Black Mark (Ariadne) || Argiope
The third song on the Invocation EP, "Black Mark" draws on the myth of Ariadne, a young princess of the island kingdom of Crete and daughter of King Minos and Queen Pasiphaë. The story of her seduction and subsequent abandonment by the hero Theseus was an exceedingly popular subject in ancient literature and material culture. Catullus 64 and Heroides 10 are our primary surviving sources which contain a detailed account of the myth, though previous versions are posited and affirmed by ancient sources.
Though details change with each telling, the general structure of the myth remains the same. Fourteen young men and women were regularly sent to King Minos of Crete, where they were consigned to the labyrinth as a sacrifice to the minotaur—a half-bull, half human creature, and incidentally the half-brother of Ariadne by her mother Pasiphaë. Theseus, the founder-hero of Athens, joined this tribute of victims and there met Ariadne. With her help he slew the minotaur and found his way back out of the labyrinth, retracing his steps by means of a string traditionally given to him and/or held at the other end by Ariadne. Theseus then escaped to Athens, taking Ariadne with him. On the way, they stopped at the desolate island of Dia—sometimes identified as Naxos—where Theseus abandoned the girl while she slept. After she woke up alone and began to despair, Ariadne was either killed by Artemis (Od.11.321–5, Hes. Theog. 947–9) or carried off as bride by Dionysus (Cat. 64.251–64, Ov. Fast. 3.459-516, Met. 8.169–82; cf. 1n.).
My own telling is an intensive song-translation of Ovid's Heroides 10, which itself is interacting with the previous version of the myth written by Catullus--who is ALSO engaging with earlier Greek and Latin versions of the myth! One way that Roman authors playfully note these woven layers of interconnection is through the use of echoes. Echoes in Roman literature metapoetically suggest intertextual and/or intratextual references, as Latin texts can be construed as clever "echoes" of previous iterations of a story. The myth of Ariadne is one of the most told and most beloved stories in the classical world (Aerna 21–2 quis non periurae doluit mendacia puppis, / desertam uacuo Minoida litore questus? // “Who hasn’t been distressed at the lies of the traitorous ship and hasn’t complained about the daughter of Minos abandoned on the empty shore?”). The "echoes" which reverberate throughout "Black Mark" reinforce the interconnectedness of this song with the poetic tradition it inhabits.
While Ovid and Catullus have both written lovely poems, part of the tragedy of those poems lies in the futility of Ariadne's words. Their works are penned from the perspective of a young woman who continues to write and to speak out despite the fact that her mortal voice will never be heard by human ears again, and her message will never reach its intended audience. Theseus is not coming back.
"Black Mark," on the other hand, asks how access to modern digital technology (the radio, long-distance communication, recording equipment, etc.) might impact Ariadne's narrative, her word choices, and the social position from which she addresses her betrayer. Access to a wider audience via the radio grants Ariadne sympathetic ears and the power to influence Theseus’ reputation. She utilizes this newfound influence to force a choice upon him: Theseus can either return and save her (or at least give her a proper burial), thus 'disproving' her broadcast and preserving his reputation, or he can abandon her to her fate and allow his name to be forever tarnished.
For a detailed, line-by-line analysis of this song and the poetic tradition from which it stems, you can check out chapter one of my master's thesis here: https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/660168/azu_etd_18854_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Link Tree: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/argiope/invocation
Purchase a Record: https://the-pour-house-record-shop.myshopify.com/collections/09-13-2024-new-arrivals/products/argiope-invocation-x
Видео Black Mark (Ariadne) || Argiope канала Argiope
Though details change with each telling, the general structure of the myth remains the same. Fourteen young men and women were regularly sent to King Minos of Crete, where they were consigned to the labyrinth as a sacrifice to the minotaur—a half-bull, half human creature, and incidentally the half-brother of Ariadne by her mother Pasiphaë. Theseus, the founder-hero of Athens, joined this tribute of victims and there met Ariadne. With her help he slew the minotaur and found his way back out of the labyrinth, retracing his steps by means of a string traditionally given to him and/or held at the other end by Ariadne. Theseus then escaped to Athens, taking Ariadne with him. On the way, they stopped at the desolate island of Dia—sometimes identified as Naxos—where Theseus abandoned the girl while she slept. After she woke up alone and began to despair, Ariadne was either killed by Artemis (Od.11.321–5, Hes. Theog. 947–9) or carried off as bride by Dionysus (Cat. 64.251–64, Ov. Fast. 3.459-516, Met. 8.169–82; cf. 1n.).
My own telling is an intensive song-translation of Ovid's Heroides 10, which itself is interacting with the previous version of the myth written by Catullus--who is ALSO engaging with earlier Greek and Latin versions of the myth! One way that Roman authors playfully note these woven layers of interconnection is through the use of echoes. Echoes in Roman literature metapoetically suggest intertextual and/or intratextual references, as Latin texts can be construed as clever "echoes" of previous iterations of a story. The myth of Ariadne is one of the most told and most beloved stories in the classical world (Aerna 21–2 quis non periurae doluit mendacia puppis, / desertam uacuo Minoida litore questus? // “Who hasn’t been distressed at the lies of the traitorous ship and hasn’t complained about the daughter of Minos abandoned on the empty shore?”). The "echoes" which reverberate throughout "Black Mark" reinforce the interconnectedness of this song with the poetic tradition it inhabits.
While Ovid and Catullus have both written lovely poems, part of the tragedy of those poems lies in the futility of Ariadne's words. Their works are penned from the perspective of a young woman who continues to write and to speak out despite the fact that her mortal voice will never be heard by human ears again, and her message will never reach its intended audience. Theseus is not coming back.
"Black Mark," on the other hand, asks how access to modern digital technology (the radio, long-distance communication, recording equipment, etc.) might impact Ariadne's narrative, her word choices, and the social position from which she addresses her betrayer. Access to a wider audience via the radio grants Ariadne sympathetic ears and the power to influence Theseus’ reputation. She utilizes this newfound influence to force a choice upon him: Theseus can either return and save her (or at least give her a proper burial), thus 'disproving' her broadcast and preserving his reputation, or he can abandon her to her fate and allow his name to be forever tarnished.
For a detailed, line-by-line analysis of this song and the poetic tradition from which it stems, you can check out chapter one of my master's thesis here: https://repository.arizona.edu/bitstream/handle/10150/660168/azu_etd_18854_sip1_m.pdf?sequence=1&isAllowed=y
Link Tree: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/argiope/invocation
Purchase a Record: https://the-pour-house-record-shop.myshopify.com/collections/09-13-2024-new-arrivals/products/argiope-invocation-x
Видео Black Mark (Ariadne) || Argiope канала Argiope
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13 сентября 2024 г. 19:00:55
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