Negotiating Seduction: Archilochus’ Cologne Epode and the Transformation of Epic

What is it about?

This article offers a new interpretation of Archilochus’ First Cologne Epode (fr. 196a W) by reading it as a sustained travesty of an epic seduction scene. The article begins by setting out the flexibility of the epic type-scene, with an analysis of the Dios Apate in Iliad 14, Aphrodite’s seduction of Anchises in the Homeric Hymn to Aphrodite, and Odysseus’ encounter with Nausicaa in Odyssey 6. The second part of the article demonstrates that the Cologne Epode is structured around the same core elements, but at every stage Archilochus subverts expectations by offering something that parodies epic convention. Reading the Epode as a vulgar iambic reworking of an epic tradition not only gives us insight into its sophistication but also helps resolve some of the interpretative difficulties which have long plagued scholars working on the poem, and in particular helps us see what is achieved by the poem’s surprising ending.

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