Works of Nonnus

by Nonnus

135 ὁ γλυκὺς Ἠριγόνῃ πολεμήιος: ἡμετέρην γὰρ

  νηπενθὴς Διόνυσος ἐθήκατο πενθάδα κούρην.’

  [132] “The wine of my Bromios, the comfort of human care, that sweet one is pitiless against me alone! It has given a merry heart to all men, and it has brought fate to Icarios. The sweet one is no friend to Erigone, for Dionysos who mourns not has made my girl to mourn.”

  οὔ πω μῦθος ἔληγε: μόρος δέ οἱ ἔφθασε φωνήν.

  καὶ νέκυς αὐτόθι κεῖτο, σαόφρονος ἔκτοθι κούρης,

  ὄμμασι πεπταμένοισιν. ἐν ἀστρώτῳ δὲ χαμευνῇ

  140 νήδυμον ὕπνον ἴαυον ὑπὲρ δαπέδοιο φονῆες

  οἰνοβαρεῖς, νεκύεσσιν ἐοικότες: ἐγρόμενοι δέ,

  ὃν κτάνον ἀγνώσσοντες, ἀνέστενον: ὑψόθι δ᾽ ὤμων

  νεκρὸν ἐλαφρίζοντες ἀνήγαγον εἰς ῥάχιν ὕλης

  ἔμφρονα θυμὸν ἔχοντες, ἐν εὐύδρῳ δὲ ῥεέθρῳ

  145 ὠτειλὰς ἐκάθηραν ὀρεσσιχύτῳ παρὰ πηγῇ:

  καὶ νέκυν ἀρτιδάικτον, ὃν ἔκτανον ἄφρονι λύσσῃ,

  ἀνδροφόνοις παλάμῃσιν ἐτυμβεύσαντο φονῆες.

  [137] Before he could finish his words, fate came first and stayed his voice: there he lay dead with eyes wide open, far from his modest daughter. His murderers heavy with wine slumbered careless on the bare ground like dead men. When they awoke, they mourned aloud for him they had unwittingly slain, and in their right mind now they carried his body on their shoulders up to a woody ridge, and washed his wounds in the abundant waters of a mountain brook. So they who had slain buried him they had slain in their senseless fury, the same murderous hands buried the body which they had lately torn.

  ψυχὴ δ᾽ Ἰκαρίοιο πανείκελος ἔσσυτο καπνῷ

  εἰς δόμον Ἠριγόνης: βροτέῃ δ᾽ ἰσάζετο μορφῇ

  150 κοῦφον ὀνειρείης σκιερῆς εἴδωλον ὀπωπῆς,

  ἀνδρὶ νεουτήτῳ πανομοίιος, εἶχε δὲ δειλὴ

  στικτὸν ἀσημάντοιο φόνου κήρυκα χιτῶνα,

  αἵματι φοινίσσοντα καὶ αὐχμώοντα κονίῃ,

  ῥωγαλέον πληγῇσιν ἀμοιβαίοιο σιδήρου.

  155 καὶ παλάμας ὤρεξε: νεοσφαγέων δὲ δοκεύειν

  ὠτειλὰς μελέων ἐπεδείκνυε γείτονι κούρῃ.

  παρθενικὴ δ᾽ ὀλόλυξε φιλοθρήνοις ἐν ὀνείροις,

  ὡς ἴδεν ἕλκεα τόσσα καρήατος, ὡς ἴδε δειλὴ

  λύθρον ἐρευθομένοιο νεόρρυτον ἀνθερεῶνος:

  160 καὶ σκιόεις γενέτης ἔπος ἔννεπε πενθάδι κούρῃ:

  [148] The soul of Icarios floated like smoke to the room of Erigone. It was a light phantom in mortal shape, the shadowy vision of a dream, like a man newly slain; the wretched ghost wore a tunic with marks that betrayed the unexplained murder, red with blood and dirty with dust, torn to rags by blows on blows of beating steel. The phantom stretched out its hands and came close to the girl, and pointed out the wounds on the newly mangled limbs for her to see. The maiden shrieked in this melancholy dream, when she saw so many wounds on that head, when the poor thing saw the blood which had lately poured from that red throat. And the shade of her father spoke these words to his sorrowing child:

