Works of Nonnus

by Nonnus

  ἀλλ᾽ ὅτε πάντα νόησεν ἑῷ φιλοτερπέι θυμῷ,

  εἰς δόμον Ἀστροχίτωνος ἐκώμασε, καὶ πρόμον ἄστρων

  τοῖον ἔπος βοόων ἐκαλέσσατο μύστιδι φωνῇ:

  [366] But when he had noted all this and gratified his curiosity, he went revelling to the temple of the Starclad and there called loudly upon the leader of the stars in mystic words:

  ‘Ἀστροχίτων Ἤρακλες, ἄναξ πυρός ὄρχαμε κόσμου,

  370 ἠέλιε, βροτέοιο βίου δολιχόσκιε ποιμήν,

  ἱππεύων ἑλικηδὸν ὅλον πόλον αἴθοπι δίκῃ,

  υἷα χρόνου λυκάβαντα δυωδεκάμηνον ἑλίσσων,

  κύκλον ἄγεις μετὰ κύκλον: ἀφ᾽ ὑμετέροιο δὲ δίφρου

  γήραϊ καὶ νεότητι ῥέει μορφούμενος αἰών:

  375 μαῖα σοφῆς ὠδῖνος ἀμήτορος εἰκόνα Μήνης

  ὠδίνεις τριέλικτον, ὅτε δροσόεσσα Σελήνη

  σῆς λοχίης ἀκτῖνος ἀμέλγεται ἀντίτυπον πῦρ,

  ταυρείην ἐπίκυρτον ἀολλίζουσα κεραίην:

  παμφαὲς αἰθέρος ὄμμα, φέρεις τετράζυγι δίφρῳ

  380 χεῖμα μετὰ φθινόπωρον, ἄγεις θέρος εἶαρ ἀμείβων.

  νὺξ μὲν ἀκοντιστῆρι διωκομένη σέο πυρσῷ

  χάζεται ἀστήρικτος, ὅτε ζυγὸν ἄργυφον ἕλκων

  ἀκροφανὴς ἵππειος ἱμάσσεται ὄρθιος αὐχήν,

  σεῖο δὲ λαμπομένοιο φαάντερον οὐκέτι λάμπων

  385 ποικίλος εὐφαέεσσι χαράσσεται ἄστρασι λειμών,

  χεύμασι δ᾽ ἀντολικοῖο λελουμένος Ὠκεανοῖο

  σεισάμενος γονόεσσαν ἀθαλπέος ἰκμάδα χαίτης

  ὄμβρον ἄγεις φερέκαρπον, ἐπ᾽ εὐώδινι δὲ Γαίῃ

  ἠερίης ἠῷον ἐρεύγεαι ἀρδμὸν ἐέρσης,

  390 καὶ σταχύων ὠδῖνας ἀναλδαίνεις σέο δίσκῳ

  ῥαίνων ζωοτόκοιο δι᾽ αὔλακος ὄμπνιον ἀκτήν.

  [369] “Starclad Heracles, lord of fire, prince of the universe! O Helios, longshadowed shepherd of human life, coursing round the whole sky with shining disk and wheeling the twelvemonth lichtgang the son of Time! Circle after circle thou drivest, and from thy car is shaped the running lifespace for youth and age! Nurse of wise birth, thou bringest forth the threefold image of the motherless Moon, while dewy Selene milks her imitative light from thy fruitful beam, while she fills in her curving bulls-horn. Allshining Eye of the heavens, thou bringest in thy four-horse chariot winter following autumn, and changest spring to summer. Night pursued by thy shooting torch moves and gives place, when the first morning glimpse comes of thy straightnecked steeds drawing the silver yoke under thy lashes; when thy light shines, the varied heavenly meadow no longer shines brighter dotted with patterns of bright stars. From thy bath in the waters of the eastern Ocean thou shakest off the creative moisture from thy cool hair, bringing the fruitful rain, and discharging the early wet of the heavenly dew upon the prolific earth. With thy disk thou givest increase to the growth of harvest, irrigating the bounteous corn in the life-nourishing furrows.

