User:Paul August/Phoenix (son of Amyntor)
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[edit]- Papamichael, E. M. 1982. “Phoenix and Clytia (or Phthia).” Dodone 9:213–234.
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[edit]- Kauffmann-Samaras, "Phoenix II" in LIMC 8.1 (needs translation)
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[edit]Ancient
[edit]- When Achilles was nine years old ... But the secret of Achilles was betrayed, and Ulysses, seeking him at the court of Lycomedes, discovered him by the blast of a trumpet.2 And in that way Achilles went to Troy.
- He [Achilles] was accompanied by Phoenix, son of Amyntor. This Phoenix had been blinded by his father on the strength of a false accusation of seduction preferred against him by his father's concubine Phthia. But Peleus brought him to Chiron, who restored his sight, and thereupon Peleus made him king of the Dolopians.3
- 3 See Hom. Il. 9.437-484, with the Scholiast on Hom. Il. 9.448. But Homer says nothing about the blinding of Phoenix by his angry father or his cure by Chiron; and according to Homer the accusation of having debauched his father's concubine was not false but true, Phoenix having been instigated to the deed by his mother, who was jealous of the concubine. But variations from the Homeric narrative were introduced into the story by the tragedians who handled the theme (Scholiast on Hom. Il. 9.437-484). Sophocles and Euripides both wrote tragedies on the subject under the same title of Phoenix; the tragedy of Euripides seems to have been famous. See TGF (Nauck 2nd ed.), pp. 286, 621ff.; The Fragments of Sophocles, ed. A. C. Pearson, vol. ii.320ff. The blinding of Phoenix by his father Amyntor is alluded to by a poet of the Greek anthology (Anth. Pal. iii.3). Both the poet and Apollodorus probably drew on Euripides, who from an allusion in Aristoph. Acharn. 421 is known to have represented Phoenix as blind. Both the blinding and the healing of Phoenix are related by Tzetzes (Scholiast on Lycophron 421), who may have followed Apollodorus. According to the Scholiast on Hom. Il. 9.437-484, the name of the concubine was Clytia; according to Tzetzes, Scholiast on Lycophron 421, it was Clytia or Phthia. Apollodorus calls her Phthia. The Scholiast on Plato (Laws, xi. p. 931 B), gives a version of the story which agrees entirely with that of Apollodorus, and may have been copied from it. The healing of Phoenix's eyes by Chiron is mentioned by Prop. ii.1.60.
- But the Greeks sent Ulysses, Phoenix, and Ajax as ambassadors to Achilles, begging him to fight for them, and promising Briseis and other gifts.
- and Helenus was forced to tell how Ilium could be taken,1 to wit, first, if the bones of Pelops were brought to them; next, if Neoptolemus fought for them; and third, if the Palladium,2 which had fallen from heaven, were stolen from Troy, for while it was within the walls the city could not be taken.
- On hearing these things the Greeks caused the bones of Pelops to be fetched, and they sent Ulysses and Phoenix to Lycomedes at Scyros, and these two persuaded him to let Neoptolemus go.1
- 1 As to the fetching of Neoptolemus from Scyros, see Hom. Od. 11.506ff.; the Little Iliad of Lesches, summarized by Proclus, in Epicorum Graecorum Fragmenta, ed. G. Kinkel, pp. 36ff.; Pind. Pa. 6.98ff.; Soph. Phil. 343-356; Philostratus Junior, Im. 2; Quintus Smyrnaeus, Posthomerica vi.57-113, vii.169- 430; Tzetzes, Posthomerica 523-534. Apollodorus agrees with Sophocles in saying that the Greek envoys who fetched Neoptolemus from Scyros were Ulysses and Phoenix. According to Quintus Smyrnaeus, they were Ulysses and Diomedes. Ulysses is the only envoy mentioned by Homer, Lesches, and Tzetzes; and Phoenix is the only envoy mentioned by Philostratus. Pindar speaks vaguely of “messengers.”
- After remaining in Tenedos two days at the advice of Thetis, Neoptolemus set out for the country of the Molossians by land with Helenus, and on the way Phoenix died, and Neoptolemus buried him;
- 418–422
- EURIPIDES
- What rags do you prefer? Those in which I rigged out Aeneus on the stage, that unhappy, miserable old man?
- DICAEOPOLIS
- No, I want those of some hero still more unfortunate.
- EURIPIDES
- Of Phoenix, the blind man?
- DICAEOPOLIS
- No, not of Phoenix, you have another hero more unfortunate than him.
fr. 19 West, pp. 96–99
- Schol. (D) Il. 19.326
- Scholiast on the Iliad
- When Alexander stole Helen, Agamemnon and Menelaus recruited the Greeks against the Trojans. Peleus, knowing in advance that it was fated that Achilles should die at Troy, went to Scyros, to king Lycomedes, and placed Achilles in his care, and he dressed him in female clothing and brought him up as a girl with his daughters. But as an oracle had been issued that Ilion would not be captured without Achilles, the Greeks sent Odysseus, Phoenix, and Nestor, and when Peleus denied that his son was with him, they travelled to Scyros. Suspecting that Achilles was being raised among the girls, at Odysseus’ suggestion they scattered some weapons, together with work baskets and weaving implements, in front of the girls’ chamber. The girls made for the baskets and the other things, but Achilles took up the weapons, and so was caught out, and he joined the expedition. But before that, while he was living with the girls, he had seduced Lycomedes’ daughter Deidamea, and by him she gave birth to Pyrrhus, who was later named Neoptolemus; he went to fight with the Greeks as a young man after his father’s death. The story is found in the Cyclic writers.
- Pausanias, 10.26.4
- The epic Cypria says that he was given the name of Pyrrhus by Lycomedes, but that of Neoptolemus by Phoenix, because Achilles was still young (neos) when he began to make war (polemein).
- Cf. schol. (T) Il. 9.668b.
- The epic Cypria says that he was given the name of Pyrrhus by Lycomedes, but that of Neoptolemus by Phoenix, because Achilles was still young (neos) when he began to make war (polemein).
1.16
- Then they appointed Achilles, Ajax, and Phoenix to be the leaders in charge of the fleet;
Phoenix
- Collard and Cropp, pp. 405–421
- 9.165–169
- [165] Come, therefore, let us send forth chosen men to go forthwith to the hut of Peleus' son, Achilles. Nay, rather, whomsoever I shall choose, let them consent. First of all let Phoenix, dear to Zeus, lead the way, and after him great Aias and goodly Odysseus; [170]
- 9.220–306
- [220] and Patroclus cast burnt-offering into the fire. So they put forth their hands to the good cheer lying ready before them. But when they had put from them the desire of food and drink, Aias nodded to Phoenix; and goodly Odysseus was ware thereof, and filling a cup with wine he pledged Achilles: [225] "Hail, O Achilles, of the equal feast have we no stinting, either in the hut of Agamemnon, son of Atreus, or now in thine; for here is abundance that satisfies the heart to feast withal. Yet matters of the delicious feast are not in our thoughts, ... Now mightest thou slay Hector, seeing he would come very nigh thee [305] in his baneful rage, for he deemeth there is no man like unto him among the Danaans that the ships brought hither."
- 9.427–452
- Howbeit let Phoenix abide here with us, and lay him down to sleep, that he may follow with me on my ships to my dear native land on the morrow, if so he will; but perforce will I not take him.” [430] So spake he, and they all became hushed in silence, marveling at his words; for with exceeding vehemence did he deny them. But at length there spake among them the old horseman Phoenix, bursting into tears, for that greatly did he fear for the ships of the Achaeans: “If verily thou layest up in thy mind, glorious Achilles, [435] the purpose of returning, neither art minded at all to ward from the swift ships consuming fire, for that wrath hath fallen upon thy heart; how can I then, dear child, be left here without thee, alone? It was to thee that the old horseman Peleus sent me on the day when he sent thee to Agamemnon, forth from Phthia, [440] a mere child, knowing naught as yet of evil war, neither of gatherings wherein men wax preeminent. For this cause sent he me to instruct thee in all these things, to be both a speaker of words and a doer of deeds. Wherefore, dear child, I am not minded hereafter [445] to be left alone without thee, nay, not though a god himself should pledge him to strip from me my old age and render me strong in youth as in the day when first I left Hellas, the home of fair women, fleeing from strife with my father Amyntor, son of Ormenus; for he waxed grievously wroth against me by reason of his fair-haired concubine, [450] whom himself he ever cherished, and scorned his wife, my mother. So she besought me by my knees continually, to have dalliance with that other first myself, that the old man might be hateful in her eyes.”
