Classica Et Mediaev 62

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SOCIETAS DANICA INDAGATIONIS ANTIQVITATIS ET MEDII AEVI
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EDITORIAL BOARD
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Vincent Gabrielsen George Hinge Birger Munk Olsen
volume 62
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Karsten Friis-Jensen, University of Copenhagen
Vincent Gabrielsen, University of Copenhagen
George Hinge, University of Aarhus
Birger Munk Olsen, formerly University of Copenhagen
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Kostas Buraselis, University of Athens
Thomas Corsten, University of Vienna
Stephen Harrison, University of Oxford
Thomas Haye, University of Gttingen
Outi Merisalo, University of Jyvskyl
Gregory Nagy, Harvard University
Marjorie Woods, University of Texas at Austin
Greg Woolf, University of St. Andrews
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SOCIETAS DANICA INDAGATIONIS ANTIQVITATIS ET MEDII AEVI
CLASSICA
E T M E D I A EVA L I A
Danish Journal of Philology and History
EDITED BY
Tnnes Bekker-Nielsen Marianne Pade
EDITORIAL BOARD
David Bloch Jesper Carlsen Karsten Friis-Jensen
Vincent Gabrielsen George Hinge Birger Munk Olsen
volume 62
MUSEUM TUSCULANUM PRESS
UNIVERSITY OF COPENHAGEN
2 011

C L A S S I C A E T M E D I A E V A L I A V O L . 62
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
lrke andersen
Fawns and Kingfishers 5
eleni papadogiannaki
Oxytnn gn:
Goos and its Performance in Classical Athens 15
ivar gjrup
Platos Parmenides 127e 33
eleni pachoumi
Eros and Psyche in Erotic Magic 39
anna foka
Beauty and the Beast:
Femininity, Animals and Humour in Middle Comedy 51
andreas fountoulakis
Playing with the Dramatic Conventions:
Demeas Invocations in Menander, Samia 325-26 81
katerina philippides
Tyndarus Past: The Name Paegnium in Plautus Captivi 99
giampiero scafoglio
Adstante ope barbarica:
A Note on Ennius, Andr. 89 Jocelyn 113
jesper johansen meisner

Ciceros Italy:
Identity, Oratory and Politics in the Late Republic 117
c l a s s i c a e t m e d i a e va lCLASSICA
i a 6 2 2 0 1 1ET MEDIAEVALIA VOL. 62
athanassios vergados
Wein, Weib und Gesang: On Catullus 27 153
guillaume flamerie de lachapelle

Clementia et raison dtat:
lidal monarchique dans les Troyennes de Snque 169
gianluca ventrella
Mlancomas et Titus au gymnase de la vertu:
Dion Chrysostome (Or. 28) et la Paideia du prince 185
aslak rostad
The Magician in the Temple:
Historicity and Parody in Lucians Alexander 207
howard jacobson
A Pun in Vespas Iudicium Coci et Pistoris 231
konstantinos melidis
Des chantres castrs dans les glises de lempire byzantin?
A propos du terme 233
thomas haye
Ein lateinisches Klagelied ber den Tod
des dnischen Kanzleischreibers Anders Renteskriver 255
list of authors 269
CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA c l asVOL.

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FAWNS AND KINGFISHERS
By Lrke Andersen
Summary: There are several similarities between Sapphos fragment 58 V and Alcmans frag
ment 26 PMG but there is one fundamental difference as well: The approach to old age
differs in the two poems. This study attempts to explain this by the difference in the narra
tors genders.
Over the years, scholars have stressed the similarities between certain poems
by Sappho and Alcman. Due to these similarities as well as the two poets
being practically contemporaries, there have been speculations as to whether
Sappho and Alcman knew each other, were influenced by each others poetry
or had identical functions as choir leaders in their respective societies. How
ever, it would be interesting to take a closer look at some of the differences
that can also be found between the two poets. In this article I would like to
draw attention to one of the important differences between the two, more
precisely the difference between the genders of their narrators in two specific
poems.
Sapphos Tithonus poem fr. 58 V which was discovered in a mummy car
tonnage in Cologne in 2004 deals with old age and the loss of the agility and
beauty of youth. The poem has a number of similarities with Alcmans fr. 26
PMG which shares the same theme as well as some of the same literary de
vices.1 I shall look closely into all these in the following paragraphs. There is,
however, a major difference between the two poems. Sapphos poem does
not express the same wish to halt the process of aging that Alcmans poem
does.2 This particular difference is interesting as there is a significant differ
ence in the two narrators approach to old age: Alcmans narrator displays
1 West and Bernsdorff, among others, call attention to the similarities between the two
poems. West 2005: 6 and Bernsdorff 2004: 33.
2 Briefly mentioned by Hardie 2005: 28.
Lrke Andersen Fawns and Kingfishers C&M 62 (2011) 5-14. 2011 Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk
www.au.dk/classica
6 lrke andersen
the escapist approach whereas Sapphos narrator adopts a more accepting

approach. Furthermore, it is likely that there is a difference in the gender of
the two narrators, which if this is the case offers a possible explanation of
the two different approaches to old age.
In the following, I shall elaborate this theory after having gone over the
similarities as well as the differences between the two poems. First, however,
I should like to explain why I assume that the narrator of Sapphos fragment
58 V is a woman.
THE GENDER OF THE NARRATOR
IN SAPPHOS FRAGMENT 58 V
10 (2)
12 (4)

14 (6)
16 (8)

18 (10)

20 (12) 3
... [Seek?] the beautiful gifts of the violet-bosomed [muses?], children,

... [Play? Listen to?] the song-loving, clear-sounding lyre,
3 Gronewald & Daniel 2004: 2.

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fawns and kingfishers 7
... old age [has] now [affected?] the skin, that once was [soft?],
... the hair has turned from black [to white/grey?]
And my mind has been made heavy, and my knees cannot carry me,
Those knees, that once were nimble in dance like fawns.
This I often lament. But what can I do?
It is not possible to be ageless for human beings.
They used to say that the rosy-armed Eos once
Embarked on the cup out of love, bringing Tithonus to the end of the
world,
When he was young and beautiful, but nevertheless did grey old age
Catch him over time even though he had an immortal wife.
As is often the case in lyric poetry, the narrator is present often as a first
person narrator. That this is also the case in fr. 58 V is evident from verse 5
where a can be seen me. But the gender of the narrator is not revealed
directly by any word in the poem. There are no participles or adjectives de
noting the narrator as female or male. Despite this fact, most scholars
choose to regard the narrator as female. West calls the narrator Sappho and
writes that this poem is one of many poems dealing with her old age.4 Thus,
to a certain extent, he regards the poem as autobiographical. Likewise, Har
die calls the narrator Sappho and refers to her/him with feminine pro
nouns.5 Since there is no actual evidence in the text itself of the gender of
the narrator, this particular choice must have been based on other Sappho
poems as well as the traditional approach to those poems. However, I should
like to draw attention to a proof within the poem that the gender of the nar
rator could be female. In verse 3, the narrator mentions her skin which old
age has changed. The state of the skin was essential for womens looks.6
This can be seen in the poetry of many male poets, e.g., Anacreon and Ar
chilochus. The latter uses wrinkles as a weapon in his blame poetry against
certain women, for instance in fr. 188 W. In this fragment, a woman is de
scribed through the state of her skin, which no longer flourishes ([
, v. 1). Furthermore the skin has withered
away (v. 1) and is furrowed (v. 2). That the narrator men
4 West 2005: 5.
5 Hardie 2005: 27.
6 Falkner 1995: 86.
8 lrke andersen
tions her skin could thus indicate that it is the voice of a woman speaking in
the poem.
It is not only in Greek literature that we find women with wrinkles. De-
scriptions of the appearance of the aging woman are also found in Roman
poetry. Among certain male poets one finds harsh descriptions of old
women that focus on the physical changes that aging causes and that women
therefore fear; grey hair and wrinkles, for instance.7 Horaces Carmen 4.13
describes the narrators old flame, Lyce, with the words quia luridi dentes
te, quia rugae turpant et capitis nives (v. 10-12). Thus the yellow teeth, the
wrinkles and the snow of the head (that is the white hair) make Lyce ugly.
Furthermore, I agree with Falkner who thinks that Sapphos poems are
predominantly feminine in the manner in which they treat the topics eros
and age. He points out that Sapphos poems are different from the lyrical
poems of the male poets in the sense that her poems focus on the unity of
the love relationship rather than the erotic moment and the relationship of
owner and owned between man and woman.8 Retrospect and longing are
recurrent motifs in Sapphos poetry.
Thus I choose to assume that the narrator is a woman, not so much be
cause of convention but rather based on the intratextual evidence as well as
the pronounced feminine focus that is found in the poem.
ALCMANS KINGFISHER POEM
Alcman composed choir lyrics in Sparta but where he comes from is a mat
ter of discussion, just as his dating is. In antiquity views were divided be
tween two options; either he was born in Lydia and moved to Sparta later, or
he was born and raised in Sparta or a nearby village, Messoa. 9 Podlecki
thinks that the proofs of Alkmans Lydian origin are too weak while his
name and patronymicon suggest that he was Greek.10 He has written differ
ent kinds of poems, e.g., wedding hymns, but is primarily known for a
7 Bertman 1989: 165.
8 Falkner 1995: 92-93.
9 Respectively Campbell 1988: 338-39, test. 2 and 3, 340-41, test. 4, 336-37, test. 1.
10 Podlecki 1984: 110.

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number of poems collected by Alexandrian scholars under the name Parthe

neia11 which are meant to be sung by a female choir consisting of young
girls.12 He is believed to have worked as a sort of choir leader who educated
groups of young people in Sparta.13 The dating of Alcman is uncertain but is
thought to be somewhere in the seventh century BC. The Suda dates him to
around 670 BC while Eusebius work Chronica places him between 657 and
612 BC. Podlecki thinks, based on newly discovered fragments, that the latter
dating is the most likely.14
No matter who is right, Alcman is active shortly before Sappho or con
temporary with her, while his poetry has probably not had the same influ
ence on her poetry as, e.g., Homers had. One cannot entirely rule out recip
rocal influence between the two poets; after all, they were contemporaries in
an oral tradition. The geographical distance might very well seem a bigger
obstacle but there are indications that mobility in antiquity was well devel
oped15 and it cannot be ruled out that the two poets have travelled far. If we
assume that the testimony of the Marmor Parium about Sapphos exile is
correct, she has been to Sicily, which is a long way from Lesbos. Alcmans
geographical origin is yet another uncertainty in this question. If Alcman
was born and raised in Lydia it is not difficult to imagine a connection be
tween the two poets. In other words, we do not know whether Sappho knew
Alcmans poetry or not, and thus we cannot know whether the similarities
between fr. 58 V and Alcmans fr. 26 PMG are coincidental or whether there
actually is a connection between the works of the two poets. West suggests
that the limitations of old age on, e.g., dancing was a common theme16
which does not seem unlikely since the effects of old age on the physique are
universal, whether one is a poet in Sparta or on Lesbos. Since dancing is a
natural continuation of song and poetry and physically demanding it is
natural for the aging poet to use dancing as a point of departure for a lament
on old age.
11 Williamson 1995: 77.

12 Calame 1997: 3.
14 Podlecki 1984: 109.
15 Cancik, DNP, 8.311.
16 West 2005: 6.
10 lrke andersen
Fr. 26 PMG has been handed down to us through Antigonus of Carystus

from the 3rd century BC who quotes Alcman in connection with a descrip
tion of the behaviour of old male kingfishers.
Alcman fr. 26 PMG17
No longer, honey-toned, strong-voiced girls, can my limbs carry me. If

only, if only I were a cerylus, who flies along with the halcyons over the
flower of the wave with resolute heart, strong, sea-blue bird.18
The fragment, like Sapphos fr. 58 V, opens with a description of some sing
ing young people, in this case, girls or virgins defined by ,
which is the Doric form of the adjective , virgin.19 This is fol
lowed by a description of how the limbs, ,20 of the narrator are no
longer able to carry him, similar to fr. 58 Vs description in verse 5. Then
Alcmans narrator describes how he wishes he was a , a sea-bird,
which in some sources is described as the male of the family, hence
a male kingfisher.21 The narrators wish to be a male bird suggests that the
narrator is male himself. If a female narrator wished to become an animal of
the opposite sex it is highly likely that there would be a reason for the sex
change. In this poem, this is not the case. Thus I conclude that Alcmans
narrator must be regarded as being male rather than female.
Regardless of the species of the bird or the gender of the narrator in this
poem, we are dealing with the wish to escape the trials and tribulations of
old age. This wish is not found in Sapphos fr. 58 V. In Sapphos poem, the
narrator accepts that old age is an inevitable evil for the human being. This
17 Campbell 1988: 416.
18 Campbell 1988: 417.
19 LSJ 1339.
20 LSJ 362.
21 LSJ 67.

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acceptance is illustrated through the mythological example: the four last

verses which in a short and precise manner deal with the Tithonus myth.
This particular myth is the perfect example of the unsuccessful attempt to
avoid the inevitable old age. Eos falls in love with the youth Tithonus and
asks Zeus to grant him eternal life. She forgets, however, to ask for eternal
youth which results in Tithonus aging forever. By using this particular myth
as an example, the narrator underlines the importance of accepting the tran
sience of human life rather than longing for eternal life.
If we return to Alcmans poem and the similarities between this poem and
Sapphos Tithonus poem, the Kingfisher poem continues after the wish of
the narrator with a relative clause, where the correlate is in the
previous verse. In this sentence it is described how the bird flies hither and
thither ()22 over the flower of the waves together with the female
birds that symbolize the young girls whom the narrator addressed in the first
verse is the frequentative of which makes the move
ment repetitive. The flight of the birds over the water could be seen as an
image of the dance from which the narrator has been excluded because of
his age. Furthermore, their flight back and forth is an image of youth and
thus we find yet another similarity with Sapphos fr. 58 V: the fawns in verse
6. Once again we see a description of youth through a comparison with
animals. The birds and the fawns are natural examples of youth because of
their vitality and playfulness.
If one looks at Sapphos and Alcmans poetry one finds many general
similarities, among other the homoerotic tendencies between the young girls
described in some of the poems. These similarities have become the basis of
theories about a sort of intertextuality between the two and whether the
purpose of Sapphos poetry was the same as Alcmans. Many scholars regard
Alcmans Partheneia as having a social purpose in connection with rites of
passage for young girls after they have reached puberty but before they are
married.23 Thus there are scholars who believe that Sappho has had a similar
function for a group of young girls who were educated by her.24 But the
theory encounters difficulties in the sense that there are significant differ
ences between the two poets, their surroundings and their motivation for
22 LSJ 1453.
23 Cyrino 2004: 26-27.
12 lrke andersen
writing the poems.25 It is uncertain whether the cultural setting of Sparta

can easily be transferred to the culture on Lesbos. The similarities between
the two poets are not necessarily proof of the same tradition, but rather re
flect general human ways of dealing with different situations such as the
transition from girl to woman or the transition from adulthood to old age.
Despite many similarities, I believe that there is a significant difference
between the two poems, in the shape they have been handed down to us, in
the sense that Sapphos poem accepts old age as an inevitable part of life.
The narrator stresses that she often mourns the state of things but she re
signs and accepts old age. Alcmans poem shows a different escapist approach
to the topic which is expressed in the wish .
However, it should be mentioned that there is a possibility that the poem
has not survived in its original form and thus there could have been a subse
quent acceptance of the state of things.
As mentioned in the introduction, the difference between the two poets
approach to old age could well be due to the fact that they are of opposite
gender. Although the male and female stages in life seem to be the same at
first glance, there are significant differences to be found between the two.
The man went from being a child () to being an adolescent ( or
). After this he became a grown-up and reached his peak () and
in the end he became an old man (). The life stages of the man are
thus categorized by his intellectual and military as well as social skills.26 In
reality this means that there was no fixed age of retirement as we have in
modern-day society: rather, one worked until unable to work anymore. Cer
tain people in the ancient intellectual world kept writing until their death.
As an example of such a person, Finley mentions Sophocles who wrote his
last tragedy at the age of 90.27
The life of the woman was also divided into four stages. At first, she was a
child, just like the man. Then she became , a virgin or a young
unmarried girl.28 The next stage was as a married wife (), which she
became after the birth of her first child.29 Finally, she became a or
25 Parker 1993: 325.

26 Falkner 1995: 72.
27 Finley 1989: 6.
28 Falkner 1995: 72.
29 Garland 1990: 243.

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30
, an old woman. The old age of the woman starts after the meno
31
pause, after which she is unable to produce any more offspring. In this
manner, the womans ages are characterized by her reproductive and biologi
cal abilities rather than her intellectual or political skills. Furthermore, the
woman gained a number of liberties after the menopause since she was no
longer sexually active. Among other things she could move about freely in
public, work as a midwife32or hold certain religious offices that were strictly
reserved for older women. Thus, with age one sees a bettering of some of
the womens conditions whereas the old age of the man robs him of his
strength to win honour in battle etc. Here it must be pointed out that all
this is primarily based on conditions in classical Athens (because it is the
period and place from which have the largest amount of sources). What the
womans old age was like in Lesbos or in Sparta is more difficult to say any
thing certain about. But if we assume that life has been divided in the same
manner in Lesbos or in Sparta as it was in Athens, this change of status may
be at the basis of the Sapphic narrators resigned acceptance of the inevitable
nature of old age, unlike Alcmans narrators wish for escapism. The woman
accepts her improved position in life and the man longs for his former glory.
30 Falkner 1995: 72.
31 Garland 1990: 243.
32 Falkner 1995: 73 and Garland 1990: 258.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bernsdorff, H. 2004. Schwermut des Alters im neuen Klner Sappho-

Papyrus ZPE 150, 27-35.
Bertman, S. 1989. The Ashes and the Flame: Passion and Aging in Classical
Poetry in Falkner & de Luce 1989, 157-71.
Calame, C. 1997. Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece. Lanham, MD.
Campbell, D.A. 1988. Greek Lyric II. Cambridge & London.
Cyrino, M.S. 2004. The Identity of the Goddess in Alcmans Louvre
Partheneion (PMG 1) CJ 100, 25-38.
Falkner, T.M. & J. de Luce (eds.) 1989. Old Age in Greek and Latin Litera
ture. Binghamton, NY.
14
Falkner, T.M. 1995. The Poetics of Old Age in Greek Epic, Lyric, and Tragedy.
Norman, OK & London.
Finley, M.I. 1989. Introduction: The Elderly in Classical Antiquity in Falk
ner & de Luce 1989, 1-20.
Garland, Robert 1990. The Greek Way of Life: From Conception to Old Age.
Ithaca, NY.
Gronewald, M. & R.W. Daniel 2004. Nachtrag zum neuen Sappho-
Papyrus ZPE 149, 1-4.
Hardie, A. 2005. Sappho, the Muses, and Life After Death ZPE 154, 13-32.
Parker, H.N. 1993. Sappho Schoolmistress TAPA 123, 309-51.
Podlecki, A.J. 1984. The Early Greek Poets and Their Times. Vancouver.
West, M.L. 2005. The New Sappho ZPE 151, 1-9.
Williamson, M. 1995. Sapphos Immortal Daughters. Cambridge, MA & Lon
don.

XYTN_N G_N:
GOOS AND ITS PERFORMANCE
IN CLASSICAL ATHENS
By Eleni Papadogiannaki
Summary: This paper examines the conditions under which goos was performed in classical
Athens. In the archaic period, goos is accompanied by the aulos and performed during the
prothesis and the ekphora. In the classical period, however, according to textual and pictorial
evidence (literature, inscriptions, lekythoi), due to Solons restrictions it is assumed that goos
is performed inside the house during the prothesis accompanied by the aulos. The lyre as a
stringed instrument connotating joy does not accompany goos. The aulos is better suited to
goos, as its shrill tone is associated with grief.*
Goos, the improvised lament performed by kinspeople and close friends of

the deceased, is usually associated with women. Threnos is another form of
lament performed by professional male or female mourners during the death
ritual. Both forms are found in epic poetry and later in tragedy.1 In the ar
chaic period Solon, according to Plutarch,2 is said to have restricted the par
ticipation of women in the death ritual by law and to have made mourning
milder.3 In the classical period many gooi and threnoi are found in tragedies
I would like to thank Yannis Tzifopoulos for his comments on the first draft of this paper.
I am grateful to the Onassis Foundation for its grant during my postgraduate studies.
1 For the development of lament cf. Cannat-Fera 1990: 7-46, Alexiou 2002: 176-86. For
tragic lament, cf. Foley 2001: 19-55. The distinction goos-threnos in epic poetry has been
studied by Tsagalis 2004. In lyric poetry, threnos became a distinctive genre that thence
forth was incorporated into tragedy, where the epic distinction goos-threnos is maintained.
2 Plutarch, Solon 21.6-7.
3 For the death ritual through the archaic period cf. Garland 1988: 32, Sourvinou-Inwood
Eleni Papadogiannaki Oxytonon goon : Goos and its Performance in Classical Athens C&M 62 (2011) 15-32.
2011 Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

16 eleni papadogiannaki
performed either by an individual or by more people in the kommoi, the

longer antiphonal threnodic compositions. Due to Solons restrictions, the
only public place where gooi could be performed was the theatre. This is the
reason why lament tends to be considered by modern research as a lyric
genre or sub-genre incorporated into dramatic texts. Female speech (goos,
threnos) and female acts (death-ritual), which are private, are publicly per
formed in the city theater, and, most importantly, by male actors.
In this paper the performance of gooi and threnoi as part of the death
ritual is examined in literature (epic, lyric, and tragic poetry), associated
with pictorial narratives, particularly those on lekythoi and in inscriptions.
This paper seeks to examine topics such as: gooi sung and not narrated; their
musical accompaniment and instruments; what grief meant with and with
out music; individuals performing and participating in the lamentation.
The distinction between goos and threnos in tragedy is of cardinal impor
tance in the modern research.4 Text evidence of the extant dramatic works as
well as historic evidence indicate that, after Solons prohibition of the public
utterance of the female wailing discourse, drama is the only place where this
discourse can be performed. Threnos seems to be the formal lament sung by
professional mourners and it follows particular rules, while goos is the in
formal, improvised female lament sung by close relatives and often accom
panied by exaggerated reactions in the facial expressions as well as in body
movements (gestures, crying, high voice tone).
The problem arising is whether these two different forms of lament, apart
from the differences observed in the persons taking part and in the context
of the songs, differ also in the musical accompaniment and the musical in
1983, Cavanaugh-Mee 1995, Dillon 2002: 268-92. For Solons restrictions cf. Seaford 2003:
133-50, Garland 1988: 22-24.
4 A confusion regarding terminology in the various approaches is observed. Alexiou 2002:
177-78, Derderian 2001: 136-37, Du 2006: 77 note 57, Sultan 1993: 94 claim that goos and
threnos are interchangeably used in tragedy. On the other hand, Cannat-Fera 1990: 44-45
argues persuasively that in tragedy the epic distinction between goos and threnos is main
tained. In the same way Loraux 2002: 58 and Foley 2001: 31, note 37 tend to discuss this
topic, though the case of terminology is superficially touched. Tsagalis 2004: 2-8 provides
an extensive discussion of the distinction between these terms in epic poetry and makes
their significance clear. The references of the surviving dramatic texts in connection with
the historic evidence and the legislation of the epitaphios logos in fifth-century Athens are
in favour of the second aspect, of which I strongly approve; it is of chief importance for
the points argued in this paper.

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GOOS in classical athens 17
struments. First of all, it must be examined whether goos is sung or narrated

poetry and then, which kind of music accompanies it. It is widely known
that tragedy is performed to the accompaniment of the aulos and that
mourning songs are accompanied by the flute-player. Moreover, there are
depictions of funeral procession on vases of the archaic period where an au
los-player is accompanying the procession.5 The sound of the aulos suits the
nature of the mourning song, as it is strong and sorrowful. Moreover, la-
ment, as well as the aulos, is said to be of barbaric derivation, which means
that this instrument is the most suitable one for a mourning song.6 Tragedy,
however, given its relation to Dionysus, is also said to be of barbaric origin,
so the only instrument that is appropriate to it is the aulos.7 The fact must
also be taken into account that the vast majority of aulos-players, according
to pictorial evidence, are foreigners, females or slaves. In Athenian festivals,
foreign aulos-players were preferred, bringing in another culture which could
complement that of the Athenians. Aulos, therefore, is not associated with
the Athenian citizen, but with the other, persons of another social status,
different from that of the citizen.8
In the surviving tragedies, words related to lament are often followed by
the epithet . Some of the passages are the following:
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 990-94
5 For related depictions see Kurtz-Boardman 1994: pictures 34-38. For depictions of women
mourning on vases and their significance see Havelock 1981.
6 For the aulos and its history see Wilson 1999. For its use specifically at the performances
of tragedy and drama in general see Wilson 1999: 75-76 and 80-81.
7 Special emphasis on the relation between tragedy, lament and aulos and their barbaric
origin is given by Loraux 2002: 56-62, who points out that in this sense tragedy is defined
as a genre.
8 Cf. Wilson 1999: 72-75. Clay 1992: 519 notes that aulos is not part of aristocratic paideia
and so Pindar in the twelfth Pythian ode does not refer to the victors family, as he proba
bly was of low social status.
yet still within me my soul, self-taught,
sings out the Furys lyreless lament
it is compeletely devoid
of its natural confident hope.9
Euripides, Iphigeneia in Tauris 143-47
O servants,
in what painful lamentations
am I enmeshed, in elegies that no lyre accompanies
and the muses do not love, alas,
amid the keening of grief.
Euripides, Helen 184-87
There I heard a noise to stir my pity,
a lament not fit for the lyre, uttered
in <loud> complaint by some wife.
9 The translations of the passages cited are based on the following: Arrowsmith, W. 1974.
Euripides Alcestis, New York & London; Burian, P. & A. Shapiro 2010. The Complete Eu
ripides, 4. Oxford; Race, W.H. 1997. Pindar, 1-2. London; Slavitt, D.R. & P. Bovie 1997.
Euripides, 1-2. Philadelphia; Slavitt, D.R. & P. Bovie 1998. Sophocles, 1-2. Philadelphia;
Sommerstein, A. 2008. Aeschylus, 1-3. London.

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Euripides, Alcestis 445-51
each year, unaccompanied, your song shall rise,

a shining on the lips of men; or sometimes chanted
to the rude and simple lyre, at Sparta when the year
has come full circle, and the moon, a splendor, rides
the livelong night;

Aeschylus, Suppliants 678-83
And may no man-slaying destruction
come upon this city and ravage it,
arming Ares the breeder of tears, with whom is no dance and no lyre,
and intestine violence in the community.

Sophocles, Oedipus Coloneus 1220-23
as life itself shrivels and fades
to black night at the end,
without end, without songs and dances,
with only darkness and silence there.
Aeschylus, Eumenides 329-33
chant of the Furies
that binds the mind, sung
to no lyre, a song to shrivel men up!
Sophocles, Trachiniae 640-43
soon youll hear flute-music
floating sweetly among you,
not rages dissonance
but lyre-music fit for the ears of gods.
Euripides, Phoenissae 1026-31
You who grabbed boys
from Dirkes banks and
with your riddling dirge
brought a murderous Fury
and bloody anguish
against this land.
Unlike and are accompanied by the epithet

. The word is often used interchangeably with , as it

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denotes lament sung in elegiac rhythm.10 The phrase is

probably the most awkward and in Euripides it may mean either sung and
spoken poetry or songs sung to strings and stringless instruments.11 The
phrase could be compared with the quotation
both attributed to the lament of the Erinyes.
The phrase is used meaning song without lyre and
denotes the absence of music in death.
From the above texts it can be supposed that neither threnos, nor goos was
performed accompanied by the lyre. Commentators add that the absence of
the lyre, i.e., of a stringed instrument, means more generally the absence of
joy, feast, dance, so is non-festive, joyless, not suitable for music.12
The semiological connection between the lyre and joy is already traceable in
Pindar: in the first Pythian ode, in the prelude, he refers to the Golden Lyre,
the divine model of the poets lyre, which is the symbol of joy and the repu
tation and fame of the athlete of honour through performance and song.13
The lyre is associated with Apollo, in contrast with the aulos, which, as has
already been mentioned, is related to Dionysus. Therefore, lament, which is
performed by the accompaniment of the aulos, contrasts with the Apollon
ian spirit of light and joy.14
In another Pythian ode, however, the aulos is closely connected to lament.
In the twelfth Pythian ode, Pindar refers to the invention of the aulos by
Athena, who invented the aulos imitating the lament of the two surviving
Gorgons, when they mourn for the dead Medusa (7-8):15

16
10 For the meaning of cf. Denniston-Page 1957 and Cropp 2000 ad loc. In Eurip
ides Helen, line 185 in the critical index we find two forms: in one codex and in
another .
11 Dale 1978 ad loc.
12 Denniston-Page 1957 ad loc., Allan 2008 ad loc., Dale 1978 ad loc.
13 Segal 1989: 351.
14 For the conflict of the Dionysiac and the Apollonian in tragedy regarding mourning
songs, see Loraux 2002: 59-62.
15 Cf. also Plutarch De E apud Delphos 394b-c, where the connection of aulos with lament is
also expressed.
16 For further analysis, see Iakob 1994: 347-56. Cf. also Clay 1992; Segal 1995; Held 1998.
which Pallas Athena once invented

by weaving into music the fierce
Gorgons deathly dirge.
Apart from the epithet two other epithets, both hapax legomena,
are noteworthy: and .17 The absence of joy is intensi
fied by the absence of stringed instruments in general. The case of Sopho
cles Trachiniae 640-43 is an indicative example of the semantics of the lyre
and the aulos in tragedy. The Chorus notes that when Heracles comes back,
the aulos will sound joyful, like the lyre, not gloomy and mournful.18 Ac
cording to this passage, the equation aulos = grief and lyre = joy is obvious.
Here the Chorus describes something very strange: they will be so happy on
account of Heracles return that even the aulos, which is the most important
sorrowful instrument, will bring forth a joyful sound. Textual evidence thus
indicates that the mourning song is not accompanied by the lyre or a
stringed instrument, due to its context and the grief it connotes. The aulos,
on the other hand, seems to be the most suitable instrument for performing
a mourning song.
Another aspect should be taken into account: it is noteworthy that all the
above texts are verses of choral odes, that is to say odes accompanied by mu
sic. It can be assumed that the epithet refers to the conditions of
performance of this specific ode and so it is self-referential. The above odes
are not joyful in context, so they are probably accompanied by the aulos in
stead of the lyre and the Chorus states so indirectly in its song. It may be
considered as a comment regarding the staging of the ode.19
The restriction of exaggerations in the manifestation of grief by Solon was
followed by similar regulations in other cities, according to epigraphical evi
dence.20 In Delphi and in Keos (about one century after Solon) there are
similar indications for a silent funeral procession without public gooi, which
17 For the above epithets see Johansen ad loc. and Sommerstein 1993 ad loc.
18 For comments on this citation, see Easterling 1996 ad loc.
19 The choral odes are normally accompanied by the aulos, not by the lyre. See Pickard-
Cambridge 1953: 164.

20 For the above inscriptions see Sokolowski 1969 no. 77.14-25, 97.10-11. Alexiou 2002: 48
66 refers in detail to the legislative regulations related to burial in Athens, as well as in
other cities.

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should be confined to the house.21 The words used indicate that these refer
ences regard gooi and not threnoi.22 In Athens, all the laws concerning burial
that were enacted after Solon and until Demetrius of Phaleron are related to
the size of the grave, in contrast with Solon, whose laws are concerned with
burial customs. Solons aim is not the abolition of these customs, but the
control of the emotion that is heightened by the participation of women, for
whom emotion is more important than reason by nature.23 It is remarkable
that after the restrictions on burial the grave monuments become more
magnificent.24 According to the surviving evidence, Athens does not seem
to introduce a law related to burial in the fifth century BC In the archaic pe
riod, therefore, the funeral is the object of legislation, aiming chiefly at re
stricting the display of the aristocrats, while the making of the graves is the
object of the lawgivers after the fifth century BC.
Solon does not prohibit female lament altogether but he restricts it.25
This regulation springs from its exaggeration, which threatened the existence
and the maintenance of the city-state.26 Just as goos undermines the kleos
and epic ideals in Homer,27 female lament seems to undermine the coher
ence of the city-state in fifth-century Athens. If personal grief prevails over
duty and the defense of the city, then there is a danger of disaster,28 because
the city-state relies on its citizens for its existence. For all these reasons, the
female goos should be private.
Another important aspect of the subject at issue is the following: after So
lons restrictions, a marked increase in depictions on lekythoi concerning pri
21 The words used in the above inscriptions are noteworthy: 77.14

, 97.10-11
.
22 This topic is discussed by Alexiou 2002: 36, who bases her comments on the verbs of
inscriptions and . They refer to shouts and cries, not to dirges.
23 For Solons restrictions, see Sourvinou-Inwood 2004: 164-68.
24 For this comment, see Humphreys 1980. For the grave monuments of the fifth century
BC see Stears 2000: 25-54 and Morris 1994.
25 The aim of his law in general was to control and not to forbid. See Garland 1989: 14.
26 According to Stears 2008: 143, Solons laws aim at the restriction of aristocratic ostenta
tion in burial and not solely at women.
27 Murnaghan 1999: 210-17 and Derderian 2001: 43.
28 Antigone 1246-49 and Bacchae, where the female festivities in honour of Dionysus bring
disaster to the city.
vate visits of women to graves is observed.29 As female lament is restricted,

depictions of women preparing to visit or visiting their relatives graves in
crease in inverse proportion.30 The majority of the lekythoi (many hundreds)
come from Athens of the classical period and were intended as grave offer
ings.31 What is odd is that many depictions on lekythoi picture a lyre either
as a grave gift, or as a musical instrument in the hands of a divine or human
figure. As has been pointed out, the lyre and stringed instruments in general
are not related to death and burial, but to joy, life, dance and feast. The ob
vious question raises itself: why do the artists of this period depict the lyre
on the lekythoi so often?
Part of the answer to the above question may lie in Pindar and his la
ments. Some scant fragments of Pindar dated to the end of the sixth century
BC and the beginning of the fifth century BC have reached us as laments.32
Their limited length cannot provide a clear idea of their context, so we are
not allowed to draw conclusions. Most of Pindars fragments refer to the
afterlife and are characterized by an optimistic tone and a philosophical
spirit. In one of the lengthier fragments he notes, among others:33
114.4-6 = 129,6-8 Snell
29 On the depictions of lekythoi see Shapiro 1991. For lekythoi in general and their produc
tion during the classical period Oakley 2004: 215-31. For the depictions of vases in the ar
chaic and classical period see Kurtz 1984: 314-28 and Havelock 1981: 103-18. For the depic
tions of musical instruments on the lekythoi, Beschi 1991. For the depictions of women
with musical instruments on fifth-century vases see Kaufmann-Samara 1997.
30 This view is supported by a comparison of the images on the lekythoi with the ones on
archaic vases, which usually depict the prothesis. The rarity of prothesis on lekythoi and the
prevalence of grave visits is probably related to Solons legislative restrictions. Cf. Kurtz
1984: 321.
31 Recent excavations in the Kerameikos show that lekythoi are meant as offerings not only
in connection with private burials, but public as well, in contrast to what has previously
been asserted. For these new facts see Oakley 2004: 215-16, who discusses Shapiros view
based on the older facts.
32 For a detailed commentary on Pindars laments, see Cannat-Fera 1990.
33 For this lament, see Cannat-Fera 1990: 163-83.

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and some take delight in horses and exercises,

others in draughts,
and others in phorminxes; and among them
complete happiness blooms and flourishes.
Pindar describes the life of the dead, who reside in a very bright place where
they enjoy all pleasures and are very happy, like gods, entertained by
phorminxes.34 In such an idyllic and beautiful place the most suitable sound
is that of the phorminx because the joy and the satisfaction of the dead pre
vail. Every moment is a feast and so it is accompanied by the phorminxs soft
sound. It is possible, therefore, that the phorminx or the lyre is offered to
the dead, because they will need it in the hereafter. The relatives tend to of
fer the dead what they regard as necessary in the afterlife.35
On the other hand it is equally possible that the lyres pictured have to do
with the deceaseds occupations during their life. The dead might have been
musicians or fond of music or have played the lyre often and so the relatives
offer their favourite object at their tomb. Moreover, it is likely to be related
to the music theory developed in Athens during the fifth century BC and to
the leading role of music in young peoples education. Damon and his the
ory, which are discussed in the Platonic dialogues, were widely known in
fifth-century Athens. This concerns the character formation of the young, as
music contributes to the harmony of the soul and leads to virtue and pru
dence.36 It is noteworthy that in depictions on vases of the archaic period
the aulos is pictured, while in the classical period stringed instruments are
shown instead.37 As a result, the theory and the discussion on music in fifth
century Athens seem to be reflected in art of the vases. On the basis of the
34 A short reference to the fragment at issue is found in Oakley 2004: 165.

35 In Aristophanes Frogs, where we are transferred to an after-life context, the aulos is re-
ferred to (154; 313) as the instrument that entertains the dead. This reference might be
viewed in the sense of parody, as Aristophanes parodies tragedians and their tragedies,
whose performance was accompanied by the aulos.
36 The reforms in the area of music and the dominance of the stringed instruments over the
aulos in Athens are discussed by Wallace. Song accompanied by the lyre demands greater
training than participation in a chorus accompanied by the aulos. Cf. Loraux 2002: 109,
note 56.
37 Beschi 1991: 55-56 points out that the changes in music theory are related to the depic
tions of stringed instruments on lekythoi, which are estimated at about 40.
above, we can firmly assume that depictions of the lyre and the aulos on
lekythoi are not related to the performance of threnos and goos, but to other
features of the period.
In the surviving dramatic plays, however, the epithet is used to
characterize the gooi or the mourning songs. The related texts are:
Aeschylus, Agamemnon 55-59
and some Apollo on high, or Pan,
or Zeus, hearing the loud shrill wailing cries
of the birds exacts belated revenge
on behalf of these denizens of this realm
by sending a Fury against the transgressors.
Sophocles, Aias 627-33
Shell weep for him, weep for him,
no nightingale, soft tears,
but shrieks, sharp cries,
trembling hands beat breast,
tear thin gray hair.

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Sophocles, Electra 240-43
If any good comes to me, I pray

to find it hateful if I withhold
the cries of grief, the tears, the honor
my father deserves.
During the performance of goos in the theatre, the sound is shrill. The tone
is sharp and piercing. The epithet is usually used for arms, battles, ill
nesses and pain.38 The epithet , on the contrary, characterizes the lyre,
which is melodic.39
The words , therefore, do not necessarily mean that
goos is non-music because is not accompanied by music. It is probable that
their meaning is that the sound is so shrill that it lacks musicality.40 In trag
edy, the sound of the aulos contributes to what is heard by the audience: a
sound like a mourning voice, a long mourning tone. In tragedy, weeping
and crying become song, sung poetry. The most important tragic heroine to
function as a model is Sophocles Electra. Her goos is in metrum and it dem
onstrates the conjunction of the natural sound of the female voice with me
tre and music.41 She herself characterizes her gooi as (Sophocles,
Electra 243). The aulos intensifies the mourning tone of the voice, strength
ens the sentimentalism and the emotions that overwhelm the performance.
This gains importance when it is taken into consideration that the actors in
the tragedy were men acting for a male audience. The education of the emo
tions was very important.
Based on the above, another interpretation of the connection of mourn
ing women with birds and especially with the nightingale is possible. The
voice of the nightingale conveys this aspect of goos very accurately, the musi
38 Chantraine s.v.
39 Cf. the Homeric formula
40 A similar comment is made by Sultan 1993: 103, where she notes that the laments in gen
eral are songs, but lack musicality and harmony.
41 In Sophocles Electra all the interjectional phrases uttered by Electra in her gooi are placed
in metrum. Cf. Carson 1996: 6.
cality and the mournful conjunction of cry and song, the insolence of grief
with the metre of poetry and the harmony of music.42
It is remarkable, though, that the absence of music means mourning, as it
can be traced in Adrastus words in Euripides Alcestis (420-30):43
I know Day after day
I saw it coming on, those great wings like a black shadow
swooping down. And waiting, just waiting
oh, if you knew the agony of it.
But no more. I must give orders for the funeral.
Good friends, I need your presence and support. Help me
by remaining here. Raise a song in honour of Alcestis,
and by the beauty and the power of your singing,
cry defiance to this hard and bitter god
whom nothing will appease but death.
To my subjects I now proclaim a period of solemn public mourning
for your queen. Shear your hair in sign of sorrow,
put on mourning black. Let my cavalry and guard
crop their horses manes. Throughout this city
let the lyre be still; let no one touch a flute
42 On the connection between nightingale and goos, cf. Sultan 1993: 106-9; Segal 1989: 339.
43 For more comments on these verses of Alcestis, see Segal 1992.

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until twelve moons have waxed and waned and brought the year
full circle.
Adrastus refers to funeral rites and to the citys mourning for Alcestis death.
At the end he notes that for a whole year, the sound of the aulos and of the
lyre will be forbidden in the city. So, even the mourning sound of the aulos
as a sign of deep grief for his wifes death is forbidden. It follows that in deep
grief there is no accompaniment of the aulos in the rites that take place in
public ().
To sum up, one tends to believe that goos and threnos in the performance
of tragedy is accompanied by the aulos. In the archaic period, according to
depictions on vases of this era, the aulos accompanied goos and threnos dur
ing prothesis and ekphora. After Solons restrictions, goos was not performed
during ekphora, but we can assume that it was performed in the prothesis in
side the house, perhaps to the accompaniment of the aulos. Depictions of
lyres on lekythoi do not refer to goos but are probably connected with other
topics, such as Damons music theory or beliefs about the afterlife. More
over, the usual characterization of goos as denotes the absence of joy,
dance and any stringed instrument, that symbolizes joy. The aulos with its
shrill tone is the chief musical accompaniment of the goos, due to its barbaric
origins and to its connection with grief.
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PLATOS PARMENIDES 127 E

By Ivar Gjrup
Summary: This paper deals with a passage in Platos Parmenides, 127e, particularly the words
The context is better served if instead of translating everything that is
commonly said this is taken to signify everything that is said (in your [Zenos own]
).
A very young Socrates explains the meaning of Zenos work to Zeno himself.
The old and admired master Parmenides listens, in the dialogue by Plato
that carries his name. Both, we are told, are favourably impressed with the
young mans efforts.
The purpose of this article is to propose another interpretation, and ac
cordingly a better translation, of one passage in this explanation, 127e8-10:
This is translated by Cornford (1939) as follows: Is this the precise purpose

of your arguments to maintain against everything that is commonly said,
that things are not a plurality?1
This understanding of the passage is to be found in all editions before and
after the great Cornford.2 In their recent translation, Mary Louise Gill and
1 Cornford, F.M. 1939, 1969. Plato and Parmenides. London.

2 Apelt, O. 1919. Platons Dialog Parmenides. Leipzig: Nicht wahr, darauf laufen deine Dar
legungen hinaus? Sie wollen allen landlufigen Meinungen zuwider erhrten, da es keine
Vielheit gibt? and Dis, A. 1923. Platon: Oeuvres Compltes, Parmnide. Paris: Ce quoi
prtendent tes arguments, est-ce autre chose qu tablir de haute lutte, contre toutes les
formes de parler reues, linexistence du multiple? The Loeb translation by Harold N.
Fowler (1926) cuts it short: Is that the purpose of your treatises, to maintain against all
arguments that existences are not many? To my knowledge, no commentator, ancient or
Ivar Gjrup Platos Parmenides 127e C&M 62 (2011) 33-37. 2011 Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk
www.au.dk/classica

34 ivar gjrup
Paul Ryan (1996) give us almost the same wording: Is this the point of your
arguments simply to maintain, in opposition to everything that is com
monly said, that things are not many?3 Samuel Scolnicov has this (2003): Is
not this what your arguments aim at, nothing else than [ouk llo ti ] to
maintain, despite all that is said, that the many are not?4
A few lines later, 128c2, Zeno will compliment young Socrates for his un
derstanding of . No one doubts that here, the intended mean
ing is: that which is said in my work. And no one seems ever to have con
sidered whether this is also the meaning of the passage quoted above.5 There
is a difference in aspect: would indicate that which has been
said and that which is being said. In neither case are we in-
formed as to where, or by whom, these matters are said.
The context must decide. Why should we take
to mean against that which is being said [in the we dis
cuss here]? And not against that which is being [commonly] said?6
The context is this: Young Socrates is eager to point out that Zenos writings
his logoi have a different meaning from the one that the readers, or
Zenos listeners, assume. This point is worked out rather laboriously, and
repeated once or twice in ways that make us appreciate the difficulty of his
efforts. There is nothing obvious about this. Each is proof, he says, of
exactly this that plurality does not exist and there are as many proofs as
there are

modern, has dealt with this passage and the exact meaning of panta ta legomena, except to
speculate about possible opponents to the views of Parmenides.
3 Gill M.L. & P. Ryan 1996. Plato: Parmenides. Indianapolis & Cambridge.
4 Scolnicov, S. 2003. Platos Parmenides. Berkeley & Los Angeles.
5 It seems that the great Platonic scholar from Florence, Marsilio Ficino, mistook the words
to mean per omnia; his translation of 1484 says neque aliud
quicquam intendunt, qum per omnia asserere non esse multa. Serranus in the Stepha
nus edition of 1578 simply omits these four words from his translation.
6 It may be of interest to note that a similar problem has been raised concerning Pl. Phd
67c5-6: whether viewed by commentators as a refer
ence to some Orphic hieros logos should instead be taken to mean what was said earlier
in this treatment: Luce, J.V. 1951. Plato, Phaedo 67c5, CR n.s. 1, 66-67.

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platos PA R M E N I D E S 127e 35
We know what these logoi say: They are deductions as we might term
them from the premise They assume the existence of
plurality in order to prove that things are not a plurality.
The attentive reader may detect some traits of navety in the words of
young Socrates. He is rather too eager as we have all been in our student
days to get through to his superiors, and his views of language, logics and
reason are certainly not as well developed as we shall find them in his later
years; that is, in other works by Plato. The author has a smile, as do Zeno
and Parmenides, moved by Socrates undergraduate ambitions, the repeti
tiousness of his arguments, the shine in his eyes, or so we may may imagine.
These are the early days of rational thought, and the profound earnest of the
long-winded analysis provide an image of a time long gone, when Greek was
not yet adapted to the subtleties of argument.
What is being said is The conditional ei is a marker,
identifying the statement as a premise or assumption to be considered in the
following. So the logoi of Zeno, each and every one, say this: ,
and proceed to demonstrate, by numerous arguments beginning in the same
way, that this cannot be: Each time we say , we go on to prove

This is what his logoi intend: to go against their own assumption and
proffer as many proofs as there are logoi, that many is not.7
Now, why should Socrates refer to popular opinion in this passage? This is
not reiterated: Popular opinion if you prefer this interpretation is
brought up here, only once, and never referred to as interesting or relevant
later. Certainly these masters of thought and their young disciple need not
refer to, nor respect what is commonly said later, Parmenides actually
7 In my MA thesis (University of Aarhus, 1976), I proposed this approach in a brief note.

The year after, I argued my case in a contribution celebrating the fiftieth birthday of
Holger Friis Johansen. Both were written in Danish and never published outside the uni
versity. Now, a complete Danish translation of Platos works is in progress (2009-2014).
The translation of Parmenides was entrusted to Karsten Friis Johansen and myself. It is
time that I should make this other reading known to a wider public, in English. (Sadly,
we lost Karsten Friis Johansen in the summer of 2010. His brother Holger died in 1996. I
was privileged to know them both and to hear their comments on this reading of Prm.
127e.)
36 ivar gjrup
warns against doing so, when he tells Socrates to follow his train of rational
thought and nothing else.8
The isolated reference to popular opinion strikes one as odd, when one
comes to think about it, whereas a self-referential ele
gantly fits young Socrates endeavours to clarify the meaning. The word
itself supports this interpretation, pointing a forward to the phrase
that follows immediately after,
This process of logical scrutiny is given as a set of rules in Samuel Scolnicovs

recent book: A hypothesis is an assumption for the moment taken to be
true concerning some postulate. The ensuing argument, its , will
lead to an investigation of other claims that may seem to contradict this as
sumed truth. If these can be dealt with, the hypothesis should be consid
ered possible not proven: The relation of agreement is nothing more
than the negation of disagreement, Scolnicov says, going through the steps
of elenchus.
If we cannot, however, explain the apparent contradictions, then the hy
pothesis must be discarded. This is why is an important an
swer in this chain of logoi.9
Each of Zeno ends up disagreeing with itself, young Socrates sug
gests, contradicting its own basic assumption that plurality
exists. You grasp the general point of my book splendidly is Zenos answer
(128a2-3, transl. Gill-Ryan 1996):

For the wider reading of Par

menides, it seems noteworthy how Plato directs his readers attention not
only to writings and thoughts published without the consent of their author,
but also to works or logoi that will refute what they apparently claim to as
sert. Such wider perspectives I shall be happy to leave to the great interpret
ers of this enigmatic dialogue. We might, however, consider this question:
Did Plato think that his works had proliferated beyond his reach, his
thoughts and intentions misused and only a dialogue like this one, again
8 In 130e, Parmenides warns young Socrates not to care about what people think (Gill-
Ryan 1996). The context is quite different from what Zeno asserts in 128a.
9 Scolnicov 2003: 10.

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platos PA R M E N I D E S 127e 37
and again bringing its own logic and arguments to the point of breakdown,
risking the very faculty of speech (135c2), would serve as a possible answer to
these plagiarizers?
If so, a deeper meaning opens to us as we read:

Is this what your words want to do to do battle in each instance against
their own wording and show that many are not?

EROS AND PSYCHE IN
EROTIC MAGIC
By Eleni Pachoumi
Summary: This study examines the role of Eros and Psyche in the Greek Magical Papyri,
focussing on the representation of Eros and Psyche in the erotic spell The sword of Darda
nos in a magical handbook from Graeco-Roman Egypt (PGM IV.1716-1870, 4th cent. AD).
How is erotic and sexual union described in the spell? How should we interpret the represen
tation of Eros and Psyche? In conclusion, the philosophical and mystical influences on the
notion of the erotic union as a union of souls is examined.
EROS AND PSYCHE IN THE EROTIC SPELL

THE SWORD OF DARDANOS ( IV.1716-1870) 1
In The Sword of Dardanos2 (IV.1716-1870), the magician invokes Eros to

become his assistant, sending him to the house of the woman the male user
of the spell is in love with, and after assuming the form of a god or daimon
that she (the woman) worships () to
stand beside her and say everything he wishes (IV.1850-51, 1855-59).3 Here it is
1 The editions used in this paper are K. Preisendanz and A. Henrichs Papyri Graecae Magi
cae vol. I-II (Stuttgart 1973-1974; henceforth PGM) and H. Betz The Greek Magical Papyri
in Translation (Chicago 1986).
2 On the title, see Nock 1925: 154 n. 1.
3 Note also the description of Selene the Egyptian as
(assuming all forms), VII.871-72 and of the creator of all/Aion of Aion as
(who is transformed into all (gods)), XIII.70-71; also of Eros as
( []) (assuming the likeness of a god (or a goddess)) and
, [] () (XII.41-42 and 83). See also Pachoumi 2011: 160-61.
Eleni Pachoumi Eros and Psyche in Erotic Magic C&M 62 (2011) 39-49. 2011 Museum Tusculanum Press
www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

40 eleni pachoumi
worth commenting on the following points. First, the user does not invoke a
spirit of the dead (e.g., aoros or biaiothanatos), or an underworld daimon,
commonly invoked in the erotic spells, but the god Eros himself. The spell
includes a ritual for acquiring (Eros as) an assistant (IV.1840-70). This is
one of the two cases where Eros is invoked as an assistant.4
Secondly, we may compare this characteristic of Eros to assume various
forms of either gods or daimons with the ability of Helios, Apollo-Helios
and Hermes to assume various animal forms.5 The difference is not a great
one, partly because of the Egyptian tendency to picture gods in animal
form. Depicting gods in animal forms, or in human forms with animal
heads, was a characteristic of the Egyptian religious concept of the personifi
cation of the divine, according to which humans, animals and plants are as
sociated with the divine power.6
The Sword of Dardanos includes a hymn-invocation to Eros and a ritual
which precedes it. According to the ritual, the magician should engrave on
one side of a magnetic stone Aphrodite sitting astride Psyche (IV.1722-25)
with Eros holding a blazing torch and burning Psyche7 and, on the other
side of the stone, Psyche and Eros embracing one another (IV.1737-39).8
The rite for acquiring Eros as an assistant (IV.1840-70) also includes the
preparation of a wooden figure of Eros.
The representation of Eros and Psyche must be an allusion to the story of
Cupid and Psyche in Apuleius Metamorphoses (4.27-6.24), which (on most
views) functions as a Platonist allegory about the soul.9 In the beginning of
the story Aphrodite, angry with Psyches beauty, sends her son Eros to take
revenge, striking Psyche with his arrows and seizing her heart with a burning
passion for the worst of the human kind (hominis extremi, Ap. Met. 4.31).
This description is reflected in the representation of Aphrodite sitting astride
Psyche and of Eros burning Psyche with his blazing torch on the one side of
4 The other is the spell XII.14-95.
5 See, e.g., III.494-611 (III.501-36); II.107-8; VIII.10-12, 14.
6 See Morenz 1992: 19-21; on the Conceptions of God in Ancient Egypt: The One and the
Many, see Hornung 1982.

7 See Binder and Merkelbach 1968: 433-34; Delatte & Derchain 1964: 233-38.
8 On the bronze reliefs of Eros and Psyche, Ferguson 1958: 93; also Nock 1925: 154 n. 3. On
Eros and Psyche in the erotic amulets, Bonner 1950: 115-22 (pl. VIII, fig. 157-59, 161).
9 See further Kenney 1990: 17-22; also Betz 1986: 69 n. 220 and 221; also Edwards 1992;
James 1987: 119-40; and Rist 1964: 16-55.

s i c a e62
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eros and psyche in erotic magic 41
the stone. The depiction on the other side of Psyche and Eros embracing
one another alludes to the happy ending of their story in the Metamorphoses
and anticipates the erotic union of the two lovers whom the spell is intended
to bring together. The allusion here to an author of African origins is inter
esting, indicating the literary claims of some of the spells in the PGM, as for
example the present one, Apuleius own literary renown and presumably also
his renown as a magician.
The representation of Eros and Psyche on the magnetic stone also sug
gests that the erotic union should be a union of souls as well.
At the end of the hymn to Eros, the male user asks Eros,

(IV.1806-10). ONeil translates
as turn, but this interpretation is not precise enough.10 Here,
as I shall argue, 11 has the meaning of return/revert, and so the
whole sentence should be translated cause the soul of her NN to return to
me NN, so that she may love me, so that she may feel erotic passion for me,
so that she may give me what is in her hands.
How can we understand the notion of return of the female beloved (or
male, if we generalize it)12 to the male lover in relation to the representation
of Eros and Psyche on the magnetic stone? What is the significance of the
erotic and sexual union described in the erotic spell? Are there any philoso
phical and mystic influences in the notion of the erotic union as union of
souls?
In the spell, we have the depiction of Psyche and Eros embracing one an
other. Generally, the goal of the erotic spells is the erotic and sexual union,
which is usually depicted in rather explicit terms. For example, in the Won
drous love-binding spell (IV.296-466), the male user expresses the desire that
she may join fast together (her) head to (my) head and join together lip to
lip and fasten belly to belly and draw thigh close to thigh and fit the black
together with the black (
10 Betz 1986: 70. So does Preisendanz, wende die Seele der NN her zu mir; Preisendanz vol.
I 1973: 129.
11 This is actually the only time that is used in the erotic spells in the PGM;
see also Preisendanz vol. III, 97.
12 The form in the erotic spells functions as a grammatical formula that can be used
both by male and female users. See Dickie 2000: 563-83.
42 eleni pachoumi

, IV.400-4).13
Another erotic spell (SM 38),14 however, combines this explicit terminol
ogy with other elements. Ammonion binds Theodotis so that she may draw
thigh close to thigh and genitals to genitals for being together always, for all
the time of her life (
, SM 38.12-13). The
phrase seems to combine several aspects. First is the notion
of , the physical essence of somebody. Second is the notion of inter
course. Third is the notion of the unity of two essences or substances.15
Fourth is the notion of always. But although being together always in
cludes the notion of sexual intercourse, it seems that Ammonion is hardly
praying only for perpetual sexual intercourse. Rather, sexual intercourse is
subsumed within a wider and everlasting unity, consubstantiation. Hence,
the phrase seems to show the influence of the theory of love set out in Platos
Symposium, in which there is much emphasis on the search for the ,16 as
interpreted by the Neo-Platonists.
In Apuleius Metamorphoses the union of Eros and Psyche after Psyches
wanderings and adventures is likewise described by Zeus as perpetuae nup
tiae, perpetual marriage, with Psyche becoming immortal at the end and
Eros never abandoning the tie that binds him to Psyche, according to Zeus
decision and orders (Ap. Met. 6.23).
Now in Greek philosophy generally, sexual intercourse may be a meta
phor for the union of separate entities, or for the aspiration of the soul to
the divine, or to immortality. In Platos Symposium, for example, erotic un
13 LSJ, s.v. , II.2 gives , as it is usually translated, but the reference must
surely be to the pubic hair. The same sexual depiction of the lovers is expressed in: a) the
untitled erotic spell XVIIa.1-25, e.g.: joining fast together thigh to thigh and belly to belly
and her black to my black the most pleasant (
, 22-23); b) the Erotic spell that leads by means of fire (XXXVI.69-101), e.g.: she
may join fast together her female genitals to my male one (
, XXXVI.83); c) the erotic spell by means of fire
XXXVI.102-33 (113-14); also the erotic spell P.Oxy. 4673, until they join together lips to
lips and white to black () (27-29); Gonis, Obbink and Parsons
2003 (eds.) The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. 68, 114-17.
14 Supplementum Magicum, Daniel & Maltomini vol. I,1990.
15 On in Proclus On Hieratic Art, see n. 19 below.
16 On the erotic union forever, , in the Symposium see, e.g., Pl. Symp. 207a, d; 208a, c.

s i c a e62
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ion between the two persons is a metaphor for the souls aspiration to a mys
tical union, one-ness, and immortality. Hence philosophical texts can use
the same erotic vocabulary as erotic texts, such as the erotic spells under con
sideration here. And both types of text are necessarily concerned with the
union of two persons or things.17
Among the Neo-Platonist philosophers, Iamblichus in De Mysteriis devel
ops the Platonic doctrine as follows (De Mysteriis 4.12): the All which draws
things together and the reason of their mixing attracts (also) naturally the
parts towards mingling with each other (

). This force, the so-called , also
defined by Iamblichus as a factor which co-ordinates community and union
(sexual) and symmetry (
), imbues the union with the indissoluble principle of eros
( ).18 This
can also be aroused by an art ( ) and according to Iam
blichus is both good and a reason of fulfilment.
Moreover, Plotinus explicitly invokes the erotic art of the magicians as a
parallel to the Platonic doctrine of the Symposium. In Ennead 4 (4.4.40.10)
he refers to the birth of the power of erotic art by magic (
), based on the notion that (because) men love by na
ture and the things that cause loving attract each other (
). So this art of love
is used by the magicians who apply by contact to different people different
substances which bring them together and which have eros inside them
(
).19 And this bringing together is not merely
sexual. According to this notion of attraction, the magicians join one soul
to another (, 4.4.40.13).20 Here, Plot
inus , as presumably also Iamblichus
17 See, e.g., Aristophanes speech in Plato Symposium, 191d; 192e.
18 LSJ, s.v. , , 5 also gives .
19 Note also Proclus On Hieratic Art,

(Procl. Hier.
Ar. p. 151.16-19); Bidez 1928: 151.
20 See n. 13 above.
44 eleni pachoumi
(Iambl. De Myst. 4.12), echoes Platos description of Eros in the Symposium

as in human beings and with their original nature.21
Plotinus On the Good, or the One refers to eros as with psyche
( , Plot. Enn. 6.9.9.24-5).22
In the hymn-invocation, Eros is presented as a cosmic power when he is
described as first-born (),23 the founder of every creation (
), creator of all ( ), and the
one who stretches out his own wings into the whole cosmos (
, IV.1756, 1748-49, 1756-57, 1749-51). Here, the cos
mic/universal features of Eros allude to the universal features of the god
creator () of everything ().24 This Eros is associated with the
souls and characterised as the one who breathes into all the souls life
producing reasoning (
), who fitted everything together by his own power (
, IV.1752-56).
This description of Eros again recalls Platos reference to the creator-god
who created the cosmos as a living creature endowed with soul and reason
(), or as similar as possible to the perfect and intelli
gible living creature ( , Tim.
30b; 39e). Interestingly, this late work of Plato, which addresses the origins
and organization of the universe, was very influential on Neoplatonism.
Similarly, in his On the Three Primary Hypostases, Plotinus associates the
souls with the father-god as their source of being and refers to the two ways
21 Pl. Smp. 191d1-3,

.
22 On eros and psyche, see also Plot. Enn. 3.5.4.
23 The description of Eros as the first-born alludes to some form of the Orphic cosmo
gony; see also Hes. Th. 120; Orph. Fr. 28; West 1997: 195-96.
24 Eros description as unseen () and body-less (, IV.1777) (note also the
similar description of the god as without form () in Es. 53.3-5) seems to fit
Platos description in the Timaeus of the craftsman () who created the world
(Tim. 28a, 29a, 41a, 68e, 69c), even though in a much disputed statement, Plato goes on
to say now to discover the maker () and father ( ) of this universe
() is a task indeed and even having discovered him, to declare him
unto all men is impossible (Tim. 28c). This creator-of-all is not only unseen and bodi
less, but also unapproachable and unmeasurable ( ) (IV.1751
52), even though in the ritual for acquiring Eros as an assistant, there are visual represen
tations of winged Eros wearing a cloak with his right foot raised for a stride (IV.1843-45).

