Ovid, on the Birth of Love (Met. I 452 ff.)

OVID, ON THE BIRTH OF LOVE MET. I 452 FF.)' The cha m o he Apollo and Daphne my h inspi es admi a ion, pa icula ly in i s ama o y ace , he aspec which has a ac ed mos a en ion. Bu he my h also examines lo e and pain, alongside he elemen s o p ophecy and i gini y, as he ue na u e o poe y, symbolized by he lau el o Apollo. I also deals wi h lo e -and i s opposi e, he philosophical p inciples o sepa a ion and combina ion- as p imum mobile in a ci ilizing ew i ing o Hesiod and his p ima y, gene a i e lo e. He e O id uses he cha m o elegy wi h he cosmogonic hymn, didac ic wisdom and he epyllion. The my h o Daphne and Apollo o he me amo phosis o he lau el, is endowed wi h beau y, and he ac is ha when we ma el a any mani es a ion o beau y -a handsome you h like Apollo he e, O id's a i sel , any exquisi e wo k o na u e- we do no ask he objec o ou admi a ion o b eak in o speech, o speak sensibly o o display wisdom. We do no expec se ious s a emen s om he ai Helen, and we can be mo ed o ecs asy by an a ia whose meaning is a closed book o us. The my h sings o use ul hings in dulce ones. In such dulce ones, in ac , - he one o lo e elegy, o o lo e and pain- ha he philosophical elemen i ually passes unno iced. This is jus as i should be in such a wo k as he Me amo p.hoses, which aims o 'Al hough I e e o he my h in gene al, i is lines 452-473 in pa icula ha I am commen ing on he e. I would like o hank he Minis e io de Educación y Ciencia (PS94- 0096) o encou agemen abo e all and o economic assis ance. I am e y g a e ul o Ca iona Zol owska o help wi h hese pages. Exempla ia 2 (1), 1998, 15-23. © Uni e sidad de Huel a Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 16  ANA PÉREZ VEGA en e ain and deligh us wi h i s endless compendium o knowledge, and i s sus ained ligh ness o one. The my h o Daphne and Apollo, o ins ance, con a y o appea ances, begins mos unhappily. I o igina es in he con lic be ween wo a che gods, Cupid and Apollo. The bow means powe , and hei duel mus be based on he symbol o he powe s, a odds wi h each o he . I is on he bow ha Apollo concen a es his challenge, and wi h i he winged you h exac s e enge o he a on o he senseless boy. A he end o i s hund ed-odd lines, he my h didac ically almos culmina es in a con adic ion. Fo shunning he iolen lo e o Apollo, Daphne is inally inca na ed as one o his a ibu es, he lau el. Bu why lau el? Wha kind o symbol o Apollo can his be? The lau el is an e e g een, shining ee, wi h pu i ying e ec s. The pe ennial sheen o i s lea y b anches is associa ed wi h he adian b igh ness o immo ali y, in e e nal you h: emblems o glo y and ic o y. All his, oge he wi h he ies wi h i gini y (Daphne) and wi h p ophecy (Apollo), combine o make he lau el a symbol o poe y. In e ms o i s subjec ma e , he agmen is epic. I should also be se ious, as be i s a s uggle be ween gods. Howe e , he one domina ing he legend as a whole is enchan ingly ama o y. A wise choice, because oge he wi h he incu able emo ions Cupid in lic s on his ende p ey, we wi ness he bi h in he wo k -in he uni e se- o lo e and his win and ad e sa y, ha ed. F om om now on i is lo e in pa icula ha will ha e he ask o eeding ("swee poison") ou al eady sha pened in e es , no only in his passage, bu h oughou he poem, as in he Me amo phoses as a whole. The ex is also amed wi hin he peculia Genesis o O id, who now wonde s abou he consecu i e dis ibu ion o he Whole om ough and o mless Chaos. In his didac ic poin lo e and ha e mus ul il hei co esponding unc ion as well: as p inciples which a e also o sepa a ion and