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Claudia and Claudius (Image: Tina Tiller, Author photo by Petra Mingneau)
Claudia and Claudius (Image: Tina Tiller, Author photo by Petra Mingneau)

BooksApril 18, 2023

Classics meets Cosmo: Dating tips from the 10th century

Claudia and Claudius (Image: Tina Tiller, Author photo by Petra Mingneau)
Claudia and Claudius (Image: Tina Tiller, Author photo by Petra Mingneau)

Poet Claudia Jardine on her obsession with a famously sexy book of Classical poetry, the Palatine Anthology, and how her own collection of poetry, BITER, is in conversation with it.

Awkward, explicit and funny, the poetry collected in the Palatine Anthology will make you reassess your assumptions about the literature of classical Greece and the Byzantine Empire. Some of the poems were so horny that even twentieth century translators refused to write them in English: they translated them into Latin instead. 

Fast forward to me, reading a 1000-year-old book as a postgraduate Classics student and making a beeline for the Latin passages. I started to suspect an obsession was developing. More people needed to know about these weird little guys and their heartbreaks and hot takes. I write for you now, as a conduit between our world and theirs, a brief history of this most scintillating and informative text, and thereby transmit to you some of the relationship advice contained within it.

In the first century BCE, a poet known as Meleager of Gadara bound some of his poems together with poems by 46 other poets. Some of these poets were his contemporaries, and others had been dead for 300 years. He called the collection The Garland, to say that each poem had been as carefully chosen as the flowers in a headdress. Meleager’s manuscript came to be known as an anthologia, “a flower-gathering,” a word we now use to signify a collection of wonderful things.

Claudia Jardine’s collection, Biter, beside a page from the Palatine Anthology.

Later scholars from the first and sixth centuries CE loved Meleager’s anthology so much that they added poems to it. The anthology grew and grew. More and more pages were added to the manuscript until a tenth-century Byzantine schoolmaster called Constantine Cephalas created a definitive fifteen-book edition by adding a few more books of second-century homoerotic verse, some poems found in Christian churches, some light verse, descriptions of famous statues and a collection of inscriptions from a temple in Anatolia. Something for everyone, especially if you were gay and loved art and poetry!

The next editor, however, had other plans. In the fourteenth century a monk called Maximus Planudes created an edition of the manuscript known as the Planudean Anthology in seven books. Maximus was selective. He opted to remove poems that he considered too explicit from his edition (More like, Maximum “Pah! @ nudes…”) and added 380 more. This edition of the text was first published in 1494, and for a long time the literary world was none the wiser about the invention of the first Sealed Section in a magazine the censored section of poems from the Classical and Byzantine period.

And then, as per the usual formula for massive developments in literary history, someone found something in a library in Germany. In 1606, French scholar Claudius Salmasius discovered the fifteen-book edition by Constantine Cephalas in the Palatinate Library of Heidelberg, and thus it became known as the Palatine Anthology. Salmasius had copies of the manuscript published in 1776 and later editors added Planudes’ additions as an appendix. Modern editors did not publish Greek to English translations of the more explicit epigrams until this century.

Let us move on to the lessons of love poets past. Note, I have included literal translations of the Greek as well as my translated versions of the poems in order to furnish readers with a full understanding of the text and the fun of translation.

1. Flirt like a human

Horses flirt by biting each other and making a display of urinating. Humans flirt by biting each other and quoting erotic poetry. If you (a human) wish to attract a mate, and you somehow get a little confused and do your best impression of a horse disguised as a marriage celebrant, do not expect your intended lover to respond warmly.

Κιχλίζεις, χρεμέτισμα γάμου προκέλευθον ἱεῖσα
ἥσυχά μοι νεύεις: πάντα μάτην ἐρέθεις.

– PA V.245.1-2, Macedonius the Consul (6th century CE)

You giggle, uttering the conductory neighing of a marriage (of horses)
silently you nod to me: every which way in vain you excite…

my literal translation

you giggle
you act like a horse officiating a wedding
you nod to me wordlessly
you do all you can to titillate at random…

From Good Love, BITER (p. 14)

Pedanius Dioscorides (Image: Getty)

2. Your vocabulary is limitless

Sometimes common language is not enough. Be not afraid. Be like Dioscorides and make a new word to describe your lover’s fantastic bottom. Ῥοδόπυγος (rho-do-pu-gos) means “rosy-rumped,” and as far as I can tell the following poem is the only extant text where the word occurs. Let us hazard a guess as to why Doris’ bottom is so red. Let us also insert an allusion to the river Styx, the boundary between Earth and the Underworld in Greek mythology, because said river was rumoured to give the power of invulnerability to anyone who bathed in it, and also because it sounds nice.

