Corinna 377142 225504401 2008-07-14T01:17:35Z 201.75.182.158 {{Seealso|Corinna (disambiguation)}} '''Corinna''' (or Korinna) was an [[Ancient Greece|Ancient Greek]] [[poet]], traditionally attributed to the [[6th century BC]]. According to ancient sources such as [[Plutarch]] and [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]], she came from [[Tanagra]] in [[Boeotia]], where she a teacher and rival to the better-known [[Thebes (Greece)|Theban]] poet [[Pindar]]. Although two of her poems survive in [[epitome]], most of her work is preserved in 2nd century BC papyrus fragments. ==Traditional biography== Corinna's birthdate is unknown, but it is suspected that she was born in the month of May. If Pindar was indeed her pupil, it may be assumed that she was born some years earlier than his birthdate of [[522 BC]]. Some writers, however, place her in the 5th or 4th century BC. [[Pausanias (geographer)|Pausanias]] says she won a poetry competition against Pindar in honour of which she had a monument erected to her. According to his opinion, her success was probably chiefly due to her beauty and her use of the local Boeotian dialect, as opposed to the Doric of Pindar's poems. [[Aelian]] says said she defeated Pindar five times, and in response to these defeats, Pindar called her a sow. [[Antipater of Thessalonica]] lists her in his catalogue of nine mortal [[muse]]s. Corinna wrote choral [[lyric poetry]] for celebrations in the Boeotian dialect of [[Greek language|Greek]]. It is said that she criticised Pindar for introducing [[Atticism]]s into his poems. Unlike Pindar, she focused on local myths, and drew parallels between the world of mythology and ordinary human behaviour. The outlines of two of her poems survive. ''Minouaie'' (The Daughters of Minyas), tells of the three adult daughters of [[Minyas (mythology)|King Minyas]] of [[Orchomenus (Boeotia)|Orchomenus]]: Leukippe, Arsippe, and Alkathoe. ''Koronaie'' (The Shuttle Maidens), tells of [[Orion (mythology)|Orion]]'s two daughters [[Menippe and Metioche]], who cut their throats with their shuttle, "accepting death for their neighbours' sake". ==Modern scholarship== Many modern scholars have challenged the traditional assertion that Corinna was a contemporary of Pindar, and claim a much later date for her. Citing the Boeotian orthography of her surviving fragments, David Campbell, who edited a modern version of her fragments, argues that she lived about [[200 BC]], and that her traditional biography, replete with contradictory accounts of her character, emerged as legend at a much later date. Other classicists, including [[Peter Levi]], also claim a later date for her, based on her mythological references, which are from a later date, and the absence of any contemporary accounts corroborating her victory over Pindar. Furthermore, the earliest known fragments of her work date from the [[2nd century BC]], in keeping with other evidence about when she actually lived. ==A fragment of Corinna's poetry== {|class="wikitable" |ἐπί με Τερψιχόρα [ <br> καλὰ Ϝεροῖ’ ἀισομ[έναν<br> Ταναγρίδεσσι λε[υκοπέπλυς<br>μέγα δ’ ἐμῆς γέγ[αθε πόλις<br>λιγουροκω[τί]λυ[ς ἐνοπῆς. (fr. 2) |''[[Terpsichore]] [told] me<br> '' ''lovely old tales to sing<br> '' ''to the white-robed women of Tanagra<br> '' ''and the city delighted greatly<br> '' ''in my voice, clear as the swallow's. '' |- |} ==Editions== *T. Bergk, ''Poetae Lyrici Graeci'', Leipzig 1882, III 543 ff. *W. Crönert, ''Corinnae quae supersunt'', Rheinisches Museum 63 (1908), 161 ff. *[[Denys Page|D.L. Page]], ''Poetae melici Graeci''. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1962 (repr. 1967). ==References== *Allen, Archibald; Jiri, Frel, ''A Date for Corinna'', CJ 68 (l972), 26-30 * Campbell, David A. ''Greek Lyric Poetry IV: Bacchylides, Corinna, and Others''. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1992. *W. J. Henderson, ''Corinna of Tanagra on Poetry'', AClass 38 (1995), 29-42 * [[Michael Schmidt (poet)|Schmidt, Michael]]. ''The First Poets: Lives of the Ancient Greek Poets''. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, 2005, pp. 253-259. (ISBN 0-375-41120-8) *Snyder, Jane: "Korinna's Glorious Songs of Heroes", Eranos 82 (l984), 1-10 *Marilyn B. Skinner, [http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0732-7730%28198321%292%3A1%3C9%3ACOTAHA%3E2.0.CO%3B2-U "Corinna of Tanagra and Her Audience"]., Tulsa Studies in Women's Literature (1983). [[JSTOR link]]. *[http://www.ancientlibrary.com/smith-bio/0861.html Entry] from Smith's ''[[Dictionary of Greek and Roman Biography and Mythology]]'' *West, Martin L.: "Corinna", CQ 29 (1970), 277-287 *West, Martin L., "Dating Corinna", CQ 40 (1990), 553-557 == External links == *[http://www.bartleby.com/41/548.html 'Corinna to Tanagra, from Athens'] by [[Walter Savage Landor]] (1775–1864) [[Category:Ancient Greek poets]] [[Category:Ancient Greek women writers]] [[Category:Lyric poets]] [[Category:Ancient Boeotians]] [[Category:Year of birth unknown]] [[Category:Year of death unknown]] [[Category:6th century BC births]] [[Category:6th century BC deaths]] [[de:Korinna]] [[es:Corina]] [[hu:Korinna (költőnő)]] [[sr:Корина]] [[fi:Korinna]] [[pt:Corina]] [[sv:Korinna]] [[ru:Коринна]]