Foreword The title of this book (The Oral Palimpsest) with its learned oxymoron and its allusion to analogously oxymoronic titles (for instance Written Voices and Spoken Signs edited in 1997 by E. Bakker and A. Kahane) might seem no more than a smart appeal to the sophisticated reader, but in fact it announces the various paradoxical, mysterious and enigmatic aspects of Homeric poetry. Christos Tsagalis is a… Read more
Preface Homeric studies have shown a remarkable dynamism as they still stand (more than 200 years after Wolf’s seminal Prolegomena ad Homerum) at the forefront of scholarly research in the field of Classics. During the second half of the last century, the evolution of Homeric studies has been primarily, though not solely, boosted by the exploration of the oral nature of archaic epic and the subsequent study… Read more
Acknowledgments This book is dedicated to Pietro Pucci, whose scientific acumen, unstinting encouragement, and unfailing guidance have been a constant support for me during these last fifteen years. He stands at the head of a small but precious group of scholars, who have guided me in search of my scholarly pathway. Through the years, I have incurred some special debts of professional and personal gratitude, which… Read more
Note on Transliteration and References While for Greek personal names I have used their anglicized forms (Achilles, not Akhilleus), for Greek place names I have opted for their hellenicized –os endings (Delos, Scyros). When using someone else’s translation, I have remained faithful to the author’s transliteration system, hence the lack of absolute consistency and the discrepancy between e.g. Kallidice and Callidice, Trophonios and Trophonius. Internal cross-references indicate… Read more
Chapter 1. Ἀνδρομάχη μαινομένη: The Dionysiac Element in the Iliad The almost complete absence of Dionysus from the Iliad is well known, as it is commonly recognized that the heroic epic singing the κλέα ἀνδρῶν does not have a place for the god of wine, ecstasy, and bacchic frenzy. Dionysus appears in the Iliad only twice: the first time in the myth of Lycurgus (Iliad VI 132,… Read more
Chapter 2. Χαρίεσσα and στυγερὴ ἀοιδή: The Self Referential Encomium of the Odyssey and the Tradition of the Nostoi One of the main arguments in favor of those who think that the Odyssey ends in xxiii 296 [1] (since both Odysseus’ brief recounting to Penelope of his adventures and the whole of book xxiv are considered later additions) relies on Agamemnon’s speech… Read more
Chapter 3. Nausicaa and the Daughters of Anius: Terms and Limits of Epic Rivalry Intertextual associations are based on the repetition of material treated in text A and whose reuse in text B will immediately allow the reader to make the connection to text A. In this way, a new ‘reading’ will emerge, one which does not depend solely on text A or text B, but on… Read more
Chapter 4. Intertextual Fissures: The Returns of Odysseus and the New Penelope The aim of this chapter is (a) to consider the function of intertextual fissures with respect to Odysseus’ return and reunification with his wife, and (b) to explore how a crucial element of this scene, the story of the Sailor and the Oar, can assist us in examining the relationship between the Odyssey and other… Read more
Chapter 5. Ἀχιλλεὺς Ἑλένην ἐπιθυμεῖ θεάσασθαι: From the Cypria to the Iliad The aim of this chapter is to examine Proclus’ [1] brief mention in his Chrestomathy of a meeting between Achilles and Helen, which featured as an episode in the Cypria. The relevant passage (157–158 Severyns = 41 Kullmann) runs as follows: καὶ μετὰ ταῦτα Ἀχιλλεὺς Ἑλένην ἐπιθυμεῖ… Read more
Chapter 6. Viewing from the Walls, Viewing Helen: Language and Indeterminacy in the ‘Teichoscopia’ Introduction When we discuss the role of Helen in the Iliad, we should always keep in mind that she is situated in the midst of the Iliadic war and myth, which differs in its plot from Trojan lore, albeit their obvious connection. [1] The Iliadic myth is… Read more
