eul_wid: kms-aa
DOI 10.5281/zenodo.20335421 PDFMarkdown

Fragments of Chrysippus on Homeric Poems by Chrysippus of Soli

The Fragments of Chrysippus on Homeric Poems constitutes a modern assemblage of excerpts in which the Stoic philosopher Chrysippus of Soli offers interpretations of Homeric verse. These nine fragments do not survive as an independent work but are preserved within the critical commentaries of later authors, primarily found in Homeric scholia, the biographical writings of Diogenes Laertius, and the skeptical critiques of Sextus Empiricus. The collection exemplifies the Stoic practice of allegorical exegesis, whereby Chrysippus sought to uncover latent philosophical doctrines within epic poetry. He systematically reinterpreted Homer’s mythological narratives and divine characters as expressions of Stoic physics, ethics, and theology. In this framework, the gods become physical principles: Zeus represents the pervasive cosmic reason or logos, while Hera symbolizes passive matter. The fragments also reveal Chrysippus engaging in detailed philological and grammatical analysis, debating points of syntax and word usage with contemporary scholars like Aristarchus to defend Homer’s text against charges of solecism or error. The original context for these remarks is lost; they were likely drawn from Chrysippus’s comprehensive, but no longer extant, treatises. Scholarly assessment views this corpus as a pivotal demonstration of how Stoic philosophers appropriated traditional Greek poetry, arguing that Homer possessed an intuitive, pre-philosophical understanding of cosmic order and human psychology. This allegorical method of reading poetic texts proved profoundly influential, providing a model for subsequent philosophical and religious hermeneutics in the ancient world.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν Ζώϊλος δὲ ὁ Ἀμφιπολίτης καὶ Χρύσιππος ὁ Στωϊκὸς σολοικίζειν οἴονται τὸν ποιητὴν ἀντὶ ἑνικοῦ πληθυντικῷ χρησάμενον ῥήματι· τὸ γὰρ δῶσι φασὶ πληθυντικόν· ἀγνοοῦσι δὲ …

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν ὅς ῥα παρὰ Κρονίωνι· ὅτι ἐντεῦθεν ἐπὶ τοῦ Ἄρεως λέγεται οὐκ ὀρθῶς Ὅμηρος δέ, ὡς Στωϊκός, Ποσειδῶνος αὐτὸν εἶναί φησι.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν ἀμβωμοῖσι· Χρύσιππος ὑφʼ ἓν προφέρεται, ὁ μέντοι Ἀρίσταρχος δύο μέρη λόγου …

Ἐτυμολογικὸν τὸ Μέγα ἀμβωμοῖσιν· ἀντὶ τοῦ περὶ τοῖς βωμοῖς. Χρύσιππος ὑφʼ ἓν προφέρει, ὁ μέντοι Ἀρίσταρχος δύο μέρη λόγου.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν Χρύσιππος δὲ ὥσπερ εἴ τις, φησί, περὶ τριῶν ἡμερῶν διαλεγόμενος ἐν τῇ τρίτῃ λέγει μίαν ἀπολείπεσθαι ἔτι ἡμέραν, κἂν μὴ περὶ ὄρθρον ποιῆται τοὺς λόγους, οὕτως καὶ τὸν Ὀδυσσέα εἰ καὶ πλέον ἦν παρῳχηκὸς τῶν δύο μοιρῶν τὴν τρίτην φάναι καταλείπεσθαι, ἐπειδὴ τριμεροῦς οὔσης τῆς νυκτὸς ἕκαστον μέρος ἕν τι λαμβάνεται, ὥστε κἂν ἐλλιπὲς ᾖ τοῦτο καὶ μὴ ὁλόκληρον, ἀλλʼ ἀριθμεῖσθαί γε τρίτην, τῷ τάξιν τῶν ἡμερῶν ἔχειν τὴν τρίτην. οὕτω γὰρ καὶ ἄνθρωπον παρὰ πόδα γενόμενον ἔτι τυγχάνειν τῆς ὅλης προσηγορίας.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν Χρύσιππος δὲ ὁ Στωϊκὸς καὶ Διονύσιος ὁ Θρᾷξ δασύνουσι τὸ «αὐΐαχοι» ἵνʼ ᾖ ξηρόφωνοι.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν ἀμφὶ ἓ γιγνώσκων· —— Χρύσιππος δὲ ψιλοῦν τὸ ε ὡς περισσεῦον, καί φησιν «ἀμφιγνοῶν ἀντὶ τοῦ ἀντιβάλλων.»

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν μέσσα· Χρύσιππος ῥῦμα γράφει· τὴν γὰρ ῥοπὴν τοῦ ζυγοῦ ῥύμην καλεῖσθαι.

Σχόλια εἰς Ἰλιάδα καὶ Ὀδύσσειαν περίκηλα· Ἀρίσταρχος ὥσπερ ξηρὰ ἐκδεχόμενος, τὰ περικεκαυμένα ὑπὸ ἡλίου. Χρύσιππος δὲ διῄρει, περὶ κῆλα, περισσῶς ξηρά.

Ἐτυμολογικὸν τὸ Μέγα . καὶ Χρύσιππος γράψει Κυλλήνιος Ἑρμῆς, ἐπειδὴ ἡ ῥάβδος αὐτοῦ ἀνδρῶν ὄμματα θέλγει——Φαίακες δὲ θύουσιν αὐτῷ ἑσπέρας ὡς Ὅμηρος «ὅτε μνησαίατο κοίτου» οὐχ ὅτι ὀνειρόπομπος ἦν ἀλλʼ ὅτι ὕπνου ἡδέος αἴτιος.