Corinna orKorinna (Ancient Greek:Κόριννα,romanized: Korinna) was an ancientGreek lyric poet fromTanagra inBoeotia. Although ancient sources portray her as a contemporary ofPindar (bornc. 518 BC), not all modern scholars accept the accuracy of this tradition. When she lived has been the subject of much debate since the early twentieth century, proposed dates ranging from the beginning of the fifth century to the late third century BC.
Corinna's works survive only in fragments: three substantial sections of poems are preserved on second-century ADpapyri from Egypt; several shorter pieces survive in quotations by ancient grammarians. They focus on local Boeotianlegends, and are distinctive for their mythological innovations. Corinna's poetry often reworks well-known myths to include details not known from any other sources. Though respected in her hometown, Tanagra, and popular in ancient Rome, modern critics have often regarded her as parochial and dull; her poetry is nonetheless of interest as she is one of the few female poets from ancient Greece whose work survives.
Corinna was fromTanagra[a] inBoeotia.[4] TheSuda, a tenth-century encyclopedia, records that she was the daughter of Acheloodorus and Procratia, and was nicknamed Myia (Μυῖα, "the fly").[1] According to ancient tradition, she lived during the fifth century BC.[5] She was supposed to have been a contemporary ofPindar, either having taught him, or been a fellow-pupil ofMyrtis of Anthedon with him.[b][7] Corinna was said to have competed with Pindar, defeating him in at least one poetry competition, though some sources claim five.[c][7][9]
Since the early twentieth century, scholars have been divided over the accuracy of the traditional chronology of Corinna's life.[10] One of the first scholars to question this wasEdgar Lobel,[11] who in 1930 concluded that there is no reason to believe she predated theorthography used on the Berlin papyrus, on which fragments of two of her poems are preserved.[d][14] The debate over Corinna's date has dominated scholarship since,[15] and the evidence remains inconclusive.[16] Sceptics of the traditional chronology argue that there is no ancient mention of Corinna before the first century BC, and that the orthography of her surviving poetry was not established until after the mid-fourth century.[17] This is the most common view,[18] withMartin Litchfield West[19] andDavid A. Campbell[20] among those who believe a late date for Corinna. Campbell concludes that a third-century date is "almost certain".[21]
The alternative view, accepting the traditional fifth-century date, is set forth by scholars such as Archibald Allen andJiří Frel.[22] If the traditional date is correct, the lack of ancient reference to Corinna before the first century, and the later orthography, could both be explained by her being of only local interest before theHellenistic period. According to this theory, when she was rediscovered and popularised in the Hellenistic period her poetry would have been re-spelled into contemporary Boeotian orthography, as her original fifth-century orthography was too unfamiliar to a third-century audience.[23] An apparentterminus ante quem is established by the second-century AD theologianTatian, who says in hisAddress to the Greeks that the fourth-century BC sculptorSilanion made a portrait-statue of Corinna.[24] A Roman-era copy of a fourth-century statue in theMusée Vivenel inCompiègne, France, is identified by an inscription on the base as depicting Corinna, and is widely accepted by archeologists as a copy of Silanion's sculpture.[25] Philologists continue to regard this attribution with what Thea S. Thorsen describes as "unwarranted scepticism".[26] West, for instance, accepts that the Compiègne statuette is a copy of a fourth-century work, but suggests that it was not originally intended to depict Corinna, only gaining that association in the Roman period.[27] Thorsen argues that the sculpture was always intended as an image of Corinna, noting that the figure is shown with five scrolls that match the five books of poetry attributed to Corinna in antiquity.[26]
%2522_%2522WILLIAM_BRODIE%2522_from_-Sculptures_of_Andromeda%2c_the_Toilet_of_Atalanta%2c_Corinna%2c_and_a_Naiad-_MET_DP323119_(cropped).jpg)
Corinna, like Pindar, wrote chorallyric poetry – as demonstrated by her invocation ofTerpsichore, theMuse of dance and chorus, in one of her fragments.[28] According to theSuda, she wrote five books of poetry.[20] Her works were collected in a Boeotian edition in the late third or early second century BC, and later Hellenistic and Roman texts of Corinna derived from this.[29] This Boeotian edition was produced in a scholarly format, with titles for the poems; it may have also included accent marks andhypotheses, but is unlikely to have included line numbers.[30]
Corinna wrote in a literary dialect, which had features of herBoeotian vernacular,[31] along with similarities to the language of epic both in morphology and in her choice of words;[32] Daniel Berman describes it as "epic written as Boeotian".[e][35] If Corinna was a contemporary of Pindar, this use of the local vernacular as a literary language is archaic – though the earlier poetsAlcman andStesichorus wrote in literary dialects based on their own vernaculars, the fifth-century choral poets Pindar andBacchylides both wrote inDoric despite it not being their local dialect. On the other hand, if she is to be located closer to the Hellenistic period, parallels can be found in the poetry ofTheocritus, who also used features of his native dialect in theIdylls.[36]
About forty fragments of Corinna's poetry survive,[f] more than any ancient woman poet except forSappho,[38] though no complete poems of hers are known.[9] The three most substantial fragments are preserved on pieces of papyrus discovered inHermopolis andOxyrhynchus in Egypt, dating to the second century AD; many of the shorter fragments survive in citations by grammarians interested in Corinna's Boeotian dialect.[9]
