§7.1φιάλαν ὡς εἴ τις ἀφνειᾶς ἀπὸ χειρὸς ἑλὼν §7.2ἔνδον ἀμπέλου καχλάζοισαν δρόσῳ §7.3δωρήσεται §7.4νεανίᾳ γαμβρῷ προπίνων οἴκοθεν οἴκαδε, πάγχρυσον κορυφὰν κτεάνων, §7.5συμποσίου τε χάριν κᾶδός τε τιμάσαις νέον, ἐν δὲ φίλων §7.6παρεόντων θῆκέ νιν ζαλωτὸν ὁμόφρονος εὐνᾶς· §7.7καὶ ἐγὼ νέκταρ χυτόν, Μοισᾶν δόσιν, ἀεθλοφόροις §7.8ἀνδράσιν πέμπων, γλυκὺν καρπὸν φρενός, §7.9ἱλάσκομαι, §7.10Οὐλυμπίᾳ Πυθοῖ τε νικώντεσσιν·
As when someone taking a goblet from a wealthy hand, bubbling inside with the dew of the vine, shall present it, pledging a young bridegroom from home to home, the all-golden crown of his possessions, both for the sake of the feast and to honor his new son-in-law, and in the presence of friends who are present, makes him envied for his harmonious marriage; so I too, sending liquid nectar, the gift of the Muses, to prize-winning men, the sweet fruit of my mind, offer it as a propitiatory gift, to the victors at Olympia and Pytho; and blessed is he whom good rumors encompass.
ὁ δʼ ὄλβιος, ὃν φᾶμαι κατέχοντʼ ἀγαθαί. §7.11ἄλλοτε δʼ ἄλλον ἐποπτεύει Χάρις ζωθάλμιος ἁδυμελεῖ §7.12θαμὰ μὲν φόρμιγγι παμφώνοισί τʼ ἐν ἔντεσιν αὐλῶν.
Now upon one, now upon another does life-giving Grace look with her sweet-sounding lyre and the loud-voiced instruments of flutes, often.
§7.13καί νυν ὑπʼ ἀμφοτέρων σὺν Διαγόρᾳ κατέβαν τὰν ποντίαν §7.14ὑμνέων παῖδʼ Ἀφροδίτας Ἀελίοιό τε νύμφαν, Ῥόδον, §7.15εὐθυμάχαν ὄφρα πελώριον ἄνδρα παρʼ Ἀλφεῷ στεφανωσάμενον §7.16αἰνέσω πυγμᾶς ἄποινα §7.17καὶ παρὰ Κασταλίᾳ, πατέρα τε Δαμάγητον ἁδόντα Δίκᾳ, §7.18Ἀσίας εὐρυχόρου τρίπολιν νᾶσον πέλας §7.19ἐμβόλῳ ναίοντας Ἀργείᾳ σὺν αἰχμᾷ.
And now, accompanied by both, I have come down with Diagoras, singing of the ocean daughter of Aphrodite and bride of the Sun, Rhodes, so that I may praise the giant, straight-fighting man who has been crowned by the Alpheus, as a reward for his boxing, and by Castalia, and his father Damagetus who is pleasing to Justice, who dwell near the three-citied island of broad Asia, with Argive spears near the ship's prow.
§7.20ἐθελήσω τοῖσιν ἐξ ἀρχᾶς ἀπὸ Τλαπολέμου §7.21ξυνὸν ἀγγέλλων διορθῶσαι λόγον, §7.22Ἡρακλέος §7.23εὐρυσθενεῖ γέννᾳ.
I shall wish to set right for them, proclaiming from the beginning from Tlepolemus, their common story, for the race of wide-ruling strength.
τὸ μὲν γὰρ πατρόθεν ἐκ Διὸς εὔχονται· τὸ δʼ Ἀμυντορίδαι §7.24ματρόθεν Ἀστυδαμείας.
For on the father's side they boast from Zeus, and on the mother's side from Amyntor, through Astydameia.
