Ovid: Metamorphoses Book XIII (Cambridge Greek and Latin Classics)

C AMBR I DGE G R £E K AND LATI N C LA SS I CS

GIt N! R AL E D IT O R I P . E. EA IT~ RLI "O

R.,w h 4U_ of C.«*, U.'''''''/J < EdinburJlt 8uilding, Cambrid&~ eus o r Boeo had respectivel y compiled Af._plt~UJ (H,tn_ ..",a) and 0ri,i1U U . ,,111 (Drllith",.,~;a), Parlheniu. in the first ~c nlUry Ie had written M.w__ ph~uJ pmlnbly in "eno: (SII636- 7), and in La,in Aemiliu. Macer, an older friend of Ovid '., had wrillell Q r In.rudalcd a wo rk on avian In n,formal;"n. ' Ovid wa., however, Ihe fil"lt lo Ireat ...,.,tamorphsis at such a length a, tQ invite compari$On ",;I h previous great epic$. Hi, JlQ"m hal no central human pmlagon iSll, but instead a:lebntCI ",wid..... jttnMs and ~ . ... . . . u,,/>#"" in noua fert animus mulatu dicere fQnnas curpora. di, cnepl i. (nam um mutall i. ulV1':' a tnuuformalion, but the way. in which the ,uhjecl i, treued a. c highly di ...... IIoe. Some melamorphose, an: de",ribcd at length, olhen perfunok of the poe m the theme of chang

c...". Tmol (' m

) '93.

'I'

ate

I

META~IORPHO SIS

,

nam~ ,

which will s"rviv~ through th~ generation. (I:..87 I- g). " Mon: g(nerall~, by providing aet iolgical explanatiOn! for endu ring human chara.:teristkt or animal species, for exampk, th~ poem may be laid 10 prCloCni a r..... h in. ight ;1110 th~ underlying n ~ tu .... of thingo. Stones of tranJformation can revolutionillC the "",,,)' in which we look at the world. On~ a. pect of Ihis iJ the n:vival of dead meta_ phon. We conventionally say thai How~r$ nod, pcople arc flintyI>can~d, sleep o.·~ rpowcrs, a river is r.ging, an acl i. sheer madneu; many 1I0rie, of metamorphosis mak~ li teral l uch expreosionl, and pr"";de a new pcnpeo:t;ve on hQW thing. a .... , Metaphon taken from inanimate nature and u!Cd to characteri$( the human ,,"()rld, and (vic.. .'trsa ) anth ropomorphi.ing metaphon applied to the wodd of nat" ...., arc revealed in th i. poem to he p«:uliarly apl: metaphor and simile, lignre, generally a-"umed 10 diKIo.., a likeneu in unlike thi ngs, ar~ shown I" displ~y ~ fund amental tru th "oout the ""Qrld, and nature to bear pennanent ",itne" tQ human ,uffe ring and p",Ulion. " If m~laphor i.! 10 be classed as a typo: of lnel"morphosis and ligurative language i. a IOrt of trandigu ration, then a conJKx;on Can be made between the lIyle and rheloric of the poo:rn and iU subj«l. C ritic. following Seneo:'" have noted Ovid'. faKinatio n with ligu ..... and trop".. ('if ( u io actually ,lw: c_Y 133- 4n,); but at line of'be sa"", boGk 1')1ha~aru (who hirnklfh~. a .... tie ""nu) poured $Com On the ... bj«t_maltcr of .. w.

'''t .. ,»

0'

T ..... l ('997),

,. I .~ " like UI)"Utl, he i. fHI-,~, d, p. 18. " S« pp. ,6- ,~ .

,

I Nl' R OOUCT IO N

the words of he r belo"ed;'" the timilar bm varied tale. On a theme w id by Orpheus in Book 10 a re a IOn o f narrative polyplOlon: pro!Odic and .., ma ntic vari ation a re paralleled on the la rger $OlIt: by

variation or lone, pace and subject between

narrati~;

tbe silence

o f a IIlc.amOTphosor:d Niobe e nac u a posio"",' ;I; i" ""1 " arral;"'" a rc pan:nt hcoc:. (3 figure much affeCted b y Ovid );" the IUmid river Ad ",loUJ ,,"d the garrulow N,,",or reprc"" m redllnda nc:y Qr plwnasm; alil..;v" .umma r;". of belter-known tales a re a form of narrative ell;!>";.;'" j uxtapoSC ~'.. "'~1I4i I tuI_ ,. _ 1nfI~" (1,3- 4), T he poem fullib th is claim by beginn ing with an aCCOunl of the (,..,alion, proceeding to the M ylh of Ages, the ~1fM)d, a nd the regeneration o f mankind by IkUUJiQll and Pyrrha , alld concl uding, from Book 12 (Inward., with ' histQri(a l' lime (the Trojan War, Aeneas, R oman storiu, Cae .... , Augustus). SUI many of Ihe stories inherited Qr adapted by Ovid were fixed to nO particula r lime, and could be pltu:ed whereve r the poet ch()5C. AlthQugh he fol. lows ( pic oom..,nl ion in dividi ng his poem into boob," he o fte n make! an e pisode "rad dle boo k-div;siQns: Ihe Judg.:me n\ o f Arms,

.. R_,i ('g.li3l . .. Von Albr«h. ('94).

.. S«

n.~ ...

" Generally on ' hi> .op;" """ T ioooI ('991) IS- ri; On figuro Will. (1 9)96),

.. The Horntric book--dr.ioio ... _~ in bel m:.d!: centuri., aft.r the ti""" or HOnu:T, btlt ~bool :100 yo-a.. l>cfore o.;.J,

'I'

