Atalanta in Calydon Part 1

Atalanta in Calydon.

by Algernon Charles Swinburne.

TO THE MEMORY

OF

WALTER SAVAGE LANDOR

I NOW DEDICATE, WITH EQUAL AFFECTION, REVERENCE, AND REGRET, A POEM INSCRIBED TO HIM WHILE YET ALIVE IN WORDS WHICH ARE NOW RETAINED BECAUSE THEY WERE LAID BEFORE HIM; AND TO WHICH, RATHER THAN CANCEL THEM, I HAVE ADDED SUCH OTHERS AS WERE EVOKED BY THE NEWS OF HIS DEATH: THAT THOUGH LOSING THE PLEASURE I MAY NOT LOSE THE HONOUR OF INSCRIBING IN FRONT OF MY WORK THE HIGHEST OF CONTEMPORARY NAMES.

oixeo de Boreethen apotropos' alla se Numphai egagon aspasian edupnooi kath' ala, plerousai melitos theothen stoma, me ti Poseidon blapsei, en osin exon sen meligerun opa.

toios aoidos ephus: emeis d' eti klaiomen, oi sou deuometh' oixomenou, kai se pothoumen aei.

eipe de Pieridon tis anastrephtheisa pros allen: elthen, idou, panton philtatos elthe broton, stemmata drepsamenos neothelea xersi geraiais, kai polion daphnais amphekalupse kara, 10 edu ti Sikelikais epi pektisin, edu ti xordais, aisomenos: pollen gar meteballe luran, pollaki d' en bessaisi kathemenon euren Apollon, anthesi d' estepsen, terpna d' edoke legein, Pana t' aeimneston te Pitun Koruthon te dusedron, en t' ephilese thean thnetos Amadruada: pontou d' en megaroisin ekoimise k.u.modameian, ten t' Agamemnonian paid' apedoke patri, pros d' ierous Delphous theoplekton epempsen Oresten, teiromenon stugerais entha kai entha theais. 20

oixeo de kai aneuthe philon kai aneuthen aoides, drepsomenos malakes anthea Persephones.

oixeo: kouk et' esei, kouk au pote soi paredoumai azomenos, xeiron xersi thigon osiais: nun d' au mnesamenon glukupikros upeluthen aidos, oia tuxon oiou pros sethen oios exo: oupote sois, geron, omma philois philon ommasi terpso, ses, geron, apsamenos, philtate, dechiteras.

e psaphara konis, e psapharos bios esti: ti touton meion ephemerion; ou konis alla bios. 10 alla moi eduteros ge peleis polu ton et' eonton, epleo gar: soi men tauta thanonti phero, paura men, all' apo keros etetuma: med' apotrephtheis, pros de balon eti nun esuxon omma dexou.

ou gar exo, mega de ti thelon, sethen achia dounai, thaptomenou per apon: ou gar enestin emoi: oude melikretou parexein ganos : ei gar eneie kai se xeroin psausai kai se pot' authis idein, dakrusi te spondais te kara philon amphipoleuein ophthalmous th' ierous sous ieron te demas. 20 eith' ophelon: mala gar tad' an ampauseie merimnes: nun de prosothen aneu sematos oikton ago: oud' epitumbidion threno melos, all' apamuntheis, all' apaneuthen exon amphidakruta pathe.

alla su xaire thanon, kai exon geras isthi pros andron pros te theon, enerois ei tis epesti theos.

xaire geron, phile xaire pater, polu phertat' aoidon on idomen, polu de phertat' aeisomenon: xaire, kai olbon exois, oion ge thanontes exousin, esuxian exthras kai philotetos ater. 30 sematos oixomenou soi mnemat' es usteron estai, soi te phile mneme mnematos oixomenou: on Xarites klaiousi theai, klaiei d' Aphrodite kallixorois Mouson terpsamene stephanois.

ou gar apach ierous pote geras etripsen aoidous: tende to son phainei mnema tod' aglaian.

