Homer


Book Description

Homer's mythological tales of war and homecoming,the Iliad and the Odyssey, are widely considered to be two of the most influential works in the history of western literature. Yet their author, 'the greatest poet that ever lived' is something of a mystery. By the 6th century BCE, Homer had already become a mythical figure, and today debate continues as to whether he ever existed. In this Very Short Introduction Barbara Graziosi considers Homer's famous works, and their impact on readers throughout the centuries. She shows how the Iliad and the Odyssey benefit from a tradition of reading that spans well over two millennia, stemming from ancient scholars at the library of Alexandria, in the third and second centuries BCE, who wrote some of the first commentaries on the Homeric epics. Summaries of these scholars' notes made their way into the margins of Byzantine manuscripts; from Byzantium the annotated manuscripts travelled to Italy; and the ancient notes finally appeared in the first printed editions of Homer, eventually influencing our interpretation of Homer's work today. Along the way, Homer's works have inspired artists, writers, philosophers, musicians, playwrights, and film-makers. Exploring the main literary, historical, cultural, and archaeological issues at the heart of Homer's narratives, Graziosi analyses the enduring appeal of Homer and his iconic works. ABOUT THE SERIES: The Very Short Introductions series from Oxford University Press contains hundreds of titles in almost every subject area. These pocket-sized books are the perfect way to get ahead in a new subject quickly. Our expert authors combine facts, analysis, perspective, new ideas, and enthusiasm to make interesting and challenging topics highly readable. This book was previously published in hardback as Homer.




The Iliad of Homer


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The Shield of Achilles


Book Description

Back in print for the first time in decades, Auden’s National Book Award–winning poetry collection, in a critical edition that introduces it to a new generation of readers The Shield of Achilles, which won the National Book Award in 1956, may well be W. H. Auden’s most important, intricately designed, and unified book of poetry. In addition to its famous title poem, which reimagines Achilles’s shield for the modern age, when war and heroism have changed beyond recognition, the book also includes two sequences—“Bucolics” and “Horae Canonicae”—that Auden believed to be among his most significant work. Featuring an authoritative text and an introduction and notes by Alan Jacobs, this volume brings Auden’s collection back into print for the first time in decades and offers the only critical edition of the work. As Jacobs writes in the introduction, Auden’s collection “is the boldest and most intellectually assured work of his career, an achievement that has not been sufficiently acknowledged.” Describing the book’s formal qualities and careful structure, Jacobs shows why The Shield of Achilles should be seen as one of Auden’s most central poetic statements—a richly imaginative, beautifully envisioned account of what it means to live, as human beings do, simultaneously in nature and in history.




The Anger of Achilles


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The Anger of Achilles


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The controversial prose-and-verse translation of the ancient war epic by the acclaimed author of I, Claudius—“full of new and provocative ideas” (Kirkus Reviews). The war between the Greeks and the Trojans has reached a fever pitch. Offended by Agamemnon, the great Greek warrior Achilles is in his tent, refusing to fight. But then Trojan prince Hector slaughters Achilles’s intimate friend Patroclus. Willing or not, Achilles must take revenge for his friend’s death, even if it will result in his own. The Anger of Achilles is a novelized interpretation of Homer’s Iliad, told by noted poet, classicist, and historical novelist Robert Graves. In this innovative take on the classic tale, Achilles comes to life in all his vivid rage, bravery, passion, and lust for battle. Combining his expertise in ancient Greek warfare and culture with a famed talent for compelling storytelling, Graves is the ideal translator to bring this ancient epic of war to a modern audience. This edition includes a compelling introduction by the author, who argues that Homer’s Iliad is best understood as a satire, closer in spirit to the works of Cervantes than those of Milton. “The translation is lucid and concise, the work of a scholar of some originality.” —Kirkus Reviews




The Pity of Achilles


Book Description

In The Pity of Achilleus, Jinyo Kim examines how the major themes of the Iliad--Achilleus' 'wrath, ' heroic values such as honor and glory, and human mortality and suffering, to mention the most widely recognized--are connected to each other in a way that reveals the poem's structural coherence and unity. Kim asks whether Achilleus' pity toward Priam at the poem's close is, as is widely believed, a poetic deus ex machina. In other words, is the conception of Achilleus' pity an expression of a 'later' and 'more civilized' era, as a way of 'correcting' the warlike savagery that is an undeniable and significant part of the poem? She concludes, rather, that Achilleus' final reconciliation with the old king of Troy-- his 'enemy' according to the warrior ethos in the Iliad-- represents the integral and ultimate resolution of the theme of Achilleus' 'wrath' that is announced in the poem's opening lines. This book will be valuable for students and scholars of classical literature and classical civilization.




The Iliad


Book Description

With her virtuoso translation, classicist and bestselling author Caroline Alexander brings to life Homer’s timeless epic of the Trojan War Composed around 730 B.C., Homer’s Iliad recounts the events of a few momentous weeks in the protracted ten-year war between the invading Achaeans, or Greeks, and the Trojans in their besieged city of Ilion. From the explosive confrontation between Achilles, the greatest warrior at Troy, and Agamemnon, the inept leader of the Greeks, through to its tragic conclusion, The Iliad explores the abiding, blighting facts of war. Soldier and civilian, victor and vanquished, hero and coward, men, women, young, old—The Iliad evokes in poignant, searing detail the fate of every life ravaged by the Trojan War. And, as told by Homer, this ancient tale of a particular Bronze Age conflict becomes a sublime and sweeping evocation of the destruction of war throughout the ages. Carved close to the original Greek, acclaimed classicist Caroline Alexander’s new translation is swift and lean, with the driving cadence of its source—a translation epic in scale and yet devastating in its precision and power.




Homer on the Gods and Human Virtue


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This book seeks to restore Homer to his rightful place among the principal figures in political and moral philosophy.




The Anger of Achilles


Book Description

Menis means more than an individual's emotional response. On the basis of the epic exemplifications of the word, Muellner defines the term as a cosmic sanction against behavior that violates the most basic rules of human society. Virtually absent from the Odyssey, the term menis appears in the Iliad in conjunction with the enforcement of social rules, especially the rules of reciprocal exchange. To understand the way menis functions, Muellner invokes the concept of tabu developed by Mary Douglas, stressing both the power and the danger that accrue to a person who violates such rules. Transgressive behavior has both a creative and a destructive aspect.




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