- 9.453–491
- "I [Phoenix] hearkened to her and did the deed, but my father was ware thereof forthwith and cursed me mightily, and invoked the dire Erinyes [455] that never should there sit upon his knees a dear child begotten of me; and the gods fulfilled his curse, even Zeus of the nether world and dread Persephone. Then I took counsel to slay him with the sharp sword, but some one of the immortals stayed mine anger, bringing to my mind [460] the voice of the people and the many revilings of men, to the end that I should not be called a father-slayer amid the Achaeans. Then might the heart in my breast in no wise be any more stayed to linger in the halls of my angered father. My fellows verily and my kinsfolk beset me about [465] with many prayers and sought to stay me there in the halls, and many goodly sheep did they slaughter, and sleek kine of shambling gait, and many swine, rich with fat, were stretched to singe over the flame of Hephaestus, and wine in plenty was drunk from the jars of that old man. [470] For nine nights' space about mine own body did they watch the night through; in turn kept they watch, neither were the fires quenched, one beneath the portico of the well-fenced court, and one in the porch before the door of my chamber. Howbeit when the tenth dark night was come upon me, [475] then verily I burst the cunningly fitted doors of my chamber and leapt the fence of the court full easily, unseen of the watchmen and the slave women. Thereafter I fled afar through spacious Hellas, and came to deep-soiled Phthia, mother of flocks, [480] unto king Peleus; and he received me with a ready heart, and cherished me as a father cherisheth his only son and well-beloved, that is heir to great possessions; and he made me rich and gave much people to me, and I dwelt on the furthermost border of Phthia, ruling over the Dolopians. I reared thee to be such as thou art, O godlike Achilles, loving thee from may heart; for with none other wouldest thou go to the feast neither take meat in the hall, till I had set thee on my knees and given thee thy fill of the savoury morsel cut first for thee, and had put the wine cup to thy lips. [490] Full often hast thou wetted the tunic upon my breast, sputtering forth the wine in thy sorry helplessness. ”
- 9.492–537
- “So have I suffered much for thee and toiled much, ever mindful of this that the gods would in no wise vouchsafe me a son born of mine own body. Nay. it was thou that I sought to make my son, O godlike Achilles, [495] to the end that thou mayest hereafter save me from shameful ruin. Wherefore Achilles, do thou master thy proud spirit; it beseemeth thee not to have a pitiless heart. Nay, even the very gods can bend, and theirs withal is more excellent worth and honour and might. Their hearts by incense and reverent vows [500] and libations and the savour of sacrifice do men turn from wrath with supplication, whenso any man transgresseth and doeth sin. For Prayers are the daughters of great Zeus, halting and wrinkled and of eyes askance,1 and they are ever mindful to follow in the steps of Sin. [505] Howbeit Sin is strong and fleet of foot, wherefore she far out-runneth them all, and goeth before them over the face of all the earth making men to fall, and Prayers follow after, seeking to heal the hurt. Now whoso revereth the daughters of Zeus when they draw nigh, him they greatly bless, and hear him, when he prayeth; [510] but if a man denieth them and stubbornly refuseth, then they go their way and make prayer to Zeus, son of Cronos, that Ate2 may follow after such a one to the end that he may fall and pay full atonement. Nay, Achilles, see thou too that reverence attend upon the daughters of Zeus, even such as bendeth the hearts of all men that are upright. [515] For if the son of Atreus were not offering thee gifts and telling of yet others hereafter, but were ever furiously wroth, I of a surety should not bid thee cast aside thine anger and bear aid to the Argives even in their sore need. But now he offereth thee many gifts forthwith, and promiseth thee more hereafter, [520] and hath sent forth warriors to beseech thee, choosing them that are best throughout the host of the Achaeans, and that to thine own self are dearest of the Argives; have not thou scorn of their words, neither of their coming hither; though till then no man could blame thee that thou wast wroth. Even in this manner have we heard the fame of men of old [525] that were warriors, whenso furious wrath came upon any; won might they be by gifts, and turned aside by pleadings. Myself I bear in mind this deed of old days and not of yesterday, how it was; and I will tell it among you that are all my friends. The Curetes on a time were fighting and the Aetolians staunch in battle [530] around the city of Calydon, and were slaying one another, the Aetolians defending lovely Calydon and the Curetes fain to waste it utterly in war. For upon their folk had Artemis of the golden throne sent a plague in wrath that Oeneus offered not to her the first-fruits of the harvest in his rich orchard land; [535] whereas the other gods feasted on hecatombs, and it was to the daughter of great Zeus alone that he offered not, whether haply he forgat, or marked it not; and he was greatly blinded in heart. ”
- 9.538–580
- “ Thereat the Archer-goddess, the child of Zeus, waxed wroth and sent against him a fierce wild boar, white of tusk, [540] that wrought much evil, wasting1 the orchard land of Oeneus; many a tall tree did he uproot and cast upon the ground, aye, root and apple blossom therewith. But the boar did Meleager, son of Oeneus, slay, when he had gathered out of many cities huntsmen [545] and hounds; for not of few men could the boar have been slain, so huge was he; and many a man set he upon the grievous pyre. But about his body the goddess brought to pass much clamour and shouting concerning his head and shaggy hide, between the Curetes and the great-souled Aetolians. [550] Now so long as Meleager, dear to Ares, warred, so long went it ill with the Curetes, nor might they abide without their wall, for all they were very many. But when wrath entered into Meleager, wrath that maketh the heart to swell in the breasts also of others, even though they be wise, [555] he then, wroth at heart against his dear mother2 Althaea, abode beside his wedded wife, the fair Cleopatra, daughter of Marpessa of the fair ankles, child of Evenus, and of Idas that was mightiest of men that were then upon the face of earth; who also took his bow to face the king [560] Phoebus Apollo for the sake of the fair-ankled maid.3 Her of old in their halls had her father and honoured mother called Halcyone by name, for that the mother herself in a plight even as that of the halcyon-bird of many sorrows,4 wept because Apollo that worketh afar had snatched her child away. [565] By her side lay Meleager nursing his bitter anger, wroth because of his mother's curses; for she prayed instantly to the gods, being grieved for her brother's slaying; and furthermore instantly beat with her hands upon the all-nurturing earth, calling upon Hades and dread Persephone, [570] the while she knelt and made the folds of her bosom wet with tears, that they should bring death upon her son; and the Erinys that walketh in darkness heard her from Erebus, even she of the ungentle heart. Now anon was the din of the foemen risen about their gates, and the noise of the battering of walls, and to Meleager the elders [575] of the Aetolians made prayer, sending to him the best of the priests of the gods, that he should come forth and succour them, and they promised him a mighty gift; they bade him, where the plain of lovely Calydon was fattest, there choose a fair tract of fifty acres, the half of it vineland, [580] and the half clear plough-land, to be cut from out the plain. ”
- 9.581–619
- “ And earnestly the old horseman Oeneus besought him, standing upon the threshold of his high-roofed chamber, and shaking the jointed doors, in prayer to his son, and earnestly too did his sisters and his honoured mother beseech him [585] —but he denied them yet more—and earnestly his companions that were truest and dearest to him of all; yet not even so could they persuade the heart in his breast, until at the last his chamber was being hotly battered, and the Curetes were mounting upon the walls and firing the great city. [590] Then verily his fair-girdled wife besought Meleager with wailing, and told him all the woes that come on men whose city is taken; the men are slain and the city is wasted by fire, and their children and low-girdled women are led captive of strangers. [595] Then was his spirit stirred, as he heard the evil tale, and he went his way and did on his body his gleaming armour. Thus did he ward from the Aetolians the day of evil, yielding to his own spirit; and to him thereafter they paid not the gifts, many and gracious; yet even so did he ward from them evil. [600] But, friend, let me not see thee thus minded in heart, neither let heaven turn thee into this path; it were a harder task to save the ships already burning. Nay, come while yet gifts may be had; the Achaeans shall honour thee even as a god. But if without gifts thou enter into the battle, the bane of men, [605] thou shalt not then be in like honour, for all thou mayest ward off the battle.” Then in answer to him spake Achilles, swift of foot:“Phoenix, old sire, my father, nurtured of Zeus, in no wise have I need of this honour: honoured have I been, I deem, by the apportionment of Zeus, which shall be mine amid the beaked ships so long as the breath [610] abideth in my breast and my knees are quick. And another thing will I tell thee, and do thou lay it to heart; seek not to confound my spirit by weeping and sorrowing, to do the pleasure of the warrior, son of Atreus; it beseemeth thee not to cherish him, lest thou be hated of me that cherish thee. [615] Well were it that with me thou shouldest vex him whosoever vexeth me. Be thou king even as I am, and share the half of my honour. Howbeit these shall bear my message, but abide thou here and lay thee down on a soft couch, and at break of day we will take counsel whether to return to our own or to tarry here.”
- 9.620–622
- [620] He spake and to Patroclus nodded his brow in silence that he should spread for Phoenix a thick couch, that the others might forthwith bethink them to depart from the hut.
