Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles

The Role of Callimachus in the Development of the Concept of the Counter-Genre

Author(s): T. M. Klein
Source: Latomus, T. 33, Fasc. 2 (AVRIL-JUIN 1974), pp. 217-231
Published by: Societe d’Etudes Latines de Bruxelles
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 The Role of Callimachus in the Development
of the Concept of the Counter-Genre

Callimachus and the Cynic napaxapázzEcvто vó¡iiG¡xa

Of Callimachus' sympathiesto the various philosophicalschools of his

day, we know very little. Koerte and HaendeH1) point out that of his
voluminouswritings(he is said to have written800 books) fewhave titles
whichsuggestan interestin philosophy.His ilapaSo^oypacpia(farfromap-
pearingto to be a studyin, for example Heracleitus'paradoxes) seem to
have been closerto thesortof philologypractisedby his fellowCyrenaican,
Eratosthenes,or that which Aristophanesof Byzantiumwas later to
produce, while his Anti-Praxiphanesthough admittedlyan attack on a
philosopher,musthave dealt almostexclusivelywithliterary criticism,since
we knowthatPraxiphanes4 main interestwas ура/а^атсхг].
(Praxiphaneswas
the Aristotelianwho had studiedunderTheophrastus,and was laterto sup-
portApolloniusRhodiusin the famousfued,so suggestingthegreater'for-
mal4philosophicalcontentof the epic, as wellas some sortof unityof con-
ception(2)). Callimachus was obviously not sympatheticto the sort of
Peripateticphilosophy for which Praxiphanes stood. Neverthelesshis
favourablewelcome to Aratus' Phaenomena(3) - and Aratus had been
moving steadily toward Stoicism- would seem to suggest an anti-
Academicbent. Moreoverhis referenceto Hipponax in the firstIambic,as
well as his Ibis reveal a tendencytowardscynicism.This is confirmedby

(1) "Da gibt

esTitel
(ofCallimachus'works),diewiralsethnographisch
bezeichnen
würden, andere
sindmythologischer,
wiederandere Natur.
lexikographischer Auch Studien
literatgeschichtliche - wenn
auchimCatalogartigen
Rudiment- finden sich.Vollkommen
fehltaberdasphilosophische
..."Koerte-
Haendel, DerGelehrte
Kallimachos, Sammler. Hellenistische
Dichtung.Kroener 1960.p. 15.
(2) asa Peripatetichewould believeina longpoem with organic
unity itsdigressions'.
covering
T.B.LWebster, Hellenistic
PoetryandArt. NewYork1964.104-106. So alsoA.Lesky,Hist, ofGk
Lit 2nded.1963.p. 704.ForCallimachus' 'anti
-orthodox'
philosophical cf.W.Alyin
sympathies
P.W.22 c. 1769,andespeciallyК. O. Brink, Callimachus
andAristotle
inC.Q.(1946)11-26.For
esp.24-26.Praxiphanes'
Praxiphanes impliedsupportofApolloniusRhodius ofcourse
suggests thathe
sawsome sort ofconceptual
of'unity purpose'intheepic.Foranattackupon Alexandrian in
literature
genera]because sucha 'unity
it'lacks' ofconceptualpurpose'cf.Nietzsche'sBirth
ofTragedy , 19.
(3) Callimachus.Epigram 29 (27 inPfeiffer's Vol.1) and19.507intheA.P.

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218 T. M. KLEIN

his supportforAratus,since earlyStoicismdrewheavilyoriCynicism,and

in fact Diogenes Laertius' genealogy (Diogenes-Crates-Zeno) interprets
Stoicism as a direct developmentfrom Cynicism. The early Stoa was
favourably disposedto Cynicism,each sharingtheconceptofaôrápxecaand
even àvaiSeia - a pointwhich embarassedthe laterStoics and especially
the Romans(4).
But Callimachus' sympathyfor a modifiedand highlyrefinedformof
Cynicismmay well have gone deeper.The Cynics were in the processof
evolvingand developingnew genres. Moreoverhis own aetiologyforced
him to look to small communitiesand theirlocal customsand mythsfor
poetic inspiration.To thatextent,at least he is a man of the local people
and theirethos, and to that limitedextenthis new genre, the aetiological
poem, contains a demotic element.
It is howeverin his endeavourto develop new art-formsthat he comes
closest to theCynic TzapaxapárzELvто vó'xia¡xa.The meaningof thisessen-
tiallyCynic sentiment may givenas : 'to show thatthe values on which
be
most people rely most confidentlyare spurious'. Translated into literary
terms it means to break with established literaryconvention.This is
preciselywhat Callimachusdid. He depreciatedthe writingof perhapsthe
mostadmiredand influential of theancientgenres: epic. But theCynicfor-
mula has a furthermeaning: the concept of counterbehaviour. The
proximity betweenthis aspect of Cynicismand modernAnarchismis well
stressedby DudleyC). In both cases the revoltmanifestsitselfin the for-

