Alcman Research Papers - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

In scholarship, the study of male pederastic practices in the ancient Greek world has been used time and time again to reinforce the existence of homosexuality across time, though the same attention has not been given to a feminine... more

In scholarship, the study of male pederastic practices in the ancient Greek world has been used time and time again to reinforce the existence of homosexuality across time, though the same attention has not been given to a feminine equivalent, let alone for the same intentions. This is an extension of the tradition set by antique writers that chose to address male relationships and same-sex love as the ideal, making treatments on the female type much more difficult to perform. This pattern surfaces in discussions of pederastic homosexuality the world over, leaving modern scholars with only scant conclusions on the possibility of a feminine equivalent without any further efforts to elaborate. The following study aims to address this glaring hole in scholarship. First, in looking to the initiatory origins of male pederasty in the Greek world in order to build and account for the feminine; Second, in establishing the feminine’s own origins in mythology and initiatory practices; And, finally, in identifying how it was practiced throughout the ancient Greek world in surviving poetry from the Archaic and Hellenistic periods.

This article argues that the reception of Homeric poetry in the lyric poets of the Archaic period is a process of evolution, in which evidentiary difficulty and the gradual development of intertextuality combine to make Stesichorus the... more

This article argues that the reception of Homeric poetry in the lyric poets of the Archaic period is a process of evolution, in which evidentiary difficulty and the gradual development of intertextuality combine to make Stesichorus the first truly intertextual poet in the Greek tradition. Earlier interactions are, as far as we can tell, very limited, confined to mentions of basic plot or famous episodes, whilst even his exiguous fragments allow us to see Stesichorus engaging in a sustained and recreative manner with the entire Iliad and Odyssey. This is an uncorrected proof.

Although the reception of archaic Greek poets within antiquity has ignited the interest of many modern scholars, very little attention has been given to the visual representation of these poets, despite the fact that many artifacts or... more

Although the reception of archaic Greek poets within antiquity has ignited the interest of many modern scholars, very little attention has been given to the visual representation of these poets, despite the fact that many artifacts or inscriptions date back to the late archaic and classical periods and are valuable sources of information. My aim is to examine a neglected subject on the ancient reception of Alcman, thus his reception through the iconographic material. Despite the paucity of evidence, I suggest that the existing indications point to the direction that Alcman had a Panhellenic reception, at least from the later times and on, and that he was, eventually, acknowledged as one of the classics.

Collected and translated from Ancient Greek into Turkish with an introduction, notes, glossary, and indices, an anthology of Archaic Greek Poetry to exemplify the archaic aesthetic, including Homeric Hymns, Archilochus, Callinus,... more

In the Ancient Greek unity of metre, word and music, as in advance of the Renaissance and Baroque madrigal, some identical metrical collocations of words contribute to the overall meaning of an ode. These are called homometric occurrences... more

In the Ancient Greek unity of metre, word and music, as in advance of the Renaissance and Baroque madrigal, some identical metrical collocations of words contribute to the overall meaning of an ode. These are called homometric occurrences and consist in the re-use of identical or similar verbal, nominal, adverbial forms etc., syntactic parallels, phonetic echoes and semantic oppositions which merge in the texture of a choral ode. Allegedly, metrical responsion grants them a certain intention by the poet, who makes use of them in order to enhance the symmetric structure of the ode and increase its semantic values to the ears of the audience, especially marking keywords and central ideas.
Although this feature accordingly steps up through the dramatic choral production, some evidence is to be found out even in archaic and late archaic strophic poetry, and one instance is given by Alcman’s Louvre Partheneion. While young choristers celebrating a rite of passage alternatively praise two women with animal images, they oppose their own singing ability to that of Hagesichora, defining themselves as a γλαύξ (v. 87) and the woman as a κύκνος (v. 101). This semantic contrast, built on traditional material, is brought forward by πεληάδες (v. 60), which can be understood either as an ornithological reference, as the scholiasts did, or as an astronomical one, as some modern critics do. The analysis of the context will demonstrate that the poet’s probable aim is ambiguity, where the ornithological homometric occurrence seems to fit well.

The function of the diplh` wjbelismevnh in P. Louvre E 3320 can not be explained on the basis of Heph. Sign. 4 (74,15-22 Consbr.), as Bergk did, because of the very different context of employment. Looking at the papyrus, the more likely... more

The function of the diplh` wjbelismevnh in P. Louvre E 3320 can not be explained on the basis of Heph. Sign. 4 (74,15-22 Consbr.), as Bergk did, because of the very different context of employment. Looking at the papyrus, the more likely value which can be suggested for the sign is
twofold: marking the end of the extant sixth strophe (ll. 64-77) and delimiting, at the same time, the longer section built up of the six strophes preceding the diplh` (ll. 1-77), characterized by an inside symmetrical alternation of the two forms of the strophe ending line.

