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The Sources and Development of the Ethical View of Music in Ancient GreeceAuthor(s): Edward A. LippmanSource: The Musical Quarterly, Vol. 49, No. 2 (Apr., 1963), pp. 188-209Published by: Oxford University PressStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/740645.
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2/23
THE
SOURCES
AND
DEVELOPMENT
OF
THE
ETHICAL
VIEW
OF MUSIC
IN
ANCIENT
GREECE
By
EDWARD
A.
LIPPMAN
CONCEPTS
of
the ethical
orce
f
music re a characteristicnd
intrinsic
eature of the
Greek
outlook;
long
before
they
become
explicit
n
philosophy
hey
re
expressed
oth n
myths
f
musical
magic
and
in
various
fieldsof
musical
practice,
which
involve more
properly
ethical
f
ess
spectacular
ffects.
Myth,
religion,
medicine,
nd
ceremony
all
unite to
give
moral
concepts
their
trength
nd
diversity,
nd
these
formulations o
not
simply
disappear
with the
advent
of
philosophic
thought;
theircontribution o ethical
theory
s
especially
ignificant
e-
cause
they
continueon
alongside
philosophy,
iving
t
depth
and
social
relevance.
Myths
that
tell of
the
power
of
music
are
concerned
primarily
with
the
compulsive
haracter f
human
response;
thus t is
not
surprising
o
find
man
in
the
company
of
animals,
plants,
nd
inanimatenature.
The
irresistiblend fatal
attraction
f the
Sirenshas its
parallel
n
the
fascina-
tion
Arion
exercised ver
dolphins,
r
in
Amphion's bility
o
make
stones
arrange themselvesn order,while the universal nfluence xertedby
Orpheus
extends
rom
nature
o the
gods.
It
is
accordingly
he
suspension
of
the will
that
appears
as the most
triking
eature
f
musical
magic;
the
action of music
s
so direct nd
potent
hat it knows
no
resistance.
Most
typically
kind
of
hypnosis
s
produced,
an
enchantment n which
the
hearer s
rendered
motionless;
yet
we can
say
that the
music affects
eel-
ing
as well as
will,
for
the
influence
s
a
total one in which the faculties
are
not
distinguished.
The mentalcures of orgiastic itual are quite different.We are still
in
the
magical
province
of
physical
medicine
when
Odysseus's
wound
is
staunched
by
a
chant,'
but in
Dionysiac
riteswe
leave
magic
for
matters
1
Odyssey,
XIX,
457.
188
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3/23
The Ethical View
of
Music
in Ancient
Greece
189
of
fact.2
oth the Thracian cult of Bacchus and the related
Phrygian
ult
of
Cybele
made
use of
wild
dance
and
music,
withthe effect f
purgation
and purification.he fervent nd stimulatingharacter fthemusicwas
due
to a
great
extent
o
the
aulos,
an instrumentlso
played
with ntoxi-
cating
effect
y
Marsyas,
the
Phrygian
nature
god
who is the
counter-
part
of
Pan.
In
Plato's
Laws,3
dance and the
syrinx
re
made
responsible
for
quieting
he
frenzy
f the
Bacchantes,
while
n
the
on,4
we
learn
that
during
he
dancing
of the
Corybantian
mysteries
he revelerswere not in
their
ight
mind.
Orgiasticpractices
re
connected
n
general
withAsiatic
religion,
with
Thrace and
Phrygia,
nd
they
form
sharp
contrast o
the
more
characteristically
reek
myths
of
musical
magic,
which revolve
aroundthe use of the
yre
nd the
voice,
and are centered n calm rather
than excitement.
Again,
however,
eeling
s
not
distinct
rom
will;
there
is
a
highly
motional
but
also
thoroughly
ompulsive esponse.
But in
ad-
dition,
the
essentially
magical
effects
f
tone and of
particular
melodies
are
joined
by
a direct and frenzied
participation;
to the
stimulus of
melody
there s
added the
excitement
f
dance,
and
finally
he
purging
and
purification
hat
are the
more
ndirect ut
equally
intrinsic ffect f
the
whole. Thus music s both
a
cure and
a cause of
the
disturbance,
or
if t does notproduceit altogether,t certainly rings bout an intensifi-
cation.5
The resultant
ure,
accordingly,
s
homeopathic
ather han
allo-
pathic;
the
final
calm-or exhaustion-is
not the outcome of
soothing
music but of catharsis
r
emotional
discharge.
These
rites
re
evidently
quite
like
the
epileptic
fits
f
the
shaman,
the
dancing
epidemics
of
the
Middle
Ages,
the
17th-century
utbreaks
f
Tarantism,
r
the
uncontrol-
lable
jerks
of American
revivalist
meetings;probably
n
every
case,
re-
ligion
s
an
essential
actor.
Thus we are dealingnot onlywitha medical phenomenonbut also
with
spiritual
ne,
not
simply
with
purification
ut with
heightening
of
human
power
until t
becomes
dentified
ith
divinity.
n terms
f
re-
ligious activity,
his
is
the route of
mysticism
atherthan
reason,
or of
2
A
great
deal
of
information about
the
Dionysiac,
Orphic,
and
Pythagorean
cults
is assembled
in the classic work
of
Erwin
Rohde, Psyche,
transl. from
the
8th
ed.
by
W.
B.
Hillis,
London, 1925,
Chs.
8-11. See
also
Jane
Ellen
Harrison,
Prolego-
mena to the
Study
of
Greek
Religion,
3rd
ed.,
Cambridge, 1922,
and W. K.
C.
Guthrie,
Orpheus
and Greek
Religion,
London,
1935.
3Laws, 790e-791a. Plato actually describes the cure of Bacchic frenzyas an
allopathic
process;
music
produces
a
quietness
of
the soul not
by
aggravating
and
then
discharging
an evil
affection,
but
by
combatting
and
overcoming
it
with
an
opposed
and beneficial
external
motion.
Yet
the
process
is
thought
of
as
cathartic.
4
Ion,
533e-34a.
5
Evidence
may
be
found
in the
remarksAristotle
makes
on
the
Phrygian
mode
(Politics,
1340b,
4-5)
and
the
aulos
(ibid.,
1342b,
2-7).
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190
The
Musical
Quarterly
emotion
rather han
contemplation;
t is turned
nward
to the divine
n
man rather
han
outwardto
the
heavens. ndeed the
myth
f
the devour-
ing of Dionysus by theTitans made it possibleto account for the pres-
ence
of
god
in
man,
and the
mystic
xperiences
ostered
y
intoxication
and music
provided
a confirmation.
n
a
transient
ype
of madness
the
soul was
ecstatically
eparated
from he
body;
its
divine
natureenabled
it
to achieve
mantic
power.
