P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309, XI 33-XII 7 - Universidad de Salamanca

Notes on Posidippus 74 AB (P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309, XI 33-XII 7)*
The Milan papyrus, which has returned to us more than one hundred epigrams unknown to the
manuscript transmission, contains in its section lttttlkc? a detailed poem about an extraordinary victory:
?v AeXc|)o?c f| ttooXoc ot ?vTiG?ouca TeGpiTTTTOic
dc?ovL 6eccaXiK(joi KO?>|?aTi vLKf|caca, ttoX?c t?t? Gpo?c ?XaTrjpcjpv
r\v ?|i(j)LKTi)OCLy, 4>oI?\ ?v ?ycovoG?Ta?c*
5 pa?8ouc 8? ?paxeec xap-a?ic ?aXov,
coc 8i? KXiqpou
VLK1T|C flVL?XOOV OlCO|l?v?)V CT?(|>aVOV
f\?e 8? 8e?ioceipa xa[?ai veyca[c ?]K paiQ)v
?[k c]jriG?(jpy ocutti pa?8ov ec|>eiXid>ca[TO,
f) Se.LVTl GrjXeia |i T ?pceciv ai 8' e?or)c[av
10 4>0?y|jLaT[L] Trgv8f||JL(jOL a3[i|iiya |iupia8[ec
k
[lv]til KT]pv??aL ?T?(()avoy |i?yav
ev
Gopfu?coi 8e
KgX[XiK]pcnr|c ' 8?$vr\v f\paf ?vfjp C?|iio[c,
6eoici 8' A8[ ]Xcj) o?c eiK? evapy?a
tgov t?t [aycovoajv
?p[|ia Kai r\v?]oxpv x?XKeov (58' ?GeTO.
2 afovi: d?ova pap. 4 c^oi?eev pap. 5 ?paxecoc ? Austin (BG com.) 9 ink. r\ Austin (BG com.) coll. Soph. Ant. 323 f?
beiv?v 11 fin. Austin (BG) 12 8?(|>vr|v : -vnc pap. 13 Xc^etotc pap.
The text has been excellently edited with a brief commentary first by Bastianini-Gallazzi (BG) and then
by Austin-Bastianini (AB),1 and discussed in recent articles by other authors.21 would like to add some
notes on lexical uses and literary relationship with other poets.
*
These brief notes have been enriched with comments on different aspects by A. Andr?s, J. A. Fern?ndez
Delgado, H.
Maehler, E. Magnelli and C. R?mer. I am of course
responsible for any mistake that
might remain. I would like to
acknowledge support received from Research Projects BFF 2001-1957 (MEC-Espa?a), SA 016/02 40813 (Conacyt-M?xico).
(JCyL-Espa?a), and H
1
The following editions and commentaries are referred to in abbreviated form:
AB = C. Austin
BG = G. Bastianini
- G. Bastianini, Posidippi Pellaei quae supersunt omnia, Milano, 2002.
- C. Gallazzi, con la collaborazione di C. Austin, Posidippo di Pella. Epigrammi (P. Mil. Vogl. VIII309),
Milano, 2001.
FG = E. Fern?ndez-Galiano, Posidipo de Pela, Madrid, 1987.
FGE = D. L. Page, Further Greek Epigrams. Epigrams before A. D. 50 from the Greek Anthology and other Sources, not
included in Hellenistic Epigrams or The Garland of Philip, Cambridge, 1981.
GP = -
A. F. S. Gow D. L.
Page, The Greek Anthology: The Garland of Philip. Text, Translation, and Commentary I?II,
Cambridge, 1968.
HE = A. F. S. Gow
-
D. L. Page, The Greek Anthology: Hellenistic Epigrams. Text and Commentary I?II, Cambridge, 1965.
PMG = Poetae melici Graeci, ?d. D. L. Page, Oxford, 1962.
2 P. Bernardini - L. Bravi, Note di lettura al nuovo Posidippo, QUCC 70 (2002), 147-163, esp. pp. 156-158 (notes on
this epigram are by Bernardini); J. Bingen, La victoire pythique de Callicrat?s de Samos (Posidippe, P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309,
XI.33-XII.7), ChrE 11 (2002), 185-190; F. Conca, Alia ricerca di un
poeta, in G. Bastianini
-
A. Casanova (eds.), II
papiro
di Posidippo
un anno
dopo, Firenze, 2002, pp. 21-31, esp. pp. 26-28; P. Bing, Posidippus and the Admiral: Kallikrates of
Samos in the Milan Papyrus, GRBS 43 (2002/3), 243-266, esp. pp. 247-250; E. Kosmetatou, Constructing Legitimacy: The
Ptolemaic
Familiengruppe
as a Means of Self-Definition in
Posidippus' Hippika,
in B.
Acosta-Hughes
-
E. Kosmetatou
-
M.
Baumbach (eds.), Labored in Papyrus Leaves. Perspectives
on an
Epigram Collection Attributed to
Posidippus (P. Mil.