(4) Fora thorough discussion

ontheoriginsandearly ofCynicism
development cf.D. R.Dudley, A
HistoryofCynicism
from Diogenes totheSixth Methuen.
Century. 1937,1-116 andesp.Cynic influence
onHellenistic
literature110-116. Forthecloseresemblance
betweenearly
Cynicism andStoicism cf.
Franz Susemihl'sGesch. derGriech. Lit.inderAlexandrinerzeit.
Leipzig,1891,DieKyniker & Die
Stoikerpp.27-86.Alsocf.Eduard Zellers TheStoics, andSceptics
Epicureans , NewYork, 1962.
(5) InhisEpilogue, Dudleycf.supra comparesGreek with
Cynicism 19th& 20thCentury Anar-
chism. Beinga conservative heoffersthefollowingphilosophical
explanationfortheriseofboth
movements. Thereareimplicitincivilization
'anti-civilization'
impulsesandinstincts.
These elementsif
theyarenotcontained threaten
todestroycivilization
fromwithin.
Anarchismistheexpressionofsuch
elements.European civilization
sincetheRenaissance
hasbeenuniquely inhaving
fortunate alwayshad
anexpanding frontier
sothat theseelementshave
alwaysbeendrained
ofTintofrontier
communitiesand
puttogoodusebybeing converted intothepioneering With
spirit. thedisappearanceofthefrontier,
these
elements willcongregateattheheartofcivilization,
themetropolis,
andintheirincipient at
stages
as anti
least, willmanifest
-civilization, themselves
as Anarchism.
Though Dudley statesthata com-
parisonbetweenCynicism andAnarchism ispossible,
hedoesnotdevelop theidea,which isanin-
one.TheUtopian
teresting nature ofCynicism mergingintoStoicismfounditsexpression inthe
RepublicsofDiogenes andZeno,while elements
Utopian within
Anarchismcanbediscerned inWilliam
Godwin's Justice
Political (cf.T. Roszak's'Exploring
Utopia:TheVisionary
SociologyofPaulGood-

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 US AND THE COUNTER-GENRE
CALLIMACH 219

mationof a counter- culture(6). In the fieldof literaturethis leads to the

creationof counter-genres. The genreCallimachusevolvedin oppositionto
epic, was of course theaetiologicalpoem,perhapsthefirstcounter-genre in
the historyof literature.
The genesisof Callimachus1aetiologyinvolvesI believe two principles:
the inversionor reversal(napaxápa^Lç) of the criteriaconstitutingcon-
ventionalepic, and secondly the sophisticationof the didactic.
This paper will attempt to interpretCallimachus1 aetiology as a
napaxápaÇcçboth of the values underlyingepic and the processesof epic
composition.As for the second principle,it is obvious that the didactic
elementof Callimachus1Aetia is farmoresophisticatedthan thatof Nican-
der'sAlexipharmaca , while in Ovid's Metamorphoses (whichis undoubtedly
an even morerefinedaetiologicalpoem) it is so unobtrusivethatcriticsare
temptedto confuseaetiology with epic (eg. Otis1 Ovid(7)).
Inherentin the conceptof literarynapaxàpa^iç or the subversionof the
values of establishedliteraryform,is the concept of the counter-genre
which rests on the theoryof antagonisticgenres. The concept of an-
tagonisticgenres if presentin previous Greek literature,was only em-
bryonic.Homer is creditedby Aristotlewith having writtenthat which
seems the farthestremovedfromepic, the Margites, while the conceptof
literarygenreis not sufficiently developedin Hesiod, and thelyricpoetsdid
not set themselvesup as antagonistsof epic, while the writingof satyr
plays,and Aristophanes1 respectforthe older tragedianspreventedliterary
disputes from arisingconcerningthe validityof dramaticliterarygenres.
But Callimachus rejectsthe whole concept of epic, and cannot even con-
ceive of an Alexandrianepic of whichhe could approve.We mightalmost
say thatin the past literarygenreshad sprungup spontaneously,whilethe
Aetia is the firstanti-genreinsofaras it represents a conscious attemptto
create a genre in reactionto that which Callimachus conceives as epic.

maninhisMaking ofa Counter

Culture.NewYork,1969).Theanarchists whomore ap-
closely
proximatetotheancient areProudhon
Cynics andKropotkin whoseanarchismwaslikethemoregenial
CynicismofCrates. Bakuninontheother hand
wasmore Fora goodin-
likeBionoftheBorysthenes.
troductionto19th& 20th Anarchism
Century cf.GeorgeWoodstoc k'sAnarchism.
London, 1962.The
Cynic conceptsofxoSßonöXtg, as wellasámiSeia
aùràpxeca areobviousinM.Bakunin's Godaridthe
Stateanaideiaisagain inErnma
evident Goldman's LoveAmong theFree.Errico
Malatesta may well
serveas a goodmodern exampleoflheCynic cf.alsohisAnarchy
вирЕпауоЫтг)<;. , London.
(6) Fora sociologicalstudyofthedevelopmentofthecounter-culture
oftheanarchistyouthcf.
Theodore Roszac's TheMaking ofa Counter NewYork,1968.
-Culture',
(7) BrooksOtis,Ovid asanEpicPoet2nded.1970.Inmyopinion thepremise
ofOtis'studyisfalse.
Hebegins thework : 'TheMetamorphoses a radical
represents breakinOvid's career.
poetic Hehadbeen
: hethen
an elegist turned
toepic.'TheLimitations
oftheElegisť.

