Alkaios QUOTES

1 " One and all,
you have proclaimed Pittakos, the lowborn,
to be tyrant of your lifeless and doomed
land. Moreover, you deafen him with praise. "

― Alkaios

2 " Helen, your sinful deeds brought a bitter end
to Priam and his lovely children. They say
because of you holy Ilium was destroyed
by climbing fire.

But the son of Aiakos did not find such a wife
when he summoned the blessed gods to his wedding
and took the delicate sea nymph Thetis from
the watery palace

of Nereus, bringing her to the mountain cave
of the centaur Cheiron. There, the love of Peleus
for his sea-nymph led him to lie naked with
the untouched virgin,

and within the year she bore a son, Achilles;
bravest demigod and splendid driver of
tawny stallions. But for Helen, Ilium and
her people were destroyed. "

― Alkaios

3 " Daughter of the rock and the gray sea
you fill all hearts
with triumph, tortoise shell of the sea. "

― Alkaios

4 " Our king Apollo, O child of mighty Zeus,
when you were born your father gave you
a gold headband and a lyre of tortoise shell,
and more: a chariot drawn by swans. You were
to go to Delphi and the Kastalian springs
whose waters are the gift of broad Kephissos,
and there deliver justice to the Hellenes
through the oracles. But when you seized the reins,

you made the swans sail north to the distant land
of the Hyperboreans, and though the Delphians
begged you to return—with paeans of flutes
and circles of women dancing about the tripod—

Apollo, you remained to rule that people
through the long year. Came the season when the tripod
rings loud and clear in Delphi, you turned the swans
to Parnassos. It was high noon of summer
when you glided back from the far northlands;
swallows and nightingales were singing; cicadas
also sang about you; silver brooks poured down
from Kastalia, and the great river Kephissos

threw blue-foaming waves into the bright wind, yes,
even the waters knew a god was coming home. "

― Alkaios

5 " Let us drink. Why wait for the lighting of the lamps?
Night is a hair's breadth away. Take down the great goblets
from the shelf, dear friend, for the son of Semele and Zeus
gave us wine to forget our pains. Mix two parts water, one wine,
and let us empty the dripping cups—urgently. "

― Alkaios

6 " Zeus rumbles and a mammoth winter of snow
pours from the sky; agile rivers are ice.

Damn the winter cold! Pile up the burning logs
and water the great flagons of red wine;
place feather pillows by your head, and drink.

Let us not brood about hard times. Bakchos,
our solace is in you and your red wines:
our medicine of grape. Drink deeply, drink. "

― Alkaios

7 " Wash your gullet with wine for the Dog Star returns
with the hear of summer searing a thirsting earth.
Cicadas cry softy under high leaves, and pour down
shrill song incessantly from under their wings.
The artichoke blooms, and women are warm and wanton—
but men turn lean and limp for the burning Dog Star
parches their brains and knees. "

― Alkaios

8 " Why water more wine in the great bowl?
Why do you drown your gullet in grape?
I cannot let you spill out your life
on song and drink. Let us go to sea,

and not let the wintry calm of morning
slip by as a drunken sleep. Had we
boarded at dawn, seized rudder and spun
the flapping crossjack into the wind,

we would be happy now, happy as swimming
in grape. But you draped a lazy arm
on my shoulder, saying: 'Sir, a pillow,
your singing does not lead me to ships'. "

― Alkaios

9 " What birds are these
wildgeese—flying from precincts where the earth
and oceans end—
with their enormous wings and speckled throats? "

― Alkaios

10 " Not homes with beautiful roofs,
nor walls of permanent stone,
nor canals and piers for ships

make the city—but men of strength.

Not stone and timber, nor skill
of carpenter—but men brave
who will handle sword and spear.

With these you have a city and walls. "

― Alkaios

11 " It is late, for the harvest is in.
Before, we hoped that the full vines
would bring a plenitude of fine grapes,
but the clusters are slow
to ripen and the landlords
picked unripe bunches from the branch.
We have many grapes now—green and sour. "

― Alkaios

12 " Drink and be drunk with me, Melanippos.
Do you think when you have crossed the great fuming river,
you will ever return from Hell to see the clean
bright light of the sun? Do not strive for wild hopes.

Even the son of Aiolos, King Sisyphos, wisest of men,
thought he had eluded death. But for all his brains
Fate made him recross Acheron, and the son of Kronos
assigned him a terrible trial below the dark earth.

Come, I beg you not to brood about these hopeless
matters while we are young. We will suffer what must
be suffered. When the wind is waiting in the north,
a good captain will not swing into the open sea. "

― Alkaios

13 " I can't tell you which way the gale has turned
for waves crash in from west and east, and we
are tossed and driven between, our black ship
laboring under the giant storm.

The sea washes across the decks and maststep
and dark daylight already shows through long rents
in the sails. Even the halyards slacken as
windward waves coil above the hull.

What sore labor to bale the water we've shipped!
Let us raise bulwarks and ride out the storm,
heeding my words: 'Let each man now be famous.'
Yet base cowards betray the state. "

― Alkaios

14 " The great house glitters with bronze. War has patterned
the roof with shining helmets,
their horsehair plumes waving in wind, headdress
of fighting men. And pegs
are concealed under bright greaves of brass
that block the iron-tipped arrows. Many
fresh-linen corslets are hanging and hollow shields
are heaped about the floor,
and standing in rows are swords of Chalkidian steel,
belt-knives and warrior's kilts.
We cannot forget our arms and armor when soon
our dreadful duties begin. "

― Alkaios

15 " Come with me now and leave the land of
Pelops, mighty sons of Zeus and Leda,
and in kindness spread your light on us,
Kastor and Polydeukes.

You who wander above the long earth
and over all the seas on swift horses,
easily delivering mariners
from pitiful death,

fly to the masthead of our swift ship,
and gazing over foremast and forstays,
light a clear path through the midnight gloom
for our black vessel. "

― Alkaios