Keep Me In Your Hearts, Friends! Egeria' s last note home

 

Name:  Egeria Date:  4th century CE Region:  [modern Spain] Citation:   Journey Abroad 1.23.10

Egeria was a Christian woman from Spain who lived during the 4th century CE. The narrative of her pilgrimage is an important document, as it shows rare insight into the lives of women during that time period. She was not only able to travel to visit holy sites in Constantinople, Jerusalem, and other holy places, she was also literate and able to write of her experiences to the women in her social circle, who were presumably also literate.   Ladies, light of my life, even though I have already given this update from [Constantinople] to give you cheer, I am headed towards Asia (specifically, Ephesus) in the name of Jesus Christ our God, for prayer and reverence of the sacred and blessed St. John. When I get back to our church, if I can think of other places in my travels, I will tell you of my continued adventures either in person (God willing!) or if not, in a letter. But you, ladies, light of my light, please keep me in your hearts, whether I am physically with you or not*. * in corpore can refer to either her physical body or the symbolic church / congregation

De quo loco, dominae, lumen meum, cum haec ad vestram affectionem darem, iam propositi erat in nomine Christi Dei nostri ad Asiam accedendi, id est Ephesum, propter martyrium sancti et beati apostoli Iohannis gratia orationis. Si autem et post hoc in corpore fuero, si qua praeterea loca cognoscere potuero, aut ipsa praesens, si Deus fuerit praestare dignatus, vestrae affectioni referam aut certe, si aliud animo sederit, scriptis nuntiabo. Vos tantum, dominae, lumen meum, memores mei esse dignamini, sive in corpore sive iam extra corpus fuero.

 

Two Inscriptions On the Worship of Antinous

Remembered Among the Stars: Hadrian Honors His Dead Lover by Deifying Antinous

Name: Marcus Oulpius Apollonius Date:  2nd century CE Region:  Rome [modern Italy] Citation:    Cagnat, R., ed. Inscriptiones Graecae ad Res Romanas Pertinentes, Vol 1.31-32 (1911) 32

To Antinous, equal-throned among the Egyptian gods, Marcus Oulpius Apollonius Sacerdos Dedicates This...

ANTINOΣ ΣΥΝΘΡΟΝΩ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΑΙΓΥΠΤΩ ΘΕΩΝ Μ ΟΥΛΠΙOC AΠΟΛΛΩNIOΣ ПРОФТНС

Antinoi, pariter-regnans apud Aegyptios deos, M. Oulpios Apollonius Sacerdos Translated into Latin by Kris Masters

 

Name: Unknown Date:  2nd century CE Region:  Inscription found in the Campus Martius, Rome [modern Italy] Citation:    31

To Antinous, equal-throned among the Egy...

ANTINOΣ ΣΥΝΘΡΟΝΩ ΤΩΝ ΕΝ ΑΙΓΥ...

Antinoi, pariter-regnans apud Aegy... Translated into Latin by Kris Masters

 

 

The Lifestyle of Vestal Virgins, Plutarch, Numa 10.1-3

Plutarch on the Origin of the Vestal Virgins

Name:    Plutarch Date:      46 – 119 CE Region:    Chaeronea [modern Greece]   Citation:     Life of Numa 10.1-3

Numa determined the term of the Vestal Virgins would be thirty years long. In the first decade, Vestal Virgins learn about their duties; in the second decade, they practice them; and in their third, they teach them. After that time, they are allowed to get married, and start whatever lifestyle they choose. They say that not many women choose to do so, and those that do, do not end up happy, but are full of regret and sorrow. Therefore, the bulk of Vestals retain their chaste lifestyle for the rest of their life.

Numa bestowed great honors to the Vestal Virgins. They are allowed to create their own wills independent of their fathers. They are allowed to manage their own household without a male guardian (just like those who have mothered three children). When Vestals go out in public, they have lictors [an honor guard] with them. If someone on death row is brought to their presence, they are not killed, provided that they can make an oath that the meeting was an accident and not actively planned. Moreover, if someone bumps into their vehicle, they are put to death.