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220 T. M. KLEIN

This leads directlyto the question of post-Callimacheanepic, or more

precisely,to post-Callimacheanconceptsof counter-genres . The latterpart
of thispaper will deal withthesequestions.Callimachuswas of courseone
of the youngestof the Alexandriansand his theoryof antagonisticgenres
representsan earlier stage of Alexandrianconsciousness. Moreover the
evidence is far from conclusive that he had in fact fully read the
Argonautica, at least in the form in which we possess it(8). Would
Callimachus have retractedhis theoryof antagonisticgenres if he had
known the full extent of Apollonius' response,or if he had read the
Aeneid ? Afterall in thesepoems(9), and especiallyin theAeneid,aetiology

(8) From theevidence gathered from theuseboth poets made ofsimilaraitiawhich wasassembled
andanalysed byPfeiffer & Webster itwould appear thatinwriting theArgonautica Apolloniushad
readandwasinfact using material from theAetia, andeventhough Callimachus mayhaveborrowed
material
from thefirsttwobooks ofApollonius, itwasobviously thefirstedition thathehadread, ifin
facthehadread itatall.Moreover itisunlikely that hehadread thelasttwo books oftheepicatall.It
would seem tomethat ontheevidence athand (which turnsouttobenothing more substancialthana
comparison ofthesurviving fragments oftheAetia that dealwith theArgonautic expeditionandsimilar
aitiainApollonius), that a more radical analysisiscalled As'There
for. areoverthirty ex-
historical
planationsofpresent names orpractices intheArgonautika andonly four ofthese areknown tohave
beentreatedalsobyCallimachus1 I would supporttheview that theAetia wasbegun much earlier
than
theArgonautica, first
because theaetiaofthelatter canbeshown toderive more from theformer than
vice-versa
(cf.Webster, 67-8)secondly because theaetiological treatmentoftheepicisfairly advanced
inApollonius,butlessadvanced than ineg.theAeneid , suggestingthatthegroundwork inaetiologyhad
been donebyCallimachus, since thirdly,themore relaxed andlooser treatmentinApollonius a
suggests
later
development inthehistory ofliterary aetiology.Thisismoreover borne outbythefacts : Apollonius
wasthepupil ofCallimachus anditwould havebeennatural forhim tohave carried toa more mature
treatment
thediscovery andtheory ofhismaster. Anditmust have taken him time tolearnofthat theory
beforereactingagainstitbydeveloping a more sophisticated extention ofit.Allthis suggestsanearlier
datefortheAetia. Asforthetwoeditions oftheArgonautica , 1believe thatthefirst twobooks were
published(evenifina different form from that which wenowhavethem) independently oftherest.
Lucan whoalsowrote within a literary circlewhich hadgathered around anautocrat whoprided himself
onhisliterarypretentions, published thefirst three books ofhisCivil Warbefore andindependently of
therest.
Thelasttwo books oftheArgonautica aremoreover thebooks inwhich I believethatApollonius
revolted
most stronglyfrom theprecepts hehadlearnt inhisassociationwith Callimachus, andarethe
least
epicinthat inthem theconcept ofthecounter-genre within
thegenre ismore highlydeveloped.This
would explainApollonius 's literarycareer asoneofprogressive radicalization.
Heisobviously themore
ofthetwo,
philosophical andhisconcept ofliterarynapaxápa^Lç isthemore developed. Perhapsevenhis
contemporariesregarded him asthegreater mind. Hewasmade thehead ofthelibrary which meantthat
theeducationoftheroyal children wasentrusted tohim - rather than Callimachus, whowashissenior,
andhadprobably a vastcatalogue ofpublications, andrecord ofscholarship behind him.Hisap-
pointmentabove thehead ofCallimachus isI believea measure ofthegoodtaste oftheearly Ptolemies.
(9) There areoverthirty occurrences ofaetiology intheArgonautica ofwhich thefollowing are
Bk.1.590-591
representative: ; 958-960 ; 1068-1069; 1138-1141. Bk.4. 1724-1730. IntheAeneid
extensive
useismade ofaetiology eg: Bk1 247-249, 740; Bk3. 332-335, 500-505. Bk.4. 621-629.
Bk.5. 116-123, 391-392, 545-603, 568,718,759-761. Bk.6. 212-235, 242?,337-383. Bk.7. 1-4,
10,63,186-191, 411-413. Bk.8. 51-54, 321-323, 330-332, 337-341, 342-344, 345-346, 357-358.
Bk.10. 185-193, 198-201.

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 CALLIMACH
US AND THE COUNTER-GENRE 221

interwoven.In otherwordswas the theoryof an-

and epic are inextricably
tagonisticgenresnot passe by the timethat Propertiusso enthusiastically
espoused its cause ? And he himselfconfirmsthatVergil was doing great
things:

CediteRomaniscriptores,
cediteGrai:
maius
nescioquid nasciturIliade. 2. 34. 65-6.
If AetiologyconstitutesCallimachus4finalreactionto epic, what would
he have said of theAeneid whichis afterall a heroicallyexpanded ahcov ?
tantaemolis erat Romana
m conderegentem.Aen. 1. 3.
Those who subscribe to Callimachus1 theoryof antagonisticliterary
modeswill denythattheVergilianline is an epitaphon a dead literary con-
troversy,claimingthatan epic mustalways represent Хептотщ as opposed
to asfjLvÓTi
%, even if it is possible to writesollemnaetiology,or an epic con-
taining lighttouches' In which case I believe that theyare wrestingthe
termХелтотщ out of its historicalcontext,forto CallimachusХептотщ was
inherentin the conceptof aetiologywhichforthatreasonwas itselfan an-
swerto epic. To Callimachusan aetiologicalpoem constitutedan anti-epic
genre par excellencebecause it symbolizedХептотщ ratherthan because
symbolizedaetiology.Vergil'sgreatliterary
Xetttóttjç achievementdoes not
reside in the fact that he wrote a poem representing ae^vórriçwell, but
because he explodedthe Callimacheantheoryof aetiologysymbolizing Xeti-
rai pr)OELçby writingan epicallyexpandedaition.

