I have attempted something many Greeks might consider sacrilegious - translating one of the most loved traditional songs of Crete - and I would love to have your honest opinion, warts and all, essentially: Does it work in translation? Is the tune and time signature too foreign?

The epic Cretan poem of Erotokritos, written in the early 17th century, has given rise to a number of typical Cretan traditional songs (Mantinades), each taking a different snippet from the story, all great favourites with the Greeks thanks to its beautiful imaginative use of colloquial Cretan dialect of the time. The Parting is the most famous of those, and I have been meaning to attempt a translation of it into English, but couldn't quite hack it. This week it came out, and you can listen to a rough arrangement/recording on George's MySpace page.

The story of Erotokritos is long and convoluted, not unlike that of Romeo and Juliette. The background to this particular snippet (the parting) is that Erotokritos (our hero), having been proved the bravest of the King's vassals, dares to send his old father to the King to ask for Aretousa's (the king's daughter) hand on his behalf. The king, insensed at this effrontery, exiles Erotokritos – and he is now taking his leave from Aretousa. The song is the conversation between them before he leaves.

Here is some info from Wikipedia about Vincenzo Cornaro, the author of Erotokritos:

Vitsentzos Kornaros or Vincenzo Cornaro (March 29, 1553 – 1613/1614) was a Cretan Greek poet of the Greek Renaissance who wrote the romantic epic poem Erotokritos. He was the leading figure of the Cretan Renaissance.

Not many biographical sources exist about Kornaros himself apart from the last verses of Erotokritos. It is believed that he was born to a wealthy family in Sitia, in 1553, and lived there roughly up to 1590. He then moved to Candia (present Iraklion), where his marriage to Marietta Zeno took place. Together they had two daughters named Helen and Katerina.

In 1591 Kornaros became an administrator, and during the outbreak of plague from 1591 to 1593 he worked as a sanitary supervisor. He showed interest in literature and was a member of a literary group called Academy of Strange, which was founded by his brother and fellow writer Andreas Kornaros.

He died in Candia, in 1613 (or 1614) and was buried at the church of San Francesco. The cause of his death remains unknown.

Erotokritos consists of 10,012 fifteen-syllable rhymed verses. The story takes place in Athens with King Herakles lives with his wife Artemis and their very beautiful daughter Aretousa, with whom the handsome and brave young man Erotokritos, son of the king's advisor Pezostratos, has fallen in love. After many difficulties and trials, the couple is married amidst celebrations and magnificent contests.

The world of this work is the ideal Greek world of friendship, pure feelings, authentic Greek traditions. It is the world of the beauty of Athens and Crete which is "the throne of virtue and the river of wisdom." The language is authentic Greek and Cretan, a synthesis and conscious effort of the poet to express lofty human feelings and values with simplicity, directness and truth.

Erotokritos has been characterized as a masterpiece of the Greek language which unites the magic of myth and a deep understanding of everyday life. It expresses the "threefold ideal which is bravery, beauty and wisdom." A work rooted deeply in authentic Greek traditions, humanity, true feeling and pure love for life and freedom.

Please fire at will...