Ibykos Fragment 286 Translation

Ibykos Fragment 286, circa 564 BCE loose translation by Michael R. Burch Come spring, the grand apple trees stand watered by a gushing river where the maidens’ uncut flowers shiver and the blossoming grape vine swells in the gathering shadows. Unfortunately for me Eros never rests but like a Thracian tempest ablaze with lightning emanates from Aphrodite; the results are frightening— black, bleak, astonishing, violently jolting me from my soles to my soul. Originally published by The Chained Muse Ibykos, also spelled Ibycus, was an ancient Greek lyric poet. Ibykos was included in the canonical list of melic poets by the scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria. Originally from Rhegium in Magna Graecia, Ibykos is believed to have moved to Samos during the reign of the tyrant Polykrates (c. 538–522 BCE).