a long syllable, as in the word betray). Th e earliest lyric poet,
Archilochus of Paros (mid-seventh century b.c.e.), explores a
wide variety of forms but never allows them to overwhelm his
directness of expression and emotion.
Th e dithyramb is a frenzied, impassioned choric hymn
and dance of ancient Greece, performed in honor of Diony-
sus, god of the harvest and wine. It also refers to an irregular
poetic expression or an enthusiastic piece of writing, like that
of Archilochus, that is suggestive of the original dithyramb.
Such impassioned forms and style seem appropriate given the
controversial nature of Archilochus’s life. Th e poets Critias
and Pindar considered him a scoundrel because some of his
poetry speaks directly of a life of scandalous episodes and
attitudes, especially toward women and family. But Archi-
lochus also wrote passionately of military battles and heroic
struggles with the enemy, in terms that off er moral guidance
and urge men to overcome the whining hubris of Achilles.
TYRTAEUS AND “THE SPARTAN CREED”
Not all poetic characterizations of the glory of battle are sen-
sitive to the emotional aspect of war. Th e poet Tyrtaeus (sev-
enth century b.c.e.) was the offi cial voice of the stern military
ethic that made his native city, Sparta, famous. Th e Spartans
are remembered today for their rigorous discipline and fi ght-
ing skills, the products of a long and arduous training that
created an intense spirit of community belonging and an ef-
fi ciency admired by Plato and the Athenians of the Classical
Age. Inspired by Homer’s Iliad, “Th e Spartan Creed” of Tyr-
taeus uses elegiac verse to celebrate, in even-tempered terms,
the noble values of Spartan warrior-chiefs and their city: “For
no man ever proves himself a good man in war / unless he can
endure to face the blood and the slaughter, / go close against
the enemy and fi ght with his hands.”
SAPPHO AND THE WORLD OF LESBOS
Th ere could hardly be a world more diff erent from the harsh
Spartan society than that of the Island of Lesbos, with its rich
farmland, olive groves, wide pastures, orchards, vineyards,
gardens, and, above all, atmosphere of wealth and leisure.
Th is world was the setting for the idyllic and passionate lyric
poetry of Sappho (ca. 610–ca. 580 b.c.e.). Uninterested in po-
litical matters, Sappho wrote about themes of intense concern
to the young female devotees who surrounded her and to-
gether celebrated the cult and festivals of Aphrodite, goddess
of love. Especially poignant is her exploration of the love of
these young women for one another and the inevitable sepa-
ration they would experience as they moved from girlhood to
wedlock. Oft en nostalgic and sentimental, Sappho composed
some of the most moving poetry ever written. Sappho’s muse,
Aphrodite, is frequently invoked as the powerful source of
the emotions explored in her poetry.
XENOPHANES AND THE CRITIQUE OF THE GODS
Not every Greek poet of the late sixth century and early fi ft h
century b.c.e. gave himself or herself over to the adoration of
the Greek gods so wholeheartedly as did Sappho. An excep-
tion to the rule and the fi rst Greek writer seriously to question
the idea and power of the anthropomorphic gods of Mount
Olympus was Xenophanes of Colophon. His logic, leading to-
ward a kind of monotheism, was that the obvious imperfec-
tions of the gods were based on all-too-human characteristics;
therefore, humans must have created the gods in their own
image and not vice versa. Xenophanes’ poetry anticipates the
skeptical humanism of the Classical age of Athens.PINDAR AND THE OLYMPIAN ODE
Some of Xenophanes’ humanistic sentiments are found as
well in the odes of Pindar of Th ebes (ca. 522–ca. 438 b.c.e.), a
prolifi c poet who addresses many diff erent themes in various
genres—hymns to the gods, dithyrambs to Dionysus, funeral
dirges, heroic eulogies, and four books of odes, dedicated
mostly to the winners of Olympic competitions throughout
Greece. A particularly moving piece is his “Th ird Pythian Ode
(for Hiero of Syracuse),” written to comfort and console a man
who was mortally ill. Its ending recalls the thought of Xeno-
phanes—the idea of a humble human thinker, a self, who con-
fronts the power and glory of one god: “I will be small in small
things, great among great. / I will work out the divinity that is
busy within my mind / and tend the means that are mine.”HERODOTUS, THUCYDIDES, AND THE
BIRTH OF HISTORY
Greek literature encompasses not only a rich variety of poetry
but also historical, political, biographical, and philosophical
writing. Historical writing as a serious enterprise and fi ne art
began with Herodotus (ca. 484–between 430 and 420 b.c.e),
and was further developed by Th ucydides (d. ca. 401 b.c.e.).
First called the father of history by the Roman writer Cicero,
Herodotus was the fi rst writer to conduct research into the
events of the past and the history of foreign lands and to at-
tempt to treat them in a rational rather than a mythical man-
ner. Although he was oft en forced to rely on spurious sources,
usually oral accounts that were frequently secondhand, his
narratives are informative, vivid, and extensive in their treat-
ment; his history of the Persian invasions of Greece up to 479
b.c.e. takes up nine books. Th ucydides was an exiled Athe-
nian general who wrote a remarkably objective account of the
Peloponnesian war between Sparta and Athens. His account
stresses painstaking reporting and a descriptive analysis of
c ontemp or a r y e vent s t hat re ve a l c on sider able appre c i at ion for
cause and eff ect. Th e most famous passages are those dealing
with Pericles’ funeral oration and the plague at Athens.THE BIRTH OF WESTERN DRAMA
In the history of dramatic literature fi ve names from ancient
Greece stand out. Th ree dramatists—Aeschylus, Sophocles,
and Euripides—were tragedians. Additionally, Aristophanes
wrote comic plays that are still part of the theater repertoire
around the world, and Menander was a major fi gure in Greek
comedy.658 literature: Greece