Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece: Their Morphology, Religous Role, and Social Functions

by Claude Calame, Derek Collins, Janice Orion

Overview

In this groundbreaking work, Claude Calame argues that the songs sung by choruses of young girls in ancient Greek poetry are more than literary texts; rather, they functioned as initiatory rituals in Greek cult practices. Using semiotic and anthropologic theory, Calame reconstructs the religious and social institutions surrounding the songs, demonstrating their function in an aesthetic education that permitted the young girls to achieve the stature of womanhood and to be integrated into the adult civic community. This first English edition includes an updated bibliography.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780742515253
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	06/06/2001
Series:	Greek Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches
Edition description:	New and Revised
Pages:	304
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.67(d)
Lexile:	1390L (what's this?)

About the Author

Claude Calame is professor of Greek language and literature at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland.

Editorial Reviews

Originally published in 1977, this book describes the age and sex characteristics of chorus members, their organization, and their activity, with emphasis on their participation in Non-Spartan rituals and Lacedaemonian rituals. The pedagogical and initiation functions of the chorus are examined in detail, and homoerotic relationships in the lyric chorus are considered. Calame teaches Greek language and literature at the University of Lausanne. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

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