union, o conco d and disco d, he wo opposing o ces which ha e helped he wise men o so many pe iods o conjec u e abou he oad be ween black holes o big bang and he o de ly, in elligen cosmos. Fo , in ac , he wo ld and i s cons an mu a ions a e e lec ed in he i een books o he T ans o ma ions. Bu o go back o lo e, i is he b illian ly applied ama o y one ha gi es he episode i s cha m. Obse ing i s incu able o men , we become sympa he ic accomplices, and a e en e ained. In u n, he ob ious cha m o he piece, e en g ea e in wha lies benea h he Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 OVID, ON THE BIRTH OF LOVE  17 su ace, p oduces he desi ed e ec , emo ion, which is wha eng a es i deep in ou memo y a he han ou consciousness. I we use wha is explici in he passage wi h wha is s ongly sugges ed, i could be said ha Delian Phoebus is he Apollo who ep esen s an age ha hi s s o lo e, he age o he mili a y ba acks, you h in all i s a dou , i s imp udence and i s e o . He e we see he god exhila a ing in hun ing, he h ill ha is a ca bon copy o eal soldie ing. He eels p ide in his ecen conques o he d agon, his sau ian om an unde ined age, no long a e he lood in O idian paleon ology. Suddenly he encoun e s Cupid, an all-powe ul god o all ha he is a boy. Lo e bends his bow o au en he s ing, wi h no indica ion o his speci ic pu pose o a ge , o who he unknown ic im migh be, a e lec ion o lo e pe manen ly lying in wai . Apollo haugh ily upb aids he boy o wielding a weapon o which he has exclusi e igh s, he bow: he key. He a gues, boas ing o he Py hon, his ecen qua y, and o de s Cupid o limi his powe s o he use o he o ch, whose e ec s he beli les as a bu ning sensa ion, an i i a ion which is unknown o him and which he he e o e sco ns. By his ime Apollo is al eady los , wi hou ealizing i , since his s ubbo n, emp y hea is unacquain ed wi h he imminen wound o lo e, is igno an o he laws o his wa , so much ue and ha she han he wa o me al weapons o he elegis s, o hose who once we e poe s o ebellious lo e. Cupid, in u n, possesses wo a ibu es: he o ch, o cou se, bu also he bow, and he is no jus any lesse god, no any less skilled wi h he a ow. To he p o oca i e jibes o Apollo, and his lack o calcula ion, he acco dingly eplies epically, hie a ically, in a one which would be ou o p opo ion o any o he boy. Home ic, oo, is he manne in which he announces his e enge and ins an ly ca ies i ou . Flying up o he lo y heigh s o Pa nassus, he in lic s on Apollo he wound o lo e, he pie cing golden wound - he gold o di ini y, o he anscenden al. A he same ime he pie ces he maiden Daphne wi h he blun lead o disco d, which she will be unable o bea . In his way he b a e daugh e o he i e god, he migh y Peneus, is o su e a c uel, unsough blow, o in he i e ocable chas i y, he down all was he beau y. Meanwhile, he dashing conque ed god, wi h his u u e lau els, symbols o ic o y, absu dly ends up as he inca na ion o he admoni o y con adic ion and becomes he hun ed hun e , he wounded heale . Pa nassus is he mos sui able backg ound o his scene, since i is he moun ain o he Muses, below which, in Delphi, he god had Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 18  ANA Piz VEGA o e come he d agon. And now we unde s and why Apollo is he god o music and poe y, and o all he a s. I is he wo k o lo e, a oad o knowledge. Fo wha o he p o ound eason, wha o he allego ical logic could be ound in O id? We ha e seen how li le space is aken up by he s inging oge he o hemes and ones which ha e always exis ed, hemes which a e always new in an a is 's hands. I is e en mo e as onishing o see how he i