Professional Documents
Culture Documents
The Sacrificial Cut and The Sense of Hon PDF
The Sacrificial Cut and The Sense of Hon PDF
The Sacrificial Cut and The Sense of Hon PDF
A Publication Grant
from Ministero dell'Istruzione,
dell'Università e della Ricerca (M.I.U.R.)
is acknowledged for this volume
ISSN 1120-4680
—————————————————————
Printed by Centro Copia Stecchini
Via S. Sofia 58 _ Padova
History of the Ancient Near East / Studies - Vol. IX
—————————————————————
Edited by
Cristiano Grottanelli and Lucio Milano
—————————————————————
S.A.R.G.O.N. Editrice e Libreria
Padova 2004
bianco pagina i
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABBREVIATIONS
INTRODUZIONE
* * *
* * *
Ettore Cingano
1. The Seven had acted against the will of the gods: see Hom. Il. 4.380 f.; 405 ff.;
Hes. frg. 193.6-8 M.-W.; cf. Pind. Nem. 9.18-20.
270 Ettore Cingano
2. According to one version, Thebes was plundered and destroyed (Hom. Il. 4.406;
Scholl. Hom. Il. 2.505; 4.406, I pp. 294; 517 Erbse; Diod. Sic. 4.66.5), whereas
according to another only the walls were torn down and Thersander, the son of
Polyneikes, was restored to power (Paus. 9.5.14; 9.8.7; Diod. Sic. 4.67.1; Apol-
lod. Bibl. 3.7.4); on the twofold tradition see my article “Tradizioni su Tebe nel-
l'epica e nella lirica greca arcaica”, in P. Angeli Bernardini (ed.), Presenza e fun-
zione della città di Tebe nella cultura greca, Pisa – Roma 2000, pp. 133 f.
3. The Seven in Homer: Polyneikes, Il. 4.377; Adrastos and his horse Arion, Il.
23.346 f.; cf. 2.572; Tydeus, Il. 4.372 ff., 5.801 ff., 6. 222 f., 10. 287 ff.,15.112 ff.;
Kapaneus, Il. 4.403 ff.; Amphiaraos, Od. 11.326 f., 15.244 ff.; Mekisteus, Il.
23.677 ff.: only Parthenopaios is missing. The Epigonoi in Homer: Diomedes
passim; Euryalos, Sthenelos, Il. 2.563-6, 4.400-410; Alkmaion, Amphilochos,
Od. 15.248; among others Thersander, the son of Polyneikes, is also missing. The
Seven and the Epigonoi in Hesiod: Polyneikes (frg. 193 M.-W.), Adrastos (frg.
192 M.-W.), (Amphiaraos, Tydeus, Adrastos); Mekisteus may be alluded to in frg.
192, where Argeia, daughter of Adrastos, travels from Argos to Thebes sùn ål-
loiv in order to attend the funeral of Oidipous; Alkmaion, frg. 193; Alkmaion and
Amphilochos, fr. 197. See also Erga, 161-165; frg. 193.
4. They are collected in the recent editions of the epic cycle by A. Bernabé, Poetae
Epici Graeci I, Leipzig 1987 (19962), and by M. Davies, Epicorum Graecorum
Fragmenta, Göttingen 1988.
5. I follow Davies' edition (fn. 4, above).
The Sacrificial Cut and the Sense of Honour Wronged 271
Thebais, frg. 2
ařtàr % diogenÈv ¬rwv xanqòv Poluneíkhv
prÔta mèn Oŗdipódhi kalÈn paréqhke trápezan
Ŕrguréhn Kádmoio qeófronov: ařtàr êpeita
crúseon êmplhsen kalòn dépav #déov oÕnou.
5 ařtàr ÷ g' őv frásqh parakeímena patròv ®oîo
timÉenta géra, méga o$ kakòn êmpese qumÔi,
a×ya dè paisìn ®oîsi metamfotéroisin ŕparàv
Ŕrgaléav Ŗrâto (qeÔn d' oř lánqan' ŕrinún)
őv oÛ o$ † patrwían eÕh filóthti †
10 dássont', Ŕmfotéroisi d' Ŕeì pólemoí te mácai te ...
