Eutropius, Killed By Enemies of the State: Zosimus, Historia 5.18.5

Author: Zosimus

Region: Constantinople (modern Istanbul, Turkey)

Date: late 5th / early 6th century CE

Citation: Historia, 5.18.5, translated into Latin by C. G. Heynius (1784)

And so Eutropius experienced both ends of luck’s spectrum in an unusual manner. For he reached the pinnacle of power [as a consul of Rome], which a eunuch had never done before, but then he was killed out of hatred by people who were enemies of the government.

Et Eutropio quidem n utramque partem insolito fortuna modo quodam est usa. Nam et tantum ad culmen eum evexit, quantum nullus eunuchorum umquam adtigit;et neci dedit, propter odium, quo se illum persequi hostes reipublicae dicerent.

Εὐτροπίῳ μὲν οὖν ἡ τύχη κατ ̓ ἀμφότερα παραλόγως ἐχρήσατο, πρὸς ὕψος ἄρασα τοσοῦτον ὅσον οὐδὲ εἷς πώποτε τῶν εὐνούχων ἀνεβιβάσθη, θάνατόν τε ἐπαγαγοῦσα διὰ τὸ μῖσος ὃ πρὸς αὐτὸν οἱ τῇ πολιτείᾳ πολεμοῦντες ἔλεγον ἔχειν.

Many Wounds in Achilles' Heart: Quintus of Smyrna, Posthomerica 1.718-721

Name:  Quintus of Smyrna Date:  4th century CE Region:   Smyrna [modern Greece] Citation: Posthomerica 1.718-721

But Achilles grieved as he gazed

Down at Penthesilea’s beautiful body lying dead in the dust

The pain in his heart was no less

than feeling the recent loss of his beloved Patroclus.

--Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica 1.718-721, Translated into Latin by Lorenz Rhodomann

  μέγα δ᾽ ἄχνυτο Πηλέος υἱὸς

κούρης εἰσορόων ἐρατὸν σθένος ἐν κουίῃσι:

τοὔνεκά οἱ κραδίην ὀλοαὶ κατέδαπτον ἀνῖαι

ὁππόσον ἀμφ᾽ ἑτάροιο πάρος Πατρόκλοιο δαμέντος.

 At Pelei filius valde contristabatur,

delectabilem puellae speciem in pulverem contuens;

ideo nociva aegritudo ipsius cor edebat,

non minus quam nuper ob Patroclum amicum interfectum.

 Quintus of Smyrna was a Greek poet who lived during the 4^th century CE. His epic poem, the Posthomerica, was a fourteen volume epic depicting the events of the later half of the Trojan War; this epic preserves many literary sources that are no longer extant.

Challenging Gender Roles: Hipparchia's Universal Home

I don’t have a roof, or a house, or a homeland

Instead the whole world, both city & countryside

are available to me as a home.

 --Hipparchia, published in Mulierum Graecarum (1735) p. 68, Translated into Latin by Christian Wolff

Ουχ εις πάτρας μοι πύργος ου μία λέγη

Πάσης δὲ χέρσε καὶ πόλισμα καὶ δόμος

Ἕτοιμος ἡμῖν ἐνδιαιτᾶσθαι πάρα.

Non turris una, nec casa una patriae

mihi est, sed universae arces terrae,& domus

parata nobis mansio & caenacula. 

Britomartis, Deified by Artemis: Pausanias, Description of Greece 2.30.3

Britomartis, Deified by Artemis

Name:  Pausanias Date:        110 – 180 CE Region:    Lydia [modern Turkey] Citation:      Description of Greece 2.30.3

Zeus’ daughter Carme and Eubulus was named Britomartis. She enjoyed hunting and running, and was especially dear to Artemis. While fleeing Minos’ romantic advances, she threw herself into [the sea, right into] a fishing net.  Artemis made her a god. She is worshipped not only by the Cretans, but also by the Aeginians, who say that Britomartis walks among them on their island. The Aeginians call her Aphaea, but among the Cretans, her name is Dictynna.

