Just Say No: The Heavenly Example of Artemis, Apollodorus Lib.I.4

Trigger Warning: Rape


Ceterum de Coei filiabus Asteria fugiens Iovis complexum in coturnicem mutata seipsam demisit in mare, quae ab ea urbs Asteria appellata fuit, quae postea Delos nomen accepit. Siquidem Latonam ab Iove compressam per universum terrarum orbem Juno insectata est, donec Delum pervenit, atque ibi Dianam prius peperit: qua obstetrice adiuta mater Apollinem deinceps edidit. Enimvero Diana venationis studio delectata, virgo permansit: Apollo autem divinandi facultatem edoctus a Pane Iovis & Contumeliae filio, Delphos, quo tempore Themis illic oracula dabat, se contulit.

τῶν δὲ Κοίου θυγατέρων Ἀστερία μὲν ὁμοιωθεῖσα ὄρτυγι ἑαυτὴν εἰς θάλασσαν ἔρριψε, φεύγουσα τὴν πρὸς Δία συνουσίαν: καὶ πόλις ἀπ᾽ ἐκείνης Ἀστερία πρότερον κληθεῖσα, ὕστερον δὲ Δῆλος. Λητὼ δὲ συνελθοῦσα Διὶ κατὰ τὴν γῆν ἅπασαν ὑφ᾽ Ἥρας ἠλαύνετο, μέχρις εἰς Δῆλον ἐλθοῦσα γεννᾷ πρώτην Ἄρτεμιν, ὑφ᾽ ἧς μαιωθεῖσα ὕστερον Ἀπόλλωνα ἐγέννησεν.


Ἄρτεμις μὲν οὖν τὰ περὶ θήραν ἀσκήσασα παρθένος ἔμεινεν, Ἀπόλλων δὲ τὴν μαντικὴν μαθὼν παρὰ Πανὸς τοῦ Διὸς καὶ Ὕβρεως ἧκεν εἰς Δελφούς, χρησμῳδούσης τότε Θέμιδος:

--Apollodorus, Bibliothekes I.IV.4,  translated into Latin by Thomas Gale (1675)



One of the daughters of Coeus, Asteria, transformed herself into a quail and jumped into the sea in order to escape Jupiter’s assault, and so they named the city Asteria after her for it. Later the city was renamed Delos. When Jupiter raped Latona and Juno pursued her in vengeance, this is where Latona ended up giving birth to Artemis [Diana]. Artemis [Diana] then acted as a midwife to help her mother give birth to her twin brother Apollo. Because Artemis [Diana] loved hunting, she remained a virgin; but Apollo, learning the art of divination from Pan, and went to Delphi, where Themis was giving prophecies.

APOLLODORUS	MAP:
Name:   Date:  1st – 2nd c. CE Works:  Bibliotheca	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
The Bibliotheca is a collection of Greek myths written between the 1st and 2nd century CE. Although originally thought to be written by the Athenian author Apollodorus (2nd c. BCE), it is now thought to be an epitome of a larger work written centuries later.	ROMAN GREECE

Just Say Yes: Conquering An Asexual, Martial, Epig. XIV.203

Trigger Warning: mocking of an asexual person
As with previous posts, seducing an asexual person ("Hippolytus") was unfortunately seen as a conquest.

CCIII       Puella Gaditana.

Tam tremulum crisat, tam blandum prurit, ut ipsum
      [amatorem] fecerit Hippolytum.

---Martial, Epig. XIV.203

The way the slave dancer shakes her booty, she'd make even Hippolytus want her!


Disclaimer: this text has been modified to fit the scope of this blog. The accusative noun in the second line has been changed into a less severe alternative. Considering the scarcity of asexual visibility in Latin literature, I felt it was important to include this passage despite the language it uses.

MARTIAL	MAP:
Name: Marcus Valerius Martialis Date:  40 CE – 104 CE Works:  Epigrammaton Libri XV*                De Spectaculis	REGION  2 (Hispania)
BIO:	Timeline:
Originally from Bilbilis, Hispania, the poet Martial moved to Rome in the 60s CE to advance his career. His two extant works include de Spectaculis, a collection of poems written to commemorate the opening of the Colosseum, and a fifteen volume collection of epigrams. These epigrams provide valuable insight into the mores and private lives of men and women from all of the city’s social classes.	SILVER AGE ROME

Just Say Yes: A Woman's Passion vs. an Asexual Man, Propertius, IV.5.1-10

Trigger Warning: inappropriate sexual behavior, shaming a woman for her sexual behavior, inappropriate sexual behavior with an asexual person

In this poem, Propertius insults an unnamed woman for her manipulative and lusty behavior. Note that her asexual and unwilling target [coded with the mythological name Hippolytus] is seen as a conquest:


terra tuum spinis obducat, lena, sepulcrum,
    et tua, quod non uis, sentiat umbra sitim;
nec sedeant cineri Manes, et Cerberus ultor
    turpia ieiuno terreat ossa sono!
docta uel Hippolytum Veneri mollire negantem,
    concordique toro pessima semper auis,
Penelopen quoque neglecto rumore mariti
    nubere lasciuo cogeret Antinoo.
illa uelit, poterit magnes non ducere ferrum,
    et uolucris nidis esse nouerca suis.

