DOCSLIB.ORG

1. De Excidio Troiae Historia

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
1. De Excidio Troiae Historia DIPLOMARBEIT Titel der Diplomarbeit „Die Ystoria Dared und ihre Bedeutung in der mittelalterlichen walisischen Historiographie“ verfasst von Gregory Ian Posch angestrebter akademischer Grad Magister (Mag.) Wien, 2015 Studienkennzahl lt. Studienblatt: A 057 327 Studienrichtung lt. Studienblatt: Individuelles Diplomstudium Keltologie Betreut von: Assoz. Prof. Mag. Dr. Stefan Schumacher, Privatdoz. 1 Meinen Eltern. 2 Danksagung Ich möchte an dieser Stelle meinen Eltern danken, da sie mich durch das ganze Studium hindurch unterstützt haben, und es mir erst durch sie ermöglicht wurde, überhaupt in Wien zu studieren. Weiters möchte ich meinem Betreuer Stefan Schumacher für seine Unterstützung danken. Insbesondere für seine Geduld und Hilfe bei der Korrektur meiner Übersetzung. 3 Inhaltsverzeichnis Inhaltsverzeichnis........................................................................................................................4 Einleitung....................................................................................................................................6 1. De excidio Troiae historia.......................................................................................................8 1.1 Die Datierung der DETH..........................................................................................9 1.2 Wer war Dares Phrygius?..........................................................................................9 1.3 Der Inhalt der DETH...............................................................................................11 1.4 Vergleich mit Homers Ilias.....................................................................................21 1.5 Entmystifizierung....................................................................................................24 1.6 Antike Homerkritik.................................................................................................26 1.7 Pro-griechisch oder pro-troianisch..........................................................................28 2. Die Bedeutung der DETH in der mittelalterlichen europäischen Literatur..........................30 2.1 Französisch..............................................................................................................34 2.2 Latein.......................................................................................................................36 2.3 Deutsch....................................................................................................................38 2.4 Englisch...................................................................................................................40 2.5 Irisch........................................................................................................................43 2.6 Isländisch.................................................................................................................46 3. Walisische Geschichtsschreibung.........................................................................................48 3.1 Wichtige mittelalterliche walisische Geschichtswerke...........................................48 3.1.1 Annales Cambriae....................................................................................49 3.1.2 Y Bibyl Ynghymraec................................................................................49 3.1.3 Historia Brittonum....................................................................................50 4 3.1.4 Historia Regum Britanniae.......................................................................50 3.1.4.1 Brut y Brenhinedd.................................................................................53 3.1.5 Itinerarium Kambriae und Descriptio Kambriae......................................53 3.1.6 Brut y Tywysogion / Cronica Principum Wallie......................................55 3.1.7 Brenhinedd y Saesson..............................................................................57 3.1.8 Historia Gruffudd ap Cynan.....................................................................57 4. Ystoria Dared........................................................................................................................59 4.1 Versionen der YD....................................................................................................62 5. Übersetzung des Personenkatalogs.......................................................................................65 