But
most
mportant
f all
is the fact
that
rite
involves
n element
f
imitation,
which
readily
nters
long
with
dance.
The imitation akes
the
form
of
pantomime,
but not
as a conscious art
exercisedwith
detachment;
nstead
it
becomes an
identification
f
the
initiateswiththe actual followers f Dionysus, nd through hem,with
the
god
himself.
n this
activity
we have
the
archetype
f mimesis
nd
of
drama;
imitation-like
Greek educational
and ethical
concepts
n
gen-
eral-is
associated
originally
with music and
pantomimic
dance
rather
than
with
painting
nd
sculpture.
And
it s
the
mitative
spect
of
religious
orgy
hatmakes t
comparable
to normal ducational
procedures
s
well as
entailing greater
oncreteness
n the
nature
f
music.
The
Orphic
movement
f the sixth
entury
.C.,
by
contrast,
eveals
conceptions loseto those ofmusicalmyth.AlthoughOrphism
continues
to
pay
allegiance
to
Dionysus,
t
actually
represents
he fruitful
omposite
of
the
Dionysian
and
Apollonian
cults that was manifested
most
conspic-
uously
n
the
Delphic
shrine.Clear
perception
nd
knowledge-the
whole
visual
mentality
ventually
onsummated
n
the
Platonic Ideas-become
important
actors,
long
with the instrument
f
Apollo,
the
yre.
The
re-
ligious
amalgamation
can
almost
be
thought
of
as
a
new
influence
f
musicon
the
Apollonian
outlook.
With t
all,
Orphism
remained
mystical;
its aim
was
to
purify
he
soul;
its
prophet,
lthough
ften
onsidered
o
be
the son of
Apollo,
was a Thracian musical
magician.
Elaborate doctrine
was
added
to
rite,
nd
mythical
hought
moved
closer o
philosophy.
he
dual
nature
of man and
the
immortality
f the soul were
clearly
formu-
lated
in
the
concept
of
transmigration,
nd
the
primitive
ionysian
cult,
which
had
developed
centuries
arlier,
was
elaborated nto
a
whole
mon-
astic
code
of
ife.With
Dionysus
become an
Olympian
god,
only
remnants
of
the
original
chthonian
spect
of
orgiastic
itual
were
preserved
n
the
wheel of
birth
nd
its
nteresting
arallel
of
Orpheus's
trip
to the
under-
world.But in generalthe Dionysianheritage
S
easilyseen; Herodotus
mentions
the
"rites called
Orphic
and
Bacchic"
in one
breath,6
nd
Orpheus
himself s
torn
apart
by
the maenads
quite
like
the
sacrificial
bull
of
the
Bacchic
communion,
lthough
his fate
might
have
been
earned
6
The
Persian
Wars,
II,
81.
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The
Ethical View
of
Music in AncientGreece
191
by
apostasy.
We cannot
doubt
that
the
concept
of
music had been radic-
ally
changed;
the
Orphics
are
concerned
with the
lyre
and
the
voice
ratherthan the aulos, withenchantment atherthan frenzy,nd even
prophecy
akes on
a
reasonable nstead
of
a
rapturous
haracter.
Dance
is
apparently
absent,
while the
appearance
of
song
means
that some
contribution s made
by
the
specifically
ational element
of
music.
In
general,
music
is
no
longer
an inarticulate
utpouring
f
emotion
given
force
only
by
pantomime,
but a harmonic
cience
with a
tonal as well
as
a verbal
ogos.
This is
all a concomitant
f an
interestn
the
purifica-
tion
of the soul rather
han
its
dentification
ith
divinity,
nd
of
a
reli-
ance on asceticism nd on freedomfromcontamination ather han on
exhilaration
nd
frenzy.
The most
mportant
f the
Orphic
sects were
the
Pythagoreans,
nd
they
eem to have
added
an
Egyptian
lement
o the
movement;
Herodo-
tus
goes
so far
as
to
state that
the
Orphic
riteswere
really
Egyptian
nd
Pythagorean.7
ossibly
t was this
constituent
hat
transformed
rphism,
moving
t in the
direction
f
philosophy
nd
science,
which were
capable
of
new
growth
and wider influence.
Eventually
there
was
a
division
between the esoteric or religiousPythagoreans,who were known as
akousmatikoi,
nd the exotic
or scientific
roup,
known s
mathematikoi.
The two
parties
differed
ot
only
with
respect
to their
nterests,
ut
also
because the one was
monastic
and
the
other
public
in
its
way
of
life.
The
novel
characteristicsf
Pythagorean
hought
re evident n
the
change
they
effected
n
cosmogony.
he
Orphic cosmogony
xtends
he
Hesiodic
by
its
tendency
o
personify
bstractions;
t is
still a
theogony,
but
its
gods
are
often
concepts
expressed
n
an
old form.
n the
Pytha-
goreancosmogony
here s still
formal
orrespondence
ith
the
Orphic
hierarchical
picture
of
divinities,
ut
the
gods
themselves
have
disap-
peared,
eaving
only
traces
behind n
the
creativeMonad
and
the
ndefi-
nite
Dyad.
Mythology
has
with
this
step
become
philosophy;
and
al-
though
he
mathematical
tudiesof
the
Pythagorean
rotherhood
eflect
in
their
very
constitution
he
dominant
position
of
music,
there can
be
no doubt
that a new
and
higher
purification
was
discovered,
nd
that
theory
was
substituted
or
sonority.
ven
the
stress
n
abstinence and
asceticism
n
the
conduct of
life
has
unmistakable
mplications
or
the
kind of music the Pythagoreansmay have employed, f indeed they
employed
ny
at
all;
for
neo-Pythagorean
egends
notwithstanding,
t
is
quite possible
hat the
Pythagoreans
urned
way
more or
less
completely
from
ensory
xperience,
ven from that
which
might
nvolve tenuous
7
Loc. cit.
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192
The
Musical
Quarterly
emotions,
nd
towards
uiet
contemplation
nd
speculative hought.
er-
tainly
he later
"so-called"
Pythagoreans
o
whom
Aristotle
efers'
were
mathematicians;the akousmatikoidisappeared with little trace, and
we
can
only
conjecture
bout the
nature of their
practices,
lthough
the
religious ociety,
till
more than
the
private
philosophic
r
poetic
school,
is
very
ikely
o
have made
use
of
music,
perhaps
in
a
fashionclose
to
that
of the
medieval
cloister.
n
any
event,
t is
the
soothing
effect
f
music
that will
bear
a
directrelation
o
knowledge
nd
harmony;
even
the
Sirens,
who would
appear
to
represent
he
purely
onorous
magic
of
tone,
promise
knowledge
to
Odysseus
and attract him
partly
for
this
reason also.9Words can be combinedwith the lyrebut not with the
aulos,
and
Aristotle
s
not
indulging
n
a
casual
fancy
when
he
interprets
Athena's
rejection
f the
aulos
as
an
expression
f her
attribute
f knowl-
edge,
and of the fact
that
the
instrument
ontributes
othing
to
the
mind.10
Plato takes
the
orgiastic
uses of
music
very seriously
ndeed,
and
tries o
explain
them and
generalize
hem
o that
they
are
applicable
to
normal educational
procedures.