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that someone may make men return to the primary source (the highest and
one and the first).25
In the Chaldaean Oracles, a comparable description is presented of Eros as
the binder of all things and the continuator of the movement of the cosmic
bodies.26 In another fragment, Eros is also mentioned as the one who first
leapt forth out of () the intellect.27
In addition to the philosophical influences in the notion of erotic union
already examined, I shall deal with the mystical influences of Egyptian ori
gins in Eros description. In the hymn, Eros is addressed as infant, when
you are born within the heart (, IV.1783
85).28 The adjective is also applied to Eros in XII.79, in an invocation
spell where Eros is identified with the Egyptian god Harpocrates (XII.87-88).
But here Eros is also addressed as (IV.1785
86). What does this mean? ONeil translates: wisest when you have suc
ceeded, evidently taking as deriving from (in
itself a suitable verb for an archer-god).29 But this meaning seems strange in
itself and ignores the temporal contrast with infant, when you are born
within the heart. Rather, the phrase should be translated as the most senior
when you have been accomplished (taking as deriving from
),30 and understood as alluding to the rebirth of the god, as identi
fied with Harpocrates. The daily rebirth of the sun and the lotus symbolized
the rebirth of Harpocrates and the Sun god.31
25 Plot. Enn. 5.1.1.23-25,

; on and see
Plot. Enn. 5.1.3.13-14; Atkinson 1983: 64-65. Cf. also Procl. Inst. 144.9-10,

; also Procl. Inst. 39 and 158.
26 Chald.Or. Fr. 39; Procl. Tim. 2.54.8; see also Pl. Tim. 32c.2; Lewy 1978: 126-29.
27 Chald.Or. Fr. 42; Procl. Parm. 769.8-12.
28 On the association of Hermes with the heart and the simile of the fetus in the womb see
VIII.1-63.
29 Betz 1986: 70.
30 There is an overlap of forms between the verbs and , but it is still
important to differentiate them according to the requirements of the context.
31 Note also the description of Eros as torch-carrier, the one by whom and to whom the
light travels, first-shining, and begetter of night (IV.1778-79, 1782-83, 1794-96); these
epithets allude to Harpocrates characteristics and contribute in that way to Eros assimi
lation to Harpocrates.
46 eleni pachoumi
Eros is also described as begetter of silence (IV.1782). This description,

too, is compatible with Harpocrates, as the young Sun god who is often de
picted as a child with one of his fingers on his lips, apparently keeping si
lence.32
A parallel may be found in the untitled spell to the great god Helios-
Mithras, the so-called Mithras Liturgy (IV.474-829), where the initiated
magician instructs his fellow initiate, at the moment when his soul is in the
air and the divine order of the heavens is revealed, in the following words,
and do you put immediately your right finger on your mouth and say: si
lence, silence, silence, symbol of living, incorruptible god; silence, guard
me (IV.558-61).33 Here the initiate himself is imitating the god with his
right finger on his mouth as an expression of silence, since as it is explained
by the father in the Nag Hammadi Library, codex 6 in the Discourse on the
Eighth and Ninth, it is right before god that we keep silent about what is
hidden.34 Thus in our spell, the feature of silence, which as shown reveals
Egyptian influences because of Eros identification with Harpocrates, attrib
utes mystical characteristics to the erotic union.
CONCLUSIONS
Reviewing the philosophical and mystic influences in the description of Eros

and the notion of erotic union, I shall return to the questions I addressed at
the beginning of the paper. Attention was drawn to the meaning of the re
turn of the soul of the beloved to the lover expressed in the sentence
(IV.1806-8) in rela
tion to the representation of Eros and Psyche on the magnetic stone.
In the above sentence Eros, associated with the souls as the source of life
giving reasoning, is invoked to make the soul of the beloved (female) return
to the lover (male), as if to the source of its origins. The relationship be
32 Cf. Ov. Met. 9.692; Plu. De Is. et Osir. 377F; note also the story that Isis nursed Horus by
giving her finger instead of her breast: Plu. De Is. et Osir. 375C.
33 On silence as the symbol of the god see Betz 2003: 147-48; on secrecy also in the PGM see
Betz 1995: 153-75.
34 Nag.Ham. 6.59.15.

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tween the lover user of the spell and Eros as the (divine) assistant rein
forces and defines the relationship (union) between the two lovers.
The spell shows influence from the theory of love set out in Platos Sym
posium and interpreted by the Neo-Platonists, with a particular emphasis on
the joining together, , of two lovers. This joining together ex
pressed as sexual intercourse in the spell is in fact everlasting consubstanti
ation (). It also reflects the Neo-Platonic notion of attraction, ac
cording to which the magicians join () one soul to another and
the sexual
35
union, while literal, is also a vehicle for the union of separated
souls.
35 A shorter earlier version of the paper in Greek was presented in

118, 58-62 (2010).
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Amirav, H. 2003. 4673. Erotic Magical Spell in N. Gonis, D. Obbink &

P.J. Parsons (eds.) The Oxyrhynchus Papyri, vol. 68. London, 114-17.
Atkinson, M. 1983. Plotinus: Ennead V.1. On the Three Principal Hypostases.
Oxford.
Betz, H.D. 1995. Secrecy in the Greek Magical Papyri in H.G. Kippenberg
and G.G. Stroumsa (eds.) Studies in the History of Religions: Secrecy and
Concealment. Leiden, New York & Cologne, 153-75.
Betz, H.D. (ed.) 1986. The Greek Magical Papyri in Translation. Chicago.
Betz, H.D. 2003. The Mithras Liturgy: Text, Translation and Commentary.
Tbingen.
Bidez, J. 1928. Proclus sur lart hiratique in J. Bidez, F. Cumont, A.
Delatte, O. Lagercrantz & J. Ruska (eds.) Catalogue des Manuscrits Alchi
miques Grecs, 6. Bruxelles, 137-51.
Binder, S. & R. Merkelbach 1968. Amor und Psyche. Darmstadt.
Bonner, C. 1950. Studies in Magical Amulets, Chiefly Greco-Egyptian. Ann
Arbor.
Budge, E.A.W. 1978. Amulets and Talismans. New York.
Budge, E.A.W. 2001. Amulets and Magic: The original texts with translations
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Christian, Gnostic and Muslim amulets and talismans and magical figures.
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Clarke, E.C. 2001. Iamblichus De Mysteriis: A Manifesto of the Miraculous.
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(Papyrologica Coloniensia 16.1.2.). Opladen.
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Gender in Ancient Greece. New York.

BEAUTY AND THE BEAST:
FEMININITY, ANIMALS AND
HUMOUR IN MIDDLE COMEDY
By Anna Foka
Summary: Approximating humans to animals is a technique employed in Greek literature,

drawing on epic stylistics. The topsy-turvy nature of Old Comedy encouraged the use of
animal choruses and characters. In Middle Comedy, their dramatic use appears limited: a
number of similes are built around references to animals for both male and female charac
ters, producing social comments in humorous form. This paper explores how animal seman
tics in selected fragments (Alexis and Epicrates) impart occasional otherness to female enti
ties ( and ), reinforcing the sense of difference from the norm, whereas on
other occasions they subtly underline the importance of females in the civic environment.*
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. (Old) Comedy and Humour: Deconstructing Society
Comedy engineers the audience reaction by means of humour.1 It is difficult
This article was initially a thesis chapter and it would remain so, if I did not receive the
valuable comments and support of several individuals as well as the financial aid of insti
tutions across the UK and beyond. I will always be grateful to Professors David Konstan
and Pura Nieto Hernandez at Brown University and to my supervisors, Fiona Hobden
and Alexey Zadorozhnyy at the University of Liverpool as well as my examiners, profes
sors John Wilkins and Tom Harrison, for their benevolence, guidance, support and
never-ending patience.
Anna Foka Beauty and the Beast: Femininity, Animals and Humour in Middle Comedy C&M 62 (2011) 51-80.

52 anna foka
to construct a universal or timeless theory for the genre.1Across theoretical

approaches, however, humour is very often identified with the inversion of
normal social rules and contemporary conditions.2 A theory of humour as a
social phenomenon, connected with the mediaeval carnival and a timeless
cultural inversion, was primarily proposed by Mikhail Bakhtin in his study
of Rabelais. The carnivalesque element, as he terms it, has as its main char
acteristic laughter which is freed from the rules imposed by consciousness.
Other scholars, also specialized in the comic, appear to define humour as
directly opposed to the seriousness of any contemporary social order.3 Re
cently, Michael Billig (2005), building upon Bergson (1911) and Freud
(1927), argues that humour (especially its institutionalized forms) is central
to social life, not simply because it brings people together, but rather because
the possibility of ridicule ensures that members of society routinely comply
with the customs and habits of their social milieu.4 Good-natured theories
about humour are only one side of the coin, as humour and ridicule seem to
have both a rebellious and a disciplinary effect; they are at the interface of
every society. Billigs theory is viable for humour in Greek Comedy as well:
Old Comedy is often considered by definition as rebellious and anarchic.
Old Comedy, like every comedy, is designed to test the faultlines of soci
ety. It is the interface of polis ideology where anything can happen. Old
1 For theories of humour in general, see Billig 2005. He is against a sentimentalized theory
of the importance of laughter and approaches the matter from the point of view of the
comic critic. For Ar. and humour in particular, Silk 2000; for an overall study of ancient
and modern comedy, see Segal 2001. For humour and laughter from Homer to early
Christianity, Halliwell 2008.
2 There are three neatly identifiable humour theory groups: incongruity, superiority,
and relief theories. Incongruity theorists are Immanuel Kant, Sren Kierkegaard, and the
theory perhaps has its origins in Arist. Rh. where humour is approached as educated inso
lence. Ambiguity, logical impossibility, irrelevance, and inappropriateness are keywords to
the theory, which is deeply connected to the contemporary social milieu and what every
culture considers as normal. Superiority theory is also connected to society: Thomas
Hobbes, a leading superiority theorist, recognized humour as a human glory of the su
premacy over others. Plato and Aristotle are generally considered superiority theorists,
since they emphasize the aggressive feelings that fuel humour. Finally, relief theory is a
way to release or save energy generated by repression, again in relation to the rules im
posed by society (Sigmund Freud and Herbert Spencer). See Billig 2005: 199-235 for a
survey of theories of rebellious and disciplinary humour.
3 Anton Zijderveld 1982 and Michael Mulkay 1988. Similarly the sociologist Berger 1997.
4 Billing 2005: 2-3.

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beaut y and the beast 53
Comedy can embrace lowness, degradation, scatology or even a non-existent

utopian universe where anything is possible. Most classical scholars refer to
its carnivalesque element, as defined by Mikhail Bakhtin, when engaging in
discussions about the reversal of the normal social order in the plays of
Aristophanes (Angus Bowie, Michael Silk, Erich Segal and more recently
Stephen Halliwell).5 Most scholars comment on the humorous utopian uni
verse of Aristophanes and how the absurdity of his humour decomposes the
ordinary social order only to confirm it. Very often, in authors of Old Com
edy, natural world and social structure are blurred and exploited to the full
in order to generate laughter.6
1.2. From Old to Middle: The Other and Expressions of Civic Identity
The focus here will be on the interaction between civic identity and hu
mour, via an investigation and analysis of literary techniques related to the
semantic groups of animals and women in Old and Middle Comedy. Re
vealing the enigmatic nature of Middle Comedy as well as concentrating on
particular issues such as its literary style is both challenging and obscure, as
all evidence is fragmented and reconstructed later.7 Put briefly, one could
5 The carnival is ambivalent; it embraces lowness, degradation, debasement, scatological

humour, extremes. The reason for the carnivalesque element in Old Comedy is that it ac
tually stimulates and enhances the gazing experience and the connection between peo
ple, showing the audience the power of continuum between the negative and the positive
poles of reference. Bakhtin has been used by a number of scholars dealing with Greek
Comedy. Lada-Richards 1999 especially 119, 156, 217-18; Segal 2001; Edmonds 2004 espe
cially 3, 120-21, 156, 223, 229. Some references to Rabelais are also made by Silk 2000: 11,
76, 406. An important new book that addresses the carnivalesque element in Greek
comedy is Halliwell 2008; on Bakhtin and the history of laughter see: 1 n. 1, 7 n. 17, 8 n.
21, 12 n. 31, 33 n. 83, 333 n. 3; on the theory of the Carvinalesque: vii, 204-16, 234, 250, 518
n. 111. For further reading on Bakhtins theory see Schmitz 2007: 63-76 (includes many
bibliographical data); Platter 1993: 201-16; Von Mllendorff (1995).
6 Strong paradigms of this approach can be seen in Ar. Av. where birds become more im
portant than gods or Lys. where women are in charge of polis-related issues, instead of
men. Also, Ec. and Th. where women hold an Athenian-style assembly. Similarly, there
has been a long discussion by Sifakis 1971, Wilkins 2000, Rothwell 2007 and Wilson
2009 on the function of animals in animal choruses, e.g., Archipp. Fishes etc. (see Roth
well 2007, 104 table 4.1).
7 For the nature of Middle Comedy see Nesselrath 1990, Arnott in Dobrov (ed.) Brills
54 anna foka
argue that Middle Comedy is less grotesque than Old Comedy. The humour
is more refined and often intertextual (parodies of the epics and Greek litera
ture in general), albeit less overly meta-theatrical. There is a decrease in tan
gible political satire, yet the jokes incorporate subtle contemporary social
comments which eventually led to the emergence of topical characters (the
courtesan, the cook, the slave, the soldier).
The aim of this paper is to shed light on a specific category of characters
in Greek Middle Comedy: courtesans. Comic courtesans hold interest be
cause they subtly delineate alterity within the polis. In the modern, non
static map of the Classical world, the city-state is no longer represented as a
universe of binary oppositions, malefemale, freebornslave, citizen
foreigner. Athens appears at best to be a centripetal structure with the Athe
nian citizen at its core, whereas around it there seem to be wandering micro
cosms, the other segments of society: women, slaves, foreigners, metics. A
leading figure of New Historicism, Stephen J. Greenblatt, states that even
people and literary characters who seek a position outside of the dominant
ideology are bound to be deeply marked by this particular ideology. For
Greenblatt, subversion is only imaginable as a negation of the social norms;
Companion to the Study of Greek Comedy (2010), and Shaw 2010. There is no definition of
Middle Comedy stricto sensu. Still, there are a few general characteristics that outline the
genres key parameters. Middle Comedy is generally characterized by a more elegant and
rather less racy style and humour than its predecessor. Unlike Old Comedy, the preserved
fragments of Middle Comedy lack scatological humour and extreme caricaturing. On the
one hand, some scholars have argued that Middle Comedy should be considered a mythi
cal/epic parody. To counterpoint the view of Middle Comedy as an apolitical genre, Ol
son 2007: 23 points out the clear political comments in Henioch. incertae fabulae fr. 5 (a
comment on democracy and aristocracy) and personal invective in Eub. Sphinx-Carion fr.
106.1-9. Another challenger of the traditional views is Sidwell (2000) who lists evidence of
legislation that banned caricaturing and lampooning of real individuals, and therefore
suggests that there was a type of censorship; the term Middle Comedy was a later inven
tion by Ar. Byz. who came up with the threefold periodization of comedy in the form we
have received it: Sidwell 2000: 247-58; the emergence of new characters (the parasite, the
outspoken slave, the garrulous cook, the courtesan). Food and drink, mythological bur
lesque and stereotyped characters as typical Middle Comedy characteristics: Segal 2001:
108-9. Last but not least, there is the disappearance of the parabasis and the gradual loss of
the chorus involvement in the action: See Hunter 1979: 23-78; and Rothwell 1995: 99-118.
From the metrical perspective, Nesselrath (1990) has noted the routine use of anapaestic
dimetre and a penchant for high-style dithyrambic language (Nesselrath 1990: 241-80).
For examples of Middle Comedy see fragments by Eub. Procris fr. 89; Anaxil. Circe fr. 12
and fr. 13; Antiph. Cyclops fr. 131.

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hence, even the outsider will carry the marks of these norms that she rejects
in herself; the attempts to challenge this system are exposed as unwitting tri
butes to that social construction of identity against which they struggle. As
a result, the alien is constructed as a distorted image of authority.8 Such
forms of alterity such as those examined in the present article do not only
reinforce the dominant ideology.
Manville writes (1990) that shades of grey of membership existed
throughout society (e.g., women, children, metoikoi with certain privileges
that others did not have) so there is no point in defining such groups as
black or white. Others like, for example, Patterson argue that there was
a need in 451/50 for a standard qualification for Athenian citizenship.9 Athe
nians, as the rulers of an empire, had to be identifiable, distinct from the
related but still foreign allies, as they were a polis and not a territorial state.
In classical Athens there was some ambiguity about identity but also a desire
to create a strict line demarcating Athenians and others.
Authority produces such subversive and competing forces itself because it
actually defines itself in opposition to such aliens depicted as embodiments
of the absence of the natural order of things, notes Schmitz.10 It is more or
less ascertainable under what circumstances women could be regarded as
opposed to the male Athenian citizen. However, women remain, in the same
breath, an integral part of the ancient polis, its economy and culture. Recent
scholarship has shown, sometimes falsely, that there was a significant con
trast between the classical male Athenian citizen and his female counterpart.
Indeed, an Athenian wife would pass most of her life in the oikos and thus
largely removed from public life.11 The fact that women were not allowed to
8 Schmitz 2007: 167; Greenblatt 1980: 209, 9.

9 Patterson 1981: 104.
10 Greenblatt 1988: 37.
11 Jenifer Neils (2000: 206) notes, women were very much the Other in a society that val
ued citizenship, athleticism and military prowess. There is an extensive bibliography of
the female Otherness and seclusion in Greek antiquity. Some key studies include Foley
1981; Pomeroy 1995; Gould 2003: 112-57. Cohen (1996) cogently argues that in reality
Greek women were not totally secluded female seclusion was a sort of ideological ideal
perpetuated by the male-dominated discourse. Josine Blok (2001: 95-116; 2004: 1-26;
2005: 7-40) has recently argued extensively (and probably correctly) against the old struc
turalist idea of women as prototypical non-citizens, pointing to things like Pericles citi
zenship law and the defining role of women in polis religion. Here too the situation is
probably much more complex than the simple structuralist opposition (e.g., man :
56 anna foka
take part in most of the civic processes was an important feature of the
Athenian normative discourse: the lack of female political participation and
the ensuing ignorance about public matters is often a subject of ridicule in
Old Comedy.12 However, Athenian women were an integral part of Attic
humour, often controlling the discourse in Old Comedy.13 In Arostophanes,
women appear more outspoken and straightforward than their portrayal in
New Comedy, where they are often silent/passive objects of desire (such as
in Men. Sam.). Moreover, female characters engage in things which their
society fully approves of: running the oikos, childbearing and organizing fes
tivals (but of course not getting involved in any battles). In fact, they have
an extremely positive profile in Ar. Lys. and Ec. and their naughty obses
sions (sex and drinking) are found in male characters too, by means of
comic exaggeration. They are also conservative (Ec.), something which Old
comedy affects to admire.
2. ANIMAL IMAGERY
AND REPRESENTATIONS OF THE HUMAN SELF
Very often, animals or their special attributes are used to describe women in
Greek literature. However, animals as a semantic group are integrated into
the human, not just the female. For the Athenian audience, the references to
animals across literature are on a par with the contemporary philosophical
and zoological milieu and thought to draw on epic stylistics as well as the
citizens everyday interaction with animals. Various scholars have examined
the presence of animals in several different genres (epic and lyric poetry,
tragedy, philosophy).14 Animal representations/references in drama are a
woman, citizen : non-citizen) allows for and distinctions should be made between citizen
women, metic women, hetairai, married and unmarried women, etc.
12 See Ar. Lys., Th., Ec. for example. In all these cases the norm is reversed; in both Th. and
Ec., women are summoned upon to fulfill primarily male roles. For Ar. and women see
esp. Taafe 1995: 193-94. McClure 1999: 204-59 concentrates on gender speech and social
status in Ar. Th. and Ec. For a study of women and their role and representation in
Men.s plays, see Trail 2008.
13 E.g., Ar. Lys., Th., Ec. where women appear strong, they engage in male activities and
criticize the world that surrounds them.
14 For animals in myths and antique folklore see Lonsdale 1979; Cingano et al. 2005. Ani

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common technique, especially in the earlier stages of comedy. Unlike trag

edy, where animals (especially imagery and similes) can generate all sorts of
emotions, the primary purpose of the animal-human connection in comedy
is laughter.
There are numerous occasions in which humans disguised as animals can
be brought out on stage. Michail Sifakis (1971), John Wilkins (2000a;
2000b), and Kenneth Rothwell (2007) have studied animal choruses in
Greek Old Comedy in depth: according to them, the carnivalesque character
of Old Comedy seems to have encouraged the use of animal choruses that
often function as parallel societies to that of Athens. Middle Comedy is
characterized by less grotesque humour. Animals are, however, not com
pletely excluded from the repertoire: there are a number of references to
mals, religion, sacrifice: Burkert 1983 and Bremmer 1996, respectively. For an investiga
tion of animals and logos, see Furlanetto 2005; Lelli 2006: 16-17, 41-48, 75-85, 120 on ani
mal proverbs in Greek poetry, especially comedy; Heath 2005 on animals lack of speech.
Gilhus 2006 deals with attitudes towards animals from Homer until early Christianity;
Osborne 2007 argues the importance of myths and poetic art in forming ideas and shap
ing beliefs in ancient myths and motif. The human-animal is considered by some to ex
press our continuities with, and our differences from, other animals. Animal life of early
humans is a basic feature in the contemporary and ancient historians/theorists of human
evolution, drawing their attention to animalized humans reported in remote places (Arist.
EN 7.5, 1149a9-11; Forbes Irving: 1990, 94 n. 121; Campbell 2006: 114-16 on Ctes. Dog
heads, inhabitants of India who have the head of a dog ... they speak no language, but
bark like dogs, and in this way understand each other (FGrH 688F45.37 = Phot. Bibl. 72,
47a19-22); Campbell 2006: 129-32 also refers to the Island of the Sun and Iambulus de
scribes its inhabitants (Diod. Sic. 2.55-60) as a mixture of human and animal characteris
tics). Against evolutionary readings of ancient theories, see Campbell 2006: 26-27, espe
cially on Anaximand. Gottschall 2001 views duels in the Iliad in terms of intra-species
sub-lethal animal fighting, focusing on the tragedy of being a human animal in Hom.
(see also Gottschall and Wilson 2005: vii-xv for a theoretical discussion). Thumiger 2007
notes the outcome liable to be a reductionist representation of animals and humans, pos
sibly unfair to both. A search for interactions between human and animal on the ground
of projections, symbols and metaphors appears to be more fruitful. With regard to ani
mal imagery in several different genres: Epic, Schnapp-Gourbeillon 1981; Lonsdale 1990;
Clarke 1995; Rose 1979. In tragedy see Knox 1952 and Heath 1999; Thumiger 2006: 191
210 and 2008. In comedy: Sifakis 1971 and Rothwell 2007 on animal choruses in Doric
and Attic Comedy as well as the archaeological evidence (pottery featuring animal cho
ruses etc.). Wilson 2009 looks at the individuality of members of the chorus. Olson 2008
dedicates a decent amount of space to animal imagery in relation to women and Gilhuly
2009 looks specifically at Ar. Lys. and the representation of women as animals; 2009: 169
76.
58 anna foka
animals, often styled in quasi-epic form as animal similes. Animals offer easy
opportunities to caricature an individual. Unlike men, their behaviour ac
cording to their species is more or less perceived as homogenous and they,
therefore, serve as ready caricatures for human behaviour and human flaws.
It will be shown that assimilation of particular individuals or a segment of
society to an animal characteristic is a deep-running comic strategy in Mid
dle Comedy. Animals are still being mobilized by Middle Comedy to deline
ate alterity.15 In this case, the female-animal nexus is of particular interest.
The assimilation of women to animals is not a novelty in Greek literature
and it seems to appear in several different sources. Semonides (fr. 7 West)16
and Phocylides (fr. 3 West) use the metaphors of bee, sow, dog and horse to
describe different types of women.17 Apart from Lyric poetry, which offers
two humorous pedigrees of women, Hesiod describes the first woman in
history (Pandora) as having the mind of a bitch ( ) that
Hermes created as well as her thievish nature (W.D. 67-68).18
In Old Comedy, similes of women and beasts are found generally in Aris
15 The concept of alterity goes back to Structuralism. The Structuralists focused on the uni
versal human ability to recognize binary polarities in order to define themselves via what
is oppositional to them. A (broadly) Marxist influence plays a role too, since the Other
arises as part of the self-rationalization by the ruling (or better, hegemonic) class which
constructs the Other as the repository for qualities that are the inverse of those ideal(s) it
ascribes to itself. The norm is thus the fruit of social convention and ordering, see
Pomeroy et al. 1999. Zygmunt Bauman aptly sums up the problematics at the heart of the
debate:
The Other... is a by-product of social spacing; a left-over of spacing, which guarantees
the usability and trustworthiness of the cut-out, properly spaced-up habitable enclave;
[...] The otherness of the Other and the security of the social space (also, therefore, of the
security of its own identity) are intimately related and support each other. The truth is,
however, that neither of the two has an objective, real, or rational foundation ...
(Bauman 1993: 237).
Alterity, one should bear in mind, is not a fixed, solid state; in order to comprehend the
fluidity of Otherness one must pursue New Historicist analysis that challenges the as
sumption that a dominant ideology is a monolithic and stable system. Instead, New His
toricism emphasizes the multitude of competing and conflicting elements it harbors,
Schmitz 2007: 167. For nature (including animals and animal choruses and with an em
phasis on alterity) in Greek Comedy, see Rothwell 2007.
16 For a full analysis of Semonidess poem see Lloyd-Jones 1975.
17 It is important at this point to state that Semonidess fragment is iambic poetry, which is
by nature abusive, just like Old Comedy.
18 See also Helen in Hom. Il. 3.

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tophanes (Th. 531, Lys. 1014; Ach. 719-834). More could be said about men
and animals: a vast subject in comedy that will not be discussed extensively
in this article.19 As mentioned above, animals are integrated into the human,
not just the female, in Greek thought. However, femininity and animality
are interlocked themes that occur not only in literature but also in Greek
religion. Myths of metamorphosis as well as actual rites of passage: for ex
ample the Brauron bear-girls whose rituals denote passage from maidenhood
to married life, as well as the bloody piglet sacrifice during the festival of the
Thesmophoria. An analysis of the fragments will reveal that concepts of ani
mality combined with femininity are of major importance for the audience
of Middle Comedy.
3. OLD COMEDY PITTED

AGAINST THE FRAGMENTS
3.1. Wives, Courtesans and Civic Identity
Several examples prove that Old Comedy and Aristophanes set up the
framework for literary techniques observed in a later phase of the same
genre. Here, I identify the echoes of older phases of the genre. The first au
thor discussed is Alexis: Fr. 291 K-A (from an unidentified play). The frag
ment generalizes on the nature of women: 20
19 There are of course similes of men and beasts throughout Greek comedy, a tradition that
appears also on occasion in Middle Comedy (see for example Anaxil. Circe). Other than
that, many male animal choruses (see Archipp. Fishes) animalized humans (see Ar. Vesp)
and further mentions, similes and comparisons of men to animals especially in Ar. Eq.;
the subject is very big and diverse, so this article concentrates on women in Middle Com
edy.
20 Alex. belongs to the peak period of Middle Comedy. It is almost certain, according to the
2
Fasti, that Alex. was victorious at least once at the City Dionysia in 347 BC (IG II 2318.
2
278) and at least twice at the Lnaia with the first victory around the late 350s (IG II
2325. 150). The Suda claims that Alex. was Men.s paternal uncle, thus giving a clear indi
cation as to why he spends so much time with him (Test. 2.4-5).
60 anna foka
There is no more shameless beast
than the woman; I can speak for myself
This is the only fragment discussed here where women as a category are
compared to/called a wild animal, yet it is significant that this is said with
reference to their aids,21 since this is otherwise an important and recognized
quality of good and proper Greek women. This fragment, in a manner
reminiscent of Old Comedy (e.g., Ar. Lys. 369), is a paraphrase of Euripides.
The core of the joke is of course a comic pastiche on the tragedian himself,
yet the present speaker (a woman) is apparently mocking female nature: the
speaker is not such a good woman and uses her own case as evidence that
the stereotype is true. The fragment conflates female alterity.
Ancient women could belong to different socio-sexual categories. The
citizen mothers, sisters, wives and daughters and household slaves all differ
from the male citizen but are regarded as part of the oikos.22 Outside the
boundaries of controlled sexuality of the household are the , the
(common whores) and the household slaves.23 Despite dividing
women by whether they live inside or outside the oikos, it is difficult to
otherwise generalize on their individual status as there are several parameters
affecting their portrayal. Even within the same social premises, their self
definition and position in society differs according to time period and legis
lation. It is difficult to state whether or not Pericles Law of 451 BC was posi
tive or negative for the actual improvement of the status of Athenian wo
men. Biesecker recognizes some implications defining citizenship, addressed
against Sealey:24 1) The words astos and polits are used in connection with
women, so they officially start having a citizenship status; 2) the law
implicitly challenged the authority of the patronym to transmit citizenship
status; 3) in effect, the law acknowledged matrilineage in the enforcement of
laws governing official membership in the state. As a result of this, female
Athenians could be regarded as citizens officially, yet their actual position in
society was governed by other parameters: social status, family, age, marital
status, and shifting in balance rather than changing dramatically.
21 See Cairns 1993.
22 For the stratification of women see Cantarella (1987: 39-40), Vernant (1990), Pomeroy
(1995: 60-73),
23 For a recent discussion of the courtesans and so on in ancient Greece, see Davidson 1997.
24 Biesecker 1992: 103, Sealey 1990: 12-13.

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However, whereas a married Athenian woman, especially after 451 BC

(Pericles Law on Athenian citizenship) is in fact the male citizens counter
part, courtesans are other in a completely different way from women of
status: they have no status.25 Females of different status feature in comedy in
different ways.26
Whereas Alex. fr. 291 above offers a generally negative view on the nature
of women, another fragment by Alex. concentrates specifically on prosti
tutes. Here, the speaker described the efforts of prostitutes seeking to secure
as many customers as possible. This passage is quite long and does not
actually refer to live animals, yet in lines 23-26 the prostitutes are assimilated
to a slaughtered goats head. In order to fully understand the assimilation
and all that it implies, the fragment is still worth quoting in full:
25 For example, Arist. argues that the law was designed to control the population of Athens
(Ath. Pol. 26.3) as does Gomme 1967: 87. Manville 1990: 217 claims that Athenians
wanted to protect their rights as well as keep those rights exclusive. Ostwald (1986: 183)
speculates that the law was a democratizing gesture intended by Pericles to ensure that the
people as a whole would control questions of citizenship. Hignett (1967: 346) argues that
the law was designed to maintain a pure race. For a review of these and other views, see
Stadter (1989: 334-35) and Patterson (1981: 97-104).
26 In Men. Pk., Epit. and Sam. although courtesans are involved majorly in the plot they are
in effect speaking outsiders who sometimes side with the silent women who get married
(esp. Epit.). The silent gyne is not even considered as the other but the submissive object
of desire who will be integrated into the household if parents and society (otherwise pre
sented as fate) allow. See Lape 2004.
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Everything else, first of all, is secondary to them in comparison with mak

ing a profit and plundering the people close to them and they stitch to
gether plots against everyone. And whenever they get rich they get new
courtesans, novices at their craft, into their houses. They immediately re
shape them so they dont act or look the same any longer. A girl happens
to be short; corks attached to the soles of her shoes. Shes tall, she wears
this thin soled shoe and puts her head down on her shoulder when she
goes out; this reduces her height. Shes got no arse; her mistress discretely
puts a pad on her so that people who see her comment loudly on what a
rear end she has. Shes fat: they have some of the same chest pieces that
belong to the comic actors, and by attaching this at a right angle, they use
them as poles to separate her clothing from her belly. A girl has blond
eyebrows; they draw them in with soot. It happens that her skin is dark;
her mistress covers her with white lead. A girls skin is too white, she rubs
rouge on herself. She has an attractive feature: its put on display naked.
She has nice teeth: she has to laugh, like it or not, so that everyone whos
there can see what a lovely mouth she has. And if she doesnt like laugh
ing, shell remain inside all day with this piece of myrtle wood, like what
the butchers always have when they sell goats heads, stuck upright be
tween her lips. So eventually she grins, like it or not.
Alexis Isostasion fr. 103 K-A

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The title Isostasion is probably a female name (meaning equal to her weight
in gold?). The verbs used throughout the passage are mostly active (not
middle), indicating that the girls are not enhancing their own attractions;
someone else is doing it to them in other words, they are pornai owned
and run by a madam. The laurel that a girl kept between her lips is likened
to the little pieces of wood that butchers use to keep a slaughtered animals
teeth on display, perhaps in order to indicate an animals health.27 Accord
ing to Geoffrey Arnott, the fragment targets the greed of the who
engage in all kinds of wily aesthetic transformations in order to improve
their appearance.28 Long speeches of a similar kind might have been con
ventional humourous features in comedies where played an impor
tant part, such as Anaxil. Neottis fr. 22 where a character assumes that
resemble fabulous monsters or Plaut. Poen. 210 where the speaker, a
courtesan herself, states that the cost and labour of beauty-maintenance is
comparable to maintaining a ship.
The greed of the madam (?) in this passage leads to the assimilation of a
girl with a slaughtered animal, whose only purpose is to be bought and con
sumed. Butchers displaying goats heads in market stalls using wooden pegs
are attested in Ar. Eq. 418; there, meaning butchers; a similar
method was used to display the health of live pigs, according to Ar. Eq. 375.
The comic degradation of women in this way goes as far as to put them on a
par with meat. The plot of Alexis Isostasion is unknown but several scholars
believe that the speaker in fr. 103 is either a pedagogue or a father trying to
persuade his son not to fall in love with a courtesan.29 The name of the girl
is thought to be the Isostasion of the title.30 According to Arnott, the metre
of this fragment indicates parabasis.31 The theme of a man falling in love
27 Cf. Ar. Eq. 375-81; also see also Olson 2007: 341-42.
28 Arnott 1996: 273-83.
29 Webster 1960; 1970 and Olson 2007.
30 Arnott 1996: 268. Edmonds 1957-61: 2.417 n. b, suggests that perhaps the name Isostasion
could have been a slang term for a hetaira as equal to the wife; according to Arnott, this
idea is ingenious but lacks evidence in its support.
31 Arnott 1996: 268. One could, however, argue that Middle Comedy, so far as we know, did
not have a parabasis. In Old Comedy, the parabasis was a part of the chorus-leader, not of
an individual character like this fragment discussed. The trochaic tetrametre continues to
be used in New Comedy, not for a parabasis but for certain scenes of varying content,
performed to musical accompaniment (e.g., most of the last two acts of Men. Sam.). Ar
nott strongly justifies how the old parabasis was defunct in New Comedy and certainly in
64 anna foka
with a courtesan is quite common in New Comedy, yet the metre of this
monologue is reminiscent of Aristophanes style in the epirrhemata of his
parabasis, as it consists of a harangue of twenty-six trochaic tetrametres.32 If
this is indeed a parabasis, then there is a contemporary idea projected here,
perhaps a common opinion on the social status and guile of female sex
workers.
In fact, the various motifs that Alexis is introducing in this text are a
common ground in Greek antiquity. Arnott lists: a) the calculated greed of
the (lines 1-3; cf. Menander fr. 185; Machon 333; Lucian Dial.meretr.
7, 15; Alciphron 4.9, 15; Plautus Asin. 512; Truc. 22, 533, 90); b) the old cour
tesan training her young successors (lines 3-6; cf. Terence Eun. 116) and c)
the use of cosmetics to improve appearance (lines 7-18; cf. Ar. Ec. 878;
[Lucian] Am. 39; Philostratus Epist. 22; Plautus Poen. 210; Truc. 272).
Moreover, in verse 16 there are some (indirect?) contemporary Athenian
prejudices displayed.33 Red hair was considered to be a sign of either servility
or barbarian origins (Xenophanes fr. 14.2 DK; Ar. Ran. 730) and also of bad
character (Ar. Ran. 730; Adamantius Physiogn. p. 394). According to Arnott,
a woman could possibly paint her eyebrows black in order to give the im
pression of Greek origins.34 So, if this is correct, the woman described in the
fragment is also ethnically the ther. This could be an indication of how a
barbarian courtesan would be regarded by possible clients. An exotic courte
san must be to some extent Hellenized in appearance; she would have to
look Greek, but she would still be on display, ready for consumption. It is
important that barbarian courtesans are distinguished from people like
Chrysis in Men. Sam., who is Greek and subject to Pericles citizen law. A
barbarian courtesan has a lower status than a Greek one, so in this fragment
one can identify the subjectification of the girls sold.
Men., yet he argues that there it survived as an equivalent to the parabasis: the mono
logue in which views on general issues, fully integrated with the plot (unlike Old Com
edy) and accommodated to the speakers outlook, were expressed. To this, I must add, the
power of song and possible repetition of the music and lyrics on occasions other than the
particular performances, make later lyrics in trochaic tetrametre easier to popularize, a lit
tle like the Old Comedy parabasis.
32 Arnott 1996: 268 notes that in the parabasis of Old Comedy, matters of topical concern
would often be introduced and brought to attention. In New Comedy and certainly in
Men. the old parabasis was defunct.
33 Arnott 1996: 279.
34 Arnott 1996: 274.

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Similarly, in Old Comedy, a Megarian man tries to sell his daughters, re-
ferred to as piglets, to Dicaeopolis.35 The whole scene (Ach. 719-834 the
Megarian appears on stage in line 729) is full of sexual puns referring to the
girls as piglets. Strauss interprets the whole scene as a way to demonstrate
the moral decline of the Megarian man in times of war.36 A similar account
is made by Compton-Engle (although primarily concerned with Dicaeopo
lis persona).37 Olson refers to the Aristophanic tradition of using the word
as slang for female genitalia (V. 573, 1353, 1364; Th. 289, 538; Eccl.
724; cf. Epich. fr. 238).38 Admittedly, the scene is quite grotesque and funny
as it collates women and animals humorously. However, despite the rudeness
and obscenity of the scene, there are suggestions of the cult of Demeter and
Kore, and the girls fertility might be an allusion to the fertility of pigs of
fered to the goddesses.39 Civic religion, as well as desire, plays a part in this
scene. The young girls in the rucksack are to be sacrificed to sex like the
tragic virgins (for example Iphigenia in the land of the Tauris or, to some
extent Antigone) who encounter death rather than marriage. Such sacrifice
shows concerns at the heart of the polis, rather than alterity, so there the
boundaries are blurred.
35 The city of origin plays a major role on the impact that the man who is appearing on
stage has to the audience. The town of origin could prepare the audience for a scene that
is crude and tasteless: Segal 2001: 54. Segal also notes that the verbs and sounds used are
in fact all sexual puns: see Ach. 799-802 for the sounds the piglets produce and the fact
that Dicaeopolis wants to feed them figs and chickpeas, a reference to male genitals ac
cording to Segal.
36 Strauss 1996: 71.
37 Compton-Engle 1999: 359-73.
38 Olson 2002: 261-81.
39 For the connection between blood, sacrifice, fertility and the role of Demeter and Kore
cult during the celebration of the Thesmophoria, see Burkert 1985: 242-46; Lowe 1998:
149-73 and Parker 2005: 270-90.
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4. HETAIRAI AND THE CITY
4.1. First case study: Epicrates Chorus
Alexis is not the only Middle Comedy poet who uses animal imagery to de
scribe women and particularly . Two more passages in which women
are compared to animals according to their social and sexual behaviour are
found in Epicr.40
The damned pimp took me completely, swearing by the Maid, by Arte

mis, by Pherrephatta that the girl was a heifer, a virgin, an unbroken
filly. In fact she was an utter mouse nest.
Epicr., Chorus fr. 8 K-A
This fragment seems to be a comment by a desperate client. The man had

previously contacted a panderer, requesting a virgin or an inexperienced
female sexual companion. Imagery from the animal world is used in order to
describe a young girl. First, she is described by the panderer as an unbroken
filly and a heifer. A girl-heifer simile is found in Aeschylus, Supp. 351: the
chorus of Danaides are likened to heifers pursued by wolves. The phrase
is reminiscent of the Homeric Nausicaa (Od. 6.109:
), perhaps a parody of epic poetry. Both poetic images conjure
up the idea of virginity, and seem at first to promote the general characteri
zation of Middle Comedy as a comic pastiche of other poetry. However, the
use of a tame, young animal assimilated to a good girl, yet not necessarily
an unmarried virgin, is found also in Ar. Lys.41
40 Epicr. is classified as a Middle Comedy poet solely on the testimony of Ath. (Test. 2).
41 Gilhuly 2009 has highlighted the importance of the semantic relationship between
women and animals in the play.

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In Greek Comedy considered generally, the portrayal and characterization

of women as animals is by no means unpatterned or placed without pur
pose: in Ar. Lys. one can observe probably the most lengthy use of humorous
animal-female comparisons. Most assimilations of women to animals have
sexual connotations.42 These can be divided into two broad paradigms. The
first is the heifer: when the ladies swear off sex during their oath sacrifice,
the womens oath of chastity focuses on the fact that they will live without a
bull (Ar. Lys. 217-18). and are words that describe
Iphigenias chastity during her sacrifice in A. A. 239-47. For Wohl the sexual
connotation mingles with images of ritual and the whole passage emphasizes
Iphigenias lack of speech during her participation at her fathers symposia.43
An image that would surprise the contemporary audience. Could a virgin
daughter perhaps have a place in such pastimes? Civic identity and sexuality
in both cases are blurred but the lines are effective: the girl will never enjoy
the pleasures of life.
Ar. took advantage of A.s poetic image to create a humorous situation
that the audience would recognise.44 Other than that, the heifer that lacks a
bull is a rather straightforward natural image to denote the lack of male ele
ment and sexual activity for Lysistrata and her companions. Similarly, the
representation of the girl in Epicr. Chorus affects the audiences understand
ing of the girl. It creates a comic contrast: the man expects a virgin but his
companion is the opposite of a sexually inexperienced girl. This was perhaps
a common joke among men, as the panderers are always exaggerating, trying
to make their commodity seem more attractive.
In this fragment, however, the speaker appears to be disappointed, as he
describes the girl as a mouse nest. The meaning of this comment is not en
tirely certain, yet understandable as crowded due to its numerous births.
Olson suggests several possible explanations. The expression could mean
that the girl was as sexually active as a female mouse; furthermore, one could
observe that mice build nests in burrows that do not belong to a single
mouse, but different mice will go in and out. The term could therefore indi
cate that the girl has had too many sexual companions, or was not clean.
42 Gilhully 2009: 170-71.

43 Wohl 1998: 72.
44 Gilhully 2009: 172.
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One way or another, the girl appears to be described as a nest full of annoy
ing pests, rather than a domestic animal.45
The first reported description of the girl comes from the mouth of a fe-
male mastropos (panderer), yet it was written by a male poet. The second
characterisation is delivered by the speaker who is presumably a man, since
he is a client. Their portrayal attracts attention. There is a mix of dialects in
this fragment, Doric and Attic, perhaps implying that the panderer was a
Doric speaker, who was trying to appeal to an Athenian customer. The pan
derer uses the Doric form of the article, instead of . Kora is a Doric
version of Kor who is again often identified with Persephone. She refers to
Pherrephatta, the classical Attic form for Persephone (Ar. Th. 287).46 The
mix of different dialects perhaps has a comic effect on the Athenian audi
ence, if one takes Lys. into consideration and the different women (Spartan,
Boeotian, etc).
Moreover, the mastropos is swearing to Persephone for a purpose: she is
the daughter of Demeter who has been violently taken away from her
mother by Hades. Her violent descent into Hades is often regarded as a
myth that depicts the change of a daughter into a wife, the turning point
from childhood to marriage.47 Artemis is mentioned as well, further en
hancing the association of the girl with the animal world: Artemis is the mis
tress of beasts in Hom. Il. (21.470) and beyond, often depicted as an adoles
cent girl who is pure, unmarried and hunting in the wild; Nausicaa is com
pared with her in the Od. (6.102-9). Furthermore, Artemis is referred to for
another reason: young girls at the age of marriage dedicated their childhood
garments and toys in the sanctuary of Artemis Brauronia, in order to earn
her favour and survive childbirth.48 They were called arktoi (she-bears), an
other explicit assimilation of young women to animals, associated with the
civic concerns and the city.
The goddesses to which the panderer refers are definitely not selected at
random; they are associated with the passage from childhood to woman
hood and there are strong erotic connotations centred on the ideas of virgin
45 Olson 2007: 346-47.There is no doubt that mice were undesirable in antiquity. See Levin
son and Levinson 2009: 137-44 on pests and their control in the ancient world.
46 Olson 2007: 346.
47 Burkert 1985: 159-61; Foley 1995: 104-12.
48 Eur. Iph. Taur. 1464-67. For a discussion of the cult of Artemis, see Burkert 1985: 149-52;
also Sourvinou-Inwood 1990: 1-14.

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ity and initiation into sexual practices. It seems that rites of initiating girls
into womanhood were part of the civic protocol and that the client is fully
aware of the meaning of the panderers picturesque words; moreover, the
motif of animal sexuality is strongly present in this passage. In any case, re
gardless of the girls past sexual behaviour (whether a virgin or not) she is in
both cases assimilated to an animal. The only difference is that she is either
portrayed as a tamed, domestic animal, or as a mouse neither wild nor
domestic but vermin; as a courtesan, she is not exactly essential for a mans
oikos and has no civic status.
To sum up, here as well the fragment relies on the positive comparison of
young women with heifers and fillies just as at the end of Ar. Lys. There, as
well as in Epicr., the Doric element in the comic language is evidently asso
ciated with the use of the word filly to describe the girl: in Lys. one can ob
serve the imagery of the white horses. In the plays exit hymn the Spartan
ambassador sings a song about filly maidens led in a dance by Helen. In a
completely Spartan context (1300-8: Mt. Taygetus, Tyndaridae, Amyclae and
the Eurotas river, see Alcman fr. 1 and Theoc. 18), the girls are considered to
be Leucippides, daughters of Leucippus, also meaning white horses
(Calame 1997: 192, Henderson 1987: 221). The word is perhaps a humorous
double entendre on a word literally meaning white horses. Leucippus daugh
ters, Hilira and Phoebe, were abducted by Polydeuces and Castor. In an ear
lier source, Pindar describes the twins as riding white horses (Pind. Pyth.
1.66). Moreover, Spartan maidens used to perform a well-known theriomor
phic choral dance, which is reminiscent of the song narrated towards the
end of Ar. Lys. (Pi. Fr. 112; Eur. Hel. 1465-68; Calame 1997: 185-206; Hender
son 1987: 221). The imagery of the white horse in Lys. combines with a more
refined, literary and artistic style of humour to describe Doric culture, just as
in Epicrates fragment (for the comparison of parthenoi with fillies in
Alcman and other early Greek Doric poets, see Calame 1997: 238-39). It
makes a difference to which animal a woman (or a man) is compared, and
therefore whether the particular animal-like behaviour is considered to be
positive or negative. The positive connotations of the first comparison and
the negative of the second help to explain why the first was spoken by the
female panderer and the second by her male client. Moreover, positive and
negative connotations distinguish illusion versus reality.
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4.2. Second case study: Epicrates Antilais
Epicrates offers a different pedigree of a courtesan in Antilais fr. 3, where

Lais, the famous courtesan is, surprisingly, assimilated to an eagle:

5

10

15

20

Lais herself is a lazy drunk whos intent only on eating and drinking every
day. I think the same thing that has happened to her happen to the eagles.
When they are young, they eat sheep and goats and hares they catch in
the mountains, snatching them up into the air, because they are so strong.
But when they eventually grow old, they perch on top of the temples, ter
ribly hungry; and then this is regarded as a marvel. Lais as well would be
properly considered a marvel now; because when she was a young nes
tling, she was driven wild by larger coins, and you would have got an au
dience with Pharnabazus sooner than with her. But since shes now run
ning the long distance race in years and shes losing her figure, seeing her

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is easier than spitting. She goes out everywhere to drink and accepts any
coin of any size; and she has sex with anyone of any age, she has grown so
tame (tithasos), my dear friends, that she now takes money from a mans
hand.
Epicr. Antilais fr. 3 K-A
The title Antilais is perhaps the fictional name of a courtesan, perhaps like
Isostasion; the use of the name Lais (and the preposition anti) suggests that
the plot centres around the replacement of the famous courtesan, Lais.49 By
the vocative philtatai one can assume from the style of address (something
like dearest girlfriends in English) that the speaker here is a woman, per
haps another courtesan, referring to the famous Lais in an abusive manner
amongst their peers.
Lais, the famous courtesan, was born in Sicily perhaps around the late
420s, and was captured when Sicily was invaded by the Athenians (Tim.
FGrHist 566 F 24 ap. Ath. 13.588c; Paus. 2.2.5; Plut. Nic. 15.4). It is well
known that she was brought to Corinth (Stratt. fr. 27; Anaxandr. fr. 9.1-2).50
She is mentioned in other comedies, too; Ar. refers to her in Plut. 174, where
he explains that she stays with Philonides due to the money he offers her.
Indeed, the courtesan was considered to be rapacious, and was known to
charge the exorbitant fee of one thousand drachmas.51 Moreover, in Phile
taer. fr. 9.4, the speaker claims that Lais died while having sex.
Lazy and greedy, the image she had in antiquity fits this passage nicely. In
fragment 3 of Antilais, Lais is assimilated straight away to a powerful preda
tor, the eagle. Eagles are hunters and carnivores, as well as the bird of Zeus
and kingship. Therefore the simile is overtly implying Lais previous power
and her leading hierarchic position among women of the same profession.
Eagle similes are common in epic tradition. There are four such similes in
the battle-narrative of the Iliad (15.690, 17.674, 21.252-53, 22.308) and once
in the Od. describing Odysseus angry battle cry towards the suitors relatives
(24.537-38).52 In Od. 19.535-69, Penelope dreams of an eagle (symbolizing
49 There was another comedy titled Antilais written by Cephisodorus. Unfortunately, noth
ing is known about it apart from the title.
50 On Lais, see Sommerstein on Ar. Pl. 179.
51 Neils 2000: 206.
52 Some examples of eagle similes in the Il. that display the heat of the battle or bravery of
the heroes: Menelaus stare reminds one of an eagle when he rushes to fight for the body
72 anna foka
Odysseus) who slays the geese in her yard. In tragedy, eagles are juxtaposed
to the Atreides in order to display their wrath (A. Ag. 104-39). In Epicrates,
young Lais is assimilated to a young, powerful, epic predator. The assimila
tion of a woman to a bird of prey in a manner that is reminiscent of the epic
is somehow a paradox, and perhaps also the joke in this fragment. The ad
jective that refers to the older Lais is tithasos, tamed, a reference again to
animality. When she is older, she is similized as an old eagle who feasts on
scraps. On a similar note, yet not quite the same animal, kites () are
said to steal sacrificial meat.53 They no longer hunt for their food but go to
someone elses house, a gods house in this case. This simile explains in a pic
turesque way that Lais is becoming less selective and more accessible as she is
growing old.
In the same vein, the fragment draws on interesting phraseology to de
scribe Lais. The two key words that bring out Lais bestiality are and
. could mean beast, a monster or marvel: each mean
ing of the word denotes alterity. is a participle of the verb
, which literally means to turn into a savage or into a wild
animal. These two words are placed in the fragment in order to create a chi
astic image. Therefore, both the unnamed girl in fr. 8 and Lais in fr. 3 are
framed with antithetical animal similes. The unnamed girl in Epicr. fr. 8 is
expected to be innocent, but she is filthy in terms of sexual behaviour. Lais
is considered a predator, yet she is growing tame with the years. The differ
ence is that in fr. 8, the male lusts after the tamed girl, whereas in Lais case
her untamed, powerful youth is more appreciated and admired (by her fel
low-workers), whereas her late years are described as tame and disgraceful for
a courtesan of her calibre.
Moreover, apart from being assimilated to an eagle, Lais is humorously
identified with Pharnabazus. Pharnabazus was a Persian satrap in Asia Minor
from the late 410s until approximately 390 BC.54 Again, it seems that here
of Patroclus (17.674). Achilles leap when he races away from the onslaught of the river is
assimilated to the swoop of an eagle (21.252-53). The example from the Od. is quite
unique as it is the moment when Odysseus issues a terrifying battle-cry towards the rela
tives of the suitors who then turn back to the city. The scene, however, is a stereotypically
epic moment, notes Heath 2005: 116.
53 Ar. Pax. 1099-1101; see Olson 1998: 279 and Av. 865, Dunbar 1997: 345.
54 Olson 2007: 350-51. On a side note, Persians were often depicted as effeminate according
to some sources: see Tuplin 1996: 168.

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alterity is compounded with further alterity.55 A woman is assimilated to an

animal, and then assimilated to a Persian satrap. A Persian (as non-Greek),
an animal, and a woman fall into the same catch-all category of therness.
Moreover, the courtesan is herself an ther, a counterpoint to the norma
tive female ideal. The sub-society of the views Lais as an old eagle
unable to hunt, while in her youth she was a powerful predator; she is as
important and difficult to meet as a Persian satrap. Lais is never identified
with a Greek/Athenian official in this passage. She certainly is portrayed via
an animal simile, in the same way of the previously discussed pas
sages are. The difference in fragment 3 is in how her co-workers value her.
From their perspective, her untamed image is certainly more profitable and
therefore preferable.
5. CONCLUSION: THE LADY OR THE TIGER?
From the above fragments there emerges a clear tendency to characterize

women with images that come from the animal world. In most of the frag
ments discussed, the joke lies in the comic perception of the courtesan and
female figures that surround her (such as the panderer, other ); each
speaker has a different comment to add, yet they all refer to animals in a
variety of ways (tamed, wild, domesticated and vermin in ways similar to the
examples by Aristophanes studied above. The animal imagery that women
use to similize other women draws the distinction between different sub
categories (older and younger , panderer, etc) and moreover, it pro
jects alterity among persons of the same sex. The are only a small
category and they do not represent the entirety of women.
The evidence that the entirety or majority of women were portrayed hu
morously with animal references in Middle Comedy comes, strictly speak
ing, only from misogynistic Alex. fr. 291 and the tradition inherited from
elsewhere (especially Old Comedy and iambic poetry). However, as ob
served, one cannot speak strictly of the inferior other: the images of animal
55 For example, references to the galetai oracles in Archipp. Fishes and the assimilation of
the cockerel to a Persian in Ar. Av.
74 anna foka
alterity are mixed in with civic discourse as well as civic responsibilities of

the ladies (religion, household, chastity).
As for the animal imagery used to discuss the status-free courtesan, one
can observe that it refers back to deep-rooted civic ideas and their social and
sexual behaviour. Impulsiveness in sex as well as predatory behaviour is likely
to be reminiscent of wild beasts. The untamed wildness is linked with the
nature of sexuality as dangerous, frontier territory; the virgin goddess Arte
mis was thought to be the mistress of animals, guarding and defining the
boundaries between nature and culture through her action of hunting.56 In
her prime, the courtesan eager for sex and money is metaphorized as crea
ture of the wild, hunting on the margins of society. By contrast, when
are presented comically as untouched virgins, they are assimilated
to tamed, domestic animals. In both cases, one can observe the following: a
network of imagery and metaphor associates women in their role in sex and
marriage with animals, especially the mating, taming, yoking, and breaking
in of animals, and with agriculture.57
The choice of animal invoked in each simile relates not only to the cour
tesans nature, but also with the observers attitude. Every woman is por
trayed in a different manner according to the speaker and their social status.
The client man seeks the calm, innocent young filly, whereas the
themselves praise the untamed, vicious eagle. This is an interesting indica
tor of how differently and flexibly one can construct alterity: the way the
regard themselves differs diametrically from how their clients think
of them.
From the above interpretation of animals in Middle Comedy fragments,
one could infer that in the representation of women, Middle Comedy lacks
the animal choruses, the reversal of gender roles and the grotesque found in
Old Comedy. However, it is still interested in portraying the sub-categories
of women, with a particular fondness for ridiculing . Inferiority is
twofold when it comes to the assimilation of women to animals. From a
male point of view, the ideal is a tamed animal, often used in comedy
to sell the charms of a hetaira. Within the female sub-culture of the
, the opposite perception exists: admirable women are considered to
be heroic predators preying on men. Similarly, the polarities represented in
56 Vernant and Zeitlin 1991: 198.

57 Gould 1980: 53.

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Middle Comedy through epic parody are more or less consistent with those
of Old Comedy. Middle Comedy uses multiple metaphors that go as far as
to include a female-animal-foreign (Persian in this case) nexus in order to
generate laughter. For the audience of Middle Comedy, the lady is the tiger.
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PLAYING WITH THE
DRAMATIC CONVENTIONS:
DEMEAS INVOCATIONS
IN MENANDER, SAMIA 325-26
By Andreas Fountoulakis
Summary: In this article it is maintained that Demeas quasi-tragic invocations of the city of
Athens and the sky in Menander, Samia 325-26 have the form of conventional cries normally
used in classical drama so as to call for witnesses and assistance when an unjust act is being
committed. Yet these invocations are embodied in a scene which is not developed according
to the relevant dramatic conventions. The aim of this article is to explore Menanders skilful
handling of these conventions and demonstrate its significance with respect to the plays
characters and pervasive ideas.
The echoes of earlier drama in Menanders comedies in many cases suggest a

skilful and purposeful manipulation of elements deriving from the dramatic
tradition of the fifth and early fourth centuries BC. While these echoes are
often noted by modern scholarship, they are seldom examined in terms of
the ways in which they are handled by Menander or of the goals they serve.
Such an examination is the primary aim of this paper.
When in the third act of Menanders Samia Demeas appears on stage, he
has just discovered that the baby presented to him as his own by Chrysis, his
Samian concubine, was actually fathered by Moschion, his adoptive son
(245-47). Analogies appear between the dramatic situation in which Demeas
finds himself thinking that his adoptive son has had a secret affair with his
concubine, and the situations in which Theseus and Amyntor had found
themselves in plays such as Euripides Hippolytus and Phoenix respectively.
Andreas Fountoulakis Playing with the Dramatic Conventions: Demeas Invocations in Menander, Samia 325-26
C&M 62 (2011) 81-98. 2011 Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

82 andreas fountoulakis
These tragic characters mistakenly thought that their sons were having erotic
relations with their partners: Theseus wife in the former case and Amyntors
concubine in the latter.1 Various similarities between the three situations
have been noted by many scholars,2 while such affinities are further stressed
by Demeas quasi-tragic reaction at 325-26.
1 The mythological background of Euripides Hippolytus is the story of a married woman

or a concubine who falls in love with a young man, tries to seduce him without success,
and eventually accuses him of rape or attempted rape. This motif emerges also in the sto
ries of Joseph and Potiphars wife, Bellerophon and Stheneboia, and Peleus and Acastus
wife. See Barrett 1964: 6-7. Euripides version of the myth of Phoenix must have adopted
the same motif. For the inclusion in the Euripidean plot of the false accusations of
Amyntors concubine that his son Phoenix had raped her see Hom. Il. 9.453 c Erbse
(= Eur. Phoenix, Test. ii.c TrGF V.II Kannicht) and Hieronym. Rhod. .
, fr. 32 Wehrli (= Eur. Phoenix, Test. iv.a1 TrGF V.II Kannicht). Cf. Aristoph.
Ach. 421 (= Eur. Phoenix, Test. iii.a TrGF V.II Kannicht); Apollod. 3.13.8 (= Eur. Phoenix,
Test. iii.d TrGF V.II Kannicht); Papamichael 1982: 217-29; Dedoussi 2006: 230. The fact
that in Men. Sam. 498-500 Nikeratos compares Demeas to Amyntor, saying that his
friend ought to have blinded Moschion, may well point towards a further exploitation of
Euripides Phoenix in Samias plot. In Euripides play, Amyntor had blinded Phoenix after
the false allegations of his concubine Clytia or Phthia concerning her supposed rape by
his son. The relevant myth may survive in Homer (Il. 9.444-84) and Euripides (fr. 803a
18 TrGF V.II Kannicht), but the elements of the innocence and blinding of Phoenix occur
only in Euripides, not in the Homeric version. Our appreciation of Menanders exploit
ation not only of Euripides extant Hippolytus, but also of the Phoenix would probably be
different if more fragments of the latter play survived. We might also have had a different
view of Menanders literary debts if we had at our disposal entire plays dealing with these
myths not only by Euripides, but also by other dramatists. One should therefore be cau
tious and not overestimate the affinities between the Samia and the small part of the dra
matic tradition that happens to survive. Hippolytus myth was also dramatized by Sopho
cles in his Phaedra (fr. 677-93 TrGF IV Radt) as well as by Euripides in a tragedy earlier
than his extant Hippolytus, the Hippolytus Calyptomenus (fr. 428-47 TrGF V.I Kannicht).
As for the myth of Phoenix, it formed the subject-matter of tragedies by Sophocles (fr.
718-20 TrGF IV Radt and perhaps in the Dolopes, fr. 174-75 TrGF IV Radt), Ion (19 fr. 36
43 TrGF I Snell), Astydamas (60 fr. 5d TrGF I Snell) and Sosiphanes Syracusanus (92 fr. 6
TrGF I Snell). For this myth in comedy see Euboulos, fr. 113 K.-A.
2 For the affinities between the Samia and the Hippolytus, see Mette 1969: 438; Katsouris
1975: 131-43; Jkel 1982: 19-22; Hurst 1990: 101; West 1991: 17-18; Zagagi 1995: 56, 125;
Lamagna 1998: 64-67; Cusset 2003: 165-68; Fountoulakis 2004: 157, 166-76; Omitowoju
2010: 130-45; Fountoulakis 2011: 171, 176-80. For those between the Samia and the Phoe
nix see Papamichael 1982: 221-22; Cusset 2003: 164; Dedoussi 2006: 230-1; Omitowoju
2010: 131; Fountoulakis 2011: 176-80.

