The Scyllae

     Vergil makes simultaneous reference to two Scyllae, one notably more famous than the other.  The more famous Scylla, the one that Homer describes in his Odyssey, receives the bulk of his attention, as he describes her succinctam latrantibus inguina monstris (VI, 75).  This Scylla is a monstrous creature of tremendous reach and danger, forcing sailors to either endure her attacks or be destroyed by the neighboring whirlpool of Charybdis.  Vergil continues to discuss this Scylla through reference to her appearance in Homer's epic, where she killed several members of Odysseus' crew.

    The other Scylla, although the poet references her first,  does not receive such a detailed description in this Eclogue.  Vergil only tells as that she is the daughter of Nisus before he begins to describe her as the sea-beast Scylla.  According to Ovid, Her father was the ruler of Alcathous in Megara, whose most notable feature was a purple lock of hair that was "magni fiducia regni" (Met. VIII, 10).  Eventually, Minos invaded Megara from Crete and savaged the countryside before laying siege to the city.  During this siege, this Scylla would regularly climb a tall tower of the city so that she could gaze at the army, and especially upon Minos himself, with whom she became hopelessly enamored.  

    After some time, she grew tired of her distant viewing and desired to enter into his camp and find some way that she might accompany him.  She decides that the best way for her to accomplish this desire is to steal her father's famous lock of hair and present it to Minos, so that it would no longer serve as a protection for the city and he could win the siege.  When she sneaks into his camp, however, Minos becomes distraught.  Repulsed by her betrayal, he spurns her directly and takes the city.  

    After the conquest, he sails away without her, causing Scylla to fly into a rage and chase after his ships.  Her father, now a bird of prey, attacks her as revenge and she herself transforms into a bird, Ciris.

hinc lapides Pyrrhae iactos

 

    Latin Pyrrha is from the Greek word fire πῦρ/adjective πυρρός, ή, όν meaning flame colored, yellowish red, of persons with red hair (Liddell and Scott).  The story of Pyrrha and her husband Deucalion is that of "The Great Flood", often equated with Noah's Ark-- flood myths, however,  are not uncommon in the ancient world.  They usually involve a god or gods who wish to purify the earth of its lack luster inhabitants, doing so with a giant flood.

    Pyrrha is the daughter of Pandora and Epimetheus. She married Deucalion, the son of Prometheus and Clymene. The stories of Prometheus, Epimetheus and Pandora are well known from Hesiod's Theogony and Works and Days, the earliest written account of Pyrrha, however, comes down to us from Pindar:

  "But lend your tongue to the city of Protogeneia, where, by the ordinance of Zeus with the flashing thunderbolt, Pyrrha and Deucalion came down from Parnassus and made their first home, and without the marriage-bed [45] they founded a unified race of stone offspring, and the stones gave the people their name. Arouse for them a clear-sounding path of song; praise wine that is old, but praise the flowers of songs that are new. They tell, indeed, [50] how the strength of the waters overwhelmed the dark earth; but by the skills of Zeus the ebbing tide suddenly drained off the flood. From these were descended your ancestors..."

Olympian 9: For Epharmostus of Opus Wrestling-Match 466 B. C.

Odes. Pindar. Diane Arnson Svarlien. 1990. http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.01.0162:book=O.:poem=9

    The most complete account of Pyrrha, Deucalion and the great flood is in Book 1 of Ovid's Metamorphosis.  Book 1, which has many parallels with the Theogony, begins with the creation myth-- god made all from chaos etc. Then it continues onto the "four ages".  First, when Saturn was "king of the gods", the Golden Age-- no punishment, no wars, lots of fruit.  Second, under Jupiter's reign, the Silver Age-- not as great as the Golden Age, but pretty good. Third, the Bronze age-- pretty bad.  According to Ovid, there lived an Acadian king named Lycaon, who tried to trick Jupiter into consuming human flesh. As punishment, Lycaon was turned into a wolf, but because Jupiter felt that the Bronze Age as a whole was evil and disastrous he concluded that the earth must be wiped clean of man by means of a great flood.

