Poetry Explorer- Classic Contemporary Poetry, THEBES, by LUCIUS ANNAEUS SENECA


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THEBES, by                     Poet's Biography
First Line: Thebes! Who shall weep aright for thee
Last Line: Shall he herculean thebes profane?
Alternate Author Name(s): Seneca
Subject(s): Thebes, Greece


THEBES! who shall weep aright for thee,
No more the valiant and the free?
Thou cradle-land of many a god,
Stoop'st thou beneath a tyrant's rod?
She, -- from whose fields together rose
The sworded bands of spell-born foes,
Whose walls to rear, Amphion's tones
Led, as in dance, the charmed stones;
For whom so oft eternal Jove
Hath left his radiant seats above:
To whom in former years was given
To shrine her favorites in heaven;
Who, haply, gods will yet create, --
She bows beneath the cankering weight
Of iron bondage and disgrace.
How are ye fallen, Cadmean race!
Shall a proud outcast vilely spurn
Your freedom's rights, ye dragon-born?
Shall be usurp your country's throne,
A sordid exile from his own?
Whose crimes affront the land and main,
Shall he Herculean Thebes profane?





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