ἀμφὶ δʼ ἀνθρώπων φρασὶν ἀμπλακίαι §7.25ἀναρίθμητοι κρέμανται· τοῦτο δʼ ἀμάχανον εὑρεῖν, §7.26ὅ τι νῦν ἐν καὶ τελευτᾷ φέρτατον ἀνδρὶ τυχεῖν.
But around the minds of men unnumbered errors hang; and this is impossible to find: what is best for a man to obtain now and in the end.
§7.27καὶ γὰρ Ἀλκμήνας κασίγνητον νόθον §7.28σκάπτῳ θένων §7.29σκληρᾶς ἐλαίας ἔκτανʼ ἐν Τίρυνθι Λικύμνιον ἐλθόντʼ ἐκ θαλάμων Μιδέας §7.30τᾶσδέ ποτε χθονὸς οἰκιστὴρ χολωθείς.
For indeed, the founder of this land, once in Tiryns, striking with a staff of hard olive, slew in Tiryns, Licymnius, as he came from the chambers of Midea, the founder of this land once in anger.
αἱ δὲ φρενῶν ταραχαὶ §7.31παρέπλαγξαν καὶ σοφόν.
But disturbances of the mind lead astray even the wise.
μαντεύσατο δʼ ἐς θεὸν ἐλθών.
And he went to seek counsel of the god.
§7.32τῷ μὲν ὁ Χρυσοκόμας εὐώδεος ἐξ ἀδύτου ναῶν πλόον §7.33εἶπε Λερναίας ἀπʼ ἀκτᾶς εὐθὺν ἐς ἀμφιθάλασσον νομόν, §7.34ἔνθα ποτὲ βρέχε θεῶν βασιλεὺς ὁ μέγας χρυσέαις νιφάδεσσι πόλιν, §7.35ἁνίχʼ Ἁφαίστου τέχναισιν §7.36χαλκελάτῳ πελέκει πατέρος Αθαναία κορυφὰν κατʼ ἄκραν §7.37ἀνορούσαισʼ ἀλάλαξεν ὑπερμάκει βοᾷ· §7.38Οὐρανὸς δʼ ἔφριξέ νιν καὶ Γαῖα μάτηρ.
To him the Golden-Haired god from his fragrant sanctuary spoke of a voyage straight from the shores of Lerna to the sea-girt land, where once the great king of gods rained on the city with golden snowfalls, when by the arts of Hephaestus, with a bronze-beaten axe, Athena from the topmost head of her father leaped forth and shouted with an exceeding loud cry; and Heaven shuddered at her, and Mother Earth.
§7.39τότε καὶ φαυσίμβροτος δαίμων Ὑπεριονίδας §7.40μέλλον ἔντειλεν φυλάξασθαι χρέος §7.41παισὶν φίλοις, §7.42ὡς ἂν θεᾷ πρῶτοι κτίσαιεν βωμὸν ἐναργέα, καὶ σεμνὰν θυσίαν θέμενοι §7.43πατρί τε θυμὸν ἰάναιεν κόρᾳ τʼ ἐγχειβρόμῳ.
Then also the light-bringing god, the son of Hyperion, commanded to guard the duty that was to come to his dear children, so that they might be the first to build for the goddess a manifest altar, and laying a solemn sacrifice, might gladden the heart of the father and of the daughter who clashes her spear.
ἐν δʼ ἀρετὰν §7.44ἔβαλεν καὶ χάρματʼ ἀνθρώποισι Προμαθέος Αἰδώς· §7.45ἐπὶ μὰν βαίνει τε καὶ λάθας ἀτέκμαρτα νέφος, §7.46καὶ παρέλκει πραγμάτων ὀρθὰν ὁδὸν §7.47ἔξω φρενῶν.
And inside men, Reverence, the daughter of Prometheus, casts virtue and joys; yet indeed there comes also an unpredictable cloud of forgetfulness, and draws the straight path of actions outside the mind.
§7.48καὶ τοὶ γὰρ αἰθοίσας ἔχοντες σπέρμʼ ἀνέβαν φλογὸς οὔ· τεῦξαν δʼ ἀπύροις ἱεροῖς §7.49ἄλσος ἐν ἀκροπόλει·
For they indeed, though having the seed of burning flame, did not go up with it; but with fireless sacrifices they established a grove on the acropolis.
