i. e. to conceal her own form under that of a wolf. In both cases, indeed, we might suppose 'fallere' to be a neuter verb, and attribute to it the ordinary signification, 'to escape observation;' but the construction 'fefellit sua furta,' 'escaped observation as to his stolen loves,' and 'fallere sua terga lupo,' 'to escape observation as to her own form under that of a wolf,' would be extremely harsh. 23. Vestae simulacra. Ovid here sacrifices consistency to poetical ornament, for he tells us in Fast. 6. 295 'Esse diu stultus Vestae simulacra putavi: Mox didici curvo nulla subesse tholo. Effigiem nullam Vesta, nec ignis, habent.' So also among the Greeks, as we learn from Pausan. Corinth. 35 Ἐν τῷ τῆς Ἑστίας ἄγαλμα μέν ἐστιν οὐδὲν, βωμός δὲ, καὶ ἐπ ̓ αὐτοῦ θύουσιν Ἑστίᾳ. 26. Et subiit, i. e. the flame sunk beneath the ashes, and therefore appeared to be, or actually was extinguished, the most fearful of all prodigies. 32. Picum. Plutarch in his Quaestiones Romanae asks, 'Why do the Latins reverence the woodpecker, and all most carefully refrain from injuring this bird? Is it because, as the story goes, Picus was metamorphosed by the spells of his wife, and being transformed into a woodpecker, delivered oracles and responses to those who inquired of him? Or is this incredible and monstrous? And is the other tale more probable, that when Romulus and Remus were exposed, not only did the she-wolf give them suck, but a certain woodpecker also visited them and placed morsels of bread in their mouths? .... Or is it that as other birds are sacred to different gods, so the woodpecker to Mars? for it is bold and vehement, and has a beak so strong that it rends even the oak,' &c. 35, 36. The Larentalia were celebrated on the X Kal. Ian. (23 December). This couplet sufficiently proves that Ovid had formed the design of carrying on his work through all the months of the year, although there is no reason to believe that he ever completed the task. See Introduction. 36. Acceptus geniis, &c. Because winter is a season of festivity and repose. Compare Virg. G. 1. 300 'Frigoribus parto agricolae plerumque fruuntur, and see Dict. Biog. and Myth. s. v. Genius. 42. Actos. The oxen which have been driven off by robbers. Compare Livy 1. 4. 43. Audiĕrunt. With regard to the quantity of the penultimate syllable in this and similar words, see 'Manual of Latin Prosody,' p. 103. Pater editus. The meaning of 'editus,' as Gierig correctly observes, is here ‘revealed' or 'disclosed,' not as Burmann would have it, 'publicly proclaimed and known by all.' 15. LVPERCALIA. FAS. II. 267. FAUNUS was an ancient Latin rural deity, who haunted woods and wilds, the object of peculiar adoration to the shepherd and husbandman. When foreign superstitions became rife, he was confounded with the Arcadian Pan. Observe also, that while Faunus was recognised as an individual, he gave a name to a whole class of deities who were called 'Fauni 2,' and bore a strong resemblance to the 'Satyri' of Grecian mythology, with whom they are generally identified in the works of the poets. Faunus was not considered by the Romans as a purely beneficent power, but as a wayward and tricky spirit, who loved to sport with the weakness and fears of men. To him and to his train were attributed all strange sights and sounds which terrify the lonely wayfarer, spectral forms appearing under changing shapes, frightful dreams and nightmares, 'the thousand fantasies Of calling shapes, and beckoning shadows dire, 1 In the writers of the Augustan age, Faunus can scarcely be distinguished from Silvanus, concerning whom see introduction to 14. 2 As there were 'Fauni,' so there were 'Silvani,' and in like manner among the Greeks, 'Panes' and 'Sileni.' 3 See Dionys. Hal. 5. 16, Plin. H. N. 25. 4, Livy 5. 50, Augustin. 'Faunus' and his sister 'Fauna' were possessed of prophetic powers also, and in this capacity were known by the epithets 'Fatuus' and 'Fatua.' At an early period there were two oracles of this god situated in sacred groves, one near Tibur at the sources of the Albunea, the other on the Aventine. The former with its ceremonies has been fully described by Virgil, the latter by Ovid'. The festival of Faunus commenced on the Ides of February, and on the 15th the solemnities of the 'Lupercalia' were celebrated, which, in the time of Ovid, were believed to appertain to the same divinity. On the last-mentioned day a body of priests styled 'Luperci,' divided into two colleges, distinguished as 'Quinctilii' and 'Fabii 2,' assembled at the 'Lupercal,' a sacred inclosure on the Palatine, where a sacrifice of goats and dogs was offered up. The Luperci then stripped themselves naked, threw the goat-skins 3 over their shoulders 4, and brandishing in their hands thongs cut from the hides, ran through the most frequented streets of the city smiting all whom they encountered 5, especially married women, who eagerly offered themselves to receive the lash, since it was supposed to confer fertility. Thus Ov. Fast. 2. 