Aristophanes Thesmophoriazusae

472 Pages·2008·1.05 MB·English

by  Colin Austin

ARISTOPHANES
THESMOPHORIAZUSAE
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A R I S T O P H A N ES
THESMOPHORIAZUSAE
EDITED WITH
INTRODUCTION AND COMMENTARY
COLIN AUSTIN
and
S. DOUGLAS OLSON
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
OXFORD
UNIVERSITY PRESS
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PREFACE
In December 1965 I obtained my D.Phil, -with a commentary on
Thesmophoriasusae 1—530. I -was confident at the time that the full
edition -would be ready -within three years. Dis aliter visum.1 For
over three decades the play, though never completely lost sight of,
found itself relegated to the sidelines, as first Euripides, then Me-
nander and the comic fragments, and more recently Posidippus, all
took precedence over my original project. In September 2001, after
months of ill-health and disruption caused by unstable angina, I
joined forces -with Douglas Olson, -who had just completed his edi-
tion of Acharnians. We met in Cambridge and I handed over to him
everything relevant I had collected till then. Combining this -with
material of his own, he prepared a fresh draft, -which -we have repeat-
edly scrutinized and emended on both sides of the Atlantic. The end
result, -we hope, is a harmonious blend of the old and the new.
The original thesis had been supervised by Hugh (now Sir Hugh)
Lloyd-Jones in Oxford and Rudolf Kassel in Berlin. To both I owe
an immense debt of gratitude. Sir Hugh's formidable learning and
razor-sharp intellect kept me on my toes from day one, and I am still
struggling to cope -with the first of his ten commandments: 'Learn by
heart the -whole of Greek Comedy.' In Berlin, thanks to Kassel, the
spirit of Wilamowitz ( 1931) was still very much alive, even in the
brave new world of the Freie Universitat. Some 50 years earlier my
maternal uncle Paul Etard ( 1962), himself a disciple of Hermann
Diels ( 1922)2 and later Librarian of the Ecole Normale Superieure
in Paris, had met the great man and his circle in the golden years
before the First World War. I -was happy to follow in his footsteps,
and it -was at de Gruyter's that the genial charm of Heinz Wenzel
( 1998) laid the firm foundation of the future 'K—A' partnership.
Ihr naht euch wieder, schwankende Gestalten,
Die friih sich einst dem truben Blick gezeigt.
Versuch ich wohl, euch diesmal festzuhalten?
1 'The gods decided otherwise' (Verg. Aen. ii. 428).
2 Diels had asked my uncle to prepare a new edition of Aristotle's Physics for
Teubner, but the project fell through after the outbreak of hostilities.
viii PREFACE
FuhlichmeinHerznochjenem Wahngeneigt? . . .
Ihr bringt mit euch die Bilder froher Tage,
Und manche liebe Schatten steigen auf;
Gleich einer alten, halbverklungnen Sage
Kommt erste Lieb und Freundschaft mit herauf;
Der Schmerz wird neu, es wiederholt die Klage
Des Lebens labyrinthisch irren Lauf
Und nennt die Guten, die, um schone Stunden
Vom Gliick getauscht, vor mir hinweggeschwunden.3
As a young research student I came under the spell and influence of
many teachers, colleagues, and friends, all alas now long departed. It
is -with nostalgic admiration that I mention here the Olympian bril-
liance of Denys (later Sir Denys) Page (f 1978), -who first explained
to a novice some of the metrical eccentricities of Agathon's song;
the Erasmian -wisdom of Harry Sandbach ( 1991);4the irreverent
bonhomie of Tony Andrewes ( 1990); the austere perfectionism
of Spencer Barrett ( 2001); and the trenchant petulance of Eduard
Fraenkel ( 1970).5 All these scholars followed my Aristophanic pur-
suits with lively interest, especially Eduard Fraenkel, who generous-
ly made available to me the unpublished lecture notes left by Georg
Kaibel ( 1901).6 In Berlin, two of Kassel's 'Doktoranden', the
talented but short-lived Armin Schafer ( 1965)7 and the incompar-
able Volkmar Schmidt ( 1998), were ready at all times to discuss
with me matters both great and small, whether it be Euripidean
misogyny or how to print + - in crasis.
Eric Handley and Kenneth (later Sir Kenneth) Dover had
examined the thesis in 1965. They very kindly agreed, nearly 40
years later, to cast a fresh and critical eye on the penultimate type-
script. Besides saving us from errors, they have enriched the edition
3 From the Dedicatory poem to Goethe's Faust: 'Once again you draw near, you
uncertain shapes that long ago appeared before my clouded vision. Shall I try this
time to take possession of you? Does that folly still move me to longing?... You bring
with you the images of happy days, and many a well-loved shade comes back to life:
first love and friendship rise again with them, like an old half-forgotten legend; pain
is renewed, and grief once more retraces life's labyrinthine erring course, and names
those dear ones whom Fortune has cheated of hours of joy and who have vanished
from sight before me' (translated by David Luke).
4 See PEA 84 (1994) 500-2.
5 See Q (70063(1999)40.
6 See Austin (1987) 67-8.
7 See CRNS 16(1966) 291-3.
PREFACE ix
with many new references and acute observations. Douglas j oins me
here in warmly thanking them for their invaluable help.
C. A.
Trinity Hall, Cambridge
In February 2001, I wrote to Sir Kenneth Dover, the general editor
of the OUP Aristophanes series, to ask if he would approach Colin
Austin for me about the possibility of Austin's and my collaborating
to produce the edition of Thesmophoriasusae on which I knew he had
been working for many years. Austin replied through Dover that he
would need to meet me first, and we eventually settled on a date in
late September. In the meantime I got Acharnians off to press and
produced a sample text and commentary on the opening scene of
Thesmophoriasusae as a-way of providing a sense of the contribution I
might make to the project. I arrived at the train station in Cambridge
deeply ill at ease, expecting hard questions, difficult negotiations,
and perhaps an abrupt and unhappy end to my trip. But the next day
after lunch, after Colin had spent the morning reading through what
I had given him and we were sitting together in his upstairs study,
he turned to me and said simply: 'Well, how shall we go about doing
this?' Our partnership has been easy and cordial ever since.
When I left Cambridge a few days later, I took with me the
original copy of Austin's dissertation ( which includes introductory
chapters on the festival and the date and historical background to
the play); handwritten drafts of an updated but much-abbreviated
version of the commentary on the opening sections of the play, and
of new material on 531—670, along with bibliographical notes on all
the rest; Austin's extensive Cambridge lecture notes on the text; and
an immense pile of offprints, learned correspondence, and the like.
I spent most of that academic year and the next reworking and com-
bining this material with ideas of my own and with further insights
and parallels furnished by Colin. We had originally agreed that I
should visit Cambridge every three to six months to make sure that
the process of collaboration proceeded smoothly. After I had made
an additional trip or two, it became clear that we could work together
just as efficiently and effectively via fax and express courier. But I
recall with great fondness Colin and Mishtu's hospitality to me in
their wonderful home full of books, children and grandchildren, stu-
dents, fine wine, and Mishtu's beautiful batiks and the smell of her