Religion, Literature, Society: Greek & Roman Hymnic Traditions & the Performance of Community

In
 the
 ancient
 Greek
 and
 Roman
 world,
 entire
 cities
 participated
 in
 the
 performance
 of
 hymns
 during
 religious
 festivals.
 These
 “cultural”
 and
 civic
 events
 were
 commissioned
 by
 the
 city‐state,
 and
 the
 hymns,
 including
 song,
 music
 and
 dance, were
performed by
a
chorus
of
citizens.
The
genre
of
hymns
(songs
written
 for
the
gods)
was
at
the
crossroads
of
literature,
religion,
history
and
politics.
 Our
 seminar,
 “Greek
 and
 Roman
 hymnic
 traditions
 and
 the
 performance
 of
 community,”
will
discuss
the
interaction
of
these
different
fields
through
the
optic
of
 various
literary
texts.
Hymnic
production
proliferated
in
the
Greek
world,
especially
 in
 the
 archaic
 (VIII‐VI
 c.
 BCE)
 and
 classical
 period
 (V‐VI
 c.
 BCE),
 and
in
 Rome
 the
 poetry
 of
 Horace
 pioneered
 the
 literary
 expansion
 of
 archaic
 Greek
 hymn
 within
 Latin
literature. This
 project
 is
 a
 joint
 collaboration
 between
 the
 University
 of
 Lyon
 and
 Stanford
University,
with
meetings
to
be
held
in
December
2013
in
Lyon,
and
again
 in
April
2014
in
Stanford.