Quintus Smyrnaeus : Posthomerica XII, a commentary

Abstract

This commentary sets out (1) to monitor closely a sizable portion of imperial Greek epic poetry, and to arrive, on the basis of available evidence (vi2., extant Greek poetry, primarily), at an idea of the funds (both linguistic and thematic) at the disposal of such a poet; (ii) to determine, as a next step, whether this poet has, as is commonly alleged, had access to Roman poetry again on the basis of available evidence (viz.,most genres of Roman poetry); and (iii) to reexamine from the primary sources the three important mythical tales contained therein (viz., those concerning 3inon, Laocoon and Cassandra). The demands of (i) are (and can only be) satisfied by ample documentation from Greek poetry, of whatever date, genre or provenance. Quintus' literary background can now be viewed in a proper light. The evidence for (ii) is (perhaps unavoidably, given the nature of the problem) inconclusive as far as components external to (iii) are concerned, but see Index Al(v), and the Postscript; in any event the need to look far beyond the immediate issues is evident. On the question of Roman utilisation for (iii) there is no doubt: none existed. That apart, reexamination of the myths has, I believe, contributed some new and concrete results. Emphasis is placed throughout on conveying to the reader in concise form information not hitherto assembled; and on highlighting some aspects of this work that have received little attention at the expense of topics for which an abundance of secondary literature is already to hand. Detailed indexes are provided.