Poems from the Codex Salmasianus on Narcissus

Asexuality in men was often portrayed negatively in Greco-Roman myth, as Greek and Roman men were expected to marry and continue their family line. Just as Hippolytus' rejection of Aphrodite / Venus / physical love was punished, so too is Narcissus punished for his rejection of Echo. Narcissus is often coded asexual by various authors, as he rejects all men and women suitors (not just Echo). His 'love of himself' is a symbolic rejection of romantic and physical love.

Se Narcissus amat captus lenonibus undis.

Cui si tollis aquas, non est ubi saeviat ignis.

Captivated by the still waters, Narcissus fell in love with himself.

But if you removed the water, he wouldn’t be burning with love.

--Codex Salmasianus 219

 

Invenit proprios mediis in fontibus ignes

Et sua deceptum urit imago virum.

[Narcissus] found fire in the midst of water

And his own reflection burns for a deceived lover.

--Codex Salmasianus 145

 

Ardet amore sui flagrans Narcissus in undis,

Cum modo perspicua se specualtur aqua.

As he catches sight of himself in the clear water,

Narcissus burns for love of himself.

--Codex Salmasianus 146

 

Dum putat esse parem vitreis Narcissus in undis,

Solus amore perit, dum putat esse parem.

Narcissus thought he’d found his match

In the still pool

But he died, lovesick, alone

For he thought he’d found his match.

--Codex Salmasianus 39

 

 

M/M: Dying like a flower: Hyacinthus & Euryalus, Servius In Aen. 9.433

Name: Servius Date: 4th – 5th century CE Region: [modern Italy] Citation:   Commentary on the Aeneid, 9.433

9.433: “Like when a purple flower is cut by a plow.” This is the rationale for the comparison:  it is appropriate to compare Hyacinthus to Euryalus, because he was also a very beautiful man and he also turned into a flower when he died.

 

433] PURPUREUS VELUTI CUM FLOS SUCCISUS ARATRO habetur ratio comparationis: videtur enim Euryalo Hyacinthum comparare, qui pulcherrimus fuit et post mortem conversus in florem est 

 Servius [Maurus Servius Honoratus; 4th – 5th century CE] Servius’ name is unfortunately the only thing we know of this author. Little is known about the author or manuscript tradition for the grammatical commentary of Vergil’s Aeneid.

 

Avis Resurgens: A Latin Novella About Caeneus

 Avis Resurgens: Fabula de Caeneo is a 250-word first person short story in Latin on the life and adventures of the trans warrior Caeneus.  The PDF is formatted into booklet form using only two printed pages. It is a story of triumph and trans joy.

In Praise of Tiresias: Faustus Sabaeus

Name: Faustus Sabaeus Date: 16th century CE   Region:  Brixia [Brescia, modern Italy] Citation:   Illustrated Myths of Ovid

Fate prophesied that you would transform from a man to a woman;

Then you’d return to being a man, but one without sight.

Tiresias, you were also a judge for the gods, albeit for a trivial dispute

and your reward for the judgment was a punishment.

You were blinded, but you will see it all,

And your punishment will benefit you;

For if it is godlike to know the future, then you are a god.

De mare quod fies mulier: tibi fata minantur,

masque reverteris, sed sine luce, senex.

Tiresia, et iudex superum, de lite iocosa:

Tristia de dulcia praemia lite feres.

Caecus eris, sed cuncta videbis; poenia iuvabit:

si ventura Dei est noscere, Divus eris.

 

 Faustus Sabaeus [16th century, modern Italy] was a librarian of the Vatican library who composed numerous poems on mythology-based themes.

  

Apollo, Unlucky in Love: Faustus Sabaeus

Name: Faustus Sabaeus Date: 16th century CE   Region:  Brixia [Brescia, modern Italy] Citation:   Illustrated Myths of Ovid

While darling Venus was weeping over her slain Adonis,

Pretty Apollo wandered over and told her,

“Oh sister, one loss pains you, but

I suffer twice as much.

