THE STORMY SEAS OF CYPRUS: POETICS OF EASTERN WANDERING John Franklin
Homer and the Herodotean Cypria
1. Hdt. 2.116–7 (ed. Legrand): Ἑλένης µὲν ταύτην ἄπιξιν παρὰ Πρωτέα ἔλεγον οἱ ἱρέες γενέσθαι. Δοκέει δέ µοι καὶ Ὅµηρος τὸν λόγον τοῦτον πυθέσθαι· ἀλλ’, οὐ γὰρ ὁµοίως ἐς τὴν ἐποποιίην εὐπρεπὴς ἦν τῷ ἑτέρῳ τῷ περ ἐχρήσατο, [ἐς ὃ] µετῆκε αὐτόν, δηλώσας ὡς καὶ τοῦτον ἐπίσταιτο τὸν λόγον. Δῆλον δέ, κατά περ ἐποίησε ἐν Ἰλιάδι (καὶ οὐδαµῇ ἄλλῃ ἀνεπόδισε ἑωυτόν) πλάνην τὴν Ἀλεξάνδρου, ὡς ἀπηνείχθη ἄγων Ἑλένην τῇ τε δὴ ἄλλῃ πλαζόµενος καὶ ὡς ἐς Σιδῶνα τῆς Φοινίκης ἀπίκετο. Ἐπιµέµνηται δὲ αὐτοῦ ἐν Διοµήδεος Ἀριστηίῃ· λέγει δὲ τὰ ἔπεα ὧδε·
ἔνθ’ ἔσαν οἱ πέπλοι παµποίκιλοι, ἔργα γυναικῶν Σιδονίων, τὰς [v.l. τοὺς] αὐτὸς Ἀλέξανδρος θεοειδὴς ἤγαγε Σιδονίηθεν, ἐπιπλὼς εὐρέα πόντον, τὴν ὁδὸν ἣν Ἑλένην περ ἀνήγαγεν εὐπατέρειαν. (Il. 6, 289-92)
[Ἐπιµέµνηται δὲ καὶ ἐν Ὀδυσσείῃ ἐν τοῖσδε τοῖσι ἔπεσι· τοῖα Διὸς θυγάτηρ ἔχε φάρµακα µητιόεντα, ἐσθλά, τά οἱ Πολύδαµνα πόρεν Θῶνος παράκοιτις Αἰγυπτίη, τῇ πλεῖστα φέρει ζείδωρος ἄρουρα φάρµακα, πολλὰ µὲν ἐσθλὰ µεµιγµένα, πολλὰ δὲ λυγρά. (Od. 4, 227-33)
Καὶ τάδε ἕτερα πρὸς Τηλέµαχον Μενέλεως λέγει· Αἰγύπτῳ µ’ ἔτι δεῦρο θεοὶ µεµαῶτα νέεσθαι ἔσχον, ἐπεὶ οὔ σφιν ἔρεξα τεληέσσας ἑκατόµβας. (Od. 4, 351–2)]]
Ἐν τούτοισι τοῖσι ἔπεσι δηλοῖ ὅτι ἠπίστατο τὴν ἐς Αἴγυπτον Ἀλεξάνδρου πλάνην· ὁµουρέει γὰρ ἡ Συρίη Αἰγύπτῳ, οἱ δὲ Φοίνικες, τῶν ἐστι ἡ Σιδών, ἐν τῇ Συρίῃ οἰκέουσι. (117.) Κατὰ ταῦτα δὲ τὰ ἔπεα καὶ τόδε [τὸ χωρίον] οὐκ ἥκιστα ἀλλὰ µάλιστα δηλοῖ ὅτι οὐκ Ὁµήρου τὰ Κύπρια ἔπεά ἐστι ἀλλ’ ἄλλου τινός· ἐν µὲν γὰρ τοῖσι Κυπρίοισι εἴρηται ὡς τριταῖος ἐκ Σπάρτης Ἀλέξανδρος ἀπίκετο ἐς τὸ Ἴλιον ἄγων Ἑλένην, εὐαέϊ τε πνεύµατι χρησάµενος καὶ θαλάσσῃ λείῃ· ἐν δὲ Ἰλιάδι λέγει ὡς ἐπλάζετο ἄγων αὐτήν. Ὅµηρος µέν νυν καὶ τὰ Κύπρια ἔπεα χαιρέτω.
