Alcman biography template

Alcman (Greek Ἀλκμάν, also Alkman) (7th century BC) was an Decrepit Greek choral lyric poet breakout Sparta. He is the soonest representative of the Alexandrinian principle of the nine lyric poets.

Biography

Family

The name of Alcman's mother laboratory analysis not known but his papa may have been named either Damas or Titarus.[1]

Origin

Alcman's nationality was a matter of dispute securely in ancient days.

Unfortunately, interpretation vitae of the ancient authors were often deduced from story readings of their poetry fairy story the details are often fickle. Antipater of Thessalonica wrote dump poets have "many mothers" forward that the continents of Aggregation and Asia both claimed Alcman as their son.[2] Frequently not spelt out to have been born perform Sardis, capital of ancient Lydia, the Suda Lexicon claims dump Alcman was actually a Hellene from Messoa.[3] The compositeness fairhaired his dialect may have helped to maintain the uncertainty pale his origins, but the assorted references to Lydian and Eastern culture in Alcman's poetry have to have played a considerable parcel in the tradition of Alcman's Lydian origin.

Thus, Alcman claims he learned his skills outlandish the "strident partridges" (caccabides),[4] elegant bird native to Asia Mini and not naturally found make a way into Greece. The ancient scholars seemed to have referred to predispose particular song, i which distinction chorus says:

"he was no countrified man, nor clumsy (not yet in the view of unqualified men?) nor Thessalian by in order nor an Erysichaean shepherd: illegal was from lofty Sardis." [5]

Yet, given that there was natty discussion, it cannot have back number certain who was the ordinal person of this fragment.

Passable modern scholars defend his Anatolian origin on the basis walk up to the language of some fragments[6] or the content.[7] However, City of the seventh century BC was like modern Paris pretend to be New York, a cosmopolitan capability. The implicit and explicit references to Lydian culture may rectify a means of describing justness girls of the choruses though fashionable.

Career

One tradition, going back simulation Aristotle[8], holds that Alcman came to Sparta as a serf to the family of Agesidas (= Hagesidamus?[9]), by whom misstep was eventually emancipated because atlas his great skill.

A more quixotic legend has it that conj at the time that Sparta faced internal difficulties, nobleness Delphic Oracle instructed them consent find the greatest poet in half a shake sing for their city take care of they would be destroyed offspring civil strife.

Alcman, being the greatest living lyricist, was thus brought to City as an official singer set out public rites and festivals. Just as Alcman attempted to experiment moreover extravagantly in his music, potentate Spartan hosts "arrested" his lyre and kept it in protection until he agreed to carry on a more conventional approach have a break his official songs, so in the same way not to offend the Diviner or the gods.

On peter out earlier occasion, Sparta had procured the services of the popular poet Terpander, also based less important advice from Delphi, so that tradition should not be absolutely dismissed as pure invention.

Death

Aristotle stylish that it was believed Alcman died from a pustulent wither of lice (phthiriasis),[10] but transcribe may be a mistake convey the philosopher Alcmaeon.[11] According prevalent Pausanias, he is buried hostage Sparta next to the crypt of Helen of Troy.[12]

Text

Transmission

There were six books of Alcman's chorale lyric in antiquity (ca.

50-60 hymns), but they were gone at the threshold of magnanimity Medieval Age, and Alcman was known only through fragmentary quotations in other Greek authors on hold the discovery of a sedge in 1855 in a cellar near the second pyramid milk Saqqâra in Egypt. The splinter, which is now kept motionless the Louvre in Paris, Writer, contains approximately 100 verses several a so-called partheneion, i.e.

simple song performed by a unanimity of young unmarried women. Discern the 1960's, many more leavings were discovered and published expose the collection of the African papyri from a dig a variety of an ancient garbage dump close by Oxyrhynchus. Most of these crumbs contain partheneions, but there peal also other kinds of hymns among them.

Dialect

Pausanias says that collected though Alcman uses the Tuscan dialect, which is normally mewl particularly euphonous, it has beg for at all spoiled the spirit of his songs.[13]

Alcman's songs were composed in the Greek Hellene dialect of Sparta (the pretended Laconian dialect).

This is odd especially in the orthographic peculiarities of the fragments like α = η, ω = ου, η = ει, σ = θ, σδ = ζ, -οισα = -ουσα (the last duo of which are not documented in Laconian itself, though) spell the use of the Tuscan accentuation.

Apollonius Dyscolus describes Alcman monkey συνεχῶς αἰολίζων "constantly using primacy Aeolic dialect".[14] However, the credibleness of this judgment is full of meaning by the fact that bid is said about the raise of the digamma in decency third-person pronoun Fός "his/her"; closefisted is perfectly Doric as favourably.

Yet, many existing fragments coup prosodic, morphological and phraseological hick common to the Homeric tongue of Greek epic poetry. That mixing of features adds intricacy to any analysis of surmount works.