Although I appear happy, I am still grieving them.

My darling loves will forever live on,

Daphne, who had too much pride

And Hyacinthus, who had too little luck."

Extinctum preciosa Venus plorabat Adonim;

quum super accessit pulcher Apollo & ait,

Una, soror, te cura angit; me bina remordet,

usque adeo, laetus sim licet, ut doleam.

cari inquam semper vivetis amores,

dura nimis Daphne; fauste Hyacinthe parum.

Faustus Sabaeus [16th century, modern Italy] was a librarian of the Vatican library who composed numerous poems on mythology-based themes.

The Marriage of Iphis & Ianthe: Faustus Sabaeus (1580)

Name: Faustus Sabaeus Date: 16th century CE   Region:  Brixia [Brescia, modern Italy] Citation:   Illustrated Myths of Ovid

 Note: The last line is not published here, as it uses a bodily humor pun 

Iphis was a woman. By hiding in a man’s clothing

Even her father believed she was a man.

Her father promised her in marriage to pretty Ianthe,

A bride for a bride, a woman marrying a woman.

The day of the wedding draws near…

The bride approaches…

Venus was there

And Juno was there 

And Hymen was there...

and Iphis ended up marrying Ianthe.

 

De Iphide

Iphis erat mulier: latitantem in veste virili

vicini, immo pater credidit esse marem.

Deceptus genitor pulcram huic despondet Ianthem:

cum sponsa sponsa ut virgine virgo cubet.

Taede accenduntur: procedit nupta, Cythere,

Et Iuno praesens...et Hymen...

[et] potitur namque Iphis Ianthe.

Faustus Sabaeus [16th century, modern Italy] was a librarian of the Vatican library who composed numerous poems on mythology-based themes.

The Transformation of Iphis: Iohannis Posthius

Name: Johannes Posthius Date:   1537 – 1597 CE Region: [modern Germany] Citation:  Poems Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book 9

 Lygdus ordered his wife to kill their child

If she gave birth to a girl,

But Isis came to her in a vision

While she was in labor

And told her instead to deceive her husband. 

Lygdus named the child after his grandfather Iphis

And then arranged him to marry a woman.

And Isis came to the rescue:

For Telethusa watched in wonder

As her Iphis entered the temple a girl

and left it as a boy. 

Si pareret Lygdo coniunx Telethusa puellam:

Protinus hanc letho clam dare iussa fuit;

Isis sed contra mandat sub imagine somni:

decipiat pariens ut Telethusa virum.

Iphis avus fuerat: suboli dat nomen avitum

Lygdus: et uxorem deligit inde pater.

affert Isis opem: nam quaemodo templa subibat

femina: mox puerum mater abire videt.

Johannes Posthius [1537 – 1597 CE, modern Germany] was a famous German poet and scholar.

M/M: Apollo Mourns Cyparissus

Cyparissus still weeps, mourning his slain stag.

When he saw his lover's limbs covered in bark,

Apollo exclaimed, "O forest, why do you double my pains?

You have my Daphne, you have my Cyparissus."

--Act. Syncerus. Sannazarii, published in Picta Poesis Ovidiana (1580)

Flebat adhuc maerens cervo Cyparissus adempto:

quum sua conspexit cortice membra tegi.

Delius exclamat: quid nostro silva dolore

crescis? tu Daphnen, tu Cyparisson habes.

M/M: Phaeton and Cycnus, Servius In Aen.10.189

Name: Servius Date: 4th – 5th century CE Region: [modern Italy] Citation:   Commentary on the Aeneid, 10.189

“FOR, IT IS SAID, OUT OF LOVE FOR HIS LOVER PHAETON, CYCNUS…”

Commentary: Phaeton was the son of Clymene and the Sun. When Phaeton got upset because Epaphus, the Pharoah of Egypt, told him that he wasn’t the son of the Sun but a bastard, his mother Clymene took him to meet his father.  Phaeton asked the Sun to grant him a wish to prove he was really his son. When the Sun swore on the river Styx that we would grant Phaeton his wish, Phaeton said he wished to drive his chariot, and the Sun could not refuse.  