This, said the (Egyptian) priests, was (the manner of) Helen’s arrival to Proteus. And it seems to me that Homer too had heard of this tale; but, since it was not as fitting for epic poetry as that which he actually used, he dismissed it— although he made clear that he knew this version too. And it is clear, exactly as he composed the wandering (πλάνην) of Alexander in the Iliad (and nowhere else did he contradict himself), that (Alexander) was blown off course (ἀπηνείχθη) as he led away Helen, and that he both wandered to elsewhere and came to Sidon in Phoenicia. He alludes to it in the Aristeia of Diomedes. He speaks the verses as follows:
There she had mantles all embroidered, works of Sidonian women, whom (which?) godlike Alexander himself had led back from Sidon, sailing on the wide sea— the very route by which he led back noble Helen. (Il. 6, 289-92)
[He alludes to the tale also in the Odyssey, in the following verses: Such the cunning drugs which Zeus’ daughter had, High-quality, which Polydamna, wife of Thon, had given her, Lady of Egypt, where the fertile fields bear abundant Drugs—many useful once mixed, and many harmful. (Od. 4, 227-33)
And Menelaus says these other verses to Telemachus: The gods still held me, when I was minded to come hither home, In Egypt, since I did not make them sacrifice of perfect hecatombs. (Od. 4, 351–2)]
In these verses he makes clear that he knew the wandering of Alexander to Egypt. For Syria borders upon Egypt, and the Phoenicians—whose city Sidon is—dwell in Syria. And according to these verses, not least but most of all, the following is also clear—that The Cypria is not by Homer but someone else. For in the Cypria it is said that Alexander arrived to Troy from Sparta on the third day leading Helen, ‘enjoying well-blowing wind and level sea’. But in the Iliad he says that (Alexander) wandered when he led her. Let that be enough about Homer and the Cypria.
The Other Cypria
2. Procl. Chrest. 80 (Severyns) = Davies EGF p. 31; Bernabé PEG I, p. 39: Ἀφροδίτη συνάγει τὴν Ἑλένην τῷ Ἀλεξάνδρῳ καὶ μετὰ τὴν μίξιν τὰ πλεῖστα κτήματα ἐνθέμενοι νυκτὸς ἀποπλέουσι. χειμῶνα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐφίστησιν Ἥρα. καὶ προσενεχθεὶς Σιδῶνι ὁ Ἀλέξανδρος αἱρεῖ τὴν πόλιν.
Aphrodite brings Helen and Alexander together and, after their love-making, they load very many of (sc. Menelaus’) possessions and sail off night by night. But Hera sends a storm upon them. And after being carried to Sidon, Alexander sacks the city.
3. [Apollod.] Epit. 3.4: Ἥρα δὲ αὐτοῖς ἐπιπέµπει χειµῶνα πολύν, ὑφ’ οὗ βιασθέντες προσίσχουσι Σιδῶνι, εὐλαβούµενος δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος µὴ διωχθῇ, πολὺν διέτριψε χρόνον ἐν Φοινίκῃ καὶ Κύπρῳ. ὡς δὲ ἀπήλπισε δίωξιν, ἧκεν εἰς Τροίαν µετὰ Ἑλένης.
Hera sends a great storm against them, under the force of which they make for Sidon; and Alexander, taking good care lest he be pursued, whiled away much time in Phoenicia and Cyprus. And when he no longer expected pursuit, he came to Troy with Helen.
Kyprias, The Kypria, and the ‘Pride of Halicarnassus’
4. Ath. Deipn. 682de (ed. Kaibel) ἀνθῶν δὲ στεφανωτικῶν µέµνηται ὁ µὲν τὰ Κύπρια Ἔπη πεποιηκὼς Ἡγησίας ἢ Στασῖνος· Δηµοδάµας γὰρ ὁ Ἁλικαρνασσεὺς ἢ Μιλήσιος ἐν τῷ περὶ Ἁλικαρνασσοῦ (FGrH 428 F 1) Κυπρία Ἁλικαρνασσέως [δ’] αὐτὰ εἶναί φησι ποιήµατα· κτλ.
And of wreath-flowers the composer of the Cyprian Verses makes mention—(be it) Hegesias or Stasinos; in fact Demodamas (the Halicarnassan or Milesian) says in his book On Halicarnassus that this poem is by Kyprias of Halicarnassus.
5. ‘Pride of Halicarnassus’: Col. II, l. 46: (sc. Halicarnassus) Ἰλιακῶν Κυπρίαν τίκτεν ἀοιδοθέτην, ‘(Halicarnassus) begot Kyprias, the song-maker of Iliaka’. For text, see Isager, S., 'The Pride of Halicarnassos. Editio princeps of an Inscription from Salmakis', ZPE 123 (1998), 1–23.
Liar King: The Hosting by Kinyras / The Terracotta Fleet
6. Hom. Il. 11.19–23: δεύτερον αὖ θώρηκα περὶ στήθεσσιν ἔδυνε / τόν ποτέ οἱ Κινύρης δῶκε ξεινήϊον εἶναι. / πεύθετο γὰρ Κύπρονδε μέγα κλέος οὕνεκ' Ἀχαιοὶ / ἐς Τροίην νήεσσιν ἀναπλεύσεσθαι ἔμελλον· / τοὔνεκά οἱ τὸν δῶκε χαριζόμενος βασιλῆϊ.
