I carmi di Bacchilide per Sparta

This paper aims to investigate the relationships between Bacchylides and Sparta. Bacchylides, in fact, composed a dithyramb (fr. 20 Maehler) certainly dedicated to the Spartans, which recounts the myth of Idas and Marpessa: the theme is appropriate for Spartan festivals, since it reflects under many points of view customs and traditions typical of Spartan society. The dithyramb may have been performed by a female chorus, according to a practice that finds no parallels in other Greek poleis. The same myth recurs in Bacchylides’ encomium 20A and I support the view that this poem was dedicated to the Spartans, too. There is no reason to argue that it was a dithyramb (as has been recently proposed), because the performance of encomia is attested in Sparta and connected to the women’s realm.