Humanitext Reader

Theocritus · Epigrams §3.1-3.6

Warning to the Sleeping Daphnis to Flee Pan and Priapus

Passage 3 of 25 · Greek

Summary

The poet urges the sleeping Daphnis to wake up and flee immediately, as Pan and Priapus are approaching together to hunt him.

§3.1εὕδεις φυλλοστρῶτι πέδῳ Δάφνι σῶμα κεκμακὸς §3.2ἀμπαύων· στάλικες δʼ ἀρτιπαγεῖς ἀνʼ ὄρη.
You sleep on the leaf-strewn ground, Daphnis, resting your wearied body; and your stakes are newly set up on the mountains.
§3.3ἀγρεύει δέ τυ Πὰν καὶ ὁ τὸν κροκόεντα Πρίηπος §3.4κισσὸν ἐφʼ ἱμερτῷ κρατὶ καθαπτόμενος, §3.5ἄντρον ἔσω στείχοντες ὁμόρροθοι.
But Pan is hunting you, and Priapus, who binds the saffron ivy upon his lovely head, walking together into the cave.
ἀλλὰ τὺ φεῦγε,
But flee!
§3.6φεῦγε μεθεὶς ὕπνου κῶμα καταγρόμενον.
Flee, shaking off the deep sleep that is stealing over you.

Notes

  1. §3.1σῶμα κεκμακὸς — Direct object (accusative) of the participle ἀμπαύων. Although it could theoretically be taken as an accusative of respect ("resting in respect to your wearied body"), taking it as the direct object of the active participle ("resting your wearied body") is the most natural interpretation.
  2. §3.3τυ — Doric dialectal form of the second-person singular accusative, corresponding to Attic σε, serving as the direct object of the verb ἀγρεύει.
  3. §3.5στείχοντες ὁμόρροθοι — The participle and adjective are in the nominative plural (agreement by sense) because the subject consists of two singular nouns connected by καί (Pan and Priapus).
  4. §3.6καταγρόμενον — Epic/Aeolic present middle-passive participle of καταγρέω (equivalent to καθαιρέω, "to seize, overcome"), describing the sleep that is stealing over or seizing the sleeper.

Cite this passage

Theocritus, Epigrams §3.1-3.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:3.1-3.6

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