Asclepiades of Samos and Leonidas of Tarentum: The Poems PDF
Preview Asclepiades of Samos and Leonidas of Tarentum: The Poems
SASCLEPIADES of SAMOS AND LLEONIDAS of TTARENTUM The “Poems SASCLEPIADES of SAMOS AND LLEONIDAS of TARENTUM The Poems Jerry Clack F. Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. Wauconda, Illinois Cover ‘Design Anemones and Ivy New Image Press Pittsburgh Pennsylvania © 1999 Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc. Printed in the United States of America 1999 by Trade Service Publications ‘Bolchazy-Carducci “Publishers, Inc. 1000 Brown Street Wauconda, Illinois 60084 USA http://www.bolchazy.com Paperback: ISBN 0-86516-456-8 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Asclepiades, of Samos Asclepiades of Samos and Leonidas of Tarentum : the poems / Jerry Clack. p. cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-86516-456-8 (pbk. : alk. paper) 1. Epigrams, Greek. 2. Greek poetry, Hellenistic. 3. Epigrams, Greek Problems, exercises, etc. 4. Greek language, Hellenistic (300 B.C.-600 A.D.) Readers. 5. Greek poetry, Hellenistic Problems, exercises, etc. I. Leonidas, of Tarentum, fl. ca. 294-ca. 281 B.C. Il. Clack, Jerry. Il. Title. PA3936.A6 Al3 1999 888'.0102--dce21 99-21625 CIP FOREWORD With the exception of the Roman poet Martial, ancient epigram has traditionally received scant attention from classicists. Granted, there are texts more deserving of careful scrutiny than much of the “occasional spirit” which pervades a greater part of the ancient epigrammatic collections. Contemporary practice exposes students to fifteen or twenty of these brief poems culled from the entire breath of the Greek Anthology, epigrams which have caught the editor’s fancy. Such a practice gives little sense of what an individual author is about. On the other hand, the study of the entire corpus of one or two of these writers of vers de société--where there is a sufficient text to deal with--is not without its rewards. It is my hope in editing this modest collection of the poetry of Asclepiades and Leonidas of Tarentum to give university students an opportunity to scrutinize in greater depth the style and subject matter peculiar to them both. These two poets, standing as they do at the head of the Hellenistic epigrammatic tradition, appear to have influenced strongly the genre’s development over the following centuries, a development which culminated in the exquisite poetry of Meleager. The text used in this volume is that of A. S. F. Gow and D. L. Page in their unrivaled Hellenistic Epigrams. Selections 48-51 of Asclepiades are drawn from the Supplementum Hellenisticum. Occasionally, I have incorporated readings of the text which Gow and Page rejected. It is my feeling that in an edition aimed primarily at an undergraduate population there are occasions where approximate sense is more important than the pursuit of an uncertain accuracy in the text. The order in which the epigrams are presented is that of Gow and Page. Since the appearance of Hellenistic Epigrams, this grouping by subject matter has become widely accepted through the scholarly world. Appended to the Asclepiades’ collection are several fragments in addition to epigrams which are attributed to him (Selections 48 to 51). Perhaps most difficult was the question of how the texts and notes might be presented to give some sense of unity to the volume. It is for that reason that the biographical material for both poets is presented as a unit, while the epigrams of each are followed by the commentary appropriate to that collection. In addition to a comprehensive glossary, I have listed the sources of each epigram, included an index to the proper names found in both poets’ works and an extensive bibliography easily accessible through any college library. I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Lawrence Gaichas, Christine George, Karen Hoover, Kathryn Julius, Declan Lyons and Michael Skor, for their unfailing assistance in the preparation of this volume. -Vi1- TABLE OF CONTENTS Introduction l Asclepiades of Samos: The Poems 19 Commentary 31 Leonidas of Tarentum: The Poems 77 Commentary 107 Sources of the Poems 187 Index of Proper Names 10] Selected Bibliography 199 Glossary 211 -Vil- INTRODUCTION It is ironic that the two epigrammatists who appear (since the dearth of other contemporary epigrammatists clouds our judgment) to have set the course of Greek epigram for the next three hundred years hailed from the two ends of the Greek world, Samos and Tarentum. For Asclepiades, the epigram is a vehicle of personal feeling, while in the hands of Leonidas, although his epigrams cover a broader field, the prevailing impression which the reader comes away with is that of concern for the poor and with the suffering which attends those of lowly state. ASCLEPIADES OF SAMOS Oh nuit! J'avais juré d'aimer cette infidéle Et toi, lampe nocture, astre cher ἃ l'Amour ... Cest toi qui fus témoin de ses douces promesses! Et tu ne t'éteinds pas a l'aspect de son crime! André Chenier, Elégies 20, “La Lampe" His Life Biographical evidence for a majority of Hellenistic epigrammatists is scanty. Much that is promulgated is based on hypothesis and on the cross referencing of data which is itself unreliable and insub- stantial. The case of Asclepiades is no exception. Although there is general agreement that he was a native of Samos, conjectures about his date of birth range between 340 and 320 BCE. The earlier date is influenced by an epigram on Cleopa- tra (A.P. 9. 752 [Selection 44]) whom most identify as the daughter of Philip IT of Macedon. She was murdered in 308 or 309 BCE in Sardis at the instigation of Antigonus I (Cyclops), at that time regent of Macedonia. If the epigram is addressed to her, it is reasonable to believe that it was written several years before her death, thus favoring a date considerably earlier than 320 BCE for Asclepiades' birth. Such dating would make him a contemporary of Philetas of Cos, one of the inaugurators of the Alexandrian scholar-poet tradition. However, the epigram is attributed as well to Antipater of Sidon, a first century BCE epigrammatist. Should the poem be proven the work of Antipater, the argument for Asclepiades' earlier date is vitiated. In any case, it appears that Asclepiades served as a model for several epigrams by Posidippus of Pella. Such instances are pointed out in the Commentary, as they occur. In other epigrams, Posidippus apparently borrowed lines or parts of lines from Asclepiades (4.}. 5. 158 [Selection 4]). Dates may be established more firmly for Posidippus since three dedicatory epigrams of his have been preserved. One deals with the construction of the Pharos at Alexandria between 290-280 BCE (P. Firmin-Didot Papyrus), and two refer to Callicrates' dedication about 273 BCE of the temple of Arsinoé-Aphrodite at Zephyrion (P. Firmin-Didot Papyrus and Ath. 7.318D). With these poems as evidence, we may conclude that Asclepiades was already of estab- lished reputation when the imitations mentioned above were made, and so he might be counted an older contemporary of Posidippus. Account should also be taken of the fact that not a few epigrams in the Palatine Anthology are ascribed to both Asclepiades and Posidippus, a phenomenon which perhaps indicates a close relationship between the two. On more certain terrain, we discover that proxeny, that is, honorary citizenship, was bestowed on both Asclepiades and Posidippus at Delphi around 275 BCE (C. Trypanis, "Posidippus and Delphi").
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