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playing with the dramatic conventions 83
As soon as Demeas realizes that his slave Parmenon has been aware of
Moschions supposed affair, but revealed nothing, he gets angry, asks for a
horsewhip and threatens to have him branded (321-23).3 While Parmenon is
leaving the stage, Demeas cries out loudly so that everyone nearby may be
aware of the wrong that was done to him and come to his assistance. Yet
soon he stops shouting and seems to realize that Moschion and subse
quently Parmenon is not responsible for his deception. His cries as well as
his change of mind form initial elements of a monologue in which he even
tually tries to convince himself and the audience of Moschions innocence
and Chrysis guilt. The first lines of this monologue, which betray Demeas
distress as well as his reversal, run as follows:4
DEMEAS: Where are you going, you rogue, where?
Catch him! O Citadel of Kekrops land!
O thin-spread aither! O Why are you shouting, Demeas?
Why are you shouting, you fool? Restrain yourself. Bear up!
Moschion has done you no wrong. This is
a paradoxical thing to say, gentlemen, but its true.
Men. Samia 324-29
At 324 Demeas addresses the fleeing Parmenon, while the order

at the beginning of 325 is apparently given to another slave. At 325-26 De
meas uses a kind of elevated tragic speech with a distinctively Euripidean
phrasing, and cries out for help calling as witnesses to the supposed commit
ted injustice the city of Athens and the sky:
3 Demeas is determined to resort to measures normally taken for the punishment of run
away slaves in social contexts. See Jones 1987: 139-55; Thompson 2003: 218-21, 242.
4 The text is that of Sandbachs OCT edition (Sandbach 1990). The translation is from
Bain 1983.
/ .5 According to a relevant note in the right

hand margin of the Bodmer papyrus (P. Bodmer 25) next to line 326,6 these
invocations as a whole belong to Euripides Oedipus (fr. 554b TrGF V.I Kan
nicht). Considering the differences in terms of plot structure between the
Samia and a tragedy based on the myth of Oedipus, it becomes improbable
that such verbal echoes would reflect a more profound relationship between
the two plays. It may only be argued that even if Demeas cries allude to Eu
ripides lost Oedipus, such an allusion could be related to a series of juxtapo
sitions prevalent in both plays between ignorance and knowledge as well as
between true and false identities. It is also worth bearing in mind that the
attribution of Demeas phrases to Euripides Oedipus has been contested on
various grounds by most modern editors of the Samia, who assume that
only one invocation may belong to the lost Oedipus.7 If this invocation is
that of 325, it must have been altered by Menander. An invocation of the
city of Athens like that in 325 would not be very likely to be found in a play
such as the Oedipus which was presumably set in Thebes.8 It is therefore
more likely that Demeas invocations may point not towards the Oedipus,
5 For the tragic, and more specifically the Euripidean, phrasing of the first invocation see,
e.g., Eur. Hipp. 34, Suppl. 658, Bacch. 1202, I.A. 1500, I.T. 1014, Ion 1571, Her. 1323, Med.
771. Cf. Gomme & Sandbach 1973: 577; Dedoussi 2006: 181-82 for more references and
the observation that the words and do not occur in other tragic po
ets. The is the place where the gods were often thought to reside. See, e.g., Hom.
Il. 2.412, 15.192; Soph. O.C. 1471; Aesch. fr. 65a TrGF III Radt; Virg. Georg. 2.325. The
invocation of the at 326 may thus be taken as an indirect way of invoking as wit
nesses and helpers the gods who are regarded as responsible for the maintenance of di
vinely inspired justice in the world. For a similar invocation of the ,see Eur. fr. 443
TrGF V.I Kannicht and n. 29 below. Cf. Blume 1974: 119; Cusset 2003: 141.
6 See Kasser 1969: 48.
7 See Lamagna 1998: 286-87 for the invocation at 325 and Dedoussi 2006: 181-82 for that at
326. They both note that the words and are not used by Euripides in one
single phrase. Dedoussi also notes that invocations of a city are not combined in tragedy
with invocations of the . For these reasons she believes that since the ancient com
ment is found next to 326, it must refer only to the invocation of this line.
8 It is for this reason that Bain assumes that if that line belongs to Euripides Oedipus, it
must be an apostrophe. See Bain 1983: 119. Gomme & Sandbach (1973: 577) assume that
the quotation of 325 may belong to a reference pertaining to the heros refuge in Athens in
the last part of the play after his blinding. For the possibility that Menander might at 325
have turned a hypothetical [] of the Euripidean text into the that
would suit his play, see Jouan & van Looy 1998-2003: II.444. Cf. Cusset 2003: 141, n. 40.

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but towards the world of tragedy as a whole, which emerges also through the
analogies between the circumstances Demeas is confronted with and those
faced by tragic characters such as Theseus or Amyntor. The Euripidean style
of Demeas cries might well strengthen the affinities in the spectators minds
between his situation and similar situations in Euripides plays.9 What is also
highlighted is Demeas emotional turmoil as well as the fact that even mo
mentarily he conceives the situation he is facing as a disastrous collapse of
his oikos, similar to those occurring in tragedy.10 Like a tragic hero, Demeas
finds himself in a world of pathos and errs as he is unable to discover or even
suspect the truth. Ironically enough, the truth is not as harsh as he thinks.
And this is precisely where the comic nuances of the scene as well as its di
vergences from the tragic tradition begin to emerge.11 It would nevertheless
be misleadingly nave to consider Demeas use of tragic speech and his sud
den change of tone as nothing other than elements aiming at the construc
tion of a typical comic scene. The formulation of Demeas cries and his sub
sequent reversal suggest Menanders skilful handling of relevant dramatic
conventions in earlier drama. This handling is specially designed so as to
surprise the spectators and draw their attention to significant aspects of the
plays dramatic world, characters and ideas.
As has been noted, Demeas uses the invocations of 325-26 to request assis
tance in order to catch Parmenon and find witnesses to the injustice that has
been perpetrated. Invocations with a similar function were quite well-known
in Greek and other Indo-European cultures, and are amply attested in social
as well as in literary contexts. In his classic study Beitrge zur Wort- und
Sittengeschichte II, Wilhelm Schulze has shown that in both contexts, the
victim of an injustice should cry for help and draw the attention of bystand
ers who ought to offer their assistance and serve as witnesses if the case was
9 See Webster 1974: 61-62; Dedoussi 2006: 182; Fountoulakis 2011: 170-71. Considering the
affinities between the extant Hippolytus and the surviving parts of the Samia, Omitowoju
(2010: 133-34) convincingly argues that the performance of Menanders play would have
evoked Euripidess tragedy in the spectators minds. Yet it is worth bearing in mind that
such links might have also been developed between the Samia and other tragedies that
dealt with similar topics and are now lost.
10 Cf. Barigazzi 1965: 121; Blume 1974: 119-20; Goldberg 1980: 100-1; Lamagna 1998: 287;
Gutzwiller 2000: 109-10.
11 See Gomme & Sandbach 1973: 577-78; Goldberg 1980: 100-1; Hurst 1990: 101.
eventually brought to court.12 The cry for witnesses and help was often des
ignated by the term ; hence the origins of the verbs and
, literally meaning to run towards the cry.13 Evidence from the
speeches of the Greek orators suggests that in cases of physical assault or
other kinds of injustice cries for help formed part of a social convention
through which members of the community could help the victim either
immediately or later, as witnesses in the court.14 Cries of this kind are often
described by modern scholars as Not- und Hilferufe.15 Demeas invocations,
which have a similar function and are conceived by him as ,16 may at
first sight be classified as such: a fact which has hitherto not been appreci
ated by modern scholarship.17
Demeas utterances are not the sole example of such cries in the theatre.
Not- und Hilferufe as well as the social conventions surrounding them have
their counterparts in many works of Greek drama. They appear in both
tragedy and comedy as well as in paratheatrical genres associated with the
mime.18 Dramatic calls for witnesses and help may reflect relevant social
12 Schulze 1918/1966.
13 For the etymology of and as () and , see
Frisk 1960-1972, s.v. . Cf. Schulze 1918/1966: 181-87; Pfeiffer 1938: 11-12.
14 See Lysias 3.7, 3.15-16, 23.9; Dem. 33.14, 53.16-17; Antiphon 1.29; Isaeus 3.19-21; Isocr. 18.6;
Aeschines 1.60; Lintott 1982: 18-21; Todd 1990: 119-39; Hunter 1994: 139.
15 Cf., e.g., Schulze 1918/1966: 182-89; Bain 1981; Bain 1982; Davies 1982.
16 Note that at 326-27, Demeas refers soliloquizing to his invocations and says:
; / ; The choice of the verb here may well suggest that he
conceives his utterances not as mere cries, but as Not- und Hilferufe. The use of this verb
may also suggest that the dramatist and his audience conceived Demeas invocations in
the same way.
17 Oliver Taplin (1977: 220), in his discussion of Not- und Hilferufe in tragedy, observes in a
passing comment that Demeas invocations in Samia 325-26 are a good paratragic exam
ple of such cries. Dedoussi (2006: 182) only notes the tragic parallels of Demeas call for
witnesses.
18 See Aesch. Ag. 1315-17, 1343, 1345, Cho. 869-84, Suppl. 905, 908; Soph. Ant. 937-43, O.C.
822-23, 831, 833, 884-86, El. 1404-21; Eur. Hec. 1035, 1037, 1091-106, Hipp. 776-77, 884, El.
1165-67, Her. 750, 754, 886-909, Hrcld. 69-72, I.T. 1304-8, Or. 1296, 1301, 1510, 1529-30,
Antiope fr. 223.47-52 TrGF V.I Kannicht; Aristoph. Ach. 926, Birds 1031, Cl. 1297, 1321-26,
Peace 79, 1119, Frogs 528-29, Kn. 242, Wasps 1436, Wealth 932; Men. Sam. 576, 580;
Herond. 8.61. Cf. Schulze 1918/1966: 180-84; Fraenkel 1950: III.614-15; Bain 1981; Bain
1982; Davies 1982; Lintott 1982: 21; Kaimio et al. 1990: 51; Fountoulakis 1995: 240-59;
Fountoulakis 2000; Spatharas 2008.

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practices, but have in fact adopted a rather conventional function and form
that has turned them into stock elements of many dramatic plots. Fifth
century tragedy, in particular, towards which Demeas invocations point,
provides us with several examples in which an injured party, either onstage
or offstage, calls for help, often invoking the gods and calling a city or its
citizens with words denoting nationality or provenance. These to a large
extent conventional cries result in the notification of a third party about
the commitment of a violent or unjust act. The third party often responds in
an emotional manner, gets involved in a relevant conversation or intervenes
drastically in an aggressive way trying to put an end to what is regarded as
wrong or unjust.19
In some cases the Not- und Hilferufe do not result in the intervention of
those who are called upon for help. This mostly happens in cases of off-stage
cries from tragedy, where those onstage, following the dramatic conventions,
hesitate to leave the stage or are sympathetic towards the perpetrator.20 In
these cases, the element of the notification of a third party in the role of the
witness forms a necessary part of the entire procedure. That party becomes
aware of the committed injustice and responds to it either in an emotional
manner or by making moral judgments and showing a desire to intervene.21
In earlier comedy, instances of Not- und Hilferufe appear in less complex
dramatic patterns where the element of the reaction or the intervention of
19 See, e.g., Aesch. Suppl. 890-912: when the supplication of the Danaids is violated by the
Herald who tries to drag them from the altar, they invoke the Earth and Zeus twice at
890-92 and 899-901 as well as the citys leaders at 905. Their cries provoke the entry of Pe
lasgus who comes in order to help them and addresses the Herald at 911-12 in an aggres
sive manner; Soph. O.C. 822-87: Creon uses violence against Antigone. The cries of
Oedipus at 822-23, 831 and 833, and especially those of the Chorus at 842 and 884-85 re-
sult in the entry of Theseus who puts an end to Creons aggression and offers refuge to
Oedipus and his daughter; Eur. Hrcld. 69-74: Eurystheus Herald violates the supplica
tion of the old Iolaus and the children of Heracles. Iolaus calls for help at 69-70 from the
inhabitants of Athens, who suddenly appear in the form of the Chorus and try to find
out what is happening; Taplin 1977: 218-20; Fountoulakis 1995: 112.
20 Cf., e.g., Aesch. Ag. 1343-71, Cho. 870-74; Soph. El. 1404-21; Eur. Hec. 1035-48, El. 1168
76; Hipp. 778-89, Or. 1297-310, Her. 750-62, Antiope, fr. 223.47-52 TrGF V.I. Kannicht;
Fountoulakis 1995: 244. When those onstage are members of the Chorus, this kind of in
activity occurs because the Chorus does not normally leave the stage in the middle of the
play. For the relevant convention, see Taplin 1977: 375-76.
21 See Fraenkel 1950: 614-15; Fountoulakis 1995: 240-55.
the third party is sometimes missing.22 Yet even in these cases the intention
of notifying a third party about the committed injustice is again prevalent.
This intention is related to the fact that the characters of classical drama are
often depicted as parts of a community on which their security and well
being depends. Their Not- und Hilferufe are suggestive of a move from the
boundaries of the self towards that community and this betrays a sense of
being part of a social group capable of protecting the individual; a sense
which was not alien to the identity of the citizen of the powerful and
autonomous democracy of fifth-century Athens.
Although Demeas invocations in Samia 325-26 have the formal and lin
guistic features of a tragic Not- und Hilferuf and are regarded by Demeas
himself at 326-27 as a , they are not fully developed according to the
conventions of fifth-century tragedy. Gathering from the three successive
at 325-26, Demeas cries were initially meant to have a tripartite form with
three different invocations appearing in an asyndeton. Surprisingly enough,
only the third appears in Demeas words. The third invocation is never
spelled out as Demeas anger seems to give way to a more reasonable ap
proach to Moschions supposed actions.23 In contrast to what would nor
mally happen in a conventional procedure following such cries in the the
atre, no-one is notified. Instead, Demeas, adopting another convention of
speech which is again found quite often in the theatre of Euripides,24 ad
dresses himself in a soliloquy in the second person singular, reveals his inten
tion of hiding from the community what is supposed to have happened, and
starts developing an argument that aims to prove Moschions innocence.
The fact that Demeas invocations at 325-26 resemble quotations bor
rowed from tragedy differentiates them from Not- und Hilferufe appearing in
both tragedy and comedy as well as in social contexts. As has been noted, his
invocations are thus turned into a dramatic device directing the audiences
attention to the tragic nature of the situation faced by Demeas as well as to
the similarities of that situation with situations faced by his tragic counter
22 See, e.g., Aristoph. Ach. 926, Cl. 1297, 1321-26, Peace 79, Wasps 1436.
23 Demeas, being a sophisticated and cultured man, manages to restrain his anger and ad
dresses the situation using his reason. This is a pattern of behaviour which is not rare in
Menander. Cf. Groton 1987: 437-43 (although she does not discuss this particular case)
and Macua Martnez 2008: 42.
24 See Eur. Med. 402, Tro. 98, Hec. 737; Leo 1908: 100; Blundell 1980: 65-71; Dedoussi 2006:
183.

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parts. At the same time, Demeas quasi-tragic invocations are part of a play
with the dramatic conventions of the Not- und Hilferuf, which constitutes in
fact a play with the audiences horizon of expectations.25 The description of
Demeas speech as paradoxical () at 328,26 soon after his differ
entiated stance towards Moschion has become apparent, in combination
with his address to the audience () in the following line implies that
his words and attitude are not expected by the audience.
The interruption of Demeas Not- und Hilferuf may subsequently func
tion as a device to surprise the audience and point not only towards the
similarities, but also towards the differences between the attitudes adopted
by Demeas and tragic characters such as Hippolytus Theseus. As Rosanna
Omitowoju observes, it is almost as if Demeas is seeing himself in contrast
to his mythic predecessor.27 Despite the analogies between the situations
with which they are both confronted, their reactions are different and this is
first signalled to the audience through the ways in which the two characters
use that conventional cry and the different development of the two scenes.
Theseus invocation in Eur. Hipp. 884 is followed by the notifica
tion of the servants and the Athenian citizens, who have most probably run
to the stage,28 as well as of the Chorus of Trozenian women, about the injus
tice his son is supposed to have committed:
/ (885-86). The as
sumption that Hippolytus had raped Phaedra insulting not only his father,
but also Zeus, has as a result the invocation of Poseidon and a curse cast
against Hippolytus so that the latter may die within the same day (887-90).
Theseus also announces his decision to send Hippolytus into exile to make
25 Menanders awareness of these conventions, not only in social contexts, but also in
drama, is indicated by his use of such an invocation in Samia 580. See Bain 1981; Bain
1982. For bystanders as witnesses during the commitment of an unjust act see Men. Sam.
487-90. Cf. Bain 1988. It is probable that even though Menander, Chera, fr. 406 K.-A.
() survives without its dramatic context, it refers to a
Not- und Hilferuf. For Menanders use of earlier tragedy as a creative handling of a the
atrical tradition addressed to an experienced and cultured audience capable of apprecia
ting his allusions see Hunter 1985: 114-36.
26 This is how the of this line is rightly translated by Bain 1983: 41.
27 Omitowoju 2010: 133.
28 This is probably the immediate result of Theseus cry. See Barrett 1964: 333, 435-36. Given
the parallels between the plots of Euripides Hippolytus and Phoenix, a similar invocation
of Amyntor occurring in a lost part of the latter play would not be improbable.
sure that his son will be punished in case Poseidon does not kill him (893
98). Considering the similarities between the circumstances in which The
seus and Demeas find themselves, Menanders audience might well expect
Demeas invocations of the city and the at 325-2629 to be succeeded
by his informing the community about Moschions supposed acts and the
announcement of his punishment. Yet Menanders use of the dramatic con
ventions of the Not- und Hilferuf stops at the beginning of Demeas third
invocation at 326 and remains unfinished. This surprising handling of con
vention would inevitably draw the audiences attention to the remainder of
Demeas monologue and his measured attitude towards his adoptive son.
As Andr Hurst points out, in the comedies of Menander the world of
tragedy often emerges as a world of emotional exaggeration with little prac
tical value as regards the problems of the world depicted in comedy.30 In the
light of such an approach, the resemblance of Demeas invocations to tragic
quotations reveal Menanders ironic stance towards tragedy, whose moral
codes turn out to be insufficient with respect to the complexity and the de
mands of the plays more ordinary comic action. Demeas cancelled Not- und
Hilferuf thus becomes suggestive of a significant shift from the world of
tragic emotion and morality to that of ordinary human reasoning. In an at
tempt to think reasonably and find out what has really happened, Demeas
feels obliged to abandon the heightened emotions of the tragic world to
which he has momentarily been transferred, as if that world and the values it
represents refrained him from seeing clearly and discovering the truth.31 This
emerges not only from his intertextual contrast with tragic characters such as
29 In such a plot structure both invocations might well point towards Euripides Hippolytus
plays. In addition to the invocation of the city in the surviving Hippolytus (884), an invo
cation of the is found in Euripides Hippolytus Calyptomenus, fr. 443 TrGF V.I
Kannicht: /
/ . The fact that the imme
diate dramatic context of the fragment is unknown to us makes impossible a further ap
preciation of Menanders potential exploitation of corresponding parts of the first Hip
polytus.
30 Hurst 1990.
31 See Hurst 1990: 101. For an appreciation of this scene in terms of a transition from an
imaginary tragic world to that of Demeas comic reality, see Cusset 2003: 141-43. Cf.
Fountoulakis 2011: 171.

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Theseus, but also from his intratextual contrast with his friend and neigh
bour Nikeratos.32
It should be stressed that Demeas abandonment of an extremely emo
tional attitude should not be seen merely as typical of an old man of New
Comedy. Although Nikeratos is such a comic character, he thinks and acts
in a very different way. When in the fourth act of the Samia, Moschion con
fesses in front of Demeas and Nikeratos that he is the babys father, while the
old men still think that the babys mother is Chrysis, Nikeratos becomes
angry and navely adopts a tragic tone.33 He regards the supposed relation
ship of Moschion and Chrysis as incestuous and compares their supposed
acts to those committed by well-known tragic characters such as Tereus,
Oedipus and Thyestes (495-97). Nikeratos adds that Moschion ought to
have been blinded by his father like Phoenix in Euripides tragedy, where he
was mistakenly thought to have erotic relations with his fathers mistress
(498-500).
Although such references might have had a proverbial character, they may
well be taken as indicative of Nikeratos transference into a world of tragic
emotion and morality.34 It is for this reason that he cannot think reasonably
and realize that Moschions supposed acts could not be regarded as inces
tuous since Chrysis was only Demeas concubine, while tragic characters
such as Phoenix or Hippolytus were actually innocent. He therefore states
that he intends not to give his daughter Plangon as a wife to Moschion (502
5) and suggests that Moschion ought to have been repudiated, while Chrysis
ought to have been sold as a slave (506-13): two measures which could hardly
have been taken in a social context.35 Nikeratos emotional reaction brings
to the foreground his simple-minded, unrefined and socially inferior charac
ter as opposed to that of Demeas who stands out as a witty, rational, sophis
32 Cf. Bain 1983: 119; Fantuzzi & Hunter 2004: 429-30.
33 Cf. especially his successive invocations and at 495.
34 Cf. Omitowoju 2010: 136.
35 Although Chrysis was a hetaira, she was a free woman and could therefore not be sold as
a slave. As for Moschions repudiation, there is no ancient evidence suggesting that such a
measure was ever actually taken, even though there are various sources suggesting its exis
tence (e.g., Plat. Leg. 928d-929d; Dem. 39.39; Dion. Hal. 2.260). Cf. Harrison 1968: 75
76; Gomme & Sandbach 1973: 601; MacDowell 1978: 91; Lamagna 1998: 362; Fountou
lakis 2004: 173; Fountoulakis 2008: 470.
ticated and wealthy man.36 Such a reaction is also related to the fact that
Nikeratos thinks and acts beyond the boundaries of Demeas oikos. This is
another reason why he appears not to care about its well-being and proposes
measures leading to a collapse not much different from the collapse of
Amyntors oikos in Euripides tragedy.37 The fuller appropriation of tragic
patterns of speech and thought on the part of Nikeratos highlights Demeas
different values and priorities.
The striking interruption of Demeas successive invocations at 326 marks
a significant point in the plays action, closely associated with the delineation
of his character. Despite his initial emotional response to his supposed de
ception as well as the analogies between his situation and those of tragic per
sonages such as Theseus or Amyntor, Demeas, far from behaving like a
tragic figure driven by an intrinsically tragic sense of honour and shame,
emerges as pragmatic, sober and reasonable. This happens because Demeas
has good reasons for not drawing the attention of the community in which
he lives to Moschions supposed misconduct. Such a revelation might result
in the extreme measure of his adoptive sons repudiation or other forms of
punishment that would threaten the stability of his own oikos, and this is
something Demeas wants to avoid. The unexpected handling of dramatic
convention at 325-27 would in the startled spectators minds underline the
importance of the ensuing part of Demeas monologue,38 where it becomes
clear that he is willing to abandon tragedys emotional and moral codes. He
resorts instead to common sense and philosophical reasoning in order to
persuade himself of Moschions innocence. This is what he wants to believe,
no matter whether it is true or false, aiming in fact at the construction of
assumptions that could protect the prosperity and continuity of his oikos.39
He therefore puts the blame on his Samian concubine who will be, conveni
ently enough, driven out of his house as a dangerous female intruder ca
pable of seducing his adoptive son and threatening his households stability.
36 For the differences between these two characters, see Fountoulakis 2008: 469-70. Cf.
Macua Martnez 2008: 42, 47-48.
37 For the different attitudes of Nikeratos and Demeas, see Fountoulakis 2004: 166-76;
Fountoulakis 2011: 171, 176-80.
38 This is also the function of the audience address () of 329. For the manipulation
of the spectators attention by means of Demeas direct confession to them that his state
ment concerning the innocence of Moschion is strange, see Zagagi 1995: 125-26.
39 Cf. Zagagi 1995: 125-26; Fountoulakis 2004: 165; Omitowoju 2010: 141-43.

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His love for the woman thus gives way to his love for his son and his con
cern for the well-being of his oikos.40 At 328, he states that Moschion has not
committed any kind of injustice against him. Like a man in real life who is
aware of the innocence of young men in tragic contexts such as that of the
Hippolytus or the Phoenix, he does not hesitate to see Moschions intention
of marrying Plangon as soon as possible as an attempt to save himself from a
hypothetically lustful Chrysis who is regarded as the sole person responsible
for what is supposed to have happened (333-38). Demeas thinks that since
Moschion had always been and (344), he must have only
momentarily strayed due to his age, the wine he had perhaps drunk, and the
bad influence of an evil woman (338-48).41 Demeas thus draws attention to
permanent and essential features of Moschions character and not to his oc
casional mistakes for which he appears ready to forgive him.42
Demeas makes careful use of ideas emerging from social contexts as well
as from the context of Aristotelian philosophy. In both, youth was very often
associated with thoughtlessness, excess and hybris, as well as a tendency to
wards drunkenness and lust. The lack of maturity in young men was attrib
uted to their inexperience and the significant role of emotion in the forma
tion of their behaviour.43 In Aristotles Nicomachean Ethics, reference is made
to the evaluation of human character as a whole and not according to iso
40 Cf. Fountoulakis 2004: 157-60; Macua Martnez 2008: 40-41; Lape 2010: 62-65.
41 At 273-74, Moschion is described by Demeas as and . Hippolytus
was also presented as in Euripides play (Eur. Hipp. 83 and 1454), while Theseus
question in Hipp. 949 suggested that his son was considered as and
. Cf. Cusset 2003: 166. Yet, unlike Demeas, Theseus appeared unwilling to
condone his sons supposed misconduct.
42 The idea that ones actions ought to be judged according to ones character is also found
in Euripides, Phoenix, fr. 812 TrGF V.II Kannicht. In the light of the associations between
Menanders Samia and Euripides Phoenix, one might suppose a Euripidean influence. Cf.
Cusset 2003: 165. Yet the fact that in Euripides play Amyntor eventually proceeded to his
sons punishment shows that in the Phoenix this view was probably expressed as a passing
comment and was not a pervasive idea determining the characters actions and the devel
opment of the plays plot, as happens in the Samia.
43 See Dem. 19.194, 54.14; Lysias 20.3, 24.17; Isocr. 20.17; Philippides, fr. 27 K.-A.; Ar. Nic.
Eth. 1095a 2-8, 1113b30-33, 1136a7-9, 1154b9-11; Ach. Tat. 2.3.3; Dover 1974: 102-3, 174;
Dedoussi 2006: 186. It is worth bearing in mind that Aristotles remarks relating to moral
issues often depend on observation of actual social practice as well as on current moral
views.
lated unintentional acts which might have occurred under pressure or in

ignorance.44 Whenever a harmful act is unintentional and does not appear
to comply with a picture gained from the whole of ones behaviour and
character, it has to be forgiven.45 By describing Moschions supposed mis
conduct as and not as at 351, Demeas employs a term
and a concept found in Aristotelian philosophy in an argument aiming at
the exoneration of his son.46 In Aristotles Rhetoric and Nicomachean Ethics
clear distinctions are drawn between (mistake),
(fault), and (intentional wrong).47 An act described as
is due to the ignorance and thoughtlessness of the actors, an to
careless thought and wrong evaluation, but not to badness, and an
to their bad intentions or evil character. According to Aristotle, people ought
to be forgiven for the first two kinds of acts because they are unintentional,
whereas they should be punished for the third kind of acts because these are
indicative of a serious flaw in their character.48
Yet Demeas sophisticated reasoning is still affected by his ignorance of
the entire truth and this leads him to further misunderstandings.49 These
are also due to his reasoning being based on pure assumptions formed by his
44 Ar. Nic. Eth. 1110a18-21, 1110b25.

45 See Ar. Rhet. 1374b4-16, Nic. Eth. 1135a17-18, 1135b16-1136a 9, 1149b13, 1150b30-31,
1152a18; Webster 1960: 205; Barigazzi 1965: 169-70; Sherman 1989: 18-19; Lamagna 1998:
297; Fountoulakis 2004: 160-62; Dedoussi 2006: 183.
46 Note that at 328 he confesses to himself that Moschion has done no wrong to him
( ) and this is why he appears to stop shouting.
47 See LSJ s.v. , and .
48 See Ar. Rhet. 1374b4-16; Nic. Eth. 1135a17-18, 1135b16-1136a9, 1149b13, 1150b30-31, 1152a18.
The fact that Menander must have been aware of Aristotelian morality and terminology
perhaps through his probable acquaintance with famous Peripatetics such as Theophra
stus and Demetrius of Phalerum is attested not only in the careful use of relevant termi
nology by Demeas (cf. also Sam. 703-8), but also in the similarly careful use of such ter
minology and moral reasoning by Moschion at the beginning of the Samia (3) as well as
by many Menandrean characters in various plays such as, e.g., Aspis (110, 205), Dyscolus
(711-14), Epitrepontes (914), Samia (646-47) and frr. 334, 389, 688 K.-A. Cf. Diog. Laert.
5.36 (= Men. Test. 8 K.-A.) and 5.79 (= Men. Test. 9 K.-A.); Tierney 1936; Post 1938;
Webster 1960: 204-5; Barigazzi 1965: 69-86; Gaiser 1967; Wehrli 1970; Dworacki 1977;
Blanchard 2002: 58-74; Fountoulakis 2004: 157-63; Blanchard 2007: 99-107.
49 Irony still invests the presentation of Demeas character. This produces a comic effect. See
Gomme & Sandbach 1973: 577-78; Goldberg 1980: 101; Fountoulakis 2004: 164; Dedoussi
2006: 190-91.

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eagerness to maintain the prosperity of his oikos rather than to discover the
truth. The Aristotelian terminology and the corresponding argumentation,
which are so obviously used by Demeas, function as rhetorical devices aim
ing at persuasion and not as philosophical tools aiming at the discovery of
the truth. Demeas reasoning serves the construction of fictitious circum
stances which could justify his actions with respect to the demands of the
world around him.
Demeas is interested in the stability of his oikos as well as in its continuity,
which will be achieved through the creation of a new oikos by his adoptive
son. It is for this reason that at various points of the Samia Demeas encour
ages the marriage of Moschion and Plangon.50 His attitude towards such a
prospect is fully manifested in the fifth act of the play where Demeas ap
pears as a clever and sophisticated man ready to set emotion aside in favour
of reason and achieve a kind of reconciliation with his son on behalf of his
oikos.51 The play with the dramatic conventions of the Not- und Hilferuf at
325-29 points towards a man who turns to himself in order to protect his
oikos and thus safeguard his well-being, and not a man who turns to the
community in order to protect himself. This is not alien to the political and
cultural context of late fourth-century Athens which had lost its former
power and could hardly offer its citizens the safety and welfare it used to
provide in the past. This role now appeared more appropriate to the oikos.
Demeas blatant abandonment of a tragic attitude, mentality and moral code
at 325-29 in fact highlights the abandonment of a tragic world centred upon
the destruction of the oikos and the move towards a world interested in pa
tiently solving the problems and maintaining the prosperity of the oikos; a
concern that pervades not only the Samia, but also most of the surviving
plays of New Comedy.52
50 Men. Sam. 113-18, 169-204, 444-50, 588-615.

51 See Weissenberger 1991; Fountoulakis 2004: 183-91; Macua Martnez 2008: 42-44; Omi
towoju 2010: 141-45.
52 For the relation of such an ideological aim to the wider social and political context of the
early Hellenistic world see Fantuzzi & Hunter 2004: 409-17; Fountoulakis 2011: 180-93.
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TYNDARUS PAST:
THE NAME PAEGNIUM
IN PLAUTUS CAPTIVI
By Katerina Philippides
Summary: This paper deals with the problem concerning the second name, Paegnium, of
Tyndarus, one of the main characters in Plautus Captivi, who was abducted in his childhood
and turned into a slave. The assumption that the name Paegnium can be attributed either to
a free person or to a young slave, sexually exploited by his master, is not conclusive enough.
It is more likely that Paegnium (plaything) is a nickname given to a boy who was purchased
to be a playmate of his masters child. The examination of the Latin term delicium, equiva
lent to the Greek word paignion, also supports this thesis.
In the comedy Captivi by Plautus, the young slave Tyndarus appears as a

main character who at the end of the play is revealed to be of free descent.
At the age of four years Tyndarus was abducted from the house of his father
Hegio in Aetolia by the fugitive slave Stalagmus, and then sold to Theo
doromedes in Alis. Towards the end of the play another name of Tyndarus is
disclosed: Paegnium. The following discussion will hopefully elucidate a
specific verse, verse 984, of Captivi, where the reference to that second name
is found. This verse is rather vague as to who gave the name as well as when,
where and why it was given.
Owing to this vagueness of verse 984 a number of different explanations
have been proposed about the name Paegnium and its significance. First, it
has been argued that the name Paegnium is the true name of Tyndarus,
which was given to him by his own family in Aetolia.1 Within this supposi-
1 Already from the end of the nineteenth century, Sonnenschein (1879: 124) etymologizes
the word from the Greek verb (play) and considers it to be diminutive;
Katerina Philippides Tyndarus Past: The Name Paegnium in Plautus Captivi C&M 62 (2011) 99-112. 2011
Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

100 katerina philippides
tion, it has further been postulated that Tyndarus will re-adopt that name at
the end of the play.2
Secondly, it has been maintained that the name Paegnium was given to
Tyndarus by Stalagmus,3 since the hearing of it does not elicit any reaction
on the part of Hegio while recognizing his abducted son.4
Thirdly, it has been suggested that the name Paegnium has paederastic
connotations.5 Related to this view is the assumption that since Stalagmus
had been sexually abused by Hegio, he abducts the latters son intending the
same fate for him.6 In support of the theory that Paegnium bears paederastic
connotations, two parallels have lately been drawn: one with the young slave
Paegnium (who maintains a homosexual relationship with his master) in the
play Persa,7 and the other with the connection that Plutarch makes between
yet, he notes (1879: 6) the following in regard to the reaction of Philocrates at the recog
nition of Tyndarus: but when the slave [Stalagmus] mentions that in the family of Theo
doromedes the child went by the name of Tyndarus, Philocrates recognizes in his servant
and companion the lost Paegnium. Possibly Viljoen (1963: 58) perceives the name Paeg
nium as being the original one, when, discussing the selling of Tyndarus by Stalagmus, he
observes that the buyer gave him to Philocrates himself as a res peculiaris and renamed
him Tyndarus. Marshall (2006: 150) holds that Paegnium was Tyndarus freeborn name.
De Melo (2010) observes that Paegnium means a toy and was given to Tyndarus by his
father.
2 Bloomer 2001: 47, 51.
3 Kraus 1977: 160-61.
4 Leigh 2004: 91.
5 Already Brix (1884: 84) assigned an erotic meaning to this name, linking it with names of
women and explaining it as follows: wie , (Sptzchen)

u.a. zur Bezeichnung von Leibknaben (auch wohl Lustknaben), Pagen. See
also Leigh 2004: 91. Cf. Henderson (2009: 137) who, commenting on verse 1032 of Cap
tivi Ubi amans adulescens scortum liberet, in which the actors say that the comedy does
not include the usual unethical plots, observes that in fact, Captivi does find room for
some mini-adventures in skin-trade but with a toy-boy. De Melo (2010) objects to this
reading of Henderson.
6 Kraus (1977: 160-61) holds that Paegnium was sold by Stalagmus to Theodoromedes to be
used als catamitus. Cf. Leigh 2004: 91.
7 Hughes (1984: 51 and 51-52, n. 8) detects homoerotic vocabulary in verses 192 and 229-31
of this particular comedy. Cf. Williams (2010: 37) who finds homosexual content in verses
284-86. Although Marshall (2006: 150-51) refers to the sexual innuendo in the name
Paegnium of the homonymous character in Persa, he does not use it in his argument
when discussing Captivi: he concentrates on the ambiguity created by the blurring of the

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the Greek word and the corresponding Latin deliciae in a homo

sexual context.8
Finally, it has been proposed that Paegnium is a pet name, and that it in
volves a word-play, since it denotes a toy.9 In this case it is thought that the
term Paegnium is fitting for a little boy who is the playmate of another
child.10
On the basis of this latter observation, the present paper builds an argu
ment that takes into consideration the following series of interrelated issues:
that Hegio did not name his son Paegnium but most likely the little slave
was given the nickname Paegnium only in Alis; that Stalagmus did not give
the name Paegnium to the stolen child but that Theodoromedes family did
so; that the name Paegnium does not have any homosexual connotations.
An examination of the Plautine characters names in general as well as the
dramatic structure of the recognition scenes11 further support my thesis that
Paegnium was a nickname of Tyndarus during his stay in Alis. Finally, the
results of preceding research about the role of delicium in the Roman family
also corroborate my thesis.
As verses 981-84 of Captivi12 inform us, Stalagmus reveals to Philocrates
that he had sold Tyndarus, who was four years old at that time, to
opposition free/slave; on the one hand, the freeborn Paegnium becomes the slave Tyn
darus, and on the other, this free boy takes a slaves name, Paegnium.
8 Leigh 2004: 91.
9 Lindsay (1921: 114) translates the name Paegnium as plaything, toy, pet. Havet also
(1932: 8) renders this name as Joujou, meaning toy (joujou: a childs word for the word
jouet, toy, Petit Robert, s.v.). Havet notes that Theodoromedes gives the little child to
Philocrates as property, as a purse, like the money that a gentleman can leave to the
disposal of one of his slaves, something which signals the entrapment of Paegnium into
the humiliation of slavery. Although Kraus (1977: 160-61) links the name Paegnium with
Stalagmus homosexual intentions, he finally supports that Tyndarus was raised by his
owner Theodoromedes bene pudiceque and was used als Gespielen seines Sohnes.
10 According to Slater (1974: 133, 138 n. 4) Paegnium belongs to the category of pueruli
conlusores. In his sensitive translation of Captivi Moore (1995: 246) renders freely verse 981
as follows: didnt your father once buy you a boy for a playmate? Laes (2003: 303 n.
13) characterizes Paegnium as playmate of the free child Philocrates.
11 Leighs argument concerning Hegios lack of reaction upon hearing the name Paegnium is
my point of departure for examining Plautine recognition scenes.
12 The Latin text as well as all corresponding translations used throughout are W.D.C. de
Melos (Plautus 1, Loeb Classical Library 60, 2011).
Philocrates family in Alis for six minae; that it was Theodoromedes who
gave him as a gift to his child Philocrates; and that Tyndarus was also called
Paegnium:
STAL.: nam tibi quadrimulum

tuos pater peculiarem parvolo puero dedit.
PHILOCR.: quid erat ei nomen? si vera dicis, memoradum mihi.
STAL.: Paegnium vocitatust, post vos indidistis Tyndaro.
STAL.: Your father gave you a little four-year-old as your own when you
were a little boy.
PHILOCR.: What name did he have? If youre telling the truth, tell me.
STAL.: He was called Paegnium, and later you gave him the name Tyn
darus.
Those scholars who consider the name Paegnium to be Tyndarus original

name most probably rely on the syntactic position of the personal pronoun
vos in verse 984, which seems unconnected to the preceding first half of this
verse. Thus they are of the view that the verb vocitatust refers to Hegios fam
ily in Aetolia, and that Theodoromedes family in Alis changed the name of
the child. However, verse 984 does not state that Hegio gave the name Paeg
nium. The passive verb vocitatust is not accompanied by an agent comple
ment. The use of the present perfect tense is also strange: if Hegio were the
name-giver, it would be easier for the poet to employ the imperfect tense or
the past perfect tense, which would make it clear that Tyndarus was named
Paegnium when he was still with his family, but that later his name had been
changed. However, we must pay special attention to the immediate dramatic
context: Philocrates has just asked Stalagmus to remind him of the slaves
name, and then Stalagmus offers him firstly the nickname Paegnium by
which Philocrates would recognize his childhood playmate. Stalagmus,
whom Philocrates brought along with himself, had remained in Alis and
knew a great deal about the childs story.
In what follows, I shall first concentrate on the Greek form of the word
Paegnium and examine it in reference to Plautus dramaturgy; afterwards I
shall correlate it with the Latin term delicium and its meaning in the context
of the Roman family.
If we accept the view that Hegio named his son Paegnium, we overlook

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the fact that Plautus most probably plays with this Greek name. It seems
that the little slave from Aetolia was called Paegnium in Alis because he was
given to his young master for no other evident purpose than to be played
with. This nickname eventually became useless and was replaced by the real
name Tyndarus when the little slave grew up. The name Paegnium after all
would sound rather strange for a young man.
Plautus often interprets the Greek names of his characters and exploits
their significance. His word-play is easily apparent and has indeed been the
subject of scholarly focus from the beginning of the last century onwards.13 I
shall give instances of just a few Plautine characters who live up to their
Greek names: the courtesan Phronesium deprives Diniarchus of all wisdom
() as he himself admits in Truculentus; the old woman Staphyla
(, grape) is prone to drink wine in Aulularia;14 the soldiers Pyr
gopolynices (, tower, , one who loves to get involved
in many battles)15 in Miles gloriosus and Stratophanes (, army,
, to appear, be noticeable)16 in Truculentus boast of their heroism.
Many courtesans are given names related to their profession, for instance
Philematium ( , kiss), Erotium (),17 etc. The cata
logue of such significant names in Plautus comedies is extensive.
The assumption that this name was Tyndarus original name seems un
convincing for yet another reason: Plautus otherwise never gives a diminu
tive name to a free, male character; on the contrary he gives the same name,
Paegnium, to a little slave in Persa. Likewise, he names other slaves by di
minutive names: he calls two slaves Pinacium (small picture),18 one in Sti
chus and another one in Mostellaria. The name Phaniscus, of another slave in
Mostellaria is also most probably a diminutive (due to the suffix -
which in Greek has this function; cf., for example, , , temple,
small temple s.v. in LSJ ). Furthermore, Plautus gives diminutive names to
13 Mendelsohn 1907. This scholar has dealt with the name Paegnium in Persa; he does not
discuss the same name in Captivi because it is referred to once in verse 984 whereas the
character is called Tyndarus throughout.
14 Mendelsohn 1907: 67.
15 See Mendelsohn 1907: 53, for the different etymologies of this satirical name.
16 Mendelsohn (1907: 54) translates the name as one who parades an army.
17 Mendelsohn (1907: 64) translates the name Philematium as precious kiss. For the name
Erotium, see also infra n. 21.
18 Mendelsohn 1907: 23, 60.
courtesans, in most cases slave girls who belong to a pimp. At this point, it
must be stressed that the diminutive names do not always have only erotic
connotations. In Mostellaria, not only does Pinacium not have a homosexual
role, but he actually mocks another slave, Phaniscus, for his sexual relation
ship with his master.19
The name Paegnium then signifies, on the one hand, a little child and, on
the other hand, a slave. It is therefore more likely that Theodoromedes gave
this name to the little child who came into his possession. It is highly im
probable that Hegio might have given a slave-name to his own child. Be
sides, Plautus does not mix up the names of free men and slaves in his plays.
In addition to their different attire, style of speech and stage movements,20
names also contribute to the differentiation between free men and slaves.
But let us examine other references to Tyndarus childhood in conjunc
tion with that of Philocrates, again when the recognition of the former takes
place. A few verses after 981-84, Philocrates confirms the story that Stalag
mus has narrated to him and assures Hegio that Philocrates and Tyndarus
were raised with dignity, until they became adolescents (v. 991-92):
nam is mecum a puero puer
bene pudiceque educatust usque ad adulescentiam.
19 I should mention another case of a name of another character in order to show the possi
bility of an adult acquiring a nickname for a particular reason. A difference of opinion ex
ists among the scholars regarding a variation of the name of Tranio, the scheming slave in
Mostellaria. Specifically, in verse 560, the money lender Misargyrides calls him Tranium
(servom eccum Tranium). Brix (1884: 84) considers that it constitutes a diminutive of the
word Tranio, with erotic connotations. According to Sonnenschein (1907: 113), Ritschl
considers it to be a neuter diminutive. On the other hand, on the preceding page, Son
nenschein himself considers it I think correctly to be an accusative of the second form
of the name, Tranius. However, even if we accept the case that it constitutes a diminutive,
it does not seem to have an erotic meaning at the point where Tranio is an adult. This is
proved by the fact that he has the role of tutor of the young Philolaches in the play, he is
the estate manager of his elderly master and he goes to bed with prostitutes. If it is a di
minutive, we must take into account the context and consider that it is said ironically:
Misargyrides, to whom Tranio and Philolaches owe bags of money which he has trouble
getting back, sees the crafty slave from afar and mockingly calls him little Tranio. A lit
eral rendering of a diminutive to a grown man is improbable.
20 See, for instance, Dupont 1985: 76, 82-84.

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From a young age till adulthood, he [Tyndarus] was brought up with me

in a good and decent fashion.
This assurance is given because in this way, Tyndarus has the opportunity to
pass without hindrance to the status of a free person. Philocrates then re
peats Stalagmus words when he addresses Tyndarus (v. 1011-13):
hic servos, qui te huic hinc quadrimum surpuit,
vendidit patri meo te sex minis, is te mihi
parvolum peculiarem parvolo puero dedit.
This here is the slave who snatched you away from him when you were
four years old and who sold you to my father for six minas; when you and
I were little boys, he in turn gave you to me there to be my own.
But the words of both Stalagmus and Philocrates repeat everything that the
Prologue speaker says directly to the audience regarding the plot and the
details concerning the abduction of Tyndarus and his buyer (v. 19-20):
is postquam hunc emit, dedit eum huic gnato suo
peculiarem, quia quasi una aetas erat.
After this man bought him, he gave him to his son here as his own, be
cause their age was roughly the same.
Because they have heard it repeatedly, the audience gets a firm grip of the
story of the abduction and the purpose of the little slaves purchase. Based
on what the two characters and the Prologue speaker have said, it is a likely
conclusion that the abducted boy, being very young at that time, took the
nickname Paegnium because he was given to the free child as a playmate.
The young age of both children is stressed both by being repeated four times
(if we include verses 981-84) and by the alliteration of p in verse 1013. Per
haps it is also important that nowhere does the text state that Philocrates has
a brother, older or of the same age, as company. (Only Tyndarus has a
brother, Philopolemus, of whom he was deprived due to his abduction.
However, we do not have any information about Philopolemus age nor

about the degree of his familiarity with Tyndarus).
Leigh correctly, in my opinion, points out the fact that the name Paeg
nium does not bring about any reaction in Hegio during the recognition
scene, evidently because this name does not mean anything to him. I would
like to reinforce this argument by adding that when it is revealed to him that
Hegio is his father, Tyndarus remembers, though vaguely, Hegios name (v.
1022-24). So Hegios name plays a role in the recognition scene, and Tyn
darus is able to remember that name and reacts upon hearing it.
Indeed, in Plautine recognition scenes, the name of the individual who is
being recognized has great importance. Other names, the names of the par
ents, for instance, or of the individuals place of origin have great importance
as well, and the interested parties both react to these names: the missing per
son and the relatives searching for him/her. In this way, Telestis hears her
own name from Epidicus in Epidicus and also her parents names and the
place of her origin. Telestis, however, was abducted and taken captive when
she was a girl.
When children are abducted at a very young age, it seems that they take
on other names, as in the case of the courtesans Planesium in Curculio or of
Adelphasium and Anterastilis in Poenulus (who indeed were abducted at the
same age as Tyndarus). In particular Anterastilis, and perhaps also Adelpha
sium, seems to have been given a name that suits a courtesan and not a free
woman expected to marry at some point.21 But in any case the girls names
are not mentioned at all in the recognition scene, a fact which shows that
these names are not those the girls had in the past, and therefore do not have
21 Mendelsohn (1907: 65) compares the name Anterastilis with the Greek word
which according to him means a rival in love, companion in love; it seems, however,
more plausible that the name means the beautiful girl who makes men rivals for her
love. Mendelsohn considers that the name Adelphasium derives from the word ,
and it is probable that it corresponds to the Latin word soror, that can also mean a courte
san. The name Planesium does not seem to have some particular meaning that might suit
a courtesan. Wright (1993: 47) translates and comments upon the name as follows: little
wanderer, appropriate to her history. However, seeing that the name Planesium is a di
minutive, this might mean that it is the name of a courtesan, since Plautus often gives
diminutive names to his courtesans. The suffix of the diminutive probably expresses affec
tion, as in the case of Erotium in Menaechmi. Mendelsohn (1907: 64) observes the follow
ing about this name: Erotium ... is well called little love (), the diminutive de
noting endearment.

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any significance for their recognition. Perhaps the lack of reference to the
original name of the recognized individuals in these cases (where the chil
dren were very young at the time of their abduction) also explains the lack
of reference to Tyndarus original name.
Plautus uses the name Paegnium for a young slave in Persa. To this char
acter, who is different from the one in Captivi, I shall come back later. What
is of concern here is that in Persa Plautus puts the characterization of Paeg
nium as deliciae pueri in the mouth of an ancilla. Although strictly speaking
the Latin equivalent of Paegnium is ludus or jocus, it seems that Plautus
might also have in mind the Roman delicia/deliciae children as his usual
practice is to use Greek elements to represent a background of mostly Ro
man realities and institutions. Below, I shall discuss the results of scholars
research into delicium.
Slater22 has distinguished delicia, usually children of slaves in a Roman
household, in two categories: those destined to play with the other, free
children (as an example, the scholar gives Paegnium in Captivi), and those
who provided amusement and company to their master; the second group
were encouraged to be impudent and loquacious. As has been pointed out
earlier, Paegnium had a decent upbringing in Theodoromedes house, the
same that Philocrates had.
Delicium is a neutral term which in most cases means a child who is an
object of affection. Nielsen23 reaches the conclusion: Given the information
provided by literature and inscriptions we may therefore summarize our
findings as follows: a delicium/delicatus/a was normally a child of slave status,
probably more frequently a girl than a boy, brought up in the house of his or
her master; the relationship existing between master and delicium was nor
mally parent/child-like but quite informal, only based on affection and love;
Nielsen adds that sometimes the relationship was sexual as a means of social
advancement. Laes,24 expanding the research into literary and epigraphic
evidence, shows the wide spectrum of the meaning of the word delicium and
22 Slater 1974: 133, 138 n. 4.

23 Nielsen 1990: 85. Nielsens arguments are accepted by Dixon 2001: 13. Rawson (1986: 187
78, 196) comes to the conclusion that a great number of the home-born slaves (vernae)
enjoyed their masters affection equal to foster-children; he also notes that some of them
were called delicia.
24 Laes 2003: 298-324; see also my note 10.
the contexts in which it is used, which vary from innocent/affectionate to

paederastic.
From the above research it also becomes evident that the word delicium is
not a name, but rather a noun signifying a specific group of slave children.
When attributed to free children, it is used as an adjective meaning be
loved.25 This is further evidence that Paegnium is not a real name, but a
noun for a group of slave children.
Concerning the topic of the erotic or non-erotic meaning of the Greek
name Paegnium in Captivi, I have already argued for the connection of this
name with a toy. It should be emphasised that this name is given to a little
four-year-old child and not to an adolescent. But even if we take into ac
count the possibly synonym Latin delicium, we have seen that most of the
times this, too, does not carry erotic connotations.26 Although in Persa the
phrase addressed to the character Paegnium deliciae pueri has erotic mean
ing, the case of the Paegnium in Captivi is obviously different. In Persa the
young slave is surely much older than four years old, as he is a speaking
character with a clearly articulated speech and the ability to exercise judg
ment and to carry out errands.
Additionally, this is not the only instance in Plautus comedies of his as
signing the same name to different or even contrasting characters. For ex
ample, he gives the name Charmides to both a venerable old man in Tri
nummus and to a disreputable old man in Rudens who is the friend of a
pimp and is described in the Prologue as scelestus, urbis proditor (50). He also
uses Lyco as the name of a banker in Curculio as well as of a pimp in Poenu
lus.
Leigh27 refers to Senecas use of the word deliciolum as the nickname of
the slave Felicio who grew up with Seneca as a child (Epist. 12.3), in order to
reject this case as a parallel to Paegnium in Captivi. It seems, however, that
the relation between Seneca and Felicio corresponds exactly to the relation
between Philocrates and Tyndarus. Only when a child, Felicio was a delicio
25 Laes 2003: 310, 312.

26 See, for instance, Nielsen (1990: 79), who aptly writes: Modern commentators, interpret
ers and lexicographers have allowed themselves to be misguided by the passages where
sexual use or abuse is indicated or implied into believing that delicium in itself had sexual
connotations.
27 Leigh 2004: 91.

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lum for his master and had the same duty as Paegnium, i.e., to play with his
free, young master.28 Indeed, Felicio is the one who appeals to the memory
of his now aged master Seneca to remember their childhood years.29
To return to Plautus, as far as we know from his extant comedies, free
men are never represented as having homosexual relations with each other;
homosexuality can only occur between a free man and a young slave (Hegio
and Stalagmus in Captivi, Timarchides and Paegnium in Persa, and Lysida
mus and Olympio in Casina, for example30). It is significant that in Captivi
Plautus informs his audience right at the beginning of the play that his char
acter Tyndarus, a slave, was freeborn and will be reunited with his father.
During the recognition scene Plautus twice provides details regarding Tyn
darus decent upbringing, because he aims to present Tyndarus as worthy of
being free. In any case, the heavily semantically charged word pudice that
characterises Tyndarus upbringing excludes any type of erotic association
with Theodoromedes, the father of Philocrates. The assurance by the Pro
logue speaker that Philocrates family is excellent summoque genere (31) and
the fact that the play does not contain obscene language, nec spurcidici in
sunt vorsus (56) are consistent with the lack of abuse of little Tyndarus by his
masters family. Furthermore, most probably Stalagmus abducted the little
child not in order to take revenge on his father, Hegio, as Leigh has argued,
but in order to make money, which would have been particularly useful for a
fugitive slave. In any case, abduction or exposure of infants constitute a
common theme in Greek and Roman New Comedy. Of course, all these
abductions or exposures lead to later recognitions.
If we focus on the Greek word Paegnium, it should be noted that, just
28 I agree with Leigh and Laes (2003, 303 and n. 13) that Felicio was Senecas playmate when
they were both young, and disagree with Watsons (2009: 213 n. 6, 219) who surmise that
Seneca was much older than Felicio and the latter was the pet of the former. Not only are
slave children playing with the free ones attested by further literary evidence quoted by
Laes and Slater (1974, 138, n. 4), but the whole episode with Felicio gains more sentimen
tal and psychological depth when the ageing Seneca does not recognize his former little
companion in games due to the latters progressed age.
29 The exchange between Felicio and Seneca looks like a recognition scene.
30 Williams (2010: 36-38, 322, n. 130) discusses many passages which describe homosexual
relations between masters and slaves in Plautine comedies; he also holds that these rela
tions must constitute Plautine expansions upon the Greek originals since the numerous
jokes in reference to the sexual subjugation of the slaves are embroidered with Latin puns.
like many other words, it acquires different meanings depending on the con
text. Thus, in Persa the name Paegnium is given to a young sexually active
man, while in Captivi it characterises a little child who plays. Notably, in
Plutarchs works themselves, a large number of passages exist where this
word simply indicates a little toy (it seems to constitute a diminutive of the
word, or , see s.v. in LSJ ); for example De fortuna (98
E.4):
(What
is bigger or more fearful in sight than an elephant? But even the elephant
has become mans plaything and a spectacle in public festivals). In this quo
tation, is attributed to an animal. In the Leges (803c4-5) Plato de
scribes man as a gods plaything:
(man is made gods plaything). Here I indicatively refer
to only two examples from the numerous cases where this word signifies a
plaything.
The above discussion shows the inadequacies of the hypotheses that in
Captivi the name Paegnium can be attributed to a free adult person or that it
can refer to a young slave intended to offer homosexual favours to his mas
ter. It seems more plausible that Paegnium is a nickname given to a child
who plays with another and that the four-year-old slave had exactly this duty
in Alis. Plautus, who uses Greek significant names in his 31
Palliata, has appar
ently selected this specific name for this particular case.
31 I am grateful to S.A. Frangoulidis and the anonymous readers of C&M for their most
constructive comments on an earlier version of this paper; and to the editor for his in
valuable editing throughout.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Bloomer, W.M. 2001. Cross-Speaking in Plautus: The Economics of Slave

and Master in the Captiui in E. Tylawsky & C. Weiss (eds.) Essays in
Honor of Gordon Williams: Twenty-Five Years at Yale. New Haven, 33-57.
Brix, J. 1884. Ausgewhlte Komdien des T. Maccius Plautus fr den Schul
gebrauch, 2: Captiui. Leipzig.
Dixon, S. 2001. The other Romans and their Family Values in S. Dixon

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tyndarus past 111
(ed.) Childhood, Class and Kin in the Roman World. London & New York,
1-17.
Dupont, F. 1985. LActeur-roi: ou le thatre dans la Rome antique. Paris.
Havet, L. 1932. Les Prisonniers, dition et traduction. Paris.
Henderson, J. 2009. A Plautus Reader: Selections from Eleven Plays. BC Latin
Readers. Mundelein, IL.
Hughes, D. 1984. The Character of Paegnium in Plautus Persa RhM 128,
46-57.
Kraus, W. 1977. Die Captivi im neuen Lichte Menanders in H. Bannert &
J. Divjak (eds.) Latinitt und alte Kirche: Festschrift R. Hanslik (Wiener
Studien, Beiheft 8). Vienna, 159-70.
Laes, C. 2003. Desperately Different? Delicia Children in the Roman
Household in D. Balch & C. Osiek (eds.) Early Christian Families in
Context. Grand Rapids, MI, 298-324.
Leigh, M. 2004. Comedy and the Rise of Rome. New York.
Lindsay, W.M. 1921. T. Macci Plauti Captiui with Introduction and Notes.
Oxford.
Marshall, C.W. 2006. The Stagecraft and Performance of Roman Comedy.
New York.
de Melo, W.D.C. 2010. Review of A Plautus Reader: Selections from Eleven
Plays. BC Latin Readers by John Henderson, BMCR.
bmcr.brynmawr.edu/2010/2010-10-21
Mendelsohn, C.J. 1907. Studies in the Word-Play in Plautus: I. The Name-
Play, II. The Use of Single Words in a Double Meaning. Philadelphia.
Moore, R. 1995. The Captives in D.R. Slavitt & P. Bovie (eds.) Plautus: The
Comedies, 1. Baltimore & London, 181-249.
Rawson, B. 1986. Children in the Roman Familia in B. Rawson (ed.) The
Family in ancient Rome: New Perspectives. London & Sydney, 170-200.
Sigismund Nielsen, H. 1990. Delicia in Roman Literature and in the Urban
Inscriptions ARID 19, 79-88.
Slater, W.J. 1974. Pueri, turba minuta Institute of Classical Studies Bulletin
21, 133-40.
Sonnenschein, E.A. 1879. T. Macci Plauti Captivi with an Introduction, Criti
cal Apparatus, and Explanatory Notes. London.
Sonnenschein, E.A. 1907. T. Macchi Plauti Mostellaria. Oxford.
Viljoen, G. van N. 1963. The Plot of the Captivi of Plautus Acta Classica 6,
38-63.
112
Watson, P. & L. 2009. Seneca and Felicio: Imagery and Purpose CQ 59,
212-26.
Williams, C.A. 2010. Roman Homosexuality: Ideologies of Masculinity in Clas
sical Antiquity. New York & Oxford.
Wright, J. 1993. Plautus Curculio, Revised Edition with Introduction and
Notes. Norman, OK.

