El espejo de las Musas: El arte de la descripción en la Ilíada y Odisea

The subject of this book, which is an amplified version of the author’s MA thesis, is the art of description in the Iliad and the Odyssey. The art of description, or ekphrasis, is studied initially in general, seen in conjunction with such basic Homeric issues as formulaic language and similes, but via discussions on Homeric descriptions of nature and agriculture, the book ends up studying Homeric descriptions of arts and crafts. The book thus covers a large selection of what constitutes Homeric ekphrasis. The main arguments are to point out the importance of descriptions for the overall interpretation of passages and Carla Bocchetti (hereafter B.) makes some fine contributions. Her treatment of ekphrasis within the larger question of Homeric formulas and traditional language is well-founded and raises valuable issues. In her introduction, B. insists that detailed descriptions in the Homeric epics need not be taken as directly corresponding to actual objects, but are rather like the narrative elements part of the rich material that was at the poet’s disposal. Described objects must primarily be viewed in their narrative context; their possible fictitiousness is only secondary, though B. does take up this question later in the book.