For an introduction to Ovid and the work as a whole, the reader is invited to look at the translation of "Metamorphoses" Book I, published on this blog on 1st February 2018.
Book V, translated below, focuses in particular on the song of the Muses which describes the rape of Proserpina, and contains the following contents: i) Perseus' fight in the place of Cepheus; ii) Minerva meets the Muses on Mount Helicon, iii) the singing contest between the Muses and the Pierides; iv) Calliope sings of the rape of Proserpina; v) Ceres searches for her daughter; vi) the transformation of Arethusa; vii) Triptolemus; viii) the fate of the Pierides.
Ll. 1-29. Phineus seeks revenge for the loss of his bride.
While that demi-god, the son of Danaë (i.e. Perseus), is recalling these (events) in the midst of the company of the Cephenes (i.e. Ethiopian chieftains), the royal halls are filled by an unruly crowd: nor is it the noise of the wedding feast that rings out, but (that) which announces (the use of) savage arms. You could liken the festivities being turned to sudden confusion to a sea, the calmness of which the fierce raging of the winds makes rough with rising waves.
Phineus (i.e. the brother of Cepheus), a rash agent of strife, (is) foremost in (all) this, shaking his spear with its bronze tip. "See," he says, "see, I am here, to avenge my wife being carried off, (and) your wings will not rescue you from me, nor (will) Jupiter, (even if he is) changed into (a shower of) false gold." (To him) as he prepared to hurl (his spear), Cepheus cries out, "What are you doing? What feeling drives you, brother, in your madness to (perform) this crime? Are these the thanks being returned (by you) for such greatly merited (services)? Do you repay the life of a rescued (woman) with a dowry such as this? If you want to know the truth, (it was) not Perseus (who) took her from you, but the stern god of the Nereids (i.e. Neptune), and horned Ammon (i.e. an Egyptian and Libyan deity worshipped in the form of a ram's head, and identified with Jupiter/ Zeus), and that monster that came from the deep to glut itself on my flesh and blood. (It was) at that moment, when she was about to die, that she was taken from you: but, perhaps, in your cruelty, you want that very (thing), that she should die, and you will take comfort from my grief. Of course, it is not enough that she was fettered (there) with you watching, and that you brought her no help, (you), her uncle and her betrothed: furthermore, will you grieve that she was rescued by someone (else), and would you take away his reward? If it seemed so great (a prize) to you, you should have sought (her) among those rocks, where she had been fastened. Now, let (the man) who did seek (her), and on whose account this old age of mine (will) not (be) destitute, take what has been agreed through his merits and my word, and may you understand that (it is) not him, but (the prospect) of certain death (that has) displaced you!"
Ll. 30-73. The fight: the death of Athis.
He (i.e. Phineus) (says) nothing in reply: but, glancing at him and Perseus with alternate looks, he does not know (whether) to aim at one or the other, and, (after) hesitating briefly, he hurled his spear with such force as rage inspired, but threw (it) at Perseus without success. When it stuck fast in his couch, then at last did Perseus leap up from his seat; returning the weapon fiercely, he would have pierced his enemy's chest, if Phineus had not dodged behind the altar: and - (O) the shame of it! - the altar was of service to that scoundrel. Still, the javelin (was) not without effect, and stuck in Rhoetus' forehead. He fell, and, when the weapon had been pulled out of the bone, he kicks out and sprays the tables (which had been) placed (there) with his blood. Then, indeed, the rabble is on fire with ungovernable rage, and they fling their spears together, and there are (some) who say that Cepheus and his son-in-law ought to die. But Cepheus had (already) crossed over the threshold of his palace, calling upon justice, and faith and the gods of hospitality to witness that these (things) were being done when he had forbidden (them).
Warlike Pallas (i.e. Minerva) is there, and protects her brother (i.e. Perseus) with her aegis, and gives (him) courage. (Also there) was Athis, an Indian (youth), to whom, it is believed, Limnaee, a daughter of the river Ganges, had given birth under its glassy waters; (he was) outstanding in his beauty, which he enhanced by his rich costume, (he was) still unimpaired by his sixteen years, and (he was) clad in a Tyrian (i.e. purple-coloured) cloak, which a golden fringe enveloped; a gold necklace adorned his neck, and a curved hair-pin his myrrh-drenched locks. Now, he was skilled at piercing (things), even at a distance, with a javelin (which he had) launched, but he was (even) more skilled at bending bows. So then, while he was bending the pliant bow-tips in his hand, Perseus knocked (him) down with a log, which was smouldering (while) being placed in the middle of the altar, and shattered his face into splintered bones.
When the Assyrian Lycabas, most (closely) attached to him (as) a companion, and not concealing the truth of his love (for him), saw him, shaking his (much) praised features in blood, (and) when he had wept bitterly for Athis, as he was breathing out his life under that harsh wound, he caught up the bow which he had strung, and said: "Let there be a contest between you and me. You will not rejoice for long over the fate of that boy, (something) for which you win more ill-will than praise." He had not yet finished saying all these (things), (when) a sharp arrow shot out from the bow-string, but he avoided (it), and it was left hanging from his sinuous clothing. Acrisius' grandson (i.e. Perseus) turns against him that scimitar (which had been) tested in the killing of Medusa, and drives (it) into his chest: but he, now dying, with his eyes swimming in that dark night, looked round for Athis, and fell next to him, and took to the shades the solace of being joined (with him) in death.
Ll. 74-106. The fight: the death of Idas, Chromis and others.
When the Assyrian Lycabas, most (closely) attached to him (as) a companion, and not concealing the truth of his love (for him), saw him, shaking his (much) praised features in blood, (and) when he had wept bitterly for Athis, as he was breathing out his life under that harsh wound, he caught up the bow which he had strung, and said: "Let there be a contest between you and me. You will not rejoice for long over the fate of that boy, (something) for which you win more ill-will than praise." He had not yet finished saying all these (things), (when) a sharp arrow shot out from the bow-string, but he avoided (it), and it was left hanging from his sinuous clothing. Acrisius' grandson (i.e. Perseus) turns against him that scimitar (which had been) tested in the killing of Medusa, and drives (it) into his chest: but he, now dying, with his eyes swimming in that dark night, looked round for Athis, and fell next to him, and took to the shades the solace of being joined (with him) in death.
Ll. 74-106. The fight: the death of Idas, Chromis and others.
Behold, Phorbas of Syene, the son of Metion, and Libyan Amphimedon, eager to engage in the fight, had fallen, having slipped in the blood, by which the drenched earth was warm in all directions: the sword stopped (them), as they arose, and was driven through Phorbas' throat and the other's (i.e. Amphimedon's) ribs. But Perseus did not go for Eurytus, the son of Actor, with his hooked sword, as his weapon was a broad battle-axe, but he lifts in the air with both of his hands a huge mixing-bowl, embossed with decorations and very heavy in weight, and dashes (it) down on to the man; he spews red blood, and, lying on his back, he beats the ground with his dying head. Then he (i.e. Perseus) overthrows Polydegmon, born of the blood of Semiramis (i.e. a queen of Babylon), Caucasian Abaris, Lycetus from the (region of the) Spercheos (i.e. a river in Thessaly), Helices with his unshorn hair, Phlegyas and Clytus, and he tramples on a mounting heap of dying (men).
Phineus, not daring to confront his enemy hand-to-hand, throws his javelin, which brought down Idas by mistake, (a man) who, unavailingly, had no part in the battle, and (had) followed the arms of neither (side). He, looking at the harsh Phineus with wild eyes, says, "Seeing that I am forced to (take) sides, accept, Phineus, the enemy whom you have made, and for this wound receive a wound in recompense!" And, then, (as he was) about to hurl back the dart (which he had) drawn from his body, he collapsed on to his knees, and, drained of blood, he died.
Then, too, Hodites, after the king the foremost of the Cephenes, falls by the sword of Clymenus; Hypseus kills Prothoënor, the descendant of Lynceus (i.e. Perseus) (kills) Hypseus. There was also among them a very old man (called) Emathion, an upholder of justice and a god-fearing (man); since his age prevents (him) from fighting in the battle, he fights with words, and he intervenes and curses their impious weapons. As he clings to the altar with trembling hands, Chromis cuts off his head with a sword; it falls straight on to the altar, and there the half-living tongue uttered words of imprecation and gave up its life in the midst of the flames.
Ll. 107-148. The fight: Lampetides, Dorylas and others.
Then, two brothers fell by the hand of Phineus, Broteas and Ammon, invincible in their boxing-gloves, if (only) the sword could be vanquished by boxing-gloves, and (so did) Ampycus, priest of Ceres, his temples wreathed with a white fillet. You, too, Lampetides (were cut down), (you who had) not been summoned for this purpose (i.e. to fight) but to accompany the lute with your voice, the work of peace, (and) you had been ordered to celebrate the bridal feast and festival by your singing. Pedasus mockingly said to him, as he stood aside holding his unwarlike plectrum, "(Go and) sing the rest (of your ditties) to the Stygian shades!" and (then) he drove the point of his sword into his left temple. And, (as) he falls, he tries (to pluck) again the strings of his lyre with his dying fingers, and in his fall a mournful note was (heard).
