In the translation of Ross Caldwell from the text of Martiano da Tortona:
http://trionfi.com/martiano-da-tortona- ... -16-heroum
In these days we discussed, if the tercet 4 of the Boiardo Tarocchi poem addressed Laura, the muse of Petrarca, or if it simply addressed Daphne which changed in a laurel tree.DAPHNE
There follows the illustrious one of Thessalia, light of her native land, perpetual honour, Daphne, similar to whom no feminine splendour has since shone. In Daphne, nature brought together everything able to be seen, or rather to be thought, of both admirable and of divine excellence, in a maiden. And she was such a singular model of virgins, and acquired such strength in herself, that the starry vault defiled so great elegance of character; so that Phoebus himself, being kindled by fire, blazed up, bounding to her most ardently, in golden rays of desire. Neither constant and alluring songs before, nor the most magnificent offerings, were wanting. He came near, bringing with him the virtue, nobility, and beauty of an excellent lover. The beautiful maiden would have been worthy of this, complying with human custom; but she was immovable in heart to the brief pleasures set before, in the glory of perpetual modesty, however much this opinion is scarcely able, if at all, to be impressed upon the minds of miserable mortals: since for the attainment of immortality, in this short time they ought to learn, not to succumb to lust. So great was her concern for this, not to be enticed by any empty allurement, since the consorting of women and men is fleeting, but only the eagerness for her maidenhood to be protected. The bank was so adorned by the grassy waves of her father Peneus, that she thereby sensed no arms of venus. But when she was vehemently pursued by Phoebus, she implored and was granted to be changed into a blossoming Laurel. Then Apollo himself, having loved the most beautiful, in vain, poured out prayers. So he performed worthy songs to the maiden, so as by no means to be forgetful of his foremost love, nor to be without the prior flame. First he himself girded his hair, cithar, and quiver with laurel. And he established and decreed that distinction of caesars and poets, to be decorated by his fronds with the emblems of perpetual and always green fame. Described as dressed like a maiden, embracing her Laurel. And thence when by moist Peneus, from the river by the warmth of the sun every one of the types of trees should arise, and thrives, there is especially the Laurel singled out by Phoebus; since at no time is it deprived of the glory of its foliage; and close to the river Peneus are places especially abundant in Laurels.
Translation of the poem: http://www.tarotpedia.com/wiki/Boiardo,_Matteo_MariaRagion fe’ Laura del fanciul perverso
Cupìdo trionfar, ché mai non torse
Occhio da la virtù né il piè in traverso.
Marco:
Reason made Laura triumph over the perverted
Child Cupid, because she neither moved
Her eye from virtue nor ever put a foot wrong.
Discussion at: viewtopic.php?f=11&t=1107#p17082
... and the following posts till the 3 page (each page with 10 contributions)
***************
I captured another Daphne problem at this opportunity:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daphne
Daphne (/'dæfni?/; Greek: ??f??, meaning "laurel") is a minor figure in Greek mythology known as a naiad—a type of female nymph associated with fountains, wells, springs, streams, brooks and other bodies of freshwater. There are several versions of the myth, but the general narrative is that because of her beauty, Daphne attracted the attention and ardor of the god Apollo (Phoebus). Apollo pursued her and just before being overtaken, Daphne pleaded to her father, the rivergod Ladon, and Ge (Gaia) for help. So Ladon then transformed Daphne into a laurel tree. In Metamorphoses by Roman poet Ovid, she is identified as the daughter of the rivergod Pineios in Thessaly. At the Pythian Games which were held every four years in Delphi in honour of Apollo, a wreath of laurel gathered from the Vale of Tempe in Thessaly was given as a prize. According to Pausanias the reason for this "simply and solely because the prevailing tradition has it that Apollo fell in love with the daughter of Ladon (Daphne)".
Ladon (also a river god and also a river) as father of Daphne is part of an Arcadian variant to the Ovid story.
Pausanias made a description of Greece, in which he writes long passages about the river Ladon.
https://books.google.de/books?id=crfVRz ... on&f=false
Pausanias mentions a river Peneus at the Peloponnese (not that of Thessaly), and this a small tributary called Ladon in the time of Pausanias. However, this river Ladon is not the other more famous Ladon, which feeds the river Alpheus.
One should know, that there are 5 different rivers with the name Asopus, it seems to have been rather common in Greece to use the same name for different rivers. The river Peneus or Pinios (Peloponnese) has about 70 km, the river Peneus (Thessaly) I saw given with 184 or 216 km.
