ANHS1600 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Oral Poetry, Iliad, Odysseus
15 May 2018
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Lecture #3 Homer and Oral poetry
08/03/2016
In relation to the handout:
Thucydides: Is sceptical of Homer yet cites him when necessary. By the time Thucydides cited him,
there was believed to be a text version of Homers works yet most people were illiterate at this time
(performances at festivals is an example where Homer was recited → I.e. The quinquennial festival,
which was highly prestigious). Thucydides quotes from the hymn to Apollo written by Homer, which
states that Homer had more works than just the Iliad and the Odyssey. Also, the performance at the
festival highlights that Homer wasn’t a leisurely read – it was a communal and even official “text”
performed which was mutually Panhellenic (all Greeks agreed on) throughout.
- There are even states to which Homer is alluded to in the poems → i.e. “A blind old man of Scio’s
rocky isle”.
Plato: Highlights that Homer teaches about gods as well as outlines the “rhapsodes” in Homer’s
works → Creates the image of the putting together of songs. Our romantic notion of Homer is gone
from this as this “rockstar” appearance arises to which money is made from the performances of the
poems.
It is important to note that Homer is something that is on transmission → Always on the move.
Iliad → is about the “wrath of Achilles” - 15,600 lines and 24 books. All about the war of Troy. The
main theme is Achilles, everything else is collateral.
Odyssey → “Nostos (the return) of Odysseus” – 12,000 lines and 24 books. All about what happens
after Troy.
There is great unity within the books. They are companion pieces to one another. Unlike other epics,
these stand out for their unity → They are long, yet united around the same key theme. These two
books are very monumental. On the level of structure and level of language it highlights a “stitched”
together perception.
The length of these poems question whether they were performed from beginning to end.
Questions about Homer (Scholars):
- Was his poems real? What was real about his poems?
- Was there really one person who proposed these poems/ songs?
→ We can’t say it was just Homer as we have people who were re-performing these poems and
songs and receiving money from it. The main context in which these poems are supported is orally
(not many from this society were literate and these poems were more so performed rather than
read).
F. Wolf → Questioned the tradition of Homer. Stated the idea that there was a series of “homers”
continually adding on, rather than one singular person. The inconsistencies in the structure of the
Iliad and Odyssey could be explained the continuous stitching of the poems (working progress).
M. Parry → Comments on epithets.
A. Lord → Comparative studies with Parry → 1930s studied the Serbo-Croatians oral bards → They
would sing the songs daily but they would notice differences. That is the difference between
Document Summary
Thucydides: is sceptical of homer yet cites him when necessary. By the time thucydides cited him, there was believed to be a text version of homers works yet most people were illiterate at this time (performances at festivals is an example where homer was recited i. e. Thucydides quotes from the hymn to apollo written by homer, which states that homer had more works than just the iliad and the odyssey. Also, the performance at the festival highlights that homer wasn"t a leisurely read it was a communal and even official text performed which was mutually panhellenic (all greeks agreed on) throughout. There are even states to which homer is alluded to in the poems i. e. a blind old man of scio"s rocky isle . Plato: highlights that homer teaches about gods as well as outlines the rhapsodes in homer"s works creates the image of the putting together of songs.
