Vertumnus And Pomona By Camille Claudel
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In Roman mythology, Vertumnus (; also Vortumnus or Vertimnus) is the god of seasons, change and plant growth, as well as gardens and fruit trees. He could change his form at will; using this power, according to Ovid's '' Metamorphoses'' (xiv), he tricked
Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...
into talking to him by disguising himself as an old woman and gaining entry to her orchard, then using a narrative warning of the dangers of rejecting a suitor (the embedded tale of
Iphis In Greek and Roman mythology, Iphis or Iphys ( , ; grc, Ἶφις ''Îphis'' , gen. Ἴφιδος ''Ī́phidos'') was a child of Telethusa and Ligdus in Crete, born female and raised male, who was later transformed by the goddess Isis into a man ...
and
Anaxarete In Greek mythology, Anaxarete (Ancient Greek: Ἀναξαρέτη means 'excellent princess') was a Greek maiden, "a proud princess in the line of Teucer's descendants", who refused the advances of a shepherd named Iphis. Mythology Iphis' advan ...
) to seduce her. The tale of Vertumnus and Pomona has been called "the first exclusively Latin tale." Vertumnus' festival was called the Vertumnalia and was held 13 August.


Cult and origin

The name ''Vortumnus'' most likely derives from Etruscan '' Voltumna''. Its formation in Latin was probably influenced by the Latin verb ''vertere'' meaning "to change", hence the alternative form ''Vertumnus''. Ancient etymologies were based on often superficial similarities of sound rather than the principles of modern scientific linguistics, but reflect ancient interpretations of a deity's function. In writing about the Festival of Vesta in his poem on the Roman calendar, Ovid recalls a time when the forum was still a reedy swamp and "that god, Vertumnus, whose name fits many forms, / Wasn’t yet so-called from damming back the river" (''averso amne''). Varro was convinced that Vortumnus was Etruscan, and a major god. Vertumnus' cult arrived in Rome around 300 BC, and a temple to him was constructed on the
Aventine Hill The Aventine Hill (; la, Collis Aventinus; it, Aventino ) is one of the Seven Hills on which ancient Rome was built. It belongs to Ripa, the modern twelfth ''rione'', or ward, of Rome. Location and boundaries The Aventine Hill is the sou ...
by 264 BC, the date when Volsinii (Etruscan Velzna) fell to the Romans.
Propertius Sextus Propertius was a Latin elegiac poet of the Augustan age. He was born around 50–45 BC in Assisium and died shortly after 15 BC. Propertius' surviving work comprises four books of ''Elegies'' ('). He was a friend of the poets Gallus a ...
, the major literary source for the god, also asserts that the god was Etruscan, and came from Volsinii. Propertius refers to a bronze statue of Vortumnus made by the legendary Mamurius Veturius, who was also credited with the twelve ritual shields ''( ancilia)'' of Mars' priests the Salii. The bronze statue replaced an ancient maple statue ''( xoanon)'' supposed to have been brought to Rome in the time of
Romulus Romulus () was the legendary foundation of Rome, founder and King of Rome, first king of Ancient Rome, Rome. Various traditions attribute the establishment of many of Rome's oldest legal, political, religious, and social institutions to Romulus ...
. The statue of Vortumnus ''(signum Vortumni)'' stood in a simple shrine located at the Vicus Tuscus near the
Forum Romanum The Roman Forum, also known by its Latin name Forum Romanum ( it, Foro Romano), is a rectangular forum (plaza) surrounded by the ruins of several important ancient government buildings at the center of the city of Rome. Citizens of the ancient ...
, and was decorated according to the changing seasons. In his poem about the god, Propertius has the statue of Vortumnus speak in first-person as if to a passer-by. The base of the statue was discovered in 1549, perhaps still ''in situ'', but has since been lost. An inscription commemorated a restoration to the statue under
Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...
and
Maximian Maximian ( la, Marcus Aurelius Valerius Maximianus; c. 250 – c. July 310), nicknamed ''Herculius'', was Roman emperor from 286 to 305. He was ''Caesar'' from 285 to 286, then ''Augustus'' from 286 to 305. He shared the latter title with his ...
in the early 4th century  AD.


