HYMN TO DIONYSUS
BIBLIOGRAPHY
A. CHUDZINSKI, ubi et quo tempore ortus sit h. Hom. VII. in Dion., 1886. A. LUDWICH, Königsberger Studien i. p. 63 f., 1887. MAASSE. , Hermes xxiii. p. 70 f., 1888. R. PEPPMÜLLER, Philologus xlvii. p. 20 f., 1888. O. CRUSIUS, Philologus xlviii. p. 193 f., 1889. HARRISONE. , Mythology and Monuments of Ancient Athens p. 247 f., 1890. F. A. VOIGT and THRE. ÄMER, art. “Dionysus” in Roscher's Lex. PRELLER-ROBERT, i.^{2} p. 684 f.ἀμφί: the use with “ἀείδειν” or similar verbs occurs at the beginning of xix, xxii, xxxiii, and in h. Herm. 57. The formula is found in Od. 8.267 (with genitive), and was stereotyped in dithyrambic verse (cf. Terpand. fr. 2) according to the schol. on Nub. 595, Suid. s.v. “ἀμφιανακτίζειν”; so in tragedy Troad. 511.
[2] ἐφάνΗ: such “ἐπιφάνειαι” are a marked feature of Dionysiac mythology; cf. Rohde Psyche p. 305. Ludwich traces the hand of an Orphic writer in this “epiphany,” comparing Orph. Arg. 16 “πρῶτος γὰρ ἐφάνθη” (of Phanes). But there is nothing mystic in the line; on the contrary the absence of any specific indication of locality is against Ludwich's theory; Crusius notes that such picturesque details are common in the Orphic Argonautica. According to Apollodorus, Dionysus wishes to cross from Icaria to Naxos, and therefore, embarks on a Tyrsenian ship; but the sailors refuse to land him. In Ovid (l.c. 597) Dionysus is found in Ceos (“Ciae telluris” Lachmann for MSS. Chiae); Nonnus localises the legend in the Sicilian sea. The hymn gives no reason for the god's appearance or for his easy capture; he is “mero somnoque gravis” (3.603) in Ovid's account.
[3] ἀκτῌ̂ ἐΠὶ Προβλ̂ητι: cf. Od. 5.405 “, κ 89, ν” 97, Apoll. Arg. 2.365. Νεηνίͅη ἀνδρὶ ἐοικώς=Od. 10.277, followed by “πρῶτον ὑπηνήτῃ” (of Hermes). It was supposed that the youthful type of Dionysus in art was created in the age of Praxiteles; but it is now known that the type goes back to Calamis ( Curtius A. Z. 1883, p. 255; cf. Roscher 1089 f., 1126 f.), i.e. to the first half of the fifth century. In any case the present passage is no indication of lateness, for, as Bergk notes, the god only assumes the form of a youth for the occasion; the transformation is on Homeric analogy. Moreover it is probable that the young Dionysus was familiar to poetry for many years before the art-type was created (see Sandys, Eur. Bacch.p. xcix f.). The hymnwriter does not conceive of the god as effeminate and voluptuous, but as the ideal of a young Greek athlete with broad shoulders (5) like Telemachus, Od. 15.61; cf. the metamorphosis of Apollo, h. Apoll. 450 “ἀνέρι εἰδόμενος αἰζηῷ τε κρατερῷ τε”
“πρωθήβῃ, χαίτῃς εἰλυμένος εὐρέας ὤμους”; so Verg. Aen.x. 485pectus ingens of the young Pallas.[5] στιβαροῖς ὤμοις=Od. 14.528 “, ο” 61, Orph. Arg. 200.
[6] ἀΠό is supported by xxxiii. 8 where “οἱ δ᾽ ἀπὸ νηῶν”=“οἱ ναῦται”, with no idea of motion in the context. Köchly's “ἐπί” is not only needless, but involves a repetition of the preposition in 7.
[7] Προγένοντο . . . ἐΠί: Gemoll suggests “ἐνί”, understanding the verb to mean “hove in sight.” But “προγίγνεσθαι” often implies movement, “come forward,” and is followed by “ἐς” or “ἐπί”; cf. Il. 18.525 “ οἱ δὲ τάχα προγένοντο”, “came on,” Scut. 345 “τοὶ δ᾽ ἄμυδις προγένοντ̓”, of warriors rushing to meet one another, Callim. h. Art. 178 “κόπρον ἔπι προγένοιντο”, Theocr. xxv. 134 “προγενοίατο θῆρες ἐς πεδίον”.
