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ROMANIAN SKY DRAGONS & CELESTIAL SERPENTS
18:20 Nov 26 2007
Times Read: 1,273


-an article by Alastair McBeath & Andrei Dorian Gheorghe,

first published in The Dragon Chronicle,

Number 12, April 1998-



The Draco Constellation





In a recent issue of The Dragon Chronicle we discussed the Romanian Sky Myth

(McBeath & Gheorghe 1997), and saw the central role the Dragon

played in creating the Milky Way.

In Romania, as across the modern western world, this dragon

was portrayed in the constellations as Draco.

Here, we present a short review of the old Romanian interpretations of

the other sky dragon and celestial serpent star-patterns, except Hydrus, which

were the subject of an earlier Dragon Chronicle series (McBeath 1996a, b, 1997).





The funeral camera of Seti I in Luxor.

Two of these constellations have been identified with the modern ones: The ox (that are the Great Bear),

the circumpolar in Egypt, and the Crocodile and Hipopótamo (Dragoon and the Little Bear).







Surprisingly, Cetus and Hydra do not figure at all prominently in

Romanian sky lore, although Serpens and Ophiuchus combined appears as

one giant constellation, Sarpele, the Serpent. Ion Ottescu (1907) suggested that

the Romanian peasants were primarily interested in stars and constellations as

a means of timing during the most important part of the agricultural year,

chiefly the period between June to September,most notably July-August.

They looked at the risings of certain stars and constellations,

and their positions at midnight and dawn, and used those as

signposts for their work in the fields.

Neither Cetus nor Hydra are easy to see at such a time.

As Ottescu puts it, “Only the shepherds are interested in the rest of the year”!









Cetus has a slight advantage over Hydra,

modernly rising completely before dawn by the July-August boundary.

In the past, its rising time would have been somewhat more favourable,

as the position on the ecliptic where the Sun lies at midsummer was east of where

it now lies, in Gemini or Cancer between 2000 to 3000 years ago, for instance.

The solstice point is now reached near the Taurus-Gemini border.







As a result, Cetus is the better-known of the pair, and is called Chitul, the Whale,

perceived as the great fish that swallowed the prophet Jonah for three days

(cf. Wansbrough 1994, pp.1541-1542; Jonah 2:1-11).

However, this enormous sea creature links back to Tiamat, as one of the creatures

of the deep, and a symbol of the Sea itself, conquered by the god Yahweh

(e.g. Wansbrough 1994, p.765, note f).

Yahweh here, in a sense, echoes Marduk’s defeat of Tiamat,

from the earlier Mesopotamian myth (cf. Dalley 1989, pp.228-277),

and the fish becomes Yahweh’s tool, much as Marduk’s symbol in

Mesopotamian iconography was the mushussu dragon.











The most prominent part of Hydra, the “head to heart” section,

still modernly lies not far from the summer solstice point.

As a consequence, this part of Hydra is invisible to northern hemisphere sites

for much of the summer today.

In the past, the problem was still more severe, and was at its worst around

3000 years ago, when the summer solstice occurred in the constellation of Cancer,

directly over the head of Hydra. Presumably because of this,

Hydra has only two partial representatives in Romanian tales.







Firstly, she appears as a zmeoaica, a many-headed dragon-woman,

who had poisonous breath, making her quite similar to the Greek hydra.

In some respects, she is perhaps closer to a cross between the Greek hydra

and the gorgon Medusa.







Her second incarnation is as Gheonoaia, a giant bird-woman,

who could unleash a wind by flapping her wings that could fell the trees.

Gheonoaia has a sister called Scorpia, a flying serpent-woman able to

pour out fire and burning pitch from her mouth.







Both the zmeoaica and Gheonoaia (and Scorpia too) are enemies that

the major Romanian hero Fat Frumos, “Beautiful Boy”,

has to overcome in separate myths.

Fat Frumos is a hero figure who is equated with the constellation of The Man,

Omul, in Romanian sky lore.

