Speaker 1: Oh hi, hello there live here, and this is let's
Speaker 1: talk about BET's baby podcast where Gods, I give you
Speaker 1: so many different types of episodes, all revolving around Greek
Speaker 1: and sometimes Roman mythology, because why not. Today is once
Speaker 1: again a retelling episode reading of its metamorphoses for you
Speaker 1: all is seriously fun. And the further we get, the
Speaker 1: closer we get to when it all turned into like
Speaker 1: this weird pseudohistorical nonsense. And honestly I've never actually read
Speaker 1: before because it features Julius Caesar and Avid's take on
Speaker 1: Aneas especially, I don't care to like tell you all
Speaker 1: those stories narratively, like reading them will be fun. I'm
Speaker 1: kind of excited, but I'm getting ahead of myself because
Speaker 1: we aren't there yet. I just enjoy Avid, damn it.
Speaker 1: Today we're continuing on diving into Avid's version of some
Speaker 1: well known stories and some lesser known. We've already met
Speaker 1: Manas in the last reading episode, setting up a certain
Speaker 1: bit of minotaur related drama. But before that, he's got
Speaker 1: to encounter a certain woman named Scilla, a woman who's not, unfortunately,
Speaker 1: the monster that we all know so well. It's another Scilla.
Speaker 1: We've also got some of my favorite of Avid's stories
Speaker 1: coming up Our Girl at Atlanta, so appropriately close to
Speaker 1: the release of my episode with the always wonderful Jennifer
Speaker 1: Saint about her new novel. And then we've got Erisichthon,
Speaker 1: who you know, the guy who basically ate himself to death.
Speaker 1: This is gonna be fun one. So let's jump right
Speaker 1: back into Ovid's version of Minos and all the intrigue
Speaker 1: between Crete and Athens and everything else to come, shall we?
Speaker 1: This is Avid's Metamorphoses, translated by brooks More Book eight.
Speaker 1: Now Lucifer unveiled the glorious day, and as the session
Speaker 1: of the night dissolved, the cool east wind declined and
Speaker 1: vapors wreathed the moistened valleys. Veering to the south. The
Speaker 1: welcome wind gave passage to the suns of Yak and
Speaker 1: wafted Kephalus on his returning way Propitious, where before the
Speaker 1: wonted hour they entered port King Minos. While the fair
Speaker 1: wind moved their ship was laying waste the land of Megara.
Speaker 1: He gathered a great army round the walls built by Alcathos,
Speaker 1: where reigned in splendor King Nissus Mighty and renowned in war,
Speaker 1: upon the center of whose hoary head a lock of
Speaker 1: purple hair was growing. Its proved virtue gave protection to
Speaker 1: his throne. Six times the horns of rising phoebe grew,
Speaker 1: and still the changing fortune of the war was in suspense,
Speaker 1: so victory day by day between them hovered on uncertained wings.
Speaker 1: Within that city was a regal tower on tuneful walls,
Speaker 1: where once Apollo laid his golden harp, and in the
Speaker 1: throbbing stone the sounds remained, and there, in times of peace,
Speaker 1: the daughter of King Nessus loved to mount the walls
Speaker 1: and strike the sounding stone with pebbles. So when the
Speaker 1: war began, she often viewed the dreadful contest from that height,
Speaker 1: until so long the hostile camp remained. She had become
Speaker 1: acquainted with the names, and knew the habits, horses, and
Speaker 1: the arms of many a chief, and could discern the
Speaker 1: signs of their Chidonian quivers. More than all the features
Speaker 1: of King Minos were engraved upon the tablets of her mind,
Speaker 1: And when he wore his helmet crested with gay plumes,
Speaker 1: she deemed it glorious. When he held his shield shining
Speaker 1: with gold, no other seemed so grand, and when he
Speaker 1: poised to hurl the tough spear home, she praised his
Speaker 1: skill and strength, And when he bent his curving bow
Speaker 1: with arrow on the cord, she pictured him as Phoebus
Speaker 1: taking aim. But when arrayed in purple and upon the
Speaker 1: back of his white war horse, proudly decked with richly
Speaker 1: broidered housings, he reined in the nervous steed and took
Speaker 1: his helmet off, showing his fearless features. Then the maid
Speaker 1: daughter of Nissus could control herself no longer, and a
Speaker 1: frenzy seized her mind. She called the javelin happy, which
Speaker 1: he touched, and blessed were the reins within his hand.
Speaker 1: She had an impulse to direct her steps a tender virgin,
Speaker 1: threw the hostile ranks, or cast her body from the
Speaker 1: topmost towers into the Gnosian camp. She had a wild
Speaker 1: desire to open to the enemy the heavy brass bound gates,
Speaker 1: or anything that Manos could desire. And as she sat
Speaker 1: beholding the white tents, she cried, alas should I rejoice
Speaker 1: or grieve to see this war? I grieve that Mino
Speaker 1: is the enemy of her who loves him. But unless
Speaker 1: the war had brought him, How could he be known
Speaker 1: to me? But should he take me for a hostage
Speaker 1: that might end the war a pledge of peace, he
Speaker 1: might keep me for his companion. Oh, supreme of mankind,
Speaker 1: she who bore you must have been as beautiful as
Speaker 1: you are, ample cause for Jove to lose his heart,
Speaker 1: oh hostile camp in front of myno's, and declare to
Speaker 1: him my name and passion. Then would I implore what
Speaker 1: dowry he could wish, and would provide whatever he might ask,
Speaker 1: except alone the city of my father, Perish all my
Speaker 1: secret hopes before one act of mine should offer treason
Speaker 1: to accomplish it. And yet the kindness of a conqueror
Speaker 1: has often proved a blessing manifest to those who were defeated.
Speaker 1: Certainly the war he carries on is justified by his
Speaker 1: slain son. He is a my he king thrice strengthened
Speaker 1: in his cause. Undoubtedly we shall be conquered. And if
Speaker 1: such a fate awaits our city, why should he, by force,
Speaker 1: instead of my consuming love, prevail to open the strong
Speaker 1: gates without delay and dreadful slaughter. It is best for
Speaker 1: him to conquer and decide this savage war, Ugh, minos,
Speaker 1: How I fear the bitter fate should any warrior hurl
Speaker 1: his cruel spear and pierce you by mischance, For surely
Speaker 1: none can be so hardened to transfix your breast with
Speaker 1: purpose known, Oh, let her love prevail to open his
Speaker 1: for his army the great gates. Only the thought of
Speaker 1: it has failed her soul. She is determined to deliver
Speaker 1: up her country as a dowry with herself, and so
Speaker 1: decide the war. But what avails this idle talk. A
Speaker 1: guard surrounds the gates. My father keeps the keys, and
Speaker 1: he alone is my obstruction. And the innocent account of
Speaker 1: my despair would to the gods I had No father
Speaker 1: is not man the god of his own fortune, though
Speaker 1: his idle prayers avail not to compel his destiny. Another woman,
Speaker 1: crazed with passionate desires, which now inflame me, would not hesitate,
Speaker 1: but with a fierce abandoned would destroy whatever checked her passion.
Speaker 1: Who is there with love to equal mine? I dare
Speaker 1: to go through flames and swords. But swords and flames
Speaker 1: are not now needed, for I only need my royal
Speaker 1: father's lock of purple hair, more precious than fine gold,
Speaker 1: it has a power to give my heart all that
Speaker 1: it may desire. While Scilla said this night that heals,
Speaker 1: our cares came on, and she grew bolder in the dark.
Speaker 1: And now it is the late and silent hour when
Speaker 1: slumber takes possession of the breast. Out wearied with the
Speaker 1: cares of busy day, Then as her father slept with
Speaker 1: stealthy tread, she entered his abode, and there despoiled and
Speaker 1: clipped his fatal lock of purple hair, concealing in her
Speaker 1: bosom the sad prize of crime. Degenerate, she at once
Speaker 1: went forth a gait unguarded, and with shameless haste, sped
Speaker 1: through the hostile army to the tent of Manos, whom, astonished,
Speaker 1: she addressed, only my love has led me to this deed.
Speaker 1: The daughter of King niss As, I am called the
Speaker 1: Maiden's Skilla. Unto you, I come and offer up a
Speaker 1: power that will prevail against my country, and I stipulate
Speaker 1: no recompense except yourself. Take then this purple hair a
Speaker 1: token of my love. Deem it not lightly as a
Speaker 1: lock of hair held idly forth to you. It is
Speaker 1: in truth my father's life. And as she spoke. She
Speaker 1: held out in her guilty hand the prize and begged
Speaker 1: him to accept it with her love. Shocked the thought
Speaker 1: of such a heinous crime, Manos refused and said, Oh,
Speaker 1: execrable thing, despised, abomination of our time. May all the
Speaker 1: gods forever banish you from their wide universe, and may
Speaker 1: the earth and the deep ocean be denied to you.
