Ancient Hysterical Alphabet
(1956)

A is for Athens, at war or at peace,
This was the fairest city in Greece. 

B's the barbarians prowling round Rome,
They got hungry at tea-time, and so they went home. 

C is the corn dole, to help Roman poor.
Once they had got it, they shouted for more. 

D's for Darius, the great Persian king
Fighting the rebels left no time to sing 

E's for Euripides, what did he do?
Why do you ask me I haven't a clue. 

F's for the forum, where rich Romans met,
But no-one could live there, it wasn't to let. 

G's for the gods who dwelt on a hill
'Twas called Mount Olympus, you can see it there still. 

H is for Hasdrubal, Hannibal's brother,
Strangely enough they had the same mother. 

I is the Iliad written by Homer
If I don't get a rhyme soon I'll fall in a coma.

J is for Julius an emperor chap,
In the end he was murdered and erased from the map.

K is for Kore, child of Demeter,
She was kidnapped by Hades, but he didn't ill-treat her. 

L is for literature, the Greeks were the best,
They could write poetry, stressed and unstressed. 

M is for Marius (this poem grows mouldier),
He was not a good statesman, but an excellent soldier.

N's for the Nile, the Egyptians' great river,
Some people say that it's good for the liver 

O's for Orators talking away,
If the people would listen, they'd talk on all day. 

P is for Pericles, forceful, not vague,
An Athenian leader, he died of the plague. 

Q is for question, what shall I do?
I can't find a thing beginning with Q.

R is for Ra, the god of the sun.
To have a hawk's head could not have been fun. 

S is for Sparta, warlike and bold,
They left weakling babies to die in the cold. 

T is for temple and also for tombs,
In Rome, the latter are called catacombs.

U is for Ur, Sumerian city,
Thank goodness, I'm nearing the end of the ditty. 

V is for Virgil, great Roman poet,
It's studied in school and don't we all know it! 

W's for writing, it wasn't in lines,
But was made up of pictures and various signs. 

X is for Xenophon, a writer of History,
How I've got this far is really a mystery.

Y is for Yahweh, it's really Jehovah,
Thank goodness! thank goodness, my tasks nearly over!

Z is for Zarna, my brain's nearly dead!
More information, please take as read.