Documentation for Epic Structures in Hesiod’s Primal Narrative, Theogony 104-232

(Paper read at the annual meeting of the Classical Association of Atlantic States, Princeton, NJ, October 11, 2008; go to paper.)

 

 

 

 

#1 Theogony 116-22:

 

ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα Χάος γένετ’· αὐτὰρ ἔπειτα
Γαῖ' εὐρύστερνος, πάντων ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεὶ
ἀθανάτων, οἳ ἔχουσι κάρη νιφόεντος Ὀλύμπου
τάρταρά τ’ ἠερόεντα μυχῷ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης,[1]

ἠδ' Ἔρος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι,
λυσιμελής, πάντων τε θεῶν πάντων τ' ἀνθρώπων
δάμναται ἐν στήθεσσι νόον καὶ ἐπίφρονα βουλήν.

 

Well[2] first of all arose Chasm, and then (arose) broad-breasted Earth, ever the firm seat of all the immortals who hold the peak of snowy Olympus and the murky underworlds[3] in the inmost part of the ground with its wide courses, and Love, who as the most beautiful among the deathless gods, and as the limb-relaxer, subdues the mind and sensible will in the breast of all gods and all humans.

 

More or less recognized parallels: ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί also ends Od. 6.42 (and ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί alone, Il. 15.683), aside from v. 128 later here. For νιφόεντος Ὀλύμπου, see Il. 18.616 (word order reversed), h. xv 7. For τάρταρά τ' ἠερόεντα, cf. Tάρταρον(-ου) ἠερόεντα(-ος) at Il. 8.13, our vv. 721, 736 = 807, Hes fr. 30.22 (Merkelbach-West), h. Herm. 256. χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης also ends Il. 16.635, Od. 3.453, 10.149, 11.52, our vv. 498, 620, 717, 787, Hes. W&D 197, Shield 464, h. Apol. 133. ὃς κάλλιστος takes our position at Il. 2.673, 22.328, and with different declensions at 2.850, 21.158, Od. 4.614 = 15.114. For ἐν ἀθανάτοισι θεοῖσι, see Il. 1.520, etc.; for πάντων τε θεῶν πάντων τ' ἀνθρώπων, Il. 14.233 (speaking of Hypnos, Sleep); and for verse-beginning λυσιμελής (as epithet of Hypnos), Od. 20.57, 23.343. For ἐν στήθεσσι νόον, see Od. 13.255, but νόῳ καὶ ἐπίφρονι βουλῇ also ends 3.128.

 

Previously unnoticed: (1) suggestive if perhaps not clear-cut: for μυχῷ χθονὸς εὐρυοδείης, cf. μυχῷ κλισίης εὐπήκτου, “(Achilles slept) in the inmost part of the well-built shelter,” also the 2nd hemistich of Il. 9.663 = 24.675. (2) Definite: cf., e.g., Il. 2.405-7 Νέστορα μὲν πρώτιστα καὶ Ἰδομενῆα ἄνακτα,/ αὐτὰρ ἔπειτ’ Αἴαντε δύω καὶ Τυδέος υἱόν,/ ἕκτον δ’ αὖτ᾽ Ὀδυσῆα Διὶ μῆτιν ἀτάλαντον, “First of all Nestor and Lord Idomeneus (came to the sacrifice),/ and then the two Ajaxes and the son of Tydeus,/ and again, sixth Odysseus, of cunning to match Zeus.” (Cf. also 9.168-70, Od. 3.57-61.) This precession follows a hierarchy, as Kirk notes (ad Il. 2.404-9). By way of comparision, consider Herodotus 1.16: Ἄρδυος δὲ βασιλεύσαντος ἑνὸς δέοντα πεντήκοντα ἔτεα ἐξεδέξατο Σαδυάττης ὁ Ἄρδυος, καὶ ἐβασίλευσε ἔτεα δυώδεκα, Σαδυάττεω δὲ Ἀλυάττης, “(The king of Persia) Ardys ruled for forty-nine years, and Sadyattes succeeded Ardys and ruled twelve years, and after Sadyattes was Alyattes.”

 

#2 vv. 123-25:

 

ἐκ Χάεος δ’ Ἔρεβός τε μέλαινά τε Νὺξ ἐγένοντο·
Νυκτὸς δ’ αὖτ' Αἰθήρ τε καὶ Ἡμέρη ἐξεγένοντο,

οὓς τέκε κυσαμένη Ἐρέβει φιλότητι μιγεῖσα.

