What are the main features of Grecian poetry and music?

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

In Classical Greece, as in other parts of the ancient world, distinctions between individual forms of artistic expression were neither clear-cut nor definitive. A combination of the arts prevailed in most forms of religious ritual and in public and private entertainment. The intimate relationship between music and poetry is revealed in the fact that many of the words we use to describe lyric forms, such as "ode" and "hymn," are also musical terms. The word lyric, meaning "accompanied by the lyre," describes verse that was meant to be sung, not read silently.
As in ancient Egypt, this genre of poetry gave voice to deep emotions. Hellenic culture produced an impressive group of lyric poets, who used economy of expression and inventive combinations of sense and sound. While lyric poetry conveyed deeply personal feelings, certain types of lyrics, namely odes, served as public eulogies or songs of praise, often to superlative athletes.
Music, also, played a major role in Greek life. Pythagoras observed that music was governed by mathematical ratios and therefore constituted both a science and an art. From earliest times, music was believed to hold magical powers and therefore exercise great spiritual influence. The modes (scales) had certain spiritual or emotional associations with them; in the Republic, Plato encourages the use of the Dorian mode, which settles the temper and inspires courage, but he condemns the Lydian mode, which arouses sensuality. Because of music's potential for affecting character and mood, both Plato and Aristotle recommended that the type of music used in the education of young children be regulated by law. Such music should reflect the Classical features of balance, harmony, and dignity.