He is also similar to the Greek Herakles - who appears in the sky as Hercules,

the same constellation that Fat Frumos is associated with.







When we look at Serpens/Sarpele the Serpent, we find a much more complex

symbol in the Romanian myths.

As a star-pattern, it is much larger than the western Serpens,

as it includes Ophiuchus, and forms a large coil shape in the sky,

with its head just under Corona Borealis (where we find Serpens’ head too).

This region of sky lies almost opposite the summer solstice point, and as a

consequence, is visible almost all night during the summer - and was even

2000-3000 years ago - which accounts for its greater prominence

in Romanian sky lore.

With the overlain Christian symbolism found in many of the

Romanian constellations, this Serpent becomes the snake that tempted Eve

at the garden in Eden (Genesis 3:1-15; e.g. Wansbrough 1994, p.20).

A later Romanian belief translated Sarpele into the Road of Lost Men, i.e.

where sinners stray, afraid of the Second Coming of the Christian Messiah

and his Judgement.







There are several curious points about this.

On a physical level, the region of Ophiuchus-Serpens leads away westwards

from the brighter regions of the Milky Way, and so can literally be interpreted as

a “path” of stars leading off into the “darkness” away from the Milky Way.

The Milky Way itself is frequently perceived as an important, often royal,

road in the sky, sometimes one which dead souls must traverse after leaving

the Earth (cf. Allen 1963, pp.474-485; Olcott 1911, pp.391-398).

The Milky Way occasionally features mythically as a huge serpent as well,

but we will not pursue this point further here.







The constellation representing Eve’s tempting snake is frequently thought of

as Draco, although there is often confusion in trying to discover which of

the sky’s dragons may have been meant by the various biblical allusions

to such creatures (see for instance the discussion in Allen 1963, pp.202-203).

It is quite possible either Serpens/Sarpele or Draco would serve equally well.







As a coiling serpent, Sarpele might perhaps better be seen as the “crooked serpent”

found in the King James’ translation of the Bible (Job 25:13), although

more accurate modern translations suggest this should be “Fleeing Serpent”

(e.g. Wansbrough 1994, p.785).

As the Serpent in the Romanian Sky Myth was banished by the use of Hora,

the Ring Dance (see McBeath & Gheorghe 1997), the idea that

the “Fleeing Serpent” could be Sarpele/Serpens is certainly an interesting one.

Such an active term is distinctly more appropriate to the rapid motion of a

constellation across the southern sky during the night, than the apparently

very sluggish rotation of Draco near the celestial pole.

Wansbrough (1994; p.759, notes d and e) also indicates that this Serpent

was Leviathan, for which he additionally gives the term Dragon as synonymous.

He describes Leviathan as “a monster of primeval chaos” and further suggests

that this was the creature that swallowed the Sun in eclipses.

Again, we come back to Tiamat and the dragon.







Symbolically, we find two principal representations in the Romanian tales.

The first, and most important, is as a cunning, malevolent character (not

dissimilar to some of trickster/controller figures found in mythologies worldwide).

Tudor Pamfile’s folklore quotation in (Kernbach 1983) amends the

biblical temptation of Eve: “‘Listen to me, Eve’, said the Snake. ‘Adam thinks

we have fallen in love, and wants to separate us.’”; is one example.

Another comes from the ballad “The Snake” (collected by T. Balasel

from Oltenia in southern Romania).

Here, a mother curses her son to be “of the Snake”, because of the pains

he tortured her with at his birth.

When the boy grows up to be a young man, a great snake born the same day

as him appears, and swallows half of him.

Fortunately, the brave hero Dobrisan awakes in time to discover what is happening,

cuts open the snake, rescues the boy and purifies him by washing him in milk.







This echoes the biblical tale again, in that Eve’s punishment for being tempted

by the snake was to always suffer intense agonies in childbirth

(Genesis 3:16; e.g. Wansbrough 1994, p.20).

