Procne and Philomela
Ovid, Libri Metamorphoseon VI.412-674
HOW TO USE THIS PACKET:
- The Latin text is double-spaced for a reason. You musttake notes on vocabulary you don’t know underneath the words, and then use another sheet of paper for translation.
- The exegetical notes to the right of the text exist for a reason. Read them, and apply their grammatical help to the text. Key abbreviations and symbols: sc. “supply”; cf. “compare”; i.e. “that is”; w. “with”; Gr. “Greek”; lit. “literally”; ind. “indirect”; < “from” (for aid in dictionary-hunting); etc.
- Read the interspersed English translations and the section summaries (in bold) for help contextualizing the Latin. Make use of your Wheatley translation, but be aware that it is not literal; you, however, will be expected to produce a literal translation. Be aware that the use of published translations (whether found online or in a book) to complete your homework is an honor code violation, and will be taken seriously.
Book VI, lines 412-423: The leaders of the Greek city-states come together to console the Thebans for the loss of their noble family (who were killed by Apollo and Diana because of the hubris of Niobe; see previous story). However, the leaders of one city-state are absent: Athens. Why? Because they’re fighting the barbarians.
Leaders from various lands assembled there
And cities near at hand besought their kings
To visit Thebes with words of sympathy -
Mycenae, Pelops’ pride, Argos and Sparta;
Messene fierce in battle; Calydon,
Not yet the victim of Diana’s hate;
Fertile Orchomenus, and Corinth famed
For bronzes; Patrae, humble Cleonae,
And Pylos, Neleus’ town, and Troezen too,
Where Pittheus later reigned; and all the towns
The twin-sea’d Isthmus locks, and all the towns
Outside at which the twin-sea’d Isthmus looks.
Athens alone (who could believe it?) lagged.
War thwarted such a service. Sea-borne bands
Of wild barbarians held her walls in fear.[1]
424-438: The Thracian man Tereus, victorious over the barbarians, marries Procne, the daughter of the Athenian king Pandion. However, their marriage is ill-fated from the start.
1
Thrēicius Tēreus haec auxiliāribus armīs
fūderat et clārum vincendō nōmen habēbat;425 quem sibi Pandīōn opibusque virīsque potentem et genus ā magnō dūcentem forte Gradīvō conubiō Procnēs iūnxit; nōn prōnuba Iūnō,
nōn Hymenaeus adest, nōn illī Grātia lectō:
Eumenidēs tenuēre facēs dē fūnere raptās, 430
Eumenidēs strāvēre torum, tectōque profānus
incubuit būbō thalamīque in cūlmine sēdit.
hāc ave coniūnctī Procnē Tēreusque, parentēs
hāc ave sunt factī; grātāta est scīlicet illīs
Thrācia, dīsque ipsī grātēs ēgēre; diemque, 435 quāque data est clārō Pandīone nāta tyrannō quāque erat ortus Itȳs, festum iussēre vocārī:
usque adeō latet ūtilitās.
424. Thrēicius - Thracian
425. fūderat - “he had settled”; vincendō - gerund, abl. of means
426. quem w. potentem; Pandīōn (king of Athens) subj.
427. ducentem w. quem; Gradīvus - Mars
428. Procnēs - Gr. gen. of Procne; iūnxit w. sibi and conūbiō; Iūnō can be a goddess of marriage
429. Hymenaeus is god of weddings;take adest with all three subjects; Grātia - one of three Graces, comrades of Venus; note tricolon
430. Eumenidēs - Gr. name for Furies, goddesses of revenge; tenuēre = tenuērunt (syncope); facēsfax
431. stravēre = stravērunt < sternō
432. būbō w. profānus; incubuit < incumbō
433. supply sunt with coniūnctī
434. grātāta est < grātor
435. Thrācia subj. of grātāta est; dīs = deīs, egēre =egērunt; diem obj. of iussēre (437)
436. quāque - “and when”; Pandīone - abl. of source with nāta, “the daughter of Pandion,”subj.