e philos es makaressi brotos, soi d' ei tini Numphai dora potheina nemein, ustata dor', edosan.

tas nun xalkeos upnos ebe kai anenemos aion, kai sunthaptomenai moiran exousi mian. 40 eudeis kai su, kalon kai agakluton en xthoni koilei upnon ephikomenos, ses aponosphi patras, tele para chanthou Tursenikon oidma katheudeis namatos, e d' eti se maia se gaia pothei, all' apexeis, kai prosthe philoptolis on per apeipas: eude: makar d' emin oud' amegartos esei.

baios epixthonion ge xronos kai moira kratesei, tous de pot' euphrosune tous de pot' algos exei: pollaki d' e blaptei phaos e skotos amphikaluptei muromenous, daknei d' upnos egregorotas: 50 oud' eth' ot' en tumboisi katedrathen omma thanonton e skotos e ti phaos dechetai eeliou: oud' onar ennuxion kai enupnion oud' upar estai e pote terpomenois e pot' oduromenois: all' ena pantes aei thakon sunexousi kai edran anti brotes abroton, kallimon anti kakes.

ATALANTA IN CALYDON.

THE PERSONS.

CHIEF HUNTSMAN.

CHORUS.

ALTHAEA.

MELEAGER OENEUS.

ATALANTA.

TOXEUS.

PLEXIPPUS.

HERALD.

MESSENGER.

SECOND MESSENGER.

isto d' ostis oux upopteros phrontisin daeis, tan a paidolumas talaina THestias mesato purdae tina p.r.o.noian, kataithousa paidos daphoinon dalon elik', epei molon matrothen keladese; summetron te diai biou moirokranton es amar.

Aesch. Cho. 602-612

THE ARGUMENT.

Althaea, daughter of Thestius and Eurythemis, queen of Calydon, being with child of Meleager her first-born son, dreamed that she brought forth a brand burning; and upon his birth came the three Fates and prophesied of him three things, namely these; that he should have great strength of his hands, and good fortune in this life, and that he should live no longer when the brand then in the fire were consumed: wherefore his mother plucked it forth and kept it by her. And the child being a man grown sailed with Jason after the fleece of gold, and won himself great praise of all men living; and when the tribes of the north and west made war upon Aetolia, he fought against their army and scattered it. But Artemis, having at the first stirred up these tribes to war against Oeneus king of Calydon, because he had offered sacrifice to all the G.o.ds saving her alone, but her he had forgotten to honour, was yet more wroth because of the destruction of this army, and sent upon the land of Calydon a wild boar which slew many and wasted all their increase, but him could none slay, and many went against him and perished. Then were all the chief men of Greece gathered together, and among them Atalanta daughter of Iasius the Arcadian, a virgin, for whose sake Artemis let slay the boar, seeing she favoured the maiden greatly; and Meleager having despatched it gave the spoil thereof to Atalanta, as one beyond measure enamoured of her; but the brethren of Althaea his mother, Toxeus and Plexippus, with such others as misliked that she only should bear off the praise whereas many had borne the labour, laid wait for her to take away her spoil; but Meleager fought against them and slew them: whom when Althaea their sister beheld and knew to be slain of her son, she waxed for wrath and sorrow like as one mad, and taking the brand whereby the measure of her son's life was meted to him, she cast it upon a fire; and with the wasting thereof his life likewise wasted away, that being brought back to his father's house he died in a brief s.p.a.ce, and his mother also endured not long after for very sorrow; and this was his end, and the end of that hunting.

ATALANTA IN CALYDON.

CHIEF HUNTSMAN.

