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8/12/2019 CAIRNS, M. Agrippa in Horace 'Odes' 1.6 http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/cairns-m-agrippa-in-horace-odes-16 1/8 M. Agrippa in Horace 'Odes' 1.6 Author(s): Francis Cairns Source: Hermes, Vol. 123, No. 2 (1995), pp. 211-217 Published by: Franz Steiner Verlag Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4477074 . Accessed: 08/04/2011 05:05 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use. Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at  . http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=fsv . . Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed page of such transmission. JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hermes. http://www.jstor.org

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Page 1: CAIRNS, M. Agrippa in Horace 'Odes' 1.6

8/12/2019 CAIRNS, M. Agrippa in Horace 'Odes' 1.6

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M. Agrippa in Horace 'Odes' 1.6

Author(s): Francis CairnsSource: Hermes, Vol. 123, No. 2 (1995), pp. 211-217Published by: Franz Steiner VerlagStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/4477074 .

Accessed: 08/04/2011 05:05

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp. JSTOR's Terms and Conditions of Use provides, in part, that unless

you have obtained prior permission, you may not download an entire issue of a journal or multiple copies of articles, and you

may use content in the JSTOR archive only for your personal, non-commercial use.

Please contact the publisher regarding any further use of this work. Publisher contact information may be obtained at .http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=fsv. .

Each copy of any part of a JSTOR transmission must contain the same copyright notice that appears on the screen or printed

page of such transmission.

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of 

content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms

of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected].

Franz Steiner Verlag is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Hermes.

http://www.jstor.org

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M. AGRIPPA N HORACE ODES' 1.6

Scriberis Variofortis et hostium

victor Maeonii carminis alite,

quam remcumqueferox navibus aut equis

miles te duce gesserit.

nos, Agrippa, neque haec dicere nec gravem S

Pelidae stomachumcedere nescii

nec cursusduplicis per mare Ulixei

nec saevamPelopis domum

conamur,tenues grandia, dumpudor

inbellisquelyrae Musa potens vetat 10

laudes egregii Caesaris et tuas

culpa deterere ingeni.

quis Martemtunica tectumadamantina

digne scripserit autpulvere Troico

nigrumMerionen aut ope Palladis 15

Tydidensuperis parem?

nos convivia, nosproelia virginumsectis in iuvenes unguibusacrium

cantamusvacui, sive quid urimur,

nonpraeter solitum leves. 20

Vir rusticitatiproprior quamdeliciis and eadem illa torvitas;in these words

the Elder Pliny ('Natural History' 35.26) characterisedM. Agrippa, albeit in a

context which hardly supportshis judgement'. Such ancient evaluations have

influenced modem comment on 'Odes' 1.6, Horace's sole lyric addressed to

Agrippa,an erstwhile misunderstoodrecusatio2 n which Horacepasses the taskof eulogising Agrippa's (and Augustus's)achievements n Homericfashionto his

contemporaryand friend L. Varius Rufus. Thus we read3, for example, that

"relations between the grim general and the aesthetic circle of Maecenas can

hardlyhave been close<< nd that 'Odes' 1.6 >>mustave amused andgratified,if

not Agrippa,at any rate Varius".

I It concerns Agrippa's proposal that all works of artbe nationalised

2 The old literal interpretation,which held thatHorace was really refusing to praise Agrippa,

is still partly visible at NISBET-HUBBARD1970) 81-3. For the correct understanding,cf. NANNiNI

(1982), summarising importantearlier work; DAVIS 1987); (1991) 33-9.

3 NISBET-HUBBARD1970)83.

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212 FRANCISCAIRNS

This paper attemptsto throwlight on various hithertoneglected or puzzling

features of 'Odes' 1.6 which are, it will be argued,connected with M. Agrippa.They include notably details of stanzas 2 and 4. If what emerges is not a mere

sequenceof mirages,then we can for the firsttimeglimpse aspectsof Horace'swit

which were intended for the amusementandgratificationof Agrippa,as well as of

Varius andthe Romanreadingpublic,and whichperhapsrevealAgrippaas a less

>>grim eneral<<.

