The Athenaid

An April zephyr, with reviving sweets From gay Euboea's myrtle-border'd meads, Perfumes his breath, scarce ruffling in his course The pearly robe of morn. A ready skiff The Carian hero mounts; the gale, though soft, To him is adverse. From a rapid keel Of Oreus, lo! Sicinus lifts a sign Of salutation. Haliartus joins The faithful man, and joyfully relates His acquisition of Acanthé's hand. To good Sicinus grateful sounds the tale, Who thus replies: To Athens I proceed. No sooner march'd the warriors to their homes, Than, disengag'd from public care, my lord Address'd me thus: Sicinus, spread the sail, To Athens fly; my wife and offspring waft To my embraces; that, while gentle rest Remits the labours of my limbs disarm'd, I with Timothea, she with me, may share The past success, and taste of present joy. Thee, Haliartus, she esteems; thy fame, Exploits and fortune will augment her bliss. But of this friendly gale a moment more I must not lose. His vessel sails along; The other slowly with laborious strokes Of oars contends for passage, till broad noon Flames on the laurell'd poops and colours gay Of Athens and Troezene; on whose decks, Emblaz'd with spoils, and trophies, Phoebus pours His whole effulgence. Back to Attic strands They steer in view. To fifes and trumpets clear From ev'ry vessel in a blended sound Reply the concave shores. Now sudden shifts The wind, and checks their progress; but permits Glad Haliartus close behind the helm Of Aeschylus to pass. The choral notes Of triumph then were hush'd. The warrior-bard, Who had so well accomplish'd all his charge, Like Jove in judgment, on the plain like Mars, Sat in oblivion of his arms, which lay Beside him. O'er the Heliconian hill In thought he wander'd, and invok'd the Muse To sing of civic harmony. The Muse To Aristides, and the conqu'ring son Of Neocles united, touch'd the lyre With melody rejoicing at their names. The Attic warriors throng'd the silent decks, The shrouds and yards. Attention clos'd their lips, Their minds were open'd. Musical and learn'd, Minerva's chosen people had been wont To hear his numbers in the tragic scene. Sententious weight of poesy, combin'd With music's pow'rful spell, there tam'd the rude, Abash'd the vicious, and the good refin'd.

Oh! Artemisia, Haliartus sigh'd, While at the strain his progress he delay'd, How canst thou splendid vassalage prefer In barb'rous climes, the residence of slaves, To Greece, the land of freedom, arts and arms, The legislator's and the hero's seat, The guardian pure of equity and laws, The nurse of orphans helpless and oppress'd, Of all, whom Phoebus and the Muses lift Above the rank of mortals! Greece, I owe More than my birth and being to thy love, My sentiments I owe. Adopted child, For thee my better parent now I go To hazard all in voluntary zeal, Ev'n the possession of Acanthè's charms.

On Atalantè's sea-beat verge he lands; Swift he collects his peasant weeds, the crook, The pipe and scrip, thus musing: Ancient garb, Thou dost remind me of Oïleus good, Dost summon all my gratitude to prove, That he, who benefits receives, and feels A grateful sense, is happy. From his side, His arm, and temples, he ungirds the sword, The shield releases, and unclasps the helm; These he commits, Sophronia, to thy care, Spouse of Leonteus, mother of the race Oïlean. Them, in tenderness embrac'd, He leaves with blessings, re-embarks and prints His bounding feet on Locris. Hermes thus In shepherd's weeds his deity conceal'd, By Jove's appointment on the flow'ry meads Of Inachus alighting; where he stole On watchful Argus, and, his hundred eyes Eluding, rescu'd from her bestial form Afflicted Io. Like the mountain roe The son of Lygdamis in speed excell'd; He, had he run for Atalanta's love, Would have rejected Cytherea's aid, Nor, of her swiftness to beguile the fair, Before her steps the golden apples thrown.