ADSTANTE OPE BARBARICA:
A NOTE ON ENNIUS, ANDR. 89
JOCELYN
By Giampiero Scafoglio
Summary: This paper deals with the expression adstante ope barbarica (Ennius, Andr. 89
Jocelyn), focusing in particular on the use of the adjective barbaricus (reflecting a Helleno
centric perspective, linked to the Trojan plays of Euripides) and on the interpretation of ops
as luxury instead of military force.
It is uncertain whether the action of the Andromacha by Ennius1 took place

after the fall of Troy, the central event being the killing of Astyanax (as in the
Trojan Women by Euripides),2 or some time later at the court of Neoptole
mus in Epirus, where the lives of the kings son and of his concubine An
dromache were threatened by his spouse Hermione (as in the Andromache by
Euripides).3 It is also possible that Ennius followed a post-classical or Helle
nistic tragedy such as the Andromache of Antiphon, but added4 scenes and
speeches from the Trojan Women and from the Hecuba as well. Anyway, as
it can be argued from some fragments, in this tragedy Andromache very
emotionally remembered Hectors death4(verses 78-79)5 and spoke of herself
2
1 Cf. Ennianae poesis reliquiae. Iteratis curis recensuit I. Vahlen, Leipzig 1928 , 130-35; The
Tragedies of Ennius: The Fragments, edited with an Introduction and Commentary by
H.D. Jocelyn. Cambridge 1969: 81-93, 234-61.
2 Cf. Ribbeck, O. 1875. Die Rmische Tragdie im Zeitalter der Republik. Leipzig: 135-42;
Remains of Old Latin, newly edited and translated by E.H. Warmington, II. London &
Cambridge, MA 1936: 245; Jocelyn 1969 (n. 1): 234-38; Poeti latini arcaici, vol. I: Livio An
dronico, Nevio, Ennio, a cura di A. Traglia. Torino 1986: 287.
3 Cf. Welcker, F.G. 1841. Die griechischen Tragdien mit Rcksicht auf den epischen Cyclus, III.
Bonn: 1190-1204; Terzaghi, N. 1925. Noterelle enniane BFC 32, 15-17.
Giampiero Scafoglio Adstante ope barbarica: A Note on Ennius, Andr. 89 Jocelyn C&M 62 (2011) 113-16. 2011
Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

114 giampiero scafoglio
as a stateless and homeless person in terms of Roman law and social practice
(81-86).6 Furthermore, in an intense fragment from the same monody, she
addresses a touching apostrophe to her dead father (sc. king Priam) and, at
the same time, to the lost city of Troy and the destroyed royal palace (the
one and the other being personified, in her mind overcome by fear and
grief ):
o pater, o patria, o Priami domus,
saeptum altisono cardine templum.
uidi ego te adstante ope barbarica,
tectis caelatis laqueatis,
auro ebore instructam regifice.
O my father, my fatherland, o palace of Priam, temple with massive,
high-sounding doors. I have seen you in all your greatness and luxury,
with coffered ceilings and rich adornment of gold and ivory.
Andr. 87-91
Andromache describes the royal palace in its religious austerity (saeptum alti
sono cardine templum)7 and in all its magnificence, with carefully inlaid, cof
fered ceilings (tectis caelatis laqueatis)8 and ornaments of gold and ivory
4 Cf. Mette, H.J. 1964. Die Rmische Tragdie und die Neufunde zur Griechischen Tra
gdie (insbesondere fr die Jahre 1945-1964) Lustrum 9, 76-78; Scafoglio, G. 2006.
LAstyanax di Accio: Saggio sul background mitografico, testo critico e commento dei fram
menti (Coll. Latomus). Bruxelles: 49-57.
5 Vidi, uidere quod me passa aegerrume, / Hectorem curru quadriiugo raptarier. But cf. also v.
80, ex opibus summis opis egens Hector tuae. Cf. Jocelyn 1969 (n. 1): 236; 243-47.
6 It is worth reading the fragment: quid petam praesidi aut exequar? quove nunc / auxilio
exili aut fugae freta sim? / arce et urbe orba sum. quo accedam? quo applicem? / cui nec arae
patriae domi stant, fractae et disiectae iacent, / fana flamma deflagrata, tosti alii stant pa
rietes, / deformati atque abiete crispa.
7 I cannot agree with Jocelyn 1969 (n. 1): a bizarre phrase. The royal palace is compared
metaphorically to a temple for its religious austerity, which is emphasized by the impos
ing gates.
8 The notorious wealth of Troy is usually symbolised by gold: cf. Euripides, Andr. 168-69,
Hek. 492, Tro. 18 and 994-95. The architectural detail of coffered ceilings indicates great
luxury (e.g., Cicero, Tusc. 5.62; Horace, Carm. 2.18.1); so does ivory in domestic furniture
(Homer, Od. 4.72-73; 23.199-200).

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a note on ennius 115
(auro ebore instructam regifice).9 She remembers the royal palace as it was
before its destruction, when she was a lucky and pleased princess by Hectors
side: the evocation of past and irreversibly lost fortune is a Leitmotiv, a re
current and significant theme in Euripides tragedy, that Ennius takes as a
model (especially in his Trojan plays).10
I intend to focus on the expression adstante ope barbarica (an ablative ab
solute, surely to be preferred over the alternative reading adstantem, accusa
tive agreeing with the pronoun te).11 Andromache, a non-Greek woman,
uses the adjective barbaricus without any pejorative connotation: Jocelyn ad
loc. quotes exclusively Aeschylus, Pers. 254-55 (a Persian messenger speaking
to his queen)12 and a formulaic phrase by Plautus in Latin.13 Anyway, that
peculiar use of the adjective barbaricus is to be referred to an Hellenic or,
better, an Hellenocentric perspective, that is frequently employed (always by
non-Greek persons and without pejorative connotations) in Euripidean
14
tragedy.
As regards ope barbarica, Jocelyn ad loc. points out that Ennius is refer
ring to the military support given to Troy by her Asian allies. In corrobora
9 Cf. Andr. 1-6, 64-65, 100-102; Hek. 60-61, 619-28; Tro. 474-510 and esp. Hek. 492-96 (the
speaker is Taltybius, pointing out Hecubas prostration):

10 Cf. Della Casa, A. 1962. Ennio di fronte allEcuba di Euripide Dioniso 36, 63-76; Jocelyn
1969 (n. 1): 23-28; Traina, A. 1974. Vortit barbare: Le traduzioni poetiche da Livio Andronico
a Cicerone. 2nd ed. Rome: 113-65; Scafoglio 2006 (n. 4): 49-62; 2007. Alcune osservazioni
sullHecuba di Ennio Maia 59, 278-82.
11 The fragment is quoted by Cicero, Tusc. 3.44: the ablative adstante is in all manuscripts,
but the reading adstantem is legible in rasura in the codex Vaticanus 3246. Cf. Jocelyn
1969 (n. 1): 248.
12
Cf. Diller, A. 1962. Die Hellenen-Barbaren-Antithese im Zeitalter der Per
serkriege in Grecs et Barbares. Six exposs et discussions par H. Schwabl, H. Diller, O.
Reverdin, W. Peremans, H.C. Baldry, A. Dihle (Entretiens sur lantiquit classique,
Fondation Hardt). Genve-Vandoeuvres: 39-82; Lvy, E. 1984. Naissance du concept de
barbare Ktma 9, 5-14.
13 Maccus uortit barbare (Asin. 11); Plautus uortit barbare (Trin. 19). Cf. Dumont, J. Chr.
1984. Plaute, barbare et hereux de ltre Ktma 9, 69-77; Rochette, Br. 1998. Poeta barba
rus (Plaute, Miles gloriosus 211) Latomus 57, 415-17.
116
tion of this interpretation, he quotes Virgil, Aen. 8.685, where the phrase is
re-used to describe Antonys army (sc. on Aeneas shield):1
hinc ope barbarica uariisque Antonius armis.
Nevertheless, the military meaning sounds out of place in this passage of the
monody, which deals with past fortune conceived as magnificent luxury (cf.
coffered ceilings, gold and ivory). Therefore I propose translating ops as lux
ury instead of military force. As a matter of fact, wealth is the etymologi
cal (and also the most frequently attested) meaning of the word ops, espe
cially in the singular.152 My opinion appears to be confirmed by Virgil, Aen.
2.504-5, where the adjective barbaricus is linked with the substantive aurum
as exotic connotation of luxury:
barbarico postes auro spoliisque superbi
procubuere; tenent Danai qua deficit ignis.
Aeneas is speaking of the royal palace of Priam, just like Andromache in En

nius play. It is significant that Virgil makes the hero complain about the lost
fortune of Troy by taking as model that passage from Ennius Andromacha,
as scholars have acknowledged for a long time.163
14 In particular Tro. 477, 771, 973, 991, 1021, 1277; El. 1210, 1258; Phoen. 679, 680, 819, 1302;
Or. 1370, 1374, 1385, 1396, 1430, 1507; Iph. Aul. 1170, 1174, 1337, 1422; Bacch. 407, 1034;
[Res.] 404, 833. Cf. Sad, S. 1984. Grecs et barbares dans les tragdies dEuripide: la fin
des diffrences? Ktma 9, 27-54; Dubuisson, M. 2001. Barbares et barbarie dans le
monde grco-romain: du concept au slogan AC 70, 1-16.
15 E.g., Plautus, Stich. 695; Cicero, Epist. 14.14.6; Horace, Carm. 3.16.28 (but the word is
never attested in the nominative). Cf. ThLL and Oxford Latin Dictionary, s.v. ops; A.
Ernout & A. Meillet 1985. Dictionnaire tymologique de la langue latine, 4e d. augmente
dadditions et de corrections par J. Andr. Paris, 463-64.
16 Cf. Stabryla, S. 1970. Latin Tragedy in Virgils Poetry. Wroclaw, 80-82; Wigodsky, M. 1972.
Vergil and Early Latin Poetry. Wiesbaden, 78; Horsfall, N. 2008. Virgil, Aeneid 2: A
Commentary. Leiden, 387.

CICEROS ITALY:
IDENTITY, ORATORY AND
POLITICS IN THE LATE REPUBLIC
By Jesper Johansen Meisner
Summary: Ciceros invocation of various collective identities for different tactical political
purposes is throughout his work adapted to his respective audiences, and implies a very wide
spectrum for the articulation of Roman and Italian identities. The surprisingly early identifi
cation of the res publica with the geographical entity of Italy in In Verrem 2 and the severe
invective against Capuans in De Lege Agraria 2 are the two extremes of this spectrum within
which Cicero sought to exploit the complicated social and political realities of first-century
Italy for his political purposes. Tota Italia was Ciceros catchphrase for an alliance of the pos
sessing classes throughout the peninsula, but the ever-increasing power struggles between the
magnates, fuelled by widespread social unrest, led to recurrent civil wars that shattered Cice
ros hopes of mobilising a comprehensive pan-Italian conservative political (elite) group.1
1. INTRODUCTION
I truly think that both for him [Cato] and for all other municipes there are
two homelands, one of birth, one of citizenship.2
Ciceros description of his love for, and allegiance to, his birthplace Ar-
1 This article is a reworked version of my MPhil thesis An Analysis of Ciceros Conception

of Italy, and his Use of the Concept of Italy submitted to the Faculty of Classics, Cam
bridge University in June 2010. I owe thanks to prof. Andrew Wallace-Hadrill for his in-
spiring and insightful supervision, to Dr John Patterson for his kind and helpful attention
throughout my stay in Cambridge, and to ass. prof. Peter Bang for suggesting several im
provements to an earlier draft of this article.
Jesper Johansen Meisner Ciceros Italy: Identity, Oratory and Politics in the Late Republic C&M 62 (2011) 117-51.

118 jesper johansen meisner
pinum, as a feeling existing alongside the patriotism and duty he felt to

wards Rome, has generally been taken as the starting-point when scholars
have examined Ciceros idea of the attachment of the municeps to the res
2
publica.3 However well known this passage is, and in spite of the claims in
the same chapter that the conception of the relationship between Rome and
municipium described was common to all municipes, the reader should be
immediately alerted that this harmonious relationship between Roman citi
zenship and local identities was anything but self-evident. Rather, the
scholar has every reason to remain sceptical of the idea that the standard
Italian municeps would necessarily feel that he owed any great loyalty to the
Roman political system, and that the attitude described by Cicero was either
particularly firmly rooted or necessarily very widespread.4
The Italy of Ciceros birth in 106 BC was still a mosaic of people of differ
ent status, speaking different languages, living interspersed among each
other, some in cities of varying sizes, and others in rural communities.5 In
political terms, Italy was far from being a united entity, as the only common
factor was the varying degree of attachment to Rome, either as municipia, as
colonies of Roman citizens or Latins, or as allied communities bound to
supply troops for Roman warfare.6
As a teenager, Cicero had the first of his uncommonly few experiences of
army service as a junior officer in the army of Pompeius Strabo, fighting the
conglomeration of Italian nations who combined to make war on Rome
(Cic. Phil. 12.27). Whether this conflict is to be accepted as a symptom of
the allies frustration at being denied Roman citizenship,7 or rather was an
attempt to definitively topple the Roman hegemony within Italy, and conse
quently the Mediterranean,8 it is evident that such a hard-fought conflict,
which according to Velleius cost more than 300,000 lives (Vell. 2.15.3), must
have left deep mutual feelings of distrust and enmity among large parts of
both the urban Roman and local Italian populations. In the following years,
2 Ego mehercule et illi et omnibus municipibus duas esse censeo patrias, unam naturae, alteram
civitatis, Cicero, Leg. 2.5.
3 Salmon 1972: 75; Wood 1988, 139-40; Fuhrmann 1992: 2-3; Lomas 2004: 97.
4 Salmon 1972: 76-77.
5 Bispham 2007: 113-60.
6 Sherwin-White 1973: 38-134.
7 Wallace-Hadrill 2008: 81.
8 Mouritsen 1998: 87-99.

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ciceros italy 119
Cicero was a firsthand witness to the enfranchisement of the defeated Italic

peoples,9 the continuing debate over their tribal affiliations and the registra
tion of the new citizens in the census of 86,10 as well as to the civil war of
the late eighties and the ensuing massive colonisation scheme initiated by
Sulla which led to widespread demographic changes in Italy. 11 Subsequently
Lepidus and Catilinas uprisings mobilised discontented parts of the rural
population,12 several far-reaching agrarian reforms were discussed,13 and
eventually Italy underwent a second civil war and entered upon a third,
which would lead to further colonisation and upheaval in the Italian coun
tryside as the level of mobilisation surged.14
While not ignoring the multitude of opposing forces, such as centuries of
joint warfare and an elite network of trade interests and familial relations,15
all these developments surely make it reasonable to expect a wider range of
conceptions of Italian and Roman identity in Ciceros works than the previ
ously quoted excerpt from De Legibus seems to reflect. While Manfred Fuhr
mann has argued that this attitude would have emerged almost deterministi
cally as a product of the political realities in Italy,16 it must be self-evident
that a period initiated by a hard-fought civil war, and plagued by constant
internal unrest, could hardly foster such a universal harmony between Ro
man and local identities as Cicero seems to claim.
In recent years, Ann Vasaly17 and Kathryn Lomas18 have contributed sig
nificantly to our understanding of Ciceros ability to exploit alternative,
sometimes even self-contradictory, strategies in his representation of local
municipal identities in relation to Rome, while Emma Dench has demon
strated how Cicero portrayed himself alternately as a new man, with all the
concomitant virtues of rusticity and moral uprightness, and as a well
established Roman nobleman looking out on the municipal Italians from his
9 Bispham 2007: 161-73.
10 Bispham 2007: 189-99.
11 Salmon 1969: 129-31.
12 Brunt 1971b: 113-32.
13 Brunt 1988: 240-41, 265-67.
14 Keppie 1983: 49-82; Hopkins 1978: 31-37.
15 Jehne 2006, 243, 247-49; Wiseman 1971: 33-8, 53-64.
16 Fuhrmann 1992: 3.
17 Vasaly 1993: 187-88.
18 Lomas 2004: 114-16.
place in the urban centre of the res publica.19 These ambivalent characteris
tics of Ciceros self-representation reflect the overall tension within the Ro
man/Italian elite in this period, where local Italian nobles made their way
into the Senate and the magistracies of the Republic in increasing num
bers,20 but the consulate was monopolised to a larger extent than ever by the
established Roman aristocracy,21 and where Cicero himself was several times
derided as a foreigner because of his municipal provenance (Att. 1.16.10; Sul.
22; Sall. BC. 31.7). However, much scholarship on Cicero still passes over the
question of the relationship between Roman and local identities, and in the
instances where attention is given to the issue, the introduction to the sec
ond book of De Legibus quoted above is taken to represent a static and
rather self-evident attitude.22 Even the most superficial glance at modern
scholarship related to national identification and collective identities in gen
eral ought, however, to caution against any such view.
A detailed review of this subject is beyond both the scope of this paper
and the capacity of the present author, but for the immediate purpose four
basic assumptions, which summarise some generally accepted features relat
ing to national identities, will be borrowed from the article on The Discur
sive Construction of National Identities by De Cillia et al.23 A few words
must, however, be said about the features of collective identities in antiquity.
Obvious problems arise when attempting to extrapolate the modern con
struct of nationality back onto a pre-modern agrarian society without any of
the prerequisites needed to create a universal national identity, like universal
education or mass media.24 However, the discursive methods identified in
constructing national identities are equally applicable to other sorts of col
lective identities, and are thus quite as suited for an analysis of Roman or
Italian identities in the first century BC, as they are, e.g., for Danish or Brit
ish identities today.
The first and most basic assumption to be made when analysing national
identities is that all such identities are, in Benedict Andersons phrase, imag
19 Dench 2005: 179-82.
20 Wiseman 1971: 6-9.
21 Hopkins 1983: 58.
22 E.g., Wood 1988: 198-99
23 De Cillia et al. (their fifth assumption about nationality as a Bourdieuan habitus is not
relevant to the present problem and will therefore not be treated here) 1999: 153-54.
24 Gellner 1983: 29-37.

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ciceros italy 121
ined communities. Nationality is related to a feeling of shared historical ex

periences a collective memory and to an experienced national culture
that both form and are formed by the mindsets and actions of the people in
a given nation,25 but according to Anderson such national identifications are
not founded on any a priori material reality, but exist in the minds of a cer
tain group, constructed through historical narrative, a common political or
social organisation, shared use of the same media, the identification of a cer
tain territory as inherently connected with their particular collective identity
and other such factors.26
Second, national identities are discursively ... produced, reproduced,
transformed and destructed,27 that is, they come to exist and are continu
ously changed through articulation in the public domain, and are dissemi
nated through the various national institutions, such as the educational sys
tem, or mass media. While Roman society lacked the mass media and the
massive centralised educational systems of later times, this did not impair
the ability of political leaders to discursively construct collective identities,
but rather, as we shall see, widened their possibilities for adapting their ar
ticulation of identity to the given situation, since at least certain groups of
recipients (e.g., the participants at a public meeting) had no way of checking
whether an orator invoking a certain collective identity when giving a speech
in public consistently invoked a similar collective identity in other fora.28
Third, the construction of collective identities always encompasses a con
struction of difference and uniqueness. Thus, collective identities are de
pendent on an other against which the identity can be defined, and this
results in a discursive homogenisation stressing the joint features of identity
within the group, and the diverging traits of any group of outsiders. Here it
becomes especially important what factors are presented as constituting a
certain identity, since these create the dividing lines against the other. To
use a modern example, the word Dane in everyday language can both mean
a citizen of Denmark as opposed to citizens of any other country, or it can
mean ethnic Danish person as opposed to a person of immigrant back
ground, regardless of his or her citizenship.
25 De Cillia et al. 1999:154-56.

26 Anderson 2006: 9-36.
27 De Cillia et al. 1999: 153.
28 Morstein-Marx 2004: 243-58.
Fourth, national or collective identities are not exclusive. Depending on

the immediate context, different identities are discursively constructed
which might not be coherent with other collective identities experienced by
the same group or large parts thereof, but which are nevertheless felt as no
less real by the individuals included. The introduction to the second book
of De Legibus provides an example of two potentially conflicting collective
identities being reconciled by Cicero.
2. HOMELAND AND REPUBLIC
The dialogue is set in Arpinum, where Cicero explains the deep affection he
feels for his germana patria the place where his family has lived for genera
tions and which it has filled with buildings and monuments (Leg. 2.3). In
spite of all the necessary reservations concerning the extent to which Ciceros
opinions would be shared by all municipes, a similar feeling of affection and
commitment towards ones municipium might have been shared by a large
part of the Roman upper classes. While the connection to the urbs was obvi
ously close, both in the case of the politically engaged senators and in the
case of equestrians engaged in tax farming or bidding for public contracts of
various sorts, the necessity for the individual of keeping close contact to his
municipium of origin, through public or private patronage and benefactions,
is attested even far into the imperial period, when the advancement of the
individual was no longer dependent on the number of electors he could mo
bilise to come to Rome as backing for his candidacy.29 Cicero himself took
great interest in his sons election as aedile in Arpinum (Cic. Fam. 12.11.3)
and even as candidate for the consulship, Milo found the time to travel to
his native Lanuvium to discharge his office as dictator (Cic. Mil. 27).
While the connection to the first patria is described as a sentimental affec
tion felt towards a geographical place, the second patria, for which Cicero
says it is right to die and to sacrifice oneself completely, is described in dif
ferent terms. It is represented as the more abstract concept of the res publica
the social and political system centered on Rome which now encompassed
all of Italy but Cicero does not relate it to any particular place, neither the
29 Bispham 2007: 430-36; Patterson 2006: 206-7.

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city nor Italy. In this way, Cicero defuses the potential conflict between his
identity as a municeps of Arpinum and his identity as a Roman citizen which
the city aristocrat Atticus has brought attention to by asking whether it is at
all possible to have multiple patriae (Leg. 2.5). While Arpinum is described
as a familial lieu de mmoire rather than as the political entity it also was, the
strict focus on civic duty and political community when the talk turns to
Rome underlines the difference between Ciceros respective relations to the
two patriae and enables him to assert his absolute loyalty to the Roman res
publica, which he claims ought to stand first in the citizens affection.
When the word patria appears in Ciceros works it is almost exclusively
employed in the latter sense, that is, as a synonym for Rome as a civic insti
tution, and is often used when Cicero wishes to emphasise the allegiance
owed to Rome and the immense betrayal which takes place when disloyal
citizens work contrary to the interests and wishes of the patria (e.g., Cic.
Prov. 13; Vat. 33). In the second speech against Verres, however, the definition
of this second patria differs from the description given in De Legibus. In his
description of the unlawful execution of the Roman citizen Gavius, Cicero
famously champions the Roman citizen rights which Verres had violated as
provincial governor in Sicily, in spite of his victims assertion of his right to a
fair trial as a Roman citizen (Cic. Ver. 2.5.158-72). After having escaped im
prisonment, Gavius was about to flee Sicily, and when he reached Messana
the mere sight of Italy and the walls of Regium30 was enough to relieve him
of his fear. This view of Italy, where he would be safe from Verres arbitrary
execution of power, was, however, turned into a punishment after his cap
ture when Verres ordered the cross to be fixed so Gavius from the cross was
able to discern Italy and see his home before him,31 and demanded that he
should die viewing his patria (Cic. Ver. 2.5.169-70). No complete agreement
has been reached on the location of Consa, Gavius municipium, but none of
the suggested sites could possibly have been glimpsed from a cross situated
in or around Messana.32 The patria and home which Gavius was viewing in
an actual form in his final hours must therefore be Italia, which Cicero even
imagines as a personification looking across the strait on the sufferings of her
alumnus.
30 Italiam et moenia Reginorum, (Cic. Ver. 2.5.160).
31 Ex cruce Italiam cernere ac domum suam prospicere posset, Cic. Ver. 2.5.169-70.
32 Levens 1946: 155; Long 1862: 610-11.
The geographical boundary between Italy and Sicily is thus represented as

the boundary between home and away for citizens, and the geographic entity
Italy, which Gavius glimpsed from his cross, is equated with the res publica,
providing law and justice for its citizens. Italy, in its geographical sense, is
thus identified with the second patria of De Legibus, remarkably only 20
years after the end of the Social War. The emotional descriptions of Gavius
recognising his domus when he glimpsed the Italian coastline, and Italy
watching him as an alumnus seem, however, to imply a much more emo
tional connection to this second patria than that described in De Legibus. In
this particular context, Cicero thus found it opportune to present a citizens
relationship with the res publica as a relationship to a politically unified Italy,
and to project this relationship as carrying so much identity for the individ
ual citizen that he would, at least when trapped in Sicily, recognise any part
of Italy as his home.
3. PLACES AND PEOPLE
Throughout the first century BC, the Italian cities and countryside remained
plagued by disruptions and unrest. The Sullan colonisation scheme had left
thousands of Italians expelled from their native land, probably without any
immediate livelihood, and in their place new, large groups of veterans made
their entrance in the local political lives of the municipia, which led to po
tential conflicts with established municipes and former owners of the distrib
uted farmland.33 Far-reaching agrarian reforms, for the benefit of dislodged
veterans and the urban populace, were major points of conflict in the fol
lowing period.34
Early in his consulate, Cicero engaged himself in the debate against the
proposals of the tribune Rullus, who wished to settle colonists throughout
Italy. In his speech for the people, Cicero famously cast himself as a true
popularis consul who undertook to save the Roman people, in danger of be
ing driven from the city by the wicked tribune, from the horrible fate of
33 Brunt 1971a: 300-12; 1971b: 107-8.

34 Hopkins 1978: 5-6, 58-66.

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farming life in the Italian countryside (Cic. Agr. 2.70).35 In one famous
paragraph Cicero implores the citizens to stay in the city and retain posses
sion of favors, liberty, voting rights, honour, city, Forum, games, festivals,
and all other conveniences, if they do not wish to end up in the droughts of
Sipontum, or the plague-filled outskirts of Salpia,36 and he takes care to
stress that Italia is a vast and diverse space, and that the populace can have
no idea about what terrible places they might end up in if the proposal were
adopted (Cic. Agr. 2.66).
However unpleasant this may sound, there is no reason to believe that the
urban populace could be enticed to reject the opportunity of free farmland,
as is shown in a letter from Cicero to Atticus three years later. Here Cicero
rejoices that another proposal for agrarian reform encompasses only the
Campanian land, which will limit the number of potential recipients to an
extent that will destroy support for it among the populace (Cic. Att. 2.16.1).
In the Rullan speech, Cicero therefore turned to cast the Sullan colonists
rather than the urban populace as the main beneficiaries of the law.
Speaking both in front of the Senate and the people, Cicero claimed that the
law was effectively offering an easy and profitable way out of the
unpopularity incurred by the colonists having received land from Sulla37
(Cic. Agr. 1.14; 2.68). In his private correspondence, the motives Cicero gave
Atticus for opposing agrarian reform, albeit at a later date, were rather less
focused on preventing landholders from gaining an easy profit, and rather
more on enabling holders of public land in the country to keep their riches
(Cic. Att. 1.19.4).
The Sullan colonists featured more than once in the speeches given by
Cicero during his eventful year as consul. In his second speech against Ca
tiline held before the people, Cicero attempts to dissuade his listeners from
aligning themselves with Catiline through a review of the dishonourable and
dangerous elements that make up his group of followers, claimed by Cicero
to consist of all the worst criminals in tota Italia (Cic. Catil. 2.7). Among the
indebted nobles (2.18-9) and depraved, feminine rascals (2.22-3) Cicero
35 Steel 2001: 173-81.

36 Possessionem gratiae, libertatis, suffragiorum, dignitatis, urbis, fori, ludorum, festorum die
rum, ceterorum omnium commodorum in Sipontina siccitate aut in Salpinorum <plenis>
pestilentiae finibus, Cic. Agr. 2.71.
37 Morstein-Marx 2004: 192-93, 199-201.
comes across the Sullan veterans of the colonies, which he claims on the
whole are comprised of the best citizens and the stoutest men,38 but there
are those among them who due to their swift and unexpected wealth have
been thrown into extravagance and arrogance.39
Only a few weeks later, in the speech for Murena at his trial for bribery
during the consular elections, the followers of Catiline are suddenly pre
sented as coming from two named colonies, and they are now joined by
men ruined by the misfortune of the Sullan times.40 Earlier in the speech,
Cicero deplores the lot of the praetor responsible for the court of embezzle
ment because of his limited opportunities for discharging his office to the
citizens satisfaction: If the Sullan obligations are rebuked, many strong men
and indeed a part of the state is offended.41 Where the beneficiaries of
Sullas colonisation before the people were described as eager to rid them
selves of their land, as in De Lege Agraria, or as ready to support a new im
perator, willing to introduce proscriptions, as in In Catilinam 2, Cicero,
when facing the jury composed of his social peers, rather presents the pro
scribed victims of the Sullan confiscations as the harmful elements, whereas
the possessors of the land are trying to preserve the status quo.
Returning to the speeches against the Rullan agrarian reform, Cicero had
yet another point to make, which displayed Italy as anything but a harmo
nious unity, and to which he dedicated the last third of his speech before the
people. Ann Vasaly demonstrates through an extensive analysis of the work
ings of this speech how Cicero conjures up an image of a Rome that will be
surrounded by armed enemies under the command of Rullus and his decem
viri if they are allowed to introduce colonists into the towns of Italy.42 What
is noticeable, however, is that the object described as being surrounded is
not only the city but the entire res publica, which is thus equated with the
physical site of the city (Cic. Agr. 2.99).
Even though it was probably the Italian municipia who stood to lose the
most land if Rullus plans were realised, Cicero thus projects strong mu
38 Universas civium esse optimorum et fortissimorum virorum, Cic. Catil. 2.20.
39 Qui se in insperatis ac repentinis pecuniis sumptuosius insolentiusque iactarunt, Cic. Catil.
2.20.
40 Homines perculsi Sullani temporis calamitate, Cic. Mur. 49.
41 Sullana gratificatio reprehensa, multi viri fortes et prope pars civitatis offensa est, Cic. Mur.
42.
42 Vasaly 1988: 416-19

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nicipia fortified with colonists as a threat to the city when addressing its in
habitants. He further recapitulates the numerous wars fought in Italy against
Italian enemies (Cic. Agr. 2.90), and reminds his listeners how the maiores
were sure to found colonies in places so they ought to be seen, not as Italian
towns, but as fortresses of sovereignty.43 Instead of the municipia featuring,
like they did in De Legibus, as natural parts of the Roman community,
Cicero here projects an image of a hostile and unreliable Italy, which must
inevitably have recalled images of the Social War for the majority of the au
dience who still had that conflict within living memory.
Cicero has a hard case to make here, as large numbers of colonists were
likely to be recruited from the city population or from the legions, and
would therefore not be expected to harbour any hostility towards Rome. To
back his articulation of the colonists as hostile foreigners he therefore intro
duces Capua, established in Roman consciousness as the former rival for
hegemony in Italy,44 as the primary threat against Rome and the place to
which Rullus, according to Cicero, wishes to transfer the republic from the
physical site of Rome and establish an altera Roma (Cic. Agr. 2.86-7). The
threat against Rome, he claims, was not that of any particular dissatisfied
groups of proscribed victims or colonists, but was due to the very nature of
the Campanian land and the site of Capua. Landholders in that area could
hardly avoid ending up as enemies of Rome because the areas fertility and
beauty would lead them to depravity and sumptuousness (Cic. Agr. 2.95).
Cicero thus constructs a foreign and hostile identity inherent in the very
ecosystem of Capua (situated less than 200 kilometres from Rome), and in
stead of a unitary Italian political community, the res publica features as an
all urban-Roman community in fear of uprisings by its Italian subject cities.
Ciceros eyewitness description of the attempt to establish a colony at Capua
20 years earlier, feature the inhabitants of Capua acting exactly opposite to
the well-balanced division of loyalties owed to home town and res publica
described in De Legibus, as they adopted the title of praetor and the use of
fasces for their magistrates. The Romans present, of whom Cicero was one,
were now named not as guests, but as foreigners and aliens.45
Capua features in several of Ciceros speeches after a colony had finally
43 Ut esse non oppida Italiae, sed propugnacula imperi viderentur, Cic. Agr. 2.73.
44 Laurence 1999: 13-15, 25-26.
45 Iam non hospites, sed peregrini atque advenae nominabamur, Cic. Agr. 2.92-94.
been established there in connection with the agrarian reforms instituted by

Caesar in 59 BC. In the speech before the Senate after his return from exile,
Cicero made the first of many public attacks on his enemy Lucius Piso, who
had been duovir in the new colony, and asked if his shameful conduct was
due to his failure to understand that he was consul in Rome rather than
Capua in that city which was once the dwelling place of arrogance?46 The
use of the past tense is, however, notable and finds its explanation in two
speeches from the following years.
In the defence of Sestius, Piso is again derided for his connection to
Capua and perfume-vending in the Seplasia (Cic. Sest. 19), but an honour
able body of colonists from the same city, the best and stoutest of men,47
for whom Cicero acted as patron, are introduced as witnesses to the charac
ter of the accused (Cic. Sest. 9). This theme is further developed in the
speech In Pisonem, where Cicero explicitly contrasts the depraved and im
moral Capua of the past with the modern colony, for truly this city, as it is
now, abounds with a multitude of the most distinguished people, the stout
est men, the best citizens, and friends of mine.48 In these speeches before
the jury and the Senate, where Cicero attempts to gain credibility by adver
tising the citizen status of his supporters, the perverting influence of the
countryside from the Rullan speeches is completely forgotten, and the colo
nists are now model Romans.
The circle is completed in the twelfth Philippic, when Cicero, before the
Senate, praises Capua, after it closed its gates to the Antonian colonists, as
being an altera Roma the very thing that he warned so emphatically against
twenty years before (Cic. Phil. 12.7).
In the description of Gavius execution, Cicero emphasises that this hor
rible punishment is measured out to someone of our own blood ... For all
Roman citizens are to be regarded as united through the blood.49 A more
detailed exposition of the subject of collective Roman identity is to be found
in De Officiis, where Cicero describes three levels of communities beyond
the bare fact of being human, beginning with being of the same gens, peo
46 In qua urbe domicilium quondam superbiae fuit, Cic. Red. Sen. 17.
47 Fortissimi atque optimi viri, Cic. Sest. 9.
48 Nam haec quidem quae nunc est splendidissimorum hominum, fortissimorum virorum,
optimorum civium mihique amicissimorum multitudine redundat, Cic. Pis. 25.

49 Nostro sanguine ... Nam civium Romanorum omnium sanguis coniunctus existimandus est,
Cic. Ver. 2.5.172.

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ple, and language, which most of all tie humans together.50 A closer tie is
found in sharing civitas because fellow citizens share forum, temples, colon
nades, roads, laws, courts, voting rights, besides customs and acquaintances,
and numerous affairs and matters conducted with many people.51
These two definitions can seem self-contradictory, as Italy was hardly of a
single language, let alone gens, as exemplified by the various mythological
genealogies of the different Italic peoples.52 However, even though Greek
and numerous Italian languages were still widely used throughout Italy,
Latin undoubtedly functioned as the language of government, also in many
local contexts, and as lingua franca for the social and political elite53 the
only group relevant for a person of Ciceros status when discussing collective
identity.
In reality, therefore, we are looking at a very inclusive definition of Ro
man identity, concerning the purely legal issue of citizenship in the res pub
lica which at least in principle was held by all Italians as the admission
ticket to the shared community. Ciceros final assertion that kinship is the
closest type of community upon which is based the foundation of the city
and almost the seed of the republic, could imply a more narrow definition
of Romanitas, but he immediately reasserts the role of Italy in the res publica
by likening extended families living in several households to the close rela
tionship between Rome and her colonies.54
From these works alone, the Roman community thus seems open and
easily permeable for municipal Italians, but Ciceros own struggles to exert
his status as a true Roman shows a more exclusive side of Roman identity.
The issue of Ciceros municipal background does not feature prominently
before the year of his consulate, during which Sallust claims that Catiline
sneered at him as a foreign citizen in the city of Rome.55 Cicero himself
first addresses the issue in his speech Pro Sulla when he responds to the ac
cuser Torquatus claim that Cicero was the third foreign king of Rome56
50 Eiusdem gentis, nationis, linguae, qua maxime homines coniunguntur, Cic. Off. 1.53.
51 Forum, fana, porticus, viae, leges, iura, iudicia, suffragia, consuetudines praeterea et familiari
tates multisque cum multis res rationesque contractae, Off. 1.53.
52 Gruen 1992: 6-51.
53 Wallace-Hadrill 2008: 82-96.
54 Principium urbis et quasi seminarium rei publicae, Cic. Off. 1.54.
55 Inquilinus civis urbis Romae, Sall. BC. 31.7.
56 Tertium peregrinum regem, Cic. Sul. 22.
because of his municipal background. Ciceros response is to draw forward

the examples of great Romans in history who came from municipia, a strat
egy that may also have been used by Marius and could represent a more
widely used homo novus strategy,57 and he rejoices in the fact that the accuser
has not found anything to blame upon him which does not pertain to the
majority of citizens. Cicero thus combines the focus on citizenship as the
defining characteristic of being Roman, which is the necessary basis for his
claim that non-metropolitan origin was normal for a Roman citizen, with a
claim that the exhibition of certain particular (and apparently inherently
Roman) virtues by the various homines novi (including Cicero himself, we
are bound to assume) further reinforced their claim to Roman status. It fol
lows that citizens not displaying such virtues might be regarded as a little less
Roman after all, in spite of their legal status. Thus, in his defence of Rabirius
on a charge of treason, pleading before the people and not a jury, Cicero
then consul takes pains to emphasise the Picene origin of the prosecutor
Labienus (Cic. Rab.Perd. 22), and even goes so far as to claim that Labienus
is so ignorant of Roman laws and practices that he seems rather to be a
guest in this city ... as a stranger in a foreign state, not a magistrate in your
own.58
When attacking Labienus, Cicero thus takes the exact same line against
him which Catiline and Torquatus had taken against Cicero himself. In
other words, Cicero articulates himself as a member of the central Roman
elite exposing an outsider who has gained access to the ranks of Roman of
ficeholders. The same strategy is found in Ciceros numerous attacks against
Lucius Piso on account of his maternal grandfathers background as an In
subrian settling in the municipium of Placentia in Gallia Cisalpina. Cicero
describes how Pisos grandfather almost sneaked his way from being a Gaul,
into receiving Roman citizenship through his connection with Placentia
(Asc. 4C), and derides Piso as Caesoninus Semiplacentinus Calventius (Cic.
Pis. 14). The claim that Piso is a disgrace not to the Calpurnian family, I
would say, but to the Calventian, not for this city, but for the municipium
of Placentia, not for his fathers kin, but for his Gallic relatives,59 clearly
57 Wiseman 1971: 107-16.
58 Hospes huiusce urbis... ut peregrinari in aliena civitate, non in tua magistratum, Cic. Rab.
Perd. 28.
59 Familiae non dicam Calpurniae sed Calventiae, neque huius urbis sed Placentini municipi,

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implies a certain moral distinction between Cisalpine citizens and native

Romans, and a lower evaluation of the former, even though Piso falls below
the standards of both.
The important discovery here is, however, that Cicero was not only will
ing to act as the all-Roman nobleman attacking an outsider when the oppo
nent was a Picene tribune who might well be considered less established in
the Roman community than a consul from Arpinum. Even a consular from
one of oldest and most famous families of the Republican nobility could be
rhetorically stigmatised as a barbarous Gaul when Cicero assumed the role
of urban elite.
Ethnic derision is also present in Ciceros settling of affairs with the Clo
dian circle after his return from exile. In the speech on his house a follower
of Clodius is branded as newly arrived Ligurian,60 and in De Haruspicum
Responsis, Cicero once again mentions that fool, whose provenance we
would not know about, if he did not refer to himself as the Ligurian.61 In
Pro Cluentio, Cicero also states that the villain Staienus changed his cogno
men from Ligur to Paetus to avoid being taken as a Ligurian (Cic. Clu. 72).
Though of Gallic descent, Ligurians had had a presence in peninsular Italy
for more than a hundred years, since they were forcefully transferred into the
Ager Taurasinorum,62 but to Cicero a Ligurian background was evidently
still useful as a negative stigmatisation of his enemies.
Other ethnic identities could be used in public to convey both moral vir
tue and uprightness.63 In the speech against Vatinius, the very grave Sa
bines, the stout and virtuous rural people par excellence,64 and the most
stout Marsians and Paelignians are applauded for voting against their fellow
tribesman Vatinius as candidate for office, which serves to prove his moral
corruption (Vat. 36).
The citys relation to the Italic countryside is also touched upon in
Ciceros oratorical works, including De Oratore, where he lets the orator
Crassus claim that some people prefer a rustic and rural voice, because the
neque paterni generis sed bracatae cognationis dedecus, Cic. Pis. 53.
60 Novicius ligus, Cic. Dom. 49.
61 Stipitem illum qui quorum hominum esset nesciremus, nisi se Ligurem ipse esse diceret, Cic.
Har. 5.
62 Patterson 1988: 125-26.
63 Farney 2007: 22, 97-101.
64 Dench 2005: 21-23.
speech, if it sounds that way, will be thought to retain a more ancient qual
ity.65 This is refuted, however, in the same chapter by the claim that the
most correct form of Latin is the one spoken in the city, and a little later that
there is a certain speech fitting for the Roman race and the city,66 and the
adoption of the rural style is an imitation of country-labourers rather than of
the ancient orators (de Orat. 3.46).
This theme, which is also discussed by Emma Dench67 and Andrew Wal
lace-Hadrill,68 is expanded in Brutus, where the eponymous interlocutor
asks what the characteristics of speakers of Latin and allied backgrounds are,
those almost foreign orators,69 and Cicero responds that this cannot be
defined exactly, but it is certain that in the speech of our orators something
retains and sounds urban.70 Brutus question arises in the discussion of ora
tors of the late second century, where Cicero dedicates a chapter to treating
the allies and Latins separately from the Roman orators, but this distinction
naturally disappears as the discussion progresses to the orators of more re
cent times.
Even so, municipal accents are still noted in decisively negative contexts
like the case of the Caepasius brothers, whose way of speech was said to have
been uncouth and small-town-like (Brut. 242). The purest form of Latin is
represented as the one spoken by the great aristocrats with Caesar as the ac
knowledged champion, and though it is acknowledged that he has trained
his oratory rigorously (Brut. 252), the command of the language is presented
almost as a physical inheritance due to his aristocratic blood (Brut. 258). In
the same chapter, rural immigration is even portrayed as detrimental to the
proper use of the language: For many impurely speaking people from differ
ent places have gathered in this city.71 The citizens from municipia, whom
Cicero had claimed to be a majority in Pro Sulla, were thus not only carry
ing an indelible mark of their non-metropolitan background, their rustic
65 Rustica vox et agrestis quosdam delectat, quo magis antiquitatem, si ita sonet, eorum sermo
retinere videatur, Cic. de Orat. 3.42.
66 Quaedam certa vox Romani generis urbisque propria, Cic. de Orat. 3.44.
67 Dench 2005: 298-302.
68 Wallace-Hadrill 2008: 254-58.
69 Istis externis quasi oratoribus.
70 In vocibus nostrorum oratorum retinnit quiddam et resonat urbanius, Cic. Brut. 170-71.
71 Confluxerunt enim ... in hanc urbem multi inquinate loquentes ex diversis locis, Brut. 256.

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pronunciation even branded them as perverting and destroying the good

Latin language.
In this sense, the common language served to divide citizens who through
their upbringing in the urban elite mastered its cultural codes, from less
schooled country dwellers whose inferior background would be exposed the
moment they opened their mouths. Unfortunately, how the Arpinate
Ciceros pronunciation sounded is never fully revealed to us.
4. SPOKESMAN FOR ITALY
The examples of Italian influence on elections or other political processes in

Rome are legion in Ciceros work. In the first speech against Verres, Cicero
takes great pains to emphasize that the crowds gathered from the Italian
countryside for the elections and games would support a conviction, where
fore the defence attempted to prolong the case until the spectators went
home (Cic. Ver. 1.54). While defending Plancius against the charge of elec
toral corruption, Cicero underlines the importance for Plancius electoral
victory of the enthusiasm shown by his municipium Atina (Cic. Planc. 19
23), and in Pro Murena, he describes how a thorough understanding of the
partition of Italy into voting tribes was an immense advantage in canvassing
(Cic. Mur. 42) and attributes the prosecutor Laterensis failure in the elec
tion to his earlier attempt which had enraged the local elites, at depriving
the first property class of their right to cast the first votes in the centuriate
assembly (Cic. Mur. 47).
Cicero himself had good connections with several municipia, especially in
the area around Southern Latium from which he himself descended,72 and
he earned their support by defending their interests in court (Cic. Scaur. 27),
or through his personal network (Cic. Fam. 13.4; 13.7). Even so, he sought to
expand his group of followers outside the city during his campaign for the
consulate, by canvassing in Gallia Cisalpina, where he hoped to gain a large
electoral backing (Cic. Att. 1.1.2). The disdain for Pisos and other enemies
Gallic backgrounds shown in speeches given in Rome evidently did not
blind him to the Gauls potential electoral importance.
72 Lomas 2004: 111-14.
The year before Cicero wrote to Atticus about canvassing in Cisalpina, he

had held his first speech in contione on the Rostra when he supported the
Manilian law granting Pompeius the command against Mithridates. As is
standard in contional speeches, Cicero envisages his audience as the incar
nate populus Romanus, rather than as any sort of representative group, even
though the actual numbers present cannot have exceeded a few thousand.73
The status of the municipal citizens in relation to the urban populace is
ambivalent in this speech, as the civil functions which will be threatened by
the potential loss of the Asian province are undoubtedly envisaged as taking
place in the city itself (Cic. Man. 19), and Italia is mentioned alongside four
provinces, without any distinction in the wording, as passive witnesses of
Pompeius military excellence (Cic. Man. 30). However, in the description of
the devastating consequences of the civil and Social War, it is made clear that
the generals marched their armies into Italy, through the fields and towns of
the Roman people.74 Italy thus holds a double identity: being, on the one
hand, subjected territory, but, on the other hand, in some ways part of the
Roman res publica. Even in the speeches against the Rullan reforms, where
Cicero, as shown above, is at pains to describe a strong Italy as a threat to
Rome, he at the same time labels wars and conflicts in Italy as domestici
(Cic. Agr. 2.90).
Only months after he had used the frightening prospect of a militarily
fortified Italy to refute the Rullan reforms, the idea of Italy as a common
political unit appears for the first time in Ciceros argumentation. In his first
speech against Catiline, Cicero imagines if my own patria, which is a lot
dearer to me than my life, if the united Italy, if the entire republic75 should
address him directly to ask why Catiline is still alive. As in the second speech
against Verres, discussed above, Italy is explicitly presented as synonymous
with the second patria of De Legibus the res publica but here the concept
is expanded and endowed with a political will of its own. This notwithstand
ing that probably several thousand dispossessed Italian peasants and other
marginalised groups were at this point on the brink of open rebellion against
the political and social status quo which Cicero claims the united Italy sup
73 Mouritsen 2001: 24-26; Purcell 1994: 644-46
74 In Italia per agros atque oppida civium Romanorum, Cic. Man. 38.
75 Si mecum patria, quae mihi vita mea multo est carior, si cuncta Italia, si omnis res publica,
Cic. Catil. 1.27.

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ported.76 In the second speech against Catiline, given before the people,
cuncta Italia appears again, as part of a recital of the resources of Catilines
opponents, but as the Senate, the knights and the urbs feature on the same
list, Italia cannot be directly equated with the res publica in this context
(Cic. Catil. 2.25).
Little more than a year later, a united Italy playing a political role appears
again when Cicero describes a speech held in the Senate, in which he had
spoken among other things about the importance of the Senate, the con
cord of the knights, the agreement of Italy.77 A clearer description of those
whom Cicero envisages as exponents of the united Italia is probably to be
found in the narrative of his successful attempt to amend a later suggestion
for agrarian reforms to protect current land owners from confiscations, in
which he remarks to Atticus: for that is my army, as you know, of rich peo
ple.78
It is this army of the landed municipal and rural elites, the domi nobiles,
undoubtedly including some of the more influential and wealthy of the Sul
lan veterans,79 who were already in the process of replacing the old aristo
cratic families as the dominant class in Rome, and who would go on to be
come the main beneficiaries of the Roman Revolution as termed by Ronald
Syme.80 In other words, Cicero articulates a pan-Italian elite class consisting
of the property holders (conveniently also monopolising the local political
offices, as there was probably a certain property qualification which a candi
date had to meet in order to be eligible for local office81), who would sup
port the social and political status quo, and for whom Cicero hoped to act as
political leader and representative.
It was that class whose properties were protected by the swift suppression
of the Catilinarian revolt, and by the firm opposition to agrarian reforms
offered by Cicero, and which Cicero imagines as being ready to rally to his
defence when he confidently boasts to his brother that if Clodius takes him
76 Stewart 1995: 62-64, 68-75.
77 De gravitate ordinis, de equestri concordia, de consensione Italiae, Cic. Att. 1.14.4.
78 Is enim est noster exercitus, hominum, ut tute scis, locupletium, Cic. Att. 1.19.4.
79 Wiseman 1971: 74-76.
80 Syme 1939: 359-65.
81 Bispham 2007: 217.
to court, the whole of Italy will gather, and I shall come out of it with in
creased glory.82
Even though Cicero was not initially saved from exile, he is still adamant
that tota Italia would have rallied to his defence if only he had asked (Cic.
Att. 3.15.7), and it is very likely that his recall by the centuriate assembly
rather than the tribal assembly bears witness to the support for his return
among the wealthy municipes.83 His speeches in the first couple of years after
his recall constantly return to the uniqueness of his position in being the
only person in history recalled by the united Italy, and to his triumphant
tour through the municipia on his way to Rome, as does his correspondence
(e.g., Cic. Red. Sen. 38-39; Att. 4.1.4-5).
Shortly before his definitive loss of political independence after the re
newal of the alliance between Pompeius, Crassus and Caesar at the confer
ence in Lucca,84 Cicero stated his definition of the good people who were
the supporters of the state in front of a jury: They are the leaders of the
Senate, and those who follow their lead, they are people of the large orders
for whom the Senate is open, they are from the Roman municipia and coun
tryside, they are people engaged in business, even some freedmen are opti
mates.85 In this speech, in which Cicero moreover equates the cause of Italy
with the cause of the Senate and the republic (Sest. 83), he thus fairly openly
presents all parts of the possessing classes as comprising that tota Italia,
whose auctoritas was defied when he was forced into exile86 (Sest. 35). A fur
ther recitation of the instances in which Cicero advertises his special rela
tionship to tota Italia the municipia and the colonies would be unneces
sarily long-winded, but they are nevertheless numerous, recurring in very
similar form throughout the fifties BC.
When the civil war between Pompeius and Caesar broke out, Cicero evi
dently hoped to keep the support of the local leaders in the municipia on the
side of Pompeius and the Senate, thus keeping the Italian propertied class
united, and even though he does not approve Pompeius tactics of withdraw
82 Tota Italia concurret, ut multiplicata gloria discedamus, Cic. Q.Fr. 1.2.16.
83 Millar 1998: 150-51.
84 Fuhrmann 1992: 97-121.
85 Sunt principes consili publici, sunt qui eorum sectam sequuntur, sunt maximorum ordinum
homines, quibus patet curia, sunt municipales rusticique Romani, sunt negoti gerentes, sunt
etiam libertini optimates, Cic. Sest. 97.
86 Wood 1988: 62-63, 194-99.

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ing from Rome, he happily writes to Atticus in January 49 that judged from
the distress of the municipia, and the talk of the people who visit me,87 it
seems that the plan is working, as the thought of the city left without magis
trates and Senate has made people less willing to make concessions to Caesar
(Cic. Att. 7.11.4). However, no more than a month later, Cicero found his
hopes frustrated by the restraint and clemency of Caesar and the tactics of
Pompeius, with which Cicero disagreed, and he complains about the lack of
loyalty shown by the class he had believed himself to represent: Many peo
ple from the municipia and the countryside talk to me. Nothing do they
care about, except their fields, their small villas and petty fortunes.88 This
indignation paradoxal for someone who for fifteen years had staged him
self as the defender of the fortunes of the propertied classes turns rapidly
against Pompeius, when Cicero less than two weeks later claims that his
primary plan is to suffocate the city and starve Italy, then he will lay the
country waste and burn it down, and he will not keep his hands off the for
tunes of the well-to-do.89
Ciceros firm decision to stay on Pompeius side thus forces him into op
posing the municipal elites who he had claimed to be the backbone of the
united Italia, and he despairs of the prospect of having to lead foreign troops
against his co-citizens and bring destruction on Italy (Att. 9.10.3). Towards
the end of March 49, Cicero resignedly recognises that the people of both
municipia and countryside fear Pompeius and love Caesar (Att. 9.13.4), and
as he contemplates joining Pompeius in his escape from Italy he falters at the
contrast between his former departure into exile, where he still believed he
had the backing of the Italian elites, and his current prospects, where the
people from towns and country firmly back Caesar and fear Ciceros allies
(Att. 9.15.3). At best, Italy was no longer united because of the split between
Senate and municipes. At worst, Cicero was now actually about to go to war
against that cuncta Italia which he had himself articulated.
87 Ex dolore municipali sermonibusque eorum quos convenio, Cic. Att. 7.11.4.

88 Multum mecum municipales homines loquuntur, multum rusticani; nihil prorsus aliud
curant nisi agros, nisi villulas, nisi nummulos suos, Cic. Att. 8.13.2.
89 Primum consilium est suffocare urbem et Italiam fame, deinde agros vastare, urere, pecuniis
locupletum non abstinere, Cic. Att. 9.7.4.
5. ENDGAME: UNITED ITALY FIGHTING ITSELF
For a long period after Ciceros departure from Italy, the concept of a united
Italy does not appear as a political force in his writings, but Caesars death
and the ensuing conflict, which eventually led to Ciceros execution, af
forded him a final opportunity to reawaken tota Italia and recast himself as
its spokesman. In the months immediately following Caesars death, Cicero,
staying outside Rome, claimed in his correspondence with Atticus that the
people of the municipia rejoiced at the situation and gathered around him to
hear his advice on the political situation (Att. 14.6.2). In his attempt to win
Dolabella for the republican cause, Cicero likewise attempts to cast himself
in the role as counsellor and leader of the local elites, by describing how his
friends from the municipia gather at his villa and express their gratitude to
wards him while guaranteeing their loyalty to Dolabella as consul (Cic. Fam.
9.14.1). His remark to Atticus that a military leader was that one thing
which municipia and the good people wished for,90 does not directly in
voke a united Italy but strikes the same tones about the unity of the urban
and local social elites that were found in his pre-civil war speeches and corre
spondence.
Catherine Steel has demonstrated how Ciceros correspondence with lead
ing men in Roman politics, and in the municipia, is an attempt to create a
strong network of opposition to Marcus Antonius, and how the Philippic
speeches play a role in this strategy as political documents circulated among
Ciceros correspondents,91 while his treatises from the same period also con
tain allusions to the political situation.92 In Philippic 2, from the autumn of
44, Cicero sets out his fundamental criticism of Antonius, including the
claim that he had humiliated the municipia in every conceivable way (Phil.
2.58.106-7). According to Cicero, Italy had been left to be trampled down
(Phil. 2.57) and Antonius had attempted to distribute Campanian and Leon
tine land to mimes, and to his companions in banquets and games (Phil.
2.101). The details of his confiscation of land from Roman citizens and his
grotesque indulgence in his spoils (Phil. 2.103-5) strikes exactly the same
theme which Cicero had used when attempting to invoke the support of the
90 Quod unum municipia bonique desiderant, Cic. Att. 14.20.4.
91 Steel 2005: 103-6.
92 Blom 2003: 303-5.

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propertied classes prior to 49, and Cicero further claimed to Atticus that
Antonius extorted money from the municipia (Att. 16.8.2). At this point, the
only available ally of military significance was of course Octavian, but by the
fifth of November, Cicero still claims to have profound doubts about
whether to make common cause with Caesars heir. His realisation that the
municipia exceedingly favour the boy93 would, however, seem to clinch the
argument in favour of an alliance with Octavian, if Cicero did not wish once
again to end up fighting against the class he attempted to represent.
By the twentieth of December the decision was made, and in the speech
given in the Senate that day by Cicero, he clearly sets out his analysis of the
situation in Italy. He claims that it is time to act against Antonius because
the Senate now has the right time offered, generals prepared, the spirit of
the soldiers excited, the Roman people united, and all Italy roused for the
recovery of liberty.94 Italy has thus returned as the acting political entity,
which, as always when invoked by him, is on Ciceros side. The very charac
ter of the Roman elite is discussed due to Antonius derogatory mention of
Octavians Arician mother. Cicero turns this example of aristocratic snob
bery into a general disregard for the entire senate and asks of whom among
the senators it cannot be said that they originated from a municipium (Cic.
Phil. 3.15).
This refutation of a high-born Romans disregard for the municipal birth
of fellow senators is perhaps the clearest policy declaration made in support
of the process by which the municipal elites permeated the highest echelons
of Roman society, replacing the old metropolitan aristocracy as the domi
nant class in the Empire.95 In Ciceros speech we witness the political articu
lation of the Roman Senate as a Pan-Italian elite, mobilised in the contest
for control of the Roman political life against an internal enemy, charged
with the dual offence of, on the one hand, being an old-fashioned snob who
placed himself outside the elite community of the senators and tota Italia by
deriding the municipal background of an overwhelming majority of sena
tors, and, on the other hand, being a dangerous revolutionary who, by viola
93 Puero municipia mire favent, Cic. Att. 16.11.6.
94 Tempore oblato, ducibus paratis, animis militum incitatis, populo Romano conspirante, Italia
tota ad libertatem reciperandam excitata, Cic. Phil. 3.32.

95 Syme 1939: 453.
tion of the property and lives of the elite, threatens to cause social upheaval
(Phil. 3.30-31).
Italy itself was apparently also expanded in the speech. Gallia Cisalpina,
under the command of Decimus Brutus, had resisted the power of Anto
nius, but by stressing that it is by agreement of the municipia and colonies
in the Gallic province,96 Cicero emphasises that the people resisting Anto
nius are fellow-citizens who do not accept his legitimacy as their consul,
rather than rebellious provincials challenging the Roman hegemony (Phil.
3.13). He even goes so far as to call the province the flower of Italy, that
main supporter of the supremacy of the Roman people, that honourable
ornament.97 Thus Cisalpina is made to appear almost as a continuation of
tota Italia, and the wicked Insubrians and Ligurians of earlier times seem
completely forgotten when Cicero claims that the province is inhabited by
the best and stoutest men, and by citizens most devoted to the republic.98
In the Senate, which at this time must have included several members from
Cisalpina appointed by the late dictator (Suet. Jul. 76), the Gallic province
was thus clearly articulated as part of the joint Roman-Italian (elite) com
munity, which Cicero attempted to mobilise against Antonius.
The fourth Philippic, held on the same day and on the same topic, but
before an assembly of the city population, supplies an opportunity to exam
ine how Cicero would vary his arguments depending on the audience. In
both speeches, the summary execution of Roman citizens by Antonius is
mentioned as a hideous crime, obviously expected to arouse great indigna
tion (Phil. 3.10; 4.4.11). Before the people, the Gallic province also appears
on the same side as Cicero and his audience (Phil. 4.8), but in this speech,
no particular relation between the province and Italy is mentioned, and the
citizen status of the inhabitants, which was stressed in the speech before the
Senate, is never brought up before the people. The audience, which is again
addressed as the embodiment of the full Roman population, is told not to
think that municipia, colonies, and a third type of Italian towns the prae
fecturae hold different opinions from itself on the illegality of Antonius
position (Phil. 4.7). Rather, regarding Antonius consulate, Cicero claims
96 Consensus municipiorum coloniarumque provinciae Galliae, Cic. Phil. 3.13.
97 Flos Italiae, illud firmamentum imperii populi Romani, illud ornamentum dignitatis, Cic.
Phil. 3.13.
98 Optimorum et fortissimorum [virorum] amicissimorumque rei publicae civium, Phil. 3.38.

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that Decimus Brutus [commander in Gaul] ... denies it, Gaul denies it, the
whole of Italy denies it, the Senate denies it, and you deny it.99
While cuncta Italia is mentioned in this enumeration, it is placed along
side two other entities (Gaul and the Senate), which are definitely not iden
tical to the vos that Cicero addresses, and it seems that the people is thus
distinguished from the concept of the united Italy as an independent politi
cal unit. Therefore, cuncta Italia in this context appears more as an expres
sion of political agreement between the various political entities in the pen
insula, and less as a unity likened to the patria displaying a single will of its
own.
The clearest indication that the idea of Italy as a unity without a special
precedence for urban Romans, which seemed so self-evident in the assertion
of the universal municipal descent of the senatorial class in the speech held
only hours earlier, would not be as well received by the city population, is
seen towards the end of the speech. Here, Cicero claims that virtus is espe
cially belonging to the Roman race and stock,100 a formulation which seems
to stress blood relationship rather than citizenship, and which would thus
seem to possibly exclude attendees of Italian descent and certainly freedmen
or other citizens of similar foreign descent, and he reminds the assembled
people that by this bravery your ancestors first subdued all Italy.101 The
primacy of Rome in relation to Italy is thus clearly conveyed in the speech
before the people, and the thought of tota Italia as a single res publica seems
far off in this context.
The same picture emerges from an examination of the speeches delivered
on New Years Day in 43. Before the Senate, Cicero claims that Cisalpina is
a province of the best and bravest citizens,102 and the implication of the
suggestion that a levy should be held in the city and in all Italy except
Gaul103 seems unambiguously to accept the Gallic province as a part of the
united Italy. Cuncta Italia also features among the beneficiaries of the cause
taken by Octavian (Cic. Phil. 5.43), and Cicero warns against sending an
99 Negat hoc D. Brutus negat Gallia, negat cuncta Italia, negat senatus, negatis vos, Cic.
Phil. 4.9.
100 Propria est Romani generis et seminis, Cic. Phil. 4.13.
101 Hac virtute maiores vestri primum universam Italiam devicerunt, Cic. Phil. 4.13.
102 Provinciam firmissimorum et fortissimorum civium, Cic. Phil. 5.24.
103 In urbe et in Italia praeter Galliam tota, Cic. Phil. 5.31.
embassy to Antonius which will extinguish the eagerness of the Roman

people, and wreck the spirit of Italy and the municipia.104
The dangers of land distribution are said to be on an enormous scale, as
Antonius will not only parcel out the city but has given all Italy to be dis
tributed by his brother (Phil. 5.6-7), and the familiar topic of redistribution
of property thus remains at the forefront in Ciceros political argumentation.
Before the people, the objection against L. Antonius land distribution also
appears, but here it comes with the fanciful claim that only time restrained
him from parcelling out even the Campus Martius the site of the saepta,
where elections took place, and of the relatively new theatre of Pompey
(Phil. 6.14).
Thus Cicero seeks to project Antonius activities as detrimental to the
peoples enjoyment of voting rights and the various commoda which were
related to the public activities on the Campus Martius. In this way, his strat
egy is similar to the Rullan speech, where he threatened his city audience
with the loss of their privileges if they backed Rullus proposals (Cic. Agr.
2.71). When describing the unity of the anti-Antonian movement, Cicero
claims that as the people wishes Antonius suppressed, so all orders wish the
same, the municipia, the colonies, the united Italy are devoted to the same
goal.105 The united Italy is again more a product of the general agreement
of the towns and orders than it is a single political unit, and before the peo
ple, Cisalpinas strong and brave citizens are conspicuously absent from
Ciceros speech.
In the following months, Cicero continuously stated that Italia was
united in the struggle against Antonius, and he claims the enthusiasm in the
municipia is such that in each and every town you do not lack a Senate and
a Roman people.106 In his correspondence with the tyrannicides, he rejoices
in the soldiers volunteering for the legions from all Italy (Cic. Fam. 11.8.2),
and explains that the seal of Italia universa is strong even though it is a
struggle to win the consulars for his cause (Cic. Fam. 12.4.1). In late January
he had told Brutus that there was great veneration felt for him by all citizens
104 Populi Romani restinguet ardorem, municipiorum atque Italiae franget animos, Cic. Phil.
5.25.
105 Idem volunt omnes ordines, eodem incumbunt municipia, coloniae, cuncta Italia, Cic.
Phil. 6.18.
106 Ut in singulis oppidis curiam populi Romani non desideretis, Cic. Phil. 7.23.

