Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece

Claude Calame is Professor of Greek Language and Literature at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland. He is the author of several works translated into English, including Choruses of Young Women in Ancient Greece and The Craft of Poetic Speech in Ancient Greece. This current book, The Poetics of Eros in Ancient Greece, was originally published in Italian translation.

• List of Illustrations xi Foreword xiii Preface xvii Note on Translations xix List of Abbreviations xxi TRAGIC PRELUDE The Yoke of Eros 3 PART ONE: THE TOPICS OF EROS 11 CHAPTER I The Eros of the Melic Poets 13 1. The Actions of Bittersweet Eros 14 2. Physiologies of Erotic Desire 19 3. Strategies of Love 23 4. A Variety of Passions 29 5. Metaphors for the Assuaging of Desire 33 6. The Erotic Charms of Poetry 36 CHAPTER II The Eros of Epic Poetry 39 1. Scenes of Mutual Love 39 2. Scenes of Seduction 43 3. Beguiling Words 46 PART TWO: THE SYMBOLIC PRACTICES OF EROS 49 CHAPTER III The Pragmatic Effects of Love Poetry 51 1. The Erotic Functions of Melic Poetry 52 2. The Loves of Alexandrian Writers 56 CHAPTER IV The Pragmatics of Erotic Iconography 65 1. Figurative Representations of Love 65 2. The Functions of Erotic Images 72 PART THREE: EROS IN SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS 89 CHAPTER V Eros in the Masculine: The polis 91 1. The Propaedeutic Practices of the Symposium 93 2. Erotic Practices of the Palaestra 101 CHAPTER VI Eros in the Feminine: The Oikos 110 1. An Intermediate Status: The Hetaira at the Banquet 111 2. The Transition to Maturity: The Young Wife 116 CHAPTER VII Dionysiac Challenges to Love 130 1. The Institution of Comedy 133 2. The Institution of Tragedy 141 PART FOUR: THE SPACES OF EROS 151 CHAPTER VIII The Meadows and Gardens of Legend 153 1. Eroticized Meadows 154 2. The Orchards and Gardens of Aphrodite 157 3. Flowers, Fruits, and Cereals 160 CHAPTER IX The Meadows and Gardens of the Poets 165 1. The Metaphorical Spaces of Love 165 2. The Ideal Domains of the Gods 167 3. Religious Gardens 170 PART FIVE: THE METAPHYSICS OF EROS 175 CHAPTER X Eros as Demiurge and Philosopher 177 1. Eros as a Cosmogonic Principle 178 2. Erotic Forms of the Initiation to Beauty 181 3. Love as a Metaphysician 186 CHAPTER XI Mystic Eros 192 1. Eros in the Orphic Theogonies 193 2. The Mystic Aspects of Eros 195 ELEGIAC CODA Eros the Educator 198 Bibliography 201 Name Index 207 Subject Index 211