Breaking the Paradigm: Greek Poetry in the Roman Empire

When reconstructing the intellectual debates of the imperial era, scholars generally turn to the many prose texts from this period. While the presence of philosophical concepts in imperial poetry is acknowledged, the general assumption is that poetry is influenced by philosophy rather than actively contributing to the discussion.

An interesting aspect of Greek literature in the Roman period is the role of women in the poetic culture of the time. While more work remains to be done, important advancements have been made in understanding the importance of women poets in the Roman era (e.g. Hemelrijk 1999), and anthologies have made some women's poetry more accessible (e.g. Plant 2004).

This paper demonstrates that the trends in Greek imperial literature, which appreciated and emulated the classical style of Athenian prose (Whitmarsh 2005), was matched by a yet unrecognized poetic trend of paianic resurgence.

My paper offers an exploration of the role of music in the everyday life of the Roman Empire, an issue that remains surprisingly understudied. My focus is a case study illuminating both contexts and contents of imperial music: the fortune of Timotheus of Miletus among imperial musicians.