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(Cic. Fam. 11.8.1), and in mid-February, he declared before the Senate that
Brutus could have mobilised cuncta Italia for his protection, but rather
chose to leave Italy lest any occasion for civil war should arise because of
him.107 With his claims that Antonius backing was limited to three towns
in the entire world (Phil. 10.10), and that all Italia was aroused by the crave
for freedom (Phil. 10.14.19), we see Cicero desperately attempting to win the
rhetorical battle to claim the loyalty and support of the Italian elites, while
his allies were engaged in the direct fighting against Antonius and his (also
for a large part Italian) followers. His recurrent assertions that the Caesarian
veterans enlisted in Octavians legions would, in fact, be more than willing
to fight alongside the murderer-in-chief of their late imperator shows better
than most examples, how precarious and multi-faceted a situation underlies
the claims of universal Italian agreement (Phil. 10.15; 11.37-38).
The height of this paradox can be seen in the twelfth Philippic, where
Cicero at one moment claims that the united Italy has provided the army
now used against Antonius (Phil. 12.16) yet the next moment refuses to go
on an embassy to Antonius on the grounds that all three possible routes
would lead him through territories (in Italy) filled with enemies who would
probably kill him on sight (Phil. 12.23-24).
In the last two Philippics, held before the Senate in March and April,
Cicero repeats his claim that a united Italy is standing firm against Antonius
(Phil. 13.39), the enemy of both city and municipia (Phil. 14.10), and he con
tinues to seek support through the accusation that Antonius aim is to redis
tribute property all over Italy (Phil. 13.42-47). However, in the confused po
litical situation after the battle of Mutina, when it had become clear that the
civil war would continue108 and Cicero had lost faith in Octavians loyalty,
the united Italia disappeared as a political factor in his works. In July, as
Cicero desperately begs Brutus to lead his army to Italy, he confines himself
to the claim that Brutus would be joined by all who ought rightfully to be
called citizens,109 or by the more diffuse omnes (Ad Brut. 1.15.12).
107 Ne qua oreretur belli civilis causa propter se, Phil. 10.8.
108 Syme 1939: 176-86.
109 Quem ... civem appellari fas sit, Ad Brut. 1.14.2.
6. CONCLUSION
The fourth of the basic assumptions on collective identity presented in the

introduction (that national identities are not exclusive) is widely substanti
ated by Ciceros work. The picture of Italy and Italians that emerges from
viewing Ciceros works in their entirety is riddled with ambivalences and
self-contradictions, as he regularly varies whom he represents as the Romans,
and which groups he uses as constituting the other. It ought not to come as a
surprise to anyone that collective identities were contested and negotiable, in
antiquity no less than today indeed the spectrum for invocation of such
collective identities was wider in a world where the political power-holders
could to a large extent check the dissemination of information, and where a
broad general public with the possibility to establish a position based on a
fully representative selection of political material was not even conceived as
an ideal, let alone existed.110
Cicero the homo novus was as prepared to advertise the composite nature
of the Roman upper classes as Cicero the Roman senator was prepared to
present inhabitants of an Italian town as degenerate enemies of virtue and
civilisation, waiting only for a chance to strike against Rome, and Ciceros
choice to publish materials displaying these duplicities would seem to imply
that such tactics were not regarded as reproachable (or at least not any more
serious than having a Gallic grandfather, or descending from Picenum,
which qualities in spite of Ciceros vehement attacks did not impair the ca
reers of his opponents).
Overall, the tactics chosen by Cicero for a specific work reveal no distinct
chronological development, and seem to depend more on the immediate
political or forensic situation than on any fixed strategy towards a particular
audience. The Verrine speeches were written less than 20 years after the end
of the Social War, but nevertheless displayed a fully developed identification
between Italy and res publica. On the other hand, as late as the fifties BC, a
person with the unfortunate name Ligus was apparently fair game for ethnic
derision, though his family had probably been established in Italy for several
generations. Cicero thus discursively constructs several conflicting pictures
of the joint Roman community, and such ambivalence can raise questions
about his own status in the Roman elite.
110 Eich 2000: 6-19

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No doubt Ciceros rise from a municipal equestrian family to the consu

late was spectacular, but if he could repeatedly deride a Calpurnian consular
in strong terms for having Gallic ancestors, the various hostile remarks about
Ciceros own background should not lead to overstating his status as outsider
or pariah in the political aristocracy. Rather, as Emma Dench has observed,
the urban-elitist identity seems to be one that can be taken up or discarded
parallel to the identity of stout municipal nobleman in a decadent, depraved
city,111 and we may freely imagine any number of variations and combina
tions of these two archetypes. Thus, the rhetorical enrolment of an audience
into a joint collective identity with the speaker, and the exclusion of a given
opponent from that imagined community, was a political tool alongside
many others, and provides us with a definition of the Arpinate Ciceros place
in the Roman elite that is no more true than any modern political speech
or article provides a true definition of Muslim immigrants relation to the
Western societies in which they have settled.
In speeches before the Senate and in the courtroom, Cicero varies the
communities he articulates to fit the immediate political context, but speak
ing before the people in Rome, Cicero is never seen claiming a broad Ital
ian/Roman identity, and instead sticks to articulating an urban-Roman
community, though sometimes in alliance with an apparently separate Italy.
In the fourth and sixth Philippic, the citizens of Cisalpina are consistently
described as provincials, and in De Lege Manilia and De Lege Agraria 2, the
res publica is equated with the physical site of the city. This contrasts with
the identification of Italia with the patria and thus with the res publica, and
with the plea for consanguinitas through citizenship of In Verrem 2.
Not wishing at this point to engage too deeply in the intense scholarly
debate on popular sovereignty and participation in the political culture of
the Roman republic,112 it is nevertheless an interesting observation that
Cicero evidently felt the need to adopt a different line in representing the
citys social and political relations to Italy, when he addressed the Senate and
the citizens attending the political assemblies in Rome respectively. While
this observation does not necessarily imply that the participants in the popu
lar assembly were particularly representative of the city population as a
111 Dench 2005: 155-56, 179-82.
112 North 1990; Millar 1998; Yakobson 1999; Mouritsen 2001; Hlkeskamp 2010, among
many others.
whole, or recruited from the working strata of the population, it would seem
clear that this group, in some aspects at least, differed from the Senate in
what values and identities it was possible for an orator to credibly articulate.
Naturally, extrapolating from observations on Cicero to general conclu
sions on Roman politics is notoriously difficult due to the extraordinary
place he takes in the source material. However, if Cicero, who despite all his
setbacks managed to maintain a central role in Roman politics for more
than 30 years, was so careful to differentiate the identities he articulated,
then evidently this rhetorical enrolment of the Senate and people in various
collective identities must have been politically exploited by other actors on
the Roman political stage as well.
When turning to the representation of political objectives and links be
tween Rome and Italy, Cicero the infamous turncoat of Roman politics
actually displays a remarkable continuity in his basic political loyalties and
objectives, as far as they can be traced. In spite of his claims to be the true
popularis consul when opposing Rullus agrarian reforms, the interests that
Cicero served in this case, and in all his other attempts to block or diminish
distributions of property, as well as in his futile efforts to prevent civil war in
49, were the interests of the homines locupletium. When Cicero spoke of the
unbreakable agreement of the united Italy, he was referring to the class of
landholders who had a political role to play, and the existence of a few thou
sand dissatisfied Etrurian peasants, backing Catiline on the battlefield, did
not impair this picture of harmony between the people who really mattered.
Emma Dench claims to see a marked increase in Ciceros use of Tota Italia
after his recall from exile in 57,113 but in fact the concept appears just as fre
quently in the period from its emergence during the Catilinarian crisis to his
flight from the city in 58 (Cic. Catil. 1.27-29, 2.24-25, 4.2; Sul. 24; Flac. 5).
Thus for a period of 15 years, Cicero seems to have consciously followed a
strategy staging himself as the spokesman for domi nobiles, though the fre
quent shifts in political power structures prompted concurrent changes in
the tactics for this representation, and only reluctantly and resignedly did he
relinquish this position, as he felt compelled to support Pompeius against his
better political judgement.
A central topic of the aforementioned debate on popular participation in
Roman politics has been the question of the relative importance of qualita
113 Dench 2005: 184

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ciceros italy 147
tive political points of conflict compared to personal alliances and conflicts

within the senatorial elite. Keeping this dispute in mind, it is interesting to
find Cicero so consistent in the qualitative objectives for his overall political
strategy over so long a period of time, yet consciously willing to depart from
this position and join Pompeius, whose strategy he firmly disapproves, be
cause of a personal feeling of gratitude. A comical illustration of this com
plex web of favours, services, and sense of honour which bound the Roman
political elite together is Ciceros distress at the thought that he has to settle
his financial debt to Caesar before he can honourably enter into a civil war
against him (Cic. Att. 7.8.5).
The appearance of Tota Italia as a political unit during Ciceros consulate
is not necessarily an indication of any shift in his political allegiance com
pared to an earlier period. It cannot be decisively dismissed as an explana
tion for the absence of a political Tota Italia in Ciceros pre-consular works
that he had avoided mentioning his municipal origin and the Italian upper
classes as a power base before his consular year, so as not to antagonise no
biles and potential supporters in the city. This would seem inconsistent both
in relation to the overall tendency to switch between different identities that
has already been identified, and with Ciceros choices to publish several
speeches early on in his career, which portrayed him as a regular defender
and friend of wealthy municipes114 the exact same class which he attempted
to represent politically during and after his consular year.
The explanation for the appearance of Italy as a political unit may rather
lie in the different character of Ciceros published work before and after his
consulate. Prior to his consulship, comparatively few of the surviving
speeches relate to major political questions, and cuncta Italia would not,
therefore, find a natural place in them, whereas his post-consular production
up to the exile aims at conveying as widespread a support as possible for his
actions during the Catilinarian crisis.115 The Handbook of Electioneering as
cribed to Quintus Cicero seems to show that the idea of Italy as a united
community, which could be politically exploited, was fully developed before
Ciceros consulate, (Q. Cic. Comm.Pet. 24, 30-32, 50-51) but the doubts re
garding its authenticity prevents us from regarding it as a smoking gun.
In any case, the identification of a fairly well-rooted conception of Italy as
114 Lintott 2008: 67

115 Steel 2005: 49-63
a political unit and as patria from a comparatively early period in Ciceros

career is remarkable, considering how recent the Social and civil wars were.
The people at the height of their political careers in the seventies and sixties
were men who, like Cicero, had spent part of their youth fighting rebels
touting the name of Italia in the Social War, but still he did not shun from
using this name as a synonym for res publica. The conspicuous lack of any
particular chronological development in Ciceros articulation of Italy seems
to refute an interpretation of the concept of Italy as being linearly redevel
oped in the minds of the political agents in Rome in the period between the
end of the Social War and the establishment of the principate due to the
profound social and political changes. Rather, the formulation of Italia as a
unity during the Social War might have provided a concept to be taken up
at any convenient time afterwards, albeit now identified with the Roman res
publica.
Instead of a steady development in the scope for discursive (re)construc
tion of Roman and Italian identities from the enfranchisement of the Italic
peoples to the consolidation of the Augustan monarchy, we should imagine
an intense and many-faceted continuous reinterpretation taking place inher
ently in the political debate in the public domain of the republic, related to,
but not necessarily directly reflecting, the constant and ever-changing strug
gles for power throughout the period. If, for all the consistency in his politi
cal objectives stressed above, Cicero could vary his articulation of Roman
and Italian identities to the extent seen in this article, it is evident that a Ca
tiline, a Catulus, a Pompeius, and a Caesar would all have different ways of
rhetorically enrolling support for their very own version of one or more col
lective identities.
However negotiable it might be, there is no way of getting around the fact
that Ciceros united Italy was regularly ablaze with civil war throughout his
lifetime. In spite of all his attempts to reclaim the role as spokesman for the
wealthy municipes after Caesars death, Cicero could neither disguise that
Italy was divided by a profusion of interests, nor that his alliance with Octa
vian was inherently fragile. As the political events unfolded after the battle of
Mutina, Cicero was perhaps the greatest loser in the immediate political
context, as he was among the first to lose his life in the proscriptions. In a
broader political sense, however, the development of the Augustan princi
pate paradoxically brought about exactly that unity of the possessing classes
of Italy, albeit after a further decade of civil war and extensive redistributions

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ciceros italy 149
of property, which Cicero had hoped could provide a firm power base for
the reinforcement of the republican political system. As Ronald Syme ar
gued, the principate was in a sense the victory of the Italian municipal elites,
who gradually took over the highest offices of the state, as well as the most
important political and military functions from the increasingly diminished
116
group of urban republican nobiles. As the aged princeps set out his political
testament, to be read by his subjects, he proudly claimed that tota Italia had
voluntarily sworn loyalty to him, and taken him as its leader (Aug. Anc. 25).
Whether this Italian unity, allegedly manifesting itself on the brink of yet
another civil war, in the immediate situation was any more firmly rooted in
reality than the unity stressed by Cicero a decade earlier is more than doubt
ful, but for the following century of relative political stability, the works of
Cicero could provide a rhetorical model for the representation of a joint
Romano-Italian elite community, acting as firm supporters of the social and
political status quo.
116 Syme 1939: 490-506.
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Blom, H.v.d. 2003. Officium and Res Publica: Ciceros Political Role after
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Brunt, P.A. 1971a. Italian Manpower 225 BC 14 AD. Oxford.
Brunt, P.A. 1971b. Social Conflicts in the Roman Republic. London.
Brunt, P.A. 1988. The Fall of the Roman Republic and Related Essays. Oxford.
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Dench, E. 2005. Romulus Asylum: Roman Identities from the Age of Alexander
to the Age of Hadrian. Oxford.
Eich, Armin 2000. Politische Literatur in der Rmischen Gesellschaft: Studien
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Republik und frhen Kaiserzeit. Cologne.
Farney, G.D. 2007. Ethnic Identity and Aristocratic Competition in Republican

Rome. Cambridge.
Fuhrmann, M. 1992. Cicero and the Roman Republic. Oxford.
Gellner, E. 2006. Nations and Nationalism. Malden.
Gruen, E. 1992. Culture and National Identity in Republican Rome. Ithaca,
NY.
Hopkins, K. 1978. Conquerors and Slaves. Cambridge.
Hopkins, K. 1983. Death and Renewal. Cambridge.
Jehne, M. 2006. Rmer, Latiner und Bundesgenossen im Krieg. Zu Formen
und Ausmass der Integration in der republikanischen Armee in M. Jehne
& R. Pfeilschifter (eds.) Herrschaft ohne Integration? Rom und Italien in re
publikanischer Zeit. Frankfurt, 243-67.
Keppie, L. 1983. Colonisation and Veteran Settlement in Italy 47-14 B.C.
Rome.
Laurence, R. 1999. The Roads of Roman Italy: Mobility and Cultural Change.
London.
Levens, R.G.C. 1946. Cicero, Verrine V. London.
Lintott, A. 2008. Cicero as Evidence. Oxford.
Lomas, K. 2004. A Volscian Mafia? Cicero and his Italian Clients in the Fo
rensic Speeches in J.J. Paterson & J.G.F. Powell (eds.) Cicero the Advocate.
Oxford, 97-116.
Long, G. 1862. M. Tullii Ciceroni Orationes with a Commentary, vol. 1: Verri
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Millar, F. 1998. The Crowd in Rome in the Late Republic. Ann Arbor.
Morstein-Marx, R. 2004. Mass Oratory and Political Power in the Late Roman
Republic. Cambridge.
Mouritsen, H. 1998. Italian Unification: A Study in Ancient and Modern His
toriography. London.
Mouritsen, H. 2001. Plebs and Politics in the Late Republic. Cambridge.
North, J. A. 1990. Democratic Politics in Republican Rome P&P 126, 3-21.
Patterson, J. 1988. Sanniti, Liguri e Romani: Samnites, Ligurians and Romans.
Circello.
Patterson, J. 2006. Landscapes and Cities: Rural Settlement and Civic Trans
formation in Early Imperial Italy. Oxford.
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public in Cambridge Ancient History, vol. 9: The Last Age of the Roman
Republic 146-43 BC. Cambridge, 644-88.

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Salmon, E.T. 1969. Roman Colonization under the Republic. London.

Salmon, E.T. 1972. Cicero Romanus an Italicus anceps in J.C.R. Martyn
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86.
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Steel, C. 2001. Cicero, Rhetoric, and Empire. Oxford.
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WEIN, WEIB UND GESANG:
ON CATULLUS 27
By Athanassios Vergados
Summary: In this paper, I look at how a short Catullan skolion (c. 27) imitates Anacreon
PMG 356. While he follows the general arrangement and themes of Anacreon, Catullus de-
parts from his original in an important way: instead of a moderate mix of wine and water
which will lead to the singing of hymns, Catullus prefers undiluted wine and the singing of
iambs, as is conveyed by Thyonianus at 27.7 and by poems 28-30 that exhibit iambic motifs.
This technique of imitation has a parallel in poem 116, where the poet again frustrates the
expectations created in his audience by the initial adoption of a literary model that is aban
doned as the poem progresses.*
Minister vetuli puer Falerni
inger mi calices amariores,
ut lex Postumiae iubet magistrae
ebrioso acino ebriosioris.
at vos quo libet hinc abite, Lymphae,
vini pernicies, et ad severos
migrate: hic merus est Thyonianus.
Boy, dispenser of the good old Falernian wine, pour for me more bitter
cups, as the rule of our mistress Postumia commands who is drunker
than a drunken grape-berry. But you, water nymphs, depart from here to
wherever you want, destroyers of wine, and migrate to the stern fellows:
this one here is pure Thyonian.
I would like to thank Dr. Shawn OBryhim and Dr. Nikoletta Kanavou for commenting
on earlier drafts of this paper.
Athanassios Vergados Wein, Weib und Gesang: On Catullus 27 C&M 62 (2011) 153-67. 2011 Museum Tuscula
num Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

154 athanassios vergados
Commentators on Catullus 27 cite Anacreon PMG 356(a) as one of its liter

ary antecedents, but do little to elucidate Catullus debt to his model. The
purpose of this paper is to flesh out the parallels between the two poems and
to discuss Catullus imitatio and aemulatio of this short skolion. I will also
examine the interpretive problems in c. 27.7, and in particular the term
Thyonianus, which I believe here indicates poetic inspiration through wine.
It will be seen that whereas Anacreon advocates the performance of tame,
hymnal poetry, Catullus prefers iambic, invective poetry as is exemplified in
c. 28-30.
But let us look at Anacreons fragment first:
.1
Come on boy, bring me a jar so that I may drink up a long draught, hav
ing poured ten ladles of water and five of wine, so that I may again revel
moderately.
Catullus 27 and Anacreons fragment have several elements in common. In

both, we are in the world of the Greek symposion.2 The speaker commands
the slave boy who administers the distribution of wine (
minister vetuli puer Falerni | inger mi calices amariores).
Both poets discuss how wine should be mixed (
3 ut lex iubet Postumiae magis
trae| hinc abite, Lymphae) and both conclude their commands with a
reference to Bacchic frenzy. Anacreon declares his intention to revel moder
1 Page prints in line 5. is Pauws emendation.

Other suggestions may be found in Pages apparatus criticus.
2 During the Roman convivium, the mixing of wine and water was conducted to the
guests taste, in contrast to the Greek symposion in which there was one kind of mix for
all; see Dunbabin 1993: 128-29.
3 Athenaeus cites this fragment of Anacreon specifically to illustrate the 1:2 mixture of wine
(10.427a-b).

on catullus 27 155
ately ( | ),4 while Catullus introduces

Thyonianus, a name he coined from a hypothetical gentilicium Thyonius by
adding the suffix -anus.5 Thyone was of course an appellation of Semele that
derives from rage, revel, be possessed or inspired.6
Line 7 presents some interpretative problems. Scholars have debated
whether hic is adverbial (here) or pronominal (this wine or this man, i.e.
the speaker). Ellis rendered this is the unmixed liquor of the wine-god.7
Thyonianus thus equals Dionysus; but there is no parallel for a gods name
based on his mothers name with the suffix -anus. Fordyce considered the last
line as referring to wine: in his view, Thyonianus derives from Thyonius, a
doublet of Thyoneus (as sometimes Bacchus is referred to),8 and one may
compare with Homeric Greek for the doublet.9
To this Thyonius was added the suffix -anus, commonly found in the names
of Roman wines. The masculine gender of Thyonianus can be explained, in
Fordyces view, by the gender of Greek , as Kroll had previously sug
gested,10 and has a parallel in Tmolius and Phanaeus at Verg. Georg. 2.98-9. A
similar line of interpretation was followed by Quinn who rendered here is
the Thyonian (i.e. Bacchus) undiluted, comparing to the form Hor. C.
1.17.23 and Ov. Met. 4.13 (Thyoneus).11 But as Bolton remarks, understanding
4 is the fox, but = Bacchant; cf. Anacr. PMG 411(b)

.
5 Note that the suffix -ius may designate divine descent or association with a god (e.g.,
Martius, Latonius, Neptunius etc.; Thyonius is not attested). It may also be used in the
nomenclature of slaves, to whom the masters gentilicium is applied; see Leumann
Hoffmann-Szantyr 1963-79: vol. 1 273Ab.
6 See Frisk 1960 and Chantraine 1968: s.v. 1. For = , cf. for instance
h.Hom. 1.21 (), D.S. 3.62.9, 4.25.4, [Apol
lod.] 3.38.
7 See Ellis 1889 ad loc.
8 Cf. Hor. C. 1.17.23, Ovid Met. 4.13, Stat. Th. 5.265, Val.Flac. 1.726. Opp. Cyn. 1.27 has
, while Hsch. 985 transmits that Dionysus had the appellation
in Rhodes.
9 See Fordyce 1961 ad loc.
10 Kroll 1980: ad loc., suggested that Thyonianus was formed als sei es eine Weinsorte wie
Formianum Nomentanum. Pace Putnam 1969: 855 nothing compels us to take vetuli
Falerni of Catullus 27.1 as masculine (a personification of the wine).
11 See Quinn 1985 ad loc. Cairns 1975: 24-29 rendered here is Bacchus undiluted, citing
Ausonius, Cento Praef., for Thyonianus = Bacchus. He compared this to a similar injunc
tion for undiluted wine in Diphilus, PCG 57
here is an act of desperation.12 The masculine gender in Vergil does

not prove anything: the passage evoked by Kroll and Fordyce runs sunt et
Aminneae vites, firmissima vina, | Tmolius adsurgit quibus et rex ipse Phanaeus
(there are also the Aminnean grapes, strong-bodied wine, for which the
Tmolian [king] rises out of respect and even the king Phaneus himself ).
Given that Tmolius and Phaneus depend on rex, Vergil does not provide a
true parallel. To Boltons objection we may add that generally, wine names in
Latin are neuter (e.g., Formianum, Albanum, sc. vinum), formed on the basis
of place names rather than personal names.13 Bolton glosses This one is
Bacchus man throughout, comparing such substantives as Caesarianus or
Christianus; in his view, merus Thyonianus shows the speakers unmixed (me
rus) devotion to the god of wine by drinking his wine unmixed (merum).
But this, too, is not without problems: Thyonianus would be an odd way to
designate a devotee of Bacchus. As Caesarianus and Christianus show, the
suffix -ianus is added to the name of the person (or god) whom one follows,
rather than his parents name. To all this one may answer with Thompson
that probably Catullus expanded the adjective [sc. Thyoneus, Thyonius]
whimsically (partly for metrical reasons).14 But such an answer would de
tract from the poems meaning, as it would imply that the last word in its
punch-line had a limited purpose. At any rate, merus Thyonianus suggests
that the persona loquens is a pure devotee of Thyone, hence a revelling, in
spired person,15 and not merely a follower of Dionysus. But why Thyone?
is generally used of raging natural forces, but is found in
the Homeric Hymn to Hermes (560) in the sense to be inspired. There,
(A. You, pour us

to drink. B. And, boy, (pour) rather pure wine, by Zeus; for this high proportion of water
is bad for our spirit) and detected a similarity in that both the comic playwright and Ca
tullus offer a parody: Diphilus discusses (and parodies) the medical theory of the hu
mours, while Catullus parodies the lex Postumia. But the fact that Ausonius in the 4th c.
AD understood Thyonianus as meaning Bacchus does not prove that this is what Catullus
had intended.
12 See Bolton 1967: 12; Woytek 1975: 75-77.
13 See Syndikus 2001: vol. 1, 173 with n. 9.
14 See Thomson 2003 ad loc.
15 The only other possibility allowed by the rules of Roman nomenclature would be to con
sider Thyonianus an adoptive name. But that would cause more problems than it would
solve, as the speaker would in effect appear to leave the clan of Thyone; cf. Leumann
Hoffmann-Szantyr 1963-79: vol. 1, 295.2.

on catullus 27 157
Apollo speaks of three maiden sisters (possibly sacred bees) who can proph
ecy if they are inspired through the consumption of (fermented?) honey.16
Thyonianus here suggests inspiration through wine, an inspiration that is
poetic rather than prophetic, though poetry and prophecy were often con
nected in antiquity.17 Catullus is thus calling here for pure inspiration
through the consumption of unmixed wine.
The inspirational qualities of wine are amply documented in Graeco-
Roman poetry.18 A few instances will suffice. Archil. fr. 120W claims to be
able to lead the dithyramb when he is thunderstruck by wine:

(for I know how to lead the beautiful song of lord Dio
nysus, the dithyramb, when my mind is thunderstruck by wine), and Cal
lim. fr. 544 spoke of <> (the
hymn of wine-stricken Archilochus). The coexistence of wine and song is
found also in Xenophan. fr. 1.21-22W, who speaks of songs performed dur
ing a symposion by the krater:
<> (not to
be busy with the battles of the Titans nor the Giants nor the Centaurs, fic
tions of the men of old) and Anacr. fr. eleg. 2W:

(I dont like him who, drinking by the full
crater, speaks of strife and tearful war, but (I like) whoever mixes the splen
did gifts of the Muses and Aphrodite and remembers lovely merriment).19
Cratinus PCG *203 (perhaps from his Pytine) observes that
16 For the inspirational qualities of fermented honey (mead, akin to Greek and San
skrit madhu), see the discussion in Scheinberg 1979: 17-19.
17 See Scheinberg 1979: 21-26. Murray 1981: 87-100, argues that the concept of inspiration in
the sense of a furor poeticus did not arise before the fifth century BC.
18 Cf. Waszink 1974: 9-11 and Crowther 1979: 5 n. 2; further, Kambylis 1965: 113-22 and
Knox 1985: esp. 107-12.
19 See Lesher 2001: 53-54. Anacreon declares in the extant fragments his preference for the
performance of erotic or meta-sympotic verse, as opposed to songs that have a clear po
litical message; see Kantzios 2005, who accounts for this phenomenon by evoking the
mixed background (i.e., not entirely aristocratic) of Anacreons audience. On p. 228, he
discusses the evidence for Anacreons drinking wine.
(you would not be able to produce anything wise

by drinking water).20
Horace, too, stresses the importance of wine for poetic inspiration in Ep.
1.19.1-8:
Prisco si credis, Maecenas docte, Cratino,
nulla placere diu nec vivere carmina possunt,
quae scribuntur aquae potoribus
laudibus arguitur vini vinosus Homerus:
Ennius ipse pater numquam nisi potus ad arma
prosiluit dicenda
Learned Maecenas, if you trust ancient Cratinus, no poems that are writ
ten by water-drinkers can be pleasing or live on for a long time drunk
Homer betrays himself through the praises of wine: father Ennius himself
never darted forth to sing of war unless drunk.
Martial 11.6.12-3 writes possum nil ego sobrius; bibenti | succurrent mihi quin
decim poetae (I cant do anything sober; but when drunk, fifteen poets come
to my aid). The second half of this epigram clearly alludes to Catullus. In
lines 9-10 the speaker addresses his slave boy with instructions about the
mixing of wine: misce dimidios, puer, trientes, | quales Pythagoras dabat
Neroni, | misce, Dindyme, sed frequentiores (Boy, mix two cyathi, such as the
ones that Pythagoras used to give Nero, mix them, Dindymus, but more
frequently), while 14-16 allude to Cat. 5 and 7 as well as his passer-poems (da
nunc basia, sed Catulliana: | quae si tot fuerint, quot ille dixit, | donabo tibi
passerem Catulli (give me now kisses, but la Catullus: and if they become as
many as he said, I will present you with Catullus passer). Martial seems to
have understood the implications of Thyonianus in Catullus 27, and is draw
20 Quoted in AP 13.29.2; on the problem of this epigrams attribution (Nicaenetus, The

aeteus or Asclepiades), see Sens 2011: 325-30, who also provides further references for the
connection between wine and poetry. Kock in his edition of the comic fragments consid
ered the hexameter (wine, as you know, is
a fast horse for the charming singer = AP 13.29.1) as part of Cratinus fragment, but this
has not been accepted by Kassel-Austin. Biles 2011: 154 with n. 78, suggests that the epi
grams opening hexameter may be based on a passage from Cratinus Pytine. On the ques
tion of whether this fragment belonged to the Pityne or not, see Biles 2002: 172-74.

on catullus 27 159
ing a distinction between water-drinkers who cannot write decent poetry (cf.
line 12 possum nil ego sobrius) and wine-drinkers who are truly inspired (cf.
Cratinus and Horace above). Wiseman has mentioned in passing the image
of poets and non-poets who are wine-drinkers and water-drinkers in rela
tion to Catullus 27.21 But Catullus is aiming at a somewhat different distinc
tion, namely between those poets who drink water as opposed to the true
poets who drink pure wine.22
This distinction is epigrammatically presented in Antipater of Thessalo
nike, a poet of the generation after Catullus (AP 11.2023):
24
Away with those of you who sing of obscure mantles or torches made of
vine bark or rare types of fish, race of thorn-gathering poets, who practice
a twisted word-order and drink pure water from a sacred spring. Today
we pour libations in celebration of Archilochus and manly Homers
birthday; the krater does not admit water-drinkers.
The epigrammatist attacks quibbling poets whose works contain obscurities.

of line 4 allows us to identify them
with those poets working in the Callimachean tradition (cf. Call. h.Apol.
110-12:

(the bees do not carry water to Deo from everywhere, but
from whichever tiny drop, the choicest one, that darts up pure and without
blemish from a sacred spring). These poets are not suitable for the symposion,
21 Wiseman 1969: 8.
22 Wheeler 1934: 235 notes that by the time of Catullus the thing [sc. the association of
proper poetry with wine rather than water] was sheer tradition and it would be absurd to
assign it to a definite literary model.
23 = Gow-Page 1968: vol. 1, v. 185-90. See also their commentary in vol. 2, p. 37-39.
24 See Argentieri 2003: 94-98 (with earlier bibliography).
and their petty interest in obscurities parallels the attitude of the severiores in
Cat. 5.2 or the curiosi of 7.11-12 who wish to count the exact number of Ca
tullus and Lesbias kisses.25 Significantly, the two poets evoked by Antipater
are Homer, the poet par excellence, and Archilochus, who was known for his
invective.26 In Antipater we are of course in a sympotic setting as the pres
ence of the makes clear, and no water-drinkers are allowed there.27
This is suggested also by the term , used by the epigrammatist
also at AP 11.31.3-4:
(as I fear an evil man and the water-drinkers who remember our
words),28 which points to the symposion through its reminiscence of
(= fr. adesp. 1002 PMG).29 Finally, the first word of
Antipaters epigram, , provides further support for a metapoetic
reading of Catullus 27, as it corresponds to Catullus at vos abite (27.5), a
phrase that is paralleled in other Catullan poems concerned with poetry.30
These considerations can provide some hints for understanding Catullus
aim in c. 27. Thyonianus at line 7 suggests that wine-inspired poetry of some
kind will follow. Moreover, the fact that the water nymphs are asked to de-
part means that this poetry will be pure, uncompromised. But to what
genre does this poetry belong? To answer this question we need to look at
the following poems. Poem 27 is followed by a poem in hendecasyllabics
against provincial governors (28), a poem in iambic senarii that attacks Cae
25 Note that at 27.6-7 the water nymphs are asked to depart to the severos; see Putnam 1969:
854 and Ferguson 1985: 85. Cf. also the injunction in Petron. 52.7 aquam foras, vinum in-
tro (out with the water, in with the wine).
26 Cf. Pi. P. 2.55 (Archilochus,
fond of blaming, feeding gluttonously on hateful insults).
27 On the incompetence of these in poetic matters, cf. Epicharm. fr. 131 K.-A.:
(there is no dithyramb when you drink water),
Phryn. fr. 74.2 K.-A.
(being a water-drinking man, a whining arch-sophist, the Muses mummy);
Panyass. fr. 12.11-12
(for wine is for humans a blessing equal to fire, an
averter of evil, the accompaniment of all virtue); Ar. Eq. 88-93.
28 = Gow-Page 1968: v. 276.
29 The banquet was the locus where playful teasing was practiced (cf. h.Herm. 54-56,
Adesp.Eleg. 27.3-6 W, Alexis fr. 9.10 (with Arnott 1996 ad loc.), A.R. 1.457-59, Reitzenstein
1893: 26 n. 2, MacDowell 1971: ad v. 1308-13), all of which, however, was not to be carried
outside the confines of the symposion.
30 Cf. 14.21-23; 36.18-20 and Putnam 1969: 853.

on catullus 27 161
sar, Pompey and Caesars protg Mamurra (29) and a poem in asclepiadeans
in which the speaker protests against Alfenus, a friend who betrayed him.31
In other words, Catullus is asking for unmixed wine (merum) so that he can
be inspired to compose mera carmina, i.e., pure invective such as the three
poems that follow.32 The fact that only poem 29 is in iambic metre does not
detract from the present argument, since the iambic idea appears in the Ca
tullan corpus in poems composed in a variety of metres.33 And instead of
treating poem 27 as programmatic in the sense that it introduces an entire
cycle of invective poems, i.e. 27-60 (as Wiseman and Skinner wished, cf. n.
31), we observe instead a common pattern of poetic arrangement in the Ca
tullan corpus, according to which poems tend to be grouped in units of usu
ally two or sometimes three or even four.34
To return to Catullus handling of his Greek original, we notice then that
in c. 27 the Roman poet structurally and thematically follows PMG 356, but
with a twist. For, as we have seen, Anacreon expresses his desire to revel mo
derately (). But of what does this
31 This was realized by Wiseman 1969: 8 who, however, argued that poem 27 was program
matic for the last portion of the polymetric poems (i.e. 27-60) that contains the invective
pieces. But not all poems in the sequence 27-60 are invective, nor is invective confined to
poems 27-60. The idea that poem 27 introduces the last third of the polymetric poems
has been effectively challenged by Thomson 2003: 9; cf. also Syndikus 2001: 173 n. 12 who
does not accept the metapoetic reading of amariores as pointing to bitter or sharper
verse. The programmatic function of 27 is also rejected by Trapper-Lomax 2007: 84; con
tra Skinner 1981: 27-28 for whom poem 27 introduces the second half of the polymetric
poems, characterized by metrical and structural variation or relaxation. See also Batstone
2007: 237. Holzberg 2002: 48, 77-80 considers poem 27 a Binnenprolog and treats po
ems 27-33 as a block of invective poems. However, poems 31 and 32 are not direct invec
tives. Gutzwiller 1998: 164 supports the programmatic reading of poem 27 and proposes
that Posidippus 9 Gow-Page (= AP 12.168) may have been Catullus model.
32 For Thomson 2003: ad loc., amariores of Cat. 27.2 equals meraciores, i.e. drier wine;
against this notion, see Trapper-Lomax 2007: 84-85.
33 See Holzberg 2002: 45-46 who points out that for Catullus, iamb was any kind of invec
tive or abusive poem regardless of its metre. The term iambus occurs in Catullus only in
his hendecasyllabics (36.5, 40.2, 54.6, fr. 3.1). For the iambic idea in Catullus, see also
Heyworth 2001 and Clay 2008. Newman 1990: 179 and 183 detects iambic themes in po
ems 29 and 30.
34 E.g., 12 and 13, both sympotic; 23 and 24, both on Furius who pursues Iuventius; 50 and
51, 65 and 66, i.e. poetic translations preceded by a cover letter; 89-91 on Gellius. Forsyth
1977: 445-50 argues that poems 41-43 form a cycle within the Catullan corpus.
moderate revelling consist? Anacreon explains this later in the same poem.35
Come again, let us not practice the Scythian way of drinking in this
manner, with noise and shouting, but drinking moderately to the accom
paniment of beautiful hymns.
Drinking unmixed wine as the Scythians do will lead to noise and shouting.
But if the wine is mixed as proposed, the result will be a well-mannered
banquet: the guests will drink moderately () to the accompa
niment of beautiful hymns.36 Catullus attitude is different: he only follows
the initial part of Anacreons injunction (= PMG 356a), and departs from the
moderation suggested by him () by proposing to sing poetry of
abuse, invective, i.e. iambic, which could be performed at the symposion.37
Catullus treatment of his Anacreontic original that I posit here shows
considerable affinity with the poetic technique of c. 116:
Saepe tibi studioso animo venante requirens
carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae,
qui te lenirem nobis, neu conarere
tela infesta <meum> mittere in usque caput,
hunc video mihi nunc frustra sumptum esse laborem,
Gelli, nec nostras hinc valuisse preces.
contra nos tela ista tua evitabimus acta,
at fixus nostris tu dabis supplicium.
35 Cf. Athenaeus words at 10.427a which connect PMG 356a and b:

(and moving on he calls the drinking of unmixed
wine Scythian drinking). On the meaning of (= later in the same poem), see
Gerber 1970: 226-27 and the remarks in Fraenkel 1957: 179 n. 2.
36 This is similar to the injunction in Xenophan. fr. 1.19-24, referred to above, on p. 5.
37 For the performance of iambos at the symposion, see Vetta 1983: xix-xxi and Pellizer 1983:
34-36.

on catullus 27 163
Often have I sought, when my eager mind was hunting, how I could send
you poems of the Battiad by which I might soften you towards me, and
you might not attempt to hurl your hostile weapons all the way to my
head; I now see that this task has been undertaken by me in vain, Gellius,
and that my prayers had no force in this matter. I will avoid those weap
ons of yours that are hurled against me, but you will pay the punishment
pierced by mine.
The poet declares his Callimacheanism at the beginning of the poem. Lines
116.1-2 (tibi | carmina uti possem mittere Battiadae) remind Catullus audi
ence of 65.15-6 (mitto | haec expressa tibi carmina Battiadae).38 Catullus may
have wished to appease Gellius by sending him translations of Callimachean
poems or poems written in the manner of Callimachus (the absence of a
term like expressa in 116 makes this point ambiguous). Be that as it may, the
first two lines of poem 116 create the expectation of a thoroughly Calli
machean poem, especially since poem 65 (where the reference to sending
Callimachean poems is first found) contains Callimachean allusions.39 In
addition, as Barchiesi has pointed out, the first two words of poem 116, saepe
tibi, allude to the opening of Callimachus Aetia, .40 He fur
ther reminds us that tu dabi(s) supplicium of line 8 is an allusion to Ennius
fr. 95 Skutsch, nam mi calido dabi(s) sanguine poenas (for you will pay me the
penalty with your warm blood).41 Poem 116 could be read as a progressive
abjuration of Callimachus until the scandalous Ennianism dabi expresses
the choice of old-fashioned violence over new-wave refinement.42 In fact,
38 Lines 65.15-16 refer to poem 66, a translation of Callimachus Coma Berenices.

39 This is true particularly in the final six lines which are reminiscent of the story of Acon
tius and Cydippe. See Hunter 1993.
40 See Barchiesi 2005: 333-36, who points out that line 1 is loaded with Callimachean vo
cabulary (studioso, animo, venante, requirens; cf. laborem at l. 5). See also Knox 2007: 163
64.
41 See Zetzel 1983: 256-57.
42 See Barchiesi 2005: 336. The rest of poem 116 does not contain any Callimachean allu
sions, not even a reference to the Ibis as one might have expected in this context of invec
tive. Instead of Callimachean polish, we meet metrical inconcinnities (line 3 is holospon
daic, something we do not encounter since the poetry of Ennius, while the final -s of
dabis in line 8 is elided, a feature that Cicero terms subrusticum, somewhat provincial; cf.
Cic. Orator 161), whereby Catullus perhaps reproduces mockingly the style of his oppo
nent. On poem 116, see the illuminating analysis of MacLeod 1973. Note that Catullus
Catullus use of military imagery (cf. 5 tela infesta <meum> mittere in usque
caput, 7 contra nos tela ista tua evitabimus acta, and 8 at fixus nostris, which
may also have sexual undertones43) points to a different type of iambus, not
the tamer ones of Callimachus (cf. fr. 191.1-4 Pfeiffer), but the archaic and
fiercer ones, worthy of an Archilochus or Hipponax.44
Just as poem 116, Catullus c. 27 can be read as an exercise in playing with
audience expectations. It begins as a close imitation of Anacreon 356a: lines
1-2 are concerned with Wein; lines 3-6 address the proper admixture of the
wine (in Catullus case the consumption of undiluted wine, as the modim
peratrix Postumia dictates = Weib).45 The initial allusion to Anacreon sets up
the expectation that Catullus will follow his model in preferring tamer po
etry for recitation at the banquet (= Anacreon PMG 356b), and at this point
we may still think that amariores of l. 2 refers to drier wine.46 Just as in
poem 116, however, the poet frustrates these expectations with his order to
the water-nymphs to depart and with line 7 that announces the pure wine
inspired revelling poetry, i.e. the invective that follows in poems 28-30 (Ge-
sang). In this way, Catullus indeed invests his Greek original with new
meaning.47
deftly uses metrical features in poem 27 as well: in line 4 the two elisions in ebrioso acino
ebriosioris imitate the slurring speech of the drunk Postumia. If Aulus Gellius ebria acina
ebriosioris (6.20.6) is correct, then in addition to the slurring (= elision) we would also
hear Postumias hiccups (= hiatus). Cf. also Newman 1990: 178 who calls attention to the
slurred inger of line 1.
43 Cf. Adams 1990: 19-20 and 138 for references on telum and fingere respectively.
44 For Catullus Archilochean traits, see Wray 2001: 167-86. Wray treats poems 27-29 as a
unit, 27 announcing the Archilochean invective of 28-29 in which male characters are
subjected to acts of emasculation. While this analysis is certainly valid, it ignores poem 30
that also partakes of the . See also Hendrickson 1925: 155-57 (on poem 40).
45 For the identity of this Postumia and its implications here, see Cairns 1975: 27-29 and
Putnam 1969: 852-53.
46 Cf. Fordyce 1961: ad loc., of a drier vintage; Quinn 1985: ad loc., perhaps drier but with
less water added fits the context better; Thomson 2003: ad loc. has a long note on the re
lation between the wines age and its amaritudo. The point here is that whereas at the be
ginning of c. 27 we may entertain the idea that amariores refers to older, drier wine, we
realize that this assumption is wrong by the time we reach the poems end.
47 See Syndikus 2001: vol. 1, 172 who observes that Catullus versteht es aber, dem vielmals
Gesagten neues Leben einzuhauchen.

on catullus 27 165
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251-66.

CLEMENTIA ET RAISON DTAT:
LIDAL MONARCHIQUE DANS LES
TROYENNES DE SNQUE
Par Guillaume Flamerie de Lachapelle
Summary: In Senecas Troades the good king, according to the definition given by the De
Ira and above all the De Clementia, is personified by two characters: on the one hand, Aga
memnon, who promotes clementia against the harshness of Pyrrhus; on the other hand,
Ulysses, who promotes severitas against the miseratio of Andromache. Mildness and raison
dtat are the two main criteria which the good leader must apply when he takes an impor
tant decision.*
Li la monarchie par le registre mme des personnages quil met en scne,

le genre tragique eut souvent, Rome, des implications politiques.1 Tibre
prit ainsi ombrage dun Atre, en croyant se reconnatre dans le personnage
du tyran qui donne son nom la pice.2 Au demeurant, cette fonction
politique du thtre ne se rduit certes pas la vitupration: la parnse est
aussi envisageable. On a ainsi suggr que Snque aurait mis profit
Nous suivons les textes de la Collection des Universits de France, sauf dans le cas des Let
tres Lucilius, o ldition de la Bibliotheca Scriptorum Classicorum Oxoniensis est de loin
prfrable (ed. L.D. Reynolds, 1965). Sauf indication contraire, les traductions sont les
ntres.
1 Dune faon gnrale, sur limbrication entre thtre et politique sous Nron, cf. Grimal
1979; Lefvre 1985; Malaspina 2004.
2 D.C. 58.24.3-5. Lempereur aurait t contrari par un vers, qui invitait les sujets du
prince subir passivement la folie de ce dernier, puisque dun prince il faut supporter
mme les sottises (cf. Eur. Phn. 393); Mamercus Aemilius Scaurus, lauteur de cette
uvre, est mis mort. Autre exemple (sous Claude): D.C. 60.28.5.
Guillaume Flamerie de Lachapelle Clementia et raison dtat: lidal monarchique dans les Troyennes de Snque

170 guillaume flamerie de lachapelle
lamour que Nron vouait la scne pour linstruire par lintermdiaire de

ses tragdies.3
Le fait est que peu avant sa mort, ses ennemis font grief au Cordouan
davoir crit des vers (des tragdies ?) pour le prince qui y avait pris got.4
En outre, dans le De Clementia, Snque regrettait lui-mme que le gnie
des tragiques grecs et latins net produit que des maximes favorables la
cruaut comme mode de gouvernement (Oderint dum metuant! ),5 et que les
exhortations la clmence neussent jamais intress les potes.6 Il est certes
impossible dtablir que Snque visait directement difier son lve par
son thtre, mais que ces tragdies aient eu ou non une vise politique
immdiate,7 elles possdent lvidence une dimension morale gnrale,
3 Sipple 1938 estime ainsi que toutes les tragdies ont pour but dduquer lempereur (ou
plutt le futur empereur: les Troyennes dateraient, selon lui, de 53). Mme ide chez
Pocia Prez 1976: 299-300; Musso 1995: 164-65.
4 Tac. Ann. 14.52.3: Obiciebant [] carmina crebrius factitare, postquam Neroni amor eorum
venisset (On lui reprochait [...] de composer des pomes encore plus frquemment,
depuis que Nron en tait venu les apprcier); sur lide que carmina dsigne les
tragdies, cf. e.g. Pocia Prez 1976: 299; contra Nisbet 1995: 296; de fait, beaucoup de
commentateurs placent les pices de thtre plus tt dans la carrire de Snque. nos
yeux, lopinion la plus raisonnable est celle exprime voil plus dun demi-sicle par
Coffey 1957: 150: In general the tragedies may have belonged to any stage of Senecas
literay career (aussi Fantham 1982: 9-14).
5 Selon D.C. 60.16.7, Claude avait aussi toujours la bouche un vers dHomre (Il. 24.369;
Od. 16.72; [21.133]) prconisant de se venger de celui qui aurait inflig le premier quelque
dommage, ce qui, une fois encore, dtourne de la mansutude :
.
6 Sen. Cl. 2.2.3: Ac nescio quo modo ingenia in inmani et invisa materia secundiore ore
expresserunt sensus vehementes et concitatos; nullam adhuc vocem audii ex bono lenique
animosam (Et, dune faon que je ne mexplique pas, les gniaux potes ont expos des
ides violentes et emportes avec un certain bonheur en empruntant un fond
monstrueux et odieux; jamais jusqu aujourdhui je nai entendu aucune parole qui
montre une grandeur dme produite par le bien et la douceur). Le texte de ce passage est
corrompu, et linterprtation densemble en est trs dlicate, mais il semble bien que la
valeur morale des uvres littraires est ici remise en cause. La mme ide est exprime
dans Ir. 1.20.4; Grimal 1992: 414, rapproche dailleurs le dbut du De Clementia dun
dialogue thtral entre Snque et Nron.
7 Limpossibilit de dterminer prcisment la date et laudience de ce thtre permet
toutes les hypothses: Bishop 1972: 337, imagine par exemple que lun des messages des
Troyennes pouvait tre denjoindre les Rpublicains intransigeants accepter le nouveau
rgime et sy faire leur propre place.

s i c a e62
t m e d i a e va l i a 6 2 2 0 1 1
CLEMENTIA et raison dtat 171
susceptible de nourrir, un degr ou un autre, la rflexion de leurs

auditeurs.
Nous ne nous intresserons ici quau problme de la clementia du bon roi,
moins dans ses rapports avec le Portique en gnral quavec le De Clementia
en particulier, dont la porte dpasse la seule perspective stocienne. Cela ne
signifie nullement, dans notre esprit, que les Troyennes soient une pure
illustration scnique du De Clementia;8 nous entendons simplement
montrer la continuit de la pense politico-philosophique snquienne en
prose et en vers. Dans cette perspective, le thme de la clementia est
particulirement pertinent: en effet, si les mots de la famille de clementia
sont eux-mmes fort peu prsents dans ces pices,9 lide occupe souvent
une place importante, ainsi que la dmonstration en a dj t faite propos
de lHercule furieux.10 Pour notre part, nous nous limiterons un seul
exemple: celui des Troyennes, uvre qui contient une longue rflexion sur la
conduite que doit avoir le vainqueur lendroit du vaincu.
Est-il possible, derrire sa noirceur apparente,11 dy dcouvrir certains
lments rvlateurs de la pense de Snque ? Afin de rpondre cette
question, nous tudierons deux agones essentiels de la pice, qui opposent,
dune part, Agamemnon Pyrrhus (v. 203-348); de lautre, Ulysse
Andromaque (v. 524-791).12 Nous verrons alors quAgamemnon et Ulysse
8 Sur le rle didactique que peut avoir la posie, notamment thtrale, pour les Stociens,
cf. e.g. De Lacy 1948; pour Snque en particulier, cf. Marti 1945; Pratt 1948; Cacciaglia
1974; Walter 1975: 121-24 ( propos du problme particulier de la clementia); Pocia Prez
1976: 282-301; Rose 1979-80; Tanner 1985; Auvray-Assayas 1987; contra Dingel 1974, qui
spare radicalement posie et enseignement moral. ces deux conceptions
antagonistes un peu raides, nous prfrons la subtile exgse de Armisen-Marchetti 1992
et de Hine 2004: la lecture dun mme passage dune tragdie peut se faire plusieurs
niveaux simultanment (politique, littraire, philosophique et mme, selon Hine 2004,
dans la perspective de plusieurs doctrines philosophiques divergentes...).
9 Seul ladverbe clementer apparat dans Sen. d. 281, avec un sens concret (une colline en
pente douce).
10 Cf. Auvray-Assayas 1987.
11 Noirceur largement mise en avant par Motto & Clark 1984, qui estiment que la pense
particulire de Snque nest gure visible dans cette pice, car elle sefface derrire les
exigences du genre tragique.
12 Sur le lien troit qui unit ces deux scnes, cf. en particulier lanalyse de Owen 1970: 130
32, qui remarque notamment que Generosity (Clementia) is the crucial element of the
interplay (130).
portent chacun, contrairement ce que lon pourrait penser de prime abord,

une parcelle du modle monarchique que Snque est susceptible de
promouvoir.
1. CLEMENTIA CONTRE SAEVITIA:

AGAMEMNON ET PYRRHUS
Rappelons brivement la situation: aprs la prise dIlion, les Troyens se

lamentent, alors que les Grecs se divisent sur lattitude adopter. Tandis que
Pyrrhus entend honorer son pre en immolant Polyxne, Agamemnon sy
oppose.
Le dialogue entre les deux chefs hellnes constitue le premier passage
important dans notre perspective.13 Bien plus quEuripide en effet, Snque
introduit une vritable rflexion sur les devoirs du vainqueur, et sefforce
darticuler victoria et clementia.14
Voici lavertissement que lance Agamemnon Pyrrhus vainqueur,
impatient de svir contre les vaincus:
[...] Sed regi frenis nequit
et ira et ardens hostis et uictoria
commissa nocti.
13 Sen. Tro. 203-359.

14 cet gard, il nest sans doute pas dpourvu dintrt de rappeler que le dbat entre
Agamemnon et Pyrrhus est une innovation de Snque par rapport Euripide. Dans les
Troyennes de ce dernier, la dialectique des droits et des passions du vainqueur est peu
prs absente, dans la mesure o les Grecs eux-mmes sont absents, lexception de
Talthybios, et dUlysse, qui intervient de faon sporadique. La seule autorit morale qui
condamne les Grecs est Athna, et sa rprobation ne tient nullement un manquement
des Hellnes aux lois de lhumanit, mais la profanation de son sanctuaire par les
vainqueurs (v. 85-86). Par la suite, seul le chur se livre des considrations dordre
gnral comparables celles de Pyrrhus, mais sans avoir la mme profondeur, puisquil
sagit davantage dun pur chant de douleur. Selon Calder 1970: 75, le dbat entre Pyrrhus
et Agamemnon nest pas une invention de Snque, mais un emprunt Polyxne, pice
perdue de Sophocle: cependant, il sagit l dune hypothse difficile tayer (cf. lanalyse
nuance de Fantham 1982: 68-71; aussi Corsaro 1991, 79).

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[...] Mais on ne peut rfrner ni la colre ni lardeur dun ennemi ni une

victoire confie la nuit.15
Le De Clementia prsente une formule volontairement paradoxale, assez

proche de celle dAgamemnon par la formulation et par lesprit. Le plus
beau triomphe que peut remporter un prince consiste vaincre sa propre
victoire:
Hoc est etiam ex victoria sua triumphare testarique nihil se, quod dignum
esset victore, apud uictos inuenisse.
Cela [pargner les personnes de condition royale], cest triompher de sa

victoire, et attester que lon na rien trouv chez les vaincus qui ft digne
du vainqueur.16
La victoria est prsente comme un moment de crise, o lhomme de bien

est confront des puissances hostiles, des chocs conscutifs la victoire,
quil doit matriser pour agir droitement et se montrer clment.
La tche dAgamemnon cherchant persuader Pyrrhus est donc com
parable celle que doit accomplir le philosophe conseiller du prince du
reste, plusieurs commentateurs ont depuis longtemps identifi Agamemnon
Snque, Pyrrhus Nron.17 La doctrine quexpose le roi des rois se
dveloppe dabord dans une tirade structure (v. 250-91), avant de se
condenser dans une srie de rpliques qui rpondent aux vives objections de
Pyrrhus, jusqu ce que lchange culmine dans une stichomythie o se
confrontent les sententiae (v. 292-348).
15 Sen. Tro. 279-81. Il est probable que Ira et ardens hostis est un hendiadyin (cf. Fantham
1982: 251).
16 Sen. Cl. 1.21.3.
17 Ds le 17me sicle, le philologue allemand Martin Opitz soutient cette thse dans son
commentaire des pices de Snque (cit par Lefvre 1985: 1248; cf. dans le mme sens
Rozelaar 1976: 565), suivant en cela D. Heinsius, qui avait mis dj mis cette hypothse
dans son dition des tragdies de Snque (1611). Ces tentatives didentification ne se
limitent dailleurs pas aux Troyennes; Rose 1979-1980: 140-42, suggre ainsi que dans
Hercule furieux, Hercule pourrait tre une incarnation de Nron aprs la mort de
Britannicus.
Derrire des formes diffrentes, le fond de largumentation est souvent

commun entre le De Clementia et les rpliques du roi mycnien des
Troyennes. Dans lintervention initiale dAgamemnon, certaines considra
tions densemble, sans concerner la clementia au premier chef, concordent
avec des lments gnraux de la pense stocienne, galement noncs dans
le De Clementia. Ainsi, la jeunesse est plus encline se laisser emporter et
commettre des fautes,18 la faiblesse et linstabilit des choses humaines
doivent nous dtourner de la tentation duser sans frein de la victoria, dans la
mesure o nous-mmes pouvons choir fort bas.19 Mais ce sont des thmes
tragiques autant que stociens.20
Dautres lments prsentent des convergences plus nettes avec la
doctrine expose dans le De Clementia: plus un homme est puissant, plus il
doit sastreindre tolrer les offenses subies sans chercher les punir;21
pardonner ceux que lon peut chtier est le plus sr moyen de sassurer une
domination durable, malgr lillusion de puissance que confre lassou
vissement de ses instincts de vengeance ;22 la gloire qui sattache un prince
clment est immortelle.23
18 Sen. Tro. 250-51; Cl. 1.1.3; 1.15.7; 2.7.1.

19 Sen. Tro. 259-66; Cl. 1.8.7. Vielberg 1994: 322, estime que cette peur de dchoir exprime
par Agamemnon amoindrit la valeur de sa clementia, qui nest plus que la consquence
dune proccupation goste; mais cette dimension utilitaire de la clementia est aussi
prsente dans le De Clementia, et ce nest pas le seul argument quemploie Agamemnon
pour convaincre Pyrrhus: les premiers, qui portaient sur lthique, ayant chou, il a
recours des menaces voiles pour persuader le jeune homme. De fait, de nombreux
commentateurs saccordent reconnatre en Agamemnon la figure du bon roi: Herrmann
1924: 507; Sipple 1938: 61; Mller 1953, 461 (en raison de son edle Humanitt); Giancotti
1953: 111; Anliker 1960: 65-67; Schetter 1965: 401-4 (homme bon mais tourment par le
poids immense de ses responsabilits); Grimal 1979: 215-17, prcise galement quAga
memnon est ici le bon roi tel que Snque le dcrivait dans le De Clementia; Davis 1989:
315 (Agamemnon is presented [...] in an unambiguously favourable light); Corsaro 1991:
70; Keulen 2001: 17-18; Malaspina 2004: 275-76, puis 287-88. En revanche, Steidle 1941:
280, le voit comme un tre faible; Fantham 1982: 18, estime galement que la figure
dAgamemnon est plus complexe quon pourrait le croire, et quelle a ses bassesses.
20 Ainsi, sur linstabilit des choses humaines, cf. d. 1-11; les churs de Phaed. (1123-48),
de Thy. (613-15), de Herc. t. (131-32)...
21 Sen. Tro. 254: Quo plura possis, plura patienter feras (Plus on est puissant, plus on doit
supporter de choses avec patience); Cl. 1.3.5-7; 1.7.4-8.5.
22 Sen. Tro. 258-59 ; Cl. 1.8.6-7; 1.11.4 et passim.
23 Cette ide est suggre par Agamemnon dans son monologue, et se trouve aussi prsente

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Dune faon gnrale, les comportements et les arguments opposs

dAgamemnon et de Pyrrhus font penser aux portraits contrasts du roi et
du tyran que brosse Snque dans le De Clementia.24 On en connat la thse
essentielle: ce qui diffrencie le bon souverain le roi du mauvais le
tyran , cest la clementia.25 De fait, Pyrrhus a beau traiter Agamemnon de
tyran,26 cest lui qui en a les traits distinctifs: ainsi, il refuse de tenir compte
du droit des suppliants vaincus27 et fait preuve de cynisme en prtendant
procder au massacre par compassion.28 Bref, il est cruel.29 Le plus grave est
quil se rclame de son bon plaisir, sans tenir compte ni du devoir moral
(honestum) ni du principe dutilit (utile):
PYR.: Lex nulla capto parcit aut poenam impedit.
AG.: Quod non vetat lex, hoc vetat fieri pudor.
PYR.: Quodcumque libuit facere victori licet.
AG.: Minimum decet libere cui multum licet.
PYR.: Aucune loi npargne un captif, ou nempche quil soit chti
AG.: Ce que ninterdit pas la loi, la vergogne linterdit
PYR.: Un vainqueur a le droit dagir selon ses dsirs
AG.: Celui qui a beaucoup de pouvoir doit avoir trs peu de dsirs.30
Cet change rsume bien lenjeu essentiel de la querelle entre Pyrrhus et

Agamemnon. Les deux premiers vers montrent que, de laveu mme
implicitement quand il estime que massacrer les survivants, ce serait souiller la gloire
dAchille (293-94), et que le renom de Pyrrhus, dj mdiocre, sera tout fait nul aprs
un tel acte (310-11); Cl. 1.10.2.
24 Sur lopposition entre ces deux figures, cf. Favez 1960; Borgo 1985: 287-91. Malaspina
2004: 273-82, applique cette dichotomie aux tragdies.
25 Sen. Cl. 1.12.1-1.13.5.
26 Sen. Tro. 303: regum tyranne.
27 Sen. Tro. 313-14; Cl. 1.12.2.
28 Sen. Tro. 329: Mortem misericors saepe pro uita dabit (Un homme compatissant donnera
souvent la mort au lieu de la vie), comparer avec la dsinvolture de Sylla, dans Cl.
1.12.2.
29 Ce qui est bien sr le cas des autres tyrans du thtre de Snque: Lycus dans Herc. fur.
511-15; tocle dans les Phn. 654-59; Atre dans Thy. 195-96; 246-48; 1052-1068...
30 Sen. Tro. 333-36. Rozelaar 1976, 565, estime que lensemble du De Clementia est contenu
dans ces quatre vers.
dAgamemnon, le droit nest pas en question; la clementia est ici tout fait
spare de la loi. Dun point de vue thorique, conformment au mos,
Pyrrhus est fond excuter ses captives, ou les rduire en esclavage,
puisque Troie a t prise de vive force.31 La clementia procde donc dune
obligation morale, ainsi que le montrent le substantif pudor, qui rpond
lex,32 et le verbe decet.33 Les deux autres vers mettent en balance pouvoir
(licet) et vouloir (libet):34 Pyrrhus, au nom dune conception despotique du
pouvoir, les rend quivalents, et ne considre que son bon plaisir au moment
de frapper, comme le tyran du De Clementia, ou comme les autres
souverains cruels du thtre de Snque.35 Agamemnon, lui, usant du
langage du bon roi,36 se fait le porte-parole de la tradition selon laquelle le
31 Sur cette habitude dans le droit des gens de lAntiquit, cf. Xen. Cyr. 7.5.73; Liv. 37.32.12;
cf. aussi Boyle 1994: 168.
32 Dj chez Liv. 9.34.22 (discours de P. Sempronius contre Appius Claudius), lex et pudor
semblent constituer deux instances de permission ou dobligation complmentaires: nec
lex, nec pudor coercet (ni la loi, ni la vergogne ne te retiennent); dans le vers de Snque,
le mot lex est plac juste avant la coupe penthmimre, pudor la fin du vers.
33 Selon le dictionnaire tymologique de A. Ernout & A. Meillet, p. 166, s.v. decet, decet
correspond au grec ; de la mme famille que decus, decet exprime une obligation
morale plus quune obligation absolue (cette nuance tant plutt rendue par oportet).
34 Encore une fois, le choix des verbes impersonnels est significatif: licet est ce qui est
permis, et correspond une possibilit dordre moral, et non matriel, juridique ou
religieux; libet est la volont dsordonne et arbitraire, contrairement placet, par
exemple. Les deux verbes libet et licet taient dj opposs chez Cic. Quinc. 94. Keulen
2001: 253, donne de nombreuses autres rfrences.
35 Cf. Sen. Cl. 1.12.1: Tyrannis saevitia cordi est (La cruaut est une chose chre au cur des
tyrans); Lycus, dans Herc. fur. 489: Quod Iovi, hoc regi licet (Ce qui est permis Jupiter
lest au roi); Cron dans Med. 195: Aequum atque iniquum regis imperium feras (Subis le
pouvoir du roi, quand il est quitable aussi bien que quand il est inique); Atre, dans
Thy. 214-215: Ubicumque tantum honesta dominanti licent / precario regnatur (Partout o
le souverain ne peut faire que le bien, son rgne est prcaire). Sur Atre comme lexact
oppos du bon roi dcrit dans le De Clementia, cf. Mader 1998-99, praes. 34-40); Calder
1976-77: 10-11; 1983, estime en revanche que Snque, tout en condamnant Atre,
rappelle Nron que se comporter de la mme faon que lui est la seule faon de survivre
dans la Rome impriale.
36 Cf. ce propos limage de lpe, dans Sen. Tro. 350-51; Cl. 1.1.2-3; 1.8.2; 1.11.2-3; cette
mtaphore est galement place dans la bouche dHercule dans Herc. t. 1591-1592: le
demi-dieu supplie Jupiter de faire en sorte quil nexiste plus dsormais de tyran qui putet
solum decus esse regni / semper intensum tenuisse ferrum (qui pense que la seule gloire
attache au pouvoir royal est de dtenir une pe sans cesse menaante).

