Greek Epic Cycle

Seguendo un modello teorico, questo lavoro mostra come l’autore dell’Iliade sia consapevole della potenziale contraddittorietà tra la versione tradizionale della storia dell’ira e la versione che egli elabora, gestendo entrambe secondo le esigenze espressive e le finalità strutturali del poema.

| Following a theoretical model, this article assumes that the poet of the Iliad is aware of the potential inconsistency between the traditional account of the wrath and the version which he elaborates, and shows how the poem manages both according to its expressive and structural purposes.

This article shows that the mourning of Thetis at the start of Iliad Book 18 is not an atypical or under-motivated motif derived from (or alluding to) the Aithiopis, but an extraordinary example of the 'prospective lamentation' typical sequence, found several times in both Homeric poems. It thus offers a new solution to the crux of Iliad 18.95–6 and its prediction of Akhilleus' death 'straightaway after' Hektor's.

This book is the edited proceedings from the conference 'The Art of Stesichorus' held at St John's College, Oxford, on June 29–30 2012. Contributors include: Ewen Bowie (Oxford), Chris Carey (London), Patrick Finglass (Nottingham), Richard Hunter (Cambridge), Adrian Kelly (Oxford), Ian Rutherford (Reading), Gerson Schade (Berlin), Laura Swift (Open University), Martin West (Oxford).

Pelling, C., Classics for All 2015/08/11

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This essay explores the death of Odysseus in the Telegony and Odyssey through the diction of agnoēsis (non-recognition) and anagnōrisis (recognition). Agnoēsis is a motif in the stories of both Telegonus and the death of Odysseus, allowing the Odyssey’s presentation of agnoēsis to reference the Telegony tradition. Moreover, the deadly consequences of agnoēsis are inimical to the Odyssey’s vision of Odysseus’s kleos, and Odysseus’s death in the Telegony results in an alternative vision of his immortality. Examination of these contrasts between traditions sheds light on how the Odyssey negotiated dissonant elements from the Telegony tradition to enhance its own meaning.

This work aims to review our present scientific knowledge of the Cyclic Thebais, a Greek epic poem of the archaic Age, ascribed in the sources to Homer.
The first part of the investigation (Introduction) defines the objectives, considers some previous methodological questions, and traces the structure of the work. This structure has two consecutive steps: the reconstruction of the Thebais, and the confrontation of the poem with Iliad and Odyssey, the works that the tradition has considered Homer's canonical writings.
Chapter II (The evidence of Thebais: materials and testimonia ) displays an edition of the Thebais  fragments; seeks to determine the contents of the poem by opposing them to those of the other writings in the Theban epic cycle (Epigonoi, Expedition of Amphiaraos ); and discusses the authorship and probable date of the poem, two typical questions of traditional philology.
Chapter III (The evidence of Thebais: reconstruction of the poem ) examines the very few remnants of the poem which have been preserved through time until our days. These fragments are taken as starting point to recreate the form that the myth of Oedipus and his sons could have had in Thebais. This section also considers, as far as it is achievable, the possible structure of the epos.
Chapter IV (The artistic evidence in Thebais' theme ) integrates in the analysis of Thebais the archaic iconographical evidence, which reproduces in a plastic form the myth verbally developed by our epopee.
The main aim of this investigation, the comparison between Thebais and Iliad-Odyssey , is properly unfolded in Chapter V (Thebais' thematic in Iliad and Odyssey ). We consider here the references to the Theban saga included in the two canonical poems. We also consider those cases in which it is feasible to conjecture that the Iliad  reelaborates Theban narrative contents (It is harder to make this consideration with reference to the Odyssey , since the surviving evidence is very limited).
Chapter VI (Synthesis ) presents three fundamental conclusions:
1) The Cyclic Thebais  can rightly be considered an homeric work, since the expression "Homer" must have been originally not a personal name, but a generic appelation that became in time a quality seal for epic works.
2)The Iliad  (and with less certitude the Odyssey ) presupposes of its audience knowledge of the Thebais, poem from which the canonical work seems to borrow some narrative motives.
3)The Thebais must have been composed orally in the archaic Age, before the Iliad. Thebais'  text must have been transmited orally during an uncertain period of time, without experimenting macro-structural changes. There are enough arguments to suppose that Thebais was written down during the first years of VI B.C.. It must have occured in the Peloponnesos, and in the delphic orbit of influence. Some reasons also suggest that there is a direct relation between the Thebais' setting in writing and the foundation of Nemea Games, in 573 b.C.
This investigation is closed by two appendixes: the first, on literary sources about Thebais' thematic, and an analogous second one, containing iconographical sources of the archaic age.

