Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis

  The Anacreontea (Ἀνακρεόντεια) is the title given to a collection of some 60 Hellenic poems on the topics of wine, beauty, erotic love, Dionysus, nd many others. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, and are attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon. The collection is preserved in the same 10th-century manuscript as the 'Anthologia Palatina', together with some other poetry.

Anacreon (Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος) was alive from 582 to 485 BC. He was a Hellenic lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Hellenes included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. Anacreon was born at Teos, an Ionian city on the coast of Asia Minor. For a long time, Anacreon was popular in Athens, where his statue was to be seen on the Acropolis, together with that of his friend Xanthippus, the father of Pericles. On several coins from Teos he is represented holding a lyre in his hand, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing. A marble statue found in 1835 in the Sabine district, and now in the Galleria Borghese, is said to represent Anacreon. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early lyric poetry, it was composed to be sung or recited to the accompaniment of music, usually the lyre. Anacreon's verses were primarily in the form of monody rather than for a chorus.

Today I would like to share one of his poems, a hymn to Artemis, although it was meant to be recited, not sung. I am always looking for new hymns, new ancient words to use in PAT rituals and my own practice. And I think Anacreon's words fit the bill nicely. It was probably Magnesia on whose behalf the poet supplicates the Goddess, which was situate on the river Lethe, near Ephesus. It is thought that this hymn was written on the occasion of some battle wherein the Magnesians were defeated. 

Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis 

On my knees do I entreat thee, O Pheraean 
Goddess golden - helmed, of wild beasts huntress. 
Come with all thy train of nymphs Pelasgian 
To Lethe's whirlpools. 

Daughter of Zeus, swift slayer of the mountain Deer,

View propitiously this suffering city.
Cheer thy stricken people; no barbarous citizens 
Crave thy divine aid.

• Saturday, September 18, 2021
  Anacreon ancient Hellenic culture hymns

Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis

 The Anacreontea (Ἀνακρεόντεια) is the title given to a collection of some 60 Hellenic poems on the topics of wine, beauty, erotic love, Dionysus, nd many others. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, and are attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon. The collection is preserved in the same 10th-century manuscript as the 'Anthologia Palatina', together with some other poetry.

Anacreon (Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος) was alive from 582 to 485 BC. He was a Hellenic lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Hellenes included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. Anacreon was born at Teos, an Ionian city on the coast of Asia Minor. For a long time, Anacreon was popular in Athens, where his statue was to be seen on the Acropolis, together with that of his friend Xanthippus, the father of Pericles. On several coins from Teos he is represented holding a lyre in his hand, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing. A marble statue found in 1835 in the Sabine district, and now in the Galleria Borghese, is said to represent Anacreon. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early lyric poetry, it was composed to be sung or recited to the accompaniment of music, usually the lyre. Anacreon's verses were primarily in the form of monody rather than for a chorus.

Today I would like to share one of his poems, a hymn to Artemis, although it was meant to be recited, not sung. I am always looking for new hymns, new ancient words to use in PAT rituals and my own practice. And I think Anacreon's words fit the bill nicely. It was probably Magnesia on whose behalf the poet supplicates the Goddess, which was situate on the river Lethe, near Ephesus. It is thought that this hymn was written on the occasion of some battle wherein the Magnesians were defeated. 

Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis 

On my knees do I entreat thee, O Pheraean 
Goddess golden - helmed, of wild beasts huntress. 
Come with all thy train of nymphs Pelasgian 
To Lethe's whirlpools. 

Daughter of Zeus, swift slayer of the mountain Deer,

View propitiously this suffering city.
Cheer thy stricken people; no barbarous citizens 
Crave thy divine aid.

• Monday, August 31, 2020
  Anacreon ancient Hellenic culture hymns

Sappho in the Anacreontea

Today, a bit from the Anacreontea (Ἀνακρεόντεια), the title given to a collection of some 60 Greek poems. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, and are attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon. The collection is preserved in the same 10th-century manuscript as the Anthologia Palatina (Palatinus gr. 23), together with some other poetry.

It's this lovely little sliver of prose that mentions Sappho. Not by name, of course, but through reputation. 