437. Itys - son of Tereus and Procne
438. ūtilitās - “the true advantage”
1
438-448: After five years of marriage in Thrace, Procne begs her husband Tereus to allow her to see her beloved sister Philomela again. Tereus agrees and sails to Athens to ask Pandion to allow Philomela to come visit the happy couple.
Now season followed season, as the sun
Led on the years; five autumns glided by,
And Procne coaxed her husband, “If my love
Finds any favour, give me leave to visit
My sister, or invite my sister here,
Giving my father your sure word that she
Will soon return. To see her once again
Will be a gift most precious.” So her husband
Had his ship launched, and gained by sail and oar
Athens’ great port and reached Piraeus’ shore. (135)
449-460: Tereus begins to make his request - and then he sees Philomela. She’s so beautiful that he falls in love/lust with her.
1
coeperat adventūs causam, mandāta referre
coniugis et celerēs missae spondēre recursūs:450
ecce venit magnō dīvēs Philomēla parātū,
dīvitior formā; quālēs audīre solēmus
Nāidas et Dryadas mediīs incēdere silvīs,
sī modo dēs illīs cultūs similēsque parātūs.
nōn secus exarsit conspectā virgine Tēreus,455
quam sī quis canis ignem suppōnat aristīs
aut frondem positāsque cremet faenīlibus herbās.
digna quidem faciēs; sed et hunc innāta libīdō
exstimulat, prōnumque genus regiōnibus illīs
in Venerem est: flāgrat vitiō gentisque suōque.460
449. coeperat - w. both referre and spondēre; adventūs - gen. sing. w. causam
450. missae - supply Philomelae; recursūs - acc. pl. w. celerēs
451. magnō - abl. of respect w. parātū
452. quālēs - acc. w. Naidās and Dryadās; solēmus > soleō
453. Naidās and Dryadās - types of forest nymphs
454. des - pres. subjn. > dō; illīs = viz. Naidae and Dryadae; cultūs, parātūs - acc. pl. obj. of des
455. conspecta virgine - abl. abs.
456. quam sī - “than if”; quis - “someone”; cānīscānus
457. frondem, herbās - objs. of cremet, subj. still quis; faenīlibus - abl. pl. where
458. faciēs - supply erat; hunc = Tereus
459-60. prōnum in Venerem - “prone to Venus,” “disposed to love,” “warm for wenching” (Melville 135); the Thracians were thought to be a lusty race
460. vitiō w. both gentis and suō
1
461-464: Tereus is mad with love. He immediately considers the typical moves of the elegiac lover - bribery, rape - before coming up with a better plan.
An impulse came
To bribe her retinue, suborn her nurse,
Even assail the girl herself with gifts,
Huge gifts, and pay his kingdom for the price -
Or ravish her and then defend the rape
In bloody war. (135)
465-485: The duplicitous Tereus convinces Pandion to allow him to take Philomela to Athens - you know, to visit her sister, his wife Procne. Meanwhile, he voyeuristically observes Philomela’s love for her father.
1
et nihil est, quod nōn effrēnō captus amōre465
ausit, nec capiunt inclūsās pectora flammās.
iamque morās male fert cupidōque revertitur ōre
ad mandāta Procnēs et agit sua vōta sub illa.
facundum faciēbat amor, quotiēnsque rogābat
ulterius iustō, Procnēn ita velle ferēbat.470
addidit et lacrimās, tamquam mandāsset et illās.
prō superī, quantum mortālia pectora caecae
noctis habent! ipsō sceleris mōlīmine Tēreus
crēditur esse pius laudemque ā crīmine sūmit.
quid, quod idem Philomēla cupit, patriōsque lacertīs475
blanda tenēns umerōs, ut eat vīsūra sorōrem,
perque suam contrāque suam petit ipsa salūtem.
spectat eam Tēreus praecontrectatque videndō
465. captus - sc. Tereus, subj. of ausit
466. capiunt - “contain”
467. morās < mora; fert - “tolerates”
468. Procnēs - Gr. gen.; agit - “promotes”; sub -“under the guise of”
469. facundum, faciēbat - figura etymologica
470. ulterius iustō - “further than what was right”; ferēbat - “he said” w. ind. stmt.
