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.

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.

M/M: Achilles and Patroclus, John Tzetzes, Hist. 8.182 & 10.336

Name: John Tzetzes Date:   1100 – 1180 CE Region:    Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey] Citation:     Histories / Chiliades 8.182ff & 10.366ff

Concerning What the Ghost of Patroclus told Achilles, “You didn’t neglect me when I was alive, but now you neglect me when I’m dead”

In Homer’s Iliad, the author portrays the ghost of Patroclus  

At the time when his body still lay unburied in their tent.

Patroclus encouraged Achilles to bury his body,

Saying the thing that Homer wrote,

Quoted in the heroic epic:

“You never hurt me when I was alive,

But you do so now that I am dead.

Bury me so I can cross over through the gates of death

For the spirits of the dead are keep me from entering.”

Concerning the Thing That Should Not Have Happened

When Patroclus was killed by Hector in war

Antilochus [Nestor’s son] was selected by the Greeks

To tell Achilles what had happened to his boyfriend.

When he met up with Achilles, he said the following:

“Alas, son of Peleus, breaker of horses,   

Listen to the news which should not have happened:

Patroclus lies dead! They’re fighting over his body.

His corpse lies naked—stripped of armor!—and

helmet-wearing Hector has his armor.”

De iis quae spectrum Patrocli ad Achillem dixit, non me viventem neglegis, sed mortuum

In Iliade Homerus spectrum Patrocli indtroducit,

eo quod adhuc insepultum tentoriis illud iaceret,

ut sepeliret adhortans ipsum Achillem,

Dicens illam sententiam quam Homerus inscribit

Heroicis in carminibus sic ipsa proferens:

non quidem de me vivo tristeris, sed mortuum

sepeli me, ut quam citissime portas Orci pertranseam.

Procul enim me arcent animae, simulachra mortourm." (8.182)

 

De Hoc, Quae Utinam non Fuisset

Patroclo ab Hectore occiso in bello

Antilochus Nestoris [filius] destinatus est a Graecis

ut [puero] atque Achilli calamitatem nunciaret.

Qui cum pervenisset ad eum, sic ad verbum dicit:

Heu Pelei fili prudentis, equidomitoris,

audies nuncium, qui utinam non esset,

Iacet Patroclus, pro eius vero cadavere sand pugnant

Nudo, verum arma habet galeatus Hector. (10.336)

 Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) [Greek text forthcoming]

 

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: 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: The Watery End of Narcissus, Johannes Tzetzes, Historiarum 1.235ff

Name: John Tzetzes Date:   1100 – 1180 CE Region:    Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey] Citation:     Histories / Chiliades 1.235ff

Narcissus

Narcissus, a Laconian hunter, was a lover of beauty.

One time during the summer, when he was thirsty after a long day’s hunt

He knelt by a spring, saw his own beauty,

Fell in love with his own shadow, believing it was another man.

He tried to embrace him, but only caught a watery demise.  

De Narcisso

Narcissus, Lacon venator, amator venustatis erat

in Hora aestiva autem olim cum situisset, post venationem,

ut incurvatur ad fontem, vidit se speciosum,

amat umbram suam, ut alterius iuvenis.

cupiens autem hanc apprehendere, humidam haurit mortem.

[Greek text forthcoming]

 Translated into Latin by Paulus Lacisius (1546) 

 

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.

I'm Getting Too Old for This: A Gallus in Retirement, Greek Anthology 6.234

Name:  Unknown Date:     Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Greek Anthology 6.234

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women, and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

At the end of the rave

A long haired gallus, castrated in my youth,

A dancer on the Lydian shore of the Tmolus River,

Who chanted beautifully,

Now grown older,

dedicates to the revered Bithynian Mother

A tambourine

A whip with many tassels

A set of clanging cymbals made of orichalcum

A fragrant lock of hair.

 

Γάλλος ὁ χαιτάεις, ὁ νεήτομος, ὡπὸ Τυμώλου

Λύδιος ὀρχηστὰς μάκρ᾽ ὀλολυζόμενος,

τᾷ παρὰ Σαγγαρίῳ τάδε Ματέρι τύμπαν᾽ ἀγαυᾷ

θήκατο, καὶ μάστιν τὰν πολυαστράγαλον,

ταῦτὰ τ᾽ ὀρειχάλκου λάλα κύμβαλα, καὶ μυρόεντα

βόστρυχον, ἐκ λύσσας ἄρτια παυσάμενος.

