Works of Nonnus
Page 282
καὶ λίνα σεῖο τίνασσε δολοπλόκα: θηροφόνοι γὰρ
σοὶ κύνες ἀγρώσσουσι, καὶ οὐ πτερόεντες ὀιστοί:
οὐ σὺ λεοντοφόνον μεθέπεις βέλος: ἀδρανέων γὰρ
σῶν καμάτων ἱδρῶτες ἀνάλκιδές εἰσι λαγωοί:
55 σῶν δ᾽ ἐλάφων ἀλέγιζε καὶ εὐκεράου σέο δίφρου,
δῶν ἐλάφων ἀλέγιζε: τί σοὶ Διὸς υἷα γεραίρειν
πορδαλίων ἐλατῆρα καὶ ἡνιοχῆα λεόντων;
ἢν δ᾽ ἐθέλῃς, ἔχε τόξον, Ἔρως ὅτι τόξα τιταίνει:
παρθενικὴ φυγόδεμνε μογοστόκε, πορθμὸν Ἐρώτων
60 κεστὸν ἔχειν ὤφελλες ἀοσσητῆρα λοχείης,
σὺν Παφίῃ, σὺν Ἔρωτι: σὺ γὰρ κρατέεις τοκετοῖο.
ἀλλά, τελεσσιγόνοιο κυβερνήτειρα γενέθλης,
ἔρχεο παιδοτόκων ἐπὶ παστάδα θηλυτεράων,
καὶ λοχίοις βελέεσσιν ὀιστεύουσα γυναῖκας
65 εἴκελος ἔσσο λέοντι λεχωίδος ἐγγύθι νύμφης,
ἀντὶ φιλοπτολέμοιο μογοστόκος. ἀλλὰ καὶ αὐτῆς
λῆγε σαοφρονέουσα σαόφρονος εἵνεκα μίτρης,
ὅττι τεῶν μελέων μεθέπων τύπον ὑψιμέδων Ζεὺς
παρθενικὰς ἀγάμους νυμφεύεται: εἰσέτι κείνην
70 εἰκόνα σὴν βοόωσι γαμοκλόπον Ἀρκάδες ὗλαι,
Καλλιστοῦς ἀγάμοιο γαμοστόλον, ὑμετέρην δὲ
ἔμφρονα μάρτυρον ἄρκτον ἔτι στενάχουσι κολῶναι
μεμφομένην νόθον εἶδος ἐρωμανὲς ἰοχεαίρης,
θηλυτέρης ὅτε λέκτρον ἐδύσατο θῆλυς ἀκοίτης.
75 ἀλλὰ τεὴν ἀνόνητον ἀπορρίψασα φαρέτρην
Ἥρης κάλλιπε δῆριν ἀρείονος: ἢν δ᾽ ἐθελήσῃς,
ὡς λοχίη πολέμιζε τελεσσιγάμῳ Κυθερείῃ.’
[48] “Go and shoot wild beasts, Artemis! Why do you quarrel with your betters? Climb your crags — what is war to you? Wear your trumpery shoes and let Athena wear the greaves. Stretch your cunning nets. Dogs, not winged arrows, hunt and kill your beasts. You handle no weapon to kill lions; the sweats of your paltry labours are timid hares. Attend to your stags and your horned team, attend to your stags: why should you exalt the son of Zeus, the driver of panthers and the charioteer of lions? Keep your bow, if you like, for Eros also bends a bow. What you ought to do, you virgin marriage-hater, you midwife, is to carry the cestus, love’s ferry, the helper of childbed, in company with Eros and the Paphian: for you have power over birth. Begone then to the bedchambers of women in labour of child, you the guide of creative birth, and shoot women with the arrows of childbirth; be like a lion beside the young wife in labour, be midwife rather than warrior. Nay, cease to be chaste yourself because of your chaste girdle, since Zeus our Lord on High assumes your shape to woo virgins unwedded. The Arcadian woods still tell of that love-stealing copy of you which seduced unwedded Callisto; the mountains lament still your bear who saw and understood, and reproached the false enamoured image of the Archeress, when a female paramour entered a woman’s bed. Come, throw away your useless quiver, and cease fighting with Hera who is stronger than you. Fight Cytherein, if you like, the childbed-nurse against the marriage-maker.”
