Pop culture poetry produced for the Empire

[guy]

The poem inscribed on a cameo on a medallion of glass paste (2nd to 3rd century CE) found in a sarcophagus around the neck of a deceased young woman in what is now Hungary. Credit: Aquincum Museum

This report is interesting for at least a couple of reasons:

If I read this report correctly, it appears that the above poem was inscribed on cameos that were mass-produced for distribution throughout the Roman Empire. This might be an example of pop culture (in the form of poetry) intended for the entire Empire.

Also, this poem may represent an early form of “stressed” poetry.
 

Quote

 

“The gemstones on which the poem was inscribed were generally agate, onyx or sardonyx, all varieties of chalcedony, an abundant and relatively inexpensive mineral across the Mediterranean region.

Archaeologists found the most beautiful and best-preserved example around the neck of a young woman buried in a sarcophagus in what is now Hungary. The gem is now held in Budapest’s Aquincum Museum.“

“The poem, unparalleled so far in the classical world, consists of lines of 4 syllables, with a strong accent on the first and a weaker on the third.

In its shortest version, the anonymous four-line poem reads “they say what they like; let them say it; I don’t care.” Other versions extend with “Go on, love me; it does you good.”

“Until now, “stressed poetry” of this kind has been unknown before the fifth century, when it began to be used in Byzantine Christian hymns.”

 

 

https://greekreporter.com/2021/09/09/pop-culture-ancient-greece/

Edited February 2 by guy