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Chapter 2: Scientific Poetry and the Limits of Myth
- Oregon State University Press
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| 3� 3� c ha p ter 2 Scientific Poetry and the Limits of Myth In the Greco-Roman world, poetry was a particularly valued genre, not least because of the far-reaching cultural importance of the archaic epic poets, Homer and Hesiod.� While prose forms often dominated the technical literature, a significant number of widely read poems communicated many types of scientific information, technical data, and instructions on a range of scientific, mathematical, technological, and medical subjects. Poetry describing or explaining nature appears in ancient texts in different forms. There are poems that have as one of their primary functions the communication of information about the natural world—that provide descriptions and explanations. I would include, for example, Lucretius’ poem De rerum natura, the title of which is translated as either On the Nature of Things or On the Nature of the Universe, as well as Book Ten of Columella’s On Agriculture, which mainly deals with horticulture.2 There are also examples of poems dealing with mathematical topics.3 And there are the quotations of poetic passages inserted into texts by prose authors, included for a variety of reasons, in some cases to refute the ideas of the poet, in others to cite the poet as an authority.4 In both of these cases, prose authors engage with poetry as a source of knowledge. But there remains a question: Why would an author choose poetry as the genre to explain the natural world?5 In attempting to answer this question, I will focus on a particular Latin poem about the volcano Etna. The author of this poem is not known, nor is the dating secure. I have chosen this poem 32 | Chapter 2| Chapter 2 Chapter 2 because it is an excellent example of a scientific text. I will argue that the Aetna poet had several aims: (�) to explain a natural phenomenon—in this case a particular volcano, Etna; (2) to encourage others to participate and engage in the study of natural phenomena; (3) to offer advice and examples regarding good “scientific” practice (while also providing examples of what should be avoided). This poem has attracted the attention primarily of classicists; few historians of science have paid much attention to it, a situation which was bemoaned by P. B. Paisley and D. R. Oldroyd. They stressed that the poem “avows an intention of maintaining purely naturalistic explanations of phenomena,” while noting that it “includes a number of gestures towards popular mythology, without any sarcasm or censoriousness.”6 As will become clear in what follows, I disagree: the Aetna poet thinks that myths may be only lies, and that an interest in mythology deters people from more important pursuits. But, having said that, I must admit that the Aetna poet does, at a couple of points in the poem—namely the beginning and end—refer respectfully to the gods, and their influence on man. In focusing on the Aetna poet and his concerns, my aim is to question the idea that in the Greco-Roman world poetry and mythology were rejected in favor of philosophy as a way to explain the world. In doing this, I will point to the complicated texture of some ancient Greek and Latin poems on nature, in which the use of myth and the roles of gods are not completely rejected, even as rational, natural philosophical accounts of nature are offered. It is not my goal to try to explain what the traditional gods are doing in these poems, but to point out that they are there (and probably for different reasons for different poets). In any case, the gods have not been totally excluded, nor have they disappeared. [3.238.161.165] Project MUSE (2024-03-28 17:38 GMT) Scientific Poetry and the Limits of Myth | 33| 33 33 The choice of genre makes this work particularly intriguing, because the author, who self-consciously presents himself as a poet, criticizes poetry as conveying false legends. Near the beginning of the poem (lines 29-35), the poet cautions: First, let none be deceived by the fictions poets tell—that Aetna is the home of a god, that the fire gushing from her swollen jaws is Vulcan’s fire, and that the echo in that cavernous prison comes from his restless work. No task so paltry have the gods. To meanest crafts one may not rightly lower the stars; their sway is royal, aloft in a remote heaven; they reck not to handle the toil...