The spirited Lycormas does not let him (i.e. Lampetides) die with impunity, but, grasping some hard bolts from the right(-hand) door-post, he dashed (these) into the middle of his neck bones: and he (i.e. Pedasus) fell to the ground like a slaughtered bullock. Pelates, from the banks of the Cinyps (i.e. an African river) also tried to remove the oak from the left(-hand) door-post: while he was attempting (to do this), his right (hand) was transfixed by the spear of Corythus of Marmorica (i.e. a place in Africa), and he sticks fast to the wood. As he is fixed (there), Abas pierced (him in) the side: he does not sink (to the floor), but hung (there) from the door-post which kept a firm grip of his hand as he was dying. Then, Melaneus, a follower of Perseus' camp, is struck down, as is Dorylas, most wealthy in Nasamonian land (i.e. Libyan territory, south-west of Cyrenaïca), that Dorylas, than whom no one possessed more (land) or could raise up as many heaps of spice. A missile, hurled at his side, stuck in his groin: this (was) a fatal spot. When the perpetrator of the wound, the Bactrian Halcyoneus, saw him gasping out his life and rolling his eyes, he says, "Of all your fields of earth, you shall keep (only) this, (the piece) upon which you lie," and he left the lifeless body.
The spirited Lycormas does not let him (i.e. Lampetides) die with impunity, but, grasping some hard bolts from the right(-hand) door-post, he dashed (these) into the middle of his neck bones: and he (i.e. Pedasus) fell to the ground like a slaughtered bullock. Pelates, from the banks of the Cinyps (i.e. an African river) also tried to remove the oak from the left(-hand) door-post: while he was attempting (to do this), his right (hand) was transfixed by the spear of Corythus of Marmorica (i.e. a place in Africa), and he sticks fast to the wood. As he is fixed (there), Abas pierced (him in) the side: he does not sink (to the floor), but hung (there) from the door-post which kept a firm grip of his hand as he was dying. Then, Melaneus, a follower of Perseus' camp, is struck down, as is Dorylas, most wealthy in Nasamonian land (i.e. Libyan territory, south-west of Cyrenaïca), that Dorylas, than whom no one possessed more (land) or could raise up as many heaps of spice. A missile, hurled at his side, stuck in his groin: this (was) a fatal spot. When the perpetrator of the wound, the Bactrian Halcyoneus, saw him gasping out his life and rolling his eyes, he says, "Of all your fields of earth, you shall keep (only) this, (the piece) upon which you lie," and he left the lifeless body.
(But) in revenge the descendant of Abas (i.e. Perseus) turns his spear against him (i.e. Halcyoneus) and ripped (it) from the warm wound; catching his nose, it passed through the middle of his neck, and sticks out in both directions. While Fortune helped his hand, he slew both Clytius and Clanis, born of one mother, by different wounds: for a heavy ashen spear, levelled by his arm, went through both Clytius' thighs, (while) Clanis bit a javelin with his mouth. Now dies Celadon of Mendes (i.e. a city in Egypt), now dies Astreus, born of a Palestinian (i.e. Syrian) mother and an unknown father, and Aethion, once quick to see the future - now deceived by a false omen - , and Thoactes, the king's armour-bearer, and Agyrtes, renowned for killing his father.
Ll. 149-199. Perseus uses the Gorgon's head.
Yet, although (the man) is exhausted, more remains (to be done): for it is indeed the intention of all (of them) to overwhelm this one (man), and a band of conspirators confronts him on every side in a cause opposed to justice and good faith: his father-in-law (i.e. Cepheus), devoted (to him) in vain, and his new wife (i.e. Andromeda) and her mother (i.e. Cassiope) support (him) to the best of their ability, and fill the hall with their cries. But the clash of weapons and the groans of those who have fallen drown (them) out, and, at the same time, Bellona (i.e. the Goddess of War) pollutes and drenches the Penates (i.e. the Household Gods) in much blood, and embroils (them all) in renewed conflict. Phineus, and a thousand followers of Phineus, surround this one (man): spears, thicker than winter hail, fly past (him) on both sides, and past both his eyes and his ears. He places his shoulders close to the rock of a great pillar, thus making his back safe, and, turning towards the opposing crowd (of men), he withstands (those who are) threatening (him). On his left, the Chaonian (i.e. Chaonia is a region of Epirus) Molpeus pressed (him), (and,) on his right, the Nabatean (i.e. Arabian) Echemon. Like a tiger, goaded on by hunger, who hearing the lowing of two herds (of cattle) in separate valleys, does not know which which one it would rather rush at, and burns to rush at each of them, so Perseus, uncertain (whether) to strike on his right or his left, drives off Molpeus, piercing (him) with a wound to his leg, and is satisfied with his flight: but Echemon gives (him) no time, but rages, and, eager to give (him) a wound in the top of his neck, and thrusting his sword around with no carefully considered force, he shattered (it), and the blade, having struck the extreme edge of the pillar, broke off, and became fixed in its owner's throat. However, the wound it gave (him) is not serious enough to (be) the cause of his death: as he anxiously stretches forth his defenceless arms, Perseus stabs (him) with the Cyllenian's (i.e. belonging to Mercury, who was born on Mount Cyllene in Arcadia) scimitar.
When Perseus saw that his valour would succumb to the multitude, he said, "Since you, yourselves, are planning (it) thus, I shall seek help from the enemy. If any friend is here, turn your face away!" Then he held out the Gorgon's face. "Try to find someone else, whom your miracles might impress," said Thescelus; but as he was preparing to hurl the deadly javelin with his hand, he is stuck in this posture (like) a statue of marble. Next to him, Ampyx thrusts with his sword at the breast of the descendant of Lynceus (i.e. Perseus) so very full, (as it is,) of his mighty spirit; and, in thrusting, his right(-hand) stiffened, nor could it move one way or the other. But Nileus, who had pretended that he was born of the Nile with its seven mouths, (and) had also engraved the seven streams on his shield, part in silver and part in gold, cries "See Perseus, the origins of my people: (it will be) a great consolation (to you) in your death that you will take (with you) to the silent shades (the knowledge) that you have been killed by so noble a man": the final part of his speech was cut off in mid-sentence, and you might believe that his wide-open mouth (still) wished to speak, but it was no longer accessible to words.
Eryx rebukes them, and he says, "You are stiffened by a lack of courage, not by the power of the Gorgon: charge in with me, and knock this young man to the ground, as he moves his magic weapons!" He was about to charge in: (but) the earth restrained his footsteps, and (there) he stayed, immovable stone and an armed statue.
Ll. 200-249. Phineus is turned to stone.
When Perseus saw that his valour would succumb to the multitude, he said, "Since you, yourselves, are planning (it) thus, I shall seek help from the enemy. If any friend is here, turn your face away!" Then he held out the Gorgon's face. "Try to find someone else, whom your miracles might impress," said Thescelus; but as he was preparing to hurl the deadly javelin with his hand, he is stuck in this posture (like) a statue of marble. Next to him, Ampyx thrusts with his sword at the breast of the descendant of Lynceus (i.e. Perseus) so very full, (as it is,) of his mighty spirit; and, in thrusting, his right(-hand) stiffened, nor could it move one way or the other. But Nileus, who had pretended that he was born of the Nile with its seven mouths, (and) had also engraved the seven streams on his shield, part in silver and part in gold, cries "See Perseus, the origins of my people: (it will be) a great consolation (to you) in your death that you will take (with you) to the silent shades (the knowledge) that you have been killed by so noble a man": the final part of his speech was cut off in mid-sentence, and you might believe that his wide-open mouth (still) wished to speak, but it was no longer accessible to words.
Eryx rebukes them, and he says, "You are stiffened by a lack of courage, not by the power of the Gorgon: charge in with me, and knock this young man to the ground, as he moves his magic weapons!" He was about to charge in: (but) the earth restrained his footsteps, and (there) he stayed, immovable stone and an armed statue.
Ll. 200-249. Phineus is turned to stone.
Still, they (all) suffered their punishment deservedly; but there was one of Perseus' soldiers, Aconteus (by name), (who) while he was fighting on his behalf, saw the Gorgon's (head), and took the shape of an upright stone. Thinking he was still alive, Astyages strikes him with a long sword: the blade gave a high-pitched ringing sound. While Astyages stood (there) stupefied, he acquired the same nature (i.e. he turned to stone), and a look of wonder remains on his marble face.
It would take a long time to tell the names of the warriors (coming) from the midst of the people: two hundred persons survived the fight; two hundred persons hardened (into stone) at the sight of the Gorgon's (head).
Now, at last, Phineus regrets the unjust fighting. But what can he do (about it)? He sees the different statues of the figures, and recognises his own (men), and, calling each one by name, he asks for his help, and, scarcely believing, he touches the bodies (which are) nearest to him: they were marble. He looks away, and so, stretching out his arms from his sides in supplication, and his hands in acknowledgement, he says, "Perseus, you have won. Remove that monstrous (thing) of yours, and your face, which turns (men) to stone, and take away that (face) of Medusa, whoever she (is), take (it) away, I beg (you). (It was) not hate or the desire for a kingdom that drove me to war: I took up arms to (win) a bride. Your claim was better by merit, mine by precedence. I don't regret ending (it). (O) bravest of men, concede nothing to me, except my life: let everything else be yours."
As he was saying these (things), (while) not daring to look back at him, to whom he was addressing his words, he (i.e. Perseus) says (to him), "(O) most cowardly Phineus, - set aside your fear - , I shall grant both what I can grant, and (what) is a great gift to the fearful, that you will not be violated by the sword. Rather, I shall even grant that (you become) an enduring monument throughout the ages, and that you will always be seen in my father-in-law's palace, so that my wife may console herself with the statue of her betrothed.
