Betrayed by This Heat

Anacreonta 18

“Ladies, please give me
Give me wine to drink without pausing–
I am betrayed by the heat
And already whining out loud.

Give me garlands of his flowers
Give them to me so I can
Bind them closely to my roasted brow.

Yet, my heart, what can I use
To keep off the heat of my loves?

I will settle along the shade of Bathullos
That tree is pretty.
It lets tender locks sway
At the end of the softest branches.

Nearby a spring flows
Whispering persuasively.

Who upon seeing such a refuge
Could ever pass it by?”

δότε μοι, δότ᾿, ὦ γυναῖκες,
Βρομίου πιεῖν ἀμυστί·
ἀπὸ καύματος γὰρ ἤδη
προδοθεὶς ἀναστενάζω.

δότε δ᾿ ἀνθέων ἐκείνου
στεφάνους, δόθ᾿, ὡς πυκάζω
τὰ μέτωπά μου᾿ πίκαυτα·

τὸ δὲ καῦμα τῶν Ἐρώτων,
κραδίη, τίνι σκεπάζω;

παρὰ τὴν σκιὴν Βαθύλλου
καθίσω· καλὸν τὸ δένδρον,
ἁπαλὰς δ᾿ ἔσεισε χαίτας
μαλακωτάτῳ κλαδίσκῳ·
παρὰ δ᾿ αὐτὸν †ἐρεθίζει†
πηγὴ ῥέουσα πειθοῦς.
τίς ἄν οὖν ὁρῶν παρέλθοι
καταγώγιον τοιοῦτο;

Inside of a drinking krater–a mixing bowl for wine. This is a black vase with a red figure in the middle. The figure is a nude man with his head and shoulders in a giant wine jar

Leave a Reply