CRETANΝΟΜΟΙ: ARCHILOCHUS, FR. 232W WITHOUT HERACLIDES LEMBUS

Abstract

Archil. fr. 232 West (= 50 Tarditi = 133 Bergk = 230 LB) reads as follows:νόμος δὲ Κρητικὸς διδάσκεταιa Cretan law is taught (transl. Dilts)That the term νόμος should be interpreted here in a legal sense has never been contested, and justly so, since its attested meanings are ‘usage, custom, legal norm, statute, law’. However, from the fifth centuryb.c.e.on, νόμοι are also related to music, referring to ‘melodies’ in general or, as a more technical term, to established ‘musical patterns’. The notion of distribution, of an order socially accepted as valid, seems to underlie the use of νόμος in both the legal and the musical fields.