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The Power of Music

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The Power of Music THE POWER OF MUSIC A comparative study of literature and vase paintings from Classical Athens University of Uppsala Department of Archaeology and Ancient History Master’s Thesis 45 points Louisa Sakka Spring 2009 Supervisor: Gullög Nordquist ii ABSTRACT Louisa Sakka, 2009, The power of music. A comparative study of literature and vase paintings from Classical Athens . Master’s thesis. Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Uppsala. This paper deals with ancient Greek music, and in particular the relation of people to music during the fifth century BC in Athens. Music is believed to exercise great power over the human character and behavior, and at the same time is a means of emotional communication. For the first time during the fifth century, the power of music leaves the realm of the myths and becomes a subject of philosophical investigation. Two different types of sources are examined in order to study the relation of people to music: on the one hand the literary sources of this period, and on the other the vase paintings. This method reveals various attitudes towards music by using two different perspectives. Possible explanations are given for the differing information, the purpose of each source being a decisive factor. The paper suggests that although the information from the two types of sources varies and can even be contradictive, the recognition of the power music exercises is obvious in both cases. Keywords: music, ethos, power, Plato, vase paintings, art, Athens, Classical, literature, New Music. Louisa Sakka, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, University of Uppsala. Sweden. iii iv In memory of my father v vi TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Aim ................................................................................................................. 1 1.2 Definition ........................................................................................................ 2 1.3 Sources ............................................................................................................ 2 1.4 Theoretical background ................................................................................... 4 1.5 Method ............................................................................................................ 4 1.6 Account of earlier research .............................................................................. 5 2. BACKGROUND ................................................................................................... 7 2.1 The Athenian society during the fifth century BC ............................................ 7 2.2 Music in ancient Greek life .............................................................................. 8 2.2.1 Music during the sixth century BC ........................................................... 11 2.2.2 Changes in music during the fifth century BC .......................................... 12 2.3 Plato’s dialogues ............................................................................................. 13 3. ETHOS IN MUSIC .............................................................................................. 15 3.1 Literature ........................................................................................................ 15 3.1.1 The intellectual debate in fifth century BC Athens ................................... 15 3.1.2 Plato on music’s ethos .............................................................................. 17 3.2 The vase paintings .......................................................................................... 23 3.2.1 Music and wine: the cult of Dionysos ....................................................... 23 3.2.2 The ethos of Orpheus ............................................................................... 25 3.2.3 Thamyris and hubris................................................................................. 26 3.2.4 Marsyas: the debate between the aulos and the lyra .................................. 26 4. MUSIC AND THE CITIZENS ............................................................................. 28 4.1 Literature ........................................................................................................ 28 4.1.1 The ideal education .................................................................................. 28 4.1.2 The symposion ......................................................................................... 32 4.1.3 Women and mousike ................................................................................ 34 4.2 The vase paintings .......................................................................................... 35 4.2.1 Musical education .................................................................................... 35 4.2.2 The symposion ......................................................................................... 37 4.2.3 Women and mousike ................................................................................ 39 5. THE ARTISTS AND THE NEW MUSIC ............................................................ 44 5.1 Literature ........................................................................................................ 46 5.1.1 Amateur and professional musicians ........................................................ 46 Plato’s views on art ........................................................................................... 46 Plato and Aristotle’s views on professionalism ................................................. 48 Musical contests ............................................................................................... 49 5.1.2 The musical revolution of the late fifth century ........................................ 50 The New Music ................................................................................................ 50 Resistance to the New Music ............................................................................ 53 5.2 The vase paintings .......................................................................................... 56 The musical contests ......................................................................................... 56 6. DISCUSSION ...................................................................................................... 59 6.1 Reactions to music .......................................................................................... 59 6.1.1 The effects of music ................................................................................. 61 The calming and enchanting effect of music ..................................................... 61 The exciting effect of music .............................................................................. 62 The pedagogical use of music ........................................................................... 64 Music in religion and death ............................................................................... 66 vii The multifunctional aulos ................................................................................. 67 6.1.2 Comparison of the sources ....................................................................... 68 6.2 “Good” and “bad” music ................................................................................. 70 6.3 Music in real life ............................................................................................. 74 6.4 Modern theories concerning the psychological power of music ....................... 76 7. CONCLUSIONS .................................................................................................. 80 GLOSSARY ............................................................................................................ 83 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS .................................................................................... 85 ILLUSTRATIONS ................................................................................................... 89 BIBLIOGRAPHY .................................................................................................. 113 1 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 Aim The aim of this essay is to study people’s relation to music in Classical Athens. It concentrates on the role and the importance of music in the lives of the Athenians, the various uses of music, and the attitudes towards it. Two different types of sources are used in this study: literary sources and vase paintings. Of the literary sources, Plato’s dialogues are focused upon: he expresses ideas on the importance of ethos 1 and its relation to music, on the relation of the Athenian citizens to music, as well as on the status of amateur and professional musicians in the Athenian society. What is of importance during this period is the emergence of the so-called New Music, which is studied with the help of, among others, Aristophanes, Pherecrates, Plato, and modern scholars. The New Music causes many reactions, which are reflected in the written sources mainly in the form of criticism or satire, and may even be discerned in the vase paintings of the time. The main discussion concentrates primarily on the power of music. It is suggested that the idea of music’s power over the body and soul may be discerned in most paintings representing music. Parallels of the effects of music visualized in the paintings are found in the literary sources. The two types of sources are compared
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