Iambe – From Lament To Obscenity: Rhythm and music in the Eleusinian myth and mysteries
Keywords:
Myth, metaphor, phenomenology, Iambe, music, rhythm, Eleusinian mysteries Greek myths – what stays alive in our culture, of the Greek lyric-existential idiom – are our fragile moorings to Being. It is by their light that we set out, it is they that first set down the similes, the metaphors, the lineaments of accord and of negation, by which we organise our inner lives.Abstract
The Homeric Hymn to Demeter formed the theme of one of the longest standing mysteries in the ancient world, the Eleusinian Mysteries. Demeter sets on a quest to find her daughter Persephone who, abducted by Hades, is violently taken to the underworld. An existential-phenomenological study of the myth reveals its importance as an ancient testimony to a journey of transformation of consciousness. It is at a crucial point that Iambe and her music completely change the narrative; her word and jest dramatically affect gods and humans alike.
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Published
2020-07-01
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Section
Articles
