Term
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Definition
What: Politcal & military elegies.War poems that spoke encouraging words.
When: latter part of 7th century
Audience: Message to Spartans: support state authorties & fight bravely against Messenians
Style: Propagandist
In later centuries, Spartan soliders listened to them on the battlefied.
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Term
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Definition
| The country, Messene, which was under Spartan domination had risen in revolt. The poor demanded redistribution of land. The authority of of the city was threatened. |
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| Violent Messian Rebellions |
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Definition
Emergeny that prompted Tyrtaeus to write his poems.Played the role of propagandist.
His poems reminded people of divine authority & called for obedience to rules & end to discord. |
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Term
| Why did Tyrtaeus use poetic langugage? |
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Definition
| Wanted to express his concerns & heard by a large audience, specifically the Messian people. Wanted to convince them to take his advice: obey the rules & end the rebellion. |
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Definition
Style of fighting in Tyrtaeus' battles engaged by Spartans.
A closely-packed unit that marched & fought together as one. Each warrior protected his fellow on the left with his shield. Cohension was imperative. Individuals subordinate themselves to the discipline of the group.
(Like movie: 300)
Opposite of Homeric battles. |
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Term
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Definition
Glory is still to be gotten, but it comes from sticking together, from not letting fear of death cause a break in the ranks.
Glory is not an individual affair, but comes from fighting for the polis.
Death isn't certain, battles were decided quickly with moderate casualities. |
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Term
| How does Tyrtaeus promote equality amongst soldiers? |
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Definition
Tyrtaeus transfers the heroic standard of conduct to the ordinary soldier, the member of the phalanx.
Teamwork is crucial factor! |
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Term
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Definition
What: Some poems iambic style, wrote about sex.
Birthplace: Paros had a tradition of iambus, erotic recitations
When: 680-645 B.C.
Where: Performed at festivals to promote fertility.
Style: First-person narrative, explicit sexual content. Named women who he had seduced & who has had sex with him.
Resembles Thersites in his taste for biting ridicule.
Prefers not to give his life in war, but thinks still can gain kleos by writing poems. |
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Term
| How does Tyrtaeus' picture of battle differ from the Iliad? |
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Definition
Homeric style of single warriors riding forth to the front line in chariots to fight duels with the enemey has been replaced by the phalanx formation.
Tyrtaeus' warriors may flee b/c they fear death, wheres Homer's warriors eagerly enter battle & accept their fate.
Tytraeus's warriors are closer to the Trojans than Achaeans.
Engaged in hoplite warfare. |
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Term
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Definition
Potential fictional characters in Archilochus' poetry.
Implies that Neobule is sexually promisciuous, but says she is past her prime. Older women depicted as repulsive & starved for sexual favors.
"she never got enough" |
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Term
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Definition
Purpose is to display his sexual control. He desires the young woman & even has her at his mercy to engage in sex but chooses not to.
This idea of rational self-control is only ascribed to men, whereas women are held to be at the mercy of their bodies. |
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Term
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Definition
Who: Greek elegiac poet
When: 630-600 B.C.
Where: Drinking parties
What: Celebrates the delights of love & youth & condemns old age.
Used elegy to rouse his people to fight, possibly against the Lydians. |
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Term
| How does Mimnermus divide up the course of his life? |
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Definition
Divides life into two parts: youth & old age (death)
In his youth, he is beautiful & happy, but his youth only lasts a short time.
In his old age, he is ugly & a disgraced, desired by no man. |
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Term
| Mimnermus view of old age? |
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Definition
Archilochus believed disfigurement of age only happened to women. Mimnermus believedaging stikes men & women.
Tyrtaeus believes that making it to old age is an honor. Mimnermus thinks it makes a man loathesome & vile. Old man is desired by no one. Better to die than to live & be old. |
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Term
| Who uses leaves as imagery to desribe the life of man? |
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Definition
Mimnermus: "But we are like the leaves that flowery spring puts forth."
Meaning: Youth is short lived, once your season of perfection passes, it's better to be dead than stay alive. |
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Definition
Who: lesbian lyric poet that
What: love between women & desirability
When: 630-570 B.C.
Where: private pleasure in her house
Audience: young women on the verge of getting married
Why: in pursuit of the women running away from her, wants the women to pursue her. |
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Term
| How does Sapphro feel about marriage? |
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Definition
Values marriage at high esteem.
Poem no. 44 is about the marriage of Hector & Andromache, where she speaks of how joyous of an event it was. |
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Term
| How does Aphrodite affect Sappho? |
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Definition
She has helped her before by getting women to fall in love with her.
Intially, Sappho acts as if she is a victim of Aphrodite. At the end of poem, she asks Aphrodite to be her ally. |
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Term
| What does Sappho think of Helen? |
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Definition
She thinks that Helen has no other choice but to follow her heart's desire.
Aphrodite used kypris (desire) to make Helen go to Troy.
Sappho thinks Helen was helpeless & that she shouldn't be blamed for the Trojan War b/c Aphrodite put the spell on her. |
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Term
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Definition
Desire makes the desired lovely behind compare, in turn loveliness exerts an irresitable attraction. It reduces the person desiring to a state of helpelessness.
Sappho believes this is what happened to Helen, therefore she cannot be blamed.
Sappho experiences this when Anaktoria leaves her. |
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Term
| How is memory important to Sappho? |
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Definition
Important in dealing with the certainty that the young women would remain with her only a short while before marriage removed them.