- 16.194
- And the fourth company did the old knight Phoenix lead,
- 17.555–561
- [555] likening herself to Phoenix, in form and untiring voice: “To thee, verily, Menelaus, shall there be shame and a hanging of the head, if the trusty comrade of lordly Achilles he torn by swift dogs beneath the wall of the Trojans. Nay, hold thy ground valiantly, and urge on all the host.” [560] Then Menelaus, good at the war-cry, answered her: “Phoenix, old sire, my father of ancient days,
- 19.309–313
- So spake he, and sent from him the other chieftains, [310] but the two sons of Atreus abode, and goodly Odysseus, and Nestor and Idomeneus and the old man Phoenix, driver of chariots, seeking to comfort him in his exceeding sorrow; but no whit would his heart be comforted until he entered the mouth of bloody war.
- 23.359–361
- and thereby [Achilles] set as an umpire [360] godlike Phoenix, his father's follower, that he might mark the running and tell the truth thereof.
- 11.506–509
- ‘Verily of noble Peleus have I heard naught, but as touching thy dear son, Neoptolemus, I will tell thee all the truth, as thou biddest me. I it was, myself, who brought him from Scyros in my shapely, hollow ship to join the host of the well-greaved Archaeans.
- 173
- Those Who Went to Hunt the Calydonian Boar ... Phoenix son of Amyntor. ...
- 257
- Close Friends ... [2] ... Peleus son of Aecus and Phoenix son of Amyntor.
Alexandra
- 417–423
- For onef Bisaltian Eion by the Strymon, close marching with the Apsynthians and Bistonians, nigh to the Edonians, shall hide, the old nurse of youth, wrinkled as a crab, ere ever he behold Tymphrestus' cragg: even him who of all men was most hated by his father,h who pierced the lamps of his eyes and made him blind, when he entered the dove'si bastard bed.
- f Phoenix, tutor of Achilles (Hom. Il. ix. 432 ff.). Died on his way home from Troy and was buried at Eion.
- g In Thessaly.
- h Amyntor who, from jealousy of Clytia and his son Phoenix, put out the latter's eyes
- i Clytia.
- For onef Bisaltian Eion by the Strymon, close marching with the Apsynthians and Bistonians, nigh to the Edonians, shall hide, the old nurse of youth, wrinkled as a crab, ere ever he behold Tymphrestus' cragg: even him who of all men was most hated by his father,h who pierced the lamps of his eyes and made him blind, when he entered the dove'si bastard bed.
- 3.27–29
- The sons of Telamon and Amyntor came ambassadors from Agamemnon; the first related to you by blood, the other your friend and guardian: the son also of Laertes came;
- 3.127–130
- Send me, O ye Greeks, as your ambassador, to solicit my lord: I will enforce your requests with a thousand melting kisses. Trust me, I can do more with him than Phœnix, more than the brother of Teucer, even more than eloquent Ulysses.
- 8.307
- [members of the Calydonian boar hunt:] and Phoenix, not then blind,
- the son of King Amyntor
3.3 (Paton, pp. 152–153)
- 3 The third has Phoenix being blinded by his father Amyntor,
- and Alcimede restraining her husband.
- Alcimede pulls her husband Amyntor away from their son, wishing to halt the wrath of Phoenix’s father. He was angry with his father for his virtuous mother’s sake, because he was drawn to the bed of a slave concubine. His father, listening to insidious whispers, was also angry with the young man, and turned a lethal torch against his eyes.
- The son of Achilles is named Neoptolemus by Homer in all his poetry. The epic poem, however, called Cypria says that Lycomedes named him Pyrrhus, but Phoenix gave him the name of Neoptolemus (young soldier) because Achilles was but young when he first went to war.
- 394 K 6
- But when the oracle came to the Greeks that Troy would be captured by none other than the descendants of Aeacus, Phoenix is sent to Scyros to fetch the boy, and putting ashore he encounters him, each unknown to the other except in so far as the boy’s graceful and well-grown form suggested that he was Achilles’ son. And as soon as Phoenix recognized who he was, he himself became known to Lycomedes and Deiodameia.
Proclus (?)
[edit]Summary of the Nostoi = Returns argument 4 West pp. 156, 157
- Nagy
- Neoptolemos, warned by Thetis, makes his journey by land, and, coming to Thrace, meets Odysseus at Maroneia, and then finishes the rest of his journey, after arranging a funeral for Phoinix [Phoenix], who dies along the way.
- West
- Neoptolemus, following Thetis’ advice, makes his way by land. On coming to Thrace he finds Odysseus at Maronea. He completes the rest of his journey, and when Phoenix dies he buries him.
fr. 183 Race pp. 408, 409
- “After mentioning Phoenix, Pindar continues”:
- who led the host of the Dolopes,25 bold at slinging,
- an aid to the weapons of the horse-taming Danaans
- = Strabo 9.5.5
- as Pindar, for instance, who mentions Phoenix and then says, "who held a throng of Dolopians, bold in the use of the sling and bringing aid to the missiles of the Danaans, tamers of horses."
- Athenian
- Oedipus, when he was dishonored (so our story runs), invoked upon his children curses2 which, as all men allege, were granted by Heaven and fulfilled; and we tell how Amyntor in his wrath cursed his son Phoenix,
- 26f
- Then again, Phoenix, cursed by his father on account of the concubine, says:
- True in my heart I had purposed to slay him with keen-pointed
- dagger,
- Save that one of the deathless gods put an end to my
- anger,
- Bringing to mind the people’s talk and men’s many
- reproaches,
- Lest I be known among the Greeks as my father’s slayer.b
- Now Aristarchus removed these lines from the text through fear, but they are right in view of the occasion, since Phoenix is trying to teach Achilles what sort of a thing anger is, and how many wild deeds men are ready to do from temper, if they do not use reason or hearken to those who try to soothe them. So also the poet introduces Meleager angry at his fellow-citizens, and later mollified, and he rightly finds fault with his emotions, but, on the other hand, his refusal to yield, his resistance, his mastery over them, and his change of heart the poet commends as good and expedient.
- b These lines are not found in any ms. of Homer, but on the authority of this quotation they have been printed in practically all editions since that of Barnes (1711) as lines 458–61 of Book IX. of the Iliad. Plutarch cites the second and part of the third line in the Life of Coriolanus, chap. 32 (229 b), and the last line in Moralia, 12 b.
- Then again, Phoenix, cursed by his father on account of the concubine, says:
- Chiron, son of Phillyra, the blindness of Phoenix;
- 7.630–666
- Old Phoenix soon came up to him [Neoptolomus] and was astonished to see how like the son of Peleus he was; he felt great joy and unspeakable ... and he spoke these admiring words:
- "I bid you welcome, noble child of Achilles, whom I once used to be happy to nurse in my arms when he was little. ... You are superior to him and shall be, just as your father was mightier than his wretched parent."
Lovers of Achilles
- fr. 153 Llyod-Jones, pp. 62, 63
- PHOENIX
- Ah, you have lost your beloved, as you see!
- 343–347
- Neoptolemus
- They came for me in a ship elaborately ornamented, shining Odysseus, and he who fostered my father, [345] and said—whether truly or falsely, I do not know—that since my father had perished, fate now forbade that anyone but I should take the towers of Troy.
- 557–567
- Neoptolemus
- The service you have done me by your forethought, sir, unless I am unworthy, will remain in my grateful thoughts. But tell me just what the designs are that you mentioned, so that I may understand [560] what is the strange plan of the Greeks that you know.
- Merchant
- Pursuers are on the way in search of you with a fleet. They are the aged Phoenix and the sons of Theseus.
- Neoptolemus
- To bring me back by force, or through persuasion?
- Merchant
- I do not know; but I have come to tell you what I did hear.
- Neoptolemus
- Are Phoenix and his comrades really so eager to do this favor for the Atreids?
- Merchant
- Be sure that it is being done, and without delay.
- 1329–1342
- Neoptolemus
- [To Philoctetes] ... Know also that you will never gain relief from this grave sickness, [1330] as long as the sun still rises in the east and sets in the west, until of your own free will you come to the plains of Troy, find there the sons of Asclepius, our comrades, be relieved of this infection, and, with this bow's [1335] aid and mine, be hailed as the sacker of Troy's towers. How I know these things are so ordained, I will tell you. We have a Trojan prisoner, Helenus, foremost among seers, who says plainly that all this must come to pass, and further, [1340] that this very summer must see the complete capture of Troy. Otherwise he willingly gives himself over for execution, if these prophecies of his prove false.
- To the south of Trachin, according to Herodotus, there is a deep gorge through which the Asopus, bearing the same name as the aforesaid Asopus Rivers, empties into the sea outside Pylae after receiving the Phoenix River, which meets it from the south and bears the name of the hero Phoenix, whose tomb is to be seen near it.