He spoke, and conveyed (the head of) Phorcys' daughter (i.e. Medusa) to that place, towards which Phineus had directed his trembling face. Then, as he still tried to avert his gaze, his neck became stiff and the tears in his eyes hardened into stone. But now his frightened face, and the look of a suppliant, and his submissive hands, and his guilty appearance remained.
The victorious descendant of Abas (i.e. Perseus) enters the walls of his ancestral (city) (i.e. Argos) with his bride (i.e. Andromeda), and, (as) the champion and avenger of his undeserving grandfather (i.e. Acrisius), he attacks Proetus: for Proetus had occupied Acrisius' stronghold by (force of) arms, his brother having been put to flight. But neither by force of arms, nor through the stronghold which he had (so) wickedly taken, could he overcome the fierce gaze of the snake-infested monster (i.e. Medusa).
Yet, neither the young man's virtue, visible in so many of his labours, nor his sufferings, had softened you, O Polydectes, king of tiny Seriphos, but, in your harshness, you nurse an unrelenting hatred (of him), and there is no limit to your anger (N.B. Polydectes hated Perseus, because he had stopped him marrying his mother Danaë). You even disparage his reputation, and you claim that his killing of Medusa is a lie. "I shall give you evidence of its truth!" (So) speaks Perseus, and with the face of Medusa he turned the face of the king into bloodless stone.
Ll. 250-293. Minerva on Mount Helicon.
Thus far, Tritonia (i.e. Minerva) has given herself (as) a companion to this brother of hers who had been conceived in a shower of gold (i.e. Perseus): but now, enclosed in a hollow cloud, she abandons Seriphos, and, leaving Cythnus and Gyarus behind on her right, she heads for Thebes and (Mount) Helicon, (the home) of the virgins (i.e. the nine Muses), crossing the sea by the shortest route. Having reached this mountain, she alighted (there) and addressed her learned sisters thus: "Talk of a new fountain has come to my ears, (one) which the hard hooves of that winged (offspring) of Medusa (i.e. Pegasus, the flying horse) has opened up (i.e. the fountain of Hippocrene). That (is) the reason for my journey. I wanted to see this wonderful creation: I saw this very (creature) being born from his mother's blood."
Urania (i.e. the Muse of Astronomy) speaks next: "Whatever is your reason (for coming) to see this dwelling of ours, goddess, you are most dear to our hearts. Still, the story is a true (one), and Pegasus is the source of this fountain of ours," and she led Pallas to its sacred waters. She marvels for a long time at this stream made by the blows of the (horses) hooves, (and) looks around at the groves of ancient woodlands, and the caves, and the grass adorned with countless flowers, and she says that the daughters of Mnemosyne (i.e. the nine Muses) are equally lucky in their pursuits and their (dwelling) place; (then,) one of the sisters addressed her thus: "O Tritonia (i.e. Minerva), (you who) would have been a member of our choir, if your virtue had not taken you to greater work, you speak the truth and rightly approve our arts and our haunts, and we should have a happy lot (if) only we were safe. But - for nothing is forbidden to the wicked - all (things) frighten our virginal minds, and the ill-omened Pyreneus (i.e. a king of Thrace) is there before my eyes, and my mind has not yet totally recovered. That fierce (man) had captured Daulis and the lands of Phocis with his Thracian army, and was holding the kingdom unjustly. We were making for the shrines of (Mount) Parnassus: he saw (us) going by, and, (appearing to) venerate our divinity with a deceitful expression, he said, 'Daughters of Mnemosyne - for he knew us - , do not be in doubt! I beg (you) to avoid the lowering skies and the rain - (for) it was raining - (by sheltering) in my house: the gods have often entered humbler dwellings.' Persuaded by his words and by the weather, we gave the man our assent, and went in to the entrance hall of his palace. The rain stopped, and the south wind was overcome by north winds, and the dark clouds fled from the newly cleared sky. We had an impulse to go; (but) Pyreneus shuts up his house, and prepares for violence. We (only) escape this by taking to our wings. He, himself, stood on a lofty height, as if he would follow (us), and said, 'Whatever way is yours, the same will be mine as well,' and he foolishly throws himself from the roof of the highest tower, and falls on his head, and, the bones of his skull being shattered, he beats the ground as he dies, and stains (it) with his evil blood."
Ll. 294-331. The contest between the Pierides (i.e. the daughters of Pierus) and the Muses.
The Muse (i.e. Urania) was speaking: wings sounded in the air, and voices of greeting came from the branches. Jupiter's daughter (i.e. Minerva) looks up and asks where those sounds were coming from that (were) so like talking tongues, and she thought it was a man speaking; (but in fact) it was a bird, and up to nine magpies, (birds) that imitate everything, had settled in the branches, bemoaning their fate. While the goddess (i.e. Minerva) wondered, the other goddess (i.e. Urania) began (to speak) thus: "Having been defeated in a contest, they have recently augmented the flock of birds. Pierus of Pella, rich in fields (i.e. King of Emathia, a district of Macedonia), fathered them and Paeonian (i.e. Paeonia was an area in Northern Macedonia) Euippe was their mother. Giving birth nine times, she invoked Lucina (i.e. the Roman Goddess of Childbirth, identified with Juno) nine times. This gang of stupid sisters were puffed up with pride at their number, and comes (to us) here across so many Achaean and Harmonian (i.e. Thessalian) cities, and engages (us) in a competition with these words: 'Stop cheating the untutored masses with your false sweetness: if you have any faith (in yourselves) contend with us, (you) goddesses of Thespiae (i.e. a city near Mount Helicon, a haunt of the Muses). We cannot be outdone in either voice or art, and we are your equals in number. If defeated, you can grant (us) the fountain of Medusa's offspring (i.e. Hippocrene, that sprung up from under the hooves of Pegasus) and Hyantean (i.e. Boeotian) Aganippe (N.B. Hippocrene and Aganippe were fountains on Mount Helicon, frequented by the Muses), or, (if) we (lose), we shall grant (you) the Emathian plains as far as snowy Paeonia. Let the nymphs determine (the outcome of) the contest.'
"It was, indeed, shameful to compete (with them), but it seemed more shameful to concede. The nymphs are elected, and swear by their streams (to judge fairly), and they sat down on seats made out of natural rock. Then, without lots (being drawn), (the one) who had first declared that they should compete sings of the war with the gods, and assigns the Giants false honours and diminishes the great deeds of the mighty gods; and (of how) Typhoeus (i.e. a hundred-handed Giant, one of the sons of Earth) came forth from the depths of his abode in the earth, and created fear in (the minds of) the gods, and (how) they all turned their backs in flight, until the land of Egypt and the (River) Nile, divided (as it is) into seven mouths, received (them) in their exhaustion. She tells (how) earth-born Typhoeus came there as well, and (how) the gods concealed themselves in disguised forms; 'Jupiter,' she said, 'is made into the head of the flock (i.e. a ram); then, even now, Libyan Ammon is shaped with curving horns. The Delian (i.e. Apollo) is concealed as a crow, Semele's offspring (i.e. Bacchus) a goat, Phoebus' sister (i.e. Diana) a cat, Saturn's daughter (i.e. Juno) a snow-white cow, Venus a fish, and the Cyllenian (i.e. Mercury) a winged ibis.'
Ll. 332-384. Calliope sings: 1) Cupid makes Dis fall in love.
"Thus far had she (i.e. the daughter of Pierus) moved her noisy mouth to (the sound of) her lute. Then we, the Aonides (i.e. the Muses), are called upon. But perhaps you do not have the leisure, and you are not free to give your ears to our melodies."
"Do not worry, but relate your song to me in order," says Pallas, and she sat in the gentle shade of the grove.
The Muse (i.e. Urania) renews (her story): "We gave the full responsibility of the contest to one (person). Calliope (i.e. the Muse of Epic Poetry) arises, and, with her loose hair bound with ivy, she attunes the plaintiff chords with her fingers, and then with these sounding strings she accompanies this song:
" 'Ceres (was) the first (to) turn the soil with the hooked plough, she (was) the first (to) give to the earth its crops and its ripe nourishment, (and) she (was) the first (to) give (us) laws: all (things) are Ceres' gift. Of her I must sing. If only I could sing a song worthy of the goddess: the goddess is truly a worthy (subject) for my song.
" 'The vast island of Trinacria (i.e. Sicily) was heaped up over the giant's limbs, and with its great mass oppresses the subjected Typhoeus, (he who had) dared to aspire to an abode in the heavens. Yes, he struggles, and often strives to rise up, but his right-hand is held down by Ausonian Pelorus (i.e. a promontory on the north-east coast of Sicily), and his left(-hand) by you, Pachynus (i.e. the south-eastern promontory of Sicily), (while) Lilybaeum (i.e. a promontory on the southern coast of Sicily) presses down on his legs, (and Mount) Etna (i.e. the volcanic mountain near the east coast of Sicily) weighs down his head; underneath this, flat on his back, the savage Typhoeus spits out sand and spews flames from his mouth. He often struggles to push off the weight of the earth, and to roll away the towns and the high mountains from his body. Then, the earth trembles, and even the king of the silent (lands) (i.e. Pluto or Dis) is struck with fear, lest he be exposed and the ground is split open by wide fissures, and (lest) the daylight (that is) let in should scare the shades (of the dead).
