M/M: The Myth of Sylvanus and Cyparissus, Vat. Myth. I.6

Name:  Vatican Mythographers Date:   10th century CE Region:   Unknown Citation:   Vatican Mythographers 1.6

Sylvanus was the god of the forest. He loved a youth named Cyparissus who had a pet doe. When Sylvanus unintentionally killed it, Cyparissus died of grief. Silvanus transformed him into a cypress tree and is said to carry its branches as a mourning token

Sylvanus deus est silvarum. Hic amavit puerum Cyparissum nomine qui habebat mansuetissimam cervam. Hanc cum Silvanus nescius occidisset, puer extinctus est dolore. Quem amator deus in cypressum arborem nominis eius convertit quam pro solatio portare dicitur.

Vatican Mythographers [10th century CE?] Little is known about the author or origin of the collection of myths known as the Vatican Mythographers, but the work’s first editor Angelo Mai found the collection on a manuscript dating back to the 10th century CE. This volume is a collection of three different mythographers who have assembled various Greco-Roman myths; although many of these myths are basic summaries in Latin, some of them are either analyzed as allegories or compared to Christian thought.

M/M: The Love Poet Fails At Love: Tibullus, 1.4.81-84

Name: Tibullus [Albius Tibullus] Date:  55 - 19 BCE  Region:  [modern Italy] Citation:  Elegies 1.4.81-84

Alas, how badly Marathus torments me by playing hard to get [lento...amore]!
My poetry sucks, all of my dating tricks [doli] aren't working.
I beg you, my love, spare me from this,
Lest this love poet become a mockery of his own subject,
since everyone is laughing at my love advice.

Heu heu quam Marathus lento me torquet amore!
Deficiunt artes, deficiunt doli.
Parce, puer, quaeso, ne turpis fabula fiam,
Cum mea ridebunt vana magisteria.

Tibullus [Albius Tibullus, 55 - 19 BCE] was an Italian born equestrian Roman who lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy.

His volumes of elegies provide insight into the lives and customs of Roman aristocrats. Like Catullus and Propertius, Tibullus used a pseudonym for the objects of his attention; many of his love poems were addressed to either “Delia” or “Marathus.”

W/W: Unrequited: Sappho fr. 131

Name: Sappho Date:   d. 570 BCE Region:   Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation:    Fragment 131

But you despise me, Atthis, and fly into Andromeda's arms instead.

Tibi, autem, Atthi, me curare invisum est, ad Andromedam vero volas.

Ἄτθι σοὶ δ ἔμεθέν μεν άπήχθετο
φροντίσδεν, ἔπι δ᾽ Ἀνδρομέδαν πότῃ

translated from the Greek by Christian Frederick Neue, 1827.

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.

W/W: I loved you, Atthis: Sappho, fr. 49

Name: Sappho Date: d. 570 BCE Region: Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation: Fragment 49

There was a time when I loved you, Atthis.

Amabam quidem te ego, Atthi, aliquando.

ἠράμαν μὲν ἔγω σέθεν Ἂτθι πάλαι πότα·

translated from the Greek by D. Christian Frederick Neue, 1827.

Sappho [d. 570 BCE, modern Greece] was universally applauded by the ancient world as the “Tenth Muse.” Because she was one of the earliest Greek lyric poets, there is very little definitive information on Sappho’s life.  It is generally agreed that Sappho was a wealthy noblewoman from the island of Lesbos who had three brothers and a daughter named Kleis. She used her prominent social position to support a cohort of other women artists, and composed many poems about them, expressing her love for them, praising their beauty, and celebrating their marriages. Whereas earlier Greek poetry was epic poetry with serious themes of gods, warfare, and the state, Sappho’s lyric poetry was emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centered around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into the time period. The modern terms “sapphic” and “lesbian” reveal the longevity of her impact upon modern culture. Unfortunately, although her poetry was universally revered by the Greeks and Romans alike, Sappho’s works only exist as fragments, adding mysterious allure to her larger-than-life status but unfortunately hindering our understanding of her life and thoughts.

Challenging Gender Norms: Elagabalus, SHA Vit. Elag.4.1-3

Name: Scriptores Historia Augusta Date:   Unknown Region:    Unknown Citation:    Life of Elegabala 4.1-3

When they entered the Senate for the first time, Elagabalus ordered their mother to be brought in. When she arrived, she remained at their side on the consul's bench as a secretary--indeed, she witnessed the creation of a senatorial decree! Of all the Roman emperors, Elagabalus was the only one who allowed a woman to enter the senate as if she were a man [loco viri].

Deinde ubi primum diem senatus habuit, [Elagabalus] matrem suam in senatum rogari iussit. Quae cum venisset, vocata ad consulum subsellia scribendo adfuit, id est senatus consulti conficiendi testis, solusque omnium imperatorum fuit, sub quo mulier quasi clarissima loco viri senatum ingressa est.

Scriptores Historiae Augustae Little is known about the author(s) of the Historia Augusta; even internal evidence within the text is either falsified, skewed or utterly fictitious. Although attributed to six different authors, the text was likely written by a single author living during the 4th century CE. It is a series of imperial biographies modeled after the works of Suetonius; these biographies cover the reigns of the emperors Hadrian through Carus.

The Courage of Leaena: Pliny, Nat. Hist. 34.19.12

Name: Pliny the Elder Date: 23 – 79 CE Region:  Como [modern Italy]; Rome [modern Italy] Citation:  Natural History, 34.19.12

Many people praise Tisicrates' statue of Leaena. She was a courtesan and entertainer specializing in singing and the lyre who was close with Harmodius and Aristogeiton; she kept secret their plot to kill the tyrant, not betraying their plans even when tortured to the point of  death.  Because of her courage, the Athenians wanted to honor her. Not willing to celebrating her profession, they made a statue of an animal with her same name, i.e., a lioness. To further honor her courage, they made the artist make the statue lacking a tongue.*

* According to tradition, Leaena bit off her own tongue to thwart her interrogators.

Tisicratis Leaena laudatur. [Paelex] haec lyrae cantu familiare Harmodio et Aristogitoni, consilia eorum de tyrannicidio, usque ad mortem excrutiata a tyraniis, non prodidit. Quamobrem Athenienses et honorem habere ei volentes, nec tamen [paelicem] celebrasse, animal nominis eius fecere: atque ut intelligeretur causa honoris, in opere linguam addi ab artifice vetuereunt. 

Pliny the Elder [Gaius Plinius Secundus; 23 – 79 CE, modern Italy] was an Italian-born Roman statesman and author who lived during the reigns of the early Roman emperors. He spent most of his life in service of his country; he ultimately gave his life in arranging the evacuation of the regions devastated by the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius in 79 CE. His work, the Natural History, is a 37-volume collection of art, history, and science of the ancient world.

Ace and Proud: Virgo's Origin Story, Part II: Ovid, Metam. 1.149 - 150

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation:  Metamorphoses 1.149 - 150

And in the end, when Piety lay crushed in defeat,
the maiden Astraea, the last of the divinities,
left the realm of humanity still dripping with blood.

Victa iacet pietas, et virgo caede madentis
ultima caelestum terras Astraea reliquit.

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.