To console herself & her lovers, she draws on the memories of the past & says we'll always have them. |
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Term
| What is significance of repeated verb "seems" is Poem 16 by Sappho? |
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Definition
| Almost all verbs are in presense tense. But when she encounters the two lovers, it "seems" as if she is dying. She is forced to deal with the pain of losing a women to a man. She must accept this. |
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Term
| How does Sappho describe a women's life and love? |
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Definition
Women are at the mercy of Aphrodite. Either Aphrodite will favor them, thus they will find love or she will not, and they won't.
Like the case for Helen: If Aphrodite makes a women desirable, her actions thereafter cannot be blamed on her. "Will of Aphrodite" |
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Term
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Definition
What: Poems document violence & confusion of Lesbian politics during his lifetime
Where: Mytilene, island of Lesbos
When: 620 B.C - 6th century
Audience: Composed for drinking parties with male cronies
If Sappho's is a women's world, Alcaeus' is a man's.
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Term
| Why was Alcaeus so angry at politics? |
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Definition
Born into an artistocratic family. Betrayed by Pittacus, a member of the hetaireia, who was now collaborating with their enemy Myrsilus. This forced Alcaeus & his companions to flee to the countryside.
Lashes out against Pitticus & other enemies is his poems. |
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Term
| How was Alcaeus's town of Mytilene similar to other Greek towns in 7th & 6th centuries? |
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Definition
| Mytilene was going through a period of instability. One leader after another seized power. Alcaeus belonged to an established landowning family, and struggled in opposition to popular leaders. Eventually, he found himself evicted from his estates and banished to another part of the island. |
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Definition
The group of companions gathered for drink, song, and plotting to retrieve their fortunes.
Alcaeus directs his exhortations at group of fellow members of hetaira. |
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Definition
Drinking parties, where Alcaeus & his friends gathered to talk shit about politics.
It was thought that wine was the window to see through a man. Drunken words were sober thoughts. Here these men said whatever they pleased. |
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Term
| Alcaeus' opposing view on Helen than Sappho? |
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Definition
Alcaeus believed it was all Helen's fault that Troy was destroyed: "She is to blame for Zeus destroying Troy by fire."
Helen's character is a representation of figures such as Pittacus & Myrsilus, men who kaka ega are bringing about the demise of another polis. |
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Term
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Definition
First known Athenian poet
When: 638-538 B.C.
Style: Eloquent & vivid imagery
Wrote: Patriotic propaganda, concerned with public affairs of his city (like Tyrtaeus)
Preached: Politics & morality the same; everything depends on being able to moderate one's desires.
He summoned a mass meeting, won its support, & was given powers to frame special laws to ease the situation. His reforms lay foundation for Athenian democracy. |
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Term
| What economic & political crisis was Solon responding? |
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Definition
Inequalities btwn the rich & poor. The rich wouldn't restrain their appetites & the poor wanted a redistribution of land & cancellation of debt.
The resentment of the poor against the rich threatened to erupt in revolution. |
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| Where does Solon stand in the conflict btwn rich & poor? |
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Definition
Middleman, thought the people should be moderate in their desires.
Civic identity: the interests of what is good for community was more important than distinguishing btwn rich & poor.
Wanted equal opportunity so the poor had a chance to get rich, but didn't agree with expecting compensation just bc the rich had more money. |
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Term
| How did Solon attempt to persuade each side to moderate its demands? |
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Definition
Divided citizenzry into 4 different property classes.
Warned alternative would be civil war, having both sides pushed their demands too far, they will all end up with nothing. |
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Term
| Solon purpose was to persuade Athenians what about common goods? |
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Definition
| Common goods exist beyond that of their factional interests as poor or weathly. |
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Term
| Topic in Solon's poetry, what is theodicy? |
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Definition
An order in the world independent of human desires that brings about punishment for misdeeds.
Men are responsible for their own suffering, which may be retribution for crimes they or their family members have committed. |
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Term
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Definition
| Getting the wealthy to restrain their appetities. |
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Term
| How does Solon slice the life of men into parts? |
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Definition
10 hebdomads, 7 year intervals.
His hebdomadal man man is pure & simple, he could belong to the demos or an artistocrat.
Body at its peak in the 4th.
Mind & tongue in the 6th & 7th.
Opposes Mimnermus claim b/c Solon states that as he grows old he is always learning more. |
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Term
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Definition
When: 5th century
Who: Wandered around for 67 years
What: Iambic & elegiac poetry criticized Homer's gods, belief in any human-like god, & the high regards for athleticism |
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Term
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Definition
Meeting place for where he spoke his poems was very different from Alcaeus.
He emphasized cleaniness & purity of the setting.
He calls for moderation in drinking
No talking of wars, strife, & violence.
He doens't want men to drink excessively b/c thinks they will then discuss topics like war. |
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Term
| What does Xenophanes say about gods? |
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Definition
| He discredits Homer's gods & says they aren't real. Believes that men create gods in their own image, thus they have the same defects of humans. Xenophanes created a god that resembles a spirit: it is at no specific place but everywhere, so it can see, think, & hear all. |
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| How does Xenophanes regard athletic competitions & the rewards given to successful atheletes? |
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Definition
| He doesn't think they deserve the grand rewards & the fame athletes receive. He thinks this b/c it wont improve the law & order of the town. He believes he is more deserving b/c his brain is more useful to the town. |
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