Thebaid

Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 13 December 22, 2014 12:53 Thebaid jose´ b. torres-guerra In the Myth of Ages (Works and Days 156–73), Hesiod provides an overview of the age of heroes by making reference to two legendary tales: the Trojan War and the death at Thebes of the warlords who fought over ‘the flocks of Oedipus’ (163). The meaning of the expression used by Hesiod is ambiguous. Nevertheless, it is very unlikely that the Hesiodic version of the myth differs in any significant way from the established version prevalent in later times. In other words, it is likely that Hesiod’s reference to the ‘flocks’ of the king denotes his fortune – pecunia (mela) ¯ 1 – as the monarch of Thebes, which provoked the tragic conflict between his sons, Eteocles and Polynices. Various allusions are made to this saga in both the Iliad and the Odyssey, which offer a fragmentary account of the course of events that the Thebaid sets out to recount in greater detail.2 A detailed narrative of this legend is given in Ps.-Apollodorus’ Bibliotheca (3.5.7–3.7.1). When Oedipus relinquished the throne at Thebes (on his death or on leaving the country, as dramatized in Sophocles’ Oedipus at Colonus),3 his sons reached an agreement regarding their father’s inheritance: either Polynices took possession of the material goods (the robe and the necklace of Harmonia) while Eteocles claimed the royal title and dignity, or the two brothers would agree to alternate the throne of Thebes.4 Polynices arrives in Argos as an exile at the same time as Tydeus, and a fight breaks out between them. Adrastus, the king of Argos, is a witness to the scene and interprets it in terms of the prophecy that foretold he was to give his daughters’ (Argia and Deipyle) hands in marriage to a lion and a wild boar; the animals were depicted on the shields carried by Polynices and Tydeus, respectively. Adrastus decides to help Oedipus’ son win back his family’s throne. 1 2 3 4 See Cingano (1992b). See Il. 2.572, 4.370–410, 5.115–17, 5.800–8, 6.222–3, 10.284–91, 14.113–25, 23.345–7, 23.677–80, Od. 11.271–80, 11.326–7, 15.243–8; and Torres 1995a: 27–31, 65–7. The least common version of the story has Oedipus die as king of Thebes; this is the version presupposed in the Odyssey (11.275–6) and, perhaps, in the Iliad (23.677–80); see Torres (1995a: 34–7, 68). See Stesich. PMGF F 222 (b) 220–2; Hellanic. FgrHist 4 F 98; Eur. Phoen. 69–77; Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 3.6.1. 226 `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid Hay una coma insertada aquí 12:53 227 and organizes an expedition against Thebes, a campaign which is joined by seven warlords, to whom the literary tradition attributes a variety of names.5 A key, established member of the group is Amphiaraus, soothsayer and warrior, who takes part in the campaign against his will, pressured by his wife, Eriphyle, Adrastus’ sister. On the way to Thebes, the expedition halts in Nemea, where little Opheltes, son of the local king, dies when his wet-nurse Hypsipyle6 leaves him unprotected for a few moments to look after the outsiders. Ps.-Apollodorus (Bibl. 3.6.4) notes that Amphiaraus interpreted this event as a sign presaging the ignominious end of the campaign, which is why the child was renamed Archemorus, ‘he who brings about disgrace’. After instituting the games at Nemea in his honour, the expedition continues its march on Thebes, where the seven Argive champions join battle with seven Cadmean warlords at the city walls. Each pairing of warriors fights at one of the entryways to ‘Thebes, the city of seven gates’;7 and the fratricidal brothers face one another at the final gateway. In most cases, such struggles end with the death of the Argive aggressor; but the contest between Eteocles and Polynices ends in the death of both brothers. Amphiaraus, who had an oracular shrine at Oropus, on the border between Boeotia and Attica, disappears underground. King Adrastus, who strictly speaking was not one of the Seven, escapes on his horse Arion, and later arranges to bury his dead comrades, having been granted permission to do so by the Cadmeans. The narrative of events proceeds differently in different versions of the story. The tragic version, which was to become the canonical narrative because of Sophocles’ Antigone (442 BC), tells of the prohibition on burying Polynices, who was regarded as an enemy of his homeland, and of the conduct of his sisters, Antigone and Ismene. AUTHORSHIP Although fifth-century BC tragedy reflects the typical features of Theban legend as read from our contemporary perspective, its canonical status in the archaic period must have been due to the epic poems in the Theban Cycle, 5 6 7 Adrastus may or may not have been regarded as one of the Seven. The established members of the group are Polynices, Tydeus, Amphiaraus, Capaneus, Hippomedon and Parthenopeus. In some instances (depending on whether or not Adrastus is included), Eteoclus and Mecisteus may be also added to the list. The [x] question is discussed in detail by Cingano (2002). On Hypsipyle, a character in the saga of the Argonauts, see Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 1.9.17. See Il. 4.406, Od. 11.263. The set of seven gates and the company of seven leaders condition one another mutually. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 12:53 228 jose´ b. torres-guerra one of which is the Thebaid, a poem comprising 7,000 verses according to Coma insertada aqui the Contest of Homer and Hesiod,,8 and a text that encompasses the mythic account summarized in the preceding section above. The dating of this poem draws, above all, on the evidence that stems from testimonies and fragments. The first relevant testimony in this regard comes in Pausanias 9.9.5 (T 2 B = 1 D. = s. n. W.), where Callinus is said to have attributed the Thebaid to Homer, midway through the seventh century BC: ἐποιήθη δὲ ἐς τὸν πόλεμον τοῦτον καὶ ἔπη Θηβαΐς (Θηβαίοις MSS; corr. Hemsterhuys)· τὰ δὲ ἔπη ταῦτα Καλλῖνος (Καλαῖνος MSS; corr. Sylburg) ἀφικόμενος αὐτῶ ν ἐς μνήμην ἔφησεν ῞Ομηρον τὸν ποιήσαντα εἶναι, Καλλίνωι (Καλαίνωι MSS; corr. Sylburg) δὲ πολλοί τε καὶ ἄξιοι λόγου κατὰ ταὐτὰ ἔγνωσαν. There was also an epic composed about this war, the Thebaid. Callinus in referring to this epic said that Homer was its author, and many worthy critics have agreed with Callinus. However, the critical consensus nowadays is that Pausanias was articulating a personal interpretation of an elegy by Callinus, wherein the latter noted the ‘Homeric’ tone of some of the verses comprising the Thebaid; that Callinus could have explicitly cited the poem by title does not appear likely.9 The linguistic evidence reflected in the fragments could be significant if they contained innovative features that might function as termini post quos. While there are no indisputable linguistic innovations in the twenty extant verses, it may be true to say that the repetition of possibly post-Homeric features suggests that the written text of the Thebaid postdates the Iliad and the Odyssey.10 Another factor that may be of interest in this regard is the consistency with which the Thebaid has been attributed to Homer,11 a circumstance that might imply an acknowledgment of the poem’s antiquity. The repeated attribution of the Thebaid to Homer certainly implies a value judgement,12 an affirmative statement expressed in explicit terms in Pausanias 9.9.5 (T 2 B = 1 D. = s. n. W.), where the latter offers his opinion that the Thebaid is the third best epic poem, after the Iliad and the Odyssey. 8 9 10 12 See PEG T 4 = 2 D. = F 1 W. It is also striking that an epic poem recounting the expedition of seven leaders should comprise seven thousand verses. On the Contest of Homer and Hesiod, see also Nagy, above in this volume, pp. 000–0. This is the explanation offered by Davison (1968: 81–2), who concurs with e.g. West (1999: 377). 11 See Torres (1998). See Davies (1989b). On the use of the name ‘Homer’ as a ‘quality seal’, see Schwartz (1940). `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid Given the text’s literary status, it is a pity our knowledge of the poem is so fragmentary. Bernabé collated eight testimonies and eleven fragments comprising twenty-one hexameters under the title Thebaid; Davies included four testimonies, nine fragments, sixteen verses; and West’s edition comprises three testimonies and eleven fragments (twenty-two hexameters).13 Moreover, the Thebaid also lacks the kind of summary transmitted by Proclus for the Trojan Cycle. Our knowledge of the poem’s contents is wholly based on these fragments, although this may be complemented by careful reference to other literary texts and iconography. FRAGMENTS F 1: PEG F 1 = D., W., from the Certamen Homeri et Hesiodi 15 [42 Wilamowitz]14 ὁ δὲ ῞Ομηρος ἀποτυχὼν τῆς νίκης περιερχόμενος ἔλεγε τὰ ποιήματα, πρῶτον μὲν τὴν Θηβαΐδα, ἔπη ͵ζ, ἧς ἡ ἀρχή· ῎Αργος ἄειδε, θεά, πολυδίψιον, ἔνθεν ἄνακτες. Homer, after his defeat in the contest, went about reciting his poems: firstly the Thebaid (7,000 lines), which begins: ‘Sing, goddess, of thirsty Argos, from where the lords.’ The first fragment of the Thebaid, which consists of a single verse (‘Sing, goddess, of thirsty Argos, from where the lords . . . ’), frames the subject matter of the poem from the Argive perspective. This viewpoint is retained in all the extant fragments except for the two longest literal ones (2 and 3). There is a noticeable similarity between this verse and the first line in the Iliad: ‘Sing, goddess, of the wrath of Achilles, Peleus’ son’; but this does not need to imply a direct relation between the two poems as this group of words (‘Sing, goddess, of . . . ’) may be a formulaic beginning. F 2: PEG F 2 = D., W., from Athenaeus 11.465e ὁ δὲ Οἰδίπους δι’ ἐκπώματα τοῖς υἱοῖς κατηράσατο, ὡς ὁ τὴν κυκλικὴν Θηβαΐδα πεποιηκώς φησιν, ὅτι αὐτῶι παρέθηκαν ἔκπωμα, ὃ ἀπηγορεύκει, λέγων οὕτως· 13 14 See Bernabé (1996); Davies (1988); West (2003a)). There is a clear consensus concerning the order of the three first fragments of the Thebaid. The situation is very different in relation with the rest. 229 12:53 Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 230 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra αὐτὰρ ὁ διογενὴς ἥρως ξανθὸς Πολυνείκης πρῶτα μὲν Οἰδιπόδηι καλὴν παρέθηκε τράπεζαν ἀργυρέην Κάδμοιο θεόφρονος· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα χρύσεον ἔμπλησεν καλὸν δέπας ἡδέος οἴνου. αὐτὰρ ὅ γ’ ὡς φράσθη παρακείμενα πατρὸς ἑοῖο τιμήεντα γέρα, μέγα οἱ κακὸν ἔμπεσε θυμῶι, αἶψα δὲ παισὶν ἑοῖσι μετ’ ἀμφοτέροισιν ἐπαράς ἀργαλέας ἠρᾶτο, θεὰν δ’ οὐ λάνθαν’ ᾿Ερινύν), ὡς οὔ οἱ πατρώϊ’ ἐνηέι <ἐν> φιλότητι δάσσαιντ’, ἀμφοτέροισι δ’ αἰεὶ πόλεμοί τε μάχαι τε . . . Oedipus cursed his sons on account of cups, as the author of the Cyclic Thebaid says, because they set before him a cup that he had forbidden. These are his words: ‘But the highborn hero, flaxen-haired Polynices, firstly set beside Oedipus the fine silver table of Cadmus the godly; then he filled his fine gold cup with sweet wine. But when