s wo lines alone a e enough o sugges he essence o a whole long s o y which, as men ioned abo e, akes up mo e han a hund ed lines. I he eal es o an opening lies in he b illiance o i s impac , his one akes o wi h a bang. P imus amo Phoebi Daphne Peneia, quem non o s igna a dedi , sed saeua Cupidinis i a. One dis ich manages o in oduce he episode while loca ing, summa ising and condensing i . The s o y is o be ha o a i s lo e ( ha o he i s lo e), since gi en i s posi ion in he i s book, we should be p epa ed o some ae iology, some ul ima e cause. We a e o b ace ou sel es o some hing highly signi ican , he alded by he o ce o his double p inciple. A he same ime, he i s wo wo ds (p imus amo ) in oduce an episode we should expec o be ama o y, and in ac i is an elegiac one, i ingly, ha will p e ail in he legend. We a e also immedia ely in oduced o he cha ac e s in he names ha ollow (Phoebi Daphne Peneia). Phoebus comes i s , al hough we may al eady ha e guessed a Cupid's p esence om he e m p imus amo , and now lo e is o ule in Apollo's emp y hea . Nex comes Daphne, objec o his desi e, who loa hes him, in a a e ul wo d o de . Following in second place is Peneus, he p o ec o , he lo ing a he , whose oice will la e be hea d in he e ospec ion on Daphne and o whom mo eo e he esolu ion o he my h will be delega ed: o sa e his daugh e , he changes he in o a lau el, and al hough he does no hus ee he om Apollo o om Cupid, he does manage o sa e he 2 Phoebi-Daphne. The o de o he ad e sa ies names eopens he wound o us a ed lo e he e and in he no less imp essi e opening o he second Eclogue: o monsum - pas o , Beau y and he Beas ; o he i als in lo e in Sappho, 31, ai ne ai moi - kh'no", jus as in Ca ullus 51, Ille-mihi; Puella-senibus, in Ma ial V 37, he li le gi l and he old man. The i als o lo e s a e joined in a union much mo e deadly han he dis ance ha uni es o sepa a es hem: odi e amo. The same ule which is applied o he imminence o Daphne and Apollo can be seen one s ep be o e in P imus A/amo -Phoebi: Cupid and Apollo duelling. In addi ion, he iden i y which lows easily om he nominal ph ase ("The i s lo e o Phoebus: Daphne, daugh e o Peneus") is a enewal o g ie . I s an hological ambigui y ("The i s lo e: o Phoebus and Daphne daugh e o Peneus") is equi alen o he o acula "This is you wi e and mo he o you child en" in Oedipus. Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 O ID, ON THE BIRTH OF Lo E 19 i gini y. Wha g ea e ibu e could he e be o he lau el o a han his esh, un odden (auia) sanc i y? Finally, jus a he end o he second line, we once again ha e a linking men ion o Cupid (amo - Cupidinis), in his s a ole: he double, he iumphan o ce. Fo s and i a also s uggle in he same sho space. They in oduce ension o he line, combining wi h he adjec i es: o i was no chance ha was igno an bu Apollo's you h 3 , opposed o he omnipo en age which no mally cha ac e ises he gods and hei e lec ions, he epic he oes. The in oduc o y lines he ald he ine i able duel, wi h a clea ic o and a se ious ending which only epic (saeua i a) so ened by he sensuali y and pi y o elegy, succeeds in lamen ing. All his is indica ed o sugges ed by hese wo lines, which gi e some ad ance wa ning o he linking o ain allusions, o he sub le use o nominal ph ases, o app op ia e cadences'. All hese elemen s combine o c ea e an exquisi e wo k, one o ma ch he concen a ed epig am which opens and sums up he second Eclogue o Vi gil o he whole u bulence and consciousness o passion lodged in Ca ullus' desola e Odi e amo, also comp essed in wo lines. I ha e al eady men ioned some o he ones ha moniously