Catullus 64 (Epyllion - Marriage of Peleus and Thetis: Theseus Abandonment of Ariadne)

Catullus 64 (Epyllion - Marriage of Peleus and Thetis: Theseus’ Abandonment of Ariadne) Lines 50-253 haec vestis priscis hominum variata figures 50 This garment, adorned with the figures of ancient (transferred epithet) men, heroum mira virtutes indicat arte. announces the virtues of heroes with wondrous art.

ARAIADNE & THESEUS namque fluentisono prospectans litore Diae, For in fact (namque), looking out from the Dia’s shore, resounding with waves, Thesea cedentem celeri cum classe tuetur Ariadne watches Theseus departing with (his) swift fleet, indomitos in corde gerens Ariadna furores, bearing untamed passion(s) in her heart, necdum etiam sese quae visit visere credit, 55 not yet (necdum) does she even believe that she sees what she sees, utpote fallaci quae tum primum excita somno in as much as (utpote) she, then, having been stirred from false sleep for the first time, desertam in sola miseram se cernat harena. discerns her wretched self abandoned in the lonely sand. immemor at iuvenis fugiens pellit vada remis, But, heedless, the fleeing young man beats the shoals/waters with his oars, irrita ventosae linquens promissa procellae. forsaking worthless (irrita) promises to the fickle wind (procellae). quem procul ex alga maestis Minois ocellis, 60 From a distance, the daughter of Minos looks out upon him w/ mournful little eyes saxea ut effigies bacchantis, prospicit, eheu, from the sea-weed, rocky as the image (effigies) of a raving Bacchant, alas, prospicit et magnis curarum fluctuat undis, she looks out and she wavers with great waves of worries, non flavo retinens subtilem vertice mitram, not holding the dainty headdress (mitram) back on her golden head, non contecta levi velatum pectus amictu, not covered by a thin garment with respect to her (usually) veiled chest (i.e. body), non tereti strophio lactentis vincta papillas, 65 not bound by an elegant breast-band with respect to her milk-white breasts, omnia quae toto delapsa e corpore passim everything, having slipped all around from her whole body, ipsius ante pedes fluctus salis alludebant. the waves of salt before her feet were playing with. sed neque tum mitrae neque tum fluitantis amictus But she, caring neither then for the changed state (vicem) of her headdress illa vicem curans toto ex te pectore, Theseu, nor then of her flowing garment, Theseus, from her whole heart, toto animo, tota pendebat perdita mente. 70 with her whole soul, with her whole mind, was she hanging on you, lost.

i a misera, assiduis quam luctibus externavit Ah wretched one, whom Venus, with constant lamentations, made mad, spinosas Erycina serens in pectore curas, sowing thorny cares in your heart, illa tempestate, ferox quo ex tempore Theseus at that storm, from which time ferocious Theseus, egressus curvis e litoribus Piraei having set out from the curving shores of Piraeus attigit iniusti regis Gortynia templa. 75 arrived at the Gortynian (from a town on Crete) temples (palace metonymy) of the harsh king. nam perhibent olim crudeli peste coactam For they assert that long ago that Athens, forced by a cruel pestilence Androgeoneae poenas exsolvere caedis to pay penalties for the murder of Androgeus, electos iuvenes simul et decus innuptarum was accustomed to give the young men selected and at the same time the flower of the maidens Cecropiam solitam esse dapem dare Minotauro. as a sacrificial banquet to the Minotaur. quis angusta malis cum moenia vexarentur, 80 When, by these evils, the narrow were walls being troubled, ipse suum Theseus pro caris corpus Athenis Theseus himself on behalf of dear Athens, proicere optavit potius quam talia Cretam chose to offer his own body rather than that funera Cecropiae nec funera portarentur. such corpses of Athens and not corpses would be borne to Crete. atque ita nave levi nitens ac lenibus auris And so, pressing onward on light ship and with gentle breezes magnanimum ad Minoa venit sedesque superbas. 85 he came to great hearted Minos and his proud abode. hunc simul ac cupido conspexit lumine virgo At soon as the royal maiden caught sight of this man with her desiring regia, quam suavis exspirans castus odores eye, (she) whom (her) innocent little bed, emitting sweet scents, lectulus in molli complexu matris alebat, was nourishing in the soft embrace of her mother, SIMILE (lines 89-90) quales Eurotae progignunt flumina myrtos such as the myrtles the streams of the Eurotas beget aurave distinctos educit verna colores, 90 or the various colors the spring air leads forth, non prius ex illo flagrantia declinavit not sooner did she take her burning eyes down from lumina, quam cuncto concepit corpore flammam that man, than she caught this flame in her entire body funditus atque imis exarsit tota medullis. and she entirely (funditus) kindled (it) in her deepest marrows.

