Homeric epic

This book aims to provide the reader of Homer with the traditional knowledge and fluency in Homeric poetry which an original ancient audience would have brought to a performance of this type of narrative. To that end, Adrian Kelly presents the text of Iliad VIII next to an apparatus referring to the traditional units being employed, and gives a brief description of their semantic impact. He describes the referential curve of the narrative in a continuous commentary, tabulates all the traditional units in a separate lexicon of Homeric structure, and examines critical decisions concerning the text in a discussion which employs the referential method as a critical criterion. Two appendices deal with speech introduction formulae, and with the traditional function of Here and Athene in early Greek epic poetry.

Tsagalis, C., Bryn Mawr Classical Review 2008.01.25
Heath, M., Greece & Rome 55 (2008) 111–12
Clackson, J., Times Literary Supplement October 17 (2008) 33
Strauss Clay, J., Religious Studies Review 34 (2008) 289
Huxley, G. L., Hermathena 184 (2008) 93–5
Cook, E., Classical Review 59 (2009) 14–16
de Jong, I., Mnemosyne 62 (2009) 478–80
Blanc, A., Revue des études grecques 122 (2009) 237–9

Though Odysseus’ tales to Eumaios and Aninoos in Odyssey 14.199–359 and 17.417–44, respectively, are presented as fictional tales within Homer’s larger myth, some elements have striking analogs in Late Bronze–Early Iron Age reality.

This article examines these portions of the hero’s false ainoi within their fictive context for the purpose of identifying and evaluating those elements. Particular focus is given to Odysseus’ declaration that he led nine successful maritime raids prior to the Trojan War; to his twice–described ill–fated assault on Egypt; and to his claim not only to have been spared in the wake of that Egyptian raid, but to have spent a subsequent seven years in the land of the pharaohs, during which he gathered great wealth.

Through a comparative examination of literary and archaeological evidence from the Late Bronze–Early Iron transition in the Eastern Mediterranean, it is shown that these aspects of Odysseus’ stories are not only reflective of the historical reality surrounding the time in which the epic is set, but that Odysseus’ fictive experience is remarkably similar to that of one specific member of the ‘Sea Peoples’ groups best known from 19th and 20th dynasty Egyptian records: the ‘Sherden of the Sea.’

This article offers a new interpretation of Athenian tragedy, in which the poets competed for their audience's favour by constructing stories in which the protagonists suffer and die because they act within a world which lacks the institutional compensations of which fifth-century Athenians were so proud. Far from being a subversive or apolitical art form (the most popular current poles of scholarly interpretation), Athenian tragedy was heavily and positively involved in its contemporary social and political discourse.

Resumen: El mundo de lo textil es parte integral de casi toda cultura humana y cumple en cada una de ellas distintas funciones sociales. En el ámbito de la épica griega la referencia a lo textil es constante. El poeta suele demorarse en las descripciones de vestuario o en las referencias a labores textiles que delata un conocimiento directo. En la Grecia antigua este mundo tiene una ligazón íntima con las mujeres porque constituye un trabajo casi exclusivamente femenino y porque, en tanto suplemento del cuerpo, ejerce un papel clave en la construcción de la propia identidad femenina. Los el-ementos textiles (como otros objetos del oîkos) sirven asimismo de medio de comunicación no verbal para las mujeres, lo que permite ampliar el escaso margen de acción y de expresión de unos personajes que, prescriptivamente, tienen una agencia limitada en la épica. Es nuestro objetivo en el presente artículo analizar los tejidos de Helena en el canto III y de Andrómaca en el XXII para establecer comparaciones y determinar similitudes y diferencias.

Spekali, #6

The present paper discusses Aristotle's "Poetics" in the light of one significant aspect of the Homeric innovation. Taking into account the given source and modern Homeric conceptions, the author of the paper classifies  the distinguishing criteria of the oral and written stages, which supposedly existed within the perennial process of the formation of the "Iliad". By way of illustration of the above-mentioned Book 9 of the "Iliad" is analyzed.

