To the ships | O gentle ships that skim the seas

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE)

Translation by Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912)

Εὔφορτοι νᾶες πελαγίτιδες, αἳ πόρον...

Language: Greek (Ελληνικά)

Εὔφορτοι νᾶες πελαγίτιδες, αἳ πόρον Ἕλλης
  πλεῖτε, καλὸν κόλποις δεξάμεναι Βορέην,
ἤν που ἐπ᾽ ἠιόνων Κῴαν κατὰ νᾶσον ἴδητε
  Φανίον εἰς χαροπὸν δερκομεναν πέλαγος,
τοῦτ᾽ ἔπος ἀγγείλαιτε, καλαὶ νέες, ὥς με κομίζει
  ἵμερος οὐ ναύταν, ποσσὶ δὲ πεζοπόρον.
εἰ γὰρ τοῦτ᾽ εἴποιτ᾽, εὐάγγελοι, αὐτίκα καὶ Ζεὺς
  οὔριος ὑμετέρας πνεύσεται εἰς ὀθόνας.

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Text Authorship:

by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE), Epigram 12.53 [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

[ None yet in the database ]

Settings in other languages, adaptations, or excerpts:

Also set in English, a translation by Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912) , "To the ships" ; composed by Amy Elise Horrocks.

Other available translations, adaptations or excerpts, and transliterations (if applicable):

ENG English (William Roger Paton) , no title

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-07-25
Line count: 8
Word count: 51

To the ships

Language: English after the Greek (Ελληνικά)

O gentle ships that skim the seas, 
And cleave the strait where Hellé fell, 
Catch in your sails the Northern breeze,
And speed to Cos where she doth dwell, 
My Love, and see you greet her well ! 
And if she looks across the blue, 
Speak, gentle ships, and tell her true 
"He comes, for Love hath brought him back, 
No sailor, on the landward tack."

If thus, oh gentle ships, ye do, 
Then may ye win the fairest gales,
And swifter speed across the blue,
While Zeus breathes friendly on your sails.

Confirmed with Selections from the Greek Anthology, London, Scott, 1895? page 154.

Text Authorship:

by Andrew Lang (1844 - 1912), "To the ships" [author's text checked 1 time against a primary source]

Based on:

a text in Greek (Ελληνικά) by Meleager of Gadara (flourished 1st century BCE), Epigram 12.53
- Go to the text page.

Musical settings (art songs, Lieder, mélodies, (etc.), choral pieces, and other vocal works set to this text), listed by composer (not necessarily exhaustive):

by Amy Elise Horrocks (1867 - 1919), "To the ships", 1899, published 1899 [ voice and piano ], from Six Greek Love Songs, no. 3, London : Boosey & Co. [sung text not yet checked]

Researcher for this text: Emily Ezust [Administrator]

This text was added to the website: 2023-07-26
Line count: 13
Word count: 92