Euripides "Telephus" fr.

149 (Austin) and the Folk-Tale Origins of the Teuthranian Expedition Author(s): Malcolm Davies Reviewed work(s): Source: Zeitschrift fr Papyrologie und Epigraphik, Bd. 133 (2000), pp. 7-10 Published by: Dr. Rudolf Habelt GmbH, Bonn (Germany) Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20190733 . Accessed: 04/05/2012 06:54
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Euripides

Telephus

(Austin) THE TeUTHRANIAN

fr.

149

and

the

Folk-Tale

Origins

of

EXPEDITION

Fr. 149 col. ii. 11-24

9A%?Xz?)?)

rcovT?a? arco x?ov?? rcou 'cm ouX?oyo? ?[?]?u?v; TlKei?, 'OS-?gge-?; jicov Kai o? Kaiv?? xi (l?^ex'; o? xpfjv t?g\)%ov Ke?c0ai 7i[o]8a. Kai pitai to?? ?v Te^ei

,08("UOO?'U?)

Soke? axpateijeiv

Ta?,# ?v S?ovTi 8' fi^Ge?, co7ia?IIti??c??. 15 'AxikUev?) 'OSCooceo?) 'A%i^e(t)?)

ox> |iT)v ?rc' aKTa?? y' ?crci K0)7cr|pr|? GTpaTO?, oi)T' o?v ?tc^?tti? ?^eToc?eTai rcapcov. ???' a\)T?Ka* aneiSSeiv y?p ?v Kaipcoi xpecov.

Kai \\zKkexe, aiei 7cot'?oT?v(?%eke?q

20 prjaei? 0' EKaoTo? [lupia? KaGr||ievo? ?iyei, to ?' epyov [o]t)8a|xo{) ixepaiveTai. Katyl?) |i?v, ? opa[T]e, ?pav ?Toi|io? c?v Kai 7tXeuc[onai t?kco, GTpaTO? te M[i)p]|n8cov, Ta [t]cov 'ATpei8[c?v o? ?l?vcov] \ieXkr\[i[axa. 23 suppl.Wilamowitz, 24 Page. the its

The

it has to say about fragment1 has been known for almost a century,2 but not everything we from And has been wrung it. of the story of Telephus have only to combine yet, significance to learn a great deal. Let us take things by easy stages. contents with one or two other considerations, above (1) Achilles and Odysseus: a clash of personalities

The most

obvious

feature juxtaposes

seems

11-24 Euripides

at first sight to have nothing to do with the story of Telephus. Inw. two antithetical and incompatible characters: Achilles, of 'impatient delay',

and Odysseus who displays his 'traditionaldiplomatic' skill.3 The younger hero is irascible and eager
to rush for action; the older and more experienced man is measured and meditative. The former wants into the war straight away; the latter adopts a more cautious attitude. Other authors had already exploit this pair of heroes. One thinks in particular of the episode at II. 19.145ff. ed a similar contrast between with is eager to rush into battle immediately, where Achilles, wracked grief for the death of Patroclus, while
1 Pap. Fragmenta

Odysseus

pragmatically
=

urges

delay until

the men

have

eaten. As Wolfgang
= Diggle,

Schadewaldt

saw,4

Berol. Eur.

9908 Tel.

Austin, 133f.).

Nova

Fragmenta

Euripidea

in papyris

reperta

fr.

149

Tragicorum

Graecorum

II (p.

2 Since 1907. For a recent bibliography see C. S. M. Collard et al, Euripides: Selected Fragmentary Plays vol. 1 17 M. J. p. 1995), (London (by Cropp, who also supplies a useful introduction to the play and its problems (pp. 17ff.), and a commentary (pp. 42ff.)). The fragment I am discussing is printed on p. 38 (with facing English translation). 3 I quote from Cropp (as cited in the previous note) p. 50. As Pearson noted (cited below n. 9, 1.99), v. 18 of our fragment (orce?Seiv y?p ?v Kocipcoixpecov) is virtually equivalent to the English proverb 'more haste, worse' (or 'less') 'speed'. For the exact context in the play which precipitates Achilles' impatience and Odysseus' cautious diplomacy see, e.g., M. Heath, CQ 37 (1987) 279. 4 In Iliasstudien (Leipzig 1938) p. 133. Cf. my.remarks on Feasting and Food in Homer: Realism and Stylisation, in Prometheus 23 ( 1997) 98 and 100.

