9. Elusive Stones: Reading Posidippus’ Lithika through Technical Writing on Stones Martyn Smith, Emory University Posidippus [1] writes with an acute sense of the exceptional. In several places within the Lithika section of the new papyrus he highlights the “marvel” or “wonder” resulting from a stone. [2] The stones selected by Posidippus include sapeiron (AB 5.1), beryllion… Read more
10. A Garland of Stones: Hellenistic Lithika as Reflections on Poetic Transformation David Schur, Miami University, Ohio Drawing inspiration from the importance of floral metaphors for poetry in the Western literary tradition and in our conception of the Hellenistic epigram tradition particularly, I think it would be worthwhile to consider the relationship between stones and poetry; more specifically, the conceit that likens stones or gemstones to… Read more
11. ‘Winged Words’: Poetry and Divination in Posidippus’ Oiônoskopika [*] Manuel Baumbach, University of Heidelberg Kai Trampedach, University of Konstanz ὄρνιθες δέ τε πολλοὶ ὑπ᾿ αὐγὰς ἠελίοιοφοιτῶσ᾿, οὐδέ τε πάντες ἐναίσιμοι [1] … Odyssey ii 181–182 Bird-augury is one of the oldest mantic practices found in… Read more
12. For You, Arsinoe … Susan Stephens, Stanford University The recent publication of P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 not only provides us with a substantial portion of an epigram collection from the early Hellenistic period, it allows us important new insights into the ways in which the images of the Ptolemaic monarchs were being integrated into contemporary poetry. At critical points throughout the collection we find discrete epigrams… Read more
13. Posidippus and the Mysteries: Epitymbia Read by the Ancient Historian Beate Dignas, University of Michigan Grave Inscriptions—Grave Epigrams Ancient historians and epigraphists rarely consider Hellenistic poetry in their research. Although literally transmitted funerary epigrams have been absorbed frequently in epigraphic corpora, skepticism prevails even with regard to this category. But neither Posidippus nor other Hellenistic poets, nor their impact on historical insights can be… Read more
20. Ptolemaic Homers We may correlate this period of innovation in rhapsodic performances, roughly from the fourth to the first centuries BCE, with a small corpus of Homeric papyri from the Ptolemaic period (305–145 BCE) that stand out for the peculiarity of their divergences from the vulgate of Homer. The Ptolemaic papyri of Homer, [1] collected and edited by Stephanie West, give… Read more
21. Conclusions and Prospects Nearly fifty years ago Raphael Sealey cautioned his readers that in regard to the Homeridae, the fifth-century clan from Chios who at one time claimed exclusive descent from Homer: the distinction that has been drawn … between a poet and a mere reciter is one that must be handled with care; doubtless there were men at some time in Greece who did… Read more
Appendix I. Ritual ΑΙΣΧΡΟΛΟΓΙΑ There are numerous ritual contexts in ancient Greece that call for joking and abuse, generally termed αἰσχρολογία ‘obscenity’. We may think immediately here of ἴαμβος ‘iambic verse’, but this category of joking must be extended to include several terms that are not altogether clearly distinguishable in meaning (the translations are therefore approximate): χλεύη ‘jest’, σκῶμμα ‘joke’, λοιδορία ‘offensive abuse’, γεφυρισμός ‘abuse’, τωθασμός ‘scoffing’,… Read more
Appendix II. The Discourse of Disputation: Three Comparative Typologies Formalized speech events involving insult and games of verbal dueling reproduce in microcosm the social and cultural values that give them meaning. In order to elucidate those meanings, however, the “internal” and “external” frames of the game need to be kept especially clear. The external frame comprises the rules of social (viz. polite) discourse and interaction that must… Read more
Bibliography Abrahams, R. 1962. “Playing the Dozens.” Journal of American Folklore 75:209–20. Alexiou, M. 1974. The Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition. Cambridge. Allen, T. W., ed. 1912. Homeri Opera 5 (Hymns, Cycle fragments, etc). 2nd edition. Oxford. ———, ed. 1917. Homeri Opera 3 and 4 (Odyssey). 2nd edition. Oxford. ———. Read more
