Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

According to Julius Pollux, when the veil was removed from the Bride, the Bridegroom presented her with an orgiev, as a Græcian compliment. (1. 2. c. 59. & l. 3. c. 36.)

N° XL.

Verfe 1145. Αμαζόνων σκυλεύματ'.

1176. Which from the Amazonian fpoils.

THE Hiftory of the Amazons may be seen in Diodorus Siculus: He mentions in his third book ", " that the most ancient Nation of this name inhabited Libya, and was extinct many generations prior to the Trojan War: But that, which lived about the river Thermodon, flourished juft before: That Pofterity had confounded the actions of the former with those of the latter:" He then relates from the Hiftorian Dionyfius the inftitutions and conquefts of these Amazonians of Africa; and at laft obferves, "that they were entirely destroyed by Hercules 3, when travelling into the Western parts, he erected the pillar in Libya: For this Hero, whofe object it was to be an univerfal Benefactor to Mankind, thought it an infufferable thing for him to overlook any Nation, governed by Women." In his fecond book he treats of the Amazons near the river Thermodon, whose military policy and favage inftitutions are reprefented, as fimilar to the former; and confifted in inverting the order of nature in regard to the different occupations of Men and Women:

i L.

3. C. 52. p. 220. vol. 1. ed. Weffel.

2 See alfo Bryant's Anal, of Ant. Mythol. vol. 2. p.
a L. 3. p. 223.
4 L. 2. p. 156.

66.

"They

They mutilated the limbs of the former, and cut off the right breast of the latter; from which circumftance they are generally understood to derive their name." He adds, "That after many generations, the renown of these Amazons being extended over the whole globe, Hercules, Son of Jupiter and Alcmena, received the injunction of Euryftheus to procure the belt of their Queen Hippolyta : This he accomplished, and entirely enervated the whole force of the Nation; fo that they became an easy prey to the Barbarians ; and their name was at laft annihilated. Hence it appears, that, according to the exprefs teftimony of this Hiftorian, Hercules was the Conqueror of both the Nations of these Amazons, who flourished in different ages and different countries: Unless therefore we attribute these events to different Heroes of the name of Hercules, one of these fabulous ftories, as proved by internal evidence, must be erroneous. Those near the river Thermodon are probably the Amazons here alluded to by the Poet; fince these are most frequently mentioned, as by fchylus in his Prometheus, and by Dionyfius in his defcription of the globe: And our Poet, in his Hercules Furens, evidently alludes to them,

O'er the black Euxine's hoarfe-refounding wave
He fought the Amazonian hoft. (v.467.)

An engraving of Hercules, in the act of divesting the Amazon of her girdle, may be seen in the Polymetis: And in the defcription of the temple of Olympian Jupiter at Elis Paufanias men

5 L. 2. p. 157• »

6 V. 724.

7 V. 774. Se alfo the Comment of Euftathius on p. 156 & 157, ed. Hill, 8 Pl. 8. Fig. 10. 9 L. 5. c. 10. p. 400.

1688.

[blocks in formation]

tions,

"that Hercules was there reprefented in a fimilar attitude." There is also in the first Volume of the Greek Antiquities by Grævius an engraving of the engagement of Hercules with the Amazon.

N° XLI.

Verfe tigo. Μελάμπεπλος δὲ Νύξ.

1183. Meanwhile the Night, robed in her fable stole.

Thus Silius Italicus dreffes the Night,

And Fulgentius,

Nox atro circumdata corpus amictu
Nigrantes invexit equos.

(L. 15. v. 285.)

Tum nox ftellato mundum circumlita peplo.

(Auct. Myth. ed. Stav. 1. 1. p. 617.)

Perhaps Milton, from this epithet in Euripides, borrowed his correfponding expreffion of " fable-vefted Night." But the exclamation of Shakespeare's Juliet has also a natural resemblance,

Come, civil Night,

Thou fober-fuited matron, all in black.

(A. 3. f. 2.)

Here we must acknowledge, that Genius was indebted to Nature, and not to Imitation.

* Par. Lost. B. 2. v. 962.

N° XLII.

N° XLII.

