Vergil's Aeneid: a Homeric Dichotomy?
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The Humour of Homer
The Humour of Homer Samuel Butler A lecture delivered at the Working Men's College, Great Ormond Street 30th January, 1892 The first of the two great poems commonly ascribed to Homer is called the Iliad|a title which we may be sure was not given it by the author. It professes to treat of a quarrel between Agamemnon and Achilles that broke out while the Greeks were besieging the city of Troy, and it does, indeed, deal largely with the consequences of this quarrel; whether, however, the ostensible subject did not conceal another that was nearer the poet's heart| I mean the last days, death, and burial of Hector|is a point that I cannot determine. Nor yet can I determine how much of the Iliadas we now have it is by Homer, and how much by a later writer or writers. This is a very vexed question, but I myself believe the Iliadto be entirely by a single poet. The second poem commonly ascribed to the same author is called the Odyssey. It deals with the adventures of Ulysses during his ten years of wandering after Troy had fallen. These two works have of late years been believed to be by different authors. The Iliadis now generally held to be the older work by some one or two hundred years. The leading ideas of the Iliadare love, war, and plunder, though this last is less insisted on than the other two. The key-note is struck with a woman's charms, and a quarrel among men for their possession. -
Ornithological Approaches to Greek Mythology: the Case of the Shearwater
Ornithological Approaches to Greek Mythology: The Case of the Shearwater In the Odyssey 5.333-337, Ino-Leucothea rescues Odysseus from a terrifying storm while in the shape of an αἴθυια (aithyia) and gives him a magic veil so he can reach the land of the Phaeacians. But what bird is an aithyia, and, perhaps more importantly, can this information help us understand this passage of the Odyssey and other ancient texts where the bird appears? Many attempts at identifying Ino-Leucothea’s bird shape have been made. Lambin (2006) suggests that the name of byne that is occasionally (e.g. Lyc. Al. 757-761) applied to the goddess highlights her kourotrophic functions. In a more pragmatic way, Thompson (1895) suggests that the aithyia is a large gull such as Larus marinus. This identification is based on Aristotle (H.A. 7.542b) and Pliny (10.32) who report that the bird breeds in rocks by the sea in early spring. However, in a response to Thompson’s identification of a different bird, the ἐρωδιός (erôdios) as a heron, Fowler stresses that this bird nests in burrows by the sea (Pliny 10.126-127) and therefore must be Scopoli’s shearwater, Puffinus kuhli, now renamed Calonectris diomedea. The similarities between the aithyia and the erôdios prompted Thompson not only to reconsider his identification of the erôdios as a shearwater but also to argue that other bird names such as aithyia, memnôn, and mergus must also correspond to the shearwater. Thompson (1918) comes to this conclusion by taking a closer look at the mythological information concerning these birds. -
Aeneidic and Odyssean Patterns of Escape and Release in Tolkien's "The Fall of Gondolin" and the Return of the King
Volume 18 Number 2 Article 1 Spring 4-15-1992 Aeneidic and Odyssean Patterns of Escape and Release in Tolkien's "The Fall of Gondolin" and The Return of the King David Greenman Follow this and additional works at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore Part of the Children's and Young Adult Literature Commons Recommended Citation Greenman, David (1992) "Aeneidic and Odyssean Patterns of Escape and Release in Tolkien's "The Fall of Gondolin" and The Return of the King," Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature: Vol. 18 : No. 2 , Article 1. Available at: https://dc.swosu.edu/mythlore/vol18/iss2/1 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Mythopoeic Society at SWOSU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Mythlore: A Journal of J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, Charles Williams, and Mythopoeic Literature by an authorized editor of SWOSU Digital Commons. An ADA compliant document is available upon request. For more information, please contact [email protected]. To join the Mythopoeic Society go to: http://www.mythsoc.org/join.htm Mythcon 51: A VIRTUAL “HALFLING” MYTHCON July 31 - August 1, 2021 (Saturday and Sunday) http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-51.htm Mythcon 52: The Mythic, the Fantastic, and the Alien Albuquerque, New Mexico; July 29 - August 1, 2022 http://www.mythsoc.org/mythcon/mythcon-52.htm Abstract Sees classical influence in the quest patterns of olkienT ’s heroes. Tuor fits the pattern of Aeneas (the Escape Quest) and the hobbits in Return of the King follow that of Odysseus (the Return Quest). -