He quits the shore impatient; on he flies Unquestion'd, rank'd among the Locrian hinds, All Persian subjects now. A midnight course To Oeta's well-known mountains he prefers Through winding vallies, sprinkled with his tears In memory of past events. He finds The track to Mycon's hut; that goat-herd hears The sound of footsteps through the morning dew; He sees, he flies to Meliboeus, clings Around his neck. The seeming shepherd thus:

Kind friend, inform me of Melissa's weal. To him the swain: In wonder thou wilt hear, That no Barbarian dares ascend this hill; Th' attempt with death Mardonius would chastise. Benign Masistius, who his freedom gain'd From gen'rous Medon, to his sister thus The benefit repays. He often views Thermopylae, inspects th' obsequious band, Which guards the cavern'd passage to our fane; The fane he visits. Pleas'd, Melissa greets The gentle Persian, who delights to speak Of Aristides righteous and humane, Of Medon's valour on Psittalia's isle, Who made Masistius captive. Thus at times The tedious winter's melancholy hours She sooth'd; depriv'd of thee, superior swain, At times convers'd with Mycon. She hath tun'd My pipe to music, purify'd my tongue, Refin'd its language, and my soul enlarg'd. Despairing never of the public weal, To Aristides, virtuous guardian pow'r Of Greece, she strikes her celebrating chords.

So will she, Mycon, to the conqu'ring son Of Neocles, our second guardian pow'r, Cries Haliartus; but too long I wait To hail my holy mistress. She, rejoins The swain, hath left this mountain. Forty days, Since I beheld Masistius, are elaps'd; His welcome hand before Melissa plac'd A woman, rather deity in form; The hoary temple with her beauty seem'd Illumin'd; regal was her state; her spouse, The youthful king of Macedon, was by. She, in Melissa's presence, cast aside Her majesty; a suppliant in these words, Whose strong impression I retain, she spake:

"Most gracious, learn'd, and prudent of thy rank, "In Greece the highest, I, in Delphi born, "Phoebean Timon's child, a pious suit "Both in my father's and Apollo's name "To thee prefer. Trachiniae's neighb'ring walls "Contain the object of my tend'rest care, "Sandaucè, thither from Emathian bounds "For help convey'd. Masistius will confirm, "Whate'er I utter in Sandaucè's praise. "Her virtues more than equal her estate "Of princess, Xerxes' sister; but her woes "Almost exceed her virtues. Nature droops "Beneath its burden, sickness wastes her youth, "Resists all med'cine, while her feeble frame "To dissolution verges. O belov'd "By ev'ry Muse illumining thy mind "With ev'ry science, holy woman, fam'd "Among these nations for benignant deeds, "Vouchsafe, descending from thy pure abode, "To grant thy healing aid". Masistius then:

"This is the princess, who her husband saw "Slain at her feet, her infants doom'd to death "By Euphrantides; never since that day "The wound inflicted on her gentle heart "Admitted cure." The charitable suit Prevail'd, and soon Trachiniae's gates receiv'd The priestess borne in Amarantha's car. Here Haliartus: Hast thou never seen, Among the Persians who frequent this hill, A youth in rosy vigour, by the name Of Artamanes known? I have, returns The goat-herd; he with Amarantha came; Seem'd doubly anxious for Melissa's help To yon afflicted princess; urg'd the suit In Medon's name, his friend and saviour styl'd, Who made him captive on Psittalia's shore. But on his cheek the roses, thou dost paint, No longer bloom; his visage, worn and pale, Denotes some inward malady, or grief. Now, Meliboeus, to my longing ear Thy history unfold. We parted last, Thou mayst remember, on this fatal spot. The gentle Agis from this point survey'd Yon froth of torrents in their stony beds, Yon shagged rocks, and that disastrous pass Beneath us; whence Barbarian numbers huge O'erwhelm'd Thermopylae. But first accept Refreshment. Under hairy boughs of pines A rustic board he piles with oaten loaves, Dry'd fruits and chestnuts; bubbling nigh, a spring Supplies their bev'rage. Here th' illustrious son Of Lygdamis recounts a copious tale To wond'ring Mycon; but his birth conceals, And consanguinity with Caria's queen.

