Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra”
When Melville visited the Greek island of Syra in 1856, he discovered a thriving harbor city with no ancient monuments to speak of, and little to remind the traveler of the glories of Ancient Greece that Shelley or Byron used to celebrate. Melville’s poem resists the still persistent hellenomania of...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Association Française d'Etudes Américaines
2016-06-01
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| Series: | Transatlantica |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7782 |
| _version_ | 1797402667707793408 |
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| author | Bruno Monfort |
| author_facet | Bruno Monfort |
| author_sort | Bruno Monfort |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | When Melville visited the Greek island of Syra in 1856, he discovered a thriving harbor city with no ancient monuments to speak of, and little to remind the traveler of the glories of Ancient Greece that Shelley or Byron used to celebrate. Melville’s poem resists the still persistent hellenomania of the period: old stones and antique statues vanish from the poet’s field of vision as he comes to realize that the humble people he meets, traders, innkeepers or street-cleaners, have inherited the noble features transmitted through the ages from the days of Ancient Greece. Confronted to the mercantile realities of modern Syra, the poet acknowledges that the people there spontaneously lived primitive, innocent lives with little concern for the clichés and prejudices of Orientalism. No preconceptions of the kind encroached upon such lives, never idealized and hardly in keeping with prevailing notions of the picturesque that kept haunting the poet’s and the reader’s minds. The past is thus reconstructed as pure aesthetic enjoyment of life materialized by a coin engraved with the head of Proserpine, a hint at Winckelmann’s conception of what beauty was like when experienced by the Ancient Greeks. Not a work of art proper, such a coin was a sign that the common run of commerce could be attended by aesthetic value emerging from the freedom inherent in playful, carefree lives uncommitted to the earnestness of business transactions. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:28:23Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-c032e24d425144b0bea94278c5f3052f |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1765-2766 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T02:28:23Z |
| publishDate | 2016-06-01 |
| publisher | Association Française d'Etudes Américaines |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Transatlantica |
| spelling | doaj.art-c032e24d425144b0bea94278c5f3052f2023-12-06T15:49:45ZengAssociation Française d'Etudes AméricainesTransatlantica1765-27662016-06-01210.4000/transatlantica.7782Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra”Bruno MonfortWhen Melville visited the Greek island of Syra in 1856, he discovered a thriving harbor city with no ancient monuments to speak of, and little to remind the traveler of the glories of Ancient Greece that Shelley or Byron used to celebrate. Melville’s poem resists the still persistent hellenomania of the period: old stones and antique statues vanish from the poet’s field of vision as he comes to realize that the humble people he meets, traders, innkeepers or street-cleaners, have inherited the noble features transmitted through the ages from the days of Ancient Greece. Confronted to the mercantile realities of modern Syra, the poet acknowledges that the people there spontaneously lived primitive, innocent lives with little concern for the clichés and prejudices of Orientalism. No preconceptions of the kind encroached upon such lives, never idealized and hardly in keeping with prevailing notions of the picturesque that kept haunting the poet’s and the reader’s minds. The past is thus reconstructed as pure aesthetic enjoyment of life materialized by a coin engraved with the head of Proserpine, a hint at Winckelmann’s conception of what beauty was like when experienced by the Ancient Greeks. Not a work of art proper, such a coin was a sign that the common run of commerce could be attended by aesthetic value emerging from the freedom inherent in playful, carefree lives uncommitted to the earnestness of business transactions.http://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7782Poetry of Herman MelvilleAmerican literature and the Ancient Worldcommerce and aestheticsHellenomania |
| spellingShingle | Bruno Monfort Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” Transatlantica Poetry of Herman Melville American literature and the Ancient World commerce and aesthetics Hellenomania |
| title | Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” |
| title_full | Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” |
| title_fullStr | Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” |
| title_full_unstemmed | Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” |
| title_short | Proserpine upon the Coin: Melville’s Quest for Greek Beauty in “Syra” |
| title_sort | proserpine upon the coin melville s quest for greek beauty in syra |
| topic | Poetry of Herman Melville American literature and the Ancient World commerce and aesthetics Hellenomania |
| url | http://journals.openedition.org/transatlantica/7782 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT brunomonfort proserpineuponthecoinmelvillesquestforgreekbeautyinsyra |