Ethical View of Music in Ancient Greece

8/10/2019 Ethical View of Music in Ancient Greece

1/23

The Sources and Development of the Ethical View of Music in Ancient GreeceAuthor(s): Edward A. LippmanSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr., 1963), pp. 188-209Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/740645.

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2/23

THE

SOURCES

AND

DEVELOPMENT

OF

THE

ETHICAL

VIEW

OF MUSIC

IN

ANCIENT

GREECE

By

EDWARD

A.

LIPPMAN

CONCEPTS

of

the ethical

orce

f

music re a characteristicnd

intrinsic

eature of the

Greek

outlook;

long

before

they

become

explicit

n

philosophy

hey

re

expressed

oth n

myths

f

musical

magic

and

in

various

fieldsof

musical

practice,

which

involve more

properly

ethical

f

ess

spectacular

ffects.

Myth,

religion,

medicine,

nd

ceremony

all

unite to

give

moral

concepts

their

trength

nd

diversity,

nd

these

formulations o

not

simply

disappear

with the

advent

of

philosophic

thought;

theircontribution o ethical

theory

s

especially

ignificant

e-

cause

they

continueon

alongside

philosophy,

iving

t

depth

and

social

relevance.

Myths

that

tell of

the

power

of

music

are

concerned

primarily

with

the

compulsive

haracter f

human

response;

thus t is

not

surprising

o

find

man

in

the

company

of

animals,

plants,

nd

inanimatenature.

The

irresistiblend fatal

attraction

f the

Sirenshas its

parallel

n

the

fascina-

tion

Arion

exercised ver

dolphins,

r

in

Amphion's bility

o

make

stones

arrange themselvesn order,while the universal nfluence xertedby

Orpheus

extends

rom

nature

o the

gods.

It

is

accordingly

he

suspension

of

the will

that

appears

as the most

triking

eature

f

musical

magic;

the

action of music

s

so direct nd

potent

hat it knows

no

resistance.

Most

typically

kind

of

hypnosis

s

produced,

an

enchantment n which

the

hearer s

rendered

motionless;

yet

we can

say

that the

music affects

eel-

ing

as well as

will,

for

the

influence

s

a

total one in which the faculties

are

not

distinguished.

The mentalcures of orgiastic itual are quite different.We are still

in

the

magical

province

of

physical

medicine

when

Odysseus's

wound

is

staunched

by

a

chant,'

but in

Dionysiac

riteswe

leave

magic

for

matters

1

Odyssey,

XIX,

457.

188

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3/23

The Ethical View

of

Music

in Ancient

Greece

189

of

fact.2

oth the Thracian cult of Bacchus and the related

Phrygian

ult

of

Cybele

made

use of

wild

dance

and

music,

withthe effect f

purgation

and purification.he fervent nd stimulatingharacter fthemusicwas

due

to a

great

extent

o

the

aulos,

an instrumentlso

played

with ntoxi-

cating

effect

y

Marsyas,

the

Phrygian

nature

god

who is the

counter-

part

of

Pan.

In

Plato's

Laws,3

dance and the

syrinx

re

made

responsible

for

quieting

he

frenzy

f the

Bacchantes,

while

n

the

on,4

we

learn

that

during

he

dancing

of the

Corybantian

mysteries

he revelerswere not in

their

ight

mind.

Orgiasticpractices

re

connected

n

general

withAsiatic

religion,

with

Thrace and

Phrygia,

nd

they

form

sharp

contrast o

the

more

characteristically

reek

myths

of

musical

magic,

which revolve

aroundthe use of the

yre

nd the

voice,

and are centered n calm rather

than excitement.

Again,

however,

eeling

s

not

distinct

rom

will;

there

is

a

highly

motional

but

also

thoroughly

ompulsive esponse.

But in

ad-

dition,

the

essentially

magical

effects

f

tone and of

particular

melodies

are

joined

by

a direct and frenzied

participation;

to the

stimulus of

melody

there s

added the

excitement

f

dance,

and

finally

he

purging

and

purification

hat

are the

more

ndirect ut

equally

intrinsic ffect f

the

whole. Thus music s both

a

cure and

a cause of

the

disturbance,

or

if t does notproduceit altogether,t certainly rings bout an intensifi-

cation.5

The resultant

ure,

accordingly,

s

homeopathic

ather han

allo-

pathic;

the

final

calm-or exhaustion-is

not the outcome of

soothing

music but of catharsis

r

emotional

discharge.

These

rites

re

evidently

quite

like

the

epileptic

fits

f

the

shaman,

the

dancing

epidemics

of

the

Middle

Ages,

the

17th-century

utbreaks

f

Tarantism,

r

the

uncontrol-

lable

jerks

of American

revivalist

meetings;probably

n

every

case,

re-

ligion

s

an

essential

actor.

Thus we are dealingnot onlywitha medical phenomenonbut also

with

spiritual

ne,

not

simply

with

purification

ut with

heightening

of

human

power

until t

becomes

dentified

ith

divinity.

n terms

f

re-

ligious activity,

his

is

the route of

mysticism

atherthan

reason,

or of

2

A

great

deal

of

information about

the

Dionysiac,

Orphic,

and

Pythagorean

cults

is assembled

in the classic work

of

Erwin

Rohde, Psyche,

transl. from

the

8th

ed.

by

W.

B.

Hillis,

London, 1925,

Chs.

8-11. See

also

Jane

Ellen

Harrison,

Prolego-

mena to the

Study

of

Greek

Religion,

3rd

ed.,

Cambridge, 1922,

and W. K.

C.

Guthrie,

Orpheus

and Greek

Religion,

London,

1935.

3Laws, 790e-791a. Plato actually describes the cure of Bacchic frenzyas an

allopathic

process;

music

produces

a

quietness

of

the soul not

by

aggravating

and

then

discharging

an evil

affection,

but

by

combatting

and

overcoming

it

with

an

opposed

and beneficial

external

motion.

Yet

the

process

is

thought

of

as

cathartic.

4

Ion,

533e-34a.

5

Evidence

may

be

found

in the

remarksAristotle

makes

on

the

Phrygian

mode

(Politics,

1340b,

4-5)

and

the

aulos

(ibid.,

1342b,

2-7).



4/23

190

The

Musical

Quarterly

emotion

rather han

contemplation;

t is turned

nward

to the divine

n

man rather

han

outwardto

the

heavens. ndeed the

myth

f

the devour-

ing of Dionysus by theTitans made it possibleto account for the pres-

ence

of

god

in

man,

and the

mystic

xperiences

ostered

y

intoxication

and music

provided

a confirmation.

n

a

transient

ype

of madness

the

soul was

ecstatically

eparated

from he

body;

its

divine

natureenabled

it

to achieve

mantic

power.

But

most

mportant

f all

is the fact

that

rite

involves

n element

f

imitation,

which

readily

nters

long

with

dance.

The imitation akes

the

form

of

pantomime,

but not

as a conscious art

exercisedwith

detachment;

nstead

it

becomes an

identification

f

the

initiateswiththe actual followers f Dionysus, nd through hem,with

the

god

himself.

n this

activity

we have

the

archetype

f mimesis

nd

of

drama;

imitation-like

Greek educational

and ethical

concepts

n

gen-

eral-is

associated

originally

with music and

pantomimic

dance

rather

than

with

painting

nd

sculpture.

And

it s

the

mitative

spect

of

religious

orgy

hatmakes t

comparable

to normal ducational

procedures

s

well as

entailing greater

oncreteness

n the

nature

f

music.

The

Orphic

movement

f the sixth

entury

.C.,

by

contrast,

eveals

conceptions loseto those ofmusicalmyth.AlthoughOrphism

continues

to

pay

allegiance

to

Dionysus,

t

actually

represents

he fruitful

omposite

of

the

Dionysian

and

Apollonian

cults that was manifested

most

conspic-

uously

n

the

Delphic

shrine.Clear

perception

nd

knowledge-the

whole

visual

mentality

ventually

onsummated

n

the

Platonic Ideas-become

important

actors,

long

with the instrument

f

Apollo,

the

yre.

The

re-

ligious

amalgamation

can

almost

be

thought

of

as

a

new

influence

f

musicon

the

Apollonian

outlook.

With t

all,

Orphism

remained

mystical;

its aim

was

to

purify

he

soul;

its

prophet,

lthough

ften

onsidered

o

be

the son of

Apollo,

was a Thracian musical

magician.

Elaborate doctrine

was

added

to

rite,

nd

mythical

hought

moved

closer o

philosophy.

he

dual

nature

of man and

the

immortality

f the soul were

clearly

formu-

lated

in

the

concept

of

transmigration,

nd

the

primitive

ionysian

cult,

which

had

developed

centuries

arlier,

was

elaborated nto

a

whole

mon-

astic

code

of

ife.With

Dionysus

become an

Olympian

god,

only

remnants

of

the

original

chthonian

spect

of

orgiastic

itual

were

preserved

n

the

wheel of

birth

nd

its

nteresting

arallel

of

Orpheus's

trip

to the

under-

world.But in generalthe Dionysianheritage

S

easilyseen; Herodotus

mentions

the

"rites called

Orphic

and

Bacchic"

in one

breath,6

nd

Orpheus

himself s

torn

apart

by

the maenads

quite

like

the

sacrificial

bull

of

the

Bacchic

communion,

lthough

his fate

might

have

been

earned

6

The

Persian

Wars,

II,

81.



5/23

The

Ethical View

of

Music in AncientGreece

191

by

apostasy.

We cannot

doubt

that

the

concept

of

music had been radic-

ally

changed;

the

Orphics

are

concerned

with the

lyre

and

the

voice

ratherthan the aulos, withenchantment atherthan frenzy,nd even

prophecy

akes on

a

reasonable nstead

of

a

rapturous

haracter.

Dance

is

apparently

absent,

while the

appearance

of

song

means

that some

contribution s made

by

the

specifically

ational element

of

music.

In

general,

music

is

no

longer

an inarticulate

utpouring

f

emotion

given

force

only

by

pantomime,

but a harmonic

cience

with a

tonal as well

as

a verbal

ogos.

This is

all a concomitant

f an

interestn

the

purifica-

tion

of the soul rather

han

its

dentification

ith

divinity,

nd

of

a

reli-

ance on asceticism nd on freedomfromcontamination ather han on

exhilaration

nd

frenzy.

The most

mportant

f the

Orphic

sects were

the

Pythagoreans,

nd

they

eem to have

added

an

Egyptian

lement

o the

movement;

Herodo-

tus

goes

so far

as

to

state that

the

Orphic

riteswere

really

Egyptian

nd

Pythagorean.7

ossibly

t was this

constituent

hat

transformed

rphism,

moving

t in the

direction

f

philosophy

nd

science,

which were

capable

of

new

growth

and wider influence.

Eventually

there

was

a

division

between the esoteric or religiousPythagoreans,who were known as

akousmatikoi,

nd the exotic

or scientific

roup,

known s

mathematikoi.

The two

parties

differed

ot

only

with

respect

to their

nterests,

ut

also

because the one was

monastic

and

the

other

public

in

its

way

of

life.

The

novel

characteristicsf

Pythagorean

hought

re evident n

the

change

they

effected

n

cosmogony.

he

Orphic cosmogony

xtends

he

Hesiodic

by

its

tendency

o

personify

bstractions;

t is

still a

theogony,

but

its

gods

are

often

concepts

expressed

n

an

old form.

n the

Pytha-

goreancosmogony

here s still

formal

orrespondence

ith

the

Orphic

hierarchical

picture

of

divinities,

ut

the

gods

themselves

have

disap-

peared,

eaving

only

traces

behind n

the

creativeMonad

and

the

ndefi-

nite

Dyad.

Mythology

has

with

this

step

become

philosophy;

and

al-

though

he

mathematical

tudiesof

the

Pythagorean

rotherhood

eflect

in

their

very

constitution

he

dominant

position

of

music,

there can

be

no doubt

that a new

and

higher

purification

was

discovered,

nd

that

theory

was

substituted

or

sonority.

ven

the

stress

n

abstinence and

asceticism

n

the

conduct of

life

has

unmistakable

mplications

or

the

kind of music the Pythagoreansmay have employed, f indeed they

employed

ny

at

all;

for

neo-Pythagorean

egends

notwithstanding,

t

is

quite possible

hat the

Pythagoreans

urned

way

more or

less

completely

from

ensory

xperience,

ven from that

which

might

nvolve tenuous

7

Loc. cit.



6/23

192

The

Musical

Quarterly

emotions,

nd

towards

uiet

contemplation

nd

speculative hought.

er-

tainly

he later

"so-called"

Pythagoreans

o

whom

Aristotle

efers'

were

mathematicians;the akousmatikoidisappeared with little trace, and

we

can

only

conjecture

bout the

nature of their

practices,

lthough

the

religious ociety,

till

more than

the

private

philosophic

r

poetic

school,

is

very

ikely

o

have made

use

of

music,

perhaps

in

a

fashionclose

to

that

of the

medieval

cloister.

n

any

event,

t is

the

soothing

effect

f

music

that will

bear

a

directrelation

o

knowledge

nd

harmony;

even

the

Sirens,

who would

appear

to

represent

he

purely

onorous

magic

of

tone,

promise

knowledge

to

Odysseus

and attract him

partly

for

this

reason also.9Words can be combinedwith the lyrebut not with the

aulos,

and

Aristotle

s

not

indulging

n

a

casual

fancy

when

he

interprets

Athena's

rejection

f the

aulos

as

an

expression

f her

attribute

f knowl-

edge,

and of the fact

that

the

instrument

ontributes

othing

to

the

mind.10

Plato takes

the

orgiastic

uses of

music

very seriously

ndeed,

and

tries o

explain

them and

generalize

hem

o that

they

are

applicable

to

normal educational

procedures.

