by Brett Rutherford
Adapted from Antipater of Sidon, The Greek Anthology, vi, 46.
Adapted from Antipater of Sidon, The Greek Anthology, vi, 46.
I am not just any tripod,
one among many at Delphi.
Consigned to Apollo at Troy --
there my flame burned
before the funeral pyre
of one, torch-lit by the hand
of the other. For whom?
one among many at Delphi.
Consigned to Apollo at Troy --
there my flame burned
before the funeral pyre
of one, torch-lit by the hand
of the other. For whom?
By whom? For Patroclus dead,
by Achilles' hand. That's who!
Brought here this tripod was
by the hands of yet another,
the most perfect of warriors.
by Achilles' hand. That's who!
Brought here this tripod was
by the hands of yet another,
the most perfect of warriors.
Touch me, and touch the hand
of him who won the races
at Hellespont, the one who saw
the gods full-faced and lived
— Diomedes!
of him who won the races
at Hellespont, the one who saw
the gods full-faced and lived
— Diomedes!
