Ariadne's Lament

A Translation

When I was a young Classics student in Sydney, Ovid was one of my cherished authors. Although he’s widely praised and unbelievably influential, in my view he’s still underappreciated as a poet. Part of the problem is linguistic: it’s hard to translate a poet so inventive, witty, and mischievous.

Even book nerds underrate the artistry of a work like Ovid’s Fasti, which for a long time was read only by specialists in Roman religion. It’s a shame: there’s lots of beautiful poetry in it.

Bacchus and Ariadne by Titian (source)

One episode recounts Ariadne, who helped Theseus escape the Minotaur and was later abandoned by him on the island of Naxos. There, the god Dionysus (also known as Bacchus) fell in love with her and married her, but like a cad spent a bit too much time with a princess he met in the East. Ovid gives Ariadne a particularly moving speech, which I’ve tried to translate here. My technique isn’t as good as his — hardly anyone’s is — but I’ve tried to capture his craftmanship without making him sound wooden. I’ve taken a few liberties that would make a professor howl, but as the education system keeps declining, so does the number of competent Latinists willing to send me hate mail. Anyone who wants to look at the Latin can find it in Ovid’s Fasti 3.459-490.

The goddess Ariadne, now a crown
Of stars amid the sky, was deified
Through Theseus’ fault. He fled and lied.
Her guiding thread established his renown.

Already, though, she swapped that thankless man
For Bacchus. Happy now, and newly wed
“Why was I so naïve? Why did I shed
So many tears? It’s better that he ran:

His infidelity has been my gain.”
She said. But Bacchus, meanwhile, overcame
The Indians, and with the spoils became
A nabob loaded with girls and champagne.

Among the captured beauties, there was one,
The daughter of a king, whose glowing face
Made all the other girls look commonplace.
With her, the god had slightly too much fun.

His loving wife wept as she walked along
The winding shore, and with dishevelled hair
Spoke words like these into the salty air:
“Again, you waves, hear how I got love wrong!

“Again, you sands, I’ll soak you with my tears!
I used to – I remember – say ‘forsworn
And faithless Theseus!’ Our love’s stillborn.
He and my husband: the inconstant peers.”

“Now I will shout ‘let no one trust a man!’
The name is different, but my grief’s the same.
I wish I were a nothing in this game
And that I had no part in heaven’s plan.”

“Why did you save me only just to leave
Me on this beach to die? This lonely beach.
I had the end of sorrow within reach.
You could teach shadows how best to deceive.”

“Bacchus, I’ve known you only through my tears.
How could you laugh at everything we said
And bring this slut to grace our marriage bed?
Where are the oaths you swore for all these years?”

“O God – how often must I say these things?
You said that he’s deceptive as a twin.
Judged by your words, yours is the fouler sin.
Let no one know about our empty rings

“And let me feed the silent flames within.”