M/M: Phaeton and Cycnus, Servius In Aen.10.189

Name: Servius Date: 4th – 5th century CE Region: [modern Italy] Citation:   Commentary on the Aeneid, 10.189

“FOR, IT IS SAID, OUT OF LOVE FOR HIS LOVER PHAETON, CYCNUS…”

Commentary: Phaeton was the son of Clymene and the Sun. When Phaeton got upset because Epaphus, the Pharoah of Egypt, told him that he wasn’t the son of the Sun but a bastard, his mother Clymene took him to meet his father.  Phaeton asked the Sun to grant him a wish to prove he was really his son. When the Sun swore on the river Styx that we would grant Phaeton his wish, Phaeton said he wished to drive his chariot, and the Sun could not refuse.  

Phaeton took charge of his father’s chariot, and when he deviated from the Sun’s track, he began to burn up the world. Jupiter shot him down with lightning and Phaeton fell in the Po river.  

His sisters, Phaethusa and Lampetusa, wept over his death until the gods took pity on them and transformed into alder trees.  

Phaeton was also mourned by his lover, a Ligurian named Cycnus, (a man who was endowed with an amazing singing voice by Apollo). Because Cycnus mourned excessively over Phaeton’s death, he was transformed into the bird he shares a name with (a swan). Later on, Apollo turned him into a constellation. His son Cupavo is said to have the feathers of a swan in the crest of his helmet in tribute of his father. 

NAMQUE FERUNT LUCTU CYCNUM PHAETHONTIS AMATI Phaethon Clymenes et Solis filius fuit. qui cum doleret obiectum sibi ab Epapho, rege Aegypti, quod esset non de Sole, sed de adulterio procreatus, duce matre venit ad Solem et poposcit, ut si vere esset eius filius, petenda praestaret. quod cum Sol iurasset per Stygem paludem se esse facturum, petit ille ut eius currus agitaret. Sol post iusiurandum negare non potuit. acceptis itaque curribus Phaethon, cum orbitam solis exisset, et coepisset mundus ardere, a Iove fulminatus in Eridanum cecidit, qui et Padus vocatur. huius interitum flentes sorores, Phaethusa et Lampetusa, deorum miseratione in arbores commutatae sunt, ut hic dicit, in populos, ut in bucolicis, in alnos. fuit etiam quidam Ligus, Cycnus nomine, dulcedine cantus ab Apolline donatus, amator Phaethontis. qui cum eum fleret extinctum, longo luctu in avem sui nominis conversus est. qui postea ab Apolline inter sidera conlocatus est. cuius nunc filium Cupavonem dicit habere cycni pennas in galea ad formae paternae insigne monstrandum. 

--Servius, In Aen.10.189 

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.

Toxicity of Purity Culture: Publius Maenius and his daughter, Valerius Maximus 6.1.4

Name: Valerius Maximus Date:  1st century CE Region:  Unknown Citation:  Memorable Deeds and Sayings   6.1.4

What a stern guardian of [his daughter’s] chastity Publius Maenius was! When he found out that his favorite freedman had kissed his debutante daughter, Maenius put him to death even though it was done as a lapse in judgment and not done romantically. Maenius thought that the importance of chastity was best ingrained into his tender girl’s mind through the severity of the punishment, and with this awful event taught his daughter that she owed not only purity of her womb, but also unkissed lips to her future husband.

P. Maenius quam severum pudicitiae custodem egit! in libertum namque gratum admodum sibi animadvertit, quia eum nubilis iam aetatis filiae suae osculum dedisse cognoverat, cum praesertim non libidine sed errore lapsus videri posset. ceterum amaritudine poenae teneris adhuc puellae sensibus castitatis disciplinam ingenerari magni aestimavit, eique tam tristi exemplo praecepit ut non solum virginitatem illibatam sed etiam oscula ad virum sincere perferret. 

Valerius Maximus [1st century CE] Little is known about the life of Valerius Maximus except that he wrote during the reign of the emperor Tiberius. His work, Memorable Deeds and Sayings, is a collection of examples from Roman and world history categorized by theme for the purpose of rhetorical exercises.

 

Caeneus as the Stoic Ideal: Plutarch, Compendium Argumenti Stoicos quam poetas absuriora dicere 1057d

Name:    Plutarch Date:      46 – 119 CE Region:    Chaeronea [modern Greece]   Citation:     Compendium Contra Stoicos,1057d

It is important to note that, like Palaephatus, Plutarch rejects the incredulity of Caeneus' bulletproof skin, but not his gender.