ii heu misere exagitans immiti corde furores Alas, sacred boy wretchedly exciting madness/the passions sancte puer, curis hominum qui gaudia misces, 95 with a harsh heart, you who mix the joys with the worries of men, quaeque regis Golgos quaeque Idalium frondosum, and you who rule the Golgi and you who rule Idalium, rich in leaves, qualibus incensam iactastis mente puellam with such waves have you tossed the girl, inflamed in her fluctibus, in flavo saepe hospite suspirantem! mind, sighing often over her blonde guest! quantos illa tulit languenti corde timores! What great fears did she endure in her faint heart! quanto saepe magis fulgore expalluit auri, 100 How she often turned paler than the gleam of gold cum saevum cupiens contra contendere monstrum when, desiring to struggle against the savage monster, aut mortem appeteret Theseus aut praemia laudis! Theseus was seeking either death or the rewards of praise! non ingrata tamen frustra munuscula divis Although in vain, promising small, pleasing gifts to the gods, promittens tacito succepit vota labello. she took up vows with silent lip. SIMILE (lines 105-109) nam velut in summo quatientem bracchia Tauro 105 For just as a wild tornado twisting a tree trunk with its gale quercum aut conigeram sudanti cortice pinum uproots an oak shaking its branches on the top of the Taurus range indomitus turbo contorquens flamine robur, or a cone-bearing pine with dripping bark, eruit (illa procul radicitus exturbata (that one, having been utterly uprooted from afar prona cadit, late quaevis cumque obvia frangens), falls downward, breaking widely whatsoever things (are) in the way), sic domito saevum prostravit corpore Theseus 110 thus Theseus knocked the savage (one) to the ground with its body subdued, nequiquam vanis iactantem cornua ventis. tossing its horns fruitlessly to the empty winds. inde pedem sospes multa cum laude reflexit Safe, with much praise, he turned his step back from there, errabunda regens tenui vestigia filo, guiding his wandering steps with a thin thread, ne labyrintheis e flexibus egredientem lest an unnoticed mistake deceive him (while) tecti frustraretur inobservabilis error. 115 leaving the labyrinthine windings of the house.

iii sed quid ego a primo digressus carmine plura But why should I recall more things, having stepped down from my initial song, commemorem, ut linquens genitoris filia vultum, how the daughter leaving behind the face of her father, ut consanguineae complexum, ut denique matris, how leaving behind the embrace of her sister, how finally of her mother, quae misera in gnata deperdita laeta, who, ruined, used to take delight in her wretched daughter, omnibus his Thesei dulcem praeoptarit amorem: (syncope) 120 to all these things she preferred the sweet love of Theseus: aut ut vecta rati spumosa ad litora Diae either when the raft having been born to the foaming shores of Dia aut ut eam devinctam lumina somno or when, having been bound by sleep with respect to her eyes liquerit immemori discedens pectore coniunx? her spouse left her, leaving with a heedless heart? saepe illam perhibent ardenti corde furentem They assert that she, burning with a seething heart, clarisonas imo fudisse e pectore voces, (chiasmus) 125 often uttered clear sounding cries from the bottom of her heart, ac tum praeruptos tristem conscendere montes, (switches to historical present) and at one time (tum) the sad (girl) is climbing the steep mountains, unde aciem pelagi vastos protenderet aestus, from where she extended her gaze (aciem) into the vast tides of the sea, tum tremuli salis adversas procurrere in undas at another time (tum) she ran forth into the opposing winds of rippling (tremuli) salt mollia nudatae tollentem tegmina surae, lifting the soft coverings of her bare calf, atque haec extremis maestam dixisse querellis, 130 and she, mournful, said these things with her final laments, frigidulos udo singultus ore cientem: (metonymy) calling out chilly sobs (singultus) from her wet mouth (face):

