Political and Dramatic Perspectives on Archaic Sculptures

Bacchylides’ Fourth Dithyramb (Ode 18) and the Treasury of the Athenians in Delphi

Bibliographic Data

ID20046538
AuthorsLucia Athanassaki (0000-0002-6180-3910, corresponding author)
Year2016
Pages16-49
Publication date2016-01-01
Open AccessYes
TypeCHAPTER
VenueThe Look of Lyric : Greek Song and the Visual (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/9789004314849_003
OpenAlexW2723279921
ISBN9789004314849
LanguageEN
Citations received2
References cited6

This paper explores the points of contact and contrast between Bacchylides’ Fourth Dithyramb (ode 18) and the sculptural theme of the south metopes of the Athenian Treasury in Delphi, which, like the dithyramb, focuses on Theseus’ arrival in Athens and features an almost identical sequence of Theseus’ deeds on his way from Troezen. It argues that Bacchylides was an engaged and creative viewer; that he shared his fascination with the Delphic sanctuary with other poets, i.e. Pindar, Aeschylus and Euripides, and probably with many others in his Athenian audience; that the Fourth Dithyramb played to Athenian artistic tastes as well as political sensitivities and preoccupations: that the conscious evocation of the faraway monument in dramatic form draws its inspiration from tragedy and the monumental architecture that dominated the Athenian cultural scene in Cimonian Athens; that the problematization of the reception of an outstanding individual in the polis is a political statement which, while relevant to Cimon, transcends the man and his time; and that this Bacchylidean song-dance remains melic at its core, despite its dramatic look and tragic outlook

Art · Evocation · Greek tragedy · Literature · Political science · Politics · Sculpture · Treasury · Visual arts · Ancient Mediterranean Archaeology and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law

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