Ovid - Metamorphoses (Perseus) lyrics

Perseus and Andromeda A great consolation to them in their altered form Was their grandson, worshipped now in conquered India, And adored as well in Achaean temples. Only Acrisius, son of Abas, born O f the same stock as the god, still banned him From his city, Argos, campaigning against him And refusing to admit he was Jupiter's son. Nor would he admit that Perseus, whom Danae Had conceived in golden rain, was Jupiter's son. But truth has its own power, and Acrisius Soon regretted that he had repulsed the god And not acknowledged his grandson. The one Had now been installed in heaven; the other Was soaring through thin air on whistling wings, Bearing the snake-haired monster's memorable spoils. As the victor hovered over the Libyan desert Bloody drops from the Gorgon's head fell down And were received by Earth, who reanimated them As various species of snakes, and this is why The land there swarms with poisonous vipers. From there he was driven by conflicting winds Like a raincloud through vast regions of air. He flew over the whole world, looking down From dizzying heights on distant lands. Three times He saw the cold stars of the Bears, and thrice The Crab's claws. He was blown more than once Beyond the western horizon, and into the east, And now as the day faded, wary of the night He put down in the farthest reaches of the west, In Atlas' kingdom, hoping to catch a few hours sleep Before the Morning Star summoned Aurora And Aurora in turn the chariot of Day. Here Atlas, Son of Iapetus, who for sheer bulk Exceeded all men, ruled the edge of the world And the sea that welcomes the Sun's panting horses And his weary chariot. He had a thousand flocks, And as many herds of cattle, wandering Gra**y plains that stretched on without borders. And there was a tree whose golden leaves Concealed golden branches and apples of gold. "My lord," Perseus said to him, "if high birth Carries any weight with you, mine is from Jupiter; Or if you admire great deeds, you'll admire mine. I ask for hospitality and a place to rest." But Atlas remembered an ancient prophecy Given to him by Themis on Mount Parna**us: "Atlas, a day will come when your tree will be stripped Of all its gold, and a son of Jupiter will take the credit." Fearing this, Atlas had enclosed his orchard With ma**ive walls, and set a huge dragon to guard it, And he kept all strangers away from his borders. Now he said to Perseus, "Get out of here, Or your supposed glory and that Jupiter of yours Will be long gone." His heavy hands backed up The threat with force. Perseus interspersed Gentle words into his heroic resistance, But finding himself outmanned (who could outman Atlas himself?) he said to him, "Well, now, Since you are able to show me so little kindness, Here's a little kindness for you!" And turning away, He held out on his left the horrible head O f the Gorgon Medusa. As big as he was, Atlas immediately turned into a mountain Of just the same size. His hair and beard Were changed into trees, and into ridges His shoulders and hands. What had been his head Was now a summit, and his bones became stones. Then every part grew to an enormous size- For you gods wished it so -and the entire sky With all its many stars now rested upon him. Aeolus, son of Hippotas, had confined the winds Under Mount Etna, and the Morning Star, Who rouses us to work, shone brightest of all In the eastern sky. Perseus strapped on His feathered sandals, slung on his scimitar, And cut through the pure air in a blur of winged feet. Leaving in his wake innumerable nations, He now had a clear view of Ethiopia And the lands of Cepheus. There Jupiter Ammon Had unjustly ordered that innocent Andromeda Pay the penalty for the arrogant tongue Ofher mother, Ca**iopeia. When Perseus, Abas' great-grandson, first saw her chained to the rock, He might have thought she was a marble statue, Except that a light breeze was rippling her hair, And warm tears flowed down from her eyes. Perseus Was stunned. Entranced by the vision Of the beauty before him, he almost forgot To keep beating his wings. As soon as he had landed, He said, "Surely you do not deserve these bonds, But those that tie true lovers together. Please, Tell me your name, and the name of your country, And tell me why you are wearing these chains." At first she was silent, a virgin not daring To address a man, and out of modesty She would have hidden her face with her hands If they had not been fastened behind her. All she could do was let her eyes fill with tears. Only when he had asked again and again, And only because she did not wish to create The impression of concealing a fault of her own, Did she tell him her name, the name of her country, And how overconfident her mother was In her