Διόνυσος (fr. 7)

71

Ath. 9.407e
ότι δέ και τών δήμων Άχαρνεύς ό Τηλέμαχος ό αυτός ποιητής φησιν έν Διονύσω ούτως · ό
δ’ Άχαρνικός Τηλέμαχος - χύτραν φέρει
That Telemachus was from the deme of Acharnae is mentioned by the same poet in Dionysus
as follows: Is Telemachus - his arm.

Metre lambic trimeter

79 Cf. Eust. in Od. p. 1394.24, who rightly speaks of the ‘pot of Telemachus’ as a proverb,
but reproduces Athenaeus’ interpretation of its origin, stating that Telemachus himself
would always eat a pot of beans: ός φασι κυάμων χύτραν άει σιτούμενος ήν.

Discussion Meineke III (1840) 594; Kock II (1884) 454; Bevilacqua 1939, 44-5;
Edmonds II (1959) 606-7; PCG VII (1989) 760; Apostolakis 2014, 117-8.
Citation context The fragment is cited by Athenaeus in a culinary context, where
Telemachus’ proverbial pot is discussed. Two more fragments of Timocles contai-
ning references to Telemachus are quoted in the same section: fr. 23 from Λήθη,
where a person asks Telemachus to loan him the pot in which he cook beans, and
fr. 18 from’lKdpioi Σάτυροι, where Telemachus is again mentioned with reference
to a heap of beans. The speaker Democritus, however, seems to take at face value
and ‘literalize the last line of the fragment cited, and states that Telemachus had a
permanent appetite for beans: cf. below, under “Interpretation”.'4
Text 1-2 The distribution of the interlocutors Τηλέμαχος; :: έτι δημηγορεί,
proposed by van Herwerden 1864,36, invalidates the comic metaphor ofv. 4 by ad-
mitting from the beginning that Telemachus is still an active politician. Meineke’s
suggestion ούκ άλλ’ instead of ούτος δ’ would mean that Telemachus is no longer a
δημηγόρος (cf. Crusius 1888,624-5: “Telemachum igitur παυθήναι δημηγοροϋντα
dicere voluit poeta”); this also contradicts v. 4; see below, under “Interpretation”.
4 The transmitted θανατηγόν καλήν (A) is unmetrical. Moreover, θανατηγός
“death-bringing” an epithet of Hecate (PMag. Par. 1.2865), is unattested in classical
literature and makes no sense here, θάργηλον is Meineke’s emendation; cf. Hsch.
Θ 106.1 θάργηλος ■ χύτρα ιερού έψήματος; θ 104.5 και ό θάργηλος χύτρα έστιν
άνάπλεως σπερμάτων.
αγκάλη is Jacobs’ emendation instead of the transmitted καλήν. For άγκάλη
φέρειν cf. Hdt. 6.61 φορέειν έν τή άγκάλη. ν. 4 is incomplete, so Meineke proposes
<ούτος) άγκάλη, but this is awkward after ούτος in v. 2. Kaibel’s <κυάμων) χύτραν
makes much better sense (cf. frr. 18.5 σωρόν ... κυάμων and 23.3-4 τάς χύτρας/έν
αις έψεις τούς κυάμους). Another suggestion is Blaydes’ έν ταΐς άγκάλαις (adopted
by Edmonds, but not mentioned in PCG); cf. X. Cyr. 7.5.50 (cited below, on v.