The origins of M. Vipsanius Agripparemain a mystery: we know nothing

about his father,his birthplace,or his family's domicile4.Later ancient writers,

with the snobberythentypicalof relativeparvenus,wrote of his lack of nobilitas

and even of his low birth5.Someoneof impoverishedortaintedbackgroundcouldnot, however, have reachedthe intimacyof Dictator Caesar's great-nephewas a

youth and could not have shared Octavian's education.That is now recognised;

and there is considerableplausibilityin the reconstructionpurveyed by RODDAZ

(1984) Ch. 1, which makes of Agrippaa second-generationRomancitizen whose

(probably equestrian)6family came from some (perhaps mountainous) part of

centralItalyand hadgained Romancitizenship only after the Social War7.There

is less consensus about why Agrippadroppedhis nomenVipsaniusfor epigraphic

and fastal purposes8:a fashion sharedinter alios with Maecenas, Messalla and

Augustus himself? Or unease at its backwoods associations9?'Agrippa' on theotherhand,which he clearlypreferred,hadelevatedold Roman associations with

the Menenii and FuriiAgrippae.But it also had, like many Romancognomina, a

meaning,which (againlike thoseof manyRomancognomina) was less elevated10.

An agrippawas a childborn n the breechposition, i.e. feet first, and the wordwas

supposedlyderived romaegre partus. MALTBY(1991) S.V.collects the follow-

ingII:

4 Cf. RODDAZ 1984) Ch. 1 and the works referredto below, nn.5, 7.

5

Notably Senecathe Elder, and, in complimentary mode, Velleius Paterculus. For full

references and discussion, cf. RODDAZ(1984) 15-21; REINHOLD1933) Ch. 1; RE IX A s.v.

Vipsanius 2) coll. 1226-9 (R. HANSLIK); PIR s.v. M. Vipsanius Agrippa 439.

6 Agrippa's first marriage was to Caecilia Attica, daughterof Cicero's wealthy eques friend.

It took place, apparently, in 37 BC, cf. SYME (1986) 143f., 314. Agrippa's choice of bride was

doubtless connected with her dowry; but it may also indicate thathe was of a similar commercial

or tax-gathering equestrianbackground.

7 RODDAZ(1984) 22f., followingespeciallythe leadof T.P. WISEMAN cf. n.30). WISEMAN

(1987) 24f. proposed thatAgrippa's tribe was Sergia and then, by elimination, assigned to him a

Marsian or Asisian origin.

8 He appears,e.g., in his Pantheondedication as M. Agrippa L.f cos. tertium.It is often noted

that his daughterwas Vipsania and his freedmen Vipsanii - but what alternatives were there?9 On this question, cf. esp. RODDAZ1984) 19-21; SYME(1986) 391.

10Although Comm. Einsidl. gramm.suppl. (cited at TLL s.v. Agrippa col. 1430.13-15) hints

that even this etymology might have turned to advantage in the circle of Augustus: agrippae

dicuntur illi, qui cum nimio dolore nascuntur, sicut caesares.II TLL s.v. Agrippa col. 1430.3-19 collects furthersuch material.

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M. Agrippa n Horace Odes' 1.6 213

Agrippa, ae m. (cogn.vir.).PLIN.nat. 7,45 in pedesprociderenascentem ontranaturam

est, quoargumentoos appellavereAgrippasut aegrepartos = SOL.1,65). QUINT. nst. 1,4,25

scrutabitur.. originesnominum.. ex casu nascentium hic Agrippa t Opiter.GELL.16,16,1

quorumn nascendononcaput,sed pedesprimiextiterant, uipartus.. aegerrimus.. habetur,

Agrippaeappellati,vocabuloab aegritudinet pedibusconficto.NON.p. 557,1 Agrippae,qui

cum aborematris duntur, oc est perpedescontranaturam.., quasiab aegropartuSERV.auct.

Aen. 8,682).