Speaker 1: So great a monster shall not be allowed to desecrate
Speaker 1: the sacred isle of Crete, where Jupiter was born, so
Speaker 1: Manos spoke. Nevertheless, he conquered Megara, so aided by the
Speaker 1: damsel's wicked deed, and as a just and mighty king,
Speaker 1: imposed his own conditions on the vanquished land. He ordered
Speaker 1: his great fleet tarry not. The hawsers were let loose,
Speaker 1: and the long oars quickly propelled his brazen pointed ships.
Speaker 1: When Scilla saw them launching forth, observed them sailing on
Speaker 1: the mighty deep, she called with vain entreaties, but, at
Speaker 1: last aware, the prince ignored her and refused to recompense
Speaker 1: her wickedness. Enraged and raving, she held up her impious hands,
Speaker 1: her long hair streaming on the wind, and said, oh,
Speaker 1: wherefore have you flown and left behind the author of
Speaker 1: your glory, Oh wretch, wretch to whom I offered up
Speaker 1: my native land and sacrificed my father. Where have you
Speaker 1: now flown, ungrateful man whose victory is both my crime
Speaker 1: and virtue, and the gift presented to you and my passion?
Speaker 1: Have these not moved you? Oh, my love and hope
Speaker 1: in you alone? Forsaken by my prince, Shall I return
Speaker 1: to my defeated land, if never ruined, it would shut
Speaker 1: its walls against me. Shall I seek my father's face,
Speaker 1: whom I delivered to all conquering arms. My fellow citizens
Speaker 1: despise my name, My friends and neighbors hate me. I
Speaker 1: have shut the world against me only in the hope
Speaker 1: that Crete would surely welcome me. And now he has
Speaker 1: forbidden me. And it is so I am requited by
Speaker 1: this thankless wretch. Your Ropa could not be your mother,
Speaker 1: spawn of cruel Curtis, savage, cub of fierce Armenian Tigris,
Speaker 1: or Charybdis, tossed by the wild south wind, but got you?
Speaker 1: Can you be the son of Jupiter? Your mother was
Speaker 1: not even tricked by the false semblance of a bull.
Speaker 1: All that story of your birth is false. You are
Speaker 1: the offspring of a bull as fierce as you are.
Speaker 1: Let your vengeance fall upon me, Oh, my father Nissus,
Speaker 1: Let the ruined city I betrayed, rejoice at my misfortunes,
Speaker 1: richly merited. Destroy me, you whom I have ruined. I
Speaker 1: should perish for my crimes, But why should you, who
Speaker 1: conquered by my crime, abandon me. The treason to my
Speaker 1: father and my land becomes an act of kindness in
Speaker 1: your cause. That woman is a worthy mate for you,
Speaker 1: who hid in wood deceived the raging bull and bore
Speaker 1: to him the infamy of crete. I do not wonder
Speaker 1: that passife preferred the bull to you, more sad than
Speaker 1: the wildest beast. Alas alas for me, do my complaints
Speaker 1: reach your unwilling ears? Or do the same winds waft
Speaker 1: away my words that blow upon your ships? Ungrateful man, ah,
Speaker 1: wretched that Iam, he takes delight in hastening from me.
Speaker 1: The deep waves resound as smitten by the oars. His
Speaker 1: ship departs, and I am lost, and even my native
Speaker 1: land is fading from his sight. Oh heart of flint,
Speaker 1: you shall not prosper in your cruelty, and you shall
Speaker 1: not forget my sacrifice. In spite of everything, I follow you.
Speaker 1: I'll grasp the curving stern of your swift ship, and
Speaker 1: I will follow through unending seas. And as she spoke,
Speaker 1: she leaped into the waves and followed the receding ships.
Speaker 1: For strength from passion came to her, and soon she
Speaker 1: clung unwelcome to the sailing Gnosian ships. Meanwhile, the gods
Speaker 1: had changed her form, and now he hovered over the
Speaker 1: salt deep a hawk with tawny wings. So when he
Speaker 1: saw his daughter clinging to the hostile ship, he would
Speaker 1: have torn her with his rending beak. He darted towards
Speaker 1: her through the yielding air. In terror, she let go,
Speaker 1: but as she fell, the light air held her from
Speaker 1: the ocean spray her feather weight supported by the breeze,
Speaker 1: she spread her wings and changed into a bird. They
Speaker 1: called her Kiras when she cut the wind, and Kiras
Speaker 1: cut the lock remains her name. King Minos, when he
Speaker 1: reached the land of Crete and left his ships, remembered
Speaker 1: he had made a vow to Jupiter and offered up
Speaker 1: a hundred bulls. The splendid spoils of war adorned his
Speaker 1: palace Now the infamous reproach of Crete had grown till
Speaker 1: it exposed the double natured shame. So Minos moved to
Speaker 1: cover his disgrace, resolved to hide the monster in a prison,
Speaker 1: and he built with intricate design. By Daedalus contrived, an
Speaker 1: architect of wonderful ability and famous. This he planned of
Speaker 1: mazy wanderings, the deceived, the eye, and labyrinthic passages involved.
Speaker 1: So sports the clear meander in the fields of Phrygia,
Speaker 1: winding doubtful back and forth to meet itself until the
Speaker 1: wandering stream fatigued impedes its wearied waters flow from source
Speaker 1: to c, from c to source involved, So Daedalus contrived
Speaker 1: in numerous paths and windings, vague so intricate that he,
Speaker 1: the architect, hardly could retrace his steps. In this, the
Speaker 1: minotaur was long concealed and there devoured Athenian victims sent
Speaker 1: three seasons, nine years each, till Theseus, son of Aegeus,
Speaker 1: slew him and retraced his way, finding the path by
Speaker 1: Ariadne's thread without delay. The victor fled from Crete together
Speaker 1: with the loving maid, and sailed for Dia, island of Naxos,
Speaker 1: where he left the maid forlorn, abandoned her. In time,
Speaker 1: lamenting and deserted, Bacchus found and for his love immortalized
Speaker 1: her name. He said, in the dark heavens, the bright
Speaker 1: crown that rested on her brows through the soft air,
Speaker 1: it whirled, while all the sparkling jewels changed to flashing fires,
Speaker 1: assuming in the sky between the serpent holder and the
Speaker 1: kneeler the well known shape of Ariadne's crown. But Daedalus
Speaker 1: abhorred the isle of Crete, and his long exile on
Speaker 1: that sea girt shore increased the love of his own
Speaker 1: native place. Though Mynos blocks escape by sea and land,
Speaker 1: he said, the unconfined skies remain. Though Minos may be
Speaker 1: lord of all the world, his scepter is not regent
Speaker 1: of the air, And by that untried way is our escape.
Speaker 1: This said, he turned his mind to arts unknown and
Speaker 1: nature unrevealed. He fashioned quills and feathers in due order,
Speaker 1: deftly formed from small to large as any rustic pipe,
Speaker 1: prompt straws unequal slants. He bound with thread the middle
Speaker 1: feathers and the lower fixed with pliant wax, till so
Speaker 1: in gentle curves arranged. He bent them to the shape
Speaker 1: of birds. While he was working, his son, Icarus, with
Speaker 1: smiling countenance and unaware of danger to himself, perchance would
Speaker 1: chase the feathers ruffled by the shifting breeze, or soften
Speaker 1: with his thumb the yellow wax, and by his playfulness
Speaker 1: slow the work his anxious father planned. But when at
Speaker 1: last the father finished it, he poised himself, and, lightly
Speaker 1: floating in the winnowed air, waved his great feathered wings
Speaker 1: with bird like ease, And likewise he had fashioned for
Speaker 1: his son such wings before they ventured in the air.
