2b

These lines refer to the mythical Atalanta, whose hand in marriage the hero Hippomenes won in a footrace.  Even though Atalanta was the faster runner, Hippomenes took the golden apples that he received from Aphrodite and used them to distract Atalanta at critical moments in the competition. (Cf. Apollodorus 3.9.2; Ovid, Metamorphoses 10.560ff.) In the manuscript tradition, these lines occur immediately after line 10 of Poem 2a although scholars have struggled to unite all the verses. If these three lines are indeed a continuation of Poem 2a, there is probably a critical transition missing.

Meter: Hendecasyllabics.

1–2: Puellae pernīcī: “to the swift girl” (Atalanta); dative singular, parallel to mihi in line 1.

1: Tam grātum est mihi quam: “it is as pleasing to me as…” (AG §323g). ferunt: “they say”; introduces indirect statement (AG §579).

2: Aureolum…mālum: “golden apple”; diminutive of aureus.

3: quod: “which”; subject (nominative singular) of solvit. diū ligātam: “(having been) bound for a long time”; ligātam is a perfect passive participle from ligō.