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III. AUF FLÜGELN DES GESANGES

(ON THE WINGS OF SONG)…?

We have chosen the title of a Lied by Mendelssohn as a seemingly alien

Leitmotif for this section because at least two of the sets of mythical beings related to

the music of the cosmos (Sirens, Moirai, Muses, Pleiads) share a feature that may

provide a thread for what remains: the wings. The Sirens were imagined as winged

beings, and the Pleiads, before becoming stars, became doves, according to some

sources, which thus bring them close to the winged people as well. As to the Muses and

the Moirai, both literary and iconographic evidence of their wings is very scarce, but it

exists. Further, the wings remain a common feature shared by Sirens, Pleiads, and their

Christian counterparts as players of cosmic music (the angelic hierarchies), and they are

an important trait in the ancient iconography of at least one among the heavenly bodies

(the Sun). At this moment, we cannot be sure about whether the wings of all these

beings had anything to do with their musical character,305 but we think that this

phenomenon is sufficiently intriguing to deserve a closer examination, which we will

undertake in this section.

In the last chapter of the previous section, we saw that Proclus, in a scholion to

Hesiod’s Works and Days, linked the Pleiads with the archangels and substituted them

for the Muses on the heavenly spheres. So, we will begin with an examination of the

wings of the Pleiads; then, since they were substituted for the Muses in the same

scholion to Hesiod, a discussion of the wings of the Muses will follow. For the Muses

shared the oracular function of the Moirai, we will present the evidence about the wings

of the Moirai, and continue with those of the Sirens, who sang together with the Moirai

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in Plato’s myth of Er. The last chapter of this section will deal with certain birds sharing

many important features with the Sirens: the íynges, which could be a missing link

between the Pagan and Christian bearers of heavenly music, as we shall see.

III.1. Winged Pleiads?

As we have seen in our chapter II.4., the Pleiads are mentioned for the first time

in the Homeric poems. No myth is told about them there, but we hope to be able to

demonstrate here that when the Pythagorean link of the Pleiads with the lyre of the

Muses is attested, the myth was already endowing them with some avian characteristics.

This brings the Pleiads close to the other bearers of the cosmic music with which we

have dealt thus far, as well as to the angelic hierarchies with one of which they are

connected in the scholion of Proclus to Hesiod, mentioned at the end of II.4.306

The development of the myth about the Pleiads may have begun with Hesiod,

who says that they were the offspring of Atlas.307 Thus, the Pleiads (which had been first

mentioned as stars in the Homeric poems) were anthropomorphized, and this motif

would be carried on by Hellanicus (fifth century B. C. E.), Timaeus of Tauromenius

(fourth-third centuries B. C. E.), and many other authors throughout antiquity.308 We can

even assume that the Hesiodic personification of the Pleiads involved a myth of

metamorphosis into stars, which would be one of the first myths of that kind attested in

ancient Greek literature.

Some sources of this myth also allude to the bird-form of the Pleiads. One of

these sources is a fragment by Simonides (sixth-fifth centuries B. C. E.): “And Hermes,

who presides over the games, gives what had been prayed for, the son of fair-haired

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Maia, whom Atlas begot, excellent by her figure among his seven dark-locked

daughters, the so-called celestial Peleiades.”309 The word “Peleiádes” is one of the

possible Greek names for the “dove” (like “péleia,” of which the plural can also be

referred to the Pleiads310), but it obviously refers here to the mythical daughters of

Atlas. “Peleiádes” was still more clearly linked to the stars, the Pleiads, by Hesiod, who

used it in fragments alluding to the setting of those “Peleiades.”311 We can see that,

although the first attested name of the Pleiads (the Homeric “Ple–ïádes”) did not mean

“doves” (so far as we know, “Ple–ïádes” is never used with that meaning), the Pleiads

were also referred to by one of the names for the dove (“Peleiádes”) at a quite early

date.

The term “Peleiades” also appears in a passage of Pindar’s Second Nemean Ode:

“And it is appropriate that Orion go not far from the Peleiades of the mountains.312” The

allusion to Orion makes it most likely that Pindar had the Pleiads in mind, since Hesiod

had already said that they flee Orion.313 Although a scholiast wrote that the line was

about the doves, which can abide on the mountains, and that Pindar often played with

this kind of phonetic similarity,314 other authors stated that Pindar was alluding to the

Pleiads as stars.315 Likewise, the Etymologicum Magnum states that Pindar had told the

metamorphosis of the Pleiads into stars:

Pleiad: As if it consisted of more316 stars. Pleiad, from Pleione, daughter of Ocean, wife

of Atlas. Concerning their becoming stars, Pindar tells that, when Pleione was going

with her daughters through Boeotia, Orion encountered her; this one desired her and

hastened for the abduction. Orion chased her, who fled with her daughters, and their

racing reached the duration of five years without intermission. But Zeus, because of

their sufferings, as a memorial, turned the Pleiads into stars, fleeing Orion, who is the

year.317

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A metamorphosis into star seems somewhat alien to Pindar’s religious beliefs,

and it may have been the result of confusion by the author of the entry in the

Etymologicum Magnum.

The next author credited with an account of the Pleiads’ becoming stars is

Aeschylus. The scholia to the Iliad, XVIII, 486, tell that, according to Aeschylus, the

Pleiads were turned into stars because of their weeping for the sufferings of Atlas, their

father; actually, this is alluded to in an Aeschylean fragment quoted literally by

Athenaeus: “The so-called seven children of Atlas were weeping over their father’s

enormous struggle with the heavenly vault, where they have the shapes of nightly

visions, wingless doves.”318 This implies that the Pleiads had become stars: the

Aeschylean word for “visions” in this passage is phantásmata, which may stand for the

more common phainómena (“what appears”); something that appears by night on the

heavenly vault can obviously be the stars. It is not impossible that this notion actually

originated with Aeschylus, although the first pieces of direct evidence for a belief in

souls becoming stars are a little bit later than the Oresteia.319 The puzzling thing is that

Aeschylus qualifies the Pleiads as “wingless doves.” It seems that Aeschylus was

playing with the phonetic similarity between the words Pleiás (“Pleiad”) and Peleiás

(“dove”) and trying to draw a distinction between them;320 on the other hand, the term

“Peleiádes” was applied to the Pleiads by Lamprocles (an Athenian lyric poet of the

fifth century B. C. E.),321 who pointed out the homonymy. But, despite Aeschylus, we

will try to demonstrate that in the fifth century B. C. E. the Pleiads, as stars, could at

least have been imagined as winged creatures. And this image was, of course, still alive

when Aristotle ascribed to the Pythagoreans the association of the Pleiads with the lyre,

discussed in II.4.

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The plural of another name for “dove,” péleia, could also be referred to the

Pleiads: Simias (fourth-third centuries B. C. E.) mentioned the péleiai (lit. “doves”) as

“swift servants of the aether,”322 and the clearest proof of the word péleiai applied to

“the Pleiads” comes from a fragment by Poseidippos (third century B. C. E.), who

alludes to the setting of the péleiai at nightfall.323

The fragments we have discussed in the previous paragraphs were quoted by the

first century B. C. E. grammarian Asclepiades of Myrlea to support his exegesis of the

Homeric description of Nestor’s cup. According to Asclepiades, whose interpretation

has been preserved by Athenaeus, the cup represented the universe and the peleiádes

decorating it were the Pleiads, which could be given the names peleiádes and péleiai.324

According to Athenaeus, Asclepiades suggested that these alleged Pleiads were

represented on the handles of Nestor’s cup as “girls with bird-like or human shape,

embellished with stars.”325 The phrasing “girls with bird-like shape” brings to mind the

common image of the Sirens, and the word ornithophyeîs, which we find in Athenaeus’

quotation with the meaning “bird-like,” is employed for the Sirens by Eustathius.326

Even if those bird-like female figurines did not represent the Pleiads, a cup with dove-

attachments was described by Schliemann in his account of his excavations at Mycenae

and Tyrins (our pl. 33), and similar pieces have been found at Cyprus; further, Siren-

attachments in the form of birds with human (both male and female) torsos had been

found at Delphi and Asia Minor.327

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Pl. 33: The so-called Nestor’s cup,

with dove-shaped attachments on its handles.

Besides the fragments mentioned above, Asclepiades seems to have quoted

another Homeric passage about the péleiai (literally, “doves”) that brought ambrosia for

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Zeus.328 Some authors accepted the literal meaning of the passage without further

complications, but the scholia to Homer have preserved an interpretation according to

which those doves were the Pleiads, and Zeus, the Sun.329 Asclepiades thought that it

would be indecorous for doves to have brought ambrosia for Zeus, whereas the Pleiads,

being the indicators of the seasons for mankind, were the most proper cupbearers for the

god; further (always according to Asclepiades), Homer made clear that those pevleiai

did not belong to the winged people when he said that the doves could not go through

the clashing rocks about which Circe tells Ulysses: therefore, the péleiai would have to

be the Pleiads. Asclepiades, however, was aware of at least one difficulty in his

interpretation: the adjective trērōn (“trembling”) employed by Homer in the passage he

is discussing, is a formulaic epithet for the doves.330 Nevertheless, our fearless

grammarian solved the problem by arguing that trērōn could fit the Pleiads as well

because they trembled when fleeing Orion.331

Moreover, Asclepiades quoted another fragment, now by the poetess Moiro of

Byzantium (fourth-third centuries B. C. E.), which presents us with a new myth about

the Pleiads. Whereas other sources described the Pleiads as women who became doves

when fleeing Orion and were then turned into stars, Moiro says that the Pleiads were the

doves that, according to the Odyssey, brought ambrosia to Zeus, who in turn placed

them among the stars:

Zeus the great was raised in Crete, and then no one among the blessed knew him, who

was growing in all his limbs. The timorous ones [i. e., “the doves”332] fed him in the

divine cave, bringing ambrosia from the streams of the Ocean, and a large eagle, always

drawing nectar from a stone, brought it in its jaws as a drink for Zeus. And Zeus the far-

sounding, after defeating his father Kronos, immortalized the eagle and made it to dwell

in heaven, and granted the same honor to the timorous doves, which certainly are the

messengers of summer and winter.333

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Perhaps Asclepiades did not realize that, according to Moiro, the Pleiads had initially

been doves, as the formulaic epithet proves (trērōn never qualifies péleiai, peleiádes in

contexts where they unequivocally mean “Pleiads,” and only Asclepiades, for sticking

to his view, pretends that trērōn could qualify the Pleiads).334 It is very interesting that

both the Pleiads as stars and a kind of migratory dove named peleiádes disappeared in

winter: several authors state that the setting of the Pleiads indicates the beginning of

winter, and this could enhance an association of those stars with the migratory doves.335

Further, both Pleiads and doves indicated the time in which navigation was possible:

according to Hesiod, one must not sail when the Pleiads set, and a scholion to

Apollonius Rhodius says that those who are going to sail use a dove.336

Asclepiades, however, may not have been right when stating that the Odyssean

péleiai were the Pleiads. There are some other sources showing a relationship between

Zeus and the doves: the latter served as oracular birds at the Dodonean temple of Zeus.

