opsopHAay. 511 



His friends resemble the bright lesser stars, 



Himself is Phoebus. 

 Hail, ever-mighty Neptune's mightier son !* 



Hail, son of Venus ! 

 For other gods do at a distance keep, 



Or have no ears, 

 Or no existence ; and they heed not us ; 



But you are present. 

 Not made of wood or stone, a genuine god : 



We pray to thee. 

 First of all give us peace, O dearest God, 



For you are Lord of peaoe.f 



Such words, says Athenaeus, were sung at Lome and 

 abroad by men whose sires had fought at Marathon, 

 slain countless hosts of barbarians, and once put a man 

 to death for oflFering adoration to a Persian despot; so 

 gross was the flattery, that even the recipient himself 

 could not stomach it, but declared his vexation and as- 

 tonishment at what he heard and saw, together with his 

 conviction that there was not one Athenian of iree and 

 manly spirit left. 



Ancient Festivities. 



AeviTva fwi tw^Tte, Movcra, iroKvTpo(l>a, kuI fiaXa TroWa, 



°A SevoKKrjs prjTap iv 'Adijvais deiirvia-ev fjiias. — Matron, pa/r. 



Of beast, bird, or fish, and every daintiest thing. 

 That feast, O Muse, in grateful accent sing. 



* 'O ToC KpariiTTov iral IIo(tci8S)vos 0eoO, 



X^ipf, k' 'A<ppo8iTr]S. 

 'AXXot /iev 5 fiaKpav yap dire}^ov<Tiv Oeol, 



^ oiiK e;(0V0'1I' Sara, 

 5 ovK cliTiv, 5 oil Ttpoai^ovfriv TjpXv ov&k tv 



are 8e irapovB^ dpS>p,eV 

 oil ^iXivov, oiSe Xi0ivov, aXK' d\rj6iv6v, 



ev)(6p^cr6a Br/ aof 

 7rpS>Tov pev, elprjvijv Tfoljjtrov, (jjlXraTe' 



Kvpios yap et (TV. k. t. X. 

 t C. D. Yonge, trans, of Athen, 