ate

,

2. STR UCTU RE AND TH EM ES

for example, is introduced at the end of Book I~. and Glaucul' tale continu"," into Book ' 4. T he i. continuoul ( fH1Htu. 1.4) in Ihat it hal chronologial progression and hilll tala linked by p" ..... ge. of lra,,,ition; but at the lame time it is d iJc:ontinuoul, in that it does not focus on a single ~r,od, place, king or hero . As the world Sttm. from one perspective co tUtantly in fiux bUI from another reassuringly stable, so the M.u"..orplwlS can jUltilably be ailed unified or dive,..., in Iheme, cohen.nt Or hete rogeneou. in st ru- ",u n lo r, who ca n wi th equal case stitch together cpisodn seaml"ssly Or ",,( them agai nst uch ochcr with pe rfunctory ,,·himsica]ity. Division into hook. may b" a less marked principle of organ;",,! ion than ol hen in the IlOem, bu( it does invite rcaden 10 see whelhe r Ihe slor;es in tach arc a coherent grOOI), An altern))! to do thi, for Book 13 I'(;~al, $C" era! common themes. It is possible, for c)la mple, 10 SCC " " emphasis on I""cehel of pen uasion (seriono: Ajax and Au rora; humorou.: Poin,hemu . and Glaue".). or 10 sec t he book ;u framed by pa in Qf . ""cehel wh ich attempt to persuade (Ajax, Ul~.; PolyphelllUs, G la neLl'), o r ;u o rga nised arou nd a series of deaths (Aj ax, Aolyanax, Pol)",e " ,., PolyooTllI, PO])'''..,IIO. , Ad.). The J udgement of Arm. and HegUt in 'he ocholo of ..... rkinS ' he ,,,..u i,ion by",..... Plsnm and ..ding ,o"';n applao .. by 'hi' fu, ofS.",«kmai" . 0.>pat of Odyu.:'" w;u well kno .... n 10 the poet of the lIiM, though he chose not to enlphaJisc it. II! Ihe Od]JUJ Odyucus' wili",," and trick~ry arc much mo", promi n~nt , though he i. a bn.ve and Ikilfullightcr ,,'hen occasion demand •. For purpose. of comparison between Ajax and O dyueu" IhOK Homeric episodes arc most re''ealing in which the twO appear together. (.r) In 80Qk 9 of the lIituJ Aju a nd Odyu.:u. arc sen t on an em· bauy to penuade Achillel to accept compensat ion from Apmemnon and return to baltl~. Odyucu. make. a long conciliatory 'puch (22)](6), which AchiU.,. veh~mently r~buts with a speech of e''en greater l~ngth (308- ."9); by way of preface he hinll at Odyucus' reputation with Ihe wordt " hate with a deadly hatred th~ man " 'ho thinks One thing and sayt anothe r ' (3 ,2- 131. After an even lengthie r attempt at pen uasion by Phoen ix, ~qually un>uceenfu] (430- 6'9), Aju U\len a much briefer and blunter speech, full of indignation at AchillCl' lIubbomncu (6~4-.2), Although th is attempl at conciliation, 100, i. a failure, t he", i. a c1ur contrasl between the reception " 'hieh Achilles accords it (fiH -~ and hi. Kornful ,,-ords to the diplomatic Odysseus (308- 131. T he episode emphasisci the difference between Ajax and Odysseus in the deployment of _N. It provides, too, a ttfiking COntrast with th~ reception gil'en 10 the two speechel in Ovid. (' ) At II. " .4' ,- 88 Ajax rCKuC. Odyo""u, ,,·hcn he i. 0I'Prc...,d by w.:ight of numben." Odysseus has up to that point been lighting " 'ith great vigour, and has bttn wounded; but mighty Ajax is deKribed aJ causing immediate I>l'nic among the T rojan" who Ka lt er " 'hen he appeart (.85- 6). Here , in a matter ofjtJt:liJ, Odf"C u, is upstaged by h", future rival. (4 AI the funeral gamel for Patroclul in 80Qk 2] of th~ /IUd, Ajax .. til l ~ft~'v ,hoA< O/;t.uy, and line 547 may I,., even laIc< (it wu dde,ed by ' he Al ..andrian critic Arillarchus); IM.ot ' he Mldition iI ~kel)" to predate ,be Epic Cyd e. " Da,ie. ('9B9) 62- 3· .. Schol . on TI. ".547, "'I>c.. 1t"ai6o- 6nn, .. His ponny:al in Sophodel' -.t;u is, ho....,v. '7. - 8 Radt. s.:.: 3' -~n. " TG,..r.o , .a. 7'> ' la, 72' I Sn~U . .. TGF 7~ T I . . Suid.u e [,s, [[ ~2 Adler . .. Radc:nn:oche, ('9$' ) '22- 6: Giannan,oni (' 990) " '57- 6 ,. M

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~'!

&v SI . " S[ . "G""T';'V ... yn.o[T" •.. S,.. Mym0 \"ote ." Somc ha,'C secn Ajax' Ipc«h as bad, characterising him as a doh and a thug;" bUl it would be , urpri. ing if it .... eT
.. 1M funda me ntal con'tail I>ct.,,
at much greater lengt h lhe siory summariJed blieHy hy Virgil , and Ihen by continuing it: Virgil had Aeneal lea..., T hrace when he hea rd Po lydorut, but Ovid Jta~"S to detCribc the denouement Hecuba, Ihe queen reduced 10 olavery, had long been an exemplar of the viciuiludel offortu lle," and her change from felicity to miocry (..83- 7, SoS - IO) ma y 1M: ""en in th;' poen. al anOlher fonn of metamorphosit. Ovid baJ(:s hit narrat ive quite clearly on a single IOU. ce,· Eulipidel' lragedy HtrtJ.hd, the plol of wh ich i, as fo llows: The ICCne lin on lhe coasl of T hrace. T he prologue;' spoken by the ghost of Polydoru" youngest so n of Priam and Hecuba, ,,'ho lell. how for safely he was ""nt away from Troy 10 the COurt of the Thracian king Polymenor; how, when Troy fell, Po lymellor killed hi m for the oa ke of Ihe money ""nt for his upkeep, and threw hi, body into the oca; and ho w the ghoSl of Achilles has appeared to Ihe Greeks and demanded the JaCrillce of Polyxena, daughte r of Priam and Hecuba ; I'olydo rus prcdicIJ that Hecuba " 'iII thus in a .ingle day ""e Ihe corp"'" of ''''0 of her child ren. Hecu ba enters, d inu rbcd by a recent dream; .he i. followed by the chorus of Trojan women, who report thai Odysseus i. aboul to fetch I'olyxena for sacrillce. Po lyxena enters, a nd iSlold o rher fale by Hecuba; lhen Odysseus appears. In a formal O, CIC., T ... 414-99, M_ n {199~ 2,6- '9: Shakcspcau, H-'tI N::I II. Sane: >, lillCl -w6- so' ' ... a clout upon lhol !>cad. Where I.>le Ihe di.>dem 1100;! .:horUI they alT;"". PolymeSlor reusures her th at her so n is safe; ,he, matehing deception wilh dccm •. Ovid pU ll a In gcdy of epitlt that the IIN:M/H il hit " ,lUrcc." Thi, placing of a tragic episode within the epic i. one more Cl, n pidic:. . . .he let out eric. from her agWii. T he ra boouling birds: ' ... Ofl ehe four,h lIigh' tbey rt><M' eheir foro.. '0 On< ..", bird. from diff.ren, pa .... of , .... hoot ,,~. waf .. .', ra .... r than ' .. . On 'he fourth Highe thoy divMk ehdr fOKU; ..... n ,..." fie,..,., 1.00" from diff. ... n' ""go: war . .. ' n..: form.:r "'terpr-.:.ation

,id1, a~lillg a, ,."gent On tile i.land after which he WIll named, and thaI hi. four daughler1 Ilrf: 1011 10 him. He tel l, how Agamem non, Ie.. rning Ih at Dio nY'u' (Bacr.hu'l had given IIle gi . lt power to change whalever they louelled into corn , ...·in
AnlQn in u. Libe rali, (? ocwnd Unlury AD), who ... prooc ull«lio. of _t_p/l.w cQnlainl Ih~ Qn ly Ql h ~r ' ''IViving ;\Iewunl, lUlrihlllcl thc $lory 10 the founh hook of Nicandcr'. H. urMiM"'" (oce p. IJ a nd 10 Corinna's IV.,.i•. •.. H e IUmmari.M:I th~ lal~ aI follows: (I) Orion lIOn of Hyrieu. , from Boeol ia, hM! two d augh,c .., Mctioche and M enippe. When Artcmis mad e away " 'ilh Orion, Ihc girl, wcre brought up h y Iheir tnQlher . Alhena laughl Ihem w~a,; ng, and Aphrodile lnc them buuty. (2) Thc re cam~ a lime when a plague ravaged the whole of Boeolia, ca u. ing many d~alh •. Th~ peopl~ len! ~presemali"'" to GorfyTI (in Arcadia} 10 consult th~ o ra.:Lc of Apollo, whose advic~ wal Ih M Ihey . ho"ld app a ha,ul de pietifll 10 t llmed illlo a cow (n - 6o); and CatuHuJ ' epyllion Pttnu Tllttis has a joyful wedding couch spread wilh • covetlet depicting the abanooned Ariadnt; wishing Ihat Ihe could at lun be The"'" I' , law.: I(l Ihat she could arrange Ihe rover· le t on hi, bed (6~.I 60-3) .m Ovid', w.:Tlion of the "ory has linu, tOO,

