M/M: Harmodius & Aristogeiton, Defenders of Liberty. Athenaeus, Deipnosoph. 15.l

Hymns in Praise of Harmodius and Aristogeiton,  The Liberators of Athens

Name:   Athenaeus Date:   2nd century CE Region:   Naucratis [modern Egypt] Citation:    Deipnosophists  15.49.10-13

I carry a sword hidden in a myrtle branch,

Just like Harmodius and Aristogeiton did

When they killed the tyrant

And stood up for a free Athens.

ἐν μύρτου κλαδὶ τὸ ξίφος φορήσω,  ὥσπερ Ἁρμόδιος καὶ Ἀριστογείτων, ὅτε τὸν τύραννον κτανέτην ἰσονόμους τ᾽ ' Ἀθήνας ἐποιησάτην.

In myrti ramo gladium feram, sicut Harmodius Aristogitonque, quum tyrannum occiderunt, liberasque Athenas praestiterunt. Translated into Latin by Johann Schweighäuser

Dearest Harmodius, you are not dead;

Rather, they say you live on the Isle of the Blessed

Where swift-footed Achilles lives,

Where Diomedes lives.

φίλταθ᾽ Ἁρμόδι᾽, οὔ τι που τέθνηκας νήσοις δ᾽ ἐν μακάρων σέ φασιν εἶναι, ἵνα περ ποδώκης Ἀχιλεὺς, Τυδείδην τέ φασιν Διομήδεα.

Carissime Harmodie, non utique mortuus es: beatorum sed in insulis te aiunt esse, ubi velox pedibus Achilles, Tydidemque ubi aiunt esse Diomedem. Translated into Latin by Johann Schweighäuser

I carry a sword hidden in a myrtle branch

Just like Harmodius and Aristogeiton did

When during Minerva’s sacrifices

They slaughtered the tyrant Hipparchus.

ἐν μύρτου κλαδὶ τὸ ξίφος φορήσω, ὥσπερ Ἁρμόδιος κ’ Ἀριστογείτων, ὅτ᾽ Ἀθηναίης ἐν θυσίαις ἄνδρα τύραννον Ἵππαρχον ἐκαινέτην.

In myrti ramo gladium feram sicut Harmodius Aristogitonque, Minervae cum in sacrificiis virum tyrannum Hipparchum occiderunt. Translated into Latin by Johann Schweighäuser

Dearest Harmodius and Aristogeiton,

The earth will forever honor you

Because you removed a tyrant

And stood up for a free Athens. 

αἰεὶ σφῷν κλέος ἔσσεται κατ᾽ αἶαν, φίλταθ᾽ Ἁρμόδιε κ’ Ἀριστόγειτον: ὅτι τὸν τύραννον κτανέτον ἰσονόμους τ᾽ Ἀθήνας ἐποιησάτον.

Semper vester honos in terra durabit, carissime Harodie & Aristogiton; quod tyrannum sustulistis, liberasque praestitistis Athenas.   Translated into Latin by Johann Schweighäuser

Athenaeus of Naucratis [2nd century CE, modern Egypt] was a scholar who lived in Naucratis during the reign of the Antonines. His fifteen volume work, the Deipnosophists, are invaluable for the amount of quotations that preserve otherwise lost authors, including the poetry of Sappho.

M/M: A Flower for Antinous, Athenaeus Deipnosophist. XV.xxi

Pancrates vero in illo carmine haud invenuste dixerat: 

Crispum serpillum, candidum lilium, & hyacinthum

purpureum, albi vero [sive, glauci] chelidonii folia,

& rosam vernis hiscentem Zephyris:

nec dum enim Antinoi florem ediderat tellus. 

οὔλην ἕρπυλλον, λευκὸν κρίνον ἠδ᾽ ὑάκινθον

πορφυρέην γλαυκοῦ τε χελιδονίοιο πέτηλα

καὶ ῥόδον εἰαρινοῖσιν ἀνοιγόμενον ζεφύροισιν

οὔπω γὰρ φύεν ἄνθος ἐπώνυμον Ἀντινόοιο.