Maiden, and mistress of the months and stars Now folded in the flowerless fields of heaven, G.o.ddess whom all G.o.ds love with threefold heart, Being treble in thy divided deity, A light for dead men and dark hours, a foot Swift on the hills as morning, and a hand To all things fierce and fleet that roar and range Mortal, with gentler shafts than snow or sleep; Hear now and help and lift no violent hand, But favourable and fair as thine eye's beam Hidden and shown in heaven, for I all night Amid the king's hounds and the hunting men Have wrought and wors.h.i.+pped toward thee; nor shall man See goodlier hounds or deadlier edge of spears, But for the end, that lies unreached at yet Between the hands and on the knees of G.o.ds, O fair-faced sun killing the stars and dews And dreams and desolation of the night!

Rise up, s.h.i.+ne, stretch thine hand out, with thy bow Touch the most dimmest height of trembling heaven, And burn and break the dark about thy ways, Shot through and through with arrows; let thine hair Lighten as flame above that nameless sh.e.l.l Which was the moon, and thine eyes fill the world And thy lips kindle with swift beams; let earth Laugh, and the long sea fiery from thy feet Through all the roar and ripple of streaming springs And foam in reddening flakes and flying flowers Shaken from hands and blown from lips of nymphs Whose hair or breast divides the wandering wave With salt close tresses cleaving lock to lock, All gold, or shuddering and unfurrowed snow; And all the winds about thee with their wings, And fountain-heads of all the watered world; Each horn of Achelous, and the green Euenus, wedded with the straitening sea.

For in fair time thou comest; come also thou, Twin-born with him, and virgin, Artemis, And give our spears their spoil, the wild boar's hide.

Sent in thine anger against us for sin done And bloodless altars without wine or fire.

Him now consume thou; for thy sacrifice With sanguine-s.h.i.+ning steam divides the dawn, And one, the maiden rose of all thy maids, Arcadian Atalanta, snowy-souled, Fair as the snow and footed as the wind, From Ladon and well-wooded Maenalus Over the firm hills and the fleeting sea Hast thou drawn hither, and many an armed king, Heroes, the crown of men, like G.o.ds in fight.

Moreover out of all the Aetolian land, From the full-flowered Lelantian pasturage To what of fruitful field the son of Zeus Won from the roaring river and labouring sea When the wild G.o.d shrank in his horn and fled And foamed and lessened through his wrathful fords, Leaving clear lands that steamed with sudden sun, These virgins with the lightening of the day Bring thee fresh wreaths and their own sweeter hair, Luxurious locks and flower-like mixed with flowers, Clean offering, and chaste hymns; but me the time Divides from these things; whom do thou not less Help and give honour, and to mine hounds good speed, And edge to spears, and luck to each man's hand.

CHORUS.

When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces, The mother of months in meadow or plain Fills the shadows and windy places With lisp of leaves and ripple of rain; And the brown bright nightingale amorous Is half a.s.suaged for Itylus, For the Thracian s.h.i.+ps and the foreign faces, The tongueless vigil, and all the pain.

Come with bows bent and with emptying of quivers.

Maiden most perfect, lady of light, With a noise of winds and many rivers, With a clamour of waters, and with might; Bind on thy sandals, O thou most fleet, Over the splendour and speed of thy feet; For the faint east quickens, the wan west s.h.i.+vers, Round the feet of the day and the feet of the night.

Where shall we find her, how shall we sing to her, Fold our hands round her knees, and cling?

O that man's heart were as fire and could spring to her, Fire, or the strength of the streams that spring!

For the stars and the winds are unto her As raiment, as songs of the harp-player; For the risen stars and the fallen cling to her, And the southwest-wind and the west-wind sing.

For winter's rains and ruins are over, And all the season of snows, and sins; The days dividing lover and lover, The light that loses, the night that wins; And time remembered is grief forgotten, And frosts are slain and flowers begotten, And in green underwood and cover Blossom by blossom the spring begins.

The full streams feed on flower of rushes, Ripe gra.s.ses trammel a travelling foot, The faint fresh flame of the young year flushes From leaf to flower and flower to fruit, And fruit and leaf are as gold and fire, And the oat is heard above the lyre, And the hoofed heel of a satyr crushes The chestnut-husk at the chestnut-root.