Christianizing the Myth of Apollo & Daphne: John Gower Confessio Amantis 3.1685ff

Christianizing the Myth of Daphne and Apollo

Name: John Gower Date: 1330 – 1408 CE Region:   [modern England] Citation:  Confession of a Lover 3.1685ff

Here the narrator provides an example about those who use being in love as an excuse to pressure those who aren’t ready. And he provides an example, explaining how Phoebus [Apollo] loved a very beautiful woman named Daphne, and pressured her way too much for love. This angered Cupid and he wounded Phoebus’ heart with a golden arrow, making him burn for love even more fiercely; but he struck Daphne’s heart with a lead arrow, and she became very aloof to him. And so the more passionately Phoebus pursued Daphne in love, the more standoffish she became, and ultimately disdained Phoebus’ attraction for her with her whole heart.

Christianizing the Myth of Daphne and Apollo

 Hic ponit Confessor exemplum contra illos qui in amoris causa nimium festinatione concupiscentes tardius expediunt. Et narrat qualiter pro eo quod Phoebus quamdam virginem pulcherimam nomine Daphnem nimia amoris acceleratione insequebatur, iratus Cupido cor Phoebi sagitta aurea ignita ardentius vulneravit: et econtra cor Daphnae quadam sagitta plumbea, quae frigidissima fuit, sobrius perforavit. Et sic quanto magis Phoebus ardentior in amore Daphnem prosecutus est, tanto magis ipsa frigidior Phoebi concupiscentiam toto corde fugitiva dedignabatur.

John Gower [1330 – 1408 CE, modern England] was a 14th century English poet. He was a contemporary and peer of Geoffrey Chaucer; both authors use overlapping characters and themes. Although his Confession of a Lover [Confessio Amantis] was written in English, the Latin text of this story was taken from the summaries that the author wrote for each chapter in Latin.

Insights into Gender Norms of Early Rome: fragments of Accius and Naevius

 GENDER ROLES IN EARLY ROME:

Never was a girlfriend (amica) more faithful to her lover (amanti)

Than a boyfriend (amico) is to his [lover] (amanti);

Nor is any woman ever known for being pleasant.

Numquam quisquam amico amanti amica nimis fiet fidelis,

Nec nimis erit morigera et nota quisquam.

--Naevius fr. 88-89

 

Unfortunately, gender-based slurs were just as common as they are today: 

You teenagers have a womanly spirit,

But this girl’s got the spirit of a man. [meant as an insult]

Vos enim iuvenes animum geritis muliebrem,

Virgo viri.

--Accius fr. 33-34

 Naevius was an Italian poet who wrote comedies, tragedies, and satires during the 3^rd century BCE. His works were often considered salacious; he was imprisoned, freed, and later exiled because of his works. Although he wrote dozens of plays and a history of the First Punic War, these are no longer extant; his works only survive in fragments and quotes preserved by other authors.

Accius was a freeborn child of a freedman parent; he was born in Umbria (modern Italy) but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but these are no longer extant; only fragments remain of his writings.

Spartan Women: Accius, fr. 31-32

Spartan Women Don’t Care About Babies

Name: Accius  Date:   170 – 86 BCE Region:   Umbria [modern Italy] Citation:  [quoted in Cicero, Tuscan Debates 2.36]

Often, authors will use depictions of other nations as a mirror for their own society. Here, Spartan women are stereotyped as a foil for Roman gender roles for their rejection of motherhood.

There’s nothing like this among the Spartan women.

For them, exercise and sunshine and dust and hard work

And military training are more important

Than common pregnancy.  

Spartan Women Don’t Care About Babies

Nihil horum similest apud Lacaenas virgines,

Quibus magis palaestra Eurota sol pulvis labor

Militia studio est quam fertilitas barbara.

Accius [Lucius Accius; 170 – 86 BCE, modern Italy]  was a freeborn child of a freedman parent. He was born in Pisaurum, Umbria [modern Italy] but later moved to Rome. He wrote several tragedies based on Greek myths, but only fragments remain of them.

Vesta and Her Virgins, Ovid, Fasti 6.283-294

Vesta and Her Virgins:

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Fasti  6.283 – 294

You may ask, “Why is the goddess Vesta worshipped by virgin priestesses?”

I’ve found her reasons why.

They say that Juno and Ceres were born

from Ops and Saturn; Vesta was their third daughter.

The first two got married and had kids;

Of the three, only Vesta remained indifferent to men.

So it’s not surprising that a virgin will enjoy

Having virgin priestesses and

Chaste hands taking care of her sacred rites.

And don’t just imagine Vesta as a living flame;

You’ll find nothing born of flames.

Instead, Vesta is a virgin woman, who rightly

Neither conceives or receives, and

Loves companions in her virginity.     

Vesta and Her Virgins

Cur sit virginibus, quaeris, dea culta ministris?
inveniam causas hac quoque parte suas.
Ex Ope Junonem memorant Cereremque creatas               
semine Saturni; tertia Vesta fuit.
Utraque nupserunt, ambae peperisse feruntur;
de tribus impatiens restitit una viri.
Quid mirum, virgo si virgine laeta ministra
admittit castas ad sua sacra manus?               
Nec tu aliud Vestam quam vivam intellege flammam;

nataque de flamma corpora nulla vides.
Iure igitur virgo est, quae semina nulla remittit
nec capit, et comites virginitatis amat.

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.

Daphne or Hyacinthus? The Two Loves of Apollo, Greek Anthology 9.751

 The signet ring is made of Hyacinthus’ gemstone,*

But it portrays Apollo and Daphne on it:

Which one is more important to Apollo?