ἐν Αἰγίνῃ δὲ πρὸς τὸ ὄρος τοῦ Πανελληνίου Διὸς ἰοῦσιν, ἔστιν Ἀφαίας ἱερόν, ἐς ἣν καὶ Πίνδαρος ᾆσμα Αἰγινήταις ἐποίησε. φασὶ δὲ οἱ Κρῆτες— τούτοις γάρ ἐστι τὰ ἐς αὐτὴν ἐπιχώρια—Καρμάνορος τοῦ καθήραντος Ἀπόλλωνα ἐπὶ φόνῳ τῶ Πύθωνος παῖδα Εὔβουλον εἶναι, Διὸς δὲ καὶ Κάρμης τῆς Εὐβούλου Βριτόμαρτιν γενέσθαι: χαίρειν δὲ αὐτὴν δρόμοις τε καὶ θήραις καὶ Ἀρτέμιδι μάλιστα φίλην εἶναι: Μίνω δὲ ἐρασθέντα φεύγουσα ἔρριψεν ἑαυτὴν ἐς δίκτυα ἀφειμένα ἐπ᾽ ἰχθύων θήρᾳ. ταύτην μὲν θεὸν ἐποίησεν Ἄρτεμις, σέβουσι δὲ οὐ Κρῆτες μόνον ἀλλὰ καὶ Αἰγινῆται, λέγοντες φαίνεσθαί σφισιν ἐν τῇ νήσῳ τὴν Βριτόμαρτιν. ἐπίκλησις δέ οἱ παρά τε Αἰγινήταις ἐστὶν Ἀφαία καὶ Δίκτυννα ἐν Κρήτῃ.

Jove & Carme Eubuli filia Britomartin genitam: quae quum se totam in currendi venandique studia tradidisset, fuisse eam Dianae multo carissimam. Verum quum Minoem prae amorem insequentem fugeret, ac se in mare abiecisset, in retia, quae ad pisces capiendos in mare missa fuerant, incidisse: a Diana in deorum numerum relatam. Colunt eam non soli Cretenses,sed ipse etiam Aeginetae, quod in insula visam Britomartin autumant. Et eadem sane Aegenetis Aphaea est, quae apud Cretenses Dictynna.  Translated into Latin by Romulus Amaseus

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.

Mourning the loss of a friend: Antye, Greek Anthology 7.490

 

Name: Antye Date:    3rd century BCE Region:    Tegea [modern Greece] Citation: Greek Anthology 7.490
I mourn for the maiden Antibia. Because of her beauty and wisdom Many suitors flocked to her father’s home for her, But cursed Fate keeps all hope at bay.
παρθένον Ἀντιβίαν κατοδύρομαι, ἇς ἐπὶ πολλοὶ νυμφίοι ἱέμενοι πατρὸς ἵκοντο δόμον, κάλλευς καὶ πινυτᾶτος ἀνὰ κλέος: ἀλλ᾽ ἐπὶ πάντων ἐλπίδας οὐλομένα Μοῖρ᾽ ἐκύλισε πρόσω.	Virginem Antibiam deploro, quam propter multi Sponsi desiderantes, ad patris venerunt domum, Ob pulchritudinem & prudentiam inclytam; sed omnium Spem damnosa mors subverti prius. Translated into Latin by Christian Wolf [1735]

 

 

Antye [4^th century BCE, Modern Greece] was one of the famous “earthly Muses,” a group of nine women poets revered by classical Greek and Roman authors. Little is known about her, but it generally agreed that she was from Tegea [modern Greece] and lived during the 3^rd century BCE. Numerous poems of hers were preserved in the Greek Anthology.

Overpowered by a Single Woman: The Spartans vs. The Courage of Telesilla

Name: Michele Marullo Tarchaniota Date: 1330 – 1408 CE Region:   Constantinople [modern Turkey] / Volterra [modern Italy] Citation:  Epith. Telesillae; Contantinopalitani Epigrammaton,  Book 4

 If you ask where she’s from,

Her homeland was Argos.

If you ask what her name was

Her noble name was Telesilla.

If you want to know her skillset or her courage

I’m embarrassed to tell you.

The Muse can tell you about her skills,

The Spartans can tell you about her courage.

For it’s embarrassing to say that Sparta

Was overcome by  single woman

Even though it’s Spartan custom

To always tell the truth.  

Si patriam, patria est Argos. Si nomina quaeris

Scire, Telesillae nobile nomen erat,

At si artes animosque, vetat pudor hiscere de me.

Musa sed has dicent hos lacedaemonii.

Nam quis pudeat Sparten cessisse puellae

Vera tamen fari mos Lacedaemoniis.

 

Michele Marullo Tarcaniota [1458 – 1500 CE, Constantinople, modern Turkey / Volterra, modern Italy] was a famous scholar and author known for his Greco-Roman mythology-themed poetry.