 

From Chasm arose Darkness and black Night; and again Ether[4] and Day were born to Night, her bearing them through conception, by having sex with Darkness.

 

See also 147-48: ἄλλοι δ’ αὖ Γαίης τε καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἐξεγένοντο/ τρεῖς παῖδες μεγάλοι …, “and in turn three other great sons arose from Earth and Sky (i.e., other than those cited in 139-46) … .”

 

Cf. Τρωὸς δ’ αὖ τρεῖς παῖδες ἀμύμονες ἐξεγένοντο, “and in turn three blameless sons were born to Tros, Il. 20.231 – Tros being thought the patriarch of the Trojans, himself the son of Erichthonios, 230).

 

#3 vv. 126-28:

 

Γαῖα δέ τοι πρῶτον μὲν ἐγείνατο ἶσον ἑαυτῇ

Οὐρανὸν ἀστερόενθ’, ἵνα μιν περὶ πάντα καλύπτοι,

ὄφρ’ εἴη μακάρεσσι θεοῖς ἕδος ἀσφαλὲς αἰεί.

 

See, Earth first (on the one hand) generated starry Sky to equal herself, in order to cover herself all over, so that he would always be the firm seat of the blessed gods.

 

(The “on the other hand” clause, governed by δέ, speaks of other entities being generated by Earth and Sky, beginning in the next line, 129). Cf. Il. 15.31-32 (so Janko ad 15.31-33): τῶν σ’ αὖτις μνήσω, ἵν’ ἀπολλήξῃς ἀπατάων,/ ὄφρα ἴδῃ ἤν τοι χραίσμῃ φιλότης τε καὶ εὐνή, “I (Zeus) remind you (Hera) of these things in order that you leave off your deceptions, so that you see if having sex will be useful to you.”

 

#4 Homer, Il. 1.1-2:

 

Μῆνιν ἄειδε θεὰ Πηληϊάδεω Ἀχιλῆος

οὐλομένην, ἣ μυρί’ Ἀχαιοῖς ἄλγε’ ἔθηκε.

 

Sing, goddess, the wrath of Achilles the son of Peleus,

the baneful (wrath) that put countless troubles on the Achaeans.

 

Theogony 129-30:

 

γείνατο δ' οὔρεα μακρά, θεᾶν χαρίεντας ἐναύλους

Νυμφέων, αἳ ναίουσιν ἀν’ οὔρεα βησσήεντα.

 

And (Earth) bore high mountains, the graceful shelters of goddesses,

the Nymphs who dwell in wooded mountains.

 

For discussion of the effect of enjambement combined with a relative, see Vivante.

 

#5 vv. 156-58:

 

… καὶ τῶν μὲν ὅπως τις πρῶτα γένοιτο,

πάντας ἀποκρύπτασκε, καὶ ἐς φάος οὐκ ἀνίεσκε

Γαίης ἐν κευθμῶνι. …

 

… and whenever any of (the children of Earth and Sky) was first born (Sky) would hide him/her entirely – and not allow him/her to come to light – in a hollow of Earth.

 

Cf. (so West) Il. 2.333-35:

 

ὣς ἔφατ’, Ἀργεῖοι δὲ μέγ’ ἴαχον, ἀμφὶ δὲ νῆες

σμερδαλέον κονάβησαν ἀϋσάντων ὑπ’ Ἀχαιῶν,

μῦθον ἐπαινήσαντες Ὀδυσσῆος θείοιο.

 

So (Odysseus) said, and the Argives cried out – and the ships rang all around in echo of the Achaeans’ shouting – approval of the words of god-like Odysseus.

 

(Kirk ad loc.: “a bold and dramatic application of” the standard phrase σμερδαλέον κονάβ-.) West also notes Od. 9.468-69, and other examples in the Hesiodic corpus itself.

 

#6 vv. 164-66 (Earth spoke after making a sickle with which to castrate Sky):

 

«παῖδες ἐμοὶ καὶ πατρὸς ἀτασθάλου, αἴ κ’ ἐθέλητε

πείθεσθαι· πατρός κε κακὴν τεισαίμεθα λώβην

ὑμετέρου· πρότερος γὰρ ἀεικέα μήσατο ἔργα.»