425 'Nupta, quid expectas? non tu pollentibus herbis, De Civ. Dei 15. 23, Serv. on Virg. Ae. 6. 766. As god of Nightmares he was styled Incubus ;' another title borne by him was Inuus,' &c. 1 Virg. Ae. 7. 85, Ov. Fast. 4. 649. 2 Or Quinctiliani' and Fabiani,' see Festus in verbb. Julius Caesar added a third college called after himself. See Suet. Jul. 76, Dio 44. 6. 3 The skin was called 'Februus' (Serv. Virg. Ae. 8. 343), which shows that the sacrifice was of a purificatory nature. See notes on 19. ✦ Hic exsultantes Salios, nudosque Lupercos' Virg. Aen. 8. 663. 5 Marc Antony, when consul, did not scruple to exhibit himself in this guise, and his appearance afforded an excellent theme for the satire of Cicero (Philipp. 2. 34). It was on this occasion that he offered kingly crown' to Caesar. a and Juv. S. 2. 140 'steriles moriuntur, et illis Turgida non prodest condita pyxide Lyde Nec prodest agili palmas praebere Luperco.' In the two following extracts Ovid gives a description of these rites, and endeavours, in various ways, to explain their origin. He then proceeds to enquire into the etymology of the word 'Lupercal,' and first derives it from 'Lupus,' supposing the den of the wolf who suckled Romulus and Remus to have been situated at this spot, which leads him to repeat the legend of the exposure of the twins. As a second derivation, we are told that we may consider 'Lupercus' a translation of Avκaîos, an ephithet of Pan, to whom the Aukalov opos, or Wolf Mountain in Arcadia, was sacred. This was the Greek version of the matter, and commonly current among the Romans in the age of Virgil, as we see from Ae. 8. 342 'Hic lucum ingentem, quem Romulus acer Asylum Some curious details are given by Dionysius, who tells us that one of the first acts of the colony under Evander was to consecrate a shrine to Lycean Pan, the most ancient and honoured of the Arcadian deities, 'having found out a fitting spot which the Romans call "Lupercalium," but we (the Greeks) would name "Lyceum." The ground in every direction about the sacred inclosure being now covered with buildings, it has become difficult to form an idea of the original aspect of the place. But there was in ancient times, as we are told, a great cave under the hill, covered over by a dense thicket, deep springs welled from beneath the rocks, while the cliffs all round were shaded by numerous tall trees. Having there erected an altar to the god, they performed, in the manner of their country, a sacrifice which is still offered by the Romans in the month of February, after the winter 1 The note of Servius is worth reading. solstice, the ancient ceremonies being performed without change.' There can be little doubt, however, that these derivations and explanations' are all equally futile, for we find distinct traces of an ancient Latin god and goddess, 'Lupercus' and 'Luperca,' of whom the latter is said to be the very wolf who suckled the twins raised to the rank of a deity 2. Hence the 'Luperci' would be their priests, the 'Lupercal' their shrine, the 'Lupercalia' their proper festival. Their worship was afterwards mixed up with that of Faunus, who in his turn was identified with Pan, thus forming one of those confused combinations so frequent in the religion of the later Romans 3. 1. Tertia post Idus. The Faunalia' commenced on the Ides of February. See 36. 2. Fauni...bicornis. Below line 25 we have 'Cornipedi Fauno.' The Fauns, however, are frequently represented in ancient works of art without the goat hoof, and are often distinguished merely by a short tail. Eunt, i. e. 'proceed.' We have seen in the Introduction that the Lupercalia were considered as forming part of the festival of Faunus. 3. Pierides. See note on 5. 26. 5. Pan was the shepherd-god of the pastoral Arcadians, and his worship was for a long period confined to that region 4. When Phidippides, an Athenian courier, was traversing Mount Parthenius, above Tegea, a short time before the battle of Marathon, he was encountered by the deity, who, calling upon him by name with a loud voice, commanded him to ask the 1 We ought not to omit a very choice one preserved by Quinctilian, 1. 5, who tells us that some persons maintained that 'Lupercal' was a triple compound of the words 'luere per capram.' 2 See Justin 43. I, Varro ap. Arnob. 4. 3, Lactant. 1. 20, Hartung. 2. p. 176. 3 There were 'Faunalia' in December also, so that possibly Faunus may originally have had no connection with the festivals in February. See Horace, Ode to Faunus, Od. 3. 18 'Ludit herboso pecus omne campo = Quum tibi Nonae redeunt Decembres, Festus in pratis vacat otioso = Cum bove pagus.' Herodotus, 2. 145, says that Hercules, Dionysus, and Pan were reckoned among the Greeks the most recent of the gods. |