Losing Half of My Soul: A Medieval Portrayal of David and Jonathan, Abelard Lamentations 6

 

Name: Peter Abelard Date:    1079 – 1142 CE Region:   [modern France] Citation:   Planctus 6: Planctus David Super Saul et Jonathan 45-48; 53-56; 61-64; 69-92  [Lamentation on the Death of King Saul and Jonathan]

Jonathan, more than a brother to me, Who shared my soul, What sins, what crimes have destroyed my flesh! ... Oh God, the earth is drenched In the slaughter of kings! Oh my Jonathan, why did an impious hand slay you? ... Now, my Jonathan, I’ll mourn you over everyone else I’ve lost, All of my joys Will forever be mixed with tears ... Oh God! What terrible advice did I follow That I didn’t join you in battle To protect you? Or I could have died happily Slain by your side, Since it would be an act of love— Nothing greater exists than this. And it is literal death To outlive you  And keep on living With only half a soul. I should have been there At the moment of crisis To prove myself Sharing in your victory Or supporting you in your downfall,  So I could rescue you from danger Or I could die with you, sacrificing the life you saved so many times and giving my life for yours,  so death can join us instead of separate us.

Plus fratre mihi Jonatha, in una mecum anima, quae peccata, quae scelera, nos ciderunt viscera! ... Vae, vae tibi madida tellus caede regia! quare te, mi Jonatha, manus stravit impia? ... Tu mihi nunc Jonatha, Flendus super omnia, inter cuncta gaudia perpes erit lacrima. ... Heu! Cur consilio acquievi pessimo, ut tibi praesidio non essem in praelio? Vel confossus pariter morier feliciter quum, quod amor faciat, maius hoc non habeat. et me post te vivere mori sit assidue, nec ad vitam anima satis est dimidia. vicem amicitiae vel unam me reddere, oportebat tempore summae tunc angustiae; triumphi participem vel ruinae comitem, ut te vel eriperem vel tecum occumberem vitam pro te finiens quam salvasti totiens ut et mors nos iungeret magis quam disiungeret.

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.

Friends Till The End: Martial 1.93

Aquinus and Fabricius, Friends ‘Till The End

Name: Martial Date: c. 40 – 100 CE Region: Bilbilis, Hispania [modern Spain] Citation: Epigrams 1.93

Aquinus is buried next to his faithful Fabricius,

Who happily entered Heaven before him.

A double tombstone attests that both attained the rank of Head Centurion,

But, what’s more, is the inscription:

“Both are joined in a sacred relationship of a blessed life,

And something even more blessed: they were friends.”

Aquinus and Fabricius, Friends ‘Till the End

Fabricio iunctus fido requiescit Aquinus,

qui prior Elysias gaudet adisse domos.

Ara duplex primi testatur munera pili:

plus tamen est, titulo quod breviore legis:

“iunctus uterque sacro laudatae foedere vitae,

famaque quod raro novit: amicus erat.” 

Martial [Marcus Valerius Martialis; 38 BCE – 102 CE, modern Spain] Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These poems provide valuable insight into the private lives of Romans from all of the city’s social classes.

Saying Farewell to a Friend: Anth. Lat. 445

Roman men often had deep, loving and affectionate friendships with their peers. There was no shame or stigma in expressing love and support to one another.

 Friends, my Crispus was taken away from me

If I could give anything to bring him back

I would gladly give half of my life.

Now the best part of me has abandoned me.

Crispus, you were my support, my joy,

My heart, my delight:  

Without him, my mind cannot find anything enjoyable.

I will spend the rest of my life worn out and defeated

Since more than half of me has gone.

--Anthologia Latina 445

Ablatus mihi Crispus est, amici

pro quo si pretium dari liceret

nostros dividerem libenter annos.

Nunc pars optima me mei reliquit

Crispus, praesidium meum, voluptas,

pectus, deliciae: nihil sine illo

laetum mens mea iam putabit esse.

Consumptus male debilisque vivam:

plus quam dimidium mei recessit.

