Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece: Their Morphology, Religious Role and Social Functions

(Paperback)

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Description

Calame argues that the songs sung by choruse s of young girls in ancient Greek poetry are more than just literary texts, and that they functioned mainly as initiator y rituals in cult practices, permitting the girls to achieve the stature of womanhood '

Reviews

Imaginative, groundbreaking and scrupulously documented, Claude Calame's masterful treatment of female choruses in Greek society is widely recognized as one of the most fundamental books ever written on archaic lyric poetry and musical culture. In its revised form it will reach an even wider audience and continue to be an indispensable research tool for students of Greek poetics, myth, and religion. -- Albert Henrichs, Harvard University
This book is an absolute must for anyone working in women's history, Greek literature, or Greek religion . . . One of the masterpieces of late-twentieth century classical scholarship. * Bryn Mawr Classical Review *
There can be few classicists who are unaware of the impact that Calame's work has had on the study of archaic lyric poetry, and on our understanding of the central importance of choral performance in the cultural life of Greece. But this clear and elegant translation will now enable anglophone readers to appreciate Calame's contribution in all its detail and comlexity...Calame's book has profoundly affected the way we think about the nature and function of archaic lyric poetry and will continue to do so for many years to come. -- Penelope Murray * Classical Review *
Claude Calame's wide-ranging and brilliant study of the educative and initiatory function of the Greek choral poetry has long been indispensible for understanding the performative and ritual contexts that give early Greek poetry its distinctive character. The English edition, with its updated bibliography, is a most welcome addition to this series. -- Charles Segal
A brilliant application of anthropological method to archaic choral performance, with implications that go far beyond the particular choruses names in the title. -- Lowell Edmunds, Rutgers University

Author Bio

Claude Calame is professor of Greek language and literature at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.