5.1 Kommentar..............................................................................................................93 5.2 Lateinischer Personenkatalog................................................................................103 6. Zusammenfassung...............................................................................................................105 Anhang: Deutsche Übersetzung der DETH............................................................................108 Abkürzungsverzeichnis...........................................................................................................135 Literaturverzeichnis................................................................................................................137 Abstract (deutsch)...................................................................................................................143 Abstract (English)...................................................................................................................144 Lebenslauf...............................................................................................................................145 Curriculum Vitae.....................................................................................................................146 5 Einleitung In der vorliegenden Arbeit möchte ich auf die Bedeutung der spätantiken De excidio Troiae historia für die mittelalterliche europäische Rezension der Troia-Geschichte eingehen, insbesondere jener der Ystoria Dared in der walisischen Geschichtsschreibung. Der mittelwalisische Text ist eine Übersetzung eines lateinischen Originals. Letzteres wird einem gewissen Dares Phrygius zugeschrieben, einem angeblichen Augenzeugen des troianischen Kriegs. Daher die mittelwalisische Bezeichnung Ystoria Dared (Geschichte Dareds). Im ersten Kapitel gehe ich auf die lateinische De excidio Troiae historia ein. Ich erörtere, worum es in dem Text geht, auf wann er datiert wird, und was man über den vorgeblichen Autor berichten kann. Anschließend gebe ich eine Zusammenfassung der Geschichte und gehe etwas genauer auf Aufbau und Inhalt ein. Dann ergänze ich die inhaltliche Analyse mit einem Vergleich des Werks mit der Ilias des Homer anhand einiger Beispiele aus beiden Texten. Darauf folgt ein kleiner Exkurs über antike Homerkritik, insbesondere vonseiten Platons. Zum Schluss spreche ich die vermeintlich troiafreundliche Erzählweise des Dares an. Hierbei stütze ich mich vornehmlich auf die Forschungen BESCHORNERs1. Im zweiten Kapitel will ich auf die Bedeutung des Werks in der mittelalterlichen europäischen Literatur eingehen, wie es aufgefasst wurde und warum es sich solcher Beliebtheit erfreute. Hierfür gebe ich Beispiele von Troialiteratur unterschiedlicher Sprachen an, denen das dem Dares zugeschriebenen Werk auf einer oder anderen Art als Quelle diente. Im dritten Kapitel gehe ich auf die mittelalterliche walisische Geschichtsschreibung ein. Ich liste die wichtigsten walisischen Geschichtswerke (lateinische Originale sowie deren mittelwalisische Übersetzungen) und zeige deren Verbindung und Verhältnis zueinander auf. Im vierten Kapitel folgt eine Analyse der Ystoria Dared, mit einer Auflistung der erhaltenen Rezensionen und Vorschlägen zu deren Gliederung. 1 Beschorner 1992. 6 Im fünften Kapitel übersetze ich den Personenkatalog in der Version des NLW MS. 3035 (Mostyn 116) und vergleiche sie mit der lateinischen Version von MEISTER2 und gehe auch auf andere walisische Rezensionen der Geschichte ein. Anschließend folgt eine Zusammenfassung der Arbeit. Im Anhang gebe ich die geamte deutsche Übersetzung des lateinischen Texts durch MEISTER an, damit die Geschichte in ihrer Vollständigkeit gelesen werden kann. Für die Wiedergabe der Namen der unterschiedlichen, in der Geschichte vorkommenden Charaktere habe ich mich für jene Versionen entschieden, die MEISTER in seiner Übersetzung angibt. 2 Meister 1873. 7 1. De excidio Troiae historia (Geschichte über den Untergang Troias) De excidio Troiae historia (im Folgenden DETH) ist ein fiktionaler Augenzeugenbericht vom Kampf um Troia und wird einem gewissen Dares Phrygius zugeschrieben. Die historia wird oft gemeinsam mit der Ephemeris belli Troiani (im Folgenden EBT), welche einem gewissen Dictys Cretensis zugeschrieben wird, als spätantikes Werk genannt, das während des gesamten Mittelalters eine starke Rezension in Europa erfuhr.3 Von den zahlreichen DETH- Handschriften des Mittelalters und der Frühen Neuzeit sind heute mehr als 200 überliefert.4 Vor allem die auf die Zerstörung Troias folgende Flucht des Aeneas und die Gründung Roms durch dessen Nachkommen sind in der mittelalterlichen Weltgeschichte wichtige Punkte.5 Im Gegensatz zur allgemein mehr oder minder gut bekannten „traditionellen“ Geschichte des troianischen Kriegs in der Ilias des Homer legt DETH eine schlichte Ausdrucksweise an den Tag, mit dem Ziel, zu entheroisieren und zu rationalisieren6. Der knappe Stil und die schlichte Ausdrucksweise sind notwendig, um die Glaubwürdigkeit des Werkes als Kriegstagebuch und Augenzeugenbericht
