The "Swallow Song of Rhodes" is a famous

ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

. In a tradition closely resembling the modern custom of

trick-or-treating Trick-or-treating is a traditional Halloween custom for children and adults in some countries. During the evening of Halloween, on October 31, people in costumes travel from house to house, asking for treats with the phrase "trick or treat". The ...

, during the month of Boedromion, the children on the Greek island of

Rhodes Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the So ...

would go out dressed as swallows and beg from door to door, singing the song. The song is preserved by the ancient Greek writer,

Athenaeus Athenaeus of Naucratis (; grc, Ἀθήναιος ὁ Nαυκρατίτης or Nαυκράτιος, ''Athēnaios Naukratitēs'' or ''Naukratios''; la, Athenaeus Naucratita) was a Greek rhetorician and grammarian, flourishing about the end of th ...

Naucratis Naucratis or Naukratis (Ancient Greek: , "Naval Command"; Egyptian: , , , Coptic: ) was a city and trading-post in ancient Egypt, located on the Canopic (western-most) branch of the Nile river, south-east of the Mediterranean sea and the city ...

, in his book, ''The Deipnosophists''. On the Attic calendar, the month of Boedromion took place in early

autumn Autumn, also known as fall in American English and Canadian English, is one of the four temperate seasons on Earth. Outside the tropics, autumn marks the transition from summer to winter, in September ( Northern Hemisphere) or March ( Sou ...

. It usually began around mid-September and ended sometime around mid-October. On the Rhodian calendar, however, the month seems to have taken place in early

spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season) Spring, also known as springtime, is one of the four temperate seasons, succeeding winter and preceding summer. There are various technical definitions of spring, but local usage of ...

. The tradition was claimed to have been started by the Rhodian lawgiver

Cleobulus Cleobulus (; el, Κλεόβουλος ὁ Λίνδιος, ''Kleoboulos ho Lindios''; fl. 6th century BC) was a Greek poet and a native of Lindos. He is one of the Seven Sages of Greece. Life Cleobulus was the son of Evagoras and a citizen of Li ...

. The melody to the song has not survived. All that has survived of the song are the lyrics themselves. The full text of the song in

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic peri ...

and in English translation is as follows:

External links

Came, came the swallow... The Deipnosophists, or, Banquet of the learned, of Athenæus, Volume 2 - VIII 360 cd

References

Ancient Greek songs Songs about birds Songs about Greece Greek children's songs Greek folk songs Ancient Rhodes Year of song unknown Songwriter unknown {{AncientGreece-stub