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considerations. Those who opt for Theocritus (such as Gow) say that he 'improved upon' Apollonius, and for that reason must have come later. Those who prefer Apollonius (such as Köhnken) hold that the reverse is true. The discussion has gotten no further than this type of speculative argumentation, and as long as there are no external data on which to base a standpoint, the problem will remain insoluble. |
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As we have seen, it is an indisputable fact that here one poet is drawing on the work of the other. But if we continue to use the criterion of authorial intention, then an intertextual relationship with Apollonius' epic can only exist if Theocritus reacted to the Argonautica and not vice versa. For this reason, in my discussion of the 13th Idyll I will disregard the Apollonius passage, and confine myself to those authors who clearly preceded Theocritus. Even with this restriction, there will be no shortage of material. |
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Theocritus' Hylas. Idyll 13 |
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Theocritus presents the theme of his poem Eros in the initial verses, which are addressed to Nicias: the god plays a role not only in their own lives, indeed, not only in the lives of mortals. To illustrate this fact, he then introduces Heracles. There are those who say that the section addressed to Nicias continues up to and including v. 15, and that the actual story does not start until 16.9 However, I do not believe that the line can be that finely drawn, given that  at the beginning of 16 forms a link with the opening words of 10:  , 'and he never parted from him'. We would do better to confine ourselves to the assertion that once Heracles has been introduced, the direct link with the addressee is dropped. |
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Heracles is presented to the readers as 'Amphitryon's son with the heart of bronze, he who resisted the raging lion' (56). These words are unmistakably epically coloured, if only by virtue of  . This word for 'lion' occurs several times in the Iliad, and once in the pseudo Hesiodic Shield of Heracles (172), reappearing only in Antimachus.  is a different story. Compound adjectives beginning with  or often appear in the Iliad, but there they refer to the weapons of the combatants, and not to their hearts.10 Gow's reference to  (2.490) is hardly relevant, since here the poet is speaking of his own heart: without the support of the Muses he would not be able to list the Greek warriors, even if he possessed a  . This is the only time that  is used by Homer in relation to the heart or the mind, |
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9 So for example Pretagostini (1984) 92. |
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10 (Il. 4.448; 8.62),  (Il. 1.371; 2.47 et alibi),  (Il. 5.699; 6.199 et alibi),  (Il. 12.183; 17.294; 20.397),  (Il. 7.41). In one case the voice is said to be of bronze:  (Il. 5.785). |
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