Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes (Writings from the Greco-Roman World)

273 Pages·2002·7.88 MB·English

by  the Athenian Philostratus

Flavius Philostratus: On Heroes
Flavius Philostratus, On Heroes, Page 1. January 12, 2003, 13:50.
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Society of Biblical Literature
Writings from the Greco-Roman World
JohnT.Fitzgerald,GeneralEditor
Editorial Board
DavidArmstrong
ElizabethAsmis
BrianE.Daley,S.J.
DavidG.Hunter
DavidKonstan
MichaelJ.Roberts
JohanC.Thom
YunLeeToo
JamesC.VanderKam
Number3
FlaviusPhilostratus:OnHeroes
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Flavius Philostratus:
On Heroes
TranslatedwithanIntroduction
andNotesby
Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean
and
Ellen Bradshaw Aitken
WithaPreliminaryEssayby
Casey Due´ and Gregory Nagy
SocietyofBiblicalLiterature
Atlanta
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FLAVIUSPHILOSTRATUS:ONHEROES
OriginalTitle:FlaviusPhilostratus:Heroicus,editedbyLudodeLannoy,
copyright'1977byK.G.SaurVerlagGmbH,MunichandLeipzig
((cid:222)rstpublishedin1977byB.G.Teubner,Leipzig).
EnglishtranslationfromtheoriginalGreekeditionarrangedwiththe
approvalofthepublisher,K.G.SaurVerlagGmbH,MunichandLeipzig.
Englishtranslationandnotes,preliminaryessay,introduction,maps,and
glossarycopyright'2001,2002,bytheSocietyofBiblicalLiterature.
Allrightsreserved.
Nopartofthisworkmaybereproducedortransmittedinanyformorbyany
means,electronicormechanical,includingphotocopyingandrecording,orby
means of any information storage or retrieval system, except as may be ex-
presslypermittedbythe1976CopyrightActorinwritingfromthepublisher.
RequestsforpermissionshouldbeaddressedinwritingtotheRightsandPer-
missionsDepartment,SocietyofBiblicalLiterature,825HoustonMillRoad,
Suite350,Atlanta,GA30329,USA.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Philostratus,theAthenian,2nd/3rdcent.
[Heroicus.English]
On heroes / Flavius Philostratus; translated with an introduction and
notes by Jennifer K. Berenson Maclean and Ellen Bradshaw Aitken ; with
apreliminaryessaybyCaseyDu(cid:142)andGregoryNagy.
p.cm.(cid:209)(WritingsfromtheGreco-Romanworld;v.3)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN:1-58983-037-7(paperbinding:alk.paper)
1. Dialogues, Greek(cid:209)Translations into English. 2. Trojan War(cid:209)Early
works to 1800. 3. Heroes(cid:209)Early works to 1800. I. Maclean, Jennifer K.
Berenson,1963-II.Aitken,EllenBradshaw,1961-III.Title.IV.Series.
PA4272.A452002b
8820.01—dc21 2002012599
ThephotographonpagevofthestatueofawarriorthoughttorepresenttheGreek
heroProtesilaosisreproducedwiththepermissionofTheMetropolitanMuseum
ofArt(HewittFund,1925;25.116).
The photograph on page vi of the coin from Elaious depicting Protesilaos ap-
pearsthroughthegenerouspermissionandassistanceoftheStaatlicheMuseenzu
Berlin(cid:209)Preu§ischerKulturbesitz,M(cid:159)nzkabinett(1873Fox).
0203040506070809(cid:209)54321
ThebookisprintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
onrecycled,acid-freepaper.
Flavius Philostratus, On Heroes, Page 4. January 16, 2003, 23:07.
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Roman-era marble statue of a Greek hero, probably Protesilaos.
ThisimageisreproducedwiththepermissionofTheMetropoli-
tanMuseumof Art(HewittFund,; .).
Flavius Philostratus, On Heroes, Page 5. December 14, 2002, 23:26.