The nameAgrippa,whichappears n 'Odes' 1.6.5, is the point of entryinto the

ode for this enquiry.The name and line 3: quamrem cumqueferox navibus aut

equis need to be consideredin the light of two facts:

1) Augustanpoets aremuch concernedwith 'etymology', i.e. ancientpseudo-

etymology'2, interest in which had been enhanced and disseminated by the

publicationbetween40 and35 BC of Varro'shandbookof etymology 'De Lingua

Latina'.

2) A popularcontemporary inguistic theoryheld that Latin was a dialect of

Greek,close to Aeolic'3.

In these terms, if 'Agrippa' is deemed to contain the two elements agr- and

-ippa, and if these elements are thoughtof as Greekayp-and tmic(a), i.e. as the

stems of, for example, dypto; andticico; / 'irev;, then the opening and

closing words of the phrase erox - equis (which qualifies Agrippa's soldiery -

miles, 4) would constituteLatin equivalentsof the two elements of the 'Greek'name 'Agrippa'14-

One reaction to the above might be to regardit as pure coincidence. Two

points may be made againstthis: 1) the same line (5) which introducesthe name

Agrippa also initiates the Latin 'translations'of partsof the incipits of the two

Homeric epics which occupy lines 6f.; 2) NISBET-HUBBARD1970) 85 on 'Odes'

1.6.3, commenting on navibusaut equis, correctlycharacterise he phrase as ?a

poetical variationfor terra marique (icat& yiv iKatKcom&6Xaoav)<<,noting

that >Horaceconflates it with the othermilitarypolarism, 'with horse and foot'

(into) KalcxX, equis virisque)<<.What needs to be stressedadditionallyis thatthe effect of thisHoratianvariation conflationis to exclude mentionof 'foot', i.e.

infantry(xtsc?, peditibus)15.This exclusion greatlyincreases the likelihood that

ferox - equis is intendedto gloss the stems ayp - tuna. For excluding 'foot'

implies rejectionby Horaceof the standardancientetymology of 'Agrippa';this

(cf. above) associated 'Agrippa'with a feet-firstbirth,invariablyused pedes as

partof its exegesis of the word,and could even, as in the Gellius passage quoted,

substitute orthe usualaegre ... partusetymology of 'Agrippa'one which saw the

(p)pa element of 'Agrippa'as derivedfrompes, viz. vocabulo ab aegritudineet

12Cf. CAIRNS1979) 90-9; McKEowN 1987) 45-62; MALTBYforthcoming).13Cf. MALTBY1993) with references to earlier bibliography.

14 erox is glossed inter alia 'ypto;, cf. TLL s.v. ferox col. 567.2.

'5 Agrippa had, of course, distinguished himself as admiral at Actium, but no parallel victory

achieved by him with cavalry comes to mind.

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214 FRANCISCAIRNS

pedibus conficto, i.e., as it was latermadeexplicit (TLLs.v. Agrippacol. 1430.12),

aegripes - already implied by the ElderPliny's odd belief thatAgrippa's youth

was made wretchedby lameness: adversapedumvalitudinemisera iuventa('Nat-

uralHistory' 7.45).

If, for all the initialstrangenessof theprocedure, t can be acceptedthat in line

3 Horaceis alluding by exclusion to the standard tymology of 'Agrippa'andthat

he is substituting through glossing a more 'learned' and elevated hellenising

etymology of his name, then a thirdpossible etymology of 'Agrippa' lurkingin

stanza 4 can be extracted.That such a thirdetymology should be present need

cause no alarm in principle:ancient poets can ostensibly 'reject' a particular

etymology'6, as Horacerejectsthe breech-birth xplanationof 'Agrippa';buttheycan also imply the simultaneousvalidityof more than one etymology of a single

term17.Before Horace's thirdderivation for 'Agrippa'is accessed, a few words

about otheraspectsof stanzas2 and4: DAVIS1987) q.v., buildingon a suggestion

of D.A. RUSSELLrecorded at NISBET-HUBBARD 1970) 87 on 'Odes' 1.6.13, has

arguedplausibly that stanza4 has for answer"only an alter Homerus as Varius

has proved to be" (295). He has also drawn attentionto the fact thatEnnius had

likewise declared that only Homer could praise Scipio properly;he has shown

how the references to Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' in stanza2 of 'Odes' 1.6

evoke this reminiscence, particularlysince Ennius also claimed to be Homerreincarnate;and he has noted that both Enniusand Varius wrote tragediescalled

