Ekphrasis has been a popular topic in recent years among scholars of both classical and later literature. The latter have been particularly interested in the modern definition of ekphrasis as a description of artwork and the development of global definitions and theories. Ancient ekphrasis, however, was much broader in scope. By examining Hephaestus' automaton handmaids and the shield of Achilles in the Iliad , along with the Pandora stories in the works of Hesiod, we can illustrate the nature and character of ancient ekphrasis in ways that call into question modern theories and demonstrate the vibrancy and complexity of even its earliest examples in Greek literature.

Metal Maidens, Achilles' Shield, and Pandora: The Beginnings of "Ekphrasis"

Much has been written on the genesis of the pseudo-hesiodic Shield of Heracles — so much, that true progress is difficult to discern among the welter of theories. But some has been made, although the conclusions that have been reached must be regarded as likely hypotheses rather than proven facts. In this article I propose to proceed from some of these conclusions, ensuring that they are as firmly grounded as possible, to an assessment of how this poem's version of the combat of Heracles and Cycnus relates to the likely circumstances and occasion of its original performance. This will involve considering the legend's variants (including one from the Cycle that has not been discussed in relation to the Aspis), and a new look at the first half of the Homeric Hymn to Pythian Apollo.

The Shield of Heracles and the legend of Cycnus

Dionysus' unexpected decision at the end of the play is generally 
thought to reflect the notion that poets such as Aeschylus and Euripides had practical moral advice to offer their audiences and to promote an "Aeschylean" over a "Euripidean" approach to life. I argue, however, that this ending offers a combination of aesthetic insight and intertextual playfulness that ultimately relieves the Aristophanic Aeschylus and Euripides of the moralizing burden they have had to shoulder for so long. My reasons for suggesting this arise from consideration of the relationship between Frogs and another literary text that featured a high-profile poetic contest, namely, the Contest of Homer and Hesiod.

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Aristophanes' Frogs and the Contest of Homer and Hesiod

In this paper I shall explore a hitherto neglected dimension of the Greeks’ complex relationship with the sea: its use and perception as ‘a place of no return’ and an ‘away-place’. These terms are used in modern waste management to denote places where people throw things away permanently and thus expect never to deal with them again. Literary and archaeological sources will be reviewed with a view to exploring the occasions on which sea-dumping was regarded as a socially acceptable action, the kinds of objects that were permanently disposed of, as well as the range of different types of people who committed their unwanted items to the depths of the sea. I shall also discuss which qualities of the sea may have made it ideal as a place of no return in the eyes of the ancient Greeks and how far the ‘garbology’ approach contributes to a new understanding of the sea.

The sea as a place of no return in ancient Greece

The received wisdom about Hesiod's poetics is simple: he is no Homer. His poetry is supposedly rough, awkward, unsophisticated, repetitive, disjointed, a second-best versifier's striving after effect. Too often the rhetoric even of those who respect Hesiodic poetry damns it with faint praise. Readers of the Princeton Encyclopedia of Poetry and Poetics—to take just one easily available reference that students might consult—learn that Hesiod's ‘didactic epics’ were meant forthe peasant of Boeotia rather than the Ionian aristocrat, being concerned with the morality and beliefs of the small farmer toughly confronting a life of ceaseless labor and few rewards. While they cannot be compared to Homer's works in scope or genius, they often display much poetic power.

Douglas Young

Papers

Hesiodi Theogonia Opera et dies Scutum

Iambi et elegi graeci ante Alexandrum cantati Vol. II

Aeschylus: The Oresteia