From John Keats’ Ode to a Grecian Urn (the stanza concerning this marble): “Who are these coming to the sacrifice?   To what green altar, O mysterious priest, Lead'st thou that heifer lowing at the skies, And all her silken flanks with garlands drest? What little town by river or sea-shore, Or mountain-built with peaceful citadel, Is emptied of its folk, this pious morn? And, little town, thy streets for evermore   Will silent be; and not a soul, to tell     Why thou art desolate, can e'er return.” Keats: 1795-1821