Sadder Than Simonidean Tears: Cornificius and Simonides in Catullus 381

This paper offers a reading of Catullus 38 that focuses on the figures named in it, Cornificius and Simonides, rather than the undefined distress of the poet. By focusing on these two poets, I suggest that the poem is not a request for consolatory verses from Cornificius in the vein of Simonides, but for some verses from his Glaucus, an epyllion. I argue that the so-called new Simonides reveals Simonides' appropriateness as a model for epic-like verses and suggest that the poetic endeavors of these poets overlap within the tradition of epyllion.