Fragile Characters in a Fragmented World: Hamartia in Herondas

The notion of hamartia in Aristotle’s Poetics and his moral writings refers to harmful and yet unintentional acts committed in ignorance. In the Poetics it is considered as an important feature of the best type of tragic plot and the action of many tragic characters, while relevant instances are found in both tragedy and comedy. The aim of this paper is to examine hamartia in Herondas’ mimiambs, a literary genre that draws upon the tradition of genres such as the mime, iambic poetry and drama. It is argued that mimiambs 1 and 5 show an awareness of hamartia’s usages in Aristotle and in dramatic poetry. Yet in Herondas these usages are not fully developed. They contribute instead to the elucidation of specific aspects of the characters who emerge from the mimiambs. This demonstrates Herondas’ concern with ethical norms in a world of everyday experience and his multi-faceted use of earlier philosophical discourse and literary genres.