Nature

Book IX, 10

by Antipater of Thessalonica fl. c. 10 BC – AD 20

Translated by W. R. Paton (1916–18) · From The Greek Anthology (Loeb, vol. III, 1917)

Nature

An octopus once, stretched out on a rock that projected into the sea, extended his many feet to let them bask in the sun. He had not yet changed to the colour of the rock, and therefore a sharp-eyed eagle saw him from the clouds and seized him, but fell, unhappy bird, entangled by his tentacles, into the sea, losing both its prey and its life.

This translation is printed as prose in its source edition.

MLA

Thessalonica, Antipater of. “Book IX, 10.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex, poetrycodex.com/poem/antipater-thessalonica/31/.

Chicago

Thessalonica, Antipater of. “Book IX, 10.” Translated by W. R. Paton. Poetry Codex. https://poetrycodex.com/poem/antipater-thessalonica/31/.

Read this poem with the Codex →

More by Antipater of Thessalonica