Milk as an anti-venom substance was discussed earlier in

(McBeath & Gheorghe 1997).







The second Romanian snake symbol concerns a small,

non-venomous type called Sarpele Casei, the “House Snake”.

Tudor Pamfile in (Kernsbach 1983) notes: “When the [house] snake flees

from a house, that house will remain unlived-in”, as a traditional Romanian belief.

There is a lower-level hint here of a belief similar to that in which if the ravens

leave the Tower of London, then England will cease to exist.

This belief seems to derive ultimately from the Celtic deity Bran the Blessed,

whose sacred bird was the raven, and whose head was thought to be buried in a hill,

perhaps Tower Hill, near London, protecting England from her enemies.

Something of this deity and his exploits can also be found in Romanian myths,

but that is another story.







………………………………………………….







ASTROPOETICAL FANTASY



-astropoem by Andrei Dorian Gheorghe-







“In the Romanian tradition, he who is pricked by a venomous monster



can be purified by milk.”







Cetus, Hydra and Serpens



Made a monstrous coalition



To destroy the Milky Way,



But every time the noble stars



Drive them away.



Then the Milky Way



Purifies the sky



From their poison,



Giving us fortunate mornings.





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



Two interesting links related to Draco Constellation and the ancient cult of the serpent in Pre-Tracia, Mesopotamia and Egypt:





D R A C O - Mythology and history

Origins of snake worship

the Revival of the Spirit
21:28 Nov 25 2007
Times Read: 1,280










Today was our first Euro-Parliamentary elections.

A historical moment I think.

I am proud because I voted and I hope that this will bring us closer to Freedom and Democracy!

The red vampires are loosing terrain and the freedom is near.

The sprit of wolf is rising again from the dead.

May our Egregor be close to us in those moments!

Definitions of Gothic
17:31 Nov 19 2007
Times Read: 1,296






Gothic (góØik)



1. adj. of or relating to the Goths or their language // of a form of art, esp. architecture, which flourished in Europe from the late 12th c. to the Renaissance // of or relating to a class of sensational novels of the late 18th and early 19th cc.dealing with macabre or mysterious events in medieval settings // (loosely) medieval // primitive, barbaric 2. n. the Gothic language, extant mainly in fragments of the Bible translated by Bishop Wulfila (4th c.), the sole representative of East Germanic // Gothic architecture // Gothic type [fr. L. gothicus] - Gothic architecture, a development of the earliest Romanesque, spread from N.W. France to flourish all over Europe in the 12th-15th cc., as far afield as Finland, Portugal and Sicily. Each country tended to produce a national style of Gothic (*DECORATED, *PERPENDICULAR). Its distinguishing features are pointed or ogival arch, elaborate stone vaulted roofs, clustered columns and rich stone carving. Development of technique led to high buildings with walls consisting very largely of windows, the great stresses being taken by the arches themselves, by pillars, and by buttresses, often flying buttresses. The Gothic church or cathedral, seeming to aspire eternally heavenwards, is naturally taken as a symbol of medieval spirituality. But Gothic is a term applied also to castles, palaces and houses, as well as sculpture, painting and the minor arts (the word is here loosely used to mean 'of the later Middle Ages'). In France, England and Germany, Gothic can be seen mingled with Romanesque or merging into the later Flamboyant style. A renewed appreciation of Gothic appeared in the 18th and early 19th cc. Interest in the Middle Ages became a cardinal doctrine of Romanticism and a symbol of revolt against rationalism. Scholarship developed, and 19th cc. architects in Europe and North America began to produce Gothic buildings of great correctness as well as some of high imagination. Gothic was also applied to municipal and industrial buildings, but by the 1880s the movement gave way to greater eclecticism.



Source: The New Lexicon Webster's Dictionary of The English Language (Encyclopedic Ed. 1989).









Gothi·cal·ly

adv.

