The Sibyl · a new plain-English translation from the original language
He will strike down the warrior father of the purple race,
and he himself will perish at the hands of sons who once agreed with him in fair intent —
and then the horn that sprouted alongside will begin to rule.
And a sign for life-sustaining Phrygia will come at once,
whenever the foul brood of Rhea, on the land a swell,
ever-flowing, flourishing on roots that never thirst,
vanishes trunk and all in a single night,
in a city full of its own people, shaken by the earth-shaker who moves the ground —
the city men will one day call by the name Dorylaeum,
of ancient Phrygia, the dark land of many tears.
When that time comes, the Earthshaker true to his name
will scatter the hollows of the earth and break down its walls.
The signs will not be of good, but the beginning of evil will spring up.
It will have kings skilled in war against every tribe,
giving the sons of Aeneas of the native stock, kindred blood.
But afterward you will become plunder for men who desire you.
Ilion, I pity you — for in Sparta a Fury
will cause to bud a shoot most beautiful, ever-famed, the noblest,
leaving behind the wide-scattered flood of Asia and Europe.
And to you above all she will bring lamentation, toil, and groaning,
she will set these upon you; but her glory will be undying for those yet to come.
And there will be a certain old man, a mortal writer of falsehoods, once more
a false countryman; the light will set within his own eyes.
But he will have great understanding and verse fitted to his thoughts,
mingled under two names; he will call himself
Chian, and he will write of the affairs of Ilion, not truthfully,
but skillfully — for he will master my words and my meters.
For he will be the first to unroll my books with his own hands,
and he in turn will richly adorn the champions of war,
Hector son of Priam and Achilles son of Peleus,
and the others, all who cared for the works of war.
And he will make gods stand beside these men,
writing falsehood in every way, empty-headed mortals.
And for these men dying will bring wide renown
at Ilion; but he himself will receive requital for his deeds.
And in Lycia the offspring of Locris will plant many evils.
Chalcedon, who has drawn the strait of the narrow sea as her portion —
an Aetolian youth will come one day and destroy you.
Cyzicus, and the sea will tear away your heavy prosperity.
And you too, one day, Byzantium, will cling to Ares in league with Asia,
and indeed you will receive groanings and blood beyond counting.
And Cragus, the lofty mountain of Lycia, from its peaks,
when the rock's clefts open, will gush forth water,
until it puts an end even to the oracular signs of Patara.
Cyzicus, dweller by the wine-dark Propontis,
the river Rhyndacus around you will roar with rearing wave.
And you, Rhodes, for a long time will remain unenslaved,
daughter of the day; and great prosperity afterward
will be yours, and on the sea you will hold power beyond all others.
But afterward you will become plunder for men who desire you.