S. E. TSITSONIS
ANCIENT GREEK AND LATIN INFLUENCES ON EDGAR ALLAN POE'S POETRY
Edgar Allan Poe, perhaps the most tragic, controversial and strangest figure in American Literature, occupies as a poet, short story writer, and literary critic a distinguished place among the intellectuals of the Romantic Movement in America1. The Romantic Movement, which flourished first in Europe approximately between the late eighteenth and the middle of the nineteenth century, had a strong influence on Poe's writings. When the Romantic Movement reached a climax in America, approximately between 1820 and 1850, Poe wrote all his works and along with the other major representatives of American Roman ticism formed that lumimous constellation that drew part of its light from the European sun 2. It was after the end of the American Civil War in 1865 that the American Romanticism started declining, due to the opening of new material opportun ities for the Americans and to the creation of a new faith in realism, which prevailed over the romantic past. Thus, although the Romantic Movement did not altogether disappear in America, it gave way to the surging tide of Realism and Naturalism. The American Romanticists had many characteristics in common. They wrote their works in a dignified style, keeping aloof from the vulgar or the profane, which the Realists never failed to include in their works as an indispen sable part of life. Moreover, the American Romanticists undertook to support the dignity of the weak, the needy, and the oppressed, thus succeeding in bringing about social reforms in America in favour of the middle and lower classes. Edgar Allan Poe has much in common with the other major represen tatives of the Romantic Movement in America, as he shared their tendency to seek inspiration in Oriental Mysticism, in Classical Antiquity and distant
1. Poe's short and tragic life (1809—1849), his works, and criticism on them are included in numerous scholarly biographies, collections and critical works, among which we could select the following by : J. A. Harrison, Life and Letters of Edgar Allan Pue (vols. 2, N. York, 1903 ). G. E. W ο ο d b e r r y, The Life of Edgar Allan Poe (Boston, 1909). K. Campbell, '
lands.What is more, he was also influenced by the German, the British and the Italian Romanticists, and he too wrote prose in a dignified language. Besides, many a time, he extolled supernal or ideal beauty, which he was seeking in his life and which eluded him. It is a constant theme in his poetry to persist in idealizing «the posthumous heroine», and to occupy himself with an endur ing lyricism that separates sharply beauty from truth 3. Yet he differs from the other American Romanicists for his striking individuality, his flawless personal style, and his persistence in the outlandish. Furthermore, the limits between the human and the divine as well as the unity of space and time are almost always implied in Poe. But his most striking difference from the other American Romanticists is that he was a great lyric poet, belonging more to the sphere of international lyricism and less to the American Ro mantic Movement. Thus, according to Baudelaire, Poe was more of a cosmo politan and less of an American poet and short story writer 4 ; so he was soon recognised internationally as an original genius in literature. Poe's background and education exercised their influence upon his poetry. He had excelled as a student of Greek and Latin at famous schools, and he had received honours for his knowledge of Classical Antiquity. There is also evidence that Poe, besides being a lover of Ancient Greece, was at heart a Philhellene, for once he accounted for his time of enlistment as a humble private in the American Army, between 1827 — 1829, by saying, that he had gone to Greece to help the Greeks with their struggle for indepen dence. In reality, he set off to join the Greeks, but he did not manage to go farther than Boston 5. Besides, his knowledge of Greek and Latin and his intimate acquaintance with the works of renowned Greek and Latin poets, historians, philosophers and orators like Homer, Hesiod, Sappho, Euripides, Plato, Apollodorus, Pausanias, Strabo, Plotinus, Cicero, Seneca and Pliny are reflected in his poetry. And though the Greek and Latin influences on Poe's poetry are sometimes evident, no American or other scholar has written on this subject extensively. Ancient Greek Mythology exercised a special charm on Poe's poetic genius, while his tendency to envelop classic figures, belonging to the sphere of legend and myth, in a romantic haze, is evident in some of his most renowned poems. Thus, in his poem «Sonnet to Science» he presents science as the omnipotent element, as a bird of prey, persecuting imaginary figures of Ancient Greek Mythology. Through the verses of this poem the reader realizes that Artemis, the virgin huntress, goddess of wild nature, under her Latin name - Diana - was a beloved figure in Poe's imagery, and so were the nymphs of the woods or Hamadryads, as well as the Naiads, who gave life to running waters. All these figures were driven from their beloved abodes by Science that relent lessly sought truth, reality, and practical explanations of physical phenomena. So Poe laments the denudation of nature of its poetic elements and the
