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English Pages 150 [168] Year 2019
TO OF
THE
GODS
HELLAS
COMPILED AND PUBLISHED FOR THE
ASSOCIATE ALUMNAE OF BARNARD COLLEGE BY THE
ALUMNAE COUNCIL
TO T H E G O D S OF H E L L A S LYRICS OF THE GREEK GAMES AT BARNARD COLLEGE EDITED BY
HELEN
ERSKINE
N E W YORK C O L U M B I A U N I V E R S I T Y PRESS
1930
Copyright 1930 COLUMBIA U N I V E R S I T Y
PRESS
Published March, 1930
PRINTED IN T H E U N I T E D S T A T E S OP AMERICA T H E PLIMPTON P R E S S , NORWOOD, MASS.
BY
THE RUNNER
(FRONTISPIECE)
The line of Greek engraved on the base of the statue by Agamemnon. Chester Beach is taken from Aeschylus' tragedy In form the letters are such as were commonly used for inscriptions at Athens about 400 B.C. In the modern type the line looks thus: 5'
& wpuTOi
Kai
TtXeuraios
Spafulw.
" Victor is he that runs first and l a s t . " In the original passage Clytemnestra is describing the chain of fire-signals by means of which the news of the capture of Troy was relayed to Argos. With splendid imagery she puts into her account an allusion to the torch-race, a form of contest apparently introduced at Athens not long before 4 5 8 B.C., the date of the first production of Agamemnon. The victory is said to g o to " the first and last runner " because all the runners, not merely the final one, of the winning side, are responsible for it.
v
E12
KOPHN
AAMIIAAHOPON
Al\pa Tptxovcra KÓprj, ap' olad' cnrôdev