Martial elegy and performance

Abstract

This work consists in a brief exam of academical studies which assume the aristocratic symposion as an exclusive occasion for early greek elegies' performance. It also considers historical evidence about the reception of Tyrtaeus' poetry and the presence of military topics in typical symposion environment. Therefore, this paper raises preliminary conjectures for a different comprehension on martial exhortative elegy, along with the inspection of relations among this poetry, its context, and its formal and thematic resemblances with epic texts.