He
even
comes to
classify
ducation
in
generalas a typeof purification." ustas he retainsmyth n his meta-
physics
or
hose
problems
hat
dialectic
s
helpless
o
solve,
o he is
really
not
willing
n his
ethicsto
abandon
either
he
orgiastic
r
the
hypnotic
effects f music.
Even
philosophic
discourse,
tself kind
of
music,
takes
on a
magical
aspect,
and
Socrates
is
described as
casting
a
spell
over
Meno,
and
enchanting
im.12
Plato
may reject
he aulos in
the
Republic,13
but this
everity
necessitated
y
a
higher
ause
-
can
become admira-
tion
elsewhere.When
Alcibiades
compares
ocrates o
Marsyas,
for xam-
ple,
all the
powers
of music over the human
soul
appear
as achievements
that
philosophy
mulates:
And
are
you
not an aulos
player?
That
you
are,
and
a
performer
far
more
wonderful than
Marsyas.
He indeed
with
instruments
used to
charm
the
souls of
men
by
the
powers
of
his
breath,
and the
players
of his music
do so
still: for
the
melodies of
Olympus
are
derived
from
Marsyas
who
taught
them,
and
these,
whether
they
are
played by
a
great
master or
by
a
miserable
aulos-girl,
have
a
power
which
no
others
have;
they
alone
possess
the soul and reveal the wants
of
8
See,
for
example, Metaphysics,985b,
24.
9
Odyssey
XII,
39-45.
1oPolitics, 1341b.
11
ophist,
231b.
In
Laws,
790c-92e,
after
describing
the
musical cure
of Bacchic
frenzy,
Plato
proceeds
to
apply
the
theory
of
this
process
to
education,
seeking
to
avoid occasions
of
sorrow
and
fear
altogether,
s well
as
to
strengthen
he
habits
of
cheerfulness
nd
courage.
12
Meno,
80a.
13
Republic,
399c-d.
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The Ethical
View
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Music in
Ancient
Greece 193
those who
have
need of
gods
and
mysteries,
ecause
they
re
divine.But
you
pro-
duce
the
same effectwith
your
words
only,
nd
do not
require
the
aulos;
that
s
the difference etweenyou and him.When we hear any otherspeaker,even a
very good
one,
he
produces
absolutely
no
effect
pon
us,
or
not
much,
whereas
the mere
fragments
f
you
and
your
words,
ven at
second-hand,
nd however m-
perfectly epeated,
maze
and
possess
the
souls
of
every
man, woman,
and child
who comes
within
hearing
f
them.And
if I
were not
afraid hat
you
would
think
me
hopelessly
runk,
would have
sworn s well as
spoken
o the nfluence hich
they
have
always
had and still
have over
me. For
my
heart
eaps
withinme
more
than
that
of
any
Corybantian
eveller,
nd
my
eyes
rain tears when hear
them.
And I
observe
that
many
others re
affected
n
the
same manner.
have
heard
Pericles nd
other
reat
rators,
nd
I
thought
hat
hey
poke
well,
but
neverhad
any similarfeeling;my soul was not stirredby them,nor was I angry t the
thought
f
my
own
slavish tate. But
this
Marsyas
has often
brought
me to such
a
pass,
that have felt
as if I
could
hardly
ndurethe life
which
am
leading
(this,
Socrates,
you
will
admit);
and I am
conscious hat
f I
did not shut
my
ears
against
him,
nd
fly
s
from he voice of
the
Siren,
my
fate
would be
like that
of
others,
he
would transfix
me,
and I
should
grow
old
sitting
t
his
feet.
For
he
makes
me confess
hat
ought
not
to live
as
I
do,
neglecting
he
wants
of
my
own
soul,
and
busying
myself
with the
concerns
f
the
Athenians;
herefore hold
my
ears and tear
myself way
from
him.14
Here we
have
a
depiction
both of
the
emotional
potency
of
music
and
of the
compound
of
seductiveness
nd
knowledge.
The
passage
is
remark-
able
in
the care with
which
t
elaborates he
details
of ts
comparison;
he
madness of
Alcibiades even
contains
counterpart
f
the
alcoholic
stim-
ulation that
was
combined
with
the music of
the
Dionysian
rites.
The chief
basis
of
Greek
ethical
views of
music, however,
s
not
magic
and
orgy,
but the
customary
ducational
and
social uses of
the
art.
There is
obviously
an
interrelationship
etween
these
fields
of
musical
practice;
the
ethical
value
of
music
cannot
be confined o formal
education,
for
chooling imply
foreshadows,
r more
usually
echoes,
ife
in
general:
the
place
of music n
education should
provide
a view
of
its
place
in
society,
r in
society
s it
once
was
or desires
tself o
be.
And
at
the
same
time,
ocial
occasions
not
explicitly
efined
s educative
may
be
of the
greatest
ignificance
n
molding
deals and
character.
Even
though
they
can
be
distinguished
eadily
from
magical
and
orgiastic
ffects,
he values
of
musical
practice
have some
basis
n
religion
and
rite,
for
music s
invariably
he main
constituent f
commemorative
ritual. Celebrations of heroes or of importanthistorical ventsare in-
trinsically
ducative
ceremonies.
Participants
ome to know
the ideals
of
society
s
these are
manifested
n
deeds
and
in
men;
they
earn
to
admire and to emulate
particular
virtues
and moral
characters.
The
14
ymposium,
15b-16b.
he
translation
s
by
Jowett.
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194
The
Musical
Quarterly
whole
process
takes
place
by
means of
music;
cultural
values
are
embodied
in
words, dance,
and
melody,
becoming
the basis
of
specific
musicalgenres ofcloselydefined tyles nd types fmelodywithpar-
ticular
ethical natures. And
ritually
ignificant
music of this
kind
has
divine anction s
well;
the
commemorated
venthas the
approval
of
the
gods,
one
of
whom,
especially
nvolved,
may
even
supply
the
melody
or
the
appropriate
nstrument.
ivinely originated,
music
must
then
be
preserved
nd refashioned
y
successive
composer-performers
ho
take
up
each
defined
occasion of use. Even to the
auditors,
he
strength
f
the
effect s far above
that
of
absolute
music;
it
is
not
possible
to
com-
prehendsuch an ethical world fromthe vantagepointof pure art. In
the characteristic
reek
etting,
music s
given
the
utmost orce
by
social
tradition
and
religious
belief,
and
the concreteness t
assumes
is
due
ultimately
o its
real context f
community
deals as concentrated n
the
decisive
historic vent that n
part
brought
hem about and at the
same
time
exemplified
hem
most
fully
or he
edification f future
enerations.