    Deucalion and Pyrrha arrived in Phocis to worship the Corycian nymphs on Mt. Parnassus and to consult the oracle, Themis... despite the horrific flood happening around them (?)...  When Jupiter saw the sole survivors worshipping on Parnassus, he took pity upon them and stopped the flood.  Realizing that they are the only two humans on earth, Deucalion and Pyrrha wept and decided to go ahead and consult Themis on what to do.  She told them to throw the bones of their mother behind them as they leave. Understanding "mother" to be the earth, Gaia, as Deucalion and Pyrrha walk away, they threw stones behind them-- each one thrown by Deucalion turned into man and those thrown by Pyrrha turned into women. Thus, new humans. (Ovid, Metamorphoses, 1.163-415)

  According to Apollodorus, it was Prometheus who instructed Deucalion to make a larnax for himself and Pyrrha ahead of the great flood. For nine days and nine nights, they floated from Thessaly to Mt. Parnassus. Upon arrival,  Deucalion made a sacrifice to Zeus and was granted a wish-- his wish being to create man, which they did by casting stones (again those casted by Deucalion turned into men, those by Pyrrha, turned into women).  Later, Deucalion and Pyrrha bore two sons, Hellen and Amphictyon, and a daughter, Protogenia. Those known as the Greeks were thus named after Hellen. (Apollodorus, The Library, 1.VII.1-3)

   

Liddell and Scott. An Intermediate Greek-English Lexicon. Oxford. Clarendon Press. 1889.

Philomela

 I will start this post with the copying and pasting of  Emily Kearns’ OCD entry:

[Philomela,] daughter of Pandion and sister of Procne, transformed into a bird. The earliest version of the story (Od. 19. 518–23) makes the nightingale daughter of Pandareos, who killed her own son in a fit of madness. In the more familiar version, crystallized by Sophocles (1)'s lost play Tereus, the story began when Procne's husband Tereus raped Philomela and then attempted to guarantee her silence by cutting out her tongue. Philomela depicted her story in a piece of weaving which she sent to Procne, whereupon the latter took revenge by killing Itys, her son by Tereus, and serving him up to his father. Tereus pursued the two women to punish them, but was turned into a hoopoe, while Philomela became a swallow and Procne a nightingale (or vice versa).

Bibliography

Apollod. 3. 14. 8;

Ov.Met. 6. 424–674.

Burkert, HN 179–85;

Gantz, EGM 239–41;

L. Chazalon, Métis n.s. 1 (2003), 119–48.

Let us now address the subject in greater detail.  Her first literary appearance is when Penelope is talking with the disguised Odysseus.  Penelope tells Odysseus that she spends her nights mourning,

Just as the daughter of Pandareus,

The pale nightingale, sings sweetly

In the greening of spring, perched in the leaves,

And trills out her song of lament for her son,

Her beloved Itylus, whom she killed unwittingly,

Itylus, the son of Zethus her lord--

So too my heart is torn with dismay. (Od. 19.518-23 = lines 566-72 of Lombardo’s translation, featured here)

Next we have Apollodorus’ account (taken from the Loeb, with the footnotes included):

Pandion married Zeuxippe, his mother’s sister,1 and begat two daughters, Procne and Philomela, and twin sons, Erechtheus and Butes. But war having broken out with Labdacus on a question of boundaries, he called in the help of Tereus, son of Ares, from Thrace, and having with his help brought the war to a successful close, he gave Tereus his own daughter Procne in marriage.2 Tereus had by her a son Itys, and having fallen in love with Philomela, he seduced her also saying that Procne was dead, for he concealed her in the country. Afterwards he married Philomela and bedded with her, and cut out her tongue. But by weaving characters in a robe she revealed thereby to Procne her own sorrows. And having sought out her sister, Procne killed her son Itys, boiled him, served him up for supper to the unwitting Tereus, and fled with her sister in haste. When Tereus was aware of what had happened, he snatched up an axe and pursued them. And being overtaken at Daulia in Phocis, they prayed the gods to be turned into birds, and Procne became a nightingale, and Philomela a swallow. And Tereus also was changed into a bird and became a hoopoe. (3.14.8)

1. This tradition of marriage with a maternal aunt is remarkable. I do not remember to have met with another instance of such a marriage in Greek legend.