The Concept of a Counter-Genre :

Beforewe go on to examinehow Callimachus'aetiologyembodieshis coun-

terspic criteria,it is well to glance at his survivingstatementsof literary
theory( Hymnlo Apollo 105-1 13, theepigramto Aratus(no. 29 or 9.507 in
the A.P.)%epigram30, Iambic fragments203 & 215 and especiallyAetia
fragment1, AgainstTelchines). In Aetia 1 the poet is told by Apollo to
keep his muse slender(ХептаХе-цу) 1. 24. This is presumablyaccomplished
by travellingnot along the highways,but along the untroddenpaths
(xeXeúdouçàrpinrouq) and driving his horse along the narrowerway
èXácrscç)1. 27-8. Those who appreciatesuch a poet will liken
(<7TEcvoT£pr]v
his song to theshrillvoice of thecicala, whileto themhis enemieswillbray
like asses, in contrastto which Callimachus would be like a Pegasus.

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222 т. M. KLEIN

The factthatthelatterpassage of literary principleis thefullestand most

informative supportsmy belief thattheAetia , as a counter-epicgenre, em-
bodies his most difinitiveliterarycredo. Tangentialreferenceand oblique
treatment of subject-matterare surelyimplicitin his conceptof treadingthe
unfamiliarway. Callimachus regardedit as a matterof taste to avoid the
obvious: GLXxaivco , Epig. 30. 4. To use Homeras a model
navra rà Srifioaía
musthave seemedto Callimachustheheightof vulgarity.It followsthatfor
a poet like CallimachusAetiologymusthave constitutedthe most oblique
treatmentof subject matter possible. It is interestingto note that
Callimachusdid not conceiveof subjectivetreatment of subject-matter(,0)
as an essentialpart of a counter-epicgenre,thoughit did not precludea
subjectiveelement(Callimachus' interrogation of the Ician, Aetia frag.
178). The factthatthe Romans wrotesubjectively (I am usingthe wordin
thesense thatOtis does) and claimedto be continuingin theCallirnachean
traditionshould not obscure the natureof Callimachus1napaxápaÇiç of
traditionalepic. It is dangerous to view Callimachus throughPropertian
eyes. Callimachus may have paved the way for subjectiveRoman ex-
pression,but subjectivismis givenlittleplace in his capolavoro , and even in
his personaleroticepigrams(eg. 34, 42, 43, 45) to whichsome scholars
trace(n ) thesubjectiveelementof Roman elegyhe is moreakin to Tibullus
than to Catullus or Propertius,in thathis personalityremainsuninvolved
and unobtrusive.
As regardsCallimachus' predelictionfor the shortwork,I believe that
more emphasis should be given to terse treatmentof various elements
withinthe work than the shere physicalsize of the work. His own Aetia
consistedof four books. Ovid's Metamorphoses , which is writtenin the
Callirnacheantradition( 12) is one of the longestof the Latin poems, far

(10) Cairnshaspointed outthedifferencebetween theobjective

treatment ofCallimachus inhis
Acontius& Cydippe poem - itself oftheAetia
a part - andthesubjectivetreatmentofPropertius'
elegy1. 18which isderived from it.Indoing soheissimply usingOtis'sdichotomy oftheobjective
Homer andthesubjective Vergil : a Study
(cf.Otis'sVergil inCivilized
Poetry)translatedinto
elegiac
terms.
FrancisCairns,Propertius 1.18& Callimachus, Acontius
& CydippeinC.R 19 ( 1968)131-1.34.
(11) A. Lesky {Ibid.)drawing onRostagni intheEntretiens class.2. Vandœuvres.
surl'antiquité
Geneva. 1956.Cf.tooA. A. Day'sOrigins ofLatin LoveElegy.
Oxford. 1938,as alsoH.J.Rosf/s
Handbk. ofGk.Lit.Reprint of2nded. 1956p. 323.
(12) Ovid'sMetamorphoses , farfrom being anepic,(cf.Footnote 7.) is manifestly
derivedfrom
Nicander's Heteroeumena inwhich inter
aliahe(Nicander) narrated
themetamorphosis ofHecuba into
a dog,Aspalis
'corpseinto a statue,Galatea'
daughter into
a boy,
Byblisinto a nymph,Messapian boys
intotrees,
Hylas intoanechoetc.Thefragments ofNicander's Heteroeumena havebeengathered
intheconvenient
together editionofNicander byGow& Scholfield. Cambridge, 1953, pp.143-144,
cf.esp.205-208.

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 AND THE COUNTER-GENRE
CALLIMACHUS 223