 

“Children of mine and of a reckless father, if you will heed, we can exact a penalty for the evil affront by your father; for (it was) he (who) first wrought unseemly acts.”

 

Principal parallels: παῖδες ἐμοί also begins Od. 3.475 (Nestor told his sons to harness horses so that Telemachus could go home, 476). αἴ κ’ ἐθέλητε / πείθεσθαι also occurs at Il. 14.110-11 (Diomedes told the Achaeans that if they would listen to him – which they should because he was of noble lineage, 111-27 – they would go to battle, 128-32). τεισαίμεθα λώβην also ends Il. 19.208 (Achilles said that they should wait to eat until after they “exact a penalty” for Hector killing Patroclus). For ὑμετέρου· πρότερος γάρ, cf. ἡμετέρου· μάλα γάρ, “(Zeus: Poseidon has avoided) our (anger), for (otherwise there would have been a) very (large battle),” also beginning Il. 15.224. But for the entire v. 166, cf. Od. 4.694, ἀλλ’ ὁ μὲν ὑμέτερος θυμὸς καὶ ἀεικέα ἔργα, “(Penelope, thinking that the herald Medon was a spokesman for the suitors, told him that Odysseus was a good man,) but your spirit and unseemly acts (are apparent).”

 

#7 Theogony 188-92 (the birth of Aphrodite):

 

μήδεα δ’ ὡς τὸ πρῶτον ἀποτμήξας ἀδάμαντι

κάββαλ’ ἀπ’ ἠπείροιο πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ,

ὣς φέρετ’ ἂμ πέλαγος πουλὺν χρόνον· ἀμφὶ δὲ λευκὸς

ἀφρὸς ἀπ’ ἀθανάτου χροὸς ὤρνυτο· τῷ δ’ ἔνι κούρη

ἐθρέφθη· …

 

And no sooner did (Cronus) first cut off (Sky’s) genitals with the hard-metal and throw them from the shore into the much-surging sea than they were borne on the water poulun chronon[5] and white foam formed around them from the immortal flesh; and a maiden grew up in it; …

 

Principal parallels: ὡς τὸ πρῶτον is in the same verse position at Il. 4.267, “(Idomeneus assured Agamemnon that he would be stalwart in battle) as first (he had promised).” For ἀποτμήξας ἀδάμαντι, cf. ἀπαμήσειε (v.l. ἀποτμήξειε) σιδήρῳ, “(Antilochus feared that Achilles) would cut (his throat) with iron,” also ending Il. 18.34. For μήδεα with cutting, cf. τοῦ δ’ ἀπὸ ῥινάς τε καὶ οὔατα νηλέϊ χαλκῷ/ τἀμνον, μήδεά τ’ ὲξέρθσαν, “(Odysseus and others took Melanthius) and cut off his nose and ears with the pitiless bronze, and tore away his genitals,” Od. 22.475-76 (after a similar sentence at 18.86-87). Usually one hauls a ship ἐπ’ ἠπείροιο, “up to the shore,” Il. 1.485 = Od. 16.325; cf. 16.359. πολυκλύστῳ ἐνὶ πόντῳ also ends the line at Od. 4.354, 6.204, 19.277. For ὣς φέρετ’ ἂμ πέλαγος, cf. ὣς τὴν ἂμ πέλαγος ἄνεμοι φέρον, “as the winds bore (Odysseus’s raft) on the sea” to and fro, Od. 5.330. For πουλὺν χρόνον, cf. πολὺν χρόνον, also beginning the 2^nd hemistich (if a short syllable later), Il. 2.343, etc.; Od. 2.115, etc., usually indicating a situation of stasis (see Beall 2008 for discussion). For ἀπ’ ἀθανάτου χροὸς ὤρνυτο, cf. ἀπὸ χθονὸς ὤρνυτο, “(Diomedes) rose from the ground” (on foot to vanquish two Trojans in a chariot), later in the verse, Il. 5.13.

