A Lover's Words: Catullus 70 & Callimachus 5.6.1-4

Although Callimachus uses this literary trope for lovers of any gender, Catullus uses this trope specifically against his lady (mulier, sometimes identified as Lesbia).

Callimachus, Greek Anthology V.6.1-4 (Translated into Latin by Friedrich Duebner):

Iuravit Callignotus Ionidi, numquam se illa

habiturum-esse amicum potiorem neque amicam.

Iuravit: sed vere dicunt, amantium iuramenta

non penetrare in aures immortalium.

ὤμοσε Καλλίγνωτος Ἰωνίδι, μήποτε κείνης

ἕξειν μήτε φίλον κρέσσονα μήτε φίλην.

ὤμοσεν: ἀλλὰ λέγουσιν ἀληθέα, τοὺς ἐν ἔρωτι

ὅρκους.μὴ δύνειν οὔατ᾽ ἐς ἀθανάτων.

Callignotus swore to Ionis

That no one—man or woman—would be dearer to him than her.

He swears this, but what they say is true:

The oaths of a lover never reach the immortal gods.

vs. Catullus 70:

Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle

quam mihi, non si se Iuppiter ipse petat.

dicit: sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti,

in vento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.

My lady says that she’d rather marry no one but me,

Not even if Jupiter himself asked her.

So she says: but what a woman tells a desirous lover

Should be written on the wind and rushing water.

CALLIMACHUS / Καλλίμαχος	MAP:
Name:  Callimachus Date:  305 – 240 BCE Works:  Aitia (Causes)               Hymns              Pinakes (Table of Contents)	REGION  3 / 4
BIO:	Timeline:
Callimachus is often regarded as one of the best Alexandrian [Greek] poets. Born in raised in Cyrene, Libya, he spent a majority of his career at the famous Library of Alexandria, where he used the resources there to create refined, artful poetry. Although much of his poetry is lost, the fragments that remain are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.	HELLENISTIC AGE

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ???? Date:  Works:  Greek Anthology; Anthologia Graeca; Florilegii Graecii	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
The Greek Anthology is a modern collection of Greek lyric poetry compiled from various sources over the course of Greco-Roman literature. The current collection was created from two major sources, one from the 10th century CE and one from the 14th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets.	Byzantine Greek

CATULLUS	MAP:
Name:  Gaius Valerius Catullus Date:  84 – 54 BCE Works:  Poems	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Catullus was a Roman statesman born in Verona  (Cisalpine Gaul, located in northern Italy) who lived during the tumultuous last days of the Roman Republic.  His poetry offers rare insight into the mores of the time period. Like Propertius and Tibullus, Catullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Lesbia” or “Juventius.”	GOLDEN AGE