Sigillum est Hyacinthus: Apollo autem est in eo

et Daphne: utrius magis est Latoides?

 

ἁ σφραγὶς ὑάκινθος: Ἀπόλλων δ᾽ ἐστὶν ἐν αὐτῇ

καὶ Δάφνη: ποτέρου μᾶλλον ὁ Λητοΐδας;

--Plato Minor, Greek Anthology IX.751

The Greek Anthology is a modern collection of Greek lyric poetry compiled from various sources over the course of Greco-Roman literature. The current collection was created from two major sources, one from the 10^th century CE and one from the 14^th century CE. The anthology contains authors spanning the entirety of Greek literature, from archaic poets to Byzantine Christian poets. 

* Hyacinth stone is a type of blue gemstone

The Flowers of Venus: Nossis, Greek Anthology 5.170

Kisses Sweeter than Honey

Name:   Nossis Date:      3rd century BCE Region:  Locris [modern Italy] Citation:      Greek Anthology 5.170

Nothing is sweeter than love; even the sweetest things

Are second to it. Even honey

I have spit out of my mouth—it is not sweeter.

I, Nossis, declare, “Unless Venus has kissed someone,

They would not know what flowers she has, what type of roses.”     

ἅδιον οὐδὲν ἔρωτος, ἃ δ᾽ ὄλβια, δεύτερα πάντα ἐστὶν ἀπὸ στόματος δ᾽ ἔπτυσα καὶ τὸ μέλι. τοῦτο λέγει Νοσσίς: τίνα δ᾽ ἁ Κύπρις οὐκ ἐφίλασεν, οὐκ οἶδεν κήνα τἄνθεα ποῖα ῥόδα.

Dulce magis quid amore? cui suavissima cedunt, osque meum potius melle carere velim. Sic Nossis sentit, Venus, hoc, si quem oderit alma, nesciat, ast roseo flos huius est similis. Translated into Latin by Christian Wolff

Nossis [3^rd century BCE, modern Italy] was considered among the famous nine women poets of ancient Greek literature. She lived in Locris (southern Italy) during the 3rd century. Several of her poems are preserved in the Greek Anthology. Like that of her literary predecessor Sappho, Nossis’ poetry provides great insight into the lives of women in the ancient world.

Fatherless Birth: The Story of Mars, Ovid, Fasti 5. 229-258

The Fatherless Birth of Mars

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Fasti 5.229 – 258

The nymph Chloris tells the story of how she helped Juno conceive without Jupiter’s help:

If you didn’t know already, Mars was also born through my craft;

(And Jupiter still doesn’t know this, so please keep it that way).

Juno was upset that Jupiter had his daughter Minerva without a mother,

And didn’t need her to create a kid.

So she went to the Ocean to complain about her husband’s deeds,

And, tired from her travels, stopped outside my door.

When I saw her, I said, “Hey, what brings you here, child of Saturn?”

She explained where she was headed, and why.

I comforted her with friendly words.

She said, “I won’t feel better with just words.

If Jupiter can become a father without his spouse’s help,

And alone holds both names of parent, as both mother and  father,

Why should I worry about being a mother without a spouse,

And give birth without a man’s help, still remaining chaste?

I’ll try any medicine from around the world,

I’ll try the depths of Tartarus, too.”

She kept going; I kept my poker face.

She said, “You seem like you can help somehow, nymph.”

Three times I wanted to promise to help her,

Three times I held my tongue (I was really scared of Jupiter).

She said, “I beg you, help me! I won’t tell who did it,”

And swore an oath on the river Styx.

I told her, “What you’re looking for is a flower from the Olenian fields;

It is unique in my garden.

The one who gave it to me told me, ‘Touch a sterile cow with this flower, and she will conceive!’ 

I did—and immediately the cow gave birth!”

Straightaway I plucked the flower with my thumbs,

I touched Juno’s lap with it, and she conceived.

And Juno left me, pregnant now, and wandered Thrace

and the left side of Propontis.

She got what she’d wished for: Mars was born.

Mars quoque, si nescis, per nostras editus artes:
Juppiter hoc, ut adhuc, nesciat usque, precor.
Sancta Jovem Juno nata sine matre Minerva
officio doluit non eguisse suo.

Ibat ut Oceano quereretur facta mariti;
restitit ad nostras fessa labore fores.
Quam simul aspexi, “Quid te, Saturnia”, dixi
“attulit?” Exponit, quem petat, illa, locum;
addidit et causam. Verbis solabar amicis.
“Non” inquit “verbis cura levanda mea est.
Si pater est factus neglecto coniugis usu
Juppiter, et solus nomen utrumque tenet,
cur ego desperem fieri sine coniuge mater,
et parere intacto, dummodo casta, viro?
Omnia temptabo latis medicamina terris,
et freta Tartareos excutiamque sinus.”
Vox erat in cursu: voltum dubitantis habebam. 
“Nescioquid, nymphe, posse videris” ait.

Ter volui promittere opem, ter lingua retenta est:
ira Jovis magni causa timoris erat.
“Fer, precor, auxilium” dixit, “celabitur auctor”,
et Stygiae numen testificatur aquae.
“Quod petis, Oleniis” inquam “mihi missus ab arvis
flos dabit: est hortis unicus ille meis.
Qui dabat, ‘hoc’ dixit ‘sterilem quoque tange iuvencam,
mater erit’: tetigi, nec mora, mater erat.”
Protinus haerentem decerpsi pollice florem;
tangitur, et tacto concipit illa sinu.
Iamque gravis Thracen et laeva Propontidos intrat,
fitque potens voti, Marsque creatus erat. 

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.