471. tamquam - “as if”; mandāsset = mandāvisset, subj. Procne; illās - sc. lacrimās
472. prō - introd. exclamation; quantum - obj. of habent, w. gen. caecae noctis
475. quid quod - “what of the fact that”; idem - acc. neut. sing.; patriōs = patris
476. ut - introd. ind. command w. petit; vīsūra - fut. act. partic. expr. purpose
477. per introd. why she thought she was begging vs. contrā introd. why she is truly begging; salūtem - “happiness”
478. videndō - gerund, abl. of means
1
1
osculaque et collō circumdata bracchia cernēns
omnia prō stimulīs facibusque cibōque furōris480
accipit, et quotiēns amplectitur illa parentem,
esse parēns vellet: neque enim minus impius esset.
vincitur ambārum genitor prece: gaudet agitque
illa patrī grātēs et successisse duābus
id putat īnfēlix, quod erit lūgūbre duābus.485
479. collō - dat./abl. w. circumdata
480. omnia - obj. of accipit; prō - “as” w. three objs.; furōris - obj. gen.
482. parēns - sc. Philomela’s; esset - “would he be,” since father/daughter incest and brother-in-law/sister-in-law incest were considered comparable
483. ambārum - sc. Procne and Philomela
484. illa - sc. Philomela; successissesuccēdō, “to go well”
485. id - i.e., the granted request
1
486-510: Tereus cannot sleep for lust. In the morning, Pandion gives a heartwrenching speech to the pair, invoking his love and concern for his daughter. He joins the hands of Tereus and Philomela and pledges their fidelity.
Now the Sun’s team, the day’s toil nearly done,
Were pounding down the slope that led them home.
A royal banquet was arrayed, with wine
In golden goblets, and anon they lay
Relaxed in slumber. But the Thracian king,
Though he too had retired, was simmering
With thoughts of her, as he recalled her face,
Her hands and gestures, and his mind’s eye shaped,
To suit his fancy, charms he’d not yet seen.
He fuelled his own fire, and, as he lay,
The turmoil in his heart drove sleep away.
Daylight had come, and now, as Tereus left,
Pandion wrung him by the hand and gave
His daughter to his trust with many a tear:
“My son, since links of love give me no choice,
And both have set their hearts (and your heart too,
My son, is set), I give her to your keeping;
And I beseech you by your honour, by the ties
Of family and by the gods above,
To guard her with a father’s love and send
Back soon (each waiting day will be so long)
The darling solace of my sombre age.
And you too, Philomela, if you love
Your father, come back soon - it is enough
That your dear sister is so far from home.”
So he adjured them, weeping tenderly,
And kissed his child goodbye, and took their hands
And joined them, his and hers, to seal their pledge
And charged them to remember his fond love
To Procne and his grandson far away.
He scarce could say farewell for sob and tears,
Such dire forebodings filled his soul with fears. (136-7)
511-518: Tereus and Philomela set sail, with the evil Tereus pleased as punch that he has succeeded in taking Philomela.
1
Ut semel imposita est pictae Philomēla carīnae,
admōtumque frētum rēmīs tellūsque repulsa est,
“vīcimus!” exclāmat, “mēcum mea vōta feruntur!”
exsultatque et vix animō sua gaudia differt
barbarus et nūsquam lūmen dētorquet ab illā, 515
nōn aliter quam cum pedibus praedātor obuncīs
dēposuit nīdō leporem Iovis āles in altō;
nūlla fuga est captō, spectat sua praemia raptor.
511. ut semel - “as soon as”; pictae - ships were painted with bright designs
512. admōtum - supply est; rēmīsrēmus
513. vīcimus - Tereus refers to himself in pl., as Roman writers often do; mēcum - back to sing.