BEGINNING OF ARIADNE’S LAMENT “sicine me patriis avectam, perfide, ab aris (apostrophe) “Is this how (sicine), (you) liar, you have left me, borne away from my father’s house, perfide, deserto liquisti in litore, Theseu? on an abandoned beach, (you) liar Theseus? sicine discedens neglecto numine divum, Is this how (sicine), departing with the power of the gods ignored, immemor a! devota domum periuria portas? 135 forgetful ah!, you carry accursed lies to your house? nullane res potuit crudelis flectere mentis Was there nothing that could bend the decision (consilium) of a cruel consilium? tibi nulla fuit clementia praesto, mind? Did you have no mercy at hand (praesto), immite ut nostri vellet miserescere pectus?

iv that your inexorable (immite) heart might be willing to have pity me?

v at non haec quondam blanda promissa dedisti But you did not give these things, once promised voce mihi, non haec miserae sperare iubebas, 140 to me by (your) smooth voice, you were not bidding wretched (me) to look forward to these things sed conubia laeta, sed optatos hymenaeos, but happy ceremonies of marriage (conubia), but the wished-for wedding songs, quae cuncta aereii discerpunt irrita venti. (cf. Carmen 72) which, all worthless, the lofty (aereii) winds dispersed. nunc iam nulla viro iuranti femina credat, Henceforth (nunc iam), let no woman believe a man swearing an oath, nulla viri speret sermones esse fideles; let no woman hope that a man’s words (sermones) are true; quis dum aliquid cupiens animus praegestit apisci, 145 As long as (dum) their (quis = quibus) greedy heart is very eager to obtain something, nil metuunt iurare, nihil promittere parcunt: nothing are they afraid to swear, nothing do they refrain from (parcunt) promising: sed simul ac cupidae mentis satiata libido est, but as soon as the desire of a greedy mind has been satiated, dicta nihil metuere, nihil periuria curant. (nihil…nihil, cf. nil…nil line 146 supra) they fear no words, they care for no lies. certe ego te in medio versantem turbine leti For sure I saved you, twisting in the midst of a whirlwind eripui, et potius germanum amittere crevi, 150 of destruction, and I decided rather to lose a brother quam tibi fallaci supremo in tempore dessem. than that I should fail (dessem) false you in your time of greatest need (supremo in tempore). pro quo dilaceranda feris dabor alitibusque For this I will be given as spoils that must be torn to pieces to wild beasts praeda, neque iniacta tumulabor mortua terra. and birds, and nor shall I, lifeless, be buried with earth tossed on (me). ALLUSION: cf. Carmen 60 (lines 154-157) quaenam te genuit sola sub rupe leaena, What lioness bore you beneath a lonely crag, quod mare conceptum spumantibus exspuit undis, 155 which the sea spewed out, conceived in its foaming waves, quae Syrtis, quae Scylla rapax, quae vasta Carybdis, what Syrtis, what ravenous Scylla, what vast Charybdis, talia qui reddis pro dulci praemia vita? you who pay back (reddis) such rewards in return for (pro) sweet life? si tibi non cordi fuerant conubia nostra, If you had not had marriage with me in your heart, saeva quod horrebas prisci praecepta parentis, because you were dreading the harsh commands (praecepta) of your venerable father, attamen in vestras potuisti ducere sedes, 160 yet nevertheless you could have led (me) into your abode, quae tibi iucundo famularer serva labore, I who might serve you in delightful labor as a slave,

