9780199542710 000I-0Xiv Barker Frontmatter Final Proof Page I 29.4.2011 10:34Am

Total Page:16

File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb

9780199542710 000I-0Xiv Barker Frontmatter Final Proof Page I 29.4.2011 10:34Am Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page i 29.4.2011 10:34am ENTERING THE AGO¯ N Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page ii 29.4.2011 10:35am Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page iii 29.4.2011 10:35am Entering the Ago¯n Dissent and Authority in Homer, Historiography and Tragedy ELTON T. E. BARKER 1 Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page iv 29.4.2011 10:35am 3 Great Clarendon Street, Oxford ox2 6dp Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University’s objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide in Oxford New York Auckland Cape Town Dar es Salaam Hong Kong Karachi Kuala Lumpur Madrid Melbourne Mexico City Nairobi New Delhi Shanghai Taipei Toronto With offices in Argentina Austria Brazil Chile Czech Republic France Greece Guatemala Hungary Italy Japan Poland Portugal Singapore South Korea Switzerland Thailand Turkey Ukraine Vietnam Oxford is a registered trade mark of Oxford University Press in the UK and in certain other countries Published in the United States by Oxford University Press Inc., New York # Elton T. E. Barker 2009 The moral rights of the author have been asserted Database right Oxford University Press (maker) First published 2009 First published in paperback 2011 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior permission in writing of Oxford University Press, or as expressly permitted by law, or under terms agreed with the appropriate reprographics rights organization. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside the scope of the above should be sent to the Rights Department, Oxford University Press, at the address above You must not circulate this book in any other binding or cover and you must impose the same condition on any acquirer British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Data available Library of Congress Control Number: 2008942572 Typeset by SPI Publisher Services, Pondicherry, India Digitally printed and bound in Great Britain by CPI Antony Rowe, Chippenham and Eastbourne ISBN 978–0–19–954271–0 (Hbk) ISBN 978–0–19–960928–4 (Pbk) Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page v 29.4.2011 10:35am Preface Though it has become axiomatic to think of ancient Greek society in terms of competition, the contest of words (ago¯n) in literature—the scene of debate in which, with varying degrees of formalization, char- acters confront each other with opposing views—is less well appre- ciated. This book sets out to explore for the first time the agon in three generic traditions—epic, historiography and tragedy—and trace its changing representations over those genres and, by comparing two examples of each type of narrative, within them. It demonstrates not only the fundamental importance of debate to these genres, but also the ways representations of debate construct a political community through the reproduction of dissent. Previous works have studied the ago¯n in isolation: yet, the focus on one genre, author or text, most commonly Euripidean tragedy, has failed to grasp the ago¯n’s range of forms and has encouraged the assumption that it should provide resolution or derive ‘naturally’ from the plot; moreover, the cataloguing of the ago¯n’s features in abstraction from textual context has overlooked its performance in each narrative or drama. Combining literary approaches to debate with a sociological understanding of structures within society, this book aims to investigate textual debates in relation to recognizable parameters that indicate an institution, such as the assembly. Being closely connected to the idea of public gatherings, literary representations of debate set issues out ‘into the open’, challenge authority and enact the potential for dissent. But this book also shows that, because debate gestures towards allowing difference of opinion, its establishment and procedure are highly charged and important to control. Act I investigates the two Homeric epics for the rival narrative strategies towards dissent that each bequeaths to the tradition. Building on the recent suggestion that the Iliad acts as a foundational narrative, Chapter 1 demonstrates the Iliad ’s institutionalization of dissent within the Achaean assembly. It differs, however, from previous studies that have located a political community at the end of the Iliad by conceiving of the discovery of politics as a process originating from the poem’s very Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page vi 29.4.2011 10:35am vi Preface beginning in the strife between Achilles and Agamemnon. Chapter 2 presents the Odyssey’s radically different approach to the subject, in which dissenting voices are grouped together and aligned as obstruc- tions to Odysseus and his epic return. As well as showing the narrative’s marginalization of dissent, this study exposes the playfulness of the Odyssey rather as a serious challenge to the utility of debate and exam- ination of the authority exercised over it. Act II rethinks the relationship between Herodotus and Thucydides, who, as prose authors and uniquely responsible for their narratives, faced the problem of getting their voice heard in a culture which privileged the oral, public spoken word: their differing responses can be traced through their representation of debate. Herodotus counters the marginalization of his voice by reworking an Odyssean strategy towards representing debate that challenges its normative