The Dipylon oinochoe and ancient greek dance aesthetics

• This article asks what the graffito incised on the Dipylon oinochoe (IG I-2 919, 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 alpha tau alpha lambda omicron zeta 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.

Ämnesord

HUMANIORA  -- Konst -- Scenkonst (hsv//swe)

HUMANITIES  -- Arts -- Performing Arts (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

dance

aesthetics

'thick' concepts

epigraphy

the Dipylon oinochoe

carefreeness

tenderness

Publikations- och innehållstyp

ref (ämneskategori)

art (ämneskategori)