FRL II: ENNIUS
Telephus, the son of Hercules and Auge, was wounded by Achilles’ spear when the Greeks stopped in Mysia on their way to Troy. Having received an oracle saying that what wounded him would also heal him, Telephus, clothed in a beggar’s rags, traveled to Mycenae, where the Greek leaders were assembled. He was indeed healed, by being touched with Achilles’ spear, and he then led the Greeks to Troy, but, as a son-in-law of Priam, did not participate in the fighting (see, e.g., Hor. Ars P. 95–107; Hyg. Fab. 101; Lib. Decl. 5.8–9 [pp. 5.308–9 Foerster]; Apollod. Epit. 3.17–20).
Tragedies of the same title are known for Aeschylus (F 238–40 TrGF), Sophocles (F 580 TrGF), Euripides (F 696–727c TrGF; cf. Ar. Ach. 326–490; Thesm. 689–758), Iophon (22 F 2c TrGF), Agathon (39 F 4 TrGF), Cleophon? (77 F 1 TrGF), and Moschion (97 F 2 TrGF) in
125 Fest., p. 128.24–25 L.
muttire: loqui. Ennius in Telepho:
ia6palam muttire plebeio piaculum est
Cf. Phaedr. 3, Epil. 33–35; Paul. Fest., p. 129.13–14 L.
126 Non., p. 537.23–27 M. = 862 L.
stolam veteres non honestam vestem solum, sed etiam omnem quae corpus tegeret. Ennius Telepho:
?† cedo et caveo cum vestitus † squalida saeptus stola
TRAGEDIES
Greek, as well as for Accius (Trag. 609–33 R.2–3) in Latin. Ennius’ model is probably Euripides’ tragedy.
The fragments of Ennius’ tragedy allude to Telephus’ feigning to be a beggar (F 126). Because of their content, some unattributed fragments may belong to this tragedy: e.g., Enn. Trag. F 145; Trag. inc. inc. 27, 28, 29, 30–31 R.2–3 = F 146, 98, 120, 18 TrRF.
Bibl.: Suerbaum 2003, 220; Manuwald 2001 [2004], 145–46. Comm.: Jocelyn 1967, 404–12; Masiá 2000, 533–64. Lit.: Geel 1830; Welcker 1839, 477–92; Jahn 1841; Hartung 1843, 196–216; Ribbeck 1875, 104–12; Handley / Rea 1957; Rosner 1970, 49–50; Reggiani 1986–87 [1990], 44–46; Masiá González 1997; Petaccia 1999.
125 Festus
muttire [“to mutter”: rare, mainly ante-class.]: “to speak.” Ennius in Telephus: . . .
to speak in public is a sin for an ordinary person
126 Nonius
The ancients <called> stola [“a long upper garment”] not only a respectable dress [worn by married women], but also anything that could cover the body. Ennius in Telephus:
. . . (?) wrapped in a filthy garment1