3. Compare R. E. Spille r,W. Thorp, T. H. Johnson, H.J. Canby, R. M. Ludwig, Literary Ristory of the United Stales (third edition, N. York, London, 1964), p. 338 ani H. Levin, The Power of Blackness. Hairthorne, Poe, Melville (X. York, 1969), p. 156. 4. Compare Levin, op. cit., p. 103. 5. See Van Dor en Stern, op. cit., p.p. XXI—XXII. - 311 - intrusion of Science into the sphere of poetry in the following verses : Hast thou not dragged Diana from her car And driven the Hamadryad from the wood To seek a shelter in some happier star? Hast thou not torn the Naiad from her floor Artemis (Diana) and the nymphs of the woods were, as is known, favourite figures in ancient Greek poetry. In Homer's hymn to Aphrodite, Artemis and the nymphs are described as the merry inhabitants of the woods, where the goddess of wild nature not only hunted, but also danced merrily with many nymphs and virgins in the midst of a festive gathering 6. In the same hymn Homer describes Artemis as being invulnerable to the arrows of love and not succumbing to Aphrodite's efforts to incite her to a love union with a man. Artemis, as Homer says, likes killing wild beasts on the mountains and wandering in shady groves, where dances are performed and music is played. Homer also hails Artemis as a queen visiting the palaces of the immortal gods 7. The theme in Homer, from whom Poe got his inspiration, is far different from the attitude Poe is expressing in his poem «To Science». Homer, faithful to the myths about Artemis and the nymphs that circulated in the Greek world, decribed the goddess of wild nature, the Hamadryads, and the Naiads as happy creatures, whose lives were spent in merriment and sport. On the contrary, Poe, having borrowed those classic and romantic figures from Homer, placed them in a sphere of unhappiness, the same unhappiness that haunted him, and presented Artemis and the nymphs as victims of persecution seeking refuge in a happier world. Poe also borrowed from another most renowned poet of Ancient Greece, Hesiod, as revealed by the American poet's verses, belonging to his poem «The Sleeper» : Looking like Lethe, see! the lake A conscious slumber seems to take Lethe (Λήθη), the river of forgetfulness in Ancient Greek Mythology flowing in Hades, was described by Hesiod in his long poem «Theogonia»
6. The verses referring to Artemis and the nymphs belong to Homer's «Hymn to Aphro dite», and they run as follows : «νυν δέ μ' άνήρπαξε χρυσόρραπις Άργειφόντης εκ χοροϋ 'Αρτέμιδος χρυσηλακάτου κελαδεινής πολλαί δέ νύμφαι και παρθένοι άλφεσίβοιαι παίζομεν, άμφί δ' όμιλος άπείριτος έστεφάνωτο» (Horn. Hymn. Aphr., 117—120). 7. Homer's verses run as follows : «ουδέ ποτ' 'Αρτέμιδα χρυσηλάκατον κελαδεινήν δάμναται έν φιλότητι φιλομμειδής Αφροδίτη" καΐ γαρ τη άδε τόξα και ουρεσι θήρας έναίρειν φόρμιγγες τε χοροί τε διαπρύσιοι τ' όλολυγαΐ άλσεα τε σκιόεντα δικαίων τε πτόλιν ανδρών» (Horn. Hymn. Aphr., 16—20) «Χαίρε άνασσ' ή τις μακάρων τάδε δωμάθ' Ικάνεις "Αρτεμις ή Λητώ ήέ χρυσέη Αφροδίτη» (Horn. Hymn. Aphr., 92—93)' — 312 —
(Θεογονία) as being the daughter of the hateful Eris, goddess of discord and sister to Pain, Hunger, and the tearful Sorrows ». But Hesiod wrote only about Lethe's birth and about her mother and brothers; it was Plato who described the river of Lethe most vividly. Plato wrote about the treeless and bairen field of Lethe, through which a river flowed, and about the intense heat and terrible suffocating atmosphere of the field. According to the Greek philoso pher, those of the dead, who always drank from the river's waters, forgot everything concerning their life on earth 9. Besides, the same idea was ex pressed by Pausanias, who wrote that the dead should drink from Lethe's waters, so that they could forget all that they used to care for 10. In Poe's poem «The Sleeper» Lethe is compared to a calm lake, while the general atmosphere of the poem is enveloped in mysticism. So, it seems that the influence of Hesiod, Plato and Pausanias on Poe in this poem is rather indirect and vague. The same indirect influence of Ancient Greek Mythology on Poe's poetry can be seen in «Lenore», in which «a saintly soul floats on the Stygian river», the river of Hades by which the gods swore, as well as in «Ulalume», in which the calmness of the skies is compared to the serenity of the river of Lethe. A simile in «A Valentine», one