The Theft of A Statue of Sappho: Cicero, In Verr. 2.4.126,127

Name:  Cicero Date:  106 – 43 BCE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Against Verres 2.4.126-127

The statue of Sappho that you took from the municipal building was such a perfect fit for you that it almost seemed like you were entitled to it.  For the sculpture crafted by Silanian was so perfect, so delicate, and so intricate that not just anybody—not just any country—could have it except the most polished and learned person:  you, Verres! Of course it would make sense for you to take it...

  

But words cannot express how much loss was felt from the theft of the Sappho statue. For not only was the statue exquisitely carved, but there was also a famous Greek epigram of hers inscribed on the base, which any learned scholar of Greece with any amount of sense would have taken it too if he actually understood Greek. Now only the inscription remains, an empty base showcasing what used to be on the pedestal before it was stolen.

Nam Sappho quae sublata de prytanio est dat tibi iustam excusationem, prope ut concedendum atque ignoscendum esse videatur. Silanionis opus tam perfectum, tam elegans, tam elaboratum quisquam non modo privatus sed populus potius haberet quam homo elegantissimus atque eruditissimus, Verres? Nimirum contra dici nihil potest.  ...

Atque haec Sappho sublata quantum desiderium sui reliquerit, dici vix potest. Nam cum ipsa fuit egregie facta, tum epigramma Graecum pernobile incisum est in basi, quod iste eruditus homo et Graeculus, qui haec subtiliter iudicat, qui solus intellegit, si unam litteram Graecam scisset, certe non sustulisset. Nunc enim quod scriptum est inani in basi declarat quid fuerit, et id ablatum indicat.

Cicero [Marcus Tullius Cicero; 106 – 43 BCE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the complexities of Rome’s transition from Republic to monarchy. Cicero spent most of his life in service of his country, serving as both a lawyer, senator, and even consul [Roman equivalent of president]. He is known for his suppression of the failed governmental coup in 63 BCE known as the Catilinarian conspiracy that occurred during his consulship. After the rise of Octavian [later known as the first Roman emperor Augustus], his views fell out of favor and he was eventually put to death during the proscriptions under the Second Triumvirate [Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus]. He was a prolific author in a wide range in genres, and his literary style was adopted by Petrarch as the default model for the Latin language.

  

M/M: Our Hearts Will Light the Way, A Fragment from Valerius Aedituus

Our Hearts Will Light the Way: An Early Roman Poet to His Boyfriend

Name: Valerius Aedituus Date:  1st century BCE Region: Rome [modern Italy]  Citation: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights 19.9.12

Phileros, you hold up a torch,

But we don’t need it.

The flame that shines in our hearts

Will produce enough light for us as we travel.

No raging wind can extinguish it;

Nor can the sudden rainstorm quench it.

Only Venus herself, if she is willing, can.

No other force can quench this fire between us.

Our Hearts Will Light the Way: An Early Roman Poet to his Boyfriend

 

Qui faculam praefers, Phileros, quae nil opus nobis?

Ibimus sic, lucet pectore flamma satis.

Istam nam potis est vis saeva extinguere venti

Aut imber caelo candidus praecipitans,

At contra hunc ignem Veneris, nisi si Venus ipsa,

Nullast quae possit vis alia opprimere.

Valerius Aedituus [1st century BCE] Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Valerius Aedituus except that he lived during the 1st century BCE. Only fragments remain of his poetry.

M/M: A Heart Has Found Its Home, Quintus Lutatius Catullus

Name:  Quintus Lutatius Catulus Date:  2nd century BCE Region:     [modern Italy] Citation:    Preserved in Aulus Gellius' Attic Nights, 19.10.14

These were the lyrics of Quintus Catulus:

My heart has left me:

I think it’s gone to Theotimus

(that’s what it usually does).

That’s how it goes: that’s its home.

Even if I had put my foot down, forcing my heart to come home,

It’s used to staying at his place.

I’ll go out looking for it,

But I’m afraid that I’ll be caught up in Theotimus’ charms, too.

What’ll I do? Help me, Venus!