κείνοις ὁ μὲν ξανθὰν ἀγαγὼν νεφέλαν §7.50πολὺν ὗσε χρυσόν· αὐτὰ δέ σφισιν ὤπασε τέχναν §7.51πᾶσαν ἐπιχθονίων Γλαυκῶπις ἀριστοπόνοις χερσὶ κρατεῖν.
For them he, bringing a yellow cloud, rained much gold; and the Blue-eyed goddess herself granted them all skill, to surpass all mortals with the finest-working hands.
And works like living and moving things their pathways bore; and their fame was deep.
δαέντι δὲ καὶ σοφία μείζων ἄδολος τελέθει.
But to the learned, even wisdom without guile becomes greater.
§7.54φαντὶ δʼ ἀνθρώπων παλαιαὶ §7.55ῥήσιες, οὔπω, ὅτε χθόνα δατέοντο Ζεύς τε καὶ ἀθάνατοι, §7.56φανερὰν ἐν πελάγει Ῥόδον ἔμμεν ποντίῳ, §7.57ἁλμυροῖς δʼ ἐν βένθεσιν νᾶσον κεκρύφθαι.
And the ancient sayings of men tell that, when Zeus and the immortals were dividing the earth, Rhodes was not yet manifest in the sea-depths, but the island was hidden in the salty depths.
§7.58ἀπεόντος δʼ οὔτις ἔνδειξεν λάχος Ἀελίου· §7.59καί ῥά μιν χώρας ἀκλάρωτον λίπον, §7.60ἁγνὸν θεόν.
And since Helios was absent, no one pointed out his share; and so they left him without an allotment of land, the holy god.
§7.61μνασθέντι δὲ Ζεὺς ἄμπαλον μέλλεν θέμεν.
When he reminded him, Zeus was about to cast the lot again.
ἀλλά νιν οὐκ εἴασεν· ἐπεὶ πολιᾶς §7.62εἶπέ τινʼ αὐτὸς ὁρᾶν ἔνδον θαλάσσας αὐξομέναν πεδόθεν §7.63πολύβοσκον γαῖαν ἀνθρώποισι καὶ εὔφρονα μήλοις.
But he did not allow him; since he himself said he saw growing from the bottom within the gray sea a land rich in nourishment for men and kindly for sheep.
§7.64ἐκέλευσεν δʼ αὐτίκα χρυσάμπυκα μὲν Λάχεσιν §7.65χεῖρας ἀντεῖναι, θεῶν δʼ ὅρκον μέγαν §7.66μὴ παρφάμεν, §7.67ἀλλὰ Κρόνου σὺν παιδὶ νεῦσαι, φαεννὸν ἐς αἰθέρα νιν πεμφθεῖσαν ἑᾷ κεφαλᾷ §7.68ἐξοπίσω γέρας ἔσσεσθαι.
And he immediately commanded Lachesis of the golden headband to raise her hands, and not to violate the great oath of the gods, not to violate, but to nod assent with the son of Cronus, that she, being sent into the bright air, should be his privilege thereafter.
τελεύταθεν δὲ λόγων κορυφαὶ §7.69ἐν ἀλαθείᾳ πετοῖσαι.
And the summits of his words ended by falling into truth.
βλάστε μὲν ἐξ ἁλὸς ὑγρᾶς §7.70νᾶσος, ἔχει τέ νιν ὀξειᾶν ὁ γενέθλιος ἀκτίνων πατήρ, §7.71πῦρ πνεόντων ἀρχὸς ἵππων·
There sprouted from the wet sea an island, and the father who is the begetter of sharp rays holds it, the ruler of fire-breathing horses.