However, from Herodotus onward it has been said that these doves of Dodona were a

metaphorical designation of the women delivering oracles in the temple.337 In any case,

if we remain in the realm of myth, we can say that there was a myth about the doves as

oracular birds of Zeus at Dodona, making it more plausible that other doves could have

been attendants of Zeus, as we see in the Odyssey and in Moiro’s fragment. In all those

instances, the doves (which were later placed among the stars, according to Moiro,

which suggests that they became the Pleiads) constituted the court of a god, and we

shall see in the remaining chapters that the Sirens, Muses, Moirai, íynges, and a curious

common ancestor to at least three of them were also members of divine retinues,

sometimes with oracular functions and eventually winged as well.338

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The last instances of a connection between Pleiads and doves are provided by

some later sources stating that the Pleiads became doves right before being turned into

stars, when they were fleeing from Orion. Thus, a scholion to Hesiod says:

These, as they say, the Pleiads, with their mother Pleione, were pursued through

Boeotia during five years by Orion, who wanted to have intercourse with them. But

they, after praying the gods, changed to doves’ shape, and Zeus, compassioned because

of their misfortune, placed them as stars in the Zodiac.339

For certain authors, this myth was the ground for deriving the name Pleiás from the

Greek term for “dove,” (peleiás) in what seems to go beyond the phonetic similarity

with which other writers had played, and turn into a false etymology.340 For example,

another scholion to Hesiod says:

They are called ‘Pleiads’ either because of Pleione, or because they are useful for many

things [‘pollois’ in Greek], or because their being turned into doves [‘peleiai’ in Greek]

since they were fleeing Orion as the archer…341

These allusions to the Pleiads being turned into doves before becoming stars

represent an attempt to put together the motifs of the star-soul and of the soul-bird and

the wings of the soul. As we saw in II.1.c), the idea of the soul-bird can be detected

even in the Homeric poems, and it was current in Classical times, when the myth of the

Pleiads begins to be attested in literary sources.342 On the other hand, the poetess Moiro

regarded the Pleiads originally as doves: this innovation had its background not only in

the phonetic similarity, but also in the fact that the image of winged stars was known

from archaic Greek literature onwards. The very fact that the sky is the place for

heavenly bodies could be enough for the ancient imagination to endow them with

wings. For example, the Homeric hymn to Selene begins asking the Muses to “sing the

long-winged Moon;” Critias alluded to the Great and Little Bears “with the swing of

their quick-wandering wings;” Ion endowed the planet Venus with a white wing, and

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Euripides mentioned the quick wing of the Sun.343 We may notice that this image was

applied only to relevant stars, as were the Pleiads (we have mentioned their importance

for determining the seasons and the appropriate time for sailing or for agricultural

tasks). All this could enhance the link of the Pleiads with birds, an association that

would be reflected in the false etymology deriving the name of the Pleiads from that of

the “dove” and in the myth according to which they had become doves before becoming

stars. Both the false etymology and the myth of the Pleiads turned into doves (or being

doves from the very beginning, as in Moiro's fragment) are attested in late sources, but

both could have made sense for a reader of the fifth century B. C. E.: the background

for both ideas already existed in the Classical period, and we have seen that the Pleiads

as stars were referred to with words meaning “dove” from the sixth century B. C. E.

onwards. And such was the state of things when, as we saw in II.4., Aristotle said that,

according to a Pythagorean aphorism, the Pleiads were the lyre of the Muses. So our

first set of mythical bearers of the heavenly music could be endowed with wings in the

imagination of the ancients.

Now, since we have been lead to this discussion by a scholion to Hesiod, which

substituted the Pleiads for the Muses of heavenly spheres, let us see whether the Muses

had wings as well.

305 The wings are, so to say, the vocal organ of the Cherubim (who would become one of the angelic hierarchies), in

Ezechiel, 1, 24 (according to the Septuaginta: kai; h[kouon th;n fwnh;n tw'n pteruvgwn aujtw'n ejn tw'/

poreuvesqai aujta; wJ" fwnh;n u{dato" pollou'); Ez., 3, 13 (kai; ei\don fwnh;n pteruvgwn tw'n zwv/wn

pterussomevnwn eJtevra pro;" th;n eJtevran), and Ez., 10, 5 (kai; fwnh; tw'n pteruvgwn tw'n ceroubin

hjkouveto e{w" th'" aujlh'" th'" ejxwtevra" wJ" fwnh; qeou' Saddai lalou'nto"). 306 Proclus might have had a more abstract concept of the archangels (we must not forget that not only the

physiognomy, but the function of those archangels could influence their being linked with the Pleiads). But the angels

were already represented with wings in the iconography by Proclus’s time: the first representation we know of a

winged angel is on the sarcophagus of a child, dating from ca. 380 C. E., found in Sarigüzel, now in the

Archaeological Museum of Istanbul; vid. Kollwitz, 1941, pl. 45 (cf. our pl. 40), and pp. 132 ff. 307 Hes. Op., 383: Plhiavdwn ∆Atlaigenevwn ejpitellomenavwn.

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308 Hellanicus, F Gr H 1a,4,F 19a Jacoby, ap. sch. in Il., 18, 486 (fhsi; de; kai; ÔEllavniko" ejn tw'/ prwvtw/

tw'n ∆Atlantidw'n, ta;" me;n e}x qeoi'" sunelqei'n, Tau>gevthn Dii?, w|n genevsqai Lakedaivmona.

Mai'an Dii?, ajfæ w|n ÔErmh'". ∆Hlevktran Dii?, w|n Davrdano". ∆Alkuovnhn Poseidw'ni, w|n ÔUrieuv".

Sterovphn “Arei, w|n Oijnovmao". Kelainw; Poseidw'ni kai; aujthvn, w|n genevsqai Luvkon.

Merovphn de; Sisuvfw/ qnhtw'/ o[nti, w|n Glau'ko", h}n kai; ajmaura;n ei\nai); Timaeus, F Gr H 3b, 566,

91, lines 3-7 Jacoby, ap. sch. in Il., 18, 486 (Ta;" me;n kathsterismevna" ejn tw'/ metwvpw/ tou' Tauvrou

ÔUavda" fasi;n eijrh'sqai. ta;" de; ejpi; th'" hJmitovmou pleura'", Pleiavda" kalei'sqai. “Atlanti

ga;r tou' ∆Iapetou', kai; Ai[qra/ th'/ ∆Wkeanou', kaqav fhsi Tivmaio", qugatevre" dwvdeka, kai; uiJo;"

”Ua". tou'ton ejn Libuvh/ kunhgou'nta, o[fi" kteivnei. kai; aiJ me;n pevnte to;n ajdelfo;n qrhnou'sai

ajpovlluntai. ta;" de; loipa;" di∆ oi\kton katasterivsa" Zeuv", ÔUavda" ejpwnovmasen, ejpwnuvmw"

tou' ajdelfou'. aiJ de; pleivou" eJptav, bradevw" mevn, plh;n ajpoqanou'sai, Plhi>avde" ei[rhntai). 309 Cf. Simonides, fr. 50 Page, ap. Athenaeus, XI, 80 (divdwti d∆ eu\co" ÔErma'" ejnagwvnio", / Maiva"

eujplokavmoio pai'", e[tikte d∆ “Atla" / eJpta; ijoplokavmwn fila'n qugatrw'n tavn g∆ e[xocon

ei\do", / tai; kalevontai Peleiavde" oujravniai). Cf. Eust., Ad Od., vol. II, p. 11, ll. 1-2 Stallbaum

(Simwnivdh" de; peleiavda" oujraniva" ta;" pleiavda" fhsiv). 310 Several sources define the peleiav" as peristerav (“dove”): cf. Hesychius, s. v. peleiavde" (p, entry

1326: peleiavde": peristeraiv); Suda, s. vv. peleiavde" (p, entry 941: Peleiavde": peristeraiv. kai;

pevleian, peristeravn. deilaiv toi deiloi'sin ejfedreuvousi pevleiai: a[mme" d∆ ajtrevstoi"

ajndravsi terpovmeqa. fhsi;n ajetov". pthnh'" wJ" o[mma peleiavdo" pefovbhmai. ejpei; perideev"

ejsti to; zw'/on. perifrastikw'", wJ" hJ pevleia), and Suda, s. v. trhvrwna (t, entry 935: Trhvrwna:

deilhvn. ”Omhro": aiJ de; bavthn trhvrwsi peleiavsin i[qmaq∆ oJmoi'ai. ∆Anti; tou' deilai'"

peristerai'"); scholia to Il., 21, 493c (Pevleia. Peristerav); scholia to A. Th., 294j (peleiav"º

peristerav". BPd) and 294k (peleiav"º peristerav. A2CHNaPTYa); scholia to Ps. A. Pr., 857b (peleiw'nº

peristerw'n). Aristotle distinguished between peleiav" and peristerav: according to him, the peleiav" is

smaller, but the peristerav is easier to tame (cf. Arist. HA, 544b 1-5: e[sti ga;r e{teron peristera; kai;

peleiav". ∆Elavttwn me;n ou\n hJ peleiav", tiqasso;n de; givnetai ma'llon hJ peristerav: hJ de;

peleia;" kai; mevlan kai; mikro;n kai; ejruqrovpoun kai; tracuvpoun, dio; kai; oujdei;" trevfei). This

distinction, however, had no influence on the myth. 311 Cf. Hesiod, fr. 289 Merkelbach-West (ceimevriai duvnousi Peleiavde"), and fr. 290 Merkelbach-West

