A Lesson Plan: Soulmates, Celestial Bodies, and the Origin of Love

Target Audience: 

Appropriate for third semester Latin students

Objective:

Students Will Be Able To:  Infer Greco-Roman perspectives on sexuality and gender roles by analyzing an adapted Latin text of Plato’s Symposium 189ff 

Essential Questions

·         What does a culture’s mythology tell us about their perspectives of gender?

·         What does a culture’s mythology tell us about their perspectives of sexuality?

·         What can we learn by comparing different cultures’ perspectives on gender and sexuality?

Soulmates, Celestial Bodies, and the Origin of Love: A Lesson Plan PDF

M/M: The Myth of Sylvanus and Cyparissus, Vat. Myth. I.6

Sylvanus deus est silvarum. Hic amavit puerum Cyparissum nomine qui habebat mansuetissimam cervam. Hanc cum Silvanus nescius occidisset, puer extinctus est dolore. Quem amator deus in cypressum arborem nominis eius convertit quam pro solatio portare dicitur.

--Vatican Mythographers I.6

Sylvanus was the god of the forest. He loved a youth (puer) named Cyparissus who had a pet doe. When Sylvanus unintentionally killed it, Cyparissus died of grief. Silvanus transformed him into a cypress tree and is said to carry its branches as a mourning token.

VATICAN MYTHOGRAPHERS	MAP:
Name:  ??? Date:  10th c. CE (?) Works:  Mythographi Vaticani*	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the author or origin of the collection of myths known as the Vatican Mythographers, but the work’s first editor Angelo Mai found the collection on a manuscript dating back to the 10th century CE. This volume is a collection of three different mythographers who have assembled various Greco-Roman myths; although many of these myths are basic summaries in Latin, some of them are either analyzed as allegories or compared to Christian thought.	LATE LATIN (10th c. CE ?)

Just Say Yes: Heckling an Asexual Woman, Luxorius LXXVIII

TRIGGER WARNING: A major theme of Roman lyric poetry was pursuing reluctant or unwilling partners; many poets even boasted about "converting" those castior Hippolyto ("more chaste than Hippolytus," Martial Epig. VIII.46) into sexually receptive partners. In this poem, the author Luxorius is aggressively denouncing the addressee for being "too beautiful to be chaste."


Pulcrior et nivei cum sit tibi forma coloris,
cuncta pudicitiae iura tenere cupis.
Mirandum est quali naturam laude gubernes
moribus ut Pallas, corpore Cypris eas.
Te neque coniugii libet excepisse levamen;
saepius exoptas nolle videre mares.
Haec tamen est animo quamvis exosa voluptas:
numquid non mulier conparis esse potes?

--Luxorius LXXVIII.

Although your complexion is as clear as fresh-fallen snow,
you want to cling to the laws of chastity-- all of them.
And I think it's super cute that you can deny your nature
and strut about with Pallas' [Athena'] self-control
in a body that rivals Venus'.
You wouldn't even "put out" for a husband, either--
you don't even want to look at men.
But when that detestable lust creeps into your soul,
couldn't you share it with someone as a wife?

LUXORIUS	MAP:
Name:  Luxorius Date:  6th c. CE Works:  <Poems>	REGION  3
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Luxorius except that he lived in Carthage (modern Tunisia, northern Africa) and that his poetry was popular in the court of the Vandal kings. His poetry provides us with rare insight into the changing customs as the Roman Empire transitioned from a polytheistic to a monotheistic society.	BYZANTINE / LATE LATIN

W/M: A Woman's Passion, Sulpicia Epist. I

Tandem venit amor, qualem texisse pudori
quam nudasse alicui sit mihi fama magis.
Exorata meis illum Cytherea Camenis
adtulit in nostrum deposuitque sinum.
Exsolvit promissa Venus: mea gaudia narret,
dicetur si quis non habuisse sua.
Non ego signatis quicquam mandare tabellis,
ne legat id nemo quam meus ante, velim,
sed peccasse iuvat, vultus conponere famae
taedet: cum digno digna fuisse ferar.

--Sulpicia Epist. 1


At last my love has come!

It is better for me to admit my feelings than to save my reputation.


Venus has listened to my poetry and has brought me the man of my dreams, and plopped him down right into my lap.


Venus makes good on her promises: let it be known that I am one of her success stories, if anyone claims that she doesn't take care of her own.


I don't want everyone to read this before he does (oops!).



It feels so good to have confessed my feelings (peccasse), but it hurts to keep a poker face in public: I hope people say that the two of us found a partner worthy of each other (cum digno digna).

