Ancient Greek poetry, even at its most sophisticated, presupposed a degree of familiarity with, and assimilation of, many more elementary types of song. The continuous if uneven interplay between high-flown literature and sub-literary popular oral song types cannot be underestimated in any account of ancient Greek poetry.
John Petropoulos discusses the features of ancient Greek poetry, particularly amatory poetry, that can be attributed to the influence of popular song and, conversely, looks at how 'higher' poetry affected 'lower' genres in antiquity and medieval times. He goes on to...
Ancient Greek poetry, even at its most sophisticated, presupposed a degree of familiarity with, and assimilation of, many more elementary types of ...