(th'mo" ajpokruvptousi Peleiavde"), both quoted by Asclepiades of Myrlea, according to Ath., XI, 80. As for

the plural of the word pevleia (initially “dove”) meaning “Pleiads,” cf. nn. 322-3. 312 Cf. Pi. N., 2, 10-12 (e[sti dæ ejoikov" / ojreia'n ge Peleiavdwn / mh; thlovqen ∆Warivwna nei'sqai). 313 Hes., Op., 619-20: Plhi>avde" sqevno" o[brimon ∆Wrivwno" / feuvgousai. 314 Scholion to Pindar, Nem. II, 17c (BPTU: oiJ de; ou{tw": kaqo; Peleiavda" aujta;" ei\pe, kai; ojreiva": aiJ

ga;r peristerai; o[reiaiv eijsin: ei[wqe de; oJ Pivndaro" tai'" oJmwnumivai" ejpanapauvesqai e[qei

ijdivw/). 315 Cf. Athenaeus, XI, 80 (suvneggu" gavr ejstin oJ ∆Wrivwn th'/ ajstroqesiva/ tw'n Pleiavdwn: dio; kai; oJ

peri; tauvta" mu'qo", o{ti feuvgousi meta; th'" mhtro;" th'" Plhiovnh" to;n ∆Wrivwna. ojreiva" de;

levgei ta;" Pleiavda" ejn i[sw/ tw'/ oujreiva" kata; paravleiyin tou' u, ejpeidh; kei'ntai ejpi; th'"

oujra'" tou' tauvrou), and Eustathius, Ad Od., vol. II, p. 11, ll. 2-3 Stallbaum (kai; Pivndaro" dev, e[nqa ojriva"

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aujta;" peleiavda" levgei, wJ" keimevna" ejpi; th'" oujra'" tou' tauvrou, kaqa; kai; aujto;

progevgraptai). 316 Popular etymology derived from the similarity between “Pleiad” and the ancient Greek for “more” (pleivwn). 317 Cf. Etymologicum Magnum (twelfth century C. E.), p. 675, ll. 35-54 Kallierges: Pleiav":ÔW" ejk pleiovnwn

ajstevrwn ou\sa. Pleiav", ajpo; th'" Plhi>ovnh", qugatro;" me;n ∆Wkeanou', gunaiko;" de;

“Atlanto". Levgei de; Pivndaro" peri; tou' katasterismou' aujtw'n, o{ti, th'" Plhi>ovnh"

poreuomevnh" meta; tw'n qugatrw'n kata; th;n Boiwtivan, sunanth'sai aujth'/ ∆Wrivwna: ei\ta

ejrasqei;", w{rmhse pro;" to; aJrpavsai: th;n dev, feuvgousan meta; tw'n qugatrw'n, ∆Wrivwn ejdivwke:

genevsqai de; aujtw'n to;n drovmon pevnte e[th ajdiavleipton: to;n de; Diva, dia; th;n kakopavqeian

aujtw'n, oiJonei; mnhvmata kathsterivsqai ta;" pleiavda" feugouvsa" to;n ∆Wrivwna, o{" ejstin

ejniautov". 318 Sch. in Il., XVIII, 486 (ta;" de; “Atlanto" ajtuciva" klaiouvsa" aujta;" katasterisqh'naiv fhsin

oJ Aijscuvlo" ªfr. 619b Metteº); cf. A. fr. 619a Mette = fr. 312 Radt, ap. Ath., 11, 80, 27-30 Kaibel (aiJ d∆ e{pt∆

“Atlanto" pai'de" wjnomasmevnai / patro;" mevgiston a\qlon oujrano<u'> stevgh<i> / klaiveskon,

e[nqa nuktevrwn fantasmavtwn / e[cousi morfav", a[pteroi Pel<e>iavde"). 319 Among the earliest pieces of direct evidence for the belief in the souls becoming stars, cf. Euripides, Helen, 140

(a[stroi" sf∆ oJmoiwqevnte favs∆ ei\nai qewv), and Aristophanes, Pax, 833 (wJ" ajstevre" gignovmeq∆,

o{tan ti" ajpoqavnh/). 320 Cf. Athenaeus, XI, 80 (ajptevrou" ga;r aujta;" ei[rhke dia; th;n pro;" ta;" o[rnei" oJmwnumivan), and

Eustath., In Od., XII, 62 = vol. II, p. 11, ll. 3-4 Stallbaum (kai; Aijscuvlo" de; ejkfanevsteron prospaivzwn

pro;" th;n oJmofwnivan ajptevrou" peleiavda" ei\pen ejn ptwvsei ojrqh'/). 321 Cf. Lamprocles, fr. 2 Page, ap. Ath., XI, 80 (ai{ te potanai'" / oJmwvnumoi peleiavsin aijqevri kei'sqe).

Cf. Eust. Ad Od., vol. II, p. 10, l. 40 - p. 11, l. 8 Stallbaum: o{ti de; polloi; ta;" pleiavda" peleiavda"

wjnovmasan, iJkanw'" deivknusin oJ ∆Aqhvnaio", dhvlhn tiqei;" th;n ejktroph;n tou' ojnovmato" kaq∆ h}n

aiJ pleiavde" pevleiai kai; peleiavde" para; poihtai'" levgontai. wJ" plana'sqai pollouv", o[rni"

ei\nai ta;" pleiavda", tw'/ te paraschmatismw'/ fhsi; tou' kata; provsqesin gravmmato" h[goun

tou' e di∆ ou| ejk th'" tw'n pleiavdwn trisullabiva" ei[" te tetrasullabivan peleiavdwn

proevbhsan, kai; o{ti dokei' fhsi; to; trhvrwne", wJ" kai; ejn toi'" peri; th'" scediva" tou'

∆Odussevw" prodedhvlwtai, movnon ejpivqeton ei\nai tw'n peleiavdwn, ejpavgei de; touvtoi" oJ aujto;"

rJhvtwr kai; crhvsei" tauvta". Moirw; hJ Buzantiva levgousa th;n ajmbrosivan tw'/ Dii÷ ta;"

pleiavda" komivzein gravfei, wJ" kai; prodedhvlwtai, Zeu;" trhvrwsi peleiavsin w[pase timh;n

tauvthn. Simwnivdh" de; peleiavda" oujraniva" ta;" pleiavda" fhsiv. kai; Pivndaro" dev, e[nqa

ojriva" aujta;" peleiavda" levgei, wJ" keimevna" ejpi; th'" oujra'" tou' tauvrou, kaqa; kai; aujto;

progevgraptai. kai; Aijscuvlo" de; ejkfanevsteron prospaivzwn pro;" th;n oJmofwnivan ajptevrou"

peleiavda" ei\pen ejn ptwvsei ojrqh'/. kai; Lamproklh'", ai} potanai'" oJmwvnumoi peleiavsin ejn

aijqevri kei'ntai: e[nqa o{ra to; potanai'", lhfqe;n me;n ajpo; qevmato" ou| kai; ta; pothtav,

prwtovqeton de; o]n tou' pthnai'". kai; toiau'ta me;n ta; tou' deipnosofistou' peri; peleiavdwn,

ei[toun pleiavdwn. ejn de; toi'" ou{tw" ojnomavsasin e[sti kai; Eujripivdh", eJptapovrou drovmhma

peleiavdo" eijpwvn. Kai; Qeovkrito" dev, par∆ w|/ kei'tai tov, ajnatevllousi peleiavde". 322 Cf. Simias, fr. 7 Powell, ap. Ath., XI, 80 (Aijqevro" wjkei'ai provpoloi pivlnanto Pevleiai).

205

323 Cf. Poseidippos, fr. 698 SH, ap. Ath., XI, 80 (oujdev toi ajkrovnucoi yucrai; duvnousi Pevleiai). 324 A. The Homeric description of Nestor’s cup is to be found at Il., XI, 632-7 (pa;r de; devpa" perikallev", o}

oi[koqen h\g∆ oJ geraiov", / cruseivoi" h{loisi peparmevnon: ou[ata d∆ aujtou' / tevssar∆ e[san, doiai;

de; peleiavde" ajmfi;" e{kaston / cruvseiai nemevqonto duvo d∆ uJpo; puqmevne" h\san. / a[llo" me;n

mogevwn ajpokinhvsaske trapevzh" / plei'on ejovn: Nevstwr d∆ oJ gevrwn ajmoghti; a[eiren).

