Inventing Homer: The Early Reception of Epic

by Barbara Graziosi

Overview

How was the poet Homer imagined by ancient Greeks? This book looks at stories circulating between the sixth and fourth centuries BC about his birth, name and origin, blindness and his relationship to other poets and his descendants. The work studies the ancient reception of the Homeric poems, and looks at it in relation to modern representations of Homer, ancient and modern conceptions of authorship, and the "Homeric Question".

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780521038133
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	07/23/2007
Series:	Cambridge Classical Studies
Pages:	300
Product dimensions:	5.51(w) x 8.46(h) x 0.63(d)

About the Author

Barbara Graziosi is currently Lecturer in Greek at the University of Reading. She was educated in Trieste, Oxford and Cambridge and in 1999-2000 held a Junior Research Fellowship at New College, Oxford. Her doctoral thesis, on which the present book is based, has been shortlisted for the Hellenic Foundation's Annual Prize for the best doctoral thesis.

Table of Contents

Frontispiece; Preface; List of abbreviations of editions and works of reference; Introduction; 1. The birth of Homer; 2. Homer's name and his place of origin; 3. The date of Homer; 4. Blindness, poverty and closeness to the gods; 5. Homer's relationship to other poets; 6. The heirs of Homer; Conclusion; Bibliography; Index of passages; General index.

Editorial Reviews

"Specialists in Homeric poems will find much to benefit from, and the rest of us are indebted to Graziosi for her scrupulous presentation of the material and her intriguing analysis." Classical Bulletin

"The text...confronts head-on many puzzles...The specialist will revel in Graziosi's meticulous discussion...equally adept at clarifying ancient and modern sources." Religious Studies Review

"Graziosi's intelligent project explores 'Homer' as a convenient tabula rasa, silent about himself but a desirable predecessor." Choice

"Graziosi has assembled an abundance of valuable material and offered a sharp-eyed analysis of it, for which I am grateful." New Englad Classical Journal

From the Publisher