Mars/Ares as the boar which slays Adonis

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zagreus
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Mars/Ares as the boar which slays Adonis

Post by zagreus »

Hello all,

I'm looking for the Greek original for the following from Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42.1f. I'm using it for the epitaph to a play I'm writing.

The passage is:

"She (Aphrodite) turned her round eyes delighted in all directions; only the boars she would not watch in their pleasures, for being a prophet she knew, that in the shape of a wild boar, Ares with jagged tusk and spitting deadly poison was destined toe weave fate for Adonis in jealous madness." - Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42.1f

I don't have access ro a library with Greek texts & I can't find it online. Would anybody know if the Greek text is available online.
Or - & this is a big favour to ask - does anybody have the book & could they write the Greek for me please. Then I could cut & paste.

Also, does anybody know of any other sources that state explicitly that it was Ares/Mars who took the form of the boar to kill Adonis (either in Latin or Greek)?

Also, can anyone think of a believable name which a character could have to convey the idea that he is Mars/Ares or the boar? The best I can come up with is Aprinus, which might be ok as a surname.

Thanks a million.

NateD26
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Re: Mars/Ares as the boar which slays Adonis

Post by NateD26 »

You can read online or download all three volumes of Nonnus' Dionysiaca on the internet archive here. The quote in question is in volume 3, Book 41, lines 204-211, here.

I found this note on wikipedia regarding Ares as the boar, though I do not know if it should be trusted nor can I find these books online:
According to Nonnus, Dionysiaca 42.1f. Servius on Virgil's Eclogues x.18; Orphic Hymn lv.10; Ptolemy Hephaestionos, i.306, all noted by Graves. Atallah (1966) fails to find any cultic or cultural connection with the boar, which he sees simply as a heroic myth-element.
Nate.

zagreus
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Re: Mars/Ares as the boar which slays Adonis

Post by zagreus »

Thanks for the response.
Yes, I found that archive.org link after I posted.
The Mars/Ares as boar is a strange one because it's only mention'd in commentaries. Yet for me it's the most fascinating part. Rather than the death of Adonis - a vital figure in Greek mythology - being a mere accident, now there is a motive & deeper meaning.

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