Aphrodite, Come! Sappho VIII

Ades, Venus, aureis
in poculis, elegantibus
commixtum germinibus
nectar ut affundas
his amicis
meisque tuisque.

Ἕλθε, Κύπρι,
Χπρυσίασιν ἐν κυλίκεσσιν ἄβραισ
συμμεμιγμένον θαλίαισι νέκταρ
     οἰνοχόεισα

--Sappho, Fragment 8 (modern fragment 6) Translated from the Greek by Johannis Christianus Wolfius

Come, Venus, 
pour the nectar mixed with savory herbs, 
pour the nectar in golden goblets,
pour the nectar for these friends of yours & mine.

SAPPHO	MAP:
Name:  Σαπφώ / Sappho Date:  630 – 570 BCE Works:  <lost: only fragments remain>	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Sappho 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 is emotional, intimate and personal. Her poetry centers around womanhood and womanly love, providing rare insight into social mores of the time period. The modern term “lesbian” (a woman who is attracted to another woman) reveals the longevity of her impact upon western culture [NOTE: Although “lesbian” is the accepted term in modern English, authors in the ancient world used a different word for a homosexual woman, and only occasionally used the term “lesbian” euphemistically]. 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.	Archaic Greek

M/M: The Army of Theban Lovers, Maximus of Tyre, Diss. 8

The Army of Theban Lovers

Name: Maximus of Tyre [Cassius Maximus Tyrius] Date:   2nd century CE Region:   Tyre [modern Lebanon] Citation:    Dissertation 18.2.f-k

Epamonidas liberated Thebes from Sparta’s control by weaponizing love. In Thebes there were many young soldiers in love.  Epamonidas put weapons in their hands, and created a squadron of lovers who had incredible valor and were undefeatable. Whether in battle formation or in melee they easily repelled the enemy’s assault, the likes of which have never been seen, not even under the skillful leadership of the Trojan War hero Nestor, nor in the descendants of Heracles in the Peloponnesian campaign,  nor in the Peloponnesian campaign against Athens.

The reason for this was that each man had to prove themselves to their lover, either to fight well in their lover’s eyes, or out of necessity, since each man had to defend his own sweetheart. And in turn, a rivalry spurred on their bravery, so they could perform equally as well as their lover, just as the puppies of hunting dogs follow the bigger dogs in the pack.  

Ἐλευθεροῖ τὰς Θήβας Ἐπαμεινώνδας ἀπὸ Λακεδαιμονίων σρατηγήματι ἐρωτικῷ. Μειρακίων πολλῶν καλῶν ἐρασταὶ ἤσαν Θήβησιν πολλοὶ νεανίαι. ὅπλα δους Ἐπαμεινώνδας τοῖς ἐρασταῖς καὶ τοῖς ἐρωμένοις συνέταξεν λόχον ἱερὸν του ἔρωτος. δεινὸν καὶ ἄμαχον καὶ συνασπίζοντα ἀκριβῶς καὶ ἄῤῥηκτον οἷον ουτε ὁ Νέστωρ περὶ τὸ Iλιον συνεστήσατο ὁ δεινότατος τῶν σρατηγών, οὔτε Ἡρακλείδαι περὶ Πελοπόννησον ουτε Πελοποννήσιοι περὶ τὴν Ἀττικὴν. ἔδει γὰρ ἕκασον τῶν ἐραστῶν ἀριστεύειν, καὶ διὰ φιλοτιμίαν ἐν ὄψει τῶν παιδικῶν μαχόμενον καὶ δὶ ἀνάγκην ὑπερμαχούντα τῶν φιλτάτων. ἦν δὲ καὶ τὰ μειράκια ἐφάμιλλα ταῖς ἀρεταῖς τοῖς ἐραςταῖς, ὥσπερ ἐν θήρᾳ σκύλακες συμπαραθέοντες τοῖς πρεσβυτέροις τῶν κυνῶν.

Epamonidas amatorio stratagemate Thebas in liberatem a Lacedaemoniis vindicavit. Erant Thebis multi pulchri adolescentuli qui amabantur, multi pulchri iuvenes qui amabant. Utrisque arma in manum Epamonidas dat, et utrisque cohortem instruit amatoriam, quae mirae virtutis planeque inexpugnabilis cum esset, conferto simul agmine facile hostium impetum sustinuit. Qualem neque imperatorum solertissimus Nestor, in Troiano agro, neque in Peloponnesiaco Heraclidae, neque in Attico instruxere Peloponnesii Necesse enim fuit amatores singulos, vel existimationis suae causa, quod in oculis adolescentulorum pugnarent, vel necessitatis, quod singuli amicissimum defenderent, strenue rem gerere. Vehemens rursus aemulatio adolescentulos pungebat, ut cum amatoribus sibi suis paria facerent: sicut in venatione catuli, qui maiores canes sequuntur.  Translated into Latin by Claudius Larjot

Maximus of Tyre [2nd century CE, modern Lebanon] was listed as one of the most influential people in the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’ life. He spent most of his life in scholarly pursuits; his Dissertations were a collection of philosophical treatises based on the works of Plato.

