Zachary Haines, University of Virginia
Sappho fr. 44 presents the wedding of Hector and Andromache. The young bride arrives on the shores of Troy, laden with the riches of her dowry; the citizens of Troy rush joyfully to meet her; and finally, they all celebrate the marriage with festivities. The poem draws heavily on Homer and has been considered a “prequel” to the Iliad (Spelman 2017). Scholars have argued that the wedding of fr. 44 foreshadows Hector’s funeral in Iliad 22-24. (Bowie 2010, Schrenk 1994, Segal 1971). Scholars are correct in connecting fr. 44 to the Iliad (see also Rissman 1983, Page 1955, and the more cautious acceptance of Burgess 2002, 66-7). However, the relationship between fr. 44 and Iliad 6 specifically has gone understudied (Graziosi and Haubold 2010, 49). This paper will argue that fr. 44 can and ought to be read as a response to Iliad 6.
It will first be argued that fr. 44 exploits the tension between dowry and plunder imagery established in Iliad 6. That book introduces Andromache as the “many gifted” wife of Hector (πολύδωρος Ιl. 6.394), a reference to the dowry she brought from Thebe to Troy. The book concludes with Andromache’s account of the sack of Thebe and her mother’s abduction “along with her possessions” (μητέρα…κτεάτεσσιν Il. 6.425-428), as well as Hector’s prediction of Andromache’s enslavement (Il. 6.454-465). Iliad 6 provides the most extensive presentation of Andromache as both bride and plunder. It will be concluded that this book offers the most thematically salient predecessor for fr. 44.
Next, it will be argued that the wedding of fr. 44 parallels the failed ritual to Athena in Iliad 6. During that episode, the Trojan women offer a peplos to their city goddess in the hope that she will ward off the Achaeans. Athena rejects their prayer (Il. 6.289f.). Both the ritual of Iliad 6 and the wedding of fr. 44 feature ill-fated wedding gifts. Furthermore, the paean which concludes fr. 44 is ambiguous, connoting either celebration or the aversion of disaster (Furley and Bremer 2001, Rutherford 2001). As a city-wide soteria (salvation) ritual, the paean recalls the ritual of Iliad 6. The failure of the ritual in the Iliad implies the tragic conclusion of the wedding in fr. 44. In closing, this paper aims to demonstrate the significance of Iliad 6 in Sappho’s reception of Homer. Sappho will be shown to imbue the wedding of Hector and Andromache with tragic foreboding by manipulating key motifs, imagery, and language of Iliad 6.