 

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 Funeral of Hephaestion: Aelian, Var. Hist. 7.8

Name:  Aelian Date:      175 – 235 CE Region:  Praeneste [modern Italy] Citation:      Various History 7.8

When Hephaestion died, Alexander threw his own armor upon the pyre, as well as gold and silver and rich Persian garb. He ordered his warriors to shave their heads, just like Achilles did in the works of Homer. But he acted more out-of-control and rash, and tore down the walls of the citadel of Ecbatana*. In my opinion, the head-shaving was a Greek way of mourning, but the utter destruction of the city walls was barbaric, as well as his change of mourning garb, and allowing himself to succumb to tears, his love, and his over-the-top behavior.

Hephestion died in Ecbatana. The story goes that the preparations Alexander made for Hephestion ended up being used for his own death, for Alexander died before the mourning period was over.

 

* In the Iliad, Achilles dragged Hector’s corpse around the city of Troy as a form of psychological warfare

 

ὅτε Ἡφαιστίων ἀπέθανεν, Ἀλέξανδρος ὅπλα αὐτῷ ἐς τὴν πυρὰν ἐνέβαλε, καὶ χρυσὸν καὶ ἄργυρον τῷ νεκρῷ συνέτηξε καὶ ἐσθῆτα τὴν μέγα τιμίαν ἐν Πέρσαις. ἀπέκειρε δὲ καὶ τοὺς πλοκαμοὺς τοὺς ἑαυτοῦ, Ὁμηρικὸν πάθος δρῶν καὶ μιμούμενος τὸν Ἀχιλλέα τὸν ἐκείνου. βιαιότερον δὲ καὶ θερμότερον ἐκείνου ἔδρασεν οὗτος, τὴν τῶν Ἐκβατάνων ἀκρόπολιν περικείρας. μέχρι μὲν οὖν τῆς κόμης τῆς ἑαυτοῦ Ἑλληνικὰ ἐδόκει μοι δρᾶν: ἐπιχειρήσας δὲ τοῖς τείχεσιν, ἀλλ᾽ ἐνταῦθα ἐπένθει βαρβαρικῶς Ἀλέξανδρος ἤδη, καὶ τὰ κατὰ τὴν στολὴν ἤμειψε, θυμῷ καὶ ἔρωτι ἐπιτρέπων πάντα καὶ δακρύοις. ὅτι Ἡφαιστίων ἐς Ἐκβάτανα ἀπέθανε. διαρρεῖ δὲ λόγος Ἡφαιστίωνι μὲν ταῦτα εὐτρεπισθῆναι νεκρῷ, Ἀλέξανδρον δὲ αὐτοῖς ἀποθανόντα χρήσασθαι: μὴ γὰρ φθάσαι τὸ ἐπὶ τῷ μειρακίῳ τελεσθὲν πένθος, ἐπιλαβεῖν δὲ τὸν τοῦ Ἀλέξάνδρου θάνατον.

De luctu Alexandri, quem ex Hephaestionis morte cepit.

Quum Hephaestion diem suum obiisset, Alexander iniectis in pyram armis, auro & argento, simul ea cum mortuo igni tradidit, itemque vestem magni precii apud Persas. Rasit etiam ones bellicosos et fortes atque seipsum, rem faciens Homericam, imitans Achillem Homericum. Sed hic illo violentius & vehementius fecit, quum circumradens everteret muros Ecbatanorum arcis: Usque ad suos igitur capillos, videtur mihi plane Graeco ingenio fecisse:at quum muros dirueret, tum vero barbarico more luxit & stolam quoque permutavit, dolori, amori & lacrymis omnia permittens.

Hephaestio mortuus est ad Ecbatana. Fama autem emenavit, haec (quae diximus) facta, fuisse in gratiam quidem Hephaestionis mortui, sed Alexandrum vita defunctum iis usum esse. non enim a luctu ob iuvenem suscepto prius destitisse Alexandrum, quam ipsum quoque mors abstulerit.

Translated into Latin by Justus Vulteius (1731)

 Aelian  [Claudius Aelianus; 175 – 235 CE, modern Italy] was a famous scholar from Praeneste [modern Italy] who lived during the second and early third century CE. He is known for two famous works, a scientific work On the Nature of Living Things and his collection of anecdotes called the Various Histories.