The Web of Song: Weaving Imagery in Homer and the Lyric Poets

Author(s): Jane McIntosh Snyder

Source: The Classical Journal, Vol. 76, No. 3 (Feb. - Mar., 1981), pp. 193-196
Published by: The Classical Association of the Middle West and South
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3297321
Accessed: 07-04-2015 14:11 UTC

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THE WEB OF SONG: WEAVING IMAGERYIN

HOMER AND THE LYRIC POETS
The weaving of cloth on an upright,warp-weightedloom was a fundamental
and familiarpartof Greek life from the earliest times. Unlike the now nearly
defunct, pale expressionsin modernEnglish that are derivedfrom the process
of spinning and weaving ("warp and woof," "spinster," "on the distaff
side," etc.), referencesto weaving in Greekliteraturehave an immediacyand
vividness which we should not overlook. This paper attemptsto demonstrate
that for several reasons weaving was closely linked in the Greek mind to
singing, and that this link led naturally to the Greek lyric poets' use of
metaphorsderivedfrom the art of weaving to describetheirown artas a "web
of song."I Indeed, Sappho, Pindar, and Bacchylides may all be said to have
conceived of theircraftas a processof "weaving" a patternedtapestryof song.
If we look closely at the connection between crafts and poetic activity-a
connection which is attestedin many Indo-Europeanlanguages-we find that
in the case of the Greeklyric poets the associationbetweenweaving andsinging
is attributableto three specific factors:2(1) the Homericbackgroundfor using
terms derived from weaving as metaphorsfor intellectualactivity, as well as
Homer's own association of literal weaving with song; (2) certain linguistic
associationsin the Greeklanguagebetween termsrelatedto weaving and terms
related to music; and (3) a phenomenon that has been largely overlooked
despite Aristotle's possible observation of it (Pol. 1253b 37), namely the
mechanicalparallelsbetween the weaver's loom andthe poet's lyre, thatis, between strikingthe "strings" of the loom with the shuttleand strikingthe strings
of the lyre with the plektron.
Of the twenty-seven passages in Homer in which references to weaving
occur, the majorityhave to do with workingat the loom as one of the standard
occupationsof women, as when HektorordersAndromacheto go back to her
loom and let men's business be the concern of men."A significantnumberof
1Forremarkablemodernparallelsfrom northernAfrica, see J. Harries, "Patternand Choice in
BerberWeavingandPoetry," in B. Lindfors,ed., FormsofFolklore in Africa: Narrative,Poetic,
Gnomic, Dramatic (Austin 1977) 175-187; the authorpoints out (178) that in Berberpoetry "the
poet and his metier are frequentlyrepresentedby images from weaving" and identifies several
structuralpatternsshared in common in the two Berber crafts.
2Fora discussion of Indo-Europeanverbs for poetic activity thatcontainthe notion "to prepare
with skill" (usually connected with blacksmithing, building, weaving or spinning), see M.
Durante, "Ricerche sulla preistoria della lingua poetica greca. La terminologia relativa alla
creazionepoetica," Attidella AccademiaNazionale dei Lincei (Classe di scienze morali, storiche,
critiche e filologiche) 15 (1960) 231-49. Furtherexamples of weaving terms as metaphorsfor
poetic creation(includingOld English wordcraeftwaef. "I wove the poetic art") are cited in R.
Schmitt, Dichtung und Dichtersprache in indogermanischerZeit (Wiesbaden 1967) 300-01.
11. 6.490-93 (cf. Od. 1.356-59 and 21.350-53). Otherexamples include Od. 7.103-111 and
13.107-09 as well as the many passages describing Penelope's weaving; 11. 1.29-32, 3.125-29,
6.456-58, 22.437-50, and 23.758-63. For furtherdiscussion of spinningand weaving in Homer,
see Alan J.B. Wace andFrankH. Stubbings,ed., A Companionto Homer (London 1962) 531-32.
For LinearB parallelsregardingthe notion of weaving as a strictly female occupation, see John

