Christianizing the Myth of Achilles: John Tzetzes' Histories 8.793ff

Achillem Thessalum, velut ex patria Phthia,

Lycomedis recenter nuptiis accipientem puellam

nomine Deidamiam, ex qua filius Pyrrhus,

Ut cum hac commoratus est nuptiis atque thalamo,

fabulas quidam finxerunt, quod Hectoris timore

Thetis hunc abscondit Lycomedis domo,

velut puellam induta veste muliebri,

ne forte profectus cum exercitu Graecorum, occumberet.

 --Joannes Tzetzes, Historiarum --8.793ff; Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) [Greek text forthcoming]

 

Just because the Thessalian Achilles,

traveling from his homeland Phthia,

And marrying Lycomedes’ daughter Deidamia

[who bore his son Pyrrhus]

Spent time honeymooning with his bride,

 Some people made up stories

That out of fear of Hector

Thetis hid him in Lycomedes’ home,

Clothing him in women’s clothing as if he were a girl

So he wouldn’t set out with the Greek army and die in Troy.

  

 

 

 

M/M: Achilles and Patroclus, John Tzetzes, Hist. 8.182 & 10.336

De iis quae spectrum Patrocli ad Achillem dixit, non me viventem neglegis, sed mortuum

In Iliade Homerus spectrum Patrocli indtroducit,

eo quod adhuc insepultum tentoriis illud iaceret,

ut sepeliret adhortans ipsum Achillem,

Dicens illam sententiam quam Homerus inscribit

Heroicis in carminibus sic ipsa proferens:

non quidem de me vivo tristeris, sed mortuum

sepeli me, ut quam citissime portas Orci pertranseam.

Procul enim me arcent animae, simulachra mortourm." (8.182)

 

De Hoc, Quae Utinam non Fuisset

Patroclo ab Hectore occiso in bello

Antilochus Nestoris [filius] destinatus est a Graecis

ut [puero] atque Achilli calamitatem nunciaret.

Qui cum pervenisset ad eum, sic ad verbum dicit:

Heu Pelei fili prudentis, equidomitoris,

audies nuncium, qui utinam non esset,

Iacet Patroclus, pro eius vero cadavere sand pugnant

Nudo, verum arma habet galeatus Hector. (10.336)

 --Joannes Tzetzes, Historiarum 8.182, 10.336; Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) [Greek text forthcoming]

 

Concerning What the Ghost of Patroclus told Achilles, “You didn’t neglect me when I was alive, but now you neglect me when I’m dead”

In Homer’s Iliad, the author portrays the ghost of Patroclus  

At the time when his body still lay unburied in their tent.

Patroclus encouraged Achilles to bury his body,

Saying the thing that Homer wrote,

Quoted in the heroic epic:

“You never hurt me when I was alive,

But you do so now that I am dead.

Bury me so I can cross over through the gates of death

For the spirits of the dead are keep me from entering.”

Concerning the Thing That Should Not Have Happened

When Patroclus was killed by Hector in war

Antilochus [Nestor’s son] was selected by the Greeks

To tell Achilles what had happened to his boyfriend.

When he met up with Achilles, he said the following:

“Alas, son of Peleus, breaker of horses,   

Listen to the news which should not have happened:

Patroclus lies dead! They’re fighting over his body.

His corpse lies naked—stripped of armor!—and

helmet-wearing Hector has his armor.”

M/M: Gone, but not forgotten: John Tzetzes Analyzes the Deaths of Hyacinthus & Narcissus, Hist. 1.11

 Young people who died before reaching societal milestones of adulthood would be euphemistically married to divinities as a way of handling the grief of their lost potential. There are countless references to young people being "snatched by the nymphs," or becoming "brides of Persephone / Hades." In this passage, the Byzantine author John Tzetzes explains how the transformations of Narcissus and Hyacinthus were used to help alleviate the grief of their loved ones.

Hyacinthus Cynorti quidem erat frater venustus.

Filius Amycli autem patris, matris Diomedae,

ex terra virorum nobilium Laconum Amycleensium.

Apollo vero et Zephyrus adolescentem certatem sepe

et sane olim disco ludente Apolline cum hoc, scribant.

Vehementer cum efflasset zephyrus, discum circumvertit.

Vertice autem pulchrum cum percussisset, occidit iuvenem.

Terra autem florem eiusdem nominis reddidit pro iuvene,

quasi Narcissum miserata ob pulchritudinem.