institutional value: while the most formal debates occur paradoxically in the Persian king’s court, Greek assemblies frequently degenerate into rival in-fight- ing. The problem clearly relates to the incapacity of the assembly to transcend any one particular polis: Herodotus’ written enquiry provides an alternate means by which a Panhellenic political community may be achieved. Chapter 4 suggests that Thucydides takes an even more challenging approach to the way politics was done by representing debate as ago¯n. In contrast to the usual claim that Thucydides’ debates serve only to show the limits of democratic deliberation, this chapter interprets Thucydides’ more exact reproduction of assembly scenes as exposing his readers to the dangers of rhetoric, while providing them with the tools to analyse it. In an Achilles-like stand against the decision- making practice of his contemporaries, Thucydides’ representation of debate offers a strikingly innovative, and better, way of doing politics, through the activity of reading. Act III re-examines the tragic ago¯n and the issue of politics in tragedy more generally in the light of this broader enquiry by looking anew at two problem plays that suffer from an overly formal ago¯n. Chapter 5 discusses Sophocles’ Ajax as a reworking of the Iliad from the viewpoint of others engaged with the hero: this approach makes sense of the problematic double agon which takes place after Ajax’s suicide by showing how it dramatizes competing reactions to the hero and repro- duces the crisis of interpretation among the audience. Chapter 6 takes the even more disturbing case of Euripides’ Hecuba, whose Odyssean Barker 9780199542710_000i-0xiv_Barker_frontMatter Final Proof page vii 29.4.2011 10:35am Preface vii insistence on the protagonist’s suffering culminates in an ago¯n that appears to legitimize even Hecuba’s extreme vengeance. Yet, dissent spills over this formal frame as Polymestor continues to speak frankly, ultimately leaving the audience to deal alone with dissent and face the consequences of their own judgement outside the security of any institutional framework, including the play itself. The aim of this book is to show how the presence of formal debate in the public literature of ancient Greece helps to create a ‘mentalite´’ of ago¯n that intersects with and informs the political development in the culture at large. It will be of interest to scholars and students alike, especially those specializing in Greek epic, historiography or tragedy. Yet, its broad scope and careful consideration of the cultural context of literature will also appeal to non-classicists interested in the origins of political thought or literary critics interested in narrative constructions. Given the breadth of this study and the correlative importance assigned to interrogating each example closely, it has been neither possible nor desirable to examine every single instance of debate in the three genres under investigation. It is hoped, however, that the reason for omission will be clear from each particular study, and that no single omission detracts from the overall value of the argument being made. The same may be held for other generic traditions that are not investi- gated here, but that also feature debate, such as the comedy of Aristo- phanes and the philosophical dialogues of Plato. While it is true that both authors have been the subject of recent dissertations (see N. Papageorgiou, ‘A Study in the Aristophanic Ago¯n: Clouds, Wasps and Plutus’, Diss., Royal Holloway (2000) and A. G. Long, ‘Character and Dialectic: the Philosophical Origins of the Platonic Dialogue’, Diss., Cambridge (2004)), even so there is sufficient overlap with the genres included in this book for most relevant issues and considerations to be discussed here. It should also be noted that this study explores
Recommended publications
  • Bowliîo&Ebîstate University Library
    THE DRAMATURGY OF LUDVIG HOLBERG'S COMEDIES Gerald S. Argetsinger A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate School of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY August 1975 BOWLIÎO&EBÎ STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY © 1975 GERALD SCOTT ARGETSINGER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED il ABSTRACT This study first described Ludvig Holberg's dramaturgy and then identified the characteristics which • have engendered the comedies' continued popularity. All of the prior Holberg research was studied, but most of the understanding of the comedies came through the careful studying of the playscripts. Holberg's form was greatly influenced by the comedies of Moliere and the Commedia dell' Arte. The content and tone were influenced by the comedies of Ben Jonson and George Farquhar. Holberg wrote for, and was best liked by, the middle class. At first, scholars found his plays crass and inferior. But only twenty years after his death, the plays were accepted as the foundation of the Royal Danish Theatre’s repertory. Holberg created comic characters based upon middle class types. The characters’ speech is almost strictly everyday, Copenhagen Danish. Little was done to linguistically individualize speech except when it was an integral part of the satire of the play. Holberg was also adept at writing jokes. He was a master at creating comic situations. These situations give the characters a setting in which to be funny and provide a foundation for intrigues and other comic business. The visual aspects of the early productions were not important. After careful investigation, it was concluded that Holberg's plays did not succeed, as previous writings tend to assume, because of the "Danishness” of the characters.
