Editing Myrrha (section)

===Literature===

One of the earliest recordings of a play inspired by the myth of Myrrha is in the ''[[Antiquities of the Jews]]'', written in 93 A.D. by the [[Roman Empire|Roman]]-[[Jews|Jewish]] historian [[Josephus|Flavius Josephus]].<ref name="Josephus669">{{Harvnb|Josephus|1835|p=23}}</ref> A tragedy entitled ''Cinyras'' is mentioned, wherein the main character, Cinyras, is to be slain along with his daughter Myrrha, and "a great deal of fictitious blood was shed".<ref name="Josephus384">{{Harvnb|Josephus|1835|p=384}} (Book XIX, chapter 1.13)</ref> No further details are given about the plot of this play.<ref name="Josephus384"/>

[[File:Inferno Canto 30 verses 38-39.jpg|left|240px|thumb|Myrrha in Hell ([[Gustave Doré]], illustration for Dante's ''Divine Comedy'')]]

Myrrha appears in the ''[[Divine Comedy]]'' poem ''[[Inferno (Dante)|Inferno]]'' by [[Dante Alighieri]], where Dante sees her soul being punished in the [[Malebolge|eighth circle of Hell]], in the tenth bolgia (ditch). Here she and other falsifiers such as the [[Alchemy|alchemists]] and the counterfeiters suffer dreadful diseases, Myrrha's being madness.<ref name="Alighieri205-210">{{Harvnb|Alighieri|2003|pp=205–210}} (canto XXX, verses 34-48)</ref><ref name="Glenn58-59">{{Harvnb|Glenn|2008|pp=58–59}}</ref> Myrrha's suffering in the tenth bolgia indicates her most serious sin was not incest{{efn|Incest would likely have been categorized as a "carnal sin" by Dante which would have earned her a place in Hell's 2nd circle.<ref name="Alighieri01">{{Harvnb|Alighieri|2003|p=v}}</ref>}} but deceit.<ref name="Alighieri0">{{Harvnb|Alighieri|2003|p=vii}}</ref> Diana Glenn interprets the symbolism in Myrrha's [[contrapasso]] as being that her sin is so unnatural and unlawful that she is forced to abandon human society and simultaneously she loses her identity. Her madness in Hell prevents even basic communication which attests to her being contemptuous of the social order in life.<ref name="Glenn58-59"/>

Dante had already shown his familiarity with the myth of Myrrha in a prior letter to [[Henry VII, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Henry VII]], which he wrote on 17 April 1311.<ref name="Alighieri69">{{Harvnb|Alighieri|2007|p=69}}</ref> Here he compares [[Florence]] with "Myrrha, wicked and ungodly, yearning for the embrace of her father, Cinyras";<ref name="Alighieri78-79">{{Harvnb|Alighieri|2007|pp=78–79}}</ref> a metaphor, Claire Honess interprets as referring to the way Florence tries to "seduce" [[Pope Clement V]] away from Henry VII. It is incestuous because the [[Pope]] is the father of all and it is also implied that the city in that way rejects her true husband, the Emperor.<ref name="Alighieri78-79"/>

In the poem ''[[Venus and Adonis (Shakespeare poem)|Venus and Adonis]]'', written by [[William Shakespeare]] in 1593 [[Venus (mythology)|Venus]] refers to Adonis' mother. In the 34th stanza Venus is lamenting because Adonis is ignoring her approaches and in her heart-ache she says "O, had thy mother borne so hard a mind, She had not brought forth thee, but died unkind."<ref name="Shakespeare732">{{Harvnb|Shakespeare|1932|p=732}} (stanza 34)</ref> Shakespeare makes a subtle reference to Myrrha later when Venus picks a flower: "She crops the stalk, and in the breach appears, Green dropping sap, which she compares to tears."<ref name="Shakespeare755">{{Harvnb|Shakespeare|1932|p=755}} (stanza 196)</ref> It has been suggested that these plant juices being compared to tears are a parallel to Myrrha's tears being the drops of myrrh exuding from the myrrh tree.<ref name="Bate58">{{Harvnb|Bate|1994|p=58}}</ref>

In another work of Shakespeare, ''[[Othello]]'' (1603), it has been suggested that he has made another reference. In act 5, scene 2 the main character Othello compares himself to a myrrh tree with its constant stream of tears (Myrrha's tears).{{efn|Othello: "...of one whose subdued eyes,<br /> Albeit unused to the melting mood,<br /> Drop tears as fast as the Arabian trees<br /> Their medicinal gum".<ref>Othello, V, II, 357-360 as cited in {{Harvnb|Bate|1994|p=187}}</ref>}} The reference is justified in the way that it draws inspiration from Book X of Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', just like his previously written poem, ''Venus and Adonis'', did.<ref name="Bate187">{{Harvnb|Bate|1994|p=187}}</ref>

