Tracing Melampus in the Hesiodic Melampodia (frr. 270–272 m.-w.)

Abstract

This article focuses on the first three fragments attributed to the Melampodia in the canonical edition of Merkelbach and West (frr. 270–272). It initially explores the possibility that fr. 270 issued from a context narrating how Melampus became a seer and subsequently examines the hypothesis that the poem began with a narration of the seer’s deeds, including the cattle theft at Phylace and the cure of prince Iphiclus (frr. 271–272). The analysis of fragments 270–272 allows us to question if the presence of Melampus defines the poem, as the title suggests. The article presents some new suggestions regarding the poem’s plot and narrative organization. Moreover, it proposes to consider the Melampodia as an “independent” epic whose broader scope seems to have a specific cultural value: to sing the history of the seers through time and space, their social impact, and their religious significance.