Humanitext Reader

Callimachus · Iambs §8.1

The Era of Speaking Animals and Prometheus' Clay

Passage 9 of 22 · Greek

Summary

A passage quoting Callimachus' poem about a time when animals spoke like humans, in connection with the philosophical idea that the body is made of earth.

§8.1ἦν κεῖνος οὑνιαυτός, ᾧ τό τε πτηνὸν καὶ τοὐν θαλάσσῃ καὶ τὸ τετράπουν οὕτως ἐφθέγγεθ’ ὡς ὁ πηλὸς ὁ Προμήθειος.
There was that year, in which the winged, the creatures in the sea, and the four-footed beasts spoke just as the clay of Prometheus did.
"γήινον μὲν οἱ φιλόσοφοι. . τὸ σῶμα ἀναγορεύουσι.
"While the philosophers declare the body to be earthy...
. . Καλλίμαχος δὲ διαρρήδην γράφει· " ἦν κτλ.
Callimachus writes explicitly:" "There was that year..." etc.

Notes

  1. §8.1οὑνιαυτός — Crasis of ὁ ἐνιαυτός.
  2. §8.1ᾧ — Dative of the relative pronoun ὅς, functioning as a dative of time ("in which").
  3. §8.1ἐφθέγγεθ’ — Elided form of the imperfect ἐφθέγγετο, indicating a continuous or habitual state in the past.
  4. §8.1ὁ πηλὸς ὁ Προμήθειος — The clay of Prometheus." A metonymy for "human beings," based on the myth that Prometheus fashioned humans out of clay.

Cite this passage

Callimachus, Iambs §8.1. Humanitext Reader, https://reader.humanitext.ai/en/text/urn:cts:greekLit:tlg0533.tlg007.humanitext-grc1:8.1

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