APPENDIX C΄ ON DEPILATION: BODY COSMETICS IN CLASSICAL ...

574 APPENDIX C΄
in Zenobius V, 10, connected with a story involving Hercules, who
was called ÌÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔ˜ (St. Gregory Nazianzenus, Oratio III, 78);
and similarly explained by Nonnus Abbas in his scholia to St.
Gregory’s works, ch. 39. MÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔ˜ was one very hairy in the
buttocks, more particularly in the anal area (Ôî ‰b ‰·Û‡ÙËÙ· appleÂÚd ÙcÓ
apple˘ÁcÓ ÙÔÜ ^HÚ·ÎÏ¤Ô˘˜ etc. Zenobius; …ÙÔÜ ^HÚ·ÎÏ¤Ô˘˜ ÙcÓ apple˘ÁcÓ
̤ϷÈÓ·Ó ı·ۿÌÂÓÔÈ âÎ Ùɘ ÙáÓ ÙÚȯáÓ ‰·Û‡ÙËÙÔ˜, Nonnus). The
meaning of the proverbial expression is succinctly put by Hesychius
s.v. Ì‹ Ù¢ ÌÂÏ. Ù‡¯ÔȘ: Ì‹ ÙÈÓÔ˜ àÓ‰Ú›Ԣ ηd åÛ¯˘ÚÔÜ Ù‡¯ÔȘ.
Gregorius Cyprius, cod. Leidensis II, 73 has the same. I do not notice
the variations between Ù‡¯F˘ and Ù‡¯ÔȘ corresponding to the two; cf.
also Suda s.v. Ìc Û‡ Á ÌÂÏ. Ù‡¯F˘; and s.v. ÌÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔ˜Ø àÓ‰ÚÂÖÔ˜.
TÔf˜ ÁaÚ ‰·ÛÂÖ˜ Ùa˜ apple˘Á¿˜, àÓ‰Ú›Ԣ˜ âÓfiÌÈ˙ÔÓ. This is the root of
the matter: being hairy and shaggy in the buttocks was considered a
sign of being rough and uncouth, of robustness, of rustic strength, of
rash and impossible manliness, characteristics which befit Hercules
and his rather erratic outbursts and exploits. To intensify the point,
there was another form of the proverb: Ìc ‰·Û˘appleÚÒÎÙˇˆ Û˘ÓÙ‡¯ÔȘ;
thus Macarius V, 82 has MÂÏ·Ìapple‡Áˇˆ Û˘ÓÙ‡¯ÔȘ (pro Û˘ÓÙ‡¯ÔÈ): Ôî
‰¤, ‰·Û˘appleÚÒÎÙˇˆ. The point of this change is illustrated by the form
of the story involving Hercules, as it appears in Apostolius, XI, 19;
Suda s.v. ÌÂÏ·Ìapple‡ÁÔ˘ Ù‡¯ÔȘ; Photius s.v. ÌÂÏ·Ìapple‡ÁÔ˘ Ù‡¯F˘. Now
ÌÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔÈ are two brothers, two braggarts, who, being extremely
licentious, were warned by their mother, lest they someday get crossed
with a ‰·Û‡appleÚˆÎÙÔ˜ which happened eventually, the ‰·Û‡appleÚˆÎÙÔ˜
being, naturally, Hercules. The point now is that empathic shagginess
in the anal region is sign of greater manly prowess than hairiness of the
buttocks generally; although the focal semantic point of apple˘Á‹ as well
was the anus (cf. apple˘Á›˙ˆ = paedicare).
Now this view of ÌÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔ˜ or ‰·Û‡appleÚˆÎÙÔ˜ must have been
very ancient: Archilochus utilized it (Fr. 93 Diehl). It is true that the
scholia B (Venetus 453) ad Ilias Ω 915 (from Porphyry), which give us
the Archilochian fragment, consider it to be related to the kind of
eagle which Homer, in loc. refers to: Âúˆı ‰b ηd ï \AÚ¯›ÏÔ¯Ô˜ ÌÂÏ¿-
Ìapple˘ÁÔÓ ÙÔÜÙÔÓ (sc. ÙeÓ àÂÙfiÓ) ηÏÂÖÓØ õ Ù¢ ÌÂÏ.Ù‡¯. And in the
scholia to the above discussed Lycophronian passage (v. 91), we find
incorporated this bit: ÂåÛd ÁaÚ ÌÂÏ¿Ìapple˘ÁÔÈ, apple‡Á·ÚÁÔÈ Âú‰Ë àÂÙáÓ
ηْ \AÚ¯›ÏÔ¯ÔÓØ àÊ Ôy ï ±Úapple·Í apple‡Á·ÚÁÔ˜ (interpreting Lycophron’s