Sappho & Socrates: A Comparison, Maximus of Tyre, Dis. VIII

Sapphus vero (si quidem antiquiora cum recentioribus conferre fas est) quid est aliud quam amatoria ars Socratis? Videntur enim mihi idem spectare uterque, hic cum virorum, illa cum mulierum celebrat amorem. Uterque plurimos se amare fatetur, et ab omnibus formosis facillime capi. Quod enim Alcibiades illi & Charmides, et Phedrus, hoc Sapphoni Lesbiae Gyrinna, Athis, et Anactoria: et quod Socrati aemuli illi Prodicus, Gorgias, Thrasymachus, et Protagoras, hoc Sapphoni Gorgo et Andromeda. Interdum namque increpat illas, interdum arguit, tum ubique urbana illa Socratis elucet dissimulatio. Ionem salvere iubeo, ait Socrates. Plurimum salvere Polyanactis filium iubeo, ait Sappho. Negat se Alcibiadem quem diu ante amarat, priusquem e coloquiis suis fructum haurire posset, accedere voluisse Socrates. Parva mihi puella videre, nec adhuc matura, ait Sappho. Ille habitum alibi & discubitum sophistae perstringit: ila alibi canit, Quaedam rustica tunica induta. Amorem ait Diotima apud Socratem, non filium, sed pedissequum esse Veneris & famulum. Venus alibi apud Sapphonem in oda quadam ait, Et tu pulcherrime famule amor. Rursus Diotima ait, florere amorem cum abundat, mori cum eget. Illa utrumque coniungit: cum Amorem dulceamarum vocat, et dona aid dare, sed molesta. Socrates Amorem sophistam vocat, Sappho verborum architectum. Phaedri amore tanquam Bacchico furore concitare se ait Socrates. Illa vero, Amore mihi mentem, inquit, impulit, venti instar qui montanis incidit arboribus. Socrates Xanthippen perstringit, cum mortem eius dolet: illa filiae suae scribit, Nefas in poetica domo luctum esse; neque id nobis sit dignum. 

--Maximus of Tyre, Diss. VIII, Translated into Latin by Claudius Larjot

Well, if it's appropriate to compare ancient literature with modern, what is Sappho's poetry except the Socratic art of love? For it seems to me that they both sought after the same thing: Socrates enjoyed the love of men, Sappho enjoyed the love of women.

• Both confessed that they loved many people, and were captivated by the most beautiful. 
• And the relationship that  Alcibiades, Charmides, and Phaedrus had with Socrates, 
• so too did Gyrinna, Athis and Anactoria have with Sappho. 
• And Prodicus, Gorgias, Thrasymachus and Protagoras were Socrates' rivals, 
• Gorgo and Andromeda were Sappho's rivals. 
• Sometimes Sappho blew off her lovers, sometimes she yelled at them, sometimes she would blow them away with the charm of Socratic wit.
• Socrates said: "Io, protect me!"
• Sappho said, "Protect me, son of Polyanax!"
• Socrates said that he did not date Alcibiades (whom he had a crush on for a while) until he could handle advanced conversations. 
• Sappho said, "you're just a little girl, way too immature." 
• Socrates criticized the body language and how sophists sat down; 
• Sappho sang, "the woman wearing a country-style dress." 
• Diotima said to Socrates that Cupid was not the son but the slave and attendant of Venus. 
• Sappho says the same thing in one of her poems: "You, too, o Cupid, you most beautiful slave." 
• Diotima said  that love flourishes in good times, and dies in bad times. 
• Sappho says the same thing: she calls love "bittersweet" and that it  gives troublesome gifts. 
• Socrates calls love a sophist; 
• Sappho called it a architect of words. 
• Socrates said that his love of Phaedrus put him in a Bacchic rage; 
• Sappho said that love shakes her mind like the winds shake the mountain treetops.   
• Socrates chided Xanthippe when she was sad about his impending death; 
• Sappho wrote to her daughter that "Grief wasn't appropriate (nefas) in the house of the muses, and it certainly isn't appropriate for us."

