Returning to the Mountain of Arete: Reading Ecphrasis, Constructing Ethics in Quintus Smyrnaeus’ Posthomerica

In this paper I present a re-examination of the central and most discussed scene of the Shield of Achilles, namely, the Mountain of Arete (Q.S. 5.49-56). I write ‘re-examination’ because the Shield of Achilles itself has received more attention from scholars than any other part of the Posthomerica.1 This scholarship, particularly that on the Mountain of Arete, has typically been Quellenforschung, with little analysis of function.2 There is much justification, therefore, for a return to the Mountain of Arete. The scene deserves our attention primarily because it has a vital influence on how we read the whole poem. The sources that have been searched for so eagerly by scholars have a profound effect on this reading, and frequently activate meaning, via the reader.3 There are, principally, three aspects