own beauty. The girl was still speaking, When the sea roared, and a monster rose from the deep, Breasting the waves as it came toward the shore. The girl screamed; her grieving father and mother Stood at her side, both wretched, the mother perhaps With more justification. They bring no aid, Only tears and laments to suit the occasion As they clasp her fettered body. Then the stranger speaks: "There will be plenty of time for tears But only a brief hour to come to the rescue. If I asked for this girl's hand as Perseus, Son of Jupiter and that imprisoned Danae Whom the god impregnated with his golden rain; The Perseus who conquered the snake-haired Gorgon; Who braved the stratosphere on soaring wings- Surely I would be preferred to all other suitors As your son-in-law. Now, if the gods favor me, I will try to add meritorious service To what else I bring, my bargain being That the girl, saved by my valor, will be mine." Her parents accept the proposal (who would refuse it?) And promise a kingdom, as well, for a dowry. Behold now the monster cutting through the waves Like a warship driven to ramming speed By the sweat-covered arms of a crew of rowers. When it was as far from the cliff as a Balearic sling Can fire a lead bullet through the air, the young hero Pushed off hard and ascended high among the clouds. When the shadow ofa man appeared on the water, The sea monster savaged the apparition; And, as Jupiter's eagle, when it sees a snake Sunning its mottled back in an open field, Seizes it from behind, eagerly sinking its talons Into its scaly neck lest it twist its fangs back, So the descendant of Inachus, swooping down Through empty space, attacked the bellowing monster's back, Poised at its right shoulder, and buried his curved blade Up to the hilt in its neck. Gravely wounded, It reared high in the air, then dove underwater, And then turned like a boar when a pack of hounds Is baying around it. Perseus evaded The snapping jaws on flashing wings, his scimitar Slashing the monster wherever it was exposed- Its barnacled back. its ribcage, and where its spine Tapered into the tail of a fish. The beast belches Seawater mixed with purple blood, and Perseus' wings Are becoming so soggy with all the spume That he can no longer trust them. He spots A ledge exposed when the sea is calm, but hidden Whenever the waves run high. He steadies himself here, Taking hold of the rock face with his left hand, And plunges his sword three times and once more Into the monster's gut. The shore is filled With wild applause that reaches the heavens. Ca**iopeia and Cepheus rejoice And hail Perseus as their son-in-law, The pillar of their household and its savior. Forth from her chains steps Andromeda unbound, The motive for Perseus' feat and the prize. The victor washes his hands in a basin of water, And so the hard sand won't hurt that viperous face, He makes a bed of leaves, strews seaweed on top, And rests upon this the head of Medusa, Daughter of Phorcys. The seaweed's porous tendrils Absorb the monster's power and congeal, Taking on a new stiffness in their stems and leaves. The sea nymphs test this wonder on more tendrils And, delighted to find the result confirmed, Scatter these tendrils as seeds in the sea. Even now coral has retained this property, So that its sterns, pliant under water, Turn to stone once exposed to the air. Perseus now builds three turf altars, one for each Of three gods: the left for Mercury, the right For you, virgin warrior, the center for Jove. He sacrifices a heifer to Minerva, A calf to the winged god, and to you, O greatest of gods, a bull. Then he claims Andromeda, without a dowry, as the reward For his heroic act. Hymen and Amor Shake the marriage torches; the fires are fed With rich incense; flowers hang from the roofs; Lyre, flute, and chorales permeate the air, Giving sweet testimony of joyful hearts. The ma**ive double doors swing open to reveal The golden central court with tables already set, And noble Ethiopians stream in to the banquet. When they had finished the feast and their spirits Were swimming in wine, Bacchus' generous gift, Perseus inquired about the local customs, Who the people were and what they were like. The guest who answered said to him in turn, "Now tell us, Perseus, by what prowess, what arts, You made off with that head and its curls of snakes?" And so the hero in the line of Agenor Told them about a cave hidden in the rock Under the frozen slopes of Atlas. At its entrance The Graiae lived, twin daughters of Phorcys, Who shared the use of a single eye, which the hero Cleverly stole as they pa**ed it back and forth. Then he made his way through trackless lands, A barren landscape of blasted trees and rocks, To where the Gorgons lived. In the fields there And along