" 'Fearing such a disaster, the tyrant had left his shadowy abode, and, drawn in his chariot by black horses, he cautiously encircled the foundations of the Sicilian land. When it had been sufficiently checked that no places were collapsing, and he had set aside his fears, the (goddess) of Eryx (i.e. Venus) sees him wandering around, as she sat on her hillside, and embracing her winged son, she said, "Cupid, my son, (you who are) my weapons, and my hands (and) my power, take up those darts by which you overcome everyone, and let fly your swiftest arrows at the heart of the god, to whom fell the last (part) of the triple kingdom. You overcome the gods and Jupiter, himself, and the subdued powers of the sea, and the very (god) himself, who governs the powers of the sea (i.e. Neptune). Why is Tartarus left out? Why do you not extend your mother's empire and your own? A third part of the world is involved. And yet in heaven I am scorned, (something) which I have to endure, and the power of Love diminishes with me. Don't you see (how) Pallas and the huntress Diana forsake me? Ceres' daughter (i.e. Proserpina) will be a virgin too, if we allow (it): for hope disposes (her to be) the same as them. But, if you have any delight in our shared realm, mate the goddess to her uncle." (So) spoke Venus. He (i.e. Cupid) unloosed his quiver, and, at his mother's bidding, selected one from a thousand arrows, but there was not any arrow (which was) sharper, or less uncertain or more attuned to the bow (than this one). Then, he bent the pliant tip against his knee, and, with his barbed arrow, he struck Dis in the heart.
Ll. 385-424. Calliope sings: 2) Dis and the rape of Proserpina.
" 'Not far from the walls of Enna (i.e. a Sicilian town), there is a pool of deep water. Caÿster (i.e. a river in Lydia, renowned for its swans) does not hear more songs than that of the swans gliding on its waves. A wood encircles the waters, surrounding (them on) every side, and, with its leaves as a veil, it dispels the shafts of Phoebus (i.e. the midday sun). The branches provide coolness, and the moist soil purple flowers: it is always spring. While Proserpina plays in this glade, and picks either violets or white lilies, and, while with a girlish enthusiasm she fills both baskets and the fold (of her gown), and strives to outdo her contemporaries in her gathering, she is seen, beloved, and carried off by Dis almost simultaneously. So swift as this is love. The frightened goddess calls upon both her mother and her companions, but more often her mother, from her sorrowful mouth; and, as she had torn her dress from its upper edge, the flowers (she had) collected fell from her loosened tunic. And so great was the innocence of her childish years that this scattering caused her maidenly grief as well. The ravisher whips up his chariot, and encourages his steeds by calling each one by name, and he shakes out the reins, (which are) dyed in a dark rusty colour, over their necks and manes, and (drives them) through deep pools, and (through) the swamps of the Palici (i.e. the sons of Jupiter and the nymph Thalia), reeking of sulphur, it is said, and (still) hot from the ruptured earth, to (the place) (i.e. Syracuse), where the Bacchiadae (i.e. the descendants of Bacchis), a clan arising from Corinth with its two seas, established their city between two unequal harbours .
" 'Midway between (the fountains of) Cyane and Pisaean (i.e. Pisa was a city in Elis) Arethusa, there is a bay, which lies enclosed by narrow arms. Here lived Cyane, the best-known amongst the Sicilian nymphs. She emerged from the surface of the pool as far as the midst of her stomach, and she recognised the goddess (i.e. Proserpina). "Go no further!" she says. You (i.e. Dis) cannot be Ceres' son in-law against her will: you ought to have asked (her), and not to have dragged (her) away. But if it is right for me to compare small (things) with great (ones), Anapis also loved me, and yet I married (him), having been persuaded (by kind words), not by fear, like this." As she spoke, she stretched out her arms on either side, and obstructed (him). The son of Saturn (i.e. Dis) could not contain his wrath any further, and, urging on his dreaded horses, he brandished his royal sceptre in his powerful arm, and plunged (it) into the bottom of the pool. (Thus) pierced, the earth made a road to Tartarus, and received the chariot headlong into the midst of the crater.
Ll. 425-486. Calliope sings: 3) Ceres searches for Proserpina.
" 'But Cyane, lamenting that the goddess has been raped and that the rights of her own fountain have been disregarded, silently bore an inconsolable pain in her heart, and she is entirely consumed with tears, and she wastes away in those waters, whose great deity she had just been. You could see her limbs becoming softened, her bones being allowed to bend, and her nails losing their hardness; first of all, all her slenderest (parts) dissolve, her azure hair, her fingers, and her legs and feet - for it is a small transition from fragile limbs to cool waters. After this, her shoulders, her back and sides, and her breasts slip away, vanishing into tenuous streams. At last, water enters her corrupted veins, and nothing which you can take hold of is left. Meanwhile, the daughter (i.e. Proserpina) is sought in vain by her anxious mother (i.e. Ceres) through all the earth and every sea. Neither the coming of Aurora (i.e. Dawn) with her dewy hair, nor Hesperus (i.e. the Evening Star), finds her resting. She kindled the fiery pines from (Mount) Etna, (and) bore (them) restlessly through the frosty darkness with both hands. When the kindly light of day had once more dimmed the stars, she continued to seek her daughter from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun.
" 'Weary (as she was), she had acquired a thirst from her labours, and no springs had moistened her mouth, when she happened to see a hut, roofed with straw, and she knocked on its humble door: and then an old woman comes forward and sees the goddess, and, when she asks for water, she gave (her something) sweet, which she had previously brewed with parched barley-meal. While she drinks (what she has been) given, a boy with a rude face stood boldly before the goddess, and taunted (her) and called (her) greedy. The goddess was offended, and besprinkled (him), as he was speaking, with the part of the barley-meal mixed with water (which she had) not yet drunk. His face absorbs spots, and what he had just borne (as) arms, he (now) bears (as) legs; a tail is added to his altered limbs; and he shrinks to a tiny shape, so that he has no great power to harm, and he is measured (as) less than a small lizard. It flees from the old woman, as full of wonder and in tears, she tries to touch the creature, and it seeks a hiding-place, and it has a name (i.e. 'stellio', newt) suited to its colour, its body starred with many coloured spots.
" 'It would take too long a time to tell through what lands and what seas the goddess (i.e. Ceres) wandered; the whole world failed (her) in her search. She returns to Sicania (i.e. Sicily); and, while she traversed all (places) in her journey, she came to Cyane too. If she had not been changed, she would have told everything: but, although she wished to tell, no mouth or tongue were available (to her), nor did she have anything by which she could speak. Still, she gave clear signs, and shows on the surface of the waters Persephone's (i.e. Proserpina's) girdle, (which was) known to her mother and (which had) fallen, by chance, into the sacred pool in that place. As soon as she recognised it, as if she had then at last realised that (her daughter had been) raped, the goddess tore her dishevelled hair, and, repeatedly, beat her breasts with her hands. She still did not know where she (i.e. Proserpina) was: yet she rebukes all lands and calls (them) thankless and unworthy of her gift of corn, (and) Trinacria (i.e. Sicily) above (all) others, in which she had discovered the traces of her loss. So, in that place, with her cruel hands, she broke the ploughs that turn the soil, and she delivered the farmers and the cattle in the fields to death alike, and ordered the the fields to fail in their trust, and caused the seed to rot. That country's fertility, well-known throughout the wide world, becomes a fiction: the crops die in their first shoots, and firstly too much sun and then too much rain attacks (them), and the climate and the winds damage (them), and greedy birds gather up the scattered seed; darnel, and thistles, and tough grass destroy the wheat harvest.
Ll. 487-532. Calliope sings: 4) Ceres asks for Jupiter's help.
" 'Then, the (nymph beloved) of Alpheus (i.e. Arethusa) raised her head out of the Elean waves and pushed back her dripping hair from her forehead to her ears, and says: "O mother of that virgin sought throughout the world, and (mother) of the crops, cease your tremendous labours, and do not let yourself get so violently angry with the faithful earth. The earth does not deserve (this) at all, and it was exposed to the rape against its will. Nor am I a suppliant on behalf of my native-land: I came here (as) a stranger; Pisa (i.e. a city in Elis near Olympia) is my country: now I, Arethusa, possess these household gods, this home: do you, O most gentle (one), preserve it for me. When you are relieved of cares and (have) a happier countenance, the right time will come for my narrative, why I am moved from my country and am conveyed to Ortygia (i.e. an island in the bay of Syracuse) across the waves of so great a sea. The fissured earth shows me a route, and, stealing my way beneath the deepest caverns, I lift up my head here and see the unfamiliar stars. So, while I glide beneath the earth through the Stygian stream, your Proserpina is seen there by my eyes. She (is) certainly sad, and her countenance still fearful, but yet (she is) a queen, and the greatest in the world of shadows, and still the powerful consort of the ruler of the Underworld."
