Christos Nika
A Poem
The Huntress was outdone by He Who sought, as Hound of Heaven, A prey more keen than deer or hare— Mankind for His possession. The Bacchic gardens vacant are: The Son of God has driven The legions of rebelling wights To Tartarus's prison. The Son of Mary rises past The light of faint Apollo; The Bridegroom's eyes turn Venus' charm To something frail and hollow. The cross's Victor reigns fore'er; Winged Nike falls to pieces. Defeated lie the lying gods Before the throne of Jesus.
I wrote the first stanza of this poem years ago, after studying some Greek sculptures in an art history course. For an excellent treatment of the triumph of Christianity over paganism, read GKC’s The Everlasting Man. St. John tells us that “the reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8 RSVCE). The Lord Jesus is plundering the house of the devil, and taking all his goods.
Thank you for reading back-to-back poems from Power & Glory. Some long-reads are on the way, including a deep dive into the controversial Sixth Session of a certain 16th century council and an extended reflection on a Nicolás Gómez Dávila aphorism about “ancient, rich, mature civilization[s].” Stay tuned, God bless you.
Good stuff, I enjoyed it!
Since you asked: Nika rather than Nike might be helpful in the fourth stanza. I thought the third line of third stanza worked well, four heroic stresses.
Wow, thanks.