Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Day 64: Olympus Shakes and the Gods Come Together

Lines 528-35
ἦ καὶ κυανέῃσιν ἐπ' ὀφρυσι νεῦσε Κρονίων·
ἀμβρόσιαι δ' ἄρα χαῖται ἐπερρώσαντο ἄνακτος
κρατός ἀπ' ἀθανάτοιο, μέγαν δ' ἐλέλιξεν Ὄλυμπον.

τώ γ' ὧς βουλεύσαντε διέτμαγεν· ἡ μὲν ἔπειτα
εἰς ἅλα ἆλτο βαθεῖσαν ἀπ' αἰγλήεντος Ὀλύμπου,
Ζεὺς δὲ ἑὸν πρὸς δῶμα. θεοὶ δ' ἅμα πάντες ἀνέσταν
ἐξ ἐδέων, σφοῦ πατρὸς ἐναντίον· οὐδέ τις ἔτλη
μεῖναι ἐπερχόμενον, ἀλλ' ἀντίοι ἔσταν ἅπαντες.

He spoke and Cronus' son nodded with his dusky brow,
And then the ambrosia locks fell down from the deathless
High lord, and this greatly shook Olympus.

Thus the two deliberated and were parted,
She lept from gleaming Olympus into the briny depths,
And Zeus went to his home. Then the gods all together
Came out from their abodes, facing their father,
Nor did a one of them have the courage to remain
In his seat, but all stood up to meet him.



A beautiful portrait of the all powerful father of gods and men with his ambrosia locks and his dusky brow whom all the gods bow to, at least to his face... Pharr states here that in conjuring the model for his great statue of Zeus at Olympia, one of the Seven Wonders of the ancient world, the sculptor Phidias used these lines as a model for his work.

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