charite dulcissima'_ a note on the nameless charite at apuleius' metamorphoses 7_12...

8/12/2019 'Charite Dulcissima'_ a Note on the Nameless Charite at Apuleius' Metamorphoses 7_12 (163.10)

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/charite-dulcissima-a-note-on-the-nameless-charite-at-apuleius 1/8

'CHARITE DULCISSIMA':

A NOTE ON THE NAMELESS CHARITE AT

APULEIUS' METAMORPHOSES 7.12 (163.10)*)

BY

S. A. FRANGOULIDIS

Scholarship has often drawn attention to the exceptional

postponement of the name of the captive Charite who was abducted

by the robbers from her parents' house on the night before her wed-

ding to Tlepolemus. The explanation often sought is that the

withholding of this "eloquent" and "significant" name is

primarily due either to a combination of artistic and narratologicalprinciples largely aiming at creating suspense, or, to the inner func-

tion of the name within a given context'). B. Brotherton, for

instance, takes into account distinct features of the literary qualityof the tale of Tlepolemus (Met. VII. 4-14) as opposed to the number

of fabulae in the Metamorphoses, broadly defined as oral tales or Mär-

chen, which account for the anonymity and in turn explain the

suspense2). B. L. Hijmans Jr., who also draws attention to the

*) The text of the Metamorphosesis from the Teubner edition of R. Helm (Leip-zig 1968). All citations of Homer are from the OCT edition of T. W. Allen (Oxford

1974),while the reference to

Vergilis to the OCT edition of R. A. B.

Mynors(Oxford 1969).1) The quoted terms are from J. Tatum, Apuleiusand the GoldenAss (Ithaca and

London 1979), 69, also 68 and 146. Also S. Strabryla, The Functionsof the TaleofCupidand Psychein the Structureof theMetamorphosesof Apuleius,Eos 61 (1973), 267and note 14, who notices the postponement but makes no attempt at explainingits loss. On the other hand, M. Bernhard, Der Stil desApuleiusvon Madaura. EinBeiträgzur Stilistik desSpätlateins(Stuttgart 1927), 93, and note 45, considers thepattern as designed primarily to arouse the reader's sympathy without anyreference to the case under discussion. On the dramatic aspect imparted into thenarrative of the Metamorphosesby the wide range of associations, etymological,

historical,or even

mythological,inherent in the

meaningof the

propernames see

M. G. dos Santos Palma Granwell, Nómesproprios nas Metamorfosesde Apuleio,Euphrosyne 11 (1982-1983), 142-148.

2) B. Brotherton, The Introductionof Charactersby Name in the MetamorphosesofApuleius,CP 29 (1934), 51-52 and passim.



388

anonymity of Charite, detects a functional significance of the name

within the setting in which it appears. Thus, the girl who so far in

the narrative has been presented as misera is here identified as

Charite, because "to Tlepolemus, Charite, the embodiment of

grace, is of course precisely that (Charite dulcissima)"3).What has not been taken into consideration, however, is that the

mountain scenery with a cave and the use of wine and the

remarkably Odyssean development of the persona of Charite in the

account of her death later in Book VIII.1-14 may establish a

reasonable comparison with the absence of Odysseus' identity while

in the Cyclops' cave. The Homeric hero declines to reveal his realidentity to the monster, although he might have identified himself

to Polyphemus in the context of his own collective introduction of

himself and his companions as associates of the chieftain, Agamem-non (Hom. Od. 9.263). The same pattern is noticeable in the

absence of Charite's identity. In the underworld of the robbers'

cave, the identification of Charite, a mark of her suspension from

real life, is here reflected by the long absence of her name. Her

identity is revealed when Tlepolemus, who is also developed herealong the lines of Homer's Odysseus, is about to liberate his fiancee

and destroy this band of criminals with the Odyssean strategy of

forcing them to drink too much wine. It is my purpose in this brief

discussion to compare the device of the withdrawal of Charite's

name with the epic pattern of the concealment of Odysseus' identityto Polyphemus in a similar situation in the monster's lair. This con-

nection makes the subsequent character development of Charite

alongthe lines of

Odysseuseven more understandable. On

another level this Odyssean development links the heroine more

closely with Tlepolemus insofar as her means of taking vengeanceon her opponent, Thrasyllus, coincides with the Odyssean tactic of

Tlepolemus in punishing his own adversaries, the robbers4).