he became aware that his fathers precious treasures had been set beside him, some great evil invaded his heart, and at once he laid dreadful curses on both his sons, which the divine Erinys did not fail to note: that they should not divide their patrimony in friendship, but the two of them ever in battle and strife . . . ’ Fragments 2 and 3 recount the curses Oedipus issued against his sons. In fragment 2, Oedipus is angered when Polynices presents him with the table and cup of Cadmus that had belonged to Laius (an intentional evocation of the patricide he had committed). Oedipus prays to the Erinys that his two sons fail to divide his inheritance peacefully and that ‘the two of them ever [be] in battle and strife’ (2.10). It is clear that the first curse anticipates the ensuing quarrel between the two brothers. It is remarkable that Oedipus has not left Thebes after the disclosure of his crime, as in the version modern readers are acquainted with (cf. n. 3). The neutral verbal expression of line 5 (autar ho g’ hos ¯ phrasthe ¯ . . . ‘But when he became aware . . . ’) is vague with respect to whether Oedipus has blinded himself, as in Sophocles’ OT that represents the best-known version.15 But it seems more logical that he is already blind and no longer king of Thebes, 15 He is still the king in the Odyssey (11.275–6), so it is more probable that he was not regarded as blind in this poem; see Σ ad loc. The first explicit mention of a blind Oedipus is not to be found [x] until Aesch. Sept. 783–4. On the possibility that Oedipus is blind in the Thebaid, see also Cingano, above in this volume, p. 000. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 231 since it would have been strange if his sons had angered an Oedipus who can still see, an Oedipus who rules over Thebes. F 3: PEG F 3 = D., W., from Σ Soph. Oed. Col. 1375 [54 De Marco] οἱ περὶ ᾿Ετεοκλέα καὶ Πολυνείκην δι’ ἔθους ἔχοντες τῷ πατρὶ Οἰδίποδι πέμπειν ἐξ ἑκάστου ἱερείου μοῖραν τὸν ὦμον, ἐκλαθόμενοί ποτε, εἴτε κατὰ ῥᾳστώνην εἴτε ἐξ ὁτουοῦν, ἰσχίον αὐτῶι ἔπεμψαν · ὁ δὲ μικροψύχως καὶ τελέως ἀγεννῶς, ὅμως γοῦν ἀρὰς ἔθετο κατ’ αὐτῶν, δόξας κατολιγωρεῖσθαι. ταῦτα ὁ τὴν κυκλικὴν Θηβαΐδα ποιήσας ἱστορεῖ οὕτως· ‘ἰσχίον ὡς ἐνόησε χαμαὶ βάλεν, εἶπέ τε μῦθον· ὤ μοι ἐγώ, παῖδες μὲν ὀνειδείοντες ἔπεμψαν . . . ’ ∗ εὖκτο δὲ Δὶ βασιλῆι καὶ ἄλλοις ἀθανάτοισι χερσὶν ὑπ’ ἀλλήλων καταβήμεναι ῎Αιδος εἴσω. Eteocles and Polynices, who customarily sent their father Oedipus the shoulder as his portion from every sacrificial animal, omitted to do so on one occasion, whether from simple negligence or for whatever reason, and sent him a haunch. He, in a mean and thoroughly ignoble spirit, but all the same, laid curses on them, considering he was being slighted. The author of the Cyclic Thebaid records this as follows: ‘When he realized it was a haunch, he threw it to the ground and said, “Oh, my sons have insultingly sent . . . ”’ ∗ He prayed to Zeus the king and to the other immortals that they should go down into Hades’ house at each other’s hands. Fragment 3 intensifies the curse: on realizing16 that Eteocles and Polynices had given him the thigh of the sacrificial animal, rather than the shoulderblade as custom commanded, and perhaps in a veiled reference to the king’s incestuous relationship with his mother,17 Oedipus calls directly for the reciprocal death of his young sons (‘They should go down into Hades’ house at each other’s hands’, F 3.4); if fragment 2 had anticipated the war 16 17 A neutral ‘realized’ seems to be the best translation for ischion hos ¯ enoēse . . . (3.2). PEG F 3 (= D., W.) was parodied by a paratragic text where Oedipus is decidedly blind (see TrGF adesp. 458.7, 10, and Cingano, above in this volume, p. 000). This interpretation was proposed by Santiago (1981: 24–5). The situation is different in the view of Cingano (2004b: 274–7), who thinks Oedipus is still the king of Thebes in the Thebaid; because his sons do not fulfil their ritual duties towards him, he believes they want to undermine his royal power and consequently curses them in anger. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 232 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra between the two brothers, this new text and curse anticipate their [x] death at each others’ hands. It is noteworthy that this fragment (as was also the case with fragment 2) has the nature of a summary. Fragment 3 contains the only extant example of direct speech in the Thebaid, the only verse that presents Oedipus’ curse in literal terms: ‘Oh, my sons have insultingly sent . . . ’ It is important to remember that the summarizing dimension of these fragments has prompted a number of scholars to conclude that the Thebaid was lacking in dramatic development, as would also appear to be the case with the Trojan Cycle as reflected in Proclus’ summaries.18 Nevertheless, an alternative conclusion might also be reached: in a poem that opens from an Argive perspective (‘of thirsty Argos, from where the lords . . . ’, F 1), the curses may function as flashbacks in a narrative voiced by one of the characters. It could be even said, in narratological terms, that both curses were analepses inside a speech, including themselves as prolepses concerning the future development of events.19 F 4: PEG F 5 = F 8 D. = F 5 W., from Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 1.8.4 ᾿Αλθαίας δὲ ἀποθανούσης ἔγημεν Οἰνεὺς Περίβοιαν τὴν ῾Ιππονίου, ταύτην δὲ ὁ μὲν γράψας τὴν Θηβαΐδα πολεμηθείσης ᾿Ωλένου λέγει λαβεῖν Οἰνέα γέρας· ῾Ησίοδος δὲ . . . ἐγεννήθη δὲ ἐκ ταύτης Οἰνεῖ Τυδεύς. When Althaea died, Oeneus married Periboia the daughter of Hipponoos. The writer of the Thebaid says that Oeneus got her as a prize from the sack of Olenos, whereas Hesiod says . . . from her Tydeus was born to Oeneus. A number of the fragments that have been handed down provide decontextualized information about different aggressors against Thebes, for example, about Tydeus, one of Adrastus’ sons-in-law, who is mentioned in two of the extant fragments. The first alludes to a point of the story prior to his arrival in Argos and the war against Eteocles and Thebes, his genealogy. In the Thebaid (via Ps.