The tragedy ''Mirra'' by [[Vittorio Alfieri]] (written in 1786) is inspired by the story of Myrrha. In the play, Mirra falls in love with her father, Cinyras. Mirra is to be married to Prince Pyrrhus, but decides against it, and leaves him at the altar. In the ending, Mirra has a mental breakdown in front of her father who is infuriated because the prince has killed himself. Owning that she loves Cinyras, Mirra grabs his sword, while he recoils in horror, and kills herself.<ref name="Eggenberger38">{{Harvnb|Eggenberger|1972|p=38}}</ref>

The novella ''[[Mathilda (novella)|Mathilda]]'', written by [[Mary Shelley]] in 1820, contains similarities to the myth and mentions Myrrha. Mathilda is left by her father as a baby after her birth causes the death of her mother, and she does not meet her father until he returns sixteen years later. Then he tells her that he is in love with her, and, when she refuses him, he commits suicide.<ref name="Mathilda summary">{{cite web | url = http://www.enotes.com/nineteenth-century-criticism/mathilda-mary-wollstonecraft-shelley | title = Mathilda, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley - Introduction | access-date = 2011-01-26 | last = Whitaker | first = Jessica Menzo Russel | year = 2002 | work = eNotes | publisher = Gale Cengage}}</ref> In chapter 4, Mathilda makes a direct allusion: "I chanced to say that I thought ''Myrrha'' the best of Alfieri's tragedies."<ref name="Shelley128">Shelley, Mary. ''Mathilda'' in ''The Mary Shelley Reader''. Oxford University Press, 1990 cited in {{Harvnb|Shelley|1997|p=128}}</ref> Audra Dibert Himes, in an essay entitled "Knew shame, and knew desire", notes a more subtle reference to Myrrha: Mathilda spends the last night before her father’s arrival in the woods, but as she returns home the next morning the trees seemingly attempt to encompass her. Himes suggests that the trees can be seen as a parallel to Ovid’s metamorphosed Myrrha.<ref name="Shelley123">{{Harvnb|Shelley|1997|p=123}}</ref>

The tragedy ''Sardanapalus'' by [[George Gordon Byron]] published in 1821 and produced in 1834 is set in Assyria, 640 B.C., under King [[Sardanapalus]]. The play deals with the revolt against the extravagant king and his relationship to his favourite slave Myrrha. Myrrha made Sardanapalus appear at the head of his armies, but after winning three successive battles in this way he was eventually defeated. A beaten man, Myrrha persuaded Sardanapalus to place himself on a funeral pyre which she would ignite and subsequently leap onto - burning them both alive.<ref name='Cambridge Sardanapalus'>{{Harvnb|Ousby|1993|p=827}}</ref><ref name='Britannica vol 10'>{{cite encyclopedia | encyclopedia = The New Encyclopædia Britannica: Micropædia | title = Sardanapalus | edition = 15th | year = 2003 | publisher = Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. | volume = 10 | location = U.S.A. | page = 450}}</ref><ref name="Hochman 1984">{{Harvnb|Hochman|1984|p=38}}</ref><ref name='Byron'>{{Harvnb|Byron|1823|p=3}}</ref> The play has been interpreted as an [[autobiography]], with Sardanapalus as Byron's alter ego, Zarina as Byron's wife [[Anne Isabella Byron, Baroness Byron|Anne Isabella]], and Myrrha as his mistress [[Teresa, Contessa Guiccioli|Teresa]]. At a more abstract level Myrrha is the desire for freedom driving those who feel trapped or bound, as well as being the incarnation of Byron's dream of romantic love.<ref name="McGann142-150">{{Harvnb|McGann|2002|pp=142–150}}</ref> Byron knew the story of the mythical Myrrha, if not directly through Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'', then at least through Alfieri's ''Mirra'', which he was familiar with. In her essay "A Problem Few Dare Imitate", Susan J. Wolfson phrases and interprets the relation of the play ''Sardanapalus'' and the myth of Myrrha:<ref name="Gleckner223-224">{{Harvnb|Gleckner|1997|pp=223–224}}</ref>
<blockquote>
Although [Byron's] own play evades the full import of this complicated association, Myrrha's name means that it [the name's referring to incest, red.] cannot be escaped entirely - especially since Ovid's story of Myrrha's incest poses a potential reciprocal to the nightmare Byron invents for Sardanapalus, of sympathy with the son who is the object of his mother's 'incest'.<ref name="Gleckner224">{{Harvnb|Gleckner|1997|p=224}}</ref>
</blockquote>