  Βῆλος ἐπ᾽ Εὐφρήταο, Λίβυς κεκλημένος Ἄμμων,

  Ἆπις ἔφυς Νειλῷος, Ἄραψ Κρόνος, Ἀσσύριος Ζεύς:

  καὶ ξύλα κηώεντα φέρων γαμψώνυχι ταρσῷ

  395 χιλιέτης σοφὸς ὄρνις ἐπ᾽ εὐόδμῳ σέο βωμῷ

  φοίνιξ, τέρμα βίοιο φέρων αὐτόσπορον ἀρχήν,

  τίκτεται ἰσοτύποιο χρόνου παλινάγρετος εἰκών,

  λύσας δ᾽ ἐν πυρὶ γῆρας ἀμείβεται ἐκ πυρὸς ἥβην:

  εἴτε Σάραπις ἔφυς, Αἰγύπτιος ἀννέφελος Ζεύς,

  400 εἰ Κρόνος, εἰ Φαέθων πολυώνυμος, εἴτε σὺ Μίθρης,

  ἠέλιος Βαβυλῶνος, ἐν Ἑλλάδι Δελφὸς Ἀπόλλων

  εἰ Γάμος, ὃν σκιεροῖσιν Ἔρως ἔσπειρεν ὀνείροις

  μιμηλῆς τελέων ἀπατήλιον ἵμερον εὐνῆς,

  ἐκ Διὸς ὑπνώοντος ὅτε γλωχῖνι μαχαίρης

  405 αὐτογάμῳ σπόρον ὑγρὸν ἐπιξύσαντος ἀρούρης

  οὐρανίαις λιβάδεσσιν ἐμαιώθησαν ἐρίπναι,

  εἴτε σὺ Παιήων ὀδυνήφατος, εἰ πέλες Αἰθὴρ

  ποικίλος, Ἀστροχίτων δὲ φατίζεαι — ἐννύχιοι γὰρ

  οὐρανὸν ἀστερόεντες ἐπαυγάζουσι χιτῶνες — :

  410 οὔασιν εὐμενέεσσιν ἐμὴν ἀσπάζεο φωνήν.’

  [392] “Belos on the Euphrates, called Ammon in Libya, thou art Apis by the Nile, Arabian Cronos, Assyrian Zeus! On thy fragrant altar, that thousand-year-old wise bird the phoenix lays sweetsmelling woods with his curved claw, bringing the end of one life and the beginning of another; for there he is born again, self-begotten, the image of equal time renewed — he sheds old age in the fire, and from the fire takes in exchange youthful bloom. Be thou called Sarapis, the cloudless Zeus of Egypt; be thou Cronos, or Phaethon of many names, or Mithras the Sun of Babylon, in Hellas Delphic Apollo; be thou Gamos, whom Love begat in shadowy dreams, fulfilling the deceptive desire of a mock union, when from sleeping Zeus, after he had sprinkled the damp seed over the earth with the self-wedding point of the sword, the heights brought forth by reason of the heavenly drops; be thou painquelling Paieon, or patterned Heaven; be thou called the Starclad, since by night starry mantles illuminate the sky — O hear my voice graciously with friendly ears!”

  τοῖον ἔπος Διόνυσος ἀνήρυγεν. ἐξαπίνης δὲ

  ἔνθεον εἶδος ἔχων θεοδέγμονος ἔνδοθι νηοῦ

  Ἀστροχίτων ἤστραψε: πυριγλήνου δὲ προσώπου

  μαρμαρυγὴν ῥοδόεσσαν ἀπηκόντιζον ὀπωπαί:

  415 καὶ θεὸς αἰγλήεις παλάμην ὤρεξε Λυαίῳ,

  ποικίλον εἷμα φέρων, τύπον αἰθέρος, εἰκόνα κόσμου,

  στίλβων ξανθὰ γένεια καὶ ἀστερόεσσαν ὑπήνην:

  καί μιν ἐυφραίνων φιλίῃ μείλιξε τραπέζῃ.