" 'The mother (i.e. Ceres) was stunned, as if petrified at hearing these words, and for a long time was like (someone) thunderstruck. And, when her deep bewilderment is turned into deep grief, she mounts in her chariot to the heavenly realms. There, (as) she stood before Jupiter with her hair dishevelled, clouds of hatred (cover) her whole face, and she says: "Jupiter, I have come (as) a suppliant on behalf of my offspring, and on behalf of your own. If you have no favour towards the mother, let the daughter move her father, and let not your concern for her be any the less, I beg (you), because she was born through my delivery. Now look, my daughter, who has been sought for so long, has at last been found, if you call (it) finding (her), to lose (her) more surely, or if you call (it) finding (her) to know where she is. That she has been raped, I can bear, if only he would return her: for your daughter does not deserve (to have) a robber for a husband, (even) if she is no longer my daughter."
" 'Jupiter spoke next: " Our daughter is a shared pledge and charge between me and you. But, if only we are willing to give things their true names, this deed (is) not an outrage. Actually, it is love; nor would he (i.e. Dis) be a shameful son-in-law for us, (if) only you would wish (it), goddess. How great it is to be Jupiter's brother, even if (all) the rest is lacking! Why, what if nothing at all is lacking, except (what) he yielded to me by lot? But, if you have so great a desire to to separate (them), Proserpina will return to heaven, but on the fixed condition, that, (while) there, she has touched no food with her mouth; for so it is decreed by a law of the Parcae (i.e. the Fates)."
Ll. 533-571. Calliope sings: 5) Proserpina's fate.
" 'He finished speaking. Then Ceres was resolved to lead her daughter back (home). (But) the Fates do not allow (it), since the virgin had broken her fast, and, while she wandered innocently in some well-tended gardens, she had plucked a pomegranate fruit hanging from a tree, and, taking seven seeds from its pale rind, she had squeezed them into her mouth. Alone out of all (of them), Ascalaphus saw it, (he) whom, it is said, Ophne, not the least known among the nymphs of (Lake) Avernus (i.e. the lake which houses the entrance to the Underworld), had once borne to her Acheron (i.e. the god of one of the rivers in the Underworld) in the dark woods: he saw (it), and by his disclosure he cruelly prevented her return. The queen of Erebus (i.e. Proserpina) groaned, and turned the informant into a bird of ill-omen; she sprinkled his head with water from the (River) Phlegethon (i.e. one of the rivers of the Underworld), and changed (him) into a beak and feathers and a (pair of) huge eyes. He, having been robbed of his own (form), is covered in tawny wings, and his head grows (larger), and his long nails bend backwards, and he scarcely moves the wings (which are) growing on his idle arms: he becomes a hateful bird, a messenger of grief to come, the sluggish screech-owl, a dire omen to mortal (creatures).
Still, he can be seen to have merited his punishment through his disclosure and his words: (but) whence, (O) daughters of Acheloüs (i.e. the god of a river which separates Aetolia from Acarnania), (come) your birds' feathers and feet, when you (still) bear the faces of a maiden? Is it because you, (as) Sirens, skilled (in song), were among the number of her companions, when Proserpina was gathering spring flowers? When you had sought her in vain across the whole of the world, then you wanted to be able to waft over the waves with the oars of wings, so that the sea might feel your anxiety, and you had approachable gods, and you saw your limbs suddenly become golden with feathers. Yet, lest that song of yours, born to our delighted ears, and that great gift of your mouth, might not lose the use of a tongue, each virgin face and human voice remained.
Then, Jupiter (caught) between his brother (i.e. Dis) and his grieving sister (i.e. Ceres), divides the revolving year into (two) equal parts. And now, the goddess, that shared divinity of two realms (i.e. Proserpina), is with her mother for as many months as (she is) with her husband (i.e. six months each). In a moment the feeling in her mind and the look on her face is changed. For now the face of the goddess (i.e. Proserpina), which could even appear sad to Dis, is joyful, just like the sun, which, has previously been hidden by rain-clouds, (when) he leaves the clouds (which he has) overcome.
Ll. 572-641. Calliope sings: 6) Arethusa's story.
" 'The kindly Ceres, secure in her daughter's return, asks what (was) the cause of your flight, Arethusa, (and) why you are (now) a sacred fountain. The waters fell silent: their goddess lifted her head from the deep spring, and, wringing her sea-green hair in her hands, she told of the loves of that river of Elis (i.e. Alpheus).
As he was saying these (things), (while) not daring to look back at him, to whom he was addressing his words, he (i.e. Perseus) says (to him), "(O) most cowardly Phineus, - set aside your fear - , I shall grant both what I can grant, and (what) is a great gift to the fearful, that you will not be violated by the sword. Rather, I shall even grant that (you become) an enduring monument throughout the ages, and that you will always be seen in my father-in-law's palace, so that my wife may console herself with the statue of her betrothed.
He spoke, and conveyed (the head of) Phorcys' daughter (i.e. Medusa) to that place, towards which Phineus had directed his trembling face. Then, as he still tried to avert his gaze, his neck became stiff and the tears in his eyes hardened into stone. But now his frightened face, and the look of a suppliant, and his submissive hands, and his guilty appearance remained.
The victorious descendant of Abas (i.e. Perseus) enters the walls of his ancestral (city) (i.e. Argos) with his bride (i.e. Andromeda), and, (as) the champion and avenger of his undeserving grandfather (i.e. Acrisius), he attacks Proetus: for Proetus had occupied Acrisius' stronghold by (force of) arms, his brother having been put to flight. But neither by force of arms, nor through the stronghold which he had (so) wickedly taken, could he overcome the fierce gaze of the snake-infested monster (i.e. Medusa).
Yet, neither the young man's virtue, visible in so many of his labours, nor his sufferings, had softened you, O Polydectes, king of tiny Seriphos, but, in your harshness, you nurse an unrelenting hatred (of him), and there is no limit to your anger (N.B. Polydectes hated Perseus, because he had stopped him marrying his mother Danaë). You even disparage his reputation, and you claim that his killing of Medusa is a lie. "I shall give you evidence of its truth!" (So) speaks Perseus, and with the face of Medusa he turned the face of the king into bloodless stone.
Ll. 250-293. Minerva on Mount Helicon.
Thus far, Tritonia (i.e. Minerva) has given herself (as) a companion to this brother of hers who had been conceived in a shower of gold (i.e. Perseus): but now, enclosed in a hollow cloud, she abandons Seriphos, and, leaving Cythnus and Gyarus behind on her right, she heads for Thebes and (Mount) Helicon, (the home) of the virgins (i.e. the nine Muses), crossing the sea by the shortest route. Having reached this mountain, she alighted (there) and addressed her learned sisters thus: "Talk of a new fountain has come to my ears, (one) which the hard hooves of that winged (offspring) of Medusa (i.e. Pegasus, the flying horse) has opened up (i.e. the fountain of Hippocrene). That (is) the reason for my journey. I wanted to see this wonderful creation: I saw this very (creature) being born from his mother's blood."
Urania (i.e. the Muse of Astronomy) speaks next: "Whatever is your reason (for coming) to see this dwelling of ours, goddess, you are most dear to our hearts. Still, the story is a true (one), and Pegasus is the source of this fountain of ours," and she led Pallas to its sacred waters. She marvels for a long time at this stream made by the blows of the (horses) hooves, (and) looks around at the groves of ancient woodlands, and the caves, and the grass adorned with countless flowers, and she says that the daughters of Mnemosyne (i.e. the nine Muses) are equally lucky in their pursuits and their (dwelling) place; (then,) one of the sisters addressed her thus: "O Tritonia (i.e. Minerva), (you who) would have been a member of our choir, if your virtue had not taken you to greater work, you speak the truth and rightly approve our arts and our haunts, and we should have a happy lot (if) only we were safe. But - for nothing is forbidden to the wicked - all (things) frighten our virginal minds, and the ill-omened Pyreneus (i.e. a king of Thrace) is there before my eyes, and my mind has not yet totally recovered. That fierce (man) had captured Daulis and the lands of Phocis with his Thracian army, and was holding the kingdom unjustly. We were making for the shrines of (Mount) Parnassus: he saw (us) going by, and, (appearing to) venerate our divinity with a deceitful expression, he said, 'Daughters of Mnemosyne - for he knew us - , do not be in doubt! I beg (you) to avoid the lowering skies and the rain - (for) it was raining - (by sheltering) in my house: the gods have often entered humbler dwellings.' Persuaded by his words and by the weather, we gave the man our assent, and went in to the entrance hall of his palace. The rain stopped, and the south wind was overcome by north winds, and the dark clouds fled from the newly cleared sky. We had an impulse to go; (but) Pyreneus shuts up his house, and prepares for violence. We (only) escape this by taking to our wings. He, himself, stood on a lofty height, as if he would follow (us), and said, 'Whatever way is yours, the same will be mine as well,' and he foolishly throws himself from the roof of the highest tower, and falls on his head, and, the bones of his skull being shattered, he beats the ground as he dies, and stains (it) with his evil blood."
Ll. 294-331. The contest between the Pierides (i.e. the daughters of Pierus) and the Muses.
