Book contents
- The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition
- The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction Bacchic Verses
- Chapter 1 Mapping Memory
- Chapter 2 The Tomb of Memory
- Chapter 3 Material Genres
- Chapter 4 Gold in the Grave
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Chapter 4 - Gold in the Grave
The Metal of the Tablets
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2023
- The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition
- The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic Tradition
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Figures
- Acknowledgments
- Abbreviations
- Introduction Bacchic Verses
- Chapter 1 Mapping Memory
- Chapter 2 The Tomb of Memory
- Chapter 3 Material Genres
- Chapter 4 Gold in the Grave
- Epilogue
- Bibliography
- Index Locorum
- General Index
Summary
The final chapter turns to the symbolism of gold metal. I argue that the polysemous metal of the tablets served as a material counterpart to the theme of memory, offering ritual performers a repertoire that could be developed and explained in various ways. I focus on three areas of symbolism as especially relevant: mythical, ritual, and economic. All three have roots in poetic tradition. Gold in early Greek poetry characterizes the life of the gods; it also is used in Homeric funerals to signify the transformation of the hero’s mortal body into a durable object of culture. In addition, however, gold has an ambiguous economic significance: alongside its poetic symbolism, it also plays an important role in the monetized economy. Using David Morgan’s concept of “Sacred Economy,” I argue that makers of the tablets used gold metal to articulate and reinforce the poetic claims of an exceptional quasi-elite identity for the initiate and mystic group.
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- The Bacchic Gold Tablets and Poetic TraditionMemory and Performance, pp. 136 - 169Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2023