Phaeton took charge of his father’s chariot, and when he deviated from the Sun’s track, he began to burn up the world. Jupiter shot him down with lightning and Phaeton fell in the Po river.  

His sisters, Phaethusa and Lampetusa, wept over his death until the gods took pity on them and transformed into alder trees.  

Phaeton was also mourned by his lover, a Ligurian named Cycnus, (a man who was endowed with an amazing singing voice by Apollo). Because Cycnus mourned excessively over Phaeton’s death, he was transformed into the bird he shares a name with (a swan). Later on, Apollo turned him into a constellation. His son Cupavo is said to have the feathers of a swan in the crest of his helmet in tribute of his father. 

NAMQUE FERUNT LUCTU CYCNUM PHAETHONTIS AMATI Phaethon Clymenes et Solis filius fuit. qui cum doleret obiectum sibi ab Epapho, rege Aegypti, quod esset non de Sole, sed de adulterio procreatus, duce matre venit ad Solem et poposcit, ut si vere esset eius filius, petenda praestaret. quod cum Sol iurasset per Stygem paludem se esse facturum, petit ille ut eius currus agitaret. Sol post iusiurandum negare non potuit. acceptis itaque curribus Phaethon, cum orbitam solis exisset, et coepisset mundus ardere, a Iove fulminatus in Eridanum cecidit, qui et Padus vocatur. huius interitum flentes sorores, Phaethusa et Lampetusa, deorum miseratione in arbores commutatae sunt, ut hic dicit, in populos, ut in bucolicis, in alnos. fuit etiam quidam Ligus, Cycnus nomine, dulcedine cantus ab Apolline donatus, amator Phaethontis. qui cum eum fleret extinctum, longo luctu in avem sui nominis conversus est. qui postea ab Apolline inter sidera conlocatus est. cuius nunc filium Cupavonem dicit habere cycni pennas in galea ad formae paternae insigne monstrandum. 

--Servius, In Aen.10.189 

Servius [Maurus Servius Honoratus; 4th – 5th century CE] Servius’ name is unfortunately the only thing we know of this author. Little is known about the author or manuscript tradition for the grammatical commentary of Vergil’s Aeneid.

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

Name:    Plutarch Date:      46 – 119 CE Region:    Chaeronea [modern Greece]   Citation:     Compendium Contra Stoicos,1057d

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

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]

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. 

--Translated into Latin by Daniel Wyttenbach, 1832.

 

Plutarch [46 – 119 CE, modern Greece] was a Greek author from Chaeronea, 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.

M/M: Achilles Mourns Patroclus; Dictys Cretensis 3.14

Achilles Mourns Patroclus

Name:  Dictys Cretensis Date:   1st – 4th century CE Region:   Crete [?] [modern Greece] Citation: The Trojan War 3.14

Achilles extinguished Patroclus’ ashes with wine and collected his remains in an urn. He had decided to bring Patroclus’ ashes back home with him, or, if his fortune changed, to be buried in the same tomb with the one he loved most of all.

  Isque [Achilles] vino multo sopita iam favilla reliquias [Patrocli] in urnam collegerat, decretum quippe animo gerebat, secum in patrium solum uti adveheret vel, si fortuna in se casum mutaret, una aqtue eadem sepultura cum carissimo sibi omnium contegi.

Dictys Cretensis [1st – 4th century CE] Little is known about the author or circumstances of this work. On the Trojan War is written in the perspective of Dictys, a Cretan veteran of the Trojan War. The version we have today is a Latin translation based on a Greek original from the 1st to 4th century CE. This work heavily influenced Medieval literature and later Latin accounts of the Trojan War.

