M/M: Apollo and Hyacinthus. Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 10.5

Hyacinthus Amyclae, dilectus ab Apolline, cum per iocum in certamen disci venisset, altius iactum pondus non prius despicere potuist, quam capiti sensit iniectum; quo eliso post obitum eius cruor in florem eius nomine inscriptum accessit.

--Lactantius Placidus, Qui dicitur Narrationes Fabularum Ovidianarum Liber 10.5

Hyacinthus of Amyclae. Apollo loved him. When he playfully challenged him to a contest with a discuss. Hyacinthus didn’t notice the discus coming at him until it struck him on the head. After he died, Apollo transformed his blood into a flower that bears his name (the hyacinth).

LACTANTIUS PLACIDUS

MAP:

Name:  Lactantius Placidus

Date:  5^th or 6^th century CE

Works:  Abridgement of Ovids’ Metamorphoses

Commentary on Statius’ Thebaid

 

REGION  UNKNOWN

BIO:

Timeline:

 Little is known about this Christian author, but he is known for his commentary on Statius’ Thebaid and an abridgement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

 LATE LATIN / BYZANTINE

M/M: Cyparissus and Apollo. Lactantius Placidus Narr. 10.3

 CONTENT WARNING: attempted suicide

Cyparissus, Amyclei filius, ex insula Ceae. hunc Apollo dilexit et propter cervum patientem manus, quem per inprudentiam sagitta transfixum interemerat, manus adferentem sibi periculo eripuit et protinus in arborem genetivi nominis vertit.

--Lactantius Placidus, Qui dicitur Narrationes Fabularum Ovidianarum Liber 10.3

Cyparissus, the son of Amycleius, from the island of Cea. Apollo loved him and when he had tried to kill himself over the death of a pet stag he’d accidentally killed, Apollo snatched him from danger and turned him into a tree with the same name (Cypress tree).

LACTANTIUS PLACIDUS	MAP:
Name:  Lactantius Placidus Date:  5th or 6th century CE Works:  Abridgement of Ovids’ Metamorphoses Commentary on Statius’ Thebaid	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about this Christian author, but he is known for his commentary on Statius’ Thebaid and an abridgement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.	LATE LATIN / BYZANTINE

Dangerous Beauty: Daphne's Rescue. Lactantius Placidus, Narr. 1.9

 CONTENT WARNING: attempted rape

It is important to note that the common denominator in abduction myths is not the victim's gender, but their beauty.

Daphne, Penei fluminis filia, cum omnium virginum, quae in Thessalia essent, speciosissima haberetur, adeo quidem ut deos pulchritudine sua caperet, Apollo etiam cum illam conspexisset, forma eius expalluit. Quam cum neque pollicitis neque precibus adire potuisset, vim ut adferret instituit. et illa cursu conspectum eius effugere cupiens, patrem invocavit, ut virginitati usae, quam sibi permiserat, ferret auxilium. cuius ille auditis precibus filiam deorum auxilio, ut vim effugeret, in laurum convertit.

--Lactantius Placidus, Qui dicitur Narrationes Fabularum Ovidianarum Liber 1.fab.9

 Daphne, the daughter of the river Peneus, was the most beautiful maiden in Thessaly. She was so pretty that her beauty attracted the attention of the gods. When Apollo caught sight of her, he was stunned by her curves. When she wouldn’t date him regardless of his promises or begging, he decided to attack her. Trying to get away, called upon her father to help guard her virginity (which he had allowed her to keep). Peneus, hearing his daughter’s prayers, helped her and turned her into a laurel tree in order to escape Apollo’s attack.

LACTANTIUS PLACIDUS

MAP:

Name:  Lactantius Placidus

Date:  5^th or 6^th century CE

Works:  Abridgement of Ovids’ Metamorphoses

Commentary on Statius’ Thebaid

 

REGION  UNKNOWN

BIO:

Timeline:

 Little is known about this Christian author, but he is known for his commentary on Statius’ Thebaid and an abridgement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

 LATE LATIN / BYZANTINE

Happily Ever After: The Myth of Iphis & Ianthe, Lactantius Placidus, Narr. IX. fab.10

 CONTENT WARNING:  discussion of infanticide 

Hic [In insula Creta] Ligdus generosae stirpis ac praestantis fidei cum petisset a Telethusa coniuge, ut, si puellam pareret, necaret, si puerum autem, sobolem patriae servaret, et uterque pro casu futuro lacrimas dedissent, mater nequiens adferre manus filiae Isidem in malis habuit auxilio; cuius pollicitis illa infantem pro puero, decepto patre filii opinione, nutrivit. itaque cum aetas matura ex Theleste genitam despondit. qui inter se cum gravi amore praemerentur, maxime Iphis (hoc enim pater nomine avi cum vocari voluerat), trepidante ergo matre, ne Iphis diu adversus virum cum infamia reperiretur, eadem dea fuit in auxlilio. nam ut totis nuptiis iugari possint, Iphin in puerum transfiguravit.