Δωρίδα τὴν ῥοδόπυγον ὑπὲρ λεχέων διατείνας
ἅψεσιν ἐν χλοερῖς ἀθάνατος γέγονα.

PA V.55.1-2, Dioscorides (c. 3rd century BCE)

With rosy-rumped Doris stretched to the utmost over the bed
in her blooming junction I became immortal…

my literal translation

she was bedfast, unfurled, slap-assed,
and in her verdant joinery I was Styxed…

From Slap-assed, BITER (p. 7)

3. Love can be a brigand

Did you seriously think dating would be a calm sea? Did you imagine the deities of Love would treat you lightly? Diophanes of Myrina does not agree. Diophanes thinks Love would prefer to make Commodore Norringtons of us all. Odds are, Eros the god of Love is watching you right now, and he is not afraid to throw a big fuss in your way. And while you are busy wondering what to do about your predicament, Eros will steal your clothes.

τρὶς λῃστὴς ὁ Ἔρως καλοῖτ᾽ ἂν ὄντως:
ἀγρυπνεῖ, θρασύς ἐστιν, ἐκδιδύσκει.

PA V.309.1-2, Diophanes of Myrina (c. 2nd century BCE)

Thrice a pirate Eros could be called, really:
he is watchful, he is bold, he strips clothes.

my literal translation

really and truly
Love may be labelled a pirate three times!
pirate!
keeping watch!
pirate!
acting bold!
pirate!
stealing clothes!

From Pirate, BITER (p. 45)

4. Love can also be rabid dog

Strange things can happen under Love’s influence. Do not be surprised to find yourself seeing things. Thought you might have “a quiet drink with friends?” As if! It is normal to see the face of the one you love in all bodies of water, just the same way that a person who has been poisoned by a dog bite will be haunted by visions of the dog.

λυσσώων τάχα πικρὸν Ἔρως ἐνέπηξεν ὀδόντα
εἰς ἐμέ, καὶ μανίαις θυμὸν ἐληίσατο:
σὴν γὰρ ἐμοὶ καὶ πόντος ἐπήρατον εἰκόνα φαίνει,
καὶ ποταμῶν δῖναι, καὶ δέπας οἰνοχόον.

PA 266.3-6, Paulus Silentarius (6th century CE)

Suffering from rabies, forthwith keen Love fixed teeth
into me, and with madness my soul despoiled?
For to me in the sea your lovely image appears,
and in the whirlpools of rivers, and in cups of wine

my literal translation

did rabid Love fix its keen teeth in me
and maraud my soul with mania?
for you – [ggrRRR] you – [rrrrRUF] you – [rrrRA]
you – [ggRArArA] your – [ghhHAhHAhHAh]
your delightful image appears in my whirlpools and rivers
my open sea
my glass of wine

From Mad Dog, BITER (p. 36)

6. Loving whispers are the best music

Better than your Spotify Wrapped, better than Wet Leg by Wet Leg, better than SZA; the sound of someone you love whispering in your ear. Not even the god of music, shining Apollo, could change your mind about this one. Not even if he did his best rendition of Jim Croce playing ‘Time in a Bottle’. Not a chance!

ναὶ τὸν Ἔρωτα, θέλω τὸ παρ᾽ οὔασιν Ἡλιοδώρας:
φθέγμα κλύειν ἢ τᾶς Λατοΐδεω κιθάρας.

PA 141.1-2, Meleager (1st century BCE)

Verily regarding Love, I wish near my ears Heliodoras:
the sound to hear rather than the lyre of the son of Leto

my literal translation

more than the lyre of Apollo
I wish to hear you whisper in my ear
. . . oath

From Oath, BITER (p. 10)

Pygmalion and Galatea by Jean-Leon Gerome (Image: Getty)

7. Know what you like

During the sixth century, Paulus Silentiarius was a silentiary, a court official whose duty was to maintain order and silence in Emperor Justinian’s palace in Constantinople. In other words, Paul was a Shusher. And Paul had opinions. There were good ways of kissing, and there were… other ways of kissing. Paul recommends taking a sample, and then asking yourself what you really like.