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XV.xxi; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

In his very charming poem, Pancrates states:

"...The thyme, white lily, and scarlet hyacinth,

the white leaves of celandine,

the roses Zephyr-kissed in springtime,

for the earth hadn't yet created a flower for Antinous."

ATHENAEUS	MAP:
Name:  Athenaeus Date:  2nd c. CE Works:  Deipnosophists	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Athenaeus was a scholar who lived in Naucratis (modern Egypt) during the reign of the Antonines. His fifteen volume work, the Deipnosophists, are invaluable for the amount of quotations they preserve of otherwise lost authors, including the poetry of Sappho.	ROMAN GREEK LITERATURE

 

The Death of Caeneus, Ovid, Metamorphoses XII.459-531

 Trigger Warning: deadnaming, misogyny, rape, taunting a rape victim, toxic masculinity, transphobia, wartime violence

In some versions of this myth, Caeneus is a warrior in the battle between the Lapiths and the Centaurs; in other versions of the myth, he is a member of the next generation, and joins Jason on his quest for the Golden Fleece as an Argonaut.  The following is an aristeia, an element of epic poetry which focuses on one particular hero’s battle exploits.

Nestor explains the exploits of Caeneus to Achilles and his other allies:

Quinque neci Caeneus dederat Styphelumque Bromumque
Antimachumque Elymumque securiferumque Pyracmon:               460
vulnera non memini, numerum nomenque notavi.
provolat Emathii spoliis armatus Halesi,
quem dederat leto, membris et corpore Latreus
maximus: huic aetas inter iuvenemque senemque,
vis iuvenalis erat, variabant tempora cani.               465
qui clipeo galeaque Macedoniaque sarisa
conspicuus faciemque obversus in agmen utrumque
armaque concussit certumque equitavit in orbem
verbaque tot fudit vacuas animosus in auras:
"et te, Caeni, feram? nam tu mihi femina semper,               470
tu mihi Caenis eris. nec te natalis origo
commonuit, mentemque subit, quo praemia facto
quaque viri falsam speciem mercede pararis?
quid sis nata, vide, vel quid sis passa, columque,
i, cape cum calathis et stamina pollice torque;               475
bella relinque viris." iactanti talia Caeneus
extentum cursu missa latus eruit hasta,
qua vir equo commissus erat. furit ille dolore
nudaque Phyllei iuvenis ferit ora sarisa:
non secus haec resilit, quam tecti a culmine grando,               480
aut siquis parvo feriat cava tympana saxo.
comminus adgreditur laterique recondere duro
luctatur gladium: gladio loca pervia non sunt.
"haut tamen effugies! medio iugulaberis ense,
quandoquidem mucro est hebes" inquit et in latus ensem               485
obliquat longaque amplectitur ilia dextra.
plaga facit gemitus ut corpore marmoris icto,
fractaque dissiluit percusso lammina callo.
ut satis inlaesos miranti praebuit artus,
"nunc age" ait Caeneus "nostro tua corpora ferro               490
temptemus!" capuloque tenus demisit in armos
ensem fatiferum caecamque in viscera movit
versavitque manum vulnusque in vulnere fecit.
ecce ruunt vasto rabidi clamore bimembres
telaque in hunc omnes unum mittuntque feruntque.               495
tela retusa cadunt: manet inperfossus ab omni
inque cruentatus Caeneus Elateius ictu.
fecerat attonitos nova res. "heu dedecus ingens!"
Monychus exclamat. "populus superamur ab uno
vixque viro; quamquam ille vir est, nos segnibus actis,               500
quod fuit ille, sumus. quid membra inmania prosunt?
quid geminae vires et quod fortissima rerum
in nobis natura duplex animalia iunxit?
nec nos matre dea, nec nos Ixione natos
esse reor, qui tantus erat, Iunonis ut altae               505
spem caperet: nos semimari superamur ab hoste!
saxa trabesque super totosque involvite montes
vivacemque animam missis elidite silvis!
massa premat fauces, et erit pro vulnere pondus."
dixit et insanis deiectam viribus austri               510
forte trabem nactus validum coniecit in hostem
exemplumque fuit, parvoque in tempore nudus
arboris Othrys erat, nec habebat Pelion umbras.
obrutus inmani cumulo sub pondere Caeneus
aestuat arboreo congestaque robora duris               515
fert umeris, sed enim postquam super ora caputque
crevit onus neque habet, quas ducat, spiritus auras,
deficit interdum, modo se super aera frustra
tollere conatur iactasque evolvere silvas
interdumque movet, veluti, quam cernimus, ecce,               520
ardua si terrae quatiatur motibus Ide.
exitus in dubio est: alii sub inania corpus
Tartara detrusum silvarum mole ferebant;
abnuit Ampycides medioque ex aggere fulvis
vidit avem pennis liquidas exire sub auras,               525
quae mihi tum primum, tunc est conspecta supremum.
hanc ubi lustrantem leni sua castra volatu
Mopsus et ingenti circum clangore sonantem
adspexit pariterque animis oculisque secutus
"o salve," dixit "Lapithaeae gloria gentis,               530
maxime vir quondam, sed nunc avis unica, Caencu!"
credita res auctore suo est: dolor addidit iram,
oppressumque aegre tulimus tot ab hostibus unum;
nec prius abstitimus ferro exercere dolorem,
quam data pars leto, partem fuga noxque removit.'               535

