined the twain. At the line he set the dam- Bel, having arrayed her splendidly, to be the goal and prize, and proclaimed in the midst that he should lead her thence to be his bride who, dashing to the front, should first touch the robes she wore.
Thereon Alexidamos, when that he had sped through the swift course, took by her hand the noble maiden, and led her through the troops of Nomad horsemen. Many the leaves and wreaths they showered on him ; yea, and of former days many plumes of victories had he won.
First Pythian — Eruption of Etna and Defeat of the Barbarians: for Hieron of Aitna, Winneb in the Chariot Race.
[The date of this victory is B. C. 474. In the year 480, the year of Salamls, the Syra- cusans under Hieron had defeated the Carthaginians in the great battle of Himera. In 479 a great eruption of Etna (Aitna) began. In 476 Hieron founded, near the mountain, but we may suppose at a safe distance, the new city of Aitna, in honor of which he had himself proclaimed as an Aitnalan after this and other victories in the games. And in this same year, 474, he had defeated the Etruscans, or Tuscans, or Tyrrhenians, in a great sea fight before
. Cumae. Pindar might well delight to honor those who had been waging so well against the barbarians of the South and West the same war which the Hellenes of the mother country waged against the barbarians of the East. — Myers. ]
O golden Lyre, thou common treasure of Apollo and the Muses violet-tressed, thou whom the dancer's step, prelude of
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festal mirth, obeyeth, and the singers heed thy bidding, what time with quivering strings thou utterest preamble of choir- leading overture — lo even the sworded lightning of immortal fire thou quenchest, and on the scepter of Zeus his eagle sleep- eth, slackening his swift wings either side, the king of birds, for a dark mist thou hast distilled on his arched head, a gentle seal upon his eyes, and he in slumber heaveth his supple back, spellbound beneath thy throbs.
Yea also violent Ares, leaving far off the fierce point of his spears, letteth his heart have joy in rest, for thy shafts soothe hearts divine by the cunning of Leto's son and the deep- bosomed Muses.
But whatsoever things Zeus loveth not fly frighted from the voice of the Pierides, whether on earth or on the raging sea ; whereof is he who lieth in dreadful Tartaros, the foe of the gods, Typhon of the hundred heads, whom erst the den Kilikian of many names did breed, but now verily the sea-constraining cliffs beyond Cumae, and Sicily, lie heavy on his shaggy breast ; and he is fast bound by a pillar of the sky, even by snowy Etna, nursing the whole year's length her frozen snow.
Whereout pure springs of unapproachable fire are vomited from the inmost depths ; in the daytime the lava streams pour forth a lurid rush of smoke ; but in the darkness a red rolling flame sweepeth rocks with uproar to the wide, deep sea.
That dragon thing [Typhon] it is that maketh issue from beneath the terrible fiery flood, a monster marvelous to look upon, yea, a marvel to hear of from such as go thereby and tell what thing is prisoned between the dark-wooded tops of Etna and the plain, where the back of him is galled and furrowed by the bed whereon he lieth.
O Zeus, be it ours to find favor in thy sight, who art defender of this mountain, the forehead of a fruitful land, whose namesake neighbor city hath been ennobled by her glorious founder, for that on the racecourse at the Pythian games the herald made proclamation of her name aloud, telling of Hieron's fair victory in the chariot race.
Now the first boon to men in ships is that a favorable breeze come to them as they set forth upon the sea ; for this is promise that in the end also they shall come with good hap home. So after this good fortune doth reason show us hope of crowns to come for Aitna's horses, and honor in the banquet songs.
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O Phoibos, lord of Lykia and of Delos, who lovest the spring of Castaly on thy Parnassos, be this the purpose of thy will, and grant the land fair issue of her men.
For from gods come all means of mortal valor, hereby come bards and men of mighty hand and eloquent speech.
This is the man I am fain to praise, and trust that not out side the ring shall I hurl the bronze-tipped javelin I brandish in my hand, but with far throw outdo my rivals in the match.
Would that his whole life may give him, even as now, good luck and wealth right onward, and of his pains forgetful- ness.
Verily it shall remind him in what fightings of wars he stood up with steadfast soul, when the people found grace of glory at the hands of gods, such as none of the Hellenes hath reaped, a proud crown of wealth.
For after the ensample of Philoktetes, he went but now to war ; and when necessity was upon them, even they of proud spirit sought of him a boon.
To Lemnos once they say came godlike heroes to fetch thence the archer son of Paian, vexed of an ulcerous wound ; and he sacked the city of Priam and made an end of the Danaoi's labors, for the body wherewith he went was sick, but this was destined from the beginning.
