Reading Ovid

by Peter Jones

  uēl-um ī 2n. awning

  596 candid-us a um white (i.e. made of marble)

  purpure-us a um*

  īnficiō 3/4 *

  597 notō 1*

  *hospes hospit-is 3m. guest, i.e. Hippomenes

  dēcurs-us a um run, completed

  *mēt-a ae 1f. race, course, lap

  598 fest-us a um festal, celebratory

  uictrīx uictrīc-is*

  corōn-a ae 1f.*

  599 pendō (3) poenās pay the penalty. But it is odd that there were losers (pl.). What would happen were Atalanta to be beaten by two or more of them?

  foedus foeder-is 3n. terms, conditions

  600 ēuent-us ūs 4m. result

  dēterreō 2*

  602 quid why?

  titul-us ī 2m. distinction, claim to glory

  iners inert-is slow, laggard (object of superandō, RLN, W39)

  603 cōnferō 3 compete

  *seu or if

  604 indignor 1 dep. feel aggrieved (+ inf.)

  605 genitor -is 3m. father

  *Megareus: Greek nom. s. of Megareus; cf. Megarēius ‘of Megareus’ (659)

  Onchesti-us a um from Onchestus (in Boeotia)

  606 au-us ī 2m. grandfather

  pronepōs pronepōt-is great-grandson

  607 citrā less than (+ acc.)

  608 Hippomenē: abl. s. of Hippomenes

  memorābil-is e*

  609 *Schoenēi-us a um descended from Schoeneus (Atalanta’s father)

  610 aspicit = adspicit

  611 hunc: i.e. Hippomenes, object of perdere

  inīquus: here with dat., ‘unfair, hostile to’

  612 cār-us a um dear, precious

  discrīmen discrīmin-is 3n. risk

  613 *coniugi-um ī 2n. marriage

  tantī: gen. of value, cf. 618, RLL(d)5

  616 quid, quod: ‘what [should I make of] the fact that . . . ?’ , introducing a tremendous rising tricolon with anaphora in the next four lines

  interrit-us a um + gen.*

  lēt-um ī 2n. death

  617 aequore-us a um from the sea (i.e. from Neptune)

  numerō 1 count

  618 nostra: i.e. mine to him

  620 cruent-us a um bloody. It is hard to see how marriage to Atalanta would be ‘bloody’. It is failure to win her hand that was ‘bloody’. Atalanta puts it this way to indicate the impossibility of Hippomenes’ desire

  621 nūbō 3 marry (+ dat.)

  623 tot iam ante: i.e. so many previous [suitors] (abl.abs. with perēmptīs)

  perimō 3 perēmī perēmptum kill, destroy

  624 uīderit: 3s. jussive subj.; cf. on 9.519

  625 admoneō 2*

  agitur: almost ‘he is being (ignorantly and foolishly) pushed into’

  taedi-um ī 2n. weariness with (+ gen.)

  627 indign-us a um*

  nex nec-is 3f. death

  preti-um ī 2n. price (here in apposition to indignam necem)

  628 nōn: take with ferendae

  inuidiae: gen. describing the nature of the victory of which she is quite confident

  629 dēsistō 3*

  630 dēmēns dēment-is*

  631 uirgine-us a um*

  puerīl-is e*; cf. 615

  632 Hippomenē: voc. of Hippomenes

  nōllem: followed here by the subj.; translate ‘I would that [I had] not . . . ’; tibi is dat. of agent

  634 importūn-us a um oppressive

  635 sociō 1 share

  636 utque ‘and like [one]’

  rud-is e inexperienced

  *cupīdō cupīdin-is 3m/f. longing, desire

  638 poscō 3 demand, call for

  paterque: of Atalanta, i.e. Schoeneus

  639 cum: when

  sollicit-us a um uneasy, anxious

  *prōlēs prōl-is 3f. offspring

  Neptuni-us a um*

  640 inuocō 1*

  *Cytherē-a ae 1f. Cytherean, i.e. Venus (cf. 529); nom., not voc., as adsit, jussive subj., makes clear

  comprecor 1*

  641 quōs: take in order ignēs quōs; ignēs = the flame of love Hippomenes feels

  adiuuō 1 foster, encourage

  642 dēferō 3*

  inuid-us a um envious, grudging

  643 fateor 2 dep. admit, confess

  644 indigen-a ae 1m. inhabitant

  Tamasēn-us ī 2m. of Tamasus (in Cyprus)

  645 Cypri-us a um*

  quem: picks up ager

  *prīsc-us a um of old, ancient. prīscī . . . senēs are the subjects of sacrāuēre and iussēre

  646 sacrō 1 make sacred, sanctify

  accēdō 3 be added (inf. after iussēre)

  dōtem/hanc ‘this [land] as a gift/dowry’ (dōs dōt-is 3f.)

  647 iussēre = iussērunt

  niteō 2 shine

  648 crepitō 1 clatter, tinkle

  649 dēcerpt-us a um plucked

  650 aure-us a um*

  *pōm-um ī 2n. apple

  nūllīque . . . ipsī: dat. of agent

  651 *Hippomenēn: Greek acc. of Hippomenes

  doceō 2 teach

  652 tub-a ae 1f. bugle. Ovid ‘romanises’ the race

  carcer -ris 3m. starting-gate

  prōnus: both runners were crouched for the ‘off’

  653 ēmicō 1 flash out

  lībō 1 skim

  *harēn-a ae 1f. sand

  654 putēs: Venus draws Adonis into the story

  sicc-us a um dry

  fret-um ī 2n. sea

  rādō 3 graze

  655 seges seget-is 3f. corn(field)

  cān-us a um grey

  percurrō 3*

  arist-a ae 1f. ear (of corn)

  *adiciō 3/4 add

  656 clāmor -is 3m.*

  fauor -is 3m.*

  657 incumbō 3 forge ahead

  658 Hippomenē: voc. of Hippomenes

  659 pellō 3 banish

  dubium: understand ‘whether’, RLS2(e)

  *hērōs: nom. s.

  661 *trānseō trānsīre overtake, cross

  *moror 1 dep. delay

  663 lass-us a um exhausted

  anhēlit-us ūs 4m. (Hippomenes’) panting

  665 fēt-us ūs 4m. fruit

  arbore-us a um*

  666 *nitid-us a um shining

  667 dēclīnō 1 turn away from

  uolūbil-is e rolling

  668 resonō 1 resound

  spectācul-um ī 2n. stand

  plaus-us ūs 4m. applause

  669 cessō 1 waste

  670 corrigō 3 put right

  671 iact-us ūs 4m. throw

  remoror 1 delay, be held up

  672 cōnsequor 3 dep. catch up with

  673 restō 1 remain

  adēs: imper. of adsum

  auctor -is 3m/f. provider, source

  674 latus later-is 3n. side

  camp-us ī 2m. plain

  quō tardius: + subj. = purpose, RL148

  675 ab oblīquō off to one side

  iuuenāliter with a young man’s strength

  676 coēgī: Venus intervenes to help Hippomenes

  677 māl-um ī 2n. apple

  678 grauitās grauitāt-is 3f. weight

  679 meus sermō: Venus decides to cut the speech short

  680 uictor -is 3m.*

  681digna c: lit. ‘worthy to whom [Hippomenes] should . . . ?’, i.e. ‘did I deserve that Hippomenes should . . .?’, RLQ2(1)

  *tūs tūr-is 3n. incense. For offering incense on the altar, see 10.273

  683 conuertor 3 pass.*

  684 contempt-us ūs 4m.*

  nē: dependent on caueō, RLS2(d), W40

  spernō 3 despise, scorn

  futūrīs: dat. of agent (presumably ‘men’ or ‘ages’)

  685 exempl-um ī 2n. example (‘by [making them both] an example’)

  in ambōs: i.e. against both of them

  686 deum (= deōrum) Mātrī: the goddess in question is Cybele, also called Magna Mater, known in Greece by the fif
th century BC and brought to Rome from Phrygia (modern Turkey) in 204 BC. She was (among things) a goddess associated with fertility, wild nature and ecstasy

  Echīōn: Greek nom. s., one of the founders of Thebes in Boeotia. Hippomenes is presumably crossing Boeotia with his new bride (iter longum 688), taking her home from where her father Schoeneus was king (near Thebes) to Onchestus (605)

  687 ex (uōtō): ‘as a result of’, ‘to fulfil’

  nemorōs-us a um wooded

  *abdō 3 abdidī abditum hide (away), bury

  688 iter longum: Venus was equally exhausted after hunting (554) and persuaded Adonis to lie down with her – a hint?

  689 concubit-us ūs 4m. sexual intercourse

  intempestīu-us a um untimely

  690 concit-us a um urged on

  nostrō: i.e. Venus’s

  691 recess-us ūs 4m. secluded spot

  692 spēlunc-a ae 1f. cave

  nātīu-us a um natural. This gives the place an ancient air, as if priests had been using it long before human ingenuity enabled temples to be built

  pūmex pūmic-is 3m. pumice stone

  693 rēligiō rēligiōn-is 3f. ritual, worship

  quō to where

  sacerdōs sacerdōt-is 3m. priest

  694 ligne-us a um wooden (such statues were thought to be of great antiquity)

  cōnferō 3*

  695 temerō 1 profane, violate

  sacrāri-um ī 2n. shrine

  probr-um ī 2n. offence. Sexual intercourse was felt by Greeks to be incompatible with the sacred (perhaps because gods, being immortal, required insulation from processes to do with life and death). So intercourse in a sacred place, let alone in the presence of the gods’ statues, was felt to be a great sacrilege

  696 sacra: i.e. the sacred statues there

  retorqueō 2 retorsī avert

  turrīt-us a um towered (Cybele is often depicted wearing a crown like a tower; one of her functions was to protect her people in war)

  697 an: take in order turrītaque Māter dubitāuit an . . .

  Stygiā: the dead usually cross the river Styx to reach the far bank. Here the lovers are (dramatically) to be plunged into it, such is the goddess’ fury at what they have done

  sōns sont-is (the) guilty

  698 lēu-is e smooth (note the long ē and compare leuis)

  699 iub-a ae 1f. mane

  curuō 1*

  ungu-is is 3m. claw

  700 arm-us ī 2m. forequarter

  701 uerrō 3 sweep

  702 murmur -is 3n. growl. 702–3 make a tremendous tricolon with asyndeton

  703 prō thalamīs: Ovid’s point is that these animals copulate in woods (as Hippomenes and Atalanta had just done), not bedrooms

  celebrō 1 throng, crowd

  704 domit-us a um tamed

  Cybelēi-us a um of Cybele

  frēn-um ī 2n. bit. Cybele, as goddess of wild nature, can tame wild animals to serve her

  leōnēs: in apposition, ‘as lions’. Cybele reckoned death was too light a penalty (poena leuis, 698). Would eternal life as a domesticated lion pulling a chariot have appealed to ancient mythic heroes and heroines?

  705 hōs: ‘these [animals]’ – object of tū . . . effuge (707); Venus now turns to Adonis to remind him of the lesson of her story – steer clear of wild beasts (543 ff.)

  cār-us a um dear, precious

  706 terga . . . pectora: neat chiasmus

  707 damnōs-us a um ruinous

  708 cycn-us ī 2m. swan. Venus is typically trans-ported by birds: swans and sparrows (said to have aphrodisiac qualities) are especially popular. When the Greek poetess Sappho (c. 600 BC) in a famous poem remembers calling on Aphrodite to help her, Aphrodite arrives ‘in a golden chariot, with pretty sparrows bringing you swiftly from heaven through the air across the black earth, wings whirring madly’ – as they would have to if you were sparrows pulling a goddess in a chariot

  709 contrāri-us a um*

  710 latebr-a ae 1f. hiding place, cover

  cert-us a um unmistakable

  711 exciō 4 rouse, start

  parantem: refers to the boar, object of fīxerat

  712 oblīqu-us a um from the side

  *Cinyrēi-us a um of Cinyras (father of Adonis)

  ict-us ūs 4m. blow, thrust

  713 *excutiō 3/4 excussī shake/knock X (acc.) out/off

  pand-us a um wide

  uēnābul-um ī 2n. spear

  rōstr-um ī 2n. snout. The boar uses his snout to knock the spears out

  714 trepidum* . . . petentem: refers to Adonis

  715 trux truc-is savage

  inguen inguin-is 3n. groin

  716 moribund-us a um*

  sternō 3 strāuī lay low

  717 uehor 3 pass. uectus be carried, borne; travel

  718 Cypron: Greek acc. of Cyprus

  olōrīn-us a um of a swan

  719 agnōscō 3 agnōuī recognise

  alb-us a um white

  721 exanim-is e dead

  iactō 1 shake, make X (acc.) writhe

  722 dēsiliō 4 dēsiluī jump down

  sin-us ūs 4m. breast

  723 rumpō 3 rūpī tear at

  indign-us a um guiltless

  palm-a ae 1f.*

  724 uestrī iūris: ‘under your control’

  725 moniment-um ī 2n.*

  726 mortis: i.e. of Adonis’ death

  727 annu-us a um*: this is a golden line

  plangor -is 3m.*

  peragō 3 bring about (i.e. there will be an annual, ritual enactment of your death). The Adonia was a cult, celebrated by women, that originated in Cyprus and Byblos (in modern Lebanon) and was well established in Greece by the seventh century BC. Evidence for it is known from only three cities – Athens, Alexandria (Egypt) and Byblos itself. The ritual combined both mourning and rejoicing on behalf of Aphrodite and Adonis

  simulāmen simulāmin-is 3n. imitation

  728 an: the force here is ‘or is it the case that it was possible for you, Persephone, to . . . but it will not be for us?’

  729 olēns olent-is fragrant

  ment-a ae 1f. mint

  730 Persephonē: the story was that the nymph Minthe, a concubine of Persephone’s husband Hades, was turned by Persephone into garden mint (menta)

  inuidiae: predicative dative: ‘[A changed Adonis] will be for [an object of] envy [to us]’, i.e. will be refused us, RL88.6, WSuppl.syntax

  731 fāta: participle from for fārī fātus 1 dep. speak

  732 nectar -is 3n. nectar, the drink of the gods

  odōrāt-us a um*

  spargō 3 sparsī scatter

  quī: picks up cruōrem

  733 intumēscō 2 intumuī swell up

  ut: introduces a simile

  perlūcid-us a um clear, translucent

  caen-um ī 2n. mud (see Study section)

  734 bull-a ae 1f. bubble

  735 concolor -is of the same colour

  736 quālem: object of pūnica ferre solent; quae picks up pūnica

  lent-us a um tough

  cēlō 1 hide

  cortex cortic-is 3m. rind

  grān-um ī 2n. seed

  737 pūnic-um (pōmum) bright-red (apple), i.e pomegranate

  illō: i.e. the flower emerging from Adonis’ blood

  738 leuitās leuitāt-is 3f. lightness

  cadūc-us a um fragile, likely to fall

  739 īdem: refers forward to uentī; the flower is the anemone, ‘wind-flower’ (Greek anemos, ‘wind’)

  praestō 1 provide, produce

  Notes

  519–28: Being the offspring of his sister and father, not to mention born from a tree (520–2), Adonis might be expected to have experienced a challenging childhood. Its details, however, Ovid elides by talking about the deceptively fleeting passage of time (519–20) which sees Adonis progress from a beautiful baby through childhood and youth to become an even more handsome adult (522–3); and Ovid then connects Adonis’ story to his mother Myrrha’s (
which he had just told) by claiming that, when Venus falls in love with Adonis, Adonis somehow avenges his mother’s unfortunate passion for her father (524). Not that Venus set out to fall in love with him, Ovid emphasises: it was all down to her being accidentally scratched by her son Cupid’s arrow (525–8). Like Apollo before her (see e.g. passage 2, 1.452–74), no divinity is immune to Cupid’s darts, even his mother, mistress of sexual passion. Observe how the depth of the wound had deceived even her (528).

  529–41: Adonis is a young man, and therefore a hunter. This, then, is what Venus must become if she is to be with her lover all the time (529, 533). So she abandons not only her natural sanctuaries but even Olympus itself (530–2). She puts on unfetching hunter’s gear like Diana’s and roams the hills (535–6): no more staying out of the sun to avoid a tan, or keeping herself fat, either (533–4). Nevertheless, there are fierce animals out there, and on these she is not keen (539–41; the epithets attached to them suggest her fears about them). So she confines herself to urging on the dogs and hunting the tamer beasts – note the neat contrast in height between hares and stags (537–9).

  542–59: With a sympathetic apostrophe towards Adonis (tē . . . Adōni, 542–3), Ovid relates Venus’ orders to him: he is to be as worried about fierce animals as she is (543–4). Her motives, naturally, are governed by pure self-interest (545–7); she has no idea what glōria means to a young male. Her lecture on the implacable ferocity of wild beasts reads pretty richly coming from her (547–52) – as if Adonis did not know anyway – and it is no surprise when he wonders what on earth she is talking about (552). So she prepares to tell him a story involving culpa (553 – this prompts our curiosity); not before time either, judging by her exhaustion from the chase (554) and her eagerness to take advantage of the convenient locus amoenus, complete with torus (555–6). She wastes no time in placing herself in prime position on the ground (556–7), dragging him down at the same time (lovely syllepsis at 557 pressitque . . . ipsum), placing her head on his breast (558) and taking full advantage (559). We are not told what Adonis made of all this – but then, Adonis is notably speechless throughout, as a young man probably would be with the goddess of sexual passion running the relationship (and telling the story). On the other hand, a young man making his way in the mythic world does not willingly abandon the hunt – one of the main arenas where a man can show he is a man – in favour of lounging on the turf with a woman, even if that woman happens to be Venus. Will Adonis allow himself, like Venus, to be transformed for ‘love’?