longerforexamplethantheArgonautica , and roughlyequal in lengthto the

AeneidCallimachus1то ¡xkyaßtßXiov то fiéyaxaxòv shouldbe takento apply
more to the contentsof a work than its bulk.
It remains to see in what way Callimachus attemptedto subvertthe
values of what he consideredto be traditionalepic by employingthe prin-
ciple of aetiology.In doing so howeverwe mustdrawa numberof distinc-
tions. The concept of conventionalepic was neithersynonymouswith
Homer nor with any otherepic thatwe now possess. The Argonauticais
certainlylaterin date than theAitia and in manyrespectsis as indebtedto
it as for example is the Aeneid. In the firstplace Callimachus' feud is
manifestly not with Homer as such, but with those poets of his own day
whom he thoughtwould model themselveson Homer, or to be more
precise,withpost-archaicimitatorsof Homer.His pointis simplythe inap-
propriateness of derivativeepic in a Hellenisticenvironment, the kind of
'
poetryto which he referred widelywhen he wrote: ExOaipcoто посща то
xvxhtxòv Epig. 30. 1., not meaningof course such post-Homericproduc-
tions as the Iliu Persis or the Telegonia. Since we do not possess such a
work,and since the Argonauticais a reactionboth to such post-archaic
derivativeepics as well as to the Aetia (in additionto the fact that it is
unlikelythatCallimachushad read the entireArgonauticaat leastas it sur-
vivesforus) in studyingtheAetia as a counter-epicgenreit is necessaryto
posit a Callimachean concept of epic that is both post-archaicand pre-
Apollonian. Because I believe that Apollonius Rhodius invalidatesthe
essentialclaim of theAetia, ie. to be thecounter-epicgenrepar excellence,
by incorporating, as I shall show later,the conceptof a counter-epicgenre
withintheepic genre itself,I do not believethatafterApolloniusRhodius
theAetia retainsits professedintention,and thatthe Roman elegistsin or-
der to retainthe theoryof antagonisticgenres(ie. the theoreticalvalidityof
Callimachus) had to re-interpret him as an essentiallysubjectivenon-epic
or counter-epicpoet. In any case afterApolloniusRhodius and especially
withthe adventof theAeneidtheyfacedthe constantdangerof writingin a
retrogressive genre (which explains their defensiveness).In short they
revivedthe theoryof antagonisticgenresat theirown peril,and theelegists'
interpretation of Alexandrianart did not outliveOvid, whilethe Hellenistic
adaptationof epic, and its descendentswenton and on and on. At any rate
thosewho believethatwhen Propertiuswas still writing,the antagonistic-
¿^res-controversywas still the literarydisputeof the age, have against
themtheweightof theAeneidand theartisticdevelopment of the mostim-
portantof all Latin writers: Vergil.

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224 T. M. KLEIN

The Aetia : The Reversal of Epic Criteria.

The Analysis of a Counter-Genre

I mustnow show in whatway theAetia seem to me to be Callimachus'

answerto what he conceived to be the only kind of epic Hellenisticman
could write.
In the firstplace, Callimachusmusthave seen thatHomericepic would
have been impossibleto producesuccessfullyin an age which had lost its
feelingof religiousawe. It is strangethen that in such an atmospherehe
even attemptedto writehymns,or consideredthe genre possible,while he
completelyruled out the possibilityof writingan essentiallyHellenistic
epic. McKay has shown howeverthat in his hymnshe uses the masterly
deviceof 'sophisma' 'to remindhis colleaguesthathe wearshis religionon
his sleeve' or in case theyshould feel that he is 'jettisoning... Hellenistic
principles'(13). Callimachusobviouslyfeltthathe could invert( napaxapáz-
telv) thecriteriaunderlying the hymnby applyingHellenisticprinciplesbut
he remainedhostile to Apollonius1attemptto do the same to epic.
SecondlyCallimachuslived in an environment verymuchlike our own :
Alexandriawas a highlyliteratemetropolisin whichthe rich mythological
traditionsof the past wereyieldingmoreand moreto the scientificenquiry
of an Aristarchus, a Heronand a Herophilus(14). Justas in our own highly
urbanizedsociety,the counter-culture looks forinspirationto the primitive,
folk-songs, folk-lore, whilethe more academic turnto thestudyof primitive
mythology and speculativeanthropology,so Callimachus looked to the
ethosof thesmallerGreekcommunities forthespringsof poeticinspiration.
Aetiologyis thedirectresultof such an interest.A non-religiouscelebration
of ethos or custom (including mythology)of a more primitivestate of
societymustof necessitytakeplace at theexpenseof theepic quality{epos)
inherentin theethosstudied.Callimachus1aetiologicalinterestsin primitive
folk-lorerepresents antiquity'sequivalentto the modern'scientific'studyof
anthropology. 'Aetiology'thenan now is a medicaland scientificterm(,5).

(13) K. J.McKay,PoetatPlay, TheBathofPallasinMnemosyne

Kallimachos, Sup.6. Leiden,
1962.p. 49 cf.TheSophisma,
pp.49-54.
(14) Fora goodoverall oftheintellectual
picture climate
inwhich Callimachuslivedcf.The
Hellenistic
Age, ofHellenistic
Aspects Norton
Civilization, Lib.1970esp.Alexandrian
Literature
byЕ.A.
BarberandHellenistic
Popular byЕ. Bevan.
Philosophy
(15) Herophilus
ofChalcedon
forexamplemadea study
oftheaetiology
ofdiseases.
Cf.Herophilus
intheO.C.D.

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 AND THE COUNTER-GENRE
CALLIMACHUS 225

