Arion of Lesbos
Arion of Lesbos ( Greek Ἀρίων ) was a Greek singer and poet in the 7th century BC. Chr.
Life
Arion of Lesbos came from Mithymna on Lesbos , but spent a large part of his life as an artist at the court of the tyrant Periander of Corinth (around 600 BC), where he achieved great fame and fortune.
Arion developed the dithyramb , originally part of the Dionysus cult , into a perfected art form, a choir with secular texts, from which Greek tragedy eventually developed. He is also considered the inventor of the cyclical choirs. None of the songs and poems that he is said to have written have survived.
myth
Little is known from the life of Arion except for a legend that Herodotus (I, 23 f.) Attributed to the singer first: In order to increase his reputation in foreign countries, Arion visited Sicily, where he became the acclaimed winner of a singing competition and joined Piled with riches on the way home.
His treasures aroused the envy of the sailors, who presented him with the choice of jumping overboard or being murdered. However, they granted his wish to sing one last song. When Arion started his song, a group of dolphins soon appeared at the ship, after which the singer plunged into the waves. One of the dolphins carried Arion on his back until he reached the country safely at Tainaron and was able to continue his journey home to Corinth. The criminal sailors awaited their punishment there, but a memorial was erected in honor of the dolphin. In some traditions the constellation dolphin was interpreted as Arion, riding a dolphin, which was brought to heaven by Apollon , the god of music.
literature
- Emmet Robbins: Arion. In: The New Pauly (DNP). Volume 1, Metzler, Stuttgart 1996, ISBN 3-476-01471-1 , Sp. 1083 f.
- Herbert David Brumble: Classical Myths and Legends in the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Greenwood Press, Westport 1998, ISBN 0-313-29451-8 , pp. 36-38.
- Otto Crusius : Arion 5 . In: Paulys Realencyclopadie der classischen Antiquity Science (RE). Volume II, 1, Stuttgart 1895, Col. 836-841.
Web links
- Photos of representations of Arion in the arts in the Warburg Institute Iconographic Database
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Arion of Lesbos |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Greek singer and poet |
DATE OF BIRTH | 7th century BC Chr. |
DATE OF DEATH | 7th century BC BC or 6th century BC Chr. |