M/M: Gone, but not forgotten: John Tzetzes Analyzes the Deaths of Hyacinthus & Narcissus, Hist. 1.11

Hyacinthus and Narcissus, United in Purpose

Name: John Tzetzes Date:   1100 – 1180 CE Region:    Constantinople [modern Istanbul, Turkey] Citation:     Histories / Chiliades 1.241 – 265

There are countless tales of abduction and transformation in Greco-Roman mythology. Although modern readers see these myths as cautionary tales against predatory behavior, their

primary purpose in the ancient world was an attempt to alleviate grief after the loss of a loved one.  Young people who died before reaching societal milestones of adulthood would be euphemistically married to divinities as a way of handling the grief of their lost potential. There are countless references to young people being “snatched by the nymphs,” or becoming “brides” of Persephone or Hades. In this passage, the Byzantine author John Tzetzes explains how the transformations of Narcissus and Hyacinthus were used to help alleviate the grief of their loved ones.

Hyacinthus was the attractive brother of Cynortus.

He was the son of Amyclus and Diomeda,

From Lacon, the noble land of the Amyclean clan.

Both Apollo and Zephyr often competed for the youth’s affection.

And—they say—once, while Apollo and Hyacinthus were practicing the discus,

Zephyr sent a violent wind, and changed the course of the discus.

It struck the beautiful youth in the head and killed him.

The Earth created a flower in memory of the youth, taking his name,

Mourning his beauty the same way she mourned Narcissus.

But the allegory of Narcissus is apparent:

When the youth fell into the water, he drowned.

As a consolation for their grief,

Those who praised the youth’s beauty

Said he fell in the water, struck by longing for his own beauty.  

Famous transformation tales of plants, of trees of all kinds,

And of constellation myths are similar to this.

The kin of the deceased, transforming their loss,

Name these things after their lost kin.

Just as I’ve stated, they say that the rivals of Hyacinthus [Apollo and Zephyr]

Reveal the extreme beauty of the youth,

Since the Sun reveled in the delight of Hyacinthus,

And the Wind itself also vied for his affection.

When the youth was killed while training with a discus,

They made up a story that the Wind, jealous of the Sun,

Took Hyacinthus away from his life—and from the Sun.  

Hyacinthus and Narcissus, United in Purpose

Ὑάκινθος Κυνόρτου μὲν ἦν ἀδελφὸς ὡραῖος Ὑἱὸς Ἀμύκλου δὲ πατρός, μητρὸς τῆς Διομήδης Ἐκ γῆς ἀνδρῶν τῶν εὐγενῶν Λακώνων Ἀμυκλαίων. Ἀπόλλων δὲ καὶ Ζέφυρος τοῦ μείρακος ἀντήρων. Καὶ δή ποτε δισκεύοντος Ἀπόλλωνος σὺν τούτῳ, Λάβρον πνεύσας ὁ Ζέφυρος τὸν δίσκον περιτρέπει. Τῇ κορυφῇ δὲ τὸν καλὸν πλήξας ἀνεῖλε νέον,

Hyacinthus Cynorti quidem erat frater venustus. Filius Amycli autem patris, matris Diomedae, ex terra virorum nobilium Laconum Amycleensium. Apollo vero et Zephyrus adolescentem certatim deperibant et sane olim disco ludente Apolline cum hoc Vehementer cum efflasset zephyrus, discum circumvertit. Vertice autem pulchrum cum percussisset, occidit iuvenem.

Ἡ γῆ δ ̓ ἄνθος ὁμώνυμον ἀντέδωκε τοῦ νέου, Καθάπερ καὶ τὸν Νάρκισσον οἰκτείρασα τοῦ κάλλους. Ἀλλ’ ἡ Ναρκίσσου πρόδηλός ἐστιν ἀλληγορία, Ὅτι πεσὼν ἐν ὕδασιν ὁ νέος ἀπεπνίγη. Τὸ κάλλος δ ̓ ὑπεραίροντες, πένθους παρηγορία, Φασὶ πεσεῖν ἐν ὕδασι σκιᾶς αὐτοῦ τῷ πόθῳ. Τὸ τῶν φυτῶν δὲ πρόδηλον, ὡς καὶ τῶν δένδρων πάντων Καὶ τῶν ἀστέρων σὺν αὐτοῖς καὶ τῶν ὁμοιοτρόπων. Τῶν γὰρ θνησκόντων ἀγχιστεῖς, τρέφοντες πόθον τούτων, Ἐκεῖνα κατωνόμαζον εἰς κλήσεις τὰς ἐκείνων. Τοῦ ̔Υακίνθου δέ φασιν ἀντεραστὰς οὓς ἔφην Δεικνύντες, ὑπεραίροντες τοῦ νέου τὸ ὡραῖον Ὡς ἔχαιρεν ὁ ἥλιος τρεπόμενος τῷ νέῳ, Καὶ τῶν ἀνέμων αἱ πνοαὶ θέλγητρον εἶχον τοῦτον. Ὡς δὲ σὺν μείρακί τινι δισκεύων ἀνηρέθη

Terra autem florem eiusdem nominis reddidit pro iuvene, quasi Narcissum miserata ob pulchritudinem. Sed narcissi clara est allegoria. Quia cum cecidisset in aquas iuvenis, praefocatus est. Pulchritudinem vero extollentes, luctus solatio. Dicunt cecidisse in aquas, umbrae suae desiderio. Plantarum autem fictio clara, sicut et arborum omnium, et stellarum cum ipsis atque istiusmodi. Morientium enim affines, nutrientes desiderium horum, ista nominarunt nominibus illorum. Hyacinthi autem dicunt rivales, quos dixi, ostendentes excellentem iuvenis venustatem, quod gavisus sit Sol, oblectatus iuvene: et ventorum flatus pro deliciis habuerint hunc. Ut vero cum iuvene aliquo disco ludens interfectus est,

Ἔπλασαν ὡς ὁ Ζέφυρος βασκαίνων τῷ Ηλίῳ Ἐξάγει τοῦτον τῆς ζωῆς καὶ τοῦ λαμπρου φωσφόρου.

vento subvertente in verticem discum, finxerunt quod Zephyrus invidens Soli educit hunc e vita, atque e splendido lucifero.  Translated into Latin by Paolo Lazise

John Tzetzes [1100 – 1180 CE, Constantinople/Byzantium, modern Istanbul, Turkey] was a Byzantine scholar and beaurocrat. He is known for his epic poem the Histories / Chiliades, which ties together topics from Greek and Roman history and mythology, followed by a Christian interpretation.