"Do not call me 'lord,' for I am a lady," Bassiana / Elegabalus in Zonoras' History

Not A Lord, But a Lady

Name: Joannes Zonoras Date: 1070 – 1140 CE  Region:  Constantinople [modern Turkey] Citation:  Excerpts from Roman History 12.14d - 15b

  [Bassiana / Elegabalus] was not content with this alone; they also raced chariots, danced, and even wanted to be a bride. They wanted to be bound legally to their husband, whom they titled Caesar. They enjoyed being called “lady” and “empress,” wore a veil, spun wool, and used makeup. They shaved their face to seem feminine. Their husband was a former slave named Hierocles...

When he said to them, “Hail, Lord Emperor,” they would curtsy like a woman, and replied with a wink, “Don’t call me, ‘lord,’ for I am a lady.”

καὶ οὐχ οὕτω μόνον ἠσέλγαινεν, ἡρματηλάτει τε καὶ ὠρχεῖτο ἀλλὰ καὶ ἄνδρα σχεῖν ἤθελεν ἕνα ὥσπερ γαμέτην δή τινα νόμιμον, καὶ Καίσαρα αὐτὸν ἐβούλετο προχειρίσασθαι καὶ δέσποινα καὶ βασιλὶς ὠνομάζετο καὶ ἐφόρει κεκρύφαλον καὶ ἐριούργει καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ὑπεγράφετο. ἅπαξ τε τὸ γένειον ἀποκείρας μετέπειτα ἐψιλίζετο ἵνα δοκοίη γυνή. ὁ δὲ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς Καρικὸν ἦν ἀνδράποδον, ἐκαλεῖτο δ ̓ Ἱεροκλῆς.. [1] καί τις δ’  Ἀυρήλιος καλὸς μὲν καὶ πᾶν τὸ σῶμα τὰ δ ̓ αἰδοῖα φέρων ὑπερμεγέθη ἐμηνύθη αὐτῷ καὶ αὐτίκα ὑπὸ πομπῇ μεγαλοπρεπεῖ προσήχθη. ᾧ προσειπόντι “χαῖρε κύριε αὐτόκρατορ,” ἐκεῖνος θρύψει γυναικώδει τὸν αὐχένα παρεγκλίνας καὶ ἐπιμύσας βραχύ τι τὰ ὄμματα, “μή με λέγε κύριον,” ἔφη, “ἐγὼ γὰρ κυρία εἰμί.”

Neque bis flagitiis contentus, aurigabat, saltabat, nubere etiam volebat, ut unum legitimum maritum haberet, quem Caesarem designaret: ac dominae et imperatricis nomine gaudebat, calanticam gestans, et lanam tractans, et genas pingens. Barbam semel quoquo abrasam, postea psilothro curabat ut muliercula videretur, cuius mulierculae maritus erat Caricum mancipium, nomine Hierocles... Qui cum ei dixisset: “Salve, domine imperator,” ille muliebri mollitie collo inclinato, et oculis nonnihil conniventibus: “Ne me dominum,” inquit, “dixeris, domina enim sum.”  Translated into Latin by Berthold Georg Niebuhr

[1]  Zonoras continues with misogynistic language which will not be published here.

Joannas Zonoras [1074 – 1145 CE, Modern Turkey] was an 11th century Byzantine scholar known for his Excerpts from Roman History.

Blessed Are those in love! Bion fr. 8

 

Name: Bion Date:  c. 2nd – 1st century BCE Region: Smyrna [modern Turkey] Citation:  Fragment 8

Blessed are those who are in love,

Especially when it is reciprocated!

Theseus was happy with Pirithous by his side,

Even when he descended into the inescapable halls of Hades.

Orestes was blessed even in the harsh land of his enemies

As long as Pylades was traveling by his side.

Achilles was blessed for as long as his companion Patroclus lived;

And once he died, Achilles returned to his blessed state,

For he used his death to avenge his lover’s.

 

Ὄλβιοι οἱ φιλέοντες, ἐπὴν ἴσον ἀντεράωνται. ὄλβιος ἦν Θησεὺς τῶ Πειριθόω παρεόντος, εἰ καὶ ἀμειλίκτοιο κατήλυθεν εἰς Ἀΐδαο. ὄλβιος ἦν χαλεποῖσιν ἐν Ἀξείνοισιν Ὀρέστας, ὥνεκά οἱ ξυνὰς Πυλάδας ᾄρητο κελεύθως. ἦν μάκαρ Αἰακίδας ἑτάρω ζώοντος Ἀχιλλεύς: ὄλβιος ἦν θνᾴσκων, ὅτι οἱ μόρον αἰνὸν ἄμυνεν.