M. Davies

two contrasting views of life are there set in confrontation: and incompatible kommt das "Leben wie es ist" zur Sprache, um eben im Gegensatz das h?here ' tiefer f?hlen zu lassen. But it is essential to realise that the contrast extends

'Im Streit um das Essen Leben des Heros umso

an Homeric far beyond and a Euripidean as heroes and Odysseus The antithesis between Achilles passage. (brute force against reason; might 5 and indeed the runs the Iliad tradition about the Trojan pre-Homeric throughout against intelligence) the story of literature.7 It also operates in the same way within War,6 and likewise colours post-Homeric Telephus to Proclus' Thanks that the Cypria Expedition. summary,8 we know it for their destina already contained an account of how the Greek force put in at Teuthrania, mistaking sallied forth and killed one of the Greek tion of Troy, and ravaged the land. Its ruler Telephus leaders and the Teuthranian but was associated then seriously wounded after which the Greeks by Achilles, with force and strength, wounding Telephus with the so 16.143 etc.) which looms large in the Iliad. By contrast, concerned with resolution was seem, Odysseus be cured by the very spear that had wounded The Delphic which constitutes Oracle 2.83) fr. 149.11-24 of the problem caused in explaining instrumental by the

son of Polyneices) (Thersander, Here we see Achilles withdrew. famous

again spear (Uv[Xm8a |i??ir|v: //. r?le in the story was characteristically Odysseus' In Euripides' Achilles' play, it would aggression. oracle which ??aexai: the Greeks declared

of the play, Odysseus to heal Telephus with his spear and explained the in the Cypria. r?le already occurred that Odysseus' evidence conciliatory it is enough to observe that the attitudes and behav And at this stage of the argument (and emphasise) man of action, and Odysseus, the reflective and conciliatory iour of Achilles, hero, are apparent in the an initially persuaded oracle.9 We have no direct the initial stichomythia reluctant and objecting Achilles their antithetical pairing in the actual Trojan War. the entire situation anticipates story as a whole, where serves as a doublet of, the Trojan War The Teuthranian itself, espe then, anticipates, Expedition, sense next to we is The make of these simi the of Achilles and r?les if consider step Odysseus. cially words of a recent critic,10 the Telephus that, in the rather unsympathetic of the Trojan saga, perhaps [my italics] derived from other more central episodes story is a 'pastiche as as alternative Or is there the seventh century'? late any interpretation? developed larities. Do they merely suggest So, for the Iliad as the poem of ?ia, the Odyssey the poem of ufjxic (symbolised by the two respective heroes), see, P. V. Jones in the Introduction toHomer: German Scholarship in Translation (Oxford 1997) p. 37f.; cf. J. Griffin, e.g., Homer on Life and Death (Oxford 1980) pp. 15 and lOOf.etc. For Strength and Guile as antithetical values in the world of
Folk-Tale see, e.g., K. Horn's article in Enzyklop?die des M?rchens s.v. 'List' (8.1097ff.), where she quotes Hegel's dictum

Apollod. to Troy. After

that Telephus would epit. 3.20 etc.: cf. Parke-Wormell,

him (? xp ca? and that he would lead

(from Jenenser Realphilosophie),

6 See W?rzburger 7 ?oXo?, prospect kekAtji' in particular Jahrb?cher Detlev

'die breite Seite der Gewalt wird von der Spitze der List angegriffen'.
Troja-Geschichte, Die urspr?ngliche oder: Interpretationen vom Fall Geschichte Trojas, zur Troja-Geschichte, oder Interpreta

Die urspr?ngliche Fehling, 15 (1989) 9ff. and, in greater detail,

tionen zur Troja-Geschichte (Verl. des Instituts f?r Sprachwiss der Univ. Innsbruck 75 (1991)).
Note, in particular, with is associated of becoming aua). Sophocles' the contrast Philoctetes, between will where Achilles combine one of and Odysseus, the distinctive the play's and qualities central themes, the antithesis the former's 119: ooqxS? between son x' av the auxo? ?ia and the latter offers of both (v. intoxicating KayaGo?

a super-hero

who

8 See my EGFp.
eic?orjOei O?paav?pov

32.47ff.: ?rceixa ?vaxO?vxe? TevGpaviai

te x?v no?Dve?KOU? Kxeivei Kai a?xo?

Kai xa?mv co?"I?aov ercopGovv.Tr\ke<po??? 7?poo?a%oi)Gi

utco 'AxiMico? xixpcocKexai.