of Poe's less renowned poems, shows the poet's erudition in Ancient Greek Mythology. The opening verses of this poem demonstrate the poet's ability to create a romantic effect by using mythical figures : For her this rhyme is penned, whose luminous eyes Brightly expressive as the twins of Loeda The Dioscuri, or twins of Leda (Λήδα)11, and Leda herself, were among the best known mythical figures in ancient Greece. Homer, in a hymn of his to the Dioscuri, who were Jupiter's sons and to whom Leda gave birth under the peak of mount Taygetos, after she had slept secretly with the father of gods and men, celebrated their conception and birth by invoking the Muse to sing for them. In the same hymn the Dioscuri are called Tyndareo's de-
8. The verses by the Greek poet run as follows : «αύταρ "Ερις στυγερή τέκε μεν πόνον άλγινόεντα Λήθην τε Λιμον τε και "Αλγεα δακρυόεντα» (Hes. Theog., 226—227). 9. The passage written by Plato is marvellously enlightening : (('Ανάγκης ίέναι θρόνον, και δι' εκείνου διεξελθόντα, επειδή και οι άλλοι διήλθον, πορεύεσΟαι απαντάς εις το της λήθης πεδίον δια καύματος τε και πνίγους δεινοΰ. και γάρ είναι αυτό κενόν δένδρων τε και όσα γη φύει. σκηνασθαι ούν σφάς ήδη εσπέρας γιγνομένης παρά τον Άμέλητα ποταμόν, ου το ύδωρ άγγεΐον ουδέν στέγειν. μέτρον μέν οδν τι τοΰ ύδατος πάσιν άναγκαΐον είναι πιεϊν τους δε φρονήσει μή σωζόμενους πλέον πίνειν τοΰ μέτρου" τον δε άεί πιόντα πάντων έπιλανθάνεσθαι» (PI. Resp. Χ, p. 621a-b). 10. Pausanias wrote : «ενταύθα δη χρή πιεϊν αυτόν Λήθης τε ύδωρ καλούμενον, Ί'να λήθη γέ- νηται οί πάντων α τέως έφρόντιζε» (Paus. IX, 39, 8). 11. Poe's spelling of the name «Loeda» is mistaken, since the Latin equivalent to the Greek name «Λήδα» is «Leda». - 313 — scendants and riders of fast horses u. In another of his hymns, the Dioscuri are described as sa\riours of men in danger li. It is evident though that in writing the above mentioned verses and making the simile Poe was not indebted to Homer, but was directly influenced by Euripides and Horace. Euripides wrote that after their death the Dioscuri became immortal and similar to two stars 14 The same idea is here expressed by Poe, but in a different way, as the eyes of an idealized woman are compared to the supernatural brightness of the Dioscuri. In both cases the concept of ideal luster is evident; in the first case the luster is immortal and everlasting, while in the second it is idealized and beautified.Horace,too,calls theDioscuri: «Helen's brothers, bright starsi is. It is also probable that Poe read the myths about Leda and the Dioscuri as they had been written by Pausanias and Apollodorus. Pausanias wrote that there was a temple from the ceiling of which a ribbon· covered egg was hanging, which, according to certain rumours, was the egg that Leda had laid 16. Whereas Apollodorus related the whole myth in a few words, saying that by the union of Leda and Jupiter, who had taken the form of a swan, Polydeukes and Helen were born, while by the union of Leda and Tyndareo Castor was born J7. In the same poem Poe refers to the Greek tradition, according to which Alexander the Great undid the Gordian knot with his sabre. It is in one of Poe's much discussed poems «Ulalume», that the influence of Ancient Greek Mythology takes a specially mystic form. This poem also bears the characteristics of a good part of Poe's poetry. The haunting and mystic atmosphere is found here too, and melody prevails over meaning. Here also recurs one of the common themes among the romantics; that of the double self. Here the man of senses talks with his other self, his soul, and he feels a special attraction to the planet Venus, the Greek Aphrodite, which he also calls by its Phoenician name, Astarte. The poet's steps take him to the tomb of his loved one, while the supernatural light shed by Venus, representing here physical love, becomes dimmer and dimmer when the poet reaches the tomb. So, death, having become reality to the poet, his two selves, physical and spiritual, are united again 18. Here also the poet gives his soul the Greek
12. Homer's hymn runs as follows : «Κάστορα και Πολυδεύκε' άείσεο Μούσα λίγεια Τυνδαρίδας οι Ζηνος 'Ολυμπίου έξεγένοντο" τους υπό Ταϋγέτου κορυφής τέκε πότνια Λήδη λάθρη ύποδμηθεΐσα καιλενεφέϊ Κρονίωνι χαίρετε Τυνδαρίδαι, ταχέων έπιβήτορες ΐππων» (Hom. Hymn. XVII). 13. «σωτήρας τέκε παΐδας έπιχθονίων ανθρώπων» (Horn. Hymn. ΧΧΧΠΙ, 6). 14. «τεθνάσι κοΰ τεθνασι . . . αστροις ύφ' όμοιωθέντε» (Eur. Hei., ΙΊΟ^. 15. «Fratres Helenae lucida sidera» (Hör. Carm. 1, 3, 2). 16. Pausanias wrote : «Πλησίον δε Ίλαείρας και Φοίβης εστίν ιερόν... το μέν δή έτερον των άγαλ| ./των ίερωσαμένη τις ταΐς θεαϊς Λευκιππίς έπεκόσμησε. . . το δέ έ'τερον μη και τοϋτο έπικοσμεΐν αυτήν άπεϊπε^ ονειρον. ενταύθα άπήρτηται ώον του ορόφου κατειλημένον ταινίαις είναι δέ φασιν ώον εκείνο δ τεκεΐν Λήδαν έχει λόγος» (Paus. Ill, 16, 1). 17. Apollodorus wrote : «Διός δέ Λήδας συνελθόντος όμειωθέντος κύκνω και κατά την αυτήν νύκτα Τυνδάρεω, εκ Διός μέν έγεννήθη Πολυδεύκης καΐ Ελένη Τυνδάρεω δέ Κάστωρ» (Apollod. Ill, 10, 7). 18. Compare Ν. Foerster, American Poetry and Prose (Boston, 1952), p. 887, — 314 —