He stops to note the narrow passage throng'd With laden mules and camels. Mycon then:

These are my constant spectacle; his host Mardonius now assembles. He transports, Alpenus, yonder Locrian town, receives The gather'd produce of Thessalia's fields; Nicaea's fort contains an equal store, Preparatives for war. Where lies the camp, The Carian questions? On the Malian plain, Which Oeta's cliffs command, the swain reply'd. New tents on clear Spercheos daily rise Of Persians banded from their winter holds; Thou shalt behold them; follow. Both proceed Along the green expanse Melissa lov'd; Where genial spring had form'd of tufted shrubs A florid cincture to the lucid pool Behind the dome, inviolable seat Of all the Muses. Thence harmonious nymphs, Part of Melissa's ministerial choir, Left in their function, with mellifluent voice To harps in cadence true enchant the soul Of Haliartus, doubly charm'd to hear Leonidas the theme. With numbers sweet His praise inwoven by Melissa's skill Was their diurnal song. But sorrow soon Invades a breast, where gratitude presides; The time and place to Haliartus rise, Where he and Medon took their last farewell Of that devoted hero. In a sigh The Carian thus: O well-remember'd scene Once to these eyes delectable! Thy flow'rs Have lost their odour; thy crystalline pool Is dull in aspect to my sad'ning sight; You cannot sooth, melodious maids, the pain Of recollection, starting at the name Your measures sound. Beneath yon solemn beech Regret sits weeping; Lacedaemon's king There of terrestrial music heard the last From Aeschylus, the last of banquets shar'd With good Oïleus' daughter. Mycon here:

Suppress this grief; the priestess has forbid All lamentation for that hero's fate, Who died so glorious. Follow to the cliff.

They soon attain a high projecting point, When Haliartus in a second sigh:

Here stood Melissa; from her sacred lips The queen of Caria hence endur'd reproof; Hence did the great Leonidas explore Th' advancing Persians, when his prudent care The trees and marble fragments had amass'd, Which from the mountain overwhelm'd below Such multitudes of foes. But, Mycon, speak, What is that cross beside the public way?

Ah! Meliboeus, let thy spirit grieve Like mine, exclaims, in gushing tears, the swain; Lo! Xerxes' coward vengeance! Thou behold'st Leonidas suspended on that cross.

As oft, when lightning strikes the human frame, The wound, though imperceptible, destroys Each vital pow'r throughout the stiff'ning limbs, Which still retain their posture; rigid thus Is Haliartus; riveted to earth He seems, nor utters sound, nor breathes, nor moves His ghastly eyeballs. Now, when Mycon thrice His name repeated, briefly he replies:

I am benumb'd—Conduct me to a cell Where I may slumber—Tend thy herd—Expect Me at thy home. A mossy cave is nigh; There Mycon leaves him. Haliartus stays, Not slumb'ring, but, when Mycon is remote, Darts from the shelter, traverses a wood, Descends a crag, which bounds the upper straits, Thence winds his rapid journey to the cross, Which stands a witness of Barbaric rage. His ardent zeal to free those honour'd bones Admits no pause. The midnight watch is past; Importunate and hateful, birds obscene Are gather'd round; disturb'd, their grating shrieks They mix, and clatter their ill-omen'd wings. A station'd guard is rous'd; resistless force Surrounds the Carian, seizes, leads him bound Before the chieftain of a camp advanc'd. He, at the sight of Haliartus charg'd With guilt, whose punishment is death, commands Th' accusing soldiers to retire, and thus:

Alas! hath sorrow so impair'd the hue Of Artamanes, that oblivion masks His face from Haliartus. Thee I know, Thee Meliboeus once, benignant swain, My comforter in bondage, when we plough'd The Grecian seas in Delphian Timon's bark. Was not I present, when the genuine seed Of Lygdamis in thee Aronces trac'd? But, O! illustrious brother of a queen Ador'd in Asia, what disastrous star Thy midnight steps misguided, to incur The king's immutable decree of death? Thy bold attempt was virtuous, but his will Hath made thy virtue criminal. Thy head At his own peril Artamanes still Shall guard; thy liberty accept; myself Will be thy guide to safety. Ah! replies The gen'rous son of Lygdamis, and clasps The meritorious Persian, I perceive Still unimpair'd thy virtues; but receive Thy noble proffer back. For my behoof Not with its shadow danger shall approach My friend; thy pris'ner let me rest till morn. A lib'ral garb is all the boon I crave, Then to Mardonius lead me; tell my crime, No grace solicit; who I am, conceal.