Let's Think About This Reasonably: the Conflict of Passion and Reason
Let’s Think About This Reasonably: The Conflict of Passion and Reason in Virgil’s The Aeneid Scott Kleinpeter Course: English 121 Honors Instructor: Joan Faust Essay Type: Poetry Analysis It has long been a philosophical debate as to which is more important in human nature: the ability to feel or the ability to reason. Both functions are integral in our composition as balanced beings, but throughout history, some cultures have invested more importance in one than the other. Ancient Rome, being heavily influenced by stoicism, is probably the earliest example of a society based fundamentally on reason. Its most esteemed leaders and statesmen such as Cicero and Marcus Aurelius are widely praised today for their acumen in affairs of state and personal ethics which has survived as part of the classical canon. But when mentioning the classical canon, and the argument that reason is essential to civilization, a reader need not look further than Virgil’s The Aeneid for a more relevant text. The Aeneid’s protagonist, Aeneas, is a pious man who relies on reason instead of passion to see him through adversities and whose actions are foiled by a cast of overly passionate characters. Personages such as Dido and Juno are both portrayed as emotionally-laden characters whose will is undermined by their more rational counterparts. Also, reason’s importance is expressed in a different way in Book VI when Aeneas’s father explains the role reason will play in the future Roman Empire. Because The Aeneid’s antagonists are capricious individuals who either die or never find contentment, the text very clearly shows the necessity of reason as a human trait for survival and as a means to discover lasting happiness. -
The Eternal Fire of Vesta
2016 Ian McElroy All Rights Reserved THE ETERNAL FIRE OF VESTA Roman Cultural Identity and the Legitimacy of Augustus By Ian McElroy A thesis submitted to the Graduate School-New Brunswick Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey In partial fulfillment of the requirements For the degree of Master of Arts Graduate Program in Classics Written under the direction of Dr. Serena Connolly And approved by ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ ___________________________________________ New Brunswick, New Jersey October 2016 ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS The Eternal Fire of Vesta: Roman Cultural Identity and the Legitimacy of Augustus By Ian McElroy Thesis Director: Dr. Serena Connolly Vesta and the Vestal Virgins represented the very core of Roman cultural identity, and Augustus positioned his public image beside them to augment his political legitimacy. Through analysis of material culture, historiography, and poetry that originated during the principate of Augustus, it becomes clear that each of these sources of evidence contributes to the public image projected by the leader whom Ronald Syme considered to be the first Roman emperor. The Ara Pacis Augustae and the Res Gestae Divi Augustae embody the legacy the Emperor wished to establish, and each of these cultural works contain significant references to the Vestal Virgins. The study of history Livy undertook also emphasized the pathetic plight of Rhea Silvia as she was compelled to become a Vestal. Livy and his contemporary Dionysius of Halicarnassus explored the foundation of the Vestal Order and each writer had his own explanation about how Numa founded it. The Roman poets Virgil, Horace, Ovid, and Tibullus incorporated Vesta and the Vestals into their work in a way that offers further proof of the way Augustus insinuated himself into the fabric of Roman cultural identity by associating his public image with these honored priestesses. -
1 Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer's Iliad Senior Thesis
Divine Intervention and Disguise in Homer’s Iliad Senior Thesis Presented to The Faculty of the Undergraduate School of Arts and Sciences Brandeis University Undergraduate Program in Classical Studies Professor Joel Christensen, Advisor In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Bachelor of Arts By Joana Jankulla May 2018 Copyright by Joana Jankulla 1 Copyright by Joana Jankulla © 2018 2 Acknowledgements First and foremost, I would like to thank my advisor, Professor Joel Christensen. Thank you, Professor Christensen for guiding me through this process, expressing confidence in me, and being available whenever I had any questions or concerns. I would not have been able to complete this work without you. Secondly, I would like to thank Professor Ann Olga Koloski-Ostrow and Professor Cheryl Walker for reading my thesis and providing me with feedback. The Classics Department at Brandeis University has been an instrumental part of my growth in my four years as an undergraduate, and I am eternally thankful to all the professors and staff members in the department. Thank you to my friends, specifically Erica Theroux, Sarah Jousset, Anna Craven, Rachel Goldstein, Taylor McKinnon and Georgie Contreras for providing me with a lot of emotional support this year. I hope you all know how grateful I am for you as friends and how much I have appreciated your love this year. Thank you to my mom for FaceTiming me every time I was stressed about completing my thesis and encouraging me every step of the way. Finally, thank you to Ian Leeds for dropping everything and coming to me each time I needed it. -
The Linguistic Case for the Aiolian Migration 433
HESPERIA JJ (2OO8) THE LINGUISTIC Pages43I~4^4 CASE FOR THE AIOLIAN MIGRATION RECONSIDERED ABSTRACT Ascribingthe presence of speakers of Lesbian in thenortheast Aegean dur- inghistorical times to themigration of Aiolian tribes from mainland Greece receivesno supportfrom linguistics. Migration is notthe only or even primary wayin whichlanguages and dialectsmay spread. Moreover, on reexamina- tion,the idea of an Aiolicdialect group falls apart. Boiotian, separated by the FirstCompensatory Lengthening from Lesbian and Thessalian, appears as a conservativedialect, most closely related to WestGreek. In turn,Lesbian andThessalian are both archaic branches of Greek that share no demonstrable commoninnovations. They are bestviewed as twoseparate relic areas of a relativelyunaltered early Greek. - To pass fromthis legendary world an aggregateof streamsdis- tinctand heterogeneous,which do notwillingly come intoconflu- ence,and cannotbe forcedto intermix- intothe vision afforded by Herodotus,we learnfrom him that in the500s B.C.the whole coast-regionfrom Dardanus southward to thepromontory of Lektum(including the town of Ilium),and fromLektum eastward to Adramyttium,had been Aeolised,or was occupiedby Aeolic - Greeks likewisethe inland towns of Skepsisand Kebren.1 This papergrew out of the researchof BrianRose, as set out in the pre- cedingarticle in thisissue of Hesperia?As head of the post-BronzeAge excavationsat Troy,Rose had long acceptedthe scholarlyconsensus in 1. Grote 1888, vol. 1, p. 305, refer- mightexpect fromthe rulesbut does markany (or an unknown) representa- = ringto Hdt. 1.149-151. not occur.The sign > means "develops tive of that class. So C any consonant; = - 2. Rose 2008. My thanksare due to to" (and the sign < means "develops H any laryngeal;Kw any labiovelar; = = Brian Rose, Don Ringe, Ronald Kim, from")an earlierform by regularsound P any labial; R any resonant(I, r, and the anonymousreviewers for Hes- changes.The sign -> means "is replaced myn); T= any dental; V= anyvowel. -
Homer – the Iliad
HOMER – THE ILIAD Homer is the author of both The Iliad and The Odyssey. He lived in Ionia – which is now modern day Turkey – between the years of 900-700 BC. Both of the above epics provided the framework for Greek education and thought. Homer was a blind bard, one who is a professional story teller, an oral historian. Epos or epic means story. An epic is a particular type of story; it involves one with a hero in the midst of a battle. The subject of the poem is the Trojan War which happened approximately in 1200 BC. This was 400 years before the poem was told by Homer. This story would have been read aloud by Homer and other bards that came after him. It was passed down generation to generation by memory. One can only imagine how valuable memory was during that time period – there were no hard drives or memory sticks. On a tangential note, one could see how this poem influenced a culture; to be educated was to memorize a particular set of poems or stories which could be cross-referenced with other people’s memory of those particular stories. The information would be public and not private. The Iliad is one of the greatest stories ever told – a war between two peoples; the Greeks from the West and the Trojans from the East. The purpose of this story is to praise Achilles. The two worlds are brought into focus; the world of the divine order and the human order. The hero of the story is to bring greater order and harmony between these two orders. -
Dates:$$70!–!19!BC! ! Home:$$$Vergil!
