Theognis of Megara. Wings.

To you I have given wings, on which you may fly aloft
Above the boundless sea and all the earth
With ease. At feasts and banquets you will be present
On all occasions, lying in the mouths of many,
And to the clear-toned sound of pipes young men
With seemly grace and loveliness, their voices fair and clear,
Will sing of you. And when beneath the hollows of the murky earth
You go to Hades' halls ringing with lamentation,
Not even then, though dead, will you ever lose your fame; instead, you will be known
To people of all time, your name imperishable,
Kyrnos, roaming through mainland Hellas and up and down the islands,
Passing over the restless fish-swarming sea,
Not mounted on the backs of horses, but sent abroad
By the radiant gifts of the Muses, violet-crowned:
To all who care for them, even to those who are not yet born, you will be
Alike a theme of song, so long as earth and sun exist.
From you, however, I get scant respect;
Instead, you cheat me with words as if I were a little child.

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The copyright of this podcast recording is David Swarbrick @The Ceylon Press 2025. 

POETRY FROM THE JUNGLE GRATEFULLY ACKNOWLEDGES THE COPYRIGHT CREDIT: 
Copyright 1949, 1955, and i960 by Richmond Lattimore. All rights reserved. Copyright under the International Copyright Union, 1955. Published 1955. Second Edition i960. Composed and printed by The University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, U.S.A.