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monarque doit tre un sage capable de faire bon usage des pouvoirs que lui
offre sa fonction en les modrant: Un prince qui peut tout ne doit pas tout
vouloir,37 ide exprime encore ailleurs dans son thtre.38 Cest rejoindre
une pense clairement exprime dans le De Clementia:
Et in mancipio cogitandum est, non quantum illud impune possit pati,

sed quantum tibi permittat aequi bonique natura, quae parcere etiam
captivis et pretio paratis iubet.
Mme quand il sagit desclaves, il faut songer, non au degr de souffrance

quon peut leur infliger impunment, mais au degr de licence que
permet la nature de lquitable et du bien, qui ordonne dpargner mme
des prisonniers ou des individus quon sest procurs en les achetant.39
Dans le trait comme dans la pice, le pouvoir absolu assortit la libert

matrielle et juridique dune obligation morale, qui se fonde sur des
principes fondamentaux et naturels, quon les appelle pudor (dans les
Troyennes) ou natura aequi bonique (dans le De Clementia).
Le vainqueur de ce duel verbal est Agamemnon, qui a le dernier mot lors
des diffrentes tapes du dbat,40 et qui reste seul en scne alors que Pyrrhus
se retire, battant pour ainsi dire en retraite. Agamemnon affirme alors quil
la pargn, alors quil aurait pu chtier sa morgue par le fer.41 Il obtient
donc pour la clementia une victoire intellectuelle et thique que rendra
37 Nous empruntons ce vers au dramaturge du 16me sicle R. Garnier, Les Juifves, acte 3, v.
925.
38 Le chur de lHercule sur lta, par exemple rappelle aux Grands leur obligation de
clementia: cf. Sen. Herc. t. 1560: Parcite, o dites, inhibete dextras (Soyez clments,
Grands, retenez votre droite). Il convient nanmoins de se souvenir que la paternit de
cette pice est discute.
39 Sen. Cl. 1.18.1.
40 Lchange entre Pyrrhus et Agamemnon est en effet maill de micro-querelles: Pyrrhus
prtend qu il est du devoir dun grand roi dpargner un roi, Agamemnon lui fait
remarquer quil a tu Priam (328-29); Agamemnon excipe de lintrt suprieur de ltat
pour justifier le meurtre dIphignie que lui avait reproch Pyrrhus (331-32; une premire
attaque de Pyrrhus sur ce sujet navait reu pour toute rponse quun silence hautain: 248
49), ce qui contraint ce dernier changer dangle dattaque, et passer la dfensive en
prtendant quaucune loi ne lui interdit de tuer les captifs.
41 Sen. Tro. 349-51.
dautant plus tragique le triomphe matriel de la cruaut: car cest Pyrrhus

qui aura finalement gain de cause en parvenant faire excuter Astyanax.42
2. SEVERITAS CONTRE MISERICORDIA:

ULYSSE ET ANDROMAQUE
Un peu plus tard, Ulysse et Andromaque se livrent un autre dbat li la

clmence, la problmatique ntant plus cette fois-ci celle du roi et du tyran,
mais celle de la Raison dtat.43 vrai dire, les Troyens renoncent
gnralement se placer sur le terrain de la clmence, prfrant celui de la
piti:44 le champ lexical de la compassion est omniprsent,45 et Andro
maque excute tous les gestes classiques de la miseratio.46 La demande est
donc moins rationnelle que celle dAgamemnon (la piti est une passion,
dans la pense antique), ce qui sexplique bien sr en grande partie par la
diffrence de situation entre le roi des rois et une Troyenne vaincue.
Symtriquement, Ulysse se montre plus habile, plus cauteleux que
limptueux Pyrrhus. Il dit ntre rduit lextrmit de devoir tuer Astyanax
que par obligation, pour protger son peuple de la vengeance troyenne, si
Astyanax survivait: il se prsente en serviteur de lpre destin (durae minister
sortis).47
Au-del de la lgitimit de cet argument de fond, la forme employe est
trs ruse. Quand Ulysse scrie Misereri tui / utinam liceret (Si seulement je
42 Il parat difficile de suivre Mazzoli 1961: 56, selon laquelle Snque rend Pyrrhus
sympathique au lecteur en bornant sa colre la personne dAgamemnon, et en montrant
son hsitation finale au moment de frapper Polyxne (1154).
43 Sen. Tro. 705-810.
44 Sur la diffrence entre clementia et misericordia chez Snque, cf. le chap. 2.5 du De
Clementia; aussi Ten Veldhuys 1935; Rieks 1967: 121-25; DAgostino 1973: 115-23; Schggl
2002: 101-13; Flamerie de Lachapelle 2006.
45 Ainsi, ladjectif miser apparat en 689, 697, 706, 711, 807; le verbe misereri en 694, 762,
792 (ce sont les seules paroles prononces par Astyanax: miserere, mater).
46 Cf. Naiden 2006: 55.
47 Sen. Tro. 524. augur haec Calchas canit, au vers 533, est un autre moyen pour Ulysse de
dtourner sa responsabilit; de la mme faon, avec lnallage du vers 749: non hoc Ulixes,
sed negat Calchas tibi (Ton souhait, ce nest pas Ulysse qui le rejette, mais Calchas). Cet
aspect du personnage dUlysse a notamment t soulign par Cacciaglia 1974, 102.

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pouvais avoir piti de toi),48 on croirait lire le mot fameux de Nron devant
signer la condamnation mort de deux brigands, Vellem litteras nescirem (Je
voudrais ne pas savoir crire), rapport dans le De Clementia.49 On pourrait
ds lors tre incit juger Ulysse de faon trs svre, en ne voyant en lui
quun odieux manipulateur, hypocrite et prt tout pour parvenir ses
fins;50 selon nous, il convient plutt dtre sensible aux nuances entre le
comportement dUlysse et celui de Pyrrhus.
Effectivement, jamais Ulysse ne fait preuve dun comportement
tyrannique; ce nest pas son bon plaisir, sa libido, quil met en avant, mais
uniquement lintrt gnral de son peuple, la ncessit51 de svir, malgr
lui. Or, daprs le De Clementia, ces raisons sont parmi les seules qui
peuvent pousser le bon roi punir:
Quid ergo? non reges quoque occidere solent? Solent, sed quotiens id
fieri publica utilitas persuadet.
h quoi ? Les rois nont-ils pas coutume, eux aussi, de tuer ? Oui, cest
vrai, mais seulement quand lintrt public le leur recommande.52
Par ailleurs, lattitude dUlysse est conforme aux prceptes qudictait Aga
memnon, incarnation du bon roi, au dbut de la pice: le monarque avis
48 Sen. Tro. 762-63.
49 Sen. Cl. 2.1.2.
50 Ainsi, Herrmann 1924: 407: Cruaut et perfidie, tels sont les deux principaux traits de
son caractre; Mazzoli 1961: 52: Seneca ha posto limmagine dun odioso tiranno,
adombrata in Ulisse; p. 56, elle fustige suo freddo cinismo e la sua crudelt disumana, et
passim; Motto & Clark 1984: 158, le jugent peine meilleur que Pyrrhus; Fllinger 2005:
praes. 108-10. On trouvera des opinions plus nuances, lgard dUlysse, de la part de
Stanford 1954: 144-45; Corsaro 1991: 68-69; Boyle 1994: 27-28; Keulen 2001: 20.
51 Vielberg 1994: 316, fait bien de la necessitas la clef de la scne entre Ulysse et Andromaque,
et, en fin de compte, le point fondamental de lensemble de la pice: Betren und
Betrgen, Drohen und Drngen, Foltern, Morden, mit einem Wort: necessitas das ist
der Tenor dieser Szene, des Akts, des ganzen Stcks. Il considre cependant p. 325 que le
dessein de Snque tait galement de dmasquer le cynisme du vainqueur: Es findet
nicht nur eine intensive Auseinandersetzung mit der Schuld- und Zwangsproblematik
statt, sondern sie wird auch dramaturgisch genutzt, um den Zynismus der Sieger zu ent
larven.
52 Sen. Cl. 1.12.1.
doit privilgier lintrt de la patrie au dtriment de la vie dtres humains

particuliers, mme sil sagit de sa propre fille.53
Car entre le dbat Pyrrhus/Agamemnon et la scne pathtique Andro
maque/Ulysse, une annonce a boulevers la donne: la prdiction de Calchas,
aux termes de laquelle il est ncessaire de procder des sacrifices parmi les
Troyens.54 Cest Agamemnon qui avait demand Calchas de transmettre
les instructions des dieux,55 mais aprs la rvlation du devin, le roi des rois
ne prend plus jamais la parole, comme si la clmence quil prnait navait de
sens quavant la prophtie.56 Aprs celle-ci, cest lattitude dun Ulysse qui
est la seule lgitime pour le bien de ltat. La dimension pathtique de la
scne entre Andromaque et lui-mme est invitable en tragdie, sauf
desscher tout sentiment. Elle traduit la douleur qui sattache certaines
dcisions, certes dures, mais ncessaires.57 La compassion quUlysse aurait
pu tre tent de manifester lendroit dAndromaque aurait finalement t
nfaste, comme fut par exemple nuisible la faiblesse de Cron rendant les
armes devant les preces de Mde, qui feignait le dsespoir lide de quitter
ses enfants sans les avoir embrasss une dernire fois.58 La misericordia, arme
souvent employe par les femmes pour corrompre le jugement dun
individu,59 ne doit pas avoir dinfluence au moment de prendre une
dcision capitale pour la survie de ltat et le fait est quAndromaque use
du mensonge et de la tromperie, en prtendant ignorer o se trouve
Astyanax (v. 556-67), puis en prtendant quil a perdu la vie (v. 599-603).
En fin de compte, si lon se rapporte la typologie du second livre du De
Clementia, on observe quAgamemnon et Ulysse nont pas des comporte
ments opposs, mais bien plutt complmentaires: le roi de Mycnes incarne
la clementia, face Pyrrhus et sa cruaut; le roi dIthaque est lincarnation
de la severitas, qui doit rsister aux arguments ressortissant la misericordia
que lui oppose Andromaque. Or clementia et severitas sont constamment
53 Sen. Tro. 332: Praeferre patriam liberis regem decet (Un roi doit prfrer la patrie ses
enfants), propos dIphignie.
54 Sen. Tro. 360-70.
55 Sen. Tro. 353-59.
56 Nous nous cartons donc ici de lanalyse de Calder 1970: 75-76, qui met cette absence sur
le compte de la composition de la pice, quil juge excrable.
57 Sen. Cl. 1.14.3.
58 Sen. Med. 294-97.
59 Cf. Ter. And. 558-59; Eun. 67-70; Publ. Syr. D8 (Meyer); D.H. 8.39.3-5.

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considres comme compatibles, et mme indissociables, par Snque dans

ses crits thoriques,60 alors mme que la cruaut, au mme titre que la
piti, sont deux cueils dont le bon souverain doit se garder, car ils font
courir des risques son intgrit personnelle et celle de son tat. En
distinguant clementia (Agamemnon) et misericordia (Andromaque) dune
part, severitas (Ulysse) et saevitia (Pyrrhus) dautre part, Snque tend dune
certaine faon lensemble de la pice une habitude bien ancre dans la
pratique philosophique stocienne: lthologie, qui consiste bien diff
rencier une vertu dun vice tendant lui ressembler.61
3. CONCLUSIONS
Dans les Troyennes, tout se passe comme lidal monarchique, par rapport
la clementia, tait ddoubl: Agamemnon revient le rle du prince
indulgent et gnreux, ne cdant aucun des arguments du tyran incarn
par Pyrrhus; Ulysse, celui du vainqueur contraint dordonner des ex
cutions, et oblig de rsister la commisration que peut inspirer
Andromaque vaincue et humilie.
Le bon roi, li par le seul respect de lhonestum et par le salut de ses sujets,
net pu agir autrement que le firent Agamemnon et Ulysse, le premier
incarnant la clementia contre la saevitia symbolise par Pyrrhus, le second, la
severitas contre la misericordia quAndromaque cherche susciter. Rptons
le: il ne sagit l que dune lecture possible, parmi bien dautres tout aussi
lgitimes, de luvre si riche que sont les Troyennes, mais elle permet peut
tre de jeter un il nouveau sur une tragdie dans laquelle on a tt fait de
rduire lidal monarchique au seul personnage, somme toute assez pi
sodique, dAgamemnon.
60 Cf., e.g. Sen. Cl. 1.2.2; 2.4.1-3.
61 Sen. Ep. 95.65: <Posidonius> ait utilem futuram et descriptionem cuiusque virtutis: hanc [...]
ethologian vocat, quidam characterismon appellant, signa cuiusque virtutis ac vitii et notas
reddentem, quibus inter se similia discriminentur (Posidonius dit quune description de
chaque vertu sera galement utile; il lappelle thologie, certains la nomment
caractrisation; elle fait ressortir les particularits et les marques distinctives de chaque
vertu et de chaque vice, pour distinguer deux objets semblables).
BIBLIOGRAPHIE
Anliker, K. 1960. Prologe und Akteinteilung in den Tragdien Senecas. Berne.

Armisen-Marchetti, A. 1992. Pour une lecture plurielle des tragdies de
Snque: lexemple de Phdre, v. 130-135 Pallas 39, 379-89.
Auvray-Assayas, Cl. 1987. La conclusion de lHercule furieux de Snque:
tradition grecque et clmence stocienne REL 65, 158-66.
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rich.

MLANCOMAS ET TITUS AU
GYMNASE DE LA VERTU:
DION CHRYSOSTOME (OR. 28) ET LA
PAIDEIA DU PRINCE
Par Gianluca Ventrella
Summary: The reasons for which Dio Chrysostom has chosen to rewrite (Or. 28) the funeral
oration in honor of Melancomas (Or. 29), a Greek boxer dear to Titus, are to be found in
the context of his activity of rhetorical teaching at the Flavian court as well as in his aspira
tion to hold the much more ambitious office of the Princes philosophical advisor.*
Dans lptre Sur lentranement oratoire, adresse un politicien dsormais

clbre, mais qui souhaitait encore perfectionner sa formation oratoire, Dion
de Pruse conseillait de ne pas ngliger un exercice trs utile sur le plan
rhtorique : rcrire des extraits choisis de prosateurs grecs. Convaincu de
lutilit dune didactique sur mesure, il dclare vouloir laborer lui-mme
des modles pratiques de rfrence pour son illustre lve:

(21)

Jexprime tous mes remerciements au professeur Eugenio Amato (Universit de Nantes)

pour lchange constant de points de vue et dides, au professeur Jacques Schamp
(Universit de Fribourg) pour la patience avec laquelle il a gentiment accept de revoir
mes traductions, la redaction de Classica et Mediaevalia pour ses remarques et ses
suggestions ponctuelles qui mont permis damliorer et enrichir cet article.
Gianluca Ventrella Mlancomas et Titus au gymnase de la vertu: Dion Chrysostome (Or. 28) et la Paideia du prince

186 gianluca ventrella
Quant aux compositions crites, je ne pense pas quil soit opportun que
ce soient des thmes fictifs dcole, mais, si tu le souhaites vraiment,
rcris quelques discours que tu as eu plaisir lire, de Xnophon
notamment, en essayant de riposter aux arguments qui y sont dvelopps
ou de les formuler de faon diffrente (21) de mme que les peintres et
les sculpteurs ne se contentent pas denseigner en paroles leurs apprentis
comment raliser telles couleurs ou tels contours de figures, mais au
contraire, ces dernires tireront le plus grand bnfice de voir leurs
matres en train de dessiner ou de sculpter ; tout comme les entraineurs
ne se bornent pas expliquer les prises la lutte mais doivent aussi
fournir des dmonstrations pratiques leur futur lve ; ainsi, lors de
consultations de ce genre, on tirera plus de bnfice voir en pleine
action lauteur mme du conseil. Ainsi, dans mon cas, mme si je ne
devais que lire pendant que tu coutes, alors quil sagit de ten faire
bnficier, je naurais pas dhsitation, parce que je suis trs attach toi,
que jadmire ta gnrosit et te suis reconnaissant de lhonneur que tu me
fais.1
1. LEXERCICE RHTORIQUE DE LA RCRITURE ET

LES DISCOURS 28 ET 29 DANS LE CORPUS DIONEEN
Il est donc intressant de se demander, sur la base des discours conservs,2 si

Dion navait pas effectivement mis en uvre un tel projet pdagogique
1 D.Chr. Or. 18.18 et 21.
2 La production de lorateur et philosophe de Pruse ne nous est pas parvenue dans sa

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mlancomas et titus au gymnase de la vertu 187
fond sur la pratique de la rcriture3 pour son lve trop occup par la vie
publique et nayant plus lge dentreprendre un parcours dtudes rhto
riques graduel et systmatique.4
Le Mlancomas II (Or. 28) nous en fournit, en effet, un exemple vident,5
mme sil nest pas le seul.6 Le texte de dpart est le Mlancomas I, une
totalit. La slection, remontant lpoque byzantine (6me-10me sicle), a condamn

loubli surtout les uvres caractre sophistique (Franois 1921: 31; A. Brancacci 1985:
227-28; Klauck, 2000: 18-20). Sur lorganisation et la composition du corpus dionen, voir
en dernier lieu Amato 2009: 54.
3 Les exercices proposs par Dion, consistant contredire ou reformuler les mmes
arguments ( ) dve
lopps par un auteur ancien ne sont ni des progymnasmes stricto sensu ni des thmes
fictifs dcole, mais ils sont plutt comparer avec la paraphrase, comme lon a jusquici
suppos (Hirzel 1895: 106; Brinkmann 1908: 618) et, ajoutons nous, avec la contradiction
() et llaboration (). Ces exercices (sur lesquels on peut voir Ro
2
berts 1985: 1-60; Lausberg 1998: 1099-1110; Patillon 2002 : c-cxiv; Flammini 2002: 124
29; Migulez Cavero 2008: 309-12; Pernot 2008: 283-306), en effet, taient des exercices
daccompagnement la formation rhtorique. Leur but tait de dvelopper chez llve
son aptitude lcriture, de motiver son esprit dmulation et de comptition avec
lauteur (Quint. Inst. 10.5.5: paraphrasin esse volo circa eosdem sensus certamen atque
aemulationem). Que Dion puisse avoir conseill son disciple, non pas plus jeune, la
pratique dexercices comparables ceux de la contradiction et de llaboration est fort
plausible, ces derniers tant des exercices destins aux lves qui avaient dj acquis une
certaine aptitude rhtorique (Theon Prog. 1 (65.25-26 Spengel = 9 Patillon)).
4 Sur lidentification du destinataire de lptre dionenne, voir plus bas, n. 10.
5 wie man diese Theorie in der Praxis befolgte, lehrt abermals Dion, wenn er in seinen
beiden nach Melankomas benannten Schriften (Or. 28 u. 29) den gleichen Gegenstand
das eine Mal dialogisch das andere Mal oratorisch behandelt (Hirzel 1895: 107). Heinze
(1891: 458, n. 1) affirme que le discours 29 a t compos par un lve de Dion.
6 Les discours 37 (Aux Corinthiens) et 64 (Sur la fortune 2) semblent nous en donner
dautres exemples, puisquils dveloppent des thmes et des arguments dj contenus,
respectivement, dans les discours 31 (Aux Rhodiens) et 65 (Sur la fortune 3). Les discours 37
et 64 sont toutefois des discours apocryphes, dont la paternit est aujourdhui attribue
dfinitivement Favorinos dArles (Amato 2005: 53-54 et 66), lve de Dion et respon
sable de la premire dition du corpus Dioneum selon Amato (1999: 26), qui a aussi
dmontr de faon convaincante que ldition de Favorinos rpondait aux plusieurs
objectifs, lun dentre eux tant lenseignement rhtorique. Rien ninterdit donc de penser
que, en recueillant les uvres du matre, Favorinos pourrait y avoir insr dautres
discours, les siens (voir le cas des discours 37 et 64) ou dautres auteur (voir le cas du
discours 29), dans le but de fournir aux tudiants de lcole de rhtorique quil dirigeait
des modles de lexercice de la rcriture si vivement recommand par Dion. Sur les crits
apocryphes du corpus dionen, voir Amato 2009: 21 n. 24.
oraison funbre anonyme conserve dans le corpus de lorateur (Or. 29), mais
en ralit prononce par un jeune gymnasiarque lors des obsques du
pugiliste homonyme.7
Dj au dix-neuvienne sicle, Hans von Arnim eut lintuition que Dion
avait intentionnellement rcrit pour Titus, affectivement li Mlan
comas,8 lloge funbre la mmoire de lathlte. Toutefois, le savant
supposait, de manire trs rductrice, que Dion voulait ainsi montrer au
prince sa supriorit par rapport au gymnasiarque en matire de rhtorique.9
Par la suite, des recherches plus rcentes et plus prcises ont dmontr que
Titus peut tre considr aussi bien comme le destinataire de lptre Sur
l'entranement oratoire10 que comme lauteur de lloge funbre de Mlan
7 Le discours 29 est sans doute pseudpigraphe, moins quon ne suppose un cas de logo
graphie pidictique (Schmid 1903: 849-50): celui qui parle, en effet, dclare avoir t ami
intime de Mlancomas, tandis que Dion dans lOr. 28 affirme navoir jamais connu per
sonnellement le pugiliste mort prmaturment Naples durant les Ludi Augustales locaux
66 aprs J.-C. (Ventrella 2009b: 407 n. 14).
8 Titus est dfini comme de Mlancomas par Thmistios (Or. 10.139A-B (I, 211, 9
12 Schenkl-Downey)). Sur le tmoignage et le sens du mot , voir Schamp 2009:
270-71; Ventrella 2009b: 404 n. 6.
9 Der Gymnasiarch hat sein bestes gethan, durch eine Leichenrede im herkmmlichen Stil
den verstorbenen Liebling des kaiserlichen Prinzen zu verherrlichen. Dio, der sich im Ge
folge des Titus befindet, benutzt die Gelegenheit, seine Kunst zu zeigen,
(Arnim 1898: 146-47).
10 Jusqu prsent, diffrentes hypothses ont t avances pour identifier le destinataire de
l'ptre. Il sagirait, selon von Arnim (1898: 139-42), suivi par Sidebottom (1996: 447-56) et
Salmeri (1999: 239), dun riche commerant grec. Mais, juste titre, Valgimigli (1912: 72
n. 1) a observ que quel senso di devota e ossequiosa sommissione che spira da tutta la
lettera laisse pencher pour un personnage beaucoup plus important. De faon gnrale,
Palm (1959: 20-22) fait rfrence un homme politique romain influent, dans lequel on
6
pourrait mme reconnatre lempereur Nerva (voir aussi Christ 1924 : 363). Desideri
(1978: 137-41; id. 1991: 3900) a cependant montr que le destinataire de lptre est dcrit
comme un homme destin, depuis longtemps, atteindre le pouvoir imprial (or on sait
que l'accession au trne de Nerva ne pouvait tre prvue), un homme dans la fleur de
l'ge, digne doccuper la premire place parmi les meilleurs (
( 1)). Cette priphrase ne peut sappliquer qu Titus, destinato a succedere a
Vespasiano gi gran tempo prima della morte del padre, e per il quale quadrerebbe fra
l'altro in maniera eccellente il dato relativo allet: nato nel 41, egli si trovava infatti,
durante il regno del padre, per l'appunto fra i trenta e i quaranta anni, cio nel fiore
dell'et (Desideri 1978: 138). Moles (1978: 93 n. 122) a object que Dion se prsente
comme plus jeune que le destinataire de son ptre, alors que Titus tait presque du mme
ge que lui. Cette objection nest pas dcisive, parce que Dion pourrait avoir reprsent

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comas.11 Ces rsultats nous amnent corriger la perspective exgtique

propos par von Arnim, voire considrer le Mlancomas dionen pas
simplement comme une ostentation de bravoure de la part dun rhteur
infatu auprs du futur empereur, mais plutt comme lexemple concret de
rcriture que Dion a promis de rdiger pour son lve.12 Les relations entre
les deux discours peuvent donc tre illustres par le schma suivant:
Titus comme son an par gard pour le futur empereur (Sidebottom 1996: 450). De
mme, le conseil de ne pas se fier ses suprieurs ( 16), jug ridicule et offensant si
adress Titus aprs ses succs militaires, ne constitue pas un argument valable contre la
thse de Desideri: un tel conseil, en effet, doit tre considr comme une leon gnrale,
indpendante du cas particulier du futur empereur (Billault 2004: 517). De plus, limage
de Titus comme tant un homme dtat trop occup pour se consacrer entirement aux
lettres, tel quil apparat dans lptre dionenne, se retrouve chez Pline (Prface 33), qui
joignait son Histoire Naturelle un index permettant au prince de reprer rapidement les
informations qui lintressaient, sans devoir lire luvre entire.
11 Lorateur de lloge funbre dclare, 1) tre intime avec Mlancomas, 2) occuper une
charge publique dans le contexte des jeux napolitains des Sebasta, 3) tre jeune, 4) ne pas
avoir encore une formation oratoire mre (cf. [D.Chr.] 29.1), 5) considrer lathltisme
comme une pratique beaucoup plus noble que lart de la guerre (cf. [D.Chr.] 29.15-16).
Titus, dont Sutone (Tit. 3) loue la facilit extrme pour l'loquence aussi bien latine que
grecque, daprs Thmistios (voir plus haut, n. 8), tait de Mlancomas, tandis
que dune pigraphe napolitaine (IG 14.729 = CIL 10.1481 = IGIt 20), retrouve le 1538 et
datant du 81 aprs J.-C., il ressort que lempereur avait occup les charges dagonothte
trois fois () et de gymnasiarque une fois () lors de
plusieurs ditions des jeux qui se rptaient tous les quatre ans. Linscription IGIt 19,
dcouverte en 1965 mais jusquici dlaisse par les chercheurs dionens, date la deuxime
agonothsie de Titus dj de 74 aprs J.-C. Il sensuit donc que la premire doit remonter
lan 70, tandis que la gymnasiarchie doit dater de 66 aprs J.-C. lpoque de sa
premire charge dans le cadre des jeux napolitains (la gymnasiarchie de 66 aprs J.-C.),
Titus, g denviron 26 27 ans, pouvait bien se prsenter comme un homme lexp
rience oratoire, politique et militaire modestes. De plus, sous le principat de Nron, il
avait tout avantage argumenter la supriorit de lathltique sur lart de la guerre. Sans
aucun doute, il aurait ainsi rencontr les gots dun prince qui, plutt que conduire
guerres, dsirait gagner les quatre grands jeux du monde ancien, dun prince qui tait le
chef dune arme dont les soldats portaient, au lieu des armes, lyres, plectres, masques
thtraux et cothurnes (D.C. 63.8.4). Pour les dtails de la dmonstration, voir Ventrella
2009b.
12 Que Dion ait rdig des modles de rfrence pour son lve ntonne pas. En effet, le
matre de rhtorique avait lhabitude de produire lui-mme des spcimens cohrents avec
sa propre thorie afin daugmenter lattention et lesprit dobservation de ses lves
2
(Patillon, 2002 : 130 n. 104).
[D.Chr.] Or. 29 D.Chr. Or. 28
metteur Titus, en tant que Dion, en tant que

jeune gymnasiarque conseiller en rhtorique
Naples sous Nron auprs de lempereur
Titus
Rfrent histoire exemplaire de Mlancomas
Destinataire athltes et personnel du Titus
gymnase
Genre littraire oraison funbre dialogue philosophique
Contexte situationnel obsques de Mlanco- formation rhtorique
mas de Titus
En rcrivant un discours prononc par Titus afin de fournir ce dernier un

paradigme de lexercice stylistique du
, le rhteur peut raliser un instrument pdagogique sur mesure
simple et attrayant. De fait, lexemple propos au princeps est facile
comprendre: le texte de dpart, dj connu, ne demande llve aucune
connaissance pralable, alors que le texte darrive est labor sous forme
dun dialogue philosophique, un genre littraire dont les caractristiques
stylistiques en rendent la lecture agrable.13 Dion savait, en effet, quil faut
distraire lauditeur, si on dsire linstruire: Quel conseiller coute-t-on avec
plus de bienveillance, sinon celui dont le discours est rjouissant?14
dclarait-il en sadressant son lve exigeant.
13 Sur la grce, la libert et la simplicit dexpression propres au dialogue daprs les

thoriciens anciens ([D.H.] Rh. 6.19.11-12 Usener-Radermacher; Cic. Orateur 64), voir
Aygon 2002; Chiron 2003: 158. En gnral sur le modle de claritas reprsent par Platon
pour les crivains de la Seconde Sophistique, voir Schmid 1917: 249; Walsdorff 1927;
Rahn 1944. Sur le genre dialogique dans luvre de Dion, voir Menchelli 1999: 52-56,
avec le compte rendu de Amato 2002: 1155.
14 Cf. D.Chr. Or. 18.2:
.

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2. LES VERTUS DE MLANCOMAS ENTRE IDAUX

ATHLTIQUES ET IDAUX PHILOSOPHIQUES
Cela dit, il est naturel de supposer que le dlicat rle pdagogique jou par
Dion auprs du futur empereur puisse avoir influenc la stratgie de sa
rcriture. Renvoyant une autre occasion lanalyse comparative syst
matique des deux discourse,15 je me limite ici mettre en vidence la
diffrence sans doute la plus significative. Il sagit de la faon dont Dion
dresse le portrait de l'athlte:
[D.Chr.] Or. 29.14 D.Chr. Or. 28.12

Ainsi, je crois que vraiment tout a Mais ce qui est le plus tonnant chez
t dit sur la valeur, le courage, le cet homme, cest sa capacit ne pas
contrle de soi et la temprance. Sil se laisser craser ni par ses adversaires,
navait pas t capable dun tel ni par la fatigue, la chaleur, la
contrle de soi, dune telle gloutonnerie ou la sduction de
temprance, il naurait pas, je crois, lamour.
acquis sur le plan de la force
physique une si nette supriorit,
mme si la nature lavait dot dune
trs grande force.
A partir de la comparaison des textes ci-dessus, on peut constater que, si

dans la laudatio funebris lexaltation des qualits de Mlancomas (
15 Sur le rapport entre athltisme et guerre dans les deux Mlancomas, voir Ventrella 2009b:
407-9.
) constitue un lment strotyp et

topique de la littrature encomiastique pour les athltes,16 chez Dion cest
avant tout la capacit du pugiliste ne pas se laisser vaincre ni par la fatigue,
ni par les plaisirs de la chair et de la gloutonnerie qui est mise en valeur.
Cette endurance, physique et morale, que Mlancomas a acquise en
sentranent durement rsister nimporte quels efforts et tentations,17 est
si proche de la notion stoco-cynique de philoponie18 que lon a mme
suppos que le pugiliste ne pouvait tre quune figure irrelle, une icne de
la vertu philosophique.19 Or, sans nier lhistoricit de Mlancomas, il semble
beaucoup plus prudent de supposer que Dion effectue une transposition
volontaire des vertus du pugiliste dun plan purement sportif un plan
philosophique. Et cela dans le respect de la tradition littraire cynique20 qui
16 Sur les qualits morales des athltes clbres par les inscriptions honorifiques, voir
Robert 1965: 140, n. 4.
17 Sur le caractre extraordinaire de lentranement de Mlancomas, capable de rester les bras
levs pendant deux jours, voir plus bas, n. 19.
18 Contrairement ce que suppose Cohoon (1950: 358), l'adhsion de Dion aux principes de
la philosophie cynique n'interdit pas dattribuer le discours 28 la priode antrieure
son exil. L'hypothse selon laquelle Dion se serait converti la philosophie en raison de
l'exprience douloureuse de l'exil est, depuis longtemps, soumise une rvision critique
profonde (Ventrella 2009a: 34, n. 2). Sur linterprtation en clef politique du choix, de la
part de Dion, dadopter la persona of a wandering philosopher for himself pendant lexil,
voir lanalyse lucide propose par Bekker-Nielsen (2008: 121-22).
19 Dans lOr. 28, la description des vertus de Mlancomas, quoique plus brve et moins
sophistique que dans lOr. 29, dpasse les limites de la crdibilit, au point de faire
douter de lexistence relle de Mlancomas (Knig 2005: 146). La capacit de lathlte,
exalte aux 7-8, maintenir les bras levs pendant deux jours entiers ainsi que de
renverser ladversaire sans se laisser blesser une seule fois nous semble en effet invrai
semblable. Cela explique pourquoi Lemarchand (1926: 25-32) a suppos que Mlancomas
ne soit quune allgorie de la vertu philosophique. Lu symboliquement, l'loge
hyperbolique de Mlancomas devient certainement bien plus plausible (Poliakoff 1987:
516-18), mais cela ne suffit pas contester la ralit historique de Mlancomas. Dailleurs,
le thme controvers de la victoire obtenue sans la moindre blessure est dj attest
comme motif d'orgueil dans les inscriptions pour les pugilistes Hippomachos et
Cloxnos dAlexandrie (Moretti 1957: 131-32 (no. 506) et 139 (no. 569)), alors que le ton
redondant et hyperbolique de lloge se retrouve aussi dans le dcret honorifique pour le
pugiliste Kallikrates (Merkelbach 1970). Il ne faut pas non plus oublier le processus
didalisation de lthique agonistique qui opre dans les judgment contests de
(comportement), (discipline) et (endurance), sur lesquels on peut
voir Forbes 1929: 195; Crowther 1991: 301-4; Nijf 2001: 328.
20 Chez pictte la comparaison entre athlte et philosophe est frquente: cf. Arr. Epict.

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t m e d i a e va l i a 6 2 2 0 1 1
utilisait abondamment la mtaphore de l'athlte pour voquer limage du

philosophe s'entranant une dure ascse physique et morale dans un but
dindpendance et de paix intrieure.21 Dion lui-mme sen sert lorsque, en
donnant la parole au personnage de Diogne de Sinope, il dcrit la vertu du
philosophe comme rsultat de la lutte quotidienne quil conduit contre ses
propres limites afin de ne pas cder aux tentations dun hdonisme qui ne
permet pas lhomme davancer sur le chemin de la vertu et de la sagesse:

16

18

Lhomme noble, au contraire, tient les efforts pour ses plus grands adversaires,
et il aime les combattre sans cesse nuit et jour, il ne redoute aucun dentre
eux et ne souhaite pas que le tirage au sort lui en donne un autre (16),
2.17.29-33 (lexercice quotidien de lapprenti philosophe ne pas se laisser troubler par les
circonstances extrieures est rapproch de lentranement journalier du sportif ); 3.21.3
(celui qui s'est exerc dans la philosophie peut montrer le changement qui se produit dans
son me, comme les athltes exhibent le rsultat de leur entranement physique) ; 1.29.33
9 (comme lathlte, le philosophe doit aspirer des preuves de plus en plus dures) ;
3.20.9-11 (le philosophe tire avantage de celui qui loffense, comme un athlte de son
entraneur, parce que loffenseur le stimule sexercer la douceur et lindulgence);
3.22.58 (Diogne lutte contre la fivre). Sur limage de lathlte chez Marc-Aurle (3.4.3),
voir Rutherford 1989: 230-34. Il faut cependant prciser que, dans la tradition stoco
cynique, la comparaison avec lathltisme constitue bien plus qu'une simple mtaphore :
lascse sur laquelle le philosophe cynique fonde sa morale est bien concrte (Goulet-Caz
1986: 223-27) et la pratique de laskesis lemporte sur la thorie elle-mme (Laurenti 1989:
2113-20).
21 Sur laustrit de lentranement pratiqu par Diogne, voir Goulet-Caz 1986: 53-76;
1990: 2762-64.
mais il les dfie tous, les uns aprs les autres, sans montrer aucune
indulgence (18) La plupart des hommes ont une peur mortelle devant
eux et, en les fuyant chaque fois, ils changent de route sans jamais les
regarder en face. En effet, il en va deux, comme des champions au
pugilat: sils prviennent les coups de l'adversaire, ils ne sont pas touchs
du tout, mais souvent ce sont eux qui russissent mme mettre
l'adversaire terre; mais sils reculent de peur, cest a-lors quils prennent
les coups les plus durs; ainsi, si quelqu'un affronte les efforts avec mpris et
les aborde courageusement, ces dernires nont aucun pouvoir sur lui.22
3. LA PHILOPONIE DU SOUVERAIN IDAL DANS LA

REFLEXION POLITIQUE DIONENNE
La capacit de se soumettre dlibrment au ponos, nest pas simplement le

signe de noblesse d'me, trait distinctif de la paideia et du philosophe
22 D.Chr. Or. 8.15-18. Linvincibilit de Mlancomas, dcrite par Dion (28.12), peut tre
donc compare, sans difficult aucune, celle du philosophe telle quelle est dfinie, par
exemple, par pictte (Arr. Epict. 1.18.21-23): Quel est donc lhomme invincible? Cest
celui que rien ne peut troubler, rien de ce qui est indpendant de sa personne. Et
maintenant, parcourant une une les diffrentes circonstances, je les examine, comme
pour lathlte: Cet homme a remport la premire manche. Quen sera-t-il de la seconde?
Comment se comportera-t-il si la temprature est brlante? Et Olympie, quelle sera son
attitude? De mme dans le cas prsent: si tu lui offres un peu dargent, il lui mprisera.
Mais si cest une jolie fille? Il peut vaincre tout cela. Mais comment se se comportera-t
il si la temprature est brlante, je veux dire: sil est ivre, sil est dune humeur noire, si cest
dans le sommeil? Tel est, mon sens, lathlte invincible. ((21)

(22)
(23)

). (Trad. de J. Souilh, CUF). Sur le
rapport noblesse dme et philoponie, voir aussi Musonius Rufus (1.53-61 Hense), nous
rapportant que Clanthe, interrog par un garon qui lui demandait des claircissements
au sujet du , rpondit .

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cynique,23 elle constitue aussi, dans la rflexion politique de Dion, une des
prrogatives de loptimus princeps.

34

Il sait bien (sc. le souverain idal), en effet, que les plaisirs, en gnral,
ruinent ceux qui les pratiquent sans cesse et quils les rendent aussitt
incapables d'en jouir; par contre, les efforts apportent diffrents bnfices,
entre autres ils rendent les hommes toujours plus capables daffronter les
situations pnibles. [] (34) Quel spectacle est plus vnrable que celui
d'un roi noble et aimant leffort ()?24
Le souverain idal, en tant que suffering figure, pour le dire avec les mots
de Ragnar Histad,25 peut se comparer Hracls, le bienfaiteur de lhuma
nit qui .26 Il peut galement marquer sa propre
23 Cf. Muson. 4.78-80 Hense:

.
24 D.Chr. Or. 1.21. 34. La philoponie est un concept d'origine aristocratique, en rapport,
dj chez Platon (R. 7.535a-d) et Xenophon (Cyr. 1.6.8; Oec. 21.6; Mem. 3.4.9), col tema
della distinzione e selezione degli individui destinati ad (Boldrighini 1996: 83-84).
Sur lidal politique de la philoponie du monarque chez Dion, voir Valdenberg 1927: 153
54; Trisoglio 1972: 29; Mazzarino 1982: 831 et 834. Souvent exalt par Dion Chrysostome
(Or. 1.14; 3.55-58; 13.33; 49.9; 62.1 et 4), le renoncement aux plaisirs de part du laudandus
est un topos de la littrature encomiastique (Is. Or. 2.29; X. Ages. 10.2; Lib. Or. 16.18 [II,
167, 10-11 Foerster]; 59.121 [IV, 269, 8-9 Foerster]; Them. Or. 2.35b-c [I, 48, 2-10 Schenkl-
Downey]; Syn. Op. 1.10.7 Lamoureux; Proc.Gaz. Op. 11.444-47 Amato-Ventrella; Chor.
Gaz. op. 23.56 [270, 26 Foerster-Richtsteig]) qui a son origine dj dans la spculation
philosophique (cf. Socr. Apophth. I C 186 et 291 Giannantoni; Pl. R. 9.579c 7-9; Diotog.
72.28-29 Thesleff ).
25 Histad 1948: 195.
26 Cf. D.Chr. Or. 1.63. Sur le modle du roi incarn par Hracls (cf., e.g., D.Chr. Or. 1.49
84; 2.78; 4.31; 5, 23) dans le cadre de la paideia du basileus et sur l'opposition, qui semble
remonter Antisthne mme (Brancacci 1992), entre les traits distinctifs du roi et du
tyran, voir Histad 1948: 150-222. En particulier, pour une analyse morale et politique du
mythe dHracls, surtout dans les quatre discours Sur la royaut et dans le Mythe libyen,
diffrence par rapport au tyran qui, par contre, sadonne un hdonisme

inconvenant () et demeure incapable daffronter les efforts dune vie
sobre et rgle qui lui permette de commander aux hommes sans tre
command par ses passions.27
En passant du plan mythique au plan historique et politique, cest
l'empereur Trajan qui incarne le modle du souverain idal, vis--vis duquel,
dans son troisime discours Sur la royaut, Dion thorise, mieux quailleurs,
lamour du basileus pour le ponos en dclarant:
celui qui, mme sil peut jouir de tous les plaisirs et ne rien prouver de
pnible ( ), en vivant dans toute
loisivet possible sans se soucier de rien, bref, en faisant ce qu'il veut, non
seulement sans que personne nexprime un interdit, mais en obtenant
l'approbation de tous, cet homme-ci, donc, quand dans toutes ses
actions il se rvle plus amoureux de la peine () que ceux
qui peinent par ncessit, moins enclin vivre luxueusement que ceux
qui nont pas le moyen de vivre dans le moindre luxe comment ne pas
on peut voir Gangloff 2006: 310-11 et 322-31; Visa-Ondaruhu 2008 (au sujet du premier
discours Sur la royaut ). En gnral, sur le hros en tant que Leitbilder fr den idealen
Herrscher, voir aussi Bernhardt 2003: 301-2.
27 Le tyran amant du luxe et du confort est lui-mme tyrannis par le dsir amoureux (Pl. R.
9.573a-574c; Ep. 7.327b; Diog. Sinop. fr. 208 Giannantoni (ap. D.L. 6.63)), la soif de
richesse (Antist. fr. 82 Giannantoni (ap. X. Smp. 4.35-37)). Sur le topos du lien tyran
tryph, voir aussi Passerini, 1934: 44-48; Paschoud 1987; Haehling 1991. En gnral sur le
concept de dans le contexte de la critique du luxe formule par Musonius
Rufus, Dion Chrysostome et dautres philosophes moralistes, voir notamment Bernhardt
2003: 224-25.

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admettre que la chance de cet homme est un bien, non seulement pour
lui, mais aussi pour tous les autres?28
La ressemblance entre le passage ci-dessus et lexorde de lptre Sur

lentranement rhtorique est frappante. Presque dans les mmes termes quil
emploie pour faire lloge de Trajan, Dion loue Titus pour sa dcision de
samliorer tout prix, sans souci des efforts quil devra supporter pour
rsister aux sductions dune existence molle et voluptueuse:
Un homme qui est dans la fine fleur de sa vie, qui ne cde personne en
notorit et qui est le propritaire dimmenses richesses, tout en ayant
pleine latitude de vivre jour et nuit dans le luxe, aspire-t-il nanmoins
sinstruire encore et met-il tout son zle acqurir de lexprience dans
lart oratoire sans hsiter malgr les efforts consentir (
)? Cest tout fait, ma-t-il sembl, la tche dune me noble
quil accomplit, aspirant non pas seulement aux honneurs, mais
vritablement la sagesse.29
Cest vident que, dans le passage ci-dessus, la philoponie de Titus, exalte

par Dion, est entendre en sens philosophique et, donc, en sens moral et
politique.
28 D.Chr. Or. 3.4-5. Sur la datation du discours, qui semble remonter au dbut du rgne de
Trajan, voir Moles 1990: 360-61.
29 D.Chr. Or. 18.1.
4. LE MLANCOMAS I I :
DLOGE DE LATHLTE
A PROTREPTIQUE POUR LE PRINCE
Or, ceci tant, on doit se demander pourquoi Dion, dans un contexte

strictement rhtorique, a voulu insister sur des thmes de nature thico
politique tels que la temprance et le renoncement aux volupts propres au
souverain idal.
Cest Sutone qui semble nous en donner lexplication la plus plausible.
Lhistorien latin rapporte que Titus, avant son accession au trne, dut
sabstenir des excs de jeunesse pour tmoigner dune attitude sobre et
mesure qui rassurt lopinion publique romaine craignant de voir sa con
duite rpter celle de lexcentrique et despotique Nron.30 Cela nous est
confirm par Tacite, selon qui, lorsquil succda son pre, Titus se montra
plus retenu (moderatior) quil ne lavait t pendant son adolescence
nronienne.31
Que Dion, dans cette dlicate priode de la vie prive et politique de
Titus, choisisse de rcrire le Mlancomas I32 en faisant de lathlte un
modle de temprance cynico-stoque apparat alors justifiable pas seulement
par rapport au magistre rhtorique dont le sophiste de Pruse a t investi
la cour des Flaviens. Ainsi conue, la rcriture semble devenir pour Dion
loccasion de dfinir un paradigme thique proposer au futur empereur
afin de le confirmer dans sa rsolution garder une grande sobrit de
30 Suet. Tit. 7 (trad. de H. Ailloud, CUF): on apprhendait encore son intemprance, parce
quil se livrait avec les plus prodigues des ses amis des orgies qui duraient jusquau
milieu de la nuit; et non moins son libertinage, enfin, tous le considraient et le
reprsentaient ouvertement comme un autre Nron. Mais cette mauvaise renomme
tourna son avantage et fit place aux plus grands loges, quand on ne dcouvrit en lui
aucun vice et, tout au contraire, les plus rares vertus (suspecta in eo etiam luxuria erat,
quod ad mediam noctem comissationes cum profusissimo quoque familiarum extenderet; nec
minus libido denique propalam alium Neronem et opinabantur et praedicabant. At illi ea
fama pro bono cessit conversaque est in maximas laudes, neque vitio ullo reperto et contra
virtutibus summis).
31 Cf. Tac. Hist. 2.2: Laetam voluptatibus adulescentiam egit, suo quam patris imperio mode
ratior.
32 Dion a choisi, pour sa rcriture, la forme du dialogue, cest--dire du genre littraire le
plus apte communiquer un enseignement philosophique. Sur la destination gn-
ralement philosophique du dialogue, voir Chiron 2003: 154-81; Pernot 1993: 421 et 424.

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comportement en accord avec les dures responsabilits de gouvernement

quil allait sassumer. En dautres termes, Dion semble exhorter mta
phoriquement Titus imiter lathlte dans son endurance, sa matrise de soi
et son invincibilit, qualits valables sur le plan sportif comme sur le plan
philosophique et politique.
Que Dion dispense sous forme allusive, et non pas directement, ses
incitations la temprance et la responsabilit aboutissant espce de
miroir du prince, nous semble bien plus que plausible, vu que les rhteurs
anciens33 recommandaient, lorsquil fallait sadresser aux hommes de pou
voir (rois et tyrans), davoir recours au discours figur (
), aussi bien par respect que par prudence34. De surcroit, lallgorie
sportive qui fait de Dion lentraneur de Titus na rien de surprenant,
puisquelle constitue, dj dans lptre Sur lentrainement oratoire, larrire
plan des conseilles que lorateur adresse son illustre lve:
33 Cf. [Demetr.] Eloc. 287; Quint. Inst. 9.2.64-95. En gnral, sur le

, voir B. Schouler 1986: 263; Lombardo 1999: 201-4 n. 709; Chiron 2000: 75-94;
Pernot 2007; Dentice di Accadia 2010: 11-21.
34 travers lexaltation et la lecture mtaphorique de la philoponie de Mlancomas, Dion
peut donc tracer un paradigme thique, sans se risquer provoquer la susceptibilit de
Titus en critiquant ouvertement sa tendance la . En effet, pendant sa jeunesse, le
futur empereur stait montr enclin la mollesse, de nature alimenter, aussi chez Dion
peut tre, le soupon quil pouvait se conduire en parfait tyran mfiant et irritable. Sur la
susceptibilit de Titus, telle quelle merge de lptre Sur lentranement oratoire, voir
Billault 2004: 511 et Bost-Pouderon 2008: 45 n. 33.
Mais tu nes pas sans exprience de laction, tu nas pas le pouvoir

dabandonner la vie politique et tu nas pas besoin de la notorit et de
lloquence des tribunaux, mais de celle qui convient et suffit la fois
pour un homme politique. (6) Voici ds lors ce que tu dois dabord savoir:
tu nas ni effort ni peine te donner (
). Celui qui sest longuement entran fait par ce moyen les
progrs les plus importants, tandis que celui qui sest peu exerc aura
lesprit contract et hsitant passer laction; il en va du mme pour
ceux qui ne sont pas habitus lexercice physique: si leur matre de
gymnastique les reinte avec des exercices trop durs, il les affaiblira; mais
comme ceux qui ne sont pas habitus aux exercices physiques ont besoin
d'une onction des membres et d'un mouvement appropri leur
condition plutt que de la gymnastique, de mme, pour la rhtorique, ce
quil te faut, cest une pratique laquelle se mle le plaisir plutt quun
entranement demandant des efforts.35
Il faut remarquer quil ny a aucune contradiction entre linvitation exprime

Titus ne pas sentraner trop durement lart oratoire et l'exaltation que
Dion a faite, comme lon a vu plus haut, de la philoponie du futur empe
reur.36 En effet, lide du voque dans le passage ci-dessus est prise
au sens purement rhtorique et non pas au sens thico-philosophique. La
pratique de lexercice rhtorique, pour laquelle Dion se propose d'allger les
efforts du princeps (puisqu'elle nest pas indispensable ses fonctions de
gouvernant) semble ainsi passer au second plan par rapport celle, bien plus
importante, de la paideia philosophique qui exige, en revanche, une forte
motivation personnelle pour ne pas se laisser sduire par le charme dune vie
oisive et voluptueuse qui rende lhomme esclave de ses passions et incapable
de supporter le poids du commandement. Lintellectuel grec sait par
35 D.Chr. Or. 18.5-6. Pour la mtaphore athltique en rhtorique, voir lanthologie de

morceaux choisis ([Long.] Subl. 13.4; 20.2-3; Rhet. Her. 4.26; Cic. Or. 42 et 228, De orat.
1.242; Quint. Inst. 9.4.8; 10.1.4 et 33; 11.3, 26; 12.2.12) chez Galand-Hallyn 1994: 150-51. En
outre, il faut rappeler quratosthne tait surnomm le pentathlon en raison des succs
quil avait remports dans cinq domaines du savoir (Jacob 1992), alors que lorateur
Aurelius Athnaios de Tyane se proclamait de la priode comme un
athlte (Puech, 2002: 154-55) et limage philosophique de leffort physique et sportif pour
voquer le discours composer est frquente chez Aelius Aristide (Goeken 2002: 133).
36 Cf. D.Chr. Or. 18.1.
CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA c l as VOL.

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faitement que l'empereur a davantage besoin dun entraneur dans le

domaine tique et philosophique37 que dun simple conseiller en rhtorique.
En dfinitive, Dion semble se charger dun rle pdagogique bien plus
ample et ambitieux, voire dun rle de Mentorhaltung;38 et cela, en accord
avec la conviction, qui est la sienne et aussi celle de son matre Musonius
Rufus,39 de ltroite complmentarit entre rhtorique et philosophie40 dans
la formation de tout pepaideumenos en gnral et notamment du souverain
idal, appel, afin de prsider dignement aux destines de lempire,
pratiquer la philosophie, puisquil faut quun roi soit sur tous les points
sans crainte, sr de lui et, pour le dire avec un mot propre au langage
agonistique, invincible.41
En dfinitive, Dion semble suggrer Titus que, pour rgner en vrai
souverain, il doit tre de la mme faon que lavait t Mlan
comas, cest--dire invincible,
,42 dans le gymnase de la vertu.
37 Significativement, on peut retrouver la mme image du philosophe comme un entraneur

sportif aussi chez Epictte (Long 2002: 107-25, 169, 195-96; Knig 2005: 136). Pour la
mtaphore complmentaire de lempereur athlete, voir aussi Them. Or. 28.343b-c.
38 Cela ne surprend pas, puisque slever aux fonctions de conseillers des Csars, cest une
habitude des intellectuels grecs dpoque impriale, qui, mme indpendamment des rels
rapports d'amiti, montrent vis--vis des empereurs une attitude de mentor (Palm 1959:
132-33; Flinterman 2004). Sur la ncessit, thorise par Dion, pour le roi davoir ses
cts un philosophe conseiller, voir Gangloff 2006: 336-37.
39 Cf. Front. De Eloq. 1.4 [223 Fleury]. Sur le lien entre Dion et le Socrate romain
Musonius Rufus, dont le rhteur de Pruse fut lve Rome, voir Kasulke 2005: 87, n. 24;
[L. Radice] & Ramelli 2008: 712-16; Schamp 2009: 261-63. Sur la liaison damiti de
Musonius avec Titus, cf. Them. Or. 13.173e (1. 248, 19 Schenkl-Downey).
40 Aprs la fracture platonicienne entre rhtorique et philosophie, l'exigence de lgitimer
une discipline qui tait la base du parcours ducatif traditionnel est fortement ressentie
pars plusieurs auteurs, mme dans la littrature progymnasmatique. Selon Aelius Thon
(Prog. 1 (59.1-4 Spengel = 1 Patillon-Bolognesi)), en effet, les orateurs anciens, surtout les
orateurs rputs, taient davis quon ne doit en aucune faon aborder lart oratoire, sans
avoir au pralable quelque pratique de la philosophie et sans stre imprgn de la hauteur
de vues quelle confre (trad. de M. Patillon, CUF). Sur la rhtorique pdagogique de
Dion, voir notamment Hirzel 1895: 96-98. Sur les rapports entre les deux disciplines dans
la deuxime sophistique, on peut voir Milazzo 2002: 247-335; Kasulke 2005.
41 Cf. Muson. 8.76-78 Hense:
.
42 D.Chr. Or. 28.12. Sur linterprtation mtaphorique du concept de , voir n. 22.
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THE MAGICIAN IN THE TEMPLE:
HISTORICITY AND PARODY IN
LUCIANS ALEXANDER
By Aslak Rostad
Summary: This study discusses the interplay of historicity and comical literary allusions in
the mantic rituals described in Lucians Alexander or The False Prophet. By analysing the rit
ual in light of historical mantic sessions, the article shows that it is based on well-known
divinatory structures which are distorted in order to link Alexander and the cult of Glykon
to magical practices. Lucian thereby creates a space for literary allusions where Alexander is
given the role of a pseudomantis, an unreliable soothsayer, and Lucian himself assumes the
role of an Epicurean debunker of divination.*
1. INTRODUCTION
According to Ulrich Victor, Lucian of Samosatas Alexander or the False

Prophet , henceforth Alexander) is einer der
wichtigsten Texte zur Religionsgeschichte der Kaiserzeit.1 The text, probably
written sometime after AD 180,2 gives a malevolent account of the life and
career of Alexander from Abonuteichos in Paphlagonia, who founded the
oracular cult devoted to the snake-god Glykon. Lucian portrays Alexander as
I dedicate this article to the memory of professor Tomas Hgg (1938-2011), University of
Bergen, whose comments and criticism were crucial for its completion. I also wish to
convey my gratitude to professor Staffan Wahlgren, associate professor Marek Thue Kret
schmer and associate professor Inger Louise Forselv, Norwegian University of Science and
Technology, for help and assistance during the work on this article.
1 Victor 1997: vii.
Aslak Rostad The Magician in the Temple: Historicity and Parody in Lucians Alexander C&M 62 (2011) 207-30.

208 aslak rostad
a charlatan who produces false oracles and miracles in order to gain wealth
and power, and describes his own struggle, as an adherent of Epicurean phi
losophy, to debunk the fraud.Apart from the Alexander, the cult of Glykon
2
is attested by inscriptions, coins and figurines depicting the deity. Thus,

there is no doubt that Lucian based his account on historical facts, but are
we to regard the Alexander as a trustworthy source for the cult or as a literary
spoof? This issue has been extensively debated by scholars, but is it possible
that a discussion of interplay between historicity and comedy in the Alexan
der would give more fruitful insights into the text? This article will not ana
lyse this question in full, but examine it in the light of one of the mantic
rituals described in the Alexander, comparing it to what we know of histori
cally documented mantic rituals. Which role does this ritual play as a cross
ing point of the religious landscape Lucian knew and his literary technique
of reworking, manipulating and distorting literary motives for comical ef
fects?
2. THE MANTIC RITUAL OF THE CULT OF GLYKON
If we are to believe Lucian, there were two divinatory rituals in the cult of
Glykon. The most conspicuous of these were the so-called self-spoken
() oracles where the deity itself, manifested as a snake with a
human head, uttered the responses. This was according to Lucian an illusion
created by attaching a linen head controlled by concealed strings to a snake
Alexander had bought in Macedonia.3 The prophecies were in fact spoken
by one of Alexanders accomplices who shouted through a cranes windpipe
attached to the snakes head. These oracles were, however, reserved for the
wealthy and famous, Lucian claims.4 The other divinatory ritual in the cult
of Glykon, which we will analyse here, was meant for the majority of the
believers and conducted in the following manner:
2 The dating of the text is based on the fact that Lucian refers to the emperor Marcus Aure
lius as god, (Alex. 48). Marcus Aurelius was deified by the Roman senate in 180.
3 Alex. 7; 12; 26.
4 Alex. 26.

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the magician in the temple 209
He ordered everyone to write down on a scroll what they asked for and
wanted to know the most, and then stitch it together and seal it with wax
or clay or something similar. He himself took the scrolls and went into the
shrine [] His purpose was to summon those who had delivered the
scroll one by one by use of a herald and a theologian, and when he had
heard the gods reply in every single case he would give the scroll back still
sealed as he had received it, but with the reply written below, as the god
gave detailed answers to every question asked.5
The apparently miraculous circumstances in which the responses were given

were regarded as evidence for the deitys presence, but in reality Alexander
was able to read the questions by using various methods for breaking the
seals.6 The oracle contributed greatly to the shrines reputation. However, as
the pressure on the shrine grew due to its increasing popularity, which
threatened to cause starvation in Abonuteichos, the method of breaking and
reattaching the seals of the scrolls became too time-consuming. Alexander
therefore simplified the procedure of the mantic ritual:
5 Luc. Alex. 19. All translations are my own.

