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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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CALLIMACHUS IN CONTEXT
Scholarly reception has bequeathed two Callimachuses: the Roman
version is a poet of elegant non-heroic poetry (usually erotic elegy),
representedbyahandfulofintertextswitharecurringsetofimages–
slenderMuse,instructingdivinity,smallvoice,purewaters;theGreek
version emphasizes a learned scholar who includes literary criticism
withinhispoetry,anencomiastofthePtolemies,apoetofthebook
whosenarrativesareoftenunderstoodasmetapoetic.Thisstudyaims
tosituatetheseCallimachuseswithinaseriesofinterlockinghistorical
and intellectual contexts in order better to understand how they
arose.Inthisnarrativeofhispoeticsandpoeticreceptionfourmain
sourcesofcreativeopportunismareidentified:Callimachus’reactions
to philosophers and literary critics as arbiters of poetic authority,
the potential of the text as a venue for performance, awareness of
Alexandria as a new place, and, finally, his attraction for Roman
poets.
benjamin acosta-hughes is Professor of Greek and Latin at
TheOhioStateUniversity.HeistheauthorofPolyeideia:TheIambi
of Callimachus and the Archaic Iambic Tradition (2002), of Arion’s
Lyre:ArchaicLyricintoHellenisticPoetry(2010),andco-editor,with
ManuelBaumbachandElizabethKosmetatou,ofLaboredInPapyrus
Leaves:PerspectivesonanEpigramCollectionAttributedtoPosidippus
(P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309). He is also co-editor, with Luigi Lehnus and
SusanA.Stephens,ofBrill’sCompaniontoCallimachus(2011).
susan a. stephensisSaraHartKimballProfessorintheHuman-
ities,andProfessorofClassicsatStanfordUniversity.Sheisauthorof
SeeingDouble:InterculturalPoeticsinPtolemaicAlexandria(2003),a
studythathastransformedscholarlythinkingaboutEgyptaspresent
in Hellenistic poetry. Trained as a papyrologist, she co-edited, with
the late Jack Winkler, Ancient Greek Novels: The Fragments (1995).
She is the author of numerous articles on Hellenistic poetry, and is
co-editor,withBenjaminAcosta-HughesandLuigiLehnus,ofBrill’s
CompaniontoCallimachus(2011).Sheisalsoco-editor,withPhiroze
Vasunia,ofthe2010collectionClassicsandNationalCultures.
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Cambridge University Press
978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
Frontmatter
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© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
Frontmatter
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CALLIMACHUS IN CONTEXT
From Plato to the Augustan Poets
BENJAMIN ACOSTA-HUGHES AND
SUSAN A. STEPHENS
© in this web service Cambridge University Press www.cambridge.org
Cambridge University Press
978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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cambridge university press
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Firstpublished2012
PrintedintheUnitedKingdomattheUniversityPress,Cambridge
AcataloguerecordforthispublicationisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationdata
Acosta-Hughes,Benjamin,1960–
Callimachusincontext:fromPlatototheAugustanpoets/BenjaminAcosta-Hughes,
SusanA.Stephens.
p. cm.
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
isbn978-1-107-00857-1
1.Callimachus–Criticismandinterpretation. 2.Callimachus–Appreciation–Rome.
3.Aesthetics,Ancient. 4.Alexandria(Egypt)–Intellectuallife. I.Stephens,SusanA. II.Title.
