Posidippus, Hippica AB 79: the hippic victories of the Ptolemaic princess Berenice Syra(?) at the Nemean games

Title

Posidippus, Hippica AB 79: the hippic victories of the Ptolemaic princess Berenice Syra(?) at the Nemean games

Date

3rd century BCE

Type

Victory epigram

Source Type

Literary source

Commentary

The Argives are the people of Argos, the city that organized the Nemean Games at this time.

Agonothetai are the games' organizers.

Translation

The royal maiden, indeed, Berenice, with the chariot carries off all victory wreaths for teams of horses at the same time, Nemean Zeus, at your (sanctuary). With the speed of her horses, her chariot left behind, when [...], numerous charioteers; [...] the horses running under the r[ei]n were the fir[st] to reach the Argive [ago]nothetai.

Translation used

translation by Alexander Meeus for the Cynisca project

Text

παρθένοϲ ἡ βαϲίλιϲϲα ϲὺν ἄντυ[γ]ι̣, ν̣αί, Βερε̣νίκη

     πάνταϲ ἅμα ζευκτοὺϲ ἀθλοφ̣ορεῖ ϲτεφάνουϲ,

Ζ̣εῦ παρὰ ϲοὶ Νεμεᾶ̣τα· τάχει δ’ ἀ̣πελί‹μ›πανεν ἵππω̣ν̣

     δίφρ̣ο̣ϲ̣ ἐπε̣ὶ̣ [.....]ι τὸν πολὺν ἡνίοχον,

δαλ[........ ἵ]π̣ποι ὑπὸ ῥ[υτ]ῆρι θέοντεϲ

     πρῶ[τοι ἐϲ Ἀ]ρ̣γ̣ο̣λικοὺϲ ἦλθον [ἀγω]νοθέταϲ.

Edition used

F. Angiò – M. Cuypers – B. Acosta-Hughes – Elizabeth Kosmetatou (eds.), New Poems attributed to Posidippus: a text in progress, Version 15, July 2024.

Bibliography

Kainz, L. (2016), “We are the best, we are one, and we are Greeks!” Reflections on the Ptolemies’ participation in the Agones, in: C. Mann – S. Remijsen – S. Scharff (eds.), Athletics in the Hellenistic World. Stuttgart: Franz Steiner, 331–53.

Mann, C. (2018), Könige, Poleis und Athleten in hellenistischer Zeit, Klio 100, 447–79.

Meaker, M. (2024), Women at the Races: Female Victors at Greek hippikoi agones, in: C. Frank – G. Gilles – C. Plastow – L. Webb (eds.), Female Agency in the Ancient Mediterranean, Liverpool, 49–82.

Remijsen, S. – S. Scharff (2015), The Expression of Identities in Hellenistic Victor Epigrams, in: T. F. Scanlon (ed.), Greek Sport and Poetry (Classics@ 13), online.

Thompson, D.J. (2005), Posidippus, Poet of the Ptolemies, in: K.J. Gutzwiller (ed.), The New Posidippus: A Hellenistic Poetry Book, Oxford, 269–283.

Collection

Citation

“Posidippus, Hippica AB 79: the hippic victories of the Ptolemaic princess Berenice Syra(?) at the Nemean games,” Cynisca: Documenting Women and Girls in Ancient Greek Sports, accessed December 22, 2024, https://fdz.bib.uni-mannheim.de/cynisca/items/show/174.

Output Formats