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Propertius' Talking Horse

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 February 2009

Victor J. Matthews
Victor J. Matthews
Affiliation:
University of Guelph, Ontario, Canada
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Extract

All editors and translators of Propertius seem convinced that the Roman poet has endowed the horse Arion with the power of speech. I present a few sample translations of the two lines:

Type
Shorter Notes
Information
The Classical Quarterly , Volume 41 , Issue 1 , May 1991 , pp. 259 - 261
Copyright
Copyright © The Classical Association 1991

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References

1 Propertius (Loeb 1912, repr. 1962), p. 169.Google Scholar

2 The Poems of Sextus Propertius (Chichester, 1961), p. 96.Google Scholar

3 Latin Poetry: the New Poets and the Augustans (New Haven and London, 1965), p. 202. Cf.Google ScholarMusker, R., The Poems of Propertius (London, 1972), p. 125Google Scholar and Warden, J., The Poems of Propertius (Indianapolis and New York, 1972), p. 129.Google Scholar

4 Cf. e.g. ‘endowed among other remarkable attributes with the gift of speech’, Camps, W. A., Propertius: Elegies Book II (Cambridge, 1967), p. 228Google Scholar; ‘Arion, Adrastus’ marvellous horse with the power of speech and one human foot', Richardson, L. Jr., Propertius: Elegies I–IV (Norman, Oklahoma, 1977), p. 313Google Scholar; ‘…a speaking racehorse's victory and mourning at an infant's funeral games’, Stahl, H.-P., Propertius: ‘Love’ and ‘War’ : Individual and State under Augustus (Berkeley, Los Angeles and London, 1985), p. 175.Google Scholar

5 Camps, op. cit. (n. 4), p. 228.

6 Shackleton Bailey, D. R., Propertiana2 (Amsterdam, 1967), p. 133.Google Scholar

7 ‘Qualis’ stresses the wonderful nature of the horse, which was born of Gaia, σβας θνητοῖσιν ἰδσθαι (Antim. F 32.5 Wyss; cf. ς θεφιν γνος ἦεν, Il. 23.347). Diomedes' horses too were of divine origin, bred by Anchises from those given to Tros by Zeus and captured from Aeneas by Diomedes (Il. 5.265ff.), who won the chariot race at the Patroclus Games with them (Il. 23.290–513).

8 As noticed by Richardson, pp. 313–14.

9 Il. 19.404ff.

10 Cf. Edwards, Mark W., Homer: Poet of the Iliad (Baltimore and London, 1987), pp. 287–8.Google Scholar

11 Il. 23.346–7 (see also scholia ad loc); Cyclic Thebaid F6A Davies EGF; Antimachus F32, 33, 35 Wyss.

12 The thought is closely paralleled in Prop. 1.9.9–10. Cf. Vessey, D. W. T. C., PVS 9 (1969–1970), 60–2.Google Scholar

13 Arion is mentioned in F32 and 33 Wyss and is possibly the subject in F36. Propertius' earlier references to the rivers Achelous and Maeander (33–6), may be to the Heraclea of Panyassis, cf. Vessey, PVS 9, p. 62.Google Scholar

14 Il. 17.427; 437–41; 23.283–4.

15 F12.8 West.

16 Phaedrus 269a5.

17 Possibly the Cyclic Thebaid, cf. P. von der Mühll in Meyer, G., Die stilistische Verwendung der Nominalkomposition im Griechischen (Philol. Suppl. 16.3 [1923]. p. 23 n. 2)Google Scholar; Merkelbach, R., Kritische Beiträge zu antiken Autoren (Meisenheim, 1974), pp. 2fGoogle Scholar. But Bernabé (Poetae Epici Graeci) lists it as Fragmentum Dubium (11), sharing the caution of Davies, M., Mus. Helv. 37 (1980), 131–2Google Scholar. Davies himself, however, does not include it in his EGF.

18 Hor. Od. 1.12.7–8; cf. ‘ille vocali genitus Camena’ (i.e. Orpheus), Sen. Med. 625.

19 Ovid, Met. 3.357–8.

20 Apul. Met. 6.7.

21 Ovid, Fasti 2.91.

22 The speaking cow or ox is a commonplace in such lists, e.g. Livy, 3.10.6; Val. Max. 1.6.5. Pliny (H.N. 8.183) says ‘est frequens in prodigiis priscorum bovem locutum’.

23 Il. 19.404ff.; cf. especially ‘fata monentem conversumque iugo’ with ὑπ ζυγθι προσφη, 404. Cf. H. Juhnke, Homerisches in römischer Epik flavischer Zeit (Zetemata, Heft 53, München, 1972), p. 368.

24 Cf. Cyclic Thebaid F6A Davies EGF; Paus. 8.25.7; Apollod. 3.6.8; Hygin, Fab. 70.