Marco Antonio Tritonio, Those Who Had The Power To Change Their Forms

THOSE WHO HAD THE ABILITY TO CHANGE THEIR FORMS.

• Achelous
• Caenis
• Metra
• Morpheus
• Periclymenus
• Protheus
• Scython
• Tethys
• Vertmnus

*ACHELOUS used to change into many different forms [cf. Ovid’s Metamorphoses, book 9, story 1]

* CAENIS born a girl, beloved by Neptune, and was granted the ability to change into a man because he wanted to do so, and was called Caeneus [cf. book 12, story 4]

* METRA was the daughter of Erisichthon, whom Neptune granted the ability to change into whatever form she wanted  [cf book 8, story 9]

* MORPHEUS was the son of Somnus who could imitate any shape [cf. book 2, story 10]

* PERICLYMENUS: Neptune gave him the ability to turn into whatever shape he wanted [cf. book 12, story 5]

* PROTHEUS was the son of Oceanus and Tethys who had the ability to change shape into whatever shape they wanted [book 8 story 7]

* SCYTHON could alternate between man and woman  [book 4 story 8 ]

* TETHYS could also do that [book 2, story 7 ]

* VERTUMNUS was a god who lived up to his name, in that he could change into various shapes [book 14 story 16 ]

--M. Antonii Tritonii Utinenis, Mythologia, 1560 p. 65-66

Qui in Varias Se Formas Convertendi Potestaem Habuerunt.

Achelous

Caenis

Metra

Morpheus

Periclymenus

Protheus

Scython

Tethys

Vertmnus

ACHELOUS in multas se commutare figuras consueverat. [lib.ix.fab.1]

CAENIS puella a Neptuno adamata obtinuit, ut in virum cum vellet, mutaretur, qui Caeneus dictus est. [lib.xii.fab.iiii]

METRA Erisichthonis filia, in quascunque voluisset formas convertendi se a Neptuno potestatem impetravit. [lib.viii.fab.ix]

MORPHEUS Somni filius omnium figuraarum erat imitator [lib.ii.fab.x]

PERICLYMENUS a Neptuno quoque potestatem accepit, ut se in quas optaret, figuras verteret. [lib.xii.fab.v]

PROTHEUS Oceani & Tethyos filius eam a Diis habuit potestatem, ut in quas vellet formas se commutaret. [lib.viii.fab.vii]

SCYTHON modo in virum, modo in feminam potuit converti. [lib.iiii.fab.viii]

TETHYS idem efficere consuverat, [lib.ii.fab.vii]

VERTUMNUS Deus vel ipso nomne demosntrat, ut in varias potuerit verti figuras. [lib.xiiiifab.xvi]

 

 

In Praise of Tiresias: Faustus Sabaeus

Name: Faustus Sabaeus Date: 16th century CE   Region:  Brixia [Brescia, modern Italy] Citation:   Illustrated Myths of Ovid

Fate prophesied that you would transform from a man to a woman;

Then you’d return to being a man, but one without sight.

Tiresias, you were also a judge for the gods, albeit for a trivial dispute

and your reward for the judgment was a punishment.

You were blinded, but you will see it all,

And your punishment will benefit you;

For if it is godlike to know the future, then you are a god.

De mare quod fies mulier: tibi fata minantur,

masque reverteris, sed sine luce, senex.

Tiresia, et iudex superum, de lite iocosa:

Tristia de dulcia praemia lite feres.

Caecus eris, sed cuncta videbis; poenia iuvabit:

si ventura Dei est noscere, Divus eris.

 

 Faustus Sabaeus [16th century, modern Italy] was a librarian of the Vatican library who composed numerous poems on mythology-based themes.

  

Achilles' earrings! Servius, Aen. 1.30

Name: Servius Date: 4th – 5th century CE Region: [modern Italy] Citation:   Commentary on the Aeneid, 1.30

It is said that there’s a statue of Achilles in Sigeum where he wears an earring in his ear just like a woman does.

apud Sigeum Achillis statua fuisse dicitur, quae in lanna, id est in extima auris parte elenchum more femineo habuerit.