The music
n
question
here
s
actually
a
representational
rt
of
rhythm:
music-poetry-dance.
ellenic
theories
f
musical ethics re
generally
on-
cernedwith music n this fuller orm.
The
component
rts were on
occasion
separated,
of
course,
lthough
much
less
often
nd much less
completely
han we
might
hink.
f
unac-
companied
dance
existed
t
all,
it was
not of much
mportance,
hile
pure
instrumentalmusic
was
not
only relatively
nimportant,
ut
also
either
explicitly
rogrammatic
r
doubtless
n
its
form,
melody,
and
rhythm
especially
ull
of
meaning
derived
from
visual and
verbal and
kinesthetic
experience.
On
the
other
hand,
singing
nd
speaking
re
very
lose n
all
ancient
civilizations, ery
much as
they
re in
primitiveultures;
he
two
verbs
hemselves
re
coupled
or
used
interchangeably,
nd
in numberless
literary
escriptions
e
cannot
tell
whether
peech
or
song
s
in
question.
This
ambiguity
has
a
counterpart
n
the indeterminate
ature
of much
preserved
Greek
poetry,
or
which
melody,
ike
dance,
was
unrecorded,
although
the
euphony
of
the
language,
the
qualities
of the
feeling
x-
pressed,
nd
especially
he
meter,
will
often
point
unequivocally
ither
o
speaking
or
to
singing.
The
complex
relationships
f duration can
be
such as to make
spokenperformance
ut
of
the
question
unless
we
are
to
omit
completely
he
rhythmical
eatures f the music
(along
withthe
melodic
ones);
the durations
can
be
measured
only
by
means
of
the
precise
power
of
temporal
udgment
that
we
can
secure
through
one.
In its
original
forms,
poetry
was
invariably
musical. The
epic
incor-
porated
heroicballads
sung
to the
yre,
nd
every
art
of
t
doubtlesswas
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The
Ethical
View
of
Music
in
Ancient
Greece
195
intoned n
some fashion
ven as
late as
classical
times.
Elegiac
and
iambic
verse
were also
initially
ung,
accompanied by
the aulos
and the
lyre
re-
spectively.Aeolian monody and Dorian choral poetryremainedtruly
melic
arts,
horal
song
encompassing
ance also
as a
regular
onstituent.
Later
centuries
ad no
parallel
for
Greek
melic
poetry,
which,
as it
has
come
down to
us,
is
only
too
obviously
torso.
The
drama
too,
derived
from
he
cult of
Dionysus,
was
sung
to
a
great
extent,
ncorporating
oth
solo and
choral
song,
along
with
dance.
Only
with
the new
dithyramb
f
Phrynis
nd
Timotheus
did music
begin
to
undergo
a fateful nd
irre-
versible
fractionationn
which
its
unity
was forever
ost.
The
complete
combination f poetry,melody, nd dance, however,was the ideal type
of
music
as well
as the
predominant
ype;
and
it
must
therefore e
our
point
of
reference
n
the
study
of
both Greek
music
and
Greek
poetry.
But
we have not
fully
ccounted
for
the connection f
the musical
arts
unlesswe
realize
that
their
eparation
s
oftenmore
apparent
than actual.
Performance
ntermediate
etween
speech
and
song
was
undoubtedly
prevalent,
n the form
f
chant or
recitative
r
intonation,
nd
the
Greek
language
was
in
any
event
remarkably
hysical
nd
measured.
t
could
never osean inherentmusicwhich was characterized yprecisely efined
durations.
The
comparison
of
choral
poetry
to
a
mosaic has
justly
gained
a
certain
currency:15
he
Greek
syllables
are like unalterable
stone
tiles
which are
assembled
contiguously
n
intricate uccessions
f
length.
n
sharp
contrast
s
the
fabrication
f
poetry
ut of
the aura
of
feeling
nd
fancy
that surrounds
words: the
result here
is
an
intangible
play
of
meanings
upported
by
the
punctuation
f
accented
points
n
a
pattern
made up of silence as well as sound. If Greek poetry s much more
physical
han
this,
t
has its
place
appropriately
n
a literature
hat,
even
after
the
coming
of
prose,
was
conceived for oral
delivery
nd
almost
always
heard ratherthan read. Each
tone,
also,
was
ideally coupled
to
a
gesture;
the
melody
was
mirrored n
bodily
motion. The
very
term
choros
meant round dance with
song,
and the
concrete
nature of Greek
music
is
revealed even
in
the
fundamental
units of
rhythm,
which are
not
abstract durations of
given length,
but
are defined
as
steps
and
syllables as physicalfactsor events.But stillmore fundamental han
physical
motion s
the
word;
Greek music
worthy
f
the name
necessarily
involves
anguage.
Wordless
music is
regarded
as
inferior,
nd
instru-
15
See,
for
example,
the
interesting
tudy by Thrasybulos
Georgiades,
Der
grie-
chische
Rhythmus;
Musik,
Reigen,
Vers
und
Sprache,
Hamburg,
1949
(or
the reworked
English
version,
Greek
Music,
Verse
and
Dance,
New
York, 1956).
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10/23
196
The Musical
Quarterly
mental
performance
an
be
distinguished
s
techni
(which
is in
no
wise
differentrom
raft ince it
lacks
imitative
apacity)
from he
more
ele-
vatedmousikJ, hichgenerally esignates ocal music.There can be no
doubt
that the
union of
melody
with word and
gesture
produced
an
art
of
extraordinary
efinition,
specially
ince the
uniting
factor,
rhythm,
was identical n
all three
omponents;
here
was not a
complex
nterplay
of
three
patterns,
ut
a
singlerhythmic
xpression,
hich was
apparently
the
most
mportant spect
of Greek music.
Nor
was this
rhythm
n
itself
a
layered
construction,
s in the
rhythm
f
an 18th- or
19th-century
melody,
where the
sounded
pattern
s
heard
against
an
implied
but
inau-
diblemeasuredbackground.And theunity fGreekrhythm as further
solidified
y
unison
singing
nd
"unison"
dancing;
thus Greek
music
is
comparable
to Greek
statuary
nd
architecture n that it
possessed
a
remarkably
efinite
hysical
haracter.
The
imitative
ature of
music,
ts
unified
oncreteness,
nd
its ethical
force re
all
importantly
nterrelated,
nd
it is
onlythrough
n
awareness
of
their nterconnection
hat we
can
secure an
insight
nto
the
musical
ethics
of
antiquity.
f the basic task of
music s
the
production
f
a
like-
ness,for xample, t is understandable hatmelodymustnot be separated
from
words,
forthen
ts mitative
apacity
would
decrease
and
its
mean-
ing
would
become
vague.