514. animō - supply in; differt - “keeps waiting”
515. lūmen - “his gaze”
516. praedātor - w. āles Iovis = a bird of prey
518. captō- sc. lepōre
1
519-530: After they complete the journey, Tereus brings Philomela to a hut and rapes her.
1
Iamque iter effectum, iamque in sua lītora fessīs
puppibus exierant, cum rēx Pandīone nātam520
in stabula alta trahit, silvīs obscūra vetustīs,
atque ibi pallentem trepidamque et cūncta timentem
et iam cum lacrimīs, ubi sit germāna, rogantem
519. effectum - supply est; fessīs - transferred epithet
520. exierant - subj. Tereus and Philomela; rēx = Tereus; Pandiōne nātam - “the daughter of Pandion”
521. stabula - transl. w. sing.
522. pallentem, trepidam, timentem - objs. of inclūdit, sc. Philomelam
523. ubi- introd. ind. question depending on rogantem, another obj. of inclūdit
1
inclūdit fassusque nefās et virginem et ūnam
vī superat frūstrā clāmātō saepe parente, 525
saepe sorōre suā, magnīs super omnia dīvīs.
illa tremit velut agna pavēns, quae saucia cānī
ōre excussa lupī nōndum sibi tūta vidētur,
utque columba suō madefactīs sanguine plūmīs
horret adhūc avidōsque timet, quibus haeserat, unguēs. 530
524. fassusfateor; nēfās - lit. “the unspeakable thing”; et virginem et ūnam - polysyndeton - “the virgin, all alone”
525. vīvis, abl. of means; clāmāto…parente - abl. abs.
526. saepe - anaphora; sorōre suā and magnīs…dīvīs - abl. abs. w. clāmātō; super - “above”
527. cānīcānus w. lupī
528. ōre - supply ex
529. madefactīs...plūmīs - abl. abs.; note synchysis
530. avidōs w. unguēs; haeserat haereō
1
531-548: Philomela regains control of herself, then curses Tereus.
1
mox ubi mēns rediit, passōs laniāta capillōs,
lūgentī similis caesīs plangōre lacertīs
intendēns palmās, “ō dīrīs barbare factīs,
ō crūdēlis,” ait, “nec tē mandāta parentis
cum lacrimīs movēre piīs nec cūra sorōris 535
nec mea virginitās nec coniugiālia iūra?
omnia turbāstī; paelex ego facta sorōris,
tū geminus cōniunx, hostis mihi dēbita Procnē!
quīn animam hanc, nē quod facinus tibi, perfide, rēstet,
ēripis? atque utinam fēcissēs ante nefandōs540
concubitūs: vacuās habuissem crīminis umbrās.
sī tamen haec superī cernunt, sī nūmina dīvum
sunt aliquid, sī nōn periērunt omnia mēcum,
531. passōspatior, “let down”; laniāta - sc. Philomela
532. lugentī - substn. partic.; caesīscaedō, “strike”
533. barbare - voc.
534. mandāta - subj. of mōvēre
535. mōvēre = mōvērunt; cūra - another subj. of mōvēre
536. virginitās, iūra - more subjs. of mōvēre
537. turbāstī = turbāvistī; facta - supply sum
538. geminus - “double”; debita - “ought to be”
539. quīn - “why not”; quod = aliquod
540. utinam + plup. subjn. - “if only…had”; fēcissēs - i.e., eripuissēs hanc animan
541. concubitūs - acc. pl.; vacuās - i.e., blameless; habuissem - “I would have had”
1
quandōcumque mihī poenās dabis! ipsa pudōre
prōiectō tua facta loquar: sī cōpia dētur, 545
in populōs veniam; sīsilvīs clausa tenēbor,
implēbō silvās et conscia saxa movēbō;
audiet haec aether et sī deus ūllus in illō est!”
