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My friends, what happened to all the brave men in the world?
They’re not on the mountains and they’re not in the passes.
They’re down at the edge of the sky, at the end of the world,
building a castle to hide from Charon
[And Charos turns himself into a fly and flies in through the window
and found handsome sons, good-looking, courageous lads
and set about beating the brave men with his pole.
But one young man, a widow’s son and a brawler
challenged Charon, he challenged Charon to a fight.
– Charon, if you are Charon, if you are courageous,
come let us wrestle on the iron threshing floor.
with the wrought floor and steel all around.
Seven times the young man took Charon down,
but the seventh or the eighth time Charon was far from pleased.
He grabbed the youth by his hair and threw him to the ground.
– Let go of my hair, Charon, and hold my waist,
if you want a real man’s fight, a brave man’s fight,
like good men fight, men who conquer castles.]
Translated by Michael Eleftheriou
Ο Χάροντας και οι αντρειωμένοι
Παιδιά, κι είντα γινή-
παιδιά, κι είντα γινήκανε του κόσμου οι γι-α-
ε νε, του κόσμου οι γι-αντρειωμένοι;
Μουδέ στσι μέσες φαίνουνται μουδέ στσ’ αναμεσάδες.1
Κάτω στην άκρη τ’ ουρανού, στην τέλειωση του κόσμου
εκειδά πύργο χτίζουνε του Χάρου να κρυφτούνε.
[Κι ο Χάρος μύγα γίνεται μπαίν’ απ’ το παραθύρι
και βρίσκ’ ομορφονιούς υγιούς, όμορφους κοπελιάρους
κι εμπήκε κι εκοντάρευγεν2 ο Χάρος τσ’ αντρειωμένους.
Μα ένας νιος, χήρας υγιός, ψηλαναμπουκωμένος,3
του Χάρ’ αντροκαλίζεντον,5 του Χάρ’ αντροκαλιέται.
– Χάρε, σαν είσαι Χάροντας, σαν είσαι παλικάρι,
έλα να πα παλαίψομε στο σιδερένιο αλώνι,
απού ’χει πάτους σίδερα και γύρους ατσαλένιους.
Κι εφτά φορές τον έβαλεν ο νιός το Χάρο κάτω,
πάνω στσ’ εφτά, πάνω στσ’ οχτώ, του Χάρου βαροφάνη.
Πιάνει το νιο ’πού τα μαλλιά και κάτω τονε βάνει.
– Άφησ’ με Χάρ’ απ’ τα μαλλιά και πιάσ’ μ’ απού τη μέση,
να ιδείς απάλιο6 αντρείστικο, το κάνου οι γι-αντρειωμένοι,
το κάνου οι γι-άντρες οι καλοί, οι καστροπολεμάρχοι.].
1αναμεσάδες: διάσελα
2εκοντάρευγεν: σημάδευε, χτύπαγε με το κοντάρι
3ψηλαναμπουκωμένος: ανασκουμπωμένος, έτοιμος
4αντροκαλίζομαι: προκαλώ σε αγώνα
5απάλιο: πάλαιμα
Of all the songs in the Digenis cycle, the best and most widely known – including the very few that researchers now recognize as properly ‟Akritic” – are those that relate to the death of the never-defeated hero. In the popular imagination, it is unthinkable that such a hero should be subject to the common fate of common folk and be allowed to die. And, truth be told, there was little that was philosophical or meditative about the heroic mindset. A slave to his impulses and his strength, the hero will once again square up against an opponent and challenge him, even if he is Death himself. And the hero will throw himself into battle once again, the latest in an endless string of feats; this time, though, he will be defeated.
As a theme, Digenis’ death belongs to the older, rich oral narrative tradition which centred on the personality, life and achievements of the akritic heroes so beloved by the populace. However, the fact that the struggle with Charon is absent from all the variants of the written epic led a number of researchers to conclude that this theme is also absent from the popular imagination during the akritic era. It was also used to argue that the written epic pre-dated the songs.
The oldest and richest song-type, the one Nikolaos Politis considered a recap of Digenis the Akritis’ feats and the type closest to the written epic, is represented in this collection by a Cypriot variation (see Charon wore black).
Some of the other songs included here are loosely linked to the traditions relating to the death of Digenis or with the epic cycle more generally (see Constantis and Constantas). They include however names, verses and concepts linked to the Akritic cycle and besides the central theme of death, they also refer to other aspects of the hero’s everyday life, work, family and loves. Miranda Terzopoulou (2016)