[8] ΤυρσηΝοί: first in a suspected passage of Hesiod (Theog. 1016). According to Herod.i. 57 and 94, the Tyrsenians were ancient Pelasgic inhabitants of Thrace; Thucydides (iv. 109) places them in Lemnos and Athens. They had a reputation as corsairs, if we may judge from their rape of women at Brauron; Crusius notes that a similar story was told at Samos (Athen. xv. 672). Most scholars assume that the hymn refers to these obscure Tyrsenians, who are rarely mentioned in ancient literature. It is barely possible that the Etruscans are meant (as Chudiński holds, p. 9); pirates from Etruria were a terror to the early colonists in Italy and Sicily, from the seventh century (probably) down to their defeat by Hieroin 474 B.C. (Mommsen i. ch. x.). But, although their name became proverbial for piracy, it is difficult to account for their presence in an early Greek hymn, which appears to have no connexion with the colonies of Sicily or Magna Graecia. It seems therefore better to follow the common explanation. Nonnus (Dion. xv. 104) naturally understands the Tyrsenians to be Etruscans, and Philostratus (Imag. i. 19) speaks of “Τυρρηνοί”, obviously Etruscans; but this proves nothing for the original myth.
[11] υι<*>ὸν . . . βασιλ́ηων: he appeared to be a prince from his beauty (cf. h. Dem. 215), and from his purple cloak, which was a mark of high rank. A purple “χλαῖνα” was worn by Telemachus, Od. 4.115, and Odysseus, Od. 19.225. In Nonnus the god wears jewellery as well as a cloak of Tyrian purple.
[13] For the miraculous loosing of the bonds cf. Eur. Bacch.447 with Sandys' note, ib. 498Eur. Bacch., 616 f. In Ovid l.c. 700 the miracle happens to the steersman Acoetes, when imprisoned by Pentheus.
[14] ἐκάθητο=the epic form “καθῆστο”.
[18] καρτερόν: emphatic, explained by the following words “οὐδὲ φέρειν κτλ.” Gemoll punctuates with the mark of interrogation at the end of the line; but the sense is clear with the usual punctuation, adopted in the text.
[22] αὐτόν: the position is unusual, as there is no emphasis on the pronoun; but it is justified by such passages as Od. 16.370 “ ἵνα φθίσαιμεν ἑλόντες”
“αὐτόν”, where no stress is laid on the pronoun, in spite of its emphatic place, Od. 6.277, 308, 329; so “αὐτός” is unemphatic at the end of a line, Il. 9.562 “, Π” 519. Baumeister's “αὖτις” would eliminate the necessary object of “ἀφῶμεν”.[24] ὄρσιη ἀργαλέους: an hiatus vix ferendus, according to Baumeister; Abel adopts Barnes' “ὄρσῃ ἐπ̓”. But the text is a reminiscence of Od. 24.110 “ ὄρσας ἀργαλέους ἀνέμους”, or Od. 11.400 “ ὄρσας ἀργαλέων ἀνέμων ἀμέγαρτον ἀϋτμήν”. For the hiatus in thesis see H. G. § 380.
[26] ἅμα: not “besides,” but “with me,” as Franke saw: the steersman is to “lend a hand” with the captain, who is the subject of “ἕλκετο” in 32.
[27] ἄνδρεσσι μελ́ησει: a formula usually put into the mouth of a man speaking to a woman and contrasting the two sexes: Il. 6.492 “, α 358, φ” 352; in Il. 20.137 the antithesis is between gods and men. Gemoll quotes Od. 11.353 as the nearest parallel to this passage, “ἄνδρες” being in both places, as he thinks, equivalent to “πάντες”. But in “λ ἄνδρεσσι” is followed and explained by “πᾶσι, μάλιστα δ᾽ ἐμοί”. Here the implied contrast must be, as usual, “ἄνδρεσσι, οὐ γυναιξί”. The taunt of womanish fear explains “στυγερῷ μύθῳ” 25. The translation of “ἄνδρεσσι”, “crew,” does not suit the context or the regular meaning of the formula.