Callimachus' interestin the primitiveyields to Theocriteanpastoral. It is

a commonplacethatwhenbourgeoisart,in the heightof itspowers
virtually
turnsits attentionto the primitive,it mustresorteitherto burlesqueor to
pastorali16). And burlesque thoughit mightplease the undiscriminating
audiences of Herodas, was far too crude for the cultivatedAlexandrian
palate.
Be thatas it may,all I want to point out is the Alexandriandistinction
betweenethos and epos. In a primitivesociety of course they are un-
distinguishable.Ethos is thetotalculturalheritageof a primitive community
includingmythos , ritual and tabu. When a more cultivatedmind con-
templatesthe primitiveit distinguishesbetweenethosand epos. Homerex-
ploitstheepic element{epos) in ethos.This he does by usingotherelements
(which we distinguish)within ethos to expound or glorifyepos. Thus
mythology explainswhyboth Paris and Aeneas are beloved by Aphrodite,
knowledge geographyglorifiesepos by relatingthe catalogueof ships,or
of
the compositionof the fightingforces,a knowledgeof the habits of the
bronzeage, thoughpast, explains the natureof warfarein an age glorified
by archaisms.The trendis unmistakeable : the use of all elementswithin
ethosto glorifyepos. This leads to a synthesisof theelementswithinethos,
and to a unityof vision. Various mythsare weldedinto a dominantmyth,
7 is the
whichis explainedand glorifiedby the synthesisС ). Epic mythology
of
mythology synthesis and resolution,of unification and co-herence. This
is
synthesizingtendency apparent in all epics, even those of sophisticated
societies: in Vergil the knowledgeof the hostilitybetweenRome and Car-
thagegives validityto the dominantepic mythology, (the foundingof the
Roman gens). Aeneas and Dido are unitedin one coherentmyth,although
the fall of Troyand the foundationof Carthageand Rome representpoints
widelyseparatedin time.VergiTs knowledgeof Homer lends lustreto the
epic wanderingsof Aeneas, in Book 7 a knowledgeof antiquitiesadds im-
portanceand epic statusto the Latins. In all thisthe same ruleapplies: the
consolidationof all elementsof ethosin one over-riding epos. In Vergiltoo
the knowledgeof geographyis anotheraspect of ethos that is used in the

(16) Fortheearly ofprimitive

discovery
European tabucf.Franz
Steiner's Taboo. Cohen & West,
1956.
bywhich
(17) On theprocesses a veryancientmyth (uralter
Mythus) is synthesizedwithinthe
dominantheroic
myth as anepisode
andincorporated inHomericepic: A. R. F. Winterstein Die
inImago
inderOdyssee
Nausicaaepisode vol.6.( 1920)pp.349-383
soalsoPeter Wiesmann, Kirkeund
inSchweizerische
Odysseus Zeitschrift
fuer undihre
Psychologie Anwendung vol.4 ( 1945),pp.124-136.

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226 T. M. KLEIN

serviceof epos. The namingof Misenumand the promontory of Palinurus

(Aen. 6. 212-35 ; 337-383) gives epic statureto thecompanionsof thetrue
mythologicalhero: Aeneas.
Now if one turnsto Callimachus it will become apparentthat in his
aetiologythisprocess is reversed(napaxccpáTreadac). Here epos as well as
epic mythology are harnessedfor the use of ethos (custom). Whereas in
Homer and Vergil a knowledgeof custom,geography,ritualand tabu are
used to explainand exultepos in Callimachus'Aetia theepic wanderingsof
the heroes of the Argo and of Heracles are used to explain ethos:
geography,ritual,tabu in short,custom,(eg. Aetia 11, 12, 22, 23, 24, 25).
Mythologytoo is used to expoundcustom.In his thirdHymnthe ritesper-
formedat Mt. Diete in Crete are explainedby relatingthe storyof how the
nymphwho was pursuedby the passionateMinos fell into the fishermen's
nets( Sixwa ) and was consequentlycalled Dictyna. But because the myrtle
branchhad becomeentangledin herdresscausingherfall,at herritesmyr-
tle garlandsare not used (Hymn. 3. 189-203). Here the aition has used
mythology to explainthe namingof a geographicaldistrict,ritualand tabu.
An epic poeton theotherhand will makeuse of his knowledgeof customto
give statureto his epic mythology.In the Aeneid (Book 5. 545-603) the
originof the popularTrojan game is describedin orderto stressthe im-
portanceof theTrojan 'ancestory4of the Roman race and so heightenthe
epic mythology. Whereasin Vergilall elementsof ethosstriveto synthesize
one dominantheroic myth,in Callimachus there is no dominantsyn-
thesizingmyth,no organizedmythicalwhole. Ratherthereis the opposite
tendency: towardsisolatingand analysing.The process works towardsa
diffuseand unrelatedanalysisof nature,towardsthedisintegration of an or-
derly mythicalhierarchy,in short towardsa scientificprincipiei18),the
only thing that can organize the haphazard conglomerationof myth.
Mythologyexultstheoriginsand causes of things(theiralna or causae) so
thatI believeit is to theaetiologicalpoetsas well thatVergilreferswhenhe
writes

felix qui potuit rerumcognoscere

causas
atque metusomneset inexorabilefatum
subiecitpedibusstrepitumqueAcheron
tis auari.
Geor.2. 490 ff.

(18) Forthethesis
that andscientific
themythological approaches alternative
represent interpretations
oftheproblems cf.Part1.Myth
oftheuniverse asa Form inErnst
ofThought Cassirf.r's of
Philosophy
SymbolicForms vol.2. Mythical
Thought,YaleUniv.Press, 1970.
8thPrint.