Gallus capillatus, in iuventute exsectus, de Tmolo

Lydius saltator longum ululas,

accolenti Sangarium haec Matri tympana venerandae

posuit, et flagellum multiiugis-talis-tessellatum,

et haec ex-orichalco garrula cymbala, et fragrantem

cincinnum, furore recens deposito.

--Erycius, Greek Anthology, 6.234; Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

I'm Getting To Old For This: A Gallus' Dedication, Greek Anthology 6.51

A Gallus in Retirement

Name:  Unknown Date:     Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Greek Anthology 6.51

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

O Mother Rhea, she who cherishes lions,

Whose sacred mountain no one has befouled with their feet,

The woman [1]Alexis dedicates to you

Her fury-rousing instruments

Taking a pause from her bronze symbols

The low resounding flutes,

Which turned the heads of calves,

The resounding drum,

The sword dripping with blood,

Accept this offering, o Lady, which I reveled in during my youth

And free me now from the same wild abandon in my old age.

---

[1] This poem uses the masculine form of the Greek word for woman (θῆλυς).

μῆτερ ἐμή γαίη, Φρυγίων θρέπτειρα λεόντων, Δίνδυμον ἧς μύσταις οὐκ ἀπάτητον ὄρος, σοὶ τάδε θῆλυς Ἄλεξις ἑῆς οἰστρήματα λύσσης ἄνθετο, χαλκοτύπου παυσάμενος μανίης, κύμβαλά τ᾽ ὀξύφθογγα, βαρυφθόγγων τ᾽ ἀλαλητὸν αὐλῶν, οὓς μόσχου λοξὸν ἔκαμψε κέρας, τυμπανά τ᾽ ἠχήεντα, καὶ αἵματι φοινιχθέντα φάσγανα, καὶ ξανθάς, τὰς πρὶν ἔσεισε, κόμας. ἵλαος, ὦ δέσποινα, τὸν ἐν νεότητι μανέντα γηραλέον προτέρης παῦσον ἀγριοσύνης.

O mater mea Tellus, Phrygiorum nutrix leonum, cuius mystis Dindymus mons non incalcatus, tibi hos [feminaeus] Alexis sui insaniae-instrumenta furoris dedicavit, aere-pulso-excitata cessans a-rabie, cymbala acuti-soni, gravisque vocis iubilum tibiarum, quas vituli obliquum flexit cornu, et tympana sonora, et sanguine rubro-infectos gladios, et fulvas, quas pridem iactavit, comas. Propitia, o domina, hunc-qui in iuventute insanivit, senem a priore libera feritate. Translated into Latin by  Hugo Grotius

Never Forgotten: In Praise of Sappho, Greek Anthology 7.17

Name:  Tullius Laurea Date:     1st century BCE Region:    Italy Citation:    Greek Anthology 7.17

Stranger, as you pass by this Aeolian grave,

Do not tell others that I, the Lesbian poet, have died.

For this grave is the work of mortals, prepared by human hands

And will swiftly fade to oblivion.

But if you believe that I was cherished by the Muses,

That I have blessed each one with a book of poems*

Then know this: I have escaped the shadow of death

Nor will any day dawn that does have the name of Sappho upon her lips.

 * Sappho wrote nine books of poems

Tullius Laurea, Greek Anthology 7.17, Translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

 Αἰολικὸν παρὰ τύμβον ἰών, ξένε, μή με θανοῦσαν

τὰν Μυτιληναίαν ἔννεπ᾽ ἀοιδοπόλον

τόνδε γὰρ ἀνθρώπων ἔκαμον χέρες: ἔργα δὲ φωτῶν

ἐς ταχινὴν ἔρρει τοιάδε ληθεδόνα.

ἢν δέ με Μουσάων ἐτάσῃς χάριν, ὧν ἀφ᾽ ἑκάστης

δαίμονος ἄνθος ἐμῇ θῆκα παρ᾽ ἐννεάδι,

γνώσεαι ὡς Ἀίδεω σκότον ἔκφυγον οὐδέ τις ἔσται

τῆς λυρικῆς Σαπφοῦς νώνυμος ἠέλιος.

Aeolium praetergrediens sepulcrum, hospes, ne mortuam me

dic, Mitylenaeam cantricem:

hoc enim hominum pararunt manus, et opera virorum

in celerem ruunt talia oblivionem.

si vero in-me Musarum spectas gratiam, quarum a quaque

dea florem meis apposui novem-libris,

scies me Orci tenebras effugisse, neque erit ullus

lyricae Sapphus sine nomine sol (dies).

--

Little is known about the poet Tullius Laurea except that he was one of Cicero’s freedmen. Several of his poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology.