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.

The Transformation of Iphis: Iohannis Posthius

Name: Johannes Posthius Date:   1537 – 1597 CE Region: [modern Germany] Citation:  Poems Inspired by Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Book 9

 Lygdus ordered his wife to kill their child

If she gave birth to a girl,

But Isis came to her in a vision

While she was in labor

And told her instead to deceive her husband. 

Lygdus named the child after his grandfather Iphis

And then arranged him to marry a woman.

And Isis came to the rescue:

For Telethusa watched in wonder

As her Iphis entered the temple a girl

and left it as a boy. 

Si pareret Lygdo coniunx Telethusa puellam:

Protinus hanc letho clam dare iussa fuit;

Isis sed contra mandat sub imagine somni:

decipiat pariens ut Telethusa virum.

Iphis avus fuerat: suboli dat nomen avitum

Lygdus: et uxorem deligit inde pater.

affert Isis opem: nam quaemodo templa subibat

femina: mox puerum mater abire videt.

Johannes Posthius [1537 – 1597 CE, modern Germany] was a famous German poet and scholar.

Paternity isn't Patriotism: I Do Not Owe the State Children, Nepos, Epaminondas 10.1-2

[Epaminondas] never got married. When Pelopidas criticized him for not having children, he reproached Pelopidas back for having a son with a bad reputation, saying it was worse to leave behind such a kid as an heir. “For,” he continued, “I leave behind a daughter: the Battle of Leuctra, which will not only outlive me, but will also live forever.”1

-Cornelius Nepos, EPAMINONDAS 10.1-2

 Hic uxorem numquam duxit. In quo cum reprehenderetur, quod liberos non relinqueret, a Pelopida, qui filium habebat infamem, maleque eum in eo patriae consulere diceret, 'Vide', inquit 'ne tu peius consulas, qui talem ex te natum relicturus sis. Neque vero stirps potest mihi deesse. 2 Namque ex me natam relinquo pugnam Leuctricam, quae non modo mihi superstes, sed etiam immortalis sit necesse est.' 

 

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.

Motherless Birth: Bacchus' Fiery and Tragic Origin Story, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 3.3

Name: Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:  Plots of Ovid’s Myths, Book 3, Story 3

When Juno suspected that Semele [the daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia] was having an affair with Jupiter, she tried to get revenge without getting her own hands dirty. She turned into an old woman, went up to Semele and persuaded her to get Jupiter to visit her in the same form that he used whenever he visited Juno.

When Semele got Jupiter to do so, Jupiter entered Semele’s home with thunder and lightning. The poor girl got what she wanted, and her home went up in smoke. Jupiter took the unborn child [Bacchus / Liber / Dionysus] from her charred womb and sewed it into his own thigh. When it was time for Bacchus to be born, Jupiter secretly handed him over to the nymphs that hung out in the Indian Mt. Nysa so they could raise him.

Iuno suspectam Semelen, Cadmi et Harmoniae filiam, cum haberet, quod cum Iove concubuisset, in anum conversa est, ut se fallacia sine invidia cuiusquam ulcisceretur; ad eam venit persuadetque ei, ne alio Iovem apparatu recipiat ad cubile, quam solitus sit apparere Iunoni, quo ut illius auctoritas gravis, proinde ipsius concubitus insignis esset. quod cum impetravisset a cupiente, deus instructus tonitribus ac fulminibus domum Semeles ingressus est: tecta eius deceptae optatis flammis adurit Liberumque conceptum utero gravidae incendio eripit ac femore insuit suo. postea conpletis mensibus nymphis, quae Nysam montem Indiae perfrequentaret, clam tradidit nutriendum. 

Lactantius Placidus [5^th or 6^th century CE] is the name of the author attributed to a prose summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but little is known about the author or his time period.

