Τελέσιλλα
Telesilla
Translated by Catharine Roth20 Nov 2000Vetting: high7 revisions
Translation
[Name of a] poetess.
[sc. As depicted] on a stele she was throwing away her books but putting a helmet on her head. For when the Lacedaemonians were destroying those who had taken refuge in the sanctuary of Argos [Myth, Place] and were approaching the city in order to capture it, then Telesilla armed the young women and led them to meet the attackers. Seeing this, the Lacedaemonians turned back, considering it shameful to fight with women, since defeating them [would bring] no glory and being defeated great disgrace. In this also the oracle was fulfilled, which said to the Argives: "but when the female conquers and drives out the male and wins glory for the Argives, then she will make many of the Argive women tear their cheeks."1
[sc. As depicted] on a stele she was throwing away her books but putting a helmet on her head. For when the Lacedaemonians were destroying those who had taken refuge in the sanctuary of Argos [Myth, Place] and were approaching the city in order to capture it, then Telesilla armed the young women and led them to meet the attackers. Seeing this, the Lacedaemonians turned back, considering it shameful to fight with women, since defeating them [would bring] no glory and being defeated great disgrace. In this also the oracle was fulfilled, which said to the Argives: "but when the female conquers and drives out the male and wins glory for the Argives, then she will make many of the Argive women tear their cheeks."1
Greek original · Adler’s text
Τελέσιλλα, ποιήτρια. ἐπὶ στήλης τὰ μὲν βιβλία ἀπέρριπτε, κράνος δὲ τῇ κεφαλῇ περιέθηκε. καὶ γὰρ ὅτε Λακεδαιμόνιοι τοὺς ἐν τῷ ἱερῷ τοῦ Ἄργους καταφυγόντας διέφθειρον καὶ πρὸς τὴν πόλιν ᾔεσαν ὡς αἱρήσοντες, τότε Τελέσιλλα τὰς ἐν ἡλικίᾳ γυναῖκας ὁπλίσασα ὑπήντησεν οἷ προσῄεσαν. ὅπερ ἰδόντες οἱ Λακεδαιμόνιοι ἐς τοὐπίσω ὑπέστρεψαν, αἰσχρὸν νομίσαντες γυναιξὶ πολεμεῖν, ἃς καὶ τὸ νικᾶν ἄδοξον καὶ ἡττᾶσθαι μέγα ὄνειδος. ἐς τοῦτο καὶ ὁ χρησμὸς πεπλήρωτο, Ἀργείοις λέγων· ἀλλ' ὅταν ἡ θήλεια τὸν ἄρρενα νικήσασα ἐξελάσῃ καὶ κῦδος Ἀργείοισιν ἄρηται, πολλὰς Ἀργείων ἀμφιδρυφέας τότε θήσει.
Betacode
*tele/silla, poih/tria. e)pi\ sth/lhs ta\ me\n bibli/a a)pe/rripte, kra/nos de\ th=| kefalh=| perie/qhke. kai\ ga\r o(/te *lakedaimo/nioi tou\s e)n tw=| i(erw=| tou= *)/argous katafugo/ntas die/fqeiron kai\ pro\s th\n po/lin h)/|esan w(s ai(rh/sontes, to/te *tele/silla ta\s e)n h(liki/a| gunai=kas o(pli/sasa u(ph/nthsen oi(= prosh/|esan. o(/per i)do/ntes oi( *lakedaimo/nioi e)s tou)pi/sw u(pe/streyan, ai)sxro\n nomi/santes gunaici\ polemei=n, a(\s kai\ to\ nika=n a)/docon kai\ h(tta=sqai me/ga o)/neidos. e)s tou=to kai\ o( xrhsmo\s peplh/rwto, *)argei/ois le/gwn: a)ll' o(/tan h( qh/leia to\n a)/rrena nikh/sasa e)cela/sh| kai\ ku=dos *)argei/oisin a)/rhtai, polla\s *)argei/wn a)mfidrufe/as to/te qh/sei.
Notes (1)
- Early C5 BCE; OCD(4) s.v.
Few fragments of Telesilla's lyrics survive; evidently she wrote hymns for choirs of girls. The Telesillean meter was named for her. See Perseus Encyclopedia at web address 1. - 1This second and lengthy gloss summarises and paraphrases Pausanias 2.20.8-10 (accessible via the Perseus Encyclopedia link), on an event of c.494 BCE. See also Plutarch, Bravery of Women 245C-F. Herodotus (6.77) cites the oracle without mentioning Telesilla. ↩
External resources
- Web address 1 perseus.tufts.edu
Linked from1 entry
Neighbouring entries
Revision history7 revisions · last 24 Aug 2014
- tweaked link — Catharine Roth
- updated a ref — David Whitehead
- Revised — David Whitehead
- tweaked note — Catharine Roth
- expanded n.1; more keywords; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- more keywords — David Whitehead
- augmented notes; added keyword; cosmetics — David Whitehead
- Translated — Catharine Roth