Catullus 63 is a Latin poem of 93 lines in galliambic metre by the Roman poet

Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; ), known as Catullus (), was a Latin neoteric poet of the late Roman Republic. His surviving works remain widely read due to their popularity as teaching tools and because of their personal or sexual themes. Life ...

Context

The poem is about the

self-mutilation Self-harm refers to intentional behaviors that cause harm to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues, usually without suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-abuse, self-injury, and se ...

and subsequent lament of

Attis Attis (; , also , , ) was the consort of Cybele, in Phrygian and Greek mythology. His priests were eunuchs, the '' Galli'', as explained by origin myths pertaining to Attis castrating himself. Attis was also a Phrygian vegetation deity. Hi ...

, a priest of

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya, Kubeleya'' "Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian: ''Kuvava''; ''Kybélē'', ''Kybēbē'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible forerunner in the earliest ...

.Merrill, ed. 1893, p. 119. The centre of the worship of the Phrygian Κυβέλη or Κυβήβη, was in very ancient times the town of

Pessinus Pessinus () was an Ancient city and archbishopric in Asia Minor, a geographical area roughly covering modern Anatolia (Asian Turkey). The site of the city is now the modern Turkish village of Ballıhisar, in a tributary valley of the Sakarya Rive ...

in Galatian Phrygia, at the foot of Mount Dindymus, from which the goddess received the name Dindymene. Cybele had early become identified with the Cretan divinity Rhea, the Mother of the Gods, and to some extent with

Demeter In ancient Greek religion and Greek mythology, mythology, Demeter (; Attic Greek, Attic: ''Dēmḗtēr'' ; Doric Greek, Doric: ''Dāmā́tēr'') is the Twelve Olympians, Olympian goddess of the harvest and agriculture, presiding over cro ...

, the search of Cybele for Attis being compared with that of Demeter for Persephone. The especial worship of Cybele was conducted by

emasculated Emasculation is the removal of the external male sex organs, which includes both the penis and the scrotum, the latter of which contains the testicles. It is distinct from castration, where only the testicles are removed. Although the terms are ...

priests called

Galli A ''gallus'' (pl. ''galli'') was a eunuch priest of the Phrygian goddess Cybele (Magna Mater in Rome) and her consort Attis, whose worship was incorporated into the state religious practices of ancient Rome. Origins Cybele's cult may have o ...

(or, with reference to their physical condition, Gallae). Their name was derived by the ancients from that of the river Gallus, a tributary of the

Sangarius The Sakarya (; ; ; ) is the third longest river in Turkey. It runs through the region known in ancient times as Phrygia. It was considered one of the principal rivers of Asia Minor (Anatolia) in Greek classical antiquity, and is mentioned in th ...

, by drinking from which men became inspired with frenzy. The worship was orgiastic in the extreme, and was accompanied by the sound of such frenzy-producing instruments as the tympana, cymbala, tibiae, and cornu, and culminated in scourging, self-mutilation, syncope from excitement, and even death from hemorrhage or heart-failure. The worship of the Magna Mater, or Mater Idaea, as she was often called (perhaps from identification with Rhea of the

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Mount Ida rather than from the

Trojan Trojan or Trojans may refer to: * Of or from the ancient city of Troy * Trojan language, the language of the historical Trojans Arts and entertainment Music * '' Les Troyens'' ('The Trojans'), an opera by Berlioz, premiered part 1863, part 18 ...

Mount Ida), was introduced into Rome in 205 BC. in accordance with a Sibylline oracle which foretold that only so could 'a foreign enemy' (i.e.

Hannibal Hannibal (; ; 247 – between 183 and 181 BC) was a Punic people, Carthaginian general and statesman who commanded the forces of Ancient Carthage, Carthage in their battle against the Roman Republic during the Second Punic War. Hannibal's fat ...

) be driven from Italy.