B. Asclepiades’ interpretation is quoted by Athenaeus, XI, 78-79:

78. Æ∆Egw; dev, fhsi;n oJ Murleanov", tavde levgw peri; tou' pothrivou. oiJ palaioi; kai; ta; peri; th;n

h{meron trofh;n prw'toi diataxavmenoi toi'" ajnqrwvpoi", peiqovmenoi to;n kovsmon ei\nai

sfairoeidh', lambavnonte" e[k te tou' hJlivou kai; th'" selhvnh" ãtou'Ã schvmato" ejnargei'" ta;"

fantasiva", kai; ta; peri; th;n ajivdion trofh;n tw'/ perievconti kata; th;n ijdevan tou' schvmato"

ajfomoiou'n ei\nai divkaion ejnovmizon. dio; th;n travpezan kukloeidh' kateskeuavsanto kai; tou;"

trivpoda" tou;" toi'" qeoi'" kaqagizomevnou", fqovei" kukloterei'" kai; ajstevra" e[conta", ou}"

kai; kalou'si selhvna". kai; to;n a[rton d∆ ejkavlesan o{ti tw'n schmavtwn oJ kuvklo" ajphvrtistai

kai; e[sti tevleio". kai; to; pothvrion ou\n to; decovmenon th;n uJgra;n trofh;n kuklotere;"

ejpoivhsan kata; mivmhma tou' kovsmou. to; de; tou' Nevstoro" kai; ijdiaivterovn ejstin. e[cei ga;r kai;

ajstevra", ou}" h{loi" oJ poihth;" ajpeikavzei dia; to; tou;" ajstevra" periferei'" ei\nai toi'" h{loi"

oJmoivw" kai; w{sper ejmpephgevnai tw'/ oujranw'/, kaqw;" kai; “Aratov" fhsin ejp∆ aujtw'n (453):

oujranw'/ aije;n a[rhren ajgavlmata nukto;" ijouvsh".

perittw'" de; kai; tou't∆ e[frasen oJ poihthv", tou;" crusou'" h{lou" paratiqei;" th'/ tou' ajrgurou'

ejkpwvmato" fuvsei, th;n tw'n ajstevrwn kai; tou' oujranou' ejktupw'n kata; th;n ijdevan th'" crova"

oujsivan. oJ me;n ga;r oujrano;" ajrguvrw/ prosevoiken, oiJ de; ajstevre" crusw'/ dia; to; purw'de".Æ

79. uJpoqevmeno" ou\n kathsterismevnon to; tou' Nevstoro" pothvrion metabaivnei kai; ejpi; ta;

kravtista tw'n ajplanw'n ajstevrwn, oi|" dh; tekmaivrontai ta; peri; th;n zwh;n oiJ a[nqrwpoi:

Ælevgw de; ta;" peleiavda". o{tan ga;r ei[ph/:

duvo de; peleiavde" ajmfi;" e{kaston

cruvseiai nemevqonto,

peleiavda" ouj shmaivnei ta;" o[rniqa", a{" tine" uJponoou'si peristera;" ei\nai, aJmartavnonte".

e{teron ga;r ei\naiv fhsin ∆Aristotevlh" (h. a. V 544 b2) peleiavda" kai; e{teron peristeravn.

peleiavda" d∆ oJ poihth;" kalei' nu'n ta;" Pleiavda", pro;" a}" spovro" te kai; ajmhto;" kai; tw'n

karpw'n, ajrch; genevsew" kai; sunairevsew", kaqav fhsi kai ÔHsivodo" (Op. 383):

Plhiavdwn ∆Atlaigenevwn ejpitellomenavwn

a[rcesq∆ ajmhtoi'∆, ajrovtoio de; dusomenavwn.

kai; “Arato" (264):

ai} me;n oJmw'" ojlivgai kai; ajfeggeve", ajll∆ ojnomastai;

h\ri kai; eJspevriai, Zeu;" d∆ ai[tio", eiJlivssontai:

o{" sfisi kai; qevreo" kai; ceivmato" ajrcomevnoio

shmaivnein ejpevneusen ejpercomevnou t∆ ajrovtoio.

ta;" ou\n th'" tw'n karpw'n genevsew" kai; teleiwvsew" proshmantika;" Pleiavda" oijkeivw"

ejnetovreuse tw'/ tou' sofwtavtou Nevstoro" oJ poihth;" pothrivw/: kai; ga;r tou'to th'" eJtevra"

206

trofh'" dektiko;n ajggei'on. dio; kai; tw'/ Dii÷ th;n ajmbrosivan ta;" Peleiavda" fevrein fhsiv (m

62):

th'/ mevn t∆ oujde; pothta; parevrcetai oujde; Pevleiai

trhvrwne", taiv t∆ ajmbrosivhn Dii÷ patri; fevrousi.

ouj ga;r ta;" peleiavda" ta;" o[rnei" fevrein nomistevon tw'/ Dii÷ th;n ajmbrosivan, wJ" ãoiJÃ polloi;

doxavzousin (a[semnon gavr), ajlla; ta;" Pleiavda". oijkei'on ga;r ta;" proshmainouvsa" tw'/ tw'n

ajnqrwvpwn gevnei ta;" w{ra", tauvta" kai; tw'/ Dii÷ fevrein th;n ajmbrosivan. diovper ajpo; tw'n

pthnw'n aujta;" cwrivzei levgwn:

th'/ mevn t∆ oujde; pothta; parevrcetai oujde; Pevleiai.

o{ti de; ta;" Pleiavda" to; ejndoxovtaton tw'n ajplanw'n a[strwn uJpeivlhfe, dh'lon ejk tou'

protavttein aujta;" kata; th;n tw'n a[llwn sunarivqmhsin (S 485):

ejn de; ta; teivrea pavnta tav t∆ oujrano;" ejstefavnwtai,

Plhiavda" q∆ ÔUavda" te tov te sqevno" ∆Wrivwno"ç

a[rkton q∆, h}n kai; a{maxan ejpivklhsin kalevousin.

ejplanhvqhsan d∆ oiJ polloi; nomivzonte" ta;" peleiavda" o[rnei" ei\nai prw'ton me;n ejk tou'

poihtikou' schmatismou' tou' kata; th;n provsqesin tou' gravmmato": e[peita d∆ o{ti to;

trhvrwne" movnon ejdevxanto ei\nai ejpivqeton peleiavdwn, ejpei; dia; th;n ajsqevneian eujlabh;" hJ

o[rni" au{th: trei'n d∆ ejsti; to; eujlabei'sqai. piqano;n d∆ ejsti; to; ejpivqeton kai; ejpi; tw'n

Pleiavdwn tiqevmenon: muqeuvontai ga;r kai; au|tai to;n ∆Wrivwna feuvgein, diwkomevnh" th'"

mhtro;" aujtw'n Plhiovnh" uJpo; tou' ∆Wrivwno".

C. Cf. also Eust. Ad Il., vol. 3, p. 280, ll. 1-23 Van der Valk: ∆Istevon de; o{ti peri; tw'n th'" Nestorevh"

kuvliko" tessavrwn oujavtwn ejn toi'" tou' ∆Aqhnaivou glafurovteron fevretai tau'ta. ÔH

Nestori;" w\ta duvo ei\cen a[nw, kaqa; kai; ta; ajlla; pothvria, kai; e{tera duvo mikra; eJkatevrwqen

kata; mevson to; kuvrtwma, parovmoia, fhsiv, Korinqiakai'" uJdrivai". kata; de; eJtevrou", fhsivn, ejk

mia'" oi|on rJivzh" tw'/ puqmevni proskurouvsh" kaq∆ eJkavteron ou\", to; e[nqen dhladh; kai; e[nqen,

rJavbdoi h\san discidei'" ouj polu; ajllhvlwn diestw'sai. au|tai mevcri tou' ceivlou" eJkatevrwqen

dihvkousai tou' pothrivou kai; mikro;n metewrizovmenai kai; to; scivsma diovlou throu'sai pro;"

to; ajpolh'gon th'" ejreivsew" sumfuvontai. kai; givnontai ou{tw tevssara w\ta th'/ diascivsei, kai;

e[stin aujto; i[dion mavlista tw'n legomevnwn, fhsiv, Seleukivdwn. ÔO d∆ aujto;" ∆Aqhvnaio" dhloi'

kai; ta;" ejntetoreumevna" tw'/ pothrivw/ peleiavda" ouj peristerav" tina" ei\nai, ajlla; to;

kravtiston ejn toi'" ajplanevsin a[stroi", w|/ tekmaivrontai ta; peri; zwhvn oiJ a[nqrwpoi. tou'to dev

ejsti Pleiavde", a}" ”Omhro" poihtikw'/ novmw/ peleiavda" e[fh, ai} dh; kata; to;n “Araton ojlivgai

mevn eijsi kai; ajfeggeve", ojnomastai; dev. pro;" a}" kai; spovro" kai; a[mhto" givnetai kai; karpw'n

genevsew" ajrchv te kai; sunaivresi", wJ" dhloi' kai; ÔHsivodo". Ta;" de; toiauvta" peleiavda" duvo

uJpoqetevon kaq∆ e{kaston tw'n w[twn, h[goun duvo me;n ejn tai'" eJkatevrwqi summivxesin a[nw tw'n

eijrhmevnwn diascivsewn, eJtevra" de; duvo ejn tai'" kavtw sunafeivai" tw'n uJpolhvxewn. Kai;

kataskeuavsa" piqanw'" tou;" toiouvtou" lovgou" ejpavgei, o{ti kai; a[llai duvo h\san

uJpopuqmevnioi peleiavde", h[goun uJpokeivmenai tw'/ puqmevni, wJ" ei\nai ta;" pavsa" e}x kat∆

ajriqmo;n to;n th'" oujraniva" Pleiavdo", peri; h|" “Aratov" fhsin ÆeJpta; d∆ ejkei'nai ejpirrhvdhn

kalevontai, e}x oi\aiv per ejou'saiÆ. o{qen kai; hJ koinotevra glw'ssa ÔExavsteron aujta;" ojnomavzei.

