Editors’ Note In reproducing the text(s) of the new epigrams preserved by P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 the editors have chosen to retain the lunate sigma and iota adscript of the papyrus. Given that the text(s) of these epigrams is still undergoing substantial revision through new reading and supplementation at the time this volume goes to press, we felt it best to represent the poems on the printed page as… Read more
Introduction Shut not your doors to me proud libraries,For that which was lacking on all your well-fill’d shelves, yet needed most,I bring,Forth from the war emerging, a book I have made,The words of my book nothing, the drift of it every thing,A book separate, not link’d with the rest nor felt by the intellect,But you ye untold latencies will thrill to… Read more
1. The Manuscript: [1] Posidippus on Papyrus Susan Stephens, Stanford University Dirk Obbink, University of Oxford Posidippus is no stranger to papyrus. The mentions of Posidippus in finds of Hellenistic epigrams exceed that of all other epigrammatists, the majority of whom are known from Roman papyri that reflect the ordering of Meleager’s Garland. Apart from P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309, [… Read more
2. Posidippus On Papyri Then and Now Dirk Obbink, University of Oxford In order to contextualize the new epigrams of Posidippus, [1] I must take you from the Fayum—the large agricultural oasis south of Cairo where the Milan roll was found—across the desert to the Northeast to Saqqara, just south of the pyramids at Giza. From there comes the painted limestone… Read more
3. Posidippus Old and New David Sider, New York University A review of Posidippo premilanese is clearly in order if we are ever to see him whole. This presents an interesting challenge, because old and new Posidippi are not the easiest of fits. I have, moreover, taken it as my task to point out, if not exaggerate, these differences. We begin with a brief review of… Read more
4. Alexandrian Posidippus: On Rereading the GP Epigrams in Light of P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 Benjamin Acosta-Hughes, University of Michigan A Poem Commemorates Δωρίχα, ὀστέα μὲν σὰ παλαὶ κόνις ἠδ᾿ ἀναδεσμός [1] χαίτης ἥ τε μύρων ἔκπνοος ἀμπεχόνη,ᾗ ποτε τὸν χαρίεντα περιστέλλουσα Χάραξον σύγχρους ὀρθρινῶν ἥψαο κισσυβίων·Σαπφῷαι δὲ μένουσι φίλης ἔτι καὶ… Read more
5. Homeric Echoes in Posidippus Gregory Nagy, Harvard University The word ‘echoes’ in the title is meant as a substitute for ‘allusions’, which is inadequate for conveying the awareness of Homeric poetry in the poetics of Posidippus. The subtle ways in which Posidippus demonstrates this awareness reveal an understanding of Homeric poetry that transcends conventional views in later eras, as typified by Aristarchus of Alexandria in… Read more
6. Doricisms in the New and Old Posidippus [1] Alexander Sens, Georgetown University Introduction Posidippus AB 139 (8 GP = AP XII 131) is a prayer for Aphrodite to favor a woman named Callistium: ἃ Κύπρον ἅ τε Κύθηρα καὶ ἃ Μίλητον ἐποιχνεῖς καὶ καλὸν Συρίης ἱπποκρότου δάπεδον,ἔλθοις ἵλαος Καλλιστίῳ, ἣ τὸν ἐραστὴν οὐδέποτ᾿… Read more
7. A New Hellenistic Poetry Book: P.Mil.Vogl. VIII 309 [1] Kathryn Gutzwiller, University of Cincinnati The earliest Greek poetry books come from the third century BCE, and surviving examples include Callimachus’ Iambi and Aetia and Herodas’ Mimiambi, known from papyrus, and a few manuscript possibilities, such as Callimachus’ Hymns and portions of Theocritus. Collections of epigrams were also among the earliest… Read more
4. Excursus: Theocritus and the Problem of Judgment At least one critic has remarked that the stichomythic competition between sophists in Plato’s Euthydemus can be compared to the representation of the Streitgesang ‘singing match’ in several of Theocritus’ Idylls, especially the fifth. [1] This comparison can now be expanded to include the many other passages of Greek literature we have seen that… Read more
