Family Values in Greek Lyric Poetry

Abstract

Greek lyric poetry largely perpetuated the aristocratic male values of the Homeric and Hesiodic poems. The values functioning in the personal relationships within the family do not seem to have been distinct from those in society as a whole. In the surviving lyric texts aristocratic male aretai dominate, though poets such as Archilochus, Pindar, Bacchylides and Xenophanes challenged or redefined traditional values. There are only a few scattered and brief scenes of domestic life and values, notably in Simonides and Sappho. Negative male perceptions of women predominate, Semonides' fragment 7 being a prime example. Only Sappho reflects female values.