Spekali, #10
At 9.198 of the “Iliad”, Achilles greets, perhaps, only three ambassadors, or his friends, in the dual; however, at 9.204 the same greeting is repeated in the plural. In the process of interpretation of the issue several questions arose. In order to answer these questions, there is a need to reevaluate the whole embassy scene, but, again, from the Unitarian standpoint.

Traduzione letterale, interlineare dell'inizio del nono libro dell'Iliade, versi 1-113. Si tratta dell'assemblea greca che apre il libro, fino al termine del primo discorso di Nestore, in cui l'eroe suggerisce ad Agamennone, e all'assemblea riunita, di cercare un modo per convincere Achille deporre la sua ira e tornare a combattere.
La traduzione è accompagnata da note e commenti tratti, come sempre, dall'edizione commentata dell'Iliade di W. Leaf, e dal commentario edito da G. S. Kirk (per quest'ultimo, il commento è di B. Hainsworth).

Counselors, councilors and ambassadors are often complementary figures, but from Homeric Greece to classical Sparta we know of certain characters like the hero Odysseus or the Spartiate Lichas who perform all of these tasks (i.e. deliberating, deciding and delivering the decision) personally. Starting off with the analysis of the relevant literary sources, this paper proposes to address the following questions: what does the triple function of these figures imply for their respective duties? Can these cases be considered to be representative for Homeric Greece and Classical Sparta?

Zusammenfassung Einer der zentralen Texte zum Anderen der Kultur und vor allem der Kultur des Anderen ist ohne Zweifel Theodor W. Adornos Interpretation der Odyssee im Rahmen seiner mit Max Horkheimer verfaßten Dialektik der Aufklärung. Der Text ist damit Zeugnis einer interkulturellen Arbeit in und an der Schrift, während er zugleich auch Analyse eben dieses Prozesses der Arbeit der Vernunft und Sprache an ihrem Anderen ist. Im folgenden soll analysiert werden, welche Themenkomplexe Theodor W. Adorno an der Odyssee vorfinden konnte, wie er sie analysierte – und welche exegetischen Optionen das Material noch sowohl im Sinne der Interpretation Adornos, aber auch gegen sie geboten hätte. Adornos Odyssee-Lektüre ist eine vernunftkritisch motivierte Archäologie, der Versuch, das, was an der Moderne und ihrem exzessiven Bezug zur Vernunft schon quasi von Beginn an als Makel auszulegen ist, zu definieren. Im Rekurs auf eine sozusagen vorgeschichtliche Erzählung soll so die letztlich außergeschichtliche Frage beantwortet werden, ob ein Begreifen möglich sei, ohne sich genau der " Sprossen der Leiter, über die Odysseus, […] (der) Affe, nach Ithaka klettert " 1 , zu bedienen, ob also das Andere (die andere Sprache und Kultur, aber dann ganz deutlich auch das Andere von Sprache und Kultur) anders denn im Zuge einer illegitimen Bemächtigung zu verstehen ist.

In the Odyssey we find a description of Odysseus being recognized by his age-old and decrepit dog Argos, whom he he had reared and trained before his departure for Troia.

I will discuss this text passage with a focus on its function and intended effect on the listeners of the Odyssey and compare it to other descriptions of animals, especially dogs, in the Homeric epics.

Since the times of Homeric epics, speaking in medias res has been the most suitable form of storytelling, leaving the threshold of narrative ajar in the present, upholding a historical sense. This ancient historical sense of time, inherent in oral traditions revived in early twentieth century literary Modernism as T. S. Eliot stated in his 1919 essay, “Tradition and The Individual Talent:” “… And it is at the same time what makes a writer most acutely conscious of his place in time, of his own contemporaneity.” Be it a messianic revival or primitivism, calling for a coherent context for all, the Modernists were in urge for new narrative techniques overcoming the devastating traumas of the World Wars, representing the shared experiences worldwide. In this respect, early twentieth-century. Modernism provided a literary niche for a new generation of storytellers engaged in the momentous grasp of time coalescing with an epiphany. Thus, regarding the present global crises of humanity aga...

