Humanitext Reader

Theocritus · Epigrams §5.1-5.6

Invitation to Play Music and Awaken Pan

Passage 5 of 25 · Greek

Summary

The speaker proposes a musical collaboration using double pipes, the pectis, and Daphnis's panpipes, suggesting they wake Pan from his sleep behind a nearby cave.

§5.1λῇς ποτὶ τᾶν Νυμφᾶν διδύμοις αὐλοῖσιν ἀεῖσαι §5.2ἁδύ τί μοι;
Would you, by the Nymphs, please play some sweet tune for me on the double pipes?
κἠγὼ πακτίδʼ ἀειράμενος §5.3ἀρξεῦμαί τι κρέκειν, ὁ δὲ βουκόλος ἄμμιγα θελξεῖ §5.4Δάφνις, κηροδέτῳ πνεύματι μελπόμενος.
And I, taking up the pectis, will begin to strike some notes; and the cowherd Daphnis will charm us alongside, playing with his wax-bound breath.
§5.5ἐγγὺς δὲ στάντες λασίας δρυὸς ἄντρου ὄπισθεν §5.6Πᾶνα τὸν αἰγιβάταν ὀρφανίσωμες ὕπνου.
And standing close by, behind the cave of the shaggy oak, let us rob Pan, the goat-legged, of his sleep.

Notes

  1. 5.1λῇς — The second-person singular present indicative of the Doric form equivalent to ἐθέλεις (do you wish). Used here with the infinitive ἀεῖσαι to express a polite invitation or request ("would you please play...").
  2. 5.3ἄμμιγα — An adverbial form equivalent to ἅμιγα (together, mixed with), indicating that Daphnis will play his music in concert with them.
  3. 5.6ὀρφανίσωμες — First-person plural aorist active subjunctive (hortatory), featuring the Doric ending -μες (equivalent to -μεν). Governs the genitive of separation ὕπνου to mean "to deprive of sleep," i.e., "to wake up."

Cite this passage

Theocritus, Epigrams §5.1-5.6. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:5.1-5.6

Please note the AI-draft status of the translation and the date accessed.

Translation, notes and summary are AI-generated drafts, revised through reader feedback.