combined in he ex . The Me amo phoses belong o he newbo n gen e o insolen epic, as i could well be named, he li ing po ai o he accu sed adical ebel poe who concei ed i , an app op ia e esponse o he abuse o powe which was he seed o he Aeneid. In his episode he e e nal epic akes he a ac i e o m o a g ace ul elegy which is also a cosmogonic hymn and which w i es o e he lines o e e y genesis, o e e y heogony, o e Hesiod, o e e e y book o wisdom, ew i ing he bi h o lo e (o o Lo e, cause and e ec ) wi h in ini e cha m, and insc u able se iousness. And a he same ime i is in e wined wi h he s o y o he bi h o ange (o ha e), pe haps concu en wi h a hi d o ou h gen e, a new minia u ised epic o do wi h Home and he whole s o y 5 o humani y which i echoes. ;I belie e ha igna a, e lec ing you h, is applied o Apollo, jus as saeua undoub edly e e s o Cupid. Apollo's innocence (p imus amo ) is s essed by he adjec i e lasciue which Apollo associa es wi h Cupid, so ha he na a o , by calling him saeuus wi hou mode a ing his wo ds, a he same ime de ines wha is c ucial in he wo gods. 4 PRiMus aMoR PHoebi DaPHNE PeNEia, queM NoN / oRs igNaRa DeDi , Sed SaeuA CupIdlnIs I A, is only he pe cep ible pa o he music I e e o. The eccen ic place occupied by non, alling ha shly a he end o he line, pe haps emphasises all hese elemen s, and gi es i s echo such powe . 'The epic is he poe ic his o y o human con lic and by his I mean ha i is deeply and uly assumed. Fo all science, all knowledge is ans o med by poe y in o a spi i ual op ion o a spi i ual subjec . This is he case o Hesiod and Luc e ius and o he a ious Sc ip u es, and is use ully and lucidly e oked in Goe he's Faus . Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 20 ANA PÉREZ VEGA Wi h e e ence o he di e en o ms o knowledge, he epic among hem, he e seems o be a whole se ies o in ini e uni y o gods whose many eplicas a e o be ound among men -among he oes- and his eeling is common o all humani y. Bu , be ween his human wo ld and he di ine wo ld, wha is he shadow and wha he idea? Le us y o ind ou . Sing, oh Muse, o he w a h o Achilles, son o Peleus, ha ill- a ed w a h, which was a sou ce o uncoun able ills, which cas in o Hades he gene ous souls o many he oes, and le hei bodies as ood o he dogs and he bi ds ( hus he will o Zeus was ca ied ou ), om he day when, o he i s ime, a qua el di ided he son o A eus, king o men, and di ine Achilles. And who hen, among inmo als, was he one who p o oked such iolen dispu es? The son o La ona and Zeus. In his w a h agains Agamemnon, Apollo made a e ible a lic ion all upon he a my, and he peoples pe ished, because he son o A eus had o ended his p ies Ch yses. Le us e ead his in a ain a emp o ind ou whe he he w a h o Achilles o ha o Apollo o he o ence o Agamemnon, son o A eus, was o we e he i s cause o he wa . Ou only ce ain y is ha ages and p imo dial s uggles begin he s o y and ha he Iliad exal s he i s and g ea es con lic o new-bo n humani y. Bu when ying o deciphe he deepes o igins o his e il, we hesi a e, los in a maze o mi o s, who is p ojec ing his ange and who is e lec ing i , so ha we do no know whe e o look o he image o idea. Re u ning o O id and his e sion o he o igin o lo e, and i s opposi e, we see ha in he ex he w a h o a pa icula Home ic he o, Achilles, is in oked as, by implica ion, he w a h o all he iolen cha ac e s (men, he oes o gods) who people he epics. O id alludes o he w a h o he in incible one, o he god o heal h and illness, he w a h o Apollo, whose cul was neglec ed by hese i s ances o s o ou s. Apollo, who d o e men o wa -o ice e sa -, is he pe ec candida