544. quandōcumque - “at some point”; poenam dare - to pay the penalty
545. proiectō - w. pudore, abl. abs.; copia - “opportunity”; detur - “should be given”
546. in populōs - i.e. publicly
547. conscia - “as witnesses”
548. aether - subj.; rephrase: et deus, sī ūllus in illō (aethere) est
1
549-554: Enraged by her words, Tereus binds Philomela, who hopes to be killed.
In anger at her words and fear no less,
Goaded by both, that brutal despot drew
His dangling sword and seized her by the hair,
And forced her arms behind her back and bound
Them fast; and Philomela, seeing the sword,
Offered her throat and hoped she would have died. (138)
555-562: Philomela’s tongue is removed, with truly grotesque consequences. Tereus is proved to be even more of a brute than previously imagined.
1
ille indignantem et nōmen patris usque vocantem555
luctantemque loquī comprensam forcipe linguam
abstulit ēnse ferō. rādix micat ultima linguae,
ipsa iacet terraeque tremēns immurmurat ātrae,
utque salīre solet mutilātae cauda colūbrae,
palpitat et moriēns dominae vestīgia quaerit.560
hoc quoque post facinus (vix ausim crēdere) fertur
saepe suā lacerum repetisse libīdine corpus.
555. ille - Tereus; indignantem, et sim. - w. linguam; nōmen - obj. of vocantem
556. loquī - compl. infin. w. luctantem; comprensam w. linguam, obj. of abstulit; forcipe - abl. of means
557. micat - “quivers,” “throbs”
559. utque - introd. simile
561. ausim - perf. subjn. in idiom, “I should dare”; fertur - “(Tereus) is said”
562. repetisse = repetīvisse, infin. w. fertur, lit. “to have attacked again”; libīdine - abl. of means
1
561-570: Tereus returns to Procne and tells her that Philomela has died. Procne mourns the tragedy that has befallen her sister.
After this bestial business he returns,
Brazen, to Procne. When they meet, she asks
Her husband for her sister, and he groans
As if in grief and tells a lying tale
About her death, with tears to prove it true.
Then Procne snatches off her gleaming robe,
With its wide golden fringe, and clothes herself
In weeds of black and builds a cenotaph,
With offerings to the ghost that is no ghost
And mourns her darling sister’s tragedy,
And right she was to mourn - though differently. (138-9)
571-586: A year passes, and Philomela is still imprisoned. She comes up with a clever plan to alert Procne of her plight, weaving the story into a tapestry since she cannot speak, and Procne thus learns of the outrage and begins to contemplate revenge.
1
Signa deus bis sex actō lustrāverat annō;
quid faciat Philomēla? fugam custōdia claudit,
structa rigent solidō stabulōrum moenia saxō,
ōs mūtum factī cāret indice. grande dolōris
ingenium est, miserīsque venit sollertia rēbus:575
stāmina barbaricā suspendit callida tēlā
purpureāsque notās fīlīs intexuit albīs,
indicium sceleris; perfectaque trādidit ūnī,
utque ferat dominae, gestū rogat; illa rogāta
pertulit ad Procnēn nec scit, quid trādat in illīs. 580
ēvolvit vestēs saevī matrōna tyrannī
germānaeque suae fātum miserābile lēgit
571. signa - i.e. of the zodiac, w. sex; deus - i.e. Apollo or Helius, gods of sun; actō…annō - abl. abs.
572. faciat - delib. subjn., transl. w. “should”
573. structa - w. moenia, the subj., render w. solidō…saxō
574. indice - abl. w. caret, render w. factī, grande…rebus - aphoristic
576. stāmina - “vertical threads of a loom”; tēlā - w. barbaricā (because it is Thracian and will tell story of barbarity), “horizontal thread of loom”; callida - sc. Philomela
578. indicium- in apposition, transl. w. “as” before it; ūnī - dat., “one woman”
579. ut - introd. ind. command w. rogat; dominae - i.e. Procne; illa - i.e. the woman
580. Procnēn - Gr. acc. form; quid - introd. ind. question w. scit
581. vestēs - i.e. the tapestry; matrōna- “wife”
582. lēgit- used here figuratively
1
et (mīrum potuisse) silet: dolor ōra repressit,
verbaque quaerentī satis indignantia linguae
dēfuērunt, nec flēre vacat, sed fāsque nefāsque585
confūsūra ruit poenaeque in imāgine tōta est.
