This paper attempts to reconstruct the development, from Homer to Hellenistic times, of the prayer for inspiration found at the beginning of Greek epic poems; we may, on a liturgical analogy, call this the 'introit' (I intend to reserve the word 'proem', which is usually applied to these texts, for the hymns that prefaced poetic performances). I have divided the present study into two parts. The conclusion of this first section is that the introits of written epics composed prior to the classical period largely conserved the prayer's traditional format and its complex amalgam of functions, both of which went back to the era of pre-literate extempore bardic performance, perhaps deep into pre-Hellenic history. The second part will consider the effects of the philosophical and literary innovations of the classical and Hellenistic periods, as well as examining the distinct species of proems. Bardic ideology Introits appear to have originated as the pre-performance prayers of bards, and we may begin by examining the ideology of bardship constructed in our earliest texts. Later ancient writers and modern scholars often downplay the importance attributed to inspiration in bardic recitation, claiming that bards were regarded as being at least partners of the Muses. 2 Havelock, for instance, described the Muse as merely 'the symbol of the bard's command of professional secrets'; 3 and Νο τα may be derived from an Indo-European root denoting mental activity. 4 Homer, however, consistently asserts the supernatural character of bardic recitation. Bards owe their bardship to the gods (
This study investigates some of the ways in which Sophocles' Electra debates and subverts elements of classical Athenian gender-ideology. Its primary concern is to explore the issue of whether Electra can be said to get what she deserves in the course of the play. I The most recent scholarly commentary on the Electra argues that its eponymous heroine 'approaches the revenge-action uplifted by love for her brother and radiant with the joy of their reunion', the episodes immediately preceding the close of the drama constituting 'her finest hour'. 2 This judgement has the great merit of avoiding the naïve Christianizing trap of condemning the revenge-act qua revenge, which places us in the impossible position of arguing that the morally correct course of action for the siblings was to turn the other cheek. I hope, however, to establish that there is reason to dissent from it. Having begun the action at breaking-point (119-20), Electra steadily deteriorates. The messenger-speech, the urn scene, the 2ξαηξ σιτιΚ and the killings destroy an emotional balance already disturbed. By 817-22, she is falling into suicidal despair, as also again at 1165-70 after receiving the urn. When Orestes reveals his identity, her extravagant (too-extravagant?) joy at 1232-87 is followed by a disturbing hallucination as she briefly identifies the paidagogos as her father (1361). By the end of the play, she is a broken woman, and it is not simply misplaced sentimentality which may lead us to shudder at the bitterness and savagery of 1483-90. Critics have frequently recognized that victory comes too late and cannot heal Electra's denatured psyche: Winnington-Ingram memorably described her as 'at once the victim and the agent of the Furies'. 3 Generally disregarded, however, is the fact that-on Athenian principles-Electra receives no more and no less than her just deserts. Although the details of Athenian women's quotidian existence are ultimately unrecoverable and we should probably not exaggerate the crassness of contemporary prejudice, the men of Athens were no feminists: ancient Greek texts repeatedly stress the inherent deficiencies of women. 4
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