-Apollodorus),20 his father Oeneus received Periboea, future mother of the hero, as [x] war booty after capturing the city of Olenos. The version attested in the Thebaid is only one among the four 18 19 20 See Griffin (1977: 49–50); Davies (1989a: 25–6). For flashbacks included in direct speeches, see the case of the Cypria as recounted in Proclus’ summary, in which Nestor tells Menelaus the stories about Epopeus, the madness of Heracles, and Theseus and Ariadne (lines 114–17 Severyns). Ps.-Apollod. 1.8.4: ‘The writer of the Thebaid says . . . ’. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 233 possibilities Ps.-Apollodorus mentions.21 This is also the only attested version in which Tydeus is the son of a slave woman; it is not known if this feature [x] played any role in the poem. F 5: PEG F 6 = F 4 D. = F 10 W., from Pausanias 9.18.6 καὶ ὁ ᾿Ασφόδικος οὗτος ἀπέκτεινεν ἐν τῆι μάχηι τῆι πρὸς ᾿Αργείους Παρθενοπαῖον τὸν Ταλαοῦ, καθὰ οἱ Θηβαῖοι λέγουσιν, ἐπεὶ τά γε ἐν Θηβαΐδι ἔπη τὰ ἐς τὴν Παρθενοπαίου τελευτὴν Περικλύμενον τὸν ἀνελόντα φησὶν εἶναι. And this Asphodicus in the battle against the Argives killed Parthenopaeus the son of Talaos, according to what the Thebans say; the verses about Parthenopaeus’ death in the Thebaid make Periclymenus the one who slew him. The following fragment is also directly ascribed to the Thebaid 22 and refers to its decisive battle. In this fragment we are told that the hero Parthenopeus died at the hands of Periclimenus in the Cyclic poem and not at the hands of Asphodicus, as the Thebans would have it.23 Although there are no other fragments referring to him, Periclimenus, Parthenopeus’ killer, may have played a role in the archaic versions of the legend, perhaps also in the Thebaid, as the lover of Ismene, the shy sister of Antigone in Sophocles. Such is the version of the story attested in Mimnermus and Pherecydes of Athens24 and in black-figure ceramics.25 F 6: PEG F 9 = F 5 D. = F 9∗ W., from Σ ABDLTGen Il. 5.126 [ii.63 Nicole)]26 Τυδεὺς ὁ Οἰνέως ἐν τῶι θηβαϊκῶι πολέμωι ὑπὸ Μελανίππου τοῦ ᾿Αστακοῦ ἐτρώθη, ᾿Αμφιάρεως δὲ κτείνας τὸν Μελάνιππον τὴν κεφαλὴν ἐκόμισεν, καὶ ἀνοίξας αὐτὴν Τυδεὺς τὸν ἐγκέφαλον ἐρρόφει ἀπὸ θυμοῦ. ᾿Αθηνᾶ δέ, κομίζουσα Τυδεῖ ἀθανασίαν, ἰδοῦσα τὸ μίασμα ἀπεστράφη αὐτόν. Τυδεὺς δὲ γνοὺς ἐδεήθη τῆς θεοῦ ἵνα κἂν τῶι παιδὶ αὐτοῦ παράσχηι τὴν ἀθανασίαν. 21 22 23 24 25 26 He mentions afterwards ‘Hesiod’ (F 12), Peisander (FgrHist 16 F 1) and an anonymous version. Paus. 9.18.6: ‘The verses . . . in the Thebaid . . . ’. See Paus. 9.18.6: ‘This Asphodicus in the battle against the Argives killed Parthenopaeus the son of Talaus, according to what the Thebans say.’ See Mimn. F 21 W.; Pher. FgrHist 3 F 95. See Mimn. F 21 W.; Pher. FgrHist 3 F 95. Two ceramic pieces (LIMC, Ismene 3 and 4; 575–550 BC) depict Ismene sharing a conjugal bed with Periclimenus. Tydeus discovers them together and moves to kill the young woman, while her lover escapes. See also Σ AbT Il. 5.126; Σ Lycophr. 1066; Tzetzes ad loc.; Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 3.6.8. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 234 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra Tydeus the son of Oineus in the Theban war was wounded by Melanippus the son of Astacus. Amphiaraus killed Melanippus and brought back his head, which Tydeus split open and gobbled the brain in a passion. When Athena, who was bringing Tydeus immortality, saw the horror, she turned away from him. Tydeus on realizing this begged the goddess at least to bestow the immortality on his son. This fragment is marked by its gruesome content. According to the most common version, Tydeus was fatally wounded during his combat with his Cadmean opponent, Melanippus, who was slain in turn by Amphiaraus;27 when Amphiaraus presented Melanippus’ decapitated head to his dying comrade, Tydeus’ reaction was brutal: he cut the skull in two and sucked out the brains.28 Such an act of hybris did not escape the notice of Athena, protector of Tydeus according to tradition, who had just offered Tydeus the gift of immortality. The goddess withdrew the gift and Tydeus asked that the gift be granted someday to his son Diomedes.29 This fragment illustrates a difficulty sometimes evinced by the evidence of the Thebaid. Although we may assume this episode was narrated in the poem, the truth is that only one of five testimonies cited by Bernabe´ in support of the fragment claims that ‘the story is in the Cycle writers’, and makes no explicit reference to the Thebaid. West (2003a: 50–3) regards the fragment as doubtful for this very reason. F 7: PEG F 7 = F 6 a D. = F 11 W., from Pausanias 8.25.7–8 Ποσειδῶν ἐρασθεὶς ᾿Ερινύος, μεταβαλὼν τὴν αὐτοῦ φύσιν εἰς ἵππον, ἐμίγη κατὰ Βοιωτίαν παρὰ τῆι Τιλφούσηι κρήνηι. ἡ δὲ ἔγκυος γενομένη, ἵππον ἐγέννησεν, ὃς διὰ τὸ κρατιστεύειν, ᾿Αρείων ἐκλήθη. Κοπρεὺς δ’ ῾Αλιάρτου βασιλεύων πόλεως Βοιωτίας, ἔλαβε δῶρον αὐτὸν παρὰ Ποσειδῶνος, οὗτος δὲ αὐτὸν ῾Ηρακλεῖ ἐχαρίσατο, γενομένωι παρ’ αὐτῶι. τούτῳ δὲ διαγωνισάμενος ῾Ηρακλῆς πρὸς Κύκνον ῎Αρεος υἱὸν καθ’ ἱπποδρομίαν, ἐνίκησεν ἐν τῶι τοῦ Παγασαίου ᾿Απόλλωνος ἱερῶι, ὅ ἐστι πρὸς Τροιζῆνι. εἶθ’ ὕστερον αὖθις ὁ ῾Ηρακλῆς, ᾿Αδράστωι τὸν πῶλον παρέσχεν, ἐφ’ οὗ μόνος ὁ ῎Αδραστος ἐκ τοῦ Θηβαϊκοῦ πολέμου διεσώθη, τῶν ἄλλων ἀπολομένων. ἡ ἱστορία παρὰ τοῖς κυκλικοῖς. 