Also,
it is the
power
of music
to
imitate
virtue
that
explains
its
capacity
to
influence nd mold
character. Thus
the
conception
of
imitation cts
as an
intermediary
etween the
concrete
nature of music
and
its
ethical
effects,
nd undertakes
o
explain
how
the one can
bring
bout
the
other.
This whole
circle of
notions s not
so
restrictive
characterization
f
art as
it
might
eem;
for one
thing,
he
Greek
concept
of
mitation
ctually
ncludes
the
general
notionof
forma-
tive
activity
n
itself nd of the
synthesis
r
simulationof
appearance
apart
from reference o a model. But
even
if we take
mimesis n
its
specifically
mitative
ense,
t
is
apparent
that the
matter o
be
imitated
can be
very
diverse,
xtending
rom
visual
objects
to
character
nd
even
to
the
idea
of
virtue
tself
ather han
its
particular
manifestations.
he
imitation
f
character
by
music
has
a
very
definite ense
in
the literal
imitationof
the
speech
and
behavior
of
a
person
by
means
of
vocal
music
and
gesture,
articularly
n
the
portrayal
f
character
n
drama.
This is as concrete s or reallymoreconcrete han imitationn sculpture
and
painting.
Greek
music
was
an
imitation, owever,
ess
of visual
ap-
pearance
than
of
disposition
r
temperamental
ature,
expressed
most
typically
n
measured
anguage
and tone. But
by
virtueof a
rapproche-
mentbetweenmusical
theory
nd harmonic
metaphysics,
t
also
enjoyed
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The Ethical
View of Music in
Ancient
Greece
197
the
privilege
unique among
the arts of
imitating
ivine
and
ideal
order;
and as a
manifestation f
this
order t
is
capable
in Plato's
Timaeus of
leading man to virtueand knowledgeas directly s the more literally
conceived imitationsof the
Republic
are able to
inculcate
the more
specific
irtues f
valor
and
temperance.
Music
in the
Timaeus
is
thought
of
as a
purely
tonal
art;16
all that matters
s its
ability
to
reflect
he
abstract values
of
noetic
harmony;
its
slight
mitative
capacity
in the
absence of words
and
physical gesture
has ceased
to be of
interest.
Partly
s
a
result
f
the
diversified
atureof musical
mitation,
he
ethical
aspects
of music
have an
impressive cope, ranging
from
medical
cures
to
an
influenceon the
feelings,
rom the
precept
and moral
example
contained
n
sung
words to the most
pervasive
and
powerful
ffects
n
behavior
and
character.
Throughout
he
gradual
redirection f Greek
deals
from he
physical
to the
ntellectual,
rom
he
hero
n combat
to
the
philosopher
nd
orator,
poetry
nd
music
continued o
occupy
a
position
f the
utmost
mportance
both in
formal ducation and in
the
various educative occasions
of
ife.17
The
great diversity
f the ethical
effects
f
music seemed
to endow
it
with value for
every
task. Even
apart
from the
question
of
imitation,
instruction
n
music has
always
been
an
essential
part
of an aristocratic
ethic;
from
Homer to
the
European
Renaissance,
nstrumental
erform-
ance
and
song
and dance have
been
indispensable
ccomplishments
f
the
knight
and the
courtier;
they
are
part
of
the
whole
aristocratic
pattern
of
life.
The
ritual
observancesof
the
knightly
ulture
depicted
by
Homer made
use
of
religious
horal
dance-songs,
ut ethical
values
can
be found
also
in
the
ndividual
dancing
and
singing
nd
lyre-playing
that served s
entertainment,
or
prominent
n
this ecular
sphere
was
the
rehearsal n
song
of great
military
xploits. Singing
such heroicnarra-
tions was
a
private
pastime
of
Achilles,
and there can
be no
doubt
of
their
moral influence.
We
know
also
of
the ceremonialmusic
at
funeral
games,
which
in
an ethical
respect
would
appear
to stand somewhere
between he
religious
aean
and
the heroicballad.
The
description
n the
16
Timaeus,
80a-b. Because instrumental
music
lacks
imitative
power,
it
readily
becomes
either dedication
to
pleasure
as
opposed
to
good,
or a
manifestation
of
harmony,
which makes it
morally
significant
nd at the
same
time a
sensuous
approxi-
mationof scientific nowledge.
17
Important
recent
histories
of
ancient
education are
Werner
Jaeger's
Paideia;
The
Ideals
of
Greek
Culture,
New
York, 1943-45;
Henri Ir6n'e
Marrou's A
History
of
Education in
Antiquity,
transl.
by
George
Lamb,
New
York,
1956;
and
Francois
Lasserre's
L'Rducation
musicale
dans
la
grace
antique,
in
his
Plutarque;
De la
musique,
Olten
and
Lausanne,
1954.
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198
The
Musical
Quarterly
Iliad
of
specifically
ducational
activities n
the
case
of the
tutorsChiron
and
Phoenix
upplements
he
general
picture:
education
revolved
round
courtly ccomplishments,hich ncludedtrainingn songand dance and
lyre-playing
s
prominent
eatures,
nd around
the
heroic
deed,
which
was
inspired
y
great
models of the
past.
It is
this
dea of
glory
chieved
by
valor
that
was
central
n
the life
of
the
Homeric
noble,
and
that
was
fostered
y
the
Iliad
and the
Odyssey
hemselves
n their
ong history
s
the
fundaments f
Greek
education.
The
events
of
the
Iliad
itself ook
back to still
older
prototypes;
his
is the
heart
of
the
process
through
which the
culture
ecures
continuity;
nd
very
much
as
the actual
edu-
cationaluse of theheroicballad is described n the epic,so the epics in
turn,
originally
hemselves
ung,
became the
examples
furnishing
moral
inspiration
o
successive
generations.
Also,
the
glory
to
which
the
hero
aspires
and
for
which
he is
willing
o sacrifice
is
life s
really
musical
one,
for
t
consists n the
poetic
celebration
hat
immortalizes
is
deed.
Of
this,
gain,
the
Iliad
both relates
examples
and is
itself
he
greatest
example.
Thus
in
the
Homeric
world,
music nd
poetry
ave
their
highest
function
n the
glorification
f
the
hero
and in an
education that
is
basedonthis.And they mploy n appropriate ducationalmethod, orby
lending glory
to
some
past
exploit
they
turn t into
an ideal
of action
and
thus arouse the
very
competitive
pirit
hat
mpels
the
hero
to
excel
in
battle.
