71-7460

GENOVESE, Jr., Edgar Nicholas, 1942- ATTIS AND LESBIA; CATULLUS’ ATTIS POEM AS A SYMBOLIC REFLECTION OF THE LESBIA CYCLE. iPortions of Text in Greek and Latin].

The Ohio State University, Ph.D., 1970 Language and Literature, classical •

University Microfilms, A XEROX Company, Ann Arbor, Michigan

Copyright by

Edgar Nicholas Genovese, Jr.

1971

THIS DISSERTATION HAS BEEN MICROFILMED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED ATTIS AND LESBIA: CATULLUS' ATTIS POEM AS A

SYMBOLIC REFLECTION OF THE LESBIA CYCLE

DISSERTATION

Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of Hie Ohio State University

By

Edgar Nicholas Genovese, Jr., A.B.

The Ohio State University 1970

Approved by

^ \ Adviser Dc^^rtment of Classics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

John T. Davis, cui maximas gratias ago, mentem meam ducebat et ingenium dum hoc opusculum fingebam; multa autern addiderunt atque cor- rexerunt Clarence A. Forbes et Vincent J. Cleary, quibus ago gratias. poetam uero Veronensem memoro laudoque. denique admiror gratam coniugem meam ac diligo: quae enim, puellula nostra mammam appetente, ter adegit manibus suis omnes litteras in has paginas.

ii PARENTIBVS MEIS

XXX VITA

September 18, 1942 . . . Born— Baltimore, Maryland

1960-1964 ...... A.B., Classics, Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio

1964-1966 ...... Instructor, Latin, Kenwood Senior High School, Baltimore, Maryland

1966-1968 ...... Teaching Assistant, Teaching Associate, Department of Classics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Summer 1968 ...... Instructor, Elementary Greek, Department of Classics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

1968-1970 ...... N.D.E.A. Fellow, Department of Classics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

Summer 1969, 1970 . . . Assistant, Latin Workshop, Department of Classics, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio

FIELDS OF STUDY

Major field; Latin and Greek poetry

Latin literature. John T. Davis, Charles L. Babcock, Carl C. Schlam

Greek literature. W. Robert Jones, Robert J. Lenardon, Bernard C. Barmann, Mark P. 0. Morford

Philological studies. John B. Titchener, Kenneth M. Abbott, Donald W. Bradeen, Angeliki Drachmann

XV CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMNTS ...... ii

VITA ...... iv

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

CHAPTER I: THE EMOTIONAL SEQUENCE IN THE LESBIA CYCLE ...... 6

Introduction Delusion Insight Infidelity Realization and Definition Rejection Summary

CHAPTER II; ATTIDIC MYTHOLOGY AND CATULLUS 63 ...... 82

Preface

Part 1: Attidic Mythology in the Time of Catullus

Sources and Traditions Reconstruction of Mythology Available to Catullus Discursus: Castration Summary and Conclusions

Part 2: Catullus 63, the "Attis"

Introduction Compositional Analysis Images and Motifs Summary

CHAPTER III: SYMBOLIC RELATION OF THE "ATTIS" TO THE LESBIA C Y C L E ...... 148

Introduction Thematic Correspondences Symbolic Images and Motifs Summary and Conclusion

BIBLIOGRAPHY ...... 183

V INTRODUCTION

Since the appearance of Havelock's criticism a few decades ago, a movement among Catullan scholars has gained some respectability. In an effort to seek a unity in all the poetry of Catullus— varied in mood and genre— they have given some attention to the longer poems that bulge conspicuously at the middle of his slender volume. Their purpose has been to show how the poetic personality of Catullus can be uncovered even in those genres which demand formally the absence of poetic sub­ jectivity. The most frequently ploughed field is Poem 64, the Wedding of Peleus and Thetis ; the Laodamia passage in Poem 68 has also received scrutiny.1 The fundamental thesis is that the portraits and situations of Ariadne and Laodamia in 64 and 68 resemble those of Catullus in the

Lesbia poems, and that because of the traditional woman's role assumed by Catullus in the cycle, there is an unavoidable identity of characters and situations. Havelock saw that this reversal or exchange of sex is not only characteristic of the romantic lover, but necessary. The im­ portance of this identity, then, is that it works mightily to dispel the notion of two Catullan persons or personalities to match the two Catullan

^Cf. E. A. Havelock, The Lyric Genius of Catullus (Oxford; Basil Blackwell, 1939), pp. 73ff.; Marion L. Daniels, "Personal Revelation in Catullus 64," CJ, 62 (1967), 351-56; and H. D. Rankin, "Water and Lao­ damia as Catalysts of Emotion in Catullus 68b," Latomus, 26 (1967), 689-94.

^Havelock, p. 118. styles.

It was not until 1957 that Gilbert Highet in a passing remark observed for the first time the similarity between Catullus and Attis,

Lesbia and Cybele.^ Shortly after, others took up the idea;^ but, though they all have done much to develop the thesis, no one has at­ tempted to compare the psychological drama of the "Attis" with the se­ quence of Catullus’ emotions in the Lesbia cycle.

This, then, is the purpose of the following chapters: namely, to show how the "Attis" reflects symbolically the portrait of Catullus and his love affair with Lesbia which have been painted in the poems of the Lesbia cycle. In order to illustrate the symbolic value of the

"Attis" relative to the cycle, Lt will be necessary first to examine somewhat thoroughly the content of the cycle; for once a natural coher­ ence and sequence among the separate poems is revealed, the already well- structured Attis poem can be compared with the cycle.

The method will be: first, to consider the poems of the Lesbia cycle individually and as parts of a whole so as to place them into an

^Gilbert Highet, Poets in a_ Landscape (New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957), pp. 26-27. 2 Cf. Michael C. J. Putnam, "Patterns of Personality and Imagery in the Poetry of Catullus" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation. Harvard Uni­ versity, 1959), pp. 226-56; Teivas Oksala, "Catulls Attis-Ballade iiber den Stil der Dichtung und ihr Verhaltnis zur Personlichkeit des Dichters," Arctos, 3 (1962), 199-213, who seems ignorant of Putnam’s dissertation; Robert Bagg, "Some Versions of Lyric Impasse in Shakespeare and Catullus," Arion, 4 (1965), 83-87, who mentions neither Putnam nor Oksala; and Daniels, p. 352, who likewise seems to have come upon an original idea. For a fundamentally different critical approach in this matter, cf. Paul W. Harkins, "Autoallegory in Catullus 63 and 64," TAPA, 90 (1959), 110-11; Prof. Harkins, by interpreting 63 as allegorical of Catullus’ own life- experience, restricts the poem to but one of the many and more subtly involved symbolic levels. 3 order appropriate to the emotional and mental evolution of the character

Catullus; to do this will require a drawing together of various themes, motifs, and images that characterize the cycle. This arrangement of poems will not pretend to be a biographical reconstruction of the poet's actual experience, nor will it be an attempt to discover the poems' chronology of composition. Fundamentally it will be a classification of the poems according to their contribution in revealing five peculiar and distinct attitudes of a miser amans; viz., his infatuation with Lesbia; his insight into the futility of the relationship; his refusal to rec­ ognize the inevitable parting; his disillusionment and concomitant at­ tempts at defining his mental status; and his efforts to reject Lesbia sexually as well as intellectually. This arrangement, then, although arbitrary, will nonetheless be based on arguable differences and simi­ larities among the poems. However, because many of these themes are not in the least static, their development cannot help but point the way to a natural evolution of the relationship; e.g., separation obviously must follow infatuation, hatred should logically follow intense desire, etc.

Furthermore, within the poems themselves are certain sequential sign­ posts; e.g.. Poem 72 is replete with explicit indications from verbal tenses and adverbs, as well as from the content, that the affair is being represented as an evolution of changing attitudes and circumstances.

Such a natural order implied by the above classification of poems fol­ lows the following broad scheme: distant admiration; the consummation of the affair; Lesbia's infidelity; and Catullus' self-purgation of de­ sire for Lesbia.

After this sequence of poems has been established, the second step will be to consider the sixty-third poem of Catullus, the "Attis."

Before this, however, the then current mythology and cultic aspects of

Attis and Cybele will be reconstructed from extant sources to indicate how doctus Catullus used the literature regarding Attis which may have been available to him. Then, after an analysis of the form and content of the "Attis," its themes, motifs, and images will be compared with those from Attidic mythology. Finally, to conclude this study, the analyses of the Lesbia cycle and the "Attis" will be related in orde. to show how the long Galliambic narrative is in effect a symbolic and integral representation of the emotional portrait of Catullus drawn from the fluid epigrammatic cycle of Lesbia poems.

Because the poet, in imitation of Greek models, has chosen to personalize his erotic poetry by presenting himself not only as the principal character but in the first person, an obstacle to understanding a basic assumption of this study must be removed at the outset. Although, on the one hand, the purpose of this dissertation is to corroborate the

Unitarian position that all the poetry of Catullus is the product of a single genius, nevertheless one must distinguish between Catullus the poet and Catullus the literary character.^ In the following pages, particularly in Chapters I and III, whenever a mention of or a refer­ ence to Catullus appears within the context of a poem or poems, it must be clearly understood that under discussion is the character depicted by the poet, and not the poet himself. Therefore, because the two Catulluses- the poet and the love-tossed character— are not to be confused or identi­ fied, wherever there may be any ambiguity, the real and historical poet

^Cf. below, pp. 6ff. 5 from Verona will be referred to or qualified as "the poet," but the character whereby he presents himself in the Lesbia cycle will retain the name "Catullus." CHAPTER I

THE EMOTIONAL SEQUENCE IN THE LESBIA CYCLE

Introduction

In this chapter it will be shown how the twenty-four poems of

a literary cycle can be grouped according to the various emotions they

reveal in a poetic character, and how a naturally evolving sequence of

feelings and reflections can be interpreted from these groupings. This handful of epigrams— the Lesbia poems— allows glimpses of a literary

affaire d*amour between a dominant, willful woman and a sensitive,

idealistic young man. The poems for the most part purport to be sub­ jective ruminations rather than informative portrayals. The order of

their appearance in the manuscript, excepting perhaps Poems 2 through

11,^ is due no doubt to the pedantry of a scribe, not the intention of

the poet. Exactly when any of these poems were written one can only

speculate; nor can it be proven that they were prompted or inspired by

an actual affair or, much less, that they are an accurate representation

of any such event. Even if somehow the chronology of their composition

could be demonstrated, it could not be assumed that such an order

Cf. Charles P. Segal, "The Order of Catullus, Poems 2-11," Latomus, 27 (1968), 305-20; K. Barwick, "Zyklen bei Martial und in den kleinen Gedichten des Catull," Philol., 102 (1958), 314. 7 represented the correct thematic sequence of poems within the cycle.^

Basically, this fact must be accepted: of Catullus, a poet and not an historian, one ought neither to expect nor require reportage. And so, although the affair may be real or imagined, left, as we are, simply with the poems themselves, we should first examine them as poetry only.

For within this cycle it must be remembered, as with any poetry, that poetic truth or, better, truthfulness lies within the poetry and not the poet, and that poetic reality is no less real than life itself.

It will be necessary first to postulate a sequence of emotional phases experienced by the subjective literary character, Catullus. These psychological attitudes will have been deduced from the various moods and statements in the poems. Next the poems of each phase will be in­ dividually analyzed for structure, motif, motivation, imagery, color, tone, and the like. Progressing from one poem to the next, the examina­ tion will reveal similarities and relationships from which smaller and 3 larger unities of theme may be drawn.

This love affair is not uncovered through a series of events:

1 See the contrived attempt by Robinson Ellis, A Commentary on Catullus (2nd ed.; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1889), pp. xlv-1.

^Cf. Havelock, pp. 79-84, who satirically defers to the author­ ity of scholars who have thrown up "an elaborate structure of ingenious hypotheses" which transform Catullus’ poetry into his biography. For examples of those who would patch holes in history and biography with the poems of Catullus or who assume that poetry is subject to the sci­ entific method, cf. P. Maas, "The Chronology of the Poems of Catullus," CQ, 36 (1942), 79-82; W. B. McDaniel, 2nd, The Poems of Catullus (New York: Oxford University Press, 1931); C. L. Neudling, A Prosopography to Catullus (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1955); also Ellis, pp. 1-li.

^Brooks Otis, Vergil; A Study in Civilized Poetry (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1964), pp. 102-4, observes that 72, 73, 75, 76, 85 are obviously one interrelated cycle. 8

in the Lesbia poems the poet's style is not narrative, but epigrammatic.

The metrical arrangement of poems in the manuscript is immediately sus­

pect as the chronological order of composition since it is a naïve notion

that Catullus would write nothing but hexameters after lyric meters and

nothing but elegiacs after hexameters ; furthermore it is equally unlikely

that this order is intended as a dramatic progression since poems with

the finality of 8 and 11 could not reasonably reflect an attitude prior

to the optimism of 83 and 109.^ Granted, a man in love, be it in life

or literature, is subject to irrationality and emotional vacillation,

but the tortuous and unresolved course of the affair as indicated by the

arrangement of the text makes impossible an intelligent appraisal, much

less an analysis, of the Lesbia cycle. Only once does the poet let es­

cape a tantalizing bit of narrative:

tale fuit nobis Allius auxilium clausum lato patefecit limite campum, isque domum nobis isque dedit dominae ad quam communes exerceremus amores. quo mea se molli Candida diua pede intulit et trito fulgentem in limine plantam

Again cf. Segal, pp. 312-14, who sees a definite order in 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 11— "a thematic progression from enthusiasm, joy, and pas­ sion to disillusion and rejection [which even] has a formal equivalent in the terms of address used to Lesbia." Cf. also Otis, p. 104, who indicates that 70, 72, 76 display a "temporal unity." Perhaps "ap­ parent" would best qualify this last phrase, for such a literature-qua- literature approach is necessary to the position of this paper. It must be fully understood at the start that in this paper just as poems are not to be assigned dates of composition, similarly there is no claim to interpret the sequence of the cycle as intended by the poet. Catullus may have written many of the poems in the ordep they appear or, more realistically, may have intended the order of their appearance (cf. the so-called Passer book, above, p. 6, n. 1), but for the most part this is too difficult to prove. In this examina­ tion the poems are grouped simply according to similarities of emotional attitude and apparent progress of the relationship. 9

innixa arguta constituât soles (68.66-72).^

In this passage the poet represents himself as having received help in finding a hideaway for a tryst, perhaps the first; and from a later pas­ sage in the same poem we see that the affair was adulterous and furtive and was consummated at night:

nec tamen ilia mihi deducta patema fragrantem Assyria uenit odore domum, sed furtiua dedit mira munuscula nocte, ipsius ex ipso dempta uiri gremio (68.143-46).

Nowhere does the poet explicitly create a dramatic scene involving both himself and Lesbia, as in the Septimius-Acme poem (17) or as are found in Propertius. It is not our poet's manner to tell how the lovers first met or how they fell in love or how they arranged the rendezvous or how they parted; rather, he simply depicts an infatuation (51) and an affair

(5 and 7), that Lesbia rejected Catullus once but later reneged (107), that she was not above whoring with the other young gallants of Rome

(37 and 58), and that he in turn rejected her (11). Beyond these liter­ ary "facts" all other "information," e.g. her husband's stupidity (83), is merely incidental and cannot be used to advance any narrative. What the poet has left us io a picture of a young man's attitudes ostensibly drawn during the affair, his struggle to describe his emotions, and his conception of hers. In the process he constructs parts of a psychologi­ cal drama in which the protagonist is caught up and swept along by the ruthless forces of a misconceived love.

There seem to be five distinct phases into which the Lesbia

^All citations from Catullus are as edited by R. A. B. Mynors, C^. Valerii Catulli carmina (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1958). 9 E.g. Propertius 4.8. 10 poems may be placed: Delusion (51, 43, 86, 2, 3, 83, 92, 5, 7), Insight

(109, 87), Infidelity (70, 107, 68b, 58, 37, 68a, 60), Realization and

Definition of Emotion (85, 75, 72), and Rejection of Lesbia (8, 76, 11).

In this cycle must be included not only those poems properly addressed to Lesbia, but those which allude implicitly or explicitly to her or to the affair.^ In the Delusion phase Catullus apparently precipitously manufactures, or misconceives, a love affair in which he idealizes the woman, assuming her emotions mirror his, and sets the theme of his love’s

^One might question the exclusion of the Lesbius poem (79):

Lesbius est pulcer. quid ni? quem Lesbia malit quam te cum tota gente, Catulle, tua. sed tamen hie pulcer uendat cum gente Catullum, si tria notorum suauia reppererit.

Although this poem mentions Lesbia by name, reveals her unlikely prefer­ ence of Lesbius to Catullus, and hints at an incestuous relationship, it contributes nothing to the evaluation of the Catullus-Lesbia relationship (i.e., one cannot tell whether this belongs to the Infidelity or after), and furthermore, it reveals nothing'of the subjective emotion of Ca­ tullus for Lesbia. He obviously despises Lesbius, but says nothing about his feelings for Lesbia or, for that matter, about her feelings, if any at all, for him. The poem, then, is not a Lesbia poem, but a Rival poem, such as the Ravidus poem (40); see below, p. 52, n. 1. A second objection to this selection of poems would be: How do we know that (unlike 5, 7, 43, 51, 58, 72, 75, 79, 83, 86, 87, 92, 107, in which Lesbia’s name occurs) 2, 3, 8, 11, 37, 60, 68a, 68b, 70, 76, 85, 86, 109 are genuine "Lesbia" poems and not addressed to some Ipsi- tilla? A simple answer is: We don’t know. The point is that from the poems where Lesbia is mentioned by name one can see enough of her per­ sonality and the poet's attitude to discover the essential relationship. The other poems, because of the same intensity of emotion or the similar­ ity of content, must be considered part of the cycle. No one expects every Lesbia poem to mention her by name, but more important, it is not the name "Lesbia" that makes a Lesbia poem: Lesbia is no more particu­ lar or specific than ^ or mea puella. Furthermore, if 85— a poem lack­ ing any specific allusion to Lesbia (odi et amo lacks an object)— is not part of the cycle, if not the central thematic statement, then there is no cycle. A final note of crucial importance must be added. The Lesbia cycle is concerned with the female only insofar as she motivates the character portrayed by the poet. I'Jhat she does and how she feels is an occasion or cause for subjective expression by that character. 11

emotions. This phase may be further divided into Infatuation and Affair;

the former, a prelude marked by an idealizing admiration of Lesbia from

. a distance, the latter, the actual interplay ascribed to Catullus and

Lesbia. These latter poems of the Delusion phase are distinguished by

a blind abandon, and it is only later in the relationship that Catullus

apparently realizes that he was indeed deluded. Though all the poems

of this phase are focused on Lesbia and love, indirectly something of

the character of Catullus is seen. Paradoxically, while everything for

him is Lesbia, and Lesbia is all beauty and loveliness, he himself is

pictured as miser and his love as molestum (51.5,13). Of the Infatuation

poems (51, A3, 86) this can be said: no contact between the man and

woman has been confirmed, though Catullus seems definitely to have be­

come enamored; Lesbia is idealized, but only by comparisons, much as one

describes a goddess. The Affair poems (2, 3, 83, 92, 5, 7) are no longer

centered entirely on Lesbia, but on Lesbia and Catullus. These poems are

marked by attempts at an affirmation, a proof, of mutual love. The lover

seems to be convincing himself that the affair is not one-sided as in 51,

A3, 86, but that Lesbia indeed loves him with the same fervor. One may

easily intuit a false security as the poet describes the height of their

lusus (5 and 7). Furthermore, there is the tone of impermanence, that

their love will be taken away at any moment and that they must enjoy it

fully— carpe diem.

In the second phase, Insight (109, 87), the action is put aside,

and the poet shows a tendency to analyze the lover's affection. Here he

adopts the metaphor of a foedus to explain the relationship; this is no

love lightly taken. The theme of love affirmed is further developed. 12 but not as in the Delusion poems, since the lover seems interested in convincing himself more than his audience. Yet the love affair remains unshaken.

The third phase, Infidelity (70, 107, 68b, 58, 37, 68a, 60), describes a turn in events: Catullus discovers that Lesbia is not sat­ isfied with love from him exclusively. This is learned indirectly in

107, where he describes boundless joy at her return. In Catullus are revealed a number of attitudes in these poems: suspicion, tolerance, bitterness, mellow regret, disgust, confidence— but never hatred. To put these emotions into a sequence is impossible, but the poet seems to portray the high point as an unhappy parting. Although these poems are full of emotion, there is little of the introspection that characterized the preceding phase. Catullus is never shown asking whether the fault could be within himself nor does he question Lesbia's motives. He simply states the fact of her infidelity. The Infidelity phase falls into two parts: Lesbia's occasional cheating (70, 107, 68b) and the complete loss of Lesbia's affection (58, 37, 68a, 60), demonstrated by their parting.

The fourth phase. Realization and Definition of Emotion, or

Disillusionment and Disenchantment (85, 75, 72), in many ways parallels and develops the second phase. Insight. In these three poems Catullus is depicted trying objectively to specify the kind of love he had for

Lesbia and what her behavior has done to these feelings. He now focuses on himself as he examines his torment and sees that it stems from a con­ trast— a conflict— of physical passion and spiritual disaffection. The mood is hopelessness. There is not the remotest hint of any dramatic 13

setting.

The fifth phase, Catullus’ Rejection of Lesbia (8, 76, 11), is

unique. In the Cheating poems Catullus cannot detach himself from Lesbia,

but in the Rejection poems he insists he is trying to put her out of his

life. The desperation of the Definition poems is replaced by resolve.

Here Catullus recognizes the necessity of ending the pernicious affair

and of casting out the remnants of his now one-sided love. Here he ap­

praises his actions and even his whole life and concludes that he was

unworthy of the torture, and here alone he tries to extricate himself

from his disaster.

With these five phases suggested, the details of the relationship

can now be examined through the poems themselves. Sometimes the poems will be considered individually; at other times they will be taken in

pairs or groups. In the course of this examination motifs and themes will be isolated so as to relate one poem or phase to another. Once the

course of the whole Lesbia cycle has been pursued, the important themes will be recapitulated. The following outline will serve as a guide

through the emotional sequence of the poems:

I. Delusion A. Infatuation (51, 43 & 86) B. Affair 1. Desire for Lusus (2 & 3, 83 & 92) 2. Lusus (5 & 7)

II. Insight (109, 87)

III. Infidelity A. Cheating (70, 107, 68b) B. Desertion (58, 37, 68a, 60)

IV. Realization and Definition (85, 75, 72)

V. Rejection (8, 76, 11). 14

Delusion

51

Ille mi par esse dec uidetur, ille, si fas est, superare diuos, qui sedens aduersus identidem te spectat et audit dulce ridentem, misero quod omnis 5 eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi

lingua sed torpet, tenuis sub artus flamma demanat, sonitu suopte 10 tintinant aures, gemina teguntur lumina nocte. otium, Catulle, tibi molestum est: otio exsultas nimiumque gestis: otium et reges prius et beatas 15 perdidit urbes.

To begin, 51 is one of two poems in Sapphics. Immediately one sees the appropriateness: if Lesbia^ is to be immortalized, it must be 2 in the proper vehicle— a poem imitative of Sappho of Lesbos. One should expect this convention from doctus Catullus. Because of the twice-used

One cannot assume with E. Baehrens, Catulli Veronensis liber, (2nd ed.; Leipzig: B. G. Teubner, 1885)', II, 30-31, that Catullus used the pseudonymn "Lesbia" to indicate the lady's skill or predilection for writing poetry, or even appreciating it to any great extent. Even if she was sophisticated (cf. 43.4), the concern of Poem 11 is her beauty of form and manner, and the women of Lesbos were reputed to be unusually beautiful (cf. Ovid Heroides 15.16). Arthur H. Weston, "The Lesbia of Catullus," CJ, 15 (1920), 501, suggests that Catullus' intention is: "You are as fair as the Lesbian maid whom Sappho loved, and inspire in me the same emotions which Sappho felt, and so I offer you the same words which Sappho used." Weston feels this is a "graceful compliment." There is another consideration: circumstances prevent Catullus from speaking his heart to Lesbia face to face. This inability to communicate recalls the Alcaeus-Sappho exchange (Alcaeus 384 LP; Sappho 137 LP); compare Alcaeus' Zdnipoi with Catullus' dulce ridentem (51.5). N.b.: citations from Sappho and Alcaeus are from the text by Lobel and Page (LP), Poetarum Lesbiorum fragmenta (Oxford, 1963); other lyric citations are from Diehl (D), Anthologie lyrica Graeca (Leipzig, 1936-52).

^Cf. Sappho 31 LP. 15 meter and because the other Sapphic (11) is obviously a poem of Rejection,

51 can easily serve as the poem of introduction since it is thematic of the affair. No other poem presents Lesbia in such an ideal light; no other poem shows Catullus farther from Lesbia, yet so physically enamored.

The poet slowly reveals the situation. Halting after each word for the first six lines, one can see how he builds. Ille (51.1) is unidentified; in fact, his anonymity is essential to direct our attention to the next word, mi. Immediately there is a contrast and a vividness which Sappho denies herself with her initial cpaCvexaC |iol (2.1). Another part of the puzzle comes— par; promptly one must ask cui? The answer: esse deo.

But then comes uidetur, balancing at the end of the line the ille.

Though the words are Sappho's, the approach is Catullus'. From a vivid setting of scene there is a transition into poetic subjectivity. It is from this viewpoint that the rest of this poem and indeed the poetic love affair must be experienced. The poet repeats ille to bring us back not to the scene of Lesbia and the young man, but to the concept on a purely poetic plane: the ille is now generalized and becomes a vehicle in the creation of an image of a goddess. As Ernest A. Fredricksmeyer observes:

"Ille is godlike, through his intimate closeness and familiarity, his love, with Lesbia [who] bestows divine felicity and perfection upon her lover and thus she herself is revealed, indirectly, as diva, goddess par excellence."^ This divinity of Lesbia seems to be central to the love theme. Following Fredricksmeyer's lead, Catullus appears faced with a mystery and a dilemma: whoever is Lesbia's becomes a god; a priori, she

Ernest A. Fredricksmeyer, "On the Unity of Catullus 51," TAP A, 96 (1965), 157-58; cf. Havelock, p. 143: "Catullus' mood is one of adoration." 16 must herself be a goddess; and if just seeing her disrupts Catullus' metabolism, how would he ever survive union with her?

The lover's pose to be assumed by Catullus is described. He is miser (11.5), a word which Lieberg interprets as sterblich in keeping with his diulna puella thesis;^ perhaps "mortally frail" translates this concept. However, Lieberg's complete interpretation should not be too readily accepted since a more literal connotation of miser as an epithet 2 of the lover had been well established by the poet's time. Miser lacks the color and pathos of Greek tragic synonyms (e.g. ôuoraXaç, ôucnrnvoç,

6aLp.ôvLOç), and it does seem superfluous in our poet's translation. Yet its central position in the line and the very fact that it is the only significant addition to that part of the Greek original should give us some pause. Lieberg's interpretation of miser embraces two important characteristics of the lover: mortal in relation to the woman and sub­ ject to the disease and destruction of love. In his well-known treatise on love, Lucretius gives an indication of the connotation of the tradi­ tional epithet miser:

nam certe pura est sanis magis inde uoluptas quam miseris . . . (4.1075-76).3

Archibald W. Allen comments:

Miser, thus contrasted with sanus, has an almost technical mean­ ing, and this meaning appears very often in love poetry. Miser properly means "unhappy"; but even the lover whom we call "happy,"

^Godo Lieberg, Divina puella (Amsterdam: P. Schippers, 1962), pp. 129-34.

^E.g. Plautus Miles gloriosus 1253. 3 For other examples of this madness/sickness love motif, cf. Plautus Miles gloriosus 1250-4 (sana and misera) and Prop. 3.8.17-18,28. 17

whose love is fully requited, is called misellus by Catullus. . .

That satisfied and blessed lover described by the poet as misellus is

Septimius (45.21ff.). Similarly, Allen interprets miser uiue (8.1,10) as "be in love."^

In this stanza the idealization of Lesbia is established, and the disease motif is introduced. This basically is the dynamics of the affair. We have seen how the poet reveals Lesbia's divinity; this is how he reveals the lover's disease:

. . . misero quod omnis eripit sensus mihi: nam simul te, Lesbia, aspexi, nihil est super mi

lingua sed torpet tenuis sub artus flamma demanat, sonitu suopte tintinant aures, gemina teguntur lumina nocte (51.5-12).

This description will not be compared with Sappho's; it is not our con­ cern here. It will be noted, however, that like Sappho's, this descrip­ tion is replete with images of sensation: torpet . . . flamma demanat

(51.9-10), of sound, sonitu . . . tintinant aures (51.10-11), and of sight, gemina teguntur lumina nocte (51.11-12), all of which recall the preliminary statement of 51.4-6: spectat et audit . . . eripit sensus.

Love as a disease or suffering, or at least a trouble to be reckoned

^Archibald W. Allen, "Elegy and the Classical Attitude toward Love: Propertius I, 1," YCS, 11 (1950), 260. 2 Ibid., n. 1; cf. also desinis esse miser (76.12), as well as Prop. 1.1.1. Allen's assessment of the first line of Propertius might easily be that of 51.5:

. . . Propertius announces the kind of love with which his elegies will be occupied; by the use of the word miser he declares that his poetry will treat of love as a violent pas­ sion rather than reasonable emotion. Miser in erotic context describes the lover whose will and reason are altogether sub­ ject to his passion. 18 with, has frequent literary antecedents,^ but the locus classicus

of the suffering of love in Latin is surely Lucretius 4.1058ff. The

otium our poet speaks of is molestum (51.13), and molestum bears directly

on the theme of sickness. Because of the last lines, otium et reges prius et beatas / perdidit urbes (51.15-16), we are forced to translate

otium as "leisure."^ But the nuances cannot be denied. The poet is playing with the word: what appears to be leisure is really a "distrac­

tion," a "preoccupation," and Catullus is seen warning himself that it

is molestum— it can get him into trouble. Awareness of this can lead

to regret and guilt later on (cf. 76, also 85, 75, 72). Certainly the

connotation of sickness or irritation is present. The importance of using molestum is to point out the active dangers that the passive otium belies. The pathos hides the fact that Catullus' otium is "self-inflic- O ted" and that he even "welcomed it." This inference can be made from

Catullus’ recognition of the danger and his lack of effort in the poem

to avoid it. His infatuation is complete, and he recognizes the de­ struction— perdidit urbes (51.16)— that is likely in store, but he will risk it.

Archilochus 104, 112, 118 D; Sappho 1.15, 47, 131 LP; Theognis 2.1231-4, 1353-6; Theocritus 3.12-17; also Ibycus 6, 7 D; Anacreon 45 D; Sophocles Antigone 781-4; and Asclepiades, A.P. 12.50. The perspiration- fire image recalls Valerius Aedituus' poem to Pamphila (in Aulus Gellius 19.9.11).

^On the meaning of otium in 51, cf. Richmond Lattimore, "Sappho 2 and Catullus 51," C^, 39 (1944), 186, n. 11; and A. J. Woodman, "Some Implications of otium in Catullus 51.13-16," Latomus, 25 (1966), 214-26. On otium in general, cf. Jean-Paul Boucher, Etudes sur Properce (Paris: Editions E. de Boccard, 1965), pp. 15-19, esp. 17: "L'otium élégiaque est le refus des charges, de la vie publique, le refuge dans la vie in­ dividuelle, une réaction d'incivisme. ..."

^Woodman, p. 221. 19

The mood of the lover in 51 is c::z of physical disquiet and un­ bridled emotion (cf. exultas . . . gestis, 51.14), as well as conscious

excess, nimium (51.14). The momentum of the romance is there, even in

this poem of distant admiration. It is obvious why the poet chose a

sublime Greek original^ to portray Lesbia, himself, and his love: only

the unique skill of Sappho could convey the unique intensity of his

emotion. He is concerned basically with idealizing his situation. His use of miser betrays the universal triteness of the unhappy lover, but

this is easily borne aloft on the wings of the translated Greek. Our

poet, however, will not be content with mere duplication; he must person­

alize the theme with the envoi. Through this device he achieves an ob­ jectivity which is absent in the preceding stanzas as well as most of 2 the poetry of the first four phases.

43

Salue, nec minimo puella naso nec bello pede nec nigris ocellis nec longis digitis nec ore sicco nec sane nimis elegante lingua, decoctoris arnica Formiani. 5 ten prouincia narrat esse bellam? tecum Lesbia nostra comparatur? o saeclum insapiens et infacetum!

86

Quintia formosa est multis. mihi Candida, longa, recta est: haec ego sic singula confiteor. totum illud formosa nego: nam nulla uenustas, nulla in tam magno est corpora mica salis.

^Cf. pseudo-Longinus De sublimis 10.1-2. 2 Fredricksmeyer, pp. 157-58, argues convincingly that the otium stanza of 51 belongs with the preceding stanzas. However, the doubts raised by Lattimore, pp. 184-87, have been given some recent corrobora­ tion by Richard C. Jensen, "Otium. Catulle, tibi molestum est," CJ, 62 (1967), 363-65, who argues that the verses were joined to 51 by a post­ humous editor. 20

Lesbia formosa est, quae cum pulcerrima tota est, 5 turn omnibus una omnis surripuit Veneres.

Both 43 and 85 are coupled with 51 inasmuch as they, too, are descriptive of Lesbia. In fact, these three and 68.70-72 are the only passages that reveal anything of Lesbia's beauty. But as E. A. Havelock notes, the description here is really a lack of description. Nowhere is there a direct description of the features of Lesbia, except in 68.70, mea . . . molli Candida diua psde. Granted, in thet poem Lesbia is com­ pared with Laodamia (68.73ff.) and is portrayed probably as Venus; circumcursans hinc illinc saepe Cupido / fulgebat crocina candidus in

tunica (68.133-34). But even there, at his most descriptive as well as most narrative, the poet reveals nothing more than that his diua is Can­ dida and that her foot is mollis. Likewise, in 51 it is only by gauging

the purported physical response of Catullus and the implied apotheosis 2 of ille (51.1,2) that divine beauty can be inferred. In 43 the poet portrays an anti-Lesbia who lacks certain necessary attributes of phys­ ical beauty; she is

. . . nec minimo puella naso nec bello pede nec nigris ocellis nec locgis digitis nec ore sicco (43.1-3), / and with regard to her personality she is

nec sane nimis elegante lingua (43.4).

And this is what those connoisseurs from the Province call bellam? Ac­

cording to Catullus there are not the slightest grounds for a comparison with Lesbia. One must assume, then, that Lesbia qualifies well as the

^Havelock, p. 11.

2 Cf. above, p. 15. 21

object of a poet's love: the very small nose, the pretty foot, the

dark eyes, the long tapering fingers, the clean, dry lips,^ and what is 2 most important, the refined language. Lesbia is compared also to

Quintia in 86. The intent is the same as in 43; the method is quite

different. There Catullus concedes that Quintia is formosa multis

inasmuch as she is Candida, longa, recta (86.1-2), but as in 43, the

lady lacks charm, uenustas (86.3), and has not one sparkle of wit in

that huge figure: nulla in tarn magno est corpora mica salis (86.4).

There are two things to note here: first, the notion of charm, wit, and

sophistication. It is to be expected, on the one hand, that the provin­

cial puella of 43 would lack a lingua elegans, but on the other hand,

the importance of this virtue is brought home when an admittedly beauti­

ful woman is dismissed for lacking it. The poet plays on uenustas; it

does, after all, derive from Venus, and if a woman is to rival the god-

dess, she must have uenustas. Note how uenustas and Veneres end lines

3 and 6 respectively. Here the poet defines the pulcerrima (86.5): she

who has both forma and uenustas. The second observation is of size: in

tarn magno corpore (86.4) is simply a mocking restatement of longa (86.1), 4 • for one of the conventional characteristics of a goddess is height.

What both of these points lead to, then, is that the purpose of 86, as

^Cf. Ovid Amores 3.3.7-9; Prop. 2.2.5-7, 2.12.23-24. 2 Or her brilliant and informed conversation; also cf. Wilhelm Kroll, C. Valerius Catullus (5th ed.; Stuttgart: B. G. Teubner, 1968), p. 79; and Ellis, p. 151. 3 Of. Meleager's play of xapLÇ and XdpuTsq in Anthologia Palatina 5.140.3-4 and 149.2-3. 4 Cf. esp. Prop. 2.2.5; Homer Odyssey 17.248; Ovid Amores 2.4.33, 3.3.8; Herodotus 1.60. 22

in 51 and 68, is to describe more a goddess than a woman. There is a

lack of graphic specifics (breasts like apples, lips like roses, golden hair, etc.) because these metaphors are too commonplace for Catullus’

Lesbia-. For his idealized woman none but the most universally recognized

divine attributes will do. Still he is not impressed so much with her

looks— which are incomparable (cf. 43.7)— as he is with her spirit.

As stated, the poems of Delusion are divisible into two groups;

the Infatuation and the Affair itself. The outstanding difference between

the two is that in 51, 86, 43 there is no indication of any contact— physical or verbal— between Lesbia and Catullus; much less is there a re­

ciprocity of love. Catullus himself is depicted to be in love, or at

least smitten (cf. 51.5ff.), but the only action attributed to Lesbia

thus far is her sweet laughter, dulce ridentem (51.5). Like most ideal­

izations she is static, and it is only in the Affair poems (2, 3, 83, 92,

5, 7) that she assumes an individual personality. Furthermore, it is in

these poems that the poet implies dramatic situations, albeit unembel­

lished and without backdrop and props. In these Lusus or the Desire for

Lusus with Lesbia is the theme.

