M/M: The Heroic Sacrifices of Cratinus and Aristodemus, Athenaeus Deip. XIII.78

This myth mirrors the Roman myth of Marcus Curtius.

Celebratum etiam est Cratini factum Atheniensis: qui cum formosus esset adolescentulus, quo tempore Epimenides Atticam humano sanguine lustravit ob vetusta quaeda piacula, ut tradit Neanthes Cyzicenus secundo libro DE Initiationibus, ulto se ipsum pro patria obtulit: cuius post mortem Aristodemus etiam, amator eius, sponte vitam finivit, & cessavit malum

διαβόητα δ᾽ ἐστὶν καὶ τὰ ἐπὶ Κρατίνῳ τῷ Ἀθηναίῳ γενόμενα: ὃς μειράκιον ὢν εὔμορφον, Ἐπιμενίδου καθαίροντος τὴν Ἀττικὴν ἀνθρωπείῳ αἵματι διά τινα μύση παλαιά, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Νεάνθης ὁ Κυζικηνὸς ἐν β᾽ περὶ Τελετῶν, ἑκὼν αὑτὸν ἐπέδωκεν ὁ Κρατῖνος ὑπὲρ τῆς θρεψαμένης: ᾧ καὶ ἐπαπέθανεν ὁ ἐραστὴς Ἀριστόδημος, λύσιν τ᾽ ἔλαβε τὸ δεινόν

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78; Translated in to Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805) 

The story of Athenian Cratinus is also famous. According to Neanthes of Cyzicus’ second book of On Sacrifical Rites, when Epimenides was using human blood to expiate Athens, Cratinus was a stunning young man who sacrificed himself in order to save the one who raised him [Athens]. After he died, his lover Aristodemus also died, and the sacrifice was fulfilled.

ATHENAEUS

MAP:

Name:  Athenaeus

Date:  2^nd 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

M/M: Chariton and Melanippus, Blessed Pair: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78

 Like the Athenian couple Harmodius and Aristogeiton, the couple Melanippus and Chariton are also seen as symbols of political freedom.

Felix & Chariton & Melanippus erat,

mortalium genti auctores coelestis amoris.

εὐδαίμων Χαρίτων καὶ Μελάνιππος ἔφυ,

θείας ἁγητῆρες ἐφαμερίοις φιλότατος.

 

 --Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.78; Translated in to Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

Chariton & Melanippus were blessed;

Pinnacle of holy love on earth.

 

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

M/M: Melanippus and Chariton, Two Lovers of Freedom Athenaeus, Deip. 13.78

Melanippus and Chariton, Defenders of Freedom

Name:   Athenaeus Date:   2nd century CE Region:   Naucratis [modern Egypt] Citation:    Deipnosophists 13.78

According to The Lovers by Heraclides of Pontus, [Melanippus and Chariton] were caught plotting against Phalaris. Even when they were tortured to provide the names of their accomplices, they refused. Moreover, their plight moved Phalaris’ sympathy to such an extent that he praised them and released them.

ὥς φησιν Ἡρακλείδης ὁ Ποντικὸς ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἐρωτικῶν, οὗτοι φανέντες ἐπιβουλεύοντες Φαλάριδι καὶ βασανιζόμεναι ἀναγκαζόμενοί τε λέγειν τοὺς συνειδότας οὐ μόνον οὐ κατεῖπον, ἀλλὰ καὶ τὸν Φάλαριν αὐτὸν εἰς ἔλεον τῶν βασάνων ἤγαγον, ὡς ἀπολῦσαι αὐτοὺς πολλὰ ἐπαινέσαντα.

...ut ait Heraclides Ponticus in libro De Amatoriis. Hi [Melanippus & Chariton] igitur deprehensi insidias struxisse Phalaridi, & tormentis subiecti quo coniuratos denunciare cogerentur, non modo non denuntiarunt, sed etiam Phalarin ipsum ad misericordiam tormentorum commoverunt, ut plurimum collaudatos dimitteret.  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.

Challenging Gender Roles: Hypatia, Greek Anthology, 9.400

All of Heaven is Your Classroom, Hypatia

Name:   Palladas Date:   4th century CE Region:    Alexandria [modern Egypt] Citation:     Greek Anthology 9.400

Holy Hypatia,

Immaculate star of education,

Whenever I see you

I bow down in worship,

Revering you and your wisdom,

As if I were gazing at the starry house of the Maiden,

For all of Heaven is your classroom.