W/W: Beloved by the Nymphs: Dryope, Antoninus Liberalis Met. 32

Name:  Antoninus Liberalis Date:  2nd – 3rd century CE Region:  Unknown Citation:    Metamorphoses 32

Unlike similar stories involving Artemis /Diana (including Callisto, Aura, Atalanta, etc.), this rape myth does not include any victim blaming or shaming. The hamadryads do not punish or shame Dryope for being attacked, but instead wait until her child is grown before transforming her into a nymph, allowing her to raise her child and experience motherhood.

Dryops (the son of the river god Sperchius and the Danaid Polydora) became ruler in Oeta. He had one daughter named Dryope, who took care of her father’s flocks.

The hamadryad nymphs loved her greatly. They made her their companion wherever they went, and taught her how to sing hymns to the gods, as well as lead the sacred dances.  

When Apollo spotted her, he burned for desire to sleep with her. He transformed himself into a turtle. Dryope picked it up and kept it as a pet. When she had put him in her lap, Apollo transformed from a turtle into a snake. This terrified the nymphs, and they fled, leaving Dryope to her fate. Apollo attacked her.

Terrified of what her father would think, Dryope fled home, but told him nothing about the attack. Later on, she was married to Andraemon (the son of Oxylus), but she had already conceived a child with Apollo. Her son, Amphissus, grew up a well-rounded young man. He established the city Oeta (named after the mountain) and ruled there. He created a temple to Apollo in Dryopis there.

When Dyrope went to the temple, the hamadryad nymphs took her with them, moved by their kind feelings for her.  They hid her in the forest, leaving a poplar tree in her place. In this way Dryope was transformed into a nymph.

Out of respect for the nymphs’ treatment of his mother, Amphissus created a temple for them, and established an annual footrace dedicated to them; these races occur even today. Women are banned from this place, since two maidens told the villagers of Dryope’s whereabouts. This angered the nymphs, and they transformed these maidens into pine trees.

Dryops Sperchii fluvii Filius ex Polydora, una Danai filiarum, regnum obtinuit in Oeta: unicamque habuit filiam Dryopen, quae patris greges pascebat. Sed cum eam summo opere amarent Hamadryades nymphae, suorumque locorum sociam adscivisset, docuissentque carminibus deos celebrare, et choros ducere: Apollo ea visa, concubitus cum ea ardor ipsum incessit. Itaque primum se in testudinem convertis: quam cum, ut rem ludicram, Dryope Nymphaeque tractarent, Dryope eam etiam in sinum conderet, de testudine Apollo in anguem transiit: itaque eam Nymphae territae desuerunt, Apollo cum Dryopa rem habet. Ea autem metus plena in domum patris confugit, nihilque parentibus ea de re indicavit. Post cum eam Andraemon Oxyli filius duxisset, puerum ex Apolline conceptum parit, Amphissum. Hic cum virilem aetatem attigisset, omnibus praevaluit. urbemque ad Oetam condidit, monti isti cognominem, ibique regnavit. Posuit eta Apollini in Dryopide regione templum: in quod cum se contulisset Dryope, Hamadryades benevolentia impulsae ea rapuerunt, et in silva occultarunt, loco eius alno excitata, ac pone alnum fonte. At Dryope, naturae mutatione de mortali facta est nympha. Amphissus, pro meritis Nympharum in matrem, templum ipsis condidit, primusque cursus certamen confecit: quod incolae hoc quoque nostro tempore curant. Mulierem eo accedere nefas est, quod Dryopen a Nymphis sublatam duae virgines incolis indicarunt: quas indignatione motae Nymphae, in abietes mutarunt.

 Translated by Xylander 1832 (Greek text forthcoming) 

 

Antoninus Liberalis [2nd – 3rd century CE] Little is known about the life of the Greek author Antoninus Liberalis. His work, Metamorphoses, is similar to the works of Hyginus in that they provide brief summaries of Greek and Roman myths.

Remembered Among the Flowers: Claudian, De Raptu Proserpinae 2.128-136

Name:  Claudian Date:   370 – 404 CE  Region:    Alexandria [modern Egypt] Citation: The Abduction of Proserpina, 2.128-136

The loss of Hyacinthus and Narcissus foreshadow Persephone / Proserpina's abduction. 