The
ethical
functions
f the Homeric
epic
were
time and
again
adopted
and modified
y
later
Greek
poetry,
nd the ideals
it
expressed
never
ceased
to be
an
inspiration.
n
educative
ntent
became
common,
manifested n
a
protreptic
r
admonitory
one
and
associated with the
direct
address
of
the
poem
to
a
particularperson.
The
catalogue
of
maxims
was a characteristic
oetic
genre.
Most
important
f all
was the
continual
concern with
ideals
and
virtue,
with
the
expression
f
the
highest
values
of
the
poet
and his culture.
On
occasion
this took
the
form f
a
detailed
code of
behavior.Hesiod's
Works
nd
Days
represents
an
early
ransformation
f the
epic
in
which
the
form s
explicitly
idactic
and the concern
s with the
virtues
f work nd
justice,
values
not of
the
aristocracy
ut
of the Boeotian
peasantry.
An
explicit
moral
intention
became
a
conspicuous
feature of the
philosophic epic
also,
here con-
nected with
metaphysical
ruth. t is this whole
poetic
tradition hat
Socrates
and Plato
revitalize,
nd
in
their ritical
nspection
f
the
nature
of
virtue,
hey
ogically
reviewall
the
specific
deals of
the
poets.
To the
ethical influence
hat
poetry
exerts
through
ts
meaning,
however,
we
must add its
ability
to reinforce he values that inhere
primarily
n
a
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The
Ethical
View of
Music in
AncientGreece
199
situationrather
han
in the
words
themselves;
he
occasion of
perform-
ance
takes n
increased
ignificance
nd moral
nfluence.
The elegiacpoetry fTyrtaeus dvanced a changedideal ofheroism
that
applied
to the
soldier
of
Sparta
in the seventh
entury
B.C.
Every
warrior n
the
ranksbecame
a
hero,
not
only
he
great
ndividual
ngaged
in
single
combat,
and
the
goal
was
serviceto
the
community:
he
glory
of
the
polis
supplanted
personal
glory.
At the
same
time,
the
powerful
effects
f the aulos
and
the
marching-song
ere
put
to
use in
military
music.
In
addition,
music
became
an
event
of
competitive
ames,
along-
side
athletics,
nd
in this
way
it
provided
a
means of
achieving
that
individualgloryno longera dominant factor n actual combat, or at
least
a
means
of
combiningpersonal
and
civic
fame.
Most
important
f
all,
musical
ceremonies nd
festivals
nited
the
polis
in a
truly
ommon
religious
xperience.
With Alcman
towards
he end
of
the
seventh
entury,
choral
poetry
became
the characteristicmusical
expression
of
Sparta.
Like
the
elegy,
however,
which
originated
n
Ionia
but in
the work
of
Tyrtaeus
and
Solon
and
Theognis
spread
to
all of
Greece,
Dorian com-
munal
poetry
was
by
no
means
confined
o
Laconia,
but
was
found
also
in Sicily,Boeotia, Ionia, and Athens.But as contrastedwith the elegy,
which
taught
by
precept,
nd
with
he
ambic,
which
made use
of
maxim,
fable,
atire,
nd
invective,
horal
poetry
aught
argely
by
participation.
Spartan
festivals
urnished
he
occasions for
a wide
variety
of
dance-
songs
devoted to
specific
deities and
ranging
from
solemn
processions
to
banter.
Participation
n
any
choral
poetry
meant
dedication
to
a
tradition,
nd could
hardly
emainwithout
strong
thical effect. aken
over from
he
epic
was
the
typical
eligious-social
unction
f
praise,
which
made
choral
poetrycharacteristically ymnlike
n nature.
Praise could
easily
encompass
ommemoration f
the
dead
or
patriotic
xhortation;
t
tended to
absorb
every
ocial
and ethical value. That
it
was
a universal
theme
can
be
clearly
seen
in the Hellenistic
division of
melic
poetry
into
three
ypes,
ll
of
them concernedwith
praise
and
differing
nly
n
their
objects:
gods, gods
and
men,
and
men
respectively.tarting
n
the
middle
of the
sixth
century,
partan
education
assumed
the
form
that
became
so well known
and
influential
n
later
times;
t became less
ntel-
lectual,
more
strictly
military,
nd
increasingly
esistant
o
change.
Im-
portant n the subsequenthistory f musical influences re the military
use
of
music
for
ts
directly timulating
ffect,
nd the standardization
f
repertory
hat
guarded
traditional ocial
and
military
alues.
In contrast o
the
strong
ollectivism
n
Sparta,
Greek
culture
else-
where
preserved
much of
the
individualistic tandards
of
older
times.
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200
The
Musical
Quarterly
The
gnomic
elegies
of
Theognis,
for
example,
which
were
sung
at
sym-
posia, conveyed
xplicit
moral
principles
f
aristocratic ehavior.And
up
to thetimeofPlato,educationwas conductedvery ittlenformal chools,
but
was
based
on
an
individual
relationship,
he ove
between
master
nd
pupil,
which
dominated he
philosophic
cademy
as
well as
private
utor-
ing.
In
this
ies
its
strength,
nd
perhaps
the ultimate
reason for ts
vast
influence n the course
of educational
history;
nsteadof
being
a
relatively
superficial
matter
of
imparting
knowledge,
t is a
fundamentally
moral
undertaking
f
cultivating
nd
molding
haracter,
f
fashioning
he
whole
person
n
accordance
with a
particular
way
of
life. n such
a
framework
the importanceof music becomes more readilyunderstandable.Before
schools were
public,
they
were for centuries
ocieties
of
the
elect,
each
pupil
bound
by
personal
ties
to the master.
Music
took
its
part
in
a
leisured
and aristocratic
ife;
but still
more
important
was its role
in
ritual,
which involved the
age-old
connection
f music with
knowledge,
and
more
especially,
with wisdom
(which
contains
an
ethical
compo-
nent).
The
philosophic
chool
was dedicated to
music,
or
we can
equally
well
say,
to culture. n the activities f
the
Pythagorean
Brotherhood,
musicmay verywell have displayed hefullvariety fitsethicalpowers,
many
of them without
any
basis
in
imitation;
t was a
constituent
f
ritual,
a medical
purification
f the
soul,
and
even
-
in the form
of
theoretic
nd
scientific
tudy
a
key
to
metaphysical
nowledge;
t
was
studied,
that
is,
for
directly
hilosophical
nd
religious
easons,
nd
not
only
employed
n sonorousformfor
more
palpable
influences
n
health
and
piety.
n
the
case
of
Sappho's
school
in
Lesbos,
there
was
continual
use of music
in
periodic
ritual
and
ceremony;
and instruction
n
lyre-
playing, inging,
nd
dance
was
an
important art
of
the
curriculum.
