The association of individual lyric poets with precise features and values was active beyond textual knowledge of their poems. Accordingly, this chapter contributes to the reconstruction of the imperial afterlife of lyric by shifting the analysis to material evidence, such as portraits of lyric poets, and to cults and legends concerning real or mythical singers which lived on in the Greek collective memory, especially locally. In the Greek East, where the display of local identities was part of the reaction to imperial globalisation, different lyric traditions had the potential to activate links with specific places. Together with ongoing (re-)performances of lyric at symposia, festivals and within the imperial court, these manifestations give us a glimpse into the wider circulation and creative recasting of song traditions and lyric icons, both within and beyond elite circles. More importantly, they all account for the continued cultural and political purchase of song and music under Rome.

This chapter expands on and completes the analysis of Aristides’ political use of lyric. It argues that both Athens and Rome are depicted by the sophist through lyric and song imagery, and that these musical representations allow for a comparison between the two cities and how Aristides conceived of their role as imperial centres. Among other texts, a close reading of the celebration of past and present Athens in Or. 1 and that of imperial Rome in Or. 26 shows that the ways in which the two capitals ‘make music’ foreground some important similarities between their imperial politics. At the same time, Athenian and Roman ‘music’ point to the difference between Greek and Roman political cultures and approaches. Rather than indicating a critical attitude towards the current Empire, however, Aristides’ musical depiction of Athens and Rome is open to ambiguity and enables different co-existing interpretations, adding complexity and depth to our understanding of the political dimension of Aristides’ corpus.