Fr. 25e
ἄρνες τοι, φίλε κοῦρε, συνήλικες, ἄρνες ἑταῖροι
ἔσκον, ἐνιαυθμοὶ δ' αὐλία καὶ βοτάναι
Fr. 25f
τόν σε Κροτωπιάδην
Fr. 26
Ἀρνεῖος μ[
Ἀρνῇδας [
καὶ θάνε.[
τοῦ μενα[
5 καὶ τὸν ἐπὶ ῥάβδῳ μῦθον ὑφαινόμενον
ἀνέρες ε[
πλαγκτὺν[
ἠνεκὲς ἀείδω δειδεγμένος
ουδεμενα[
10 νύμφης αι[
παιδοφόνω[
ἧκεν ἐπ' Ἀρ[γείους
ἥ σφεων[
μητέρας ἐξεκένωσεν, ἐκούφισθεν δὲ τιθῆναι
15 οὐχ οὕτω[
Ἄργος ἀνα[
Fr. 30
δασπλῆτα Κόροιβος
notes
Fr. 25e Harder (= 27 Pf., 28 Mass.) Stob. 4. 24
Fr. 25f Harder (= 28 Pf., = 29 Mass.) A.D. Synt. 83.4
Fr. 26 (= 26 Pf., = 30 Mass.)
1-16 P. Ryl. 13 col. II [image], Trismegistos 59377
5 & 8 Σ BDPTU Pi. N. 1d
14 Valckenaer
Fr. 30 (= 30 Pf., = 32 Mass.) EtGen. AB s.v. δασπλῆτις
This episode related the death of Linus and the festival that originated in his honor. The story takes place at the beginning of Argive history, before the return of Danaus. Crotopus—the grandfather of Linus—was the son of Agenor, and grandson of Inachus. Apollo, on his return from slaying the Pytho at Delphi, encountered Crotopus' daughter, Psamathe, and had sexual intercourse with her. She became pregnant with Linus, and, when he was born, she hid him among the lambs where he was torn apart by Crotopus' dogs. The Arneia (an Argive festival of the lambs) commemorated this event. Apollo, in anger at these deaths, sent the monster, Poina, to ravage Argos.
Coroebus was the hero who avenged Linus and his mother by killing Poina. After Apollo sent a second plague, Coroebus went to Apollo's oracle at Delphi to learn what he should do. He was told to leave Argos forever, taking a tripod from the temple and, wherever he dropped it, build a temple to Apollo and found a city. The city was Tripodiskos in the Megarid. Statius has quite a long version of this story in his Thebaid (1.557–668), which is clearly indebted to the Aitia; it is related also in Pausanias (1.43.7).
Bibliography
Durbec, Yannick. 2003. "Callimaque, Aitia fr. 26 Pfeiffer (= 30 Massimilla) et la tradition rhapsodique.' Aevum Antiquum 3:531-8.
Stephens, Susan A. 2002. "Linus Song." Hermathena, no. 173/174:13-28.
vocabulary
Fr. 25e
ἀρήν ἀρνός, ὁ: lamb
κοῦρος -ου, ὁ: boy
συνῆλιξ -ικος, ὁ/ἡ: of like age, playmate, comrade
ἔσκον: Ep. and Ion. impf. of εἰμί
ἐνιαυθμός -ου, ὁ: abode, sleeping-places
αὐλίον -ου, τό: sheepfold
βοτάνη -ης, ἡ: pasture
Fr. 26
ῥάβδος -ου, ἡ: a rod, twig, staff 5
ὑφαίνω ὑφανῶ ὕφηνα: to weave
. . . . .
ἐκκενόω -ώσω ἐξεκένωσα: empty out, leave desolate 14
κουφίζω: to be made light, to relieve
τιθήνη -ης, ἡ: nurse
Fr. 30
δασπλῆτα: frightful (see δασπλῆτις)
scholia
Fragment 31a Harder (= 26-31a Pf.) Diegesis P.Oxy. 2263 [image], Trismegistos 59402
κ]ατώκησαν πόλιν ὀνο-
μαζομένην] Τριποδίσκον. ὅθε[ν
Ἀργεῖοι κ]ατὰ [τ]ὸν καλούμε-
15 νον Ἀρν]εῖον [μ]ῆνα τοὺς πα-
ρα]τ[υχόν]τας κ[ύ]νας ἀναιροῦ-
σιν. ἔ]λαβ[ε] δὲ τὴ[ν] ἱστορίαν ὁ Κα[λ-
λί]μαχ[ο]ς παρὰ Ἀγία καὶ Δερ-
κ]ύλ[ο]υ
. . . they founded a town
called Tripodiscus. For this reason,
during the month called
Arneius, the Argives kill15
every dog they meet.
Callimachus took this story
from Agias and
Deryclus.
translation
Fr. 25e
Lambs, dear boy, were your playmates, lambs (your) companions
and (your) sleeping places were sheepfolds and pastures
Fr. 25f
you (Linus), Krotopos' son [i.e. grandson]
Fr. 26
the story, which is being woven while the singer is holding the
staff. . .5
. . . . .
. . . left the mothers empty-handed, and the nurse-maids were relieved (of their burdens)14
Fr. 30
frightful Coroebus