name of Psyche, thus enhancing it to a higher spiritual sphere 19. Another element from Ancient Greek Mythology is found in the «Serenade», in which Poe creates a strange picture by having the mythical Elysium (Ήλύσιον TTcSiov) reflected in the brilliant waters of the ocean : At rest on ocean's brilliant dyes An image of Elysium lies The image is Poe's creation, but he owes his inspiration mainly to Homer, who referred to the Elysium as a field located in one of the extremities of the earth, where it never rained nor snowed. Over that field there was always blowing a sweet breeze and life there was very easy for the people 2°. Finally in «Elizabeth», one of his last poems, Poe refers to the Muses in such a vague way that it is impossible to assume that he was influenced by any Greek writer or poet. These verses run as follows : Each poet, iî a poet in pursuing The Muses thro' their bowers of Truth or Fiction Poe's love for and knowledge of Greek Antiquity was not limited only to Greek Mythology and its supernatural element. His poetry was influenced, directly or indirectly, by the writings of classic Greek authors and poets, and though it is sometimes difficult to distinguish between the direct and indirect influence of the Greek Classics on Poe, it is still clear that he has borrowed from them. In Poe's poem «Al Aaraaf» which, according to the poet, is the name of a star, Greece is referred to as the land in which the idea of beauty was born, and it was over this land that the star dwelt permanently, shedding its light on the «hills Achaian» 21. In the same poem Poe's admir ation for the great lyric poetess, Sappho (Σαπφώ), is expressed as the star Al Aaraaf takes the place of the moon, watching the light footsteps of Sappho's tragic figure, and her desperate love for a mortal, in the following verses : So eagerly around about to hang upon the flying steps of — deep pride — of her who loved a mortal—and so died 22
19. Psyche, as presented here by Poe, cannot correspond to Plato's concept of the soul. 20. Homer's verses run as follows : «σοι δ' ού θεσφατον εστί, διοτρεφές ώ Μενέλαε, Άργει έν ίπποβότω και πότμον έπισπεΐν, άλλα σ' ες ήλύσιον πεδίον και πείρατα γαίης αθάνατοι πέμψουσιν δθι ξανθός Ραδάμανθυς, τη περ ρη'ιστη βιοτή πέλει άνθρώποισιν ού νιφετος οΰτ' άρ' χειμών πολύς οϋτε ποτ' ομβρο? άλλ' αίεΐ Ζεφύροιο λιγύ πνείοντος άήτας 'Ωκεανός άνίησιν άναψύχειν άνθρο^πους, οΰνεκ' έχεις Έλένην και σφιν γαμβρός Διός εσσι» (Hom. Od. 4, 561—9). 21. Plato's theory on ideal beauty (κάλλος), as expressed mainly in his dialogues «Sympo sium» and «Phaedros» must have influenced Poe, though indirectly, through the works of the Neoplatonists (Compare Plato's concept of beauty in PI. Symp. 201, 201b, 201e, 210, 210b, 210c, 210d, 218e, and PI. Phdr, 238c, 249d 5, 249e, 250c, 250d 5, 250e, 251, 251b, 253b 5, 255c 5). 22. According to biographic evidence on Sappho, the poetess had really fallen in love -315 -
Not only the subject matter, but also the simplicity and lucidity of the verse as well as the whole concept reveal a direct classic influence, which is extended in the poem to include the fragrance of a flower bearing the Greek name of Nyctanthes, meaning a flower that blossoms at night. Furthermore, in Part II of the same poem, the whole atmosphere bears strong elements of classic clarity, as the landscape described here stretches under the clear nights of Attica, and of spiritual glory expressed through a resplendent ancient temple : Of gorgeous columns on th' unburthen'd air Flashing from Parian Marble Perfection is to be found for Poe too in the city of Athens, which he sets as the final and uppermost point of his quest for ideal beauty, embodied in the temple of the Parthenon. Here the poet makes a strange but fascinating comparison between the perfect beauty, expressed through classic art and architecture, and the ideal beauty that can be expressed through the purest feelings of an idealized woman. So, he finds the beauty of the Parthenon far superior to the beauty of the feelings of a woman bearing the classic name of Ianthe : The last spot of Earth's orb I trod upon Wasa proud temple calPd the Parthenon More beauty clung around her column'd wall Than ev'n thy glowing bosom beats withal Poe's admiration for classic antiquity, his quest for ideal beauty, and his romantic disposition toward the glorious past of renowned lands are inter woven in another of his famous poems «To Helen» 2i. This poem might have been written by Poe as a tribute to the delight he got from pursuing his classic studies. Here another unusual, but still fascinating, comparison occurs; the ideal beauty, personified in the classic and romantic figure of Helen, is compared to the beauty of the sweet, long yearned for return journey of ancient Greek soldiers home 24, in the verses : Helen thy beauty is to me Like those Nicaean barks of yore, That gently, o'er a perfumed sea The weary, way — worn wanderer bore To his own native shore