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Dares Phrygius' De Excidio Trojae Historia: Philological Commentary and Translation
    Faculteit Letteren & Wijsbegeerte Dares Phrygius' De Excidio Trojae Historia: Philological Commentary and Translation Jonathan Cornil Scriptie voorgedragen tot het bekomen van de graad van Master in de Taal- en letterkunde (Latijn – Engels) 2011-2012 Promotor: Prof. Dr. W. Verbaal ii Table of Contents Table of Contents iii Foreword v Introduction vii Chapter I. De Excidio Trojae Historia: Philological and Historical Comments 1 A. Dares and His Historia: Shrouded in Mystery 2 1. Who Was ‘Dares the Phrygian’? 2 2. The Role of Cornelius Nepos 6 3. Time of Origin and Literary Environment 9 4. Analysing the Formal Characteristics 11 B. Dares as an Example of ‘Rewriting’ 15 1. Homeric Criticism and the Trojan Legacy in the Middle Ages 15 2. Dares’ Problematic Connection with Dictys Cretensis 20 3. Comments on the ‘Lost Greek Original’ 27 4. Conclusion 31 Chapter II. Translations 33 A. Translating Dares: Frustra Laborat, Qui Omnibus Placere Studet 34 1. Investigating DETH’s Style 34 2. My Own Translations: a Brief Comparison 39 3. A Concise Analysis of R.M. Frazer’s Translation 42 B. Translation I 50 C. Translation II 73 D. Notes 94 Bibliography 95 Appendix: the Latin DETH 99 iii iv Foreword About two years ago, I happened to be researching Cornelius Nepos’ biography of Miltiades as part of an assignment for a class devoted to the study of translating Greek and Latin texts. After heaping together everything I could find about him in the library, I came to the conclusion that I still needed more information. So I decided to embrace my identity as a loyal member of the ‘Internet generation’ and began my virtual journey through the World Wide Web in search of articles on Nepos.
    [Show full text]
  • The Bible and Critical Theory, Volume 8, Number 2, 2012 75
    THE B IBLE AND CRITICAL THEORY REVIEWS Review of Philippe Wajdenbaum, Argonauts of the Desert: Structural Analysis of the Hebrew Bible. Copenhagen International Seminar. Sheffield: Equinox Publishing, 2011. Peter D. Miscall The book is based on Wajdenbaum’s 2008 dissertation in Social Sciences-Anthropology from the Université Libre de Bruxelles under the direction of Michèle Broze. Wajdenbaum clearly lays out his assumptions, theses, and method in a 90 page introduction. First, he espouses Lévi-Strauss’ structural analysis of myth, in which a myth exists and reveals itself through all its transformations in variants, including modern translations and interpretations. For Wajdenbaum this justifies his search for narrative and legal parallels in Greek sources to the biblical material in Genesis-2 Kings and it also justifies his use of translations, not original Hebrew, Greek, or Latin texts. “A myth is always a translation” (p. 18; original italics). Lévi-Strauss and his structural method get scant mention in the rest of the book; the discussion serves a purpose in the introduction but not in his actual analyses. His second point is a conglomeration of stances. In short, Wajdenbaum sees Genesis-2 Kings as the work of one author, possibly living in Alexandria, who fashions a national epic as a counter to the powerful Hellenistic culture threatening to displace ancient cultures, particularly that of Judea. The central strategy of this counter-statement is to appropriate the Greek tradition, particularly that of Plato’s Laws and Herodotus’ Histories, to write this national epic and, in a sense, to beat the Hellenistic forces at their own game.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iliad of Homer by Homer