This survey article, with commentary on selected fragments, suggests that the Little Iliad was a heavily pro-Odysseus poem, which used a series of ambush or deception patterns as its basic narrative device. The attached article is the second proof version; please consult the actual companion for the final version and the bibliography.

This paper examines the meaning and connectedness of Kleos (eternal glory, fame), Nostos (homecoming, heroic return) and Ponos (toil, ordeal, pain) in various myths from the Iliad, the Odyssey and the Epic Cycle. Despite being essential to the analysing cultural significance of Homeric tradition, folklore feels disconnected from initial manifestations of heroic stories. We can say that such an unfortunate outcome is caused by the popularity of non-poetic narratives that have been created by numerous writers to bring the coherent plot into the foreground. This approach might be a comprehensible presentation of the story, though such versions lack the essence of imprinting heroic deeds into epic poems by earning Kleos and sustaining heroes' Kleos by repeated performance. Thus, this essay explores the significance of Kleos, nostos and Ponos within the Homeric tradition and suggests that we should abandon a canonical way of reading these virtues because such approach does not correspond with original myths that had been passed down from generation to generation. For this purpose, above-mentioned heroic virtues will be demonstrated on examples of Odysseus, Diomedes, Telemonian Ajax, Neoptolemus and with emphasis on Achilles – the epitome of Kleos. Moreover, popular adherence to " multi-volume " way of reading the Trojan War will be re-evaluated by juxtaposing Homer's works and the Epic Cycle to locate distinct traditions regarding Kleos, Nostos and Ponos.

In the Hecuba of Euripides, Polymestor expresses the wish to fly to the sky, next to Sirius and Orion. This sets the time of the year in the early summer. The paper argues that Euripides was aware of attempts in fifth-century historiographic tradition to establish the calendrical date of the fall of Troy. Hellanicus placed it on the 12th day of the month Thargelion; Damastes and others suggested the 23rd day in the same month (early summer). Other dated the fall to the month following Thargelion. It is generally agreed that these historiographers inferred the day of the month from Ilias parva fr. 9 Bernabé = 11a Davies = 14 West. The paper argues that they inferred the month of the year from the story about the Pleiades reported in Titanomachia 14 Bernabé = fragmentum incerti loci intra cyclum epicum 2 Davies = Sack of Ilion fr. 5 West. Ancient sources stress the link between Sirius and the Pleiades (see e.g. Eur. IA 6-8). The paper further discusess the text of Eur. Hec. 1103, suggesting the reading Ὠαρίων καὶ Σείριος.