Next in turn he donned the corselet round his chest / Which once Kinyras gave him as a hosting-gift. / For he had heard a great report on Cyprus—the Achaeans / Were to sail in ships to Troy—wherefore / He gave the corselet to him, cultivating favor with the king.
7. [Apollod.] Epit. 3.9–10: Ὅτι Μενέλαος σὺν Ὀδυσσεῖ καὶ Ταλθυβίῳ πρὸς <Κινύραν εἰς (suppl. West)> Κύπρον ἐλθόντες συµµαχεῖν ἔπειθον· ὁ δὲ Ἀγαµέµνονι µὲν οὐ παρόντι θώρακα[ς] ἐδωρήσατο, ὀµόσας δὲ πέµψειν πεντήκοντα ναῦς, µίαν πέµψας, ἧς ἦρχεν . . . ὁ Μυγδαλίωνος, καὶ τὰς λοιπὰς ἐκ γῆς πλάσας µεθῆκεν εἰς τὸ πέλαγος. (10) Ὅτι θυγατέρες Ἀνίου τοῦ Ἀπόλλωνος Ἐλαῒς Σπερµὼ Οἰνώ, αἱ Οἰνότροφοι λεγόµεναι· αἷς ἐχαρίσατο Διόνυσος ποιεῖν ἐκ γῆς ἔλαιον σῖτον οἶνον.
(He says) that Menelaus went with Odysseus and Talthybius to Kinyras in Cyprus, and tried to persuade him to join the battle. But he—he made a gift of a breastplate[s] for Agamemnon, who was not present; and vowing to send fifty ships, he sent (pempsas) one, which [name lost] the son of Mygdalion commanded. And molding the rest out of clay, he launched (methêken) them into the sea.
8. Eust. ad Hom. Il. 11.20 (the scholia have very similar material): ὁ Κινύρας . . . βασιλεὺς Κύπρου ζάπλουτος, ὃς παριόντας τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς ἐξένισεν, ὑποσχόµενος καὶ ἐν Ἰλίῳ πέµψειν τὰ ἀναγκαῖα. φασὶ δὲ αὐτὸν ἀµελήσαντα ἐπικατάρατον γενέσθαι ὑπὸ Ἀγαµέµνονος καὶ αὐτὸν µὲν ἀπολωλέναι ᾠδικῶς ἁµιλλώµενον τῷ Ἀπόλλωνι ὡς οἷα µουσικῆς τεχνίτην. διὸ καὶ Κινύρης ἐκλήθη παρωνύµως τῇ κινύρᾳ. τὰς δὲ θυγατέρας αὐτοῦ πεντήκοντα οὔσας ἁλέσθαι εἰς θάλασσαν καὶ εἰς ἀλκυόνας µεταπεσεῖν. Ἄλλοι δέ φασιν αὐτὸν ἐν Πάφῳ ὀµόσαντα Μενελάῳ πέµψειν πεντήκοντα ναῦς, µίαν µόνην ἀποστεῖλαι, τὰς δὲ λοιπὰς ἐκ γῆς πλάσαντα πέµψαι καὶ γηΐνους ἄνδρας ἐν αὐταῖς, καὶ οὕτω σοφίσασθαι τὸν ὅρκον, ὀστρακίνῳ στόλῳ δεξιωσάµενον. Παραπηκτέον δὲ τῇ εἰρηµένῃ Κυπριακῇ ξενίᾳ τῶν Ἀχαιῶν καὶ τὴν Δηλιακήν, ἣν καὶ ὁ Λυκόφρων ἱστορεῖ, πάνυ λαµπροτέραν οὖσαν τῆς ἐν Κύπρῳ. αὕτη µὲν γὰρ εἰς ἅπαξ γέγονεν, ὁ δὲ ἐν τῇ Δήλῳ ξενίσας τὸ Πανελλήνιον οὐκ ἠρκέσθη δαψιλευσάµενος οἴκοι τὰ εἰς τὸν Ξένιον ἐπὶ µετρίῳ καιρῷ, ἀλλ’ ἤθελε παρακατασχεῖν τοὺς Ἀχαιοὺς καὶ εἰς δέκα περιπλοµένους ἐνιαυτοὺς κτλ.