In tears, replied the satrap: Then thou diest; The royal edict cannot be controll'd.

It can, return'd the Carian; rest assur'd, My preservation in myself I bear. Oh! that with equal certainty my pow'r Might from thy bosom chace that inmate new, Whate'er it be, which violates thy peace, Thy early youth disfigures, and consumes Its fruit unripe. Ah! tell me, is it grief For some dead friend, or sickness, or the smart Of injury, or love? Acanthè wak'd That tender thought, which soften'd on the tongue Of Haliartus. From the Persian's breast A sigh, deep note of agony, which riv'd His gentle heart, accompanied these words:

Endear'd associate in affliction past, Thou, and thou only, dost unlock the breast Of Artamanes. It is love, my friend; The object, once possessing ev'ry charm Exterior, still each beauty of the soul, By malady incurable devour'd From day to day is hast'ning to the tomb. Oh! long deplor'd Sandaucè; thee my steps Shall follow close—My passion is unknown To her; peculiar was her state and mine, Too delicate at first for me to speak, For her to hear. My hopes malignant time Hath wasted since, my health in her decay. But while my heart is bleeding for my love, The sluice grows wider, and to friendship pours A stream enlarg'd. Thy danger—Ah! permit, That I reveal thy origin and rank; Thy sister's name can shake the king's decree.

No, Artamanes, by th' immortal gods, Rejoins the Carian; of my just attempt, I, if succeeding, all the merit knew, If taken, knew my ransom. But the stars, Half through their circles run, suggest repose. May grief-asswaging heaviness of sleep Embalm thy eyelids, and like mine thy breast Feel no disquiet; mayst thou rise again, Saluting hope the harbinger of peace.

Stretch'd on a carpet Haliartus slept; Not so the troubled Persian, long disus'd To lenient rest. Before the dawn he rose; Among the Greek auxiliars he procur'd Apparel fair of Greece. His Carian guest Attir'd he guided o'er the Malian beach, To that august pavilion, which contain'd The royal person once, Mardonius now In all the state of Xerxes, save the crown.

Thus Artamanes: See a hapless man, Who hath attempted to remove the corse Of Sparta's king. That hapless man must die, Returns the gen'ral; Xerxes so ordain'd, Not I. Then absent on a charge remote, Mardonius knew not, nor approv'd when known, Th' indignity that noble corse sustain'd.

To him the Carian: Mindarus to death, With hecatombs of nobles thou decreest, Who in Euboea will appease my ghost.

Ha! who art thou, in agitation spake The satrap? Guard, bid Lamachus approach, Our visitor so recent from that isle.

He was not far; the son of Gobryas thus Address'd him ent'ring: Note that stranger well. Why dost thou start? Themistocles can boast No bolder warrior, Lamachus exclaim'd; I was his captive in th' Orēan fight.

Again the Carian: Truth for once he speaks; I dragg'd him bound my captive on that field; Ariobarzanes felt me; further learn, By me the savage Demonax was slain. But to have rescu'd from inhuman wrong The mortal part of that transcendent man, Who living shook all Asia with dismay, Had been my proudest boast. Mardonius then:

By Horomazes, I admire and prize Thy gen'rous flame, brave warrior! Under charge Of Artamanes in Trachiniae's round Awhile remain. Now, Lamachus, ascend Some ready bark; revisit yonder isle; This Greek for Mindarus exchange; redeem The rest of Asia's nobles; I allot For each a talent. In these words salute Themistocles: "To Athens I have sent "Young Alexander, Macedonia's prince, "Ambassador of friendship; I would call "Themistocles ally; himself may name, "But Persia's bounty shall exceed his price. "This if his Attic arrogance rejects, "Tell him, Mardonius, who disdains a war "Of oars and sails, the dubious ocean's sport, "Will give him battle on the plains of Thebes."

