Ode 1
For Argeius of Ceos
Boys' Boxing Match (?) at the Isthmus
Date unknown
Daughters of Zeus ruling on high, famed for the lyre, ... Pierian Muses ... weave
[5]
... Isthmian land ... son-in-law of wise Nereus ...
... of the island
[10]
... god-built gates of Pelops' shining island
[15]
...
... yoked horses to chariots,
[20]
and they flew ...
[45]
... thick ... maidens ...
[50]
of sleep, like honey to the mind ... our ... ancient city ... [homes] on the shores of the sea ...
[55]
[and under] the rays of the sun ...
... and Makelo, loving the distaff,
[75]
... by the fair-flowing stream ... speaks ... fawning with the voice ...
... I am bereaved ... with double-edged grief ...
[80]
deprivation ... totally ...
... on the third day warlike Minos came with a host of Cretans
[115]
in fifty ships with flashing sterns.
And by the will of Zeus Eukleios he subdued the deep-waisted maiden Dexithea, and left with her half of his people,
[120]
battle-loving men, to whom he gave the craggy land as their share; and then he sailed off to the lovely city of
Knossos,
the king, the son of Europa. And in the tenth month the bride with beautiful hair bore
[125]
Euxantius, to be ruler over the glorious island ...
... daughters ...
... city cut deep by the sun's rays.
[140]
From his (Euxantius'?) family descended Argeius, who has a strong hand and the spirit of a lion, whenever the need for battle befalls him; and he is
[145]
light on his feet, and does not ... the fine qualities of his father,
those which Apollo, famed for the bow, bestowed on Pantheides: the art of healing,
[150]
and friendly honor towards guests. With a good share of the Graces, and admired by many men, when he ended his life he left behind five greatly-praised sons,
[155]
one of whom the son of Cronus seated on high has made a victor at the Isthmus, in return for good deeds, and has given a share of other shining garlands. I say it now and I always will: excellence has the greatest glory.
[160]
Wealth keeps company with worthless men as well,
and it tends to swell a man's thoughts; but he who does well to the gods cheers his heart with a more glorious hope.
[165]
If a mortal has been granted health and can live off his own goods, he rivals the most fortunate. There is joy in all human life
[170]
as long as it lacks disease and helpless deprivation. The rich man desires great things the same way the poor man desires less.
[175]
But it is not sweet for mortals to get everything easily; they always seek to catch what flees from them.
A man whose spirit is whirled about by the lightest ambitions
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has honor only as long as he lives. Excellence is a difficult struggle, but when the struggle is completed rightly it leaves a man, even when he dies, the enviable ornament of renown.
