Ovid – Theseus & Medea
Metamorphoses 7.404-429
iamque aderat Thēseus, prōlēs ignāra parentī,
et virtūte suā bimarem pācāverat Isthmon. 405
hūius in exitium miscet Mēdēa quod ōlim
attulerat sēcum Scythicīs aconīton ab ōrīs.
illud Echidnēae memorant ē dentibus ortum
esse canis. specus est tenebrōsō caecus hiātū,
est via dēclīvis, per quam Tirynthius hērōs 410
restantem contrāque diem radiōsque micantēs
oblīquantem oculōs nexīs adamante catēnīs
Cerberon abstraxit; rabidā quī concitus īrā
implēvit pariter ternīs latrātibus auras
et sparsit viridēs spumīs albentibus agrōs. 415
hās concrēsse putant nactāsque alimenta ferācis
fēcundīque solī vīrēs cepisse nocendī.
quae quia nascuntur dūrā vivacia caute,
agrestēs aconīta vocant. ea coniugis astū
ipse parēns Aegeus nātō porrexit ut hostī. 420
sumpserat ignārā Thēseus data pōcula dextrā,
cum pater in capulō gladiī cognōvit eburnō
signa suī generis facinusque excussit ab ōre.
effugit illa necem nebulīs per carmina mōtīs.
at genitor, quamquam laetātur sospite nātō, 425
attonitus tamen est ingēns discrīmine parvō
committī potuisse nefās. fovet ignibus ārās
mūneribusque deōs implet, feriuntque secūrēs
colla torōsa boum vinctōrum corpora vittīs.
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Notes
Meter: dactylic hexameters
405 bimaris, -e: having two seas. Isthmon is a Greek accusative; the Isthmus was the Isthmus of Corinthpācō, pācāre, pācāvī, pācātum: to pacify, bring peace to;the reference is to the slaying of Sinis, etc.407 aconīton, another Greek accusative (neuter): “aconite”, an extremely poisonous plantScythicus, -a, -um: Scythian. Scythia was the land boardering on the northern Black Sea and Caspian Sea408 Echidnēus, -a, -um: of Echidna, the monster that bore Cerberus; Echidnea canis = “Cerberus” – note the gendermemorō, memorāre, memorāvī, memorātum: to recall, remember, mentionortum, with illud, i.e., the aconite: “sprung”409 specus, -ī, m.: a cave, cavern 410 dēclīvis, -e: steeply inclined, steep, slopingTirynthius hērōs = “Hercules”, so called for the labors he performed for Eurysthenes, king of Tiryns412 obliquō, obliquāre, obliquāvī, obliquātum: to turn aside, to twist awaynexus, -a, -um, from necto, nectere, nexuī, nexum.: to bind; the ablative in instrumental, with abstraxitcatēna, -ae, f.: chain. adamas, -antis, m.: hardest iron, steel413 Cerberon, Greek accusative: “Cerberus”rabidus, -a, -um: rabid, raving, mad414 ternus, -a, -um: triplelātrātus, -ūs, m.: barking415 spūma, -ae, f.: foam; albēns (present participle) = albus416 concrēsse for concrēvisse, perfect infinitive of crescō, concrēvī, concrētum: to grow into, condense, curdlenactus, -a, -um: “having found”; alimenta (neuter plural), “nourishment”ferācis fēcundīque solī is a defining genitive with alimenta — “the nourishment of a …”417 vīrēs cēpisse, i.e., acquired the power; nocendi (gerund): “of doing harm”418 nascor, nascī, nātus sum: to be borncautis, -is, f.: jagged rock; vīvāx here = ‘tenacious of life’, i.e., hearty, stubborn419 agrestis, agrestis: a country person. aconīta is accus. plur. This is a ‘figura etymologica’, an explanation of word origins — not a very plausible one: ‘aconītum < ā caute’astus, -ūs, m.: cunning, adroitness, craft; coniugis is genitive, referring to Medea421 pōcula refers to a single cup, plural for singular422 capulus, -ī, m.: handleeburnus = eburneus, “of ivory”424 effugit: present tense, as shown by the meternebulīs mōtīs is instrumental: “on clouds moved by …”425 laetor, laetārī, laetātus sum: to rejoice (in … = the ablative)sospes, sospitis (adj.): safe, unharmed427 committī — present passive infinitive; discrimine parvō, literally ‘with a small difference’429 torōsus, -a, -um: muscular, brawnyvitta, -ae, f.: fillet, ribbon; vittīs with vinctōrum, “bound with fillets”