'Thyestes'. This last observationunderpins he long understoodallusion in line 8

(saevam Pelopis domum) to Varius' famous tragedy 'Thyestes' (cf. NISBET-

HUBBARD(1970) 81 and 86 on 'Odes' 1.6.8). A furthersuggestion may be made:

might Martem(13), prominentlyplaced as second word of stanza4, be a further

allusion to Varius' poetry?Varius wrote a hexameter(therefore homeric(?), cf.

line 2) work entitled 'De Morte' (BUCHNERFPL 130f.); and one etymology of

Mars was from mors (and vice-versa), cf. the following extracts from MALTBY

(1991) s.vv.:

LYD. mens. 4,34 p.91,25 W. tov MdppT?q oi 'Pociaiot g6prpt? ?Kcd'Xouv,'tovet Oava-

tov. ISID. orig. 8,11,51 Martemquasi effectoremmortium.nam a Martemors nuncupatur.

11,2,31morsdicta,quodsit amara, el a Marte,qui est effectormortium.

To continue with stanza 4: NISBET-HUBBARD1970) 88 on 'Odes' 1.6.13, 15

and 16 q.v. have rightly identified Diomedes as the key figure in it. He is the

opponentof Mars(13), the companion of Meriones (14f.), associated with Meri-

ones in the 'Iliad' and possibly even more closely in the 'Posthomerica', and

finally he is the equal of the gods - in Ares' words at 'Iliad' 5.884 and with the

help of Athenathroughouthis 'Iliad'5 aristeia.NISBET-HUBBARD1970) 88 on line

16 E.g. Tib. 1.3.93f., with the discussion at CAIRNS (1979) 97f.17 Cf. Tib. 1.10.1-6, with the discussion at CAIRNS (1979) 98f. and in MALTBY (forthcoming),

where furtherexamples are treated.

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M. Agrippa n Horace Odes' 1.6 215

15 have also suggested that perhapsVariuswas contemplatinga 'Diomedeia'. Be

the last point as it may, Diomedes' indisputablycentralrole in stanza 4 is thepointerto Horace's third etymology of 'Agrippa'in 'Odes' 1.6. After the Trojan

War Diomedes went into exile in Italy. There he foundedthe town of Argyrip(p)a

In a footnote to a paper on the text of Juvenal18R.G.M. NISBETraised in

passing the questionwhetherAgrippa andArgyrippamight be connected.NISBET

wrote:"The reasonfor the association>i.e. of Diomedes and Agrippa<in Horace

>i.e. 'Odes' 1.6.13ff.< is not clear:could Agrippa have connectedhis name with

Argyrippa,the hero's city??" ndhe referred o WISEMAN1987) 207ff. "forsuch

fantasies". WhetherAgrippa himself, or his friends, flatterersor family, or Hora-

ce, or a literary predecessor of Horace made the connection is a secondaryquestion. The importantpoint is the connection, and I believe that NISBET'S

suggestion thatit existed is correct.Diomedes' link with Argyrip(p)a s writ large

in Virgil's 'Aeneid'19 somethingwhich may well also reflectAgrippa'sinterest

in the matter;and it is the basis of the active ancient speculationaboutthe name of

the town which is reflectedin MALTBY1991) S.V.:

Argyripa, -ae f. (oppid. Dauniae). VERG. Aen. 11,246 Diomedes urbem Argyripam patriae

cognominegentisvictorGargani ondebat apygisagris.PLIN.nat.3,104 ArpialiquandoArgos

HippiumDiomedecondente,moxArgyripa ictum.SERV.Aen.7,286 primoArgi, postArgyri-

pa ... dicta est. 11,246Diomedes fuit de civitate

quae Argos Hippiondicitur

...;hic in Apulia

condiditcivitatem,quampatriaesuae nomineappellavit t Argos Hippiondixit:quodnomen

posteavetustate orruptumst,et factumestutcivitasArgyrippa iceretur:uodrursus orrup-

tum Arpos fecit. thes. gloss.

