¹ The general acceptance of the Parry-Lord theory of oral composition has saved many Homeric repetitions from athetization. As Fenik, B. remarks in Studies in the Odyssey (Wiesbaden,1974),145Google Scholar, ‘The repeated use of larger narrative units, like the smaller dictional formulae themselves, is part and parcel of the poet's technique. He repeats larger units just as he repeats the smaller phrase and sentence formulae.’ De Jong, I. J. F., Narrators and Focalizers: The Presentation of the Story in the Iliad (Amsterdam,1987),180 offers a set of norms for the transmission of messagesGoogle Scholar

² For the status conceded to those who can recall past events accurately, see Martin, R. P.,The Language of Heroes: Speech and Performance in the Iliad(Ithaca,1989),77–88.Google Scholar

³ Apollonius and his contemporaries show no signs of being aware that the Homeric poems were the result of oral composition. The Hellenistic avoidance of repetition, therefore, is not a conscious affirmation of literary composition but rather the reflection of Hellenistic aesthetic preferences. For the infrequency of Apollonian repetition, see Elderkin, G. W,‘Repetition in the Argonautica of Apollonius’,AJP34(1913),198–201;Google ScholarDeubner, L., ‘Ein Stilprinzip hellenistischer Dichtkunst’, NJbb47(1921),361–78Google ScholarMoskalew, W,Formular Language and Poetic Design in the Aeneid(Leiden,1982),60–72.Google Scholar For the response of Alexandrian scholarship to Homeric repetition, see Janko, R's commentary on Iliad 13–16(Cambridge,1992),22–9.Google Scholar

⁴ I will not discuss poet-figures such as Orpheus and Phineus in this article. See Goldhill, S.,The Poet's Voice(Cambridge,1991)Google Scholar;Hunter, R. L.,The Argonautica of Apollonius: Literary Studies(Cambridge,1993)CrossRefGoogle Scholar; and, most recently, Albis, R. V.,Poet and Audience in the Argonautica of Apollonius Rhodius(Boulder,1996),28–31 on the affinities between poets and the bards whom they depict.Google Scholar

⁵ A point noted by Vian, F. atArgonautiquesI(Paris,1976),7; comparison with Pindar's approach makes it clear that Apollonius emphasizes the mortality of his heroes. Pindar groups the Argonauts according to divine parentage, and at the end of his catalogue names Mopsus as the only non–divine participant (Pyth. 4.172, Erytus and Echion are introduced first as sons of Hermes while Aethalides is called their (1.53).Google Scholar

⁶ All quotes from the Argonautica follow the text established by F. Vian and E. Delage (Paris, 1974–81).Google Scholar

⁷ For instance, Odius, Eurybates, and Thoötes. The name Talthybius may signify his relationship with the Talthybiadae, a family or guild of heralds; Kirk, G. S. in his commentary on Iliad 1–4(Cambridge,1985), at //. 1.320, presumes that the guild existed from pre-Homeric times on. The generic nature of Eurybates' name is shown by the appearance of a second Eurybates in the Iliad, a herald attached to Odysseus (//. 2.184). Aristonicus at 1.320a makes it clear that these are separate charactersGoogle Scholar

⁸ It may be that this name arises from a mortal father; unfortunately, Aethalides is so little attested that this hypothesis is impossible to prove. The only other source for the myth of Aethalides is Pherecydes as quoted in the scholia to Apollonius at 1.645. In this version, Hermes allowed Aethalides to live half of his time in Hade's and half in the world above.

⁹ Genette, G.,Narrative Discourse: An Essay in Method(Ithaca,1980),194–198Google Scholar discusses the change in focalization that occurs when less information than necessary is given. Such paralipses break the poetic code without destroying it; instead, they call attention to its existence. See also Bal, M.,Narratology: Introduction to the Theory of Narrative(Toronto,1985),142–149 on the relationship of primary and embedded textsGoogle Scholar

¹⁰ Pace Goldhill (n. 4), pp. 290–2.Google Scholar

¹¹ The allusion to Pythagoreanism was recognized in antiquity; the scholia at 1.643–8e state that the Pythagoreans believed that Aethalides was reborn as Euphorbus in Trojan times, then Pyrrus the Cretan, followed by an unknown Elian and then Pythagoras. Their belief formed a direct link with the mythic past.

