After the funeral of the learned Antiochos, King of Kommagini,
whose life had been restrained and gentle,
his sister, deeply afflicted,
wanted an epitaph for him.
So, on the advice of Syrian courtiers,
the Ephesian sophist Kallistratos (who often resided
in the small state of Kommagini
and was a welcome and frequent guest
at the royal house)
wrote an epitaph and sent it to the old lady.
“People of Kommagini, let the glory of Antiochos,
the beneficent king, be celebrated as it deserves.
He was a provident ruler of the country.
He was just, wise, courageous.
In addition he was that best of things, Hellenic—
mankind has no quality more precious:
everything beyond that belongs to the gods.”
Reprinted from C.P. CAVAFY: Collected Poems Revised Edition, translated by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard, edited by George Savidis. Translation copyright © 1975, 1992 by Edmund Keeley and Philip Sherrard. Princeton University Press. For reuse of these translations, please contact Princeton University Press.
The Canon