Servius [Maurus Servius Honoratus; 4th – 5th century CE] Servius’ name is unfortunately the only thing we know of this author. Little is known about the author or manuscript tradition for the grammatical commentary of Vergil’s Aeneid.

From Man to Woman and Back Again: Tiresias, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 3.5

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

Tiresias had experienced the nature of being a man and a woman. For at some point in his life he had transformed into a woman when he had struck a pair of mating serpents with a stick. He changed back into a man the following spring the same way.

[Tiresias] qui utramque naturam maris ac feminae fuerat expertus. nam quodam tempore cum serpentes concubitu haerentes baculo percussisset, in mulierem conversus fuerat ac rursus proximo vere eadem usus ratione ac tactu in virum cesserat. 

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.

Hierocles, Husband to an Empress, Cassius Dio, Roman History, 80.15.1-3

Name:  Cassius Dio Date:     155 – 235 CE  Region:   Nicaea [modern Turkey] Citation:      Roman History 80.15.1-3

It is important to note that, like the Hadrian/Antinous, Domitian/Earinus, Caracalla/Festus, Nero/Sporus and other Imperial couples, the disparity in social classes between the two lovers may negate the consent of the relationship and should not be romanticized in modern times. 

[Elegabala’ / Bassiana’s] husband was the Carian slave Hierocles, who had been Gordian’s concubine; he learned how to drive a chariot during this relationship. This skill is how the Emperor Elegabala / Bassiana met him, for while Hierocles was racing, he happened to fall out of his chariot right in front of the Emperor’s seat. He lost his helmet in the fall; the sight of the baby-faced blond youth captivated the ruler, and so Hierocles was snatched up and immediately sent to the Palace. Hierocles’ romantic skills captivated the ruler even more, and his clout rose to such prominence that, even though his mother was a slave, she was brought to Rome under military escort, where she was awarded the rank of Consular Mother.

 * Sardanapalus was a mythical Assyrian king known for his extravagance and gender-bending lifestyle

ὁ δὲ δὴ ἀνὴρ αὐτῆς Ἱεροκλῆς ἦν, Καρικὸν ἀνδράποδον, Γορδίου ποτὲ παιδικὰ γενόμενον, παρ᾽ οὗ καὶ ἁρματηλατεῖν ἔμαθεν. κἀκ τούτου καὶ παραδοξότατα αὐτῷ ἠρέσθη. ἐν γάρ τοι ἱπποδρομίᾳ τινὶ ἐκπεσὼν τοῦ ἅρματος κατ᾽ αὐτὴν τὴν τοῦ Σαρδαναπάλλου* ἕδραν τό τε κράνος ἐν τῇ πτώσει ἀπέρριψε, καὶ ἐκφανεὶς αὐτῷ ῾λειογένειος δ᾽ ἔτι ἦν καὶ κόμῃ ξανθῇ ἐκεκόσμητὀ ἀνηρπάσθη τε εὐθὺς ἐς τὸ παλάτιον, κἀν τοῖς νυκτερινοῖς ἔργοις ἔτι καὶ μᾶλλον ἑλὼν αὐτὸν ὑπερηυξήθη, ὥστε καὶ ὑπὲρ αὐτὸν ἐκεῖνον ἰσχῦσαι, καὶ βραχύ τι νομισθῆναι τὸ τὴν μητέρα αὐτοῦ ἔτι δούλην οὖσαν ἔς τε τὴν Ῥώμην ὑπὸ στρατιωτῶν ἀχθῆναι κἀν ταῖς τῶν ὑπατευκότων γυναιξὶ συναριθμηθῆναι.

