Commentary
Commentary
179 tres aberant: purpose clause. The imperfect subjunctive is used
here to express action, which was at a past time thought of as
future. Medea is waiting for the moon to be full so she can begin
the rites of Hecate. (G&H 147 c.)
182 egreditur...fert: historical present
tectis: ablative of separation
183 nuda pedem...nudos umeris infusa capillos: Synecdochical or
Greek Accusative- used to denote the part affected (A&G 397 b.)
188 quae: conjunctive relative pronoun modifying sidera
195 artis = artes: accusative plural
199 quorum ope: ablative of means with a conjunctive relative
pronoun
ripis mirantibus: ablative of separation
205 montis: cf. 195
207 Temesaea: Temesaean, a name taken perhaps from the copper
mines of Tamassus in Cyprus. Bronze vessels (area) were beaten
during an eclipse (labores) to break the magic spell (Gleason, p.
111 1989).
211 inpatiens oneris collum: The only way I can explain this adjective
is that Ovid must have left out the relative pronoun.
215 opus est sucis: takes the ablative of the thing needed
222 subiecta Thessala Tempe: Tempe is a scenic valley between Mt.
Olympus and Mt. Ossa in Thessaly
224-5 Mt. Ossa is the N.E., Pelion in the E., and Othrys in S. Thessaly.
The Pindus separates Thessaly from Macedonia.
227 falcis aenae: We learn from Macrobius and Caelius Rhodiginus that
copper was preferred to iron in cutting herbs for the purposes of
enchantment, in exorcising spirits, and in aiding the moon in
eclipses against the supposed charms of the witches, because it
was supposed to be a purer metal (Riley, pg.259 24).
229 Enipeu: vocative
231 Boebes: Strabo makes mention of lake Boebeis, near the town of
Boebe, in Thessaly. It was not far from the mouth of the river
Peneus.
232 Euboica Anthedone: ablative of place where; a town and harbour
in Boeotia (Cassell’s, pg. 48). This was a town of Boeotia,
opposite to Euboea, being situated on the Eurpius, now called
the straits of the Negropont (Riley, pg. 260 27).
233 Glauci: a fisherman, who was changed into a sea god, on tasting a
certain herb. His story is related at the end of the 13th book
(Riley, pg. 260 28).
239 tantum: adverbial
239 caelo: ablative of means
241 Iuventae: This goddess was also called Hebe, from the Greek
word signifying youth. She was the daughter of Juno (should be
Jove) and the wife of Hercules. She was also the cupbearer of
the gods until she was supplanted by Ganymede (Riley, pg. 260
30).
244 cultros: pl. in form but singular in meaning
velleris: part for the whole, i.e. literally this means the fleece, but
it stand in apposition for the sheep
251 quos: the infamous conjunctive relative pronoun
260 infectas: stained
269 strigis…alas: The “strix” is supposed to have been the screech owl,
and was a favorite bird with the enchanters, who were supposed
to have the power of assuming that form. From the description
given in the “striges” in the Sixth Book of the Fausti, it would
almost appear that the qualities of the vampyre bat were
attributed to them (Riley, pg. 261 35).
271 prosecta: entrails
lupi: the werewolf (Gleason, pg. 113 2047).
272 chelydri: The ‘chelydrus’ was a venomous water-snake of a
powerful and offensive smell. The Delphian Commentator seems
to think that a kind of turtle is meant here (Riley, pg. 262 36).
276 mortali: ablative of comparison
287 passa: refers to the Aeson’s corpora
288 barba comaeque: Medea is though by some writers not only to
have discovered a dye for giving a dark colour to grey hair, but
to have found out the invigorating properties of the warm bath
(Riley, pg. 262 39).