Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, ed. Poems of Places: An Anthology in 31 Volumes.
Greece and Turkey in Europe: Vol. XIX. 1876–79.

Greece: Tempe, the Vale, Thessaly

Tempe

By Mark Akenside (1721–1770)

(From The Pleasures of Imagination)

THE SMOOTH Peneus from his glassy flood

Reflects purpureal Tempe’s pleasant scene.

Fair Tempe! haunt beloved of sylvan powers,

Of nymphs and fauns; where in the golden age

They played in secret on the shady brink

With ancient Pan; while round their coral steps,

Young hours and genial gales with constant hand

Showered blossoms, odors; showered ambrosial dews,

And spring’s elysian bloom.