W/W: Artemis' Love Among the Ladies, Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis, 183-219

The poet Callimachus portrays Artemis as both asexual / chaste as well as the lover of women. 

Quae autem, quaeso, insularum, quique mons placuit maxime?

Quique lacus? Quaeque urbs? Quamque inprimis Nympham

amas, & quas heroinas habuisti sodales?

Dic, Dea, tu quidem nobis, ego vero aliis canam.

Ex insulis quidem Doliche, ex urbibus autem tibi placuit Perga,

Teugetus e montibus, portusque Euripi.

Prae ceteris autem Gortyniam adamasti Nympham,

Cervorum interfectricem, Britomartin, bene collimantem: cuius quondam Minos

Percussus amore, pererravit montes Cretae.

Nympha autem modo sub umbrosis latebus querubus comantibus,

modo in paludibus. Ille vero per novem menses erravit

in saxis & rupibus; neque destiti persequi,

Donec, propemodum deprensa, desiluit in mare

Rupe de summa, insiluitque in piscatorum

Retia, per quae est servata. Unde postea Cydones

Nympham quidem Dictynnam, montem autem, unde desiluit Nympha,

Dictaeum vocarunt, dedicaruntque aras

et sacra faciunt. Sertum autem illa die

aut pinus est, aut lentiscus: myrto autem manus sunt intactae.

Nam tum myrteo ramo adhaesit peplum

puellae, cum fugeret, eaque propter valde indignata est myrto.

Upi regina, pulcra, faces gestans, etiam te illa

Cretenses cognomine vocant a nympha.

Enimvero etiam Cyrenen sodalem sumsisti, cui aliquando dedisti

ipsa duos canes venaticos, per quos virgo

Hypseis ad tumulum Iolcium adepta est palmam.

Etiam Cephali flavam uxorem Deionidae,

Veneranda, comitem venationum tuarum fecisti: atque etiam te dicunt

pulchram Anticleam, ut oculos tuos, amasse,

Quae primae celeres arcus, inque humeris pharetras

sagittiferas tulerunt: cum nudus ipsis humerus

Dexter, nudaque semper extaret mamma

Amasti praeterea valde pedibus celerem Atalantam,

Filiam Iasii apricidam Arcasidae,

eamque & venari & sagittis scite uti docuisti.

τίς δέ νύ τοι νήσων, ποῖον δ᾽ ὄρος εὔαδε πλεῖστον,

τίς δὲ λιμήν, ποίη δὲ πόλις; τίνα δ᾽ ἔξοχα νυμφέων

185φίλαο, καὶ ποίας ἡρωίδας ἔσχες ἑταίρας;

εἰπὲ θεὴ σὺ μὲν ἄμμιν, ἐγὼ δ᾽ ἑτέροισιν ἀείσω.

νήσων μὲν Δολίχη, πολίων δέ τοι εὔαδε Πέργη,

Τηύγετον δ᾽ ὀρέων, λιμένες γε μὲν Εὐρίποιο.

ἔξοχα δ᾽ ἀλλάων Γορτυνίδα φίλαο νύμφην,

190ἐλλοφόνον Βριτόμαρτιν ἐύσκοπον: ἧς ποτε Μίνως

πτοιηθεὶς ὑπ᾽ ἔρωτι κατέδραμεν οὔρεα Κρήτης.

ἣ δ᾽ ὁτὲ μὲν λασίηισιν ὑπὸ δρυσὶ κρύπτετο νύμφη,

ἄλλοτε δ᾽ εἱαμενῆισιν: ὃ δ᾽ ἐννέα μῆνας ἐφοίτα

παίπαλά τε κρημνούς τε καὶ οὐκ ἀνέπαυσε διωκτύν,

195μέσφ᾽ ὅτε μαρπτομένη καὶ δὴ σχεδὸν ἥλατο πόντον

πρηόνος ἐξ ὑπάτοιο καὶ ἔνθορεν εἰς ἁλιήων

δίκτυα, τά σφ᾽ ἐσάωσαν: ὅθεν μετέπειτα Κύδωνες

νύμφην μὲν Δίκτυναν, ὄρος δ᾽ ὅθεν ἥλατο νύμφη

Δικταῖον καλέουσιν, ἀνεστήσαντο δὲ βωμούς

200ἱερά τε ῥέζουσι: τὸ δὲ στέφος ἤματι κείνωι

ἢ πίτυς ἢ σχῖνος, μύρτοιο δὲ χεῖρες ἄθικτοι:

δὴ τότε γὰρ πέπλοισιν ἐνέσχετο μύρσινος ὄζος

τῆς κούρης, ὅτ᾽ ἔφευγεν: ὅθεν μέγα χώσατο μύρτωι.

Οὖπι ἄνασσ᾽ εὐῶπι φαεσφόρε, καὶ δὲ σὲ κείνην

205Κρηταέες καλέουσιν ἐπωνυμίην ἀπὸ νύμφης.

καὶ μὴν Κυρήνην ἑταρίσσαο, τῆι ποτ᾽ ἔδωκας

αὐτὴ θηρητῆρε δύω κύνε, τοῖς ἔνι κούρη

Ὑψηὶς παρὰ τύμβον Ἰώλκιον ἔμμορ᾽ ἀέθλου.

καὶ Κεφάλου ξανθὴν ἄλοχον Δηιονίδαο

210πότνια σὴν ὁμόθηρον ἐθήκαο: καὶ δὲ σὲ φασί

καλὴν Ἀντίκλειαν ἴσον φαέεσσι φιλῆσαι,

αἳ πρῶται θοὰ τόξα καὶ ἀμφ᾽ ὤμοισι φαρέτρας

ἰοδόκους ἐφόρησαν: ἀσύλλωτοι δέ φιν ὦμοι

δεξιτεροὶ καὶ γυμνὸς ἀεὶ παρεφαίνετο μαζός.

215ἤινησας δ᾽ ἔτι πάγχυ ποδορρώρην Ἀταλάντην,

κούρην Ἰασίοιο συοκτόνον Ἀρκασίδαο,

καί ἑ κυνηλασίην τε καὶ εὐστοχίην ἐδίδαξας.

--Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis, 183-217; translated into Latin by Jo. Augustus Ernest

Tell me, what island pleases you most? 

What mountain? What lake? What city?

What nymph do you love the most, 

what heroines do you keep as companions?

Tell me, Goddess, and I will tell others.

Doliche is your favorite island, Perga is your favorite city,

Taygeton is your favorite mountain, and Euripis is your favorite strait.

Of all the nymphs, you passionately loved the Gortynian Britomartis,

The amazing archer and slayer of deer. Once, Minos was smitten by her, 

and he wandered over the mountains of Crete in search of her.

The nymph hid under the leafy oak trees and in marshes.

He searched for her among the stones and craigs for nine months;

He never stopped searching for her, until

Nearly captured by him, she leapt into the sea from a tall cliff

Landed in a fisherman’s net, and was saved.

Thereafter the Cretans called the nymph “Dictynna,”  [Net Lady]

And called the cliff that she jumped from “Dictaen” [Net Cliff];

They made a dedicatory altar there and made their sacrifices.

On that holiday, they make garlands of pine or mastic tree, but never myrtle.

For while she was fleeing, her tunic was caught on a myrtle branch

And so Britomartis *hates* the myrtle tree.

Upis, o beautiful light-bringer, the Cretans even call you this, too.

Then you took up Cyrene as your companion, and you gave her

Two of your hunting dogs, which Hypseis’ daughter used to gain victory

At Iolchus’ tomb.

You also loved the golden-haired wife of Cephalus,  

And made her your hunting companion:

And they say that you loved  the beautiful Anticlea more than your own eyes;

These women were the first to wear their hunting bow

And quiver upon their naked shoulder;

Their right shoulder was always naked,

Their right breast was always exposed.

