Simonides of Ceos

Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 BC – 469 BC) was a Greek lyric poet. Quotes thumb|right|Not even the gods fight against necessity. ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. (wrongly attributed)Upward attribution and ‘Go tell the Spartans (Peter Gainsford)(http://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2019/02/simonides.html Ō xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tē(i)de keimetha tois keinōn rhēmasi peithomenoi. [Word-for-word translation]O stranger, announce to the Lacadaemonians [Spartans] that hereWe lie, to their words [or laws] obedient. Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by That here, obedient to their laws, we lie. Epitaph on the Cenotaph of Thermopylae, recorded by Herodotus. Note: There is a long unsolved dispute around the interpretation of the word rhemasi, such as laws, words or orders. Variant translations: Go, tell the Spartans, thou who passest by, That here obedient to their laws we lie. Stranger, go tell the men of Lacedaemon That we, who lie here, did as we were ordered. Stranger, bring the message to the Spartans that here We remain, obedient to their orders. Oh foreigner, tell the Lacedaemonians That here we lie, obeying their words. Go, tell the Spartans, passerby, that here by Spartan law we lie. Go, tell the Spartans stranger passing by, that here, obedient to Spartan law, we dead of Sparta lie Here lies Megistias, who diedWhen the Medes crossed Spercheius' tide.A great seer, yet he scorned to saveHimself, and shared the Spartans' grave. Epitaph of the Spartan Diviner, Megistias, at Thermopylae ἀνάγκῃ δ᾽ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται. "Anankei d' oude theoi makhontai." Not even the gods fight against necessity. Quoted by Plato in the dialogue Protagoras, 345d (Simonides Fr. 37.1.27 ff.). Variant translations: The gods do not fight against necessity. Not even the gods war against necessity. I praise and love all men who do no sin willingly; but with necessity even the gods do not contend. We did not flinch but gave our lives to save Greece when her fate hung on a razor's edge. From the Cenotaph at the Isthmos … ζωγραφίαν ποίησιν σιωπῶσαν προσαγορεύει [sc. ὁ Σιμωνίδης], τὴν δὲ ποίησιν ζωγραφίαν λαλοῦσαν. … zographian poiesin sioposan prosagoreuei, ten de poiesin zographian lalousan. Painting is silent poetry, and poetry painting that speaks. Quoted by Plutarch, De gloria Atheniensium 3.346f. Variant translations: Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech. Painting is silent poetry, poetry is eloquent painting. See also: Ut pictura poesis External links Simonides from the Age of Fable by Thomas Bullfinch (at Bartleby.com) The 'Simonides Agon' as a Pivotal Discourse in Plato's Protagoras Simonides, Elegies: second century AD Photos of fragments (click on pictures for larger images) Book Review of The New Simonides : Contexts of Praise and Desire Category:Poets from Greece Category:Musicians from Greece Category:Educators from Greece Category:BCE births Category:BCE deaths Category:Epigrammatists of the Greek Anthology