Neo-classical tradition

The subject of ''Vertumnus and Pomona'' appealed to European sculptors and painters of the 16th through the 18th centuries, providing a disguised erotic subtext in a scenario that contrasted youthful female beauty with an aged crone. In narrating the tale in the '' Metamorphoses'', Ovid had observed that the kind of kisses given by Vertumnus were never given by an old woman: "so Circe's smile conceals a wicked intention, and Vertumnus' hot kisses ill suit an old woman's disguise". The subject was even woven into tapestry in series with the generic theme ''Loves of the Gods'', of which the mid-16th-century
Brussels tapestry Brussels tapestry workshops produced tapestry from at least the 15th century, but the city's early production in the Late Gothic International style was eclipsed by the more prominent tapestry-weaving workshops based in Arras and Tournai. In 14 ...
at Museu Calouste Gulbenkian, Lisbon, woven to cartoons attributed to Jan Vermeyen, must be among the earliest.
François Boucher François Boucher ( , ; ; 29 September 1703 – 30 May 1770) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher, who worked in the Rococo style. Boucher is known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories ...
provided designs for the tapestry-weaver Maurice Jacques at the Gobelins tapestry manufactory for a series that included ''Vertumnus and Pomona'' (1775–1778). A similar theme of erotic disguise is found with ''Jupiter wooing Callisto in the guise of Diana'', an example of which is at the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Mme de Pompadour Jeanne Antoinette Poisson, Marquise de Pompadour (, ; 29 December 1721 – 15 April 1764), commonly known as Madame de Pompadour, was a member of the French court. She was the official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751, and re ...
, who sang well and danced gracefully, played the role of ''Pomone'' in a
pastoral A pastoral lifestyle is that of shepherds herding livestock around open areas of land according to seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. It lends its name to a genre of literature, art, and music (pastorale) that depicts ...
presented to a small audience at Versailles; the sculpture by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne (1760) alludes to the event. Camille Claudel sculpted a sensual marble version of "Vertumnus and Pomona" in 1905 (Musée Rodin, Paris).
Joseph Brodsky Iosif Aleksandrovich Brodsky (; russian: link=no, Иосиф Александрович Бродский ; 24 May 1940 – 28 January 1996) was a Russian and American poet and essayist. Born in Leningrad (now Saint Petersburg), USSR in 1940, ...
wrote a poem about Vertumnus.


Modern interpretations

David Littlefield finds in the episode a movement from rape to mutual desire, effected against an orderly, "civilised"
Latian The Latins (Latin: ''Latini''), sometimes known as the Latians, were an Italic tribe which included the early inhabitants of the city of Rome (see Roman people). From about 1000 BC, the Latins inhabited the small region known to the Romans a ...
landscape. Conversely, Roxanne Gentilcore reads in its diction and narrative strategies images of deception, veiled threat and seduction, in which Pomona, the tamed
hamadryad A hamadryad (; grc, αμαδρυάδα, hamadryáda) is a Greek mythological being that lives in trees. It is a particular type of dryad which, in turn, is a particular type of nymph. Hamadryads are born bonded to a certain tree. Some maintain t ...
now embodying the orchard, does not have a voice.Roxanne Gentilcore (1995
"The Landscape of Desire: The Tale of Pomona and Vertumnus in Ovid's 'Metamorphoses'"
''Phoenix'' 49.2 (Summer 1995:110-120).


Gallery

Image:Vertumnus Pomona Lemoyne Louvre RF2716.jpg, A rococo ''Vertumne et Pomone'' (1760) by Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne. Image:Vertumnus and Pomona-Summer Garden-Saint Petersburg.jpg, ''Vertumnus'' and ''
Pomona Pomona may refer to: Places Argentina * Pomona, Río Negro Australia * Pomona, Queensland, Australia, a town in the Shire of Noosa * Pomona, New South Wales, Australia Belize * Pomona, Belize, a municipality in Stann Creek District Mexico ...
'' (1717) by
Francesco Penso Francesco Penso called "Cabianca" (1665? — 1737) was an Italian sculptor. His earliest known work is the marble ''St. Benedict'' (1695) for San Michele in Isola, Venice. His best-known work is the reliquary (1711), with bas-reliefs of the Cruci ...
, in an allée of the Summer Garden, St. Petersburg. Image:Luca Giordano 026.jpg, ''Vertumnus and Pomona'' (1682–1683) by Luca Giordano. File:Giuseppe Arcimboldo - Rudolf II of Habsburg as Vertumnus - Google Art Project.jpg, upleft, The painting '' Vertumnus'' (ca. 1590) by Giuseppe Arcimboldo depicts Rudolf II as Vertumnus''.


References


External links


Statue of Vertumnus in the Lowe MuseumMuseu Gulbenkian tapestryGetty Museum tapestry
{{Authority control Agricultural gods Fertility gods Roman gods Seasons Shapeshifting Time and fate gods