From divine inspiration to eternal memory: the poet and poetry in Ancient Greece.

o poeta e a poesia na Grécia Antiga

Abstract

This article seeks to explore the importance of the poet and of poetry in Ancient Greece, highlighting the central relevance of this dyad in Hellenic society. The poet is understood as the transmitter of an entire archipelago of knowledge: foundational narratives, cultural values, and other categories of knowledge that provided individuals with their proper place within the community in which they were embedded. Poetry, in turn, is a specific method for structuring and disseminating cultural content, corresponding to the “how” of the poet, the means by which one enters the category of poets. By underscoring the role of poetry in the formation of Greek identity, as a tool that reflects and shapes the society’s worldview and ideals, we examine the nuances that define the poet and the poetic activity as channels of divine inspiration that crystallized judgments in the memory of archaic Greeks and, more broadly, in the shared cultural repertoire of humanity.