Reception Radio: The Lost Shield, from Assassin's Creed: Odyssey
Archilochus Takes to the Sea
Summer is nearly upon us, my brilliant readers! I’m looking forward to fresh local berries, long sun-dappled evenings at the pool, and taking my paddleboard for sea adventures.
I like to sing sea shanties while I’m out on my paddleboard, especially the ancient Greek tunes from Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. I talked about one of these shanties for Reception Radio a while ago:
Today on Reception Radio, I’m sharing another shanty: this is, by a long shot, my favorite to sing while I’m out on the water. The Lost Shield is boisterous, tongue-in-cheek, and profoundly catchy. A perfect summer jam!
Like the rest of the Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey sea shanties, this piece pairs a modern melody with lyrics from ancient Greek poetry. We owe The Lost Shield’s lyrics to Archilochus, a poet from the Aegean island of Paros in the 7th century BCE. Much of his writing only survives in fragments, but they still convey a punchy sense of character.
The Lost Shield is an adaptation of one of Archilochus’ best-known poems. This poem messes with ancient Greek ideas about military valor: it’s from the point of view of a soldier who’s lost his shield. Instead of doing the expected, honorable thing a retrieving his shield, he cuts his losses, declaring that he’ll find another one. Since Archilochus was a soldier as well as a poet, there’s a chance he was satirizing either himself or the men he fought alongside when he wrote The Lost Shield. This pragmatic poem is especially funny when it’s transplanted to the Peloponnesian War-era setting of Assassin’s Creed: Odyssey. The game is crawling with Spartans, who were famously supposed to return from war either holding their shields (alive, victorious) or on them (dead). Accidentally leaving your shield in a bush for enemies to find, like Archilochus does, would be unthinkable!
I enjoy how both this poem and the sea shanty that re-works it remind us that ancient people had a sense of humor. Archilochus’ un-heroic, yet pragmatic view of war is timeless: I’m sure you can think of at least one modern comedy bit that pokes fun at soldiers and military culture in a similar way. The shanty’s modern melody is lively and boisterous, not to mention grievously catchy. I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Archilochus’ use of profanity. The term “ἐρρέτω” (ereto) appears in the last line of his poem: I’ve seen it translated in various ways, including “to hell with it” and “fuck it.” The Assassin’s Creed version repeats this word, turning it into a gleefully profane chorus. I like to think Archilochus would enjoy this update of his poetry and its transposition into a feisty little sea shanty. As I’ve learned from paddleboarding experience, it’s very fun to sing…
Here are the lyrics to The Lost Shield, as well as the original Archilochus poem from which they’re derived. Kudos to Peter Gainsford, the Kiwi Hellenist, for translating the ancient Greek text. I highly recommend checking out his blog for interesting forays into ancient Mediterranean reception, Greek literature, and more!
The shanty lyrics in ancient Greek:
ἀσπίδι μὲν Σαΐων τις ἀγάλλεται, ἣν παρὰ θάμνῳ.
ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐξαῦτις κτήσομαι οὐ κακίω.
ἔντος ἀμώμητον, ἀμώμητον, κάλλιστον οὐκ ἐθέλων.
ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐξαῦτις κτήσομαι οὐ κακίω.
αὐτὸν δ᾽ ἐξεσάωσα, τί μοι μέλει ἀσπὶς ἐκείνη;
ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐρρέτω, ἐξαῦτις κτήσομαι οὐ κακίω.
A [rough] transliteration of Greek lyrics:
aspidi men Sai'on tis aga'lete in para' tha'mno
ere'to, ere'to, ere'to, exa'ftis kti'somae oo kaki'o
e'ntos amo'miton, amo'miton, ka'liston ook ethe'lon
ere'to, ere'to, ere'to, exa'ftis kti'somae oo kaki'o
afto'n d'exesa'osa ti mi melee aspis eki'ni?
ere'to, ere'to, ere'to, exa'ftis kti'somae oo kaki'o.
The lyrics translated into English:
Some Saian is boasting over my shield -- it was by a bush --
to hell with it, to hell with it, to hell with it! I’ll get another one just as good.
a perfectly good weapon, I didn’t mean to leave it there.
to hell with it, to hell with it, to hell with it! I’ll get another one just as good.
But I saved myself, so what do I care about the shield?
to hell with it, to hell with it, to hell with it! I’ll get another one just as good.
The original Archilochus poem, first in ancient Greek and then a translation:
ἀσπίδι μὲν Σαΐων τις ἀγάλλεται, ἣν παρὰ θάμνῳ,
ἔντος ἀμώμητον, κάλλιπον οὐκ ἐθέλων·
αὐτὸν δ’ ἐξεσάωσα. τί μοι μέλει ἀσπὶς ἐκείνη;
ἐρρέτω· ἐξαῦτις κτήσομαι οὐ κακίω.
Some Saian exults in my shield which I left --
a faultless weapon -- beside a bush against my will.
But I saved myself. What do I care about that shield?
To hell with it! I’ll get one that’s just as good another time.
Love this piece, AC Odyssey is a treasure trove 😍✨