Category ArchiveAmphion and Zethus
Amphion and Zethus admin on 09 Jan 2012
The Seven Walls of Thebes (II)
From childhoodAmphion had discovered
his lyre’s magical properties
in accomplishing tasks
without labour
or physical exertion.
So while Zethus strove to muster
slaves’ labour,
Amphion sat on a cushiony meadow
and began to play his lyre,
which, like the sweet strains
of tuneful birds
that awaken all
to their sonorous call,
enchanted stones
to lift themselves
from the ground
and construct the city’s walls
one by one.
It took but one melody
to raise the stones
into the formation
of the Theban walls.
From the poem Antiope, published in Andromeda, Antiope and Nauplius
Copyright © 2012 by LAODAMIA PRESS. All Rights Reserved.
Editor: Dr. Erez Natanblut
sales@laodamiapress.com
Amphion and Zethus admin on 08 Jan 2012
The Seven Walls of Thebes (I)
The new rulers of Thebeswilled that the city
be fortified with sturdy walls
against attackers,
walls which would have
seven gates
allowing entry and exit.
In this ponderous task,
the quarrelsome and jealous nature
of Zethus surfaced again.
In order to be viewed as the one
with the greater skill and ability,
he organized crews of men
to assemble stones from Mount Cithaeron
and lug them to the outskirts
of the city’s boundaries.
Amphion,
the wiser and more gifted,
thought it would be more profitable
and expedient
to use the magic
of his golden lyre,
which Apollo had given to him
when he first heeded
life’s beckoning.
From the poem Antiope, published in Andromeda, Antiope and Nauplius
Copyright © 2012 by LAODAMIA PRESS. All Rights Reserved.
Editor: Dr. Erez Natanblut
sales@laodamiapress.com