Joseph W. Day. “A Muse on Stone or an ‘Un-read Muse’: Did Greeks Read Inscribed Epigrams?”

Scholars disagree about whether or not archaic and classical Greeks read inscriptions, and the dispute encompasses texts in verse (epigrams).  Day argues that verbal and physical invitations to read strongly suggest that reading epigrams, at least those on stone monuments, occurred frequently enough to motivate those efforts to encourage it.  Specifically, (a) epigrams’ incorporation of voices (“...dedicated me,” “O wayfarer, stop and lament!”) constituted a demand for reading aloud; (b) extensive efforts to attract and guide reading with inscriptions’ layouts betray their makers’ expectation of success; and (c) the contexts of inscribed monuments, especially those in competition or cooperation with others around them, added force to the demand for reading, including comparative reading among epigrams that betray significant intertextualities.

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