Cydippe Defixa A Magical Reading of Heroides 21

Cydippe Defixa: A Magical Reading of Heroides 21 Grace Funsten May 26, 2020

A. Cydippe’s Change of Heart Her. 21. 240: doque libens victas in tua vota manus And I willingly give my conquered hands in fulfillment of your prayers. Translations of Ovid my own.

B. Cydippe’s Symptoms 1. Her. 21. 169: at mihi, uae miserae, torrentur febribus artus. But—ah, wretched!—my limbs are parched with fevers. 2. Her. 215 color est sine sanguine My complexion is bloodless

C. Veneficium in Ovid 1. Her. 21. 52: facta veneficiis pars putat ista tuis Some think these things were done by your magic arts 2. Other uses of veneficium and venefica in Ovid: Am. 3. 7. 79 -80; Her. 6. 19, 150; Rem. 251, 290; Met. 7. 316, 14. 365

D. Defigere in Ovid 1. Her. 21. 113: luminaque in gremio veluti defixa tenebam I kept my eyes on my lap as if they had been fastened there. I kept my eyes on my lap, as if I had been bewitched. 2. Am. 3. 7. 29 -30: sagave poenicea defixit nomina cera. . . ? Or did a witch curse my name on a red tablet. . . ?

E. Wounding from Afar Her. 21. 208 -210: es procul a nobis, et tamen inde noces. mirabar quare tibi nomen Acontius esset: quod faciat longe vulnus, acumen habes. You are far from me, and yet you harm me even from there. I was wondering why your name was Acontius: you have the kind of point that deals a wound from afar.

F. Hints of Sympathetic Magic 1. Her. 219 -220: argenti color est inter convivia talis, quod tactum gelidae frigore pallet aquae. Such is the color of silver amid banquets, which touched by the chill of icy water grows pale. 2. Her. 215 -216. . . color est sine sanguine, qualem in pomo refero mente fuisse tuo. My complexion is bloodless, such as a I remember the color of your apple was.

G. Writing to Compel the Gods Her. 21. 237 -38: unde tibi favor hic? nisi si nova forte reperta est quae capiat magnos littera lecta deos. Where is this favor towards you from? Unless perhaps a new kind of writing has been discovered, which enslaves the great gods when read.

Carmen in Her. 21 1. Her. 21. 107: mittitur ante pedes malum carmine tali An apple with such a verse is thrown before my feet 2. Her. 21. 182: inque parum fausto carmine docta fui And I had been clever with an unlucky verse

Carmen as Magical in Ovid 1. Am. 1. 8. 18: et solidam longo carmine findit humum And she splits the solid earth with a long charm. 2. Met. 14. 357: nec mea carmina fallunt And my charms do not fail 3. Met. 14. 366: ignotosque deos ignoto carmine adorat And she worships unknown gods with an unknown charm.

Ars in Her. 21. 222: ‘arte nec est, ’ dices, ‘ista petita mea’ You will say, “That girl was not sought through my skill. ”

Ars as Magical in Ovid 1. Am. 1. 8. 5 -6: illa magas artes Aeaeaque carmina novit inque caput liquidas arte recurvat aquas She knows magic arts and Aeaean charms and turns the liquid waters back to their source with her skill. 2. Ars 2. 425: Docta, quid ad magicas, Erato, deverteris artes? Learned Erato, why are you turned to magic arts?

Nocere in Her. 21 1. Her. 21. 34: et placuisse nocet? And is it harmful to have pleased? 2. Her. 21. 56: quid facies odio, sic ubi amore noces? What will you do out of hatred, when you harm me so out of love? 3. Her. 21. 184: prosint, quae nocuere, manus. Let your hands, which harmed me, help me. 4. Her. 21. 208: es procul a nobis, et tamen inde noces. You are far from me, and yet you harm me even from there.

Nocere as Magical in Ovid 1. Am. 1. 8. 20: nec tamen eloquio lingua nocente caret. And her tongue does not lack an eloquence that harms. 2. Am. 3. 7. 28: num misero carmen et herba nocent? Surely a charm and herbs aren’t harming poor me? 3. Ars 2. 106: philtra nocent animis vimque furoris habent. Love potions harm minds and have the power of madness.

Wounding from Afar in Apollonius Arg. 4. 1673 -1677: Ζεῦ πάτερ, ἦ μέγα δή μοι ἐνὶ φρεσὶ θάμβος ἄηται, εἰ δὴ μὴ νούσοισι τυπῇσί τε μοῦνον ὄλεθρος ἀντιάει, καὶ δή τις ἀπόπροθεν ἄμμε χαλέπτει, ὡς ὅγε, χάλκειός περ ἐών, ὑπόειξε δαμῆναι Μηδείης βρίμῃ πολυφαρμάκου· Truly, Father Zeus, great astonishment confounds my mind, if in fact death comes not only through disease and wounds, but even from afar someone can harm us, just as he, though made of bronze, yielded in defeat to the power of Medea the sorceress. Translation by Race, 2003.

Wounding from Afar in Her. 6. 91 -92: devovet absentis simulacraque cerea figit Et miserum tenuis in iecur urget acus. She curses the absent and fashions images of wax and drives slender needles into their miserable livers.