207

D. Cf. Eustathius, Ad Il., vol. 4, p. 908, l. 27 – p. 909, l. 9 Van der Valk: ”Ora de; ejn tw'/ ÆwJ" d∆ au[tw"

peleiavsin w[pase timhvn,Æ o{ti ÔOmhvrw/ sumfwnei'n hJ Moirw; ejqevlei. wJ" ga;r kat∆ aujth;n oJ

ajetov", ou{tw kaq∆ ”Omhron aiJ peleiavde" ajmbrosivan fevrousi tw'/ Dii?. diov, fasiv, kai; ejn th'/

∆Aspidopoii?a/ tw'n a[llwn a[strwn ta;" Pleiavda", taujto;n d∆ eijpei'n peleiavda", prou[taxe dia;

to; pavnth/ ejpivshmon, eijpw;n ÆPlhi>avda" q∆ ÔUavda" te.Æ kai; tw'n a[llwn de; pthnw'n aujta;"

ejcwvrise katav ti ejxaivreton ejn tw'/ Æth'/ mevn t∆ oujde; pothta; parevrcetai oujde; pevleiai.Æ wJ" de;

taujtivzontai prov" tinwn peleiavde" kai; Pleiavde", dhloi' me;n kai; ∆Asklhpiavdh" oJ

Murleanov", ejqevlwn ta;" Pleiavda" ajmbrosivan tw'/ Dii÷ fevrein. a[semnon gavr, fhsiv, ta;"

Peleiavda" fevrein aujtov. e[cei dev ti grafe;n peri; aujtw'n kai; hJ Nestoriv", taujto;n d∆ eijpei'n, to;

par∆ ÔOmhvrw/ kalo;n pothvrion tou' sofou' Nevstoro". kai; toiau'ta me;n kai; tau'ta. E. Cf. also Eust., Ad Od., vol. II, p. 10, ll. 10-16 Stallbaum: ∆Aqhvnaio" de; gravfei, o{ti ejpei; Dii÷ th;n

ajmbrosivan fevrousi peleiavde", eij kai; mh; o[rni" ajlla; pleiavde" aiJ proshmaivnousai ta;" w{ra"

toi'" ajnqrwvpoi", diatou'to kai; ajpo; tw'n pthnw'n aujta;" cwrivzei ”Omhro" ejn tw'/, th'/ me;n oujde;

pothta; parevrcetai kai; eJxh'". wJ" de; ta;" pleiavda" tw'n ejndoxotavtwn ejn toi'" ajplanevsin oJ

poihth;" uJpeivlhfe, dhloi' ejn th'/ ajspidopoii?a/, protavxa" aujta;" kata; th;n tw'n a[llwn

sunarivqmhsin ejn tw'/, ejn de; ta; teivrea pavnta kai; eJxh'". dh'lon de; to; tw'n peleiavdwn h[toi

pleiavdwn ajxivwma, kai; para; th'/ Buzantiva/ Moiroi' ejn tw'/: Zeu;" trhvrwsi peleiavsin w[pase

timh;n, ai} dhv toi qevreo" kai; ceimw'no" a[ggeloiv eijsin. 325 Cf. Ath., XI, 81 (= Epitome, vol. 2, 2, p. 63, l. 17 – p. 64, l. 9): ∆Apodedeigmevnou ou\n tou' o{ti Pleiavde"

h\san ejntetoreumevnai tw'/ pothrivw/, kaq∆ e{kaston tw'n w[twn duvo uJpoqetevon ei[te bouvletaiv ti"

ojrniqofuei'" kovra" ei[t∆ au\ kai; ajnqrwpoeidei'", a[stroi" de; pepoikilmevna". Cf. Eust., Ad Il., vol.

3, p. 277, l. 15 - p. 278, l. 4 Van der Valk: Tine;" de; ta;" peleiavda" tauvta" kovra" noou'sin, ªei[te

ajnqrwpoeidei'" ei[te ojrniqofuei'" aujta;" ei\naiv ti" bouvloito,º a[stroi" pepoikilmevna" a[lloi"

te kai; tai'" Pleiavsin, ai} levgontai kai; Peleiavde" uJpov tinwn, wJ" ejn polloi'" faivnetai. dio;

oujk w[knhsavn tine" ejntau'qa peleiavda" aujto; to; a[stron ta;" Pleiavda" noh'sai,

kataskeuavzonte" to;n lovgon dia; pollw'n, oi} kai; to; o{lon pothvrion eij" to;n kovsmon

ajllhgorou'sin, wJ" kai; ∆Asklhpiavdh" oJ Murleanov", h[goun oJ ejk th'" Frugiakh'" Murleiva"

th'" nu'n ∆Apameiva", ajnaskeuavsa" oi|on to; ÔOmhriko;n pothvrion kai; to; th'" u{lh" pavco"

metaskeuavsa" kai; metagagw;n eij" ajllhgoriva" leptovthta, diav te to; sfairoeidev", fhsiv,

tou' pothrivou, oi|o" kai; oJ kovsmo", kai; to; tw'n h{lwn crusoeidev", kaqa; kai; oiJ ajstevre", kai;

ta[lla oi|a polla; levgei ejkei'no", a} kai; oJ boulovmeno" ajnalegevsqw ejkei'qen. 326 Cf. Eustathius, Ad Il., vol. I, p. 135, l. 31 Van der Valk (h\san ga;r ojrniqofuei'" aiJ Seirh'ne"). We shall

examine this aspect of the Sirens in a later chapter. 327 For the Mycenaean specimen (the so called Nestor’s cup), cf. our pl. 33, taken from

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/14/Nestorbecher_Mykene_%28Nationalmuseum_Athen%29,JPG

as consulted on November 24th 2013; cf. also Schliemann, 1880, 237, fig. 346; Furumark, 1946, figure on p. 43; Hall,

1915, 56, fig. 6, and Karo, 1930-33, vol. I, p. 100, Nr. 412 (description), and vol. III, pl. 109. For similar pieces found

at Cyprus, Ohnefalsch-Richter, 1893, 283, figs. 181, 182, 185, 186 (cf. also Evans, 1901, esp. p. 105). On the Siren-

attachments, cf. Ohnefalsch-Richter, 1893, 302, figs. 210-212; Hermann, 1966, pls. 23, 27 (3-4), and 34-5, and

Brookes, 1982. For possible Near Eastern parallels, cf. Barnett, 1986.

208

328 Cf. Homer, Od., XII, 59-65 (e[nqen me;n ga;r pevtrai ejphrefeve", proti; d∆ aujta;" / ku'ma mevga

rJocqei' kuanwvpido" ∆Amfitrivth": / Plagkta;" dhv toi tav" ge qeoi; mavkare" kalevousi. / th'/

mevn t∆ oujde; pothta; parevrcetai oujde; pevleiai / trhvrwne", taiv t∆ ajmbrosivhn Dii÷ patri;

fevrousin, / ajllav te kai; tw'n aije;n ajfairei'tai li;" pevtrh: / ajll∆ a[llhn ejnivhsi path;r

ejnarivqmion ei\nai). 329 For the literal interpretation, Ps. Longinus, De sublimitate, 9, 14 (to;n uJpo; tw'n peleiavdwn wJ" neosso;n

paratrefovmenon Diva); for the “astronomical” version, cf.

A. Scholia HQV to Od., XII, 62: oujde; pevleiai-fevrousinº tine;" fusikw'" ajnaluvontev" fasin

wJ" kat∆ ejkei'no ginomevnh" th'" Pleiavdo" ei|" ejk tw'n eJpta; ajstevrwn ajfanh;" ejgevneto

ejk tou' kapnou'. H.Œ. h[toi muqikw'" fhsi ta;" peristera;" dia; tw'n Plagktw'n

petomevna" ajpokomivzein Dii÷ ajmbrosivan, h] fusikw'" tou'to ei[rhken. o{tan ga;r e{kaqen

tw'n Plagktw'n gevnhtai to; a[stron to; legovmenon Tau'ro", tovte sumbaivnei tw'n ejpi;

th'" oujra'" aujtou' keimevnwn z ajstevrwn, oi} Pleiavde" levgontai, e{na ajmaurou'sqai ejk

th'" ajnafora'" tou' kapnou'. fevrousi de; trofh;n u{dwr qalavssion tw'/ hJlivw/, o}n kai;

Plavtwn ejn Faivdrw/ Diva proshgovreusen ÆoJ me;n dh; mevga" ejn oujranw'/ Zeu;" pthno;n

a{rma ejlauvnei.Æ H.Q.V. Cf. in fact Pl. Phdr., 246e (oJ me;n dh; mevga" hJgemw;n ejn oujranw'/ Zeuv",

ejlauvnwn pthno;n a{rma). For the winged chariot of the Sun, cf. E. fr. 779, v. 6 Nauck (= Phaethon, fr.

3 Jouan-Van Looy, l. 173 Diggle: krouvsa" de; pleura; pterofovrwn ojchmavtwn).

B. Eustathius, Od., vol. II, p. 11, ll. 11-28 Stallbaum: “Alloi de; Diva me;n noou'si to;n ”Hlion

ajkolouvqw" Plavtwni, o}" ejn Faivdrw/ fhsivn: ÔO me;n dh; mevga" ejn oujranw'/ Zeu;", o{ ejstin

”Hlio", pthno;n a{rma ejlauvnwn: ajmbrosivan de; ta;" ajtmivda" ai|" ”Hlio" trevfetai,

kaqa; doxavzei kai; Dhmovkrito". dh'lon de; wJ" kai; ejk qalavssh" toiauvth ajnimwmevnh

trofh; ajnafevretai. eijsi; de; oi{ fasi kai; wJ" o{te to; a[stron oJ tau'ro" e{kaqen tw'n

Plagktw'n gevnhtai, sumbaivnei e{na tw'n ejpi; th'" oujra'" aujtou' eJpta; ajstevrwn, oi}

pleiavde" levgontai, ajmaurou'sqai th'/ ejk tw'n Plagktw'n ajnafora'/ tou' kapnou'. kai;

tou'to ei\nai to; ta;" Plagkta;" ajfairei'sqai kai; tw'n peleiw'n.

C. Eust., Ad Od., vol. II, p. 10, ll. 30-39 Stallbaum: (Vers. 65.): poihtikw'" aijnittomevnou ÔOmhvrou,

wJ" tw'n pleiavdwn e}x oJrwmevnwn, o{mw" oJ ajriqmo;" aujtw'n oujk ajpovllutai. levgontai de;

kai; tw'/ ajriqmw'/ kai; toi'" ojnovmasin eJptav: oJ de; mu'qo" ou{tw kaqista'/, wJ" oujde; aujtai;

ajsinei'" ta;" pevtra" dievrcontai, ajlla; kolouvontai h] oujraivou tuco;n h[ tino" eJtevrou

tw'n merw'n. oJ de; poihth;" mevsw" e[frasen, wJ" noei'sqai me;n kai; tou'to, dokei'n de;

a[llw", kai; o{lhn pevleian mivan ejk pollw'n blavptesqai. dio; kai; ejphvgage tov, ajll∆

a[llhn ejnivhsi path;r ejnarivqmion ei\nai wJ" tou' ajriqmou' ejpilipovnto". oiJ de; palaioi;

ou{tw ta; tou' lovgou qerapeuvousi. Ceivrwn oJ ∆Amfipolivth" ∆Alexavndrou tou'

Makedovno" ejrwthvsantov" fasi, tiv bouvletai para; tw'/ poihth'/ to; ta;" peristera;"

eijpei'n komivzein ajmbrosivan tw'/ Dii?, kai; to; ajfairei'sqaiv ti aujta;" kai; tw'n peleiw'n,

peri; tw'n pleiavdwn ei\nai to;n lovgon e[fh, a}" ei\nai me;n eJptav, faivnesqai de; e}x toi'"

ejkei', th'" mia'" dia; to; kai; a[llw" ajmudro;n tou' ajstrivou ajfanizomevnh" uJpo; tw'n

petrw'n.