 

#8 vv. 211-17,[6] 220-22 (more children of Night; cf. #5 above):[7]

 

Νὺξ δ’ ἔτεκε στυγερόν τε Μόρον καὶ Κῆρα μέλαιναν

καὶ Θάνατον, τέκε δ’ Ὕπνον, ἔτικτε δὲ φῦλον Ὀνείρων,

οὔ τινι κοιμηθεῖσα θεῶν τέκε Νὺξ ἐρεβεννή·

δεύτερον αὖ Μῶμον καὶ Ὀιζὺν ἀλγινόεσσαν[8]

Ἑσπερίδας θ’, αἷς μῆλα πέρην κλυτοῦ Ὠκεανοῖο

χρύσεα καλὰ μέλουσι φέροντά τε δένδρεα καρπόν·

καὶ Μοίρας καὶ Κῆρας ἐγείνατο νηλεοποίνους,                           217

αἵ τ’ ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε παραιβασίας ἐφέπουσιν,                       220

οὐδέ ποτε λήγουσι θεαὶ δεινοῖο χόλοιο

πρίν γ’ ἀπὸ τῷ δώωσι κακὴν ὄπιν ὅστις ἁμάρτῃ.

 

Night bore dreadful Doom and black Fate and Death, and bore Sleep, and bore the tribe of Dreams – gloomy Night bore them without bedding with any of the gods. Then in turn (she bore) Blame and grievous Misery and the Hesperides, who tend beautiful golden apples beyond famous Oceanus, and trees bearing the fruit; and she generated the pitilessly-punishing Destinies and Fates, the ones who see to the transgressions of men and gods, and never cease their terrible wrath, that is, until they pay back for this with the evil eye to whoever sins. (Such births continue for three more lines, up to that of Strife at 225.)

 

I suggest an actual allusion of 221-22 to (at least a close precursor of) Il. 1.97-98:

οὐδ’ ὅ γε πρὶν Δανοῖσιν ἀεικέα λοιγὸν ἀπώσει,/ πρίν γ’ ἀπὸ πατρὶ φίλῳ δόμεναι ἑλικώπιδα κούρην, “(Apollo,) now, will not yet stave off the horrible plague from the Danaans, that is, until (they) give the shifty-eyed girl back to her dear father” (granted that there are other examples where πρίν γε is preceded by a negative clause; e.g., Od. 18.288-89: a suitor told Penelope that they would not leave until she married one of them).

 

Some simpler parallels: For the juxtaposition of nux and stugeros in 211, cf. νὺξ δ’ ἔσται ὅτε δὴ στυγερὸς γάμος ὰντιβολήσει/ οὺλομένης ὲμέθεν, “(Penelope:) there will come a night when precisely a dreadful marriage will find wretched me,” Od. 18.272-73. The end of the line resembles the normal (which is subject to variations; see Fernández-Galiano ad Od. 22.14). For association of Hupnos and Thanatos, see among other places Il. 16.672 = 682 (where they are called twins). Hupnos went among the φῦλ’ ἀνθρώπων, “tribe of humans,” also verse-ending at Il. 14.361. νὺξ ἐρεβεννή also ends Il. 8.488, 9.474, W&D 17. Verse-beginning δεύτερον(-ος) with αὖ or αὖτε is common in Il. (3.191, 332 = 19.371, almost = 11.19 = 16.133, etc.), if not Od., and is also at Th. 47 and W&D 127. For enjambed Ἑσπερίδας followed by a relative, cf. ἑσπερος, ὃς κάλλιστος ἐν οὐρανῷ ἵσταται ἀστήρ, “(just as the star moves among stars at night, meaning the star) Hesperus, who stands as the most beautiful star in heaven, (so Achilles’s spear shined),” Il. 22.318. For πέρην κλυτοῦ Ὠκεανοῖο, cf. παρὰ ῥὀον Ὠκεανοῖο, “by the stream of Oceanus,” also ending Il. 16.151, Od. 11.21. As West says, χρύσεα καλά reverses the order of the normal verse-beginning expression καλὸς(-ὴν) χρύσειος(-ην) (Il. 14.351, 18.562, Od. 5.232 =10.545, 24.3, h. vi.8). But although this causes him to claim that “the whole line is unlike the style of early epic,” in fact δένδρεα καρπῷ also ends Od. 19.112. Ours is the normal verse position for ἐγείνατο, e.g. Il. 15.526. Although there is no νηλε- compound in Homer, the metrically similar expression νηλεὲς ἦμαρ, “the pitiless day (of doom),” also ends Il. 11.484, 588, 17.511, 615, Od. 8.525. ἀνδρῶν τε θεῶν τε is a common expression (although here moved from its normal verse end). δεινοῖο with the noun it modifies following it also ends Il. 5.741, Od. 10.168, 11.634, 12.94 (and at least is in our position with its noun earlier at Il. 21.25). Among numerous instances of verse-ending χόλοιο, cf. οὔ πω λῆγε χ., “(Achilles) did not yet cease his anger,” Il. 1.224. For δώωσι κακὴν ὄπιν, cf. ἐλάσωσι, θεῶν ὄπιν, speaking of men who “drive out (justice), (and pay no heed to) the gaze of the gods,” same position at Il. 16.388 (cf. W&D 251; earlier in verse, 187). Zeus punishes ὅστις ἁμάρτῃ, also ending Od. 13.214.

