Ode to Pelops

- In voice of an unknown, ancient Grecian male speaker


I saw you, one day, in the Baths,
And hoped that we would soon cross paths.

Dear Aphrodite1 made it be –
One day you quite bumped into me.

(I sacrificed2 a goat for her,
In thanks for making my heart stir.)

Pelops3 was this young man’s name,
And deep into my life he came.

Most days, we two, spent side by side –
But by the rules4, we did abide.

I had consent, I had his love;
Never did I push or shove.

My love for him, I did not hide,
To know him was a source of pride.

His golden hair and ivory shoulder5,
For him, I would move any boulder.

For his sweet lips I’d go so far
As to fight a minotaur6.

I would cross the Aegean Sea7,
To have my Pelops near to me.

He is a Ganymede8 to me,
No greater beauty could I see.

Great Demeter9, I love her too,
For she did eat a part of you.

Pelops, son of Tantalus10,
I love how you and I is “us”.

My Pelops, dearest one to me!
My favourite, he will always be.

If, before I did, he died,
A thousand tears I would have cried.

My love, he must always be alive!
Or rivers I would cross – all five. 11

A katabasis12 would occur,
For I would make things as they were.

I’d battle Cerberus13 for you,
There’s nothing that I wouldn’t do.

From Hades14 I would bring you back
To Earth, despite a sure attack,

From the mighty gods above,
Who don’t always understand love.

I’ll love you ‘till the end of days,
And when I’m gone, still you, they’ll praise.

A God, to me, you’ve always been,
Great things for you I have foreseen:

At Olympia, your shrine15,
You are with those that are divine.

An island, it will have your name,
“Peloponnesus16” will have fame.

The Olympic Games17 one day,
In your honour, they will play.

Admittedly, they play for Zeus,
But I know there are many truths.

They’ll play for you as well as he,
Games founded by your brilliancy.

I’ll worship you for all my life,
And although I have a wife18,

No love could match my love for you,
Devoted to thee in all that I do,

I will give you all my heart,
In hopes that we shall never part.

For a life without my dear Pelops,
Is to me a life that stops.






Citations

1. Aphrodite – Goddess of love, sex, and beauty. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/a/aphrodite.html)

2. Sacrifices – Offerings to the gods. (Pg. 6, Ancient Greek Religion)

3. Pelops – A beautiful man, son of Tantalus and grandson of Zeus. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pelops.html, Pg. 426 Sexuality in Ancient Greece)

4. Rules – As shown by the following excerpts, it is important that the speaker had Pelops’ consent as well as love, and that he never used force. It is also relevant that the speaker was proud of the relationship.

“…it was considered a violation of duty by the man, if he did not draw one younger to him, and a disgrace to the boy if he was not honoured by the friendship of a man.” – (418, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece)

“…intentional violation of his body… at that time was an offence punishable by banishment and confiscation of property” (438, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece)

“…the state expected that every man should choose a youth as his favourite, and, further, while a boy was blamed if he failed to find an older friend and lover…” (439, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece)

5. Ivory Shoulder – When the chopped up Pelops was restored by the Gods to his original form, they replaced his shoulder with ivory because Demeter had eaten it. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pelops.html)

6. Minotaur – A monster with the head and tail of a bull, but the body of a man. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/m/minotaur.html)

7. Aegean Sea – Between Greece and Asian Minor. (http://encarta.msn.com/encnet/refpages/RefArticle.aspx?refid=761553371)

8. Ganymede – Standard of beauty: if someone is “…even more beautiful than Ganymede,” they are incredibly beautiful, as well as coveted by Zeus. (466, Sexual Life in Ancient Greece)

9. Demeter – Demeter inadvertently ate Pelops’ shoulder in a stew made by Tantalus. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pelops.html) (191, Ancient Greek Religion)

10. Tantalus – Father of Pelops. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/t/tantalus.html)

11. There five rivers in Hades, separating Hades from the outside world – Acheron - the river of woe; Cocytus - the river of lamentation; Phlegethon - the river of fire; Lethe - the river of forgetfulness; Styx - the river of hate. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/s/styx_river.html)
12. Katabasis – Epic hero’s excursion into the underworld. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Katabasis#Trip_into_the_underworld)

13. Cerberus – A three-headed dog that guards the entrance to Hades. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/c/cerberus.html)

14. Hades – The Underworld or “Hell” of Greek Religion. (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/h/hades.html)

15. Shrine at Olympia – There is a “…large heroon of Pelops inside Zeus’ sanctuary.” (Pg. 47 Ancient Greek Religion)

16. Peloponnesus – “Pelops subdued the area of Greece which became known as the Peloponnesus.” (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/p/pelops.html)

17. The Olympic Games - “…the famous Olympic Games may have been originally held in honour of the hero Pelops.” (Pg. 47 Ancient Greek Religion) (http://www.pantheon.org/articles/o/olympic_games.html)

18. Wife – Greek men, although they often took male lovers, generally still had wives.

Note: While this poem is not in traditional Greek format, (which does not rhyme) (http://ancienthistory.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?zi=1/XJ/Ya&sdn=ancienthistory&cdn=education&tm=9&f=10&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.aoidoi.org/articles/meter/intro.php) I thought it would be more interesting and fun to write a rhyming poem. Also, while many of my citations are found to have come from various sources, much of my knowledge was first introduced to me in CLST 333, but I didn’t know exactly how to cite that.