Apollo Mourns the Loss of Hyacinthus: Luc, Dial. Deo. 14

M: Quid vero tristis es, Apollo?

A: Quoniam, o Mercuri, miser atque infelix circa amores sum.

M: Dignum quidem maerore hoc: sed tu quo pacto miser atque infelix es? An adhuc dolore afficit te id quod cum Daphne accidit?

A: Nequaquam, sed amasium doleo Laconem illum Oebali filium.

M: An mortuus est Hyacinthus? dic mihi.

A: Atque admodum.

M: Unde Apollo? Aut quis ita ab omni amore alienus fuit, ut occiderit formosum illum puerum?

A: Meum ipsius factum hoc est.

M: Quid igitur? Insanivisin' Apollo?

A: Non, sed inforunium quoddam invito mihi accidit.

M: Quomodo: cupio enim audire rationem hanc.

A: Disco ludere discebat, atque ego una cum illo ludebam. Ceterum ventorum omnium pessime perditus Zephyrus amabat quidem longo iam tempore etiam ipse illum. Verum neglecto eo, & contemptum istum non ferente, ego quidem, quemadmodum consueveramus, discum in altum sursum versus iaculabar, ille autem deorsum a Taygeto spirans, ablatum hunc in caput puero inflixit, ita ut ex ea plaga & cruror manaret affatim & ipse puer statim moreretur. Verum ego e vestigio Zephyrum ulciscebar, tortis in eum sagittis, fugientemque ad montem usque persequendo. Puero autem & tumulum extruxi in Amyclis, quo loco discus eum prostravit & florem ex cruore illius terram induere feci, suavissimusm illum quidem Mercuri, atque omnium fragrantissimum, praeterea & literas quasdam habentem, quae mortuum ipsum quasi deplorant. Num tibi igitur praeter rationem maestus fuisse videor?

M: Sane vero, Apollo. Noras enim mortalem te comparasse amasium tibi: quare dolere non debes mortuo iam illo.

Ἑρμῆς

τί σκυθρωπός, ὦ Ἄπολλον;

 

Ἀπόλλων

ὅτι, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, δυστυχῶ ἐν τοῖς ἐρωτικοῖς.

 

Ἑρμῆς

ἄξιον μὲν λύπης τὸ τοιοῦτο: σὺ δὲ τί δυστυχεῖς; ἢ τὸ κατὰ τὴν Δάφνην σε λυπεῖ ἔτι;

 

Ἀπόλλων

οὐδαμῶς: ἀλλὰ ἐρώμενον πενθῶ τὸν Λάκωνα τὸν Οἰβάλου.

 

Ἑρμῆς

τέθνηκε γάρ, εἰπέ μοι, ὁ Ὑάκινθος;

 

Ἀπόλλων

καὶ μάλα.

 

Ἑρμῆς

πρὸς τίνος, ὦ Ἄπολλον; ἢ τίς οὕτως ἀνέραστος ἦν ὡς ἀποκτεῖναι τὸ καλὸν ἐκεῖνο μειράκιον;

 

Ἀπόλλων

αὐτοῦ ἐμοῦ τὸ ἔργον.

 

Ἑρμῆς

οὐκοῦν ἐμάνης, ὦ Ἄπολλον;

 

Ἀπόλλων

οὔκ, ἀλλὰ δυστύχημά τι ἀκούσιον ἐγένετο.

 

Ἑρμῆς

πῶς; ἐθέλω γὰρ ἀκοῦσαι τὸν τρόπον.

Ἀπόλλων

[2] δισκεύειν ἐμάνθανε κἀγὼ συνεδίσκευον αὐτῷ, ὁ δὲ κάκιστα ἀνέμων ἀπολούμενος ὁ Ζέφυρος ἤρα [p. 93] μὲν ἐκ πολλοῦ καὶ αὐτός, ἀμελούμενος δὲ καὶ μὴ φέρων τὴν ὑπεροψίαν, ἐγὼ μὲν ἀνέρριψα, ὥσπερ εἰώθειμεν, τὸν δίσκον ἐς τὸ ἄνω, ὁ δὲ ἀπὸ τοῦ Ταϋγέτου καταπνεύσας ἐπὶ κεφαλὴν τῷ παιδὶ ἐνέσεισε φέρων αὐτόν, ὥστε ἀπὸ τῆς πληγῆς αἷμά τε ῥυῆναι πολὺ καὶ τὸν παῖδα εὐθέως ἀποθανεῖν. ἀλλὰ ἐγὼ τὸν μὲν Ζέφυρον αὐτίκα ἠμυνάμην κατατοξεύσας, φεύγοντι ἐπισπόμενος ἄχρι τοῦ ὄρους, τῷ παιδὶ δὲ καὶ τὸν τάφον μὲν ἐχωσάμην ἐν Ἀμύκλαις, ὅπου ὁ δίσκος αὐτὸν κατέβαλε, καὶ ἀπὸ τοῦ αἵματος ἄνθος ἀναδοῦναι τὴν γῆν ἐποίησα ἥδιστον, ὦ Ἑρμῆ, καὶ εὐανθέστατον ἀνθέων ἁπάντων, ἔτι καὶ γράμματα ἔχον ἐπαιάζοντα τῷ νεκρῷ. ἆρά σοι ἀλόγως λελυπῆσθαι δοκῶ;

Ἑρμῆς

ναί, ὦ Ἄπολλον: ᾔδεις γὰρ θνητὸν πεποιημένος τὸν ἐρώμενον: ὥστε μὴ ἄχθου ἀποθανόντος.

--Lucian, Dialogi Deorum 14,   trans. Jacobus Micyllus

Mercury: Why are you so sad, Apollo?

Apollo: Mercury, I’m miserable and unhappy because of my love life.

Mercury: That’s a good reason to be miserable. But why are you so unhappy? Or are you still upset about Daphne?

Apollo: Nope, I’m upset about my boyfriend, the Laconian son of Oebalus.

Mercury: Oh no! Did Hyacinthus die? Tell me!

Apollo: Yep.

Mercury: How did it happen, Apollo? Who is such a stranger to love, that they would kill such a handsome young man?

Apollo: I’m to blame.

Mercury: Why? Did you go crazy, Apollo?

Apollo: No. I didn’t want it to happen; it was a terrible accident.

Mercury: How so? I want to hear what happened.

Apollo: He was practicing the discus, and I was practicing with him. Zephyrus, the worst of all the winds, loved him for a long time. But, because he was rejected by Hyacinthus and didn’t handle the rejection well—well, when I threw the discus high in the air (as I usually do), he rushed from Taygetus and struck the boy in the head with it. It hit Hyacinthus so hard that he immediately fell down dead, bleeding from the wound. I followed Zephyrus, trying to avenge Hyacinthus’ death, and I followed him all the way back to his mountain home. Then I built a tomb for the lad in Amyclis (where the discus had killed him), and I made a flower blossom from his blood in the soil where he fell. And let me tell you, Mercury, it’s the prettiest and sweetest-smelling flower there is, and there are letters written upon it that spell out a mourning cry for him (AI! AI!). Do you think I seem too upset for this loss?

Mercury: Absolutely, Apollo. You knew what would happen if you fell in love with a human lover: you shouldn’t grieve him that a mortal has died.

 

 

LUCIAN	MAP:
Name:  Lucianus Samosatensis Date:  125 – 180 CE Works: Dialogue of the Courtesans*                True History, etc.	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Lucian was a Turkish-born Roman satirist who wrote in ancient Greek. His works are a mixture of sarcasm, wit, and biting social criticism. He is without a doubt one of the most popular authors of the later Roman empire.	ROMAN GREECE