--Lactantius Placidus, Qui dicitur Narrationes Fabularum Ovidianarum Liber IX.fab.10

 Ligdus, a man of noble birth and upstanding character, asked his [pregnant] wife Telethusa to kill their child if she gave birth to a girl, but to keep it if she gave birth to a boy. Unable to kill her daughter, Telethusa begged the goddess Isis to help her in her troubles. Isis gave her reassurance, and so she told her husband she had a son and raised the child as a boy. When Iphis grew up, he was betrothed to the daughter of Thelestis [Ianthe]. They both fell madly in love with each other. Telethusa was terrified that Iphis would be outed, and Iphis was even more so, so he once again asked the goddess Isis for help. Isis transformed Iphis into a boy so they could get married.

LACTANTIUS PLACIDUS

MAP:

Name:  Lactantius Placidus

Date:  5^th or 6^th century CE

Works:  Abridgement of Ovids’ Metamorphoses

Commentary on Statius’ Thebaid

 

REGION  UNKNOWN

BIO:

Timeline:

 Little is known about this Christian author, but he is known for his commentary on Statius’ Thebaid and an abridgement of Ovid’s Metamorphoses.

 LATE LATIN / BYZANTINE

Ace Allies Living Together in Honor and Joy: Callimachus, In Delos 291-299

Living Together in Love and Joy

Name: Callimachus Date:    305 – 240 BCE Region:   Cyrene [modern Libya] Citation:    Hymn to Delos 291-299

Artemis, the first to [worship] you from golden Thule

Were the daughters of Boreas,

 Upis and Loxo, and happy-in-life Hecaerge,

Along with the best [unmarried] men.

They never returned home,

But they got their happily-ever-afters,

And are never forgotten in memory.

For whenever sweet-singing Hymenaeos[1]

Terrifies the hearts of maidens

Before their wedding day,

Young women offer a lock of their hair to these immortal maidens,

And young men offer their first sprouts of facial hair

To these immortal youths.

 

---

[1] Hymenaeos was the personification of weddings and marriage.

πρῶταί τοι τάδ᾽ ἔνεικαν ἀπὸ ξανθῶν Ἀριμασπῶν Οὖπίς τε Λοξώ τε καὶ εὐαίων Ἑκαέργη, θυγατέρες Βορέαο, καὶ ἄρσενες οἱ τότ᾽ ἄριστοι ἠιθέων: οὐδ᾽ οἵ γε παλιμπετὲς οἴκαδ᾽ ἵκοντο, εὔμοιροι δ᾽ ἐγένοντο, καὶ ἀκλέες οὔποτ᾽ ἐκεῖνοι. ἦ τοι Δηλιάδες μέν, ὅτ᾽ εὐήχης ὑμέναιος ἤθεα κουράων μορμύσσεται, ἥλικα χαίτην παρθενικαῖς, παῖδες δὲ θέρος τὸ πρῶτον ἰούλων ἄρσενες ἠιθέοισιν ἀπαρχόμενοι φορέουσιν.

Primae hos tibi tulerunt fulvis ab Arimaspis Upis & Loxo, felix aevi Hecaerge, filiae Boreae, & mares, qui tum optimi iuvenum: neque illo retro domum rediere. Beati autem facti, nec unquam illi inglorii futuri sunt. Nam Deliades quidem, cum sonorus Hymenaeus Thalamos puellarum terret, aequaevam comam virgines; pueri aute primam lanuginis messem iuvenibus primitias ferunt.   Translated into Latin by Johann August Ernesti

Callimachus [310 – 240 BCE, modern Libya] 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 extant fragments of his works are a testament to both his talent as an artist and his erudition as a scholar.

Ace Allies, Assemble--for Rome! Claudian, Stilich. 3.237-274

Tibi, quae pariter silvis dominaris et astris,

exiguam Stilicho movit, Latonia, curam :

tu quoque nobilibus spectacula nostra laboras

inlustrare feris summoque in vertice rupis

Alpinae socias arcu cessante pudicas

et pharetratarum comitum inviolabile cogis

concilium, veniunt umcros et brachia nudae

armataeque manus iaculis et terga sagittis,

incomptae pulchraeque tamen ; sudoribus ora

pulverulenta rubent, sexum nec cruda fatetur

virginitas ; sine lege comae ; duo cingula vestem

crure tenus pendere vetant. praecedit amicas

flava Leontodame, sequitur nutrita Lycaeo

Nebrophone telisque domat quae Maenala Thero.

ignea Cretaea properat Britomartis ab Ida

et cursu Zephyris numquam cessura Lycaste.

