Simonides of Ceos

Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 BC – 469 BC) was a Greek lyric poet.

ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. (wrongly attributed)^[1]
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 here
We 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 died
When the Medes crossed Spercheius' tide.
A great seer, yet he scorned to save
Himself, and shared the Spartans' grave.
- Epitaph of the Spartan Diviner, Megistias, at Thermopylae

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

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Simonides of Ceos

↑ Upward attribution and ‘Go tell the Spartans (Peter Gainsford)(http://kiwihellenist.blogspot.com/2019/02/simonides.html

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