Saturday, February 25, 2023

Caeneus as the Stoic Ideal: Plutarch, Compendium Argumenti Stoicos quam poetas absuriora dicere 1057d

 It is important to note that, like Palaephatus, Plutarch rejects the incredulity of Caeneus' bulletproof skin, but not his gender.


ὁ Πινδάρου Καινεὺς εὔθυναν ὑπεῖχεν, ἀπιθάνως ἄρρηκτος σιδήρῳ καὶ ἀπαθὴς τὸ σῶμα πλασσόμενος, εἶτα καταδὺς ἄτρωτος ὑπὸ γῆν ‘σχίσας ὀρθῷ ποδὶ γᾶν:’ ὁ δὲ Στωικὸς Λαπίθης, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀδαμαντίνης ὕλης ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν τῆς ἀπαθείας κεχαλκευμένος, οὐκ ἄτρωτός ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἄνοσος οὐδ᾽ ἀναλγής, ἄφοβος δὲ μένει καὶ ἄλυπος καὶ ἀήττητος καὶ ἀβίαστος, τιτρωσκόμενος ἀλγῶν στρεβλούμενος, ἐν κατασκαφαῖς πατρίδος ἐν πάθεσιν, τοιούτοις.

Reprehensus fuit Pindarus, quod Caeneum parum probabiliter finxisset ferro inviolabilem, et corpore quod laedi non posset, terram subiise nullo accepto vulnere, cum "RECTO PEDE SCIDISSET SOLUM."

At Stoicorum iste Lapitha ex adamantina, vacuitatis omnium perpessionum conflatus materia, non vulnerum duntaxat, morborum, dolorum, fingitur expers, sed et metu et moestitia carere, insuperabilis manere, nulli cedere viribus, tum quidem, quando vulneratur, dolores patitur, torquetur, atque adeo etiam in patriae excidio, aliisque Caeneus duntaxat ictus nullo cum vulnere excipit. 

--Plutarch, Compendium Argumenti Stoicos absuriora poetis dicere, Translated into Latin by Daniel Wyttenbach, 1832.

 

Pindar’s portrayal of Caeneus is criticized because: 1)  he is unrealistically portrayed as being bulletproof, 2) he has an invincible body, as well as 3) he was swallowed whole by the earth without a wound, as he “rends the earth with his right foot.” [Pindar fragment 166f / 147f]

But the Stoic Lapith*, equally made of adamantium (a material impervious to detriment) supposedly is free of not only injury, illness, and grief, but also lacks fear and sorrow. He is completely invincible, never yielding to any by force, and if he is wounded, he never suffers pain. Even if he is tortured, even if his homeland is destroyed, this Caeneus never seems to be upset.

* Caeneus was a Lapith [name of a region in Thessaly]

PLUTARCH

MAP:

Name:  Plutarch

Date:  46 – 119 CE

Works:  Parallel Lives

 

REGION  5

 

 

BIO:

Timeline:

 Plutarch was a Greek author and Roman citizen who lived during the 1st century CE. He had minor governmental and religious administrative roles during his lifetime, but he is best known for his writings. He has numerous philosophical and historical works still extant, including the Parallel Lives, in which he compares the lives of a Roman and Greek statesman for moralistic purposes.

 ROMAN GREEK



Friday, February 17, 2023

Redacted: Manipulating the Texts to Minimize Queer Elements in Latin Manuscripts I

In 1846, the editor of Jerome's Chronicle intentionally edited the text to downplay Hadrian's relationship with Antinous. Below is the text as the editor emended it, as well as the footnote admitting the change:

13 (anno 131). Antinous puer regius egregius eximiae pulchritudinis, in Egypto moritur, quem Hadrianus vehementer deperiens diligenter sepeliens (nam in deliciis* habuerat) in deos refert, ex cuius nomine etiam urbs appellata est.

Footnote: Parmensis ms. cum Scaligero et plerisque libris aliis "puer regius" pro egregius, et mox "vehementer deperiens" pro "diligenter sepeliens" legit. Hadrianus urbem, quam tunc voluit nominari Antinoopolin, sine Antinoon, ante aliquot annos in Aegypto condiderat.  

* Note the Christian author's use of "in deliciis," which normally refers to a master-slave relationship 

--Jerome, Interpretatio Chronicae Eusebii Pamphili 1.2.13, edited by Jacques-Paul Migne (1846) 

Text: [The year 131 CE]. Antinous, a royal excellent youth of exceptional beauty died in Egypt. Hadrian was emotionally devastated over dutifully buried him (for he was dear to his heart) and enrolled him among the gods, then named a city after him.

[Editor’s Footnote: MS P, as well as MS S and very many other versions of this manuscript state “royal youth” instead of “excellent youth,” and “emotionally devastated” instead of “dutifully buried” him. Hadrian wanted to name the city he’d created earlier in Egypt “Antinous’ city” or “Antinous.”] 

