The Sea Monster and Hippolytus's Tragic Death — Seneca the Younger, Phaedra, lines 1014–1101, Latin & English

1014

et cana summum spuma Leucaten ferit.

And hoary foam strikes the top of Leucate.

1015

consurgit ingens pontus in vastum aggerem,

A huge sea rises up into a vast mound,

nec ista ratibus tanta construitur lues:

nor is such a great destruction prepared for ships:

terris minatur; fluctus haud cursu levi

it threatens the lands; the wave is rolled forward

provolvitur: nescio quid¹ onerato sinu

with no light course: some unknown thing the heavy wave carries in its laden bosom.

1020

gravis unda portat, quae novum tellus caput

Does the land show a new head to the stars?

ostendit astris? Cyclas exoritur nova?

Is a new Cyclad rising?

1025

haec dum stupentes quaerimus, totum en mare

While in amazement we ask these things, lo, the whole sea

immugit, omnes undique scopuli adstrepunt;

bellows, all the rocks resound on every side;

summum cacumen rorat expulso sale.

the highest peak is wet with the sprayed brine.

spumat vomitque vicibus alternis aquas

It foams and vomits waters in alternating turns,

qualis per alta vehitur Oceani freta

just as through the deep straits of Ocean is carried,

1030

fluctum refundens ore physeter capax.,

pouring back the wave from its mouth, the spacious whale.

inhorruit concussus undarum globus

The shaken mass of waves shuddered

solvitque sese et litori invexit malum

and dissolved itself and brought upon the shore an evil

maius timore, pontus in terras ruit

greater than fear; the sea rushes onto the lands

suumque monstrum sequitur— os quassat tremor.²

and follows its own monster—tremor shakes my mouth.

1035

quis habitus illi corporis vasti fuit!

What an appearance that vast body had!

caerulea taurus colla sublimis gerens

A bull carrying his dark-blue neck high

erexit altam fronte viridanti iubam;

raised a high mane from his greenish forehead;

stant hispidae auris, orbibus varius color,

his shaggy ears stand up, various color is in his eyes,

et quem feri dominator habuisset gregis³

both that which the leader of a wild herd would have had

1040

et quem sub undis natus: hinc flammam vomunt

and that which one born under the waves: from this side the eyes vomit

oculi, hinc relucent caerula insignes nota;

flame, from that side they shine, distinguished by a dark-blue mark;

opima cervix arduos tollit toros

the rich neck raises high muscles,

naresque hiulcis haustibus patulae fremunt;

and the wide nostrils bellow with gaping inhalations;

musco tenaci pectus ac palear viret,

the breast and dewlap are green with clinging moss,

1045

longum iubente spargitur fuco latus;

the long side is sprinkled with prominent seaweed;

tum pone tergus ultima in monstrum coit

then behind the back the hind parts unite into a monster,

facies et ingens belua immensam trahit

and the huge beast drags an immense scaly

squamosa partem, talis extremo mari

part, such as on the edge of the sea

pistrix citatas sorbet aut frangit rates.

the sea-monster swallows or breaks swift ships.

1050

tremuere terrae, fugit attonitum pecus

The lands trembled, the astonished herd fled

passim per agros nec suos pastor sequi

everywhere through the fields, nor did the shepherd remember

meminit iuvencos; omnis e saltu fera

to follow his own bullocks; every wild beast from the woodland

diffugit, omnis frigido exsanguis metu

fled away, every hunter, bloodless with cold fear,

venator horret, solus immunis metu

shudders; alone free from fear,

1055

Hippolytus artis continet frenis equos

Hippolytus restrains his horses with tight reins

pavidosque notae vocis hortatu ciet.

and rouses the trembling ones with the encouragement of his familiar voice.

est alta ad agros collibus ruptis via,

There is a high path to the fields through broken hills,

vicina tangens spatia suppositi maris;

touching the neighboring spaces of the sea lying below;

hic se illa moles acuit atque iras parat.

here that monster sharpens itself and prepares its wrath.