You really loved swift-footed Atalanta,

The boar-slaying daughter of Arcadian Iasius,

You taught her to hunt and use her arrows with skill.

CALLIMACHUS / Καλλίμαχος	MAP:
Name:  Callimachus Date:  305 – 240 BCE Works:  Aitia (Causes)               Hymns              Pinakes (Table of Contents)	REGION  3 / 4
BIO:	Timeline:
Callimachus is often regarded as one of the best Alexandrian [Greek] poets. Born in raised in Cyrene, Libya, he spent a majority of his career at the famous Library of Alexandria, where he used the resources there to create refined, artful poetry. Although much of his poetry is lost, the fragments that remain are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.	HELLENISTIC

I Never Shall Marry: Artemis, Callimachus' Hymn to Artemis, 1.1-25

 Dianam (grave enim canentibus oblivisci)

Canimus, cui arcus venationesque cordi,

Et chorus magnus & in montibus ludi.

Incipientes inde, ut in patris sedens genubus,

Puela adhuc parvula, sic allocuta est patrem:

“Da mihi virginitatem, Pater, aeternam servare

et nomina multa, ne mihi se praeferat Phoebus.

Da etiam saggitas & arcum: sine Pater. Non te pharetram,

aut magnam posco arcum: mihi Cyclopes sagittas

statim elaborabunt, mihi etiam flexilem arcum:

sed ut faces geram, et ad genua usque tunica

succingar virgata, ferasque perimam.

Da mihi porro sexaginta Oceaninas, quae mecum choros agant,

Omnes iuvenculas, omnes adhuc puellas impuberes

da etiam ministras, viginti nymphas Amnisidas,

quae mihi venatica calceamenta & cum lyncas

cervosque venari desidero, veloces canes recte curent.

Da mihi denique montes omnes: urbem autam unam attribue,

quamcumque. Raro enim in urbem veniet Diana.

In montibus habitabo: urbes autem accedam

tum modo, cum mulieres, accutis partus doloribus,

vexatae, auxiliatricem vocent, quibus me Parcae,

ut primum nata sum, destinarun opem ferre:

quod me pariens ferensque (utero) non doluit,

Mater, sed sine labore doposuit gremio."

Ἄρτεμιν （οὐ γὰρ ἐλαφρὸν ἀειδόντεσσι λαθέσθαι）

ὑμνέομεν, τῆι τόξα λαγωβολίαι τε μέλονται

καὶ χορὸς ἀμφιλαφὴς καὶ ἐν οὔρεσιν ἑψιάασθαι,

ἄρχμενοι, ὡς ὅτε πατρὸς ἐφεζομένη γονάτεσσι

παῖς ἔτι κουρίζουσα τάδε προσέειπε γονῆα

'δός μοι παρθενίην αἰώνιον ἄππα φυλάσσειν,

καὶ πολυωνυμίην, ἵνα μή μοι Φοῖβος ἐρίζηι.

δὸς δ᾽ ἰοὺς καὶ τόξα — ἔα πάτερ, οὔ σε φαρέτρην

οὐδ᾽ αἰτέω μέγα τόξον: ἐμοὶ Κύκλωπες ὀιστοὺς

αὐτίκα τεχνήσονται, ἐμοὶ δ᾽ εὐκαμπὲς ἄεμμα:

ἀλλὰ φαεσφορίην τε καὶ ἐς γόνυ μέχρι χιτῶνα

ζώννυσθαι λεγνωτόν, ἵν᾽ ἄγρια θηρία καίνω.

δὸς δέ μοι ἑξήκοντα χορίτιδας Ὠκεανίνας,

πάσας εἰνέτεας, πάσας ἔτι παῖδας ἀμίτρους.