9 See Heath (as cited in n. 3). Pearson (Fragments of Sophocles 1.95) writing in the days when . . .was to be Sophoclean, already put his finger on the key issue: 'the ingenuity of [Euripides] thought dramatic difficulty of converting Telephus, a declared foe, into a trustworthy friend.' The phrasing suggests the dilemma of heroes faced with extracting information from reluctant Old Men of the Sea and
shall shortly discover, this is no coincidence.

our fragment was taxed to solve the here inadvertently the like, and, as we

10 Cropp (as cited above n. 2) p. 22. Other scholars too have detected shared details with the actual invasion of Troy (initial repulse of the Greeks; intervention of Greek hero Protesilaus who drives enemy off until he is killed; restoration of Greek fortunes by Achilles' pursuit of native champion etc: see Cypria EGFp. 32.68ff.)) from which they have deduced that the first episode is a doublet: see Ernst Howald, Der Dichter der Ilias (Zurich 1946) p. 125f., Rhys Carpenter, Folk-Tale, Fiction, and Saga in theHomeric Epics (Los Angeles 1946) pp. 55ff. etc.

Euripides

Telephus/r.

149

(2) 'Preliminary I have shown elsewhere,11 often involve

adventures'

and

'knowledgeable

demons'

or heroes12 demon-like

in a quite different context, that Greek myths depicting the 'quest' of a hero or 'preliminary him or them in a Vorabenteuer adventure' with a demon or

on his quest for the cattle of Geryon, encounters Nereus; when being.13 When Heracles, on encounters on for head of his the the Jason and the Argonauts, Perseus, Medusa, Graeae; when quest encounter Phineus; their quest for the Golden this adventure. And the Fleece, they are all typifying a encounter r?le within the story: he (or she) 'is very specific performs (and crucial) being they . . . must endowed with relevant knowledge the hero's this and be extracted route, concerning against this being regularly acts as a sort of 'doublet' or Doppel by force or cunning'. Furthermore, of the adversary whom the hero defeats at the climax of his quest. Thus, in the labour of ganger in his r?le of Old Man of the Sea, is an analogue Heracles referred to above, Nereus, of Geryon, the encounter with him anticipates, and Heracles' in a minor key as it were, his climactic death-demon; battle against Geryon.14 his will cast any light on the story of Telephus? Do these story-patterns I believe I think they do; although the argument works better in terms of similarities between situations than between individuals. Still, even if we adopted the latter approach, a good case could be made for that supposing15 Telephus16 was a demon-like the route which the Greek originally being endowed with relevant knowledge concerning of him17 with the famous spear derived from his heroes must take to Troy. And Achilles' wounding 11Stesichorus' Geryoneis and its folk-tale origins, Cg38 (1988) 278f. and 282ff. 12 For the Trojan Expedition as deriving from the folk-tale motif of a 'quest' see Uvo H?lscher, Die Odyssee: Epos zwischen M?rchen und Roman (Munich 1988) pp. 58ff. He notes how susceptible it is to analysis in terms of V. Propp's Morphology of the Folktale, and I have independently showed (see the previous note) the story of Heracles' rustling of
Geryon's cattle to be similarly susceptible.

13The idea ultimately goes back toKarl Meuli's interpretation of 'Das Vorabenteuer mit dem wissenden D?mon': see = Odyssee und Argonautika (Berlin 1921) pp. 101ff. Ges. Sehr. 2.664ff. 14 See my remarks (as cited above n. 11) pp. 284ff. 15 Ernst Howald (cited above n. 10) pp. 125ff. speculated that Telephus was originally a Greek god (cf. J. Schmidt's inKoscher 5 (1916) 292.49ff.), and the tale of his wounding a variant of themotif of thewounding of article s.v. Telephus' theDevil (cf. Stith Thompson, Motif Index of Folk Literature1 G 303.16.19.19). But the analogy with the 'wissende D?mon'
seems certainly better As outlined above, paralleled. true of Telephus. The knowledge 'must this being has 'relevant knowledge concerning . . . be extracted his will, against by force the hero's or cunning', route', and which it might is be

