Few, if any, passages of ancient literature have accumulated so large a body of critical discussion as has grown up around the fragmentary remains of Callimachus' Reply to the Telchines since its publication in 1927. This is perhaps only just, as these verses were written to tease, to say both more and less than they appear to say. Callimachus' strategy – and its implications for the Argonautica – has, however, not always been well understood, and I hope that the passage will bear one further (brief) look.

The complaints of the Telchines are not given directly: the direct speech of the poet's reply to them (vv. 7ff.) is opposed to their indistinct muttering.