au

,n TIK.., i. a (u'lh~, link bo.." ... r lIat.d expIiON: ..dined Polyphemul i.o por', Galalea as lhe ..,a-nymph Q{ that name , and himself as the " 'ily Odysseul, All Ihi. may ~ laler fabriulion; bUI Ihe poem was famnu. in a ntiquily, and widely imitated, Several writers of oomediel tnaled the 1101")' al roughly Ihe same lime , bUI Qnly a few fragmentt survive .'" In the Ihird cenlury lie Theocritul comJX>$f:d IWO heumete r poems inopi red i~ is sam,,,in,,,,. applied in ama~nry pDCt ry ~o C"l'id', an..,"', (Melcarcr. AI' '2.76 .•. A ft. 2'1.2; Archiao., Af' ~.YI .• ; A"" ''"~'''' .8.~ W~ .. ); Ihal mighl have been a raclor in o".;,t., eboa or the na ...., ,ina Ac::is affe"1:. SoHal (t969) .u""tI,loat Ad,,' . ramr.... rna.ion cnoctl the ,,·;"b or . he T heoc. i'"an Pr;>Iyphemus tb..t he had been born ,,;th gil" SO that he might join Galatea in lhe

'f

""'" (I I .", - 71.

7. LI NES 13.730- H .Z22 G/awJU

(1/'"

"

CiT"

When Galatea hal fi nilhed her ItOry, Scylla d i. porll he ..elf naked on the shore and i. S«n by the sea-god G laucu. , who hal a lish·1 tail inlilead of legs. Un. ucce" ful in hil ~ol1n.hip, he makel a proud .peech in ""planation of hi. semi·pi,dne nature . He used to be a fisherman , and one day he placed hi. catch On the ground in an untouched meadow near the beach. T he dud Ii. h came back to life and returned to the sea. Glaucu. , S\l..Ip«ling Ihat the grass had magic prop.mie1, tasted it. Immed iately he felt compelled to di,.., irlto the sea, where he "'0llI received ",;th IQlemn ritual by the marine gods and gi,·en hi, present . hape. Scylla is nO' impressed, and GlallCUI goel to visit the witch Circe (Book '-4-). When he plead. ror her help in gaining Scylla'i affe;;t

Naupliad c5 'mimi uila taqu c uaxi! ad arma?

optima num

~umat ,

quia lumere noluit ulla?

nos inhonora ri c1 donis pa tT udib us o rbi , obtulimu s qui a nos ad prima peric uJa , l imus? alque ulinam aUI u(nll! fu ror Hie aUI creditus e~t, nee comes hie Ph rygias umquam Utni$5C1 ad arce. horlalo r scderum: no n te , Poeanl!a proles, ex positulll Lcmllos nostro cum crimin e habe re t, q ui nunc , ut memoran t, silu estri bus abditu s antris saxa moues gemi lu La ertiadaeque preca ris qua e merui l; q uae , 5i d i sunt , non ua na preca ris. et nunc iUe eadem nobis iuratu! in arma , heu! pars una du cum , quo 5uccenore saginae Herculis ulumur, fraclUs morboque fa m!:que udalurque aliturque auibu! uo lucresqu!: pete ndo d ebita T roiani$ exercel $pieula fatis. ille lamen uiuil, qu ia nOll oomilauil Vlix!:m; ue U!:t et lnrdi" Palamede, cue relielu" [ui uere t aUI eerte le tum sine c rimine haberet.] qu e m mal e cnnukti nimium me mor iste furoris ,8 c ..., oed '"' a. If';.,i., .... nurn., n unO .. qui • •: qu, .. ull~ 00; ilIa. +9 po«I

..

'1'19 nunc.:

hone. box.

,

,60

,~

'7"

'7~

,80

,&~

,,.

METAMORI'HO S EON LlBER TE RTIVS DEC IMVS

hunc lam en utilitas populi fraterque datique summa mOU~ 1 s

.80

285

"

P. OV ID! NASON IS

scilicet id circo pro nato cacrula mater ambitiosa 5UO fuit , u t cacleslia dona , arti. OpUI tautac, fudi. el sin e peclore miles indu ercl? ne que cuim diPf! i cadamina nouit, O ceanum «>duc.:t .. (OJ",,!""

S7

n:du}

J LO

I'}

7 "

whom Acacus is caned On to judge; but in fact it looks forward to lintl :Jl- 2, where Ajax claims that Ul~I ;1 the .on of Sisyphu" $Ce the n. 1Ill1«. Acoh.ll (Alolo.) was the myt hological f>gurc who ga,.., his namC to the Acolic peoples of Gre«e; bill it i. relevant here that the G reek adjective "id/os, to wh ich hi. name i, related, can mean 'shifty' or 'slippery'; Sisyphus (and hence Ul~.) is from untruStworthy . tock. Virgil alludes to the samt disrepu table et)'lTlology at A",. 6,S'9. where Deiphobul spealu of Ulyucl as Ionlal4r s...tmo", AtfJIUI.s - a phra$C borrc""ed by Ovid at line 45. Ulys.sel doci not reply directly to th is insinuation, but aflimu hi. Own illustrious an
•

COMMENTA R Y, 4)-41 f~-.w

"

T he JlQry ()f Philocletes i. referred 10 brieSy in lhe IIi" (~ .7 ,6-~$).nd wa, IQld.1 length in the Gyp";' C34-4~n .); Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripide. t:Qmposcd lragediel Qn the subjttl, as did Acciu.; Sophocla' P1tif«:/t/u it tlill extant. The: betl- knQWn vertion Qf the >lory h .. the Gr«kt on Iheir way tQ Troy abill'ldon PhilOClete. at the mggesliQn Q/' UI)'$les Qn the island Qf Lem n
UI)'ueI of cowardice. On a laltl occasion , Ulyssci had himself called for aid, and Ajax had obliged; perhaps UIYUCI would like 10 canteR Ihe arm. under those CiK UmJlancel? The 60 t epillOdc to which AjllX refen is found in Book 8 of the llUul (66- I~): Zeus for tilt: mo ment (",'Ours the T roj ans, evo:n the n OUle_1 Greek 6gh'ers arc {o~d 10 relreal, and Heclor hean down on the aged Nel tor, who il isolated in ,he m,;l~e al he IIYI 10 cut away Ihe II"aCt'S from a wounded ho"". 'The old man would ha...., ken killed if Diomedel of the loud waT cry had nOI noticed him; he pvc a mighty .houl of encou ragement to Odyucul : "Noble 5(ln of Latrta., wily Od)-UCUI, where art: you runn ing off 10 a mongsl Ihe rahble, tu rning your back like a co ..... rd? T ake carc Ihar no one stich a .pear in you r back ill you 1Icc:. Stay, 10 th at we can W1I.rd off wild Heclor from the old man." So he . poke , but cunning, godlilrc OdYSSC UI did not li"en; he palSCd by him On h.. way 10 the hollow , hipl of the Greeko ' (90- 8). Diomede. then goci on to re$Cue Nutor without Ulyuc. ' help. The Ovidian Ajax pull the ....·on l possible imcrpre tatiQn on this episode: Ulysses 'bel... yed' Neltor (67) and showed him$Clf a spi neless eoward (li9j. In fUI, ho....·~er , the Homerie linel ,.,.., not unambiguout: UI)'ACI' behaviour w'" debated alrt:ady 1lffiOngsl scholan in a ntiqu ity. The crucial wordl arc ' like a coward ' (a T perhaP'" 'a lowborn man ', oppo.cd 10 'noble' in the previoul lint) and 'did nol l i.ten' ~, 91): .orne argued that (O A Y that a man '. be haviour i. IW th at of a coward il nOI th e lame 201 uyi ng that he is a coward; and the ....,rb tnuulated above ' listen ' could equally well mean 'hea r' - in the tumul . of" bat de UI)'ACI .impl~ did not hear the appeal of Diomedel. MOlt scholan laday agree with lno.c who argued in defe""" of UI)'*'eS: Homer doo:, no! elsewherc depicl his heroes aetiog in a cowardly way. But it cannol b. den ied Ih at Homer IlalCI ""Cry clearly that Diomedel ' appeal lacked nOlhing in volume: not only il he detcrib.d a. 'of the loud war cry' (a standard epithet for DiomcdCl), but he alia 'ga,.., a mighty Ihout' (9 t, 9:2). The l'I!OO "d episode occun at IL 11.4" - 88. time it .. UlyNU who i. isolated in the 6gh ting, a.nd although he defend. him",lf vigorously, he i. wounded and oppreucd b~ weight of numb.o. He eric_ oUt tbrt:e time. for help ; Menelau. hean him, a.nd encouragCl Ajax to come with him to help Ulyssel. Aj llX Coven U1YOOCI with hit