Happily Ever After: The Myth of Iphis & Ianthe, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 9. fab.10

The Transformation of Iphis

Name: Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Region:    Unknown Citation:  Plots of Ovid’s Myths, Book 9, Story 10

Ligdus, a man of noble birth and upstanding character, asked his pregnant wife Telethusa to kill their child if she gave birth to a girl, but to keep it if she gave birth to a boy. Unable to kill her daughter, Telethusa begged the goddess Isis to help her in her troubles. The goddess gave her reassurance, and so she told her husband that she had a son and raised the child as a boy. When Iphis grew up, his father had him betrothed to Ianthe, the daughter of Thelestis. They both fell madly in love with each other. Telethusa was terrified that Iphis would be outed, and Iphis was even more  so, so she once again asked the goddess Isis for help. Isis transformed Iphis into a boy so he could get married.

The Transformation of Iphis

Hic [In insula Creta] Ligdus generosae stirpis ac praestantis fidei cum petisset a Telethusa coniuge, ut, si puellam pareret, necaret, si puerum autem, sobolem patriae servaret, et uterque pro casu futuro lacrimas dedissent, mater nequiens adferre manus filiae Isidem in malis habuit auxilio; cuius pollicitis illa infantem pro puero, decepto patre filii opinione, nutrivit. Itaque cum aetas matura nuptiis increvisset, nihil suspicans pater obstrictus fide coniugis Ianthen ex Theleste genitam despondit. Qui inter se cum gravi amore premerentur, maxime Iphis (hoc enim pater nomine avi cum vocari voluerat), trepidante ergo matre, ne Iphis diu adversus virum cum infamia reperiretur, eadem dea fuit in auxlilio. Nam ut totis nuptiis iugari possint, Iphin in puerum transfiguravit.

Lactantius Placidus [5^th or 6^th century CE] is the name of the author attributed to a prose summary of Ovid’s Metamorphoses, but little is known about the author or his time period.

RIP: Too Young to be a Bride: Greek Anthology 7.604

Name:  Paul the Silentiary Date:     6th century CE Region: Constantinople [Istanbul, modern Turkey] Citation: Greek Anthology 7.604

There is a special spot of sadness in Greek and Roman literature for girls who died unmarried, as every woman was expected to marry and provide their husbands with legitimate offspring (with very few exceptions). Notice that more attention is placed on this young girl's wedding in this poem than her own death.

O young lady, your funeral is being prepared,

Not your wedding.

Instead of a bridal bouquet, you get a funeral wreath.

You will miss the hardships of life and the pain of childbirth;

Your survivors have a bitter veil of grief.

Macedonia, the Fates have buried you at twelve years old,

At the peak of beauty, but with old school customs.

 

λέκτρα σοι ἀντὶ γάμων ἐπιτύμβια, παρθένε κούρη,

ἐστόρεσαν παλάμαις πενθαλέαις γενέται.

καὶ σὺ μὲν ἀμπλακίας βιότου καὶ μόχθον Ἐλευθοῦς

ἔκφυγες: οἱ δὲ γόων πικρὸν ἔχουσι νέφος.

δωδεκέτιν γὰρ μοῖρα, Μακηδονίη, σε καλύπτει,

κάλλεσιν ὁπλοτέρην, ἤθεσι γηραλέην.

 

Lectum tibi pro nuptiis sepulcralem, o virgo puella,

straverunt palmis luctuosis parentes.

Et tu quidem errores vitae et laborem Ilithyiae

effugisti: illi autem luctuum amaram habent nubem.

Duodecennem enim fatum, o Macedonia, te sepelit,

veneribus iuvenem, moribus grandaevam.

Translated into Latin by Hugo Grottius

 

Paul the Silentiary [Paulus Silentiarius; 6th century CE, modern Turkey] was a bureaucrat in the court of the Roman Emperor Justinian I [527 – 565 CE] in Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey]. Dozens of his poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology.