Erat vero vir eius, Hierocles quidam, Caricum mancipium, [qui Gordio quondam in deliciis fuerat,] a quo currus etiam agitare didicerat: qua occasione Imperatior, praeter exspectationem, placere coepit. Quum enim aliquando ludis Circensibus, e curru, ante Sardanapali* sellam, decidisset, inque eo casu galeam proiecisset; aperto capite conspectus ab illo, (imberbis autem adhuc & flava ornatus coma erat), statim raptus est in Palatium; & quum nocturnis flagitiis magis etiam cepisset Imperatorem, ita potentia auctus est, ut illo ipso plus posset; ac parum esse videretur, quod mater eius, servili adhuc conditione a militibus deduta in urbem, Consularium relata sit in numerum matronarum.

Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus, 1753

Cassius Dio [Lucius Cassius Dio; 165 – 235 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia [modern Turkey] who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.

The Emperor's Gender: Cassius Dio on Elegabalus, Roman History 80.14.3-4

Bassiana / Elegabalus Living as a Lady

Name:  Cassius Dio Date:     155 – 235 CE  Region:   Nicaea [modern Turkey] Citation:      Roman History 80.14.3-4

 At court, [Bassiana /Elegabalus] kept their appearance as a man, but everywhere else they kept the appearance and voice of a woman. And they danced all the time in public, not just on stage, but also wherever they walked, when they made sacrifices, and when they were holding court. Finally, to circle back to my original point, they got married as a bride, and were called “wife,” “milady,” and “Queen.” They spun wool, wore a veil, wore eyeliner, makeup, and anklets.

 

ὅτι ἐν τῷ δικάζειν τινὰ ἀνήρ πως εἶναι ἐδόκει, ἐν δὲ δὴ τοῖς ἄλλοις τῷ ἔργῳ καὶ τῷ σχήματι τῆς φωνῆς ὡραΐζετο. τά τε γὰρ ἄλλα καὶ ὠρχεῖτο, οὔτι γε ἐν ὀρχήστρᾳ μόνον, ἀλλὰ καὶ ἐμβαδίζων τρόπον τινὰ καὶ θύων ἀσπαζόμενός τε καὶ δημηγορῶν. καὶ τέλος, ἵν᾽ ἤδη ἐπὶ τὸν ἐξ ἀρχῆς λόγον ἐπανέλθω, καὶ ἐγήματο, γυνή τε καὶ δέσποινα βασιλίς τε ὠνομάζετο, καὶ ἠριούργει, κεκρύφαλόν τε ἔστιν ὅτε ἐφόρει, καὶ τοὺς ὀφθαλμοὺς ἐνηλείφετο, ψιμυθίῳ τε καὶ ἐγχούσῃ ἐχρίετο.

Et in iure quidem reddendo, aliquatenus vir esse videbatur; in aliis tamen rebus, & opere & modulatione vocis, muliebrem affectabat mollitiem. Inter alia enim saltabat, non in orchestra solum, verum etiam quodammodo dum incederet, faceret sacrificia, salutaretur, & contionem haberet. Postremo, ut redeam unde digressus sum, nupsit etiam, et uxor et domina et Augusta appellabatur; tractabat lanam, reticulum aliquando gestabat, oculosque sublinebat, cerussaque vultum et anchusa pingebat.    Translated into Latin by Hermann Samuel Reimarus

 

Cassius Dio [Lucius Cassius Dio; 165 – 235 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman statesman born in Nicaea, Bithynia [modern Turkey] who wrote an 80 volume work on Roman history that spanned from Aeneas’ flight from Troy to the rise of the emperor Severus Alexander. Although much of his history is lost, the fragments that we do have show rare insight into the Roman world.

The Many Lives and the Many Genders of Pythagoras: Lucian, Gallus 19-20

Name: Lucian Date: 125 – 180 CE Region: [modern Turkey] Citation:  The Rooster 19-20

 In his satire on Pythagorean philosophy, the author Lucian explores how Pythagoras' soul (now living as a rooster) has experienced a vast spectrum of existence--living as man and woman, Greek and Persian, person and animal, etc. It is important to note that despite the interviewer Mikyllos' cynical and mocking tone, he still follows proper etiquette:  using a person's appropriate pronouns, as well as being sure to not use the Rooster's dead name. 