193
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194

JANEMCINTOSHSNYDER

the references in Homer, however, involve a metaphoricaluse of the verb

?(paivELv as a descriptionof an intellectualprocess: Odysseus and Menelaus

"weave" words and counsels; Odysseus, the suitors, Nestor, and others
"weave" stratagemsand wiles; Athena, the only female figure in Homer for
whom her weaving is not.aliteraloccupation,helps Odysseus "weave" wiles.
Penelope, thoughshe cannotachieve the statusof the androgynousAthena, is
nevertheless capable, through her literal weaving, of enjoying the "masculine" ability to weave stratagems.4
In additionto providingan abundanceof models for the metaphoricaluse of
weaving terms, Homeralso makes a direct, literalconnectionbetween singing
and weaving in a passage which describes Kalypso singing sweetly as she
works at her loom with a golden shuttle, as well as in three passages which
describe Circe weaving a great design while she sings a song.5 Thus, while
Homerhimself neveractuallydescribespoetic activityas analogousto weaving
at the loom, his frequentreferencesto metaphoricalandliteralweaving, as well
as his juxtapositionof actual weaving and singing, lay the foundationfor the
lyric poets' descriptionsof their own webs of song.
Besides the Homericbackground,two other sources of inspirationmust be
considered: the linguistic evidence for the association in the Greek mind
betweenweavinga cloth andsinging a song, andthe physicalparallelsbetween
Greek looms and Greek lyres. One of the most common Greek words for
"song," i3Lrvos, is found together with opaivELv in contexts which indicate

that the Greeks conceived of ivlkvo and 3o~pjas related words.6In addition,
another sort of linguistic connection is to be found in the verb KpdKELV
(literally, "to strike"), which is used to refer either to throwing the shuttle
throughthe warpof the loom or to strikingthe stringsof a lyre with a plektron.
The use of KpdKELVin the derived musical sense is especially common in
post-ArchaicGreekliterature,but (as notedbelow) appearsto occur as early as
Sappho.7
The notionof "weaving" uponthe stringsof a musical instrument,reflected
in the double sense of KpdKELV,is not particularlystartlingwhen we consider
World(Cambridge
1976)151-52,whopointsoutthattheKnossosand
Chadwick,TheMycenaean
Pylostabletsalwaysspeakof spinners,carders,andweaversas beingwomenworkers.
referencesto weavingoccurin 11. 3.211-13, 6.187-89, and 7.324-25;Od.
4Metaphorical
4.677-80,5.356-57,9.420-23, 13.303-07,and13.386-88.Penelope'swilesinvolvingweaving
arealludedto in Od. 2.93-95;2.104-09;15.512-17;19.138-40;and24.128-50.
50d. 5.59-62;10.220-23;10.226-28;and 10.254-55.
anteHomerum
1156;andE. Diehl,"Fuerunt
poetae,"Rh.Mus.89
6Cf.Frisk965;Chantraine
(1940)89. A similarconnectionbetweensingingandstitchingis suggestedin expressionslike
div terWV
.. . doL8oi(Pind.N. 2.2) anddoL~8o
"OL av~Iars
phropvLE,iv veapoiOpos
1aTriV(ps.-Hes.
see H.R. Fairclough,
fr. 265, Rzach).Fordiscussionof thetermlaiJc80S6q,
dot,8)v
in Studiesin Honorof
BetweenMusicandPoetryin EarlyGreekLiterature,"
"TheConnection
BasilL. Gildersleeve
(Baltimore1902)215.
7Thesameconnection
mayalsohavebeenfeltin Alkman'sKEpKOXhvpa (fr. 140PMG);Zonar.
whichhe saysis anonomatopoetic
representa1190explainsthewordasequivalent
to KpEKohXVpa,
tionof the soundof the kithara.Laterexamplesof the use of KpdKELV
as appliedto stringed
instruments
includeDion.Hal.7.72 andAnth.Pal. 9.584. Anextendeduseof KpEKELV
(referring
to theplayingof a windinstrument
maybefoundin Ar.
[ai3h6q]ratherthana stringedinstrument)
of theshuttlewithsongoccursinEur.Hec. 363,
illustration
of theassociation
Av. 682. Yetanother
KEpKiOq 4l; LVOLq.

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THEWEBOFSONG
195
the structuralsimilaritiesbetween looms and lyres. A Greekloom was a large,
uprightdevice, consistingof two posts anda crossbarat the top, fromwhich the
strandsof the warpwere suspendedandheld straightby weights attachedat the
bottom;a Greeklyre (of any one of several types) had two armsand a crossbar
to whichwere attachedthe instrument'sgut strings,held in placeby a fastenerat
the base of the soundbox.Furthermore,Attic vase paintingsreveal thatshuttles
for looms andplektrafor lyres were remarkablysimilar-looking,spoon-shaped
objects;this similarityof shapeandfunctionmay have been in Aristotle'smind
when, in discussingslaves in the contextof propertyandtools, he statesthat"if
shuttles wove of theirown accord and plektraplayed lyres all by themselves,
craftsmenwould not need assistants and masters would not need slaves.''8
In view of the close link in MycenaeanandHomericsociety betweenwomeh
and weaving, it is not surprisingthat a woman seems to have been the first
among extantwritersto apply the Homericmetaphorexplicitly to her own art,
the creation of song. While Sappho merely echoes Homer in describing
Aphroditeas 8oX67rhoKE(1.2 L-P), "weaver of wiles," she gives to Eros (fr.
188 L-P) a new epithet, vt9o67rXhoKo
("weaver of stories"). In anotherpoem,
fr. 99 L-P, one can decipher near the opening of the fragment the words
"to strike/weaveon the strings." Althoughwe cannot
XopatLL ...
be positive, due
to the poor state of preservationof the fragment, Sappho
Kpf.K)V,
appearsto be applying a term properto weaving to the playing of music on a
stringedinstrument;thatthe notion of throwingthe shuttlethroughthe warpis
still stronglyfelt in the verbKpEKELV
(at least in the Archaicperiod)is suggested
by its appearancein fr. 102 L-P in an unmistakablecontext:
YXIvK7aY.La7Ep, OVToL8 vVag.tL KpiK7)V WV UTOV,

