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COPERTINA

Three problematic passages in Nicander are examined. The authenticity of the end of Al. (616-628) is defended against both older and more recent attempts at deletion, since the problematic l. 617 can be given a new sense or is to be transposed after 622. The difficult lines Th. 433-442 on the poisonous poppy find a surprising parallel in Sappho, fr. 31 Voigt, which allows us to interpret Sappho's erotic symptoms in medical terms. In Th. 60 the lectio difficilior is defended, revealing Nicander's familiarity with Homeric philology.