2. [This note is too lengthy for the main body of the blog. I will post it as a reply. It offers a more detailed bibliography on the Philomela myth, but it cuts off abruptly.]

Finally, I summarize the narrative which Ovid gives us. It is probably the one with which we are most familiar. I have used A.D. Melville's translation to create the summary.

6.412-37. Tereus relieves the Athenians from a barbarian onslaught and Pandion gives his daughter Procne to him in marriage as thanks. Juno, Hymen, and the Graces do not respect the marriage. Their son Itys is born. 438-70. Procne asks Tereus to escort her sister, Philomela, to Thrace. Tereus agrees. At first sight, Tereus is seized by a savage desire for Philomela and is willing to commit any crime to satisfy his lust. 471-500. Tereus fantasizes about Philomela. Pandion lets Philomela go, but begs Tereus to protect her. 501-32 Tereus takes Philomela to Thrace via ship. Once there, he hides her in cabin in the woods and rapes her. 533-66. Philomela scolds Tereus. Angry, Tereus cuts out Philomela's tongue. He returns to Procne and tells her that Philomela is dead. 567-96. Locked in that cabin, Philomela weaves the story of her rape into a garment and has the garment sent to Procne. Procne understands the story and prepares for vengeance. 597-629. Dressed as a bacchant, Procne rescues her sister. Philomela is ashamed (thinks Procne will be mad at her). Procne hushes her up and plots revenge. She sees Itys and knows what to do, but is softened by his embrace. 630-59. Procne and Philomela kill Itys. They cook him and serve him to Tereus. Tereus asks where his son is. Philomela enters and throws Itys' head to Tereus. 660-74. Disgusted, Tereus chases Procne and Philomela. They change into birds (Ovid or Melville do not specify the species) and Tereus turns into a hoopoe.

Apollodorus. The Library, Volume II: Book 3.10-end. Epitome. Translated by James G. Frazer. Loeb Classical Library 122. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 1921.

Kearns, Emily. "Philomela." In The Oxford Classical Dictionary. : Oxford University Press, 2012. https://www-oxfordreference-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-5001.

Phaethon, and his sisters

Phaethon, the son of Helios

(Greek verb phaethô: “Shining,” or “Radiant”)

Virgil once again draws inspiration from Greek myth and language in Eclogues 6! However, some liberties were taken. Our myth in question is that of Phaethon, the son of Helios.

The line reads:

tum Phaethontiades musco circumdat amaro
corticis, atque solo proceras erigit alnos. (62-63)

Which translates to:

“Then he encloses Phaethon's sisters in the moss of bitter bark, and he alone raises the tall alders.”
...more or less.

So, let’s talk about it. There are two things that strike me right away. First, why did Virgil mention his sisters and not Phaethon himself? Second, why would he want to sing about the sisters in mourning? I hope to find the answers soon.


Well, I’ll start with the myth of Phaethon. Phaethon is the son of the Oceanid nymph, Clymene, and Helios, who brings the dawn with his sun-chariot (there is also some talk of him being Apollo’s son instead, but I’ll stick with Helios here). Basically, after a little bit of peer pressure, Phaethon asked his mother if his father was really a god. Clymene tried to reassure him, but told Phaethon to ask Helios himself if he still did not believe it. He does confront Helios, and lo’, he is his son! But we cannot end there, as Phaethon needs to prove himself, and asks Helios if he can ride the sun-chariot. Helios reluctantly agrees, and off his son goes.(1)


Now, here comes the fun part. There are a couple of different versions as to what caused the end of Phaethon. It is either he simply lost control of the chariot or he flew too close to the constellation Scorpio, and the scorpion scares the horses.

(Side note to Scorpio! Scorpio was created and sent after Orion for being too boastful - Orion said he would kill every animal, and Artemis said, “nah, have a scorpion.”)(2)


Phaethon’s mistake made him bring the sun close to the earth, setting himself and the earth on fire (climate change, anyone?). Zeus saw this, and struck the chariot with a thunderbolt, causing Phaethon to fall off the chariot and into the River Eridanos. His tomb was placed at the river.