--Propertius, Eleg.IV.5.1-10


May thorns cover your grave, you little hussy,

And may your ghost still feel insatiable lust:

May your spirit never be at rest, and

May Cerberus rattle your wicked bones with his unending barking!

You who knew how to seduce a chaste Hippolytus,

You who loom ominously over consenting lovers,

Who would even force Penelope to abandon hopes of her husband’s return

And marry the lusty Antinoos.

If she wanted to, this woman could make a magnet not attract iron,

And make a winged mother bird abandon her nest.

PROPERTIUS	MAP:
Name:  Sextus Propertius Date:  50 – 15 BCE Works:  Elegies	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Propertius was an Italian-born Roman lyric poet whose love poetry provides insight into the mores 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.”	GOLDEN AGE ROME

A Woman's Longing: Sappho, fr. 168B

A Woman’s Longing: Sappho 168b

Name: Sappho Date:   d. 570 BCE Region:   Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation:    Fragment 168b

The moon has set,

The Pleiades have, too.

It is now the middle of the night.

Time is passing,

And I sleep alone.

A Woman’s Longing: Sappho 168b

δέδυκε μὲν ἀ σελάννα καὶ Πληΐαδες, μέσαι δὲ νύκτες πάρα δ᾽ ἔρχετ᾽ ὤρα, ἔγω δὲ μόνα κατεύδω.

Occidit quidem Luna et Pleiades; mediae autem sunt iam noctes, praeteritque hora; ego vero sola dormio. Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

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: Equal to the Gods, Sappho, Fr. 31

Equal to the Gods I: Sappho’s Original

Name:      Sappho Date:        d. 570 BCE Region:    Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation:  Fragment 31

To a Woman Loved by Sappho:

That man seems to me

To be equal to the gods,

Who gets to sit across from you

And hear you flirting and laughing sweetly.

When I see you,

The heart in my chest gets thrown out of whack,

My voice gets stuck in my throat,

I can’t talk.

I'm tongue-tied.

A hot flash flows through my skin,

My eyes stop working,

And humming fills up my ears.

Cold sweat overtakes me,

My entire body shakes,

I get greener than grass.

I'm not far from death; I seem to be dying.

But I gotta shoot my shot, because wretched...

Equal to the Gods I: Sappho’s Original

φάινεταί μοι κῆνος ἴσος θέοισιν ἔμμεν ὤνερ, ὄττις ἐναντιός τοι ἰσδάνει καὶ πλασίον ἆδυ φωνείσας ὐπακούει καὶ γαλαίσας ἰμμερόεν, τὸ μ’ ἦ᾽μὰν καρδίαν ἐν στήθεσιν ἐπτόαισεν, ὠς γὰρ εὔιδον βροχέ’ ὠς με, φώνη- σ’ οὐδὲν ἔτ᾽ ἔικει, ἀλλὰ κὰμ μὲν γλῶσσα ἔαγε, λέπτον δ᾽ αὔτικα χρῶι πῦρ ὐπαδεδρόμακεν, ὀππάτεσσι δ᾽ οὐδὲν ὂρημμ᾽, ἐπιρρόμβεισι δ᾽ ἄκουαι. κὰδ’ δ’ ἴδρως ψῦχρος χέεται, τρόμος δὲ παῖσαν ἄγρει χλωροτέρα δὲ ποίας ἔμμι, τεθνάκην δ᾽ ὀλιγω ᾽πιδεύης φαίνομ’ ἔμ’ αὔται. ἀλλὰ πὰν τόλματον...

Ad mulierem adamatam. Videtur ille mihi par Divis  vir esse, qui adversus te sedet, & propius dulce profantem  te auscultat et ridentem amabiliter, quod mihi cor in pectoribus obstupescit; ut enim vidi te, in fauces mihi vocis nihil amplius venit. Imo quidem lingua fracta est, & per tenuem Protinus cutem ignis demanavit; oculisque nihil video; bombitantque  mihi aures. Et gelidus sudor defluit; tremorque occupant totam, pallidiorque herba sum: a moriendo paululum absens videor exanimis. Sed quidvis audendum est, quia egentem... Translated into Latin by Christian Wolff

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.

M/M: Be My King: Dionysus & Ampelos, Nonnos, Dion. X.193-216

Hunc quidem habens Bacchus consobrinum mollis ludens

querebat admirantem profundens ob pulchritudinem, vocem

tamquam mortalis: immortale v. dolosus abscondebat formam:

"Quis te pater plantavit? Quis caelestis (te) genuit venter?

Que Charitum te enixa? quis (te) aravit pulcher Apollo?

Dic amice, non absconde tuum genus. Siquidem venis

non alatus alter Cupido, telis sine, absque pharetra.

quis deorum te plantavit concumbens cum Venere?

namque ego formido tuam matrem, Cyprin dicere.

