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.

M/M: In Love With Love: Charinus the Iambic Poet, Photius, Bibl. 153b

 Charinus was an iambic poet who loved Eupator’s eunuch cupbearer Erotos [Love] to the point of desperation. Relying on the power of the Leucadian Rocks*, he leapt from them and broke his leg. As he was dying from the pain, he composed the following poem:

“Leucadian Rock, you deceiving villain,

OWWWWWWWW OWWWWWWWW

You have drowned Charinus the Iambic poet,

He believed in your myth[ical power].

May Eupator’s love for Love also die.

* According to legend, a person could be cured of their love for a person if they leapt from the Leucadian Rocks and survive. Sappho is said to have leapt from these rocks to rid herself of her love of Phaon.

Charinus quoque iamborum scriptor, eunuchum quemdem Erota, Eupatoris pincernam, perdite amavit, fabulaeque de petra illa fidem habens, praecipitavit et ille. At cum ex lapsu crure fracto, doloris iam vi exspiraret, hos versus iambicos effudit:

"Fallax peri, peri, mala o Leucas petra;

Charinon, heu, heu, me poetam iambicum

Spei adussisti inanibus quae fabulis.

In tantum Erota, o! Eupator si diligat.

Χαρίνος δε ίαμβογράφος ηράσθη Έρωτος ευνούχου του Ευπάτορος οινοχόου και πιστεύσας τω πέρι της πέτρας λόγω κατέβαλεν εαυτόν. έπει δε κατεβαλων το σκέλος κατεάγη και υπό οδύνης ετελευτα, απέρριψε τάδε τα ιαμβεία:

 

 Έρροις πλανήτη και κακή πέτρη Λευκάς. 

Χαρίνον, αί αϊ, την ιαμβικήν Μούσαν, 

Κατηθάλωσας ελπίδος κενοίς μύθοις: 

Τοιαύτ Ερωτος Ευπάτωρ ερασθείη.

--Photius, Bibliotheca 153B,  Translated into Latin by Christian Wolf et al. (1860)

 Nobleman, clergyman and author Photius led the Eastern Orthodox Church in Constantinople during the 9^th century CE. His impact on Church history and literature is immense; he was canonized as a saint in both the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic churches. His work, the Bibliotheka, preserves epitomes of works that are no longer extant.

  

M/M: Alexander and Bagoas: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx

Please note that even though Bagoas was free and able to consent to Alexander's affection, many eunuchs were not so lucky, and spent the duration of their lives in slavery. It is important to ensure that we do not romanticize relationships that would not be considered consensual today, including the master / slave dynamic.  

In his book On Sacred Sacrifices at Troy, Dichaearchus states that Alexander the Great was so smitten by the eunuch Bagoas that he kissed him in the middle of a theater, and when the spectators applauded them, he kissed him again.

Dicaearchus certe, in libro De Solemni Sacrificio ad Ilium, ait, ita impotenter [Alexandrum] amasse eum Bagoam eunuchum, ut in totius theatri conspectu…eum suaviaretur: plaudentibus vero spectatoribus, & adclamantibus, paruit, iteruque retro eum osculatus est.

Δικαίαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἰλίῳ Θυσίας [Ἀλέξανδρον] Βαγώου τοῦ εὐνούχου οὕτως αὐτόν φησιν ἡττᾶσθαι ὡς ἐν ὄψει θεάτρου ὅλου καταφιλεῖν αὐτὸν ἀνακλάσαντα, καὶ τῶν θεατῶν ἐπιφωνησάντων μετὰ κρότου οὐκ ἀπειθήσας πάλιν ἀνακλάσας ἐφίλησεν.

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Athenaeus was a scholar who lived in Naucratis (modern Egypt) during the reign of the Antonines. His fifteen volume work, the Deipnosophists, are invaluable for the amount of quotations they preserve of otherwise lost authors, including the poetry of Sappho. 

Luxorius XII: Gender Roles of Eunuchs

The role of the eunuch (spado) in Roman society was a complicated one; in this poem of Luxorius, we see that eunuchs were bound by strict gender roles. As usual, the poet's tone is critical, but not violent; he is following the same biting style of his predecessors Catullus and Martial.

A young royal eunuch

Dolled up with his golden curls

With roses braided in his hair

Put a headdress* on his head.

Knowing full well that he shouldn’t,

He *knew* what he was doing,

And nobody forced him to wear it,

And he was made worse for it.

Rutilo decens capillo

roseoque crine ephebus

spado regius mitellam

capiti suo locavit;

proprii memor pudoris,

bene conscius quid esset

posuit cogente nullo

fuerat minus quod illi.

