Aurora & Tithonus*: English Translation
Aurora** the goddess loved Tithonus, a beautiful man. Therefore she comes to
Jupiter: “O king of the gods,” she says, “listen to me! My Tithonus is not a god; after a
few years he will come to old age. If you give this man everlasting life, I will always
praise you.” Stupid Aurora! You do not see the great danger of that (thing). Jupiter
gives Tithonus immortality, but he, while he does live, grows old. Time flies: now
Aurora is beautiful, Tithonus is not handsome. His wrinkled and bent body is no
longer strong; wisdom does not remain in his mind. What will Aurora do? Will she
be able to restore his beauty/shape/form to/for Tithonus? She thinks and forms a
plan (idiom: capere cōnsilium, “to form a plan”). “O Tithonus, my love! I will turn
you into a cicada; then you will be able to babble without fault. You will live in this
cage, and I will always love you.” Editor’s note: *gross*
*The fullest and best-told version of this story is found in the Roman poet Ovid’s
Metamorphoses, a Latin epic themed around transformations like the one that
Tithonus experiences at the end.
**Aurora is the Roman name for Eos
Eos and Tithonus, oil on canvas by Giulio Carpioni