the paths he saw the shapes of men And of animals who had been changed to stone By Medusa's gaze. But he managed to glimpse Her dread form reflected in the polished bronze Of a circular shield strapped to his left arm. And while the snakes and Medusa herself Were sound asleep, he severed her head from her neck, And the winged horse Pegasus and his brother, The warrior Chrysaor, were born from her blood. He went on to tell of his long journeys And the dangers he faced-all of this true- The seas and the lands he had seen far below, And the stars he had brushed with his beating wings. When he finished his tale they still wanted more, And one of them asked why Medusa alone Among her sisters had snakes in her hair. The guest replied: "Here's the reason, a tale in itself. She was once very beautiful and sought by many, And was admired most for her beautiful hair. I met someone who recalled having seen her. They say that Neptune, lord of the sea, Violated her in a temple of Minerva. The goddess hid her chaste eyes behind her aegis, But so that the crime would not go unpunished, She changed the Gorgon's hair to loathsome snakes, Which the goddess now, to terrify her enemies With numbing fear, wears on her breastplate." 5.1-289 While Danae's heroic son was speaking Among the Ethiopians, the royal halls Were filled with an uproar, not the kind of sound That goes with marriage songs, but that announces Armed strife. The feast was in sudden tumult. Not unlike the sea when raging winds Roughen its quiet water to churning waves. Front and center was Phineus, the king's brother And a born troublemaker, brandishing an ash spear Tipped with bronze. "Take a good look," he said, "At the man who will avenge the theft of his bride. Your wings won't get you out of this, nor will Jupiter, changed to fool's gold!" He was on the verge Of hurling his spear when Cepheus cried out: "What are you doing, brother? What madness Is driving you to crime? Is this how you repay Extraordinary service? Is this the dowry For saving the girl's life? If you want the truth, It was not Perseus who took her away from you, But horned Ammon, the Nereids' dread deity, And the sea monster who came to glut himself On my own flesh and blood. It was when she was Doomed to d**h that you lost her, unless perhaps It is her d**h now that you cruelly demand, To ease your grief with mine. It was not enough For you to look on without lifting a finger While she was being chained, uncle though you were And promised husband. No, you'll take it hard That someone did save her, and rob him of his prize. If the prize seemed so great, you should have taken it From the rocks where it was chained. Now let the man Who did take it-and saved me from a childless old age- Keep what he has earned and has been promised him, A man preferred not to you but to my daughter's d**h." Phineus said nothing, but kept shifting his gaze Between Cepheus and Perseus, undecided Where to aim his spear. After a short delay He hurled it at Perseus with all the strength Wrath could give it, but the throw came to nothing, And the spear stuck in the bench. Perseus then Furiously returned the throw and would have hit Phineus Right in the heart, but the wretch had sought refuge Behind the altar and unworthily found it there. But the weapon still had some effect, hitting Rhoetus Full in the face. Rhoetus went down, and when the spear Was yanked from the bone, he thrashed about And his blood spattered the banquet tables. The mob got into it now, tempers flaring, Spears flying around, and some saying that Cepheus Should go down with his son-in-law. But the king Had already withdrawn from the palace, Calling to witness Justice and Faith, and all the gods Who protect strangers and guests, that this was done Under his protest. And then Pallas was there, The warrior goddess, shielding her brother Behind her aegis and giving him courage. There, too, was an Indian boy, whom Limnaee, A nymph of the Ganges, is said to have borne Under her gla**y stream. His outstanding beauty- He was a well-knit sixteen-was enhanced By his rich attire: a gold-fringed purple mantle, A golden necklace, and a circlet of gold Clasping his hair, which was perfumed with myrrh. He could hit quite distant targets with a javelin But was even better with his bow, which he was now In the act of bending, when Perseus snatched up A torch smoldering on the altar and When his companion Lycabas, an Assyrian Close to the boy and his avowed true lover, Saw him gasping out his life through that bitter wound, His exquisite features now a ma** of blood, He wept aloud for his beloved Atthis, And then picked up the bow that the boy had bent And cried, "It's between you and me now, And you won't have long to celebrate a d**h That brings you contempt