Catullus XXXIV: Carmen Dianae

Salvete omnes, today’s poem will be about the goddess Diana! She is without a doubt one of the coolest goddesses in the Greek and Roman pantheon, oftentimes called Artemis. Maybe this can also be a tribute to the Artemis II and their successful mission to the moon! This poem was written by Catullus as a song/poem or carmen to Diana, and I think it’s very pretty. It references her story as a goddess, how she was born on a floating island (later anchored to the earth by Jupiter) called Delos that only had one tree, because her mother was hiding from Juno (or Hera) and could not give birth on any landmass (the fact that the island was floating was a loophole). Leto, her mother, was pregnant by Jupiter (or Zeus), which is what caused all the drama in the first place, because he was unfaithful in his marriage to Juno. Diana is the goddess of the hunt, of wild places, of maidenhood, and this poem is a tribute to her by Catullus. (nota bene: because the poem is formatted weirdly, I’ve bolded the first line of the English translation so it’s visible)

Dianae sumus in fide
puellae et pueri integri:
Dianam pueri integri
puellaeque canamus.

o Latonia, maximi
magna progenies Iovis,
quam mater prope Deliam
deposiuit olivam,

montium domina ut fores
silvarumque virentium
saltuumque reconditorum
amniumque sonantum:

tu Lucina dolentibus
Iuno dicta puerperis,
tu potens Trivia et notho es
dicta lumine Luna.

tu cursu, dea, menstruo
metiens iter annuum,
rustica agricolae bonis
tecta frugibus exples.

sis quocumque tibi placet
sancta nomine, Romulique,
antique ut solita es, bona
sospites ope gentem.

We are, in faith,
The untainted boys and girls of Diana:
Let us celebrate Diana,
Her girls and untainted boys.

O Latonia, the greatest
offspring of great Jove,
Who the mother placed down
Near the Delos olive tree,

So that you might be lady
Of the mountains, and verdant forests,
Of concealed groves,
And burbling streams:

You, Juno, are called Lucina
By women in the pains of childbirth,
You, powerful Trivia, are called
Luna, for your illegitimate light.

You, goddess, in your monthly course,
Making the journey yearly,
You fill up the rustic houses of the farmers
With good crops.

By whatever name pleases you,
May you be sacred, so that you,
As in the old ways, protect the good people
Of Romulus with your power.

I love the call to action at the end of this poem! Because that was really the role of the gods in Roman society, the people asked for their help all the time and gave offerings in return. Additionally, I love poetry about goddesses because without a doubt there is always some name for them that I’ve never seen before that’s really interesting, and in this poem there were TWO! Lucina is a name associated with both Diana and Juno, she is a goddess of light and childbirth. Trivia is a goddess more associated with witchcraft, she can be attributed to both Diana and Hecate, and she often comes up as a protector of crossroads (her name literally meaning three-way, tri-via). This was a really cool poem to translate, and it’s a fun coincidence that I translated it the week of all the Artemis II excitement! Valete!