  ‘ Ἔγρεο, δειλαίη, καὶ δίζεο σεῖο τοκῆα:

  ἔγρεο, καὶ μεθύοντας ἐμοὺς μάστευε φονῆας:

  εἰμὶ τεὸς γενέτης βαρυώδυνος, ὃν χάριν οἴνου

  ἀγρονόμοι δασπλῆτες ἐδηλήσαντο σιδήρῳ.

  165 ὦ τέκος, ὀλβίζω σε: σὺ γὰρ κταμένοιο τοκῆος

  οὐ καναχὴν ἤκουσας ἀρασσομένοιο καρήνου,

  οὐ πολιὴν ἐνόησας ἐρευθομένην ὑπὸ λύθρῳ,

  οὐ νέκυν ἀρτιδάικτον ἐπισπαίροντα κονίῃ,

  πατροφόνους κορύνας οὐκ ἔδρακες: ἀλλά σε δαίμων

  170 ἔκτοθι πατρὸς ἔρυκε, τεὴν δ᾽ ἐφύλαξεν ὀπωπήν,

  μὴ μόρον ἀθρήσειε δαϊζομένου γενετῆρος.

  αἵματι πορφύροντας ἐμοὺς σκοπίαζε χιτῶνας:

  χθιζὰ γὰρ οἰνωθέντες ἀμοιβαίοισι κυπέλλοις

  ἀγρονόμοι βλύζοντες ἀήθεος ἰκμάδα Βάκχου

  175 ἀμφ᾽ ἐμὲ κυκλώσαντο: δαϊζόμενος δὲ σιδήρῳ

  μηλονόμους ἐκάλεσσα, καὶ οὐκ ἤκουσαν ἰωήν:

  μούνη δ᾽ ὑστερόφωνος ἐμὸν κτύπον ἔκλυεν Ἠχὼ

  θρήνοις ἀντιτύποισι τεὸν στενάχουσα τοκῆα.

  οὐκέτι κουφίζουσα καλαύροπα μεσσόθεν ὕλης

  180 εἰς νομὸν ἀνθεμόεντα καὶ εἰς λειμῶνας ἱκάνεις,

  σὴν ἀγέλην βόσκουσα σὺν ἀγραύλῳ παρακοίτῃ:

  οὐκέτι δενδροκόμοιο τεῆς ψαύουσα μακέλλης

  κῆπον ἐς εὐώδινα φέρεις ἀμαρήιον ὕδωρ:

  ἀλλὰ μελιρραθάμιγγος ἐμῆς ἀκόρητος ὀπώρης

  185 κλαῖε τεὸν γενέτην με δεδουπότα: καί σε νοήσω

  ὀρφανικὴν ζώουσαν ἀπειρήτην ὑμεναίων.’

  [161] “Wake, poor creature, go and seek your father! Wake, and search for my drunken murderers! I am your much-afflicted father, whom the savage country folk have destroyed because of wine with cold steel. I call you happy, my child; your father was killed, but you heard not the smashing of my beaten head, you saw not the hoary hair stained with gore, the body new-mangled panting on the ground, you saw not the clubs that killed your father. No: Providence kept you far away from your father, and guarded your eyes that they might not see the death of a murdered sire. Look at my clothes, red with blood! For yesterday country people drunken with cup after cup of wine and dribbling the unfamiliar juice of Bacchos, thronged about me. As the steel tore me, I called on the shepherds, and they heard not my voice: only Echo heard the noise of me and followed with answering tones, and mourned your father with a copy of my lamentable words. Never now will you lift your crook in the midst of the woodlands and go to the meadows and flowery pasture along with a rustic husband, feeding your flock; never will you handle your hoe to work about the trees and bring water along the channels to make the garden grow. Yet be not too greedy with my honeydripping fruit, but weep for me your father low fallen in death. I shall see you living as an orphan and knowing nothing of marriage.”

