The Decree Of Athena

A poem by Aeschylus (c. 525 – c. 456 Before Christ )

Hear ye my statute, men of Attica–

Ye who of bloodshed judge this primal cause;

Yea, and in future age shall Aegeus’s host

Revere this court of jurors. This the hill

Of Ares, seat of Amazons, their tent,

What time ‘gainst Theseus, breathing hate, they came,

Waging fierce battle, and their towers upreared,

A counter-fortress to Acropolis;–

To Ares they did sacrifice, and hence

This rock is titled Areopagus.

Here then shall sacred Awe, to Fear allied,

By day and night my lieges hold from wrong,

Save if themselves do innovate my laws,

If thou with mud, or influx base, bedim

The sparkling water, nought thou’lt find to drink.

Nor Anarchy, nor Tyrant’s lawless rule

Commend I to my people’s reverence;–

Nor let them banish from their city Fear;

For who ‘mong men, uncurbed by fear, is just?

Thus holding Awe in seemly reverence,

A bulwark for your State shall ye possess,

A safeguard to protect your city walls,

Such as no mortals otherwhere can boast,

Neither in Scythia, nor in Pelops’s realm.

Behold! This Court august, untouched by bribes,

Sharp to avenge, wakeful for those who sleep,

Establish I, a bulwark to this land.

This charge, extending to all future time,

I give my lieges. Meet it as ye rise,

Assume the pebbles, and decide the cause,

Your oath revering. All hath now been said.

Poetry Monster – Home

A few random poems:

External links

Bat’s Poetry Page – more poetry by Fledermaus

Talking Writing Monster’s Page –

Batty Writing – the bat’s idle chatter, thoughts, ideas and observations, all original, all fresh

Poems in English 

• Ольга Ермолаева – Если о плачущих by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Ермолаева – Будет весь день долбить by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Ермолаева – Барственный Шехтель все ирисы лепит на фриз by Поэзия На Русском
• Ольга Берггольц – Вечерняя станция by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Ты в пустыню меня послала by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Ты будешь ждать by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Трагедия всех трагедий by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Стихи о себе by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Слепой by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Сейчас тебе всё кажется тобой by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Романс стойкого оловянного солдатика by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Разведчик by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Пусть голосуют дети by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Приятелям by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Феодосия by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Здравствуй by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Знаю, чем меня пленила by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Заметь, заметь, Как легчает сердце by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Я все оставляю тебе при уходе by Ольга Берггольц
• Ольга Берггольц – Я так хочу, так верю, так люблю by Ольга Берггольц

More external links (open in a new tab):

Russian Commerce Agency

Dealing Monster

Doska or the Board – write anything

Search engines:

Yandex – the best search engine for searches in Russian (and the best overall image search engine, in any language, anywhere)

Qwant – the best search engine for searches in French, German as well as Romance and Germanic languages.

Ecosia – a search engine that supposedly… plants trees

Duckduckgo – the real alternative and a search engine that actually works. Without much censorship or partisan politics.

Yahoo– yes, it’s still around, amazingly, miraculously, incredibly, but now it seems to be powered by Bing.

 

Parallel Translations of Poetry

Poems by Author and Category

The Poetry Repository – an online library of poems, poetry, verse and poetic works