He

even

comes to

classify

ducation

in

generalas a typeof purification." ustas he retainsmyth n his meta-

physics

or

hose

problems

hat

dialectic

s

helpless

o

solve,

o he is

really

not

willing

n his

ethicsto

abandon

either

he

orgiastic

r

the

hypnotic

effects f music.

Even

philosophic

discourse,

tself kind

of

music,

takes

on a

magical

aspect,

and

Socrates

is

described as

casting

a

spell

over

Meno,

and

enchanting

im.12

Plato

may reject

he aulos in

the

Republic,13

but this

everity

necessitated

y

a

higher

ause

-

can

become admira-

tion

elsewhere.When

Alcibiades

compares

ocrates o

Marsyas,

for xam-

ple,

all the

powers

of music over the human

soul

appear

as achievements

that

philosophy

mulates:

And

are

you

not an aulos

player?

That

you

are,

and

a

performer

far

more

wonderful than

Marsyas.

He indeed

with

instruments

used to

charm

the

souls of

men

by

the

powers

of

his

breath,

and the

players

of his music

do so

still: for

the

melodies of

Olympus

are

derived

from

Marsyas

who

taught

them,

and

these,

whether

they

are

played by

a

great

master or

by

a

miserable

aulos-girl,

have

a

power

which

no

others

have;

they

alone

possess

the soul and reveal the wants

of

8

See,

for

example, Metaphysics,985b,

24.

9

Odyssey

XII,

39-45.

1oPolitics, 1341b.

11

ophist,

231b.

In

Laws,

790c-92e,

after

describing

the

musical cure

of Bacchic

frenzy,

Plato

proceeds

to

apply

the

theory

of

this

process

to

education,

seeking

to

avoid occasions

of

sorrow

and

fear

altogether,

s well

as

to

strengthen

he

habits

of

cheerfulness

nd

courage.

12

Meno,

80a.

13

Republic,

399c-d.



7/23

The Ethical

View

of

Music in

Ancient

Greece 193

those who

have

need of

gods

and

mysteries,

ecause

they

re

divine.But

you

pro-

duce

the

same effectwith

your

words

only,

nd

do not

require

the

aulos;

that

s

the difference etweenyou and him.When we hear any otherspeaker,even a

very good

one,

he

produces

absolutely

no

effect

pon

us,

or

not

much,

whereas

the mere

fragments

f

you

and

your

words,

ven at

second-hand,

nd however m-

perfectly epeated,

maze

and

possess

the

souls

of

every

man, woman,

and child

who comes

within

hearing

f

them.And

if I

were not

afraid hat

you

would

think

me

hopelessly

runk,

would have

sworn s well as

spoken

o the nfluence hich

they

have

always

had and still

have over

me. For

my

heart

eaps

withinme

more

than

that

of

any

Corybantian

eveller,

nd

my

eyes

rain tears when hear

them.

And I

observe

that

many

others re

affected

n

the

same manner.

have

heard

Pericles nd

other

reat

rators,

nd

I

thought

hat

hey

poke

well,

but

neverhad

any similarfeeling;my soul was not stirredby them,nor was I angry t the

thought

f

my

own

slavish tate. But

this

Marsyas

has often

brought

me to such

a

pass,

that have felt

as if I

could

hardly

ndurethe life

which

am

leading

(this,

Socrates,

you

will

admit);

and I am

conscious hat

f I

did not shut

my

ears

against

him,

nd

fly

s

from he voice of

the

Siren,

my

fate

would be

like that

of

others,

he

would transfix

me,

and I

should

grow

old

sitting

t

his

feet.

For

he

makes

me confess

hat

ought

not

to live

as

I

do,

neglecting

he

wants

of

my

own

soul,

and

busying

myself

with the

concerns

f

the

Athenians;

herefore hold

my

ears and tear

myself way

from

him.14

Here we

have

a

depiction

both of

the

emotional

potency

of

music

and

of the

compound

of

seductiveness

nd

knowledge.

The

passage

is

remark-

able

in

the care with

which

t

elaborates he

details

of ts

comparison;

he

madness of

Alcibiades even

contains

counterpart

f

the

alcoholic

stim-

ulation that

was

combined

with

the music of

the

Dionysian

rites.

The chief

basis

of

Greek

ethical

views of

music, however,

s

not

magic

and

orgy,

but the

customary

ducational

and

social uses of

the

art.

There is

obviously

an

interrelationship

etween

these

fields

of

musical

practice;

the

ethical

value

of

music

cannot

be confined o formal

education,

for

chooling imply

foreshadows,

r more

usually

echoes,

ife

in

general:

the

place

of music n

education should

provide

a view

of

its

place

in

society,

r in

society

s it

once

was

or desires

tself o

be.

And

at

the

same

time,

ocial

occasions

not

explicitly

efined

s educative

may

be

of the

greatest

ignificance

n

molding

deals and

character.

Even

though

they

can

be

distinguished

eadily

from

magical

and

orgiastic

ffects,

he values

of

musical

practice

have some

basis

n

religion

and

rite,

for

music s

invariably

he main

constituent f

commemorative

ritual. Celebrations of heroes or of importanthistorical ventsare in-

trinsically

ducative

ceremonies.

Participants

ome to know

the ideals

of

society

s

these are

manifested

n

deeds

and

in

men;

they

earn

to

admire and to emulate

particular

virtues

and moral

characters.

The

14

ymposium,

15b-16b.

he

translation

s

by

Jowett.



8/23

194

The

Musical

Quarterly

whole

process

takes

place

by

means of

music;

cultural

values

are

embodied

in

words, dance,

and

melody,

becoming

the basis

of

specific

musicalgenres ofcloselydefined tyles nd types fmelodywithpar-

ticular

ethical natures. And

ritually

ignificant

music of this

kind

has

divine anction s

well;

the

commemorated

venthas the

approval

of

the

gods,

one

of

whom,

especially

nvolved,

may

even

supply

the

melody

or

the

appropriate

nstrument.

ivinely originated,

music

must

then

be

preserved

nd refashioned

y

successive

composer-performers

ho

take

up

each

defined

occasion of use. Even to the

auditors,

he

strength

f

the

effect s far above

that

of

absolute

music;

it

is

not

possible

to

com-

prehendsuch an ethical world fromthe vantagepointof pure art. In

the characteristic

reek

etting,

music s

given

the

utmost orce

by

social

tradition

and

religious

belief,

and

the concreteness t

assumes

is

due

ultimately

o its

real context f

community

deals as concentrated n

the

decisive

historic vent that n

part

brought

hem about and at the

same

time

exemplified

hem

most

fully

or he

edification f future

enerations.

The music

n

question

here

s

actually

a

representational

rt

of

rhythm:

music-poetry-dance.

ellenic

theories

f

musical ethics re

generally

on-

cernedwith music n this fuller orm.

The

component

rts were on

occasion

separated,

of

course,

lthough

much

less

often

nd much less

completely

han we

might

hink.

f

unac-

companied

dance

existed

t

all,

it was

not of much

mportance,

hile

pure

instrumentalmusic

was

not

only relatively

nimportant,

ut

also

either

explicitly

rogrammatic

r

doubtless

n

its

form,

melody,

and

rhythm

especially

ull

of

meaning

derived

from

visual and

verbal and

kinesthetic

experience.

On

the

other

hand,

singing

nd

speaking

re

very

lose n

all

ancient

civilizations, ery

much as

they

re in

primitiveultures;

he

two

verbs

hemselves

re

coupled

or

used

interchangeably,

nd

in numberless

literary

escriptions

e

cannot

tell

whether

peech

or

song

s

in

question.

This

ambiguity

has

a

counterpart

n

the indeterminate

ature

of much

preserved

Greek

poetry,

or

which

melody,

ike

dance,

was

unrecorded,

although

the

euphony

of

the

language,

the

qualities

of the

feeling

x-

pressed,

nd

especially

he

meter,

will

often

point

unequivocally

ither

o

speaking

or

to

singing.

The

complex

relationships

f duration can

be

such as to make

spokenperformance

ut

of

the

question

unless

we

are

to

omit

completely

he

rhythmical

eatures f the music

(along

withthe

melodic

ones);

the durations

can

be

measured

only

by

means

of

the

precise

power

of

temporal

udgment

that

we

can

secure

through

one.

In its

original

forms,

poetry

was

invariably

musical. The

epic

incor-

porated

heroicballads

sung

to the

yre,

nd

every

art

of

t

doubtlesswas



9/23

The

Ethical

View

of

Music

in

Ancient

Greece

195

intoned n

some fashion

ven as

late as

classical

times.

Elegiac

and

iambic

verse

were also

initially

ung,

accompanied by

the aulos

and the

lyre

re-

spectively.Aeolian monody and Dorian choral poetryremainedtruly

melic

arts,

horal

song

encompassing

ance also

as a

regular

onstituent.

Later

centuries

ad no

parallel

for

Greek

melic

poetry,

which,

as it

has

come

down to

us,

is

only

too

obviously

torso.

The

drama

too,

derived

from

he

cult of

Dionysus,

was

sung

to

a

great

extent,

ncorporating

oth

solo and

choral

song,

along

with

dance.

Only

with

the new

dithyramb

f

Phrynis

nd

Timotheus

did music

begin

to

undergo

a fateful nd

irre-

versible

fractionationn

which

its

unity

was forever

ost.

The

complete

combination f poetry,melody, nd dance, however,was the ideal type

of

music

as well

as the

predominant

ype;

and

it

must

therefore e

our

point

of

reference

n

the

study

of

both Greek

music

and

Greek

poetry.

But

we have not

fully

ccounted

for

the connection f

the musical

arts

unlesswe

realize

that

their

eparation

s

oftenmore

apparent

than actual.

Performance

ntermediate

etween

speech

and

song

was

undoubtedly

prevalent,

n the form

f

chant or

recitative

r

intonation,

nd

the

Greek

language

was

in

any

event

remarkably

hysical

nd

measured.

t

could

never osean inherentmusicwhich was characterized yprecisely efined

durations.

The

comparison

of

choral

poetry

to

a

mosaic has

justly

gained

a

certain

currency:15

he

Greek

syllables

are like unalterable

stone

tiles

which are

assembled

contiguously

n

intricate uccessions

f

length.

n

sharp

contrast

s

the

fabrication

f

poetry

ut of

the aura

of

feeling

nd

fancy

that surrounds

words: the

result here

is

an

intangible

play

of

meanings

upported

by

the

punctuation

f

accented

points

n

a

pattern

made up of silence as well as sound. If Greek poetry s much more

physical

han

this,

t

has its

place

appropriately

n

a literature

hat,

even

after

the

coming

of

prose,

was

conceived for oral

delivery

nd

almost

always

heard ratherthan read. Each

tone,

also,

was

ideally coupled

to

a

gesture;

the

melody

was

mirrored n

bodily

motion. The

very

term

choros

meant round dance with

song,

and the

concrete

nature of Greek

music

is

revealed even

in

the

fundamental

units of

rhythm,

which are

not

abstract durations of

given length,

but

are defined

as

steps

and

syllables as physicalfactsor events.But stillmore fundamental han

physical

motion s

the

word;

Greek music

worthy

f

the name

necessarily

involves

anguage.

Wordless

music is

regarded

as

inferior,

nd

instru-

15

See,

for

example,

the

interesting

tudy by Thrasybulos

Georgiades,

Der

grie-

chische

Rhythmus;

Musik,

Reigen,

Vers

und

Sprache,

Hamburg,

1949

(or

the reworked

English

version,

Greek

Music,

Verse

and

Dance,

New

York, 1956).



10/23

196

The Musical

Quarterly

mental

performance

an

be

distinguished

s

techni

(which

is in

no

wise

differentrom

raft ince it

lacks

imitative

apacity)

from he

more

ele-

vatedmousikJ, hichgenerally esignates ocal music.There can be no

doubt

that the

union of

melody

with word and

gesture

produced

an

art

of

extraordinary

efinition,

specially

ince the

uniting

factor,

rhythm,

was identical n

all three

omponents;

here

was not a

complex

nterplay

of

three

patterns,

ut

a

singlerhythmic

xpression,

hich was

apparently

the

most

mportant spect

of Greek music.

Nor

was this

rhythm

n

itself

a

layered

construction,

s in the

rhythm

f

an 18th- or

19th-century

melody,

where the

sounded

pattern

s

heard

against

an

implied

but

inau-

diblemeasuredbackground.And theunity fGreekrhythm as further

solidified

y

unison

singing

nd

"unison"

dancing;

thus Greek

music

is

comparable

to Greek

statuary

nd

architecture n that it

possessed

a

remarkably

efinite

hysical

haracter.

The

imitative

ature of

music,

ts

unified

oncreteness,

nd

its ethical

force re

all

importantly

nterrelated,

nd

it is

onlythrough

n

awareness

of

their nterconnection

hat we

can

secure an

insight

nto

the

musical

ethics

of

antiquity.

f the basic task of

music s

the

production

f

a

like-

ness,for xample, t is understandable hatmelodymustnot be separated

from

words,

forthen

ts mitative

apacity

would

decrease

and

its

mean-

ing

would

become

vague.

Also,

it is the

power

of music

to

imitate

virtue

that

explains

its

capacity

to

influence nd mold

character. Thus

the

conception

of

imitation cts

as an

intermediary

etween the

concrete

nature of music

and

its

ethical

effects,

nd undertakes

o

explain

how

the one can

bring

bout

the

other.

This whole

circle of

notions s not

so

restrictive

characterization

f

art as

it

might

eem;

for one

thing,

he

Greek

concept

of

mitation

ctually

ncludes

the

general

notionof

forma-

tive

activity

n

itself nd of the

synthesis

r

simulationof

appearance

apart

from reference o a model. But

even

if we take

mimesis n

its

specifically

mitative

ense,

t

is

apparent

that the

matter o

be

imitated

can be

very

diverse,

xtending

rom

visual

objects

to

character

nd

even

to

the

idea

of

virtue

tself

ather han

its

particular

manifestations.

he

imitation

f

character

by

music

has

a

very

definite ense

in

the literal

imitationof

the

speech

and

behavior

of

a

person

by

means

of

vocal

music

and

gesture,

articularly

n

the

portrayal

f

character

n

drama.

This is as concrete s or reallymoreconcrete han imitationn sculpture

and

painting.

Greek

music

was

an

imitation, owever,

ess

of visual

ap-

pearance

than

of

disposition

r

temperamental

ature,

expressed

most

typically

n

measured

anguage

and tone. But

by

virtueof a

rapproche-

mentbetweenmusical

theory

nd harmonic

metaphysics,

t

also

enjoyed



11/23

The Ethical

View of Music in

Ancient

Greece

197

the

privilege

unique among

the arts of

imitating

ivine

and

ideal

order;

and as a

manifestation f

this

order t

is

capable

in Plato's

Timaeus of

leading man to virtueand knowledgeas directly s the more literally

conceived imitationsof the

Republic

are able to

inculcate

the more

specific

irtues f

valor

and

temperance.

Music

in the

Timaeus

is

thought

of

as a

purely

tonal

art;16

all that matters

s its

ability

to

reflect

he

abstract values

of

noetic

harmony;

its

slight

mitative

capacity

in the

absence of words

and

physical gesture

has ceased

to be of

interest.

Partly

s

a

result

f

the

diversified

atureof musical

mitation,

he

ethical

aspects

of music

have an

impressive cope, ranging

from

medical

cures

to

an

influenceon the

feelings,

rom the

precept

and moral

example

contained

n

sung

words to the most

pervasive

and

powerful

ffects

n

behavior

and

character.

Throughout

he

gradual

redirection f Greek

deals

from he

physical

to the

ntellectual,

rom

he

hero

n combat

to

the

philosopher

nd

orator,

poetry

nd

music

continued o

occupy

a

position

f the

utmost

mportance

both in

formal ducation and in

the

various educative occasions

of

ife.17

The

great diversity

f the ethical

effects

f

music seemed

to endow

it

with value for

every

task. Even

apart

from the

question

of

imitation,

instruction

n

music has

always

been

an

essential

part

of an aristocratic

ethic;

from

Homer to

the

European

Renaissance,

nstrumental

erform-

ance

and

song

and dance have

been

indispensable

ccomplishments

f

the

knight

and the

courtier;

they

are

part

of

the

whole

aristocratic

pattern

of

life.

The

ritual

observancesof

the

knightly

ulture

depicted

by

Homer made

use

of

religious

horal

dance-songs,

ut ethical

values

can

be found

also

in

the

ndividual

dancing

and

singing

nd

lyre-playing

that served s

entertainment,

or

prominent

n

this ecular

sphere

was

the

rehearsal n

song

of great

military

xploits. Singing

such heroicnarra-

tions was

a

private

pastime

of

Achilles,

and there can

be no

doubt

of

their

moral influence.

We

know

also

of

the ceremonialmusic

at

funeral

games,

which

in

an ethical

respect

would

appear

to stand somewhere

between he

religious

aean

and

the heroicballad.

The

description

n the

16

Timaeus,

80a-b. Because instrumental

music

lacks

imitative

power,

it

readily

becomes

either dedication

to

pleasure

as

opposed

to

good,

or a

manifestation

of

harmony,

which makes it

morally

significant

nd at the

same

time a

sensuous

approxi-

mationof scientific nowledge.

17

Important

recent

histories

of

ancient

education are

Werner

Jaeger's

Paideia;

The

Ideals

of

Greek

Culture,

New

York, 1943-45;

Henri Ir6n'e

Marrou's A

History

of

Education in

Antiquity,

transl.

by

George

Lamb,

New

York,

1956;

and

Francois

Lasserre's

L'Rducation

musicale

dans

la

grace

antique,

in

his

Plutarque;

De la

musique,

Olten

and

Lausanne,

1954.



12/23

198

The

Musical

Quarterly

Iliad

of

specifically

ducational

activities n

the

case

of the

tutorsChiron

and

Phoenix

upplements

he

general

picture:

education

revolved

round

courtly ccomplishments,hich ncludedtrainingn songand dance and

lyre-playing

s

prominent

eatures,

nd around

the

heroic

deed,

which

was

inspired

y

great

models of the

past.

It is

this

dea of

glory

chieved

by

valor

that

was

central

n

the life

of

the

Homeric

noble,

and

that

was

fostered

y

the

Iliad

and the

Odyssey

hemselves

n their

ong history

s

the

fundaments f

Greek

education.

The

events

of

the

Iliad

itself ook

back to still

older

prototypes;

his

is the

heart

of

the

process

through

which the

culture

ecures

continuity;

nd

very

much

as

the actual

edu-

cationaluse of theheroicballad is described n the epic,so the epics in

turn,

originally

hemselves

ung,

became the

examples

furnishing

moral

inspiration

o

successive

generations.

Also,

the

glory

to

which

the

hero

aspires

and

for

which

he is

willing

o sacrifice

is

life s

really

musical

one,

for

t

consists n the

poetic

celebration

hat

immortalizes

is

deed.

Of

this,

gain,

the

Iliad

both relates

examples

and is

itself

he

greatest

example.

Thus

in

the

Homeric

world,

music nd

poetry

ave

their

highest

function

n the

glorification

f

the

hero

and in an

education that

is

basedonthis.And they mploy n appropriate ducationalmethod, orby

lending glory

to

some

past

exploit

they

turn t into

an ideal

of action

and

thus arouse the

very

competitive

pirit

hat

mpels

the

hero

to

excel

in

battle.

The

ethical

functions

f the Homeric

epic

were

time and

again

adopted

and modified

y

later

Greek

poetry,

nd the ideals

it

expressed

never

ceased

to be

an

inspiration.

n

educative

ntent

became

common,

manifested n

a

protreptic

r

admonitory

one

and

associated with the

direct

address

of

the

poem

to

a

particularperson.

The

catalogue

of

maxims

was a characteristic

oetic

genre.

Most

important

f all

was the

continual

concern with

ideals

and

virtue,

with

the

expression

f

the

highest

values

of

the

poet

and his culture.

On

occasion

this took

the

form f

a

detailed

code of

behavior.Hesiod's

Works

nd

Days

represents

an

early

ransformation

f the

epic

in

which

the

form s

explicitly

idactic

and the concern

s with the

virtues

f work nd

justice,

values

not of

the

aristocracy

ut

of the Boeotian

peasantry.

An

explicit

moral

intention

became

a

conspicuous

feature of the

philosophic epic

also,

here con-

nected with

metaphysical

ruth. t is this whole

poetic

tradition hat

Socrates

and Plato

revitalize,

nd

in

their ritical

nspection

f

the

nature

of

virtue,

hey

ogically

reviewall

the

specific

deals of

the

poets.

To the

ethical influence

hat

poetry

exerts

through

ts

meaning,

however,

we

must add its

ability

to reinforce he values that inhere

primarily

n

a



13/23

The

Ethical

View of

Music in

AncientGreece

199

situationrather

han

in the

words

themselves;

he

occasion of

perform-

ance

takes n

increased

ignificance

nd moral

nfluence.

The elegiacpoetry fTyrtaeus dvanced a changedideal ofheroism

that

applied

to the

soldier

of

Sparta

in the seventh

entury

B.C.

Every

warrior n

the

ranksbecame

a

hero,

not

only

he

great

ndividual

ngaged

in

single

combat,

and

the

goal

was

serviceto

the

community:

he

glory

of

the

polis

supplanted

personal

glory.

At the

same

time,

the

powerful

effects

f the aulos

and

the

marching-song

ere

put

to

use in

military

music.

In

addition,

music

became

an

event

of

competitive

ames,

along-

side

athletics,

nd

in this

way

it

provided

a

means of

achieving

that

individualgloryno longera dominant factor n actual combat, or at

least

a

means

of

combiningpersonal

and

civic

fame.

Most

important

f

all,

musical

ceremonies nd

festivals

nited

the

polis

in a

truly

ommon

religious

xperience.

With Alcman

towards

he end

of

the

seventh

entury,

choral

poetry

became

the characteristicmusical

expression

of

Sparta.

Like

the

elegy,

however,

which

originated

n

Ionia

but in

the work

of

Tyrtaeus

and

Solon

and

Theognis

spread

to

all of

Greece,

Dorian com-

munal

poetry

was

by

no

means

confined

o

Laconia,

but

was

found

also

in Sicily,Boeotia, Ionia, and Athens.But as contrastedwith the elegy,

which

taught

by

precept,

nd

with

he

ambic,

which

made use

of

maxim,

fable,

atire,

nd

invective,

horal

poetry

aught

argely

by

participation.

Spartan

festivals

urnished

he

occasions for

a wide

variety

of

dance-

songs

devoted to

specific

deities and

ranging

from

solemn

processions

to

banter.

Participation

n

any

choral

poetry

meant

dedication

to

a

tradition,

nd could

hardly

emainwithout

strong

thical effect. aken

over from

he

epic

was

the

typical

eligious-social

unction

f

praise,

which

made

choral

poetrycharacteristically ymnlike

n nature.

Praise could

easily

encompass

ommemoration f

the

dead

or

patriotic

xhortation;

t

tended to

absorb

every

ocial

and ethical value. That

it

was

a universal

theme

can

be

clearly

seen

in the Hellenistic

division of

melic

poetry

into

three

ypes,

ll

of

them concernedwith

praise

and

differing

nly

n

their

objects:

gods, gods

and

men,

and

men

respectively.tarting

n

the

middle

of the

sixth

century,

partan

education

assumed

the

form

that

became

so well known

and

influential

n

later

times;

t became less

ntel-

lectual,

more

strictly

military,

nd

increasingly

esistant

o

change.

Im-

portant n the subsequenthistory f musical influences re the military

use

of

music

for

ts

directly timulating

ffect,

nd the standardization

f

repertory

hat

guarded

traditional ocial

and

military

alues.

In contrast o

the

strong

ollectivism

n

Sparta,

Greek

culture

else-

where

preserved

much of

the

individualistic tandards

of

older

times.



14/23

200

The

Musical

Quarterly

The

gnomic

elegies

of

Theognis,

for

example,

which

were

sung

at

sym-

posia, conveyed

xplicit

moral

principles

f

aristocratic ehavior.And

up

to thetimeofPlato,educationwas conductedvery ittlenformal chools,

but

was

based

on

an

individual

relationship,

he ove

between

master

nd

pupil,

which

dominated he

philosophic

cademy

as

well as

private

utor-

ing.

In

this

ies

its

strength,

nd

perhaps

the ultimate

reason for ts

vast

influence n the course

of educational

history;

nsteadof

being

a

relatively

superficial

matter

of

imparting

knowledge,

t is a

fundamentally

moral

undertaking

f

cultivating

nd

molding

haracter,

f

fashioning

he

whole

person

n

accordance

with a

particular

way

of

life. n such

a

framework

the importanceof music becomes more readilyunderstandable.Before

schools were

public,

they

were for centuries

ocieties

of

the

elect,

each

pupil

bound

by

personal

ties

to the master.

Music

took

its

part

in

a

leisured

and aristocratic

ife;

but still

more

important

was its role

in

ritual,

which involved the

age-old

connection

f music with

knowledge,

and

more

especially,

with wisdom

(which

contains

an

ethical

compo-

nent).

The

philosophic

chool

was dedicated to

music,

or

we can

equally

well

say,

to culture. n the activities f

the

Pythagorean

Brotherhood,

musicmay verywell have displayed hefullvariety fitsethicalpowers,

many

of them without

any

basis

in

imitation;

t was a

constituent

f

ritual,

a medical

purification

f the

soul,

and

even

-

in the form

of

theoretic

nd

scientific

tudy

a

key

to

metaphysical

nowledge;

t

was

studied,

that

is,

for

directly

hilosophical

nd

religious

easons,

nd

not

only

employed

n sonorousformfor

more

palpable

influences

n

health

and

piety.

n

the

case

of

Sappho's

school

in

Lesbos,

there

was

continual

use of music

in

periodic

ritual

and

ceremony;

and instruction

n

lyre-

playing, inging,

nd

dance

was

an

important art

of

the

curriculum.

