MELEAGER AND CATULLUS AT VERGIL ECLOGUE 1.55

Meleager's pair of epigrams on a grasshopper and cicada (AP 7.195 = HE 12 and AP 7.196 = HE 13) were popular with Roman poets of the late Republic. Allusions to the companion epigrams feature in two of the most programmatically significant poems of the period, Catullus 2 and Vergil Eclogue 1. In this note, I propose a previously unrecognized allusive relationship between these two Latin poems and their engagement with the grasshopper epigram of Meleager. Both Catullus and Vergil recall the address to Meleager's grasshopper at AP 7.195 as a pi alpha rho alpha mu theta iota omicron nu, but they interpret the meaning of the epithet quite differently. pi alpha rho alpha mu theta iota omicron nu has the attested meanings of either encouragement/exhortation or consolation. I argue that Vergil's translation of pi alpha rho alpha mu theta iota omicron nu ?pi nu omicron upsilon into somnum suadebit inire at Eclogue 1.55 is a direct response to Catullus' earlier interpretation of pi alpha rho alpha mu theta iota omicron nu as solaciolum at 2.7. Vergil's allusion to Catullus 2 serves to highlight the differences in erotic scenarios for the speaker of Catullus 2 and Tityrus and to demonstrate Vergil's ability to creatively integrate Catullan erotic lyric into his bucolic poetic mode.

Automated summary

This article discusses the allusive relationship between two Latin poems by Catullus and Vergil and Meleager's grasshopper epigram. Both poets reference Meleager's epigram and interpret it differently, showcasing their own unique perspectives and creative abilities.