Dance, young daughter of Arcadia,With the children of shepherds do you revelEver fresh and ever new

Dance, young daughter of Arcadia,With the children of shepherds do you revelEver fresh and ever new is the world to the goddess, AleaHer innocence, indomitableHer curiosity, insatiableHer imagination, unfathomable by grown menShunning adult things, turning away from worry and careEschewing competitions, never turning thoughts to marriageLiving in the present, and not the futureFierce, young, golden-haired goddessYou are fearless, like the young are fearlessNot shouting down the fear within your soul,Nor pushing aside knowledge of dangerBut dancing, ever, in and out of battleIncapable of imagining defeatCome forth, AleaWith the Muses tell your tale, so long forgottenFar away from white-armed Hera, Zeus strayedTo the bed of Merope, that mother of the famed toy-makerPushing aside Sisyphus, founder of EphyreTo satisfy his desire for the silver-tongued PleiadFor she was abounding with contagious joy and love of lifeIn the far-off land of Arcadia, Merope gave birth to AleaAway from her husband, she contemplated her woeAnd called upon the power of Ouranos and Gaia, saying,“I have suffered because of marriage, and because of lust,I have suffered because of my full-grown womb.Let therefore this daughter of mine never see womanhoodNor ever be the object of affection for man or godBut rather, let her grow to vivacious girlhoodAnd dwell there forever.Answer, O Mother Earth, for you have known the sorrow of RapeAnswer, O Father Sky, for because of desire for Gaia, your member was severed.”So saying, she swaddled the newborn goddess in cloths dyed with chaste berryMother Earth and Father Sky answeredAlea grew up into girlhood as a goddessBut never was she touched by adolescenceNor did any womanly curve mark her form.Hail to Alea, goddess and leader of young children!But hark, for I have yet another tale to tell.Lost Hymns 1-3: To Alea -- source link

More pics about