[29] M's “ὀὲ καστέρω” is perhaps a survival of “ὅ γ᾽ ἑκαστέρω, ὅ γ̓” having strayed in from the previous line; J. H. S. xv. p. 298.
30, 31. The collocation “φίλους, κτήματα, κασιγνητούς” is no less curious than the omission of any reference to the captive's country or parents. Köchly supposes the original passage to have been longer; but the lame expression need not surprise us in a hymn which shews other marks of careless workmanship. κτ́ηματα Πάντα of course implies a large ransom; in Apollodorus the pirates are prepared to sell the god (“ἀπεμπολήσοντες”).[33] ἔμπΝευσεν has been altered on the ground that “ἐμπνεῖν” elsewhere takes a dative. But there is a clear case of “ἐμπρήθειν” with acc., Il. 1.481 “ ἐν δ᾽ ἄνεμος πρῆσεν μέγαν ἱστίον”, and on this analogy “ἐμπνεῖν” can stand with acc. In Pind. Isthm.ii. 40“οὖρος ἐμπνεύσαις ὑπέστειλ᾽ ἱστίον” the construction is ambiguous; “ἱστίον” may however be governed by “ἐμπνεύσαις”, though most editors supply “ἱστίῳ”, taking the acc. with “ὑπέστειλε” alone.
In Ovid (l.c. 660) and Seneca (l.c. 450) a sudden calm falls before the god manifests his power.[34] καττάνυσαν: the Homeric equivalent appears in Od. 2.430 “ δησάμενοι δ᾽ ἄρα ὅπλα” “having made all fast.” Cf.
, and “vela deducunt” in Ovid's version (663).“κὰδ᾽ δ᾽ ἄρα λαῖφος ἐρυσσάμενοι τανύοντο
ἐς πόδας ἀμφοτέρους
”
[37] Πάντας ἰδόντας: elsewhere in the hymn hiatus occurs before “ἰδεῖν” (8, 42, 48, 52). For the variation, within a few lines, cf. Od. 21.122 “ τάφος δ᾽ ἕλε πάντας ἰδόντας” with 112 “ὄφρα ἴδωμεν”. On the observance and neglect of “ϝ” in “ἰδεῖν” see H. G. § 390. The less familiar “τάφος” is supported by “φ”, and is to be preferred to “φόβος” read by Gemoll.
[38] Cf. Ovid
The details of the transformation vary in the several accounts: in Apollodorus the mast and oars became snakes, and the ship is filled with ivy; in Nonnus the mast is changed into a cypress wreathed with ivy. So in Opp. Ven. iv. 261 f. a boat, which carried the infant Bacchus across the Euripus, was covered with ivy, vines, and smilax.“impediunt hederae remos nexuque recurvo
serpunt, et gravidis distinguunt vela corymbis.
”
[41] τηλεθάων: not Homeric as a part. with dative.
[43] ΝἮ Ἤδη: Hermann's correction, if not quite certain, is strongly supported by h. Apoll. 392 “ἠμαθόην”, corrected by “Γ”, the second hand of M, and Demetrius to “νῆα θοήν. νἦ ἤδη” would have been written in full “ΝηΑηΔη”, i.e. “νηδηδη”, from which “μηδηδη” is a slight step. It is to be observed that the MSS. except M have been further corrupted. The fact that there is no instance of the collocation “ἤδη τότ᾽ ἔπειτα” is not serious; the nearest approach is the formula “δὴ τότ᾽ ἔπειτα, λ” 44, Apoll. Arg. 4.716, 1629, which always begins a sentence or clause; cf. however Solon fr. 16. 3 “εἴην δὴ τότ᾽ ἐγώ”. The other emendations may be disregarded: the older editors, taking “πελάαν” as intrans. (a rarer Homeric use), looked for the steersman's name, i.e. “Μηδείδην” or “Μήδην δή”. A name “Μηδείδης” would be suitable for an “experienced” steersman; cf. Od. 3.282 “ Φρόντιν”, in the ship of Menelaus. The form could be supported by “Μεγαμηδείδαο”, h. Herm. 100. But the name should have been mentioned before (i.e. at 15), if at all; in Ovid and Hyginus the helmsman is called Acoetes, but no other name is given in the accounts. An adj. agreeing with “κυβερνήτην” (cf. 49) might be thought in place, i.e. from “μῆδος”; but none exists.
