Damon (ancient Greek musicologist)
Encyclopedia
Damon, son of Damonides, was a Greek musicologist of the fifth century BC. He belonged to the Athenian deme
of Oē (sometimes spelled "Oa"). He is credited as teacher and advisor of Pericles
.
, though some believed this was a cover for a broader influence over Pericles' political policy. For instance, Damon is said to have been responsible for advising Pericles to institute the policy of paying jurors for their service; this policy was widely criticized, and Damon is said to have been ostracized for it (see the Aristotelian
Athenaion Poleteia), probably sometime in last third of the 5th century BCE.
Plato
invokes Damon many times in the Republic as the musical expert to be deferred to concerning the details of musical education. In Plato's Laches, Damon is said to have been a student of Prodicus
and of Agathocles. The former was an unabashed sophist, while the latter is said (in Plato's Protagoras) to have used musical expertise as a front for being a sophist.
Some of Damon's research was regarding harmoniai, classifying and describing the various harmonies. He is credited by some scholars as the creator of the hyper and hypo categories (as in Hypophrygian
). He did the same with poetic meter. Beyond this technical aspect his work also focused on the social and political consequences of music, through what came to be called the ethos theory. He is the first one to study the effects of different types on music on people's mood. According to Robert Wallace it was Pericles' interest in using this research for controlling the people that lead to Damon's ostracism (Robert W. Wallace, The Sophists in Athens, Harvard University Press, 1998).
Athenaion Poleteia
mention Damonides as an advisor to Pericles
. The mention there of "Damonides" is now almost universally considered an editorial slip of pen, where the original text read "Damon, son of Damonides" instead (P. Rhodes, 1981, Commentary on the Aristotelian "Athenaion Politeia", p. 341). This seems to be confirmed by ostraka that have been recovered and that bear the name "Damon son of Damonides".
Deme
In Ancient Greece, a deme or demos was a subdivision of Attica, the region of Greece surrounding Athens. Demes as simple subdivisions of land in the countryside seem to have existed in the 6th century BC and earlier, but did not acquire particular significance until the reforms of Cleisthenes in...
of Oē (sometimes spelled "Oa"). He is credited as teacher and advisor of Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
.
Music
Damon's expertise was supposed to be musicologyMusicology
Musicology is the scholarly study of music. The word is used in narrow, broad and intermediate senses. In the narrow sense, musicology is confined to the music history of Western culture...
, though some believed this was a cover for a broader influence over Pericles' political policy. For instance, Damon is said to have been responsible for advising Pericles to institute the policy of paying jurors for their service; this policy was widely criticized, and Damon is said to have been ostracized for it (see the Aristotelian
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
Athenaion Poleteia), probably sometime in last third of the 5th century BCE.
Plato
Plato
Plato , was a Classical Greek philosopher, mathematician, student of Socrates, writer of philosophical dialogues, and founder of the Academy in Athens, the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Along with his mentor, Socrates, and his student, Aristotle, Plato helped to lay the...
invokes Damon many times in the Republic as the musical expert to be deferred to concerning the details of musical education. In Plato's Laches, Damon is said to have been a student of Prodicus
Prodicus
Prodicus of Ceos was a Greek philosopher, and part of the first generation of Sophists. He came to Athens as ambassador from Ceos, and became known as a speaker and a teacher. Plato treats him with greater respect than the other sophists, and in several of the Platonic dialogues Socrates appears...
and of Agathocles. The former was an unabashed sophist, while the latter is said (in Plato's Protagoras) to have used musical expertise as a front for being a sophist.
Some of Damon's research was regarding harmoniai, classifying and describing the various harmonies. He is credited by some scholars as the creator of the hyper and hypo categories (as in Hypophrygian
Hypophrygian mode
The Hypophrygian mode, literally meaning 'below Phrygian', is a musical mode or diatonic scale in medieval chant theory, the fourth mode of church music. This mode is the plagal counterpart of the authentic third mode, which was called Phrygian...
). He did the same with poetic meter. Beyond this technical aspect his work also focused on the social and political consequences of music, through what came to be called the ethos theory. He is the first one to study the effects of different types on music on people's mood. According to Robert Wallace it was Pericles' interest in using this research for controlling the people that lead to Damon's ostracism (Robert W. Wallace, The Sophists in Athens, Harvard University Press, 1998).
Damonides
The extant texts of the AristotelianAristotle
Aristotle was a Greek philosopher and polymath, a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. His writings cover many subjects, including physics, metaphysics, poetry, theater, music, logic, rhetoric, linguistics, politics, government, ethics, biology, and zoology...
Athenaion Poleteia
Constitution of the Athenians
The Constitution of the Athenians is the name of either of two texts from Classical antiquity, one probably by Aristotle or a student of his, the other attributed to Xenophon, but not by him....
mention Damonides as an advisor to Pericles
Pericles
Pericles was a prominent and influential statesman, orator, and general of Athens during the city's Golden Age—specifically, the time between the Persian and Peloponnesian wars...
. The mention there of "Damonides" is now almost universally considered an editorial slip of pen, where the original text read "Damon, son of Damonides" instead (P. Rhodes, 1981, Commentary on the Aristotelian "Athenaion Politeia", p. 341). This seems to be confirmed by ostraka that have been recovered and that bear the name "Damon son of Damonides".