IN A SMALL ASIA MINOR TOWN
The news about the outcome of the naval battle, at Actium
was certainly unexpected.
But there is no need to compose a new proclamation.
Only the name needs to be changed. There in the last lines
instead of “having liberated the Romans
from the terrible Octavius,
that parody of Caesar”,
we will now put “having saved the Romans
from the terrible Antony.”
The rest of the text fits beautifully.
“To the victor, the most glorious,
unsurpassed in every military endeavor,
admirable for his political achievements,
to the one the people passionately wished
would prevail, to Antony”
here, as we said, is the change: “To Caesar
regarded as the best gift from Zeus—
to the powerful protector of the Greeks,
who looks at Greek customs favorably,
to the one who is beloved all over Greece,
and is most worthy of high praise,
whose deeds deserve extensive narration
in the Greek language, both verse and prose;
in Greek, which is the vehicle of fame.”
Etcetera, etcetera. It all fits together superbly.
Manolis Aligizakis 