Speaker 1: He said, my son, I caution you to keep the
Speaker 1: middle way, for if your pinions dip too low, the
Speaker 1: waters may impede your flight, and if they so were
Speaker 1: too high, the sun may scorch them. Fly midway, gaze
Speaker 1: not at the boundless sea. Far ursa major and beotes
Speaker 1: next nor on orion with his flashing brand. But follow
Speaker 1: my safe guidance. As he spoke, he fitted on his
Speaker 1: son the plumed wings with trembling hands, while down his
Speaker 1: withered cheeks the tears were falling. Then he gave his
Speaker 1: son a last kiss, and upon his gliding wings, assumed
Speaker 1: a careful lead, solicitous as when the bird leads forth
Speaker 1: her tender young from high swung nest to try the
Speaker 1: yielding air. So he prevailed. Unwilling, Icarus encouraged and instructed
Speaker 1: him in all the fatal art, And as he waved
Speaker 1: his wings, looked backward on his son beneath their flight,
Speaker 1: the fishermen while casting his long rod, or the tired
Speaker 1: shepherd leaning on his crook, or the rough plowmen. As
Speaker 1: he raised his eyes, astonished, might observe them on the
Speaker 1: wing and worship them as gods. Upon the left, they
Speaker 1: passed by Samos Juno's sacred isle. DilOS and Paros too
Speaker 1: were left behind, and on the right Libynthus and Calumny,
Speaker 1: fruitful in honey. Proud of his success, the foolish Icarus
Speaker 1: forsook his guide, and bold in vanity, began to soar,
Speaker 1: rising upon his wings to touch the skies. But as
Speaker 1: he neared the scorching sun, its heat softened the frag
Speaker 1: wax that held his plumes, and heat increasing melted the
Speaker 1: soft wax. He waved his naked arms instead of wings,
Speaker 1: with no more feathers to sustain his flight, And as
Speaker 1: he called upon his father's name, his voice was smothered
Speaker 1: in the dark blue sea, now called Icarian from the
Speaker 1: dead boy's name. The unlucky father, not a father, called
Speaker 1: where are you, Icarus? And where are you? In? What
Speaker 1: place shall I seek you? Icarus? He called again, and
Speaker 1: then he saw the wings of his dear Icarus floating
Speaker 1: on the waves, and he began to rail and curse
Speaker 1: his art. He found the body on an island shore
Speaker 1: now called Akaria, and at once prepared to bury the
Speaker 1: unfortunate remains. But while he labored, a pert partridge near
Speaker 1: observed him from the covert of an oak, and whistled
Speaker 1: his unnatural delight, know you the cause? Twas then a
Speaker 1: single bird, the first one of its kind, twas never
Speaker 1: seen before. The sister of Dadalus had brought him Perdix,
Speaker 1: her dear son, to be his pupil, And as the
Speaker 1: years went by, the gifted youth began to rival his
Speaker 1: instructor's art. He took the jagged backbone of a fish,
Speaker 1: and with it as a model, made a saw with
Speaker 1: sharp teeth, fashioned from a strip of iron. And he
Speaker 1: was first to make two arms of iron smooth hinged
Speaker 1: upon the center, so that one would make a pivot,
Speaker 1: while the other turned, describing a circle. Wherefore Daedalus, enraged
Speaker 1: and envious, sought to slay the youth and cast him
Speaker 1: headlong from Minerva's fane. Then spread the rumor of an accident.
Speaker 1: But Pallas, goddess of ingenious men, saving the pupil, changed
Speaker 1: him to a bird, and in the middle of the
Speaker 1: air he flew on feathered wings, and so his active
Speaker 1: mind and vigor of his genius were absorbed into his
Speaker 1: wings and feet. Although the name of Perdix was retured hained.
Speaker 1: The partridge hides in shaded places by the leafy trees,
Speaker 1: its nested eggs among the bush's twigs. Nor does it
Speaker 1: seek to rise in lofty flight, for it is mindful
Speaker 1: of its former fall. Wearied with travel, Dadalus arrived at Sicily,
Speaker 1: where Cocholus was king, and when the wandering Daedalus implored
Speaker 1: the monarch's kind protection from his foe, he gathered a
Speaker 1: great army for his guest and gained renown from an
Speaker 1: applauding world. Now, after Theseus had destroyed and crete, the
Speaker 1: dreadful monster Athens then had ceased to pay her mournful tribute,
Speaker 1: and with wreaths her people decked the temples of the gods,
Speaker 1: and they invoked Minerva, Jupiter, and many other gods, whom
Speaker 1: they adored with sacrifice and precious offerings and jars of frankincense.
Speaker 1: Quick flying fame had spread reports of Theseus through the land,
Speaker 1: and all the peoples of Achaea from that day, when
Speaker 1: danger threatened, would entreat his aid. So it befell the
Speaker 1: land of Caladan. Through Meleager and her native hero implored
Speaker 1: the valiant Theseus to destroy a raging bore the ravage
Speaker 1: of her realm. Diana, in her wrath, had sent the
Speaker 1: boar to wreak her vengeance. And they say the cause
Speaker 1: was this. The nation had a fruitful year, for which
Speaker 1: the good king Eneus had decreed that all should offer
Speaker 1: the first fruits of corn to carries and to Bacchus,
Speaker 1: w of grapes, and oil of olives to the golden
Speaker 1: haired Minerva. Thus the gods were all adored, beginning with
Speaker 1: the lowest to the highest, except alone Diana, and of
Speaker 1: all the gods, her altars only were neglected. No frankencense
Speaker 1: unto her was given neglect in rages. Even deities am
Speaker 1: I to suffer this indignity. She cried, though I am
Speaker 1: thus dishonored, I will not be unrevenged. And so the
Speaker 1: boar was sent to ravage the land of Cavidon. And
Speaker 1: this avenging boar was quite as large as bulls now
Speaker 1: feeding on the green epirus, and larger than the bulls
Speaker 1: of Sicily. A dreadful boar. His burning's, bloodshot eyes seemed
Speaker 1: coals of living fire, and his rough neck was knotted
Speaker 1: with stiff muscles and thick set with bristles like sharp spikes.
Speaker 1: A seething froth dripped on his shoulders, and his tusks
Speaker 1: were like the spoils of India. Discordant roars reverberated from
Speaker 1: his hideous jaws, and lightning belched forth from his horrid
Speaker 1: throat scorched the green fields. He trampled the green corn,
Speaker 1: and doomed the farmer to lament his crops in vain.
Speaker 1: The threshing floor had been prepared in vain. The barns
Speaker 1: await the promised yield. Long branches of his vine and
Speaker 1: heavy grapes are scattered in confusion, and the fruits and
Speaker 1: branches of the olive tree, whose leaves should never wither,
Speaker 1: are cast on the ground. His spleen was vented on
Speaker 1: the simple flocks, which neither dogs nor shepherd could protect,
Speaker 1: and the brave bulls could not defend their herds. The
Speaker 1: people fled in all directions, from the fields for safety
Speaker 1: to the cities. Terror reigned. There seemed no remedy to
Speaker 1: save the land till Meleager chose a band of youths
Speaker 1: united for the glory of great deeds. What heroes shall
Speaker 1: immortal song proclaim? Ca polyox twins of Tindarius, one famous
Speaker 1: for his skill in horsemanship, the other for his boxing.
Speaker 1: Jason two was there, the glorious builder of the world's
Speaker 1: first ship. And Theseus with his friend Pirethus and Ptoxius
Speaker 1: and Plexipus, faded sons of Thestius and the son of Apharius,
Speaker 1: Lynchius with his fleet foot brother IDAs and Caineus, the
Speaker 1: first a woman then a man, the brave Leucippus and
Speaker 1: the argonautic Castus, swift of dart and warlike Dreus, Hippotheus
Speaker 1: and Phoenix not then blind, the son of King Amantor,
Speaker 1: and the two who sprung from Actor Phileius, thither brought
Speaker 1: from Ellis. Telemon was one of them, and even Pelias,
Speaker 1: father of the great Achilles and the son of Fairies joined,
Speaker 1: and Aolus, the swift Eurytion Echion, fleet of foot, Narchian Lilix,
Speaker 1: and Panopeus, and Hylius, and Hippasus, and Nestor you full
Speaker 1: then and the four sons Hippocuon, and from eld Amaklai
Speaker 1: sent the father in law of Queen Penelope, and Caius
Speaker 1: of Arcadius, and the wise soothsayer Mopsus, and the prophet
Speaker 1: son of Eclus, a victim of a traitor wife, and Atalanta,
Speaker 1: Virgin of the groves, and Mount Lecias, glory of her sex.
Speaker 1: A polished buckle fastened her attire. Her lustrous hair was
Speaker 1: fashioned in a knot. Her weapons rattled in an ivory
Speaker 1: case swung from her white left shoulder, and she held
Speaker 1: a bow in her left hand. Her face appeared as
Speaker 1: maidenly for boy or boyish for girl. When Melieger saw her,
Speaker 1: he had once longed for her beauty, though some god forbade,
Speaker 1: the fires of love flamed in him, and he said,
Speaker 1: happy the husband who shall win this girl. Neither the
Speaker 1: time nor his own modesty permitted him to say another word.