1060

ut cepit animos seque praetemptans satis

When it gathered its courage and, testing itself enough,

prolusit irae, praepeti cursu evolat,

made a prelude to its wrath, it flies forth with swift course,

summam citato vix gradu tangens humum,

scarcely touching the surface of the ground with its rapid pace,

et torva currus ante trepidantes stetit.

and stood, fierce, before the trembling chariot.

contra feroci gustus insurgens minax

Against this, rising up with a fierce and threatening

1065

vultu nec ora mutat et magnum intonat:

look, he does not change his face, and thunders greatly:

'haud frangit animum vanus hic terror meum:

’This empty terror by no means breaks my spirit:

nam mihi paternus vincere est tauros labor.'

for to me, to conquer bulls is my father’s labor.’

inobsequentes protinus frenis equi

Straightway the horses, disobedient to the reins,

rapuere currum iamque derrantes via,

snatched the chariot and now wandering from the path,

1070

quacumque rabidos pavidus evexit furor,

wherever their trembling madness carried them raging,

hac ire pergunt seque per scopulos agunt.

by this way they proceed and drive themselves through the rocks.

at ille, qualis turbido rector mari

But he, just as a helmsman on a stormy sea

ratem retentat, ne det obliquum latus,

holds back his ship, lest it give its side obliquely,

et arte fluctum fallit, haud aliter citos

and by art eludes the wave, not otherwise the swift

1075

currus gubernat: ora nunc pressis trahit

chariots governs: now he pulls their mouths with tight

constricti frenis, terga nunc torto frequens

reins, now their backs with twisted whip

verbere cohercet. sequitur adsiduus comes,

frequently restrains. The constant companion follows,

nunc aequa carpens spatia, nunc contra obvius

now taking equal spaces, now meeting them face to face,

oberrat, omni parte terrorem movens.

wanders about, from every side moving terror.

1080

non-licuit ultra fugere: nam toto obvius

It was not allowed to flee further: for meeting them face to face,

incurrit ore corniger ponti horridus.

the horned monster of the sea rushed on with his whole face.

tum vero pavida sonipedes mente exciti

Then indeed the horses, excited in their trembling mind,

imperia solvunt seque luctantur iugo

shake off control and struggle to rescue themselves

eripere rectique in pedes iactant onus.

from the yoke, and standing upright on their feet throw off their burden.

1085

praeceps in ora fusus implicuit cadens⁴

Pushed headlong onto his face, falling he entangled

laqueo tenaci corpus et quanto magis

his body in the clinging noose; and the more

pugnat, sequaces hoc magis nodos ligat.

he struggles, the more he binds the pursuing knots.

sensere pecudes facinus— et curru levi,

The beasts perceived the disaster—and with the light chariot,

dominante nullo, qua timor iussit ruunt.

with no one ruling, they rush where fear commands.

1090

talis per auras non suum agnoscens onus

Just so through the air, not recognizing its own burden,

Solique falso creditum indignans diem

and indignant that the day was falsely entrusted to it,

Phaethonta currus devio excussit polo.

the chariot of the Sun shook Phaethon out from the off-path sky.

late cruentat arva et inrisum caput

Far and wide he bloodies the fields, and his battered head

scopulis resultat; auferant dumi comas,

rebounds from the rocks; the brambles tear away his hair,

1095

et ora durus pulchra populatur lapis

and the hard stone ravages his beautiful face,

peritque multo vulnere infelix decor.

and the unhappy beauty perishes with many a wound.

moribunda celeres membra pervolvunt rotae:

The swift wheels roll his dying limbs over and over;

tandemque raptum truncus ambusta sude

and at last a tree-trunk with charred stake,

medium per inguen stipite ingesto tenet,

held him, snatched away, with the driven-in trunk through the middle of his groin,

1100

paulumque domino currus affixo stetit.

and for a little while the chariot stood with its master pinned.

haesere biiuges vulnere— et pariter moram

The pair of horses stopped because of the wound—and likewise the delay...

Syntax notes4 items

1019nescio quid
nescio quid (literally "I know not what", meaning "something") functions here as an indefinite pronoun and serves as the direct object of the transitive verb portat ("carries").
1034os quassat tremor
In this brief parenthetical phrase, tremor ("shuddering") is the subject and os ("mouth/face") is the object. It vividly conveys the messenger's physical reaction as he recalls the terrifying sight.
1039et quem feri dominator habuisset gregis
The relative pronoun quem introduces a clause modifying the preceding color. The subjunctive pluperfect habuisset denotes a counterfactual or hypothetical condition ("such as the leader of a wild herd would have had"), contrasted with the next line's quem sub undis natus ("that of a creature born under the waves").
1085praeceps in ora fusus implicuit cadens
fusus ("cast down") is a perfect passive participle modifying the subject (Hippolytus), while cadens ("falling") is a present active participle. implicuit is the main transitive verb, taking corpus in the next line as its direct object and laqueo tenaci as an ablative of instrument.

Translated by Gemini 3.5 Flash (published 2026-05-22) · Revision history (2, latest 2026-09-22)

2026-09-22 AI review — source 1
2026-09-21 AI review — translation 1

urn:cts:latinLit:phi1017.phi005.humanitext-lat2:1014-1101