Weaving in Polyphony: Destiny, Culture and the Human Condition

Abstract

Polyphonic singing, its roles and practice and the perception of destiny as represented in ancient Greek mythology, literature and philosophy are explored in this paper. An analogy drawn between them, between the living reality and the constructed reality, depicts connections that help weave polyphonic narration. Contextualization of polyphonic singing as a truly world phenomenon that encompasses aspects inherent in human nature and condition, while forming a manifestation of cultural diversity, is achieved through a broad perspective employing linguistics, social anthropology and philosophy. Thus, cultural phenomena such as polyphonic singing, although often employed in political discourse and the formation of national identity — with the narrative of Self and Other, directly involved, particularly in border areas — can no longer constitute issues of culture ownership.