Word History: The combination Gothic romance represents a union of two of the major influences in the development of European culture, the Roman Empire and the Germanic tribes that invaded it. The Roman origins of romance must be sought in the etymology of that word, but we can see clearly that Gothic is related to the name Goth used for one of those invading Germanic tribes. The word Gothic, first recorded in 1611 in a reference to the language of the Goths, was extended in sense in several ways, meaning Germanic, medieval, not classical, barbarous, and also an architectural style that was not Greek or Roman. Horace Walpole applied the word Gothic to his novel The Castle of Otranto, a Gothic Story (1765) in the sense medieval, not classical. From this novel filled with scenes of terror and gloom in a medieval setting descended a literary genre still popular today; from its subtitle descended the name for it.



Source: Dictionary.com

And Again
23:03 Nov 08 2007
Times Read: 1,306

SONET V





Trecut-au anii ca nori lungi pe sesuri

Si niciodata n-or sa vie iara,

Caci nu ma-ncânta azi cum se miscara

Povesti si doine, ghicitori, eresuri,

Ce fruntea-mi de copil o-nseninara,

Abia-ntelese, plin de-ntelesuri -

Cu-a tale umbre azi în van ma-npresuri,

O, ceas al tainei, asfintit de sara.



Sa smulg un sunet din trecutul vietii,

Sa fac, o, suflet, ca din nou sa tremuri

Cu mâna mea în van pe lira lunec;



Pierdut e totu-n zarea tineretii

Si muta-i gura dulce-a altor vremuri,

Iar timpul creste-n urma mea... ma-ntunec!



1883, dec.



Mihail Eminescu



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~



SONNET V





The years have passed like clouds across the dale;

The years have gone and will return no more,

For they no longer move me, as the lore

Of legend, and of song, and doina's tale

Brought wonder to my boyish brow of yore,

And mystery its meaning half unveil.

Your shade falls round me now to no avail,

O secret twilight hour on evening's shore.



To tear a sound out of the life that's gone,

To stir within my soul again its thrill

My hand upon the silent lyre is numb.



Ay, all is lost beneath youth's horizon,

The tender voice of bygone days is still,

While time rolls out behind me... I`m fading dark.



Translated by



Corneliu M. Popescu

Again Eminescu
23:00 Nov 08 2007
Times Read: 1,306

MORTUA EST





Faclie de veghe pe umezi morminte,

Un sunet de clopot in orele sfinte,

Un vis ce isi moaie aripa-n amar,

Astfel ai trecut de al lumii hotar.



Trecut-ai cand ceru-i campie senina,

Cu rauri de lapte si flori de lumina,

Cand norii cei negri par sombre palate,

De luna regina pe rand vizitate.



Te vad ca o umbra de-argint stralucita,

Cu-aripi ridicate la ceruri pornita,

Suind, palid suflet, a norilor schele,

Prin ploaie de raze, ninsoare de stele.



O raza te-nalta, un cantec te duce,

Cu bratele albe pe piept puse cruce,

Cand torsul s-aude l-al vrajilor caier

Argint e pe ape si aur in aer.



Vad sufletu-ti candid prin spatiu cum trece;

Privesc apoi lutul ramas...alb si rece,

Cu haina lui lunga culcat in sicriu,

Privesc la surasu-ti ramas inca viu-



Si-ntreb al meu suflet ranit de-ndoial,

De ce-ai murit, inger cu fata cea pala?

Au nu ai fost juna, n-ai fost tu frumoasa?

Te-ai dus spre a stinge o stea radioasa?



Dar poate acolo sa fie castele

Cu arcuri de aur zidite din stele,

Cu rauri de foc si cu poduri de-argint,

Cu tarmuri de smirna, cu flori care cant;



Sa treci tu prin ele, o sfanta regina,

Cu par lung de raze, cu ochi de lumina,

In haina albastra stropita cu aur,

Pe fruntea ta pala cununa de laur.



