Apollo, Unlucky in Love: Lucian, Dial. Deorum. 17.2

Apollo, Unlucky In Love

Name: Lucian Date: 125 – 180 CE Region: [modern Turkey] Citation:  Dialogues of the Gods 15.2

I, Apollo, am unlucky in love. I have loved two people more than anyone: Daphne and Hyacinthus. But Daphne ran away from me, and hated me to the point that she would rather become a tree than love me; and Hyacinthus was killed by a discus, and now all I have left of them are crowns.

ἐγὼ μὲν καὶ ἄλλως ἀναφρόδιτός εἰμι ἐς τὰ ἐρωτικά: δύο γοῦν, οὓς μάλιστα ἠγάπησα, τὴν Δάφνην καὶ τὸν Ὑάκινθον, ἡ μὲν Δάφνη οὕτως ἐμίσησέ με, ὥστε εἵλετο ξύλον γενέσθαι μᾶλλον ἢ ἐμοὶ ξυνεῖναι, τὸν Ὑάκινθον δὲ ὑπὸ τοῦ δίσκου ἀπώλεσα, καὶ νῦν ἀντ᾽ ἐκείνων στεφάνους ἔχω.

Apollo: Ego vero alias quoque habeo Venerem minus propitiam ad res amatorias; quippe etiam quos duos maxime praeter ceteros amavi, Daphne & Hyacinthum, illa quidem aufugit, atque odit me, adeo ut in lignum converti maluerit, quam mecum rem habere: hic autem a disco interfectus est, et nunc pro illis coronas habeo. Translated into Latin by Jacob Micyllus

Lucian [Lucianus Samosatensis; 125 – 180 CE, modern Turkey] was a Roman satirist from Samosata [modern Turkey] 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.