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Poetry Slam: Early Greek Politics in Verse

Poetry Slam: Early Greek Politics in Verse

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No one was writing history in Greece during the 7th and 6th centuries BCE. But that doesn't mean we have no voices speaking to us from that time. Fragments of works by early Greek poets can provide real-time commentary on the social and political upheaval of their times. In this episode, host Scott Emmons observes the struggles of the early polis through the eyes of two aristocratic poets, Theognis of Megara and Alcaeus of Mytilene.

For maps and images, check out Episode 17 at epicgreekhistory.substack.com.

Reading Suggestions:

A History of Greek Literature by Albin Lesky (chapters on Theognis and Alcaeus)

Greek Lyrics, translated by Richmond Lattimore

Greek Lyric, Vol. 1: Sappho and Alcaeus, translated by David A. Campbell (Loeb Classical Library)

Greek Elegiac Poetry, translated by Douglas E. Gerber (Loeb Classical Library)

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