A Gift to Pallas Athena: Greek Anthology vi.10

An Altar for Marriage-Shunning Athena

Name:  Antipater of Sidon Date:    2nd – 1st century BCE Region:     Sidon [modern Lebanon] Citation:     Greek Anthology 6.10

African born, our savior, marriage-shunning daughter of Jupiter,

Pallas Athena, virgin goddess in charge of her virginity,

Seleucus, obedient to Apollo's prophetic words, 

Has made this altar adorned with horns for you.

Τριτογενὲς, Σώτειρα, Διὸς φυγοδέμνιε κούρα, Παλλάς, ἀπειροτόκου δεσπότι παρθενίης, βωμόν τοι κεραοῦχον ἐδείματο τόνδε Σέλευκος, Φοιβείαν ἰαχὰν φθεγγομένου στόματος.

Tritogenia, Sospitatrix, Jovis filia lecti-genialis-inimica, Pallas, puerperii-expertis domina virginitatis, aram tibi cornibus-instructam posuit hanc Seleucus, Phoebeam vocem edente ore. Translated into Latin by Johann Friedrich Duebner

Antipater of Sidon [2nd – 1st century BCE, modern Lebanon] was a Greek poet who lived under Roman rule during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Dozens of his poems were preserved in the Greek Anthology.