3) B. L. Hijmans Jr. SignificantNames and their Function in Apuleius' Metamor-phoses,in: B. L. Hijmans Jr., and R. Th. van der Paardt (eds), Aspectsof Apuleius'GoldenAss (Groningen 1978), 116 also 112. See also B. L. Hijmans Jr. et al.,ApuleiusMadaurensisMetamorphoses.Books VI 25-32 and VII. Text, IntroductionandCommentary(Groningen 1981), 161, s.v. Charite.

4) The Odyssean development of the persona of Tlepolemus in the tale ofHaemus/Tlepolemus (Met. 7.4/156.19-7.14/164.14) is part of another work cur-



389

First, how is Charite identified in the lengthy narrative section

from Met. 4.23/92.13-7.12/163.10. While in the cave, Charite

expressly identifies herself as virgo regia (6.29/151.5-6). She is distin-

guished or addressed either by demonstrative pronouns or by their

noun substitutes puella (1 6 times)5), virgo (9 times)6), puella virgo ( 1

time)7) , and erilis (1 time)8). Not surprisingly, Lucius frequently

qualifies his statements about Charite with the adjectives liberalis

(4 . 2 3/92 . 17 ) , captivus (6 . 25/ 1 4 7 .3 ; 6 .2 7 / 149 . 16) , liberandus(4.23/92.17),3) ,

captivus (6.25/147.3; 6.27/149.16), liberandus(6.28/149.23), infelix (6.29/151.18), or employs the combinedpuella

virgo (7.11/162.27-28); the old housekeeper of the robbers in one

instance uses the sympathetic mi erilis (4.27/96.6). On the otherhand, the robbers, whose principal style is an abundant use of pro-nouns, resort once to the heavily ironic probissima puella

(6.30/151.27-152.1).What is significant in this count is the striking absence of the

name of the girl along with the inclusion of the tale of Cupid and

Psyche for almost two-and-a-half books. It is revealed within a

Homeric setting as the girl's bridegroom, Tlepolemus, comes to the

robbers' cave in the guise of the notorious criminal, Haemus, toassume the leadership of the thieves, and, once accepted as their

chief, to liberate his fiancee from her captivity. The manner in

which Tlepolemus carries out his plan has its starting point in the

Cyclops episode as described in Homer's Odyssey 9. Like Odysseus,who rescues his companions from the monster's atrocities, similarly

rently in progress. The apparent contradiction in the presentation of this youngman initially in terms of a notorious criminal and later of Homer's Odysseus

should hardly be surprizing in view of the double identity of this young man asHaemus and Tlepolemus. This Odyssean development of both Tlepolemus andCharite binds together the major, but widely separated tales ofHaemus/Tlepolemus and Charite, in the extensive narrative piece known after P.Junghanns as the Charite-complex (Met. 3.28-8.14). [P. Junghanns, DieErzählungstechnikvon Apuleius' Metamorphosenund ihrer Vorlage, Philologus Sup-plementum 24 (1932), 156-165]. Hence the tight organization of this lengthy nar-rative complex.

5) 4.23/92.18; 4.24/93.5; 4.24/93.9; 4.26/94.16; 6.25/147.3; 6.29/151.12;6.29/151.18; 6.30/152.1; 6.30/152.16; 6.31/152.22; 6.31/153.8; 6.31/153.15;7.9/161.15; 7.10/161.28; 7.11/162.22; 7.12/163.8.

6) 4.23/92.17; 6.27/149.16; 6.28/149.23; 6.28/149.25; 6.29/151.5;6.31/153.11; 6.31/153.14; 7.9/160.21; 7.9/161.9.

7) 7.11/162.27-28.8) 4.27/96.6.