O, moartea e-un chaos, o mare de stele,

Cand viata-i o balta de vise rebele;

O, moartea-i un secol cu sori inflorit,

Cand viata-i un basmu pustiu si urat. -



Dar poate...o! capu-mi pustiu cu furtune,

Gandirile-mi rele sugrum cele bune...

Cand sorii se sting si cand stelele pica,

Imi vine a crede ca toate-s nimica.



Se poate ca bolta de sus sa se sparga,

Sa cada nimicul cu noaptea lui larga,

Sa vad cerul negru ca lumile-si cerne

Ca prazi trecatoare a mortii eterne...



S-atunci de-a fi astfel...atunci in vecie

Suflarea ta calda ea n-o sa invie,

Atunci graiu-ti dulce in veci este mut...

Atunci acest inger n-a fost decat lut.



Si totusi, tarana frumoasa si moarta,

De racla ta razim eu harfa mea sparta

Si moartea ta n-o plang, ci mai fericesc

O raza fugita din chaos lumesc.



S-apoi...cine stie de este mai bine

A fi sau a nu fi...dar stie orcine

Ca ceea ce nu e, nu simte dureri,

Si multe dureri-s, putine placeri.



A fi? Nebunie trista si goala;

Urechea ta minte si ochiul te-nseala;

Ce-un secol ne zice ceilalti o deszic.

Decat un vis sarbad, mai bine nimic.



Vad vise-ntrupate gonind dupa vise,

Pan' dau in morminte ce-asteapta deschise,

Si nu stiu gandirea-mi in ce sa o strang;

Sa rad ca nebunii? Sa-i blestem? Sa-i plang?



La ce?...Oare totul nu e nebunie?

Au moartea ta, inger, de ce fu sa fie?

Au ei sens in lume? Tu chip zambitor,

Trait-ai anume ca astfel sa mori?

De e sens intr-asta, e-ntors si ateu,

Pe palida-ti frunte nu-i scris Dumnezeu.



(1871, 1 martie)



Mihail Eminescu





~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~





MORTUA EST





Two candles, tall sentry, beside an earth mound,

A dream with wings broken that trail to the ground,

Loud flung from the belfry calamitous chime...

'Tis thus that you passed o'er the boundaries of time.



Gone by are the hours when the heavens entire

Flowed rivers of milk and grew flowers of fire,

When the thunderous clouds were but castles erect

Which the moon like a queen each in turn did inspect.



I see you a shadow bright silver transcending,

With wings high uplifted to heaven ascending,

I see you slow climbing through the sky's scaffold bars

Midst a tempest of light and a snowstorm of stars;



While the witches the sound of their spinning prolong,

Exalted in sunshine, swept up by a song,

O'er your breast like a saint your white arms crossed in prayer,

And gold on the water, and silver in the air.



I see your soul's parting, its flight I behold;

Then gaze at the clay that remains... mute and cold,

At the winding-sheet clung to the coffin's rude sill,

At your smile sweet and candid, that seems alive still.



And I ask times unending my soul torn with doubt,

O why, pallid angel, your light has gone out,

For were you not blameless and wonderfully fair?

Have you gone to rekindle a star in despair?



I fancy on high there are things without name,

Broad rivers of fire spanned by bridges of flame,

Strange castles that spires till the zenith up fling,

With stairways of incense and flowers that sing.



And you wander among them, a worshipful queen,

With hair of bright starlight and eyes vespertine,

In a tunic of turquoise bespattered with gold,

While a wreath of green laurels does your forehead enfold.



O, death is chaos, an ocean of stars gleaming,

While life is a quagmire of doubts and of dreaming.

Oh, death is an aeon of sun-blazoned spheres,

'While life but a legend of wailing and tears.



Through my head beats a whirlwind, a clamorous wrangle

Of thoughts and of dreams that despair does entangle;

For when suns are extinguished and meteors fall

The whole universe seems to mean nothing at all.



