Simonides of Ceos

Simonides of Ceos (c. 556 BC – 469 BC) was a Greek lyric poet.

Quotes

Not even the gods fight against necessity.

• ὦ ξεῖν', ἀγγέλλειν Λακεδαιμονίοις ὅτι τῇδε
  κείμεθα τοῖς κείνων ῥήμασι πειθόμενοι. (wrongly attributed)
• Ō xein', angellein Lakedaimoniois hoti tē(i)de
  keimetha tois keinōn rhēmasi peithomenoi.
• [Word-for-word translation]
  O stranger, announce to the Lacadaemonians [Spartans] that here
  We lie, to their words [or laws] obedient.
  • Go, tell the Spartans, stranger passing by
    That here, obedient to their laws, we lie.
  • Epitaph on the Cenotaph of Thermopylae, recorded by Herodotus.
  • Note: There is a long unsolved dispute around the interpretation of the word rhemasi, such as laws, words or orders.
  • Variant translations:
    • Go, tell the Spartans, thou who passest by,
      That here obedient to their laws we lie.
    • Stranger, go tell the men of Lacedaemon
      That we, who lie here, did as we were ordered.
    • Stranger, bring the message to the Spartans that here
      We remain, obedient to their orders.
    • Oh foreigner, tell the Lacedaemonians
      That here we lie, obeying their words.
    • Go, tell the Spartans, passerby,
      that here by Spartan law we lie.
    • Go, tell the Spartans
      stranger passing by,
      that here, obedient to Spartan law,
      we dead of Sparta lie

• Here lies Megistias, who died
  When the Medes crossed Spercheius' tide.
  A great seer, yet he scorned to save
  Himself, and shared the Spartans' grave.
  • Epitaph of the Spartan Diviner, Megistias, at Thermopylae

• ἀνάγκῃ δ᾽ οὐδὲ θεοὶ μάχονται.
• "Anankei d' oude theoi makhontai."
  • Not even the gods fight against necessity.
  • Quoted by Plato in the dialogue Protagoras, 345d (Simonides Fr. 37.1.27 ff.).
  • Variant translations:
    • The gods do not fight against necessity.
    • Not even the gods war against necessity.
    • I praise and love all men who do no sin willingly; but with necessity even the gods do not contend.

• We did not flinch but gave our lives to save Greece when her fate hung on a razor's edge.
  • From the Cenotaph at the Isthmos

• … ζωγραφίαν ποίησιν σιωπῶσαν προσαγορεύει [sc. ὁ Σιμωνίδης], τὴν δὲ ποίησιν ζωγραφίαν λαλοῦσαν.
• … zographian poiesin sioposan prosagoreuei, ten de poiesin zographian lalousan.
  • Painting is silent poetry, and poetry painting that speaks.
  • Quoted by Plutarch, De gloria Atheniensium 3.346f.
  • Variant translations:
    • Painting is silent poetry, and poetry is painting with the gift of speech.
    • Painting is silent poetry, poetry is eloquent painting.
  • See also: Ut pictura poesis

External links

• Simonides from the Age of Fable by Thomas Bullfinch (at Bartleby.com)
• The 'Simonides Agon' as a Pivotal Discourse in Plato's Protagoras
• Simonides, Elegies: second century AD Photos of fragments (click on pictures for larger images)
• Book Review of The New Simonides : Contexts of Praise and Desire