ἡ μέλισσα, -ης – a bee
ἡ μέλισσα ζῷον φιλεργότατόν ἐστι· συνεχῶς γὰρ πετομένη καὶ συλλέγουσα τὸ μέλι κατεργάζεται· τὸ δὲ μέλι γλυκὺ καὶ ἡδὺ τοῖς ἀνθρώποις, ὃθεν καὶ οἱ ποιηταὶ, παρέχοντες ἡμῖν γλυκέα ποιήματα, εἰκάζονται ταῖς μελίσσαις, ὡς διηγεῖται ὁ Σωκράτης·
“λέγουσι γὰρ δήπουθεν πρὸς ἡμᾶς οἱ ποιηταὶ ὅτι ἀπὸ κρηνῶν μελιρρύτων ἐκ Μουσῶν κήπων τινῶν καὶ ναπῶν δρεπόμενοι τὰ μέλη ἡμῖν φέρουσιν ὥσπερ αἱ μέλιτται, καὶ αὐτοὶ οὕτω πετόμενοι· καὶ ἀληθῆ λέγουσι. κοῦφον γὰρ χρῆμα ποιητής ἐστιν καὶ πτηνὸν καὶ ἱερόν…“
The bee is an exceedingly industrious animal, for it produces honey by relentlessly flying around and gathering. For the humans honey is especially sweet and pleasant, whence also the poets, who offer us sweet poems, are likened to bees, as explains Socrates:
“The poets tell us that they bring their songs to us by culling them from springs flowing with honey, out of the gardens and valleys of the Muses—just like the bees, even flying around like them. And they say the truth. For a poet is an airy thing and winged and holy…” (Ion 534a-b)