Epigram 49: Loud shouts from th’ Acamantian choir proclaim

Loud shouts from th’ Acamantian choir proclaim,
At Bacchus’ feast, the joyful victor’s name ;
For him they weave the Dithyrambic crown,
A wreath of roses adds to his renown,
And, more to recompense his toil, they shed
The sacred unguents o’er the poet’s head,
Who now victorious gives this lasting sign,
This golden tripod to the power divine.
Antigenes instructs the crowds beneath ;
But wise Aristo’s ever tuneful breath
Could sweeter sounds in Doric reeds inspire :
Hipponichus was leader of the choir,
Above the rest he shone-superior far,
The Graces bore him in their airy car,
Obey’d the Muses, and the bard renown’d
The Muses with unfading violets crown’d.