390

Tlepolemus intends to rescue his kidnapped fiancee. Significantly,the detail of Haemus' carrying the wine to the robbers under the

pretext of sacrifice and prayer to their patron deity, Mars, reflectsthe Homeric reference (supplicatum Marti Comiti pergimus... pecussacrificatul ac ne uinum.. Met. 7.10/162.3-6) to Odysseus bringing the

wine to Polyphemus as a libation cpEpovHom. Od. 9.349).Like Odysseus, Haemus punishes the thieves with the Odyssean

strategy of luring them to drink too much wine9). Surely, the use

of wine to take advantage of one's opponents may be considered as

a folktale motif. But in this category of which the Odyssey abounds

one should include the wine of the Cyclopeia. Noticeably, the Latinequivalent of the Greek, vino sepultus, used by the reporter Ass sug-

gests a Vergilian origin: Polyphemus lies drunk from the wine of

Odysseus (nam simul expletus dapibus vinoque sepultus Verg. Aen.

3.630). After all, the expression vino sepultus is a poetic metaphor,elsewhere attested only in the epic.10).

Within this Homeric setting and when Charite is about to be

liberated from her captivity, her identity concealed for almost two-

and-a-halfbooks,

isultimately

disclosed:

"bono animo es", inquit, "Charite dulcissima; nam totos istos

hostes tuos statim captivos habebis" et instantia validiore vinum

iam inmixtum, sed modico tepefactum vapore sauciis illis et

crapula vinolentiaque madidis ipse abstemius non cessat inpingere

(Met. 7 , 1 2/ 1 63 . 9- 1 4) .

9) C. C. Schlam, Sex and Sanctity. The Relationshipof Male and Female in theMetamorphoses,in: B. L. Hijmans Jr., and R. Th. van der Paardt (eds), AspectsofApuleius' GoldenAss (Groningen 1978), 99. See also J. Tatum, Apuleiusand theGoldenAss (Ithaca and London 1979), 71.

10) The list of occurrences compiled by the Groningen commentators [B. L.Hijmans et al., ApuleiusMadaurensisMetamorphosesBooks VI 25-32 and VII. Text,Introductionand Commentary(Groningen 1981), 162, s.v. vinosepulti], provide thefollowing entries: Apul. Met. 8.11/186.4: sepelivitad somnum;Verg. Aen. 2.265:urbemsomnovinoquesepultam;Enn. Ann. 292: hostesvinodomiti somnoquesepulti;andthe close Lucretian imitations of Ennius' phrase: Lucr. 1.133: morboadfectissomno-

quesepultis;Lucr. 5.975: taciti respectabantsomnoquesepulti. From this list it can besafely argued that, despite the fact that the use of wine to take advantage ofopponents may be a folktale motif, nevertheless the use of the expression vinosepultusis poetic/epic in use.



391

The Odyssean development of the persona of Charite later in BookVIII confirms this interpretation. Charite takes the role of

Odysseus and blinds her unwanted suitor Thrasyllus by wirling her

hairpin at his eyesll). Specifically, the description of the nurse who

according to Charite's instructions puts Thrasyllus to sleep withwine replays in miniature the motif of Odysseus gettingPolyphemus drunkl2). In the first place, the eagerness with which

Thrasyllus is presented as drinking (crebris potionibus avide ac secure

haurientem Met. 8.11/186.2-3) resembles the foolishness of

Polyphemus asking Odysseus for more wine (xœL [L' l16«pov

voi I<1 Hom. Od. 9.354-55; also ?cpv5{jLevëo<ùxœ cp€Pwv, ipy 6' ëX1tLe.V Hom. Od. 9.361). More

importantly, the expression soporiferum... venenum reminds the alertreader of its previous use by the narrator-Ass in the tale of

Tlepolemus and when this young man, in the disguise of Haemus,mixed the wine in the cups in order to outwit his own opponents,the robbers. Only thus Tlepolemus was able to liberate his fiancee

as well destroy the band of these criminals (quasi soporiferum quoddam

venenum cantharis immisceret illis Met. 7.12/163.15-16). Furthermore,the manner in which Charite wields her hairpin at the eyes of

Thrasyllus recalls the motif of Odysseus, twisting the burning stakeinto the eye of the giant 8' e<pUTrep6evlpe.L0'9dç/o£ve.ovHom. Od.

9.383-84). Besides, the manly spirit (masculis animis Met.

11) See also B. L. Hijmans, Jr. et al., ApuleiusMadaurensis,MetamorphosesBookVIII. Text,Introductionand

Commentary(Groningen 1985),127, s.v. masculisanimis.