ὡρίσθη δὲ ταῖς ἱεραῖς παρθένοις ὑπὸ τοῦ βασιλέως ἁγνεία τριακονταέτις, ἐν ᾗ τὴν μὲν πρώτην δεκαετίαν ἃ χρὴ δρᾶν μανθάνουσι, τὴν δὲ μέσην ἃ μεμαθήκασι δρῶσι, τὴν δὲ τρίτην ἑτέρας αὐταὶ διδάσκουσιν. εἶτα ἀνεῖται τῇ βουλομένῃ μετὰ τὸν χρόνον τοῦτον ἤδη καὶ γάμου μεταλαμβάνειν καὶ πρὸς ἕτερον τραπέσθαι βίον, ἀπαλλαγείσῃ τῆς ἱερουργίας, λέγονται δὲ οὐ πολλαὶ ταύτην ἀσπάσασθαι τὴν ἄδειαν, οὐδὲ ἀσπασαμέναις χρηστὰ πράγματα συντυχεῖν, ἀλλὰ μετανοίᾳ καὶ κατηφείᾳ συνοῦσαι τὸν λοιπὸν βίον ἐμβαλεῖν τὰς ἄλλας εἰς δεισιδαιμονίαν, ὥστε μέχρι γήρως καὶ θανάτου διατελεῖν ἐγκαρτερούσας καὶ παρθενευομένας.

Praescripsit autem rex Vestalibus triginta annorum castimoniam. Primo decennio discunt ea quae sint sui officii, altero ea exercent, tertio alias ipsae eadem docent. Secundum hoc tempus permissum est illis, quae velint, deposito sacerdotio nubere, aut aliud vitae genus diligere; non multas tamen narrant hac licentia usas et iis, quae eam amplexae fuissent, adversas res evenisse, poenitentiaque et maestitia reliquum vitae tempus vexatas, reliquas in eam superstitionem adduxisse, ut ad senectutem potitus exitumque vitae virginitatem conservarent.

τιμὰς δὲ μεγάλας ἀπέδωκεν αὐταῖς, ὧν ἔστι καὶ τὸ διαθέσθαι ζῶντος ἐξεῖναι πατρὸς καὶ τἆλλα πράττειν ἄνευ προστάτου διαγούσας, ὥσπερ αἱ τρίπαιδες. ῥαβδουχοῦνται δὲ προϊοῦσαι: κἂν ἀγομένῳ τινὶ πρὸς θάνατον αὐτομάτως συντύχωσιν, οὐκ ἀναιρεῖται, δεῖ δὲ ἀπομόσαι τὴν παρθένον ἀκούσιον καὶ τυχαίαν καὶ οὐκ ἐξεπίτηδες γεγονέναι τὴν ἀπάντησιν.

Magnos honores his sacerdotibus tribuit Numa, e quorum numero est, quod licebat vivo adhuc patre testamentum condere, quod sine tutore omnia agere poterant, haud secus quam ius trium liberorum adeptae. Cum in publicum progrediuntur, lictores secum habent, ac si tum forte ad capitale supplicium aliquis ducatur, is non necatur; iusiurandum tamen ab ipsis exigitur, forte fortuna se, non data opera, intervenisse. Porro autem qui subit lecticae,qua ipsae vehuntur, moritur.  Translated into Latin by Theodore Doener

Plutarch [46 – 119 CE, modern Greece] was a Greek author from Chaeronea, and Roman citizen who lived during the 1st century CE. He had minor governmental and religious administrative roles during his lifetime, but he is best known for his writings. He has numerous philosophical and historical works still extant, including the Parallel Lives, in which he compares the lives of a Roman and Greek statesman for moralistic purposes.

Ace Allies Living Together in Honor and Joy: Callimachus, In Delos 291-299

Living Together in Love and Joy

Name: Callimachus Date:    305 – 240 BCE Region:   Cyrene [modern Libya] Citation:    Hymn to Delos 291-299

Artemis, the first to [worship] you from golden Thule

Were the daughters of Boreas,

 Upis and Loxo, and happy-in-life Hecaerge,

Along with the best [unmarried] men.

They never returned home,

But they got their happily-ever-afters,

And are never forgotten in memory.

For whenever sweet-singing Hymenaeos [1]

Terrifies the hearts of maidens

Before their wedding day,

Young women offer a lock of their hair to these immortal maidens,

And young men offer their first sprouts of facial hair

To these immortal youths.

 

---

[1] Hymenaeos was the personification of weddings and marriage.

