Catullus 34: a song for Diana.

In this delightful little poem Catullus celebrates Diana, the Roman equivalent of Artemis. The Romans were never good in making myths and they took almost completely over Greek mythology. The origins of Artemis are obscure and there is no satisfying etymology for her name. It is well possible that she is of non-Greek origin and that she reflects an ancient goddess of the forests and the wild animals.

In this poem chaste (integri) boys and girls sing in honour of Diana. To underpin the solemnity, Catullus uses various obsolete forms.

Catullus XXXIV: carmen Dianae

Meter: lines 1-3 glyconeus http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glyconic

Line 4 pherecrateus http://la.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pherecrateus

Dianae sumus in fide

puellae et pueri integri:

Dianam pueri integri

puellaeque canamus.

in fide: in the protection of

o Latonia, maximi

magna progenies Iovis,

quam mater prope Deliam

deposivit olivam,

Latonia:  child of Latona (Leto), Greek Λητώ/ Λατώ  the mother of Diana

progenies (f.): offspring

Deliam olivam:  Latona gave birth to Diana and Apollo on the isle of Delos, supporting herself with her hand on an olive tree while giving birth.

deposivit = deposuit `delivered’ (deposivit is an ancient perfect. pono  comes from older po-sino in which po is a preposition related to Greek ἀπό.)

montium domina ut fores

silvarumque virentium

saltuumque reconditorum

amniumque sonantum:

fores: ancient form for eris

silva: forest

vireo: to be green (from the same root vir as ver  `spring’)

saltus –us (m.): forest, valley

recondo recondidi reconditus: to hide

amnis  -is (m.) river

sonantum = sonantium (the i would fall out of the meter!)

tu Lucina dolentibus

Iuno dicta puerperis,

tu potens Trivia et notho es

dicta lumine Luna.

Lucina Iuno: The name of Diana as goddess of birth (This was certainly true for Artemis, but for Roman religion it is unlikely that Diana ever performed this function.)

puerpera: a woman giving birth

Trivia: Hecate, goddess of the cross-roads is often identifies with Diana. She is also the goddess of the moon.

et notho es dicta lumine Luna: and you are Luna, said to be of borrowed light (nothos is a Greek loan-word. It alludes to the idea that the moon gets its light from the sun, a theory first put forward by Parmenides (born around 510 BC.)

tu cursu, dea, menstruo

metiens iter annuum,

rustica agricolae bonis

tecta frugibus exples.

menstruus: monthly

metior mensus sum: to measure

annuum = annorum

rustica tecta: the farms

expleo explevi expletum: to fill (the idea was that the moon influenced the growth of crops and animals.)

sis quocumque tibi placet

sancta nomine, Romulique,

antique ut solita es, bona

sospites ope gentem.

sis quocumque tibi placet sancta nomine =  sis sancta quocumque nomine tibi placet: may you be hallowed by whatever name you pleases. (in case the poet forgets a name of her.)

Romulique, antique ut solita es, bona sospites ope gentem. = et sospites Romuli gentem bona ope, ut antique solita es.

antique ut solita es: as you are used (to do) in an good, old fashioned manner

sospito (-are): to protect, serve (An obsolete word used in prayers.)

ops opis (f.): help, support (the nom. and dat. sg. do not occur.)