HHA 1: 5.1-33

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TEXT

τῶν δ’ ἄλλων οὔ πέρ τι πεφυγμένον ἔστ’ Ἀφροδίτην   34

οὔτε θεῶν μακάρων οὔτε θνητῶν ἀνθρώπων.            35

καί τε παρὲκ Ζηνὸς νόον ἤγαγε τερπικεραύνου,

ὅς τε μέγιστός τ’ ἐστί, μεγίστης τ’ ἔμμορε τιμῆς·

καί τε τοῦ εὖτε θέλοι πυκινὰς φρένας ἐξαπαφοῦσα

ῥηϊδίως συνέμιξε καταθνητῇσι γυναιξὶν

Ἥρης ἐκλελαθοῦσα κασιγνήτης ἀλόχου τε,                40

ἣ μέγα εἶδος ἀρίστη ἐν ἀθανάτῃσι θεῇσι,

κυδίστην δ’ ἄρα μιν τέκετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης

μήτηρ τε Ῥείη· Ζεὺς δ’ ἄφθιτα μήδεα εἰδὼς

αἰδοίην ἄλοχον ποιήσατο κέδν’ εἰδυῖαν.

Τῇ δὲ καὶ αὐτῇ Ζεὺς γλυκὺν ἵμερον ἔμβαλε θυμῷ      45

ἀνδρὶ καταθνητῷ μιχθήμεναι, ὄφρα τάχιστα

μηδ’ αὐτὴ βροτέης εὐνῆς ἀποεργμένη εἴη

καί ποτ’ ἐπευξαμένη εἴπῃ μετὰ πᾶσι θεοῖσιν

ἡδὺ γελοιήσασα φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη

ὥς ῥα θεοὺς συνέμιξε καταθνητῇσι γυναιξὶ                50

καί τε καταθνητοὺς υἱεῖς τέκον ἀθανάτοισιν,

ὥς τε θεὰς ἀνέμιξε καταθνητοῖς ἀνθρώποις.

Ἀγχίσεω δ’ ἄρα οἱ γλυκὺν ἵμερον ἔμβαλε θυμῷ,

ὃς τότ’ ἐν ἀκροπόλοις ὄρεσιν πολυπιδάκου Ἴδης

βουκολέεσκεν βοῦς δέμας ἀθανάτοισιν ἐοικώς.           55

τὸν δὴ ἔπειτα ἰδοῦσα φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη

ἠράσατ’, ἐκπάγλως δὲ κατὰ φρένας ἵμερος εἷλεν.

ἐς Κύπρον δ’ ἐλθοῦσα θυώδεα νηὸν ἔδυνεν

ἐς Πάφον· ἔνθα δέ οἱ τέμενος βωμός τε θυώδης·

ἔνθ’ ἥ γ’ εἰσελθοῦσα θύρας ἐπέθηκε φαεινάς.              60

ἔνθα δέ μιν Χάριτες λοῦσαν καὶ χρῖσαν ἐλαίῳ

ἀμβρότῳ, οἷα θεοὺς ἐπενήνοθεν αἰὲν ἐόντας,

ἀμβροσίῳ ἑδανῷ, τό ῥά οἱ τεθυωμένον ἦεν.

ἑσσαμένη δ’ εὖ πάντα περὶ χροῒ εἵματα καλὰ

χρυσῷ κοσμηθεῖσα φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη                 65

σεύατ’ ἐπὶ Τροίης προλιποῦσ’ εὐώδεα Κύπρον

ὕψι μετὰ νέφεσιν ῥίμφα πρήσσουσα κέλευθον.

 

TRANSLATION

Of the rest not a thing can get away from Aphrodite,

neither any blessed gods nor any mortal men.                               35

She even led astray the mind of Zeus delighting in thunder

who is the greatest and has the greatest honor as his share.

And whenever she wanted to deceive his tight-packed mind,

easily she got him to have sex with mortal women and forget

all about Hera his sister and wife – Hera who is by far                    40

the best-looking among the immortal goddesses.

For crafty Kronos and her mother Rhea bore her as

the most glorious.  And Zeus who knows unperishable plans

made her into his respected wife who knows discretion.

Now into the heart of Aphrodite herself Zeus injected sweet desire  45

to have sex with a mortal man so that soon enough not even

laughter-loving Aphrodite would be kept away from a mortal bed

and ever again with sweet laughter boast among all the gods

that she had made gods have sex with mortal women                    50

and they had given birth to mortal sons for immortal fathers,

and that she had made goddesses have sex with mortal men.

So into the heart of this same Aphrodite Zeus injected sweet desire for

Anchsises who at the time was herding cattle on the lofty mountain peaks

of Ida with the many springs – Anchsises as handsome as the gods. 55

Then laughter-loving Aphrodite fell in love with him at first sight

she saw him, and dreadfully did passion get hold of her thoughts.

She took off for her Cyprus and entered her fragrant temple at Paphos –

that’s where her sacred precinct and fragrant altar are.  She went in

there and shut the splendid doors.  The Graces bathed her and       60

rubbed on immortal olive oil of the sort that, sweet and divine,

already perfumed, sits on the skin of the eternal gods.

When laughter-loving Aphrodite had draped her body

in all her elegant dress and adorned hersef with jewery of gold       65

she rushed off for Troy, leaving behind scented Cyprus,

easily traversing her path high up among the clouds.