The Decameron

On the fifth day, the crown is passed to Fiammetta. She suggests that love stories with happy endings be the next theme.

The first storyteller is Panfilo. Cimon is the derogatory nickname for a young man named Galesus. Among the people of Cyprus, Cimon is “to all intents and purposes an imbecile” (616). His father tells him to live in the countryside, so he leaves the town. In the countryside, Cimon meets an attractive woman in a forest. She introduces herself as Iphigenia and says she has heard about Cimon and his bad reputation. Cimon follows Iphigenia to her home and, after they spend time together, his behavior changes. He dresses better and performs fewer foolish acts, becoming “more seemly and civilized” (619). He even learns to play instruments and sing songs to Iphigenia.

Though Cimon wants to marry Iphigenia, she is already betrothed to a man from Rhodes named Pasimondas. When Iphigenia sails to Rhodes, however, Cimon intercepts her ship and kidnaps Iphigenia. As he tries to sail away, an “exceptionally violent storm” (622) steers his ship off course and he and Iphigenia are shipwrecked in Rhodes. Iphigenia takes the storm as a bad omen. She does not want to be with Cimon.