SULPICIA	MAP:
Name:  Sulpicia Date:  40 BCE - ? Works:  Epistulae	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Sulpicia is one of the few Roman women poets whose works are still available today, and they were only preserved by chance. These six poems were originally preserved in a manuscript of the poet Tibullus; editors originally thought that Tibullus was pretending to write as a woman. Like her fellow male authors, Sulpicia used a pseudonym to address her lover, calling him “Cerinthus.”	GOLDEN AGE ROMAN

M/M: The Love Poet Fails At Love: Tibullus, I.4.81-84

Heu heu quam Marathus lento me torquet amore!
Deficiunt artes, deficiunt doli.
Parce, puer, quaeso, ne turpis fabula fiam,
Cum mea ridebunt vana magisteria.

--Tibullus, Eleg. I.4.81-84

Alas, how badly Marathus torments me by playing hard to get [lento...amore]!
My poetry sucks, all of my dating tricks [doli] aren't working.
I beg you, my love, spare me from this,
Lest this love poet become a mockery of his own subject,
since everyone is laughing at my love advice.

TIBULLUS	MAP:
Name:  Albius Tibullus Date:  55 – 19 BCE Works:  Elegies	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Tibullus was an Italian born equestrian Roman who lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy. His volumes of elegies provide insight into the lives and customs of Roman aristocrats. Like Catullus and Propertius, Tibullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Delia” or “Marathus.”	GOLDEN AGE ROME

Intersex and Free: Luxorius, XXXI.1-2,4,7

TRIGGER WARNING: The entirety of this poem is offensive. Despite the poet's disapproval of the addressee's lifestyle, the fact remains that this poem chronicles the life of an intersex person who enjoys bodily autonomy and sexual freedom. This passage was chosen because it not only provides insight into the lives of intersex Romans who remained free from the shackles of human trafficking (cf. Pliny, NH VII.34), but it also reveals the hate speech that many intersex individuals used to--and continue to--face.

Monstrum feminei bimembre sexus,
quam coacta virum facit libido,...
cur te decipit inpotens voluptas?
...puella tunc sis!

--Luxorius XXXI.1-2, 4, 7

Double-genitaled monster of the feminine sex,
whom pleasure compels to "play the [part of a] man,"
why does your sterile desire deceive you?
Just be a girl!

LUXORIUS	MAP:
Name:  Luxorius Date:  6th c. CE Works:  <Poems>	REGION  3
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Luxorius except that he lived in Carthage (modern Tunisia, northern Africa) and that his poetry was popular in the court of the Vandal kings. His poetry provides us with rare insight into the changing customs as the Roman Empire transitioned from a polytheistic to a monotheistic society.	BYZANTINE / LATE LATIN

Bending Gender Roles: Achilles on Skyros, Statius, Ach.I.349-359

Knowing that her son was destined to die at Troy, the sea goddess Thetis disguised Achilles as a girl and sent him to live among King Lycomedes' daughters on the island of Skyros. The myth of Achilles on Skyros was widely popular in both Greco-Roman art and literature; this particular version highlights gender roles of epic poetry.

Protinus aggreditur regem atque ibi testibus aris
"Hanc tibi," ait, "nostri germanam, rector, Achillis
(nonne vides ut torva genas aequandaque fratri?)
tradimus. Arma umeris arcumque animosa petebat
ferre et Amazonio conubia pellere ritu.
Sed mihi curarum satis est pro stirpe virili;
haec calathos et sacra ferat, tu frange regendo
indocilem sexuque tene, dum nubilis aetas
solvendusque pudor; neve exercere protervas
gymnadas aut lustris nemorum concede vagari.
Intus ale et similes inter seclude puellas.

--Statius, Achilleid I.349 - 359

Immediately Thetis approached King Lycomedes and said, "With the gods as my witness, o King, I entrust to you this girl: she is the sister of my Achilles (Don't you see her fierce and serious brow; doesn't she look exactly like her brother?). This li'l spitfire is going through an "Amazon phase;" she's trying to play with manly weapons, shooting arrows with her little bow, even speaking out against marriage.

I have enough to worry about with her brother, so let this sweet li'l princess weave and practice sacred rites. Tame this tomboy with harsh discipline, and keep her only doing "girly things" [sexuque tene] until she's ripe for marriage and it's time for her to give up her virginity to her husband.

Don't let her do sports, or train with those muscly girls, and don't let her wander the forest alone. Keep her inside with all of the other good girls."

STATIUS	MAP:
Name:  Publius Papinius Statius Date:  45 – 96 CE Works:  Achilleid                Silvae                Thebaid	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
One of the most influential epic poets of the Silver Age, Statius spent most of his life in Naples, Italy. His most famous work, the Thebaid, is an epic poem that describes the civil war between the descendants of Oedipus; he also wrote the Achilleid, a short epic on the boyhood of Achilles.	SILVER AGE LATIN

W/W: Unrequited: Sappho fr. 131

Tibi, autem, Atthi, me curare invisum est, ad Andromedam vero volas.

