Scholia on Aristophanes' Comedy “Peace” (Lines 605-606) and Other Ancient Sources on Phidias’ Death

Archive of Scientific Articles

ISSUE:

Manuscript. 2021. Volume 14. Issue 12

COLLECTION:

Historiography, Source Study and Historical Research Methods

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Abstract. The research objective is as follows: the paper tries to answer the question why scholiasts on Aristophanes' comedy “Peace” differ from other ancient authors in their description of Phidias’ death. The testimonies of Aristophanes (V century B.C.), Diodorus of Sicily (I century B.C.), Plutarch (I-II centuries A.D.) contradict the testimony of an anonymous scholiast who left his commentary on the margins and quoted the ancient historian Philochore (IV-III century B.C.). Aristophanes, Diodorus of Sicily and Plutarch associate Phidias' trial with Megarians’ removal from Athenian market, while the scholiast argues that these events are separated in time by seven years. The scholiast also argues that Phidias was murdered by Eleians, this assertion contradicts Plutarch’s opinion according to which Phidias died in Athenian prison. The article provides Russian translations of two scholia; Philochore’s original texts and scholiasts’ comments are highlighted. The researcher shows the fictional nature of scholia on Phidias’ murder in Eleia, which is not justified by historical sources. Scientific originality of the study involves clarifying the contradictions regarding the circumstances of Phidias’ death. As a result, it is shown that Philochore’s original text does not contradict the testimonies of Aristophanes, Diodorus of Sicily and Plutarch concerning the date and circumstances of Phidias' trial. This confusion occurred due to scholiasts who introduced their comments on the issue into Philochore’s text.