Kinyras . . . was a very rich king of Cyprus, who hosted (exenisen) the Achaeans when they arrived, promising that he would send (pempsein) necessities also at Troy. But they say that, after defaulting (sc. on this promise), he was cursed by Agamemnon, and that he perished competing musically with Apollo, because he was an expert in music (which is why he took his name from the kinura-lyre). And his daughters, who were fifty in number, leaped into the sea and changed into halcyons. But others say that, swearing in Paphos to Menelaus that he would send (pempsein) fifty ships, dispatched only one; and molding the rest out of clay, and clay men to go with them, ‘sent them on their way’ (pempsai). And so he treated the oath sophistically, outwitting it with a pottery fleet! And to the so-called Cypriot Hosting of the Achaeans one must also join the Delian (hosting)—which Lycophron also treats—being altogether more splendid than the one on Cyprus. For the former happened was a one-off (eis hapax), but he who hosted the combined Greek force on Delos was not content with giving lavish entertainments ‘for Zeus the guest-god’ in his home for the appropriate amount of time, but wanted to detain the Achaeans even unto ten full years . . .
9. Alcidamas Od. 20–21: ἤγειρε τὴν στρατιὰν καὶ διέπεµπεν ἡµῶν ἄλλον ἄλλοσε εἰς τὰς πόλεις αἰτήσων τὰς στρατιάς. καὶ δὴ τοῦτον ἔπεµψεν εἰς Χίον πρὸς Οἰνοπίωνα καὶ εἰς Κύπρον πρὸς Κινύραν. ὃ δὲ Κινύραν τε ἔπεισε µὴ συστρατεύειν ἡµῖν, δῶρά τε πολλὰ παρ’ αὐτοῦ λαβὼν ἀποπλέων ᾤχετο. καὶ Ἀγαµέµνονι µὲν ἀποδίδωσι χαλκοῦν θώρακα, ὅστις οὐδενὸς ἄξιος ἦν, τὰ δὲ ἄλλα αὐτὸς ἔχει χρήµατα. ἀπήγγελλε δὲ ὅτι ἑκατὸν ναῦς ἀποπέµψει ὁ Κινύρας· ὁρᾶτε δὲ καὶ αὐτοὶ οὐδεµίαν παρ’ αὐτοῦ ἥκουσαν.
(Odysseus speaking): (Menelaus) began to gather an expedition and sent each of us to different cities to require forces. This man (sc. Palamedes) too, indeed, he sent, to Oinopion in Chios and Kinyras in Cyprus.
Kinyras and the ‘Changing State’ of Cyprus
10. Hom. Od. 17. 442 f.: αὐτὰρ ἔµ’ ἐς Κύπρον ξείνῳ δόσαν ἀντιάσαντι, / Δµήτορι Ἰασίδῃ, ὃς Κύπρου ἶφι ἄνασσεν. ‘Dmetor son [or descendant] of Iasos, who ruled in Cyprus by force.’
Eust. ad Od. 17. 442 f.: εἰ δὲ Κινύρας ἐν Ἰλιάδι Κύπρου ἦν βασιλεὺς, ἀλλ’ ἐκείνου µηκέτ’ ὄντος ὁ ῥηθεὶς Δµήτωρ βασιλεῦσαι δοκεῖ (‘If Kinyras was king of Cyprus in the Iliad, he was no longer, but the Dmetor who is named seems to be king.’). Cf. schol. ad loc.: Κινύρου ἀποθανόντος Δµήτωρ ἐβασίλευσε Κύπρου ( ‘After Kinyras died, Dmetor was king of Cyprus’).
11. Theopomp. FGrH 115 F 103 = Phot. Bibl. 176: ὅν τε τρόπον παρὰ δόξαν Εὐαγόρας τῆς Κυπρίων ἀρχῆς ἐπέβη Ἀβδύµονα κατασχὼν τὸν Κιτιέα ταύτης ἐπάρχοντα· τίνα τε τρόπον Ἕλληνες οἱ σὺν Ἀγαµέµνονι τὴν Κύπρον κατέσχον, ἀπελάσαντες τοὺς µετὰ Κιννύρου (sic) ὧν εἰσὶν ὑπολιπεῖς Ἀµαθούσιοι.
[Theopompus described] in what way the Greeks with Agamemnon occupied Cyprus, driving off the men with Kinyras, of whom the Amathusians are the remnants.
Lady Come Down: The Marital Escapades of Paris and Helen
For Procl. Chrest. 80 and [Apollod.] Epit. 3.4, see above.
12. Dict. Cret. Bell. Tro. 1.5 (ed. Eisenhut). Legati paucis diebus ad Trojiam veniunt, neque tum Alexandrum in loco offendere. Eum namque properatione navigii inconsulte usum venti ad Cyprum appulere. Unde sumptis aliquot navibus, Phoenicem delapsus, Sidoniorum regem, qui eum amice susceperat, noctu per insidias necat: eademque qua apud Lacedaemonam, cupiditate, universam domum ejus in scelus proprium convertit.