But the godly hero, yellow-haired Polyneikes, / first of all set
before Oidipous the fair table, / made of silver, which had be-
longed to Cadmus. But next / he filled the golden fair goblet
full of sweet wine. / But Oidipous when he perceived that
there had been set before him his own father <Laius'> / hon-
oured possessions, a great evil fell upon his heart / and
straightaway he invoked baleful curses upon his own sons, /
both of them (and this did not go unnoticed by the Erinys of
the gods), / to the effect that they would not † divide their
patrimony in friendly terms, † / but rather would ever have
wars and battles between them both … (transl. M. Davies)
Thebais, frg. 3:
ŗscíon őv ŕnóhse camaì bále e×pé te mûqon:
“¡moi ŕgÓ, paîdev még' Řneídeion tód' êpemyan”.
eÝkto dè Dì basilÊi kaì ålloiv Ŕqanátoisi
cersìn &p' ŔllÉlwn katabÉmenai ńAidov eÕsw.
was once in the hands of his father Laios, and for their disobeyance he
cursed them. As for frg. 3, a learned scholion to Sophocles, Oedipus
Coloneus, gives detailed information on the disruption of the sacrifi-
cial practice which lies behind the wrath of Oidipous: each time they
performed a sacrifice at Thebes, the sons of Oidipous used to bring
over to their father the shoulder of the victim as the most appropriate
portion (moîra) for him. And yet one day they forgot, out of careless-
ness or for some other reason: they brought him a less honourable cut,
the haunch instead of the shoulder; as a consequence, he dooms them
(again) to death. 6
It is to be pointed out that Oidipous' behaviour, and the motives
that trigger the curses, have been either misunderstood or missed since
ancient times: in the scholion which has preserved frg. 3 the learned
grammarian, presumably Didymus, after relating the sacrificial custom
and the neglect of the sons, labels as “meanspirited” and “utterly low-
born” (mikroyúcwv mèn kaì teléwv ŔgennÔv) Oidipous' reaction
and curses. 7 Although the poet of the Thebais has often been accused
of redundancy in duplicating the motif of the curse, one can actually
see that the two fragments and the curses are deeply interrelated, and a
correct comprehension of the semantic grid they are built on is of fun-
damental importance to clarify Oidipous “overreaction”. To start with,
in frg. 2 we are told that Oidipous had forbidden his sons ever to set
before him the silver table-ware inherited from his ancestor Kadmos,
precisely because it reminds him —as is specified at v. 6 f.— of Laios,
the father he had killed and supplanted; as Polyneikes —either mis-
takenly or purposedly— displays the golden goblet and Oidipous rec-
6. Schol. Soph. Oed. Col. 1375, ed. de Marco: … o$ perì 'Eteokléa kaì Poluneí
khn di' êqouv êcontev tÔi patrì Oŗdípodi pémpein ŕx ®kástou $ereíou moî-
ran tòn ¦mon, ŕklaqómenoív pote eÕte katà ŠaistÓnhn eÕte ŕx %touoûn
ŗscíon ařtÔi êpemyan: % dè mikroyúcwv mèn kaì teléwv ŔgennÔv ÷mwv d'
oÛn Ŕràv êqeto kat' ařtÔn dóxav katoligwreîsqai … The expression Ŕf'
®kástou $ereíou also occurs in sacrificial inscriptions (Dittenberger, Syll.3 1106
B40; see also P. Stengel, Opferbräuche der Griechen, Leipzig 1910 (1896), p. 89)
to denote the practice of giving the appropriate cut of meat to the priest who
performed the sacrifice.
7. The same misunderstanding of Oidipous' reaction is found in E.L. de Kock, “The
Sophoclean Oidipus and Its Antecedents”, Acta Classica 4 (1961), pp. 19f. On the
social relevance of meat distribution at sacrifices in archaic times and in the
Thebais see W. Burkert, Homo Necans. Interpretationen altgriechischer Opfer-
riten und Mythen, Berlin 1972, pp. 47 f. and C. Grottanelli – N. Parise, Sacrificio
e società nel mondo antico, Bari 1988; see also C. Grottanelli, “Carne e vino:
misura e dismisura”, in P. Scarpi (ed.), Storie del vino, Milano 1991, pp. 151-166
(p. 155 on Oidipous'portion).
