Alcman and the Cosmos of Sparta - Softcover

Ferrari, Gloria

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0226668681 ISBN 13: 9780226668680

Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 2014

Synopsis

The Partheneion, or “maiden song,” composed in the seventh century BCE by the SpartanpoetAlcman, is the earliest substantial example of a choral lyric. A provocative reinterpretation of the Partheneion and its broader context, Alcman and the Cosmos of Sparta excavates the poem’s invocations of widespread and long-lived cosmological ideas that cast the universe as perfectly harmonious and invested its workings with an ethical dimension.

Moving far beyond standard literary interpretations, Gloria Ferrari uncovers this astral symbolism by approaching the poem from several angles to brilliantly reconstruct the web of ancient drama, music, religion, painting, and material culture in which it is enmeshed. She shows, for example, that by stringing together images of horses, stars, and birds, the poem evokes classical antiquity’s beloved dance of the constellations. Instrumental in shaping the structure of the lyric, this dance symbolizes the cosmic order reflected in the order of the state, which the chorus would have enacted in a ritual performance of the song.

With broad implications for archaeology, art history, and ancient science, Ferrari’s bold new analysis dramatically deepens our understanding of Greek poetry and the rich culture of archaic Sparta.

About this title

About the Author:

Gloria Ferrari is professor emerita of classical archaeology and art at Harvard University. Her many books include Figures of Speech: Men and Maidens in Ancient Greece, also published by the University of Chicago Press.

Review:

"Ferrari's creative reading of the Partheneion makes sense of many of the apparently disparate parts of this poem and of its context.... Her argument is convincing and well supported. The extensive bibliography is an excellent resource for research on Greek lyric, performance, and the relevant myths." (Classical Outlook) "Ferrari offers a provocative discussion of the poem's dramatic performance, ritual context, and societal role, shedding a new light on its perplexing imagery.... By discussing debatable matters and proposing her own innovative interpretations, Ferrari contributes actively and sensitively to these debates, making this book an important contribution to the study of ancient Greek choral poetry, archaeology, and art history." (American Anthropologist)"

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Chicago Press
• Publication date: 2014
• ISBN 10: 0226668681
• ISBN 13: 9780226668680
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 184