Even thus to Hieron may God be a guide for the time approaching, and give him to lay hold upon the things of his desire.
Also in the house of Deinomenes do me grace, O Muse, to sing, for sake of our four-horsed car : no alien joy to him is his sire's victory.
Come, then, and next for Etna's king let us devise a friendly song, for whom with god-built freedom after the laws of Hyllic pattern hath that city been founded of Hieron's hand ; for the desire of the sons of Pamphylos and of the Herakleidai dwell ing beneath the heights of Taygetos is to abide continually in the Dorian laws of Aigimios. At Amyklai they dwelt pros perously, when they were come down out of Pindos and drew near in honor to the Tyndaridai who ride on white horses, and the glory of their spears waxed great.
Thou Zeus, with whom are the issues of things, grant that the true speech of men ever bear no worse report of citizens and kings beside the water of Amenas. By thine aid shall
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a man that is chief and that instructeth his son after him give due honor unto his people and move them to be of one voice peacefully.
I pray thee, son of Kronos, grant that the Phenician and the Tuscan war cry be hushed at home, since they have beheld the calamity of their ships that befell them before Cumae, even how they were smitten by the captain of the Syracusans, who from their swift ships hurled their youth into the sea, to deliver Hellas from the bondage of the oppressor.
From Salamis shall I of Athenians take reward of thanks, at Sparta when I shall tell in a song to come of the battle
before Kithairon, wherein the Medes that bear crooked bows were overthrown ; but by the fair-watered banks of Himeras it shall be for the song I have rendered to the sons of Deinomenes, which by their valor they have earned, since the men that warred against them are overthrown.
Nevertheless, for that envy is preferred before pity [i. e. , it is better to be envied than to be pitied], let slip not fair occa sion : guide with just helm thy people, and forge the sword of thy speech on an anvil whereof cometh no lie. Even a word falling lightly is of import in that it proceedeth from thee. Of many things art thou steward : many witnesses are there to thy deeds of either kind.
But abiding in the fair flower of this spirit, if thou art fain to be continually of good report, be not too careful for the cost : loose free like a mariner thy sail unto the wind.
Friend, be not deceived by time-serving words of guile. The voice of the report that liveth after a man, this alone revealeth the lives of dead men to the singers and to the chroniclers; the loving-kindness of Craesus fadeth not away; but him who burned men with fire within a brazen bull, Phala- ris, that had no pity, men tell of everywhere with hate, neither will any lute in hall suffer him in the gentle fellowship of young boys' themes of songs.
To be happy is the chiefest prize ; to be glorious the next lot : if a man have lighted on both and taken them to be his, he hath attained unto the supreme crown.
TOL. III. — 22
[Plataea]
If thou shalt speak in season, and comprehend in brief the ends of many matters, less impeachment followeth of men ; for surfeit blunteth the eagerness of expectancy, and city talk of others' praise grieveth hearts secretly.
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Seventh Olympian — The Rhodian Confederacy : fob Diagobas of Rhodes, Winneb in the Boxing Match.
(Translated by Ernest Myers. )
[There is a noteworthy incident of the Peloponnesian War which should be remem bered in connection with this ode. In the year 406, fifty-eight years after this victory of Diagoras, during the final and most embittering agony of Athens, one Dorieus, a son of Diagoras, and himself a famous athlete, was captured by the Athenians in a sea fight. It was then the custom either to release prisoners of war for a ransom or else to put them to death. The Athenians asked no ransom of Dorieus, but set him free on the spot. — Myers. ]
As when from a wealthy hand one lifting a cup, made glad within with the dew of the vine, maketh gift thereof to a youth his daughter's spouse, a largess of the feast from home to home, an all-golden choicest treasure, that the banquet may have grace, and that he may glorify his kin ; and therewith he maketh him envied in the eyes of the friends around him for a wedlock wherein hearts are wedded —
So also I, my liquid nectar sending, the Muses' gift, the sweet fruit of my soul, to men that are winners in the games at Pytho or Olympia make holy offering. Happy is he whom good report encompasseth ; now on one man, now on another doth the Grace that quickeneth look favorably, and tune for him the lyre and the pipe's stops of music manifold.
Thus to the sound of the twain am I come with Diagoras sailing home, to sing the sea-girt Rhodes, child of Aphrodite and bride of Helios, that to a mighty and fair-fighting man, who by Alpheos' stream and by Kastalia's hath won him crowns, I may for his boxing make award of glory, and to his father Demegetos in whom Justice hath her delight, dwellers in the isle of three cities with an Argive host, nigh to a promontory of spacious Asia.
