Choral Constructions in Greek Culture The Idea of the Chorus in the Poetry, Art and Social Practices of the Archaic and Early Classical Period

Why did the Greeks of the archaic and early Classical period join in choruses that sang and danced on public and private occasions? This book offers a wide-ranging exploration of representations of chorality in the poetry, art and material remains of early Greece in order to demonstrate the centrality of the activity in the social, religious and technological practices of individuals and communities. Moving from a consideration of choral archetypes, among them cauldrons, columns, Gorgons, ships and halcyons, the discussion then turns to an investigation of how participation in choral song and dance shaped communal experience and interacted with a variety of disparate spheres that include weaving, cataloguing, temple architecture and inscribing. The study ends with a treatment of the role of choral activity in generating epiphanies and allowing viewers and participants access to realms that typically lie beyond their perception.

List of Illustrations; Preface and Acknowledgements; Introduction; 1. Choreia at the Forge: Tripod Cauldrons, Golden Maidens and the Choral Dancers on Achilles' Shield in Iliad 18; 2. From the Demonic to the Divine: Gorgons, Cauldrons and Choral Dance; 3. Flying with the Birds: Avian Choreia and Bird Choruses in Art and Text; 4. The Carnival of the Animals: Dancing in Herds; 5. Water Music: Nymphs, Ships and Choral Aquatics; 6. A Chorus of Columns: Pindar's Agalmata and the Architectural Chorus; 7. Choral Fabrications: Weaving, Cloth-Making and Choral Song and Dance; 8. Choreography: Choreia and Alphabetic Writing; 9. Girls in Lines: Catalogues and Choruses; 10. Choral Envisioning: Archaic and Early Classical Choral Lyric and Post-classical Accounts of Enargeia; Bibliography; Index.

Deborah Tarn Steiner is the John Jay Professor of Greek in the Classics Department of Columbia University; her work focuses on archaic and early Classical Greek poetry, art and architecture and treats intersections between the different media. Earlier publications include articles on lyric poetry and archaic artefacts and books on metaphor in Pindar, myths and images of writing in early Greece, representations of sculpted images in Greek poets, philosophers and prose writers and a commentary on two books of the Odyssey.