Aesop, Isis, and the Heliconian muses

Classical Philology

Volumn 94, Issue 3, 1999, Pages 268-280

  Dillery, John ^a  

^a UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA   (United States)

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EID: 60949243961     PISSN: 0009837X     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1086/449441     Document Type: Article

References (71)

1. I follow the text of B. E. Perry, found in Aesopica (Urbana, 1952).
2. For a recent discussion of the different recensions, see N. Holzberg, "Fable: Aesop. Life of Aesop," in The Novel in the Ancient World, ed. G. Schmeling (Leiden, 1996), 633-34;
3. cf. Holzberg, "A Lesser Known 'Picaresque' Novel of Greek Origin: the Aesop Romance and Its Influence," Groningen Colloquia on the Novel 5 (1993): 1-16.
4. The fundamental study is still B. E. Perry, Studies in the Text History of the Life and Fables of Aesop (Haverford, PA, 1936).
5. Cf. J. J. Winkler, Auctor and Actor (Berkeley, 1985), 286.
6. For the text at this point, see J.-Th. Papademetriou, "Notes on the Aesop Romance," RhM 123 (1980): 27.
7. Phrygians at Athens were especially known as slaves who worked in the mines; furthermore, the Phrygian name, Manes, in Attic comedy was immediately understood as referring to a slave. See O. Masson, "Les noms des esclaves dans la Grèce antique," in Actes du Colloque 1971 sur l'Esclavage (Paris, 1972), 15-19;
8. M. M. Austin and P. Vidal-Naquet, Economic and Social History of Ancient Greece (Berkeley, 1977), 105;
9. M. I. Finley, Economy and Society in Ancient Greece (Harmondsworth, UK, 1981), 169.
10. M. Rostovtzeff, The Social and Economic History of the Hellenistic World (Oxford, 1941), 3:1515 n. 49 observes that there was a considerable traffic in slaves from Phrygia in the middle of the first century B. C. on the basis of MAMA 6. 260. Cf. too, e. g. , Herodas 2. 100-101. The concept of the Phrygians as a servile people lasted for a long time: Philostratus claimed that Phrygians frequently sold their children into slavery (VA 8. 7. 12);
11. cf. G. E. M. de Ste. Croix, The Class Struggle in the Ancient Greek World (Ithaca, 1981), 163
12. and Finley, Economy and Society, 174. Romans regarded certain races as particularly servile;
13. see K. Bradley, Slavery and Society at Rome (Cambridge, 1994), 65.
14. For the redundancy one may wish to adduce texts such as Xen. An. 5. 2. 29 (a man named Mysus from Mysia) or Theopompus FGrH 115 F 344 (a man named Magnes or perhaps an anonymous Magnesian); however, these are cases of men who may bear the same name as that of their ethnic group (there are textual difficulties in the case of the Xenophon passage). Names showing ethnic origin were common names for slaves: see Masson, "Noms des esclaves," 19.
15. A. B. Lloyd, Herodotus Book 2 (Leiden, 1976), 10-11.
16. Lloyd, Herodotus Book 2, 10.
17. M. L. West, "The Ascription of Fables to Aesop in Archaic and Classical Greece," in La Fable, Entretiens sur l'Antiquité Classique, no. 30 (Geneva, 1983), 116-20.
18. Perry, Studies, 222, 224.
19. Winkler, Auctor, 286.
20. (Text: M. Totti, Ausgewählte Texte der Isis- und Sarapis-Religion [Hildesheim, 1985], no. 1.)
21. Cf. the most recent version of the basic text, Y. Grandjean, Une Nouvelle Arétalogie d'Isis à Maronée (Leiden, 1975), 75-79.
22. Consult also D. Müller, Ägypten und die griechischen Isis-Aretalogien, ASAW vol. 53, no. 1 (Leipzig, 1961), 21;
23. W. Peek, Der Isishymnus von Andros und verwandte Texte (Berlin, 1930), 31-34.
24. On Isis' association with Hermes = Thoth, as well as Isis as scribe, see J. Bergman, Ich bin Isis (Uppsala, 1968), 234-37,
25. and J. G. Griffiths, Plutarch's "De Iside et Osiride" (Cambridge, 1970), 263;
26. Cf. Grandjean, Une Nouvelle Arétalogie d'Isis, 82-84;
27. Müller, Isis-Aretalogien 54-57.
28. . τὸ δ' ουcombining comma aboveκ εcombining comma abovéστιν, αcombining comma aboveλλ' εcombining reversed comma abovéτε ρος τρόπος (Letter of Aristeas §11) Cf. A. Pelletier, Lettre d'Aristée à Philocrate (Paris, 1962), p. 106, n. 2. This observation comes from Demetrius' explanation to Philadelphus of why the sacred text of the Jews has not already been translated. One is left to wonder whether this passage reflects an awareness of the difficulties of resolving unvocalized characters.
