Solon and Early Greek Poetry: The Politics of Exhortation

Cambridge Classical Studies

by Elizabeth Irwin

Examining the interaction between poetics and politics in ancient Greece's archaic period, in relationship to the work of Solon, this volume argues that, in general, the political expressions of martial exhortation elegy were aristocratic in nature and that the symposiasts attempted to assert a heroic identity on the wider polis community. The study demonstrates how Solon's poetry subverts this practice, using the poetic traditions of epic and Hesiod to further different political aims. It concludes by looking beyond the confines of Solon's poetic appropriations to argue for other influences on his poetry, in particular that of tyranny.

366 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005