M: Once you changed out of Pythagoras, what form did you take next?

Rooster: I was Aspasia, the Courtesan from Miletus.

M: Lol wut? You, Pythagoras, were a woman in your previous lives? Like, at one time, you, a noble rooster, were an egg-laying chicken? And you were Aspasia, who dated Pericles, and got pregnant by him? And you spun wool and then wove it into things? And then you put on makeup to go on dates?

Rooster: Of course I did. But I’m not the only one who did so; there’s also Tiresias before me, and Elatus’ kid* Caeneus. Don’t give me a hard time for it, if you’re cool with them.

M: So, like, which life did you like better? When you were a man, or when you were married to Pericles?

Rooster: Watch out what kind of question you’re asking me—that’s the question that got Tiresias in trouble**.

M: Well, if you don’t say it, Euripides explained it in one of his tragedies. He said that he would prefer to go into battle three times than to give birth once.

Rooster: May I remind you, o Mikyllos, that one day you will be a woman who gives birth; it’ll happen often enough as time goes on.

M: Watch your neck, bird! Do you think that everyone comes from Miletus or Samos?   So, like, they often say that Pythagoras looked good, and Aspasia was good looking in the eyes of her tyrant lover. After Aspasia, were you a man or a woman next?

Rooster: I was the Cynic philosopher Crates.

M: OMG, what a difference! From a hot courtesan to a philosopher***!

Rooster: Then I was a king, then a beggar, then a Persian Satrap, then a horse, then a bird, then a frog, then a bunch of other things, too many to remember, but most recently, a rooster. I like being a rooster the most. I’ve been all these things, and now that I live with you, I think it’s laughable that you admire the rich and worry about poverty—you have no idea what you’re talking about. If you only knew the struggle the wealthy had, you wouldn’t think you’d instantly be happy if you were rich.

M: So, Pythagoras—or what do you wish to be called? So I won’t get mixed up calling you one thing after another.

Rooster: It doesn’t matter. Whether you call me Euphorbus or Pythagoras, or Aspasia, or Crates, I am all of them.  But it might be easier if you just call me “Rooster,” but don’t think that this “paltry poultry” doesn’t contain many souls.

 

 

* Lucian uses the gender neutral term παῖς [“kid / child,” instead of “son” or “daughter”], respecting Caeneus’ gender change by deliberately not using a gendered word.

 

** According to myth, Tiresias was blinded when Zeus and Hera asked him to decide whether men or women enjoyed physical romance more

 

*** Cynic rejected society’s obsession with appearance and beauty, and dressed plainly

19] πατῶν ἀπολιμπάνοις. ἀποδυσάμενος δὲ τὸν Πυθαγόραν τίνα μετημφιέσω μετ᾽ αὐτόν;

Ἀλεκτρυών

Ἀσπασίαν τὴν ἐκ Μιλήτου ἑταίραν

 

Μίκυλλος

φεῦ τοῦ λόγου, καὶ γυνὴ γὰρ σὺν τοῖς ἄλλοις ὁ Πυθαγόρας ἐγένετο, καὶ ἦν ποτε χρόνος ὅτε καὶ σὺ ᾠοτόκεις, ὦ ἀλεκτρυόνων γενναιότατε, καὶ συνῆσθα Περικλεῖ Ἀσπασία οὖσα καὶ ἐκύεις ἀπ᾽ αὐτοῦ καὶ ἔρια ἔξαινες καὶ κρόκην κατῆγες καὶ ἐγυναικίζου ἐς τὸ ἑταιρικόν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

πάντα ταῦτα ἐποίουν οὐ μόνος, ἀλλὰ καὶ Τειρεσίας πρὸ ἐμοῦ καὶ ὁ Ἐλάτου παῖς ὁ Καινεύς, ὥστε ὁπόσα ἂν ἀποσκώψῃς εἰς ἐμὲ, καὶ εἰς ἐκείνους ἀποσκώψας ἔσῃ.