  ὣς φαμένη πτερόεσσα παρέδραμεν ὄψις ὀνείρου.

  κούρη δ᾽ ἐγρομένη ῥοδέας ἤμυξε παρειάς,

  πενθαλέοις δ᾽ ὀνύχεσσιν ἀκαμπέας ἔξεσε μαζούς,

  190 καὶ δολιχῆς προθέλυμνον ἀνέσπασε βότρυν ἐθείρης:

  καὶ βόας ἀθρήσασα παρισταμένους ἔτι πέτρῃ

  παρθένος ἀχνυμένη κινυρῇ βρ�
�χήσατο φωνῇ:

  [187] So spoke the vision of the dream, and then flew away. But the girl awaking tore her rose-red cheeks, and mourning scored her firm breasts with her finger-nails, and tore long locks of hair from the roots; then seeing the cattle still standing by her on the rock, the sorrowful maiden cried in a voice of lamentation:

  ‘Πῇ νέκυς Ἰκαρίοιο, φίλαι φθέγξασθε κολῶναι:

  πότμον ἐμοῦ γενετῆρος ἐθήμονες εἴπατε ταῦροι:

  195 πατρὸς ἐμοῦ κταμένοιο τίνες γεγάασι φονῆες;

  πῇ μοι ἐμὸς γενέτης γλυκὺς οἴχεται; ἦ ῥα διδάσκων

  γείτονα καλλιφύτοιο νέους ὅρπηκας ὀπώρης

  πλάζεται ἀγρονόμοισι παρήμενος, ἤ τινι βούτῃ

  δενδροκόμῳ παρέμιμνε συνέστιος εἰλαπινάζων;

  200 εἴπατε μυρομένῃ, καὶ τλήσομαι, εἰσόκεν ἔλθῃ.

  εἰ μὲν ἔτι ζώει γενέτης ἐμός, ἔρνεα κήπου

  ἀρδεύσω παλίνορσος ἅμα ζώουσα τοκῆι:

  εἰ δὲ πατὴρ τέθνηκε καὶ οὐκέτι δένδρα φυτεύει,

  ἀθρήσω μόρον ἶσον ἐπὶ φθιμένῳ γενετῆρι.’

  [193] “Where is the body of Icarios? Tell me, beloved hills! Tell me my father’s fate, ye bulls that knew him well! Who were the murderers of my father slain? Where has my darling father gone? Is he wandering over the countryside, staying with the countrymen and teaching a neighbour to plant the young shoots of his fair vintage, or is he the guest of some pastoral gardener and sharing his feast? Tell his mourning daughter, and I will endure till he come. If my father is still alive, I will live with my parent again and water the plants of his garden: but if my father is dead and plants trees no more, I will face death like his over his dead body.”

  205 ὣς φαμένη ταχύγουνος ἀνέδραμεν εἰς ῥάχιν ὕλης,

  ἴχνια μαστεύουσα νεοσφαγέος γενετῆρος.

  οὐ δέ οἱ εἰρομένῃ θρασὺς αἰπόλος, οὐ παρὰ λόχμαις

  παρθένον οἰκτείρων ἀγεληκόμος ἔννεπε βούτης

  ἴχνιον ἀστήρικτον ἀκηρύκτοιο τοκῆος,

  210 οὐ νέκυν Ἰκαρίοιο γέρων ἐπεδείκνυε ποιμήν:

  ἀλλὰ μάτην ἀλάλητο: μόγις δέ μιν εὗρεν ἀλωεὺς

  καὶ κινυροῖς στομάτεσσι δυσάγγελον ἴαχε φωνήν,

  καὶ τάφον ἐγγὺς ἔδειξε νεοδμήτοιο τοκῆος.

  [205] So she spoke, and ran with swift knee up into the mountain forest, seeking the tracks of her father newly slain. But to her questions no goatherd was bold to reply, no herdsman of cattle in the woodlands pitied the maiden or pointed to a faint trace of her father still unheard-of, no ancient shepherd showed her the body of Icarios, but she wandered in vain. At last a gardener found her and told the sad news in a sorrowful voice, and showed the tomb to her father lately slain.

