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I.1.Definingthe(Latin)epyllion:
somerecapitulations
Whenin1866L.Müllerreferredtoatextpublishedforthefirsttimeeightyears
theGreeksinitszmodern,sense,4wasalreadybecomingaquasi-technicalterm,adopted
earlierasananonymousCarmenepicuminscriptumOrestisTragoedia2hela-
beleditaszepyllion,
.3Atthattimetheword,Greekinoriginbutneverusedby
todescribeminiatureepicpoemscomposedinaccordancewiththecanonsoftheAlex-
andrianandneotericpoetics.Apparently,thenamewasnotoriginallyintendedtodenote
aliterarygenreassuchbutrathersingletextsshowingsomeformalafnities.5Itwas
withinafewdecades,however,thatthefirstmonographictreatmentsappearedonthe
theoryandhistoryofthezepyllion,
,interpretedpreciselyasagenericcategory.6Tese
2(C.G.)Müller1858.OnthersteditionsoftheOrestisTragoediaandthehistoryofitsiden-
tificationasDracontius,swork,seeingeneralBouquetWolf1995:8-9;inbriefalsoCastagna
1997a:58.ForgeneralintroductiontoDracontius,soeuvreprofane,seeBouquetWolf1995:7-84.
TeFrencheditors,followingDiazdeBustamante(1978:99-134),prefertospeakofDracontius,s
carminaprofanaratherthanusethetitleRomulea(seetheirexplanationsonpp.17-24).Forread-
erslessfamiliarwithDracontius,soeuvre,IshouldexplainthattheHylascanbequotedasRom.2,
theDeraptuHelenaeasRom.8,andtheMedeaasRom.10.
3(L.)Müller1866:464.Inthisarticle,Mülleractuallyfocusesonthesecondeditionofthe
Tragoedia,publishedintheverysameyear(1866)byJ.Mähly.Müllerhimselfhadalreadyusedthe
termzepyllion,beforeinhisstudyoftheRomanmetricsinreferencetoCatullusandPrudentius,s
Psychomachia,aspointedoutbyWolf1988:302n.23.
4Asithasbeenemphasizedseveraltimesbyscholars(seethecommentsinWolf1988),in
Greektheworddenotesrstlyversiculus,secondlybrevecarmen,bothuseshavenegativecon-
notations,though.InLatinitisnotused,ifnotmarginallybyAusonius.Teterm,infact,was
zrediscovered,
,tousethekeywordofthepresentbook,bymodernphilologists;itsrstemployment
inthemodernsensecanbedated,asWolfindicates,to1840.In1855,M.Hauptusedtheterm
epyllioninhisstudyonCatullus,scarm.64todenotepreciselyshortepicpoemscomposedinac-
cordwiththeAlexandrianliterarystandards.
5SeePerutelli1979:15.Inthefirstchapterofhismonograph,entitledquitesignificantly“Un
genereletterario?,”theItalianscholarprovidesanexcellentrésuméofthescholarlyapproachtothe
phenomenonofthezepyllion,fromthemid-nineteenthtothemid-twentiethcentury.
6Foramoredetailedreviewofstudiestreatingthezepyllionproblem,
,seePerutelli1979:13-31.
Onmypart,Iwilllisthereonlythemonographicapproaches.Amongsuch,rsttwoearlystudies
shouldbementioned:Heumann1904andMay1910.Next,apaperbyJackson1913.Worthyof
noteisalsothearticleofPerrotta1923,inwhich,however,theauthortriestopersuadethatthe
termepyllionisusefulnotsomuchtodenoteanewgenrebutrathertodistinguishtheAlexan-
drianeposfromtheclassicalone(which,infact,isakindofAfektierteBescheidenheitonthepart
ofPerrottawhodefendshispositionagainstthecriticismbyRostagni).Todate,themostcompre-