Descent of Perithous

The Descent of Perithous (Ancient Greek: Πειρίθου κατάβασις, Peirithou katabasis) is a fragmentary epic poem that was ascribed to Hesiod by the 2nd-century CE geographer Pausanias.[1] The eponymous topic of the poem would have been the myth of Theseus and Perithous' trip to Hades seeking to win Persephone as bride for Perithous.[2]

Along with the Marriage of Ceyx and Aegimus, the Descent of Perithous has been considered a poetic narrative by Hesiod that was Muse-inspired.[3] During the expedition, Hades trapped the heroes by seating them in the "chairs of forgetfullness", and only Heracles could save them.[2] The poem is narrated by the ghost of Meleager.[4] One tentatively assigned papyrus fragment survives which includes a conversation between Meleager and Theseus.[5] In this dialogue, the ghosts were talking about how Theseus and Perithous descended to carry off Persephone, a tale Meleager listened to with disgust.[6] It is also proposed that this fragment belongs to the Minyas,[7] and the existence of an independent Hesiodic poem on the descent of Theseus and Perithous is complicated by the fact that elsewhere Pausanias attributes the myth to the Minyas.[8] The sheer number of Hesiodic papyri that have survived compared to those of other works of archaic epic, however, lends credence to the attribution to the Hesiodic corpus.[9]

Select editions and translations

Critical editions
  • Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1967), Fragmenta Hesiodea, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-814171-8.
  • Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1990), "Fragmenta selecta", in F. Solmsen (ed.), Hesiodi Theogonia, Opera et Dies, Scutum (3rd rev. ed.), Oxford, ISBN 0-19-814071-1.

Translations

Notes
  1. Paus. 9.31.5. Descent of Perithous is the title used in the standard edition of the text (Merkelbach & West 1967), but no exact title is attested from antiquity. Pausanias instead describes the work's content in listing Hesiod's poems and their topics: "how Theseus together with Perithous descended to Hades" (ὡς Θησεὺς ἐς τὸν Ἅιδην ὁμοῦ Πειρίθῳ καταβαίη). Most (2006, p. lx) prefers Descent of Peirithous to Hades; Cingano (2009, p. 126) gives Katabasis of Theseus and Peithrous.
  2. Cingano (2009, p. 126).
  3. Bloom, Harold (2007). Homer, Updated Edition. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 978-0791093139.
  4. Gagarin, Michael; Fantham, Elaine (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN 9780195170726.
  5. Most (2006, pp. lx–lxi).
  6. Miller, Dean (2014). Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols of Ancient Greece and Rome. New York: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. p. 149. ISBN 9781627125666.
  7. West (2003, p. 271).
  8. Paus. 10.28.2; Cingano (2009, p. 126).
  9. Cingano (2009, pp. 128).

Bibliography
  • Cingano, E. (2009), "The Hesiodic Corpus", in Montanari; Rengakos; Tsagalis (eds.), Brill's Companion to Hesiod, pp. 91–130.
  • Montanari, F.; Rengakos, A.; Tsagalis, C. (2009), Brill's Companion to Hesiod, Leiden, ISBN 978-9004-17840-3.
  • Schwartz, J. (1960), Pseudo-Hesiodeia: recherches sur la composition, la diffusion et la disparition ancienne d'oeuvres attribuées à Hésiode, Leiden.
  • West, M.L. (2003), Greek Epic Fragments, Loeb Classical Library, 497, Cambridge, MA, ISBN 978-0-674-99605-2.


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