--Luxorius XII

Little is known about the life of the Roman poet Luxorius except that he lived in Carthage (modern Tunisia, northern Africa) during the 6th century CE and that his poetry was popular in the court of the Vandal kings. His poetry provides us with rare insight into the changing customs as the Roman Empire transitioned from a polytheistic to a monotheistic society. 

W/W: Happily Ever After: Berenice and Mesopotamia, Iamblichus' Babyloniaca

 

Happily Ever After for All: Iamblichus’ Babyloniaca

Name: Iamblichus Date:  2nd century CE Region:  Syria [modern Syria] Citation:  Babyloniaca [Preserved in: Name: Photius Date:  810 – 893 CE Region: Constantinople [modern Turkey] Citation:  Library 1.94.76b, 77b

Based on Photius’ summary, Iamblichus’ novel involves two parallel love stories: the relationship between the protagonists Sinonis and Rhodanes, and the relationship between Mesopotamia and the Egyptian princess Berenice. The plot of the novel is overly complicated and convoluted, with high-stakes adventures similar to a modern soap opera.  The climax of the plot occurs when Mesopotamia and her brother Euphrates are captured because of their similarity in looks to the main protagonists.

Then there’s the story of Princess Berenice of Egypt, and her wild and unseemly love affairs, including her “closeness” to Mesopotamia. And when Mesopotamia is captured by [the king’s eunuch] Saca, she is sent back to King Garmos along with her brother Euphrates...

Mesopotamia and her brother (still thought to be Sinonis and Rhodanes) are brought to King Garmos. Soraechus is also brought in, as well as the true Rhodanes. Garmos realizes that Mesopotamia is not Sinonis, and hands her over to his eunuch Zobara to be executed on the banks of the Euphrates river.   But Zobara, smitten by Mesopotamia, saves her and brings her back to Queen Berenice. Now that her father is dead, Berenice is the new Pharoah of Egypt. She marries Mesopotamia, and threatens war against Garmos.

Διάληψις περὶ Βερενίκης, ἥτις ἦν θυγάτηρ τοῦ βασιλέως Αἰγυπτίων, καὶ τῶν ἀγρίων αὐτῆς καὶ ἐκθέσμων ἐρώτων· καὶ ὅπως Μεσοποταμίᾳ τε συνεγίνετο, καὶ ὡς ὕστερον ὑπὸ Σάκα συνελήφθη Μεσοποταμία, καὶ πρὸς Γάρμον ἅμα τῷ ἀδελφῷ Εὐφράτῃ ἀπάγεται...

Narratio deinde instituitur de Berenice Aegyptiorum regis filia, deque immani eius et infando amore, utque ad huius Mesopotamia colloquium ac familiaritatem pervenerit. Capta itaque post haec Mesopotamia a Saca, cum fratre suo Euphrate ad Garmum adducitur...

Ἄγεται πρὸς Γάρμον Εὐφράτης ὡς Ῥοδάνης, καὶ ὡς Σινωνὶς Μεσοποταμία· ἄγεται καὶ Σόραιχος καὶ ὁ ἀληθὴς Ῥοδάνης. Καὶ διαγνοὺς ὁ Γάρμος μὴ εἶναι Σινωνίδα τὴν Μεσοποταμίαν, δίδωσι Ζοβάρᾳ παρὰ ποταμὸν Εὐφράτην καρατομῆσαι ἵνα μή, φησί, καὶ ἑτέρα τις τοῦ τῆς Σινωνίδος ἐπιβατεύσῃ ὀνόματος. Ὁ δὲ Ζοβάρας ἀπὸ πηγῆς ἐρωτικῆς πιὼν καὶ τῷ Μεσοποταμίας ἔρωτι σχεθείς, σῴζει τε ταύτην καὶ πρὸς Βερενίκην Αἰγυπτίων ἤδη, ἅτε τοῦ πατρὸς τελευτήσαντος βασιλεύουσαν, ἐξ ἧς ἦν καὶ ἀφελόμενος, ἄγει· καὶ γάμους Μεσοποταμίας ἡ Βερενίκη ποιεῖται.

Interea Euphrates ad Garmum ducitur, quasi Rhodanes esset, et pro Sinonide Mesopotamia. Ducitur et Soraechus, verusque Rhodanes. Verum cognito Garmus Mesopotamiam non esse veram Sinonida, Zobarae eam tradidit, ad Euphratem fluvium capite truncandam, ne qua, inquit, alia Sinonidis nomen, eius exemplo, falso usurpet. Zobaras tamen Mesopotamiae possessus amore, servavit eam, et ad Berenicen Aegypti, iam patre exstincto, reginam unde ipse olim abductus fuerat, adducit, et Mesopotamiae nuptias Berenice facit. Translated into Latin by Christian Wolff