Homeric responses

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Homeric responses

Gregory Nagy

University of Texas Press, 2003

1st ed

  • : cloth : alk. paper
  • : pbk. : alk. paper

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Note

Includes bibliographical references (p. 89-96) and index

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Contents of Works

  • About synchronic and diachronic perspectives
  • About the evolutionary model
  • About dictation models
  • About cross-references in Homer
  • Homeric responses
  • Homeric rhapsodes and the concept of diachronic skewing
  • Irreversible mistakes and Homeric clairvoyance
  • The shield of Achilles : Ends of the Iliad and beginnings of the polis

Description and Table of Contents

Description

The Homeric "Iliad" and "Odyssey" are among the world's foremost epics. Yet, millennia after their composition, basic questions remain about them. Who was Homer - a real or an ideal poet? When were the poems composed - at a single point in time, or over centuries of composition and performance? And how were the poems committed to writing? These uncertainties have been known as The Homeric Question, and many scholars, including Gregory Nagy, have sought to solve it.In "Homeric Responses", Nagy presents a series of essays that further elaborate his theories regarding the oral composition and evolution of the Homeric epics. Building on his previous work in "Homeric Questions" and "Poetry as Performance: Homer and Beyond" and responding to some of his critics, he examines such issues as the importance of performance and the interaction between audience and poet in shaping the poetry; the role of the rhapsode (the performer of the poems) in the composition and transmission of the poetry; the 'irreversible mistakes' and cross-references in the "Iliad" and "Odyssey" as evidences of artistic creativity; and the Iliadic description of the shield of Achilles as a pointer to the world outside the poem, the polis of the audience.

Table of Contents

  • Abbreviations
  • AcknowledgmentsPrologue
  • Introduction. Four Questions
  • Question 1. About Synchronic and Diachronic Perspectives
  • Question 2. About the Evolutionary Model
  • Question 3. About Dictation Models
  • Question 4. About Cross-References in Homer
  • Chapter 1. Homeric Responses
  • Chapter 2. Homeric Rhapsodes and the Concept of Diachronic Skewing
  • Chapter 3. Irreversible Mistakes and Homeric Clairvoyance
  • Chapter 4. The Shield of Achilles: Ends of the Iliad and Beginnings of the PolisBibliography
  • Index

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