 

Μίκυλλος

τί οὖν; πότερος ἡδίων ὁ βίος σοι ἦν, ὅτε ἀνὴρ ἦσθα ἢ ὅτε σε ὁ Περικλῆς ὤπυιεν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁρᾷς οἷον τοῦτο ἠρώτησας, οὐδὲ τῷ Τειρεσίᾳ συνενεγκοῦσαν τὴν ἀπόκρισιν;

 

Μίκυλλος

ἀλλὰ κἂν σὺ μὴ εἴπῃς, ἱκανῶς ὁ Εὐριπίδης διέκρινε τὸ τοιοῦτον, εἰπὼν ὡς τρὶς ἂν ἐθέλοι παρ᾽ ἀσπίδα στῆναι ἢ ἅπαξ τεκεῖν.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

καὶ μὴν ἀναμνήσω σε, ὦ Μίκυλλε, οὐκ εἰς μακρὰν ὠδίνουσαν ἔσῃ γὰρ γυνὴ καὶ σὺ ἐν πολλῇ τῇ περιόδῳ πολλάκις.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκ ἀπάγξῃ, ὦ ἀλεκτρυών, ἅπαντας οἰόμενος Μιλησίους ἢ Σαμίους εἶναι; σὲ γοῦν φασι καὶ Πυθαγόραν ὄντα τὴν ὥραν λαμπρὸν πολλάκις 20] Ἀσπασίαν γενέσθαι τῷ τυράννῳ. — τίς δὲ δὴ μετὰ τὴν Ἀσπασίαν ἀνὴρ ἢ γυνὴ αὖθις ἀνεφάνης;

Ἀλεκτρυών

ὁ κυνικὸς Κράτης.

 

Μίκυλλος

' Ὢ Διοσκόρω τῆς ἀνομοιότητος, ἐξ ἑταίρας φιλόσοφος.

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

εἶτα βασιλεύς, εἶτα πένης, καὶ μετ᾽ ὀλίγον σατράπης, εἶτα ἵππος καὶ κολοιὸς καὶ βάτραχος καὶ ἄλλα μυρία μακρὸν ἂν γένοιτο καταριθμήσασθαι ἕκαστα: τὰ τελευταῖα δὲ ἀλεκτρυὼν πολλάκις, ἥσθην γὰρ τῷ τοιούτῳ βίῳ. καὶ παρὰ πολλοῖς [p. 214] ἄλλοις δουλεύσας καὶ πένησι ^ καὶ πλουσίοις, τὰ τελευταῖα καὶ σοὶ νῦν σύνειμι καταγελῶν ὁσημέραι ποτνιωμένου καὶ οἰμώζοντος ἐπὶ τῇ πενίᾳ καὶ τοὺς πλουσίους θαυμάζοντος ὑπ᾽ ἀγνοίας τῶν ἐκείνοις προσόντων κακῶν. εἰ γοῦν ᾔδεις τὰς φροντίδας ἃς ἔχουσιν, ἐγέλας ἂν ἐπὶ σαυτῷ πρῶτον οἰηθέντι ὑπερευδαίμονα εἶναι τὸν πλοῦτον.