ὅταν βλέπω σε, προσκυνῶ, καὶ τοὺς λόγους, τῆς παρθένου τὸν οἶκον ἀστρῷον βλέπων εἰς οὐρανὸν γάρ ἐστί σου τὰ πράγματα, Ὑπατία σεμνή, τῶν λόγων εὐμορφία, ἄχραντον ἄστρον τῆς σοφῆς παιδεύσεως.

Colat necesse est literas, te qui videt Et virginalem spectat astrigeram domum: Negotium namque omne cum coelo tibi, Hypatia prudens, dulce sermonis decus, Sapientis artis sidus integerrimum. Translated into Latin by  Hugo Grotius

Palladas [4th century CE, modern Egypt] was a 4th c. CE poet and scholar who lived in Alexandria. Little is known about his life, but several of his poems were preserved in The Greek Anthology.

Love Potion No. 9: PGM 32.1-11

 Like Pompeiian graffiti, recovered papyri are an excellent source for voices otherwise lost to history. There are numerous examples of magical spells in the ancient world, with topics ranging from wishes, curses, and love spells.  The following papyrus fragment preserves a love spell that asks to attract one woman to another.

ADIURO TE, EVANGELE,

PER ANUBEM PER MERCURIUM ET PER DEOS MANES

UT SARAPIAM, QUAM HELENA PEPERIT,

HUIC HERAIDI, QUAM THERMOUTHARIN PEPERIT,

CAPTES ET VINCIAS

CITO CITIUS CITISSIME!

ANIMO SUI ANIMAQUE, CAPTES

IPSAM SARAPIAM, QUAM HELENA SUO VENTRE PEPERIT!

ΕΞΟΡΚΕΙΖΩ ΣΕ, ΕΥΑΓΓΕΛΕ,

ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΥ ΑΝΟΥΒΙΔΟΣ ΚΑΙ

ΤΟΥ ΕΡΜΟΥ ΚΑΙ ΤΩΝ ΛΟΙΠ ΩΝ ΠΑΝ

ΤΩΝ ΚΑΤΩ, ΑΞΑΙ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΤΑΔ-

ΗΣΑΙ ΣΑΡΑΠΙΑΔΑ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕ-

ΚΕΝ ΕΛΕΝΗ, ΕΠ’ ΑΥΤΗΝ ΗΡΑ-

ΕΙΔΑΝ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕΚΕΝ ΘΕΡΜΟ-

ΥΘΑΡΙΝ, ΑΡΤΙ, ΑΡΤΙ, ΤΑ-

ΧΥ ΤΑΧΥ.  ΕΞ ΨΥΧΗΣ ΚΑΙ ΚΑΡΔΙΑΣ

ΑΓΕ ΑΥΤΗΝ ΤΗΝ ΣΑΡΑΠΙΑ-

ΔΑ, ΗΝ ΕΤΕΚΕΝ [ΕΛΕΝΗ] ΕΙΔΑ ΜΗΤΡΑ…

--PGM 32.1-11; Translated into Latin by K. Masters

Evangelos, I beseech you! By Anubis, by Hermes, by all others Below,

I bid that you bind Sarapias, daughter of Helen,

To Herais, daughter of Thermoutharin.

Now! Now! Now! Bind her, heart and soul,

This Sarapias, whom Helen birthed from her womb!

<Anonymous>	MAP:
Name:  ???? Date:  2nd century CE Works:  Papyri Graecae Magicae	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
The Papyri Graecae Magicae are a collection of texts that deal with magical topics. This spell, PGM 32, is from the 2nd century CE.	AGE OF CONFLICT

The Life of Delicate-Hearted Girls; Agathias, Greek Anthology 5.297

The Life of Tender-Hearted Girls

Name: Agathias Date:    536 – 582 CE Region:    Mysia [modern Turkey] Citation: Greek Anthology 5.297

In this poem, Agathias provides a sympathetic view of the life of women in his society.

 

It isn’t as hard to be a man as it is to be one of us delicate-hearted girls.

Men have buddies whom they can vent their stress to;

They have sports, and can see art whenever they want.

We can’t even go outside, but stay locked away indoors,

Locked in a dungeon of our own anxiety.

The Life of Tender-Hearted Girls

Ἠϊθέοις οὐκ ἔστι τόσος πόνος, ὁππόσος ἡμῖν ταῖς ἀταλοψύχοις ἔχραε θηλυτέραις. τοῖς μὲν γὰρ παρέασιν ὁμήλικες, οἷς τὰ μερίμνης ἄλγεα μυθεῦνται φθέγματι θαρσαλέῳ, παίγνιὰ τ᾽ ἀμφιέπουσι παρήγορα, καὶ κατ᾽ ἀγυιὰς πλάζονται γραφίδων χρώμασι ῥεμβόμενοι ἡμῖν δ᾽ οὐδὲ φάος λεύσσειν θέμις, ἀλλὰ μελάθροις κρυπτόμεθα, ζοφεραῖς φροντίσι τηκόμεναι.