    The Project Gutenberg EBook of The Iliad of Homer by Homer This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with almost no restrictions whatsoever. You may copy it, give it away or re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included with this eBook or online at http://www.gutenberg.org/license Title: The Iliad of Homer Author: Homer Release Date: September 2006 [Ebook 6130] Language: English ***START OF THE PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK THE ILIAD OF HOMER*** The Iliad of Homer Translated by Alexander Pope, with notes by the Rev. Theodore Alois Buckley, M.A., F.S.A. and Flaxman's Designs. 1899 Contents INTRODUCTION. ix POPE'S PREFACE TO THE ILIAD OF HOMER . xlv BOOK I. .3 BOOK II. 41 BOOK III. 85 BOOK IV. 111 BOOK V. 137 BOOK VI. 181 BOOK VII. 209 BOOK VIII. 233 BOOK IX. 261 BOOK X. 295 BOOK XI. 319 BOOK XII. 355 BOOK XIII. 377 BOOK XIV. 415 BOOK XV. 441 BOOK XVI. 473 BOOK XVII. 513 BOOK XVIII. 545 BOOK XIX. 575 BOOK XX. 593 BOOK XXI. 615 BOOK XXII. 641 BOOK XXIII. 667 BOOK XXIV. 707 CONCLUDING NOTE. 747 Illustrations HOMER INVOKING THE MUSE. .6 MARS. 13 MINERVA REPRESSING THE FURY OF ACHILLES. 16 THE DEPARTURE OF BRISEIS FROM THE TENT OF ACHILLES. 23 THETIS CALLING BRIAREUS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF JUPITER. 27 THETIS ENTREATING JUPITER TO HONOUR ACHILLES. 32 VULCAN. 35 JUPITER. 38 THE APOTHEOSIS OF HOMER. 39 JUPITER SENDING THE EVIL DREAM TO AGAMEMNON. 43 NEPTUNE. 66 VENUS, DISGUISED, INVITING HELEN TO THE CHAMBER OF PARIS.
    [Show full text]
  • HETAIREIA in HOMER John Elias Esposito a Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel
    HETAIREIA IN HOMER John Elias Esposito A dissertation submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of Classics in the College of Arts and Sciences. Chapel Hill 2015 Approved by: Fred Naiden William H. Race James J. O’Hara Emily Baragwanath James Rives © 2015 John Elias Esposito ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT John Elias Esposito: Hetaireia in Homer (Under the direction of Fred Naiden) This study addresses the neglected subject of hetaireia (roughly, “warrior- companionship”) in Homer. Although many discussions of Homer mention hetairoi in passing, no study treats semantic, poetic, social, and military aspects comprehensively. The purpose of this dissertation is to fill this gap. To this end I explicate the meaning of the heta(i)r- root, survey the social and military roles of Homeric hetairoi, and expose the way the Iliad and the Odyssey use hetaireia to portray pathos and character. The argument is informed by the etymology of heta(i)r- from the PIE reflexive *swe-, but rests on a catalogue and analysis of all scenes in which hetairoi appear. The four chapters of this dissertation argue that hetaireia is a major axis on which both epics turn. The two chapters on the Iliad show what the world is like when hetaireia dominates and consider how a poem about war focuses on the bond between warriors and their companions. The two chapters on the Odyssey show how the world changes when hetaireia disappears and consider how a poem about homecoming replaces the relationships of the battlefield with the relationship between the oikos and the gods.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Riddles: a Sourcebook for Greek and Roman Mythology March, 2014
    Divine Riddles: A Sourcebook for Greek and Roman Mythology March, 2014 E. Edward Garvin, Editor What follows is a collection of excerpts from Greek literary sources in translation. The intent is to give students an overview of Greek mythology as expressed by the Greeks themselves. But any such collection is inherently flawed: the process of selection and abridgement produces a falsehood because both the narrative and meta-narrative are destroyed when the continuity of the composition is interrupted. Nevertheless, this seems the most expedient way to expose students to a wide range of primary source information. I have tried to keep my voice out of it as much as possible and will intervene as editor (in this Times New Roman font) only to give background or exegesis to the text. All of the texts in Goudy Old Style are excerpts from Greek or Latin texts (primary sources) that have been translated into English. Ancient Texts In the field of Classics, we refer to texts by Author, name of the book, book number, chapter number and line number.1 Every text, regardless of language, uses the same numbering system. Homer’s Iliad, for example, is divided into 24 books and the lines in each book are numbered. Hesiod’s Theogony is much shorter so no book divisions are necessary but the lines are numbered. Below is an example from Homer’s Iliad, Book One, showing the English translation on the left and the Greek original on the right. When citing this text we might say that Achilles is first mentioned by Homer in Iliad 1.7 (i.7 is also acceptable).