πρῶταί τοι τάδ᾽ ἔνεικαν ἀπὸ ξανθῶν Ἀριμασπῶν Οὖπίς τε Λοξώ τε καὶ εὐαίων Ἑκαέργη, θυγατέρες Βορέαο, καὶ ἄρσενες οἱ τότ᾽ ἄριστοι ἠιθέων: οὐδ᾽ οἵ γε παλιμπετὲς οἴκαδ᾽ ἵκοντο, εὔμοιροι δ᾽ ἐγένοντο, καὶ ἀκλέες οὔποτ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι. ἦ τοι Δηλιάδες μέν, ὅτ᾽ εὐήχης ὑμέναιος ἤθεα κουράων μορμύσσεται, ἥλικα χαίτην παρθενικαῖς, παῖδες δὲ θέρος τὸ πρῶτον ἰούλων ἄρσενες ἠιθέοισιν ἀπαρχόμενοι φορέουσιν.

Primae hos tibi tulerunt fulvis ab Arimaspis Upis & Loxo, felix aevi Hecaerge, filiae Boreae, & mares, qui tum optimi iuvenum: neque illo retro domum rediere. Beati autem facti, nec unquam illi inglorii futuri sunt. Nam Deliades quidem, cum sonorus Hymenaeus Thalamos puellarum terret, aequaevam comam virgines; pueri aute primam lanuginis messem iuvenibus primitias ferunt.   Translated into Latin by Johann August Ernesti

Callimachus [310 – 240 BCE, modern Libya] is often regarded as one of the best Alexandrian [Greek] poets. Born in raised in Cyrene, Libya, he spent a majority of his career at the famous Library of Alexandria, where he used the resources there to create refined, artful poetry. Although much of his poetry is lost, the extant fragments of his works are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.

I'm Getting Too Old for This: A Gallus in Retirement, Greek Anthology 6.234

Name:  Unknown Date:     Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Greek Anthology 6.234

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women, and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

At the end of the rave

A long haired gallus, castrated in my youth,

A dancer on the Lydian shore of the Tmolus River,

Who chanted beautifully,

Now grown older,

dedicates to the revered Bithynian Mother

A tambourine

A whip with many tassels

A set of clanging cymbals made of orichalcum

A fragrant lock of hair.

 

Γάλλος ὁ χαιτάεις, ὁ νεήτομος, ὡπὸ Τυμώλου

Λύδιος ὀρχηστὰς μάκρ᾽ ὀλολυζόμενος,

τᾷ παρὰ Σαγγαρίῳ τάδε Ματέρι τύμπαν᾽ ἀγαυᾷ

θήκατο, καὶ μάστιν τὰν πολυαστράγαλον,

ταῦτὰ τ᾽ ὀρειχάλκου λάλα κύμβαλα, καὶ μυρόεντα

βόστρυχον, ἐκ λύσσας ἄρτια παυσάμενος.

Gallus capillatus, in iuventute exsectus, de Tmolo

Lydius saltator longum ululas,

accolenti Sangarium haec Matri tympana venerandae

posuit, et flagellum multiiugis-talis-tessellatum,

et haec ex-orichalco garrula cymbala, et fragrantem

cincinnum, furore recens deposito.

--Erycius, Greek Anthology, 6.234; Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

I'm Getting To Old For This: A Gallus' Dedication, Greek Anthology 6.51

A Gallus in Retirement

Name:  Unknown Date:     Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Greek Anthology 6.51

Galli were worshippers of the goddess Cybele who renounced their masculinity by voluntarily undergoing castration. They lived as women and held a separate legal status from men in ancient Rome. In this poem, the protagonist gallus is dedicating their religious trappings upon their retirement from the fervor of the bacchic rituals.

O Mother Rhea, she who cherishes lions,

Whose sacred mountain no one has befouled with their feet,

The woman [1]Alexis dedicates to you

Her fury-rousing instruments

Taking a pause from her bronze symbols

The low resounding flutes,

Which turned the heads of calves,

The resounding drum,

The sword dripping with blood,

Accept this offering, o Lady, which I reveled in during my youth

And free me now from the same wild abandon in my old age.

---

[1] This poem uses the masculine form of the Greek word for woman (θῆλυς).

μῆτερ ἐμή γαίη, Φρυγίων θρέπτειρα λεόντων, Δίνδυμον ἧς μύσταις οὐκ ἀπάτητον ὄρος, σοὶ τάδε θῆλυς Ἄλεξις ἑῆς οἰστρήματα λύσσης ἄνθετο, χαλκοτύπου παυσάμενος μανίης, κύμβαλά τ᾽ ὀξύφθογγα, βαρυφθόγγων τ᾽ ἀλαλητὸν αὐλῶν, οὓς μόσχου λοξὸν ἔκαμψε κέρας, τυμπανά τ᾽ ἠχήεντα, καὶ αἵματι φοινιχθέντα φάσγανα, καὶ ξανθάς, τὰς πρὶν ἔσεισε, κόμας. ἵλαος, ὦ δέσποινα, τὸν ἐν νεότητι μανέντα γηραλέον προτέρης παῦσον ἀγριοσύνης.