Ἄτθι σοὶ δ ἔμεθέν μεν άπήχθετο
φροντίσδεν, ἔπι δ᾽ Ἀνδρομέδαν πότῃ

--Sappho, fr. 131; translated from the Greek by Christian Frederick Neue, 1827.

But you despise me, Atthis, and fly into Andromeda's arms instead.

SAPPHO	MAP:
Name:  Σαπφώ / Sappho Date:  630 – 570 BCE Works:  <lost: only fragments remain>	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Sappho was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry is emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centers around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into social mores of the time period. The modern term “lesbian” (a woman who is attracted to another woman) reveals the longevity of her impact upon western culture [NOTE: Although “lesbian” is the accepted term in modern English, authors in the ancient world used a different word for a homosexual woman, and only occasionally used the term “lesbian” euphemistically]. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.	Archaic Greek

W/W: I loved you, Atthis: Sappho, fr. 49

Amabam quidem te ego, Atthi, aliquando.

ἠράμαν μὲν ἔγω σέθεν Ἂτθι πάλαι πότα·

--Sappho, Fr. 49 (fr. XIV, Neue edition); translated from the Greek by D. Christian Frederick Neue, 1827.

There was a time when I loved you, Atthis.

SAPPHO	MAP:
Name:  Σαπφώ / Sappho Date:  630 – 570 BCE Works:  <lost: only fragments remain>	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Sappho was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry is emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centers around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into social mores of the time period. The modern term “lesbian” (a woman who is attracted to another woman) reveals the longevity of her impact upon western culture [NOTE: Although “lesbian” is the accepted term in modern English, authors in the ancient world used a different word for a homosexual woman, and only occasionally used the term “lesbian” euphemistically]. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.	Archaic Greek

The Emperor's Gender: Elagabalus, Epit. de. Caes. XXIII.1-3

TRIGGER WARNING: The Roman Emperor Elagabalus refused to adhere to Roman cultural norms, transgressing traditional gender roles, imperial court etiquette, and tenets of state religion. Many Roman historians condemned him for this behavior, including the anonymous author of the Epitome de Caesaribus; the author's bias in the following passage is evident.

Aurelius Antoninus Varius, idem Heliogabalus dictus, Caracallae ex Soemea consobrina occulte stuprata filius, imperavit biennio et mensibus octo. Huius matris Soemeae avus Bassianus nominee fuerat Solis sacerdos; quem Phoenices, unde erat, Heliogabalum nominabant, a quo iste Heliogabalus dictus est. Is cum Romam ingenti militum et senatus exspectatione venisset, probris se omnium contaminavit. Cupiditatem stupri, quam assequi naturae defectu nondum poterat, in se convertens muliebri nomine Bassianam se pro Bassiano iusserat appellari. Vestalem virginem quasi matrimonio iungens suo abscisisque genitalibus Matri se Magnae sacravit. 

--Epitome de Caesaribus, XXIII.1-3

Aurelius Antoninus Varius, also called Heliogabalus [Elagabalus], ruled for two years and eight months. He was a bastard son the Emperor Caracalla and his cousin Soemea. Bassianus, his mother Soemea's grandfather, was a sacred priest of the Sun, which the Phoenicians called Heliogabalus; this is where Elagabalus got his name.  
At first, Rome's senate and armies looked forward to his rule, but he disappointed them with his inappropriate behavior [probris]. When his body was not able to comply with his wishes [naturae defectu], Elagabalus ordered everyone to call him with the feminine name "Bassiana" instead of Bassianus [his birth name]. Uniting with a Vestal Virgin in a marriage ceremony, he later had his genitals surgically removed and dedicated himself [as a nun] to the worship of the goddess Magna Mater.

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ??? Date:  4th c. CE Works:  Epitome de Caesaribus*	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Sometimes falsely attributed to Sextus Aurelius Victor, the Epitome de Caesaribus is a concise history of later Roman history that covers the reigns of the emperors Augustus through Theodosius.	BYZANTINE / LATE LATIN

Challenging Gender Norms: Elagabalus, SHA Vit. Elag.IV.1-3

Deinde ubi primum diem senatus habuit, [Elagabalus] matrem suam in senatum rogari iussit. Quae cum venisset, vocata ad consulum subsellia scribendo adfuit, id est senatus consulti conficiendi testis, solusque omnium imperatorum fuit, sub quo mulier quasi clarissima loco viri senatum ingressa est.

--SHA Vita Elagabali IV.1-4

When he entered the Senate for the first time, Elagabalus ordered his mother to be brought in. When she arrived, she remained at his side on the consul's bench as a secretary--indeed, she witnessed the creation of a senatorial decree! Of all the Roman emperors, Elagabalus was the only one who allowed a woman to enter the senate as if she were a man [loco viri].