 Quinti Catuli versus illi fuerunt: [14]

Aufugit mi animus; credo, ut solet, ad Theotimum

Devenit. Sic est: perfugium illud habet.

Qui, si non interdixem, ne illunc fugitivum

Mitteret ad se intro, sed magis eiceret?

Ibimus quaesitum. Verum, ne ipsi teneamur,

Formido. Quid ago? Da Venus consilium.

 

 

Quintus Lutatius Catulus was a prominent figure in the wars against the Cimbri and the Teutones in the 2^nd century BCE. Although he was a prolific author, only fragments remain of his works.

  

M/M: Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder: Cicero, de Natura Deorum I1.79

Name:  Cicero Date:  106 – 43 BCE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  On the Nature of the Gods, 1.79

For those of us who, following in the footsteps of ancient philosophers, are delighted by young men,* we often even think that their imperfections are cute. Alcaeus was delighted by the birthmark on his boyfriend’s finger. Although a birthmark is a blemish on the body, to Alcaeus, it seemed to be the boy’s best feature. Q. Catulus, the father of a friend and co-worker of mine, loved his fellow citizen Roscius, and composed the following poem about him:

“I stood, welcoming the rising sun

When suddenly Roscius came into view from the left.

Heaven forgive me! I confess

That he, a mortal, seemed prettier than a god.”

Roscius was “prettier than a god,” although he had (and even today, still has) a very bad squint. Why does that matter, if he seemed charming and beautiful in the eyes of his admirer?

* Adulescentulus is used for men in their mid-twenties to early thirties 

Deinde nobis, qui concedentibus philosophis antiquis adulescentulis delectamur, etiam vitia saepe iucunda sunt. Naevos in articulo pueri delectat Alcaeum; at est corporis macula naevos; illi tamen hoc lumen videbatur. Q. Catulus, huius collegae et familiaris nostri pater, dilexit municipem tuum Roscium, in quem etiam illud est eius:

"constiteram exorientem Auroram forte salutans,
    cum subito a laeva Roscius exoritur.
pace mihi liceat caelestes dicere vestra:
    mortalis visus pulchrior esse deo."

Huic deo pulchrior; at erat, sicuti hodie est, perversissimis oculis: Quid refert, si hoc ipsum salsum illi et venustum videbatur?

 

 Cicero [Marcus Tullius Cicero; 106 – 43 BCE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the complexities of Rome’s transition from Republic to monarchy. Cicero spent most of his life in service of his country, serving as both a lawyer, senator, and even consul [Roman equivalent of president]. He is known for his suppression of the failed governmental coup in 63 BCE known as the Catilinarian conspiracy that occurred during his consulship. After the rise of Octavian [later known as the first Roman emperor Augustus], his views fell out of favor and he was eventually put to death during the proscriptions under the Second Triumvirate [Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus]. He was a prolific author in a wide range in genres, and his literary style was adopted by Petrarch as the default model for the Latin language.

Quintus Lutatius Catulus was a prominent figure in the wars against the Cimbri and the Teutones in the 2^nd century BCE. Although he was a prolific author, only fragments remain of his works. 

M/M: I'll Be Everything You Need: A Frament of Lucilius

 Think of me as your supporter, your friend, your lover.

Favitorem tibi me, amicum, amatorem putes.

--Lucilius fr. 874

Lucilius (2nd century BCE) was an Italian poet and one of Rome’s earliest satirists . Although his works and his style deeply influenced the genre of Roman satire, most of his writings are lost to history and only fragments remain.  

Boys and Girls: Grammatical Gender in Early Roman Literature

 Latin classrooms tend to teach puella / puer as binary opposites [girl / boy], but the etymology of these terms is very complex. Puer originally meant "child of any gender," and there are numerous fragments of early Roman literature that show it was used as a feminine noun: 

·          Saucia puer filia sumam  I am a wounded girl, a daughter…  [from the Carmen Nelei]  

·         sancta puer Saturni filia  sacred child, daughter of Saturn [Livius Andronicus fr. 12]

Moreover, the word puella is the diminutive form of puer, and also has masculine forms:

·         Cumque hic tam formosus homo ac te dignus puellus. This guy is a handsome man, a youth worthy of you. [Nonius 158.14; Lucilius fr. 162-163]

·         Inde venit Romam tener ipse etiam atque puellus. He came to Rome when he was still a young kid [Lucilius fr. 450-2]

·         Poeni suos soliti dis sacrificare puellos  The Carthaginians are accustomed to sacrifice their children to the gods [Ennius, fr. VII.4]

These examples show that grammatical gender was not initially rigidly fixed to either of these words, but the meanings of the words changed over time.

