The "Wedding of Ceyx" (Ancient Greek: Κήυκος γάμος, Kḗykos gámos) is a fragmentary Ancient Greek hexameter poem that was attributed to Hesiod during antiquity. The poem did not only deal with the wedding of its titular protagonist, but also Heracles's actions.

Contents

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The fragments that survive imply that the subject of the poem was not simply the wedding of a certain Ceyx, but Heracles' arrival at, and involvement in, the festivities. For this reason Merkelbach and West suppose that the poem should be regarded "as a member of that group of epics and epyllia that dealt with exploits of Heracles, like the Aspis and the Capture of Oechalia."[1] The identity of the Ceyx whose marriage was the titular scene of the poem has been a matter of dispute. Merkelbach and West initially identified him with the ill-fated groom of the similarly ill-fated Alcyone: they were turned into birds for the hubris they showed in referring to one another as "Zeus" and "Hera".[2] Given the poem's apparent focus upon Heracles, however, it is more likely that this Ceyx was actually the king of Trachis who was a nephew of Amphitryon, the great hero's stepfather.[3]

The poem appears to have been popular for the witticisms and riddles uttered at the banquet. One famous riddle is preserved, although incompletely so, by a papyrus scrap and ancient quotations:

According to West, the "children" here are the flames whose mother would be wood. The "mother's mother" is the acorn, which is being roasted in the fire.[5]

Editions and translations

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Critical editions

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  • Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1967), Fragmenta Hesiodea, Oxford, ISBN 0-19-814171-8{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  • Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1990), "Fragmenta selecta", in F. Solmsen (ed.), Hesiodi Theogonia, Opera et Dies, Scutum (3rd rev. ed.), Oxford, ISBN 0-19-814071-1{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).

Translations

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Notes

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  1. ^ Merkelbach & West 1965, p. 302.
  2. ^ Merkelbach & West 1965.
  3. ^ D'Alessio 2005, pp. 183–5, 192–5.
  4. ^ The translation is that of Most 2007, p. 281.
  5. ^ West 1961, pp. 142–45.

Bibliography

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  • Cingano, E. (2009), "The Hesiodic Corpus", in Montanari; Rengakos; Tsagalis (eds.), pp. 91–130 {{citation}}: Missing or empty |title= (help).
  • D'Alessio, G.B. (2005), "The Megalai Ehoiai: A Survey of the Fragments", in R. Hunter (ed.), The Hesiodic Catalogue of Women: Constructions and Reconstructions, Cambridge, pp. 176–216, ISBN 0-521-83684-0{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  • Merkelbach, R.; West, M.L. (1965), "The Wedding of Ceyx" (PDF), Rheinisches Museum für Philologie, 108: 300–17.
  • Montanari, F.; Rengakos, A.; Tsagalis, C. (2009), Brill's Companion to Hesiod, Leiden, ISBN 978-90-04-17840-3{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  • Schwartz, J. (1960), Pseudo-Hesiodeia: recherches sur la composition, la diffusion et la disparition ancienne d'oeuvres attribuées à Hésiode, Leiden{{citation}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link).
  • West, M.L. (1961), "Hesiodea", The Classical Quarterly, 11 (3–4): 130–45, doi:10.1017/s0009838800015469, S2CID 246875859.