Table Of ContentSASCLEPIADES of
SAMOS
AND
LLEONIDAS
of TTARENTUM
The “Poems
SASCLEPIADES of
SAMOS
AND
LLEONIDAS
of TARENTUM
The Poems
Jerry Clack
F.
Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.
Wauconda, Illinois
Cover ‘Design
Anemones and Ivy
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© 1999 Bolchazy-Carducci Publishers, Inc.
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1999
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Paperback: ISBN 0-86516-456-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Asclepiades, of Samos
Asclepiades of Samos and Leonidas of Tarentum : the poems /
Jerry Clack.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-86516-456-8 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Epigrams, Greek. 2. Greek poetry, Hellenistic. 3. Epigrams,
Greek Problems, exercises, etc. 4. Greek language, Hellenistic (300
B.C.-600 A.D.) Readers. 5. Greek poetry, Hellenistic Problems,
exercises, etc. I. Leonidas, of Tarentum, fl. ca. 294-ca. 281 B.C.
Il. Clack, Jerry. Il. Title.
PA3936.A6 Al3 1999
888'.0102--dce21 99-21625
CIP
FOREWORD
With the exception of the Roman poet Martial, ancient epigram has
traditionally received scant attention from classicists. Granted,
there are texts more deserving of careful scrutiny than much of the
“occasional spirit” which pervades a greater part of the ancient
epigrammatic collections. Contemporary practice exposes students
to fifteen or twenty of these brief poems culled from the entire
breath of the Greek Anthology, epigrams which have caught the
editor’s fancy. Such a practice gives little sense of what an
individual author is about. On the other hand, the study of the entire
corpus of one or two of these writers of vers de société--where there
is a sufficient text to deal with--is not without its rewards.
It is my hope in editing this modest collection of the poetry of
Asclepiades and Leonidas of Tarentum to give university students
an opportunity to scrutinize in greater depth the style and subject
matter peculiar to them both.
These two poets, standing as they do at the head of the
Hellenistic epigrammatic tradition, appear to have influenced
strongly the genre’s development over the following centuries, a
development which culminated in the exquisite poetry of Meleager.
The text used in this volume is that of A. S. F. Gow and D. L.
Page in their unrivaled Hellenistic Epigrams. Selections 48-51 of
Asclepiades are drawn from the Supplementum Hellenisticum.
Occasionally, I have incorporated readings of the text which Gow
and Page rejected. It is my feeling that in an edition aimed primarily
at an undergraduate population there are occasions where
approximate sense is more important than the pursuit of an uncertain
accuracy in the text.
The order in which the epigrams are presented is that of Gow and
Page. Since the appearance of Hellenistic Epigrams, this grouping
by subject matter has become widely accepted through the scholarly
world. Appended to the Asclepiades’ collection are several
fragments in addition to epigrams which are attributed to him
(Selections 48 to 51).
Perhaps most difficult was the question of how the texts and
notes might be presented to give some sense of unity to the volume.
It is for that reason that the biographical material for both poets is
presented as a unit, while the epigrams of each are followed by the
commentary appropriate to that collection.
In addition to a comprehensive glossary, I have listed the sources
of each epigram, included an index to the proper names found in
both poets’ works and an extensive bibliography easily accessible
through any college library.
I wish to express my heartfelt thanks to Lawrence Gaichas,
Christine George, Karen Hoover, Kathryn Julius, Declan Lyons and
Michael Skor, for their unfailing assistance in the preparation of this
volume.
-Vi1-
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction l
Asclepiades of Samos: The Poems 19
Commentary 31
Leonidas of Tarentum: The Poems 77
Commentary 107
Sources of the Poems 187
Index of Proper Names 10]
Selected Bibliography 199
Glossary 211
-Vil-
INTRODUCTION
It is ironic that the two epigrammatists who appear (since the
dearth of other contemporary epigrammatists clouds our judgment)
to have set the course of Greek epigram for the next three hundred
years hailed from the two ends of the Greek world, Samos and
Tarentum. For Asclepiades, the epigram is a vehicle of personal
feeling, while in the hands of Leonidas, although his epigrams
cover a broader field, the prevailing impression which the reader
comes away with is that of concern for the poor and with the
suffering which attends those of lowly state.
ASCLEPIADES OF SAMOS
Oh nuit! J'avais juré d'aimer cette infidéle
Et toi, lampe nocture, astre cher ἃ l'Amour ...
Cest toi qui fus témoin de ses douces promesses!
Et tu ne t'éteinds pas a l'aspect de son crime!
André Chenier, Elégies 20, “La Lampe"
His Life
Biographical evidence for a majority of Hellenistic epigrammatists
is scanty. Much that is promulgated is based on hypothesis and on
the cross referencing of data which is itself unreliable and insub-
stantial. The case of Asclepiades is no exception.
Although there is general agreement that he was a native of
Samos, conjectures about his date of birth range between 340 and
320 BCE. The earlier date is influenced by an epigram on Cleopa-
tra (A.P. 9. 752 [Selection 44]) whom most identify as the daughter
of Philip IT of Macedon. She was murdered in 308 or 309 BCE in
Sardis at the instigation of Antigonus I (Cyclops), at that time
regent of Macedonia. If the epigram is addressed to her, it is
reasonable to believe that it was written several years before her
death, thus favoring a date considerably earlier than 320 BCE for
Asclepiades' birth.
Such dating would make him a contemporary of Philetas of Cos,
one of the inaugurators of the Alexandrian scholar-poet tradition.
However, the epigram is attributed as well to Antipater of Sidon,
a first century BCE epigrammatist. Should the poem be proven the
work of Antipater, the argument for Asclepiades' earlier date is
vitiated.
In any case, it appears that Asclepiades served as a model for
several epigrams by Posidippus of Pella. Such instances are
pointed out in the Commentary, as they occur. In other epigrams,
Posidippus apparently borrowed lines or parts of lines from
Asclepiades (4.}. 5. 158 [Selection 4]).
Dates may be established more firmly for Posidippus since three
dedicatory epigrams of his have been preserved. One deals with the
construction of the Pharos at Alexandria between 290-280 BCE (P.
Firmin-Didot Papyrus), and two refer to Callicrates' dedication
about 273 BCE of the temple of Arsinoé-Aphrodite at Zephyrion
(P. Firmin-Didot Papyrus and Ath. 7.318D). With these poems as
evidence, we may conclude that Asclepiades was already of estab-
lished reputation when the imitations mentioned above were made,
and so he might be counted an older contemporary of Posidippus.
Account should also be taken of the fact that not a few epigrams in
the Palatine Anthology are ascribed to both Asclepiades and
Posidippus, a phenomenon which perhaps indicates a close
relationship between the two.
On more certain terrain, we discover that proxeny, that is,
honorary citizenship, was bestowed on both Asclepiades and
Posidippus at Delphi around 275 BCE (C. Trypanis, "Posidippus
and Delphi").
