A skolion (from ) (pl. skolia), also scolion (pl. scolia), was a song sung by invited guests at banquets in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically r ...

. Often extolling the virtues of the gods or heroic men, skolia were improvised to suit the occasion and accompanied by a

lyre The lyre () (from Greek λύρα and Latin ''lyra)'' is a string instrument, stringed musical instrument that is classified by Hornbostel–Sachs as a member of the History of lute-family instruments, lute family of instruments. In organology, a ...

, which was handed about from singer to singer as the time for each scolion came around. "Capping" verses were exchanged, "by varying, punning, riddling, or cleverly modifying" the previous contribution.

Etymology

Although Greek folk etymology connects skolion with δύσκολος 'difficult', the likeliest connection is with σκέλος 'bent limb, part' as joined verse or repartee. This use is comparable to Japanese

renga ''Renga'' (, ''linked poem'') is a genre of Japanese collaborative poetry in which alternating stanzas, or ''ku (''句), of 5-7-5 and 7-7 morae (sound units, not to be confused with syllables) per line are linked in succession by multiple poets ...

'linked verse'.

Background

Skolia are often referred to as 'banquet songs', 'convivial songs", or 'drinking songs'. The term also refers to poetry composed in the same form. In later use, the form was used in a more stately manner for chorus poetry in praise of the gods or heroes.

Terpander Terpander ( ''Terpandros''), of Antissa in Lesbos Island, Lesbos, was a Ancient Greece, Greek poet and citharede who lived about the first half of the 7th century BC. He was the father of Greek music and through it, of lyric poetry, although his o ...

is said to have been the inventor of this poetic form, although that is doubtful. Instead, he may have adapted it for musical accompaniment. That these skolia were written, not only by poets like Alcaeus,

Anacreon Anacreon ( BC) was an Ancient Greek lyric poet, notable for his drinking songs and erotic poems. Later Greeks included him in the canonical list of Nine Lyric Poets. Anacreon wrote all of his poetry in the ancient Ionic dialect. Like all early ...

, Praxilla,

Simonides Simonides of Ceos (; ; c. 556 – 468 BC) was a Greek lyric poet, born in Ioulis on Kea (island), Ceos. The scholars of Hellenistic Alexandria included him in the canonical list of the nine lyric poets esteemed by them as worthy of criti ...

, but also by

Sappho Sappho (; ''Sapphṓ'' ; Aeolic Greek ''Psápphō''; ) was an Ancient Greek poet from Eresos or Mytilene on the island of Lesbos. Sappho is known for her lyric poetry, written to be sung while accompanied by music. In ancient times, Sapph ...

and by

Pindar Pindar (; ; ; ) was an Greek lyric, Ancient Greek lyric poet from Thebes, Greece, Thebes. Of the Western canon, canonical nine lyric poets of ancient Greece, his work is the best preserved. Quintilian wrote, "Of the nine lyric poets, Pindar i ...

, shows in what high esteem skolia were held by the Greeks. "The gods of Olympos sang at their banquets". The Epitaph of Seikilos, dated to the first century AD, found with the original music in the ancient Greek notation, is the oldest complete example of ancient Greek music. Although often referred to as a skolion, its context as a short tombstone inscription scarcely suggests such a characterisation. It is, rather, an epigram. The confusion about this piece in modern scholarship is due to the association made by the scholiast to Plato's ''Gorgias'' 451e between the epigram and the skolion.

Other uses

* At

Balliol College Balliol College () is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded in 1263 by nobleman John I de Balliol, it has a claim to be the oldest college in Oxford and the English-speaking world. With a governing body of a master and ar ...

, Oxford, the "Skoliasts" are the undergraduate Classics society.

Sources

* Richard Reitzenstein, ''Epigramm und Skolion, Ein Beitrag zur Geschichte der Alexandrinischen Dichtung.'' Giessen (1893); Olms, Hildesheim (1970). *

Herbert Weir Smyth Herbert Weir Smyth (August 8, 1857 – July 16, 1937) was an American classical scholar. His comprehensive grammar of Ancient Greek has become a standard reference on the subject in English, comparable to that of William Watson Goodwin, whom h ...

, ''Greek Melic Poets,'' (1900); New York, Biblo and Tannen (1963)
Gregory Jones, "Non-Elite Origins of the Attic Skolia and the Birth of Democracy", ''Abstracts of Papers for the Annual Meeting,'' American Philological Association (APA) (2005)
* Elena Fabbro, Carmina Convivalia Attica, Rome 1995

External links

* {{Ancient Greece topics Poetic forms

Etymology

Background

Other uses

See also

Sources

External links