The Printed Homer: A 3,000 Year Publishing and Translation History of the Iliad and the Odyssey

by Philip H. Young

Overview

The Iliad and the Odyssey are the foundation of Greek culture ("Our earliest infancy was entrusted to the care of Homer," said Heraclitus 2500 years ago) and are widely read today.

This is a publishing and translation history of the written forms of the Iliad and the Odyssey. It first considers who Homer might have been and then explores the when and how of the creation of the written forms of the works. The Homeric text in classical times, in medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire, and in Renaissance humanism are next taken up.

The efforts of the many who have translated the works are analyzed critically and then—a major portion of the book—all the known texts, editions and translations of the Iliad and the Odyssey from 1470 to 2000 are listed. Finally, the author considers the future of the Homeric texts. Seven valuable appendices (e.g., Modernizing of Latin City Names; First Printings in Vernacular Languages), a bibliography, and an index complete the work.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780786438976
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers
Publication date:	10/27/2008
Pages:	487
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 10.00(h) x 0.98(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

The late Philip H. Young was director of the Krannert Memorial Library at the University of Indianapolis. He lived in Greenwood, Indiana.

Table of Contents

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Preface     
Introduction     

Part I: Homer and the Homeric Text

1. Who Was Homer?     
2. The Creation of the Homeric Text     
3. The Homeric Text in Classical Antiquity     
4. The Homeric Text in Medieval Europe and the Byzantine Empire     
5. Homer, Renaissance Humanism, and the Printing Press     
6. The Homeric Text in the Modern World: Translations and Editions
On Translating Homer     
1470 to 1500     
1501 to 1600     
1601 to 1700     
1701 to 1800     
1801 to 1850     
1851 to 1900     
1901 to 1950     
1951 to 2000     
7. Homer, Present and Future     

Part II: Printed Editions of the Homeric Texts, 1470 to 2000 C.E.

How to Read the Entries     
1470 to 1500     
1501 to 1600     
1601 to 1700     
1701 to 1800     
1801 to 1850     
1851 to 1900     
1901 to 1950     
1951 to 2000     

Part III: Appendices

Appendix A: Comments on the Printings Lists of Part II     
Appendix B: Sources Used for Part II     
Appendix C: Latin City Names and Their Modern Equivalents     
Appendix D: Printings Listed by Translator or Author     
Appendix E: Printings Listed by Printer or Publisher     
Appendix F: Printings Listed by Place Printed     
Appendix G: First Printings in Vernacular Languages     

Notes     
Bibliography of Sources Cited     
Index     

Editorial Reviews

Young is conversant with the most recent theories in Homeric scholarship, which he here presents with balance and clarity...comprehensive biblography...an essential resource...highly recommended”—Library Journal

From the Publisher

Young's language is clear and interesting...outstanding work...recommended

Choice

a remarkable book

International Journal of the Classical Tradition

Young, director of the Krannert Memorial Library at the University of Indianapolis, offers a fascinating and readable history of the transmission of Homer and the Homeric texts in the Western world. Young is conversant with the most recent theories in Homeric scholarship, which he here presents with balance and clarity. The first part of the book traces various models of who or whether Homer was and the movement from oral performance to written form. Young then goes on to explain how the ancients understood Homer. After a discussion of the break in the textual tradition and the medieval conception of Homer, Young turns to the recovery of The Iliad and The Odyssey in the Renaissance and then traces the editions and translations down to the present. In the second part of the book, he offers a comprehensive bibliography of the printed editions and translations of the Homeric texts from 1470 to 2000. While the book is aimed at the nonspecialist, its bibliography makes it an essential resource for the specialist. Highly recommended.-T.L. Cooksey, Armstrong Atlantic State Univ., Savannah Copyright 2003 Reed Business Information.

Library Journal

useful...generously illustrated

Journal of Hellenic Studies