    [Show full text]
  • 800 BC the ILIAD Homer Translated by Samuel Butler
    800 BC THE ILIAD Homer translated by Samuel Butler Homer (~800 BC) - An Ionian Poet. Historians cannot agree where Homer was born, whether he was blind, whether he wrote both the “Iliad” and the “Odyssey”, or even if he actually existed. Whatever the case may be, the influence of the two enduring epics attributed to him is indisputable. The Iliad (800 BC) - An epic poem consisting of twenty-four books that deal with the last few days of the Trojan War. Here translated into prose by Samuel Butler. Table Of Contents BOOK I . 3 BOOK II . 12 BOOK III . 25 BOOK IV . 32 BOOK V . 40 BOOK VI . 53 BOOK VII . 61 BOOK VIII . 68 BOOK IX . 76 BOOK X . 87 BOOK XI . 96 BOOK XII . 109 BOOK XIII . 116 BOOK XIV . 129 BOOK XV . 137 BOOK XVI . 148 BOOK XVII . 162 BOOK XVIII . 173 BOOK XIX . 182 BOOK XX . 188 BOOK XXI . 196 BOOK XXII . 205 BOOK XXIII . 213 BOOK XXIV . 227 THE END . 238 BOOK I Sing, O goddess, the anger of Achilles son of Peleus, that brought countless ills upon the Achaeans. Many a brave soul did it send hurrying down to Hades, and many a hero did it yield a prey to dogs and vultures, for so were the counsels of Jove fulfilled from the day on which the son of Atreus, king of men, and great Achilles, first fell out with one another. And which of the gods was it that set them on to quarrel? It was the son of Jove and Leto; for he was angry with the king and sent a pestilence upon the host to plague the people, because the son of Atreus had dishonoured Chryses his priest.
    [Show full text]
  • The TROJAN WAR
    The TROJAN WAR The Chronicles of Dictys of Crete Indiana University Greek and Latin Classics and Dares the Phrygian TRANSLATED WITH AN INTRODUCTION AND NOTES BY R. M. FRAZER, JR. Indiana University Press BLOOMINGTON & LONDON CONTENTS INTRODUCTION The Medieval Troy Story 3 The Anti-Homeric Tradition 5 Dictys 7 Dares 11 The Translation 15 A JOURNAL OF THE TROJAN WAR by Dictys of Crete Letter 19 Preface 20 Book One 23 Book Two 37 Book Three 70 Book Four 87 Book Five 103 Book Six 119 THE FALL OF TROY, A HISTORY by Dares the Phrygian [Letter] 133 Sections 1-44 133 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Copyright © 1966 by Indiana University Press BIBLIOGRAPHY 169 Library of Congress catalog card number: 65-19709 NOTES 170 Manufactured in the United States of America INDEX OF PROPER NAMES 180 v THE TROJAN WAR The Chronicles Adcnowledgments of Dictys of Crete The present volume brings together for the first time in En­ and Dares the Phrygian glish translation the accounts of Dictys and Dares about the Trojan War. These works deserve our careful attention as the principal sources of the medieval Troy story and as examples of the anti-Homeric literature of late antiquity. In the introduction I have briefly described the influence of our authors on later European literature, and have tried to show how our Latin texts depend on Greek originals. For the latter purpose I have found the scholarship of Nathaniel Edward Griffin especially rewarding for Dictys and that of Otmar Schissel von Fleschenberg for Dares. I have used the notes to comment on matters of form (how our Latin texts probably differ from their Greek originals), to point out difficulties and incon­ sistencies, and to cite some of the sources and parallel versions of the stories that Dictys and Dares tell.
