The Myth of Lycurgus in Aeschylus, Naevius, and Beyond

262 Pages·2021·2.334 MB·English

by  Bartłomiej Bednarek

TheMythofLycurgusinAeschylus,Naevius,andbeyond
Mnemosyne
Supplements
monographs on greek and
latin language and literature
ExecutiveEditor
C.Pieper(LeidenUniversity)
EditorialBoard
A.Chaniotis(InstituteforAdvancedStudy,Princeton)
K.M.Coleman(HarvardUniversity)
C.C.deJonge(LeidenUniversity)
T.Reinhardt(OxfordUniversity)
volume 441
Thetitlespublishedinthisseriesarelistedatbrill.com/mns
The Myth of Lycurgus in
Aeschylus, Naevius, and beyond
By
BartłomiejBednarek
leiden | boston
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isbn978-90-04-46302-8(hardback)
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Copyright2021byBartłomiejBednarek.PublishedbyKoninklijkeBrillnv,Leiden,TheNetherlands.
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Bocianowi
∵
πρὸςκέντραμὴλάκτιζε,μὴπαίσαςμογῆις
Aeschylus,Agamemnon1624
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Contents
Acknowledgments xi
ListofFigures xii
Introduction 1
TheStructureofThisBook 4
1 LycurgusbeforeTheatre 7
1.1 Iliad6.130–140:WhoAreYou,MyDear? 7
1.2 EumelusandtheEarlyDionysianSaga 12
1.3 ThePresuppositionsoftheHomericPassage:AllthatWeWillNever
KnowaboutLife,Death,andLycurgus 15
1.4 Stesichorusfr.276(Finglass):TheGiftofDionysus 20
1.4.1 HephaestusMeetsDionysusinNaxos 22
1.5 Conclusions 27
2 Aeschylus’Lycurgeia 28
2.1 Introduction 28
2.2 TragicTrilogy 30
2.2.1 ApollodorusandtheEdonoi 30
2.2.2 EratosthenesandtheBassarai 36
2.2.3 TheNeaniskoi 41
2.3 TheEndofLycurgusinSophocles,Aeschylus,andRelatedTexts 42
2.3.1 Sophocles’Antigone955–965 43
2.3.1.1 Introduction:DidLycurgusDie? 43
2.3.1.2 Sophocles’Antigone955–965:WhatIsThisPassage
ActuallyAbout? 45
2.3.1.3 TheEndoftheStory 49
2.3.1.4 Rhesus970–973:Lycurgus’Immortality? 50
2.3.1.5 Lycurgus’Imprisonment 51
2.3.1.6 Strabo(10.3.16=471.7–10):LycurgusDeified? 53
2.3.1.7 Nonnus21.155–169:LycurgusDeified! 55
2.3.1.8 So,DidHeDieintheEnd? 58
2.3.2 BacktoAeschylus 59
2.4 OrpheusinFabula 62
2.4.1 DiodorusofSicilyandtheChronologyoftheThracian
Kings 64
2.4.2 TheConflict 67
viii contents
2.4.3 TowardsaResolutionoftheConflict 69
2.4.4 Orpheus’OracularHead 71
2.4.5 BacktoEratosthenes 74
2.4.6 DionysianCannibalism 77
2.4.7 Theophrastus’Depietate,Porphyry’sDeabstinentia2.8.3 81
2.4.8 ResolutionoftheConflict 84
2.4.9 Conclusions 86
2.4.10 Appendix:Krater 86
2.5 ReconstructionoftheLycurgeia 88
2.5.1 Edonoi:AnOutlineofthePlot 89
2.5.2 Bassarai:AnOutlineofthePlot 90
2.5.2.1 Fragment58andtheEpiphanyofDionysus 92
2.5.3 Neaniskoi 93
2.5.4 FurtherFragments 94
2.5.4.1 Edonoi 94
2.5.4.2 Bassarai 98
2.5.4.3 Neaniskoi 100
2.6 Lycurgussatyricus 102
2.6.1 BeerorWine? 103
2.6.2 FurtherFragments 109
2.7 Appendixi:Euripides’BacchaeandItsRoleinDionysian
Imagery 111
2.8 Appendixii:BetweenLycurgus’andPentheus’Iconography 114
3 Naevius’Lycurgus 121
3.1 Fragments 123
3.1.1 Fragment30–32:Two-leggedBirdsorTwo-leggedWorms 123
3.1.2 TheRequest 127
3.1.3 TheArtifice 129
3.1.4 TheChorus 131
3.1.5 AGoodAdvisorandLycurgus’Lesson 133
3.1.6 RheseisAngelikaiandtheLocusAmoenus 134
3.1.7 Quadrupeds:AnotherHallucination? 137
3.1.8 ThePalaceMiracle:SocialDiscordorWhat? 138
3.1.9 FurtherFragments 139
3.2 BeyondFragments 142
3.2.1 Plautus’Captivi561–563:Lycurgus’Mother 142
3.2.2 Plautus’Menaechmi835–871 145
3.2.2.1 Role-PlayandCharacterisationinthe
Menaechmi 152
contents ix
3.2.2.2 WhoIsWhointheMenaechmi? 153
3.3 SummaryofthePlot 155
3.4 TheReadershipofNaevius 156
4 LostinTranslation:LycurgusbetweenAeschylus,Naevius,Poetry,and
VisualArts 158
4.1 FromAeschylustoNaevius 158
4.2 Aeschylus’Afterlife 159
4.3 PlayswithLycurgusintheTitle 163
4.4 Iconography 165
4.4.1 SomeMethodologicalRemarks 165
4.4.2 Panthers:DidTheyKillLycurgus? 167
4.4.3 TheDifficultLifeandDeathofLycurgus’Wife 173
4.4.4 TheWomanKilledbyLycurgus 175
4.4.5 ThePainterofBostonandtheFury/Lyssa 179
4.5 InsteadofConclusions 183
4.6 Appendix:TheLocationofLycurgus’KingdomandtheChronologyof
HisMyth 184
5 Lycurgusmonocrepis 188
5.1 Introduction 188
5.2 Lycurgus’Self-MutilationinGreekLiterature 188
5.3 Lycurgus’Self-MutilationinLatinLiterature 189
5.4 TheIconographyofLycurgusmonocrepis 193
5.5 TheHistoryofResearch 197
5.5.1 SpuriousandDubious 202
5.5.2 ThePracticalUseofaSingleSandal 204
5.5.3 TrueInstancesofWearingaSingleSandalinMythand
Fiction 207
5.5.3.1 DrunkennessandAgitation 207
5.5.3.2 Other 208
5.6 Conclusions 209
GeneralConclusions 211
References 215
GeneralIndex 235
IndexofModernAuthors 238
IndexofAncientAuthors 243