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- Title
THE DIPYLON OINOCHOĒ AND ANCIENT GREEK DANCE AESTHETICS.
- Authors
Cullhed, Eric
- Abstract
This article asks what the graffito incised on the Dipylon oinochoē (IG I2 919, eighth century b.c.e.) reveals about the nature of the dance competition that it commemorates. Through a systematic analysis of the evaluative and descriptive meaning of the adjective ἀταλός and its cognates in early Greek epic, it is argued that a narrower definition compared to previous suggestions can be established. The word refers to the carefreeness that is specific to a child or young animal, and its uses typically imply a positive evaluation which is connected not only to the well-being that this carefreeness entails but also to the positive emotion of tenderness and the sentiment of care that it engenders in a perceiver. It is concluded that, when used to specify the criterion by which a dance contest will be adjudicated, the term refers to an aesthetic property that is repeatedly praised in archaic Greek texts in other words: that of dancing with the adorable but short-lived carefree abandon of a child.
- Subjects
CLASSICISM; DANCE competitions; ABANDONED children; ANIMAL young; EMOTIONS
- Publication
Classical Quarterly, 2021, Vol 71, Issue 1, p22
- ISSN
0009-8388
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1017/S000983882100046X