Oath and Allusion in Alcaeus fr. 129
Oath and Allusion in Alcaeus fr. 129
In Alcaeus fr. 129, the Lesbian gods are called to their sanctuary to witness the poet's demand for an Erinys to be sent after Pittacus. Pittacus, Alcaeus's former co-conspirator, has forsworn his oath, forcing Alcaeus into exile and supposedly bringing suffering to the Lesbian people. The poem juxtaposes the formal invocation and the crude curse against Alcaeus's enemy. This chapter examines the imagery of Alcaeus fr. 129 in the context of the imagery of oaths from the ancient Near East cultural area, including Akkadian, Hittite, Hebrew, and Aramaic oaths spanning the period from 1400
Keywords: oaths, Alcaeus fr. 129, Pittacus, Alcaeus, imagery, allusion, perjury, ancient Near East
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