The "real" Ladon is a river of about 70 km, and it is (as it is stated) very beautiful, and somehow no wonder, that a nice nymph was proud to have as father Ladon. A modern comment (same source):
The comment to Demeter and Poseidon gives reason to think about. Poseidon raped his sister Demeter and the result were Arion (a horse) and Despoina (a woman with a horsehead, some suspect, that she was identical to Persephone; possibly there is a relation to Epona, a far spread celtic horse-goddess). Demeter didn't like that. For Daphne, connected to the same river Ladon it might mean, that she had experienced a negative male sexual approach and had so some reason to avoid Apollo (in the understanding of the responsible myth-creator).The Ladon rises on the western slope of the Aroania mountain, near the village Kastriá, Lefkasi municipal unit, Achaea. It flows south, receives its left tributary Aroanios, flows along Kleitoria and turns southwest near the Arcadian border. It flows through the artificial Ladon Lake, and turns south again near Dimitra. It flows into the Alfeios 3 km southeast of the village Tripotamia.
...
Rivers have cleansing effect in Greek mythology. When Poseidon assaulted Demeter, she washed away the insult in the waters of the River Ladon.
http://www.liquisearch.com/demeter/myth ... d_poseidon
Demeter and Poseidon
Demeter and Poseidon's names are linked in the earliest scratched notes in Linear B found at Mycenaean Pylos, where they appear as and in the context of sacralized lot-casting.
In the myths of isolated Arcadia in southern Greece, Despoina (Persephone), is daughter of Demeter and Poseidon Hippios, Horse-Poseidon. These myths seem to be connected with the first Greek-speaking people who came from the north during the Bronze age. Poseidon represents the river spirit of the underworld and he appears as a horse as it often happens in northern-European folklore. He pursues the mare-Demeter and she bears one daughter who obviously originally had the form or the shape of a mare too. Demeter and Despoina were closely connected with springs and animals, related to Poseidon as a God of waters and especially with the mistress of the animals Artemis, the goddess of Nymphs.
Demeter as mare-goddess was pursued by Poseidon, and hid from him among the horses of King Onkios, but could not conceal her divinity. In the form of a stallion, Poseidon caught and covered her. Demeter was furious (erinys) at Poseidon's assault; in this furious form, she is known as Demeter Erinys. But she washed away her anger in the River Ladon, becoming Demeter Lousia, the "bathed Demeter". "In her alliance with Poseidon," Karl Kerenyi noted, "she was Earth, who bears plants and beasts, and could therefore assume the shape of an ear of grain or a mare." She bore a daughter Despoina (??sp???a: the "Mistress"), whose name should not be uttered outside the Arcadian Mysteries, and a horse named Arion, with a black mane and tail.
King Onkios, involved in this story, ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oncius
... startled me.In Greek mythology, Oncius or Oncus was a son of Apollo and a ruler over Oncium (Onkeion), a region of Arcadia adjacent to Thelpusa, as well as eponym of a city Oncae. He owned a herd of horses, in which Demeter tried to hide from Poseidon's advances, changing herself into a mare. Poseidon did mate with her in the shape of a stallion, which resulted in the birth of the fantastic horse Arion. Oncius kept Arion and later gave him away to Heracles as the latter was starting a military campaign against Elis.
- Onkios was a Apollo son, so he had a natural relation to Delphi.
- His place was located at the river Ladon.
- Arion (the horse) became connected to Olympic and other games, possibly cause of the horse races
[*]The latter had the consequence, that other games at other places were introduced.
[*]Hercules had before (5th work) cleaned the stables of Augeias.
[/list]
An overview about the Panhellenic games:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panhellenic_Games
An overview about the first 6 works of Hercules:
An overview on the Peloponnese with the first 6th works of Hercules (with google maps help, it's clear, that all takes place in the upper part of the Peloponnese):1. Slay the Nemean Lion.
2. Slay the nine-headed Lernaean Hydra.
3. Capture the Ceryneian Hind.
4. Capture the Erymanthian Boar.
5. Clean the Augean stables in a single day.
6. Slay the Stymphalian Birds.
A composition of works and games:
For the horse Arion (Poseidon and Demeter's child) we have the following:
According to Pausanias, Heracles, waging war with the Eleans, acquired this horse from Oncus. The son of Zeus would have thus ridden upon Arion when he seized Elis. Thereafter, Heracles gave Arion to Adrastus; this is why Antimachus said of Arion: "Adrastus was the third lord who tamed him."
Adrastus was then active with the games of Nemea. He founded them.
A few words to Thelpusa:
https://books.google.de/books?id=j3gPAA ... sa&f=false
Thelpusa was ruined by war fights, possibly the reason, why the Daphne/cult searched for a new place for veneration and a new river father. But the original name was "Onkeion", perhaps the new name Thelpusa (first noted in 4th century BC) indicates another important change.
The riddle hasn't found its end.