The origins of the reflection on music in ancient Greece lie not in philosophy but in the poetic tradition. Starting from the reconstruction of the fundamental functions of music and the different aesthetic values assigned to singing in... more

The origins of the reflection on music in ancient Greece lie not in philosophy but in the poetic tradition. Starting from the reconstruction of the fundamental functions of music and the different aesthetic values assigned to singing in Homer's poems, this article reconstructs the development of aesthetic ideas, themes and concepts in the poets' reflection on their own art and composing method and style, in a philosophical journey that goes from Hesiod to Lasus of Hermione and Pratinas. The subsequent reflection on music by philosophers does not come out of the blue, but, as several specific examples show, factually presupposes these complex, rich, and, so to speak, preliminary stages. RÉSUMÉ Les origines de la réflexion sur la musique dans la Grèce ancienne sont à chercher non dans la philosophie, mais dans la tradition poétique. Partant de la reconstruction des fonctions fondamentales de la musique et des différentes valeurs esthétiques assignées au chant dans les poèmes homériques, cet article reconstruit le développement des idées, thèmes et concepts esthétiques dans la réflexion des poètes sur leur propre art, leur méthode et leur style de composition, au fil d'un itiné-raire philosophique qui va d'Hésiode à Lasos d'Hermione et à Prati-nas. La réflexion ultérieure des philosophes sur la musique ne naît pas de nulle part, mais, comme le montrent plusieurs exemples spéci-fiques, présuppose ces étapes complexes, riches et pour ainsi dire pré-liminaires.

This paper focuses on the use of the verb δείκνυμι in Greek choral lyric. in Alcman, Pindar, Bacchylides and Philodamus the verb is found construed with direct objects meaning ‘song’, ‘hymn’ or ‘poetry’ (ὕμνος, γάρυμα, μέλος, ἀρετά (=... more

This paper focuses on the use of the verb δείκνυμι in Greek choral lyric. in Alcman, Pindar, Bacchylides and Philodamus the verb is found construed with direct objects meaning ‘song’, ‘hymn’ or ‘poetry’ (ὕμνος, γάρυμα, μέλος, ἀρετά (= ἀρετᾶς κλέος), δῶρον Μωσᾶν, μουσικά). It is argued that in these instances δείκνυμι should be translated not as ‘display’ or ‘reveal’, but simply as ‘sing’: this usage finds an exact parallel in Vedic Sanskrit where the cognate root diś- is likewise used with ‘song of praise’ as its object (stóma-, námaükti-, gír-) and the subject is likewise a poet. It is through the lens of this comparison that the Greek contexts can be understood: δεῖξαι ὕμνον, μέλος, etc. is an archaism of the melic poetry that goes back to the Indo-European poetic language where the precursor of δείκνυμι encoded the relationship between laudandus and laudator; the poet was “showing forth” a song of praise as a gift to a deity or a patron, expecting rewards in return. In view of the correspondence between Greek and Vedic, the possibility has to be considered seriously that the use of Latin dīcō in Augustan poets of reciting or performing verse (dīcere carmen) as well as of praising (dīcere laudēs) continues the same inherited phraseology. This paper further argues that a Hittite cognate of the same root can be identified in tekrin tekrizzi (which denotes some kind of a speech act in a recently published text) and that the semantic development of the root *deyḱ- from “show” to “speak, sing” usually thought to have taken place independently in Italic and Germanic (Latin dīcō, etc.) happened already in the protolanguage, but this second meaning remained limited to the domain of the poetic language. Based on these results the paper offers a new interpretation of the unclear epic epithet ἀριδείκετος (ἀνδρῶν / λαῶν / ἀνάκτων #), whose traditional explanation as a metrically lengthened form of *ἀριδέκετος ‘well received’ (to δέκομαι) has always lacked conviction. Instead, this form (together with the proper name Ἀριδείκης found in epichoric prose inscriptions) can now be understood as “most famous”, “well worth praising (in song)”.

Several sources attest that at the Spartan festival of the Gymnopaidia three choruses sang a song in iambic trimeters with skoptic content; Alcman also composed some iambic poems to be performed in the symposium. This demonstrates that... more

Several sources attest that at the Spartan festival of the Gymnopaidia three choruses sang a song in iambic trimeters with skoptic content; Alcman also composed some iambic
poems to be performed in the symposium. This demonstrates that iambic poetry was not unknown in Sparta, as is normally believed, and may be connected to the more general dynamics of praise and blame, which were very important in Sparta, especially in local symposia.

