Orpheus: A Guide to Selected Sources: Difference between revisions
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Orpheus is the archetypal musician of Greek myth, whose singing enchants all of nature and even the realm of the dead. His mother is Calliope, Muse of epic. His father is sometimes Apollo, but usually the Thracian Oeagrus—a river god, according to {{#lemma: Servius | [[Pindar, fragment 128c 11-12 Snell-Maehler | Pind. fr. 128c 11-12]]<br />[[Pindar, Pythian 4.176-7 | Pind. ''Pyth.'' 4.176-7]]<br />[[Scholion to Pindar Pythian 4, 313a | Schol. Pind. ''Pyth.'' 4, 313a]]<br />[[Apollodorus Library 1.3.2 | [Apollod.] ''Bibl.'' 1.3.2]]<br />[[Servius, Commentary to the Aeneid 6.645 | Serv. ''in Aen.'' 6.645]]}}. By the Classical period, Orpheus is known as the author of mystical hexameter poetry and {{#lemma: founder of mysteries | [[Apollodorus Library 1.3.2 | [Apollod.] ''Bibl.'' 1.3.2]]<br /> | Orpheus is the archetypal musician of Greek myth, whose singing enchants all of nature and even the realm of the dead. His mother is Calliope, Muse of epic. His father is sometimes Apollo, but usually the Thracian Oeagrus—a river god, according to {{#lemma: Servius | [[Pindar, fragment 128c 11-12 Snell-Maehler | Pind. fr. 128c 11-12]]<br />[[Pindar, Pythian 4.176-7 | Pind. ''Pyth.'' 4.176-7]]<br />[[Scholion to Pindar Pythian 4, 313a | Schol. Pind. ''Pyth.'' 4, 313a]]<br />[[Apollodorus Library 1.3.2 | [Apollod.] ''Bibl.'' 1.3.2]]<br />[[Servius, Commentary to the Aeneid 6.645 | Serv. ''in Aen.'' 6.645]]}}. By the Classical period, Orpheus is known as the author of mystical hexameter poetry and {{#lemma: founder of mysteries | [[Apollodorus Library 1.3.2 | [Apollod.] ''Bibl.'' 1.3.2]]<br />[[Damagetus Palatine Anthology 7.9 | Damag. ''Anth.Pal.'' 7.9]]<br />[[Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica 5.64.4 | Diod. Sic. 5.64.4]]<br />[[Aristophanes, Frogs 1030-6 | Ar. ''Ran.'' 1030-6]]<br />[[Euripides Rhesus 941-7 | [Eur.] ''Rhes.'' 941-7]]<br />[[Demosthenes 25.11 Against Aristogeiton 1 | [Dem.] 25.11]]<br />[[Diodorus Siculus, Bibliotheca Historica 4.25.1 | Diod. Sic. 4.25.1]]}}, most importantly at Eleusis (Graf 1974). Accounting for the relationship between his mythical, mystical and authorial identities proves a challenge for the many interested parties. | ||
== The Antiquity of Orpheus == | |||
Our earliest evidence for the ‘kitharode’ (lyre-singer) is a fragmentary relief from Delphi, dated to ca. 575 BCE, on which he appears beside the Argo. A scholion to {{#lemma: Apollonius | [[Scholion to Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.23 | Schol. Ap. Rhod. ''Arg.'' 1.23]]}} says that it was a matter of scholarly dispute why Orpheus, being effeminate, had sailed with the heroes. {{#lemma: Apollonius | [[Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.23-34 | Ap. Rhod. ''Arg.'' 1.23-34]]}} gives him first position in the catalogue of Argonauts, accepting the tradition, probably recounted in early epic (West 2005), that Orpheus accompanied the Argonauts to ensure them safe passage past the Sirens. Orpheus’ Argonautic status gives him indisputable priority over Homer, since the Argonauts belonged to the generation before the Trojan War. {{#lemma: An apparently canonical sequence | [[Proclus, Chrestomathy 1 | Procl. ''Chrest.'' 1]]<br />[[Hippias of Elis, 86 B6 Diels-Kranz | Hippias of Elis 86 B6 D-K]]<br />[[Plato, Apology 41a | Pl. ''Ap.'' 41a]]<br />[[Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis (Miscellanies) 1.21.131 | Clem. Al. ''Strom.'' 1.21.131]]}} Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod, Homer is attested in several authors from the classical period onwards, but already in the classical period doubts were expressed about authorship of Orphic poems, {{#lemma: some of which were thought to have been written by Pythagoreans | [[Clement of Alexandria, Stromateis (Miscellanies) 1.21.131 | Clem. Al. ''Strom.'' 