by Peter Jones
dumque †ea per terrās fātālī lēge geruntur,
tūtaque †bis genitī sunt incūnābula Bacchī,
forte Iouem memorant, †diffūsum nectare, cūrās
†sēposuisse grauēs, uacuāque^ agitāsse remissōs
cum ^Iūnōne iocōs, et ‘māior uestra^ †profectō est,
320
quam quae contingit maribus’, dīxisse †‘^uoluptās.’
illa negat. †placuit quae sit sententia doctī^
quaerere †^Tīresiae: Venus hc erat utraque nōta.
3.324–31: The choice of Tiresias as judge is explained
nam †duo magnōrum^ uiridī* coeuntia *siluā
corpora ^serpentum †baculī uiolāuerat ictū
325
dēque uirō †factus (mīrābile) fēmina, septem
ēgerat †autumnōs. octāuō rūrsus eōsdem
uīdit, et ‘est uestrae sī tanta potentia †plāgae’
dīxit, ‘ut auctōris sortem in †contrāria mūtet,
nunc quoque uōs †feriam.’ percussīs anguibus īsdem,
330
fōrma prior rediit, †genetīuaque uēnit imāgō.
3.332–8: Juno punishes Tiresias, but Jupiter compensates
arbiter hīc igitur, sūmptus dē līte †iocōsā,
dicta Iouis †firmat: grauius Sāturnia iūstō,
nec †prō māteriā, fertur doluisse, suīque
†iūdicis aeternā damnāuit lūmina nocte.
335
at pater †omnipotēns (neque enim licet irrita cquam^
facta deī fēcisse ^deō) prō lūmine †adēmptō
†scīre futūra dedit, poenamque leuāuit honōre.
Learning vocabulary for Passage 7, Tiresias
auctor -is 3m. originator
Bacch-us ī 2m. the god Dionysus/Bacchus
irrit-us a um undone, vain
leuō 1 relieve, lighten, raise
mīrābil-is e wonderful, amazing
serpēns serpent-is 3m./f. snake
uirid-is e green
Study section
1. Write out and scan ll.316–19.
2. Use previous metamorphoses to compose an Ovidian-style ‘what if’, describing how Tiresias changed into a woman (or back into a man).
3. Is Tiresias punished as a sign that he ‘woefully lacks basic knowledge about men, women and sex’ (Anderson)? Or because he ‘clearly believed the privileges of masculinity outweighed these (unexplained) pleasures [sc. that women got from sex]’ (Fantham, 2004, 61)? Or does Ovid not tell us? And if so, why not?
4. You are a Roman woman. Respond to the stories of Actaeon, Semele and Tiresias.
5. Speculate why Ovid changes Callimachus’ version of the story so radically.
Vocabulary and grammar
316 ea: n. pl. – supply appropriate noun
fātāl-is e of fate, destiny, deadly. Though no ‘law of fate’ was involved in Semele’s death, it must have been in Dionysus/Bacchus’ birth, to which Ovid immediately turns
317 bis genit-us a um twice-born (i.e. from Semele and then again from Jupiter’s thigh)
incūnābul-a ōrum 2n. cradle (i.e. infancy, early years)
*Bacch-us ī 2m. the god Dionysus/Bacchus
318 memorō 1 recall. Here it is followed by an acc. (Iouem) and inf. (sēposuisse . . . agitāsse . . . dīxisse 321); for perf. inf. form, see RLA4
diffūs-us a um (diffundō) flushed, warmed
nectar -is 3n. nectar (the drink of the gods; ambrosia is the food)
319 sēponō 3 sēposuī sēpositum lay aside
agitō 1 engage in
remiss-us a um relaxed, casual
320 profectō without doubt
321 mās mar-is 3m. the male of the species
uoluptās uoluptāt-is 3f. pleasure (in love-making)
322 placuit: controls quaerere, introducing the indir. q. quae sit
quae: refers to uoluptās
323 Tīresiae: gen. s. of Tiresias, the famous prophet-to-be, whose great-grandfather was the dragon killed by Cadmus (see Background to passage 5).
Venus = sex
utraque: i.e. from a male and female point of view (this is about to be explained)
324 duo . . . serpentum (325): this long phrase, the object of uiolāuerat (325), is as long and as (grammatically) intertwined as the serpents
*uirid-is e green
325 *serpēns serpent-is 3m./f. snake (serpō 3 crawl)
bacul-um ī 2n. stick
uiolō 1 hit, violate. Note the plupf. tense, identifying this as temporal background to the story; so ēgerat 327
ict-us ūs 4m. blow. This comes as a short, sharp thump, instantly concluding the lengthy inter-twinings of 324–5
326 factus . . . fēmina: a witty agreement!
*mīrābil-is e wonderful, amazing
327 autumn-us ī 2m. autumn
octāuō: ‘in the eighth [autumn]’
328 plāg-a ae 1f. blow. uestrae . . . plāgae construes with potentia, i.e. ‘in hitting you’
329 *auctor -is 3m. originator (i.e. person who originally hit you)
in contrāria: ‘to the opposite’
330 feriō 4 strike, hit
angu-is is 3.m./f. snake
331 genetīu-us a um original, with which X was born
332 arbiter arbitr-ī 2m. judge
līs līt-is 3f. quarrel, lawsuit
iocōs-us a um playful, jocular
333 firmat: in many versions of the story, Tiresias says that if there are ten units of pleasure in making love, the woman gets nine
iūstō: abl. of comparison after grauius
334 prō māteriā: ‘in proportion to the issue’
335 iūdicis: i.e. Tiresias, gen. after lūmina
aetern-us a um everlasting
damnō 1 condemn X (acc.) to Y (abl.)
336 omnipotēns omnipotent-is all-powerful
*irrit-us a um undone, vain; irrita faciō = ‘make undone’, ‘nullify’
337 adēmpt-us a um removed (adīmō)
338 scīre: understand Tiresias as subject
*leuō 1 relieve, lighten, raise
Notes
316–23: Destiny has taken its course and Bacchus is safe in his cradle (316–17). Now, ‘they say’ (more mock history?), Jupiter cūrās sēposuisse grauēs. But what ‘cares’ are these? The ‘cares’ of ruling the universe (Anderson)? Surely not. Jupiter has just given birth to Bacchus, a physically and mentally demanding enough time for a woman, let alone a man. It is the cares of childbirth he has just laid aside – a good Ovidian joke – with the help of a tot of nectar (318). Now, in party mood (320), Jupiter raises a not unrelated issue with Juno: who gets more pleasure out of sex (320–2)? Thus does Jupiter’s reflection on the consequences of the Semele story smoothly effect the transition to the story of Tiresias who, being an expert on the matter of sexual pleasure (322–3), is summoned to give his verdict.
324–31: Tiresias’ story – that he was changed into a woman when he beat two copulating snakes and changed back again when he repeated the trick seven years later (324–31) – was widely reported in ancient sources (in India and the Himalayas, it is thought to be very unlucky to see snakes copulating, and rituals are recommended to avoid the consequences). Ovid, sadly, does not go any more deeply into the reason for the change, nor the technicalities of it, nor does he expand on the new life Tiresias presumably led as a woman, but he is able to describe how Tiresias was restored to male form: he reasoned, logically, that beating copulating snakes changed the sex of the beater (328–30).
332–8: Tiresias’ confirmation of Jupiter’s view that women have more fun infuriates Juno (334) – a reaction judged at the time to be out of all proportion (fertur, 333), a view that apparently chimes with Ovid’s view too (it was all a joke: iocōsā, 332). Why this reaction from Juno? Tiresias, after all, should know the answer (that was why he was called in to judge), and Juno does not deny his conclusion. Had Tiresias given away woman’s great secret? (Greek and Roman males
regularly claimed women were much keener on sex than men.) Does it turn Jupiter’s pursuit of women into a selflessly philanthropical exercise, since he gives them so much more pleasure than they him? Does Juno feel she is missing out, given how rarely she and Jupiter made love (see 3.266)? Or is it that she just hates anyone to do with Cadmus (see note on Agenor, 3.257)? Whatever the reason, Juno is bent on revenge for the smallest perceived slight. At least Jupiter, who is unable to undo another god’s actions (336–7), is able to compensate Tiresias by other means. From now on, Tiresias may be blind, but not when it comes to seeing into the future – a great honour for any mere mortal (338).
Here, then, is another tale of a god’s revenge on an innocent human, and an even less justified one, to judge by Ovid’s comment on the ‘amusing contest’. It is to be noted that the earlier Greek poet Callimachus offered a different explanation for Tiresias’ blindness: he saw Athena/Minerva bathing naked on Mount Helicon and was struck blind (cf. Actaeon and Diana, passage 5). When Tiresias’ mother objected to the punishment, Minerva explained that she had no hand in the matter – it was an immutable law of the gods – but agreed to give him the gift of prophecy and long life.
8 Echo and Narcissus, Metamorphōsēs 3.339–510
3.339–50: Liriope gives birth to Narcissus; Tiresias’ strange prophecy
†ille, per Aoniās fāmā celeberrimus urbēs,
†irreprehēnsa^ dabat populō ^respōnsa petentī.
340
prīma^ †fidē uōcisque ratae temptāmina sūmpsit
†^caerula ^Līriopē, quam quondam flūmine curuō
†implicuit clausaeque suīs Cēphīsos in undīs
†uim tulit. ēnīxa est uterō pulcherrima^ plēnō
†īnfantem ^nymphē, iam tunc quī posset amārī,
345
†Narcissumque uocat. dē quō cōnsultus, an esset
tempora^ †mātūrae uīsūrus ^longa senectae,
†fātidicus uātēs ‘sī sē nōn nōuerit’ inquit.
†uāna diū uīsa est uōx auguris. exitus illam
†rēsque probat lētīque genus nouitāsque furōris.
350
3.351–61: Narcissus rejects all lovers; then Echo falls for him
namque †ter ad quīnōs ūnum Cēphīsius annum
†addiderat, poteratque puer iuuenisque uidērī.
multī illum iuuenēs, multae cupiēre puellae;
sed fuit in †tenerā tam dūra superbia fōrmā,
nūllī illum iuuenēs, nūllae tetigēre puellae.
355
†adspicit hunc trepidōs agitantem in rētia ceruōs
†uōcālis nymphē, quae nec reticēre loquentī
nec prior ipsa loquī didicit, resonābilis †Ēchō.
corpus adhūc Ēchō, nōn uōx erat; et tamen ūsum^
†garrula nōn ^alium, quam nunc habet, ^ōris habēbat,
360
reddere dē multīs †ut uerba nouissima posset.
3.362–9: How Juno had punished Echo for aiding Jupiter’s afflairs
(fēcerat hoc †Iūnō, quia, cum dēprendere posset
†sub Ioue saepe suō nymphās in monte iacentēs,
†illa deam longō prūdēns sermōne tenēbat,
dum †fugerent nymphae. postquam hoc Sāturnia sēnsit,
365
‘hus’ ait ‘linguae, quā sum †dēlūsa, potestās
parua tibi dabitur, uōcisque breuissimus ūsus,’
†rēque minās firmat. tantum haec in fīne loquendī
ingeminat uōcēs audītaque uerba †reportat.)
3.370–8: Echo’s silent passion for Narcissus
ergō ubi Narcissum per dēuia †rūra uagantem
370
uīdit et †incaluit, sequitur uestīgia fūrtim;
†quōque magis sequitur, flammā propiōre calēscit,
nōn aliter quam cum, summīs †circumlita^ taedīs,
admōtās rapiunt ^uīuācia †^sulphura flammās.
ō †quotiēns uoluit blandīs accēdere dictīs
375
et mollēs †adhibēre precēs! nātūra repugnat,
nec †sinit incipiat sed, quod sinit, illa parāta est
exspectāre †sonōs, ad quōs sua uerba remittat.
3.379–92: Echo fails to seduce Narcissus when he does speak
forte puer, comitum †sēductus ab agmine fīdō,
dīxerat: †‘ecquis adest?’ et ‘adest’ responderat Ēchō.
380
hīc †stupet, utque aciem partēs dīmittit in omnēs,
†uōce ‘uenī!’ magnā clāmat; uocat illa uocantem.
†respicit et, rūrsus nūllō ueniente, ‘quid’ inquit
‘mē fugis?’ et †totidem, quot dīxit, uerba recēpit.
†perstat et, alternae dēceptus imāgine uōcis,
385
†‘hūc coeāmus’ ait; nūllīque^ libentius umquam
respōnsūra* ^sonō, ‘coeāmus!’ rettulit *Ēchō,
et uerbīs fauet ipsa suīs, ēgressaque †siluā
ībat, ut †iniceret spērātō brācchia collō.
ille fugit, fugiēnsque ‘manūs †complexibus aufer!
390
†ante’ ait ‘ēmoriar, quam sit tibi cōpia nostrī.’
rettulit illa nihil nisi ‘sit tibi cōpia nostrī!’
3.393–401: Rejected Echo fades away into a voice
†sprēta latet siluīs, pudibundaque frondibus ōra
†prōtegit, et sōlīs ex illō uīuit in antrīs.
sed tamen haeret amor crēscitque dolōre †repulsae.
395
†extenuant uigilēs corpus miserābile cūrae,
†addūcitque cutem maciēs, et in āera sūcus
corporis omnis abit. uōx tantum atque ossa supersunt:
uōx †manet, ossa ferunt lapidis trāxisse figūram.
inde †latet siluīs, nūllōque in monte uidētur,
400
†omnibus audītur; sonus est, quī uīuit in illā.
3.402–6: Narcissus is cursed by a rejected lover
sīc †hanc, sīc aliās^ undīs aut montibus ^ortās
lūserat †hīc ^nymphās, sīc ctūs ante uirīlēs;
inde manūs aliquis †dēspectus ad aethera tollēns
‘sīc amet ipse †licet, sīc nōn potiātur amātō!’
405
dīxerat: †adsēnsit precibus Rhamnūsia iūstīs.
3.407–14: Narcissus comes across a cool, clear spring
†fōns erat illīmis, nitidīs argenteus undīs,
quem neque †pāstōrēs neque pāstae monte capellae
contigerant aliudue †pecus, quem nūlla uolucris
nec fera turbārat, nec lāpsus ab arbore †rāmus.
410
†grāmen erat circā, quod proximus ūmor alēbat,
siluaque sōle locum †passūra tepēscere nūllō.
hīc puer, et studiō †uēnandī lassus et aestū,
†prōcubuit, faciemque locī fontemque secūtus.
3.415–26: Narcissus sees himself in the pool and is amazed
dumque sitim sēdāre cupit, †sitis altera crēuit,
415
dumque bibit, uīsae †correptus imāgine fōrmae,
spem sine corpore amat, corpus putat esse, quod umbra est.
†adstupet ipse sibī, uultūque immōtus eōdem
haeret, ut ē †Pariō fōrmātum marmore signum;
spectat, humī positus, geminum – sua lūmina – sīdus,
420
†et dignōs^ Bacchō, dignōs et Apolline ^crīnēs,
†impūbēsque genās, et eburnea colla, decusque
ōris, et in niueō †mixtum candōre rubōrem;
cūnctaque mīrātur, quibus est †mīrābilis ipse.
sē cupit †imprūdēns et, quī probat, ipse probātur;
425
dumque petit, petitur; †pariterque accendit et ardet.
3.427–36: Vainly, Narcissus tries to kiss and embrace the image
irrita †fallācī quotiēns dedit ōscula fontī,
in mediīs^ quotiēns uīsum †captantia* collum
*brācchia mersit ^aquīs, nec sē dēprendit in illīs!
†quid uideat, nescit; sed quod uidet, ūritur illō,
430
atque oculōs īdem, quī dēcipit, †incitat error.
†crēdule, quid frūstrā simulācra fugācia captās?
quod petis, est nūsquam; quod amās, †āuertere, perdēs!
ista †repercussae, quam cernis, imāginis umbra est.
†nīl habet ista suī; tēcum uēnitque manetque;
435
tēcum discēdet, sī tū discēdere possīs!
3.437–53: Narcissus cannot tear himself away and mourns his fate
nōn †illum Cereris, nōn illum cūra quiētis