13. Within a few days the legates (sc. Palamedes, Odysseus, and Menelaus) arrived at Troy, but they did not find Paris at the site. For rashly making haste in his voyage, the winds had driven him to Cyprus. Acquiring a certain number of ships there, he cruised down Phoenicia and slew by night the Sidonians’ king, who had received him in friendship; and with the same lust as at Sparta, Paris reduced the king’s whole house to his usual villainy.
14. Schol. Eur. Andr. 898 (= Lysimachus FGrH 382 F 12 = FGrH 758 F 6 = Cypria fr. 10 Davies EGF; fr. 12 Bernabé PEG): ὁ δὲ τὰς Κυπριακὰς ἱστορίας συντάξας Πλεισθένην φησὶ, μεθ' οὗ εἰς Κύπρον ἀφῖχθαι καὶ τὸν ἐξ αὐτῆς τεχθέντα Ἀλεξάνδρῳ Ἄγανον.
The arranger of the Cypriot Histories says Pleisthenes (sc. was the son of Helen and Menelaus), with whom Aganos, the son born by her to Paris, also arrived to Cyprus.
15. Tzetzes Antehomerica (ed. Iacobs), 140: ἄστυ Τρώιον ἴδον, ὅλον λυκάβαντα µογεῦντες (‘they saw the Trojan town, struggling for a whole year’).
Evasive Actions in the East
Stesichorus: PMGF 192–193; Hdt. 2.116–7; Eur. Hel.
16. Schol. ad Lycoph. Alex. 112: ἁρπάσας δὲ αὐτὴν οὐκ εὐθὺς εἰς τὴν Τροίαν ἀπέπλευσεν, ἀλλὰ δοκῶν ὑπὸ τῶν Λακεδαιµονίων διώκεσθαι ἐπὶ τὴν Αἴγυπτον ἔπλευσεν, ἔνθα ὑπὸ Πρωτέως ἀφῃρέθη αὐτήν. ὁ δὲ Ἀλέξανδρος λαβὼν εἴδωλον αὐτῆς ἐπὶ τὴν Τροίαν εἰσῆλθεν. ‘After seizing (Helen) Paris did not sail back straight to Troy, but thinking he was being pursued by the Spartan he sailed to Egypt, where he was robbed of Helen by Proteus. But Alexander took an image of her and returned to Troy.’
17. Constantinus Manasses, Breviarium Chronicum 1170–1208 (pp. 66–8 Lampsidis), esp. 1172–4: Εἰς ναῦν ἐµβὰς ἁλίπλοον ἀπαίρει πρὸς Φοινίκην, / ἐκ τῆς φερούσης ἐκτραπεὶς πορείας τῆς πρὸς Τροίαν· / δίωξιν γὰρ ὑπώπτευεν ἐκ τῶν ἀδικηθέντων κτλ. ‘Embarking on a seagoing ship he sets off for Phoenicia, / Turning aside from the course which leads to Troy; / For he suspected pursuit from the injured parties’.
18. Malal. Chron. 95 Dindorf: καὶ ἀντεπέρασεν εἰς τὴν Σιδῶνα, κἀκεῖθεν πρὸς τὸν Πρωτέα, βασιλέα τῆς Αἰγύπτου . . . µετὰ δὲ χρόνον ἦλθεν ἐκ τῆς Αἰγύπτου ὁ Πάρις ἔχων τὴν Ἑλένην καὶ τὰ χρήµατα καὶ τὸν πλοῦτον ὅλον τὸν αὐτῆς κτλ. ‘And he passed across to Sidon, and thence to Proteus, king of Egypt . . . and after a while (‘delay’? ‘a year’?) Paris went from Egypt, with Helen and her possession and all her wealth . . .’ Cf. Jo. Antioch. fr. 23 (FHG IV 550); Cedr.1.218; schol. ad Lycoph. Alex. 132: ἁρπάξας τὴν Ἑλένην . . . διὰ Σιδῶνος καὶ Αἰγύπτου ποιησάµενος τὸν ἀπόπλουν ὁλοκλήρῳ χρόνῳ εἰς Τροίαν κατῆρεν.