μακρὰ φιλεῖ Γαλάτεια καὶ ἔμψοφα, μαλθακὰ Δημώ,
Δωρὶς ὀδακτάζει. τίς πλέον ἐξερέθει;

PA 244.1-2, Paulus Silentarius (6th century CE)

For a long period of time kisses Galatea, and loudly, soft kisses Demo,
Doris bites. Which (kisses) intensely excite more?…

my literal translation

Galatea kisses loudly and long
Demo kisses softly soft
and Doris is a biter
whose excite most?…

From Biter, BITER (p. 13)

8. Love loves second chances

Like many other brave and intelligent people, Persuasion is my favourite Jane Austen novel. The author of this poem remains anonymous, but if they had lived into the 19th century, I am sure they would have loved Persuasion too. Love survives on serendipity and bravery. Sometimes people need to give each other another chance. Speak now, or never partake of the Sun-Maids.

Ὄμφαξ οὐκ ἐπένευσας: ὅτ᾽ ἦς σταφυλή, παρεπέμψω.
μὴ φθονέσῃς δοῦναι κἂν βραχὺ τῆς σταφίδος.

PA 306.1-2, Anonymous

As an unripe grape assuredly not you sanctioned; when the grapes were ripe,
you passed by.
Do not begrudge giving even a little of the dried grapes.

my literal translation

unripe, you refused me
fresh and ready, you passed me by
even so
grant me a little of your raisinhood

From Raisinhood, BITER (p. 50)

Further reading

Paton, W. R., The Greek Anthology, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, MA, 1916.

Smith, William, A Dictionary of Greek and Roman biography and mythology, Little, Brown, and Company, Boston, MA, 1849.

Despite attempts to suppress its transmission, the Palatine Anthology survived the monks and the moths and is currently available for free online in its original language, Ancient Greek, in the Perseus Digital Library.

BITER by Claudia Jardine ($25, Auckland University Press) can be purchased online and in store from Unity Books Wellington and Auckland.

Keep going!
a green background with quesionmakrs and dollar signs and book depository logo and a book depository page with Hinemoa elder's book 'Aroha' on it
You were going to buy it on Book Depository. Where do you go now? (Image: Tina Tiller/Getty)

BooksApril 17, 2023

Is Book Depository closing a good thing for local bookshops?

a green background with quesionmakrs and dollar signs and book depository logo and a book depository page with Hinemoa elder's book 'Aroha' on it
You were going to buy it on Book Depository. Where do you go now? (Image: Tina Tiller/Getty)

After the announcement that Amazon is closing Book Depository, Shanti Mathias talks to publishers and booksellers wondering what will step into that void. 

When you opened the package, a bookmark would fall out. It was colourful – a spin on a book cover, perhaps, or a cute illustration of people reading. And as you welcomed that new book into your home, to be read or loaned or simply to adorn your shelf, there were probably hundreds of people around the country checking their letterboxes and finding the same. A dispatch from Book Depository of a book they wanted, for cheaper than they could get it anywhere else and – crucially – shipped for free. 

“New Zealanders are awesome readers, we love to read local and international literature, but not every book is distributed in Australia and New Zealand,” says Claire Murdoch, publisher at Penguin Random House New Zealand, speaking in her role as a member of the Publishers Association of New Zealand (PANZ) council. Affordable international literature – as well as those cute bookmarks – was another reason for New Zealand’s love affair with Book Depository. 

But the days of Book Depository, its ubiquitous bookmarks and alluring free shipping are now gone. Amazon, which bought the UK-based online retailer in 2011, announced this month that they’re closing the store on April 26. Thousands of book lovers will have to find somewhere else to shop. Is that good news for New Zealand booksellers?

