M/M: I Love Those Who Love You, Fronto, Ad M. Caes. 4.1

Sed meliora, quaeso, fabulemur. Amo Julianum (inde enim hic sermo defluxit), amo omnis, qui te diligunt, amo deos, qui te tutantur, amo vitam propter te, amo litteras tecum: Inprimis eis mihi amorem tui ingurgito.

--Marcus Aurelius to Fronto. Fronto, ad Caesarem 4.1

But I beg you, let us talk about better things. I love Julianus (the reason we started this conversation). I love everyone who loves you, I love the gods who protect you, I love life because of you, I love our letters together: especially in the ones where I gush my love for you.

FRONTO	MAP:
Name:  Marcus Cornelius Fronto   Date:  100 – 160 CE Works: Letters	REGION  3
BIO:	Timeline:
Fronto was a Roman statesman born in Cirta (Numidia, located in northern Africa) whose rhetorical and literary abilities earned him the nickname “Second Cicero.” He was tutor and mentor to the future Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus; his correspondence with them provides unique insight into the personal lives of much of the Antonine dynasty.	SILVER AGE LATIN

M/M: United in Death: Carpos & Calamos

 

[48] nec calamis s. aeq. s. v. m. videtur allegoria quasi ad Theocritum et Vergilium respicere: hinc est 'tu nunc eris alter ab illo'. fabula de calamo talis est: veteres Zephyro vento unam ex horis coniugem adsignant, ex qua et Zephyro Carpon filium pulcherrimi corporis editum dicunt. quem cum Calamus, Maeandri fluvii filius, amaret, a Carpo mutua vice etiam ipse adamatus est. sed Carpos cum in Maeandrum fluvium cadens esset extinctus, Calamus, patrem propter hoc scelus aversatus, aufugit rogavitque Iovem, ut finem suis luctibus daret sibique mortem praestaret, ut amato post obitum iungeretur. quem miseratione Iuppiter ductus in harundinales calamos verti iussit, qui semper circa oras fluminum nasci solent, Carpon vero in fructus rerum omnium vertit, ut semper renasceretur.

 --Servius, In Ecl. 5.48Nor did Calamus...

Seems to be an allegory referring to Theocritus & Vergil repeats, like “you will now be another of him.” The story of Calamos is as follows: ancient authors say that the wind Zephyr married one of the Hours, and had a very handsome son named Carpos. Calamos, the son of the river god Meander, fell in love with him, and they loved each other intensely. However, when Carpos fell into the Meander river and drowned, Calamos was horrified by his father’s deed and ran away. He begged Jupiter to end his grief and let him die as well, so that he could join his beloved in death. Moved to pity, Jupiter ordered Calamos to be transformed into a reed, which is accustomed to bloom around riverbanks, and transformed Carpos into the fruit of all things, so he could always be reborn.

 

 

 

SERVIUS	MAP:
Name:  Maurus Servius Honoratus Date:  4th – 5th c. CE (???) Works:  In Vergilii carmina comentarii	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the author or manuscript tradition for the grammatical commentary of Vergil’s Aeneid.	BYZANTINE / LATE LATIN

M/M: Addressing a Toxic Relationship, Martial 2.55

Sextus, you want to be worshipped;

But I wanted to love you.

You have to be obeyed—or else!

Because you tell me to, I’ll comply,

But if I have to worship you, I won't--I can't--feel love for you.

--Martial, Epigrams 2.55 

Vis te, Sexte, coli: volebam amare.

Parendum est tibi: quod iubes, coleris;

Sed si te colo, Sexte, non amabo.

MARTIAL	MAP:
Name: Marcus Valerius Martialis Date:  40 CE – 104 CE Works:  Epigrammaton Libri XV*                De Spectaculis	REGION  2 (Hispania)
BIO:	Timeline:
Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These epigrams provide valuable insight into the mores and private lives of men and women from all of the city’s social classes.	SILVER AGE ROME