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ??? Date:  4th c. CE Works:  Historia Augusta	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the author(s) of the Historia Augusta; even internal evidence within the text is either falsified, skewed or utterly fictitious. Although attributed to six different authors, the text was likely written by a single author living during the 4th century CE. It is a series of imperial biographies modeled after the works of Suetonius; these biographies cover the reigns of the emperors Hadrian through Carus.	AGE OF CONFLICT

The Courage of Leaena: Pliny, Nat. Hist. XXXIV.19.12

Tisicratis Leaena laudatur. [Paelex] haec lyrae cantu familiare Harmodio et Aristogitoni, consilia eorum de tyrannicidio, usque ad mortem excrutiata a tyraniis, non prodidit. Quamobrem Athenienses et honorem habere ei volentes, nec tamen [paelicem] celebrasse, animal nominis eius fecere: atque ut intelligeretur causa honoris, in opere linguam addi ab artifice vetuereunt. 

--Pliny the Elder, Nat. Hist. XXXIV.19.12

Many people praise Tisicrates' statue of Leaena. She was a courtesan and entertainer specializing in singing and the lyre who was close with Harmodius and Aristogeiton; she kept secret their plot to kill the tyrant, not betraying their plans even when tortured to the point of  death.  Because of her courage, the Athenians wanted to honor her. Not willing to celebrating her profession, they made a statue of an animal with her same name, i.e., a lioness. To further honor her courage, they made the artist make the statue lacking a tongue.*

* According to tradition, Leaena bit off her own tongue to thwart her interrogators.

PLINY THE ELDER	MAP:
Name:  Gaius Plinius Secundus Date:  23 – 79 CE Works:  Naturalis Historia*	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Pliny was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.	GOLDEN AGE ROME

Just Say No: Virgo's Origin Story, Part II: Ovid, Metam. 1.149 - 150

Victa iacet pietas, et virgo caede madentis
ultima caelestum terras Astraea reliquit.

--Ovid, Metamorphoses, I.149-150

And in the end, when Piety lay crushed in defeat,
the maiden Astraea, the last of the divinities,
left the realm of humanity still dripping with blood.

OVID	MAP:
Name: Publius Ovidius Naso   Date:  43 BCE – 18 CE Works:  Ars Amatoria                Metamorphoses*               Tristia, etc.	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Ovid was one of the most famous love poets of Rome’s Golden Age. His most famous work, the Metamorphoses, provides a history of the world through a series of interwoven myths. Most of his poetry is erotic in nature; for this reason, he fell into trouble during the conservative social reforms under the reign of the emperor Augustus. In 8 CE he was banished to Bithynia, where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.	GOLDEN AGE ROME

Just Say No: Virgo's Origin Story, Hyginus, De Astr. II.25

VIRGO: Hanc Hesiodus Iovis et Themidis filiam dicit; Aratus autem Astraei et Aurorae filiam existimari, quae eodem tempore fuerit cum aurea saecula hominum, et eorum principem fuisse demonstrat. Quam propter diligentiam et aequitatem Iustitiam appellatam; neque illo tempore ab hominibus exteras nationes bello lacessitas esse, neque navigio quemquam usum, sed agris colendis vitam agere consuesse. Sed post eorum obitum qui sint nati, eos minus officiosos, magis avaros coepisse fieri; quare minus Iustitiam inter homines fuisse conversatam. Denique causam pervenisse usque eo, dum diceretur aeneum genus hominum natum. Itaque iam non potuisse pati amplius et ad sidera evolasse. 

--Hyginus, de Astronomica II.25

THE CONSTELLATION VIRGO: Hesiod states that the constellation Virgo represents the daughter of Jupiter & Themis [Justice]. Aratus, however, thinks that it represents the daughter of Astraeus and Aurora [Eos, the goddess of the dawn], who existed during the Golden Age of Mankind, and was their leader. Because of her duty and fairness, she was also called "Justice."  For at that time there was no threat to external war, there was no need for foreign trade or sea travel; everyone just lived off of the fruits of their own land. But after that age ended, the following generations were less able to mind their own business, and became greedy; therefore Justice was accustomed to dwell among humans less and less. Finally it got so bad that it became known as the "Bronze Age of Mankind." No longer able to endure the wretchedness of mankind, Justice flew off into the stars.

HYGINUS	MAP:
Name: Gaius Julius Hyginus Date: 64 BCE – 17 CE Works: Fabulae                De Astronomica*	REGION 1 / 4
BIO:	Timeline:
Hyginus was a freedman of the Roman emperor Augustus who was in charge of the Imperial library on the Palatine Hill in Rome. His work, the Fabulae, are a sourcebook for Greek and Roman myths. Although there is quite a bit of overlap between his writings and his contemporary and friend Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Hyginus’ works are much more succinct.	GOLDEN AGE ROME