Camilla, Warrior Woman in Battle! Vergil, Aeneid , 11.648 - 663

Camilla in Battle

Name:  Vergil Date:  70 – 19 BCE Region:  Mantua [modern northern Italy] Citation:  Aeneid 11.648 – 663

The Amazon Camilla was reveling in the midst of battle

With half her chest bare and a quiver on her back.

First, she’s rapid-firing spears by hand.

Next, she’s deftly wielding her battle-ax

With boundless energy.

Her golden bow, the weapon of Diana,

Twanged from her shoulder.

And now, attacked from behind,

Even while in retreat, Camilla kept firing her arrows.

Surrounded by her elite companions,

The maiden Larina, Tulla, and bronze-ax wielding Tarpeia,

Italian-born women whom divine Camilla

Chose for herself to be her honor-guard,

Were excellent companions in peace and war.

These women fought the way that Amazons

Wearing their multi-color armor

On the banks of the Thermodon River fought,

Battling alongside Hippolyte

Or accompanying Penthesilea’s chariot

As she returned from battle

With a great war-cry

They reveled, an army of women,

Lifting their half-moon shaped shields.

 

 

Camilla in Battle

At medias inter caedes exsultat Amazon
unum exserta latus pugnae, pharetrata Camilla,
et nunc lenta manu spargens hastilia denset,
nunc validam dextra rapit indefessa bipennem;

aureus ex umero sonat arcus et arma Dianae.

illa etiam, si quando in tergum pulsa recessit,

spicula converso fugientia derigit arcu.

At circum lectae comites, Larinaque virgo    

Tullaque et aeratam quatiens Tarpeia securim,

Italides, quas ipsa decus sibi dia Camilla

delegit pacisque bonas bellique ministras:

quales Threiciae cum flumina Thermodontis

pulsant et pictis bellantur Amazones armis, 

seu circum Hippolyten seu cum se Martia curru

Penthesilea refert, magnoque ululante tumultu

feminea exsultant lunatis agmina peltis.

Vergil, also known as Virgil, [Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 – 19 BCE, modern Italy] was born in Mantua, Cisalpine Gaul, and lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy. His writing talent earned him a place of honor among Maecenas’ fellow authors under Augustan rule. He was friends with numerous famous authors of the time period, including Horace and Asinius Pollio. His former slave Alexander was the most influential romantic partner in his life, and the poet memorialized his love for him under the pseudonym “Alexis” in Eclogue 2. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, tells the story of Aeneas’ migration from Troy to Italy; it was used for centuries as the pinnacle of Roman literature.

The Death of Hippolytus & the Rebirth of Virbius, Ovid, Metamorphoses 15.530-546

Name:     Ovid Date:       43 BCE – 17 CE Region:   Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Metamorphoses 15.530-546

"You think you can compare your grief to mine, nymph?

I saw the kingdom where no light shines

I soaked my wounded body in the Stygian waves,

And would have died without the intervention of Apollo’s son

Who brought me back to life;

Against He-Who-Rules the Underworld’s wishes

I was revived through Asclepius’ strong medicines

And with the help of Apollo’s skill.

In order to not attract attention to myself

Diana lifted me up into a cloud

And aged my form so I wouldn’t be recognized

In order to keep me safe.

For a while, she debated on whether she should

Give me a new home in Crete or Delos,

But then put me here [in Italy]

And ordered me to change my name

So I wouldn’t be reminded of my old life.

She told me, “You who were once Hippolytus,

Will now be Virbius!”

From that point on, I’ve dwelled in this grove,

One of the minor gods,

Safe under my lady’s protection

I attend her will.”