Philaenis, Adoption, and Motherhood

 According to Greek lore, Philaenis was a woman author who wrote a treatise on erotic arts. Because of this, the name Philaenis was used for a stock character of a woman who exceeded Greco-Roman gender roles. Whether she showed excessive lust, same-sex desire, or had children out of wedlock, the name Philaenis was used as an umbrella-term to cover these "unladylike" behaviors.  In these poems, the name Philaenis is used for a woman who adopts a child instead of birthing one. 

Philaenis gave birth to a daughter by herself, 

without Heliodorus. When he was upset at the child’s sex,

Six days later, she is said to have given him a son.

I guess we don’t need to worship fertility goddesses:

If everyone gives birth like her, what purpose will they serve?

οὐκ ἐν ῾γαστρὶ λαβοῦσα Φιλαίνιον Ἡλιοδώρῳ

θήλειαν τίκτει παῖδ᾽ ἀπὸ ταὐτομάτου.

τοῦ δ᾽ ἐπὶ θηλείῃ λυπουμένου, ἓξ διαλείπει

ἤματα, καὶ τίκτειν ἄρσενα παῖδ᾽ ἔφατο.

οὕτως Βούβαστις καταλύεται: εἰ γὰρ ἑκάστη

τέξεται ὡς αὐτή, τίς θεοῦ ἐστι λόγος;

Non in ventre quae-conoeperat Philaenium Heliodoro

filiam peperit sponte fortuito.

Hoc autem de filia contristato, sex interponit

dies, et eniti se filium puerum dixit.

Sic Bubastis a-munere-solvitur: si enim quaeque

pariet ut illa, quid deae erit respectus?

--Nicharchus, Greek Anthology XI.18; Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

A Grieving Mother Dealing with Loss

Name:   Philippus of Thessolonica Date:      1st century CE Region:  Thessalonica [modern Greece] Citation: Greek Anthology 9.254

Every child that I have birthed—

Died.

I, Philaenis, a mother pregnant with grief

Who saw my third child buried,

Adopted another’s baby,

Hoping that a child I didn’t birth

Would live.

And so I adopted an unexpected child from a fertile mother.

But a demon wanted me

To not have the gift of another mother.

And now my adopted child has died!

I have become a source of grief

To even another’s mother.

 

ἡ πυρὶ πάντα τεκοῦσα Φιλαίνιον, ἡ βαρυπενθὴς μήτηρ, ἡ τέκνων τρισσὸν ἰδοῦσα τάφον, ἀλλοτρίαις ὠδῖσιν ἐφώρμισα: ἦ γὰρ ἐώλπειν πάντως μοι ζήσειν τοῦτον ὃν οὐκ ἔτεκον. ἡ δ᾽ εὔπαις θετὸν υἱὸν ἀνήγαγον ἀλλά με δαίμων. ἤθελε μηδ᾽ ἄλλης μητρὸς ἔχειν χάριτα. κληθεὶς ἡμέτερος γὰρ ἀπέφθιτο: νῦν δὲ τεκούσαις ἤδη καὶ λοιπαῖς πένθος ἐγὼ γέγονα.

Quae flammae cuncta peperi Philaenium, quae gravem mater, quae puerorum ternum vidi sepulcrum, luctum in-alienis partibus acquievi: sane enim speraveram fore ut omnino mihi viveret hic quem non pepereram. Ego tot-liberorum-mater subditum educabam. Sed me daemon voluit ne alius quidem matris habere donum. Daimon Vocatus enim noster periit. Nunc vero matribus iam et reliquis luctus ego facta-sum. Translated into Latin by Johann Friedrich Duebner

Philippus of Thessalonica [Philippus Epigrammaticus; 1st century CE] wrote Greek poetry during the first century CE, but is famous for creating a new, expanded edition of the Greek Anthology.

