Descent of Perithous

The "Descent of Perithous"(Ancient Greek:Πειρίθου κατάβασις,Peirithou katabasis) is afragmentary epic poemthat was ascribed toHesiodby the 2nd-century CE geographerPausanias.^[1]The eponymous topic of the poem would have been the myth ofTheseusandPerithous' trip toHadesseeking to winPersephoneas bride for Perithous.^[2]

Along with the "Wedding of Ceyx"andAegimus,the "Descent of Perithous" has been considered a poetic narrative by Hesiod that wasMuse-inspired.^[3]During the expedition, Hades trapped the heroes by seating them in the "chairs of forgetfullness", and onlyHeraclescould save them.^[2]The poem is narrated by the ghost ofMeleager.^[4]One tentatively assignedpapyrusfragment survives which includes a conversation between Meleager and Theseus.^[5]In this dialogue, the ghosts were talking about how Theseus and Perithous descended to carry off Persephone, a tale Meleager listened to with disgust.^[6]It is also proposed that this fragment belongs to theMinyas,^[7]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 theMinyas.^[8]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.^[9]

Select editions and translations[edit]

Critical editions[edit]

Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1967),Fragmenta Hesiodea,Oxford,ISBN 0-19-814171-8{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1990), "Fragmenta selecta", inF. Solmsen(ed.),Hesiodi Theogonia, Opera et Dies, Scutum(3rd rev. ed.), Oxford,ISBN 0-19-814071-1{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).

Translations[edit]

Most, G.W.(2006),Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia,Loeb Classical Library, vol. no. 57, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press,ISBN 978-0-674-99622-9{{citation}}:|volume=has extra text (help).
Most, G.W. (2007),Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue, Other Fragments,Loeb Classical Library, vol. no. 503, Cambridge, MA,ISBN 978-0-674-99623-6{{citation}}:|volume=has extra text (help)CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).

Notes[edit]

^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) prefersDescent of Peirithous to Hades;Cingano (2009,p. 126) givesKatabasisof Theseus and Peithrous.
^^a ^bCingano (2009,p. 126).
^Bloom, Harold (2007).Homer, Updated Edition.New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 113.ISBN 978-0791093139.
^Gagarin, Michael; Fantham, Elaine (2010).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 432.ISBN 9780195170726.
^Most (2006,pp. lx–lxi).
^Miller, Dean (2014).Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols of Ancient Greece and Rome.New York: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. p. 149.ISBN 9781627125666.
^West (2003,p. 271).
^Paus.10.28.2;Cingano (2009,p. 126).
^Cingano (2009,pp. 128).

Bibliography[edit]

Cingano, E. (2009), "The Hesiodic Corpus", in Montanari; Rengakos; Tsagalis (eds.),Brill's Companion to Hesiod,pp. 91–130.
Montanari, F.; Rengakos, A.; Tsagalis, C. (2009),Brill's Companion to Hesiod,Leiden,ISBN 978-9004-17840-3.{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
Schwartz, J. (1960),Pseudo-Hesiodeia: recherches sur la composition, la diffusion et la disparition ancienne d'oeuvres attribuées à Hésiode,Leiden.{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
West, M.L. (2003),Greek Epic Fragments,Loeb Classical Library, vol. 497, Cambridge, MA,ISBN 978-0-674-99605-2.{{citation}}:CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)

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[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) prefersDescent of Peirithous to Hades;Cingano (2009,p. 126) givesKatabasisof Theseus and Peithrous.

[Cingano-2] Cingano (2009,p. 126).

[3] Bloom, Harold (2007).Homer, Updated Edition.New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 113.ISBN 978-0791093139.

[4] Gagarin, Michael; Fantham, Elaine (2010).The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1.Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 432.ISBN 9780195170726.

[5] Most (2006,pp. lx–lxi).

[6] Miller, Dean (2014).Beliefs, Rituals, and Symbols of Ancient Greece and Rome.New York: Cavendish Square Publishing, LLC. p. 149.ISBN 9781627125666.

[7] West (2003,p. 271).

[8] Paus.10.28.2;Cingano (2009,p. 126).

[9] Cingano (2009,pp. 128).

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v t e Hesiod
Extant poems	Theogony Works and Days Shield of Heracles
Fragmentary poems	Catalogue of Women Megalai Ehoiai "Wedding of Ceyx" "Melampodia" "Descent of Perithous" "Idaean Dactyls" "Precepts of Chiron" "Megala Erga" "Astronomia" "Aegimius" "Kiln"