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Ode 1 For Argeius of Ceos Boys' Boxing Match (?) at the Isthmus Date unknown
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Daughters of Zeus ruling on high, famed for the lyre,
Pierian Muses
weave
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Isthmian land
son-in-law of wise Nereus
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1
of the island
god-built gates of Pelops' shining island
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yoked horses to chariots,
and they flew
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3
thick
maidens
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of sleep, like honey to the mind
our
ancient city
[homes] on the shores of the sea
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[and under] the rays of the sun
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and Makelo, loving the distaff,
by the fair-flowing stream
speaks
fawning with the voice
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I am bereaved
with double-edged grief
deprivation
totally
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on the third day warlike Minos came with a host of Cretans
in fifty ships with flashing sterns.
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And by the will of Zeus Eukleios he subdued the deep-waisted maiden Dexithea, and left with her half of his people,
battle-loving men, to whom he gave the craggy land as their share; and then he sailed off to the lovely city of
Knossos
,
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the king, the son of Europa. And in the tenth month the bride with beautiful hair bore
Euxantius, to be ruler over the glorious island
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daughters
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city cut deep by the sun's rays.
From his (Euxantius'?) family descended Argeius, who has a strong hand and the spirit of a lion, whenever the need for battle befalls him; and he is
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light on his feet, and does not
the fine qualities of his father,
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those which Apollo, famed for the bow, bestowed on Pantheides: the art of healing,
and friendly honor towards guests. With a good share of the Graces, and admired by many men, when he ended his life he left behind five greatly-praised sons,
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one of whom the son of Cronus seated on high has made a victor at the Isthmus, in return for good deeds, and has given a share of other shining garlands. I say it now and I always will: excellence has the greatest glory.
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Wealth keeps company with worthless men as well,
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and it tends to swell a man's thoughts; but he who does well to the gods cheers his heart with a more glorious hope.
If a mortal has been granted health and can live off his own goods, he rivals the most fortunate. There is joy in all human life
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as long as it lacks disease and helpless deprivation. The rich man desires great things the same way the poor man desires less.
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But it is not sweet for mortals to get everything easily; they always seek to catch what flees from them.
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A man whose spirit is whirled about by the lightest ambitions
has honor only as long as he lives. Excellence is a difficult struggle, but when the struggle is completed rightly it leaves a man, even when he dies, the enviable ornament of renown.
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Epinicians. Bacchylides. Diane Arnson Svarlien (Translator). New Haven, CT. 1996.
Sponsored by Perseus Project, Tufts University.
Funding provided by The Annenberg CPB/Project.