OVID - Dipsas the sorceress

Question 1

what is the metre of the text?

Answer 1

elegaic couplets

Question 2

est quaedam…est quaedam

Line 1-2

Answer 2

the repetition creates an accusatory tone from the outset: he is pointing out to us the source of all his trouble

Question 3

lena

Line 1

Answer 3

• In Latin love poetry the lena (‘procuress’ / ‘brothel-keeper’) represents one form of the opposition to the poet’s love: he desires his girl, the procuress wants payment
• This one also happens, according to Ovid, to be a witch

Question 4

audiat

Line 2

Answer 4

• jussive subjunctive “let him hear”.
• This sets up a gossipy tone to the poem: Ovid will be writing as though he is recounting an incident to an avid audience.

Question 5

Dipsas

Line 2

Answer 5

• her name is from Greek and translates as ‘thirsty’, implying that she is an alcoholic
• Overindulgence, especially in alcohol, was seen as a very ‘female’ vice.
• Her age is pointed out (anus) specifically to create that contrast between the desirable puella and this aged lena
• This ageism is frequent in depictions of witches: when they have lost their sexual power, they turn to magical power

Question 6

ex re nomen habet

Line 3

Answer 6

her nature is that of an alcoholic and so she was named appropriately

Question 7

nigri… Memnonis

Lines 3-4: nigri non illa parentem Memnonis in roseis sobria vidit equis

Answer 7

• Memnon was a legendary Ethiopian king and the son of Eos, goddess of the Dawn (parentem Memnonis)
• The implication is that Dipsas has never been awake at daybreak apart from as the result of a heavy night of drinking
• Note the alliteration of ‘n’ in nigri non to emphasise the negative. She has never seen the dawn whilst sober

Question 8

roseis sobria vidit equis

Line 4

Answer 8

• in epic, Eos is often referred to as ‘rosy’
• The ‘horses’ are a reference to the mythological chariot which drove the sun across the sky
• Notice how the word sobria been delayed for impact

Question 9

magas

Line 5: illa magas artes Aeaeaque carmina novit

Answer 9

• the usual word for ‘magical’ is magicus
• This is a rarer form and therefore adds to the epic tone as well as adding mystery

Question 10

liquidas…aquas and arte

Line 6: inque caput liquidas arte recurvat aquas

Answer 10

the hyperbaton (inverted or discontinuous word order) of liquidas…aquas with arte in-between mimics the disruption which her ‘skill’ has on the ‘flowing rivers’

Question 11

quid…quid…quid valeat

Lines 7-8

Answer 11

• The anaphora (repetition of word at beginning of successive clauses or phrases) of quid emphasises this tricolon (list of three) and helps to create an increasing impression of varied terrifying powers
• Whilst each item in the list is connected with magic, they get progressively more unnatural as the list progresses

Question 12

what is gramen?

Line 7: scit bene quid gramen

Answer 12

• herbs for use in spells
• The collecting of these was carried out in a ritualistic manner

Question 13

what is a rhombus?

Lines 7-8: quid torto concita rhombo licia

Answer 13

• the rhombus was a magical tool used to tap into magical power and attract it to the user
• Scholars differ on the exact definition in Latin texts: Romans may have used the word to refer to a wheel-like device with threads to cause it to spin like or to a tool similar to a ‘bull-roarer’ which was swung through the air in a circle to create a roaring sound

Question 14

virus amantis equae

Line 8: quid valeat virus amantis equae

Answer 14

• the fluid from a mare in heat was used in love charms
• The alliteration of valeat virus draws attention to these words

Question 15

cum voluit

Lines 9-10: cum voluit, toto glomerantur nubila caelo; cum voluit, puro fulget in orbe dies

Answer 15

• cum here is being used as an indefinite relative (‘whenever’), introducing a conditional relative clause
• The condition is translated as if it were present tense: it is a generality
• The repeated phrase stresses the power of the witch’s will

Question 16

toto…caelo

Line 9

Answer 16

• The witch is able to interfere in events which ought to be well beyond the remit of mortals
• Her power is highlighted by the hyperbaton of toto…caelo, her actions split the sky apart with clouds in the text as well as in ‘reality’

Question 17

puro…orbe

Line 10

Answer 17

• As before, the hyperbaton puro…orbe shows how the witch has the ability to pull apart the natural world – although here Ovid surprises us by ending the line emphatically with dies
• He is making the point that even when the day appears to be normal, it is only because the witch is allowing it to be so

Question 18

sanguine…sanguine

Lines 11-12

Answer 18

• the emphatic position of** sanguine** at the start of the line sets the tone for these lines, the repetition emphasising the horror
• Ovid is, of course, describing a normal (albeit extraordinary) lunar phenomenon
• A Blood Moon happens when the Earth’s Moon undergoes a lunar eclipse
• Throughout history the distinctive Blood Moon was seen by different civilisations across the world as ominous and magical

Question 19

sanguine…si…stillantia sidera

Line 11

Answer 19

the malevolent hissing of this sibilant line adds
to the tone of horror

Question 20

vidi

Line 11

Answer 20

• placed emphatically at the end of the line, the verb stresses Ovid’s claims of truthfulness
• In line with his deployment of elegiac tropes in the rest of the Amores, he of course intends his educated audience to view these protestations as entertaining: they all know this witch is not real but a stereotype

Question 21

nocturnas…umbras

Line 13

Answer 21

the Romans believed that magical events tended to take place at night

Question 22

versam volitare

Line 13

Answer 22

• volitare is the frequentative form of the verb (formed by the addition of –it- after the stem) and means ‘to flit about repeatedly’
• The vivid vocabulary choice helps the scene to come alive
• The alliteration here perhaps also suggests the sound of a wing beating, as well as drawing attention to the key words in the line
• Transformation was a typical part of an ancient witch’s skill set.

Question 23

suspicor et…suspicor et

Lines 14-15

Answer 23

continuing the gossipy tone established at the outset

Question 24

fama est

Line 15

Answer 24

by creating imagined support for his point of view, Ovid again protests that he is telling the truth

Question 25

pupula duplex

Line 15

Answer 25

• the ‘double pupil’ was an indication that a person could cast the ‘evil eye’ (a harmful curse caused by a malevolent glare)

It is difficult to work out exactly what a ‘double pupil’ was, as it is not a real eye condition. It has been suggested that perhaps it refers to people who have different coloured irises in each eye, or have an eye condition which makes it look as though the iris is split. Whatever the truth, supernumerary features have a long history of being connected with evil.

Question 26

fulminat

Line 16

Answer 26

‘flashes lightning’, dramatic vocabulary emphatically positioned at the start of the line to create excitement

Question 27

lumen

Line 16

Answer 27

Roman writers talk of light being emitted from the eyes, rather than it being seen by them. Here Ovid takes this to the extreme and has the light emitting from the witch’s eyes in sinister beams

Question 28

evocat…proavos atavosque

Line 17

Answer 28

• necromancy (causing the dead to live by magical means) was another proverbial power of ancient witches
• By choosing specific revered members of a family (‘great-grandfathers and great-great-grandfathers’) Ovid is again highlighting the witch’s power to disrupt Roman institutions and the familial customs of ensuring peaceful rest for the dead

Question 29

antiquis…sepulcris

Line 17

Answer 29

• the hyperbaton of these words mimics the witch splitting the tombs apart with her magic, with the proavos atavosque inside
• This is mirrored in the hyperbaton in line 18 solidam…humum, the witch positioned with her spells in the middle (longo carmine findit) mimicking the meaning of the line.