Chapter Four. “Someone, I Say, Will Remember Us”

Oral Memory In Sappho’s Poetry

Bibliographic Data

ID20071825
AuthorsAndré Lardinois (corresponding author)
Year2007
Pages79-96
Publication date2007-01-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeCHAPTER
VenueOrality, literacy, memory in the ancient Greek and Roman world (SOURCE_BOOK)
PublisherBrill (PUBLISHER • NL)
DOI10.1163/ej.9789004169913.i-284.23
OpenAlexW2144703991
ISBN9789004169913
LanguageEN
Citations received14

Sappho is often considered a central figure in the transition from archaic to classical Greek culture, especially by German scholars. In this chapter, the author argues that Sappho first of all expected the performances of her poetry to be remembered in the future and secondly, perhaps, believed that she would be allowed to play on as singer-poet in the underworld. The re-performance of Sappho's poetry would constitute a third way in which her name could live on. To assess the evidence, the chapter first considers the fragments adduced by those who argue for the memorization of Sappho's poetry in writing. The author suggests that the woman is not remembered because, unlike Atthis or Anaktoria, she did not participate in the performances of Sappho's songs. What the references in Sappho's poetry to her fame after death primarily entail is the memory of the performances of her songs by her near contemporaries. Keywords: classical Greek culture; oral memory; Sappho's poetry

Art · German · Linguistics · Literature · Memorization · Poetry · Byzantine Studies and History · Classical Antiquity Studies · Philosophy

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