 --Ovid, Metamorphoses XII. 459 – 531

Nestor explains the exploits of Caeneus to Achilles and his other allies:

Caeneus brought down five centaurs: Styphelus, Bromus, Antimachus, Elymus, and ax-wielding Pyracmon; I don’t remember how they died, but I do remember their names.

Latreus, wearing the armor of Halesus (the warrior he had just slain), next advanced upon Caeneus. He was huge, with giant limbs and torso. He was in the prime of his life—not too young, not too old—he was still young, but with gray hair on his temples. He stood out with his Macedonian lance, his shield and helmet. Scanning both sides of the battle, he struck his shield with his lance and doing little prance, taunted:

“Hey little girl, will I put up with you? For you will always be a woman to me, you will always be my Caenis [dead name]. Doesn’t your gender assigned at birth [natalis origo] keep you in check, don’t you remember [mentem subit] the rape that caused you to be rewarded with the fake form of a man? Look at what you were born to be, or the rape that you suffered, and go back to your loom. Pluck your woolen thread with your thumb. Leave war for the men.”

While he was boasting this, Caeneus struck him in the side with his spear, and hit the centaur where the man and horse were fused. Maddened by pain, the centaur hit him point-blank in the face, but the weapon bounced right off of him, like hail bounces off a rooftop, or a rock skipping on the head of a drum.

They fought hand-to-hand, and the centaur tried to stab him in the side with his sword, but the sword could not pierce Caeneus.

“You won’t escape! Although my point of my blade is dull, I’ll still slit your throat with my sword-edge!” Saying this, the centaur twisted to the side and struck his groin. The blow made the sound as if hitting marble; as it struck Caeneus’ skin, the blade shattered.

Caeneus revealed his unwounded limbs to the shocked centaur and replied, “Now it’s my turn to try my blade against your flesh!” He thrust his sword into the centaur’s torso and twisted it through his guts, making wound upon wound.

With an immense shout, the centaurs rallied and all threw their weapons to one target. Their weapons fell away blunted; although bloodied, Caeneus remained unharmed from every wound.

The centaurs stood there, thunderstruck. Monychus cursed, “Such a disgrace—to be overcome by someone barely one man [ab uno vixque viro]! Although he is a man, we are what he was [i.e., women] by our lack of gumption!  What benefit do our huge limbs give us? Don’t our dual natures give us twice the strength? I guess a goddess didn’t birth us, I guess we’re not children of Ixion, who dared to hit on Juno—we’re defeated by a half-man [semimari…ab hoste]! Toss trees and boulders and even entire mountains on him! Throw the forest down over his head—let’s bury him alive, and he will suffocate!”