  παρθενικὴ δ᾽ ἀίουσα σαόφρονι μαίνετο λύσσῃ:

  215 καὶ πλοκάμους τίλλουσα φίλῳ παρακάτθετο τύμβῳ

  παρθένος ἀκρήδεμνος ἀσάμβαλος, αὐτοχύτοις δὲ

  δάκρυσιν ἀενάοισι λελουμένον εἶχε χιτῶνα.

  χείλεσι δ᾽ ἀφθόγγοισιν ἐπεσφρηγίσσατο σιγὴν

  εἰς χρόνον: Ἠριγόνῃ δὲ κύων ὁμόφοιτος ἐχέφρων

  220 κνυζηθμῷ γοόωντι συνέστιχε πενθάδι κούρῃ,

  καί οἱ ὀδυρομένῃ συνοδύρετο. μαινομένη δὲ

  εἰς φυτὸν ὑψικάρηνον ἀνέδραμεν: ἀμφὶ δὲ δένδρῳ

  ἀγχονίῳ σφίγξασα περίπλοκον αὐχένα δεσμῷ

  αὐτοφόνῳ στροφάλιγγι μετάρσιος ὤλετο κούρη,

  ἀμφοτέρους δονέουσα πόδας βητάρμονι παλμῷ:

  225 καὶ θάνε, καὶ μόρον εἶχεν ἑκούσιον: ἀμφὶ δὲ κούρην

  πυκνὰ κύων δεδόνητο, καὶ ἴαχε πένθιμον ἠχὼ

  ὄμμασι θηρείοισι νοήμονα δάκρυα λείβων.

  [214] When the maiden heard it, she was distracted but with sober madness: she plucked the hair from her head and laid it upon the beloved tomb, a maiden unveiled, unshod, drenching her clothes with selfshed showers of ever-flowing tears. Speechless for a time, Erigone kept her lips sealed with silence; the dog the companion of Erigone shared her feelings, he whimpered and howled by the side of his mourning mistress, sorrowing with her sorrow. Wildly she ran up to a tall tree: she tied upon it a rope with a noose fast about her neck and hung herself high in the air, twisting in self-sought agonies with her two twitching feet. So she died, and had a willing fate; her dog ran round and round the girl with sorrowful howls, a dumb animal dropping tears of sympathy from his eyes.

  οὐδὲ κύων ἀφύλακτον ἐρημάδα κάλλιπε κούρην,

  230 ἀλλὰ φυτῷ παρέμιμνεν ἐπήλυδα θῆρα διώκων,

  πόρδαλιν ἠὲ λέοντα: παρερχομένοισι δ᾽ ὁδίταις

  νεύμασιν ἀφθόγγοις ἐπεδείκνυεν ἄζυγα κούρην

  δεσμοῖς ἀγχονίοισι περίπλοκον ὑψόθι δένδρου.

  οἱ δέ μιν οἰκτείροντες ἀνήιον εἰς φυτὸν ὕλης

  235 ἴχνεσιν ἀκροτάτοισιν, ἀπ᾽ εὐπετάλων δὲ κορύμβων

  παρθενικὴν ἀδμῆτα κατήγαγον: ἀγχιφανῆ δὲ

  γαῖαν ἐκοιλαίνοντο πεδοσκαφέεσσι μακέλλαις.

  τοῖς ἅμα καὶ πεπόνητο κύων πινυτόφρονι θυμῷ,

  πενθαλέῳ δ᾽ ἐβάθυνε πέδον τεχνήμονι ταρσῷ,

  240 θηγαλέοις ὀνύχεσσι χυτῆς χθονὸς ἄκρα χαράσσων.

