Ovid’s Fasti 2.83 – 2.86, 2.95 – 2.100, 2.103 – 2.116

Introduction

Arion was a famous Greek musician about whom we know little for certain. According to the mythology that developed around him, he was the son of Poseidon and a nymph named Oncaea. Historically speaking, he was known as a friend of Periander, a tyrant of the Greek city of Corinth. As such, Arion spent a long time at Periander’s court. Arion is also credited with inventing a kind of poetry called the dithyramb, which was a type of hymn that was sung and danced in honor of Dionysus. According to the Greek writer Herodotus, Arion attended and won a musical competition in Sicily. On his way back home, Arion was kidnapped by pirates, who intended to steal the prize that he had just won.

Ovid recounts this story in his Fasti, a poem of six books comprised of mythological stories that explain the origin of all the holidays on the Roman calendar. The story of Arion and the dolphin he summoned to escape is recorded in the entry for February 3.

Text

Quod mare non novit1, quae nescit Ariona2 tellus?

Carmine currentes ille tenebat3 aquas.

Saepe sequens agnam lupus est a voce retentus,

saepe avidum fugiens restitit agna lupum.

Inde domum repetens puppem conscendit Arion, 5

atque ita quaesitas arte ferebat opes.

Forsitan, infelix4, ventos undasque timebas:

at tibi nave tua tutius aequor erat.

Namque gubernator destricto constitit ense

ceteraque armata5 conscia turba manu. 10

Ille6, metu pavidus, “Mortem non deprecor” inquit,

“sed liceat7 sumpta pauca8 referre9 lyra.”

Dant veniam ridentque moram: capit ille coronam,

quae10 possit crines, Phoebe11, decere tuos;

induerat Tyrio12 bis tinctam murice pallam: 15

reddidit icta suos pollice13 chorda sonos,

flebilibus numeris14 veluti canentia dura

traiectus penna15 tempora16 cantat olor.

Protinus in medias ornatus17 desilit undas;

spargitur impulsa caerula puppis aqua. 20

Inde (fide18 maius) tergo delphina19 recurvo

se20 memorant oneri subposuisse novo.

Ille, sedens citharamque tenens, pretiumque21 vehendi

cantat et aequoreas carmine mulcet aquas.

Vocab Definition Vocab Definition
aequoreus, -a, -um of the ocean agna, -ae, f. lamb
Arion, -onis, m. Arion (a child of Poseidon) armo, -are, -avi, -atus to arm
avidus, -a, -um intentus, -a, -um bis twice
caerulus, -a, -um sky-blue canens, -ntis albus, -a, -um
canto, -are cano, -ere chorda, -ae, f. string (of an instrument)
cithara, -ae, f. lyre conscendo, -ere, -i to board (a ship)
conscius, -a, -um conspiring consto, -are, -stiti sto, -are
corona, -ae, f. crown crinis, -is, m. coma, -ae
deceo, -ere to be suitable (for) delphinus, -i, m. dolphin
deprecor, -ari to beg to avoid desilio, -ire to jump down
destringo, -ere, -inxi, -ictum to unsheathe, draw ensis, -is, m. gladius, -i
flebilis, -e tearful forsitan fortasse
gubernator, -oris, m. helmsman icio, -ere, ici, ictum to pluck
lyra, -ae, f. lyre maius greater
memoro, -are to recount mulceo, -ere to calm
murex, -icis, f. purple olor, -is, m. swan
onus, -eris, n. weight orno, -are, -avi, -atus to decorate
palla, -ae, f. robe pavidus, -a, -um trembling
penna, -ae, f. arrow Phoebus, -i, m. Apollo
pollex, -icis, m. thumb pretium, -i, n. price
protinus statim puppis, -is, f. navis, -is, f.
quaero, -ere, quaesivi, quaesitum to obtain recurvus, -a, -um curved
repeto, -ere redeo, -ire resto, -are, -stiti to stop
retineo, -ere, -tinui, -tentum to hold back spargo, -ere to splash
subpono, -ere, -posui (+ DAT.) to place under tempus, -oris, n. brow
tingo, -ere, -xi, -nctum to dye traicio, -ere, -ieci, -iectum to pierce
Tyrius, -a, -um Tyrian, from the city of Tyre veho, -ere fero, ferre
venia, -ae, f. beneficium, -i    

Commentary

  1. novit: perfect forms of nosco, noscere have a present meaning ↩

  2. Ariona: Greek accusative of Arion ↩

  3. tenebat = “could hold back”; the imperfect tense can denote general capability, as it does here. ↩

  4. infelix: vocative; here, the poet addresses Arion directly (a stylistic device called “apostrophe”). ↩

  5. armata: ablative to agree with manu ↩

  6. ille: refers to Arion ↩

  7. liceat = “let it be permitted”; supply mihi ↩

  8. pauca: neuter plural and the accusative direct object of referre ↩

  9. referre : “to play” here ↩

  10. quae possit : “(the sort) which could” ↩

  11. Phoebe: vocative; here, the poet addresses Apollo directly. ↩

  12. Tyrio…murice: Murex was a species of snail native to Tyre (in present-day Lebanon) that secreted a purple dye used to stain fabric. The process required vast amounts of the dye and was labor-intensive, so the resulting color was highly valued and very expensive. As a result, only the very rich could afford it, so it became a symbol of wealth and royalty. ↩

  13. pollice = digitis ↩

  14. numeris = “song” ↩

  15. penna: ironically, penna in other contexts refers to a “feather.” ↩

  16. tempora: with canentia, “having been pierced on its white brow.” This use of the accusative shows where he has been pierced (traiectus). ↩

  17. ornatus: Arion jumped into the ocean fully clothed. ↩

  18. fide maius: an expression of amazement; the neuter singular maius refers to the sentence as a whole ↩

  19. delphina: Greek accusative singular ↩

  20. se: refers to the dolphin and is the object of subposuisse ↩

  21. pretium vehendi = “as the price for carrying him” ↩

All material is taken, with gratitude, from The Latin Library as well as my own work, available under the Creative Commons Attribution Share-Alike license CC BY-SA 4.0