2

Passer, delicire meae puellae, quicum ludere, quern in sinu tenere, cui primum digitum dare appetenti et acris solet incitare morsus, cum desiderio meo nitenti 5 carum nescio quid lubet iocari, et solaciolum sui doloris, credo, ut turn grauis acquiescat ardor: tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem et tristis animi leuare curas! 10

3

Lugete, o Veneres Cupidinesque, 23

et quantum est hominum uenustiorum: passer mortuus est meae puellae, passer, deliciae meae puellae, quem plus ilia oculis suis amabat. 5 nam mellitus erat suamque norat ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem, nec sese a gremio il]lus mouebat, sed circumsiliens moro hue modo illuc ad solam dominam usque pipiabat; 10 qui nunc it per iter tenebricosum illud, unde negant redire quemquam. at uobis maie sit, malae tenebrae Orci, quae omnia bella deuoratis; tam bellum mihi passerem abstulistis. 15 o factum maie! o miselle passer! tua nunc opera meae puellae flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli.

The Passer poems have been designated among those in which Ca­ tullus desires lusus with Lesbia. In 51 he implied a wish to be loved by her, and he dared only to imagine himself sitting beside her, sedens aduersus (51.3); there was no desire for tumbling her on the cushions!

Here again lies the point of departure from the Infatuation phase. In

2 and 3, through the passer,^ the poet creates at once a surrogate lover as well as a rival, and Catullus’ puella (cf. 2.1) is playing (cf. lu­ dere, iocari, 2.2,6,9) with that rival lover. It is hard to avoid a comparison with ille of 51. Tliat scene— Lesbia and her young man— is repeated in 2, but the mood of 2 is decidedly playful, and the portrayal of Lesbia is more intimate: here Lesbia nostra (cf. 43.7) is mea puella

(2.1), and Lesbia is described here not merely by a laugh (cf. 51.5). On the contrary, she is very real, and through the actions of the passer

Catullus is able to touch on the lovely parts of her body: quem in sinu tenere / cui primum digitum dare appetenti (2.2-3). To heighten the

^Passer seems to have been a term of endearment among lovers; cf. Plautus Asinaria 666,693-94: passerculum. 24 sexuality, he notes Lesbia’s attempt to find in the bird solaciolum sui doloris (2.7).

In itself the poem points up four important themes: ludere. desiderium. mea puella. and dolor. The lusus between Lesbia and Catullus is apparently not yet realized, inasmuch as the whole tenor of the poem is wish and subrogation. The lover refers to his puella as desiderio meo nitenti (2.5).^ Sheridan Baker accepts the unanimous opinion of annotators and commentators that desiderium is a pet word indicating a lover's future hope, but he suggests the possible reading of "longing 2 again." If it could be decided beyond doubt that desiderium here means

"an object of longing not yet possessed" and not "an object now again desired," the poem could immediately be interpreted as the thoughts of a distant admirer and not of an absent lover. But to prove either de- 3 pends on the interpretation of the companion poem 3. l-Jhether that poem is mock or serious, the fact remains that Catullus and Lesbia are not together in 2, and Catullus is longing for her. He also is in need of

Sheridan Baker, "Catullus' cum desiderio meo," CP. 53 (1958), 243, makes an ingenious observation comparing desiderio meo nitenti with amore tuo (87.4; see below, p. 41) so that the meaning would be "shining with desire for me." Baker admits that this is not the correct literal interpretation, but is a play on words: "Catullus intends . . . by a momentary suggestion of 'desire for me' . . . that Lesbia has been long­ ing for him for some time, that she is still holding him at a distance, though she really wants him as much as he wants her." 2 Ibid. 3 If the companion poem is completely mock and even cynical, it should be interpreted that the passer was indeed a rival and that Catul­ lus was impatiently waiting to step into his place. Mischief can easily be interpreted in tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem (2.9). If 3 is serious, then it is likely that the passer, representing Catullus or his love— and not the rival— was perhaps a gift from him to her to remind Lesbia of Catullus when they could not be together. 25 some distraction to lighten his heavy heart; tecum ludere sicut ipsa possem / et tristis animi leuare curas (2.9-10).

To strengthen the implication that meae puellae (2.1) means that Catullus' love is reciprocated, one cannot avoid the statement:

cum desiderio meo nitenti carum nescio quid lubet iocari, et solaciolum sui doloris, credo, ut tum grauis acquiescat ardor (2.5-8).

The lover is of the opinion— credo (2.8)— that Lesbia, too, is burning with love, just as he did (cf. 51.10, flamma demanat). She, just as he, needs something to soothe her suffering, solaciolum sui doloris (2.7).

This phrase must be interpreted as Catullus' certainty that Lesbia longs

for his attentions. Solaciolum must be understood as that which will make Lesbia feel better.^

Catullus is represented as having imagined a love in Lesbia that will match equally his own. This indeed is the key to his delusion and

the cause of his search for a definition of the kinds of love in the poems of Insight and Definition. It seems that in 2 Catullus has assumed

from Lesbia's mood, as she plays with the bird, that she, as he, is

^ e r unhappy situation compares with that of Catullus himself (outside of the Lesbia cycle) in 38.1-6:

Malest, Cornifici, tuo Catullo, malest, me hercule, et laboriose, et magis magis in dies et horas. quem tu, quod minimum facillimumque est, qua solatus es allocutione? irascor tibi. sic meos amores?

In both instances Lesbia and Catullus need some assurances of love. For Lesbia it would be Catullus' presence in place of the inadequate passer (note the diminutive solaciolum); for Catullus in 38 it would be words of friendship from Cornificius. The result of each would be the same: the soothing satisfaction of being loved and having one's lover at hand. 26 trying to distract herself from a deep pang. Compare her dolor and grauis ardor (2.7,8) to Catullus’ tristis animi curas (2.10) and to

Catullus miser and otium molestum (cf. 51.5,13). There is no mere in­ fatuation here; the poet has portrayed an imagined reciprocated passion, and it may be assumed that Catullus is correct in his assumptions of this reciprocity as the amorous Kiss poems, 5 and 7, bear out. Lesbia's love for Catullus is never to be questioned (cf. 83, 92, 109, 11), only her kind of love (cf. 109, 76) and her love for him alone (cf. 72.1).

In 3 there is a restatement of two themes: mea puella— no fewer than three times (3.3,4,17)— and amabat (3.5). It is clear that not only is Catullus portrayed as thinking of Lesbia as his own (cf. 2.1),

Lut also as his puella (cf. Caecilius’ puella, 35.8). From the poet's usage of puella elsewhere it becomes apparent that the word implies sexual intimacy (cf. Ameana the whore, puella defututa, 41.1,3). The word amabat recalls the ardor and desiderium of 2.5,8. Even though the object of amabat is the passer and not Catullus, one can see the impli­

cit dichotomy of love with which Catullus is openly forced to struggle

in 109, in the Definition poems, and in 76. Lesbia’s passion for the bird is physical: she loved him more than her own eyes: quem plus ilia

oculis suis amabat (3.5). It is those same poor little eyes that must

suffer when the passer is gone: flendo turgiduli rubent ocelli (3.18).

But the kind of love which the bird has is deeper:

. . . suamque norat ipsam tam bene quam puella matrem nec sese a gremio illius mouebat (3.6-8).

The bird was as faithful as a young daughter, loath to stray from her

mother's lap. The confusion of sexes in the simile (passer compared 27 with puella) does not disturb the poet and in fact points up the inten­ sity and quality of the love itself, rather than concentrating on the sex of the one loving. This kind of love expression reaches its fullest development in 72.4: sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos (to be dis­ cussed later). Similarly, the use of norat contrasting with Lesbia’s amabat is a preliminary hint at Catullus' purported search for defini­ tions of love (cf. however, nosse, 72.1, where it reflects carnal love).

A final observation concerns dominam (3.10). The connotations it has in other poems will be discussed later and at length. For now one should note the identification of matrem (3.10) and dominam, and secondly, that there is for the passer but one mistress, solam dominam

(3.10). If Catullus appears to find himself identifying with the passer/ rival, this will be a meaningful phrase; but nevertheless, a relation­ ship has been established: the girl can have but one mother; the passer— a plaything— can have but one mistress. The converse is not necessarily true.

83

Lesbia mi praesente uiro mala plurima dicit: haec illi fatuo maxima laetitia est. mule, nihil sentis? si nostri oblita taceret, Sana asset; nunc quod gannit et obloquitur, non solum nieminit, sed quae multo acrior est res, 5 irata est. hoc est, uritur et loquitur.

92

Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam de me: Lesbia me dispeream nisi amat. quo signo? quia sunt totidem mea: deprecor illam assidue, uerum dispeream nisi amo.

Whereas from 2 and 3 actual contact, much less lusus, cannot be inferred, 83 and 92 give more of an indication of interaction 28

between Catullus and Lesbia. First, there is no doubt in these poems

that Lesbia and Catullus have met, and that she deigns to speak to him,

albeit in unkind terms : Lesbia mi praesente uiro mala plurima dicit

(83.1) and Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam / ^ me (92.1-2).

The identical introductions immediately pair the poems, just as 43 and

86, and 2 and 3. The themes are similar: Lesbia’s overtly harsh atti­

tude toward Catullus. The juxtaposition of Lesbia and mi in both poems

graphically creates a face-to-face confrontation. The identification

of Catullus with Lesbia’s lover in 51 (cf. position of ille mi, 51.1) is

complete in the poet’s mind. Here it is Catullus alone who is beside her— even in her husband’s presence, praesente uiro (83.1). Lesbia’s husband is mentioned elsewhere but once, and briefly: [Lesbia] ipsius

ex ipso dempta uiri gremio (68.146). From Catullus’ passing mention

there and from the description of the husband, illo fatuo . . . mule

(83.2,3), it is likely that Catullus fears him little. The husband is

delighted (cf. maxima laetitia, 83.2) over Catullus' verbal beating from

Lesbia, and no doubt his delight is exceeded only by Catullus’ o t o ; for

the husband has not the slightest suspicion of the true state of affairs.

Looking at the heart of the poem brings to light another point:

. . . si nostri oblita taceret, sana esset; nunc quod gannit et obloquitur, non solum meminit, sed, quae multo acrior est res, irata est . . . (83.3-6).

Oblita and meminit have a connotation of the present rather than the

past. "If she could forget me, she would be quiet. If she were quiet,

she’d regain composure. But her snarling keeps her from forgetting me,

and having me on her mind only makes her angry." This imitates the tone

of 92: "Insulting me to my face is proof of her love. ..." 29

Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam de me: Lesbia me dispeream nisi amat (92.1-2).

This is in keeping with the Delusion theme drawn from 2; viz., that

Lesbia loves him as he loves her. In fact, 92 becomes the most eloquent

revelation of this delusion. But 83 is also symptomatic of self-decep­ tion, whether the scene occurs before or after the first joys of the 1 2 affair. Catullus believes that Lesbia burns, uritur (83.6) with a passion recollective of Catullus' own in 51. In that vein [Lesbiam]

dulce ridentem (51.5) must be compared further with the Lesbia who

gannit et obloquitur (83.4). This is a different side of the lady,

completely incompatible with the diuina puella of 51, 43, 86, and her

actions must be explained by Catullus as a pretence or forced disguise.

Second, here is presented another instance of the disease motif, this

time with regard to Lesbia: if she were quiet she would be all right,

sana esset (83.4). Again Catullus is equating her state with his own

"misery" described in 51. The picture of Lesbia insana is of a woman who has lost control and is hardly elegante lingua (cf. 43.4): e.g., mala plurima dicit and even gannit (83.1,4). She is beside herself and completely out of character all because, so Catullus claims, like him

Again one is forced to recognize the difficulty of an exact se­ quential placement of the poems. Catullus is convinced in 83 that Lesbia loves him. If what is depicted in 83 is supposed to precede the liaison, Catullus must be understood as one who is certain that she is masking her feelings to keep from giving herself away to her husband, and perhaps Ca­ tullus, too. If the content of 83 is to follow the liaison, she is un­ successfully trying to purge herself of the passion she still feels for Catullus. The fact that she is angered at not being able to put Catullus from her thoughts indicates that this is not supposed to be during the happy apex of their affair since such thoughts, especially in her hus­ band's presence, would be sweetly desired. 2 And "stews," coquitur (83.6), if Kroll, p. 257, is correct in drawing comparisons from Plautus Trinummus 225 and Vergil Aeneid 7.345. 30

(cf. 92.3-4), she knows this kind of exhibition is a distraction and a pose.

Poem 92 is free from some of the vagueness and ambiguity of its twin. No scene can be imagined. There is but one image, in dispeream

(92.2,5), and that image depends on a literal connotation of a colloqui­ alism.^ The theme is the same, but the presentation is in the form of a bald syllogism. The poetic merit of the piece rests on the clever use of the elegiacs. "Lesbia loves me; there's no doubt about it. As a proof I offer the fact that she's forever bringing me down":

Lesbia mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam de me: Lesbia me dispeream nisi amat (92.1-2).

His reasoning is deductive. He is predisposed to the firm conviction

that she loves him as he loves her, and so he rationalizes her conduct

accordingly. Perhaps he anticipates the discovery of the fallacy in

his argument and is bound to give corollary proof: "Want proof? I my­

self say the worst of her constantly, and I'll be damned if I'm not in

love! Is there any difference?":

quo signo? quia sunt totidem mea: deprecor illam assidue, uerum dispeream nisi amo (92.3-4).

Lesbia insults him; a priori she loves him— since he himself pretends to

insult her because he loves her. The point of the poem is a chiastic

equation of'.fact with motivation and motivation with fact. Note the

\ balance between mi dicit semper male nec tacet umquam (92.1) and deprecor

illam assidue (92.3x4). The meaning of deprecor here is a more emotional

male dico (cf. Aulus Gellius 7.16.13). In 92 Catullus speaks ill of

^Cf. Horace Satires 1.9.47; Catalepton 4.3; Prop. 2.21.9. 31

Lesbia because he, like Lesbia, cannot reveal the love he feels; that is why he assumes that she, like him, is holding a deceptive pose. It would seem, from the strength of deprecor and assidue (92.3,4), that

Lesbia is receiving constant abuse from Catullus, perhaps because he wishes not to reveal himself. As in 83, Catullus seems convinced that

Lesbia loves him: Lesbia me dispeream nisi amat (92.2). The statement may seem bare, but amare is full of special meaning for our poet. In

3.5 Lesbia loved (amabat) the passer more than her o\ra eyes. There this love was contrasted with the kind of spiritual devotion in the puella- matrem simile. In 83 there is no mention of amat, but it is obvious that uritur (83.6) is synonymous with it; compare this with Catullus’ own passion, uror (72.5). And here in 92 there are amat and amo. Again

Catullus is speaking not of a spiritual love, but of a physical one.

The proof for this remains to be seen in the discussion of other poems.

5

Viuamus, mea Lesbia, atque amemus, rumoresque senum seueriorum omnes unius aestimemus assis! soles occidere et redire possunt: nobis cum semel occidit breuis lux, 5 nox est perpétua una dormienda. da mi basia mille, deinde centum, dein mille altera, dein secunda centum, deinde usque altera mille, deinde centum. dein, cum milia multa fecerimus, 10 conturbabimus ilia, ne sciamus, aut ne quis malus inuidere possit, cum tantum sciat esse basiorum.

Quaeris, quot mihi basiationes tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque. quam magnus numerus Libyssae harenae lasarpiciferis iacet Cyrenis oraclum louis inter aestuosi et Batti ueteris sacrum sepulcrum; 32

aut quam sidera multa, cum tacet nox, furtiuos hominum uident amores; tam te basia multa basiare uesano satis et super Catullo est, 10 quae nec pernumerare curiosi possint nec mala fascinare lingua.

The intimacy of the Kiss poems is evident even in the syntax.

In the other poems, with the exception of 51, Lesbia has appeared in the third person; but even in 51, though Catullus does address Lesbia— nam simul te, / Lesbia, aspexi (51.6-7)— the dramatic situation demands that

Catullus’ address be an apostrophe. The intimacy of the direct addresses in 5.1 and 7.2 is deepened by the first person plural: e.g., uiuamus, amemus, aestimemus, fecerimus, conturbabimus, sciamus (5.1,3,10,11); by the second person singular, quaeris (7.1); by the first personal pronoun, nobis (5.5); and by the ^ mi (5.7). Here, because of the use of m i , mihi, tuae, and ^ (5.7, 7.1,2,9), the mea (5.1) achieves the meaning which the poet wanted to convey in 43.7, 2.1, and 3.5,6,17. The liaison has been realized: Lesbia and Catullus are together speaking words of love. The poems serve a twofold purpose: to communicate the limitless abandon of their united love^ and to confound by magic the censorious who would bring a swift end to the affair. The theme is carpe diem, especially in 5.5: nobis cum semel occidit breuis lux. More subtly this haste to enjoy the hour appears through the hortatory use of subjunctives; uiuamus, amemus, aestimemus (5.1,3). Carpe diem itself implies two themes: brevity, of course, but also passion. The basia of 5.7 and the

Cf. W. M. A. Grimaldi, "The Lesbia Love Lyrics," C P , 60 (1965), p. 92, who is convinced that in 5 and 7 "Lesbia's attitude is obviously passive or at most one of bemused tolerance." Lesbia is passive only by comparison with Catullus’ enthusiasm; as for "tolerant," it is obvious also that Grimaldi does not understand the pretended boredom of a woman who is pleased and content with the romantic protestations of a young man. 33 basiationes, basia, and basiare of 7.1,9 need little comment, other than

that besides obviously pairing the poems, they relate 5 and 7 to two

other poems, 2 and 3. There ludere and iocari (2.2,6) are explained by:

. . . quem in sinu tenere, cui primum digitum dare appetenti et acris solet incitare morsus (2.2-4);

also by:

nec sese a gremio illius mouebat sed circumsiliens modo hue modo illuc (3.8-9).

The key words are tenere. sinu and gremio, incitare and morsus. Thus we

can see that the passer is thought of in terms of a human lover whom Ca­

tullus would like to replace. When Lesbia asks Catullus how many kisses will satisfy him,

quaeris, quot mihi basiationes tuae, Lesbia, sint satis superque (7.1-2),

she is provoking him to more passion just as she used to provoke the bird to bite her fingertip:

cui primum digitum dare appetenti et acris solet incitare morsus (2.3-4).

These acris morsus are certainly the basia of 5 end 7. Lesbia enjoys

the bird’s sharp pecking— or she would not continue (cf. solet, 2.4)—

and this helps us to interpret her reasons for asking quot basiationes.

Her passion with Catullus is the same kind that drove the bird to peck­

ing; she knew that by her question she would unleash a frenzy in Ca­

tullus to prove his passion for her. A further inference can. be made:

the kind of woman Lesbia is supposed to be can be seen in the kind of

passion she enjoys, viz. prolonged lovemaking, indicated by the numbers

in 5.7-10 and 7.1,3,7,9,11.

Numbers 5 and 7 are not love poems, but poems of passion. The 34

images are fiery ones recalling the flamma and uritur of 51.10 and 83.6.

Soles and lux (5.4,5) are symbolic of the bright joy of love. The image

is reflected in the sun shining on the harenae (7.3) and in sidera (7.7).^

Sand gleams like stars, and stars themselves are like small suns. The sun image in 5 becomes more meaningful in light of the image of desert heat in 7. The romantic setting conjures up the blazing, relentless sun, yet the imagery is full of night: aut quam sidera multa cum tacet nox (7.7). The oxymoron is that even in the cool of night there is blazing passion. A. C. Moorhouse observes that not only is aestuosi

(7.5) a symbol for heated, disturbed passion, but that the obscure

lasarpiciferis (7.4) derives from the name for an herb used in the "treat- ment of heart, hysteria, hypochondria, nervous instability." Because of

this symbolized expression of passion there is left no interpretation but

passion for amemus and amores (5.1, 7.8). In these poems there is no

thought given to any other kind of love. These poems serve as ample

definitions for the amat and amo of 92.2,4, and they recall the use of

amabat in 2.5. It is to this theme that the poet returns in the next phase of the relationship to be considered.

A final mention of the sickness motif is appropriate to close

Ibid.; "The sands as we know from the context are those of the Libyan desert, a barren, lifeless, place which suggests the fruitlessness of his love. And the stars look do\m on furtiuos amores" (cf. A.P. 7.199, 203 in which stars are involved as witnesses of the beloved's infideli­ ty). Doubtless the desert suggests lifelessness (cf. sepulcrum, 7.6) and fruitlessness; but Catullus is not in 5 and 7 implying this of his present circumstances. He is simply generalizing, saying, "This too will pass away; so let us enjoy it." The obscure allusion to infidelity may be present, but again it is in the future; cf. 70.3-4 which is pre­ requisite to the Infidelity phase.

^A. C. Moorhouse, "Two Adjectives in Catullus 7," A J P , 84 (1963), 418. 35 this discussion of the Delusion. The theme of Catullus’ fevered passion is proposed in 51.5ff. and is applied equally to Lesbia in 83.3-4 (cf. especially sana esset). It is explicitly restated for Catullus in 7.10: uesano . . . Catullo.^

In the consummation of the affair, the passion mounts. Certain important themes are introduced and restated: the misery, insanity, fevered sickness, abandon ascribed to Catullus; Lesbia’s unlimited ca­ pacity for passion, her goddess-like aspects; his rivals. In all this 2 excitement, there is little pause for reflection. The action is steady and upward toward a definite goal: a picture of Catullus making love to his Lesbia.

Insight

109

lucundum, mea uita, mihi proponis amorem hunc nostrum inter nos perpetuumque fore, di magni, facite ut uere promittere possit, atque id sincere dicat et ex animo.

Grimaldi, p. 92, concludes that because of the allusions to sickness in 5 and 7 "Catullus surely knows that his love is not returned." Recalling what Catullus interprets as Lesbia's o \m sickness in 83, it must be objected that in 5 and 7, the farthest thought from Catullus’ mind is doubt; he had been convinced of her love and here he has physical proof. 2 Cf. ibid., p. 91, where Grimaldi, viewing the ambivalence in the two parts of 51, suggests that the insight into the reality of the situ­ ation in 11, 70, 72, 75, 76, 85, 109 is "present also in 51, 2, 3, 5, 7 which have been viewed as expressing strong, almost blind, affirmation of his love. . . . It would appear that it creates ironic tension within the poems, a wry twist of the bittersweet . . . [and this] polarity gives more depth." If indeed there is a tension in these poems, other than the self-warning in 51.13-16 which seems like an afterthought, Catullus is not portrayed as being aware of it. It is not until later that Catullus recognizes the bitterness of the affair that seemed only sweet (cf. dulcem . . . amaritiem, 68.18). 36

ut liceat nobis tota perducere uita 5 aeternum hoc sanctae foedus amicitiae.

The conversational exchange between Catullus and Lesbia is de­ scribed in 5 and especially 7, and it is this exchange which the poet discusses in 109, where he tries to articulate something more than phys­ ical passion (amor). Unlike the Kiss poems, however, 109 is not a dis­ play of his uncontrolled emotion; it is a conscious attempt to see both sides of the affair and both sides of himself. The poem is full of antithesis. First, as in 7, Catullus is presented directly addressing

Lesbia, again quoting her, and again alluding to their consummated love:

lucundum, mea uita, mihi proponis amorem hunc nostrum inter nos perpetuumque fore (109.1-2). lucundum is how the affair (amorem) is described; it is a more essential description than the incidental furtiuos amores (7.8). But this adjec­ tive purportedly is Lesbia's, not Catullus' (cf. mihi proponis, 190.1).

She suggests also that their passion will be perpetuum (109.2). This is a distinct and ironical echo of Catullus' warning in 5.6: nox est perpétua una dormienda. The same adjective, then, has been applied both to the duration of the affair and to the time after its end. Within 109 itself the important concepts of the first two lines find corresponden­ ces in the following lines: iucundum with sanctae (109.6), amorem with foedus amicitiae (109.6), perpetuum with aeternum (109.6), and even hunc inter nos with nobis tota . '. . uita (109.5). The position of iucundum indicates its importance. There is nothing basically pejorative in the word, but it is made worthless by comparison with a more serious at­ tributive, sanctae. The two words bespeak the attitudes of the lovers:

Lesbia apparently fails to go deeper than the pleasant diversion of the 37 affair; her concern is ludere, and indeed iucundum is a direct verbal echo of iocari (2.6). However, Catullus, because of his own notions of their love, is evidently unable to see clearly the worthlessness of Les­ bia's attitude, and gradually, perhaps unconsciously, he rephrases her declaration of love. Just as iucundum, the first word of the poem, is transformed into sanctae in the last line, so too are the nouns they modify; amorem in the first line becomes amicitiae, the last word of the poem. This transformation of iucundum to sanctae is achieved via the manner in which Catullus wants Lesbia to promise: uere . . . sincere et ex animo^ (109.4,6). These words, describing how seriously she should promise, suggest the gravity (cf. sanctae) of the promise itself, i.e. of the foedus amicitiae. Catullus envisions the two of them involved not merely in a passion to be enjoyed, but a foedus amicitiae to be regarded with reverence (cf. sanctae). Similarly, the relationship which Lesbia wants to be perpetuum Catullus apparently wants to be aeternum. The distinction between these concepts, subtle as it is, should not be over­ looked. The radical meaning of perpetuus is "connected, unbroken, con­ tinuous," whereas aeternus means literally "lasting an eon."^ Catullus

^Cf. Ter. Eunuch 175. 2 Cf. perpetuae uigiliae stationesque (Caesar Bellum ciuile 1.21) and perpétua oratio (Quintilian 2.20.7; Livy 4.6.1), i.e. a set speech uninterrupted by debate. Perpetuus is synonymous with continuas, assi- duus; see A. Ernout and A. Meillet, Dictionnaire étymologique de la langue latine (4th éd.; Paris: Librairie C. Klincksieck, 1959), p. 499. For aeternus, cf. Varro De lingua Latina 6.11. Contrast the use of ae- terno foedere (Vergil Aen. 11.356) and lex perpétua (Cicero ^ nature de- orum 1.14). Lucretius and Horace use the two adjectives to describe the sleep of death: aeternum soporem (Lucr. 3.466), perpetuus sopor (Hor. Odes 1.24.5); hence they would appear to be synonymous. However, whereas in his dirge for Quintilius Horace laments the impossibility of disrup­ ting that rest, Lucretius considers death as lasting as the indestruc­ tible atoms. Perpetuus, then, connotes continuity; aeternus, timeless­ ness. 38

seems to be using this shade of distinction to indicate that although a

love affair can be interrupted, it is only true and mutual love which

can last forever.^

The formality of foedus amicitiae is at once striking. In an

informative discussion David 0. Ross explains that the poet is resort­

ing to a political metaphor immediately recognizable to his audience.

He reminds us that the

old Roman substitute for party was amicitia, friendship. Ami- citia in politics was a responsible relationship, [and] foedus is often used to mark the formal necessity of obligations in­ herent in a political amicitia.%

Catullus elsewhere calls their love amor (cf. 92, 5, 7), but here is

seen another kind of love (cf. 3.5-7), not only one that hinges on phys­

ical exchanges (cf. da mi basia, 5.8), but also one that is based on a

relationship of trust. It is made clear that Catullus recalls how oth­

ers presumably have gone before him (cf. 51.2-3) because there was no 3 true amicitia. They, it seems, were unable to elicit from Lesbia more

than a iucundum amorem. In a comprehensive article on the sanctae

foedus amicitiae motif and its implications, P. McGushin gets more to

This use of perpetuus recalls that in 5.6: nox est perpétua una dormienda. Now that meaning becomes clearer: nox perpétua una, i.e. death, will not be disturbed by rising and setting suns nor by malicious persons (cf. 5.4,12). 2 David 0. Ross, Style and Tradition in Catullus (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1969), p. 84.

Although Ross feels that amicitia is not derivable from the Hellenistic epigrammatic cpiXCa (ibid., p. 92), the connotations of each are nearly identical, and perhaps he might better have said that Catullus was not consciously imitating or translating a Greek word so much as he was cleverly adapting a Roman political, legal concept. Catullus seems to be the first and only erotic poet to have used amicitia in this sense. Likewise, the distinction which he makes in this conceit between amor and amicitia has no Greek model, e.g. epcùç and ipcXCa. 39 the heart of the matter than does Ross.^ Poem 109, with its legalistic tenor, is in effect a marriage contract, since for Catullus the rela­ tionship

was essentially a marriage, certainly a marriage in spirit; and further . . . the love which he strove to express and found so hard to reject is that full blend of physical and spiritual feeling which finds its truest expression in con­ jugal love. . . . It matters little that marriage was not possible [cf. 70], nor perhaps even desirable (68.143-46); apart from participating in an actual ceremony, he felt himself in the position of a husband and he expressed his joy in the liaison, his grief at rejection, and justified his ultimate abandonment of Lesbia in terms which can fully be ascribed only to a husband, terms which he has used else­ where when dealing with the joy and sorrow of married love.^

Kenneth Quinn fails to go as deeply as McGushin; he feels that Catullus wanted an "intellectual companion" as well as a passionate lover and that this wish "gave shape to a new conception of a kind of amor that could also be amicitia." This interpretation disregards the serious language of 109, as well as the polarity, and not merely the shade of distinction, between amor and amicitia that is so obvious in the Defini­ tion poems.

^P. McGushin, "Catullus’ sanctae foedus amicitiae," CP, 62 (1967), 85-93. 2 Ibid., pp. 85, 87; cf. esp. the marriage poems (61, 62, 64, 68), As valid and essential as a consideration of the formal epithalamia (61 and 62) is to an understanding of Catullus’ idealization of Lesbia, of the affair, and of himself for that matter, these poems cannot be ex­ amined extensively in this paper since this thesis is mainly concerned with the disillusionment of the lover. The "Attis," however, reflects this disillusionment through a particular character, as do parts of 64 and 68 (which is the method of the entire Lesbia cycle); on the other hand, 61 and 62 are idealized and objective presentations. 3 Kenneth Quinn, The Catullan Revolution (Cambridge: W. Heffer & Sons Ltd, 1969), p. 81. 40

87

Nulla potest mulier tantum se dicere amatam uere, quantum a me Lesbia amata mea est. nulla fides ullo fuit umquam foedere tanta, quanta in amore tuo ex parte reperta mea est.

A variation of the same foedus and amor themes appears in 87, but the relationship of Catullus and Lesbia is clarified by the intro­ duction of the concept of fides, later to be so important in Propertius'

Cynthia cycle.^ Ross observes that, whereas political amicitia is re­ served for equals, "fides is a bond which makes possible the patron-client relationship" and that fides is associated with deditio, formal surrender 2 and allegiance. Catullus is presented as revealing the fides as his own, not Lesbia’s:

nulla fides ullo fuit umquam foedere tanta, quanta in amore tuo ex parte reperta mea est (87.3-4).

If Ross’ claim is accepted, it ought to be assumed that here Catullus ap­ parently sees himself as the inferior of Lesbia, mortal to goddess (cf.

51), though he has achieved the divine position of her lover.

If it were not for the aoristic tenses, e.g., amatum, amata est, fuit, reperta est (87.1,2,3,4), the unqualified declaration of love and the complete one-sidedness would demand the poem's placement in the De­ lusion phase of the affair. There is no wishfulness, however, just declaration; it is a completely positive poem. Although there is no clue to tell us what is supposed to have prompted this poem, Fordyce . believes that it, "like 72 and 75," belongs to the disillusionment period

(corresponding roughly to the Realization and Definition phase); "as in

^Cf. Boucher, pp. 91-92, for elegiac definition. 2 Ross, p. 85. 41

76 and 109 Catullus turns not in self-righteousness but in despair, to the obsessing thought of his own loyalty."^ There is simply no proof for identifying 87 with 72 and 75. Second, despair can be inferred only from the antithesis of Lesbia and Catullus: e.g. a me Lesbia and in amore tuo ex parte . . . mea (87.2,4), which can be interpreted as a sign of confrontation. But there is no distinct verbal clue to despair; in fact, the poem lacks any of the pain, regret, bitterness, or separa­ tion of poems yet to be discussed, e.g. 76. The amor theme is again contrasted with the foedus and, now, fides theme. Here, not as in 92.2,4, only Catullus is involved in the passion; but he also is involved in a foedus characterized by fides, which is united with the amor in 87.3-4: nulla fides . . . tanta, / quanta in amore tuo. In 109 it seemed that the amor was only on the part of Lesbia, but this poem reaffirms amor on

Catullus' part. The two emotions of amor and amicitia have here taken equal hold of Catullus. The very structure of the poem— the first dis­ tich on amor, the second on amicitia— graphically illustrates this di­ chotomy. The lover evidently recognizes the uniqueness of his emotional dilemma which in 109 was not so clear:

Nulla potest mulier tantum se dicere amatam uere, quantum a me Lesbia amata mea est. nulla fides . . . (87.1-3).

Catullus declares that there has never been the equal of his passion, nor the equal of his devotion. It is interesting that Catullus quanti­ fies both his passion and his devotion, viz. tantum . . . quantum (87.1-2) and tanta . . . quanta (87.3-4), just as he numbers his kisses in 5 and

7.

^C. J. Fordyce, Catullus (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1961), p. 380. 42

Lesbia is still mea in 87.2, but here she is not characterized as the puella of 2 and 3, but as a mulier, which in a particular sense can mean "wife.Catullus, then, is depicted as having come to think of Lesbia as more than a mistress, since because of the sanctae foedus amicitiae Lesbia is indeed his wife in all but name only.

These two poems 109 and 87 comprise, then, the second phase of emotional development. Insight. Catullus is seen as having satisfied himself with the knowledge of possessing Lesbia. He has shown no sign of suspecting that she feels otherwise, but he has through a germinal analysis of his own love suggested weaknesses in her love. Inadvertently, while he lays the foundations for a truly spiritual relationship, he re­ veals Lesbia’s inability to become deeply involved, and although on the whole the affair is not at all presented as one-sided, the lack of Les­ bia's participation is significant.

Infidelity

The third phase, Infidelity, is not marked by extensive suspicion or complaint. There is no narrative of progressive faithlessness, nor is there any indication that Lesbia has strayed to other couches— until after she returns. That she is supposed to have left him is known only

from incidental remarks in other poems not specifically about Lesbia.

There is only one personal address to her (107.4), and that is a gush of happiness over her return from a temporary disengagement. Otherwise

Lesbia is in the third person or anonymously addressed, which underscores

^Cf. Quint. 6.3.75. 43

Catullus* separation and rejection indicated throughout these poems.

At the end of this period, the physical loss of Lesbia is shown to be complete, but Catullus is described as yet to give her up and unable to recognize the impossibility of her returning the amicitia he has of­ fered her. The Infidelity phase begins with the Cheating poems 70, 107,

68b and ends with the poems of Lesbia's Desertion, 58, 37, 68a, 60.

70

Nulli se dicit mulier mea nubere malle quam mihi, non si se luppiter ipse petat. dicit; sed mulier cupido quod dicit amanti, in uento et rapida scribere oportet aqua.

In this traditionally inspired treatment the images of wind and rushing water are evocative of the star and sand images in 7. The same lack of control and limit is carried through: kisses are like words, words like wind, wind like water, water like sand, sand like stars; all of which are fluid images. There is a calm, unruffled manner about 70, an easy dismissal of a woman's words; there is no condemnation, not the slightest complaint. This reveals a realistic attitude. Catullus ap­ pears to know that marriage is impossible, so why make anything of her talk about it? Either it is to be assumed that Catullus expects her to cheat later, or he knows about it now and is being tolerant.

Poems 87 and 70 are formally related; the former begins with nulla, the latter with nulli; both consist of two antithetical distichs; both are declarations of love; both compare an individual situation with the general rule. In 87, however, it was Catullus who declared his love; in 70 it is Lesbia, indirectly, by indicating her preference to marry

^See Ellis, p. 435. 44

Catullus. Also there is between these two poems a common word which might bear some discussion: mulier (87.1, 70.1). Only in these poems does Catullus refer to Lesbia as mulier. In 70, although Catullus re­ lies little on her words, he nevertheless, by calling her mulier. shows respect for her dissatisfaction with a mere affair. This is the kind of permanence that Catullus seems to want, even though he suspects its im­ possibility. The exchange of vows— if 87 and 70 can be considered such— is important to the poet. He has not been able to represent to himself and us a convincingly mutual love, as he can in 45 where Septimius and

Acme blissfully, in each other’s heart as well as arms, vow their mutual devotion. The identification is hard to deny, and most of the motifs of

Catullus’ affair are present in 45: the embrace (45.2), the flame

(45.25-26), the wretchedness (45.21), the passion and delight (45.24).

But Acme is faithful to Septimius alone, uno in Septimio fidelis Acme

(45.23), and most important, their love is heart-felt (cf. 109.4) and mutual, mutuis animis amant amantur (45.20). Because of this they are happy beyond compare:

quis ullos homines beatiores uidit, quis Venerem auspicatiorem? (45.25-26).

This same happiness is to be enjoyed by Allius and his love (sitis felices et tu simul et tua uita, 68.155) and was apparently enjoyed by Manius when his wife was alive (68.1-10). In the formal epithalamia,

61 and 62, and in the epithalamic epyllion 64, the poet idealizes the marriage he claims he could never enjoy. The conjugal love of Calvus and Quintilla (96), though cut short by her death, is also idealized with care by the poet. Only his love, it seems, is doomed to the frustration, unhappiness, and unsanctioned vows of a marriage that can 45 never take place.^

107

Si quicquam cupido optantique optigit umquam insperanti, hoc est gratum anlmo proprie, quare hoc est gratum tnobis quoquet carius auro quod te restituis, Lesbia, mi cupido. restituis cupido atque insperanti, ipsa refers te 5 nobis, o lucem candidiore nota! quis me uno uiuit felicior, aut magis thac est • toptandus uita dicere quis poterit?

The only poem in which Catullus is pictured daring to call him­ self happy is 107: quis me uno uiuit felicior (7). But his motive is not the fulfillment of his ideals, rather simply the return of a tempo­ rarily unfaithful mistress. A break in relations, the hint of which

could be inferred from 70, is related only indirectly:

. . . te restituis, Lesbia, mi cupido. restituis cupido atque insperanti, refers te nobis . . . (107.4-6).

The poem (even disregarding the irreparably corrupt text of lines

3, 7, and 8) seems not to be one of the poet’s best. Nowhere else in the

cycle does the poet allow himself such unsophistication: the poem fairly stumbles over itself. The repetition of cupido (107.1,4,5), insperanti

(107.2,5), restituis (107.4,5), and gratum (107.2,3), as well as the var­

iation of opt-, viz. optantique optigit and toptandus (107.1,8), does

not serve to develop the theme; rather it simply shouts it. Compare the

Ellis, p. 435, feels that from nubere (70.1) it might be assumed that the husband of 83 is dead. But indirect discourse causes some vague­ ness. Since malle has no future infinitive, ^ . . . nubere malle (70.1) must serve to mean either that she would prefer to marry (if she were free) or that she does prefer to marry (now that she can). Because Ca­ tullus dismisses the proposal so lightly, it seems that he is well aware that circumstances prevent her words from fulfilment. If the husband were dead, nothing would stand in their way and Catullus would have reason for being optimistic and therefore credulous of her words, which in fact he is not. Also cf. McGushin’s remarks above, p. 39. 46 stuttering first line and the scattered répétitives to the formally re­ strained yet highly charged Poem 51. However, in 107 there is a con­ cealed cohesion: general statement (nothing is more welcome than a desperate wish fulfilled, 107.1-2); particular application (Lesbia has returned, 107.3-4); combined restatement of the first two distichs (she has returned in the face of his desperate pessimism, 107.5-6); editorial

(happiness, 107.6); and finally a development of the happiness theme

(107.7-8). The theme and structure, then, is deliberately planned, as is the expression which seems uncontrolled, bespeaking what is to be interpreted as a lover’s naïve reassurance.

Once Lesbia appears to have returned, Catullus is portrayed as being so shocked and overjoyed that he can think only of his former de­ spair beside his present happiness. There is no censure of her actions; nothing is to be forgiven because nothing was ever held against her.

She had no concept of the foedus, nor did she understand that their love was to be aeternum (109.6), "transcending time," rather than simply perpetuum (109.1), "unbroken" (until, of course, the affair is ended).^

Poem 107, despite Catullus’ most unrestrained outburst of hap­ piness, draws to a close like cymbals suddenly muted.

68.66-75,131-48,155-60 (68b in part)

tale fuit nobis Allius auxilium, 66 is clausum lato patefecit limite campum, isque domum nobis isque dedit dominae, ad quam communes exerceremus amores. quo mea se molli Candida diua pede 70 intulit et trito fulgentem in limine plantam innixa arguta constituit solea, coniugis ut quondam flagrans aduenit amore

^See above, pp. 37-38. 47

Protesilaeam Laudamia domum inceptam frustra, nondum cum sanguine sacro 75 hostia caelestis pacificasset arcs.

aut nihil aut paulo cui tum concédera digna lux mea se nostrum contulit in gremium, quam circumcursans hinc illius saepe Cupido fulgebat crocina candidus in tunica, quae tamen etsi uno non est contenta Catullo, 135 rara uerecundae furta faremus erae, ne nimium simus stultorum more molesti. saepe etiam luno, maxima caelicolum, coniugis in culpa flagrantem concoquit iram, noscens omniuoli plurima furta louis. 140 atqui nec diuis homines componier aequum est.

ingratum tremuli tolle parentis onus, nec tamen ilia mihi dextra deducta paterna fragrantem Assyrio uenit odore domum, sad furtiua dedit mira munuscula nocte, 145 ipsius ex ipso dempta uiri gremio. quare illud satis est, si nobis is datur unis quam lapide ilia dies candidiore notât.

sitis felices at tu simul et tua uita, 155 et domus in qua lusimus at domina, et qui principio nobis tterram dedit aufertt, a quo sunt primo omnia nata bona, et longe ante omnes mihi quae me carior ipso est, lux mea, qua uiua uiuere dulce mihi est. 160

Information supposedly available from 68b relates it to the

thought of 107. The tone of 68b is nostalgic, recalling with great plea­ sure the liaison of Catullus and Lesbia in the house of Allius (68.66-141,

143-48). Lesbia is compared to Laodamia (68.70-76) and Venus (68.133-34): she evidently was a goddess in the eyes of Catullus : mea . . . Candida

diua (68.70). The passage ends with a declaration of his satisfaction with her:

et longe ante omnes mihi quae me carior ipso est, lux mea, qua uiua uiuere dulce mihi est (68.159-60).

The verbal echoes of 107 are striking: compare carior, lux, and uiua 48 uiuere with carius, lucem, and uiuit (107.3,6,7). The tenor is the same: compare dulce with gratum and felicior (107.2,3,7). But there is a deeper connection of 107 with 68b. Abruptly halting his description of

Lesbia as he claims she was when she came to his arms that night (68.131-

34), the poet represents himself declaring that he will tolerate her in­ fidelities to keep the relationship from becoming a bore:

quam tamen etsi uno non est contenta Catullo, rara uerecundae furta feremus erae ne nimium simus stultorum more molesti (68.135-37).

He compares his supposed tolerance to Juno’s:

saepe etiam luno, maxima caelicolum coniugis in culpa flagrantem concoquit iram, noscens omniuoli plurima furta louis (68.138-40).

It is all presented very plainly: Catullus realizes that Lesbia cannot be content with him alone, that he must endure her intrigues since they are infrequent and she herself moderate in them, and most important, since she is his era, i.e. the woman to whom he is subject (cf. 87.3 and domi­ nas, 68.68); besides, so he rationalizes, such carping is downright fool­ ish and can get one into trouble.^ And so Catullus will not bother him­ self with angrily blaming her all the time; if Juno can put up with

Jupiter's indiscretions, Catullus can put up with Lesbia's. Though he immediately recants the comparison of mortal tolerance to divine, atqui nec diuis homines componier aequum est (68.141), the trans-sexual com­ parison is not without importance. Catullus, the male in the relation­ ship, is seen forced to assume the role which a female, even a goddess, must conventionally play. Lesbia is not his puella or mulier, but his

^It must be assumed that molestum of 51.13 is still on his mind, but now Catullus is made to appear willing to be cautious. 49

era. This helps to interpret the unquestioning, uncomplaining attitude

of 107: viz., whatever she does he must accept, to keep things from worsening, and if she deigns to favor him, he could not be luckier.

This is the source of the seruitium amoris of the elegists. Although the poet does not define the concept or develop the conceit in the Lesbia

cycle, he nevertheless supplies many essentials: the uncaring mistress,

the poetry of complaint, the lover's hopeless but accepted inability to

alleviate the situation; but our poet does not portray the lover as

self-abasing and willingly ruled by his mistress.. Catullus is variously

pictured as one who believes his love is reciprocated or as one who

wants to disengage himself when he knows that Lesbia does not love him.

This neglected aspect of seruitium amoris distinguishes our poet from

the elegists for the strength of personality which he depicts.^

Catullus has presented himself in a number of emotional poses.

He has longed infatuataly for an idealized woman (51, 43, 86); he has

reached a height of happiness at his finally possessing her (5, 7); he has tried to match an ideal woman with an ideal love (109) ; he has risen

from the depths of despair to uncontrolled, blissful optimism with her

infidelity and return (107); and here he is seen resigning himself to

the knowledge that tolerance will keep her through subsequent, though

Frank 0. Copley, "Servitium amoris in the Roman Elegists," TAPA» 78 (1947), 290, observes that "although the figure was known and occasion­ ally employed" by classical Greek authors (cf. Plato Symposium 183a: èGéXovTsç SouXsCaq SouXeusLV ouaç S.v 6ouXoq oôôsCç) and by Alexandrians, "it was current chiefly, if not exclusively, in the form of the god-slave myth, used as an exemplum [see Cat. 64.158-63 for the female-slave figure in Ariadne's complaint]. It connotes primarily the power of love, rather than the lover's humility and abasement, and there is no proof that it was ever endowed with the romantic-sentimental ideas with which later writers surrounded it." 50 infrequent, cheating (58b). The bubble has been distorted and pricked at so often tbaf if Is “bound to break.

58

Caeli, Lesbia nostra, Lesbia ilia, ilia Lesbia, quam Catullus unam plus quam se atque suos amauit omnes, nunc in quadriuiis et angiportis glubit magnanimi Remi nepotes. 5

The rara furta (68.136) were tolerable. The very fact that Les­ bia seemed to be not openly unfaithful to her lover was a sign for him that she loved him. But in 58, the poet describes a situation of open profligacy. No longer can Catullus call her his own. He is portrayed pouring his heart out to Caelius in a lamenting refrain: Caeli, Lesbia nostra, Lesbia ilia, / ilia Lesbia (58.1-2). The flow of 1^'s and ^a's makes one feel the sighs welling up in the speaker's throat. There is no hatred, just remorse. He calls her Lesbia nostra, and the irony is striking, for it is contrasted with Lesbia ilia, and that in turn is re­ flected by and contrasted with ilia Lesbia. One can see in the very words the process of separation. In the eyes of Catullus the affair is apparently over; contrast amauit with nunc (58.3-4). This introduces the parting phase. Catullus is pictured lacking the heart to condemn her; he can only present in realistic terms what has become of her:

nunc in quadriuiis et angiportis glubit magnanimi Remi nepotes (58.4-5).

This "sudden turn to the cold realism of ugly words''^ turns out, however to be more effective than a long invective or an enumeration of injuries.

There is in the poem, then, a detachment which is supposed to reflect his

^Fordyce, p. 231. 51 detachment from Lesbia. Catullus is presented speaking of himself in the third person and picturing Lesbia in places completely unbecoming the goddess of 51. He recalls his selfless devotion:

. . . quam Catullus unam plus quam se atque suos amauit omnes (58.3).

This selflessness and preference of her to all his friends and lovers recalls the theme of disquiet in 51. Indeed, his otium was molestum

(51.13), and like the beatas urbes (51.15-16), the once happy Catullus is shown at the point of ruin.

There are obvious correlations between 11 and 58, which will be discussed later; but the total absence of censure and rejection of Les­ bia would make Poem 58 superfluous in a phase beyond the Definition poems. There is no conflict of feeling because there is only shock and sorrow. Catullus' thoughts are supposedly prompted only by the loss of

Lesbia; he does not rationalize why things went wrong, nor has he the strength to entertain an inner struggle of love-hate emotions.

37

Salax taberna uosque contubernales, a pilleatis nona fratribus pila, solis putatis esse mentulas uobis, solis licere, quicquid est puellarum, confutuere et putare ceteros hircos? 5 an, continenter quod sedetis insulsi centum an ducenti, non putatis ausurum me una ducentos irrumare sessores? atqui putate: namque totius uobis frontem tabernae sopionibus scribam. 10 puella nam mi, quae meo sinu fugit, amata tantum quantum amabitur nulla, pro qua mihi sunt magna bella pugnata, consedit istic. hanc boni beatique omnes amatis, et quidem, quod indignum est, 15 omnes pusilli et semitarii moechi; tu praeter omnes une de capillatis, cuniculosae Celtiberiae fili, Egnati, opaca quern bonum facit barba 52

et dens Hibera defricatus urina. 20

68.13-30 (68a in part)

accipe, quis merser fortunae fluctibus ipse, ne amplius a misero dona beata petas. tempore quo primum uestis mihi tradita pura est, 15 multa satis lusi; non est dea nescia nostri, multa satis lusi; non est dea nescia nostri, quae dulcem curis miscet amaritiem. sed totum hoc studium luctu fraterna mihi mors abstulit. o misero frater adempte mihi, 20 tu mea tu moriens fregisti commoda, frater, tecum una tota est nostra sepulta domus, omnia tecum una perierunt gaudia nostra, quae tuus in uita dulcis alebat amor. cuius ego interitu tota de mente fugaui 25 haec studia atque omnes delicias animi. quare, quos scribis Veronae turpe Catullo esse, quod hic quisquis de meliore nota frigida deserto tepefactet membra cubili, id, Mani, non est turpe, magis miserum est. 30

More than 11, parts of 37^ and 68a are parallel to 58, specifi­ cally 37.11-16 and 68.15-18,25-30.^ In both poems Catullus is similarly

In 37, as in 58, 68, 11 (and 8 and 76 for that matter), Ca­ tullus reveals his feelings and reflections in words addressed to some­ one other than Lesbia. There may be some question whether this poem is a Lesbia poem since less than its half concerns her. The poem is ad­ dressed to all the disgusting characters who patronize the bordello, but especially it is addressed to Egnatius. Here, not as in 39, Egnatius is pictured in the context of his familiars; here he is used to epitomize the one or two hundred who have become Catullus' rivals. And so the poem is a detailed expansion of 58’s theme: Lesbia's profligacy. Unlike the Lesbius, Ravidus, and Egnatius poems (39, 40, 79; see above, p. 10, n. 1), its primary intent is not the vilification of a rival. Here the vices of Lesbia’s comers and Catullus' intense denunciations of them reveal the im­ morality to which Lesbia has fallen and the heartbreak which has befallen Catullus. 2 It is obvious that the attitude of Catullus toward Lesbia and the affair differs in 68a and 68b. In 68a he looks back on the affair; in 68b he looks ahead to happiness in the affair. Compare the last lines with lines 15-18:

et longe ante omnes mihi quae carior ipso est, lux mea, qua uiua uiuere dulce mihi est (68.159-60); 53

unable to condemn Lesbia, and he swells on his past devotion and present misery. The situation in 37 is as follows: Lesbia has left him, puella nam mi, quae meo sinu fugit (37.11), has taken up in a whorehouse, con­

sedit istinc. i.e. salax taberna (37.14.1), and is at the disposal of

the riffraff of the highways, as well as of the nobility:

. . . hanc boni beatique omnes amatis, et quidem, quod indignum est, omnes pusilli et semitarii moechi (37.14-16).

The correspondence to 58.4-5 is striking. There is greater detail in 37, but there are not just the magnanimi Remi nepotes, but the worst kind of

scum, who take their pleasure with her. There is an important comparison between 37 and 58 regarding amare. The contexts of amauit (58.3), amata

. . . amabitur (37.12), and amatis (37.15) explicitly demonstrate the two meanings amare is supposed to have for Catullus: regarding amauit, only

Catullus can have loved Lesbia more than himself or all his friends.

This unqualified love, whether for his mistress or his friends or his brother, is brought out through what seems to be the subconscious but;

tempore quo primum uestis mihi tradita pura est, iucundum cum aetas florida uer ageret, multa satis lusi: non est dea nescia nostri, quae dulcem curis miscet amaritiem (68.15-18).

By proving that the center section of 68b— the brother's death (68.91- 100)— is obviously an incidental afterthought, Copley, "The Unity of Catullus 68: A Further View," CP, 52 (1957), 29-32, argues logically and convincingly that 68b is indeed anterior to 68a. "Manlius [sic] has asked Catullus for a consolatio in the form of love poetry or some­ thing of the kind; Catullus, for old friendship's sake, feels he must do what he can. He writes 68a as a recusatio. It then occurs to him, perhaps as he composed the lines about his brother (19-26), that he did have an earlier poem, the general tenor of which might be of some help to Manlius. As he thought over these earlier lines, he saw that he could split the passage on Troy . . . and insert there a poem about his brother's death ..." (p. 32). 54 transference of love for his brother and Lesbia in the central part of

6Sb, and as Elder remarks, "in some way [he has] mingled the two loves just as the symbols of Laodamia and Helen embrace both Lesbia and the brother."^ Amata tantum quantum amabitur nulla (37.12) is an expansion on the statements of 58.3 and 87.1-2. lihereas these others are declara­ tions that no one has been loved as much as Lesbia by Catullus, 37.12 adds that no one will ever be loved as much. The idealization of his love is pictured complete in Catullus' mind. His love has outstripped the future as well as the past. The amatis of 37 is physical, base pas­ sion; note the context: quod indignum est (37.15). This shame is re­ called when Catullus supposedly reiterates Manius' pleas to return to

Rome and poetry:

quare, quod scribis Veronae turpe Catullo esse, quod hie quisquis de meliore nota frigida deserto tepefactet membra cubili, id, Mani, non est turpe, magis miserum est (68.27-30).

\"Jhat is more important is the connection Catullus himself is seen to draw between turpe and miserum. What Lesbia does may bring shame to her­ self and embarrassment to Catullus, but because Catullus cannot rid him­ self of his desire for her, his situation is miserum, as he himself was when he fell in love with her (cf. 51.5). The affair is past, multa satis lusi (68.17); what remains is the painful struggle in Catullus be­ tween his passion for her and the disgust he now feels.

60

Hum te leaena montibus Libystinis aut Scylla latrans infima inguinum parte tarn mente dura procreauit ac taetra.

\john P. Elder, "Notes on Some Conscious and Subconscious Ele­ ments in Catullus' Poetry," HSCP, 60 (1951), 127. 55

ut suppliais uocem in nouissimo casu contemptam haberes, a nimis fero corde?

Otto Weinreich is the only reputable source willing to admit that the addressee of 60 is Lesbia.^ But the allusions are too obvious to disregard. The thought is closely parallel to Jason’s impassioned regrets that he ever married Medea (Euripides Medea 1340-45). His plight is remarkably similar to Catullus'. Both have been robbed by a woman of the thing they loved most, and the union for both was a mistake from the start. Furthermore, the recasting of Lesbia as a witch, and not a god­ dess after all, is an attractive thought. Compare the language of the two passages:

num te leaena montibus Libystinis aut Scylla latrans infima inguinum parte (60.1-2); and:

XeuLvav, o6 yuvauxa, TupcTqvLÔoç ZxuXXaç exouaav dypLorspav cpuatv (1342-43).

Catullus' added description of Scylla's barking loins is appropriate to the sexual context of the poems of Desertion. The hardness of the ad­ dressee's heart, tam mente dura . . . ac taetra (60.3), deepens the pathos of Catullus' delusion that Lesbia could ever return his kind of love. She has not had a change of heart; she is as untouched as she always was, and like the impassive, no longer beautiful goddess— now turned witch— she spurns the suppliant's prayers, supplicis uocem (60.4).

The poem is a fitting conclusion to the affair. Finally Catullus is portrayed as having come to hate her. She is now uglier— in her heart

Otto Weinreich, "Catull jc. 60," Hermes, 87 (1959), 75-90. He concludes emphatically: "Es kann nur Lesbia sein" (p. 89); he also notes the similarities of tone and personality in 58 and 60. 56

(cf. a nimis fero corde, 60.5)— than the puella of 43, because she has finally rejected him completely in the last throes of his raisfortune:

supplicis uocem in nouissimo casu contemptam haberes . . . (60.4-5).

Realization and Definition

Just as 109 and 87 provided relief from the emotion of the af­ fair proper, so 85, 75, and 72 are introspective, internal dialogues that attempt to analyze, then cope with, the paradox of the old physical attraction beside the new mental repulsion which Catullus is supposed to feel for Lesbia. These three poems, relative to the dissolution, are to indicate that Catullus has realized not only that there is no chance for amicitia, but also that amor still has its hold; hence they may be called the Realization poems. But because through these poems the poet fully articulates this dual emotion, they could also be called Definition poems.

85

Odi et amo. quare id faciam, fortasse requiris? nescio, sed fieri sentio et excrucior.

Odi et amo (85.1) is the simplest articulation of a theme for­ mally introduced in 109: amor vs. amicitia.^ Catullus seems no longer willing to delude himself that they can share a sanctae foedus amicitiae

(109.6). Lesbia has broken fides (87.3), if supposedly she ever had it at all. But still Catullus is full of passion for her, and it is his inability to be rid of this passion that keeps him in constant torment:

^Cf. Weinreich, Die Distichen des Catull (Tubingen: J. C. B. Mohr, 1926), pp. 32-83, for an extended and full discussion of this theme. 57 excrucior (85.2).^ He cannot understand it, but he knows what he feels: nescio, sed fieri sentio (85.2). The image excrucior vividly portrays the torture of his divided mind: he is stretched upon a cross, feeling the painful polarization within, but he is unable to extricate himself.

Since crucifixion was a punishment reserved for slaves, on another level the image relates well to the mistress-slave implication of 68.68, where

Catullus is depicted recalling how Allius opened his house to him and

Lesbia, isque domum nobis isque dedit dominae, and 68.136, where Catul­ lus tells of his tolerance, rara uerecundae furta feremus erae. The idea is preliminary to the theme of seruitium amoris in the elegists.

Supposedly Catullus is subject to the dictates of his passion, and his passion is in turn subject to the physical beauty of his mistress. Al­ though she is free to act as she wishes, he is not, and so he is en­ slaved.

75

Hue est mens deducta tua mea, Lesbia, culpa atque ita se officio perdidit ipsa suo, ut iam nec bene uelle queat tibi, si optima fias, nec desistere amare, omnia si facias.

72

Dicebas quondam solum te nosse Catullum, Lesbia, nec prae me uelle tenere louem. dilexi tum te non tantum ut uulgus amicam,

1 As regards Lesbia's passion for Catullus, it cannot be said to have waned, only that she cannot feel it for him alone. This is incon­ ceivable for Catullus, and that is why he characterizes her as tam mente dura . . . ac taetra (60.3; see above, pp. 55-56). 2 Both Fordyce, pp. 351-52, and Lieberg, p. 179, argue that the domina is Lesbia and not the mistress of the house, and that nobis is Catullus. They have proved their point; cf. 68.156. For the singular meaning of nos in Catullus, see W. S. Maguiness, "The Singular Use of nos in Catullus," M n . , 7 (1939), 148-56. 58

sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos. nunc te cognoui; quare etsi impensius uror, 5 multo mi tamen es uilior et leuior. qui potis est, inquis? quod amantem iniuria talis cogit amare magis, sed bene uelle minus.

There is only complaint in 85; in 75, however, Catullus gives

the specific reasons for putting the blame on Lesbia; hue est mens

deducta tua, mea Lesbia, culpa (75.1). The point to which Catullus*

mind has been led is its destruction, instigated by Lesbia, but ac­

complished by its own doing: atque ita se officio perdidit ipsa suo

(75.2). Officium is in sharp contrast to the otium of 51, and it helps

us to understand the previous concept. Catullus has allowed himself to

become distracted and absorbed by Lesbia; this was a totally passive

mistake. But apparently once he fell in love with her, he became active

in his pursuit of her love in return; this was the officium of his mind.

Copley explains:

He is caught up in a situation in which willy-nilly he is pur­ suing a course which he knows is wrong. It is this tragic feel­ ing of guilt, of wrongdoing, which gives the poem its tragic overtones; Catullus is not merely frustrated or stubborn; he is afflicted by a realization that he has not been true to his own ideal. It is not only that Lesbia has not been true to him, he has not been true to himself. Yet he persists. . . .1

Catullus, then, is growing more aware of the actual development of his misery. He knows that his mental torture results from a conflict be­

tween his passion for Lesbia*s physical charms and his hatred for her,

not because she was unwilling, but because in her ignorance and uncon­

cern she was unable to return a singular devotion that transcended the

^Copley, "Emotional Conflict and its Significance in the Lesbia Poems of Catullus," AJP, 70 (1949), 33. 59 physical.^ Polarization permeates the poem; tua, mea Lesbia, culpa

(75.1) underscores not only Catullus' inability to forget her, but also his recognition of her being to blame for his tortured mental state.

Iam nec bene uelle queat tibi (75.3) is in opposition to nec desistere amare (75.3-4). These two themes, blame and love-hate, reappear linked in 72.7-8:

. . . quod amantem iniuria talis cogit amare magis, sed bene uelle minus.

From these statements it becomes clear that spiritual odisse (cf. 85.1) is the opposite not of physical amare, but of bene uelle, and bene uelle is one aspect of the twofold relationship; the other is amare (cf. 109).

Ovid seizes on the same thought, though in comparatively prosaic terms: 2 auersor morum crimina, corpus amo. The theme begun in 109 is reflected and elaborated throughout 72. The poem is, in fact, a lexicon of the terms used to describe the affair.

First, in recalling the "promise" of 70.1-2, Catullus raises a number of points:

Dicebas quondam solum te nosse Catullum, Lesbia, nec prae me uelle tenere louem (72.1-2).

Supposedly he now looks on the affair definitely as past— dicebas quondam.

The very close paraphrase of the earlier 70 makes the contrasting situa­ tion more striking. Both nosse and tenere are sexual terms. Here nosse does not mean "to be acquainted with"; rather, it is used as in Plautus

Mostellaria 894: nouit erus me. Tlie words are spoken by Phaniscus, slave of Callidamates. A paronomasia is effected by the following remark

^Cf. 109.

2 Ovid Amores 2.11.38. 60 of a fellow slave, Pinacium: suam quidem pol culcitulam oportet (894).^ 2 This connotation, and not that in 3.6, which it ironically recalls, is to be inferred from the coupling of nosse with tenere. Compare the ob­ vious meaning in 64.28: tene [i.e. Peleus] Thetis tenuit pulcerrima

Nereine? Tenere is used to indicate physical expression of love also in the first Passer poem (2.2) and in the appropriate Septimius-Acme poem

(45.2). But the most indisputable example is found in 11.18 where Catul­ lus exaggerates Lesbia's profligacy: quos simul complexa tenet trecentos.

Our poet, like Plautus, produces a pun. He may be sarcastically recall­ ing Lesbia's expression of fidelity, which to her was being true only to one lover. But with time it apparently became obvious that she meant 4 faithfulness to one lover— until the affair was broken by her infidelity.

And so, her nosse seemed to become even more ironical to Catullus since he could be neither her only sexual partner nor her loving and only true friend. The second distich contrasts Catullus' love with Lesbia's, as in 109:

dilexi tum te non tantum ut uulgus amicam, sed pater ut gnatos diligit et generos (72.3-4).

Finally Catullus is shown to be able to define his love. There were hints in 3.6-7,^ but now he has replaced amare with diligere. The word

^Cf. also Plautus Persa 132: me quisquam norit, nisi ille qui praebet cibum? 2 See discussion above, p. 27. 3 The similar mortal-goddess motif might be mentioned.

^Cf. perpetuum (109.2) and the discussion above, pp. 37-38.

^See above, pp. 26-27. 61 itself does not exclude the physical,^ but the description of this dilexi, as well as norat of 3.6, absolutely excludes sexuality. The daugh­ ter-mother relationship of 3.6-7 and the father-son/son-in-law relation­ ship of 72.4 is quite uncomfortably removed from the lover-mistress re­ lationship. The poet's purpose is to deny the priority— even the neces­ sity— of sexuality to the relationship. The first words of the second half of 72 signal Catullus' declared recognition of the end of delusion: nunc te cognoui (72.5). There is a play on the nosse of 72.1, but the force of cognoui is that of an acquisition of knowledge. Fordyce inter- 2 prêts, "I am not deceived any longer," which must be accepted. Steele

Commager observes that the change in meaning from "physical erotic sense" of nosse to the "normal intellectual" sense of cognoui "measures the 3 change in Catullus, from ignorant infatuation to rational awareness."

But the play on nosse must not be denied: viz. , "Now I say I know you, but when I say it I mean really know you, for what you are." Catullus gives the product of his thorough knowledge of Lesbia and the affair:

. . . quam etsi impensius uror, multo mi tamen es uilior et leuior (72.5-6).

Copley observes that 72.3-4 is an attempt at definition in positive terms, whereas 72.5-6 is an attempt in negative terms.^ He remarks further:

^Cf. 81.1-2:

Nemone in tanto potuit populo esse, luuenti, bellus homo, quern tu diligere inciperes. 2 Fordyce, p. 363.

^Steele Commager, "Notes on Some Poems of Catullus," HSCP, 70 (1965), 94.

^Copley, "Emotional Conflict," p. 29. 62

Even though [Catullus] never attained complete clarity of terms, he did succeed in presenting a clear picture of the psychological conflict which that love occasioned. On the one side, Lesbia’s physical attractions impell him toward an ever-increasing desire for possession; on the other, his love of respect, spiritual af­ fection, intellectual and emotional sympathy, drive him ever more to despise her. . . . [If this now physical side of love] had had less power and significance, no such conflict would have resulted. Instead Catullus would have fallen resignedly into that attitude of mock despair which was canonical for ill-starred lovers among his predecessors and followers.^ The very fact that he experi­ ences no such shallow emotion, but is instead driven half-mad with heartbreak, proves that he had attained to a concept of love unfamiliar to the other erotic poets of ancient times, and far more akin to our modern conception of romantic lovs.^

Catullus seems to be saying that what he assumed to have started at least in part as a "marriage of true minds" has degenerated to his un­ willing but growing passion— impensius uror (72.5)— in a struggle with his growing disgust for his ignobility and faithlessness: multo mi tamen es uilior et leuior (72.6). She is content to be loved only like an or­ dinary mistress, ui^ uulgus amicam (72.3).

Copley has drawn from 85, 75, and 72, as well as the later 76, a syndrome of guilt which gives greater point and meaning to the descrip­ tion of Catullus' inner struggle; he claims that this guilt

arises not from any sense of wrongdoing in having partici­ pated in an immoral affair,3 but from the very emotional conflict itself. . . . In continuing to desire Lesbia, as ^ he does, he finds himself in an open violation of his ideal.

Cf., e.g., A.P. 5.256; Theognis 1091-94; Anacreon 89; Ovid Amores 3.11b.14. 2 Copley, "Emotional Conflict," p. 33. 3 See 68.143-46, the editorial morality of which must only be in­ ferred. Catullus is merely realistically descriptive of clandestine adultery. 4 Copley, "Emotional Conflict," pp. 33-34. 63

Copley feels that in 85 "it is not so much his heart as his conscience which is here putting him on the rack."^ But Elder criticizes his thesis;

"However stimulating, [it is] compounded mostly out of romanticism and

New Testament teaching and is quite wrong. . . . Catullus is no sin-racked 2 neurotic." To deny an apparently sensitive Catullus the privilege of guilt from a violation of his own ideal code of morals, one that is far more meaningful than Roman anti-adultery legislation and tradition, is unforgivably shortsighted. Besides, what better motive could there be for his mental struggle than a sense of guilt? The embarrassment does not bother him half so much as the torment; recall his words to Manius: id, Mani, non est turpe, magis miserum est (68.30). If Catullus is in­ deed supposed to be suffering from the guilt of allowing himself to be compromised into odium and amor, he must seek some way of solving the dilemma and purifying himself from his self-imposed guilt. More im­ portant and immediate than a sense of guilt, however, is the solution of the dilemma in order that Catullus may extricate himself from his tor­ ture. The situation at the end of 72 is growing worse, and though Ca­ tullus has achieved a definition of it, he is still quite unable to stop it. The hopelessness of the conflict darkly clouds the last words:

. . . quod amantem iniuria talis cogit amare magis, sed bene uelle minus (72.7-8).

Catullus must, it seems, regain control over himself by a decisive and final rejection of Lesbia, body and soul.

^Ibid., p. 36.

^Elder, "Notes," p. 128. 64

Rejection

8

Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire, et quod uides perisse perditum ducas. fulsere quondam candidi tibi soles, cum uentitabas quo puella ducebat amata nobis quantum amabitur nulla. 5 ibi ilia multa cum iocosa fiebant, quae tu uolebas nec puella nolebat, fulsere uere candidi tibi soles. nunc iam ilia non uolt: tu quoque inpote

The poem opens with Catullus divided: he is simultaneously the irrational lover of 51.1-12 and the voice of reason and common sense that speaks in 51.13-16.^ The description of his first attempt at regaining his autonomy rings hollow. In 8, Catullus for the first time tells him­ self to break off the affair, which obviously must be reckoned as a loss:

Miser Catulle, desinas ineptire, et quod uides perisse perditum ducas (8.1-2). 2 The image, a borrowing from Plautus, sounds not unlike advice from a stockbroker to a man who has just lost his life-savings in a bad invest­ ment. Perhaps the mock tone is intentional. Roy Arthur Swanson contends that 8 is really a serious poem and that the humor in it serves as

^Cf. R. L. Rowland, "Miser Catulle: An Interpretation of the Eighth Poem of Catullus," G&R. 13 (1966), 19. 2 Plautus Trinummus 1026: quin tu quod periit perisse ducis? 65 self-criticism. He sees humor as a means of effecting indifference in order to rise above one's troubles if only temporarily.^ Steele Commager characterizes the poem thus:

From the poem's first word Catullus pictures himself, to be sure, as the miser amator, the typical frustrated lover of comedy. Yet that does not mean that he conceives of his situation as merely literary or comic. By assuming the conventional postures of the miser amator Catullus is able, even when he seems to be speaking most directly and passionately, to separate himself from the fig­ ure he cuts in the poem. He both plays a part on stage, and stands observing in the wings. At the same moment that he feels most isolated in his suffering he can reassure himself of its commonness, even its comic triteness.%

In 8, Catullus.is pictured failing in his first effort to dis­ engage himself from Lesbia. He tells himself that she is not worth the grief. Miser is equated with ineptire (8.1), and so he urges himself, nec miser uiue (8.10). He recalls past events to emphasize the fact that the affair is over now, that she no longer loves him, and that if he can endure, he can be through with her. The specific allusions to the past are numerous. Fulsere quondam candidi tibi soles (8.3) recalls soles accidere . . . occidit breuis lux (5.4-5). Catullus recognizes the im­ permanence of the affair, now over. The repetition of 8.3 with uere in place of quondam fulsere uere candidi tibi soles (8.8) underscores his recognition of the brightness rather than the past. These lines compare also to Catullus' description of Lesbia on that night at Allius':

quo mea se molli Candida diua pede _ intulit et trito fulgentem in limine plantam (68.70-71).

^ o y Arthur Swanson, "The Humor of Catullus 8," CJ, 58 (1963), 194. 2 Commager, p. 92.

^Cf. G. Ferguson, "The Renunciation Poems of Catullus," G&R, 2.3 (1956), 54, who believes that candidus represents for Catullus the 66

Puella ducebat (8.4) is a somewhat weaker reflection of the phrases iniuria talis / cogit amare magis (72.7-8), and more literally, hue est deducta tua. mea Lesbia. culpa (75.1). It graphically depicts

Lesbia's influence as domina and era (68.68,156,136). Ttie frequentative uentitabas adds to the pathetic image of Catullus' prolonged obeisance.

The uniqueness of his love, amata nobis quantum amabitur nulla (8.5), is a frequent statement elsewhere: viz., 58.3, 87.1, and most literally

37.12, amata tantum quantum amabitur nulla. Ibi multa cum iocosa fie­ bant (8.6) recalls the symbolic playfulness of ludere and iocari in the first Passer poem (2.2,6), his own recollections, et domus in qua lusimus et domina (68.156), and of course, multa satis lusi (68.17).

Quae tu uolebas nec puella nolebat (8.7) recalls the mutual passion of 5 and 7. All these remembrances are contrasted with the supposed present: nunc iam ilia non uolt (8.9). The structure of the poem is like that of

72. Compare this abrupt change in events with that of 72.5: nunc te cognoui. Like 72, 8 reviews the past and shows the present; but 8, un­ like 72, also projects the future after the central thought of the poem:

uale, puella, iam Catullus obdurat, nec te requiret nec rogabit inuitam (8.12-13).

The past dwelt on the two lovers (8.3-8) and the present on Catullus

(9-13), but the future is given to a study of Lesbia without Catullus

(8.14-18). It is a feeble attempt to show the suffering to be under­

gone by Lesbia when she can no longer attract lovers : at dolebis cum

rogaberis nulla (8.14). Catullus has apparently not yet summoned

strength enough to forget her. He is still forced to expect her to

use of xpûcTLOç by Sappho. 67 suffer just as he suffered. He finally condemns her, though— scelesta, uae te (8.15)— but this very dwelling on her draws his mind progressively deeper into the past as he tries to imagine her future. The sequence of questions is logically ordered: first, who will pay her visits? next, who will look at her? next, to whom will she make love and whom will she call her own? Finally, whom will she kiss? whose lips will she nibble?

quis te adibit? cui uideberis bella? quem nunc amabis? cuius esse diceris? quem basiabis? cui labella mordebis?

Compare this to Catullus' own depicted experience: e.g., the distant admiration, aspexi (51.7); the descriptions of her beauty, ten prouin- cia narrat esse bellam? / tecum Lesbia nostra comparatur? (43.6-7); the nights at Allius', ad quam communes exerceremus amores (68.69); his claims on her before, during, and after the affair, Lesbia nostra (43.7), mea Lesbia (5.1), mea Lesbia (75.1); the kisses, basia (5.7; 7.9); even the symbolic peckings of the passer, acris . . . morsus (2.4). Catullus is still too steeped in memories, and so, with no solution, but reso­ luteness, he must be patient and endure: a_t Catulle, destinatus obdura (8.19). The last word is open-ended, i.e., it is not known how long or what he must endure. But destinatus bespeaks strength in his resolve.

76

Siqua recordanti benefacta priora uoluptas est homini, cum se cogitat esse pium, nec sanctam uiolasse fidem, nec foedere nullo diuum ad fallendos numine abusum homines, multa parata manent in longa aetate, Catulle, 5 ex hoc ingrato gaudia amore tibi. nam quaecumque homines bene cuiquam aut dicere possunt aut facere, haec a te dictaque factaque sunt, omnia quae ingratae perierunt crédita menti. quare iam te cur amplius excrucies? 10 68

quin tu animo offIrmas atque istinc teque reducis, et dis inuitis desinis esse miser? difficile est longum subito deponere amorem, difficile est, uerum hoc qua lubet efficias: una salus haec est, hoc est tibi peruincendum, 15 hoc facias, siue id non pote siue pote. o di, si uestrum est misereri, aut si quibus umquam extremam iam ipsa in morte tulistic opem, me miserum aspicite et, si uitam puriter egi, eripite hanc pestem perniciemque mihi, 20 quae mihi subrepens imos ut torpor in artus expulit ex omni pectore laetitias. non iam illud quaero, contra me ut diligat ilia, aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica uelit: ipse ualere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum. 25 o di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea.

The bitterness of 8 cannot be brooked much longer. Catullus has laid the blame on Lesbia (75.1, 72.7); he has clearly analyzed his tor­ ment (75.3-4, 72.8); he has reflected on the affair (8.3-8), and he has resolved to endure (8.11,12,19). With all this, including his reviling of Lesbia (8.15, 60.Iff.), he has yet been able to end it. In 76 he tries in final desperation to pull up the twisted roots of his unhappi­ ness and wash his hands of the matter. He begins solemnly with a lengthy conditional construction:

siqua recordanti benefacta priora uoluptas est homini, cum se cogitat esse pium, nec sanctam uiolasse fidem, nec foedere nullo diuum ad fallendos numine abusum hominum (76.1-4).

The tone is generalized— homini (76.2)— but the words are familiar by now: benefacta (cf. bene uelle, 75.3, 72.8), sanctam (cf. sanctae . . . amicitiae, 109.6), fidem (cf. aeternum . . . foedus, 109.6, and fides and foedere, 87.3). The mention of broken oaths (76.4) recalls Lesbia's unfulfilled promise and Catullus' conjugal aeternum . . . sanctae foedus amicitiae of 109, as well as the marriage vows of 70 that could never be taken. The inclusion of cum se cogitat esse pium gives greater dimension 69 to these lines. Cogitat indicates the subjectivity of the subsequent manifesto (76.3-9); pium sums up in a word sanctam fidem and foedere.

Catullus states the apodosis of the condition:

multa parata manent in longa aetate, Catulle, ex hoc ingrato gaudia amore tibi (76.6-7).

Unlike the protasis, this is particularized. It is the reassurance of the many joys in store for Catullus because he apparently has been plus throughout this love that has given him nothing in return, i.e. ingrato

(76.6). This recalls the gratum of 107.2,3: Lesbia's temporary return was all that could be asked for. The enclosure of gaudia between ex hoc ingrato and amore signifies the joys that will spring from the depths of this love affair. This compares with Lesbia's iucundum (109.1) and the iucundum and delicias of 68.16,26.

Next Catullus declares his conscience clear in all respects in word and deed:

nam quaecumque homines bene cuiquam aut dicere possunt aut facere, haec a te dictaque factaque sunt (76.7-8).

Following these lines, the poet restates the problem he exposed in the

Definition phase: every faith Catullus has put in an unappreciative heart has not been returned, but indeed has been destroyed; why, then, should he torture himself any longer?

omnia quae ingratae perierunt crédita menti. quare iam te cur amplius excrucias? (76.9-10).

He returns to his complaint in 85.2, excrucior. Also he returns to the theme of 8, but is more articulate:

quin tu animo affirmas atque istius teque reducis, et dis inuitis desinis esse miser? (76.11-12).

Besides the obvious echo of miser Catulle, desinas (8.1), Catullus urges 70 himself to be more than patiently resolute in forgetting her (cf. obdura,

8.11,19), i.e. to take his mind off this affair. Furthermore, he must take his mind off himself; i.e., he must put aside any feelings of in­ ward guilt and outward shame. He has done nothing wrong; and besides,

to go on like this is "flying in the face of heaven"^ which he has never offended (cf. 76.4).

The tone is far more serious than that of 8, but like 85, 75, and 8, it is in alter-ego dialogue form. Catullus is struggling for objectivity. Again, as in 8, but more eloquently, he tries to convince himself that, difficult though it may be, he must persevere:

difficile est, longum subito deponere amorem, difficile est, uerum hoc qua lubet officias: una salus haec est, hoc est tibi peruincendum, hoc facias, sine id non pote sine pote (76.13-16).

The specific difficulty is that he supposedly has clung to this passion so long and it cannot be gotten rid of suddenly, yet he must not flag in his attempts. But here is the pain of his courage: he must endure, but there is no assurance that this passion can ever be struck from his mind. The task seems unbearable and, as in 109.3-6, he calls on the gods to grant him merciful relief:

o di, si uestrum est misereri, aut si quibus uraquam extremam iam ipsa in morte tulistis opem, me miserum aspicite et, si uitam puriter egi, eripite hanc pestem perniciemque mihi, quae mihi subrepens imos ut torpor in artus expulit ex omni pectore laetitias, non iam illud quaero, contra me ut diligat ilia, aut, quod non potis est, esse pudica uelit: ipse ualere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum. o di, reddite mi hoc pro pietate mea (76.17-26).

He asks their help, opem (76.18), to end the passion, just as he received

Ipordyce, p. 368. 71 help from Allius at the height of the liaison, viz., tale fuit nobis

Allius auxilium (68.66). The theme of the apotropaic, or better ca­ thartic, prayer is misery, sickness, and death, i.e. components of a leitmotif which was introduced in the very first Lesbia poem, 51: specifically, e.g., misereri and miserum (76.17,19; cf. 51.3, 3.16,

8.1,10), morte (76.2; cf. 3.3), torpor in artus (76.21; cf. 51.9), taetrum (76.25; cf. molestum, 51.13). Catullus* vision of destruction,

otium et reges prius et beatas perdidit urbes (51.15-16), now returns hauntingly. He compares his pleas with those final ones of a dying man (76.17-18). He realizes that his day of happiness has been seized and is now slipping through his fingers. The prayer restates the themes of the first part of the poem: ^ uitam puriter egi and pro pietate mea (76.19,26; cf. 76.2), laetitias (76.22; cf. 76.6), contra me ut diligit ilia (76.23; cf. 76.6,9). The impossibility of Lesbia's reciprocating Catullus* spiritual affection is stated for the last time; here it is most lucid, and in no need of similes: non iam illud quaero, contra me ut diligat ilia (76.23). Then Catullus concludes his require­ ments for this kind of love: aut quod non potis est, esse pudica uelit

(76.24). He apparently knows it is impossible for her to be true to one man (pudica) , nor is it her desire.

11

Furi et Aureli, comites Catulli, siue in extremes penetrabit Indos, litus ut longe résonante Eoa tunditur unda, siue in Hyrcanos Araba^ue molles, 5 seu Sagas sagittiferosue Parthos, siue quae septemgeminus colorât aequora Nilus, siue trans altas gradietur Alpes, 72

Caesaris uisens monimenta magni, 10 Gallicum Rhenum horribile aequor ulti- mosque Britannos, omnia haec, quaecumque feret uoluntas caelitum, temptare simul parati, pauca nuntiate meae puellae 15 non bona dicta, cum suis uiuat ualeatque moechis, quos simul complexa tenet trecentos, nullum amans uere, sed identidem omnium ilia rumpens; 20 nec meum respectât, ut ante, amorem, qui illius culpa cecidit uelut prati ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam tactus aratro est.

Evidently time, endurance, and perhaps the gods have at last given him the strength to divest himself of this consuming and debilitating pas­ sion. There is no reason to doubt that the help which he begged from the gods (76.18) is supposed to have come, and Catullus can formally and sarcastically effect his rejection of Lesbia through intermediaries,

Furius and Aurelius, a surrogate Castor and Pollux.^ 2 Like the introductory Poem 51, this poem is in Sapphics. There is a stinging exaggeration of Lesbia’s promiscuity, which contrasts with her association with one god-like lover in 51. In 11 the distance Ca­ tullus puts between himself and Lesbia is even greater than that which he was anxious to eliminate in 51. Furthermore, the distance is not to be traversed so easily as the many lands from India to Britain in the

first three stanzas. From that flow of mock solemnity, the language

lurches into bitter coarseness, but quickly and briefly rises to a

1 Cf. the context of help from Allius;

iam prece Pollucis, iam Castoris . . . tale fuit nobis Allius auxilium (68.65-66).

^Segal, p. 307, n. 1, comparing cecidit (11.22) with perdidit (51.16), senses "a tone of finality" in both. 73 sublime delicacy. Catullus achieves his victory and regains his self-respect. He refers to Lesbia as mea puella for the last time

(11.15). T. E. Kinsey claims that the emphatic position of meae (in meae puellae, 11.15), indicates that the affair is not over. "If he thought of the affair as over, some less possessive mode of reference would have been found.No doubt; but Mr. Kinsey seems to have missed the whole point of the poem— sarcasm. The use of puella mea would have been cutting enough, but to emphasize the mea draws attention to the three hundred gallants who are evidently being ruptured in bouts with the aggressively masculine Lesbia:

quos simul complexa tenet trecentos nullum amans uere, sed identidem omnium ilia rumpens (11.18-20).

Catullus' brief message of non bona dicta recalls with bitter­ ness his self-examination in 76:

nam quaecumque homines bene cuiquam aut dicere possunt aut facere haec a te dictaque factaque sunt (76.7-8).

There is no longer any relationship, physical or otherwise, and Catullus is not obligated to bene dicere. He alludes obscurely to the best and worst of their affair by uiuat ualeatque (11.17): recall uiuamus, mea

Lesbia (5.1) and uale, puella (8.12). He remembers his dissatisfaction with mere physical possession and passion: complexa tenet and nullum amans uere (11.18,19). Compare these phrases to nec prae me uelle te- nere louem (72.2) and quem nunc amabis (8.17). Lesbia is incapable of real love— nullum amans uere— but just the same she exhausts them by the hundreds.

^T. E. Kinsey, "Catullus 11," Latomus, 24 (1965), 543. 74

The last stanza is representative of Catullus the sensitive idealist, wounded and wiser.

nec meum respectet, ut ante, amorem, qui illius culpa cecidit uelut prati ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam tactus aratro est (11.21-24).

Kinsey contends that this touching image, inspired appropriately by

Sappho,^ "seems a piece of rhetoric, introduced for the sake of the ef­ fect it will produce on Lesbia rather than because it expresses the truth about Catullus' feelings."^ The image, however, seems to have been very close to the poet; cf. 68.15-18;

tempore quo primum uestis mihi tradita pura est, incundum cum aetas florida uer ageret, multa satis lusi: non est dea nescia nostri, quae dulcem curis miscet amaritiem.

The bittersweetness of love is another Sapphic borrowing, just as the flos image of youthful innocence^ which recurs in the longer epithalamium

(61.89) and in the antistrophic epithalamium, where the similarity is remarkably close to 11.22-24:

ut flos in saeptis secretis nascitur hortis, ignotus pecori, nullo conuolsus aratro (62.39-40). 4 In both instances the flower is a young girl.

This last stanza of the last poem breathes a tearless finality.

^Cf. Sappho 105c LP. 2 Kinsey, p. 544. Mr. Kinsey contends that Catullus still loves Lesbia in 11, which would explain why he has twisted the significance of these lines. 3 Cf. Sappho 130.2 and 105c LP.

^Vergil evidently thought the image no mere piece of rhetoric; cf. Aen. 9.435-36, where it is used in the death of the rash and yoyng Euryalus, and 11.68-70, a variation applied to the dead Pallas. 75

Lesbia is not to look back over her shoulder for Catullus' love, nec meum respectet . . . amorem (11.21). Because of her, illius culpa (11.22; cf. culpa, 75.1, and iniuria, 72.7), his love has fallen by the way, cecidit

(11.22). When Catullus compares his love to a flower on the edge of the meadow, uelut prati / ultimi flos (11.22-23), he is recalling his early admiration for Lesbia from a distance (cf. 51), i.e. on the fringe of her crowd of admirers. For him it was no easy struggle gaining and keeping her love; pro qua mihi sunt magna bella pugnata (37.13). And then the torment of love and hate marked him for life. But perhaps hardest for him was the ease with which Lesbia made her way through his life; he expresses it in the most colorless, yet exact, word: praetere­ unte (11.23). Finally, the heart which he once imagined capable of aeternum sanctae foedus amicitiae (109.6), and which he condemned for its savage hardness (60.3,5), is now cold, unfeeling steel. For Catullus

Lesbia was so lethal that her mere touch destroyed him. The bare, pa­

thetic picture is etched with the emotionless and curt tactus,^ the clean-cutting sounds of ^'s and ^'s and the graphically tmetic aratro: tactus aratro est (11.24).

The poems of the Rejection differ from the poems of Realization and Definition in that they portray Catullus' objectification, not of his emotions, but of himself. In fact this is the characteristic which

distinguishes them from the other poems of the Lesbia cycle. In 8, 76,

11 the lover has concentrated not on Lesbia or his infatuation, but on

himself. Poem 8 is a picture of weakness and ambivalence: the irrational

^Segal, p. 317, reminds us that tangere can have the meaning of "deflower"; cf. Ter. Adelphoe 686; Plautus Aulularia 740; etc. 76 lover confronted with sensible advice. The purpose in the poem is to forget Lesbia, but the attempt backfires. In 76 Catullus, ignoring

Lesbia,^ turns his attention completely on himself; he reexamines his torment of 85, 75, 72 to see if he is to blame, and he concludes that he has been pius. He uses this fact to appeal to heaven for relief.

Poem 11 is that relief.

Summary

In this relationship, there are three components, the lover, the beloved, and the love itself; Catullus, Lesbia, and amor-amicitia.

Each of the poems of the Lesbia cycle indeed bears on one of these three general topics, and these topics are themselves thematically developed throughout the cycle. Lesbia begins as a divine personality, practically indescribable, the distant object of a consuming infatuation. As she becomes more real, she becomes more human, and as she becomes human, she becomes disgusting and monstrous in her profligacy, until she is exor­ cised from the lover's soul. The personality of Catullus in the poems is brought to light in bits and pieces: his emotional commitment, his self-deception, his subjectivity. He is conceived of optimism, but born to misery. Completely and pathetically human, he is described as being young, and idealistic; he seems to go from fits of emotional heights to moods of introspective quiet. But it is not till late in the sequence of emotions that the poems begin to concentrate on himself.

^Perhaps indicative of Catullus' attempt to disengage himself from the passion for Lesbia that grips him is his avoidance of her name and his reliance on the term puella (8.12, 11.15) to recall with irony and sarcasm the intimacy they once enjoyed. 77 rather than Lesbia and his love. Yet the unfolding of the love theme itself, more than the decline of Lesbia and the salvation of Catullus, is the real criterion by which to justify the proposed emotional sequence:

Delusion, Insight, Infidelity, Realization and Definition, and Rejection.

The love, as has been seen, is twofold: amor and amicitia— physical, animal passion and transcendent, spiritual affection. The poems of the cycle must be considered thus. First, only two poems (109 and 87) re­ veal in Catullus a desire and hope for both amor and amicitia. Second, only five poems (85, 75, 72, 8, 76) portray Catullus as on the one hand having cast off these desires and hopes for amicitia, and on the other being unable to rid himself of amor; but of these five poems two, 8 and

76, are similar to 11 in that they, unlike 85, 75, 72 are not ineffectual complaints, but attempts at remedying the situation. The other poems of the cycle not only reveal no amicitia, but are in fact poems about Ca­ tullus' amor. A two-part division is exposed by considering that half of them (51, 43, 86, 2, 3, 83, 92, 5, 7) concern Catullus' gaining the amor of Lesbia, and the other half (70, 107, 68b, 58, 37, 68a, 60) con­ cern his losing it. And so, in the cycle of Lesbia poems may be traced the following development. Catullus is represented as becoming totally enamored of Lesbia and deliberately dedicating himself to the attainment of amor with her (51, 43, 86, 2, 3, 83, 92, 5, 7). Once he believes he has achieved her amor, he is found projecting into her his amicitia, an attitude more lasting and spiritual than mere physical passion (109, 87).

Next he is shown to experience the physical separation from Lesbia, and to realize that she is unwilling to give her amor to him alone (70, 107,

68b, 58, 37, 68a, 60). The next group of poems (85, 75, 72) must not 78 be assumed to follow the loss of Lesbia’s amor and the parting of the lovers, for they are not so much reactions to what Lesbia does as they are purportedly Catullus’ reflections on the supposed struggle within himself between dissolution of his amicitia for Lesbia and his inability to do without amor, just as Lesbia seems to have done. This struggle is not shown to have grown out of Lesbia’s desertion; indeed, it may very likely be parallel to it. But it is not time that defines these catego­ ries, rather it is attitude, and 85, 75, 72 are the only poems which deal explicitly with the possession of amor despite the rejection of amicitia. Finally, Catullus is shown to bring an end to the amor as well. According to the poems, what he had deluded himself into believ­ ing to be a sacred trust was for Lesbia a romantic diversion, a mere flirtation.

The sequence of emotions expressed by the character Catullus is composed of two kinds of love and two kinds of hate, the combinations of which distinguish one phase from the next. Although terms have con­ sistently been used which suggest the evolution of the relationship, the titles Delusion, Insight, etc. are only descriptive of the particular circumstances associated with the various emotional portraits of Ca­ tullus. And so the Delusion characterizes Catullus’ captivation by amor; the poems of Insight articulate his concept of amicitia; the

Infidelity reveals how much his amor has been strengthened by amicitia; the Realization and Definition phase demonstrates what to him is para­ doxical— amor without amicitia; and the Rejection allows us to see how

Catullus completes the cycle of his emotions by casting off his amor for Lesbia. 79

In the course of this development Catullus has been shown to go from physical and spiritual love to spiritual, then physical hate, all of which is revealed through an arrangement of the poems according to the common presence or lack of amor and amicitia. In addition to these love-hate, passion-affection themes, there are other aspects which dis­ tinguish the five phases. In the first phase. Delusion, the lover is convinced that Lesbia loves him; he is depicted as possessive and con­ fident, and his passion is sincere and overflowing. But his eagerness leads to haste and temerity, and in the poems of Insight a basic conflict of attitudes between him and Lesbia is made to appear. Suspicions prove true in the Infidelity as Catullus, no less deluded that Lesbia loves him, is apparently nevertheless forced to accept the fact that his love- making cannot alone satisfy Lesbia's lusts; furthermore, any ideas he had that their relationship was bound by vows sacred to man and wife are shown to have been dispelled. This disenchantment is revealed by an apparent attempt to discover why he cannot forget her, since he knows the affair is ended. These poems of Realization, like those of Insight, are reflective; but inasmuch as they are attempts at an objective review of his emotions, they define his dilemma. TIirough the Definition poems the lover is shown to objectify his love; through the Rejection poems he objectifies himself. And so it is not until he can see all three clearly—

Lesbia in the Infidelity, his love in the Realization and Definition, and himself in the Rejection— that the cycle that was born of Delusion can be complete.

As for the arrangement of poems within each phase, one must look toward structural similarities and correlative expression through images 80 or motifs. For example, it is obvious that in the Delusion,43 and 86, and 5 and 7 are pairs; likewise, in the Rejection, 8 and 76 are poems of retrospection, facing the same problems and both anticipating 11. In the Infidelity the intensity of Catullus’ anguish and the baseness of

Lesbia's conduct tends to reveal a progression, e.g. 68b being prior to

68a.

In addition to the relationships within each phase there are a number of motifs developing throughout the cycle. The most salient is the pain of a mind beset with the morbus amoris; follow it from 51 through 2, 3, 83, 92, even 7, 85, 75, 72, 8, 76. It manifests itself in images of fire in 51, 2, 3 (implicitly), 83, 7, 72; of disease, suffering, and insanity in 51, 83, 85, 76; of loss, destruction, impermanence, and death in 51, 3, 5, 7, 68a, 60, 75, 76, 11. The theme of Lesbia's divin­ ity (51, 68b) turns to a bitter course. After the Delusion she appears literally to humanize, becoming less the diua and more the domina. This aspect is prefigured symbolically in 2, and in 68b she is confessedly portrayed as the controlling half of their relationship (cf. especially

68.68,136). The fides Catullus purportedly expected them both to share is shown to be his alone, and the relationship seems pathetically uni­ lateral. Here, no longer deluded, Catullus apparently begins to expose the physical hold she has on him. There are also statements of deep insight couched in the most surprising ways, e.g. the descriptions of family-like affection in 3 and 72.

It is well to note that most of these themes are introduced in the first or second phases, that they receive no ment?on in the third phase, but are restated and greatly developed in the last two phases. 81

One outstanding exception, however, is the concept of blame. It is not till 75, a Definition poem, that Catullus lays any blame on Lesbia; this is repeated in 72, 76, and 11. Throughout the relationship Catullus could only present Lesbia as she seemed to him, and even during the depth of her infidelity, though he could portray her, he could not blame her.

It is through Lesbia's culpability that Catullus is shown to purge him­ self of any guilt of having been anything but the faithful and true lover.

A second exception is the image of the flower, which though implied in

68a of the Infidelity phase, is not truly brought to fullness until the last lines of 11. CHAPTER II

ATTIDIC MYTHOLOGY AND CATULLUS 63

Preface.

This chapter falls into two major divisions: (1) Attidic my­ thology in the time of Catullus and (2) Catullus 53, the "Attis." In the first half the ritual and mythology associated with Attis, which could have been available to Catullus, will be reconstructed from extant sources. The second half will be an analysis of Catullus’ Attis poem, concentrating on the cultic and mythic themes, motifs, and images.

Part 1^

Attidic Mythology in the Time of Catullus

Sources and Traditions

In order to understand fully the setting, circumstances, and allusions of Catullus 63, it is necessary first to review briefly the characteristics of the cult of Cybele and then to examine the extant sources for the myth of Attis which would have been available to Ca­ tullus. Unfortunately this means that a wealth of the Imperial liter­ ature must be denied through which most of the cult and myth of Attis has been revealed. Nevertheless, there is a nucleus of information

82 83 from which the prevailing mythological tradition current in Catullus' time may reasonably be reconstructed.

The earliest portrait of the Great Mother in Greco-Roman liter­ ature is painted in Homeric Hymn 14:

Mrirepa (J-ol navTCov tb Gbuv ndvTCOv tt’ 4v0p

Here she is called the Mother of all the gods and men alike. The daugh­ ter of Zeus, she is pleased by the ritual noises of rattles, tympana, and flutes, as well as the howls of wolves and gleaming-eyed lions, and her sanctum is hill and forest. In the Philoctetes Sophocles' Chorus gives a similar impression of the Mother:

ôpBOTBpa nanpSiiTL Pa, (jlctbp aùrou A l o ç , a TTOv DaxTcoXov Buxpuaov v b u b l ç , as X&X6L, paTsp jiotvu’, 6riT]u66|iav,

{.Ù [idxaupa TaupoxTOvwv X bÔvtcùv ecpsôps . . . (391-401).

Although there is frequent mention of the Great Mother in Greek literature,^ there are few passages which associate her ritual with

Attis. In his De corona, Demosthenes accuses Aeschines of leading a double life: by day he reads to his mother; by night he leads the drunken superstitious orgies of initiation and purification. Although

Demosthenes waxes satirical and seems to confuse rites of Demeter or

Dionysus Sabazius with those of Cybele's Attis (e.g. the cry b ô o l aa^oï

^Cf. Henri Graillot, Iæ culte de Cybele, mère des dieux, à Rome dans l'empire romaine (Paris: Fontemoing et Cie., Editeurs, 1912), pp. 5-24. 84 in the same breath with Î5t]ç arrriç)»^ he provides a catalogue of ritual agenda and paraphernalia: viz., fawnskins, wine, dancing, chests, old women, screaming, cakes and pastries, snakes, white poplar branches, fennel, clay, and grain husks:

. . . rnv p.ev vvxra veppC^cov xat xpaTr)pt^œv xaù xaGatpoav t o o ç T&Xou)a,6 vouç xaî, &nO|j,dTT:»v xÇ nr)Xw xaù tolç nuxûpOLÇ xaù àvLOxàç 6,710 TOU xaGappou xeXeûcüv XeysLV Ecpuyov xaxôv, sôpov ap,6 i,vov, pjibsva n&noTG tt)Xi,xov3t' ôXoXugau ospvuvô^&vog. . . . iv 5l xacç ■^ixépauç Toùç xaXoùç Qiâaooq 6 ycbv t o ü ç êoTe(pavcùp,évouç tS pnpdGç xaù T^ Xeux-g, t o o ç ôtpsuç t o ù ç napeCaç GXC^cùv xaù ùnèp ttiç xecpaXT^ç aùœpcùv xaù poSiv E6o~ oapot xaù ènopxoô|j,6 voç *'Yt )ç aTTTjç aTTqç 8t]ç , eÇapxoç xaù nponys^wv xaù XLOTOcpopoç xaù Xi,xvocpôpoç xaù TOuaùG' ÙTiô Tciv ypç.5lcùv npoCTaYopeoô(X6voç, (xuctGo v Xap^dvmv toutcùv svGpuTiTO xaù OTpsTTTOÙç xaù vsfjXaTa . . . (259-60).

There are other clues to the rites of Cybele and/or Attis in the

Palatine Anthology. Rhianus of Crete (b. 276 B.C.) has written an epi­ gram for a dedication to Cybele by one of her priestesses:

'ApxuXCç, 7‘) ^puyCr) BaXap.'^nôXoç, f) nspi neuxaç noXXaxL t o ù ç lepoùç x&uapdvn nXoxap-ooç, yaXXauÿ Ko^éXriç 6 XoXuYp.gTL TioXXdxu ôoùaa t Ôv papov 6 ÙÇ 6 xo6 ç 'Hxo'' 6716 oroiiaTCùv, TaaÔe 0e^ xGLxaç nepu SlxXlôl 0T]xev àpetç, 5 06p|i.ôv è7i£Ù XÙctot]ç cù6' àv67tauCT6 7iÔ5a (A.P. 6.173).

This poem provides a number of characteristics basic to the cult ini­ tiate as well as some allusion to the myth of Cybele. First, we see again, as in Demosthenes, that there are females in the cult as well as males; the devotees distinguish themselves by their unique and deafening shrieks (yaXXaCiy . . . ÔXoXuYpaTu . . . I tov papùv f)xov, 6.173.3-4) as they race "hot-footedly" in their madness (Gsppov . . . Xuctotiç . . .

7105a, 6.173.6). The scene of their devotions is among the pine groves and there they let their consecrated hair spill out freely, and it is a

^Cf. Martin P. Nilsson, A History of Greek Religion, trans, by F. J. Felden (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925), pp. 294-95. 85 lock of this hair which Archylis dedicates at the door of the abode of her Phrygian mountain goddess. Here, moreover, it is evident that there are priestesses in the cult,^ and that the scene of Cybelic rites takes 2 place among the pine trees. Also, as in the Philoctetes 391, Cybele is called a mountain goddess. An anonymous elegy and therefore of un­ certain date, A.P. 6.51 is essentially a variation on this theme, though it recalls motifs from Homeric Hymn 14. A similar dedicatory epigram by Erycius (fl. early first century B.C.) pictures a newly castrated priest who, like Archylis, pauses from his frenzied dancing and shrieks to dedicate a perfumed lock of his hair; but in addition he dedicates his tympana, scourge, and cymbals;

faXXoç 6 xaLTUGLq, 6 ys-rytoiioq, cbno TupjwXou Auôtoç ôpxnoTÙç y  x p ’ ôXoXu^ôpevoç, Tç. napà ÊayYapCcù rdSs Maté pu Tup-nav’ dyavg 0TqxaTO, XŒL ndoTtv tÙv noXoaorpdyaXov, x a u x à t ’ ôpELxdXxou XdXa xup|3aXa, xaù iiupoevra 5 pôorpuxov, éx Xuaoaç aprua 7iauad[j.evoç (A.P. 6.234).

In this poem the place names are Lydian Tmolus and the river Sangarius.

A much older elegy by Alexander the Aetolian (b. c^. 315 B.C.) mentions that Sardis produces priests of Cybele, i.e. those who carry the earthen offering-dishes, wear jewels, and beat the tympana:

2dp5i,6Ç dpxatau, naTregcov vop,ôç, eC p.ev èv ôp,tv éTp6(pôp.av, xepvdç t l ç âv paxéXaç xpuooçôpoq, jbfjcj-otüv xaXà Tupnava . . . (A.P. 7.709.1-3).

The priesthood seems to have been centered at Pessinus in Phrygia,

^Cf. Graillot, pp. 248-53. 2 Cf. Herod. 4.76: xuTtôôç êç T?|v xaX6op.6vr)v *YXaCT]v, which, how­ ever, was not of pine alone, 5ev5p£cov navToCcov nXér); see discussion be­ low, pp. 92ff. 3 See above, p. 83. 86 but it was not till after the third century B.C. that Phrygia became known as the center of the cult of Cybele.^ It seems that the cult's high priests took the name Attis; Polybius speaks of a Pessinuntine 2 embassy of Galli from a certain Attis and a Battacus. Alexander Poly- histor claims that these Galli took their name from the Gallus river in 3 Phrygia. Fragments of M. Terentius Varro's Saturae Menippeae add de­

tails to our portrait of the Galli; they are young and delicate, they

dress as women wearing coronae among their jewels; in their madness they

pant and heave their breasts, allow their clothes to become dirty, and 4 neglect their hair. The last of these fragments has been used to fur­

ther the contention that Attis was present in Rome during the Republic;

the text, extensively corrupt, has been emended by Lachmann to include

Attidisbut Showerman prefers the less fanciful readings of Riese or

Blicheler which do not see Attidis peeking through the scribe's hand,^

Livy and Ovid record the quasi-legendary importation of the Magna Mater

^Grant Showerman, "Was Attis at Rome under the Republic?", TAPA, 31 (1900), 50. 2 Cf. Polybius 21.37.4-7 and Arthur Bernard Cook, Zeus : A Study in Ancient Religion (London: Cambridge University Press, 1923), II, 310-11. 3 Alexander Polyhistor n&pu ^puyCaq 3 (Stephanus of Byzantium, s.v. faXXoq).

^Varro, Sat. M e n . ("Eumenides") frr. 119, 121, 123, 131, 132, 150 Biicheler.

■^Lachmann: qui dum messem hornam adlatam imponunt Attidis signo, synodiam gallantes uario recinebant studio.

^Riese: qui dum messem hornam adlatam imponeret aedilis signo Cybelae, deam gallantes uario recinebant strepitu. Biicheler: qui cum e scaena coronam adlatam imponeret aedilis signo, synodiam gallantes uario recinebant studio. Cf. Showerman, pp. 50, 53-57, for his argument a- gainst the presence of Attis in the Roman Republic. 87

into Rome. The historian relates how during a consultation of the

Sibylline books (205 B.C.) an oracle came to light that if ever there should be a foreign invasion of Italy, the enemy could be driven out provided the Idaean Mother be brought to Rome from Pessinus (29.10.4-6).

Envoys were sent to King Attains of Pergamum, who presented them with

the sacred stone (sacrum lapidem, 29.11.7), claimed by the natives to be the mother of the gods (29.11.3-7). The ship was welcomed by the

foremost man of state, Scipio Nasica, and, with gifts and celebration,

the matrons of Rome received the stone from the priests^ of the goddess

(29.14.10-14). Ovid magnifies the event in his Fasti with detailed myths of Rhea-Cybele and Attis (4.179-246) which must, of course,

be rejected as not demonstrably contributing to the pre-Catullan myth.

Ovid recalls the oracle in his own meters:

mater abest: matrem iubeo. Romane, requires. cum ueniet, casta ut accipienda manu (4.259-60).

The poet's intent in the account that follows is to indicate how na­

turally the Mother belonged in Rome because of its Trojan, i.e. Phrygian,

origins. He concludes his account by attributing the madness of the

Galli to drinking from the river Gallus (4.247-372).

Although both of the foregoing accounts must be rejected as

possible contributions to Catullus' own knowledge of the legend and

history of the Magna Mater at Rome, they might very well reflect what

was known in his day. Nevertheless, a virtually certain source for Ca­

tullus was Lucretius who was concerned neither with the history nor the

myth of Cybele or Attis, but rather with the pomp and ritual:

^A Phrygian man and woman, according to Dionysius of Halicarnas­ sus 2.19.4. 88

tum porro nitidas fruges arbustaque laeta gentibus humanis habet unde extollere possit, 595 unde etiam fluuios frondes et pabula laeta montiuago generi possit praebere ferarum. quare magna deum mater materque ferarum et nostri genetrix haec dicta est corporis una. hanc ueteres Graium docti cecinere poetae 600

sedibus in curru biiugos agitare leones aeris in spatio magnam pendere docentes tellurem neque posse in terra sistere terram. adiunxere feras, quia quamuis effera proles officiis debet molliri uicta parentum 605 muralique caput summum cinxere corona, eximiis munita locis quia sustinet urbes; quo munc insigni per magnas praedita terras horrifice fertur diuinae matris imago. hanc uariae gentes antique more sacrorum 610 Idaeam vocitant matrem Phrygiasque cateruas dant comites, quia primum ex illis finibus edunt per terrarum orbem fruges coepisse creari. Gallos attribunt, quia, numen qui uiolarint matris et ingrati genitoribus inventi sint, 615 significare uolunt indignos esse putandos, uiuam progeniem qui in oras luminis edant. tympana tenta tonant palmis et cymbala circum concaua, raucisonoque minantur cornua cantu, et Phrygio stimulât numéro caua tibia mentis, 620 telaque praeportant uiolenti signa furoris, ingratos animos atque impia pectora uolgi conterrere metu quae possint numini' diuae. ergo cum primum magnas inuecta per urbis munificat tacita mortalis muta salute, 625 aer? atque argento sternunt iter omne uiarum largifica stipe ditantes ninguntque rosarum floribus umbrantes matrem comitumque cateruas. hie armata manus. Curetas nomine Grai quos memorant Phrygios, inter se forte 630 ludunt in numerumque exultant sanguinolenti terrificas capitum quatientes numine cristas, Dictaeos referunt Curetas qui louis ilium uagitum in Creta quondam occultasse feruntur, cum pueri circum puerum pernice chorea 635 armatei in numerum pulsarent aeribus aera, 637 ne Saturnus eum malis mandaret adeptus aeternumque daret matri sub pectore uolnus. propterea magnam armati matrem comitantur, 640 aut quia significant diuam praedicere ut armis ac uirtute uelint patriam defenders terram praesidioque parent decorique parentibus esse (2.594-643).

Lucretius relates how the one who furnishes food for men and beasts is 89 called the Great Mother of the gods, mother of wild animals, and parent of mankind. She is represented in a chariot drawn by two lions and is considered the civilizing, taming force in nature (2.594-609). Lucretius next rurns to the pomp and circumstance of her processions through the cities of the world: the Idaean Mother escorted by her Phrygian troops of armed Curetes and the shouting Galli with the thunder and blare of tympana, cymbals, horns, and flutes. The whole affair is mixed with her kindly benedictions, the awe of the uulgus. and showers of rose petals and strewn riches (2.609-32).

Though Lucretius goes to some length explaining why the Curetes are armed (2,633-43) and why the cult offers her eunuchs (2.614-17), he makes no mention of Attis. Lucretius remarks that the Greek poets of old have sung of Cybele (2.600), but of Attis he says nothing. In the second century A.D. Pausanias writes:

AunaCoLÇ 5e s o t l p-ev 'A0T)vaç vaôç xaù ayaXp.a èç t ù ndXLora àpxatov, eoTL 5e xaù aXXo lepôv ctcplctu Atv5u(xr)VQ^p.T)T:pù xaù ’'At t t ) nenoLT]iJ.evov. ’'A'nrnç 6è Boruq riv, o65èv oùôç t s T|v dtn- ôpprprov èç aÙTOv èÇeopetv . . . (7.17.9).

. . . But whoever Attis was, no secret could I uncover about him. . . .

This admission comes from the pen of a sophisticated and learned traveler of the world. If, then, Pausanias lacked firsthand knowledge of the rites and myths of Attis,^ it is not surprising that there should be little evidence from which to establish an extensive and detailed Attidic my­ thology before his time. Pausanias was generally familiar with two variations of the Attis legend: one through a now lost elegy of

^Regarding the name "At t l ç , *'At t t )ç , cf. Franz Cumont, RE, II, 2247, s .V. Attis." 90

Hermesianax of Colophon of the second century B.C., the other from the then current and local Pessinuntine tale (ènLX“pi-Oç . . . Xoyoq, 7.17.10).

The Attis tale of Hermesianax, in Pausanias' prose paraphrase, is as follows:

. . . son of the Phrygian Calaus, Attis was from birth incapable of fathering children. But once he had grown up he migrated to Lydia and performed for the Lydians the orgiastic rites of the Mother, attaining to such a degree of honor with her that Zeus, justly angered, sent a boar [to ravage] the farmland of the Lydians, at which point Attis himself and certain numbers of Lydians were killed by the boar; and as a consequence of these actions, the Gallic inhabitants of Pessinus abstain from pork (7.17.9-10).!

Though unsuccessful in attempts to elicit revelation of mys­

teries from the Dymians, Pausanias did manage to recover the most popular

(YVûùpLjiOTaTa, 7.17.12) of the local folk legends:

. . . in his sleep Zeus spilled his sperm on the earth which in due time gave rise to a being with two sets of genitalia, male and female. The name they give it is Agdistis. The gods, how­ ever, feared Agdistis and cut off the male genitalia; but from them sprang up an almond tree bearing ripe fruit. A daughter of the river Sangarius, they say, took some of the fruit and placed one in her bosom; immediately it was gone and she be­ came pregnant. Well, having given birth to a boy she exposed him, but he was cared for by a he-goat. As he grew up he pos­ sessed a beauty of form that was more than human, and then it was that a passion for the lad seized Agdistis. Once grown, Attis was sent off by his relatives to Pessinus to marry the king's daughter. Now, in the midst of the marriage song Ag­ distis came on the scene and Attis went berserk and cut off his genitals and so did the man who was giving away his daugh­ ter. Agdistis, however, repented of what he had done to Attis and obtained from Zeus freedom from rot and decay for the body of Attis (7.17.10-12).

. . . uLôç TG f|v KaXaotJ ëpuyoç x a l &>q o b TGXvonoLOÇ bno Tfjç p,T)TpOÇ TTGxQ^L'n* d^GL 5 g T|U,l;T)TO, pGTCOXT^CTGV éç Au Ô lQV TCû 'Ep|lT)- OLavaxToq Xôyw xaù Aoôoùç opyua Ntnrpôç, iq T o a o v r o 'HXCùv nap' aôr^ TLp.T]ç ACg aÔT^ vGp.Gcrf)aavTa ùv ènù tcl Gpya Anunsp^aL tSv Aui5cSv. èv- Taü0a aXXoL t g t o )v AuÔœv xaù aôrôç ’^AT'rqç ànêSavGv 6nô tou bôç‘ xaù t u ènôpGvov TOUTOuç FaXaTÛùv ôpûauv oL ITeCTo-uvouvTau g x o v t g ç , 6Sv o6x &%TÔ- pevou. 91

It m ay be assumed, then, that in the second century of the Em­ pire two myths of Attis were relatively familiar: Attis was a mortal, indeed a congenital eunuch, who achieved honor among the Lydians for the role he played in the rites of Cybele and who was killed by a boar sent by a punishing Zeus; or Attis was a beautiful and divine being who traced his descent from Zeus and Ge, through a fabulous process, who at his exposure was cared for by a he-goat, and who at his wedding was driven to a frenzied self-emasculation by the appearance of Agdistis, the bisexual being that both fathered him and loved him. The former legend is called Lydian and the latter Phrygian both because of their respective settings. Yet, before the second century, even before the

Empire, there is no evidence for the divinity of Attis. In fact, as

Pieter Lambrechts argues,^ it is the resurrection myth, under Christian influence, that gives rise to Attis' godhead in the second century.

Herodotus records two stories that bear a notable similarity to the Lydian myth; indeed, these are the oldest references in Greek to what seem to be the kernels of the legend of Attis. Hugo Hepding recog­ nizes .the importance of these stories in the formation of an Attidic 2 mythology. One story (1.34-45) tells of Atys, the son of Croesus the 3 Lydian king. Besides the striking closeness of his name to Attis, he.

^Pieter Lambrechts, Attis: van herderknaap tot god (Brussels: Paleis der Academien, 1962), pp. 20ff. 2 Cf. Hugo Hepding, Attis; seine Mythen und sein Kult (Gieszen: J. Ricker'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, 1903), pp. 5-6, 101-2, 127-28. 3 W. W . How and J. Wells, A Commentary on Herodotus (cor. ed.; Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1928), I, 70: "The name Atys is that of the Phrygio-Lydian deity, Attes or Attis, clearly connected with the Syrian Ate. . , ." Cf. also Hepding, pp. 139-40. 92 too, was an outstanding example of youthful manhood, though indeed not divine: :c5v |iaxpS TO ndvxa nponroç* ouvo(ia 5e ot f)v "Axuq (1.34).

Because of a dream of Croesus* in which Atys was killed by a spear, the boy was smothered with especial protection (1.34). But persuaded by his son, Croesus allows Atys to fulfill his princely duties by hunting the wild boar on Mysian Olympus. There Adrastus,^ son of Gordias and grand­ son of Midas, to whom Atys* safety had been entrusted, accidentally kills the young, newly married prince with his spear cast, and out of

grief and repentance he himself commits suicide at the tomb of Atys

(1.139-45).

The second tale is of Anacharsis the peregrine Scythian, who on his homeward journey sailed through the Hellespont, stopping at Cyzicus.

There he vowed to sacrifice to the Great Mother in the manner of the

Cyzicenes and to establish the worship in Scythia. On his return he hid in the Scythian Woodland, 'YXaCr), since his countrymen were not tolerant of new religions, and there he celebrated the nocturnal rituals: xr|v

ôpTTjv fejisTeXse naaav 0eu xu[j,navôv xs ex^v xaù èxôriaduevoç iydXixaxa

(4.76). For his impiety King Saulius hunted him out and slew him with an arrow. Furthermore, the Scythians themselves disclaimed any knowledge of Anacharsis (o6 cpaoC ZxuGat yLVCOoxeLv) because he deserted his own

for exotic customs (4.76).

Although the two preceding legends are not literally Attis myths,

they exhibit numerous points of comparison between each other and with

the Pausanias tales. First, as mentioned, there is the similarity

^How and Wells, p. 71: "The name Adrastus seems to refer to the goddess Adresteia (=*Necessity* ; cf. Aesch. P.V. 936). . . .*' 93 between Attis and Atys. Nexti there is a boar hunt in both the Atys tale and Pausanias’ Lydian version; and the boar in Herodotus, though not sent by a punishing Zeus, is nevertheless on the Mysian Olympus. Pro­ fessors Gow and Page observe that the name "Afuq

belongs to several members of the Lydian royal family . . . and it can hardly be by mere coincidence that the best known of them, the son of Croesus, was accidentally killed when hunting a boar which was ravaging Lydia, that Hermesianax’s Phrygian Attes should be killed by a boar. . . . The implications of these facts are obscure, but it looks as though someone wished to relate the Lydian house to the Phrygian cult at Pessinus.1

Also, Herodotus’ Atys tale, like the Phrygian version, contains a marriage and an imitative act of violence committed by a sympathetic person: viz., Adrastus kills himself after Atys’ death, and the king castrates himself even as Attis. The Anacharsis tale resembles the Atys tale inasmuch as both tell of the killing of the principal character, but it relates to Pausanias in the following respects: first, as in the

Phrygian version, Anacharsis makes a journey; second, there is song and celebration in both; third, the festivities end in tragedy by the ap- pearance of an intruder. Most important, in both the Anacharsis tale and the Lydian version, the young man is punished for performing the rituals of the Great Mother. And so, over the gulf of five hundred years we can see that although Herodotus’ two tales are not nominally of Attis, they seem to have filtered down in part to the two versions best known to Pausanias. The Atys tale, because of the Lydian setting, the

1 Cf. A. S. F. Gow and D. L. Page, The Greek Anthology (Cambridge: University Press, 1965), II, 246-47. 2 Herodotus remarks further that King Saulius might have been Anacharsis’ brother (4.76). This would mean a correlation of tales be­ cause of blood ties. 94 boar hunt, and the death of Atys luust be considered a forerunner of the

Lydian version; the Anacharsis tale, because of its Phrygian influence and its tragic end of celebrations ; may be considered a forerunner of the Phrygian version; however, because in it the principal is punished for his part in Cybelic worship, it is definitely to be considered Lydian.

Extracting similar motifs from the two Herodotean tales, one sees an outstanding young man, a hunt, and death by a missile. Other motifs, though not duplicated, are nevertheless important for later comparisons: viz., the wild animal, the woodlands, the nocturnal orgy, with its tym­ panum and images, and most important, punishment for having performed the impious rites of Cybele.

There is a final note of comparison between Herodotus’ and Pau­ sanias’ accounts: the inability of each to discover secrets. The

Scythians denied knowledge of Anacharsis; the Dymians refused to divulge details of the Attis cult.

Herodotus does not mention Attis, much less draw the obvious comparison between him and Atys. Because of this omission by such an encyclopedic and myth-bound writer. Grant Showerman doubts that Attis was well-known in the early fifth century.^ Indeed the paucity of in­ formation from pre-imperial writers seems to serve as confirmation of the near-absence of Attis myth throughout the Greco-Roman world. The earliest mention of the very name Attis occurs in an unenlightening fragment of Theopompus, the Athenian comic dramatist (fl. 410-370 B.C.):

KoXdao|j,at a ’ tyù> / xat ttov o o v (Theop. fr. 27 Edmonds). The lines, preserved in the Suda, are from a comedy, the Kanr)XC5eç, and

^Showerman, p. 53. 95 there is no way of knowing whether this is the Attis of myth or simply a character's name. If it is the former the significance of xoXaaopau be­ comes obvious: someone has incurred the wrath of another for his associ­ ation with Attis.^ This recalls the Anacharsis tale.

From Neanthes of Cyzicus, the fourth-century historian, comes a brief though informative fragment preserved by Harpocration, s .v. ‘'Atttiçî

6 *'At t h ç napà pcXuora Tuiiaxat 4>ç npôanoXoç M^rpoç t S v GeSSv.

This is the first definite and authentic portrait of Attis, containing two elements of a myth: he was especially honored among the Phrygians, and they considered him the consort of the Mother of the gods. This in­ formation should be well founded, considering the Phrygian birthplace of

Neanthes. Demosthenes (De corona 259-60) furnishes our next clue to

Attis, though more in the area of cult than myth. There are two important mythical aspects to be drawn from this passage: the Lydian boar myth (cf. ur|ç aTTr)ç aTXT)ç ur]ç) and the m o t i f o f purification (cf. xaOaCpœv t o ù ç t 6Xo u (j,6v o u ç and ecpuyov xaxôv, eùpov a|j,6uvov). Demosthenes neglects, however, to mention the kind of purification undergone, content to leave us with a comic picture of drunkenness and gluttony, of scream­ ing and dancing.

The next mention of Attis occurs in the Alexandrian elegist

Hermesianax as quoted above in Pausanias 7.17.9-10. This is the Lydian version in which the mortal Phrygian Attis performs the rites of Cybele, gains prominence among the Lydians, and is killed by the boar. There may be some connection between the death of some Lydians along with Attis

Cf. Hepding, pp. 99-100. 2 See discussion above, pp. 83-84, 96

(aXXot T6 xal Auôûv xal aÔTOç *'At t t |ç àneGavev, 7.17.10) and the punish­ ment to be shared in the Theopompus fragment above, but the similarity can be no more than an observation. More importantly there is a close resemblance between the Neanthes fragment and this information from

Hermesianax: èç roooihro t^x w v [^At t t )ç ] nap' aÔTg^ (Paus. 7.17.9).

In both, Attis has reached a position of particularly high honor.

Hermesianax confirms hints in Demosthenes that thé origin of orgies lies in the Attis myth; he also recalls the description of nocturnal Cybelic ritual in Herodotus’ Anacharsis tale. Theocritus was contemporary with

Hermesianax (early third century B.C.), and in Idyll 20 he alludes to a liaison between Rhea and a shepherd: xat xu 'Pea xXaCetç xov pouxoXov

. . . (20.40). Immediately preceding this line, Theocritus furnishes two exempla of Aphrodite’s amours (with Anchises and Adonis), as well as

Selene’s with Endymion. The shepherd remains nameless, but the poem does identify Rhea as Cybele (cf. 20.41-42). The importance of the line, then, is that the myth is expanded to include Cybele lamenting for a shepherd. There was no mention by Hermesianax/Pausanias of her lamenta­ tion for Attis after his horrible death. At that point the story ends abruptly. This then would seem to be a logical sequel to the basic tale, and it would parallel the abject misery of Adrastus at the death of Atys.

This would also confirm the meaning of èç xooouxq 'î^xcüv nap’ aôx^

(Paus. 7.17.9): Cybele did honor Attis for his devotion, and that honor.

nap* a6x^ codd., although the conjecture nap' aÔTOLÇ (i.e. Au5otq) by Boeckh compares the passage neatly with Neanthes’ n a p à #pugL. The interpretation "is worshipped" rather than "is honored" for Tup.aTau is allowable if the latter conjecture is correct. 2 See discussion above, p. 92. 97 no doubt, was to be her npôonoXoç (cf. the Neanthes fr.). Generally the greatest significance of Theocritus 20 is that just as the Atys, Anachar­ sis, and Attis myths became confused, an identity of situation reveals itself in the presentation of three goddess-mortal Llebenpaare. This foreshadows a tendency to confuse Attis and Adonis myths.^

A lengthy gloss by the Scholiast on Nicander Alexipharmaca 8 seems to collate the information in Neanthes, Hermesianax, and Theocritus, 2 and although the date of the scholiast is A.D., it is helpful to show the closeness of his language and facts to his three predecessors:

LoTopsLTau, &TL noupfiv "nv #pu$ 6 "ATTriç, noLpaCvcov 6e xal bpvSv ttiv Mryrépa tcciv SeSSv ê

In the Palatine Anthology, which helped provide a picture of the Cybelic cult and ritual, we are given another piece of the elusive

Attis myth. Dioscorides, the last of the great Alexandrians (fl. 230 B.C.) has written a dedicatory epigram for a certain Atys, no doubt a cult pseudonyran with intentional allusions:

2ap5uç rieaaLvôevTOç ànô ^puyôç ^QtX* txéoGau excppcüv, pauvop.svr)v 5ooç àvepocat xptxa, àyvôç "Ax u ç , KupéXriç GaXajiTirioXoq • oypca 5’ aùxou ù^ux^n xû^Ê^^Ç nveupaxa 06U(popCT)ç, àcmépuov o t 6 l x o v t g ç 6.va xvecpaç* stç 5è xaxavxeç 5 avxpov eôü, veuaaç patov anwGev ô5ou. TOU 5e Xécûv &pouo& xaxct orCpov, ivbpdoL ôetna ©apaaXéotç, rdXXm 5' oô5* ôvcpaorov axoç.

Cf. Cumont, The Oriental Religions in Roman Paganism, authorized trans. (Chicago: Open Court Publishing Company, 1911), p. 69; and J. G. Frazer, The Golden Bough; Adonis Attis Osiris (3rd éd.; London: McMil­ lan and Co., Limited, 1914), I, 263-64. 2 Theon, of the age of Tiberius, is the ultimate source of scholia on Nicander. 98

ê ç t o t ’ a v a u ô o ç spauvG ô é o o ç uno_^ xaCtlvoç aijpT) ôaCpovoq èç cnrovoèv Topnavov f|XG x&P“Ç* 10 où papù puxiqaavTOç, ô GapaaXewTepoq œ XXûjv TETpanôôcov, èXacpwv e5pap.sv ÔÇuTepov, t Ô v papùv où ixeCvaç àxoT]ç \I/ô

The minister of Cybele fits the stock picture of her eunuch priests; sexually pure, frenzied, allowing his unkempt hair to blow in the wind.

But the elegy contains more than simply a description of a Callus and an allusion to his dancing, running frenzy. Here there is recounted a story that gives motivation for the thankful dedication of the cave

(0aXdp.T]).^ On a journey from Pessinus in Phrygia to Sardis the prirst pauses from his mad dancing travels to take shelter for the evening in

a steeply descending cavern a little off the beaten path. But he is

soon followed by a lion. Outwardly glued to the spot in fright, but

inwardly moved by some inspiration (tlvoç aupr) / ôaCpovoç, 9-10), he begins to play his tambourine (evidently with a rubbing movement) which

causes a loud groaning sound. The lion runs off in terror. Although

the story is not about Attis, but about a priest, it seems to have caught

the fancy of other poets.

A contemporary of Dioscorides, Simonides of Magnesia, who wrote

for Antiochus the Great, has left us with a similar version. In his

elegy an anonymous Callus enters the cave to escape a wintry snowstorm.

As he is brushing the snow from his hair, enter a lion hot on his trail.

Without explanation he begins to beat the tambourine, causing the lion

0aXdp.aL are the caves dedicated to Cybele, in which the Calli deposited their excerpted members; see below, p. 101. OaXdjiT] geneti­ cally means an animal’s lair or den (cf. Homer Od. 5.432; Euripides Phoenissae 931); cf. discussion in Cow and Page, II, 248. 99 to run off up the wooded hill. The semi-womanish servant of Rhea dedi­ cates his robes and yellow hair. The lion is described as a cattle-de- 1 2 vourer and a wild creature of the wood.

There is a third epigram (A.P. 6.219) by one Antipater which combines essentially the preceding two. In this version the eunuch, also unnamed, escapes a snowstorm by retreating into a cave. The de­ scription is ample and the narration detailed as the lion enters, roars, and is scared off not only by the tambourine but by the priest’s pierc­ ing scream and his tossing hair. The importance of the epithet ^oocpâyoç

(6.217.4) is seen in this poem since here the lion is called also raupo-

(pôvoç (219.7). But ironically it is a bull’s hide (TaupeCou, 219.22) 3 that frightens him off.

The epigrammatist Alcaeus (fl. 200 B.C.) describes a begging eunuch priest of Cybele who, wandering in the highland forests of Ida, is also confronted by a huge, hungry lion. He too begins to beat his tambourine; but instead of running off in fright, the lion becomes

^Cf. Sophocles Philoctetes 400-1; tw p-axacpa [Cybele] xaupo- XTOVCÙV / XeôvTCùv ecpsôpe. . . .

XeLp.epCT)v vt(p6TO~o xarnXooLV "^vCx’ àXuÇaç rdXXoç âpTipaCrjv ^Xu0' fenô crnuXdSa, bexov dpTL xônTjç dnopopgaTO* too 5e x u t ’ uxvoq poucpdyoq elç xoiXrjv dxpanov lxto Xecov. aÔTÙp 6 nsJiTaiievg iiêya Tuixnavov o o%&8s xGipi 5 •{^paÇev, xavax^ 5’ taxev avTpov anav. o65’ s t Xt] KupêXrjç lepov jSpopov bXovôpoç Grjp HSLvat, dv’ bX^GV 5’ cbxbç eOuvev ôpoç, SgCouç ■fjiiLYuvaixa 0gt]ç Xdrptv, 8ç Tube ‘ P e C ç èv5uTa xcL ÇavGoùç èxpêvaoG nXoxdnouç (A.P. 6.217). O There may be some problem in accepting this poem as literature from the pre-Catullan or even Republican era since it is uncertain whether this Antipater is of Sidon or Thessalonica. The former is of the early first century B.C., but the latter is an Augustan. At any rate there is no contradiction of or divergence from the earlier pair of dedicatory poems, 100 crazed, and like the Galli, he too begins to shake his mane and dance about, whereupon the priest succeeds in escaping. And since he left the lion in Cybele’s holy grove he conveniently dedicates the lion to her.^

These versions of a lion incident are important for the following reasons: they portray the Callus as a literary type; they establish a typical set­ ting for Galli myths; they relate the priests to Cybele through the use of the lion, distinctly inherent in her mystique. But there is a fur­ ther point to be made. All these poems picture dedicatory thanksgiving for having been saved from certain destruction.

The prayer at the end of the anonymous A.P. 6.51 is of another kind. The dedication, as in all of these epigrams from the Anthology, is to Cybele, but in this poem the priest is not thankful or exhausted, but simply worn with old age. He begs that Rhea look kindly on him for his past service and end the mad frenzy of his youth so that he might rest:

ukaoq, œ Seonoova, ttov èv veoTTfTL pavevxa YnpaXtov npoTÉpr]ç nauaav dyptoauvnq (A.P. 6.51.9-10).

The theme is unique, but unfortunately it can only be assumed that the anonymous plea is pre-imperial.

In two of the preceding elegies are mentioned Phrygian place

^A.P. 6.218:

Keipdp.6voç YOVLixnv t u ç œtio cpXépa Mryrpoq dyupxriq "lôTiç GÙS&vôpou npSSvaç èpouvopaTst* xm 6è Xécùv f^yxnoG neXcùpioç, cbç ènù 9oÇvt|v xdcrp.a (pépœv neuvaXeou cpdpoyoç. ôsLCTaç 5 ’ cbp.T)cnréco 9ripoç jjôpov (bç aSyct^e, 5 x6p.navov tepaç è.nXaxdyno'e vdnr)ç. X«b p,èv èvéxXGLCTsv cpovLQv yévov, èx 5e xevôvxœv evGouç fjop-pTixfiv &oxpo#dXu%G tpôpr)v . xeuvoç 5' èxnpocpuywv ôXoôv p,ôpov, euaaxo 'PsCg G^pa, xôv ôpxn<7piSv cùxopnGfj KupéXriç. 10 101 names which lend authenticity to the stories: Sardis (6.220.1; cf. Alex­ ander the Aetolian, A.P. 7.709.1), Phrygian Pessinus (6.220.1), and Ida

(6.218.2). There are place names also in a passage from the late second-century Alexipharmaca of Nicander:

T] yap 5t) au [xev ayxi- noXooTpoCpoLO OaXdacrriç apxTOv 6n’ ôi-upaXôeaaav èvdaaao, f]xC t 6 ‘PeCrjç ^ AoppCvqç GaXdpai t6 xul Apyaorfjpuov ’'hxrtcù (6-8).

The mention of the boisterous sea and the adjective "Lobrine" establishes the standard Phrygian or Cyzicene setting. The Scholiast identifies Lo- brinus and Dindymus as the mountains in Cyzicus where in subterranean chambers dedicated to Ehea her servants deposit their amputated genitals:

AoppCvnç GaXdpcL. xonoL Lepou bnoysuOL, dvaxeCiisvOL 'Peg,, 8nou èxT6(i.vôpevOLxà xaT6TL06vxo ot t© *^Axx6l xau 'Psç XaxpeuovTeq. etau 5e xd Aoppuva ôpr] ^puyCaç ^ xônoç Ko^Cxou* 5uo ydp SpT) etatv èv Ku^Cxœ, ACv5up.ov xat Aoppuvov. AoppCvnç» OUXCÛ xaXetxai +] ‘Pea dno xou opouq x^q Ku^txou, 8 xaXeuxau A6- PPl v o v , 8nou lepov èoxu xr^q ‘Peaq.

Furthermore he summarizes the Attis myth: Attis was a Phrygian shepherd

(cf. Theocritus 20.40) who sang hymns to the Mother of the gods while tending his flocks. Consequently he was blessed with her love and was honored with frequent visitations by her. Zeus was angered and sent the boar which killed Attis (cf. Hermesianax/Pausanias). Mournfully (cf.

Theocritus 20.40) Rhea buried Attis whom the Phrygians lament each spring.

This last addition of burial by Cybele and annual lamentation by the

Phrygians is paralleled by the repentance of Agdistis and his obtaining incorruptibility for the body of Attis, but it must be recalled that the

Agdistis legend very well might not have been familiar to pre-Christian

Greeks and Romans. Furthermore, it is even more unlikely that the

^Cf. also Alexiph. 220: 'lôaCiqq. 102 scholiast's source of information is earlier than the Christian era.

There is an allusion by Eutecnius the Sophist to the marriage of Attis in a metaphrase of the Alexipharmaca 217-21; xac to tnq 'Peaç 6 p Y i a napà TOUTOLÇ liéveu, S te ttou ''Attecû yài-LOÇ xau xà inù toutolç, Saa napà

CTcpL x&X&Lxau. This, however, is the only mention of Attis' marriage, and it is not specified whether it is a marriage to Cybele or the un­ consummated marriage in the Phrygian version of Pausanias.

These few passages, then, contribute all the extant information regarding the myths of Attis and Cybele that antedate the death of Ca­ tullus in mid first century B.C. Two pertinent references in Diodorus

Siculus can only be mentioned since, although his sources may have been available to Catullus, his writings themselves almost surely were not.^

Diodorus recounts a legend of Cybele and Attis, which is an admixture of

Lydian and Phrygian versions with significant variations. This legend has been included as an epilog to indicate how significantly the pub­

lished Attidic mythology had been expanded shortly after the time of

Catullus. The natives of Phrygia, according to Diodorus, say that when

Meion became king of Phrygia and Lydia he married Dindyme. But unwilling

to rear the daughter born to them, he exposed her on Mount Cybelus; there

she was nursed by especially ferocious animals until adopted by shepherd­

esses who called her Cybele. Beautiful and intelligent, she devised

purificatory rites that healed children and she invented cymbals, the

tambourine, and flute (58.1-2). Marsyas the Phrygian loved her above

all and, admired for his wit and chastity, he abstained from sex

^Although Diodorus began to flourish about the time of Catullus' death, it is likely that his sources antedate the poet. 103 throughout his life (58.3). Now Cybele matured and fell in love with the youth Attis (later called Papas) and conceived. At that same time, however, she was taken back by her parents, but when her father learned of Attis and the affair, he had the youth and Cybele's nurses executed, whereupon Cybele went mad and ran off, Marsyas following out of former love (3.58.4-3.59.1). Meanwhile, because Attis was left unburied and because of the lack of honors formerly accorded Cybele, a pestilence raged throughout Phrygia. In turn the Phrygians dutifully honored an image of Attis and built altars to Cybele. Later they erected a temple at Pisinus [sic], setting up panthers and lions beside her statue

(3.59.7-8).

Reconstruction of Mythology Available to Catullus

Considering that Latin sources before Catullus provide no mention of Attis, much less literature about him, one must look to the Greeks, particularly Hermesianax and Herodotus, for the proto-myth, and to a handful of Hellenistic epigrammatists for ritual and secondary myth. On the other hand, there is sufficient literature in Latin as well as Greek to furnish a fair idea of Cybelic myth and worship in late Republican

Rome.

The Hellenistic dedicatory poems give an indication of an as­ sumption by the Phrygian Cybele of the mythic personalities and legends of the Cretan Rhea and Greek Demeter. The basic motif is devotion and love for a younger and vulnerable character, in Cybele's case, Attis.

The aspects of vegetation usually attributed in the religious Demeter myth are assumed by the cultic Cybele myth by the time the lapis sacer 104 is imported to Rome before the turn of the third century B.C. Appella­ tions, such as the Mother of Men, of Gods, and of Beasts, indicate the fusion of the three mythic personalities: Demeter, Mother of Men through vegetation, Rhea, Mother of Gods through her union with Cronus, and

Cybele, Mother of Wild Animals through her cult associations in Phrygia.^

Furthermore, the mother-goddess prototype. Ma, from Asia Minor must not be overlooked. For all these reasons the M-qrrip of the Greeks easily becomes the Magna Mater of the Romans.

Together with the Magna Mater whom the Romans gladly accepted once they had recognized the wisdom of the oracle, came not only her mythology, but her cult. The latter was respected for its symbolic ritual, but the urbane Republic found the eunuch priesthood and its ecstatic celebrations repulsive. The exhibitions of these cultists, although sequestered in the Palatine temple of the Magna Mater, were well known to Rome, since every April the Megalesia would commemorate the arrival of the goddess in Italy. At that time money and jewels were thrown to the richly decked, effeminate, long-haired Galli as they paraded the Magna Mater through the streets. There even the lowest slave witnessed the drowning uproar of their distinctive mad shrieks and the exotic tympana, horns, cymbals, and flutes. These demonstra­ tions, as well as the mad dancing and devotions, had been familiar to 3 literate Romans for years through Greek poets. With regard to the

Aug. De ciu. Dei 7.24: deinde adiungit, etc. Cf. also E. 0. James, The Cult of the Mother Goddess (London: Thames and Hudson, 1959), pp. 128-60, "The Mother Goddess of Crete and Greece."

^Cf. Cook, II, 293-94, 565.

^Cf. Lucr. 2.600. 105 actual Cybelic mythology, however, the Romans seem to have known little beyond the basic symbols.^ The cult of Cybele had assumed the myth of

Rhea; the Galli were in effect Corybantes. This easy acceptance of Cyb­ ele for Rhea in Hellenistic and Republican times may well be the reason why there was lacking a substantial literature of the Cybele-Attis myth.

What myth, then, if any, was current in Catullus’ time?

If it is assumed that contaminated versions of an Attis myth filtered into Greece from Asia Minor and manifested themselves in the

Atys and Anacharsis tales of Herodotus, these tales still are bound to be considered insofar as they may have had the same source as the myth told by Hermesianax. His paraphrased elegiacs are our only certain ex­ tensive pre-Catullan source of the myth. There is no proof that the

Attis myth was widely disseminated. Lucretius failed to include it in his discursus, especially with respect to the Galli, and the myth seems O to have been a cultic secret even as late as Polybius. Grant Showerman is convinced, because of a complete lack of evidence, that there was no 3 cult of Attis in the Roman Republic. Because of a similar lack of mythic literature it seems that beyond Hermesianax the story of Attis was little known. That story depicts Attis as a Phrygian and eunuch from birth who lost his life in Lydia, hunting the boar sent by Zeus as a punishment because the youth reached such high honor in the Cybelic rites. Parts of this so-called Lydian legend fit among the dedicatory cycle of poems in the Palatine Anthology. These poems are important in

^E.g., see below, p. 108.

^Cf. Paus. 7.17.9. 3 Showerman, pp. 53ff. 106 that they give us a picture of the priesthood of Cybele, and they are in close agreement with the sketch given us by Lucretius. In these poems are three salient motifs: the crazed effeminate eunuch priest, his ab­ ject devotion to the goddess, and the lion incident. The first two can easily be seen as reflections of the Lydian version, and even the last can be interpreted as a variation of the boar incident.

At this point it is necessary to insist that in no way must these poems be construed as variations of the Attis myth. They are stories centered on non-mythic individuals, and just as the priests themselves are in the tradition of the cult, these short poems are in the tradition of the mythology. The cult and myth of Attis proliferated in the era of nascent Christianity; in the Republican epoch, however, the Attis myth survived and was significant only in its manifestation through literature. For this reason one should reject the claim of a public and widespread Phrygian version of the Attis myth in the Greco-Ro­ man world before the raid first century A.D.^ It cannot be denied that such a Phrygian or, more exactly, Pessinuntine, tradition as related by

Pausanias existed at this time; but since there is no evidence, it must be considered nourished among the mysteries of the initiate, able to manifest itself only indirectly and informally through local folktales and kernels of literary legend.

Discursus: Castration

In Hermesianax, Attis is a eunuch from birth; he is not castrated.

^Cf. Cumont, Oriental Religions, p. 53; and Showerman, pp. 53-57. 107

In Lucretius the Galli are eunuchs by castration, but there is no mention of self-emasculation, nor is this mentioned in any of the Hellenistic epigrams. It is Catullus who first tells of self-inflicted emasculation in the frenzy of Cybelic rites. Ovid follows suit, and by the Christian era the act is so commonly known as to be represented on coinage.^ This is not to deny that there was self-castration in Republican times; it is simply that there is no evidence for it. This is significant because

Pausanias’ Phrygian version, which includes Attis' self-castration and the elements of a vegetation religion and undoubtedly stems from primitive roots, is not specifically or explicitly in literature extant before

Catullus' time. E. 0. James, a recognized expert on ancient religion even admits: "How or when self-emasculation arose in Phrygia is an unsolved problem. . . . Whatever date is decided on, arbitrarily or with evidence, it is likely that self-castration in the cult of Cybele antedates not only Catullus, but the Roman era. It would be foolish to

try to prove that the self-castration of Catullus' Attis was an inge­ nious bit of macabre fiction; nevertheless, it would be equally foolish to assume that such practice was common knowledge before Catullus wrote about it. The worship of Cybele was most definitely a mystery religion and information was privileged— h u o t l x Ôç 5e 6 Xôyoç. The horrible prac­

tice of self-castration may have been one of those more guarded secrets which did not find its way onto Roman papyrus until the first century

B.C. It must therefore be concluded that this mystery, as well as much

^Cf. Cook, II, 299.

^James, p. 168.

^'Harpocration, s.v. 108 of the Phrygian cult and myth associated with it— including Attis himself- did not gain popular exposure until its appearance in well-read literary figures like Catullus and Ovid.^ It can only be assumed that Catullus received his information first hand, perhaps in Bithynia, or— and this is more likely— by hearsay or some bit of an encyclopedist's notebook, now lost forever.

To substantiate the claim that Catullus had divulged more or less privileged information, let us turn to Lucretius and M. Terentius Varro, neither of whom offers the Phrygian myth as an explanation for the prac­ tice of castration. The Epicurean gives an immediate and reasonable ex­ planation:

[The nations of the world] offer her Galli because they want to signify that those are to be considered unworthy to bring living offspring to the shores of light, who have violated the divinity of the Mother and have been found displeasing to their parents (2.614-17).2

Although the meaning is somewhat obscure, there is certainly no hint of pride in the lot of a eunuch. Varro [Antiquitates rerum diuinarum], as quoted by Augustine, claims that the fact that the cultists

have created Galli to serve this goddess, symbolizes that those who lack semen ought to follow the earth [i.e. the Mother God­ dess fused with the personality of Tellus], since in her are found all things:

quod Gallos huic deae ut seruirent fecerunt, significat qui semine indigeant terram sequi oportere; in ea quippe omnia reperiri (De ciu. Dei 7.24).

Again there is not a hint of the Pessinuntine castration myth. Further­ more, note that the phrases Gallos attribuunt (Lucr. 2.614) and Gallos

^Cf. Frazer, pp. 270-71. 2 See above, p. 88. 109

• • • fecerunt (Aug. 7.24) seem to indicate that the Galli are not in control of their own destinies, that they neither castrate nor devote themselves to the goddess. James sums up the significance of emascu­ lation in more sensible terms:

. . . it seems to represent an extreme expression of an ardent desire for communion with the Magna Mater which became a mental abberration . . . [for] by sacrificing his virility he assimi­ lated himself to her so completely that he shared her life-giv­ ing power. Henceforth he adopted female attire, having conse-^ crated himself to her service even at the cost of his manhood.

Summary and Conclusions

To summarize, by pre-imperial times there were two versions of the Attis myth: the Lydian, in which a eunuch devotee of Cybele is de­ stroyed by a boar, and the Phrygian, in which the young man castrates himself in a fit of madness. Neither of these gained familiarity in the

Republic: the Lydian because of its similarity to other popular myths, the Phrygian because of its frightening primitivism and closeness to the mysteries themselves.

In an oblique way the origins of Attidic mythology may be traced to the Father of History, for Herodotus has furnished the two basic ver­ sions of the story. His Atys finds reincarnation as Attis in Pausanias via the Alexandrian Hermesianax. And just as this so-called Lydian ver­ sion has a long and fluid history, so does the Phrygian version. Herod­ otus gives us the tragic tale of the Scythian Anacharsis which reemerges in Pausanias as the local Pessinuntine folk legend of the Phrygian youth

Attis. The Phrygian version of the young and beautiful consort of Cybele ,

^Jaraes, p. 168. 110 his ritual frenzy, self-emasculation and subsequent death— although widely popularized in the early Empire— has no extant circulation before the Augustans. From extant evidence it is the Lydian version which seems to have been familiar, with some additions: e.g., according to Theocri­ tus, Attis was a shepherd taken on by Cybele as her lover.

Inasmuch as Catullus was well acquainted with the Alexandrine corpus, it is not unlikely that the elegiacs of Hermesianax were known to him. In that version Attis is a Phrygian who migrates to Lydia where, through his devotion and talent, he achieves such a pinnacle of honor in the rites of Cybele that he is slain by a wild boar sent by a jealous Zeus. To this legend may be added the Adonis-like story that

Attis tended flocks and was not merely an attendant of Cybele, but in­ deed her lover. But Theocritus seems to contradict his contemporary.

Whereas Hermesianax has Attis a eunuch from birth, it would seem unlikely that Cybele should take on such a one as lover. Perhaps, then, Theocri­ tus has in mind the Phrygian and not the Lydian myth. Unfortunately, however, there is no other mention of this love affair by pre-Catullan writers nor any confirmation that Attis was indeed a eunuch from birth nor any mention of his castration. It can only be assumed that such a tradition persisted throughout this period, since the priests of Cybele— the Galli of Varro, Lucretius, and the Palatine Anthology— are in fact eunuchs themselves. Why and how they came to be such is unexplained in the Anthology, and even such limited discussions by Varro and Lucretius must be accepted grudgingly as undocumented conjecture.

In Varro, Lucretius, and the Anthology the mythological consort of Cybele is absent; rather, Cybele herself and her priests and Ill celebrations are the objects of interest. Greek Cybelic literature from the Homeric Hymn 14 through Demosthenes and the Alexandrians abounds with motifs of clamor, frenzied dancing, wild, exotic appearance, madness, ef­ feminacy and castration, mountains and pines of Phrygia, wild beasts, and dedications of musical instruments and personal effects, including offer­ ings of severed genitals; most of which is restated in Lucretius and Varro.

A recurring motif is the lion which, in the Anthology, is chased away by the frightening sound of thé shrieking Callus’ tympanum. In all this literature Cybele is seen as a serene and controlling goddess, the fusion of at least four mythological personalities.

Therefore, these conclusions are evident: known to the Roman of

Catullus' time was the cult of the Magna Mater with a concomitant my­ thology already gro\m around her Calli priests. In myth Cybele herself had been cast in the roles of Rhea, Ce, and Demeter; however, evidence is lacking that her association with Attis was as yet popularized in liter­ ature. Furthermore, there is no substantial indication that Attis him­ self was a familiar figure to the Hellenistic world either in myth or in cult. I'Jhen Catullus wrote the "Attis" in the mid first century B.C.

(whether or not he himself was familiar with the Phrygian as well as the

Lydian version), what little his audience knew of Attis, it knew from

the mysterious cult of Cybele's Calli. The Attidic motifs, then, were

familiar enough, but the mythological character of Attis seems to have remained obscure. 112

Part _2

C atullus 63, the "Attis"

Introduction

Now that a review has been made of the extant Attidic mythology which presumably does not postdate Catullus, it is proper to analyze

Poem 63, the "Attis," and to relate it to that mythology. The procedure will be first to examine very briefly the technique of composition; next to discover the poem’s structure and thematic development; third to show how and to what extent Catullus may have borrowed and adapted the cultic mythology likely available to him, and finally to point up the inventive features of the poem. Before launching into these problems, however, it is appropriate to give a résumé of the "Attis," which will be presented in its original entirety and sequence in an exposition of the poem’s structure.

The narration erupts with Attis’ arrival by sea at the dark

Phrygian forests, haunt of the mother goddess, where in a frenzy he castrates himself. In the ritual celebration he inspires his companions, the Galli, in their wild dancing. As the shouts and music mount, the band rushes to the temple of Cybele and slumps down there exhausted.

The night is soon dispelled by a radiant sun which wakes Attis, who realizes where he is and what he has done. Gazing longingly out over

the sea, he laments his present circumstances and pathetically reminisces about his former glory and beauty. He foresees a bleak and irreversible

future of service to the goddess, and he repents. But meanwhile Cybele unleashes one of her lions, who drives Attis, from the seashore and back 113 into the forests. There the narrative ends; what follows is an apotro- paic plea that Cybele spare the narrator from such a fate.

Compositional Analysis

Elder believes that what prompted Catullus to write the "Attis" was curiosity and a "desire to indulge his own virtuosity."^ Whether this is completely true is yet to be proved in the third chapter of this dissertation; but the fact stands that of all Catullus* poems the "Attis" 2 is one of the most striking for its technical ingenuity and execution.

The Galliambic meter itself is the most salient feature of the technique.

Other than two lines in Hephaestion, a few fragments in M. Terentius 3 Varro and Maecenas, and one anonymous fragment, the meter is absent from the extant literature of Greece and Rome.^ To quote Fordyce, the basis of the Galliambic meter

is a line of four ionics a^ minore, the last catalectic, with di­ aeresis after the second; resolution in both halves and, in the Latin form, anaclasis (in Catullus regular in the first half, ^ rare in the second . . .) produce its peculiarly agitated effect.

iRlder, "Catullus* *Attis*." AJP, 68 (1947), 396. 2 Cf. Tenney Frank, Catullus and Horace (New York; Henry Holt and Company, 1928), p. 71. 3 "Hephaestion 12.3; Varro frr. 131, 132 Bucheler; Maecenas frr. 5, 6 Morel; incerti fr. 19 Morel.

^See U. von Wilamowitz-Mollendbrff, "Die Galliamben des Kalli- machos und Catullus," Hermes, 14 (1879), 194-201, wherein he attempts to prove that the Hephaestion fragment is actually part of an "Attis" by Callimachus from which Catullus took his poem in the same manner as he did the "Coma Berenices."

^Fordyce, p. 263. 114

This "tumultuous and breathless speed," says Fordyce, is brought about also by

runs of short syllables which . . . do not readily present them­ selves; hence the resort to archaic or unusual forms (9 typanum, 47 tetulit, 60 gyminasiis, 71 columinibus), "poetic" plurals (1 maria, 7 sola, 75 nuntia, 84 iuga) and unique compounds (23 hederigerae, 34 properipedem, 51 erifugae, 72 nemoriuagus) and the repetition of words— ferus (40,57,85,89), uagus (4,13,25, 86), animus (4,18,38, 61,85), loca (3,14,20,82,87), nemora (12, 20,32,52,58,79,89, with nemori- 72, all at the same point in the line), adiit (3.30,54,87)— and phrases— itaque ut (6,35), quiete molli (38,44), -antibus oculis (39,48), citus abiit (42,74).!

A striking feature which Fordyce neglects to mention is the rep­ etition of ego and mihi throughout 62-71 and the refrain of ubi in 21-25, and surely one must not neglect the most obvious characteristic— the frequent repetition in mid-line of forms of Attis (1,27,32,42,45,88) and

Cybele (9,12,20,35,68,76,84,91).^

Though the poem is metrically Galliambic, it bears some resem­ blance to the epyllic form of Poem 64. The overall technique is nar­ rative, and some of its features, again quoting Fordyce, are

the use of words from the old "epic" vocabulary (e.g. ratis, pe- lagus, sonipes, stabula, marmora), the frequent use of anaphora (9,20,21-25,63-64) and epanelepsis (9,13,50,55,61,78), allitera­ tion and assonance (e.g. 9-10,16,22,24-25,28-30,91).3

These devices are typical Alexandrian ornamentation. There are, however, more important indications of the Alexandrian spirit. For example, the poem begins without any elaborate introduction; immediately, in the open­ ing two lines, Attis is seen as having arrived at Phrygia. By the use of

^Ibid., pp. 262-63.

^Cf. Thomas Means, "Catullus 63," CP, 22 (1927), 101-2.

*3 Fordyce, p. 262; see also his introduction to Poem 64, pp. 274-76, 115 the participle uectus (1), at a glance his sea voyage can be seen as now completed.^ Suddenly in the fourth line Attis is caught up in the frenzy, and in the following line the emasculation takes place. This is the point of action at which the poet hastens to put his audience. It is through the rhetoric of Attis' oration of lament in the second half of the poem that what preceded the trip to Phrygia is seen in flashback. Elder claims that besides the lack of prelude (he cites Theocritus and Callim­ achus as previous models), another Alexandrian technique is to follow the narrative and speeches with the author's prayer. The "Attis" would ap­ pear to be following the traditional and long-standing formula for a 2 hymn, but Elder cautions that it is not a genuine hymnos since the 3 narrative does not grow organically out of the prayer.

The "Attis" achieves a symmetry through the alternation of 4 narratio and oratio, as demonstrated by Otto Weinreich. The sequence runs thus: 1-11 narratio, 12-26 oratio, 27-49 narratio, 50-73 oratio,

74-77 narratio, 78-83 oratio, 84-90 narratio, and 91-93 concluding prayer.

The narratio-oratio alternation is cyclic inasmuch as narratio starts and ends the sequence. Because of the nearly perfect proportions of sections by line counts, the poem contains sections which tend to

Note throughout the poem the use of participles and parataxis in place of subordination, which speeds the narrative technique; see Elder, "The Art of Catullus' 'Attis'," PAPA, 71 (1940), xxxiv. 2 Cf. Homeric Hymns and Callimachus' Hymns. 3 Elder, "Art," xxxiv; what Elder means is that the protagonist of the poem, i.e. Attis, is not the one to whom the prayer is addressed. In a hymn the divinity is hailed after a narrative or exposition about that divinity; cf. Callimachus' Hymns.

^Weinreich, "Catulls Attisgedicht," Melanges Cumont, 4 (1936), 463-500. 116 counterbalance; narratio 11 w., oratio 15 w . , followed by narratio 7 w . ^ Although the final prayer to Cybele may be considered an oratio, its function is that of a coda to the story. Indeed it provides the most obvious contrast in the poem inasmuch as it is spoken by the persona of the poet while the preceding 90 lines were free of any intrusion by the poet.

Catullus 63 is written in a meter which can be called nothing else but ritualistic; the sound of the poem was made to imitate dancing 2 feet. The "Attis" is basically narrative, however, and its structure is dramatic. It is too long, too objective (excluding the coda) , and too narrative to be elegiac; it is not a hymn about a divinity, nor is it an epic about a mortal. It is long enough to tell a story, brief enough to keep to a simple plot, elaborate enough to be seen at several levels, direct enough to maintain its intensity. Because it is tuneful it might be classed in the lyric genre. If it were in hexameters or elegiacs it would be called an idyll. It must be kept in mind that the author of the "Attis" is an Alexandrian in discipline and "it is an es­ sential feature of the Alexandrian school of poetry to allow one literary form to encroach upon the province of another."^ Catullus 63 is, it ap­ pears, the most salient Latin or Greek expression of this mixing of genres, and if it must be assigned a label, "epyllion" would come

Cf. also Magdelena Schmidt, Die Komposition von Vergils Georgina, Supplement 1: "Catulls Bedeutung fiir die klassische Kompositionkunst" (Paderborn, Schoningh: Studien zur Geschichte und Kultur des Altertums, 1930). 2 Cf. Catullus 17, the Colonia poem, with its foot-tapping Pria- peans. 3 C. N. Jackson, "The Latin Epyllion," HSCP, 24 (1913), 42. 117 closest.^ Walter Allen, Jr. is convinced, together with Kroll, that the term "epyllion" is modem, that the epyllion did not exist as an estab- 2 lished literary form. A standard and purely descriptive definition of the epyllion is that of Heumann: viz., a short narrative poem in hexam­ eters, on a mythological subject, serious and self-contained, about one 3 book long. With incomparably greater insight, C. N. Jackson defines the epyllion as;

a variation of the epic type which in its broadest sense embraces all strictly narrative poetry dealing objectively with human ex­ periences. But the epyllion is descriptive in character rather than narrative, the narrative elements being used to aid in set­ ting forth the descriptive.4

The Greek and Latin epyllia, according to Jackson, belong to "the poetry of sentiment" and the Latin epyllion, like the elegy, has love as its

"accepted theme.He discusses at length the Wedding of Peleus and

Thetis, noting how

Catullus has put the lyric lament of Ariadne, descriptive en­ tirely, within a piece of pure narrative, that is, a romantic within an epyllion almost heroic, and then, to boot, following the heroic epyllion an epithalamium which is essentially a

Icf. Walter Allen, Jr., "The Epyllion." TAPA, 71 (1940), 1-26, for a full discussion of the epyllion,

^Kroll, p. 140, and W. Allen, p. 3; see John F. Reilly, "Origins of the Word 'Epyllion'," CJ, 49 (1953), 111-14, for a thorough history of the term.

O Joannes Heumann, "De epyllio Alexandrine" (Ph.D. dissertation. University of Leipzig, Koenigsee, Selmar de Ende, 1904), pp. 7-8.

^Jackson, p. 38; Jackson draws his definition from what he con­ siders the extant epyllia: Theocritus 24, 25; Moschus Europa, Megara; the Culex; the Ciris; the Aristaeus episode in Georgies 4; and Catullus 64 (p. 39). L Ibid., pp. 41, 46. 118

variation of the elegiac genus.^

This description may easily apply to Catullus 63, in which it is Attis who laments, revealing entirely his personality; his speech is set within pure narrative, and furthermore, the circumstances are a ritual union with the goddess— a wedding celebration turned nightmare. Jackson notes

also that Catullus is the only Latin poet to begin an epyllion (viz. 64)

in médias res without an invocation, and to end like "the great epic

poets . . . who with a sense of life going on, never really complete

their poems." Even so, the "Attis" begins in médias res, and ends with

the world safe for the time being, while Attis, on the other hand, is

doomed forever. The "Attis," then, is an epyllion in all respects but meter. Nevertheless such experimentation would be expected from the

poet who does not allow the meter to be the sole criterion of a poem's 3 content and vice versa.

To return to Elder's point, these narrative passages balanced

by speeches of the characters in the story combine to produce an "epyl­

lion" in form, but because of the appended prayer the epyllion itself 4 becomes a prayer in tenor and effect. The genre, then, is not strictly

Alexandrian but "Greco-Roman," inasmuch as the "form cooperates with the

theme to produce the desired effects."^

llbid.. p. 42.

^Ibid., p. 44.

^Cf., e.g., Sapphics in 11.

^Cf. Elder, "Art," p. xxxiv, who observes that it starts as an epyllion but ends as a hymn.

^Ibid. 119

The discussion of narratio-oratio easily directs us to an exami­ nation of the structure of the "Attis." It appears that although this alternation serves a necessary purpose of balance and contrast, it is nevertheless superficial. The content of the orationes, however, re­

flects more essential similarities and contrasts: in 12-26 Attis ad­

dresses his Galli companions, calling them uaga pecora (13); this is balanced by 78-83 where Cybele addresses her companion lions. The cen­

tral monologue of Attis' repentence (50-73) finds correspondence in the

final monologue of the poet.^ There are further similarities: both

Cybele and Attis (metaphorically in his first speech) urge on animals

to frenzy; and in the monologue Attis longs to undo the past, but in

the prayer the poet longs to avoid a similar future.

Otto Friess recognizes the integrity of 1-90. He sees an

omphalos more or less in the center of the narrative: the Raserie und

Erwachen (27-49); on either side of this are the two speeches by Attis

(12-26 and 50-73). The Entmannung (1-11) is balanced by Cybeles

Eingreifen (74-90); thus Friess disregards any structural significance 2 of the Cybele speech (78-83). The concluding prayer is labeled Epilog.

As far as these analyses by Weinreich and Friess go they are valid, but both, especially Weinreich's, seem to be based more on com­ positional technique than on dramatic development and emotional intensi­ ties. If the poem is considered basically a narrative, a movement can be followed not only of action but of space. The action starts fast and

^See below, p. 124.

^Otto Friess, Beobachtungen iiber die Darstellungskunst Catulls (Wurzburg: Gebruder Nemminger, 1929), pp. 15-16; Friess finds an omphalos in each Rede (18-20 and 61-62). 120 frenzied and it continues to build for 34 lines:

Super alta uectus Attis celeri rate maria, Phrygium ut nemus citato cupide pede tetigit adiitque opaca siluis redimita loca deae, stimulatus ibi furenti rabie, uagus animis, deuolsit ill acuto sibi pondéra silice, 5 itaque ut relicta sensit sibi membra sine uiro, etiam recente terrae sola sanguine maculans, niueis citata cepit manibus leue typanum, typanum tuum, Cybebe, tua, mater, initia, quatiensque terga tauri teneris caua digitis 10 canere haec suis adorta est tremebunda comitibus. agite ite ad alta, Gallae, Cybeles nemora simul, simul ite, Dindymenae dominae uaga pecora, aliéna quae patentes uelut exules loca sectam meam exsecutae duce me mihi comites 15 rapidum salum tulistis truculentaque pelagi, et corpus euirastis Veneris nimio odio; hilarate erae citatis erroribus animum. mora tarda mente cedat: simul ite, sequimini Phrygiam ad domum Cybebes, Phrygia ad nemora deae, 20 ubi cymbalum sonat uox, ubi tympana reboant, tibicen ubi canit Phryx curuo graue calamo, ubi capita Maenades ui iaciunt hederigerae, ubi sacra sancta acutis ululatibus agitant, ubi sueuit ilia diuae uolitare uaga cohors, 25 quo nos decet citatis celerare tripudiis. simul haec comitibus Attis cecinit notha mulier, thiasus repente linguis trepidantibus ululat, leue tympanum remugit, caua cymbala recrepant, uiridem citus adit Idam properante pede chorus. 30 furibunda simul anhelans uaga uadit animam agens comitata tympano Attis per opaca nemora dux, ueluti iuuenca uitans onus indomita iugi; rapidae ducem sequuntur Gallae properipedem (1-34).

The speech by Attis (12-26) accelerates the action which perhaps has been slowed somewhat by the shock of the castration in 5. The action reaches a high pitch with a fulfilment of the exhortations of Attis: viz., rapidae ducem sequuntur Gallae properipedem (34). Spatially, the move­ ment has been across the sea (1), into the Phrygian groves (2-3,20), and up to Mount Ida (30).

At line 35 the excitement abates:

itaque, ut domum Cybebes tetigere lassulae, 35 121

nimio e labore somnum capiunt sine Cerere. piger his labante languors oculos sopor operit; abit in quiete molli rabidus furor animi. sed ubi oris aurei Sol radiantibus oculis lustrauit aethera album, sola dura, mare ferum, 40 pepulitque noctis umbras uegetis sonipedibus, ib i Somnus excitam Attin fugiens citus abiit; trépidante dum recepit dea Pasithea sinu. ita de quiete molli rapida sine rabie simul ipsa pectore Attis sua facta recoluit, 45 liquidaque mente uidit sine quis ubique foret, animo aestuante rusum reditum ad uada tetulit. ibi maria uasta uisens lacrimantibus oculis, patriam allocuta maestast ita uoce miseriter (35-49).

There are two signs, other than the obvious change in plot, which indi­ cate that the aim of the first movement of the poem is completed and that a new mood is being established. First, itaque, ut (35; cf. 6) would seem to signal a turn in the narrative; second, this line is the first in the poem which employs anaclasis in the second half. Further­ more, the slowing down of the line is not only appropriate to the con­ text of 36ff., but the word in which the long syllable occurs, lassulae, is itself thematic. The dramatic appearance of the sun (39-41) indicates that the exhausted dancers have slept through the night. There is a new movement, but here it is not by Attis or his Galli; instead, it is in the skies : sol . . . / pepulit . . . noctis umbras, uegetis sonipedibus

(39,41). This movement is reflected in the flight of sleep from Attis

(42). Now although he has been freed from the violent frenzy of the previous day, the respite of gentle sleep is over and a new frenzy takes its place when he begins to grasp the consequences of his deed:

ita de quiete molli rapida sine rabie simul ipsa pectore Attis sua facta recoluit liquida mente uidit sine quis ubique foret, animo aestuante rusum reditum ad uada tetulit (44-47).

Again there is a spatial movement which parallels the emotional excitement: 122 just as Attis rushed from the sea to the forests, here he rushes back again to the sea. But at this point the spatial movement comes to a halt. Standing alone on the shore, Attis begins his pathetic soliloquy:

patria o mei creatrix, patria o mea genetrix, 50 ego quam miser relinquens, dominos ut erifugae famuli soient, ad Idae tetuli nemora pedem, ut aput niuem et ferarum gelida stabula forem, et earum omnia adirem furibunda latibula, ubinam aut quibus locis te positam, patria, reor? 55 cupit ipsa pupula ad te sibi derigere aciem, rab ie fe ra carens dum breue tempus animus e s t. egone a mea remota haec ferar in nemora domo? patria, bonis, amicis, genitoribus abero? abero foro, palaestra, stadio et gyminasiis? 60 miser a miser, querendum est etiam atque etiam, anime. quod enim genus figura est, ego non quod obierim? ego mulier, ego adolescens, ego ephebus, ego puer, ego gymnasi f u i f lo s , ego eram decus o le i: mihi ianuae fréquentes, mihi limina tepida, 65 mihi floridis corollis redimita domus erat, linquendum ubi esset orto mihi Sole cubiculum. ego nunc deum ministra et Cybeles famula ferar? ego Maenas, ego mei pars, ego uir sterilis ero? ego uiridis algida Idae niue amieta loca colam? 70 ego uitam agam sub altis Phrygiae columinibus, ubi cerua siluicultrix, ubi aper nemoriuagus? iam iam dolet quod egi, iam iamque paenitet, roseis ut huic labellis sonitus abiit, geminas deorum ad aures noua nuntia referons, 75 ibi iuncta iuga resoluens Cybele leonibus laeuumque pecoris hostem stimulans ita loquitur. agedum, inquit, age ferox , fac ut hunc furor , fac uti furoris ictu reditum in nemora ferat, mea libere nimis qui fugere imperia cupit. 80 age caede terga cauda, tua uerbera patere, fac cuncta mugienti fremitu loca retonent, rutilam ferox torosa ceruice quate iubam. ait haec minax Cybebe religatque iuga manu. ferus ipse sese adhortans rapidum incitât animo, 85 uadit, fremit, refringit uirgulta pede uago, at ubi umida albicantis loca litoris adiit, teneramque uidit Attin prope marmora pelagi, facit impetum. ilia demens fugit in nemora fera; ibi semper omne uitae spatium famula fuit (50-90). 90

The mental excitement builds in the second speech of Attis (50-73) which, unlike the mindless abandon of the first speech, is a conscious and 123

deliberate lament. In the first there is a sense of utter freedom, or

rather, of anarchy; but in the second speech there is a feeling of im­ prisonment, with the seas before him and the forests at his back. The

rapid beat of running and dancing is replaced by what seems to be a

quieter, but still crescent, rhythm of sobbing. Just as the first move­ ment of intense dramatic and emotional excitement ends in a summary

statement (viz. 34), so does this second crescendo:

iam iam dolet quod egi, iam iamque paenitet (73).

In this line the repetition of iam helps to portray his heavy breathing

and uncontrolled sobs. In addition, just as anaclasis marked the change

of mood in 35, the second instance of anaclasis at the end of a line

marks the heavy and irreversible end of the speech and Attis' hopes of

returning to his former life.

This soul-shaking prayer and lament is followed by two lines of

transition (74-75); they say little and are the brief calm that precedes

the last and most frightening movement of frenzy.^ Just as Attis urged

on his "herd" of companions in his first speech, Cybele urges on her

"enemy of the herd" in her speech. She instigates this third passage of

activity. For Attis the spatial movement is like the first, from the

smooth sea into the wild forests (marmora pelagi / . . . nemora fera,

88-89), which the lion initiates when Attis rushes from the forests to

the sea. The emotional pitch begins with Cybele, is transferred to the

lion, who in turn inspires it in Attis. Follow the adjectives: minax

Cybebe (84), ferus [leo] (85), and demens [Attis] (89). Though there is

^Note in 76 the third instance of anaclasis to underscore the ponderous, inescapable doom embodied in the lions. 124 a definite and irrevocable finality to the last line of this passage, the meter and alliteration indicate an unabating frenzy:

ibi semper omne uitae spatium famula fuit (90) .

The three-line coda, an epilogic prayer, is a reversal of the thought of lifetime servitude and imprisonment with which we were left in 90 :

dea, magna dea, Cybebe, dea domina Dindymi, procul a mea tuos sit furor omnis, era, domo: alios age incitatos, alios age rabidos (91-93).

The first line of the plea is a stuttering and respectfully timid litany to Cybele. In this line there also occurs, for the fourth and final time, anaclasis; but this heaviness promptly yields to the excitement of the concluding two lines. As mentioned, the last three lines differ from what precedes insofar as they are spoken by the persona of the poet, who expresses a hope that he be spared the calling and fate of a Callus.

They seem to be appended; they are, but not as an afterthought. It is necessary, as a matter of form, that the poet— who has revealed aspects of the mysteries of Cybele— protect himself from the goddess' wrath.^

The coda, then, is apotropaic in two ways : to prevent a similar fate and to appease the goddess. The poet makes his fears more vivid by re­ calling the fury and frenzied madness that flashed from the preceding lines (cf. furor, 92, incitatos and rabidos, 93).

The structure of the poem, then, can be seen as existing on many levels. The purely compositional coherence of narratio-oratio has been considered and been found valid, but it has also been discovered

^Cf. Apuleius Metamorphoses 11.23 for Lucius' reluctance to divulge the mysteries of Isis. 125 that the dramatic development of the epyllion-hymn, although less obvious, does nevertheless reveal itself. Furthermore, it has been seen that the form is ordered to and serves to enhance the content. For example, al­ though the end of Attis’ first speech (26) seems a likely stopping place or point of division, it is the frenzy of movement which determines the conclusion of the first part of the poem at 34. And so the speech of At­ tis is couched in narrative and is used not as a balance-weight or an­ tithesis of the preceding narrative, but as a means to advance the nar­ rative. A similar use is made of Cybele's speech (78-83) in 74-90 to quicken the narrative pace.

The emotional drama of the first 90 verses is tripartite; fren­ zy and thoughtlessness (1-34), followed by respite and reflection (35-49), which in turn are followed by frenzy and hopelessness (50-90). These divisions may be more specifically divided: the unnatural and perverted act (1-11) and Attis’ exhortation to the Galli (12-34); next, exhaustion

(35-38), sunrise (39-43), and full realization of the consequences

(44-49); and finally, Attis’ repentance (50-73) and Cybele’s attack on

Attis (74-90). This interwoven balance through antithesis is seen in

"excess" opposite "repentance" and "Attis’ urging" compared with "Cyb­ ele's driving." In the central passage sleep is balanced by awakening, and if, pace Friess, there is to be an omphalos, it must be the sunrise.^

For it is this, the brightest part of the drama, upon which the pathetic

^Cf. Eckart Schafer, Das Verhaltnis von Erlebnis und Kunstgestalt bei Catull (Wiesbaden: Franz Steiner Verlag, 1966), pp. 98-99, who sees 38 as the focal point for the poem’s cyclic composition; before and after 38 are balanced 27-37 (movement to the mountains and the ensuing sleep) and 39-49 (awakening and the return to the shore), 12-26 (exhortations) and 50-73 (lament), and 1-11 (outburst of furor) and 74-90 (return of furor). 126 irony of 1-34 revolves: viz., what seemed to Attis freedom and escape he now recognizes as anarchy and imprisonment; what he thought was ser­ vice to the goddess is in reality unconditional servitude to her.

The following is a simplified scheme of the structure of the

"Attis" (1-90):

Se lf-c astr atio n (1-11) -,f Self-castration (1-11)(1-. -,f • Frenzy and thoughtlessness (1-34)\ Exhortation (12-34)

Exhaustion (35-38) Respite and reflection (35-49) j Sunrise (39-43) Realization (44-49) ]

f Repentance (50-73) Frenzy and hopelessness (50-90) \ Attack (74-90)

Images and Motifs

For years it has been agreed that the Attis of Poem 63 is not the Attis of Cybclic myth. Catullus' Attis is not, as in Hermesianax’

Lydian version, killed by a boar sent by Zeus. He is not a shepherd as in Theocritus nor a Phrygian as in Hermesianax nor a Lydian as Herodotus'

Atys nor of divine origin as in Pausanias' Pessinuntine legend; instead, he is an urbane, Hellenistic Greek with social and political obligations and position:

patria bonis, amicis, genitoribus abero? abero foro, palaestra, studio et gyminasiis?

ego mulier, ego adulescens, ego ephebus, ego puer, ego gymnasi fui flos, ego eram decus olei: corollis redimita domus erat, linquendum ubi esset orto mihi sole cubiculum (59-60,62-66)

Icf. Hepding, pp. 140-41; Ellis, p. 260; Showerman, p. 55; Frazer, p. 270, n. 2. 127 1 Catullus' youthful fanatic, like the high priests of the cult, took the name "Attis" (cf. "Atys" in A.P. 6.220). Similarly the story itself bears resemblance to the reconstructed Attidic mythology in three re­

spects: the fanatic rites, the Phrygian locale, and Attis' position of

respect and leadership among the devotees of Cybele. Of these the first

two are cultic aspects, and so are more or less unimportant insofar as

legend is concerned. The only inference, then, which can be drawn from

Catullus' story is that indeed he recognized the significance, if not

the preeminence of Attis in Cybelic mythology, but exactly how and to what extent one cannot tell. It seems that, as Elder observes, Catullus

is "more interested in this poem in the rites of the cult than in the o forms of the myth."" The castration theme in the myth of Attis is, as has been shown, without explicit precedent; however, the cultic liter­

ature contains ample proof that the castration of priests and ministers

of Cybele was widespread information, and indeed a necessary aspect of

the cult's mystique.^

A number of leitmotifs identifiable with the cult myth are pre­

sent in Poem 63: first, the maddened Galli themselves with their furious

singing, dancing, and music:

ubi cymbalum sonat uox, ubi tympana reboant, tibicen ubi canit Phryx curuo graue calamo, ubi capita Maenades ui iaciunt hederigerae, ubi sacra sancta acutis ululatibus agitant, ubi sueuit ilia diuae uolitare uaga cohors, 25 quo nos decet citatis celerare tripudiis.

^See above, p. 86.

^Elder, "Catullus' 'Attis'," p. 394, n. 4.

^Cf. A . P . 6.51.3, 219.5, 220.3, esp. 218.1 (x6Lpa(J.evoç YOvCp.r)v tiç ano cpkejSa) and 234.1 (veiTTopoç) ; and Lucr, 2,614-17. 128

thiasus repente linguis trepidantibus ululat, leue tympanum remugit, caua cymbala recrepant, ^ uiridem citus adit Idam properante pede chorus (21-26,28-30).

The obvious allusions to the effeminacy of these devotees in the vocabulary of the Anthology are imitated by Catullus through the exten­ sive use of feminine genders for Attis and his companions : e.g., itaque ut relicta sensit sibi membra sine uiro (6), Gallae (10,32), and exsecutae o duce me mihi comités (15). Although Catullus neglects to mention the 3 womanish dress of the Galli, he alludes to the effeminate appearance of

Attis: niueis . . . manibus (8), tenerum (88), and roseis . . . labellis

(74). Perhaps, just as Demosthenes, Catullus confuses Cybelic ritual with Dionysian; he has Attis call himself and the Galli Maenads (cf.

23,69) and mentions ivy wreaths (cf. hederigerae, 23). But after all, accuracy must not be expected from one who is not an initiate nor should it be surprising that some confusion of Phrygian and Cretan ritual has occurred by this time in the literature.

Catullus' narrative does not indicate that any dedications are to be made at the domus Cybebes; Attis seems concerned merely with reaching the grove or perhaps the threshold of the temple (cf. A.P.

6.173.5 and Schol., Nic. Alexiph. 6-8), as indeed he and his companions eventually do in a state of utter exhaustion, needing rest much like that asked for by the old Alexis in A.P. 6.51.9-10. In Catullus,

Icf. Lucr. 2.618-20; and A.P. 6.51, 173, 220, etc. 2 The poet merits recognition for his clever device of changing the gender of Attis after his castration; see e.g., stimulatus and uagus (4), but relicta (6), citata (8), etc.

^Cf. A.P. 6.219.3-4; and Varro Sat. Men. 129 nevertheless, the very act of collapsing weary, hungry, and breathless at the temple of the goddess is in effect a dedication of human beings and not simply locks of hair or severed genitals. In these lines (35-36) we have a clear indication that the Gallae have more than sacrificed their virility to Cybele, but indeed have dedicated their lives and per­ sons to her service. Attis himself soon realizes this:

ego nunc deum ministra et Cybeles famula ferar? (68); and Catullus reaffirms the youth’s prevision:

ibi semper omne vitae spatium famula fuit (90).

A second leitmotif is mythological in origin, but quite cultic in association; the locale. One of Pausanias’ versions is called

Phrygian, and for two reasons: the scene was set in Phrygia, and there

the tradition was nourished (7.17.10-12). Livy (29.10-14) and Ovid

(Fasti 4.273-91) recall the importation of the lapis sacer from Pessinus over the seas to Rome; compare the first lines of the "Attis":

super alta uectus Attis celeri rate maria Phrygium ut nemus . . . (1-2).

Frequent mention of two other place names, Dindymus and Ida (13,30,52,

70,91), constantly reminds us of the exotic setting, according to tra- 1 dition the place of the temple and rites.

The exotic fascination of the "Attis" is due to a great degree

to the romantic device of a journey. Description or even mere mention

of Anatolian place names enhances the mystique of the cult: e.g., 2 "Cyzicus," "Sardis," the "Sangarius," etc. must have conjured for the

Icf. A . P . 6.218, 220, 7.109; and Schol., Nic. Alexiph. 6-8. 2 See above, p. 101. 130

Roman the same wonderment and awe as "Hyperborean" for the Greek. In the Anthology the situations tend to be set in foreign places which are so removed from the western Mediterranean that they seem to be fiction or even fantasy. But Catullus brings the fantasy within the range of belief by creating a bridge to it from the real and immediate— the sea voyage taken by Attis from his Greek homeland. The poet thereby has put the improbable and unusual within reach; this is the romanticist's art, and it is basically what distinguishes him from the storyteller.

Herodotus does not attain to this level in his similar tale since Ana- charsis— although he travels to exotic Cyzicus— is himself a barbarian

Scythian, and since the entire action transpires beyond Greek borders.

And so his story, though interesting, is somewhat remote and lacks the more frightening immediacy of the "Attis." Catullus' Attis, in fact, takes a journey which is unlike any taken by the Attises or Galli in previous literature;^ he not only leaves his o ™ country, but he even spans continents; furthermore, he crosses not only the boundary between two civilizations, but also the boundary between past and future. The strange and far-off scene of Attis' self-sacrifice and the closeness of his former life-style to that of the well-born youth at Rome creates a surrealistic conflict whereby Catullus can illustrate the irrationality of escape from civilized society; for although the scene and action are believably and realistically portrayed, it is unbelievable and unreal that this could happen to a Greek youth, such as Attis was. Ironically,

Viz., A.P. 6.220, where Attis is on his way from Pessinus to Sardis; 6.234, where a Lydian Gallus travels from Tmolus to the Sangari­ us; and Paus. 7.17.9, where Attis migrates from Lydia to Phrygia. In A.P. 6.173, 217, 218, 219 it must be assumed, if there is no mention, that the Gallus is wandering along Phrygian Ida or some such Asian locale. 131

Attis could not shout as other initiates, "Eipuyov xaxov! His journey was an escape from the evil of reality to a new and more horrible evil.

Mountains and forests are not at all unfamiliar in Cybelic liter­ ature. It was in a forest, 'YXaCr), that the Scythian Anacharsis forfeited his life for practicing the illicit rites of the Phrygian goddess (Herod.

4.76); on the Mysians' Olympus the Lydian Atys lost his life in the hunt­ ing accident (Herod. 1.43); in the "Hymn to the Mother" are mentioned hills and forests as her domain (H.H. 14.4). Furthermore, the setting of the dedicatory poems in the Anthology is the wilds, e.g. ôXi^sv . . . opoç

(6.17.8). Catullus seems especially struck by forest imagery from the start:

Phrygium ut nemus citato cupide pede tetigit adiitque opaca siluis redimita loca deae (2-3).

His intention obviously is to create an air of dense and confining mys­ tery in the woods, and he maintains that aura by frequent repetition of this threatening image (cf. 12,20,32,52,54,58,72,79,89). But the moun-r tain image is hardly neglected; in fact, because Attis and the Gallae must race not only inland but up the mountain from the seashore, their exhaustion is far more convincing. They cannot simply go skipping off through labyrinthine groves; they must overcome not only their ignorance of the way to the temple, but the wearying heights: note the beginning of Attis’ exhortation:

agite ite ad alta, Gallae, Cybeles nemora simul, simul ite, Dindymenae dominae uaga pecora (12-13) ; and the description of Attis which shortly follows :

furibunda simul anhelans uaga uadit, animam agens (31).

^See also A.P. 6.218.2 and 220.Iff. 132

Later the mountains become a menacing image:

ego uitam agam sub altis Phrygiae columinibus? (71).

In Catullus there is an echo also of Nicander, the only prior

author to bring a Homeric image of the sea into a description of the

region: viz. ayxu noXucnrpoCpoLO SaXdooT)? (Alexiph. 6). Catullus intro­

duces his narrative and central character through the imposing and vast

image of the sea:

super alta uectus Attis celeri rate maria (1).

The epic touch, which Nicander sought, is well executed by Catullus as he

lashes his poem along:

rapidum salum tulistis truculentaque pelagi (16).

Not only is the sea wild, ferum (40), and vast, uasta (48), it is also smooth and bright, as implied by marmora (88), and in this latter aspect

Catullus sets it opposite to the forested mountains. That the two are

to be recognized as forces in conflict can be clearly seen at that point

in the narrative when the lion finds Attis:

tenerumque uidit Attin prope marmora pelagi, facit impetum: ilia demens fugit in nemora fera (88-89).

Similarly, the shore at the forest's fringe is a reflection of the calm

surface of the sea:

at ubi umida albicantis loca litora adiit (87).

These three lines (87-89) are an example of compression of theme by means

of recalling the outstanding images of leitmotifs. There are a number of

opposites brought together with brutal clarity. First, adiit [leo] con­

trasts with fugit [Attis]; second, tenerum . . . Attin and nemora fera;

third, umida albicantis loca litoris adiit ingeniously recalls adiitque

opaca siluis redimita loca deae (3). An image which brings together the 133

land and sea is snow, already familiar from the brief drama of A.P. 6.217, not only as a backdrop but as a plot device. There, just as the priest

retreated from the driving snow, he was also pursued by the ravenous

lion. Catullus’ Attis looks on the snow and ice with fear and loathing, because it reflects his own sterility:

. . . ego uir sterilis ero? ego uiridis algida Idae niue amicta loca colam? (69-70).

The pun between uir and uiridis is painfully ironic, for Attis still

cannot fully accept the fact that he, though in the form of a man, has

lost his manhood; likewise it seems paradoxical that the mountain can

at once be green and productive but covered with a cape of ice and snow.

Linked with the harshness of the ice and snow are the wild beasts who haunt the mountain tracks, a motif familiar from the Anthology.

One line indicates especially well the identification of these two mo­

tifs :

ut aput niuem et ferarum gelida stabula forem (52).

The wild-animal motif is closely related to that of forests. This can

be seen rather explicitly in the line:

ubi cerua siluicultrix, ubi aper nemoriuagus (72).

The defenseless hind is here contrasted with the dangerous wild boar,^

but both make their homes in the forest, perhaps a premonition of danger

for Attis.

^Although the hind recalls the myth of Actaeon (cf. Ovid Met. 3.138ff.), there is some relationship to be seen inasmuch as the mortal Actaeon observed Diana bathing in a forest pond, and as a punishment she had him killed by his own hounds by turning him into a hind; cf. Herod­ otus' Atys and Hermesianax’ Attis. 134

The animal imagery is the most pervasive in the poem,^ and it is 2 this imagery that reflects the salient theme of furor. From the start of the poem Attis and the Galli are compared to cattle in a stampede of 3 frenzy, the cause of which seems to be religious fervor. In the fright­ ening conclusion of the poem Attis is confronted with a charging lion.

These two animals, then, are the antagonists in a symbolic conflict be­ tween tameness and wildness. The cattle are out of place in the forests: they become lost and cannot find pasture beneath the shady trees (per opaca nemora, 32), and when they reach the domus Cybebes in the heart of a grove, exhausted, they must yield to sleep, though hungry, i.e. lacking

Ceres’ grasses (sine Cerere, 36). The reason that they enter the forest is a frenzy of fanaticism; but for Attis it is the frenzy of fear that drives him back into the forest, and this frenzy is embodied in the lion goaded on by Cybele (stimulans, 77)— just as were Attis (stimulatus, 4) 4 and the Galli. Attis calls the Galli Dindymenae deae uaga pecora (13); he himself is described as a heifer unwilling to take on the yoke:

ueluti iuuenca uitans onus indomita iugi (33); and appropriately the threatening lion is described as pecoris hostem

(77). While the heifer is as yet unyoked, the lion on the other hand has known the yoke and must obey his mistress. The antithesis between

^Cf. Gerald N. Sandy, "The Imagery of Catullus 63," TAPA, 99 (1968), 389-99, who explores thoroughly the implied and expressed animal images in the "Attis."

^For furor and cognates see 4,31,38,54,78,79,82. 3 Note esp. stimulatus ibi furenti rabie (4); stimulus, of course, means "goad" (cf. Plautus Menaechmi 865; and Tibullus 1.1.30/12); cf. Sandy, p. 390.

^See above, p. 120. 135 lion and cattle is seen in the Anthology; with a tympanum made of bull’s hide the Gallus chased the lion away (see A . P . 6.217-220, esp. 219.22,

TaupsCou); compare 63.10:

quatiensque terga tauri teneris caua digitis.

In those same poems the lion is called poocpayoç (6.217.4) and xaupocpovoç

(6.219.7); cf. pecoris hostem (63.77).

In the mountain forests the lion roams alone, like the boar and the stag; this is the way of the wild beast who must survive on his own.

The cattle, however, are gregarious, and the trees would tend to cause them to become separated and to scatter aimlessly (cf. uolitare uaga cohors, 25); it is Attis, although he himself is madly driven like a heifer, who serves as leader of the herd and somehow by animal instinct guides the others to their destination.

The lion and boar are the particularized representatives of wild beasts in Cybelic literature not later than Catullus, and both find their place in Poem 63. Unlike Hermesianax, Catullus does not have the

"grove-roving boar" (aper nemoriuagus, 72) effect the demise of Attis, but as in the anecdotes in the Anthology, it is the lion who is portrayed as the youth's nemesis. In Hermesianax the boar is sent by Zeus to pun­ ish Attis for having achieved such great honor; in Simonides, Alcaeus, and Dioscorides the lion appears simply because the cave is his den or because it is snowing. Catullus seems to have borrowed from the Lydian myth, however, since he has an angry Cybele send her lion to discipline her unwilling servant; in the same way Zeus sent the boar to remind the

Lydians of his supremacy.^

^Explanations why Cybele sends the lion on her left have been 136

A traditionally chthonic motif which is magnified and extended by Catullus is that of night. Herodotus relates how Anacharsis, having observed the Cyzicenes' celebrations of the Mother of the Gods, vowed

"that he would sacrifice just as he saw the Cyzicenes do and would es­ tablish navvoxLÔa— nightly rites (4.76)." In his attack on Aeschines,

Demosthenes mentions that the orgiastic rites occur in the dark of right

(t ^)V . . . vuxxa, De cor. 259); however, from Demosthenes* description the rites seem to be more Dionysiac or Hecatic than Cybelic. There is but one other mention of night in pre-Catullan Cybelic literature. In the epigram by Dioscorides, when evening falls the frenzy of Atys sub­ sides, and the journeying Gallus takes shelter in the cave (A.P. 6.220.3-6)

The poet makes good advantage of the imagery inherent in the situation:

Atys evidently has traveled all through the day in a heated frenzy; when evening shades begin to fall, his own frenzy, like the day itself, is cooled (è\)/ux0Ti, 220.4). This would seem, then, to conflict with any tradition that the maddened activities of the Galli were confined to the night. In fact, in Lucretius 2.594-643 there is not the slightest in­ dication that the procession of the Magna Mater was nocturnal. In Ca­ tullus' poem the explicit image of nightfall is absent; yet it is un­ deniable that the action spans at least one night and a morning. Once offered. Fordyce, p. 271, notes that "the particularizing of one member of the team perhaps adds a little to the vividness of the picture, but saeuum is tempting"— though that reading lacks any manuscript authority; furthermore, since Cybele loosed the yoke from both lions (ibi iuncta iugo resoluens Cybele leonibus, 76), without a qualifier as to which lion, the singular hostem would not follow; cf. Kroll, p. 139. Ellis, p. 275, reminds us that there may be an obscure allusion inasmuch as there were ô s ^ lO l and djKpOTspoi, Idaean Dactyls (Schol., Apollonius Rhodius 1.1129); "or the left may be chosen as the opposite of the right ; for the right hand and arm seem to have had some symbolical association with women or effeminati." 137

they have reached the temple, the Galli fall asleep exhausted, without nourishment (35-38). Immediately, to indicate either the apparent or

the actual brevity of this much-needed sleep, the magnificent and ex­ plosive appearance of the morning sun radiates from the east to west the

sky, the earth, and the sea, driving off the shades of night:

sed ubi oris aurei Sol radiantibus oculis lustrauit aethera album, sola dura, mare ferum, pepulit noctis umbras uegetis sonipedibus (39-41).

From this but one thing may be assumed: the night has passed. However,

this does not necessarily mean that Attis has slept through it all (cf.

the lack of transitional narrative between Attis' falling asleep and awakening); nor on the other hand does it mean the ritual took place only during the night. Perhaps this lack of definition is intentional, so that in one respect there is no distraction from character- and place-centered action; in another respect there is no sensation of the passage of time. And so, though there is a transition from night to day,

Catullus never says, nor is it noticed, whether the action starts in the day or at night. There are parallels for both: like Dioscorides' Atys,

Catullus' Attis toils the whole day in a furious attempt to complete his journey; and like Herodotus' Anacharsis, he begins his frenzy at night­

fall and carries it on almost to daybreak, with but a few hours sleep.

The dramatic opening setting of each alternative is, it seems, equally

effective: on the one hand there is the heat and brightness of the sun

flashing on the sea and the exotic Phrygian landscape; on the other there

is the mysterious and forbidding darkness of night cloaking the unfamil­

iar sea route and the dark, forested hills. From the standpoint of plot,

rather than setting, the longer sequence of day to night to day (and 138 perhaps again to night) compressed into so few lines of narrative is far more in keeping with the theme of thoughtless and uncontrolled speed; nevertheless, the simple change from night to day is far more striking.

The darkness-brightness motif present in the night-day image appears also in the mountain-sea and shore-forest images, and as we have seen, movement in time is paralleled by movement in space, both of which are consistent with Attis' mental and emotional states. As Attis moves from the sea to the dark forests and foreboding mountains, his madness height­ ens and the night (apparently) blackens; as day breaks, his mind clears, and he deserts the mountain groves for the bright seashore. Basically,

Catullus uses brightness and darkness in much the same way as Vergil when nature is made sympathetic with the mood or action of the narrative.

Catullus' narrative is so compressed that he cannot afford simply to dress his poem with this motif; instead, he makes it part of the drama, and not merely an appropriate backdrop. Night and day, sun and shade are also forces which, guide Attis through the drama; as they themselves develop, they affect his actions and emotions and in turn become symbolic reflections of plot and personality.

Although Catullus' poem relates ex partibus to various themes, motifs, and images found in extant pre-Republican Cybelic-Attidic liter­ ature, in general the plot is original. Granted, like Herodotus' Atys and Hermesianax' (and to some extent Neanthes') Attis, Catullus' Attis becomes an inspirational leader of the other enthusiasts; he exhorts them onward to the sanctuary of Cybele;

Cf. Schafer, pp. 98-99, who notes the contrasts in the darkness of the forest giving way to light, sleep to frenzy, and masculinity to effeminacy. 139

sectam meam exsecutae duce me mihi comités (15).

Furthermore, although Attis is compared to an untamed heifer (33), he himself calls the Galli uaga pecora (13) whom he bids follow. And even before the madness, as Attis himself recalls, he was an "ephebe . . . the flower of the athletic fields, the glory of the rhetorical contests," and the center of admiration and attention (63ff.). It would seem from

Theocritus 20.40 and the Scholiast on Nicander Alexipharmaca 6-8 that there was some tradition of a union between Attis and Cybele, but since this is part of the mythology of Attis and not the priests of Attis,

Catullus does not bring it into his narrative. However, there is on another level a union to which he alludes; it is not physical but spiri­ tual, and is accompanied by a symbolic rejection of one's own body.

Recall Attis' words;

et corpus euirastis Veneris nimio odio (17).

Our young Greek, in imitation of the original Attis, has taken (or been given) that name and through his frenzy hopes to achieve a psychological union with the goddess imitative of the original mythic union between

Cybele and Attis.^ In this treatment Catullus has progressed far beyond a pastiche of Anthology anecdotes and Attis legend; for this reason he has devoted much space to the lament of disillusionment (50-73). Here

the technique is masterfully dramatic, for the monologue grows out of the

situation, and in no way is there a feeling that it has been jammed into

the narrative as a song in a 1940 musical.

At the root of this psychological turmoil is Attis' self-emascu­

lation. As has been shown, although there is sufficient evidence for

Icf. Showerman, p. 56. 140

the castration of eunuch priests in the cult, nowhere in pre-imperial

literature is there mention that the castration was self-inflicted.

For this reason alone Catullus' poem deserves attention. In the "Attis"

there is pain and regret (73) over this mindless act; but a good bit of

this remorse seems to stem from the fact that the castration was Attis' own doing. Although the act is necessary to the impact and progression

of the story, it is the consequences which lie at the heart of the poem.

Note how Catullus describes the act graphically, succinctly, within

three lines, at the beginning of the poem:

deuolsit ibi acuto sibi pondéra silice, itaque ut relicta sensit sibi membra sine uiro, etiam recente terrae sola sanguine maculans (5-7).

To dwell on the act any longer would detract from the realism of its swiftness; indeed it is done immediately after the frenzy begins (4).

The act itself requires only one line (5); the following two lines de­ scribe Attis' realization of the act. Line 5, then, is the start of the second half of the first narrative passage. The first five lines build to a climax— the self-emasculation; the next six lines show Attis' re­ action— he gives himself completely to the ritual. It is important to notice the difference between the realizations of 5, and of 45-46. Here

Attis, despite his frenzy, knows full well what he has done: sensit

(6); later Attis begins to realize the significance and consequences of

the act by recalling the act in relation to his present circumstances:

simul ipsa pectore Attis sua facta recoluit, liquida mente uidit sine quis ubique foret (45-46).

In the following speech, by enumerating what values he once held and

^Cf. itaque, ut (35). 141

what honors he once enjoyed (50-67), he comes to a complete and sober

realization of his Toss, seen immediately in his castration, itself a

symbol of far greater loss.

There is a climactic consequential progression following the

castration. First, Attis immerses himself heart, soul, and body into

the ritual in his attempt at union with the goddess (5ff.). This is why the act was committed. Second, Attis realizes that the act has

altered him physically and has divorced him from his accustomed style

of life (50ff.). Third, not only is he unable to return to his former

existence, but he must also become something that is vividly abhorrent

to him— a eunuch (67ff.). Finally, this new existence is to be servitude,

rather than service, and it is to be lifelong (90). This theme of free­

dom and slavery will be discussed at length in the next chapter; however,

at this point, it is necessary to recall the traditional epithets applied

to Attis and the Galli. Neanthes (in Harpocration, s.v. "A-rrnq) calls

Attis the goddess’ attendant, her servant— npôcrnoXoç oniç Mryrpoq; like­ wise, in the Anthology one priest is called f]pt,yôvauxa 0 6 % XuTpuv

(6.217.9). In only one of the dedicatory epigrams does the priest ex­ press a desire to achieve release from at least his participation in the mad rituals (A.P. 6.51), but here it is because of old age and not dis­

taste for the service. In Catullus the one-time eager and exemplary

servant Attis (cf. his exhortations in 12ff.) becomes unwilling and in

need of harsh discipline; he asks unbelievingly:

ego nunc deum ministra et Cybeles famula ferar? (68).

Cybele will not brook his rebellion; addressing her lion she makes clear her intentions that he must be driven back into service: 142

mea libere qui fugere imperia cupit (80).

The use of the lion as the enforcer of Cybele's will seems to be

Catullus’ invention. Disregarding the attempts by Lucretius and Varro^ at symbolic interpretations, the lion, as a melodramatic and graphic de­ vice, is ideal. It is closely associated with Cybele and is under her power and protection; it is the epitome of wildness; it is known as a relentless and fierce pursuer; and of course it is the traditional vil­ lain of the priests of Attis. However, in the Anthology the lion has nothing to do with Cybele; he seems a free agent and simply appears from 2 nowhere. It might be said that these anecdotes are illustrations of the power of Cybele through her priests to tame this, the wildest of beasts, but the fact remains that in none of these poems, and nowhere in

Hellenistic and Republican literature, is Cybele portrayed as a cruel mistress. Catullus pictures her not as the serene goddess in Lucretius, 3 but as minax Cybebe (84). When Attis earlier referred to her as domina

(13) and era (18) he had no idea how harsh those words could sound, and it is with this in mind that the poet addresses the dea domina Dindymi

(91) and era (92) in the apotropaic prayer that concludes the poem.

^See Lucr. 2.601,604-5 and Aug. De ciu. Dei 7.24.

^Cf. Gow and Page, II, 248, re A.P. 6.220: "... a Gallus, particularly one whose enthusiasm has cooled, might well be alarmed to see an animal particularly associated with the goddess whom he professed to serve. It may be noted, though the coincidence is perhaps accidental, that in Catullus too the lion does not appear until Attis has lost his enthusiasm."

^Cf. Paavo Numminen, "Severa mater," Arctos 3 (1962), 143-66, esp. the conclusion, p. 157: "Severa mater igitur est putanda ilia diva Lucretiana: neque immanis et inhumane sicut Cybele Catulliana, neque liberis blandiens aut eorum moribus indulgens, ut ilia mater Terentiana [i.e. as described by Varro in Aug. De ciu. Dei 7.24]"; cf. also p. 154. 143

Further, nowhere in.Catullus 63 does Attis register reaction of hatred for Cybele. In the beginning he is an eager and willing subject, anxious to consummate his devotion with the goddess. After he discovers the errors of his ways he levels no blame; he simply laments his situa­ tion. Completely caught up with the thought of his loss, he does not, as might be expected, curse the goddess. Perhaps by now he has so much respect and awe for her influence (under which he committed the act) that he does not dare blame her. Aether this is true or not, the awe-filled poet is himself careful to state his respect to the goddess.

Summary

This analysis has shown that the "Attis" is far more than strik­ ingly clever mimesis of fanatic self-emasculation. The meter, syntax, vocabulary, and sound are integrated and ordered to reflect the rapid pace and fantastic fury of the story. But more significantly, the poem is a miniature drama in epyllic style born of the mysterious and exotic ritual of Cybele. The development of the narrative is further enhanced by the speeches of the two principal characters, Attis and Cybele. The distant and desolate setting is as attractive as stark Caucasus in the

Prometheus. The drama is full of movement from the very first line.

There is the spatial movement across the seas, into the forests, up the mountain, back to the seashore, and again to the forested mountain.

There is the movement of emotional and mental activity: Attis* frenzy, his lamentation, his horror; the excitement of the Galli; Cybele*s anger;

the lion's wildness. There is temporal movement from night to day to

eternal night. And as in all classic drama, the "Att.ls" may be viewed 144 as a storm of conflicting forces and personalities: the Attis of Greece, the flower of civilization, versus the strong-willed divine mistress; the expectation of escape and freedom versus the harsh reality of im­ prisonment and slavery; the ignorance and passion of night versus the realization and lucidity of bright daylight.

The "Attis" is, in reality, two poems in one. For the first 90 lines it is a narrative told in an objective and realistic style worthy of any modern realist. In its brevity it is ideally Alexandrian; in its accuracy and literary allusion to cult and myth it is exemplary of the work of a doctus. The narrative, with its incorporated dramatic speeches, is divisible into three phases of development, the third re­ flective of the first and the second in contrast with both the first and third. . The first movement of this symphony-like poem (1-34) is excited, fast-moving, reckless. It begins violently with the shock of the self-castration and gathers speed with Attis’ exhortation and the dancing and noise of the Galli as they race to achieve the climax of the movement: union with the goddess. The action mounts, reaches climax, then promptly fades. Just as the first, the second movement (35-49) begins abruptly as the first rays of sunlight reach across the morning sky; the break of day lacks the violence of the opening lines of the poem, but it supersedes the violence with a majesty and power that grows steadily and unopposed, until it banishes night, sleep, passion, and irrationality, and flashes forth with all its brilliance. The fantasy and delusion of the first movement are replaced by stark awareness in this the second. Again a climax is reached as Attis is returned to his former mind, but is trapped by his new physical state. This leads him to psychological anguish that 145 comes with the confrontation of past and future. This is, in turn, the start of the third movement (50-90) that begins in a high emotional pitch and is tugged back and forth between past and present until it reaches the limit of tension, and for a moment (73-75) the drama is suspended, lacking a force to drive it on. Then the frenzy of the first movement returns (76-90) as Cybele, the original motivation of Attis' destructive urge, asserts herself as a harsh reality and not as a sub­ lime ideal. Here is the denouement of the drama; Attis' destiny, mo­ tivated by an ideal and brought to a conclusion by a denial of reality, is fulfilled.

The final portion of the poem— really a second poem in itself— is an envoi in the form of an apotropaic hymn. The poet speaks for him­ self and is strikingly sincere. It would seem that the poet, like an audience in the Dionysian theatre, has learned from this brief and con­ centrated tragedy.

From the preceding chapter it was easy to see what elements of

Attidic literature influenced the "Attis" of Catullus. Obviously it was not Catullus' intent to recreate the barbarous myth of Attis and

Cybele, nor was he concerned with forming some entirely new myth. In­ stead, influenced by the cultic literature and ritual, he set out to portray in story form the psychological destruction that for someone like Attis is the consequence of castration, the supreme goal of such practices. He borrows a number of traditional motifs: the frenzied, effeminate Galli and their noisy dancing; the pilgrimage; the desert strand, dark forests, and rugged snow-capped mountains characteristic of the Phrygian locale; the wild beasts, especially the lion, "killer of 146 cattle." But even more significant is his adaptation of the familiar motifs and images and his reworking of them in original themes. The most striking, and indeed most important to the effect of the poem, is his portrayal of the emasculation as self-inflicted. This is the source of deepest remorse for Attis, for it was he alone who chose to deny him­ self all he held dear in pursuit of an unrealistic and empty goal. The second departure from tradition was the relationship between servant and goddess. Attis comes to view his initiation as prompted by false illu­ sions and therefore is unwilling to submit himself to the will of the goddess; there is no hint in earlier literature that the priests of

Cybele were unwilling servants. The impact of Catullus' poem comes from a repugnance for the thought of castration; it is difficult to conceive of such an act and consequently to comprehend fully the pathos of Attis' lamentable condition. Catullus, therefore, draws his reader into the poem, whereas all other Galli literature is easily viewed with more objectivity. It is by casting a Greek— the civilized ideal— in the role of Attis that Catullus alerts one to the horrifying notion that these

Galli are not barbarians, but human beings, and in that respect they are like Greeks— and Romans. Because it is so easy to identify with this deluded young Greek, the severity of minax Cybebe is vividly felt. This is not the traditional portrayal of the goddess. Livy and Lucretius cre­ ate an image of the Magna Mater as an aloof and impersonal force, silent as the lapis sacer. obscured by cult trappings and ritual. But Catullus has given her a personality, and in this respect he has created a new and contradictory aspect of the Cybelic mythology. Cybele is the control­ ling, protective, and creative force in nature, but in the "Attis" she is 147

seen as provocative and destructive. This new personality is extended

through a group of images that reveal a portrait of her as dark, posses­

sive, and relentless; darkness, forests, snow and ice, mountains, and wild animals, especially the lion, the embodiment of her violent wil-

fullness. Opposed to this is a set of innocent and civilized images: morning, sea and sky, warming sun, domestic animals, especially cattle,

the prey of lions. Generally the motifs of wild versus tame, present

and future versus past, slavery versus freedom, and delusion versus

reality are presented through the images of darkness and light, land

and sea, beast and cattle, Cybele and Attis.

The reputation of Catullus 63 should not, then, derive solely

from its style and shocking theme. Into the basic narrative pattern

Catullus has carefully worked a network of antithetic motifs and striking

images. The result is a powerful psychological statement and a master­

piece of structured dramatic development. CHAPTER III

SYMBOLIC RELATION OF THE "ATTIS"

TO THE LESBIA CYCLE

Introduction

Kenneth Quinn remarks almost offhand that "the Lesbia affair, having made a different person of Catullus, made different persons of

Ariadne and Attis as well."^ Perhaps his remark should be rephrased: having made a different person of himself in the Lesbia affair, the poet likewise made different persons of Ariadne and Attis.

In the first and second chapters the concern of this examination has been what seem to be two mutually independent literary situations and two mutually dissimilar characters. Catullus' presentation of each is separate and unrelated in form and content. In the first— Catullus and the cycle of Lesbia love poems— the poet depicts himself as involved in an affair with an insensitive and unreciprocative woman; but the poems of the cycle are not serialized links of a melodramatic narrative.

Through these poems one cannot trace in suspenseful detail the pathetic rise and fall of a starry-eyed, naïve youth who allows himself to be dragged into the mire of a corrupting and hopeless relationship. Rather, these poems are a collection of sketches and monologues, of ruminations

^Quinn, p. 83.

148 149 and statements from which emerges an impression of an idealistic man in both the joys and tortures of love. The formal and thematic approach is completely subjective; in all the poems the lover is made to speak in the first person, and in some degree each poem serves to allow a glimpse or sketch a portrait of him, though the same poem may not nom­ inally be about him. The poems lack sequential arrangement; and so this must be inferred from the evolving attitudes portrayed in Catullus, cor­ roborated by the progression of a basic theme of infatuation, fulfilment, loss, torment. The scheme, however, appears to be more involved than this, inasmuch as there are struggles and conflicts to be resolved: e.g., Lesbia’s resistance, Catullus' self-delusion, idealized love and common passion, a nearly schizophrenic Catullus, hope and despair.

Through these motifs and others the poet has used a very simple and unoriginal plot— an unhappy love affair— almost as a pretense for cre­ ating a psychological portrait of misery and frustration. As far as he is concerned, the affair itself is to be assumed, like the plot and scenery of a well-known play, and the picture of Lesbia, the other character, is important only insofar as she motivates or contrasts with

Catullus. For, as Copley reminds us, the poet's "love poems are not about Lesbia; they are about Catullus."^

In the second poetic effort— a dramatic narrative, unique and

exotic, about a religious fanatic— the poet casts Attis in the third

person, and limits his expression to one poem. Unlike the Lesbia cycle,

the "Attis" is tightly drawn and forthrightly stated. The narrative.

^Copley, Latin Literature (Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1969), p. 81. 150 although not the most important aspect of the poem, is indeed necessary, and consequently is explicitly coherent. Aside from the formal and ob­ vious differences of genre, setting, theme, and character, the most marked difference between the Lesbia cycle and the Attis poem is that between subjectivity and objectivity. In fact, to underscore this ob­ jectivity in the "Attis" the poet adds what seems to be his own voice in the coda.^ In this chapter will be demonstrated how this poetic objec­ tivity, or more exactly objectification, is the key to Catullus’ Poem 63.

In the history of Catullan studies the most intriguing question has been that of the two Catulluses: the versifier of nugae and the serious composer of the longer, more studied poems. As in the case of

Homer or Shakespeare, whether Catullus himself wrote all his poetry is not relevant to an interpretation of the Catullan corpus as literature.

For, although it is gratifying to know who wrote a poem and to possess his detailed biography, it can never be known for certain how much of what he wrote was fact or fiction. If indeed a poet's artistry consists in how well he blends experience and imagination, this artistry will re­ main a mystery, and in that mystery lies the poet’s individual charm.

Similarly if one, speaking of two Catulluses, means two personalities of the same man, he is in another respect being biographical, since he will have to arrive at the unprovable conclusion that only one or both or neither personality is the true expression of the man. The reality of the written page is the written page itself, and not the writer. If one accepts the tradition of a single Catullan genius and admits a dichotomy in his style, other apparent inconsistencies in his poetry can be

^See below, p. 158. 151 approached with a view to discovering how they may be resolved into basic unities, or how they may reveal various levels of application.^ The purpose, therefore, of this chapter is to demonstrate through identifica­ tion of theme, image, and motif not merely how the same genius can be seen in both the Lesbia cycle and the Attis poem, but how the latter work is in fact a symbolic reflection of the former.

In the introductory remarks to this dissertation^ it was mentioned that although the symbolic representation of Catullus and Lesbia through

Attis and Cybele is not an original discovery, it has yet to be shown in a relatively complete and extensive study exactly how the entire "Attis" relates to the poetry of the Lesbia cycle as a whole. The approach in this chapter will be first to compare the thematic structure of the

"Attis" to the arrangement of the Lesbia poems according to the sequence of emotions. Then the dominant images and motifs in the "Attis" will be treated to show how they reflect the cycle either literally or symbol­ ically .

Thematic Correspondence

The structure of the "Attis" is dramatic; i.e., the scenes or episodes are arranged in such a way as to advance the action over time and space toward an inevitable end. Hie development, plot, or story line is as follows: the setting of scene, the introduction of the

^Cf. Quinn, pp. 27-43, re Catullus' four "levels of intent," i.e. four kinds of style and content to suit four different purposes.

^Above, p. 2; cf. also Schafer, pp. 104-6, for recent remarks on this thesis. 152 protagonist and chorus of Galli, the motivation for Attis* irreparable act and the act itself, all followed by a frenzied surge of movement, will, and emotion (63.1-34); next the reversal of fate becomes apparent as the delusion is broken and Attis recognizes the consequences of his act, in what might be called the climax of the drama (35-49); next fol­ lows the lament by the doomed protagonist, which is expanded to reflect the intensity and depth of his regret and despair (50-75); the delayed denouement then gathers momentum as the antagonist at last appears with her minion to lash the drama into a swift conclusion (76-90). This drama is, of course, the result of deliberate composition, but if it is to be compared with the Lesbia cycle, it must be recalled that among these poems there is no such dramatic unity, at least none that can be proven to have been intended by the poet. The criterion for the ar­ rangement of these poems was an evolving portrait of Catullus; the drama of the cycle— if any— can only be imposed, and then only insofar as it can be pieced together or inferred from the sequence of Catullus' emo­ tional and mental attitudes. Therefore, a comparison of the plot of the "Attis" with the purported "story" of the affair is meant to be a critique of what and how Catullus wrote rather than of the represented events of his life.

Let us retrace the sequence of emotions in the Lesbia cycle. The first phase, in which Catullus is depicted deluding himself into the be­ lief that he can achieve fulfilment through union with Lesbia, is char­ acterized by passion, irrationality, and abandon. Catullus seems to have become enamored of this woman and in his mind idealizes her quite to the proportions of a goddess. He seems to be confronted with one barrier— 153 making her realize and admit that she loves him with the same fervor with which he loves her. The relationship begins distantly, and Catullus, after describing his struggles against her resistance, his rivals, and the impossible circumstances posed by intended adultery, eventually claims to have possessed her physically. Painted within him is a storm of passionate desire that blinds his wits: he wants Lesbia, he is aware of the transience of love and life, he is convinced of the nobility of his desire. He appears to have rejected his obligations to his station in life in exchange for the pursuits of amor. The second phase has Catullus, apparently still deluded, beginning to articulate his idealized concept of the relationship he wishes to have with Lesbia. Though he cannot speak of a real marriage to his mistress, he applies to their relation­ ship all the characteristics of a sacred and lasting affection that mark the sanctioned union of man and wife. In this phase of the poems Catul­ lus is seen to be absorbed in his devotion to this ideal relationship in which spiritual affection is somehow reflected in physical passion. In the third phase, Lesbia’s infidelity, Catullus relates how it becomes clear that it is useless for him to hope for reciprocity from Lesbia.

He says he understands that it is not her nature to respect the covenant of love— either physical or spiritual— with a single man; she apparently must share herself with all men, in fact, with the meanest sort of hu­ manity. In these poems Lesbia undergoes a transformation from the ob­ ject of Catullus' desire and devotion into a beautiful monster whose

Gorgonie lure to lust is irresistible. Lesbia is characterized by an insensitivity to the torture and debasement suffered by Catullus as he supposedly finds himself numbered among the many who have attained to 154 her embrace, and he recounts the realization that he has allowed himself to be misled. The fourth phase is the inner dialogue in which Catullus is purported to reveal his torment of hating her with his heart and soul, but also still helplessly desiring her as a physical object; here also he laments his fate by reviewing the causes of it. Finally, in the fifth phase Catullus is seen struggling to find escape from his undeserved punishment by overcoming the physical hold Lesbia has upon him; with the help of the gods he apparently succeeds. In the five phases— Delusion,

Insight, Infidelity, Realization-Definition, and Rejection— the poet's verse ranges from infatuate but willful and enthusiastic longing, to deluded happiness, harsh realization, rationalization, torture and hope­ lessness, soul-baring, and finally, relief and cynicism. The theme of these poems is Catullus' folly and his painful maturation at the expense of his happiness and idealism.

It is not difficult to see how closely this pattern resembles

the plot of the "Attis." Inflamed with a fanatic desire to achieve im­ mortality (like the Attis of myth) by union with the goddess Cybele, a young man throws aside all to attain this end. His initiation requires

that he willfully and peremptorily commit the abhorred and unnatural

act of self-castration, and because of his intense pitch of excitement,

this he accomplishes without difficulty. Driving himself, he inspires

others toward the goal of complete dedication to the goddess, convinced

that through a rejection of his body he can enjoy the fruits of spiritual

fulfilment in the constant presence of the Mother. He awakens with the

dawn and realizes that he has been deluded; he tries to return, but he

has exiled himself forever. The emasculation which he believed would 155 free him from worldly obligations in effect binds him bodily to unending service. He laments his irretrievable and glorious past, but must bend unwillingly to the insensitive and exacting domination of his new mis­ tress. He resigns himself to face the dark, hellish imprisonment which his life has become.

Compare the two experiences more closely. Attis was young, pop­ ular, and promising— the epitome of manhood (63.63-66). Yet Attis sac­ rificed all this by rejecting his manhood and consequently his position and beauty, and, although he was under the influence of fanatic frenzy, he did indeed commit the emasculation of his own volition (63.1-6). In the cycle Catullus never says that Lesbia forced him to embark on his disastrous adventure that would require the rejection of his manhood, i.e. his position of dominance in a man-to-woman relationship; similarly,

Attis was not forced by Cybele co leave his homeland. The sickness Ca­ tullus describes compares well with Attis' frenzy (51.5-12 and 63.4).

It seems that he, too, knowingly rejected what he ought to be about, i.e. negotium, his obligations as a young Roman with a future, and indeed he warns himself of the consequences of yielding to distraction (51.13-16).

Attis attempts an escape from reality in order to become the consort of a goddess (63.1-3); likewise, Catullus presumes to become the only lover

(cf. 72.1) of a woman whom he has deified (51.1-4; cf. 43, 86), and he envisions a conjugal relationship with this goddess of his delusion (109,

87). Once he says their union has been achieved (63.35 and 5, 7; cf.

68.68ffr), Catullus, like Attis, is depicted as lapsing into an unguarded state: for Attis there is exhausted sleep (63.35-38); for Catullus there seems to be unawareness (109, 87, 70) and an inability to recognize the 156 impossibility of continuing the affair (107, 68b). But both are awak­ ened to the folly of their ideals (63.39-45 and 58, 68a). Attis laments bitterly his loss of fame, beauty, and freedom (63.48-73), and likewise

Catullus, smothered in anguish and despair and goaded by an earnest de­ sire to extricate himself, is depicted as reviewing his past (76), Both he and Attis beg the gods for assistance (76.17-26 and 63.75). But as

Lesbia is characterized by cruelty (60), Cybele is threatening and re­ lentless (63.78-84), and just as Attis cannot shake off the pursuit of the lion (63.89), so too Catullus says he cannot put aside the trouble­ some sickness of the lust which he has for Lesbia (76.13-14).

There are, of course, certain discrepancies in the symbolistic skein. Until the awakening of Attis and the Realization ascribed to

Catullus the correspondence is indisputable: both characters commit self-sacrifice to achieve the ideal union— voluntarily, madly; both come to realize the consequences o^ their act and are in desperate torment; neither character is seen attempting to blame the goddess whom he de­ sired— rather they concern themselves with complaint and self-pity; both, hopelessly impotent, are entrapped by tangled reality. But there is a divergence. First, and most obviously, while Catullus is shown in

Poem 11 to have escaped, in Poem 63 Attis does not. Second, nowhere in

63 does Attis blame or condemn Cybele; Catullus, however, blames Lesbia in 75.1, 76.9-10,23-24, and 11.22-24, condemns her in 60 and 8.15, and vilifies her in 85.1, 75.3, and 72.6. If, then, the "Attis" is in fact a symbolic Lesbia poem, how much of the cycle does it reflect? Certainly it reflects the Delusion phase, and though there is of course no 157 infidelity by Cybele,^ it reflects in an abrupt way the gradual disillu­ sionment described by Catullus through the phases of Insight, Infidelity, and Realization-Definition. The salient difference between the "Attis" and the cycle is that nowhere does Attis register blame or hatred for

Cybele; but once Catullus apparently becomes disenchanted, knowing that

Lesbia refuses to hear his plea (60), he expresses his hatred for her and acknowledges his servitude to her body (85, 75, 72). Furthermore, since there is no escape in the "Attis," it cannot symbolically relate to Poem 11, the statement of rejection where Catullus claims complete freedom. On the other hand, there are in the "Attis" reflections, men­ tioned above, of Poems 8 and 76. It would seem, then, that since the

"Attis" reflects the attitudes purported of Catullus in his disillusion­ ment (excepting his hatred of Lesbia), the poem, a masterful portrayal of the torment of disenchantment and futility, must be an expression of attitude that corresponds with the odi-amo and pietas-culpa themes of 2 85, 75, 72, 8, and 76. The "Attis," then, seems to be symbolic of the first four phases of the cycle. It restates the involved conceit of physical love and spiritual hate: Attis is bound to Cybele, at first willingly, then unwillingly; although he does not articulate hatred for her, the very description of her (63.76ff.) arouses antipathy. In a superficial respect, 63 resembles 76: both contain confessions and end

^It must be recalled that Lesbia's infidelity was not so much a concern as was Catullus’ recognition and acceptance of it. The "infi­ delity" of Cybele in the eyes of Attis might well be his realization that he did not achieve, as did his mythical model, a unique and supreme posi­ tion, much less divinity. Attis, then, was no more exalted than the other lowly Galli, as Catullus was no more loved than his ignoble rivals.

^Cf. Putnam, p. 242: "63 describes what can only be the inevi­ table end of the sufferings voiced by the poet in 72, 75, and 76." 158

in prayers. But if 76 is supposed to be an outgrowth of the self-search­

ing in 85, 75, 72— as well as a development of the attempt at rejection

in 8— 63, on the other hand, poignantly shows that Attis cannot reverse

the irreversible. Poem 63 is not an apologia, but rather a reminiscence of what is lost; furthermore, it does not attempt to explain the kind of suffering, only to show the cause and extent of suffering.

