- Source
- Theocritus. Bucolici Graeci. Gow, A. S. F., editor. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1952 (printing).
- Translation
- AI-generated (gemini-3.5-flash) — machine translation; may contain errors
- Languages
- 日本語 · English · 简体中文 · 한국어
- CTS URN
- urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg003.humanitext-grc1:1-20
- Generated
- Humanitext Reader · reader.humanitext.ai · 2026-10-27
A pattern poem that sings of the origin of the panpipe (syrinx) dedicated to the god Pan and his mythological background, incorporating complex riddles.
Οὐδενὸς εὐνάτειρα Μακροπτολέμοιο δὲ μάτηρ1
The bedfellow of Nobody and the mother of Great-War
μαίας ἀντιπέτροιο θοὸν τέκεν ἰθυντῆρα,2
bore the swift leader of the nurse of the one who was substituted for a stone,
οὐχὶ Κεράσταν ὅν ποτε θρέψατο ταυροπάτωρ,
not the Horned One whom once the bull-father reared,
ἀλλ᾽ ου πειλιπὲς αἶθε πάρος φρένα τέρμα σάκους,3
but him whose heart once burned, deprived of a female, for the border of a shield,
οὔνομ᾽ Ὅλον, δίζων, ὃς τᾶς μέροπος πόθον
whose name is All, double-natured, who the desire of the mortal
κούρας γηρυγόνας ἔχε τᾶς ἀνεμώδεος,
wind-swift, voiced maiden held,
ὃς Μοίσᾳ λιγὺ πᾶξεν ἰοστεφάνῳ
who infixed shrilly for the violet-crowned Muse
ἕλκος, ἄγαλμα πόθοιο πυρισμαράγου,
a wound, a monument of fire-resounding desire,
ὃς σβέσεν ἀνορέαν ἰσαυδέα
who quenched the equal-voiced wrath,
παπποφόνου Τυρίας τ᾽ ἐξήλασεν.
and drove him out of the Tyrian land of the grandfather-slayer.
ᾧ τόδε τυφλοφόρων ἐρατόν
To whom this lovely, of the blind-bearers,
πῆμα Πάρις θέτο Σιμιχίδας·4
pain did Simichidas’ Paris dedicate.
ψυχὰν ᾇ, βροτοβάμων,
With his own soul, O mortal-treading one,
στήτας οἶστρε Σαέττας,
O gadfly of the standing-up Saettae,
κλωποπάτωρ, ἀπάτωρ,5
thief-fathered, fatherless,
λαρνακόγυιε, χαρείς
chest-limbed, rejoicing,
ἁδὺ μελίσδοις
may you sweetly play
ἔλλοπι κούρᾳ,6
for the speechless maiden,
Καλλιόπᾳ
Calliope,
νηλεύστῳ.
the unstoned.
- 1Οὐδενὸς εὐνάτειρα Μακροπτολέμοιο δὲ μάτηρ
The 'wife of Nobody (Outis)' refers to Penelope (wife of Odysseus), and the 'mother of Great-War (Makroptolemos)' refers to Telemachus (whose name literally means 'fighting from afar'). This is a riddle based on the alternative mythological tradition that Penelope was the mother of Pan.
- 2μαίας ἀντιπέτροιο θοὸν τέκεν ἰθυντῆρα
The 'one substituted for a stone (antipetros)' refers to Zeus, who was replaced by a stone swallowed by Cronus. His 'nurse (maia)' refers to Maia (or Amaltheia). The 'swift leader' of Maia is Hermes, her son. Thus, the passage refers to Hermes, the father of Pan, through a double riddle.
- 4πειλιπὲς αἶθε πάρος φρένα τέρμα σάκους
The 'border of a shield (terma sakous)' represents 'itys' (shield-rim), which is a wordplay on Pitys, the pine-nymph whom Pan loved. 'Deprived of a female (peilipes, from pēly + lipes)' refers to Pan's unrequited passion and loss of Pitys.
- 12πῆμα Πάρις θέτο Σιμιχίδας
Simichidas is the poetic pseudonym of Theocritus. 'Paris' refers to the mythological judge of beauty. It is a double metaphor meaning that the poet Simichidas, acting like Paris, dedicated this 'pain' (the syrinx, born of the pain of love) to Pan.
- 15κλωποπάτωρ, ἀπάτωρ
A juxtaposition showing Pan's unusual parentage. It refers to Hermes (the god of thieves, klōps) as his father, and the alternative myth that Penelope bore Pan to all the suitors, thus making him 'fatherless' (apatōr) in terms of a single, defined father.
- 18ἔλλοπι κούρᾳ
The word 'ellops' usually means 'speechless' or 'fish-like'. Here it refers to the maiden Syrinx, who transformed into reeds to escape Pan and became a musical instrument, thus losing her human voice.