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.