Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age, Volume 1
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CAMBRIDGE LIBRARY COLLECTION Books of enduring scholarly value Classics From the Renaissance to the nineteenth century, Latin and Greek were compulsory subjects in almost all European universities, and most early modern scholars published their research and conducted international correspondence in Latin. Latin had continued in use in Western Europe long after the fall of the Roman empire as the lingua franca of the educated classes and of law, diplomacy, religion and university teaching. The flight of Greek scholars to the West after the fall of Constantinople in 1453 gave impetus to the study of ancient Greek literature and the Greek New Testament. Eventually, just as nineteenth-century reforms of university curricula were beginning to erode this ascendancy, developments in textual criticism and linguistic analysis, and new ways of studying ancient societies, especially archaeology, led to renewed enthusiasm for the Classics. This collection offers works of criticism, interpretation and synthesis by the outstanding scholars of the nineteenth century. Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age Four-time prime minister William Ewart Gladstone (1809–98) was also a prolific author and enthusiastic scholar of the classics. Gladstone had spent almost two decades in politics prior to his writing the three-volume Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age. This work and the preceding ‘On the place of Homer in classical education and in historical inquiry’ (1857), reflect Gladstone’s interest in theIliad and the Odyssey, which he read with increasing frequency from the 1830s onward and which he viewed as particularly relevant to modern society. As he relates, he has two objects in the Studies: ‘to promote and extend’ the study of Homer’s ‘immortal poems’ and ‘to vindicate for them ... their just degree both of absolute and, more especially, of relative critical value’. Volume 1 establishes Homer’s contemporary relevance and provides an extensive ‘ethnography of Greek races’ related to Homer’s works. Cambridge University Press has long been a pioneer in the reissuing of out-of-print titles from its own backlist, producing digital reprints of books that are still sought after by scholars and students but could not be reprinted economically using traditional technology. The Cambridge Library Collection extends this activity to a wider range of books which are still of importance to researchers and professionals, either for the source material they contain, or as landmarks in the history of their academic discipline. Drawing from the world-renowned collections in the Cambridge University Library, and guided by the advice of experts in each subject area, Cambridge University Press is using state-of-the-art scanning machines in its own Printing House to capture the content of each book selected for inclusion. The files are processed to give a consistently clear, crisp image, and the books finished to the high quality standard for which the Press is recognised around the world. The latest print-on-demand technology ensures that the books will remain available indefinitely, and that orders for single or multiple copies can quickly be supplied. The Cambridge Library Collection will bring back to life books of enduring scholarly value (including out-of-copyright works originally issued by other publishers) across a wide range of disciplines in the humanities and social sciences and in science and technology. Studies on Homer and the Homeric Age Volume 1: I. Prolegomena; II. Achaeis; or, The Ethnology of the Greek Races William Ewart Gladstone CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS Cambridge, New York, Melbourne, Madrid, Cape Town, Singapore, São Paolo, Delhi, Dubai, Tokyo Published in the United States of America by Cambridge University Press, New York www.cambridge.org Information on this title: www.cambridge.org/9781108012041 © in this compilation Cambridge University Press 2010 This edition first published 1858 This digitally printed version 2010 ISBN 978-1-108-01204-1 Paperback This book reproduces the text of the original edition. The content and language reflect the beliefs, practices and terminology of their time, and have not been updated. Cambridge University Press wishes to make clear that the book, unless originally published by Cambridge, is not being republished by, in association or collaboration with, or with the endorsement or approval of, the original publisher or its successors in title. STUDIES ON HOMER AND THE HOMERIC AGE. BY THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, D.C.L. M. P. FOR THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. IN THEEE VOLUMES. VOL. I. Plenius ac nielius Chrysippo et Crantore.— HOB ACE. OXFORD: AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS. M.DCCC.LVI1I. [The rijjli.t of Trnusln.tivn is nscrrccl.