Sed narcissi clara est allegoria.

Quia cum cecidisset in aquas iuvenis, praefocatus est.

Pulchritudinem vero extollentes, luctus solatio.

Dicunt cecidisse in aquas, umbrae suae desiderio.

Plantarum autem ficio clara, sicut et arborum omnium,

et stellarum cum ipsis atque istiusmodi.

Morientium enim affines, nutrientes desiderium horum,

ista nominarunt nominibus illorum.

Hyacinthi autem dicunt rivales, quos dixi,

ostendentes excellentem iuvenis venustatem,

quod gavisus sit Sol, oblectatus iuvene:

et ventorum flatus pro deliciis habuerint hunc.

Ut vero cum iuvene aliquo disco ludens interfectus est,

vento subvertente in verticem discum,

finxerunt quod Zephyrus invidens Soli

educit hunc e vita, atque e splendido lucifero.

 --Joannes Tzetzes, Historiarum 1.241 / 1.11; Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) [Greek text forthcoming]

Hyacinthus was the attractive brother of Cynortus.

He was the son of Amyclus and Diomeda,

From Lacon, the noble land of the Amyclean clan.

Both Apollo and Zephyr often competed for the youth’s affection.

And—they say—once, while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing the discus

Zephyr sent forth a violent wind, and changed the course of the discus.

When it struck the beautiful youth in the head, it killed him.

The Earth created a flower in memory of the youth, taking his name,

Mourning his beauty the same way she mourned Narcissus.

But the allegory of Narcissus is apparent:

When the youth fell into the water, he drowned.

As a consolation for their grief,

Those who praised the youth’s beauty

Said he fell in the water, struck by longing for his own beauty.  

Famous transformation tales of plants, of trees of all kinds,

And of constellation myths are similar to this.

The kin of the deceased, transforming their loss,

Name these things after their lost kin.

Just as I’ve stated, they say that the rivals of Hyacinthus [Apollo & Zephyr]

Reveal the extreme beauty of the youth,

Since the Sun reveled in the delight of Hyacinthus,

And the Wind itself also vied for his affection.

When the youth was killed while exercising with a discus,

They made up a story that the Wind, jealous of the Sun,

Took Hyacinthus away from his life—and from the Sun.  

M/M: The Watery End of Narcissus, Johannes Tzetzes, Historiarum 1.235ff

De Narcisso

Narcissus, Lacon venator, amator venustatis erat

in Hora aestiva autem olim cum situisset, post venationem,

ut incurvatur ad fontem, vidit se speciosum,

amat umbram suam, ut alterius iuvenis.

cupiens autem hanc apprehendere, humidam haurit mortem.

[Greek text forthcoming]

--Joannes Tzetzes, Historiarum 1.235 / 1.9; Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) 

 

Narcissus

Narcissus, a Laconian hunter, was a lover of beauty.

One time during the summer, when he was thirsty after a long day’s hunt

He knelt by a spring, saw his own beauty,

Fell in love with his own shadow, believing it was another man.

He tried to embrace him, but only caught a watery demise.  

M/M: The Sacred Band of Thebes, Athenaeus, Deipno. 13.12

Ποντιανὸς δὲ Ζήνωνα ἔφη τὸν Κιτιέα ὑπολαμβάνειν τὸν Ἔρωτα θεὸν εἶναι φιλίας καὶ ἐλευθερίας, ἔτι δὲ καὶ ὁμονοίας παρασκευαστικόν, ἄλλου δὲ οὐδενός. διὸ καὶ ἐν τῇ Πολιτείᾳ ἔφη τὸν Ἔρωτα θεὸν εἶναι συνεργὸν ὑπάρχοντα πρὸς τὴν τῆς πόλεως σωτηρίαν. …ὁ δὲ παρὰ Θηβαίοις ἱερὸς λόχος καλούμενος συνέστηκεν ἐξ ἐραστῶν καὶ ἐρωμένων, τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ σεμνότητα ἐμφαίνων, ἀσπαζομένων θάνατον ἔνδοξον ἀντ᾽ αἰσχροῦ καὶ ἐπονειδίστου βίου. 