ἔννεπε, τειρομένην δὲ παρήλυθεν Ἄρτεμιν Ἥρη.
τὴν δὲ φόβῳ μεθύουσαν ἀπὸ φλοίσβοιο κομίζων
80 ἀμφοτέρῳ πήχυνε κατηφέι Φοῖβος ἀγοστῷ,
καί μιν ἄγων ἔστησεν ἐρημάδος ἔνδοθι λόχμης:
νοστήσας δ᾽ ἀκίχητος ὁμίλεε θέσπιδι χάρμῃ.
[78] So Hera spoke, and passed on, leaving Artemis discomfited and drunken with fear. Phoibos threw’ both his arms about her in pity, and brought her out of the turmoil; he left her in a lonely coppice, and returned unnoticed to join the battle of the gods.
καὶ βυθίου προμάχου πυρόεις πρόμος ἀντίος ἔστη,
Φοῖβος ἐς ὑσμίνην Ποσιδήιον: ἀμφὶ δὲ νευρῇ
85 θῆκε βέλος καὶ πυρσὸν ἐκούφισε Δελφίδι πεύκῃ
ἀμφοτέρῃ παλάμῃ περιδέξιος, ὄφρα κορύσσῃ
ὁλκῷ κυματόεντι σέλας καὶ τόξα τριαίνῃ.
αἰχμὴ δ᾽ αἰθαλόεσσα καὶ ὑδατόεντες ὀιστοὶ
σύμπεσον ἀλλήλοισι: κορυσσομένοιο δὲ Φοίβου
90 Αρεος ἐσμαράγησε μέλος πατρώιος Αἰθήρ,
βρονταῖον κελάδημα: θυελλήεσσα δὲ σάλπιγξ
οὔασι Φοιβείοισιν ἐπέκτυπε ποντιὰς Ἠχώ:
τρίτων δ᾽ εὐρυγένειος ἐβόμβεεν ἠθάδι κόχλῳ
ἀνδροφυὴς ἀτέλεστος, ἀπ᾽ ἰξύος ἔγχλοος ἰχθύς:
95 Νηρεΐδες δ᾽ ἀλάλαζον: ὑπερκύψας δὲ θαλάσσης
σειομένου τριόδοντος Ἄραψ μυκήσατο Νηρεύς.
[83] And now a fiery chief stood up to the champion of the deep, Phoibos, to fight with Poseidon. He set shaft on string, and also lifted a brand of Delphic fir in each hand doubledextrous, to use fire against the surging sweep of water, and arrows against the trident. Fiery lance and watery arrows crashed together: while Phoibos defended, his home the upper air rattled a thunderclap for a battlesong; the stormy trumpet of the sea brayed in the ears of Phoibos — a broadbeard Triton boomed with his own proper conch, like a man half-finished, from the loins down a greeny fish — the Nereids shouted the battlecry — Arabian Nereus pushed up out of the sea and bellowed, shaking his trident.
οὐρανίης δὲ φάλαγγος ὑπέρτερον ἦχον ἀκούων
Ζεὺς χθόνιος κελάδησε, μὴ ἐννοσίγαιος ἀράσσων
γαῖαν ἱμασσομένην ῥοθίων ἐνοσίχθονι παλμῷ
100 ἁρμονίην κόσμοιο μετοχλίσσειε τριαίνῃ,
μή ποτε κινήσας χθονίων κρηπῖδα βερέθρων
θηητὴν τελέσειεν ἀθηήτου χθονὸς ἕδρην,
μὴ βυθίων φλέβα πᾶσαν ἀναρρήξειεν ἐναύλων
Ταρταρίῳ κευθμῶνι χέων μετανάστιον ὕδωρ,
105 νέρτερον εὐρώεντα κατακλύζων πυλεῶνα.
