Listing the Argonauts and the Warriors at Troy: Apollonius Rhodius in the Homeric Catalogues of Triphiodorus

Abstract

After some initial remarks on the paratactic-catalogic structure of Triphiodorus “Ἰλίου “Ἅλωσις, the present paper discusses elements of the structure and content of the catalogues of lines 152–83 and 17–39 of Triphiodorus' poem. It is argued that, within the general Homeric background of Triphiodorus’ catalogues, echoes of Apollonius' catalogue of the Argonauts (1.23–228) can be traced in Triphiodorus’ lines. It is further demonstrated that for the presentation of Neoptolemus in lines 53–4 and in the catalogue of the Achaeans of the Horse, Triphiodorus is influenced by the description of another young warrior, Meleager, son of Oeleus, in A. R. 3.518–20. Triphiodorus does not merely imitate Apollonius, as he also does not copy Homer: the partial combination of elements taken from his two epic predecessors helps him create a novel style while he catalogues his heroes, adjusted to the specific narrative circumstances that he establishes.