Chapter 10. On the Death of Actaeon The myth of Actaeon the hunter is famous from the version in Ovid Metamorphoses 3.13 and following, where Artemis literally turns Actaeon into a stag. The hapless victim is then torn to shreds by his own hounds. One critic has claimed that the same theme recurs in Stesichorus PMG 236. [1] This fragment… Read more
Chapter 11. Poetry and the Ideology of the Polis: The Symbolism of Apportioning Meat Φιλόχορος δέ φησιν κρατήσαντας Λακεδαιμονίους Μεσσηνίων διὰ τὴν Τυρταίου στρατηγίαν ἐν ταῖς στρατείαις ἔθος ποιήσασθαι, ἂν δειπνοποιήσονται καὶ παιωνίσωσιν, ᾄδειν καθ’ ἕνα <τὰ> Τυρταίου· κρίνειν δὲ τὸν πολέμαρχον καὶ ἆθλον διδόναι τῷ νικῶντι κρέας Philochorus FGH 328 F 216 from Athenaeus 630 f Philochorus says that the Spartans,… Read more
Chapter 12. Mythical Foundations of Greek Society and the Concept of the City-State The kinship terminology of the various Indo-European languages, as outlined in Emile Benveniste’s Le vocabulaire des institutions indo-européennes (1969), shows clearly that the basis of Indo-European social organization was the tribe. [1] For the word “tribe,” I find the working definition of Montgomery Watt, in his study… Read more
Chapter 13. Unattainable Wishes: The Restricted Range of an Idiom in Epic Diction εἰ γὰρ ἐγὼν ὣςεἴην ἀθάνατος καὶ ἀγήρως ἤματα πάντα τιοίμην δ’ ὡς τίετ’ Ἀθηναίη καὶ Ἀπόλλων,ὡς νῦν ἡμέρη ἥδε κακὸν φέρει Ἀργείοισι Iliad VIII 538-541 If only I wereimmortal and unaging for all days to come,and if only I were honored just… Read more
Bibliography Alexiou, M. 1974. The Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition. Cambridge. Alföldi, A. 1974. Die Struktur des voretruskischen Römerstaates. Heidelberg. Allen, T. W., ed. 1912. Homeri Operas (Hymns, Cycle, fragments, etc.). Oxford. ———. 1924. Homer: The Origins and the Transmission. Oxford. Allen, W. S. 1973. Accent and Rhythm. Prosodic Features… Read more
Greek Studies: Interdisciplinary Approaches Foreword Gregory Nagy, General Editor [vii] Building on the foundations of scholarship within the disciplines of philology, philosophy, history, and archaeology, this series concerns not just the archaic and classical periods of Greek traditions but the whole continuum—along with all the discontinuities—from the second millennium BCE to the present. The aim is to enhance perspectives by applying various disciplines to problems… Read more
Acknowledgments [ix] I wish to thank the following people, who have inspired, aided, and encouraged me in this work: Leonard Muellner, who first suggested that I think about Briseis; Mary Ebbott, Gloria Ferrari, and Albert Henrichs, each of whom read several drafts and greatly improved the book with their precision and clarity of thought; and Gregory Nagy, whose influence and vision will, I trust, be obvious in… Read more
Abbreviations Addenda = Carpenter, T. H., T. Mannack, and M. Mendonca. Beazley Addenda: Additional References to ABV, ARV2 and Paralipomena. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989 AJA = American Journal of Archaeology ARV2 = Beazley, J. D. Attic Red-figure Vase-painters. 2nd ed. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1963. AthMitt = Mitteilungen des deutschen Archaologischen Instituts, Athenische Abteilung CJ = Classical Journal CP = Classical… Read more
Introduction: Variations on Briseis [1]In his 1960 book The Singer of Tales, Albert Lord argues that Homeric poetry is defined by its traditionality: any given audience on any given occasion of performance knew the story and the characters already. There would have been nothing about the story, the language, the rhythm of the song, or the characters that was new. The poet of any given performance might… Read more