Livy Titus Livius (; 59 BC – AD 17), known in English as Livy ( ), was a Roman historian. He wrote a monumental history of Rome and the Roman people, titled , covering the period from the earliest legends of Rome before the traditional founding i ...

gives an interesting account of the solemnities that accompanied the transfer from Pessinus to Rome of the black stone that represented the divinity, and of the establishment of the Megalensia. The stone itself was perhaps a meteorite, and is thus described by one Latin source'': lapis quidam non magnus, ferri manu hominis sine ulla impressione qui posset; coloris furvi atque atri, angellis prominentibus inaequalis, et quem omnes hodie … videmus … indolatum et asperum''.Merrill, ed. 1893, p. 120. Servius speaks of it as ''acus Matris Deum'', and as one of the seven objects on which depended the safety of Rome. According to E. T. Merrill, the early connection of Attis with the Mother of the Gods seems to point to the association of an original male element with an original female element as the parents of all things. But in the age of tradition Attis appears as a servant instead of an equal, and the subordination of the male to the female element is further emphasized by the representation of Attis, like the Galli of historic times, as an emasculated priest. Greek imagination pictured him as a beautiful youth who was beloved by the goddess, but wandered away from her and became untrue; but being sought and recalled to allegiance by her, in a passion of remorse he not only spent his life in her service, but by his own act made impossible for the future such infidelity on his part, thus setting the example followed by all the Galli after him.

Synopsis

Catullus departs from this form of the Attis myth, and makes Attis a beautiful Greek youth who in a moment of religious frenzy sails across seas at the head of a band of companions to devote himself to the already long-established service of the goddess. On reaching the shores of Trojan Ida he consummates the irrevocable act of dedication by castrating himself, and with his companions rushes up the mountain to the sanctuary of the goddess. But on awaking next morning he feels the full awfulness of his act, and gazing out over the sea toward his lost home, bewails his fate, till the jealous goddess unyokes a

lion The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large Felidae, cat of the genus ''Panthera'', native to Sub-Saharan Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body (biology), body; a short, rounded head; round ears; and a dark, hairy tuft at the ...

from her

car A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people rather than cargo. There are around one billio ...

and sends him to drive her wavering votary back to his allegiance. According to E. T. Merrill, "The story is told with a nervous vigour and swing of feeling that are unequalled in Latin literature, and to it the galliambic metre, the one traditionally appropriated to such themes, lends great effect."

Date

The date of composition is uncertain, but Catullus may have found his immediate inspiration in his contact with the Cybelian worship in its original home during his residence in

Bithynia Bithynia (; ) was an ancient region, kingdom and Roman province in the northwest of Asia Minor (present-day Turkey), adjoining the Sea of Marmara, the Bosporus, and the Black Sea. It bordered Mysia to the southwest, Paphlagonia to the northeast a ...

in 57-56 BC. Or it may have been found in his studies in the Alexandrian poets; for

Callimachus Callimachus (; ; ) was an ancient Greek poet, scholar, and librarian who was active in Alexandria during the 3rd century BC. A representative of Ancient Greek literature of the Hellenistic period, he wrote over 800 literary works, most of which ...

certainly used the galliambic meter, though no distinct title of a poem by him on this theme is extant. Caecilius of Comum was also engaged on a poem based on the worship of Cybele, and Varro and Maecenas both exercised their talents in the same direction. The poem abounds in rhetorical devices to add to its effect; such are the frequent employment of alliteration, of strange and harsh compounds, and the repetition of words of agitated movement and feeling (e.g. ''rapidus'' three times, ''citatus'' four times, ''citus'' twice, ''rabidus'' three times, ''rabies'' once).Merrill, ed. 1893, pp. 120–121.

Notes

References

Sources

* Burton, Richard F.; Smithers, Leonard C., eds. (1894).
The Carmina of Caius Valerius Catullus
'. London: Printed for the Translators: for Private Subscribers. pp. 138–148. * Merrill, Elmer Truesdell, ed. (1893).
Catullus
' (College Series of Latin Authors). Boston, MA: Ginn and Company. pp. 119–130.

External links

* C. Valerius Catullus
"Catul. 63"
''Carmina''. Leonard C. Smithers, ed. ''

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''. Retrieved 3 March 2023. * {{Authority control C063 Articles containing video clips Castration