  αὐτὰρ ὁ θυμὸν ἔτερπεν ἀδαιτρεύτῳ παρὰ δείπνῳ

  420 ψαύων ἀμβροσίης καὶ νέκταρος: οὐ νέμεσις δέ,

  εἰ γλυκὺ νέκταρ ἔπινε μετὰ γλάγος ἄμβροτον Ἥρης:

  εἴρετο δ᾽ Ἀστροχίτωνα χέων φιλοπευθέα φωνήν:

  [411] Such was the hymn of Dionysos. Suddenly in form divine the Starclad flashed upon him in that dedicated temple. The fiery eyes of his countenance shot forth a rosy light, and the shining god, clad in a patterned robe like the sky, and image of the universe, with yellow cheek sparkling and a starry beard, held out a hand to Lyaios, and entertained him with good cheer at a friendly table. He enjoyed a feast without meatcarving, and touched nectar and ambrosia: why not inde
ed, if he did drink sweet nectar, after the immortal milk of Hera? Then he spoke to the Starclad in words full of curiosity:

  ‘Ἀστροχίτων με δίδασκε, τύπῳ χθονός, εἰκόνι νήσου,

  τίς θεὸς ἄστυ πόλισσε, τίς ἔγραφεν οὐρανίη χείρ;

  425 τίς σκοπέλους ἀνάειρε καὶ ἐρρίζωσε θαλάσσῃ;

  τίς κάμε δαίδαλα ταῦτα; πόθεν λάχον οὔνομα πηγαί;

  τίς χθονὶ νῆσον ἔμιξεν ὁμόζυγα μητρὶ θαλάσσῃ;’

  [423] “Inform me, Astrochiton, what god built this city in the form of a continent and the image of an island? What heavenly hand designed it? Who lifted these rocks and rooted them in the sea? Who made all these works of art? Whence came the name of the fountains? Who mingled island with mainland and bound them together with mother sea?”

  εἶπε: καὶ Ἡρακλέης φιλίῳ μειλίξατο μύθῳ:

  [428] He spoke, and Heracles satisfied him with friendly words:

  ‘Βάκχε, σὺ μὲν κλύε μῦθον: ἐγὼ δέ σε πάντα διδάξω.

  430 ἐνθάδε φῶτες ἔναιον, ὁμόσπορος οὕς ποτε μούνους

  ἀενάου κόσμοιο συνήλικας ἔδρακεν Αἰών,

  ἁγνὸν ἀνυμφεύτοιο γένος χθονός, ὧν τότε μορφὴν

  αὐτομάτην ὤδινεν ἀνήροτος ἄσπορος ἰλύς:

  οἳ πόλιν ἰσοτύπων δαπέδων αὐτόχθονι τέχνῃ

  435 πετραίοις ἀτίνακτον ἐπυργώσαντο θεμέθλοις.

  καί ποτε πηγαίῃσι παρ᾽ εὐύδροισι χαμευναῖς

  ἠελίου πυρόεντος ἱμασσομένης χθονὸς ἀτμῷ

  τερψινόου Ληθαῖον ἀμεργόμενοι πτερὸν Ὕπνου

  εὗδον ὁμοῦ, κραδίῃ δὲ φιλόπτολιν οἶστρον ἀέξων

  440 γηγενέων στατὸν ἴχνος ἐπῃώρησα καρήνῳ,

  καὶ βροτέου σκιοειδὲς ἔχων ἴνδαλμα προσώπου

  θέσφατον ὀμφήεντος ἀνήρυγον ἀνθερεῶνος:

  [429] “Hear the story, Bacchos, I will tell you all. People dwelt here once whom Time, bred along with them, saw the only agemates of the eternal universe, holy offspring of the virgin earth, whose bodies came forth of themselves from the unplowed unsown mud. These by indigenous art built upon foundations of rock a city unshakable on ground also of rock. Once on their watery beds among the fountains, while the fiery sun was beating the earth with steam, they were resting together and plucking at the Lethean wing of mind-rejoicing sleep. Now I cherished a passion of love for that city; so I took the shadowed form of a human face, and stayed my step overhanging the head of these earthborn folk, and spoke to them my oracle in words of inspiration:

  ὕπνον ἀποσκεδάσαντες ἀεργέα, παῖδες ἀρούρης,

  τεύξατέ μοι ξένον ἅρμα βατῆς ἁλός: ὀξυτόμοις δὲ

  445 κόψατέ μοι πελέκεσσι ῥάχιν πιτυώδεος ὕλης:

  τεύξατέ μοι σοφὸν ἔργον: ὑπὸ σταμίνεσσι δὲ πυκνοῖς

  ἰκρία γομφώσαντες ἐπασσυτέρῳ τινὶ κόσμῳ

  συμφερτὴν ἀτίνακτον ἀρηρότι δήσατε δεσμῷ,

  δίφρον ἁλός, σχεδίην πρωτόπλοον, ἣ διὰ πόντου

  450 ὑμέας ὀχλίζειε: καὶ ἀγκύλον ἄκρον ἀπ᾽ ἄκρου

  πρωτοπαγὲς δόρυ μακρὸν ὅλον στήριγμα δεχέσθω:

  ἰκρία δὲ σταμίνεσσιν ἀρηρότα δήσατε κύκλῳ,

  τοίχου δουρατέου πυκινὸν τύπον: ὑψιτενὲς δὲ

  σφιγγόμενον δεσμοῖσι μέσον ξύλον ὄρθιον ἔστω:

  455 καὶ λίνεον πλατὺ φᾶρος ἐφάψατε δούρατι μέσσῳ,

  συμπλεκέας δὲ κάλωας ἀμοιβαδίς, ὧν ἀπὸ δεσμῶν

  ἐκταδὸν ἠερίῳ κολπώσατε φᾶρος ἀήτῃ

  ἔγκυον ἐξ ἀνέμου νηοσσόον: ἀρτιπαγῆ δὲ

  φράξατε λεπταλέοισι σεσηρότα δούρατα γόμφοις,

  460 πυκνὰ περιστρώσαντες ὁμοζυγέων ἐπὶ τοίχων

  ῥίπεσιν οἰσυΐνοις, μὴ φώριον οἶδμα χυθείη

  ἐνδόμυχον γλαφυροῖο κεχηνότι δούρατος ὁλκῷ.

  καὶ σχεδίης οἴηκα κυβερνητῆρα πορείης

  ὑγρῆς ἀτραπιτοῖο πολύστροφον ἡνιοχῆα

  465 πάντοθι δινεύοντες, ὅπῃ νόος ὑμέας ἕλκει,

  δουρατέῳ κενεῶνι χαράξατε νῶτα θαλάσσης,

  εἰσόκε χῶρον ἵκοισθε μεμορμένον, ὁππόθι δισσαὶ

  ἀσταθέες πλώουσιν ἀλήμονες εἰν ἁλὶ πέτραι,

  [443] “‘Shake off idle sleep, sons of the soil! Make me a new kind of vehicle to travel on the brine. Clear me this ridge of pinewoods with your sharp axes and make me a clever work. Set a long row of thickset standing ribs and rivet planks to them, then join them firmly together with a wellfitting bond — the chariot of the sea, the first craft that ever sailed, which can heave you over the deep! But first let it have a long curved beam running from end to end to support the whole, and fasten the planks to the ribs fitted about it like a close wall of wood. Let there be a tall spar upright in the middle held fast with stays. Fasten a wide linen cloth to the middle of the pole with twisted ropes on each side. Keep the sail extended by these ropes, and let it belly out to the wind of heaven, pregnant by the breeze which carries the ship along. Where the newfitted timbers gape, plug them with thin pegs. Cover the sides with hurdles of wickerwork to keep them together, lest the water leak through unnoticed by a hole in the hollow vessel. Have a tiller as guide for your craft, to steer a course and drive you on the watery path with many a turn — twist it about everywhere as your mind draws you, and cleave the back of the sea in your wooden hull, until you come to the fated place, where driven wandering over the brine are two floating rocks, which Nature has named the Ambrosial Rocks.