Année philologique: Caciagli, Stefano. - Un contesto per Alcm. PMGF 1. Eikasmos 2009 20 : 19-45 ill. plan [rés. en angl.]. • Un'analisi della parte mitologica (v. 1-35) e di quella pragmatica (v. 60-63) consente di ricostruire la... more

Année philologique: Caciagli, Stefano. - Un contesto per Alcm. PMGF 1. Eikasmos 2009 20 : 19-45 ill. plan [rés. en angl.]. • Un'analisi della parte mitologica (v. 1-35) e di quella pragmatica (v. 60-63) consente di ricostruire la cerimonia cui apparteneva la performance : il Coro attraversava il « Dromos » spartano subito prima della levata eliaca di Sirio, nel pieno dell'estate, per fare un'offerta alla dea del mattino.

Questi studi esaminano la figura del cantore tradizionale in rapporto alla cosidetta "poetica arcaica", con richiamo alle finalità perseguite da questo genere di poesia e al tipo di conoscenza che permette di conseguire. Successivamente... more

Questi studi esaminano la figura del cantore tradizionale in rapporto alla cosidetta "poetica arcaica", con richiamo alle finalità perseguite da questo genere di poesia e al tipo di conoscenza che permette di conseguire. Successivamente sono indagati i mutamenti che misero in crisi questo modello autorevole, già ben definito nella poesia omerica ed esiodea, secondo modalità riconoscibili nelle riflessioni sulla poesia già in età tardo-arcaica (Simonide, Pindaro, Bacchilide, Cherilo). A questi temi, che riguardano più da vicino la storia letteraria, se ne accompagnano altri che hanno per oggetto alcune note figure del mito greco. Essi costituiscono il naturale complemento alle affermazioni di poetica ricorrenti nei poemi, sulle quali la critica ha comprensibilmente indugiato più a lungo. Con questa esigenza si spiega l'inclusione nella ricerca non soltanto di personaggi quali Femio, Demodoco, Thamyris, ma anche del re trezenio Pittheus e dello stesso Hermes, cui la tradizione attribuiva l'invenzione della lira. Conclude il volume un saggio dedicato alla ripresa di questi temi in Democrito e nello Ione platonico. Pur nell’ambito di un ripensamento profondamente originale essi utilizzano ampiamente il tradizionale modello epico. Nell'appendice sono prese in esame varie tradizioni sui Telchini, figure mitiche primordiali caratterizzate da una marcata invidia, cui tuttavia si attribuiva un'importante realizzazione culturale: l'invenzione delle arti plastiche.

En este capítulo me propongo analizar la aparición de la luz y su simbolismo en una serie de cosmogonías griegas no filosóficas, cuyos testimonios abarcan desde la época arcaica, representada por Hesíodo y Alcmán, pasando por los períodos... more

En este capítulo me propongo analizar la aparición de la luz y su simbolismo en una serie de cosmogonías griegas no filosóficas, cuyos testimonios abarcan desde la época arcaica, representada por Hesíodo y Alcmán, pasando por los períodos clásico y helenístico hasta el romano, en que se sitúan varias cosmogonías órficas. El elenco de textos es muy limitado porque en la literatura griega apenas se han conservado una decena de textos cosmogónicos de los muchos que debieron de componerse en la Antigüedad; solo se ha salvado completa la Teogonía de Hesíodo, y nos ha llegado información, escasa, eso sí, de algunas otras, como las de Alcmán, Ferecides de Siro, Epiménides y de diversas Teogonías órficas. En segundo lugar, de todas las cosmogonías solo las de Hesíodo, Alcmán y algunas órficas presentan un interesante contraste entre oscuridad y luz en alguno de sus estadios.

The article provides a re-edition of a small fragment of a papyrus from Herculaneum which so far was rather neglected by scholars and represented a puzzle. The fragment stems probably from a papyrus of Metrodorus which was copied in the... more

The article provides a re-edition of a small fragment of a papyrus from Herculaneum which so far was rather neglected by scholars and represented a puzzle. The fragment stems probably from a papyrus of Metrodorus which was copied in the 3rd century BC. New supplements of several names reveal that the piece contains the hitherto unknown, most ancient lists of the Kings of Sparta (Eurypontides) conducted by Pherecydes of Athens in the first quarter of the 5th century BC. The list is more ancient than the ones to be found in Herodotus and Pausanias and gives a kind of plausible synthesis of these both lists. Due to its age and the possible compatibility with information from Archaic Greek Lyric the list of PHerc. 1788 might preserve the genuine succession of the Eurypontides between Theopompus and Demarates (ca. 700-500). The new list has even some relevance for the dating of the Messenian wars, Alcman and the sources of Herodotus. The chronology of early Sparta ought to be re-written in some aspects.

Funerary epigrams of archaic and classical poets, composed in Greece all through Antiquity, seem at first sight to be homages from new poets to ancient poets. But the implied relationship is more complex. On the one hand, the poem... more

Funerary epigrams of archaic and classical poets, composed in Greece all through Antiquity, seem at first sight to be homages from new poets to ancient poets. But the implied relationship is more complex. On the one hand, the poem represents not only the voice of the single poet who wrote it, but also that of the community in which the poem was composed. On the other hand, the alleged homage can act as a support for other goals (the production of a particular reading of the work of a deceased poet, the affirmation of his own poetic capabilities), or even to give way to other types of discourse, ranging from critique to derision. This observation therefore leads us to examine the issues of these texts and their uses in another light.

This book constructs a history of Alcman’s early reception from the Archaic times until the Hellenistic period, from the composition of his poetry until its first attested systematic edition, taking into consideration the existence of a... more

This book constructs a history of Alcman’s early reception from the Archaic times until the Hellenistic period, from the composition of his poetry until its first attested systematic edition, taking into consideration the existence of a tradition of partheneia and its implications. Can it be suggested that the emerging book culture killed the “song culture”? Was Alcman an archetypal prototype of an archaic genre (partheneia) and regarded as a historical figure? This book answers such questions, arguing that the tradition of partheneia was never powerful enough, especially outside Sparta, in order to completely absorb the poet.

On Alcman, fragments 1 and 3 Page.

Pretendemos estudiar los partenios del poeta Alcmán de Esparta dentro del contexto de la educación femenina y de los ritos de transición a la vida adulta que tenían lugar en Esparta. También intentamos reconstruir cómo se elegía a la... more

Pretendemos estudiar los partenios del poeta Alcmán de Esparta dentro del contexto de la educación femenina y de los ritos de transición a la vida adulta que tenían lugar en Esparta. También intentamos reconstruir cómo se elegía a la choregos y qué papel tenía el poeta en la educación de las jóvenes.

Despite the fact that P. Oxy. XXXV 2737 has been the subject of scholarly debate, its significance for the study of Alcman’s ancient reception has been left unnoticed. P. Oxy. XXXV 2737 provides indications that Alcman’s name was,... more

Despite the fact that P. Oxy. XXXV 2737 has been the subject of scholarly debate, its significance for the study of Alcman’s ancient reception has been left unnoticed. P. Oxy. XXXV 2737 provides indications that Alcman’s name was, possibly, involved in the poetic rivalry between Aristophanes and his fellow-comedians, and that Aristophanes and his audience were both aware of Alcman’s compositions.

The hypothesis is that literature, as well as life, contains the germs of a human colluctatio cum tempore in an attempt to tear away the jaws of years and death, the wasting of days, the sand of distraction and of the Forgetting - saving... more

The hypothesis is that literature, as well as life, contains the germs of a human colluctatio cum tempore in an attempt to tear away the jaws of years and death, the wasting of days, the sand of distraction and of the Forgetting - saving them in the safe garden of memory - the fragments of what you have loved, the images of something or someone you loved, the pieces of a 'whole' of which you are nostalgic or wishful. Writing, reading, memorizing, communicating and transmitting to others is the weapon of this struggle with time, whose post is the most precious and carefree things we have. Things to save.

One of the tasks of modernity is to unravel historic anthropocentrism. In my paper, I explore how zoomorphism (as opposed to anthropomorphism) captures early Greek identity. If it is in the discourse of animals that humans first apprehend... more

One of the tasks of modernity is to unravel historic anthropocentrism. In my paper, I explore how zoomorphism (as opposed to anthropomorphism) captures early Greek identity. If it is in the discourse of animals that humans first apprehend themselves—mythology and fable both point this direction—then animal must, as it were, be closely read. I draw the need to rework human-animal relations from recent work on modernity done by Giorgio Agamben and Bruno Latour, who have pushed the analysis “beyond”—or better yet, “between”—cultural binaries. After building up a vocabulary with which to deal with how the Greek identity is transmitted through zoomorphism, namely man as the “savage beast” (“θήρ”) or as the grazing beast (“βοτόν”), I move on to an analysis of what I argue is a key breaking point of collectivity in Alcman Partheneion 1, expressed through various animal imagery. By contextualizing the zoomorph, I argue that animals play a larger role in the human imaginary than has been previously analyzed and, furthermore, that fragments such as Alcman 1 can be further analyzed insofar as they conform to and thus reveal contemporary Greek culture and identity.