Wiener Studien 132/2019, pp. 105-114, 2019/06/05
Zeitschrift für Klassische Philologie, Patristik und lateinische Tradition
This article is an addendum to the book Die Ciris im Kontext der augusteischen Dichtung, Vienna 2018 (Wiener Studien, Beiheft 39) and presents some of the author’s afterthoughts. On the basis of the chronology established in that monograph it is argued that the poems Catalepton 9 and Ciris, both addressed to M. Valerius Messalla Corvinus, are modelled on Catullus’ carmina 65 and 66, the poet’s homage to Hortensius Hortalus. The key to this is the fact that both the Ciris and Catullus’ translation from Callimachus - his c. 66 - have the same basic motif in common, viz. the cutting off of a person’s hair, albeit for different reasons and with a dramatically different outcome. Furthermore, the author makes a point for Callimachus being at least one of the sources for the Ciris and deals with the muchdiscussed crucial verses Catalepton 9, 59-63.
