SAPPHO c. 600BCE

HOMERc. 700BCE

HESIOD

SAPPHO,thePOETESSLIFE:620–550BCE

• BorninGreekislandofLesbos, locatedinthenortheasternAegean Sea

• Memberofaffluentfamily• Contributedtolyricpoetry(wrote poemsandmusicalaccompaniment)

• Also,playedimportantrolein educaXonofotherwomen

• ConXnuestoaYractaYenXonof literaryscholarsandfeministcriXcs

SAPPHO,thePOETESSOFINTEREST:

• complexityofherwork(sapphic meter/‘metricalinventor’),contribuXon tolyricpoetry,expressionandthemes, oneofthembeinglesbiandesire

• Influencedpoetsbasedonexpressionof emoXon,love,longingandexploraXon oferoXcthemes(withreferencesto religion/myth/Eros)

• Herworkbelongstothegenreoflyric poetry(describedas,‘inXmate’,‘private’,focusingonsubjecXve experiences-unlikeepicpoetryfocusing onheroicidenXty,war)

SAPPHO,thePOETESSPoems:-HymntoAphrodite

-OneGirl-IAskedmyself

-ToanArmywife,inSardis

LIFE:c.750BCEUncertainXesastowhenandwherehe wasborn(AsiaMinorcoastorislandclose by)

• Producedepicpoetry;versesnarraXng heroicdeeds,warandjourneyofhero/ es.HeroisminAncientGreecerooted in:

• Honour,acclaim(kleos),excellence(arete),deeds/labours/(athle)

• Individualvaluefromwithinasocial, poliXcalframeworkthatwasfamily- centred,hierarchical,maledominated

• Homerichero:fromaselectgroupof peopleofnobledescentcelebratedin lifeanddeathbecauseofextraordinary deeds

HOMER

OFINTEREST:

- PrimaryrepresentaXveofepicpoetry/ oraltradiXon- HomerandHesiodwerethefirstpoetsof theGreeks,accordingtoHerodotus

- Homerviewedbymanyastheguideofallthegreattragicpoetsandasaneducator

WORKS:recitedbyrhapsodes-THEILIAD(theangerofAchilles/war– Troy/Helen-Paris)

-THEODYSSEY(thereturnofOdysseus/ Ulysses-Penelope)

HOMER

TheOdyssey-Epicpoem(asTheIliad/didacXcinnature)-givesaccountoftheperiod(10years)ittookOdysseustotravelfromTroytohishomeinIthakaDividedin24booksI-IV:TheadventuresofthesonofOdysseus,TelemachosV-VIII(andXIII):ThehomecomingoftheheroOdysseusIX-XII:Theadventures/wanderingsofheroXIII:Thehero’sreturntoIthaka

TheadventuresofOdysseus• Kikonians(enemiesofhisallies)• TheislandoftheLotusEaters(lotus/lossofinterestinthejourney)• Cyclopes(oneeyedgiants)• Aiolos(godofthewinds)• Laistrygones(cannibals)• IslandofCirce(sorceress)• DescenttotheUnderworld• Sirens(monsters)• ScyllaandCharybdis(monsters)• Thrinakia,islandofHelios(Sun)• Ogygia,islandofnymphKalypso---Homer’snarra7onbegins• Scheria,islandofPhaiakians(Naysikaa)--Odysseusnarrateshis

adventures• Ithaka

Narra7vepa=ern:Thejourney

Elements:thresholds,guardians/co-travelers,transformaXveexperiencesThemes:homecoming,nostalgia,memory,lethe/ oblivion

DemeterandPersephoneMythofPersephoneabducXonbyHadesandDemeter’sjourneytofindherAnotherexampleofliterarydescenttotheunderworld

Examplesthroughthecenturies

PersephoneandHadesintheUnderworld

Greekvase,5thc.BCE

Modernworks:

JamesJoyce’sUlysseschroniclesthejourneyofthehero,LeopoldBloom,duringthecourseofoneday,inDublin(withsimilarstructure-andnamedajerOdysseycharacters,themesandmoXf-e.g.MollyBloomas

Penelope)

Examplesthroughthecenturies

LIFE:c.700BCESimilariXeswithHomerConnectedtoAsiaMinorCoast,Ionic dialect,useofdactylichexameterHowever,includesbriefautobiographicalreferencesinhis worksOFINTEREST:Theogony:creaXon,glorifyinggods,organizesstoriesonmythicalenXXes/categorizesthem,glorifieskings(targetedaudience)

HESIOD

Hesiod’sTheogony,700B.C.

AESCHYLUSc.524–456BCE

SOPHOKLESc.496–406BCEEURIPIDESc.480-407BCEARISTOPHANESc.447–386BCE

GREEKTHEATRE

• TheatrewasperformedatthecenterofAthens.

• DuringthefijhcenturytragedywasperformedattheTheaterofDionysus.

• Thistheaterwasneartheagora,theareathathousedthecouncilorsofthevouli(council)

• AboutDionysus:Father:Zeus,Mother:amortal,SemeleKnownasBacchus,godofexcess,wine,theatre,ecstasy.Followedbythemaenads/bacchaeandsatyrs

GreekTragedy

Didac/c amediumformoral improvementofaudiencememberswhoare notviewedaspassivereceptorsofthedrama unfoldingbutascapableofreacXngtowhat unfoldsbeforetheireyesPoli/cal:adiscourseofthepolis.Educa/onwaspoli/calinAthensofthe5thcatthecenterofwhichwasthecity/polis.

Tragedy

• Hubris/Hybris:crimedrivenby disregardofmorallaws

• HamarXa: errorwhich • Anagnorisis: astowhatis • Nemesis:retribuXonagainstthosecommiongcrimes• Peripeteia:adventure affecXngthe

• Katharsis:moralimprovement/educaXonbasedonthedifferent

emoXonalstatestheaudiencemembersexperiencewhilewitnessing

thedramaunfoldingbeforetheireyes

OnGreekTragedy

• Plato:tragedyasmimesiscannotaYainorreflectthetruthso,onecannotlearnthetruthfromit.TragedyisalsobasedonemoXonalstateswhichisalsoproblemaXc.

• Aristotle:mimesisisdirectlyconnectedtolearningaswestarttolearnthroughmimesis(PoeXcs1448b5–9).TheemoXons,whichincludepleasure,fearandpity,donotexcludethepossibilityofthought;theyhaveanintellectualvalue,theycanforcepeopletoreflectonmoralvirtue.

OnGreekTragedy

• ForAristotlethentragedycanplayanimportantpartineducaXngtheemoXons,itselfanimportantpartofa moraleducaXon.TragedyeducatesbyeducaXngtheemoXons(PoeXcs1451b5–11).

• WhilePlatocriXcizeshowandwhattragedyteaches,AristotleunderstandsthebeneficialemoXonalandintellectualeffectstragedycanhave.

• bornin525BCE,inthevillageofEleusis,nearAthens

• comesfromnoblefamily• foughtatMarathonin490BCE(Persianinvasion)

• CreatedOresteia,PrometheusBound• Diedin456BCE

Aeschylus

Sophocles

• 496-406BCEAoca• WroteAnXgone,OedipusRex,Electra,PhiloctetesandOedipusatColonus

• Servedasageneral• ParXcipatedindramaXccompeXXonsofthecity-stateofAthenssuchastheDionysia

Euripides

• Bornin480-406BCE• Reflectedonhumannature,femalecharacters,emoXonalturmoil

• PresentedworkattheFesXvalofDionysusatAthens

• WroteMedea,Hecuba,TheTrojanWomen,Iphigenia,Helen

DivineIntervenXon

• Dieusexmachina(intragediesofEuripides)• DeterminingthecourseofhumanacXon/by

influence/useofpower • Socrates(reflecXonsonmyth,divine)

/Plato(in‘Republic’,discussionondivineintervenXon)

OnComedy

• AristophanesknownforcomedypartofwhichissaXre(broadlybasedonpoliXcalcommentary);ifonetakeswatchingtragediesasaneducaXon,onethenshouldturntocomedy,hissaXres,toreflectonpoliXcs

Goldhill1991,201–22;Heiden199

Aristophanesc.447–386BCE

Majorworks• TheWasps

• TheFrogs• TheBirds• Lysistrata