Th"

.

COMM EN TAR Y: 63- 66

grut . hidd (d. ~ n .), tilt T rojanl ocallu , and M rlle1aul takes UJy.50:S by the ann and leads him Q U \ of dange •. In this acCOulli then i. no

hinl of oo..... rdicc (d. 8o-m.); .... ,her, Ulyuel kills ICv" ral Trojanl and is finally e>ppT,,~d by impossible odd •. The O vidian Ajax nalurall y ignoreo Ih""" a'!"'Cls of the 1I0ry a nd conc"mralo:$ (In the fact thai after rae"., by himsel f Ulyssc. withdrew from the fighting. '3 eloq..io: cr .•i"" :p~, where Ihe word il 111«1 by UIyu6 him>elf with n:fcrcn' (II. '4-¥l9- 1I). re . .. p ....uD ••• fudi ' I Laid QUI on hi. bad:.jio.oJ.";1 o ftcn u$Cd in ep ic for 'Laying low' an opponclll (_ pos_ .). •• a onemq... me-.- .....utia, 5ce 8'1- 910. 13- The lot!, Om: marked by each of the nine vol unteen, weaqu .. lauemqll.. ' the w..,rd , :O r(: ~pealcd by the narn.tOl" al line 384. IOKclher wilh I III I....i l (88); cf 'J6g T ...,sfill JIHUlfll/IIl, whcre UIYWC I addrel&ol< place .jIrt the death of Ajax u..n.). The Trojan propllet Helenu., a IOn of Priam l-1 07

H" phaellU', is descri~d as glum ing like a star; but a further inspi. ration for this detail i. Virgil's story of Ni. ". and Euryal us in Book 9 of the AtIIti4, an episode itsclf modelled on the Homuic DoLo"";,, (98n.) but narrated so a. \0 empha.~ Ih" COUfai" , loyalty and patriot ism of Ihe young men, ",ho SCI oUl on their mi..ion with high hopei (like Odyue u, and Oiom"d u) but arc lined (IiI
{'abgcbildet, and defended by Hardie (l98s1 16- 11 with (he following argument" (I) the not ion of creation weLl complements II~/a. of UI~ in (he next line; (~) ilftillilU is ablalivt'l of . e.ult: 'a shield that has taken o n the form of an image of the IIn,,,,,I'$C'an' (II. 11.~6$ cf. ~72). palel, al one lpCab of a 'gaping' wound . ••""e••or. d. ~l. ltO-S Aju:, revening to hi. inilial w mrU I befween word. and deeds, dra""1 his spuch 10 a dose "~Ih a plea, dellined J>C'rhaps 10 apJ>C'al mou to the rank a/ld file th.o to the Jnwtru (cC. 123- 4), that deeds should be aUowed 10 decide the matler. H u conelulion, thai th~ _TIm of AchilLe. should be cast im o lhe midst of me enemy S(l Ihat he and UlyrKI may compete for their rttO\·ery , is an idea bor-

II,

''''

COMMENTARY: 120-123

from on~ of Ovid '. tClIchen of rhetoric, M , Pordu. !.alTO, who him$(:lf oomposed an .-I""""",, ;J~'.",: Se n. c..~Ir. 2.2.8 tuU. row~d

"'Nllas tilU UIIltntUu in ••,.-JI1l SIUJS IrDfIj1rIkri1. ;,. ,..,....""" ituiia. Lalro .... ;11'111"'10$. ' Nas. dixit ...",... ... f>tti.' The \"Clic is one that is "'e ll known from the ..~/(M

stwiWJe lA.tro_ allliiNil

Nt

tIixtr,,'

annal. of early Rome: ServiUI T ulliul, T . Quinel;'" C apit ol in". and T . Quinct ius Ci,,,;innall1! an: all said 10 hayQliis f"lUl'ahl.r ;" isiii), and each cuts asperlinn. on the family history of his ri,-al (26, 31- 3 - ' 45, (49). T his line of auack i. typical of Roman noblel, who •••,,.,, much gi""" u.> t ... ding on the liirhu of th eir anc"s ton a nd d i. paraging ,he ancclton of , hei r rivalt. M o rali" ng li.e ra, ure w hich make. inherited titlet leu important than innate abiliti". (J"""""I"

'1"i4f.row?) is diJc:u....,d by Braund (1g.88) 69~1~9. Ul ysses, speaking ""cond , has the advantage of being ahle to put forward his own claims wh ile aucning that the aubject is an iJT(;levance wrongly in. troduced by Ajax. 140 N ..... introd uces Ulysses' e"pl anation of why gnlfU and /"H"i an: not to be counted as ....... Stul ('39). '4' .ed e..o-. til;' Wat originally a word used to emphasise what prc«:ded it, and it doc. not alw .. ys have .. n upl .. natory sense. Quintilian (g.3. t4) ...,,' the phrase sttl tJI;' M a nmable uch.. is.m in the Anuii. Virgil '. example was followed by later he ... mete r wri ters, and the expre.ion it used by authors of the impe rial pe riod who aff...,t a n an::haising Ityle. '4'- 11 r.,ualil .. . I " ••., .. . pro • .,po•• one would expect u ~ "f.f";o~ , aecuJati"" and infinitive. In Gn::ek the nomi nati"" is used in indirect spttCh when the subject of b,,,h clauses ;s the u me, a nd it was probably Greck influence which led 10 occa5ional use of the nominativ" and infiniti"" in Latin . The carlieat alleJled example it Cat. 4.1 ~~ plwtl.u i/te... I (Iitfoim ............. u/n"ri",.u, in a poem eon· tai ning other Gra...,i. ing pr...,io. ities. Ovid. hM ..,,,,,ral examples: d. AIR. 2.4. ' 4 J~fU,u,1 iIt ",,n,iJis ~ /(>nt, [9.[4 spmm. FIUII,,', ~ _fIlS. See K~S 1 70~ . .....pi.i. &Iletor, a high epic phrue , first alleJled at Virgo A..... 7.t8~9 PUiu ... /H'.... - I /.t, $(I".".." lef. rtl"'lil], '" uutglliltis .. /n-

...,U'

'if'"

1fUtS

O"'- 37, though the arms are not IIKntioned there. 1.57 Teseer. half-broll~r of Aju, being IOn of Telamon and He,ioTIC. In the I/i_. he il a bowman , and i . often mentioned in \iu'. It i. no{ reCOfd~d else.where t hat Ajax look pan in Ihe mi.sion to r~tch Achille' from S immed iately Ihat he ha. 1«" throug h the disguillC impoocd by Achilles' mother (cr. 1 6~-3l"'dri" . .. ~dll/ul ftriu. Mid"; I fortillT is"', ..... '" u~ ef. '1' "'til S OUlI, '73 .....111 ul. At lines 349 and 314 he use. the Illme type of argument.

au".