    [Show full text]
  • Homer and Collective Memory: the End of the Odyssey
    Homer and Collective Memory: The End of the Odyssey This paper will approach the end of the Odyssey (starting at 24.412) by using the interpretive tools that research on collective memory has presented to us. This approach ultimately will enable us to better understand the self-awareness of the Odyssey. Building on the work of Maurice Halbwachs and Pierre Nora, research in practically every discipline of the humanities has directed its attention to the role collective memory plays in the shaping of how all kinds of sociological groups perceive themselves and their surroundings in terms of how they perceive their past, how they assess their present situation and what plans they are making for their future. This theoretical approach is also applied in Classics - not limited to, but especially in ancient history. Studies in classical literature should also avail themselves more of the tools that researchers have developed for the study of the role and the behavior of collective memories. The key for this paper will be Od. 24.484f. Zeus promises Athena that the gods will make the people of Ithaca forget that brothers and children were slain. Then, Zeus claims, people will be friends again. At the moment of this prophecy, Ithaca is at the verge of civil war. Eupeithes is trying to gather an alliance for the sake of punishing Odysseus for having lost so many comrades while he was away and for having killed all of the suitors who were members of noble families. Not all of the citizens of Ithaca want to join Eupeithes since Halitherses in particular reminds the Ithacans of the guilt of the suitors.
    [Show full text]
  • The Odyssey Homer Translated Lv Robert Fitzç’Erald
    I The Odyssey Homer Translated lv Robert Fitzç’erald PART 1 FAR FROM HOME “I Am Odysseus” Odysseus is in the banquet hail of Alcinous (l-sin’o-s, King of Phaeacia (fë-a’sha), who helps him on his way after all his comrades have been killed and his last vessel de stroyed. Odysseus tells the story of his adventures thus far. ‘I am Laertes’ son, Odysseus. [aertes Ia Men hold me formidable for guile in peace and war: this fame has gone abroad to the sky’s rim. My home is on the peaked sea-mark of Ithaca 4 Ithaca ith’. k) ,in island oft under Mount Neion’s wind-blown robe of leaves, the west e ast it C reece. in sight of other islands—Dulichium, Same, wooded Zacynthus—Ithaca being most lofty in that coastal sea, and northwest, while the rest lie east and south. A rocky isle, but good for a boy’s training; I (I 488 An Epic Poem I shall not see on earth a place more dear, though I have been detained long by Calypso,’ 12. Calypso k1ip’sö). loveliest among goddesses, who held me in her smooth caves, to be her heart’s delight, as Circe of Aeaea, the enchantress, 15 15. Circe (sür’së) of Aeaea e’e-). desired me, and detained me in her hail. But in my heart I never gave consent. Where shall a man find sweetness to surpass his OWfl home and his parents? In far lands he shall not, though he find a house of gold.
    [Show full text]
  • View / Download
    ELECTRYONE ΗΛΕΚΤΡΥΩΝΗ A kinesiological approach to the role of the Chorus in Aristophanes’ Plutus Ioanna Mastora Ph.D. Phil, Athens University, Postdoctoral Researcher, Athens University Department of Philosophy [email protected] ABSTRACT: The article attempts to present basic elements of political ideology that can be found on the choral performances of the Aristophanes’ comedy named “Plutus”, which is his last surviving work. The comedy was presented to the Athenian audience in 388 BC to glorify and demonstrate the unfair distribution of wealth and the social inequalities, while highlighting the decline of human values. In spite of the fact that in this work the Chorus has a diminished role nevertheless refers to the unjust distribution of wealth and the explosion of corruption with an interesting kinesiological approach. KEY-WORDS: Ancient comedy, Chorus, Plutus Aristophanes was an Athenian satirist poet of the 5th century. He lived (from 445 BC until 386 BC) and grew up in Athens, in the years that "The Comedy", as Aristotle writes, "was initiated by the top of the Fallicans, who even today [in the 4th Ioanna Mastora _____________________________________________________________________ century BC. Century] have been left and celebrated in many cities"1. The “phallics” were customary songs sung by groups of celebrities at Dionysus' agricultural feasts, featuring dummies of the male genitalia, the phallus. Their comic, often life-styled, disguises, immeasurable gall, bold personal teasing, and coarse, improvised satirical scenes. Phallic songs emerged from Dithyrambus a kind of Bacchic poetry and were full of ribaldry and personal ridicule2 that that the dancers were singing in honor of Dionysus3 Contemporary to the Peloponnesian War (431-404), which marked the fall of the Athenian Republic, Aristophanes top comedian of antiquity deals with the deterioration and the decline of values.