Challenging Misogyny: Aulus Gellius, Noct. Att. I.vi.1-3

Name: Aulus Gellius  Date: 125 – 180 CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Athenian Nights 1.6.1-3

 

The following speech was delivered by the serious and articulate Metellus Numidicus to an audience of many learned men. He delivered this speech on marriage when he was a Censor, when he ought to have encouraged people to marry. In this speech, he said,

 

“Citizens, if we could live without wives, we would all live a trouble-free life. But since nature has arranged that ‘we can’t live with them, can’t live without them,’ we should probably get married so we can have future stability instead of brief pleasure.”

Many people think that as a Censor [who ought to have encouraged people to get married], Metellus shouldn’t have brought up the inconveniences and usual troubles of matrimony, and that this speech seemed to dissuade people from getting married instead of encouraging them. Instead, they say he ought to have said that there aren’t really any troubles in marriage, and if some happen occasionally, they are easy to manage, and that the good times outweigh the bad times. Moreover, these “bad times” do not occur naturally, but only happen because of the spouse’s misdeed.

 Multis et eruditis viris audientibus legebatur oratio Metelli Numidici, gravis ac diserti viri, quam in censura dixit ad populum de ducendis uxoribus, cum eum ad matrimonia capessenda hortaretur. In ea oratione ita scriptum fuit: "Si sine uxore possemus, Quirites, omnes ea molestia careremus; set quoniam ita natura tradidit, ut nec cum illis satis commode, nec sine illis uno modo vivi possit, saluti perpetuae potius quam brevi voluptati consulendum est." Videbatur quibusdam Q. Metellum censorem, cui consilium esset ad uxores ducendas populum hortari, non oportuisse de molestia incommodisque perpetuis rei uxoriae confiteri, neque id hortari magis esse quam dissuadere absterrereque; set contra in id potius orationem debuisse sumi dicebant, ut et nullas plerumque esse in matrimoniis molestias adseveraret et, si quae tamen accidere nonnumquam viderentur, parvas et leves facilesque esse toleratu diceret maioribusque eas emolumentis et voluptatibus oblitterari easdemque ipsas neque omnibus neque naturae vitio, set quorundam maritorum culpa et iniustitia evenire. 

 Aulus Gellius lived during the 2^nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.

 

Matrona vs. Mater Familias? Aulus Gellius DiscussesTerminology of Women, Noct. Att. 18.6.4-9

Mater Familias and Matrona: Defining Terms

Name: Aulus Gellius  Date: 125 – 180 CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Athenian Nights 18.6.4-9

In his book, Aulus Melissus states, “A matrona is a woman who gave birth once, but a mater familias [matriarch] is a woman who gave birth to many children, just like a pig who has given birth once is called a porcetra, and a pig that has given birth multiple times is called a scrofa. But heaven knows whether it is the author’s opinion on this terminology, or if he made it up himself. Pomponius has attested the specific usage of porcetra in his Atellania, but I can’t confirm in ancient testimonia what he says about matrons and matriarchs. It’s more likely to be true what better scholars state on this topic, that a woman is called a matrona who enters a marriage with a man, and continues to be a matron as long as she remains married to him, even before the arrival of children. She obtains the name of a mother before she becomes one, in the hope that soon she will be one. This is where we get the term matrimonium [matrimony]; but a woman is only called a mater familias when she is under the authority of her husband [maritus] or in the power of his family, because then she is not only married to him, but also now a member of his family and one of the beneficiaries of his will.”

 

Mater Familias and Matona: Defining Terms

Ex eo libro verba haec sunt: “‘Matrona’ est quae semel peperit, quae saepius, ‘mater familias’; sicuti sus quae semel peperit, ‘porcetra,’ quae saepius, ‘scrofa.’”