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Bronzecoin(mm)fromElaious(–..)—obverse:Por-
traitoftheemperorCommodus;reverse:Protesilaosarmedandat
theprowofaship. Thisimageisreproducedwiththepermission
of the Staatliche Museen zu Berlin—Preußischer Kulturbesitz,
Münzkabinett( Fox).
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Abbreviations xiii
Preliminariesto Philostratus(cid:213)sOn Heroes xv
The Heroes of Philostratus(cid:213)s On Heroes: Fiction, Epic,
andHero-Cult xv
Initiation into the Mysteries of Heroes: Ancient Greek
HeroCultandOn Heroes xxv
ContinuityandTraditioninPhilostratus(cid:213)sOn Heroes xxx
TheEducationalValueof On Heroes xxxix
Introduction xliii
ThePlot of On Heroes xliii
PhilostratusandOn HeroesasaSophisticWork xlvi
Protesilaos: Origins and Trajectories of His Story in
Literature,Art,andCult li
TheTwo GreatHeroes:Protesilaos andAchilles lvi
OnCritiquingHeroicTraditions lviii
TheAimsof theDialogue lxxii
OnReadingtheDialogue lxxxi
PhilostratusOn Heroes 1
I. The Phoenician(cid:213)sQuest (1.1—8.18) 1
TheVinedresserandthePhoenicianMeet(1.1—6.6) 1
ThePhoenician(cid:213)sDoubtsOvercome(6.7—8.18) 9
II. Protesilaos(9.1—23.30) 14
TheSanctuaryof ProtesilaosatElaious (9.1—7) 14
Protesilaos(cid:213)s Appearance, Character, and Way of Life
(10.1—13.4) 16
SuppliantsatProtesilaos(cid:213)s Sanctuary(14.1—17.6) 20
RecentAppearancesof HeroesatTroy (18.1—23.1) 24
TheBattleatMysiaandtheContestoftheShield(23.2—
30) 30
III. Protesilaos(cid:213)sOpinion of Homer (24.1—25.17) 34
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viii flavius philostratus: on heroes
IV. The Catalogue of the Heroes (25.18—42.4) 38
NestorandAntilokhos(25.18—26.20) 38
DiomedesandSthenelos(27.1—13) 42
Philokt(cid:144)t(cid:144)s(28.1—14) 44
Agamemnon,Menelaos,andIdomeneus(29.1—30.3) 46
TheLocrianAjax(31.1—32.2) 47
PalamedesandOdysseus(33.1—34.7) 49
TheTelam(cid:153)nianAjax (35.1—36.1) 57
TheTrojan Heroes(36.2—42.4) 60
V. On Homer and His Art (43.1—44.4) 64
VI. Achilles (44.5—57.17) 67
Achilles(cid:213)Life,Appearance,andCharacter(44.5—52.2) 67
TheCultofAchillesatTroy (52.3—54.1) 76
On Leuk(cid:144)(54.2—57.17) 81
TheSongs ofAchillesandHelen(54.2—55.6) 81
TheVengeanceofAchilles(56.1—57.17) 84
VII. Evening Falls (58.1—6) 88
Maps 91
Glossary 95
Topical Bibliographies 151
Index of Ancient Writings 161
Subject Index 175
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Acknowledgments
Amultitudeof heroes,gods, andmortalspopulateOnHeroesand
its world; likewise our work with this text over the course of sev-
eral years has been assisted by many friends and scholars. Our
acquaintance with On Heroes began at Harvard Divinity School,
when from  to  a group of doctoral students from the
DepartmentofNewTestamentandEarlyChristianStudiesgath-
ered weekly, under the direction of Professor Helmut Koester,
to read On Heroes together in Greek. This group included, in
addition to us, Marianne Bonz, Denise Buell, Liza Burr, Cyn-
thiaKittredge,IainMaclean,ShellyMatthews,BarbaraRossing,
James Skedros, and Christine Thomas. We are grateful to these
colleaguesforthehoursspenttogetherincongenialanddedicated
work. Fascinated by the text and its vivid depiction of Greek
heroes,wedecidedatthattimethatOnHeroesneededtobemade
accessibleinEnglishtranslationsoastobeusefultostudentsand
scholarsalike.