There are,of course,othervalidpart-explanations f Horace'sheavy focus on

Diomedes. Whetheror not Varius was planninga 'Diomedeia', Diomedes, as the

ideal Homericwarrior20who first shows deferenceto Agamemnon,thendisplays

every aspectof bravery,determination ndastuteness,andhas, it seems, no moral

faults, is anextremelytactful model for M. Agrippa.But the fact that the name of

Diomedes' Italian home town Argyrip(p)ais so close to the name Agrippa2l

would surely not have escaped the notice of Horace's contemporaryreaders,

18 NIsBET (1988) 105 n.29, discussing Juv.10.81ff. and referring also (in the note and in his

text) to the sculptures in the grotto of Tiberius at Sperlonga.19Cf. Enciclopedia Virgiliana s.v. Arpi.20 The characterisation of Diomedes in the 'Iliad' is patent, and was recognised instantly by

the ancient scholia: cf. e.g., on the early books, Sch. 4.402, 5.335-6, 8.146, and esp. 9.31 (ERBSE).

21Cf. the strange argumentation of G. RADKE (RE s.v. Volsci coll. 804f.) - who had no

thought of 'Odes' 1.6. Working in the reverse direction, RADKE derived the name 'Agrippa' from

'Arguripa' via a series of sound changes: >>Der ame Arguripa wurde unterAnfangsbetonung zu

*Argrlpa,das durch Assimilation zu Xgripa(vgl. *ispsezu ipse u.a. ... ) und unter spontaner

Konsonantengemination (Sommer 202) zu Agrippa wurdeo<.The town name turnsup as 'Agrip-

pa' in GLOSS V 520.12 (cf. TLL s.v. Argyripa col. 559.64), presumably through textual

corruption.Similar corruptionsturn'Agrippa' into something more like Argyri(p)pa (cf. TLL s. v.

Agrippa col. 1429.48-60).

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216 FRANCISCAIRNS

especially since two etymologies of 'Agrippa' already appearin the ode, albeit

one by exclusion. It would have been all the clearer f the association hadalreadybeen made, andeven more obvious if theoriginsof Agrippa'sfamily in fact lay in

Daunia/ Apulia somewherein the regionof the town. Before this last questionis

raised, two confirmatory points emerging from the ancient etymologies of

Argyrip(p)a(above) may be noted. These all derive Argyrip(p)afrom "Apyo

tInitov, Diomedes' originaldwelling-place in Greece. This derivationreminds

us firstlythatthesaeva Pelopis domus of 'Odes' 1.6.8reignedin Argos. Secondly

it reveals how easily an ancientetymologistcould have thoughtof 'Agrippa'as a

Greek name22dividing into Agr- and -ippa, and how easily again he could have

referredthe -ippa element to ttiio; / ri7em?5Thus it underlinesthe suggestionsmade above aboutferox ... equis.

Might, then, Agrippa'sfamily really have been associated with Argyrip(p)a?

Argyrip(p)aconformsreasonablywell withRODDAZ1984)'s prescription ortheir

place of origin. It is in centralItaly,and,althoughon the Apulianplain, is not far

fromMonteGargano.The town was of no great mportance n the second and first

centuriesBC; its insignificancecould help explain why accountsof Agrippasay

nothing about t. Its inhabitantspresumably eceivedRomancitizenshipin 90 BC;

this would fit RODDAZ 1984)'s conclusionaboutthestatusof Agrippa's fatherand

grandfather.Anothertown,Arpinum,birthplaceof Marius andCicero,has a localtradition discussed in detail at REINHOLD1933) 9f. n.37 that Agrippatoo came