The Muse (i.e. Urania) was speaking: wings sounded in the air, and voices of greeting came from the branches. Jupiter's daughter (i.e. Minerva) looks up and asks where those sounds were coming from that (were) so like talking tongues, and she thought it was a man speaking; (but in fact) it was a bird, and up to nine magpies, (birds) that imitate everything, had settled in the branches, bemoaning their fate. While the goddess (i.e. Minerva) wondered, the other goddess (i.e. Urania) began (to speak) thus: "Having been defeated in a contest, they have recently augmented the flock of birds. Pierus of Pella, rich in fields (i.e. King of Emathia, a district of Macedonia), fathered them and Paeonian (i.e. Paeonia was an area in Northern Macedonia) Euippe was their mother. Giving birth nine times, she invoked Lucina (i.e. the Roman Goddess of Childbirth, identified with Juno) nine times. This gang of stupid sisters were puffed up with pride at their number, and comes (to us) here across so many Achaean and Harmonian (i.e. Thessalian) cities, and engages (us) in a competition with these words: 'Stop cheating the untutored masses with your false sweetness: if you have any faith (in yourselves) contend with us, (you) goddesses of Thespiae (i.e. a city near Mount Helicon, a haunt of the Muses). We cannot be outdone in either voice or art, and we are your equals in number. If defeated, you can grant (us) the fountain of Medusa's offspring (i.e. Hippocrene, that sprung up from under the hooves of Pegasus) and Hyantean (i.e. Boeotian) Aganippe (N.B. Hippocrene and Aganippe were fountains on Mount Helicon, frequented by the Muses), or, (if) we (lose), we shall grant (you) the Emathian plains as far as snowy Paeonia. Let the nymphs determine (the outcome of) the contest.'
"It was, indeed, shameful to compete (with them), but it seemed more shameful to concede. The nymphs are elected, and swear by their streams (to judge fairly), and they sat down on seats made out of natural rock. Then, without lots (being drawn), (the one) who had first declared that they should compete sings of the war with the gods, and assigns the Giants false honours and diminishes the great deeds of the mighty gods; and (of how) Typhoeus (i.e. a hundred-handed Giant, one of the sons of Earth) came forth from the depths of his abode in the earth, and created fear in (the minds of) the gods, and (how) they all turned their backs in flight, until the land of Egypt and the (River) Nile, divided (as it is) into seven mouths, received (them) in their exhaustion. She tells (how) earth-born Typhoeus came there as well, and (how) the gods concealed themselves in disguised forms; 'Jupiter,' she said, 'is made into the head of the flock (i.e. a ram); then, even now, Libyan Ammon is shaped with curving horns. The Delian (i.e. Apollo) is concealed as a crow, Semele's offspring (i.e. Bacchus) a goat, Phoebus' sister (i.e. Diana) a cat, Saturn's daughter (i.e. Juno) a snow-white cow, Venus a fish, and the Cyllenian (i.e. Mercury) a winged ibis.'
Ll. 332-384. Calliope sings: 1) Cupid makes Dis fall in love.
"Thus far had she (i.e. the daughter of Pierus) moved her noisy mouth to (the sound of) her lute. Then we, the Aonides (i.e. the Muses), are called upon. But perhaps you do not have the leisure, and you are not free to give your ears to our melodies."
"Do not worry, but relate your song to me in order," says Pallas, and she sat in the gentle shade of the grove.
The Muse (i.e. Urania) renews (her story): "We gave the full responsibility of the contest to one (person). Calliope (i.e. the Muse of Epic Poetry) arises, and, with her loose hair bound with ivy, she attunes the plaintiff chords with her fingers, and then with these sounding strings she accompanies this song:
" 'Ceres (was) the first (to) turn the soil with the hooked plough, she (was) the first (to) give to the earth its crops and its ripe nourishment, (and) she (was) the first (to) give (us) laws: all (things) are Ceres' gift. Of her I must sing. If only I could sing a song worthy of the goddess: the goddess is truly a worthy (subject) for my song.
" 'The vast island of Trinacria (i.e. Sicily) was heaped up over the giant's limbs, and with its great mass oppresses the subjected Typhoeus, (he who had) dared to aspire to an abode in the heavens. Yes, he struggles, and often strives to rise up, but his right-hand is held down by Ausonian Pelorus (i.e. a promontory on the north-east coast of Sicily), and his left(-hand) by you, Pachynus (i.e. the south-eastern promontory of Sicily), (while) Lilybaeum (i.e. a promontory on the southern coast of Sicily) presses down on his legs, (and Mount) Etna (i.e. the volcanic mountain near the east coast of Sicily) weighs down his head; underneath this, flat on his back, the savage Typhoeus spits out sand and spews flames from his mouth. He often struggles to push off the weight of the earth, and to roll away the towns and the high mountains from his body. Then, the earth trembles, and even the king of the silent (lands) (i.e. Pluto or Dis) is struck with fear, lest he be exposed and the ground is split open by wide fissures, and (lest) the daylight (that is) let in should scare the shades (of the dead).
" 'Fearing such a disaster, the tyrant had left his shadowy abode, and, drawn in his chariot by black horses, he cautiously encircled the foundations of the Sicilian land. When it had been sufficiently checked that no places were collapsing, and he had set aside his fears, the (goddess) of Eryx (i.e. Venus) sees him wandering around, as she sat on her hillside, and embracing her winged son, she said, "Cupid, my son, (you who are) my weapons, and my hands (and) my power, take up those darts by which you overcome everyone, and let fly your swiftest arrows at the heart of the god, to whom fell the last (part) of the triple kingdom. You overcome the gods and Jupiter, himself, and the subdued powers of the sea, and the very (god) himself, who governs the powers of the sea (i.e. Neptune). Why is Tartarus left out? Why do you not extend your mother's empire and your own? A third part of the world is involved. And yet in heaven I am scorned, (something) which I have to endure, and the power of Love diminishes with me. Don't you see (how) Pallas and the huntress Diana forsake me? Ceres' daughter (i.e. Proserpina) will be a virgin too, if we allow (it): for hope disposes (her to be) the same as them. But, if you have any delight in our shared realm, mate the goddess to her uncle." (So) spoke Venus. He (i.e. Cupid) unloosed his quiver, and, at his mother's bidding, selected one from a thousand arrows, but there was not any arrow (which was) sharper, or less uncertain or more attuned to the bow (than this one). Then, he bent the pliant tip against his knee, and, with his barbed arrow, he struck Dis in the heart.
Ll. 385-424. Calliope sings: 2) Dis and the rape of Proserpina.
" 'Not far from the walls of Enna (i.e. a Sicilian town), there is a pool of deep water. Caÿster (i.e. a river in Lydia, renowned for its swans) does not hear more songs than that of the swans gliding on its waves. A wood encircles the waters, surrounding (them on) every side, and, with its leaves as a veil, it dispels the shafts of Phoebus (i.e. the midday sun). The branches provide coolness, and the moist soil purple flowers: it is always spring. While Proserpina plays in this glade, and picks either violets or white lilies, and, while with a girlish enthusiasm she fills both baskets and the fold (of her gown), and strives to outdo her contemporaries in her gathering, she is seen, beloved, and carried off by Dis almost simultaneously. So swift as this is love. The frightened goddess calls upon both her mother and her companions, but more often her mother, from her sorrowful mouth; and, as she had torn her dress from its upper edge, the flowers (she had) collected fell from her loosened tunic. And so great was the innocence of her childish years that this scattering caused her maidenly grief as well. The ravisher whips up his chariot, and encourages his steeds by calling each one by name, and he shakes out the reins, (which are) dyed in a dark rusty colour, over their necks and manes, and (drives them) through deep pools, and (through) the swamps of the Palici (i.e. the sons of Jupiter and the nymph Thalia), reeking of sulphur, it is said, and (still) hot from the ruptured earth, to (the place) (i.e. Syracuse), where the Bacchiadae (i.e. the descendants of Bacchis), a clan arising from Corinth with its two seas, established their city between two unequal harbours .
" 'Midway between (the fountains of) Cyane and Pisaean (i.e. Pisa was a city in Elis) Arethusa, there is a bay, which lies enclosed by narrow arms. Here lived Cyane, the best-known amongst the Sicilian nymphs. She emerged from the surface of the pool as far as the midst of her stomach, and she recognised the goddess (i.e. Proserpina). "Go no further!" she says. You (i.e. Dis) cannot be Ceres' son in-law against her will: you ought to have asked (her), and not to have dragged (her) away. But if it is right for me to compare small (things) with great (ones), Anapis also loved me, and yet I married (him), having been persuaded (by kind words), not by fear, like this." As she spoke, she stretched out her arms on either side, and obstructed (him). The son of Saturn (i.e. Dis) could not contain his wrath any further, and, urging on his dreaded horses, he brandished his royal sceptre in his powerful arm, and plunged (it) into the bottom of the pool. (Thus) pierced, the earth made a road to Tartarus, and received the chariot headlong into the midst of the crater.
Ll. 425-486. Calliope sings: 3) Ceres searches for Proserpina.
" 'But Cyane, lamenting that the goddess has been raped and that the rights of her own fountain have been disregarded, silently bore an inconsolable pain in her heart, and she is entirely consumed with tears, and she wastes away in those waters, whose great deity she had just been. You could see her limbs becoming softened, her bones being allowed to bend, and her nails losing their hardness; first of all, all her slenderest (parts) dissolve, her azure hair, her fingers, and her legs and feet - for it is a small transition from fragile limbs to cool waters. After this, her shoulders, her back and sides, and her breasts slip away, vanishing into tenuous streams. At last, water enters her corrupted veins, and nothing which you can take hold of is left. Meanwhile, the daughter (i.e. Proserpina) is sought in vain by her anxious mother (i.e. Ceres) through all the earth and every sea. Neither the coming of Aurora (i.e. Dawn) with her dewy hair, nor Hesperus (i.e. the Evening Star), finds her resting. She kindled the fiery pines from (Mount) Etna, (and) bore (them) restlessly through the frosty darkness with both hands. When the kindly light of day had once more dimmed the stars, she continued to seek her daughter from the rising of the sun to the setting of the sun.