29. Indeed, later in the same text we may have evidence suggesting that there was not a reliable Hebrew version of the Law for translation, perhaps for this reason: see §30, Pelletier, Lettre, pp. 118-20, n. 3,
30. and R. Shutt, "Letter of Aristeas: A New Translation and Introduction," in The Old Testament Pseudepigrapha, ed. J. Charlesworth, vol. 2 (New York, 1985), p. 14, note e, with bibliography.
31. R. Merkelbach, Isis regina-Zeus Sarapis (Stuttgart and Leipzig, 1995), 94-101
32. and Roman und Mysterium in der Antike (Munich and Berlin, 1962), p. 5, n. 4.
33. See esp. Perry, Aesopica, 2-3.
34. An important figure in the Alexander Romance, indeed the "real" father of Alexander, as well as in the Dream of Nectanebo: see L. Koenen, "The Dream of Nektanebos," in Classical Studies Presented to W. H. Willis, ed. D. Hobson and K. McNamee, BASP, vol. 22 (Urbana, 1985), 171-94.
35. A demotic version of the Dream has now been published: K. Ryholt, "A Demotic Version of Nectanebos' Dream (P Carlsberg 562)," ZPE 122 (1998): 197-200.
36. F. Pfister, "Aesoproman und Alexanderroman," Philologische Wochenschrift 43 (1923): 813-14,
37. Further, Demetrius was similarly depicted with bull's horns, probably to link him with Dionysus: see R. Smith, "Kings and Philosophers," in Images and Ideologies: Self-Definition in the Hellenistic World, ed. A. W. Bulloch, E. Gruen, A. Long, and A. Stewart (Berkeley, 1993), pp. 207-8 and n. 19.
38. It should be noted in this connection that this portion of the Life is based on the Aramaic Ahiqar Romance: see, e. g. , Holzberg, "The Aesop Romance and its Influence," 2.
39. For images of Isis with horns and lunar disc on her head, as well as flowers/vegetation in her hands, see, e. g. , Merkelbach, Isis regina-Zeus Sarapis, plates 88, 95, 96, and 97.
40. For other colors, see J. G. Griffiths, Apuleius of Madauros: The Isis-Book (Leiden, 1975), 126-27.
41. For what follows I depend on L. Koenen, "The Ptolemaic King as a Religious Figure," in Images and Ideologies: Self-Definition in the Hellenistic World, ed. A. W. Bulloch et al. (Berkeley, 1993), 48-50;
42. consult also A. Gardiner, Egyptian Grammar, 3d ed. (Oxford, 1957), 71-76.
43. Cf. Bergman, Ich bin Isis, p. 252 and n. 2;
44. Koenen, "The Ptolemaic King," 58.
45. See Griffiths, Plutarch's "de Iside et Osiride," ad 368A (pp. 462-63); he cites, among others, Lucan, Aelian, Ammianus Marcellinus, Theoderet, and Porphyry.
46. Merkelbach, Roman und Mysterium passim; on Isis in particular, see Register, sv "Isis. " A close parallel in this connection with the Life is the famous "Isis Book" (11) of Apuleius' Golden Ass, though see sec. 4 below. For criticism of this view, see, e. g. , E. Bowie and S. Harrison, in their comprehensive review of studies on the novel, "The Romance of the Novel," JRS 83 (1993): 160-61;
47. and Griffiths, Plutarch's "de Iside et Osiride," p. 390, n. 4.
48. See esp. J.-Th. Papademetriou, Aesop as an Archetypal Hero (Athens, 1997), 15.
49. Cf. Griffiths, Plutarch's "De Iside et Osiride" ad loc. Importantly, the association of Isis with the Muses seems not to be found in visual art in the Greco-Roman period: cf. Tran Tam Tinh, LIMC 5. 1 (1990), s. v. "Isis. "
50. Koenen, "The Ptolemaic King," pp. 106-7, with notes.
51. Griffiths, Plutarch's "De Iside et Osiride," p. 264, n. 1.
52. In Anthology of Ancient Greek Popular Literature, ed. W. Hansen (Bloomington, 1998), 114.
53. note also idem, "Die Adaptation ägyptischer Königsideologie am Ptolemaerhöf," in Egypt and the Hellenistic World, ed. E. van't Dack, P. van Dessel, and W. van Gucht, Studia Hellenistica, vol. 27 (Louvain, 1983), 143-90.
54. See also, e. g. , R. Hunter, The "Argonautica" of Apollonius (Cambridge, 1993), p. 158, n. 20.
55. Note that this same event is alluded to in Arrian (Anab. 1. 11. 1), although it is unclear whether the story derives from Aristobulus or the "Vulgate. " A. Bosworth, A Historical Commentary on Arrian's History of Alexander, vol. 1 (Oxford, 1980), 97, points out that the sacrifice and festival of the Muses at Dium was in fact a celebration of the Olympia. In another relevant text, Eurydice, mother of Philip, made a dedication to the Muses (Plut. Mor. 14B-C);
