Water is Best

Here you can discuss all things Ancient Greek. Use this board to ask questions about grammar, discuss learning strategies, get help with a difficult passage of Greek, and more.
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Elucubrator
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Water is Best

Post by Elucubrator »

No doubt William, that you are the first to open up this post. Did I catch you? ;D<br /><br />And now that we're talking about Pindar, I was wondering if you have read that phenomenal book called Pindar and Dance, by William Mullen. What a beautiful book! <br /><br />For those of us who do not know, Greek poetry was actually a combination of words beautifully arranged in metrical patterns, together with music, from which (for the ancients) poetry was inseparable. Pindar was a lyric poet who wrote Choral Lyric poetry. What remains to us of Pindar are his victory odes which he wrote for victors at the Olympic Games. He was a genius, and probably was as famous in the Greece of his day for his Odes as Verdi was in Italy for his Opera.<br /><br />Greek Choral Lyric was a genre that not only combined words and music, but dance as well. It was this tripartite art through which Pindar expressed his genius. <br /><br />Mullen's book, wonderfully written, shows us what we can learn from reading the Odes of Pindar by keeping it's musical and performative nature in mind. Truly a brilliant work! Once you read a couple of chapters it will make you eager to find a copy of Pindar. Though as a word of warning to the timid. I have heard Pindar described as some of the most difficult ancient Greek that remains.<br /><br />-S.

annis
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Re:Water is Best

Post by annis »

Elucubrator wrote:<br />No doubt William, that you are the first to open up this post. Did I catch you? ;D<br />
<br /><br />You did. I was so hoping for a Pindar text announcement.<br /><br />
<br />Though as a word of warning to the timid. I have heard Pindar described as some of the most difficult ancient Greek that remains.<br />
<br /><br />Well, Philodemus is reported to be very much more difficult, and is even prose. But Pindar can be mind-bending Greek, at least based on my small exposure so far.<br />
William S. Annis — http://www.aoidoi.org/http://www.scholiastae.org/
τίς πατέρ' αἰνήσει εἰ μὴ κακοδαίμονες υἱοί;

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