" 'Weary (as she was), she had acquired a thirst from her labours, and no springs had moistened her mouth, when she happened to see a hut, roofed with straw, and she knocked on its humble door: and then an old woman comes forward and sees the goddess, and, when she asks for water, she gave (her something) sweet, which she had previously brewed with parched barley-meal. While she drinks (what she has been) given, a boy with a rude face stood boldly before the goddess, and taunted (her) and called (her) greedy. The goddess was offended, and besprinkled (him), as he was speaking, with the part of the barley-meal mixed with water (which she had) not yet drunk. His face absorbs spots, and what he had just borne (as) arms, he (now) bears (as) legs; a tail is added to his altered limbs; and he shrinks to a tiny shape, so that he has no great power to harm, and he is measured (as) less than a small lizard. It flees from the old woman, as full of wonder and in tears, she tries to touch the creature, and it seeks a hiding-place, and it has a name (i.e. 'stellio', newt) suited to its colour, its body starred with many coloured spots.
" 'It would take too long a time to tell through what lands and what seas the goddess (i.e. Ceres) wandered; the whole world failed (her) in her search. She returns to Sicania (i.e. Sicily); and, while she traversed all (places) in her journey, she came to Cyane too. If she had not been changed, she would have told everything: but, although she wished to tell, no mouth or tongue were available (to her), nor did she have anything by which she could speak. Still, she gave clear signs, and shows on the surface of the waters Persephone's (i.e. Proserpina's) girdle, (which was) known to her mother and (which had) fallen, by chance, into the sacred pool in that place. As soon as she recognised it, as if she had then at last realised that (her daughter had been) raped, the goddess tore her dishevelled hair, and, repeatedly, beat her breasts with her hands. She still did not know where she (i.e. Proserpina) was: yet she rebukes all lands and calls (them) thankless and unworthy of her gift of corn, (and) Trinacria (i.e. Sicily) above (all) others, in which she had discovered the traces of her loss. So, in that place, with her cruel hands, she broke the ploughs that turn the soil, and she delivered the farmers and the cattle in the fields to death alike, and ordered the the fields to fail in their trust, and caused the seed to rot. That country's fertility, well-known throughout the wide world, becomes a fiction: the crops die in their first shoots, and firstly too much sun and then too much rain attacks (them), and the climate and the winds damage (them), and greedy birds gather up the scattered seed; darnel, and thistles, and tough grass destroy the wheat harvest.
Ll. 487-532. Calliope sings: 4) Ceres asks for Jupiter's help.
" 'Then, the (nymph beloved) of Alpheus (i.e. Arethusa) raised her head out of the Elean waves and pushed back her dripping hair from her forehead to her ears, and says: "O mother of that virgin sought throughout the world, and (mother) of the crops, cease your tremendous labours, and do not let yourself get so violently angry with the faithful earth. The earth does not deserve (this) at all, and it was exposed to the rape against its will. Nor am I a suppliant on behalf of my native-land: I came here (as) a stranger; Pisa (i.e. a city in Elis near Olympia) is my country: now I, Arethusa, possess these household gods, this home: do you, O most gentle (one), preserve it for me. When you are relieved of cares and (have) a happier countenance, the right time will come for my narrative, why I am moved from my country and am conveyed to Ortygia (i.e. an island in the bay of Syracuse) across the waves of so great a sea. The fissured earth shows me a route, and, stealing my way beneath the deepest caverns, I lift up my head here and see the unfamiliar stars. So, while I glide beneath the earth through the Stygian stream, your Proserpina is seen there by my eyes. She (is) certainly sad, and her countenance still fearful, but yet (she is) a queen, and the greatest in the world of shadows, and still the powerful consort of the ruler of the Underworld."
" 'The mother (i.e. Ceres) was stunned, as if petrified at hearing these words, and for a long time was like (someone) thunderstruck. And, when her deep bewilderment is turned into deep grief, she mounts in her chariot to the heavenly realms. There, (as) she stood before Jupiter with her hair dishevelled, clouds of hatred (cover) her whole face, and she says: "Jupiter, I have come (as) a suppliant on behalf of my offspring, and on behalf of your own. If you have no favour towards the mother, let the daughter move her father, and let not your concern for her be any the less, I beg (you), because she was born through my delivery. Now look, my daughter, who has been sought for so long, has at last been found, if you call (it) finding (her), to lose (her) more surely, or if you call (it) finding (her) to know where she is. That she has been raped, I can bear, if only he would return her: for your daughter does not deserve (to have) a robber for a husband, (even) if she is no longer my daughter."
" 'Jupiter spoke next: " Our daughter is a shared pledge and charge between me and you. But, if only we are willing to give things their true names, this deed (is) not an outrage. Actually, it is love; nor would he (i.e. Dis) be a shameful son-in-law for us, (if) only you would wish (it), goddess. How great it is to be Jupiter's brother, even if (all) the rest is lacking! Why, what if nothing at all is lacking, except (what) he yielded to me by lot? But, if you have so great a desire to to separate (them), Proserpina will return to heaven, but on the fixed condition, that, (while) there, she has touched no food with her mouth; for so it is decreed by a law of the Parcae (i.e. the Fates)."
Ll. 533-571. Calliope sings: 5) Proserpina's fate.
" 'He finished speaking. Then Ceres was resolved to lead her daughter back (home). (But) the Fates do not allow (it), since the virgin had broken her fast, and, while she wandered innocently in some well-tended gardens, she had plucked a pomegranate fruit hanging from a tree, and, taking seven seeds from its pale rind, she had squeezed them into her mouth. Alone out of all (of them), Ascalaphus saw it, (he) whom, it is said, Ophne, not the least known among the nymphs of (Lake) Avernus (i.e. the lake which houses the entrance to the Underworld), had once borne to her Acheron (i.e. the god of one of the rivers in the Underworld) in the dark woods: he saw (it), and by his disclosure he cruelly prevented her return. The queen of Erebus (i.e. Proserpina) groaned, and turned the informant into a bird of ill-omen; she sprinkled his head with water from the (River) Phlegethon (i.e. one of the rivers of the Underworld), and changed (him) into a beak and feathers and a (pair of) huge eyes. He, having been robbed of his own (form), is covered in tawny wings, and his head grows (larger), and his long nails bend backwards, and he scarcely moves the wings (which are) growing on his idle arms: he becomes a hateful bird, a messenger of grief to come, the sluggish screech-owl, a dire omen to mortal (creatures).
Still, he can be seen to have merited his punishment through his disclosure and his words: (but) whence, (O) daughters of Acheloüs (i.e. the god of a river which separates Aetolia from Acarnania), (come) your birds' feathers and feet, when you (still) bear the faces of a maiden? Is it because you, (as) Sirens, skilled (in song), were among the number of her companions, when Proserpina was gathering spring flowers? When you had sought her in vain across the whole of the world, then you wanted to be able to waft over the waves with the oars of wings, so that the sea might feel your anxiety, and you had approachable gods, and you saw your limbs suddenly become golden with feathers. Yet, lest that song of yours, born to our delighted ears, and that great gift of your mouth, might not lose the use of a tongue, each virgin face and human voice remained.
Then, Jupiter (caught) between his brother (i.e. Dis) and his grieving sister (i.e. Ceres), divides the revolving year into (two) equal parts. And now, the goddess, that shared divinity of two realms (i.e. Proserpina), is with her mother for as many months as (she is) with her husband (i.e. six months each). In a moment the feeling in her mind and the look on her face is changed. For now the face of the goddess (i.e. Proserpina), which could even appear sad to Dis, is joyful, just like the sun, which, has previously been hidden by rain-clouds, (when) he leaves the clouds (which he has) overcome.
Ll. 572-641. Calliope sings: 6) Arethusa's story.
" 'The kindly Ceres, secure in her daughter's return, asks what (was) the cause of your flight, Arethusa, (and) why you are (now) a sacred fountain. The waters fell silent: their goddess lifted her head from the deep spring, and, wringing her sea-green hair in her hands, she told of the loves of that river of Elis (i.e. Alpheus).
