‘Divine Corinna’: Pre-Twentieth Century Receptions of an Artistic Authority

Abstract

Based on evidence that is very rarely considered together in scholarship, this paper argues that Corinna of Tanagra has been associated with an idea of artistic authority in antiquity. This is a subject on which the ancient reception of Corinna differs considerably from the modern appreciations of the poet. By applying the hermeneutical approach of reception studies, this paper shows that the presence of an idea of Corinna as an artistic authority may be found in both ancient texts and the figurative arts, as well as in postclassical scholarship. Here, in her pre-twentieth century receptions, Corinna is portrayed both as honoured in her own right and as superior to the poet Pindar, who according to the ancient tradition was her contemporary, compatriot and fellow student. As will be argued, the shift in Corinna’s reception history occurred with the 1907 publication of the Berlin Papyrus, which contained the largest extant fragments of her output to date. From this point onwards, a debate on Corinna’s date, which, according to some, may have been later than Pindar’s, has eclipsed the authoritative aspects of her reception history. The article closes by suggesting that a re-evaluation of the idea of Corinna as an artistic authority, facilitated by a reception studies approach, should urge current scholarship to assess the debate about her date and place in the history of classical literature afresh.