iungunt se geminae metuenda feris Hecaerge

et soror, optatum numen venantibus, Opis

progenitae Scythia : divas nemorumque potentes

fecit Hyperboreis Delos praelata pruinis.

hae septem venere duces ; exercitus alter

Nympharum incedunt, acies formosa Dianae,

centum Taygeti, centum de vertice Cynthi

et totidem casto genuit quas flumine Ladon.

has ubi collectas vidit, sic Delia coepit :

‘ O sociae, mecum thalami quae iura perosae

virgineo gelidos percurritis agmine montes,

cernitis ut Latio superi communibus ornent

hunc annum studiis ? quantos Neptunus equorum

donet ab orbe greges ? laudi quod nulla canendae

fratris plectra vacent ? nostram quoque sentiat idem

quam meritis debemus opem. non spicula poscit

iste labor ; maneant clausis nunc sicca pharetris,

omnis et a solitis noster venatibus arcus

temperet ; in solam cruor hic servetur harenam.

retibus et clatris dilata morte tenendae

ducendaeque ferae, cupidas arcete sagittas ;

consulis in plausum casuris parcite monstris.

--Claudian, Stilicho III.237-274

Daughter of Latona [Diana],

Who lords over the forests and the stars with equal ease,

You care for Stilicho as well, by ensuring our Roman games are filled with noble beasts.

On the top of Alpine cliffs with bow in hand,

you assemble and hold a chaste [inviolabile] court

With your chaste [pudicas] companions.

All  of them are armed with quivers

With bare arms and bare shoulders,

Armed with spear in hand and quiver on their backs

Beautiful yet unadorned.

Their dusty faces gleam with sweat,

Showing off neither their maidenhood nor their gender.

Their hair is loose, two hempen cords gird their waists

And keep their legs free.

Blond Leontodame arrives first,

Nebrophone (raised on the Lycaean mountain) follows next

And Thero, who keeps the Arcadian territories in check with her mighty weapons.

Passionate Britomartis hastens over from Cretan Mt. Ida

And Lycaste, who can outrun the wind.

Scythian-born twins Hecaerge (the one feared by all beasts)

and her sister Opis, (The one to pray to when you’re hunting)

arrive side-by-side, by making their home in Delos

shunning the wild norths—made these twins powerful goddesses.

These seven leaders came, and following them was another army of nymphs,

Diana’s beautiful Valkyries.

A hundred of them were from Taygetus,

A hundred of them were from the peak of Mt. Cynthus,

A hundred nymphs born in the region of the chaste-flowing Ladon.

When they assembled together, Diana began her speech:

“O allies, you who follow me together

Who spurn the detested marriage bed,

Dwelling with me in the crisp mountain ranges,

Do you notice that the gods are all keeping an eye on Rome

How many herds of horses that Neptune has bestowed upon the world?

That my brother Apollo’s lyre never stops singing of Rome’s praise?

I feel that we ought to be doing the same.

We do not need our spears for this task,

Our arrows can remain unbloodied,

Our bows can cease from their accustomed hunting,

Blood should be preserved for the Roman games only.

Beasts should be brought in alive with nets & cages

(spare them from your fierce arrows!)

Save these creatures until their deaths can come

For an applauding audience.”

CLAUDIAN	MAP:
Name:  Claudius Claudianus Date:  370 – 404 CE Works: The Abduction of Proserpina           On the Consulship of Stilicho           Against Eutropius	REGION  4
BIO:	Timeline:
Claudian was born in Alexandria, Egypt during the 4th century CE. He is one of the best poets of the time period, and he provides a unique perspective as a non-Christian writer in Christian Rome. Many of his works are still extant, including panegyric [official praise literature] for the Roman Emperor Honorius and his general Stilicho, a poem criticizing the eunuch consul Eutropius, and an epic retelling of the abduction of Persephone.	AGE OF CONFLICT

Love Shakes Me to the Core: Sappho 47

 Ἔρος δ᾿ ἐτίναξέ μοι

φρένας, ὠς ἄνεμος κὰτ ὄρος δρύσιν ἐμπέτων.

Amor animum meum quatit, velut

ventus quercos in montis summo impulit.

--Sappho, fragment 47

Love shook my heart

the way the wind strikes the trees on the mountaintop.

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

Neither the Honey Nor the Bee: Sappho 146

 μήτε μοι μέλι μήτε μέλισσα

Nec mihi mel nec apis

--Sappho, fragment 146; Translated into Latin by K. Masters

Neither the honey nor the bee for me!

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

M/M: Winged Words: Julian's Letter to Eugenius, Ep. 60

Iulianus Eugenio Philosopho.