,.

'" The

CO MMENTARY: lil - I H eatalogu~.

of A" hill".' d""d. h~re and in Book I ~ ha"" their literary o rigin in II. 9_328- 31, when: Achille.. in . eply to Apmemnon'. conciliatory off"r of lavish gift!, 1Ill)'1 in part of hi. long lpe«h of reply, 'by su I .... eked twelve " ilies of men, and on fool "'
Q ..

iadil... , a pcrhap$ archaic-oounding adj.:eli"" used partkula.rly by epk ,,·riten 10 gi"" all effect of ttyli$tic grandeur (nohl"'iw). It is

,

'"

COMM£N T A R\',179-1I11

rdBled to lh~ Gr~ek word. MY/D' , 'r. 1111- 1104 UI}.,,,,, nCKt dairru c redil for having made it p01 sp-ecify "'hen the emba.ssy

COMMENTARY, l%- Z(ll

'"

took place, and other lIOurce, differ; IIOme taid that the amblUlaclon were se nt from Aulil before the Reet set tail, othen that they were dctpatched after the Greelu' initial arrival near Troy {IO Ovid here, i! seem,; d, W7), or afte, the lint battle when they landed before the city. Sec Fno.z.er (19~ 1) on Apollod. E"il. ,.~S. The pnlage from Book ,of the I/id. narraled by Amenor, who had acted as h011 to Odya"",UI and Mendau. on that occasion, containl the famO\ll u. orator 'amba.udor', IIOIIl
flU/a (2!1 ).

h o"'ibu,, in . idior: we know of no ambushes or killings by UI ~,,:I(;1 during thi s period; bm clea rly he Or O vid hM in mind cpirod'" such III Ihose listed cOnlcmplUonlly by Ajax at lines 98- 9 (q.v. nn.). (0... munirnin. cinlo: we are pr~umably 10 imagine fieldworks like that suggested by NC1tor al I/. 7.336- 43: ' Let u5 quickly com!ruc! a high def~ nsivc wall (= "'~n''''DI) as a defe nce for ou rse l"", and ou r shipl, and in ,he .... aU leI '" make we ll -fin ing gates. so that 212

,,.

COMM ENT A RY : 2\3- 21$

Ihere may be a pauagc for chariots through them. Outside the wall leI u l dig ncarby a deep ditch (_ joua) to keep I»ck chariou and men on every side .. .' This ;. one of wise Nestor', men! famous pitt.,. of advice in Ihe IIUuJ: UIY"'" wi.hel to giv" Ihe impression thaI he, 100, Iuu b«n a sage counselLor. All MSS read flSJ4S 'fUulimilW d""" but lhe Ili4J passage quoted above . uggem th''' f ...... ..""i"'i.... ~ (Ehwald);. what Ovid wrOte: Ihe ditch was outside the wall and proteU to Italy~ Here are no JOIlS of At,..,u! or lying U ]yssct [but stilTer opposition)'). :1:16 C.pl .... diaUlI ....... Trai.... 'let tlip fr
COMMENTARY,

H3 - 2~5

Oul On lh~ir way 10 the camp. they hear a favourable bird-omc n , a nd Odyu.". pra ys 10 Athena Iha1 me sho uld gran! them a relUrn

Ioar.

'hav; Ilg done a greal deed which the Trojans will ruc' (1

to N estor'.

char'ot«:r Archeptolemus. Another Coeran ns, a charioteer, is killed at /I. 17.611 - 14. Perhaps remin;$Cenet; o f the$C two context. led O,~d 10 ute th e word lpAifitJu here. Al .. roraqg.e Clorenoi...... qlle ; Ihe lengthening of 'q~. before mUle + liquid con$.\"'" 8, 82- 97 §of, ,08- 9n n. Although Ajax had def~ nded

the fhips $CO: Slubbornl y. he was disarm~d by H ~ctor, an d hiuhip had been fired (II. ,6." .. - 2]). AI Ihis momhl"a.lis (607 - 8), for the tea , rtBccting pcrhapt a more modern "ie,,· or the world " 'hieh do
3110 See 4,,- 5411. •• In: Calcha. a nd Hekllus: 99n., Soph. Plril. 604- 19. 3111-3 Heavily ironical.

•

''''3 '"

CQ M M t: N T A R 't':

321 - 3:2~

.. e ma"dale mlhi : ..:. the ta. k of going to fetch him.

322 e loqulo scornfully cam back upon Ajax his own scornful dismiwo.l of Ulyues' powers of rhetoric at line 63 (nUl t/f,q_i4 fiill'" 'l"lHIW .NeJ""ll .;Jl(~I .. . ). lUorb;. ira q .. e rur".,t" ..", in Sophocles' play i'hiJOCI" I'"

i.

depicted asforms in I WO scnses: the pain of hi. wound driv". him at inter.al. 10 utle r inarticulate criel, and hi. Ilatrcd of Odysseus shows i!!elf in angry speecht"l and nubborn behaviour (d. 317" .). There i. perhaps a cd e.ence here 10 the fu ture madn .. u of Ajax: he can calm neither othen no r hinuclf. 3"3 a liq ... produce l c.lHd ... arle 'win him over with some Irick' (OLD I.V\'. P",JIU~ 3, ..rs 32). In the l'iri/«ldU Odysseu. per· . uades NeoplOltmu., son of Achilles, 10 ingratia,,; him"",lf with I'h il· Gettle. and Ileal the bow while he is asleep; bUI Ihe young mall,

overcome by shame, hands ;t back, and matters are resolved only by an epiphan y of Herade., forme r owner of Ihe bo",', who instruct' Philocleles 10 go 10 T roy. Ae
tm- 8 ,).