209

330 Cf. Il., XXII, 140 (rJhi>divw" oi[mhse meta; trhvrwna pevleian); Il., XXIII, 853 (ejk de; trhvrwna

pevleian); Il., XXIII, 855 (toxeuvein: o}" mevn ke bavlh/ trhvrwna pevleian). 331 Cf. Eust. Ad Od., vol. II, p. 10, ll. 21-24 Stallbaum: (∆Istevon de; kaiv, wJ" ei[ per movnon peleiavdwn

ejpivqeton ei\\nai dokei' to; trhvrwne", ejpei; di∆ ajsqevneian eujlabh;" hJ o[rni" au{th, trei'n dev ejsti

to; eujlabei'sqai, w{" fhsin ∆Aqhvnaio", o{mw" piqanovn ejsti to; ejpivqeton kai; ejpi; pleiavdwn

legovmenon, ai} to;n proeirhmevnon ∆Wrivwna muqeuvontai feuvgein diwvkonta th;n aujtw'n mhtevra

Plhi>ovnhn, h|/ katav tina" aiJ Plhi>avde" paronomavzontai). 332 “Timorous” (trhvrwn) is a common epithet for the doves, as we have seen above (cf. n. 330). 333 Cf. Moiro of Byzantium, fr. 1 Powell, quoted by Athenaeus (second-third centuries C. E.), XI, 80, ll. 34-43

(Zeu;" d∆ a[r∆ ejni; Krhvth/ trevfeto mevga", oujd∆ a[ra tiv" nin / hjeivdei makavrwn: o} d∆ ajevxeto pa'si

mevlessi. / to;n me;n a[ra trhvrwne" uJpo; zaqevw/ travfon a[ntrw/ / ajmbrosivhn forevousai ajp∆

’Wkeanoi'o rJoavwn: / nevktar d∆ ejk pevtrh" mevga" aijeto;" aije;n ajfuvsswn / gamfhlh'/ foreveske

poto;n Dii÷ mhtioventi. / to;n kai; nikhvsa" patevra Krovnon eujruvopa Zeu;" / ajqavnaton poivhse

kai; oujranw'/ ejgkatevnassen. / w}" d∆ au{tw" trhvrwsi peleiavsin w[pase timhvn, / ai} dhv toi

qevreo" kai; ceivmato" a[ggeloiv eijsi). 334 Cf. Ballabriga, 1986, 95-100, esp. 98-9. 335 A. For the setting of the Pleiads as mark of the beginning of winter, cf., for example, Galenus, In Hippocratis

aphorismos commentarii VII, vol. 17b, p. 598, l. 18 - p. 599, l. 6 (ejpitolh; pleiavdo" ajrch; qevrou" ejstiv,

meq∆ h}n kuno;" ejpitolh; th'" kaloumevnh" oJpwvra", h}n dh; kai; aujth;n to; deuvteron mevro" tou'

qevrou" tivqentai, meq∆ h}n ajrktou'ro" ejpitevllwn ajrch;n poiei'tai fqinopwvrou, ka[/peita duvsi"

pleiavdwn ceimw'no" ajrch; givnetai, ei\ta meta; to;n ceimw'na ijshmeriva th;n ajrch;n e[cei tou'

h\ro"); scholia MDDVUA to Aratus, 259 (shmaivnousin aiJ Pleiavde" kairouv". eJw'/ai me;n ga;r

ajnatevllousai shmaivnousi qevrou" ajrchvn, eJw'/ai de; duvnousai ajntivlhyin tw'n kata; spovron

e[rgwn, eJsperivan de; ajnatolh;n poiouvmenai ceimw'no" ajrch;n shmaivnousi); Pliny, NH, XVIII, 280

(vergiliae privatim attinent ad fructus, ut quarum exortu aestas incipiat, occasu hiems), and Saint Isidorus of Sevilla,

Etym., III, 71, 13 (quoted from http://www.fh-

augsburg.de/~harsch/Chronologia/Lspost07/Isidorus/isi_et03.html#c471, as consulted on April 29th 2005: Nam

occasu suo hiemem, ortu aestatem, primaeque navigationis tempus ostendunt).

B. For the migration of the “peleiádes” in winter, vid. Aristotle, Historia animalium, 597b 3-5 (∆Apaivrousi de;

kai; aiJ favttai kai; aiJ peleiavde", kai; ouj ceimavzousi, kai; aiJ celidovne" kai; aiJ trugovne": aiJ

de; peristerai; katamevnousin); cf. Bader, F., 1999, p. 475. 336 A. About the Pleiads as indicator for navigation, cf. Hesiod, Op., 618-23 (Eij dev se nautilivh"

duspemfevlou i{mero" aiJrei': / eu\\t∆ a]n Plhiavde" sqevno" o[brimon ∆Wrivwno" / feuvgousai

pivptwsin ej" hjeroeideva povnton, / dhV tovte pantoivwn ajnevmwn quivousin ajh'tai: / kai; tovte

mhkevti nh'a e[cein ejni; oi[nopi povntw/, / gh'n d∆ ejrgavzesqai memnhmevno" w{" se keleuvw). However,

other authors state that the Greeks navigated when the Pleiads set in the morning; cf. for example scholion to

Aeschylus, Ag., 826d (o{ti Pleiavdwn eJwva ejpitolh; givnetai tou' hJlivou dielqovnto" to;n Tau'ron -ou|

mevro" eijsi;n au|tai: oujra;n ga;r touvtou tauvta" ei\naiv fasi- kai; tou;" Diduvmou"

peripolou'nto", h[toi kata; th;n tou' qevrou" ajrchvn, duvsi" d∆ eJwva tou' hJlivou to;n Zugo;n h[dh

210

diercomevnou: tovte ga;r kata; diavmetron ou\sai eJwvan poiou'ntai duvsin, h[toi kata; ta;" tou'

metopwvrou ajrcav". tovte gavr, w{" fasi, to;n plou'n ”Ellhne" ejpoihvsanto).

B. For the doves as sailing-indicator, cf. scholion to A. R., p. 153, ll. 11-12 Wendel (peleia;" de; ei\do"

peristera'", wJ" kai; ∆Aristotevlh" (Hist. an. V 13, 544b 1) fhsivn. o{ti de; ejcrhvsanto peristera'/

plei'n mevllonte", kai; ∆Asklhpiavdh" ejn Tragw/doumevnoi" (12 fg 2 b J.) fhsivn). 337 A. The oracular doves at Dodona are mentioned by Sophocles, Tr., 171-2 (wJ" th;n palaia;n fhgo;n

aujdh'saiv pote / Dwdw'ni dissw'n ejk peleiavdwn e[fh); for their legend and its rationalistic interpretation,

cf. Herodotus, II, 55-7 (Tau'ta mevn nun tw'n ejn Qhvbh/si iJrevwn h[kouon, tavde de; Dwdwnaivwn fasi;

aiJ promavntie". Duvo peleiavda" melaivna" ejk Qhbevwn tw'n Aijguptievwn ajnaptamevna" th;n me;n

aujtevwn ej" Libuvhn, th;n de; para; sfeva" ajpikevsqai: iJzomevnhn dev min ejpi; fhgo;n aujdavxasqai

fwnh'/ ajnqrwphivh/ wJ" creo;n ei[h manthvion aujtovqi Dio;" genevsqai, kai; aujtou;" uJpolabei'n qei'on

ei\nai to; ejpaggellovmenon aujtoi'si kaiv sfea ejk touvtou poih'sai. Th;n de; ej" tou;" Livbua"

oijcomevnhn peleiavda levgousi “Ammwno" crhsthvrion keleu'sai tou;" Livbua" poievein: e[sti de;

kai; tou'to Diov". Dwdwnaivwn de; aiJ iJrhviai, tw'n th'/ presbutavth/ ou[noma h\n Promevneia, th'/ de;

meta; tauvthn Timarevth, th'/ de; newtavth/ Nikavndrh, e[legon tau'ta: sunwmolovgeon dev sfi kai;

oiJ a[lloi Dwdwnai'oi oiJ peri; to; iJrovn).

B. Curiously enough, another group of stars belonging to the constellation of Taurus, the Hyades, were also identified

with the Dodonean nymphs, who were turned into stars because they had been Dionysus’ nurses. The sources for this

myth about the Hyades are:

a) Hyginus, Fab., 192 (quoted in II.4., n. 274);

b) Pherecydes, F Gr Hist 3 F 90c Jacoby, ap. sch. in Il., XVIII, 486 (Ferekuvdh" dev, kaqa; proeivrhtai,

ta;" ÔUavda" Dwdwnivda" nuvmfa" fhsi;n ei\nai, kai; Dionuvsou trofouv", a}"

parakataqevsqai to;n Diovnuson ∆Inoi' dia; to;n th'" ÔHra" fovbon, kaq∆ o}n kairo;n aujta;"

kai; Lukou'rgo" ejdivwxe); the same Pherecydes could have told about the metamorphosis of the Hyades

into stars in this context: cf. F Gr Hist 3 F 90b Jacoby, ap. sch. in Hom. Il., XVIII, 486 (ÔUavda". Tou;"

ejpi; tw'n keravtwn tou' Tauvrou eJpta; ajstevra" keimevnou". kalou'ntai de; ÔUavde", h[toi

dia; th;n pro;" to; u stoicei'on oJmoiovthta, h] ejpeidhv, ai[tioi o[mbrwn, kai; uJetw'n

kaqivstantai. Zeu;" ejk tou' mhrou' gennhqevnta Diovnuson tai'" Dwdwni'si nuvmfai"

trevfein e[dwken, ∆Ambrosiva/, Korwnivdi, Eujdwvrh/, Diwvnh/, F>aisuvlh/, Poluxoi', Faioi'>.