with a man, called Phaon (Φάων). On this subject the ancient Greek writer Palaephatus (Παλαίφατος) wrote : «ούτος ό Φάων εστίν, έφ' ώ τον έρωτα αύτης ή Σαπφώ πολλάκις έμε- λοποίησεν» (Palaephatus), de incredibilibus 48 (Mythogr. Gr. Ill 69 Festa)=211 a LP, whereas another ancient Greek writer, Nymphodorus (Νυμφόδωρος), wrote: «Σαπφώ τοϋ καλοϋ Φάωνος έρασθεϊσα περιβόητος ήν» Nymphodorus (F. Gr. Hist. 572 F 6 Jacoby) ap. Athen. XIII 596 e. 23. The idealized woman, in this case, existed as one that was kind to Poe in his childhood; her name was Helen Stannard. 24. Home in this case might have two meanings : the place to which one belongs, or anti quity which to many of the Romanticists was the «home» of glory and grandeur (see Foerster, op. cit., p. 886). -316-
The classic influence is evident here coming from the ancient Greek h'storians of Alexander the Great, Arriamis, and Diodorus. Thus, the «Nicaean barks of yore» were the ships that carried a part of Alexander's troops from Nicaea (Νίκαια), a city founded by Alexander on the banks of the Hydaspes
river 25} to Greece by way of the Red Sea, which is beautified by Poe, being called «a perfumed sea». Poe also suggests here that classic beauty gives consolation to wandering souls tossed about in the seas of despair. Besides, the two famous verses of this poem : To the glory that was Greece And the grandeur that was Rome give in the best way the discriminating distinction between the two civili zations : the glorious spiritual culture of Greece and the pompous, well-orga nized Roman Empire, with all its grandiose achievements 26. Here an ana chronism, out of keeping with the general atmosphere of the poem, that is Helen's identification with the sublime religious concept of «Psyche» (ψυχή) dwelling in the Holy Land, reveals the mystic influence that the Orient had on Poe. The presence of the classic background asserts itself in Poe's most famous and best known poem «The Raven». Here 1rs classic background is in contrast to the gloomy atmosphere of the poet's chamber and to the haunting presence of a symbol of blackness and obscure torture. The Raven seems to be an emissary from the powers of Hades, the terrible ancient Greek Hell, coming out of the darkness of «the night's Plutonian shore», and preying on the poet's heart in the same way that the mythical vulture tortured Prometheus 27. The bust of Pallas Athene «just above the poet's chamber door», with the ominous bird perched upon it, is indeed a quaint picture, a strange antithesis, and it seems to symbolize a combination of the poet's love for his classic stydies with his skepticism and his haunting mysticism. Two classic ele ments, contrary to each other, each lend its separate charm to the poem ; «the night's Plutonian shore», which is the Raven's abode, is contrasted with the beauty and light that the poet was desperately seeking and against the wisdom he was pursuing in his studies of classic Greek, which is here represented by the bust of Pallas. Classic references, set against a background of dimness, obscurity and
25. The extracts from Arrianus are the following : «"Ινα δέ ή μάχη ξυνέβη και ένθεν ορμηθείς έπέρασε τον Ύδάσπην ποταμόν πόλεις ε*κτισεν 'Αλέξανδρος· και τήν μέν, Νίκαιαν, της νίκης της κατ' 'Ινδών έπώνυμον ώνόματε την δέ Βου- κεφάλαν» (Arr. Anab. V, 19, 4). «'Αλέξανδρος δέ, επειδή παρεσκευάσθησαν αύτω έπί τοϋ Ύδάσπου ταΐς οχθαις πολλαί μέν τριακόντοροι καΐ ήμιόλιαι, πολλά δέ καΐ ίππαγωγά πλοία και άλλα δσα ες παρακομιδήν στρατιάς ποταμω εύπορα, έ'γνω καταπλεΐν κατά τον Ύδάσπην ώς έπί την μεγάλην θάλασσαν» (Arr. Anab. VI, 1). Diodorus wrote on the same subject : «διενοεΐτο γάρ έπί το τέρμα της'Ινδικής παραγενόμενος και πάντας τους εγχώριους καταστρε- ψάμενος δια τοΰ ποταμού καταπλεΐν εις τον Ώκεανόν, έκτισε δέ δύο πόλεις, την μέν πέραν τοϋ πόταμου καθ' δν τόπον αυτός διέβη, την δέ άλλην εν ώ τόπω τον Πώρον ένίκησεν» (Diod. Sic. XVII, 4, 6). 