Non tanti iuvenum divexant corda labores, Heu quanti miseras nos muliebre genus. Sunt illis aequaeva cohors, quorum audet in aures libera vox curas exonerare suas; sunt varii lusus: & nunc per compita cursant, nunc animos ad se picta tabella vocat. Nobis nec lucem fas cernere: condimur intra claustra domus, tabes non ubi caeca vorat. Translated into Latin by Hugo Grotius

Agathias [Agathias Scholasticus; 530 – 594 CE, modern Turkey] was a 6th century poet and scholar from Mysia [western coast of modern Turkey]. His most famous work, The Histories, records the reign of the Roman Emperor Justinian I.   Several of his poems are preserved in The Greek Anthology.

M/M: A Flower for Antinous (continued). Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae xv.21

Quoniam vero mentionem feci Alexandriae, memini etiam in pulchra hac urbe Antinoeam nominari coronam quamdam; quae fit ex loto qui ibi vocatur. Nascitur autem hic in paludibus, media aestate. Floris duplex color: alter rosae similis, e quo nexa corona proprie Antinoea vocatur: altera corona lotina nominatur, caeruleum (sive, ut corrigunt nonnulli, niveum) habens colorem. Et Pancrates quidem, indigena poeta, quem etiam nos cognitum habuimus, Adriano Imperatori, Alexandriae versanti, roseum lotum veluti miraculum quoddam ostentavit; dicens debere illum Antinoeam nominari, editum tunc e terra, cum sanguinem illa accepisset Mauri leonis, quem Adrianus in Libya Alexandriae finitima, cum venaretur, prostraverat; ingentem belvam, quae diu Libyam ita vastaverat, ut magnam eius partem desertam reddidisset hic leo. Delectatus igitur Adrianus commenti inventione ac novitate, concessit poetae ut publico sumptu in Museo aleretur.

ἐπεὶ δὲ Ἀλεξανδρείας ἐμνημόνευσα, οἶδά τινα ἐν τῇ καλῇ ταύτῃ πόλει καλούμενον στέφανον ΑΝΤΙΝΟΕΙΟΝ γινόμενον ἐκ τοῦ αὐτόθι καλουμένου λωτοῦ. φύεται δ᾽ οὗτος ἐν λίμναις θέρους ὥρᾳ, καὶ εἰσὶν αὐτοῦ χροιαὶ δύο, ἣ μὲν τῷ ῥόδῳ ἐοικυῖα: ἐκ τούτου δὲ ὁ πλεκόμενος στέφανος κυρίως Ἀντινόειος καλεῖται: ὁ δὲ ἕτερος λώτινος ὀνομάζεται, κυανέαν ἔχων τὴν χροιάν. καὶ Παγκράτης τις τῶν ἐπιχωρίων ποιητής, ὃν καὶ ἡμεῖς ἔγνωμεν, Ἀδριανῷ τῷ αὐτοκράτορι ἐπιδημήσαντι τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ μετὰ πολλῆς τερατείας ἐπέδειξεν τὸν ῥοδίζοντα λωτόν, φάσκων αὐτὸν δεῖν καλεῖν Ἀντινόειον, ἀναπεμφθέντα ὑπὸ τῆς γῆς ὅτε τὸ αἷμα ἐδέξατο τοῦ Μαυρουσίου λέοντος, ὃν κατὰ τὴν πλησίον τῇ Ἀλεξανδρείᾳ Λιβύην ἐν κυνηγίῳ καταβεβλήκει ὁ Ἀδριανός, μέγα χρῆμα ὄντα καὶ πολλῷ χρόνῳ κατανεμηθέντα πᾶσαν τὴν Λιβύην, ἧς καὶ πολλὰ ἀοίκητα ἐπεποιήκει οὗτος ὁ λέων. ἡσθεὶς οὖν ἐπὶ τῇ τῆς ἐννοίας εὑρέσει καὶ καινότητι τὴν ἐν Μουσῶν αὐτῷ σίτησιν ἔχειν ἐχαρίσατο. 

