John Lyly’s Endymion, The Man in the Moon: A Retelling

This is an easy-to-read retelling of John Lyly's Endymion, The Man in the Moon. Reading this retelling first will make reading and understanding the original play much easier.

Eumenides said:

"Father, I allow your reasons and will therefore conquer my own. Virtue shall subdue affections, wisdom shall subdue lust, friendship shall subdue beauty. Mistresses are in every place, and as common as hares on Mount Athos, bees in the Sicilian city of Hybla (which is famous for its honey), fowls in the air; but friends to be found are like the phoenix in Arabia, just one, or the philadelphi in Arays, never more than two. I will have Endymion."

Mount Athos is the site of many Eastern Orthodox monasteries. The monks have full beards, and so, yes, there are many hairs on Mount Athos.

***

Cynthia said, "Bagoa, Cynthia puts an end to thy hard fortunes, for being turned into a tree for revealing a truth. I will recover thee again if the effect of truth is in my power."

Bagoa had revealed Dipsas' secrets and Dipsas responded by turning her into a tree. If Bagoa were under Cynthia's protection, Dipsas would not have been able to turn Bagoa into a tree, so perhaps Bagoa did not reveal Dipsas' secrets to Cynthia but to others.

The aspen tree transformed back into Bagoa.

Looking at her, Sir Tophas said. "This is Bagoa? A bots — a plague — upon thee!"
He did not like what he saw.

Is it possible that Bagoa was young and beautiful?

Sir Tophas preferred old women.