Nine Essays on Homer / Edition 272

by Miriam Carlisle, Olga Levaniouk, Gregory Nagy, Brian W. Breed, Mary Ebbott

Overview

The essays in this collection addresses questions of intense interest in Homeric studies today: the questions of performance and poet-audience interaction, especially as depicted in idealized performances within the Iliad and the Odyssey; the ways in which epic incorporates material of diverse genres, such as women's laments, blame poetry, or folk tales; how the ideological balance of epic can change and be influenced by 'alternative ideologies' introduced through the incorporation of new material; the implications of the continuity of tradition for etymological studies; and how the traditional nature of epic affects textual criticism. The essays differ in focus and method, but all share one fundamental approach to Homer: an understanding of the Homeric tradition as a poetic system that expresses and preserves what is culturally important and a view of the Homeric epics as instances of a cultural tradition which they attempt to explore through the epics themselves and through the comparative, anthropological, and linguistic evidence they bring to bear on these texts. A unique collection that explores Homeric poetry through a variety of tools and approaches—linguistics, philology, cultural anthropology, sociology, textual criticism, and archeology—this volume will be of interest to all scholars and students of oral poetry and Classical literature.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780847694242
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	05/13/1999
Series:	Greek Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches
Pages:	264
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Miriam Carlisle and Olga Levaniouk are doctoral candidates in Classical Philology at Harvard University.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Introduction Part 3 Multigeneric Homer Chapter 4 The Wrath of Helen: Self-Blame and Nemesis in the Iliad Chapter 5 Odysseus and the Phaeacians Chapter 6 Thersites, Odysseus, and the Social Order Chapter 7 Homeric Fictions: Pseudo-words in Homer Part 8 Diachronic Homer Chapter 9 Penelope and the Penelops Chapter 10 Odysseus Back Home and Back from the Dead Part 11 Visual Homer Chapter 12 Artemis and the Lion: Two Similes in Odyssey 6 159 Chapter 13 Homer's Leopard Simile Part 14 Textual Homer Chapter 15 Homeros ekainopoese: Theseus, Aithra, and Variation in Homeric Myth-Making Chapter 16 Bibliography Chapter 17 Index of Homeric Passages Chapter 18 General Index

Editorial Reviews

The high level of creativity displayed here is bracing. For graduate students, the volume as a whole should serve as an inspiring example of how innovative student work in Homeric studies can be.

Religious Studies Review

The book is illuminating.

The Journal of Hellenic Studies

A rish work offered by everyone of the nine contributors...Anyone interested in seeing more deeply into how Homer worked (what—or whoever one takes Homer to be) will likely read it with uniform interest from cover to cover.

Bryn Mawr Classical Review - Michael N. Nagler

The book is illuminating.

Journal Of Hellenic Studies

A rish work offered by everyone of the nine contributors...Anyone interested in seeing more deeply into how Homer worked (what—or whoever one takes Homer to be) will likely read it with uniform interest from cover to cover.
— Michael N. Nagler, University of California, Berkeley

Bryn Mawr Classical Review

Nine essays from a 1996 seminar at Harvard University apply methods not only from literature, but also from history, archaeology, and art history to the ancient Greek epics. Among the titles are The Wrath of Helen: Self-Blame and Nemesis in the ; Thersites, Odysseus and the Social Order; Odysseus Back Home and Back from the Dead; and Artemis and the Lion: Two Similes in 6. The excerpts are in both Greek and English. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknew.com)

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