    [Show full text]
  • Ingram's :: 40 Under Forty
    Ingram's :: 40 Under Forty HOME | ABOUT US | MEDIA KIT | CONTACT US | REGISTER 67° NEWS BLOGS PUBLICATIONS AWARDS EVENTS 40 Under Forty Leadership? Check. We can’t get into this without some ground rules, so right off the bat: If the Baby Boom covered the period from 1946 to 1964, what defines Generation X and the Millennials? Only a gaggle of eggheads like social scientists could take such a simple question and turn it into a series of “yes, buts …” and argue that Generation X started as early as 1961, or runs from—get this—1964-1974. A generation in 10 years? Please. Millennials, too, have been saddled with undefined starting points. We get it: Generations aren’t all neatly defined by starting and finish lines. One of our favorite stories about the Baby Boomers entails a man born on the leading edge in 1946, who became a parent at age 18, in 1964. His daughter, technically, was a Boomer, too, but they clearly weren’t of the same “generation.” With that in mind, any exploration of gener-ational leadership requires a definition. To be consistent with the traditional Boomer measure of 1946-1964, a like period for Gen-X would run 1965-1983, and 1984 until the end of 2001 for Millennials. OK, so it runs a year past the start of the most recent millennium. Deal with it. Many societal pundits have commented on the barbell effect that they say puts Gen-X at a huge disadvantage to either the leading or trailing generations in terms of their sheer numbers.
    [Show full text]
  • UNIVERSITY of CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Homer's Roads Not Taken
    UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA Los Angeles Homer’s Roads Not Taken Stories and Storytelling in the Iliad and Odyssey A dissertation submitted in partial satisfaction of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Philosophy in Classics by Craig Morrison Russell 2013 ABSTRACT OF THE DISSERTATION Homer’s Roads Not Taken Stories and Storytelling in the Iliad and Odyssey by Craig Morrison Russell Doctor of Philosophy in Classics University of California, Los Angeles, 2013 Professor Alex C. Purves, Chair This dissertation is a consideration of how narratives in the Iliad and Odyssey find their shapes. Applying insights from scholars working in the fields of narratology and oral poetics, I consider moments in Homeric epic when characters make stories out of their lives and tell them to each other. My focus is on the concept of “creativity” — the extent to which the poet and his characters create and alter the reality in which they live by controlling the shape of the reality they mould in their storytelling. The first two chapters each examine storytelling by internal characters. In the first chapter I read Achilles’ and Agamemnon’s quarrel as a set of competing attempts to create the authoritative narrative of the situation the Achaeans find themselves in, and Achilles’ retelling of the quarrel to Thetis as part of the move towards the acceptance of his version over that of Agamemnon or even the Homeric Narrator that occurs over the course of the epic. In the second chapter I consider the constant storytelling that [ii ] occurs at the end of the Odyssey as a competition between the families of Odysseus and the suitors to control the narrative that will be created out of Odysseus’s homecoming.
    [Show full text]
  • The Untold Death of Laertes. Revaluating Odysseus's Meeting
    The untold death of Laertes. Revaluating Odysseus’s meeting with his father Abstract This article discusses the narrative function and symbolism of the Laertes scene in the twenty- fourth book of the Odyssey. By pointing out the scene’s connections to other passages (the story of Penelope’s web, the first and second nekuia , the farewellto the Phaeaceans, the Argus scene, but also the twenty-fourth book of the Iliad) and by tackling some of the textualproblems that it poses (the apparent cruelty of Odysseus’s lies to his father, the double layers of meaning in his fictions, the significance of the sèma of the trees), this article aims to point out how the Laertes scene is tightly woven into the larger thematic and symbolicaltissue of the Odyssey. Odysseus’s reunion with his father is conclusive to the treatment of some important themes such as death and burial, reciprocalsense of love and duty and the succession of generations. It willbe argued that the untold death of Laertes becomes paradigmatic for the fate Odysseus himself chooses, and for the way in which the epic as a whole deals with the problem of mortality. Keywords Odyssey, Laertes, symbolism, mortality, burial, reciprocity Laertes, the old father of Odysseus, is a somewhat forgotten character. He is mostly considered to be of minor importance to the plot of the Odyssey, and his reunion with his son in the twenty-fourth book is often seen as a more or less dispensable addendum to the realclimax, the recognition scene with Penelope. In this article, I aim to readjust this view by exploring the context and significance of this final meeting.