pa3945.z5a35 2011
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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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Contents
Listofmaps pagevii
Acknowledgments viii
Listofabbreviations x
Maps xii
Introduction 1
1. Literaryquarrels 23
23
Suicidebythebook
31
PlatointheAetiaPrologue
47
“MixingIons”
57
Hipponaxandmimeticplay
68
Thepowerofthepoet
78
“Commonthings”
80
Thecrowd
2. Performingthetext 84
84
Thesoundsofreading
90
Dramaticperformance
102
Lyric
105
Thepaean
108
“Lyrics”forAlexandria
112
Chorusesandchoraldancing
116
Stichicmeters
130
Textualandintertextualsymposia
133
Inthepublicsphere
140
Intheprivatesphere
3. Changingplaces 148
149
De-centeringGreece
155
Cyrene
160
TheCyrenaica
163
Alexandria
v
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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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vi Contents
168
TheArgiveancestors
170
The“causes”ofAlexandria
196
AtticaviewedfromAlexandria
202
Thenewcenter
4. Inmyendismybeginning 204
207
Early“translation”
212
Thedoctuspoeta
233
Writingforroyals
244
CallimachusinPropertius
255
TheRomanCallimachus
257
OvidandCallimachus
Conclusions 270
Appendix:TheAetia 275
Bibliography 292
Indexlocorum 307
Subjectindex 317
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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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Maps
AllmapspreparedbyAlDuncan.
1. HellenisticCyrenewithsitesofimportancefor
Callimachus’poetry(followingBonacasaandEnsoli),with
aninsertshowingdetailofthesanctuaryofApollo. pagexii
2. EarlyAlexandria. xiii
3. TheEasternMediterranean,showingregionscontrolledby
theearlyPtolemiesandlocationsofimportancein
Callimachus’Aetia. xiv
4. TheAegeanSea,detailoflargermapwithlocationsof
importanceinCallimachus’Aetia. xvi
vii
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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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Acknowledgments
This study is the result of an ongoing conversation about the poet Calli-
machus that began in the late 1990s. The experience of co-authoring an
articleontheAetiaPrologueledustoconsiderwritingabooktogetheras
anintellectualandpersonalpleasure,whilethequestionsraisedbystudents
in our respective seminars over the years helped us to frame our research
and writing as best we could to answer the most recurrent and pressing
of these. Why do there appear to be so many Platonic tangents in Cal-
limachus? Why, in a poet considered the model of the “bookish” author,
aretheresomanyindicationsofpoeticperformance?Whatistherapport
betweenthePtolemiesandtheirpoliticalinterestsandaremarkablydiffuse
bodyofworkofonecourtpoet?WhyisCallimachusanongoingfeatureof
Romanpoeticculture,andinsuchaparticularway?Eachofthesequestions
hasresultedinoneofthechaptersofthepresentstudy.
DuringtheperiodofourcollaborationthescholarlydiscourseonHel-
lenistic poetry has begun to change. The publication of the epigram roll
of Posidippus of Pella surprised with its blend of aesthetics and and pol-
itics; work on Philodemus continues to enable a better understanding of
the relationship of Hellenistic critical theories to poetic practice; and the
remarkable underwater archaeological discoveries of the Empereur and
Goddio teams, as well as recent recoveries in the city of Alexandria itself,
have cast new light on the Greco-Egyptian milieu of the Ptolemies. The
publication of new commentaries on the Aetia and of recent editions of
Callimachus’collectedpoetrybyMarkusAsper(inGerman)andGiambat-
tista D’Alessio (in Italian) have greatly increased our ability to appreciate
thisveryfragmentaryauthor.
Thesedevelopmentshaveactedasstimuliforourideasandhaveenriched
ourunderstanding,andweofferCallimachusinContexttoalargercritical
audience as part of this evolving discourse. Throughout this has been a
workofcollaborationratherthanacombinationofseparatelyconstructed
segments, and we are equally responsible for the book’s strong, and, if so
viii
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Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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Acknowledgments ix
judged, weak points. Although we shall continue writing together on a
differentproject,nowitistimeforustoclosethischapter.
It is with pleasure and gratitude that we acknowledge here the help
and support of friends and colleagues who made the process of writing
thisbooksorewarding.Anumberofscholarshaveprovideduswiththeir
work in advance of publication: we wish to thank Diskin Clay, Kathryn
Gutzwiller, Lloyd Llewellyn-Jones and Stephanie Winder, Patrick Lake,
´
Kathryn Morgan, Ivana Petrovic, Evelyne Prioux, and Stephen White.