Vogl VIII309), Cambridge, Mass.-London, 2004, pp. 225-246 (on this poem, pp. 229-230); N. Papalexandrou, Reading
as
Seeing. P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309 and Greek Art, ibid. pp. 247-258, esp. pp. 250-251; M. Fantuzzi, Sugli epp. 37 e 74 Austin
Bastianini del P. Mil. Vogl. VIII 309, ZPE 146, 2004, 31-35.
77

78 L. A. Guichard Romero
v. 2 ??ovi 6eccaXiKtoi. The synecdoche axle for chariot is guaranteed here by the well attested
reputation of Thessalian race chariots (see BG p. 198); it appears in the same sedes m?trica only in
Le?nidas 30 HE (AP 9. 24):
"Acrrpa \iev r\\iavpi?oe Kai lepa K?KXa aeXfjvr|9
d?;ova 8ivrjaa? c?|rrrupo? f) Xio?*
ufivoTroXoDc 8' ayeXr|8?v ?irr\\ia\8vvev "Ofiipo?
Xa|iTTp?TaToy Moixj?v c^?yyo? ?vaaxo|ievo?,
on which Gow-Page comment: "?c;oya: for the whole chariot, though the word does not seem so used
elsewhere". There are in fact no other loci similes for Le?nidas, except for this one now
provided by
Posidippus;3 synecdoche is actually
a rhetorical issue very scarcely attested in
Posidippus,
a
poet who
prefers other forms of focalisation, as
strong hyperbata and clear similes.4 As the literary context of
both poems is very different and we are not
completely certain about Le?nidas' chronology,5 direct
imitation seems very difficult to prove in this case. It is possible that both poets coined this as a
variation of the well known figure of cxvtuc; referring to the whole chariot,6 as attested from Sophocles
to Callimachus.7 Le?nidas and Posidippus may have used a prosaic term instead of the expected
poeticism.
v. 2 KoucJ)a awe?c?TT ce. Cfr. Asclepiades 6 HE (AP 5. 203):
Aixji8lkt| (Jol, Kimpi, t?v LTTTTacnT?pa {iv??ttol
Xp?aeov c??Kvr||iou KevTpov Gt|kc? tto8o?,
(S ttoXw ?TTTiov LTTTTOv
?yv\ivaoev, o?8? tot' auTfjs
|ir|po? ec^OLVLXOTi Ko?(j)a TLvaaao|i?vr|?.
f?v y?p aK?vTr|TO? TeXc?o8p?|ioc, oweKev ?ttXov
aoi KaT? |jic?aaoTTi3Xr|? xP^aeoy ?Kp?[iaoev.
It does not seem to be a coincidence that the adverb Ko?(|)a appears in verse 4 at the same sedes of the
pentameter and that this occurs only in these two passages.8 The close relationship between these two
3
Searching in TLG-E CD-Rom and in the most reliable dictionaries (Stephanus, DGE, LSJ, LfgrE) reinforces the
opinion of Gow-Page. It is worth noting another text of Le?nidas, 73 HE (AP 1. 478) 3-4: |ivfj[ia 8? Kai Tao? ai?v
?\iat; vovTO

Notes on Posidippus 74 AB 79
poets is well known, both in matters of metrics, style and literary program.9 Asclepiades 6 HE (AP 5.
203) and *35 HE (AP 5. -
202) ascribed in the manuscript transmission to Asclepiades
or
Posidippus
but in the opinion of most scholars a work of the latter10 - are both parodies with erotic double entendre
of equestrian competitions in which women take a
part (the second including
a crude parody of a verse
from Callimachus' fifth hymn), for which the epigrams in section iTrmKa
give the serious model we
were missing. It is now clear that Asclepiades
activity.11
uses Ko?c|>a as related to equestrian
as much as to erotic
v. 9 f| 8c?Lvf] GtiXeia |i T apceciv. There is no strong evidence to decide between conjectures f), adopted
in the text of BG and AB, and fj, suggested by Austin in the critical apparatus of the latter. In any case,
the wording 8eivfi GrjXeia does not have an exact parallel,
as already noted by the editors (BG)\ it is
possible, however, that in its origin there could be a variation on the well known Seivo? ?vr|p,12 an
expression which originally had an
epic taste,13 which could reinforce the contrast in this poem:
Posidippus
and force,
does
but
not only
reverse the gender to
emphasize the courage and force of Callicrates' mare
-
through
-
\iej apceciv he also compares it with the lack of both virtues in her male
rivals; from this point of view, it is worth remembering the appeal of Antilochus to his horses in //. 23.
407^09:
LTTTTOD? 8'
'
ATp l8aO KlXCtV T , |!T|8? XlTnT|(jG0V,
KapTTaX[|i(j??, [if] acJxj?LV ?Xeyx LT|v KaTaxe?q
Al0t| GfjXu? ?o?aa.