6 Luc. Alex. 20-21.
210 aslak rostad
He took the scrolls and slept on them, so he said, and answered the ques
tions as though he had heard the answers from the god in a dream. Most
of the answers were not very clear, but ambiguous and confused, in par
ticular when he saw that the scroll was particularly well sealed. Without
taking any risk, he wrote down whatever came to his mind, as he found
this suitable for oracles.7
It is this form of the mantic ritual which Lucian claims to have put to the
test, receiving responses which had nothing to do with the questions asked.8
In addition to the rituals for communicating with the deity, Lucian seems to
imply that the mantic session was concluded by recording the oracles in the
shrines archive (), though he does not state this directly.9
Lucians claim of fraud and deceit aside, we may summarize the ritual
thus: on certain days10 the enquirer delivered his question in writing on a
sealed scroll, presumably to a temple official or the himself, and
paid for the service. The written question was then brought into the temple
where no one except Alexander seems to have had access. After some time,
Lucian does not say how long, the document was given back to the enquirer
with the answer in writing, presumably on the outside of the scroll under
the seal.11 The answer was recorded in the archive and the enquirer would
consult interpreters12 who could explain the gods message. We are here
given a quite detailed description of a mantic ritual, but is this an eyewitness
account of the mantic ritual actually performed at Abonuteichos or a prod
uct of Lucians literary game and satire? In that case, where lies the satire?
7 Alex. 49.
8 Alex. 53-54.
9 Alex. 27.
10 Alex. 19:
(Alexander proclaimed to everyone that was coming that

the god would give oracles on a certain day he stated in advance).
11 It is not entirely clear whether Alexander wrote the responses on the inside or the outside
of the scrolls, but presumably the verb means that they were written on the
outside under the seal as the other possibility would imply that Glykon himself wrote
them, which would have been without parallels in Greek divination. It is more likely that
Lucian implies that Alexander created the illusion that he wrote the answers under divine
inspiration.
12 Alex. 23: . These were employed by Alexander.

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3. ALEXANDER OR THE FALSE PROPHET:

AN HISTORICAL ACCOUNT OR A PARODY?
We are here facing one of the main questions in the scholarly discussion on
the Alexander: is this text to be regarded as an historical and reliable account
of the cult at Abonuteichos, or as a literary parody where the historical
background is secondary? I shall here survey a selection of scholars who are
relevant for illustrating this debate.
The historical approach to the Alexander is twofold: on the one hand we
find scholars who argue or assume that the Alexander is to be regarded as a
trustworthy source for understanding the cult of Glykon. Advocates of this
position in some cases pay little attention to why the Alexander should be
regarded as reliable, for instance Stephen A. Kents suggestion that Alexander
was a narcissistic psychopath.13 Ulrich Victor argues that the historicity of
the Alexander can be deduced both from archaeological, epigraphic and nu
mismatic material confirming Lucians report, and from its alleged affinity
with Lucians historiographical work, How to write history (
)14 which suggests that he portrays Alexander in a
balanced and critical manner.15 For Victor, therefore, the factual information
of the Alexander should be regarded as generally trustworthy, while Lucians
interpretation of it should be approached with suspicion.16
There are also scholars who seek to single out historical facts from
Lucians satire. This position was established by one of the earliest contribu
tors to the historical approach to the Alexander, Otto Weinreich, who claims
that since Lucian was a personal enemy of Alexander, he took most of his
information from Epicureans hostile to the prophet.17 But by drawing paral
lels between the cult of Glykon and other contemporary religious phenom
ena, Weinreich argues that the cult fits well into the religious landscape of
the 2nd century AD. In more recent research, we find C.P. Jones and Robin
Lane Fox who both assume that the Alexander is based on Lucians own ex
13 Kent 2007. I do not regard this as a serious contribution to the discussion.

14 Luc. Hist. Conscr. Victor 1997: 25: Bis in Kleinigkeiten hinein entspricht der Alexan
dros dem, was Lukian in seiner theoretischen Abhandlung gefordert hatte, und an keiner
Stelle widerspricht die Darstellung der Theorie.
15 Victor 1997: 17-24.
16 Victor 1997: 15.
17 Weinreich 1921: 131-32.
212 aslak rostad
periences, but also point out that the facts it presents must be separated
from the techniques by which Lucian dismisses Alexanders religious author
ity.18 The description of Alexanders early career and his character, for in
stance, is dismissed by both Jones and Lane Fox, while they acknowledge
some of the information the text gives about the cult of Glykon, such as its
association with medicine and Pythagoreanism and its diffusion in Asia Mi-
nor and the Roman Empire.
At the other end of the scale, we find scholars who interpret the Alexander
in the tradition of the Lucianic literary criticism established by Jacques
Bompaire. Here, Lucians works are analysed as parodic inversions of the
Second Sophistics habit of imitating motives, narrative roles and genre char
acteristics from classical Greek literature. For Bompaire, the Alexander is
primarily a synthesis of rhetorical techniques for parody, while the historical
and religious background is secondary.19 Graham Anderson broadens this
perspective by shifting the focus from Lucians use of rhetoric to the ways in
which he manipulates, distorts and reworks a limited and identifiable selec
tion of literary motives, characters and themes from classical literature for
comical purposes.20 The Alexander, Anderson points out, shows several
structural similarities with other parts of Lucians work, in particular On the
passing of Peregrinus, and consequently cannot be regarded as a trustworthy
source.21 Anderson therefore focuses on how Lucian uses the lives and ca
reers of Alexander and Peregrinus as means to literary and comical ends, a
point to which I will return.
A related position is assumed by Robert Bracht Branham, who does not
deny the importance of placing the Alexander in a contemporary context,
but sees this in terms of Lucians habit of inverting and distorting the con
ventions of literary genres. Branham claims that the Alexander is a parody of
Epicurean debunking of religion, didactic biography22 and wonder
literature, where Lucian reverses a process of canonization and mythologiza
18 Jones 1986: 134; Lane Fox 1988: 243.
19 Bompaire 1958: 614-21. Cf. Branham 1989: 182.
20 Anderson 1976: 21: With no real aim besides pure entertainment, [Lucian] had plenty of
scope to work his themes and variations to saturation point.

21 Anderson 1976: 74: Peregrinus and Alexander need have had little in common beyond
their success a quality which is usually enough to antagonise Lucian. With so many
parallels to take into account, it is difficult to trust any of the individual details.
22 Branham 1989: 181-210.

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tion of the sage as a literary character23 by focusing on vices rather than vir
tues. What Lucian explores in the Alexander, Branham concludes, is the con
flict between external appearance and self-created roles on the one hand, real
identities on the other. On a similar track, Jens Gerlach criticizes Victor by
claiming that the apparently objective tone in the Alexander should be re
garded as a play with literary form and the expectations of the readers, where
Lucian stages the conflict between himself and Alexander as a war.24 Lucian
depicts Alexander of Abonuteichos as a negative inversion of Alexander the
Great and uses military vocabulary in the description of his endeavour to
conquer the world.25 The war culminates, Gerlach claims, in the scene
where the narrator bites Alexanders hand and almost cripples it. This repre
sents the narrators unwillingness to submit to the prophets regime and
Lucians victory over Alexander.26
Is it possible to reconcile these two positions? We know that the cult of
Glykon is attested in other sources and undoubtedly was a successful and
famous cult in Lucians days. As Robin Lane Fox points out, Lucians invec
tives aside, the picture we get of the cult differs little from what we know of
other divinatory cults in the second century AD.27 Thus, our impression of
the cult is rooted in the religious landscape that Lucian knew. Lucian also
makes references to recent historical events such as the Parthian war of AD
161-166 and the Marcomannic war of 166-180.28 He thereby situates the
Alexander in a contemporary context, a fact that must have contributed to
how his audience perceived the text. Nevertheless, there are obviously several
reasons why we should be cautious about regarding the Alexander as an ob
jective account and treating it as a credible historical source. A few examples:
Why does Lucian assume an Epicurean stance here, something he never does
in other texts? How did Lucian gain knowledge of the methods for breaking
23 Branham 1989: 185: The point is not just that there is evidence for other men like
Lucians Alexander, but that Lucian can use him to represent a known type whose virtues
had been celebrated and creeds promulgated in various kinds of serious religious and
parascientific literature.
24 Gerlach 2005: 178: Zwischen dem Scharlatan Alexander und Lukian findet nicht weniger
als ein Krieg statt!
25 Gerlach 2005: 179, n. 73.
26 Gerlach 2005: 183-85.
27 Lane Fox 1988: 250.
28 Alex. 27; 48.
214 aslak rostad
the seals when this apparently was conducted in secret inside the temple?
What are his sources for the oracles removed from Alexanders archive?
These questions indicate that much of the story of the Alexander was in-
vented by Lucian, not an eyewitness report. This does not, of course, rule
out that some pieces of information in the Alexander might be true, but a
mere discussion of what is true or not will always rest on a high degree of
speculation and does not in itself tell us what Lucians intentions were in
mixing fact and fiction. In addition, it is clear that Lucian in the Alexander
elaborates motives to which we find parallels in his comical texts, e.g., the
golden thigh of Pythagoras.29 Given these facts, it is difficult to see how and
why the Alexander should be regarded as distinct from Lucians otherwise
comical and parodic literary works.
In light of these insights it seems clear that the Alexander must be ana
lysed as a literary and satiric text, but without ignoring the historical and
religious context in which it was written not necessarily because this would
limit our insight into the historical cult of Glykon, but since it would
weaken our appreciation of the comical qualities of the Alexander. Rather
than asking to what extent the Alexander is a credible source, we should ex
amine how Lucian uses motives from the contemporary historical and reli
gious landscape to create a comical portrayal of an oracular cult. Matthew
Dickie, for instance, has shown that Lucian based his depiction of Glykons
epiphany in Abonuteichos on established narrative patterns for descriptions
of divine epiphanies, both false and true.30 Dickie does not regard the Alex
ander as a reliable source, but sees it as not without historical value either.31
More important, however, is the fact that his analysis bridges the division
between the historical and literary approaches to the Alexander by showing
that Lucian also made use of religious motives well known to his contempo
rary audience. May his description of the mantic ritual at Abonuteichos be
analysed along similar lines?
29 Alex. 40. Cf., e.g., D.Mort. 6.3.
30 Dickie 2004: 159: There are in ancient literature few more detailed and immediate ac
counts of the actions and emotions of persons who felt that they had been in the presence
of the divine than that contained in Lucians account of the rise to fame and fortune of
the prophet Alexander of Abonuteichos.
31 Dickie 2004: 159: Lucians tale is not exactly a reliable historical document, but it is not
wholly devoid of historical worth. [] In its broad lineaments it does depict the way in
which cults came to be established.

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4. ALEXANDERS MODELS:
DIDYMA, KL AROS AND MALLOS
Are there historical parallels to the mantic ritual described in the Alexander?
Greek divination is a vast topic difficult to grasp and I will here only focus
on the rituals basic structure. What type of ritual is this? When analysing
the mantic ritual of the cult of Glykon, as it is depicted by Lucian, we must
bear in mind that it belongs to a cult officially endorsed by the citizens of
Abonuteichos32 and surrounded by an extensive bureaucracy and organiza
tion. It is also important to understand what Alexanders role as the cults
prophts means: Prophts is a title given to priests communicating or inter
preting the will of a specific deity associated with a specific divinatory
shrine.33 The ritual thus belongs to the category of divinatory rituals per
formed at permanent and institutionalized oracular shrines, such as Delphi.
Still, however, we are dealing with a great variety of rituals. We may there
fore narrow the perspective further by limiting our analysis to the three fa
mous divinatory shrines of Asia Minor which Alexander used as his model
and with which he established formal ties in order to heighten the prestige
of the cult: Didyma, Klaros and Mallos.34 How were the mantic rituals per
formed at these shrines, and what resemblances and differences do they bear
to the mantic ritual of the cult of Glykon? Due to the limited space it is not
possible to give a full account of all the sources for these rituals, but the
most important will be pointed out.
4.1. Didyma
Founded perhaps as early as the eighth century BC, the great oracular shrine
of Apollo at Didyma near Miletos was already an ancient, and still very im
portant, site at the time of Lucian. The exact nature of the mantic procedure
at Didyma is not clear, but some of its outline may be conjectured.35 In
32 Alex. 10.
33 Dillery 2005: 171. Alexander is referred to as prophts in Alex. 11, 24, 43, 55 and 60.
34 Alex. 8; 29; 43.
35 This reconstruction of the ritual is based on Weis 1983: 92-99 and Parke 1985: 214-19.
Parke is the most accurate concerning sources, while Weis is more interpretative. Their
reconstructions do not, however, contradict each other fundamentally. See Fontenrose
216 aslak rostad
Lucians days the mantic ritual took place in the adyton which was an open
air courtyard inside the temple building with a small shrine containing a
sacred spring. In the third century BC, the adyton of the temple was closed
off from the vestibule and the pronaos by a wall containing a window closed
by a door or a curtain.36 Behind the window, great stairs descended to the
adyton. Our only literary source for the ritual, On the Egyptian Mysteries
( ) by the fourth century neo-Platonic
philosopher Iamblichos, claims that the prophecies were uttered by a priest
ess (prophtis) sitting by the spring. By wetting her feet or robe, or inhaling
the vapours from the water, she became possessed by the deity.37 The session
seems to have been initiated when enquiries were submitted in writing to a
male oracular priest, prophts, probably in the khrsmographion, a building
attested in inscriptions only.38 On the days of consultation, which took
place at an interval of at least four days,39 the enquirers would presumably
gather in the pronaos and witness the prophtis being escorted into the ady
ton. After receiving the enquiries, the prophts brought them to the adyton
through a narrow passage leading from the vestibule. The enquiries were
then probably read aloud to the prophtis, but we do not know how the re
sponses of the prophtis were formulated;40 most likely they were given
1988: 78-85 for a discussion and survey of different opinions on the course of the ritual.
See also OCD s.v. Didyma.
36 Parke 1985: 217.
37 Iamb. Myst. 3.11:

(And the woman who prophesizes in Branchidae, she is either holding the staff first
handed over by some god and is filled by the divine light, or she predicts the future while
she is sitting on an axle, or she is somehow wetting her feet or her clothes in the water
and being vaporized from the water she receives the god; prepared and made ready by all
of these arrangements for the reception of the god from outside, she partakes in him).
38 E.g., IDid 31 & 32.
39 Iamblichos states that the prophtis was cleansed and fasted for three days before deliver
ing the responses. Iamb. Myst. 3.11: []
(The cleansings of the prophetess and her fasting for three
whole days).
40 Weis 1983: 97: ber die Art, wie die Prophetin auf die durch sie an den Gott gerichteten
Fragen antwortete, gibt es keine Nachrichten.

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orally to the prophts who transformed them into verse and had them re
corded in writing by his assistant, the hypokhrsts.41 The prophts thereafter
ascended the stairs from the adyton to the pronaos where the window would
be opened and he would recite the answer orally to the enquirers.42 The ses
sion might have been completed by the enquirers being accompanied to the
khrsmographion where they received a written copy of the response, which
probably also was recorded in the temples archive.
4.2. Klaros
The temple at Klaros was also associated with Apollo and was controlled by
the city of Kolophn. The shrine, probably founded in the eighth century
BC, was discovered by archaeologists in 1907. The mantic procedure at Kla
ros is better attested in literary sources, especially by Iamblichos and Tacitus
who both state that the ritual was conducted by a man who, according to
Iamblikhos, was titled either prophts or thespiodos (singer of oracles). In an
inscription from Kolophn there is also a thespiodos (singer of oracles) men
tioned alongside the prophts.43 On certain nights44 after receiving the en
quiries he would go down into an underground cave and drink from a
spring. Thereafter he delivered the responses in verse.45 Tacitus and Iambli
chos do not agree entirely on the procedure. Tacitus claims that the prophts
heard the number and names of enquirers only before entering the cave
alone, while Iamblichos indicates that enquirers were present at the uttering
41 Parke 1985: 218.
42 Fontenrose differs from Weis and Parke in claiming that the enquirers followed the proph
ts into the adyton (Fontenrose 1988: 80-81).
43 SEG 30.1334.
44 Iamb. Myst. 3.11: [] (On certain appointed nights).
45 Tac. Ann. 2.54: tum in specum degressus, hausta fontis arcani aqua, ignarus plerumque
litterarum et carminum edit responsa versibus compositis super rebus quas quis mente concepit
(Then, after having descended into a cave and drunk water from a secret spring, a man
who usually does not know literature or poetry, presents answers in verse concerning the
issues anyone may have come up with in his mind). The underground cave is confirmed
by Iamblichos Myst. 3.11:
[] (It is generally agreed
that at the oracular shrine at Kolophn the divination is conducted by means of water.
For there is a spring in a subterranean room ...).
218 aslak rostad
of the oracles, but without seeing the prophts.46 The grotto with the sacred
spring was discovered in the 1950s by L. Robert to be an artificial construc
tion in the basement of the temple at Klaros.47 It consisted of a narrow cor
ridor running down the length of the temple leading to a vaulted room con
taining a bench. From this room a passage led to a smaller room where the
sacred spring was located.48 The room containing the bench indicates that
Iamblichos description is accurate, as the enquirers could be seated here
during the session and listen to the prophts uttering the responses. But it
may also be that this room was reserved for the temple officials accompany
ing the prophts to the basement while the enquirers waited in the temple
above. It is uncertain whether the responses were recorded in writing. Some
oracular responses from Klaros are attested in inscriptions; according to
Parke, this indicated that they probably were recorded in writing, as they are
too long to be remembered after being heard only once.49 There are also
inscriptions attesting secretaries employed at the shrine.50 This makes it
likely that the responses were written down.
4.3. Mallos
According to Lucian, the oracular shrine of Amphilochos at Mallos was held

highest in esteem by Alexander.51 Unlike the two other shrines mentioned as
the models for the cult of Glykon, the temple at Mallos was not associated
with Apollo but with the heroes Amphilochos and Mopsos. The shrine was
located in Cilicia, but its precise site has never been established with cer
tainty. Its most likely location was near the modern Turkish town of Kzl
tahta on the west bank of the river Pyramos. Mallos was known as a very
trustworthy oracle,52 but we know no more than a few, although important,
46 Iamb. Myst. 3.11: []

(He gives the oracles while drinking, no longer seen by the onlookers who are there).
47 Roberts excavations at Klaros are documented in Anatolian Studies 1 (1951) 17-18; 2 (1952)
17; 4 (1954) 15; 5 (1955) 16-17; 6 (1956) 23-25; 8 (1958) 28-30; 10 (1960) 21-22.
48 Parke 1985: 138-39.
49 Parke 1985: 223.
50 E.g., Haussoullier 1898: no. 259; IGRP 5.1586.
51 Alex. 19.
52 Paus. 1.34.3:
(Even by the Athenians

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details about its mantic ritual. In his dialogue On the Obsolescence of Oracles
( ), Plutarch indicates that the en
quiries were written on a sealed tablet ( ) while
the reply was communicated to the enquirer in his sleep.53 In Lucians dia
logue The Lover of Lies ( ) Eukrates describes his
visit to Mallos, where any question written on a tablet () and
given to the prophts was answered.54 Unfortunately, the story breaks off
before any further details of the ritual are given. Plutarch and Lucian dis
agree on whether the written questions were kept by the enquirers who re
ceived the answer through incubation, or handed over to the prophts. In
this context, however, Lucians notion of the ritual is the most relevant as
this must have influenced his view on the relations between Mallos and
Abonuteichos.
5. THE STRUCTURE OF THE MANTIC RITUALS:

SIMILARITIES AND DISCREPANCIES
Despite the serious problems concerning the sources for these rituals, we
may nevertheless identify four structural elements which the ritual described
by Lucian shares with one or more of the mantic sessions described above.
First, at Abonuteichos, Didyma and Klaros, the mantic ritual was performed
on certain fixed days. This is stated clearly in the cases of Abonuteichos55
and Klaros, and implied in Iamblichos account of the cult at Didyma as the
prophtis was required to fast for three days before the mantic ritual was per
formed.
Second, at Abonuteichos and Mallos, the enquiries to the oracle were sub
there is an altar for Amphilokhos in the city, and at Mallos in Kilikia there is an oracular
shrine which is the least liable to tell lies in my time). Cf. Luc. Philops. 38: []
[] (I heard
that this oracular shrine in Mallos is very famous and very trustworthy).
53 Plu. Mor. 434d-f.
54 Luc. Philops. 38: []
([The oracle] answered clearly word for word
what anyone wrote on the tablet and handed over to the prophet).
55 Luc. Alex. 19: See note 10.
220 aslak rostad
mitted to the shrine in writing. At Didyma, the presence of the khrsmo

graphion makes it likely that this was done here also, but this is uncertain.
Klaros, however, is the exception as the prophts only seems to have been
told the number of enquirers and their names; no written enquiries seem to
have been used. This confirms that submitting written questions to an
oracular shrine was something with which Lucians readers would have been
familiar.
Third, in Lucians depiction of the cult of Glykon the prophts retires
into an adyton where the mantic ritual takes place, while the enquirers are
waiting outside for the reply. This seems to reflect similar practices at all
three divinatory shrines, even though the sources are uncertain as to whether
the enquirers were present at the mantic session or not. Klaros provides the
best parallel as the prophts went into the underground cave and delivered
the response after drinking from the sacred spring. At Didyma, the prophts
probably brought the enquiries into the adyton of the shrine where the
prophtis uttered the responses, which were communicated to the enquirers
through the window in the temple vestibule. At Mallos, our sources do not
agree whether the written enquiries were kept by the enquirer who received
the reply while sleeping, or handed over to the prophts who presumably
brought them into the temple. The latter option seems however to have
been Lucians own opinion on the matter.
The fourth element linking Abonuteichos with the rituals of the other
shrines is the theatrical staging of epiphany, secrecy and miracle. The mantic
session is performed inside the temple without the enquirers present, and
Alexander is apparently able to write the reply without knowing the ques
tion. Again, Klaros forms the closest parallel: the prophts answered the
question after hearing the enquirers names and number only, not the ques
tions. It is also worth noting that Alexander retires into the temple, no
doubt in order to create an impression of seclusion of the sacred from the
profane sphere. The temple here works as a stage prop from which he may
re-enter with the divine responses. This is clearly paralleled in the historical
mantic rituals. The underground cave at Klaros with its sacred spring pro
vides a backdrop adding further effect to the impression of epiphany. Simi
larly, at Didyma, provided the reconstruction of the ritual is correct, after
receiving the replies from the prophtis the prophts seems to have ascended
the stairs leading from the adyton to the window facing the temples vesti
bule where the enquirers waited. When the door or the curtains were

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opened, the appearance of the prophts reciting the replies gave an impres
sion of epiphany.
These similarities make it likely that the structural outline of the ritual
described by Lucian is made up of elements known from conventional man
tic sessions. These would undoubtedly be recognizable to his readers. How
ever, there is one fundamental difference between the mantic ritual at Abo
nuteichos and those performed at Didyma, Klaros and Mallos which should
arouse our attention: at Abonuteichos the communication of both the en
quiries and the oracular responses is conducted in writing, while at Didyma
and Klaros the responses were first given orally by a divinely inspired person,
and at Mallos presumably by incubation. There was apparently always an
element of oral or direct communication of divine will involved in these di
vinatory rituals, an element we also find in other oracular shrines such as
Delphi, while writing seems primarily to have been used for recording the
responses. If written oracular responses would not have been a part of man
tic rituals in divinatory shrines as our evidence suggests, why does Lucian
focus so much on them in his account of the ritual at Abonuteichos while at
the same time linking the cult of Glykon to major institutionalized and
highly prestigious shrines? And why did Alexander use writing as a means
for communicating with the deity when he obviously was able to fake being
divinely possessed and could consequently have delivered the replies orally
in a conventional manner?56
6. THE MAGICIAN IN THE TEMPLE
Lucian himself provides the answer to these questions. Lucian claims that
Alexander used three methods for breaking and reattaching the seals of the
scrolls given to the shrine.57 But as pointed out above, how would Lucian
gain knowledge of these methods when Alexander apparently performed
them in solitude inside the temple? And why should Alexander use three
different and rather time-consuming methods when one would have been
sufficient? The descriptions seem to be a mere litany of possible ways of cre
56 Alex. 13-14.
57 Alex. 21.
222 aslak rostad
ating this illusion. Lucian himself adds that Kelsos, the addressee of the
Alexander, has described similar methods in his book Against the Magicians.
This indicates that Lucian bases his account not on his own observation of
how Alexander performed the mantic ritual, but on a handbook exposing
the methods of magicians.58 Lucians message is clear: by giving oracular re
sponses in writing, Alexander is introducing despicable magic into a ritual
frame held in high esteem and associated with famous oracular shrines.
This comes as no surprise. The mantic ritual is a continuation of the al
ready established portrayal of Alexander as a magician:59 Alexander starts his
career as an apprentice and lover of a man pretending to be a public physi
cian but who in reality is a gos performing magic (), incantations
(), love charms ( ), curses (
) and other forms of wonder. Later, Alexander with his accom
plice Kokknas makes his living as a wandering soothsayer and healer,60 and
Lucian applies the terms , and to Alexander and refers
to his activity as ,61 terms related to the twilight realm of free
lance divination and magic.62 By doing this, Lucian opens up the possibility
of playing his usual game of comical literary allusions and parody. Magicians
and soothsayers were of course genuine elements of the religious landscape
that Lucian and his readers knew, but they were also well-known literary
characters to whom certain qualities were attributed, and it is this aspect
which is most important in this context. By linking Alexander to magic,
Lucian opens up possibilities for allusions to a literary motive indicated al
58 This is also pointed out by Dickie 2003: 242.

59 I shall not discuss Alexanders relationship to the phenomenon of the , sacred
man. For a general survey of this phenomenon, see Fowden 1982. For an analysis of this
motive in the Alexander specifically, see Betz 1961: 104-43.
60 Alex. 5-6.
61 /: Alex. 1, 5, 6, 25, 60. /: Alex. 5, 6. /
: Alex. 1, 6, 17, 25, 43, 54. : Alex. 13.
62 It lies beyond the scope of this article to discuss the actual meanings of these terms. For a
discussion of Greek terms for magic and magicians, see Dickie 2003: 18-78. Dickie points
out that there were no clear-cut divisions between various concepts of magic in Antiquity
as they all refer to practices regarded as dangerous, impious and immoral by official insti
tutions. Dickie also shows that the roles of the magician and the freelance soothsayer were
hardly distinguishable (Dickie 2003: 60-61). There is consequently no point in attempt
ing to analyse what kind of magician Alexander was, other than observing that he is por
trayed as a practitioner of despicable trades.

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ready in the title of the text and known as far back as Homer, and developed
by tragedians, comedians, historians and philosophers throughout the Clas
sical era and beyond: the , the unreliable soothsayer.63 The
limited space of this article does not allow a full analysis of the topos, but I
shall highlight some aspects relevant for this analysis.
In classical Greek literature, unreliable seers are generally portrayed as
wandering characters outside, or on the fringes of, official religious institu
tions and mainstream society,64 making their living by performing miracles,
communicating the will of the gods and fortune-telling. Their predictions
are, however, false, incomprehensible, ambiguous or the product of guess
work,65 while their motives are self-promotion, greed and personal profit.66
The examples of pseudomanteis from Greek literature which probably have
had the greatest influence on Lucians portrayal of Alexander are the
, oracle-mongers, of Aristophanic comedy. They occur in Birds,
Knights and Peace and are all associated with the semi-historical Boeotian
soothsayer Bakis and his oracular books.67 The oracles presented by the
khrsmologoi are always unintelligible but are interpreted by the soothsayers
themselves, to their own advantage. Typically, their claims are dismissed by
the protagonist by quoting another oracle contradicting the original and
thereby debunking the khrsmologoi as frauds.68 As Alexander possesses the
characteristics attributed to the pseudomantis, it is clear that the portrait
Lucian draws of him is an elaboration of a literary stereotype.
63 See Flower 2008: 135-47 for a discussion and examples of this motive in classical Greek
literature.
64 Dillery 2005: 178. Cf. note 60.
65 Flower 2008: 138-141. Cf. Luc. Alex. 10, 11, 22, 28, 33, 44-45, 49, 51-54.
66 Dickie 2003: 62; Dillery 2005: 192, 197; Flower 2008: 136. Cf. Alex. 8, 14, 16, 23, 24, 26,
32, 35, 43, 47 and Dillery 2005: 199: The diviner who seeks personal gain had become so
familiar that a stereotype had emerged and a new meaning given to a nomen agentis that
dates back to Homer at least.
67 Ar. Av. 958-90; Eq. 115-48, 997-1004; Pax 1070-71, 1119. See Bowden 2003 for a survey of
the khrsmologoi. Claiming that Lucian alludes directly to Aristophanes portrayal of
khrsmologoi in the Alexander is perhaps to stretch the argument too far. It is more correct
to say that both the khrsmologoi and Alexander represent versions of the pseudomantis
motive. In paragraph 36 Lucian states that Alexander sent envoys to every part of the
Roman Empire. These are called khrsmologoi in the -tradition of handwritings, but are
altered to in the Oxford edition (Macleod 1974: 347).
68 Lucian alludes to this motive in Peregr. 29-30.
224 aslak rostad
However, the mantic ritual adds a further comical dimension by contrast

ing Alexanders apparent status as a prophts with his real nature as magician
and pseudomantis. Through the official recognition of the cult of Glykon,
Alexander seemingly represents the antithesis of the pseudomantis, but
Lucian distorts his status as a prophts by attributing to him characteristics
associated with suspicious literary characters and popular religion.69 Like
wise, the mantic ritual appears to be a conventional divinatory procedure
bearing resemblances to the rituals of well-known oracular shrines, but is
transformed into a contemptible magic ritual by the introduction of the
written responses. The presence of these in a prestigious and officially recog
nized ritual context would surely have appeared hilarious to Lucians intellec
tual audience.70 The comical effect is evident: the pseudomantis intruding on
the domain of the prophts. It is accordingly no wonder that Lucian refuses
to address Alexander by this title.71
7. TESTING ORACLES: EXPOSING CHARLATANS
There is another aspect which makes the mantic ritual at Abonuteichos an

important example for understanding the interplay of historicity and literary
allusions in the Alexander. The mantic ritual is also Lucian the Epicurean
narrators main instrument for testing Alexander and exposing him as a
pseudomantis. In Lucians times, testing oracular shrines was associated with
Epicurean and Cynic philosophers who disputed the very idea of divination
and divine providence. M.A. Flower points out that it was not customary
among Greeks to test the validity of oracles due to the great importance at
tributed to divination. Apart from Herodotus story of Croesus testing
Greek divinatory shrines, this is not a frequent motive in Greek literature.72
The Epicureans and Cynics therefore clearly had a provocative purpose, as
they were attacking a crucial aspect of ancient religious life. We cannot say
69 This is also pointed out by Petsalis-Diomidis 2010: 55-6.
70 For a discussion of distortion of the paideia ideal in the Alexander and Lucians intellec
tual audience, see Petsalis-Diomidis 2010: 55-60.
71 Alex. 55.
72 Flower 2008: 149: the idea of testing an oracle was foreign to the Greek mentality ... The
oracle of Apollo at Delphi ... was beyond the scope of rational doubt.

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to what extent Epicureans actually did test oracles, but most probably it was
a marginal phenomenon. I shall not here go into the details and basis of
Epicurean criticism of divination,73 but focus on what we know about the
methods and conclusions of those who claimed to have tested the validity of
oracles, to see which parallels they form to Lucians alleged exposure of the
oracle of Glykon.
We are not very well informed about the philosophers who tested oracles,
but two texts allow us a glimpse; interestingly, they are both related to two
of the oracular shrines that Lucian claims Alexander used as models, Mallos
and Klaros. In his dialogue On the Obsolescence of Oracles (
) Plutarch defends divination and providence
against philosophical criticism, among which Epicureanism, and gives a
striking parallel to the testing of the oracle of Glykon. Plutarch makes De
metrios tell the story of the unnamed ruler of Cilicia who, under the influ
ence of Epicurean philosophy and in order to test the oracle at Mallos, sent
one of his freedmen with a sealed tablet containing an enquiry known only
to the ruler. While sleeping inside the sacred precinct, the freedman saw a
beautiful man standing beside him uttering the word black. It was later
revealed that the question on the tablet was Shall I sacrifice a white or a
black bull to you? The ruler subsequently changed his attitude and became
a supporter of the shrine, while the Epicureans were bewildered.74 Plutarchs
story shows that Epicureans were thought to have tested oracles with meth
ods and arguments similar to those described by Lucian. It also indicates
that oracular shrines did regard them as a threat: since we are given no in
formation concerning the time of the incident and the names of the persons
involved, this story was presumably constructed by the officials at the shrine
at the Mallos in response to Epicurean criticism.
The arguments of Epicureans who actually did test the validity of oracular
shrines are not very well attested. Our best parallel to Lucians account is the
extracts from Expos of the impostors by the second-century Cynic
Oinomaos of Gadara, preserved in Eusebius of Caesareas Preparation for the
73 For Epicurus rejection of divination, see D.L. 10.135 (possibly a scholium). The most
comprehensive account of the principles of Epicurean criticism of divination is found in
the excerpts of a tract by Diogenianos (probably second century AD) preserved in Euse
bius Praep.Ev. 4.3.1-13; 6.8.1-38. Cf. Attridge 1978: 54.
74 See note 53.
226 aslak rostad
Gospel ( ). Here, Oinomaos attacks responses

from famous divinatory shrines, mostly taken from literary sources, for be
ing cruel, trifling or ambiguous. I will not analyse these attacks in detail, but
focus on his account of his own encounter with the oracle at Klaros. Oino
maos claims to have received a vague verse from the oracle which he inter
preted as a promise of success. Later, however, he discovered that one Kallis
tratos, a merchant from Pontos, had been given the same verse. In the end,
Oinomaos discovered that all, irrespective of their moral standing, received
encouraging responses from the oracle just by paying money.75 After criticiz
ing several other oracular shrines, Oinomaos draws the conclusion that they
are no better than interpreters of prodigies (), mendicant
prophets () and sophists.76 Similarly, when criticizing the Delphic
oracle given to Croesus, Oinomaos refers to Apollon Pythios as a seer
()77 and a singer of oracles ().78 In other words, Oino
maos disparages highly renowned divinatory shrines by equating them with
unofficial practices regarded as fraudulent and driven by selfish motives, in a
manner quite close to Lucians attack on Alexander and his cult.
Even though there are admittedly few relevant parallels to Lucians ac
count, the similarities with the stories told by Plutarch and Oinomaos
strongly indicate that he adapts to a conventional image of techniques and
arguments used or thought to be used by Epicureans and other critic of
divination.79 We may consequently suggest that Lucians testing of the ora
cle of Glykon is based on literary stereotypes, as is the portrayal of Alexander
as a pseudomantis. But we may go a step further than this and analyse the
role of the mantic ritual in the light of Lucians general literary methods: the
debunking of Alexander is by no means an isolated incident in Lucians
75 Praep. Ev. 5.22.

76 Praep. Ev. 5.29:
(I do not think that you are any better
than the so-called portent seers, not even than the other begging priests and sophists).
77 Praep. Ev. 5.20.4.
78 Praep. Ev. 5.20.10.
79 Branham points out that Lucians testing of the oracles is the closest he comes to conven
tional criticism of divination, such as Oinomaos and Hippolytos Philosophumena,
whereas otherwise he resorts to laughter and ridicule for destroying Alexanders authority.
See Branham 1989: 198; cf. note 21. Lucian makes Zeus complain about the threat from
oracle testers in The double indictment (Luc. Bis Acc. 1).

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work, but an elaboration of a recurrent theme. As Graham Anderson points

out, Lucians basic literary technique is to rework, distort and manipulate a
handful of motives for comic effect by placing them in ever new combina
tions and contexts literary, mythological or contemporary.80 One of these
recurrent motives is the exposure of charlatans. This motive is based on the
disclosures of in Old Comedy, such as the chrsmologoi men
tioned earlier.81 Throughout Lucians work we find that gods, philosophers
or, as in this case, religious figures do not fulfil the expectations attributed to
them. A few examples: Apollo is not able to give exact and intelligible pre
dictions, philosophers do not live as they teach, and priests are not following
the rules of ritual purity.82
Lucian also applies the technique of reworking the same themes to the
treatment of characters: Anderson shows that Lucian attributes the same
qualities to various characters, altering them or using the same characters in
various settings. Lucian may, for instance, depict a character as a sage in one
text and as an impostor in another.83 These techniques are used indiscrimi
nately on mythological as well as historical or contemporary figures. For in
stance, Peregrinos career and suicide gave Lucian a literary opportunity for
exploring the charlatan motive on two levels:84 in On the passing of Peregri
nos this takes place in a contemporary and realistic context; in The Fugitives,
however, Peregrinos death is placed in a mythological context. Given this
insight, there is a strong reason to assume that Lucian uses the cult of
Glykon as an opportunity for writing yet another version of the charlatan
theme. In the Alexander, Lucian does this by placing the pseudomantis mo
tive in a contemporary religious context. Similarly, Lucians Epicurean stance
in the Alexander has less to do with his personal philosophical conviction
than it has with his literary agenda. As Jens Gerlach points out, the motive
of debunking charlatans gives Lucian opportunities for assuming various
narrative roles as the charlatans opponent. Further, there is a correlation
between the portrayal of the charlatan and Lucians choice of what type of
80 Anderson 1976: 1-22.
81 Anderson 1976: 106-9.
82 Apollo: J.Tr. 30-1. Philosophers: e.g., D.Mort. 20.8-9. Priests: Sacr. 13.
83 E.g., Empedokles is portrayed as a wise man in Icar. 13-15 but as a charlatan in D.Mort.
6.4. See Anderson 1976: 15.

84 Anderson 1976: 75.
228 aslak rostad
opponent he is going to play.85 Thus, Epicureanism is chosen because it suits

the narrative: as Epicurean philosophers were known to have tested oracles
and probably accused divinatory shrines of being no better than wandering
fraudulent soothsayers, their role fits Lucians literary agenda like a glove. I
would even go one step further and suggest that Epicurean accusations
against divination and mantic shrines may have provided Lucian with a fur
ther opportunity to elaborate the charlatan motive: the Alexander is written
as if all their accusations were to be taken seriously. Rather than giving an
objective impression of the cult of Glykon, as claimed by Victor, the Alexan
der is the product of how Lucian imagined a magician would behave when
given a temple to run. The historical cult of Glykon is merely a theatrical
stage used by Lucian for exploring one of his favourite literary and comical
motives.
8. CONCLUSIONS
The mantic ritual at Abonuteichos is a literary construction which Lucian

employs to open possibilities for allusions and comical effects. By inverting a
well-known ritual structure, Lucian creates a space where two opposing lit
erary characters, i.e., the charlatan and his debunker, more specifically the
pseudomantis and the Epicurean sage, may meet and measure their strengths.
The pseudomantis is able to intrude with his schemes and lust for personal
gain into a sphere where he does not belong, and the written oracles give the
Epicurean narrator an opportunity, a bit too convenient to be credible, for
exposing the charlatan.
Does this mean that the Alexander should be read purely as Lucians play
with literary conventions and allusions? After all, wandering soothsayers and
magicians, oracular shrines and prophtai were important aspects of the reli
gious landscape that Lucian and his audience knew, as was the cult of
Glykon itself. Written oracles were probably also used by soothsayers and are
not an invention of Lucian, and the mantic ritual described in the Alexander
seems to be based on those at Didyma, Klaros and Mallos. I would claim
that this shows that Lucian plays not only with the literary expectations of
his readers, but also with their religious ones. In his staging of the cult of
85 Gerlach 2005: 186-94.

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Glykon in general and its mantic ritual specifically, Lucian is able to com
bine elements from contemporary religion with literary motives and topoi
for comical effects. An appreciation of these qualities in the Alexander re
quires insight into the religious and historical as well as the literary and in
tellectual context in which it was written.
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Victor, U. 1997. Lukian von Samosata: Alexandros oder der Lgenprophet.
Leiden, New York & Cologne.
Weinreich, O. 1921. Alexandros der Lgenprophet und seine Stellung in der
Religiositt des II. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. Neue Jahrbcher fr das klassische
Altertum 47, 129-51.
Weis, B.K. 1983. Didyma: Das Orakelheiligtum des Apollon. Ludwigsburg.

A PUN IN VESPAS
IUDICIUM COCI ET PISTORIS
By Howard Jacobson
Summary: The author of the Iudicium Coci et Pistoris loves to make puns. A pun on the
word es near the poems end has not previously been noticed.
The Iudicium Coci et Pistoris by someone called Vespa, otherwise unknown

to us, probably dates to the third or fourth century. It clearly seems to be
parodic. It is part of the Anthologia Latina, found in the Codex Salmasianus.
Anyone who has slogged through Vespas Iudicium knows that the author
has an awful penchant for bad puns. I note here one word-play that, happily,
seems to have been missed.
The debaters having presented their arguments, Vulcan delivers his verdict
(96-99). He begins as follows: es coce suavis homo; dulcis sed tu quoque pistor.
By the time one reaches the end of the verse, it is quite apparent that it
means sei, o cuoco, uomo amabile, e tu pure, o mugnaio.1 But at the point
when one has only read halfway through the line, one might indeed one
may likely be understanding the words very differently, especially given the
context and that the addressee is a cook. Thus, instead of taking es as second
person singular of esse, and suavis homo as predicate nominative, we might
well be taking suavis homo as appositive and es as singular imperative of edo,
Eat, o cook, you sweet man.
1 In Pini, F. 1958 (trans.) Vespae Iudicium Coci et Pistoris. Rome: 19. D.R. Shackleton Bailey
(Three Pieces from the Latin Anthology HSCPh 84 (1980) 217) renders You are a
pleasant fellow, cook; but you too, baker, are agreeable company.
Howard Jacobson A Pun in Vespas Iudicium Coci et Pistoris C&M 62 (2011) 231. 2011 Museum Tusculanum
Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica


DES CHANTRES CASTRS DANS LES
GLISES DE LEMPIRE BYZANTIN?
A PROPOS DU TERME
Par Konstantinos Melidis
Summary: It is well known that castrati, or professional emasculated singers, appeared in

Italy in the middle of the sixteenth century and existed until very recently, especially in west
ern Europe. The practice seems, however, also to have been present during the middle Ages
of the Eastern Roman Empire. The purpose of this study is to examine this previously over
looked practice of the Byzantine period, mentioned by Greek and Frank sources.
Les tudes portant sur les eunuques dans lempire byzantin nous ont amen
constater que les informations sy bornaient aux relations quils entre
tenaient avec lglise et, surtout, leur statut dans les diffrentes structures
de ladministration impriale de Byzance comme le palais, larme etc.1
Limportance du rle jou par les eunuques dans ces institutions est
reconnue depuis longtemps. Mais on tait presque toujours leur apport dans
1 Dans la recherche scientifique relative au sujet des eunuques, on peut distinguer deux
grands groupes de travaux selon quils se fondent sur lhistoire byzantine ou sur la
musicologie. Ainsi, pour le rle des eunuques dans la cour byzantine et lglise en gnral
voir les deux articles de Guilland 1943: 197-238 et 1944: 185-225. Voir aussi Sidris 2001 et
2008. Dans louvrage de Ringrose 2003: 2 et 74, qui nous offre une bonne documentation
sur les eunuques, lauteur fait allusion aux chanteurs eunuques deux fois mais sans aucun
dveloppement ultrieur. Voir aussi, Tougher 1997: 168-84. En ce qui concerne laspect
musicologique de la question, les seuls articles consacrs la vie artistique des eunuques
tant dans lantiquit que dans la priode que nous appelons byzantine sont, autant que
nous sachions, Witt 2002: 235-60 et Moran 2002: 99-112. Cependant, larticle de Witt
nous donne limpression dune exagration sur un bon nombre de points discuts ainsi
que dune faiblesse de preuves sur un bon nombre de thses proposes.
Konstantinos Melidis Des chantres castrs dans les glises de lempire byzantin? A propos du terme

234 konstantinos melidis
la musique. Or il est indniable, comme nous allons le voir, quils ont jou
un rle non ngligeable dans lvolution de la musique de lglise dOrient.
Cet article na bien sr pas la prtention de combler cette lacune dans toute
son tendue. Son but est de cerner un sujet peu connu car trs peu tudi
jusquici, celui des eunuques musiciens et notamment des chantres castrs de
lempire byzantin.
Nous croyons tous savoir que les castrats2 ont fait leur apparition en Italie
au milieu du 16e sicle. Et il est vrai que ce mtier prend toute son ampleur
en Italie o les deux sicles suivants voient son apoge.3 Il est vrai encore que
cest cette periode que des enfants furent castrs pour des raisons exclusive
ment artistiques.
Mais, nous le savons bien, toute nouveaut a une histoire et, lorsquil
sagit de la civilisation occidentale, nous en trouvons bien souvent les ori
gines dans le pass grco-romain. Aussi posons-nous directement la
question: Y avait-il des chanteurs castrats dans lempire byzantin?4 Comme
nous allons le voir, les sources crites byzantines apportent une rponse
positive, mais elles dessinent un contexte compltement diffrent de celui
des chanteurs italiens.5 Afin de confirmer nos propos, il nous faudra aussi
2 Ici au sens rpandu du mot, savoir chanteur castr depuis son enfance. Le mot castratus
en latin renvoyait lune des diverses sortes deunuques, plus prcisment celui qui tait
priv de testicules. Cf. TLL III.1: 547-48 (s.v. castratus).
3 Premire attestation en 1550. Voir Roselli 2001: 267-68 (s.v. castrato). Nous mentionnons
seulement, titre indicatif, quelques ouvrages sur lhistoire des castrats : Ancillon 1707;
Barbier 1989; Mamy 1998; Millant 1908; Ranke-Heinemann 1990. Rappelons quil est
certain que les castrats servaient lart du chant et du comdien en Chine la mme
poque quen Italie. Nanmoins, dans cet article nous ne nous occuperons que des
eunuques des civilisations europennes, grco-romaine en particulier.
4 Etant question de musique sacre ici, il va de soi que par le mot chanteurs nous enten
dons chantres.
5 Ajoutons que cette hypothse de lexistence de chanteurs castrs avant la Renaissance
italienne nest gure aborde dans les dictionnaires encyclopdiques qui couvrent toute la
priode de lantiquit jusquaux premiers sicles chrtiens. Par exemple dans Oxford
Dictionary of Byzantium (Kazhdan 1991: 743-44, s.v. Eunuchs) on ne trouve quune simple
mention de la contribution des eunuques la musique ecclsiastique. Aucune rfrence
dans les articles Kastraten (Hucke 1961: 16), Kastration (Leibbrand 1961: 16-17) et
Kirchenmusik (Fellerer 1961: 233-38) du Lexikon fr Theologie und Kirche. De mme
pour le Dictionnaire Encyclopdique du Christianisme Ancien (Di Berardino 1990). Dans
son article tendu dans Reallexikon fr Antike und Christentum, R. Muth (2004: 285-342,
s.v. Kastration) se contente de relater le cas dun eunuque chef dun chur ecclsiastique.

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chantres castrs dans les glises byzantines 235
rpondre une autre question: Ces chanteurs byzantins taient-ils castrs avant
ou aprs ladolescence? Cette question a une grande importance pour notre
recherche dans la mesure o la voix dun homme ne subit aucun change
ment si la castration a lieu une fois atteint lge adulte.
TROIS REMARQUES SUR LANTIQUIT
Lantiquit grco-romaine na jamais connu la voix de timbre infantile des

chanteurs castrats6 et, de plus, il ne semble pas que les eunuques aient eu
alors des relations avec lart en gnral. Les auteurs anciens qui se rfrent
la voix des eunuques le font toujours pousss par lintrt pour laspect
physiologique et physique: ils soulignent par exemple la gracilit, la tnuit
et la faiblesse de leur voix, aussi bien que sa ressemblance avec la voix
fminine.7 Cependant, trois cas bien distincts ont suscit une discussion sur
lexistence des eunuques chanteurs dans lantiquit: le cas des galli, le cas des
personnages masculs dans le thtre grec et romain et enfin, une histoire
relate par Dion Cassius prouvant lexistence des eunuques musiciens.
I. Pour ce qui est du premier cas, il faut signaler que les galli, ou les archigalli
les prtres auto-castrs de la desse Cyble entrent dans la catgorie des
Pour les dictionnaires de musique, comme par exemple The New Grove Dictionary of
Music and Musicians (Rosselli 2001: 267-68, s.v. castrato) la castration commence et finit
en Italie du seizime sicle.
6 Vendries 2004: 253 avec la n. 47. Lauteur se borne affirmer la communis opinio dans un
bref paragraphe, savoir labsence deunuques musiciens dans lantiquit.
7 Le nombre des passages est considrable. Voir titre indicatif : Ps-Arist. Pr. 894b19-895a3
et 900b15-28, Alex. Aphr. Pr. 1.98, Quint. Inst. 11.3.19. Les tmoignages cits nous mon
trent que la castration pr-pubertaire tait la norme dans lantiquit. Dautres passages, ils
se rfrent encore aux changements de la forme du corps aprs lopration, la relation
entre lmasculation et la pilosit du corps etc.: Hp. Aph. 6.28.1 et Morb. 4.20.33, Plin.
HN 11.230, Macr. Sat. 7.10.11-14, Ps-Arist. Pr., 897b23-29. Les raisons de la castration dans
lantiquit variaient: on trouve des eunuques castrs par punition, par vengeance, par la
simple volont ou la crainte des rois, quelques fois par pure folie, pour des raisons
militaires, par amour, par jalousie, pour des raisons religieuses, pour des raisons
desclavage (Quint. Inst. 5.12.17-18) etc., mais on ne rencontre nulle part deunuques
castrs pour des raisons artistiques.
hommes castrs pour des raisons religieuses. Ils avaient pour tche de
chanter pour la desse.8 Il va donc de soi que chaque fois que nous nous
rfrons aux auto-castrs vous un dieu, paen ou chrtien,9 nous pouvons
admettre ipso facto que cette catgorie deunuques soccupait aussi du chant
sacr, indispensable au rituel. En ce qui concerne les galli en particulier,
nous pouvons dire que les prtres ou les simples adeptes de la desse qui
chantaient en ululant10 utilisaient soit leur voix masculine naturelle soit une
voix fausse, imitant le timbre fminin11 et semblable celle des falsettistes.12
Et cela parce que lhypothse dune autocastration en vue de se consacrer la
desse ds lenfance parat compltement invraisemblable.13 Par consquent,
leur voix sa tessiture comme son timbre restait la mme que celle quils
avaient avant la castration: celle dun homme adulte. Nous pouvons sup
poser quil en fut exactement de mme pour les auto-castrs vous au Christ
on trouve en effet des automutils consacrs au Christ ds le dbut du
christianisme.14
La diffrence entre les deux groupes deunuques (anciens et byzantins) se
8 On relve des prtres de Cyble (ou Grande desse, Grande Mre ou Dea Syria) sous
diverses appellations et dans diverses rgions : en Asie Mineure, en Syrie, en Carie,
Athnes, partir de lanne 204 av. notre re Rome, et ailleurs. On pense que les prtres
se castraient eux-mmes pour imiter le geste dAttis. Sur ce sujet voir Graillot 1912. Cf.
louvrage volumineux de Vermaseren 1977-1989. On rencontre aussi des adeptes castrs
dautres desses comme Artmis Ephse, Hcate en Carie etc.
9 Lexemple le plus clbre est celui dOrigne qui sest castr au dbut du 3e sicle au nom
de la puret et de lamour de Dieu. Voir Eus. Hist. eccl. 1.6.8.
10 Ululer () est trs souvent utilis pour dsigner la qualit du son mis par les
adeptes de Cyble. Ce terme selon Blis (1988: 10) nvoque pas un chant modul et
harmonieux mais des pousses de voix, des cris vocaux.
11 Cf. Rousselle 1983: 158.
12 Cest--dire quils utilisaient la voix de tte ou la voix fausse (le registre aigu de la voix).
13 Daprs nos sources, lautocastration des enfants est exclure. Le plus souvent, les adeptes
de Cyble se castraient en un moment dextase. Lmasculation faisait partie du rituel.

Voir titre indicatif, AG 6.51 et 94 sur lambiance musicale du rite. Un texte ancien trs
informatif sur le culte de Dea Syria nous est parvenu sous le nom de Lucien. Voir Luc. D.
Syr. passim.
14 Ce fait de lautocastration des premiers chrtiens est d linterprtation errone de
lallgorie de deux versets du Nouveau Testament, Matt. 19.12 : il y en a qui se sont eux
mmes rendus eunuques cause du Royaume des cieux et Marc. 9.43: si ta main entrane
ta chute, coupe-la. Traduction du NT: 99 et 160 respectivement. Voir Ranke-Heinemann
1990: 62.

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trouve dans le fait que, hormis les automutils, nous rencontrons, dans
lempire byzantin, des enfants castrs par dcision de leurs parents. Cela
change toute la situation et signifie quil pouvait exister des eunuques ayant
potentiellement les mmes capacits vocales15 que les castrati italiens:
Si quelquun, encore enfant ou mme adolescent, est amput des

testicules, parce quil est lobjet de tout le zle de ses parents passionns de
chastet et de puret.
et encore:
Nous qui pratiquons lablation par amour de la puret et par piti 16
II. La deuxime remarque concerne les rles deunuques dans le thtre grec
et romain. Un dbat philologique avait merg sur laria chante par
lesclave eunuque de Phrygie dans la tragdie dEuripide Oreste (v. 1369-1502,
ed. Diggle). La possibilit que lacteur-chanteur ait t un vritable eunuque
de Phrygie nous parat trs improbable. Et cela pour un grand nombre de
raisons : (1) aucun document ne tmoigne que des acteurs trangers se
seraient trouvs Athnes cette poque-l, (2) nous ne possdons aucune
trace non plus de la prsence deunuques chanteurs en Phrygie cette
priode, (3) aucun indice ne suggrant lexistence deunuques chanteurs
grecs, cette supposition nous parat exclue. Il nous parat donc vident que
lacteur incarnant ce rle tait un homme fait, du moins lpoque de la
15 Des qualits toujours virtuelles. Nous ne nous rfrons ni leur performance ni au

niveau de travail de la voix.
16 Thophylacte dAchrida, Apologie de leunuchisme in Gautier 1980: 302-4. La num
rotation des passages cits ci-aprs renvoie la page de ldition Gautier.

17
premire reprsentation de la pice, linstar de tous les acteurs lpoque,
y compris ceux qui jouaient des personnages fminins.18
17
III. Examinons prsent la principale source se rfrant aux eunuques

musiciens de lantiquit tardive, moment partir duquel les choses ont,
semble-t-il, commenc changer, pour nous pencher ensuite sur les sources
purement byzantines assurant lexistence de chantres castrats. Un
tmoignage du 2e sicle de notre re fait mention deunuques exerant le
mtier de musicien. Dion Cassius raconte lvnement suivant:
Plautianus, [un homme au service de lempereur Septime Svre] ... fit

castrer chez lui cent Romains de naissance libre ... Ce ne furent pas
seulement des enfants et des jeunes gens quil fit castrer, mais aussi des
hommes ... afin que sa fille Plautilla et des eunuques tant pour la servir
que pour lui enseigner la musique et tous les autres arts.19
Mme si ce fait a une faible valeur informative, puisque ces hommes violem
ment castrs avaient probablement continu exercer le mtier quils prati
quaient avant lopration, cest l le premier tmoignage venant de lanti
quit grco-romaine20 qui se rfre explicitement des eunuques musiciens.
17 En 408 av. J.-C. Athnes.

18 Au sujet de leunuque phrygien voir Witt 2002: 241-42. En dautres termes, il sagit
simplement dun rle comme celui de leunuque Dorus dans lEunuchus de Trence,
reprsent en 166 av. J.-C.
19 D.C. Hist.Rom. 76.14.4-5 . Texte et traduction dE. Gros et V. Boisse (1870: 266). Cf.
Vendries 2006: 253 n. 47.
20 Bien que discutable, linterprtation du passage selon laquelle ces hommes ont t obligs
dexercer le mtier de professeur de musique, quils nexeraient certainement pas avant
leur castration tant donn quils taient nobles, est revoir. Il y a de plus un doute sur
lauthenticit de la phrase .

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DES EUNUQUES MUSICIENS
Deux crivains de lhistoire de lglise, Sozomne et Socrate, ayant vcu

pendant le 4e et le 5e sicle soit au dbut de lre byzantine racontent
tous deux le mme vnement survenu dans une glise orthodoxe la fin du
4e sicle. Sozomne:21
Un eunuque de limpratrice ... charg de soccuper des hymnes ... Brison

tel tait le nom de leunuque imprial fut frapp dune pierre au front.
Et Socrate:22
Sans hsiter donc, une nuit, ils [sc. les arianisants] attaquent. Brison,
leunuque de limpratrice, qui dirigeait alors les chanteurs, est frapp
dune pierre au front.
Cet incident nous apprend tout dabord que dj vers la fin du 4e et au

cours du 5e sicle, il y avait des eunuques qui non seulement enseignaient la
thorie23 de la musique, comme nous pouvions dj le dduire du texte de
Dion Cassius,24 mais qui la pratiquaient aussi. Selon Socrate, Brison tait le
21 Sozomne Histoire ecclsiastique 8.8.2-5. Texte de ldition J. Bidez & G.C. Hansen et tra
duction par A.-J. Festugire et B. Grillet. (Bidez et Hansen 2008: 273).
22 Socrate le Scholastique Histoire ecclsiastique 6.8.8. Texte grec de l'dition de G.C. Han
sen et traduction par P. Prichon et P. Maraval (Hansen 2006: 297).
23 Le terme tait utilis lpoque pour dsigner la thorie (lharmonie, le rythme,
la mtrique etc.) plutt que la pratique. Celle-ci tait dsigne diffremment, par exemple
() pour lart de la cithare, pour lart de laulos etc.
24 Si on se fonde sur le tmoignage isol de Dion Cassius, on peut faire remonter lexistence
deunuques professeurs de thorie musicale ds la fin du 2e sicle.
formateur, cest--dire le directeur des choristes, alors que Sozomne le

qualifie de prparateur des hymnes. Ces deux mots ont un sens trs proche.
On comprend dans les deux cas quil sagissait de la personne qui constituait
et dirigeait le chur, ou encore de lhomme qui enseignait les mlodies25 aux
chanteurs. Selon Witt, il sagit de lquivalent du maistor, attest plus tard,26
au 13e sicle. Selon nous, il sagit du phonascus, attest au mme sicle:
sic tamen quod illic nec organa hydraulica sonant nec sub phonasco voca
lium concentus meditatum acroama simul intonat
Mais cest un fait quon nentend jamais rsonner l-bas les orgues hyd
rauliques ni un chur de chanteurs entonner ensemble sous la conduite
dun chef dorchestre, un concert savamment prpar.27
Nous aurions voulu rpondre la question cruciale de savoir si les membres

du chur dirig par Brison taient, eux aussi, des castrats, mais nous ne
possdons pas de preuves satisfaisantes pour rpondre avec certitude.
Cependant, le problme de la composition des churs byzantins est
partiellement rsolu par les sources plus tardives. Citons ainsi un tmoignage
du 12e sicle qui assure lexistence de chantres eunuques dans lempire et qui
se rapporte la composition des churs tant au 6e quau 12e sicle.
Thodore Balsamon, patriarche dAntioche, dans son commentaire (12e s.)
sur le quatrime Canon des Pres Saints, concernant le mariage des prtres et
des chantres et rdig lpoque de lempereur Justinien (6e s.), crit :
25 Que par ces deux mots les deux auteurs dsignent le compositeur dhymnes, appel
dailleurs , est impensable.
26 Voir Witt 2002: 245 avec n. 157, et Wellesz 1961: 145 et 238.
27 Voir Sid. Apollin. Epist. 1.2.9. Cf. ibid. 4.11.6 : Psalmorum hic modulator et phonascus|
ante altaria fratre gratulante| instructas docuit sonare classes ( Habile soumettre les
psaumes au rythme de la musique et diriger les churs, il enseigna des groupes quil
avait forms faire rsonner leurs voix devant les autels, avec lapprobation admirative de
son frre ). Texte et traduction de Loyen 1970: 137.