12) G. Anderson, Studiesin Lucian's ComicFiction,Mnemosyne Supplementum43 (Leiden 1976), 63, was the first to propose Homer's episode of Polyphemus asa possible source for Lucian's portrait of Charite blinding her opponentThrasyllus. Without any explication, R. Th. van der Paardt, The story of Mr."Overbold" as SpecimenHistoriae(On Apul. Met. VIII. 1-14), in: B. L. Hijmans Jr.and V. Schmidt (eds), SymposiumApuleianumGroninganum23-24 Oct. 1980 (Gro-ningen 1981), 21, denied the validity of Anderson's suggestion for the presentationof Charite by Apuleius. Most recently, however, B. L. Hijmans Jr., Charite Wor-ships Tlepolemus-Liber(ApuleianaGroninganaVIII), Mnemosyne 23 (1986), 360-361,has entertained the plausibility of Anderson's suggestion in the light of its

interesting implications, althoughwithout

anyfurther illustration.

Favoringan

association with the Cyclops, Hijmans makes the interesting observation thatThrasyllus who kills his antagonist Tlepolemus and husband of Charite in orderto marry her himself could be compared with Polyphemus who likewise kills Acis,his rival in love for Galatea (cf. Ov. Met. 13.750 ff.).



392

8.11/186.6) with which Charite rushes into the room to perform the

deed,apart

frombeing

an instance of anothermetamorphosis,could reflect the great daring (0('Xpcroq... Hom. Od. 9.381) of

Odysseus and his companions as they are about to whirl the burn-

ing stake into the eye of the Cyclops. This extraordinary courage

prompts the comment of the narrator-Odysseus that it was

presumably inspired by some god: 0(ipaoq ÈvÉ1tvwcrE.VflÉyœ

oœ£flwv (Hom. Od. 9.381). At the very least, this association is sup-

ported by the presence of words that stress Charite's astuteness

(astuque miro personata Met. 8.9/184.12; also astu Thrasyllum inductum

petisset Met. 8.14/187.20-21) that could be compared with thecleverness of Odysseus in taking vengeance on Polyphemus... Hom. Od. 9.318; also Hom. Od. 9.414).After all, Charite, as Odysseus, is about to perform the bloody deed

of plucking out Thrasyllus' eyes.

Returning now to the tale of Tlepolemus, like the self-identification of Odysseus to the monster as 01<iq (Hom. Od.

9.366), which in essence translates his ambivalent condition of

being literally 'Nobody' in the giant's cave, the loss of Charite'sidentity aesthetically expresses the suspension of real life, reflected

here by her delayed namingl3). Odysseus' identity, which remainsundisclosed throughout the encounter with the Cyclops, is revealed

only when the hero seems to be out of the immediate danger from

the giant (,!,cicr9œL'08uoaf]<x 1t'toÀmóp9wv / utov

'19&x'Oivi olxi' Ëxov'tœ Hom. Od. 9.504-05)14). What is particularly

13) The loss of Odysseus' identity as reflective of the hero's symbolic death inthe Odysseyis now also observed by P. Pucci, Odysseuspolutropos.IntertextualReadingin the Odysseyand the Iliad (Ithaca and London 1987), 154.

14) The pattern of withdrawal of the hero's identity in order to portray him fi-gurative dead in a cave setting is a well-known device in the narrative of theOdyssey.Notice, for instance, the suppression of Odysseus' identity in the similarsituation of the cave on the island of the nymph Calypso (Hom. Od. 5.87-147).Here, Odysseus' identity, which is withheld for a considerable narrative length,is finally restored: (Hom. Od. 5.203). Therevelation of Odysseus' identity, then, inextricably tied up with the larger patternof death images while the hero is on the island of

Calypso,is the most obvious

manifestation of the decision of the nymph to allow the hero to leave her island,and thereby provides an indication of Odysseus' figurative rebirth. For an analysisof the pattern of Odysseus' anonymity in Odyssey5 see the influential discussionof D.N. Maronites,



393

impressive here is that just as Odysseus discloses his identity when

the danger from Polyphemus appears to be over, the name of

Charite is revealed when the stratagem to execute this band of

thieves appears to be effective: "bono animo es", inquit, "Charite

dulcissima; nam totos istos hostes tuos statim captivos habebis" (Met.