au|tai qrevyasai to;n Diovnuson perihv/esan su;n aujtw'/, th;n euJreqei'san a[mpelon uJpo;

tou' qeou' toi'" ajnqrwvpoi" carizovmenai. Lukou'rgo" de; mevcri th'" qalavssh"

sunedivwxe to;n Diovnuson. ejkeivna" de; oJ Zeu;" ejlehvsa" kathstevrisen. hJ iJstoriva para;

Ferekuvdh/); cf. Eust. Ad Il., vol. IV, p. 225, ll. 13-16 Van der Valk (AiJ de; ÔUavde" ejpi; tw'n tou'

Tauvrou kei'ntai keravtwn, h] dia; to;n ajdelfo;n ”Uanta ou{tw klhqei'sai, wJ" ei[rhtai, h]

diovti tw'/ u stoiceivw/ paremferei'" eijsin, h] o{ti uJetw'n ejpishmasiva" dhlou'si. Tine;"

de; Dwdwnivda" nuvmfa" aujtav" fasi, Dionuvsou trofouv"). c) Scholion to Aratus, 174 (tauvta" de; ta;" ÔUavda" Dionuvsou tiqhvna" fasi;n ei\nai. h] o{ti ejn

th'/ genevsei tou' Dionuvsou u{sen oJ Zeuv". ta; de; ojnovmata touvtwn eijsi; tau'ta:

∆Ambrovsia, Faisuvlh, Kleithv, Eujdwvra, Bromeiva, Kisshiv").

C. Last, the Pleiads were also told to have been Dionysus’ nurses by two sources, one of which links that

circumstance with their becoming stars:

211

a) Sch. in Germ. Aratea, v. 254: Pleiades a pluralitate Graeci vocant: Latini, eo quod uere exoriantur,

Vergilias dicunt. Dicit autem Pherecydes Athenaeus (fr. 46f Müller), septem sorores fuisse, Lycurgi filias,

ex Naxo insula: et pro eo, quod Liberum educaverunt, a Jove inter sidera sunt relatae.

b) Sch. in Hes., Op., 383b (<Plhiavdwn:> Pleiavde" de; Dionuvsou trofoiv, qugatevre" ªkai;º

Plhiovnh" kai; ”Atlanto").

Incidentally, we may notice that the same link between attending a god and becoming stars was established by Moiro

of Byzantium for the Pleiads who brought ambrosia to Zeus. 338 On the oracular doves of Zeus, cf.:

a) Hdt., II, 55-7 (55. Tau'ta mevn nun tw'n ejn Qhvbh/si iJrevwn h[kouon, tavde de; Dwdwnaivwn

fasi; aiJ promavntie". Duvo peleiavda" melaivna" ejk Qhbevwn tw'n Aijguptievwn

ajnaptamevna" th;n me;n aujtevwn ej" Libuvhn, th;n de; para; sfeva" ajpikevsqai: iJzomevnhn

dev min ejpi; fhgo;n aujdavxasqai fwnh'/ ajnqrwphivh/ wJ" creo;n ei[h manthvion aujtovqi Dio;"

genevsqai, kai; aujtou;" uJpolabei'n qei'on ei\nai to; ejpaggellovmenon aujtoi'si kaiv sfea

ejk touvtou poih'sai. Th;n de; ej" tou;" Livbua" oijcomevnhn peleiavda levgousi “Ammwno"

crhsthvrion keleu'sai tou;" Livbua" poievein: e[sti de; kai; tou'to Diov". Dwdwnaivwn de;

aiJ iJrhviai, tw'n th'/ presbutavth/ ou[noma h\n Promevneia, th'/ de; meta; tauvthn Timarevth,

th'/ de; newtavth/ Nikavndrh, e[legon tau'ta: sunwmolovgeon dev sfi kai; oiJ a[lloi

Dwdwnai'oi oiJ peri; to; iJrovn. 56. ∆Egw; d∆ e[cw peri; aujtw'n gnwvmhn thvnde. Eij ajlhqevw"

oiJ Foivnike" ejxhvgagon ta;" iJra;" gunai'ka" kai; th;n me;n aujtevwn ej" Libuvhn, th;n de; ej"

th;n ‘Ellavda ajpevdonto, dokevei ejmoi; hJ gunh; au{th th'" nu'n ÔEllavdo", provteron de;

Pelasgivh" kaleomevnh" th'" aujth'" tauvth", prhqh'nai ej" Qesprwtouv": e[peita

douleuvousa aujtovqi iJdruvsasqai uJpo; fhgw'/ pefukuivh/ iJro;n Diov", w{sper h\n oijko;"

ajmfipoleuvousan ejn Qhvbh/si iJro;n Diov", e[nqa ajpivketo, ejnqau'ta mnhvmhn aujtou' e[cein.

∆Ek de; touvtou crhsthvrion kathghvsato, ejpeivte sunevlabe th;n ÔEllavda glw'ssan.

Favnai dev oiJ ajdelfeh;n ejn Libuvh/ peprh'sqai uJpo; tw'n aujtw'n Foinivkwn uJp∆ w|n kai;

aujth; ejprhvqh. 57. Peleiavde" dev moi dokevousi klhqh'nai pro;" Dwdwnaivwn ejpi; tou'de

aiJ gunai'ke", diovti bavrbaroi h\san, ejdovkeon dev sfi oJmoivw" o[rnisi fqevggesqai. Meta;

de; crovnon th;n peleiavda ajnqrwphivh/ fwnh'/ aujdavxasqai levgousi, ejpeivte sunetav sfi

hu[da hJ gunhv: e{w" de; ejbarbavrize, o[rniqo" trovpon ejdovkeev sfi fqevggesqai, ejpei; tevw/

trovpw/ a]n peleiav" ge ajnqrwphivh/ fwnh'/ fqevgxaito… Mevlainan de; levgonte" ei\nai th;n

peleiavda shmaivnousi o{ti Aijguptivh hJ gunh; h\n. ÔH de; manthivh h{ te ejn Qhvbh/si th'/si

Aijguptivh/si kai; ãhJ ejn Dwdwvnh/ paraplhvsiai ajllhvlh/si tugcavnousi ejou'sai. “Esti de;

kai; tw'n iJrw'n hJ mantikh; ajp∆ Aijguvptou ajpigmevnh);

b) Dion. Hal., Ant. rom., I, 14, 5 (∆Apo; de; ÔReavtou pavlin th;n ejpi; Lativnhn oJdo;n ijou'si Bativa

me;n ajpo; triavkonta stadivwn, Tiwvra de; ajpo; triakosivwn, hJ kaloumevnh Matihvnh. ejn

tauvth/ levgetai crhsthvrion “Areo" genevsqai pavnu ajrcai'on. oJ de; trovpo" aujtou'

paraplhvsio" h\n w{" fasi tw'/ para; Dwdwnaivoi" muqologoumevnw/ pote; genevsqai: plh;n

o{son ejkei' me;n ejpi; druo;" iJera'" ãpevleiaà kaqezomevnh qespiw/dei'n ejlevgeto, para; de;

toi'" ∆Aborigi'si qeovpempto" o[rni", o}n aujtoi; me;n pi'kon, ”Ellhne" de; druokolavpthn

kalou'sin, ejpi; kivono" xulivnou fainovmeno" to; aujto; e[dra);

212

c) Str., VIIa, 1, 1-2 («Hn de; provteron peri; Skotou'ssan povlin th'" Pelasgiwvtido" to;

crhsthvrion: ejmprhsqevnto" d∆ uJpov tinwn tou' devndrou methnevcqh kata; crhsmo;n tou'

∆Apovllwno" ejn Dwdwvnh/. ejcrhsmwv/dei d∆ ouj dia; lovgwn, ajlla; diav tinwn sumbovlwn,

w{sper to; ejn Libuvh/ ∆Ammwniakovn: i[sw" dev tina pth'sin aiJ trei'" peristerai;

ejpevtonto ejxaivreton, ejx w|n aiJ iJevreiai parathrouvmenai proeqevspizon. fasi; de; kai;

kata; th;n tw'n Molottw'n kai; Qesprwtw'n glw'ttan ta;" graiva" peliva" kalei'sqai

kai; tou;" gevronta" pelivou": kai; i[sw" oujk o[rnea h\san aiJ qrulouvmenai peleiavde",

ajlla; gunai'ke" grai'ai trei'" peri; to; iJero;n scolavzousai. 2. ”Oti kata; Qesprwtou;"

kai; Molottou;" ta;" graiva" peliva" kai; tou;" gevronta" pelivou", kaqavper kai; para;

Makedovsi: peligovna" gou'n kalou'sin ejkei'noi tou;" ejn timai'", kaqa; para; Lavkwsi

kai; Massaliwvtai" tou;" gevronta": o{qen kai; ta;" ejn th'/ Dwdwnaiva/ drui÷ memuqeu'sqai

peleiva" fasivn);

d) Theo, Progymnásmata, p. 95 Spengel (o{per pepoivhken ÔHrovdoto" me;n ejn th'/ deutevra/ peri;

tw'n peleiavdwn dihgouvmeno", wJ" ejxevpthsan ejx Aijguvptou, kai; hJ me;n eij" Dwdwvnhn, hJ

de; eij" “Ammwno" ajfivketo, ejxhgouvmenov" te to; muqolovghmav fhsin, o{ti parqevnoi

tine;" ejk Qhbw'n tw'n Aijguptivwn h\san iJevreiai, w|n hJ me;n eij" Dwdwvnhn ejpravqh, hJ de;

eij" “Ammwno", kai; ejpeidh; barbaristi; ejfqevggonto kai; ajxunevtw" toi'" ejpicwrivoi",

lovgo" katevscen wJ" o[rniqe" h\san);

e) Paus., VII, 21, 2 (katafeuvgousin ou\n ejpi; to; crhsthvrion to; ejn Dwdwvnh/: toi'" ga;r th;n

h[peiron tauvthn oijkou'si, toi'" te Aijtwloi'" kai; toi'" proscwvroi" aujtw'n ∆Akarna'si

kai; ∆Hpeirwvtai", aiJ pevleiai kai; ta; ejk th'" druo;" manteuvmata metevcein mavlista

ejfaivneto ajlhqeiva");

f) Paus., X, 12, 10 (Faenni;" de; qugavthr basileuvsanto" ajndro;" ejn Cavosi kai; aiJ Pevleiai

para; Dwdwnaivoi" ejmanteuvsanto me;n ejk qeou' kai; au|tai, Sivbullai de; uJpo; ajnqrwvpwn

oujk ejklhvqhsan. th'" me;n dh; puqevsqai th;n hJlikivan kai; ejpilevxasqai tou;" crhsmouv"

