M/M: A Medieval version of the Hyacinthus myth, Hildebert of Levardin 14

Apollo Mourns Hyacinthus

Name: Hildebert of Levardin Date:   1055 – 1133 CE Region: Levardin [modern France] Citation:   #4, Phoebus On the Death of Hyacinthus

Phoebus, being

A god,

A healer,

And a lover,

Trying in vain to stop Hyacinth from dying, said,

“Gods, please spare my boyfriend!

If we cannot both die,

I’d rather follow him in death

Than remain living as a god.

If you won’t allow this,

Let part of both of us remain together

And part of us die together,

And I will come to terms with losing my godhood.

Both of us will happily adjust to losing part of ourselves,

While part of us falls to the underworld together,

The other part of us flying together to the stars.”

Apollo Mourns Hyacinthus

Et deus et medicus et amans, rescindere frustra

tentans Aebalidae funera, Phoebus ait;

“Parcite, di, puero, si non moriatur uterque;

malo sequi puerum quam superesse deum.

Si prohibetis et hoc, sit pars utriusque superstes,

par cadit, ignoscam sic minor esse deo.

Quisque feret laetus propriae dispendia partis,

dum pars ad manes, pars eat ad superos.”  

Hildebert of Levardin [1055 – 1133 CE, modern France] was a famous Christian author and bishop. Although he spent a majority of his life serving in various Church roles in what is now France, his most famous poem is his love poem to the city of Rome, [“Par tibi, Roma, nihil, cum sis prope tota ruina,”] in which he begs for aid to preserve its historical and architectural marvels.

M/M: Gone, but not forgotten: John Tzetzes Analyzes the Deaths of Hyacinthus & Narcissus, Hist. 1.11

Hyacinthus and Narcissus, United in Purpose

Name: John Tzetzes Date:   1100 – 1180 CE Region:    Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey] Citation:     Histories / Chiliades 1.241 – 265

There are countless tales of abduction and transformation in Greco-Roman mythology. Although modern readers see these myths as cautionary tales against predatory behavior, their

primary purpose in the ancient world was an attempt to alleviate grief after the loss of a loved one.  Young people who died before reaching societal milestones of adulthood would be euphemistically married to divinities as a way of handling the grief of their lost potential. There are countless references to young people being “snatched by the nymphs,” or becoming “brides” of Persephone or Hades. In this passage, the Byzantine author John Tzetzes explains how the transformations of Narcissus and Hyacinthus were used to help alleviate the grief of their loved ones.

Hyacinthus was the attractive brother of Cynortus.

He was the son of Amyclus and Diomeda,

From Lacon, the noble land of the Amyclean clan.

Both Apollo and Zephyr often competed for the youth’s affection.

And—they say—once, while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing the discus,

Zephyr sent a violent wind, and changed the course of the discus.

It struck the beautiful youth in the head and killed him.

The Earth created a flower in memory of the youth, taking his name,

Mourning his beauty the same way she mourned Narcissus.

But the allegory of Narcissus is apparent:

When the youth fell into the water, he drowned.

As a consolation for their grief,

Those who praised the youth’s beauty

Said he fell in the water, struck by longing for his own beauty.  

Famous transformation tales of plants, of trees of all kinds,

And of constellation myths are similar to this.

The kin of the deceased, transforming their loss,

Name these things after their lost kin.

Just as I’ve stated, they say that the rivals of Hyacinthus [Apollo and Zephyr]

Reveal the extreme beauty of the youth,

Since the Sun reveled in the delight of Hyacinthus,

And the Wind itself also vied for his affection.

When the youth was killed while training with a discus,

They made up a story that the Wind, jealous of the Sun,

Took Hyacinthus away from his life—and from the Sun.  

Hyacinthus and Narcissus, United in Purpose

Ὑάκινθος Κυνόρτου μὲν ἦν ἀδελφὸς ὡραῖος Ὑἱὸς Ἀμύκλου δὲ πατρός, μητρὸς τῆς Διομήδης Ἐκ γῆς ἀνδρῶν τῶν εὐγενῶν Λακώνων Ἀμυκλαίων. Ἀπόλλων δὲ καὶ Ζέφυρος τοῦ μείρακος ἀντήρων. Καὶ δή ποτε δισκεύοντος Ἀπόλλωνος σὺν τούτῳ, Λάβρον πνεύσας ὁ Ζέφυρος τὸν δίσκον περιτρέπει. Τῇ κορυφῇ δὲ τὸν καλὸν πλήξας ἀνεῖλε νέον,

Hyacinthus Cynorti quidem erat frater venustus. Filius Amycli autem patris, matris Diomedae, ex terra virorum nobilium Laconum Amycleensium. Apollo vero et Zephyrus adolescentem certatim deperibant et sane olim disco ludente Apolline cum hoc Vehementer cum efflasset zephyrus, discum circumvertit. Vertice autem pulchrum cum percussisset, occidit iuvenem.

