Catullus 64: a proposal of poetic translation

Abstract

This translation aims to recreate the metrical composure of an excerpt of the Catullus 64, an epyllion by the Latin poet Gaius Valerius Catullus, by ways of applying the rules of classical poetic meter in Portuguese and ascribing values and stress to syllables and words. This particular poem is an epithalamium, a song written to be read at a wedding ceremony, whose main characters are Peleus and Thetis. The extract chosen depicts the abandonment of Ariadne by Theseus, told through ecphrasis, a narrative presented on inanimate objects ”“ in this case, a coverlet with the embroidery that recounts the agonising and vituperating of Minos’ daughter on the shore of Naxos, as she sees her lover absent-mindedly leaving after the victory over the Minotaur, her brother. The original latin meter is the dactylic hexameter, composed by six dactylic feet, with replacements, as the inclusion of spondees. Here, in Portuguese, the verses followed a similar rationale, and it was made an effort to emulate both the epic tone and the musical cadence of the Catullus 64.