    [Show full text]
  • Oracular Prophecy and Psychology in Ancient Greek Warfare
    ORACULAR PROPHECY AND PSYCHOLOGY IN ANCIENT GREEK WARFARE Peter McCallum BA (Hons) MA A thesis submitted to the University of Wales Trinity Saint David in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy Department of Classics University of Wales Trinity Saint David June 2017 Director of Studies: Dr Errietta Bissa Second Supervisor: Dr Kyle Erickson Abstract This thesis examines the role of oracular divination in warfare in Archaic, Classical, and Hellenistic Greece, and assesses the extent to which it affected the psychology and military decision-making of ancient Greek poleis. By using a wide range of ancient literary, epigraphical, archaeological, and iconographical evidence and relevant modern scholarship, this thesis will fully explore the role of the Oracle in warfare, especially the influence of the major Oracles at Delphi, Dodona, Olympia, Didyma, and Ammon on the foreign policies and military strategies of poleis and their psychological preparation for war; as well as the effect of oracular prophecies on a commander’s decision- making and tactics on the battlefield, and on the psychology and reactions of soldiers before and during battle. This thesis contends that oracular prophecy played a fundamental and integral part in ancient Greek warfare, and that the act of consulting the Oracles, and the subsequent prognostications issued by the Oracles, had powerful psychological effects on both the polis citizenry and soldiery, which in turn had a major influence and impact upon military strategy and tactics, and ultimately on the outcome of conflicts in the ancient Greek world. Declarations/Statements DECLARATION This work has not previously been accepted in substance for any degree and is not being concurrently submitted in candidature for any degree.
    [Show full text]
  • VII. the FINAL FIGHT Swiftly Through the Town Runs Rumor The
    VII. THE FINAL FIGHT Swiftly through the town runs Rumor the Messenger, telling of the suitors' terrible death and fate. A crowd soon gathers at the palace of Odysseus; the bodies of the foreign suitors are dispatched to their several homelands, and the Ithacan corpses are buried by their kinsmen. The Ithacans then gather in assembly. Against the advice of Medon the herald and Halitherses the seer, the majority of the Ithacans rally around Eupeithes the father of Antinoos, and prepare to meet Odysseus in battle. A brief interlude on Olympus follows, in which Zeus encourages Athene to make peace, and sug­ gests that the gods should overlook Odysseus' blood-guilt. The party of Odysseus goes to meet the enemy; Laertes, with Athene's help, kills Eupeithes. The Ithacans are put to flight, and Odysseus and his allies are in hot pursuit when they are stopped by a thunder­ bolt from Zeus. Athene, in the guise of Mentor, concludes the treaty of peace, establishing Odysseus in his kingdom at last. The objections to this final episode all, so far as I know, fall into one category only: aesthetic objections. But the critics make up in vehemence for what they lack in concrete evidence: "In extremo deinde libro," says J. G. Schneider,1 "auctorem ingenium et spiritus plane defecisse videtur: ita, ut in rerum multarum satis gravium narratione brevitate inepta, partim etiam obscura de­ functus, lectoris exspectationem plane fallat." Spohn, who quotes this statement, particularly objects to the brief Olympian council, which he thinks hasty and badly written; Page concurs in this opinion, and adds,2 "From this moment onwards the story rushes spasmodically and deviously to its lame conclusion." "It may be judged," writes Kirk, "a suitably weak or inept conclusion to a final episode, that is ludicrous in its staccato leaps hither and thither, its indigestible concoction of rustics, thunderbolts, feeble old men and a goddess disguised or undisguised." 3 The last episode of the Odyssey, then, is said to be lame, hasty, awkward, abrupt.
