Works of Nonnus

by Nonnus

  ὀκλάζων ἐπίκυρτον, ἐς ἄμπελον ὄμμα τιταίνων:

  345 καὶ γλαφυρῷ κενεῶνι χυτὴν ἔστρωσεν ὀπώρην

  ὀγκώσας σταφυλῇσι μεσόμφαλα νῶτα χαράδρης...

  βότρυας εἱλικόεντας ἐπασσυτέρους θέτο κόλπῳ

  ἐκταδὸν ἔνθα καὶ ἔνθα, καὶ ὡς θημῶνας ἀλωῆς

  πλήσας κόλπον ἅπαντα συνήγαγε κοιλάδι πέτρῃ,

  350 καὶ σταφυλὴν ἐπάτησε ποδῶν βητάρμονι παλμῷ.

  καὶ Σάτυροι σείοντες ἐς ἠέρα θυιάδα χαίτην,

  ἰσοφυὲς μίμημα διδασκόμενοι Διονύσου,

  στικτὰ περισφίγξαντες ἐπωμίδι δέρματα νεβρῶν,

  Βακχείης ἀλάλαζον ὁμογλώσσου μέλος ἠχοῦς,

  355 ποσσὶ πολυσκάρθμοισι περιθλίβοντες ὀπώρην,

  εὔιον ἀείδοντες: ἐρισταφύλοιο δὲ κόλπου

  οἴνου ἀναβλύζοντος ἐπορφύροντο χαράδραι:

  στεινομένη δὲ πόδεσσιν ἀμοιβαίοισιν ὀπώρη

  λευκὸν ἐρευθαλέης ἀνεκήκιεν ἀφρὸν ἐέρσης.

  360 καὶ βοέοις ἀρύοντο κεράασιν ἀντὶ κυπέλλων

  μή πω φαινομένων, ὅθεν ὕστερον ἐξέτι κείνου

  θέσκελον οὔνομα τοῦτο κεραννυμένῳ πέλεν οἴνῳ.

  [337] A band of Satyrs was with him: one stooped to gather the clusters, one received them into an empty vessel as they were cut, one pulled off the masses of green leaves from the bibulous fruit and threw away the rubbish. Another without thyrsus or sharpened steel crouched bending forwards and spying for grapes, and put out his right hand towards the branches to pluck the fruit at the ends of the tangled vine, then Bacchos spread the fruitage in the pit he had dug, first heaping the grapes in the middle of the excavation, then arranging them in layers side by side like cornheaps on the threshingfloor, spread out the whole length of the hole. When he had got all into the hollowed place and filled it up to the brim, he trod the grapes with dancing steps. The Satyrs also, shaking their hair madly in the wind, learnt from Dionysos how to do the like. They pulled tight the dappled skins of fawns over the shoulder, they shouted the song of Bacchos sounding tongue with tongue, crushing the fruit with many a skip of the foot, crying “Euoi!” The wine spurted up in the grapefilled hollow, the runlets were empurpled; pressed by the alternating tread the fruit bubbled out red juice with white foam. They scooped it up with oxhorns, instead of cups which had not yet been seen, so that ever after the cup of mixed wine took this divine name of Winehorn.

  καί τις ἀναβλύζων φρενοθελγέος ἰκμάδα Βάκχου

  καμπύλον ἴχνος ἔκαμψε ποδῶν ἑλικώδεϊ παλμῷ,

  365 δεξιὸν ἐκ λαιοῖο μετήλυδα ταρσὸν ἀμείβων,

  καὶ λασίας ἐδίηνε γενειάδας ἰκμάδι Βάκχου:

  ἄλλος ἀνεσκίρτησε, μέθης δεδονημένος οἴστρῳ,

  φρικτὸν ἀρασσομένης ἀίων μύκημα βοείης:

  καί τις ἀκεσσιπόνοιο πιὼν ῥόον ἄσχετον οἴνου

  370 κυανέην ῥοδόεντι ποτῷ πόρφυρεν ὑπήνην:

  ἄλλος ἄνω τανύων σφαλερὴν ἐπὶ δένδρον ὀπωπὴν

  ἡμιφανῆ σκοπίαζεν ἀνάμπυκα γείτονα Νύμφην,

  καί νύ κεν ὑψιπέτηλον ὀρειάδος εἰς φυτὸν ὕλης

  εἷρπεν ὀλισθηροῖο ποδὸς γαμψώνυχι ταρσῷ,

  375 εἰ μή μιν Διόνυσος ἐρήτυεν: ἀμφὶ δὲ πηγὰς

  ἄλλος ἐγερσινόοιο μέθης ἑτερόφρονι παλμῷ

  ὑδρηλὴν ἐδίωκεν ἀνείμονα Νηίδα κούρην,

  καί νύ κε νηχομένην λασίῳ πήχυνεν ἀγοστῷ,

  εἰ μή μιν φθαμένη βυθίῳ κεκάλυπτο ῥεέθρῳ.

  380 μούνῳ δ᾽ οἰνοποτῆρι Διωνύσῳ πόρε Ῥείη

  λυσσαλέης ἀμέθυστον ἀλεξήτειραν ἀνάγκης.

  [363] And one went bubbling the mindcharming drops of Bacchos as he turned his wobbling feet in zigzag jerks, crossing right over left in confusion as he wetted his hairy cheeks with Bacchos’s drops. Another skipt up struck with a tippler’s madness when he heard the horrid boom of the beaten drumskin. One again who had drunk too deeply of caredispelling wine purpled his dark beard with the rosy liquor. Another, turning his unsteady look towards a tree espied a Nymph half-hidden ,unveiled, close at hand; and he would have crawled up the highest tree in the forest, feet slipping, hanging on by his toenails, had not Dionysos held him back. Near the fountains, another driven by the insane impulse of drunken excitement, chased a naked Naiad of the waters; he would have seized her with hairy hand as she swam, but she gave him the slip and dived into deep water. To Dionysos alone had Rheia given the amethyst, which preserves the winedrinker from the tyranny of madness.

  πολλοὶ δ᾽ εὐκεράων Σατύρων φιλοπαίγμονι ταρσῷ

  εἰς χορὸν οἰστρηθέντες ἐκώμασαν: ὧν ὁ μὲν αὐτῶν

  θερμὸν ἔχων νέον οἶστρον ὑπὸ φρένα, πομπὸν Ἐρώτων,

  385 πήχεϊ λαχνήεντι μέσην ἠγκάσσατο Βάκχην:

  ὃς δὲ νοοπλάγκτοιο μέθης δεδονημένος οἴστρῳ

  παρθενικῆς ἀγάμοιο σαόφρονος ἥψατο μίτρης,

  αὖ ἐρύων ἐπὶ Κύπριν ἀπειθέος εἵματα νύμφης,

  χειρὶ δ᾽ ὀπισθοβόλῳ ῥοδέων ἐπαφήσατο μηρῶν:

  390 καί τις ἀναινομένην ἀνεσείρασε μύστιδα κούρην

  λαμπάδα νυκτιχόρευτον ἀναπτομένην Διονύσῳ:

  ὃς δὲ περὶ στέρνοις πεφιδημένα δάκτυλα βάλλων

  οἰδαλέην ἔθλιψεν ἀκαμπέος ἄντυγα μαζοῦ.

  [382] Many of the horned Satyrs joined furiously in the festive dancing with sportive steps. One felt within him a new hot madness, the guide to love, and threw a hairy arm round a Bacchanal girl’s waist. One shaken by the madness of mindcrazing drink laid hold of the girdle of a modest unwedded maid, and as she would have no lovemaking pulled her back by the dress and touched her rosy thighs from behind. Another dragged back a struggling mystic maiden while kindling the torch for the god’s nightly dances, laid timid fingers upon her bosom and pressed the swelling circle of her firm breast.