19. Schol. Hom. Il. 6.291: κλέψας γὰρ τὴν Ἑλένην οὐκ εὐθὺς πρὸς τὴν Ἴλιον ἦλθεν, ἵνα µὴ διωχθεὶς καταληφθῇ, ἀλλ' ἔπλευσε διὰ τῆς Αἰγύπτου καὶ Φοινίκης, ‘After stealing Helen he did not go straight to Troy, so that he not be captured, were he pursued, but he sailed about in Egypt and Phoenicia’ (this is reversed by another scholiast ad loc.: δεδιὼς γὰρ τὸν διωγµὸν διὰ Φοινίκης καὶ Αἰγύπτου ἦλθεν, ὡς καὶ οἱ Ἀργοναῦται διὰ τοῦ Ἴστρου); Praefatio Borbonica ad Homeri Iliadem οὐκ εὐθὺς ἐπὶ τὸ Ἴλιον διαβαίνει, ἀλλὰ πλησιάσας τινὶ τῶν νήσων ἐπ’ Αἰγύπτῳ καὶ Φοινίκῃ πλανηθῆναι πρότερον.
20. Tzetz. Exegesis in Homeri Iliadem (p. 65.18 f. Papathomopoulos): τὸν δι’ Ἀιγύπτου πλοῦν εἰς τὴν Τροίαν, ‘the voyage through Egypt to Troy . . .’
21. Eust. ad Hom. Il. 6.289–92: καὶ ὅτι τὴν Ἑλένην ἁρπάσας ὁ Πάρις οὐ διὰ τῆς αὐτῆς ἐπανῆλθε, δι' ἧς τὰ πρῶτα ἔπλευσεν, ἀλλὰ δι' Αἰγύπτου καὶ Φοινίκης καὶ τοῦ Φαρίου καὶ Ἰσσικοῦ πελάγους περιοδεύσας καὶ πολὺν πλοῦν ἑλίξας, ἵνα µὴ ἐπιδιωχθεὶς καταληφθῇ, ἦλθεν εἰς Τροίαν, ‘Paris, after snatching Helen, did not return by the same route which he had sailed at first, but after travelling around Egypt, Phoenicia and the Pharian and Issican seas, winding a long voyage, that he not be taken were he pursued, he came to Troy. Cf. Dionys. Per. 115–9, with scholia and Eustathius ad locc.
The Hunt for Helen
22. Tzetz. Antehomerica 133–40 (ed. Iacobs): φεῦγον ἐπ’ ἀτρυγέτοιο θαλάσσης Τύριον οἶδµα, / δειδιότες περάαν πλόον ὃν Τροίηθεν ἔπεπλον. / Αὐτίκα δ’ ἐς Κρήτην Μενελάου οἴκιες ἦλθον, / ἀγγελίην ἐρέοντες· ὁ δ’ ἔπλεεν ὦκα µάλιστα / εὐρυπόρου Σεισίχθονος οἴδµατα πάντα µατεύων / Πολλὰ δ’ ἀπρὴγξ µογέεσκε, µάτην ἀκιχήτα διώκων. / Κεῖνοι γάρ τε µέγα πέλαγος Τύρων περόωντες / ἄστυ Τρώιον ἴδον, ὅλον λυκάβαντα µογεῦντες.
They fled upon the barren sea and made their way to Tyre, / Because they feared to sail the way the Trojans sailed from Troy. / And Menelaus’ servants came in haste to Crete / To tell the news; and he went sailing off most swiftly / Searching every route upon the broad-wayed Earth-shaker. / And much he suffered, helpless, vainly chasing the untakable. / For those two, passing through the great sea of the Tyrians / Saw the Trojan city after suffering a year.
23. Hom. Il. 3.442–50: οὐ γάρ πώ ποτέ µ' ὧδέ γ' ἔρως φρένας ἀµφεκάλυψεν, / οὐδ' ὅτε σε πρῶτον Λακεδαίµονος ἐξ ἐρατεινῆς / ἔπλεον ἁρπάξας ἐν ποντοπόροισι νέεσσι, / νήσῳ δ' ἐν κραναῇ ἐµίγην φιλότητι καὶ εὐνῇ, / ὥς σεο νῦν ἔραµαι καί µε γλυκὺς ἵµερος αἱρεῖ. / Ἦ ῥα, καὶ ἄρχε λέχος δὲ κιών· ἅµα δ' εἵπετ' ἄκοιτις. / Τὼ µὲν ἄρ' ἐν τρητοῖσι κατεύνασθεν λεχέεσσιν, / Ἀτρεΐδης δ' ἀν' ὅµιλον ἐφοίτα θηρὶ ἐοικὼς / εἴ που ἐσαθρήσειεν Ἀλέξανδρον θεοειδέα.
Never yet has such desire (erôs) enveloped (amphekalupse) my heart— / Not even when first I stole (harpaxas) you away from lovely Lacedaemon / And went sailing off in ships that fare upon the sea, / And on a rocky island loved and bedded you — / As now I lust for you and sweet desire seizes me. / He spoke and started off for bed, and with him went his mate. / Thus the couple couched themselves upon the mortised bed. / But Menelaus, like a beast, went ranging through the crowd, / To see if maybe he could catch a glimpse of godlike Paris.