- Now the first peoples he names in the Catalogue are those under Achilles, who occupied the southern side and were situated alongside Oeta and the Epicnemidian Locrians, "all who dwelt in the Pelasgian Argos and those who inhabited Alus and Alope and Trachin, and those who held Phthia and also Hellas the land of fair women, and were called Myrmidons and Hellenes and Achaeans."1 with these he joins also the subjects of Phoenix, and makes the expedition common to both leaders. It is true that the poet nowhere mentions the Dolopian army in connection with the battles round Ilium, for he does not represent their leader Phoenix as going forth into the perils of battle either, any more than he does Nestor; yet others so state, as Pindar, for instance, who mentions Phoenix and then says, "who held a throng of Dolopians, bold in the use of the sling and bringing aid to the missiles of the Danaans, tamers of horses."2 This, in fact, is the interpretation which we must give to the Homeric passage according to the principle of silence, as the grammarians are wont to call it, for it would be ridiculous if the king Phoenix shared in the expedition ("I dwelt in the farthermost part of Phthia, being lord over the Dolopians")34 without his subjects being present; for if they were not present, he would not have been regarded as sharing in the expedition with Achilles, but only as following him in the capacity of a chief over a few men and as a speaker, perhaps as a counsellor. Homer's verses5 on this subject mean also to make this clear, for such is the import of the words, "to be a speaker of words and a doer of deeds."6 Clearly, therefore, he means, as I have already said, that the forces under Achilles and Phoenix are the same. But the aforesaid statements concerning the places subject to Achilles are themselves under controversy. Some take the Pelasgian Argos as a Thessalian city once situated in the neighborhood of Larisa but now no longer existent; but others take it, not as a city, but as the plain of the Thessalians, which is referred to by this name because Abas, who brought a colony there from Argos, so named it.
- 1 Hom. Il. 2.681
- 2 Pind. Fr. 183 (Bergkk
- 3 Hom. Il. 9.484
- 4 Possibly an interpolation.
- 5 i.e., concerning Phoenix.
- 6 Hom. Il. 9.443
- Now at the present time Ormenium is called Orminium; it is a village situated at the foot of Pelion near the Pagasitic Gulf, one of the cities included in the settlement of Demetrias, as I have said.2 And Lake Boebeïs, also, must be near, since Boebe, as well as Ormenium itself, was one of the dependencies of Demetrias. Now Ormenium is distant by land twenty-seven stadia from Demetrias, whereas the site of Iolcus, which is situated on the road, is distant seven stadia from Demetrias and the remaining twenty stadia from Ormenium. The Scepsian3 says that Phoenix was from Ormenium, and that he fled thence from his father Amyntor the son of Ormenus into Phthia to Peleus the king; for this place, he adds, was founded by Ormenus the son of Cercaphus the son of Aeolus; and he says that both Amyntor and Euaemon were sons of Ormenus, and that Phoenix was son of the former and Eurypylus of the latter, but that the succession to the throne, to which both had equal right, was kept for Eurypylus, inasmuch as Phoenix had gone away from his homeland. Furthermore, the Scepsian writes thus, "as when first I left Ormenium rich in flocks,"4 instead of "I left Hellas, land of fair women."5 But Crates makes Phoenix a Phocian, judging this from the helmet of Meges, which Odysseus used at the time of his night spying, concerning which the poet says, "Autolycus filched it from Eleon, from Amyntor the son of Ormenus, having broken into his close-built home."6 For Eleon, he says, is a town of Parnassus; and Amyntor, son of Ormenus, means no other than the father of Phoenix; and Autolycus, who lived on Parnassus, must have broken into the house of a neighbor (as is the way of any housebreaker), and not into that of people far away. But the Scepsian says that there is no place called Eleon to be seen on Parnassus, though there is a place called Neon, founded in fact after the Trojan War, and also that housebreakings are not confined to neighbors only. And there are other arguments which one might give, but I hesitate to spend further time on this subject. Others write "from Heleon,"7 but Heleon is a place in Tanagria, and this reading would increase the absurdity of the statement, "Then I fled afar off through Hellas and came to Phthia."8 The fountain Hypereia is in the middle of the city of the Pheraeans, which belonged to Eumelus. It is absurd, therefore, to assign the fountain to Eurypylus. Titanus9 was named from the fact in the case there; for the region near Arne and Aphetae has white soil. Asterium, also, is not far from these.
- 2 9. 5. 15.
- 3 Demetrius of Scepsis.
- 4 Demetrius of Scepsis Fr.
- 5 Hom. Il. 9.447
- 6 Hom. Il. 10.266
- 7 Instead of "from Eleon."
- 8 Hom. Il. 9.478
- 9 "White earth."
- 12.68
On Lycophron
- 2.760–764
- To Priam's house I haste, and climb once more
- the citadel; in Juno's temple there,
- the chosen guardians of her wasted halls,
- Phoenix and dread Ulysses watched the spoil.
- Here, snatched away from many a burning fane,
- Troy's treasures lay,
Modern
[edit]Boardman, Griffin, and Murray
[edit]- THE MISSION TO ACHILLES, to persuade him to return to the battlefield, was described in Iliad 9. The scene becomes popular on Athenian vases in the early fifth century, when the story was treated on the stage by Aeschylus. On the vases the heroes involved and Achilles' mood do not closely mirror Homer's treatment. On this vase Odysseus is seated arguing with the disconsolate Achilles. At the left is an old man, Phoinix (Achilles' mentor) and at the right Patroclus. The artist (the Cleophrades Painter) is particularly fond of Trojan scenes: the date is about 485-475 BC.
Gantz
[edit]p. 581
- the Kypria says that lycomedes called [Achilles'] son Pyrrhos, and Phoenix Neoptolemos (fr 21 PEG).
- ...Achilleus' concealment is told in the scholia to Iliad 19, ... In these scholia (crediting the Cycle), ...
p. 582
- ... On receiving an oracle that Troy will not fall without Achilleus, the Achiaians send Odysseus, Phoinix, and Nestor to visit the old man [Peleus], and subsequently make their way to Skyros where Achilleus is entrapped exactly as in Ovid.
p. 609
- Of Phoenix, former tutor of Achilleus, we first hear in Book 9, where he tells his story, and then briefly in Books 16, 17, 19, 23. In 16 he leads a group of the Myrmidones into battle, and he himself admits in 9 that Peleus sent him with Achilleus from Phthia, but earlier in that same Book he has been with the rest of the Achaians in their debate, rather than with his own contingent, perhaps more sign of reworking in this part of the poem. His father is Amyntor, ...
p. 613
- Accordingly, in Book 9 Nestor and the other Achaian leaders pressure Agamemnon to offer Achilleus the necessary apology, ... Odysseus, Aias, and Achilleus' old tutor Phoinix bring this offer to Achilleus, but he is adamant in his refusal. ... Phoinix here tells the story of Meleagros ..., seemingly to to no avail though Achilleus does recant his announced intention to leave immediately.
p. 618
- There were also Phoinix plays by Sophokles, Euripides, and Ion, among others; of these, Sophocles' perhaps and Euripides' certainly told of Phoinix's conflict with his father. In Euripides' version we have reason to suspect that that the mother is dead, that the concubine attempts to seduce Phoinix, rather than vice verca, and that Amyntor, believing her subsequent slander, orders his son blinded.47 [See Webster 1967.84-85. The play is parodied as early as Aristophanes' Acharnes 421, where Euripides suggests to Dikaiopolis the rags of his blind Phoinix as a sutible costume.] Apollodorus gives a similar account, adding that Peleus brought Phoinex to Cheiron, who restored his sight (ApB 3.13.8; this may all have been drawn from Euripides). The Cyzicene Epigrams, on the other hand, seem to assume the same story of mother and concubine as in the Iliad, with the mother (here Alkimede) ... the [Lycophron] scholia call the mother who requested this favor from her son Kleoboule and the concubine Klytie or Phthia (she is Phthia for Apollodorus). In the A scholia at Iliad 9.448, the mother is Hippodameia and the concubine again Klytie;
p. 639
- The Last Events before the Sack
- By all accounts ... Next in the Little Iliad comes the bringing of Neoptolemus from Skyros ... and Sophokles' Skyrioi ...
p. 640
- ... In the same poet's Philoketes, Neoptolemos himself says that Odysseus and Phoinix came to fetch him, ... and the same two Achaians are named on a Red-Figure volute krater of about 470 B.C. where they appear together with Lycomedes and his (unamed) daughter and grandson (Ferrara 44701).
p. 658
- The scene [of Polxena's slaughter at the tomb of Achilles] is clearly illustrated on a Tyrrhenian amphora of about 570 B.C., where ... (London 1897.7-27.2). Behind Neoptolemos to the left stands Diomedes and Nestor in attendance; behind Aias to the right is Phoinix, but with his back turned as if disapproving or unable to watch.
p. 688
- The Nostoi ... Subsequently he buried Phoinix, who had died,
Grimal
[edit]s.v. Phoenix (Φοινξ) 3.