""This contribution deals with the circumstances in which the Homeric Thebais was written down in archaic Greece. It continues a previous work (J. B. Torres, La Tebaida homérica como fuente de Ilíada y Odisea  [The Homeric Thebais as a Source for the Iliad and the Odyssey], Madrid, 1995) in which neoanalytical theory and methodology was were used in order to clarify if whether the Homeric Thebais should be counted among the so-called “sources” of the Iliad and Odyssey. The 1995 book tried to combine Neoanalysis and Oralismus and spoke of an oral Thebais whose motifs ‘Homer’ could have had in mind when composing his own epics. However, this work did not answer an important a further question: how and why did the oral Thebais receive a written form? Now it will be triedI will attempt to offer an answer for this topic. A recent article by Wolfgang Kullmann (“Poesie, Mythos und Realität im Schiffskatalog der Ilias”, Hermes 137 [2009], 1-20) has encouraged the redaction writing of this study in an unexpected way.
The work of Kullmann discusses the Catalogue of Ships included in the second book of the Iliad. It explains why the names of the heroes cited in the Catalogue do not reflect the political situation presupposed in other parts of the poem and have, instead of it, a distinctive Panhellenic flavour. On the other hand, the article remembers reminds us that the Iliad contains a passage (XI 698 ff.) which seems to allude to the Olympic Games as they were celebrated since beginning in 680 b. C. W. Kullmann suggests that the Iiliadic Catalogue par excellence is actually a catalogue of participants in the Olympic Games, an administrative list secondarily later adapted and included in the Iliad.
In the present work it is accepted that there is a relation between a Panhellenic competition like the Olympic Games and the last steps in the process of elaboration of the Iliad. The question is then: could the case of the Homeric Thebais have been similar? In order to clarify this point it is needed to review what we know about the contents of the Thebais. Iconographical arguments are employed to show that this poem must have told recounted the fatidic death of the young Opheltes (Archemoros), an event which mythically explained the foundation of the Nemean Games. On the other hand it is known (cf. Herodot V 67) that Cleisthenes, the tyrant of Sicyon, had expelled the Theban epics from his city because they celebrated, in his opinion, the Argive monarchy he hated, and that the foundation (or reorganisation) of the Nemean Games in 573 b. C. took place in political opposition to Cleisthenes and with the assistance of Argos (cf. A. Griffin, Sikyon, Oxford, 1982, 50-51). So it is tempting to see the organisation of the Nemean Games as the occasion in whichof writing down the Homeric Thebais, a Theban epic which talked about the mythical foundation of this competition (according to the reconstruction), was written down. Moreover, external proofs endorse the theory, as for example the iconographical evidence which indicates an increasing interest on in the Theban saga in the Peloponnese in the second quarter of the sixth century b. C.: the proximity to the textual fixation of a major epic like the Thebais is a good explanation for this new interest on in the mythological theme.
In 1995 (cf. Torres, La Tebaida homérica...) it wasI tried to explain the relation between the Thebais and the Homeric major epics as a case of influence between oral poems which were fixed by writing at a later date, the Iliad possibly in the first half of seventh century b. C. Now a precise date is also offered for the writing down of the Thebais. The poem should have received its definitive form in 573 b. C. because of political interests, in a way well attested in other oral traditions, and within a Panhellenic context, similar to the context in which the Iliad (and perhaps the whole Cyclic Epic) may have been fixed.
""

This work examines the traditional language of the cyclical Thebais fragments by studying linguistic and formulaic data with a view towards establishing its chronology relative to the two great Homeric epics. From this analysis we conclude that 1) there is no definitive data to establish a post-Homeric character for the poem; 2) the concurrence of various non-probative data leads us to consider as more likely a post-Homeric date for the poem's written text; and 3) the poem's fragments show a language sufficiently traditional for us to conclude that its written transmission cannot have occurred very much later than Homer.

The female presence in the Odyssey is very strong. This has led contemporary scholars to regard that the Odyssey was the work of a woman.  Many of these females which Odysseus, the main hero, encounters are imbued with rather perilous qualities. Calypso keeps Odysseus by her side; Circe threatens his nostos and the safety of his comrades. Female monsters, such as the Sirens, Scylla, and Charybdis are dangerous and hostile creatures that the hero cannot easily overcome. And there is always Helen, the offspring of a god, who is a constant threat to the well-being of any man.
In this paper, I focus on the anthropomorphic (such as nymphs and demi-gods) and the bestial females which are depicted as posing a threat in the Odyssey. I place emphasis on the females that Odysseus himself describes in the apologos. What these dangerous females have in common is that their voice (speech, song or sound) is the means by which they endanger Odysseus and other people. Calypso, Circe, and the Sirens sing and lure people. Calypso and Circe use the power of speech and persuade. Scylla and Charybdis emit terrible sounds that freeze the men who encounter them.  Helen can initiate her own epic narrative and has the ability to mimic any voice she wishes, according to Menelaus (4.279ff.). I suggest, that the enchanting voices of these female creatures represent other poetic traditions  that pose a threat to the epic narrative of the Odyssey. Many of these competitive traditions in the Odyssey are depicted as female creatures,  and their alluring power is equated to their voices. Odysseus’ only way to confront these alternative accounts of his own story is to include them into his synthetic, Pan-Hellenic narrative.

Myth reigns in Troy, where literature inspires archaeology. The ever popular ‘story’ about the Trojan War is in fact a complex mosaic: a cycle of stories that have reached us from different sides and in various forms, throughout the ages. We cannot (or no longer) reconstruct a ‘standard version’. Instead, we are dealing with a very rich and colourful tradition: in (epic and other) literature from Homer onwards, the Trojan War is subject to continuous reception, reworking and renewal. From tragedy over manic Homer imitation towards playful prose summary… in our own century, the spear of Achilles has even been passed on to Brad Pitt. New versions appropriate the famous story and its characters in the most creative, sometimes plainly contradicting ways. This paper traces the episode of the wooden horse through eight literary narratives. It provides a reflection on the endless reception of Troy in the context of Latin and Greek literature, from Homer all the way to the Middle Ages (and beyond).