Speaker 1: But now the dreadful contest with the boar engaged this
Speaker 1: hero's energy and thought. A wood umbrageous, not impaired with age,
Speaker 1: slopes from a plane and shadows the wide fields. And
Speaker 1: there this band of valiant heroes went eager to slay
Speaker 1: the dreaded enemy. Some spread the nets, and some set
Speaker 1: loose the dogs. Some traced the wide spoor of the
Speaker 1: monster's hoofs. There is a deep gorge where the rivulets
Speaker 1: that gather from the rain discharge themselves, and there the
Speaker 1: bending willow, the smooth sedge the marsh rush, osier and
Speaker 1: tall tangled reed and wild profusion cover up the marsh.
Speaker 1: Aroused from this retree to the startled boar, as quick
Speaker 1: as lightning from the clashing clouds, crashed all the trees
Speaker 1: that cumbered his mad way. The young men raised a shout,
Speaker 1: leveled their spears, and brandished their keen weapons, but the
Speaker 1: boar rushed onward through the yelping dogs and scattered them
Speaker 1: with deadly, sidelong stroke. Echion was the first to hurl
Speaker 1: his spear, but slanting in its course, it only glanced
Speaker 1: a nearby maple tree, and next the spear of long
Speaker 1: remembered Jason cut the air so swiftly hurled it seemed
Speaker 1: it might transfix the boar's back, but with over force,
Speaker 1: it sped beyond the monster, poisoning first his dart the
Speaker 1: sun of ampecks. As he cast it, he implored Apollo,
Speaker 1: grant my prayer. If I have truly worshiped you. Hearken
Speaker 1: to me, as always I adore you. Let my spear
Speaker 1: unerring strike its aim. Apollo heard and guided the swift spear,
Speaker 1: but as it sped, Diana struck the iron head from
Speaker 1: the shaft, and the blunt wood fell harmless from his hide.
Speaker 1: Then was the monster's savage anger roused as the bright
Speaker 1: lightnings flash and his red eyes flamed. His breath was
Speaker 1: hot as fire. As when a stone is aimed at
Speaker 1: walls or strong towers which protect encompassed armies launched by
Speaker 1: the taut rope, it strikes an dreaded impact. So the boar,
Speaker 1: with fatal onset, rushed among this band of noble lads
Speaker 1: and stretched upon the ground. Eupaalamon and Pelagon, whose guard
Speaker 1: was on the right, and their companions bore their bodies
Speaker 1: from the field. Another youth, the brave son of Hippocawon
Speaker 1: received a deadly wound while turning to escape. The sinew
Speaker 1: of his thigh was cut and failed to bare his
Speaker 1: tottering steps, and Nestor might have perished then so long
Speaker 1: before he fought the heroes of Old Troy. But everwise,
Speaker 1: he vaulted on his long lance from the ground into
Speaker 1: the branches of a sheltering tree, where, in a safe
Speaker 1: position he could look down on his battled foe. The
Speaker 1: raging boar wetted his gleaming tusks on an oak. Then
Speaker 1: with his sharpened tusks he gored the thigh of mighty Hypassus,
Speaker 1: observed of all, and mounted on their horse whiter than
Speaker 1: the northern snow. The twins long afterward transformed to constellations,
Speaker 1: sallied forth and brandishing their lances, poised in air, determined
Speaker 1: to destroy the bristling bore. It thwarted their design by
Speaker 1: hiding in a thicket intricate where neither steed nor lance
Speaker 1: could penetrate. But Telemon pursued undaunted, and in haste, tripped
Speaker 1: up by tangled roots, fell headlong. Pelias stooped to rescue
Speaker 1: him while he regained his feet. The Virgin Atalanta took
Speaker 1: her bow, and, fitting a sharp arrow to the notch,
Speaker 1: twanged the tight cord. The feathered shaft quivered beneath the
Speaker 1: monster's ear. The red blood stained his hard bristles. Flushed
Speaker 1: with her success, rejoiced the maid, but not more gladly
Speaker 1: than the hero meleager. He it was who first observed
Speaker 1: the blood and pointed out the stain to his companions.
Speaker 1: As he cried, give honor to the courage of a maid.
Speaker 1: Unwilling to be worsted by a maid, the rushing heroes
Speaker 1: raised a mighty cry, and as they shouted in excitement,
Speaker 1: hurled their weapons. In confusion, and so great the multed
Speaker 1: their actions interfeared behold and Caius, wielding his war axe
Speaker 1: and rushing madly to his fate, exclaimed, witness it see
Speaker 1: the weapons of a man, excel a woman's. Oh make
Speaker 1: way for my achievement. Let Diana shield the brute. Despite
Speaker 1: her utmost effort, My right hand shall slaughter him. So
Speaker 1: mighty in his boast, he puffed himself, and, lifting with
Speaker 1: both hands his double edged axe, he stood erect on tiptoe,
Speaker 1: fiercely bowled the savage boar, caught him and ripped his
Speaker 1: tusks through his groin a spot where death is sure,
Speaker 1: and Caius fell, and his torn entrailed, and his crimson
Speaker 1: blood stained the fair verdure of the spot with death.
Speaker 1: Ixeon's doughty son was running straight against the monster, shaking
Speaker 1: his long lands with nervous vigor in his strong right hand.
Speaker 1: But theseus standing at a distance, called beware, beware, oh
Speaker 1: dearest of my friends, be valiant in a distance, or
Speaker 1: the fate of Rashleigh Bold and Caius maybe yours. Even
Speaker 1: as he spoke, he balanced in his hand his brazen
Speaker 1: pointed lance of corner wood, with aim so true it
Speaker 1: seemed the great Boar's death was certain. But an evergreen
Speaker 1: oak branch shielded the beast. Then Jason hurled his dart,
Speaker 1: which turned, by chance, transfixed a luckless dog and pinned him,
Speaker 1: yelping to the sanguine earth breaking character for a second.
Speaker 1: Fucking Jason so faired those heroes. Better fortune gave success
Speaker 1: to Meleager. First he threw a spear that missed and
Speaker 1: quivered in the ground. But next he hurled a spear
Speaker 1: with certain aim. It pierced the middle of the monster's
Speaker 1: back and rushing in upon the dreaded beast. While raging,
Speaker 1: it was whirling round and round.
Speaker 2: The fearless presents provoked to greater rage the wounded adversary.
Speaker 2: Bloody froth dripped down his champing jaws, his purple blood
Speaker 2: poured from a rankling wound. Without delay, the mighty Meleager
Speaker 2: plunged a spear deep in the monster's shoulder. All his
Speaker 2: friends raised a glad shout, and, gathering round him, tried
Speaker 2: to grasp his hand. With wonder, they beheld the monster's
Speaker 2: bulk stretched out upon the plain, and fearful still to
Speaker 2: touch him, they began to stain their weapons in his
Speaker 2: spouting blood. At last, the hero Meleager pressed his conquering
Speaker 2: foot upon the monster's head and said, oh, Atalanta, glorious
Speaker 2: maid of Nonachris, to you, is yielded spoil mile awful right.
Speaker 2: And I rejoiced to share the merit of this glorious victory.
Speaker 2: And while he spoke, he gave to her the pelt
Speaker 2: covered with horrid bristles, and the head rightful with gory tusks.
Speaker 2: And she rejoiced in Meleager and his royal gift. But
Speaker 2: all the others envious began to murmur, and the sons
Speaker 2: of Thestius leveled their pointed spears and shouted.
Speaker 1: Out, give up the prize. Let not the confidence of
Speaker 1: your great beauty be a snare to you. A woman
Speaker 1: should not interfering filch the manly honors of a mighty
Speaker 1: hunt aside, and let your witless lover yield. So threatened
Speaker 1: they and took from her the prize and forcibly despoiled
Speaker 1: him of his rights. The warlike prince, indignant and enraged,
Speaker 1: rowed with resentment, shouted out, what ho you, spoilers of
Speaker 1: this honor that is ours? Brave deeds are different far
Speaker 1: from craven threats, And with his cruel word he pierced
Speaker 1: the breast of rash Plexippus, taken unawares, And while his
Speaker 1: brother Toxius struck with fear, still hesitating whether to avenge
Speaker 1: or run to safety, Meleager plunged the hot sword, smoking
Speaker 1: with a brother's blood in his breast also, and so
Speaker 1: they perished. Hear this, Alphea, mother of the prince and
Speaker 1: sister of the slaughtered two, because her son had killed
Speaker 1: the boar, made haste to bear rich offerings to the
Speaker 1: temple of the gods. But when she saw her slaughtered
Speaker 1: brothers born in sad procession, she began to shriek and
Speaker 1: filled the city with her wild lament. Unwilling to abide
Speaker 1: her festal robes, she dressed in sable. When she was
Speaker 1: informed her own son, Meleager, was the cause, she banished
Speaker 1: grief and lamentations. Thirsting for vengeance, she remembered well how
Speaker 1: when she lay in childbirth round her stood the three
Speaker 1: attendant sisters of his there was a billet in the room,
Speaker 1: and this they took and cast upon the wasting flames.