Maybe that one day the arched heavens will sunder,

And down through their break all the emptiness thunder,

Void's night o'er the earth its vast nothing extending,

The loot of an instant of death without ending.



If so, then forever your flame did succumb,

And forever your voice from today will be dumb.

If so, the hereafter can bring no rebirth.

If so, then this angel was nothing but earth.



And thus, lovely soil that breath has departed,

I stand by your coffin alone broken-hearted;

And yet I don't weep, rather praise for its fleeing

Your ray softly crept from this chaos of being.



For who shall dare which is ill and which well,

The is, or the isn't? Can anyone tell?

For he who is not, even grief can't destroy,

And oft is the grieving, and seldom the joy.



To exist! O, what nonsense, what foolish conceit;

Our eyes but deceive us, our ears but cheat,

What this age discovers, the next will deny,

Far better just nothing than naught but a lie.



I see dreams in men's clothing that after dreams chase,

But that tumble in tombs ere the end of the race,

And I search in my soul how this horror to fly,

To laugh like a madman? To curse? Or to cry?



O, what is the meaning? What sense does agree?

The end of such beauty, had that got to be?

Sweet seraph of clay where still lingers life's smile,

Just in order to die did you live for a while?

O, tell me the meaning. This angel or clod?

I find on her forehead no witness of God.



Translated by



Corneliu M. Popescu

Eminescu
22:48 Nov 08 2007
Times Read: 1,306

ODE (in antique metre)



by Mihai Eminescu



I little thought that I would learn to die;

Forever young, enveloped in my cloak,

My dreaming eyes I lifted to the star

Of solitude.



When of a sudden you stood in my way,

On, anguish you, of nameless suffering sweet...

And to the dregs I dank the draught of death

Unpardoning.



Miserably I burn alive like Nessus,

Or Hercules wrapped in his poisoned cloak;

The fire in me the boundless sea itself

Could never quench.



By my own dreams consumed, I endless wail;

At my own pile I am consumed in flame,

Shall I then luminous one day return

As does the Phoenix?



Tormenting eyes but vanish from my way,

Come to my breast again sad unconcern;

That I may die in peace at last, myself

Give back to me.



1883 december





Translated by



Corneliu M. Popescu











ODA (în metru antic)





Nu credeam sã-nvãt a muri vrodatã;

Pururi tânãr, înfãsurat în manta-mi,

Ochii mei nãltam visãtori la steaua

Singurãtãtii.



Când deodatã tu rãsãrisi în cale-mi,

Suferintã tu, dureros de dulce...

Pân-în fund bãui voluptatea mortii

Nendurãtoare.



Jalnic ard de viu chinuit ca Nessus,

Ori ca Hercul înveninat de haina-i;

Focul meu a-l stinge nu pot cu toate

Apele mãrii.



De-al meu propriu vis, misuit mã vaiet,

Pe-al meu propriu rug, mã topesc în flãcãri...

Pot sã mai renviu luminos din el ca

Pasãrea Phoenix?



Piarã-mi ochii turburãtori din cale,

Vino iar în sân, nepãsare tristã;

Ca sã pot muri linistit, pe mine

Mie redã-mã!



(1883, decembrie)



Mihail Eminescu

I`m a Fire Snake
16:34 Nov 06 2007
Times Read: 1,312




FIRE SNAKE Chinese Horoscope

Jan 23, 1917 to Feb 10, 1918

Feb 18, 1977 to Feb 6, 1978



Snake people enter a room and there is Music, Music, Joy! Everyone dances! Such high spirit! The Snake is so intense and passionate, just as likely to take out the castanets as to climb mountains of snow. Snake year people are charming and romantic, often planning delightful hideaway surprises. Possessing tremendous wisdom, they are deep, quiet thinkers, calm by nature, but most intense. They often get involved in great causes, bigger than life, and often serve as mentors to the young. To paraphrase Confucius, they have a kind of inner beauty that arises, hovers, then comes to nest. They will have an abundance of good fortune and a long and prosperous life.