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

Now that I mention Alexandria, I recall that in that beautiful city there is a certain type of garland called the “Antinous,” made from a type of lotus flower. It grows in the marshlands in the middle of the summer. It comes in two colors, one similar to a rose (this is the kind they use for the Antinous garland), the other color called a lotus garland, and those flowers are bluish. Pancrates, a poet from there (an acquaintance of mine), presented this garland to Emperor Hadrian when he was sightseeing in Alexandria, and claimed it was a marvel.  He told the emperor that this ought to be called the “Antinous garland,” since it sprung from the ground where the blood of the Mauritanian lion that Hadrian [and Antinous] had killed when they were hunting in nearby Libya. The lion was a mighty beast which was menacing Africa so much that made a large portion of the land uninhabitable. Hadrian was delighted by the suggestion and the novelty of the idea, and granted that the poet live in the Museum at public expense.

ATHENAEUS

MAP:

Name:  Athenaeus

Date:  2^nd 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

M/M: Alexander and Bagoas: Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx

Please note that even though Bagoas was free and able to consent to Alexander's affection, many eunuchs were not so lucky, and spent the duration of their lives in slavery. It is important to ensure that we do not romanticize relationships that would not be considered consensual today, including the master / slave dynamic.  

Dicaearchus certe, in libro De Solemni Sacrificio ad Ilium, ait, ita impotenter [Alexandrum] amasse eum Bagoam eunuchum, ut in totius theatri conspectu…eum suaviaretur: plaudentibus vero spectatoribus, & adclamantibus, paruit, iteruque retro eum osculatus est.

Δικαίαρχος γοῦν ἐν τῷ περὶ τῆς ἐν Ἰλίῳ Θυσίας [Ἀλέξανδρον] Βαγώου τοῦ εὐνούχου οὕτως αὐτόν φησιν ἡττᾶσθαι ὡς ἐν ὄψει θεάτρου ὅλου καταφιλεῖν αὐτὸν ἀνακλάσαντα, καὶ τῶν θεατῶν ἐπιφωνησάντων μετὰ κρότου οὐκ ἀπειθήσας πάλιν ἀνακλάσας ἐφίλησεν.

--Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae XIII.lxxx; Translated into Latin by Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

In his book On Sacred Sacrifices at Troy, Dichaearchus states that Alexander the Great was so smitten by the eunuch Bagoas that he kissed him in the middle of a theater, and when the spectators applauded them, he kissed him again.

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

Beauty in the Eye of the Beholder: Athena and the Flute, Athenaeus, XIV.vii

 According to Greek mythology, Athena first enjoyed playing the double flute (αὐλός / tibia), but then grew embarrassed about how she looked when playing it.

This passage gives insight into perspectives of the role of women and beauty in the Greco-Roman world, as it shows that beauty is meant for the enjoyment of men, not something that a woman should desire for its own sake:

"At Selinuntius Telestes, repugnans Melanippidi, in Argo dixit: (agitur autem de Minerva:)

"Non mihi credibile videtur, unum omnium sapientissimum instrumentum acceptum Divam sapientem Athenen in montium nemoribus, verentem oris deformitatem adspectu turpem, rursus e manibus proiecisse, Nympha--genito manibus--perstrepenti Sileno Marsyae gloriam. Qui enim illam optabilis pulcritudinis vehemens amor vexasset, cui virginitatem absque nuptiis liberisque tribuit Clotho?"

‘ ἀλλ᾽ ὅ γε Σελινούντιος Τελέστης τῷ Μελανιππίδῃ ἀντικορυσσόμενος ἐν Ἀργοῖ ἔφη—ὁ δὲ λόγος ἐστὶ περὶ τῆς Ἀθηνᾶς:

ὃν σοφὸν σοφὰν λαβοῦσαν οὐκ ἐπέλπομαι νόῳ δρυμοῖς ὀρείοις ὄργανον

δίαν Ἀθάναν δυσόφθαλμον αἶσχος ἐκφοβηθεῖσαν

αὖθις ἐκ χερῶν βαλεῖν

νυμφαγενεῖ χειροκτύπῳ φηρὶ Μαρσύᾳ κλέος.

τί γάρ νιν εὐηράτοιο κάλλεος ὀξὺς ἔρως ἔτειρεν,

ᾇ παρθενίαν ἄγαμον καὶ ἄπαιδ᾽ ἀπένειμε Κλωθώ;

--Athenaeus, Deipnosoph. XIV.vii; Translated into Latin by  Iohannes Schweighaeuser (1805)

But Selinuntius Telestes, refuting Melanippus’ statement, said the following about Athena in his Argive History: “I don’t reckon that Athena, the wisest of minds, took up a musical instrument in the tree-topped mountains, and then, being afraid it would make her look ugly and shameful, threw it away. Instead [the flute] gave fame to Marsyas, the noisy nymph-born satyr. Why should she care about being beautiful, since Clotho fated her to be asexual, unmarried, and childless?"

ATHENAEUS

MAP:

Name:  Athenaeus

Date:  2^nd 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