    [Show full text]
  • Odyssey Translated Byrobertfitzgerald Homer from the Xenia, Wasveryimportantingreek NOTES from the ANCHOR TEXT|EPICPOEM Odyssey, Part2 MULTIMEDIA SCAN FOR
    ANCHOR TEXT | EPIC POEM from the Odyssey Homer translated by Robert Fitzgerald Part 2 The Return of Odysseus BACKGROUND The Greek concept of hospitality, xenia, was very important in Greek SCAN FOR culture and plays a role in Odysseus’ tale. Some scholars believe that MULTIMEDIA this value is based on Greek religious belief. Since the Greek gods could take multiple earthly forms, there was always the possibility that the stranger at the door was a god in disguise. Thus, Greeks opened their homes to strangers. In Part 2, as Odysseus returns home, it is clear that this cultural practice has created some problems. “Twenty years gone, and I am back again . .” NOTES Odysseus has finished telling his story to the Phaeacians. The next day, young Phaeacian noblemen conduct him home by ship. He arrives in Ithaca after an absence of twenty years. The goddess Athena appears and informs him of the situation © Pearson Education, Inc., or its affiliates. All rights reserved. or its affiliates. Inc., Education, © Pearson at home. Numerous suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead, have been continually seeking the hand of his wife, Penelope, in marriage, while overrunning Odysseus’ palace and enjoying themselves at Penelope’s expense. Moreover, they are plotting to from the Odyssey, Part 2 595 murder Odysseus’ son, Telemachus, before he can inherit his father’s NOTES lands. Telemachus, who, like Penelope, still hopes for his father’s return, has journeyed to Pylos and Sparta to learn what he can about 1. Eumaeus (yoo MEE uhs) his father’s fate. Athena disguises Odysseus as a beggar and directs him to the hut of Eumaeus,1 his old and faithful swineherd.
    [Show full text]
  • Structure As Interpretation in the Homeric Odyssey
    Trinity University Digital Commons @ Trinity Classical Studies Faculty Research Classical Studies Department 2014 Structure as Interpretation in the Homeric Odyssey Erwin F. Cook Trinity University, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.trinity.edu/class_faculty Part of the Classics Commons Repository Citation Cook, E. F. (2014). Structure as interpretation in the Homeric odyssey. In D. Cairns & R. Scodel (Ed.), Defining Greek narrative (pp. 75-101). Edinburgh University Press. This Contribution to Book is brought to you for free and open access by the Classical Studies Department at Digital Commons @ Trinity. It has been accepted for inclusion in Classical Studies Faculty Research by an authorized administrator of Digital Commons @ Trinity. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Structure as Interpretation in the Odyssey ‘Defining Greek Literature’ poses an interesting challenge for Homerists, like myself, committed to the proposition that the epics reflect the compositional practices of oral poetry the world over.1 In terms of formal approaches, many scholars, including contributors to this volume, have found it productive to apply narratology to elucidate Homer, a methodology with greater universalizing assumptions than oral theory. Nevertheless, an aspect of the epics that I believe is distinctive, and in certain respects unique, is the ways in which they manipulate traditional conventions so as to guide reception. Although Scodel rightly cautions against assuming homogenous
    [Show full text]
  • Homeric Odyssey
    Homeric Odyssey Translated by Samuel Butler Revised by Soo-Young Kim, Kelly McCray, Gregory Nagy, and Timothy Power Contents Rhapsody 1 Rhapsody 2 Rhapsody 3 Rhapsody 4 Rhapsody 5 Rhapsody 6 Rhapsody 7 Rhapsody 8 Rhapsody 9 Rhapsody 10 Rhapsody 11 Rhapsody 12 Rhapsody 13 Rhapsody 14 Rhapsody 15 Rhapsody 16 Rhapsody 17 Rhapsody 18 Rhapsody 19 Rhapsody 20 Rhapsody 21 Rhapsody 22 Rhapsody 23 Rhapsody 24 Homeric Odyssey Rhapsody 1 Translated by Samuel Butler Revised by Soo-Young Kim, Kelly McCray, Gregory Nagy, and Timothy Power [1] That man, tell me O Muse the song of that man, that versatile [polu-tropos] man, who in very many ways 2 veered from his path and wandered off far and wide, after he had destroyed the sacred citadel of Troy. 3 Many different cities of many different people did he see, getting to know different ways of thinking [noos]. 4 Many were the pains [algea] he suffered in his heart [thūmos] while crossing the sea [5] struggling to merit [arnusthai] the saving of his own life [psūkhē] and his own homecoming [nostos] as well as the homecoming of his comrades [hetairoi]. 6 But do what he might he could not save his comrades [hetairoi], even though he very much wanted to. 7 For they perished through their own deeds of sheer recklessness, 8disconnected [nēpioi] as they were, because of what they did to the cattle of the sun-god Helios. 9 They ate them. So the god [Helios] deprived them of their day of homecoming [nostimon]. [10] Starting from any single point of departure, O goddess, daughter of Zeus, tell me, as you have told those who came before me.
    [Show full text]