  ἃς Φύσις Ἀμβροσίας ἐπεφήμισεν, αἷς ἔνι θάλλει

  470 ἥλικος αὐτόρριζον ὁμόζυγον ἔρνος ἐλαίης,

  πέτρης ὑγροπόροιο μεσόμφαλον: ἀκροτάτοις δὲ

  αἰετὸν ἀθρήσητε παρεδρήσσοντα κορύμβοις

  καὶ φιάλην εὔτυκτον: ἀπὸ φλογεροῖο δὲ δένδρου

  θαμβαλέους σπινθῆρας ἐρεύγεται αὐτόματον πῦρ,

  475 καὶ σέλας ἀφλεγέος περιβόσκεται ἔρνος ἐλαίης:

  καὶ φυτὸν ὑψιπέτηλον ἕλιξ ὄφις ἀμφιχορεύει,

  ἀμφότερον βλεφάροισι καὶ οὔασι θάμβος ἀέξων:

  οὐ γὰρ ἀερσιπότητον ἐς αἰετὸν ἄψοφος ἕρπων

  λοξὸς ἀπειλητῆρι δράκων περιβάλλεται ὁλκῷ,

  480 οὐδὲ διαπτύων θανατηφόρον ἰὸν ὀδόντων

  ὄρνιν ἑαῖς γενύεσσι κατεσθίει, οὐδὲ καὶ αὐτὸς

  αἰε�
�ὸς ἑρπηστῆρα πολυσπείρητον ἀκάνθαις

  ἁρπάξας ὀνύχεσσι μετάρσιος ἠέρα τέμνει,

  οὐδέ μιν ὀξυόδοντι καταγράψειε γενείῳ:

  485 οὐδέ τανυπρέμνοιο φυτοῦ πεφορημένος ὄζοις

  πυρσὸς ἀδηλήτου περιβόσκεται ἔρνος ἐλαίης,

  οὐδὲ δρακοντείων φολίδων σπείρημα μαραίνει

  σύννομον ἀγχικέλευθον, ὁμοπλεκέων δὲ καὶ αὐτῶν

  οὐ πτερύγων ὄρνιθος ἐφάπτεται ἁλλόμενον πῦρ,

  ἀλλὰ φυτοῦ κατὰ μέσσα φίλον σέλας ἀτμὸν ἰάλλει:

  490 οὐδὲ κύλιξ ἀτίνακτος ἐπήορος ὑψόθι πίπτει

  σειομένων ἀνέμοισιν ὀλισθήσασα κορύμβων.

  [469] “‘On one of them grows a spire of olive, their agemate, selfrooted and joined to the rock, in the very midst of the waterfaring stone. On the top of the foliage you will see an eagle perched, and a well-made bowl. From the flaming tree fire selfmade spits out wonderful sparks, and the glow devours the olive tree all round but consumes it not. A snake writhes round the tree with its highlifted leaves, increasing the wonder both for eyes and for ears. For the serpent does not creep silently to the eagle flying on high, and throw itself at him from one side with a threatening sweep to envelop him, nor spits deadly poison from his teeth and swallows the bird in his jaws; the eagle himself does not seize in his talons that crawler with many curling coils and carry him off high through the air, nor will he wound him with sharptoothed beak; the flame does not spread over the branches of the tall trunk and devour the olive tree, which cannot be destroyed, nor withers the scales of the twining snake, so close a neighbour, nor does the leaping flame catch even the bird’s interlaced feathers. No — the fire keeps to the middle of the tree and sends out a friendly glow: the bowl remains aloft, immovable though the clusters are shaken in the wind, and does not slip and fall.