26. Compare Α. Η. Quinn and Ε. H. O'Neil, The Complete Poems and Stories of Edgar Allan Poe (vols. I — II, N. York, 1967), II, 1065, 27. Compare Levin op. cit., pp. 161—162. — 317 — loneliness, are also found in Poe's poem «Dream Land», in which the idea of night is given the name of the Greek word Eidolon (Ε'ίδωλον ), and the poet's obsession with distant lands is once more revealed as he refers to the northern most island of Thule (Θούλη) as his starting point, from which he reached the melancholy and dismal «Dream Land». This island of Thule, according to the ancient Greek geographer Strabo, was the ultimate northernmost point of the known world, lying near the frozen sea. Strabo also asserted that, according to the Greek navigator from Marseilles, Pytheas, Thule, an unin habited island, lay north of the British Isles and that it took six days of sailing from Brittany to reach it 28. Ancient Greek philosophy was also a source of inspiration for Poe. Es pecially Platonism and Neo-Platonism exercised a strong influence on his concept of beauty and on his ideas on the creation and composition of the various entities. Plotinus (Πλωτίνος), the Neo-Platonist who taught philo sophy in Rome and who combined Plato's idealistic philosophy with Oriental wisdom, mysticism and cults, served as a source of inspiration for Poe, as revealed in lvs poem «SJenee». This poem reflects the influence that Plotinus's teachings had on Poe's following verses : There are some qualities — some incorporate things, That ha\re a double life, which thus is made A type of that twin entity which springs From matter and light evinced in solid and shade 29 According to Plotinus's theory on the creation of entities, all entities originated in radiation; and the more powerful the radiation was the more developed the entity receding it became. Poe also made an attempt at translating Greek verses. As he wrote above the title of his poem «Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius», this was a translation from the Greek. But the American poet did not mention either the Greek poet from whose poetry he translated a partor the title of the poetic work from which he got the original verses. The «Hymn to Aristogeiton and Harmodius» is not a translation, but a paraphrase of sixteen lyric verses, divided into four quatrains by an unknown ancient Greek poet or minstrel. These verses formed part of one of the drinking songs that originated in Attica and were known as Scolia (Σκόλια). Athenaeus preserved a collection of such 28. The Greek geographer wrote : «Έξης δέ το πλάτος της οικουμένης άφορίζων φησίν άπο μεν Μερόης επί του δι' αυτής μεσημ βρινού μέχρι 'Αλεξανδρείας είναι μύριους, ένθένδε εις τον Έλλήσποντον περί όκτακισχιλίους εκατόν, εΐτ' εις Βορυσθένη πεντακισχιλίους, εΐτ' επί τον κύκλον τον δια Θούλης (ήν φησι Ιίυθέας άπο μέν της Βρεττανικής Ιξ ήμερων πλουν άπέχειν προς άρκτον, εγγύς δ' είναι της πεπηγυίας θαλάττης) άλλους ώς μύριους χίλιους πεντακόσιους» (Strab. Ι, 4, 2). He also wrote : «Ό μέν ούν Μασσαλιώτης Πυθέας τα περί Θούλην την βορειοτάτην τών Πρεττανίδων ύστατα λέγει, παρ' οΐς ό αυτός έστι τω άρκτικω ό θερινός τροπικός κύκλος· παρά δέ τών άλλων ουδέν Ιστορώ, ουθ'ότι Θούλη νήσος εστί τις, οΰτ'ει τα μέχρι δεΰρο οικήσιμα έστιν, δπου ό θερινός τροπικός αρκτικός γίνεται» (Strab. II, 5, 8). 29. The direct influence of the Greek philosopher on Poe is made strikingly evident in the following extract taken from Plotinus's «Enneades» : «Διό και τους λέγοντας ούσίαν την υλην, εί περί εκείνης Ιλεγον, ορθώς £δει ύπολαμβάνειν λέγειν τό γαρ ύποκείμενον εκεί ουσία, μάλλον δέ μετά του έπ' αυτή νοούμενη καί δλη ούσα πεφωτισμένη ουσία» (Plotinus, Emi. II, 5, 20—24). -318- songs of the late sixth, and the early fifth centuries. These songs were sung in the Prytanaeum on festive occasions by singers holding a myrtle branch. Poe's «translation» includes four quatrains, corresponding to the four Greek quatrains. In reality Poe is faithful to the meaning of the original, that deals with the widely known and greatly celebrated in ancient Athens theme of the attempt of the two Athenaean heroes to kill the tyrant Hippias and his younger brother Hipparchus. The extent of the faithfulness of Poe to the meaning of the original is evident, seen through the Greek verses :
Έν μύρτου κλαδί το ξίφος φορήσω ώσπερ 'Αρμόδιος και 'Αριστογείτων δτε τον τύραννον κτανέτην ισόνομους τ' 'Αθήνας έποιησάτην
Φίλταθ' Άρμόδι' ου τι πού τέθνηκας νήσοις δ' έν μακάρων σέ φασιν είναι, 'ίνα περ ποδώκης Άχιλεύς Τυδείδην τέ φασιν έσΟλον Διομήδεα
Έν μύρτου κλαδί το ξίφος φορήσω, ώσττερ 'Αρμόδιος και 'Αριστογείτων, οτ' Άθηναίης έν θυσίαις άνδρα τύραννον "Ιππαρχον έκαινέτην
Αίεί σφών κλέος εσσεται κατ' αϊαν φίλταθ' 'Αρμόδιος και 'Αριστογείτων, οτι τον τύραννον κτανέτην ισόνομους τ' 'Αθήνας έποιησάτην :'°
as compared with Poe's paraphrase :
I Wreathed in myrtle, my sword I'll conceal Like those champions devoted and brave, When they plunged in the tyrant their steel, And to Athens deliverance gave. II
Beloved heroes ! Your deathless souls roam In the joy breathing isles of the blest; Where the mighty of old have their home Where Achilles and Diomed rest. Ill
In fresh myrtle my blade I'll entwine, Like Harmodius, the gallant and good, When he made at the tutelar shrine A libation of Tyranny's blood.
