Bibliography Adkins, A.W.H. 1960. Merit and Responsibility: A Study in Greek Values. Oxford. ———. 1969. “Threatening, Abusing, and Feeling Angry in the Homeric Poems.” Journal of Hellenic Studies 89: 7–21. Aitchison, J. M. 1964. “The Achaean Homeland: AXAIFIA or AXAIFII?” Glotta 42: 19–28. Alexiou, M. 1974. The Ritual Lament in Greek Tradition. Cambridge. … Read more
4. Introduction to the Discourse on the Miracle That Occurred in the Blachernae [Church]: A Novel Resolution of a Judicial Impasse 4.1. Psellos’ oration on the miracle at Blachernae is a command performance requested by the Emperor Michael VII Doukas in the summer of 1075 (5.29:752–757). Psellos examines a recent legal case at some length and in some detail, dividing his narrative of events into two separate… Read more
5. Discourse on the Miracle that Occurred in the Blachernae [Church] 5.1. The court that was constituted [at Blachernae] was not a civil [institution] for investigating matters of civil law, but the place of judgment that resulted from the action of the virginal Mother of God was a mystical and ineffable [institution] for [solving] the problem set before her; [1] the decision… Read more
References 1. Edited works of Michael Psellos Dennis, G. 1994. Michaelis Pselli Orationes forenses et acta. Stuttgart. Duffy, J. 1992. Michaelis Pselli Philosophica minora I. Stuttgart. Fisher, E. 1994. Michaelis Pselli Orationes hagiographicae. Stuttgart. Gautier, P. 1989. Michaelis Pselli Theologica I. Leipzig. Kurtz, E., and F. Drexl. 1941. Michaelis… Read more
Acknowledgments to the 1979 Edition It took a long time to write this book, and I now have anxieties about whether I can recall the names of all those who have given advice along the way. The list that I offer here may be incomplete, and I hope that anyone accidentally left out will not think me an ingrate. Let me start with those who have endured… Read more
Foreword to the 1999 Second Edition F§1. The Best of the Achaeans is intended for both non-specialists and specialists in Homer and in other forms of archaic Greek poetry. [1] More generally, it is for non-Classicists as well as Classicists (that is, those who study Greek and Roman antiquity). All quotations from the ancient texts are translated, and all cited words are… Read more
Introduction. A Word on Assumptions, Methods, Results [In this on-line version, the page-numbers of the printed version are indicated within braces (“{” and “}”). For example, “{69|70}” indicates where p. 69 of the printed version ends and p. 70 begins. These indications will be useful to readers who need to look up references made elsewhere to the printed version of this book.] I§1. My approach to… Read more
Chapter 1. The First Song of Demodokos 1§1. Homeric Epos has the power not only to define the hero but to articulate this very power. In my search for evidence in support of such a claim—and this search will extend throughout my presentation—I will of course have to struggle with the overwhelming dimensions of the Iliad and the Odyssey. It is especially difficult to find an appropriate… Read more
Chapter 2. The Best of the Achaeans 2§1. It is an overall Iliadic theme that Achilles is “best of the Achaeans,” as I will now try to show. [1] The title is hotly contested. The central grievance of Achilles in the Iliad is that Agamemnon has dishonored him, and in this context the hero of the Iliad is regularly called áristos Akhaiôn… Read more
Chapter 3. A Conflict between Odysseus and Achilles in the Iliad 3§1. As we have already seen, some experts argue that the quarrel of Achilles and Odysseus in Odyssey viii is a pastiche actually based on the opening of our Iliad, where Achilles and Agamemnon have their memorable quarrel. [1] But in this line of reasoning there is a flaw that we… Read more
