Pittacus' Ancestry
by: Alcaeus (7th-6th century B.C.)
translated by Walter Petersen
They boisterously fill each cup
With unmixed wine the whole day long.
At night their blustering crowds turn up
Where often they are wont to throng.
Since first this fellow came on top,
These customs never he forgot;
For every night did he bob up.
Then clanged the bottom of the pot.
From such forefathers did you come,
And yet you have an equal fame
With freemen from a noble home,
Who from the noblest parents came.