- One of Achilles' companions. He was the son of Amyntor, King of Eleon in Boeotia. His mother's name is variously given as Hippodamia, Cleobule, or Alcimede. Amyntor had a concubine called either Clytia or Phthia and at the request of his mother, who was jealous, Phoenix seduced the concubine. On learning of this crime, Amyntor had his son blinded. In another version, Phthia herself tried in vain to seduce Phoenix; when she failed she denounced him to Amyntor on a false charge. The king then blinded his son. Phoenix then took refuge with Peleus, and was taken by him to the Centaur Chiron who restored his sight. Peleus then entrusted his son Achilles to Phoenix and made him king of the Dolopians. Phoenix left for Troy with Achilles, as his counsellor. When Achilles and Agamemnon were estranged, Phoenix tried unsucessfully to persuade his friend to be reconciled to Agamemnon but with no success. He was beside him in his tent when Achilles learnt of the death of Patroclus and he also played a part in the funeral games in honour of Patroclus, when he was in charge of the chariot race. After Achilles death, Phoenix went with Odysseus to fetch Neoptolemus. When the Greeks returned from Troy, he travelled by land route with Neoptolemus but died on the journey.
Hard
[edit]- After being ... Homer adds that [Achilles] spent part of his childhood with Phoenix, son of Amyntor, the king of the Dolopians, who instructed him in the art of public speaking and other practical matters.116
- Phoinix had become a vassal of Achilles' father in the following circumstances. Amyntor, the ... Amyntor ruled either at Eleon, a town in Boeotia, or at Ormenion under Mt. Pelion in Thessaly;
- At the urging of Nestor ... sent Phoinix, Odysseus and the ... to promise ... seven cities as her [cont.]
- dowry if the war ... Odysseus speaking first and then old Phoenix who was able to appeal to him in more personal terms because he had known him since his childhood, having acted as his tutor for a period. He failed to sway ...
Kotlinska-Toma
[edit]- Moreover, epigraphic records also mention titles of tragedies with Trojan themes written by leeser known authors, e.g. Phoenix by ...]endorus. ... The second, entitled Neoptolemus, ... in which Neoptolemus is perhaps presented to Phoenix.
- Table 1.
- Title---------Hellenistic author-------Classical author
- ...
- Phoenix-----...]endorus--------------Euripides
- The above scholium [on Iliad 9.453, see Collard & Cropp, pp. 408–409] does not actually state that Sosiphanes was the author of an unknown play that mentions Phoenix. Instead ... However, ... According to the above scholium, Sosiphanes presented Phoenix as an unblemished hero who had in fact not seduced his father's concubine.
- The identity of the actual speaker is still uncertain, though there is much to indicate that it could have been Phoenix. This character plays an important role in Sophocles' Scyrians and was present on the island at the time of Achilles' death.
Matheson 2009
[edit][In folder]
p. 195
- Next to Priam, Phoinix is the old man most frequently represented in episodes from the Trojan epic. He is a key participant in the mission to Achilles, his white hair and beard contrasting with the younger Odysseus and Ajax and the even more youthful Achilles. He wears his long hair tied up in back in the Triptolemos Painter's stamnos in Basel.32 Phoinix receives wine from Briseis on the Brygos Painter's Ilioupersis kylix in the Louvre (Fig. 3).33 Phoinix separates Ajax and Hektor, leading Ajax away, adding to the narrative in Iliad 7 where the two heroes separate on their own.34 In some scenes, another white-haired man, presumably Priam, leads Hektor away.
p. 198
- 32 Antikenmuseum BS 477: ARV2 361,7; BAdd2 222; Boardman (supra n. 22) g. 304.
- 33 Supra n. 5. [= Paris, Louvre G 152: ARV2 369,1; Para 365; BAdd2 224.]
- 34 Amphora, Painter of Munich 1410, Munich, Staatliche Antikensammlungen 1411: ABV 311,2; BAdd2 84; Boardman (supra n. 20) g. 141; stamnos, Triptolemos Painter, Basel, supra n. 32.
Matheson 2014
[edit]- Phoinix was king of the Dolopians ... It is as a king and as the counterpart and equal of Priam ... that the old [cont.]
- Phoinix joins the Trojan king in separating Achilles from Hektor in vase painting, although not in Iliad 7.10
- Phoinix was less important as a king than as mentor and quide for Achilles,11 and as such he is closely associated with the Greek hero in vase painting. Phoinix is prominent in scenes of the mission to Achilles, his white hair and beard in stark contrast to the black of the other Greeks.12
- 10 E.g., Stammos, Triptolemos Painter, Basel Antikenmuseum BS 477:ARV2 361.7; BAPD 203796.
- 11 A theme developed in Anderson 2009, 159.
- 12 E.g., Basel Antikenmuseum BS 477: see n. 10 above; hydria attributed to the Kleophrades Painter, Munich, Antikensammlungen 8770: Para 341.73bis; BAPD. 352474. On mission scenes: Shapiro 1994a, 16-21.
See Anderson, Michael J., "Heroes as Moral Agents and Moral Exemplars" in Sabine Albersmeier (ed.), Heroes: Mortals and Myths in Ancient Greece
Oxford Classical Dictionary
[edit]s.v. Phoenix 1
- in mythology, (1) son of Amyntor king of Hellas (in the old sense of the word), who left home when young on account of a quarrel with his father. The latter had a concubine of whom his wife, Phoenix's mother, was jealous; she induced her son to corrupt the woman and thus make her lose Amyntor's favour. The old man, finding out, cursed his son with childlessness, and Phoenix, despite his relations attempts to stop him, went to Phthia, where Peleus (q.v.) received him kindly and made him a sort of tutor to the young Achilles (q.v.). He accompanied his charge to the Trojan War, where he was one of the ambassadors sent to bring Agamemnon's offers of reconciliation (Iliad 9, 168 ff.); Euripides in his lost Phoenix followed a version in which Amyntor blinded Phoenix and the latter was finally healed by Chiron (see NAuck, TGF 621 ff.). ... H.J.R.
Parada
[edit]s.v. Phoenix 2
- King of the Dolopians. Companion of Achilles. Had been blinded by his father but his sight was restored by Chiron. (For similar cases see Plexipuss 2 and Pandion 3.)
Powel
[edit]- FIGURE 9.1 Embassy to Achilles. Achilles sits on a chair covered by a goat skin, his head wrapped in a cloak of mourning, his hand to his head in grief. He holds a gnarled staff. Opposite sits Odysseus, with his characteristic hat on his back, holding two javelins. Behind Odysseus stands the aged Phoenix with a staff similar to Achilles', and on the right Patroklos looks on, leaning on his own staff. Ajax does not appear. Athenian red-figure vase, c. 480 BC, by Kleophrades.
Scodel
[edit][In folder]
p. 128
- 3 The communis opinio sees this section as serving to stress the emotional ties between Phoenix and Achilles; see ...
p. 129
- specify ... Here, most Unitarians would agree on the basic structure of the speech and on its place within the Iliad.4 The embassy has three speakers: Odysseus presents the official offer of Agamemnon, Phoenix an exposition of heroic, traditional ethics, Ajax the simple claims of friendship. ...
- 4 ... Some Analysts, regarding Phoenix as a late interpolation into the embassy, ...
Shapiro 1990, "Comings and Goings"
[edit]- 13 Departure of Neoptolemos: 1. Volute-krater by the Boreas Painter, Ferrara 44701; ARV2 536,4; Addenda2 255; N. Alfieri, Spina. Museo Archeologico Nazionale de Ferrara I, Bologna, 1979, p. 24, fig. 60;
Shapiro 1994, "Myth into Art"
[edit][In folder]
p. ix
- 8. Embassy to Achilles. Attic red-figure skyphos, attributed to Makron, side B. Paris, Louvre G146. Ca. 480-470. 17
p. 16
- Book 9: the embassy to Achilles
- With the loss of Briseis, Achilles retires from the battlefield, determined to remain aloof until Agamemnon and the other Achaeans acknowledge that [cont.]
p. 17
- Figure 8 ...
p. 18
- Figure 9 Embassy to Achilles. Attic calyx-krater, attributed to the Eucarides Painter, Side A. Paris, Louvre G163. Ca. 490.
p. 19
- A series of about a dozen Attic vases of the fifth century depicts the emissaries in Achille' tent (Figs. 8 and 9). The cast of characters varies, as we shall see, ...
- The consistency ... arouse suspicion that another telling of the story has intervened between Homer and the fifth-century vase painters. Indeed, early in his career (c. 490), the playwrite Aeschylus presented a trilogy on the subject of Achilles at Troy whose first play, the Myrmidons, dealt with the embassy. Only a few scraps of the play survive, but the striking image of Achilles, muffled in his cloak and sitting in stony silence, made such an impression that Aristophanes could recall and make fun of it nearly a century later (Frogs 911-13).
- What is less clear is whether any other departures from the Homeric version -— the occasional substitution of Diomedes for Ajax, for example — can be attributed to Aescylus' influenced. ... The earliest of the series decorates one side of an impressively large calyx-krater of about 490 (see Fig. 9) -that is, very close in date to Aeschylus' play. ... Behind Odysseus stands Phoinix, not white-haired as he will be on some latter vases, but still clearly the oldest of the company with his heavy drapery, tentative stance, and long walking-stick.
