Early Greek Epic Fragments II

Epics on Herakles: Kreophylos and Peisandros

Christos Tsagalis

• Publisher: De Gruyter
• Year: 2022
• Topic: Literature
• eBook ISBN:
  9783110767643
• Subtopic: Ancient & Classical Literary Criticism
• Index: Literature

This is a full-scale edition with commentary of the archaic epic poems Oichalias Halosis by Kreophylos of Samos and Herakleia by Peisandros of Kamiros. The Greek text (divided between testimonies and fragments) is accompanied by detailed critical apparatus and English translation. There are also extensive introductions to the biography of each poet, the title of the poem, its content and style, as well as a careful examination of the relative chronology of each epic. The detailed commentary of every fragment offers an up-to-date examination of all the extant material that has come down to us through a rich indirect tradition. This is the second installment of the project Early Greek Epic Poets (vol. I: Genealogical and Antiquarian Epic, De Gruyter 2017), which aims to enhance the study of Greek epic poetry of the archaic and classical period by means of providing readers with authoritative editions and commentaries of a significant part of fragmentary early Greek epic.

Peisandros of Kamiros: Commentary

1 Life

Despite the number of testimonia about Peisandros the information with respect to his life is extremely limited. This observation is based on the fact that most of the material available pertains to his poetic recognition. The testimonia about Peisandros fall into the following categories: (a) class A, which contains biographical material and information about his work (test. 1^A–C, 2 EGEF); (b) class B, which concerns his poetic production (test. 2–5 EGEF); (c) class C, which pertains to his inclusion in the canon of the five¹⁰ famous Greek epic poets (test. 6^A–E EGEF).¹¹

Peisandros was the son of Peison and Aristaichma from Kamiros, a city in Rhodos.¹² We do not possess any other information with respect to his family with the exception of the fact that he had a sister called Diokleia.¹³ His father’s name (Peison) is well attested in the island of Rhodos (8x), both in the city of Rhodos (4x) and in Kamiros (4x). The same applies to his sister’s name (Diokleia) which is attested 4x in the whole island (3x in the city of Rhodos and 1x in Kamiros),¹⁴ while his mother’s name¹⁵ is a hapax legomenon for Rhodos.¹⁶ His designation as Kamirian is attested in no less than five testimonia,¹⁷ while the label Rhodian is given to him only once.¹⁸ Kamiros¹⁹ was situated in the northwestern part of the island of Rhodos. It is first mentioned in the Catalogue of Ships (Il. 2.656)²⁰ in the context of Tlepolemos’ Rhodian contingent representing the three Archaic cities of Rhodos,²¹ i.e. Lindos, Ialysos, and Kamiros.²² The fact that Tlepolemos is the leader of all Rhodians in the Iliad testifies to some sort of early political unity, long before the formation of a synoecism in 408/7 BC by these three independent Dorian cities. The importance of Herakles for the whole island is reflected in the fact that Tlepolemos is his offspring (Il. 2.658, 5.628, 5.638–9).²³ In the Archaic Period, Kamiros was a member of the Δωρικὴ Ἑξάπολις or Δωριέων Ἑξάπολις (with two more Rhodian cities, i.e. Lindos and Ialysos, the island of Kos, and two cities in Asia Minor, i.e Knidos, and Halikarnassos).²⁴ The fact that we know of several poets from Rhodos dating to the Archaic and Classical Period (Kleoboulos²⁵ and his daughter ‘Kleoboulina’²⁶ from Lindos, Timokreon²⁷ of Ialysos) testifies to the existence of a lively intellectual environment within which flourished the epic poet Peisandros.²⁸

The Suda offers the following information concerning Peisandros’ life: (a) he was a contemporary of the poet Eumolpos, whose lover he was; (b) he was earlier than Hesiod, and (c) his floruit is placed in the 33^rd Olympiad (= 648–5 BC). Both (a) and (b) display the well-known tendency of relative periodization of an author with respect to other famous authors by means of predating, postdating, or synchronizing.²⁹ As far as Eumolpos is concerned, West has argued (hesitantly) that it may be a textual error for Eumelos, the famous epic poet of the Archaic Period from Corinth.³⁰ West’s correction is supported by another, completely safe this time,³¹ emendation of Eumolpos to Eumelos by Gyraldus in Σ Pind. O. 13.31a (= Eum. test. 5 EGEF).³² A further argument in support of this correction is furnished by the consideration that the association between Eumelos and Peisandros may have been triggered (like the ensuing one between Peisandros and Hesiod) by their sharing of mythical material with respect to Herakles. Helios’ crossing of the Okeanos on a cauldron featured in Eumelos (Tit. fr. 12 EGEF) and the relevant information is cited by Athenaios in the context of a comparison with various other versions³³ among which features that of Peisandros (in which Helios gave his cup to Herakles so that he may cross the Okeanos).³⁴ There is, though, an important counter-argument: Clement’s³⁵ claim that Eumelos plagiarized Hesiod’s poetry shows (irrespective of its lack of accuracy) that he was considered to be later than Hesiod. This would be in tune with the first relative chronology of the Suda but dissonant with the second relative chronology (also mentioned by the Suda), according to which Peisandros was earlier than Hesiod. Be that as it may, the reference to a possible love affair between Eumolpos and Peisandros is mere fiction, which has originated from the desire to make the Rhodian poet a ‘student’ of a famous singer belonging to popular culture. The erotic affair, in which Peisandros would have been the eromenos, aimed at making him a sort of ‘student’ of Eumolpos, by whom he would have been heavily influenced with respect to his poetic skill. In this way, Eumolpos’ poetic charisma would pass on Peisandros. In the case of Hesiod, the aim is the same but the criterion of periodization different. The presentation of Peisandros as older than Hesiod is probably based on the latter’s references to the Herakles myths.³⁶ If by having Peisandros predate Hesiod a dependence of the latter on the former with respect to Herakles is meant, it is ill-conceived. For Hesiod there are no traces of such an association either with respect to Herakles’ club and lionskin (Peis. test. 1^A, frr. 1^A–B, 2^A EGEF) or concerning the crossing of the Okeanos by means of Helios’ cup (Peis. fr. 6 EGEF). Perhaps the association has been caused by Hesiod’s reference (Th. 287–94) to Herakles’ crossing of the Okeanos on his way to Geryoneus without consideration of the total absence of any mention of Helios providing Herakles with the necessary means for making the journey to Erytheia.

There is no scholarly consensus with respect to Peisandros’ date. One group of scholars favors the 7^th century BC and another one the 6^th. In cases like this a final verdict rests on the weight one is prepared to put on individual sources, a...

Table of contents

• Title Page
• Copyright
• Contents
• Preface
• Note on Citation System and Spelling of Greek Names
• List of Plates
• Introduction
• Kreophylos of Samos: Text, Critical Apparatus, and Translation
• Kreophylos of Samos: Commentary
• Peisandros of Kamiros: Text, Critical Apparatus, and Translation
• Peisandros of Kamiros: Commentary
• Index of Subjects
• Index of Greek
• Index of Sources by Author
• Comparatio Numerorum
• Plates