7r6tWo8dgiEt4a 7ra 80o f3pa8ivav 81 'Appo8t&7av.

Sweet mother, I am not able to strike my loom [with the
shuttle],
Overwhelmedas I am by longing for a youth, because
of tender Aphrodite.
When we turn to Pindar, we find that the image of the poet as weaver has
clearly become an importantmeans of self-description. Nemean 4.44 says
, Kai r68' a '7rKa, p6poplty, "Weave out, sweet phoryhrXVKE
ES'vpaLvE,
out at once [this lovely melody]." Like Sappho, Pindar is
minx, weave
exploitingthe parallelsbetweenlyre andloom by applyinga termproperlyused
of weaving to the lyre thataccompanieshis ode andto the music it produces. In
Olympian 6.86-87 he speaks of himself in his work as a poet as dv8pdo-tv
aiptaTrato-tL

7TOLKLXOV
tVtvov,

"weaving a many-colored song for

"7TXKWV
men who wield
the spear," and similarly, in fr. 179 (Snell) he says of his task
w 7ToLKhov d&v&Yrta,
8' 'A/ytviaovi?8Lot
"I weave for the sons of
opaivo
Amythaon a many-coloredcrown [of poetry]." In Nemean 4. 94 he speaks
againof the relationshipbetween victor and bard, who musthimself undergoa
kind of contest in which he "wrestles in speech" while "weaving words,"
XEV.
BjLaccaara
7TK
Bacchylides, too, although he sometimes only echoes Homer's use of
8Arist. Pol. 1253 b 37. For a good illustrationof the loom and shuttle, see the black-figured
lekythos attributedto Amasis, N.Y. Met. 31.11.10 (Beazley, ABV 154, 688).

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1196
96

JANE
SNYDER
JANEMCINTOSH
MCINTOSHSNYDER

th
tto
o
rrefer
efer
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tthe
he
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les,
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1i,4rTttq
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ng
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o
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t
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t
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e
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e
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the
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Near
odes
(5.9-10)
VUpativEtv.9
vli3,uvot
ivot
beginning
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(5.9-10)
VpaivEtLv.9

aasks
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tthe
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ero
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to jjudge
aid
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f
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udge

his
hhas
as
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Graces
hat
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his
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orv
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orav
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oodes
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ffound
ound
tthe
he
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(19.
8-9),
(19.8-9),
openi
ng
opening
f
o
r
h
i
s
t
h
e
Muses
a
n
d
t
h
e
Graces
tthe
he
recei
v
ed
f
r
o
m
describes
for
his
the
Muses
and
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Graces
received
from
describes
songs
inspiration
songs
inspiration
word
is immediately
followed
aa waway
the
exhortain such
that
the
such
word
is
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exhortain
that
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immediately
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by
y
vjkvoo-ver
PkJtvotwTtv
tTL KatKatoVI
tion
VOv
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tion
vY
v v Y v //I Talt
// 6'XPt8aq t
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1roXv7p~roLp
3,6'tq
f
"Weave
ffor
or
tthe
he
ow
ew
blblessed
essed
"Weave nnow
Athens";
Athens";
something
llovely,
ovely,
juxtaposition
somethingnnew
juxtapositionoof
t
h
e
association
t
h
a
t
i
s
mor
e
a
n
d
s
e
ems
t
o
ref
l
e
ct
s
a
me
the
association
that
is
more
and
seems
to
reflect
same
V11rOLO-tv
v;pavLi
I3,votcrtv
ikJpatvi
in
iin
n the
of
the
collocation
the
two
words
Ode
5.
in
of
collocation
the
two
words
Ode
5.
directly
directly
expressed
expressed
of the
in both
both
the
The
use
of the
the
of song
in
The
use
of
of
metaphor
"weaving"
song
metaphorof
well-developed
well-developed
"weaving"
Pindar
aand
nd
o
tthe
he
oof
f
Diehl
ends
credence
restoration
Pindar
credencetto
restoration
Bacchylides
bby
y Diehl
Bacchylidesllends
following
following
oof
f
tthe
he
ttext
ext
i
s
f
r
o
m
t
h
e
aan
n
t
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Artemi
s
whi
c
h
a
l
s
o
to Artemis which is perhaps
also from the
anonymous
anonymous
hymn
perhaps
hymn
Archai
c
Archaic
periperiod:
od:
7T