[97] Then Zeus of the underworld rumbled hearing the noise of the heavenly fray above; he feared that the Earthshaker, beating and lashing the solid ground with the earthquake-shock of his waves, might lever out of gear the whole universe with his trident, might move the foundations of the abysm below and show the forbidden sight of the earth’s bottom, might burst all the veins of the subterranean channels and pour his water away into the pit of Tartaros, to flood the mouldering gates of the low er world.
τόσσος ἄρα κτύπος ὦρτο θεῶν ἔριδι ξυνιόντων,
καὶ χθόνιαι σάλπιγγες ἐπέβρεμον: ἀμφοτέρο�
�ς δὲ
ῥάβδον ἐλαφρίζων ἀνεσείρασε μείλιχος Ἑρμῆς:
τρισσοῖς δ᾽ ἀθανάτοισι μίαν ξυνώσατο φωνήν:
[106] So great was the din of the gods in conflict, and the trumpets of the underworld added their noise. But Hermes lifted his rod as peacemaker and checked both parties, and addressed one speech to three of the immortals:
110 ‘Γνωτὲ Διὸς καὶ κοῦρε, σὺ μέν, κλυτότοξε, θυέλλαις
πυρσὸν ἔα καὶ τόξα, σὺ δὲ γλωχῖνα τριαίνης,
μὴ μακάρων Τιτῆνες ἐπεγγελάσωσι κυδοιμῷ,
μὴ Κρονίην μετὰ δῆριν ἀπειλήτειραν Ὀλύμπου
δεύτερον ἀθανάτοισιν Ἄρης ἐμφύλιος εἴη,
115 μὴ μόθον ἄλλον ἴδοιμι μετὰ κλόνον Ἰαπετοῖο,
μηδὲ μετὰ Ζαγρῆα καὶ ὀψιγόνου περὶ Βάκχου
φλέξας γαῖαν ἅπασαν ἑῷ πυρὶ χωόμενος Ζεὺς
ἀενάου κλύσσειε τὸ δεύτερον ἄντυγα κόσμου,
ὕδασιν ὀμβρήσας χυτὸν αἰθέρα: μηδὲ νοήσω
120 ἠερίοις πελάγεσσι διάβροχον ἄρμα Σελήνης:
μὴ ψυχρὴν ἐχέτω Φαέθων πάλιν ἔμπυρον αἴγλην.
[110] “Brother of Zeus, and you his son — you, famous Archer, throw to the winds your bow and your brand, and you, your pronged trident: lest the Titans laugh to see a battle among the gods. Let there not be intestine war in heaven once again, after that conflict with Cronos which threatened Olympos: let me not see another war after the affray with Iapetos. Let not Zeus be angry again for lateborn Bacchos as for Zagreus, and set the whole earth ablaze with his fire a second time, and pour down showers of rain through the air to flood the circuit of the eternal universe. I hope I may not behold the sea in the sky and Selene’s car soaking; may Phaethon never again have his fiery radiance cooled!
πρεσβυτέρῳ δ᾽ ὑπόεικε κυβερνητῆρι θαλάσσης,
πατροκασιγνήτῳ τανύων χάριν, ὅττι γεραίρει
εἰναλίην σέο Δῆλον ἁλὸς μεδέων ἐνοσίχθων:
125 μή σε λίπῃ φοίνικος ἔρως καὶ μνῆστις ἐλαίης.