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avise-toi [sc. lecteur] du fait que, jadis, lordre des psalmistes ntait pas
constitu uniquement deunuques, comme cest le cas de nos jours, mais
il comprenait aussi des psalmistes qui ntaient pas tels 28
Ce tmoignage nous permet donc de conclure que, pendant le 12e sicle, les
chantres castrs constituaient la norme, alors quau 6e sicle (poque de la
rdaction de ce Canon, mais probablement aussi plus tt encore, comme par
exemple lpoque de Brison29) les churs taient mixtes, composs
dhommes non castrs et de castrats. En outre, un lment renforce lhypo
thse des churs mixtes aux premiers sicles chrtiens: cest le fait que les
hymnes excuts par le chur de Brison taient antiphoniques30 comme le
dclarent les deux historiens loccasion de la lapidation.31
Le qualificatif dantiphoniques appliqu ces hymnes signifie, selon nous,
que le chur interprtant ces hymnes tait divis en deux groupes de cho
ristes, lun chantant une ou deux octaves au dessus de lautre. Les diverses
traductions/interprtations du mot, comme chant en alternance ou contre
chant, justes pour les poques postrieures, nous paraissent dangereuses et
incertaines appliques cette poque. Rappelons que le terme musical grec
signifiait loctave durant toute lantiquit.32 Il est fort peu pro
bable que ce mot avait chang de sens lpoque de Brison (4e s.) ou mme
plus tt, puisque de tels hymnes taient chants depuis le 1er s. de notre re
(voir ci-dessous). A lappui de cette remarque, signalons que des thoriciens
de la musique postrieurs ces deux historiens de lglise utilisent
33
normalement le terme comme un synonyme de loctave. La signification
de lantiphonie, telle quon lentend au Moyen-Age et de nos jours, tait tout
28 Il sagit du commentaire de Theodorus Balsamon in Canones Sanctorum Patrum qui in

Trullo imperialis palatii constantinopoli convenerunt tempore Justiniani religiossimi et chris
tianissimi nostri imperatoris: . Voir Migne 1865: 532.
29 Nous ne pouvons pas exclure la possibilit que le chur de Brison ait t mixte. Mais il
ne sagit que dune hypothse. Sur ce sujet voir Witt, 2002: 245 et n. 158 ; Guyot 1980: 57
58 et n. 58.
30 Pour le terme antiphoniques et les traductions en alternance, contre-chant et antienne,
cf. Thophylacte, Apologie 322; Socrate, H.E. 6.8.2 (Hansen 2006: 297). Pourtant, nous
sommes davis quil est impropre dappliquer ces termes cette poque. Nous prfrons
garder la traduction antiphon, antiphonique ou encore loctave.
31 Socrate, H.E. 6.8.2-10 et Sozomne, H.E. 8.1-3.
32 Aristoxne cit par Ath. Deipn. 635b-c (14.36) ainsi que Ps-Arist., Pr., 918b30-919a12 et
921a7-31.
fait trangre lpoque qui nous occupe. Selon Thodore Reinach,

lexpression hymnes antiphoniques a pour origine la pratique des churs
33
mixtes o les voix denfants et dadultes chantaient la mme mlodie loctave.34

Evidemment, dans notre passage ce ne sont pas des enfants qui
chantent.35 Et ce ne sont pas non plus des femmes, cela est certain. Lemploi
des castrats dans les glises est en effet justifi depuis longtemps, au sein de
lglise catholique en Italie comme de lglise orthodoxe Byzance, par
labsence de voix fminines. Celle-ci est fonde sur une pitre de St-Paul
interdisant catgoriquement aux femmes de prendre la parole et partant de
chanter dans quelque glise que ce soit:36
Comme dans toutes les glises des saints, que les femmes se taisent dans
les assembles, car il ne leur est pas permis dy parler.
Daprs cette interprtation de lantiphonie antique, nous pouvons lgi

timement supposer, mme si cest avec rserve, que la partie du chur de
Brison qui chantait loctave tait celle des castrats. En outre, lassociation
indirecte entre hymnes antiphoniques et eunuques est rendue vidente par le
fait que, chez Socrate, lvnement de la lapidation est chronologiquement
proche de linvention de cette sorte dhymnes, situe Antioche au 1er ou 2e
sicle par St-Ignace:37
33 Gaud. Harm. (Jan 1895: 347-48). Gaudence a vcu entre le 3e et le 5e sicle de notre re;
Porph. in Harm. (Dring 1932: 104.10).
34 Sur ce sujet, voir Reinach-Eichthal 1892: 35. Voir aussi Leclercq 1907: 2461-88.
35 Aucun indice ne suggre la prsence denfants dans ce type de chur.
36 Premire pitre aux corinthiens 14.33-34 (NT 511).
37 Saint Ignace, troisime vque dAntioche, n vers 35 et mort vers lanne 107. Voir
Socrate, H.E. 6.8.10-12 (Hansen 2006: 298).

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Mais il faut dire quelle fut lorigine de la coutume des hymnes antiphons
dans lEglise. Ignace eut la vision danges qui chantaient la Sainte
Trinit avec des hymnes antiphons, et il transmit lEglise dAntioche la
manire de faire de sa vision. Cest pourquoi cette tradition se rpandit
dans toutes les Eglises et y tait conserve.
Une deuxime source vient ici en renfort. Thophylacte (9e s.), dans son
trait consacr aux eunuques, fait lui aussi mention dIgnace et des hymnes
antiphoniques:
Il me semble en effet quIgnace le thophore a ordonn dintroduire

Antioche les odes antiphoniques, parce quil avait entendu des anges
chanter de cette manire.38
La mme succession dinformations Ignace-hymnes antiphoniques-eunuques

anges ne pourrait tre accidentelle chez les trois auteurs. De plus, le rap
prochement des anges avec les eunuques est assez habituel dans lempire
byzantin.39
Mais une autre question essentielle surgit: ces psalmistes ont-ils subi la
castration avant ou aprs ladolescence? Comme nous lavons dj signal, un
38 Thophylacte, Apologie 322. Thophylacte, vque de Bulgarie, avait un frre eunuque et a

probablement ressenti la ncessit de prendre sa dfense. Il a vcu pendant le 9e sicle.
Nous avons suivi la traduction de Gautier, mais remplac en contre-chant par anti
phoniques.
39 Les eunuques byzantins taient souvent compars aux anges, non seulement pour leur
voix mais aussi parce quils se trouvaient au premier rang de la pyramide sociale de
lempire. Voir Galahad 1949: 62-71 et Ringrose 2003: 7 et 205. Cf. Moran 2002: 104;
Sidris 2001; 2003. Nous pourrions assurer la correspondance avec la voix anglique des
castrats italiens. Ajoutons encore un trait commun entre eunuques et anges: on les
considre tous deux asexus.
homme ayant subi la castration lge adulte possde presque la mme voix
quun homme non castr. Nos tmoignages font clairement apparatre que
les deux types deunuques existaient durant lempire. La pratique de la
castration pr-pubertaire est confirme par quelques textes du 6e sicle.
Dans le commentaire de Thodore Balsamon au 21e Canon apostolique,40
nous lisons que beaucoup de gens faisaient castrer leurs enfants en faisant appel
des raisons de sant. Par ailleurs, une loi du Codex Justinianus, recueil des
lois romaines rdig sous lempereur Justinien au 6e s. (dont certaines
rdiges sans doute auparavant), qui se rfre au prix des eunuques
vendre, parle denfants masculs avant lge de dix ans.41
Concernant lacte dmasculation, le mdecin grec Paul dEgine (7e sicle)
parle de deux mthodes dintervention, la compression (des testicules) et
lexcision. La premire mthode, explique-t-il, tait pratique sur les enfants,
alors que la deuxime ltait sur les jeunes gens ou les hommes adultes. La
castration par compression saccomplissait de la faon suivante:
40 Theodori Balsamonis Zonare, Aristeni in Canones Sanctorum Apostolorum Conciliorum:

. Voir Migne 1865: 80-81. Ce Canon fut peut-tre rdig avant le 6e sicle:

41 Voir CJ 7.1.5 (Krger): Sin vero eunuchi sint servi communes maiores decem annis, si quidem
sine arte sint, in quinquaginta solidos computentur, sin autem artifices, usque ad septuaginta:
minores etenim decem annis eunuchos non amplius triginta solidis aestimari volumus. En
passant, nous faisons mention dune autre information que nous puisons de ces dits. Il
sagit dune dclaration selon laquelle les eunuques qui sont artifices sont les plus chers.
Ce mot nest pas tout fait clair. En latin le mot artifex pouvait signaler lartiste ou
lartisan. Le mot est lquivalant du mot grec qui dsignait entre autres le
musicien professionnel. Pour tre plus prcis, tant donn que nous avons rencontr des
eunuques psalmistes et musiciens, il est possible que le lgislateur de cette loi justinienne
ait pris en considration lexistence des chantres et des musiciens eunuques. Cf. D.C.
Hist.Rom. 63.29.2. Le mot est utilis par Nron pour dsigner ses comptences artistiques
dans le discours proverbial: Qualis artifex pereo: Suet. Ner. 49. Cf. Blis 1989: 747 avec n.
2 et 3.

s i c a e62
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On place les enfants en bas ge dans un bassin rempli deau chaude.

Ensuite, quand leur corps est ramolli, toujours dans le mme bassin, on
comprime les testicules avec les doigts jusqu ce quils sanantissent et
soient intouchables.42
La source la plus explicite concernant lge auquel les eunuques taient

oprs se trouve chez Thophylacte qui fait mention de trois catgories
deunuques, selon quils ont subi lopration pendant lenfance, ladolescence
ou lge adulte:
En effet, propos de ceux qui ont dj atteint lge dhomme et qui se

mutilent, soit incontestablement ceux qui se chtrent ... Car il y a, oui,
des gens qui subissent la castration quand ils sont dj jeunes hommes
et parce quils sont devenus eunuques dans la force de lge 43
Nous aurons une ide plus juste de la situation si nous rappelons que dans
lempire byzantin, certains monastres taient rservs exclusivement aux
eunuques: le monastre de Saint Lazare, le monastre des Katharoi et un
autre encore Constantinople, fond par Michel Attaliate en 1077 notam
ment.44 Dans ces couvents, les messes taient excutes rgulirement. Le
fait nest pas tonnant puisque nous savons que dans lglise dOrient et
malgr linterdiction du Concile de Nice de lanne 325,45 les eunuques
42 Paul. Aeg. Epitom. med. libri septem 6.68 (Heiberg 1924: 111). Nous rappelons que la pr
sence deunuques esclaves masculs depuis leur enfance est confirme par Quintilien
Inst. 5.12.17-18.
43 Thophylacte, Apologie 302.
44 Voir Guilland 1943: 204. Cf. Ringrose 2003: 111-12 et Moran 2002: 105. Voir aussi Gautier
1980: 329 avec la n. 64 o il est question dun autre couvent deunuques prs de Jricho.
45 Jusqu cette date il ny a pas de dcrets qui se rfrent aux clercs eunuques. Les mesures
prises lors de ce premier Concile nous montrent que les eunuques taient entrs dans les
glises ds les premiers sicles chrtiens.
ntaient pas exclus du clerg. Cela dit, lhistoire nous montre que ce Canon
est tomb trs tt en dsutude. Nous connaissons ainsi, outre des moines et
des prtres, un certain nombre de patriarches eunuques comme Germanus I
(715-730), Nictas I (766-780), Mthodius (843-847), Ignatius (847-858 et
867-877), Polyeucte (956-970) et dautres46 encore.
THOPHYL ACTE, VQUE DACHRIDE
ET DE BULGARIE
Il apparat que le texte le plus riche en informations sur notre sujet est aussi
le moins exploit par la recherche, puisque il na t traduit dans une langue
vivante que rcemment.47 Il sagit de lApologie de leunuchisme de Tho
phylacte dAchride. Parmi les diverses informations concernant les eunuques
et leur rle la cour et larme byzantines, il consacre un paragraphe aux
eunuques et la musique ecclsiastique. Nous en citons des extraits:
Si les eunuques fredonnent aussi dans les glises les airs de chansons licen
cieuses que sanctifient des penses saintes, pourquoi ce grief?48
46 Voir Thophylacte, Apologie 327. Pour une liste complte des patriarches eunuques voir
Guilland 1944: 202-3.
47 Autant que nous sachions, hormis les traductions latines des sicles prcdents, il nexiste
pour ce trait que la traduction de Gautier, en franais, ralise en 1980 (Gautier 1980).
48 Thophylacte, Apologie 322-23.

s i c a e62
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En outre, tous les chants anciens en usage dans les Eglises, de quel plaisir
ne triomphent-ils pas, surtout quand ils sont chants avec harmonie et
comptence Pourtant, si nous concdons quil faut bannir cela de
lglise, ce ne sont pas des inventions deunuques que nous bannirons
mais, si jose dire, des gens de ta tribu, qui le leur ont transmis pour les
parer dharmonie.49
Deux points importants que nous navons pas signals plus haut ressortent
de ce passage : le rapport que les chantres castrs entretiennent avec les
chansons populaires et le fait quils taient admirs par une partie de public
pour leur comptence rendre les phrases musicales dlicieuses et
harmonieuses. Sur le charme de linterprtation musicale des eunuques,
nous possdons le tmoignage dun Franc, Eudes de Deuil, abb de Saint-
Denis et chapelain de Louis VII, lors de son expdition en Orient dans le
cadre de la deuxime croisade:50
Illi quidem a nostris clericis verborum et organi genere dissidebant, sed

suavi modulatione placebant. Voces enim mixte, robustior cum gracili,
eunuca videlicet cum virili erant enim eunuchi multi illorum , Fran
corum animos demulcebant.
Ces clercs [sc. les Grecs] diffraient des ntres par les paroles quils pro
nonaient, et par la qualit de leurs voix; mais leurs douces modulations
taient fort agrables. Le mlange des voix, une voix plus forte sunissant
une voix plus claire, une voix deunuque une voix dhomme (car il y
avait parmi eux beaucoup deunuques), tait propre charmer les
Franais.51
Un autre passage du texte de Thophylacte fait allusion la relation qui lie

les eunuques avec le chant sculier, et notamment avec le thtre:

50 Pour Eudes de Deuil, voir Moran 2002: 107. Eudes ou Odo ou Odon de Deuil naquit
vers 1110 et mourut en 1162 Saint-Denis. La deuxime croisade commena en 1147 et se
termina en 1149.
51 De profectione Ludovici VII in Orientem 4. La traduction est celle de Guizot 2004: 72.
Texte de Waquet 1949: 46.
Il y a encore un autre groupe deunuques, celui que le thtre met en

vedette et qui en est bien digne, je veux dire ces roucouleurs et ces
gazouilleurs qui ont abominablement introduit dans lglise des chants
licencieux et qui suent la luxure ... De fait, les uns (les eunuques) fr
quentent toujours les gens de thtre ... et de plus ils susurrent des
chansons avec les libertins ...52
Nous terminons cette petite prsentation concernant les eunuques musiciens

dans le trait de Thophylacte par un passage qui rend claire et indiscutable
la prsence des chantres castrs dans les glises. La personne qui parle est un
eunuque.53 Lautre personne vient daccuser les chantres eunuques de cor
ruption, morale et musicale, et reoit directement la rponse suivante:
Tu as encore accus les chantres, tous en bloc, dtre corrompus par le

thtre, comme si je ne pouvais pas distinguer parmi eux ceux qui
charment davantage Dieu par leurs murs de ceux qui charment des
amateurs de chants par leurs chansons. Nanmoins je concde que tous
tombent sous ton accusation [sc. les eunuques et les non castrs].54
52 Thophylacte, Apologie 294.

53 La forme du trait est dialogue.

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CONCLUSION
Les tmoignages que nous avons interrogs jusquici nous permettent de

noter que les Byzantins avaient recours lmasculation par chastet et pit
devant Dieu ainsi que pour des raisons mdicales. La diffrence avec le cas
des galli, les prtres de Cyble, se trouve dans le fait quils taient, trs sou
vent, castrs ds lenfance, linitiative de leurs parents qui les voulaient purs
et chastes.55
La communaut scientifique, tant du ct des musicologues que de celui
des historiens et des philologues, ignorait lexistence des chantres castrats
dans lempire byzantin jusque ces derniers temps. Labsence de cette infor
mation dans les articles des divers dictionnaires spcialiss, de la musique
aussi bien que de lhistoire et de la civilisation byzantines, le montre. Cette
ngligence est due au fait que ces chantres ntaient pas des chanteurs
professionnels et quils ntaient pas castrs dans ce but. Elle est due aussi au
fait que les Byzantins eux-mmes ne se rfraient pas frquemment ce
sujet, ce qui explique aussi le petit nombre des tmoignages les concernant.
Nous savons pourtant que les glises byzantines foisonnaient de chantres
castrs, notamment partir du 4e sicle et aprs, comme nous en informent
Socrate, Sozomne, Thophylacte et Thodore Balsamon. Nous apprenons
galement quil existait des coles de chantres castrats dans les monastres
dOrient.56 De plus, le fait est connu, au 12e s. le chantre castr Manuel
quitte Constantinople et sinstalle Smolensk en Russie pour fonder une
cole de chant.57
Etant donn que ces eunuques ntaient pas castrs pour devenir chan
teurs professionnels mais plutt pour des raisons religieuses, nous sommes
obligs dadmettre ce paramtre: partir du moment o un eunuque se
consacrait lglise et quil possdait une belle voix, il servait Dieu aussi par
le chant, en plus de ses autres tches. Les tmoignages que nous possdons
confirment lexistence deunuques, les uns la voix masculine, ayant subi
lopration lge mr,58 les autres la voix de timbre fminin, ayant subi
55 En revanche, on sait quen Italie les parents faisaient de leurs enfants des eunuques du fait
de la richesse et de la gloire que la carrire du chanteur pouvait leur rapporter.
56 Voir aussi Leclercq 1914: 359. Nous rappelons lexistence dtablissements semblables
(conservatoires-orphelinats) Naples ayant le mme but.
57 Voir Barbier 1989: 15 et Anders 1835: 91.
58 Lexistence dhommes psalmistes est incontestable.
lopration dans lenfance. Contrairement donc ce qui est communment

admis, nous pouvons conclure que les premiers croyants entendre la voix
de castrats glorifiant Dieu taient certainement ceux 59qui frquentaient les
glises situes aux confins de lempire romain dOrient.
Il y a assurment encore beaucoup faire au niveau de la recherche con
cernant les eunuques et la musique dans lempire byzantin. La question du
rapport des castrats avec la musique populaire et le thtre ainsi que celle des
sources tmoignant de lexistence des chantres castrs dans lempire byzantin
sont ouvertes. Le but de cet article tait de dpister lexistence, indiscutable,
des psalmistes60
castrs cette poque. Nous partageons donc lopinion que
Niel Moran exprime dans son article sur les castrats byzantins: la pos
sibilit dun lien direct entre les castrats byzantins et les castrati italiens dans
lItalie du Sud o il y avait des monastres hellnophones orthodoxes, est
tout fait forte et ouverte la discussion.
59 Nous navons pas de tmoignages accrditant lexistence de castrats musiciens en Russie,

le cas de Manuel mentionn plus haut mis part.
60 Moran 2002: 212.
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EIN LATEINISCHES KLAGELIED
BER DEN TOD DES DNISCHEN
KANZLEISCHREIBERS
ANDERS RENTESKRIVER
Von Thomas Haye
Summary: The Copenhagen manuscript KB, Ny kgl. S. 934, 4to, contains a hitherto un
known Latin poem in which an anonymous author of the early sixteenth century (perhaps a
member of the University of Copenhagen) laments over the royal clerk Anders Renteskriver
who was sentenced to death by the Danish king Hans (1481-1513) in the year 1494. This pa
per presents a critical edition and a historical evaluation of the text.
Die aus dnischer Provenienz stammende Papierhandschrift Ny kgl. S. 934,

4to der Kniglichen Bibliothek zu Kopenhagen besteht nur aus einem ein
zelnen Blatt, das im beginnenden 16. Jahrhundert beschrieben worden ist.1
Sie enthlt nur einen einzigen, poetischen Text, der hier in einer sauber aus
gefhrten sptgotischen Schrift auf der Recto- und der Verso-Seite eingetra
gen worden ist. Das in Strophen gegliederte Gedicht ist offenbar unikal
berliefert und bislang noch nicht ediert.
Die ersten Verse beginnen aufgrund einiger Anklnge an einen poeti
schen Natureingang wie ein Frhlingslied, doch werden sie vom anonymen
Autor sogleich politisch ausgedeutet. Der unbekannte Sprecher begrt die
neue Zeit. Denn diese bringe die Rache der armen Bevlkerung (1.2: vin
dicta pauperum). Der Schnee des Winters zieht sich allmhlich zurck und
lsst nun sichtbar werden, was zehn Jahre lang verborgen gewesen ist. Die
1 Beschreibung der Handschrift bei Ellen Jrgensen 1926. Catalogus Codicum Latinorum
Medii vi Bibliothecae Regiae Hafniensis. Kopenhagen: 406.
Thomas Haye Ein lateinisches Klagelied ber den Tod des dnischen Kanzleischreibers Anders Renteskriver C&M
62 (2011) 255-68. 2011 Museum Tusculanum Press www.mtp.dk www.au.dk/classica

256 thomas haye
erste Strophe endet mit einer przisen Datierung dieses zurckliegenden Er

eignisses: Genannt wird das Jahr 1494. Die zweite Strophe erzhlt davon,
dass in Kopenhagen drei Priester geteert, ins Gefngnis geworfen und gefol
tert werden, da sie offenbar die rmeren Bevlkerungsschichten zum Auf
stand aufgewiegelt haben. Die dritte Strophe berichtet von einem namenlo
sen Betrger, Dieb und Apostaten, der sich zum Sprecher des Klerus erho
ben hat. In der Folge, so der Dichter, werden Brger aus unterschiedlichen
Bevlkerungsgruppen gehenkt Arme ebenso wie Reiche. Gegen Ende der
Strophe entfernt sich der Bericht vom historischen Ereignis und geht in eine
grundstzliche moralisatio ber: Bei einem Volksaufstand gibt es keine Gna
de. Die vierte Strophe greift den belehrenden Ton auf: Die Ordnung der
Welt kennt zwar den gesellschaftlichen Aufstieg und ein armer Mann kann
durch Leistung die soziale Leiter emporklettern, doch wird es ihm nicht ge
lingen, seine niedere Herkunft abzustreifen. Die fnfte Strophe fhrt diesen
Gedanken ins Materielle: Wer private Schtze anhuft, begibt sich in Gefahr
und endet am Galgen. Dieser Erfahrungsgrundsatz scheint insbesondere fr
jene zu gelten, die sich um die Gunst des Hofes bemhen. In der sechsten
Strophe kehrt der Dichter zum konkreten historischen Ereignis zurck: Ein
Mann namens Jakob Korvup, der zu Unrecht des Diebstahls angeklagt wor
den ist, wird endlich freigelassen. Offenbar will (oder wollte) ihn ein jhzor
niger Gegner aufhngen lassen. Die siebte Strophe berichtet von einem na
menlosen jungen Mann, der durch seine verbrecherischen Taten zu groem
Ansehen gelangt ist. Die achte Strophe bietet ein Exempel aus der rmi
schen Geschichte: Kaiser Julianus (Apostata) war hochmtig und unter
drckte das christliche Schrifttum, doch am Ende starb er auf elende Weise.
Die neunte Strophe whlt ein biblisches Exempel: Der in die Jdin Ester
verliebte persische Knig Ahasver (Artaxerxes) wollte das gesamte jdische
Volk auslschen. Doch rechtzeitig zuvor wurde sein Gnstling Haman, der
fr diesen Plan verantwortlich war, zum Tode durch den Strang verurteilt,
so dass Esters Onkel Mordechai und alle Juden gerettet werden konnten.
Die zehnte und letzte Strophe wendet sich der zeitgenssischen Kirchen
geschichte Dnemarks zu: In ornithologischen Bildern berichtet sie ber das
schndliche Verhalten der Bischfe von Viborg, Ribe und Roskilde.
Der Text lsst sich dem Genre der politischen Lyrik zuordnen. Er behan
delt konkrete Vorflle der Geschichte Dnemarks und Kopenhagens und
wertet sie im Hinblick auf die Mglichkeiten des sozialen Aufstiegs aus.
Selbst ein armer Mensch von niederer Herkunft kann es durch den Erwerb

s i c a e62
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ein lateinisches klagelied 257
hfischer Gunst zu groem Ansehen und Reichtum bringen. Doch hierbei

luft er Gefahr, sich den Unmut seiner Gegner und Neider zuzuziehen.
Schon viele Mchtige sind gestrzt worden und haben ein schndliches En
de gefunden. Wer sich exponiert, geht das Risiko ein, unschuldig angeklagt,
eingekerkert und gehngt zu werden. Diese Moral wird im vorliegenden Fall
nicht nur durch historische Exempla belegt, sondern auch auf aktuelle Ge
schehnisse bezogen. Der Dichter nennt dabei einleitend das Jahr 1494 (1.7:
Hoc post millenos domini D sex minus annos). Da die berichteten Ereignisse
zumindest teilweise zehn Jahre zurckliegen (1.6: annos ante denos), ist das
Gedicht wohl 1503/1504 entstanden. Dabei werden die beiden Daten vom
Autor aufeinander bezogen: Die Ereignisse des Jahres 1503/1504 beleuchten
die Vorgnge des Jahres 1494 und lassen eine Wahrheit erkennen, die bis
lang unterdrckt worden ist. Worauf sich die zum Teil recht obskuren An
deutungen beziehen, erlutert in der Kopenhagener Handschrift ein kurzes
und narrativ verknapptes Nachwort: Hoc carmen respicit Andream scriptorem
quondam regis cancelari, et suspensus fuit etcetera immunis etcetera (fol. 1v).
Der hier genannte Knig muss wegen der im Text erfolgten Datierung
Hans I. sein (1481-1513 Knig von Dnemark, Norwegen und Schweden
sowie Herzog von Schleswig und Holstein). Kanzler und zugleich Bischof
von Roskilde war in den Jahren 1485-1500 Niels Skave. Bei dem genannten
Andreas handelt es sich zweifellos um den berhmten Anders Renteskri
ver.2 In Hans Regierungszeit beschftigte die knigliche Kanzlei mehrere
Sekretre und Schreiber, unter denen der renteskriver (Zinsschreiber) die
wichtigste Position darstellte. Die Mehrzahl der Kanzleimitarbeiter gehrte
dem Adel an, doch der genannte Anders war von brgerlicher und sogar
niederer, nicht-patrizischer Herkunft. Wie das von ihm ausgebte Amt
zeigt, stand er dennoch beim Knig in hohem Ansehen. Seiner Herkunft
zum Trotz pflegte er einen aufwndigen und quasi-adligen Lebensstil, den
ihm manche Zeitgenossen als Zeichen des Hochmuts auslegten. Im Jahre
1494 wurde Anders berraschend festgenommen und der Unterschlagung
bezichtigt. Im sog. Blauen Turm des Kopenhagener Schlosses unterzog man
ihn einem peinlichen Verhr. Zwar gab der Beschuldigte das Vergehen un
2 Vgl. F. Krarup 1895. Anders (Rentemester) in C.F. Bricka (ed.) Dansk biografisk Lexikon,
1. Kopenhagen: 216; Oluf Nielsen 1879. Kjbenhavns Historie og Beskrivelse, 2. Kopenha
gen: 48; Carl Bruun 1887. Kjbenhavn: En illustreret Skildring af dens Historie, Mindesmr
ker og Institutioner, 1. Kopenhagen: 80; vgl. Erik Kjersgaard & Johan Hvidtfeldt 1963.
Danmarks Historie, 5: De frste Oldenborgere 1448-1533. Kopenhagen: 107-8.
258 thomas haye
ter der Folter zu, doch hinterher widerrief er sein erzwungenes Gestndnis
sofort. Gleichwohl lie ihn Hans vor den Toren der Stadt hngen. Als der
Knig kurz darauf von einer tiefen Depression befallen wurde, wertete man
diese Krankheit in der Bevlkerung als Strafe Gottes: Anders sei unschuldig
gewesen, und nun qule sich Hans wegen des Fehlurteils.
Ob Anders tatschlich ohne Schuld war, ist bis heute umstritten (seine
adligen Gegner hatten zweifellos ein Interesse daran, ihn zu strzen). Der
Verfasser des Gedichts teilt jedenfalls diese Ansicht. Die im Text geuerte
Auffassung, dass die Mchtigen stets in der Gefahr des Sturzes schweben,
drfte durch einen zweiten Fall noch bestrkt worden sein, der sich kurze
Zeit spter ereignete: Am 22. Juni 1502 kam Poul Laxmand, seit 1489/1490
Reichshofmeister und einer der mchtigsten Adligen des Landes, vom Ko
penhagener Schloss, wo er mit dem Knig ber die Verhandlungen mit den
Schweden debattiert hatte.3 Auf der Hjbro wurde er von den beiden Adli
gen Ebbe Strangesen und Bjrn Andersen berfallen und tdlich verwundet.
Anschlieend warfen sie ihn in das Hafenbecken. Knig Hans zeigte sich ob
dieses Vorfalls in der ffentlichkeit schwer erschttert. Allerdings kam
schon bald das Gercht auf, er selbst sei der Auftraggeber des Anschlages
gewesen. Denn nicht nur blieben die beiden Mrder ungestraft; Hans lie
Laxmand postum wegen dessen Verhandlungen mit den Schweden sogar des
Hochverrats anklagen. Hierauf verurteilte ein Gericht, dem einige von Lax
mands hrtesten Gegner angehrten, den Toten und zog den gesamten Be
sitz seiner Familie ein. Wie im Falle des Anders Renteskriver, so war auch
hier in der Bevlkerung die Meinung verbreitet, Laxmand sei zu Unrecht
angeklagt und vom Knig auf tyrannische Weise beseitigt worden.4
Das Gedicht der Kopenhagener Handschrift ist ein bis zwei Jahre nach
diesem Ereignis entstanden. Da es 1503/1504 in Kopenhagen zu Unruhen,
Verhaftungen und Hinrichtungen gekommen zu sein scheint, erinnert sich
der Verfasser offenbar an Laxmands und in der Folge auch an Anders
Schicksal. Letzteres deutet er vor dem Hintergrund des sozialen Aufstiegs:
Ein Mann aus niedrigen Verhltnissen (4.5: degenerem) kann durch seine
eigene Leistung die Karriereleiter emporsteigen (4.6: Gradus ad virtutum),
3 Zu Laxmand vgl. A. Heise 1895. Laxmand, Poul in Dansk biografisk Lexikon, 10. Kopen
hagen: 154-57; Bruun 1887: 80-82; Nielsen 1879: 49.
4 Zur Parallelitt der beiden Schicksale vgl. Sune Dalgrd 2000. Poul Laxmands Sag: Dyk i
dansk historie omkring r 1500 (Det Kongelige Danske Videnskabernes Selskab. Historisk
filosofiske Meddelelser 79). Kopenhagen: 172-73; 204.

s i c a e62
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doch wird er am Ende gestrzt nmlich von den mchtigen Adligen des
Reiches, welche einen solchen homo novus nicht in ihrer Mitte dulden. Diese
Erkenntnis ist mit der aktuellen Politik des Knigs in Beziehung zu setzen:
Im Jahr 1503/1504 stammen nahezu alle amtierenden Bischfe aus dem dni
schen Hochadel.5 Hans hat sie gegen den ppstlichen Einfluss in ihre mter
befrdert und erhofft sich von ihnen eine Strkung seiner Position; zugleich
versucht er auf diese Weise, den sozialen Ehrgeiz des Adels zufriedenzustel
len. Auch in Laxmands Fall gehren die adligen Bischfe zu dessen wichtig
sten Gegnern. Wohl nicht zufllig uert sich der Dichter in seiner letzten
Strophe abfllig ber die drei Bischfe von Viborg, Ribe und Roskilde. Die-
se sind im Jahre 1503/1504 Niels Friis (1498-1508 Bischof von Viborg), Iver
Munk (1499-1539 Bischof von Ribe) und Johann Jepsen Ravensberg (1501
1512 Bischof von Roskilde und zugleich Kanzler). Letzterer drfte mit sei
nem Namen (dnisch ravn = Rabe) den Autor zu dem genannten ornitho
logischen Bild inspiriert haben.
hnlich wie mancher Satiriker,6 so bevorzugt offenbar auch der Verfasser
des vorliegenden politischen Liedes angesichts der mchtigen Elite, welche
Anders und Laxmand gestrzt hat, den Schutz der Anonymitt.7 Seine Iden
titt lsst sich nicht feststellen. Angesichts seiner im Text geuerten Mei
nungen entstammt er vermutlich nicht dem Adel und gehrt wohl auch
nicht der hheren Geistlichkeit an. Wie sich noch zeigen wird, ist es denk
bar, dass der Text im Milieu der 1479 gegrndeten Universitt von Kopen
hagen entstanden ist.8
Aus literaturwissenschaftlicher Perspektive stellt das Gedicht ein auer
gewhnliches Zeugnis dar. Der berlieferte Text ist in formaler Hinsicht fest
in der mittelalterlichen Dichtungstradition verankert.9 Jede seiner zehn
5 Vgl. Tore Nyberg 2003. Das religise Profil des Nordens in Matthias Asche & Anton
Schindling (ed.) Dnemark, Norwegen und Schweden im Zeitalter der Reformation und
Konfessionalisierung. Mnster: 245-310, hier 252-53.
6 Zu den mglichen Verfassern der Satiren vgl. Helga Schppert 1972. Kirchenkritik in der
lateinischen Lyrik des 12. und 13. Jahrhunderts. Mnchen: 20-28.
7 Auch der im Text angedeutete Konflikt zwischen Tugendadel und Geburtsadel verweist
auf das Genre der Verssatire.
8 Zur Universitt vgl. Peter Brask & Karsten Friis-Jensen (ed.) 1984. Dansk litteraturhistorie,
2: Lrdom og magi 1480-1620. Kopenhagen: 357-64.
9 Zur lateinischen Literatur in Dnemark vgl. einleitend: Minna Skafte Jensen 1995. Den
mark in dies. (ed.) A History of Nordic Neo-Latin Literature. Odense: 19-65, hier bes. 19
20; Jozef IJsewijn 1990. Companion to Neo-Latin Studies, 1: History and diffusion of Neo
260 thomas haye
Strophen besteht aus sieben Versen. Hiervon sind jeweils die ersten sechs
rhythmisch gestaltet und der siebte als Metrum. Dabei gruppieren sich die
ersten sechs zu zwei isomorphen Teilen, welche jeweils aus zwei steigenden
Siebensilblern und einem fallenden Sechssilbler bestehen (2 x 7pp + 6p). Die
sechs Verse sind endgereimt und ergeben das Reimschema aabccb.10 Den
Schlussvers bildet jeweils ein leoninischer Hexameter, welcher in der Mitte
und am Ende ebenfalls auf b reimt. Auf formaler Ebene steht das Gedicht
daher der sog. Vagantenstrophe cum auctoritate nahe, in der ein (der anti
ken oder mittelalterlichen Poesie entnommener) Hexameter oder Pentame
ter durch einen gemeinsamen Endreim mit drei vorhergehenden rhythmi
schen Versen (Vagantenzeilen: 7pp + 6p) verbunden wird.11 Gerade in Sati
ren, Rgeliedern und Invektiven ist diese dichterische Form im 12. und 13.
Jahrhundert hufig zu finden.
Auf die mittelalterliche Poesietradition verweist im vorliegenden Text
auch der jeweils letzte, metrische Vers der Strophen: Wie in der Vaganten
strophe cum auctoritate blich, bietet der abschlieende Hexameter jeweils
eine bilanzierende Moral und ist grundstzlich proverbial verwendbar (mit
Ausnahme der Strophen 1 und 9). Die letzten Verse prsentieren sich dabei
als lakonische Kommentare des Autors zu den berichteten zeitgeschicht
lichen und historischen Begebenheiten. Es ist auerordentlich interessant,
dass der Dichter die meisten der metrischen Verse (in den Strophen 2, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 10) der ltesten und berhmtesten Sprichwortsammlung Dnemarks
entnommen hat. Diese alphabetisch angeordnete Kollektion von knapp
1.200 lateinischen Sprichwrtern (mit dnischen bersetzungen) ist wohl in
der Mitte des 14. Jahrhunderts von einem Juristen namens Petrus Laale (Pe
der Lle) erstellt worden.12 Unbekannte Angehrige der Kopenhagener Uni-
Latin Literature. Second edition. Leuven: 263-68 u. 271-73.

10 Bei manchen der Reime handelt es sich lediglich um Assonanzen.
11 Vgl. Paul Gerhard Schmidt 1974. Das Zitat in der Vagantendichtung: Bakelfest und Va
gantenstrophe cum auctoritate Antike und Abendland 20, 74-87; Paul Klopsch 1972. Ein
fhrung in die mittellateinische Verslehre. Darmstadt: 33-34; Dag Norberg 1958. Intro
duction ltude de la versification latine mdivale (Studia Latina Stockholmiensia 5).
Stockholm: 189.
12 Vgl. einfhrend C. Weeke 1896. Laale, Peder in Dansk biografisk Lexikon, 10: 1; Ausga
ben: Rasmus Nyerup (ed.) 1828. Peder Lolles Samling af danske og latinske Ordsprog. Ko-
penhagen; Axel Kock & Carl af Petersens (ed.) 1889-1894. stnordiska och latinska Medel
tidsordsprk: Peder Lles ordsprk och en motsvarande svensk samling (Samfund til Udgivelse
af gammel nordisk Litteratur 20). Kopenhagen.

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versitt haben das Buch sodann im Jahre 1506 redigiert und erstmals zum
Druck befrdert.13 Im 15. und frhen 16. Jahrhundert wurde das Werk als
Lehrbuch in der Schule und an der Universitt verwendet.14 Das vorliegen
de Gedicht ber Anders Skriver ist ein ungewhnliches Zeugnis der Rezep
tion von Laales Sammlung. Denn vor der Ausgabe von 1506 lsst sich die
berlieferung der Sprichwortsammlung nur in einem einzigen, lediglich aus
zwei Blttern bestehenden Handschriftenfragment greifen, das in der Mitte
des 15. Jahrhunderts entstanden ist (KB Kop., NKS 813x, 4to).15 Der Verfas
ser des vorliegenden Klageliedes ist also der lteste nachweisbare Rezipient
der Laale-Sammlung. Dass diese gerade 1506 an der Universitt Kopenhagen
bearbeitet wird, knnte ein Indiz fr die Vermutung sein, dass der unbe
kannte Autor des hier edierten Gedichts ebenfalls der Universitt angehrt.
Wie die meisten Verfasser politischer Lyrik, so legt auch dieser Autor den
Schwerpunkt eher auf die inhaltliche denn auf die formale und stilistische
Gestaltung seines Textes. Eingezwngt in das Korsett des Reims, produziert
er grammatisch mitunter recht kryptische und (gemessen an den Normen
der klassischen Latinitt) wenig elegante Verse. Sie sind nicht durch die an
tik-paganen Klassiker geprgt, vielmehr dominiert die Sprache der Bibel.16
Die sehr saubere Schrift und klare Disposition des Textes auf dem einzel
nen Kopenhagener Blatt sowie dessen zeitgenssische Schrift knnten darauf
hindeuten, dass es sich um ein Autograph handelt. Die Strophenanfnge
13 Gedruckt von dem in Kopenhagen arbeitenden Niederlnder Gottfried von Ghemen, wie
das letzte Blatt der Ausgabe besagt: Anno milleno quingenteno quoque sexto / Haffnye per
quendam Gotfridum nomine Gemen. / Terminus huic libro condignus nunc tribuatur, /
Quem Petrus Laale composuisse fatur.
14 Vgl. das Vorwort (fol. 1v) der Ausgabe von 1506: hic liber satis utilis est et in scolis valde
communis, nunc vero per doctos viros in universitate Haffniensi diligenter correctus.
15 Vgl. Aage Hansen 1991. Om Peder Laales danske ordsprog. (Det Kongelige Danske Viden
skabernes Selskab. Historisk-filosofiske Meddelelser 62) Kopenhagen: 13-14.
16 Der Text ist auf sprachlicher Ebene vor allem durch die folgenden zwei Bibelstellen beein
flusst: Vulgata, 2 Cor 6.2-5: ait enim tempore accepto exaudivi te et in die salutis adiuvavi te
ecce nunc tempus acceptabile ecce nunc dies salutis / nemini dantes ullam offensionem ut non
vituperatur ministerium / sed in omnibus exhibeamus nosmet ipsos sicut Dei ministros in mul
ta patientia in tribulationibus in necessitatibus in angustiis / in plagis in carceribus in seditio
nibus in laboribus in vigiliis in ieiuniis. Ps 9.28-31: cuius maledictione os plenum est et ama
ritudine et dolo sub lingua eius labor et dolor / sedet in insidiis cum divitibus in occultis ut in
terficiat innocentem / oculi eius in pauperem respiciunt insidiatur in abscondito quasi leo in
spelunca sua insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem rapere pauperem dum adtrahit eum / in laqueo
suo humiliabit eum inclinabit se et cadet cum dominatus fuerit pauperum.
262 thomas haye
sind durch hervorgehobene und vergrerte Initialen klar markiert. Am En

de der Recto-Seite, d.h. innerhalb des Textes nach Strophe 8, liest man zu
dem die an den Leser gerichtete Regie-Anweisung: reverte folium. Die
freundliche Aufforderung ist von derselben Hand geschrieben worden wie
der Haupttext. Auch die dem Gedicht folgende historische Einordnung (fol.
1 v) ist von dieser Hand aufgezeichnet worden; allerdings zeigt der raffende
und verkrzende Stil ( et suspensus fuit etcetera immunis etcetera), dass es
sich hierbei nur um die verknappte Abschrift einer vollstndigeren Vorlage
handelt. Somit kann auch der Haupttext kein Autograph darstellen. Bei
manchen merkwrdigen Formulierungen im Gedicht darf man ferner an
nehmen, dass sie auf einem Fehler beim Abschreiben beruhen.
Trotz seines inhaltlich okkasionellen Charakters besitzt das Gedicht einen
hohen Wert als geschichtliche Quelle, da es die sozialen und politischen
Spannungen im Kopenhagen der Jahrhundertwende reflektiert. Auch als
literarisches Kunstwerk ist es nicht unbedeutend zumal wenn man berck
sichtigt, wie gering die Zahl der aus dem mittelalterlichen Dnemark ber
lieferten lateinischen Gedichte ist.17 Jeder neue Fund ist deshalb kostbar.
Hinsichtlich seiner formalen Gestaltung ruht der Text noch ganz in der Tra
dition des Sptmittelalters;18 humanistische Einflsse sind nicht erkennbar.
Als Reprsentant einer dezidiert politischen Lyrik, welche im Mittelalter
bekanntlich stets auf einem moralisierenden Konzept beruht, lsst sich das
Gedicht als ein ferner Nachfahr des 1223 verfassten Planctus de captivitate
regum Danorum und des 1329 komponierten Planctus de statu regni Daniae
auffassen.19 Zeitgenssische Parallelen scheinen hingegen zu fehlen; von der
ebenfalls um 1500 entstandenen, doch gnzlich unpolitischen Dichtung des
Morten Brup (1446-1526)20 ist der vorliegende Text inhaltlich weit ent
fernt.
17 Vgl. einfhrend Karsten Friis-Jensen 1993. Latin Language and Literature in Phillip Pul
siano (ed.) Medieval Scandinavia: An Encyclopedia. New York & London: 380-81.
18 Zur lateinischen Poesie des Sptmittelalters vgl. Oluf Friis 1945. Den Danske Litteraturs
Historie 1: Fra Oldtiden indtil Renssancen. Kopenhagen: hier insbes. 78-79; 153-55; 180-84.
19 Beide Texte ediert von A. Kragelund 1942. Dansk digtning paa Latin gennem syv aar
hundreder. Kopenhagen: 12-23; vgl. Friis 1945: 180.
20 Vgl. Friis 1945: 181-83; IJsewijn 1990: 263; Brups sog. Veris adventus ist ediert bei Kra
gelund 1942: 24f.

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EDITION
Die Graphie der Handschrift wird grundstzlich beibehalten, d.h. auch die
mitunter auftretenden und nicht ungewhnlichen Konsonantenverdoppe
lungen zu Beginn und in der Mitte einzelner Wrter (3.4: Ffortes; 3.5: inno
pes; 4.7: Dillige; 6.4: Ffelis; 8.7: Ffinem). Lediglich die Gro- und Klein
schreibung sowie die Interpunktion sind modernisiert. Zwischen u und v
wird differenziert. Abkrzungen sind aufgelst.
1
Ecce tempus prosperum
et vindictam pauperum,
ecce dies plenos!
Ecce nuper patuit,
quod sub nive latuit
annos ante denos,
hoc post millenos domini D sex minus annos.
2
Haffnis tres presbyteri,
prout verum repperi,
picem partim tangunt.
Mancipantur carceri.
Pati refert, miseri!,
Carmina sic clangunt.
Antra canes frangunt, captivi ve sibi plangunt.
3
Fidem fregit, ut puta,
pseudo fur apostata,
voce furens cleri.
Ffortes trudunt debiles,
pendent fures innopes,
dites et severi.
Dum surgunt miseri, nolunt miseris misereri.
264 thomas haye
4
Ordo rerum dictitat,
speciem quod variat
vir deaurans lutum.
Ymmo lavit laterem
vegetans degenerem
gradus ad virtutum.
Dillige versutum. Pete, ne tibi det retributum.
5
Multa qui sollicitat,
nescit, cui congregat:
frustra thezaurizat.
Non securus ambulat
nec gaudenter iubilat,
fune qui corizat.
Quilibet aulizat, ut ei favor intitulizat.
6
Tandem Korvup Iacobus
immunis squaloribus
furti liberatur.
Ffelis presipicio
innocens hoc vicio
quercu laqueatur.
Non iocus equatur: hic ridet, hic lacrimatur.
7
Vir quidam per scelera
exercens magnopera
velud flores ficus,
iuvenis aperuit,
tamquam nemo claruit,
cunctis ut amicus.
Ortus ut angelicus senio satanizat iniquus.

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t m e d i a e va l i a 6 2 2 0 1 1
8
Iulianus imperans
scripturam distolerans
gestit cor pomposum.
Cuius male moritur
corpus, eciam oritur
cornu venenosum.
Ffinem dampnosum capit omne supersticiosum.
9
Rex Assuerus sapiens
voluit, quod innocens
periret Iudeus.
Captus est Leviatan
et suspensus est Aman
seve mortis reus.
Hinc Mordocheus fit salvus et omnis Ebreus.
10
Wibergensis practicat,
quo Ripensis volitat.
Vos caudam fovete!
Roskyldensis volucris
se dat escam corvulis.
Bonum est: timete!
Currunt dispare re: canis ob panem, lepus ob se.
Hoc carmen respicit Andream scriptorem quondam regis cancelari, et
suspensus fuit etcetera immunis etcetera.
ANMERKUNGEN ZUM GEDICHT
1.1-3 ] Vgl. Vulgata, 2 Cor 6.2: ecce nunc tempus acceptabile ecce nunc dies
salutis.
1.1 Ecce tempus ] Vulgata, Ez 16.8.
266 thomas haye
1.2 vindictam pauperum ] Vielleicht eine ferne Erinnerung an Vulgata, Ps

9.31: et cadet cum dominatus fuerit pauperum.
1.4-5 ] Vgl. Walther, Proverbia 30544: Sub nive quod tegitur, cum nix perit,
omne videtur.
1.5 sub nive latuit ] Vgl. Ov. Fast. 2.72: ... sub nive terra latet.
2.2 verum repperi ] Macrob. Saturn. 7.13.8.
2.3 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Sir 13.1: qui tetigerit picem inquinabitur ab illa.
2.6 ] Vgl. Vulgata, 2 Par 13.12: et sacerdotes eius qui clangunt
2.7 ] So wrtlich im Laale-Druck von 1506, Nr. 44 (dieselbe Zhlung bei
Nyerup 1828 und Kock & Petersens 1889-1894); verzeichnet auch im Thesau
rus Proverbiorum medii aevi 6, 289, s.v. Hund, Nr. 1173.
2.7 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Ier 34.5: et vae domine plangent.
3.1-2 ] Anspielung auf Kaiser Julianus (Apostata), den rmischen Kaiser
360-363 n. Chr.; er versuchte, das Christentum zurckzudrngen, und ver
bat christlichen Lehrer, im Unterricht heidnische Texte zu behandeln (der
Name Apostata zuerst bei Augustinus, De civ. 5.21). Hier muss jedoch pri
mr der dnische Knig Hans gemeint sein; vgl. 8.1-6.
3.5 innopes ] = inopes.
3.7 ] Bei Laale nicht verzeichnet; nachgewiesen im Thesaurus Proverbiorum
Medii Aevi 8, 210, s.v. Arm, Nr. 638.
4.3 deaurans lutum ] lutum deaurare: Dreck vergolden, d.h. etwas Unnt
zes tun.
4.4 lavit ] Die Konjektur lavat liegt nahe, ist jedoch nicht zwingend not
wendig.
4.4 lavit laterem ] laterem lavare: etwas Unntzes und Vergebliches tun;
nachgewiesen im Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi 8, 131, s.v. Pflug, Nr.
55.
4.5 Vegetans ] Konj. Haye; vegetatans Hs.
4.5 degenerem ] degener = ein Mann von niederer Herkunft.
4.7 ] So hnlich im Laale-Druck von 1506, Nr. 1198 (Nyerup 1828) bzw.
1203 (Kock & Petersens 1889-1894): Zelans versutum, pete, ne tibi det retribu
tum.
5.1 Multa ] nach Korrektur.
5.2-3 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Ps 38, 7: sed et frustra conturbatur thesaurizat et
ignorat cui congregabit ea.
5.2-6 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Prv 21, 6: qui congregat thesauros lingua mendacii vanus
est et inpingetur ad laqueos mortis.

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5.2 cui ] zweisilbig zu lesen.

5.3 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Mt 6, 19: nolite thesaurizare vobis thesauros in terra.
5.4 securus ambulat ] hnliche lateinische Formulierungen nachgewiesen
im Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi Bd. 8, 200, s.v. Arm, Nr. 433-440.
5.6 fune qui corizat ] sc. am Galgen.
5.7 ] So hnlich im Laale-Druck von 1506, Nr. 889 (Nyerup 1828) bzw. 795
(Kock & Petersens 1889-1894) (dort eum statt ei); verzeichnet im Thesaurus
Proverbiorum Medii Aevi 8, 147, s.v. Hof, Nr. 92.
5.7 intitulizat ] nach Korrektur.
6.1 Korvup ] Korvvp mit doppeltem Krzungsstrich ber der letzten Silbe;
als Eigenname nicht eindeutig auflsbar. Angesichts der bei dnischen Na
men verbreiteten Endung up ist der erwhnte Krzungsstrich vermutlich
kein Nasalstrich (= Korvump).
6.2-6 ] Vgl. Ps 9.28-31: cuius maledictione os plenum est et amaritudine et dolo
sub lingua eius labor et dolor / sedet in insidiis cum divitibus in occultis ut inter
ficiat innocentem / oculi eius in pauperem respiciunt insidiatur in abscondito
quasi leo in spelunca sua insidiatur ut rapiat pauperem rapere pauperem dum
adtrahit eum / in laqueo suo humiliabit eum inclinabit se et cadet cum domina
tus fuerit pauperum.
6.4 presipicio ] = Ablativ von praecipitium.
6.5 innocens hoc ] Konj. Haye; innocentem Hs.
(Kock & Petersens 1889-1894) (dort hic ridet et hic); nachgewiesen im The
saurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi 11, 55, s.v. Spiel, Nr. 107.
7.2 magnopera ] = magna opera (wie magnalia); vgl. Ps 110.2 (magna opera).
7.3 ] Anspielung auf die Parthenogenese: Der genannte Mann vollbringt
seine Taten aus eigener Kraft.
(Kock & Petersens 1889-1894): Ortus sit angelicus, evo sathanizat iniquus.
Nachgewiesen z.B. auch bei Augusto Arthaber Dizionario comparato di
proverbi e modi proverbiali in sette lingue (Mailand 1989 / Ndr. 1995) Nr. 486
(Ortus angelicus, senio satanizat iniquus).
8.1-2 ] Kaiser Julianus; vgl. 3.1-2. Er stirbt auf einem Perserfeldzug durch
eine Speerwunde.
8.6 cornu ] Es verbietet sich hier die Konjektur cor, da dieses Wort bereits
in 8.3 verwendet wird.
268
(Kock & Petersens 1889-1894) (dort superciliosum statt supersticiosum); nach

gewiesen im Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi 8, 134, s.v. Hochmut, Nr.
178.
9.1-7 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Est 1-7.
9.4 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Iob 40.20: an extrahere poteris Leviathan hamo et fune
ligabis linguam eius. Hierzu die Glossa ordinaria: Sed hamo captus est
Leviathan ...
9.5 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Est 7.10: suspensus est itaque Aman in patibulo quod
paraverat Mardocheo
9.6 seve ] = saevae.
9.6 mortis reus ] Vgl. Vulgata, Mt 26.66: reus est mortis.
9.7 Ebreus ] korrigiert aus Iudeus.
10.1 Wibergensis ] Niels Friis (1498-1508 Bf. von Viborg).
10.2 quo ] Konj. Haye; quod Hs.
10.2 Ripensis ] Iver Munk (1499-1539 Bf. von Ribe).
10.3 fovete ] Konj. Haye; fovere Hs.
10.4 Roskyldensis ] Johann Jepsen Ravensberg (1501-1512 Bischof von Ros
kilde und zugleich Kanzler); volucris wohl wegen des Namens (dnisch ravn
= Rabe).
10.5 ] Vgl. Vulgata, Iob 38.41: quis praeparat corvo escam ...
10.7 ] So wrtlich im Laale-Druck von 1506, Nr. 210 (Nyrup und Kock &
Petersens 1889-1894); nachgewiesen im Thesaurus Proverbiorum Medii Aevi
6, 275, s.v. Hund, Nr. 916.
ANMERKUNGEN ZUR NACHSCHRIFT
cancelari ] = cancellarii; in der Hs. ist am Ende des Wortes ein s radiert; bei
Jrgensen 1926: 406 wird falsch gedruckt: cancellarium. Im Jahre 1494 war
Niels Skave Kanzler.
et suspensus fuit etcetera immunis etcetera ] unvollstndig.

LIST OF AUTHORS
Lrke Andersen
Absalonsgade 26, 1.
DK-5000 Odense C, Denmark
Guillaume Flamerie de Lachapelle

Universit de Bordeaux III
18, rue Berruer
F-33000 Bordeaux, France
Anna Foka
Ume Centre for Gender Studies (UCGS)
Ume University
SE-90187 Ume, Sweden
Andreas Fountoulakis
Faculty of Education
University of Crete
Panepistimioupoli Gallou
GR-74100 Rethymno, Greece
Ivar Gjrup
Viborgvej 4
DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
Thomas Haye
Zentrum fr Mittelalter- und Frhneuzeitforschung
Lehrstuhl fr Lateinische Philologie des Mittelalters und der Neuzeit
Universitt Gttingen
Humboldtallee 19
D-37073 Gttingen, Germany
270 list of authors
Howard Jacobson
Department of the Classics
4080 FLB, UIUC, Urbana, IL 61801, USA
Jesper Johansen Meisner

Valby Langgade 245, 1.tv.
DK-2500 Valby, Denmark
Konstantinos Melidis
Universit de Paris IV-Sorbonne
107, rue Bobillot
F-75013 Paris, France
Eleni Pachoumi
Department of Classics
Aristotle University of Thessaloniki
GR-54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
Eleni Papadogiannaki
University of Crete
Yanni Koutsochera 8 St.
GR-71409 Heraklion, Greece
Katerina Philippides
Department of Theatre Studies
University of Patras
GR-26500 Patras, Greece
Aslak Rostad
Skavlans veg 8B
N-7022 Trondheim, Norway
Giampiero Scafoglio
Seconda Universit degli Studi di Napoli
Via Manzoni 210 / D
I-80046 San Giorgio a Cremano (Napoli), Italy

s i c a e62
t m e d i a e va l i a 6 2 2 0 1 1
list of authors 271
Gianluca Ventrella
Universit de Nantes
8, rue Babonneau
F-44100 Nantes, France
Athanassios Vergados
Seminar fr Klassische Philologie
Ruprecht-Karls-Universitt Heidelberg
Marstallhof 2-4, Raum 219
D-69117 Heidelberg, Germany
Forthcoming
The Soul of Poetry Redefined
Vacillations of Mimesis from Aristotle to Romanticism
By Mats Malm
What is the soul of poetry? The most influential answer was probably suggested by Aris
totle, who in his Poetics regarded a particular instance of mimesis as constituting the soul of
poetry: the construction of plot which he called mimesis of action, or muthos. However, he
used mimesis in several different meanings without distinguishing clearly between them,
and through tradition it has been interpreted in many ways and translated into a number of
terms which do not always seem to have very much in common. The tremendous influence
of his Poetics and the concept of mimesis may in fact be due to this elusiveness.
This book sets out to clarify the notion of mimesis in the Aristotelian tradition by demon
strating how interpretations of Aristotles Poetics have vacillated between two particularly
dominating instances of mimesis. The vocabulary may be the same, but the definition of the
soul of poetry may differ substantially depending on which instance dominates at any given
time. Since Aristotles poetological categories were inspired by those of rhetoric, the study
begins with an analysis of Aristotles Poetics from a rhetorical point of view. Subsequent
chapters then study exemplary reinterpretations of the soul of poetry within the Aristotelian
tradition, from Averros and receptions in the Italian Renaissance and French classicism to
the influential launch of the Fine Arts by Charles Batteux and his German counterparts
in the 18th century, such as Schlegel. Concluding chapters apply the perspective on issues
concerning the aesthetics of the sublime, the symbol and the role of emotions in the system
of genres.
The Soul of Poetry Redefined is a significant contribution to, as well as continuation of, one
of the most prevalent debates within the reception history of Aristotles Poetics. The book is
important reading for anyone interested in tracing the influential concept of mimesis and
its variegated and often enriching permutations, from Aristotle to the Romantic period.
Mats Malmis Professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Gothenburg.
Exp. June 2012 Approx. 256 pp. Hardback 16 24 cm
ISBN 978-87-635-3742-1 DKK 250 $ 43 34
M USEU M T USCU L A N U M PR E SS
UNI V ER SIT Y OF COPENH AGEN
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tel. +4535329109 fax +4535329113 www.mtp.dk order@mtp.dk

INFORMATION FOR AUTHORS
Classica et Mediaevalia encourages scholarly contributions within the fields of

Greek and Latin languages and literature up to, and including, the late Middle
Ages as well as Graeco-Roman history and the classical influence in general history,
legal history, the history of philosophy and ecclesiastical history. General
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References should comply with the following conventions:
Monographs
Taplin, O. 1977. The Stagecraft of Aeschylus: The Dramatic Use of Exits and
Entrances in Greek Tragedy. Oxford.
Periodicals
Quincey, J.H. 1977. Textual Notes on Aeschylus Choephori RhM 120, 138-45.
Anthologies
Flashar, H. 1985. Auffhrungen von griechischen Dramen in der bersetzung von
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More detailed guidelines will be found on the C&M website:
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Forthcoming
Medieval Narratives between History and Fiction
From the Centre to the Periphery of Europe, c 11001400
Edited by Panagiotis A. Agapitos and Lars Boje Mortensen
The rise of literary fiction in medieval Europe has been a hotly debated topic among scholars
for at least two decades, but until now that debate has come with severe limitations, focus
ing on modern French and German romances of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Attempting to find common ground among scholars from various disciplines and regions,
Medieval Narratives between History and Fiction approaches the subject by including a wide
range of medieval narratives irrespective of their modern labels and affiliations to certain
disciplines.
The chapters collected here broaden the discussion by moving beyond the canonical French
and German romances, focusing mainly on texts in Greek, Latin and Old Norse (and also
some in Serbian), and by opting for a peripheral and a long-term view of the subject. The
chapters take us from Graeco-Roman antiquity to medieval France, then to the Scandina
vian lands and from there to south-eastern Europe and Byzantium as the link back to the
Graeco-Roman world. This disposition also follows a spiral motion in time, leading us from
antiquity to late antiquity and from the eleventh to the fifteenth century.
By expanding the linguistic as well as the geographical and chronological scope of the de
bate, the book shows that we should not think of a rise of fiction per se; rather, fiction
should be seen as a potential always imbued in and related to historical narratives and that
a modern understanding of medieval fiction cannot afford to disregard non-fictional or
non-vernacular writing.
Panagiotis A. Agapitos is Professor of Byzantine Literature at the University of Cyprus.
Lars Boje Mortensen is Professor of Ancient and Medieval Cultural History and Head of the Cen
tre for Medieval Literature at the University of Southern Denmark and was Prof II of Medieval
Latin at the Centre for Medieval Studies at the University of Bergen until 2011.
Exp. June 2012 Approx. 378 pp. Hardback 17 24.5 cm
ISBN 978-87-635-3809-1 DKK 440 $ 76 59
M USEU M T USCU L A N U M PR E SS ISBN 978 87 635 3915 9

UNI V ER SIT Y OF COPENH AGEN
126 Njalsgade DK2300 Copenhagen S
tel. +4535329109 fax +4535329113 www.mtp.dk order@mtp.dk
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Danish Journal of Philology and History

Tnnes Bekker-Nielsen Marianne Pade

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CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA VOL. 62

Tnnes Bekker-Nielsen (editor), University of Southern Denmark

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David Bloch, University of Copenhagen

Jesper Carlsen, University of Southern Denmark

Karsten Friis-Jensen, University of Copenhagen

Vincent Gabrielsen, University of Copenhagen

George Hinge, University of Aarhus

Birger Munk Olsen, formerly University of Copenhagen

Eva Cantarella, University of Milan

Kostas Buraselis, University of Athens

Thomas Corsten, University of Vienna

Stephen Harrison, University of Oxford

Thomas Haye, University of Gttingen

Outi Merisalo, University of Jyvskyl

Gregory Nagy, Harvard University

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Greg Woolf, University of St. Andrews

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CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA VOL. 62

Danish Journal of Philology and History

Tnnes Bekker-Nielsen Marianne Pade

David Bloch Jesper Carlsen Karsten Friis-Jensen

Vincent Gabrielsen George Hinge Birger Munk Olsen

CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA VOL. 62

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CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA VOL. 62

jesper johansen meisner

Wein, Weib und Gesang: On Catullus 27 153

guillaume flamerie de lachapelle

lidal monarchique dans les Troyennes de Snque 169

Dion Chrysostome (Or. 28) et la Paideia du prince 185

Historicity and Parody in Lucians Alexander 207

A Pun in Vespas Iudicium Coci et Pistoris 231

A propos du terme 233

des dnischen Kanzleischreibers Anders Renteskriver 255

list of authors 269

CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA c l asVOL.

FAWNS AND KINGFISHERS

the escapist approach whereas Sapphos narrator adopts a more accepting

THE GENDER OF THE NARRATOR

... [Seek?] the beautiful gifts of the violet-bosomed [muses?], children,

3 Gronewald & Daniel 2004: 2.

CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA c l asVOL.

fawns and kingfishers 7

ALCMANS KINGFISHER POEM

7 Bertman 1989: 165.

8 Falkner 1995: 92-93.

10 Podlecki 1984: 110.

CLASSICA ET MEDIAEVALIA c l asVOL.