This

implies pervasive

thical

nfluence;

butthe

Sapphic

fragments

ot

only

provide

glimpses

f the

place

of music n

the school of the

poetess:

they

re

remnants f

a

potent

rt that

was itself

music

and that

brought

to

Greek

consciousness

many

subtle

shades of

subjective

experience.

n

this

way,

her

poems

possessed

broad

educational

value

that

extended

far

beyond

her

immediate

circle.

But if

the

public

nature

of

Spartan

education

contrastswith the

aris-

tocraticGreek

tradition f

private

tutoring,

nothercontrast

s

provided

by Athenian educationof the earlier fifth entury, orthiswas civilian

rather han

military.

ut neither

his

significant hange

nor the

growth

of

democracy radically

affected he

persistence

f aristocratic

alues.

These

proved

to be

compatible

with the

ideal

of

social

justice

which

the

poetry

f

Solon

had

long

before

envisaged

as a

counterpart

f the

bal-



15/23

The

Ethical

View of

Music in

Ancient

Greece 201

anced

order

of

nature,

and now valor

and

glory

were

retained

n

a

civilian and

democratic

setting

imply

by

transferring

hem from the

battlefield o athletics.As a result, porttook on a new intensity,nd

the celebrationof

victory

n

the various

games,

especially

as

we

see

it

in the

victory

des,

or

epinikia,

of

Pindar,

was

of

the

highest

dignity

and

impressiveness.

ut

at

the

same

time,

he

process

of

democratization

presented

problem.

Athleticswas to

a

great

extent

open

to

all,

and

in

the

public

school,

which

grew

up

side

by

side with

ndividual

educa-

tion,

ristocraticdeals

and

curricula

were

similarly

dopted

for

common

use. The outcome

was

a

serious

controversy,

or

the

belief did

not

die

that culture was a restricted henomenonand educationnecessarily

selective

matter. n

any

event,

music

retained

ts

historical

thical

role

and

its

commanding

status. As far

as intellectual ducation

was con-

cerned

-

that

is,

apart

from

gymnastics

the

chief mark

of a

culti-

vated man was the

ability

o

sing

and

dance

and

play

the

yre.

Outside the formal

ducation of

the

schools,

horal

poetry

ontinued

to

exert

its

powerful

moral

influence,

specially

n

Sparta,

while

the

drinking

arty,

highly rganized

and

probably

he most

mportant

nsti-

tution f Greek cultural ife,provideda more restrictedristocraticlass

with

training

hat was

almost

exclusively

moral and

almost

exclusively

musical.

Dancing,

and

performances

n

lyre

and

aulos,

were

secondary

to

the

skolion,

n

which each

guest

sang

in his turn. A

knowledge

of

poetry

that

extended from

epic

to

lyric

was a

presupposition

f

such

gatherings:

Homer and

Tyrtaeus

and

Solon and

Theognis

furnished

n

extremely

omprehensive

moral

cultivation,

n

which

the

explicit

each-

ings

of

elegiac

poetry ccupied

a

central

position.

t was the

symposium

that was

mainly

responsible

or the

preservation

f

an

aristocratic

thic.

Most

importantly,

heolder choral

poetry

f

Stesichorus,

lcman,

Simo-

nides,

nd Pindar

-

known

o

thecultivatedman

through

is

participation

in

choral

song

-

came

to be

performed

monodically,

o

that

the

sympo-

sium

ncorporated

he

deals

of civic

education

and

ensured he

continuity

of

the musicaltradition

f iberal

tudies.

Prior

to

the

Sophists

and

Socrates,

Greek education was in

general

more

physical

and

moral than

it

was

intellectual,

nd

it

consequently

made

use

more

of

actual

music than

of music as a

theoretic

nd

philoso-

phic study.As a reflection f aristocraticdeals, it reallynever lost its

liberal interests nd its

distrust

f

occupational

training,

nd

it aimed

at

cultivation or a

leisured

way

of

life

compounded

of

sport

and intel-

lectual

pleasures,

with

political

activity

s the

typical

erious

pursuit.

But

in the

later fifth

entury,

ducation took on

a more

purely

ntellectual



16/23

202

The

Musical

Quarterly

intensity

nd a new

ideal of

wisdom.

The

scientific

nd

philosophic

s-

pects

of

music

grew

n

importance

longside

of

practical

music

and

for

themostpartunrelated o it. In thischange,thephilosopher upplanted

the

poet

as

an

educator,

nd

we

can

consequently

ee

a

particular

ogic

n

Plato's

designation

f

philosophy

s

the

highest

music.

But as

philosophy

was music

in an

abstract ense

more than

an

actual

one,

so the

educa-

tional

ideal

it

advocated was

more

one

of

musical science than

of

prac-

tical music.

The

stress n

intellectual ducation

did

not

necessarily

n-

volve

a

discard

of

ethical

cultivation,however,

but

only

a

change

in

standards.

Practical music was

reinterpreted

s a

preparation

for

the

rational trainingthat came afterward, lthough its direct social and

moral

values

were

not overlooked.

Much of

the

new

outlook had

been

anticipated

ong

before

by

Xenophanes:

he

turned

o

poetry

ather

han

prose

as a

philosophic

medium,

he

recited

t

symposia,

hus

usurping

he

position

f

the

poets,

he

took direct ssue with Homer

in

much the

terms

Plato

did,

criticizing

im as

immoral,

and he

advanced

an

intellectual

rather

han

a

physical

deal. More

subtly,

lato

reduces

gymnastics

o

a

matter

ffecting

he

soul rather

han

the

body

1

but he

by

no

means

oses

sightof its inherent alues, and seeksonlyto turnthemback to their

older

significance

s

preparation

for

battle

rather than

for

victory

n

athletic

competition.

Almost

symbolically,

n

the

Symposium,

he

ex-

plicitly

relegates

music

to the

category

of

entertainment,"

while

the

time

of

the

company

is

spent

in

the

higher

activity

of

philosophical

discussion,

he new

and

superior

kind

of music. This

is

doubtless

con-

scious

depiction

of new educational

deals,

which

Plato was

quite

ready

to

view

from a musical

standpoint.

With

the

Sophists,

elativism

ould

easily

lead

to a discard

of

music

as an ethical

force;

in the world

of

dialectics

nd

oratory

hat

they

created t was to be retained

only

as an

emotional

and technical

aid to the

speaker.

But the renewed faith

of

Socrates

and Plato

in an absolute moral

standard

brought

with it

a

belief

in the older

ethical

values

of

music and

in

musical

value

in

general.

Yet

the nature

of

music was

changing,

nd as

the old

unity

fell

apart

the

educational

ideals and curriculum ased

on it

changed

also;

political

and

social

changes

were

a

counterpart

or a

result,

s

Damon

and

Plato

believed;

the

logical

outcome was

the

destruction

f

the

polis and the growthof the cosmopolitan ity,a processaccompanied

by

an

equivalent

disruption

f

music. In

attempting

o

reinterpret

nd

18

Republic,

410c-12b.