He finished speaking and, with immense strength, he grabbed a tree that was felled by the wind, and it struck his mighty enemy. This was the example they needed, and in a short amount of time, Othrys was empty of trees, and so was Pelion.

Caeneus was overwhelmed by such immense weight, and struggled under the weight of the trees heaped upon him that went up to his shoulders. But when the pile covered his face and mouth, and he could no longer breathe, his strength failed him as he tried in vain to lift the pile off of him. The heap moved then the way that we see Mt. Ida shake.

I’m not sure how he died. Some say the weight of the rocks killed him; but Mopsus doesn’t think so. He saw a bird flying up from the pile. I saw it, too—the first and only time I saw such a bird.  When Mopsus saw it swoop over our camp, giving a mighty caw, he watched it attentively and addressed it, saying,

“Hail, Caeneus, glory of the Lapiths! Once you were the mightiest of men, and now you are a rare bird!”

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

 

The Most Beautiful Thing of All, Sappho fr. 16

The Most Beautiful Thing of All

Name: Sappho Date: d. 570 BCE Region: Lesbos [modern Greece] Citation: Fragment 16

Some say that the prettiest thing

In all the world

Is cavalry;

Other say it is infantry;

Others say it is ships;

But I say that it is whatever you love.

You can easily see why:

For Helen, the prettiest woman in the world,

Left her courageous husband,

And sailed to Troy.

She didn’t care about her father or her own children;

She was overwhelmed by Aphrodite [Love].

Thinking of all this, I’m reminded of Anactoria,

Whose lovely gait and glorious face

I’d rather watch

Than all the Lydian armies.

Οἰ μὲν ἰππήων στρότον, οἰ δὲ πέσδων, οἰ δὲ νάων φαῖσ’ ἐπὶ γᾶν μέλαιναν ἔμμεναι κάλλιστον, ἔγω δὲ κῆν’ ὄτ- τω τις ἔραται  πάγχυ δ’ εὔμαρες σύνετον πόησαι πάντι τοῦτ’· ἀ γὰρ πολὺ περσκέθοισα κάλλος ἀνθρώπων Ἐλένα τὸν ἄνδρα τὸν πανάριστον  καλλίποισ’ ἔβα ‘ς Τροίαν πλέοισα κωὐδὲ παῖδος οὐδὲ φίλων τοκήων πάμπαν ἐμνάσθη, ἀλλὰ παράγαγ’ αὔταν ...[1] κἄμε νῦν Ἀνακτορίας ὀνέμναι- σ’ οὐ παρεοίσας  τᾶς κε βολλοίμαν ἔρατόν τε βᾶμα κἀμάρυχμα λάμπρον ἴδην προσώπω ἢ τὰ Λύδων ἄρματα κἀν ὄπλοισι πεσδομάχεντας.

Alii aciem equitum ex omnibus pulcherrimum esse dicunt; alii, peditum; alii, naves; sed mihi est, quod quisque amat! Hoc perfacile cognosci potest. Nam Tyndaris, pulcherrima ex omnibus feminis, maritum optimum relinquit et Troiam tetendit. Nec memor infantis patrisque, immo ea a Venere deducta est … Haec mecum meditans, Anactoriam (illa absente), contemplor, cuius gradum gracilem et vultum mirari velim quam omnes Lydorum curros et acies dimicantes. Translated into Latin by Kris Masters

---

[1] Three lines are missing due to damage.

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.