  καὶ νέκυν ἀρτιδάικτον ἐπεκτερέιξαν ὁδῖται:

  καὶ ξυνῆς μεθέπων ὑποκάρδιον ὄγκον ἀνίης

  εἰς ἑὸν ἔργον ἕκαστος ἀνέδραμεν ὀξέι ταρσῷ:

  αὐτὰρ ὁ μοῦνος ἔμιμνε κύων παρὰ γείτονι τύμβῳ

  245 Ἠριγόνης ὑπ᾽ ἔρωτι, θελήμονι δ᾽ ὤλολε πότμῳ.

  [229] The dog would not leave his mistress alone, unguarded, but there he stayed by the tree, and chased off the preying beasts, panther or lion. Then wayfarers passed, and he showed with mute gestures the unwedded maid hanging in the tree with a noose about her neck. Full of pity they came up to the tree on tiptoe, and took down dog knew what they did, and helped them, scratching and scattering the surface of the soil with sharp claws and grubbing with clever feet. So the wayfarers buried the body but lately dead, and they went away on their business quickfoot with a weight of sorrow under their hearts one and all. But the dog remained near the tomb alone, for love of Erigone, and there he died of his own free will.

  Ζεὺς δὲ πατὴρ ἐλέαιρεν: ἐν ἀστερόεντι δὲ κύκλῳ

  Ἠριγόνην στήριξε Λεοντείῳ παρὰ νώτῳ:

  παρθενικὴ δ᾽ ἄγραυλος ἔχει στάχυν: οὐ γὰρ ἀ�
�ίρειν

  ἤθελεν οἴνοπα βότρυν ἑοῦ γενέταο φονῆα.

  250 Ἰκάριον δὲ γέροντα συνήλυδα γείτονι κούρῃ

  εἰς πόλον ἀστερόφοιτον ἄγων ὀνόμηνε Βοώτην

  φαιδρόν, Ἁμαξαίης ἐπαφώμενον Ἀρκάδος Ἄρκτου:

  καὶ Κύνα μαρμαίροντα καταΐσσοντα Λαγωοῦ

  ἔμπυρον ἄστρον ἔθηκεν, ὅπῃ περὶ κύκλον Ὀλύμπου

  255 ποντιὰς ἀστερόεντι τύπῳ ναυτίλλεται Ἀργώ.

  [246] Father Zeus had pity, and he placed Erigone in the company of the stars near the Lion’s back. The rustic maid holds an ear of corn; for she did not wish to carry the red grapes which had been her father’s death. And Zeus brought old Icarios into the starspangled sky to move beside his daughter, and called him Bootes, the Plowman, shining bright, and touching the Wain of the Arcadian Bear. The Dog he made also a fiery constellation chasing the Hare, in that part where the starry image of seafaring Argo voyages round the circle of Olympos.

  καὶ τὰ μὲν ἔπλασε μῦθος Ἀχαιικὸς ἠθάδα πειθὼ

  ψεύδεϊ συγκεράσας: τὸ δ᾽ ἐτήτυμον, ὑψιμέδων Ζεὺς

  ψυχὴν Ἠριγόνης σταχυώδεος ἀστέρι Κούρης

  οὐρανίης ἐπένειμεν ὁμόζυγον, αἰθερίου δὲ

  260 ἄγχι Κυνὸς κύνα θῆκεν ὁμοίιον εἴδεϊ μορφῆς,

  Σείριον, ὃν καλέουσιν ὀπωρινόν, Ἰκαρίου δὲ

  ψυχὴν ἠερόφοιτον ἐπεξύνωσε Βοώτῃ.

  καὶ τὰ μὲν οἰνοφύτῳ Κρονίδης πόρεν Ἀτθίδι γαίῃ,

  ἓν γέρας ἐντύνων καὶ Παλλάδι καὶ Διονύσῳ.

  [256] Such is the fiction of the Achaian story, mingling as usual persuasion with falsehood: but the truth is: Zeus our Lord on high joined the soul of Erigone with the star of the heavenly Virgin holding an ear of corn, and near the heavenly Dog he placed a dog like him in shape, Seirios of the autumn as they call him, and the soul of Icarios he combined with Bootes in the heavens. These are the gifts of Cronides to the vinelands of Attica, offering one honour to Pallas and Dionysos together.