Speaker 1: And as they spun and drew the fatal threads, they
Speaker 1: softly chanted, unto you, we gave, oh child newborn, only
Speaker 1: the life of this the period of this billet is
Speaker 1: your life. And having spoken so, they vanished in smoke.
Speaker 1: Althea snatched the billet from the fire, and, having quenched
Speaker 1: it with drawn water, hid it long and secretly in
Speaker 1: her own room, where thus preserved it acted as a
Speaker 1: charm to save the life of Melayager. This the mother
Speaker 1: now brought forth and fetched a pile of seasoned tinder
Speaker 1: ready for the torch. She lit the torches and the
Speaker 1: ready pile, and as the flames leaped up, four times,
Speaker 1: prepared to cast the fatal billet into the midst, and
Speaker 1: four times hesitated to commit the dreadful deed. So long
Speaker 1: the contest of between the feelings of a mother's breast
Speaker 1: and the fierce vengeance of a sister's rage. Now is
Speaker 1: the mother's visage pale with fear, and now the sister's
Speaker 1: sanguinary rage glows in her eyes. Her countenance contorts with
Speaker 1: cruel threats, and in bewildered ways dissolves compassionate. And even
Speaker 1: when the heat of anger had dried up her eyes,
Speaker 1: the conflict of her passion brought new tears. As when
Speaker 1: the wind has seized upon a ship and blows against
Speaker 1: a tide of equal force, the vexed vessel feels repellent powers,
Speaker 1: and with unsteady motion, sways to both. So did althea
Speaker 1: hesitate between the conflict of her passions. When her rage
Speaker 1: had cooled, her fury was as fast renewed. But always
Speaker 1: the unsatisfied desire of blood to ease the disembodied shades
Speaker 1: of her slain brother seemed to overcome the mother instinct
Speaker 1: and intensity of conduct proved the utmost test of love.
Speaker 1: She took the billet in her arms and stood before
Speaker 1: the leaping flames, and said, alas be this the funeral
Speaker 1: pyre of my own flesh. And as she held in
Speaker 1: her relentless hand the destiny of him she loved and
Speaker 1: stood before the flames in all her wretchedness. She moaned, you,
Speaker 1: sad humenities, attend, relentless gods of punishment. Turn, turn your
Speaker 1: dreadful vision on these baneful rites. I'm avenging and committing
Speaker 1: crime with death. Must death be justified and crime be
Speaker 1: added unto crime. Let funerals upon succeeding funerals attend. Let
Speaker 1: these accumulating woes destroy a wicked race. Shall happy Enius
Speaker 1: bask in the great fame of his victorious son and
Speaker 1: Thestius mourn without slaughtered ones'tis better? They should both lament
Speaker 1: the deed, witness the acts of my affection shades of
Speaker 1: my departed brothers, and accept my funeral offering, given it
Speaker 1: a cost beyond my strength to bear, Oh, wretched me,
Speaker 1: distracted is my reason? Pity me the yearnings of a
Speaker 1: stricken mother's heart with holding me from duty. Although his
Speaker 1: punishment be just my hands, refuse the office of such vengeance.
Speaker 1: What shall he alive? Victorious, flushed with his success inherit
Speaker 1: the broad realms of Caladon, And you, my slaughtered brothers, unavenged,
Speaker 1: dissolved in ashes, float upon the air, unpalpitating phantoms. How
Speaker 1: can I endure the thought of it?
Speaker 2: Oh?
Speaker 1: Let the wretch forever perish, and with him be lost
Speaker 1: the hopes of his sad father in the wreck of
Speaker 1: his distracted kingdom. Where are now the love and feelings
Speaker 1: of a mother? How can I forget the bitter pangs
Speaker 1: endured while twice times five the slow moon waxed and waned? Oh,
Speaker 1: had you perished in your infancy by those first fires?
Speaker 1: And I had suffered it? Your life was in my power,
Speaker 1: and now your death is the result of wrongs which
Speaker 1: you have done. Take now a just reward for what
Speaker 1: you did. Return to me the life I gave and
Speaker 1: saved when from the flames I snatched this fatal brand.
Speaker 1: Return that gift, Or take my wretched life that I
Speaker 1: may hasten to my brother's tomb. What dreadful deed can
Speaker 1: satisfy the law? When I, for love against my love,
Speaker 1: am forced for even as my brother's wounds appear in
Speaker 1: visions dreadful to denounce my son, the love so nurtured
Speaker 1: in a mother's breast breaks down the resolution wretched me.
Speaker 1: Such vengeance for my brother's overcomes. First at your birth
Speaker 1: I gave it, and again the yearning of a mother
Speaker 1: for her son. Let not my love denounce my vengeance.
Speaker 1: My soul may follow with its love the shade of
Speaker 1: him I sacrifice, and following him, my shade and his
Speaker 1: and yours unite below, she spoke, And as she turned
Speaker 1: her face away, she threw the fatal billet on the fire,
Speaker 1: And as the flames devoured it, a strange groan was
Speaker 1: heard to issue from the burning wood. But Melliager, at
Speaker 1: a distance, knows of naught to wreck his hour of
Speaker 1: victory until he feels the flame of burning wood scorching
Speaker 1: with secret fire his forfeit life. Yet with a mighty will,
Speaker 1: disdaining pain, he grieves his blow less and ignoble death.
Speaker 1: He calls Anchius, happy for the wounds that cause his death.
Speaker 1: With sighs and groans, he called his aged father's name,
Speaker 1: and then the names of brothers, sisters, and his wife.
Speaker 1: And last they say he called upon his mother's name.
Speaker 1: His torment always with the fire increased, until as little
Speaker 1: of the wood remained, his pain diminished with the heat's decrease.
Speaker 1: And as the flames extinguished, so his life slowly ascended
Speaker 1: in the rising air, and all the mighty realm of
Speaker 1: Caledon was filled with lamentations young and old. The common
Speaker 1: people and the nobles mourned, and the wailing women tore
Speaker 1: their hair. His father threw his body on the ground,
Speaker 1: and as he covered his white hair and face with
Speaker 1: ashy dust, bewailed his aged days. Althea, maddened in her
Speaker 1: mother's grief, has punished herself with a ruthless hand. She
Speaker 1: pierced her heart with iron. Oh, if some God had
Speaker 1: given a resounding harp, a voice an hundredfold more mighty,
Speaker 1: and a soul enlarged with genius, I could never tell
Speaker 1: the grief of his unhappy sisters. They, regardless of all shame,
Speaker 1: beat on their breasts before the body was consumed with fire,
Speaker 1: embraced it, and again, embracing it, rained kisses on their
Speaker 1: loved one and the byre And when the flames had
Speaker 1: burnt his shrinking form, they strained his gathered ashes to
Speaker 1: their breasts and prostrate on the tomb, kissed his dear
Speaker 1: name cut only in the stone, and bathed it with
Speaker 1: their tears. Latona's daughter, glutted with the woes inflicted on
Speaker 1: Parthion's house, now gave two of the weeping sisters widespread wings.
Speaker 1: But Gorge and the spouse of Hercules were not so changed.
Speaker 1: Latona stretched long wings upon their arms, transformed their mouths
Speaker 1: to beaks, and scent them winging through the lucent air.