7.12/163.9-11)15). Above all, this analogy is strengthened by the

fact that Tlepolemus is about to execute the gang of thieves with the

cunning trickery of an Odysseus rather than a military manner as

expected by the martial associations of his name 16). For the com-

pound term Tlepolemus is etymologically derivative from the

Greek root denoting endurance and the noun Withinthis Homeric atmosphere and in a brilliant inversion of the con-

notation of the term captiva, previously used by the Ass to address

the girl at Met. 6.25/147.3 and 6.27/149.16, the identity of the girl,concealed for two-and-a-half books, is finally disclosed. This

inverted meaning of the term captiva is here warranted by the fact

that the girl is about to be freed from her captivity. Thus the wail-

ing and lamenting girl is finally restored to both life and the aspect

of Grace implied by the meaning of her name. For the term Chariterelates to the Greek word Xdcptq, signifying 'Charm', 'Grace'17).On a broader level, this restoration of Charite's identity serves to

provide an advanced indication that Tlepolemus' operation will be

successful and that Charite, figuratively reborn, will depart from

the "underworld" of the cave (Met. 7.12/163.17 ff.)18).

'Oδσσεiας (Athens 1971), 114-117. On the funereal associations of the cave ofCalypso and the island of Ogygia see W. S. Anderson, Calypsoand Elysium, CJ 54

(1958), 7.15) It is remarkable that here the narrator-Ass identifies the so called Haemus

as Tlepolemumsponsum puellaeipsius(Met. 7.12/163.7-8) only a sentence before this

Tlepolemus reveals the name of the girl. The pattern of Tlepolemus' identifica-tion, however, must be contrasted with the absence of Charite's name insofar asit is a comic recognition scene that highlights the miscalculations of the Ass inaccusing the girl for responding to the advances of the ps.-Haemus.

16) J. Perin, Lexicononomasticontotius Latinitatis, II (Patavia 1920), 718, s.v.Tlepolemos.

17) See TLL. Suppl., Vol. 2, Fasc. 2, 378, s.v. Charite.18) The sinister undertones of the site where the robbers live are suggested by

the laurel-roses near a river bank in the lower parts of the cliff, which are explicitlydesignated as lethal for all live stock (cunctopecoricibus letalis Met. 4.3/76.3), andby the funereal associations of the tall cypress tree where the old housekeeper ofthe robbers hangs herself (ramo procerae cupressusMet. 6.30/152.13). Similar



394

Nevertheless, there is a subtle element of inversion intended in

what follows in the structure of the epic. The revelation of

Odysseus' name to Polyphemus causes the hero's near disaster ashe sails away from the island of the Cyclops. It additionallybecomes the principal reason that delays Odysseus' homecoming to

Ithaca. For Poseidon fulfills the prayer of his son, Polyphemus to

avange the hero for blinding him. In contrast, the disclosure of

Charite's identity brings about great delight as well as foreshadowsboth the prospect of a safe departure from the cave and a joyful reu-

nion with her separated parents.

74100 RETHYMNO, University of Crete

chthonic associations can also be noticed in the context where the Ass refuses totake the road where Charite directs his course during their failed attempt at escapeon the grounds that this path will lead them into direct confrontation with thereturning robbers and thereby force them to return to the lair described in termsreminiscent of an underworld:

quid facis, infelix puella? quid agis? cur festinas ad Orcum? quid meis pedibus

facere contendis? non enim te tantum, verum etiam me perditum ibis (Met.6.29/151.18-21).

In the same scene the ironic remarks of a robber concerning the escaping pair'slack of fear of the ghosts and shades of the moonless night are only relevant if thislocale is envisioned as a land of the Dead (quorsumistam festinantivestigiolucubratisviam nec noctis intempestateManes Laurasqueformidatis Met. 6.30/151.25-27). Thenotion of the cave as a figurative underworld, albeit without any detailed discus-sion, is advanced by W. R. Nethercut, Apuleius'Metamorphoses:The Journey,Agon3 (1969), 111 and passim.

I wish to express my thanks to Professors June W. Allison, Charles L. Babcock,

Carl C. Schlam for their valuable suggestions in reading a draft of this paper; andto John Z. Tzifopoulos, and Stephanie J. Winder for their numerous observationsthroughout.

charite dulcissima'_ a note on the nameless charite at apuleius' metamorphoses 7_12...

Documents