Now, who were his sisters? The Heliades were seven nymph daughters of the sun-god Helios. They came to Phaethon’s grave, where they wept and grieved so much, they were transformed into white poplar trees and their tears became golden amber. The meaning of the white poplar trees, or populus alba, is peaceful afterlife and memory of the dead.(3) However, here, Virgil mentions his sisters mourning and becoming the tall alder trees. These are from the birch family, not like the populus which are from the willow family. Maybe he does this to stay with the theme of birch and beech trees?

Gallus in Ecl. 6

The “Gallus” referred to in Eclogue 6 seems to be Gaius Cornelius Gallus. He is politically famous for being the first prefect of the province of Egypt, a position he held in 30 BCE as an equestrian. He is even more famous for supposedly committing suicide soon afterwards, perhaps 27 or 26 BCE. He had apparently taken the glorification of his military victories in Egypt too far for Augustus’ liking. The obliterated inscription of a particular obelisk now set up in front of St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome is often cited as evidence for this hypothesis. Our major sources for the life of Gallus come from Suetonius (through his Life of Augustus), Cassius Dio, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Jerome (through his Chronicle).

Gallus’ connection to the literary circle of Rome seems prominent. Of course, Vergil mentions him in Eclogue 6, and he will mention him again in Eclogue 10, perhaps partially out of a sense of gratitude for the mercy shown in not having his family property confiscated—an operation which Gallus may have supervised. Parthenius also dedicates the Erotika Pathemata to Gallus. Gallus’ specific contributions to Latin literature may have been translating Euphorion’s work (transmitted through Parthenius) into Latin and introducing the elegiac trope of the male lover dominated by his mistress. At least, Ovid (in his Tristia) regards him as an important ancestral figure in the line of Latin elegists. Quintilian also notes that Gallus’ poetry was “harder” than Propertius’ and Tibullus’. Inconveniently, we have only fragments of Gallus’ poetry, though just enough to see evidence for Gallus’ influence on Propertius.

(I draw my information from https://www-oxfordreference-com.gate.lib.buffalo.edu/view/10.1093/acref/9780199545568.001.0001/acref-9780199545568-e-1848?rskey=FoAUkQ&result=5 and https://livingpoets.dur.ac.uk/w/Gallus:_A_Guide_to_Selected_Sources)

Silenus

Silenus was a rustic god of winemaking and drunkenness. He is the foster-father of Dionysus. Depicted as a snub-nosed, hairy, old man with the ears and tail of a donkey. I’ve compiled a few sections from various classics encyclopedias which are particularly interesting because of the subject of Eclogue 6 (where Silenus is caught by the shepherds and he sings about various myths).

“Analogous to this contrast [the role of satyrs in public life when people dressed as satyrs at festivals and the role of satyrs in mystery cults] is the ambiguity of the satyrs as grotesque hedonists and yet the immortal companions of a god, cruder than men and yet somehow wiser, combining mischief with wisdom, lewdness with skill in music, animality with divinity. In satyric drama they are the first to sample the creation of culture out of nature in the invention of wine, of the lyre, of the pipe, and so on. Silenus is the educator of Dionysus. King Midas (1) extracted from a silen, whom he had trapped in his garden, the wisdom that for men it is best never to have been born, second best to die as soon as possible (Herodotus 8. 138; Aristotle fr. 44). And Virgil's shepherds extract from Silenus a song of great beauty and wisdom (Eclogues 6). This ambiguity is exploited in Alcibiades' famous comparison of Socrates to the musical satyr Marsyas (Plato Symposium 215).”

From: “satyrs and silens” The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3 rev. ed.) Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth Publisher: Oxford University Press Print Publication Date: 2005 Print ISBN-13: 9780198606413 Published online: 2005 Current Online Version: 2005 eISBN: 9780199567386

“Eclogue 6 remains obscure to us because we know little of its literary background in the Greek and Hellenistic poetic tradition. It opens with Virgil, in the character of Tityrus, about to sing of kings and battles when Apollo tweaks his ear and tells him that sheep should be fat but poems slim. The poem does not have much to do with pastoral and bears little resemblance to Theocritus. It consists of a song sung by Silenus in which he recounts the creation of the world in the style of Lucretius as a prelude to some allusively narrated myths. The narrative is interrupted by a description of Virgil's friend and fellow-poet Gallus accepting his vocation as a poet, in language reminiscent of Callimachus in the Aitia.”

