Μεσομήδης

Mesomedes

Translated by Ioannis Doukas14 May 2007Vetting: high7 revisions

6 notes · 82 words
Of Crete, a lyric poet, lived in the time of Hadrian,1 whose freedman he was and a very special friend. Accordingly he wrote in praise of Antinous, who was Hadrian's boy-friend;2 [he also wrote] various other songs.
"When Antoninus3 searched for the monument of Sulla4 and repaired it, he raised a cenotaph for Mesomedes who had written citharoedic nomoi;5 for the one [i.e. Mesomedes] because he was learning to play the kithara; for the other [i.e. Sulla] because he esteemed his cruelty."6

Greek original · Adler’s text

Μεσομήδης, Κρής, λυρικός, γεγονὼς ἐπὶ τῶν Ἀδριανοῦ χρόνων, ἀπελεύθερος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν τοῖς μάλιστα φίλος. γράφει οὖν εἰς Ἀντίνοον ἔπαινον, ὃς ἦν Ἀδριανοῦ παιδικά· καὶ ἄλλα διάφορα μέλη. ὅτι Ἀντωνῖνος τὸ τοῦ Σύλλου μνημεῖον ἀναζητήσας ἐπεσκεύασε, τῷ τε Μεσομήδει τῷ τοὺς κιθαρῳδικοὺς νόμους γράψαντι κενοτάφιον ἔχωσε· τῷ μὲν ὅτι καὶ κιθαρῳδεῖν ἐμάνθανεν· ἐκείνῳ δὲ ὅτι τὴν ὠμότητα αὐτοῦ ἐζήλου.

Betacode
*mesomh/dhs, *krh/s, luriko/s, gegonw\s e)pi\ tw=n *)adrianou= xro/nwn, a)peleu/qeros au)tou= kai\ e)n toi=s ma/lista fi/los. gra/fei ou)=n ei)s *)anti/noon e)/painon, o(\s h)=n *)adrianou= paidika/: kai\ a)/lla dia/fora me/lh. o(/ti *)antwni=nos to\ tou= *su/llou mnhmei=on a)nazhth/sas e)peskeu/ase, tw=| te *mesomh/dei tw=| tou\s kiqarw|dikou\s no/mous gra/yanti kenota/fion e)/xwse: tw=| me\n o(/ti kai\ kiqarw|dei=n e)ma/nqanen: e)kei/nw| de\ o(/ti th\n w)mo/thta au)tou= e)zh/lou.

Notes (6)

  1. Besides the specialised bibliography listed below, see generally Nicholas Horsfall in OCD(4) s.v.
    Mesomedes’ extant works include six Hymns (in honour of the Muse, the Sun, Nemesis, Mother Nature, Isis, and the Adriatic sea), three Descriptions (e)kfra/seis: two of a sundial, one of a sponge), two beast-related Songs (To a swan and To a mosquito) and two Epigrams in the Greek Anthology (14.63, 16.323). As well as the bibliography below see also the website for Ancient Greek Music at the Commission for Ancient Literature of the Austrian Academy of Sciences (web address 1), which includes sound files of Mesomedes’ extant fragments. See also M.L. West, Ancient Greek Music (Oxford 1992) 280-281, 303-308.
  2. 1Roman emperor 117-138 (alpha 527). ↩
  3. 2See under alpha 527, nu 518, pi 858. ↩
  4. 3a.k.a. Caracalla, Roman emperor 211-217 (alpha 2762). ↩
  5. 4sigma 1337. ↩
  6. 5See generally nu 473. ↩
  7. 6This material = Cassius Dio 77.13.7. ↩

References


Bowie, E.L., 'Greek Poetry in the Antonine Age', in Russell D.A., Antonine Literature, Oxford 1990, pp. 53-90 (pp. 85-90 on Mesomedes)
Heitsch, E. (ed.), Die griechischen Dichterfragmente der römischen Kaiserzeit, I, Göttingen 1961, pp. 24-32
Phillips, B., 'Greek Music', The Musical Quarterly 5.4 (1919) pp. 578-613
Pöhlmann, E., Denkmäler altgriechischer Musik, Nuremberg 1970
Vetter, W., 'Mesomedes, Kitharöde des 2. Jahrhunderts n. Chr. aus Kreta', RE XV 1 (1931) p.1103
Whitmarsh, T., 'The Cretan lyre paradox: Mesomedes, Hadrian and the poetics of patronage', in Borg B. (ed.), Paideia: the world of the second sophistic, Berlin 2004, pp. 377-402
Winnington-Ingram, R.P., 'Ancient Greek Music: A Survey', Music & Letters 10.4 (1929) pp. 326-345

External resources

Linked from2 entries

Neighbouring entries

μ666Μεσόδμηtie-beam, supporting beamμ667Μεσολαβηθείςcut short, interruptedμ668ΜεσομήδηςMesomedesμ669Μέσονmean, middle termμ670Μεσορῶνbeing mid-boundary (?)
Revision history7 revisions · last 18 May 2016
  1. coding — David Whitehead
  2. coding — Catharine Roth
  3. Revised — David Whitehead
  4. another keyword; tweaking — David Whitehead
  5. augmented primary note — David Whitehead
  6. betacode cosmeticule — Catharine Roth
  7. augmented notes; modified keywords; tweaks and cosmetics — David Whitehead
  8. Translated — Ioannis Doukas

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