Though Artamanes joyfully beholds His friend in safety, with a trembling step Trachiniae's gates he passes to the roof, Which holds Sandaucè. Ent'ring, he perceives Melissa. She, transported at the sight Of Haliartus, thus began: O friend! Dear to my sire, to all th' Oïlean house, What unexpected ecstacy were mine At thy appearance, if—Ah! Persian lord, Sandaucè, sweet Sandaucè, yields to fate. Her dying lips on Artamanes call; Soft gratitude o'erflows her gentle breast; Her wish is eager, ere she breathe her last, To see her friend and guardian. Ending here, She moves before him; with unstable feet, With other prompters, anguish and despair, He follows. Pallid on her mournful couch The princess lies; her infants weep around; Bright Amarantha in disorder'd garb, Unloosen'd hair, and frantic with distress, Stands nigh. The graces sadden on her front; Her beauteous eyes a gushing torrent pour Like overswelling fountains, once serene The lucid mirrors to encircling flow'rs, Now troubled by a storm, which levels round The growth of shade, and scatters on their face Uprooted shrubs in bloom. Her languid lips At length unclosing, thus Sandaucè spake:

Omniscient God of nature! let me lift My voice appealing. When before me lay Autarctus slaughter'd, when these babes, condemn'd By cruel rites, to sacrifice were led, Did not the creature of thy tend'rest mold Feel as a wife, a mother, and receive A cureless wound? Thy providence uprais'd A kind protector through my lengthen'd walks Of grief, till now they terminate in death. If to his gen'rous purity of care, Assiduous, kind and pious, time hath rais'd Within my breast a secret, soft return, Was this an error? Hath my heart abus'd The sensibility, thou gav'st? Alone Art thou my judge. Creator, I obey; Before thy awful presence thou dost call Sandaucè's youth; unconscious of a crime, My debt avow'd of gratitude I pay By this confession of my fleeting breath To Artamanes. O! illustrious youth, Supreme in rank, in virtue still more high, Thy care continue to these orphan babes.

She ceas'd, and speechless on her pillow sunk. Th' enamour'd Persian instant on the floor Dropp'd, like a stony mass, which inward throes Of earth convulsive from a cliff disjoins; Dead monument of ruin on the beach Immoveable it lies. Melissa calls On Haliartus; suddenly he bears The hapless youth, inanimate and cold, To an adjoining chamber. There outstretch'd, Restor'd to sense by kind, unwearied zeal In Haliartus, all the night he roam'd Through sad delirium's labyrinths till morn; When lo! Melissa: Comfort thee, she said, The princess lives; the burden from her mind Discharg'd, hath render'd to the pow'rs of life Exertion less confin'd, rekindling hope Of restoration. So th' all-ruling gods Vicissitude to nature have decreed; The mind, the body languishes to-day, Revives to morrow. . . . Interrupting came Mardonius thus: What tidings have I heard Of Artamanes and the princess dead By malady most rare, a mutual flame Too long conceal'd? But ent'ring I receiv'd A milder tale; they live. Thou holy Greek! Employ thy science; save a lovely dame, Though Persian born; in him preserve my friend; Mardonius, long thy country's foe, to thee Will ne'er be hostile. To Sandaucè go, Say from my lips, and, Artamanes, hear, The flow'r of nobles Xerxes shall not lose Through disappointed passion; were my friend Less than he is, among the satraps least, At my enforcement shall the king unite Their nuptial hands. Now rouse thee, gallant youth, Not long thy gen'ral from his side can spare Thy worth approv'd. Masistius is remote; In virtue rich beyond a mortal's share, But to that virtue never yielding rest, He for a time on high adventure bent Hath left me; thou his vacant place must fill. The son of Gobryas to his tent returns.