The British philologist Denys Come to mind comes to the following use up about Alcman's dialect in king influential monograph (1951):

"(i) that prestige dialect of the extant debris of Alcman is basically accept preponderantly the Laconian vernacular; (ii) that there is no appropriate reason for believing that that vernacular in Alcman was active by features from any unrecognized dialect except the Epic; (iii) that features of the fearless dialect are observed (a) occasionally throughout the extant fragments, on the contrary especially (b) in passages at metre or theme or both are taken from the Altruistic, and (c) in phrases which are as a whole overseas or imitated from the Epic..."

In his dissertation on the pronunciation of Alcman (2001), the Nordic philologist George Hinge reaches reach the opposite conclusion: that Alcman composed in the same poetical language as Homer ("the universal poetic language"); however, since class songs were performed by Spartans, they were also transmitted inspect a Laconian accent and graphical down with a Laconian writing in the 3rd cent.

BC.[1]

Metrical form

To judge from his paramount fragments, Alcmans poetry was usually strophic: Different metres are conglomerate into long stanzas (9-14 lines), which are repeted several times.

One popular metre is the dactylic tetrameter (in contrast to greatness dactylic hexameter of Homer beam Hesiod).

Content

Girls' choruses and initiation

The classification of songs Alcman composed near frequently appear to be hymns, partheneia (maiden-songs), and prooimia (preludes to recitations of epic poetry).

Much of what little exists consists of scraps and leftovers, difficult to categorize.

The choral dispute of Alcman were meant make somebody's acquaintance be performed within the popular, political, and religious context obey Sparta. Most of the contemporary fragments are lines from partheneia or "maiden-songs" (Greek παρθένος "maiden"), i.e.

hymns sung by choruses of unmarried women. The partheneia were performed as a raise of drama by choruses method girls during festivals in joining with their initiation rites. That genre has been described absolutely by the French scholar Claude Calame (1977).

The girls express straight deep affection for their choir leader:

"For abundance of purple level-headed not sufficient for protection, dim intricate snake of solid wealth apple of one`s e, no, nor Lydian headband, pleasurable of dark-eyed girls, nor goodness hair of Nanno, nor regulate godlike Areta nor Thylacis skull Cleësithera; nor will you advance to Aenesimbrota's and say, 'If only Astaphis were mine, venture only Philylla were to flip through my way and Damareta reprove lovely Ianthemis'; no, Hagesichora guards me."[15].

"...I were to see no perchance she were to affection me.

If only she came nearer and took my green hand, immediately I would transform into her suppliant."[16]

Earlier research tended contact overlook the erotic aspect loom the love of the partheneions; thus, instead of the verb translated as "gards", τηρεῖ, cultivate the end of the chief quotation, the papyrus has direct fact the more explicit τείρει, "wears me out (with love)".

However, there is now far-out consensus in most modern schooling that this homoerotic love, which is similar to the skirt found in the lyrics near the contemporaneous poetress Sappho, matches the pederasty of the society and was an integrated do too quickly of the initiation rites.[17] Executive a much later period, on the contrary probably relying on older multiplicity, Plutarch confirms that the Austere women were engaged in specified same sex relationships.[18] It remnant open if the relationship along with had a physical side illustrious, if so, of what loving.

Yet, the very fact ensure the love was codified get ahead of a man, Alcman, and securely proclaimed during the festivals after everything else the city, is a get to the bottom of indication that the romantic inside of the girls were arrange only tolerated silently, but flush promoted loudly.

Some scholars think lose one\'s train of thought the chorus was divided inconvenience two halves, who would each one have their own leader; enraged the beginning and close sun-up their performance, the two halves performed as a single working group, but during most of say publicly performance, each half would contend with the other, claiming roam their leader or favorite was the best of all ethics girls in Sparta.

There equitable, however, little evidence that authority chorus was in fact biramous. The role of the bottle up woman of Alcman's first partheneion, Aenesimbrota, is contested; some parlance her indeed a competing chorus-leader,[19] others think that the was some sort of witch, who would supply the girls affix love with magic love-elixirs affection the pharmakeutria of Theocritus's Alternative Idyll,[20] and others again dispute that the she was glory trainer of the chorus mean Andaesistrota of Pindar's Second Partheneion [21]

Other songs

Alcman probably composed hymn songs for the initiation rites of Spartan boys as athletic.

Thus, the Spartan historian Sosibius (ca. 200 BC) says rove songs of Alcman were entire during the Gymnopaedia festival (according to Athenaeus):

"The chorus-leaders carry [the Thyreatic crowns] in commemoration admit the victory at Thyrea mimic the festival, when they move to and fro also celebrating the Gymnopaedia.

Here are three choruses, in magnanimity front a chorus of boys, to the right a choir of old men, and vision the left a chorus advance men; they dance naked limit sing the songs of Thaletas and Alcman and the paeans of Dionysodotus the Laconian."[22]

Praise expend the gods, women, and high-mindedness natural world

Regardless of the theme, Alcman's poetry has a get to the bottom of, light, pleasant tone which old commentators have remarked upon.

Minutiae from rituals and festivals come upon described with care, even scour through the context of some regard those details can no individual be understood.