1.21.131]]<br />[[Suda s.v. Orpheus | ''Suda'' s.v. Orpheus]]}}. According to {{#lemma: Cicero | [[Cicero, On the Nature of the Gods 1. 107 | Cic. ''Nat. D.'' 1.107]]}}, {{#lemma: Aristotle | [[Aristotle, On the Generation of Animals 2.1, 734a 16 | Arist. ''Gen. an.'' 2.1, 734a16]]<br />[[Aristotle, On the Soul 1.5, 410b27 | Arist. ''De an.'' 1.5, 410b27]]<br />[[Iohannes Philoponus, Commentary on De Anima 1.5, 410b27 | Phlp. ''in De an.'' 1.5, 410b27]]}} said that Orpheus had never existed. {{#lemma: Sextus Empiricus | [[Sextus Empiricus, Against the Professors of Liberal Arts 1.203 | Sext. Emp. ''Math.'' 1.203]]}} and {{#lemma: Josephus | [[Josephus, Αgainst Apion 1.12 | Joseph. ''Ap.'' 1.12]]}} asserted that there were no written works before Homer. {{#lemma: Some | [[Apollonius of Rhodes, Argonautica 1.23-34 | Ap. Rhod. ''Arg.'' 1.23-34]]}} thought that there were two or more Orpheuses. The {{#lemma: ''Suda'' | [[Suda s.v. Orpheus | ''Suda'' s.v. Orpheus]]}} lists seven. {{#lemma: Popular opinion | [[Pausanias, Description of Greece 9.30.4-12 | Paus. 9.30.4-12]]}}, fortified and/or created by the political clout of Eleusis, apparently judged him a historical figure. | |||
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Revision as of 13:36, 30 April 2013
Sarah Burges Watson {{#howtoquoteguide:}}
Orpheus is the archetypal musician of Greek myth, whose singing enchants all of nature and even the realm of the dead. His mother is Calliope, Muse of epic. His father is sometimes Apollo, but usually the Thracian Oeagrus—a river god, according to Servius Pind. fr. 128c 11-12
Pind. Pyth. 4.176-7
Schol. Pind. Pyth. 4, 313a
[Apollod.] Bibl. 1.3.2
Serv. in Aen. 6.645. By the Classical period, Orpheus is known as the author of mystical hexameter poetry and founder of mysteries [Apollod.] Bibl. 1.3.2
Damag. Anth.Pal. 7.9
Diod. Sic. 5.64.4
Ar. Ran. 1030-6
[Eur.] Rhes. 941-7
[Dem.] 25.11
Diod. Sic. 4.25.1, most importantly at Eleusis (Graf 1974). Accounting for the relationship between his mythical, mystical and authorial identities proves a challenge for the many interested parties.
The Antiquity of Orpheus
Our earliest evidence for the ‘kitharode’ (lyre-singer) is a fragmentary relief from Delphi, dated to ca. 575 BCE, on which he appears beside the Argo. A scholion to Apollonius Schol. Ap. Rhod. Arg. 1.23 says that it was a matter of scholarly dispute why Orpheus, being effeminate, had sailed with the heroes. Apollonius Ap. Rhod. Arg. 1.23-34 gives him first position in the catalogue of Argonauts, accepting the tradition, probably recounted in early epic (West 2005), that Orpheus accompanied the Argonauts to ensure them safe passage past the Sirens. Orpheus’ Argonautic status gives him indisputable priority over Homer, since the Argonauts belonged to the generation before the Trojan War. An apparently canonical sequence Procl. Chrest. 1
Hippias of Elis 86 B6 D-K
Pl. Ap. 41a
Clem. Al. Strom. 1.21.131 Orpheus, Musaeus, Hesiod, Homer is attested in several authors from the classical period onwards, but already in the classical period doubts were expressed about authorship of Orphic poems, some of which were thought to have been written by Pythagoreans Clem. Al. Strom. 1.21.131
Suda s.v. Orpheus. According to Cicero Cic. Nat. D. 1.107, Aristotle Arist. Gen. an. 2.1, 734a16
Arist. De an. 1.5, 410b27
Phlp. in De an. 1.5, 410b27 said that Orpheus had never existed. Sextus Empiricus Sext. Emp. Math. 1.203 and Josephus Joseph. Ap. 1.12 asserted that there were no written works before Homer. Some Ap. Rhod. Arg. 1.23-34 thought that there were two or more Orpheuses. The Suda Suda s.v. Orpheus lists seven. Popular opinion Paus. 9.30.4-12, fortified and/or created by the political clout of Eleusis, apparently judged him a historical figure.
