Page:Statius (Mozley 1928) v1.djvu/135

This page has been proofread, but needs to be validated.

SILVAE, II. ii. 11–35

though already fain to direct my steps where runs the worn and well-known track of Appia, queen of the long roads.

Yet the time I spent delighted me. The crescent waters of a tranquil bay break through the curving line of cliff on either hand. The spot is of Nature’s giving: one single beach lies between sea and hill, ending towards the land in overhanging rocks. The first charm of the place is a smoking bath-house with two cupolas, and a stream of fresh water from the land meeting the salt brine. Here would the nimble choir of Phorcus wish to bathe, and Cymodoce with dripping tresses and sea-green Galatea. Before the building the dark-blue ruler of the swelling waves keeps watch, and guards that innocent home; his shrine is it that is wet with friendly spray. Alcides protects the happy fields; in the two deities does the haven rejoice: one guards the land, the other resists the angry billows. A wondrous peace is on the sea: here the weary waves rage no more, and the furious South wind blows more mildly; here the swift hurricane is less daring, and the pools lie tranquil and undisturbed, calm as the spirit of their lord.

Thence a colonnade climbs slantwise up the cliff, vast as a city, and its long line of roof gains mastery over the rugged rocks. Where the sun once shone through clouds of dust, and the way was wild and unlovely, now it is a pleasure to go. Even such, should you scale the lofty height of Bacchic Ephyre,[1] is the covered way that leads from Lechaeum, of Ino’s fame.[2]

  1. ↑ Old name of Corinth; the epithet appears to allude to the Bacchiadae, ancient rulers of Corinth.
  2. ↑ Lechaeum was the port of Corinth on the Corinthian gulf, associated with the worship of Ino and Palaemon (Melicertes), whence came the Isthmian games; cf. Theb. ii. 381.

97

This article is issued from Wikisource. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.