The Sacrificial Cut and the Sense of Honour Wronged 273
ognizes it, he casts curses upon both sons, and the Erinys sets off to
work. It appears that the display of the goblet had the devastating ef-
fect to remind Oidipous of the atrocious deed of parricide, which in
turn gave way to the incestuous marriage perpetrated with his mother,
the widow of Laios. 8
Last but not least, a substantial reason to account for Oidipous'
wrath and the ensuing curses is to be found in the notion of gérav and
timÉ (“honour, privilege, prerogatives”, i.e. the material advantages
and benefits enjoyed by kings), and in the symbolic values conveyed
by these words in epic society. E. Benveniste's studies on the notion
of gérav and timÉ have elucidated that they are closely associated
with the notion of kingship, represented by Sarpedon's speech to
Glaukos in the Iliad (12.310 ff.) on why they are honoured, especially
with seats of honour and meat and cups of wine: “Glaukos, why is it
you and I are honoured (tetimÉmesqa) before others / with pride of
place, the choice meats and the filled wine cups (kréasín te ŗdè
pleíoiv depáessin) …” 9 It is to be noticed that these words also
occur in the text and context of the two Thebais fragments. In frg. 2.6
the expression (Laios') timÉenta géra, “honoured possessions per-
taining to royal dignity”, refers to the same notion, that is, to Oidi-
pous' royalty (inherited from Laios), but also to the consequent power
to dispose of the family properties. To disobey —as Polyneikes did—
the king's order that the objects belonging to the Kadmos dynasty be
hidden forever, eventually amounts to attacking the status and pre-
rogatives of the king himself. 10
The interpretation I am suggesting gives full credit to the otherwise
obscure and unjustified intervention of the Erinys called upon by
Oidipous in frg. 2.8. It is appropriate to recall Eric Dodds' illuminat
ing definition of the Erinys as “the personal agent who ensures the
fulfilment of a moira”: 11 in our passage, by acting as a minister of
vengeance, the Erinys enforces the moira (“lot, portion”) of Oidipous,
who has suffered a wrong at the hands of his sons. The intervention of
the Erinys is fully justified by the misbehaviour of his son(s), which in
this case is not just an offence within the close frame of a family, but
also a disruptive attack against Oidipous' royal prerogatives at Thebes.
As we move to frg. 3 of the Thebais, it is to be recalled that the
word gérav, meaning “honorific portion”, also pertains to the custom
of attributing the best cut of meat to the king (or the priest) when a
sacrifice was performed. He had the exclusive right to specific parts of
the body of the sacrificial victim, and it is convenient to recall that “in
inscriptions dealing with sacral regulations … geras … specifies a cut
of sacrificial meat that is destined for the god who presides over the
sacrifice or, less directly, for the priest who performs the sacrifice.” 12
In epic society, then, food was also used to embody the idea of hon-
our, as can be proved by a relevant passage in the Iliad (7.319 ff.)
where Aias is honoured by Diomedes with a special portion of meat
—the chine— at the feast after a sacrifice: nÓtoisin d' AÕanta
dihnekéessi gérairen / ¬rwv 'Atreídhv … (see also Od., 4.65-66,
11. E. Dodds, The Greeks and the Irrational, Berkeley – Los Angeles 1951, p. 7;
Dodds also observes (p. 21 fn. 7) that in Theb. frg. 2.8 the qeÔn ŕrinúv “em-
bodies in personal form the anger of the gods invoked in the curse”. On the
Erinyes see most recently S.I. Johnston, Restless Dead, Berkeley – London –
Los Angeles 1999, pp. 250 ff. I have dealt elsewhere with the presence of the
Erinyes in the myth of the Labdakids: see my article quoted above (fn. 8), with
full bibliography.
12. The quotation is from G. Nagy, The Best of the Achaeans, London – Baltimore
19992, p. 132, § 19 fn. 3. The thorough research of Stengel on the cut of meat
pertaining to the priest ($ereúv) who performed the sacrifice can be applied in
the Thebais to king Oidipous, who is awarded a choice cut of meat from the sac-
rificial table; see Stengel, cit. (fn. 6), pp. 87-91, 169-171, where the inscriptional
sources are reported (see also fn. 6, and Burkert, quoted at fn. 7, above); D. Gill,
“Trapezomata: a Neglected Aspect of Greek Sacrifice”, Harvard Theological
Review 67 (1974), esp. pp. 127-129; J.-L. Durand, “Bêtes grecques. Propositions
pour une topologie des corps à manger”, in M. Detienne – J.-P. Vernant (eds.),
La cuisine du sacrifice en pays grec, Paris 1979, p. 156: “Le privilège de viande,
géras, c'est aussi bien, sans rien ôter à l'autre, être le seul à obtenir quelque
chose”. On the moira of the gods at sacrificial feasts see e.g. F. van Straten,
“The God's Portion in Greek Sacrificial Representations”, in R. Hägg –N.
Marinatos – G.C. Nordquist (eds.), Early Greek Cult Practice, Stockholm 1988,
pp. 51 ff.
The Sacrificial Cut and the Sense of Honour Wronged 275
The strong link between this fragment and frg. 3 of the Thebais is
obvious: here, too, the context is that of a sacrifice (qusía, v. 1), and
the (para)tragic text insists on the same practice of honouring Oidi-
pous each time with the best cut (v. 1 f.: ŔparcÈn gérav ŕpémpomen
… perissón … êkkriton kréav). 16 As with Pyrrhos in the Pindaric
16. The close similarity, in the matter of wording and vocabulary, between the text
and context of frg. 3 (= schol. Soph. Oed. Col. 1375, p. 54 de Marco), and the
(para)tragic fragment, tells that the latter relies heavily on the Thebais: compare
ŕklaqómenoi φ TrGF 458.3 oř memnhménoi; ařtÏ/ (Oŗdípodi) êpemyan φ frg.