\ STUDIES ON HOMER AND THE HOMERIC AGE. I. PROLEGOMENA. II. ACHiEIS: OB, THE ETHNOLOGY OF THE GEEEK RACiSS. BY THE RIGHT HON. W. E. GLADSTONE, D.C.L. M. P. FOE THE UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD. Plenius ac melius Chrysippo et Crantore.—HOEACE. 0 X F 0 R D : AT THE UNIVERSITY PRESS M.DCCC.LVIII. [The right of Translation is reserved] THE CONTENTS. I. PROLEGOMENA. SECT. I. On tlie State of the Homeric Question. Objects of this Work Page I Results thus far of the Homeric Controversy 2 Improved apparatus for the Study of Homer 4 Effect of the poems on Civilization 5 They do not compete with the Holy Scriptures 6 SECT. II. The Place of Homer in Classical Education. Study of Homer in the English Universities 9 Homer should not be studied as a Poet only 11 His claims compared with those of other Poets 14 Study of Homer in the Public Schools 18 SECT. III. On the Historic Aims of Homer. High organization of the Poems 21 The presumption is that the Poet had Historic aims 22 Positive signs of them 23 Pursued even at some cost of Poetical beauty 26 Minuter indications 28 General tone 28 Hypothesis of reproduction inadmissible 30 What is chiefly meant by his Historic aims 35 vi CONTENTS. SECT. IV. On the probable Date of Homer. The main question : is he an original witness a Adverse arguments "• Affirmative arguments 39 SECT. V. The probable Trustworthiness of the Text of Homer. The received text to be adopted as a basis 42 Failure of other methods 44 State of the Manuscripts 46 Complaints of interpolation 47 Testimonies concerning the early use of the Poems 49 Preservative power of the Recitations or matches 55 Pseudo -Homeric poems 56 Argument from the Cyclic poems 59 The Alexandrian period 60 Amount and quality of guarantees 64 Improbability of wilful falsification 67 Internal evidence of soundness in detail 69 SECT. VI. Place and Authority of Homer in Historical Inquiry. Homer paramount as a literary authority 71 He has suffered through credulity 70 And through incredulity »„ Proposed method of treatment gj Instances of contrary method, (1) Hellen and his family 82 Authority of Hesiod g. Instance (2), personality of Helen g- Conclusion g CONTENTS. vii II. ACH^IS. ETHNOLOGY OF THE GREEK RACES. SECT. I. Scope of the Inquiry. Preliminary objection of Mr. Grote stated 93 Synopsis of national and tribal names to be examined 96 SECT. II. On the Pelasgia/ns, and cognate races. The Pelasgians 100 Pelasgic Argos 101 Dodona 106 Thessaly and the Southern Islands 109 Epithets for Pelasgians 113 Use of this name in the singular 114 The Pelasgians and Larissa 115 The Arcadians Pelasgian 119 Why Trpotrekrjvoi 121 The Arcadians afterwards the Swiss of Greece 122 The Graians or Greeks 123 Ceres and the Pelasgians 124 The Iaones or Ionians 127 The Athenians in the Catalogue 129 The Catalogue, vv. 546-9 129 The same, vv. 550,1 132 The same, vv. 553-5 135 Review of the Homeric evidence as to the Athenians 137 Their relations with Minerva 140 Post-Homeric evidence of the Pelasgianism of Attica 145 viii CONTENTS. The Pelasgians related to Egypt The Egyptians semi-fabulous to Homer *• Their Pelasgian resemblances, in Homer and otherwise I53 The Greeks of the Iliad why never termed Pelasgian *S The &piJK(S and QprjUtoi The Caucones and Leleges * l SECT. III. The Pelasgians : and certain States naturalized or akin to Greece. Minos in Homer 166 His origin 167 His place in the nether world ~i68 The power of Crete 169 Two of the five races apparently Pelasgian 17° The tradition of Deucalion 172 The extent of the Minoan Empire 175 Evidence of Post-Homeric tradition 176 Circumstantial evidence 178 The Lycians 181 Their points of connection with Greece 183 Elements of the population 185 Cyprus 188 Inhabitants probably Pelasgian 190 No other name competes with the Pelasgian as designating the first inhabitants of Greece 193 The Pelasgians were the base or substratum of the Greek nation. 194 Post-Homeric testimony respecting them log K. O. Mtiller's Summary 200 The Pelasgian language 203 The Pelasgian route into Greece 2Or Probably twofold 2Og Route of the Helli 2og Peloponnesus the old centre of power 2OQ Derivation of the Pelasgian name 2II CONTENTS. ix SECT. IV. On the Plimnicians and the Outer Geography of the Odyssey. Tokens of the Phoenicians in Greece 216 Limits of Homer's Inner or Greek Geography 217 And Greek Navigation 219 His Outer Geography Phoenician 221 The traditions connected therewith also Phoenician 223 Minos the 'O\o6(f>piov 225 Commercial aptitude of the modern Greeks 227 The Homeric Mouth of Ocean 228 The two Geographical reports are blended into one 228 The Siceli and Sicania 229 Their site is probably on the Bruttian Coast 231 The Epirus of Homer 234 The Thesprotians in Homer 235 The Cadmeans in Homer 239 Period from which they date -240 Conclusions respecting them 244 SECT. V. On the Catalogue. The Greek Catalogue, properly an Array or Review 245 The Preface 246 The List 247 The principle of arrangement 249 The distribution in chief 250 The sub-distribution 251 Proofs of historic aim 255 Genealogies of the Catalogue 256 The Epilogue 259 The Trojan Catalogue 261 SECT.