0-0t" t 1 E'
LTt cPP7)'V
E(Pi/LEpOV
"'APTE/It,
'Pi?lE~POV
~"ApTE/I,I00L
PLp7)pjv
i4Lvov
'v Z((patvigC)EvatL
a((pLtvyiEvaL (t6)Eev
(O)Eid~9v
wiwill
l
of
the
the
heheart
art
me,
of
the
OO Artemi
s,
by the
gods,
me,
Artemis,
[urges]
by
gods,
my
[urges]
my
ffor
or
to
weave
to
weave aa lovely
you.
you.
song
song
lovely
tthe
he
inin ffact
anot
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oof
f
act
wwe
e
have
IIf
f
tthe
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s
restoration
another
have
restorationiis
correct,
correct,
exampl
e
yet
example
yet
a
n
d
o
f
and
of
vlivoq
vepatvEtv.lo
juxtaposition
juxtaposition
i?/voq
1)tpaiVLV.10
An
the
of
of
the
Archaic
notion
of
awareness
An
the
of
of
the
Archaic
notion
of
awareness
song
song
"weaving"
"weaving"
poets'
poets'
of
their
oown
wn
tthe
he
f
wriwriters'
ters'
tthese
hese
oour
ur
aart;
rt;
their
conception
understanding
conceptionof
understandingoof
enlenlarges
arges
ut
ratrather
her
oof
f fortuitous
f maki
wawas
s
aan
n
acci
dent
nnot
ot
fortuitousinspiration,
accident
ssong
ong
inspiration,bbut
process
ng
processoof
making
aa tapestry
oof
f words
creatcreate
e
ccould
ould
ch
tthe
he
aa ccraft
tto
o
raft
bbe
e
words
llearned,
earned,
tapestry
ppoet
oet
through
throughwhiwhich
master
I
t
i
s
t
h
a
t
i
n
a
controlled
woven
Anakreon,
aa master
It
is
that
in
a
controlled
woven
Anakreon,
fit ing
design.
fitting
design.
together
together
ffrom
rom
oof
f
tthe
he
ffew
ew
craftsman
f
fforms
orms
tthe
he
craftsmanoof
((to
to jjudge
remaining
llyric
yric
remainingfragments),
fragments),
udge
of tthe
web
both
tthe
he
he
wriwriter
ter
iin
n tterms
tthat
hat
eecho
cho
ater
erms
was
described
web
both
was
describedbby
metaphor
metaphorof
y aa llater
aa primarily
f
aas
s
emale
aand
nd
he
oof
f
conception
weavi
ng
orioriginal
ginal
primarilyffemale
conceptionoof
weaving
ssong
ong
suggest
suggest tthe
oof
f
fform
orm
creativity:
creativity:
ToV
W486,9
//.EXEOV
1EXE'&j
7TXifaVT7Ci
7T07
To6v8E' E yvvatKLt&JV
yvvaLKEiOJV
7oT07Wj4S8,
r7t,4av-6
a
TXX68'
77'8v'v
'Ava~KPEt`V7VI
TiTw
on:
E~Eq
iq
a'
v
-q-y~v.
7ij'v
'AvaKpEtiovra
'EXX6&d'
dvjyEv.
;
him
Greece-sweet
to
Teos
Anakreon,
Greece-sweet Anakreon,
to
Teos
brought
broughthim
melodies."
wove
of
Who
once
Who
once
wove
of
womanly
songs
womanlymelodies."
songs

er

McINTOSH
SNYDER
JANE
McINTOSHSNYDER
JANE
Ohio
StState
ate
The
Ohio
The
University
University

9ForHomeric echoes, see Bacchyl. 16.24-25 and 17.51-52.

"oDiehl(1925) vol. 2 p. 28 no. 60, lines 1-2 (who assigns the fragment-on no specific
evidence-to Alkman).
fr. 8.1-2 (Diehl). Modernanaloguesfor the metaphoricaluses of weaving discussed in
1"Critias
this paperare hardto find, but EdnaSt. Vincent Millay's "Ballad of the Harp-Weaver"offers a
strikingnumberof parallels. This article(a version of which was delivered at the meetings of the
Classical Associationof the MiddleWestandSouthin Madison,Wisconsin, April, 1979), is partof
a largerstudy of weaving imagery in Greek and Latin poetry, for which thanksare owed to Dr.
ArnoldCohenforhis assistancein collecting referencesandto the College of Humanities,The Ohio
State University, for financial support.

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