The author revises te evidence surrounding the identity of the author of the Cyclic Thebais. After examining the evidence for and against considering Homer as the poem's author, the author of the article presents a history of the ancient opinions concerning the authorship of the Thebais. Finally, the case of this poem is compared to that of the rest of the Epic Cycle, also often attributed to Homer.

L'articolo evidenzia come nei frammenti dei Cypria l'uso di alcune forme dell'imperfetto di εἰμί (ἦν, ἤην) sia concorde con gli sviluppi diacronici della lingua dell'epica arcaica e propone un'interpretazione linguistica a difesa della lezione ἤην tràdita in fr. 25.2 Bernabé; la ricostruzione è utile per la valutazione dell'origine e della diffusione di tale forma dell'imperfetto nell'epica arcaica come variante aedica artificiale.
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The article shows that the use of some forms of the imperfect of εἰμί in the Cypria (ἦν, ἤην) is consistent with the diachronic development of the language of archaic Greek epic poetry. The author also upholds the linguistic plausibility of the form ἤην (Cypr. fr. 25.2 Bernabé) and explains it as an artificial aedic variant.

The aim of this paper is to explore the use of the word κύκλος and its derivatives
(κυκλικός, κύκλιος, κυκλικῶς) as literary terms for the description of the Epic Cycle. Given
the prominent meanings of the word in the Iliad (wheel, shield), it is suggested that the
description of the shield of Achilles (Iliad, Book 18) and the narrative about human ages
in Hesiod’s Works and Days constitute an early cyclic conception of the totality of
mythological tradition. The emphasis of classical period on the special properties of the
cycle is examined in association with Aristotle’s application of the word for the
characterization of epic poetry. The scope of the term in Hellenistic times is explored
with special interest for the poets and sagas to which it is ascribed. The confining of the
word by the school of Alexandria to the literary criticism of epic poetry as well as its
use for the description of linguistic and stylistic features of that poetry is discussed.
Finally, the reception of the Epic cycle in late antiquity is studied with relevance to the
endowment of the term with new connotations and the content of Epic Cycle which has
survived until now.

While both the Homeric and the non-Homeric epics employ the same formulaic system to express the idea of proximity to the river Ocean, the contextual semantics of the expressions in question seem to be different. While the Homeric narrator treats the Ocean in a scenic way, that is, as a concrete entity spatially related to action (especially to the idea of movement), in the non-Homeric epics the same expressions are often used to convey a more abstract idea of extreme geographical distance.

This paper analyzes the character of Tiresias in the Odyssey. It presents and discusses what the Odyssey recounts about the soothsayer. Then the fragmentary epic texts (shamanic poetry and Stesichorus included), together with the testimony of Attic tragedy and iconography, is analyzed in order to put the evidence of the Odyssey into greater perspective. Finally, this paper proposes some conclusions which pay special attention to the probable pre-Homeric life of Tiresias as the protagonist of shamanic poetry, and also to the way in which the Odyssey adapts the figure of the seer to its own narrative purposes. It is interesting to discover in the Homeric Tiresias the figure who mediates between different sagas, who can establish a link between the Trojan complex and the Theban one, possibly because of his shamanic potentialities. The possibility of linking this fact with the Pan-Hellenic cultural policy of the sponsors of the Odyssey should also be taken into account.

This chapter offers an alternative to textualist models and the assumptions that underlie them by weighing other ways in which epic stories can relate to one another and by querying the very notion of an organized, integral cycle as customarily construed. We contend that the surviving texts—Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey and all of the Cycle fragments and summaries—represent possible instances of the epic stories surrounding the Trojan War and related events, instances that at some point took shape as fixed and stable (even if partial) entities, but which once existed as malleable story-patterns that featured and fostered variation within limits. We ballast this proposal about the ancient Greek Epic Cycle by surveying several oral epic traditions from around the world that behave similarly, that is, which operate by generating instances that show primary allegiance to their tradition as a whole rather than to any other single story-performance in particular. We conclude that in oral-derived texts, interactions are much too complex, multi-directional, fluid and dynamic for a purely intertextual model to fully explain. Further, traditional referentiality and an absence of textual fixity—typical features of oral and oral-derived narratives —undercut the notion that the elements and patterns that constitute a tradition can migrate from one poem to the other by a simple transference of units. Within an oral traditional environment, the instances (the textual remnants) represent singular realizations generated from a multiform tradition.