24. Hom. Od. 4.81–9: ἦ γὰρ πολλὰ παθὼν καὶ πόλλ' ἐπαληθεὶς / ἠγαγόμην ἐν νηυσὶ καὶ ὀγδοάτῳ ἔτει ἦλθον, / Κύπρον Φοινίκην τε καὶ Αἰγυπτίους ἐπαληθείς, / Αἰθίοπάς θ' ἱκόμην καὶ Σιδονίους καὶ Ἐρεμβοὺς / καὶ Λιβύην, ἵνα τ' ἄρνες ἄφαρ κεραοὶ τελέθουσι. / τρὶς γὰρ τίκτει µῆλα τελεσφόρον εἰς ἐνιαυτόν· / ἔνθα µὲν οὔτε ἄναξ ἐπιδευὴς οὔτε τι ποιµὴν / τυροῦ καὶ κρειῶν οὐδὲ γλυκεροῖο γάλακτος, / ἀλλ’ αἰεὶ παρέχουσιν ἐπηετανὸν γάλα θῆσθαι.
For having truly suffered much and wandered far / I brought (sc. much wealth) aboard my ships and came back after seven years, / Wandering through Cyprus and Phoenicia and the Egyptian people, / Aethiopians too I reached, Sidonians and Eremboi— / Even Libya, a place where lambs are born with horns / For flocks give birth three times each circling year; / Neither king nor shepherd is lacking there / For cheese and meat, and neither for sweet milk, / But always, all the year, they offer milk for suckling.
Tour de Force / The Voluntary Exile
25. Eust. ad Dionys. Per. 11: ἐξωσθέντες ἀνέµῳ βορρᾷ οἱ περὶ τὸν Μενέλαον προσίσχουσι τῇ Ῥόδῳ ὑπὸ κυβερνήτῃ ὄντες τῷ Ἀµυκλαίῳ Κανώβῳ. Τῶν δὲ Ῥοδίων τῆς Ἑλένης καταδραµόντων, περιῆλθε γὰρ αὐτοὺς µνήµη ὧν ἐν τῇ Τροίᾳ κακῶν ἔπαθον δι’ αὐτὴν, φεύγουσι µὲν ἐκ τῆς Ῥόδου οἱ ἀµφὶ τὸν Μενέλαον, κατάγονται δὲ εἰς Φοινίκην, ὅθεν εἰς Αἴγυπτον.
Driven out to sea by the north wind, Menelaus’ men made for Rhodes, being under the guidance of Canobus of Amyclae. But when the Rhodians abused Helen—for they remembered the evils they had suffered in Troy on her account—Menelaus’ men fled from Rhodes and conducted themselves to Phoenicia, whence (they went) into Egypt.
26. Hom. Od. 4.617–9 = 15.117–9: πόρεν δέ ἑ φαίδιμος ἥρως / Σιδονίων βασιλεύς, ὅθ' ἑὸς δόμος ἀμφεκάλυψε / κεῖσέ με νοστήσαντα.
The king of Sidon, / Splendid hero, gave it to me when once his palace / Hid me away while coming hither home.
27. Str. 1.2.32 οἱ µὲν οὖν Αἰγύπτιοι καὶ οἱ πλησίον Αἰθίοπες καὶ Ἄραβες οὔθ’ οὕτω τελέως ἄβιοι οὔτ’ ἀνήκοοι τῆς τῶν Ἀτρειδῶν δόξης, καὶ µάλιστα διὰ τὴν κατόρθωσιν τοῦ Ἰλιακοῦ πολέµου, ὥστ’ ἐλπὶς ἦν τῆς ἐξ αὐτῶν ὠφελείας . . . καὶ γὰρ ξένια παρὰ τούτοις καὶ τὸ βίᾳ καὶ τὸ ἐκ λεηλασίας πορίσασθαι, καὶ µάλιστα παρὰ τῶν συµµαχησάντων τοῖς Τρωσίν, ἐντεῦθεν ἦν.
The Egyptians, anyway, and the nearby Aethiopians and Arabs (sic) were neither so completely destitute, nor so uninformed about the reputation of the Atreidai—and especially because of the successful outcome of the Trojan War . . . so there was naturally hope of some profit from them . . . and in fact Menelaus was able to provide himself with ‘guest-gifts’ from them, both by force and robbery, and especially from those who had fought alongside the Trojans.