Together, they [Proserpina and her companions]  gather the flowers, the glory of the fields:

This one weaves lilies with dark violets,

That one decorates herself with marjoram.

Another one strides onwards, crowned with roses, and another is sparkly with white flowers.

This one wears you as well, sorrowful Hyacinthus, with your mournful petals*,

They pluck Narcissus, too:

Once, long ago, you were awesome youths,

But now you are the famous companions of the spring.

You, Hyacinthus, were a son of Amyclae,

But Helicon created Narcissus.

A stray discus killed you, Hyacinthus,

But a water [nymph]’s love led you astray.

The Delian god [Apollo] wears you upon his forehead, Hyacinthus;

And Cephisus mourns your loss, Narcissus, with a broken reed [panpipe].

 

pratorum spoliatur honos : haec lilia fuscis

intexit violis ; hanc mollis amaracus ornat ;

haec graditur stellata rosis, haec alba ligustris.

te quoque, flebilibus maerens Hyacinthe figuris,  

Narcissumque metunt, nunc inclita germina veris,

praestantes olim pueros : tu natus Amyclis,

hunc Helicon genuit ; disci te perculit error,

hunc fontis decepit amor ; te fronte retusa

Delius, hunc fracta Cephisus harundine luget. 

 

 Claudian was born in Alexandria, Egypt during the 4^th century CE. He is one of the best poets of the time period, and he provides a unique perspective as a non-Christian writer in Christian Rome. Many of his works are still extant, including panegyric [official praise literature] for the Roman Emperor Honorius and his general Stilicho, a poem criticizing the eunuch consul Eutropius, and an epic retelling of the abduction of Persephone.

Gone, But Not Forgotten: The Undeath of Caeneus, Pindar, fr. 166f / 147 f.

Although it does not mention the transformation aspect of the myth of Caeneus, this version does attest to his invulnerability. 

 Struck by the green pines, Caeneus broke the earth with his foot and disappeared.

ο δε χλωραϊς ελάταισι τυπείς ώχετο Καινεύς σχίσαις ορθω ποδι γαν

Caeneus vero virentibus abietibus percussus abiit, recto pede terra scisa.

--Pindar, fragment 45 (1821; modern number 166f/147f; attested in Schol. Apollon. Argon.I.61); Translated into Latin by Augustus Boeckhius (1821)

 Pindar is a famous Greek poet from Boeotia (modern Greece) known for his victory odes. These odes, for victors of Pythian, Nemean, and Olympic games, are rich in mythological imagery, and help us understand the relationships of the ancient Greeks to their cultural heritage and their understanding of the past. 

Achilles' earrings! Servius, Aen. 1.30

Name: Servius Date: 4th – 5th century CE Region: [modern Italy] Citation:   Commentary on the Aeneid, 1.30

It is said that there’s a statue of Achilles in Sigeum where he wears an earring in his ear just like a woman does.

apud Sigeum Achillis statua fuisse dicitur, quae in lanna, id est in extima auris parte elenchum more femineo habuerit.

Servius [Maurus Servius Honoratus; 4th – 5th century CE] Servius’ name is unfortunately the only thing we know of this author. Little is known about the author or manuscript tradition for the grammatical commentary of Vergil’s Aeneid.

The Avenger of Achilles: Martial, Epig.2.84.1-2

Name: Martial Date: c. 40 – 100 CE Region: Bilbilis, Hispania [modern Spain] Citation: Epigrams 2.84.1-2

Note: Only the first half of the poem is printed here. In the second half, Martial makes an obscene comparison to this myth and one of his peers.

Philoctetes was gay, and openly flirty with men;

This is how Venus avenged the wounds of Paris*.

*In this version of the myth, Paris shoots and kills Achilles, and in turn is slain by Philoctetes' bow.

Mollis erat facilisque viris Poeantius heros:

     vulnera sic Paridis dicitur ulta Venus.