“I think it is, actually,” says Tony Moores, owner of Poppies, a franchise with bookshops in Howick, Hamilton and New Plymouth. That said, he knows that “a lot of people don’t mind where they get the book from, they just want it.”

a young white woman looking nonplussed with bookshelves behind her
Book Depository meant the books just kept coming (Photo: Lucy Lambriex/Getty)

There are several reasons books might not be available in New Zealand, and which made Book Depository such an attractive option, says Murdoch. One is territorial copyright: authors don’t always sell, and publishers don’t always buy, global distribution rights, meaning a book published by a small publisher in the UK may have no-one who can distribute it in New Zealand. 

The other is low demand. For a specialised engineering textbook, say, not assigned in any university but relevant to perhaps three people in New Zealand, there is no incentive for a publisher to distribute, or a bookshop to stock that book. “You need a warehouse and a sales team – there needs to be enough interest in that list,” Murdoch says. In some cases, bookshops can order these books for their customers, although they can take weeks to arrive from overseas. In other cases, especially with books in non-English languages, bookshops may not have relationships with the suppliers to get that book. 

A lot of people buy a lot of things from Book Depository, but the site particularly focused on a “long tail” strategy, keeping small numbers of stock of books that weren’t particularly popular with the certainty that there would be people to buy them among their global customer base. The obvious people who are going to be most affected are people whose interest in books diverges from what is available in their country: people in countries like New Zealand who want books in Vietnamese or Spanish, and vice versa – people in Argentina or Vietnam who want books in English. People trying to buy self-published books from overseas will also be affected. “The free shipping made getting those books more economically viable,” says Murdoch.

An illustration of a woman holding a huge stack of books, so tall it's almost over her head.
Free shipping let piles of books just keep coming (Photo: Oksana Horiun / iStock via Getty; Design: Tina Tiller)

Without Book Depository, the obvious large retailer with decades of experience in bookselling is Amazon, but without a local branch, the shipping can be expensive. For book sellers like Moores, the end of Book Depository is a reminder that despite Amazon beginning as a bookshop, the company isn’t really focused on readers (or, for that matter, publishers and writers). “Amazon makes much more money selling other things – book pricing is relatively constrained,” Moores says.

While Book Depository was owned by Amazon, their exclusive focus on books, as well as effective branding – your eyes falling on their logo-enhanced bookmark every time you opened the book – helped them to project a sense that they were a shop for readers. With the promise of free shipping, those readers just kept coming back. 

The company hasn’t given a reason for their closure, but the free shipping was probably its weak point, as well as the wider tech downturn. Sending physical objects around the world is expensive. “It’s not economical or ethical – in terms of the carbon it burns – to send single books around the world,” Moores says. Three years of Covid has disrupted supply chains and freight systems. Pair that with inflation and high cost of living around the world, and suddenly the slim margins that Book Depository operated on became unprofitable to Amazon while the company is making other cuts.

bookshop with the actual store name scrubbed out and replaced with "available at amazon"
With Book Depository gone, Amazon itself might make more aggressive moves into the New Zealand book market

Online retailers with similar models to Book Depository, making lots of books from overseas available, may also fill the gap. In New Zealand, this includes Mighty Ape, Fishpond and Booktopia – all of whom charge for shipping. Other alternatives are Blackwells, which has free international shipping (for now), Abe Books, and Better World Books, which includes former library books.

“I don’t know Mighty Ape’s market share, but they sell a lot of products – not just books,” Moores says. However, these providers will largely be ordering books from the same sources as local bookshops, so the price difference won’t be major. “When we order books for customers [from overseas], we’d rather have the sale than a big profit, so we often only charge a small handling fee and hope the customer will come back,” Moores says. 

It’s also an opportunity for New Zealand publishers to acquire more international rights – and for publishers overseas to pay closer attention to New Zealand’s thriving books industry, Murdoch says. “Rights deals go both ways – this is potentially a moment for increased outward rights sales and outward book exports. New Zealander publishers may have more of an incentive to bring internationally published books to New Zealand, too, if people aren’t going to go and buy them on Book Depository.”

And while some people will migrate to other online retailers, and others to their local bookstores, there might still be a gap in the market for something new, offering a wider range of New Zealand and international books than a single bookshop or publisher can do alone. “We’re not just sitting on our hands,” Moores says. “We want people to be able to get the books they’re looking for, wherever they are in the country.”

‘Hutt Valley, Kāpiti, down to the south coast. Our Wellington coverage is powered by members.’
Joel MacManus
— Wellington editor
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