56. cf. U. v. Wilamowitz, "Lesefrüchte," Hermes 54 (1919): 71,
57. cited by N. G. L. Hammond, A History of Macedonia, vol. 2 (Oxford, 1979), 16.
58. For Arsinoe at Philae, see L. Zabkar, Hymns to his in Her Temple at Philae (Hanover and London, 1988), 12-15.
59. Of course, one can say that the process began with Mark Antony, who had himself represented as Dionysus-Osiris together with Cleopatra as Selene-Isis (Dio 50. 5. 3). This was at one level consonant with Antony's efforts elsewhere to identify himself with Dionysus (see P. Zanker, The Power of Images in the Age of Augustus [Ann Arbor, 1988], 57-65). But he was surely also aware that in Egypt the ruler and his queen were regularly identified with Osiris/Horus and Isis.
60. That Augustus would follow Ptolemaic precedent may seem to be contradicted by this story and the famous episode recorded by both Suetonius (Aug. 18. 1) and Dio (51. 16. 5) in which he avoided seeing the corpses of the Ptolemies, preferring to behold the true monarch, Alexander. However, a text such as the monumental Isiac hymn at Philae, in which Augustus is recognized as pharaoh in much the same fashion as Ptolemy XII, shows that in Egypt he followed well established precedent: see Zabkar, Hymns to Isis, 71, and cf. the reference in the next note.
61. M. L. West, Hesiod "Works and Days" (Oxford, 1978), ad 1. 79 (p. 163) cites the scholia to Iliad 19. 407, as well as Galen 16. 204 K. and CMG 5. 10. 2(1). 172 = SVF 2. 44. A passage such as Isoc. De Pace 8. 3 is illustrative in this regard. He writes,. Not only do the Athenians not pay attention, they do not even hear the voice of the speaker, that is, as a mere sound.
62. Cf. N. Richardson, The Homeric Hymn to Demeter (Oxford, 1974), 312, who notes, in commenting on Isoc. Paneg. 4. 28, that "εcombining comma aboveλπὶς αcombining comma aboveγαθή e7tc. is a formula, used especially in connection with the Mysteries [of Eleusis]";
63. he cites in support C. A. Lobeck, Aglaophamus vol. I (Königsberg, 1829), 69,
64. and F. Cumont, Lux Perpetua (Paris, 1949), 401. It must be admitted, however, that the phrase "good hopes" is fairly common: cf. Xenophon Hell. 3. 4. 18 = Ages. 1. 27.
65. A. D. Nock, "Greco-Egyptian Propaganda," in Essays on Religion in the Ancient World, ed. Z. Stewart (Oxford, 1972), 2:706, notes that the claims that Isis discovered cereal agriculture, and that she is responsible for the harvest - items typical of the aretalogies - are not really features of native Egyptian texts: there she is said to be, or be responsible for, the "greenness" of the earth; and, as Nock sagely observes, "that is different. "
66. V. Vanderlip, The Four Greek Hymns of Isidorus and the Cult of Isis (Toronto, 1972), 75-76, 93-94.
67. Thus, Apuleius' "Isis Book" begins with Lucius waking and having a vision (11. 1); even more instructive is his narrative later (11. 26), "lo! the great sun had now traversed through its zodiacal orb and had finished a year, when my sleep was again disturbed by the ever-watchful care of the kindly divinity, who warned me that I needed further initiation and further ritual" (rursus teletae, rursus sacrorum, trans. Griffiths). Cf. M. Beard, J. North, and S. Price, Religions of Rome (Cambridge, 1998), 1:287-88.
68. G. Tarditi, Archilochus. Fragmenta edidit Veterum testimonia collegit (Rome, 1968), 5.
69. It should be remembered in this connection that Callimachus clearly recounts a type of poetic initiation at the beginning of the Aetia. First, Lycian Apollo speaks directly to Callimachus (F 1. 23-28 Pf.). Then, in a manner that is clearly meant to recall Hesiod's encounter with the Muses, Callimachus is transferred in a dream from Libya to Mt. Helicon (Florentine schol. to F 2. 18 Pf. , and Pfeiffer ad loc.); cf. Pfeiffer, History of Classical Scholarship (Oxford, 1968). 124-25.
70. For a late adaptation of both Hesiod's and Callimachus' "initiation" into poetry, see Quintus of Smyrna Posthomerica 12. 308-13 (though the dream element is absent). Note P Oxy. 3537. See also M. Dickie, "Poets as Initiates in the Mysteries: Euphorion, Philicus and Posidippus," A&A 45 (1998): 49-77.
71. Cf. Beard, North, and Price, Religions of Rome, 287-88.