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 eponymous 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]

Along with the "Wedding of Ceyx" and Aegimus, the "Descent of Perithous" has been considered a poetic narrative by Hesiod that was Muse-inspired.^[3] During the expedition, Hades trapped the heroes by seating them in the "chairs of forgetfullness", and only Heracles could save them.^[2] The poem is narrated by the ghost of Meleager.^[4] One tentatively assigned papyrus fragment 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 the Minyas,^[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 the Minyas.^[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

Critical editions

Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1967), Fragmenta Hesiodea, Oxford: Oxford University Press, ISBN 0-19-814171-8.
Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1990), "Fragmenta selecta", in F. Solmsen (ed.), Hesiodi Theogonia, Opera et Dies, Scutum (3rd rev. ed.), Oxford: Clarendon Press, ISBN 0-19-814071-1.

Translations

Most, G.W. (2006), Hesiod: Theogony, Works and Days, Testimonia, Loeb Classical Library no. 57, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-99622-9.
Most, G.W. (2007), Hesiod: The Shield, Catalogue, Other Fragments, Loeb Classical Library no. 503, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-99623-6.

Notes

^ 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.
^ ^a ^b Cingano (2009, p. 126).
^ Bloom, Harold (2007). Homer, Updated Edition. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7910-9313-9.
^ Gagarin, Michael; Fantham, Elaine (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6.
^ 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 978-1-62712-566-6.
^ West (2003, p. 271).
^ Paus. 10.28.2; Cingano (2009, p. 126).
^ Cingano (2009, pp. 128).

Bibliography

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: Brill, ISBN 978-9004-17840-3.
Schwartz, J. (1960), Pseudo-Hesiodeia: recherches sur la composition, la diffusion et la disparition ancienne d'oeuvres attribuées à Hésiode, Leiden: Ε. J. Brill.
West, M.L. (2003), Greek Epic Fragments, Loeb Classical Library no. 497, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, ISBN 978-0-674-99605-2.

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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) prefers Descent of Peirithous to Hades; Cingano (2009, p. 126) gives Katabasis of Theseus and Peithrous.

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

[3] Bloom, Harold (2007). Homer, Updated Edition. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. p. 113. ISBN 978-0-7910-9313-9.

[4] Gagarin, Michael; Fantham, Elaine (2010). The Oxford Encyclopedia of Ancient Greece and Rome, Volume 1. Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 432. ISBN 978-0-19-517072-6.

[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 978-1-62712-566-6.

[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"