JEROME

MAP:

Name:  Jerome, Sanctus Hieronymus

Date:  342 – 420 CE

Works:  Sacra Biblia [Translation of the Bible]

Letters

 

REGION  5

 

 

BIO:

Timeline:

 Jerome was a Christian author born in Pannonia (modern Slovenia). He was one of the most influential and prolific Christian authors of his time, and is best known for his Latin translation of the Bible. The most famous anecdote about Jerome’s life is  a vision in which he feels guilt over being more "Ciceronian" than "Christian".

 AGE OF CONFLICT

 

 

 

 

 




The Worship of Antinous, Inscriptiones Latinae Orelli 823

 

Antinoo et Beleno par aetas formaque par est;

Cur non Antinous sit quoque qui Belenus.  [Inscr. Orell.823]

 

Antinous and Belenus* are equal in age and beauty,

So why can’t Antinous also be like Belenus [i.e., a god?]

 

*Belenus was the name of an Italian god of light and healing, usually associated with Apollo  

Friday, February 10, 2023

Antinous Listens To Your Prayers: Prudentius, Contra Symmachum 1.271-277

Content Warning: In this poem, the Christian author Prudentius refers to Antinous as a "deliciae," which is usually used to refer to slaves / human trafficking victims. His disdain for same sex relationships is evident, as he equates the relationship as negating Antinous' masculinity. 


quid loquar Antinoum caelesti in sede locatum,

illum delicias nunc divi principis, illum

purpureo in gremio spoliatum sorte virili,

Hadrianique dei Ganymedem, non cyathos dis

porgere sed medio recubantem cum Iove fulcro

nectaris ambrosii sacrum potare Lyaeum,

dumque suo in templis vota exaudire marito?

--Prudentius, Contra Symmachum 1.271-277 

What can I say about Antinous,

The man turned into a constellation,

The boyfriend of our divine Emperor [Hadrian]

The man denied a man’s role

       as he lies in the emperor’s arms

The Divine Hadrian’s Ganymede,

Who doesn’t pour drinks for the gods

but instead reclines on the couch with his Jupiter

drinking the sacred drink of ambrosia & nectar

and listens to prayers offered to his imperial husband?



PRUDENTIUS

MAP:

Name: Aurelius Prudentius Clemens 

Date:   4th century CE

Works:  Crowns of Martyrdom; Against Symmachus; Psychomachia

REGION   2

 

BIO:

Timeline:

  Prudentius was a Christian author from Roman Hispania (modern Spain) who had great influence in the court of Emperor Theodosius I. He is known for his elevated poetry with Christian themes.

Byzantine / Late Latin

 

 

 


Friday, February 3, 2023

A Rejection of Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins, Prudentius Contra Symmachum 2.1064-1079

quae nunc Vestalis sit virginitatis honestas

discutiam, qua lege regat decus omne pudoris.

ac primum parvae teneris capiuntur in annis,

ante voluntatis propriae quam libera secta,

laude pudicitiae fervens et amore deorum,

iusta maritandi condemnet 1 vincula sexus,

captivus pudor ingratis addicitur aris,

nec contempta perit miseris sed adempta voluptas

corporis intacti: non mens intacta tenetur,

nec requies datur ulla toris, quibus innuba caecum

vulnus et amissas suspirat femina taedas;

tum quia non totum spes salva interficit ignem,

nam resides quandoque faces adolere licebit

festaque decrepitis obtendere flammea canis;

tempore praescripto membra intemerata requirens

tandem virgineam fastidit Vesta senectam. 

--Prudentius, Contra Symmachum 2.1064 -1079

Now I’ll discuss the honor given to the chastity of the Vestal Virgins,

And how this ‘honor’ reflects all of their [Roman polytheists’] ‘respect’ for chastity.

First of all, little girls are taken in their tender years

Before they are old enough to understand and consent.

All hyped up with religious zeal and purity culture,

They reject the natural bonds of matrimony.

They become slaves to their chastity and are dragged to ungrateful altars.

These poor girls lose their sense of bodily pleasure

Not because it’s the right thing to do,

But because their free will was taken from them.

Their bodies might remain chaste,

but their minds are not kept pure,

They stay up at night restlessly and sigh in their unwed beds

The blind wounds & the wedding denied to them.

And since their secret hope doesn’t extinguish their fire completely

(for they can get married in their old age)

They run to the altar as gray-haired women.

Vesta demands purity for her maidens

For an allotted time,

but they immediately reject her as old maids.

PRUDENTIUS

MAP:

Name: Aurelius Prudentius Clemens 

Date:   4th century CE

Works:  Crowns of Martyrdom; Against Symmachus; Psychomachia

REGION   2

 

BIO:

Timeline:

  Prudentius was a Christian author from Roman Hispania (modern Spain) who had great influence in the court of Emperor Theodosius I. He is known for his elevated poetry with Christian themes.

Byzantine / Late Latin