Ptolemy of Cyrene

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Ptolemais of Cyrene ( Greek  Πτολεμαῒς ἡ Κυρηναία ) was an ancient Greek music theorist . Their lifespan, which cannot be determined more precisely, can be traced back to the period between the 3rd century BC. And the 1st century AD.

life and work

Apart from their origins in Cyrene , a Greek city in what is now Libya , nothing is known about the life of the Ptolemais. She is the only known ancient writer who wrote on music theory.

She wrote a textbook with the title "Pythagorean elementary theory of music" (Πυθαγορικὴ τῆς μουσικῆς στοιχείωσις Pythagorik tēs mousikḗs stoicheíōsis ). Only excerpts of these have survived, which the Neo-Platonist Porphyrios passed on in his commentary on Ptolemy's theory of harmony . From them it can be seen that the work was structured in the question-answer style.

The excerpts deal with the concept of the musical canon and its etymology , the subject of the science canonics ( harmonics ) named after it, and the relationship between theory and practice in music theory. Ptolemais differentiates between several positions or approaches, some of which are primarily based on an empirical musical finding, and others which put the main emphasis on mathematical conclusions:

  • the conception of Pythagoras and the Pythagoreans . This direction is initially based on perception and then formulates a theory on this basis, but later the theory is decoupled from perception and you stick to it even if it is no longer supported by empirical evidence. Then the perception is rejected as unreliable.
  • the position of a tendency of radical Pythagoreans who only accept "reason" ( logos ), that is, mathematical theory, and who do not accept perception as a criterion of truth at all, but regard it as irrelevant. They think that a rational system is in principle superior to all empirical evidence. Ptolemais accuses these theorists of inconsistency, because with them too the theory originally starts from perception, which they later forget.
  • the attitudes of practicing musicians who stick to perception and attach little or no importance to mathematical music theory.
  • the view of Aristoxenus , who accorded perception and theory equal weight. He is of the opinion that neither perception without rational interpretation enables understanding, nor can reason determine anything on its own, i.e. without perception as a starting point. No conclusion could be proved to be true if it did not agree with empirical evidence.
  • the opinion of some music theorists who orientate themselves on Aristoxenus. For them, perception is just as essential as theory, but these instances are not of equal value; rather, in the event of a conflict, perception has priority. It is not to be expected that the perceptions are always in accordance with the demands of the theory. The theory is only an aid to be used when necessary.

From Ptolemais' report on the various music-theoretical views it does not emerge that she herself belonged to a particular school. The title of her work suggests that she considered herself a Pythagorean, but her criticism of an overemphasis on mathematical theory at the expense of musical empiricism shows her rejection of radical variants of Pythagoreanism. Her sympathy is apparently the approach prevailing in the school of Aristoxenus.

Text editions and translations

  • Andrew Barker (Ed.): Greek Musical Writings. Volume 2: Harmonic and Acoustic Theory . Cambridge University Press, Cambridge 1989, ISBN 0-521-30220-X , pp. 239-242 (English translation of the fragments)
  • Ingemar Düring (ed.): Porphyrios, commentary on Ptolemy's theory of harmony . Olms, Hildesheim 1978 (reprint of the Göteborg 1932 edition), ISBN 3-487-06667-X , pp. 22–26 (critical edition of the Greek text of the fragments)

literature

  • Constantinos Macris: Ptolémaïs de Cyrène . In: Richard Goulet (Ed.): Dictionnaire des philosophes antiques , Volume 5, Part 2 (= V b), CNRS Éditions, Paris 2012, ISBN 978-2-271-07399-0 , pp. 1717-1718
  • Gabriella Moretti: Tolomeide di Cirene. Musicologa dell'antichità . In: Kleos. Volume 9, 2004, pp. 123–152 (with commentary on the fragments)
  • Eleonora Rocconi: Un manuale al femminile: l'Introduzione pitagorica alla musica di Tolemaide di Cirene . In: Maria Silvana Celentano (Ed.): Ars / Techne. Il manuale tecnico nelle civiltà greca e romana . Edizioni dell'Orso, Alessandria 2003, ISBN 88-7694-720-5 , pp. 99-114

Remarks

  1. ↑ For the chronological classification see Andrew Barker (Ed.): Greek Musical Writings , Vol. 2: Harmonic and Acoustic Theory , Cambridge 1989, p. 230; Eleonora Rocconi: Un manuale al femminile: l'Introduzione pitagorica alla musica di Tolemaide di Cirene . In: Maria Silvana Celentano (Ed.): Ars / Techne. Il manuale tecnico nelle civiltà greca e romana , Alessandria 2003, pp. 99–114, here: 100 f.
  2. ↑ Porphyrios, Commentary on Ptolemy's theory of harmony , ed. Ingemar Düring, Göteborg 1932, p. 22 line 22 - p. 24 line 6, p. 25 line 3 - p. 26 line 5 (with literal quotations from Ptolemais' work); see also p. 114 lines 4–21 (report on their views).
  3. ↑ Andrew Barker (Ed.): Greek Musical Writings , Vol. 2: Harmonic and Acoustic Theory , Cambridge 1989, p. 230.
  4. ↑ Andrew Barker (Ed.): Greek Musical Writings , Vol. 2: Harmonic and Acoustic Theory , Cambridge 1989, p. 230; Flora R. Levin: Greek Reflections on the Nature of Music. Cambridge 2009, pp. 253-264, 272-295.
personal data
SURNAME Ptolemy of Cyrene
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Πτολεμαῒς ἡ Κυρηναία (Greek)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION ancient Greek music theorist
DATE OF BIRTH between 3rd century BC BC and 1st century
DATE OF DEATH between 3rd century BC BC and 1st century