Why do we, as a race, feel the need to tell or listen to stories?  Why do we re-tell stories from the past? In this paper I look at modern retellings of Homer's 'Iliad' and 'Odyssey' in the films 'Troy (2004) and 'O Brother Where Art Thou?' (2000). The paper includes discussions on oral poetry, the film industry, the Homeric question and the directors' personal and film backgrounds.  It analyses how the ancient world is represented in these films to memorialise the ancient and near past, and to provoke contemporary ethical debate on the nature and morality of war, as well as contemporary American society and values.

Submitted as an MA thesis in Classical Studies, 2008

Texto bilingüe comentado del canto 5 de Ilíada, con establecimiento del texto griego, traducción y numerosas notas y comentarios sobre el poema. Todo el material está disponible en forma online en https://www.iliada.com.ar. Los invito a visitar el sitio y suscribirse a nuestro newsletter.

El archivo ha sido actualizado en diciembre de 2023, con ampliaciones y correcciones.

Questo volume è dedicato al primo libro dell'Iliade, e riunisce insieme tre elementi: il testo dell’Iliade, una traduzione interlineare rigorosamente letterale ed un commentario. Non sono a conoscenza di un altro testo in cui tutti questi tre elementi siano riuniti insieme, e siano presentati in lingua italiana. Non intendo rivendicare l’aver colmato alcuna lacuna: ho semplicemente voluto realizzare lo strumento a mio parere più pratico, per un lettore appassionato di Omero, al fine di consentirgli allo stesso tempo e con un unico volume tra le mani di leggere il testo greco del poema, confrontare una proposta di traduzione ed approfondire vari aspetti del testo con un esteso commentario a piè di pagina.
La traduzione ed il commento sono preceduti da un'introduzione al libro, e seguite da alcune schede lessicali e di approfondimento. La traduzione, le schede lessicali e l’impostazione complessiva del presente lavoro sono originali, mentre per il commento e le note mi sono mi sono appoggiato in larga misura ai due fondamentali commentari di W. Leaf e G. S. Kirk, che ho parzialmente tradotto e variamente integrato tra di loro e con altre fonti. Le note sono principalmente focalizzate sul lessico e sulla grammatica. Per un'analisi grammaticale dettagliata che si integra al testo greco e ad una traduzione letterale interlineare, si veda il lavoro di J. J. Jackson.

Esperimento di traduzione dell'Iliade di Omero. Libro secondo : Il sogno; La prova dell'esercito; Il Catalogo delle Navi; Il Catalogo Troiano.
Traduzione interlineare, con note grammaticali e vocabolario essenziale in linea.
La traduzione è accompagnata da tavole sinottiche e commenti.

Heroes come in all shapes and sizes. Captain Ahab is no exception. Forget for a second Ahab's villainous qualities and look instead to the classical tradition. Shakespeare's Macbeth was not a very nice guy. Neither was Milton's Satan. Still, we find qualities within these antagonists that conform to ancient ideas of the epic and tragedy. Let us, then, look at Ahab in this same light. Ahab may be a monomaniac, but we still adore him despite all of his faults. Therefore, this essay explores the heroic qualities of Ahab which have made him into the American lit icon he is today.

Introduction of my master's degree thesis, whose purpose is to investigate the possible anatolian origin of the Greek epic poetry represented by the Homeric poems. Inside the Introduction I also offer my vision upon the Homeric question. Thanks to my mentors, professor A. Rodighiero and professor F. Giusfredi.

Il pensiero antico ha riflettuto continuamente sull'essenza tragica della natura umana, in perenne sforzo di costruire un cosmo ordinato all'interno della ciclica legge naturale. Riprendendo considerazioni di altri eminenti studiosi, questo scritto tenta di mostrare la profondità di questa riflessione facendo interagire tre autori come Omero, Sofocle e Tucidide.

