Customer Reviews

The Poems of Callimachus

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This review relates to the volume, -The Poems of Callimachus-,
Translated with Introduction, Notes, and Glossary by Frank
Nisetich. Oxford Univ. Press. 2001. 350 pp.
What sets this volume above the volume asembled by Stanley
Lombardo and Diane Rayor is the quality and presentation
of the commentary. The "Introduction" is fuller and focuses
on Callimachus the poet, in a fashion that challenges
somewhat the "traditional" views of him. The commentary
on the poems is excellent, as well as the Notes (pp. 186 -
314). This volume takes advantage of the fragments which
were found by Callimachus and attempts to reconstruct
for the reader what the whole must have been like by
giving brief carry-over insertions between the fragments
which we do have. Nisetich also "reconstructs" briefly
certain poems or parts of poems which we do not have from
mentions and quotes of those items in ancient scholarly writers
which we do have. This is immensely helpful and enriching.

The contents of the volume are arranged slightly in a
different form and given different title names from those
of other editions. The helpful thing, here again, is that
Nisetich numbers the parts, so we always "know where we
are."
Those contents are: "Hekale" (with Introduction)- "the
encounter between the young Athenian hero Theseus and
the old woman Hekale") (58 fragments and interpositions);
Hymns (To Zeus; Apollo; Artemis; Delos (island birthplace
of Apollo); Bath of Pallas(Athena); Demeter); -Aitia 1-2-
(Introduction; Prologue and Dream; Aitia 1, Aitia 2);
Iambi (17); -Aitia 3-4- (Introduction; Aitia 3; Aitia 4);
and Epigrams (Erotic Poems -- 63).
Some helpeful insights supplied by Nisetich in this
wondrous volume: "The best cure for all these and similar
[traditional] distortions is to read the poet himself, free,
as much as possible, from prejudice [an excellent way to
read any writer]." *** "Unpredictability, freshness,
perfection: these are among his qualities. *** Lightness
of touch is perhaps his hallmark, no matter how much weight
he is handling." *** "The poet has finer calibrations in
mind, and pays heed to them in composition, confident that
his audience will appreciate what he is up to."
One of his epigrams shows their focus, style, and
Callimachus's personal perspective: Fill the cup: time for
another toast "To Diokles" /and leave the water out!
His looks (handsome/ all too handsome) demand it neat.
If anyone disagrees,/ I'm the only connoisseur of beauty
here!
-- Robert Kilgore.