AUTHOR$SHEET:$$VERGIL$ ! Dates:$$70!–!19!BC! ! Home:$$$Vergil!is!said!to!have!been!born!on!October!15,!70!BC!in!a!village!near!Mantua.! ! ! ! $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ $ Surviving$Works:$ $ Bucolics)(also!called,!Eclogues)—ten!brief!poems!in!hexameters$ Georgics—a!didactic!poem!in!four!booKs!of!hexameters! Aeneid—an!epic!poem!in!twelve!booKs! $ $ An$Introduction$to$the$Aeneid:$ $ 8Vergil!composed!the!Aeneid)between!29!and!19!BC,!but!died!before!the!worK!was!entirely! finished.!!What!remains!to!us!is!roughly!10,000!lines!of!dactylic!hexameter.! 8The!epic!tells!the!legendary!story!of!Aeneas,!a!Trojan!who!travelled!to!Italy,!where!he!became! the!ancestor!of!the!Romans.!! 8The!first!six!of!the!poem’s!twelve!booKs!tell!the!story!of!Aeneas’!wanderings!from!Troy!to!Italy! (modeled!after!Homer’s!Odyssey),!and!the!poem’s!second!half!tells!of!the!Trojans’!ultimately! victorious!war!upon!the!Latins!(modeled!after!Homer’s!Iliad).! 8The!hero!Aeneas!was!already!Known!in!Greco8Roman!legend!and!myth!as!a!character!in!the! Iliad;!Vergil!tooK!the!disconnected!tales!of!Aeneas’!wanderings,!and!authored!a!compelling! founding!myth!or!nationalist!epic!that!both!tied!Rome!to!the!legends!of!Troy,!glorified! traditional!Roman!virtues!and!represented!the!Julio8Claudian!dynasty!as!descendants!of!the! founders,!heroes!and!gods!of!Rome!and!Troy.! ! ! Main$Sources:!!! Conte,!Gian!Biagio.!!Latin)Literature:)A)History.!!Baltimore:!Johns!HopKins!University!Press,!1994.!! Hornblower,!Simon,!and!Antony!Spawforth.!!The)Oxford)Classical)Dictionary.!!New!YorK:!Oxford!University!Press,!1996.!! Kenney,!E.!J.,!and!W.!V.!Clausen.))The)Cambridge)History)of)Classical)Literature.))Vol.)2)Latin)Literature.))Part)3,)The)Age)of) Augustus.!!New!YorK:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1983.!! Martindale,!Charles.!!The)Cambridge)Companion)to)Virgil.!!New!YorK:!Cambridge!University!Press,!1997.!! . -
The Shields of Achilles and Aeneas: the Worlds Portrayed by Homer and Vergil
Vanessa Peters The Shields of Achilles and Aeneas: The Worlds Portrayed by Homer and Vergil The epic simile is a common device in epic poetry; it forms a relationship between two un- likely things and causes one to be viewed through the lens of the other. Unlike a normal simile, an epic simile has a fully developed vehicle that reflects the complexity back on the tenor; that is, an epic sim- ile, in its increased length and depth, can have layers of complexity that a normal simile cannot. The shield of Achilles (Hom. Il. 18.558-709) in Book 18 of Homer’s Iliad and the shield of Aeneas (Verg. Aen. 8.738-858) in book 8 of Vergil’s Aeneid are examples of epic similes, in which the poet takes the role of the god who forges the shield and can comment on society unobtrusively.1 These shields convey different perspectives of Greek and Roman society. Whereas Homer shows the world of peace in con- trast to the world of war to illustrate the tragedy of the Iliad, Vergil expresses Roman triumphalism to glorify Rome and her people. Book 18 of the Iliad marks a turning point in the epic. In it, Achilles decides to return to bat- tle in order to avenge Patroclus’ death by killing Hector. Since he has lost his armour to the enemy, his mother Thetis, knowing that his fate is sealed, beseeches Hephaestus to forge him a new set (Il. 18.534). The god agrees to her request and sets out to work, creating a magnificent shield for Achilles to wear in battle. -
