The Abduction of Europa from Moschus to Nonnus
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Michael Paschalis
Abstract
At the beginning of his Histories, Herodotus quotes the view of Persian scholars, according to which the causes of the conflict with the Greeks date back to a series of mutual abductions: the Phoenicians were the first to abduct Io, the daughter of Inachus, from her native Argos, while the Cretans retaliated by abducting the princess Europa from Tyre; later on, the Greeks opened up a second cycle by snatching Medea, the daughter of the king of Colchis, while Alexander, Priam’s son, carried on with the abduction of Helen, which resulted into the Greek expedition against Troy. In the literary representation of abductions of this sort, it would not be paradoxical for Hellenocentrism to give way to patterns in which “Greeks” and “barbarians” are treated equally and indiscriminately, or even in which the evaluative relationship between the two groups is overturned. Especially since, in the civilization later shaped by the conquests of Alexander the Great and the Romans, the known world is being unified, while the earlier contradictions based on identity are minimized or altogether disappear and are being replaced by newer ones. A typical example are the prose and poetic narratives about the abduction of Europa. The relevant myth was known to Homer and was popular in antiquity, from Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women down to Nonnus’ Dionysiaca. The first surviving poetic narrative is the epyllion Europa by the poet Moschus from Syracuse (c. 150 BCE), which influenced almost all subsequent ancient Greek versions. Moschus’ inventions involve key issues, such as the Europe-Asia “encounter,” the “reciprocity” surrounding the abductions, and the nature of the abduction itself. Europe and Asia are treated equally, or there are successive reversals involved, before reaching the ideal unity that assumes the form of a wedding ritual. Starting with Moschus, the chapter will briefly examine all Greco-Roman versions of the myth up to the Virgilian cento Europa, mapping out the “fortunes” of older ethnocentric stereotypes- the absolute hold of which has, of course, been challenged in recent years.
Abstract
At the beginning of his Histories, Herodotus quotes the view of Persian scholars, according to which the causes of the conflict with the Greeks date back to a series of mutual abductions: the Phoenicians were the first to abduct Io, the daughter of Inachus, from her native Argos, while the Cretans retaliated by abducting the princess Europa from Tyre; later on, the Greeks opened up a second cycle by snatching Medea, the daughter of the king of Colchis, while Alexander, Priam’s son, carried on with the abduction of Helen, which resulted into the Greek expedition against Troy. In the literary representation of abductions of this sort, it would not be paradoxical for Hellenocentrism to give way to patterns in which “Greeks” and “barbarians” are treated equally and indiscriminately, or even in which the evaluative relationship between the two groups is overturned. Especially since, in the civilization later shaped by the conquests of Alexander the Great and the Romans, the known world is being unified, while the earlier contradictions based on identity are minimized or altogether disappear and are being replaced by newer ones. A typical example are the prose and poetic narratives about the abduction of Europa. The relevant myth was known to Homer and was popular in antiquity, from Hesiod’s Catalogue of Women down to Nonnus’ Dionysiaca. The first surviving poetic narrative is the epyllion Europa by the poet Moschus from Syracuse (c. 150 BCE), which influenced almost all subsequent ancient Greek versions. Moschus’ inventions involve key issues, such as the Europe-Asia “encounter,” the “reciprocity” surrounding the abductions, and the nature of the abduction itself. Europe and Asia are treated equally, or there are successive reversals involved, before reaching the ideal unity that assumes the form of a wedding ritual. Starting with Moschus, the chapter will briefly examine all Greco-Roman versions of the myth up to the Virgilian cento Europa, mapping out the “fortunes” of older ethnocentric stereotypes- the absolute hold of which has, of course, been challenged in recent years.
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- List of Figures IX
- Introduction 1
- Intercultural Relations and the Barbarian Repertoire in Greek Culture 7
- Making Friends with Foreigners: Xenoi in the Homeric Epics 29
- The xenos as a Focus for Civic Unity in History, Ritual, and Literature 55
- A God in Translation? Dionysus from Lucian to Gandhara 73
- The Phrygian Slave in Euripides’ Orestes 99
- Greek Historians, Persika and the Persian Empire (late 5th.c. – 4th.c.) 119
- The Abduction of Europa from Moschus to Nonnus 139
- List of Contributors 161
- Bibliography 163
- Index of Sources 177
- Index of Terms 187
Chapters in this book
- Frontmatter I
- Acknowledgements V
- Contents VII
- List of Figures IX
- Introduction 1
- Intercultural Relations and the Barbarian Repertoire in Greek Culture 7
- Making Friends with Foreigners: Xenoi in the Homeric Epics 29
- The xenos as a Focus for Civic Unity in History, Ritual, and Literature 55
- A God in Translation? Dionysus from Lucian to Gandhara 73
- The Phrygian Slave in Euripides’ Orestes 99
- Greek Historians, Persika and the Persian Empire (late 5th.c. – 4th.c.) 119
- The Abduction of Europa from Moschus to Nonnus 139
- List of Contributors 161
- Bibliography 163
- Index of Sources 177
- Index of Terms 187