Shapiro 2009, Homer in the City of Erasmus
[edit][In folder]
p. 6
- the remarkable Basel stamnos attributed to the Triptolemos Painter (fig. 4) is displayed so that we see only the embassy to Achilles on the obverse but not the enigmatic reverse with two warriors fighting over a dead ram that seems to be labeled as Patroklos.37 If, as Peter Blome tentatively suggests in the catalogue entry, the two warriors should be Achilles and Hektor after the death of Patroklos at the hands of Hektor, the scene on the reverse represents a direct response to the embassy on the other side of the vase.
- Fig.4. Athenian red-figure stamnos: top, the embassy to Achilles in book 9 of the Iliad; bottom, warriors fighting over a dead ram, ht. 35.6 cm, ca. 480 B.C. Attributed to the Triptolemos Painter. Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. no. BS 477 ...
- 37 Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. no. BS 477 (BAPD no. 203796; Latacz et al. 2008, 369, no. 104).
Smith
[edit]- A son of Amynltor by Cleobule or Hippodameia, was king of the Dolopes, and took part not only in the Calydonian hunt (Tzetz. ad Lycoph. 421; Eustath. ad Hom. p. 762; Hyg. Fab. 173 ; Ov. Met. 8.307), but being a friend of Peleus, he accompanied Achilles on his expedition against Troy. (Hyg. Fab. 257; Ov. Ep. 3.27 ; Apollod. 3.13.8.) His father Amyntor neglected his legitimate wife, and attached himself to a mistress, but the former desired her son to dishonour her rival. Phoenix yielded to the request of his mother, and Amyntor, who discovered it, cursed him, and prayed that he might never be blessed with any offspring. Phoenix now desired to quit his father's house, but his relations compelled him to remain. At last, however, he fled to Peleuis, who received him kindly, made him the ruler of the country of the Dolopes, on the frontiers of Phthiia, and entrusted to him his son Achilles, whonm he was to educate. (Hom. Il. 9.447, &c.) According to another tradition, Phoenix did not dishonour his father's mistress (Phthia or Clytia), but she merely accused him of having made imiproper overtures to her, in consequence of which his father put out his eyes. But Peleus took himt to Cheiron, who restored to him his sight. (Apollod. 3.13.8.) Phoenix moreover is said to have called the son of Achilles Neoptolemnus, after Lycomedes had called him Pyrrhus. (Paus. 10.26, § l.) Neoptolemus was believed to have buried Phoenix at Eion in Macedonia or at Trachis in Thessaly. (Tzetz. ad Lyc. 417; Strab. ix. p.428.) it must further be observed, that Phoenix is one of the mythical beings to whom the ancients ascribed the invention of the alphabet. (Tzetz. Chil. 12.68.)
Swain
[edit][In folder]
Tripp
[edit]s.v. Phoenix (2)
- p. 477
- A king of the Dolopians. Phoenix was the son of Amyntor, king of Ormenium, at the foot of Mount Pelion. His mother persuaded Phoenix to seduce Her husband's concubine, of whom she was jealous. Amyntor cursed him, asking the Erinyes to deny him children. Phoenix contemplated killing his father but instead decided to flee. He escaped, even though his relatives imprisoned him in the hope of inducing him to remain. According to a different version of the story, Amyntor blinded his son, not realizing that the charge od seduction was false. Phoenix' sight was restored by the Centaur Cheiron at the request of Peleus, king of Phthia, who befriended Phoenix in both versions. Peleus made him king of the Dolopians.
- p. 478
- While still young, Phoenix took part in the Calydonian boar hunt. Peleus placed Phoenix in charge of his young son Achilles. whose earlier training had been in the hands of Cheiron. As an old man Phoenix accompanied Achilles to the Trojan War, after having gone to Scyrus to persuade the boy to fight. He did not desert the other Greeks when Achilles, having quarreled with Agamemnon, withdrew from the fighting. He joined the fruitless embassy of Ajax and Odysseus to plead with Achilles to relent. When it failed, he remained with Achilles. At the end of the war he set out for Greece with Achilles' son Neoptolemus, but died on the journey. [Homer, Iliad, 9.168-661, 16.196, 17.553-566; Apollodorus 3.13.8, "Epitome" 4.3, 6.12; Sophocles, Philoctetes 343-347]
Iconography
[edit]Vases
[edit]Antikenmuseum BS 477
[edit]Shapiro 2009
- p. 8
- the remarkable Basel stamnos attributed to the Triptolemos Painter (fig. 4) is displayed so that we see only the embassy to Achilles on the obverse but not the enigmatic reverse with two warriors fighting over a dead ram that seems to be labeled as Patroklos.37 If, as Peter Blome tentatively suggests in the catalogue entry, the two warriors should be Achilles and Hektor after the death of Patroklos at the hands of Hektor, the scene on the reverse represents a direct response to the embassy on the other side of the vase.
- Fig.4. Athenian red-figure stamnos: top, the embassy to Achilles in book 9 of the Iliad; bottom, warriors fighting over a dead ram, ht. 35.6 cm, ca. 480 B.C. Attributed to the Triptolemos Painter. Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. no. BS 477 ...
- 37 Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig, Inv. no. BS 477 (BAPD no. 203796; Latacz et al. 2008, 369, no. 104).
Matheson 2014, pp. 142–143
- Phoinix joins the Trojan king in separating Achilles from Hektor in vase painting, although not in Iliad 7.10
- 10 E.g., Stammos, Triptolemos Painter, Basel Antikenmuseum BS 477:ARV2 361.7; BAPD 203796.
Matheson 2009, p. 195
- He wears his long hair tied up in back in the Triptolemos Painter's stamnos in Basel.
Beazley Archive 203796
- Vase Number: 203796
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: STAMNOS
- Date: -500 to -450
- Inscriptions: Kalos/Kale: NIKOS[T]RATOS KALOS
- NIKOSTRATOS
- Named: PHOINICHS
- Attributed To: TRIPTOLEMOS P by BEAZLEY
- Decoration: A: FIGHT, HEKTOR AND ACHILLES FIGHTING OVER RAM, PHOINIX AND PRIAM, HELMET AND SWORD SUSPENDED (ALL NAMED, PHOINICHS), SHIELD DEVICE, LION
- B: MISSION TO ACHILLES, ODYSSEUS AND ACHILLES SEATED ON STOOLS, DIOMEDES, PHOINIX, COLUMN, SHIELD DEVICE, CLUB, HELMET SUSPENDED
- OH: SHIELDS, DEVICES, SNAKE, KANTHAROS
- Current Collection: Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig: BS477
- Object
- ID: 12573
- Type: stamnos
- Artist: Triptolemos Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Dating: -480 – -470
AVI Web 1999
- AVI 1999: Basel, Antikenmuseum und Sammlung Ludwig BS 477. RF stamnos. Triptolemos Painter. Nikostratos, kalos. First quarter fifth.
- History: Ex Swiss Private.
- Decoration: A: uncertain subject: Ajax or Achilles is about to fight with Hector over a ram with its throat cut; both are restrained by Phoenix and Priam respectively. B: Embassy to Achilles, with Diomedes, Odysseus, Achilles and Phoenix. Above each handle, a shield.
- Inscriptions: A: behind Phoenix: Φοινιχς.
Ferrara 44701
[edit]Gantz, p. 640
- In the same poet's Philoketes, Neoptolemos himself says that Odysseus and Phoinix came to fetch him, ... and the same two Achaians are named on a Red-Figure volute krater of about 470 B.C. where they appear together with Lycomedes and his (unamed) daughter and grandson (Ferrara 44701).
Beazley Archive 206070
- Vase Number: 206070
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: KRATER, VOLUTE
- Provenance: ITALY, SPINA
- Date: -500 to -450
- Attributed To: BOREAS P by BEAZLEY
- Decoration: A: (continued) (ODYSSEUS AND PHOINIX, NAMED), WOMAN
- A: NEOPTOLEMOS (NAMED) LEAVING SKYROS, DRAPED MEN WITH STAFFS, ONE WEARING CHLAMYS AND PETASOS :WITH SPEARS
- B: WOMEN, ONE WITH CORSLET, ONE WITH CUSHION
- UH: DRAPED MAN SEATED WITH STAFF (LYKOMEDES ?), YOUTH WITH SHIELD, DEVICE, SNAKE
- Current Collection: Ferrara, Museo Nazionale di Spina: T18CVP
- Previous Collections:
- Ferrara, Museo Nazionale di Spina: 44701
- Object
- ID: 6591
- Type: volute crater
- Artist: Boreas Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Discovery: Spina
- Description
- A: Neoptolemos biding farewell to his mother Deidameia and his grandfather Lykomedes (I). On the right Phoinix and Odysseus. B: Achilleus and the daughters of Lykomedes (I).
