THE BUSH OF HELEN

[helenic]

Theocritus Idyll 18:

The poet describes how he and his mates run through the meadows gathering garlands of flowers in honour of Helen, whom they all fancy. The hang the flowers and wreaths of lotus-vine on a plane-tree as a sort of public ritual to commemorate how much they fancy her, even though she's married already. The poet worships her, and yearns in particular for her breasts, "as a new-born lamb yearns for the teats of the mother-ewe" (Hellenistic lyric poets: Dodgy Similes R Us). He anoints the soil below the tree with oil in some sort of symbolic love act, and then graffitis the bark of the tree in Dorian letters, which read:

(line 48) "WORSHIP ME, I AM THE BUSH OF HELEN."

Oh my god, I want that line tattooed in Greek above my pubic hair so very, very much.

Comments

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

You know that saying "Your body is a temple"? *grins*

[steeraway.livejournal.com]

Haha, me too ;-)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

oh yes. the Greek, , just means "a plant", so is very easily translated bush.

actually the symbolism is quite interesting - according to my Middle Liddell means "that which has grown", "a creature", or "descendant, child". In the sexual context which my mind immediately leapt to, how Freudian.

the bushes of Helens

[libellum.livejournal.com]

including glitzfrau and secutatrix, we can have a veritable shrubbery!

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

Hah, your l33t-ninja-stealth-edit hath not escaped my watchful eye!

[libellum.livejournal.com]

the first version failed to fully express the funny. also lang's translation was terrible.

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

That was FAST. Are you online 24/7 or something?

[libellum.livejournal.com]

*thinks*

um.

if I said no, would you believe me? I mean, sometimes I sleep.

[fiona-kitty.livejournal.com]

*giggles* :) That's funny. And cute fluffy lambs!

Re: the bushes of Helens

[thene]

*gasps* A shrubbery?

[vectorious.livejournal.com]

"WORSHIP ME, I AM THE BUSH OF HELEN."

Am I the only one who though that this was the thing that made Helen go to war with Iraq?

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

*mild hysterics*

Huzzah for appalling and strangely naive 19th century translators!

(Shame it was just phuton for the Greek, although I'm quite glad you answered that before I had to ask the question.)

[libellum.livejournal.com]

actually bush is my translation; A. Lang translates it tree. But it could so mean bush. Totally.

I wish LJ supported SGreek or SuperGreek, damnit.

[libellum.livejournal.com]

*groans*

Except that surely if we were casting the US/Iraq as the Trojan War, Helen would be some English chick, married to one of Bush's high-ranking White House peeps, who ran off with an Iraqi? So the Bush wouldn't be "of Helen" at all, unless the reason Bush=Agamemnon was so keen to get her back was that he secretly fancied her himself...?

[libellum.livejournal.com]

cute fluffy lambs having sexual fantasies about their mothers' breasts. I fear you miss the point.

[the-lady-lily.livejournal.com]

Yes, I support your alternative translation, and I think we should campaign to have it inserted into the next edition of Theocritus. Or even write our own. He's such a dodgy little bugger I'm certain he would approve of the pun, even if it didn't scan in the Greek.

Do tattooists support SGreek or SuperGreek?

And do you have a copy of SuperGreek? The Faculty computers won't let me steal theirs :(

Re: the bushes of Helens

[libellum.livejournal.com]

One that looks nice. And not too expensive.

[yvesilena.livejournal.com]

DO IT! DO IT! There are so few people in the world who 1 - are called Helen; 2 - know that quote, let alone know the original Greek; 3 - would have it tattooed above their pubic hair; 4 - would actually look hot with said tattoo. YOU OWE IT TO THE WORLD. :D:D

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

I suspect you even spod in your dreams.

Actually, no, I'm sure you do far more interesting things in your dreams.

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

I suspect our Libellum might be the only one, actually.

So, using the logic that someone has to do it, and it would be wasted on anyone else, I'm also in full support.

Well, not full support, because it's the kind of thing you'll eventually regret.

Re: the bushes of Helens

[dreamfracture.livejournal.com]

You could even have a split-level thing, with a neat little path between them.

[fiona-kitty.livejournal.com]

I was actually trying to avoid that point. :)

[oakwonder.livejournal.com]

Now, normally, I'm so against tattoos. But I have to admit, admiring erudition as I do...

[dennyd.livejournal.com]

I thought it was "My body is a temple... get on your knees."

Re: the bushes of Helens

[steeraway.livejournal.com]

You mean - *gulp* - we have a common name?!

*goes off to change name to Clytemnestra*