τίς πάλιν, ἐννοσίγαιε, δικασπόλος ἐνθάδε Κέκροψ,
τίς πάλιν, Ἴναχος ἄλλος ἑὴν πόλιν ἴαχεν Ἥρῃ,
ὅττι καὶ Ἀπόλλωνι κορύσσεαι, ὥς περ Ἀθήνῃ,
καὶ μόθον ἄλλον ἔχεις προτέρην μετὰ φύλοπιν Ἤρης;
130 καὶ σύ, πάτερ μεγάλοιο, κερασφόρε, Δηριαδῆος,
Ἡφαίστου πεφύλαξο σέλας μετὰ λαμπάδα Βάκχου,
μή σε πυριγλώχινι καταφλέξειε κεραυνῷ.’
[122] “You then yield to your elder, the ruler of the sea; do this grace to your father’s brother, because Earthshaker the ruler of the brine honours your seagirt Delos: cease not to love your palmtree, to remember your olive. And Earthshaker, what second Cecrops will be judge here? What second Inachos has awarded her city to Hera that you take arms against Apollo as well as Athena, and seek a second quarrel after your quarrel with Hera? — And you, horned one, father of great Deriades, beware of the fire of Hephaistos after the torch of Bacchos, or he may consume you with his firepronged thunderbolt.”
ὣς εἰπὼν ἀνέκοψε θεῶν ἔμφυλον Ἐνυώ.
καὶ τότε λυσσήεις παλινάγρετον ἄμφεπε χάρμην
135 Δηριάδης βαρύμηνις, ἀπήμονας ὡς ἴδε Βάκχας:
καὶ μόθον ἀρτεμέοντος ὀπιπεύων Διονύσου
εἰς ἐνοπὴν οἴστρησε πεφυζότας ἡγεμονῆας:
καὶ ξυνὴν πρυλέεσσι καὶ ἱππήεσσιν ἀπειλὴν
βάρβαρον ἐσμαράγησε βαρυφθόγγων ἀπὸ λαιμῶν:
[133] This appeal put an end to the gods’ intestine strife. Then Deriades, mad and furious, when he saw the Bacchants unharmed, began the battle again; when he saw Bacchos whole on the field he goaded his fugitive captains to rally, and to footmen and horsemen alike he roared his barbaric threats in a loud voice:
140 ‘Σήμερον ἢ Διόνυσον ἐγῶ πλοκαμῖδος ἐρύσσω,
ἠὲ μόθος Βακχεῖος ἀιστώσει γένος Ἰνδῶν.
ὑμεῖς μὲν Σατύροισιν ἀλεξήτειραν ἀνάγκην
στήσατε: Δηριάδης δὲ κορυσσέσθω Διονύσῳ.
ἡμερίδων δὲ πέτηλα καὶ ὄργανα ποικίλα Βάκχου
145 φλέξατε, καὶ κλισίας ἐμπρήσατε: Μαιναλίδας δὲ
δμωίδας αὐχήεντι κομίσσατε Δηριαδῆι:
καὶ πυρὶ δήια θύρσα μαραίνετε: βουκεράων δὲ
Σειληνῶν Σατύρων τε πολυσπερέων κεφαλάων
λήιον ἀμήσαντες ἀλοιητῆρι σιδήρῳ
150 στέψατε πάντα μέλαθρα βοοκραίροισι καρήνοις.
μὴ Φαέθων στέψειε πυραυγέας εἰς δύσιν ἵππους,
πρὶν Σατύρους καὶ Βάκχου ἀλυκτοπέδῃσι κομίσσω
σφιγγόμενον, καὶ στικτὸν ἐμῇ δεδαϊγμένον αἰχμῇ
ῥωγαλέον φορέοντα κατὰ στέρνοιο χιτῶνα,
155 θύρσον ἀπορρίψαντα: τανυπλοκάμων δὲ γυναικῶν
χαίτην ἀμπελόεσσαν ἐμῷ τεφρώσατε δαλῷ.
θαρσαλέοι δὲ γένεσθε, καὶ Ἰνδῴην μετὰ χάρμην
νίκην κυδιάνειραν ἀείσατε Δηριαδῆος,
ὄφρά τις ἐρρίγῃσι καὶ ὀψιγόνων στρατὸς ἀνδρῶν
160 Ἰνδοῖς Γηγενέεσσιν ἀνικήτοισιν ἐρίζειν.’