¹² Frankel, H.,Noten zu den Argonautika des Apollonios(Munich,1968) at 641–649 considers this to be an inverted aetion since it explains the origin of something in the past rather than something in the author's present. The latter is the normal pattern of usage. Both the narrator and characters within the narrative employ the phrase , as well as variations such as . In six out of seven occurrences of the original phrase in the Argonautica, it appears as part of an aetion (1.644, 825, 1061; 2.1214; 3.312; 4.480, 599). The seventh instance occurs when Hypsipyle gives her half-truthful version of the events on Lemnos. At 1.825, she claims that in the Lemnian men live in Thrace, covering her lie with a false aetion and perhaps attempting to give her story the illusion of credibility.Google Scholar

¹³ The avoidance of non-fictional characters may have distinguished Apollonius' work from historical and panegyric epics of this period. Whether or not Alexandrian scholars differentiated between historical and mythological epic, however, remains debatable. The long-standing belief that the Hellenistic period saw an explosion of historical epics gained much of its momentum from Ziegler, K.'s book, Das Hellenistische Epos(Leipzig,1934)Google Scholar. This view has fallen into disfavour of late; see Goldberg, S. M.,Epic in Republican Rome(Oxford,1995),53Google Scholar and especially Cameron. I prefer the broader definition of epic used byGoogle ScholarFeeney, D. C.,The Gods in Epic(Oxford,1991),266, where he has collected convincing evidence for historical and panegyric epic of the Hellenistic period by expanding his field of vision to include shorter poems. These works were perhaps not ‘full’ epics, but they undoubtedly existed and most likely were known by Apollonius.Google Scholar

¹⁴ For the association of Pythagoras with Orpheus and Orphic writings, see Ion of Chios, Triagmoi DK 36 B 2; Herodotus 2.81; Plato, Cratylus 400c, and Phaedo62b. Many fantastic stories became attached to the name of Pythagoras in later times; see Kirk, G. S.et ai, The Presocratic Philosophers ²(Cambridge,1983),228–229Google Scholar; West, M. L.,The Orphic Poems(Oxford, 1983),1–38Google Scholar; and Schibli, H. S.,Pherekydes of Syros(Oxford,1990),10–13 for some of the far-fetched tales connected to Pythagoras and his conflation with Orpheus and Pherecydes.Google Scholar

¹⁵ Apollonius appears to have conflated two Homeric accounts to describe Aethalides' experience. The Dioscuri alternate between upper and lower worlds {Od 11.302–4) and Teiresias was allowed to retain his (Od 10.491–5). The Dioscuri return, and Teiresias has the ability to remember, but none of them do both in the way that Aethalides can; for a closer parallel, see the myth of Er in Plato, Rep. 614d.

¹⁶ Goldhill (n. 4), p. 291. Not surprisingly, the adjective is normally used to describe immortals and their world. However, it also describes the fame attained through poetry as at Theognis 246, Google Scholar

¹⁷ See Buffiere, F.,Les Mythes ďHomère et la Pensée Grecqiu²(Paris, 1973), pp. 290f. This interpretation is expressed by Plutarch in Vit. Horn. 102:Google Scholar

¹⁸ For an excellent discussion of poetic paths through the Argonautica, see Albis (n. 4), pp. 43–66

¹⁹ He may also have been thinking of the cryptic question that ends the proem of Hesiod's Theogony. (Th. 35). The self-conscious question ends one narrative, thereby allowing the narrator to begin again, in this case with a second invocation to the Muses.

²⁰ See S. Scully, ‘The language of Achilles: the ΟΧΘНΣΑΣ formulas’, TAPA 114 (1984), 11–27 for discussion of the formulaic opening phrase . For the deliberation between two choices as a ‘type-scene’ of Homeric poetryGoogle Scholar, see Arend, W.,Die Typischen Scenen bei Homer(Berlin,1933),108Google Scholar; also Schadewah, W.,Monolog und Selbstgesprach(Berlin,1926)Google Scholar, especially pp. 189f, andFenik, B.,Typical Battle Scenes in the Iliad: Studies in the Narrative Technique of Homeric Battle Description (Wiesbaden, 1968),96–98.Google Scholar

²¹ My thanks to Denis Feeney for pointing out this Homeric self-referentiality

²² For instance, he avoids the story of Pelops' being eaten ( Ol. 1.52) as well as other stories that show the gods in a negative light ( Ol. 9.35–9). On the Abbruchsformel in Pindar, see Race, W. H.,‘Some digressions and returns in Greek authors’,CJ 76(1980),1–8;Google ScholarRichardson, N. J.,‘Pindar and later literary criticism in antiquity’, PLLS 5(1985),383–401, at pp. 395f;Google ScholarHarder, M. A.,‘Untrodden paths: where do they lead?’,HSPh 93(1990),287–309, at p. 296;Google Scholar and Kyriakou, P., ‘A variation of the Pindaric break-off in Nemean 4’, AJP117.1(1996), 17–35. See also the comments of Feeney (n. 13), pp. 17–19 regarding Pindar's collapse of religious and literary distinctions.Google Scholar

²³ A. W. Bulloch in his commentary on Callimachus' fifth hymn (Cambridge, 1985) on pp. 55–6 calls such protestations ‘a stylistic topos in Hellenistic poetry’Google Scholar, while Fuhrer, T., ‘A Pindaric feature in the poems of Callimachus’,AJP 109(1988),53–68, at p. 53 finds Callimachus' use of them to be borrowed from Pindar. Neither interpretation attributes much religious motivation to them.Google Scholar

²⁴ Hopkinson, N.,A Hellenistic Anthology(Cambridge, 1988), 105;Google Scholar see also Cameron, A., ‘Genre and style in Callimachus’,TAPA 122(1992),305–312.Google Scholar

²⁵ Much ink has been spilled over the meaning of Callimachus' words. Hopkinson (n. 24), p. 87 and ad loc. suggests that Callimachus was against ‘a single theme treated with smooth narrative progression’. Cameron (nn. 13 and 24) is much more specific, arguing forcefully that Callimachus was taking a stance against narrative elegy such as Antimachus' Lyde. I find that Hunter (n. 4), pp. 190–5 offers the most persuasive interpretation of this passage when he suggests that Callimachus alludes to Aristotle's theories of epic. My thanks to Stephen Heyworth for drawing my attention to Callimachus fr. 26.8, in which the poet explains his composition of the Aetia with the words ;seeHeyworth, S. J.,‘Some allusions to Callimachus in Latin poetry’, MD 33(1994),51–79 at pp. 72–5.Google Scholar

²⁶ Despite the repetitions and thoroughness of speech elsewhere in the Homeric poems (as evidenced by Nestor's assurance , II. 9.61), Circe and the dream that comes to Penelope both use this adverb in describing the kind of prophecy they refuse to give (Od. 4.836, 12.56).

²⁷ Clauss, J. J.,The Best of the Argonauts: The Redefinition of the Epic Hero in Book 1 of Apollonius's Argonautica(Berkeley and Los Angeles, 1993),114f suggests that the story about Aethalides' imperishable memory serves as a replacement for the traditional messenger repetition; the fact that the narrator dwells so long on the source and abilities of mental agility suggests that his report must be verbatim. This is a neat explanation; however, the meta-narrative language of the digression suggests to me that the omission of Aethalides' speech is more significant than Clauss allows. Furthermore, his explanation does not account for the absence of the original speech as wellGoogle Scholar

²⁸ Callimachus fr. 11 singles out these qualities as desirable for poetry, a topos from lyric poetry that White, H.,New Essays in Hellenistic Poetry(Amsterdam, 1985),20–23 and 69–75 traces to a Hellenistic epigrammatic tradition. Levin (n. 5), p. 63 notes that the connotations of this word are appropriate for the herald of Jason, a hero who uses ‘honeyed words’ to get his way with Medea (see 3.985, 3.1102,4.394).Google Scholar

²⁹ My separation of the story and the act of narrating derives from Genette's (n. 9), p. 27 division of histoire, narrative, and narration. I translate histoire using Bal's (n. 9), p. 5 term fabula to describe ‘a series of logically and chronologically related events that are caused or experienced by actors’. I prefer fabula because of its etymological association with the English word ‘fable’, thus acting as a reminder that the subject of Apollonius' poem is in fact a myth lacking a definitive account; our reception of the story is filtered through the narrator's narration. The characters within the fabula still repeat messages, for example, but the narrator generally chooses not to include such repetitions in the text.Google Scholar

³⁰ On the use of the dual to describe the actions of heralds, see Hainsworth, J. B.'s commentary on Iliad 912(Cambridge,1993), at //. 9.170. For significant names of heralds see n. 7 above.Google Scholar

³¹ Heralds are supposed to go right up to the recipient and deliver the message. The incongruity of Talthybius‘ and Eurybates’ action is noted by the scholiast, who comments ad 1.332b: .Although silence can be a rhetorical tool (see Cramer, O. C.,‘Speech and silence in the Iliad, CJ 71 [1975],300–304), the narrator's specific mention of the heralds' fear and awe make rhetoric an unlikely source for their silence. Talthybius gives an appropriate repetition of a message a little later in the epic (//. 4.193–7 ~ 204–7), showing that this initial silence was anomalous: he does in fact know what he is supposed to do.Google Scholar

³² The only other speech that is near its length is Jason's two-line repetition of Aeetes' description of the bulls (3.09–10 ~ 3.495–6). Nevertheless, Iphinoe's speech, although by far the longest piece of text that is repeated verbatim in the Argonautica, is far shorter than many of the Homeric repeated speeches. Apollonius perhaps prepares for Iphinoe's feat with his repetition of her name at the beginning of two successive lines, 1.702–3.

³³ De Jong (n. 1), p. 185 explains that such adjustments are common in repeated speech: ‘Like all speaking characters, messengers are (secondary) focalizers and as such they often select, add to and interpret the information they have to convey.

³⁴ The change in adverb has been explained in various ways. Stossl, F.,Apollonios Rhodios: Interpretationen zur Erzahlungskunst und Quellenverwertung(Leipzig,1941),40 posits that her haste is an element remaining from a proecdosis.Google ScholarGeorge, E. V., ‘Poet and characters in Apollonius Rhodius' Lemnian episode,’ Hermes 100(1972),47–63, at pp. 60f claims that may show her emotional agitation, contrasting with Aethalides who is emblematic of the traditional objective herald. Two more recent readings support my interpretation. Clauss (n. 27), p. 116 suggests that it reflects Iphinoe's ability to speak with as her mistress does (1.792), whileGoogle ScholarHunter, R.,Jason and the Golden Fleece(Oxford,1993), ad loc. believes that it is a significant variation that demonstrates Iphinoe's sensitivity to the women's desires.Google Scholar

³⁵ Odysseus repeats Agamemnon's offer (9.122–57 ~ 9.264–99), but by changing and expanding the final verses (9.158–61 ~ 9.300–6) he demonstrates his awareness of Achilles' emotional state.

³⁶ Of course, in this case Iphinoe is urging the Argonauts to hurry, not herself. This represents a transferral of the messenger's epithet onto the people for whom she works. In 40 appearances in the Iliad, Iris is named with an epithet or some sort of qualifier 34 times. Of these, 24 refer to speed: ten times, nine times, once (following Monro and Allen's text which reads four times. Eight of her other epithets have to do with message-carrying: (which may also carry connotations of speed) three times, twice, once and twice. In contrast, in both the Iliad and Odyssey Hermes' epithets emphasize his lineage (Δι⋯ς νἱ⋯, and his past deeds (). When he does receive epithets that refer to his work as a herald, they do not specifically signify rapidity ().

³⁷ Discussed by StÖssl (n. 34), p. 40.

³⁸ In the Iliad, De Jong (n. 1), pp. 241–2 counts 24 instances of repeated messages. The shortest pause between initial and relaying speeches is three lines (Iliad 4.65–67 ~ 4.70–73), with the second shortest being six lines (Iliad 12.343–350 ~ 12.356–63). The separations range from three to 2782 lines, with an average separation of 202.8 lines. Thus Iphinoe's six-line pause, although not anomalous, is comparatively brief.

³⁹ This is why I do not agree with the assertion of DeForest, M. M.,Apollonius' Argonautica: A Callimachean Epic(Leiden,1994),86–90 that the quick repetition mocks Homeric naivete or her suggestion that Apollonius describes Iphinoe in such a way as to denigrate Jason's abilities. While I agree that Iphinoe's repetition emphasizes Aethalides' silence, I find DeFbrest's argument untenable because it posits the Homeric pattern as the only ‘correct’ one. Apollonius clearly used the Homeric poems as models, but they certainly were not his only sources of inspiration, and he certainly sought to rework the originals.Google Scholar

⁴⁰ Pavlock, B.,Eros, Imitation, and the Epic Tradition (Ithaca,1990),45–51 has been very influential for my reading of the Lemnian episode. The ongoing dialogue between the sexes that she sees can, I believe, be applied to Iphinoe and Aethalides.Google Scholar

⁴¹ The ability to repeat messages verbatim was not limited to professional heralds in the Homeric epics; any hero should be able to remember and repeat messages. See Martin (n. 2) for a discussion of heroes as performers, with memory as a heroic characteristic.

⁴² Stössl (n. 34), p. 44 notes that this is an odd omission, since the parallel scenes of arrival and departure suggest that Apollonius was not adverse to writing doublet scenes, while George (n. 34), p. 60 reads Jason's speech as a parody of a herald speaking verbatim.Google Scholar

⁴³ Jason is not the only one whose words are edited by the narrator. When Medea pours out her troubles to her aunt Circe, the narrator states that she tells her everything (, 4.730), and yet he only gives a brief summary of her speech (4.730–6). He further demonstrates his dominance over the narrative by mentioning a subject that Medea leaves out: Apsyrtus' murder ().

⁴⁴ DeForest (n. 39), p. 89 notes these similarities, but draws a different conclusion: she sees the juxtaposition of these phrases as further evidence for Jason's failure as a hero.

⁴⁵ Within the Argonautica, Orpheus soothes the quarrel of Idas and Idmon with his cosmogonical song, with the result that (1.515); see Schwartz, E.,Aspects of Orpheus in Classical Literature and Mythology(Harvard diss.,1984),63–90Google Scholar for a broader perspective on Orpheus' powers. Albis (n. 4), pp. 81–7 draws a connection between the of Apollonius' poetry and Medea's sorcery in Book 3; also see Walsh, G. B., The Varieties of Enchantment: Early Greek Views of the Nature and Function of Poetry(Chapel Hill,1984),3–21 and especially pp. 14–19 on as the goal of Homeric bards.Google Scholar

⁴⁶ Albis (n. 4), pp. 52–3 sees the use of the verb as a sign of Apollonius' selfapprobation rather than praise of Jason's abilities.

⁴⁷ See Mondi, R., ‘ZKHTITOYXOI BAZIAEIZ: an argument for divine kingship in early Greece’, Arethusa 13(1980),203–216 for a discussion of the sceptre as a twofold symbol, that of kingship and of the authority of the speaker holding it.Google Scholar

⁴⁸ The only other character to use this word is Phineus, who is shown to be wise in refusing to speak because it is a sin against Zeus (2.390–1).

⁴⁹ When Medea suggests luring Apsyrtus to his death, she mentions sending heralds (, plural) to persuade him to come alone (4.417). A few lines later at 4.435, the narrator reiterates that Medea sent heralds (, following Vian's text). In neither case d o the heralds speak, but their action is summarized at 436 by . It is unclear who these heralds are, since Aethalides and Iphinoe were the only named heralds, and surely Iphinoe remained on Lemnos. Thus, there must have been at least one unheralded herald who accompanied the Argonauts on their voyage, and who also was denied the opportunity to speak verbatim.

⁵⁰ Hunter, R. L.'s commentary on Argonautica 3(Cambridge,1989), at 3.1175. The only other instance of applied t o a mortal occurs when Jason asks Argos his background, (2.1139).Google Scholar