The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece

268 Pages·1999·2.63 MB·English

by  Claude Calame

THE POETICS OF
EROS IN ANCIENT GREECE
THE POETICS OF
EROS IN ANCIENT GREECE
CLAUDE CALAME
Translated by Janet Lloyd
PRINCETON UNIVERSITY PRESS
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY
Originally published as I Greci el l’eros: Simboli, pratiche e luoghi Copyright © 1992 Gius. Laterza
& Figli Spa, Roma-Bari English translation copyright © 1999 by Princeton University Press
Published by Princeton University Press, 41 William Street, Princeton, New Jersey 08540
In the United Kingdom: Princeton University Press, Chichester, West Sussex All Rights Reserved
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Calame, Claude.
[Greci e l’eros. English]
The poetics of eros in Ancient Greece / Claude Calame ; translated by Janet Lloyd.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 0-691-04341-8 (cloth : alk. paper) 1. Erotic poetry, Greek—History and criticism. 2.
Literature and society—Greece. 3. Sex in literature. I. Lloyd, Janet.
II. Title.
PA3111.C35 1999 881’.01093538—dc21 98-37129 CIP
This book has been composed in Sabon The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
requirements of ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992 (R 1997) (Permanence of Paper)
http://pup.princeton.edu
Printed in the United States of America 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
“Have you not yet noticed that pleasure, which is certainly the sole
motive for union between the two sexes, is nevertheless not enough to
form a bond between them?”
Father Choderlos de Laclos, Les Liaisons dangeureuses, Paris, 1782 (Letter
CXXXI, from the Marquise de Merteuil to the Vicomte de Valmont) Ἡµîν
βασιχεὺς καὶ ἄρχων καὶ ἁρµοστὴς ὁ Ἔρως.
So we see Love chosen as king, chief magistrate, and harmonizer.
Plutarch, Amatorius, 763e, quoting Hesiod, Plato, and Solon
CONTENTS
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS xi
FOREWORD xiii
PREFACE xvii
NOTE ON TRANSLATIONS xix
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xxi
TRAGIC PRELUDE
The Yoke of Eros 3
PART ONE: THE TOPICS OF EROS 11
CHAPTER I
The Eros of the Melic Poets 13
1. The Actions of Bittersweet Eros 14
2. Physiologies of Erotic Desire 19
3. Strategies of Love 23
4. A Variety of Passions 29
5. Metaphors for the Assuaging of Desire 33
6. The Erotic Charms of Poetry 36
CHAPTER II
The Eros of Epic Poetry 39
1. Scenes of Mutual Love 39
2. Scenes of Seduction 43
3. Beguiling Words 46
PART TWO: THE SYMBOLIC PRACTICES OF EROS 49
CHAPTER III
The Pragmatic Effects of Love Poetry 51
1. The Erotic Functions of Melic Poetry 52
2. The Loves of Alexandrian Writers 56
CHAPTER IV
The Pragmatics of Erotic Iconography 65
1. Figurative Representations of Love 65
2. The Functions of Erotic Images 72
PART THREE: EROS IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 89
CHAPTER V
Eros in the Masculine: The polis 91
1. The Propaedeutic Practices of the Symposium 93
2. Erotic Practices of the Palaestra 101
CHAPTER VI
Eros in the Feminine: The Oikos 110
1. An Intermediate Status: The Hetaira at the Banquet 111
2. The Transition to Maturity: The Young Wife 116
CHAPTER VII
Dionysiac Challenges to Love 130
1. The Institution of Comedy 133
2. The Institution of Tragedy 141
PART FOUR: THE SPACES OF EROS 151
CHAPTER VIII
The Meadows and Gardens of Legend 153
1. Eroticized Meadows 154
2. The Orchards and Gardens of Aphrodite 157
3. Flowers, Fruits, and Cereals 160
CHAPTER IX
The Meadows and Gardens of the Poets 165
1. The Metaphorical Spaces of Love 165
2. The Ideal Domains of the Gods 167
3. Religious Gardens 170
PART FIVE: THE METAPHYSICS OF EROS 175
CHAPTER X
Eros as Demiurge and Philosopher 177
1. Eros as a Cosmogonic Principle 178
2. Erotic Forms of the Initiation to Beauty 181
3. Love as a Metaphysician 186
CHAPTER XI
Mystic Eros 192
1. Eros in the Orphic Theogonies 193
2. The Mystic Aspects of Eros 195
ELEGIAC CODA
Eros the Educator 198
BIBLIOGRAPHY 201
NAME INDEX 207
SUBJECT INDEX 211
ILLUSTRATIONS
Pl. I. Attic black-figure cylix, around 540 B.C. Berlin, Staatliche Museen 73
1798.
Pl. II. Attic black-figure amphora, sixth century B.C. London, British 74
Museum W 39.
Pl. III. Attic black-figure amphora, around 540 B.C. The Art Museum, 75
Princeton University, L. 1990.60.
Pl. IV. Attic black-figure amphora, around 540 B.C. The Art Museum, 76
Princeton University, L. 1990.60.
Pl. V. Attic red-figure cylix, around 500 B.C. Berlin, Staatliche Museen 77
2279.
Pl. VI. Attic red-figure cylix, around 500 B.C. Berlin, Staatliche Museen 78
1964.4.
Pl. VII. Attic red-figure cylix, around 510 B.C. Paris, Musée du Louvre G 79
13.
Pl. VIII. Black-figure white alabaster, early fifth century B.C. Berlin F 2032 80
(copied by F. Lissarrague).
Pl. IX. Attic red-figure column crater, around 485 B.C. Rome, Villa Giulia 81
1054.
Pl X. Attic red-figure column crater, around 485 B.C. Rome, Villa Giulia 82
1054.
P C
HOTOGRAPHIC REDITS