 

Μίκυλλος

οὐκοῦν, ὦ Πυθαγόρα — καίτοι τί μάλιστα χαίρεις καλούμενος, ὡς μὴ ἐπιταράττοιμι τὸν λόγον ἄλλοτε ἄλλον καλῶν;

 

Ἀλεκτρυών

διοίσει μὲν οὐδὲν ἤν τε Εὔφορβον ἢ ^ Πυθαγόραν, ἤν τε Ἀσπασίαν καλῇς ἢ Κράτητα: πάντα γὰρ ἐγὼ ταῦτά εἰμι. πλὴν τὸ νῦν ὁρώμενον τοῦτο ἀλεκτρυόνα ὀνομάζων ἄμεινον ἂν ποιοῖς, ὡς μὴ ἀτιμάζοις εὐτελὲς εἶναι δοκοῦν τὸ ὄρνεον, καὶ ταῦτα τοσαύτας ἐν αὑτῷ ψυχὰς ἔχον.

MICYLLUS: Verum ubi Pythagoram exueras, quem post eum induisti?

GALLUS: Aspasiam Miletensem illam meretricem.

MICYLLUS: Papae! Quid ego audio? Siquidem inter alia mulier quoque fuit Pythagoras. Itane fuit aliquando tempus, quo tu Galle generosissime ova pariebas, cumque Pericle rem habebas, iam Aspasia videlicet, atque ex illo gravida facta es? Praeterea lanam tondebas, tramamque ducebas? Postremo meretricum in morem gestiebas, vultumque componebas?

GALLUS: Ista quidem omnia feci, tametsi non ego solus: verum & ante me tum Tiresias, tum Elati proles Caeneus. Proinde quicquid in me convitii dixeris, tantumdem et in illos dixeris.

MICYLLUS: Age igitur, utra tibi vita erat suavior, quum vir esses, an quum Pericles tecum haberet consuetudinem?

GALLUS: Vides cuiusmodi isthuc est quod percontaris? nempe cui ne Tiresiae quidem expedierit respondere.

MICYLLUS: Atqui si minus fateare tu, tamen isthuc Euripides fatis explicuit, quum ait se malle ter sub clipeo consistere, quam parere semel.

GALLUS: Immo praemoneo te paulo post puerperam fore: siquidem & tu mulier es olim futurus, idque; saepius, longo nimirum saeculorum orbe atque recursu.

MICYLLUS: Non tu pendebis O Galle, qui quidem omneis mortales Milesios aut Samios esse ducas? Nam aiunt te etiam tum quum Pythagoras esses, venusta forma decorum, saepius Aspasiam fuisse tyrano. Verum age, secundum Aspasiam in quem virum aut mulierem denuo renatus es?

GALLUS: In Cratetem Cynicum.

MICYLLUS: O Castor, O Pollux, quam dissimile! ex scorto philosophus?

GALLUS: Deinde rex: deinde pauper: paulo post satrapes: dehinc equus, graculus, rana, aliaque innumerabilia, perlongum enim fuerit singula recensere. Postremo gallus, atque id saepius, nam hoc vitae genere sum delectatus. Interea & aliis diversis mortalibus servivi, regibus, pauperibus, divitibus; postremo nun tecum vivo, rideoque quotidie, quum video te pauperitatis taedio complorantem, eiulantemque, ac divitum admirantem fortunas, propterea quod ignores quantum illis adsit malorum. Alioqui si curas noris quibus illi distringuntur teipsum profecto riseris, qui antea credideris, eum qui sit opulentus, statim felicissimum esse omnium.

MICYLLUS: Ergo Pythagora, aut quod maxime gaudeas appellari, ne confundam orationem, si te nunc hoc, nunc illo nomine compellem.

GALLUS: Nihil intererit, sive Euphorbum, sive Pythagoram, sive vocaris Aspasia, sive Craterem, quandoquidem ista omnium sum unus: nisi quod rectius feceris, si id quod impraesentiarum esse video. Gallum me voces, ne avem hanc parui ducere contenereque videare, praesertim quum tam multas contineat animas.

Translated into Latin by Erasmus of Rotterdam

 Lucian [Lucianus Samosatensis; 125 – 180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman satirist from Samosata [modern Turkey] who wrote in ancient Greek. His works are a mixture of sarcasm, wit, and biting social criticism. He is without a doubt one of the most popular authors of the later Roman empire.