Speaker 1: And theseus, meantime, having done great deeds, was wending towards
Speaker 1: Tritonian athens towers. But Achelous, swollen with great rains, opposed
Speaker 1: his journey and delayed his steps, Oh famous son of Athens,
Speaker 1: come to me beneath my roof, and leave my rapid floods,
Speaker 1: for they are wont to bear enormous beams and hurl
Speaker 1: up heavy stones to bar the way mighty with roaring
Speaker 1: down the steep ravines. And I have seen the sheep
Speaker 1: folds on my banks swept down the flood together with
Speaker 1: the sheep. And in the current, neither strength availed the
Speaker 1: ox for safety, nor swift speed the horse when rushed
Speaker 1: the melting snows from mountain peaks. How many bodies of
Speaker 1: unwary men, this flood has overwhelmed in whirling waves. Rest safely, then,
Speaker 1: until my river runs within its usual bounds, till it
Speaker 1: contains its flowing waters in its proper banks. And gladly
Speaker 1: answered theseus, I will make good use of both your
Speaker 1: dwelling and advice. And waiting not he entered a rude
Speaker 1: hut of porous pumice and of rough stone built. The
Speaker 1: floor was damp and soft, with springy moss, and rows
Speaker 1: of shells and murres arched the roof, and now Hyperion,
Speaker 1: having measured quite two thirds of daylight, theseus and his
Speaker 1: friends reclined upon the couches. On his right, Ixion's son
Speaker 1: was placed, and on his left the gray haired hero Lilix,
Speaker 1: and others deemed worthy by the Acarnian god, who was
Speaker 1: so joyful in his noble guests. Without delay, the barefoot,
Speaker 1: nimble nymphs attending to the banquet rich food broad, and
Speaker 1: after all were satisfied with meat and dainty's delicate the
Speaker 1: careful nit ymps removed all traces of the feast and
Speaker 1: served delicious wine and bowls embossed with gems. And after
Speaker 1: they had eaten, theseus arose and as he pointed with
Speaker 1: his finger, said, declare to me what name that island bears,
Speaker 1: or is it one or more than one I see,
Speaker 1: to which the ready river god replied, it is not
Speaker 1: one we see, but five are there, deceptive in the distance,
Speaker 1: And that you may wonder less at what Diana did.
Speaker 1: Those islands were five naiads long ago, ten bullocks for
Speaker 1: a sacrifice they slew, and when the joyous festival was given,
Speaker 1: ignoring me, they bade all other gods indignant. And at
Speaker 1: the slight I swelled with rage as great as ever
Speaker 1: when my banks are full, and so redoubled both in
Speaker 1: rage and flood, I ravaged the woods from woods, and
Speaker 1: fields from fields, and hurled into the sea the very soil,
Speaker 1: together with the nymphs, who then at last remembered their neglect.
Speaker 1: And soon my waves, united with the ocean's streams, cut
Speaker 1: through the solid soil and fashioned from the one five
Speaker 1: islands you may see amid the waves, which men since
Speaker 1: then have called the echinates. But yet beyond you can
Speaker 1: observe how one most beautiful of all is far withdrawn.
Speaker 1: And this which most delights me. Mariners have Paramella named.
Speaker 1: She was so fair that I deprived her of a
Speaker 1: precious wealth. And when Hippodymus, her father knew, enraged, he
Speaker 1: pushed her heavy then with child, forth from a rock
Speaker 1: into the curls sea, where she must perish. But I
Speaker 1: rescued her, and as I bore her on my swimming tide,
Speaker 1: I called on Neptune, ruler of the deep, Oh tried
Speaker 1: and wielder, you, who are preferred next to the God
Speaker 1: most mighty, who by lad obtained the empire of the
Speaker 1: flowing deep, to which all sacred rivers flow and end.
Speaker 1: Come here, Oh Neptune, and with gracious will, grant my desire.
Speaker 1: I injured her I save. But if Hippodamas her father,
Speaker 1: when he knew my love had been both kind and just,
Speaker 1: if he had not been so unnatural, he would have
Speaker 1: pitied and forgiven her. Ah Neptune, I beseech you, grant
Speaker 1: your power, may find a place of safety for this nymph,
Speaker 1: abandoned to the deep waves by her sire. Or if
Speaker 1: that cannot be, let her, whom I embrace to show
Speaker 1: my love, let her become a place of safety. Instantly
Speaker 1: to me. The king of Ocean moved his mighty head,
Speaker 1: and all the deep waves quivered In response, the nymph
Speaker 1: afraid still struggled in the deep. And as she swam,
Speaker 1: I touched her throbbing breast, And as I felt her
Speaker 1: bosom trembling still, I thought her soft flesh was becoming hard.
Speaker 1: For even then now Earth enclosed her form, And as
Speaker 1: I prayed to Neptune, Earth encased her floating limbs, and
Speaker 1: on on her changing form. The heavy soil of that
Speaker 1: fair island grew. And at this point the river said
Speaker 1: no more. This wonderful event astonished all but one was there.
Speaker 1: Ixion's Haughty Sun, a known despiser of the living gods, who,
Speaker 1: laughing scorned it as an idle tale. He made a
Speaker 1: jest of those who heard, and said, a foolish fiction, echeloose,
Speaker 1: how can such a tale be true? Do you believe
Speaker 1: a god there is in heaven so powerful a god
Speaker 1: to give and take away a form, transform created shapes.
Speaker 1: Such impious words found no response in those who heard him,
Speaker 1: Amazed he could so doubt known truth before them, all
Speaker 1: uprose to vindicate the gods. The hero Lielix wise in
Speaker 1: length of days. The glory of the living gods, he said,
Speaker 1: is not diminished, nor their power confined. And whatsoever they
Speaker 1: decree is done. And I have this to tell, for
Speaker 1: all must know the evil of such words. Upon the
Speaker 1: hills of Phrygia, I have seen two sacred trees, a
Speaker 1: lime tree and an oak, so closely grown their branches interlace.
Speaker 1: A low stone wall is built around to guard them
Speaker 1: from all harm. And that you may not doubt it,
Speaker 1: I declare again I saw the spot for Pittheus there
Speaker 1: had sent me to attend his father's court. Near By
Speaker 1: those trees are stagnant pools and fens, where coots and
Speaker 1: cormorants delight to haunt. But it was not so always
Speaker 1: long ago, twas visited by Mighty Jupiter, together with his
Speaker 1: nimble witted son, who first had laid aside his rod
Speaker 1: and wings. As weary travelers over the land, they wandered,
Speaker 1: begging for their food and bed, and of a thousand
Speaker 1: houses all the doors were bolted, and no word of
Speaker 1: kindness given, So wicked were the people of that land.
Speaker 1: At last, by chance, they stopped at a small house,
Speaker 1: whose humble roof was thatched with reeds and straw, And
Speaker 1: here a kind old couple greeted them. The good Dame
Speaker 1: Balchus seemed about the age of old Philammon, her devoted man.
Speaker 1: They had been married in their early youth in that
Speaker 1: same cottage, and had lived in it, and grown together
Speaker 1: to a good old age, contented with their lot. Because
Speaker 1: they knew their poverty and felt no shame of it,
Speaker 1: they had no need of servants. The good pair were
Speaker 1: masters of their home, and served themselves their own commands
Speaker 1: they easily obeyed. Now, when the two gods Jove and
Speaker 1: Mercury had reached this cottage, and with bending necks, had
Speaker 1: entered the low door, the old man bade them rest
Speaker 1: their wearied limbs, and set a bench on which his
Speaker 1: good wife, Buchus, threw a cloth. And then, with kindly bustle,
Speaker 1: she stirred up the glowing embers on the hearth, and
Speaker 1: then laid tender leaves and bark, and, bending down, breathed
Speaker 1: on them with her ancient breath until they kindled into flame.
Speaker 1: Then from the house she brought a store of faggots
Speaker 1: and small twigs and broken branches, and above them swung
Speaker 1: a kettle not too large for simple folk. And all
Speaker 1: this done she stripped some cabbage leaves, which her good
Speaker 1: husband gathered for the meal. Then with a too pronged fork,
Speaker 1: the man let down a rusty side of bacon from
Speaker 1: aloft and cut a little portion from the chine, which
Speaker 1: had been cherished long. He softened it in boiling water,
Speaker 1: while they tried, with cheerful conversation to beguile so none
Speaker 1: might notice a brief loss of time. Swung on a peg,
Speaker 1: they had a beechwood trough, which, quickly with warm water filled,
Speaker 1: was used for comfortable washing. And as they fixed upon
Speaker 1: a willow couch, a cushioned soft of springy sedge, on
Speaker 1: which they neatly spread a well worn cloth, preserved so
Speaker 1: many years twas only used on rare and festive days,
Speaker 1: and even it was coarse and very old, though not
Speaker 1: unfit to match a willow couch. Now, as the gods reclined,
Speaker 1: the good old dame, whose skirts were tucked up, moving carefully,
Speaker 1: for so she tottered with her many years, fetched a
Speaker 1: clean table for the ready meal. But one leg of
Speaker 1: the table was too short, and so she wedged it
Speaker 1: with a pot sharde, so made firm, she cleanly scoured
Speaker 1: it with fresh mint. And here is set the double
Speaker 1: tinted fruit of Chase Minerva, and the tasty dish of
Speaker 1: corner autumn pitch and pickled. These were served for relish,
Speaker 1: and the endive green and radishes, surrounding a large pot
Speaker 1: of curdled milk and eggs, not overdone, but gently turned
Speaker 1: in glowing embers, all served up in earthen dishes. Then
Speaker 1: sweet wine served up in clay so costly, all embossed,
Speaker 1: and cups of beech wood smothered with yellow wax. So
Speaker 1: now they had short respite till the fire might yield
Speaker 1: the heated course. Again, they served new wine, but mellow,
Speaker 1: and a second course sweet nuts, dried figs and wrinkled dates,
Speaker 1: and plums and apples fragrant in wide baskets heaped, and
Speaker 1: in a wreath of grapes from purple vines concealed almost
Speaker 1: a glistening honeycomb. And all these orchard dainties were enhanced
Speaker 1: by willing service and congenial smiles. But while they served,
Speaker 1: the wine bowl often drained, as often was replenished, though unfilled,
Speaker 1: and baucus and pilamon. Full of fear as they observed
Speaker 1: the wine spontaneous well increasing when it should diminish, raised
Speaker 1: their hands in supplication and implored indulgence for their simple
Speaker 1: home and fair and now persuaded by this strange event.
