Classica Wratislaviensia. Series Altera

A Polish translation of the votive epigrams of Leonidas of Tarentum from Book VI of “Anthologia Palatina”

Ewa Orłowska — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This paper presents a Polish translation of the votive epigrams by Leonidas of Tarentum from Book VI of Anthologia Palatina. Leonidas, a Hellenistic poet typically assigned to the first half of the third century BC, who has approximately 100 epigrams attributed to him. While adhering to the conventional structure of votive epigram and epitaph, his poetry stands out for its innovation. The epigrammatist employs a language that is both lavish and ornamental, utilizing numerous poetic devices to vividly depict ordinary people and artisans. However, his poems extend beyond these subjects, with Leonidas also lauding renowned poets, crafting ecphrases of artworks, and composing reflective epigrams on philosophical themes.

Love and war — a tale as old as time in “Amores” II 12 by Ovid

Monika Miazek-Męczyńska — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The article contains a translation into Polish and an analysis of Ovid’s elegy Amores II 12, which deals with the theme of the similarity between love and war — a recurring motif in his oeuvre. The poet finds justification for his own romantic conquests in tradition, as he refers to a number of legendary kidnappings of women that resulted in wars. With typical self-irony, however, he emphasizes that his own victories are more praiseworthy than those won by mythical heroes, as his triumphs were individual and bloodless.

“We’ve only got this old geezer left to kill...”: Criminal farce in Greco-Roman Egypt (POxy. 413 verso)

Agnieszka Kotlińska-Toma — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

This paper presents a translatory proposition of the mime preserved on POxy. 413 verso (Moicheutria) into Polish, along with a concise analysis of the theatrical and literary issues that are observed in this ancient genre.

Letters from the master to his disciples among shepherds’ meadows: Reminiscences from the Middle Ages

Wojciech Rucki — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Presented here is a translation of four poems by the Northumbrian monk Alcuin, advisor to Charlemagne, forming a mini-corpus which depicts the author as a teacher and creator of the educational and moral reform program of the reborn Roman Empire. The commentary points to the reception of Greco-Roman antiquity — especially the topics — and the attempts at remolding the material in the Christian spirit.

“The Battle of Frogs and Mice by Homer”, rendered in Latin verse by Jan Siemuszowski of the Starykoń coat of arms — translated into Polish

Jakub Zbądzki — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Presented here is a translation of the work by Jan Siemuszowski of the Starykoń coat of arms, Ranarum et murium pugna Homeri, into Polish.

On a somewhat forgotten Roman erotic poem

Zofia Głombiowska — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The article concerns the poem Dirae preserved in Appendix Vergiliana, or more precisely its second part that speaks of love for Lydia. The author presents the structure of the work, discusses the way of depicting female beauty and anthropomorphization of nature — which was later imitated by Petrarch — and assesses the selection of mythological motifs and indicates their sources (Homer, Hesiod). Regarding the portrayal of love, she assesses the differences in comparison to the Roman elegy as significant — the separation of lovers and the love drama in the poem about Lydia is not caused by the girl’s indifference infidelity, but by political decisions (confiscation of land in favour of war veterans forces a man to leave the village). The poem depicts free, fulfilled love as a transgression. Since the text in the codices is full of errors, its interpretation presented here also includes numerous reflections on manuscript lessons and publishers’ corrections (as in the last lines of the work, for example) or is based on the punctuation of sentence construction (as in verses 142–143 [L 38–40]).

Epigrams 4.4 and 6.93 as examples of Martial’s self-motivation

Joanna Pieczonka — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

The article presents Martial’s epigrams nos. 4.4 and 6.93, which form a mini-cycle. They share a common topic, the same motifs and an analogical form of a priamel. In both poems the bad scent of the protagonist (Bassa and Thais) is compared to other unpleasant smells. Among these comparisons there are certain recurring odours: sulphur, fish, goat, leather, dyed material and bad breath. The epigram 4.4 is built as a synthetic priamel, 6.93 is an analytical one. The comparison of this pair of epigrams with another mini-cycle 3.65 and 11.8 lead the author the conclusion that Martial imitates his earlier poems in the ones written later. This phenomenon may be called a peculiar imitatio et aemulatio.

Editorial

Maria Chantry, Emilia Żybert-Pruchnicka, Ałła Brzozowska — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

A complete edition of Alciato’s “Emblems” with a Polish translation and commentary

Bartosz Awianowicz — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

An encouragement to translate the opus of the polymath Gabriel Rzączyński entitled “Historia naturalis curiosa Regni Poloniæ, Magni Ducatus Lituaniæ, annexarumque provinciarum, in tractatus XX divisa” from 1721 into Polish

Michał M. Skoczylas — Thu, 22 Feb 2024 00:00:00 +0100

Gabriel Rzączyński’s Historia naturalis curiosa, composed of twenty treatises, published in 1721 in Sandomierz, has been a source of information about the Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth (Res Publica Utriusque Nationis) for many years, and one of the most extensive attempts to characterize the natural environment of the country. It also contains information on historical events that involved the natural world and the state of knowledge and medical practice in Poland and Lithuania. Historia has also been the subject of many secondary studies and historiographical analyses, but has not yet been translated into its author’s native language. A concise description of its content and a discussion of its importance for academic reflection are intended as an encouragement to translate the opus into the languages of the nationalities that formed the state at that time.