(1.1) Cynthia
Propertius’ mistress/girlfriend. The name is probably a pseudonym for a woman called Hostia.
(1.1) Amor
Personification of love. Could be Cupid.
(1.1) Tullus
Addressee of the poem. Nephew of the consul of 33 BC.
(1.1) Milanion
- A young man who fell in love with the huntress Atalanta.
- She challenged all her suitors to a foot race and always won
- Milanion got help from Venus, who gave him 3 golden apples to throw on the floor as they ran.
- Atalanta was distracted by the apples and so lost the race.
- She then married Milanion.
- Atalanta and Milanion were later turned into lions as punishment for making love in a temple of Cybele.
(1.1) Atalanta
- A huntress who was very fast at running and for a long time did not want to be married.
- Before her marriage to Milanion, she went on several adventures, including the search for the golden fleece and the hunt for the Caledonian boar.
(1.1) Iasus
Atalanta’s father.
(1.1) Parthenium
A hill in Arcadia.
(1.1) Hylaeus
- A Centaur (half-man, half-horse)
- along with another Centaur called Rhoecus, burst into a grove where Atalanta was and attempted to rape her.
- She killed both of them.
- However, in P’s version, Milanion saves Atalanta from the Centaurs.
(1.1) Arcadia
Region of Greece, located in the central Peloponnese – full of mountains and woods, and without cities.
(1.1) you who have the trickery to draw down the moon, whose task it is to perform the rites on magic fires, come on, go change my mistress’s mind, and make her grow paler than my face
Witches.
Romans believed they could affect the moon and also could interfere in love affairs. Here, P asks witches to make Cynthia love him.
(1.1) Colchianspells
- Colchis was a city on the Black Sea
- home of Medea, a witch who helped Jason get the golden fleece.
- These spells are ones similar to those used by Medea.
(2.12) Cretan quiver
Crete was a Greek island. Cretans were known to be excellent archers.
(2.12) he has lost his wings
Cupid was often shown with wings. However, P says he must have lost these as he isn’t moving from P’s veins.
(2.17) Tantalus
- Most famously, Tantalus offered up his son,Pelops, as a sacrifice. He cut Pelops up, boiled him, and served him up in a banquet for the gods.
(- The gods became aware of the gruesome nature of the menu, so they did not touch the offering; - onlyDemeter, distraught by the loss of her daughter,Persephone, absentmindedly ate part of the boy’s shoulder.
- One of the threeFates, ordered by Zeus, brought the boy to life again.)
- Tantalus’s punishment for his act, was to stand in a pool of water beneath a fruit tree with low branches. Whenever he reached for the fruit, the branches raised his intended meal from his grasp. Whenever he bent down to get a drink, the water receded before he could get any.
(2.17) Sisyphus
Sisyphus: Sisyphuswas a king of Corinth
- He was punished for chronic deceitfulness by being compelled to roll an immense boulder up a hill, only to watch it roll back down, and to repeat this action forever.
(2.17) I can’t sleep at the crossroads under the new moon
Crossroads were associated with witchcraft.
(2.17) send my words through the crack in the door
A reference to the literary trope of paraklausithyron, where the male lover is shut out of the mistress’ bedroom and can only whisper through the door.
(2.19) Diana
Virgin goddess of hunting and wild animals.
(2.19) Clitumnus
Drinking from this lovely river (which is in Umbria, Italy) was supposed to make cows have white calves – which were preferred for sacrifices.
(2.19) snow-white heifers
Drinking from this lovely river (which is in Umbria, Italy) was supposed to make cows have white calves – which were preferred for sacrifices.
(3.23) writing tablets
Probably a wax tablet set in wood. You could write on them with a stylus, and rub out your words later.
(3.23) Esquiline
- The Esquiline hill was one of the original seven hills of Rome, it became a residential area.
- The Esquiline contained the gardens of Maecenas, a renowned patron of poets including Propertius.
