Lyric in the Second Degree: Archaic and Early Classical Poetry in Himerius of Athens (original) (raw)
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A cliché of literary history has it that the transition to the Hellenistic period, the end of the independent polis, is marked by a withdrawal from the political to the private sphere, away from the literary genres that invited participation of large sections of the citizen body at communitysponsored events. 1 This model explained why rhetoric lost its visibility not just as an independent genre but also as an element in other types of writing. As a consequence there is a dearth of scholarship on the topic. 2 Since this volume is effective in countering the idea that the lack of extant rhetorical products from the Hellenistic era reflects a cessation of relevant activity, I shall undertake to take a look at the literary side -to see if the low profile of oratory in the direct transmission is equally deceptive in the literature of the period. My focus will be on some changes in the attitude to, and the use of, rhetoric in Theocritus. This poet seems, at first glance, exemplary for the prejudices against his time, symbolising the withdrawal from the public into a reclusive circle and, at least on the surface level, taking refuge from the urban and civic sphere in the primitive world of shepherds and flocks.
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This thesis is an investigation into the styles and voices of the non-dramatic Greek poetry of the fourth century BC. This has been a neglected area of study in Greek literary history, and the extant poems of the fourth century have either been largely ignored or regarded contemptuously by modern critics. I seek to redress this balance by providing close readings of surviving poems, and aim to show that contrary to widespread opinion, there are signs that this is a period of dynamic creativity. The first section looks more closely at the various factors that have led to a neglect of fourth-century poetry, including issues of periodization, the transmission of texts and the canonisation of poetry, the impact of musical and technological innovations and of social changes. Scholarship on late-classical Greek art is also discussed as a comparison. I then turn to discuss specific texts in depth, focussing on the way poems characterise themselves through speakers and addressees. I begin w...