 

num potes aut audes cladi conponere nostrae,               
nympha, tuam? vidi quoque luce carentia regna
et lacerum fovi Phlegethontide corpus in unda,
nec nisi Apollineae valido medicamine prolis
reddita vita foret; quam postquam fortibus herbis
atque ope Paeonia Dite indignante recepi,               
tum mihi, ne praesens augerem muneris huius
invidiam, densas obiecit Cynthia nubes,
utque forem tutus possemque inpune videri,
addidit aetatem nec cognoscenda reliquit
ora mihi Cretenque diu dubitavit habendam               
traderet an Delon: Delo Creteque relictis
hic posuit nomenque simul, quod possit equorum
admonuisse, iubet deponere "qui" que "fuisti
Hippolytus," dixit "nunc idem Virbius esto!"
hoc nemus inde colo de disque minoribus unus               
numine sub dominae lateo atque accenseor illi.'

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.

How Many Kisses, Catullus? Catullus 7

Counting Kisses: Catullus’ Original to His Girlfriend Lesbia

Name: Catullus Date:  84 – 54 BCE Region:  Verona / Cisalpine Gaul [modern northern Italy] Citation:  Poem 7

Lesbia, you ask me how many kisses

I want—and how many are too many for me.

I want as great a number as sands in the Saharan desert

Between the Oracle of Ammon

And the sacred tomb of ol’ Battus.

As great a number of stars in the dead of night

That watch over the meetings of secret lovers.

That’s the number of kisses your Catullus wants to kiss,

Enough kisses that nosy people cannot count

Nor evil tongues can curse.

Counting Kisses: Catullus’ Original to His Girlfriend Lesbia

Quaeris, quot mihi basiationes

tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque.

Quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae

lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis

oraclum Jovis inter aestuosi

et Batti veteris sacrum sepulcrum;

aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox,

furtivos hominum vident amores:

tam te basia multa basiare

vesano satis et super Catullo est,

quae nec pernumerare curiosi

possint nec mala fascinare lingua.

Catullus [Gaius Valerius Catullus; 84 – 54 BCE, modern Italy] was a Roman statesman born in Verona [modern Italy] who lived during the tumultuous last days of the Roman Republic.  His poetry offers rare insight into the lives of people who lived during his time period. Like Propertius and Tibullus, Catullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Lesbia” or “Juventius.”

Married to Her Passion: the Ace Roman Painter Iaia, Pliny the Elder Nat. Hist. 35.147-148

Iaia, The Best of Women Artists

Name: Pliny the Elder Date: 23 – 79 CE Region:  Como [modern Italy]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Natural History, 35.147-148

There were also women painters:

·         Timarete, the daughter of Micon, [the creator of] Diana, a painting in Ephesus that is among the oldest

·         Irene, the daughter and protégé of the painter Cratinus, [the creator of] Proserpina (which is on display at Eleusis), as well as a painting of Calypso, an old man, and the juggler Theodorus, as well as the dancer Alcisthenes

·         Aristarete, the daughter and protégé of Nearchus, [the creator of] Aesculapius

·         Iaia of Cyzicus, who never married, was a painter at Rome during the time of Marcus Varro’s youth, did both paintings and engravings in ivory. Her specialty was portraits of women, the most famous of which is on display at Naples, a huge portrait of an old woman, as well as a self portrait in a mirror. No painter was faster at the art, and she was so skilled that her works were more valuable than even very famous artists of the time period, Sopolis and Dionysius, whose paintings litter our modern museums.

·         Some woman named Olympias, but the only thing we really still know about her was that she had a protégé named Autobulus.

Pinxere et mulieres:

·        Timarete, Miconis filia, Dianam, quae in tabula Ephesi est antiquissimae picturae;

·        Irene, Cratini pictoris filia et discipula, puellam, quae est Eleusine, Calypso, senem et praestigiatorem Theodorum, Alcisthenen saltatorem;

·        Aristarete, Nearchi filia et discipula, Aesculapium.

·        Iaia Cyzicena, perpetua virgo, M. Varronis iuventa Romae et penicillo pinxit et cestro in ebore imagines mulierum maxime et Neapoli anum in grandi tabula, suam quoque imaginem ad speculum. Nec ullius velocior in pictura manus fuit, artis vero tantum, ut multum manipretiis antecederet celeberrimos eadem aetate imaginum pictores Sopolim et Dionysium, quorum tabulae pinacothecas inplent.