Androgyonous Beauty: Ausonius Epig. 107

Name:  Ausonius Date:  310 – 395 CE Region:  Aquitania, Gaul [modern France] Citation: Epigram 107

While Nature wonders if she made a boy or a girl,

O lovely one, you were made a pretty--almost a girl--boy.

Dum dubitat Natura marem faceretne puellam,

Factus es, O pulcher, paene puella, puer.

--Ausonius, Epig. 107

 Ausonius [Decimus Magnus Ausonius; 310 – 395 CE, modern France] was a Roman poet from Aquitania, Gaul who lived during the 4th century CE. He is best known for his epic poem Mosella, which describes the Moselle River, and his Epistles, a series of literary poems between himself and the Christian poet Paulinus.

I'll Be Your Anything: The Genderfluid God Vertumnus, Propertius, E. 4.2

Vertumnus  Boasts of His Abilities

Name:  Propertius Date:  50 – 15 BCE Region:   Assisium [modern Italy] Citation:    Elegies 4.2

Why are you surprised by my many shapes in my one body? 

Just accept that I, Vertumnus, am a god.

I’m Tuscan born, and I’m native of Tuscany,

And I’m not ashamed to have abandoned the Volsinian side in battle.

This is my kind of crowd. I’m not too fond of ivory temples,

I’m okay with just watching over the Roman Forum.

This is where the Tiber River once made its way;

It is said that the sound of oars was heard splashing here.

And after Father Tiber granted this land to his offspring, 

I, Vertumnus was named after the “Bend in the Stream [1].”

Or, maybe I’m named that way because I receive first fruits after the “turning of the year [2]"

And you believe this is sacred rite to Vertumnus.

The grape in its cluster ripens for me; the wheat heads grow heavy.

In me, you see the sweet cherry, the autumn plums, and the mulberry deepen in color on a summer day.

You see the grafter dedicate a crown of fruit to me, after an unwilling pear tree begins to sprout apples.

Okay, stop talking about me; there’s another reason to my name.

Believe me, a god, as I tell you about myself:

Nature made me fit for every figure.

I can change into any shape you want.

Clothe me in Coan clothes and I’ll be a flirty girl;

If I put on a toga, who will deny that I’m a man?

 Give me a scythe and put a knot of hay upon my forehead, and you’d swear I was the reaper who cut the grain myself.

There was I time that I remember when I took up arms, and I was renowned for it, and I was a reaper bearing a load of baskets.

I’m serious as a lawyer, but if you put a garland on my head, you’d swear I was a partygoer.  Put a Phrygian cap on my head, and I will rave like a bacchant; I’ll play Apollo, if you give me a lyre. Give me hunting supplies, and I’ll be a hunter; but, with other supplies, I’ll only hunt birds.

And I’ve also been a charioteer, as well as a warrior who can leap from horse to horse. Give me a rod, and I’ll be a fisherman; or give me a long tunic, and I’ll be a fastidious merchant. I can pose like a shepherd with his crook; I can carry a basket of roses through the dusty streets.

What else should I add to heighten my fame, that puts the first fruits of the garden into my hands? Dark cucumbers and fat gourds and cabbages tied with a garland of rushes give away my identity; no flower blossoms in the fields that doesn’t also rest upon my forehead.

But since I alone can turn [3] into every shape, I was named for this in my country’s language.

You, Rome, have given tribute to my Tuscans (this is where the Tuscan Way got its name), when Lycomedius came with armed reinforcement, when he defeated cruel Tatius’ Sabine forces.  I myself saw the broken ranks, the falling weapons, the enemy forced into a shameful retreat.

Blessed Jupiter, see to it that the toga-wearing race of Rome stay in my sight forever.

Only six lines left: you are off to court, go on your way, I won’t keep you, don’t bother to read the rest.

I used to be a trunk of a maple tree,

But then I was carved by an ax.