  καὶ γλυκερῆς Διόνυσος ἑῆς μετὰ κῶμον ὀπώρης

  395 δύσατο κυδιόων Κυβεληίδος ἄντρα θεαίνης,

  κλήματα βοτρυόεντα φιλανθέι χειρὶ τιταίνων,

  Μαιονίην δ᾽ ἐδίδαξεν ἑὴν ἄγρυπνον ἑορτήν.

  [394] After the revels over his sweet fruit, Dionysos proudly entered the cave of Cybeleïd goddess Rheia, waving bunches of grapes in his flowerloving hand, and taught Maionia the vigil of his feast.

  BOOK 13

  ἐν τρισκαιδεκάτῳ στρατιὴν νήριθμον ἐνίψω

  καὶ προμάχους ἥρω�
�ς ἀγειρομένους Διονύσῳ.

  Ζεὺς δὲ πατὴρ προέηκεν ἐς αὔλια θέσκελα Ῥείης

  Ἶριν ἀπαγγέλλουσαν ἐγερσιμόθῳ Διονύσῳ,

  ὄφρα δίκης ἀδίδακτον ὑπερφιάλων γένος Ἰνδῶν

  Ἀσίδος ἐξελάσειεν ἑῷ ποινήτορι θύρσῳ,

  5 ναύμαχον ἀμήσας ποταμήιον υἷα κεράστην,

  Δηριάδην βασιλῆα, καὶ ἔθνεα πάντα διδάξῃ

  ὄργια νυκτιχόρευτα καὶ οἴνοπα καρπὸν ὀπώρης.

  BOOK XIII

  In the thirteenth, I will tell of a host innumerable, and champion heroes gathering for Dionysos.

  Father Zeus sent Iris to the divine halls of Rheia, to inform wakethefray Dionysos, that he must drive out of Asia with his avenging thyrsus the proud race of Indians untaught of justice: he was to sweep from the sea the horned son of a river, Deriades the king, and teach all nations the sacred dances of the vigil and the purple fruit of the vintage.

  ἡ μὲν ἐρεσσομένων πτερύγων ἀνεμώδεϊ ῥιπῇ

  δυσαμένη κελάδοντα λεοντοκόμου μυχὸν ἄντρου

  10 ἄψοφον ἴχνος ἔπηξεν, ἀφωνήτῳ δὲ σιωπῇ

  σφιγξαμένη στόμα δοῦλον ὀρειάδος ἐγγὺς ἀνάσσης

  ἵστατο κυρτωθεῖσα, καθελκομένου δὲ καρήνου

  χείλεσιν ἱκεσίοισι πόδας προσπτύξατο Ῥείης.

  καὶ τὴν μὲν Κορύβαντες ἀμειδέι νεύματι Ῥείης

  15 θεσπεσίης ἀρέσαντο παρὰ κρητῆρι τραπέζης:

  θαμβαλέη δὲ πιοῦσα νεηγενέος χύσιν οἴνου

  τέρπετο βακχευθεῖσα: καρηβαρέουσα δὲ δαίμων

  παιδὶ Διὸς παρεόντι Διὸς μυκήσατο βουλήν:

  [8] She paddled her way with windswift beat of wings, and entered the echoing den of stabled lions. Noiseless her step she stayed, in silence voiceless pressed her lips, a slave before the forest queen. She stood bowing low, and bent down her head to kiss Rheia’s feet with suppliant lips. Rheia unsmiling beckoned, and the Corybants served her beside the bowl of the divine table. Wondering she drank a sop of the newfound wine, delighted and excited; then with heavy head the spirit told the will of Zeus to the son of Zeus:

  ‘Ἀλκήεις Διόνυσε, τεὸς γενέτης σε κελεύει

  20 εὐσεβίης ἀδίδακτον ἀιστῶσαι γένος Ἰνδῶν:

  ἀλλὰ τεαῖς παλάμῃσι μαχήμονα θύρσον ἀείρων

  αἰθέρος ἄξια ῥέξον, ἐπεὶ Διὸς ἄμβροτος αὐλὴ

  οὔ σε πόνων ἀπάνευθε δεδέξεται, οὐδέ σοι Ὧραι

  μή πω ἀεθλεύσαντι πύλας πετάσωσιν Ὀλύμπου:

  25 Ἑρμείας μόγις ἦλθεν ἐς οὐρανόν, ὁππότε ῥάβδῳ

  ὄμμασιν ἀστράπτοντα ποδῶν ἄπο μέχρι κομάων

  βουκόλον Ἄργον ἔπεφνε, καὶ Ἄρεα λύσατο δεσμῶν:

  Δελφύνην δ᾽ ἐδάμασσε καὶ αἰθέρα ναῖεν Ἀπόλλων:

  οὐδὲ τεὸς γενέτης, μακάρων πρόμος, ὑψιμέδων Ζεὺς

  30 νόσφι πόνων ἀνέβαινεν ἐς οὐρανόν, ὄρχαμος ἄστρων,

  εἰ μὴ πρῶτον ἔδησεν ἀπειλητῆρας Ὀλύμπου

  Ταρταρίῳ Τιτῆνας ὑποκρύψας κενεῶνι.

  καὶ σὺ μετ᾽ Ἀπόλλωνα, μεθ᾽ Ἑρμάωνα, μογήσας

  μισθὸν ἔχεις καμάτων πατρώιον αἰθέρα ναίειν.’

  [19] “O mighty Dionysos! Your father bids you destroy the race of Indians, untaught of piety. Come, lift the thyrsus of battle in your hands, and earn heaven by your deeds. For the immortal court of Zeus will not receive you without hard work, and the Seasons will not open the gates of Olympos to you unless you have struggled for the prize. Hermeias hardly could win his way to heaven, and only when he killed with his rod Argos the cowherd, sparkling with eyes from his feet to the hair of his head, and when he had set Ares free from prison. Apollo mastered Delphyne, and then he came to live in the sky. Even your own father, chief of the Blessed, Zeus Lord in the Highest, did not rise to heaven without hard work, he the sovereign of the stars: first he must bind fast those threatenders of Olympos, the Titans, and hide them deep in the pit of Tartaros. You also do your work, after Apollo, after Hermaon, and your prize for your labours will be a home in your father’s heaven.”

  35 ὣς φαμένη πρὸς Ὄλυμπον ἔβη θεός: αἶψα δὲ Ῥείη

  παμμήτωρ προέηκεν ἀγέστρατον ἀγγελιώτην

  Πύρριχον, ὀρχηστῆρα φιλοσμαράγοιο βοείης,

  φύλοπιν ἀγγέλλοντα κορυσσομένοιο Λυαίου.

  καὶ στρατιὴν πολύμορφον ἀολλίζων Διονύσῳ

  40 Πύρριχος ἀενάοιο διέδραμεν ἕδρανα κόσμου:

  Εὐρώπης δὲ γένεθλα καὶ Ἀσίδος ἔθνεα γαίης

  πάντας ἄγων νόστησεν ἐς ἁβροβίων χθόνα Λυδῶν.

  [35] With these words the goddess returned to Olympos. At once Rheia Allmother sent out her messenger to gather the host, Pyrrhichos, the dancer before her loverattle timbrel, to proclaim the warfare of Lyaios under arms. Pyrrhichos, gathering a varied army for Dionysos, scoured all the settlements of the eternal world; all the races of Europe and the nations of the Asiatic land he brought to rendezvous in the land of the livedainty Lydians.

  ἀλλά πολυσπερέων προμάχων ἡρωίδα φύτλην

  καὶ λασίων Σατύρων, Κενταυρίδος αἷμα γενέθλης,

  45 Σειληνῶν τε φάλαγγα δασυκνήμοιο γεραιοῦ

  καὶ στίχα Βασσαρίδων Κορυβαντίδες εἴπατε Μοῦσαι:

  οὐ γὰρ ἐγὼ τόσα φῦλα δέκα γλώσσῃσιν ἀείσω

  οὐδὲ δέκα στομάτεσσι χέων χαλκόθροον ἠχώ,

  ὁππόσα Βάκχος ἄγειρε δορυσσόος, ἀλλὰ λιγαίνων

  50 ἡγεμόνας καὶ Ὅμηρον ἀοσσητῆρα καλέσσω

  εὐεπίης ὅλον ὅρμον, ἐπεὶ πλωτῆρες ἀλῆται

  πλαγκτοσύνης καλέουσιν ἀρηγόνα κυανοχαίτην.