 

Perhaps one might also compare 212-15 with Od. 24.11-12, where Hermes conducted the dead suitors to Hades: πὰρ δ’ ἴσαν Ὠκεανοῦ τε ῥοας καὶ Λευκάδα πέτρην/ ἠδὲ παρ’ Ἠελίοιο πύλας καὶ δῆμον ὀνείρων, “they went past the stream of Oceanus and the Leucadian rock, and went by the gates of Sun and the land of dreams.”

 

#9 vv. 226-32 (the children of Strife):

 

αὐτὰρ Ἔρις στυγερὴ τέκε μὲν Πόνον ἀλγινόεντα

Λήθην τε Λιμόν τε καὶ Ἄλγεα δακρυόεντα

Ὑσμίνας τε Μάχας τε Φόνους τ’ Ἀνδροκτασίας τε

Νείκεά τε Ψευδεά τε Λόγους τ’ Ἀμφιλλογίας τε

Δυσνομίην τ’ Ἄτην τε, συνήθεας ἀλλήλῃσιν,

Ὅρκον θ’, ὃς δὴ πλεῖστον ἐπιχθονίους ἀνθρώπους

πημαίνει, ὅτε κέν τις ἑκὼν ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ.

 

Then (i.e., after her birth from Night in the previous line) dreadful Strife bore grievous Toil and Forgetfulness and Famine and Quarrels and Lies and Tales and Disputes and Lawlessness and Folly/Ruin,[9] all[10] similar in habitat to one another, and Oath, the very one who most brings harm to humans on earth when someone willingly swears falsely.

 

First, the last two lines just might have in mind the combination of Il. 15.36-38 (almost = Od. 5.184-86 = h. Apol. 84-86) and 15.41-42:

 

ἴστω νῦν τόδε Γαῖα καὶ Οὐρανος εὐρὺς ὕπερθε

καὶ τὸ κατειβόμενον Στυγὸς ὕδωρ, ὅστε μέγιστος

ὅρκος δεινότατός τε πέλει μακάρεσσι θεοῖσι.

…

μὴ δι’ ἐμὴν ἰότητα Ποσειδάων ἐνοσίχθων

πημαίνει Τρῶας τε καὶ Ἕκτορα …

 

(Hera:) Now let Earth know this, and broad Sky above, and the dripping water of Styx, which is the greatest and most dire oath for the blessed gods. … It is not by my will that earthshaker Poseidon brings harm to the Trojans and Hector.

 

Beyond that, for Ἔρις στυγερή, cf. Ἔρις κρατερή, “forceful Strife” arose when the Olympians joined the battle, our position, Il. 20.48. West (96) gives precedent for the irregular lengthening of the first τε at the beginning of 227; however, perhaps the poet is following the pattern represented by δίψα τε καὶ λιμός beginning Il. 19.166 (“thirst and hunger” will fall upon the man who fails to eat), drops καί as inconsistent with the syntax in our case, and for the sake of the alliteration replaces the first term with Λήθην with its long second syllable, thereby causing the irregularity by delaying τε so that it begins a foot. δακρυόεντα at the end of the line, given στυγερή in the previous verse, might suggest Od. 17.8: κλαυθμοῦ τε στυγεροῖο γόοιό τε δακρθόεντος, “(Penelope was unlikely to give up her) dreadful lamentation and tearful crying.” A verse with three names, of which the third has an epithet, is common (so West ad 140, with other examples in Theogony), e.g., Il. 8.275, where Teucer added Daetor and Chromius and “god-like” Lycophontes to his victims; and cf. 9.150, 11.303, 13.791, 17.218, 18.45, 48. A few Homeric lines contain four instances of τε, although there are never two such lines in succession as in our 228, 229 (and at 77-78, 134-35, 243-44, 351-52), and as is well known, 228 itself only differs from Od. 11.612 (where the given images appear on Heracles’s baldric in Hades) in that its terms are in the accusative rather than the nominative. For συνήθεας ἀλλήλῃσιν, perhaps cf. ἐναντίοι(-αι) ἀλλήλοισιν(-ῃσιν), “facing one another,” also ending Il. 11.67, Od. 10.89. For κέν τις ἑκὼν, cf. ἑκὼν δ’ οὐκ ἄν τις, “no-one would willingly (take gifts from the gods),” later in verse, Il. 3.66; τἰς δ’ ἂν ἑκών, earlier, Od.5.100. Finally ὅτις κ’ ἐπίορκον ὀμόσσῃ, “whoever swears falsely,” also ends Il. 3.279, 19.260.