This
implies pervasive
thical
nfluence;
butthe
Sapphic
fragments
ot
only
provide
glimpses
f the
place
of music n
the school of the
poetess:
they
re
remnants f
a
potent
rt that
was itself
music
and that
brought
to
Greek
consciousness
many
subtle
shades of
subjective
experience.
n
this
way,
her
poems
possessed
broad
educational
value
that
extended
far
beyond
her
immediate
circle.
But if
the
public
nature
of
Spartan
education
contrastswith the
aris-
tocraticGreek
tradition f
private
tutoring,
nothercontrast
s
provided
by Athenian educationof the earlier fifth entury, orthiswas civilian
rather han
military.
ut neither
his
significant hange
nor the
growth
of
democracy radically
affected he
persistence
f aristocratic
alues.
These
proved
to be
compatible
with the
ideal
of
social
justice
which
the
poetry
f
Solon
had
long
before
envisaged
as a
counterpart
f the
bal-
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The
Ethical
View of
Music in
Ancient
Greece 201
anced
order
of
nature,
and now valor
and
glory
were
retained
n
a
civilian and
democratic
setting
imply
by
transferring
hem from the
battlefield o athletics.As a result, porttook on a new intensity,nd
the celebrationof
victory
n
the various
games,
especially
as
we
see
it
in the
victory
des,
or
epinikia,
of
Pindar,
was
of
the
highest
dignity
and
impressiveness.
ut
at
the
same
time,
he
process
of
democratization
presented
problem.
Athleticswas to
a
great
extent
open
to
all,
and
in
the
public
school,
which
grew
up
side
by
side with
ndividual
educa-
tion,
ristocraticdeals
and
curricula
were
similarly
dopted
for
common
use. The outcome
was
a
serious
controversy,
or
the
belief did
not
die
that culture was a restricted henomenonand educationnecessarily
selective
matter. n
any
event,
music
retained
ts
historical
thical
role
and
its
commanding
status. As far
as intellectual ducation
was con-
cerned
-
that
is,
apart
from
gymnastics
the
chief mark
of a
culti-
vated man was the
ability
o
sing
and
dance
and
play
the
yre.
Outside the formal
ducation of
the
schools,
horal
poetry
ontinued
to
exert
its
powerful
moral
influence,
specially
n
Sparta,
while
the
drinking
arty,
highly rganized
and
probably
he most
mportant
nsti-
tution f Greek cultural ife,provideda more restrictedristocraticlass
with
training
hat was
almost
exclusively
moral and
almost
exclusively
musical.
Dancing,
and
performances
n
lyre
and
aulos,
were
secondary
to
the
skolion,
n
which each
guest
sang
in his turn. A
knowledge
of
poetry
that
extended from
epic
to
lyric
was a
presupposition
f
such
gatherings:
Homer and
Tyrtaeus
and
Solon and
Theognis
furnished
n
extremely
omprehensive
moral
cultivation,
n
which
the
explicit
each-
ings
of
elegiac
poetry ccupied
a
central
position.
t was the
symposium
that was
mainly
responsible
or the
preservation
f
an
aristocratic
thic.
Most
importantly,
heolder choral
poetry
f
Stesichorus,
lcman,
Simo-
nides,
nd Pindar
-
known
o
thecultivatedman
through
is
participation
in
choral
song
-
came
to be
performed
monodically,
o
that
the
sympo-
sium
ncorporated
he
deals
of civic
education
and
ensured he
continuity
of
the musicaltradition
f iberal
tudies.
Prior
to
the
Sophists
and
Socrates,
Greek education was in
general
more
physical
and
moral than
it
was
intellectual,
nd
it
consequently
made
use
more
of
actual
music than
of music as a
theoretic
nd
philoso-
phic study.As a reflection f aristocraticdeals, it reallynever lost its
liberal interests nd its
distrust
f
occupational
training,
nd
it aimed
at
cultivation or a
leisured
way
of
life
compounded
of
sport
and intel-
lectual
pleasures,
with
political
activity
s the
typical
erious
pursuit.
But
in the
later fifth
entury,
ducation took on
a more
purely
ntellectual
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16/23
202
The
Musical
Quarterly
intensity
nd a new
ideal of
wisdom.
The
scientific
nd
philosophic
s-
pects
of
music
grew
n
importance
longside
of
practical
music
and
for
themostpartunrelated o it. In thischange,thephilosopher upplanted
the
poet
as
an
educator,
nd
we
can
consequently
ee
a
particular
ogic
n
Plato's
designation
f
philosophy
s
the
highest
music.
But as
philosophy
was music
in an
abstract ense
more than
an
actual
one,
so the
educa-
tional
ideal
it
advocated was
more
one
of
musical science than
of
prac-
tical music.
The
stress n
intellectual ducation
did
not
necessarily
n-
volve
a
discard
of
ethical
cultivation,however,
but
only
a
change
in
standards.
Practical music was
reinterpreted
s a
preparation
for
the
rational trainingthat came afterward, lthough its direct social and
moral
values
were
not overlooked.
Much of
the
new
outlook had
been
anticipated
ong
before
by
Xenophanes:
he
turned
o
poetry
ather
han
prose
as a
philosophic
medium,
he
recited
t
symposia,
hus
usurping
he
position
f
the
poets,
he
took direct ssue with Homer
in
much the
terms
Plato
did,
criticizing
im as
immoral,
and he
advanced
an
intellectual
rather
han
a
physical
deal. More
subtly,
lato
reduces
gymnastics
o
a
matter
ffecting
he
soul rather
han
the
body
1
but he
by
no
means
oses
sightof its inherent alues, and seeksonlyto turnthemback to their
older
significance
s
preparation
for
battle
rather than
for
victory
n
athletic
competition.
Almost
symbolically,
n
the
Symposium,
he
ex-
plicitly
relegates
music
to the
category
of
entertainment,"
while
the
time
of
the
company
is
spent
in
the
higher
activity
of
philosophical
discussion,
he new
and
superior
kind
of music. This
is
doubtless
con-
scious
depiction
of new educational
deals,
which
Plato was
quite
ready
to
view
from a musical
standpoint.
With
the
Sophists,
elativism
ould
easily
lead
to a discard
of
music
as an ethical
force;
in the world
of
dialectics
nd
oratory
hat
they
created t was to be retained
only
as an
emotional
and technical
aid to the
speaker.
But the renewed faith
of
Socrates
and Plato
in an absolute moral
standard
brought
with it
a
belief
in the older
ethical
values
of
music and
in
musical
value
in
general.
Yet
the nature
of
music was
changing,
nd as
the old
unity
fell
apart
the
educational
ideals and curriculum ased
on it
changed
also;
political
and
social
changes
were
a
counterpart
or a
result,
s
Damon
and
Plato
believed;
the
logical
outcome was
the
destruction
f
the
polis and the growthof the cosmopolitan ity,a processaccompanied
by
an
equivalent
disruption
f
music. In
attempting
o
reinterpret
nd
18
Republic,
410c-12b.