328 s oei'" i.e. the judges ....·1\0 ar.:: lillening to UI)''W:I' addrns. relique, Agamemnon, who appr~d the plan of UIY"""

to

abandon Philoc;telel. 3119 d"ro: , he is 'ha rd ' On UlySSoel ..... hom he hatel; but ht ;1 al'lO 'much-end uring' (OLD .\..V. 3). Philoete t", th~ G reek fonn of the >'ocative. :)29-:)0 e,..ec r."" ..." ••nul'""

I d.,uo .. "as

siu" lfi.De caput:

' ''PMI, 'head ', i.e. 'Iife' (OLD I." . 4b), is object of bot h veri>!: sec 'TIon. on the pl;u;ing Qf -qlU. In Sophocles' pI;>.), Philoctclcs r;>.i~ repeatedly again$! Od)1oSCu$ (e.g. 3'4- 16, 10 19, ,0~-6, '
aaoun!. UlYUCI goes On to use OT>« more the (aC(ie of claiming for himself the credi( for aC(lonl made pouible by an action of hi. own (ef. [8 [ - ~04n.): he conquered Troy because it Wal he who made it no longer impregnable. 3" NelDpe l [77-8 n. 340 forti. abl eot Ai ....? the.., ""
you were not alone .. .' 353 lib; hlrb. comea, Ihi. i. a specio ul argumclII. T he rell of the GreeL! were involved in the struggle to keep the T rojanf at bay, bm tlo mer explicitly Ita tel that 'great-heaned Ajax wal nOt comem to n a nd in the place to which t he m her SOn. of the Achae ans had fallen back: he ranged o\"er the dee .... ble only t... a ..,If- infticled WOtlnd; and 9'" /NIhl",jnn can refer 10 the IIOry thai he was \Il.llnerable only in his side. f or delaib of this ....pect ... f Ihe m)"th, 10 whkh HorneT makes no allusion bUI which may have derived from Ihe A.lI!j~iI or Lilth 1/..,.4,..,e 26]n., Davie. (' 989) 00- ., 65. 3'7 Here we need 10 ..,....,mber Sophoclel ' Aju: three Ii....,. in thai play " 'e a rc lold thai the"""""" wilh which Ajax commi" .uicide i. lhal which he wal given b)" H «:IOr (66' - 2, 817, 1029- 39). The gifl ....... H« .or'. pan of an exchange by which the combatant. acknowl" edged their mutual rupeel al the end of lheir dud (I/. 7.303- 5; 8297n. §31. H ere therefore Ajax mean'lhat hi. vinucs haw: bttn ucogIlUed by ,he gift nf the IWUrd , and thai i. al any rate UIyw:t
•

",

C OMMENTAR Y:

~96-398

Irnos I addat iIllrruu: jill'tt>1l foIW qIlt /qalllr ~); in li ne 39:> gtgjl It '
COMME NTA RY, Hl-tZ9

which hint at their ultimate metamorphosis (5« p. ,:.). Here _ an: intmdu.:cd 10 Hecuba. wOO will bttome a dog (:;6:;- 71), as she haunu a gra\'eyard 'giving kissa \o ooueJ' (.~.); in line .~1 Ihe wo rd , ....... (with long ..) may add ' 0 th is effect ; 1..",..1•• uggo:ttl K...,u lirM ($(:( S&J- 1on .). 4:13 H""abe , Ihe G reek form of Ih i. word i. fltk.dH, (II" La tin H/JOIH; HtnbI i. a hybrid form, if it exins at all. 4.4 ....Ib ... 0..,.,.) .. d .... tem ' '" lJ'oteoque progn...ion fro m .....t ' $utllll...-u (4'20). 4:15 Doaliduae ............ , cf. ' 07 o.lid;" ... ""la, a n d n. In the TrNiUJ H« uru. is parlicula rly d ill reucd bf:ca u$(: lihe hat been all ""ed 10 the tn:acheroul Odysse ul (~n -9~1 ; d. 485--1 .

4:1S- 6 h ....it I ... b.". 10a: she digs up the urn and carr;1:1 it with he r. For this UJC of Mom.. d. 11.185- 7 (Midou' barbe r) h ...",'Iw , if..nl ... /t:rr/Jil/{/U i",...,.,.",..1 Ir"M'Uu, 0 1J) •.~. f a; for the repetilion d. 840- 1 .iii ... Midmli. Th i. delail i, nO'l anested elsewbel":J. The word. al"olyxc na . everts 10 (Onerrn for he. mlher (d ...&'>- ..), and alh that her body should be give n 10 Hecuba for a ramom of lean. That poor r'"mom .he COlll ratU with the Irealure which Priam was able to hand ovc r to Achille. when he ransomed th e body of hu brother HCdor (len tatem. of gold a nd many precious objecu: It. 24.229- 37)' 47" J:caetrid: a word belongi ng chiefly to a high poeti permulationnl of - J -, J>«to'I1.JniMra and /J«1rIs/ •• /nllS. The lext primed here provide! go
SOO e:EitilUD Troiul cr. ,68- 9 (U I)'lSCs 10 Achille,) li6; u p~r;­ """ restrlld~1 I Pt'flfl1M. Achille. died before Troy wa. captured, but by . Ia yi ng Heelo. he deltrQ)"'d the city'. chief protection .

orb .. tor, the word appean to ba1/f: b«n coined by Ovid for ,hi. cO nlc,U .

SOl In the IIUti Achilles' deat h '" th e hands of Pari. and Apollo •• briefly prophesied in the dying word . of Hector (22.358- 60), and it wu narrated in the AetlIiopis. O,id has told the ",ory at the close of

Book 12: Apollo, at It..: ;tluiga.ion of Poscidon (Nepl"ne), incites Paris 10 . hoot al Achilles "nd dire~ al anOl her woman'. 100m, and carry water . . . m uch againsl your will; bUI stern nteeuil y ..... ill eompd )"ou. And, see ing you weeping, someone ....i l1 say, "This it Ihe wife of HeClor, Ihe forem"'! T rojan fighler d ur ing the .....a r at Ilium ' So someone will '"" ¥, and your grief al nO longer havi ng such II man 10 ward off Ihe day of tcrvitude for you, will be renewed ' (4~6-63). iIla ' Ihe great" 'the well kllown'. 5 ' 3 Priamei. eoniaaa, all epic periph rasu (cf. 4!1, ICY.!, 399400, $87nn. ). /'rUz"' ....s i, a G reek adjectival form (TTp\O"I.I1\\oij found first at Virgo Am. 11. 403, 3.'121.

CO MM EN TARY: Slf- 52!

,"0

5'4 101 ami ....:

5C·fili~J

tlfi/u.s· 514-15 qau aola 1eoab.. I .stera.a 10et... : d. Eur. Htr:. '180- 1 (H ecuba of Polyxcna) 'r.hc alone now lake. \hc place of many things: she i. my solace (lfOp thc latter meamug. d·m.... ' her old age iJ attended with ruin. This ..,ems a more powerful reading than ""'U"", though the laner may gain oome IUPport from ""'"'' in line 5'9 (sec n.). 518 ....i uti •••• Ea..,r. en....... ' irony. She;. a. yet ignorant of Polydorus' death. 51' ala.",,, ... cliff"erti........., there iJ probably ...."Oro-play on """.... (or on nll
,_id

,

C OMME NT ARY:

'" ia n innance of a lamem for a dead child, when !':vander mourns ~2 2 - ~3 2

for Pallas and fa}"' thai hi. late wife it fortunate not to have li\ltd 10 $« Iuch a day: /a41U', ' SlUfCliuillUt ,,~iltU, lfilix _ I t /10" .,"'" i~ i"UIt _/" 1. 1., .... I ""/1,, q. .iI1.tIUi, . in ""'& f"I. , /-JHrlW 1,•.01 experience the misery of llil. without 'WI""'. S'"' .1, palO' heavily ironical (OLD $.\1. ,,/ 12): , he eX?«I. the Ilppot.ile of even thi, C()n5()lati
herself. 53. albc nte a lacc ra.a CO_ • • 'tearing her white ha ir ': tllUl'~u. it in the middle \Vice, and "" .. /U is it. direct object. cr. ~.33.'> t.o~i416 II" .....

