Olympian 12: For Ergoteles of Himera

Daughter of Zeus the Deliverer! thou saving goddess, Fortune! I pray thee to keep watch around mighty Himera; for, at thy bidding, swift ships are steered upon the sea, and speedy decisions of war and counsels of the people are guided on the land. Verily, the hopes of men are tossed, now high, now low, as they cleave the treacherous sea of fancies vain. But never yet hath any man on earth found a sure token sent from-heaven to tell him how he shall fare in the future, but warnings of events to come are wrapped in gloom.

Full many things have befallen man, of which he little dreamed, bringing, to some, reversal of delight, while others, after battling with a sea of troubles, have, in a short space of time, exchanged their anguish for the deepest joy.

Son of Philanor! like some Chanticleer, who is courageous at home alone, the fame of thy swift feet would have shed its foliage ingloriously beside thy native hearth, had not hostile faction bereft thee of thy Cnossian fatherland. And now, Ergoteles! having won a wreath once at Olympia, and twice from Pytho, and at the Isthmus, thou art exalting the hot baths of the Nymphs, while dwelling near broad acres all thine own.