From debruces@teleline.es Sun Apr 30 04:29:29 2000 Received: from mxu4.u.washington.edu (mxu4.u.washington.edu [140.142.33.8]) by lists.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW99.09/8.9.3+UW99.09) with ESMTP id EAA15998 for ; Sun, 30 Apr 2000 04:29:29 -0700 Received: from tsmtp1.mail.isp (mailhost.teleline.es [195.235.113.141] (may be forged)) by mxu4.u.washington.edu (8.9.3+UW00.02/8.9.3+UW99.09) with ESMTP id EAA13549 for ; Sun, 30 Apr 2000 04:29:27 -0700 Received: from teleline.es ([195.235.37.62]) by tsmtp1.mail.isp (Netscape Messaging Server 4.1) with ESMTP id FTTUHF07.K03 for ; Sun, 30 Apr 2000 13:27:15 +0200 Message-ID: <390C1819.E4FDDB8F@teleline.es> Date: Sun, 30 Apr 2000 12:25:13 +0100 From: "Luis H. Aguilar Polo" X-Mailer: Mozilla 4.05 [en] (Win95; I) MIME-Version: 1.0 To: classics@u.washington.edu Subject: Re: New in this list and a question about the Paean References: <4.3.1.0.20000424123309.00ac8700@idirect.com> <39049B3C.8BD71527@teleline.es> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit I guess my previous post introducing myself and about Paean passed unnoticed or something but well, I will paste here a response from a teacher of the University of Sydney to a request of me about this same matter I made him by direct email in case it helps someone, if anyone wants to answer my other questions it would be highly apreciated as if someone knows of online resources to learn Ancient Doric Greek: >Dear M. Aguilar Polo: >I don't believe that we have the text of any Paeans. However we do have >some information on them. C M Bowra in the 1st edition of the *Oxford >Classical Dictionary* lists four types of Paean beside the initial prayer >to the healing god: its military use; before commencing the drinking at a >symposium; before important occasions such as making peace, and Paeans to >individuals such as Lysander or Flamininus and to other gods, such as Zeus >or Asclepius. >The last category must have differed from other Paeans, and one would >expect that different words were used at a symposium than before a battle >charge. but as the Paean was sung in chorus by non-professionals, the words >were probably the same for any one type of occasion within the one >community. >All Paeans were apparently constructed round the words *Ie Paian* ("Hail >Paian!). This could vary - the god's name is not the same in all Greek >dialects. However, Liddel and Scott show that Athenian writers use the >Doric form of the god's name, Paean, not the Ionian Paeon (epic is Paeeon), >so the basic element of the Paean would have been the same in Athens and >Sparta. I don't think that more than that is known. >I hope this is of some help to you, Luis H. Aguilar Polo wrote: > Hi everyone: > > I am Luis Heliodoro Aguilar from Madrid but living in the middle of the > Atlantic right now, I have been since kid interested in Classics but more > specifically in Ancient/Classical Greece and Sparta, I am not a teacher nor > a graduate student, just a very interested individual in all concerning my > background and our western civilization. > > By the way, I have been always told Heliodoro...the Castillian morphing of > the Greek Heliodorus meant "gift of the sun"... is it right? (I don't know > Ancient Greek or Latin). > > One of my present quests is to know as much as I can find about the Paean, > that song ancient greeks used before battle, in dramatic times, after a > seer had oversee future etc... > > All I know about it to date is that it sounded something like Io Paean! Io > Paean! > > I have found these remarks on the matter: > > Paean: > A Greek god of healing and regarded as the physician to the other gods. He > is often identified with other gods (among which Apollo, Asclepius, > Dionysus, Zeus) in their roles as healers and protectors against illness > and misfortune. Paean emerged as an independent deity in later Greek > literature. A paean is also a hymn in honor of Apollo, in which he, as > healer, is glorified and praised. > > Paean was a minor deity of the ancient Greeks and something to do with well > being and protection so I gather the idea of the song was something like > telling to the gods.... Take care of me! before begining a fight... > > Paean is also the name of a hymn dedicated to Apollo or other ill-averting > gods. Such hymns were written, for instance, by the Greek poet Pindaros > (518-438 BC). > > Also I have read somewhere, that Spartans didn't sang the Paean or had > their own song before battle... , anyone can help clearing the turmoil I > have about it all on my head? > > My center drive here is to clear my mind as for example the Paean the > Athenians/Plataians sang before begining the onslaught at Marathon in 490 > BC had any parallel as for example at Thermopylai ten years later by the > Spartans commanded by Leonidas... I guess the other city-state troops of > the greek contingent there, Thespians, Phocians, Thebans etc....may have > sang it but what about the 301? > > Talking about Thermopylai..... is there any record written that Xerxes Army > used chariots against the combined Hellas detachment? I have seen none in > the only account of it I have read (Herodotus) if I remember well ... > > LHAP > Canaries > Spain Thanks in advance. LHAP Canaries Spain .