536 e j ect um : c alli up by the In (nOI thrown OUI on the shore by Polyme!lo r). in lit o re may be taken wilh "'pint Or wilh .uc11Ull, or wit h both . .537 ractaque ... .... Ia e ra l e li. : «lis is a poetic plural for

'sword' (cr. 458): We have been told al line 435 tha t Polydorus was killed with an ...ru (:.. in Euripides: H ... 716- 2O). 8 u\ BOme r is pTObably right to see in the ambiguo us use of the plu ral a n allusion to the quite different a w~\lllopW".!"" I, scems ""'1' li1r.dy that in the "'ttJti4pu itself (p. ~8) the . upplica tion Stt"e ... as modelled on that in Book I of the IIi"", 5'7 oaudb. . hlf'erior. M:c 58'- 990. 'I. .. ....ti.....are..... doe r , .. dignified periphr;u;. for 'whl> live in heaven' . • ~.tIU prolnbly oon,.inl it pun on Aurora's name: cf. Vam;>, L ,.83 ( Maltby ([991 ) 68) "'Mil lUitlll U ... 9-' d ipi solis

it_,_

/1""

~MT"'",

t hough "''''', ' b righl', i, a common epithet of heavenly bodi.,. and of the Iky (OLD s.v. all1...... 4). a MTutU;

rari •• ima templa , nO temple of Aurora i, known. 589 tame .., ;n spite of being o...rib., i'lflching on day. 593-4 . ed ..... a e . . . . .eqQe bic eat I . _c atau .. Aou-o_ ...... 'but al the moment thaI i. nol my con«ro, and my wndit ion (of beiog a bereaved mother] ;1 nOI . uch, thaI . . .' Aurora .peaks of he""lf in the third perlOn for added dign ify: d. '7 - t8n. T he alternation of h" and U il nol unulual in \"(no: ; heJ1: il is metrically con,-o:nient . 59' patnutl Priam .... as M.. mnon', paternal uncle : "'76n. priaaia .. _ • • h a_is 'while he Wall lIill \"ery young'. See ... 8799n. In an expreuion such al Ihis sd doel nol differ in rm:aning from i.: f « OLD I. v. 1101> 1 u. 597 .Ic . _ a.haJ.d., InIlS, A.'MII? aut: sil M ntlItOJti.s .....,;, I ..MIl. ~IWn~i cut/. ;"111111 ..is ('Whcr(: are you hu rrying, Aurora~ Slay! T hen may Mcmnon '. bird J>" rfonn eacb yca r rilel fo r .he dead with pioul .... crifiee,. O n .he bal i. of tbal pau.agc, Slater proposc9. latrllHtt a rather briefly uprelSCd summary of H«:ub"'1 e"ndil ion, «:hoing the beginning 0( the epilOde al lines ~76-9 . T he comprelSion is Iypical "f o-.~d 'i ma nagemenl of weh transitional or br idging pal$3.geo: cf. 6"l3- 3,n. ny...a.dd.a , Hecuba, daugh ter of the Trojan king [)ymal . Ovid here folloW! Ho mer (I I. 16.7,8) ra.her than E uripidCl, who ea.lb he r daughter of Ci_ul (II~. 3; followed by Vi rgo A.". 7.3w, to.7o$). O,her claimann are recorded in the nOle of F",zc: r ( 1 9~1 ) on Apol· Ind. B~I. 3.'2.~. T he q uestio n ••",ml 10 have been nOlori" ul for Iler ile debale among 5o5c who liv 'u

,.

COMMENTA RY, 706- 709 with the lege nd of Teucer, Ii rilt "w/iltl

r«~rtior

""

( A",_ 3.'07). Cf. 6.,, -

' e. Te..erol " . T ....eri, the Trojanl are nO' called T eucri"n by Homer, but Aeschylu, caUs Troy 't he Teucr ian land ' (A.f4"'. 112), and la,er poets use tbe ",·onl a.! a Iynonym for TntUuli. 706 , ......-r.. 'held Iheir course for' (01.0 s.v. 14), or perhaps 'reached' (ibid. s; d. 721 ). fnr, supporl$ th e lauer !... n$la!ion; but tbi. ;, Ovid'. ' fast·forward' style (38 2- 98, SS8- 64. 6~3- 3!, 70S,Snn.). -q .... 'but': OLO , .,-. S. 707 10 .... _' metonymy (cf. 6S3nn.) for the climate, J upi!er being god of Ihe sky. Cf. 70S- 6n. The use is I,ar!icularly apl htre , since Crete cla imed to be the bi rthplace of Zeu •. In the Virgilia" accoulII, Aeneas i. told CN/ua .uplli.; I.ppiu. aflllf (3. !71). One 1\.IS reads 1_ he re; probabl y it i. a coTT""lion by a learned reader ..·ho remembered Virgil'. de scription of Ihe T rojans' .uffer' ings on Crete: _il l ~rli/lri"'Jq/U uliJ9Mt ItJa (A",. 3.138- 9). A refer· ence 10 Jupiter is more elfect i~, and equally allusive. 707-8 e ... uunq"" relietil 1" ..bibllI l ancient C rete lrad it;on· ally had one hu nd red cities (II. ~.6"9). Here Ovid allude. !o the Virgilian account: At>! . 3.106 'lIIlII", .fks It.abillUll "'1I,p4I, Nbnrilllll rqu. 708 A"l oaiol opt... 1 eO.I;',.. r.. porl"ll Ovid ,"",ume. knowledge of the Virgilian account , in ..·hieh the fNtuJla appea r to Aeneas (70S- 6n.). A IU".~ilU" = halian; the line i5 an .. cho of Alii. 3-:518 (from Helenus' prophecy, latcr in ,h.. same book) A.....,.;., /KIm tn· ".,rIM. For ""I~~I cf. At>!. 3.'og, 132, 509, 530 ",'runt.1 ofJltIl4t d~.cucr wilh Ajax' depiclion of him earlier in t he hook f.32fo~ tis .. ,fr""", e lc.). 7" Dulieh.io. port... , ,07 n. Same .. que , Same and Sarno! arc Homer ic namel for t he island of Cephall cnia (I i. ~ .634 , etc.). Here all the manu$(rip'" read SaooD'~q .., but Heins;u, was proba bly righl 10 restore the .... vowel from the Virgi lian account (711 - 13n.), whic h O vid d 05Cly follo .... in thi. seel 'on. 7'" Ne riti • • que domu" the fact that Virgil',NmUJs (1" - ISn.) i. feminine (,m/w<J sui$) ahow. thaI he conceived of il at an i. land (66m.), and Ovid folloW! him in Ihis. In Homer, however, Nerilos i. a mounlain on Ilhaca (II. 2. 6S2, Od. 9,2, - 2). Probably Virgil mislakenly infer red Ihat NerilOS was an island from iu being named loget her with Ihe wa nd of Ithaca in the dcso:ription o f Odysscu.' conlingell1 al T roy in the lIiadic Cal al ogue (2.631 - 7). 7' S praefer eral" uee ri = prlUurwcli nant: so-called Imesis, where Ihe prepttUu ''''' U tt""'. Her tramforrnation will in pOur. 736 pel.F- .... tUau.... .yrnplU., the repelilion after JijIl!P~Gl oce m. to hav,! an explanalory force: me visited them bc:ea1U~ been Ihal ;t.1<J c .. n mean ~ Ihip (e.g. [4.248 "I~I" ill lilau "UrM). 784 Cr. Virg. At!II. 3.66o- J I".~"t ro",i/a1l11n' OMU; til sala ...1..p11lJ I salantnll/IU "",Ii ,. ,aUa j sllO"'l '. death many allempled 10 fill out Ihe linel which he had lefl unfi nished; Ovid's im;tal ion here il probahly th" carlielt C\~d"nc" for . uch a . uppl"ment (the earliest hilh eno known wal Sen. Epis/. 94.28, where At!II. 10.284 ;s quoted eompl ele; Se rviul h.. d comple te ""rsiolu of 2.,87 and 8.4t ). In g"ne ral on h.. lf·lin". sec Fordyce (19n) on Virg. A... ,.''29, Sparrow (193') 46- ~ . • ""'pl.'l.e ... e.l, th"se word. arc to be tau n toge ther . ........diaib"'. comp.Cl • . . . "e.l1UD' the . lIepherd'. pipe norm .. l1y lIad ""'en recru (Virg. &1. 2.36- 7 tlu".riJJtu stftlnr! ffrtIjHnlut ..... ili/41 i, nOI a good thing). Polyphemus refen again \0 ~... in line 81~. Tarrant would deLete the line, I(l that Polyphemus ' comparison, con, iS! of (, + I) + b + II !ina; but exact symmetry is not neeeaa rily to be expected in pula8e_ l uch a. thi •. '95 cbdcior ....' the Thcocritean Cyclops calls Gal· atea ~leekcr than an unripe grape ' (1I .2! ~,apwTlpa 6~", ~ 0'S ':'~6s1; for Corydon at Virgo EeL 7.37 she is t.!r""' ... ,.I&Htr Hy'I... '96 I.c'e co.c10, 829- 30n. The compariso n, ... nd the allusion to her name , are from TheQoC . 1 1 .~0 'white r than curdllO look upn' P.N~ OT1pa Tfo: ~"as lTon&dv); cC. 7~n. 797 . 1 Doa lap.. , the.,. words ,,"em to be .ugge.ted by the lines of Thcocr itUI immediately following hi, ,,"rie, of co mpariwus: 'Why do you vil it the land when sweet sleep hold. me, but go back [10 the ,,"aj again (OiX'11 &' .v&Von of an epic hem'l elUting (If a gn:at boulder in .i ngie (Ombal {e.g. I I. 1+"9-3~ , di.wssed in h - 97n. t.z}. partemqae e moa'e ' at line 810 Polyphemul called hi. cave /"Irs _tit. Now the phr;uc: i. t~n.ferred fr(lm a context of W!y dome.ticity 10 one of terrifying violence . .... ....saI.. e . ...0 '" Acia: the Greek word d:iJ, with . oon inilial '~wcl, mean. 'poimed objecl', a nd i. used, for example, of the barb of a weapon; possibly there i. some elymologic«.', d. Tib. 2.1. 49-~o I'IIrt kitts _jIoru ~;;s ~I .'IIN. I ffI"",hal wi d.ki nJ.u. _ Ikjn -s. Both her2 - 9!'>4