Pinxit et quaedam Olympias, de qua hoc solum memoratur, discipulum eius fuisse Autobulum.

Pliny the Elder [Gaius Plinius Secundus; 23 – 79 CE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.

Ace Champion Atalanta: Hyginus, Fab. 185

Name: Hyginus   Date:  64 BCE – 17 CE Region:  Hispania [modern Spain] / Alexandria [modern Egypt]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Fables 185

It is said that Schoeneus had a beautiful daughter named Atalanta who surpassed men on the racetrack with her own athletic ability. She asked her father to remain unmarried, so whenever one of her many suitors asked for her hand in marriage, her father would set up a contest. A suitor who wanted to marry his daughter had to first run a race with Atalanta, but he would run the track unarmed, while she pursued him with a spear. After she hunted him down and killed him, she would put his head on display on the racetrack. After Atalanta had defeated and killed many suitors this way, she was finally defeated by Hippomenes [the son of Megareus and Merope]. Venus gave Hippomenes three special apples, and told him how to use them. During the race, he tossed the apples to the girl to slow down the race. She slowed down while she collected them and marveled at their golden appearance, and so the youth ended up winning the race. Schoeneus was impressed by the trick and happily married off his daughter to Hippomenes. But while he led her back to his homeland, Hippomenes forgot that he only won the race by Venus’ help, and did not thank her. Venus grew angry at that, and while Hippomenes was sacrificing to Jupiter the Winner on Mount Parnassus, he became overcome with lust and slept with Atalanta in the god’s sacred shrine. Because of this act, Jupiter turned them into lions, so they could no longer sleep together again*.

* According to ancient superstition, lions and lionesses could not mate with each other.

Schoeneus filiam Atalantam virginem formosissimam dicitur habuisse, quae virtute sua cursu viros superabat. ea petiit a patre ut se virginem servaret. itaque cum a pluribus in coniugium peteretur, pater eius simultatem constituit, qui eam ducere vellet prius in certamine cursu cum ea contenderet, termino constituto, ut ille inermis fugeret haec cum telo insequeretur; quem intra finem termini constituta fuisset interficeret, cuius caput in stadio figeret. plerosque cum superasset et ocidisset novissime ab Hippomene Megarei et Meropes filio victa est. hic enim a Venere mala tria insignis formae acceperat, edoctus quis usus in eis esset. qui in ipso certamine iactando puellae impetum alligavit. illa enim dum colligit et ammiratur aurum, declinavit et iuveni victoriam tradidit. cui Schoeneus ob industriam libens filiam suam dedit uxorem. Hanc cum in patriam duceret, oblitus beneficio Veneris se vicisse, grates ei non egit. irata Venere in monte Parnasso cum sacrificaret Iovi Victori, cupiditate incensus cum ea in fano concubuit. quos Iupiter ob id factum in leonem et leam convertit,  quibus dii concubitum Veneris denegant.

Hyginus [Caius Julius Hyginus; 64 BCE – 17 CE, modern Spain or Egypt] was one of Augustus’ freedmen and a famous mythographer. He was originally from Hispania [modern Spain].  Some think that he was actually from Alexandria [modern Egypt], and brought to Rome as a boy by Caesar after the fall of Alexandria. He studied under the Greek scholar Cornelius Alexander, then followed in his footsteps. He was in charge of the Palatine library, and despite this, still had the time to teach many people. He was very close friends with the poet Ovid and Clodius Licinius, the former consul and historian who, after Hyginus fell into poverty, supported him financially for as long as he lived.

Aeneas Says Trans Rights: Chloreus, Vergil, Aen.11.768-789

Chloreus, Aeneas’ Gallus Soldier

Name:  Vergil Date:  70 – 19 BCE Region:  Mantua [modern northern Italy] Citation:  Aeneid 11.768 – 784

It happened that Chloreus,

A sacred retired priest of Cybele [1],

Was sparkling conspicuously in Phrygian armor

As they rode their horse onward. Their horse

Was covered in gilded bronze adornments

The way that feathers adorn a bird.

