Greek Anthology

ἦλθε γὰρ ἡ τλήμων ὡς διαβησομένη.

for the poor thing came as if to cross over.

Plato

Plato

τῷ μήλῳ βάλλω σε· σὺ δʼ εἰ μὲν ἑκοῦσα φιλεῖς με,

I throw the apple at you; and you, if you love me willingly,

δεξαμένη, τῆς σῆς παρθενίης μετάδος·

take it and give me a share of your maidenhood;

εἰ δʼ ἄρʼ ὃ μὴ γίγνοιτο νοεῖς, τοῦτʼ αὐτὸ λαβοῦσα

but if your thoughts are what I pray they are not, take this same [apple]

σκέψαι τὴν ὥρην ὡς ὀλιγοχρόνιος.

and consider how short-lived youth’s bloom is.

Plato

Plato

μῆλον ἐγώ· βάλλει με φιλῶν σέ τις. ἀλλʼ ἐπίνευσον,

I am an apple; someone who loves you throws me. Come, nod yes,

Ξανθίππη· κἀγὼ καὶ σὺ μαραινόμεθα.

Xanthippe; both you and I are wasting away.

Dionysius Sophista

Dionysius the Sophist

ἡ τὰ ῥόδα, ῥοδόεσσαν ἔχεις χάριν ἀλλὰ τί πωλεῖς;

You with the roses, you have a rosy charm; but what are you selling,

πλεύσετʼ ἄνωθʼ ἐπιβὰς γραὸς ἐπʼ εἰκοσόρῳ.

will sail from above, having climbed aboard an old woman’s twenty-oared hulk.

Anonymi Epigrammatici

Anonymous

ἴυγξ ἡ Νικοῦς, ἡ καὶ διαπόντιον ἕλκειν

The iynx [magic wheel] of Nico, which knows how to draw a man even from across the sea

ἄνδρα καὶ ἐκ θαλάμων παῖδας ἐπισταμένη,

and boys out of their bedrooms,

χρυσῷ ποικιλθεῖσα, διαυγέος ἐξ ἀμεθύστου

decorated with gold, from translucent amethyst

γλυπτή, σοὶ κεῖται, Κύπρι, φίλον κτέανον,

carved, lies dedicated to you, Cypris, a cherished possession,

πορφυρέης ἀμνοῦ μαλακῇ τριχὶ μέσσα δεθεῖσα,

tied round the middle with the soft wool of a purple lamb,

τῆς Λαρισσαίης ξείνια φαρμακίδος.

the guest-gift of the Larissaean sorceress.

Leonidas

Leonidas

Μηλὼ καὶ Σατύρη τανυήλικες, Ἀντιγενείδεω

Melo and Satyra, of great age, Antigeneides’