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ROMANCING THE STONES : The Romantic Poetry of the Ancient Greeks

© Lynne Remick

"I am an apple thrown to you for love. Nod yes, Xanthippe. You and I, though sweet, are not to last. Plato, 4th Century BC

Walking over the dry, brown earth of the Athens Acropolis in present-day Greece, I thought of myself as a tourist and a student of history. Much to my poetic delight, I found that my feet were traveling over land where some of the world's first romantic poets once walked.

Of all the various forms of art that have graced times, Poetry is one of the oldest and most widespread. Although poems have evolved constantly through the centuries and are sometimes diverse in form, content and technique, the true intention these artistic expressions have not changed. As always, poetry chronicles the changing countenance of man, and the changing face of time and has fossilized the concerns of people since the beginning of human existence.

Romance has been a constant, universal theme in poetry as far back as the civilizations that have existed before Christ. Odes, elegies, hymns, narrative verse and lyric poetry are all said to have originated from these times.

Some of the inspiration for the Greek contributions to these poetry forms lay right at my feet, in the crumbling stones of Classical Grecian temples built to honor mythological gods and goddesses. Impassioned verse outlining what poets believed to be the romantic struggles and love affairs of deities such as Zeus, Hera, Apollo, Aphrodite, Hyacinthus, and others still survive today.

Lyric poetry, which is also believed to have originated in Ancient Greece, often chronicles a passionate moment, or at least provides insights on life themes such as truth, love, beauty, friendships and loss. The Greeks' lyric poetry is often harmonious and rhythmic, in addition to being considered heartfelt songs of the soul.

Among Greece's glorious ruins, there stands only a sliver of life as it once appeared in antiquity. Yet, thankfully, what I could not see with my eyes, I would be able to hear in the words of poets like Homer, 8th Century BC; Sappho, 7th Century BC; Archilochos, 7th Century BC; Ibykos, 6th Century BC; Simonides, 5th Century BC; Plato, 4th Century BC; Sophocles, 4th Century BC; Kallimachos, 3rd Century BC; Theokritos, 3rd Century BC; Meleagros, 3rd Century BC; Leonidas of Tarentum, 3rd Century BC; Zonas, 1st Century BC; Philodemos, 1st Century BC; Meleagros, 1st Century BC; and Satyrus, 2nd Century AD, to name a few.

Homer's epic poetry often had sub-themes of love and romance,

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