Interdisciplinary conversation has proved invaluable in un-
derstanding this text. Our special thanks go to Helmut Koester
for his conviction about the importance of this text for Early
Christian studies and for his continual encouragement. We are
also grateful for the ways he nurtured the climate of inquiry in
which this volume took shape. Gregory Nagy, whose work on
Homer and Greek heroes undergirds our work, has been our
constant mentor, critic, and fan during the preparation of this
volume. His undying enthusiasm for Philostratus’s On Heroes
strengtheneduswhenour spiritsflagged.
We are delighted that Casey Dué and Gregory Nagy have
graced this volume with their “Preliminaries.” This essay grows
out of their use of On Heroes in the course “The Concept of the
Hero in Hellenic Civilization” in Harvard’s Core Curriculum.
Their sensitivity to the educational potential of this text thor-
oughly informs their essay and initiates the reader into the world
ofheroes.
WedeeplyappreciatetheassistanceofJacksonP.Hershbell,
professor emeritus of Classics at the University of Minnesota,
who read earlier drafts of our translation with care. Jack’s keen
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x  :  
eyeshavecaughtmanyerrorsandinfelicities,histhoroughknowl-
edge of the literature of the Second Sophistic has greatly stim-
ulated our thinking about Philostratus, and his questions have
enriched the notes and Glossary. Jack also sent us early ideas for
theIntroduction,whichhaveformedacoreofsomeportionsofit.
Wethankhimfor his unstintinghelp.
Our research assistants, Laura Nasrallah, Sarah Stewart,
DouglasYoung,AnnaMiller,andJennaZamesnikhaveprovided
timely and accurate help along the way, often when they had
only a partial view of the entire project. Christopher P. Jones,
KimberleyPatton,JeffreyRusten,andTimothyWhitmarshhave
generouslyadvisedusonparticularpointsorshareddraftsoftheir
own work with us. JenniferPhillips read an earlier version of the
translation. We are grateful to Catherine Playoust, Christina Sa-
lowey, and Florinda Ruiz; their careful reading of our work has
savedusfrommanyerrors. ThomasJ.WellsofInvisibleProduc-
tions expertly created the maps in this volume. Our thanks go to
all of them, as well as to the staffs of Fintel Library at Roanoke
College and of the Andover-Harvard Theological Library. Re-
searchfundsfromRoanokeCollegeandHarvardDivinitySchool
have helped in making our collaboration possible on a practi-
cal level. We also thank John Herrmann from the Museum of
Fine Arts, Boston; Jody Maxmin of the Department of Art and
Art History, Stanford University; Elizabeth Milleker from The
MetropolitanMuseumofArt,NewYork;andBernhardWeisser,
conservator of the Münzkabinett in the Bodesmuseum, Berlin,
for their assistance with the appearances of Protesilaos on coins,
gems, reliefs, and statuary and for providing the plates included
inthisvolume.
This Student Edition was preceded by the publication of
ourtranslationaccompaniedbytheGreektexton facingpagesas
the first volume in the Society of Biblical Literature’s new series
Writings from the Greco-Roman World. We have taken this op-
portunitytomakeafewminorcorrectionstotheTranslationand
Glossary. Weofferourprofoundappreciationtotheeditorofthis
series, John Fitzgerald, for his continual support and encourage-
ment through the process of preparing this volume and for his
availabilityforcounselfromthetimewefirstapproachedhim. We
arealsogratefultoRexMatthews,EditorialDirectoroftheSoci-
ety of Biblical Literature, for his enthusiasm for this project and
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