19
ymposium,
176e.
See
also
Protagoras,
347,
where
the
entertainment
urnished
by
girls
who
dance
and
play
the
aulos and
lyre
is
similarly
set
aside in favor
of
discourse.
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The Ethical
View of
Music in Ancient
Greece
203
preserve
he older
deals,
Plato found
himself
pposed
to what
was
actu-
ally
a more
progressive
ttitude,
or
philosophy
ought
with
rhetoric
ver
the educational leadershipabandoned by music, and rhetoricfrankly
accepted
the musical
disintegration
nd
the new intellectual
pecializa-
tion,
replacing
universality
with
versatility.
In
any
event,
the
musical-poetic
radition
eveals that the
educative
function
f music
exists n
poetry
f
whatever
ype, lthough
the
precise
function aries with the
genre.
The
teaching
values of
gnomic
verse
are
there for all to
see,
but
even the
philosophic
epic
evolved
from the
didactic
epic,
and
traces of its
origin
are still
evident
n
so late
a de-
scendantas Lucretius.The motifof moral instruction,ntimatelyllied
to
music,
runs
through
he entire
history
f
Greek
poetry
nd
philosophy,
and
indeed
through
ll the iterature f
antiquity.
n its
direct ddress
to
a
single
ndividual,
he
prose protreptic
ontinues
he manner
of didactic
and moral
poetry;
philosophy
has
already
adopted
the device in
Empe-
docles's
time,
and with
Isocrates
it
becomes
an
established
genre.
The
Epinomis
(intended
as a
final section of
Plato's
Laws),
Aristotle's
Protrepticus,
icero's
Hortensius,
Boethius's
Consolation,
nd the
patris-
tic "Exhortation"are outstanding xamples.But vastlymoreimpressive
than the
explicit
xhortations the
Platonic
dialogue
tself,
with
ts
power-
ful
inspirational
ffect.
The
education of
Greece
was the
high
ethical
purpose
that
philosophy
arried
over
from
poetry,
nd
if
Homer was
the
teacher
of
Greece,
Plato became
the teacher
of
the West. But in
its
superior
realization of this
purpose, philosophy
directed owards
poetry
not
gratitude
ut criticism.
or
poetry
id
not
deal
in abstract
rgument;
it made
use
of
feelings
nd
the concrete nstance. Furthermore
oetry
was degenerating,n Plato's opinion; it had lostsight f tssocialmission,
while
those
participating
n
it
became
effeminate
nd
depraved.
The
actors n
Athenian
tragedy
tood
on a
plane
vastly
nferior
o that of
the
participants
n Dorian
choral
dance. It was
symptomatic
hat the
aulos
had taken on
a new
popularity,
nd
ornate
musical
styles
had
appeared,
in
conjunction
with
virtuosity
nd
purely
nstrumental
music.20"
mita-
tion ran
riot,
Plato tells
us,
with
attempted
uplications
f the sounds
of
nature
and
animals and
various
musical
instruments;
he
citharoedic
singer
imitated the
quavering
excitement
of
the
aulos;
modulation,
chromaticism,
nd a mixture nd confusion f
styles
ccompanied
a con-
tinuous
search
for
novel
effects,
nd
music was
dedicated to senseless
pleasure
and
applause.
20
Laws,
700a-Olc,
provides
a
picture
of
the
moral
decay
of
music
and
its
repercussions
n
the earlier fourth
century.
See also
Republic,
700a-b.
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18/23
204
The Musical
Quarterly
The
ethical values of
poetry
became an
important
ssue in the
case
of
Athenian
tragedy,
nd indeed were
the
core
of
the
controversy
ver
the relativemerits f Aeschylus nd Euripides. In the Frogs of Aristo-
phanes, Aeschylus
ehearses
he
traditionalmoral and
social
function
f
the
poet:
"Those
are the
subjects
hat
poets
hould
use.
Note
how
useful,
even from
emotest
imes,
he
poets
of
noble
thought
ave been
Orpheus
taught
us
the
mystic
ites
and
the
horrid nature
of
murder;
Musaeus,
the
healing
of
ailments and
the
oracles;
Hesiod,
the
tilling
of
the
soil
and
the
timesfor
delving
and harvest.
And
does
not
divine Homer
owe
his
immortal
glory
to his noble
teachings?
s it
not he who
taught
the
warlikevirtues,the art of fighting nd of carrying rms?"21And in
answer
to a
question
about
the truth
of a
story
used
by
Euripides,
he
says,
"No,
the
story
s
true
enough;
but
the
poet
should
hide what is
vile
and not
produce
nor
represent
t
on the
stage.
The
schoolmaster
teaches
little children
and
the
poet
men
of
riper
age.
We
must
only
display
what
is
good."22
Truth
is not
an
adequate
standard of
poetic
value, then,
a
concept
that
Plato
develops
n
detail.
It is clear at the
close
of the
play
that
Aeschylus
arries
the
day
pre-
ciselyby virtueof his social role. Aristophanes akes the occasion to
criticize ocrates
also,
whom
he
treats
s
the
representative
f
rhetoric,
for
ngaging
n idle talk that
s,
n
an
activity
ot
socially
useful.Even
the medical
power
of
music
s
wielded
by
Aeschylus,
s
it
is
by
Musaeus
in
the
passage
cited above. "Let
us beware
of
jabbering
with
Socrates,"
the chorus
ings,
and
of
disdaining
he
sublime
notes
of the
tragic
Muse.
To
pass
an idle ife
reeling
ff
randiloquent
peeches
nd
foolish
uibbles,
is
the
part
of a
madman."23
And Pluto
continues:
"Farewell, Aeschylus
Go back to earthand may yournoble preceptsboth save our cityand
cure the
mad;
there re
such,
a
many
of
them ""
In
the
Clouds,
Aristo-
phanes paints
a
vivid
picture
of
the
immoral
and
outrageous
results f
sophistical
ducation;
yet
however
mistaken
t
may
be in its attribution
to Socrates
and
however
udicrously
istorted,
t
really
has a foundation
of truth
n
the
dangerous
ethical
relativism
f
the
Sophists.25
s a
poet,
Aristophanes
will
naturally
refer
oetry
o
rhetoric,
ut his truemotives
go
beyond
this,
s we
can see
in
his detailed
criticism f
Euripides.
For
21Aristophanes,Five Comedies, Cleveland, 1948, p. 272.
22
Ibid.,
p.
273.
23
Ibid.,
p.
287.
24
bid.,
pp.
287-88.
25
This
can
be seen
clearly
in
the
intransigent
nd
rebellious
views defended
by
Callicles
in Plato's
Gorgias,
482c-84c.
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