M/M: The Heroic Sacrifices of Cratinus and Aristodemus, Athenaeus Deip. XIII.78

This myth mirrors the Roman myth of Marcus Curtius.

Celebratum etiam est Cratini factum Atheniensis: qui cum formosus esset adolescentulus, quo tempore Epimenides Atticam humano sanguine lustravit ob vetusta quaeda piacula, ut tradit Neanthes Cyzicenus secundo libro DE Initiationibus, ulto se ipsum pro patria obtulit: cuius post mortem Aristodemus etiam, amator eius, sponte vitam finivit, & cessavit malum

διαβόητα δ᾽ ἐστὶν καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ Κρατίνῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ γενόμενα: ὃς μειράκιον ὢν εὔμορφον, Ἐπιμενίδου καθαίροντος τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἀνθρωπείῳ αἵματι διά τινα μύση παλαιά, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Νεάνθης ὁ Κυζικηνὸς ἐν β᾽ περὶ Τελετῶν, ἑκὼν αὑτὸν ἐπέδωκεν ὁ Κρατῖνος ὑπὲρ τῆς θρεψαμένης: ᾧ καὶ ἐπαπέθανεν ὁ ἐραστὴς Ἀριστόδημος, λύσιν τ᾽ ἔλαβε τὸ δεινόν

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78; Translated in to Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805) 

The story of Athenian Cratinus is also famous. According to Neanthes of Cyzicus’ second book of On Sacrifical Rites, when Epimenides was using human blood to expiate Athens, Cratinus was a stunning young man who sacrificed himself in order to save the one who raised him [Athens]. After he died, his lover Aristodemus also died, and the sacrifice was fulfilled.

ATHENAEUS

MAP:

Name:  Athenaeus

Date:  2^nd 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

M/M: Chariton and Melanippus, Blessed Pair: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78

 Like the Athenian couple Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the couple Melanippus and Chariton are also seen as symbols of political freedom.

Felix & Chariton & Melanippus erat,

mortalium genti auctores coelestis amoris.

εὐδαίμων Χαρίτων καὶ Μελάνιππος ἔφυ,

θείας ἁγητῆρες ἐφαμερίοις φιλότατος.

 

 --Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78; Translated in to Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Chariton & Melanippus were blessed;

Pinnacle of holy love on earth.

 

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

M/M: Melanippus and Chariton, Two Lovers of Freedom Athenaeus, Deip. XIII.78

Like the Athenian couple Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the couple Melanippus and Chariton are also seen as symbols of political freedom.

...ut ait Heraclides Ponticus in libro De Amatoriis. Hi [Melanippus & Chariton] igitur deprehensi insidias struxisse Phalaridi, & tormentis subiecti quo coniuratos denunciare cogerentur, non modo non denuntiarunt, sed etiam Phalarin ipsum ad misericordiam tormentorum commoverunt, ut plurimum collaudatos dimitteret. 

ὥς φησιν Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἐρωτικῶν, οὗτοι φανέντες ἐπιβουλεύοντες Φαλάριδι καὶ βασανιζόμεναι ἀναγκαζόμενοί τε λέγειν τοὺς συνειδότας οὐ μόνον οὐ κατεῖπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Φάλαριν αὐτὸν εἰς ἔλεον τῶν βασάνων ἤγαγον, ὡς ἀπολῦσαι αὐτοὺς πολλὰ ἐπαινέσαντα. 

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78; Translated in to Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

According to The Lovers by Heraclides of Pontus, [Melanippus and Chariton] were caught plotting against Phalaris. Even when they were tortured to provide the names of their accomplices, they refused. Moreover, their plight moved Phalaris’ sympathy to such an extent that he praised them and released them.

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

Challenging Gender Roles: Hypatia, Greek Anthology, IX.400

The author links the asexual astronomer and scholar Hypatia with the asexual goddess Astraea / Virgo

Colat necesse est literas, te qui videt

Et virginalem spectat astrigeram domum:

Negotium namque omne cum coelo tibi,

Hypatia prudens, dulce sermonis decus,

Sapientis artis sidus integerrimum.

 

ὅταν βλέπω σε, προσκυνῶ, καὶ τοὺς λόγους,

τῆς παρθένου τὸν οἶκον ἀστρῷον βλέπων

εἰς οὐρανὸν γάρ ἐστί σου τὰ πράγματα,

Ὑπατία σεμνή, τῶν λόγων εὐμορφία,

ἄχραντον ἄστρον τῆς σοφῆς παιδεύσεως.

--Palladas, Greek Anthology, IX.400; Translated by Hugo Grotius (1798)

Holy Hypatia,

Immaculate star of education,

Whenever I see you

I bow down in worship,

Revering you and your wisdom,

As if I were gazing at the starry house of the Maiden,

For all of Heaven is your classroom.