Daedalum narrant pennas Icario e cera finxisse, arteque naturam vincere tentasse: at ego illius quidem artem laudo, prudentiam tamen requiro: quippe cum solus ex omni memoria fit ausus cerae fluxae ac fragili salutem filii committere: ego tamen, si mihi esset integrum iuxta Teii illius lyrici votum, in avem mutari, non mehercule ad Olympum, neque ob amatorias aliquas querimonias, sed in ipsa montium vestrorum cacumina volarem, quo te meam (ut ait Sappho) curam amplecterer. Quoniam igitur natura me in hoc ergastulum corporis inclusit, neque in sublime verba mea explicare concedit, quibus possum alis te sequor, et scribo, et quo licet modo, tecum sum. Homerus certe non alia ex causa dixit verba alata, nisi quia omnem in partem ire possunt, ut velocissimae aves quocunque volunt, prosiliunt. Verumtamen tu quoque, amice, vicissim scribe. Name et tibi par est, vel maior in dicendo alarum copia, qua et amicos potes commovere, et varie, tamquam praesens esses, delectare.

Εὐγενίῳ φιλοσόφῳ

Δαίδαλον μὲν Ἰκάρῳ φασὶν ἐκ κηροῦ πτερὰ συμπλάσαντα τολμῆσαι τὴν φύσιν βιάσασθαι τῇ τέχνῃ. ἐγὼ δὲ ἐκεῖνον μὲν εἰ καὶ τῆς τέχνης ἐπαινῶ, τῆς γνώμης οὐκ ἄγαμαι: μόνος γὰρ κηρῷ λυσίμῳ τοῦ παιδὸς ὑπέμεινε τὴν σωτηρίαν πιστεῦσαι. εἰ δέ μοι θέμις ἦν κατὰ τὸν Τήιον ἐκεῖνον μελοποιὸν τὴν τῶν ὀρνίθων ἀλλάξασθαι φύσιν, οὐκ ἂν δήπου πρὸς Ὄλυμπον οὐδὲ ὑπὲρ μέμψεως ἐρωτικῆς, ἀλλ̓ εἰς αὐτοὺς ἂν τῶν ὑμετέρων ὀρῶν τοὺς πρόποδας ἔπτην, ἵνα σὲ τὸ μέλημα τοὐμόν, ὥς φησιν ἡ Σαπφώ, περιπτύξωμαι. ἐπεὶ δέ με ἀνθρωπίνου σώματος δεσμῷ κατακλείσασα ἡ φύσις οὐκ ἐθέλει πρὸς τὸ μετέωρον ἁπλῶσαι, τῶν λόγων οἷς ἔχω σε πτεροῖς μετέρχομαι, καὶ γράφω, καὶ σύνειμι τὸν δυνατὸν τρόπον. πάντως που καὶ Ὅμηρος αὐτοὺς οὐκ ἄλλου του χάριν ἢ τούτου πτερόεντας ὀνομάζει, διότι δύνανται πανταχοῦ φοιτᾶν, ὥσπερ οἱ ταχύτατοι τῶν ὀρνίθων ᾗ ἂν ἐθέλωσιν ᾄττοντες. γράφε δὲ καὶ αὐτός, ὦ φίλος: ἴση γὰρ δήπου σοι τῶν λόγων, εἰ μὴ καὶ μείζων, ὑπάρχει πτέρωσις, ᾗ τοὺς ἑταίρους μεταβῆναι δύνασαι καὶ πανταχόθεν ὡς παρὼν εὐφραίνειν.

--Julian, Ep. 60;Translated into Latin by Petrus Martinius Morentinus Navarrus (1583) [citing Sappho fragment 163]

To: Eugenius the Philosopher

From: Julian, Emperor of Rome

They say that Daedalos built wax wings for Icarus, daring to conquer Mother Nature with his talents. I praise his skill, but I question his wisdom, for he is the only person in human history who dared to entrust the safety of his son to soft wax. But if I could transform into a bird (as the poet Anacreon says), I wouldn’t fly to Olympus, not even to complain about Love. Instead, I would fly to the foot of your mountain, and embrace you, “my beloved” (as Sappho says). However, since Mother Nature has enclosed me in this human body, and it won’t let me lift off the ground, I can only fly to you and be with you the only way I can—in winged words. Homer knew what he was talking about when he called them “winged words,” for they flit about here and there like swift birds that swoop down wherever they want. Dear friend, write me back too! For your words are winged, too—even more so than mine—and can travel to your companions and cheer them up almost as if you’re here in person.

 

JULIAN	MAP:
Name:  Flavius Claudius Julianus Date:  331 – 363 CE Works:  The Caesars (satire)               Letters	REGION  5
BIO:	Timeline:
Also known as “the Apostate,” Emperor Julian ruled the Roman empire from 361 to 363 CE. During that time, he advocated for the return of Rome’s polytheistic state religion. Numerous works of his are extant, including letters, speeches, and satires; these provide unique insight into the perspectives of Roman nobility during that time period.	ROMAN GREEK