You left behind an infant son, and you yourself also in the prime of youth, Eurymedon, having died, obtained this tomb.
Theocritus · Epigrams §7.1-7.4
Epitaph for Eurymedon Leaving Behind an Infant Son
Summary
An epigram mourning Eurymedon, who died young. It describes the fate of his left-behind infant son and of the father himself, who has found an abode among divine heroes, as well as the future honoring of the son by the citizens.
Notes
- §7.1ἐν ἁλικίᾳ — The Doric form ἁλικία corresponds to the Attic ἡλικία, meaning "youth" or "the prime of life," indicating that the deceased Eurymedon died at a young age.
- §7.2θανὼν ἔτυχες — The verb τυγχάνω (here 2nd person singular aorist ἔτυχες) is used with the participle θανών (aorist active participle of θνῄσκω) and governs the genitive object τύμβου τοῦδε, expressing the fate of "having died, you obtained this tomb."
- §7.3τὸν δὲ — The article τὸν at the beginning of the clause functions as a demonstrative pronoun in the accusative case, referring back to the "infant son" (νήπιον υἱόν) in the first line. It serves as the direct object of the verb τιμασεῦντι.
- §7.4πατρὸς μνώμενοι ὡς ἀγαθοῦ — The participle μνώμενοι (Doric present participle of μνάομαι "to remember," nominative plural masculine) modifies the subject πολῖται and governs the genitive object πατρός. The phrase ὡς ἀγαθοῦ functions predicatively with respect to πατρός ("as a good man").
Cite this passage
Theocritus, Epigrams §7.1-7.4. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0005.tlg002.humanitext-grc2:7.1-7.4
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