[140] “This day either I shall drag Dionysos by the hair, or his assault shall destroy the Indian nation! You, fall on the Satyrs and check them by main force: let Deriades confront Dionysos. Burn the vine plants and all the various gear of Bacchos and set fire to their camp; bring the Mainalids as slaves to triumphant Deriades; consume with fire every thyrsus of the enemy; as for the oxhorned Seilenoi and the crowds of Satyrs, shear off like a crop all their heads with devastating steel, and hang the oxhorned skulls in strings round all our houses. May Phaethon not turn his fireblazing horses to his setting before I bring in the Satyrs, and Bacchos bound with galling fetters, with his spotted cloak torn to rags on his chest by my spear and his thyrsus thrown away. Burn to ashes with my brand the long flowing hair of the women and their wreaths of vine! Courage all! After the Indian battle you may sing the glorious victory of Deriades, that even in many generations to come people may shiver to face the unconquerable Indians born of the Earth!”
ἔννεπε, καὶ προμάχους μετανεύμενος ἄλλον ἐπ᾽ ἄλλῳ
ἡνιόχους οἴστρησεν ἀμετροβίων ἐλεφάντων,
καί πρυλέων πομπῆας ἐπεστήριξεν ὁμίλῳ
μαρναμένους πυργηδόν. ὁμοζήλῳ δὲ κυδοιμῷ
165 θυρσομανὴς Διόνυσος ἐρημονόμων στίχα
θηρῶν
εἰς ἐνοπήν βάκχευεν: ὀριτρεφέες δὲ μαχηταὶ
δαιμονίῃ βρυχηδὸν ἐβακχεύθησαν ἱμάσθλῃ,
καὶ πολὺς ἐκ στομάτων ἐκορύσσετο μαινόμενος θήρ:
ὠμοβόρων δὲ δράκοντες ἀποπτύοντες ὀδόντων
170 τηλεβόλους πόμπευον ἐς ἠέρα πίδακας ἰοῦ
χάσματι συρίζοντι μεμυκότος ἀνθερεῶνος,
λοξὰ παρασκαίροντες: ἐς ἀντιβίους δὲ θορόντες
αὐτόματον σκοπὸν εἶχον ἐχιδνήεντες ὀιστοί:
καὶ σκολιαῖς ἑλίκεσσιν ἐμιτρώθη δέμας Ἰνδῶν
175 εἱλομένων, βροτέους δὲ πόδας σφηκώσατο σειρὴ
εἰς δρόμον ἀίσσοντας. Ἀρειμανέες δὲ γυναῖκες
δῆριν ἐμιμήσαντο δρακοντοβόλου Φιδαλείης,
ἥ ποτε κέντρον ἔχουσα γυναικείοιο κυδοιμοῦ
δυσμενέας νίκησεν ἐχιδνήεσσι κορύμβοις...
[161] He spoke, and passing from one to another of his chieftains he goaded on the drivers of the elephants, those creatures of endless life, and set the chiefs in their places to lead the army of footsoldiers to the battle in close columns. With equal passion for the fight, Bacchos thyrsusmad drove to the combat his line of wild beasts from the wilderness. These mountainbred warriors roaring under the divine whip rushed madly on. Many wild beasts were there with their weapons in their mouths. There were serpents spitting from their ravening teeth fountains of poison, which they sent farshot into the air with hissing gape and rattling throat. Leaping sideways and darting at their foes, the snaky arrows found a mark which offered itself; the bodies of the Indians were surrounded and imprisoned by the coils, the feet of men starting to run were entangled in a rope. The war-maddened women imitated the attack of Phidaleia the snakethrower, who once was stung to show what a woman could do in battle, and conquered her enemies with clusters of snakes.