Page:Philological Museum v2.djvu/159

149 Memfion. 149 this play, where he says that iEschylus had spoken of Memnon's Cissian parentage^. iEschylus was perhaps the first Greek poet who brought the hero to Troy from Susa ; and it is manifest enough why a dramatic poet should have adopted this legend, which gave a new and deeper interest to the combat between Memnon and his Greek antagonist, in preference to any others that he might have heard of. The connexion between Memnon and Susa was so celebrated in the time of Herodotus, probably by means of the drama, that the historian speaks of the royal palace at Susa simply as Ta jSacnXrfia ra M.6fJiVovLa KaXeo/aeva (v. 53)^ which he explains in the following chapter by saying ^ovcrcovj tovto yap Mefxvoi/Lov clcttv KaXeerai. In vii. 151 the same epithet is used, as if the city had been known principally through this legend. In what manner iEschylus explained the origin of this connexion we have no means of guessing. But it is not probable that he knew much about the history related by Diodorus (ii. 22), who informs us, that at the time of the Trojan war Tithonus governed Persia as viceroy of the Assyrian king Teutamus, who was then master of Asia (which agrees with the language of Plato, De Legg. iii. p. 296 Bek.), and that his son Memnon, then in the prime of life, built the palace on the citadel at Susa, which remained standing till the days of the Persian monarchy, and was called from him Memnonia, and likewise made a highway through the country which retained the same name. Diodorus adds that the Ethiopians likewise claimed Memnon as a native of their 3 I use this general expression because the meaning of Strabo's words is not quite clear. He says (xv. p. 720) AeyovT-ai ok Kal Klo-ctlol ol Souo-tot. 4>?;(rt oe Kal Ato'xi'^os Tt^v iiA.r]T6pa Me/mvovo^ Ktcrcrtai/. Professor Welcker (^sch. Trilogie p. 435) understands by this that ^schylus had somewhere . or other called Cissia (the land of the Cissians) the mother of Memnon: and he thinks it improbable that this should have been in the ^uxoo-Tao-ta, because to have spoken of Cissia as Memnon's mother in the same play which represented him as the son of Eos or Hemera would have bred confusion. But this must depend on the context which is lost. On the other hand I doubt whether Strabo's words will bear the construction Prof. Welcker puts on them. The more obvious sense of them seems to be, that iEschylus had applied the epithet Cissian to the mother of IMemnon. And this he might have done, using it with a poetical latitude which would not surprize us in yEschylus, even if the lines quoted by Athenaeus (ii. p. 165. Dind.) referred to Memnon, and were taken (as Prof. Welcker believes) from the ^vxo- (TTacrla, All that they say of him (if he is the subject of them) is : PeVos (xkv aivelu eKjULadtov eTTLGTa/jLai AiOiOTTioos y^i's.