Sharkfin Soup and Chinese Cabbage are among keys to good health!!





The Fire Snake is like a meteor in the sky, brilliant and alive. With spellbinding eloquence, the Snake converses with conviction on a broad range of topics, but realizes that good conversation lies as much in the listening as the talking. The Snake does both very well, raising communication to a very high and elegant art. People love to be in the company of this very graceful Fire Snake, who is always pleasant, provocative, humorous, and quick witted. With split second reflexes, they are constantly conceiving new ideas and coming up with new schemes. This entrepreneurial spirit makes headlines and the Fire Snake is much admired. Because of their ambition, perseverance, and infinite patience, and wise financial moves made early in life, their fortunes grow steadily. By the time middle age arrives, financial fortune is truly theirs. Relationships follow the same path, through faithfulness, perseverance, and willingness to make relationships really work, the future is always bright.



Famous Snake People: Mao Tse-tong, Mahatma Gandhi, Indira Gandhi, Ferdinand Marcos, Abraham Lincoln, Lady Pamela Mountbatten, Martin Luther King, Grace Kelly, Jacqueline Kennedy, Edgar Allen Poe, Prime Minister Tony Blair, Bob Dylan

Mnemosyne
16:07 Nov 06 2007
Times Read: 1,315












Mnemosyne



by Holderlin





—Third version







The fruits are ripe, dipped in fire,

Cooked and sampled on earth. And there's a law,

That things crawl off in the manner of snakes,

Prophetically, dreaming on the hills of heaven.

And there is much that needs to be retained,

Like a load of wood on the shoulders.

But the pathways are dangerous.

The captured elements and ancient laws of earth

Run astray like horses. There is a constant yearning

For all that is unconfined. But much needs

To be retained. And loyalty is required.

Yet we mustn't look forwards or backwards.

We should let ourselves be cradled

As if on a boat rocking on a lake.



But what about things that we love?

We see sun shining on the ground, and the dry dust,

And at home the forests deep with shadows,

And smoke flowering from the rooftops,

Peacefully, near the ancient crowning towers.

These signs of daily life are good,

Even when by contrast something divine

Has injured the soul.

For snow sparkles on an alpine meadow,

Half-covered with green, signifying generosity

Of spirit in all situations, like flowers in May —

A wanderer walks up above on a high trail

And speaks irritably to a friend about a cross

He sees in the distance, set for someone

Who died on the path... what does it mean?



My Achilles

Died near a fig tree,

And Ajax lies in the caves of the sea

Near the streams of Skamandros —

Great Ajax died abroad

Following Salamis' inflexible customs,

A rushing sound at his temples —

But Patroclus died in the King's armor.

Many others died as well.

But Eleutherai, the city

Of Mnemosyne, once stood upon

Mount Kithaeron. Evening

Loosened her hair, after the god

Had removed his coat.

For the gods are displeased

If a person doesn't compose

And spare himself.

But one has to do it,

And grief is soon gone.











Holderlin in 1786

(16 years old)











Once gods walked…



by Holderlin







Once gods walked among humans,

The splendid Muses and youthful Apollo

Inspired and healed us, just like you.

And you are to me as if one of the Holy Ones

Had sent me forth into life, and the image

Of my beloved goes with me,

And wherever I stay and whatever I learn,

I learned and gained it from her,

With a love that lasts until death.



Then let us live, you with whom I suffer

And inwardly strive towards better times

In faith and loyalty. For we are the ones.

And if people should remember us both

In years to come, when Spirit again prevails,

They'd say that these lonely ones lovingly

Created a secret world, known to the gods alone.

The earth will take back those concerned

With impermanent things: others climb higher

To ethereal Light who've been faithful

To the love inside themselves, and to the spirit

Of the gods. Thus they master Fate

In patience, hope and quietness.