This article focuses on the interpretation of Homeric ἴσκε(ν) (Od. 19.203; 22.31) as well as its reception in Apollonius Rhodius (A. R. 1.834 et alibi) and Theocritus (Id. 22.167). I argue that the passage Od. 22.31-33, in which ἴσκεν (Od. 22.31) occurs, was owed to a bard’s imitation of Od. 19.203, who not only took ἴσκε (Od. 19.203) as a verbum dicendi but used ἴσκεν ἕκαστος ἀνήρ at Od. 22.31 as a semantic equivalent of the Homeric formula ὣς ἄρα τις (...) εἴπεσκε(ν). It will further show that Apollonius’ frequent employment of ἴσκω meaning ‘say’ is mainly modelled on Od. 22.31 and ἴσκον at Theocritus Id. 22.167 is understood by the poet as an ‘iterative’. If this interpretation is accepted, it might shed some new light on the relative chronology of Apollonius’ Argonautica and Theocritus’ two Idylls (13; 22). (shrink)

This paper examines the semantics and the narrative function of Calypso’s island, which can be understood as a locus amoenus. The description moves from the inner cave of a lovely nymph outward to the surroundings of the seductive landscape. Hermes’ pleasure at the scene stands in contrast to the disinterested attitude of Odysseus weeping on the shore, which anticipates his rejection of the nymph. The connections between this scene and the weeping Achilles looking out over the sea in a similar (...) setting further define this contrast as a central theme of the Calypso episode. The semantics of the locus amoenus in Od. 5 is paralleled by the Sirens’ meadow, which stands in juxtaposition with their seductive voice. (shrink)

In this paper I offer a new interpretation of Sappho fr. 44 V by arguing for a sophisticated reading of the phrase κλέος ἄφθιτον at Sappho fr. 44.4 V in light of two Homeric sources. While the Sapphic verse directly alludes to the identical expression found in Achilles’ famous speech (Il. 9.413), the Iliadic passage serves further as a ‘window reference’ to Hector’s imagination of his future renown (Il. 7.91), which is the ultimate source of Sappho’s allusion.

The Cyrus anecdote recounted in the final chapter of Herodotus’Histories(9.122) has received the frequent notice of critics, with particular attention paid to the anecdote's relation to the work as a whole. Scholars have long since noted that the episode involves ‘the intersection of two basic narrative modes on which Herodotus has relied throughout theHistories: ethnographic description and detailed accounts of political activity and decision-making’. Thus scholars have illuminated the significance of the anecdote by comparing it to other thematically related passages (...) in theHistories. Reading the closure of theHistoriesin terms of didactic enterprise, recent treatments of the anecdote tend to view Herodotus’ use of it as a moral lesson to his contemporary Athenians. (shrink)

This article argues that the episode in Il. 24.552–658 involving Achilles and Priam brings out the hero’s ability to control his emotions – even if he did lose them momentarily – by means of his calculation of what will come next. This interpretation fits the compositional structure of the epic, whose closure is highlighted by the hero’s dramatized emotions in his encounter with the Trojan king.

In this article, I argue for Sophocles’ dramatic use of γνώμη-language at the end of his Philoctetes. Through a thorough analysis of the phrase γνώμη … φίλων at l. 1467, I demonstrate how Sophocles drew on the contemporary resonances of γνώμη in Athenian legal contexts to make the play’s final scene rich and complex. In addition, the tension between the mortal and divine worlds, which is a recurrent theme in the play, is mirrored in the expression γνώμη … φίλων, which (...) is sandwiched between Μοῖρα and πανδαμάτωρ δαίμων at ll. 1466-1468. Both points add to our understanding of how the sense of closure is achieved at the end of the play. (shrink)

In their edition of Philostratus’ Imagines Benndorf and Schenkel established an index locorum, ‘ex quibus tamquam fontibus Philostratus ea quae in Imaginibus leguntur hausisse videtur’. For the passage quoted above, they note three allusions to the Odyssey: the famous snow-melting simile, which describes the weeping Penelope; Penelope's loom, on which she unravelled at night what she had woven during the day ; and the invisible bonds of Hephaestus as fine as spiders’ webs.

Journal Name: Philologus Issue: Ahead of print.