Lament for a Lost SonἈπόσπασμα
Lamentation Song Lament for a Lost Son PDF
The Lament for a Lost Son is a poetic threnody, a formal expression of grief, whose Greek title, Apóspasma, explicitly denotes its status as a fragment or extract from a larger, now-lost work. The authorship is attributed to "Lamentation Song," a name not found among the canon of known ancient Greek poets, suggesting it may be a descriptive title rather than a personal name. The poem is a direct and poignant articulation of parental mourning for a deceased child. Its imagery is rich with mythological allusion, comparing the lost son to a second sun and invoking figures like Clymene and the river Eridanus, traditional symbols of profound lament. The speaker vows to adorn the sacred tomb with golden trees and flowing streams, while the presence of deities such as Cybele, the Paphian goddess Aphrodite, and Adonis further situates the personal grief within a broader framework of mythological loss and ritual mourning. The work's transmission history is undocumented, and it survives only in this fragmentary state. Nevertheless, it stands as a significant testament to the central role of the lament within ancient Greek literary culture, exemplifying the enduring poetic tradition of giving voice to the deepest expressions of sorrow.
| unit_1 | ἤδη σέ περ ὄντα πρὸ τοῦ πολλοῦ (?) κλαύσω τάφον οἷα θανόντι πρὸ τοῦ θανάτου στήσα̣ς̣, τέκνον, ἄρματα πά[ντα. Φαεσφόρος σὺ καλε〈ῖ〉, παῖ, καὶ σὸν περὶ τύμβον ἱερόν φυτεύσω δένδρεα χρύσεα, πεδάσω νάμασιν, ορ...νο̣υ̣σ̣[α] στενάξω δεύτερον Ἥλιον ὡς Κλυμένη γῶον Ἠριδανοῦ. Κυβέλ[η], †συμεδευδο.. δασ⟦.......⟧ νάπαις γαμέτην Φρύγα πῶς ν̣ε̣άγαμ[ον] ἔτεμες περὶ τύμβον ἱερό[ν καὶ μέλος ἔλεγον, ὅ τε παρὰ Παππᾶν γέγωνε γυνὴ Παφίη, ἔχουσα τὸν Ἄδωνιν, κλαίουσα νύμ̣[φιο]ν ἐ̣ν̣ στ̣εν̣ο̣[ῖς. γ̣ώου̣ς̣ Βυβλιάσιν ἔ̣λ̣ε̣γ̣ο̣ν̣· ‘α̣ἰ̣α̣ῖ, βρ̣α̣χὺς ὑμήν.‘ ταφ̣ε̣ῖ̣ν̣ τ̣ὰ̣ ἔ̣ν̣τιμ̣α̣ μέλη; σεῖστρον καλεῖ ς’ ὑφ’ ἄρ̣ρη̣τα Λήθη〈σ〉 νύχια. ἀ̣λ̣λ̣’ ἤδ’ [εἰ]ς̣ ε̣ὐ̣ν̣ή̣[ν], παῖ̣, παραχωρεῖ〈σ〉. φύγε φέγγος ἐμόν, σπεῦ[σ]ο̣ν̣ σ̣ὺ̣ν̣ ἐμο̣ί̣ νὺξ παντα[..]μενε. κλαίω τέκνον ἐλεινὸν ἐμόν, δεύτερον Ἥλιον, ὡς Κλυμένη γῶον Ἠριδανοῦ. |