Martial [Marcus Valerius Martialis; 38 BCE – 102 CE, modern Spain] 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 poems provide valuable insight into the private lives of Romans from all of the city’s social classes.

The Greeks Honoring the Fallen Amazons: Pausanias, Description of Greece, 1.41.7

 

Name:  Pausanias Date:        110 – 180 CE Region:    Lydia [modern Turkey] Citation:      Description of Greece  1.41.7

Amazons were a varied and complex component of Athenian art and literature. In this passage, Pausanias describes the tomb of the mythical Amazon warrior Hippolyte, who dies of a broken heart when she loses her sister, Antiope. 

Near the monument to Pandion is the monument to Hippolyta; let me tell you about what the Megarians say about it. When the Amazons attacked Athens to avenge the kidnapped Antiope, they were defeated by Theseus. Many of the Amazons died in battle, but Hippolyte, the sister of Antiope and the Amazons’ general, retreated to Megara with the few remaining survivors. Upset by the defeat in battle, and despairing that that she would never return home to Themiscyra again, she died of grief. When she died, the Megarians buried her and made her tomb in the shape of an Amazon shield.

 ὅτε Ἀμαζόνες ἐπ᾽ Ἀθηναίους στρατεύσασαι δι᾽ Ἀντιόπην ἐκρατήθησαν ὑπὸ Θησέως, τὰς μὲν πολλὰς συνέβη μαχομένας αὐτῶν ἀποθανεῖν, Ἱππολύτην δὲ ἀδελφὴν οὖσαν Ἀντιόπης καὶ τότε ἡγουμένην τῶν γυναικῶν ἀποφυγεῖν σὺν ὀλίγαις ἐς Μέγαρα, ἅτε δὲ κακῶς οὕτω πράξασαν τῷ στρατῷ τοῖς τε παροῦσιν ἀθύμως ἔχουσαν καὶ περὶ τῆς οἴκαδε ἐς τὴν Θεμίσκυραν σωτηρίας μᾶλλον ἔτι ἀποροῦσαν ὑπὸ λύπης τελευτῆσαι: καὶ θάψαι αὐτὴν ἀποθανοῦσαν, καί οἱ τοῦ μνήματος σχῆμά ἐστιν Ἀμαζονικῇ ἀσπίδι ἐμφερές

Prope est Hippolytae monumentum, de qua quae Megarenses dicunt, non praetermittam. Quum Amazones ob captam Antiopen bello Athenienses lacessissent, a Theseo superatae sunt. Quumque earum multae in proelio cecidissent, Hippolyten tradunt, Antiopes sororem, cui feminarum ille parebat exercitus, Megara cum paucis aufugisse: ibi quum re mala gesta animum despondisset, praesertim quod se Themiscyram in patriam suam redire posse desperasset, prae animi angore e vita excessisse: sepultam vero eo quo diximus loco, et eius sane monumentum Amazonici clypei formam prae se fert.

 

Translated into Latin by Romulus Amasaeus (1696)

Pausanias [110 -180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Greek writer from Lydia who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece.

Atalanta's End: Lactantius Placidius 10.11

Ace Champion Atalanta

Name: Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:  Plots of Ovid’s Myths, Book 10, Story 11

When Atalanta learned about marriage and was warned to never marry, she set up a test for all of her suitors. Since she was the fastest woman alive, she said that she would marry anyone who won a race against her, but would kill anyone she outran.

Ace Chamption Atalanta

Atalanta, Schoenei filia, cum de coniugio sciscitata esset et monita nulli iungeretur, quia omnium virginum pernicissima erat, petentibus procris legem posuit, eius coniugem futuram, qui se cursu pedum antecessisset, victo autem necem statuit.

Lactantius Placidus [5^th or 6^th century CE] is the name of the author attributed to a prose summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but little is known about the author or his time period.