  [43] But the heroic breed of farscattered champions, the hairy Satyrs, the blood of the Centaur tribe, the bushyknee ancient and his phalanx of the Seilenoi, the regiment of Bassarids – do you sing me these, O Corybantic Muses! For I could not tell so many peoples with ten tongues, not if I had ten mouths pouring a voice of brass, all those which Bacchos gathered for his spearchasing. Yet I will loudly name their leaders, and I will call to my aid Homer, the one great harbour of language undefiled, since mariners lost astray call on Seabluehair to save them from their wandering ways.

  πρῶτα μέν, εὐθύρσοιο καλεσσαμένου Διονύσου,

  Ἀκταίων ταχὺς ἦλθεν ὁμόγνιον αἷμα γεραίρων,

  55 πατρίδος Ἀονίης ἑπτάστομον οὖδας ἐάσας:

  Βοιωτῶν δὲ φάλαγγες ἐπέρρεον οἳ χθόνα Θήβης

  �
��κεον εὐπύργοιο καὶ ἔνδιον ἐννοσιγαίου

  Ὀγχηστόν, Πετεῶνα καὶ Ὠκαλέην καὶ Ἐρύθρας,

  Ἄρνην βοτρυόεσσαν, ἀγαλλομένην Διονύσῳ,

  60 οἵ τε Μίδειαν ἔναιον, ἀειδομένας τε πολίχνας

  Εἰλέσιον καὶ Σκῶλον ἁλικρήπιδά τε Θίσβην,

  ὅρμον ἐυτρήρωνα θαλασσαίης Ἀφροδίτης,

  καὶ δάπεδον Σχοίνοιο καὶ εὐχαίτην Ἐλεῶνα

  κώπας τ᾽, ἀγλαὸν οὖδας, ὅπῃ περίπυστον ἀκούω

  65 ἐγχελύων θρέπτειραν ἐπώνυμον εἰσέτι λίμνην,

  καὶ λάσιον Μεδεῶνα, καὶ οἳ λάχον εὔβοτον Ὕλην,

  σκυτοτόμου Τυχίοιο τανυκνήμιδα τιθήνην,

  καὶ πέδον εὐρυάλω, χθονίῃ πεφυλαγμένον ὀμφῇ,

  ἅρματος ὀψιγόνοιο φερώνυμον Ἀμφιαράου,

  70 Θεσπιέων τε πόληα βαθυκνήμους τε Πλαταιὰς

  ὑδρηλήν θ᾽ Ἁλίαρτον, ὀρεσσιχύτου ποταμοῖο

  χεύμασι μεσσατίοισι μεριζομένην Ἑλικῶνος,

  οἵ τ᾽ εἶχον πυμάτην Ἀνθηδόνα, γείτονα πόντου,

  Βαιὴν ἰχθυβολῆος ἀειζώοιο πολίχνην

  75 ὑγροβίου Γλαύκοιο, καὶ οἳ δυσπέμφελοι Ἄσκρην,

  πατρίδα δαφνήεσσαν ἀσιγήτοιο νομῆος,

  γραίης θ᾽ ἱερὸν ἄστυ καὶ εὐρυχόρου Μυκαλησσοῦ,

  Εὐρυάλης μίμημα φερώνυμον ἀνθερεῶνος,

  καὶ χθόνα Νισαίην καὶ ἐπώνυμον ἄστυ Κορώνου:

  80 τοῖσι μὲν ἐρχομένοισιν Ἑώιον εἰς κλίμα γαίης