ABSTRACT
An important aspect of Callimachus’s sophistication is the way in which he is playing with the style, conventions and vocabulary of the early Greek epic. This chapter establishes the relationship between the dialogue of ‘Callimachus' and the Muses and the early Greek epic. The chronological relation between the Silloi and the Aetia, however, is unknown as Timon was a contemporary of Callimachus. The idea that Callimachus took a ‘mimetic’ view of the epic invocations of the Muses and took this as the basis for his narrative technique in Aetia 1–2 can be supported by two kinds of parallels. First of all one can detect a similar dramatization of the position of the narrator in some of Callimachus’ other works, particularly in the so-called ‘mimetic’ hymns. Secondly there is a great deal of play with the invocations of the Muses, in Callimachus as well as in other authors: one can find this as early as Hipponax.