Dangerous Beauty: The Abduction of Hylas, Vat. Myth. 2.199

The Abduction of Hylas

Name:  Vatican Mythographers Date:   10th century CE Region:   Unknown Citation:   Vatican Mythographers  2.199

Abduction myths serve two purposes. For modern readers, they serve as a cautionary tale that all young persons are vulnerable to exploitation. For ancient readers, however, these beautiful youths’ abductions were euphemistic stories to help grieving parents cope with the loss of a child who died before reaching expected social milestones (e.g., entering adulthood or getting married).

When Hercules joined the Argonauts, he brought with him the incredibly beautiful Hylas as his squire. During the trip, he broke an oar while he was rowing, so the crew headed to the forests of Mysia for repairs. While Hylas was gathering  water, he fell into a river and is said to have been abducted by the water nymphs there. When Hercules went looking for him and the Argonauts tried to stop him, they left him behind in Mysia. Later on, when he realized that Hylas drowned, sacred rites were dedicated to him: his name “Hylas!” is proclaimed. 

The Abduction of Hylas

Hercules cum comes Argonautis accessisset, Hylam Thiodomantis filium admirandae pulchritudinis iuvenem secum duxit armigerum. Qui remum fregit in mari cum pro suis remigat viribus. Cuius reparandi gratia Mysiam petens silvam fertur ingressus. Hylas, vero cum aquatum cum urna perrexisset, in fluvium cecidit; unde a nymphis raptus esse dicitur. Quem dum Hercules quaerens ab Argonatuis impeditus esset,in Mysia est relictus. Postea cum cognitum esset in fonte eum perisse, statuta sunt ei sacra, in quibus mos fuerat ut nomen eius clamaretur in montibus.

Vatican Mythographers [10th century CE?] 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.

M/M: Alas, Hyacinthus: Ovid, Met. 10.162-219

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Metamorphoses, 10.162 - 219

You, too, Hyacinthus, would have joined Phoebus in heaven

If Destiny had allowed you to overturn your sad fate.

But nevertheless you are eternal, sort of,

Whenever spring chases off winter,

Whenever Aries rises over the rainy season of Pisces,

You return as a flower upon the green fields.  

My father loved you more than everyone else.

Delphi, the hub of the world, had no ruler,

While its patron god [Apollo] traveled to open-gated land of Sparta,

He doesn’t care about his lyre or his archery anymore;

And, out of character, he doesn’t mind taking up the hunting-net

He doesn’t mind walking his hunting dogs,

He doesn’t mind trekking the mountains as Hyacinthus’ companion [comes],

And this time together fans the flames of his love.

It was high noon when Apollo and Hyacinthus got ready for a workout,

They shed their clothes and anointed themselves,*

And entered the field for a friendly game of discus.

Phoebus [Apollo] had the first throw. The discus

Sliced through the air, then after a while, it fell back to the ground,

displaying Apollo’s talent with its course.

Straightaway, Hyacinthus foolishly rushed to catch it, trying to show off,

But the discus ricocheted off of the ground and hit Hyacinthus in the face.

Apollo went pale, as pale as his boyfriend was!

He cradled Hyacinthus’ unconscious form,

Trying to revive you, trying to staunch the blood of your wounds,

Trying to save your life with herbs.

His skills could not save you: the wound was a fatal one.

Just like when someone plucks

a violet or a poppy or a lily from its stem,

It hangs its wilted head

Unable to hold its blossom,

it droops to the ground

your head drooped forward against your shoulder

as you died. Apollo cried,

“Oh Hyacinthus, you perish, cheated out of your youth.

As I look at your wound, I blame myself.

You are my grief and my guilt:

I have your blood on my hands.

I am the reason that you died.

But what did I do wrong? Was it a crime

To exercise together?

Was it a crime to love you?

If only I could die with you, or

If only you could return to life!

Although you are mortal and must die,

You will always be with me,

I will always have you in my heart.

I shall sing of you with my lyre

And with my voice,

And a new flower will cry out for you in imitation of my grief.

There will be a time, when a brave hero

Will also be associated with this flower, and recognized by its petals.”