    [Show full text]
  • Greek Mythology Link (Complete Collection)
    Document belonging to the Greek Mythology Link, a web site created by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology Characters • Places • Topics • Images • Bibliography • Español • PDF Editions About • Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. This PDF contains portions of the Greek Mythology Link COMPLETE COLLECTION, version 0906. In this sample most links will not work. THE COMPLETE GREEK MYTHOLOGY LINK COLLECTION (digital edition) includes: 1. Two fully linked, bookmarked, and easy to print PDF files (1809 A4 pages), including: a. The full version of the Genealogical Guide (not on line) and every page-numbered docu- ment detailed in the Contents. b. 119 Charts (genealogical and contextual) and 5 Maps. 2. Thousands of images organized in albums are included in this package. The contents of this sample is copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. To buy this collection, visit Editions. Greek Mythology Link Contents The Greek Mythology Link is a collection of myths retold by Carlos Parada, author of Genealogical Guide to Greek Mythology, published in 1993 (available at Amazon). The mythical accounts are based exclusively on ancient sources. Address: www.maicar.com About, Email. Copyright © 1997 Carlos Parada and Maicar Förlag. ISBN 978-91-976473-9-7 Contents VIII Divinities 1476 Major Divinities 1477 Page Immortals 1480 I Abbreviations 2 Other deities 1486 II Dictionaries 4 IX Miscellanea Genealogical Guide (6520 entries) 5 Three Main Ancestors 1489 Geographical Reference (1184) 500 Robe & Necklace of
    [Show full text]
  • Versuch Über Hyginus
    III. Versuch über Hyginus. I. Hygin. Fab. c. 97 oiler die ursprüngliche Ordnung der epigramme des aristotelischen Peplos. Es werden jetzt zwanzig jalire, dass Sclineidewin seinen Philologus durch seine meisterhafte Untersuchung über den peplos des Aristoteles auf würdige weise in die gelehrte weit einführte. Alle fragen, welche sich uns bei betrachtung dieses inonuinentes aufdrängen sind berührt und nach besten kräften beantwortet; eine einzige nur ist nicht aufgeworfen, weil sie gleichsam im keime erstickt wird, die frage nach der aristotelischen reiheri- folge der einzelnen epigramme. Denn p. 4 sagt Schneidcwin: Parum hercle hodie refert, quo quis ordine legal epigrammata Ari- stotelis — praelerquam quod a fide veterum monumenlorum nullo iure desciscitur — und tadelt Canter, dass er die Ordnung der Stjlloge Florenlina aufgegeben und die epigramme einer durch die Biiotie bedingten reihenfolge angepasst habe. So berechtigt die- ser tadel auch sein mag, und so zweckmässig es ist, dass so- wohl er selbst als auch Bergk PLG. p. 508 ff. und Valentin Rose Aristot. pseudep. p. 569 ff. genau die reihenfolge der syl- logc innehielten, so ist es doch andrerseits nicht ganz ohne in- teresse zu ermitteln, welches die vom Verfasser selbst gewählte alifolge gewesen sein möge. Ermitteln aber lässt sich dieselbe, wie im folgenden gezeigt werden soll. Hygin in seinen Genealogien §. XCVll p. 80 cd. 1$. Bunte hat uns unter der Überschrift „Qui ad Troiam expugnatum ierunl et quot naves" ebenfalls ein verzeichniss der hellenischen beiden vor Troia hinterlassen, dessen vergleichung mit dein schift'skatalog lohnend genug ist. Letzterem entspricht nämlich die reihenfolge Brought to you by | Brown University Rockefeller Library Authenticated | 128.148.252.35 Download Date | 6/13/14 12:43 AM 48 Der peplos des Aristoteles.