27 28 29 According to Ps.-Apollodorus (Bibl. 3.6.8), Amphiaraus offered Tydeus the head of Melanippus presupposing his impious reaction. Cingano (1987: 98–9) proposed that Ps.-Apollodorus could have taken this feature from Stesichorus’ Eriphyle. This scene is also noteworthy because stories in which men or women deliberately eat human flesh are very rare in Greek myths and legends; Tereus and Thyestes were cannibals unawares. Ibycus spoke about the divinization of Diomedes; see Ibyc. PMGF F 294. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 235 Poseidon fell in love with Erinys, and changing his form into a horse he had intercourse with her by the fountain Tilphousa in Boeotia. She conceived and gave birth to a horse, which was called Arion because of its supremacy. Copreus, who was king at Haliartus, a town in Boeotia, received him from Poseidon as a gift. He gave him to Heracles when the latter stayed with him. Heracles used him to compete against Ares’ son Cycnus in a horse race at the shrine of Pagasaean Apollo, which is near Troezen, and won. Then Heracles gave the foal in turn to Adrastus, and thanks to him Adrastus alone was saved from the Theban war when all the others perished. The story is in the Cyclic poets. The decisive battle finished with the defeat of the Argives at Thebes. Following this scene, Adrastus succeeded in leaving the battle-scene30 with the help of his prodigious horse Arion.31 Fragment 7 (numeration by Torres), consisting of a single verse (‘his clothes in sorry state, with Arion the sable-haired’), refers to this escape. When Pausanias cites it, he is speaking about Arion who, according to him, was born to Poseidon and Demeter in Thelpousa (Arcadia).32 The verse calls the horse κυανοχαίτῃ (‘sable-haired’) and, as Pausanias indicates, this reminds us that Poseidon is his father, since the epithet is used for him both in Iliad and Odyssey.33 The mention of the torn garments Adrastus wears puts [x] the disaster of the Argive warlords directly before the public.34 F 8: PEG F 8 = F 6 b + 6 c D. = F 11 W., from Σ ABDGen Il. 23.346 [ii.259–60 Dindorf]35 τὴν δὲ Δήμητρα τεκεῖν φασιν ἐκ τοὺ Ποσειδῶνος θυγατέρα . . . καὶ ἵππον τὸν ᾿Αρίονα . . . ἐπάγονται δὲ ἐξ ᾿Ιλιάδος ἔπη καὶ ἐκ Θηβαΐδος μαρτύριά σφισιν εἶναι τοῦ λόγου, ἐν μὲν ᾿Ιλιάδι (23.346–7) ἐς αὐτὸν ᾿Αρίονα πεποιῆσθαι· . . . ἐν δὲ τῆι Θηβαΐδι ὡς ῎Αδραστος ἔφευγεν ἐκ Θηβῶν 30 31 32 33 34 35 ∗ He must have fled and come back later to pronounce his funeral speech (see F 9 and F 12 numeration by Torres). Another interpretation is to be found in Cingano (2005b: 142–3, 150–1). Statius (Theb.11.442) [x] even says that Arion could speak, which reminds us of the speech of Xanthus in the Iliad (19.404–17). In relation with the genealogy of Arion, see F 8 (numeration by Torres). For this epithet in epic poetry, see Cingano (2005b: 142). For the relation of Poseidon with horses, see Burkert (2011: 215). Beck (2001) has proposed to read not εἵματα λυγρά (‘clothes in sorry state’) but σήματα λυγρά (‘bearing the sad symbols’). This would refer to the tokens the Argive warriors should have attached to Adrastus’ chariot as souvenirs for their families; see Aesch. Sept. 49–51, Cingano (2005b: 143–4) and, for the iconography, Krauskopf (1981a: 238). See also Σ T Il. 23.347, and Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 3.6.8. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 236 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra ‘εἵματα λυγρὰ φέρων σὺν ᾿Αρίονι κυανοχαίτηι’. αἰνίσσεσθαι οὖν ἐθέλουσι τὰ ἔπη Ποσειδῶνα ᾿Αρίονι εἶναι πατέρα. They say that Demeter bore a daughter by Poseidon . . . and the horse Arion . . . And they adduce verses from the Iliad and from the Thebaid as evidence of their tale, saying that in the Iliad it is written of Arion himself . . . and in the Thebaid that Adrastus fled from Thebes, ‘his clothes in sorry state, with Arion the sablehaired’. So they want the verse to hint that Poseidon was father to Arion. Fragment 8 also refers to Arion’s genealogy, but [x] offers a different version. According to this scholium, the horse had Erinys as its mother.36 And he was not born in Thelpousa (Arcadia) but near the Tilphousa spring, in Boeotia. We do not know with certainty which version was followed by the Thebaid. Indeed, we do not even know if the transmitted notice refers to the epic poem we are dealing with. Once again (as in F 6, numeration by Torres), the source only says that ‘the story is in the Cyclic poets’. F 9: PEG F 10 = F 7 D. = F 6 W., from Σ Pind. Ol. 6.15–17 (ἑπτὰ δ’ ἔπειτα πυρᾶι νεκρῶν τελεσθέντων Ταλαϊονίδας | εἶπεν ἐν Θήβαισι τοιοῦτόν τι ἔπος· ‘ποθέω στρατιᾶς ὀφθαλμὸν ἐμᾶς, | ἀμφότερον μάντίν τ’ ἀγαθὸν καὶ δουρὶ μάρνασθαι’ , ‘after the seven dead were hallowed on the pyre, the son of Talaos at Thebes said something like this: “I miss my army’s seeing eye, both a good seer and good at fighting with the spear”’). Σ: ὁ ᾿Ασκληπιάδης φησὶ ταῦτα εἰληφέναι ἐκ τῆς κυκλικῆς Θηβαΐδος· ‘ἀμφότερον μάντίς τ’ ἀγαθὸς καὶ δουρὶ μάχεσθαι’. Asclepiades (of Myrlea) says Pindar has taken this from the Cyclic Thebaid: ‘(Amphiaraus), both a good seer and good at fighting with the spear’. This fragment