rather than glory." His words weren't out before the piercing arrow Flashed from the string, but it only hung up In a fold of Perseus' robe. Acrisius' grandson Turned upon Lycabas the sickled sword That had seen Medusa off and drove it home Into his chest. But even as he was dying, His eyes swimming in the dark, he looked around For Atthis, and let his body fall down beside him, Taking to the shadows the consolation That they had been together even in d**h. Then Phorbas of Syenes, Merion's son, And Libyan Amphimedon, eager to fight, Slipped on the blood that covered the floor And went down hard. As they tried to get up The sword came down, through the ribs of the latter And through Phorbas' throat. When Perseus encountered Actor's son, Eurytus, who swung a broad battle-axe, He sheathed his scimitar and lifted high with both hands A huge mixing bowl, embossed and ma**ive, And flung it at the man. He spewed up red blood As he lay on his back, and in his d**h He beat the floor with his head. -
Then Perseus k**ed Polydaemon, a descendant of Semiramis, Abaris from the Caucasus, Lycetus, Whose home was near the Spercheios River, Unshorn Helices, Phlegyas, and Clytus, As he slogged his way through heaps of the dying. Phineus did not dare to close with his enemy But threw another javelin, which hit Idas By accident. Favoring neither side, Idas had kept out of the fight, but now, Glaring at the unsympathetic Phineus, He said, "Since I'm forced into this, Phineus, You have a new enemy. It's wound for wound now." And just as he was about to hurl back the spear He had pulled from his own body, he collapsed, All of the blood having drained from his limbs. Then Hodites, the foremost Ethiopian After the king, fell to Clymenus' sword; Hypseus hit Prothoenor; and Lyncides, Hypseus. There was one old man there, Emathion, who loved justice and feared the gods. Too old for battle, he fought with his tongue now, And strode forward cursing their iniquitous arms. As he clung to the altar with trembling hands Chromis' sword lopped off his head, which fell Down on the altar, and kept uttering curses With its half-alive tongue until it exhaled The last of its life amid the sacred fires. Two brothers next fell by Phineus' hand, Broteas and Ammon, invincible boxers, If only they could outbox swords. Ampycus Fell also, Ceres· priest, temples bound in white; And you fell also, Lampetides, a musician Invited to grace the feast with your lyre And sing the festal song. As he stood to one side Holding a peaceable quill, Petalus mocked him: "Sing the rest of your song to the Stygian shades!" And he drove his spear through Lampetides' temple. His dying fingers touched the strings of his lyre And as he fell there arose a few plaintive notes. Enraged at the sight, Lycormas would not let His d**h go unavenged. Prying a heavy bar From the right doorpost he broke Petalus· neck; The man sank to the earth like a slaughtered bull. Cinyphian Pelates, trying to pry Another bar from the doorpost's left side, Had his good right hand pinned to the wood By the spear of Corythus of Marmarida. Stuck like that, Abas drilled him; he did not fall When he died, but hung from the post by his hand. Melanius, one of Perseus' men, went down, As did Dorylas, the richest man in Nasamonia- An extensive estate, huge stores of spices- With a spear in his groin entering from the side, A fatal spot. The spear had been cast By Halcyoneus of Bactria, who said As he watched Dorylas rolling his eyes And coughing up his life, "Of all your lands, The land you lie on is all you have now." And he left the bleeding body. Perseus Lost no time avenging him, pulling the spear From the still warm wound and driving it into Halcyoneus' nose, down through his neck And out the other side. While he had a lucky hand He dispatched Clytius and Clanis, Born of one mother, with two different wounds, Stitching Clytius' thighs with a mammoth spear thrust, And shoving another down Clanis' throat. Other casualties were Mendesian Celadon; Astraeus, born of a Syrian mother, Father unknown; Aethion, formerly a seer, Who did not see this coming;Thoactes, The king's armor-bearer; and Agyrtes, Whose fame was that he had k**ed his father. There were many more left for the exhausted hero, United in their will to obliterate him In a cause that rejected fidelity and honor. On his side stood his loyal but helpless Father-in-law, his new wife and her mother, Filling the hall with their quavering shrieks, Which were drowned out by the sound of clashing arms And the groans of men dying, while Bellona Drenched with blood the polluted household gods And did all she could to keep the battle going. Perseus, surrounded by a thousand men With Phineus at their head-spears flying \Thicker than winter hail past