A Commentary on Ibycus of Rhegium
Abstract
This is a commentary on the fragments and testimonia of the sixth century poet Ibycus of Rhegium. The Alexandrian scholars divided his poetry into seven books, though the manner of arrangement is unknown, and he was thereafter listed in the canon of the nine lyric poets. Like many members of this illustrious group, Ibycus' poetry survived primarily in quotations. Subsequently more fragments of the poet's work have reappeared in the Oxyrhynchus papyri, most notably S151 (fr. 282a P), evidently an ode addressed to Polycrates of Samos. The fragments have been edited most recently by Davies in PMGF I (1991) with the inclusion of the papyri. Throughout the twentieth century a significant body of work has developed around the fragments, in particular the ode to Polycrates, thus providing a sound base for an authoritative study of the poet's oeuvre. Despite the paucity of extant text, Ibycus' status as one of the nine canonical poets has put him among the required members of an anthology on Greek Lyric. Ibycus was only extracted briefly from the anthology in the nineteenth century by Schneidewin, but nearly two centuries have passed since his text and Latin commentary, the first work dealing solely with Ibycus. The appearance of the fragments posterior to Schneidewin's work, as well as a modern approach to the interpretation of early Greek literature, warrant a new, comprehensive treatment of the extant poetry of Ibycus.
Subject Area
Classical studies
Recommended Citation
Capra, Raymond Louis, "A Commentary on Ibycus of Rhegium" (2010). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI3431923.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI3431923