ENNIUS	MAP:
Name:  Quintus Ennius Date:  239 – 169 BCE Works:  Annals	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Although widely considered the father of Roman literature, little is known about the works of Ennius and even less is known about his life. It is said that he was born in Rudiae (modern Italy) and served in the Second Punic War. Although he was a prolific author, composing the Annals, (Rome’s first historical epic) and other epic poems, only fragments of these remain extant.	EARLY ROMAN LITERATURE

LIVIUS ANDRONICUS	MAP:
Name:  Livius Andronicus Date:  3rd c. BCE Works:  [fragments]	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Livius Andronicus is one of Rome’s earliest poets. He is known for translating the works of Homer into Latin, and for his numerous plays. Unfortunately, only fragments of his works remain.	EARLY ROMAN LITERATURE

LUCILIUS	MAP:
Name:  Gaius Lucilius Date:  2nd century BCE Works:  Satires	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Lucilius was an Italian poet and one of Rome’s earliest satirists. Although his works and his style deeply influenced the genre of Roman satire, most of his writings are lost to history and only fragments remain.	REPUBLICAN ROME

 

The Double Standard: Aulus Gellius, Attic Nights x.xxiii.1-5

  An excerpt of Marcus Cato’s speech about traditional gender norms of women, which mentions the right for a husband to kill his wife caught in adultery.

1. Those who write about customs and norms of the Romans say that women both in Rome and Latium lived their lives in sobriety, always abstaining from wine (which in the olden days was called “moonshine*”).  Furthermore, women were conditioned to kiss their relatives, so that the menfolk could catch them if they were drinking, by smelling the alcohol on their breath.

2. They say that women were accustomed to drink sweet drinks—ice wine, grape juice, second-pressed [diluted] wine. And you can read more about this in the books I’ve already mentioned.

3. But Marcus Cato declared that women were not only convicted but also punished by a magistrate if they were drunk—and punished at the same level as adultery (even more so!)

4. I’m quoting a passage of Marcus Cato from his speech “About Dowries,” where he wrote that husbands had the right to kill their wives caught in adultery:

“When a husband divorces his wife, he acts as the woman’s judge and magistrate, and has the authority as he sees fit, to condemn his wife if she has done a shameful or offensive act. She is punished severely if she drinks wine; if she does something shameful with another man, she is condemned to death.

5. And Cato writes this about the husband’s right to put his wife to death:

“If you have caught your wife in adultery, you may kill her with impunity, without a trial; but whether you commit adultery with a woman (adulterares) or a man (adulterarere), your wife cannot lay a finger on you, nor does she have the right.”

*using an archaism here to reflect the archaism in the text

XXIII. Verba ex oratione M. Catonis de mulierum veterum victu et moribus; atque inibi, quod fuerit ius marito in adulterio uxorem deprehensam necare. I. Qui de victu atque cultu populi Romani scripserunt, mulieres Romae atque in Latio aetatem abstemias egisse, hoc est vino semper, quod "temetum" prisca lingua appellabatur, abstinuisse dicunt, institutumque ut cognatis osculum ferrent deprehendendi causa, ut odor indicium faceret, si bibissent. II. Bibere autem solitas ferunt loream, passum, murrinam et quae id genus sapiant potu dulcia. Atque haec quidem in his, quibus dixi, libris pervulgata sunt; III. sed Marcus Cato non solum existimatas, set et multatas quoque a iudice mulieres refert non minus, si vinum in se, quam si probrum et adulterium admisissent. IV. Verba Marci Catonis adscripsi ex oratione, quae inscribitur de dote, in qua id quoque scriptum est in adulterio uxores deprehensas ius fuisse maritis necare: "Vir" inquit "cum divortium fecit, mulieri iudex pro censore est, imperium, quod videtur, habet, si quid perverse taetreque factum est a muliere; multatur, si vinum bibit; si cum alieno viro probri quid fecit, condemnatur." V. De iure autem occidendi ita scriptum: "In adulterio uxorem tuam si prehendisses, sine iudicio inpune necares; illa te, si adulterares sive tu adulterarere, digito non auderet contingere, neque ius est."