From: “Eclogues” from The Oxford Companion to Classical Literature (3 ed.) Edited by M. C. Howatson Publisher: Oxford University Press Print Publication Date: 2011 Print ISBN-13: 9780199548545 Published online: 2011 Current Online Version: 2011 eISBN: 9780191739422

“Caught by Midas for his wisdom, the silen only reluctantly – probably following the model of Menelaus's questioning of Proteus (Hom. Od. 4,384-570) - speaks: "The best thing for humans is not to be born at all and if born, to die as soon as possible" (Aristot. fr. 65 Gigon = 44 Rose ; Theop. FGrH 115 F 75b; Cic. Tusc. 1,114 f.; Ov. Met. 11,85-145). This story is probably based on a tradition of a wise silen, as is implied in the rebuke of his student Olympus [14].

From: Heinze, Theodor. “Silen(s)”, in: Brill’s New Pauly. Antiquity volumes edited by: Hubert Cancik and , Helmuth Schneider, English Edition by: Christine F. Salazar. Classical Tradition volumes edited by: Manfred Landfester, English Edition by: Francis G. Gentry. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e1112800 First published online: 2006. First print edition: 9789004122598, 20110510

“[Midas] legendary king of Phrygia, a comical figure famous in Greek tradition for his interview with Silenus (see ‘Satyrs and Silens’), his golden touch, and his ass's ears (best single source: Ovid, Metamorphoses 11. 90–193). Eager to learn the secret of life, the universe, and everything, he captured the wild nature-spirit Silenus by spiking the pool at which he drank—on the borders of Macedonia, according to Herodotus 8. 138—with wine; the daimon was brought before him bound (a scene attested in Greek art from c.560 BC …) and revealed either (Theopompus, Fragmente der griechischen Historiker 115 F 75, in Aelianus Varia Historia 3. 18) the existence of a world beyond our own divided between the two races of the Blest and the Warriors, or (Aristotle fr. 65 Gigon, in Ps.-Plutarch Consolatio ad Apollonium 27) the melancholy insight, which became proverbial, that the best thing for mankind was never to be born, otherwise to leave this world as soon as possible. Virgil Eclogues 6 is a variant on this theme.

“Dionysus, grateful for Silenus' safe return to the wild, offered to grant the king any wish; Midas asked that everything he touched should turn to gold, but regretted his request when it became apparent that this made it impossible for him to eat or drink. The unwanted gift was washed off into the source of the Lydian river Pactolus, which thereafter carried gold dust down in its streams. A second divine encounter confirmed Midas' lack of judgement: invited to judge a musical contest between Apollo and Pan (or, according to Hyginus (3), Marsyas), he preferred Panegyricus, and was rewarded by the god with the ironical gift of donkey's ears. A turban hid his shame from all except his barber who, unable to contain the secret, told it to a hole in the ground; but reeds grew over the spot, and their wind-blown whispering propagates the unhappy truth for all time: ‘Midas has ass's ears.’”

From: “Midas” in The Oxford Classical Dictionary (3 rev. ed.) Edited by Simon Hornblower and Antony Spawforth. Oxford University Press, Print Publication Date: 2005 Print ISBN-13: 9780198606413. Published online: 2005. Current Online Version: 2005 eISBN: 9780199567386

For anyone interested, I’ve also included a list from Theoi.com of literary sources referring to Silenus below. Theoi also provides a collection of quotations from the sources at the following link: https://www.theoi.com/Georgikos/Seilenos.html )

GREEK

• Pindar, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th B.C.
• Greek Lyric II Anacreontea, Fragments - Greek Lyric C5th - 4th B.C.
• Aeschylus, Fragments - Greek Tragedy C5th B.C.
• Herodotus, Histories - Greek History C5th B.C.
• Apollodorus, The Library - Greek Mythography C2nd A.D.
• Callimachus, Fragments - Greek Poetry C3rd B.C.
• Diodorus Siculus, The Library of History - Greek History C1st B.C.
• Strabo, Geography - Greek Geography C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
• Pausanias, Description of Greece - Greek Travelogue C2nd A.D.
• The Orphic Hymns - Greek Hymns C3rd B.C. - C2nd A.D.
• Aelian, Historical Miscellany - Greek Rhetoric C2nd - 3rd A.D.
• Athenaeus, Deipnosophistae - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.
• Philostratus the Elder, Imagines - Greek Rhetoric C3rd A.D.
• Philostratus, Life of Apollonius of Tyana - Greek Biography C2nd A.D.
• Nonnus, Dionysiaca - Greek Epic C5th A.D.