Speaker 1: Such visitors were deities unknown. This aged couple, anxious to
Speaker 1: bestow their most esteemed possession, hastily began to chase the
Speaker 1: only goose they had, the faithful guardian of their little home,
Speaker 1: which they would kill and offer to the gods. But
Speaker 1: swift of wing, at last it wearied them and fled
Speaker 1: for refuge to the smiling gods. At once the deities
Speaker 1: forbade their zeal and said, of righteous punishment shall fall
Speaker 1: severe upon this wicked neighborhood. But by a mite of
Speaker 1: our divinity, no evil shall befall this humble home. But
Speaker 1: you must come and follow as we climb the summit
Speaker 1: of this mountain. Both obeyed, and, leaning on their staves,
Speaker 1: toiled up the steep, not farther from the summit than
Speaker 1: the flight of one swift arrow from a hunter's oh
Speaker 1: they paused to view their little home once more, and
Speaker 1: as they turned their eyes they saw the fields around
Speaker 1: their own engulfed in a morass, although their own remained.
Speaker 1: And while they wept bewailing the sad fate of many
Speaker 1: friends and wondered at the change, they saw their home,
Speaker 1: so old and little for their simple need, put on
Speaker 1: a new splendor, and as it increased it changed into
Speaker 1: a temple of the gods, where first the frame was
Speaker 1: fashioned of rude stakes, columns of marble glistened, and the
Speaker 1: thatch gleamed golden in the sun, and legends carved adorned
Speaker 1: the doors, and all the ground shone white with marble rich.
Speaker 1: And after this was done, the son of Saturn said,
Speaker 1: with a gentle voice, now tell us, good old man,
Speaker 1: and you his wife, worthy and faithful, what is your desire?
Speaker 1: Philammon counseled with old Bauchus first, and then discovered to
Speaker 1: the listening gods their heart's desire. We pray you us
Speaker 1: have the care of your new temple. And since we
Speaker 1: have passed so many years in harmony, let us depart
Speaker 1: this life together. Let the same hour take us both.
Speaker 1: I would not see the tomb of my dear wife,
Speaker 1: and let me not be destined to be buried by
Speaker 1: her hands. At once their wishes were fulfilled. So long
Speaker 1: as life was granted, they were known to be the
Speaker 1: temple's trusted keepers. And when age had enervated them with
Speaker 1: many years, as they were standing, by some chance before
Speaker 1: the sacred steps, and were relating all these things as
Speaker 1: they had happened. Baucus saw Philimmon, her old husband, and
Speaker 1: he too saw Baucus. As their bodies put forth leaves,
Speaker 1: and while the tops of trees grew over them above
Speaker 1: their faces, they spoke each to each as long as
Speaker 1: they could speak. They said, farewell, farewell my own. And
Speaker 1: while they said farewell, new leaves and branches covered both
Speaker 1: at once. The people of Tiana still point out two
Speaker 1: trees which grew there from a double trunk, two forms
Speaker 1: made into one. Old truthful men who have no reason
Speaker 1: to deceive me, told me truly all that I have
Speaker 1: told you. And I have seen the votive wreaths hung
Speaker 1: from the branches of the hallowed double tree. And one time,
Speaker 1: as I hung fresh garlands there, I said, those whom
Speaker 1: the gods care for are gods, and those who worshiped
Speaker 1: are now worshiped. Here he ceased, and this miraculous event,
Speaker 1: and he who told it, had astonished them. But theseus
Speaker 1: above all. The hero asked to hear of other wonders
Speaker 1: wrought by gods. The Caledonian river god replied, and, leaning
Speaker 1: on one elbow, said to him, there are o valiant hero,
Speaker 1: other things whose forms once changed, as these have so remained.
Speaker 1: But there are some who take on men any shapes
Speaker 1: as you have, Proteus, dweller of the deep, the deep
Speaker 1: whose arms embraced the earth. For some have seen you
Speaker 1: as a youth, then as a lion, a furious bore,
Speaker 1: one time a serpent, next so dreadful to the touch.
Speaker 1: And sometimes horns have made you seem a bull, or
Speaker 1: now a stone, or now a tree, or now a
Speaker 1: slipping stream, or even the foe of water, next a fire.
Speaker 1: Now Erisichthon's daughter, Mestra, had that power of proteus. She
Speaker 1: was called the wife of deaft Autilicus. Her father spurned
Speaker 1: the majesty of all the gods, and gave no honor
Speaker 1: to their altars. It is said he violated with an
Speaker 1: impious axe the sacred grove of Carries, and he cut
Speaker 1: her trees with iron. Long standing in her grove, there
Speaker 1: grew an ancient oak tree, spread so wide alone it
Speaker 1: seemed a standing forest, and its trunk and brand held
Speaker 1: memorials as filets, tablets, garlands, witnessing how many prayers the
Speaker 1: goddess carries granted, and underneath it laughing dreads, loved to
Speaker 1: whirl in festal dances, hand in hand, encircling its enormous
Speaker 1: trunk that thrice five ells might measure, and to such
Speaker 1: a height it towered over all the trees around, as
Speaker 1: they were higher than the grass beneath. But Erisichthon, heedless
Speaker 1: of all things, ordered his slaves to fell the sacred oak,
Speaker 1: And as they hesitated in a rage, the wretch snatched
Speaker 1: from the hand of one an axe and said, if
Speaker 1: this should be the only oak loved by the goddess
Speaker 1: of the grove, or even were the goddess in this tree,
Speaker 1: I'll level to the ground its lofty head, so boasted he,
Speaker 1: And while he swung on high his axe to strike
Speaker 1: a slanting blow, the oak of beloved carries uttered a
Speaker 1: deep groan and shuddered. Instantly, its dark green leaves turned pale,
Speaker 1: and all its acorns lost their green, and even its
Speaker 1: long branches drooped their arms. But when his impious hand
Speaker 1: had struck the trunk and cut its bark, red blood
Speaker 1: poured from the wound, as when a weighty sacrificial bull
Speaker 1: has fallen at the altar, Streaming blood spouts from its
Speaker 1: stricken neck. All were amazed, and one of his attendants
Speaker 1: boldly tried to stay his cruel axe and hindered him.
Speaker 1: But Ersichthon, fixing his stern eyes upon him, said, let
Speaker 1: this then be the price of all your pious worship.
Speaker 1: So he turned the poised axe from the tree and
Speaker 1: clove his head sheer from his body, and again began
Speaker 1: to chop the hard oak from the heart of it.
Speaker 1: These words were uttered covered by the bark of this
Speaker 1: oak tree. I long have dwelt a nymph beloved of carries,
Speaker 1: and before my death it has been granted me to
Speaker 1: prophecy that I may die contented punishment for this vile
Speaker 1: deed stands waiting at your side. No warning could avert
Speaker 1: his wicked arm. Much weakened by his countless blows, the tree,
Speaker 1: pulled down by straining ropes, gave way at last and
Speaker 1: leveled with its weight uncounted trees that grew around it.
Speaker 1: Terrified and shocked. The sister dreads, grieving for their grove
Speaker 1: and what they lost, put on their sable robes and
Speaker 1: hastened unto Carries, whom they prayed might rightly punish Erisichthon's crime.
Speaker 1: The lovely Goddess granted their request, and by the gracious
Speaker 1: movement of her head, she shook the fruitful cultivated fields,
Speaker 1: then heavy with the harvest. And she planned an unexampled
Speaker 1: punishment deserved and not beyond his miserable crimes, the grisly
Speaker 1: bane of famine. But because it is not in the
Speaker 1: scope of destiny that two such deities should ever meet.