argued thatAchilles' initial assault represents the force, and Odysseus' later intervention the (more successful) cunning. In the story as it now stands, Telephus consents to lead the Greeks to Troy out of gratitude for the healing of his wound, and this resembles Phineus' decision to give the Argonauts information about their route out of gratitude for the Boreads' dispersal of the Harpies (for 'gratitude' as a folk-tale motif see M. Belgrader's article inEnzyklop?die des M?rchens s.v. 'Dankbarkeit und Undankbarkeit' (3.322ff.)). But a resisting Phineus may originally have had the informationforced from him (see CQ 38 (1988) p. 283 with nn. 33-34) and the same may be true of Telephus.
16 associates The most name of Telephus' plausible etymology (see him with brightness the name and shining: compare ib. s.v. 'Hell und Dunkel' But in fact Schmidt's Roscher Auge. article Since as cited light in the is most last note, naturally of the of his mother 292.4ff.) connected

with life (cf. R. U. Brednich inEnzyklop?die des M?rchens

Underworld D?mon' (cf. V. I. Sanarov, to assign I wish which to Telephus.

s.v. 'Licht' (8.1034ff.)), and is set against darkness and the

the r?le name 'wissende the circle within

seem to tell against this may (6.794ff.)), there are analogies for Telephus' significant of Telephus' as we have Heracles' provides

of stories which
instance,

link Heracles to cattle-rustling and thus to journeys to the Underworld (cf. CQ 38 (1988) 288f.): see, for
the or Augeas (one thinks 'wissende D?mon', entrance mother). seen, encounters a doublet with them or anticipation symbo of such

one'), Electryon ('the shining and lise climactic of death, conquests name which associates him with

encounters. Note thatTelephus' son Eurypylus, who died at Troy (see Ilias Parva fr. 7 and Proclus (EGFp. 52.14f.)) bears a
the wide to the Underworld (cf. L. Malten, Kyrene: Sagengesch. und hist. Unters.

(Phil. Unters. 20 (1921)) p. 120f., Fontenrose, Python (1959) p. 482f.)). 17The motif of ? xpcoooc? ??ccetou ('wound healed by same spear that caused it': Stith Thompson's Motif-Index D may 2161.4.10.1) actually be an instance of motif transference in the case of Telephus. The ambivalence of the daunting
demon, 'Tote who resists the hero's approach but does, and under compulsion, ... der eigenen provide beneficent information, For reflects an ambivalence

towards death-demons and, ultimately, death itself (see Meuli's Ges. Sehr. Index 1 ('Sachen, Begriffe, Methodisches')
sind ... b?s und gut zugleich' 'Projektion Gef?hlsambivalenz'). this reason it seems as

s.v.
if, in

10

M. Davies

father Peleus would surely rank as an anticipation (in theminor key) of the climactic killing of Hector
with that same weapon, when the expedition's goal is finally reached and the Trojan War is underway. terms it is in of situation the that is most illuminated I am However, similarity by the approach The Teuthranian but one recommending. expedition has all the signs of being a 'preliminary adventure', of circumstance. or Are goals in war best achieved based rather on doublets or anticipations force by

are examined These crucial questions, in the context of the which cunning, strength or intelligence? means an War of the receive advance with the Achilles/Odysseus by dichotomy, Trojan exploration as same two and the to Teuthranian heroes the front. And, foreshadowing the Expedition background outcome of the war, Achilles' aggression ultimately comes off second best against Odysseus' wit and resourcefulness. still be argued that this sophisticated to be a technique proves the Teuthranian expedition a to the the late addition of But the War.18 accretion, story secondary Trojan frequency with which me to the stories feature adventure' that the after all be suggests 'preliminary 'quest' episode might and integral. early It might

Oxford

Malcolm

Davies

the Telephus story, the ambivalence of the demon, hostile but capable of good, has been transferred to the weapon that wounds him, or to its bearer, Achilles. Assimilation of Telephus to his adversary Achilles may seem unlikely, but for similarities between Telephus and the other relevant adversative hero, Odysseus, see Cropp (cited above n. 2) p. 23. 18 So Howald (as cited above n. 10) took it that the figure of Telephus as originally conceived had nothing to do with
the Trojan H?lscher episode War, and above that his n. (cited in the relevant 2.232f. and with is a later development. Hell. Dicht. that war Wilamowitz, Similarly, coupling are of and the the earliest attested that the Phineus unconvinced 179 Boreads, story though 12) p. to the story of the Argonauts. The Hesiodic Cf. West, tale, need have originally belonged Catalogue

of Women (Oxford 1985) pp. 49f. and 84. But given the popularity of themotif of the 'preliminary adventure', perhaps this
scepticism is excessive.