Pausanias' Description of Greece
BONN'S CLASSICAL LIBRARY. PAUSANIAS' DESCRIPTION OF GREECE. PAUSANIAS' TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH \VITTI NOTES AXD IXDEX BY ARTHUR RICHARD SHILLETO, M.A., Soiiii'tinie Scholar of Trinity L'olltge, Cambridge. VOLUME IT. " ni <le Fnusnnias cst un homme (jui ne mnnquo ni de bon sens inoins a st-s tlioux." hnniie t'oi. inais i}iii rn>it ou au voudrait croire ( 'HAMTAiiNT. : ftEOROE BELL AND SONS. YOUK STIIKKT. COVKNT (iAKDKX. 188t). CHISWICK PRESS \ C. WHITTINGHAM AND CO., TOOKS COURT, CHANCEKV LANE. fA LC >. iV \Q V.2- CONTEXTS. PAGE Book VII. ACHAIA 1 VIII. ARCADIA .61 IX. BtEOTIA 151 -'19 X. PHOCIS . ERRATA. " " " Volume I. Page 8, line 37, for Atte read Attes." As vii. 17. 2<i. (Catullus' Aft is.) ' " Page 150, line '22, for Auxesias" read Anxesia." A.-> ii. 32. " " Page 165, lines 12, 17, 24, for Philhammon read " Philanimon.'' " " '' Page 191, line 4, for Tamagra read Tanagra." " " Pa ire 215, linu 35, for Ye now enter" read Enter ye now." ' " li I'aijf -J27, line 5, for the Little Iliad read The Little Iliad.'- " " " Page ^S9, line 18, for the Babylonians read Babylon.'' " 7 ' Volume II. Page 61, last line, for earth' read Earth." " Page 1)5, line 9, tor "Can-lira'" read Camirus." ' ; " " v 1'age 1 69, line 1 , for and read for. line 2, for "other kinds of flutes "read "other thites.'' ;< " " Page 201, line 9. for Lacenian read Laeonian." " " " line 10, for Chilon read Cliilo." As iii. 1H. Pago 264, " " ' Page 2G8, Note, for I iad read Iliad." PAUSANIAS. BOOK VII. ACIIAIA. -
Homer's Use of Myth Françoise Létoublon
Homer’s Use of Myth Françoise Létoublon Epic and Mythology The Homeric Epics are probably the oldest Greek literary texts that we have,1 and their subject is select episodes from the Trojan War. The Iliad deals with a short period in the tenth year of the war;2 the Odyssey is set in the period covered by Odysseus’ return from the war to his homeland of Ithaca, beginning with his departure from Calypso’s island after a 7-year stay. The Trojan War was actually the material for a large body of legend that formed a major part of Greek myth (see Introduction). But the narrative itself cannot be taken as a mythographic one, unlike the narrative of Hesiod (see ch. 1.3) - its purpose is not to narrate myth. Epic and myth may be closely linked, but they are not identical (see Introduction), and the distance between the two poses a particular difficulty for us as we try to negotiate the the mythological material that the narrative on the one hand tells and on the other hand only alludes to. Allusion will become a key term as we progress. The Trojan War, as a whole then, was the material dealt with in the collection of epics known as the ‘Epic Cycle’, but which the Iliad and Odyssey allude to. The Epic Cycle however does not survive except for a few fragments and short summaries by a late author, but it was an important source for classical tragedy, and for later epics that aimed to fill in the gaps left by Homer, whether in Greek - the Posthomerica of Quintus of Smyrna (maybe 3 c AD), and the Capture of Troy of Tryphiodoros (3 c AD) - or in Latin - Virgil’s Aeneid (1 c BC), or Ovid’s ‘Iliad’ in the Metamorphoses (1 c AD).