| Abstract |
"This book is a study of the ways in which Kallimachos used hymns praising the Olympian gods to shape a political discourse on kingship emerging in the Hellenistic world. In it, I investigate how the poet crafts compelling new portrayals of the gods that refigure the politics of the divine family. In the new political order he depicts, Kallimachos virtually eliminates the harmful strife traditionally associated with these figures, reframing the gods as good kings and queens within the idiom of contemporary politics. Not only does Kallimachos depict these gods as pro-dynastic exemplars of good governance, but he also engages his audience in discourses on the nature of power, just rule, reciprocity, transgression and punishment, as well as the roles of kings, queens, and poets. In dialogue with a range of literary texts from the Archaic, Classical, and indeed contemporary periods, Kallimachos renegotiates the political dynamics of the Olympian gods who serve as paradigms for his ideology. I argue that this "new politics of Olympos" constitutes Kallimachos' effort to shape the political discourse emerging within and between the courts of Hellenistic superpowers. His hymns for the gods define what is praiseworthy and set the agenda for a conversation about power at the dawning of a new political phenomenon-Hellenistic kingship. I close the book with a brief overview of Kallimachos' political ideology in the Hymns, the rhetorical strategies he employs, and the inter- and intratextual dynamics that draw readers of the poetry book into a larger discussion on power, authority, and just rule. Finally, I offer some speculations on the persuasive effect of praise on a potential Ptolemaic reader for whom the poetry book might serve as an education in and inducement to good kingship"-- Provided by publisher. |