ἔνθα Ῥόδῳ ποτὲ μιχθεὶς τέκεν §7.72ἑπτὰ σοφώτατα νοήματʼ ἐπὶ προτέρων ἀνδρῶν παραδεξαμένους §7.73παῖδας, ὧν εἷς μὲν Κάμειρον §7.74πρεσβύτατόν τε Ἰάλυσον ἔτεκεν Λίνδον τʼ· ἀπάτερθε δʼ ἔχον, §7.75διὰ γαῖαν τρίχα δασσάμενοι πατρωίαν, §7.76ἀστέων μοῖραν, κέκληνται δέ σφιν ἕδραι.
There, once mingling with Rhodes, he begot seven sons, who inherited the wisest minds among the men of old; sons, of whom one begot Cameirus, and the eldest Ialysus, and Lindus; and they held apart, having divided their father's land into three, a share of cities, and their dwellings are named after them.
§7.77τόθι λύτρον συμφορᾶς οἰκτρᾶς γλυκὺ Τλαπολέμῳ §7.78ἵσταται Τιρυνθίων ἀρχαγέτᾳ, §7.79ὥσπερ θεῷ, §7.80μήλων τε κνισσάεσσα πομπὰ καὶ κρίσις ἀμφʼ ἀέθλοις.
There, a sweet ransom for his pitiable misfortune is established for Tlepolemus, the leader of the Tirynthians, as for a god, the smoky procession of sheep and the judgment of contests.
τῶν ἄνθεσι Διαγόρας §7.81ἐστεφανώσατο δίς, κλεινᾷ τʼ ἐν Ἰσθμῷ τετράκις εὐτυχέων, §7.82Νεμέᾳ τʼ ἄλλαν ἐπʼ ἄλλα, καὶ κρανααῖς ἐν Ἀθάναις.
With their flowers Diagoras has crowned himself twice, and at famous Isthmus four times successful, and at Nemea one after another, and in rocky Athens.
§7.83ὅ τʼ ἐν Ἄργει χαλκὸς ἔγνω νιν, τά τʼ ἐν Ἀρκαδίᾳ §7.84ἔργα καὶ Θήβαις, ἀγῶνές τʼ ἔννομοι §7.85Βοιωτίων, §7.86Πέλλανά τʼ Αἴγινά τε νικῶνθʼ ἑξάκις.
And the bronze in Argos knew him, and the works in Arcadia and in Thebes, and the lawful contests of the Boeotians, and Pellana, and Aegina where he won six times.
ἐν Μεγάροισίν τʼ οὐχ ἕτερον λιθίνα §7.87ψᾶφος ἔχει λόγον.
And in Megara no other story does the stone ballot hold.
ἀλλʼ, ὦ Ζεῦ πάτερ, νώτοισιν Ἀταβυρίου §7.88μεδέων, τίμα μὲν ὕμνου τεθμὸν Ὀλυμπιονίκαν, §7.89ἄνδρα τε πὺξ ἀρετὰν εὑρόντα, δίδοι τέ οἱ αἰδοίαν χάριν §7.90καὶ ποτʼ ἀστῶν καὶ ποτὶ ξείνων.
But, O Father Zeus, ruling over the ridges of Atabyrius, honor the ordinance of the Olympic-victorious hymn, and the man who has found virtue in boxing, and grant him reverent favor both from citizens and from strangers.
ἐπεὶ ὕβριος ἐχθρὰν ὁδὸν §7.91εὐθυπορεῖ, σάφα δαεὶς ἅ τέ οἱ πατέρων ὀρθαὶ φρένες ἐξ ἀγαθῶν §7.92ἔχρεον.
For he walks straight along a path free from insolence, having clearly learned what the upright minds of his good ancestors prescribed for him.
μὴ κρύπτε κοινὸν §7.93σπέρμʼ ἀπὸ Καλλιάνακτος· Ἐρατιδᾶν τοι σὺν χαρίτεσσιν ἔχει §7.94θαλίας καὶ πόλις·
Do not hide the common seed from Callianax; for with the graces of the Eratidae the city also holds festivities.
ἐν δὲ μιᾷ μοίρᾳ χρόνου §7.95ἄλλοτʼ ἀλλοῖαι διαιθύσσοισιν αὖραι.
But in a single portion of time, now in one way, now in another do the winds rush.