M/M: A Toxic Relationship: Cygnus & Phylius, Antoninus Liberalis Met. 12

Content Warning: animal abuse, suicide, toxic relationship / abuse

12: Cygnus. Apollini e Thyria Amphinomi filia natus est Cygnus, facie formosa, moribus inelegantibus et agrestibus, nimio studio venationibus deditus. habitabat ruri inte Pleuronem et Calydonem. Multos habuit ob pulchritudinem amatores: quorum cum prae superbia admitteret neminem: mox omnibus invisus, ab iisque est desertus, solo Phylio apud ipsum perseverante. quanquam hunc quoque non mediocribus affecit contumeliis. Extiterat sub id tempus apud Aetolos ingens leo, qui et in ipsos et in pecus grassabatur. hunc Cygnus iussit Phylium sine ferro interficere. idque is in se recepit, leonemque tali necavit astu. Cum sciret qua hora leo esset superventurus, ventrem implevit multo cibo ac vino. cumque bellum appropinquaret, ea evomit. quae leo famelicus devorans, vini vi est stupido sopore obrutus. et Phylius brachio, cui vestem suam circumvolverat, in os inserto leonem suffocavit: sublatumque in humeros, ad Cygnum attulit. nomenque apud homines illustre eo facinore sibi paravit. Sed Cygnus alium adhuc difficiliorem ei laborem iniunxit. Erant ea in regione vultures monstrosae magnitudinis, qui multos homines interficiebant. hos eum vivos capere, et ad se perducere quavis ratione iussit. Dubitante Phylio quomodo hoc mandatum conficeret, divinitus evenit, ut aquila raptum leporem, semianimemque eodem deiiceret, non perlatum ad nidum. Phylius direpto lepore, sanguine eius se implevit, et humi procubuit. itaque vultures ad eum ut mortuum devolarunt: quorum ille duos pedibus arreptos tenuit, atque ad Cygnum pertulit. Tertium ei hic, prioribus adhuc magis arduum, imposuit laborem: taurum ab armento iubens manu abducere ad aram Jovis. Phylius cum perficiendae huius rei rationem nullam inveniret, Herculis auxilium imploravit. Voto facto, duo ei tauri apparuerunt, qui propter vaccam, quam uterque ardebat, pugnantes cornibus se mutuo in terram prosternebant. cumque elanguisset, Phylius alterum pede correptum ad aram usque attraxit. Voluntate autem Heruclis ....negligere mandata pueri. Accidit hoc gravissimum Cygno, quod se, quod minime opinatus erat fore, contemtum videret. itaque prae maerore animi seipsum abiecit in Conopam lacum, videri inter homines desiit. Eodemque etiam se Thyria mater, filii mortem non ferens, praecipitavit: amboque in aves mutati sunt in lacu, Apollinis nutu. Ab iis quoque lacus Cygnea appellata est; ac tempore arationis multi ibi visuntur olores. Prope extat etiam Phylii monimentum.

 

--Antoninus Liberalis, Metamorphoses 12; Translated by Xylander 1832 [Greek text forthcoming]

Cygnus. Apollo and Amphinomus' daughter Thyria had a son named Cygnus. He had a pretty face, but he had terrible manners, and spent too much time hunting.  He dwelled in the countryside between Pleuron and Calydon.  His looks earned him a lot of suitors,  but his arrogance drove them all off. Soon nobody liked him, and everybody stopped asking him out except for one man: Phylius.  But even this one suitor Cygnus treated harshly.

At that time a huge lion was menacing Aetolia that kept attacking both people and livestock. Cygnus ordered Phylius to kill this lion without the use of a weapon. Phylius agreed, and set out to do so. Right before he went to meet the lion, he binged on food and wine. When Phylius approached the lion, he vomited it all up. The lion ate his vomit and quickly succumbed to the affects of the wine. Phylius wrapped his arm in his clothing and shoved it down the animal's throat, suffocating it. He carried the lion's body on his shoulders, and brought it to Cygnus, and became famous for this feat.

But Cygnus wasn't done: he challenged Phylius with an even more difficult task. There were gigantic vultures in the area that kept killing people. Cygnus ordered Phylius to capture them alive, and to bring them to him.

While Phylius was trying to figure out how to accomplish this, he received divine inspiration; he saw an eagle dropping a half-dead rabbit that it had caught. Phylius grabbed the rabbit and smeared himself with its blood, then lay on the ground, pretending to be dead. When the vultures swooped down to devour him, he pinned them down in a chokehold with his legs, and brought them to Cygnus.

Cygnus ordered Phylius to perform a third, and even more impossible, task. He ordered him to take a bull from his flock and bring it to the altar of Jupiter, with nothing but his bare hands. When Phylius couldn’t think of a way to accomplish this, he prayed to Hercules for help. As soon as he had finished praying, two bulls appeared by his side. They had fought over a cow and had their horns locked, trapped on the ground. Phylius grabbed one and dragged it to the altar. But, by the grace of Hercules, Phylius stopped paying attention to Cygnus.

This devastated Cygnus, as he realized that Phylius no longer cared for him. He threw himself into Lake Copona in despair, and disappeared from the eyes of men. Unable to cope with the loss of her son, Cygnus’ mother Thyria also threw herself into the lake and drowned. By the grace of Apollo, both were transformed into birds. This is why the lake is now called Swan Lake; during migration times, many swans are seen in the area.

 

 

 

ANTONINUS LIBERALIS	MAP:
Name: Antoninus Liberalis   Date:  2nd – 3rd c. CE Works:  Metamorphoses*	REGION  UNKNOWN
BIO:	Timeline:
Little is known about the life of the Greek author Antoninus Liberalis. His work, Metamorphoses, is similar to the works of Hyginus in that they provide brief summaries of Greek and Roman myths.	ROMAN GREECE