Fain would I truly tell from the beginning from Tlepolemos the message of my word, the common right of this puissant seed of Herakles. For on the father's side they claim from Zeus, and on the mother's from Astydameia, sons of Amyntor.
Now round the minds of men hang follies unnumbered — this is the unachievable thing, to find what shall be best hap for a man both presently and also at the last. Yea, for the very founder of this country [Tlepolemos] once on a time struck with his staff of tough wild olive wood Alkmene's bastard
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brother Likymnios in Tiryns as he came forth from Midea's chamber, and slew him in the kindling of his wrath. So even the wise man's feet are turned astray by tumult of the soul.
Then he came to inquire of the oracle of God. And he of the golden hair from his sweet-incensed shrine spake unto him of a sailing of ships that should be from the shore of Lerna unto a pasture ringed with sea, where sometime the great king of gods rained on the city golden snow, what time by Hephais- tos' handicraft beneath the bronze-wrought ax from the crown of her father's head Athene leapt to light and cried aloud with an exceeding cry ; and Heaven trembled at her coming, and Earth, the Mother.
Then also the god who giveth light to men, Hyperion, bade his beloved sons see that they guard the payment of the debt, that they should build first for the goddess an altar in the sight of all men, and laying thereon a holy offering they should make glad the hearts of the father and of his daughter of the sound ing spear. Now Reverence, Forethought's child, putteth valor and the joy of battle into the hearts of men ; yet withal there cometh upon them bafflingly the cloud of forgetfulness and maketh the mind to swerve from the straight path of action. For they though they had brands burning yet kindled not the seed of flame, but with fireless rites they made a grove on the hill of the citadel. For them Zeus brought a yellow cloud into the sky and rained much gold upon the land ; and Glaukopis herself gave them to excel the dwellers upon earth in every art of handicraft. For on their roads ran the semblances of beasts and creeping things : whereof they have great glory, for to him that hath knowledge the subtlety that is without deceit is the greater altogether. [That is, probably, without magic, or the pretense of being anything but machines. This is considered an allusion to the Telchines who lived before the Heliadai in
Rhodes, and were magicians as well as craftsmen. ]
Now the ancient story of men saith that when Zeus and the other gods made division of the earth among them, not yet was
island Rhodes apparent in the open sea, but in the briny depths lay hid. And for that Helios was otherwhere, none drew a lot for him ; so they left him portionless of land, that holy god. And when he spake thereof Zeus would cast lots afresh ; but he suffered him not, for that he said that beneath the hoary sea he saw a certain land waxing from its root in earth, that should
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bring forth food for many men, and rejoice in flocks. And straightway he bade her of the golden fillet, Lachesis, to stretch her hands on high, nor violate the gods' great oath, but with the son of Kronos promise him that the isle sent up to the light of heaven should be thenceforth a title of himself alone.
And in the end of the matter his speech had fulfillment ; there sprang up from the watery main an island, and the father who begetteth the keen rays of day hath the dominion thereof, even the lord of fire-breathing steeds. There sometime having lain with Rhodos he begat seven sons, who had of him minds wiser than any among the men of old ; and one begat Kameiros, and Ialysos his eldest, and Lindos : and they held each apart their shares of cities, making threefold division of their father's land, and these men call their dwelling places. There is a sweet amends for his piteous ill hap ordained for Tlepolemos, leader of the Tirynthians at the beginning, as for a god, even the lead ing thither of sheep for a savory burnt offering, and the award of honor in games. [That is, he presides over the celebration of games, as tutelar hero of the island. ]
Of garlands from these games hath Diagoras twice won him crowns, and four times he had good luck at famous Isthmos and twice following at Nemea, and twice at rocky Athens. And at Argos the bronze shield knoweth him, and the deeds of Arcadia and of Thebes and the yearly games Boeotian, and Pellene and Aigina where six times he won; and the pillar of stone at Megara hath the same tale to tell.
But do thou, O Father Zeus, who holdest sway on the moun tain ridges of Atabyrios glorify the accustomed Olympian win ner's hymn, and the man who hath done valiantly with his fists : give him honor at the hands of citizens and of strangers ; for he walketh in the straight way that abhorreth insolence, having learnt well the lessons his true soul hath taught him, which hath come to him from his noble sires. Darken not thou the light of one who springeth from the same stock of Kallianax. Surely with the joys of Eratidai the whole city maketh mirth. But the varying breezes even at the same point of time speed each upon their various ways.
ODES OF PINDAR.
(Translated by J. A. Symonds. ) The Twelfth Pythian.
To thee, fairest of earthly towns, I pray — Thou splendor-lover, throne of Proserpine, Piled o'er Girgenti's slopes, that feed alway
Fat sheep !