PALLADAS	MAP:
Name:  Palladas Date:  4th c. CE Works:  poems	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Palladas was a 4th c. poet and scholar who lived in Alexandria, Egypt. Little is known about his life, but several of his poems were preserved in the Greek Anthology.	POST CONSTANTINOPLE GREEK LITERATURE

<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

Love Potion No. 9: PGM 32.1-11

 Like Pompeiian graffiti, recovered papyri are an excellent source for voices otherwise lost to history. There are numerous examples of magical spells in the ancient world, with topics ranging from wishes, curses, and love spells.  The following papyrus fragment preserves a love spell that asks to attract one woman to another.

ADIURO TE, EVANGELE,

PER ANUBEM PER MERCURIUM ET PER DEOS MANES

UT SARAPIAM, QUAM HELENA PEPERIT,

HUIC HERAIDI, QUAM THERMOUTHARIN PEPERIT,

CAPTES ET VINCIAS

CITO CITIUS CITISSIME!

ANIMO SUI ANIMAQUE, CAPTES

IPSAM SARAPIAM, QUAM HELENA SUO VENTRE PEPERIT!

ΕΞΟΡΚΕΙΖΩ ΣΕ, ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΕ,

ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΝΟΥΒΙΔΟΣ ΚΑΙ

ΤΟΥ ΕΡΜΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΛΟΙΠ ΩΝ ΠΑΝ

ΤΩΝ ΚΑΤΩ, ΑΞΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΤΑΔ-

ΗΣΑΙ ΣΑΡΑΠΙΑΔΑ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕ-

ΚΕΝ ΕΛΕΝΗ, ΕΠ’ ΑΥΤΗΝ ΗΡΑ-

ΕΙΔΑΝ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕΚΕΝ ΘΕΡΜΟ-

ΥΘΑΡΙΝ, ΑΡΤΙ, ΑΡΤΙ, ΤΑ-

ΧΥ ΤΑΧΥ.  ΕΞ ΨΥΧΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ

ΑΓΕ ΑΥΤΗΝ ΤΗΝ ΣΑΡΑΠΙΑ-

ΔΑ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕΚΕΝ [ΕΛΕΝΗ] ΕΙΔΑ ΜΗΤΡΑ…

--PGM 32.1-11; Translated into Latin by K. Masters

Evangelos, I beseech you! By Anubis, by Hermes, by all others Below,

I bid that you bind Sarapias, daughter of Helen,

To Herais, daughter of Thermoutharin.

Now! Now! Now! Bind her, heart and soul,

This Sarapias, whom Helen birthed from her womb!

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ???? Date:  2nd century CE Works:  Papyri Graecae Magicae	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
The Papyri Graecae Magicae are a collection of texts that deal with magical topics. This spell, PGM 32, is from the 2nd century CE.	AGE OF CONFLICT

The Life of Delicate-Hearted Girls; Agathias, Greek Anthology V.297

Non tanti iuvenum divexant corda labores,

Heu quanti miseras nos muliebre genus.

Sunt illis aequaeva cohors, quorum audet in aures

libera vox curas exonerare suas;

sunt varii lusus: & nunc per compita cursant,

nunc animos ad se picta tabella vocat.

Nobis nec lucem fas cernere: condimur intra

claustra domus, tabes non ubi caeca vorat.

 

Ἠϊθέοις οὐκ ἔστι τόσος πόνος, ὁππόσος ἡμῖν

ταῖς ἀταλοψύχοις ἔχραε θηλυτέραις.

τοῖς μὲν γὰρ παρέασιν ὁμήλικες, οἷς τὰ μερίμνης

ἄλγεα μυθεῦνται φθέγματι θαρσαλέῳ,

παίγνιὰ τ᾽ ἀμφιέπουσι παρήγορα, καὶ κατ᾽ ἀγυιὰς

πλάζονται γραφίδων χρώμασι ῥεμβόμενοι

ἡμῖν δ᾽ οὐδὲ φάος λεύσσειν θέμις, ἀλλὰ μελάθροις

κρυπτόμεθα, ζοφεραῖς φροντίσι τηκόμεναι.

--Agathias, Greek Anthology v.297; translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius (1798)

It isn’t as hard to be a guy as it is to be one of us delicate-hearted girls.

Guys have age-mates, whom they can vent their stress to,

They have sports, and can see art whenever they want.

We can’t even go outside, but stay locked away indoors,

Locked in a dungeon of our own anxiety.

AGATHIAS	MAP:
Name:  Agathias Date:  536 – 582 CE Works:  Histories Poems	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Agathias was a 6th c. poet and scholar from Mysia (western coast of modern Turkey). His most famous work, the Histories, records the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinian I.   Several of his poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology.	POST-CONSTANTINOPLE

<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 / Late Greek

M/M: A Flower for Antinous (continued). Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae xv.21

Quoniam vero mentionem feci Alexandriae, memini etiam in pulchra hac urbe Antinoeam nominari coronam quamdam; quae fit ex loto qui ibi vocatur. Nascitur autem hic in paludibus, media aestate. Floris duplex color: alter rosae similis, e quo nexa corona proprie Antinoea vocatur: altera corona lotina nominatur, caeruleum (sive, ut corrigunt nonnulli, niveum) habens colorem. Et Pancrates quidem, indigena poeta, quem etiam nos cognitum habuimus, Adriano Imperatori, Alexandriae versanti, roseum lotum veluti miraculum quoddam ostentavit; dicens debere illum Antinoeam nominari, editum tunc e terra, cum sanguinem illa accepisset Mauri leonis, quem Adrianus in Libya Alexandriae finitima, cum venaretur, prostraverat; ingentem belvam, quae diu Libyam ita vastaverat, ut magnam eius partem desertam reddidisset hic leo. Delectatus igitur Adrianus commenti inventione ac novitate, concessit poetae ut publico sumptu in Museo aleretur.

ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐμνημόνευσα, οἶδά τινα ἐν τῇ καλῇ ταύτῃ πόλει καλούμενον στέφανον ΑΝΤΙΝΟΕΙΟΝ γινόμενον ἐκ τοῦ αὐτόθι καλουμένου λωτοῦ. φύεται δ᾽ οὗτος ἐν λίμναις θέρους ὥρᾳ, καὶ εἰσὶν αὐτοῦ χροιαὶ δύο, ἣ μὲν τῷ ῥόδῳ ἐοικυῖα: ἐκ τούτου δὲ ὁ πλεκόμενος στέφανος κυρίως Ἀντινόειος καλεῖται: ὁ δὲ ἕτερος λώτινος ὀνομάζεται, κυανέαν ἔχων τὴν χροιάν. καὶ Παγκράτης τις τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ποιητής, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔγνωμεν, Ἀδριανῷ τῷ αὐτοκράτορι ἐπιδημήσαντι τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ μετὰ πολλῆς τερατείας ἐπέδειξεν τὸν ῥοδίζοντα λωτόν, φάσκων αὐτὸν δεῖν καλεῖν Ἀντινόειον, ἀναπεμφθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς γῆς ὅτε τὸ αἷμα ἐδέξατο τοῦ Μαυρουσίου λέοντος, ὃν κατὰ τὴν πλησίον τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ Λιβύην ἐν κυνηγίῳ καταβεβλήκει ὁ Ἀδριανός, μέγα χρῆμα ὄντα καὶ πολλῷ χρόνῳ κατανεμηθέντα πᾶσαν τὴν Λιβύην, ἧς καὶ πολλὰ ἀοίκητα ἐπεποιήκει οὗτος ὁ λέων. ἡσθεὶς οὖν ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἐννοίας εὑρέσει καὶ καινότητι τὴν ἐν Μουσῶν αὐτῷ σίτησιν ἔχειν ἐχαρίσατο. 

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XV.xxi; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Now that I mention Alexandria, I recall that in that beautiful city there is a certain type of garland called the “Antinous,” made from a type of lotus flower. It grows in the marshlands in the middle of the summer. It comes in two colors, one similar to a rose (this is the kind they use for the Antinous garland), the other color called a lotus garland, and those flowers are bluish. Pancrates, a poet from there (an acquaintance of mine), presented this garland to Emperor Hadrian when he was sightseeing in Alexandria, and claimed it was a marvel.  He told the emperor that this ought to be called the “Antinous garland,” since it sprung from the ground where the blood of the Mauritanian lion that Hadrian [and Antinous] had killed when they were hunting in nearby Libya. The lion was a mighty beast which was menacing Africa so much that made a large portion of the land uninhabitable. Hadrian was delighted by the suggestion and the novelty of the idea, and granted that the poet live in the Museum at public expense.

ATHENAEUS

MAP:

Name:  Athenaeus

Date:  2^nd 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

M/M: Alexander and Bagoas: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx

Please note that even though Bagoas was free and able to consent to Alexander's affection, many eunuchs were not so lucky, and spent the duration of their lives in slavery. It is important to ensure that we do not romanticize relationships that would not be considered consensual today, including the master / slave dynamic.  

Dicaearchus certe, in libro De Solemni Sacrificio ad Ilium, ait, ita impotenter [Alexandrum] amasse eum Bagoam eunuchum, ut in totius theatri conspectu…eum suaviaretur: plaudentibus vero spectatoribus, & adclamantibus, paruit, iteruque retro eum osculatus est.

Δικαίαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἰλίῳ Θυσίας [Ἀλέξανδρον] Βαγώου τοῦ εὐνούχου οὕτως αὐτόν φησιν ἡττᾶσθαι ὡς ἐν ὄψει θεάτρου ὅλου καταφιλεῖν αὐτὸν ἀνακλάσαντα, καὶ τῶν θεατῶν ἐπιφωνησάντων μετὰ κρότου οὐκ ἀπειθήσας πάλιν ἀνακλάσας ἐφίλησεν.

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

In his book On Sacred Sacrifices at Troy, Dichaearchus states that Alexander the Great was so smitten by the eunuch Bagoas that he kissed him in the middle of a theater, and when the spectators applauded them, he kissed him again.

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