Poets and Places: Sites of Literary Memory in the Hellenistic World
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Durham E-Theses Poets and places: sites of literary memory in the Hellenistic world TARETTO, ERIKA How to cite: TARETTO, ERIKA (2017) Poets and places: sites of literary memory in the Hellenistic world, Durham theses, Durham University. Available at Durham E-Theses Online: http://etheses.dur.ac.uk/12223/ Use policy The full-text may be used and/or reproduced, and given to third parties in any format or medium, without prior permission or charge, for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-prot purposes provided that: • a full bibliographic reference is made to the original source • a link is made to the metadata record in Durham E-Theses • the full-text is not changed in any way The full-text must not be sold in any format or medium without the formal permission of the copyright holders. Please consult the full Durham E-Theses policy for further details. Academic Support Oce, Durham University, University Oce, Old Elvet, Durham DH1 3HP e-mail: [email protected] Tel: +44 0191 334 6107 http://etheses.dur.ac.uk Erika Taretto Poets and places: sites of literary memory in the Hellenistic world. Material abstract This dissertation argues for the existence of a widespread yet underexplored Hellenistic habit of linking the memory of archaic and classical Greek poets to specific places. Through a combination of in-depth case studies and a panoramic overview of Hellenistic sites of literary memory, the dissertation establishes the significance of literary geographies and explores the means through which they were established. The first chapter focuses on the house of Pindar and its alleged treatment on the part of Alexander the Great. The second chapter investigates the memorialisation of Homer in Alexandria, showing that the desire to shape literary geographies fundamentally shapes the identity of the new Egyptian city. The third chapter moves from the centre to the periphery of the Hellenistic world and focuses on the best documented case of a site of memory dedicated to an ancient poet: the Archilocheion on Paros. The fourth and last chapter offers an overview of the evidence for Hellenistic sites dedicated to the memory of archaic and classical poets in the Hellenistic age. By demonstrating that sites of literary of memory are an important Hellenistic aspect of the reception of poetry, this dissertation hopes to open the way to further studies about both the Hellenistic and later literary geographies. Poets and Places: Sites of Literary Memory in the Hellenistic World Erika Taretto Ustinov College This thesis is submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics and Ancient History Department of Geography University of Durham 2017 Contents List of Illustrations .......................................................................................................... 3 Abbreviations .................................................................................................................. 5 Introduction .................................................................................................................... 6 1. Pindar’s house in Thebes .......................................................................................... 16 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 16 The house of Pindar: A Hellenistic site of memory ................................................. 18 Alexander and the house .......................................................................................... 32 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 39 2. Homer and Alexandria.............................................................................................. 41 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 41 A direct link with Homer ........................................................................................... 42 The foundation myth ................................................................................................ 44 The Homereion ......................................................................................................... 54 SH 979 ........................................................................................................................ 61 Homeric epigrams ..................................................................................................... 68 The Archelaus relief .................................................................................................. 71 Homer in Pergamum ................................................................................................. 77 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 81 3. Archilochus and Paros .............................................................................................. 83 Introduction .............................................................................................................. 83 Praising a blame poet ............................................................................................... 85 The Parian memorialisation of Archilochus ............................................................. 92 The Marmor Parium ................................................................................................ 118 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 122 4. Sites of literary memory in the Hellenistic age: a panorama ............................... 125 Introduction ............................................................................................................ 125 Orpheus ................................................................................................................... 126 The tomb of Libethra ........................................................................................... 126 The tomb of Lesbos ............................................................................................. 133 Mountains, groves, and rivers ............................................................................ 134 Homer ...................................................................................................................... 136 1 Smyrna ................................................................................................................. 137 The tomb of Ios ................................................................................................... 142 The Homereia (Chios, Delos, and New Colophon) ............................................. 151 Hesiod ...................................................................................................................... 153 Mount Helicon ..................................................................................................... 153 The tomb (Locris and Boeotia) ............................................................................ 162 Stesichorus .............................................................................................................. 169 Himera and Thermae .......................................................................................... 169 The tomb of Catania ............................................................................................ 171 Sappho ..................................................................................................................... 173 The cliffs of Leucas .............................................................................................. 174 Aristeas .................................................................................................................... 176 Proconnesus, Metapontum, Sicily ...................................................................... 177 Simonides ................................................................................................................ 180 The Sicilian tomb and the Thessalian house ...................................................... 180 Aeschylus ................................................................................................................. 187 The tomb in Sicily ................................................................................................ 187 Sophocles ................................................................................................................ 193 Athens .................................................................................................................. 193 Euripides .................................................................................................................. 200 The cave of Salamis ............................................................................................. 200 Macedonian death and tomb ............................................................................. 204 The Sicilian shrine ................................................................................................ 210 Empedocles ............................................................................................................. 211 Sicily, the field of Peisianax, Mt. Etna, and the Peloponnese ........................... 211 Conclusion ............................................................................................................... 215 5.