Musical contests before the Battle of Methone

Τὰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τῶν αὐλητῶν ὁμολογεῖται καὶ παρὰ Mαρσύᾳ (FGrHist 135-136 F 17), διότι συντελοῦντι μουσικοὺς ἀγῶνας αὐτῷ μικρὸν ἐπάνω τῆς συμφορᾶς κατὰ δαίμονα συνέβη τὸν Κύκλωπα πάντας αὐλῆσαι, Ἀντιγενείδην μὲν τὸν Φιλοξένου, Xρυσόγονον δὲ τὸν Στησιχόρου, Οἰνιάδην δ(ὲ) τὸν Τιμοθέου.

Οἰνιάδην δ(ὲ) τὸν Τιμοθέου Foucart: Τιμόθεον δ(ὲ) τὸν Οἰνιάδου Pap.

Now, as for the story concerning the aulos players, that is agreed upon even by Marsyas. (It says) that, as he (scil. Philip) was celebrating a music festival a little before this misfortune (i.e. the loss of his eye), it happened that fatefully all (the aulos players) played the (dithyramb) Kyklops (i.e. the one-eyed man); Antigeneides (played) the (Kyklops) of Philoxenos, Khrysogonos the (Kyklops) of [Stesikhoros, and Timotheos the (Kyklops) of Oiniades.

(trad. P. Hordern)

The information regarding an early musical contest organized by Philip II of Macedon is derived from a passage by Didymus, found in his commentary on Demosthenes’ speech Πρὸς τὴν ἐπιστολὴν Φιλίππου (12, 55-62). According to the account, the agōn was arranged by the king shortly before the battle of Methone in 354 BC, during which Philip lost his right eye (μικρὸν ἐπάνω τῆς συμφορᾶς). During the competition, the aulētai are said to have performed three dithyrambs, all entitled Cyclops, each attributed to a different poet: Antigenides performed the Cyclops by Philoxenus, Chrysogonus that by Stesichorus, and Oiniades that by Timotheus (on the curious coincidence that three performers would play dithyrambs by different poets but with the same subject, see Riginos 1994, p. 110; Harding 2006, p. 236). Regarding the final poet-performer pairing, we follow Foucart’s conjecture (1909, pp. 140-141; see critical apparatus), which proposes an inversion of the names as transmitted in the papyrus, reading: “Oiniades performed the Cyclops by Timotheus”, rather than “Timotheus performed that of Oiniades”. Given that no poet by the name of Oiniades is attested, it is plausible to identify him instead with the Theban aulētēs of the same name, son of Pronomus, who is known for his victory at the Dionysia in 384 BC (IG II² 3064). He would therefore have performed the Cyclops by Timotheus of Miletus, fragments of which survive. Doubts have been raised regarding the reliability of Didymus’ report, particularly concerning the principal source he draws upon for this episode: the Histories of Duris of Samos, a prominent representative of the so-called ‘tragic’ historiography. Didymus himself expresses some caution about Duris’ account, highlighting his tendency toward sensationalism and the miraculous. Even in the passage concerning the musical contest, there appears to be an allusion to a prophetic or supernatural dimension (cfr. κατὰ δαίμονα). Nonetheless, according to Didymus, this specific episode is corroborated by the Macedonian historian Marsyas of Pella, a contemporary and companion of Alexander the Great (FGrHist 135-136 F 17). The phrasing of the citation—τὰ μὲν γὰρ περὶ τῶν αὐλητῶν ὁμολογεῖται καὶ παρὰ Μαρσύᾳ (“the facts concerning the aulētai are also confirmed by Marsyas”)—suggests that the episode was well known and well documented. This strengthens the credibility of the report concerning Philip’s organization of musical contests and provides evidence for the circulation and re-performance of dithyrambic works by famous poets and musicians within Macedonian agonistic settings (see Fongoni 2014, p. 104). The specific location of these contests is not indicated. If one allows for a broader interval between the contest and the king’s injury, it might be plausible to contextualize the event within the Olympieia at Dion. Assuming a four-year cycle for this Macedonian national agōn (on which see Mari 1998, pp. 150-152), a date around 356 BC could be suggested. However, since the source clearly states that the contest occurred shortly before the king’s misfortune (μικρὸν ἐπάνω τῆς συμφορᾶς), it is also reasonable to propose that it took place in the Macedonian camp during the siege of Methone, which lasted several months. This view is supported by Giannou (2016, p. 46), who suggests that the performances occurred on improvised wooden stages set up by itinerant troupes, citing Plat. Leg. 817c as evidence for such a practice.

A. FONGONI, Filoxeni Cytherii. Testimonia et fragmenta, Pisa-Roma 2014; P. FOUCART, ‘Étude sur Didymos d’après un papyrus de Berlin’, in Mémoires de l’Institut national de France, tome 38, 1ᵉ partie, Paris 1909, pp. 27-218; T. GIANNOU, ‘Theatre and Music in Classical and Hellenistic Macedonia’, Logeion 6, 2016, pp. 30-92; P. HARDING (ed., trans.), Didymos: On Demosthenes, Oxford 2006; M. MARI, ‘Le Olimpie macedoni di Dion tra Archelao e l’età romana’, RFIC 126, 1998, pp. 137-169; A.S. RIGINOS, ‘The Wounding of Philip II of Macedon: Fact and Fabrication’, JHS 114, 1994, pp. 103-119.

Musical contests, aulos players, dithyramb, Cyclops, Philip II

[Alessandra Manieri]