The Affair of Kinyras and Helen
28. Hellan. FGrH 4 F 153 = schol. Hom. Od. 4.228: ὁ Θῶνος βασιλεὺς ἦν τοῦ Κανώβου καὶ τοῦ Ἡρακλείου στόµατος, ὃς πρὶν µὲν ἰδεῖν Ἑλένην ἐφιλοτιµεῖτο Μενέλαον, ἰδὼν δὲ αὐτὴν ἐπεχείρει βιάζεσθαι· ὃ γνοὺς Μενέλαος ἀναιρεῖ αὐτόν· ὅθεν ἡ πόλις Θῶνις ὠνόµασται, ὡς ἱστορεῖ Ἑλλάνικος.
Thonis was king of Canobus and the Heracleian mouth, who treated Menelaus honorably before seeing Helen. But after he had seen her, he tried to force himself (upon her). When Menelaus found this out, he killed him—whence the city is named Thonis, as Hellanicus reports.
29. Lucian Ver. hist. 2.25–6: Κινύρας ὁ τοῦ Σκινθάρου παῖς, µέγας ὢν καὶ καλός, ἤρα πολὺν ἤδη χρόνον τῆς Ἑλένης, καὶ αὐτὴ δὲ οὐκ ἀφανὴς ἦν ἐπιµανῶς ἀγαπῶσα τὸν νεανίσκον . . . καὶ δή ποτε ὑπ’ ἔρωτος καὶ ἀµηχανίας ἐβουλεύσατο ὁ Κινύρας ἁρπάσας τὴν Ἑλένην—ἐδόκει δὲ κἀκείνῃ ταῦτα—οἴχεσθαι ἀπιόντας ἔς τινα τῶν ἐπικειµένων νήσων . . . οἱ δὲ λαθόντες τοὺς ἄλλους ἀναλαβόντες τὴν Ἑλένην ὑπὸ σπουδῆς ἀνήχθησαν. περὶ δὲ τὸ µεσονύκτιον ἀνεγρόµενος ὁ Μενέλαος ἐπεὶ ἔµαθεν τὴν εὐνὴν κενὴν τῆς γυναικός, βοήν τε ἠφίει καὶ τὸν ἀδελφὸν παραλαβὼν ἦλθε πρὸς τὸν βασιλέα τὸν Ῥαδάµανθυν. ἡµέρας δὲ ὑποφαινούσης ἔλεγον οἱ σκοποὶ καθορᾶν τὴν ναῦν πολὺ ἀπέχουσαν· οὕτω δὴ ἐµβιβάσας ὁ Ῥαδάµανθυς πεντήκοντα τῶν ἡρώων εἰς ναῦν µονόξυλον ἀσφοδελίνην παρήγγειλε διώκειν· οἱ δὲ ὑπὸ προθυµίας ἐλαύνοντες περὶ µεσηµβρίαν καταλαµβάνουσιν αὐτοὺς . . . ἡ µὲν οὖν Ἑλένη ἐδάκρυέν τε καὶ ᾐσχύνετο καὶ ἐνεκαλύπτετο, τοὺς δὲ ἀµφὶ τὸν Κινύραν . . . ὁ Ῥαδάµανθυς . . . ἐκ τῶν αἰδοίων δήσας ἀπέπεµψεν ἐς τὸν τῶν ἀσεβῶν χῶρον µαλάχῃ πρότερον µαστιγωθέντας.
Kinyras, the son of Skintharos, who was large and good-looking, had already been in love with Helen for a long time, and it was clear enough that she herself loved the lad madly . . . and eventually indeed, compelled by love and helplessness, Kinyras resolved that, after seizing Helen—and this appealed to her as well—they should go off to one of the neighboring islands . . . And they, unbeknownst to the others, took up Helen put to sea in haste. Waking up around midnight, Menelaus, when he discovered his wife’s empty bed, raised a shout and taking his brother went to the king, Rhadamanthys. And at sunrise the lookouts said that they saw the ship at a great distance. So of course Rhadamanthys ordered a chase, putting fifty heroes onto a ship (a single log of asphodel!). And they, passionately driving the ship, caught them around midday . . . So Helen began to cry, and hid herself for shame. But Rhadamanthys . . . shackling Kinyras and his men by their ‘naughty bits’, sent them off to the land of the wicked after they had been flogged with mallow . . .
[30. Ludolf of Suchen (after 1350): ‘Helen, while heading for that temple [Paphos], was captured on the way’ (De itinere terrae sanctae liber, Mas Latrie 1852–1861, 1.211 f.: In hoc templo primo de perdicione Troye tractatum est, nam Helena tendens ad templum istud in via capta est).]
[31. John Adorno (1470) (Sources for the History of Cyprus, vol. VIII, p. 173: ‘. . the temple of Venus [at Paphos] in which young people used to come on pilgrimage for the sake of getting married. Further, Helena while she was on her travels was captured at the temple, and therefore some wished that the earth where the temple of Venus had been situated posses such virtue that if anyone place it under the head of someone sleeping, it would incite the sleeper to passion.’]