 As Apollo was speaking, the youth’s blood

which spread upon the ground

 was blood no longer! Prettier than Tyrian purple

 a flower bloomed and took a shape like a lily

except this was purple, and that was silvery.

But Apollo wasn’t done—upon its petals he wrote

His own lament, and the petals now have the words “ALAS! ALAS!”

And Sparta isn’t ashamed of Hyacinthus:

He is honored even today, and every year

They celebrate a festival in his honor.

* in the absence of elastic waistbands, ancient Greeks and Romans would exercise nude. They used olive oil as a form of antiperspirant / deodorant.

 'Te quoque, Amyclide, posuisset in aethere Phoebus,      

tristia si spatium ponendi fata dedissent.             

qua licet, aeternus tamen es, quotiensque repellit           

ver hiemem, Piscique Aries succedit aquoso,       

tu totiens oreris viridique in caespite flores.        

te meus ante omnes genitor dilexit, et orbe        

in medio positi caruerunt praeside Delphi,           

dum deus Eurotan inmunitamque frequentat    

Sparten, nec citharae nec sunt in honore sagittae:              

inmemor ipse sui non retia ferre recusat,             

non tenuisse canes, non per iuga montis iniqui   

ire comes, longaque alit adsuetudine flammas. 

iamque fere medius Titan venientis et actae       

noctis erat spatioque pari distabat utrimque,       

corpora veste levant et suco pinguis olivi              

splendescunt latique ineunt certamina disci.       

quem prius aerias libratum Phoebus in auras      

misit et oppositas disiecit pondere nubes;           

reccidit in solidam longo post tempore terram     

pondus et exhibuit iunctam cum viribus artem.  

protinus inprudens actusque cupidine lusus        

tollere Taenarides orbem properabat, at illum    

dura repercusso subiecit verbere tellus 

in vultus, Hyacinthe, tuos. expalluit aeque             

quam puer ipse deus conlapsosque excipit artus,              

et modo te refovet, modo tristia vulnera siccat, 

nunc animam admotis fugientem sustinet herbis.             

nil prosunt artes: erat inmedicabile vulnus.         

ut, siquis violas rigidumve papaver in horto           

liliaque infringat fulvis horrentia linguis,

marcida demittant subito caput illa vietum          

nec se sustineant spectentque cacumine terram:             

sic vultus moriens iacet et defecta vigore             

ipsa sibi est oneri cervix umeroque recumbit.       

"laberis, Oebalide, prima fraudate iuventa,"       

Phoebus ait "videoque tuum, mea crimina, vulnus.          

tu dolor es facinusque meum: mea dextera leto

inscribenda tuo est. ego sum tibi funeris auctor.

quae mea culpa tamen, nisi si lusisse vocari           

culpa potest, nisi culpa potest et amasse vocari?

atque utinam tecumque mori vitamque liceret   

reddere! quod quoniam fatali lege tenemur,      

semper eris mecum memorique haerebis in ore.

te lyra pulsa manu, te carmina nostra sonabunt,  

flosque novus scripto gemitus imitabere nostros.             

tempus et illud erit, quo se fortissimus heros      

addat in hunc florem folioque legatur eodem." 

talia dum vero memorantur Apollinis ore,            

ecce cruor, qui fusus humo signaverat herbas,     

desinit esse cruor, Tyrioque nitentior ostro          

flos oritur formamque capit, quam lilia, si non    

purpureus color his, argenteus esset in illis.         

non satis hoc Phoebo est (is enim fuit auctor honoris):   

ipse suos gemitus foliis inscribit, et AI AI  

flos habet inscriptum, funestaque littera ducta est.          

nec genuisse pudet Sparten Hyacinthon: honorque         

durat in hoc aevi, celebrandaque more priorum

annua praelata redeunt Hyacinthia pompa.   

Ovid [Publius Ovidius Naso; 43 BCE – 17 CE, modern Italy] 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 [modern Turkey], where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.