Before Numa’s reign, I was a humble god in a humble city.

But Mamurrius, the artist sculpted me in bronze,

May the Oscan earth never harm your hands, Mammurius,

Since you created me for such a pleasant purpose!

There is only one sculpture of me, but more than one honors for such a sculpture.

 

 Vertumnus Boasts of His Abilities

Quid mirare meas tot in uno corpore formas,

accipe Vertumni signa fatente deo.

Tuscus ego Tuscis orior, nec paenitet inter

proelis Volsinios deseruisse focos.

Haec me turba iuuat, nec templo laetor eburno:

Romanum satis est posse videre Forum.

Hac quondam Tiberinus iter faciebat, et aiunt

remorum auditos per vada pulsa sonos:

at postquam ille suis tantum concessit alumnis,

VertAMNUS verso dicor ab amne deus.

Seu, quia vertentis fructum praecepimus anni,

VertANNI rursus creditur esse sacrum.

Prima mihi variat liventibus uva racemis,

et coma lactenti spicea fruge tumet;

hic dulcis cerasos, hic autumnalia pruna

cernis et aestiuo mora rubere die;

insitor hic soluit pomosa vota corona,

cum pirus invito stipite mala tulit.

Mendax fama, vaces: alius mihi nominis index:

de se narranti tu modo crede deo.

Opportuna mea est cunctis natura figuris:

in quamcumque voles verte, decorus ero.

Indue me Cois, fiam non dura puella:

meque virum sumpta quis neget esse toga?

Da falcem et torto frontem mihi comprime faeno:

iurabis nostra gramina secta manu.

Arma tuli quondam et, memini, laudabar in illis:

corbis et imposito pondere messor eram.

Sobrius ad lites: at cum est imposta corona,

clamabis capiti vina subisse meo.

Cinge caput mitra, speciem furabor Iacchi;

furabor Phoebi, si modo plectra dabis.

Cassibus impositis venor: sed harundine sumpta

fautor plumoso sum deus aucupio.

Est etiam aurigae species cum verbere et eius

traicit alterno qui leve corpus equo.

Suppetat hic, piscis calamo praedabor, et ibo

mundus demissis institor in tunicis.

Pastor me ad baculum possum curvare vel idem

sirpiculis medio pulvere ferre rosam.

Nam quid ego adiciam, de quo mihi maxima fama est,

hortorum in manibus dona probata meis?

Caeruleus cucumis tumidoque cucurbita ventre

me notat et iunco brassica vincta levi;

nec flos ullus hiat pratis, quin ille decenter

impositus fronti langueat ante meae.

At mihi, quod formas unus vertebar in omnis,

nomen ab eventu patria lingua dedit; 

et tu, Roma, meis tribuisti praemia Tuscis,

 (unde hodie Vicus nomina Tuscus habet),

tempore quo sociis venit Lycomedius armis

atque Sabina feri contudit arma Tati.

Vidi ego labentis acies et tela caduca,

atque hostis turpi terga dedisse fugae.

Sed facias, divum Sator, ut Romana per aevum

transeat ante meos turba togata pedes.

Sex superant versus: te, qui ad vadimonia curris,

non moror: haec spatiis ultima creta meis.

Stipes acernus eram, properanti falce dolatus,

ante Numam grata pauper in urbe deus.

At tibi, Mamurri, formae caelator aenae,

tellus artifices ne terat Osca manus,

qui me tam docilis potuisti fundere in usus.

Unum opus est, operi non datur unus honos.  

 

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[1] A pun on the ‘vert-’ prefix in his name.

[2] Another pun on the ‘vert-’ prefix in his name.

[3] Another pun on the ‘vert-’ prefix in his name.

Propertius [Sextus Propertius; 50-15 BCE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman lyric poet whose love poetry provides insight into the customs of Augustan Rome. Like Catullus and Tibullus, Propertius used a pseudonym for the object of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to “Cynthia.”