δὸς δέ μοι ἀμφιπόλους Ἀμνισίδας εἴκοσι νύμφας,

αἵ τέ μοι ἐνδρομίδας τε καί, ὁππότε μηκέτι λύγκας

μήτ᾽ ἐλάφους βάλλοιμι, θοοὺς κύνας εὖ κομέοιεν,

δὸς δέ μοι οὔρεα πάντα: πόλιν δέ μοι ἥντινα νεῖμον

ἥντινα λῆις: σπαρνὸν γὰρ ὅτ᾽ Ἄρτεμις ἄστυ κάτεισιν:

οὔρεσιν οἰκήσω, πόλεσιν δ᾽ ἐπιμείξομαι ἀνδρῶν

μοῦνον ὅτ᾽ ὀξείηισιν ὑπ᾽ ὠδίνεσσι γυναῖκες

τειρόμεναι καλέουσι βοηθόον, ἧισί με Μοῖραι

γεινομένην τὸ πρῶτον ἐπεκλήρωσαν ἀρήγειν,

ὅττι με καὶ τίκτουσα καὶ οὐκ ἤλγησε φέρουσα

μήτηρ, ἀλλ᾽ ἀμογητὶ φίλων ἀπεθήκατο γυίων᾽.

--Callimachus, Hymn to Artemis, 1-25

 

I sing of Diana (for who can forget her in song?!),

Whose heart is full of archery & hunting,

her flock of followers, and her mountain-adventures.

While still a girl, she sat upon her father’s lap, and began as follows:

“Father, give me control over my virginity, so that I may keep it forever.

Give me may names, so Phoebus may not look down upon me.

Give me a bow & arrows: please, Father!

I’m not asking you for a quiver, or a great bow:

The Cyclops will build these for me straightaway,

But let me be a bringer of light, and let me wear my skirt knee-length

And I will be a slayer of wild beasts.

Give me sixty Ocean-maidens, who can join me on my quest,

All of them still young, still girls,

And give me also an entourage of maidens, twenty nymphs of Amnisius

Who can take care of my hunting boots and my hunting dogs

Whenever I want to hunt lynxes & stags

And give me all mountains: and whatever city you want, I guess.

For Diana does not like the cities.

I shall dwell in the mountains: I’ll only enter cities

Whenever women are having difficulties in childbirth

And call upon me to help. That’s something the Fates

Gave me the ability to help with: as soon as I was born,

When she gave birth, my Mother did not have labor pains,

But birthed me from her belly without pain.”

CALLIMACHUS / Καλλίμαχος	MAP:
Name:  Callimachus Date:  305 – 240 BCE Works:  Aitia (Causes)               Hymns              Pinakes (Table of Contents)	REGION  3 / 4
BIO:	Timeline:
Callimachus is often regarded as one of the best Alexandrian [Greek] poets. Born in raised in Cyrene, Libya, he spent a majority of his career at the famous Library of Alexandria, where he used the resources there to create refined, artful poetry. Although much of his poetry is lost, the fragments that remain are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.	HELLENISTIC

Dangerous Beauty: the Abduction of Ganymede, Vergil's Aeneid 5.250-257

TRIGGER WARNING: Abduction

The common denominator in abduction myths is not the victim's gender, but their beauty.

victori chlamydem auratam, quam plurima circum                250

purpura maeandro duplici Meliboea cucurrit,

intextusque puer frondosa regius Ida

velocis iaculo cervos cursuque fatigat

acer, anhelanti similis, quem praepes ab Ida

sublimem pedibus rapuit Iovis armiger uncis;               255

longaevi palmas nequiquam ad sidera tendunt

custodes, saevitque canum latratus in auras.

--Vergil's Aeneid, 5.250-257

He gave to the winner a decorated chlamys (garment), embroidered in purple and gold.

It depicted this scene: a royal youth [Ganymede] tracing down swift stags on fertile Mt. Ida with his spear—you could almost see him panting!—and Jove’s eagle snatched him from Ida with its talons, while the youth’s guardians raised their palms up to the stars in vain, their hunting dogs filling the skies [with their barking].

