The tripartite chorus of the Lacedemonians in Plutarch and Petrus Crititus

Plutarch tells about a tripartite chorus of the old Spartans, consisting of boys, young and old men, and quotes three separate lines from it which des cribe the progress of life from boyhood to senility (Page, PGM 870). These lines are nowadays usually considered to represent the complete song. Poliz iano discussed this song in Misc. 88. His student Petrus Crinitus (1474-150 7) took the three lines as the opening verses of three strophes and 'recons tructed' the Spartan song in Latin by composing three strophes in 'Laconic' style, destined to be sung by pueri, iuvenes and senes. The poem is an exa mple for the unity of poetry and philology in early humanism and provides a n opportunity to reconsider the original form of the Spartan chorus.