Symphosius, the Aenigmata: An Introduction, Text and Commentary

✍ Scribed by Timothy John Leary, Caelius Firmianus Symphosius

• Publisher: Bloomsbury Academic
• Year: 2014
• Tongue: English
• Leaves: 281
• Series: Bloomsbury classical studies monographs
• Category: Library

✦ Synopsis

The post-classical compilation known to modern scholarship as the Latin Anthology contains a collection of a hundred riddles, each consisting of three hexameters and preceded by a lemma . It would seem from the preface to this collection that they were composed extempore at a dinner to celebrate the Roman Saturnalia. The work was to have a defining influence on later collections of riddles; yet its title (probably the Aenigmata) has been debated, and almost nothing is known about its author: questions have even been asked about his name (Symphosius?) and date (4th-5th centuruy AD?). In this e.

✦ Table of Contents

Cover page
Halftitle page
Series page
Title page
Copyright page
Contents
Preface and Acknowledgements
List of Tables
Select Bibliography
Introduction
1 Author and title
2 Date
3 The collection
(a) Martial, Symphosius, Riddles and the Saturnalia
(b) Order and arrangement
(c) Literary style
(d) Latinity and metre
(e) Literary debts
4 Nachleben
5 The text
(a) Sigla
(b) Differences with Shackleton Bailey’s 1982 Teubner text
Latin Text
Symposii Aenigmata
Commentary
Preface
1 A stylus
2 A reed pen
3 A ring with a jewel-stone
4 A key
5 A chain
6 A tile
7 Smoke
8 Cloud
9 Rain
10 Ice
11 Snow
12 A river and a fish
13 A ship
14 A chick in an egg
15 A viper
16 A bookworm
17 A spider
18 A snail
19 A frog
20 A tortoise
21 A mole
22 An ant
23 A fly
24 A weevil
25 A mouse
26 A crane
27 A crow
28 A bat
29(31) Phoenix
30(29) A hedgehog
31(30) A louse
32 A bull
33 A wolf
34 A fox
35 A nanny goat
36 A pig
37 A mule
38 A tiger
39 A centaur
40 A poppy
41 A mallow
42 A beet
43 A gourd
44 An onion
45 A rose
46 A violet
47 Incense
48 Myrrh
49 Ivory
50 Hay
51 A mill
52 Flour
53 A vine
54 A hook
55 A needle
56 A boot
57 A hobnail
58 A hair
59 A ball
60 A saw
61 An anchor
62 A bridge
63 A sponge
64 A trident
65 An arrow
66 A whip
67 A lantern
68 A window pane15
69 A mirror16
70 A water-clock
71 A well
72 A pipe
73 Bellows
74 A stone
75 Lime
76 Flint
77 Wheels
78 A ladder
79 A besom
80 A bell
81 A flask
82 Seasoned wine
83 Wine turned to vinegar
84 An apple
85 A ham
86 A hammer
87 A pestle
88 A bronze strigil
89 A bathhouse
90 A die
91 Money
92 A woman who has given birth to twins
93 A gouty soldier
94 A one-eyed garlic seller
95 A tight-rope walker
96 Words22
97 A shadow
98 Echo
99 Sleep
100 A memorial
Appendix: Attributions to Symphosius
General Index
Index Verborum