M/M: A Lost Soul, Missed by All...and Loved By Me, Plato, Greek Anthology 7.99

Name: Plato Date: 428 BCE – 348 BCE Region: Athens [modern Greece] Citation:  Greek Anthology 7.99

The Fates spun a life of tears

For Hecuba* and the wives of Troy

The minute they were born.

But in your case, Dion**,

after you had completed your accomplishments & achievements,

They dashed all of your hopes and dreams.

And now you lie revered throughout your bustling country,

O Dion, you who have burned my soul with love.

 

* Hecuba (Hekabe) was the Queen of Troy during the Trojan War

** This is Dion of Syracuse

δάκρυα μὲν Ἑκάβῃ τε καὶ Ἰλιάδεσσι γυναιξὶ

Μοῖραι ἐπέκλωσαν δή ποτε γεινομέναις:

σοὶ δέ, Δίων, ῥέξαντι καλῶν ἐπινίκον ἔργων

δαίμονες εὐρείας ἐλπίδας ἐξέχεαν:

κεῖσαι δ᾽ εὐρυχόρῳ ἐν πατρίδι τίμιος ἀστοῖς,

ὦ ἐμὸν ἐκμήνας θυμὸν ἔρωτι Δίων.

Lacrimas quidem Hecubaeque et Iliacis matronis

Parcae neverunt* olim modo nascentibus;

tibi autem, Dio, postquam-confecisti pulchrorum triumphum factorum

dii amplas spes effuderunt.

Iaces vero lata in patria honoratus civibus,

o meus vehementius-qui-incendisti-animum amore Dio.

 

*neo, -ere: to spin

 Translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

 

Plato [428 BCE – 348 BCE, modern Greece] was an Athenian philosopher who is considered one of the most influential minds of Greek thought. Using his predecessor Socrates as his mouthpiece, he composed a number of philosophical dialogues that explored various ethical, philosophical, and moral concepts. He was the founder of the Athenian Academy, and was the mentor of the famous philosopher Aristotle.