Of Pyrrha

Image is Ask me no more (1906) by Lawrence Alma-Tadema - very much the classical Victorians-in-togas painter, but worth a look if you like Classics. His paintings are also generally very accurate, which is a plus.

Right. Originally, I assumed I was going to do a nice, normal post, with no original text and a lovely translation. However, the syntax is all over the place here, I want to show you some of my translation methods, and thus I'll leave the original text here highlighted in all sorts of strange colours, which show which parts of speech go with what - particularly helpful when the syntax is not obvious or straightforward, as it rarely is in Latin. Of course, my actual translation is below, so you can just skip to that.

Quis multa gracilis te puer in rosa
perfusus liquidis urget odoribus
grato, Pyrrha, sub antro?
cui flavam religas comam,

simplex mundiitis? heu quotiens fidem
mutatosque deos flebit et aspera
nigris aequora ventis
emirabitur insolens,

qui nunc te fruitur credulus aurea,
qui semper vacuam, semper amabilem
sperat, nescius aurae
fallacis. miseri, quibus

intempta nites! me tabula sacer
votiva paries indicat uvida
suspendisse potenti
vestimenta maris deo.

Who is the slender youth, drenched in liquid scent,
embracing you beneath a pleasing cave
on many a rose, Pyrrha?
For whom do you tie up your golden hair,

simple in your elegance? Ah, how many times will he mourn faith
and the changed gods and, unaccustomed, he will wonder at
the rough open seas
with black winds,

who now, trustful, enjoys you golden,
who hopes that she will be always free, always lovable,
ignorant of the deceitful golden one.
Miserable are they for whom

you shine untouched! The sacred wall
with its votive tablet shows
that I hung up my wet clothes
to the powerful god of the sea.