Tum Potianus, Zenonem Citieum, aiebat, existimare Amorem Deum esse, Amicitiae &Libertatis & Concordiae auctorem, neque ei aliud esse negotium. Quare etiam in Republica scripsit, esse Amorem Deum, adiutorem ad salutem civitatis … Apud Thebanos sacra cohors, quae vocabatur, ex amatoribus & amasiis composita, maiestatem Dei huius declarabat, quum gloriosam mortem turpi & probrosae vitae anteferrent. 

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.12, Translated into Latin by Johannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Pontianos said that Zenon from Citium declared that Eros was the god of friendship and liberty, the provider of harmony, and nothing else. He wrote in The Republic that Eros was a god and an assistant in the safety of the community….In Thebes, the so-called “Sacred Band” composed of lovers, demonstrates the majesty of the god of love, for these soldiers welcome an honorable death over living with dishonor.

 

ATHENAEUS	MAP:
Name:  Athenaeus Date:  2nd c. CE Works:  Deipnosophists	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Athenaeus was a scholar who lived in Naucratis (modern Egypt) during the reign of the Antonines. His fifteen volume work, the Deipnosophists, are invaluable for the amount of quotations they preserve of otherwise lost authors, including the poetry of Sappho.	ROMAN GREEK LITERATURE

 

W/W: Sappho says 'thanks, but no thanks' to Anacreon, Anacreon fr. 358

σφαίρῃ δεῦτέ με πορφυρέῃ

βάλλων χρυσοκόμης Ἔρως

νήνι ποικιλοσαμβάλῳ

συμπαίζειν προκαλεῖται.

ἣ δ᾽ ῾ἐστὶν γὰρ ἀπ᾽ εὐκτίτου

Λέσβοὐ τὴν μὲν ἐμὴν κόμην

῾λ̔ευκὴ γάῤ καταμέμφεται,

πρὸς δ᾽ ἄλλην τινὰ χάσκει.

Globo, age, me purpureo

petens auricomus Amor,

huic, varie me pransans,

ut colludam provocat.

at illa, est enim ex bene habitata

Lesbo, meam quidem comam,

cana cum sit, vituperat,

et alli cuipiam inhiat. 

--Anacreon, fr. 358 (preserved in Athenaeus, Deipnosophists 13.72); translated into Latin by Johannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

 

Golden Haired Love

Attacked me with a purple ball

He keeps trying to get me

To play with him.

But she* who inhabits posh Lesbos

Takes one look at my silver hair,

Laughs at me

And swoons over someone else—a girl!

* According to Athenaeus, Anacreon wrote this poem to Sappho, because he was smitten by her

 

M/M: The Sparkle of His Eyes: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae 13.17

Young people who died before reaching societal milestones of adulthood would be euphemistically married to divinities as a way of handling the grief of their lost potential. There are countless references to young people being "snatched by the nymphs," or becoming "brides of Persephone / Hades." Endymion, a youth forever locked in a coma-like sleep, is one of these archetypes. In this version, he is courted by the god Sleep instead of the goddess Selene.

Λικύμνιος δ᾽ ὁ Χῖος τὸν Ὕπνον φήσας ἐρᾶν τοῦ Ἐνδυμίωνος οὐδὲ καθεύδοντος αὐτοῦ κατακαλύπτει τοὺς ὀφθαλμούς, ἀλλὰ ἀναπεπταμένων τῶν βλεφάρων κοιμίζει τὸν ἐρώμενον, ὅπως διὰ παντὸς ἀπολαύῃ τῆς τοῦ θεωρεῖν ἡδονῆς. λέγει δ᾽ οὕτως :

Ὕπνος δὲ χαίρων

ὀμμάτων αὐγαῖς ἀναπεπταμένοις ὄσσοις ἐκοίμιζεν

κοῦρον.

Licymnius vero Chius, cum Somnum dixisset amare Endymionem, ait, nec claudere eum illi oculos, sed sopire amasium apertis palpebris; quo constanter fruatur voluptate eius adspiciendi. Verba poetae haec sunt:

Somnus gaudens oculorum

splendore, apertis oculis

sopivit puerum.

--Athenaeus Deipnosophistae 13.17, translated into Latin by Johannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Licymnius the Chian said that Hypnos [Sleep] loved Endymion, and wouldn’t close the youth’s eyes when he fell asleep, but allowed his lover to sleep with his eyes open, so that he could enjoy gazing upon them.  He sang,

Sleep, rejoicing in the sparkle 

in the youth’s open eyes,

Lulled his boyfriend to sleep.