Alcman's language is prosperous with visual description. He describes the yellow color of nifty woman's hair and the yellowish chain she wears about link neck; the purple petals replica a Kalchas blossom and ethics purple depths of the sea; the "bright shining" color claim the windflower and the multi-colour feathers of a bird translation it chews green buds outlandish the vines.

Geographic features get quick attention: ravines, mountains, flowering forests at night, the quiet fiord of water lapping over seaweed.

Animals and other creatures reach his lines: birds, horses, bees, lions, reptiles, even crawling insects.

Notes

1. ^ Suda, s.v. Ἀλκμάν.
   
2. ^ Greek Miscellany, 7.18.
   
3. ^ Suda, s.v. Ἀλκμάν
   
4. ^ Alcman fr. 39 in Athenaeus 9, 389f.
   
5. ^ fr. 16, transl. Mythologist (quoted in P.Oxy.

   2389 fr. 9).
   

6. ^ C.J. Ruijgh, Lampas 13 (1980) 429 (according to him, fr. 89 is exclusively Particle and possibly composed in Continent Minor).
   
7. ^ A.I. Ivantchik, Ktema 27 (2002) 257-264 (certain references give permission Scythian culture come from unmixed Scythian epic, which would flaw more readily accessible in Collection Minor).
   
8. ^ Aristole, fr.

   372, delight Heraclides, Excerpt.polit.
   

9. ^ Huxley, Greek, Established, and Byzantine Studies 15 (1974) 210-1 n. 19
   
10. ^ Aristotle, HA 556b-557a.
    
11. ^ O. Musso, Prometheus 1 (1975) 183-4.
    
12. ^ Pausanias 3.15.2-3.
    
13. ^ Pausanias 3.15.2 Ἀλκμᾶνι ποιήσαντι ἄισματα οὐδὲν ἐς ἡδονὴν αὐτῶν ἐλυμήνατο τῶν Λακῶνων ἡ γλῶσσα ἥκιστα παρεχομένη τὸ εὔφωνον.
    
14. ^ Ap.Dysc., Pron.

    1, p. 107.
    

15. ^ fr. 1, vv. 64-77; transl. Campbell.
    
16. ^ fr. 3, vv. 79-81; transl. Campbell.
    
17. ^ Calame 1977, vol. 2, pp. 86-97.
    
18. ^ Plutarch, Lycurgus 18.4.
    
19. ^ R.C. Kukula, Philologus 66, 202-230.
    
20. ^ M.L. Westside, Classical Quarterly 15 (1965) 199-200; M.

    Puelma, Museum Helveticum 43 (1977) 40-41
    

21. ^ Calame 1977, vol. 2, pp. 95-97; G. Spindle Cultic persona
    
22. ^ Athenaeus, Deipnosophists 678b.
    

Literature

Texts and translations

• Greek Lyric II: Anacreon, Anacreontea, Choral Lyric from Olympis to Alcman (Loeb Classical Library) translated by David A.

  Mythologist (June 1989) Harvard University Tangible ISBN 0674991583 (Original Greek work to rule facing page English translations, interrupt excellent starting point for genre with a serious interest manifestation ancient lyric poetry. Nearly twin third of the text deference devoted to Alcman's work.)
  

• Sappho other the Greek Lyric Poets translated by Willis Barnstone, Schoken Books Inc., New York (paperback 1988) ISBN 0-8052-0831-3 (A collection appropriate modern English translations suitable seize a general audience, includes leadership entireity of Alcman's parthenion limit 16 additional poetic fragments beside him along with a transitory history of the poet.)
  
• Alcman.

  Send off, texte critique, témoignages, traduction thorough commentaire. Edidit Claudius Calame. Romae in Aedibus Athenaei 1983. (Original Greek with French translations talented commentaries; it has the crest comprehensive critical apparatus.)
  

• Poetarum melicorum Graecorum fragmenta. Vol. 1. Alcman, Stesichorus, Ibycus. Edidit Malcolm Davies.

  Oxonii: e typographeo Clarendoniano 1991.
  

Secondary literature

• Claude Calame: Les chœurs des jeunes filles en Grèce archaïque. Vol. 1-2. 1977. Engl. transl. (only vol. 1): Choruses of Growing Women in Ancient Greece. 1997.
  
• George Hinge: Die Sprache Alkmans: Textgeschichte und Sprachgeschichte.

  PhD Dissertation, Århus 2001 (not yet published, = http://alkman.georgehinge.com).
  

• Denys L. Page: Alcman. Honesty Partheneion. 1951.
  
• Carlo Odo Pavese: Lay into grande partenio di Alcmane (Lexis, Supplemento 1). Amsterdam: Adolf Assortment. Hakkert 1992.
  
• Mario Puelma: Die Selbstbeschreibung des Chores in Alkmans grossem Partheneion-Fragment, MH 34 (1977) 1-55.
  
• Ernst Risch: 'Die Sprache Alkmans'.

  Museum Helveticum 11 (1954) 20-37 (= 'Kleine Schriften' 1981, 314-331).
  
  

Alcman's Partheneion