The article proves that the term mouseion used by Plato in Phaedrus 278b cannot mean “sanctuary/shrine of the Muses” here, but it probably refers to the cicadas chirping under the plane tree of which Socrates speaks earlier in the dialogue (259b-c). Such an interpretation is consistent with our knowledge of the early stage of development of the concept of mouseion, and also with its use elsewhere in Plato’s dialogue (267b). It should therefore be concluded that the cult of the Muses (...) at the Ilissus, known from late testimonies, did not come from the classical era and appeared under the influence of reading Plato’s dialogue. Plato’s testimony should also not be raised as an important argument in disputes regarding the relationship of the nymphs and the Muses and the early identification of the Muses with water. (shrink)

Summary This contribution contains a critical re-assessment of the earliest archaeological material originating from the Valley of the Muses, i.e. archaic vessels and figurines, two examples of hydriai allegedly linked with the Muses, and an iconographic testimony. In the current historiography, these sources are still considered to confirm the archaic, or even earlier, origin of the cult of the Muses at the foot of Mount Helicon. An analysis of testimonies is complemented with an overview of a broader cultural context (i.e. (...) the musical agones, the Muses and nymphs and the emergence of the cult of poets/intellectuals); this enables us to assess the sources and chronological considerations. Conclusions drawn from the re-assessment of testimonies are of key importance not only to the dating of the cult of the Muses at this site, but also to our assessment of the phenomenon of the cult of these goddesses in the Greek world in general. (shrink)

Name der Zeitschrift: Klio Jahrgang: 99 Heft: 2 Seiten: 485-512.

The third stasimon of Oedipus Rex is the climax of the play, separating the conversation with the Corinthian messenger from the interrogation of the shepherd, so crucial for the narrative. Indeed, the question τίς σε, τέκνον, τίς σ’ ἔτικτε, critical for the plot, comes right at the beginning of its antistrophe. Sophocles, however, offers no easy answer to it. Instead, he provides yet another narrative misdirection, one that—for the last time—suggests that the paths of the king of Thebes and of (...) his predecessor may have been divergent: the possibility that Oedipus’ divine ancestry would question the prophecy of Apollo. After enumerating Pan, Hermes and Apollo himself as possible parents, the song also mentions Dionysus and the ‘Heliconian nymphs’. The reference to Helicon has perplexed the readers for many years, since the text seems to focus on Cithaeron as the ‘birthplace’. As a result, editions and translations prefer the conjecture ἑλικωπίδων proposed by U. von Wilamowitz-Moellendorff in 1879, over Ἑλικωνίδων, the form present in all manuscripts. In this paper I argue that an analysis of our sources for Heliconian cults, an assessment of the performative context, and a close reading of the stasimon and its place in the narrative, all suggest that the manuscript reading should be retained. (shrink)