Two fragments of Corinna's poetry are preserved on the same papyrus (P.Berol. 13284), now in the collection of theBerlin State Museums. Thefirst of these tells the story of a singing contest between the mountainsCithaeron andHelicon. The surviving portion includes the ending of one of the mountain's songs,[g] the gods voting on the winner of the contest, and the losing mountain, Helicon, throwing down a boulder in anger.[40] The second poem preserved on this papyrus tells of the daughters of the river-godAsopus. It mostly consists of a prophet, Acraephen, telling Asopus how his daughters were abducted by the gods, and that they will go on to give birth to many heroes; the papyrus ends with a highly fragmentary portion in which Asopus appears to be reconciled to his daughters' fate, and he responds "happily".[41] The third substantial fragment of Corinna's poetry, preserved on a papyrus in theSackler Library of the University of Oxford (P.Oxy. 2370), invokes the muse of dance and choral poetry, Terpsichore. It is usually thought to be from apartheneion, a kind of poem performed by a chorus of young women for a public occasion.[42] West suggests that it was written as an introductory poem for Corinna's collection.[43]
Corinna's language is clear, simple, and generally undecorated,[44] and she tends to use simplemetrical schemes.[4] Her poetry focuses more on the narrative than on intricate use of language.[45] Her use of lyric poetry to tell mythic narratives is similar to that of Stesichorus.[46] Corinna's poetry is often ironic or humorous in tone, in contrast with the serious tone of her Boeotian compatriot Pindar.[47]
Corinna's poetry is almost entirely concerned with myth.[48] According to a story recounted byPlutarch inOn the Glory of the Athenians, she considered myth the proper subject for poetry, rebuking Pindar for not paying sufficient attention to it.[49] Pindar was said to have responded to this criticism by filling his next ode with mythical allusions, leading Corinna to advise him, "Sow with the hand, not with the sack."[50] Corinna's poetry concentrates on local legends,[51] with poems aboutOrion,Oedipus, and theSeven against Thebes.[52] Her "Orestes"[h] is possibly an exception to her focus on Boeotian legends.[21] Her poetry often reworks mythological tradition[53] – according to Derek Collins, "the most distinctive feature of Corinna's poetry is her mythological innovation"[54] – frequently including details which are otherwise unknown.[55] These reworkings often present gods and heroes in a more positive light than in more common versions of the myths.[56]
Two of Corinna's most substantial fragments, the "Daughters of Asopus" and "Terpsichore" poems, demonstrate a strong interest in genealogy.[57] This genealogical focus is reminiscent of the works ofHesiod, especially theCatalogue of Women, though other lost genealogical poetry is known from the archaic period – for instance byAsius of Samos andEumelus of Corinth.[58] The third major surviving fragment of Corinna's poetry, on the contest between Mount Cithaeron and Mount Helicon, seems also to have been influenced by Hesiod, who also wrote an account of this myth.[59]
Marilyn B. Skinner argues that Corinna's poetry is part of the tradition of "women's poetry" in ancient Greece, though it differs significantly from Sappho's conception of that genre.[60] She considers that although it was written by a woman, Corinna's poetry tells stories from a patriarchal point of view,[60] describing women's lives from a masculine perspective.[61]Anne Klinck suggests that "a certain feminine irony is detectable" in Corinna's works,[62] and John Heath argues that in the "Terpsichore" poem Corinna deliberately emphasises her position as a woman poet.[63] Diane Rayor argues that although Corinna's poetry does not directly challenge patriarchal traditions, it is still "woman-identified", focusing on women's experiences and being written for a female audience.[64]
The circumstances in which Corinna's poetry was performed are uncertain, and have been the subject of much scholarly debate. At least some of her poetry was probably performed for a mixed-gender audience, though some may have been intended for a specifically female audience.[65] Skinner suggests that Corinna's songs were composed for performance by a chorus of young girls in religious festivals, and were related to the ancient genre ofpartheneia.[28] The poems may have been performed at cult celebrations in the places which appear in her poetry. Possible settings include the Mouseia atThespiae, proposed by West, and at the festival of theDaedala atPlataea, suggested by Gabriele Burzacchini.[66]
.jpg)
Corinna was well-regarded by the people of ancient Tanagra, her hometown.Pausanias reports that there was a monument to her in the streets of the town – probably a statue – and a painting of her in thegymnasium.[67] Tatian writes in hisAddress to the Greeks that Silanion had sculpted her.[i][24] In the earlyRoman Empire, Corinna's poetry was popular.[4] The earliest mention of Corinna is by the first-century BC poetAntipater of Thessalonica, who includes her in his selection of nine "mortal muses".[68]Ovid gives his lover the pseudonym Corinna in hisAmores, often believed to be a reference to the Tanagran poet.[69] She is also named byPropertius as a model for Cynthia, and byStatius along withCallimachus,Lycophron, andSophron.[70]Alexander Polyhistor wrote a commentary on her work,[71] and she was named as a tenthcanonical lyric poet in ascholion onDionysius Thrax.[72]
From the early modern period, the example of ancient Greek women writers has been used to legitimise the writing of modern women; Corinna has been invoked in this way byGaspara Stampa andMadeleine de Scudéry.[73] In the nineteenth century, Corinna was still remembered as a poetic authority,Karl Otfried Müller presenting her as a preeminent ancient poet and citing the stories of her competition against Pindar.[74] Modern critics have tended to dismiss Corinna's work, considering it dull.[75] For instance, West describes Corinna as more gifted than most local poets, but lacking the originality that would put her on the same level as Bacchylides or Pindar.[76] Athanassios Vergados argues that Corinna's poor reception among modern critics is due to her focus on local Boeotian traditions rather than broader subject matter, giving her a reputation ofparochialism and thus limited quality.[24] More recently, critics have begun to see Corinna's poetry as engaging with Panhellenic mythical and literary traditions, rewriting them to give Boeotian characters a more prominent role.[77] Corinna's work has also been of interest to feminist literary historians as one of the few extant examples of ancient Greek women's poetry.[4]
{{cite book}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
Works by or aboutCorinna atWikisource