A Critical Appreciation of Ovid, Amores 1.13

AURORA NON GRATA: A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF OVID, AMORES 1.13 AURORA NON GRATA: A CRITICAL APPRECIATION OF OVID, AMORES 1.13 By: VICTORIA J. HAYKIN, B.A. A Thesis Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements for the Degree Master of Arts. McMaster University © Copyright by Victoria J. Haykin, August 2014 M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics McMaster University MASTER OF ARTS (2014) Hamilton, Ontario (Classics) TITLE: Aurora non grata: A Critical Appreciation of Ovid, Amores 1.13 AUTHOR: Victoria J. Haykin, B.A. (McMaster University) SUPERVISOR: Professor Paul Murgatroyd NUMBER OF PAGES: viii, 101 ii M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics ABSTRACT Little scholarly work has been done on Amores 1.13 despite the fact that it is thematically unique in the extant corpus of Latin elegy and an altogether brilliant example of Ovidian ingenuity. The theme of the poem, Aurora’s premature arrival and disruption of a lovers’ union, is derived chiefly from Hellenistic love epigram. Scholars have often noted that two epigrams in particular, both composed by Meleager of Gadara, may have served as Ovid’s literary models. In fact, there are three Meleagrian epigrams which appear to have influenced the composition of Amores 1.13: A.P. 5.172, 5.173, and 12.137. In the following chapters, I examine the Meleagrian dawn epigrams without reference to Amores 1.13. Once the constituent elements of the Meleagrian dawn epigram have been properly established, I then consider Meleager’s influence on Amores 1.13 and the way in which Ovid adapts the Meleagrian model to suit his specific poetic needs. Finally, I provide a detailed literary-critical commentary on all elements of note. iii M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics ACKNOWLEDGMENTS1 I must first thank Dr. Paul Murgatroyd for his unfailing patience and support. I am deeply indebted to him for his guidance not only over the course of my graduate career, but also throughout my undergraduate years as the supervisor of both my B.A. Honours and M.A. theses. As well I would like to thank the members of my supervisory committee, Dr. Kathryn Mattison and Dr. Sean Corner, for their astute counsel and encouragement. Without the assistance of the department’s administrative assistant, the indefatigable Carmen Camilleri, I would not have survived the thesis-writing process unscathed. Thank you to all of my friends in the department, in particular Jason Binder and Patricia White, who have helped maintain my sanity over these last few years. Last, but certainly not least, thank you to my parents for encouraging me to pursue my passion for Latin Literature. 1 The author acknowledges the generous financial support of the School of Graduate Studies at McMaster University, the Department of Classics, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC), the Edith Wightman Travel Scholarship, the E. Togo Salmon Travel Fund in Roman Studies, and the Tina and Paul Bellavia Ontario Graduate Scholarship (OGS). iv M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics BUSY old fool, unruly Sun, Why dost thou thus, Through windows, and through curtains, call on us? Must to thy motions lovers’ seasons run? ~ JOHN DONNE, THE SUN RISING v M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS …………………………………………………….. vii INTRODUCTION ………………………………………………………………… 1 CHAPTER I: The Meleagrian Dawn Epigram (A.P. 5.172, 5.173; A.P. 12.137) 1.1 Constituent Elements of the Meleagrian Dawn Epigram ………………………. 3 1.2 A Hypothetical Compositional Chronology ……………………………………. 4 1.3 The Lover’s Predicament (A.P. 5.172) …………………………………………. 6 1.4 The Abandoned Lover’s Lament (A.P. 5.173) …………………………………. 11 1.5 The Early-Morning Caller (A.P. 12.137) ……………………………………….. 17 APPENDIX A: Extant (Non-Meleagrian) Dawn Epigrams (A.P. 5.3; A.P. 12.136) Antipater of Thessalonica (A.P. 5.3) ………………………………………………… 24 Anonymous (A.P. 12.136) …………………………………………………………… 26 CHAPTER II: Meleagrian Echoes in Ovid, Amores 1.13 2.1 Establishing an Intertextual Link ………………………………………………... 29 2.2 Ovid’s Literary Exploitation of the Meleagrian Model …………………………. 32 CHAPTER III: A Literary-Critical Analysis of Ovid, Amores 1.13 3.1 A Note on the General Arrangement of Amores 1.13 …………………………… 44 3.2 The Opening Couplet (Am. 1.13.1–2) …………………………………………… 45 3.3 The First Section (Am. 1.13.3–8) ………………………………………………... 47 3.4 The Second Section (Am. 1.13.9–30) …………………………………………..... 53 3.5 The Third Section (Am. 1.13.31–46) …………………………………………….. 76 3.6 The Closing Couplet (Am. 1.13.47–48) ………………………………………….. 92 CONCLUSION ……………………………………………………………………... 94 BIBLIOGRAPHY …………………………………………………………………... 97 94 vi M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS A.P. Anthologia Palatina. A.Pl. Anthologia Planudea. CIL Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. G.-P. A. S. F. Gow and D. L. Page, The Greek Anthology: Hellenistic Epigrams. H.-C. E. Hiller and O. Crusius, Anthologia lyrica. L.-P. E. Loibel and D. L. Page, Poetarum Lesbiorum fragmenta. LSJ H. G. Lidell and R. Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon. OLD Oxford Latin Dictionary. RE Paulys Real-Encyclopädie der Classischen Altertumswissenschaft. TLL Thesaurus Linguae Latinae. vii M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics DECLARATION OF ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT The author declares that the content of the research contained herein was carried out in full by Victoria J. Haykin with recognition of the contributions of the supervisory committee, comprised of Dr. Paul Murgatroyd, Dr. Kathryn Mattison, and Dr. Sean Corner, made during the writing and editing process. viii M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics INTRODUCTION Although a comprehensive examination of the classical dawn motif is certainly not the primary aim of this work, I nevertheless think it useful to briefly consider the development of this theme in erotic poetry. This background information will afford the reader greater insight into the literary tradition out of which the Meleagrian dawn epigram emerges and, ultimately, Ovid’s innovative treatment of the same theme in Amores 1.13. Early examples of the classical dawn motif can be found in Homeric verse and Greek lyric poetry.1 Libanius tells us that Sappho once wished for the length of the night to be doubled.2 Although the actual poem cannot be identified in the extant corpus, echoes of Sappho’s interest in this motif may be preserved in fr. 135 (L.-P.): “τί Πανδίονις, Ὤιρανα, χελίδω...;.” Presumably the swallow’s singing heralds the break of day. Anacreon, a later lyric poet, also chides the chattering swallow for interrupting some sort of sex dream about his lover Bathyllus.3 The extant corpus of Hellenistic epigram contains the best examples of the so- called “Premature Dawn” motif. As I will discuss in the following chapter, Meleager of Gadara, no doubt with Sappho in mind, takes up this theme in several of his erotic epigrams. The three longest dawn epigrams, which must have influenced Amores 1.13, 1 For a synopsis of the classical dawn poem, see HATTO 1965: 255ff.; MCKEOWN 1989: 337f. The earliest extant references to dawn in an erotic context can be found in Hom. Od. 23.241–26.; H.H. 5.218–38. 2 Liban. Orat. 1.402 = Sappho fr. 197 (L.-P.). 3 Anac. 9 (12) (H.-C.). 1 M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics will be discussed in the following chapter.4 A fourth example also authored by Meleager, but only two lines long, is preserved at A.P. 12.114. In this epigram Meleager hails the arrival of the Morning Star and begs it to quickly bring back the Evening Star, although there is no explicit mention of a lovers’ union which unfortunately makes its inclusion in the following chapter impossible. There are few Latin examples of the dawn motif prior to the Middle Ages when dawn songs (i.e. the aubade) became extremely popular.5 Thus, Amores 1.13 stands out as a particularly striking example of a classical Latin dawn poem. It should be noted, however, that several excerpts from the Propertian corpus do contain elements of the standard dawn motif, but can by no means be considered prime examples of this theme.6 Ovid then is the first and really only Latin elegist to examine the lover’s appeal to dawn in any great detail, and his treatment of this motif merits greater scrutiny than it has thus far received. 4 Several other dawn epigrams are preserved in the Anthologia Palatina (A.P. 5.3, 5.118, 5.223, 5.283). I will discuss two of these in greater detail in the appendix to Chapter I. 5 For more on the medieval aubade, the alba, and the tageliet and later reception of Amores 1.13, see MÜLLER 1971: 451−80; PEACOCK 1975: 20−29; GRANSDEN 1979: 157–71, 235–37; SIGAL 1996; 6 See Prop. 2.18B.7ff., 3.20B.11ff. 2 M.A. Thesis - V. J. Haykin; McMaster University - Classics CHAPTER I THE MELEAGRIAN DAWN EPIGRAM (A.P. 5.172, 5.173; A.P. 12.137) 1.1 Constituent Elements of the Meleagrian Dawn Epigram Three largely neglected dawn poems composed by Meleager, located at A.P. 5.172, 5.173 and A.P. 12.137, are prime examples of the Hellenistic interest in thematic progression and innovation.1 A.P. 5.172 and 5.173 have received a small amount of scholarly interest, but when discussed at all, they are often employed only as examples of programmatic cycles; little of note has ever been said regarding their exploitation of the “Premature Dawn” motif.2 Thus, it is important, prior to engaging further with the text, to lay out all of the constituent elements of the Meleagrian dawn epigram.

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