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 CALLIMACHUS AND THE COUNTER-GENRE 227

for in them mythologyitselfwith all its terrifyingformsis submittedto

scientifictreatmentIn reducingmythology,like epos to the service of
custom,the Alexandriansturnednaturallyenough to Hesiod forpoetic in-
spiration; 'HgcóSoutò t aeca/aaxal rpónoçx. т.А. Callimachus epig. 29.
Hesiod representsthe scientificspiritto which the Alexandriansaspired,
and whichtheyattemptedto harnessin theirdevotionto theirnew Muses,
the Muses of Science,forit musthave appearedto themthatall the Muses
arrogatedthe functionsof Urania, as Aratus implies:
XaipoLTE8è MoOaai
ßEiXixLOLL
'iaka nãoai • èpoi ye[lèvàcnépaç einelv
eùxofiévqj
fi Oéfiiç тех/пиратеnàaav âacSr]v.
ena. 16-18.
Phaenom
For all the more serious earlyAlexandrianspoets attemptto poeticizethe
scientificspiritin accordancewith the spiritof theirage. All Callimachus'
aetia explain custom. In him we find one of the most sophisticaterap-
prochementsbetweenpoetryand science. But Ovid too in his Metamor-
phoses uses his knowledgeof mythologyto explain how things in the
physicalworldcame about, why the laurel is called Daphne and why it is
sacredto Apollo, whyCycnus is a swan and Narcissusa flowerthatgrows
at the waterside.An epic poet would have used mythology to build up one
dominantmyth,an aetiologicalpoet strivesfora themewhichis theliterary
equivalent for a scientificprinciple.This explains of course why even
seeminglycrudedidacticpoetrywas à la mode in the Alexandrianage, and
how the aetiologicalpoem, a most sophisticatedadaptationof it, arose out
of it. Nicanderwrotea Theriaca and a Heteroeumena(19). It also explains
why the genealogical poem, in which the Alexandriansstressed their
Hesiodic devotions,attainedthe importanceit did. Creationmythsoccurin
ApolloniusRhodius (1. 494-511), Lucretius(Book 5), Vergil (Fxlogue 6
and Iolpas' song in theAeneid- Book 1. 740 ff)and of course in Ovid's
Metamorphoses (Book 1). Ovid standsperhapsmorefirmlythan Lucretius
himselfin the Hellenisticrevival of Hesiod.
I have alreadymentionedthe synthesisof all elementswithinethos into
one coherentepos thatall epic poetswill attemptto effect.All mythological
elementsare arrangedin a mythologicalhierarchy.But I suspectthattheir
synthesizing tendenciesgo still deeperthanthis.They will even attemptto

( 19)Stories thefounding
relating ofsettlements,shrines
orcities
arefor
C. oneofthemost
important
sourcesofaetiology.
Hymns 2. 55ff; 3. 60-68; 4. 307-309.
Aetia II (Harmonia
frag. 12
& Polae),
& esp.43 (OnSicilian
(Amarantine) Cities).

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228 T. M. KLEIN

unifytheantagonisticelementswithina literary or culturaltradition.Justas

the variouselementsand traditionsare in Vergil's epic weldedintoa single
unifiedconcept,the Res Romana, so I believe that all divergentelements
within ethos are synthesizedin a conceptual whole, not excluding the
Callimachean concept of antagonisticgenres. In other words I do not
believe thatan epic such as theAeneid would have been possible unless it
had philosophicallyresolvedthe problemof antagonisticgenres.And where
else if not in Apolloniusand Vergil would one expectto findan answerto
Callimachus? But because that mediumin which theywroteand through
which they invalidated the theory of antagonisticgenres was itself
technicallyan epic, theirresolutionsof the earlyAlexandrianliterarycon-
troversyhave been ubiquitouslyoverlookedby scholars,who have decided
in advance,despitethe historicaldevelopmentof epic, of whatall epic con-
sists. Such scholarswill deny thata resolutionof antagonisticgenreshas
takenplace in Apolloniusor Vergil,at best theywill yield thatan uneasy
accomodationhas been effected.Such an attitudeis, I believe, unhealthy,
because it suggests that the Callimachean dichotomybetween the light
mode and the sollemn mode of writing,or elegy and epic remainedvalid
throughout antiquity,whereasin facttheAeneid and almostall subsequent
epics were only possible because a resolutionhad been effected,and after
the resolutionelegydied as one shouldexpectof a literarymode whichhad
been intellectuallyinvalidated.By the timethatPropertiuswas writingwhat
was to become his second book of elegies theAeneid was alreadycoming
out, and theAeneid, I believe,is builton the resolutionof the problemof
antagonisticgenres
tantaemolis erat Romanamconderegentem
(heretheepic qualityof tantaemolisis inextricably partof theaitionimplied
in Romanamconderegentem).I have alreadycalled thisline the epitaphof
a dead literary
controversy. If I am rightit will mean thatPropertiusrather
than Vergil was the literaryreactionary,and that in his frequent
protestationsto be followingCallimacheanЛептотцдratherthan anything
moreaspiring(2. 1. 39 ff; 3. 1. 1 ff; 3. 9. 43 fif;4. 1. 63 ff; 4. 6. 3 ff)he
was flogginga dead horse.

Apollonius Rhodius and the Concept of the Counter-Genre :

I have triedto show thatCallimachusconsideredtheaetiologicalpoem to

be a counter-epicgenre, and to this purpose I have developed the

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 AND THE COUNTER-GENRE
CALLIMACHUS 229

aetiologicaldistinctionbetweenepos and ethos.It remainsnow to sketchthe

post-Callimachean development of the concept of counter genre. In
Callimachus the concept of the counter -genre restson the theoryof an-
tagonisticgenres. Apollonius I believe incorporatedthe concept of the
counter-genre within the epic itself by introducinginto the epic-form
elementsmutuallyexclusiveof derivativeand archaicepic. He was onlyable
to do thisby renderingthe conceptof heroisman unresolvedand insoluble
philosophical problem.There is perhaps no more complex question in
thanthis: in whatdoes theheroismof theArgonautica
Hellenisticliterature
reside? In all the most heroicactions of Jason thereresidesa correspon-
dingelementof anti-heroism. Thus he undertakestheexpeditionto Colchis,
but only at the imperativecommandof the tyrantPelias ; he succeeds in
yokingthe buils and slayingthe dragon-men,but onlyby resortingto the
devices of the woman Medea ; moreoverhis most heroicact is performed
underthe influenceof a drug(cpáp/iaxov) ; finallyin his returnto Iolcos, he
himselfsays :

