The Lament of the Virgin in Byzantine Literature and Modern Greek Folk-Song

The lament of the Virgin at the Crucifixion of Christ is a theme which can be traced throughout Greek tradition, from at least the sixth century to the present day. It is also found in a wide variety of sources: in the hymns and liturgy of the Orthodox Church, in prose homilies, in learned and vernacular poetry, and in modern folk songs from most areas of the Greekspeaking world. We therefore have an opportunity to examine how different writers and poets responded to a single theme over a period of nearly fifteen centuries.