" ' "I was one of the nymphs who live in Achaea," said she. "None was keener to traverse the woodlands than I was, and no one (was) keener to set out the nets. But, although I never sought renown for my beauty, and, although I was steadfast (on that account), I had the name of the beautiful (one). Nor were my looks, too often praised (as they were), pleasing to me, and I blushed (like) a country lass, at the gift of my body, at which other (girls) were accustomed to rejoice, and I thought (it) a sin to please. As I remember, I was returning tired from the Stymphalian (i.e. Arcadian) woods: it was hot and my efforts had redoubled the great heat. I come to waters without a ripple, running without a mumur, (and) clear to their bed, in the depths of which every pebble was able to be counted, (and) which you would scarcely think were moving. Silver willows and poplars, nourished by the water gave unaided a natural shade to the sloping banks. Approaching, I firstly dipped the soles of my feet (into the water), (and) then (I went) right up to my knees: not content with that, I undress, and drape my soft clothes on a bending willow, and plunge into the waters naked. While I splash and pull them (all over me), as I glide around in a thousand ways, and I shake my arms and throw (them) around, I heard a strange murmur in the middle of the stream, and, in my alarm, I make for the edge of the nearer bank. 'Where are you hurrying to, Arethusa?' (said) Alpheus from his waves. 'Where are you hurrying to?' he called to me in a strident voice. I flee just as I was, without my clothes: (for) the other bank had my clothes. So much the more (fiercely) he pursues (me) and he burns (with ardour), and, as I was naked, I seemed (to be) readier for him. (And) so I ran, (and) so he pursued me fiercely, as doves flee a hawk on trembling wings, and as a hawk is accustomed to pursue closely a frightened dove. I continued to run all the way to Orchomenus (i.e. a city in Boeotia), and Psophis (i.e. a city in Arcadia), and Cyllene (i.e. a mountain in Arcadia), and the ridges of Maenalus (i.e. a mountain range in Arcadia), and chill Erymanthus (i.e. a river in Arcadia), and Elis; nor (was) he any quicker than I. But I could not endure the course for a long time, (being) unequal in strength (to him): he was able to endure a lengthy effort. Still, across the plains, across mountains covered with trees, (and over) rocks and crags as well, and where (there was) no path at all, I ran. The sun was at my back: I saw a long shadow stretch out before my feet, unless (it was) that fear of mine (that) saw (it); but certainly I feared the sound of his feet, and the deep breath from his mouth blew on the ribbons in my hair. Weary with the effort of escaping (him), I cry out, 'I am being taken, bring help to your armour-bearer, Diana, (I, the one) to whom you have often given your bow to carry, and the darts enclosed in your quiver.'
" ' "The goddess was moved, and gathering one from a (collection of) clouds, she threw (it) over me. The river(-god) circles around (me, who is) covered in mist, and, baffled (as he is), he searches (for me) around the hollow cloud. Twice, in his ignorance, he walks around the spot where the goddess had concealed me, and twice he called out, 'Ho there, Arethusa! Ho there, Arethusa!' What feelings did I, in my wretchedness, have then? Is it what the lamb feels, when it hears the wolves howling around its steep sheep-fold, or (what) the hare (feels), when, hiding in a briar-patch, it sees the hostile muzzles of the dogs, and does not dare to make any movements of its body? Yet, he did not go away: for he does not see any traces of my feet further on: he watches the cloud and the spot. A cold sweat takes hold of my besieged limbs, and dark-blue drops trickle from every (part of) my body, and, wherever I moved my foot, a pool gathers and moisture drips from my hair, and, faster than I can now tell you the details, I am changed into liquid. But then, the river(-god) (i.e. Alpheus) recognises his beloved (in the) waters, and setting aside the features of a man, which he had assumed, he changes back into his own watery (shape), so that he can mingle himself with me. (So,) the Delian (goddess) (i.e. Diana) splits the earth; having been plunged into hidden caverns, I am conveyed to Ortygia (i.e. an island in the bay of Syracuse, but also another name for Delos, Diana's birthplace), dear (to me) through the name of my goddess, which (is) the first (place) to draw me out into the upper air."
Ll. 642-678. Calliope sings: 7) Triptolemus. The fate of the Pierides.
" 'Arethusa (went) as far as that. The goddess of fertility (i.e. Ceres) harnessed twin dragons to her chariot, and curbed their mouths with the bit, and was borne through the air between heaven and earth, and she sent her light car to Triptolemus in the city of Tritonia (i.e. Athens); and she ordered (him) to scatter the seeds (she had) given (him) partly on untilled soil and partly (on the fields which were being) recultivated after a long (period of) time. Now, the youth was carried high over Europe and the lands of Asia; he is directed towards the Scythian shores (i.e. the area to the north of the Black Sea). There Lyncus was king: he enters the king's palace. Asked how he had come, and the reason for his journey, and his name and country, he said, "The famous (city of) Athens is my home, (and) my name (is) Triptolemus. I came not by a ship over the waves, nor by foot over land: the air opened up a passage for me. I bring (you) the gifts of Ceres, which, if you scatter (them) across the wide fields, will give (you) back fruitful harvests and ripening food."
" 'The barbarian was jealous; as though he himself were the author of such a great gift, he receives (him) as a guest, but, (when he is) deep in sleep, he attacks (him) with a sword. As he attempted to pierce his breast, Ceres turned (him) into a lynx, and (then) ordered the Mopsopian (i.e. Athenian, the epithet being taken from Mopsopus, a legendary king of Athens) youth to drive her sacred team through the air again.'
"The greatest of us (i.e. Calliope) had finished her skilful singing. Then, the nymphs, with a harmonious voice, said that the goddesses who inhabit (Mount) Helicon (i.e. the Muses) had won the contest. When the vanquished (i.e. the Pierides) hurled abuse (at us), I (i.e. Urania) said, 'Since it is not enough that you deserve punishment for the contest, and you are adding insults to your offence, and our patience is not unlimited, we shall proceed to our sentence, and follow where our anger calls (us).'
"The Emathides (i.e. the Pierides, the daughters of Pierus, the king of Emathia) laugh, and scorn these threatening words: but, as they tried to speak and to stretch out their impudent hands with a great clamour, they saw feathers sprout from their nails and their arms covered with plumage; and each one sees the the mouth of another harden into a rigid beak, and new birds entering the woods. And, while they wish to beat (their breasts), they hung in the air, uplifted by their moving arms, those magpies that disturb our groves.
"Now, even as birds their former eloquence remains, as does their raucous chattering and their monstrous zeal for speech."
" ' "The goddess was moved, and gathering one from a (collection of) clouds, she threw (it) over me. The river(-god) circles around (me, who is) covered in mist, and, baffled (as he is), he searches (for me) around the hollow cloud. Twice, in his ignorance, he walks around the spot where the goddess had concealed me, and twice he called out, 'Ho there, Arethusa! Ho there, Arethusa!' What feelings did I, in my wretchedness, have then? Is it what the lamb feels, when it hears the wolves howling around its steep sheep-fold, or (what) the hare (feels), when, hiding in a briar-patch, it sees the hostile muzzles of the dogs, and does not dare to make any movements of its body? Yet, he did not go away: for he does not see any traces of my feet further on: he watches the cloud and the spot. A cold sweat takes hold of my besieged limbs, and dark-blue drops trickle from every (part of) my body, and, wherever I moved my foot, a pool gathers and moisture drips from my hair, and, faster than I can now tell you the details, I am changed into liquid. But then, the river(-god) (i.e. Alpheus) recognises his beloved (in the) waters, and setting aside the features of a man, which he had assumed, he changes back into his own watery (shape), so that he can mingle himself with me. (So,) the Delian (goddess) (i.e. Diana) splits the earth; having been plunged into hidden caverns, I am conveyed to Ortygia (i.e. an island in the bay of Syracuse, but also another name for Delos, Diana's birthplace), dear (to me) through the name of my goddess, which (is) the first (place) to draw me out into the upper air."
Ll. 642-678. Calliope sings: 7) Triptolemus. The fate of the Pierides.
" 'Arethusa (went) as far as that. The goddess of fertility (i.e. Ceres) harnessed twin dragons to her chariot, and curbed their mouths with the bit, and was borne through the air between heaven and earth, and she sent her light car to Triptolemus in the city of Tritonia (i.e. Athens); and she ordered (him) to scatter the seeds (she had) given (him) partly on untilled soil and partly (on the fields which were being) recultivated after a long (period of) time. Now, the youth was carried high over Europe and the lands of Asia; he is directed towards the Scythian shores (i.e. the area to the north of the Black Sea). There Lyncus was king: he enters the king's palace. Asked how he had come, and the reason for his journey, and his name and country, he said, "The famous (city of) Athens is my home, (and) my name (is) Triptolemus. I came not by a ship over the waves, nor by foot over land: the air opened up a passage for me. I bring (you) the gifts of Ceres, which, if you scatter (them) across the wide fields, will give (you) back fruitful harvests and ripening food."
" 'The barbarian was jealous; as though he himself were the author of such a great gift, he receives (him) as a guest, but, (when he is) deep in sleep, he attacks (him) with a sword. As he attempted to pierce his breast, Ceres turned (him) into a lynx, and (then) ordered the Mopsopian (i.e. Athenian, the epithet being taken from Mopsopus, a legendary king of Athens) youth to drive her sacred team through the air again.'
"The greatest of us (i.e. Calliope) had finished her skilful singing. Then, the nymphs, with a harmonious voice, said that the goddesses who inhabit (Mount) Helicon (i.e. the Muses) had won the contest. When the vanquished (i.e. the Pierides) hurled abuse (at us), I (i.e. Urania) said, 'Since it is not enough that you deserve punishment for the contest, and you are adding insults to your offence, and our patience is not unlimited, we shall proceed to our sentence, and follow where our anger calls (us).'
"The Emathides (i.e. the Pierides, the daughters of Pierus, the king of Emathia) laugh, and scorn these threatening words: but, as they tried to speak and to stretch out their impudent hands with a great clamour, they saw feathers sprout from their nails and their arms covered with plumage; and each one sees the the mouth of another harden into a rigid beak, and new birds entering the woods. And, while they wish to beat (their breasts), they hung in the air, uplifted by their moving arms, those magpies that disturb our groves.
"Now, even as birds their former eloquence remains, as does their raucous chattering and their monstrous zeal for speech."
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