19

ymposium,

176e.

See

also

Protagoras,

347,

where

the

entertainment

urnished

by

girls

who

dance

and

play

the

aulos and

lyre

is

similarly

set

aside in favor

of

discourse.



17/23

The Ethical

View of

Music in Ancient

Greece

203

preserve

he older

deals,

Plato found

himself

pposed

to what

was

actu-

ally

a more

progressive

ttitude,

or

philosophy

ought

with

rhetoric

ver

the educational leadershipabandoned by music, and rhetoricfrankly

accepted

the musical

disintegration

nd

the new intellectual

pecializa-

tion,

replacing

universality

with

versatility.

In

any

event,

the

musical-poetic

radition

eveals that the

educative

function

f music

exists n

poetry

f

whatever

ype, lthough

the

precise

function aries with the

genre.

The

teaching

values of

gnomic

verse

are

there for all to

see,

but

even the

philosophic

epic

evolved

from the

didactic

epic,

and

traces of its

origin

are still

evident

n

so late

a de-

scendantas Lucretius.The motifof moral instruction,ntimatelyllied

to

music,

runs

through

he entire

history

f

Greek

poetry

nd

philosophy,

and

indeed

through

ll the iterature f

antiquity.

n its

direct ddress

to

a

single

ndividual,

he

prose protreptic

ontinues

he manner

of didactic

and moral

poetry;

philosophy

has

already

adopted

the device in

Empe-

docles's

time,

and with

Isocrates

it

becomes

an

established

genre.

The

Epinomis

(intended

as a

final section of

Plato's

Laws),

Aristotle's

Protrepticus,

icero's

Hortensius,

Boethius's

Consolation,

nd the

patris-

tic "Exhortation"are outstanding xamples.But vastlymoreimpressive

than the

explicit

xhortations the

Platonic

dialogue

tself,

with

ts

power-

ful

inspirational

ffect.

The

education of

Greece

was the

high

ethical

purpose

that

philosophy

arried

over

from

poetry,

nd

if

Homer was

the

teacher

of

Greece,

Plato became

the teacher

of

the West. But in

its

superior

realization of this

purpose, philosophy

directed owards

poetry

not

gratitude

ut criticism.

or

poetry

id

not

deal

in abstract

rgument;

it made

use

of

feelings

nd

the concrete nstance. Furthermore

oetry

was degenerating,n Plato's opinion; it had lostsight f tssocialmission,

while

those

participating

n

it

became

effeminate

nd

depraved.

The

actors n

Athenian

tragedy

tood

on a

plane

vastly

nferior

o that of

the

participants

n Dorian

choral

dance. It was

symptomatic

hat the

aulos

had taken on

a new

popularity,

nd

ornate

musical

styles

had

appeared,

in

conjunction

with

virtuosity

nd

purely

nstrumental

music.20"

mita-

tion ran

riot,

Plato tells

us,

with

attempted

uplications

f the sounds

of

nature

and

animals and

various

musical

instruments;

he

citharoedic

singer

imitated the

quavering

excitement

of

the

aulos;

modulation,

chromaticism,

nd a mixture nd confusion f

styles

ccompanied

a con-

tinuous

search

for

novel

effects,

nd

music was

dedicated to senseless

pleasure

and

applause.

20

Laws,

700a-Olc,

provides

a

picture

of

the

moral

decay

of

music

and

its

repercussions

n

the earlier fourth

century.

See also

Republic,

700a-b.



18/23

204

The Musical

Quarterly

The

ethical values of

poetry

became an

important

ssue in the

case

of

Athenian

tragedy,

nd indeed were

the

core

of

the

controversy

ver

the relativemerits f Aeschylus nd Euripides. In the Frogs of Aristo-

phanes, Aeschylus

ehearses

he

traditionalmoral and

social

function

f

the

poet:

"Those

are the

subjects

hat

poets

hould

use.

Note

how

useful,

even from

emotest

imes,

he

poets

of

noble

thought

ave been

Orpheus

taught

us

the

mystic

ites

and

the

horrid nature

of

murder;

Musaeus,

the

healing

of

ailments and

the

oracles;

Hesiod,

the

tilling

of

the

soil

and

the

timesfor

delving

and harvest.

And

does

not

divine Homer

owe

his

immortal

glory

to his noble

teachings?

s it

not he who

taught

the

warlikevirtues,the art of fighting nd of carrying rms?"21And in

answer

to a

question

about

the truth

of a

story

used

by

Euripides,

he

says,

"No,

the

story

s

true

enough;

but

the

poet

should

hide what is

vile

and not

produce

nor

represent

t

on the

stage.

The

schoolmaster

teaches

little children

and

the

poet

men

of

riper

age.

We

must

only

display

what

is

good."22

Truth

is not

an

adequate

standard of

poetic

value, then,

a

concept

that

Plato

develops

n

detail.

It is clear at the

close

of the

play

that

Aeschylus

arries

the

day

pre-

ciselyby virtueof his social role. Aristophanes akes the occasion to

criticize ocrates

also,

whom

he

treats

s

the

representative

f

rhetoric,

for

ngaging

n idle talk that

s,

n

an

activity

ot

socially

useful.Even

the medical

power

of

music

s

wielded

by

Aeschylus,

s

it

is

by

Musaeus

in

the

passage

cited above. "Let

us beware

of

jabbering

with

Socrates,"

the chorus

ings,

and

of

disdaining

he

sublime

notes

of the

tragic

Muse.

To

pass

an idle ife

reeling

ff

randiloquent

peeches

nd

foolish

uibbles,

is

the

part

of a

madman."23

And Pluto

continues:

"Farewell, Aeschylus

Go back to earthand may yournoble preceptsboth save our cityand

cure the

mad;

there re

such,

a

many

of

them ""

In

the

Clouds,

Aristo-

phanes paints

a

vivid

picture

of

the

immoral

and

outrageous

results f

sophistical

ducation;

yet

however

mistaken

t

may

be in its attribution

to Socrates

and

however

udicrously

istorted,

t

really

has a foundation

of truth

n

the

dangerous

ethical

relativism

f

the

Sophists.25

s a

poet,

Aristophanes

will

naturally

refer

oetry

o

rhetoric,

ut his truemotives

go

beyond

this,

s we

can see

in

his detailed

criticism f

Euripides.

For

21Aristophanes,Five Comedies, Cleveland, 1948, p. 272.

22

Ibid.,

p.

273.

23

Ibid.,

p.

287.

24

bid.,

pp.

287-88.

25

This

can

be seen

clearly

in

the

intransigent

nd

rebellious

views defended

by

Callicles

in Plato's

Gorgias,

482c-84c.

http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsphttp://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

Documents

Ethical View of Music in Ancient Greece