The Idea of Iambos

The Idea of Iambos unfolds the history of iambos as a generic concept in ancient Greek literature. Through the comprehensive study of ancient testimonies, Andrea Rotstein accounts for a mismatch between narrow ancient definitions of iamboi as 'invective in iambic meters' and the traditional corpus of iambic poetry, which displays a variety of formal and thematic features (such as dramatic impersonation and dialogue along with narrative elements, parody, fables, paraenesis or moral exhortation, military, political, and scoptic content, and abuse of named individuals). Rotstein argues that from the Archaic to the Classical period there was a shift from a concept of literary class depending primarily on rhythm and on its archetypical representative, Archilochus, towards iambos as a genre defined mainly by invective as a dominant feature.

Rotstein places research on iambos in the framework of a new methodological approach to ancient genres based on the cognitive sciences, establishing the corpus of Greek Iambic poets both from ancient evidence and from the new methodological premises. She offers an unprecedented study of ancient theories of genres and the way they affected contemporary scholarship on iambos. She also examines the possibility of musical performance of iambic poetry as well as the various occasions of public performance; particularly at musical contests and rhapsodic recitals. Finally, Rotstein explores how invective became a dominant feature of iambos through the crystallization of Archilochus as prototype of invective poetry.

The Idea of Iambos is a long overdue study of the genre of Greek iambic poetry from the perspective provided by ancient testimonies. Andrea Rotstein places research on iambos in the framework of a new methodological approach to ancient genres based on the cognitive sciences, offering an unprecedented study of ancient theories of genres and the way they affected ancient scholarship. Rotstein also examines the possibility of musical performance of iambic poetry as well as the various occasions of public performance, particularly at musical contests and rhapsodic recitals. Finally, she argues that, from the Archaic to the Classical period, there was a shift from the notion of literary class depending primarily on rhythm and on its archetypical representative, Archilochus, towards iambos as a genre defined mainly by invective as its dominant feature.

Andrea Rotstein is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Classics, Tel Aviv University.