583. mīrum potuisse -“a wonder that she is able”; ōra - poetic pl.
584. verba- obj. of dat. quaerentī w. indigantia; satis - adv.; linguae - subj., poetic pl.
585. vacat - “there is time”; fās, nēfās - obj. of confūsūra
586. confūsūra - “about to blur, jumble”; poenae - i.e. for Tereus; imāgine - here, “imagination”
1
587-605: The time for the festival of Bacchus has arrived. Procne runs screaming through the woods and finds the hut in which her sister has been imprisoned. Hiding Philomela in the guise of a Bacchant, she surreptitiously sneaks the girl back into the palace and hugs her, but Philomela cannot even look at her sister for shame.
It was the time of Bacchus’ festival,
Kept by the Thracian women each three years.
Night knows their sacraments; at night the peaks
Of Rhodope resound with ringing bronze;
At night the queen, arrayed to celebrate
The rites, went forth with frenzy’s weaponry.
Vines wreathed her head, a light spear lay open
Her shoulder and a deerskin draped her side.
Wild with her troop of women through the woods
She rushed, a sight of terror, frenzied by
The grief that maddened her, the image of
A real Bacchanal. At last she reached
The lonely hut and, screaming Bacchic cries,
Broke down the door, burst in and seized her sister,
Garbed her in Bacchic gear and hid her face,
Concealed in ivy leaves, and brought the girl
Back, in a daze, inside her palace wall.
Then Philomela, when she realized
That she had reached that house of wickedness,
Shuddered in horror and turned deathly pale.
And Procne, in a private place, removed
The emblems of the revels and revealed
Her sister’s face, a face of misery
And shame, and took her in her arms. (139-40)
605-619: As Procne becomes sure that Philomela is not at fault, she rages against her husband. She is ready to wreak great vengeance; she’s just not sure what it is yet.
1
sed nōn attollere contrā605
sustinet haec oculōs paelex sibi vīsa sorōris
dēiectōque in humum vultū iurāre volentī
testārīque deōs, per vim sibi dēdecus illud
inlātum, prō vōce manus fuit. ardet et īram
non capit ipsa suam Procnēflētumque sorōris610
corripiēns, “nōn est lacrimīs hōc,” inquit, “agendum,
sed ferrō, sed sī quid habēs, quod vincere ferrum
possit. in omne nefās ego mē, germāna, parāvī:
aut ego, cum facibus rēgālia tecta cremābō,
artificem mediīs inmittam Tērea flammīs,615
aut linguam atque oculōs et quae tibi membra pudōrem
abstulērunt ferrō rapiam, aut per vulnera mīlle
sontem animam expellam! magnum quodcumque parāvī;
quid sit, adhūc dubitō.”
605. contrā - adv.
606. sustinet - “cannot bear,” w. attollere; haec - sc. Philomela
607. deiectō…vultū - abl. abs.; volentī - dat. of ref., sc. Philomela, w. comp. infins. iūrāre and testārī
608. per…inlātum - ind. stmt. (sc. esse) depen. on iūrāre and testārī
609. manus - i.e., she was signing
610. capit - “control”;
611. corripiēns - “overcoming”; lacrimīs - dat. of agent!
612. ferrō - dat. of agent; sed - “or”; quid - indef., w. quod
613. in - + acc. = “for”
615. artificem - lit. “craftsman,” here “schemer”; inmittam - verb; Tērea - Gr. acc.
616. membra - render before rel. clause (quae…); tibi - dat. of separation; pudōrem - “chastity”
618. sontemsons; quodcumque - “something”