ROMAN

• Hyginus, Fabulae - Latin Mythography C2nd A.D.
• Ovid, Metamorphoses - Latin Epic C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
• Ovid, Fasti - Latin Poetry C1st B.C. - C1st A.D.
• Propertius, Elegies - Latin Elegy C1st B.C.
• Pliny the Elder, Natural History - Latin Encyclopedia C1st A.D.
• Seneca, Oedipus - Latin Tragedy C1st A.D.

 

All About Pollio

     Gaius Asinius Pollio (76/75 BCE- 4 CE) was a politician, orator, poet, historian etc. etc. As part of the pleb gens Asinia, his (potential) grandfather was once leader of the Italic Marrucini peoples--leading them against Rome in the Social War.  In regards to overall "vibe", according to Catullus, Pollio was "stuffed with charm and wit" (Catullus 12.8-9)... while his brother, Marrucinus Asinius, was out there stealing fancy table napkins.  A poet himself, early in his life he mingled with Catullus and Calvus and would later be friends to both Horace and Virgil. His lost work, a historiography, highlighted by Horace in his Odes (Book 2.1) is thought to cover the period from 60 BCE to the Battle of Phillipi in 42 CE (or to the Battle of Actium in 31 BCE). His Historiae was used by both Plutarch and Appian. Pollio himself was a prominent figure, mentioned by Tacitus and Suetonius, among many others, and a respected (depending on who you're talking to) patron of the arts.
    Pollio entered his political career by supporting Publius Cornelius Lentulus Spinther, a follower of Pompey, and backing the unsuccessful impeachment of Marcus Porcius Cato.  Despite his affliations with Pompey, Pollio pursued his military career under Caesar in Italy, Sicily, Africa and Spain, becoming praetor in 45 BCE and governor of Hispania Citerior in 44.  After Caesar's assassination, he managed to align himself with Antony. This may be due in part to his friendship with Antony as well as his friendship with Cicero.  From 43 to the beginning of his consulship, he was loyal to Antony serving as a delegate in Cisapline Gaul-- where he prevented the confiscation of Virgil's property, which may have tightened their bond.  
    When his consulship began in 40 BCE,  he took part in mediations that led to Treaty of Brundisium. Antony was thus betrothed to Octavian's widowed sister. delaying the imminent civil war.  In 39,  he successfully led a campaign against the Parthini, and for his efforts he received a triumph-- with the spoils, he set up a public library and art gallery in Rome. When tensions between Antony and Octavian ensued, Pollio, refusing to pick a side, stepped down from public life in 38 BCE. Pollio devoted the rest of his life to the arts-- literature, oration, poetry and of course, historiography
    The timeline and happenings from 40-38 BCE vary between scholars.I believe this is one of many reasons why certain dates of Virgil's Eclogues are contested.  As Professor Malamud mentioned, there may have been a canon of Eclogues where Pollio was centerstage, however, after his retreat from public life in 38 and Octavian's victory at Actium in 31, a new canon was produced lessening the prominence of Pollio. 

Honestly, after researching this, it is truly, truly remarkable that Pollio managed to stay alive. Kudos.

Bennett, H. (1930). Vergil and Pollio. The American Journal of Philology, 51(4), 325-342. 

Berkowitz, L. (1972). Pollio and the Date of the Fourth "Eclogue". California Studies in Classical Antiquity, 5, 21-38. 

Cairns, F. (2008). C. Asinius Pollio and the "Eclogues". The Cambridge Classical Journal, 54, 49-79. Retrieved September 22, 2020.

Morgan, L. (2000). The Autopsy of C. Asinius Pollio. The Journal of Roman Studies, 90, 51-69.