Beati sunt qui amant, quum pariter redamantur.  Beatus erat Theseus, quum Pirithous adesset, etsi descendit in implacabilis Plutonis domum. Beatus erat inter asperos barbaros Orestes, quoties cum eo communia Pylades susceperat itinerat. Erat felix Aeacides socio vivente Achilles beatus erat moriens, quod ei mortem infelicem ulciscebatur. Translated into Latin by  Franz Siegfried Lehrs

Bion of Smyrna [c. 2nd to 1st century BCE; modern Turkey] was a Greek poet from Smyrna [modern Turkey]. Little is known about his life, and only fragments remain of his poetry, but he was considered to be one of the best and most influential bucolic poets of ancient Greek and Roman literature.

Athena, Unswayed by Aphrodite. Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 7 - 15

Athena, Unswayed by Aphrodite

Name:    Unknown Date:    7th – 5th century BCE Region:    [modern Greece] Citation:   Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, 7 – 15

But Aphrodite is not able to persuade three goddesses, nor can she beguile them.

One is the aegis-wearing daughter of Zeus, the bright-eyed Athena.

She doesn’t enjoy the works of golden Aphrodite;

Instead she runs after battles and Ares’ sphere of influence—

Conflicts and skirmishes and the equipment that goes with it.

She was the first to teach men the art of woodcraft outdoors,

And how to make chariots and carriages out of different types of metal.

Yet she also taught tender maidens splendid works indoors,

Granting a different type of knowledge to each person.

τρισσὰς δ᾽ οὐ δύναται πεπιθεῖν φρένας οὐδ᾽ ἀπατῆσαι: κούρην τ᾽ αἰγιόχοιο Διός, γλαυκῶπιν Ἀθήνην: οὐ γὰρ οἱ εὔαδεν ἔργα πολυχρύσου Ἀφροδίτης, ἀλλ᾽ ἄρα οἱ πόλεμοί τε ἅδον καὶ ἔργον Ἄρηος ὑσμῖναί τε μάχαι τε καὶ ἀγλαὰ ἔργ᾽ ἀλεγύνειν. πρώτη τέκτονας ἄνδρας ἐπιχθονίους ἐδίδαξε ποιῆσαι σατίνας τε καὶ ἅρματα ποικίλα χαλκῷ. ἣ δέ τε παρθενικὰς ἁπαλόχροας ἐν μεγάροισιν ἀγλαὰ ἔργ᾽ ἐδίδαξεν ἐπὶ φρεσὶ θεῖσα ἑκάστῃ.

Verum tres sunt deae, quarum animum flectere, suaque; fraude convellere haudquaquam potis est: nempe caesiam Minervam Jovis Filiam. Non enim illi aureae Veneris placuere opera: sed bella semper ac Martis opera grata sunt, praeliaque et pugnae, acres tractare splendidas. Prima enim artifices in terra docuit viros scuta construere, variosque ferro currus. Haec quoque teneras virgines intra limen docuit praeclara illa opera conficere, unicuique inflammans animum. Translated into Latin by Raphael Regio Volterranus (1541)

Artemis: Unswayed by Aphrodite's Power, Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite 15-20

Name:    Unknown Date:    7th – 5th century BCE Region:    [modern Greece] Citation:   Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, 15-20

 …Furthermore, laughter-loving Aphrodite has never made golden-arrowed Artemis settle down in love. For she loves her bow and slaying beasts in the mountains, the lyre and dancing and war cries, shady groves and cities of just men.

οὐδέ ποτ᾽ Ἀρτέμιδα χρυσηλάκατον, κελαδεινὴν

δάμναται ἐν φιλότητι φιλομμειδὴς Ἀφροδίτη.

καὶ γὰρ τῇ ἅδε τόξα καὶ οὔρεσι θῆρας ἐναίρειν,

φόρμιγγές τε χοροί τε διαπρύσιοί τ᾽ ὀλολυγαὶ

ἄλσεά τε σκιόεντα δικαίων τε πτόλις ἀνδρῶν.

 

Neque unquam venatoriam atque aureo insignem arcu Dianae in amore domat ridens Venus. Etenim hanc iuvat arcus montesque ferarum caede inficere, et citharae choreaeque atque sublati clamores, et opaca nemora, et iustis civitas virorum.  Translated into Latin by Raphael Regio Volterranus (1541)

 

Hestia, Honored and Unwed: Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, 21-31

Hestia’s Vow

Name:    Unknown Date:    7th – 5th century BCE Region:    [modern Greece] Citation:   Homeric Hymn 5.21 – 32

Nor are the plots of Aphrodite welcome to the sacred virgin Hestia.