Anacreontea, fragment 358
[Translation: Gillian Spraggs]

"Golden-haired Eros once again
hurls his crimson ball at me:
he calls me to come out and play
with a girl in fancy sandals.
But she's from civilized Lesbos:
she sneers at my hair because it's grey,
and turning, gapes in wonder
after another of her own gender."

• Monday, December 3, 2018
  Anacreon ancient Hellenic culture poetry blogging Sappho

'A woman who is beautiful conquers both iron and fire'

My girlfriend and I have bought our own house, our very first. We'll move in in a few days time (we're current racing to get the house ready). The journey getting here was very rough--everything that could go wrong, did go wrong and there was a lot of stress and tension. Through it all, however, my girlfriend and I have remained close and our relationship has grown stronger for it. We are so excited to have our own, completely private, space, finally.

Today I am posting a little love note to my girl. It's from the Anacreontea (Ἀνακρεόντεια), the title given to a collection of some 60 Greek poems. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, and are attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon. The collection is preserved in the same 10th-century manuscript as the Anthologia Palatina (Palatinus gr. 23), together with some other poetry.

Beauty outside as well as in, my love. Forgive the sexist bit, these were the ancient Hellenes after all!

Anacreontea, 24.8-13

 

Nature gave bulls horns
Hooves to horses
Swift feet to hares
A mouth of teeth to lions
Swimming to fish
Flight to birds
And wisdom to men.
What did nature give to women?
Beauty
stronger than all shields and spears.
A woman who is beautiful
conquers both iron and fire.

 

(Φύσις κέρατα ταύροις,
ὁπλὰς δ’ ἔδωκεν ἵπποις,
ποδωκίην λαγωοῖς,
λέουσι χάσμ’ ὀδόντων,
τοῖς ἰχθύσιν τὸ νηκτόν,
τοῖς ὀρνέοις πέτασθαι,
τοῖς ἀνδράσιν φρόνημα·
γυναιξὶν οὐν ἔτ᾿ εἶχεν
τί οὖν; δίδωσι κάλλος
ἀντ᾿ ἀσπίδων ἁπασῶν
ἀντ᾿ ἐγχέων ἁπάντων
νικᾷ δὲ καὶ σίδηρον
καὶ πῦρ καλή τις οὖσα)

• Saturday, April 23, 2016
  Anacreon personal poetry blogging

Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis

The Anacreontea (Ἀνακρεόντεια) is the title given to a collection of some 60 Hellenic poems on the topics of wine, beauty, erotic love, Dionysus, nd many others. The poems date to between the 1st century BC and the 6th century AD, and are attributed pseudepigraphically to Anacreon. The collection is preserved in the same 10th-century manuscript as the 'Anthologia Palatina', together with some other poetry.

Anacreon (Ἀνακρέων ὁ Τήϊος) was alive from 582 to 485 BC. He was a Hellenic lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and hymns. Later Hellenes included him in the canonical list of nine lyric poets. Anacreon was born at Teos, an Ionian city on the coast of Asia Minor. For a long time, Anacreon was popular in Athens, where his statue was to be seen on the Acropolis, together with that of his friend Xanthippus, the father of Pericles. On several coins from Teos he is represented holding a lyre in his hand, sometimes sitting, sometimes standing. A marble statue found in 1835 in the Sabine district, and now in the Galleria Borghese, is said to represent Anacreon. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early lyric poetry, it was composed to be sung or recited to the accompaniment of music, usually the lyre. Anacreon's verses were primarily in the form of monody rather than for a chorus.

Today I would like to share one of his poems, a hymn to Artemis, although it was meant to be recited, not sung. I am always looking for new hymns, new ancient words to use in PAT rituals and my own practice. And I think Anacreon's words fit the bill nicely. It was probably Magnesia on whose behalf the poet supplicates the Goddess, which was situate on the river Lethe, near Ephesus. It is thought that this hymn was written on the occasion of some battle wherein the Magnesians were defeated.

Anacreon - A Prayer to Artemis

On my knees do I entreat thee, O Pheraean
Goddess golden - helmed, of wild beasts huntress.
Come with all thy train of nymphs Pelasgian
To Lethe's whirlpools.

Daughter of Zeus, swift slayer of the mountain Deer,

View propitiously this suffering city.
Cheer thy stricken people; no barbarous citizens
Crave thy divine aid.

• Sunday, November 1, 2015
  Anacreon ancient Hellenic culture hymns