opojpev
ye ßkvt][mv
/jLeXér]
on vóoTov
eXnojpr], Елетралоцеба
yvmi^iv
3. 487-8.
Moreoverthecounter-genre is transposedintotheepic itselfby an adeptuse
of epic-parody.AfterAthenaand Hera visitAphrodite(3. 1-150) to enroll
her supportforJason,by causing Medea to fall in love withthe hero,she
bribes Eros, a wilful,impetuousand selfish boy with a ball (arpalpav
eÙTpóxaXov),fashionedin gold (xpOasa¡ikvoi xvxXaтетЕихЕтас)to wound
Medea withhis arrows.It is not difficult to detectin his impatienttugging
at his mother'sskirtsand his petulantdemandsto possess immediately the
lovelybauble (nEpcxaXXèç авьрца), a parodyon theepic motivesand history
of Jasonhimself.When the herolaterimploresMedea forherdrugsand her
aid, we cannot help recallingthe ridiculousscene of Eros' puerile im-
portunings.
FinallyApolloniusincorporatesthecounter-epic genreintotheepic itself
by makingaetiology a functional part of epic, so reversingthe aitions
inherentconceptof epos as handmaidenof ethos, by brilliantlysubmitting
the wholeaetion to an 'epiď context.The greatestinnovations,says Nietz-
sche, make theirentrieson the feet of doves.

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230 T. M. KLEIN

Vergil and the Concept of the Counter-Genre :

The path had been laid by ApolloniusRhodiusforexploringthecriteria

forthegenrewithinthe genre itself: the conceptof epic mustrestnot on
the outwardtrappings - epic language, lengthand such traditionalbut
-
meaninglesselementsas a reviewof the fightingforces,etc. but on the
conceptof heroism , and it was preciselyon the lack of definitionof this
concept thatApolloniushad conceivedthe masterlyidea of makinghis epic
depend.The paradoxof course lay in thefactthatwithinhis interrogation
and refutationof the concept of epic withinepic itself we possess a
metaphorforepic in the deepestsense of thatword: the strivingof man in
an extremelyself-criticaland introspective age to establish meaningfor
himself.Thus forexamplethephysicalwanderingsof Aeneas symbolizethe
mostsophisticatedepic imaginable,and one fullyintegratedinto the spirit
of theHellenisticage. It was of thisdeeperconceptof epic thatCallimachus
had no inkling.It remainedfora poet of greaterphilosophicalpowersto ex-
plore more thoroughlythe workingsof the counter -genre.The Vergilian
counter-genre makes no distinctionbetweenXeutòt7]ç and asfivón%. All his
worksreston the same fundamentalprinciple: the poet chooses a genre,
any genre, and immediatelyworks within it to refuteits own criteria.
Having done so it is only leftfor him to refutethose criticalcriteriaby
which he refutedthe initial criteriaof the genre. It is not surprizing
therefore thatby his introspective of criteria,he constantlyfeels
refutation
that the natureof the themeis changingshape like Proteus.And in fact
Aristaeus'strugglewithProteuswho becomesin turn,fire,a wild beastand
flowingwater( Geòrgie4. 440-442) is a metaphorforVergil's own artistic
struggleand for the natureof Vergiliancomposition(what he probably
referred to as his studium).Though the processoccursequally stronglyin
all Vergil's work,I shall brieflysketchthe beginningof its course in the
Georgics: Didactic mustreston theassumptionthatone can be taughthow
to expendone's labour,and that labour is efficacious.He therefore writes
the firsttwo books in Hesiodic vein, but in the thirdbook he tells of the
plague which devastatedItaly's herds and flocks(3. 478-566). The con-
tagionwas so vitriolicthatit could not even be washed out of the fleshof
the dead animals (3. 559-560). What betterdescriptionof labor inanisor
whathe calls laterlaboreffusus(4. 492) ? Withthisdescriptionthecriteria
for the didacticgenre are refuted.From here he had to invalidatethose
criticalcriteriaby which he had invalidatedthedidacticgenre.The plague
was a mirum , a non-understandable phenomenonthatrenderedall amounts

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 CALLIMACHUS
AND THE COUNTER-GENRE 231

of labor equallyof no avail. But a mirumneed not be destructiveof all at-

temptsat labour,simplybecause in our ignorancewe cannotunderstandits
originsor ratio and therebycontain it. Ignoranceof how a mirumworks
need not be a detrimental thing.The Egyptiansfindthatifyou plug up the
nose of a heifer,beat its fleshand entrailsto pulp withoutpuncturingthe
hide,a mirumtakesplace : bees are mysteriously producedwithinthe rot-
tingcarcass. The mirumhas becomea miracle: in factit producesthevery
means by whichlabor is possible, the wherewithall to be a farmerof bees
again (4. 281-314). And so the internaldialectic of the counter -genre
withinthe genre goes on. And why should it not go on in any genre,
pastoral or epic ?
The Callimacheanconceptof thecounter -genreas dependenton thecon-
cept of antagonisticgenres has become antiquated.

of New York.
State University T. M. Klein

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