30. The Greek verses were taken from D.L. Page, Poelae Melici Qraeci (Oxford, 1967), pp. 474—475. — 319 —
IV Ye deliverers of Athens from shame ! Ye avengers of Liberty's wrongs ! Endless ages shall cherish your fame, Embalmed in their echoing songs! 31
Poe, as already stated, had studied the Greek Classics and had been influenced by the Greek spirit and the perfection of the Greek civilization. But his knowledge of Latin was even more profound than his knowledge of Greek. The grandeur of Rome and the conquests of the eternal city had certainly excited Poe's imagination. Besides, his erudition in Latin Literature served as a source of inspiration to him and had a certain influence upon his poetry. Virgil, Cicero, Seneca, and Pliny the Elder had been, as revealed by Poe's poetry, his favourite Latin Classics. Even in his early poetry Poe's admiration of the Roman grandeur is reflected in verses that combine the Roman pursuit of power with the half - barbarian, Oriental concept of overwhelming abso lutism. In his long poem ((Tamerlane», which is included in his first collection of poetry under the title : «Tamerlane and Other Poems», he compares Tamerlane, the fierce Tartar chieftain and ambitious conqueror of the fourteenth century, to Julius Caesar : I have not always been as now : The fever'd diadem on my brow I claim'd and won usurpingly — Hath not the same fierce heirdom given Rome to the Caesar—this to me? A strange comparison, indeed, between the blood-thirsty, Oriental chief of marauding Tartar hordes on one hand, and the great military and political genius, distinguished statesman and eminent historian of Rome on the other. Yet the comparison, as expressed here, could be considered successful as Caesar and Tamerlane are compared only in one respect, that of usurping state power. Both are successful through rights of heirdom and both follow, in Poe's verses : The heritage of a kingly mind And a proud spirit which hath striven Triumphantly with human kind Undoubtedly, there is nothing of the greatness of Julius Caesar in Tamerlane's nature, but still they have in common the pride that urged them both to become triumphant leaders. In «Tamerlane» the general reference to Julius Caesar might be considered as springing from Poe's rich background of Roman History. Direct influence from Latin Literature is found in other poems of his; in «Al Aaraaf» Poe refers, obviously influenced by Cicero, to the music that according to «dreamy poets» is heard in the universe. Poe's love for the paradox urges him to call this music «a sound of silence». This poetic concept, set against the wonderful
31. «Hymn to Armodius and Aristogeiton» as well as all the extracts of Poe's poetry, cited in this ar tide, have been taken from A. H. Quinn and O. H. O' Nei 1, op. cit. and from P. V a η D ο r e η S t e r η, op. cit. -320- passage from Cicero's «Somnium Scipionis», shows that the American poet's verses : A sound oî silence on the startled ear which dreamy poets name «the music of the sphere» resound Cicero's lines, in which the renowned Roman orator said that a very sweet sound is heard among the stars, a sound coming at distinct intervals ; this sound is caused by the motion and push of the orbits of stars, while acute and heavy tones are combined to create various harmonies in space, and that so many motions cannot be caused by silence 32. Besides, Pliny the Elder, in his memorable work «Naturalis Historia», refers to the same subject, writing that the Greek philosopher Pythagoras first conceived the theory of music in the Universe. Thus, Pythagoras asserted that the distance between the Earth and the Moon is equal to a tone; the distances from the Moon to Mercury and from Mercury to Venus are each equal to a semi-tone. Also the distance from Venus to the Sun is equal to one and a half tones, while that from the Sun to Mars is equal to one tone. What is more, the distance from Mercury to Jupiter is equal to a semi-tone, while the distances from Jupiter to Saturn and from Saturn to the Zodiac are each equal to a semi-tone. These distances constitute the seven tones, and all together are called «diapason» (δια πασών), that is the harmony of the Universe 33. So, it may be concluded that Poe expressed poetically and romantically, in ,ro verses, Cicero's superb idea about the harmony existing in the Universe an< also Pythagoras's scientific concept on the same subject, as found in Pliny. Pliny's influence on Poe can be further detected in Part I of «Al Aaraaf», where the American poet refers to a «Therasaean reign» in the following verses : And bent o'er sheeny mountain and dim plain Her way — but left not yet her Therasaean reign Therasia (Θηρασία), the small island of the Aegean sea, still bearing the same