flanks, eyes, ears- Stands with his back against a great stone column And, protected in this way from the rear, faces The oncoming onslaught. Chaonian Molpeus Leads the attack on the left, and on the right Ethemon of Arabia. Just as a hungry tigress Hears bulls bellowing in two separate valleys And cannot decide which one to rush upon But burns to rush upon both, so too Perseus Did not know whether to strike right or left. He went with Molpeus, wounding him in the leg, And then let him go because Ethemon was on him, Going for his neck with a swing ofhis sword, Strong but poorly aimed, and hitting instead The edge of a column. The blade broke off And stuck in the man's throat, not deeply enough To k** him outright but leaving him standing there Trembling and stretching out his empty hands As Perseus gutted him with Mercury's sword. But when the hero saw strength yielding to numbers, "Since you force me to," he cried, "I will enlist the aid Ofmy enemy. Hide your face if you are a friend." And he lifted high the head of the Gorgon. Theseclus shouted at him, "Go work your miracles on somebody else," And raising his lethal javelin Adhered to this pose as a marble statue. Ampyx was next, thrusting his sword at Perseus' heart, But in midthrust his right hand stiffened and froze. Then Nileus, who lied that he was born of the Nile, And who had its seven mouths engraved on his shield In silver and gold, cried, "See, O Perseus, The great source from which I have sprung. It will be a consolation to you among the shades That you died at the hand ofso mighty a man." The words died on his lips, which looked like They were still trying to speak, but through which No speech emerged. Eryx rebuked these two, saying, "You're stiff because you're scared, not because of Some Gorgon. Run up with me and let's lay low This wizard warrior." He had begun to run, But the floor held his feet, and there he stayed, A motionless rock and an armored image. These at least deserved their punishment, But there was one, a soldier on Perseus' side Named Aconteus, who in the course of the fight Happened to look on the Gorgon's face And hardened into stone. Astyages, Mistaking him for a still living man, Brought his sword down on him, and the blade Rang shrilly. While Astyages stared dumbly, The same force acted on him, and he stood With an astonished look on his marble face. It would take too long for the whole roll call. Two hundred warm bodies survived the battle; The Gorgon's gaze turned two hundred to stone. Phineus now repents. The battle was unjust. But what can he do? He sees figures In various postures and recognizes his men. He calls them by name, asks for their help, And not trusting his eyes he touches those Closest to him. They were marble. He turns away And stretching out sideways suppliant hands That admit defeat, he says, "Perseus, You win. Just remove that petrifying thing, Whatever it is, that Medusa, just take it away, I beg you. It wasn't hatred or lust for the throne That drove me to war. I fought for my wife. Your claim was better, mine just earlier. It's all right; I yield. I only ask for my life, O bravest of men, and all the rest is yours." As he spoke he did not dare to look At the man he was supplicating, who said, "Phineus, most cowardly of men, What I can give you-and it is a great good thing For a slug like you-I will certainly give. You will not die by my sword. Instead you will be A monument that will last through the ages And always on view in my wife's father's house, A statue to remind her of her plighted lo He spoke, and brought the Gorgon's head around Where Phineus had turned his terror-stricken face, And even as he tried to avert his eyes, his neck Stiffened, the tears on his cheeks hardened to stone, And the cowardly face, the suppliant expression, The pleading hands, and the guilty look Are all permanent in the marble statue. Victorious Perseus now enters with his bride His ancestral city, and to avenge his grandfather, Who did not deserve vengeance, he wages war Against his uncle, Proetus, who had driven out His brother Acrisius and seized the citadel. But neither Proetus' armed might nor his possession Of the citadel, which he had unjustly seized, Could resist the dread gaze of the snake-crowned monster. And you, Polydectes, ruler of tiny Seriphos, Were mollified neither by the proven valor Of the young hero, nor by his suffering, But remained hard in your inexorable hatred, Nor was there an end to your iniquitous wrath. You withheld praise, denied honor, and even claimed That the d**h of Medusa was only a lie. "We will give you certain proof," Perseus said To the king; and then to his friends, "Shield your eyes!" And with the face of the Gorgon Medusa He changed the king's face into bloodless stone.