MAXIMUS OF TYRE	MAP:
Name:  Cassius Maximus Tyrius Date:  2nd c. CE Works:  Dissertations	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Maximus of Tyre was listed as one of the most influential people in the Roman emperor Marcus Aurelius’ life. Maximus spent most of his life in scholarly pursuits; his Dissertations were a collection of philosophical treatises based on the thought of Plato.	ROMAN GREEK LIT

Dangerous Beauty: A List, Hyginus, Fab. 271

TRIGGER WARNING: Beauty was seen as a dangerous trait for young men and women alike; most of these myths end in abduction / rape. It is important to note the objectification of these men in this passage; the author makes clear that unwanted sexual attention is an unfortunate consequence of beauty in Greco-Roman mythology.

Qui ephebi formosissimi fuerunt:

• Adonis Cinyrae et Smyrnae filius quam Venus amavit.
• Endymion Aethlii filius quem Luna amavit.
• Ganymedes Erichthonii filius, quem Iovis amavit.
• Hyacinthus Oebali filius quem Apollo amavit.
• Narcissus Cephisi fluminis filius qui se ipsum amavit.
• Atlantius Mercurii et Veneris filius qui hermaphroditus dictus est.
• Hylas Thiodamantis filius, quem Hercules amavit.
• Chrysippus Pelopis filius, quem Theseus ludis rapuit.

--Hyginus, Fabulae CCLXXI

A list of exceedingly beautiful youths:

• Adonis (the son of Cinyras and Smyrna), whom Venus loved.
• Endymion (the son of Aethlius), whom the Moon loved.
• Ganymede (the son of Erichthonius), whom Jupiter loved.
• Hyacinthus (the son of Oebalus), whom Apollo loved.
• Narcissus (the son of the Cephissus River), who fell in love with himself.
• Atlantius (the son of Mercury and Venus), who is called a "hermaphrodite."
• Hylas (the son of Thiodamas), whom Hercules loved.
• Chrysippus (the son of Pelops), whom Theseus abducted from the games.

HYGINUS	MAP:
Name: Gaius Julius Hyginus Date: 64 BCE – 17 CE Works: Fabulae*                De Astronomica	REGION 1 / 4*
BIO:	Timeline:
Hyginus was a freedman of the Roman emperor Augustus who was in charge of the Imperial library on the Palatine Hill in Rome. His work, the Fabulae, are a sourcebook for Greek and Roman myths. Although there is quite a bit of overlap between his writings and his contemporary and friend Ovid’s Metamorphoses, Hyginus’ works are much more succinct.	GOLDEN AGE ROME

* There is evidence that Hyginus was originally from Alexandria, Egypt (Suetonius, de Gramm. 20)

M/M: A Love Letter for Homework, Marcus Aurelius and Fronto, Add. 7

In this letter, the future Roman Emperor Marcus Aurelius uses erotic terms in his homework assignment from his mentor Fronto, who has asked him to read Plato's Phaedrus. It is interesting to note that Marcus has flipped the traditional arrangement of the Greek same-sex model; although Fronto is his mentor, Marcus calls himself the erastes [lover in charge of the relationship].

Have mi magister optime.

Ave perge, quantum libet, comminare et argumentorum globis criminare: Numquam tu tamen erasten tuum, me dico depuleris; nec ego minus amare me Frontonem praedicabo minusque amabo, quod tu tam variis tamque vehementibus sententiis adprobaris minus amantibus magis opitulandum ac largiendum esse. Ego hercule te ita amore depereo neque deterreor isto tuo dogmate ac, si magis eris aliis non amantibus properus et promptus, ego tamen amabo atque usque amabo. Ceterum quod ad sensuum densitatem, quod ad inventionis argutiarum, quod ad aemulationis tuae felicitatem adtinet, nolo quidem dicere te multo placentis illos sibi et provocantis Atticos antevenisse, ac tamen nequeo quin dicam. Amo enim et hoc denique amantibus vere tribuendum esse censeo, quod victoriis τῶν ἐρωμένων magis gauderent. Vicimus igitur, vicimus, inquam. Num . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . praestabilius sub laquearibus quam sub platanis, intra pomerium quam extra murum, sine deliciis quam ipsa Lai proxime adsistente habitanteve disputari? Nequeo retejaclari, utra re magis caveam, quod de Lysia orator saeculi hujus dogma tulerit an quod magister meus de Platone. ³ Illud equidem non temere adjuravero: Si quis iste re vera Phaeder fuit, si umquam is a Socrate afuit, non magis Socraten Phaedri desiderio quam me per istos dies (‘dies’ dico? ‘menses’, inquam) tui adspectus cupidine arsisse… Tua epistula haec fecit, ne ille Diona esset quin tantum amet nisi confestim tuo amore corripitur.