Ἡ γῆ δ ̓ ἄνθος ὁμώνυμον ἀντέδωκε τοῦ νέου, Καθάπερ καὶ τὸν Νάρκισσον οἰκτείρασα τοῦ κάλλους. Ἀλλ’ ἡ Ναρκίσσου πρόδηλός ἐστιν ἀλληγορία, Ὅτι πεσὼν ἐν ὕδασιν ὁ νέος ἀπεπνίγη. Τὸ κάλλος δ ̓ ὑπεραίροντες, πένθους παρηγορία, Φασὶ πεσεῖν ἐν ὕδασι σκιᾶς αὐτοῦ τῷ πόθῳ. Τὸ τῶν φυτῶν δὲ πρόδηλον, ὡς καὶ τῶν δένδρων πάντων Καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων σὺν αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν ὁμοιοτρόπων. Τῶν γὰρ θνησκόντων ἀγχιστεῖς, τρέφοντες πόθον τούτων, Ἐκεῖνα κατωνόμαζον εἰς κλήσεις τὰς ἐκείνων. Τοῦ ̔Υακίνθου δέ φασιν ἀντεραστὰς οὓς ἔφην Δεικνύντες, ὑπεραίροντες τοῦ νέου τὸ ὡραῖον Ὡς ἔχαιρεν ὁ ἥλιος τρεπόμενος τῷ νέῳ, Καὶ τῶν ἀνέμων αἱ πνοαὶ θέλγητρον εἶχον τοῦτον. Ὡς δὲ σὺν μείρακί τινι δισκεύων ἀνηρέθη

Terra autem florem eiusdem nominis reddidit pro iuvene, quasi Narcissum miserata ob pulchritudinem. Sed narcissi clara est allegoria. Quia cum cecidisset in aquas iuvenis, praefocatus est. Pulchritudinem vero extollentes, luctus solatio. Dicunt cecidisse in aquas, umbrae suae desiderio. Plantarum autem fictio clara, sicut et arborum omnium, et stellarum cum ipsis atque istiusmodi. Morientium enim affines, nutrientes desiderium horum, ista nominarunt nominibus illorum. Hyacinthi autem dicunt rivales, quos dixi, ostendentes excellentem iuvenis venustatem, quod gavisus sit Sol, oblectatus iuvene: et ventorum flatus pro deliciis habuerint hunc. Ut vero cum iuvene aliquo disco ludens interfectus est,

Ἔπλασαν ὡς ὁ Ζέφυρος βασκαίνων τῷ Ηλίῳ Ἐξάγει τοῦτον τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τοῦ λαμπρου φωσφόρου.

vento subvertente in verticem discum, finxerunt quod Zephyrus invidens Soli educit hunc e vita, atque e splendido lucifero.  Translated into Latin by Paolo Lazise

John Tzetzes [1100 – 1180 CE, Constantinople/Byzantium, modern Istanbul, Turkey] was a Byzantine scholar and beaurocrat. He is known for his epic poem the Histories / Chiliades, which ties together topics from Greek and Roman history and mythology, followed by a Christian interpretation.

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.

 

Apollo and Venus, United in Grief: a poem by Faustus Sabaeus

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

While Venus and Apollo were wandering through the blossoming fields on Cyprus,

They noticed that the soil had vibrant stars*.

And over here they ran into the Hyacinth flower,

And over there they spotted the red Adonis flower,

Each one beautiful even in death.

Apollo said, “Tell me, sister,  does this land

Gloat over the death of our boyfriends,

Or is the earth weeping alongside us in pain?

This star is my grief, and that star is yours;

This one was Hyacinth, the other was Adonis.”

 

* a metaphor for flower

Dum Venus in Cypro, & Phoebus per prata vagantes

F1orida: habere solum* sidera picta vident:

Dumque Hyacinthus ibi, atque rubens occurrit Adonis:

Pulcher uterque suo funere, Phoebus ait:

Dic soror, haec nostris num exultat amoribus istis?

An luctu & nostro terra dolore gemit?

Hic meus, iste tuus dolor, & gratissimus ignis:

Ille Hyacinthus erat: alter Adonis erat.

 

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

 

 

 

M/M: Apollo Mourns Hyacinthus, Faustus Sabaeus

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

While Apollo mournfully washed the blood off his hands

From the tragic accident and death of Hyacinthus,

The cruel loss of his loved one kept running in a loop through his mind.

He groaned the following words about such an awful loss:

“Already these lofty groves have grown, fertilized by the blood of my loved one,

And now the earth blossoms from a repeated loss,

and the river runs red with blood.”

Invita dum caede manus lavat amne cruentas

tristis Apollo: quibus perdidit Oebaliden:

fata suorum animo evolvens crudelia amorum

protulit in casus talia verba truces

iam creuere meo nemora alta cruore: et eodem

vulnere nunc humus est florida, et unda rubet.

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.

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.

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.