vi candida permulcens liquidis vestigia lymphis, rubbing your white steps (metonymy: feet) with clean waters, purpureave tuum consternens veste cubile. or covering your bed with a purple coverlet. sed quid ego ignaris nequiquam conquerar auris, But why should I, having been terrified with misfortune, externata malo, quae nullis sensibus auctae 165 complain in vain to the unknowing winds, which endowed with no senses nec missas audire queunt nec reddere uoces? are neither able to hear nor return the voices uttered? ille autem prope iam mediis versatur in undis, That one, meanwhile, is already situated almost in the middle waves, nec quisquam apparet vacua mortalis in alga. nor does any mortal appear in the empty sea-weed. sic nimis insultans extremo tempore saeva Thus savage fortune too, exulting in my direst time, fors etiam nostris invidit questibus auris. 170 also begrudges me ears (auris = aures) for my complaints. Iuppiter omnipotens, utinam ne tempore primo O almighty Juppiter, would that the Athenian ships had not at that first time Gnosia Cecropiae tetigissent litora puppes, landed on the shores of Knossos, indomito nec dira ferens stipendia tauro (chiasmus) and that, bearing the dire tributes for the untamed bull, perfidus in Cretam religasset navita funem, the treacherous sailor had not tied his rope onto Crete, nec malus hic celans dulci crudelia forma 175 and that this evil man, concealing his cruel plans with a sweet consilia in nostris requiesset sedibus hospes! form, had not found rest as a guest in our home! nam quo me referam? quali spe perdita nitor? Where shall I take myself? On what hope do I depend, abandoned? Idaeosne petam montes? At gurgite lato Shall I seek the mountains of Ida? But with a wide flood separating (them) discernens ponti truculentum dividit aequor. the wild waters (aequor) of the sea divides (them). an patris auxilium sperem? Quemne ipsa reliqui 180 Or might I hope for the aid of my father? Whom I myself abandoned, respersum iuvenem fraterna caede secuta? having fallowed the young man stained by my brother’s murder? coniugis an fido consoler memet amore? Or shall I console myself with a husband’s faithful love? quine fugit lentos incurvans gurgite remos? He who flees, bending the pliant oars in the sea? praeterea nullo colitur sola insula tecto, Besides, the forsaken island is inhabited by no home, nec patet egressus pelagi cingentibus undis. 185

vii nor does a way out lie open, with the waves of the sea surrounding (me).

viii nulla fugae ratio, nulla spes: omnia muta, anaphora (lines 186-187) No thought of flight, no hope: everything silent, omnia sunt deserta, ostentant omnia letum. everything is abandoned, everything points to death. non tamen ante mihi languescent lumina morte, Still before my (mihi) eyes do not grow faint with death, nec prius a fesso secedent corpore sensus, timesis (prius…quam) nor will the senses withdrawn from my weary body, quam iustam a divis exposcam prodita multam 190 before (timesis: priusquam) I, betrayed (prodita), demand a just penalty (multam) from the gods caelestumque fidem postrema comprecer hora. and implore the faith of the heavenly bodies in my final hour. quare facta virum multantes vindice poena Wherefore, O (you) Eumenidies punishing the deeds of men Eumenides, quibus anguino redimita capillo with vengeful retribution, (you) whose forehead crowned (redimita) frons exspirantis praeportat pectoris iras, with serpentine hair manifests (praeportat) the angers rushing out of the heart, huc huc adventate, meas audite querellas, 195 come here, to this place, hear my laments, quas ego, vae misera, extremis proferre medullis which I, ah wretched!, I am compelled to bring forth from the depths of my heart (medullis) cogor inops, ardens, amenti caeca furore. helpless, burning, blinded by a mindless madness. quae quoniam verae nascuntur pectore ab imo, Since these are born true from the bottom of my heart, vos nolite pati nostrum vanescere luctum, you, do not allow my mourning to come to nothing (vanescere) sed quali solam Theseus me mente reliquit, 200 but with the sort of mind Theseus abandoned me, alone, tali mente, deae, funestet seque suosque.' with such a mind, goddesses, let him desecrate himself and his descendants.” END OF ARIADNE’S LAMENT has postquam maesto profudit pectore voces, After she poured out such cries from her mournful heart, supplicium saevis exposcens anxia factis, anxious(ly) demanding punishment for savage deeds, annuit invicto caelestum numine rector; the ruler (rector) of the gods (Zeus) nodded in assent with his invincible power; quo motu tellus atque horrida contremuerunt 205 By this motion the earth and the rough (horrida) seas aequora concussitque micantia sidera mundus. trembled all over (contremuerunt) and the heavens (mundus) struck together shining stars. ipse autem caeca mentem caligine Theseus Theseus himself, moreover, having been covered (consitus) in mind consitus oblito dimisit pectore cuncta,

ix by a blind darkness (caligine), dismissed all from his forgetful heart,

x quae mandata prius constanti mente tenebat, which commands he held previously fixed with a steady mind, dulcia nec maesto sustollens signa parenti 210 and not lifting up the dear standards for his mourning father sospitem Erechtheum se ostendit visere portum. and does not show himself viewing the Athenian port, safe. namque ferunt olim, classi cum moenia divae For they say that long ago, when Aegeus was entrusting his son linquentem gnatum ventis concrederet Aegeus, to the winds, (his son) leaving behind the goddess’ walls with the fleet, talia complexum iuveni mandata dedisse: he gave the youth, having embraced (him), the following orders:

AEGEUS’ PRAYER 'gnate mihi longa iucundior unice vita, 215 “One and only (unice) son, dearer to me than a long life, gnate, ego quem in dubios cogor dimittere casus, son, whom I am forced to send away into uncertain misfortunes, reddite in extrema nuper mihi fine senectae, having recently been returned to me in the last end of old age, quandoquidem fortuna mea ac tua fervida virtus since (quandoquidem) my misfortune and your fiery (fervida) courage eripit invito mihi te, cui languida nondum snatch you from me against my will (invito), whose not yet feeble (languida) lumina sunt gnati cara saturata figura, 220 eyes are filled (saturata) by the dear shape of his son, non ego te gaudens laetanti pectore mittam, I will not release you rejoicing with a cheerful heart nec te ferre sinam fortunae signa secundae, nor will I allow you to bear the tokens (signa) of favorable fortune, sed primum multas expromam mente querellas, but at first I will bring forth (expromam) many laments from my mind, canitiem terra atque infuso pulvere foedans, sullying (foedans) my grey hair (canitiem) with dirt and showered (infuso) dust inde infecta vago suspendam lintea malo, 225 from there I will hang dyed (infecta) sails (lintea) on the roaming (vago) mast (malo), nostros ut luctus nostraeque incendia mentis so that the sail (carbasus, f.) will proclaim (dicet) my sorrows carbasus obscurata dicet ferrugine Hibera. and the fires of my mind, darkened by Iberian rust (ferrugine). quod tibi si sancti concesserit incola Itoni, But if (quod…si) the inhabitant of holy Itonus, quae nostrum genus ac sedes defendere Erecthei she who assents to defend our race and the house annuit, ut tauri respergas sanguine dextram, 230 of Erectheus, allows you to stain (respergas) your hand with the blood of the bull, tum vero facito ut memori tibi condita corde then indeed make sure that these commands, stored (condita) in your

xi haec vigeant mandata, nec ulla oblitteret aetas; mindful heart, live on (vigeant), nor let (a length of) time erase any (of them): ut simul ac nostros invisent lumina collis, just as your eyes look upon our hills, funestam antennae deponant undique vestem, let the yard-arms (antennae) lower the funeral sail completely (undique), candidaque intorti sustollant vela rudentes, 235 and let the twisted (intorti) rigging (rudentes) lift up the shining white sails, quam primum cernens ut laeta gaudia mente so that, as soon as seeing (this) with a happy mind, I may know joys once more (agnoscam), agnoscam, cum te reducem aetas prospera sistet.' when a lucky time will present (sistet) you safely returned (reducem).” END AEGEUS’ PRAYER haec mandata prius constanti mente tenentem These commands left (liquere, 240 infra) Theseus at first holding (them) Thesea ceu pulsae ventorum flamine nubes in his attentive mind just as (ceu) clouds struck by a blast (flamine) of winds aereum nivei montis liquere cacumen. 240 quit (liquere) the lofty peak of the snowy mountain. at pater, ut summa prospectum ex arce petebat, But the father, when he was looking for a view (prospectum) from the top of the citadel, anxia in assiduos absumens lumina fletus, wasting (absumens) his troubled eyes in constant tears, cum primum infecti conspexit lintea veli, as soon as he caught sight of the canvass (lintea) of the dark sail, praecipitem sese scopulorum e vertice iecit, he threw himself headfirst from the top of the rocks, amissum credens immiti Thesea fato. 245 believing Theseus lost to inexorable fate. sic funesta domus ingressus tecta paterna Thus did savage Theseus enter the house (domus…tecta) morte ferox Theseus, qualem Minoidi luctum in mourning because of the father’s death, however much grief to Minos’ daughter obtulerat mente immemori, talem ipse recepit. immemori, cf. supra 58 had he inflicted with his heedless mind, so much did he himself receive. quae tum prospectans cedentem maesta carinam This sad girl, then looking out at the ship leaving, multiplices animo volvebat saucia curas. 250 was pondering various cares in her wounded (saucia) heart. at parte ex alia florens volitabat Iacchus But from the other part youthful (florens) Bacchus was flying about cum thiaso Satyrorum et Nysigenis Silenis, with a band of dancers (thiaso) of Satyrs and Nysian-born Sileni, te quaerens, Ariadna, tuoque incensus amore. looking for you, Ariadne, and inflamed with a love for you.