Speaker 1: As carries and gaunt Famine calling forth from Mountain Wild's
Speaker 1: rustic orient, the Goddess carries said to her, there is
Speaker 1: an ice bound wilderness of barren soil and utmost scithia,
Speaker 1: desolate and bear of trees and corn, where torpid frost,
Speaker 1: white death, and palsy and gaunt famine hold their haunts.
Speaker 1: Go there now and command that famine flit from there,
Speaker 1: and let her gnawing essence pierce the entrails of this
Speaker 1: sacrilegious wretch, and there be hidden, let her vanquish me
Speaker 1: and overcome the utmost power of food. He'd not misgivings
Speaker 1: of the journey's length, for you will guide my dragon
Speaker 1: bridled car through lofty ether. And she gave to her
Speaker 1: the reins, and so the swiftly carried nymph arrived in Scivia.
Speaker 1: There upon the told of steepy Caucasus. When she had
Speaker 1: slipped their tight yoke from the dragon's harnessed necks, she
Speaker 1: searched for famine in that granite land, and there she
Speaker 1: found her clutching at scant herbs, with nails and teeth
Speaker 1: beneath her shaggy hair, Her hollow eyes glared, and her
Speaker 1: ghastly face. Her lips were filthy, and her throat was
Speaker 1: rough and blotched, and all her entrails could be seen
Speaker 1: enclosed in nothing but her shriveled skin. Her crooked loins
Speaker 1: were dry, uncovered bones, and where her belly should have
Speaker 1: been was a void. Her flabby breast was flat against
Speaker 1: her spine. Her lean, emaciated body made her joints appear
Speaker 1: so large, her nobbled knees seemed large knots, and her
Speaker 1: swollen ankle bones protruded. When the nymph with keen sight
Speaker 1: saw the famine monster, fearing to draw near, she cried
Speaker 1: aloud the mandate she had brought from fruitful carries. And
Speaker 1: although the time had been but brief and famine far away,
Speaker 1: such hunger seized the nymph. She had to turn her
Speaker 1: dragon steeds and felle through yielding air and the high
Speaker 1: clouds at Thessaly, she stopped grim famine, hastened to obey
Speaker 1: the will of carries, though their deeds are opposite, and
Speaker 1: rapidly through ether heights was born to Aersichthon's home. When
Speaker 1: she arrived at midnight, slumber was upon the wretch, and
Speaker 1: as she folded him in her two wings, she breathed
Speaker 1: her pestilential poison through his mouth and throat and breast,
Speaker 1: and spread the curse of utmost hunger in his aching veins.
Speaker 1: When all was done, as Carrie's had decreed, she left
Speaker 1: the fertile world for bleak abodes and her accustomed caves.
Speaker 1: While this was done, sweet sleep, with charming pinions soothed
Speaker 1: the mind of eersik Than. In a dreamful feast, he
Speaker 1: worked his jaws in vain and ground his teeth and
Speaker 1: swallowed air as he imagined food, till wearied with effort,
Speaker 1: he awoke to hunger, scorching as a fire, which burned
Speaker 1: his entrails and compelled his raging jaws. So he, demanding
Speaker 1: all the foods of sea and earth and air, raged
Speaker 1: of his hunger, while the tables grown with heaps before
Speaker 1: him spread. He banqueting, sought banquets for more food, and
Speaker 1: as he gorged, he always wanted mole. The food of
Speaker 1: cities and a nation failed to satisfy the cravings of
Speaker 1: one man. The more his stomach gets, the more it needs.
Speaker 1: And even as the ocean takes the streams of earth,
Speaker 1: although it swallows up great rivers drawn from lands remote,
Speaker 1: it never can be filled nor satisfied. And as devouring
Speaker 1: fire its fuel, refuses never but consumes unnumbered beams of wood,
Speaker 1: and burns for more. The more tis fed, and from
Speaker 1: abundance gains increasing famine. So the raving jaws of wretched
Speaker 1: aerosithon ever craved for food in him was only cause
Speaker 1: of food, and what he ate made only room for more.
Speaker 1: And after famine, through his gluttony at last had wasted
Speaker 1: his ancestral wealth, his raging hunger suffered no decline, and
Speaker 1: his insatiate gluttony increased. When all his wealth at last
Speaker 1: was eaten up, his daughter, worthy of a fate more kind,
Speaker 1: alone was left to him, and her he sold, descendant
Speaker 1: of a noble race. The girl, refusing to be purchased
Speaker 1: as a slave, then hastened to the near shore of
Speaker 1: the sea, and as she stretched her arms above the waves,
Speaker 1: implored kind Neptune with her tears, Oh, you who have
Speaker 1: deprived me of virginity, deliver me from such a master's power.
Speaker 1: Although the master seeking her had seen her only at
Speaker 1: that moment, Neptune changed her quickly from a woman to
Speaker 1: a man by giving her the features of a man
Speaker 1: and garments proper to a fisherman. And there she stood.
Speaker 1: He even looked at her and cried out, hey, there,
Speaker 1: expert of the rod, while you were casting forth the
Speaker 1: bit of brass concealed so deftly in its tiny bait
Speaker 1: God's willing. Let the sea be smooth for you, and
Speaker 1: let the foolish fishes swimming up, never no danger till
Speaker 1: they snap the hook. Now tell me where is she, who,
Speaker 1: only now in tattered garment and wind twisted hair, was
Speaker 1: standing on this shore? For I am sure I saw
Speaker 1: her standing on this shore, although no footsteps show her flight.
Speaker 1: By this assured the favor of the God protected her.
Speaker 1: Delighted to be questioned of herself, she said, no matter
Speaker 1: who you are, excuse me, so busy have I been
Speaker 1: at catching fish? I have not at the time to
Speaker 1: move my eyes from this pool, and that you may
Speaker 1: be assured. I only tell the truth. May Neptune, God
Speaker 1: of ocean, witness it. I have not seen a man
Speaker 1: where I am standing on this shore, myself accepted. Not
Speaker 1: a woman has stood here. Her master could not doubt it,
Speaker 1: and deceived retraced his footsteps from the sandy shore. As
Speaker 1: soon as he had disappeared, Her form, unchanged, was given
Speaker 1: back to her. But when her father knew his daughter
Speaker 1: could transform her body and escape, he often sold her
Speaker 1: first to one and then another, all of whom she
Speaker 1: cheated as a mare bird, a cow, or as a stag.
Speaker 1: She got away, and so brought food dishonestly to ease
Speaker 1: his greed. And so he lived until the growing strength
Speaker 1: of famine, gnawing at his vitals, had consumed all he
Speaker 1: could get by selling her. His anguish burned him from
Speaker 1: an increasing heat. He gnawed his own flesh, and he
Speaker 1: tore his limbs and fed his body all he took
Speaker 1: from it. Ah, why should I dwell on the wondrous
Speaker 1: deeds of others? Even I, oh gathered youths have such
Speaker 1: a power. I can often change my body till my
Speaker 1: limit has been reached a while appearing in my real
Speaker 1: form another moment, coiled up as a snake, then as
Speaker 1: a monarch of the herd. My strength increases in my horns.
Speaker 1: My strength increased in my two horns when I had two,
Speaker 1: But now my forehead, as you see, has lost one horn.
Speaker 1: And having ended with such words, Achalouse groaned, God's of
Speaker 1: it is fun, isn't he? Fuck? I love reading all
Speaker 1: of these. It's just it's extra fun, you know, to
Speaker 1: directly read the things that I've used for sources in
Speaker 1: so so many episodes. It's a thrill and I just, uh,
Speaker 1: as I always say, I seriously love reading things aloud.
Speaker 1: So thank you all for being here for it. You're
Speaker 1: the best. Who doesn't love a good random audiobook style
Speaker 1: reading of a very old translation of an ancient text.
Speaker 1: Let's talk about myths. Baby has written and produced by
Speaker 1: me Live Albert, Mikayla Smith. God, she does everything. She's
Speaker 1: the absolute best. I'm gonna make this brief because I've
Speaker 1: been talking for over an hour and my throat hurts.
Speaker 1: Stephanie Fowley is also amazing. She transcribes for YouTube captains
Speaker 1: and accessibility. I got a Patreon. There's a link in
Speaker 1: the episode description. You know, iHeartMedia hosts and monetize the
Speaker 1: podcast am on other things. You're all really cool. Thanks
Speaker 1: for being here here, I live, and I love this
Speaker 1: shit quite a bit if you were curious,