The coda which follows the tragedy of Attis is, as mentioned,^ a statement of the poet's apparent attitude; because of this there is an observation to be made. In the Lesbia cycle the poet has portrayed a subjective Catullus; in the "Attis,” however, the protagonist was depicted objectively. Yet, although the Catullus of the cycle seem s very real and immediate, it must be remembered that he is no less a literary char­ acter than Attis. Nowhere in the Lesbia cycle, therefore, does the poet allow himself to speak as directly as he does in the last three lines of

Poem 63. This formalized but striking plea to Cybele, then, is the only instance in all the poetry herein discussed where the poet can be said to be using a genuine persona, i.e. a voice which speaks his true mind and not the purported attitude of one of his poetic characters. "Let all thy frenzy rage far from the bounds of my existence" (63.92) may be interpreted, it would seem, as a sincere wish of the poet who depicts in his writings two victims of furor amoris.

Symbolic Images and Motifs

In the "Attis" there is an abundance of specific correlations

^See above, p. 150. 159 with the Lesbia cycle. Some of these correlations are evident through direct verbal associations, e.g. domina and flos. Some are obvious sym­ bolic constructs, è.g. the reflection of Catullus and his diuina puella in the persons of Attis and Cybele. But there are also a number of similarities that can be inferred from mood and circumstance, e.g. the despair and torment of realization that floods the minds of Catullus and Attis.

In the "Attis" the most powerful single motif is the self-emascu­ lation. Robert Bagg sees clearly its significance:

. . . the ritual of worshipping Cybele requires Attis to castrate himself and assume the frenzied exultation of a less-than-feraale, the furor of a notha mulier. . . . The Attis story allows Catul­ lus to dwell richly on the uncomprehending madness Attis in ec­ stasy exhibits, a heightened reflection and embodiment of his own excruciated lust for Lesbia even when he knew it was morally in­ sane to pursue her. The myth allows Catullus to confirm the ir­ revocable finality of his liaison's outcome, and confirm that violence has been done to him by his own insistence on having Lesbia. Lesbia had ripped away an idealism profoundly inter­ twined with his masculinity and he knew he could never find his way to the moment at the brink of manhood when an aurora of sacred goodness rose with his desire.^

There are a number of important motifs involved in the castration: femininity, irrevocable loss, perversion, ritual confusion, fanatic dedi­ cation to the goddess, and unsoundness of mind and body. It is not until

Attis has literally set foot in the Phrygian forest that he becomes mad­ dened and then performs the castration (63.2-5). He, like Catullus, al­

lowed himself first to be attracted by the promise of the aloof goddess; 2 he realized that union required a retreat from the world and that this

^Bagg, p. 84. 2 Cf. Daniel Patrick Harmon, "The Concept of Alienation in Catul­ lus' Poetry" (Ph.D. dissertation. Northwestern University, 1968), chap. 4, who feels that the escape from male sexuality and the burdens of 160 could be facilitated only by the mad rituals; but he proceeded anyway, and with eagerness, cupide (63.2). Compare this eagerness with Catullus' enthusiasm in the poems that show his infatuation and his desire for lusus (51, 43, 86, 2, 3, 83, 92). Catullus describes himself as one whose sickness of mind manifests itself in bodily disease. He is one robbed of control of his senses, whose jellied limbs sweat fire, whose tongue benumbs, ears ring, and eyes cloud over (51.5-12). But the source of his suffering is mental; explicitly in 7.10 he describes him­ self as insane, uesano, a fact to which he had indirectly alluded in preceding lines with mention of a specific medicinal plant and the seething hot desert (7.4-5). In this way Attis resembles the Catullus of the Lesbia cycle rather closely; after all, he is described as

stimulatus ibi furenti rabie, uagus animi (63.4) and tremebunda (63.11). The only thing he senses is that he is no longer a man:

itaque ut relicta sensit sibi membra sine uiro (63.6).

He, like Catullus, is debilitated, though his wound is more dramatic and more explicitly self-inflicted:

etiam recente tsrrae sola sanguine maculans (63.7).

The key words, then, are furenti, rabie, uagus animi, sensit, tremebunda, sanguine, which together, like the description in 51.5-12, seem to be pathological in nature. Catullus describes his otium as molestum (51.13), and he later bemoans his disease:

eripite hanc pestem perniciemque mihi. civilized life, both of which are presented in other poems, are not as painful as being cut off from the patria, the ultimate source of one's identity. 161

quae mihi subrepens imos ut torpor in artus (76.20-22); and:

ipse ualere opto et taetrum hunc deponere morbum (76.25).

At this point, however, the disease, though still the same, becomes un­ bearable torture (te . . . excrucies, 76.10; of. 85.2) since now he claims to want to be rid of it. The symptoms are no longer merely un­ comfortable because of their novelty; now he at last senses the pernicious force of his disease; now molestum is too mild an adjective. Similarly, one would think that Attis must have felt the same pain of body once the anesthetics of frenzy and sleep wore off; but Catullus, by describing the pain of mind, makes that pain more emphatic because it is automati­ cally compared to the physical pain of the violent castration.

Linked with the motif of morbus is that of destruction and ir­ revocable loss. Nothing is so final as the loss of a limb, but no handicap is so completely insurmountable and psychologically traumatic as the loss of one's generative power. The castration symbolizes the course along which there can be no return— the burning of all physical and psychological bridges. The most prominent symbol of this loss is the flower, snipped in the bloom of life. In Catullus, as in Sappho, the flower is the traditional reflection of the fragile and transient beauty of youth. Attis describes himself as, in former days, a gymnasi

. . . flos (63.64), and he sees his youth epitomized by the flower wreaths left for him by admirers (63.66). In the antiphonal epithalamium

62, the young girls compare a virgin to a hidden and protected flower:

ut flos in saeptis secretus nascitur hortis, ignotus pecori, nullo conuolsus aratro

idem cum tenui carptus defloruit ungui (62.39-40,43). 162

In 11.22-24 this same image is made to reveal Catullus' emotions more intimately;

qui illius culpa cecidit uelut prati ultimi flos, praetereunte postquam tactus aratro est.

Here, though the antecedent of qui is Catullus’ own amorem (11.21), there is an identification of Catullus with his love, so that he, the flower, and his youthful and innocent passion for Lesbia are all one image. The context and vocabulary in both passages are closely akin, and though in 62 the flos escapes the ploughshare, in 11 it is accidental and unintentional that it falls to the blade. This cutting image is seen quite obviously in 63.5:

deuolsit ili acuto sibi pondéra silice.

Here the genitals are like the flower, and there is an easy correlation: the genitals are the functioning and instrumental symbol of ultimate physical passion, which the poet calls amor. In 11 he describes how amor destroys virginity. All these come together through the cutting image. But it seems at first incongruous that our poet would describe the genitals as pondéra; he does not mean "burdens." Instead, recalling that Cybele is an earth-goddess, it can readily be seen that the castra­ tion is intended by Attis not to free himself of the problems of sexual­ ity, but rather this is his only way of offering himself sexually to the earth-goddess. I'Jhen he spatters the earth with his gore— terrae sola sanguine maculans (63.7)— he is reenacting a hieros gamos, i.e., he is 1 having sexual intercourse with Cybele. The connotation in pondéra is

The Hieros Gamos, like the lore of Attis, has ritualistic as well as mythological aspects. Strictly speaking, it applies to the sex­ ual union of earth- and sky-divinities, which brings about the fruitfulness 163 that of things falling heavily to the ground. Attis was not relieving himself of sexuality; on the contrary, he was exercising it in the act of ultimate giving. And so when his genitals fell to the earth, they fell heavily— quickly— as to their proper place, the fertile womb of the earth-goddess.

A discrepancy must be resolved. In 11 it was Lesbia who cut down the love and who severed Catullus from his "virginal" state;^ in

63 it is Attis who wielded the flint, not Cybele. One must not yield to the temptation of assuming that these two instances are identical.

In 11 Catullus is alluding to his stolen love and he is blaming Lesbia outright; in 63, since Cybele does not herself perform the castration on Attis, the castration does not parallel Lesbia*s seizure of Catullus' love, as depicted in 11. Indeed, because Attis' emasculation is of the land. The union of Ge and Uranus (Hes. Theog. 132ff.) is the most forthright example, and their act is reflected in Hera's famous seduction of Zeus (Homer Od. 14.346ff.). Nature symbolism is abundantly evident in the Danaids of Aeschylus (fr. 25 Smyth), where holy Heaven is described as longing to wound Earth and take her in marriage; the rain that falls "impregnates" (exuae) Earth, and vegetation springs forth. The ritualistic attempt to recreate such a propitious marriage manifests itself in the mystical union of the wife of the Athenian Archon-Basileus with Dionysus; in myth there is the union of Demeter with the mortal lasion right there in the ploughed field (Od. 5.125ff.). For fuller discussion of the Hieros Gamos, see Cook, III, 1025ff.; Martin P. Nilsson, A History of Greek Religion, trans. by F. J. Felden (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1925), pp. 121ff.; and esp. W. K. C. Guthrie, The Greeks and their Gods (Boston: Beacon Press, 1954), pp. 53ff. In our poem, Attis— just as Zeus and Hera in Homer— finds himself on the Phrygian Ida, and although it is not his intention to bring vege­ tation forth from the earth, his actions nevertheless are reflective of the sexual union of Earth and Sky. Guthrie, pp. 60-61, and Nilsson, p. 31, discuss Attis in his roles as sky-god and vegetation-god, the forms under which he becomes so well popularized in the Empire.

^The deflowering is psychological, implying that Lesbia was the first to whom Catullus offered his devotion; see above, p. 75, n. 1, for the meaning of tactus. 164 self-imposed it must symbolize an active, not a passive role by Catullus, viz. the deliberate act of sexually possessing Lesbia. In 63 the self-e­ masculation is committed suddenly, without a hint of its imminence; nor does the poet have Attis specifically foresee the act in the course of his journey or the beginnings of his frenzy. Nevertheless, once he has become madly enamored of the goddess, he performs the emasculation— willingly. There is no hesitation in his deluded mind because he sees that this is the supreme sexual act. This conscious willingness is an important point, because later when Attis awakes he does not question how or why he committed the act; he sees that although it gave him sex­ ual ecstasy, the act was contrived and unnatural and was paid for at an unredeemable price. Knowledge of this— that he had deluded himself into believing that possessing Cybele was ultimate and that he had sacrificed all because of this delusion— brought him the mental anguish that de­ stroyed him psychologically. Attis speaks for (and to) the lover of the

Lesbia cycle when he addresses the Galli:

et corpus euirastis Veneris nimio odio (63.17).

In the cycle Catullus’ intention was to realize an ideal love, but he did not know exactly in what that consisted. He is portrayed at first as thinking of it as venereal passion, but he soon realizes that this is

empty without a deeper commitment. Similarly Attis believed, so it would

seem, that symbolic eternal intercourse with Cybele was infinitely su­ perior to actual momentary physical intercourse.

The castration takes place amid a confusion of noise and dancing,

and it is this ritual celebration that drives the Galli on to the temple

of Cybele. In 51 the poet describes a confusion; in fact, unlike the 165 humming in Sappho's poem (ènuppoupeuaL, 31.11-12 LP), there is a noisy ringing in the ears of the love-stricken Catullus:

, . . sonitu suopte tintinant aures . . . (51.10-11).

Compare the sound of these lines with similar but amplified sounds from the "Attis":

typanum tuum, Cybebe, tua, mater, initia, quatiensque terga tauri teneris caua digitis (63.9-10).

This noisy language is used to give the ambiance of ritual that brings about exhaustion. This would, then, complete the symbol of the sexual act performed by an eager and impetuous youth. It begins with the at­ traction; next, the brief lovemaking and violent orgasm, followed by exuberant pride; then a psychological search for security and spiritual union; finally, the sleep of exhaustion in the bosom of the beloved.

After Attis had sacrificed his sexuality in a rapidly climactic orgasm, he rejoiced at his initiation by taking up the tympanum in honor of the

Mother (63.8-9); so exhilarated was he that he inspired the others to share in his joy (63.10ff.). Still in a state of utter transport, Attis strove to heighten his happiness by reaching the innermost spirit of the divine being. The climb up the mountain is replete with suggestive description:

furibunda simul anhelans uaga uadit, animam agens (63.31).

Finally, secure in his possession, he collapses into the deep sleep that mercifully follows lovemaking (63.35-36). There is a parallel to this

scene in the pair of lovemaking poems, 5 and 7. The mood of these poems

is also exuberant and they burst with the naïve pride of a young man having consummated his first real affair. Like Attis, Catullus is 166 depicted as having decided to ignore the rigid limitations of his society in order to enjoy the bliss of love. He evidently sees, however, in

5.4-6 a symbolic significance in the inevitable night: that all this happiness will pass away when the dark night of death falls. That night will not be interrupted by lovers who wake to make love once again. In the narrative of 63, on the other hand, there is no allusion to the pas­ sage of night, and this is what makes the daybreak so shocking. There is a paradox that with the coming of daylight, although Attis now sees clearly, his life henceforward will be steeped in darkness. He will have death in life, and his night can never be interrupted, for he has sacrificed everything for one mystical moment of union with the goddess, and he will never be able to experience that again. It is worth noting that nowhere in the Lesbia cycle is Catullus depicted as consoling him­ self with the prospect of finding another love.

The mad and uncertain race to the domus Cybebes is culminated by a dedication of themselves by Attis and the Galli. This differs from the usual dedications in that Attis and his comrades do not offer hair or clothing or genitals; rather, they offer themselves,?bodily, symbolic of their lives to be spent in service to Cybele alone. By their castra­ tion these men have become women— rather, less than women, nothae mulieres. The poet describes Attis as an effeminate with snowy hands and slender fingers (63.8,10), and of course one cannot ignore his use of the feminine-gender nouns and adjectives when referring to Attis and the Galli. This is all to emphasize the immediate and overriding effect of the castration: viz., that a man is capable of becoming a woman psychologically, as well as physically. The poet has chosen Attis to 167 epitomize Catullus’ assumption of the woman's role in the Lesbia cycle.

Attis cglls to his companions to gladden the heart of their mistress: hilarate erae . . . animum (63.18). Their only function and duty is to live for the goddess, for they have become not her consorts, but her courtiers. They do not share her divinity; they aggrandize her and give her pleasure. Symbolically the Galli are Catullus’rivals, i.e. the foolish young men of Rome who have, like Catullus, dedicated themselves to Lesbia.

The relationship between Cybele and Attis is parallel to that between Lesbia and the plaything passer with whom Catullus identifies himself in 2. Cybele is a demanding woman who has reduced her would-be lovers to abject servants, and this relationship is the heart of the traditional elegiac motif of seruitium amoris. Again it is to be re­ called that, unlike that of the elegists, Catullus’ servitude is invol­ untary; the elegists deplore their debasement and their surrender of masculinity, but masochistically they frequently refuse to reject it.

Catullus and Attis are described as trying to correct their predicament: they are repelled and ashamed at their effeminate state and the impris­ onment it brings, but they are also confused and uncertain of the course to take. Attis, in the brief moments of clarity and calm between his awakening and his desperate lament, is described thus:

simul ipsa pectore Attis sua facta recoluit, liquidaque mente uidit sine quis ubique foret (63.45-46); also:

ego nunc deum ministra et Cybeles famula ferar

iam iam dolet quod egi, iam iamque paenitet (63.68,73).

Catullus in 75.2 regrets the ruination brought on by his o\m devotion. 168

and in 85.2 he is confused and tormented (cf. 76.10). There is no doubt

from the consequences that Attis’ devotion was a grave mistake, but be­

fore this is apparent to him he ironically speaks of it. For when he

urges his companions to gladden the goddess citatis erroribus (63.18)

he is referring to their wandering about the forests with breathless

dancing. In effect, however, the error becomes symbolic of a mistake;

in other words, Attis is unintentionally saying, "Gladden your mistress

with your wrong acts." There is a similar, wordplay with uagus

(63.4,13,25,31).^

Attis, then, enters the S' -vice of the goddess enthusiastically,

but once he recognizes it as seruitium he wants release. Cybele, however,

proves to be a willful mistress. Likewise, in the poems Lesbia becomes

a harsh mistress to Catullus. Just as Attis refers to himself as mulier,

ministra, and famula (63.63,68), and to Cybele as domina and era (63.13,18;

cf. the poet’s address, 63.91-92), so does Catullus call Lesbia domina

and era (68.68,136,156). The terms erus and dominus are synonymous with 2 pater families. In the "Attis" there is an allusion to the familiar

elegiac motif that epitomizes seruitium amoris; the desperate locked-out 3 lover, exclusus amator. Attis and the Galli, just like the traditional

^Cf. Lucr. 4.1076-77, which applies specifically to such a situ­ ation of a lover in the throes of passion:

. . . etenim potiundi tem pore in ipso fluctuât incertis erroribus ardor amentum.

Cf. also Aeneas’ errores (Aen. 1.755) and especially the connotation of "delusion" in Vergil Eclogues 8.41: ut malus abstulit error, i.e. amor (cf. 8.43).

^Cf. 63.51; also, e.g., Plautus Captiui 362-63.

See Copley, Exclusus amator: A Study in Latin Love Poetry 169 lover, fall to sleep having reached the abode of Cybele:

itaque ut domum Cybebes tetigere lassulae (63.35).

They have not been admitted beyond "touching" the home of their mistress.

Ivy-wreathed they have reveled in her honor all the night,

ubi cymbalum sonat uox, ubi tympana reboant, tibicen ubi canit Phryx curuo graue calamo, ubi capita Maenades ui iaciunt hederigerae, etc. (63.21ff.).

When Attis awakes he recalls his past, and it becomes apparent how there has been for him a complete reversal of roles, for it was he whose door­ post was draped with laurels and whose doorstep was warmed overnight by sleeping lovers :

mihi ianuae fréquentes, mihi limina tepida, mihi floridis corollis redimita domus erat, ^ linquendum ubi esset orto mihi sole cubiculum (63.65-67).

On this morning he himself had awakened on the doorstep. Catullus ap­ pears to find himself indirectly locked out because of his own disinterest in sharing Lesbia with others; apparently Manius writes him:

. . . quod hie quisquis de meliore nota frigida deserto tepefactet membra cubili (68.28-29).

In that same Poem 68 he recalls when he was not locked out, but indeed

was Lesbia*s only intimate; he recalls Allius’ deed:

isque domum nobis isque dedit dominae, ad quam communes exerceremus amores. quo mea se molli Candida diua pede in tu lit ex trito fulgentem in limine plantam innixa arguta constituit solea, coniugis ut quondam flagrans aduenit amore Protesilaeam Laudamia domum (68.68-74).

Putnam observes the correspondence of the marriage motif in 68

(Madison: American Philological Association, 1956) on this theme.

^Ibid.. pp. 158-59. 170 with the theme of 63. He sees the action in the "Attis" to be a perver­ sion of a woman, a notha mulier. The rites of the Galli are not only initiation rites but rites of a wedding procession; he draws some verbal comparisons with one of the epithalamia (cf. 63.8 and 61.8, also hilarate,

63.10, and hilari die, 61.15), and he reminds us that "in a typical Roman wedding ceremony, the bride goes, accompanied by her band of revellers to the home of the groom.In 63, Attis is the bride, the Galli the rev­ ellers, and Cybele the groom; therein lies the perversion. The image of the yoke is marital; compare 68.117-18;

sed tuus altus amor barathro fuit altior illo, qui tamen indomitam ferre iugum docuit.

These words to Laodamia are paraphrased with reference to Attis in 63.33:

ueluti iuuenca uitans onus indomita iugi.

Here in an obscure and ironical way, the poet is giving us a glimpse of the willfulness of the Attis who later becomes disenchanted, while he describes the uncontrolled actions of the Attis who is presently deluded.

The iugum is violently imposed by Cybele; in 68 Laodamia, because of her love, learns to bear the iugum. Because of his naïveté Attis deludes himself into thinking that his rape is a beautiful marriage.

The portrait of Cybele is one of sn aloof goddess whose attrac­ tiveness lies in her reputed potentiality to be possessed by the devotee in a spiritual way symbolized and effected through a physical act. How­ ever, once Attis becomes disenchanted, Cybele reveals her harsh, unmer­ ciful aspect, manifested by the image of the lion. The lion’s ferocity effectuates the threatening will of Cybele (cf. 63.77-84). The dual

^Putnam, pp. 232-33. 171 personality of Cybele is unquestionably symbolic of the Lesbia found in

the cycle. Furthermore, the final severity of both characters is iden­

tified through the lion image in Poem 60, the bitterest and most pathetic

of the Infidelity poems. In that poem Lesbia is born of a lion, she is

inordinately stubborn and savage, and so she easily spurns Catullus’

latest plea:

num te leaena . . .

• • • tam mente dura procreauit ac taetra, ut supplicis uocem in nouissimo casu contemptam haberes, a nimis fere corde? (60.1,3-5).

The suppliant posture of Catullus in this poem is not that of Attis in

63.50ff.; nevertheless, though Attis does not beseech Cybele herself for

mercy, she will not tolerate his asking it from the gods (cf. 63.74ff.).

She exercises her angry will— symbolized by the lion— over Attis; Lesbia

indirectly exercises her influence over the unwilling Catullus by her

physical beauty. The basic difference between the two is that Cybele

acts consciously and deliberately, whereas Lesbia just does not seem to

care one way or the other; nevertheless, her apathy has exactly the same

effect.

Cybele’s lion is not only a very striking but also a very complex

image. As stated, it symbolizes the ferocious and relentless will of the

goddess, but more generally it stands for what the tradition of the

Palatine epigrams implies and what Cybele herself declares: viz. furor.

She addresses the beast:

agedum, inquit, age ferox , fac ut hunc furor , fac uti furoris ictu reditum in nemora ferat (63.78-79).

The lion is to rekindle in Attis that furor which drove him to his

self-emasculation (cf. furenti rabie, 63.4). Only by this can Cybele 172 keep her slaves loyal, for clear thinking makes them unwilling to accept the loss of civilization. In the same fashion Catullus finds himself kept in the intolerable service of Lesbia, for it is the furor of amor that drives him mad in a struggle with reason. This is the theme of the schizophrenic-like Poem 8.^ To return to the wild beast of prey; the fear pervasive in the Galli poems of the Anthology is that of being de­ voured by the lion. Being devoured, according to Jungian psychology, symbolizes "a kind of descent into the undenvorld, a sinking back into the womb, resulting in the extinction of consciousness, the death of the e g o . "2 Besides the lion, there were in the Lesbia cycle two other strik­ ing allusions to devouring monsters. In that same Poem 60 is the tradi­ tional image of the baleful and unavoidable barking Scylla, alternately proposed by Catullus as the mother of Lesbia. In the second Passer poem, the rival bird with which Catullus seems to identify is doomed to the metaphorical dark, devouring jaws of hell:

at uobis male sit, malae tenebrae . Orel, quae omnia bella devoratis (3.13-14).

The hell into which Attis plunges himself is symbolized by a conglomeration of images: darkness, the angry Cybele, and the ravenous lion. In this hell Attis loses his individuality by being deprived of his consciousness.

Ipor furor in the "Attis," cf. Sandy; for furor in 63 relative to these other poems, cf. Harkins, pp. 108-11; cf. also A. Allen, p. 259. It is strange that the poet does not use furor or its derivatives in the Lesbia cycle; however, it is clear from 15.14 and 50.11 that he associ­ ates the word with the insanity of love; cf. also 68.128-29, 64.54, etc., as well as Lucr. 4.1117, Prop. 1.13.20, Vergil Aen. 4.101, Ovid Her. 9.145. Beyond the use of furor in 15 and 50, the poet employs furor only in the epyllic poetry.

^Jolande Jacobi, Complex / Archetype / Symbol in the Psychology ojE C^. G. Jung, trans. by Ralph Manheim (New York: Pantheon Books, Inc., 1959), p. 155. 173 i.e. his ability to view the real world. "This consciousness is engulfed by the darkenss of the unconscious, which is also a parallel to the Ter­ rible Mother, who represents the angry maw of hell."^ Jung feels that the lion, like all wild animals, is an index of latent passions, and that "it is a 'fiery' animal, an emblem of the devil and stands for the danger of being swallowed by the unconscious." If this view is to be applied to Catullus' lion there should be no difficulty in seeing that the poet describes himself pitiably pursued— like Attis— by a force that was not the woman herself but a powerful manifestation of her. Again the force, amor, fits that description; and just as Cybele did not her­ self continually have to pursue Attis, but only to instigate the action,

Lesbia is not said to have plied her charms. That fire had been struck up in Catullus long before (cf. 51.5-10). The torture that Catullus describes is, then, initially caused by Lesbia but effectively nurtured by him in himself. So it was with Attis and Cybele. This apparent in­ ability of Catullus to remove his suffering is the statement of the 3 Definition poems and Poems 8 and 76. Further, just as Attis knowingly placed himself among the wild beasts, so did the poet reveal himself as knowingly subjecting himself to the madness of a love affair. Both ap­ pear to suffer the consequences: Attis is pursued by the lion; Catullus is beset with the morbus of amor. The traditional epithet of the lover is miser. It has been shown in our poet's erotic work to connote

^Ibid. 2 C. G. Jung, Psychology and Alchemy (2nd ed., rev.; Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1968), p. 190.

^Cf. Oksala, p. 211. 174 sickness of love, physically and mentally. Three times Attis applies the word to himself in much the same way as Catullus (63.51,61; cf. 51.5,

8.1,10, 76.12, etc.). The stranded and helpless Ariadne, whose lot com­ pares with Catullus', is also misera (64.71,196 etc.).

In the previous chapter the motif of opposites was partially discussed: viz., freedom and imprisonment, day and night, cattle and lion, sea and forested mountains, past and future. All of these images seemed to be bound up in spatial or temporal movement, and the fundamental movement was the initial journey from Greece to Phrygia.^ This journey was symbolic of an escape into idealism and it is fitting that it be across the sea. It has been mentioned that the sea was transformed from a means of escape into a barrier against it. This twin application can be made because of the fluidity of the image, for the sea is a complex of contradictions: though wild it can be sailed (cf. 63.16), though placid it cannot be crossed (cf. 63.88); it connects but it separates; it can support man, but it can suck him under. This theme of the paradox pervades the "Attis": a man who is a woman, a marriage that is a rape, a wife who becomes a dominant mistress, an escape that becomes an imprison­ ment. IVhen Attis rushes back to the shore in his yearning to undo the deed and return to his former home and life, he sees quite clearly the paradox of his escape to "freedom," for he forsook his homeland just as runaway slaves forsake their masters: dominos ut erifugae / famuli soient (63.50-51). He confused responsibility with slavery, and ironi­ cally he now sees that he has gained not freedom but a new slavery of mind and body, that of a lifetime handmaiden; compare the poet's final

^See below, pp. 175-76. 175 picture of Attis:

ibi semper omne uitae spatium famula fuit (63.90).

The irony is most apparent in the words famulus and famula. There are two kinds of servitude, that temporary kind to a dominus or erus and the everlasting kind to Cybele, the domina and era. Attis has exchanged the former for the latter by transforming himself from a famulus patriae in­ to a famula deae. He now sees that the former was a much freer existence and Cybele is determined not to let him attempt a second escape to free­ dom; in her eyes he is

mea libere nimis qui fugere imperia cupit (63.80).

By means of the journey the poet effects pictorially an adventure into the frightening realization of the aloneness of a man. This is seen clearly in the relationship between Attis and the Galli. As the poem opens there is only Attis, but after the castration it becomes apparent that Attis was with traveling companions, comites, and these are the

Galli (cf. 63.11-12). Throughout his madness they accompany him; indeed, he becomes their leader (63.34), and all come eventually to the domus

Cybebes: tetigere lassulae (63.35). However, when Attis awakes, there is no mention of the Galli (nor are they mentioned ever again), and once more Attis is alone. In addition, now Attis is separated from himself as well as from his fellow man. This is the result of the night sea journey, or nekyia, traditionally traveled by the heroes of myth.^ Here its purpose, like the epic katabasis, or "descent into hell,"^ is to show

the psychological death suffered by a man. This death, like physical

^Cf. Jacobi, pp. 179ff.

2See below, p. 178. 176 death, is a paradox, for as seen in the Lesbia cycle it is unique and particular, but as seen in the "Attis" it becomes generic and universal.

The motif of a destructive journey, aside from the obvious use in Poem 3, appears in the two Sapphic poems. The journey in 51 is inferred from the lines :

otium et reges prius et beatas perdidit urbes (51.15-16).

One should recall the most infamous exemplum of the destruction of kings and cities by otium, viz, Paris' abduction of Helen. There the journey was eastward over the same route followed by Attis; Helen, like Lesbia, was the queen, Paris the prince. There are in Poem 51 numerous other parallels to the "Attis" and the rest of the cycle, but the most important is this: Paris' infatuate impetuosity caused his downfall. In 11.2-12 the various journeys' destinations trace an east-to-west route, a return, as it were, from tragedy. Each journey eastward in effect brings the traveler farther west, as though with each adventure a man has to wander less. Catullus is depicted as addressing his comites (11.1; cf. 63,11-12),

Furius and Aurelius, as though they were to accompany him on these jour­ neys, but when he finishes he has not taken them anywhere. Evidently, he has instead sent them, without him, to Lesbia. Catullus is alone, just as Attis is alone, but unlike Attis he has returned from his journey.

The scenic images of land, sea, and sky combine naturally to fashion a pervasive symbolic complex. For Attis, the marmora pelagi, albicans litus, and aether album (cf. 63.88,87,40) mean true freedom, while the sola dura, nemora fera, and alta columina (cf.63.40,89,71) on the contrary mean confinement. The symbolism is obvious: brightness and open space bring clarity of form, and things then seem most real; 177 darkness and confinement bring vague and indistinguishable visions, and then there is the fear of the unknown. Attis remembers his homeland, the sea journey, even the landing on the shore, for all that time he was as yet lucid and sane. But after he reached the dark grove at the edge of the shore (cf. 63.2-3), he became mad. When he awakens he does not recall to himself the acts of the night before, done under the influence of his madness; instead he rushes from the mountain forest that is strange to him and follows his mind's rush to all his past life up to the insan­ ity. And so the land (symbolically, Cybele) is dura (63.40; cf. Lesbia's dura mens, 60.3), i.e., not only insensitive to his tragedy, but also no longer a fantasy, rather— very real now— his new existence. The sea be­ comes wild (63.40), just as the forests had been; but now he realizes that what the sea represents, the past, is now just as unreal and un­ approachable as the uncivilized land of Phrygia used to be. The high mountain peaks compare and contrast with the level expanse of the deep sea (cf. 63.71,88,1): both mountains and sea are barriers because they are alta,^ and both natural forms are designated by solid images of natural things transformed by man's hand: towering columns and polished marble.

Forests have been traditional images of mystery and foreboding, but they are also, like the sea, paradoxical; for they provide not only security from the outside but concealment of danger within, not only a means of escape but also a place for becoming lost. Recall how Anachar- sis found both salvation and death in the forest, and how the Galli, though supposedly at home in the forest, had to be guided by Attis. The

^Cf. alta nemora (63.12), 178 employment of this symbolic image does much to portray a journey into hell, viz. a katabasis, the traditional ritualistic adventure that re­ creates or reforms a psyche by exposing it to revealed mysteries, i.e. knowledge of things unknowable in the natural world. For Attis, however, there was no revelation during the mad race through the forests, only ignorance; ironically the revelation took place only after the madness had passed, and true understanding of himself came after he fled from the groves. Catullus' literary affair with Lesbia was such a plunge into hell, and it was only after his illusions had been depicted as past that he began to understand himself. The motif of forests is completely bound up with that of mountains and caves, all of which are prominent in the Galli epigrams. The poet uses the forest image in much the same way; however, on the one hand he amplifies the mountain motif, but on the other makes no mention of the cave. This omission is unexplainable inasmuch as the cave, even more than the forest, is symbolic of the womb.

Nevertheless, the mountains are symbolic of the female element, particu­ larly by their association with Rhea-Cybele (cf. H.H. 14,5), and the ex­ ploration of them by the neophyte Attis is not the castration but the frenzied climb up the mountain.

Final remarks on the symbolic images and motifs in 63 have to do with the passage of night to day and the transition from sleep to wakeful­ ness and from ignorance to knowledge. There has already been frequent mention of the awareness reached by Attis and Catullus. In the previous chapter the thematic opposition of the herd and the beast of prey has

^Cf. Hes. Theog. 129. 179 been discussed at some length. The only point to be added to this dis­ cussion is this; just as the lion symbolizes the triad of furor, amor, and the will of Cybele, likewise the ignorant cattle of metaphor (63.13), especially the heifer of simile (63.33), symbolize the complete helpless­ ness and subjugation of Attis. Stampede in the wild forests is unnatural and destructive to the cattle, and this symbolizes the otium to which

Catullus is shown to have exposed himself.

Once the eastern sun illuminates the heavens and the reflected light bathes the entire world— the Phrygian land first, then the sea that opens westward to Greece— the sleep of Attis which symbolizes Ca­ tullus' lack of opposition to Lesbia's infidelity is dispelled, and At­ tis, like Catullus, sees all things clearly: viz., his search for ideal love has been folly, his self-emasculation has severed him forever from his fellow man, and his future is involuntary slavery to amor (cf.

63.39ff.). His eyes are filled with tears as he turns his gaze to the west and the irrevocable past.

Summary and Conclusion

Let us review briefly the major points of relevance which show

Poem 63 to be a symbolic reflection of the Lesbia cycle. First, between the two pairs of literary personalities and their stories there are re­ markable similarities: Attis and the Catullus of the Lesbia poems are both popular and urbane, typical models of their civilized society. They are portrayed with responsibilities and promising futures, but they allow

^Above, pp. 133-35. 180 themselves to become attracted by an idealism embodied in the possession of a seemingly unattainable female personality. With full knowledge each of them is shown to reject the responsibilities of citizenship, career, and society and to devote himself to an escape into a new free­ dom. They are depicted as becoming totally absorbed in their mad pur­ suit of this ideal, until they initiate themselves by a sexual act: for

Attis it is the symbolic seeding of the Earth-Mother with his severed members; for Catullus it apparently is sexual intercourse with Lesbia.

Both Attis and Catullus find themselves searching for a fulfilment greater than the rite of initiation, and it becomes obvious that all the giving is on their part. Nevertheless, they attempt to find a lasting security by a spiritual union with the female counterpart. It exhausts them, and each becomes oblivious to the impossibility of being the only lover of the goddess whose passion cannot be sated with the love of one mate. In the case of Attis this is inferred symbolically from his sleep; for Catullus it is, as he claims, his refusal to condemn the lack of faith by Lesbia. ’t-Jhen each discovers himself alone, with neither the physically nor spiritually uniting love which he believed that he achieved, he begins to realize that his sexual act marked the point of no return; for he had become a different person, less a person than what he was. He had exchanged responsibility for slavery, and had sacrificed his manhood. Meanwhile it becomes apparent that the woman whom each had presumed to possess is now herself the possessor, and that the woman of

the relationship is a domina. The influence of each female is enforced by furor. In the case of Lesbia furor manifests itself as the amor which her beauty supposedly inspires in Catullus; for this is the hold which he 181 says she keeps on hi.ra, even though she herself is purportedly aloof and unconcerned. Cybfie’s influence, on the other hand, is intentional, and her furor becomes terror for Attis when it takes the form of the ines­ capable lion. For both Attis and Catullus, the dream becomes a nightmare of reality— aternal subjugation to the dominant female personality; and the reality of the past becomes a distant and fading dream. Each char­ acter has sacrificed his identity in fanatic pursuit of a false ideal.

Although the Lesbia cycle is without episodic structure, it does reveal contrasting and developing attitudes ascribed to Catullus, as well as distinct differences in the Catullus-Lesbia relationship. These frag­ mentary portraits can be fitted together into a general thematic sequence, and this sequence can be related to the deliberate dramatic structure of the story of Atlis' demise. The five major sequential divisions of the cycle are: Catullus' pursuit of amor; his search for amicitia; Lesbia's inability to shave his ideal; his torture between intellectual hate and lingering physical desire for her; and his attempts to purge himself of this amor. These phases, not chronological, but rather sequential, are descriptively called: Delusion, Insight, Infidelity, Realization-Defi- nition, and Rejection. The Delusion finds correspondence in the fanat­ icism and paradoxical intercourse by castration mainly in the first seven lines of the "Attis"; Insight, i.e. the search for true spiritual union, is reflected in 8-34; Lesbia's Infidelity, or rather what is de­ picted as Catullus' lack of reaction to it, is parallel to Attis' sleep

(35-38); Realization and Definition of Emotion, or the lover's disen­ chantment, is reflected in the enlightenment and subsequent torment of

’Attis in 39-73; Catullus' attempt at the Rejection of Lesbia is seen

\ 182 partly in the preceding lines, partly in 76-90. The only real omission from the cycle in the content of the "Attis" is Poem 11, the specific

Rejection of Lesbia. The narrative of the "Attis" concludes with the same hopelessness as does Poem 76.

There is no insistence that the above correspondences are line-for-line and poem-for-poem. Poetry is not laid out along a yard­ stick. Nevertheless, there are in the adventure of Attis indisputable echoes of the emotional journey of Catullus in the Lesbia poems. And what is more, the characters Attis and Cybele and the motifs and images surrounding them evoke so many responses to those prompted by the Lesbia cycle that comparisons become unavoidable and perhaps, as this disserta­ tion has shown, even necessary. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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