    [Show full text]
  • The Iliad with an English Translation
    ®od^ ^.omertbe ju fctn, aud& nut aU lehtn, ift fc^en.-GoETHi HOMER THE ILIAD WITH AN ENGLISH TRANSLATION A. T. MURRAY, Ph.D. PEOFESSOR OV CLASSICAL LITERATURK, STANFORD UNIVERSITIT, CALIFORNIA LONDON : WILLIAM HEINEMANN LTD NEW YORK: G. P. PUTNAM'S SONS MCMXXVIII CONTENTS OF VOLUME I Introduction Vil 2 Book I. 50 Book II. 116 Book III, 152 Book IV. Book V. 194 Book VI. 262 Book VIL 302 Book VIII. 338 Book IX. 382 Book X. 436 Book XL 480 Book XII, 544 INTRODUCTION In rendering the Iliad the translator has in the main followed the same principles as those which guided him in his translation of the Odyssey. He has endeavoured to give a version that in some measure retains the flowing ease and simple directness of Homer's style, and that has due regard to the emphasis attaching to the arrangement of words in the original ; and to make use of a diction that, while elevated, is, he trusts, not stilted. To attain to the nobility of Homer's manner may well be beyond the possibilities of modern English prose. Matters of a controversial nature have as a rule not been touched upon in the notes to this edition, and the brief bibhography is meant merely to sug- gest books of high interest and value to the student of the Iliad. Few of those which deal primarily with the higher criticism have been included, because the ti'anslator is convinced that such matters lie wholly outside the scope of this book. In the brief introduction prefixed to his version of the Odyssey the translator set forth frankly the fact that to many scholars it seems impossible to speak of Homer as a definite individual, or to accept the view that in the early period either the Iliad or the Odyssey had attained a fixed form.
    [Show full text]
  • Divine Genealogies: a Sourcebook for Greek and Roman Mythology
    Divine Genealogies: A Sourcebook for Greek and Roman Mythology E. Edward Garvin, Editor ©2015 What follows is a collection of excerpts from Greek literary sources in translation. The intent is to give students an overview of Greek mythology as expressed by the Greeks themselves. But any such collection is inherently flawed: the process of selection and abridgement produces a falsehood because both the narrative and meta-narrative are destroyed when the continuity of the composition is interrupted. Nevertheless, this seems the most expedient way to expose students to a wide range of primary source information. I have tried to keep my voice out of it as much as possible and will intervene as editor (in this Times New Roman font) only to give background or exegesis to the text. All of the texts in Goudy Old Style are excerpts from Greek or Latin texts (primary sources) that have been translated into English. Ancient Texts In the field of Classics, we refer to texts by Author, name of the book, book number, chapter number and line number.1 Every text, regardless of language, uses the same numbering system. Homer’s Iliad, for example, is divided into 24 books and the lines in each book are numbered. Hesiod’s Theogony is much shorter so no book divisions are necessary but the lines are numbered. Below is an example from Homer’s Iliad, Book One, showing the English translation on the left and the Greek original on the right. When citing this text we might say that Achilles is first mentioned by Homer in Iliad 1.7 (i.7 is also acceptable).
    [Show full text]
  • The Rage of Achilles
    BOOK ONE The Rage of Achilles R age-Goddess, sing the rage of Peleus' son Achilles, murderous, doomed, that cost the Achaeans countless losses, hurling down to the House of Death so many sturdy souls, great fi ghters' souls, but made their bodies carrion, fea sts for the dogs and birds, and the will of Zeus was moving toward its end. Begin, Muse, when the two first broke and clashed, Agamemnon lord of men and brilliant Achilles. What god drove them to fight with such a fury? Apollo the son of Zeus and Leto. Incensed at the king 10 he swept a fa tal plague through the army-men were dying and all because Agamemnon spurned Apoll o's priest. Yes, Chryses approached the Achaeans' fast ships to win his daughter back, bringing a priceless ransom 77 I I 78 HOM E R : THE ILI AD {14-42] I and bearing high in hand, wound on a golden staff, the wreaths of the god, the distant deadly Archer. He begged the whole Achaean army but most of all the two supreme commanders, Atreus' two sons, "Agamemnon, Menelaus-all Argives geared for war! May the gods who hold the halls of Olympus give you Priam's city to plunder, then safe passage home. Just set my daughter free, my dear one ... here, accept these gifts, this ransom. Honor the god who strikes from worlds away-the son of Zeus, Apollo!" And all ranks of Achaeans cried out their assent: " Respect the priest, accept the shining ransom!" But it brought no joy to the heart of Agamemnon.
    [Show full text]