 --Aulus Gellius, Noctes Atticae, x.xxiii.1-5

 

 Famous for his line “Delenda est Karthago,” Cato the Elder is an Italian-born Roman statesman who vociferously touted conservative and xenophobic values throughout his political and literary career.

  

Insights into Gender Norms of Early Rome: fragments of Accius and Naevius

 GENDER ROLES IN EARLY ROME:

Never was a girlfriend (amica) more faithful to her lover (amanti)

Than a boyfriend (amico) is to his [lover] (amanti);

Nor is any woman ever known for being pleasant.

Numquam quisquam amico amanti amica nimis fiet fidelis,

Nec nimis erit morigera et nota quisquam.

--Naevius fr. 88-89

 

Unfortunately, gender-based slurs were just as common as they are today: 

You teenagers have a womanly spirit,

But this girl’s got the spirit of a man. [meant as an insult]

Vos enim iuvenes animum geritis muliebrem,

Virgo viri.

--Accius fr. 33-34

 Naevius was an Italian poet who wrote comedies, tragedies, and satires during the 3^rd century BCE. His works were often considered salacious; he was imprisoned, freed, and later exiled because of his works. Although he wrote dozens of plays and a history of the First Punic War, these are no longer extant; his works only survive in fragments and quotes preserved by other authors.

Accius was a freeborn child of a freedman parent; he was born in Umbria (modern Italy) but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but these are no longer extant; only fragments remain of his writings.

Spartan Women: Accius, fr. 31-32

Spartan Women Don’t Care About Babies

Name: Accius  Date:   170 – 86 BCE Region:   Umbria [modern Italy] Citation:  [quoted in Cicero, Tuscan Debates 2.36]

Often, authors will use depictions of other nations as a mirror for their own society. Here, Spartan women are stereotyped as a foil for Roman gender roles for their rejection of motherhood.

There’s nothing like this among the Spartan women.

For them, exercise and sunshine and dust and hard work

And military training are more important

Than common pregnancy.  

Spartan Women Don’t Care About Babies

Nihil horum similest apud Lacaenas virgines,

Quibus magis palaestra Eurota sol pulvis labor

Militia studio est quam fertilitas barbara.

Accius [Lucius Accius; 170 – 86 BCE, modern Italy]  was a freeborn child of a freedman parent. He was born in Pisaurum, Umbria [modern Italy] but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but only fragments remain of them.

Challenging Gender Roles: Two Fragments of Accius on Achilles, Accius, fr. 28 & 304

Name: Accius  Date:   170 – 86 BCE Region:   Umbria [modern Italy] Citation:  fragment 28, 304

1) Achilles on Skyros: 

...cum virginali mundo clam pater

--Accius fr. 28, quoted in Festus

[Achilles], a father hiding in a maiden’s dress...

This fragment of early Latin poetry refers to the period of time prior to the Trojan War when Achilles lived as a maiden on the island of Skyros and impregnated the princess Deidamia. Together they will have a son named Neoptolemus / Pyrrhus, who will fight in the Trojan War after the death of his father.

2) On the Death of Patroclus:

Achilles: Mors amici subigit, quod mi est senium multo accerrimum.

--Accius fr. 304, quoted in Nonius

The death of a friend has overpowered me; it is by far the most bitterest grief.

Accius [Lucius Accius; 170 – 86 BCE, modern Italy]  was a freeborn child of a freedman parent. He was born in Pisaurum, Umbria [modern Italy] but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but only fragments remain of them.