Questo volume – che contiene la traduzione interlineare commentata dei libri V-VIII dell’Iliade – è parte di un mio personale progetto di traduzione e pubblicazione dei due poemi omerici nella loro integralità. Il volume riunisce insieme tre elementi:
• il testo del poema omerico: ho adottato come riferimento l’edizione critica di D. B. Monro e T. W. Allen (1920);
• una traduzione interlineare rigorosamente letterale: ogni verso è seguito dalla sua traduzione letterale, ma dove il rigido rispetto di quest’alternanza minima poteva rendere difficile la comprensione del testo ho preferito raggruppare insieme due o tre versi e far seguire la traduzione dell’insieme;
• un esteso commentario: i commenti si basano principalmente su due classici commentari in lingua inglese, quello in due volumi di W. Leaf (1900 e 1902) e quello in sei volumi curato da G. S. Kirk (1985, 1990, 1993, 1992, 1991, 1993).
Non sono a conoscenza di un altro testo in lingua italiana in cui questi tre elementi siano riuniti insieme e con la medesima modalità. Non intendo rivendicare l’aver colmato alcuna lacuna: ho semplicemente voluto realizzare un utile strumento che potesse consentire al lettore appassionato di epica omerica di leggere il testo greco dei poemi, allo stesso tempo confrontandosi con una proposta di traduzione interlineare rigorosamente letterale ed approfondendo vari aspetti del testo con un esteso commentario. Il tutto avendo tra le mani un unico testo.

http://www.degruyter.com/view/product/458318
This book looks at witnesses to suffering and death in ancient Greek epic (Homer’s Iliad) and tragedy. Internal spectators abound in both genres, and have received due scholarly attention. The present monograph covers new ground by dealing with a specific subset of characters: those who are put in the position of spectator to (and, often, commentator on) their own deed(s). By their very nature, protagonists are confined to the role of witness to the suffering (or deaths) they have caused only for brief stretches of time — often a single scene or even just the length of a speech — but every instance is of central importance, not just to our understanding of the characters in question, but also to the articulation of fundamental themes within the poetic works under examination. As they shift from the status of agent to that of witness, these protagonists, qua spectators to the consequences of their actions, give voice to, dramatize, and enact the tragic motifs of human helplessness and mortal fallibility that lie at the core of Homeric epic and Greek tragedy and that define the human condition, in a manner that leads the audience looking on to ponder their own.

Questo volume è dedicato al terzo libro dell'Iliade, e riunisce insieme tre elementi: il testo dell’Iliade, una traduzione interlineare rigorosamente letterale ed un commentario. Non sono a conoscenza di un altro testo in cui tutti questi tre elementi siano riuniti insieme, e siano presentati in lingua italiana. Non intendo rivendicare l’aver colmato alcuna lacuna: ho semplicemente voluto realizzare lo strumento a mio parere più pratico, per un lettore appassionato di Omero, al fine di consentirgli allo stesso tempo e con un unico volume tra le mani di leggere il testo greco del poema, confrontare una proposta di traduzione ed approfondire vari aspetti del testo con un esteso commentario a piè di pagina.
La traduzione ed il commento sono preceduti da un'introduzione al libro, e seguite da alcune schede lessicali e di approfondimento. La traduzione, le schede lessicali e l’impostazione complessiva del presente lavoro sono originali, mentre per il commento e le note mi sono mi sono appoggiato in larga misura ai due fondamentali commentari di W. Leaf e G. S. Kirk, che ho parzialmente tradotto e variamente integrato tra di loro e con altre fonti. Le note sono principalmente focalizzate sul lessico e sulla grammatica. Per un'analisi grammaticale dettagliata che si integra al testo greco e ad una traduzione letterale interlineare, si veda il lavoro di J. J. Jackson.

This is my annotated translation of ODY 9.  I took three semesters of Homeric Greek with the late Anthony Bolloch at Berkeley, ILIAD 1, 6  and ODY 1, 6, 9 (not all of each book).  Mistakes are mine, not his, but we went over this translation pretty well.