She was both the firstborn and youngest of wily Kronos,

Revered by Aegis-wearing Zeus,

Wooed by both Poseidon and Apollo.

But she did not want to get married,

And even stubbornly rejected men.

She swore a great oath, one that was approved by Zeus himself.

She touched Father Zeus’ head,

Vowing to remain a virgin throughout eternity.

And Father Zeus gave to her, in lieu of a wedding,

A great gift: she would sit in the house at the head of the table.

She has honor in all of the temples of all of the gods

And is revered by all mortal men.

οὐδὲ μὲν αἰδοίῃ κούρῃ ἅδε ἔργ᾽ Ἀφροδίτης, Ἱστίῃ, ἣν πρώτην τέκετο Κρόνος ἀγκυλομήτης, αὖτις δ᾽ ὁπλοτάτην, βουλῇ Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο, πότνιαν, ἣν ἐμνῶντο Ποσειδάων καὶ Ἀπόλλων: ἣ δὲ μαλ᾽ οὐκ ἔθελεν, ἀλλὰ στερεῶς ἀπέειπεν: ὤμοσε δὲ μέγαν ὅρκον, ὃ δὴ τετελεσμένος ἐστίν, ἁψαμένη κεφαλῆς πατρὸς Διὸς αἰγιόχοιο, παρθένος ἔσσεσθαι πάντ᾽ ἤματα, δῖα θεάων. τῇ δὲ πατὴρ Ζεὺς δῶκε καλὸν γέρας ἀντὶ γάμοιο καὶ τε μέσῳ οἴκῳ κατ᾽ ἄρ᾽ ἕζετο πῖαρ ἑλοῦσα. πᾶσιν δ᾽ ἐν νηοῖσι θεῶν τιμάοχός ἐστι καὶ παρὰ πᾶσι βροτοῖσι θεῶν πρέσβειρα τέτυκται.

Nec quidem venerandae nymphae Vestae Veneris opera accepta fuere: quam primam versutus Saturnus sustulit, deinde postremam Jovis sententia venerandam, quam ambiere sponsam Neptunus & Apollo.At illa noluit, verum repulit rigide. Magnum enim iuravit iusiurandum, quod sane perfectum est, Jovis patris caput tangens, ut perpetua virginitate frueretur diva dearum. At hanc pater Jupiter nuptiarum loco, pulchro donavit dono: atque media domo sedet pinguedinum carpens, ac omnibus in deorum templis prae ceteris honore colitur, ac apud mortales omnes deorum legatione fungitur. Translated into Latin by Raphael Regius

I Do Not Owe The State Children: Epaminondas to the Thebans, John Tzetzes Hist. 12.412ff

I Do Not Owe the State Children

Name: John Tzetzes Date:   1100 – 1180 CE Region:    Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey] Citation:     Histories / Chiliades 12.464 – 471

Epaminondas was an excellent leader of the Thebans.

When he died, he was excessively mourned by them.

They reproached him, saying, “When you die, Thebes will die with you,

For you did not leave behind a son from your loins.”

As he died, he responded to them:

“I do not die childless, fellow countrymen;

Instead, I am a prolific father!

For I leave behind my two daughters,

The victory at Leuctra, and the victory at Mantinea!”

Ἔπαμεινώνδας στρατηγὸς Θηβαίων ὑπηργμένος, Ὡς ἐθρηνεῖτο τελευτῶν περιπαθῶς Θηβαίοις, Ἔπαμεινώνδα, λέγουσι, θνήσκῃς σὺν σοὶ καὶ Θῆβαι Τέκνον ἐν βίῳ μὴ λιπών, τέκνον ἐκ σῶν σπερμάτων, Ἀποκριθεὶς ὡς πρὸς αὐτοὺς τάδε καὶ θνήσκων λέγει: Οὐ μὲν οὐ θνήσκω ἄτεκνος, ἀλλ ̓ εὔτεκνος, Θηβαῖοι Δύο γὰρ καταλέλοιπα ἐμοῦ τὰς θυγατέρας, Τὴν ἐπὶ Λεύκτροις νίκην τε καὶ τὴν ἐν Μαντινεία.

Epaminondas imperator Thebanorum existens, ut lugebatur mortuus perdolenter a Thebanis Epaminonda (dicentibus) mortuus es, tecum & Thebae filium in vita non linquens, filium ex tuis seminibus. Respondens ad ipsos, haec et moriens dicit: Haud vero haud morior orbus, sed fecundus pater, o Thebani: duas enim reliqui ex me filias, illam in Leuctris victoriam, & illam Mantinaeae. 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.