Descent of Perithous

The Descent of Perithous (Ancient Greek: Πειρίθου κατάβασις, Peirithou katabasis) is a fragmentary epic poem that was ascribed to Hesiod by the 2nd-century CE geographer Pausanias.[1] The titular topic of the poem would have been the myth of Theseus and Perithous' trip to Hades seeking to win Persephone as bride for Perithous.[2] During the expedition, Hades trapped the heroes by seating them in the "chairs of forgetfullness", and only Heracles could save them.[2] One tentatively assigned papyrus fragment survives which includes a conversation between Meleager and Theseus.[3] It is also possible that this fragment belongs to the Minyas,[4] and the existence of an independent Hesiodic poem on the descent of Theseus and Perithous is complicated by the fact that elsewhere Pausanias attributes the myth to the Minyas.[5] The sheer number of Hesiodic papyri that have survived compared to those of other works of archaic epic, however, lends credence to the attribution to the Hesiodic corpus.[6]

Select editions and translations

Critical editions

Translations

Notes

  1. Paus. 9.31.5. Descent of Perithous is the title used in the standard edition of the text (Merkelbach & West 1967), but no exact title is attested from antiquity. Pausanias instead describes the work's content in listing Hesiod's poems and their topics: "how Theseus together with Perithous descended to Hades" (ὡς Θησεὺς ἐς τὸν Ἅιδην ὁμοῦ Πειρίθῳ καταβαίη). Most (2006, p. lx) prefers Descent of Peirithous to Hades; Cingano (2009, p. 126) gives Katabasis of Theseus and Peithrous.
  2. 1 2 Cingano (2009, p. 126).
  3. Most (2006, pp. lx–lxi).
  4. West (2003, p. 271).
  5. Paus. 10.28.2; Cingano (2009, p. 126).
  6. Cingano (2009, pp. 128).

Bibliography


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