[44] λέων Γένετ̓: a common transformation of Dionysus; Eur. Bacch.1018, Hor. Od. ii. 19. 23, Dion. xl. 44. In the accounts of Ovid and Seneca, the god retains his human form, but various wild beasts appear at his side (Ov. Met. 3.668), or occupy the prow and stern (Sen.457). According to Nonnus, Dionysus suddenly becomes a giant, while animals swarm on all the ship's benches. The scene in the hymn is closely parallel to a myth in Ant. Lib.10, where Dionysus, to frighten the Minyades (who stayed at their looms instead of joining the Bacchanals) “ἐγένετο ταῦρος καὶ λέων καὶ πάρδαλις, καὶ ἐκ τῶν κελεόντων ἐρρύη νέκταρ αὐτῷ καὶ γάλα”. For the transformations see also Sandys on Eur. Bacch.1017.
Νηὸς ἐΠ̓ ἀκροτάτης=the Homeric “νηὸς ἐπ᾽ ἰκριόφιν”.[46] ἄρκτον ἐΠοίησεν: Ovid's “simulacra inania” (668) is a more “modern” touch. In his contest with Deriades, Dionysus takes the form of a bear, among other changes, Dion. xl. 46. Crusius is therefore wrong in stating that the mention of the bear is mythologically unique in connexion with Dionysus.
σ´ηματα φαίνων=Od. 21.413 (of Zeus thundering); cf. Il. 2.353. 47, 48. ἂν δ᾽ ἔστη: to be taken with “λέων” as well as “ἄρκτος”, unless some verb is to be mentally supplied from “ἀνέστη” for “λέων”. In either case there is some harshness, though not more, perhaps, than elsewhere in the hymn. But it is possible that a line has dropped out after 47, containing a verb for “λέων. δεινὸν ὑΠόδρα ἰδών” is not to be disturbed; cf. Il. 15.13, Scut. 445.[51] ἀρχὸν ἕλ̓: Köchly objects to “ἕλε” on the ground that nothing is said about the captain's fate when “seized.” But his death may be inferred, or we may actually translate “killed”; Gemoll remarks that this use of “ἑλεῖν” is quite Homeric.
θύραζε, “out”; for this general sense cf. Il. 5.694 “, Π 408, ε 410, φ” 422 etc.[53] The omission of the subject is again abrupt.
[54] ἔθηκε Πανόλβιον: obscurely expressed; the meaning intended is apparently “made him happy” by allaying his fears; cf. Ov. 3.668 “pavidum . . . firmat deus.”
[55] †δῖε κάτωρ: “εκάτωρ, κάτωρ” appear to be impossible and meaningless forms, although the latter is defended by Chudziński (p. 9), and Ridgeway (J. P. 1888, p. 113) who translates “oarsman,” comparing “κατήρης”; this, word, however, properly means “furnished with,” and only bears the special sense “fitted with oars” when joined to “πλοῖον” ( Herod.viii. 21) or in a similar context. Again, on this theory, the first part of the word is “κατά”, and it is hardly possible that this prep. with the termination “-ωρ” could imply “mariner.” Of the conjectures, only “ἀκάτωρ, ἄκτωρ, κράτωρ” are formally possible, and there is little probability in any of these. M's “ἑκάτωρ” (M has often the closest form of a corruption; cf. 43) might be thought to suggest a shortened form of a proper name, e.g. “Ἑκατήνωρ” (Fick Personennamen p. 117); but the introduction of the name seems even more out of place here than it would be at 43.
There is no objection to “δῖε”, which might be applied to the helmsman as appropriately as to the swineherd in the Odyssey. Gemoll suggests that there is a corruption of Dia, the old name of Naxos (cf.); but the place-name is unmanageable in the verse. τῷ ἐμῷ κεχαρισμένε θυμῷ: Gemoll points to the use of “τῷ” as a mark of late epic usage; as a matter of fact the whole formula occurs in Il. 11.608 “, δ” 71.
[56] εἰμὶ δ̓: for “δέ” introducing an explanation (instead of “γάρ” or an asyndeton) cf. h. Dem. 77 (“οὐδέ”).
58, 59. With the concluding formula cf. h. i.18 f.