*** ∆Antiovcou ga;r meta; to; aJlw'nai Dhmhvtrion aujtivka ej" th;n ajrch;n kaqistamevnou

gevgone Faenniv". ta;" Peleiavda" de; Fhmonovh" te e[ti protevra" genevsqai levgousi

kai; a\/sai gunaikw'n prwvta" tavde ta; e[ph: Zeu;" h\n, Zeu;" ejstivn, Zeu;" e[ssetai: w\

megavle Zeu'. / Ga' karpou;" ajnivei, dio; klhv/zete Matevra gai'an); g) Scholion to Il., 16, v. 233a (lemma: Dwdwnai'e), ll. 9-14 (b(BE3E4)T wjnovmastai de; ajpo;

Dwvdwno" tou' Dio;" kai; Eujrwvph" th'" ∆Wkeanou', o}" kai; para; Dio;" th;n mantikh;n

eijlhvfei. a[lloi fasi; Deukalivwna meta; to;n kataklusmo;n ejn ∆Hpeivrw/ genovmenon

para; th'" peleiavdo" th'" ejpikaqhmevnh" th'/ drui÷ keleusqh'nai katoikei'n aujtou' kai;

ghvmanta Dwdwvnhn ∆Wkeanivda th;n povlin ou{tw prosonomavsai). 339 Sch. in Hes. Op., 382 quater (Tauvta", fasiv, ta;" Pleiavda", meta; th'" mhtro;" aujtw'n th'"

Pleiovnh", kata; Boiwtivan pevnte o{lou" ejniautou;" ∆Wrivwn ejdivwken wJ" suggevnoito, aiJ de; toi'"

qeoi'" eujxavmenai pro;" peleiavda" methvmeiyan. Zeu;" de; th'" kakopaqeiva" oijkteivra", aujta;"

ejn tw'/ Zwdiakw'/ kathstevrisen). This scholion is due to Tzetzes, the Byzantine scholar of the twelfth century,

who repeated all those same words in his Excerptum de Pleiadibus, p. 549 Martin (cf. also p. 547 Martin, with no

new information). However, as we shall see, this was not necessarily an artificial, brain-spun combination of different

213

traditions, but could also have made sense when the Pythagoreans, according to Aristotle’s account, linked the

Pleiads with the strings of the lyre. 340 Cf. the discussion by Bader, 1999. 341 Scholia in Hes. Op., 383c (<Plhiavdwn:> Pleiavde" levgontai h] ajpo; Plhiovnh" h] ajpo; tou'

polloi'" ei\nai creiwvdei" h] ajpo; tou' eij" peleiva" metamorfwqh'nai ejk tou' feuvgein to;n

∆Wrivwna wJ" toxovthn h] ajpo; tou' polei'n ejk periovdou kai; sumplhrou'n to;n ejniautovn, ejx w|n kai;

pleiw;n oJ ejniautov": h] o{ti pleivou" eijsi; kata; sunagwgh;n h] o{ti pleivou" eijsi; ka]n eJpta;

dokw'sin h] para; to; plhsivon kei'sqai plhsiavde" tine;" ou\sai). Cf. scholia MDDKVUA to Aratus, v.

254 (“Atlanto" de; kai; Plhiovnh" genealogou'ntai Pleiavde", par∆ o} kai; levgontai: h] ejpei;

pleivosin eijsi; creiwvdei", toi'" te plevousi kai; gewrgou'si: h] o{ti eij" peleiva"

metemorfwvqhsan to;n ∆Wrivwna feuvgousai); Tzetzes, Scholia in Hes. Op., 382 bis et quater (Pleiavde"

levgontai, ajpo; Pleiovnh" th'" aujtw'n mhtrov": h] ajpo; tou' peleiavda" aujta;" gegonevnai

feugouvsa" to;n ∆Wrivwna), and eiusd., Excerptum de Pleiadibus, p. 548 Martin (kalou'ntai de; aiJ

Pleiavde" tw'/ ojnovmati touvtw/ ajpo; Pleiovnh" th'" eJautw'n mhtrov", h] ajpo; tou' peleiavda"

genevsqai feugouvsa" to;n ∆Wrivwna). Another twelfth century Byzantine scholar, Eustathius, told the same

story in his commentaries to Iliad, XVIII, 486 (vol. 4, p. 225 Van der Valk): oiJ de; parqevnou" ei\naiv fasi ta;"

eJpta; kai; sugkunhgetei'n th'/ ∆Artevmidi. ∆Wrivwno" de; diwvkonto" kat∆ e[rwta,

perikatalhvptou" ginomevna" metabalei'n di∆ eujch'" eij" peleiavda", ei\ta kai;

katasterisqh'nai, o{qen kai; Pleiavda" klhqh'nai, oiJonei; Peleiavda" kata; sugkophvn. dio; kai;

polloi; tw'n poihtw'n, wJ" kai; prodedhvlwtai, Peleiavda to; a[stron tou'to kalou'si. 342 Although not every metamorphosis into stars is preceded by a metamorphosis into a bird, there is at least another

myth in which things occur in that way; cf. Hyginus, Astr., II, 16, quoted in II.1.c.3., n. 85. 343 Cf. Homeric Hymn to Selene, v. 1 (Mhvnhn ajeivdein tanusivpteron e{spete Mous̀ai, quoted from

http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/cgi-bin/ptext?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.01.0137%3Ahymn%3D32, as consulted

on May 11th 2005). According to Càssola, 1975, 447, there are no conclusive reasons for a late dating of this hymn.

Manilius also alludes to the wings of the Moon (after addressing to the Moon in I, 223, he says in I, 226: ultima ad

hesperios infectis volveris alis, quoted from http://www.thelatinlibrary.com/manilius1.html, as consulted on May 19th

2005). Cf., for the Great and Little Bears, Critias, fr. 3 Snell (= B 18 DK, ap. Clem. Al., Strom., V, 6, 36, 1: ajkavma"

te crovno" periv t∆ ajenavw/ / rJeuvmati plhvrh" foita'/ tivktwn / aujto;" eJautovn, divdumoiv t∆ a[rktoi /

tai'" wjkuplavnoi" pteruvgwn rJipai'" / to;n ∆Atlavnteion throu'si povlon); Ion, fr. 6 Page (= F Gr Hist,

3b,392,T 2 Jacoby, ap. Scholia vetera et recentiora Triclinii RVAld to Aristophanes, Pax, 835; cf. Suda, d, 1029: ajoi'on ajerofoivtan ajstevra meivnamen, ajelivou leuka'i ptevrugi provdromon); Euripides, Ion, 123

(panamevrio" a{m∆ ajelivou ptevrugi qoh̀/ latreuvwn). The Sun is the star most consistently endowed with

wings in ancient literature and art; cf. later Orph. fr. 102 Bernabé (= fr. 62 Kern), ap. Joannes Malalas (fifth-sixth

century C. E.), Chronographia, p. 73, l. 8 Dindorf: ”Hlie crusevaisin ajeirovmene pteruvgessin. The “bird

of Zeus” in Aeschylus, Suppl., 212 (καὶ Ζηνὸς ὄρνιν τόνδε νῦν κικλῄσκετε), has been interpreted as an allusion to

the Sun, especially on the ground of the context (that verse is followed by another one saying καλοῦμεν αὐγὰς

ἡλίου σωτηρίους); cf. also E. Tr., 848-50 (τὸ τᾶς δὲ λευκοπτέρου / φίλιον Ἁμέρας βροτοῖς / φέγγος ὀλοὸν εἶδε

γαίας), and Friis Johansen & Whittle, 1980, vol. II, p. 170. There are also pieces of evidence which endow with

wings not just the Sun but the cup on which he travels, according to ancient imagination; cf. for example

Mimnermus, fr. 12 West, quoted by Athenaeus, 11, 39:

214

Ἠέλιος μὲν γὰρ ἔλαχεν πόνον ἤματα πάντα,

οὐδέ ποτ' ἄμπαυσις γίνεται οὐδεμία

ἵπποισίν τε καὶ αὐτῷ, ἐπεὶ ῥοδοδάκτυλος Ἠὼς

ὠκεανὸν προλιποῦσ' οὐρανὸν εἰσαναβῇ·

τὸν μὲν γὰρ διὰ κῦμα φέρει πολυήρατος εὐνή,

ποικίλη Ἡφαίστου χερσὶν ἐληλαμένη

χρυσοῦ τιμήεντος, ὑπόπτερος, ἄκρον ἐφ' ὕδωρ

εὕδονθ' ἁρπαλέως χώρου ἀφ' Ἑσπερίδων

γαῖαν ἐς Αἰθιόπων, ἵνα δὴ θοὸν ἅρμα καὶ ἵπποι

ἑστᾶσ', ὄφρ' Ἠὼς ἠριγένεια μόλῃ.

ἔνθ' ἐπέβη ἑτέρων ὀχέων Ὑπερίονος υἱός.

Incidentally, we may add that when Proclus interpreted the Platonic Sirens as the souls of the heavenly spheres, he

might be under the influence not only of the powerful tradition of philosophic discussion about that topic, but also of

the fact that the iconography of Sirens shared a trait (the wings) not only with that of the human soul (cf. our section

II. 1. c. 3. “A Flight on the Wings of the Soul”), but with that of some heavenly bodies, as we can see. Although this

was not the most relevant factor, it could play some role on the genesis of Proclus’ interpretation.