Special thanks are due to Annette Harder, to whom we are more grateful
thanwecansayforallowingusaccesstohercommentaryontheAetiain
advance of its publication. Without it our book would be the poorer. As
editors of the forthcoming Brill’s Companion to Callimachus we have also
taken full advantage of the insights of our contributors; they too deserve
our thanks. Some parts of this study had a first hearing at the Universita`
´
di Roma Tre and at the Ecole normale supe´rieure in Lyon: we wish to
take this opportunity to thank our close colleagues Adele-Teresa Cozzoli
andChristopheCussetfortheirkindhospitality.Wewereprivilegedtobe
invitedtoorganizeanAPAseminarin2007onPlatoandHellenisticpoetry
andwishtoacknowledgeourgratitudetotheProgramCommitteefortheir
advice and encouragement. The stimulating comments of participants in
thesevenueshavedonemuchtoshapethisstudy.
Anumberofothershavegivenusscholarlyadvice,readportionsofour
manuscript,andsavedusfrommanyerrors,ofomissionandcommission.
We wish to thank, in particular, Alessandro Barchiesi, Chris Bobonich,
KeyneCheshire,TomHawkins,NitaKrevans,JohnMiller,DamienNelis,
NatashaPeponi,JayReed,andAlexSens.Wehaveprofitedimmenselyfrom
the assessments of the two anonymous readers for Cambridge University
Press,fortheirengagementwithourargumentsandfortheirsuggestionsof
furtherbibliography.Twograduatestudentsdeservespecialacknowledge-
ment,AlDuncan(Stanford),whopreparedthemaps,andAaronPalmore
(OhioState),whoreadtheentiremanuscriptforusbeforefinalsubmission.
Our partners, Jesu´s and Mark, have been strongly supportive throughout
(andwillbegratefulfortheproject’sconclusion).Butaboveallwewishto
acknowledgethegraduatestudentswhomwehavetaughtthroughoutthe
years:withouttheirengagement,skepticism,andinsightsasastimulus,this
book would never have taken the shape that it has. To them we dedicate
thisstudy,withthanksandaffection.
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978-1-107-00857-1 - Callimachus in Context: From Plato to the Augustan Poets
Benjamin Acosta-Hughes and Susan A. Stephens
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Abbreviations
ThetextsofCallimachusarefromPfeiffer(Pf.)unlessotherwiseindicated.
Some papyrological sigla (half brackets, some sublinear dots) are omitted
fromGreektexts.
AP PalatineAnthology
CA J.U.Powell,ed.CollectaneaAlexandrina(Oxford,1925)
DK H.DielsandW.Kranz,eds.DieFragmentederVorsokratiker
(6thedn.Berlin,1951–2)
FGE D.L.Page,ed.FurtherGreekEpigrams(Cambridge,1981)
FGrH F.Jacoby,ed.DieFragmentedergriechischenHistoriker(Berlin
andLeiden,1923–1958)
GLP D.L.Page,ed.GreekLiteraryPapyriI(Cambridge,Mass.,
1981)
GP A.S.F.GowandD.L.Page,eds.TheGreekAnthology.
HellenisticEpigrams(Cambridge,1965)
Hdr. A.Harder,ed.Callimachus:Aetia.Introduction,Text,
Translation,andCommentary(Oxford,2011)
IG InscriptionesGraecae(Berlin,1873–)
M. G.Massimilla,ed.AITIA.Libriprimoesecondo,Libroterzoe
quarto(PisaandRome,1996–2010)
OGIS W.Dittenberger,ed.OrientisGraeciInscriptionesSelectae
(Leipzig,1903–5)
Pf. R.Pfeiffer,ed.Callimachus,2vols.(Oxford,1949–1953)
PCG R.KasselandC.Austin,eds.PoetaeComiciGraeci
(Berlin-NewYork,1983–)
PMG D.L.Page,ed.PoetaeMeliciGraeci(Oxford,1962)
SEG SupplementumEpigraphicumGraecum(Leiden,1923–)
SH H.Lloyd-JonesandP.J.Parsons,eds.Supplementum
Hellenisticum(BerlinandNewYork,1983)
x
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