Head of a Bearded God, first century BC, bronze, The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum purchase funded by Isabel B. and Wallace S. Wilson Today, February 25, at 3:30 p.m. at the National Gallery of Art (NGA) in Washington DC, Gregory Nagy and Gloria Ferrari Pinney are… Read more
Detail from Attic krater attributed to the Brygos painter, 480-470 BCE. Line drawing by Valerie Woelfel. “A diachronic as well as synchronic approach to the songmaking of Sappho” by Gregory Nagy In his posting Diachronic Sappho: some prolegomena, Gregory Nagy argues that the art of Sappho’s songmaking can… Read more
Detail from Attic krater attributed to the Brygos painter, 480-470 BCE. Line drawing by Valerie Woelfel. “A diachronic as well as synchronic approach to the songmaking of Sappho” by Gregory Nagy In his posting Diachronic Sappho: some prolegomena, Gregory Nagy argues that the art of Sappho’s songmaking can… Read more
Mosaic showing theatrical masks of comedy and tragedy, from the Baths of Decius on the Aventine Hill, Rome, 2nd century CE. [image by antmoose, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons In his recent Classical Inquiries posting, Gregory Nagy argues that “the capacity of ancient Greek poetry to imitate,… Read more
Mosaic showing theatrical masks of comedy and tragedy, from the Baths of Decius on the Aventine Hill, Rome, 2nd century CE. [image by antmoose, CC BY 2.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons In his recent Classical Inquiries posting, Gregory Nagy argues that “the capacity of ancient Greek poetry to imitate, in… Read more
"What happens if the occasion for performing a given genre of song becomes obsolete?" Gregory Nagy considers this question in his recent article on Classical Inquiries: "Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited—with special reference to the 'newest Sappho'.” (2015.10.1) Drawing on the songs of Sappho and the modern lyrics of Lesley Gore, Nagy argues that genre can compensate for, and even absolutize, the occasion of performance. For Nagy, the occasion of choral… Read more
"What happens if the occasion for performing a given genre of song becomes obsolete?" Gregory Nagy considers this question in his recent article on Classical Inquiries: "Genre, Occasion, and Choral Mimesis Revisited—with special reference to the 'newest Sappho'.” (2015.10.1) Drawing on the songs of Sappho and the modern lyrics of Lesley Gore, Nagy argues that genre can compensate for, and even absolutize, the occasion of performance. For Nagy, the occasion of choral… Read more