- LIMC
- Phoinix II (S) 16 ( ) ( )
- Neoptolemos 11 (*) ( )
Moore, p. 186
- Phoinix and Lycomedes on Ferrara 44701 (T 18 C VP), by the Boreas Painter (ARV 2 536.4; Paralipomena 384.4; Beazley Addenda 2 255)
Shapiro 1990, p. 116
- 13 Departure of Neoptolemos: 1. Volute-krater by the Boreas Painter, Ferrara 44701; ARV2 536,4; Addenda2 255; N. Alfieri, Spina. Museo Archeologico Nazionale de Ferrara I, Bologna, 1979, p. 24, fig. 60;
J. Paul Getty Museum 77.AE.20
[edit]Moore, pp. 177–178
- FIGURE 6. Attic red-figured cup attributed to Euphronios. Side A, Ajax carrying the body of Achilles. Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum 77.AE.20
- A similar moment seems to occur on a very poorly preserved cup in the Getty Museum, attributed to Euphronios (fig. 7).43 The obverse shows a procession to the right with Ajax carrying the body of Achilles. Heading the line should be Phoinix, followed by a woman with hand to head in a gesture of mourning. Bringing up the rear of the procession is another male, very likely Odysseus.
Beazley Archive 7504
- Vase Number: 7504
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: CUP B
- Date: -525 to -475
- Attributed To: EUPHRONIOS by BOTHMER
- Decoration: A: AJAX AND ACHILLES, PHOINIX (?) AND THETIS, ODYSSEUS (?)
- B: CHARIOT HARNESSING
- I: FLORAL, PALMETTE AND LOTUS COMPLEX
- Current Collection: Malibu (CA), The J. Paul Getty Museum: 77.AE.20
- Object
- ID: 18151
- Type: cup, kylix
- Artist: Euphronios
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Dating: -525 – -500
- Description
- Fragment. A: group consisting of a running bearded warrior with the corps of companion over his shoulder, probably Aias with the corps of Achilleus. The group in front of them is interpreted as Thetis and Phoinix, the bearded warrior behind Aias is probably Odysseus.
J. Paul Getty Museum 77.AE.20
- Title: Fragmentary Attic Red-Figure Cup
- Artist/Maker: Euphronios (Greek (Attic), active 520 - 480 B.C.) Kachrylion
- Culture: Greek (Attic)
- Place: Athens, Greece (Place Created)
- Date: about 490 B.C.
- Medium: Terracotta
- Object Number: 77.AE.20
- Side A depicts the body of Achilles. From the right is a man (Phoenix) in chiton and himation moving to the right with head bent. The top of the head is either bald or cloaked. His right hand is forward and holds a spear or staff in added red. Most of the head, cheast and shoulders are missing. A woman (Thetis) strides right and looks back. Her left arm is stretched in front of her and her right raised to her head in mourning. her chiton has a pattern of dots and she wears a bracelet in added red. A bearded warrior (Ajax) walks to the right with a Corinthian helmet on his head and a Boeotian shield on left arm and the corpse of Achilles over his left shoulder. Much of Ajax's left arm, shield, and most of Achilles' head are missing. He carries a spear in added red. On the left side is a bearded figure (probably Odysseus), moving right, but most of him is lost.
London 1897.0727.2
[edit]Gantz, p. 658
- The scene [of Polxena's slaughter at the tomb of Achilles] is clearly illustrated on a Tyrrhenian amphora of about 570 B.C., where ... (London 1897.7-27.2). Behind Neoptolemos to the left stands Diomedes and Nestor in attendance; behind Aias to the right is Phoinix, but with his back turned as if disapproving or unable to watch.
Beazley Archive 310027
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: BLACK-FIGURE
- Shape Name: AMPHORA, NECK
- Date: -575 to -525
- Inscriptions: Named: NEOPTOLEMOS, DIOMEDES, NESTOR, AMPHILOCHOS, AMTIPHATES, AJAX, PHOINIX
- Attributed To: TIMIADES P by BOTHMER
- TYRRHENIAN GROUP by WALTERS
- Decoration: A,B2-3: ANIMAL FRIEZES, RAMS, SIRENS, PANTHERS, SWAN, FLORAL
- A1: SACRIFICE OF POLYXENE, OVER ALTAR, NEOPTOLEMOS, DIOMEDES, NESTOR, AMPHILOCHOS, ANTIPHATES, AJAX, PHOINIX (ALL NAMED), STOOL
- B1: KOMOS, MAN AND YOUTHS DANCING BETWEEN COCKS
- Current Collection: London, British Museum: 1897.0727.2
- Object
- ID: 11175
- Type: neck amphora
- Artist: Tyrrhenian Group,Timiades Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Dating: -575 – -550
British Museum 1897,0727.2
- Date 570BC-550BC (circa)
Louvre Campania 321
[edit]Schefold, p. 244
- 299 The herald Hodios, a servant, Nestor, Phoinix and a second servant visit Achilles in his tent. Caeretan hydria, c. 520. Paris, Louvre Campania 321.
- Scenes from the Iliad II: the mission to Achilles; ...
- For our first pictures of the angry hero glowering in his hut we must wait until the early classical period, but the three ambassadors Phoinix, Odysseus and Ajax are already shown on their way to the meeting on the tripod-leg from Olympia which also has the Troilos scene (M&L p. 75 fig. 28). Although the episode is not illustrated in Attic art, it does appear on a Caeretan hydria which caused a great stir when it was discovered sixty years ago fig. 299); here we not only find inscriptions naming the characters, but inscriptions in the Ionian alphabet, ... The pictures show two groups of heroes meeting in preparation for the mission to Achilles. The leader of the group is almost completely destroyed, but his identity is guaranteed by a surviving inscription: it is Nestor. ... then comes Ajax, ... the herald Hodios, who is mentioned in the Iliad, brings up the rear. The hero who leads the right hand procession must of course be Phoinix;
- Object
- ID: 12665
- Type: hydria
- Origin: Caere, Caeretan
- Category: vase painting
- Description
- Embassy of the Greeks to Achilleus: At the left a group of four figures - at the head stands Nestor, behind him a small servant, then Aias and Hodios. At the right a second group, from right to left - Phoinix (II) at the head, behind him a servant, Odysseus and Eurybates (II). Some other figures are also named.
- Names
- Achilleus, Eurybates II, Nestor
Louvre G146
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/42/Akhilleus_embassy_Louvre_G146.jpg/250px-Akhilleus_embassy_Louvre_G146.jpg)
Shapiro 1994, p. ix, (and 17?)
- 8. Embassy to Achilles. Attic red-figure skyphos, attributed to Makron, side B. Paris, Louvre G146. Ca. 480-470. 17
Beazley Archive 204682
- Vase Number: 204682
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: SKYPHOS
- Date: -500 to -450
- Inscriptions: HIERON
- Signature: HIERONEPOIESEN
- Attributed To: HIERON POTTER by SIGNATURE
- MAKRON by BEAZLEY
- Decoration: A: AGAMEMNON (NAMED) LEADING BRISEIS, TALTHYBIOS WITH KERYKEION, DIOMEDES (BOTH NAMED), TREE
- B: MISSION TO ACHILLES, SEATED, AJAX, ODYSSEUS, PHOINIX (ALL NAMED)
- UH: STOOL
- Current Collection: Berlin, Antikensammlung: 1970.9A
- Previous Collections:
- Paris, Musee du Louvre: G146
- Malibu (CA), The J. Paul Getty Museum: 86.AE.314
- Object
- ID: 8366
- Type: skyphos
- Artist: Makron and Hieron
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Discovery: Nola
- Dating: -500 – -475
AVI Web 6487
- AVI 6487: Paris, Louvre G 146. RF skyphos. Makron. First quarter fifth. 490-480. Hauptwerk II (Kunisch).
- Decoration: A: Briseis led away: Agamemnon leading Briseis to left; Talthybios with kerykeion to left; Diomedes to left but looking back; tree. B: Mission to Achilles(1): Ajax to right, leaning on his stick; Odysseus, armed, to right, leaning on two spears; Achilles seated to left; Phoenix to left, leaning on his stick; under the handle, stool with cushion.
- Inscriptions: On handle A/B, [on the left hasta, in the BG area], Gr.: hιερον επο{2}. A: Αγ[α]μεσμο[ν]. Θαλ(θ)υβιος{3}. Διομεδες. B: Αιας. Ὀλυττευς. [Α]χιλλευς. Φοινι[χ]ς.
Louvre G152
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/e8/Briseis_Phoinix_Louvre_G152.jpg/250px-Briseis_Phoinix_Louvre_G152.jpg)
Matheson 2009, p. 195
- Phoinix receives wine from Briseis on the Brygos Painter's Ilioupersis kylix in the Louvre (Fig. 3).33
- 33 Supra n. 5. [= Paris, Louvre G 152: ARV2 369,1; Para 365; BAdd2 224.]
