In his magisterial work Persephone, Zuntz drew a basic distinction between two sets of Orphic gold leaves—those known from the elaborate tumuli at Thurii, which he called Group A, and a more widely scattered series, Group B, then represented by two longer texts from Petelia in southern Italy and Pharsalus in Thessaly, and, in a shortened form, by a series of six short texts from the environs of Eleutherna in Crete. Three further finds have reinforced Zuntz's distinctions: first, a tablet (...) from Hipponium, the colony of Epizephyrian Locri in southern Italy, published by Foti and Pugliese Carratelli, then a lamella said to be from Thessaly but now in Malibu and published by Breslin, and finally a tablet said to be from Entella in Sicily and recently in Geneva, which was published in a bad transcription by Frel and much clarified by Riedweg. The first and third belong to Zuntz's Group B, while the second is close to his Group C. Pugliese Carratelli has published an exceptionally fine set of photographs of all the texts except those from Petelia and Entella. My restudy of the leaf from Petelia has led to some improved readings. Not even a drawing exists of the Entellan leaf, which no scholar except its first editor has ever seen. This fact prompted a reviewer of this article to wonder about its authenticity. In the absence of the object itself, such doubts can only be allayed if its text consistently contributes to improving our understanding of the archetype from which it is derived. One of the aims of this article is to show that it does indeed do so. (shrink)

The more I understand the Southslavic poetry and the nature of the unity of the oral poem, the clearer it seems to me that the Iliad and the Odyssey are very exactly, as we have them, each one of them the rounded and finished work of a single singer…. I even figure to myself, just now, the moment when the author of the Odyssey sat and dictated his song, while another, with writing materials, wrote it down verse by verse, even (...) in the way that our singers sit in the immobility of their thought, watching the motion of Nikola's hand across the empty page, when it will tell them it is the instant for them to speak the next verse. (shrink)

The more I understand the Southslavic poetry and the nature of the unity of the oral poem, the clearer it seems to me that theIliadand theOdysseyare very exactly, as we have them, each one of them the rounded and finished work of a single singer…. I even figure to myself, just now, the moment when the author of theOdysseysat and dictated his song, while another, with writing materials, wrote it down verse by verse, even in the way that our singers (...) sit in the immobility of their thought, watching the motion of Nikola's hand across the empty page, when it will tell them it is the instant for them to speak the next verse. (shrink)

In Python's comic satyr play Agen Harpalus, Alexander's errant treasurer, is mocked for erecting costly buildings left and right to honour his dead lover, the notorious prostitute Pythionice:ἔστιν δ’ ὅπου μὲν ὁ κάλαμος πέϕυχ’ ὅδε†ϕέτωμ’ ἄορνον, οὑξ ἀριστερᾶς δ’ ὅδεπόρνης ὁ κλεινὸς ναός, ὃν δὴ Παλλίδηςτεύξας κατέγνω διὰ τὸ πρᾶγμ’ αὑτοῦ ϕυγήν.1–2 πέϕυκε· ὁ δ’ εϕετωμα ορνον Athenaei cod. A: ὅδε scr. Dindorf, ἄορνον Fiorillo †ϕέτωμ’ vox desperata: ϕάτνωμ’ Fiorillo, ἕλωμ’ Meineke, πέτρωμ’ Pezopulus, ϕλέωμ’ A. von Blumenthal, στόμωμ’ Erbse, ϕηγὼν (...) Friebel. (shrink)

The On Poems by Philodemus of Gadara is our main source for Hellenistic literary and critical theory. This first edition of Book 2 includes a Greek text and facing English translation of the newly reconstructed treatise on poetry in ancient Greek, as well as a comprehensive introduction and incisive analytical commentary.

This chapter contains sections titled: New Evidence for the Intellectuals' Challenge to Greek Religion The Origins of Allegorical Interpretation “There Is Only One God and He Arranges Everything for the Best” Diagoras' Critique of the Mysteries and His Condemnation Diagoras of Melos and the Faith of Socrates Socrates Against the Poets The Religion of Socrates and His Condemnation The Dangers of Freethinking in Classical Athens.

Nouns and personal names ending in –εύς –ῆϝος are unique to Greek, and have often been deemed pre-Hellenic in origin simply on account of the lack of Proto-Indo-European correspondences. Our failure to find convincing etymologies for βασιλεύς, ἑρμηνεύς, and βραβεύς has itself contributed to this view. However, we should hesitate, for general reasons, to posit pre-Hellenic origins for these words, since viable explanations both of βασιλεύς and of ἑρμηνεύς lie near to hand. Although the explanation of βασιλεύς that will be (...) proposed below still presents difficulties, I believe that it improves on previous attempts. (shrink)