VERGIL / VIRGIL	MAP:
Name:  Publius Vergilius Maro Date:  70 BCE – 21 BCE Works:  Aeneid*               Eclogues              Georgics	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Vergil was born in Mantua (Cisalpine Gaul, located in northern Italy) and lived during the tumultuous transition of Roman government from republic to monarchy. His masterpiece, the Aeneid, tells the story of Aeneas’ migration from Troy to Italy; it was used for centuries as the pinnacle of Roman literature.	GOLDEN AGE ROME

Women's Longings and Mixing Metaphors: Propertius IV.4

This poem showcases a range of women committing sexual transgressions. Although the Roman girl (puella) Tarpeia is universally hated for her betrayal of Rome, in this poem her transgression is seeking legitimate marriage—something Roman girls were expected to do.  This is seen as a criminal act because her legitimate desire goes against the path society has alotted her, as she has been chosen (lecta) to serve as a Vestal Virgin. Despite the fact that the men of her community have recently transgressed sexual boundaries by stealing the Sabine women from their homes to populate their city, Tarpeia alone bears the consequences of committing a sexual taboo. Moreover, the portrayal of the domestic goddess of chastity Vesta as a rampaging bare-breasted Amazon shows the confusion of male perspectives of women’s sexuality by blurring the bounds of asexuality and sexual wantonness.

Tarpeium nemus et Tarpeiae turpe sepulcrum
    fabor et antiqui limina capta Iouis.
lucus erat felix hederoso conditus antro,
    multaque natiuis obstrepit arbor aquis,
Siluani ramosa domus, quo dulcis ab aestu
    fistula poturas ire iubebat ouis.
hunc Tatius fontem uallo praecingit acerno,
    fidaque suggesta castra coronat humo.
quid tum Roma fuit, tubicen uicina Curetis
    cum quateret lento murmure saxa Iouis?
atque ubi nunc terris dicuntur iura subactis,
    stabant Romano pila Sabina Foro.
murus erant montes: ubi nunc est curia saepta,
    bellicus ex illo fonte bibebat equus.
hinc Tarpeia deae fontem libauit: at illi
    urgebat medium fictilis urna caput.
et satis una malae potuit mors esse puellae,
    quae uoluit flammas fallere, Vesta, tuas?
uidit harenosis Tatium proludere campis
    pictaque per flauas arma leuare iubas:
obstipuit regis facie et regalibus armis,
    interque oblitas excidit urna manus.
saepe illa immeritae causata est omina lunae,
    et sibi tingendas dixit in amne comas:
saepe tulit blandis argentea lilia Nymphis,
    Romula ne faciem laederet hasta Tati.
dumque subit primo Capitolia nubila fumo,
    rettulit hirsutis bracchia secta rubis,
et sua Tarpeia residens ita fleuit ab arce
    uulnera, uicino non patienda Ioui:
"ignes castrorum et Tatiae praetoria turmae
    et formosa oculis arma Sabina meis,
o utinam ad uestros sedeam captiua Penatis,
    dum captiua mei conspicer ora Tati!
Romani montes, et montibus addita Roma,
    et ualeat probro Vesta pudenda meo:
ille equus, ille meos in castra reponet amores,
    cui Tatius dextras collocat ipse iubas!
quid mirum in patrios Scyllam saeuisse capillos,
    candidaque in saeuos inguina uersa canis?
prodita quid mirum fraterni cornua monstri,
    cum patuit lecto stamine torta uia?
quantum ego sum Ausoniis crimen factura puellis,
    improba uirgineo lecta ministra foco!
Pallados exstinctos si quis mirabitur ignis,
    ignoscat: lacrimis spargitur ara meis.
cras, ut rumor ait, tota potabitur urbe:
    tu cape spinosi rorida terga iugi.
lubrica tota uia est et perfida: quippe tacentis
    fallaci celat limite semper aquas.
o utinam magicae nossem cantamina Musae!
    haec quoque formoso lingua tulisset opem.
te toga picta decet, non quem sine matris honore
    nutrit inhumanae dura papilla lupae.
hic, hospes, patria metuar regina sub aula?
    dos tibi non humilis prodita Roma uenit.
si minus, at raptae ne sint impune Sabinae:
    me rape et alterna lege repende uices!
commissas acies ego possum soluere: nuptae
    uos medium palla foedus inite mea.
adde Hymenaee modos, tubicen fera murmura conde:
    credite, uestra meus molliet arma torus.
et iam quarta canit uenturam bucina lucem,
    ipsaque in Oceanum sidera lapsa cadunt.
experiar somnum, de te mihi somnia quaeram:
    fac uenias oculis umbra benigna meis."
dixit, et incerto permisit bracchia somno,
    nescia se furiis accubuisse nouis.
nam Vesta, Iliacae felix tutela fauillae,
    culpam alit et plures condit in ossa faces.
illa ruit, qualis celerem prope Thermodonta
    Strymonis abscisso fertur aperta sinu.
urbi festus erat (dixere Parilia patres),
    hic primus coepit moenibus esse dies,
annua pastorum conuiuia, lusus in urbe,
    cum pagana madent fercula diuitiis,
cumque super raros faeni flammantis aceruos
    traicit immundos ebria turba pedes.
Romulus excubias decreuit in otia solui
    atque intermissa castra silere tuba.
hoc Tarpeia suum tempus rata conuenit hostem:
    pacta ligat, pactis ipsa futura comes.
mons erat ascensu dubius festoque remissus
    nec mora, uocalis occupat ense canis.
omnia praebebant somnos: sed Iuppiter unus
    decreuit poenis inuigilare suis.
prodiderat portaeque fidem patriamque iacentem,
    nubendique petit, quem uelit, ipsa diem.
at Tatius (neque enim sceleri dedit hostis honorem)
    "nube" ait "et regni scande cubile mei!"
dixit, et ingestis comitum super obruit armis.
    haec, uirgo, officiis dos erat apta tuis.
a duce Tarpeia mons est cognomen adeptus:
    o uigil, iniustae praemia sortis habes.

