Ino
Previous fabula: Themisto (Fabula 1). This page is Fabula 2 only. Latin and English are given paragraph by paragraph, so each paragraph can be checked against the other. Further fabulae are added as they are finished; see the Hyginus index.
1
Ino Cadmi et Harmoniae filia, cum Phrixum et Hellen ex Nebula natos interficere uoluisset, iniit consilium cum totius generis matronis et coniurauit ut fruges in sementem quas daret torrerent, ne nascerentur; ita ut, cum sterilitas et penuria frugum esset, ciuitas tota partim fame, partim morbo interiret.
Ino, daughter of Cadmus and Harmonia, when she wanted to kill Phrixus and Helle, the children born of Nebula, took counsel with the matrons of the whole clan and conspired that they should roast the grain she gave them for seed, so that they would not sprout, with the result that, when there was barrenness and scarcity of grain, the whole city would perish partly by hunger, partly by disease.
2
de ea re Delphos mittit Athamas satellitem, cui Ino praecepit ut falsum responsum ita referret, si Phrixum immolasset Ioui, pestilentiae fore finem. quod cum Athamas se facturum abnuisset, Phrixus ultro ac libens pollicetur se unum ciuitatem aerumna liberaturum.
On this matter Athamas sent an attendant to Delphi, whom Ino instructed to report a false response in this form: if he were to sacrifice Phrixus to Jupiter, there would be an end to the pestilence. When Athamas refused to do this, Phrixus of his own accord and willingly promised that he alone would free the city from its trouble.
3
itaque cum ad aram cum infulis esset adductus, satelles misericordia adulescentis Inus Athamanti consilium patefecit; rex facinore cognito, uxorem suam Ino et filium eius Melicerten Phrixo dedidit necandos.
And so, when he had been brought to the altar with the fillets, the attendant, out of pity for the young man, revealed Ino's plot to Athamas. The king, having learned of the crime, handed over his wife Ino and her son Melicertes to Phrixus to be killed.
4
quos cum ad supplicium duceret, Liber pater ei caliginem iniecit et Ino suam nutricem eripuit. Athamas postea, ab Ioue insania obiecta, Learchum filium interfecit.
When Phrixus was leading them to punishment, Father Liber cast a mist over Phrixus and snatched away Ino, his own nurse. Afterwards Athamas, with madness cast upon him by Jupiter, killed his son Learchus.
5
at Ino cum Melicerte filio suo in mare se praecipitauit; quam Liber Leucotheam uoluit appellari, nos Matrem Matutam dicimus, Melicerten autem deum Palaemonem, quem nos Portunum dicimus. huic quinto quoque anno ludi gymnici fiunt, qui appellantur Ἴσθμια.
But Ino threw herself into the sea with her son Melicertes. Liber wished her to be called Leucothea, whom we call Mater Matuta, and Melicertes [to be called] the god Palaemon, whom we call Portunus. In his honour athletic games are held every fifth year, which are called Isthmia.
Notes
- Latin names are kept: Liber is Dionysus, Iuppiter is Jupiter. Iouis, Ioui, Ioue are the ordinary oblique cases of Iuppiter, not shortenings.
- Paragraph 3, Inus: the Greek-type genitive of Ino (Ino, Inus), split by word order: Inus Athamanti consilium is "Ino's plan, revealed to Athamas".
- Paragraph 4, ab Ioue: kept as Jupiter, as supplied. Juno is the agent in other versions of the story.
- Paragraph 5, quinto quoque anno: "every fifth year" in Roman inclusive counting, that is every four years by modern counting. Huic is rendered "in his honour", and "[to be called]" is supplied for Palaemon, where the Latin leaves the verb understood.
- Edition check, still open: this Latin text has not yet been checked against a printed critical edition; the points checked against the online text are noted on the Fabula 3 page.
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