3.2 êpemyan φ TrGF 458.1, 6 ŕpémpomen patrí … ŕpémyamen; frg. 3.1 ŕnó-
hse … e×pé te mûqon φ TrGF 458.7 êgnw … e×pe … táde; frg. 3.2 Řneídeion
The Sacrificial Cut and the Sense of Honour Wronged 277
passages quoted above, we note that Oidipous interprets the fact that
he is being deprived of the due portion (moîra, in the scholion's
words) of meat as a direct attack against his rightful honour (timÉ),
that is, against his royal status and prerogatives. The difference be-
tween the two texts concerns only the different kind of meat (here the
shoulder of an ox replaces the shoulder of a lamb, whereas in the
Thebais Oidipous is given the haunch instead of the shoulder), but the
offence remains, as the vocabulary in lines 9-10 makes clear: gélwta
dÉ me poioûntai … Übrei, derision and hybris are the offences im-
mediately perceived by the king. 17 Far from being an inappropriate
overreaction at his sons' unthinking behaviour, Oidipous' anger is
thus roused by what he correctly interprets as an attempt to undermine
his power and diminish his honour, i.e. his right to reign. Through his
curses he dooms them to mutual slaughter on the very moment they
dispute royal succession. Note the insistence, in Oidipous' words
(Theb. frg. 2.9 f.; TrGF 458.14 f.), on the prayer that they slay each
other, thus sharing a mutual death instead of the family patrimony
(patrwía = ktÉmata basiliká) and power they were aiming at. 18
tód' êpemyan φ TrGF 458.8-9 tív … tóde … mishtòn kréav pémpwn; frg. 3.3
eÝkto Dì … kaì ålloiv Ŕqanátoisi φ TrGF 458.11-12 ¦ qeoí … kateú-
comai.
17. On the meaning of Řneídeion / öneidov (= “public blame”), in frg. 3.2 of the
Thebais see Nagy, cit.(fn. 12), p. 22, § 7 fn. 3, who accepts the MSS reading
Řneideíontev, rightly in my opinion: see my note in Rivista di Filologia e Istru-
zione Classica 119 (1991), pp. 496 f., and compare W. Burkert, “Seven against
Thebes …”, in C. Brillante – M. Cantilena – C.O. Pavese (eds.), I poemi epici
rapsodici non omerici e la tradizione orale, Padova 1981, p. 37. I am not deal-
ing here with the controversial question whether Oidipous is blind in the
Thebais; his blindness is explicitly stated in the (para)tragic fragment (cf. TrGF
458.10: tuflóv: oÛ ti gnÓsetai), although this detail might also be a later
contamination from tragedy, e.g. from Sophocles' Oedipus Tyrannus. It is to be
stressed that, according to epic usage, the verbs frásqh in Theb. frg. 2.5 and
ŕnóhse in frg. 3.1 may refer both to seeing and to perceiving with other senses
(such as recognizing an object by touching it, cf. êgnw 'pafÉsav in TrGF
458.7); on this point see my forthcoming article mentioned above, fn. 8.
18. The same notion is expressed with similar words at Aeschyl. Sept. 785-790 ([Oŗ-
dípouv] téknoiv d' Ŕqlíav ŕfÊken / ŕpíkotov trofâv, … / pikroglÓssouv Ŕ-
ráv, / kaí sfe sidaronómwi dià / cerí pote laceîn / ktÉmata); Eur. Phoe. 67
f. (Ŕràv Ŕrâtai paisìn Ŕnosiwtátav, / qhktÏ sidÉrÖ dÔma dialaceîn
tóde), and Plat. Alcib. II 138 c 1-2 (¢sper tòn Oŗdípoun ařtíka fasìn eÛxa-
sqai calkÏ dielésqai tà patrÏa toùv &eîv); the three authors provide fur-
ther evidence of the influence exerted by the motif of the curses in the Thebais.
278 Ettore Cingano
19. Cf. Nagy, cit. (fn. 12), p. 132, and Hom. Il. 7.319 ff. (quoted above).
The Sacrificial Cut and the Sense of Honour Wronged 279
20. M. Vegetti, “Passioni antiche: l'io collerico”, in S. Vegetti Finzi (ed.), Storia del-
le passioni, Bari 1995, p. 40. Cf. M. Finkelberg, “Time and Arete in Homer”,
Classical Quarterly 48 (1998), p. 16: “The main conflict of the Iliad is that of
honour”. On the motif of wrath see also L. Muellner, The Anger of Achilles,
Ithaca – London 1996, pp. 33 f., 102 ff.
21. See my forthcoming article mentioned above, fn. 8.