In 1997 the myth of Myrrha and Cinyras was one of 24 tales from Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' that were retold by English poet [[Ted Hughes]] in his poetical work ''[[Tales from Ovid]]''. The work was praised for not directly translating, but instead retelling the story in a language which was as fresh and new for the audience today as Ovid's texts were to his contemporary audience. Hughes was also complimented on his achievements in using humour or horror when describing Myrrha or a flood, respectively.<ref name="The Independent 1997">{{cite news | first = Josephine | last = Balmer | author-link = Josephine Balmer | title = What's the Latin for 'the Brookside vice'? | date = 1997-05-04 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/whats-the-latin-forthe-brookside-vice-1259779.html | work = The Independent | access-date = 2011-01-29}}</ref> The work received critical acclaim winning the [[Whitbread Book of the Year|Whitbread Book Of The Year Award]] 1997<ref name="Whitbread">{{cite web | url = http://www.costabookawards.com/downloads/PastWinners.pdf | title = Past Winners | access-date = 2011-01-29 | work = Costa Book Awards | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20091229131124/http://www.costabookawards.com/downloads/PastWinners.pdf | archive-date = 2009-12-29 }}</ref> and being adapted to the stage in 1999, starring Sirine Saba as Myrrha.<ref name="The Independent 1999">{{cite news | title = THE INFORMATION on; 'Tales from Ovid' | date = 1999-04-23 | url = https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/the-information-on--tales-from-ovid-1089019.html | work = The Independent | access-date = 2011-01-29}}</ref>

In 1997 American poet [[Frank Bidart]] wrote ''Desire'', which was another retelling of the myth of Myrrha as it was presented in the ''Metamorphoses'' by Ovid. The case of Myrrha, critic Langdon Hammer notes, is the worst possible made against desire, because the story of Myrrha shows how sex can lead people to destroy others as well as themselves. He comments that "the "precious bitter resin" into which Myrrha's tears are changed tastes bitter ''and'' sweet, like ''Desire'' as a whole".<ref name='Nation 1997'>{{cite news | first = Langdon | last = Hammer | title = Poetry and Embodiment | date = 1997-11-24 | publisher = Katrina vanden Heuvel | work = The Nation | pages = 32–34 }}</ref> He further writes: "The inescapability of desire makes Bidart's long story of submission to it a kind of affirmation. Rather than aberrant, the Ovidian characters come to feel exemplary".<ref name="Nation 1997"/>

Myrrha - or Smyrna - is also mentioned in André Aciman's 2019 novel Find Me.

====John Dryden's translation====
[[File:John Dryden portrait.jpg|300px|thumb|The English poet [[John Dryden]] translated the myth of Myrrha for political purposes.]]

In 1700 English poet [[John Dryden]] published his translations of myths by Ovid, [[Homer]], and [[Giovanni Boccaccio|Boccaccio]] in the volume ''Fables, Ancient and Modern''. Literary critic Anthony W. Lee notes in his essay "Dryden's ''Cinyras and Myrrha''" that this translation, along with several others, can be interpreted as a subtle comment on the political scene of the late seventeenth-century England.<ref name="Drydenpaper">{{cite journal | title = Dryden's Cinyras and Myrrha | journal = The Explicator | year = 2004 | first = Anthony W. | last = Lee | volume = 62 | issue = 3 | pages = 141–144 | doi = 10.1080/00144940409597201 | s2cid = 161754795 }}</ref>

The translation of the myth of Myrrha as it appeared in Ovid's ''Metamorphoses'' is suggested as being a critique of the political settlement that followed the [[Glorious Revolution]]. The wife of the leader of this revolution, [[William III of England|William of Orange]], was [[Mary II of England|Mary]], daughter of [[James II of England|James II]]. Mary and William were crowned king and queen of England in 1689, and because Dryden was deeply sympathetic to James he lost his public offices and fell into political disfavor under the new reign. Dryden turned to translation and infused these translations with political satire in response - the myth of Myrrha being one of these translations.<ref name="Drydenpaper" />

In the opening lines of the poem Dryden describes King Cinyras just as Ovid did as a man who had been happier if he had not become a father. Lee suggests that this is a direct parallel to James who could have been counted as happier if he had not had his daughter, Mary, who betrayed him and usurped his monarchical position. When describing the act of incest Dryden uses a monster metaphor. Those lines are suggested as aimed at William III who invaded England from the Netherlands and whose presence Dryden describes as a curse or a punishment, according to Lee. A little further on the [[Convention Parliament (1689)|Convention Parliament]] is indicted. Lee suggests that Dryden critiques the intrusiveness of the Convention Parliament, because it acted without constituted legal authority. Finally the daughter, Mary as Myrrha,{{efn|Lee notes the phonetic similarity of the names. If you switch the vowels "Myrrha" becomes "Mary".<ref name="Drydenpaper" />}} is described as an impious outcast from civilization, whose greatest sin was her disrupting the natural line of succession thereby breaking both natural as well as divine statutes which resulted in fundamental social confusion. When Myrrha craves and achieves her father's (Cinyras') bed, Lee sees a parallel to Mary's ascending James' throne: both daughters incestuously occupied the place which belonged to their fathers.<ref name="Drydenpaper" />

Reading the translation of the myth of Myrrha by Dryden as a comment on the political scene, states Lee, is partly justified by the characterization done by the historian [[Julian Hoppit]] on the events of the revolution of 1688:<ref name="Drydenpaper" />

<blockquote>
To most a monarch was God's earthly representative, chosen by Him for the benefit of His people. For men to meddle in that choice was to tamper with the divine order, the inevitable price of which was chaos.<ref name="Hoppit21-22">{{Harvnb|Hoppit|2002|pp=21–22}}</ref>
</blockquote>