e o his new assignmen . To him alls he con adic o y honou o changing om he powe ul dispense o w a h o ic im. I should again be epea ed ha his be alls him a he hands o a child, hough no common child. A s ange and pa he ic ole: a new wa ning. And should no Cupid d awing his bow also ecall ha g ea sage, one o he ew who had e e seen Hell, Ulysses, e u ning om his nós os a he end o he Odyssey? Should we doub o which glo ious a che he he o commends himsel a ha e y momen when, as he only one capable o bending he bow, he changes om a begga in o an in incible adminis a o o jus ice? Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 OVID, ON THE BIRTH OF LOVE 21 We could go on o dwell on mo e de ails la en in he ex . Men ion could be made, o example, o he e e ence o he my h o he ages in he gold and he lead in Cupid's a ows, since a ci ilising allego y o his ype would ein o ce diploma ic conco d agains uns able and des uc i e wa . O we could conside he co ec ion o Hesiod, whose ad en o lo e is pos poned in O id, con e ing i om a s ic ly necessa y gene a i e and engende ing o ce in o a sensual, magne ic and na co ic u y. This sublima ion is also ci ilising and i s mys ic pa h has been odden so o en ha i mus su ely be ue. O pe haps one could see in he umb osa ci adel o Pa nassus a e e en e e ence o he "shades", o he immo al souls o dead li e a y mas e s. We could e en eel a li le mo e pi y o Apollo as we pe cei e he pa he ic iangle which he o ms, in ye ano he pa adox, wi h his own sis e as i al. I is o Phoebe, ha o he maid, ha Daphne gi es he sel up. Daphne, Phoebe and Phoebus a a dis ance 6 . Fo as he ama o y speleologis s wa n -and no only he ogues like Ho ace bu also he mo e se ious au ho s- Venus likes o join wi h an une en wounding b onze yoke e e y hing ha is di e en . Fo in wha o he mi o would she le us look a ou sel es, wha o he e lec ion could she o e us -o ice- e sa, could we mo als o e he - he beau i ul goddess o lo e, he wi e o he de o med smi h? We may well be as onished a how O id ew i es himsel , since I belie e ha his ex ep esen s he li e a y ma u i y, e bal and speci ically allusi e, o his i e e en mani es o agains he shame ul adula o y a demanded by Augus us. I am e e ing in pa icula o he i s elegy o his Amo es (bu also o he es ), a wo k which a he heigh o he dic a o ship could boas o a libe al spi i and a i mness ha only he could main ain, unlike hose who we e a one ime poe s o da ing lo e and poli ical ebels. Only O id s ood as and paid a hea y p ice': he pain o exile, he macab e double dea h in li e me ed ou by Augus us o his wo s enemies, o his daugh e Julia, o he man who migh ha e been his successo , Ag ippa Pos umus, and also o O id, o (and by way o ) example. Howe e , I do no eel i necessa y o insis much u he on wha seems o be a deligh ul ui o O id's as ounding a , and o his misunde s ood, and a imes sco ned, in ellec ual igou . I do no see 'G aphically seen in lines 463 and 467, so dis an . 7 This is a opic o discussion elsewhe e, bu I ag ee wi h hose who main ain ha O id in his exile, a om being a la e e , was in ac an implacable opponen o Augus us' egime, and compa able in i e e ence o Lucan, who b anded Ne o as a and squin ing, o Pe sius, o whom he empe o had ass's ea s. Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 22  ANA PÉREZ VEGA ha igno ance o ob iousness, coa seness o baseness, ha e e en he sligh es pa o play in he wo k o his g ea poe , al hough i ce ainly is impo an o ecognise, as in he esul s o any a is , he p o agonism o he b illian use o he o ui ous, o elici ous disco e y, o he subconscious. I should be added ha o some eade s o O id, loyal and compe en , his episode may me ely be seen as i olously elegiac, seemingly -in ac , qui e legi ima ely- disjoin ed. We all ha e ou own way o eading o in e p e ing his mas e o seduc ion, jus as we all ha e ou own way o becoming ic ims o Augus us' censo ship. O e en o alling unde he spell o lo e, equally blinding, illuso y, and decep i e. APPENDIX (METAMORPHOSES I, 452-73) P imus amo Phoebi Daphne Peneia, quem non o s igna a dedi sed saeua Cupidinis i a. Delius hunc nupe uic o se pen e supe bus uide a adduc o lec en em co nua ne uo `quid'que ' ibi, lasciue pue , cum o ibus a mis?' dixe a , 'is a decen ume os ges amina nos os, qui da e ce a e ae, da e uulne a possumus hos i, qui modo pes i e o o iuge a uen e p emen em s auimus innume is umidum Py hona sagi is. Tu ace nescio quos es o con en us amo es in i a e ua nec laudes adse e nos as.' Filius huic Vene is ' iga uus omnia, Phoebe, e meus a cus' ai 'quan oque animalia cedun cunc a deo an o mino es ua glo ia nos a.' Dixi e eliso pe cussis ac e pennis inpige umb osa Pa nasi cons i i a ce eque sagi i e a p ompsi duo ela pha e a diue so um ope um: uga hoc, aci illud amo em; quod aci au a um es e cuspide ulge acu a, quod uga ob usum es e habe sub ha undine plumbum; hoc deus in nympha Peneide ixi a illo laesi Apollineas aiec a pe ossa medullas The i s lo e o Phoebus was Daphne, daugh e o Peneus, and no h ough igno an chance bu h ough he c uel w a h o Cupid. The Delian, aun ing his ecen conques o he d agon had seen him bending his au bow, and had said "Wha do you ha e o do, you Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009 OVID, ON THE BIRTH OF Lo E  23 play ul child, wi h a ms o alou ? These bu dens a e sui ed o my shoulde s since I know how o wound wi h ce ain y he oe, he mons e , and wi h coun less a ows ha e jus laid low he swollen Py hon, who be o e co e ed whole ac es wi h his plague-bea ing o m. Con en you sel wi h p o oking some lo e o o he wi h you o ch and do no lay claim o my honou s." And o him he son o Venus answe ed "You bow may pie ce e e y hing. Phoebus, bu my bow will pie ce you, and jus as much as all animals a e lowe han gods, so is you glo y lesse han mine. He spoke, and bea ing he ai wi h his wings, quickly es ed on he shady heigh s o Pa nassus, whe e he d ew om his ull qui e wo da s wi h opposi e e ec s: one o d i e away, he o he o inspi e lo e. The one ha inspi es is o gold, wi h a sha p gleaming ip. The one ha d i es away is blun , and i s sha illed wi h lead. This is he one ha he god used o shoo he nymph o Peneus, while wi h he o he he wounded Apollo, shoo ing i in o he ma ow o his bones. WORKS CITED Ande son. V. S. (1995) «Aspec s o Lo e in O id's Me amo phoses», Classical, jou nal 90 (3): 265-269. Ba na d, M. E. (1990) The My h o Apollo and Daphne om O id o Que edo: Lo e, Agon, and he G o esque, Du ham NC 1987. Rese—a de Elizabe h Rhodes en Speculum. 65: 366-368. Hollis, A. S. (1996) , O id, Me amo phoses 1,445í .: Apollo, Daphne, and he Py hian C own, Zei sch i ü Pap ologie and Epig aphik 112: 69-73. Knox, P. E. (1990) «In Pu sui o Daphne-, T ansac ions o he Ame ican Philological Associa ion 120: 183-202. Ma in, H. M. (1933) The Apollo and Daphne My h as T ea ed by Lope de Vega and Calde ón', Hispanic Re iew 1: 149-60. Williams, F. (1998) • , Daphne T ans o med: Pa henius, O id and E.M. Fo s e ., He ma hena 164. Wills, J. (1990) • , Callimachean Models o O id's Apollo-Daphne', Ma e iali e discussioni pe 1'analisi dei es i classici 24: 143-156. ANA PÉREZ VEGA UNIVERSIDAD DE SEVILLA SPRING 1996 Uni e sidad de Huel a 2009