Poetic-Verses from ATHANASE
Hylas (English)
Why, O Mysians, chanting and crying, do you seek
Hylas in the divine beauty of the immortals?
What is his blazing and brief life to you?
It was not your princes, but another who loved him madly.
Notes:
Hylas: in Greek mythology, Hylas was the son of King Theiodamas of the Dryopians. When Heracles killed his father in battle, he spared Hylas, took him on as arms bearer, taught him the ways of a warrior, and in time the two fell in love. Heracles took Hylas with him on the Argo, making him one of the Argonauts. At Hera's behest, Hylas was kidnapped by the nymph of the spring of Pegae in Mysia and vanished without a trace (Apollonius Rhodios). Heracles was heartbroken. He along with Polyphemus, searched for a long time. The ship set sail without them. They never found Hylas because he had fallen in love with the nymphs and remained "to share their power and their love." (Gaius Valerius Flaccus, Argonautica)
Mysia: ancient region, NW Asia Minor. It was N of Lydia and its coast faced Lesbos. Mysia was not a political unit, and it passed successively to Lydia, Persia, Macedon, Syria, Pergamum, and Rome.
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Hylas (English)
Hylas (English)