Pindar’s portrayal of Caeneus is criticized because: 1)  he is unrealistically portrayed as being bulletproof, 2) he has an invincible body, as well as 3) he was swallowed whole by the earth without a wound, as he “rends the earth with his right foot.” [Pindar fragment 166f / 147f]

But the Stoic Lapith*, equally made of adamantium (a material impervious to detriment) supposedly is free of not only injury, illness, and grief, but also lacks fear and sorrow. He is completely invincible, never yielding to any by force, and if he is wounded, he never suffers pain. Even if he is tortured, even if his homeland is destroyed, this Caeneus never seems to be upset.

* Caeneus was a Lapith [name of a region in Thessaly]

ὁ Πινδάρου Καινεὺς εὔθυναν ὑπεῖχεν, ἀπιθάνως ἄρρηκτος σιδήρῳ καὶ ἀπαθὴς τὸ σῶμα πλασσόμενος, εἶτα καταδὺς ἄτρωτος ὑπὸ γῆν ‘σχίσας ὀρθῷ ποδὶ γᾶν:’ ὁ δὲ Στωικὸς Λαπίθης, ὥσπερ ἐξ ἀδαμαντίνης ὕλης ὑπ᾽ αὐτῶν τῆς ἀπαθείας κεχαλκευμένος, οὐκ ἄτρωτός ἐστιν οὐδ᾽ ἄνοσος οὐδ᾽ ἀναλγής, ἄφοβος δὲ μένει καὶ ἄλυπος καὶ ἀήττητος καὶ ἀβίαστος, τιτρωσκόμενος ἀλγῶν στρεβλούμενος, ἐν κατασκαφαῖς πατρίδος ἐν πάθεσιν, τοιούτοις.

Reprehensus fuit Pindarus, quod Caeneum parum probabiliter finxisset ferro inviolabilem, et corpore quod laedi non posset, terram subiise nullo accepto vulnere, cum "RECTO PEDE SCIDISSET SOLUM."

At Stoicorum iste Lapitha ex adamantina, vacuitatis omnium perpessionum conflatus materia, non vulnerum duntaxat, morborum, dolorum, fingitur expers, sed et metu et moestitia carere, insuperabilis manere, nulli cedere viribus, tum quidem, quando vulneratur, dolores patitur, torquetur, atque adeo etiam in patriae excidio, aliisque Caeneus duntaxat ictus nullo cum vulnere excipit. 

--Translated into Latin by Daniel Wyttenbach, 1832.

 

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.

Redacted: Manipulating the Texts to Minimize Queer Elements in Latin Manuscripts I

In 1846, the editor of Jerome's Chronicle intentionally edited the text to downplay Hadrian's relationship with Antinous. Below is the text as the editor emended it, as well as the footnote admitting the change:

13 (anno 131). Antinous puer regius egregius eximiae pulchritudinis, in Egypto moritur, quem Hadrianus vehementer deperiens diligenter sepeliens (nam in deliciis* habuerat) in deos refert, ex cuius nomine etiam urbs appellata est.

Footnote: Parmensis ms. cum Scaligero et plerisque libris aliis "puer regius" pro egregius, et mox "vehementer deperiens" pro "diligenter sepeliens" legit. Hadrianus urbem, quam tunc voluit nominari Antinoopolin, sine Antinoon, ante aliquot annos in Aegypto condiderat.  

* Note the Christian author's use of "in deliciis," which normally refers to a master-slave relationship 

--Jerome, Interpretatio Chronicae Eusebii Pamphili 1.2.13, edited by Jacques-Paul Migne (1846) 

Text: [The year 131 CE]. Antinous, a royal excellent youth of exceptional beauty died in Egypt. Hadrian was emotionally devastated over dutifully buried him (for he was dear to his heart) and enrolled him among the gods, then named a city after him.

[Editor’s Footnote: MS P, as well as MS S and very many other versions of this manuscript state “royal youth” instead of “excellent youth,” and “emotionally devastated” instead of “dutifully buried” him. Hadrian wanted to name the city he’d created earlier in Egypt “Antinous’ city” or “Antinous.”] 