from Arpinum.Nothing can be based on this. As REINHOLDxplained,no ancient

or archaeologicalevidence for this claim exists, it is certainly untrue, and it may

well be a modem invention.Its sole - curiosity- value lies in the fact thatthere

was ancient confusion (at Martial4.55.3 andPlutarch Cicero' 8) between Arpi-

num andthe everyday nameof Argyrip(p)a, .e. Arpi23.That the two places were

confused is small wonder,since the inhabitantsof Arpi/ Argyri(p)pa(as well as

being called Arpani)can also be Arpini (cf. TLL s.v. Arpicol. 630.75-80), while

the inhabitants ofArpinum,

aswell as being Arpinates, are also occasionallycalled Arpini (cf. RE s.v. Arpinum)24.

In Augustan Rome distinguishedoriginsandassociationswerebeing invented

wholesale for men who hadsurvived the Civil Warsandemerged in a flourishing

condition.Two Valeriiwho weregenuinearistocrats,MessallaRufusand Messal-

la Corvinus, were outraged by such practices25.But Horace was not so austere:

Aeli vetustonobilis ab Lamo ('Odes' 3.17.1) addressesL. Aelius Lamia, son of a

22 oypurnoqwastheLaconianerm orthewild-olive cf.LSJs.v.). Inevitably nethinksof

ope Pallados(Od.1.6.15),buthesitates o go further.23

Virgilusesbothnamesas well asperiphrases:f. EnciclopediaVirgiliana .v.Arpi.24JuliusCaesarspentthenightof 1 March49 BC at Arpi (Cic. 'Att.'9.3.2). Agrippawas

then14 yearsold.A novelistmightonthisbasis nventan encounter tArpibetweenAgrippa nd

Caesar.Butthefirstattested vents n Agrippa' life arefrom46-45 BC, bywhich imeAgrippa

was alreadyassociatedwithJuliusCaesarandOctavian.25 Cf. SYME(1986)77, 228, 253.

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M. Agrippa n Horace Odes' 1.6 217

novus homo26,andbackshisclaim o descent romLamus,king of the Odyssean

Laestrygonians. parallel ink of M. Agrippawith Diomedesbased on someconnection, owever enuous r imaginary, ithArgyri(p)pas echoed n 'Odes'

1.627.ThatHoracewas not in deadlyearnestmaybe concluded romhis etymo-

logical gamesmanship,n which two alternative erivations f Agrippaare of-

feredanda thirddiscounted.But Agrippawill not have beenunpleased o be

dissociated ot ustfrom hecommon r gardenmeaning f Agrippa utalso from

theunmentionedVipsanius.f his familyreallydid have some connectionwith

Arpi,hispleasurewillhavebeenthegreater.

In the ightof all this,whatarewe to makeofthe mageof the>>grimeneral??

Ofcourse,wecanneverknow orcertainwhatAgrippawas like as an ndividual.Butthis odedoeshint hathe hadhislighter ide.Itis obvious hatHoraces not

takinghis etymologisingompletely eriously, ndyet Horaceandthe circleof

Maecenas annothavebeen aughing ublicly tAgrippaatherhanwithhim.So

Agrippamust have beenflexibleenough o take the fun with the flattery,and

Horacemusthaveknown his28.

Leeds FRANCIS AIRNS

26 Cf NISBET-HUBBARD1970) 301.27 Cf. also the fact that one family from Arpi, the Dasii, certainly claimed descent from

Diomedes, cf. WISEMAN1987) 302 and n.41.28 I am grateful to DR.ROBERT MALTBY and PROF. R.G.M. NISBET or advice on this paper.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

CAIRNS,., 1979,Tibullus.A HellenisticPoet at Rome,Cambridge

DAVIS, ., 1991, Polyhymnia.TheRhetoric f Horatian yricDiscourse,Berkeley,LosAngeles,

OxfordDAVIS, G., 1987, Quis...dignescripserit?The topos of AlterHomerus n HoraceC. 1.6, in:

Phoenix41.292-5

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