 

#10 Theogony 104-16:

 

χαίρετε, τέκνα Διός, δότε δ’ ἱμερόεσσαν ἀοιδήν·

κλείετε δ’ ἀθανάτων ἱερὸν γένος αἰὲν ἐόντων,

οἳ Γῆς ἐξεγένοντο καὶ Οὐρανοῦ ἀστερόεντος,

Νυκτός τε δνοφερῆς, οὕς θ’ ἁλμυρὸς ἔτρεφε Πόντος,

εἴπατε δ’ ὡς τὰ πρῶτα θεοὶ καὶ γαῖα γένοντο

καὶ ποταμοὶ καὶ πόντος ἀπείριτος, οἴδματι θυίων,

ἄστρα τε λαμπετόωντα καὶ οὐρανὸς εὐρὺς ὕπερθεν·

[οἵ τ’ ἐκ τῶν ἐγένοντο, θεοί δωτῆρες ἐάων·][11]

ὥς τ’ ἄφενος δάσσαντο καὶ ὡς τιμὰς διέλοντο,

ἠδὲ καὶ ὡς τὰ πρῶτα πολύπτυχον ἔσχον Ὄλυμπον.

ταῦτά μοι ἔσπετε Μοῦσαι Ὀλύμπια δώματ' ἔχουσαι

ἐξ ἀρχῆς, καὶ εἴπαθ’, ὅτι πρῶτον γένετ’ αὐτῶν.

ἤτοι μὲν πρώτιστα Χάος γένετ’, …

 

Hail, children of Zeus, give delightful song; celebrate the sacred race of immortals who always are, who arose of Earth and of starry Sky, and of Night, and those whom salty Sea nourished. Say how first gods and earth were born, and rivers and the boundless sea rushing in its swell, and the flashing stars, and the broad sky above [and those born from them, the gods giving good things;] and how they[12] divided wealth and distributed honors, and too how they first (came to) hold many-ridged Olympus. Tell me these things from the beginning, Muses who dwell on Olympus, and say what the first of them to come to be was. Well,[13] first of all Chaos came to be, … .

 

See Stoddard (61-67) and her references for discussion of this passage. But as to parallels, for a specific question to the Muses like that of 114-15, followed by an answer, cf. (so West) Il. 1.8, 2.761-62, 5.703-4, 11.218-20, 14.508-10, 16.112-13 (where cf. Janko’s comment), of which the last three cases begin specifically with ἔσπετε νῦν μοι, “tell me now,” much like our case.[14] It may be added that such short questions are often preceded by a longer prelude, if not exactly by a more expansive question as in our case.

And for a question with answer including ἤτοι μὲν, cf. e.g., Od. 8.584-9.4:

 

«ἦ τίς που καὶ ἑταῖρος ἀνὴρ κεχαρισμένα εἰδως,

ἐσθλός; ἐπεὶ οὐ μέν τι κασιγνήτοιο χερείων

γίγνεται ὅς κεν ἑταῖρος ἐὼν πεπνυμένα εἰδῇ.»                        8.586

τὸν δ’ ἀπαμειβόμενος προσέφη πολύμητις Ὀδυσσεύς·          9.1

«Ἀλκίνοε κρεῖον, πάντων ἀριδείκετε λαῶν,

ἦ τοι μὲν τόδε καλὸν ἀκουέμεν ἐστὶν ἀοιδοῦ

τοιοῦδ’ οἷος ὅδ’ ἐστί, θεοῖς ἐναλίγκιος αὐδήν.»