Ne genitorem Vulcanum aut Martem tuum dicam, 

sin vero tu, quem vocant ab aethere venisti Mercurius,

ostende mihi pennas leves, et vinas alas talarlium

qui habes intonsam sublimem super cervice comam

nisi mihi ipse veneris sine cithara. sine arcu

phoebus intonsus demissos cincinnos vibrans.

Si vero Saturnius me plantavit. Tu vero terrestri agenere

boum cornua habentium Satyrorum brevis qui sanguine fers,

aequaliter mihi regna deo mortalis, non enim arguet 

caelestem tuam imaginem caelestis sanguis Bacchi

sed quid voco te ex exigua aliqua familia.

Cognosco tuum sanguinem, quamvis tegere studes.

solite peperit concumbens Luna,

Narcisso gratioso prorsus similem. Caelestem enim

consimilem imaginem habes cornutae simulacrum lunae.

tale verbum dixit.

τὸν μὲν ἔχων Διόνυσος ὁμέψιον, ἁβρὸν ἀθύρων,  
εἴρετο θαμβαλέην προχέων ἐπὶ κάλλεϊ φωνὴν
ὡς βροτός, ἀθανάτην δὲ δολοπλόκος ἔκρυφε μορφήν:

‘Τίς σε πατὴρ ἐφύτευσε; τίς οὐρανίη τέκε γαστήρ;
τίς Χαρίτων σε λόχευσε; τίς ἤροσε καλός Ἀπόλλων;
εἰπέ, φίλος, μὴ κρύπτε τεὸν γένος: εἰ μὲν ἱκάνεις
ἄπτερος ἄλλος Ἔρως βελέων δίχα, νόσφι φαρέτρης,
τίς μακάρων σε φύτευσε παρευνάζων Ἀφροδίτῃ;
καὶ γὰρ ἐγὼ τρομέω σέο μητέρα Κύπριν ἐνίψαι,
μὴ γενέτην Ἥφαιστον ἢ Ἄρεα σεῖο καλέσσω.
εἰ δὲ σύ, τὸν καλέουσιν, ἀπ᾽ αἰθέρος ἤλυθες Ἑρμῆς,
δεῖξον ἐμοὶ πτερὰ κοῦφα καὶ ἔμπνοα ταρσὰ πεδίλων.
πῶς μεθέπεις ἄτμητον ἐπήορον αὐχένι χαίτην;
μὴ σύ μοι αὐτὸς ἵκανες ἄτερ κιθάρης, δίχα τόξου,
Φοῖβος ἀκερσικόμης κεχαλασμένα βόστρυχα σείων;
εἰ Κρονίδης με φύτευσε, σὺ δὲ χθονίης ἀπὸ φύτλης
βουκεράων Σατύρων μινυώριον αἷμα κομίζεις,
ἶσον ἐμοὶ βασίλευε, θεῷ βροτός: οὐ γὰρ ἐλέγξει
οὐράνιον τεὸν εἶδος Ὀλύμπιον αἷμα Λυαίου.
ἀλλὰ τί κικλήσκω σε μινυνθαδίης ἀπὸ φύτλης;
γινώσκω τεὸν αἷμα, καὶ εἰ κρύπτειν μενεαίνεις:
ἠελίῳ σε λόχευσε παρευνηθεῖσα Σελήνη
Ναρκίσσῳ χαρίεντι πανείκελον: αἰθέριον γὰρ
εἴκελον εἶδος ἔχεις, κεραῆς ἴνδαλμα Σελήνης.’

--Nonnus, Dionysiaca, X.193-216- Translated into Latin from the Greek by Eilhard Lubin

Bacchus hid his immortal form from the youth

And approached him as a mortal, flirting with him

with these words: “Who’s your father?

What immortal womb gave you life?

What Grace raised you? Admit it—Apollo’s your father!

Tell me, darling (amice), don’t hide your lineage.

You act like you’re some wingless Cupid, but without weapons and a bow.

What god courted Venus to create you?

For I hesitate to call Venus your mother,

Since Vulcan or Mars can’t be your father.

Or are you the god they call Mercury?

Then show me your feathers, and the wings on your ankles.

Your long hair flows down your neck, but you don’t have a cithara.

Are you Phoebus, shaking his long wavy hair—but without your signature bow?

If Jupiter is my father, but you are mortal-born,

A short-lived satyr with cow-like horns,

Be king alongside me, equal to equal, a god and a mortal together,

For no one would question your godhood

While you were by my side.

Oh! I recognize your lineage—the one you’re trying to hide!

The Moon herself is your mother, having united with the Sun,

You’re as beautiful as Narcissus. For you have the same

Heavenly form as the moon—you both have horns!”

NONNUS	MAP:
Name:  Nonnus of Panopolis Date:  4th – 5th c. CE Works:  Dionysiaca	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Nonnus was an Egyptian born Roman citizen who composed the Dionysiaca, a massive 48 volume epic about the life of the god Dionysus.	POST-CONSTANTINOPLE