Aeneas immortal: pit/9MiI u. A ...... jiurat ",_It, .tpa.pt I tl roJ,"n l "4:o.u: ,,'1 .,tiJrI• •utilil illi. Underlying Ihe practice: ;0 the concept, associated panic.. la.])' " 'ith O rphilm, ,hal the body is an unwo rthy tabernacle for \ )uo; immortal soul, and that it mUll be purged away before what rema ins CUI allain to immoru J life. GianellI' io a giganti.: I",fran. involving the pure ..rum of Ocean, his wife T ethys, and one hundred of their offlpring, the riverl (H el. Tlltot. 337; cr. Virgo Ct.. +382-3 Octallalllq'" 1'1/1'(111 rtrIf1II ."IIlPIou'l'" .u.rn, j u.hI.. 'IIUII tilouu, ou llM:U (e .g. weakneu through fasting) in the initiand •. Penonal account. of initialion au often cut IhoTt when th~ narrator scrupulously obsen'es """reey with regard to 'what happened next' (c.g. Apul. Md . 11 .~3.!i-'); h~r~ , however, Glaucul' interruption of hi. tale hal a o1ou mundane explanation. The de", il of the hundred riven is prob.ably an allusion to the U · quirement somctimes expressed by oraclea that the perpetrator of a particularly hdnoUl crime . hould visit several holy plaa:. or placatc several gods in order to gain absolut ion. See Parker (1g.831 276- 7 n. t07 , who d tes Thcoph r. C4ar. 16 . ~ , Men. PIli"",. SS. AI" R h. 3.860, Suda a 3"198 Adler 'those being purified of murder WHh their clothe. in th", sea fou rteen tiffiC"l', and other passages. '54 ace th'" Sods know no - 964

lap. i, ..:. snl. ' " totaque , 78.5 - 6. aert_lW'1 as in a _la, 'a owirli ng rna .. of water' (OLD 5.... II). T he image would be intcllIifled if ,. ,,.,", \WOre ru d for ~"" d. Ex P. • . 10...8 ",b,. rurl;u II1mu }fa/p, Lucr. 1.'l93 rurti.. I~'/f, OLD s.... '''flU'll 8c.

aequo .. a , Ih i5 word i5 rard y uw:d of river waler: OL D I .... . _ 956 memo .....d. 'which should be related', K. at being memorablt. '57 fte e 'but ... not'. 9.58 quae, 0otwn (.ec p. 4' )' Titaaidos ... C ire.,.1 Homer ma kes Ci n:e tile dBughter of Peoc and Helio., the sun (OJ. 10.138- 9 ), who it deKHJ: I. Oxford. Ni2lich, F. j. (19&). PiNi",.'s .,,,,,,,l4ry O ~ Ii", boob VI- X. VQlum~ II: ~ VI/ GIld VIIf. Oxford. O,i., B. «(970). 0::Ui lIS 411 rpu fJ«1. ~nd cd n. Cambridge.

c....ru. .

IU8 1.IOG R APH V

Papathomopou l... , M. (' 968). AII"'"U. ... LiHralis. U. MilJl_/>.~m. (Bude) Pari,. Parker, R. (lgBl ). M ......... Oxford. P~tenon , W. ('69 ' ), M . Fdi {b3; for object;", ",n" 467; pn;dic~li~. , i!li , ,,,,,,relTed

i, 63- 81 , ~ !19, Il!2,. 18 t- m , .38- ... . ~ ~ 335- 8, ]50- 6!l Diohytiu. of Halicanl ...ul, 7.6-18 Dodona, 716- .8 Doloh, ~ ~ 245 6,34' dov. 733- . ; cOllUSliw, :\03; im pcr;u;,,, irutcad of, ~ conj«. uru by Lurntd .ncient rc.d...... 294, ..... -'], 683- 4. 693ob 707, ;'4. 865. 9'5 Corcyra, 7'9- ""

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ccph ..... io, 4"9, 6!l, cloquen.ce, Ii, !!!. 3•• E""daduI,9:J7 Enniuo, !3" W

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H ~. 7'0, Hg., 9'90 Ho.,..,, : """.......... " 1 p " ' r in. &s- ' ,; «hoc. of/ all......... 10, J-';""'" rOU ntainhead of rhetoric:, 19/1.76 , 6, ..gI

H",..:< . ..." 288, 19'

hoopioali.y. ]60- , Hyac:inihui/hyac:inih . m -6 H )...dc .. ~ H)"!!:in ... , 2~-62. "93 (~ H)ic. 683- 4 hypo:rboIc: , 82]- 4

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