The Transformation of Caeneus, Ovid, Metamorphoses XII.168 - 209

 Trigger Warning: Rape

hoc ipse Aeacides, hoc mirabantur Achivi,
cum sic Nestor ait: 'vestro fuit unicus aevo
contemptor ferri nulloque forabilis ictu               170
Cycnus. at ipse olim patientem vulnera mille
corpore non laeso Perrhaebum Caenea vidi,
Caenea Perrhaebum, qui factis inclitus Othryn
incoluit, quoque id mirum magis esset in illo,
femina natus erat.' monstri novitate moventur               175
quisquis adest, narretque rogant: quos inter Achilles:
'dic age! nam cunctis eadem est audire voluntas,
o facunde senex, aevi prudentia nostri,
quis fuerit Caeneus, cur in contraria versus,
qua tibi militia, cuius certamine pugnae               180
cognitus, a quo sit victus, si victus ab ullo est.'
tum senior: 'quamvis obstet mihi tarda vetustas,
multaque me fugiant primis spectata sub annis,
plura tamen memini. nec quae magis haereat ulla
pectore res nostro est inter bellique domique               185
acta tot, ac si quem potuit spatiosa senectus
spectatorem operum multorum reddere, vixi
annos bis centum; nunc tertia vivitur aetas.
     'Clara decore fuit proles Elateia Caenis,
Thessalidum virgo pulcherrima, perque propinquas               190
perque tuas urbes (tibi enim popularis, Achille),
multorum frustra votis optata procorum.
temptasset Peleus thalamos quoque forsitan illos:
sed iam aut contigerant illi conubia matris
aut fuerant promissa tuae, nec Caenis in ullos               195
denupsit thalamos secretaque litora carpens
aequorei vim passa dei est (ita fama ferebat),
utque novae Veneris Neptunus gaudia cepit,
"sint tua vota licet" dixit "secura repulsae:
elige, quid voveas!" (eadem hoc quoque fama ferebat)               200
"magnum" Caenis ait "facit haec iniuria votum,
tale pati iam posse nihil; da, femina ne sim:
omnia praestiteris." graviore novissima dixit
verba sono poteratque viri vox illa videri,
sicut erat; nam iam voto deus aequoris alti               205
adnuerat dederatque super, nec saucius ullis
vulneribus fieri ferrove occumbere posset.
munere laetus abit studiisque virilibus aevum
exigit Atracides Peneiaque arva pererrat.

--Ovid, Metamorphoses XII.168 – 209

 

Nestor Tells a Story to the Greeks:

While Achilles and the Greeks were marveling at this, Nestor told them:

“Cycnus was the best of your generation

to despise the blade, and yet not be wounded by one.

But with my own eyes I saw the Thessalian Caeneus

struck with a thousand blows, yet remain unharmed.

Caeneus, a man famous for his deeds in Othrys,

had something even more special about him:

he was born a woman [femina natus erat].

Moved by the unusual story, the Greeks asked

for Nestor to explain who Caeneus was.

Among them was Achilles, who said,

“Come on, old man, tell us! Give your wisdom to our generation!

We all want to hear about this!

Tell us who Caeneus was,

how he changed his gender [cur in contraria versus],

what military campaign you got to know him in,

how he fell in battle (if he could be taken down by anyone).”

Nestor replied, “Although old age has slowed me down,

and I can’t recall everything from my early years,

I do remember quite a lot.

Of all the things I did at home and on campaign,

this is the thing that sticks in my memory the most.

If old age can allow us to recall a lot of our deeds,

I have lived two hundred years, and now

I’m entering my third century.

Caenis was a pretty daughter of Elatus.

She was the prettiest maiden in all of Thessaly,

and many men from around the area

and around your towns (she was from your neighborhood, Achilles!)

sought to woo her in vain.

Your father Peleus might have even tried to woo her,

but either he was already engaged with your mother

or he had already gotten married.

But Caenis did not marry any of these men.

Instead, while walking on the beach one day,

she was raped by the Sea God (or so the story goes).

Neptune, delighted in taking her virginity, told her

“I’ll not refuse whatever you wish—just tell me what you’d like!”

And Caenis said (again, as the story continues),

“Your assault requires a great restitution. Give to me

The power to never be hurt that way again.

Make me no longer a woman,

and you’ll have fulfilled my every wish.”

The last words of the wish sounded deeper,  

as if they were spoken by a man.

and so he was. For the god of the high sea granted his prayer,

and what’s more, Neptune added

that Caeneus could no longer be susceptible to any wounds,

nor succumb to any blade.

And so Caeneus went away happily, and spent the remainder of his life

in manly pursuits as he wandered the lands of Thessaly.

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