Beazley Archive 203900
- Vase Number: 203900
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: CUP
- Provenance: ITALY, ETRURIA, VULCI
- Date: -500 to -450
- Inscriptions: BRYGOS
- Inscription: AKAMAS, POLYCHSENE, PRIAMOS, NEOPTOLEMOS
- Inscription: BRISEES, PHOINICHS
- Inscription: HYPEROS, ORISMENES, ANDROMACHE, ASTYANACHS
- Named: ASTYANAX
- Named: BRISEIS, PHOINIX
- Named: POLYXENE
- Signature: BRYGOSEPOIESEN
- Attributed To: BRYGOS by SIGNATURE
- Decoration: A,B: ILIOUPERSIS, PRIAM SEATED ON ALTAR AND NEOPTOLEMOS WITH ASTYANAX, POLYXENE AND AKAMAS (ALL NAMED), :WARRIORS, SOME FALLEN, ANDROMACHE AND ASTYANAX (BOTH NAMED), WOMAN FLEEING, DEVICES, LION, SNAKE
- I: PHOINIX SEATED WITH PHIALE, BRISEIS WITH OINOCHOE, SHIELD DEVICE, BULL, BOTH NAMED
- Current Collection: Paris, Musee du Louvre: G152
- Object
- ID: 241
- Type: cup, kylix
- Artist: Brygos Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Discovery: Vulci
- Dating: -500 – -475
AVI Web 6490
Louvre G163
[edit]Shapiro 1994
- p. ix
- 9 Embassy to Achilles. Attic calyx-krater, attributed to the Eucarides Painter, Side A. Paris, Louvre G163. Ca. 490.
- p. 18
- Figure 9 Embassy to Achilles. Attic calyx-krater, attributed to the Eucarides Painter, Side A. Paris, Louvre G163. Ca. 490.
- p. 19
- The earliest of the series decorates one side of an impressively large calyx-krater of about 490 (see Fig. 9) -that is, very close in date to Aeschylus' play. ... Behind Odysseus stands Phoinix, not white-haired as he will be on some latter vases, but still clearly the oldest of the company with his heavy drapery, tentative stance, and long walking-stick.
Beazley Archive 202217
- Vase Number: 202217
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: KRATER, CALYX
- Provenance: ITALY, ETRURIA, CERVETERI
- Date: -500 to -450
- Inscriptions: Named: OLYTEUS, HYPNOS, DIOMEDES, SARPEDON (?)
- Attributed To: EUCHARIDES P by BEAZLEY
- Decoration: A2: SATYRS, ONE WITH DRINKING HORN AND WINESKIN, DANCING, KOMOS
- A: HYPNOS AND THANATOS (BOTH NAMED) CARRYING THE BODY OF SARPEDON
- B2: YOUTHS, ONE WITH PIPES, ONE WITH DRINKING HORN AND STAFF, KOMOS
- B: MISSION TO ACHILLES, PHOINIX (?), ODYSSEUS AND ACHILLES SEATED, AJAX (?), SWORD AND SHIELD SUSPENDED, LEOPARD SKIN :ON STOOL
- Current Collection: Paris, Musee du Louvre: G163
- ID: 9764
- Type: calyx crater
- Artist: Eucharides Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Discovery: Cerveteri, Caere
AVI Web 6494
Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8770
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/12/Akhilleus_embassy_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_8770-_cropped_white_balanced_glare_reduced.png/250px-Akhilleus_embassy_Staatliche_Antikensammlungen_8770-_cropped_white_balanced_glare_reduced.png)
Boardman, Griffin, and Murray, p. 47
- THE MISSION TO ACHILLES, to persuade him to return to the battlefield, was described in Iliad 9. The scene becomes popular on Athenian vases in the early fifth century, when the story was treated on the stage by Aeschylus. On the vases the heroes involved and Achilles' mood do not closely mirror Homer's treatment. On this vase Odysseus is seated arguing with the disconsolate Achilles. At the left is an old man, Phoinix (Achilles' mentor) and at the right Patroclus. The artist (the Cleophrades Painter) is particularly fond of Trojan scenes: the date is about 485-475 BC.
Powell, p. 220
- FIGURE 9.1 Embassy to Achilles. Achilles sits on a chair covered by a goat skin, his head wrapped in a cloak of mourning, his hand to his head in grief. He holds a gnarled staff. Opposite sits Odysseus, with his characteristic hat on his back, holding two javelins. Behind Odysseus stands the aged Phoenix with a staff similar to Achilles', and on the right Patroklos looks on, leaning on his own staff. Ajax does not appear. Athenian red-figure vase, c. 480 BC, by Kleophrades.
Beazley Archive 352474
- Vase Number: 352474
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: HYDRIA
- Date: -500 to -450
- Attributed To: KLEOPHRADES P by BEAZLEY
- Decoration: SH: MISSION TO ACHILLES, SEATED ON STOOL WITH DEER SKIN, DRAPED MAN SEATED ON BLOCK (ODYSSEUS ?), OLD MAN (NESTOR ?), DRAPED :YOUTH SEATED ON STAFF
- Current Collection: Basel, A. Wilhelm
- Previous Collections:
- Munich, Antikensammlungen: 8770
- Object
- ID: 6001
- Type: hydria
- Artist: Kleophrades Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Description
- Patroklos standing, Achilleus seated. Odysseus and Phoinix (II).
AVI Web 5361
Matheson, p. 143
Martin von Wagner Museum L508
[edit]Robertson, p. 67
- On the Kleophrades Painter's vase two massive figures on each side make the whole decoration. ... In each picture a fully armed warrior is restrained by an old man in chiton and himation: on the back (fig. 55), Hektor held by Priam; on the front Ajax by Phoenix (an episode from the Iliad). ... and though much of the Greek is lost enough remains to show that the figures correspond exactly:
Beazley Archive 201658
- Vase Number: 201658
- Fabric: ATHENIAN
- Technique: RED-FIGURE
- Shape Name: AMPHORA A
- Provenance: ITALY, ETRURIA, VULCI
- Date: -500 to -450
- Inscriptions: Kalos/Kale: KALOS EI
- Named: PHOINICHS, HEKTOR
- Attributed To: KLEOPHRADES P by BEAZLEY
- KLEOPHRADES P by HARTWIG
- Decoration: A: AJAX AND PHOINIX (NAMED), SHIELD DEVICE, BLACK YOUTH WITH TRUMPET
- B: HEKTOR (NAMED), PRIAM
- Current Collection: Wurzburg, Universitat, Martin von Wagner Mus.: HA119
- Previous Collections:
- Wurzburg, Universitat, Martin von Wagner Mus.: L508
- Object
- ID: 12569
- Type: amphora
- Artist: Kleophrades Painter
- Origin: Attica
- Category: vase painting
- Material: terracotta
- Discovery: Vulci
- Dating:
- Description
- The old main restraining Hektor could be Antenor (I) as the counterpart of Phoinix (I) wo restrains Aias (I) on the other side of the vase. A black man blowing a long trumpet as design on the round shield of a hoplite.
AVI Web: 8123
- AVI 8123: Würzburg, Martin-von-Wagner-Museum der Universität (L 508). Fragmentary RF amphora. From Vulci. Kleophrades Painter. First quarter fifth. Ca. 480. Later (Beazley).
- Decoration: A: Ajax and Phoenix. B: Hector and Priam{1}.
- Inscriptions: A: Ajax' name is lost. To right of his legs: [κα]λος ει. To right of Phoenix' face: Φοινιχς. B: Priam's name is lost. To left of Hector's helmet: hεκτο[ρ], retr. To right of his lower body: καλος ει.
- Commentary: = HA 119. B: the old man leading Hector away is now generally agreed to be Priam, except by Davies, LIMC, s.v. Antenor; see the bibl. in CVA.
- Footnotes: {1} "That the old man is Priam is suggested by the inscription on a stamnos by the Triptolemos Painter [Swiss Private] (361, no. 7)." (ARV[2]). This supersedes Beazley (1933). (Antenor perhaps preferable to Priam).
Embassy to Achilles Examples
[edit]- Antikenmuseum BS 477
- Louvre Campania 321 (pre embassy?)
- Louvre G146
- Louvre G163
- Staatliche Antikensammlungen 8770
Other
[edit]Tripod-leg from Olympia
[edit]Schefold, p. 244
- For our first pictures of the angry hero glowering in his hut we must wait until the early classical period, but the three ambassadors Phoinix, Odysseus and Ajax are already shown on their way to the meeting on the tripod-leg from Olympia which also has the Troilos scene (M&L p. 75 fig. 28).
- Object
- ID: 6583
- Type: tripod
- Origin: Greek
- Category: toreutics
- Material: bronze
- Discovery: Olympia
- Dating: -625 – -600
- Names
- Achilleus, Aias I, Ariadne, Odysseus, Phoinix II, Theseus
- Description
- Bearded man with lyre; woman with wreath (Theseus and Ariadne). Phoinix (II) with caducaeus in front of Odysseus and Aias.