The special merits of Aithe are mentioned again at vv. 524-525,14
while at vv. 375-378 a clear contrast
is drawn between Eumelos' mares and Diomedes' horses (v. 377: ?poeve? "ittttoi). Popular wisdom
attributed to mares
special virtues, different from those of horses, and mares were sometimes considered
better than males in chariot competitions.15 Mares have a relevant role in two other epigrams of the
section LTTTTiKa:
75 AB (XII 8-11), on chariot mares winning many times, and 87 AB (XIII 31-34), on
Berenice's mares having eclipsed the glory of Cyniska, the first woman to win in the games. The image
of the brave mare is somehow paralleled with the victories of the Ptolemaic Princesses and Queens: the
last epigram of the section (88 AB = XIII 35-XIV 1) says that Ptolemy I, Berenice I and Ptolemy II are
the first and only (v. 1 up?Toi Tpelc
the feminine victory (vv. 4-5: on |icrnr|p / elXe yvv?
wins Qr\Xv?XXeTO y?p Li?vos" r\v I lttttou
Tfj? 'Ayau?|ivov?r|? raXX?Tpixo? Al0r|?. "The mare is
dignified in a whole
verse
description",
comments Richardson ad loc.
15
Cfr. Aelian N. A. 2. 10; 3. 8; 4. 11; 6. 48; 12. 16; 12. 44; 14. 18; 15. 25; 16. 24. See also the evidence collected by U.
Dierauer, Tier und Mensch im Denken der Antike, Amsterdam, 1977, specially pp. 47, 145-146, 163, 266 and 271.
16
It is also worth of note that the wording appears again in Homer only
at //. 19. 97, where Zeus is deceived by Hera
0f|Xu? ?o?cra. The strong presence of the feminine in the form of deified Queens and athletic
competitions
won
by
women in
the Milan Papyrus was noted by P. Bing, Posidipppus on Stones: The First Section of the New Posidippus' Papyrus (P. Mil.

80 L. A. Guichard Romero
v. 13 LK(JL)
?vapy?a. The editors comment that these words are used in senso figurato in late texts
(Philo, Dio Chrysostomus and Clement of Alexandria). In the context of the epigram, it is easier to
understand these words in their usual meaning in ekphrastic epigrams. As Bernardini pointed out,
Posidippus is probably referring here to a real sculpture group.17 This interpretation
seems correct in
view of the votive nature of the epigram, revealed in the last distich, and also the use of both words as
technical terms in epigrams related to works of art. Elkwv is well attested as a terminus technicus in
Meleager's Garland. See e. g. Noss. 6 HE (AP 9. 605) 2; Noss. 9 HE (AP 6. 354) 2; Call. 20 HE (AP
13. 24) 2; Theoc. 15 HE (AP 9. 599) 3, and Mel. 110 HE (AP 12. 56) 1. 'Evapy^? appears in the
Garland of Philip and later: Antiphil. 17 GP (AP 1. 641) 5, an ekphrasis of a water clock, and Plan.
225. 1, a description of a sculpture of Pan; the related term ?vapy?? is used in Plan. 310. 3, a descrip
tion of a statue of Sappho; in each case it qualifies the ekphrasis.19 As A. Manieri shows in her
exhaustive study,20 ? va pyfj? and related adjectives indicate "una qualit? di animazione ed evidenza
visiva, quasi di immagine in movimento"; ?vapyeia is thus the quality that differentiates ekphrasis from
other exercises; it is the virtue pursued by poets and sculptors. Using these two technical terms,
Posidippus emphasizes the perfection and life-likeness of the sculpture offered to the Sibling Gods.
Universidad de Salamanca Luis Arturo Guichard Romero
Vogl.
VIII 309, col. I-IV. 6), a paper presented
to the APA Conference in Philadelphia (5. 1. 2002), and published
http://apaclassics.org/Publications/Posidippus/posidippus.html.
17
To support her interpretation,
Bernardini quotes only Pi. 01.1. 42: ?coji?v ?vapy?a.
18
The following survey comes from F. Manakidou, Beschreibung
von Kunstwerken in der hellenistischen Dichtung,
Stuttgart, 1993, p. 260; the author refers to another four examples in the Garland of Philip (pp. 261-262): Diod. 18 GP (AP
9. 776) 4; Philipp. 67 GP (Plan. 81) 1; Philipp. 70 GP (Plan. 137) 1; Bianor 22 GP (Plan. 276) 1; one in FGE:
FGE (Plan. 160) 2, and the school poem edited as SH 978. 12.
'Plat.' 23
19 See
especially
Aubreton's notes (?d. Belles-Lettres) to Plan. 225. 1, in which is drawn a clear contrast between
?vapy?a / ?vcoc|>eX?a and TrveOua / ?\LT\xav?S
20 A. Manieri, Uimmagine po?tica nella teoria degli antichi. Phantasia ed enargeia, Pisa-Roma, 1998, pp. 98-99; on
enargeia and ekphrasis, pp. 149-154.
as