 Vale, mihi maxima res sub caelo, gloria mea. Sufficit talem magistrum habuisse. Domina mater te salutat.

--A letter of Marcus Aurelius preserved in the correspondence of Marcus Cornelius Fronto, Add.7 ( 249 Haut, Haines I.30)

Hello, my best mentor!

Go on then, threaten and complain with any heap of arguments as much as you can: for you will never get rid of me, your lover (erasten)! For even if you give me a convincing argument with varied and vehement words that the *object* of a lover’s desire (minus amantibus, a Latin pun on the Greek term eromenos) ought to be cherished and lavished with gifts [more than the lover himself], I will not I will not stop declaring that I love my Fronto any less, and I won’t stop loving you. For by Hercules, I am dying for love of you, nor am I kept in check by your rules (dogmate). Even if you treat others--others that you don’t love--better than me, I will still keep on loving you.

[Reading Plato's Phaedrus] I shouldn’t say that you’re better than all those cocky and self-sure Attic intellectuals [in the book] because of the wealth of your thoughts, the cleverness of your wit, the utter perfection of your imitation: but here I am, saying it. I love you and I reckon that it’s proper for a person in love to say that they enjoy their lovers’ [τῶν ἐρωμένων] victories more than their own. We’ve won, so in effect, I’ve won …

But [still reading Plato’s Phaedrus] whether someone is under intricately paneled ceiling or under a plane tree, whether inside or outside the city walls, holding a discussion without your sweetheart (deliciis) is [main clause missing] than while Lais herself is not only at hand, but also a neighbor. But I can’t seem to wrap my head around which is worse, what the politician (orator) Fronto said about Lysia or what my mentor (magister) Fronto has said about Plato. And I don’t say this lightly: if Phaedrus actually existed in real life, if he was ever apart from Socrates, Socrates could not have burned in longing for Phaedrus more than I burn in longing for you all these days (“days”? I mean “months”!). Your letter has such effect that he wouldn’t need to be Dion* to love you so much, but rather he’d immediately be seized by a love for you at first sight.

Goodbye, my glory, the best thing to happen to me under heaven. It’s enough that I had such a mentor. My mother says “hi.”

*Dion was one of Plato's lovers

FRONTO	MAP:
Name:  Marcus Cornelius Fronto   Date:  100 – 160 CE Works: Letters	REGION  3
BIO:	Timeline:
Fronto was a Roman statesman born in Cirta (Numidia, located in northern Africa) whose rhetorical and literary abilities earned him the nickname “Second Cicero.” He was tutor and mentor to the future Roman emperors Marcus Aurelius and Lucius Verus; his correspondence with them provides unique insight into the personal lives of much of the Antonine dynasty.	SILVER AGE LATIN

A Transgender Man: Iphis, Ovid, Meta.9.665-795

I Thirst While Drowning in Waves: Iphis Yearns to Marry Ianthe

Name:   Ovid Date:     43 BCE – 17 CE Region:    Sulmo [modern Italy] Citation: Metamorphoses 9.735, 742 – 744, 755 – 763

In Ovid’s mythology-based epic, The Metamorphoses, Iphis prays to be transformed into a man in order to marry the love of their life, Ianthe:

“I wish I weren’t a girl! … Daedalus, the most intelligent man in the entire world, the one who flew away with waxen wings, could he do the same for me: make a girl into a boy? Could he even change you, Ianthe?

“...So far no part of my prayers have been in vain. The gods readily gave whatever they could to me and my family. They’ve provided what I want, what my father wants, what Ianthe wants, what my father-in-law wants. But Nature herself doesn’t want this, and she overrides us all.

“Look, the perfect occasion is here; the wedding day is here. Ianthe will soon be mine. But it’s no use! I thirst while drowning in waves. What’s the purpose of my matron of honor Juno being here? Why has Hymenaeus come? The groom is absent, but two brides are here.”

I Thirst While Drowning in Waves: Iphis Yearns to Marry Ianthe

Vellem nulla forem!

...ipse licet revolet ceratis Daedalus alis,

quid faciet? Num me puerum de virgine doctis

artibus efficiet? Num te mutabit, Ianthe?

...Nunc quoque votorum nulla est pars vana meorum,

dique mihi faciles, quicquid valuere, dederunt;

quodque ego, vult genitor, vult ipsa, socerque futurus.

At non vult natura, potentior omnibus istis,

quae mihi sola nocet. venit ecce optabile tempus,

Luxque iugalis adest, et iam mea fiet Ianthe—

nec mihi continget: mediis sitiemus in undis.

Pronuba quid Juno, quid ad haec, Hymenaee, venitis

sacra, quibus qui ducat abest, ubi nubimus ambae?”

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.