Chloreus was equally conspicuous,

Wearing bright purple armor,

Shooting Gortynian arrows from a Lycian bow.

There was a golden ceremonial bow on their shoulders

And they wore a priest’s helmet, also golden;

They tied their purple cloak with a golden tie;

They even wore pants—how barbaric!—embroidered with a needle.

Camilla spotted them from far away,

And wanted to seize the Trojan armor,

Either to dedicate it as an offering in a temple

Or perhaps she wanted to wear the golden outfit herself.

The Amazon hunter blindly targeted Chloreus   

For single combat, and,

While she burned with a womanly love of treasure

And was caught off guard,

Arruns used the advantage to brandish his weapon deceitfully...

 

[1]  Chloreus is coded as a gallus.

Chloreus, Aeneas’ Gallus Soldier

Forte sacer Cybelo Chloreus olimque sacerdos

insignis longe Phrygiis fulgebat in armis

spumantemque agitabat equum, quem pellis aenis             

in plumam squamis auro conserta tegebat.

Ipse peregrina ferrugine clarus et ostro

spicula torquebat Lycio Gortynia cornu;

aureus ex umeris erat arcus et aurea vati

cassida; tum croceam chlamydemque sinusque crepantis  

carbaseos fulvo in nodum collegerat auro

pictus acu tunicas et barbara tegmina crurum.

Hunc virgo, sive ut templis praefigeret arma

Troia, captivo sive ut se ferret in auro

venatrix, unum ex omni certamine pugnae             

caeca sequebatur totumque incauta per agmen

femineo praedae et spoliorum ardebat amore,

telum ex insidiis cum tandem tempore capto

concitat … 

Vergil, also known as Virgil, [Publius Vergilius Maro; 70 – 19 BCE, modern Italy] was born in Mantua, Cisalpine Gaul, and lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy. His writing talent earned him a place of honor among Maecenas’ fellow authors under Augustan rule. He was friends with numerous famous authors of the time period, including Horace and Asinius Pollio. His former slave Alexander was the most influential romantic partner in his life, and the poet memorialized his love for him under the pseudonym “Alexis” in Eclogue 2. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, tells the story of Aeneas’ migration from Troy to Italy; it was used for centuries as the pinnacle of Roman literature.

Pelopidas, the Leader of the Sacred Band of Thebes: Cornelius Nepos Pelopidas 4

Throughout this turbulent time period, Epaminondas spent his time at home away from the political drama, so the honor of being the liberator of Thebes belongs to Pelopidas alone. There are many other accolades, however, that he shared with Epaminondas.  For although Epaminondas was in charge during the battle of Leuctra,  it was Pelopidas who was the leader of the Sacred Band that first broke apart the Spartan battle lines. Pelopidas was there for all of these dangers, and even led a wing of the army during the attack on Sparta. He was sent as an ambassador to Persia in order to restore control of Messena. And so Pelopidas was one of the most important men of Thebes, but he still was second to Epaminondas in fame.

--Cornelius Nepos, Vita Pelopidae 4.1-3

 

Hoc tam turbido tempore, sicut supra docuimus, Epaminondas quoad cum civibus dimicatum est, domi quietus fuit. Itaque haec liberandarum Thebarum propria laus est Pelopidae: ceterae fere communes cum Epaminonda. 2 Namque in Leuctrica pugna imperatore Epaminonda hic fuit dux delectae manus, quae prima phalangem prostravit Laconum. 3 Omnibus praeterea periculis adfuit - sicut, Spartam cum oppugnavit, alterum tenuit cornu -, quoque Messena celerius restitueretur, legatus in Persas est profectus. Denique haec fuit altera persona Thebis, sed tamen secunda ita, ut proxima esset Epaminondae.

 

 

 Cornelius Nepos (110 - 25 BCE) was a Roman author who was born in Cisalpine Gaul (now Northern Italy). He is best known for a series of biographies of great men of Greece and Rome.