δάκτυλος ἀμέρα ... only an inch of daylight left.
πώνωμεν· τί τὰ λύχν' ὀμμένομεν; δάκτυλος ἀμέρα·
κὰδ δ'ἄερρε κυλίχναις μεγάλαις [αιτα]ποικίλαισ·
οἶνον γὰρ Σεμέλας καὶ Δίος υἶος λαθικάδεον
ἀνθρώποισιν ἔδωκ'.
ἔγχεε κέρναις ἔνα καὶ δύο
πλήαις κὰκ κεφάλας, [ἀ] δ' ἀτέρα τὰν ἀτέραν κύλιξ
ὠθήτω...
Let's drink ! Why wait for the lamps ? Only an inch of daylight left.
Lift down the large cups, my friends, the painted ones;
for wine was given to men by the son of Semele and Zeus
to help them forget their troubles.
Mix one part of water to two of wine,
pour it in up to the brim, and let one cup push the other along..
Alcaeus, Fragment 346
Alcaeus of Mytilene (c. 625/620 – c. 580 BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was a contemporary of Sappho, with whom he may have exchanged poems. He was born into the aristocratic governing class of Mytilene, the main city of Lesbos, where he was involved in political disputes and feuds.
δάκτυλος ἀμέρα ... only an inch of daylight left.
πώνωμεν· τί τὰ λύχν' ὀμμένομεν; δάκτυλος ἀμέρα·
κὰδ δ'ἄερρε κυλίχναις μεγάλαις [αιτα]ποικίλαισ·
οἶνον γὰρ Σεμέλας καὶ Δίος υἶος λαθικάδεον
ἀνθρώποισιν ἔδωκ'.
ἔγχεε κέρναις ἔνα καὶ δύο
πλήαις κὰκ κεφάλας, [ἀ] δ' ἀτέρα τὰν ἀτέραν κύλιξ
ὠθήτω...
Let's drink ! Why wait for the lamps ? Only an inch of daylight left.
Lift down the large cups, my friends, the painted ones;
for wine was given to men by the son of Semele and Zeus
to help them forget their troubles.
Mix one part of water to two of wine,
pour it in up to the brim, and let one cup push the other along..
Alcaeus, Fragment 346
Alcaeus of Mytilene (c. 625/620 – c. 580 BC) was a lyric poet from the Greek island of Lesbos who is credited with inventing the Alcaic stanza. He was a contemporary of Sappho, with whom he may have exchanged poems. He was born into the aristocratic governing class of Mytilene, the main city of Lesbos, where he was involved in political disputes and feuds.