Il sedicesimo libro segna il compimento dei disegni di Zeus: i Troiani riescono ad appiccare il fuoco alla prima delle navi greche (122-124). Achille consentirà al compagno Patroclo di unirsi ai combattimenti insieme ai suoi Mirmidoni, ma l'eroe verrà ucciso in questo stesso libro (827-828).
I versi 1-100, che propongo ora, vedono il breve dialogo iniziale tra Patroclo ed Achille: seguirà la scena di armamento di Patroclo, quindi quest'ultimo si unirà ai combattimenti.
Il testo greco di riferimento è quello di D.B. Monro e T.W. Allen. La traduzione è interlineare e letterale, arricchita da un dettagliato corpo di note selezionate principalmente dai commentari di W. Leaf e R. Janko.

A new solution is offered to a difficulty posed by Homer’s Iliad: Hippothoos, the leader of Troy’s Pelasgian allies, fought against the Greeks and died far from his home in Larissa. However, soldiers from the distant Larissas familiar to us fought not for the Trojans but for the Greeks, if they fought at all. The approach herein is a thorough survey of 18 known and likely Larissa locations, considering Homeric, mythological, archaeological, and numismatic evidence. This survey is followed by a systematic evaluation with regard to seven criteria. It appears likely that there may be two widely-separated Larissas of Hippothoos and his Pelasgians. The Larissa of Iliad 17 is probably in the Greek homeland, most likely on the river Peneios in Thessaly. The Larissa of Iliad 2 may well be in the eastern Balkans. The Balkan location is probably on Thrake’s coast of the Sea of Marmara, perhaps at the west of Mygdonia. An alternative location is the west coast of the Black Sea, somewhere around Naulochos, Moisia where a little-known Larissa was mentioned by Strabo.

This volume is the edited collection of the papers from a conference we hosted in Oxford in 2017, drawing together specialists from the United Kingdom, continental Europe and the United States, to examine afresh the relationship between early Greece and the civilisations of the ancient Near East. This is one of the most controversial and rapidly developing research topics in Classics, and the aim of the conference was to bring together Classicists and non-Classicists in a truly interdisciplinary environment, in which specialists from several different fields could observe and draw upon one another’s discoveries and knowledge. It was the first time that all major scholars who have so far contributed to the debate were assembled at a conference, a fact that was reflected by large crowd of over seventy participants at the Ioannou Centre in Oxford, over two full days. Our hope was that the resulting interchange would reflect on the disparate methodologies which have developed in these distinct fields, and move towards a new consensus. In order to achieve this, we limited the papers to the presentation of narratives to do with the gods; this led to a clear cross-fertilisation between papers (both in the general discussion and in the presentations), and a movement away from a narrow concern with the question of direct influence towards a more truly comparative perspective, in which the individual dynamics of the Greek and Near Eastern traditions help to illuminate what is distinctive about each of them. This represents a paradigm shift in a field once concerned solely with collecting literary parallels and letting them ‘speak for themselves’ (in Martin West’s famous words), and this is one of the major reasons why we think the resulting volume will cohere both thematically and as articulating a crucial moment in the history of scholarship on this question.

The volume serves two interconnected purposes. The first is that the book is an illustrative, handbook-like overview of the history and current state of the discussion, an aspect to be supported by an extensive Introduction to the volume, to be written by the editors. The second is that it offers new material and fresh approaches formulated by the leading scholars in the field. The volume will thus capture the state of the current discussion and shape the future debate. In keeping with the theme and discoveries of the conference, the chapters are not simply lists of parallels, but attempts to consider the processes of interaction and their significance for the texts being discussed.

The cast list of contributors is, as one should expect in a volume with this kind of ambition, international: Angus Bowie (Oxford), Yoram Cohen (Tel Aviv), Bruno Currie (Oxford), Andrew George (SOAS), Amir Gilan (Tel-Aviv), Johannes Haubold (Durham), Adrian Kelly (Oxford), Andre Lardinois (Nijmegen), Carolina Lopez-Ruiz (Ohio State), Christopher Metcalf (Oxford), Bernardo Petrella (Oxford), Fran Reynolds (Oxford), Ruth Scodel (Michigan), Robert Rollinger (Innsbruck), Ian Rutherford (Reading), Sylvie Vanséveren (Brussels), and Mark Weeden (SOAS).