Utrum autem hoc de matrona ac de matrefamilias Melissus excogitaverit ipse et coniectaverit, an scriptum ab alio quo legerit, hariolis profecto est opus.  Nam de “porcetra” habet sane auctorem Pomponium in Atellania, quae hoc eodem vocabulo inscripta est; sed “matronam” non esse appellatam nisi quae semel peperit, neque “matrem familias” nisi quae saepius, nullis veterum scriptorum auctoritatibus confirmari potest. Enimvero illud impendio probabilius est, quod idonei vocum antiquarum enarratores tradiderunt, “matronam” dictam esse proprie quae in matrimonium cum viro convenisset, quoad in eo matrimonio maneret, etiamsi liberi nondum nati forent, dictamque ita esse a matris nomine, non adepto iam, sed cum spe et omine mox adipiscendi, unde ipsum quoque “matrimonium” dicitur, “matrem” autem “familias” appellatam esse eam solam quae in mariti manu mancipioque aut in eius in cuius maritus manu mancipioque esset, quoniam non in matrimonium tantum, sed in familiam quoque mariti et in sui heredis locum venisset.

Aulus Gellius [125 – 180 CE] lived during the 2nd century CE. His work, the Attic Nights, are a collection of anecdotes about literature, history, and grammar.  From internal evidence, we can deduce that he was in the Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius’ social circle, having close friendships with Herodes Atticus and Fronto.

I'm Pregnant! Pregnancy Announcements from Pompeii

I’m Pregnant! Pregnancy Announcements from Pompeii

Name: Unknown Date: prior to 79 CE Region: found written in charcoal in a graveyard in Pompeii [modern Italy] Citation:   CIL  4.10231

 

Atimetus got me pregnant!

GRAVIDO ME TENE[t]

ATM[etus?]

 

Name: Unknown Date: prior to 79 CE Region: found written on insula 7 in Regio 5 in Pompeii [modern Italy] Citation:   CIL  4.7080

 

Ra.... got me pregnant!

GRAVIDO ME

TENET

RA[?????]

 

 

A Proud Mama Bear! Greek Anthology 7.742

A Proud Mama Bear

Name:  Antipater of Sidon Date:    2nd – 1st century BCE Region:     Sidon [modern Lebanon] Citation:     Greek Anthology 7.743

I, Hermocratea, have given birth to twenty-nine children, and none of them have died!

Apollo has not struck down my sons;

Artemis has not snatched away my weeping daughters!

Instead, Artemis has blessed each of my times in childbirth,

And Apollo has raised my children into manhood illness-free.

In this way I am better than Niobe, [1] both in [the amount of] my children and in a more modest tongue. 

---

[1] According to mythology, Niobe bragged that she was better than Leto [the mother of Apollo and Artemis] because she birthed seven times as many children. Enraged, Apollo murdered all of her sons, and Artemis murdered all of her daughters.

εἴκοσιν Ἑρμοκράτεια καὶ ἐννέα τέκνα τεκοῦσα οὔθ’ ἑνὸς οὔτε μιᾶς αὐγασάμην θάνατον. οὐ γὰρ ἀπωίστευσεν ἐμοὺς υἱῆας Ἀπόλλων, οὐ βαρυπενθήτους Ἄρτεμις εἷλε κόρας: ἔμπαλι δ᾽ ἁ μὲν ἔλυσεν ἐμῶν ὠδῖνα μολοῦσα, Φοῖβος δ᾽ εἰς ἥβαν ἄρσενας ἀγάγετο ἀβλαβέας νούσοισιν. ἴδ᾽ ὡς νίκημι δικαίως παισὶν καὶ γλώσσῃ σώφρονι Τανταλίδα.

Viginti Hermocratea et novem liberos enixa neque unum neque unam vidi mortuam. Non enim sagittis-configit meos filios Apollo, non graviter-lugendas Diana rapuit puellas: sed contra haec quidem solvit mearum partus adveniena Phoebus autem ad pubertatem mares duxit illaesos morbis. En quomodo vinco nec-immerito liberis et lingua modesta Tantalidem. Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

Antipater of Sidon [2nd – 1st century BCE, modern Lebanon] was a Greek poet who lived under Roman rule during the 2nd and 1st centuries BCE. Dozens of his poems were preserved in the Greek Anthology