I met a traveler from an antique land
Who said: ‘Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert … Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown,
And wrinkled lip, a sneer of cold command,
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them, and the heart that fed:
And on the pedestal these words appear:
“My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare,
The lone and level sands stretch far away.’
Ozymandias, by Percy Bysshe Shelley
Fun project: write a send-up of Ozymandias that stars Lord Pacal instead.
Sources
Evergreen Verse, selected by Hilary Laurie, J.M. Dent, Orion Publishing Group, London, 1998. Ozymandias on p. 89
The Magnificent Maya, Time-Life Books, Alexandria, Virginia, 1993. Photo of Lord Pacal on p. 85
Out of Babel 
Totally unrelated but this just reminded me of a fact I learned a little bit ago (and you maybe already know), that apparently the Easter Island Heads have full bodies that are buried beneath the ground. Kinda blew my mind. I’d always thought they were just heads.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Comments about megalithic statues will never be off-topic on this blog.
I had heard the phrase “bodies below the Easter Island heads” but I guess I just took it as a joke or an urban legend. I’ll have to look it up, thanks.
LikeLiked by 2 people
It’s so true! 😀 It’s a really interesting example of soil erosion!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Are you saying that eroding soil buried the bodies … OK, I have to go look this up now …
LikeLiked by 1 person
From what I understand, yes! The deforestation (which occurred as the statues were built) led to significant soil erosion and the statues being buried … not all of them, but certainly some!
It’s been a while since I read about Easter Island … but Jared Diamond has a chapter about in Collapse. I’d highly recommend the book — you’d enjoy it!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I actually read Collapse. It’s been a few years (in fact, thanks for reminding me of the title. Maybe I can review it here some day.)
I remember the chapter about Easter Island, the deforestation, and the cannibalism, but for some reason I don’t remember anything about the “heads” being full statues. I do remember being surprised to learn that they face inland. If I was going to carve a giant head, I’d have it facing out to sea.
And, actually, looking up pictures on the Internet, there are tons of pictures of rows of statues (heads and bodies and in some cases still with the hats) standing in a row. Once I saw them, they looked familiar. So I don’t know why we think of the megaliths as “heads.” I guess because the most iconic photos of them are.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I would love to see your review of Collapse! — and, now that you mention it, I’m not sure if it does contain mention of soil erosion. If not, it’s probably from a documentary I once watched …
LikeLiked by 1 person
OK, you guys are right. This is going up on the blog tomorrow.
LikeLiked by 1 person
…. yay for remembering correctly!! 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Interestingl. How would Shelley know any of this, and why would he write about it?
>
LikeLiked by 1 person
Apparently Ozymandias is the Greek name for Ramses II, and interest in Egypt was high at the time of the writing.
https://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/an-introduction-to-ozymandias
LikeLike
I remember it well – NOT! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
This litteracha moment brought to you by a liberal arts education 🙂
LikeLike
Thank you so much.
LikeLiked by 1 person