174 Part Two: Epigrams in Context
charioteers have come to life again and are ready to continue their races. The
epigrams were probably composed in the short period after the completion of
Cephalas’ anthology and before they entered the manuscript of Thomas the
Patrician: that is, between c. 900 and 925.
Since there seems to be no reason why the famous charioteers of the past,
however celebrated they were during the reigns of Anastasius, Justin and
Justinian, would have been portrayed in the imperial gallery as late as 900–
925, Alan Cameron surmised that the portraits of the charioteers themselves
date from the period of their glorious triumphs and that the epigrams merely
form a literary description of late antique art^66. This is certainly an imaginative
theory, but it entails a few serious problems. Firstly, why should a tenth-
century author write epigrams on works of art produced some four hundred
years earlier? And secondly, how likely is the scenario of late antique pictures
surviving unaltered in the imperial gallery of the Hippodrome for the next four
centuries? Does not every emperor wish to see his own imperial programme
reflected in the sacrosanct spaces he frequents?
If we examine the epigrams closely, there can be little doubt that the
epigrams are, in fact verse inscriptions on contemporary works of art. First of
all, all the epigrams comprise precisely the same number of verses: five. If these
epigrams merely served a literary purpose, there would really be no reason why
the poet should confine himself to quintets. But if the epigrams served as verse
inscriptions, the poet would have every reason to force his texts into the
straitjacket of five verses, for the size of verse inscriptions is obviously prede-
termined by the space available on the works of art they are supposed to
accompany. Secondly, and more importantly, the epigrams themselves leave
no doubt that they describe contemporary works of art. See, for instance,
APl386:
Ce5r, Éde, genn) toáß p1lai teqnhkötaߺ
\Ioylianñß kaò g2r Äß p1lai sq6nei
×lkzn, meq6lkzn ^Roys5oy t2ß 9n5aߺ
kaò n ̄n graóeòß ×sthken Üvo ̄ sán d5órùº
tñ ne ̄ma ceòr m6nei d6º tën n7ssan döte^67.“Look, the hand (of the artist) gives life to those who passed away long ago,
for Julian is as strong as of old, pulling the reins of the Reds hither and thither.
And now he stands depicted up there, along with his chariot. His hand awaits
the signal. Give him free course!”. The epigram emphasizes that the picture of
Julian standing on his chariot is so lifelike that it is as if he is only waiting for
(^66) See CAMERON 1973: 201–204.
(^67) The ms. reads Éde genn); modern editions print o¾de genn)n metri causa. This emendation
is not necessary in view of the casual way Byzantine poets handle the dichrona.