O mater mea Tellus, Phrygiorum nutrix leonum, cuius mystis Dindymus mons non incalcatus, tibi hos [feminaeus] Alexis sui insaniae-instrumenta furoris dedicavit, aere-pulso-excitata cessans a-rabie, cymbala acuti-soni, gravisque vocis iubilum tibiarum, quas vituli obliquum flexit cornu, et tympana sonora, et sanguine rubro-infectos gladios, et fulvas, quas pridem iactavit, comas. Propitia, o domina, hunc-qui in iuventute insanivit, senem a priore libera feritate. Translated into Latin by  Hugo Grotius

The Tomb of Hyacinthos: Pausanias, Desc. Graec. 3.19

Name:  Pausanias Date:        110 – 180 CE Region:    Lydia [modern Turkey] Citation:      Description of Greece 3.19

The base of the shrine has the shape of an altar. Hyacinthus’ remains are supposedly inside it, and before they offer sacrifices to Apollo, they provide funerary offerings to Hyacinthus through a bronze trap door on the left side of the altar. The altar has carved images of Biris, Poseidon and his wife Amphitrite; Zeus and Hermes are also there, talking amongst themselves. Dionysus is next to them, along with his mother Semele, and Ino is with them, too. The shrine also has Demeter, Persephone, and Hades, along with the Fates and the Hours; Aphrodite, Athena, and Artemis are with them. They carry Hyacinthus and his sister Polyboea (who died a maiden) with them into heaven. Hyacinthus is depicted wearing a beard, but Nicias of Nicomedes portrayed him at the peak of his youthful beauty, nodding to Apollo’s love for him. On this same altar, they depict Athena and the other gods also bringing Hercules up into heaven. The daughters of Thestius [Leda] are also there, along with the Muses and the Hours. But regarding Zephyrus, the story of how Apollo accidentally killed Hyacinthus, and his transformation into a flower, is a story for another time.

 

τοῦ δὲ ἀγάλματος τὸ βάθρον παρέχεται μὲν βωμοῦ σχῆμα, τεθάφθαι δὲ τὸν Ὑάκινθον λέγουσιν ἐν αὐτῷ, καὶ Ὑακινθίοις πρὸ τῆς τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος θυσίας ἐς τοῦτον Ὑακίνθῳ τὸν βωμὸν διὰ θύρας χαλκῆς ἐναγίζουσιν: ἐν ἀριστερᾷ δέ ἐστιν ἡ θύρα τοῦ βωμοῦ. ἐπείργασται δὲ τῷ βωμῷ τοῦτο μὲν ἄγαλμα Βίριδος, τοῦτο δὲ Ἀμφιτρίτης καὶ Ποσειδῶνος: Διὸς δὲ καὶ Ἑρμοῦ διαλεγομένων ἀλλήλοις πλησίον Διόνυσος ἑστήκασι καὶ Σεμέλη, παρὰ δὲ αὐτὴν Ἰνώ. πεποίηται δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ ἡ Δημήτηρ καὶ Κόρη καὶ Πλούτων, ἐπὶ δὲ αὐτοῖς Μοῖραί τε καὶ Ὧραι, σὺν δέ σφισιν Ἀφροδίτη καὶ Ἀθηνᾶ τε καὶ Ἄρτεμις: κομίζουσι δ᾽ ἐς οὐρανὸν Ὑάκινθον καὶ Πολύβοιαν, Ὑακίνθου καθὰ λέγουσιν ἀδελφὴν ἀποθανοῦσαν ἔτι παρθένον. τοῦτο μὲν οὖν τοῦ Ὑακίνθου τὸ ἄγαλμα ἔχον ἐστὶν ἤδη γένεια, Νικίας δὲ ὁ Νικομήδους περισσῶς δή τι ἔγραψεν αὐτὸν ὡραῖον, τὸν ἐπὶ Ὑακίνθῳ λεγόμενον Ἀπόλλωνος ἔρωτα ὑποσημαίνων.  πεποίηται δὲ ἐπὶ τοῦ βωμοῦ καὶ Ἡρακλῆς ὑπὸ Ἀθηνᾶς καὶ θεῶν τῶν ἄλλων καὶ οὗτος ἀγόμενος ἐς οὐρανόν. εἰσὶ δὲ καὶ αἱ Θεστίου θυγατέρες ἐπὶ τῷ βωμῷ, καὶ Μοῦσαί τε καὶ Ὧραι. περὶ δὲ ἀνέμου Ζεφύρου, καὶ ὡς ὑπὸ τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος Ὑάκινθος ἀπέθανεν ἄκοντος, καὶ τὰ ἐς τὸ ἄνθος εἰρημένα τάχα μὲν ἂν ἔχοι καὶ ἄλλως, δοκείτω δὲ ᾗ λέγεται. 