--Propertius, Eleg. IV.4

I’ll tell you a tale of the grove of Tarpeia, and her wicked tomb, too, as well as the siege of Jupiter’s ancient stronghold.

There was once a blessed grove situated in an ivy-covered grotto, where many trees resounded with the echo of local waters.

This was the branch-covered home of Silvanus, where his sweet pan-flutes called his sheep out of the heat and back to their leafy greens.

Tatius had barricaded this spring with a maple-wood palisade, and surrounded his fortifications with stable earth-works.

What was Rome like then,

When Cures’ herald shook the nearby hills of Jupiter with foreboding noise?

Where today’s Rome had conquered this territory, there used to be Sabine spears parading through our Roman Forum.

Where the portico-covered Senate House stands today, there were only hills for protective walls.

This was where Tatius’ warhorse took its drink.

This is where Tarpeia, too, took libations for her goddess; she bore a handmade pitcher balanced upon her head.

Vesta, is only one death enough for this wicked young girl, for wanting to cheat on your flame?

Tarpeia saw Tatius training on the sandy plains. She saw him lift off his sculpted helmet, and she was blown away by the king’s face, his royal presence.

She let the vessel drop from her hands—her task forgotten.

Often, she feigned the moon as an omen and said she went to the stream to “wash her hair” [just to see him].

Often, she brought silver lilies in offering to the graceful water nymphs, praying that Roman spears might never scar Tatius’ pretty face.

While she climbed the Capitoline hill veiled in morning mist, she came back with arms covered in the scratches from its brambles.

She mourned, sitting upon the opposite citadel. She wept, a wound that Jupiter could not let go unpunished.

She prayed,

“Campfires, tents of Tatius’ squadrons, simply stunning Sabine armor in my eyes, if only I could be captive to your gods! As your prisoner, I might look upon my Tatius’ face.

Farewell, Roman hills!

Farewell, Rome!

And Farewell to you, too, Vesta, embarrassed by my sin!

Tatius’ horse, with his mane plaited by his master’s own hands, will return me to his camp and my lover’s arms.