32. The passage from Cicero is the following : «Quae cum intuerer stupens, ut me recepì Quid? hie, inquatn, quis est, qui complet aures meas tantus et tarn dulcis sonus? Hie est, inquitille, qui intervallis disiunctus inparibus sed tarnen pro rata parte ratione distinctis, impulsu et motu ipsorum efficitur et acuta cum gravibus temperans varios aequabiliter concentus efficit; nee enim silentio tanti motus incitari possunt, et natura fert, ut extrema ex altera parte graviter, ex altera autem acute sonent. Quam ob causam summus ille caeli stellifer cursus, cuius conversio est concitatior, acuto et excitato movetur sono, gravissimo autem hic lunaris atque infimus» (Cic. Rep. VI 5, 18). 33. Pliny wrote on the subject in question : «Sed Pythagoras interdum et musica ratione appellai tonum quantum absit a terra luna, ab ea ad Mercurium dimidium spatii et ab eo ad Veneris, a quo ad solem sescuplum, a sole ad Martern tonum, id est quantum ad lunam a terra, ab eo ad Iovem dimidium et ab eo ad Saturni, et inde sescuplum ad signiferum; ita Septem toniseffici quam δια πασών άρμονίαν vocant hoc est universitatem concentus» (Plin., Nat. Hist., II, XX, 84). -pi llarne, was detached according to Pliny from the island of Thera (Θήρα) 34. Seneca also wrote that the island of Therasia emerged suddenly in the Aegean Sea before the eyes of some astonished sailors 3s. Pliny, as a scientist and geographer, refers simply to a presumably probable geographical phenomenon. This probable natural phenomenon is enveloped by Seneca in the haze of a myth. So, his account bears the sudden supernatural element common in Ancient Greek and Roman Mythology. Poe's verses idealized the small island of Therasia, making an exotic reign out of it, enveloped in a dim romantic atmosphere. The spectacular and grandiose element of the Roman civilization must have impressed Poe's poetic genius, tending to idealize even places widely known for their notoriety of human suffering and barbarous inhuman torture. In Poe's poem ((The Coliseum» this element is more evident than in any other of his poems. This ancient amphitheatre, ruinous and desolate now, is taken as a symbol of the power of Rome, and it is beautified and exalted as a sacred place to which the pilgrim goes to quench his thirst for grandeur, learning and glory : Type of the antique Koine! Rich reliquary Of lofty contemplation left to Time By buried centuries of pomp and power ! At length — at length — after so many days Of weary pilgrimage and burning thirst (Thirst for the springs of lore that in thee lie) Yet a pessimistic attitude pervades the verses of the poem as the ruins of the present are set against the glory of the past seen through the majestic structure : Vastness ! and Age and Memories of Eld Silence! and Desolation! and dim night I feel ye now—I feel ye in your strength —
Here, where a hero fell, a column falls ! Here, where a mimic eagle glared in gold, A midnight vigil holds the swarthy bat! The classic past looms against the sad romanticism of Poe as every
34. The extracts from Pliny are the following : uClarae iam pridem insulae Delos et Rhodos memoriae produntur; et natae postea minores, ultra Melon Anaphe, inter Lemnum et Hellespontum Neae, inter Lebedum et Teon Halone, inter Cycladas Olympiadis CXXXV anno quarto Thera et Therasia» (Plin., Nat. Hist., II, LXXXIX, 202) and: «Thera, cum primum emersit Galliste dicta: ex ea avolsa postea Therasia, atque inter duas enata mox Automate, eadem Hiera, et in nostro aevo Thia iuxta easdem enata» (Plin., Nat. Hist., IV, 70). 35. Seneca wrote about Therasia : «Et potest dissipare magna terrarum spatia et novos montes subiectus exlollere et insulas non ante visas in medio mari ponere. Theren et Therasiam et liane nostrae aetatis insulam spectantibus nobis in Aegaeo mari natam quis dubitai quin in lucem spiritus vexerit?» (Sen., Q. N., VI, XXI, I). 21 -322- decaying corner of the Coliseum reminds of the pomp and splendour of Rome as well as of half forgotten tragedies and the lavish luxury the Roman spect ators were accustomed to "*. Poe, as a poet, felt the impact of the Greek and Roman civilization and drew either directly or indirectly from ancient Greek and Roman writers and poets. Many a time the classic influence on him is quite subtle to be detected, as it is perfectly interwoven with the obscure, the romantic, and the lyric elements of his poetry. In certain instances, however, the directness of the classic influence on Poe is so striking that it reaches the point of imitation. Nevertheless, Poe, by borrowing from the Classics of Ancient Greece and Rome gave his poetry even more of the lustre of a lucid fascination and idealized decorum.
Π Ε Ρ Ι Λ Η Ψ Ι Σ
Ό Edgar Allan Poe, μία τών τραγικών και παραδόξων μορφών της 'Αμερι κανικής Λογοτεχνίας, κατέχει ώς ποιητής, διηγηματογράφος καί κριτικός διακε- κριμένην θέσιν μεταξύ των 'Αμερικανών Ρομαντικών. Είναι γνωστόν βτι ό Poe έγνώριζε τόσον την Έλληνικήν, όσον καΐ την Λατι- νικήν καί δτι εϊχε μελετήσει τα έργα Ελλήνων και Λατίνων ποιητών, φιλοσό φων, συγγραφέων και ρητόρων ώς του 'Ομήρου, του 'Ησιόδου, του Πλάτωνος, του Άπολλοδόρου, του Παυσανίου, του Στράβωνος, του Πλωτίνου, του Κικέρω- νος, του Πλινίου καί του Σουετονίου. Ή κλασσική δε παιδεία, την οποίαν έλαβεν ό Poe, είχε βαθεΐαν έπίδρασιν επί του ποιητικού του έργου. Είς ώρισμένας περιπτώσεις αί κλασσικαί επιδράσεις επί του ποιητικού έργου του Poe είναι καταφανείς, είς τάς πλείστας δμως τών περιπτώσεων τόσον λεπταί, ώστε να απαιτείται εμπεριστατωμένη έρευνα προς άνακάλυψίν των.
36. Poe's knowledge of Roman History and his tendency to idealize the Roman past are reflected in «The Coliseum», but it is rather improbable that Poe had read extracts from the work of the Latin writer Suetonius, who had written the following brief lines about the Coliseum : «Fecit et nova opera templum Pacis foro proximum. Divique Claudi in Caelio monte coeptum quidem ab Agrippina, sed a Nerone prope funditus destructum ; item amphitheatrum urbe media, ut destinasse compererai Augustum» (Suet., Vesp., 9). «Et tarnen nemine ante se munificentia minor, amphitheatro dedicato thermisque iuxta celeriter extructis munus edidit apparatissimum largissimumque» (Suet., Tit., 7).