Simulacri basis arae formam habet. in ea Hyacinthum sepultum tradunt. & in Hyacinthiorum celebritate, prius quam sacrum Apollini faciant, in aram istam per aeneum ostiolum, quod in arae laeva parte est, inferias Hyacintho mittunt. In ara illa insculpta sunt, hic Biridis, illic Amphitrites & Neptuni signa: tum vero Iupiter & Mercurius inter se colloquentes. Prope adsistunt Liber pater, & Semele: hui proxima Ino. Sunt in eadem sivi basi, sive ara, Ceres, Proserpina, Pluto: una cum his Parcae & Horae; & illis adiunctae Venus, Minerva, Diana: in caelum autem hae tollunt Hyacinthum & sororem eius Polyboean, quam e vita virginem decessisse narrant. Atque illud quidem Hyacinthi signum cum barbula est. Nicomedensis Nicias eximia illum forma fuisse scriptum reliquit, quum de APollinis in illum amore quiddam innueret. In ea ipsa ara Herculem quoque Minerva & ceteri Di in caelum deducunt. Ibidem & Thestii filiae sunt, Musae & Horae. De Zephyro vero, & quemadmodum ab Apolline fit Hyacinthus imprudenter peremptus, de flore item, longe se fortasse aliter quam uti exponitur res habet: perinde vero fuisse censeatur, ac vulgatum est.

  Translated into Latin by Romulus Amasaeus (1696)

 

Pausanias [110 -180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Greek writer from Lydia who lived during the era of the “Five Good Emperors.” His work, the Description of Greece, is an important source for geographical, historical, archaeological, and cultural information about ancient Greece.

Trans Ally and Momma Bear, Callimachus, Greek Anthology 7.728

Trans Ally and Momma Bear

Name: Callimachus Date:    305 – 240 BCE Region:   Cyrene [modern Libya] Citation:    Greek Anthology 7.728

The following is an epitaph of a priestess who served many goddesses throughout her life, including Cybele. As a priestess of Cybele, she was a protector and mentor of the goddess’ galli worshippers.

I was once the sacred priestess of Demeter, then the Cabeiri,

O traveler, and then I served Cybele.

I was a momma bear for many young ladies. 

Then I became an old woman, and now I’m ashes; 

And the locks of golden hair that used to adorn my shoulders.

I had two sons, and I closed my eyes a final time in their arms. 

Go on your merry way.  

Ἱερέη Δήμητρος ἐγώ ποτε, καὶ πάλιν Καβείρων, ὦνερ, καὶ μετέπειτα Δινδυμήνης, ἡ γρηῢς γενόμην, ἡ νῦν κόνις, ἡνο ... πολλῶν προστασίη νέων γυναικῶν. καί μοι τέκν᾽ ἐγένοντο δύ᾽ ἄρσενα, κἠπέμυς᾽ ἐκείνων εὐγήρως ἐνὶ χερσίν. ἕρπε χαίρων.

Virgo sacerdos Cereris ego olim, et rursus Cabirorum, o homo, et deinde Dindymenae, anus fui, quae nunc sum cinis [a diis nacta] multarum patrocinium iuvenum mulierum. Et mihi pueri fuerunt duo mares, et oculos clausi illorum grandaeva in manibus. Repta gaudens. Translated into Latin by  Hugo Grotius

Callimachus [310 – 240 BCE, modern Libya] is often regarded as one of the best Alexandrian [Greek] poets. Born in raised in Cyrene, Libya, he spent a majority of his career at the famous Library of Alexandria, where he used the resources there to create refined, artful poetry. Although much of his poetry is lost, the extant fragments of his works are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.