 

“(Alcinous has been asking why the singer’s account of the War makes Odysseus sad; did some kinsman die there?) Or could it have been some comrade, a charitable and noble man? Indeed, no comrade of wise counsel is inferior to a brother.” (9.1) And Odysseus of many wiles said to him in response, “august Alcinous, distinguished over all people, well, it is beautiful to listen to a singer such as this one, with voice of the gods. (Odysseus then elaborates the latter thought prior to actually speaking of his troubles as asked, beginning at 9.12.)”

 

For ἦ τοι μὲν in response to a previous speaker, cf. also Od. 1.307, 7.298, 10.271, 11.505, 12.385, 17.6, 19.124, 560, 24.281. For recent “contextual” understandings of some particles (if not specifically ἤτοι) traditionally thought syntactical in nature, see the articles in Rijksbaron, particularly those by de Jong and by Wakker.

 

 

Cited works:

 

Arrighetti, G., ed. 1998. Esiodo Opere. Pisa.

----- 2006. Poesia, Poetiche e Storia nella Reflessione dei Greci. Pisa.

Beall, E. F. 2003. Listening to the Spider: reading Hesiod’s Works and Days. Links to

the chapters are at http://poetry.efbeall.net/wdcommentary/contents.htm.

----- 2004. “The Plow that Broke the Plain Epic Tradition: Hesiod Works and Days, vv.

414-503,” CA 23: 1-32.

----- 2008. “Did it Take Time to Create Aphrodite?,” presented at the CEMERS

conference Venus and the Venereal: Interpretations and Representations from

Classical Antiquity through the Eighteenth Century, Binghamton, NY, April 25-26;

now at http://poetry.efbeall.net/aphrodite.htm.

----- forthcoming. “Once more on Hesiod’s supposed Tartarus principle,” textual note on

Theogony 116-22 to appear in CW.

Beye, C. R. 1972. “The Rhythm of Hesiod’s Works and Days,” HSCP 76: 23-43, espec.

23-24.

Bussanich, J. 1983. “A Theoretical Interpretation of Hesiod’s Chaos,” CP 78: 212-19.

Cerri, G. 1999. “Cronologia dell’Ade in Omero, Esiodo e Parmenide,” PP 50: 437-67, at

452.

Clay, J. S. 2003. Hesiod’s Cosmos. Cambridge. Espec. 15-20.

Edwards, G. P. 1971. The Language of Hesiod in its Traditional Context. Oxford. 74-84

(“parallels of sound”); 93-99 (enjambement).

Fernández-Galiano, M. 1992. A Commentary on Homer’s Odyssey, Vol. III. Books XXI-

XXII. Oxford.

Graham, D. 2006 Explaining the Cosmos: The Ionian Tradition of Scientific Philosophy.

Princeton. 5-7, 93-95.

Janko, R. 1992. The Iliad: A Commentary, gen. ed. G. S. Kirk, Vol. IV. Books 13-16.

Cambridge.

Lauriola, R. 2004. “La discendenza di Notte in Esiodo, Theog. 211-213.” Prometheus 30:

1-22.

Kelly, A. 2007. “How to End an Orally-Derived Epic Poem.” TAPA 137: 371-402.

Kirk, G. S. 1985. The Iliad: A Commentary, gen. ed. G. S. Kirk, Vol. I. Books 1-4.

Cambridge.

Lev Kenaan, V. 2008. Pandora’s Senses. The Feminine Character of the Ancient Text.

Madison.

Most, G. W. 2004. “Two Notes on Hesiod’s Theogony (116-22, 426-39).” In Studia

Humanitatis ac Litterarum Trifolio Heidelbergensi dedicata. Festschrift f. E.

Christman, W. Edelmaier u. R. Kettemann, ed. A. Hornung, C. Jäkel, and W. Schubert (Frankfurt aM). 175-83, at 176-77.

-----, ed./transl. 2006. Hesiod. Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia. Cambridge, MA.

Pavesi, C. O. and P. Venti. 2000. A complete formular analysis of the Hesiodic poems.

Amsterdam.

Rijksbaron, A., ed. 1997. New Approaches to Greek Particles. Amsterdam.

Stoddard, K. 2004. The Narrative Voice in the Theogony of Hesiod. Leiden.

Stokes, M. C. 1963. “Hesiodic and Milesian Cosmogonies – II.” Phronesis 8: 1-34.

Vivante, P. 1997. Homeric Rhythm. Westport, CT. 50-51.

West, M. L. 1966. Hesiod. Theogony. Oxford.

 

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