JEROME	MAP:
Name:  Jerome, Sanctus Hieronymus Date:  342 – 420 CE Works:  Sacra Biblia [Translation of the Bible] Letters	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Jerome was a Christian author born in Pannonia (modern Slovenia). He was one of the most influential and prolific Christian authors of his time, and is best known for his Latin translation of the Bible. The most famous anecdote about Jerome’s life is  a vision in which he feels guilt over being more "Ciceronian" than "Christian".	AGE OF CONFLICT

 

 

 

The Worship of Antinous, Inscriptiones Latinae Orelli 823

 

Antinoo et Beleno par aetas formaque par est;

Cur non Antinous sit quoque qui Belenus.  [Inscr. Orell.823]

 

Antinous and Belenus* are equal in age and beauty,

So why can’t Antinous also be like Belenus [i.e., a god?]

 

*Belenus was the name of an Italian god of light and healing, usually associated with Apollo  

Antinous Listens To Your Prayers: Prudentius, Contra Symmachum 1.271-277

Name: Prudentius Date:  4th century CE Region:  Tarraconensis [modern Spain] Citation:  Against Symmachus 1.271-277

 In this poem, the Christian author Prudentius refers to Antinous as a "deliciae," which is usually used to refer to slaves / human trafficking victims. His disdain for same sex relationships is evident, as he equates the relationship as negating Antinous' masculinity. 

What can I say about Antinous,

The man turned into a constellation,

The boyfriend of our divine Emperor [Hadrian]

The man denied a man’s role

       as he lies in the emperor’s arms

The Divine Hadrian’s Ganymede,

Who doesn’t pour drinks for the gods

but instead reclines on the couch with his Jupiter

drinking the sacred drink of ambrosia & nectar

and listens to prayers offered to his imperial husband?

quid loquar Antinoum caelesti in sede locatum,

illum delicias nunc divi principis, illum

purpureo in gremio spoliatum sorte virili,

Hadrianique dei Ganymedem, non cyathos dis

porgere sed medio recubantem cum Iove fulcro

nectaris ambrosii sacrum potare Lyaeum,

dumque suo in templis vota exaudire marito?

 

Prudentius [Aurelius Prudentius Clemens; 348 – 413 CE, modern Spain] was a Christian author from Roman Hispania who had great influence in the court of Emperor Theodosius I. Most of his works deal with using his Christian beliefs to counter Roman polytheism and mythology. 

A Rejection of Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins, Prudentius Contra Symmachum 2.1064-1079

Rejecting Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins

Name: Prudentius Date:  4th century CE Region:  Tarraconensis [modern Spain] Citation:  Against Symmachus 2.1064-1079

Now I’ll discuss the honor given to the chastity of the Vestal Virgins,

And how this “honor” reflects all of their [Roman polytheists’] “respect” for chastity.

First of all, little girls are taken in their tender years

Before they are old enough to understand and consent.

All hyped up with religious zeal and purity culture,

They reject the natural bonds of matrimony.

They become slaves to their chastity and are dragged to ungrateful altars.

These poor girls lose their sense of bodily pleasure

Not because it’s the right thing to do,

But because their free will was taken from them.

Their bodies might remain chaste,

But their minds are not kept pure.

They stay up at night restlessly and sigh in their unwed beds

The blind wounds and the wedding denied to them.

And since their secret hope doesn’t extinguish their fire completely

(For they can get married in their old age)

They run to the altar as gray-haired women.

Vesta demands purity for her maidens

For an allotted time,

but they immediately reject her as old maids.

Rejecting Purity Culture: A Christian Author Lambasts Vestal Virgins

Quae nunc Vestalis sit virginitatis honestas

discutiam, qua lege regat decus omne pudoris.

ac primum parvae teneris capiuntur in annis,

ante voluntatis propriae quam libera secta,

laude pudicitiae fervens et amore deorum,

iusta maritandi condemnet vincula sexus,

captivus pudor ingratis addicitur aris,

nec contempta perit miseris sed adempta voluptas

corporis intacti: non mens intacta tenetur,

nec requies datur ulla toris, quibus innuba caecum

vulnus et amissas suspirat femina taedas;

tum quia non totum spes salva interficit ignem,

nam resides quandoque faces adolere licebit

festaque decrepitis obtendere flammea canis;

tempore praescripto membra intemerata requirens

tandem virgineam fastidit Vesta senectam. 

Prudentius [Aurelius Prudentius Clemens; 348 – 413 CE, modern Spain] was a Christian author from Roman Hispania who had great influence in the court of Emperor Theodosius I. Most of his works deal with using his Christian beliefs to counter Roman polytheism and mythology.