An Essay in the Poetry of Sappho and Tyrtaeus
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University of Kentucky UKnowledge University of Kentucky Master's Theses Graduate School 2008 ON THE NOBLE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: AN ESSAY IN THE POETRY OF SAPPHO AND TYRTAEUS Richard Reed Dworin University of Kentucky, [email protected] Right click to open a feedback form in a new tab to let us know how this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Dworin, Richard Reed, "ON THE NOBLE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: AN ESSAY IN THE POETRY OF SAPPHO AND TYRTAEUS" (2008). University of Kentucky Master's Theses. 526. https://uknowledge.uky.edu/gradschool_theses/526 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at UKnowledge. It has been accepted for inclusion in University of Kentucky Master's Theses by an authorized administrator of UKnowledge. For more information, please contact [email protected]. ABSTRACT OF THESIS ON THE NOBLE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: AN ESSAY IN THE POETRY OF SAPPHO AND TYRTAEUS This thesis contends that Sappho's Fr. 16 is intended to oppose the definition of the term kalo/n in Tyrtaeus' elegies 10 and 12. An analysis of Tyrtaeus 10 reveals the poet's attempt to institute a new civic courage in Sparta, one shaped by an understanding of honor and shame centered around the young man's willingness to fight and, if necessary, die in battle. Remarkably, the successful practitioner of this courage will literally come to sight differently in the eyes of his fellow citizens. In Tyrtaeus 12, this courage is more clearly defined as to\ ka/lliston, the focus of a new system of virtue that ranks the good of the common above all else, but that provides as much recompense for the warrior and his family as advantage for the city. Sappho's response in her Fr. 16 is to reject any understanding of the kalo/n that relies on convention, replacing it with the personal predilections of each individual. As she demonstrates, however, this view contains severe limitations and is inherently destructive of the city. The “debate,” conducted by both poets partly through Homeric allusions, continues the opposition between public and private begun in Homer. KEYWORDS: Tyrtaeus, Sappho, Greek Lyric Poetry, Beautiful, Courage Richard Dworin April 23, 2008 ON THE NOBLE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: AN ESSAY IN THE POETRY OF SAPPHO AND TYRTAEUS By Richard Reed Dworin Prof. Robert Rabel Director of Thesis Prof. Terence Tunberg Director of Graduate Studies April 28, 2008 Date RULES FOR THE USE OF THESES Unpublished theses submitted for the Master’s degree and deposited in the University of Kentucky Library are as a rule open for inspection, but are to be used only with due regard to the rights of the authors. Bibliographical references may be noted, but quotations or summaries of parts may be published only with the permission of the author, and with the usual scholarly acknowledgments. Extensive copying or publication of the thesis in whole or in part also requires the consent of the Dean of the Graduate School of the University of Kentucky. A library that borrows this thesis for use by its patrons is expected to secure the signature of each user. Name Date _ ______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ THESIS Richard Reed Dworin The Graduate School University of Kentucky 2008 ON THE NOBLE AND THE BEAUTIFUL: AN ESSAY IN THE POETRY OF SAPPHO AND TYRTAEUS ___________________________________ THESIS ___________________________________ A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Kentucky By Richard Reed Dworin Louisville, Kentucky Director: Dr. Robert Rabel, Professor of Classical Languages & Literature Lexington, Kentucky 2008 Copyright © Richard Reed Dworin 2008 To the memory of my sister, Cathy Jeanne Dworin Acknowledgments It was my good fortune to have as my Thesis Director Prof. Robert Rabel, whose value shone forth through instruction, suggestion and example. In addition, I wish to thank the other members of the Thesis Committee: Prof. Hubert Martin, Prof. Jane Phillips and Prof. Eric Sanday. Their questions and comments aided and challenged my thinking,, improving a final product for whose faults they remain blameless. I also wish to thank my mother, Irene Dworin Rosenfield, for her unfailing guidance and support, and Mr. And Mrs. A. Robert Doll for their steadfast encouragement. Without the insistent urgings of Diego Benardete and our many conversations, this project would never have been undertaken. And were it not for the loving support and forbearance of my wife, Angela, it could not have been carried out iii Table of Contents Chapter 1: General Introduction.............................................................................................1 Part I: TYRTAEUS...........................................................................................................................5 Chapter 2: The Warrior as kalo/n (Tyrtaeus 10W)..................................................................6 Introduction.........................................................................................................................7 Section II (15-18): The Poem's Charge and the Task of the Poet......................................8 Section I (1-14)....................................................................................................................9 Section III (21-30).............................................................................................................11 The Beauty of Honor.........................................................................................................12 Hector's Civil Shame.........................................................................................................15 Final Note..........................................................................................................................16 Chapter 3: Tyrtaeus' Noblest Virtue (12W)...........................................................................17 Introduction.......................................................................................................................18 Section I (1-14): The New a)reth/ in Light of the Old.......................................................19 Section II (15-22): Virtue and the City.............................................................................21 Section III (23-30): Virtue and the Warrior......................................................................22 Section IV (31-44): The Warrior and the City...................................................................23 Tyrtaeus and the Epic Heroes...........................................................................................24 Achilles..............................................................................................................................25 Hector................................................................................................................................28 Odysseus...........................................................................................................................29 Part II: SAPPHO...........................................................................................................................32 Chapter 4: "The Most Beautiful Thing" (Sappho Fr. 16).......................................................33 Chapter 5: General Conclusion.............................................................................................39 Appendix: The Structure of Tyrtaeus 10...............................................................................41 Bibliography............................................................................................................................44 Vita..........................................................................................................................................47 iv Chapter 1: General Introduction Negat Cicero, si duplicetur sibi aetas, habiturum se tempus quo legat lyricos.1 (Sen. Ep. 49.5) With this sentiment Cicero surely intended to express more than a distaste for the rhythms of lyric meters. The great orator of republican Rome was hardly partial to the personal themes and private passions in what he termed the “neoteric” poetry of Catullus and others of his own day.2 He must therefore have meant to show his preference for writings devoted to the public spiritedness needed in civic life over those that, like many of the Greek lyric poems, bring our most personal longings into public discourse. Though he may well have excluded the stern, martial verses of Tyrtaeus from