Damon of Oa: A Music Theorist Ostracized?

Abstract

Abstract This chapter examines the evidence for the career of Damon of Oa, music theorist and friend of Pericles, who was said to have been ostracised for his dangerous activities. It defends that tradition, arguing that music and politics were intimately connected in 5th-century Athens. The sources suggest that Damon developed what was later called the ethos theory of music which believed in the power of music to influence character and behaviour. Given the centrality of mousike in 5th-century Athenian society, it is entirely plausible that a theorist who emphasised music's potential to change or disturb the social order might be perceived as a threat.

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