Ασείρωτον ζυγοῖς

Verfe 1151. Ὄχημ ̓ ἔπαλλεν· ἄφρα δ' ὡμάζει θέα.

Her unrein'd Car advances; on her state

1185. The stars attend.

I Have proved in a preceding Note', that the quadriga, or chariot drawn by four horfes, was the poetical prerogative of the Sun; and have there mentioned, that the Goddess Night was only honoured with the humbler biga, or the car drawn by two horfes: To this I imagine Euripides here alludes under the expreffion of ασείρωζον ζυγοῖς, or her unrein'd car: But, in order to demonftrate it, we must analyze the term, and illuftrate the Græcian cuftom. Our Poet in his Iphigenia3 in Aulis has been very circumftantial as to the horses of the quadriga; for he tells us, that thofe in the middle were called ζύγιοι, and the extreme ones σειραφόροι : The first of these words implies, that the two in the middle were yoked; but the latter imports, that the other two car-ried reins: Thus Julius Pollux corresponds with our Poet, and defines the expreffions in the fame manner, concluding that their reins are called σsigal. When Oreftes in the Pythian Games of Sophocles approaches the goal, he is de

1 On V. 82. p. 35.

3

Τὲς μὲν μέσως ζυγίας,

Τὰς δ' ἔξω στραφόρες.

4

2 P. 37.

(V. 223.)

4 ὧν οἱ μὲν ὑπὸ τῷ ζυγῷ, ζύγιοι· οἱ δὲ ἑκατέρωθεν, παρήωροι, καὶ παράσειςοι, καὶ σειραφόροι, καὶ σειραῖοι, καὶ αἱ τόυτων ἡνίαι, σειραί. (1. 1. c. 10. P. 141. vol. 1. p. 97. ed. Hemster.)

[blocks in formation]

scribed in his Electra, as flackening the extreme horfe, or the σειραῖον ἵππον 5 : And #fchylus in his Agamemnon twice ufes the expreffion of σgao popos in a metaphorical fenfe: In the first inftance, to exprefs a faithful and united Affociate, the King bestows this epithet on Ulyffes: Here the learned Stanley in his note remarks, "that in the quadriga to each horfe, which was yoked, was added a σspopopos, or a horfe governed by reins only, funalis; and he adds, that this custom was inftituted by Clifthenes: For according to Ifidorus the chariots of the quadriga were formerly with a double pole; and the connected yoke was thrown over all the horses: But Clifthenes the Sicyonian was the firft, that yoked only the middle ones; and to each of them applied on each fide by a fimple attachment, what the Greeks termed σaga@ópor, and the Latins funarii." In the other paffage of this play, where the word occurs, it is ufed with the negative particle

to

7

5 V. 724.

6 Ζευχθεὶς ἔτοιμος ἦν ἐμοὶ σειρασφόρος. (V. 851.)
Yoked in his martial harness from my fide
Swerv'd not. (Potter. Agam. vol. 2.

p. 68.)

The English Tranflator is here inaccurate; for the cupac@ogos was never yoked, but only reined: Yet it is remarkable, that Stanley, notwithstanding his excellent explication, immediately fubfequent, has himself fallen inad vertently into this error: for he fays that Agamemnon by a metaphor extremely elegant calls Ulyffes his cagaoçógov, as bearing with him for his part the yoke. "Agamemnon Ulyffem gaopógov fibi effe dicic metaphorâ elegantiffimâ, quafi pro fua parte jugum fecum ferentem: Etenim in quadrigâ utrique equo jugaliy adjungebatur funalis opao Pégos; idque ex inftituto Clifthenis. Ifidorus, Quadrigarum vero currus duplici temone olim erant, perpetuoque & quod omnibus equis injiceretur jugo. Primus Clifthenes Sicyonius tantum medios jugavit, eifque fingulos ex utrâque parte fimplici vinculo applicuit, quos Græci ouafóge; Latini, tunarios appellant."

7 Τὸν δὲ μὴ πειθένορα

Ζεύξω βαρείαις, ἀντὶ μὴ σειρασφόρον,
gibusla zühov. (V. 1650.)

Ut

« AnteriorContinuar »