The Greek Ὕμνος
High Praise for Gods and Men
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 9664404 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Michael Brumbaugh (Tulane University, corresponding author), Michael E Brumbaugh |
| Year | 2019 |
| Volume | 69 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 167-186 |
| Publication date | 2019-05-01 |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Classical Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0009-8388 • E-ISSN: 1471-6844 |
| Publisher | Cambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1017/s0009838819000624 |
| OpenAlex | W2974396646 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 36 |
Over a hundred instances of the word ὕμνος from extant archaic poetry demonstrate that the Greek hymn was understood broadly as a song of praise. The majority of these instances comes from Pindar, who regularly uses the term to describe his poems celebrating athletic victors. Indeed, Pindar and his contemporaries saw the ὕμνος as a powerful vehicle for praising gods, heroes, men and their achievements—often in service of an ideological agenda. Writing a century later Plato used the term frequently and with much the same range. A survey of his usage reveals instances of ὕμνοι for gods, daimones , heroes, ancestors, leading citizens, noble deeds, sites and landscapes. Despite abundant evidence of Plato's own practice, studies of the Greek hymn posit an extreme narrowing of the genre in the classical period and cite the philosopher as the sole witness to, if not the originator of, this development. Two passages in particular, one from the Republic and one from the Laws , are seen to support the claim that by the fourth century b.c.e. the term ὕμνος refers exclusively to songs for gods. In Republic Book 10, we find the memorable edict on poetic censorship: ‘But we must know that of poetry only ὕμνοι for the gods and ἐγκώμια for the good must be admitted into our city.’ Laws Book 3 offers what appears to be an even more straightforward pronouncement: ‘Back then our music was divided according to its various types and arrangements; and a certain type of song was prayers to the gods, and these were called by the name ὕμνοι.’ From these two statements has arisen the consensus that Plato saw a divine recipient as the defining feature of the ὕμνος and, moreover, that this position reflects the communis opinio from at least the fourth century b.c.e. onward
Ancient Greek · Ancient history · Archaic period · Art · Extant taxon · Greeks · Hymn · Ideology · Literature · Poetry · Political science · Politics · Praise · Witness · Classical Antiquity Studies · Classics · Historical and Literary Studies · Historical, Religious, and Philosophical Studies · History · Law · Philosophy
The invention of Athens
Plato and the Poets
The Politics of the New Music
Pindar and kingship theory
The traffic in praise
Oral Tradition and Written Record in Classical Athens
What Ancient Quarrel Between Philosophy And Poetry?
Pioneers of Grammar. Hellenistic Scholarship and the Study of Language
Praise and Performance in Plato’s Laws
Genres in Dialogue
Plato and the Greek Literary Tradition
Plato's Counterfeit Sophists
Proclus' Hymns
Aristotle as Poet
The Genres of Rhetorical Speeches in Greek and Roman Antiquity
Performing Citizenship in Plato's Laws
Performance and Culture in Plato's Laws
Plato on Music, Soul and Body
The Classification of Greek Lyric Poetry
Prayer in Greek Religion
The City and the Stage
Their Memories Will Never Grow Old’
Pindar and the Cult of Heroes
Greek Hymns
The Many-Headed Muse
The Origins of Criticism
| Highly cited | No |
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