Why is anyone surprised that Scylla hurt her father Nisus’ magical hair, when her pale loins were turned to savage dogs? Why is anyone surprised that Ariadne showed the way with a spool of thread [leading Theseus] to her monstrous brother’s horns?

Although I was chosen to serve the virgin goddess’ flame, I’ll become the shame of Ausonian girls.

If anyone questions Pallas’ extinguished flames [Minerva’s asexuality], then please forgive me! The altar is drenched in my tears.

From what I’ve heard, tomorrow the entire city will be ritually cleansed. You, Tatius, take dewy path up to that thorny hill. The whole journey will be slippery and treacherous, and hidden pools of water are on your path.

If only I knew songs of magic Muses, then I could help you, my handsome man. You are worthy of royal robes. Unlike Romulus, no harsh teat of a she-wolf nursed you; you had an actual legitimate mother.

Sir, why should I fear being queen in the royal palace? My dowry is not meager—it is Rome itself!

Or “kidnap me,” and follow the precedent of the Sabine women, taken without consequence. Let no consequence occur to me as well! I can stop the coming battle. Brides, join me in treaty as I get married; bring Hymenaeus to offer his blessing, and let the herald proclaim it, too. Trust that my wedding will cause an armistice.

Now the fourth reveille heralds the coming dawn. The stars fall into the Ocean. Let me dream, and seek dreams of you. May pleasant shade come to my eyes.”

She spoke, and allowed her body to succumb to troubled sleep, not knowing she slept among nightmares.

For Vesta, the blessed guardian of Troy’s embers, nursed the girl’s obsession and poured fires into her bones. Then the goddess rushed away the way an Amazon races along the Thermodon River, with her mutilated breast exposed.

There was a holiday in the city (our ancestors called it “Parilia”). I was the first day of the construction of the city walls, and the annual festival of pastoral festivities held in the city. Villager’s plates were dripping with rich and fatty foods, and drunken crowds dragged their dirty feet over scattered heaps of burning hay.

Romulus decreed that the night watch could have the night off, and the camps were empty; everyone was off doing their revels. Tarpeia thought this was her chance to meet the enemy. She made her bargain, she bound herself to its conditions.

The hill was difficult to climb, but unguarded because of the holiday.

Tatius’ first act was to silence the yappy guard dogs with his sword. Everything at this time was asleep, but Jupiter alone kept watch, mindful of his own justice.

Tarpeia betrayed the trust of the city’s gate; she betrayed her sleeping country, too, while seeking the wedding day that SHE wanted. But even the enemy gives no honor to a criminal: Tatius told her, “Put on the veil, and enter the bedroom of my reign.” He spoke and tossed down heaps of his companion’s weaponry.

This was your dowry, woman, appropriate for your status. The Tarpeian hill is a name given appropriately; o tourist, consider the consequences of her unjust lot.

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

 

Sappho Could, Why Can't I? Ovid, Tristia II.361-366

While languishing in exile, Ovid complains that he alone has been punished for writing erotic poetry: 

Denique composui teneros non solus amores:
     composito poenas solus amore dedi.
Quid, nisi cum multo Venerem confundere uino,
     praecepit lyrici Teia Musa senis?
Lesbia quid docuit Sappho, nisi amare, puellas?
     Tuta tamen Sappho, tutus et ille fuit.

--Ovid, Tristia II.261-266

Well, I wasn’t the only one who wrote tender tales of love,

But I alone paid the penalty for my fictitious affairs.

What else did the old bard Anacreon’s muse teach,

Except to blend Wine & Love together?

What did Sappho teach her Lesbian* girls to do, except love?

But Sappho got away with it, and so did Anacreon!

* Lesbian here means "from the island of Lesbos," not "homoerotic"

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

OVID	MAP:
Name: Publius Ovidius Naso   Date:  43 BCE – 18 CE Works:  Ars Amatoria                Metamorphoses*               Tristia, etc.	REGION  1
BIO:	Timeline:
Ovid 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, where he spent the remainder of his life pining for his native homeland.	GOLDEN AGE ROME