Dedications from the Greek Anthology
One of the genres I see most often in my translation from the Greek Anthology are dedicatory poems: verses to dedicate a significant gift from some person to the temple of a God. I give here a few examples.
This gift, her gold-hemmed saffron gown, Kleo
gave to Dionysos, dressing his statue, because
she always outshone the company, and no man
could touch her when it came to hard drinking.
Phalaikos (around 300 B.C.)
Trans Peter Jay
For that goatfucker, goatfooted
Pan, Teleso stretched this hide
On a plane tree, and in front
Of it hung up his well cut
Crook, smiter of bloody-eyed wolves,
His curdling buckets, and the leash
And collars of his keen-nosed pups.
Leonidas of Tarentum
Trans. Kenneth Rexroth
This gift, her gold-hemmed saffron gown, Kleo
gave to Dionysos, dressing his statue, because
she always outshone the company, and no man
could touch her when it came to hard drinking.
Phalaikos (around 300 B.C.)
Trans Peter Jay
For that goatfucker, goatfooted
Pan, Teleso stretched this hide
On a plane tree, and in front
Of it hung up his well cut
Crook, smiter of bloody-eyed wolves,
His curdling buckets, and the leash
And collars of his keen-nosed pups.
Leonidas of Tarentum
Trans. Kenneth Rexroth