comes from a scholium to Pindar’s Olympians. The text of the Boeotian poet refers to the incineration in Thebes of the Argive champions after their defeat. Pindar also speaks of the speech pronounced in this occasion by Adrastus, who longed for the body of Amphiaraus,37 ‘both a good seer and good at fighting with the spear’. The scholium to this passage says that, according to Asclepiades (of Myrlea),38 Pindar had taken these 36 37 38 Pausanias (8.25.4) also says that Demeter was called Erinys among the Telphousians. He had disappeared under the earth, as previously explained. Probably from Myrlea; see PEG p. 28, and Wentzel (1896). `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 237 words ‘from the Cyclic Thebaid’. According to tradition, Adrastus’ skills in oratory (cf. F 12∗ numeration by Torres)39 were certainly best displayed in the recovery of the bodies and the funeral for the Argive warlords who were killed at Thebes. His praise of Amphiaraus contained in this fragment must have found its proper place in this context. It is important to take into account that Amphiaraus, who had already appeared in F 6 (numeration by Torres), is the most frequently cited character in the extant fragments.40 Although some of these fragments are dubious, a range of circumstances suggest that Amphiaraus must have played a special role in the poem. Fragment 9 (numeration by Torres), which describes him as a good fortune-teller and warrior, may be also seen as a special adaptation of the heroic ideal proclaimed in the Iliad by Phoenix (‘speak and carry out great actions’, Il. 9.443)41 to the special case of a soothsayer. F 10∗ : PEG F 4 = Homerus 3 D. = F 8∗ W., from Antigonus Carystius, Hist. Mir. 25 (46 Giannini) + Zenobius 1.24 (1.7 Leutsch-Schneidewinn)42 πουλύποδός μοι, τέκνον, ἔχων νόον, ᾿Αμφίλοχ’ ἥρως, τοῖσιν ἐφαρμόζειν, τῶν κεν κατὰ δῆμον ἵκηαι, ἄλλοτε δ’ ἀλλοῖος τελέθειν καὶ χροιῆι ἕπεσθαι. Pray hold to the octopus’ outlook, Amphilochus my son, and adapt it to whatever people you come among; be changeable, and go along with the color. See also, for lines 1–2, Ath. 317a ὁμοίως ἱστορεῖ καὶ Κλέαρχος, ἐν δευτέρωι περὶ παροιμιῶν (fr. 75 Wehrli) παρατιθέμενος τάδε τὰ ἔπη, οὐ δηλῶν ὅτου ἐστί· ‘πουλύποδός – ἵκηαι’ (‘Clearchus records likewise in the second book of his work On Proverbs, quoting these verses without declaring whose they are: “Pray hold – come among”’). Antig. Caryst. Mirab. 25 ὅθεν δῆλον καὶ ὁ ποιητὴς τὸ θρυλούμενον ἔγραφεν ‘πουλύποδός – ἐφαρμόζειν’ (‘Hence the Poet wrote the much-quoted words “Pray hold – adapt it”’). For line 3, Zenob. vulg. 1.24 (more or less the same in Diogenian. 1.23) ἄλλοτε – ἕπεσθαι· ὅτι προσήκει ἕκαστον ἐξομοιοῦν ἑαυτὸν τούτοις ἐν οἷς ἂν καὶ γένηται τόποις· ἐκ μεταφορᾶς τοῦ πολύποδος (‘Be changeable – color: meaning that 39 40 42 An asterisk indicates that the attribution of a fragment is uncertain. 41 Translation by Johnston (2007). In FF 6, 9, 10∗ , 11∗ , numeration by Torres. See Athen. 7.317a; Eustath. ad Od. 5.4321 (541.34–6), Diogenianus 1.23. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 238 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra one should assimilate himself to the surroundings he finds himself in. It is a metaphor from the octopus’). This fragment records some advice on travel and adaptation to other peoples apparently addressed by Amphiaraus to his son, the ‘hero Amphilochus’:43 he should act like the octopus and adapt himself ‘to whatever people you come among’ (10.2).44 If these hexameters do indeed belong to the Thebaid (the testimony of Antigonus of Carystus refers to the author only as ‘the poet’, i.e. ‘Homer’),45 the occasion of their declamation may have been Amphiaraus’ leaving his family, an event represented in archaic art no fewer than fifteen times during the sixth century BC.46 These scenes of Amphiaraus’ departure normally depict the hero mounting his chariot and turning in a threatening way on his wife, who appears to be wearing the necklace of Harmonia. Tradition holds that Eriphyle was bribed with the necklace by Polynices,47 who wanted to ensure Amphiaraus’ participation in the expedition against Thebes. As a soothsayer, Amphiaraus refused to take part because he had already foreseen the fateful outcome of the campaign. At the same time, however, he was bound by oath to fulfil the will of his wife, who sought to settle any dispute that arose between her husband Amphiaraus and her brother Adrastus: Adrastus wanted the seven Argive warriors to march on Thebes, Amphiaraus refused to do so, and Eriphyle took Adrastus’ side because she had been bribed by Polynices with the necklace of Harmonia. F 11∗ (Σ Pind. Nem. 9.13 b [30] / F 7∗ W.) διαφορὰ δὲ ἐγενήθη τοῖς περὶ ᾿Αμφιάραον καὶ ῎Αδραστον, ὥστε τὸν μὲν Ταλαὸν ὑπὸ ᾿Αμφιαράου ἀποθανεῖν, τὸν δὲ ῎Αδραστον φυγεῖν εἰς Σικυῶνα . . . ὕστερον μέντοι συνεληλύθασι πάλιν, ἐφ’ ὧι συνοικήσει τῆι ᾿Εριφύληι ὁ ᾿Αμφιάραος, ἵνα εἴ τι ‘μέγ’ ἔρισμα μετ’ ἀμφοτέροισι γένηται’, αὕτη διαιτᾶι. A quarrel came about between Amphiaraus and Adrastus, with the consequence that Talaos was killed by Amphiaraus and Adrastus fled to 43 44 45 46 47 At the time of the departure, Amphilochus is portrayed as a young boy in artistic depictions; see Krauskopf (1981c: 716–17). There is an obvious similarity with the octopus poem by Theognis (215–17). The translation here is my own. On the ‘norm of the polyp’, see Debiasi, below in this volume, p. 000. See Krauskopf (1981b: 706–8); Torres (2012: 527). See e.g. D.S. 4.65.5–6; Ps.-Apollod. Bibl. 3.6.2. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 239 Sicyon . . . But later they came to terms, it being provided that Amphiaraus should marry Eriphyle, so that if ‘any great dispute should arise between the two of them’, she would arbitrate. West’s fragment 7, included in another scholium to Pindar (Nem. 9.13 b (30)), alludes to the mediating role played by Eriphyle. The scholiast explains the familial origins of the rift between Adrastus and Amphiaraus. According to the tradition, Melampus and Bias had divided the power in Argos between them. As a result, their respective descendants (Amphiaraus and Adrastus) fought, and the latter was forced into exile in Sicyon. The reconciliation between the two leaders was brought about through the arranged marriage of Amphiaraus to Adrastus’ sister, who was to act as the judge of any disputes between them. The scholiast [x] attributes this text (a part of a dactylic hexameter) neither to the Thebaid nor to ‘the Cycle poets’, not even to ‘the poet’.48 We can only say that a verse with this metrical structure and content must come from an epic poem. The Thebaid is the best candidate but not necessarily the only possibility, therefore the fragment must be regarded as dubious. F 12∗ : F 11∗ PEG = F 4∗ W, from Plat. Phdr. 269a (τί δὲ τὸν μελίγηρυν ῎Αδρηστον οἰόμεθα ἢ τὸν Περικλέα, εἰ ἀκούσειαν ὧν νῦν δὴ ἡμεῖς διῆιμεν τῶν παγκάλων τεχνημάτων, κτλ. ‘How do we imagine the honey-voiced Adrastus or even Pericles would react, if they could hear of the wonderful rhetorical devices we were just going through, etc.’) ῎Αδρηστον τὸν μελίγηρυν Adrastus the honey-voiced Adrastus is also mentioned in this doubtful fragment49 which calls him ‘Adrastus the honey-voiced’. The indirect tradition for what seems to be a formulaic iunctura is Plato’s Phaedrus. Plato gives the words in a different order (meligeryn Adraston), something that can be easily remedied through ¯ a simple change so that the expression can scan (meligeryn Adraston). We ¯ cannot know for sure whether this group of words had been employed in the Thebaid. On the other hand, it is clear that the expression ‘Adrastus the 48 49 Thebaid: F 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9 (numeration by Torres). The Cycle: F 6, 8 (numeration by Torres). ‘The poet’: F 10∗ (numeration by Torres). See Merkelbach (1974: 2–3); Davies (1980). `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 240 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra honey-voiced’ characterizes Adrastus very well, together with [x] the role he must have played in the poem (cf. F 9 numeration by Torres). BEYOND THE FRAGMENTS: FURTHER CONJECTURES With regard to the significance attributed to Amphiaraus the fortune-teller in the Thebaid, it should also be noted that two texts included among the testimonies to the epic poem make reference to a poem by Homer entitled Amphiaraus’ departure.50 It is likely that this title was an alternative to the Thebaid; or given that the first verse of the poem tells of the leaders’ departure from Argos, it may have been the title of the first canto.51 Whatever the case may be, the existence of the title connotes Amphiaraus’ significance in the poem. Indeed, if Amphiaraus was the protagonist of the Thebaid, a marked ambiguity about this legendary narrative might be resolved: what kind of epic tone could be struck in a poem whose characters include Polynices, who did not hesitate to bribe Eriphyle, and a monster like Tydeus?52 West’s view (2003: 5) that the sinister tenor of the Theban epics mirrors the Germanic epic tradition rather than the spirit of the Iliad or the Odyssey is significant in this regard. However, the sense of ambiguity that marks the subject-matter of the Thebaid can be resolved if Amphiaraus is read as central to the narrative and regarded as the protagonist of the poem. An episode that is not referred to in the extant fragments, but which we must assume to have been included in the Thebaid, is the foundation of the Nemean Games. The summary of the saga outlined above reported the warlords’ halt in Nemea and the tragic death of Archemorus. There is a prior reason for thinking that the episode also featured in the Thebaid: since the event is recounted in all other versions of the legendary tale, it is more than likely that it would also be included in the Theban Cycle. A further argument in support of this hypothesis stems from iconographic 50 51 52 See Ps.-Herod., Vit. Hom. 9, 6.22–7.10 Wilam. (PEG T 7 = F 9 D. = T 2 W.) and Suda s.v. ‘῞Ομηρος’, 3.526 Adler (PEG T 8 = F 9 D.). On Amphiaraus’ departure, see also Debiasi, below in this volume, pp. 000. See Torres (1995b); West (2003a: 9). Bethe (1893) was the most trenchant advocate of the other hypothesis (that Amphiaraus’ departure was a separate poem); Robert (1915) critiqued his position. Given its theme, this epic poem would not appear to be an instance of the form as defined by Aristotle in his Poetics (1452b30–1453a7), regarding [x] the appropriate way to compose an argument. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 241 evidence: the presence of the Seven in Nemea is attested to by at least two depictions in the sixth century BC.53 The most plausible (albeit not entirely conclusive) explanation for the knowledge of this episode depicted in such iconographic representations is that their makers were familiar with epic sources;54 and the Thebaid is the most likely origin in this regard. THE DATE OF THE THEBAID REVISITED If the Thebaid tells of the mythical institution of the Nemean Games, the poem’s chronology could be explored from a new perspective. First, however, the political context of the poem must be addressed55; a relevant text in this regard is Herodotus 5.67 ( = PEG T 5 = D., W.), which tells of how Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sicyon, banned the ‘Homeric epics’ from his city because they celebrated the [x] power of Argos that he regarded as a threat to the power of Sicyon. At the same time, he also suppressed the cult of Adrastus, who had first been king of Sicyon and thereafter king of Argos. In light of the context as a whole the meaning of the reference to ‘Homeric epics’ in this passage becomes clearer.56 The prohibition on the recitation of the Homeric epics and the expulsion of Adrastus are explained as being two aspects of the same anti-Argive policy. There must have been a link between Adrastus and the Homeric poems that Cleisthenes hated, and it seems quite reasonable to suppose that he was a primary character in them; thus, the allusion in Herod. 5.67 would refer not to the Iliad or the Odyssey (the ‘Homeric epics’ par excellence) but to the Thebaid.57 On the other hand, it is important to remember that the Nemean Games may have been founded – or, rather, re-founded – in political opposition to Cleisthenes and with the assistance of Argos.58 This is the view held by historians who interpret the scant evidence59 as meaning that Nemea 53 54 55 56 57 58 59 See LIMC, Amphiaraos 32 and 33. See Torres (2012). On this difficult point (where the ‘sources’ of archaic iconography are to be found), see Burgess (2001: 4, 61). A more detailed account of this issue is presented in Torres (2012). See Cingano (1985); Burgess (2001: 129). See Cingano (1985). The same opinion had already been defended by Wilamowitz-Moellendorf (1884: 352). See e.g. Griffin (1982: 50–1); for a different point of view, see Libero (1996: 195). Plutarchus (Moralia 553 a–b) is the only source that speaks about the Sicyonian domination of Cleonai. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 242 December 22, 2014 12:53 jose´ b. torres-guerra (or the city of Cleonai, which controlled Nemea) must have organized or reorganized the Nemean Games in 573 BC,60 having escaped the control of Cleisthenes and Sicyon. In this regard, the idea that the Thebaid was first fixed in writing on the occasion of the reorganization of the Nemean Games is a suggestive one. The poem then acquired a layer of political meaning because it annoyed Cleisthenes for three reasons: it speaks of Adrastus and Argive power; the war is narrated from the Argive point of view; and, moreover, it recounts the mythical foundation of the Nemean Games. fin nds some confirmation in iconographic This hypothesis [x] also fi evidence, which discloses an increasing and striking interest in the Theban saga during the second quarter of the sixth century BC.61 According to Cook (1983: 1–6), only a sudden rise in the number of representations of themes included in the epic poems can suggest anything about their chronology, and this is precisely the case discussed here. According to Cook’s line of argument, the conclusion to be drawn is that the best explanation for renewed interest in the mythological theme of the Theban saga in the second quarter of the sixth century BC is proximity to the textual fixation or even the writing down of a major epic like the Thebaid. This must have happened around the time that the Nemean Games were reorganized and became a Panhellenic festival: that is, 573 BC. This may also be an appropriate occasion [x] to address a topic that has only been referred to tangentially thus far. It was asserted in the first paragraph of the article that the canonical Homeric poems presuppose an awareness of the Theban saga (cf. n. 2). Studies within the Neoanalytical school of thought have held that the author of the Iliad – and, less certainly, the author of the Odyssey – assumes that their audience’s understanding of the saga is based on the version narrated in the Thebaid.62 It has also been argued that linguistic analyses imply that the extant fragments of the poem date to the post-Homeric era. The resolution of this apparent proteron hysteron may lie in the combination of two approaches to the problem, which until recently appeared to be incompatible: oral theory and neoanalysis. Neoanalysis holds that nontraditional motifs drawn from a specific context, and thus semirigid in nature, have been exchanged between the poems. 63 The oral theory argument admits that the oral poems may have been sufficiently stable 60 This is the date transmitted by Eusebius’ Chronicle; see Griffin (1982: 51). 61 63 62 See Torres (1995a); Kullmann (2002a: 167–9). See Torres (2012). See Kullmann (1960; 1984; 2002). `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓ Trim: 247mm × 174mm Top: 11.95mm Gutter: 21.089mm CUUK2493-13 CUUK2493/Fantuzzi & Tsagalis ISBN: 978 1 107 01259 2 December 22, 2014 Thebaid 12:53 243 in form so as to enable intertextual relations between them.64 Hence, it seems possible that an oral version of the Thebaid existed prior to the Iliad, influencing its composition, and was written down after the Iliad, possibly in the year 573 BC, under the circumstances of the political context outlined in this paper. 64 On the combination of orality, intertextuality and neoanalysis, the contributions of Burgess (2006) and Tsagalis (2008a, see especially 63 n. 2, and 66–8) should be noted. `ˆÌi`ÊÜˆÌ ÊÌ iÊ`i“œÊÛiÀȜ˜ÊœvÊ ˜vˆÝÊ*ÀœÊ* Ê `ˆÌœÀÊ /œÊÀi“œÛiÊÌ ˆÃʘœÌˆVi]ÊۈÈÌ\Ê ÜÜÜ°ˆVi˜ˆ°Vœ“É՘œVŽ° ̓