Fr. 80 Hollis (263 Pfeiffer) is preserved by Suda ε 1990 (lines 1–5) and Etym. Magn. p. 442.30 (lines 1–2). In his edition, Pfeiffer lays out the words in four lines:[1]
ἴθι, πρηεῖα γυναικῶν,
τὴν ὁδόν, ἣν ἀνίαι θυμαλγέες οὐ περόωσι.
πολλάκι σεῖό <γε>, μαῖα, φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς
μνησόμεθα· ξυνὸν γὰρ ἐπαύλιον ἔσκεν ἅπασιν.
Pfeiffer’s solution produces a conjectural lacuna of one syllable at line 3, which he first filled with <γε> before repenting later.[2] Unconvinced by Pfeiffer’s σεῖό <γε>, Maas suggests two more extended lacunae and proposes a different division of the words in the Suda. This results in a five-line reconstruction[3] that Hollis accepts in what is now fr. 80 of his edition:[4]
ἴθι, πρηεῖα γυναικῶν,
τὴν ὁδόν, ἣν ἀνίαι θυμαλγέες οὐ περόωσι.
< > πολλάκι σεῖο,
μαῖα, < > φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς
μνησόμεθα· ξυνὸν γὰρ ἐπαύλιον ἔσκεν ἅπασιν 5
I would like to draw attention to a possible solution for line 4. This proposal has the benefit of filling out the lacuna – at least partially – while also offering evidence in favour of Maas’ five-line reconstruction. Let us consider the whole sentence from the end of line 3 to the beginning of line 5. Somebody is addressing Hecale, now dead, promising that she will be remembered along with her welcoming hut. These lines could well belong to the conclusion of Hecale,[5] balancing it out with frr. 1 and 2 Hollis, which contain the first lines of the poem:[6]
(fr. 1) Ἀκταίη τις ἔναιεν Ἐρεχθέος ἔν ποτε γουνῶι
(fr. 2) τίον δέ ἑ πάντες ὁδῖται
ἦρα φιλοξενίης· ἔχε γὰρ τέγος ἀκλήιστον
The identity of the speaker in fr. 80 is debated. Some think these words are spoken by Theseus; others believe they belong to the poet, but they probably are to be ascribed to Hecale’s neighbours, as Wilamowitz and Reitzenstein saw.[7] Hecale is addressed as μαῖα, a title “particularly recalling the way Eurycleia is addressed in the Odyssey”.[8] As Hollis himself points out, the character of Hecale is influenced by the literary figures of Eumaeus and Eurycleia.[9] I think that the key to the lacuna in line 4 lies in these Homeric elements. There are twelve occurrences of μαῖα in the Odyssey, eleven of which in direct addresses to Eurycleia.[10] In five cases μαῖα is immediately followed by the adjective φίλη, always at the opening of the line with the only exception being Od. 23.35. If we consider the influence of Eurycleia on the character of Hecale, it would be reasonable to conjecture the use of a Homeric iunctura such as μαῖα φίλη by Callimachus at the beginning of line 4.[11] This formulaic reference to Eurycleia would be perfectly fitting alongside the hospitable καλιή which recalls Eumaeus, the other Homeric model for Hecale. Not only does the restoration of the word φίλη after μαῖα correspond with Homer’s habitual depiction of Eurycleia that Hecale is partly modelled on, but it also clarifies the origin of the lacuna. Given the form φιλοξείνοιο, which occurs immediately afterwards, we can see the corruption as a case of saut du même au même, due to the sequence φιλ- which opens both φίλη and φιλοξείνοιο.[12] This also supports Maas’ arrangement of the words on five lines.
Line 4 should therefore be read as follows:
μαῖα <φίλη > φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς
Only a few syllables are needed to complete the line. Since both σεῖο and φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς depend on μνησόμεθα (line 5), a conjunction is expected to link the two genitive forms: καί – placed right after μαῖα φίλη – might be a good candidate. If we accept this, then only one long and one short syllable are missing. Assuming that the scene takes place in Hecale’s hut or in its surroundings, we might think of τῆσδε, referring to καλιῆς. It has already been pointed out that fr. 80 Hollis is reminiscent of the typical closing of a Homeric Hymn.[13] The closing line of a short Homeric Hymn to Demeter presents a similar combination of καί and a form of the deictic ἥδε in the same metrical position right after a vocative (Hymn. Hom. 13.3): χαῖρε θεὰ καὶ τήνδε σάου πόλιν, ἄρχε δ’ ἀοιδῆς. The parallel is all the more meaningful if one considers that Callimachus himself later imitated this line in the final salutation of his hymn to Demeter (Hymn 6.134): χαῖρε, θεὰ, καὶ τάνδε σάω πόλιν ἔν θ᾽ ὁμονοίᾳ.[14] The supplement καὶ τῆσδε would therefore be appropriate for the hymnic resonance of the passage and for the Callimachean usage.
A possible restoration of fr. 80.4 Hollis would then be:
μαῖα <φίλη, καὶ τῆσδε> φιλοξείνοιο καλιῆς
At any rate, regardless of how the rest of the line is reconstructed, the word φίλη is what probably followed μαῖα, as confirmed both by the Homeric model that the phrase recalls and by the sequence <φίλη, > φιλοξείνοιο.
Acknowledgements
I wish to thank Prof. Luigi Lehnus and Prof. Giovanni Benedetto for their useful comments on earlier drafts of this note and Prof. Hans Hansen for carefully proofreading my English and improving this contribution with his precious advice. I am also grateful to the anonymous referees for their valuable suggestions. I am solely responsible for any shortcomings.
© 2021 Francesco Sironi, published by Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
